The Shogun

Chapter 17 : The Resolve

Now

"What!?" Reina asks in shock and the entire room except for Naoki and Seiran were speechless. They knew this story would tend to get dark many times, they never knew it would go to this extent.

"Cyanide ingestion. He was found on his office chair, his body was cold, stiff. His mouth was frothing and in his hands, the picture of his estranged daughter. His pets, that rat and those turtles were going wild enough to knock their enclosure off the table", says Seiran as she leans forward, placing her hands on the table in front of her. The chief editor didn't know what to say. She heard a lot of stories and she had personally investigated such stories during the initial days of her career. She never felt uneasy before. It was her job after all. Viewing these events critically was trained in her nerves, but this... this felt different. She couldn't fathom how Izuku felt.

"Are you feeling good, Reina-chan?" Seiran asks with a hint of worry laced in her voice.

This causes the chief editor to stammer in response and she says, "U-Umm I don't know what to say. Dr. Laird.... He seemed like a good fellow... I never expected the story to take such a turn. I can't imagine what Izuku is going through".

"I thought you would be desensitized when it comes to topics like these. I mean, this is your area of expertise... So it's kind of a weird thing to see you shaken", Seiran says with a gentle smile on her face.

"I'm... I'm even surprised by my reaction... I guess I was so invested in this tale that I never noticed it coming..." Reina says, with a tone of uncertainty in her voice.

"It's natural to feel like that", Seiran says in an understanding voice.

A moment of silence grows among them and Reina asks, "What happened after that?

Seiran lets out a huff and says, "Nothing much. All his research was seized by the board. His personal stuff and his pets were sent to his daughter in New York".

"His pets? But don't they come under his research?" Akira-san asks from his seat.

"Well you see, other than enhancing their brain capacity, Dr. Laird didn't do anything to them and also since he considered them as a step zero, he might have never bothered to mention this in his thesis. I also have a theory that Izuku himself was involved in sending the pets", says Seiran.

"I can actually see Izuku doing that", says Reina. She then leans forward and asks, "So what was the reason why he committed suicide? And how did it affect Izuku? Also to be honest, I don't see the reason why he went through with that. You mentioned that he has failed eight times previously. This shouldn't have bothered him in any way! So why did he do that?"

Seiran leans back a bit and she says, "To understand that... we must look at Izuku. He's the only one who knew why his mentor did it and that very reason was the reason we don't have quirks in the world".

This causes Reina's eyes to widen with shock and anticipation and she hesitantly asks, "What happened to Izuku?"

Seiran looks at her with a foreboding look on her face and says, "A lot".

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Then

"Mr. Midoriya, I believe this was not part of your research", Dr. Cynthia Wells, the dean of the I-Island Academy says as she lifts the papers that were on the table in front of her.

The room was well lit but it didn't do much to uplift the gloominess Izuku felt as he stood in front of the board of seven people who ran the Island, who were looking at him skeptically, but he stood strong. The green haired boy, without a slouch in his back, says, "I don't see what's the problem".