The doorbell rang. Aiko frowned. "Who could that be?"
Eri's eyes lit up, the small wooden cat she was holding forgotten on the rug.
"Is it Yuta?" she asked, her voice high with hope.
"Maybe." Rin said. "I'll go check." She stood up and walked to the door. Through the peephole, she could see two figures standing in the rain, both in hero costumes. She opened the door. And standing on the threshold were two figures known to every household in Japan. Well ... Midnight was known to everyone while Eraserhead kept a low profile.
"Oh. Um. ... Good evening," Midnight said, her voice soft. "We are looking for Aiko Akutami."
"I... I'm here," Aiko called out from the living room as Rin stepped aside.
"Mrs. Akutami?" Midnight began.
"I'm Midnight, and this is Eraserhead. We're from U.A. High School. May we come in?"
"...Yes. Of course." The door closed behind them.
"Um .. Mama Aiko ... Who are these people?"
Eri asked while running her forehead.
"Eri ... These are teachers from your brother's school."
"You mean U.A?"
"Yes that's right." Midnight smiled and answered. "Hello there little one."
"Is Yuta with you?" Eri asked, already moving toward him. "Did he come home early?"
The way both heroes' faces fell, just for a fraction of a second, told Aiko more than she wanted to know.
Her hands gripped the armrests of her wheelchair as a bad feeling welled up within her.
"Eri, sweetheart," Aiko said, her voice remarkably steady. "Can you go to your room for a moment? Take your coloring books. The grown-ups need to talk."
"But I want to see Yuta—"
"Eri." The sternness in Aiko's tone made the girl freeze. "Your room. Now. Please."
Eri's lower lip trembled, sensing something wrong, but she gathered her books and crayons and shuffled down the hallway.
Once her door clicked shut, Aiko turned to face the heroes fully.
The silence stretched.
"Please," Aiko said, gesturing to the couch. "Sit down."
Midnight and Aizawa exchanged a glance, then moved to the living room. Rin hovered near the kitchen doorway, wringing her hands.
"Can I... make tea?" Rin offered weakly.
"That would be lovely, thank you," Midnight said gently.
But no one really wanted tea. It was just something to do to ease the atmosphere for what was going to come next.
Aiko wheeled herself to face them directly, her wheelchair positioned between the couch and the television, which was still playing the news coverage of the missing train on mute.
"Forgive me for being blunt," Aiko said. "But heroes don't show up at someone's door this kate at night to deliver good news."
Aizawa leaned forward, elbows on his knees.
"No, they don't."
Aiko's breath caught, but she forced herself to stay calm. "Is my son hurt? Is he in the hospital?"
"Mrs. Akutami—"
"Is he in trouble? Did something happen at his internship?" Her voice was rising now, the questions coming faster. Yuta's stunt in Hosu, while brilliant, could lead to a myriad of possible problems.
"Did he get into another fight? Was there an attack? Is he—"
"Your son isn't at his internship," Aizawa interrupted gently.
Aiko blinked. "What?"
"This afternoon, after the Hosu incident yesterday, I authorized Yuta's early departure from U.A. He was mentally exhausted, and I felt it was best for him to go home and rest."
"He was coming home?" Aiko's face lit up for just a moment. "Today? Why didn't he call? When will he—"
She stopped, realising the core of the issue. He said earlier today ... But it was already late at night and her son still wasn't home.
The way Midnight was looking at her only made the bad feeling in her gut worse.
"Where is my son?" she asked.
"Mrs. Akutami," Aizawa paused. "... Have you been watching the news today?"
"The news?" Aiko glanced at the television, still showing the aerial footage of the empty train tracks, the search operations, the headlines. "You mean the train that disappeared? The League of Villains attack?"
"Yes."
"What does that have to do with ..."
She stopped again.
The television. The train. The timing.
Her eyes went wide.
"No," she whispered. "No, he wasn't... he couldn't have been..."
"At approximately 1:03 PM this afternoon," Aizawa said, his voice carefully controlled, "Yuta boarded the Yamanote Line at Mustafu Station. The train departed at 1:05 PM. At 1:06 PM, the train disappeared."
Aiko stared at him.
"You're telling me," she said slowly, each word precise, "that my son was on that train. The one that's been missing for nine hours. The one everyone's searching for."
"Yes."
"You're certain."
"I tracked his movements as part of our security protocols following the incident with his prior internship. We had concerns about the Shie Hassaikai targeting him again." Aizawa's voice was steady, but there was something raw beneath it. "His phone's GPS signal shows he boarded the train. The signal terminated at exactly 1:06:14 PM, along with every other device on that train. That's when the train disappearance occurred."
Aiko's hands went to her mouth.
Rin, standing in the kitchen doorway with forgotten tea cups, let out a choked sob.
"No," Aiko said. "No, that's not... there has to be a mistake. Maybe he got off before it left. Maybe his phone just died. Maybe ..."
"We verified with the station's security footage," Midnight said gently. "We saw him board. The list of victims haven't been revealed yet but we have timestamped records. There's no mistake."
"But they haven't found anything," Aiko said desperately, gesturing at the television. "The news says no wreckage, and nothing's been found yet. So maybe he wasn't on it. Maybe ..."
"Mrs. Akutami." Aizawa's voice cut through her spiraling thoughts. "I understand this is difficult to hear. Yes, it is true that we have no conclusive proof. However, we at U.A felt it would be best to inform you about the possible ... Danger he is in."
The room fell silent except for the sound of rain against the windows.
"What... what do you think happened? To the train. To the people on it. To my son."
Midnight and Aizawa exchanged another look.
"The truth," Aiko quickly added. "I want the truth. Don't you dare sugarcoat this."
Aizawa nodded slowly. "The villain responsible is named Kurogiri. He has a warp-gate quirk—the ability to create portals and transport objects or people across large distances. Based on the scale of this attack and his known capabilities, we believe the train was displaced somewhere between 500 and 1,000 kilometers from Mustafu."
"Displaced where?"
"We don't know the exact location. But based on the complete absence of any signals, any wreckage washing ashore, any witnesses..." He paused. "The most likely scenario is that the train was transported over the ocean. Deep water. Far from any land."
Aiko's face went ashen. "The Ocean?"
"Most likely, yes."
"And if they were dropped from..." She couldn't finish the sentence.
"The impact would depend on the altitude," Midnight said quietly. "If the train was deposited at sea level, there's a chance some passengers survived the initial displacement. If it was dropped from height..."
"The impact with water at terminal velocity would be equivalent to hitting concrete," Aizawa finished. There was no point in lying. "Most would have died on impact. Those who survived would be in cold ocean water with no food, no shelter, likely with severe injuries."
Rin was openly crying now, one hand over her mouth.
Aiko just stared at them, her mind trying to process information it couldn't accept.
"How long?" she whispered. "How long could someone survive in those conditions?"
"It depends on many factors," Midnight said. "Water temperature, physical condition, injuries sustained. But in the open ocean, with no rescue in sight..."
"Give me a number."
"Twenty-four to Forty-eight hours," Aizawa said. "Maybe longer for someone young, fit, with survival training. Your son has enhanced physical capabilities from his quirk. That improves his odds."
"But you don't think he made it."
"We don't know," Aizawa said. "And that's the truth. We have no bodies. No wreckage. No confirmation of anything. The search is ongoing. Coast Guard, JSDF, over 200 professional heroes, everyone is looking. The storm has complicated things, but operations will resume at dawn."
"But you came here tonight," Aiko said, her voice hollow. "You came to tell me before the news releases the passenger manifest. You came because you think... you think there's no point waiting."
"We came because you have a right to know."
Aizawa lowered his head and got on his knees.
"I'm his teacher and his internship mentor. I authorized his departure due to my miscalculations. As my responsibility, what has happened now ... Is my greatest shame. And I am truly sorry."
He placed his head on the ground in a Dogeza.
The silence that followed was deafening.
"We're sorry," Midnight said softly. "I know those words mean nothing right now, but on behalf of U.A, we are so, very sorry."
Tears began to stream down Aiko's face. Silent at first, then accompanied by small, hiccupping breaths.
"Sorry? What good does that do now? He was supposed to be safe," Aiko whispered. "U.A. was meant to be the safest place for him .."
"I know," Aizawa interrupted, and for the first time his voice cracked slightly. "This is my fault. I'm the one who told him to go home. Him trusting me led to this."
He met her eyes.
"If you want to blame someone, blame me. I failed to protect him. I failed as his teacher. And regardless of the outcome, I will carry that for the rest of my life."
Aiko stared at him. At this exhausted, rain-soaked hero who looked like he hadn't slept in days, who was taking personal responsibility for an act of terrorism he couldn't have prevented.
"Do you..." she started, then had to stop and compose herself. "Do you have any confirmation? Any proof?"
"No," Midnight said. "We haven't found anything new on the train's disappearance."
"Then there's still a chance."
"Mrs. Akutami .."
"Please ..." She cut them off. "I appreciate you informing me. Now just ... Just please leave. I need to process this."
Without waiting for a response, she pushed her wheelchair away.
Aiko wheeled herself down the hallway, away from the living room, away from the pitying looks and the apologies that meant nothing.
She found the small alcove near the bathroom, barely large enough for her wheelchair, and pulled into it, hidden from view.
And there, finally alone, she allowed herself to break.
Her hands covered her face. Silent sobs wracked her body, shoulders shaking with each suppressed breath.
However, she forced her sounds as low as possible. Eri's room was right around the corner. She couldn't afford having the little girl see her in this state.
'Not again. Please, not again.'
The thought repeated like a mantra.
'I can't lose him. Not like this. Not after everything.'
She'd survived Stain. Survived paralysis. Survived single motherhood and every obstacle the world had thrown at her.
But losing Yuta?
That would destroy her.
'He promised,' she thought desperately, tears streaming between her fingers. 'He promised he'd be careful. He promised he'd come home.'
The memory of their last conversation played in her mind. Yuta calling after the Hosu incident, exhausted but alive, telling her he was fine, that he'd handled it, that she didn't need to worry.
She'd believed him.
She'd let herself believe that her son was strong enough, smart enough, lucky enough to survive anything this world threw at him.
And now?
'No. No, they said there's no confirmation. That means he's still fine. He's definitely coming back. I know he is.'
She clung to that hope like a lifeline.
'Please,' she prayed to gods she wasn't sure she believed in anymore. 'Please let him be alive. I'll do anything. Just let him come home.'
The house was quiet except for the rain drumming against the windows.
Then, a sound fell into her ears.
It was faint. And ... Pained.
"Nn..."
Aiko's head snapped up, tears still streaming down her face.
"Eri?"
__
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