Chapter 77

Without so much as a gesture from Kumagawa, the nearly ruined room was suddenly put back in order to its initial appearance. [Man, maybe I should start my own cleaning service. It'd be a nice way to make some extra money on the side.]

"An interesting idea, but I don't think such a thing suits you." remarked Ajimu.

The smiling teen shrugged in response before taking a seat back on the couch. A few minutes later, everyone had managed to put themselves back together and look presentable again.

"Well, we still have another ten minutes left before our time is up." Akune said as he looked at the clock. "Anything else you guys want to do?"

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Midoriya turned his head towards Kumagawa to speak. "A-actually, we were wondering if we could ask Kumagawa-san for a favor."

Kumagawa's head tilted ever so slightly. [A favor? From me?] he then scratched the back of his head. [Man, it's so rare for people to ask for my help. But since you're my friends, I suppose I can help you out.]

"Thanks man!" Kirishima said with a thumbs up.

"It's about Iida-san." Uraraka started somberly. "I'm not sure if you heard, but his big brother was attacked by the Hero-Killer, Stain. And he's in pretty bad shape."

"We know that he's trying to put on a strong front, but it's obvious that Iida-san is suffering on the inside." added Ashido.

Kumagawa nodded his head in understanding. [Hmm, I see where this is going. You want me to turn his brothers injuries to nothing.]

"It would mean the world to him." spoke Uraraka.

[Of course.] affirmed Kumagawa. [But here's the thing; if I go around 'healing' people all willy-nilly, then expectations will be put on me. Expectations I won't be able to meet. After all, though I wish to be a Hero, I have no intention of just travelling the world helping people recover.]

"S-seriously man?" Kaminari said in disbelief. "This is Iida we're talking about! One of our friends!"

For a brief moment, Kumagawa's smile dropped to an almost frown, but it was nearly unnoticeable. [I know. But you have to understand, everyone dies eventually. I'm not sure if you recall, but my power simply undoes what already happened. That means that if someone dies, then they are dead, and I'm bringing them back to life. That's not something I can be doing just for the sake of it. Bringing back lost loved ones just so a family can be happy again, as nice as it may seem, death is something that should not be denied so casually.]

"This coming from the guy who killed god knows how many Villains." sniped Jirou.

[Yes, and all of them were killed by me. I brought them back because their deaths were the direct result of my actions. If I was to just bring people back without restraint, what do you think would happen to the worlds population?]

"... He's right." Midoriya spoke up eventually. "If he just keeps 'healing' people, then no one would ever work to get stronger. And if he brings people back to life, then there is the threat of overpopulation... The world shouldn't have to rely on him."

"B-but... it's Iida man!" argued Kaminari.

[However,] Kumagawa spoke up, gaining the groups attention. [even if I can't just 'heal' people out of the kindness of my heart, I am more than willing to offer my services in exchange for payment.]

"What do you mean?" asked Ashido.

[It's like that American saying; you maul my back, I maul yours.]

"Uhh, I think the term is scratch." noted Akune.

"Of course." groaned Jirou. "Smirky here only values life so long as he gets paid."

Kumagawa pressed his hands against his chest. [Ah, you wound me! But I'm not that petty. What I want in exchange is a favor of my own, of sorts. And I can assure you it is well within your power to accomplish.]

The students looked a little apprehensive, but were at least willing to hear him out.

"So, what kind of favor?' asked Kirishima.