You knew since the moment you walked into the room that something bad had happened. Something that had left a very real impression on not only Todoroki–Shoto, but everyone in here. Iida's arms were in casts, Midoriya wasn't as chipper as you remembered, and Shoto was oddly gloomy. The atmosphere felt pained.

It wasn't a nice sight to see. It wrenched your heart.

But running into The Hero Killer himself? Stain? The man who almost killed Ingenium?

It explained a lot. But it didn't make you any happier.

"I hunted him down," Iida confessed, "to avenge what happened to my brother. I was in over my head, but Midoriya came and found me."

"Then," Midoriya continued, "I sent out a location to the whole class. Todoroki was the one who answered. If it weren't for him, I…" he trailed off.

"Who knows what would have happened," Iida spoke next.

You slowly turned to Shoto. "Is this true?"

"Yes," he said. "It wasn't a fun night."

You almost scoffed. Well, that's stating the obvious, you almost said, but you instead looked back at the other two boys.

"Did you do this with permission?"

They all looked at one another.

"From your superiors, I mean," you clarified. They were taking a little while to answer, you hoped you made sense.

"No," Midoriya said. "We all…went against our superior's wishes."

You cringed. "That's not going to end well, especially not with the police."

"It definitely isn't," a gruff voice cut in.

You all looked at the door where an averaged height man dressed in blue and a very short man in yellow and white walked in.

"Gran Torino!" Midoriya perked up.

You noticed, however, the look of disdain and guilt on Iida's face.

"Hey, you," Gran Torino turned to Midoriya and began to walk towards him. "I've got a lot of complaints for you."

"Oh! S-Sorry–"

"But before that," he interrupted, turning again to the door. "you've got a visitor."

You looked, and a giant man with some kind of canine quirk walked in. He was wearing a suit, and he looked like he meant business.

"The Hosu chief of police, Tsuragamae Kenji."

He definitely meant business.

You made a move to stand just as Shoto and Iida did.

"You may stay seated, woof," he dismissed.

The 'woof' caught you off guard, but you sat down just the same. You knew to obey the superior in the room at all times.

"You are the U.A. kids who brought down the Hero Killer, right?"

"Yes," Iida answered.

"The girl too?"

"No," Shoto spoke for you. "She was uninvolved."

"Alright. Then, may I ask you to leave–"

"She stays," Shoto said firmly. "She knows what happened. She stays."

"Todoroki, it's no trouble," you said quietly. You made a move to stand and you put on your shoes. "I'll just be outside–"

His look cut you off. You settled back down on the bed.

"Very well," the chief sighed. "Regarding the arrest, Stain acquired fairly serious injuries, including burns and broken bones. He is receiving treatment under strict guard, woof. Since you are U.A. students, I'm sure you already know that when superpowers were still becoming the norm, the police attached high importance to leadership and standards to make sure Quirks were not used as weapons. Then, the profession 'hero' emerged to fill that gap, woof."

You were fairly sure where this was going. You knew the laws, you knew the consequences heroes would face for breaking those laws. You just weren't sure if Todoroki and his friends would face those same consequences. They were only students, after all.

No, all injustices were to be punished equally. That's what Father taught you.

But was it right?

"For an individual's use of power and force that can easily kill others–actions that are appropriate to denounce–to be accepted officially would be a thank-you to early heroes who followed the rules and ethics of the profession, woof.

"Even up against the hero killer, for uncertified individuals to cause injury with their Quirks without specific instruction of their guardians is a clear violation of the rules."

It was odd how this police chief was wording this. Why the sudden history lesson?

"The three of you, and the pro heroes Endeavor, Gran Torino, and Manual must receive strict punishment."

Fair enough.

"Wait a minute," Todoroki nearly growled. You looked up at him. He was stiff and squared up. He was angry. "If Iida hadn't done anything, Native would have been killed. If Midoriya hadn't shown up, the both of them would have been killed."

You heard Iida whisper Todoroki's name, trying to calm him.

"No one realized the hero killer appeared. Are you saying we should have followed the rules and watched people die?"

He took a step forward.

Oh no, oh no–

"Hey, hey wait–!" Midoriya put up his hands to placate him.

"Shoto," you whispered. "That's not–"

"Are you saying that as long as everything turns out alright, it's okay to bend the rules?"

Todoroki went rigid. You held your breath.

"Isn't it a hero's job to save people?" he demanded.

The police chief bowed his head, just a bit. "This is why you aren't a full-fledged hero yet."

You prayed that that wouldn't hit a nerve for Todoroki.

"Goodness," the man continued, "what are you being taught by U.A. and Endeavor?"

That definitely hit a nerve with Todoroki.

He bared his teeth and you seethed just before he stomped forward. "You dog!"

You gasped. "Todoroki–"

"Todoroki, stop!" Iida commanded. "He's absolutely right."

You stood up and walked towards Shoto. Enough is enough–

"Hold it," the hero in yellow said. "Hear him out until the end."

You unclenched your fists, but you were still standing you realized. You weren't sure what to do–whether to stand there or walk towards Todoroki to stand with him or to sit back down.

You took another step forward.

"That was the official opinion of the police," the Chief revealed. "And the punishment would only happen if this were made public. If it were, you would likely be applauded, but still unable to escape punishment."

You stepped closer to your fiancé, seeing that he was a little more relaxed.

"On the flip side, this is a little offhanded, but if this were not made public, the credit could be given to Endeavor because of the burns that the Hero Killer received, and it would end there. Thankfully, there were only a few witnesses.

"But this also means no one would know of your good judgments or achievements. Which would you prefer?"

With everything that had been happening with you, from the gala and the backlash you received from it, you knew which option you would prefer. Having the boys push the 'blame' onto Endeavor instead of themselves would allow them more grace in the future for a career, as they wouldn't have a reputation for recklessness.

It would also help you, so you didn't feel obligated to make a video dedicated to explaining everything in the video you planned previously on the Hero Killer. It took you more out of the loop that way.

Of course, it would still be your future father-in-law at the center of attention, but as you did before, you could denounce or step aside from his judgment and actions.

Perhaps it was selfish of you to want them to denounce the good thing they did. But that's what you thought would be best.

"Personally, I don't want to be the ones to find fault in promising young ones because of one big mistake, woof."

You quietly stepped next to Todoroki and brushed his hand with your fingers.

He looked back at you and the look on your face. He softened, but not completely. You smiled gently.

He took a hold of your hand and looked back at the police chief.

"We're sorry," Midoriya bowed his head.

Todoroki hesitated, but did so as well, although very minuscule. "Please handle it for us."

"Of course, this means you won't get the praise you most likely would have received, but at least as someone who also protects the peace…"

Tsuragamae-San bowed. Deeply. You felt extremely uncomfortable. Even if it wasn't directed towards you personally, you'd never been on the receiving end of a respectful bow. Never.

"I would like to thank you."

Todoroki's tension left almost instantly, then returned. "Please start with that next time," he muttered.

You couldn't help but release a small chuckle at that. Oh, to be a hero.

.o0o.

You stayed for a while, simply listening to them as they talked. Iida faced some damage to his arm and fingers and made the choice not to fix it until he earned his Hero Licence.

It was something you equally respected and agreed with and also thought was unwise. If he was to be a hero, he needed to be fully functional and healthy.

You didn't bother voicing your opinions. It wasn't your arm. He could deal with it however he thought was best.

You wondered whether or not your father was going to be upset with you for leaving the house unexpectedly. Better yet, leaving it to stay in the company of men, and not just one, and not chaperoned.

You schooled your face to remain neutral as your anxiety began to grow. Mother was a poor liar, but thankfully, you didn't specify where exactly you would be going. Unfortunately, you were also a poor liar. The moment he confronted you–

"Nazumi-San?"

You snapped out of your trance and looked up at Midoriya-San.

"I'm sorry," you started with a nervous chuckle, "Did you ask me something?"

"Yes. I just asked what you're doing this next week."

You glanced around at the three of them before straightening your posture.

"Well, tomorrow I have my first day at an internship that I unintentionally applied for, but am exceedingly excited to start. Then on Saturday, I'll be going on a talk show concerning everything between the Sports Festival and my engagement, and I'm really looking forward to that…I'm awfully busy this week above any other, which is surprising," you finished with a small laugh.

"Oh, that's so cool!" Midoriya said with a smile. "I could never deal with a public interview like that, knowing it's going to be on TV."

"Yes, I would have rather avoided this myself, but," you chuckled, reminiscing on the surprisingly tame conversation you had with your father about how you would clear up some of the things you'd said and bring a better image to your–and by proxy, his–name. "My family and I ultimately decided it was best."

"I wish you luck," Todoroki said.

You smiled. "Thank you."

A nurse knocked on the door to change out the boys' ice packs. It reminded you that you should probably be headed home.

You said as much, and stood, toeing your heels back on your feet and putting your scarf over your head.

"I'll see you later," you said cordially to everyone. "Have a good rest."

"We will," Midoriya said.

"Make sure you tell about your internship," Todoroki added.

You chuckled softly. "I will do my best. Farewell."

You kissed your fingertips and held your palm face out before bowing at the waist and leaving the room.

You had a lot to do yet. A lot to prepare for. You needed to be home.

But…your cheek still burned where Todoroki had kissed you…you almost felt guilty—as if you'd broken some law of chastity that your father or Priest may be concerned about as an engaged woman.

You shook your head. Nonsense. Nothing he did was wrong—nothing you did was wrong. You weren't alone, you were modest, respectful…

You laid in the same bed as him. You allowed him to coax you to do so. You let him touch your hand, you let him kiss your cheek.

You should have been stronger. You should have remain purer.

Your face burned with shame. Your father could never know.

You unlocked your car and took off your scarf. With a gasp of air—you were overheating— you turned the keys and blasted the AC.

With a shuddering breath, you pressed your palms together. You implored Our Mother and Our Father for patience. For forgiveness. For strength to remain steady. You hadn't thought of yourself as struggling in area of sensual temptation, but, perhaps…you were.

You nearly cried in your car, filled with guilt and fear of punishment from your father…and your Gods.

Cleaning the tears from your eyes, you shifted the gear of your car, and made your way home.

.o0o.