Element

31: They Hate us Cause They Ain't Us

Third Person POV

The next day, the Grime incident was all over the news.

It seemed people were stunned that there had been another organized crime organization. They weren't able to detect who had infiltrated the hideout — much to Y/N's relief — but they were dictating her as "the mystery hero".

The only unfortunate part was that they believed Grime just consisted of the single hideout.

Y/N vowed to get stronger so she could take down the hideouts herself.

Meanwhile, her father watched the story on TV.

To say the least, the Grime Boss was infuriated. He punched the wall, watching as blood ran into the grooves of the plaster.

"That little brat."

---------------

Mr. Aizawa decided not to punish Y/N, considering all the extenuating circumstances. However, he made sure she knew both the school rules and general laws she broke into taking down the villain base.

He also assured her he would talk to the police running the investigation and tell them about the base in Hosu, as well as the fact that there were most likely more bases scattered throughout Japan.

Y/N returned to ultimate move training with the rest of her classmates — but she refused to use her Aether anymore.

Instead, she worked on creating insanely strong moves with just her four basic elements.

She would try and stay away from Aether for a while.

Meanwhile, the teachers and students of U.A. decided it was best to keep Y/N's mission a secret. Releasing it to the public would do nothing but harm.

But she knew what she had to do.

She just couldn't bring herself to come to terms with it.

She was just a kid. And the looming prospect that she might be the only one who could keep her world from falling into chaos was too big of a burden for anyone to bear.

Her classmates noticed she was unusually quiet in the days leading up to the Provisional License Exam. They supported her as best as they could, but everyone knew that ultimately, she was in this by herself.

Y/N knew this too. And even surrounded by her friends, she had never felt so alone. Not even when it was just her and her mother living together.

There was one night when her emotions got the better of her.

She had just gotten back from a difficult day of training, but her mind was elsewhere.

As she sat in her bed, her eyes began falling on the mundane things outside her window. A dead leaf fluttered to the ground. A small black beetle landed on the grass.

She could hear the distant laughter of children, probably talking about what they wanted to be when they grew up, or who their favorite hero was. The traffic was moving slowly, which she could hear in the exasperated honks that resounded periodically.

And all this...would cease to exist if she failed.

She pulled her knees to her chest, placing her head between them.

There would be excited older siblings who would never get to hold their baby brother if they failed.

There would be couples who could never be married if she failed.

There would be children who would never grow up if she failed.

It was a filthy world she lived in. It was a helpless, fucked up, and twisted world she lived in. But it was also beautiful.