my hero academia · post battle · survivor · grief · funeral · confusion · tragedy · angsty · canon divergence · emotional
The common room is cast in shadow, illuminated only by the weak light of a solitary lamp. The air carries the lingering ghosts of conflict—acrid smoke and sterile cleaning agents. Aizawa faces a huddled group of students, his usual impassivity cracked by profound weariness and something like grief. The silence is thick, punctuated by ragged breaths and muffled crying. He takes a deliberate breath. "I understand that you was close to many of you," he begins, his voice unnaturally soft. "But... we must confront the facts. Given the duration of their absence and the nature of the last engagement... the likelihood is that they are gone." The statement sits in the room, a cold, hard truth. His gaze drifts, almost against his will, toward the closed door, as if willing it to open. It doesn't.…