Chapter 23: Aftermath and an Unspoken Accord
The piercing wail of ambulance sirens slowly faded into the distance, leaving behind a heavy, ringing silence at the entrance of the Unforeseen Simulation Joint. The setting sun painted the sky in somber hues of purple and orange, casting long, distorted shadows from the shattered dome. The remaining students of Class 1-A were wrapped in emergency blankets, their hero costumes smudged with dirt and their faces etched with a shared, bone-deep exhaustion that went far beyond physical fatigue. They had survived, but the price of that survival felt immense.
A medical team had carefully loaded the unconscious form of Rock Lee onto a stretcher. His face was pale, his body steaming with a faint mist even after his transformation had ended, and his limbs were locked in a state of severe muscular trauma. He was the only student whose injuries were critical enough to require immediate, emergency hospitalization. Midoriya, his own arm a broken mess, watched the ambulance pull away, his heart heavy with a mixture of awe and empathetic dread.
"I can't believe it," Denki Kaminari said, his voice barely a whisper, breaking the somber quiet. He hugged his blanket tighter. "All this time… Lee was hiding that kind of power. That speed… it wasn't even human."
"He was like a blue comet," Mina Ashido added, her usual bubbly energy completely gone, replaced by a profound sense of awe. "He held that monster back all by himself."
"But look what it did to him," Eijiro Kirishima muttered, his gaze fixed on the road where the ambulance had disappeared. His usual boisterous confidence was shaken. "It's just like with Midoriya. That incredible power comes at a terrifying cost. To willingly do that to your own body… it's manly, but it's scary as hell."
Shoto Todoroki remained silent, his arms crossed. He stared at the spot where Lee had collapsed, his mind replaying the eruption of that brilliant, violent blue aura. It wasn't a Quirk. He was sure of it now. A Quirk was a function of the body, a tool to be used. What he had witnessed from Lee was something far more primal. It was the frantic, brilliant burning of a life force, a soul being used as fuel. The thought was both illogical and deeply unsettling. For the first time since he had met him, Todoroki looked upon the memory of Rock Lee and felt not just curiosity, but a profound, undeniable respect.
In the pristine, quiet office of U.A.'s principal, All Might, now in his skeletal form, let out a long, weary sigh as he sank into a plush armchair. Principal Nezu poured him a cup of tea, his small, intelligent eyes betraying none of the chaos of the day.
"The preliminary reports are in," Nezu said calmly, sliding the cup across the desk. "Thirteen and Aizawa-kun will make full recoveries, though Aizawa's injuries are severe and will require extensive surgery. The League of Villains, as they call themselves, escaped. A major security failure on our part."
"It was my fault," Toshinori Yagi (All Might) coughed, a trickle of blood appearing at the corner of his mouth. He wiped it away with a handkerchief. "They came for me. If I had been there from the start, none of this would have happened."
"Blame is an inefficient allocation of resources, Toshinori," Nezu replied. "What matters now is our response. And understanding what we are up against." He paused, his gaze thoughtful. "However, there is another anomaly from today's events. Young Rock Lee."
Toshinori's expression softened, a flicker of awe in his sunken eyes. "The boy… I have never seen anything like it. The power he emitted, the sheer physical output… it rivaled my own, if only for a few moments. But the backlash was just as severe. His body has torn itself apart. It reminds me of young Midoriya when he cannot control One For All." He leaned forward, his voice a low, speculative whisper. "Could it be? Another power like mine? One that is passed down and shatters an unacclimated vessel?"
Nezu steepled his small paws, considering it. "I reviewed his file again the moment he was admitted. It is, by all accounts, impossible. His medical records are clear. His Quirk factor is non-existent. He has the double-jointed pinky toe, a relic of a pre-Quirk age. By every biological metric we possess, Rock Lee is Quirkless." The principal's eyes glinted. "What we witnessed today was not a Quirk. It was a phenomenon. A testament to a level of will and physical conditioning that our modern, Quirk-focused society has forgotten is even possible. And that, my friend, makes him perhaps the most interesting student to ever walk these halls."
The first thing Lee perceived was the whisper of wind. A gentle, cool evening breeze was breathing through an open window, causing the thin white curtains of his hospital room to dance in the fading light. The second was the rhythmic, steady beep of a heart monitor. The third, as he slowly, groggily opened his heavy eyelids, was the familiar, sharp scent of antiseptic. And the fourth, the most grounding presence of all, was the figure sitting silently in a chair beside his bed.
Sora Aokawa sat with her arms crossed, her practical ponytail catching the last rays of the sun. Her face was an unreadable mask, but her startlingly blue eyes were fixed on him with an unnerving intensity. She had arrived before his parents, having broken every speed limit in the prefecture the moment she saw the news report and realized he wasn't among the students being safely escorted away.
A dry, painful cough escaped his lips. "Sensei…" his voice was a weak rasp.
"You're awake," she stated simply. "I was beginning to think you planned on sleeping for a week." Her tone was flat, but he could hear the undercurrent of deep-seated relief.
He tried to shift, but a wave of searing pain shot through his entire body, making him gasp. Every muscle felt like it had been shredded and then set on fire. "I… I am still pathetic, am I not?" he whispered, his eyes closing in shame. "To be so completely defeated by my own power..."
"I need to leave before your parents arrive," she said, ignoring his self-pity. "I do not wish to have a… discussion with them tonight. The news reports are vague. They are calling it a villain attack, but the details are being kept under wraps by the school. Tell me everything, Lee. From the beginning."
And so he did. With a weak but steady voice, he recounted the entire event. The villains' arrival, Aizawa's valiant fight, being scattered by the warp gate, his battle alongside Todoroki. And then, he told her about the Nomu, about the impossible decision he had made. He told her about opening the first three Gates, and then, for the first time in his life, forcing his body to endure the agony of the Fourth.
Sora listened without interruption, her expression never changing. When he finished, the room fell silent again, broken only by the beeping of the monitor and the soft rustle of the curtains.
"You were a fool," she said finally. Lee flinched, expecting a harsh lecture. "You were reckless, and you pushed your unprepared body past its breaking point. You could have been permanently crippled." She paused, and her expression softened almost imperceptibly, a flicker of immense, fierce pride in her eyes. "You were also a hero. You saw people in danger, and you placed their safety above your own. You did the right thing. I am proud of you."
Tears welled in Lee's eyes, not of pain, but of profound relief.
"The fact that you were able to open the Fourth Gate at all is a testament to the foundation we have built," she continued, her voice returning to its analytical tone. "But your body's reaction proves that you have not mastered it. Mastery is not about simply opening the lock; it is about being able to withstand what comes out." She stood up, walking towards the window. "I believe it is possible. Your body can be conditioned to withstand the strain of the first six Gates. Not for long periods, but in short, controlled bursts. Enough to give you an overwhelming advantage when you need it most."
She turned back to him, a small, challenging smirk on her lips as she walked towards the door. "It's a shame you lost consciousness," she said, her hand on the doorknob. "That is a weakness. It means you have found your current limit." She looked over her shoulder at him, her blue eyes blazing with a familiar fire. "And that's the point we'll start from the moment you recover."
As she opened the door to leave, she froze. Standing in the hallway, their faces etched with worry, were Lee's parents, their hands full of flowers and a small basket of fruit.
Sora's immediate instinct was to look down at the floor. Her body tensed, bracing for the inevitable confrontation, for the fear and anger, for the blame she was certain they would place on her. This is your fault. You pushed him too far. You filled his head with these dangerous ideas.
But the accusation never came.
Lee's mother looked at Sora, then at the door to her son's room. A small, tired, but genuine smile touched her lips. "Thank you," she said softly, her voice trembling just slightly. "Thank you for visiting him. And… for always taking such good care of our son."
Sora's head snapped up, her eyes wide with shock. She stared at the woman, at the sincerity and gratitude in her tired eyes. There was no anger. No blame. Only a parent's quiet thanks to another person who clearly cared for their child. Sora, the woman of iron will and sharp words, was rendered completely speechless. She could only nod mutely as the couple walked past her and entered their son's room.
She stood alone in the quiet, sterile hallway for a long moment, the gentle sounds of his parents' worried voices filtering through the door. The confrontation she had dreaded had been replaced by an act of grace she had never expected. A strange, unfamiliar warmth spread through her chest.
Then, that warmth hardened into a familiar, cold resolve. She clenched her fists at her sides, her knuckles turning white.
It's not enough, she thought, her eyes blazing with a renewed, ferocious determination. He survived today through sheer will. But will is not enough. I must forge his body into something that can contain that fire. He will master these Gates. He will become so strong that a situation like this… will never happen again.