Chapter Seventeen
~Shina's POV~
Shina was perched on the rooftop of a nearby building watching as the heroes below mobilized to take Stain and the flying nomu into custody. It had surprised her to see Stain engage in a fight with the UA students and James. She had been content to stay hidden and watch the kids fight, at least until James had gotten hurt. Only sheer willpower had kept her in check. It wouldn't do to come out of hiding and kill Stain in front of those kids when Shiggy was probably watching her. If she was going to get away with something, she would prefer to not have any witnesses.
The flying nomu that had taken the green haired kid had been a surprise. She hadn't been aware Shigaraki was actively going ahead with just taking the kid. She would have to remind him of their contract clauses in kidnapping kids. But the one thing that had left her unsettled the most was witnessing Stains unhinged speech once Endeavor had shown up. The miasma of what could only be described as killer intent was so strong it left her terrified and unsettled. The after effects were still present causing some shaking in her hands that she ignored for now.
She couldn't get Stain to freedom due to all the heroes present down there so she guessed the only thing she could do, is follow whatever car Stain was held in with the hopes that she would be available to 'steal' him. Of course, she just wanted to kill him herself so maybe it wasn't such a good idea. She'd need to let Shiggy know first and get his input. No sense in him figuring out that she'd saved him from jail.
Shina pulled out her cell and dialed the bar. It rang once, twice and a third time before the line clicked and then seemed to be rerouted with a simple beep. On the second ring it was answered.
'Hello?'
"It's me. Let me talk with Shiggy." There was some rustling and murmuring before the familiar wheezing voice came on.
'What?'
"I'm watching the clean up procedures by the heroes. Do you want me to pick up some Stain remover? Or just a bottle?"
'Hmph. Leave him. He can rot for all I care.'
"I assume then that you've achieved your mission?" Shina watched as the students were taken away in an ambulance while the heroes below continued to do clean up.
"We'll see what the media shows tomorrow. Until then we still have Giren doing recruitment for us. I'll see you at the bar at the end of this week with the information your clansmen have gathered." Shina got up from her perch and started to walk away.
"Sure thing." Shina hung up her phone before she put it away. She slunk into the shadows, intent on heading to the Ugly House to change into civilian clothes.
~James POV~
"I can't believe we took on Stain." James murmured the next morning from his hospital bed. He was staring out the window at the morning sun shining on Hosu City. He'd been informed by the morning shift of nurses when they had come in that his guardian, Shina, had been informed late last night after he'd been checked in with his classmates that he was in the hospital due to a particularly hard patrol. He had checked his phone to see just the one text from Shina.
'Text me when you're up. I'll swing by and visit.'
She must not have told Yuto and Kana he was in the hospital yet if she wanted him to text. So far, he hadn't gotten around to answering it yet. He was in shock about last night's fight.
"Looking back now, what we did was incredible." Todoroki spoke from where he sat on his hospital bed across James.
"Yeah." Midoriya murmured. "I'd say it's a miracle we're still alive. And with my leg, if he'd wanted to kill me, he could have done so easily."
"He definitely let us leave." James stated before he shifted to sit on the edge of his bed.
"Even with him coming at us, you still stood up to him Iida," Todoroki spoke. "I came to save you but ended up needing your help anyway."
"Not at all." Iida spoke up. "It's not like that, I-" Whatever Iida had been about to say was drowned out as the door opened.
"Ooh, all the little wounded warriors are awake."
"Who's the old man again?" James whispered to his classmates.
"Gran Torino!" Midoriya blurted out in surprise answering James question. James watched the interactions between Iida and Midoriya and their mentors carefully.
"Mr. Manual."
"I'm still gonna chew you out!" The old man spoke to Midoriya. "But before that, you've got a visitor." A large man with a dog head came into the room. James felt his hackles start to prickle before he took a deep breathe and blew it out. His darn instincts as a cat were a bit too strong at times. "This is Mr. Kenji Tsuragamae, Hosu's Chief of Police." James ears twitched at that as he froze.
"So, you're the U.A. students who stopped the Hero Killer. Woof."
"Uh I suppose so?" James stated slowly.
"As for the Hero Killer, he's currently being treated for his burns, broken bones, and a number os other serious injuries. Woof. At the dawn of this extraordinary era, the police prioritized leadership and maintaining the status quo so they decided not to use Quirks. The profession of 'Hero' rose to fill that void. Woof. Authorizing the use of a police force and the Hero force to be separate entities that utilized their own talents, garnered public support thanks to your predecessors compliance. Those who acted without these permissions were labelled vigilantes or worse, villains. You four, as well as your mentors, you seven must be dealt with strictly and impartially."
"Hold on a minute," Todoroki spoke up.
"Todoroki." Iida tried to interrupt.
"I don't think making this worse is going to be helpful." James spoke up.
"If Iida hadn't acted Native would have been killed. And if Midoriya hadn't acted, they both would be dead. Nobody even knew the Hero Killer was in town." James kept his face straight at that as he technically had that text from Shina warning him beforehand. "Should we have let people die all in the name of your 'law'? Everything turned out fine so just forget about your law this time!"
"Shoto!" James got up and put a hand on his shoulder, holding him back while Midoriya stood in front of Todoroki.
"Easy Todoroki!"
"Calm down Shoto!" James hissed.
"Isn't it a hero's job to save people?"
"Clearly you've got much to learn. Some education you must be getting from All Might, Endeavor and U.A."
"Okay that's not fair." James called out. "I mean yeah Shoto kind of got a bit of a hot head there, I mean who wouldn't, but you don't need to attack our teacher, mentor, and school!"
"Stop! This is serious, listen to what he has to tell you!" Gran Torino spoke as he was suddenly in front of them.
"All of this is what I must tell you as the police… but the real question is, whether or not to deal with this issue publicly. Woof. If we go public with this, yes you will all be praised as Heroes, but the backlash of this would mean you would be punished as unlicensed heroes bordering vigilantes who get away scot-free. We can't have that. The best way to deal with this, is to do so in private." James blinked in shock at the dog-man officer. "What do you say? I'm an understanding man."
'Does he qualify as a man?' James wondered as the 'dog man' continued with the bordering on boring speech.
"Thank you for everything!" James followed his classmates as they all bowed to the head of the police.
"So, if none of last nights fight will be public, then do our teachers know?" James asked.
"Unfortunately, we did have to inform a select few of the teaching staff about last night." Gran Torino stated. "Especially since four of you ended up in the hospital. Hospital protocols being what they are, your guardians or parents were also informed of your hospital stay."
"Clearly you don't know my sister." James snorted. "She's annoyingly persistent when she wants the truth."
"Haven't you ever lied to her about something?" Gran Torino asked.
"Yeah." James had mental flashbacks to torture with screams and bombs going off everywhere. "It was the first and last time I've ever lied to her. The mental brutality nearly broke my sister Kana."
"I'm a little terrified to meet your cousin sister." Midoriya confessed. James gave him a confused look.
"I don't think I've ever told you about her."
"Kana told us a bit about her during the Sports Festival." Todoroki stated. "Though I don't understand the phrase 'the hole'. I assume it has to do with a game of some sort?"
"Dude, I am not going to the be the one to tell you about that incident." James shivered in fear. "The mental trauma is too great."
~Shina's POV~
'JAMES IS WHERE?!' Kana screeched into the phone. The scream was echoed down the hallway of the hospital making Shina wince as she gave a sheepish smile to the nurses she was passing who gave her a disapproving look.
"I'm sorry." Shina muttered before she quickly walked past the nurses. "Calm down Kana! I don't think the people in America heard you." Shina spoke sarcastically. She had just gotten into the hospital to check on James after spending most of the night worrying about him. Logically she knew he wasn't that bad off but, she took her duties as older sister/parental figure seriously when it came to the three kids injuries.
'I thought we told him no more hospital trips!' Kana seethed. Shina glanced around the corner as she continued to walk through the halls to the room where James was being held.
"Apparently running into the Hero Killer Stain gives one an 'invincible' feeling." Shina saw the room number up ahead. "I'm going in now. Do you think you can hold it together until I come out later? I'll update you and Yuto at that time too."
'Yeah that's fine.' Kana sighed. 'It'll be better if you text me though. Gun Head is going to have us on patrol later. I only had a minute to spare right now.'
"Talk later." Shina ended the call before she brushed her hair out of her face and knocked on the door twice before opening it. Entering the room Shina was greeted to the sight of four boys in four different beds, all of them looked her way when she entered. "Hello!" She gave a calm, gentle smile. "I'm sorry to disturb you all, I was hoping to see James?"
"Oh you must be his older sister? Or uh, cousin sister?" The green haired boy known as Izuku Midoriya stuttered nervously. Shina nodded.
"Yes I am. And you are?" She asked curiously taking in the boy's features as well as general air of manners. He was smaller than she'd thought but no less innocent.
"I'm Izuku Midoriya." He spoke with a smile. "This is Shoto Todoroki and Tenya Iida." He introduced the other two boys. Todoroki nodded while Iida actually got up and bowed formally.
"Hello Miss Nara, it is a pleasure to meet you. Your cousins speak very highly of you." Shina wondered about that, not because she doubted they would tell anyone about her, but about the lies they may have thought up. She needed to check with Kana to find out what exactly the UA students had been told.
"Oh, thank you, it's nice to meet you three. I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself properly, I'm Shina Nara." Shina smiled before she gave a simple nod of her head in greeting. "You can call me Shina."
"You didn't have to come all the way here you know." James spoke up, sounding aggravated. Shina smiled at his grumpy tone and walked over to him, placing her bag on the end of his bed before she patted his head. He winced as her patting disguised what she was actually doing, which was smacking him harder than his roommates could see or tell.
"I did have to come, I wanted to check to see if you were alright. You had me worried James Wyatt Nara." James flinched when he saw the look of steel in her eyes. "You had Kana and Yuto worried too but they weren't able to come since they're still on their internships."
"I get it, I get it, please stop!" James whimpered, shoving her hand off his head. Shina sighed as she folded her arms.
"What am I going to do with you if you keep getting into trouble like this?"
"Continue to love and support me in my dangerous deeds and tell my stories if I fail?" James cheeked. Shina rolled her eyes at his lame attempt at humor.
"I thought the point of becoming a hero was to make sure everyone was safe. Even you." Shina berated gently. "You can't exactly save people if you're rushing into dangerous situations and getting yourself beaten up," she noted the bandages that peeked out from his neckline. "Or sliced up or pounded into sludge. You should think before you act, I know it's a terrible thing for you to do but please, think before you act. You may be a cat, but I doubt you have nine lives."
"We've never officially tested that you know." James stated lightly. Shina didn't hesitate to whack his head as she glared at him.
"I can test it by sending you to grandma's house. See how long you live in the desert."
"No! I'm sorry!" James cried out. "I promise I'll behave."
"I don't believe that." Shina sighed before she grabbed her bag and opened it. She pulled out a bottle of water as well as a tin of sushi. "Here, Chef Wolfe sends his regards." She handed the tin to James who opened it with glee. He cried out in happiness at seeing the sushi rolls of what he had described as 'heavenly'. Shina ignored him as he started to stuff his mouth. She smiled at the other three boys and pulled out a red shiny tin from her bag. "I'm sorry I didn't bring anything you boys may like personally but our chef does excel at confections, and he gave me a to-go tin in case any of you wanted to try something other than hospital food." She opened the tin to reveal the inside of the tin was split into fours with chocolate varieties inside. Milk chocolate, Dark chocolate with mint, White chocolate, and Caramel-chocolate swirls.
"Oh thank you Miss Shina." Midoriya spoke up.
"I'm just going to leave this here for you boys." Shina spoke as she placed the tin on the foot of James bed. She then turned to James who had paused in his fish massacre to glare at the chocolate tainting his presence. "I have to get going unfortunately. I have a meeting with a consulting director in an hour."
"Oh okay." James blinked before remembering to ask, "should I call you when I'm going to be discharged or do you want me to hop on the train?"
"I'll have the doctor give me a call when he's sure he's ready to have you discharged. Either Claude or I will come and get you." James nodded. "I suggest you also text Yuto and Kana to let them know how you're doing. They're going to kill you if you don't message them soon."
"Right." James nodded. Shina turned to the other three boys. "I wish I could stay longer to get to know you three. James isn't the kind of person who makes many friends, you three must be good boys if he doesn't mind being around you."
"Oy! Get out of here witch!" James hissed. Shina snickered as she quickly made her exit from the room. She was still in a good mood as she spotted the doctor at the nurses station.
"Excuse me!" Shina called. The nurses and doctor looked at her. As she got closer she saw the lanyard on the doc's front and gave a smile, "Hello, Dr. Hinosuke, I'm Shina Nara, the guardian to James Nara. I was just in his room to check on him."
"Oh good, nice to meet you." The doctor nodded. Shina nodded back. "I was just asking the nurse if someone had come by for James. I wanted to give an update on his health. He's progressing very nicely; in fact, I'm surprised how well he's healed so far." Shina nodded.
"James has a bit of a healing factor. It doesn't surprise me that he's doing better. Do you know when he may be released?"
"Well, if his tests continue to trend in the right direction as I am now sure of since you said he has a healing factor, I'm inclined to release him possibly by tomorrow morning." Shina nodded.
"That's very good news." Shina reached for her card from her purse. "Here's my contact info that your nurse can call me to let me know when he will be discharged. I can have our butler or myself come and pick him up to take him home."
"Of course." Dr. Hinosuke took the card. "I will call myself when I am sure he will be discharged. In the meantime, he should simply be fine to rest." Shina nodded.
"Thank you very much. Oh uh, did you by any chance do any bloodwork or imaging?"
"Yes, just as a precaution when he entered the hospital. He was fairly wounded when he came in and we weren't sure how bad he was."
"No, it's okay I absolutely understand. Could I have a copy send to our family doctor for her records?" Shina asked. Dr. Hinosuke nodded.
"Yes I can have the nurses here get those sent tonight. If you'll simply sign some paperwork allowing the transfer of this information we should be all set."
"Perfect." Shina smiled. After thirty minutes she was exiting the hospital, already thinking of ways she could get back into the hospital to access the medical records to get James information out of the database. It wouldn't help if his info was on file when their cover was blown. Who knows how that information would come back to bite them in the butt later down the road? For now though, she had a meeting with Shigaraki to make.
~Kana's POV~
"Morning Kana!" Kirishima and Denki greeted when she walked into the room.
"Whoa, you look different!" Denki called. Kana smiled, not feeling very confident in her hairstyle choice as she'd made out to Shina that morning.
"I just braided it. It kept getting in my way when it was down and flying all over the place." Regrettably her once long and wild black and pink hair had to be pulled back into a braid or ponytail as it kept getting in her face when she got to rowdy on patrol. She'd thought about cutting it, but she liked the lengths and didn't want to do that to herself in case she may need her long lengths later.
"I like it," Kirishima smiled. "But if you don't feel comfortable I wouldn't mind if you went back to your usual style. You look great either way Kana."
"Thanks Kirishima." Kana smiled, relaxing further. "How was your internship?"
"It was great. Fourth Kind's agency is pretty intense, but it was so worth it! I ended up at the same agency as Tetsutetsu, we really hit it off."
"That's cool. What about you Denki?"
"It was pretty boring." Denki stated. "I mean, did you hear about the Killer Hero incident in Hosu? Man, I'd have loved to have been there."
"Eh, I heard it was scary." Kana stated lightly. She'd heard all about it from James and Shina when they'd caught up over the weekend about their internships.
"How was your week?" Denki asked her.
"Oh it was-"
"HAHAHAHAHAHA WHAT THE HECK BAKUGOU!" Kana was interrupted by loud laughing due to Kirishima and Sero. When she turned to see what they were laughing at Kana's eyes widened before she had to cover her mouth to stop from laughing like Kiri and Sero were doing.
"Stop laughing! It's just stuck like this even after I washed it!" Bakugou's once spiky hair was now tamed and looked to be glued to his head in a very 'Best Jeanist' style.
"Uh, I- Nice hair Ken sir." Kana couldn't help it and she started to laugh along with Kiri and Sero.
"Grr, keep it up and I'll murder you guys."
"Look at that it's a perfect 2:8 hair ratio!" Sero and Kirishima busted out laughing again.
"I never thought I'd see the day where the beast has been tamed." Kana blurted out. Sero and Kiri fell to the floor in laughter. Bakugou on the other hand let out a loud boom, making his hair puff up back into it's usual style. This silenced the three of them only for them to start howling in laughter again when they made eye contact.
"It's wigases!" Kana howled.
"You're dead!" Bakugou growled. Kana scrambled to hide behind Sero who gladly allowed himself to be grabbed while Kiri got pulled by Bakugous other hand. Kana had to look away from Bakugou in order to try and control her laughter. Whenever she looked back at him she started to laugh again.
"Yo, chuckles calm down." James said as he shoved her backward. Kana reacted instinctively and created a portal behind her, allowing herself to fall through it only to land on James desk.
"J, it was wigases!" Kana continued to cackle. James smirked.
"I know, but I'm trying not to laugh at him." Kana snorted but toned down on her happiness at teasing the blond terrorist.
"Hey James you were there right?" Denki called making the two Nara look at him in confusion. "You saw the Hero Killer right?" Kana's mood completely sobered as she looked at James who nodded slowly. He'd told the family when he'd been discharged from the hospital about the attack as well as how Stain had tried to kill them all. Kana didn't think she'd ever seen James so serious as that moment. Shina hadn't made any comments and only pulled them all into a hug after the story telling had finished.
"Yeah we saw him." James admitted slowly.
"I was worried when it was just Iida and Midoriya involved." Momo spoke. "When I heard you and Todoroki were also involved it became even more terrifying."
"I'm just glad you're all alive." Sero spoke as he was being manhandled by Bakugou.
"Endeavor came and saved you guys right?" Kirishima spoke up. "That's our #2 hero."
"Yeah, sure he did." James murmured. Kana nudged him. She'd heard through him how Endeavor really was with Todoroki and she hadn't liked hearing it. She and Todoroki may not have been close like James and he were but, even she could tell if push came to shove, she wouldn't hesitate to punch the #2 hero in the face. None of them liked seeing abusive households in the world. It had been heart-breaking to Kana to see that being done to innocent children. Shina had had to calm her down a few times when Kana had seen friends go through it. To hear about this being done in a heroes home was terrifying.
"Right… we were saved." Todoroki muttered.
"I saw on the news that they think the Hero Killer is involved with the League of Villains. I hate to think how a scary guy like that could have changed the USJ incident." Tsu spoke up.
"Hold on, sure he's scary Tsu, but did you see that video?" Denki spoke up. "You can really see his tenacity, his one-track mind. Kind of cool don't you think?"
"Denki!" Midoriya warned. Kana knew the one he was talking of. It had really blown up over the weekend to the point where Shina had told them that Shigaraki was annoyed about his 'plan' back firing in a way. Instead of it all being about Shigaraki and the League of Villains, it was Stain and the League of Villains.
"He's certainly a man of convictions, so if people think he's cool, I understand that." Everyone looked at Iida as he spoke. "But his convictions have led him to think that society needs a purge. No matter what anyone's conviction, that is just wrong. So that no others suffer my fate, I will correct my course and walk the path of a hero."
"Nice speech!" Yuto applauded as everyone in the class, except Bakugou and Kana, cheered. The bell alerting everyone about class starting went off.
"Class is about to start, everyone in your seats!" Kana hopped off James desk and quickly slid into her own to await what the day would bring.
~James' POV~
"I am here!" All Might's familiar catch phrase was soothing after not hearing it for an entire week. They stood outside a new training ground that afternoon in their gear. It was surreal if James thought about it, the last time he'd worn his gear was to face down Endeavor after he said his goodbyes to the rest of the Agency, Endeavor had only received his back turning on him before he got into the car with Claude. James shook himself out of his stupor to see everyone organizing.
"What happened?" James asked Yuto.
"We're going to be doing a rescue race inside the training ground. It's an industrial park. No destruction." James nodded. "Oh and you're in the first group so you may want to catch up." James nodded and started to jog to where Midoriya, Iida, Mina and Sero were gathered.
"Hey Mina, I wasn't really listening, how does the race go?" James asked.
"All Might is going to send up a distress signal somewhere in the park and we're going to race to get to him. Should be fun right?" Mina grinned at him. James smiled back and nodded.
"Don't be mad if I beat you."
"Come on kitty cat, you can't beat the Queen." James chuckled as his competitive nature rose.
"START!" James launched his body forward in the same way he always did only this time he was lower to the ground than usual. Training with Endeavor hadn't been a total loss, as he'd been able to take some pointers on how to be faster. He darted through and around the industrial park before he started to climb up higher to the tops of the railings. His natural balance would come in handy here. A shadow flying above him had him looking up to see Midoriya flying past him faster than James had thought.
"When the heck did he learn that?" James uttered in surprise. "And why did he steal Bakugou's movements?" James felt his hand slip and lost his focus as he fell through the air. "CRAP!" He twisted his body, angling his head to find the best spot to land and locking his eyes on his target. He landed on his legs in a crouch before he darted forward again. The mystery about Midoriya aside, he needed to concentrate as this was still a race.
"Finished!" James panted but was victorious as he smiled at Sero.
"So close man!" Sero groaned. "I was a second behind you!"
"Yeah sorry about that. I would have been more than a second ahead, but I got surprised by Midoriya and his moves back there." James stated. "Guess you learned a lot while on your internship huh Midoriya?"
"Oh yeah! It took me a couple days, but I finally got the hang of it."
"Sero may have taken first place, but you've all figured out new and better ways to use your quirks since starting school! Keep up the good work as you prepare for your final exams!"
"Oh great." James groaned. "I was hoping this day would never come."
~Kana's POV~
"Uh, summer vacation is close at hand. Of course it would be completely irrational for all of you to take a whole month off." Aizawa spoke sounding tired as usual. The subject they were discussing and how it was said however spoke volumes about how this was going to go. Kana had heard rumors from the others about the supposed 'camping trip' that UA did. Because of course a hero course wouldn't have the same old vacation days. No, heroes didn't get vacations. Good gods why?
"Oh dear Bingus." Kana groaned silently, dreading what Aizawa was about to say.
"Don't tell me…" Denki groaned, looking at Kirishima and Kana.
"You'll be doing a summer training camp in the woods." Kana felt dread fill her at those words. She whimpered pathetically as she put her hands in her hair, gazing unseeing at the back of Denki's chair. Woods meant a forest which meant trees and all things nature which should have been good, but she'd been scared like this before. Damn her Native American upbringing.
"I freaking knew it!" Denki shouted excitedly.
"Truth or dare!" Mina cheered.
"Fireworks!" Tsu offered.
"Scary stories…" Kana groaned pathetically, sinking deeper into her depression. Shadows and mysterious things in the dark that even Yuto was terrified of. Things not meant to be seen or spoken of.
"Curry!"
"Bath houses!"
"Since we'll be out in nature, our training activities will probably be different too!"
"You think those things may be out there Kana?" Yuto asked Kana. Kana was willing to bet that he was also tuning out their classmates excited cheers. The trembling in his voice could be heard even in his whisper.
"We're in Japan Yuto, it'll be worse." Kana whimpered pathetically. "They have… creepy ghost girls in white dresses here."
"So it's all about making the right decisions regardless of our environment, cool!"
"All of us living together! I'm pumped!"
"Uh, can I bow out of this?" James asked looking nauseous. "I'll do anything."
"However, anyone who doesn't pass the upcoming final exams, is in for summer school hell, right here!" That sentence along had all three Nara cousins gathering a dark cloud above their heads as they sunk into their seats.
"Do your best guys!" Kirishima yelled.
"You think Shina will be understanding if we fail?" Kana asked turning to Yuto.
"Probably not." He whined. "Knowing her, she'll make it worse."
"What's so bad about summer in the woods?" Kiri asked leaning over to poke Kana's shoulder.
"Haven't you ever seen a horror movie EVER?" Kana asked looking at Kiri in fear.
"Someone always dies." Yuto moaned. "Chopped, sliced or hunted and stabbed to death in the middle of the woods. Or worse, a Wendy boy or Skinny Walker or anything in that category will show up."
"We're doomed." James head thumped hard onto his desk.
"Uh, I think you guys may have watched too many movies." Momo suggested.
"No Momo," Kana turned dead eyes on her classmate who looked at her in worry. "We've seen them, and we know they aren't just stories. I wish I was being homeschooled still."
GM NASAI: I am exceedingly happy about the ending on this. Mainly because I think as teenagers, scary stories would be right up their alley and where else would they talk about these, than in the middle of the woods? That said, I can't believe they missed such a golden opportunity.
Onto another note: I know this is all fiction but, I often wonder if anyone with Quirks has tried to prove the existence of Bigfoot and other myths or urban legends? I mean, super powers exist so... why wouldn't these other things exist? I may hint at this but just because I'm a fan.