We made it.
We're alive.
We fought against villains and won.
Despite my exhaustion, I'm a little exhilarated.
This is the world of Pro-Heroes ...
This is the top ...
That feeling fades quickly, though.
Everyone is outside the U.S.J. Police, medics, other Pro-Heroes. They're all here to check on us and make sure we're safe. Most of us are safe. One of the police officers is doing a headcount. "16, 17, 18," he counts as he points at each of our heads. "Not counting the kid with crippled legs, everyone's pretty much unharmed." The "kid with crippled legs" in question, as he so rudely put, is Hanada-chan. Midnight-sensei found her just outside the Downpour Storm Zone, unconscious. I look at her now, lying on a stretcher, being carried into an ambulance. I feel the anger rise again. Those villains went so far as to hurt someone who was physically so much weaker than them. Through my anger, though, I hear that Hagakure was in the landslide simulation with me. Good thing I didn't accidentally end up freezing her. I also hear about our teachers' conditions.
"Eraserhead's arms are riddled with comminuted fractures, and he's suffering from facial fracture as well. Thankfully, out of sheer luck, he didn't receive any brain damage. Well, the bones around his eye socket area, his 'orbital floor,' have been crushed into a powder. There's a chance it might adversely affect his eyesight," says the police chief. "As for Number Thirteen, I fear his back and upper arms have sustained serious lacerations. That being said, his vitals appear to be stable. The same goes for All Might: he's not in critical condition, either." Uraraka and Iida ask him about Midoriya's condition, who also has to go to the infirmary. Midoriya broke his arms landing all those punches, again. But the speed at which he reacted and the force of his punches ... they're all too reminiscent of a certain Pro-Hero. Especially after showing some very expressive concern for said Pro-Hero.
I watch the ambulance carrying Hanada-chan leave just as our teachers tell us to board the bus back to the school. For security purposes, five Pro-Heroes board the bus with all of us. Minutes pass. One would think that in a bus full of 25 people, there would be some conversation. Talk about plans for the weekend, dates to a café, the latest gossip at school. Hell, at the least, talk about the damn weather. But no. We spend the entire ride in silence. For once, Ashido isn't chatting away at 70 kilometers per hour, Bakugou isn't blasting everyone's eardrums with his angry shouts, Kirishima isn't spouting any unnecessary noble talk of manliness, Kaminari isn't being dense, Jirou isn't being salty, and Iida isn't trying to order anyone to follow the rules. We're all sitting in our seats, looking away from each other, contemplating today's events.
I think today's experience has changed us all in some way. In one form or another, the twenty-one of us survived the same attack. We lived through the same experience. There's a bond between all of us now. A bond forged of pain and horror, but of bravery and determination as well. We pushed through our fear to save ourselves and everyone else. But just what are we to each other now? Classmates? Comrades? More than acquaintances, but not quite friends?
Well, whatever we are now, one thing is for sure.
We're destined to be Pro-Heroes.
Villains, beware.
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Image URL: https://i.quotev.com/img/q/u/18/2/26/y2ypw2bo2b.jpg
Note: I have copied some dialogue from one of the English-translated versions of the manga. The link to the chapter is here: https://ww1.bokunohero.online/manga/boku-no-hero-academia-chapter-21/
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Blossoms of the Dark
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