Ticked Off [Boku No Hero Academia]

8: HERO KILLER: AFTERMATH

"He's going to be okay, then?" Izuku blurted out suddenly, sitting up and leaning back on his arms with hopeful eyes.

"...yes, it's likely he'll make a full recovery with the help of physiotherapy, although his hours of hero work will be more limited than before to avoid straining his spine," the boy informed automatically, a brief smile flashing across his face before he shook his head. "Just that incident on its own could've been a coincidence, since I know you're good at analysis, and you could've worked out when the Hero Killer would strike next. But, Midoriya-kun, later on at the train station you said you'd be there when I needed you, and, while innocuous at the time, I realise now that it sounded as if you knew what was going to happen."

Todoroki dipped his head in thought. "During the fight, you occasionally called us by our first names, as if we'd known each other for years. You knew that Stain's Quirk worked by blood type, and even though you didn't know Iida's, you still predicted that he would be free next." He paused, his voice becoming hushed. "And you knew Stain's real name. How could you know that?"

"And in the USJ incident, you told All Might-san to be careful before he jumped in, as if you were relaying a secret message," Iida pointed out, his navy blue eyes widening behind his glasses as all the pieces started to fall into place. "Aizawa-sensei has kept you behind several times to tell you something important enough to be private. And sometimes... Sometimes, you act like an entirely different person. You become more confident and intimidating, and you get this look in your eye, like... like..." He moved his uninjured hand as he tried to find the right word for it.

"Like you've seen the worst the world has to offer," Todoroki finished. "Midoriya, there's no way you're not keeping secrets. Please, tell us."

Izuku swallowed nervously. Listening to all his mistakes be laid out on the table felt like he was being gutted. In some cases, acting a little suspicious couldn't be avoided, but he hadn't realised just how careless he'd become. He had allowed himself to get caught up in the fun of UA and forget what his original plans had been.

But... Really, what part of his plan remained? His intentions to lay low and remain deceptively unimpressive had been obliterated by Stain announcing him to be as great as All Might himself, and he'd already shared his time travel secret with five people who had also called him out on his odd behaviour. All he was succeeding in was preventing those he cared about from getting permanent injuries, which was always a good thing, but...

"We feel like this secret of yours could be cause for concern, and if you're unwilling to share then we'll be forced to go to the teachers." Iida's stern tone broke through his thoughts.

Izuku sat up properly, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and glancing between his friends with a carefully neutral expression. "I understand, Iida-kun, Todoroki-kun, and I'll tell you... some other time." He paused, giving his friends silencing looks when they went to speak. "I know I can trust you both. It's just... Well, it's not really something to be shared in, um... in a very public hospital room, or over the phone. So... Is it okay to tell you when we're back at school?"

The two boys exchanged a questioning glance before they reluctantly nodded.

"Besides," he added with a mischievous grin, looking over his shoulder just before the door to their room slid open. "We have visitors."

Gran Torino and Manual entered, followed by Hosu's chief of police, Tsuragamae. The person was tall, with broad shoulders, and he wore a formal suit – the only peculiar thing about him was the fact that he had the head of a dog, with dark-furred ears drooping at the sides of his head and his brown eyes looking tired. All three boys got to their feet, and the man started to talk, seemingly scolding them about taking down the Hero Killer as he kept his tone perfectly steady and calm. Izuku's expression didn't change, both because he knew what was coming and because of his license that meant his actions were entirely acceptable. They bowed respectfully as the chief praised them for their efforts.