After a billion debates, everyone there agreed on one conclusion.
Himiko and I, regardless of our mistakes, would be temporarily pardoned, but in return, we would have to wear tracking devices – the kind that update their location in real time – to monitor our movements and prevent us from escaping or causing trouble. Of course, only I could remove them - if I wanted to be shocked literally, and I have to explain the reason to Nezu afterward, or if we were assigned to somewhere else like crime scenes, the devices would be removed, but U.A. would send someone to monitor us. The tracking bracelet will be customized to fit each person individually to avoid anyone noticing anything unusual and to disable us in different ways, so we don't need to wear it right now. It's just... Himiko can only be with me in the hospital until evening. After that, she will have to live inside U.A campus...forever...
It's hard to imagine that I'm actually starting to get used to her annoying nagging...
Tsuragamae stood there, mulling it over for a beat before giving a slow nod. "We'll need an official meeting to lock this down, but if U.A.'s willing to take the heat, we can pause Himiko Toga's and your arrest warrant for now. One condition: both of you will be confined to U.A. grounds and under strict watch if she steps out."
"That's...it?" I rasped, voice rough from the pain.
Tsuragamae fixed me with a hard stare, then shook his head. "That's it for now, Onodera Ryuga. Don't think you're dodging the fallout forever, though. We're still digging."
"Whatever..."
He nodded, turned, and marched out with some of the cops trailing. The heroes followed - Endeavor throwing me a look like he'd stepped in dog shit - then Izuku and Tenya bailed too.
All Might lingered, eyes heavy with thought. I knew he had a ton to unload, but he just sighed and dropped a weak, "Rest up, Ryuga."
"..."
The throbbing from my half-healed wound kept sleep at bay, but at least I had a rare breather - no cops, no heroes crowding me, no one grilling me for answers.
Toga's off the hook for now. That's something. Giving her a shot at a better life than before? Big damn pivot.
"Wonder what she'll look like in a U.A. uniform…" I mused, exhaling, only to catch Aizawa-sensei's stare from the corner. Guy'd been silent the whole time - didn't even clock him there. Made him creepier than I'd pegged.
"I thought you left with those bastards too?" Himiko snorted. "If you're gonna watch your injured student, at least bring a clipboard or popcorn to look legit."
"No need," Aizawa said, turned to ask me with a flat voice. "Just wondering… do I actually know anything about you, Onodera Ryuga?"
I eyed him, then laughed - wincing as my chest twinged. "Huh..."
He went quiet for a few seconds.
"All Might filled me in on some things a few days back," he finally said.
I raised a brow, faking surprise even though I'd set this ball rolling.
"About your deal with him," Aizawa went on, tone steady. "How you know things that you shouldn't know - and how you got All Might, a guy who'd never spill his guts or ask for help, to rope me and others in, like you knew the U.S.J attack was coming."
I shrugged, neither confirming nor denying. "Who knows?"
Aizawa's gaze didn't waver. "What'd you tell him?"
I smirked. "Try to guess...?"
"You've never flat-out lied," he said, "but you've never spilled the full truth either."
I snapped my fingers - grimacing at the jolt of pain. "Yeah..."
Aizawa didn't flinch or snap. Just watched me, careful. "Onodera, what're you hiding?"
I let the question hang, pretending to chew on it - though I'd known my play from the jump.
"Nothing," I said slow. "Just… can't let Sir Nighteye...know."
Aizawa didn't bite right away, but I caught a flicker in his eyes - small, but there.
"You know Sir Nighteye?"
"Yeah..." I shrugged. "Bet he'd have a lot to chat with me."
Aizawa stewed on that, piecing it together, trying to crack what I was hinting at.
No clear answer from me, though - obviously.
Finally, he sighed, rubbing his temple. "…You're a big thorn in the eye."
I chuckled. "Same..."
He shook his head, lips twitching - not quite a smile, not quite pissed.
"I'll make sure the U.A. board knows you're on a tight leash," he said to Himiko. "You too, Ryuga. Don't think I'm not watching."
I grinned. "Fine..."
He didn't reply, just gave me one last look and walked out. Door clicked shut, leaving me and Toga - who was now sporting a what-the-fuck face - alone in the quiet hospital room, both knowing damn well we'd probably end up messing around in here.
Toga, leaning on the window, arms crossed, looked like she'd wait for a suitable answer from me.
"I'm...sorry...for...everything..." I used all my remaining strength to apologize to her.
She, who seemed to still be angry with me but didn't want to make me feel awkward and suffering, just sighed and said to me with a wry smile. "You're a pain in the ass, Ryuga. Right up there with me."
I smirked, typed into my text-to-speech app. "We're a matching pair of headaches."
She didn't argue, flashing a playful grin - though her eyes turned serious.
"You know," she murmured, "back in the day, I wouldn't have sat still for this. Cops, heroes, tossing conditions like they're doing me a favor. Those smug bastards think they're above everyone else?"
I stayed quiet, watching her, thinking.
She wasn't wrong. Original timeline - hell, even before I met her - Toga was an outcast, treated like a monster 'cause her Quirk's brutal and dangerous if twisted wrong. I'd shifted that, sure, but the way the big shots talked - like they were "graciously" handing her a chance, like she didn't deserve a normal life without their mercy - pissing her off made sense.
I sighed, typed into my text-to-speech app, letting the robotic voice speak for me. [They'll need time to swallow this and ditch their old biases. I know you hate it, but you've gotta grit through it a bit longer. Not as some pushover - just to make 'em recognize you.]
Toga went silent, then let out a soft laugh - not all joy.
"You always sound good, Ryuga," she whispered. "Talking's easy - doing's the bitch. You really think this world'll take me?"
I locked eyes, unflinching. [No. Doesn't have to. Just be you - that's enough.]
Her gaze flickered.
"…You're such a pain," she repeated, softer this time.
I grinned, reached out, tugged her close, and laid on the cheesy vibe.
[I know. But I'm stuck loving a troublemaker too. What's the harm?]
She blinked, giggled, and pressed her forehead to mine. "Yeah, trouble alright."
We stayed like that, soaking in the quiet warmth for hours.
Nothing at all. No sex, no teasing, no dirty talk, just the two of us, one lying down, the other sitting and peeling an apple to eat – because I didn't have the strength to chew after struggling to speak for five minutes in the previous few hours.
Himiko looked normal, but I guessed that sulky expression wasn't meant to be shown to me yet, because at least she fully realized that hurting me in this "half-in-hell" state was practically torture. That look in her eyes, as if she wanted to beat me up while simultaneously showing pity, made me extremely... regretful...
The hospital room door wasn't opened. It was suddenly kicked open.
The impact made the door frame rattle. Toga stopped chewing her apple, her eyes narrowed menacingly, her grip on the knife tightening. I gestured for her to calm down, then turned to look at the door.
Standing there was Bakugo Katsuki.
He wasn't wearing his school uniform, but a black hoodie pulled over his head and ripped jeans. But no matter how well he tried to conceal himself, I could still see his worn-out state. His eyes were bloodshot and dark-circled from lack of sleep. Both his hands were wrapped in white bandages. And most importantly, his usual arrogant demeanor had vanished, replaced by a chaotic aura of anger, suspicion, and being cornered.
He was breathing heavily, as if he'd just run all the way from the train station.
Toga stood up, shielding him, the apple-peeling knife twirling lightly on her finger. "Oh? Fireworks visiting the sick? That's some bromance."
"Shut up, you bitch," Bakugo growled, his voice hoarse, not even looking at Toga. His eyes were fixed on me. "I need to talk to him. Alone."
Toga raised an eyebrow, about to retort, but I patted her hand lightly. I quickly typed on my phone.
[Come outside for a bit, Himiko. I want to hear what the Sports Festival Champion has to say.]
The robotic voice rang out, full of sarcasm.
Toga looked at me, then at Bakugo with a warning look: Do anything to him and I'll slit your throat. She shrugged and walked out of the room, but I knew she was just behind the door, her ear pressed against the wall.
The door closed. Only Bakugo and I remained.
He didn't sit down. He stood towering at the foot of the bed, his hands clenched, his whole body trembling with suppressed emotion.
"You..." Bakugo opened his mouth, his voice trembling with anger. "What the hell did you do in that match?"
I looked at him, my expression indifferent. I didn't rush to answer. I unlocked my phone, silently turned on the recording mode, then reopened the Text-to-Speech app.
[I don't understand what you're talking about. I was the one on the stretcher, you were the one standing on the podium. What's there to be unhappy about, Bakugo?]
"DON'T PLAY STUPID WITH ME!" Bakugo yelled, lunging forward and grabbing my patient's collar.
I didn't resist, just let him lift me up, touching the painful wound in my stomach. But I didn't show any pain. I looked straight into his eyes with a look of pity.
"That explosion!" Bakugo pressed his face close to mine, his breath reeking of nitroglycerin. "It's not mine! I know my limits! I couldn't have created such a huge explosion without the aid of gloves! There's something in the air... You did something, didn't you?! You set me up!"
He's smart. I have to admit that. His fighting instincts tell him there was interference.
But he has no proof. And in his current state, probably on the verge of suspension, public backlash, and being labeled "violent," his words are worthless.
I typed on my phone, my fingers moving slowly and rhythmically.
[Are you high!?]
A cold, robotic voice rang out.
[Everyone saw what you did. You lost control because of anger. You wanted to kill me. The cameras recorded everything. Now you come here to blame the victim? How pathetic, Bakugo.]
"I DIDN'T MEAN TO KILL YOU!" He yelled, letting go of my collar, stepping back a few paces, tearing at his hair. "I just wanted to win! I wanted to win overwhelmingly! But that explosion... it wasn't normal! And those rumors online... My junior high school records... Why did they have to be leaked at this exact moment?!"
He glared at me, bloodshot eyes blazing.
"It's you... It must be you! You're the only one with a motive! You're jealous of me! You want to drag me down into the mud!"
I laughed. A painful, hoarse laugh escaped my throat, but my face relaxed into a mocking grin, then typed.
[Jealous? Of you?]
[Look at yourself, Katsuki. You're trembling. You're afraid. You didn't come here to find the truth.]
[You came here because you couldn't accept the fact that the world was seeing your true nature.]
I paused, letting the words sink in, then typed again, more ruthlessly.
[You're a bully. Always have been. Since middle school, you've used your strength to oppress others. You told Izuku to jump off a building. You beat up your friends. You thought that because you were strong, you had the right to do so. And now, when that 'right' is taken away, when everyone calls you 'the future Villain,' you're falling apart.]
Bakugo was speechless. He opened his mouth to argue, but no words came out. His dark past - something he had always considered a "trophy" of the strong - was now tearing him apart.
[And about the explosion...] I continued typing, my eyes sharp. [Maybe you're stronger than you think. Or maybe your malicious intent to destroy others has activated some kind of potential. Who knows? Anyway, the result is the same: I'm in the hospital, and the whole world is spitting on your 'Champion' title. That's all.]
"You..."
Bakugo trembled violently. He couldn't take it anymore. The humiliation, the helplessness, the injustice which he couldn't prove had pushed him to his limit.
"I'LL KILL YOU FOR REAL!!!"
His reason snapped. Violent instincts surged.
Bakugo lunged forward, his right hand glowing, crackling loudly. He intended to unleash an Explosion attack directly at my face right here in this hospital bed.
I didn't dodge. I didn't defend myself. I just lay there, watching him charge, my hand still holding the recording phone. Go ahead. Hit me. And you'll lose everything.
Bakugo's exploding hand was only centimeters from my face. The heat burned my skin.
WHOOSH!
THUMP!
A silver streak of light ripped through the air, embedding itself in the wall right next to Bakugo's head, cutting off a few strands of his blond hair.
A tactical dagger. It was embedded deep in the wall, all the way to the hilt.
Bakugo froze, his eyes wide, cold sweat breaking out. If the dagger had been two centimeters to the right…it would have been in his temple.
"This is...interesting..."
A cold, murderous voice echoed from the doorway.
Toga Himiko leaned against the door frame, toying with another knife. Her golden eyes held no light, dark and deep as an abyss. The smile on her lips had vanished, replaced by a terrifyingly emotionless expression.
"If you did anything to him again... I'd slit your throat."
The killing intent emanating from the small girl was so intense it froze the air in the room. It wasn't the killing intent of a student trying to be a hero. It was the killing intent of someone who had killed before, and was ready to kill again.
Bakugo froze. He looked at the knife on the wall, at Toga, then at me—who was still lying in bed with an unsettlingly calm expression.
He realized he had just crossed a point of no return. If he had hit me like that, right here in the hospital, in front of witnesses... his life would have been over.
He lowered his hand. The flame in his hand went out.
He gasped for breath, recoiled a few steps, and looked at me as if I were a monster.
"You..." Bakugo whispered, his voice trembling, devoid of any arrogance. "You're not a good person. You... you're even worse than me."
I typed one last time on my phone for this conversation.
[Thanks for the compliment. Now piss out. I need to sleep.]
Bakugo gritted his teeth, giving me one last look filled with hatred and... fear. He turned, kicked the door shut, and left. His hurried footsteps faded down the hallway.
The room fell silent again.
Toga entered, walked leisurely to the wall, and pulled out her knife. She wiped the plaster dust from the blade onto her shirt, then turned to me, grinning as if nothing had happened.
"Did I throw it well, Ryuga-kun?"
I turned off the recording, saved the file to a hidden folder called "Insurance," and gave her a thumbs-up.
[Just enough intimidation.]
Toga jumped onto the bed, lying down beside me, carefully avoiding touching the wound.
"He was so noisy," she mumbled, nuzzling her head against my shoulder. "Next time, am I allowed to actually stab him?"
[Not yet. He still has some use.]
I looked out the window, where the Hosu sky was beginning to brighten.
Bakugo was broken. Not physically, but mentally. He would live in doubt, torment, and isolation for some time to come. The seeds of his downfall had been sown. And I, with the recording in hand and Toga beside me, held the key to controlling that downfall.
[Let's sleep, Himiko, I'm tired.]
"Yes darling~ Good night!"
She held me tightly, her breathing steady and rapid.
I closed my eyes, but didn't fall asleep immediately. I replayed the recording in my head, a cold smile playing on my lips.
This world is cruel. And I'm just playing by its rules.