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There was movement on the Vat, same at there always was, but it was different now. Everything was different now - the Hail Mary had taken off, gone out into the stars to save them all. It had been less than a day since departure, really. Probably contributed to how unreal it all felt.
Shouta took a sip of his coffee and looked up to the sky. Did he feel bad about forcing Midoriya onto the Hail Mary? Perhaps. But the only consequence of that that he would ever need to face was the absence of Midoriya standing beside him.
...He would miss him. He liked to think that maybe... Ah, that was silly. He didn't have time for friendship, anyway. Besides, he was certain that now, the governments of the World would soon descend upon him, arrest him and take him away. It was only a matter of time.
In the future, there would be history books written about this day. About the brave sacrifice of the three astronauts who had gone. Brave, so brave... even Midoriya, those books would say. After all, only three people truly knew that he hadn't gone of his own accord... and Midoriya himself wasn't here to say anything.
Shouta wouldn't say a word. It was unlikely that Private Tsutsumi would say anything either. She was military, and she was Russian. She knew the importance of a secret.
The History Major in him rebelled at the idea of keeping this a secret forever, allowing the history books to be wrong. But the realist in him knew that it was the only choice, because until the ship was far enough away, there was the risk people would try to bring it back. And it would only upset people needlessly, about something they could not change.
And... he'd promised. He'd looked into Midoriya's teary eyes, as Private Tsutsumi held him down, and promised that the world would remember him as a hero.
It was the least that he could do.
But still... maybe one day, Shouta would admit the truth. After the beetles returned, and the world was saved. Then, Midoriya would be a hero in the eyes of the people, regardless of if he chose to go or not. It would not matter one bit, not anymore.
He walked through the Vat, coffee in hand, watching as the people he had been surrounded by for years now began to pack up their things, all planning to return home soon enough. How strange... he almost thought that he would miss them.
Even the less savory members of the crew.
What did that say about him? What did it say about them? What did it say about the power of a collective cause? He wondered who would remain friendly here... And who would soon find themselves on the opposite side of enemy lines.
Shouta did not have much hope for the future. He knew too much about history, about human nature, about mob mentalities. He'd taken what hope he did have, packaged it up, and shot it into space. A literal Hail Mary...
He reached the top deck and found well-armed men and women waiting there for him. Ah, he'd known that this would happen.
"Aizawa Shouta," one of them said, stepping forward, "You're under arrest."
And Shouta couldn't help himself.
He smiled.