Hijiri smiles at Iida before turning to look at the other Heroes, not noticing Gran Torino tense and look to the sky.
"Get down!" Gran Torino yells, spinning to face something approaching from the sky. Hijiri turns to look and spots a thinner and paler Noumu. Hijiri's body tenses subconsciously as his chest and arms throb. His breathing speeds up slightly as he freezes, his wide eyes staring at the Noumu's revealed brain as Native ducks, bringing himself and Hijiri out of the Noumu's range.
"How did it get past Endeavour?!" The female Hero yells. The Noumu reaches the group before anyone could react and grabs Izuku, who had reacted a second slower than everyone else to duck down, and starts to fly away.
"Midoriya!" Gran Torino yells, rocketing after the Noumu, but he was starting to lose out to its superior speed. Some of the Noumu's blood splashes onto the female Hero's face.
"Izuku!" Hijiri yells, raising his arm to aim at the Noumu, fire licking at his finger tips when something red races through the Heroes and licks the blood from the female Hero's face, before launching after the Noumu and over taking Gran Torino. The Noumu freezes mid-air and starts to fall when the blur appears above it. Stain rams a knife he had hidden somewhere into the Noumu's skull and grabs Izuku to put him gently on the ground in one motion.
The three land on the ground a large distance away from everyone else. The Heroes take a step forward when Stain starts to speak, freezing them in place.
"Both this scam filled society..." Stain begins, turning to glare at the Heroes. "And the criminals who wield their power for petty mischief, are targets of my purge..." Stain turns to face the Heroes, leaving Izuku on the ground behind him. "All for the sake of a better society!" Stain's eyes start to become bloodshot as he unblinking stares down the Heroes, making some of them take a half step away from him.
"He saved the kid...?" One Hero asks quietly.
"Nonsense! This is a unrepentant murderer we're talking about, he's obviously taking a hostage!" Another one hisses.
"Assume battle positions!" The female Hero instructs, putting her hands up into a boxing guard. Flames appear on Todoroki's left arm and on both of Hijiri's arms, which were aimed over Native's head.
"Why're you all bunched up together?!" Endeavour's voice yells from an alleyway entrance on the opposite side of the road. "One of the villains went this way!"
"Endeavour!" Some of the Heroes say in relief.
"You're already done?" One of the Heroes has to ask.
"More or less, I had to get a little rough." Endeavour then notices Stain, Izuku and the dead Noumu. "Is that? The Hero Killer!" Endeavour pulls back his arms to as fire erupts on his hands, preparing to blast Stain away in one attack.
"Todoroki, wait!" Gran Torino yells as Stain stands at his full height.
"Endeavour..." Stain growls, bloodlust burning through the air and making everyone freeze in terror. "You fake... If I don't fix it... If someone isn't stained with blood... If I don't reclaim my hero status!" Stain stomps his foot in front of him as he leans towards the Heroes. "Then, I'll be fake..."
"Come! Try me, you fakes!" The air warps and wraps around everyone's throats as Stain's bloodthirst erupts from behind him to encompass the whole street in red.
"The only one I'll allow to kill me..." Stain declares, his eyes burning with passion that crashes into everyone present. "Is All Might, The True Hero!"
Two of the Heroes fall over from the pressure, the rest take a step away from Stain. Then the pressure vanishes as Stain stops moving, his eyes staring unseeingly ahead. Everyone sucks in a breath of air as if they just burst out of a lake after nearly drowning.
"This guy... he's out cold." Endeavour realises. Todoroki and Iida fall to their knees in relief as Hijiri drops his arms, slumping into Native's back.
We learned later that one of Stain's ribs had punctured his lung, but even with that and that fact he hadn't licked anyone's blood, he was ready to stand against everyone there.
The Next Day
Hosu General Hospital
Izuku, Hijiri, Iida and Todoroki were all put into the same hospital room to recover. This was to stop any leaks potentially getting out about what happened with Stain before the Heroes and police decide what to tell the public.
"Looking back now, what we did was incredible..." Izuku quietly, sitting up on his bed. Izuku had probably the lightest injures out of the four, only having to need bandages around his shoulders from where the Noumu had grabbed him.
"Yeah." Todoroki agrees, looking down at his bandaged arm. He had a cut across his cheek and a stab wound in his left arm from Stain.
"It's lucky we're still alive." Hijiri grunts, shifting his bandaged legs lightly. "With how inexperienced and disorganised we were, he could've killed us multiple times."
"Yeah, he definitely let us live." Todoroki says, looking down contemplatively before turning to Iida. "Except for you. He was actually aiming to kill you."
"Yeah, but that was my fault, I stopped being a True Hero when I gave in to revenge." Iida says. Iida had both of his arms in casts while his stab wounds healed.
"We went to save you, but you helped save us." Hijiri says, looking at Iida. "I'd say you redeemed yourself, at least in my eyes."
"I've still got a lot to do to redeem myself." Iida disagrees. "But, I thank you for your belief in me."
The door opens and three people step in, Gran Torino, Manual, and a large man with a dog head. They close the door behind them and study the now quiet boys. Todoroki, Iida and Izuku stand up to greet the people while Hijiri just shifts to look at the new arrivals more easily.
"All of the wounded kids are awake." Gran Torino says grumpily. Gran Torino turns to Izuku. "I'm still going to chew you out, but before that, you've got a visitor."
"This is Mr. Kenji Tsuragamae, Hosu's Chief of Police." Manual introduces the dog-man, before moving to the side.
"Please stay seated, woof." Tsuragamae says, gesturing for them to retake their seats. "So, you're the UA students who stopped the Hero Killer, woof."
'Woof?' Hijiri and Izuku think in sync, glancing at each other.
"The Hero Killer himself is in treatment for his broken bones, burns, internal bleeding, and more serious injuries. Woof." Tsuragamae informs them. The four look slightly unsettled by the extent that Stain was injured by them. "At the dawn of this extraordinary era, the police moved to prioritise leadership and to maintain the status quo, decided to not use their Quirks as weapons."
"The profession of Hero rose up to fill the quickly increasing gap between the abilities of the police and the criminals or Villains." Tsuragamae carries on. "The authorisation of such powers, that could very, very easily be used to kill was a very criticized decision at first, but it quickly garnered public support."
'Where is he going with this?' Hijiri thinks, looking between Tsuragamae and the two Heroes present.
"That support was gained by your predecessors when they followed the law and acted morally." Tsuragamae says, sounding like he was getting to his point. "But, those without that authorisation, that inflict harm on others without orders from the police, or authorised Heroes, even if it is used to stop someone like the Hero Killer. It destroys that support and, therefore, must be punished harshly."
"You four, as well as the Heroes you are interning under, must face the consequences of your actions. Your actions that breached the rules of the law." Tsuragamae says strictly.
"Hold on a minute!" Todoroki speaks out loudly, stepping towards Tsuragamae. "If Iida hadn't acted, Native would have been killed! Then if Midoriya hadn't shown up, they would both be dead! Should we have just let them die? Everything turned out fine, so just forget about the law this time."
"It's a Hero's job to save people." Todoroki says angrily, glaring harshly at Tsuragamae.
"You've clearly got a lot to learn, woof." Tsuragamae sighs. "From UA and Endeavour."
"You mutt..." Todoroki growls, taking another step forward. Iida grabs his shoulder to stop him from taking another step forward.
"Hear him out." Gran Torino says, stepping between Todoroki and Tsuragamae.
"That's what I'm obligated to tell you as the police." Tsuragamae continues, scratching his nose. "The real question now is, whether to deal with this publically, or not."
"What do you mean by that?" Hijiri asks from his bed.
"If we reveal the story to the public, you'll be lauded as Heroes, but you can't avoid punishment." Tsuragamae explains, raising one hand before raising his other hand. "Or, we could keep the story to ourselves. The burns on Stain's body will work for the narrative that Endeavour beat him, woof. He'll get the praise."
"Thankfully the small number of eye witnesses consists solely of Heroes willing to keep quiet. So, we can hush it up with no issues." Tsuragamae tells them simply. "But in that case, none of you will receive praise from the public for today."
"You could have lead with the options before scolding us." Todoroki grumbles, looking away.
"What do you say?" Tsuragamae asks. "I like to think I'm an understanding man, so I'd rather not pursue a group of promising Heroes with these admittedly large charges."
"I think we'll go with the second option." Hijiri says, leaning back on his pillows. "Thanks for sorting it out."
"Either way, it was the mentor's negligence that is to blame, so we'll have to take responsibility." Manual grumbles, hands on his hips.
"I'm so very sorry." Iida apologises, bowing to Manual, who lightly chops his head.
"Yeah! You caused big trouble for me! So, don't do it again!" Manual teases Iida, who bows even lower.
"The world is an unfair place. You won't receive any of the rewards you might have received otherwise, but.." Tsuragamae says, bowing to the four. "Let me at least thank you as someone invested in keeping the peace."
That day all anyone could talk about was the attack on Hosu, specifically the capture of Stain by Endeavour had caught national news by storm. Stain had the highest number of kills on Heroes since All Might had debuted. That fact alone would have inspired copy-cats and people hoping to imitate him, but what really caught the eyes of those hoping to be like him was a video released later that day created by some CCTV footage.
The video consisted of Stain's speech from when he had saved Izuku to when he had forced the Heroes to back down from aura alone to when he passed out from his punctured lung, still standing proudly.
With Bakugo
"It's at times like these, when there is a large upset somewhere in Japan." Best Jeanist was lecturing Bakugo, still trying to tame Bakugo's hair. "Is when Heroes need to stay calm and composed, and keep control of their actions. If we don't, we give those who can't control themselves more reasons to act on the brutality in their heart."
"What you're saying is losing control makes others lose control?! How does that work?!" Bakugo asks, a small part of his hair popping back up. Best Jeanist contemplates the question as he smoothes the hair again.
"People follow after example." Best Jeanist explains. "If they see that people get praised for harming another or destroying property to achieve a goal, they'll think it's okay for them to do the same. Let's say All Might destroys a few buildings, but captures the Villain, does he get praised or scolded?"
"All Might doesn't destroy buildings like that!" Bakugo answers angrily.
"Exactly." Best Jeanist responds, stepping away to inspect his work. "Because he doesn't destroy the buildings, but still gets the Villain, he is praised as the greatest Hero. But if he did destroy the buildings? He would be criticised heavily because he normally doesn't do stuff like that, and it goes against the idea of him being the best Hero, correct?"
Bakugo looks down as he contemplates that answer. So Best Jeanist takes it as a cue for him to continue the lecture.
"If the top Hero can't get away with destroying buildings, what makes you think you could get away with it?" Best Jeanist asks him. "You don't have the same reputation All Might does, so you would be even worse off than All Might. Think about that for today."
Bakugo nods quietly as he stares at his hands, considering what he had been told.
Hosu Hospital
"Hey, I just got off the phone with Uraraka and-" Izuku says as he re-enters the four's hospital room.
"Izuku." Hijiri says, cutting Izuku off. "Iida got his diagnosis." Izuku looks confusedly at Iida.
"My left arm, could have permanent damage..." Iida says slowly, as if tasting the words on his lips. "Both my arms were heavily damaged, but my left arm was worse off. Stain severed called the brachial plexus nerve. I could regain the use of my hand and fingers if I get a nerve transplant.
The room was silent as everyone truly digested that fact. Hijiri and Izuku glance between each other before glancing at Hijiri's legs, both wondering what damage he had gotten there.
"When I went after Stain, my mind went blank." Iida says seriously. "I should have told Manual before running off. I may hate him, but he wasn't wrong. So, until I become a real Hero... this hand will serve as a reminder."
"Oh..." Izuku says softly, not sure how to respond to that speech before he looks at his own slightly scarred hand. "Iida... Let's get stronger together." Izuku says, stretching out his hand to Iida. Todoroki looks between both of their hands in shock before looking down at his own.
"I'm sorry..." Todoroki apologises, making the three of them to look at him in confusion.
"For what?" Hijiri asks, tilting his head to the side.
"Whenever I get involved, people's hands get messed up... or something like that? Is it a curse?" Todoroki reveals his thoughts, seriously contemplating his own hand.
"Bwhahaha!" Izuku starts laughing loudly. "What on earth are you talking about?"
"Looks like even Todoroki knows how to make jokes." Iida says with a smile. Hijiri grins at Todoroki.
"No, I'm serious. Call me 'The Hand Crusher'." Todoroki responds blankly.
"And what about me, huh?" Hijiri asks jokingly. "My hands are fine!" Hijiri waves his hands about to emphasise the fact. Todoroki looks at Hijiri's hands before his legs.
"Your legs are sacrificing themselves for your hands." Todoroki theorises with a resolute nod. The other three start laughing loudly until a doctor walks into the room.
"Mr Hijiri Midoriya?" The doctor says, looking up from his clipboard with a sullen expression. "Oh, could everyone, but Hijiri Midoriya please leave the room, so we can discuss his diagnosis?"
"Sure." Izuku says, sending Hijiri a worried glance before leaving with Iida and Todoroki. The doctor closes the door and takes a seat next to Hijiri's bed.
"Before I tell you what happened and treatment options, I want to know if you want to know exactly what happened, or should I sugarcoat it?" The doctor asks, looking at Hijiri with a serious look but warm eyes. Hijiri looks into his eyes before turning away.
"Tell me what happened." Hijiri says, keeping his eyes stuck to the opposite wall. The doctor nods and looks back down at the clipboard.
"Luckily both knives missed the main artery in you thighs, meaning it makes our jobs a lot easier to help you heal." The doctor begins, flipping the page. "But because of the fire applied to the stab wounds from your Quirk the skin cauterized, thus we had to cut that skin off to reduce the risk of infection. The knives also missed the main nerves in your legs, but that doesn't mean they were unaffected."
"Your legs will probably be weaker than they would naturally be, meaning that you would be slower. They will also have dulled feeling below the wounds." The doctor turns to another page and nods to himself. Hijiri keeps his breathing even and controlled. "Your legs should be numb for the next two days. If they are still numb by the third day we will have to take another look."
"Will it affect my Hero work?" Hijiri asks, finally looking at the doctor's face. The doctor looks him in the eyes as he answers.
"With hard work, and proper recuperation, you should be able to continue your Hero work." He answers, before raising his hand. "That means no walking for the next few days as we heal your legs. After you get the feeling back we'll have you do a course in physical therapy to make sure you can move properly, even if it isn't to the same extent as before."
"Your legs will also have scars from the wounds. These will pull your skin slightly tighter and make some motions more difficult." The doctor explains bluntly, before he smiles slightly. "Although, if your performance at the Sports Festival is an example of how you normally move, you should be fine with enough practice and time."
"Thank you." Hijiri says, breathing in deeply before exhaling. "Is there anything else?"
"No. I'll come back later to check up on you." The doctor says before exiting the room, letting the other three come back in. Izuku sends a worried look at Hijiri again. Hijiri just smiles back.
"I can still be a Hero."