Musume

Chapter 20

“You did a good job yesterday with the hostage situation.” Congratulated her one of Hawks’s sidekicks as they sparred.

“Thanks.” She answered as she delivered a right kick.

He blocked it with his left wing and was about to deliver a punch when the alarm sounded.

“What is that?” she asked, suddenly worried.

“There must be a big situation that requires all hands on deck.” Replied another sidekick having stood from where he’d been relaxing on a sofa.

“Little bird, with me!” shouted a voice through the door, and before she knew it she was following Hawks hurriedly out of the building. He turned to her with a serious look, his usual joviality nowhere to be seen. “There’s a situation in Hosu. Apparently Nomu-like beings are appearing all over the city and attacking people. We’re all being drafted there to help control the situation.”

Yumi’s eyes widened. Hosu, she knew at least one of her classmates was there. Hurriedly, she checked her phone.

She had a message from Izuku: it was just a direction. In Hosu.

She showed it to Hawks, who frowned.

“Alright, I’ll drop you off close to it before joining the fight. You have my permission to use your quirk however you think necessary. We’ll use this to keep in contact.” He said giving her a small earphone-like device.

Yumi nodded, resolved to give her best. Her friends, it seemed, where in danger and she wasn’t going to stand aside and let them get hurt.

Hawks’ face softened slightly as he looked at her.

“Be careful, alright, little bird? Now, hold on tight.”

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Hawks dropped her off a couple of streets from the direction she’d been sent on top of a medium building. She thanked him and immediately sprang into action.

That was something the internship had taught her: not to hesitate.

She sprung through the top of the buildings, hurrying towards the location Izuku must be at. Once she reached it, she stopped on the edge to assess the situation.

Below her were Tenya, Shoto, Izuku and an unknown Pro Hero. The hero and Tenya were both immobile on the floor, whilst Izuku and Shoto were together, both wounded. In front of them, stood a man with a red scarf and lots of blades.

She’d recognize the man anywhere: Stain.

For a moment she mourned the fact that she hadn’t asked Hawks to stay just in case, but she soon shook the thought out of her mind. This wasn’t the right moment to think about that.

She focused back on the present in time to hear Izuku’s theories of how Stain’s quirk worked.

So she had to make sure he didn’t get her blood. It was good, then, that her quirk worked better at medium distances.

She realized the moment that Izuku noticed her because he tensed a second before relaxing again and launching his attack.

A few seconds later, the green haired boy fell to the side paralyzed whilst Stain threw himself towards Shoto, who was shouting something at Tenya.

Tenya moved then and picked up the unknown Pro to move him out of Stain’s attack line. But Yumi didn’t pay him much attention.

She was dropping down to the floor, just between Stain’s blade and Shoto.

The blade pierced through her shoulder and drew out on the other side, but she barely noticed it.

She’d made sure to fall in the path of Shoto’s fire.

The red flames turned blue in an instant and surrounded them both, its warmth decreasing but immediately healing the red-and-white haired teen’s wounds.

She felt the draw on her life-force, but it was rather small as the wounds, despite bleeding profusely, were not too deep.

Her shoulder would require medical attention, though, as it started to bleed.

“Another one?” asked Stain looking pleased and displeased at the same time. “And she didn’t hesitate to get in the middle of my attack… Hum, she was in Shigaraki’s photos… Who are you, little girl?”

She didn’t reply, half-turning so she could see Shoto, Tenya and the unknown whilst keeping an eye on the villain.

“Sorry, Tenya-kun, but a hero’s job is to save people even when they don’t want to be saved.” She said.

She stood in front of Todoroki dressed in her hero uniform, her shoulder bleeding and blue fire surrounding her.

“What did you say?” whispered Stain. “You remind me of her…”

“I don’t know what you’re speaking about,” she replied firmly. “but here ends your reign of terror. The families of the heroes won’t have to fear their loved ones not coming back home because they met you. And my friends will certainly not die here.”

“You will live.” Stain decided, a smirk taking over his face.

As Shoto’s fire extinguished, she felt the draw on her energy vanish and smiled back, much to his confusion.

Her eyes activated as soon as the fire disappeared and Stain froze, looking paralyzed in a fighting stance as he looked into the poisonous mix of green and yellow that her eyes took on.

“Indeed: we all will.”

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Gran Torino was beside himself when he found them, especially when he and the other Pro heroes discovered the identity of the villain they’d captured. He was still frozen into a fighting stance, despite the tight ropes they had wrapped around him for when Medusa’s quirk soon wore off.

When he heard their story and noticed his wounded granddaughter, the man became even angrier.

However, before he could even think of starting to berate her, a Nomu appeared and picked up both Deku and Medusa.

Yumi couldn’t help shouting, the Nomu having grabbed her wounded shoulder. And then they were saved by the most unlikely person as Stain freed himself and killed the Nomu.

“This is… to create a fairer society.” He said in a voice so low she barely heard it.

She saw Endeavor arrive, but her attention, like everyone else’s, was on the man talking to the Pros. He exuded a fearsome aura.

And then Stain, the Hero Killer, having used the last of his strength to save two budding hero students, died.

Later, they would learn his lung was perforated by a rib broken in the earlier fight.

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They were taken to the hospital as fast as the Pro Heroes could manage. Her too, despite her protests that she could still help. Gran Torino would have none of it and Hawks told her through the communication device to leave things in his hands.

They were attended fairly fast, if one took into account the situation in the city, with Shoto being the lucky one as he’d already been healed by her. Tenya had both arms in bandages, whilst Izuku had his left leg and right arm wrapped in them.

Still, the doctors asked for them to stay the night so they could make sure they were fine.

A couple hours later, her father burst through the door.

“Yumi-hime!” cried out the man as he hurried to her side, eyes wide and face frantic.

Yumi smiled at him from where she was sitting next to Shoto on the bed.

She let the worried man fuss over her for a few minutes, content at the attention. She’d known from the moment her grandpa had spotted her that this would happen.

“I’m fine, daddy. It’s just a small wound in the shoulder, nothing that Recovery Girl can’t heal when I next see her. And it doesn’t hurt,” she said rolling her shoulder and flinching a bit. “almost. The others had it worse than me.” She added trying to shift his attention to the others.

“Still, the doctor said they’re keeping you here overnight, just in case.”

She groaned, but didn’t complain and let the man help her to her own bed, where he took a seat next to her before his attention finally shifted to the others.

“How are you, boys?”

The boys were fast to assure him they were fine, with only Izuku knowing his real identity.

Just then, the door opened again to show her grandfather and the Normal Hero: Manual. None of them were happy, but they didn’t have time to berate them because they were followed by Kenji Tsuragamae, Hosu’s chief police.

“So you are the students that defeated the Hero Killer.” Said the man as greeting.

“It was mostly her.” Said Shoto pointing a finger in her direction innocently.

Yumi blushed as red as her hair and did a bow, not even knowing what she was apologizing for.

Things started to become clear when the chief police gave them a speech about the apparition of quirks and vigilantism.

“As such, all people implicated will receive a severe punishment.”

Just then, there was another knock on the door and a familiar head of blonde hair appeared, lacking its usual glasses and looking as carefree as usual. Hawks even winked at Yumi when he walked in.

“Sorry to interrupt, chief. I can’t speak for the others, but Yagi Hiroyumi aka Medusa had express permission from me to be using her quirk as she saw fit. I will face any consequences necessary myself.”

“Is that so?” asked the chief, looking from Hawks to Yumi. “In that case, I guess the law was followed. You are exempt from this, Yagi-san.”

Yumi nodded, swallowing as she realized she’d barely escaped the punishment and throwing a look of worry to her friends.

However, her worry disappeared when the chief of Hosu’s police explained his plans fully. Her classmates would not be punished.

“However, since you had permission from your teacher to use your powers, Yagi-san, the information that you defeated the Hero Killer Stain could be made public…”

Yumi exchanged another look with Shoto, as she had when it was mentioned that Endeavor would be taking the glory for defeating the Hero Killer, and shook her head.

“No, it’s fine. Endeavor can take the recognition.” She said before looking up at her father as she said her next words. “A real hero does not do things for personal glory and as a student that would only place a bigger target on my back.”

Her father nodded in approval, pride in the line of his shoulders, and she turned her attention back to the chief of police.

“As you wish. You won’t receive the recognition you should for your actions, but as a protector of peace, I thank you.” Said the dog-faced man with a respectful bow to the four students.