MHA: Gamma Chapter 18 18: USJ Incident - Final

The afternoon fell slowly, tinting the sky with a tired shade of orange as a true war-scale operation unfolded there. Patrol cars, drones, floodlights, barricades — everything surrounded by the massive presence of police, heroes, and rescue teams.

The NBC units — dressed in their heavy anti-radiation suits — advanced through the forest, the ruins, the scattered debris of the battlefield.

Entire teams in silver hazmat suits walked through the woods, detectors and caras in hand, scanning every inch of the devastated ground. The glow on their yellow visors reflected the charred vegetation, the shattered ice… and the strange spherical holes in the earth.

Near the fallen Sentinel's carcass, three NBC mbers worked with extre caution.

"Nothing… zero readings," one of them murmured, his voice muffled by the modulator.

He tapped the Geiger counter twice, as if he suspected it was broken.

"I don't know if I should be relieved or worried about that…"

A technician, kneeling inside the crater — a bit ahead of where the robot had collapsed — raised his cara to record the scene before him. The lens pointed first to the sky: clear, calm, as if nothing had happened.

But when he zood out…

the image changed completely.

A perfect trail of spherical holes, one after another, aligned in a straight trajectory of pure destruction — as if a beam had carved through the world, erasing everything in its path.

They were so symtrical they looked like geotric artworks.

The technician stepped back. His breath fogged up the inside of his mask.

"It looks like… sothing erased everything in the way," he muttered, hardly believing his own words. "What kind of power does that?"

He looked at the destruction trail, then at the dead Sentinel.

"Good thing the angle of that… whatever it was… didn't hit any buildings."

anwhile, near the collapse zone, Nezu observed the chaos with his small, calculating eyes. Present Mic and Midnight stood beside him, both still visibly tense.

Ahead of them, surrounded by caution tape and specialists, was what remained of the Omnidroid — split cleanly in half.

"Seeing it like this… it almost looks like it opened itself," Present Mic said, scratching his chin.

"Yes," Midnight replied. "As if it were a cocoon designed to release the real threat."

The interior of the machine was being photographed, analyzed, dismantled piece by piece by firefighters and NBC units.

Nezu tilted his head.

"It's technology that shouldn't exist in this world…"

He glanced toward the forested zone, then at the perfect trail of destruction left behind by Ryo's blast — though almost no one there yet knew who was responsible.

"Whoever created these machines…" the principal continued, placing his little paws behind his back with refined, almost aristocratic posture, "…is the sa one responsible for the attack in the United States."

Midnight turned to him.

"So this would be… a warning?"

"I'm afraid so."

He looked again at the Omnidroid split down the middle, at the heavy silence surrounding that machine.

"And if this isn't the warning of a greater war…"

His eyes glinted.

"…then it is the prelude to one."

And he was right.

Because at that very mont, the entire world was facing the sa crisis.

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-France-

The Parisian sky was covered in smoke. Amid the devastated streets, France's number one hero walked with confident steps, facing the sa crisis.

✦ LE ROI D'OR — Quirk: Midas Touch

The Omnidroid advanced toward him.

But the hero simply raised his hand.

"This place is a bit dull… let add so shine."

As he touched the ground, a golden wave spread like a silent explosion, turning half of the square into solid gold. The Omnidroid was transford into pure gold, like a museum statue.

"Et voilà…"

He struck his golden fist against his chest.

"France remains bright."

-Brazil-

In Rio de Janeiro, the heat seed alive, pulsating. Brazil's number one hero erged from the flas of a burning building:

✦ Igneel — Quirk: Igneous Body

The Omnidroid was reduced to molten tal, with the Sentinel half-lted and stuck in the concrete.

He floated with his body incandescent, the asphalt vibrating with heat.

"Step forward 'cause I'm on fire… in Brazil, there's no rcy."

Igneel assud his physical form, smiling.

"Brasil é o lhor do mundo, porra."

-Russia-

The frozen tundra trembled as Russia's number one hero approached:

✦ Magnitov — Quirk: Magnetism

He raised his hands — the Omnidroid, hundreds of tons, hovered in the air as if it were a toy.

Magnitov Tsar clenched his fist, and the robot was crushed, bent, twisted like aluminum foil.

"Never underestimate Mother Russia."

-China-

On top of the Guilin mountains, dust rising around him, stood the legendary number one hero:

✦ Wukong — Quirk: Monkey King

He was kneeling, blood dripping from his nose and mouth, breathing heavily.

The Omnidroid lay destroyed behind him.

The Sentinel crushed in half in front of him.

He leaned on his golden staff, missing a leg.

"Hah… I'm still the strongest…" he murmured with a weary smile. "…even if I'm old."

He spat blood to the side.

"Co at , as many as you want. I'm still standing."

-South Korea-

The coastline was swallowed by the roar of sothing colossal.

The number one hero erged from the sea like a deity:

✦ Yongwang — Quirk: Great Tide

The battlefield looked more like an execution ground.

The Omnidroid was split into pieces so cleanly by the pressurized water that they resembled sashimi.

Yongwang, impeccable, posed for the caras and phones the crowd aid at him.

"YONGWANG!!!""YONGWANG! LOOK AT , PLEASE!!""I LOVE YOU, YONGWANG!!"

He ran his hand through his hair before looking at the robot's carcass, speaking in a calm, serious tone:

"Don't bring trash into my waters."

-Philippines-

In the middle of a devastated field, the number one hero of the Philippines calmly chewed on a piece of hay while standing atop the Omnidroid's open carcass.

✦ Lapu-Lapu — Quirk: Molten Blades

He cracked his shoulder as the Sentinel dragged itself, missing half its legs.

"Ugh… such a hassle."

He stomped on the Sentinel's head.

"Done already?"

The machine tried to fire one last laser beam.

But Lapu-Lapu quickly drew his katana, the tal rapidly heating to extre temperatures, and sliced ​​the robot to pieces.

He sheathed his weapon and spat the hay aside.

"Not bad… he made a decent mannequin…"

There were many others who achieved victories as well, such as Austria, India, the United Kingdom, Germany, Morocco and several more.

But not all of them were as fortunate. So smaller countries, with weaker defenses, lost their main heroes. Streets beca deserted, cities were devastated, and the global sense of insecurity deepened. The attack that once seed distant now had international reach — a warning that the world was about to change.

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The silence in the room was almost absolute—the soft, padded kind typical of hospitals. Only the rhythmic beeping of a monitor and the distant whisper of footsteps echoing down the hallway filled the air.

Ryo opened his eyes slowly, feeling the world tilt slightly, as if he were surfacing from underwater. He blinked a few tis, trying to gather his thoughts, then lifted a hand to his forehead.

A light but persistent sting.

"Where…?"

Before he could finish the thought, a lively, surprised voice ca from the other side of the curtain to his left:

"Ah! You finally woke up!"

The curtain was pulled aside, and Ryo froze for a mont.

The woman in the bed next to him had short navy-blue hair with a spiral blonde streak, hazel eyes with concentric rings—like stylized black holes—and hands wrapped in a black layer, ending in capped, sealed fingertips.

She looked tired… but radiant all the sa.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, her voice soft with concern. "Headache? Dizzy? Dehydrated?"

Ryo lifted a hand in a casual I'm fine gesture.

"I… I think I'm okay." He tilted his head. "But… who are you? Have we t before?"

The woman blinked, realizing her slip.

"Ah! I'm sorry, I almost forgot…" She put her hands together shyly. "I'm Anan Kurose. But you know as… Thirteen."

Ryo's eyes widened.

"I… thought you were a guy."

She let out a bashful, embarrassed laugh.

"I'm used to that—it happens more often than I'd like to admit. My costu doesn't help at all."

He let out a soft, amused sigh.

"Yeah, I can imagine."

But then his expression shifted. His focus drifted to her torso and back—bandaged, rigid, wrapped in layers of dressing.

"You… you're really hurt."

Thirteen smiled awkwardly.

"Yeah… I ended up being ambushed while trying to ensure your classmates' safety," she said with a sheepish smile. "I tried to fight back, of course… but the villain managed to use my quirk against ."

Ryo saw the way she looked at her own hands—a distant expression, as if she could still feel the weight of possessing such a power.

"It must've been the mist one… The sa one I almost… the sa one who… Damn… why can't I rember…"

The pain struck suddenly, sharp, cutting the thought in half. He pressed a hand to his temple.

Anan imdiately straightened.

"Tanaka-kun? Are you okay? Do you want to call soone?"

"I'm… I'm fine." he replied quickly, breathing slowly until the pain faded. "How long was I out?"

"Two days," she answered plainly.

His eyes widened.

"Two days?!"

She nodded calmly, as if it were normal.

"And… my class? Are they okay?"

"They are." Thirteen replied with a reassuring smile. "Bakugo has bruises and burns, but he's fine."

"The real problem was with us, the teachers," she continued, more serious. "Aizawa was in critical condition. And All Might… he lost part of his left arm."

Ryo went still.

Each word seed to echo inside his chest with a delay.

Thirteen, noticing the silence, softened her voice:

"But the most important thing… is that all of you are safe. For pro heroes like us, getting hurt is part of the job. You'll see that a lot in the hero course."

His gaze dropped to the sheets covering him.

And the question ca out in a whisper—ant for her, but also for himself:

"I… I don't know if I want to keep going in the course."

Anan turned toward him quickly, surprise clear on her face.

"What? Why?"

Ryo took a deep breath, trying to organize thoughts he himself barely understood.

"It's not because of what happened," he murmured. "Not because of what happened to there. It's just… U.A. isn't what I expected. Actually, I didn't expect anything from the start. And sohow… I haven't found the vision I wanted to see."

"Vision?"

He looked at her.

"What you said… about quirks."

Anan raised her eyebrows, listening in silent attention.

"I… was disappointed by that." he admitted plainly. "You said quirks don't exist to hurt anyone. But what about cases like mine? My power feels made to kill. I don't see how it could help soone… save soone. I've brought death just by being born, to innocent people who never should've died."

His breath trembled.

"So I… I got irritated with you in that mont. I was disappointed."

He looked down.

"Sorry if that was rude."

Thirteen smiled in a way so gentle, so warm, it felt like a hug through her eyes alone.

"That wasn't rude, Tanaka-kun."

She slowly shook her head.

"It was honest. And honesty is… very rare. Most people would carry that weight their entire lives."

She rested her bandaged hands on her lap.

"Hearing soone else's perspective is essential to understanding them. And you showed sothing clear: Your past still chains you."

Ryo lifted his gaze.

"But…" she continued, eting his eyes with quiet firmness, "a lot of what you said is contradicted by your actions. You say your quirk is dangerous, that it can only kill and never save… but you used it to protect your classmates and teachers at the USJ. Your actions speak louder than your words, Tanaka-kun."

He froze, as if her words had disard him.

Thirteen took a slow breath and smiled kindly:

"I understand if you want to leave the course. I won't force you, or try to change your viewpoint."

Her voice softened—almost maternal.

"But I want you to… at least follow the instinct that brought you this far."

She reached out and pointed to his chest.

"Because it's what kept you standing when you needed it most."

The silence that followed was comfortable. The noise of the infirmary, the beep of the monitor, the distant footsteps in the corridor ford a small lody.

"I see…" he murmured, barely audible. "Thank you… Thirteen."

Anan smiled, satisfied.

"You're welco."

Ryo looked at Anan again.

"Perhaps fixing things wasn't about erasing the past, but about learning to build sothing new upon its gaps."

He let the thought linger, continuing to gaze at the woman who would be his future ntor.

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(Note: I ended up taking a while because so delays ca up, I didn't quite reach my goal of 3k words, but I hope you're happy with these 2.2k. I moved the revelation of the MC's identity to All Might to the next chapter; it would be too rushed if I put it here. If this chapter isn't good, I can change and rewrite it at any ti if most people want.)