"Looking back now, what we did was incredible," sighed Midoriya.
The three of us had spent the night at Hosu general in a closed off ward. I'd had a lot of trouble sleeping with my injured arm and woken up tired and annoyed, but Midoriya and Iida were both more injured than I was and had slept, it seemed, fine. In response to Midoriya's statement, I agreed, though somewhat doubtingly, "Yeah…"
"And after that last-ditch effort, I'd say it's a miracle we're still alive," he concluded. "And with my leg, if he'd wanted to kill me, he easily could've."
"Yeah. He definitely let us live." I turned to Iida. "But you. Even with him coming at you with all that bloodlust, you still stood up to him. Impressive. I came to save you, but ended up needing your help. Sorry."
"Not at all," Iida replied, "It's not like that. I…"
He was interrupted by a knock at the door. Midoriya and Iida's internship pros had arrived, alongside a very tall man in a black suit.
"Ooh, the little wounded warriors are awake," said Gran Torino, Midoriya's mentor.
"Gran Torino!" He exclaimed.
"And Manual," added Iida, looking rather shamefacedly at his mentor.
"I'm still gonna chew you out," said Gran Torino to Midoriya, "but before that, you've got a visitor."
Iida and I stood up to greet our guest.
"This is Mr. Kenji Tsuragamae, Hosu's chief of police," announced Torino.
"Tsuragamae? Ch-chief?!" stuttered Midoriya.
"Please, stay seated, woof," said the officer, whose head resembled a dog's. "So you're the UA students who put a stop to the hero killer, woof.
The chief's here to see us? But why? I wondered, theorizing a few possible explanations, none of which really helped.
"As for the hero killer, he's currently in treatment for his burns, broken bones, and a number of other serious injuries, woof. At the dawn of this extraordinary era, the police moved to prioritize leadership and to maintain the status quo, so they decided not to use quirks as weapons. That's when heroes came along to fill that void, woof. Authorizing the use of such might, these powers that could so very easily kill, was a heavily criticized decision at first, but it would garner public support. All because your predecessors acted morally and complied with the laws, woof. But those without permission, those who inflicted harm without explicit instruction from the police and powers that be, even if they were to face someone like the hero killer…such action would represent a stunning breach of the law, woof. You three, as well as your pro hero mentors - Endeavor, Manual, Gran Torino, the six of you must be dealt with strictly and impartially."
I felt a small explosion of anger bubble to the surface of my mind. Punishment?!
"Hold on a minute," I snapped, ignoring Iida and Midoriya's protests. "If Iida hadn't acted, Native would've been killed. And if Midoriya hadn't shown up, both of them would be dead. Nobody even knew the hero killer was in town. Should we have let people die all in the name of your 'law'? Everything turned out just fine, so forget about the law this time!"
"Whoa, whoa!" said Midoriya, holding out a hand as if trying to stop me.
"Isn't it a hero's job to save people?!" I demanded, not taking my eyes off the chief.
"Clearly, you've much to learn. Some education you're getting, woof, from UA and Endeavor.
"You damn mutt!" I shouted.
"Stop, this is serious!" cried Iida from behind me. Gran Torino held up a hand as well.
"Wait, just listen to what he's got to say."
"All of that is what I'm obligated to tell you, as the police," continued the Chief, as if I hadn't said anything. "The real question is whether or not to deal with this issue publicly, woof. If we let the story out, you'd all be lauded by the public, but you wouldn't be able to avoid punishment. But if we keep this to ourselves, the hero killer's burns would support the story that Endeavor was the key operative. He'll receive the accolades, woof. Fortunately, the number of eyewitnesses was small enough that we can hush up this whole matter before it causes problems, woof. But in that case, your decisive action and achievements will remain unknown to the public. What do you say?! I'm an understanding man. So when it comes to a promising group of young people. I'd rather not have to pursue charges over this admittedly massive indiscretion, woof."
"Either way, our negligence is to blame. We have to take responsibility," said Iida's mentor, Manual. Iida went over to him and lowered his head.
"I'm so very sorry."
"Yeah," said Manual. "You caused big trouble for your mentor, so don't do it again!"
I still felt annoyed, but we all bowed to the police chief in ostensible gratitude.
"Thanks for everything."
"The world's an unfair place. You'll receive none the commendations that you might have otherwise, but at least, as someone invested in keeping the peace,I can thank you." And be bowed back to us.
"You could've led with that," I muttered. Iida and Midoriya both seemed satisfied, so we had no choice but to accept.
Later that day, we had all been given full diagnoses. Iida was looking at his own, and told me quietly exactly how much damage he was looking at.
As we sat in an uncomfortable silence, the door opened. Midoriya, who had called their friend Uraraka to let her know they were ok, came barging in, breaking the tension.
"Ah, Iida! I just got off the phone with Uraraka, and - "
"Midoriya," I interrupted him. "Iida just got his diagnosis."
He stared in silence. Iida said slowly, "My left hand could have permanent damage. Both of my arms were badly injured, but my left got the worst of it. He severed something called the brachial plexus nerve. But they said that I might regain most of the feeling and use of my hand and fingers if I receive a nerve transplant." He sighed. "When I found the hero killer, my mind went blank. I should have told Manual before doing anything else. I may hate him, but he wasn't wrong. So, until I succeed in becoming a true hero, my left hand will serve as a reminder."
"Oh," said Midoriya, then looking down at his own right hand, he said, "Iida. I feel the same way. Let's get stronger, together." He held out his hand to fist bump Iida's. It was the first really good look I'd gotten at Midoriya's right hand since we fought at the Sports Festival. Before then, he had had normal hands - but now, it gave me a shock to see that his right was twisted, unusually gnarled up. As if it had been unable to fully heal from the wounds in our fight.
As Iida and Midoriya fist bumped, Ifelt a hot wave of guilt pour over me. "I'm sorry," I sighed.
"For what?" asked Midoriya.
"Whenever I'm involved," I said, looking at my own right hand, "it feels like people's hands get messed up. Is it a curse?"
There was a pause of a few minutes, and unexpectedly, Midoriya and Iida both laughed out loud.
"What on earth are you talking about?!" they chorused at me. "Looks like even Todoroki knows how to make a joke."
"I'm not joking. Just call me the hand crusher."
"The hand crusher!"
Both of their laughs helped me to pull back a little. Even if I still felt guilty, it was nice to know that both my friends found the idea silly.
