บท 284: CHAPTER 278(Political Fallout)
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CHAPTER START---
"The death toll of the Gigantomachy incident centered on what was formerly Dagga city continues to grow as more people are either found in undesirable states or reported as missing since the event.
Many demands for justice against Horizon have been brought to the attention of both the government and the Hero Public Safety Commission, as much of Japan and its surrounding neighbors feel unsafe after yesterday's events.
As of this moment there are hundreds of protesters outside of UA High, Horizon Tower, and the Hero Public Safety Commission main office, all demanding justice for the loved ones that were lost during the battle.
No sign of further villain activity has been reported in regards to the League Of Villains, nor has Horizon appeared in public since he was abruptly escorted away from the battlefield by Endeavor.
The South Korean Coast Guard are still trying to study and make sense of the strange phenomenon caused during the battle which somehow avoided any Tsunami in the nearby ocean, but the Republic of South Korea is still calculating the cost of the devastation caused by the sudden floods brought on by the quakes.
Repairs on all major r roads affected surrounding Dagga city and her neighbors have been non-stop since the battle in a desperate bid to re-establish routes, but in the meantime Pro Heroes, military personnel, and first responders have been working non-stop to get everyone out of the ruined areas.
By the second we become more aware of the magnitude of this devastating battle, and we must wonder, where is Horizon now?"
In further news the United Nations Quirk Council is considering---"
Pantu mutes her computer and leans back in her chair, massaging her temples and catching her breath.
In her silent office she takes a moment to compose her thoughts, tapping the desk with her fingers as the pressure on her continues to build.
Pantu picks her phone up from the desk and begins walking to the large windows looking out at Tokyo. As she does she makes a call and raises the phone to her ear.
While the phone is ringing the stands at the one-way windows and looks at the street below.
Thousands of people were chanting and screaming, not that she could hear them from her office. But she could see the signs they were holding, some with words that were too far for her to read.
But the signs with Horizon's face crossed out didn't leave any mystery regarding their desires.
"Lady Pantu!" Dr. Garaki's excited voice comes through her phone.
"Doctor, the sample we recovered yesterday, any progress?"
"Well, its only been a few hours since I've had it so---"
"Any progress?" Pantu asks again.
"Uh, right, well I've ran the blood samples through many tests, they react to outside stimulus as regular blood normally would, but, well..."
"Just say it doctor," Pantu says.
"His blood is different, as if super-charged with absurd amounts of energy, each cell is its own living thing. The samples you sent me are effectively still alive on their own, that's how much energy they have."
"That's impossible, that leg was torn off over a day ago," Pantu says.
"Yes, but he's Mystery Class, and Horizon at that, his cells are far from normal."
"Is there anything you can tell me about Hand Of God from those samples?"
"Unfortunately no," he says. "None of these cells have even the smallest trace of a 'Quirk Factor' in the traditional sense, it's as if they belong to some energized Quirkless person."
"That doesn't make any sense."
"I believe it was some sort of a defense mechanism built into Hand Of God, its desire to be whole at all times."
"You speak as if it has a mind of its own."
"No, but Horizon's paranoia and other traits will influence it."
"Is there anything you'll be able to tell by studying it, regarding that project I've assigned you to complete."
"Hmm, with these samples that task is far less impossible, but it doesn't have anything substantial," he says. "Perhaps if I had more, bone marrow, or the entire leg maybe."
"Oh, and do you have a plan for when Horizon senses his missing leg in your lab and decides to confront you?"
"Uhhhh..."
"Precisely why we left the leg for him to recover after taking those blood samples," Pantu says. "Overstepping will only lead to angering him, Dr. Garaki, studying him requires us to be cautious."
"I see, well I must get back to work, if anything interesting is discovered I'll be sure to call you."
"Thank you doctor, that will be all," as Pantu is about to end the call, however, he speaks very quickly.
"One more thing, if you don't mind that is."
"Do you need more funding?"
"No, but, I pounced at the chance to study Horizon for you, because I was curious about Mystery Class Quirks, but things have gotten dangerous now," he signs nervously. "What happens to me if he, well, discovers this, and doesn't...approve."
"I hired you to study him because that's my job doctor, as president of the Hero Public Safety Commission, I don't just manage Pro Heroes, I keep the public safe from the Pro Heroes---"
"And we certainly need a way to do that after the Gigantomachy," Dr. Garaki says.
"Yes, but let me assure you, Horizon is not a reasonable person when people draw swords against him, and you've not only done that but invaded her personal autonomy with your research. There is nothing, and no one in the world who can stop what he will do to you if he discovers this."
"But...won't he come for you too?"
"Yes, but that's the risk of my job, which I've long accepted," Pantu says. "For you, use this as motivation, to figure out how to keep him in line if he turns against us," she ends the call before he can respond.
She continues to look out at the protestors for a few minutes before a voice speaks through her earpiece, "President Pantu, the protestors are becoming more rowdy, should we get the water hoses out?"
"No, they're only scared, they don't want to hurt anyone," Pantu says. "Contact the Pro Heroes among them and update them on the situation."
"As you wish ma'am, also, Endeavor just entered the building."
"Send him to my office directly, and keep him away from any windows," Pantu says.
A few minutes later Enji Todoroki enters the office, wearing casual clothes, a beige sweater and coat with simple slacks.
The left sleeve folded up to the stump where his shoulder is.
"Lady Pantu," Enji says as he walks over to her desk, seeing her typing on her computer.
"Endeavor, please have a seat, I need to speak to you," she says before leaning back in her chair, giving him her full attention. "Do you have any idea of what I want to ask?"
"No," he lied while taking his seat.
Pantu's face remains cold and stoic, "I've read your debrief of the Gigantomachy incident multiple times, but it didn't detail what happened after the battle ended."
"And what would you like to know?"
"Did you see his face?" Pantu asks, not wasting any time.
"No," Enji lies.
"Not many people know this, but I can detect lies, Endeavor."
His eyes widen slightly before he deflates in his seat, "what do you want me to do?"
"Tell me who he is, that's all."
Enji thinks about it for a moment, then realizes something that doesn't make sense, "why don't you, the president of the HPSC, know the identity of one of your heroes?"
"Legally, Horizon is his only name, it's on his birth certificate and medical forms," Pantu says. "But that identity was only created a year before he joined UA, when Nezu found him."
"Really?"
"Yes, it's not something I would have agreed to if I knew what he was, but at the time I was told the boy was a healer than could help All Might, nothing more, and admittedly in my eagerness to preserve our former #1 Pro Hero, and my trust in Nezu, I made a deal I shouldn't have."
"And now they won't tell you who he is?"
"Precisely."
Enji considers it for a moment, then shakes his head, "I'm sorry, but whatever business you have with them is none of my concern. Horizon asked me not to reveal his identity and I agreed to do just that."
"And if I order you directly to reveal it?" Pantu leans forward slightly.
"Well," Enji looks at his stump. "I don't have much time as the #1 Hero either way. So I'll simply retire a bit earlier."
"Are you that afraid of him?"
"I'd be foolish if I wasn't," he says.
They stare at each other for a moment before Panu relents, "fine, moving onto other matters, how are you feeling?"
Enji takes a relieved breath, "he gave me a bit of healing when I got him away from the battlefield, not enough to trigger regeneration, but I'm not tired anymore and can use my Quirk if needed."
"Did anyone see you enter here, has anyone seen your current condition since you left the battlefield?"
"No," Enji says. "National morale is low enough without the #1 Pro Hero being seen like this."
"Good, then you'll go to Musutafu immediately," Pantu says.
"Musutafu?"
"Go meet Nezu at UA, he's the only person who knows where Horizon is and you need healing. Go get healed then show your face so people feel slightly better, but don't let people get close enough to ask you anything until after the court case."
"What court case?" Enji asks.
Pantu reaches into her desk and takes out a stack of documents, "you will deliver this to Nezu and Horizon, if you risk losing it, incinerate it."
"What is it?"
"The details of 'The People Of Japan VS Horizon', he's being called before the supreme court to make sense of what happened."
"You want this hand delivered?"
"The details in here cannot be put on any electronic device until after the case," Pantu says. "If people knew the true extent of the damages done we could have riots on our hands, and I can't trust most of the people in this building with this information."
"Yet you trust me," Enji says.
"Not entirely, but you've seen his face and you're still here, so Horizon trusts you."
"Right, I'll deliver it, and get healed," he takes the folder and begins to get up before she stops him.
"One more thing," Pantu says. "Since Horizon is listed as a National Asset, he's treated like his own sovereign body within Japan, that at least means nobody will be stupid enough to demand his arrest, but how would you like to see it end."
"Well, many people want him arrested," Enji gestures to the window. "Did you see the crowd outside?"
"I saw."
"Mhm, but those people haven't been in the kind of fights I've survived," Enji says. "If once a decade someone like Gigantomachia arrives, and we must sacrifice a city to stop him, then so be it. Because the alternative is, the next time a monster like that shows up, we won't have a monster to fight for us, and there won't be anything left to protect after that."
"So you'd like for everyone to simply 'get over it' and forgive him?" Pantu asks.
"No, but I'd like them to realize, we can't afford not to have Horizon standing in front of us, facing the monsters..."
END CHAPTER---
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