"There we go," I muttered as I gently laid Mirko down on a vacant hospital bed, adjusting the pillow beneath her head.
What I wasn't going to just leave her there unconscious in some random forest. What if something came by and harmed her while she was defenseless?
"Now time to get out of here," I added, my right foot already on the ledge of the window ready to jump out. I really didn't like hospitals. Much too white, for how much misery was brought inside, like a lie meant to bring peace to whoever resided in it. However something stopped me, a voice.
It sounded weirdly... squeaky, almost cartoonish in its pitch.
"Ha, it turns out I was right, I knew you'd get here."
Just what was going on? My muscles tensed instinctively, and I found myself scanning the room for potential threats or escape routes. The voice had an oddly cheerful quality to it, which somehow made it more unsettling rather than less.
"You may be wondering what is going on? Well that is simple, I wanted to have a nice little talk with you."
My ears twitched at the man's voice, my head snapping toward a corner of the room where a small camera lay attached to the ceiling, its red recording light blinking steadily. The lens seemed to track my movement slightly, confirming that whoever was speaking could see me clearly.
"How did you know I'd be here?" I asked, keeping my voice level despite the unease creeping up my spine.
"Oh, some simple psychology based on who you are as a person and probability calculations, nothing I can't handle. You see, I already guessed you'd overpower Mirko even if none of the footage we have captured of you would suggest you possessed that level of strength. Still, I needed to get you to a controlled space where we could have a proper chat without interruption. So I calculated the trajectory you and Mirko ran in, cross-referenced it with your known behavioral patterns, then I checked to see what hospital was closest to your likely stopping point, factored in your apparent moral compass and reluctance to leave injured people unattended, ran a few more calculations, and voilà, here we are."
The casual manner in he spoke really did make me think it had been easy for him, a quirk that made him smarter perhaps?
"So what do you want to talk about exactly?" I asked, positioning myself between the camera and Mirko's unconscious form.
"Wait just a moment, if you don't mind. I'd much prefer to talk face to face rather than through this impersonal camera system. Much more civilized, don't you think?"
And so I waited, though not for very long. The door handle turned with a soft click, and the hospital room door opened up, revealing the person whom the voice belonged to, though calling him a person was being generous.
He looked like something out of a children's cartoon, a curious mix of a dog, a mouse, and a bear all rolled into one impossibly small package. He had the distinctive head of a mouse, complete with a black button nose and large rectangular ears that twitched slightly as he moved.
A prominent scar ran across his right eye, giving him a somewhat battle-worn appearance that contrasted sharply with his otherwise adorable features. Both of his eyes were perfectly circular and completely black, like buttons sewn onto a stuffed animal.
He was impeccably dressed in a formal suit that consisted of a crisp white shirt and bright red tie, paired with a black waistcoat and matching pants that had been clearly tailored to fit his unusual proportions.
The ensemble was completed by a pair of oversized orange sneakers that seemed almost comically large on his small frame, and a thin tail that swished behind him as he moved.
He walked slowly into the room, his small hands clasped behind his back as he carefully inspected Mirko's sleeping form.
"She's gonna be fine," I told him, trying to read his expression.
"Oh yes, I know you'd never seriously hurt a pro hero," he replied without looking away from her. "Your psychological profile suggests you have an almost pathological aversion to causing unnecessary harm."
"Then why are you checking on her so thoroughly?"
The small creature's ears drooped slightly, and for a moment his cheerful demeanor seemed to crack, revealing something more genuinely caring underneath. "A principal worries about all his students, even if she graduated a few years ago already. Old habits, you understand."
"You're a principal?" I asked, unable to hide my surprise. This tiny, mouse-like creature was in charge of a school?
The animal hybrid's face lit up with what could only be described as pride, his chest puffing out slightly. "Why yes, I am! In fact, I am Nezu the principal of the most prestigious hero school in Japan, possibly in the world, depending on how you measure these things."
"U.A.?" I asked, though I was fairly certain I already knew the answer.
He nodded his head enthusiastically, his ears bouncing with the motion, before walking over to a chair that sat in the corner of the room. Despite his small stature, he climbed onto it with surprising grace and settled in, his feet dangling several inches above the floor like a child's might.
He smacked his lips together thoughtfully for a moment, his nose twitching slightly in what seemed to be an unconscious habit.
"Are you okay?" I asked, noticing his apparent discomfort.
"Oh yes, just a little parched. I'd love some tea right about now, too bad hospital tea is notoriously terrible. Either way, you shouldn't be worried about my minor discomforts. We're here to talk about you, after all."
His black eyes fixed on mine with an intensity that seemed to see right through me.
I nodded, settling into a more comfortable position while keeping my guard up. Though this principal really didn't seem to have some ulterior motive, it really did seem like he just wanted to talk, then again I may have just been too trusting.
"So, what's your name?" he asked, tilting his head slightly to one side.
"My name?" I asked back, taken somewhat aback by the question.
"Yes, your name. I'm guessing it's not actually Arthur, although it would be quite the amusing coincidence if the moniker the news gave you happened to match your real name perfectly."
I stayed quiet for a long moment, weighing my options.
"Oh come now, lad, don't keep me in suspense," he said with an encouraging smile that somehow managed to be both friendly and slightly unnerving. "I won't tell anyone, even if it turns out to be something embarrassingly ordinary."
After another moment of hesitation, I finally replied, "It's Aki. Aki Tadashi."
"Hmm," Nezu said thoughtfully, scratching his chin with one small paw. "I have to say, I like Arthur much better. It has a certain heroic ring to it, don't you think?"
I found myself scratching my own nape unconsciously, a habit I'd developed when feeling awkward. "Honestly? So do I," I replied, a bit of unexpected laughter breaking through my words.
"Then I'll just call you Arthur, if that's alright with you."
I nodded, finding his casual acceptance oddly comforting.
"So Arthur," his tone shifted slightly, becoming more serious, "you know you're in quite a lot of trouble, don't you?"
The weight of my situation came crashing back down on me. "I know."
"Then may I ask why you decided to take up this vigilante lifestyle of yours? What drives a fourteen-year-old boy to take on criminals and villains single-handedly?"
"Honestly?" I laughed, though there wasn't much humor in it. "I just wanted to help people at first. You know, simple things like helping an old woman cross the street or getting a cat out of a tree. Small acts of kindness that anyone could do. But then I started encountering situations where people were getting hurt by villain attacks, collateral damage from fights between heroes and criminals. I couldn't just stand by and watch innocent people suffer when I had the power to help them. That led to me directly confronting the villains themselves, and before I knew it..." I trailed off, spreading my hands helplessly. "Honestly, it's all got a bit out of my hands at this point."
"It... got out of your hands," Nezu replied, and I could see him struggling to contain his amusement at my choice of words. "That's certainly one way to describe becoming one of the most wanted vigilantes in the country."
"May I ask you something?" Nezu said, smacking his lips once more. He really did seem to need that tea.
"Go ahead," I replied, curious what this strange creature wanted to know.
"How old are you, exactly? I mean you look fourteen but I could be wrong so I'd rather know for sure."
"Fourteen, though I'll be fifteen next month."
His black eyes seemed to light up with interest. "May 4th?" he asked.
I nodded, not even bothering to be surprised that he knew my birthday.
"Excellent then," Nezu said with sudden excitement, clapping his small hands together with a sound like tiny applause. "How about I help you get things back under your control?"
"How?" I asked warily.
"Well, by becoming one of my students, of course!" He practically bounced in his chair with enthusiasm.
"I'm sorry, what?" I couldn't have heard that correctly.
"Yes, it's perfect! You, a vigilante with incredible potential but lacking proper training and guidance, come to study at U.A. to learn how to become a proper, licensed hero. It's absolutely perfect, don't you think? We solve your legal troubles while giving you the education and structure you clearly need."
"But isn't U.A. extremely prestigious? Don't you need to pass incredibly difficult entrance exams? Also, why would becoming a student at U.A. make the authorities drop the charges for illegal quirk usage?"
Nezu's smile took on a slightly mischievous quality. "That, my dear friend, is because of a wonderful thing called institutional influence. Some might call it nepotism, but I prefer to think of it as recognizing and nurturing exceptional talent before it's wasted. A talent like yours mustn't be caught and put in a cell where it will only waste away. No, you must be trained, you must learn proper techniques and ethics, you must understand what it truly means to be a hero. You want to do good in this world, correct? Well, this is how you do it properly."
The offer was tempting, incredibly so. To have a chance at legitimacy, at learning from the best, at becoming the hero I'd always dreamed of being without constantly looking over my shoulder for law enforcement.
"Then I'd very much appreciate the opportunity to be a student at U.A. High," I said carefully.
"Wonderful! Now then, I'll need permission from your parents, of course, but we can set up a meeting to discuss -"
"I don't have parents," I interrupted quietly.
His enthusiastic expression faltered slightly. "Then I'll need to speak with your legal guardian about enrollment procedures and -"
"Don't have one of those either."
Now he looked genuinely concerned, his ears drooping. "Then who takes care of you? Who's been responsible for your wellbeing all this time?"
"I do."
"You... do?"
"Yeah, I take care of myself."
"But how do you even live? Where do you stay? How do you eat, do laundry, handle basic necessities?"
I shrugged, uncomfortable with his obvious concern. "I kind of just jump around mostly. Sleep wherever seems safe, find food where I can, help people when they need it."
"Well, no more of that!" Nezu declared firmly, his protective instincts clearly kicking in. "You're going to be a U.A. student, for heaven's sake! No, no, you absolutely must have proper living quarters, regular meals, clean clothes, stability! Come on, the sooner we get this sorted out, the sooner we can -"
Honestly, this was all happening a bit too fast, wasn't it? The offer was generous, incredibly so, but when something was too good to be true, it normally was.
"Wait," I interrupted, voicing the concern that had been growing in the back of my mind. "If I go to U.A... will I be able to keep being a vigilante?"
The question hung in the air between us. Nezu's legs stopped their gentle swinging, and his expression grew very serious. For a long moment, he simply stared at me with those black button eyes, which looked extremely eerie for some reason.
Finally, he spoke, his voice carrying a finality that left no room for misinterpretation.
"Why, of course not. What type of question is that?"
A/N: Sup author here, I hope you are enjoying the story so far, I really appreciate the comments from last chap, it made me feel all giddy inside, either way I'd also really appreciate stones and reviews since those seem to help stories out (though I'm not entirely sure how).
I also wanted to ask something. Would you guys like it more if he stayed a vigilante, if he went to U.A or found some middle ground? That's pretty much it, author out, and once more thx for reading.