Chapter 15: The Weight of Responsibility
The small desk in Sakazuki's bedroom was cluttered with two very different piles of paper. On the left, the meticulously kept ledger of the bakery's weekly ingredients and revenue. On the right, a growing stack of glossy medical brochures and preliminary hospital bills.
The single desk lamp cast a dim, yellow glow over the numbers. Sakazuki sat in the quiet darkness, a pen resting loosely in his calloused hand. He cross-referenced the bakery's modest profits with the astronomical figures required for the advanced overseas treatments. The gap between the two was a massive, daunting canyon. The numbers were still too far away, and time was a luxury his mother did not possess.
A sudden, sharp buzz vibrated against the wood of his desk.
Sakazuki picked up his cheap, slightly battered smartphone. The screen illuminated his stoic face. It was a notification from the newly established 'Class 1-A' group chat—a digital gathering space he had been forcibly added to by Mina Ashido earlier that week.
He opened the application.
[Tenya Iida]:@everyone Mr. Aizawa has instructed us to ensure we sleep early tonight! We have a highly important Rescue Training exercise tomorrow, and we must be in peak physical condition!
Sakazuki stared at the screen. He appreciated Iida's dedication to protocol, but the mention of their homeroom teacher sparked a rare, dry sense of irony in his mind. With slow, deliberate keystrokes, Sakazuki typed out a reply.
[Sakazuki Akainu]:He should prioritize his own advice and sleep first. The zombie bags under his eyes are getting worse every single day.
For about ten seconds, the chat was dead silent. Then, it exploded.
[Denki Kaminari]:YOOOO LMAO 😂
[Denki Kaminari]:What's up with the serious guy?! You can actually crack jokes too?!
[Mina Ashido]:I'm screaming!! 💀
[Minoru Mineta]:I bet he typed that with his usual scary frowny face.[Minoru Mineta]:[Sticker: A crudely drawn cartoon of Sakazuki scowling with a volcano erupting out of his head]
Sakazuki watched the cascade of laughing emojis flood the screen, his expression completely unchanged. He was about to turn the phone off when a new, unexpected name popped up at the bottom of the chat.
[Shota Aizawa]:Sakazuki. I am in this group chat too, you know.
Sakazuki's thumb froze hovering over the power button. A rare, genuine jolt of shock ran through his system. His dark eyes widened fractionally. He stared at the teacher's message, the lively chatter of the students instantly dying down in the digital thread.
I hope he is not angry... Sakazuki thought, a bead of invisible sweat forming on the back of his neck.
Before he could figure out a tactful, professional response to his teacher, a harsh, ragged sound broke the silence of the apartment.
From the adjacent bedroom, a fit of deep, wet coughing echoed through the thin walls.
Sakazuki instantly dropped the phone face-down on the desk. The medical bills and the group chat vanished entirely from his mind. He stood up, moving swiftly but silently to the kitchen. He filled a glass with lukewarm water and retrieved a small foil packet of medication from the cabinet.
He pushed the door to his mother's room open gently. The coughing had subsided into heavy, labored breathing. Sakazuki walked to her bedside, his imposing, rigid posture softening instantly. He helped her sit up, his large, scarred hands incredibly gentle as he guided the glass of water to her lips and made sure she swallowed the pills.
"I am sorry to wake you," she whispered, her voice raspy.
"I was not asleep," Sakazuki replied, his deep voice a soothing, quiet rumble. He adjusted her blankets, making sure she was warm. "Rest now."
He waited in the dark until her breathing leveled out into the steady rhythm of sleep. Only then did he return to his room. He didn't sit back at the desk. Instead, he looked at his closet door, where his immaculate white suit and dark brown cloak hung silently in the shadows.
Tomorrow was rescue training. To many, it lacked the glory of combat. But to Sakazuki, it was a critical tactical operation. Rescue was the public face of heroism. It was the metric by which society judged a hero's reliability, which directly translated to public approval, higher rankings, and, ultimately, the lucrative agency contracts he desperately needed. His drive, fueled by the cough he had just heard, hardened into an unbreakable diamond.
The next morning greeted the city with a gentle, persistent spring rain.
Long before the sun had fully risen, Sakazuki was already awake. Holding a simple, unbranded black umbrella, he walked through the slick, wet streets of the local market. The neon signs reflected in the puddles as he moved from vendor to vendor, inspecting the quality of fresh strawberries, negotiating the price of bulk flour, and loading heavy wooden crates into a small handcart. It was a grueling, unglamorous routine, completely detached from the flashy world of superhero academies, but it was the quiet, human reality of a boy carrying the weight of his family's survival on his shoulders.
By the time he arrived at U.A. High School, the rain had stopped, giving way to a humid, overcast afternoon.
During the lunch period, the massive cafeteria was buzzing with its usual chaotic energy. Sakazuki sat at his preferred table near the windows, methodically consuming his high-protein meal in total silence.
"Excuse me, Sakazuki."
Sakazuki looked up. Tenya Iida stood beside the table, holding his own lunch tray. The Class Representative's posture was rigid, but his eyes held a distinct, respectful clarity.
"May I join you?" Iida asked politely.
Sakazuki gave a curt nod. Iida sat down across from him. This was not the casual approach of a close friend, but rather the measured interaction of two colleagues who recognized a shared sense of discipline.
"I wanted to commend you on your behavior yesterday during the Level 3 security breach," Iida said, adjusting his glasses. "Amidst the frantic marathon of panicking students, I observed you sitting calmly, continuing your meal without a shred of hesitation. Your sheer stability in the center of the chaos helped prevent the panic from spreading to the immediate tables around you."
Sakazuki took a sip of his water. "It is not a big deal," he replied, his tone flat and pragmatic. "Panic is an unproductive emotion. If a threat had actually breached the walls, running blindly would only ensure casualties. The impressive thing was your control over the students' emotions. You suit the position of leadership."
Iida smiled, a look of genuine pride crossing his face. "Thank you. Though, I must admit, I was under the impression you supported Yaoyorozu for the role."
Sakazuki paused. He glanced across the sprawling cafeteria. A few tables away, Momo Yaoyorozu was eating quietly, engaged in a polite conversation with Mina Ashido and Kyoka Jiro.
"She is highly intelligent and possesses sharp, objective observation skills," Sakazuki stated, turning his attention back to Iida. "I did grant her my vote. However... she chose you for a reason. And because I respect her judgment, I trust you in that position."
Iida's eyes widened slightly at the layered, indirect compliment. He straightened his back even further, a determined smile forming on his face. "I will not let either of you down!"
Later that afternoon, Class 1-A gathered in their hero costumes, ready to board the bus designated for the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, or USJ.
Sakazuki wore his immaculate white double-breasted suit, the dark red shirt buttoned neatly beneath it. He adjusted his white cap and boarded the vehicle with heavy, rhythmic steps. The seating arrangement on the bus was an open, communal layout, with two long benches facing each other.
Sakazuki bypassed the excited clusters of students and took a seat at the very back corner. He crossed his arms over his broad chest, leaned his head back against the window, and closed his eyes. He intended to conserve his energy, completely tuning out the loud, enthusiastic chatter echoing through the metal confines of the bus.
A few seats down, Tsuyu Asui was engaged in a blunt conversation with Izuku Midoriya regarding the similarities between his quirk and All Might's. After thoroughly flustering the green-haired boy, the frog-like girl blinked her large, dark eyes and turned her attention toward the back corner.
"Say, Akainu," Tsuyu croaked, her voice cutting through the ambient noise with absolute directness.
Sitting nearby, Denki Kaminari and Minoru Mineta instantly froze. The two boys had actively mapped out a three-meter safe zone around Sakazuki, terrified of accidentally provoking the human volcano. They stared at Tsuyu as if she had just casually poked a sleeping bear with a stick.
Tsuyu placed a finger on her chin. "Your quirk is terrifying and incredibly hot, but your personality is totally cold and calm all the time. It is a very weird contradiction."
The bus went completely silent. Kaminari swallowed hard, slowly inching away from the blast radius.
In the corner, Sakazuki slowly opened his dark eyes. The brim of his white cap cast a deep shadow over his sharp, unreadable features. He looked at the frog girl for a moment.
"Would you prefer," Sakazuki replied, his voice a low, deadpan rumble that carried perfectly through the quiet bus, "that I scream constantly and throw magma at everything in sight, like a certain someone?"
For a split second, nobody breathed.
Then, two rows ahead, a pair of heavy combat boots slammed against the floorboard. Katsuki Bakugo whipped his head around, his crimson eyes practically bulging out of his skull, his teeth bared in a feral snarl.
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY, BASTARD?!" Bakugo roared, his palms instantly sparking with violent, crackling explosions. "YOU WANNA FIGHT?!"
The sheer, unapologetic dryness of Sakazuki's delivery, combined with Bakugo's instantaneous, explosive reaction, shattered the tension entirely. Eijiro Kirishima burst into loud, barking laughter, clutching his stomach. Sero snickered behind his hands, and even Mina couldn't hold back a loud giggle.
The sound of their amusement only fueled the fire.
"STOP LAUGHING, YOU IDIOTS!" Bakugo screamed, leaning over the aisle and aiming his sparking hands at anyone making a sound. "I'LL KILL YOU ALL! HEY! STOP IGNORING ME, SOLDIER BOY!"
Sakazuki simply closed his eyes again, ignoring the explosive blonde completely, letting the chaotic, entirely ordinary noise of his high school classmates wash over him as the bus rolled steadily toward its destination.