Chapter Text
“Ugh” Ranpo complained as he laid on a hospital bed. It was dark out outside, probably around eight or nine in the evening, Ranpo didn’t bother to check. With another groan Ranpo turned around to lay face down onto the pillow. He’s been here for hours, Fukuzawa was taken to be examined and treated. It turned out that Fukuzawa had most of his ribs broken, had punctured a lung, a handful of internal lacerations, and a mild concussion. Over all stuff that is easily treatable, it was an hour and half later after arriving at the hospital that Fukuzawa woke up. And around six the school nurse of UA Recovery Girl came to the hospital to offer her assistance in speeding up Fukuzawa’s healing. All in all Fukuzawa was mostly healed and was to be released soon. He would just have to take it easy for the next week or so.
“Ugh, why can’t they release you already!” Ranpo whined, his voice slightly muffled by the pillow his face was squished in. There was a chuckle from the side of the room. To the left of Ranpo was another bed that Fukuzawa rested in and between the two was a chair which sat Ouichi Fukuchi. Fukuzawa called him once he was awake, he had asked him to bring Ranpo some normal clothing so he could get out of his hero costume. Fukuchi also came to be their ride home as traveling back by foot and train would be too strenuous on Fukuzawa. Fukuchi right now, though, was laughing at Ranpo’s misery and he does not appreciate that at all. Ranpo lifted his head to give Fukuchi a miserable glare, all it accomplished was louder laughter from the man.
“Come on kid, you’ve only been here a handful of hours and the staff have graciously let you use that bed. Be a little patient” Fukuchi lectured receiving another withering look from Ranpo before he flopped back down on the bed. Fukuchi huffed another laugh at Ranpo’s petulance. “Hey Yukichi, you should really be stricter with that kid. He seems a bit spoiled.” Fukuzawa merely gave Fukuchi a tired look before speaking.
“Ouchi, please don’t rile Ranpo up,” Fukuzawa flatly said. The two have been picking on each other back and forth since Fukuchi arrived. Fukuzawa is happy his friend was able to help out but he can’t understand why the two couldn’t get along.
“Hah, you're reprimanding me about riling him up and not him for being a whiny brat?” Fukuchi exclaimed indignantly while pointing at Ranpo who sat straight up at being called a brat.
“Hey! I am not a brat you’re just a bitter old man” Ranpo snarked back as he leaned out of the bed to point his own finger in Fukuchi’s face.
Fukuchi let out an aghast gasp and leaned forward while glaring at Ranpo. “Who are you calling old, brat? I am not that old and you could learn some respect you little shit.”
“I have plenty of respect for those who deserve it and if it isn’t obvious you’re not one of them. And you’re over half my age old geezer, you’re old enough that you can reasonably be my dad. You are one step away from turning into dust at this point.” Ranpo argued back.
“Heh” Fukuchi started with a wicked smile on his face.”Does that mean Yukichi is also as old as dust brat?” Ranpo startled at Fukuchi’s counter argument “I mean we are the same age, so that does make him a reasonable age to be your dad right.” Ranpo’s eyes widened at what was being said as he quickly scrambled to sit up properly.
“Hey, wai-no stop talking!” Ranpo shrieked as his foot got tangled in the bedding making him fall to the floor. Fukuzawa looked at Fukuchi bewildered on where this was going. Fukuchi for his part had a wide grin on his face as he continued to talk.
“I mean I did hear from the paramedics that brought you guys here that you did say some interesting things before getting in the ambulance.”
“No! Stop talking right now!” Ranpo exclaimed as he scrambled up to grab at Fukuchi. In response Fukuchi jumped out of the way and moved to the other side of Fukuzawa’s bed.
“Yeah, I heard you said it nice and loud too. Bet everyone around heard you” Fukuchi teased. Ranpo jumped onto Fukuzawa’s bed startling the man.
“Fukuzawa! Stop him, he’s speaking lies!” Ranpo cried as he tried to once again grab at Fukuchi who merely leaned out of Ranpo’s reach. Fukuzawa watched with bewilderment on what was causing such reactions from the two.
“Fukuzawa ya know what this boy said?”
“No! Stop! You’re being unnecessarily cruel!”
“He said you were his dad! Yelled it at the top of his lungs too” Fukuchi finished with a devious smile across his face. Ranpo smashed his face into Fukuzawa’s legs, his ears turning red in embarrassment. He jolted a bit when a hand patted his head before brushing through his hair. Ranpo knew who it was as he recognized Fukuzawa’s hand and he doubted Fukuchi would pat his head. Ranpo didn’t dare look up but he felt comforted by the hand brushing through his hair.
“Ouchi please, don’t torment Ranpo. He is a pretty sensitive boy.” Fukuzawa plainly said as he looked at his friend who looked unremorseful for cruelly teasing a teenager. Ranpo upon hearing what Fukuzawa said quickly sat up with an offended look at Fukuzawa. Ranpo’s face was still blushing bright red, there were even tears building in the counter of his eyes. Fukuzawa merely gave the boy an inquisitive look in return.
“I am not wrong am I?” Fukuzawa asked. Ranpo whined at the question before flopping back down and hiding his face in Fukuzawa’s lap again. Fukuchi barked a laugh at the boy's dramatics as Fukuzawa went back to comforting Ranpo.
The door to the room opened and a nurse walked in with a clip board. “Hello Mr. Fukuzawa, I have your release forms here. I just need you to sign them and then you’re free to go.” she said as she handed the clip board to Fukuzawa. He took it and quickly signed them before handing it back to the nurse. She gave a respectful bow before heading out of the room.
“Hear that brat we can leave now” Fukuchi said. “Guess it’s time for me to drive you guys home.”
Ranpo sat up as Fukuzawa moved to get out of the bed, hearing Fukuchi’s voice Ranpo whirled around. “I don’t want to hear your voice for the rest of the night! Fukuzawa can’t we just take the train home?”
“The doctors said I should take it easy and the walk between the train and home is a bit too strenuous at the moment.” Fukuzawa replied as he started to walk to the door. Fukuchi started to follow and Ranpo scrambled to get off the bed and follow the two men. Once in the hall Ranpo ran to be beside Fukuzawa leaving Fukuchi to walk behind them. Ranpo turned his head and stuck out his tongue at Fukuchi who muttered “Brat” under his breath.
—------------------------------------------------
Fukuchi pulled the car up to Fukuzawa and Ranpo’s residence. “Welp seems this is where we say goodbye, till next time Yukichi, brat.” Fukuchi said with a cheeky smile on his face.
“Yes till next time friend” Fukuzawa said with a nod as he got out of the car.
“Next time will be too soon old man” Ranpo said as he jumped out the car slamming the door shut. Fukuchi leaned over and rolled the passenger window down to call out to Ranpo.
“And brat be good for your dad, ya hear?” Fukuchi shouted out the car window. Ranpo immediately whirled around his face once again going red. As he was about to comment back Fukuzawa grabbed the collar of his shirt and dragged him inside before an argument could be started by the two again. Fukuchi barked a final laugh as he rolled up the window and drove off.
Ranpo seethed as he entered their home, while Fukuzawa moved to prepare for bed once inside. It was pretty late into the night and Fukuzawa was tired from the stress and the healing done to him today. Still after changing into more comfortable clothing Fukuzawa went to Ranpo’s room to check on him. Inside the room Ranopo was laying splayed out on his bed. He seemed to have calmed down from Fukuchi’s teasing. Instead of the previous riled up expression Ranpo now wore a blank tired expression. Lightly knocking on the door Fukuzawa grabbed Ranpo’s attention. Once Ranpo spotted Fukuzawa his face immediately cheered and he sat up on the bed. Fukuzawa entered the room and sat down next to Ranpo. The two sat in silence with each other.
Fukuzawa was unsure on how to address what happened today with Ranpo. He has never been good with talking about feelings but Fukuzawa noticed Ranpo had been acting overly theatrical since he woke up at the hospital. Ranpo is good at putting on a brave face and not letting his insecure or negative feelings show. Still, Fukuzawa noticed a change today and it is understandable. Ranpo is still a child and the situation at the USJ must have been stressful. Fukuzawa being badly injured must have also shaken Ranpo. He also wasn’t lying to Fukuchi, Ranpo was a sensitive kid. Fukuzawa took a deep breath before he spoke, drawing Ranpo’s eyes to him.
“How are you feeling?” Fukuzawa asked. Immediately Ranpo turned his head away, his expression dropping. He drew his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. His face was squished on the top of his knees emphasizing his round cheeks that still held some baby fat.
“Hmm, I’m fine. You’re the one that was hurt.” Ranpo said in a quiet voice.
“I meant emotionally,” Fukuzawa said as he lifted his hand to pet Ranpo’s hair. Ranpo leaned into Fukuzawa’s touch as he thought through his answer.
“I messed up. I called out and distracted you from the villains allowing them to catch you. Then you got hurt because you were protecting me.” Ranpo feebly said. Fukuzawa took a moment to formulate his reply before speaking again.
“It’s alright, you’ve never been in such a situation before and you’re only a child. I do not expect you to handle every situation perfectly. You are a very bright kid and have been through a lot already but that does not mean you know how to handle every situation you come across. Just take this moment to do better in the future.” Fukuzawa gently said as Ranpo curled up against him. Small sniffles could be heard from Ranpo as he buried his face in Fukuzawa’s chest.
“You could have died. I should have known sooner that the villains were coming, it was so obvious and I didn't say anything until it was too late.” Ranpo cried.
“No one expects you to know everything Ranpo. It’s okay to miss something or not notice a certain detail.” Fukuzawa reassured.
“But I shouldn’t miss details like this! I knew there was a spy and an inevitable attack, I should have realized it would happen as soon as I knew we were going to an off-site facility!” Ranpo gasped out in a muffled voice.
“Ranpo, listen to me. You have an extraordinary gift but you're still a child. Still a human and there are limits to what you can do. Do not burden yourself with figuring everything out yourself,” Fukzawa stated.
“If I had a quirk I wouldn’t have limits” Ranpo quietly mumbled. Fukuzawa almost missed what Ranpo said. It was so quiet.
“No, that’s not true and you know it. All quirks have limits.” Fukuzawa said with a stern tone.
He isn’t unaware of Ranpo’s insecurity with his lack of quirk. Fukuzawa in some ways could understand, his own quirk is basically nonexistent. Yet he has a quirk, no kid made fun of him for lacking a quirk. Some might have made fun of him not being able to use it but as he got older people seemed to appreciate what his quirk was. If anything he was made fun of for not wanting to use his quirk, or generally not wanting to be in charge of people which was needed for his quirk to work. Even still not many people picked on him and the teasing only happened while he was at school. Fukuzawa could imagine how worse it was for Ranpo, especially since he has such an intelligent mind. People are so focused on quirks that they missed the natural talent Ranpo has.
“Yeah I know,” Ranpo said feebly. The two sat in silence after that. After about twenty minutes went by, Ranpo sat up wiping at his eyes.
“Gosh, I am so tired,” Ranpo said with a small, shaky smile. A clear indication that Ranpo was done with the conversation for tonight. Fukuzawa nodded his head in agreement as he stood from the bed.
“I’m not surprised. It’s late and it has been a draining day.” Fukuzawa said as he made his way to the door, “We should both get some rest. I received an email earlier that classes were cancelled tomorrow so rest as much as you need to. Goodnight Ranpo.”
“Goodnight Fukuzawa” Ranpo called back as Fukuzawa left his room. Ranpo laid back on his bed with an exhausted huff. He pulled himself under his covers and curled up. Today had been exhausting on multiple levels and Ranpo was ready for it to end. His tired mind didn’t stop him from planning ahead though. No matter what Fukuzawa said today was a mistake, Ranpo will not let it repeat. The first obvious thing to be addressed is the spy within the school, no one can claim the school is safe so long as the spy is around. He should talk to Nedzu to figure out how to deal with Aoyama. With that last thought Ranpo drifted into sleep.
—------------------------------------------------
“Hand me the phone! I want to talk with him directly” Ranpo exclaimed as he hung off Fukuzawa's arm.
Fukuzawa and Ranpo had slept in today and had a lazy morning together. It was around one in the afternoon that they received a call from Nedzu. It was a basic apology to the parents for the situation that happened yesterday, Ranpo is sure the same speech was used on the other parents of class 1A. Nothing was said about the spy or about how this could have been prevented if the school took more precautions and did not take students off campus. So now Ranpo is here grabbing at the phone in Fukuzawa’s hand.
Fukuzawa huffed before saying into the phone “Principle Nedzu, Ranpo would like to talk with you.” With that said he handed the phone to Ranpo who snatched it up swiftly. Once he put the phone to his ear he heard a chipper voice speaking.
“Hello, I was wondering when we would speak to one another,” Nedzu said.
“I figured talking directly was better than having a middle man,” Ranpo said with a shrug. “I wanted to talk about what your plans are for Aoyama? He obviously knew that an attack was going to happen even if he didn’t take part in it or help gather the information. Him being around is a constant risk for the class and I made the mistake of thinking it would not be an immediate issue. I suggest conf-” before Ranpo could finish what he was saying Nedzu spoke up interrupting him.
“Yes, Aoyama is an unknown variable that is a risk to any defence we may implement in the future. I understand your worries and wish to assure you that we will be handling it. It was unexpected for a villain who has a portal quirk to be a part of the attack. The only reason our defences did not work was for the portal quirk villain, in the future we will implement defences against the villain.”
Ranpo was miffed at being interrupted and was annoyed at Nedzu talking to him like he was a clueless child. Ranpo already knew the portal villain was the one that allowed the villains to succeed in infiltrating the USJ. Portal quirks are extremely rare and it is even more rare for a villain to have one. The school did not prepare for a portal quirk and was caught off guard. Ranpo trusts that they will now put in the right defences for that specific quirk. That isn’t what worries him or what he wanted to talk about. Ranpo’s focus was on Aoyama, the boy may not have been involved in this incident specifically but his presence is a constant threat that Ranpo does not plan to have around.
“I understand that but what about Aoyama? How do you plan on handling him?” Ranpo stubbornly said.
“I am afraid I cannot share that with you, I understand your worry but this is a hero and police matter to handle. I suggest you take this day to relax as you have something exciting coming up soon.” Nedzu said.
“Oh, so we are still doing the sports festival? I guess the villains would be too busy licking their wounds to plan another attack so soon.”
“Ha ha ha, yes. It will be taking place a little over a week from now so rest, you have a lot of training coming up.” Nedzu said merrily.
Ranpo grimaced at that, more physical training, just what he wanted. “I see, and when can you tell me anything about Aoyama?”
“Do not worry yourself about it, Edogawa, leave it to the professionals.” was all Nedzu replied with. “Now I must be going, many more phone calls to make!” at Nedzu’s final words the phone beep indicating the end of the call.
Ranpo pulled the phone from his face and gave it a nasty glare. He worked with Fukuzawa on cases before, never getting a single one wrong. The police of Yokohama had started to recognize him and took his word seriously. Just because he’s being forced to be a student now doesn’t mean he is incapable. It irked him to be blocked from the investigation just because Nedzu is treating him like a student who has no experience. Ranpo has a year of experience! Nedzu wouldn’t even have known who the spy was if it wasn’t for Ranpo.
Silently Ranpo handed the phone back to Fukuzawa before he went to sit on the couch with a pout on his face. Shortly Fukuzawa joined him, a concerned look gracing his face.
“I understand you want to be a part of this case and it must be frustrating to be turned down, but you must understand this may not be the only time such a thing will happen.” At Fukuzawa’s words Ranpo turned to him with a confused look.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Ranpo questioned.
“I mean that not every case you want to work on will be available to you. There are plenty of more secretive cases meant only for a few to know about. You are still young and you might be turned down for that reason as well” Fukuzawa replied.
“But I never had such an issue before” Ranpo whined “Why would my age be an issue now?”
“Because when you started solving cases it was from clients that hired me to protect them. After that you gained a reputation here in Yokohama and people requested you specifically. You don’t have a reputation outside of Yokohama so most people will only see your age and not your skill.” Fukuzawa said.
Ranpo huffed in annoyance but couldn’t argue, Fukuzawa was right. It was one of the reasons Ranpo chose to go to UA. As a very public facing school with students even being shown on TV he would be able to build a reputation outside of Yokohama. Ranpo let out a groan.
“I am going to have to actually try at the sports festival aren’t I.”
“I suppose you would if you want to be noticed,” Fukuzawa said with an amused tone. Ranpo gave him a glare that Fukuzawa ignored. “I can help you train for the festival if you want.”
“Of course you will help me. Ugh, this is going to be such a tiring week.” Ranpo complained. Fukuzawa gave a short chuckle at Ranpo’s predicament. The two then went about their day, Ranpo decided not to think about Aoyama or what Nedzu planned. He didn’t trust the ‘professionals’ but he would not stress about it today.
—------------------------------------------------
Ranpo made a mistake, again…, he should have worried yesterday. Sitting before him was Aoyama. Ranpo’s mind raced, the boy shouldn’t be here. Nedzu said that he would handle it, so Aoyama should be gone. Does Nedzu not understand the threat the boy poses? Surely expelling him would be for the best. Ranpo didn’t care what happened to Aoyama after he was kicked out, just that he wasn’t at the school. Before Ranpo could do anything rash or his staring at Aoyama became too long a voice called out to him.
“Hey Edogawa, how have you been?” Midorya said. Ranpo reluctantly drew himself away from the front door and Aoyama’s seat. He would deal with the situation at a later time when there were less people around.
“I’m fine, just wish the break from school was longer though.”
“Ha ha, I am glad to hear that. I was a bit worried when I heard your dad was hurt and that you went with him to the hospital.” Midoriya said casually.
Ranpo choked on air at the dad comment. “Wha-huh, what do you mean my dad?!” Ranpo questioned. Midoriya looked a little taken aback by his frantic response.
“Is that not who you went to the hospital with? The others said they heard you say he was your dad. He’s also the man who drops you off and picks you up from school, isn’t he.” Midoiya said hesitantly. Ranpo wanted to die right there. How embarrassing, did the entire class hear what he said? Does it even matter, they had clearly spread the word already. Is it too late to call Fukuzawa to pick him up and change schools. No! Fukuzawa couldn't pick him up, everyone would see him. As Ranpo’s mind spiraled in panicked embarrassment another student walked up to the two.
“I’m sorry, I assumed he was your father. I mean you did call him that and you also seemed very distressed about him being hurt.” Yaoyorozu said as she joined the two boy’s conversation.
“No, no, it’s-” Ranpo let out a breath to calm himself before speaking. “I mean, you’re not completely wrong. Fukuzawa is my guardian, has been for the past year."
“Oh, I see. Sorry for my assumption” Yaoyorozu said.
“I was wondering why you called him Fukuzawa if he was your dad” was Midoriya’s comment.
“Yes, well, did everyone really hear me say that?” Ranpo asked. His face went a bit red at Yaoyorozu’s nod.
“I mean not everyone but most did hear you,” Yaoyorozu said in an apologetic voice.
“I didn’t, I was rushed off pretty quickly to get treated. Uraraka and Iida told me once I was released from the infirmary” Midoriya said. Ranpo’s embarrassment washed away at what Midoriya said. He was hurt? Ranpo was so focused on Fukuzawa that he didn’t know much of what happened at the USJ after All Might showed up. He remembers now that an officer said another student was hurt and it makes sense that it was Midoriya with his quirk. Still Ranpo feels a bit bad for not realizing sooner.
“You were hurt? Was it your quirk again?” Ranpo asked. Now it was Midoriya’s turn to look red in the face.
“Ye-yeah, I tried helping All Might and broke both my legs” Midoriya said in embarrassment before he brightened a bit. “But I also used it without hurting myself! I don’t know how to do it on command yet but it’s an improvement.”
Ranpo gave Midoriya a smile “That it is, good for you. You’re gonna want to know how to use that quirk of yours without hurting yourself soon." Midoriya and Yaoyorozu both gave him perplexed expressions but before either could ask what Ranpo meant Iida called for everyone to take their seat.
It seems even horrible injuries and being turned into a mummy could not stop Aizawa from teaching. Everyone’s reaction to the UA Sports Festival was expected. The hesitance at such a big event after an attack then turning to excitement once assured it would be perfectly safe. Their excitement was infectious and Ranpo couldn’t help but join in their talks about the festival. Soon lunch came around, Ranpo once again made his way quickly to grab his food before the crowd became too large. This time though, he grabbed a second tray and watched the cafeteria entrance for the specific student he wished to talk to. Soon Ranpo saw him enter the cafeteria and before the student could reach the food line Ranpo stood before him.
“Hey, let’s eat lunch together. I got you something already, I am sure you’ll love it! What do you say, wanna eat together Aoyama?” Ranpo said with fake cheer in his voice and a sharp grin. His eyes were also open into a sharp glare, his green eyes looking right at Aoyama’s blue ones. Aoyama for his part looked at Ranpo in terror, he did not feel like Ranpo would take no for an answer. So Aoyama shakily nodded his head. Ranpo's grin grew at that and he handed the second tray of food to Aoyama before grabbing his arm and taking off out of the cafeteria.
“Wa-what! Edogawa, why are we leaving the cafeteria?” Aoyama said as he scrambled to keep up with Ranpo.
“Well I think the two of us need some privacy to have a real honest discussion.” Was all Ranpo replied as he hurried down the school halls. He did not let go of Aoyama’s arm the whole time they moved down the halls. Soon Ranpo stopped in front of a room and pushed Aoyama inside. It was an empty classroom. Aoyama looked at Ranpo in confusion as Ranpo entered behind Aoyama and shut the door.
“What room is this?” Aoyama asked timidly. This whole situation was weird for him, he never even spoke to Edogawa before so he doesn’t understand why the boy suddenly decided to drag him off somewhere to talk.
“Oh, I have no idea. I just picked a room far enough away from the cafeteria so we won’t be bothered.” Ranpo casually replied as he sat on the desk at the front of the room. Aoyama looked at Ranpo with disbelief at what he said. Ranpo waved at Aoyama to take a seat and so the boy complied slowly sitting at a desk directly across from Ranpo.
Ranpo without hesitation started to eat his food and Aoyama at a loss for what to do followed Ranpo’s lead. The two sat in silence as they ate. Ranpo swiftly finished eating and Aoyama watched as he pulled out a pair of glasses from his pocket, placing them on.
“So, the League of Villains. Pretty tacky name if you ask me but it is straight forward.” Aoyama choked on his food at what was said and struggled a bit to catch his breath.
“Wh-cough-what?” Aoyama struggled to say.
“Hm? This is what I wanted to discuss with you. Your involvement with the league of villains and also why you are still here when Nedzu is aware of your connections to villains.” Ranpo easily said but his tone was hard indicating he was not joking around. Aoyama swallowed hard thinking, ‘how could Edogawa know all this?’ Ranpo looked at Aoyama expectantly, and said boy hesitated. He could lie but something told him Ranpo would see right through it. Aoyama had noticed Ranpo was very clever and seemed to know things before others. He also didn’t miss how Ranpo would watch him, it freaked Aoyama out.
Taking a deep breath, Aoyama spoke. “I-what do you want to know?” Ranpo gave a satisfied smile at that.
“Ah, I am glad to see you are so willing to talk. Let’s start with what I know. You were given your quirk by a villain who is now using this information against you and your family for your cooperation in their plan. This villain is the real leader of this League of Villains. You were not sent to UA by the villains but once it was announced that All Might would be teaching at UA the villains contacted you about taking their orders. You knew that the break in was going to happen as you gave them information on where the school would keep the teacher schedules at. You also knew an attack on All Might was imminent and would happen at the USJ. It is why you were the only student unaccounted for the entire USJ attack.” Ranpo felt bad about this point, not about Aoyama but that he had cared to check on what Aoyama was doing during the USJ attack and not on his friends. It was why he missed that MIdoriya was hurt. “Now I told most of this to Nedzu and he said he would take care of it, and yet you are still here. Why?”
Aoyama sat frozen in his seat, eyes wide. Edogawa knew all that, even about his quirk which no one else knew yet, and he told Nedzu about it. Aoyama felt his hands start to shake. Ranpo wasn’t wrong, he didn’t come to UA to be a spy, it was just bad luck All Might became a teacher here. Aoyama shakily lifted his eyes to meet Ranpo’s own. Ranpo’s eyes were so intense, his emerald eyes glowed with knowledge that Aoyama thought he could never even begin to grasp. Aoyama thought this had to be Ranpo’s quirk. For a bit Aoyama thought Ranpo might have been quirkless but there is no way someone who could figure all that out could be quirkless. Even Nedzu didn’t know that much. Aoyama couldn’t keep eye contact and he looked away before speaking.
“Yesturday Nedzu and a few officers came to my home. They confronted me and my parents about the League of Villains. We told them basically what you already knew. The villains threatened us and you don’t know the man who leads them, he would kill us if we disobeyed! It was decided that removing me from the school would make it obvious that the school knew something and would put my family and I in danger. So I am still here for that reason only. I am to tell Nedzu if I hear anything from the villains and let him decide what I tell the villains. My family is meant to do the same. We are also being monitored all the time now. I know Aizawa knows my situation, I don’t know what other teachers know. That’s all I know of the situation.”
Aoyama spoke quickly, his nerves making him ramble a bit. Ranpo for his part hummed at what Aoyama shared. It made sense, and that frustrated Ranpo. If Aoyama was suddenly removed from the school so soon after the USJ there’s no way that wouldn’t be suspicious to the villains. Keeping Aoyama around to keep track of information is also smart. Still, Ranpo hated it. He also hated that he disliked the logical answer because of his own personal emotions. Fukuzawa was hurt and so was Midoriya. All Might must have also been injured in the conflict with his body already in a weakened state. All things that could happen again and Aoyama being around heightens the chances of that. With a defeated sigh Ranpo spoke.
“I see, those are the right steps to take to keep everyone safe at this point in time. But listen to me when I say this, if anyone in our class or Fukuzawa are hurt because of you helping the villains I will not hold back.”
Aoyama gulped hard at the threat, Ranpo’s eyes held no lie and Aoyama shuddered at what the boy not holding back could mean. Aoyama swiftly nodded his head in understanding.
“By Fukuzawa do you mean your dad?” Aoyama hesitantly asked. Immediately Aoyama watched as Ranpo’s expressions changed from serious to shock then to embarrassment, his face going red as he jumped off the table.
“Seriously! You too, no! I mean, well, yes. He is my guardian ya know.” Ranpo scrambled to say. Aoyama just nodded in agreement not wanting to say anything else that might upset Ranpo. The two boys were brought out of their talk as the school bell went off signalling the end of lunch.
“Well, it looks like we should head back before we get in trouble for being late.” Ranpo said. Aoyama nodded again, really he’s just becoming a bobble head at this point, and the two boys walked out of the room. Once in the hall Aoyama waited for Ranpo to lead the way back but Ranpo just turned to him.
“Well, lead the way Mr. Spy” Ranpo cheekily said as he put his glasses away. Aoyama glanced around to see if anyone heard what Ranpo said but the two were alone in the hall. Looking back at Ranpo, Aoyama spoke.
“Um, you brought us here can’t you lead us back?”
“Nah, I don’t really know the school layout that well and I kind of just picked a direction to go to get away from people. I have no clue where we are.” Ranpo said with a shrug. Aoyama just stared at the shorter boy. Could this be a drawback to his quirk? In exchange for knowing information he cannot know directions? Aoyama didn’t want to think too hard on it, if he did he would spiral and think about what Ranpo knows about him that he didn’t share already. Instead he started to walk back the way they came with Ranpo closely following behind him.
Aoyama had a brief thought about whether it would have been better if he was kicked out of UA. But, no, Aoyama wanted to be a hero. If he was kicked out it was unlikely he would ever have a chance to be a hero again. He would just have to make it up to everyone by being the best hero possible, still it didn’t help assuage his feelings of guilt about the whole situation. In some ways Aoyama was almost a bit comforted in knowing one of his classmates knows the whole truth. Even if Ranpo had threatened him and seemed unhappy about his presence. Ranpo doesn’t seem to specifically hate him or blame him for the situation he was in. And for that Aoyama felt some comfort.