Though Keigo had been hopeful, it was clear that even a near-death experience wouldn't soften that hard head of Sakura. What she endured, at her age, nearly losing her life protecting her classmate. This should be some kind of psychological explosion that he was waiting to clean up. If it happened in front of him, he would be able to pick up the pieces and put them together to his preference. Create someone who would become reliant on him, who he could mentor to become the next hero that took on the darkness in society.
Keigo could see the potential in her, even through the defiance she had, her eyes weren't clouded by the sparkling curtain that had been wrapped around the rest of the world when they look at heroes. On the other hand, she was also the topic of controversy, because of her actions. She was without a hero's license, publicly displayed her powers, and was being looked on as possibly the replacement for the Symbol of Peace. It was a heavy title to hold, and Keigo wasn't even sure if Endeavour was up for it. He would hold the number one position now due to semantics, but the Symbol of Peace wasn't a title that could be placed through by crunching the numbers.
He had to figure out exactly where she stood right now, so he could know what direction she might go now.
"What happened to you in your fight?" Her expression didn't change, and she wouldn't open her mouth, so he decided to keep coaxing her. "I have sharp eyes and saw the footage, and also got the in-detail reports the heroes gave who witnessed it. You were as good as dead with your heart out of your chest. Somehow you managed to revive from that and come back even stronger. Strong enough to take on that villain. Who even All Might struggled to face. So what happened to you?"
Sakura sighed, her teachers had also been looking for the answer to that question, but even she didn't know it for certain. She had ideas and theories, the most likely being Kaguya but she had no definite answer and there was a barrier that prevented her from revealing these facts.
"I don't know,"
"That's a lie,"
"I don't," Sakura said firmly, looking Keigo in the eyes, which she could see were examining every inch of her. Checking for any ticks or give away to lying. But Sakura knew how to hide these even from an eye as sharp as Keigo's.
"My power went out of control, that's all I can say,"
"Yeah, that power of yours, that works like clay. Let's you mold it into different abilities is that right?" She hadn't given the full story on this but that is the impression she had left.
"Yes. I explained that already,"
"You've been explaining in a maze," Keigo folded his arms, "This is only the beginning of your troubles. You broke the rules concerning quirks very publicly, and now with All Might's retirement rumors are being spread that a new Symbol of Peace is needed and that you're the one to fill that position,"
Sakura's expression turned sour. She had seen the articles about her, All Might retiring, and the villains. It had become a bigger mess than she wanted and her involvement had sparked a lot of questions. The media were trying to dig into her past but she knew it was just chasing tails, in the end, nothing could be traced back to her. She was fine with that.
"I want to help you kid, but I can't if you're going to keep me in the dark,"
"I don't need help with anything,"
Keigo grasped her hand, "The commissions been overlooking a lot of your stunts, but this is major and it could be troublesome if the wrong people start asking questions."
"Whatever they want to know won't change anything,"
He finally saw it. Keigo saw the shift in her eyes, that glazed look flossed over that gave her a pathetic aura. He assumed she was back to normal, that she had brushed off this experience just like every other. Overcoming the hurdles like they were nothing but now he was seeing a side to her that was more like a lost little girl. But she was trying to keep that part hidden under a veil. He could only get a glimpse. It was pitiful.
And gave horrible flashes of his own past. Without the sentimentality, just emotions that were twisted and suppressed flat.
He squeezed her hand, "Where was your home, before all of this?"
She didn't miss a beat in her answer as he thought she would, "There's no point in telling you the details,"
"Why?"
"Because everything is gone. Why should I give details about a past with no relevance?"
And for a reason he understood very well, Keigo didn't push for any more answers. But he didn't let go of her hand then either. Instead, he changed directions, looking at the document on the nightstand, the forms for the U.A.'s new dorm system that would be put into effect soon.
"Guess you're gonna be downgraded huh?"
"I never agreed to this,"
"Maybe, but the commission isn't gonna bend for you anymore, with the League of Villains still out there and you, who defeated their leader, well that puts a big target on your back."
Keigo wasn't the first one she had gone against on this matter, Toshinori and Shouta were her first victims when she rejected the plan but her opinion wasn't really up for consideration. It was for the safety of all the students of U.A. and she was a part of the demographic. That's when they told her that the HPSC wanted to have her removed from the school but the principal had fought to keep her with them and to let her continue her education.
'They were really looking to do damage control,' Keigo heard about their initial plans to remove Sakura from U.A and have her train under them. Just as he was. He would be left to personally take her under his wing, but even Keigo wasn't' certain he could keep her there if that happened. That ferocity isn't something one could forget. She hadn't fought like an inexperienced student, but rather a full-blown warrior out for blood.
And there was that other matter they wanted him to take care of which he was hesitant to accomplish.
She could either be their greatest asset or their greatest enemy and if it turned to the latter, if she turned her back on being a hero, then the commission would likely take the drastic measures only he and a handful of others were familiar with. When you had power, it was impossible not to use it. That's why all these rules were in place and why the line between hero and villain had been drawn so clearly. At least for optics. The gray areas were hidden or ignored because they believed it would cause less conflict.
"I didn't realize just how much control they believe they have over me." She stared at their hands, Keigo still holding onto her. She turned up to him, a strong glare, like an emerald blade.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Why are you here Hawks?"
He knew that she was skeptical and her eyes had become sharp so he leans in and brushes her cheek. She didn't move, but she didn't react either.
"Just worried about you kid. For whatever trouble you've caused, you've saved a lot of people and put that villain behind bars. And you've had some tough times. But there are major repercussions and all eyes are on you now,"
"What if I don't want to go back to school?"
Keigo seemed surprised by that question, "If that's what you want then I'll see what I can do to help but you'll have to go somewhere."
It wasn't impossible, but that answer had been impulsive because the commission and U.A. were determined to get her to settle back into the hero course. Now more than ever. But this way he wouldn't spook her into doing something drastic.
"I don't need to."
"Seriously. Look if you really want to take some time away from all of this then, you're welcome to come back with me and stay a while we figure things out." He sighed.
"Why would you do that for me?"
"Because I've become attached." He said teasingly.
"You mean like after you name a pet attached right?"
"It's the best kind,"
He had to be mocking her, right? She stared at the bouquet of roses, following the trail as a petal fell.
"Do you like roses?"
They were blood red with a strong crisp appearance, "I prefer daffodils,"
"Always tough to please,"
..
..
..
Patience was like paper for most, eventually, it would wear and tear. Unfortunately, Sakura was at that stage. She wanted out of the paper gown, stiff mattress, and rough sheets. Now she understood why so many difficult patients were typically the ones staying more than one night.
The doctors wanted to run more tests on her, but Sakura was convinced they had done every test in the book.
There was a concern for her health, especially since her seizures decided to stop after she woke up. There was no scientific explanation and Sakura had kept tight-lipped through most of the procedures.
Sakura had concerns herself about what had happened, every time she was left alone with her thoughts she went back to that fight, and what happened to her. The chakra that wasn't her own. She had been conscious of that fight aware of every move she made, but it was like being in a dream. Her emotions were driven in ways she couldn't understand and then to have it all come crashing down when she collapsed. The sensation of agony and power. This was unlike anything she could realize.
Starring at her hand, flexing her thin fingers, her skin was taut and her nails had grown too long, her hair was tickling the edge of her shoulder blades. Her entire body felt like a stranger.
'It was definitely her chakra,'
Whatever had been done to her, Sakura could feel that power and she wouldn't be able to forget or mistake it for anyone else's. The injury had been a clear cause of her absorbing some of Kaguya's power, yet that was a blank page for her.
And she didn't know what to expect from it. How dangerous it might be.
On the other hand….
"Haruno," Her head whipped to the now open doors, and she saw Shouta standing between the threshold, one hand on the door. She blinked, removing the surprised expression to a neutral one, settling back into the bed.
"No All Might today?"
Sakura noticed that he hadn't closed the door behind him. "He's dealing with some business…"
From behind, there were flickers of shadows that made Sakura smile, "You wanna let them in?"
She was observant. Shouta glanced back, and called: "Come on,"
Small steps echoed as the students ushered themselves into the room like they were tip-toeing around a sleeping child. They were usually more eccentric and boisterous, but now, her classmates just looked worn out. Their postures were stiff like they wanted to get closer but held themselves back. Almost everyone was there. Including Izuku, Momo, Eijiro, Tenya, and Shouto. The only one missing was Katsuki.
"This is a surprise," It seemed they were waiting for her to say something before they could. Sakura could tell some of them wanted to cry but were either biting their lips or raising their heads to keep tears in their eyes.
Ochaco breathed out, holding her hands steady, "Sakura…."
Shouta was making his way out of the door, "Remember, don't make too much noise, and you've got fifteen minutes."
It had been a bit of a battle to get Shouta to agree to allow them to meet Sakura in the hospital. Because of security reasons that didn't only pertain to her but to them as well. The League of Villain's attack put them in the limelight again and this time it was a harsher ray. So of course precautions had to be taken. Parents weren't exactly happy about the situation either with the interruption of the training camp.
They weren't blaming the school, but they were concerned for their children's safety and it had become harder for some of them to convince their guardians to let them leave the house.
"You-You're really alright?" Mina stuttered, lip quivering.
"How are you feeling?" asked Momo.
Shouto also added, "How bad are your injuries? Do you feel pain anywhere?"
Sakura sucked in a breath, stretching her arms in front of her taking in a gulp of air. "Perfectly fine,"
Mina breathed out a sigh of relief. "Oh in that case…WHAT THE HECK!?"
"Shh! Mr. Aizawa will come in here if he hears us," Rikido reminded them.
"We got you a melon," Mineta said, placing the melon on the nightstand.
Sakura looked over her classmates with a critical eye, insuring none of them were hurt. Aside from a few bandages and scraps, everyone was up and walking at least. Obviously Chiyo's work.
"You guys are alright?"
Tsuyu croaked, "We're fine but-
"We're not the ones who almost died!" Tenya exclaimed chopping his hands at her, as he would when he was upset, while Eijiro tried to calm him down. "How could you do that?!"
Sakura still kept her smile. So everyone had been watching the news that night and saw what happened.
"Thought you'd know how I do things by now." Sakura then looked at the five who had been there that night. Shouta had filled her in on how Katsuki managed to escape with their help. The five had tracked them and were there when they were facing All For One.
"I made a promise didn't I?" Izuku gasped at that.
Tenya's eyes squinted and his lip curled, in dismay. "You look ready to boil over,"
"It's frustrating….." Tenya breathed heavily, his fists shaking at his sides, "When I saw you like that…and realized that you…it was like reliving that time with my brother. Only….I could see it all right in front of me and I-I couldn't do anything! Why would you-
"Tenya," Sakura stopped what was about to become a rant, but the look in her eyes just kept Tenya from shattering his filter and allowing his emotions to pour. "All of you listen to me. As much as I appreciate your concern, you guys can't keep acting like this."
"What do you mean?" asked Kyoka.
Now, this wasn't something Sakura thought she would ever address with them, she had hoped this was something they would eventually figure out for themselves. Under the heavy tension in the room, Sakura knew that she had all eyes on her. And she was going to do what she had been avoiding. Pull the veil over their heads.
"If you guys want to become heroes, that means you'll be putting your life on the line for others. Whether it be your loved ones or strangers,"
"We get that," Denki said, his lips pursed in a pout.
"And there are going to be plenty of people who worry about your safety, family, friends, colleagues, but you're not going to have the luxury of concerning yourself with their feelings in the moment,"
"But aside from breaking the rules Sakura-
She cut off Momo, straightening herself in the hospital bed, "I don't want anymore griping about the rules, I know them already. I also don't want any more complaints about putting my life on the line, because eventually, that's going to be you. Does it ever occur to you that after you become heroes every time you leave your home you might not come back? Will you stop being heroes because of this?"
They were stiff and silent. Their encounter with the villains was still lingering in their minds. But when it happened, no one could think of anything aside from protecting and saving each other. While they thought of their lives being at risk, it was disregarded every time they thought someone else might be in danger.
"I don't disregard the rules just because I don't care about them and I don't act recklessly, jumping into fights either. I do it because I want to protect another person's life even at the cost of my own."
Toru stuttered, "H-How can you have that kind of resolve already?"
That was a long chapter that Sakura was not going to read out right now, it might sidetrack them from the lesson she needed to teach right now. The League of Villains was still out there and more likely would have a deep grudge for what Sakura had done to Tomura's master. Even if that wasn't the case, Sakura could see the path that these students were slowly tracking, while she knew the obstacles they could face, they were still oblivious and wanted to keep strong to the morals engrained in them by society.
She needed to give them a reality check the same way Kakashi had given her one.
They were understanding that Sakura claimed she had the mindset to put her life on the line, without an ounce of fear.
"You have to lose a lot to realize that your own life isn't worth as much as you think when there are others on the line. Do that and eventually, there won't be any fear of death,"
Izuku had been completely shell-shocked by Sakura. He was mortified when he thought she had died right in front of him and was stunned when she got back up and defeated the villain. He had been thinking constantly about her while she was in the hospital.
'She would've made better use of One for All,' That was what he thought when he saw her fighting that villain. When she got back up, and when she smiled at him at the training camp before she stepped into the nest of villains. She was braver than any of them and could make choices for herself without needing to consult a teacher or mentor or worry about the rules. And in all of those decisions she made, she managed to save people, including him and Katuski.
He was supposed to be the next Symbol of Peace, he had the power of All Might, yet he wasn't able to move as she had. He didn't have the ability to keep fighting no matter what. He hadn't been able to erase of fear of dying from his mind.
And sometimes when he closed his eyes, he could still see Sakura laying there on the ground, with a hole in her chest, and remembering the promise she made to Izuku when he was helpless.
Suddenly Izuku stepped forward, bowing his head, "I'm sorry!" He was trembling, "I didn't move fast enough back then-if I had thought of a plan sooner then-
"Don't apologize Izuku. You and everyone else saved Katsuki and made my actions worth it. I'm grateful you guys were there when you were because you saved him for me," She got up in front of him, lightly flicking his forehead. "Good job, you guys,"
Now, something had felt off for a while since they entered and now Sakura could see that while they were all together, there was a rift. Since it was only the five students who came to that area, knowing heroes were on the case meant there was likely a lot of disagreement about the morals and their actions colliding.
"You all should stop clutching onto this. We've seen it through, the class survived, Katsuki is back, I'm alive and you have to move forward from this. All of you,"
Denki then brought up another fact, "We still lost the Symbol of Peace,"
"There are hundreds of heroes out there, and aspiring ones in here," Through the media, Sakura was able to learn that society had become uneasy since All Might officially announced his retirement. But there were other heroes, and the real ones wouldn't have to ride on All Might's cape to get the job done and protect the people.
"He wasn't going to stay the Symbol of Peace forever, Most heroes are going to probably lose their lives either fighting a villain or saving someone. You guys can't be shocked at this because it is going to be your reality. "
She made sure not to look directly at Izuku when she said that.
Mineta shivered, and there were others who were visibly disturbed by the reality check she gave them. It was true that most kids thought of being a hero as a glamorous and ultimate goal in life. But even as they faced villains, it hadn't quite penetrated them, how dangerous their goals were. Not until they saw Sakura 'die' right in front of them.
Most of them had assumed they would be ready to face villains once they got their hero license and left school because they would have trained. But every time they had come to face the league, they found that there was still an arrow of fear that would penetrate them.
"That's not something we think about," admitted Toru.
"Yeah, I mean. I guess I've never really seen a hero scared, so I thought maybe by the time I become one, I'll be just like that, you know not scared," admitted Denki.
"Well the reality isn't that shallow," Sakura states strongly. "If you aren't going to train yourselves to get stronger physically and mentally, you're career as heroes is going to be very brief."
That was the reason those who graduated from the academy had to go through that test with their teachers to truly become gennin. They had to assess and determine if these children were ready to enter the world and had to pull the wool from around their eyes. Kakashi had given, her, Naruto, and Sasuke a firm lesson in that. Even then she hadn't been fully prepared for the life of a kunoichi. And she knew she wouldn't have survived without her teammates.
But now they weren't here.
"When do you think we'll feel that?" Mineta asked shivering.
"When you're no longer afraid of dying," Sakura stated bluntly.
"Who isn't afraid of dying!?" argued Hanta.
Sakura cocked her head, "Right…"
Momo seemed hesitant but still spoke her mind, "That doesn't mean we should disregard the rules. And I don't think you should either Sakura. Don't you have any regrets about that? When breaking the rules could cause so much damage? The school's been given a hard time about this and aren't you worried about how this reflects on you? Haven't you already seen what's being said about you?"
Sakura huffed with a smile, she twirled a piece of her hair and looked out of the window. "I had a teacher, who told me something that made it easier when facing these situations." They all listened now, ears practically perked.
"Those who break the rules are scum." She paused, closing her eyes like reliving a memory. "But those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum. So I have never once regretted abandoning the rules for the sake of saving someone,"
Sakura didn't know if her classmates would listen to her imparted philosophy, or if it carried any weight in this world. But it would always be her anchor.
No matter where she was.