Chapter 37: You Your Daddy's Son~

The train ride back to Hosu wasn't too bad. Just long, and kind of awkward with all of the blood and damage his clothes had taken.

Izuku decided that it would be best to leave his vigilante mask and such on so that he would get less questions about why he looked like he got hit by a bus. Didn't stop all of the weary looks though.

He busied himself with fiddling with his phone and trying to not scratch at the still sensitive skin on his neck as he rode. The news was blowing up from the night. Stories about the nomu attacks, Stain, his kidnapping…it was just all-around chaos. Of course, no one knew what had actually happened. It was all just speculation and a few eyewitness accounts of what they saw. He wondered what exactly they were all going to say.

Would they say that the league was behind everything? Would they tell everyone about Shoto and Iida's involvement with the hero killer? If they did, then the two boys would face charges of vigilantism and their hero careers would probably be destroyed.

Izuku mentally kicked himself for that one. It was his fault that Shoto showed up in that alley and fought Stain. If he lost his chance at being a hero because Izuku was too weak…he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

The other kid-Iida-was still a mystery to him. It took Izuku a second to recognize him, but once he saw his face, he immediately knew that he had to be related to the pro hero Ingenium. It also tracked with their conversation of why he went after Stain in the first place.

Izuku had heard all about how Ingenium had gotten away from the hero killer with only a few injuries and had asked Stain himself about it. He said that he actually didn't have anything against the hero, but that he was getting frustrated with the league breathing down his back and needed a release. Izuku had scolded him for that but was thankful that Ingenium was still alive and kicking. He was one of Izuku's favorites after all.

Eventually he arrived in Hosu and made his way to the hospital that Eraser had mentioned. Izuku was met somewhere outside of the hospital by some doctor and was escorted inside after double checking that no one had followed him.

Immediately he was led to a room to get checked out and when the door opened, he was met with two unfortunately familiar faces.

Shoto looked at him sympathetically and gave him a nervous wave, while the Iida kid refused to meet his eyes as he gave a very stiff greeting.

The doctor sat Izuku on the bed next to Shoto and encouraged him to change out of his vigilante gear and into a hospital gown after reassuring him that as few people as possible would know that he was here and his supposed identity.

It was a good thing that this place didn't ask too many questions because if they tried to look up any sort of records for Izuku Minori, they would come up with squat.

Izuku complied with the doctor's request and went to the bathroom to change. He wasn't very comfortable showing his body to other people. There was just a lot of scars and he had never been particularly confident in his physique with Katsuki's constant berating of every aspect of him.

As he changed, he snuck a peak in the mirror. All of the usual scars were there, including the one on his shoulder that must've been from when Stain impaled him and the three small ones on his opposite shoulder from the nomu's talons. He used the washcloth that the doctor had also given him and rubbed away at all of the dirt and blood that coated his skin. It took a second, but he eventually felt clean enough to deal with everything and pulled on the hospital gown he was given.

He took another look of himself in the mirror. His skin was red from where he had scrubbed it clean and was pale probably from the amount of blood he lost, even though he was healed now. Another new thing he noticed was the scar on his neck.

Shigaraki's quirk had done a number on his skin. The scar covered the entire front half of his neck and stretched from right under his chin to his collarbones. It was gangly and ragged, almost like the edge of lightning, and still sensitive which was a new one. Izuku was so used to just being completely healed when he came back, but with the destructive nature of the quirk, his body must still be trying to heal all that was disintegrated.

Honestly, he didn't feel any particular type of way about his scars. They were just kind of a fact of his life now, but he did worry about the reactions of others when they saw them. It was very obvious that each one had been lethal to some extent and the amounts of questions and worried looks he'd get if he went around flaunting them were less than desirable.

He wasn't looking forward to all of the looks he'd get because of his neck now, but he didn't want to let that bother him. It was one of the few scars that wasn't his fault.

Once he finished, he walked back into the room and sat down on the hospital bed. The doctor was there to do a quick exam, just to make sure that Izuku was really okay and told him that Eraser would be there soon. Izuku groaned when he mentioned the pro, not because he didn't want to see him, but because he could only imagine how ridiculous he was going to be when he got there and saw Izuku's new scars.

Izuku wasn't excited to tell him about all that had happened, but he knew that it was inevitable. Especially the Stain talk that would need to be had…

Yeah…that one was going to result in some sort of extended grounding, he just knew it.

The doctor finished his exam and left the room, leaving Izuku, Shoto, and Iida there by themselves.

"I would like to apologize." The words came as soon as the hospital door shut and Izuku turned to look at the boy who had spoken.

Iida stared down at the blanket covering his legs that his fists were clutching.

"I let my resentment for what almost happened to my brother to cloud my vision and in doing so, I put both of your lives in danger. I am truly sorry for all of the trouble I have caused you both." He lowered his head until his forehead touched his sheets and Izuku and Shoto quickly glanced at each other before turning their attention back to Iida.

"Yeah, kind of a f'd up move dude."

"Izuku!" Shoto's head whipped to look at him incredulously, which was probably the most emotion he had ever seen the boy express. "I mean you're not wrong, but is it really appropriate to be so blunt about it?"

"No, no, he's right. You two should be furious with me and I deserve every word you give me."

Izuku sighed and adjusted his position in his bed. "Look, you messed up, but who doesn't? I mean not everybody leans towards attempted murder when they screw up, but it could happen. The point is that you know what you did was wrong and that you're going to work to be better."

"Yes! Yes, I promise to you that I will strive to be a better person and hero, just like my brother!"

Shoto stared at Iida for a moment before he let out a soft laugh, "I can't believe you went to attempted murder before I did."

"Todoroki! That is no way for a hero student to speak!"

"Ahem, you have no room to talk. And you're right Shoto, if you didn't kill that dick of a father you have, I was going to…or have Stain do it."

This time Shoto actually let out a full laugh, he even snorted, which caused Izuku to break down into giggles as well. "Speaking of which…is now a good time to-?

"Right. I guess that you two need some sort of explanation. Well, as I'm sure you've already figured out, I'm a vigilante. I have been for a second now and for the past week-week and a half-I've been working with Stain involuntarily. Basically, he trained me to be the kind of hero that he deemed worthy, that's why we knew each other. That's also why I showed up in that alley Iida. I was looking for him in hopes that he wasn't on his usual bs, but then I showed up and you know that rest."

"Wow…"

"I wasn't aware that I was befriending a celebrity." Shoto's voice was monotoned as usual as he deadpanned at Izuku who groaned and put his head in his hands.

"Don't start-"

"Yes, you are quite popular as Serpentine."

"Ugh-I don't even want to talk about it."

Just then the door to the hospital room slammed open and all three boy's heads whipped to the dark figure that had already activated his red eyes as he walked into the room.

"Hey Eraser…"

Before Izuku could finish his greeting a flash of purple flew through the door, past a still glaring Eraser, and barreled into Izuku on his bed. "Izuku!"

"Hitoshi-" He choked out as he tried to regain the breath that his friend had knocked out of him. "I know that I can't die and everything, but I still need to breath."

The boy quickly loosened his grip around Izuku's chest and sat up with a glare. "I can't believe that you went and fought the hero killer without me! We're supposed to be a team!"

"Vigilantes don't really work in teams, and it wasn't like I was planning on going against Stain like that, it just kind of happened."

Regardless of his words, Hitoshi still pouted at Izuku and wiggled his way beside him, forcing Izuku to scoot over to make room for the two to sit together in the small hospital bed.

"What were you even doing in Hosu to begin with?" Eraser came to stand beside Izuku's bed, his glare still very much active.

"About that…it's a funny story actually-"

"Izuku."

"Alright! Alright…" He conceded and let out a worried breath. This was how he died; he just knew it. "So, it all started at the beginning of this week when the hero killer approached me and-"

"He WHAT?"

"Let me finish! I can't tell the story if you're just going to interrupt."

The pro hero gave Izuku a pout that almost matched Hitoshi's to a T. Maybe he had made a mistake of putting those two together, they were way too similar.

"Right, so he approached me and said all this stuff about my convictions and yadda, yadda, and basically voluntold me that he was going to train me to be a worthy hero. Was it a stupid decision? Yeah, it was. But was I about to go against anything that the hero killer, literally known for killing pro heroes, was telling me to do? Absolutely not."

Eraser groaned and rubbed his temples with his fingers as if trying to sooth an oncoming headache, "Of course you would attract the literal hero killer. You're more danger prone than anyone I know."

"I know! It's really starting to get on my nerves. Anyway, so then tonight we went to Hosu because I 'needed a change of scenery' which I knew from the get-go was complete bs but went along with it because I knew that he would be wanting to target another hero there to continue with his pattern of three per city and I was going to try to distract him or stop him if the situation called for it. And then the nomus showed up and everything kind of descended into chaos and then Stain and I split up and once I was finished helping the pros take down a nomu I went to find him and ended up finding an almost murder scene instead and I couldn't just stand by and watch him kill two innocent people so I decided to fight him and that's when I texted Shoto because I knew that he was close and I know that I shouldn't have but I also knew that I wouldn't be able to win the fight on my own so I did it anyway. And we ended up beating Stain by some miracle and met up with some other pros and that's when I got abducted by the flying nomu and Stain somehow regained consciousness and got out of his restraints and saved me but then we got abducted by the league and Shigaraki ended up killing me at one point, but we escaped and now I'm here."

The room was dead silent when Izuku finished telling the short version of all that had happened that night. No one knew what to say. What could they even say to all of that?

"I-" Eraser tried to start but was at a loss for words.

"Yeah…let's just say that I've had an eventful couple of days."

"I'll say." Hitoshi grumbled beside him before Izuku felt a hard punch on his shoulder.

"Ouch! Hey-"

"That's for hanging out with the hero killer without telling me-" He hit Izuku's shoulder again resulting in another yelp from the boy, "That's for fighting him and getting kidnapped," And then came the third hit that was the hardest of them all, "And that's for dying. You know how much I hate it when you do that!"

"It wasn't like it was intentional!"

"This time!"

"I-okay that's fair-"

"Boys!" Both of their heads snapped to a very done looking Eraserhead who was glaring at both of them.

The two of them quickly shrunk under the pro's stare and grumbled out, "Sorry Eraser."

"Sorry Eraser."

"Honestly, I can't stand you two sometimes-" He said more under his breath, but Izuku could hear it perfectly clear and made an exaggerated offended face. "Anyway, so you said that you're not injured Izuku?"

Izuku shook his head, "Any injuries I have heal when I come back. Although it seems like the skin on my neck is taking a bit longer to heal completely, I've never had this much trouble with any of my scars before. I think it has to do with that Shigaraki guy's quirk."

Eraser sighed and rubbed his hand on his elbow. "Yeah, I had the same problem after the USJ when he used his quirk on my elbow."

Izuku absentmindedly brought his hand up to rub at his neck when Hitoshi slapped his hand away, "Absolutely not."

"Oh, come on Hitoshi-"

"No. If you scratch at it, you're just going to irritate the skin even more."

"But it's so uncomfortableeeee," Izuku whined as he laid his head on the other boy's shoulder.

"I don't care. If you keep trying to touch it then I'll get you one of those head cones and make you wear it while on patrol."

Izuku's head shot up and he glared at his friend. "You wouldn't."

"Wanna bet?"

"Boys!"

"…sorry Eraser."

"Sorry Eraser."

The hero let out another exasperated sigh, "Look. The police are going to be here soon to take your statements. That includes Tsuki and the chief of police Izuku, so I expect you to be on your best behavior." He sent a glare at the boy who feigned innocence under his stare. "We'll get you your mask so that you can keep your identity under wraps, but I need you to be honest with them. Tsuki will know and he will tell me if you're lying about anything."

"Snitch," Izuku grumbled under his breath.

"Hitoshi, let's go. Here's you mask," Eraser tossed the small black cloth at Izuku as Hitoshi moved to get up which caused Izuku to whine.

"Noooo, you're taking all the warmth with you!"

"You can deal with it. Think of it as punishment for being you."

"Hey!"

Both Eraser and Hitoshi laughed as they left the hospital room, and it wasn't long after that another set of knocks sounded on their door.

Izuku pulled on his mask and nodded at Shoto who yelled that them to come in.

In walked Tsukauchi, who looked very tired but that might've just been his default at this point, the pro hero Manual, who was probably who Iida had been interning under, and a man with a dog head, who Izuku assumed to be the chief of police. How he had never actually met the guy, he didn't know.

"Serpentine…" Tsuki grumbled as the pro hero greeted Iida and the chief took each of them in.

"Hiya Tsuki! Long time no see, huh?"

"Why am I not surprised that you're involved with this?"

Before Izuku could retort, the chief cleared his throat, and all attention was drawn to him. "Hello children. And Serpentine. I know that you've all had an eventful night, but we'd very much appreciate if we could take all of your statements and then we have something we need to discuss with you three."

One at a time, the three boys gave their statements with Tsuki listening closely to each one. As per Eraser's request, Izuku told the truth about what had happened and when he mentioned that Stain had taken a liking to him, Tsuki groaned and muttered a quiet "Of course. Of course, the hero killer would seek you out-" that caused Izuku to laugh.

Once they were all finished the detective closed his little notepad and turned off the recorder.

"Now. I'm sure that you all are aware of just how much trouble you could be in according to the vigilante laws."

Shoto and Iida nodded solemnly as Izuku scoffed which earned a pointed glare from Tsuki.

"According to said laws, the two of you would be facing criminal charges and would most likely ruin your chances at ever becoming pro heroes-"

"Are you saying that we should've just done nothing?" Shoto's voice rang out from his bed, his tone reminding Izuku of whenever the boy would talk about his father, but maybe not with as much hatred. "If Iida hadn't stepped in, Native would be dead, and if I hadn't come, then Serpentine would be dead, and without him, we'd all be dead."

"Yes, I am aware-"

"Heroes are supposed to help people, and you're saying that we should've just stood by and done nothing while the hero killer killed an innocent hero?"

"Todoroki-" Iida tried but was cut off by Shoto standing up and angrily walking towards the chief.

"What kind of hero would I be if I didn't do everything in my power to help those around me?!"

"I understand, but the law-"

"Screw the law! You all are so caught up in your stupid rules that you lose sight of those who are truly in need of help. But I guess you wouldn't care about that huh? You damn mutt-"

Izuku's head shot up, "Shoto!" He turned to Iida who was just as wide-eyed as he was, "Can he say that? I don't think he can-that felt like it was a slur-Shoto! You can't just say that to-"

"Calm down son, we're not saying any of that."

"Hear him out young Todoroki." Tsuki's calming voice and warm hand on the boy's shoulder helped him to take a few breaths and finish listening to the chief. "I think that you'll be interested in the second part of his speech."

"Yes, you three saved people and successfully took down one of Japan's biggest threats, however, it was still illegal. At least, that's the police's official statement. Off the record, I would like to personally thank you all for the service that you provided last night. Especially you Serpentine. I know that Stain got away, but he failed in killing not only another pro hero, but three young potential heroes as well."

Izuku's eyebrows furrowed at the last part of his sentence. Three? He must've heard wrong or something.

"Now, we could tell the truth about what you three did and you would be heroes in the eyes of the public. But if we did that then you would also have to face the consequences. If we kept this all under wraps however and took your names out of the official story, then you could keep your reputations intact and your records clean. You wouldn't receive any of the glory of course, but you could continue in your journeys to being the best pros you can be and work your way to reaping those rewards legally with proper hero licenses. It's up to you boys."

None of them knew what to say. Izuku and Iida glanced at each other in between gaping at the chief and a smug looking Tsuki.

"You could've led with that…" Shoto grumbled under his breath and took a breath, "I'm sorry chief. I should've heard you out before jumping to conclusions and letting my anger get the best of me."

"Don't sweat it son. What you said is right, but unfortunately, I can't change laws that have been in place for decades so easily. But with a little hard work and some determined minds, I'm positive that we can all create a better society for everyone. Regardless of your decision, the police department thanks you for your service." The chief bowed his head with Tsuki and the pro following suit.

"I think I speak for all of us when I say that we'd be very grateful to keep our names out of the papers. We've still got a long way to go before we're proper pros after all." Iida spoke up after a second with Shoto and Izuku nodding their agreeance with his words.

"Well, I'm glad that you boys seem to have good heads on your shoulders. I look forward to watching each of you grow and work your way to the top. Now, as for the official story…"

The chief explained the story that the department had already created in the case that all three boys agreed with keeping quiet about the whole thing.

The story goes along the lines of Stain trying to kill Native but was temporarily held off by Serpentine until Endeavor showed up and took down the villain who was later kidnapped by the league. Unfortunately, there were already videos of Izuku being carried off by that flying nomu and both him and Stain falling through Kurogiri's portal, so they couldn't leave his name out of the story, but he was a vigilante, so it really didn't matter too much.

The important thing was that Iida and Shoto got off scot-free. Well…almost. All three of the boys were chastised by their mentors, Endeavor yelled at Shoto over the phone, Iida's mentor scolded him after Tsuki and the chief left, and when he left Eraser chewed them all out.

Once it was determined that Izuku really was fine and that the other two boys were healing nicely, Eraser went ahead and checked Izuku Minori out of the hospital and took him and Hitoshi, who claimed that he would never let Izuku leave his sight again, home. But before he left the hospital, another conversation unfortunately had to be held.

The chief and Tsuki had left, and Eraser hadn't come back with Hitoshi yet, so it was just the three boys sitting in extremely awkward silence that was killing Izuku.

"So…" He tried to break the blanket that was slowly suffocating them all, but Shoto had beat him to the punch.

"So you can't die?"

"Hehe, yeah…well technically I can't stay dead."

Shoto glanced over to Izuku, his eyes trailing to the boy's neck, "So that scar…you died from it?"

"That was an accident. Shigaraki got irritated and I just so happened to be in choking distance."

"Is it really appropriate for you to joke about such things?" Iida chimed in, his expression a mix of disgruntled and horrified at Izuku's attitude towards dying.

Izuku let out an amused scoff, "Shut up Iida." The boy complied, his arms crossing over his chest as he huffed out a breath and Izuku glanced over at a smiling Shoto. "Don't think I forgot about you Shoto. I can't believe you called the chief of police a mutt."

Shoto groaned into his hands as Izuku laughed and even Iida let out a small snicker. "Shut up."

"You too Iida, attempted murder? Suddenly, me being an illegal vigilante doesn't seem so bad."

"Alright listen-"