Part 23

((A/N : Honestly skippable, just the first part of the episode where they're in the hospital with the chief.))

I sit among the others in the hospital room, staying silent. I didn't have any big injuries, but I did have a whole lot of pain and exhaustion. Before I could even think of entering the hospital, I had made sure to run away from the group and demask.

From there I had made my way a bit further down the street since I had heard them talking about where they were going earlier. Finally figuring I could rest, I had sat down hunched against the side of a building and let myself still.

I guess I had fallen asleep as they were approaching cause I can only remember the sound of Izuku's voice calling my name from a bit far away.

Now, I sat in the hospital beds with the others. Both of Iida's arms are wrapped and slung. Izuku's got wrapping around one of his arms and one of his legs, while Todoroki only has wrapping on one of his arms.

I don't have any wrapping, since there really weren't many injuries, at least, nothing that didn't heal while I was asleep. Bringing up my arm, I scratch at my hair while my other hand picks at the cloth on the bed I'm sitting on the edge of.

"Thinking about it now, we did something amazing, huh?" Izuku's voice says into the silence of the room. I glance up at him to see him looking up at the ceiling. "Yeah" Todoroki responds, as I let out a simple hum of yes.

"Seeing an ending like that really makes you feel like it's a miracle we're alive. With my leg like this, he probably could've killed us if he'd wanted to." Midoriya brings up, causing me to fully look up at him and the others.

"Yeah. We were obviously left alive on purpose. You're amazing to have been able to face him after all the murderous intent directed at you." Todoroki responds as he turns to Iida. "No, that's not it," Iida responds. There's a second of silence as he looks down.

I breathe in a bit of air before lightly sighing it out. "I.." Iida doesn't get to finish his thought as the door opens with a soft sound. "Oh, are you wounded kids awake?" The voice of Izuku's mentor says from the doorway. I turn and watch as the short man walks in.

"Gran Torino!" "Manual" Two of the boys in the room mutter out. I look at the two mentors in the doorframe before glancing behind them at the familiar color near the back. In the hallway, leaning against the wall is my temporary mentor, Kamui Woods himself. I let out a sigh when I make eye contact with him before looking away.

"Kid, I've got a lot of complaints for you." Gran Torino says as he begins to approach where Izuku's sitting. Zuks tries to stutter out a sorry only to get cut off. "But before that, you've got a visitor." I turn to the doorway as they do.

"Hosu's chief of police, Kenji Tsuragamae." Gran Torino introduces them for us. I quickly stand with the others, unsure as to what's happening. "You must be the UA students who brought down the hero killer, right?" The chief asks. I give a quick no-shake of my head.

Technically according to the heroes who found me, I had been out trying to help in the streets, got tired and slumped against a building, was a found, and brought to the hospital with the others because I'm also a UA student and I wasn't waking up so they weren't sure if I was okay.

"Both Aizawa and Toshinori have warned me about you Huntre. Especially with the information Toshinori gave, everyone in this room knows you were involved somehow." Gran Torino speaks up. I'm sorry what. What exactly does that mean? Does that mean they know know or does that mean he knows and gave non disclosing information so the other mentors would know I was involved but not as to how? What does that mean?

"Regarding the Hero Killer we arrested. He had fairly serious injuries, with burns, small holes, and broken bones, and is receiving treatment under strict guard, woof." The chief says.

"Since you are UA students, I'm sure you already know that when superpowers were still becoming the norm, the police attached high importance to leadership and standards and made sure quirks were not used as weapons." I give a slight nod, unsure as to where this is going.

"And then, the profession of 'hero' emerged to fill that gap, woof. For an individual's use of force and power that can easily kill others, actions that normally would be appropriate to denounce-- to be accepted officially is thanks to early heroes who followed the ethics and rules of the profession, woof."

"Even up against the hero killer, for uncertified individuals to cause injury with their quirks without specific instruction from their guardians of supervisors is a clear violation of the rules." So basically, fuck vigilantes. Got it.

"The four of you, the unknown hero, and the pro heroes; Endeavor, Manual, and Gran Torino must receive strict punishment." I go quiet. What does that mean? What kind of punishment are we talking? An essay, a grounding, a holding back on something?

"Wait a minute. If Iida hadn't done anything, Native would've been killed. If Midoriya hadn't come, the two of them would've been killed. No one realized that the hero killer had appeared. Are you saying we should've followed the rules and watched people get killed?" Todoroki speaks up with what probably has to be the most emotion I've heard in his voice.

Midoriya goes to try to calm him down as I take a glance out the window. "Are you saying that as long as it turns out alright, it's okay to bend the rules?" The chief counters. "Isn't it a hero's job to save people?" Todoroki tries to counter back.

The more this conversation goes, the more I'm reminded of the things Stain had been saying, about real heroes and about how most heroes aren't real heroes. Is this it? The law puts limitations that make heroes that aren't real heroes.

I'm pulled back from my contemplation when I notice Todoroki angrily approaching the chief. I watch as the other two go to stop him, not moving as I watch. He's stopped finally by Gran Torino asking him to listen until the end. I let out a sigh before turning back to the window.

"That was the official opinion of the police. And the punishment and such would only happen if this were all made public, woof. If this were made public, you would probably be applauded by the public, but you would not be able to escape punishment. " Ah, so cover up our problems. What're you gonna do next, push the results onto someone 'more worthy'.

"On the other hand, this is a bit underhanded, but if it's not made public, the burn scars would support Endeavor being the hero who saved the day, and it would end there, woof." Ah, so my guess was correct.

"Thankfully there were very few witnesses. This violation could be crushed here, woof. But it would also mean no one would know of your good judgment or achievements. Which do you prefer?" The group is silent, as they look at him but I don't even turn my head. I should've seen this coming. If anything, I should be happy about this, nothing to put to my name and since Kitsune didn't stay around for long, nothing to put on that one either.

"Personally, I don't want to be the one to find fault with promising young ones because of one big mistake, woof." He says, raising a thumbs up in our direction.

"Either way, we will need to take responsibility for being negligent in our supervisory duties." Manual speaks up, and I freeze. So that's why Kamui's here. I mean, he didn't arrive with the other mentors at the end of the battle, and I was sure he didn't even know I had left that way when I could've just been going home.

I watch as Iida approaches Manual and bows with an apology. I turn to see Izuku bow and apologize as well. I let out a sigh before shifting on my feet and bowing. "Sorry for causing you trouble Kamui Woods." I say, looking back up to see that he's now standing in the doorway.

"I accept your apology, just don't do it again." Is all I get in response and I nod. Todoroki bows as well, with a "Please take care of it.".

"Because of the unfairness of adults, you will not be able to receive the praise you would probably have gotten, but at least, as someone who also protects the peace, I can say thank you." I look at the chief's bowing figure. I honestly thought something really bad was going to happen, gosh.

"Please start with that next time." Todoroki mutters out and I let out a small "please". I genuinely thought something was going to happen.

I sigh as I pull out my phone and look at it. Glancing at the group chat, I realize more people are active now. I guess me and Todoroki were the only ones checking their phones and arriving hastily last night.

--------

The news spread like wildfire. The Hero Killer Stain was caught and brought down by the number two pro hero, Endeavor.

At least, that was the way it spread from the media.

But something else was spreading, something else that the media wasn't telling but someone else had put together themselves. With pictures.

There was someone also there for the fight, even if the pictures were blurred images of them running away from the scene. Someone in a fox mask with a hoodie on, familiar to the person who showed up at the sludge incident.

To the people who listened, the people who saw; The Hero Killer was bought down by Endeavor and The Kitsune. And something about this fact was stirring up something new.