• Benevolence •

Chapter 44

After the meeting, I follow Eraserhead around the building. He has me wait in a hallway for a few minutes while he speaks to a few other heroes before we enter an elevator to leave.

I go over the mission in my head, analyzing the logistics before glancing up when the elevator doors open. Trailing behind the pro, I spot the other interns sitting at a table. Eraser nods to them.

"Are you guys holding a wake or something?"

"Sensei..."

He wanders up to the table lazily. "Ah, just call me Eraserhead outside of class please. Oh, by the way... I had originally planned to suspend all of your internships today..."

Kirishima jumps up. "What?! Why now, of all times? What about [L/n]?!"

Eraserhead turns his gaze to the redhead. "You all heard that there's a possibility that the League is involved. That changes things. And [L/n]'s involvement is due to specifics left between the two of us."

He crouches down to be at eye level with Midoriya.

"But you know... Midoriya... you still haven't restored my trust in you yet... Unfortunately, I have the reason to believe that if I were to stop you right now, you'd just jump out in the midst of things again.
I'm watching you. If you act again, we'll go by the formal procedures this time around Midoriya..."

He snatches his tie. "Got it, problem child?"

My attention is torn when Amajiki mumbles quietly. "Mirio... could you lift your head please?"

The older girl, Nejire, nods. "Hey, hey, Togata, you know what? Even if you're feeling regret and getting down over it, there's nothing you can do about it. You know that, right?!"

"...Yeah."

Eraser sighs. "Let me tell you something... that hand of yours that just barely missed rescuing her... I'll bet that she felt something other than despair. So keep looking forward and go on... is what I want to say, but aside from the Big 3, whose activities are equivalent to, or even exceed, a pro's... I think your roles will be fairly small."

He glances around to the rest of them. "And Uraraka, Asui, Kirishima. You three aren't even necessarily here out of your own freewill. What do you want to do?"

Uraraka stands up. "After hearing that story, you can't tell me I can't go!"

"If you're not going to say I can't, Eraser... I would like to be allowed to assist. We can't let those who would hurt a little girl get away with it." Asui chimes in quietly.

Amajiki speaks up as well. "Seeing as they've already let them participate in the meeting, I think... the heroes have already recognized the freshmen's abilities. Actually, in comparison to someone like me, these freshmen are considerably more brilliant..."

Kirishima poses dramatically. "If my strength will help save a little kid even a little, I'll do it Eraserhead!!"

The teacher nods once. "I simply wanted to confirm your convictions. As long as you understand, that's fine. This time, our goal is ultimately the liberation and protection of the child, Eri. Don't overstep that boundary.

Our greatest concern is the shadow of the League of Villains. From police observations as well as those from Nighteye and his staff, they don't seem to have a particularly cooperative relationship... Judging by the recent search of the premises, it looks like the possibility of them being in the same place is low.

However, in the worst case scenario, if they were off the mark... and the League is also present and we can't complete our objective... you'll stop right there. It also goes without saying, none of you can speak of this. Not even to each other."