Stain showed no resistance, for he had been defeated. He let The Brawler lead him towards the police van, and he let the police cuff him. Through it all he could catch a glimpse of the angry words that The Brawler threw at the reporters, aiming them at heroes around the world. This made Stain feel even happier, as the policemen shoved him into the van.
The vehicle began to move shortly after, lightly wagging the restrained hero killer. He had a lot on his mind, and one thought seemed to try and drown out the other.
It was the fact that the ideal he built and cultivated for so long had been shattered, and it was shattered by a hero. It wasn't just any hero, it was a true hero. The man that these ideals were based on, the man that was his ideal, had defeated him.
The man that he still mourned to this day, who was thought to be dead, was still alive. He was still saving people, and they didn't even know it.
The hero killer shivered, as a wave of sadness washed over him. He was happy, of course, but he was also disappointed in himself. He was disappointed over the fact that he fought and hurt his ideal man.
At that moment the convicted man was no longer anything. He wasn't Standhal, he wasn't the hero killer. He was just Chizome Akaguro, an admirer of the world's only true hero... The Guardian....
He then cried, joyous over the fact that he got to meet his idol once more. His tears flowed down his cheeks, like raging rivers... What he didn't know was that these tears blended with a crimson splatter on his cheek.
Blood, and it was from The Brawler. It had landed on him after he stabbed him in the chest, and now his tears were picking it up... before they flowed into his mouth...
Akaguro felt a slight sensation, the one he usually felt when using his quirk, but it wasn't enough to distract him. In fact, he just thought it was no more than how a person feels when crying as much as he did now.
. . .
Rachel was frozen in place, eyes torn open as if she's witnessed the end of the world. No one knew for how long she had been standing there in that one spot, not doing as much as blinking. The phone in her hand was still up at her ear, but the person on the other end had hung up a long time ago.
"Organ, are you okay?" Uraraka asked her, looking concerned. Rachel didn't react upon hearing this, she just kept standing there as if she was a statue.
"Is everything alright?" The pro hero known as Gunhead said, as he walked up to Uraraka and the absent minded teen. Uraraka was about to say something, but was interrupted by the sound of a loud thud. Both her and Gunhead snapped towards it, and saw that a phone had been dropped onto the floor.
The two then slowly looked up at Rachel, noticing how her hand now held nothing up to her ear, as more concern struck them. She then began to tremble, while breathing more heavily, until she let out a scream.
"AAAAAAHHHHH!!!" Before dropping down onto her knees.
The two observers began to panic, for they didn't know what was happening. They quickly approached the now sobbing and borderline hyperventilating Rachel, as they asked.
"Organ, are you okay?!" Uraraka shouted, before Gunhead roared.
"SoS, what happened?!"
Rachel didn't stop trembling, as he hastily muttered.
"I- Izuku..." Her voice turning more and more panicked as time was passing. Gunhead looked confused, but Uraraka grew worried upon hearing the mention of Izuku.
"What happened?" She asked, but Gunhead spoke before Rachel could answer.
"Breathe..." He said, prompting Rachel to try and calm down. She took a few breaths, before Gunhead spoke again.
"Now, tell us what happened."
Rachel was still trembling, but she began to speak with a weak voice.
"I- I just spoke with Izuku, my boyfriend, until something happened... H- He stopped responding, then all I could hear was him coughing and crashing into the ground...."
Both Gunhead and Uraraka were shocked to hear this, before Rachel continued.
"Todoroki then picked the phone up... He said that Izuku wasn't responding, and that he was bleeding heavily... " She said, but could barely finish the sentence before her voice broke down.
Gunhead and Uraraka looked even more worried than ever before, trying to comfort the girl.
"He's being taken to a hospital right now... B- But h- he's really hurt, h- he m- m- might d- d- d-... '' Rachel then said, but cut herself off. It was as if trying to say those words had triggered something in her, causing her to cover her mouth and stomach with her hands as she let out horrible noises.
She then stood up on her feet, before she rushed towards the nearest toilet. Uraraka almost knew what was happening, as she went in there with the sick girl.
Rachel then leaned over the toilet, with Uraraka holding her hair up, as she began to vomit.
Both Gunhead and Uraraka were worried to death at this point. Rachel just vomited at the mere thought of Izuku dying, she can't stay here.
"Take your time to calm down, I'll take you to him right away." Gunhead then said, in a voice that was as calm as he could manage. Rachel stopped vomiting, as she looked over to Gunhead with tears in her eyes. The pro hero felt a little hurt, but he nodded as if he was giving confirmation.
Rachel nodded back at the hero, before she turned to vomit once more.
. . .
Toshinori sat in his office, going through some papers. He saw what Brawler had said on the TV, and he was both proud and worried. He was proud to hear his partner be so passionate about heroism, but what worried him was the fact that Izuku was holding all of that in for so long.
He wanted to call Izuku and see how he was doing, but decided to wait. He knew that the green-haired boy would call him eventually, so there was no need to rush things.
The skeletal man went through some reports, helping Tsukaichi complete a full report of both The Hero Killer and Stendhal, when he suddenly got a phone call.
The blonde thought it was Izuku, therefore he answered without looking.
"Young Midoriya, how're you feeling?" He immediately said, expecting Izuku to sound as cheerful as always.
"Toshinori, it's me." A dull, almost saddened, voice answered. The blonde recognised this voice, and was caught off guard by it.
"Naomasa? Sorry, I didn't check the caller before answering." Toshinori then said, sounding a little awkward. Tsukaichi sighed heavily into the phone, and Toshinori clearly heard it. The blonde suddenly got worried, as he asked.
"Naomasa, is something wrong?"
The detective didn't change his tone of voice, as he answered.
"Something happened, Toshinori. Midoriya was injured and is in critical condition right now." He said, sounding more and more pained as time went on.
Something inside Toshinori shattered upon hearing those words. His insides started to turn, and his heart began to ache.
"Will he be okay?" The blonde asked, holding back tears at this point. Tsukaichi was silent for a while, before he answered.
"It's bad, Toshinori... I don't know... "
Toshinori began to collapse upon hearing this, because it was too much. He couldn't bear the thought of losing his partner, his friend, like this. Why wasn't he there with him? Weren't they supposed to catch The Hero Killer together?
The blonde began drowning himself with these thoughts, until Tsukaichi spoke to him once again.
"Can you contact his family and loved ones? I'll come up with an alibi for this." He said, this time sounding more composed. Toshinori tried to do the same, as he responded by saying.
"I'll do that... Talk to you later... " Before hanging up the phone.
Toshinori felt himself backed into a corner. How was he supposed to tell them about this? What was he supposed to say?
The skeletal man kept beating his own head about it, until he decided to just do it.
He will call both of Izuku's adoptive parents and, almost more importantly to him, he will contact Young Kirishima as well... He just has to make the goddamned phone-call already!
. . .
Rushing, and running until his lungs were sore. He didn't care about who he bumped into, for he couldn't see them anymore. He didn't even care about the old man he left behind, for he didn't even exist in his mind.
He was just too worried, unable to accept what he heard. Izuku Midoriya, the demon of UA, the king of combat, the strongest creature on earth... His master... was on the verge of death...
The red-haired teen didn't care about who got injured on the way, he just kept going. He didn't even care about the rules he broke while running, channeling One For All into his being to run faster than before.
Eventually he made it to the outside of an operation room, where a small group was waiting in worry. The people there were of course Rachel, along with Irisviel, Kiritsugu, Tokugawa, and even Todoroki and All Might.
The buff man noticed the approaching force, and said.
"Young Kirishima." But didn't get to say anything else before the red-haired boy shouted.
"Where is he?!" Sounding more panicked than ever before. All Might was caught off guard by this sudden action, but quickly composed himself as he pointed towards one of the walls.
Kirishima turned his head in that direction, and saw that there was a massive window. Through it he could see an operation room, with one single patient lying on a table next to a beeping heart monitor and surrounded by doctors. The red-haired boy didn't need to get a good look, for he already knew who this person was... No other man had that physique, with those scars, and that incredible sense of power...
The red-haired boy slowly walked up to the glass, before he leaned his forehead onto it. Why was this happening? What happened to him?
Kirishima kept throwing these questions into his head, as a small tear formed in his eye.
"What the hell happened to him?!" An old voice then shouted, as it just entered the room. Kirishima turned his head towards the source of it, and saw that it was Gran Torino. All Might looked at the short old figure, a little shocked, as he explained.
"We don't know... According to the description, he just dropped to the ground suddenly... " With a voice that was as calm as possible.
What All Might said was a lie, for he knew what had caused this. He knew that it had to do with Izuku's bout against Stain, but he kept it hidden. Gran Torino noticed that the hero was hiding something, but decided not to ask about it. Instead he asked:
"What's his condition?" With a more toned down voice. All Might was about to tell his old master what little he knew of the matter, but was beat to it.
"He is in a critical state, with risk of bleeding out at any moment... Horrendous internal bleeding, irregular heartbeat... And a deep wound in the chest... Whatever caused that wound also grazed his heart... " A feminine voice, recognised as Rachel, said. Gran Torino turned to the girl, confusion written all over his face, as he was about to ask how she knew so much.
"It's her quirk... She can see the physical properties and condition of whoever she looks at, with incredible detail... " Another old voice then said, predicting what Gran Torino was going to ask. The retired hero turned towards the voice, only to recognise a sad Tokugawa.
"Mitsunari, it's been a while." The old man said, but Tokugawa quietly answered.
"Indeed it has, Sorahiko." Sounding sad. Torino quickly recognised this sadness, as he asked.
"You know him?" While pointing towards the operation room. Tokugawa didn't even meet Torino's gaze, he just stared blankly at the room while answering.
"He stole your title of champion a few years ago... He's also a dear friend of mine... And I expect him to become my in-law soon... " With the same dead voice, while pointing his thumb towards Rachel.
Torino was shocked to hear this. He could expect that Izuku was a friend of Tokugawa, but he was also the champion? Torino had held the title for such a long time, he didn't think that Tokugawa would be able to crown another... But he did, and it was a kid!...
Torino tried to keep himself calm, before he asked.
"So, does anyone have any form of clue as to what happened to him?" With a voice that was as withdrawn as possible.
The room was silent for a while, until an almost forgotten voice spoke up.
"It was my father... "
Everyone turned to face it, only to see that Todoroki had finally decided to talk. All Might was about to ask a question, but was cut off by a new figure entering the scene.
"Now this is interesting, care to elaborate?" The person spoke, and All Might immediately knew that this was Detective Naomasa Tsukaichi.
Todoroki was quiet for a while, until an expression of both sadness and anger covered his face.
"My father and I went out to catch The Hero Killer, only to find that The Brawler had beat us to it.... We returned to the agency, just as Midoriya had finished some sort of workout. Then Midoriya said something that angered my father, and a fight broke loose between them... After it ended I took Midoriya outside to get some fresh air, and then... You know the rest... " The ice-user said, sounding pained as he did.
Both All Might and Tsukaichi looked at each other. They knew that Endeavour didn't do this, how would he be able to?
He doesn't stab people, and Rachel would have told them if there were any burn marks. But at the same time they knew what needed to be done, and they both thought the same thing: It's not the alibi that we want, but right now it's the one that we need.
Tsukaichi just nodded, before he said.
"I'll make sure to put that into the report then." Before lowering his hat over his eyes, as if to hide his shame.
All Might also felt this deep down. He was supposed to be a hero, one that was selfless and just. But here he is letting an innocent man take the blame so that his friend, who is a lawbreaking vigilante, can go scot free.
This internal struggle didn't go unnoticed by Gran Torino, who suspected some sort of fraud.
"We can't let Endeavour get away with this." The retired hero told All Might, waiting to see his response. The blonde hero didn't answer, and just tightened his fist.
"Didn't you hear me? Endeavour needs to be held accountable for th-"
"Quiet old man!" All Might then shouted, cutting his master off.
Torino was caught off guard, but he had his answer. Now he knew that something weird was happening behind the scenes, and that All Might was hiding something.
All Might looked angry, and was about to say something nasty to his master... but he didn't, because he heard something that made his heart skip a beat... a flatline...
Everyone slowly turned towards the operation room, only to see the doctors panic as they pulled out a defibrillator.
Both Rachel and Irisviel let out cries of pain, as Kiritsugu tried to comfort them both while shedding tears. Todoroki and Kirishima started to bang their fists against the glass, screaming and shedding their own tears. All Might and Tokugawa fell to their knees, both crying their eyes out.
"Get out my way!" A male voice shouted, as he quickly ran past them all. They only caught a glimpse of this man, he looked like a doctor, but he had bright skin and long brown hair which made him look feminine.
Both Rachel and Tokugawa recognised this man. He was a fighter that used medical knowledge in combat, and he was fearsome. He had faced Izuku in the arena once, but lost. He is also the older brother of a karateka that mastered the infamous Himo-kiri move that Rachel was adept at using... The man that rushed past them was none other than Dr. Kureha Shinogi, and Izuku's life now rested in his hands.
Dr. Kureha rushed into the operating room, quickly shoving all of the other doctors aside. He needed to get Izuku's heart pumping again, and he had to do it fast.
The doctor sat the young fighter up, before shoving one of his hands underneath his ribcage and into his body.
Everyone was both disgusted and stunned by what they were seeing. Dr. Kureha was massaging Izuku's heart, forcing it to beat without even piercing his skin.
The heart monitor rang a few times to show that there was blood flow, which made Kureha keep going... Until a weird reaction caused Izuku to cough blood, before falling limp and unconscious to the table again.
The doctor was sweaty and exhausted as he looked at the heart monitor, seeing that Izuku had regained his regular pulse, before turning to the other doctors and saying.
"He has a graze over his heart. I need to perform surgery in order to close it up, bring me the utensils!" With an aggravated voice. The other doctors quickly listened, as they brought him everything that he needed.
All Might and the others were horrified at first, but they were now relieved. This man essentially brought Izuku back from the dead, so he can definitely heal him.
They all breathed a heavy sigh of relief, but they were still worried about the surgery that was needed.
. . .
Dr. Kureha finished the surgery after a few hours, and he was relieved. He told the others that Izuku was finally in a stable condition, and that he would make a full recovery in due time.
Everyone was relieved to hear the news, and they started to relax for once. All Might, Kiritsugu and Tokugawa thanked Kureha and asked how they could repay him, but the doctor shrugged it off while saying that he was simply repaying part of his debt.
After this was all said and done, it was time for everyone to go home and rest. Rachel was offered to stay with Irisiviel and Kiritsugu, which she gladly accepted.
Irisviel, Rachel and Kiritsugu all went back to the hospital the day after. They were all hoping that Izuku had gotten better, but at the same time they didn't want him to be careless and rush things.
They all calmly walked up to the door that led to Izuku's hospital room, but stopped immediately. They thought that they could hear something on the other side, and it sounded like someone was counting.
They then opened the door, only to be shocked.
"1998... 1999... 2000... " Someone said, quite strained. It was Izuku, and he wasn't resting in his bed. He was doing one-handed-handstand-push-ups, and he was counting every single one of them.
The green-haired boy stopped at two-thousand, before he landed on his feet. He stood as if he wasn't injured in the slightest, as he smiled towards his visitors.
"Good morning... " He said, sounding joyful. Rachel was angry, she was having none of it. She had been so worried for Izuku, but now he was just training instead of resting?!
The brown-haired girl was about to walk up and hit Izuku, but someone else beat her to it. It was Irisviel, and she seemed to be much angrier than her. The pale woman slapped Izuku across the cheek, causing him to fall backwards, as she shouted.
"You idiot! Do you have any idea of how worried we were?!" Sounding angry. Izuku was almost terrified, he didn't even speak back to his mother, he just sat there looking a little sorry.
It was at this point that Rachel couldn't hold back anymore. She wasn't angry anymore, she was just happy to see that Izuku was still alive. She ran up to Izuku and just hugged him tightly.
"Don't scare me like that." She said, as she buried her face into Izuku's chest. The green-haired boy was caught off guard by this, but quickly regained his composure while hugging Rachel back.
"I can't make any promises." He said, hugging her tightly.
Irisviel had calmed herself down, so she joined in on the hug before Kiritsugu decided to do the same. It was a big family hug of sorts, but it was quickly interrupted.
"I AM HERE!" A booming voice shouted, and everyone knew that it was All Might. They all turned their expressions towards him, as Rachel said.
"Hello Toshinori." With a calm voice. All Might was caught off guard by this, as he said.
"Pardon? Who are you talking about?" Trying to play dumb. Izuku saw a hint of panic on All Might's face, so he giggled before saying.
"Toshinori, they know." With a calm voice. All Might almost knew what Izuku was talking about, but he didn't want to take any chances.
"How much?" He asked. It wasn't Izuku that answered this question, instead it was Irisviel. She pointed towards All Might, as she said.
"Toshinori Yagi... " With a calm voice. The blonde hero went into his skeletal form upon hearing this, as Irisviel then pointed towards Izuku.
"Brawler... " She said, before she lifted Izuku's shirt and pointed towards his newest wound.
"Stain... " She then finished.
Toshinori was in shock. Not only did Irisviel know, but she also said it out loud. It meant that both Rachel and Kiritsugu also knew.
Kiritsugu then walked up to the skeletal man, as he whispered.
"I also know about One For All... " Into his ear. Toshinori was in even more shock now, but he was also relieved. He was shocked over the fact that someone else knew about his quirk, but he was also relieved that Kiritsugu whispered so that no one else would know.
Toshinori calmed himself down, as he looked towards Izuku.
"Well, that makes things a million times easier." He then said, before he closed the door behind him. He then looked towards the security camera, making sure that Tsukaichi had turned them off, before he spoke again.
"We made an alibi for your injury." He said. Izuku was intrigued by this, so he motioned for Toshinori to continue.
"Young Todoroki claimed that you and Endeavour had gotten into a fight just before you dropped to the ground... We're putting the blame on him." The blonde man said, sounding pained as he spoke.
Izuku was also a little pained to hear this. Sure, he didn't particularly like Endeavour, and he had done many bad things. But he didn't deserve to get the blame for this, regardless if he hates him or not.
Izuku wanted to speak against it, but he couldn't. As much as he hated it, this was the only way to protect his identity.
"Alright, anything else?" The green-haired boy asked. Toshinori calmed himself down a little, before he responded.
"Stain didn't put up a fight when he was arrested, he's been locked up in Tartarus by now. Both Native and Young Iida are here reco-... " The blonde man said, but was cut off after mentioning Iida.
"Wait, Iida's here in this hospital?" Izuku asked, almost sounding agitated. Toshinori didn't expect this, but he nodded as a response. Izuku stood up upon seeing his answer, as he asked.
"Where?" With the same tone as before. Toshinori didn't know what Izuku was thinking, but he responded.
"Down the hall. Why're you asking?"
Izuku walked past Toshinori, and out of the room, as he said.
"I've got some fine words to share with him." Before walking down the halway. Toshinori began to panic, as he said.
"You're not wearing a mask." Thinking that this could possibly make him reveal his identity. Izuku was unfazed, however, as he answered.
"He doesn't listen to masks." Before heading straight down the halway.
The green-haired boy scanned the different rooms, searching for his target, until he found it. Upon doing so he opened the door, only to see both Iida and Todoroki in there.
They both turned their expressions to Izuku, looking shocked by the sudden entrance.
"Midoriya?! Shouldn't you be resting?" Todoroki asked, almost looking a little panicked. Izuku was unfazed by this, as he answered.
"I'm fine, I came here because a little bird told me that Iida tried to get himself killed." With an angry voice. He then turned his expression towards Iida, as he said.
"What the hell were you thinking?!" Sounding angrier than before. Iida didn't answer him, he just looked away. Izuku got even more aggravated by this and said.
"So you wanted to die?! You wanted to throw your brother's legacy down the drain?!"
Iida was aggravated beyond anything else, as he shouted back at his classmate.
"SHUT UP! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW IT FEELS!... THAT VILLAIN CRIPPLED MY BROTHER! HE DESERVED TO DIE!!!"
Izuku was silent upon hearing this. He wasn't just angry, he was reminded of something. He was reminded of a moment that nearly turned him into the thing he swore to stop.
"You don't know how it feels... " Iida then said quietly, before covering his eyes with his hands. Izuku looked at his classmate with concern, as he decided that he needed to speak.
"You're right, I don't know how it feels. I don't know how it feels to watch your older brother in a hospital bed, knowing that he won't be able to stand up again... But let me tell you something that you seem to be unable to understand... You, at very least, didn't have to watch it happen to him... AT LEAST YOUR BROTHER IS STILL ALIVE!" Izuku said, sounding both pained and angry towards the end.
Both Iida and Todoroki looked at Izuku in concern. Todoroki knew what he was talking about, for he was there when the class found out about Izuku's brother. Iida, on the other hand, wasn't there, so he didn't know what this was about.
"What do you mean?" Iida asked, quietly. Izuku had small tears in his eyes, as he sat down and spoke.
"My older brother, Shirou Emiya, was a Pro Hero just like yours... And that ended up being his downfall... " He said, with a quiet voice. Both Iida and Todoroki were shocked to hear this, as Izuku continued.
"He was known as The Wrought Iron Hero: Archer, and he was the most heroic person that I knew... He had a unique quirk, one that let him create anything. For some reason, however, he had a greater affinity with anything that was related to swords or blades, even to a self-destructive level. He could even heal himself, by snitting swords into his wounds, but it was only a short term solution and would lead to disastrous consequences in the long run... " With a more calm voice.
Both Iida and Todoroki were now stunned. They had heard about Archer before, but no one knew who he was. The Wrought Iron Hero was known for fighting in the darkness with his bow, and for fighting side-by-side with The Guardian. The fact that he was Izuku's older brother had them awestruck, but it also made them sad. Because even though no one knew Archer's name, there was one thing that the association let out to the public about him shortly before the death of The Guardian... The Wrought Iron Hero was killed in action...
"One day he was chasing a lead in the middle of the night, searching for some missing people. When he arrived at that location he found them, but he also found something else... I was there that night, I saw what happened, and I saw who he fought... It was a young man with golden-blonde hair, red eyes, and unbearable arrogance. He called himself, Gilgamesh... " Izuku then continued.
Iida and Todoroki didn't know what to think. They didn't know about someone called Gilgamesh, but they also had no reason to believe that Izuku was lying to them.
"Shirou fought Gilgamesh, who seemed have a similar power to him, but he wasn't strong enough. It was clear that he couldn't defeat the villain, but he kept going just so that he could save the hostages... He got injured, then healed over and over... Until it was too much... He healed himself so much that the swords burst out of his body, killing him... " The green-haired boy continued, and both listeners were shocked.
Iida's brother was attacked by a villain, and was crippled. Iida had suffered because of this, but Izuku had suffered something worse. Izuku was there when his own brother died in the line of duty, he could never compare himself to that. He also didn't want to know how it had affected Izuku afterwards, if he sought vengeance.
"I was angry, I couldn't accept it. I told myself that Gilgamesh would die, even if I had to bury him myself... I dragged that bastard with me to a place that I was confident I could win, and I fought him... In the end I won, and I broke his spine. I crippled him, and was going to kill him afterwards... But I didn't, I couldn't... " Izuku then said, leaving many details out.
He didn't mention that Shirou's power wasn't even a quirk, and he didn't mention that he had witnessed the scene as The Guardian. There was more that he didn't share. He didn't tell them that he had fought and crippled Gilgamesh inside The Underground Arena, and he didn't tell them that he had broken all his limbs before that.
But the missing details didn't matter, for the listeners were still shocked.
"... When I looked at that bastard, I realised something. I had become what I sought to destroy. Long ago I swore to never kill, but there I was about to kill someone... I let him live, only to find out that he was murdered afterwards... because he was so injured that he was unable to defend himself... " Izuku then finished.
Iida and Todoroki had no words. Izuku has suffered so much more than they could begin to imagine.
Izuku was lost in his own mind, replaying the memories. He remembered defeating, and then crippling his opponent, then he remembered something that he had lied about...
He said that Gilgamesh was murdered by an unknown person after he had left, but that wasn't true. The truth was that the second Izuku declared that he wouldn't kill, Gilgamesh was killed by a bullet to the brain. Izuku watched it happen before his eyes, and he knew who the killer was... The man who pulled the trigger was none other than his own adoptive father, Kiritsugu Emiya. The old man had decided that Gilgamesh would die that night, regardless if Izuku was the one who did it or not.
That night had deeply traumatised Izuku, because he was guilty. Gilgamesh would've lived if it wasn't for him, that man's blood was on his hands... and he just couldn't handle it... So he told Tokugawa that he would never fight in The Underground Arena ever again, for he had betrayed his oath...
"How did you do it?!" Iida asked, voice trembling. Izuku was knocked out of his thoughts, as Iida repeated himself.
"How did you let go?"
Izuku was now frozen. Iida had tears in his eyes, visibly struggling with what was happening. The green-haired boy showed true concern for his classmate, as he answered.
"What do you mean? I haven't let go, and I never will." With a calm voice. Iida stopped trembling, as he looked at Izuku in confusion. The green-haired boy then smiled gently, before continuing.
"One day, however, I will learn to live with it. I will carry these scars with me, and they will give me strength... So I need to keep living by the rules I've set up for myself, the ones that I made a while ago... At a time that I knew I was who I wanted to be, myself... "
Iida was now wide eyed, as if his entire world had been flipped. He didn't need to forget his anger, he just needed to live with it. He needed to make it his strength, not his weakness.
Izuku then stood up from his seat, as he said.
"I think you got the gist of it... Don't be an idiot... And make yourself a moral compass, one that you can look back at and follow whenever you feel lost... " Before leaving the hospital room.
Both Iida and Todoroki were still stunned after hearing all of this. It made them both determined to make their scars into strengths, and to make their own moral compasses.
Iida looked at his fist, determined to move on, until he realised something. He wondered why Izuku was there, and why he was wearing a patient's outfit.
"Why is Midoriya in the hospital?" Iida asked Todoroki, showing his confusion. The ice-user was caught off guard, but quickly answered.
"He got into a fight with my father. He won, but ended up getting injured. I think he had a wound in his chest, which also grazed his heart." With a somewhat calm voice. Iida was shocked to hear this, who wouldn't be? A graze over the heart is deadly for almost everyone, and Izuku is still able to walk around like nothing.
This also got Iida thinking. There was something that clicked in his head when Todoroki mentioned Izuku's injury, and it was from the night before. He remembered that The Brawler had been stabbed in the chest at the exact spot that was described. This also made him realise another thing. Endeavour doesn't stab people, and Todoroki didn't say anything about burns...
"Is something wrong?" Todoroki asked, sounding as cold as ever. Iida looked at the ice-user with a skeptical look, as he answered.
"I'm not sure, but I think he's hiding something... But I can't say anything for certain, not yet at least." With a calm voice. Todoroki understood that Iida was referring to Izuku, but he didn't know what he was getting at... Until another thing hit him...
Izuku had been unsupervised during the entire internship, he could've done something fishy during that time.
The two teens looked at each other, seemingly in understanding. Izuku was hiding something, and that something could perhaps change everything.