ATOMIC STRUGGLE

8「implementing changes」5

"..This is truly troubling," Nezu shook his head before casting a glance over at Small Might and the person the pro had brought with him. "Is there no hope of rectifying this situation ourselves without having to give in to the demand?"

"Sorry," Izak replied boredly. "Souls aren't made up of atoms, so I can't do anything. I could try preserving the bodies, but who knows how long that would be effective if what the note says is true," Which it is, Izak thought to himself as he looked around the room. 

Only a few of the main faculty were there: Midnight, Mic, Snipe, and Small Might. It was quite a small group, all things considered. "There's no need for you to apologize," Nezu smiled sadly. "It's our fault for limiting you in the first place."

"I don't think that's all there is to it," Midnight piped up. "All Might put an end to most organized crime, so we're all rusty and never would have seen it coming."

"We've definitely gotten complacent during peaceful times without realizing it," Present Mic agreed. "I guess deep down, all of us thought we'd be riding the sweet life for good~"

"I will never forgive myself for such cowardly ignorance," Small Might had his thumbs pressed to his forehead with a dreadful expression on his face. "While our students were fighting desperately for their lives, I was just.. having a relaxing soak in the bath.."

"We shouldn't have had the sports festival right after the USJ attack," Snipe said as he looked at the principal. "We wanted to show we were still strong, but now we have several students' lives being held hostage. They may not have done anything to their physical bodies, but they've taken their souls and society's faith in heroes away from us."

"I agree, every news outlet is currently condemning UA high," Nezu brought up, still somehow looking calm and relaxed like it was any other meeting. 

"Hey, since we're on the topic of trust," Present Mic looked down seriously. "There's something I think has to be voiced now. At this point, we can't deny it anymore, can we?" His glasses glinted as he glanced around the room at his colleagues. "There's a traitor at this school." The other faculty gasped, and Izak cast a questioning look at Nezu, who only smiled back. "Only the teachers and the Pussycats knew where the training camp would be, don't you think that's a little suspicious?! I guess a kid could have used their phone to message a villain, but--"

"Stop this Mic!" Midnight snapped, causing him to jump up and snap back. 

"What's the problem?! We have to find who the leak is! I know it's not Morgan since he's a good kid and just wants to laze around--" Wow he has me pegged. "--but seriously."

"It could be you for all we know," Snipe pointed out. "Do you have any proof that you're a hundred percent innocent? Can we know that everyone in this room is an ally?"

"Ughh," Mic sat back down with a quiet groan. 

"If we start doubting each other, we'll just destroy ourselves from the inside. Accusing a traitor isn't something we should take lightly."

"At the very least," Nezu spoke up. "I trust everyone sitting at this table, though there's also no way for me to prove to all of you that I am innocent," He said. "For the moment, what we must do as a school is concentrate on the safety of our student body. This is a good time to implement something I've wanted to put in place for a while," The mammal smiled. "You see, I--"

"A phone call is here!" Small Might flinched as his ringtone went off, causing everyone in the vicinity to sweatdrop. 

"Excuse me everyone, I have to take this," He said, nodding to the principal and taking his leave to answer his phone. 

"We're in a meeting," Mic deadpanned, aghast. "At least set it to vibrate!"

"Anyway," The principal continued so that those that were left would stay on-task. "The new system I want to implement is having all UA students stay on campus in dorms! That way, we can guarantee their safety. And yes Morgan," Nezu sent a smile towards the maroonette. "Mihoko would also be joining us here on campus."

"Alright," Izak inclined his head in acknowledgement. As soon as he had heard the word dorm, he had tensed since that could've meant that he would have to give Mihoko back to the foster system, which was something he really didn't want to do. 

"Also to add to our security, I wanted," The principal looked hesitant as his gaze shifted over to each of his colleagues as if trying to gage their reactions to what he was about to add. "To allow Morgan to use his quirk to its full extent as long as he is on UA property."

"Are you sure about that, sir?" Midnight cast a look at Izak, who had just raised an eyebrow at the news. 

"I think that's a great idea," Mic was instantly on board. "Having someone as reliable as Morgan around 24/7 would definitely help in securing everyone's safety."

"I'm not sure," Snipe murmured. "But with the difference in the two attacks and Morgan's level of involvement, I can see that not restricting him anymore, at least on campus, could be a major help in making sure attacks aren't as devastating as this last one was."

"Right, I think that's settled then," Nezu smiled, looking around once more as his colleagues nodded their consent. "Morgan Izak will be allowed to use his quirk to its full extent while on UA grounds."

"If we're going to let him use his full power," Midnight suddenly spoke up, gaining everyone's attention. "Then shouldn't we let him use that name instead of the one he's using now?"

"Oh, that's right," Snipe recalled. "Aether was his second choice for a code name. And his first choice..." He trailed off. This time their gazes landed on Izak, who felt his lips twitch. 

"Atomic."