Several professional heroes arrived directly at the scene. "There you are!" One of them immediately ran toward us while others began checking the surrounding area. Midoriya tried to say something, but instead, he just slid lower against the wall.
"Midoriya!" Todoroki caught him. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah... just a bit tired."
"A bit?" Iida looked at him. "You can barely stand." I glanced at them and then over at Stain, who was already surrounded by professional heroes.
It looked like it was all over. But then I heard a familiar voice. "Mephisto." I froze. Slowly, I turned around. Hawks stood at the edge of the alley. His expression this time was completely different from usual.
No smile. No coffee. He just stared at me.
"Hey."
"Hey?" Hawks looked at me for several seconds.
"Is that all?"
"I could say good evening instead."
"Mephisto."
"Yes?"
"You vanished from patrol."
"Yes."
"Without permission."
"Yes."
"And I find you here." He looked at Stain, then at Midoriya, Iida, and Todoroki, and finally back at me.
"In the middle of a Hero Killer attack."
"When you put it like that, it sounds kind of bad." Hawks rubbed his forehead. "Because it is bad." Meanwhile, Tokoyami arrived alongside several other heroes. Taking in the situation, he remained silent for a moment.
"Mephisto..."
"Yeah."
"You vanished."
"Yeah."
"During patrol."
"Yeah." Tokoyami gave a short nod. "I see."
Hawks looked at him. "You're not going to defend him?"
"I had no intention of doing so."
"Thanks." I looked back at Stain. The situation was under control now, and the professional heroes began tending to the injured. Iida stood a few meters away from me, looking like he wanted to say something. Eventually, he turned around. "Mephisto."
"Hm?"
"Thank you."
I stared at him for a moment. "You're welcome."
Midoriya offered a faint smile. "If you hadn't come..."
"Don't worry about it, you would have managed even without me."
Todoroki simply nodded. "Regardless, it helped us."
"Glad to hear it." A few minutes later, more heroes and police officers were arriving. The situation began to settle down.
Stain was taken into custody. Iida, Midoriya, and Todoroki were taken for medical treatment. And me? I had a slightly different problem. Hawks came up to me and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Let me take you back."
"Where?"
"Back to headquarters, don't worry. I'm not going to kill you."
"That's a relief." Hawks smiled briefly. "But the principal is definitely going to ask you a few things."
"Ah." So that was what awaited me.
The following days went by fairly quickly.
The events in Hosu hit the media, and the entire city began discussing the Hero Killer's attack. Just like in the original sequence of events, Midoriya, Iida, and Todoroki were ultimately linked to the incident only minimally, with most of it explained from the perspective of the professional heroes.
I didn't make any public statements about it myself. I had my own problem to deal with. Upon returning to U.A., the principal's office was waiting for me. I stood in front of the door, staring at it for a moment.
Hawks stood beside me. "Well?" he asked.
"I think we could just pretend nothing happened."
"Yeah, right." He knocked.
"Come in." We opened the door. Inside sat Nezu, with Aizawa beside him. Both looked at me. Aizawa looked as tired as ever. Nezu was smiling. And that smile was something I didn't like at all. "Mephisto," Nezu said. "Come on in."
I walked inside. Hawks sat off to the side. "So," Nezu continued. "Could you explain to us why you left your mentor on the final day of your internship?"
"An emergency call was broadcast." Aizawa raised an eyebrow. "And you decided the best solution was to ignore your mentor and head there by yourself."
"Yes."
"Why?" I thought for a moment. "Because I felt like someone over there needed help."
Aizawa sighed. "That's not the answer I wanted to hear."
Hawks chuckled quietly beside me. "I told you this was going to be interesting." I looked at him. "You're not helping."
"I know."
Nezu laced his paws together in front of him. "On the other hand, I must admit you found yourself directly at the Hero Killer incident and helped three students survive a situation that could have turned out much worse."
"So I'm not in trouble?"
Aizawa looked at me. "You are."
"Ah."
"But not that deep."
Nezu smiled. "Your issue is primarily that you acted without authorization. As a student, you have a duty to follow your mentor's instructions. Having good intentions doesn't change that."
"Understood."
"Good."
Nezu looked over at Hawks. "And you?" Hawks shrugged his shoulders. He looked at me. "I get why he did it, though."
Aizawa frowned. "So you're letting him off the hook?"
"Yeah." Hawks smiled. "If I had to punish him for this every time, I'd have to spend another week with him."
"That would be terrible," I noted with a smirk. "For me, at least."
Nezu laughed. "Very well, then. Mephisto, you will receive only a light reprimand and a warning that next time, you are to obey your mentor."
"Understood."
"And if you vanish during a patrol again..." Nezu paused briefly. "...we will be having a much longer talk."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Aizawa sighed. "You may go."
I stood up. "Thanks." As I was leaving, Hawks caught up with me in the hallway.
"So?"
"I survived."
"Congrats."
"Thanks." We walked side by side for a moment. "Though next time," Hawks said, "if you decide to vanish somewhere during my patrol..." I looked at him. "Yes?"
"At least take me with you..."
I offered a faint smile. "That much I can promise."
"Excellent." Hawks laughed.
This was definitely the most interesting part of the whole internship.