Tsukauchi's POV

Being in a hospital always set Naomasa's teeth on edge. The only difference was that it wasnt one of his men or Toshinori. Instead, the injured one was a vigilante he had been trying to capture for a while now. When the paramedics loaded him into the ambulance Naomasa went with him.

When the paramedic asked him about the cowl and hood a part of him wanted to ask him to take it off. Then his mind flashed to the fighting he had seen. Kaze had done everything to protect the civilians. As much as he wanted to know who Kaze was he could not out him like that. So he ordered the cowl and hood to stay in place.

The paramedic had to cut off the sleeve of the jacket to get to the vigilante's arm for an iv. This was swiftly followed by first aid to the abdomen where most of the burns were. Arriving at the hospital he had to relay his orders. If at all possible the hood and cowl were not be removed. They were to treat the vigilante as if he was an undercover officer or hero.

Then all he could do was wait for the vigilante to be treated. He had no idea if there were internal injuries or if his injuries were severe enough to need surgery. In their current society surgery was rarely used anymore as quirks could heal most things. There were still exceptions such as what happened to his friend Toshinori or All Might as the world knew him. Diseases were another exception. Only a handful of quirks throughout the world could combat disease. Which was why they still had medicine as they did.

Naomasa knew that Kaze was close to Hawks. It was the worst kept secret in the hero community. No one mentioned it to the Commission because despite rivalries they were a tight-knit community. Even Naomasa understood having friendships that weren't meant to be. So it was up to him to alert Hawks about what happened. Now that he thought about it, Hawks was probably the only person who cared.

Or at least that's what the vigilante believed. Unlike what he thought there were others like Naomasa who did care. If he didnt care he would have ordered the removal of the cowl and hood.

Taking a deep breath he sent a message off to Hawks.

Tsukauchi: You may want to come to the hospital. Kaze...

Hawks: HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET HIM TO AGREE TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL

That was worrying. How often did Kaze get injured enough to need a doctor? As far he knew there weren't any on record. Then again Hawks saw Kaze more often than anyone else.

Tsukauchi: He wasnt exactly able to disagree...

Hawks: WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY VIGILANTE?! Where was Best Jeanist they were supposed to be working together while I'm out of town?

Great now he had an angry hero to deal with along with everything else. He didnt realize how close Hawks was to Kaze. Naomasa felt for the young hero and hoped he didnt give Jeanist too hard of a time. The man had his own patrols to do and it was difficult keeping up with someone like Kaze.

In the end, it took three hours for the doctors to return from taking care of the vigilante. Since the last message, he had not heard from Hawks but Best Jeanist had sent a message stating he would drop by. The main doctor was a short stocky man with a fading hairline and brown eyes. He was clearly exhausted but in decent enough spirits. Naomasa was on his feet and moving towards the man in an instant. He needed to know how Kaze was doing.

The doctor said, "Good news the young hero has been healed from his physical wounds. There were severe 2nd burns across his chest and abdomen. There were some light first degree burns across his legs and arms. His jacket and kevlar vest protected from most of the flames."

There was a pause before the doctor pulled out an object with a long screen and straps. It looked like it went on a hero's wrist to act possibly as a communication device.

The doctor continued, "To treat the burns on his arms we had to remove this from his arm. I believe it is a wrist computer or something similar. It appears to be mostly undamaged from the flames surprisingly. Kaze with rest he will be back on the streets in a few days. You can go in and see him now."

Naomasa was led to the vigilante's hospital room. Unsurprisingly he was the only one in the room. Occasionally if the hero ward was busy they would have to double up but it didnt happen very often.

Kaze's chest was and arms were covered in white bandages. The remains of his jacket were laying on the bed. While the Kevlar vest was on the chair beside the bed. As promised the cowl and hood remained.

Naomasa picked up the vest before sitting in the chair. He spent a few moments examining the vest for damage. Given the vigilante's penchant for trouble, he shouldn't have been surprised to find that it was barely functional. There were knife, gunshots, and even quirk use damages. With all the damage done to the vest, it would become useless soon.

After some thought, he sent a message to Sansa to bring an extra vest and clothes from the precinct. With that jacket ruined Kaze would need some new clothes. He had to wonder if the vigilante would even accept their help. From what he gathered from Hawks, Kaze didnt accept help easily. Even after their time together Hawks was still met with suspicion. They would have to be careful about how they went about this. A beeper from his phone caught his attention.

Tsuragamae: Is it true that Kaze is currently in the hospital?

Briefly, Naomasa hesitated. Any plans he had of trying to gain the vigilante's trust could be thrown out the window in an instant. Tsuragamae was the Chief of Police and his boss. The dog quirked man was just as invested in catching Kaze as the rest of the police force.

Tsukauchi: It is. Currently, he is unconscious recovering from overusing his quirk. Sansa will be bringing new clothes for him.

Tsuragamae: You're not going to bring him in? After chasing him all this time?

Naomasa let out a tired sigh as he considered it. Bringing in the vigilante would not look good on them in the public's eye. Kaze had protected dozens of civilians and the media was having a field day. They were praising both Naomasa and Kaze. Kaze for the obvious and Naomasa for worrying about the vigilante. If he arrested the other now he would be hated by the public.

For four years he chased the small vigilante. Vigilantes rarely were able to keep out of custody for more than a year. Most of the time they were caught within a few weeks. Four years was an extraordinary amount of time to be chasing one. It spoke of the vigilante's resourcefulness.

It made him consider the little known hero laws. For most heroes, they went to a hero school to be trained for the job. It was the most common way but there were others. Civilians could be handpicked by heroes to be trained by them personally. They would still have to take the provisional licensing exams like students. The only difference was that they were older than their student counterpart.

There was a third almost never used way to become a hero. It was a vigilante given a hero license. Something that only happened twice in the history of heroes. It was a difficult process as a vigilante had to earn a hero's trust and respect. The last time it happened was over twenty years ago. If they could find a hero that was not Hawks due to his age to sponsor Kaze things might just change.

Tsukauchi: I have a plan but will need to talk to a few heroes first. If they agree I'll bring it up to you later.

It was time to send off messages to Eraserhead. Possibly they could change this vigilante's life for the better.

Izuku's POV

Awareness slowly returned to him. The first thing he noticed was that he wasnt in any pain. It took him a few seconds to remember what happened. The memory made him want to sit up and try to escape wherever he was. If Orion had come to get him he would still be in pain. That meant he had been captured by the heroes.

From what he could feel he was not wearing his jacket. There was something soft across his chest and arms. He could feel an iv in his right as well. Well, that was just great. He was in the hospital and if they did a DNA test on him they would find out who he was.

It took all of his experience as a vigilante to not go into a full panic. He had to find a way out of here before he was taken to jail. Or worse back to his mother. He would rather go to jail than to his mother.

When he opened his eyes he was immediately blinded by the brightness of the room. It took a few moments for eyes to adjust. To his surprise, his cowl and hood were still in place. Looking down he could see bandages on his chest. They healed him but didnt remove his cowl or hood. What were the heroes' planning?

Turning his head to the side he blinked in surprise. On his phone with a furrowed brow was Tsukauchi sitting in a chair. Leaning against the wall watching the detective was Best Jeanist. Izuku had to admit he felt slightly guilty about sending the heroes and police on a wild goose chase. Still, he wasnt sure why they had not unmasked him.

Light green eyes lifted to meet his own darker green eyes. Then the hero cleared his throat drawing the attention of the detective. The moment he saw that Izuku was awake he closed his phone and sat straight up.

Izuku croaked unsurely, "Pantsonfire? What is going on? Why am I in the hospital?"

Tsukauchi replied his black eyes on the young vigilante, "You were severely injured by in the battle. One we could have helped you with if you didnt have us running all around the city."

Izuku gave him a sheepish smile as he began to sit up. He said, "Sorry what smuggling was too dangerous for you to be around. At least if it was used on me it wouldn't have worked. Were any of the civilians injured?"

Best Jeanist sighed, "No. They were all uninjured by the attack. It was thanks to your efforts that no one was injured."

S

Izuku breathed out a sigh of relief. Knowing that the civilians were uninjured was a massive weight off his shoulders. He did not know how things were going to go from here.

Tsukauchi said rubbing a hand down his face, "You are probably wondering why we haven't unmasked you yet," slowly he nodded, "The public would be outraged if we arrested you after the attack. They would demand your release immediately. After reviewing everything you've done so far we have come up with a solution that would benefit both yourself and us."

Izuku raised his chin in acknowledgment and the detective continued, "So far you have been a vigilante for four years. It hasn't escaped our notice how you're able to avoid us. When we are able to catch you its because you were more worried about the civilians than your own safety. We want to invoke a rare almost unused hero licensing."

Izuku's brow furrowed in confusion. There was a special licensing? Why did they want to use it with him?

Best Jeanist was the one who continued on, "Vigilantes who have earned a hero's trust and respect who have been around for longer than a year can become provisional heroes. For six months you will be watched to ensure you continue to do as you have been. After that, you will be given a full license."

Izuku blinked in surprise. Did they want to make him a hero? Was that even possible? He had not heard of such a thing before.

"Both Best Jeanist and Eraserhead are willing to sponsor you," finished the detective.

Izuku frowned at the hero considering him. Eraserhead he could understand in a way. A game of cat and mouse had been played between them for a while. Best Jeanist sponsoring him didnt make any sense. The only reason the blond interacted with him was because of Hawks. It made sense that they didnt allow Hawks to sponsor him. They were too close.

To Best Jeanist he questioned, "Why would you sponsor me? Our interactions are only because Hawks is out of town currently. If it wasn't for the overgrown chicken we wouldn't have met. Especially since you're a daytime hero."

Best Jeanist sighed, "Your words that night Hawks introduced us struck a cord. I might be a spotlight hero who is supposed to bring in vigilantes like yourself but I can see your potential. It is why I also offered to sponsor you."

That made sense strangely enough. This was probably his best chance at becoming a real hero. Rumors had been going around that if he wasnt caught soon the Hero Commission would bring in Endeavour. Wind spirit could fight many things but he doubted they could withstand Endeavour's flames.

Izuku said, "I'll agree to become a hero as long as I can keep my identity a secret. I'll allow for Eraserhead to sponsor me since we have worked together more."

"Agreed."