Chapter 59 – Discussion in Hospital I
After the fight, Tenya and Melissa were hospitalised for their injuries. Even though they weren't serious, especially Melissa's, it was decided to keep them under observation for a day, in case symptoms of infection, tetanus, or the like appear.
Izuku was also in the hospital, but for very different reasons. After finding her, he wanted to entrust the sleeping Eri to the paramedics, so that she could be checked in the hospital. However, the little girl proved to be very tenacious even in her sleep, as she did not want to leave the flap of Izuku's cloak.
Forced to take her to Hosu General Hospital himself, he somehow managed to free himself from the little girl's grip so that doctors could check on her, but after a few seconds, the little girl woke up and was in terror as she had lost sight of Izuku, which meant that her Quirk was about to spiral out of control. When Eri saw him, she found some calm, but despite clearly no longer having strength, she tried to get out of the hospital bed, risking falling and hurting herself. Izuku did not hesitate to catch her. Eri was crying again, begging Izuku not to abandon her there.
It took no small amount of diplomacy to convince her to be examined, and the reason they succeeded was only that Izuku promised to stay close throughout the entire check-up. Many doctors were horrified by the scars the little girl had on her legs and arms, hidden by those bandages. At the same time, for Izuku, they were physical testimony to the fact that Eri had a very difficult childhood, to put it mildly.
As they examined Eri under his watchful eye, some nurses offered to perform a quick routine check on him, clearly more interested in him than in his health. Izuku obviously refused, but asked for the products needed to clean and sterilise his armour and spear as best he could, since he was in a hospital. No one objected, despite the nurses' disappointed looks.
The results came out quickly: Eri was fine, very malnourished, sure, but physically she had no particular problems. However, her psychological state was extremely delicate, and she seemed to have developed an attachment to Izuku, capable of keeping her calm.
Izuku remained at the little girl's side all night, with "Mercy" in his hand and the Misericordia at his side, alert and ready to act in the face of any threat.
«Midoriya-san?» called a nurse «There are visits for you, but they would like you to go to room 341.»
The room where Ida-san is being treated?
«Understood. I'll be right there.» he said, dismissing the nurse, before addressing the little girl «Eri, I have to meet some people. Be a good girl and wait for me here, okay?»
As soon as he said this, Eri's hand snapped at Izuku's cloak and squeezed it tightly. Her eyes and grip begged Izuku to stay, like a puppy fearing abandonment again. The nurses and the doctor present melted before those puppy eyes, but Izuku, despite understanding the little girl's mental state, could not go along with her. He sighed heavily.
He took the vial given to him by the Emperor and entrusted it to Eri's little hands.
«This necklace is very important to me.» he said kindly and sincerely «I would be willing to turn the whole world upside down to find it. Can you guard it for the short time I'm not here?»
Even though instinct cried out to him not to lose it or leave it in anyone's hands, oddly enough, entrusting it to Eri didn't seem forbidden to him. It's strange to say, but he felt as if entrusting it to Eri was the will of the contents of the vial… the will of the Emperor.
Feeling the vial in her hands and hearing Izuku's kind and sincere words, Eri timidly nodded positively, freeing the heavy cloak.
«Good girl.» he said, gently stroking her head.
*****
Also present in the room where Tenya was hospitalised were Manual, Gran Torino, Melissa, Shoto and a fifth person. A very tall and robust man, with the head of a beagle, with the part around his eyes and ears dark brown; the two sides are separated by a light brown line that runs along his forehead, widening at the height of his muzzle, dotted with light brown. Although the rest of his body is of normal human form, his skin appears to be the same light brown colour as most of his face. He wears an elegant suit with a black-and-white tie that recalls the Dalmatian motif.
«Ah, he's arrived.» Gran Torino said, watching him struggle through the door «What holds you back, boy?»
«Eri didn't want me to leave the room.» Izuku sighed «And to calm her down, I had to give her something very precious to me, so the sooner we finish, the better. Why this meeting?»
«You have a visitor.» Gran Torino said, pointing to the stranger «He is the Chief of Hosu’s Police Department, Tsuragame Kenji.»
«Just make yourself comfortable. Woof!» the man with the dog's head claimed
«The Chief of the Police?!» Melissa asked, slightly scared
«What drives the Chief of Hosu’s Police Department to speak personally with three students?» asked neutral Izuku, his eyes sharp.
«You are the UA students who defeated and captured the Hero Killer, right? Woof!»
Aside from Melissa and Tenya, who, albeit hesitantly, gave positive approval to the question, Izuku kept his gaze fixed on the Chief of the Police, intent on not losing a single change in the latter's posture or movement.
«Also, you're the one who killed those two Villains in cold blood, right? Woof!»
«Yes.»
Izuku would have liked to add details to his affirmative response, but, not knowing the extent to which information sharing is widespread among various police departments, it is best to keep secrets and use them as bargaining chips.
«For now, please know that the Hero Killer is currently being treated for the injuries sustained during the fight.»
After that statement, which attracted the attention of those present, the Chief of the Police began to explain a few things, including how, since quirks have become increasingly widespread, a quirk regulation has been created for the police in the event of violent clashes. With "hands tied" on this point, a solution had to be found. For this reason, "Heroes" were born, who are allowed to break the rules the police have imposed on themselves to prevent the spread of anarchy and, consequently, maintain a firm faith in the judicial system that still guides Japanese society. Obviously, there were exceptions, but always under the close supervision of other members of the department.
«Simply put, Commissioner...» Izuku interrupted, drawing his gaze to himself «you are indirectly claiming that the three of us broke the law by using quirks without the supervision of our guardian. Am I right?»
«That's right. Woof!» Kenji confirmed «Following these directives, I would be required to severely punish not only the three of you, but also Manual and Gran Torino.»
«Wait a minute!» Shoto spoke «If Ida and Shield hadn't intervened, Native would have died, and if Midoriya hadn't confronted Stain, not only would the Hero Killer not have been captured. The situation was risky and no on-»
*Tunk*
The dry sound of the spear hitting the floor silenced what Shoto was saying, and when he looked back at Izuku, he noticed that his stern, sharp, and unyielding gaze was indirectly telling him to keep quiet.
«Commissioner Tsuragame.» Izuku called after silencing Shoto «You used the term 'would be' in your statement, right? I would ask you to elaborate before creating further misunderstandings.»
«Thank you, Midoriya-kun. Woof!» thanked the Chief of Police before continuing «As I was saying, that should have been my official decision as a policeman, in case the incident was public knowledge. But given that there are very few witnesses and the press is in the dark about everything. I don't think it's necessary to implement this process for you young aspiring heroes. What do you think?» asked the Chief of the Police, giving the thumbs up
«Gran Torino-dono, Manual-dono.» Izuku called, understanding the consequences of Kenji's statement «Your thoughts on this?»
«Well, we'll be the ones paying for you, since we couldn't keep an eye on you. In a way, let's say it's inevitable.» Manual stated, sighing heavily.
«But it's still better than cutting off the legs of promising youngsters.» Gran Torino said, crossing his arms.
«I deeply apologise for what I did!» Tenya exclaimed, bending over at 90°
«You are forgiven! But don't do it a second time!» Manual exclaimed, tapping on Tenya's head
«So, with that, we've closed this chapter.» Izuku said, then turned his gaze to Kenji «Now, do we want to discuss the murder cases I perpetrated?»