Chapter 40

The holding room in U.A.’s underground Fourth Wing was cold, lit only by a pair of fluorescent lights mounted in the ceiling. Heavy steel blast doors separated the room from the rest of the campus.

I sat on a metallic folding chair, my torn, blood-stained jacket folded over my knees. They at least allowed me to wash the blood off my hands and face.

Detective Naomasa sat opposite me with an open folder on the table, a fountain pen and a notepad in hand. At my side was Nezu, his paws folded over a glass of water instead of his usual teacup. Aizawa and Endeavor stood near the back wall waiting for Naomasa to start his interrogation.

Naomasa looked up, his tone measured as he started the conversation. "Arata, we are going to record your formal statement regarding the incident in Mirko's district. Before we start, I want to remind you that my Quirk, Human Lie Detector, is active. Do you understand what that means?"

‘ Yeah, you don't need to remind me; I'm perfectly aware of the implications. I just hope he doesn't ask me anything that will force me to reveal too much.’

"I understand," I said, staying calm despite what I was thinking.

"Good, here's your first question: were you ambushed by individuals affiliated with the League of Villains while doing your patrol?" Naomasa asked.

"Yes," I replied.

Hearing my answer, Naomasa paused for a second while waiting for his Quirk's to notify him. Truth. Once he confirmed my response, he took a note. "Did your attackers use specialized equipment against you?"

"Yes, they wore custom earpieces designed to block my paralysis scream," I said, keeping my response as short as possible to avoid saying too much. "Once that failed, I was forced to rely entirely on my Black Ghost for defense."

Truth. Naomasa nodded again, noting down my answer. "Did the Hero Killer, Stain, intervene during the ambush?"

"He did. He cut my cheek with a blade, then paralysed me."

Truth. Naomasa leaned forward as he gestured toward my shredded jacket. "Your clothes are soaked in blood that matches your DNA, despite you having no wounds. What happened after Stain paralyzed you?"

‘ There it is. I have to carefully choose what and how I say my next line. " After he immobilized me, he started lecturing me when I suffered a severe trauma to the head, and everything went black."

Truth. Naomasa nodded again, but the crease between his brows came back as he looked at my completely uninjured body. "Who delivered the blow that rendered you unresponsive?"

"I don't know who, but it should have been a member of the villain’s league," I answered truthfully.

Truth. Naomasa tapped his pen against the folder. "Your official records state that your Quirk can create a single invisible construct. Yet the destruction documented matches that of at least a dozen of your constructs. If you were unconscious, how did you manage to do all that?"

"I didn't do it deliberately; it seems that since I was under heavy physical and emotional distress, my quirk went out of control once I lost consciousness," I explained, using technical truth as a cover story. 

Naomasa held his breath for three seconds, waiting for his Quirk to process the statement. Truth. Once again, it came back positive.

Before Naomasa could write down the answer, someone slammed his hand on the table. Endeavor had pushed himself off the wall he was standing by, and he stepped up to the metal table, leaning over it until his frame completely blocked my view.

"Enough dancing around it, Naomasa," Endeavor growled, while glaring down at me. "I saw the state of that alley, the pulverized concrete, the crushed dumpsters, and the villain's remains. A kid losing consciousness with his quirk going haywire doesn't suddenly carve apart a specialized strike team like that. Tell me what actually happened and made you lose control?"

‘ Sigh… so it really has come to this.’

I looked at Endeavor. The heat radiating off his armor made the air above the table hotter, but I didn't pull back.

Detective Naomasa raised a hand and was about to step in to calm Endeavor, but I spoke before he could say anything.

"The reason this carnage happened is that I didn't just lose consciousness," I said, ‘ There’s no need to hide it. Once Endeavor asked that question, even if I avoid it now, I'm sure it'll come back sooner or later.’ 

"I died," lowering my gaze and looking at my hand as if to remember that moment.

The silence that hit the small room was heavy. Even Endeavor's heat seemed to have vanished.

Naomasa froze, his pen hovering just above his paper. His face went pale as his eyes locked onto mine.

"No..." Naomasa's voice trembled in disbelief. He waited, hoping his Quirk would refute my words.

Truth. Unfortunately for him and everyone present, it came back as nothing but the truth. "It's... My quirk didn't trigger. He isn't lying."

Aizawa straightened immediately, the sleepiness completely vanished from his face, replaced with complete focus; he started walking toward the table. 

"Explain," Aizawa said.

‘ There we go; let's hope that after this they'll be too stunned by the thrust to dig deeper.’

" Growing up, I've come to realize two things about my quirk: not only does it grow stronger the more I use it, but when my vital organs fail, or I suffer fatal injury, my cells don't decay like those of normal people," I said, clenching my fist under the table. A small action that didn't escape the notice of the people present.

"When I die, my body resets. Every wound or trauma is erased afterwards, but that's not the problem. On rare occasions, when my death is caused by a traumatic event, my quirk goes completely out of control. In those moments, it can automatically release multiple autonomous constructs. I'm not entirely sure of the exact mechanic behind this. All I know is that unlike my normal constructs, those only do one thing."

“And what is that, Arata-kun?” Nezu, who has been silent so far, finally asked.

“ Eliminate everything near me that they perceived as a threat to ensure I can come back safely.”

Aizawa’s eyes narrowed as his mind clicked back to our first week at U.A. during the Quirk Apprehension Test. He remembered using his quirk on me while my ghost was summoned during the softball throw.

"The softball test," Aizawa said softly, his jaw tightening as the puzzle piece started to fall into place. "When I used my Quirk on you back then, your construct didn't vanish; instead, it tried to kill you. Why is that?"

"That's because your quirk didn't work on the construct itself," I replied. "All it did was cut my connection with it. When that link was severed so suddenly, my ghost assumed I was either dying or unresponsive; it tried to kill me itself just to force a reset and reestablish our connection. In a way, you can say that all your quirk did was snap its leash."

Aizawa let out a heavy breath, realizing just how terrifying this situation was. In an emergency, his Erasure wouldn't be able to neutralize my quirk or stop a Flood Event. Even if he tried to erase my power during combat, it wouldn't protect anyone; instead, it would only unleash an unguided, lethal threat on the area.

Naomasa sat rigid, his eyes wide as his Quirk verified every word I spoke. "Truth... every single word is true..."

Endeavor slowly pushed himself back from the table. For the first time since I had met the Number Two Hero, the flames around his body flickered before extinguishing themself under the weight of his shock. "A Quirk that rewinds death? But not only that, but also create constructs to protect its owner? That's impossible."

"I don't know how it came to be, but It's what kept me alive when the League mercenary put a bullet through my head," I said, finally releasing my fist and letting go of all the tension in my body.

Nezu took a quiet sip from his glass of water before setting it down on the table; his eyes showed no shock, only a cold, calculating look. “Well, Arata-kun, I must thank you for revealing all this to us. I'm sure it must not have been easy for you.”

‘ That's right, it wasn't easy. The only reason I spoke so easily was that Mirko already saw me, and instead of letting them guess randomly and come up with some ridiculous story based on their own guess, it's much better to tell the truth or at least a part of it.’

Aizawa said, rubbing the bridge of his nose, as his exhaustion came back ten times stronger. "Do you realize what the Hero Public Safety Commission will do to him if this leaks?"

"Which is precisely why we can't let them know. After all, Arata-kun here is our dear student, and as such we must protect him." Nezu cut in, his tone absolute. "If the Commission learns Arata can reset after death, they will not see him as a student or a hero. They will see an asset to be contained, dissected, or weaponized."

Endeavor crossed his arms, his eyes fixed on me like I was a ticking time bomb. "And how do you propose we hide a kid who can leave carnage behind every time he stops breathing?"

"We do it just like you did; we take control of the narrative," Nezu said simply, folding his paws over his desk file. "And we ensure Arata learns total control of his quirk if he dies in public again."

Nezu leaned back in his chair, resting his paws on the edge of the table. "The story must remain simple: as far as the public, the news outlets, and the lower ranks of the police are concerned, Arata was targeted in a coordinated villain trap during his internship patrol. You and Mirko were able to send them off."

"Since Endeavor incinerated the remaining evidence on the pavement, there is nothing else to contradict our report.”

"If that can't hold, we state that the attackers used specialized drugs to overload his quirk, which triggered an involuntary, catastrophic surge of his construct. It accounts for the crushed alley and the destruction without mentioning a reset," Nezu finished, nodding at his own proposal. 

Endeavor, hearing Nezu's words, let out a snort; the flame on his suit came back again. "It’s a thin cover, but it holds together on paper. The Commission won't push hard if the police sign off on it under my agency's sector clearance."

"They won't," Naomasa confirmed, writing down the official summary line by line. "The official file will be classified under Level-Five Security protocols. Only the people in this room and Mirko will have access to the raw logs."

Endeavor stepped away from the table, his boots thudding against the floor. He stopped in front of me, his brow narrowed into a scowl. "You are out of trouble for now, but don't forget: a cover story doesn't fix the core problem, kid. You're heading back to Class 1-A, and eventually, you'll be back out on the streets in front of cameras."

"He's right," Aizawa said, leaning his back against the wall. "Broadcast choppers and public eyes cover every major villain event. If you take fatal damage on live television or during a deployment, you won't have an alley full of fire or us to hide behind."

"I don't intend to die in public," I said, keeping my hands flat against my knees. "The attack in the alley was a surprise ambush with customized equipment. In controlled training and standard patrols, I don't intend to let anyone get close enough to kill me."

"Intentions don't mean a damn thing when a high-tier Quirk hits you in the chest," Endeavor growled, his voice heavy. "If you die on live television, millions of people will see you come back. The government won't just lock you in a cell; they'll drag you down into a secret bunker and experiment on you until they figure out how your immortality works."

He wasn't wrong, or not entirely. It was clear that if my immortality became public knowledge, I wouldn't be a student or a hero anymore; I would become a research project on an operating table. It wouldn't be for the government but for All For One. I'm sure he would stop at nothing to obtain my power.’

"Which brings us to the change that will take place upon your return to campus, Arata-kun," Nezu said, taking another sip from his water glass. "Your internship report has already been filed; however, your training focus must adapt."

"From now on, your Quirk supervision comes under direct faculty oversight," Aizawa added. "We need to find out if you can suppress your quirk when your body takes extreme damage, or if it's completely beyond your willpower."

"Our best bet is for you to learn how to lock the floodgates before your brain shuts down," Aizawa said flatly. "You will practice until controlling your construct is like second nature. If you fail, you won't set foot off campus again."

Naomasa closed the folder on the table with a firm slap. "Good, since everyone agreed, this report is sealed. As of this moment."

Endeavor turned toward the doors, his flames flaring slightly around his body as he walked out. "Don't make me regret burning that evidence, Arata. The next time you stop breathing, make sure nobody is holding a camera."

‘ You don't have to worry; the next time this happens, I'll make sure it'll be on my own terms.’ Even though I was thinking this, I stayed silent.

Endeavor didn't wait for a response. The Number Two Hero stepped out into the dimly lit corridor, leaving behind a faint smell of ozone.

Aizawa, on the other hand, gestured toward the door with his chin. "Go back to the changing room and replace that ruined suit; you have to be ready before your family arrives at the briefing. Your parents should already be on their way."

"I understand," I said, standing up from the chair and picking up my jacket.

I walked out of the holding room knowing that part of my secrets were no longer mine alone.