It wasn’t over.

Although the damage was overwhelmingly done to infrastructure like roads, powerlines and storefronts, there were several collapsed apartments. Fires had broken out. Cracks caused by the numerous earthquakes made it hard for emergency services to reach the devastated areas.

Junior’s helicopter landed next to the park. “Hop in,” he sent. “We’ll be staying at a residence in Japan. The organization is working at a cover up for us but the Kaiju is impossible to miss, so we have to get out before cameras show up.”

Aron walked through the small storm the rotor blades created and began to board, but Baekho didn’t move.

“But we… we have to help. There are people buried under the debris for sure.”

Through the aircraft's window he saw Junior shake his head. “If we become public knowledge we’ll have to operate within the bureaucracy of transnational relations. It’s the main thing that kept me from revealing myself throughout the years. And now more than ever we need to be independent. Can you imagine how long it would take us to respond to a threat like that,” –he gestured at the motionless head of the buried monster– “if we had to wait for governmental approval. And that’s not even considering a deliberate attack by the Shadow.”

The two missing boys arrived at the scene by car. Ren talked to Minhyun over the aircrafts’ noise as they walked closer. Strange, Baekho though, how speaking was more private than thinking around here.

“Ren,” he sent, startling the boy, “You could produce so many helpers. Won’t you do a thing?”

After a few seconds the boy answered over the link, staying out of earshot. “Junior’s right. We can’t go public in the middle of our own crisis. We’re rearranging the entire organization right now. With everything hanging in the balance we can’t afford-“

“Can’t afford?! We’re letting people die now, because it’s inconvenient?”

He got no answer. Everyone acted rather crestfallen but he got neither support nor objections. There was a cold terror rising in him. The very boys who had taught him to care about more than his immediate surroundings were refusing to do anything to help when those how needed help were right there.

The smoke rising above the district was going to reach them soon. They’d have to leave at least the immediate area in a minute or it would become too dangerous for the helicopter to lift off.

“Fine,” he yelled out loud and sent as angrily as possible at the same time. “You hide somewhere cozy. I’ll help. I can fly rescuers in or victims out. Whatever they need. You’re not going to stop me, are you?”

Minhyun took a few steps towards him. “At least let me fix that first.”

Baekho looked down at his horrifically swollen fingers. Oh right, he had broken those. The pain had kind of blended in with all the other things he felt.

He reached out and accepted Minhyun’s offer. Blinding light emanated from the tall boy’s hands, enveloping the white tiger’s wounded spots, healing his bones in the fingers and the bruises he had incurred everywhere else.

“Even you?” Baekho asked, speaking aloud this time to keep the others from hearing. “I thought you’d help, more than anyone.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Oh, really? Because you can do pretty much anything short of raising the dead and there are a lot of wounds to fix around here. You’ll help me but not them. I admit, I’ve been selfish for most of my life. I thought I had to. But when I met you – all of the others, but mostly you – I began to understand that I shouldn’t only care about those closest to me. I thought…”

Minhyun looked him firmly in the eyes. “I’m afraid you’re still very much like that.”

Baekho would rather have taken a fist to the face than a comment like that. He trusted Minhyun unconditionally. He had thought of the lanky boy as the most morally upstanding person he’d ever met. But most of all, he trusted his judgement above all others.

“W-what do you m- …I’m-“ Taking a step back, Baekho stared at the healer.

There was a lot of sadness in Minhyun’s expression, but his voice was steady. “You only want to help people around you. This disaster is fresh and immediate and quite simply, close to you. I don’t want to come up with some analogy about starving kids in Africa, but basically the only reason you’re so adamant we shed all secrecy – consequences be damned – is that you already feel involved here.”

Could that be right?

“Well,” Minhyun continued, getting louder, “guess what, you’re not involved. The Shadow is our business and we took care of his Kaiju project and that’s all we should do. The thing you are involved with is us. There is so much more we have yet to do, so many battles to fight. And we need to plan strategically. There are more lives down the line we will save. Depending on what the Shadow can throw at us, perhaps millions of lives.”

Minhyun poked Baekho in the chest. “But those people are not here right now, so you don’t consider them. You’re still selfish! Because you want to waste resources on feeling good about yourself. Because you want instant Boy Scout points. Because you can’t even conceptualize what you’d be giving up.”

“I- You- …but,“ Baekho wanted it to stop, wanted the accusations to stop, more even than he wanted to defend himself. They were all against him. And he had no idea what to say. He trusted them and their judgement cut deep. So he had to be wrong.

With no further argument Baekho boarded the helicopter.

***

The flight was spent in silence but he knew for sure that the others were linking and discussing what had happened, perhaps building further strategies.

He spent his time thinking by himself. About his priorities, his loyalties, his gut feelings. About what he valued and who he wanted to keep in his life. There was no way he was giving up on Nuest. He had been there when Aron had threatened the directors into submission and it had felt so good to know that they were doing good deeds going forward. He didn’t want to stop feeling that way. He didn’t want to disappoint and more than anything he didn’t want to be an outsider to the group.

Halfway to Japan he couldn’t hold it in any longer. Baekho cried. And it was Minhyun – of all people – who held him in his arms, despite how uncomfortable that must been for the tall boy in the crowded aircraft.

A/N: Please tell me I did well on this, because I had a lot of trouble with the fight scenes during this arc in particular. Sadface. Be honest, though. The more detailed your critique the more you’re helping me.

Can’t have an East Asian superhero fic without a Kaiju, though. Also I’ve never been in a helicopter that was actually in the air. I just know there’s a lot less space than you’d think from looking at the outside.

Next up is a healing time chapter. God(zilla) knows we need it.