The day after she woke up, Kokoro was visited a few times. Aizawa had come by again, this time with Hizashi and Nemuri accompanying him, and a few of her students had come with get well cards and gifts.
She had been updated about the situation vaguely by All Might and Tsukauchi. It seems that Yaoyorozu had managed to create a tracker and place it on a Nomu that had attacked the camp, and had been able to create a device to locate the tracker to help the heroes find the villain headquarters. And according to Tsukauchi Midoriya had woken up a bit earlier that day.
She didn't get a lot of information about the Bakugo case, all she knew was that they had suspicions on where he was and they would be holding a press conference that night.
"What about a brace?" Kokoro asked.
"Pardon?"
"A brace? To supress my quirk? I'm assuming I'll be getting another one since my last one broke off."
"Yeah, about that. We believe that it might be beneficial for you to not receive another brace."
"What, why not?" Kokoro asked, unable to hide the shock on her face.
"It seems that Nezu had requested for it personally. To be honest I don't really know the exact reason myself, but if you ask me personally it's because you've proven that you're not all bad."
"Not all bad..." Kokoro muttered.
"I've also been informed to tell you that while on school grounds, you will be allowed to use your quirk, as long as there's someone supervising you."
"Yeah, I get it. Thanks." Kokoro said.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get ready for the press conference." Tsukauchi bowed his head and walked out of the room, leaving Kokoro to sit alone in thought.
I'd be able to use my quirk... She thought, her gaze moving to look out the window. I wish they'd keep on suppressing it.
***
That evening Kokoro was stuck in her hospital room watching the live broadcast from UA. When Nezu had come by to tell her what was happening she had tried to get him to allow her to speak on the panel.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Kowareta. You still need to rest after being in a traumatic event like that. Besides, it's better that you leave this to the pro heroes."
Leave it to the pro heroes he had said. Of course, she didn't want to sit still but what could she do? Her leg was still in a cast and her arm was in a sling. Even after a few treatments from recovery girl and the doctors she wasn't recovered enough to fight. Plus if she went against Nezu she might really go back to prison.
But that didn't stop her from feeling useless in this situation.
Useless. Useless.
Kokoro's body tensed and she could feel her quirk activate for just a second, and looking ahead of her she could see a dark figure flash into existence, amber eyes matching her's looking down at her before disappearing all together. Her hand reached up and ran through her hair as she forced herself to relax. Biting her lip, she reached for the remote with her other hand and turned on the TV, flipping to the channel the Press Conference was on.
"We are here to apologize." Aizawa started. "A recent incident allowed harm to come to 27 first year heroes. And we staff were ill prepared. We take responsibility for any trauma caused by our negligence. It's out duty to train heroes, but failed to protect heroes in training." He, alongside Nezu and Vlad King bowed towards the media. For once he looked put together. His hair was washed and pulled back and he was wearing a suit— a stark contrast to his usual baggy hero costume.
"I'll take the first question." A reporter from the crowd asked. "Since the beginning of the year, UA students have had four encounters with villains. This time there were students who were gravely injured. How did you explain this to their families? And what are some of the specific steps you're taking to ensure their safety in the future?"
"We will increase patrols around the school grounds, and review security measures within the school. The safety of UA students is our main priority, make no mistake about it." Nezu said.
Even without being in the crowd Kokoro knew that the mood was changing. The looks all of the reporters had on their faces when they came into view were skeptical, some looking towards the three as if they were villains.
"You spoke about keeping the students safe, Eraserhead. But according to our information, you encouraged them to fight during the attack on the training camp, putting them in grave danger. What was your reasoning for this?"
"I concluded that because we didn't know the full situation. Allowing them to use their quirks would help avoid the worse possible outcome." Aizawa answered.
"And what would that outcome be? Do you think 26 victims and one kidnapped child is a win for UA?"
"I assure you that things could have gone much more poorly. I feared every student would be tortured and killed in the end."
"Most of the victims were harmed by the gas attack." Nezu added, "We've determined it to be the result of a poisonous Quirk used by one of the villains. It's thanks to the quick actions of Ms. Kendo and Mr. Tetsutetsu that injuries were kept to a bare minimum. Additionally we're providing mental health counseling to every student, though at the moment, we do not see any signs of serious psychological trauma."
"So you've found a bright spot in this tragedy?" The reporter asked.
"We're relived that an entire class of rising heroes still has a future."
"Can you say the same thing for the abducted, Bakugo Katsuki?"
Kokoro bit her inner lip at the mention of the blonds name. She still found it hard to believe that he had been kidnapped, and even felt a little guilt when thinking of it. If she hadn't stayed to fight the two villains and instead went to find Bakugo when she heard the news, she might of been able to prevent the kidnapping.
If she had only just tried a little bit harder.
Weak. Helpless. You failed. This time the figure was closer, to her, standing just at the foot of her hospital bed. You could of saved him. You villain.
"No." Kokoro whispered, her voice breaking ever so slightly, "There... was nothing I could do."
You lie to yourself. You could of done something. The voice screamed in her head and the figure took a step forwards and reached towards Kokoro, vanishing just as it's finger tips grazed her neck.
Kokoro's heart was beating loudly and she pulled her knees up to her chest to try to calm herself down as her quirk deactivated. Taking a few deep breaths and turned her attention back to the TV, only to let out an audible gasp at what was being shown.
The channel had automatically changed to a news station, and on the screen she was being shown the wreckage of what looked to of been a warehouse, which was now reduced to broken wooden beams and piles of rubble. Though that wasn't what made her terrified, it was specifically one of the people being shown on the screen, a man hovering above the wreckage with a face mask and neck brace.
Even through the TV Kokoro could feel the pressure coming off of him, and it was terrifying.
Kokoro watched as All Might appeared on the scene, and the battle between the two ensued— a true battle of good and evil. She watched the fight on screen, her eyes wide as she watched All Might get hit by an attack that sent him flying back. Moving her gaze to out of the window, she saw smoke rise up in the distance and knew that was where the battle was taking place.
Turning her attention back to the screen, she let out another gasp. Not at the fight that was happening but at the giant ice glacier that looked very similar to one that a certain student of her's had created during the Sports Festival, that and the sight of three familiar students flying through the air, Bakugo noticing them and flying straight up towards the three.
"Those idiots. Those damn idiots." Kokoro said, her eyes starting to water as she watched them fly away, out of frame. They might be idiots, but they managed to save Bakugo. "Thank God. Thank god they're safe." She wiped the tears of relief in gathering in her eyes and looked back at the TV, where the battle was still going on.
The battle between All Might and the new villain was ultimately terrifying to watch on TV. There were many times All Might seemed to be at a disadvantage but no matter what he always managed to come back and attack the villain. Though even though he kept springing back and attacking the Villain, All Might was visibly beaten up and he almost looked... deflated.
"The scene below's straight out of a nightmare." The reporter started, "Half of Camino Ward was demolished in a single, horrifying instant. All Might is currently fighting the villain who appears to have caused the blast. I can't believe it. How is one person so powerful? He's destroyed the city and is more than holding his own against the Symbol of Peace."
He can do it. He has to. Kokoro thought as she watched the villain send another strong attack straight towards All might, kicking up dust and smoke around the scene, but once it cleared Kokoro clenched her fist, All Might looked like a skeleton, the same man she saw during teacher meetings and on his off period out of sight from any students.
"What's wrong? Is-Is everyone else seeing this? It looked like All might's been shrunk somehow!" The reporter exclaimed.
It seemed like the two were having a small conversation, which resulted in a look of pure horror on All Might's face and a frozen and tense form. It was obvious that the villain had said something that struck All Might to his very core.
"Come on All Might, you can do it." Kokoro said, her voice barely a whisper. "Beat this asshole, you can do it!" Her voice got louder and all around the hospital, Kokoro could hear the muffled shouts of encouragement from the other patients. Some voices were shaking, others were powerful and loud. Everyone was rooting for their Symbol of Peace.
She watched as golden light bounced around All Might's hand, and his arm buffed up, and while it looked odd on his skeletal body it was a reassuring sight, All Might still had some fight left in him.
A few more heroes had joined the battle scene and started fighting the villain, and rescuing the civilians who had been trapped nearby.
As the fight continued, so did the shouts of encouragement. Even out on the streets Kokoro could hear people shouting. Everyone was shouting their support for their symbol of peace. The hero who had inspired all of them for the past years. Kokoro watched as the villain's arm shifted and budged in a rather disgusting way, only to reveal a monstrosity of what looked to be tons of quirks merged together. The villain aimed an attack straight towards All Might, only for All Might to send an attack of his own, the both attacks combining and creating a brilliant light at the impact point.
All Might almost looked to be overpowered, until he switched the power from his right arm to his left and punched the villain on the side of his head. Though even with the strength of the punch, the villain didn't back down, he just raised his other arm and activated a quirk on it, causing it to enlarge and spin violently.
All Might's body bulked up once again and he sent a devastating attack straight towards the villain's face, making contact and sending him straight towards the ground, creating both a creator and a shockwave that distorted the footage for a few seconds before is steadied itself to reveal the Villain on the ground, incapacitated and All Might standing still, hunched over with blood dripping from his head.
Everything was silent. Not a sound was made in the hospital as everyone who was awake watched the footage with anticipation. It wasn't even a few seconds until All Might raised his fist in the air, the sign that he had won.
"All Might wins!" The reporter shouted. "The villain's not moving! He's knocked out! All Might stands victorious! He's saved us yet again!"
Tears of relief streamed down her cheeks as cheers erupted throughout the hospital.
***
Even though she was tired, Kokoro couldn't stop watching and rewatching the feed. They played clips from the fight, and soon more reporters were on scene reporting on the rescue mission as heroes behind her worked on saving the civilians who had gotten wrapped up in the whole mess. In the background of the clips, she could see the sun rising.
"The heroes began rescue operations during All Might's fight, but the scope of the damage is staggering. Authorities are estimating a large number of casualties. The villain who caused this is— oh! There!" The reporter turned and the footage moved to show the villain walking into what looked to be a detainment cell. Endeavor was standing by to make sure nothing happened while All Might stood a bit closer to the camera. "He's being led into the maiden right now! Meanwhile All Might and other heroes remain on high alert!"
As the reporter was talking, All Might shifted his stance in the background and pointed towards the camera, interrupting the reporter as she was talking.
"Now. Now. It's your turn." He said.
Kokoro didn't know if it was because of sleep deprivation but immediately tears started streaming down her face. She had heard the voice of defeat before, and while his voice didn't portray defeat, it felt like he meant something by it, something more than just a warning to the other villains.
Kokoro knew that was his last battle, and he was passing on his status to someone else. Someone who would one day become the next Symbol of Peace.