"Uh… I'm on TV again."
Inside a hospital ward in Hosu City Hospital, Masata sat on the bed, casually eating an apple while watching the morning news broadcast.
He wasn't hospitalized because of any serious injuries. Aside from heavy stamina drain caused by frequent elementalization during last night's battle, there was nothing wrong with him. After getting a good night's sleep, he felt completely refreshed.
Midoriya Izuku and Iida Tenya, on the other hand, hadn't been so lucky. All three of them had suffered injuries of varying severity, and after the incident they were immediately sent to the hospital for treatment. Masata found it boring to stay alone, so he simply came to their ward and stayed the night.
Ding—ding—
Masata wiped his hands with a tissue and answered the phone.
"Masata! Are you hurt?! I saw the news— they said you encountered the Hero Killer!"
Yaoyorozu Momo's anxious voice came rushing through the receiver. She had clearly seen the morning broadcast and called immediately out of worry.
The volume was so intense that Masata instinctively pulled the phone slightly away from his ear.
"Relax, relax," he said calmly. "The news already said it—Hero Killer was arrested. He couldn't do anything to me. I was just exhausted last night. Sorry I didn't message you earlier."
As far as Masata was concerned, his response was a textbook example of how a responsible guy should reassure people.
It took a while to calm down Yaoyorozu—who sounded ready to sprint over following the phone signal—but before Masata could relax, the phone rang again.
"Cha-Cha, I'm fine. Really. What? You're going to participate in rescue training? Yeah, yeah, okay. I'll see you back at school."
After hanging up, Masata finally noticed the expressions of the actual patients in the room.
Three dark lines slowly slid down the foreheads of Midoriya, Iida, and Todoroki.
Squeak—
The ward door opened, and three figures of different heights walked in.
The shortest was Gran Torino—so short that Masata seriously suspected he might not even be taller than Mineta. Next was Manuel, from Iida's internship agency. Behind them stood a tall figure wearing a police uniform.
"Whoa—!"
Masata blurted out when he saw the officer's appearance.
The man had the head of a Dalmatian… and the body of a human.
"Oh? You kids seem full of energy," Gran Torino said cheerfully, smiling as if age had never touched him.
"I've got plenty I want to say to you, but let's let today's guest speak first," Gran Torino continued. "This is Chief Inuji, head of the Hosu Police Department."
He stepped aside, giving the Dalmatian-headed officer center stage.
"Please, stay seated," Chief Inuji said calmly as the boys instinctively tried to sit up straighter. "Just listen."
"Why is the police chief here…?" Todoroki muttered quietly.
Masata already had a rough idea what was coming. After all, he'd been through something similar during the Sludge Villain incident. He picked up his apple again and continued eating, unfazed.
"You are the students who defeated the Hero Killer," Chief Inuji said.
Masata had to admit—hearing such serious words delivered by a Dalmatian-headed man was surprisingly difficult not to laugh at.
"To be precise," Midoriya immediately corrected, "Masata defeated him. We couldn't even fight back. If anything, we caused trouble and almost became a burden."
"I was saved from the very beginning," Iida added, bowing his head. The reflection off his glasses hid his eyes, but his guilt was obvious.
"Then," Chief Inuji said flatly, "that means both of you used your Quirks to harm others without official licenses and without direct supervision."
The room went silent.
"So," he continued, "I must impose punishment—on you two, and on Manuel and Gran Torino, the supervising Pro Heroes."
"What?!" Todoroki shot upright.
"Are you saying they should've died instead?!" he shouted. "If Iida hadn't acted, the Pro Hero would've been killed on the spot! If Midoriya hadn't arrived in time, they'd both be dead!"
"Saving people in danger is a Hero's duty!" Todoroki continued angrily. "I fought too—why aren't you punishing me as well?!"
Masata blinked.
This was the first time he'd ever seen Todoroki lose his cool so completely.
So the ice face hides fire underneath… guess that matches his Quirk.
Interesting discovery.
"Calm down," Masata said, raising a hand. "This conversation doesn't sound finished yet. And I doubt punishment is actually coming down, right, Chief Inuji?"
Chief Inuji sighed and rubbed his damp nose.
"So you're not all naïve," he said.
"The government will suppress this incident," Masata continued evenly. "That's why none of their names appeared in the morning news."
"This spares them from punishment," he added, "but also means no one will know what they actually did."
Chief Inuji nodded.
"Correct. There were very few witnesses. Our department was able to control the information flow."
"As for why Igarashi Masata was not punished—first, the Hero Killer's injuries are extremely difficult to explain. Second, and more importantly, Endeavor informed us in advance that he authorized Masata to use his Quirk."
"So if responsibility were pursued, it would fall on Endeavor."
"And since the Hero Killer was successfully captured and no irreversible casualties occurred," he concluded, "this outcome is… ideal."
After finishing, Chief Inuji suddenly bowed deeply.
"On behalf of the citizens you protected—thank you."
In a completely different room—
"Masata is AMAZING! He even beat the Hero Killer!"
A blonde high school girl with twin buns bounced excitedly on her bed, burying her face into a soft pillow.
"I like him more and more! We have to meet again soon!"