"Why, of course not. What type of question is that?"
I stared at the animal hybrid in front of me, his words echoing in the sterile hospital room.
No.
Of course there had to be a catch. Not that it was really a catch, it was still an incredibly good deal. For heaven's sake, I myself knew how out of hand everything had gotten. The constant running, the sleepless nights, the way every hero in Japan seemed to have my face memorized, I'd go to a school for the first time in six years, have some sense of normalcy. And yet...
The silence stretched between us as I processed what he'd just said. No more vigilante work. No more late-night rescues. No more being able to help people the moment I saw them in danger.
"Then I'm sorry, but no," I said, determination filling my voice despite the tremor I tried to hide.
"No?" Nezu's head tilted slightly, his black eyes studying me with an intensity that made me feel like a specimen under a microscope.
"No," I replied, rougher this time, forcing steel into my words.
I was expecting some kind of negative reaction, anger, disappointment, maybe even threats of increased manhunts, not that those would do much to me, especially since Nezu seemed pretty weak aside from all the information he was able to get.
Instead, Nezu smiled.
Not just any smile, but a widened, creepy grin that stretched from one end of his mouse face to the other, revealing small, sharp teeth that glinted in the hospital lighting.
"Oohh, I just knew you'd be the perfect fit, but this is even better than I calculated."
"Fit?" The word came out more confused than I intended.
"Oh, I got ahead of myself. Sorry." He waved a small paw dismissively. "Either way, may I know why you said no? Even if I do have a hypothesis already."
I looked down at my hands, then back up at him.
"U.A. is a high school, right? Meaning that if I enter next school year, I'll have to spend three years, almost four with the waiting time until it starts. The same amount of time I've been a recognized vigilante."
"Yes, that is right," Nezu interrupted.
"Four years where I won't be able to travel Japan helping people." I looked down at my hands again, one of them sliding down my leg to touch Avalon and Excalibur. It was comforting in a way, I'd had them by side for a long time, and they would never leave me.
"Do you know how many people I have saved in the past four years?" I asked, my hand rising from my blade.
"I have a rough estimate, but please, enlighten me." His voice carried genuine curiosity now, the calculating edge temporarily replaced by what seemed like authentic interest.
"Thirteen thousand, four hundred and twelve."
"Roughly."
"No. No, not roughly." My voice grew stronger, more certain. "I have saved thirteen thousand, four hundred and twelve people from grave injury or death. I remember all of them. Each and every one." The memories flashed through my mind, faces, names, moments of terror transformed into relief. The businessman I'd pulled from a collapsing building in Shibuya. The little girl I'd caught when she fell from a fire escape in Harajuku. The elderly couple I'd shielded from falling debris during a villain attack in Akasaka.
"If I wasn't there, those people would have died."
Nezu's expression shifted slightly, becoming more serious. "You can't know that. Heroes could have easily been dispatched to help those people, and they probably would have succeeded."
"And I don't know if that's true either." I stood up from where I'd been leaning against the wall, suddenly needing to pace. "Maybe they would have, maybe they wouldn't have. But I don't deal in maybes. I saved those people. I was there when they needed someone, not five minutes later when the proper authorities arrived, not after filling out the correct paperwork, not after getting permission from the Hero Public Safety Commission. I was there."
The room fell quiet except for the steady beeping of medical equipment and the distant sounds of the hospital beyond these walls. Mirko stirred slightly on the bed but didn't wake.
"So what? You're going to throw away decades of actual valued hero work just because you can't stop being a vigilante for four years now? You can't possibly think that's a good trade-off."
I stopped pacing and looked directly at him. "Maybe it isn't."
"Then -"
"Maybe it isn't valued hero work," I interrupted, surprising myself with the conviction in my voice. "But I value my work. It's not even work." I scratched my hair, a nervous habit I'd developed over the years. "It's a calling. My calling."
Nezu studied me for a long moment, his small hands clasped behind his back. "Hmm, okay then. I'll give you that point. But what about all the bad that comes from your vigilante work?"
"Bad?" The word came out sharper than I intended.
"You can't possibly be that naive, right? You are one of the most wanted vigilantes in Japan. That takes resources away from other problems."
"But I'm not a problem -"
"Be quiet. I didn't interrupt when you were making your point."
The authority in his voice was unmistakable, and despite everything, I found myself shutting up. Why was this mouse- polar bear hybrid putting me on edge than high ranked heroes or maniacal villains.
"You are a problem, even though many may not consider you one. You still are. Police go after you wherever you appear. Heroes," he said, pointing at the unconscious Mirko, "are sent after you. How many routes could be properly policed if officers weren't chasing shadows of a boy who thinks he knows better than the entire hero system?"
I opened my mouth to respond, but he held up a paw.
"How many villains escape while heroes are diverted to deal with you? How many crimes go unreported because witnesses are too busy recording videos of your latest stunt? You may save people, Arthur, but the ripple effects of your actions extend far beyond what you see."
"I-"
"What did I say about interrupting."
I shut up.
"I know what you're going to say," Nezu continued, his voice gentler now. "That it isn't you who's spending those resources, it's the government trying to catch you. And you'd be right. Yet the root cause is you. You may want to be the exception to this rule, but that isn't going to be the case. However, I can make you the exception, as long as you do things properly."
He paused, letting his words sink in. The hospital room felt smaller somehow, the walls closing in as the weight of his argument settled on my shoulders.
"Besides, it's not like you won't be able to be a hero for long. In your second year, you're able to get a provisional hero license, so at most it'll be a year, maybe less. Join U.A. Do things the right way, not your way."
A year. Twelve months of sitting in classrooms while people died. Twelve months of following rules while emergencies unfolded. Twelve months of being a student instead of a savior.
But then I thought about the resources he'd mentioned. The police officers who could be patrolling dangerous neighborhoods instead of chasing me. The heroes who could be stopping actual villains instead of trying to bring in someone who was trying to help. The consequences to my actions beyond just helping people.
"I..." I started, then stopped. The words I wanted to say, the defiant rejection, the passionate defense of my methods, died in my throat.
"I... I..." I couldn't form a proper counter-argument. Every point I tried to raise crumbled under the weight of his logic. So little by little, I quieted down, the fight draining out of me like air from a punctured balloon.
"Besides," Nezu added, his voice taking on an almost fatherly tone, "it's not like you won't be able to help people at U.A. Do you know how many future heroes you could influence as their comrade in arms and books alike, think about more than just the now, think about tomorrow, and the next day and every day after that."
Nezu jumped off the chair and walked up to me, his small stature somehow not diminishing the authority he carried. He stretched his hand out to mine, and I found myself staring down at the offered paw.
"So what do you say?"
I looked at his furry paw and sighed. T
Just one year. That's it. Then you'll be an actual hero, or at least a provisional one. You can help people the right way, with proper support, with backup, with resources. You won't have to carry the weight of the entire world on your shoulders anymore.
The thought was both terrifying and relieving.
I reached out and shook his hand.
"Oh, and there is still one year until school begins, by the way, so..."
I smiled, and for the first time since this conversation started, it felt genuine.
He smiled back, that same wide grin from before, but somehow it seemed less creepy now... still a bit creepy though.
One. One year to live the remainder of my vigilante life.
I turned toward the open window, the cool night air calling to me like it had for so many years.
"Oh wait, how will I contact you?" I asked, turning back to Nezu.
He rummaged in one of his pockets, bringing out a sleek smartphone and handing it to me. The device was sleek and thin, honestly it looked pretty brittle.
"The password is 1234. My number is already programmed in. Call me when you need me, and remember, one year though I would prefer if you stopped your vigilante work within eleven months. No more than that."
"Yeah," I whispered, pocketing the phone. "One year."
A/N: So what do you guys think about the chapter? Good? I sure hope so haha. If I'm being honest I forgot when some stuff happened, mainly that being that the U.A. entrance exam occurs in February and that school years in Japan begin in April lol. Either way, I saw a fic doing this so I thought about trying it out myself, you know as incentives, for you guys, gals and myself.
Extra chapters, I'll provide an extra chapter every two hundred power stones and every five reviews, so the ball is in your court. Author out and thx for reading.