Red in Different Shades

7. Aftermath

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Edited 13.MARCH.2022

Edited 04.OCT.2024

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The villains, that ones that could, made a hasty retreat after the other pro heroes showed up.

"Young Niwa. Please, quickly go to the entrance with Young Midoriya." Niwa glanced over her shoulder to see All Might, the Number One hero looked ragged. Niwa felt a jolt of surprise seeing him like this—steam billowing from his body, his right arm deflated to little more than skin and bone. The All Might she knew felt distant, almost fragile in this form, like she was seeing something she shouldn't. It was unsettling, watching him alter before her eyes.

Niwa turned back around after seeing the stern expression on his face. It felt like she was intruding on something ridiculously private but even though she wanted to listen to her teacher, she couldn't. Her entire body trembled, each movement sending shockwaves of pain through her limbs. It felt like she was dragging a mountain—Midoriya's weight barely registered, but the sheer heaviness in her muscles was unbearable. If she tried to climb those stairs, she'd collapse before she even got halfway. Every part of her was lead. She felt disgustingly weak.

"I can't..." Her voice was low, strained, as if admitting this cost her something. "If I move, I'll probably drop Midoriya."

The thought of him being hurt any more than he already was kept her on her feet, no matter how badly she wanted to collapse. Both his legs were broken. She hated admitting it, but pushing herself any further would just put Midoriya in another world of pain.

"I wasn't... able to do anything..." Midoriya voice came in a quietly frustrated tone like he was on the verge of crying.

"That's not true." All Might reassured the boy, "If you weren't there for those few seconds you brought me, I would have been killed. You saved me again."

Niwa's expression hardened, her eyes narrowing as she tried to block out their words. This moment wasn't meant for her, but she had no choice but to hear every word.

"All Might..." The boy on her shoulder started sobbing, "I'm glad... that you're okay!"

Niwa winced at the sound, not from the volume but from the raw emotion behind it. And all she could do was stand there and let Midoriya cry. What else could she do?

"Midoriya! Niwa!" Kirishima yelled. "Are you guys okay!?"

Niwa turned to her left seeing the red-haired boy run in their direction. From the corner of her eye she could see the slightly panicked expression of her teacher skeletal-looking teacher—pale, blonde, and impossibly frail—who stood unmoving. It was as if the power had drained out of him completely, leaving just the shadow of the legend behind.

The first thing that ran through her mind was something along the lines of: What the fuck?

Niwa raised one impossibly heavy arm out to her friend, "Yeah, we're all okay!" she called, her voice hoarse but steady.

The ground rose up in a wall between Kirishima and the three exhausted members of Class 1-A. Her Modern Literature teacher, Cementoss, stood at the short end of the wall. "We want to make sure all the students are safe, so please gather in front of the gate. We will deal with the injured here."

Kirishima accepted their teacher's words easily before his footsteps ran off, "Hey, he said to gather in front of the gate!" He called out to the other boys lingering further away behind the wall. The boy on her shoulder and her blonde teacher both sighed in relief before skelly-All Might dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes.