"Hosu's been attacked." he said.

I felt my stomach drop as those words hit my ears. I had spent so much time wrapped up between us, the tests, and the snafu with Okuta that I completely forgot about where we were in the timeline.

My eyes widened with horror knowing what was happening and what would happen tonight. The worst part was that I knew, and Aizawa, their own teacher and guardian, knew nothing.

I gulped. I didn't know what to say as he started to play the Livestream of news footage on the website.

"...We are keeping a safe distance from the creatures that have attacked the city. Reports are coming in that one has destroyed a train, causing several injuries to those on board. We have no confirmation on the death toll at this time..."

Aizawa sat there in shock as he watched a truck go up in flames as heroes tried to handle the situation. I, on the other hand, wasn't surprised at all by what I saw. I mean, how could I? I've seen it before.

"Was this the trolley problem you were referring to a few days ago?" he asked me, not looking at me.

'Shit.' I thought. 'There is no way I'm getting out of this.'

"Answer me." he said, sternly, making me flinch slightly.

"Yes." I said quietly.

He paused for a moment, but it felt like an eternity. I could tell he was stewing on the inside. I couldn't blame him.

"How bad is this about to get?" he asked.

"I don't think I should-"

"Dammit, Doe! Now is not the time for convenience. If this were anything else, I'd be patient, but there are lives at stake here, and not just civilians. I have students stationed in and nearby the city. I need to know exactly what's going on." he said, his voiced raised. Though he wasn't shouting, his patience was waning as his brows furrowed into a scowl.

I sighed.

"Remember what I told you before awhile ago?" I said, fiddling with my fingers, as I looked down at my hands, "I said that if it were bad, I wouldn't be as calm as I am now. While I'm not exactly calm about the situation with Okuta and his buddies finding out about me, I am when it comes to this. It'll be a rough night for those involved, but you won't have any casualties on the hero side tonight."

I still didn't look at him. I felt bad for leaving him in the dark about this, given that his students were involved, but it wasn't my place to keep him informed. At least I could tell him that no one was dying tonight.

I wasn't sure how he was going to handle the night's where death was going to occur...

"And why couldn't you have told me this before?" he asked, his voice low but still stern.

"This needs to happen without your interference. That means keeping you completely out of the loop." I said, looking up, "I'm not your Oracle, and I'm not about to screw this up for you or anyone else by divulging everything before it happens."

Though his presence was intimidating when he was mad, I needed to stand firm in this decision. I wasn't going to let this slide.

"And what makes you think I wouldn't have been able to handle this information without interfering?" he asked, his eyes narrowing as he stood up.

I stood up immediately after, not backing down. If he was going to be stubborn, so was I.

"Because I know damn well that if you knew it involved those kids, you'd do anything to protect them!" I argued, "You would willingly put your life on the line and fuck up the timeline if it meant no one got harmed or in trouble. And while I find that commendable and heartwarming, I am not about to let you take away those moments of growth away from them."

He looked into my eyes, albeit frustratingly so. I made my point, and I knew he couldn't argue with it.

Since he didn't respond, I took the opportunity to set him in his place even further.

"You told me that it's not for me to decide to rewrite a story that isn't mine. That means you, too, Shota. This story...or rather, this event, is not up for you to rewrite either. You weren't there when this happened in my world. You still can't be there now." I said, a little more gently than before.

"I have a hard time believing I wouldn't have been there." he said, his eyes narrowing as he folded his arms.

"Why would you have been?" I asked, getting frustrated at this point. He just wouldn't let this go, "You remember what happened the last time you fought against a Nomu. I think you knew that three would've been too much for you. You probably were alerted about Endeavor being at the scene, so you being there wouldn't have been necessary. You could've also been on patrol in your area, and realized that too many pros in one city would've left the other locations at a much higher risk."

'Come on, Shota. Just listen to me.' I thought.

He still didn't say anything. He still kept his eyes on me and didn't move. While the Livestream continued in the background, we stood there in silence, waiting for the other to break. He held his gaze for another moment or two before sighing and closing his eyes.

"You sure there'll be no casualties?" he asked, his tone more gentle this time.

"This attack is happening right on schedule. There shouldn't be any deviation as far as casualties go." I said, matching his tone and softening my demeanor.

He opened his eyes and looked at me, his gaze softer and less intense than before.

"Good." he muttered, before sitting back down and slouching on the couch, "I've had enough bad news for today."

I sat down next to him, a bit confused.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

He rubbed his tired eyes with his fingers.

"That call this morning was from Nezu." he said, his voice sounding exhausted, "He confronted me about what happened at the station last night, and gave me a warning."

I put my hand on his shoulder.

"That doesn't sound so bad." I tried to say reassuringly.

"That wasn't the bad news." he said, looking up at me. His eyes filled with regret, "They let Okuta walk last night."

My eyes widened in shock, and it felt like my heart had just stopped.

"What?" I asked faintly, praying to any deity that I had misheard.

He looked down to the floor and continued.

"I'll spare you the details, but long story short, my anger got the best of me last night at the station. Because of that, his DA argued that what Okuta confessed to was coerced, and therefore inadmissible in court. They also threatened to press charges against me for battery, and the department for failure to stop it, but they were able to strike a deal. All charges would be dropped if they let him go...well, after he recovered, anyway." he said, still looking down at the ground.

Even though the Livestream was still playing in the background, everything fell silent to my ears. My hand slowly fell away from his shoulder and flopped on the couch as I looked at the floor with him.

Seems like we both fucked up this situation, and now it was definitely biting us in the ass.

"So what do we do now?" I asked, trying to find some light in what felt like a black hole.

He put his hand on mine, causing me to look at him.

"As I told you, we'll be keeping an eye on him. He may be walking free now, but that doesn't mean we can't keep surveillance in the meantime. This is far from over." he said, "One way or another, we'll get the answers we're looking for. We just have to be patient."

I scoffed.

"Might wanna practice what you preach." I teased as I gave a half-hearted smile.

He laughed quietly.

"We can't all be perfect." he said, as he turned off the Livestream, seeing as there as no point to watching it anymore.