First off, I'd like to say thank you as this story's now reached the milestone of my highest-reviewed of my library! You guys have given me some great feedback and wonderful comments to help keep me going, so it's only natural that I work to return the favor.
I should mention that I'm also going to be putting up an ask later this week in regards to this story that I hope some of you will be intrigued by. And something even more intriguing is that we'll be heading into the first original arc for this story soon! So I hope you're excited for that as well!
In the meantime, please enjoy the latest chapter!
As of last night's debacle, Izuku, Shoto and Tenya were transferred to the hospital for treatment. Rebecca, Homura and Momo went along as well, but didn't need any aid as they had no injuries except for a few scrapes. The six U.A. students were... quite traumatized by what had happened to say the least. The frightening aura of Stain followed by the death of Spider were frightening events to behold. Nonetheless, they were alive and well. Mostly, that is.
"Huh..." Rebecca sighed out, sitting down in the waiting area with a somewhat troubled expression upon her face. At that moment, she noticed a water bottle being held in front of her. She looked to see that it was Momo.
"Don't worry, they'll be fine," she assured, "From what I could tell, Iida was the only one whose injuries seemed the most serious..." she recalled, seating herself down beside the Leaper Quirk user.
"You seem pretty okay considering all that happened tonight..." her classmate pointed out curiously with a small smile.
"I suppose..." the Creation Quirk user agreed, drinking her water before exhaling a relieved breath, "But tonight, we all did some real good in stopping both the Hero Killer and that other villain," she noted, "Of course... we wound up doing so without licenses..." she mentioned, sheepishly scratching at her right cheek. Rebecca winced.
"A-Are we gonna be in trouble?" she stuttered in question.
"Nah, that's doubtful," a familiar voice chimed in as a response, getting their attentions as they looked to see Mirko approach, "I mean, you ladies helped take down the Hero Killer without my help..." she pointed out, "I'm sure Valkyrie would vouch for you, too," she added with a smirk.
"Valkyrie?" Momo repeated out of confusion.
"Oh, you must mean Homura!" Rebecca realized as she smiled, "I can't believe she winded up interning under you, Miss Mirko..." she admitted.
"Yes, I didn't think you took on interns..." Momo mentioned curiously.
"Ah, Valkyrie's successor was the exception..." the Rabbit Hero confirmed, crossing her arms over her chest, "And besides, I couldn't pass up on someone who gave Endeavor's kid a run for his money..." she added smugly.
"Uh..." Rebecca uttered out as a drop of sweat rolled down her head.
"Speaking of, we should go and check on them before we have to go back to the IUA," Momo insisted, getting up from her seat.
"Good idea," the Leaper Quirk user agreed, heading off with her classmate. Mirko looked on and cracked another grin.
'You got some good friends, Homura,' she noted inwardly. The Soul Blade Quirk user herself stood against the wall beside the door to her classmates' room, glancing down patiently. She then took notice of Endeavor coming over with his flame mask gone.
"So it's you..." he noted upon spotting Homura.
"You are here to see Shoto?" she guessed, narrowing her eyes onto him.
"Yes, of cour-" The Flame Hero stopped upon realizing something. "You... refer to my son by his first name?" he inquired curiously. Homura blinked in realization, followed by blushing a mad red.
"W-Well..." she stammered out, turning away and placing her sleeve over her mouth, "he refers to me by my first name..." she sheepishly admitted as she shook a little. Inside the room, Izuku and the others were bandaged up, wearing hospital gowns.
"I can't believe things ended up the way they did..." Shoto admitted, getting his classmates' attentnions.
"Yeah, I know..." the One For All inheritor agreed, "First the Hero Killer and then that Spider guy..." he listed off, "They haven't figured out who shot Spider, did they?" he inquired.
"No, not that I know of..." the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user replied, narrowing his eyes in thought. As the conversation continued, Tenya hung his head ashamedly. It was his fault that his classmates had gotten involved in the skirmish against Stain. At that moment, the door opened.
"Oh good, you're all patched up!" Rebecca noted happily as she, Momo and Homura entered.
"Rebecca!" Izuku exclaimed, giving off a smile.
"You girls aren't hurt, are you?" Shoto inquired out of concern. He took notice of how red Homura's face appeared to be, blinking in confusion.
"No, we're fine," Momo assured in response, "Anyways, we were about to head back to our agencies for the night," she told them.
"Uh, I don't think Mirko's got an agency..." Rebecca pointed out, "Anyways, you guys figure out if you're staying the night?" she asked of the boys.
"Yeah, that's what it's looking like," Izuku answered with a nod.
"We all did quite a good job tonight..." Momo noted, "but tomorrow may prove to give out a different story..." she mentioned as she lowered her gaze.
"What do you mean?" Rebecca inquired.
"You all likely won't be given credit publicly for your heroics," a familiar voice responded for the Creation Quirk user, catching their attentions as they saw Jaguar wander in, now transformed back to normal.
"J-Jaguar, sir!" Rebecca stuttered in greeting, saluting to him impulsively.
"What do you mean?" Shoto asked as he blinked in surprise.
"Since the six of you are unlicensed, you'd be seen as attacking a villain illegally," the I.U.A. Hero told the group, "As much as it pains me to say it, if this went public, you'd all have a mark on your records," he mentioned to their surprise, "especially without a superior's permission," he added seriously.
"Wait, but we-!"
"If it weren't for you, then Native and this boy here would've died, I know," Jaguar interrupted before Shoto could finish his shout, looking over at Tenya, "But that aside, there are regulations," he noted, "I'm sure the chief of police for Hosu will tell you the same thing," he added. The six students lowered their heads dejectedly with shame. Despite their efforts, they acted without the exact permission of their mentors. "All that aside..." the I.U.A. Hero continued as he let off a small smile, "you all did something incredible today," he pointed out, "You may not be publicly recognized as the heroes who stopped the Hero Killer," he said, "but you're heroes all the same in my eyes and many others," he stated firmly.
"...Thank you, Jaguar sir," Rebecca responded with gratitude, bowing politely, "We won't forget this," she promised.
"Indeed," Momo agreed as she nodded. As tough as things were, victory had been achieved today. And thus, the six students all had much to learn from.
As the next few days went by, the boys were discharged from the hospital and went back to their respective mentors, including Tenya, even though his costume was worn from the battle against Stain. Everyone was having good experiences wherever they were interning, one way or another. Back at the I.U.A., Justice stood by in a room with his arms crossed, watching as Shiki and Jinn exchanged punches while in their costumes.
"Man... I can't believe Rebecca and Momo both got to work in the field, while we were stuck here..." Weisz muttered, sitting cross-legged in a meditative position next to Laguna.
"Shut up," the Tears Lover Quirk user said, batting a mere eye open, "If you're gonna get better at using that armor of yours, you gotta concentrate like Eraser here says," he advised.
"Ergh..." Weisz growled out, "I don't wanna have listen to you, Mister High Heels..." he grumbled.
"They're called stilettos," Laguna corrected.
"LIKE I GIVE A DAMN!" the Machina Maker Quirk user shouted, enticing Eraser to exhale a frustrated sigh as he was seated in front of them.
"Have Holy and the others tracked down Müller yet?" he asked of Justice, getting his attention.
"I've yet to receive word, but..." he started to reply, "I think we'll finally pin him soon," he assured. In the meantime, Rebecca and Momo were dressed in jumpsuits similar to those of Creed and Victory, sparring against each other as Jaguar watched.
'These two... along with those others...' he began inwardly, recalling the events of the other night, 'Maybe I shouldn't worry about retiring too soon...' he suggested to himself as he grinned.
So with that, the original arc is drawing near! I'm dipping my toes into new territory, and I hope you wind up liking it when it comes! Thanks again for all your awesome support!