Izuku woke up the next morning to the smell of disinfectant filling the room. His body was sore and heavy so he couldn't move as freely as he would like at the moment. The sun was still high in the sky which meant he hadn't slept too long. Looking around, he could see Iida sitting in the bed across from him looking out the window. Izuku cleared his throat and Iida turned his direction before looking away again.
"So, how are your injuries?" Izuku asked casually. He didn't feel the need in making Iida feel worse than he already did.
"I have a few cuts. The injuries to my arms were the most severe, but I should be released tomorrow if all of my tests come back alright." Iida responded. Izuku hummed, taking in the information before looking out the window. Though the city may have been in peril the night before, it seemed the damage was contained enough that the city could quickly return to normal.
"I want to apologize for last night. If it wasn't for you, I would have brought a great shame upon my family." Iida said as he raised himself from his hospital bed. He staggered over and bowed at a full right angle in front of Izuku. "Thank you so much, Midoriya!" Izuku stared at him for a moment before he ushered for Iida to get up.
"Don't mention it. It was nothing." Izuku responded, but he quickly amended his statement. "If you really want to thank me, don't make the same mistake again." Iida seemed to think on the words for a moment before bowing again and making his way back to his bed and having a seat. The two then began a comfortable conversation, free of the stresses of the previous night.
"By the way, what was that technique you used to stop Stain? Was it similar to what you used against me in the battle trials?" Iida inquired.
"It's my take on Maki's quirk. I can stop time for a moment and attack." Izuku stated. Iida looked dumfounded for a moment, but before he could speak Izuku continued. "It's not long and I could only do it because I had stored extra flames while looking for you. I had an excess to spare."
Iida took the information and his face contorted a bit. "You really are a fine hero, Midoriya." He finally settled on and the two sat in a comfortable silence until they were interrupted by a knock at the door. Todoroki entered the room with a small gift basket in each hand. He sat one on each of their bedside tables before pulling up a seat next to Izuku's bed.
"Thank you for the gift baskets." Izuku and Iida spoke simultaneously. Todoroki merely offered a simple nod in return before he returned to silence. The ensuing silence was a bit awkward before Todoroki chose to speak again.
"My mother suggested them. They have fruit." Todoroki offered. Izuku took the opportunity to open his gift basket and picked out three apples and tossed two around the room to his classmates before partaking in his own. As they continued to talk, the interaction began to become a bit easier and less stiff. And before long they had even managed to crack a few jokes.
Then the room door slid open and Miruko walked in followed by Manual. Miruko had a slightly annoyed frown on her face but perked up when Izuku threw her an apple. "Don't get to comfortable. You have a visitor." Miruko warned. Suddenly a tall man with the head of a dog entered the room. "This is the chief of police, Kenji Tsuragamae."
At the announcement, Todoroki and Iida immediately stood up to greet the chief. Through his exhaustion, Izuku could only make it to the edge of the bed before the chief told him he didn't need to stand. "You young men are the ones who brought Stain to the heroes correct, woof?" Izuku was taken off guard by the woof but nodded. The chief took this as his opportunity to continue.
"As you may well know the profession of hero is defined by the training and the license in order to act in the best interest of the city. Other actions are vigilantism and must be treated as such. By engaging the hero killer, he sustained serious wounds as well as burn marks." Izuku glared for a moment but Todoroki spoke up.
"But they had to get involved. If they hadn't Native and Iida and those other people would have died." Todoroki retorted.
"So, breaking the law is justified as long as the result is good?" The chief scoffed.
"Heroes are supposed to save people." Todoroki called back defiantly.
"And that is why you're not heroes yet. Seriously, what are the school and Endeavor teaching you?" Before Todoroki could respond again, there was a significant rise in temperature in the room and all eyes fell on Izuku. He quickly rose from his bed and came face to face with the police chief. The look in his eyes screaming murder.
"That's enough of that. If you came to insult us, then leave. Otherwise any business you have is with me. I'm the only one who fought the hero killer." The room seemed to still at those words and everyone was sitting on edge awaiting the police chief's response. The chief himself sighed as he got his words together before responding.
"Be that as it may, a video was confiscated showing you fighting against the hero killer and Nomu. If used against you, the video could easily turn into a lawsuit, However, Stain has refused that option. He said and I quote 'I'd rather not be a stone in the way of a promising hero.' The gentlemen also refused their recording back saying they have no need for it. Because of that we will also be cutting a few corners to keep you all on the track to becoming proper pros." Iida seemed to deflate with the tension in the room, but Todoroki still seemed guarded about the issue.
"The arrest credit is being given to Endeavor, but both Miruko and Manual will be facing punishment to make up for leaving this issue to you children. Despite all that, I would like to say thank you. Despite not receiving credit, I am truly proud of the work you did, woof." With his piece said the chief left and suddenly all eyes were on Izuku.
"I may have made a mistake taking you. You were really going to fight the police chief." Miruko joked.
"If it happened, it had to happen. He was a dick." Izuku responded nonchalantly as he made his way back to his bed and found another piece of fruit to eat. Iida still seemed to be a concerned with the prospect, but Todoroki also made his way over to the gift basket taking a piece of fruit. And eventually, even Miruko plopped down and took a bite of her apple. Izuku eventually turned to ask her a question. "So, what did you give up keeping me out of trouble."
"Just a fine on my pay for a little bit. And I owe the safety commission some kind of favor." Miruko responded. Beside them, Iida was having a similar moment with Manual.
"I'm so sorry-" Iida began, but Manual chopped his forehead.
"I understand. Just promise not to make the same mistake and we're even. It was good having you here. I know you'll be a fine hero." Manual replied before making his way out and into the hallway.
Todoroki left soon after saying that he needed to finish out his internship and learn what he could from his father before the week ended. And similarly, Izuku was also cleared to leave and went back with Miruko to her temporary residence. Overall, he was still tired though and quickly drifted off to sleep on the ride back.
When Izuku awoke, he silently followed Miruko back to the agency. And before he could lay down again, he was stopped. "We're going to have a full day tomorrow so rest up and recover. I won't go easy on you." Izuku smiled and nodded back as he headed off to bed.
The next morning Izuku awoke earlier than usual, even earlier than Miruko, and decided to get to work. In the quiet of the morning, Izuku made his way to the training room and practiced. A simple stretching warmup and then Izuku made his way into practicing simple kicks. It was a bit different from how he normally practiced, focusing solely on his legs to make them stronger.
It continued until the sun came up and Miruko came down. "I thought you were out getting me into more trouble. But I see you're hard at work already. Are you ready for weight training or are you too tired?" Izuku smiled as they made their way to the training equipment and worked until close to noon where they ate and went out on patrol.
It was a slow day since the hero killer incident had just recently been resolved. Several of the heroes who had relocated for the hunt of the killer had made their way back to their cities which allowed for more heroes able to respond to each situation. And so, the day ended with another sparring session.
This time they were both coming with a greater intensity than the previous days. Matching blow for blow. Miruko seemed to be hunting him even more ferocious than before and Izuku matched her stride for stride. The training room suffered as well, holes being opened in walls and burns dragging across the room and to the ceiling. Miruko noticed something as the fighting continued. Izuku's fighting style was tighter than it had been when he first arrived. He looked and moved sharper using his whole body to counter, taking strain off of specific limbs and allowing him to move better.
"You've gotten stronger in these few days. You must be some kind of genius!" Miruko called as she bounded off the walls to attack. Izuku focused on dodging and tracking her before he responded.
"I'm not a genius. I'm just dedicated to my craft. I worked really hard to get here, don't discredit it!" Izuku called as he landed a solid kick against Miruko, sending her sliding a bit before she grabbed his extended leg and flung him into the wall.
"We'll call it there. I'm glad your time wasn't wasted." Izuku nodded and he pulled himself out of the wall. Despite having improved slightly, there was only so much he could evolve within a week. However, Miruko had showed him the key to be a successful pro and continuously growing stronger.
The next morning Miruko saw Izuku out and to the train station. Izuku was quite excited to go back and see how his classmates had improved, but he'd be lying if he said he wouldn't miss working with Miruko. "Listen, Miruko, thank you for taking me in and showing me the ropes this week. I'm sorry I caused you so much trouble in my week here. It seems to follow me."
Miruko sighed as she heard the apology. "I knew it was too good to be true that you'd leave without apologizing. Listen, if you did everything perfectly all the time you wouldn't be human. And if you're worried about the money, just send me your first few checks when you go pro. Here's my number in case you ever want to work with me again." Miruko smiled as Izuku's eyes began to steam a little bit. He gave Miruko a quick hug before running off to his train and popping his head out the window.
"One day for sure Miruko!" Izuku called as his train rode off into the distance. Miruko stayed for a while before going her own separate way. She had paperwork to fill out and a meeting with the public safety commission. But overall, Miruko considered teaming up with Izuku again. It may have gone against her policy but there were always exceptions to the rules
Meanwhile, Izuku used his phone to check in on some of the latest news on his way home. What he saw was surprising. It was video and article after article written about Stain. It covered his ideology in pushing fake heroes out and making way for more heroes like All Might.
Apparently, they had found his residence and found all sorts of information. It was also similarly being reported that Stain was working with the League of Villains, which sounded like a stretch to Izuku given the Nomu situation. He focused specifically on an article that claimed to have a transcript of him explaining his ideology to the police.
'Reading through, I understand where he's coming from. It's hard not to these days, especially with what I know about Endeavour now. But still All Might's heroics are only possible because of his ridiculous speed and strength. There's more to heroics than that. Heroes are still people.' Izuku allowed his thoughts on the matter to carry him well back to the dorm.