Chapter 50: Battle of Hosu (Aftermath)
The hospital was crowded, but it was organized and efficient. As Ochako walked through the lobby with Gunhead, she watched the staff working. The nurses moved through the lobby rooms helping where they could, while she saw doctors moving from patient to patient assessing the severity of wounds.
As heroes, they were allowed to pass through the lobby and deeper into the hospital. Once inside, it didn't take long for them to find a nurse's station and ask where Izuku was.
"I'm going to stay here and help," Gunhead told his intern, "I've only got basic first aid skills, but I can at least reassure people that the worst is over and that they are safe now."
"That sounds good," Ochako said quietly, as she made a mental note of the lesson Gunhead was teaching her. Even though she was distracted by Deku's condition, she wanted to show him that she deserved to be a hero too.
After she watched Gunhead depart, Ochako turned and walked further into the hospital. She knew she had reached the right wing when she saw a police presence, as they interviewed heroes and tried to work out exactly what happened over the last several hours. She slipped through and found the room in question, slowly opening the door to peek inside.
Sitting there on a bed, shirtless, was Izuku. Ochako felt a slight blush creeping up her neck as she saw how well built he was, even through the bandages.
"Uraraka?" Izuku called out curiously, as he instantly recognized her.
"D-Deku!" Ochako said, as she quickly pushed her way inside, "Song told me that you and Iida were in the hospital, so I asked Gunhead if we could check on you before we returned to the agency!"
"Even heroes from that far away came to Hosu?" Izuku asked, a confused look on his face.
"Yeah," Ochako slowly approached the bed, "the entire Hero Network was lit up. It was crazy!"
"I didn't realize the Nomu were that bad," Izuku admitted, "considering, well…"
"Stain. Song told me."
"Yeah," Izuku went silent, "Iida and I got the worst of it. He's supposed to share a room with me, but they already have him in surgery."
"Oh no!" Ochako gasped, "Will he be ok?"
"I hope so, but we don't know the full extent of his injuries. Stain drove a knife into his arm, and it was in there for a while."
Ochako paled as Izuku described it, "I hope it's nothing permanent."
"Me too."
"What happened to you?" Ochako asked as she gestured toward his shoulder.
"I may have taken a sword blade there."
"Deku!" Ochako gasped, she leaned over to try and hug Izuku, only to feel him wince underneath her as the bandages pulled, causing her to pull back as if she touched something hot. "S-sorry."
"No, it's ok!" Izuku assured her, "I just need to take things slow right now."
Nodding, Ochako leaned in again, and with Izuku's help they found a comfortable position where his head rested against her chest. They sat there in silence for a few moments, Ochako simply glad that Izuku was safe, and Izuku grateful for her presence.
Once they pulled apart, Izuku leaned back in his bed while Ochako looked awkwardly around the room.
"Is there anything I can get you?"
"My phone, actually," Izuku said sheepishly, "It should be over with the parts of my hero costume. I may have forgotten to ask for it before they rushed Iida out of here?"
With a laugh, Ochako went over to a pile of clothes and gear that was Izuku's costume and pulled out his phone. She held it up triumphantly before she returned it to her friend. As he unlocked it with his free hand, Ochako grabbed a chair and pulled it up next to his bed.
"So how many messages do you have from your sister?" Ochako asked.
Izuku sheepishly turned his phone towards Ochako. She giggled as she saw a literal wall of text messages and missed calls from Himiko, mixed in with a few messages from Inko and various messages from their classmates asking about the ping.
"You're lucky I don't punch you myself, you know," Ochako said as she adjusted herself, leaning her head on his shoulder so she could see the phone.
"Y-yeah, I probably deserve it," Izuku admitted, "I just saw Stain approaching Native and couldn't wait any longer."
"That's so like you," Ochako said, "So how do you want to die first? Your mom or your sister?"
"I-I think I'd prefer Himi first," Izuku admitted before he clicked on one of the missed calls and began dialing. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, the call went to voicemail. Izuku left a message to Himiko explaining he was in the hospital and was stuck in bed with his phone, so he was free whenever she had a chance before he hung up.
"I wonder what she's doing?"
"Hopefully not tearing Ryukyu's agency apart," Ochako giggled, "Considering after the USJ she got a quirk awakening, imagine what's going to happen after she hears about this?"
"Oh," Izuku said before he shifted awkwardly, "I didn't think about that."
Ochako pulled away just enough to give Izuku an incredulous stare. "I can't believe you. No wonder your family worries about you so much," She lowered her head again and put her hand on his arm, "Not to mention how much I worry about you."
"I-it comes with being a hero though," Izuku said, putting his phone down before shifting his hand to take hers. "We are joining a dangerous profession, you know."
"I'm learning that," Ochako admitted, "Sure, there was the USJ, but tonight was different when I was out there seeing the aftermath."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Yes, just… not now."
Izuku seemed to understand, giving Ochako's hand a gentle squeeze before he let it go and retrieved his phone. With some hesitation, he began dialing Inko's number.
"Izu! Oh, thank goodness you're safe!" Inko cried through the line, and from the watery sound of her voice, it was obvious she had been crying.
"Hey, mom! I guess you saw the news?"
"Yes! What are you even doing in Hosu?"
"We were headed deeper into Tokyo to patrol tonight when the attack broke out," Izuku explained, "and when our train stopped we joined in the battle."
"Are you ok? I saw Majestic and Song on the news, but didn't see any footage of you!"
"Well um, I kind of had my shoulder cut open?"
"What!? Izu, what happened?"
"He was in a different part of Hosu fighting the Hero Killer!" Ochako blurted out.
"Oh Uraraka, thank goodness you're there. Tell me, how bad is it?"
Izuku looked sheepish while Ochako pulled back from Izuku so he could see her stick her tongue out at him. Sure it was one of Himiko's habits, but right now Izuku deserved it.
"He's currently in the hospital but he's all patched up. His shoulder is all taped up and not in critical condition if the fact that the doctors have been ignoring him since I've gotten here is any indication."
"Are you going to be there long?"
"Sadly not," Ochako admitted, "After this call, I'm going to have to leave. I came with Gunhead to help with the cleanup effort."
"Well, I'm glad you're there. I haven't heard from Himi either, so it's good to know at least one of my children is safe."
"Himi is probably fine," Izuku said, "hopefully she is training or on patrol!"
"That's true, we don't know what Ryukyu is going to do during the attack," Inko said, "Still, can you let me know if you get ahold of her?"
"Will do mom."
The pair said their goodbyes to Inko and hung up the phone, and Izuku sat his phone down on his lap before turning to Ochako.
"So you have to go?"
"Yeah," Ochako wrapped both of her hands around his, taking care to keep her pinkies raised as she held it, "Gunhead's already doing a favor by letting me be here, I just wanted to make sure you were ok."
"I'm glad," Izuku said, "there's nobody else I'd rather be here."
"Even your sister?" Ochako asked hopefully.
"Even her," Izuku forced a goofy grin on his face, "at least with you I know I'm not in mortal danger."
"Give it time, I may eventually agree with her," Ochako teased.
Izuku looked horrified at that, "Please no."
"Well, stop getting hurt then."
"I'll try," Izuku conceded, "but the villains keep refusing to listen to me when I ask nicely."
"Well, get better then," Ochako laughed, "I'm sure if All Might asked nicely, villains would surrender."
"Actually," Izuku had a thoughtful look on his face as he seriously thought about it, "you're right. That has happened before."
"See?"
"I guess I have a new goal then, become strong enough that I can ask villains to surrender."
"Yep!"
Ochako smiled warmly at Izuku, but she knew she couldn't delay for much longer. Reluctantly, she removed her hands from his and stood up. Leaning over, she gave him one more careful hug before she stepped back from the bed, her hands fidgeting behind her back.
"Is there anything else I can get you before I go?"
"No," Izuku shook his head, "just you being here helped."
"You may want to message the class chat and tell everyone what happened. You can also tell them how Iida is doing when he's out of surgery?"
Izuku smiled and nodded, "Yeah, I'll do that!"
"Well, I should be going," Ochako took a reluctant step backward and waved, "See you next week, Deku."
"I'll see you then!" Izuku gave a small wave with his free hand.
Ochako turned around abruptly and forced herself to march out the door, leaning against the wall after it closed and letting out a deep sigh. Pushing herself off the wall, she returned to the lobby to find Gunhead.
"How's the boy doing?" Gunhead asked as he noticed her approach.
"Eep!" Ochako felt herself blushing at the question, turning away from her mentor, "He's fine!" She said a little too loudly, "His shoulder was cut up badly, but he's been taken care of. Our other classmate is in surgery though!"
"Oh no!"
Ochako nodded and frowned, "Deku promised to let our class know how he is once he's out."
"That's good. It would be horrible for a student to have to retire before they even got their license!" Gunhead said as the hero adopted a very sad pose.
"Yeah, that would suck," Ochako agreed.
"Well then, let's get going," Gunhead turned towards the door, "and tonight I get to teach you all about the least glamorous portion of the job, paperwork!"
"Paperwork?" Ochako looked as if she had just bit into a lemon.
"Unfortunately it comes with being a hero," Gunhead explained, "so just like what you saw tonight, it's best you get used to it now."
"Yes sir," Ochako adopted a look of grim determination as she followed him out the door.
After all, if she can survive cleaning up the aftermath of Hosu, how bad can a stack of papers be?
Himiko had to admit, it felt really good to just go all out like she was doing right now.
Intellectually, she knew that she stood no chance in a fight against Ryukyu, even if she shared the hero's dragon form temporarily. She may be a skilled combatant, but the dragoon hero had mastery over her quirk and had developed an entire combat style focused around it.
But right now, she didn't care.
With a loud roar, she charged the dragoon hero and tried to swipe at her. Her opponent easily blocked her, but that was ok. Right now Himiko was merely trying to learn how to best handle her new form.
"Really? Is that all you've got?" Ryukyu asked, goading her student.
"Of course not!" Himiko roared as she slammed into her mentor, "I'm just getting started!"
The tactic seemed to work as the dragoon hero was caught off balance, but Himiko felt her opponent's claws dig into her sides as the hero used her feet and wings to steady herself before she felt herself being slammed into the ground.
"Still not good enough!"
Himiko slammed her head into her opponent's, causing Ryukyu to stagger backward and give Himiko a chance to regain her footing. She then began to press the offensive. The dragoon hero was able to counter most of her attacks, but her ferocity paid off and she was able to land several blows. She knew it wasn't going to be enough, but it still gave her a sense of satisfaction.
This went on for minutes, as Ryukyu slowly wore Himiko down. Despite her limbs feeling heavy and sluggish, Himiko refused to give up, still trying to find a way to bring the hero down.
Eventually, Ryukyu seemed to tire of the exchange, and grabbed Himiko's arms, pinning them to her side.
"Stand down," she ordered.
With a heavy sigh, Himiko complied, reverting to Ryukyu's human form before dropping her transformation completely. As the gray sludge pooled underneath her feet, she began to feel lightheaded and wobbly. She suddenly found herself propped up by Nejire, who was offering her a thermos.
"Here, I brought some blood for Himi-chan."
"T-thanks," Himiko felt her face heating up as she drank the contents of the thermos. Feeling better, she stepped away from Nejire and the sludge from her quirk and collapsed into a patch of grass that wasn't trampled during their fighting.
A few moments later she felt, more than heard, the other two as they sat down next to her.
"Are you ready to talk about it yet?" Ryukyu asked.
"I know I'm over-protective of Izu," Himiko finally said, "but mom and Izu? They literally saved me, and I owe them everything."
The two sat in silence, waiting for her to continue.
"There are sealed police records," Himiko admitted. It's not like they wouldn't come up in any background check before she was eighteen, anyways, "Detailing my assault of a student at the end of the second year of middle school. My parents - they forced me to suppress my quirk for years until it got to be too much and I had a quirk backlash."
Himiko heard Nejire gasp, but neither made a move. Taking this as a sign of encouragement, Himiko continued.
"After that, I fled. I literally don't know what happened over the next two weeks, although the police reports have a rough idea of what happened. Then I collapsed in an alleyway in front of a green-haired kid," Himiko began playing with a loose strand of green hair, pulling it into her vision, "he was the first person to reach out a hand and help me. His mom was the first adult to actually give a damn about my wellbeing," Himiko pushed herself up to a sitting position, looking at her companions, "I don't know what would have happened to me if Izu and mom never ran into me that day."
Nejire found herself tearing up.
"I-I didn't know how bad Himi-chan had it!"
"So that's why you were having a near panic attack at the agency earlier," Ryukyu stated as if it were a fact, "You do realize your brother is also training to be a hero, the same as you are."
"I know," Himiko hung her head, "And I've been trying to get better about it! But it's hard," She bit her lip, feeling a fang pierce her lower lip as a bead of blood began to well up, "It scares me, knowing he's in danger like that."
"But Himi-chan is trying to be a hero!" Nejire protested, "Heroes are supposed to do scary things all the time!"
"Huh?" Himiko asked, confused by the older student.
"She has a point, you know," Ryukyu added, "as a hero, you are expected to battle dangerous foes and handle dangerous situations - manmade and natural disasters, for example. You don't think that is scary?"
"That's different!" Himiko protested, "That's me taking the risk then."
"And Izu-chan is choosing to take the same risks," Nejire pointed out, "If he means that much to you, shouldn't Himi-chan support him?"
"That's the worst part, I do support him," Himiko got a faraway look on her face, "even before his quirk came in, he wanted nothing more than to be a hero. I just never realized how hard it would be."
"Being a hero is hard," Ryukyu pointed out, "it sounds like being a big sister is no different."
"If Izu-kun can be strong for Himi-chan, then it seems only right that Himi-chan is strong for Izu-kun."
"Yeah…" Himiko looked down at her hand, opening and closing it, "you're right."
"And if you ever need someone to talk to, you have your senpai!"
As if a switch had been flipped, Nejire attacked Himiko, smothering her in hugs despite her protest. While Himiko was struggling to escape from the older girl's grasp, she had to admit, that having another person who cared about her well-being felt nice.
After Nejire was done, the three stood and Ryukyu looked at Himiko with a critical eye.
"Now then, Midoriya. Are you still up for a mission tomorrow?"
"Yes, I am!" Himiko responded instantly.
"Good," Ryukyu gave a satisfied smile, "then tonight wasn't a waste. Tomorrow's job is actually dangerous, and I need you to be all there, otherwise, I'm calling it off."
"I won't let you down!" Himiko promised, "What kind of future hero would I be if I can't even handle an internship?"
As Ryukyu shifted back to her dragon form and her interns climbed on her back, Himiko realized that, in her own way, the dragoon hero was showing that she cared too. After all, she didn't have to put in all of this effort to make sure her intern was ok.
When they returned to Ryukyu's agency, Himiko saw that she had missed calls from both Izuku and Inko.
"See! Himi-chan's brother is safe!" Nejire cheered.
"I guess so," Himiko conceded, staring at her phone.
"The situation on the ground is under control," Ryukyu announced as she was typing on the computer, "and has moved to clean up and assessment." With a few keystrokes, she shut down the display on the wall. "I'm heading home for the night. It's been a long day, and we have a busy day tomorrow as well," She looked pointedly at Himiko, "I suggest you rest up as well."
"Yeah," Himiko said, refusing to take her eyes off of her phone.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure Himi-chan takes care of herself!" Nejire proudly announced as she grabbed Himiko's arm. Despite her protests, the older girl was already dragging her out of the conference room and towards the elevators.
Once they were back to their rooms, Nejire practically shoved Himiko into hers, with orders to call her family. Walking over to the bed, Himiko let herself collapse onto it with a groan. She would have gladly called Izuku upstairs, but she had to admit, the privacy is nice.
"There you are Himi," Izuku said, relief in his voice.
"No thanks to you," Himiko said, "Ryukyu took me out for a spar once I saw your ping."
"Sorry," Izuku offered lamely, "I didn't have time so I just pinged everyone."
"How badly are you hurt?" Himiko asked. She might as well get the bad news out of the way.
Izuku laughed nervously.
"I took a sword to my shoulder."
"You did WHAT?" Himiko practically yelled.
"When I was fighting Stain, I may have mistimed my dodge when I was trying to land a finishing blow, and his sword caught my shoulder?"
"Izu. You could have died if you misjudged your dodge further."
"I know," Izuku admitted, "but I had to do something."
"Of course you did," Himiko sighed, "being your big sister is hard sometimes."
"I'm sorry," Izuku said.
"Don't be," Himiko said, "if you weren't you… you know," She rolled over on the bed so she was laying on her stomach, "I just hate seeing you get hurt like that. Especially when I can't do anything to help."
"I know," Izuku said softly, "You do remember our promise though, don't you?"
"Of course I do!"
"If we want to be great heroes, that means we're going to be taking risks and getting hurt. But you know what else it means?"
"What's that?"
"It means I have to survive. And I know that no matter what happens, you'll find a way to survive as well. After all, the world can't talk about the Midoriya siblings if there's only one of us," Even though she couldn't see him, she knew he was smiling.
Truthfully, Himiko never thought about it that way before. She just saw the risk and her mind imagined the worst-case scenario. She never realized that Izuku had indirectly promised her that he would survive.
"Thanks, Izu, I needed that," Himiko admitted.
"Anytime Himi."
The two said their goodbyes and hung up the phone, and Himiko felt lighter. Pushing herself up, she grabbed a change of clothes and went to the shared bathroom, where she took a hot shower and prepared for bed.
As she closed her eyes to try falling asleep, Himiko heard her phone go off. Groaning, she grabbed it off the nightstand and accepted the call without looking at the number.
"What do you want?"
"Himi, I'm so sorry!" Emily's voice said.
Chapter 51: Hosu (Aftermath) / Nagoya (1)
"Sorry for what?" Himiko asked, suddenly sitting up in bed. This was not how she expected Emily to open any conversation.
"I'm sorry I didn't protect Izu better like I promised to!" Emily quickly blurted out, "When we first got to Hosu, he knew something was wrong and went off on his own. Then, when he attacked Stain… I was forced to stand there helplessly and provide fire support. I couldn't stop him from getting hurt."
"Emmy…"
"I'm sorry Himi! Please don't hate me!"
Himiko opened and closed her mouth a few times, but no words came out. She knew she was over-protective of Izuku but was this how other people saw her?
"You're taking what happened in Hosu pretty hard, aren't you?" Himiko finally asked.
"Y-yeah. This was different from our fights at school," Emily said, "it sucks."
"Izu is alive though," Himiko pointed out, "and so are you. That's what's really important."
"I don't know what your brother did, but when Todoroki and I got there? Stain was trying to kill him."
"In case you forgot, Stain's got the label Hero Killer for a reason," Himiko deadpanned.
"It was more than that though. Himi, he was a fanatic. Someone who thought he was on some sort of holy crusade. If he had the chance, he would have killed all of us, because we don't meet his ideal for being a hero."
That gave Himiko pause. Remembering Izuku's words earlier, she realized that she needed to hear them from Emily, as well. "Emmy, I need you to promise me something."
"What's that?"
"Promise me you'll always come back."
"Wha- what brought this on?"
"Look, we both know how Izu is." Himiko sighed loud enough that it could be heard through the phone. "Despite knowing that, I still had to be dragged out to an empty field to let Ryukyu beat me up before I was able to calm down. But," Himiko paused, "when he called, he reminded me of his promise: that he will always come back because we're going to become great heroes together."
She heard Emily laugh on the other end of the phone, "Leave it to Izuku to come up with something like that."
"Yeah well, it made me feel better," Himiko grumbled.
There was a long pause before Emily finally spoke again.
"Himi, you know me. I'm too stubborn to let someone get rid of me that easily. Even someone like Stain isn't enough to stop me."
"Where was that Emmy five minutes ago?" Himiko felt a smile creeping onto her face.
"Himi, give me a break! It's been a day."
"You and I both know that's not an excuse."
"Shut up!"
Both girls laughed, before Emily continued, "We're going to pick up Izuku from the hospital in the morning. Do I need to smack him for you?"
"Yes. Make sure it hurts."
"Will do!" Emily sighed, "I'm not sure anything else is going to top today for our internship. It's going to feel downright boring now."
"I'm sure Majestic will find some way to keep the great Emily Song occupied," Himiko teased.
"What about you? Is it all quiet out in Nagoya?"
"Actually, we're going on a mission tomorrow. Apparently, Ryukyu suddenly having a shapeshifter as an intern means they are redoing all of their plans."
"I knew it!" Himiko heard Emily bang her hand against something on the other side of the line, "Your quirk is amazing Himi! Even if it didn't awaken, you have a top ten hero literally rewriting her plans because you exist!"
Himiko felt herself blushing.
"Also, if you're going to go on a mission, you'd better promise me the same thing," Emily pointed out, "After making me say I'm going to come back and all."
"Emmy, of course I'm going to come back," Himiko said, "Otherwise who is going to keep you in line?"
"Nobody, of course!"
"Exactly. Our class would go to hell if I wasn't there."
The two sat there in comfortable silence before Emily finally spoke. "Call me when you can tomorrow?"
"I will."
"Good. I probably shouldn't keep you then. Goodnight Himi."
"Goodnight Emmy," Himiko said, before hanging up her phone. Staring at it, she decided she was done with interruptions and turned it off, before setting it on the nightstand. She was going to have a busy day tomorrow and needed her sleep.
Even though his arm had been sliced open and it hurt if he moved too much, Izuku didn't have much trouble falling into a deep sleep before Tenya returned from surgery. The next morning when he woke, he saw his friend in the bed next to him, his arm wrapped in bandages. As he watched, the young man sluggishly fumbled with his phone in his free hand.
"Good morning, Iida," Izuku called out, getting his attention.
Tenya's head snapped up, looking alertly at his friend before it softened slightly. "Good morning Midoriya, I trust you were able to sleep well?"
"Yeah," Izuku nodded, "When did they bring you back?"
"It was almost two in the morning," Tenya said, with a frown on his face as he looked down at his arm, "It appears I may have suffered a similar fate as my brother."
"Oh no!"
"Unlike Tensei, this will not stop me," Tenya reassured him, "however, the motion in my fingers is limited, and the nerve damage was bad enough that I have lost a lot of feeling in my arm. With surgery and proper healing quirks I can recover, but…"
"But what?"
"But it will leave me out of commission for a month, minimum," Tenya admitted, "as I recovered. I do not wish to give up my schooling for that long."
"What about during summer or winter break?" Izuku asked, "Or after the end of the year?"
"Waiting until the end of the school year was my intention. That way I can be back to one hundred percent for our second year."
"Will you be ok until then?"
"Of course!" Tenya nodded, "If anything, this will make me a stronger hero."
"I guess that is one way to look at it."
"Indeed," Tenya looked down at his arm, "but what kind of hero would I be if I couldn't handle something like this? Especially…"
Tenya never finished his thought as they heard a knock at the door before it opened and a police officer stepped into the room, followed by a tall dog-mutant with a Beagle head. The tall man bowed slightly before he began introducing himself.
"I am Kenji Tsuragamae, Commissioner General of the police forces in Tokyo. After meeting your companions last night, it is nice to finally meet the final two heroes who helped bring Stain to justice. The Hero Killer has been a thorn in our side for a long time."
"The pleasure is ours, sir!" Tenya loudly announced.
As they watched, the officer accompanying Tsuragamae closed the door behind them, and he stepped forward.
"Now then, we have a very important matter to discuss regarding the capture of the Hero Killer," the Commissioner said as he held up a binder, "You see, it is rather unusual for four students to bring down a villain. Even if you are hero students, the fact remains that none of you have your provisional licenses yet."
Izuku and Tenya suddenly felt the temperature in the room drop as they waited for the chief of police to continue.
"Now in the case of Midoriya, Song, and Todoroki, we have on record that both Endeavor and Majestic have authorized those three to use their quirks if necessary, as fitting for a hero and their intern during a crisis situation. But that leaves the matter of Mr. Iida here," Tsuragamae turned towards Tenya, a serious look in his eyes, "When interviewed, Manual claims he lost track of you in the moments after the crisis began and never authorized you to use your quirk. Normally, that would be a problem. However, when we took his statement, Native said he authorized you to use your quirk. Is that true?"
Tenya swallowed the lump in his throat. "Native said that?"
"Indeed. Now here is the problem. We only have yourself and Stain to verify this. Since Stain would be considered an unreliable witness, we are forced to ask you to verify his statement for him."
As Izuku watched, he could see the doubt and uncertainty fill Tenya's face.
"Of course, unlike Endeavor and Majestic, Native was not the hero you are working under. In fact, he doesn't even have the paperwork filed to take a student for an internship. While it was a matter of life-or-death, the fact remains that he authorized a civilian, and a minor at that, to use their quirk against another. As it stands, the punishment for his actions would mean he would suffer a temporary suspension of his hero license and likely fines as well," Tsuragamae looked knowingly at Tenya, "However, he seemed to have no hesitation in his voice, citing it as a matter of life-or-death."
"And what if I were to disagree with his statement?" Tenya asked cautiously.
"Then you would suffer a vigilantism charge. There would be mitigating factors to lessen it, but ultimately it would be a black mark on your record, delaying your ability to gain your provisional license, as well as your full hero license, until you were eighteen," the commissioner rubbed his eyes, "as unfortunate as that may sound, that is the law. Until it gets changed, those are the options available to you."
Tenya looked at Izuku, who offered him a sympathetic look before he looked down at his bandaged hand. He knew that Native was doing this as a way to repay him, but does he truly deserve such an act of kindness?
Sometimes, being a hero is hard. Sometimes it means helping those who don't want our help or don't feel like they deserve it. But those people? They are the ones who deserve it the most.
Tesei's words came to Tenya, and his eyes went wide. Of course. If his brother was in Native's place, he would make the same decision.
Tenya hoped that, in time, he would too.
As hard as it was for him to accept, he knew that Native was only trying to repay him. To thank him for what he did in that alleyway.
To give him a chance to become a great hero.
As he finally made eye contact with the Commissioner General, Tenya nodded his head. "Yes sir, Native saw that I was there to investigate, and when Stain attacked me he authorized me to use my quirk. Otherwise, both of us would have likely been killed. Thanks to the use of my quirk, I was able to buy enough time for Midoriya, Todoroki, and Song to arrive."
"I see. Thank you for confirming the statement," Tsuragamae made a note in the report and turned back towards the door, "For what it's worth, we will try to reduce his punishment as much as possible. However, he is grateful to simply be alive."
"Thank you, sir."
"And you, Mr. Midoriya," the Commissioner added.
"Yes sir?"
"I wish to personally thank you, as well as the others who have assisted you in taking down the Hero Killer. He has been a thorn in our side for so long, knowing that students were finally able to bring him down? It makes me hopeful for the next generation of heroes."
"Thank you, sir!" Izuku said, before looking at Tenya, who seemed to have a stunned look on his face at the indirect complement.
After that, the police left and a heavy silence filled the air as both students looked at each other, neither wanting to be the first to speak. Eventually, Tenya finally spoke, as he stared at his wounded arm.
"Tensai always tried to help others. I always thought I would be the same way, helping others, instead of being the one to receive help."
"I know what you mean," Izuku admitted as he thought about his quirk.
"Do you think I made the right choice?" Tenya looked up at Izuku, locking eyes with his friend.
"Yes," Izuku answered without hesitation.
"Thank you," Tenya looked at his arm once again. "Before the internship, I had come to a decision. While I am not worthy of the name yet, I am going to take the name Ingenium when I finally receive my provisional license. I won't use it yet, of course. But someday. I will make Tensei proud."
"I know you will," Izuku said, offering his friend a warm smile.
In a dimly lit corner of the Nagoya docks, a hero and her two interns are quietly moving from rooftop to rooftop, searching for their targets.
"There!" Nejire whispered as she pointed at several unmarked delivery trucks, their backs open.
As they watched, the three saw several dangerous-looking individuals moving back and forth between a ship and the trucks, retrieving unmarked crates from the ship and carrying them to one of the open trucks.
"Carmilla," Ryukyu turned to Himiko, "are you ready for this?"
Himiko took a deep breath and looked at her mentor, her face filled with determination. "Yes."
Hours earlier…
Himiko was sitting with Nejire, Kashiko, and Habuko in the Ryukyu Agency's briefing room. Along with the four interns and the heroes mentoring them, several other local heroes were arrayed around the conference table. Whatever the operation was going to be, it was far larger than what Himiko was expecting.
Himiko tapped her foot nervously while waiting, and as she glanced over to Nejire she saw the older girl was also fidgeting nervously. The older girl didn't seem to do well waiting, either.
After what felt like forever, all of the heroes finally arrived, and Ryukyu called everyone to attention. Holding up a remote, she brought up a map of the Nagoya docks on the wall-mounted monitor.
"As most of you know, we have been having a problem with the drug Trigger coming into Japan through the ports of our city," Ryukyu began with a frown on her face as a yellow circle appeared on the map, which expanded to show a satellite image of a boat and several delivery trucks. "Unknown parties are importing the drug from mainland Asia and having it smuggled into the country through our ports before it is taken further inland to be distributed across the country."
"We know," A frustrated gorilla mutant said, slamming a large hand on the desk, "This is the third takedown operation we've planned in six months!"
"While I share your frustration," Ryukyu said, "this time we are doing something different."
The screen changed again, now displaying a profile picture of Himiko along with a brief description of her quirk. "Carmilla is currently interning under me, and for those who don't know what her quirk is: she has a perfect shapeshifting quirk."
Himiko felt her face heating up as several heroes stared at her, while others began to talk amongst themselves.
"A shapeshifter…"
"She's just an intern though, is that safe?"
"Ryukyu seems to be putting an awful lot of faith in a newbie…"
"I assure you," Ryukyu interrupted, "Carmilla's qualified for the job."
"I agree," Shishido added, "we put her through the paces yesterday before we decided to incorporate her into our plan."
"So what's the plan?" One of the heroes asked.
"Simple," Ryukyu smiled, "We are going to let a few of the trucks get away this time."
"What?"
"You can't be serious?"
"Really?"
Once again Ryukyu held up her hand as she called for order, "More specifically. We are going to lure one of the smugglers away from the rest of the group, and then have Carmilla transform into them. Once she has done so, she can get close to the crates and plant tracking beacons on them. From there, we let the trucks escape, and use the beacons to follow where the Trigger is going. With any luck, they will lead us to the buyer, and we can shut down the operation at the source."
Himiko swallowed nervously as everyone's eyes in the room turned at her.
"So kid, after embarrassing my interns yesterday, are you ready to do the same thing to some villains?" Shishido asked her.
Himiko looked at Nejire who was offering her an encouraging smile and then at Ryukyu who was waiting patiently for an answer. She turned towards the assembled heroes of the room before she began vigorously nodding.
"I'm ready!"
"Great, kid!" Shishido barked happily.
"Now then," Ryukyu said, a satisfied look on her face, "after Carmilla plants the beacons, we perform the raid as we usually do, but this time the primary goal is to extract Carmilla. If we can capture several of the vehicles that will be a bonus, but we need to ensure that at least a couple of them manage to escape, otherwise this whole plan is pointless. Similarly, if Carmilla's cover is blown, they will be suspicious and likely inspect the crates, finding the tracking devices. So our best option is for it to appear as if we capture her during the raid."
Himiko looked down at the briefing in front of her and opened it up as Ryukyu continued to explain the rest of the hero's role in tonight's raid. Now that she was no longer the center of attention, she found her nervousness draining away, being replaced by excitement.
Ryukyu spoke a single word into her earpiece, and the operation began. Himiko couldn't see them, but she knew that somewhere nearby, Habuko and Kashiko were moving. Their job was to lure away one of the criminals and paralyze them. While it was dangerous to send interns directly into an operation like this, Habuko's quirk, like Himiko's, was ideally suited for her role in tonight's operation.
Himiko waited with bated breath for a few long moments as she heard someone approaching their hiding place before she heard the start of a gasp that was quickly cut off. Moments later she heard the sound of a body hitting the floor. Turning to Ryukyu, Himiko waited.
Ryukyu could be seen listening to something on the headset, quietly acknowledging the voice on the other line before she turned to her intern. "Alright Carmilla, you're up. Show us what you can do," She said with a confident smile on her face.
Himiko removed her long coat and boots, handing them to Nejire in exchange for a small pouch with a syringe and the tracking devices. Silently, she slipped off the side of the building and landed on the ground, and moments later found Habuko standing over the unconscious form of one of the criminals.
With a thumbs up, Himiko silently approached the criminal and, with practiced precision, extracted some of their blood. Shaking the vial, she pressed it to her lips and downed the crimson liquid, activating her quirk. She felt the gray slime wrap itself around her, and moments later she was an identical copy of the criminal.
Moments later, she had his weapon strapped to her back, as well as the tracking devices safely secured in her pockets. Taking a deep breath, she began walking back towards the docks.
It was finally time to show everyone what she could do.
Chapter 52: Nagoya (2)
After Habuko dragged the criminal off, it was time for Himiko to begin her part of the operation. She checked her equipment one last time before she casually walked back to the staging area.
"Oi! Took you long enough," a muscular-looking criminal in a wife beater called out.
"Sorry, was chasing a stray cat," Himiko lied, her voice filled with annoyance, "the damned thing just wouldn't go away."
The other man sighed, "Damned strays. Well, get back to work, we don't have all night."
Himiko followed the man silently back to the boat and felt her nerves kicking in. She always scored top marks on infiltration, but this was the first time she was doing this for real and the stakes couldn't be higher. She could get hurt, or worse, if they found out who she was.
She obediently followed the man back onto the boat and followed him down into the hold. Sitting there was a large pile of unmarked crates. Crates she knew were filled with Trigger.
Breathe in, breathe out. Don't look or act nervous. You're supposed to be here.
Himiko casually waited until the man in front of her grabbed a crate and moved out of the way before she grabbed one herself. They were heavier than expected - Himiko could only guess that the guy she was transformed into relied more on his quirk than physical strength. Good to know, even if it was pointless for her since she didn't know what his quirk was.
Walking back out of the hold the same way she came in, Himiko saw the five delivery trucks and chose the one furthest from where the heroes were hiding, and therefore the one most likely to be left alone during their raid. She dropped the box on the edge of the truck before hopping in, carefully pulling a tracking device out of her pants pocket. As she picked the box up she attached the device to the bottom of the crate, placed it with the others, and finally secured it.
As she hopped off the truck, she felt her confidence returning as everyone was seemingly ignoring her. It took a surprising amount of effort to keep herself from smiling - these guys already had forgotten about her.
If only she could expect all of her hero work to be this easy!
Ok Himi, focus now, celebrate later.
Himiko forced herself to breathe regularly as she walked back onto the boat, helping calm herself down. Returning to the hold, she retrieved a second box and carried it to the next furthest truck. When she returned for a third crate, she saw the pile of crates was getting low, so she hurried herself along.
When she retrieved the fourth crate, she tried to work even faster, and that was when she made a mistake. As she pulled the tracking device out while jumping into the back of the cargo truck, her eyes went wide as she watched it slip out of her fingers and land on the ground.
Oh crap!
Realizing the best solution was going to hurt, Himiko intentionally adjusted her leg so that she would slip and fall, slamming her arm and leg into the bumper of the truck as she was sent to the ground with a grunt.
Well, at least this gives me an excuse to slow down when the heroes begin their raid.
As she stood, she made sure to slam her boot on the tracker, hard, and was rewarded with a satisfying crunch sound. Unfortunately, her action had also caught the attention of several other criminals.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Someone called out.
"Sorry," Himiko apologized, "Must've caught a slick spot trying to jump in."
She felt her stomach turning in knots as a lizard mutant came up to her, "You'd better be more careful. It's coming out of your hide if you damage any of the goods."
Himiko stared at him for several seconds, before she averted her eyes.
Guys like this like being the winner when they challenge you. It will be suspicious if you concede immediately, but at the same time, you want to let them win.
"It won't happen again."
"Good," The man said, crossing his arms before he turned around, "Back to work! We're on a tight schedule and I'm not going to blow it this close to the end."
Kneeling to rub her leg, Himiko shifted her foot slightly to expose the destroyed tracking device and picked it up, slipping the remains into her pocket. She hopped back into the truck, much more carefully this time in case anyone was watching, and once she was inside she moved the crate to a pile. Instead of placing it neatly, however, she set it down sloppily, exposing one of the corners. Taking a breath to calm herself, she glanced out the back of the truck to make sure nobody was watching her before she slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out the final tracking device.
After she attached the device, she adjusted the crate so it was sitting properly and secured it. Sliding her hand back into her pocket, she pressed the small button that had been given to her - the signal to Ryukyu to begin the attack.
Himiko carefully approached the back door of the truck and jumped off of it. Listening for the heroes, she casually walked towards the boat again - being sure to walk a little slower, because the last place she wanted to be was on the boat when the heroes attacked.
Fortunately, they didn't keep her waiting long.
"Heroes!" A mutant with bat ears called out.
While her training would normally prevent it, Himiko froze in place. Anything to buy more time for her 'capture.'
"Come on," The burly man she first encountered grabbed her arm, "we gotta get out of here."
Himiko realized that, despite his rough demeanor, he may be a friend of the person she was currently transformed into.
Well, that's unfortunate for him.
Himiko stumbled as she let her sore leg collapse before she felt herself being pulled up.
"Aki, what the hell's wrong with you?" The man asked as he pulled her to her feet, "you know what's gonna happen if they capture us!"
"You could have warned me," Himiko complained as she started walking with him, "I messed up my leg, remember?"
"Yeah well, the heroes are gonna mess you up worse!"
Me no, you yes.
Himiko saw two of the trucks pulling away while they were approaching one of the remaining vehicles. Daring to glance behind her, she felt her stomach sinking as she realized the heroes may not reach her in time.
Crap! I don't want to blow my cover, but I need to do something!
Himiko saw the big knife hanging off the other guy's belt, and got an idea. It was desperate, but she needed to do something to ensure her 'capture.'
Taking a deep breath, she tried blanking herself. She knew it wasn't going to work on the guy who was holding her arm, but she hoped it would hold just long enough that everyone else would miss what she is about to do.
Taking her free hand, she reached out and grabbed the other man's knife.
"Aki?" The man asked, clearly confused.
"Sorry not sorry," Himiko whispered as she stabbed the knife into the man's thigh. As he began to scream she tangled her leg around his, sending both of them to the ground.
"Keep going!" Himiko yelled to the two criminals who stopped to see what was going on.
"Aki you-" The man was beginning to yell when Himiko felt a familiar sting as Nejire hit her in the back with her Wave Motion quirk.
Her cry of pain was just as genuine as the man's next to her. She had known she was likely going to be attacked by one of the heroes on the raid team, but that didn't mean she was going to enjoy it.
The things she had to do to keep up the act.
Several seconds later Nejire landed behind them. "Surrender villains! You're under arrest!"
"I give up!" Himiko called out, slowly placing her hands behind her head.
"Aki? What the hell's going on?" The man demanded.
Himiko turned towards the man on the ground and gave him a confused look, "Look, I don't want to make this harder on me than it's already going to be."
The man's look of confusion twisted to one of panic, "Seriously? You know if the boss finds out you're dead!"
Himiko had to wonder what kind of person these people were working for as she saw Nejire forcing handcuffs on the other man. "I'd rather be rotting in some cell than a corpse."
"You know that won't stop him!" The man looked genuinely scared as Nejire hauled him up and Himiko felt Habuko behind her, putting handcuffs on her.
"This is payback for yesterday," She hissed into Himiko's ear as she roughly hauled Himiko up to her feet.
"Hey, give a girl a break!" Himiko whispered back in protest.
"I don't see a girl in front of me, just another criminal who is under arrest."
Himiko sighed as she felt Habuko lead her away from where the rest of the criminals were being gathered and behind a crate, where the real man named 'Aki' was lying on the ground unconscious.
"Can you take the handcuffs off now?" Himiko asked as she let go of her transformation, the man's form sloughing off of her into a pile of sludge on the ground, "they really don't suit me."
"Fine," Habuko said with a dramatic sigh as she removed them. "I will admit, seeing how you fooled everyone out there, I feel less bad about yesterday. You are really good at hiding when you want to."
"Sorry about that, but I am on a mission," Himiko said as she rubbed her wrists, before she turned to face the other intern, "People tend to look down on blood-based quirks, so I want to show them why they're wrong!"
Habuko looked away and Himiko wished she could read her face. "I always felt like an outcast because of my appearance, too. I wanted to become a hero for much the same reason as you, to prove that mutants like myself are people just like everyone else. Our physical appearance doesn't matter, it's what's on the inside that counts."
"Oh," Himiko said before she rubbed the back of her head. "I guess we're more alike than I thought."
"Seems that way," Habuko agreed.
"Let's both show Japan that anyone can be a hero, no matter what their quirk is," Himiko said, extending her hand.
Habuko turned towards her, and her face shifted into what Himiko assumed was her equivalent of a smile as she took Himiko's hand, "That sounds good. I'll be watching for you on the charts."
"Me too," Himiko agreed.
Feeling better, Himiko grabbed her hero costume and quickly threw her coat and boots back on, while Habuko picked up the unconscious form of Aki. Habuko then left first, taking the unconscious criminal with her, while Himiko slipped off in another direction, weaving through crates before she returned to the scene. Pulling out one of her Needles, she extended it to its full length and joined the others in monitoring the captured criminals, her eyes just daring one of them to run.
She was almost disappointed that none of them did, and a few moments later she was rejoined by Ryukyu and Nejire as they rounded up the last of the criminals with the rest.
"How did we do?" Himiko asked as she saw her mentor approach.
"Not as well as I would like," Ryukyu admitted. "We let three of the trucks get away, and the smugglers escaped as well. We've alerted the coast guard and police will be on the lookout for the trucks but…"
While she was talking, the Dragoon hero's eyes were telling Himiko a different story.
You did well.
Himiko frowned as she heard the report. She still had to put on an act for the handful of criminals that they did arrest, after all. The time for celebration will be later.
After the police and paramedics arrived, Himiko was checked over for injuries. Other than a few minor bruises and the welts on her back courtesy of Nejire, she was declared fit for duty and released from their care.
Of course, that didn't stop Nejire from feeling bad.
"I'm so sorry Himi-chan!" Nejire practically cried as she smothered Himiko in a hug, causing her to blush profusely at the contact.
"I-it's ok!" Himiko assured her, "I'm pretty sure you've hurt me worse when we sparred!"
"Normally we try to avoid friendly fire whenever possible," Ryukyu said as she approached her two interns, "But unfortunately for Midoriya, while her role was invaluable, it also came with a high risk of injury," She turned to Himiko, "How are you feeling?"
"A little sore, but I feel great!" Himiko chirped as she finally wormed herself free of Nejire's grasp. "I just hope I didn't screw everything up," she admitted.
"While that was unfortunate, plans rarely go smoothly, and we are forced to improvise," Ryukyu pointed out, "for an intern, you certainly went above and beyond."
"She really went Plus Ultra!" Nejire said, pumping her fist in the air.
"Really?" Himiko felt herself blushing at the compliment. She could get used to this.
"Yes," The Dragoon hero replied with a satisfied smile, "We'll do a full debriefing back at the agency, but for now, we have to meet with reporters and the police."
"Reporters?"
"You didn't know?" Nejire asked, with a look of excitement on her face, "Apparently word got out about the raid and reporters started showing up after the police arrived, and they are trying to get interviews with the heroes! It's always fun!"
"You have a twisted definition of fun," Himiko grumbled as Nejire grabbed her arm and she began following the other two, giving off the appearance of walking to her execution.
Once back at the agency, Himiko collapsed in a chair in the briefing room.
"Next time, I'm letting you do all the talking," She said to the upperclassman who was sitting down next to her.
"Himi-chan did fine!" Nejire said, "You just did your first stealth mission, how bad can a few reporters be?"
"Very," Himiko groaned.
"Well, if you plan on being in the spotlight, it comes with the job," Ryuko said as she took her position at the head of the table. "Like it or not, a large component of your ranking on the charts comes down to your public image, after all."
"That's it, I'm going underground," Himiko declared.
"I think it may be a little too late for that Midoriya. Especially not after your performance at the Sports Festival."
"Ugh, can I go back in time then?"
"Nope!"
Ryuko smiled at her two interns. Despite their different personalities, she was pleasantly surprised at how well they got along with each other. Especially since she wanted to continue teaching them. After today she was going to be offering Nejire a work-study position to continue working with her immediately. She planned on making the same offer to Himiko as well, except hers will be conditional on earning her provisional license next month.
She politely coughed to get their attention. "Well then, we have one more order of business before you two can retire for the night. The paperwork for the raid."
"Didn't we already give the police our report?" Himiko asked in exasperation.
"While we gave them a verbal report, we also have to file paperwork as well," sitting down in front of her computer, Ryuko typed on the keyboard and activated the projector, so the two girls could see the form on the wall. "Fortunately, we only need to file one report for the entire agency, so the three of us can work on this together."
Nejire loudly groaned and slammed her head on the desk, covering it with her hands while Himiko simply rubbed her back, "There there, what kind of senpai would you be if you didn't set a good example for your kouhai?"
"You're right!" Nejire shot up again, a look of determination on her face as she balled her hand into a fist. "For Himichan! I'll show you how to be the best police report writer you can be!"
Yes, Ryuko thought, If they accept my offers, these two are going to be excellent additions to my agency.
Hifumi Toga was walking down the street, her black dress swaying in the wind as she held tightly onto her shoulder bag.
"...the successful raid against smugglers bringing Trigger into the country last night."
"A raid?" Hifumi paused as she stopped in front of the TV sitting on top of a food cart.
"Lowlives are getting desperate and smuggling in drugs to make their quirks stronger," a rugged voice responded. Looking over, Hifumi saw an old man sitting on a bench watching the TV, a partially-eaten skewer in his hand. "They know they can't compete with the heroes so they're showing their true colors."
"My apologies, I don't know much about heroes," Hifumi said with a slight bow.
"Don't know much about heroes?" The man looked at her in surprise. "You must be a rare breed."
"My parents," Hifumi explained, "they never liked heroes. They think they are just showy vigilantes, and should let the police handle things," she finished, her voice soft.
"Well, that's too bad. Maybe you should form your own opinions," the man said, using his skewer to point at the screen, "Ryukyu there's in the top ten, maybe you should give her a listen and see what you think."
As she watched, Hifumi saw the screen change to a nighttime scene where she saw the hero Ryukyu flanked by two other girls. The tall girl in the royal blue costume didn't interest her, but something about the other girl with green hair and a red long coat seemed familiar. Almost as if…
It didn't take long for the interviewer to ask the girl a question. When Hifumi saw her speak without hiding her fangs and heard her voice, she gasped, her bag falling to the ground forgotten as she covered her mouth.
"Big sister…"
"Mother, father, I'm home," Hifumi greeted her parents as she entered the Toga residence.
"You're late," Mrs. Toga said as she looked at the clock.
"My apologies," Hifumi bowed as she left the entryway, "As I was walking home I saw the news playing at a food stall and lost track of the time watching it. It was an interesting report about drugs being smuggled into Japan."
"Of course, it's always something," Mr. Toga complained from his position on the couch, a newspaper in hand, "I swear if these so-called heroes are supposed to protect us, why can't they even keep drugs off the streets?"
"That's why we need to fund the police more, instead of paying these heroes such an exorbitant salary!" Mrs. Toga agreed.
Hifumi simply stood there in silence while her parents talked, repeating a name in her mind repeatedly until they were done. "If it's alright, I'm going to go work on homework in my room," Hifumi finally responded when given an opening.
"Yes dear, that's a good girl," Mrs. Toga gave her daughter a smile of approval as Hifumi slipped out of the room.
Once she was in her room, Hifumi closed the door behind her and made sure to lock it, before she opened up her laptop.
"Carmilla, Carmilla…" Hifumi opened her browser and began searching for the name.
As she searched, she found many references to a Himiko Midoriya, most from the past several months. From the articles Hifumi had skimmed, she had become the rising star of Class 2 at the world-renowned UA High School after her quirk awakened on national television during the sports festival.
However, while the pieces were there, she needed something more conclusive and concrete. She needed to be sure that this was her sister. In all of the recent footage and articles, she had the last name 'Midoriya,' and had green hair. While it wasn't out of the realm of possibility that she dyed it and had been adopted, she wasn't willing to take that chance.
She didn't want to be wrong if it wasn't her.
Thirty minutes later, as she was searching Yap!Tube, she found her answer. Clicking on a video that was over a year old, titled 'Carmilla reveals herself to the world.' It turned out to be footage from last year's sports festival. As she started the video she saw Himiko Midoriya step onto the field with much more familiar ash-blonde hair. In the video, Himiko nervously walked toward her opponent, a tall girl with sky-blue hair who was offering her arm out. As Hifumi watched, she saw her sister gently cradle the arm in her hands, before she leaned in and bit into the other woman's wrist, drinking her blood.
Hifumi paused the video, staring at the zoomed-in image of Himiko.
"Himi…" She said, placing her finger on the screen. She knew her sister couldn't feel it, but it was the closest Hifumi had gotten to her in over two years.
Resuming the video, Hifumi watched as her sister activated her quirk on live television, and frowned at the silence from the crowd. She watched the match play out. Her sister lost the match, but walked off the field with her head held high, proud of what she had done.
As the video ended, Hifumi touched the screen again, using her quirk to copy the video to her hard drive. She then began searching for the videos from this year's sports festival.
She had found her sister, and from the looks of it, she had a lot of lost time to make up for.