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Chapter Text

It was a rather quiet Sunday afternoon at UA, no doubt due to the rain that was coming down. Most students had decided to remain indoors to play games or study. Some chose to rest, seeing as the yearly Sports Festival had only recently come to a close. Only a handful had dared to venture out or play. Most who did had some sort of water Quirk. 

It was on days like those where some of the teachers would get together to talk or play a quiet game. Sometimes both. To avoid the noisiness of the common area, some would group in apartments. This Sunday, it was All Might’s turn to host the monthly card game he, Aizawa and Present Mic played. It was usually something different every time, though  Buta  no  Shippo  seemed to have become a favourite when three or more were present to play—sometimes, Vlad King or Midnight would join in. 

With Eri around, it had been convenient that the Second Year student, Izuku Midoriya had decided to pay his Master a visit that day. He helped clean the apartment with Uraraka and Iida, and by the time his friends had left to see the others, Aizawa asked for his Problem Student to remain behind and entertain Eri while they played. So of course, he did. 

While the two children played board games or told each other made up stories on the floor in the living room, the three teachers sat at the table sipping tea and playing their card game. Sidekick, All Might’s cat, lay on his lap as he looked through his hand. 

Present Mic put down a card. “So how many agencies have asked to have your students for an intern this year, Shota?” he said. 

Aizawa finished answering a text message and set his phone down. “Vlad said he’ll join next month for a game, All Might,” he said. “Family Emergency today.” He held up his cards and looked at his high school friend. “Unsurprisingly, each student has a hefty number asking. They have all improved over the past year, although some of them are still in need of a better push.” He picked up a card and cast a glance at All Might. “Your favourite got a good list this semester,” he said, and the retired Pro peered over his cards. “Impressive jump from last year’s fiascos.” 

All Might nodded his head and then set down another card. 

“You’re not going to say anything?” 

“Not unless you need me to.” 

Aizawa shrugged in reply and looked at Present Mic as his friend took his turn. “Midoriya, Bakugo, Todoroki and Iida have probably the most reaching out for them,” he continued. “Despite Bakugo and Todoroki failing their initial License Exam, they’ve shown a lot of perseverance this year so far. Uraraka, Asui and Kirishima have an impressive list this year as well. To say I’m not proud of how far they’ve come would be a lie, but you won’t ever hear me telling them that aloud.” 

All Might looked at him for a moment before discretely turning his head and side-eyeing his pupil in the living room. 

Midoriya had his fists closed around the carpet as Eri told him a story, and his ears were turning a dark pink. 

The blonde-haired man smiled and took a sip of his tea. 

A firm knock came from the door. After a pause, the children returned to their game. 

All Might sighed and put his cards down. “Hold on,” he said, rising to his feet. 

“Were you expecting anyone?” Present Mic asked, as he and Aizawa watched him walk off. 

“Not unless Midnight was joining us late.” 

All Might pulled the door open a crack so he could see who was there—despite being safe within UA’s walls, he remained precautious of any unwanted guests. Especially now that all the students in Aizawa’s class were frequent visitors who enjoyed All Might Tales. 

Seeing who was there, he furrowed his bow in confusion and opened the door wider. 

Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi stood on the other side of the door, coat drenched. He smiled at his friend, waving his wet hat before holding it against his chest. 

“Tsukauchi?” All Might said, and now even Aizawa had risen to his feet. “What are you doing here?” 

Tsukauchi nodded in greeting. “I hope I’m not disturbing anything important,” he said. 

“We’re playing a card game. What’s with the visit?” 

Tsukauchi took a deep breath. “Well, it’s… a little hard to explain,” he said. “And honestly, I still don’t think it’s a great idea, but… Chief Itsuki asked me to ask for your help.” 

All Might looked at Aizawa and Present Mic, and the latter shrugged. 

“For  my  help?” All Might echoed, pointing at himself. When Tsukauchi nodded, he said, “The Chief does know I’m retired, right?” 

“It’s not for you,” Tsukauchi said, and his eyes grew more nervous by the second. “He needs your help convincing… Nezu to help with a mission.” 

The teacher furrowed his brow. 

“We’ve recently come across a tip about a hidden facility in the Mie Prefecture in the Kansai Region.” 

“That’s... well out of the way of Tokyo,” All Might said with uncertainty. 

Tsukauchi made a quick nod before continuing: “Some information about the League of Villains is hidden there. What we were informed of is vital to us finding their current location, but every one of our men who went in to retrieve it was seriously injured… One was even killed…” 

Tsukauchi fell silent for a moment and looked at the floor. He only did so when he was extremely worried about what he was about to say, which made All Might tense. 

“The traps are extremely dangerous, and the location is familiar to Nezu,” he continued. “That’s why Chief wanted to ask him for help.” 

All Might looked over his shoulder at Aizawa and Present Mic, before looking at his friend again. “What’s the location?” he said. 

Tsukauchi held an uncomfortable pause before responding. “ Greater Good Research Laboratories,”  he said. 

“ WHAT?”  All Might said behind clenched teeth, leaning towards the detective. He quickly pulled himself back and covered his mouth, casting a glance at the others. 

Everyone in the room had their eyes on him, even his cat. 

All Might passed a hand over his face and glared at Tsukauchi, his blue eyes cold as ice. “Do you have any idea what you’re asking me to do?” he scolded him as quietly as he could. 

“Y-yes, I do, Toshi—!” 

“You’re asking me to convince him to go back to  Hell.”  

“I-I know—!” 

“Don’t you remember what—!” 

Tsukauchi put his hands on All Might’s shoulders. “I do, I remember what you briefly told me about him years ago,” he said in a whisper. “It wasn’t my idea to ask him; in fact, I was against it. But Chief Itsuki was desperate. He’s losing men left and right, and now he’s fixated on getting Nezu to help. He’s the one who hired Nezu on the Police Force in the first place, remember?” 

“Yeah; Chief was the first human who willingly gave Nezu shots at proving himself,” All Might said, arms crossed. “Aside from having to work ten times harder than every other human just to gain his respect, Nezu enjoyed working under him. But it’s unlike Itsuki to pull a school’s Principal out of the classroom for a field mission, especially UA’s principal. What did the Commissioner General have to say about the matter?” 

“He… was strongly against it as well.” 

“Ah! So, why’s the Chief going against that?” 

“He was able to convince the Commissioner General to invite Nezu back on the Force for this one mission,” Tsukauchi said. When All Might groaned and buried his face in his hands, the detective spread out his arms. “What can I tell you, All Might? Nezu is the only one who has a Quirk like his! And he’s the only one who can get in and out of that place without a scratch—!” 

He immediately regretted his words when All Might snatched up his head and glared daggers at him for speaking them. Tsukauchi cowered momentarily before regaining composure. “You know what I meant by that,” he said. After another pause, he continued. “If it were up to me, I’d ask anyone else who comes close. Nezu walked away from the Police Force shortly before I got on and while I don’t fully understand the reasons why, I respect that and I know he loves his job here at UA far more. But I’m just following orders now. Chief brought me along because Nezu knows me, and if it went sour—as it has—I could talk to you.” 

“You mean Itsuki already tried  speaking  to him about it? Is he  asking  for a death wish?” 

“He called Nezu earlier today and asked if we could drop by! I don’t know what he was thinking when he led me up to the principal’s office; he just did.” 

Present Mic sat up straight and placed his hands together. “Oh please tell me Nezu went all insane on him,” he said with a grin. “I love it when he goes maniacal.” 

All Might and Aizawa glared at him. 

“Oh come on! I really do!” 

Tsukauchi waited for his friend to look at him again before continuing. “He explained the situation and then asked for Nezu’s help,” he said. “Nezu just stared at him in silence before asking him to get out. He didn’t yell, but I could tell it was going poorly... That’s when Chief Itsuki told me to come get you.” 

All Might sighed and passed a hand over his face. 

“Just… try to speak to him. You’re the only one who knows him well enough to speak of this subject. If he refuses, then I’ll make sure the Chief doesn’t bother him anymore.” 

All Might looked at him through his fingers. After a pause, he straightened out to his full height and reached for his coat. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, Aizawa,” he said. “You can wait or else play another game.” 

Present Mic held up his hands in submission and then pulled out his phone, clearly alright with waiting. 

“What do you plan on doing?” Aizawa said. “You know Nezu can’t be swayed once he’s made his decision.” 

All Might pulled up the collar of his coat. “I know,” he said. “I’ll just… see what he has to say. This is a different matter altogether than anything else the League of Villains has done.” 

“It’s personal,” Aizawa pointed out, walking over. He frowned at Tsukauchi. “That should have been enough of a reason for the Chief not to ask Nezu. He’s personally connected to this mission. That can hinder it.” 

“Trust me, I know and I’ve mentioned this,” Tsukauchi said. “But he’s not going to give up until All Might’s spoken to Nezu.” 

Aizawa looked at All Might as the retired Pro sighed again. “I am not going to convince him of anything,” All Might said. “If anything, I’ll go in there and make sure he doesn’t snap. If the Chief doesn’t stop barraging him to join, he might have an incredibly unstable animal on his hands.” 

Aizawa frowned at Tsukauchi again before looking over his shoulder. “Midoriya,” he said. 

The student in question sat up straight and looked at his homeroom teacher. 

“Go with All Might. This may be a good opportunity for you to see a Pro make a difficult decision in the face of personal conflict. You’re still a tad unreliable with those types of decisions, so I want you to listen and watch closely. Take it as an extra-curricular activity.” 

Midoriya rose to his feet. “Yessir,” he said. 

Eri raised an arm. “Can I go with Deku, Mister Aizawa?” she asked. “Please?” 

Aizawa hesitated. He looked at All Might as their student put on his poncho, but the blond-haired man was just as silent. He shrugged; it was clear he was uncertain if a little girl should see such a decision be made, especially considering the similarities between hers and Nezu’s pasts. 

The erasure hero massaged the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh. “Stay with Midoriya,” he said, and Eri jumped to her feet. “And don’t give the Principal a hug this time. You hold onto Midoriya’s hand and don’t let it go for a second, understood?” 

Eri bowed in thanks and let Midoriya wrap her in her poncho. 

“Sorry for the extra pressure, All Might,” Aizawa said, meaning the children. “But I thought it would be a good learning opportunity for the Problem Child.” 

All Might pulled out his umbrella. “I can’t argue there,” he said, knowing Midoriya’s habit of acting too brashly in stressful moments. “He still has a few kinks to work out.” 

“… Make sure our Principal doesn’t do anything stupid, either.” 

“… I can’t promise anything on that front, but I’ll do what I can.”

*****

Chapter Text

All Might had guessed by how fresh the rain on Tsukauchi’s coat was that Nezu was no doubt doing extra work in his office at the school when he was alerted to the visitors. 

The rain was not falling hard, and only left a thin layer of mist over the ground. He had always enjoyed the sound of rain falling, and the smell of humidity that came with it; like snow, it brought an extra layer of silence to the world—peace. This was something his students were quickly catching onto when they saw him go outside for walks or just stand in the middle of the school grounds, head raised to the sky and eyes closed. It made him smile whenever the rain would fall on school days and he would see a handful of students stop and take in the same silence he enjoyed. 

This time, it felt like the silence that came before something stress-inducing. It came with the feeling of foreshadowing. It was the rare times All Might would rather walk through the rain without hesitation. 

He used the umbrella to cover himself and Tsukauchi. Neither of them spoke as they walked. The only ones who made sounds were Eri, and at times Midoriya. The two walked hand in hand behind the men, the little girl jumping through puddles and giggling, her pink and white kitty poncho bouncing with her movements. Now and then she was successful at having Midoriya hop into a puddle and chuckle, but his laughs were subtle and very quiet. Clearly, he could feel the same foreboding that All Might could, and it was dampening his mood. 

The school was silent when they entered and traveled up to the Principal’s office. The only sounds were their feet tapping over the floor—with a few squeaks. Again, no one spoke. 

Arriving at the said office, they were greeted by the Police Force Chief. Aside from now grey and white hair, he looked just the same as All Might remembered him years ago when they first met. Bushy eyebrows, grumpy complex, squared shoulders and a slight hunch, everything. He still smoked cigarettes, which he could smell on him at that moment—and the way Eri wrinkled her nose, he knew she had noticed the smell as well. 

The man turned to All Might and greeted him as an old friend, and All Might introduced him to Midoriya and Eri, who bowed in reply. 

After a few short words—and a scolding on the retired Pro’s part—All Might handed his coat to Tsukauchi and knocked on the office door. When no response came, he opened it slightly. 

The lights were out. The only source of light in the entire room came from the row of windows behind the desk. The desk itself was deserted, but unlike the tidiness it usually had, there were papers strewn over it as though someone had gone through them in a rush. A knocked over pencil holder had spilled onto the floor, with its contents strewn about. 

And standing by the window, staring over the school grounds with his paws behind his back, was the two-and-a-half-foot tall Principal. 

All Might sighed and closed his eyes. The lights in this office were never turned off unless he had left for the night. The entire faculty knew that when the lights were out in Nezu’s office during the day, it meant he was doing some serious thinking and would not take kindly to being disturbed. According to what he had told All Might years ago, the darkness allowed him to reflect best on stressful situations. Not because of any animal instinct, but more because it had become a habit of his, developed in the first five years of his life. 

The prison he had called home had clearly been a room without any light source. 

The man pushed himself into the room nonetheless, and only left the door wide enough for the children to walk in without a sound. Midoriya held a finger to his mouth so that Eri knew not to speak, but she was well versed in being silent. 

All Might could barely stand the sound of his feet echoing with every step he took as he crossed the office floor. It came as a relief when he finally reached the window and stood about a dozen feet to his boss’ right. Hands in his pockets, All Might took a deep breath and, after looking for a moment at the expressionless Principal, turned his eyes over the school grounds. 

The room continued to remain silent for a few minutes. Midoriya waited on bated breath to see who would speak first, and by the tightness Eri held onto his hand, so did she. 

All Might would not speak first unless it was utterly clear that Nezu would not. He knew his old companion. Nezu would speak when the time was right. 

So, he waited. 

“… It’s fascinating, really…” 

All Might side-eyed the principal when he finally spoke. Nezu was still staring over the school grounds, hands behind his back, tail neatly laying on the floor near his feet. 

“The perseverance of humans,” Nezu continued. He wore a very faint smile. “In desperate times, something stirs within the anterior midcingulate cortex in the brain and influences goal-reaching decisions. It’s something I’ve always found interesting. When on the brink of panic in particular, enough neurons will stir to create the feeling of a goal and humans will often go to great lengths, even death, just to get what they want or need.” 

His ear twitched. “Not very different from your goal of achieving global peace and being the Pillar of Hope,” he said. “The way the human brain works, especially when Quirks are involved, has always been a fancy of mine. Since the very beginning, I wanted to know what made it tick, what made them do what they did, and choose the goals they chose. Was it fame? Recognition? Any other selfish reason? Or was it purely to help achieve the  Greater Good? ” 

Nezu let out a very soft laugh. “Isn’t it strange,” he said, now more or less to himself, “How one goal can set one’s heart on fire and at the same time, freeze it in fear? Emotions make us do and think in ways I’ve always thought were odd. But… still compelling.” 

The room fell silent once more. All Might kept his eyes on Nezu for a moment after he had fallen silent, but when the animal did not continue, he turned his gaze back over the school grounds. Distant thunder grumbled. 

Neither children in the back made a sound. Neither police officers outside the room did either. This was not the kind of silence All Might enjoyed. It made him question decisions he had made in the past, or decisions he would perhaps one day have to make. 

“Toshinori.” 

All Might looked at Nezu again when his name was uttered. 

Nezu lowered his head a little, kept his gaze outdoors, but his ears had fallen back. His smile, as small as it was, shrank even more. “I can’t go back there,” he said in a whisper. 

All Might pitied him. Having known Nezu for as long as he did, he knew him as someone who rarely, if ever, wanted anyone to know how he truly felt about anything besides his students and the good of the school. To openly speak his feelings meant that not only did Nezu trust him, but that he was utterly terrified. 

“I risked my life getting out, nearly losing my right eye in the process,” Nezu continued, just as quietly. “… I killed a young woman because she stood between me and my only chance of sanity, of life…” He shuddered and his fur around the edge of his shirt collar puffed up momentarily. “Nightmares of that place still plague me every other night, on top of what the League of Villains could do if they got their hands on my students, or even my teachers.” 

Nezu’s tail slowly wrapped around his ankles. He took a shaky breath. “Human perseverance terrifies me, when I think too hard about it,” he finished. 

All Might turned his head to the school grounds again. “You don’t have to say yes to this, Nezu,” he said. “You know that. No one will hold it against you if you don’t.” 

“You misunderstood me, Old Friend,” Nezu said. “I can’t do this…” He raised his chin. “But I  have  to.” 

All Might furrowed his brow and looked at him again. 

“If I don’t say yes, they’ll continue sending in young men and women into that building,” Nezu continued. “Those traps were made to specifically keep Subject Number 001 from getting out, and from letting any intruder in. They’re supposed to be cunning enough that I, the one with High Specs, could not get out with my life.” 

Nezu pulled his paws out and held them in front of his eyes. “I can’t have any more lives wasted away because of decisions I made,” he said. “I could hardly live with myself, knowing that I killed that young woman. What dreams did she have? What did she want to achieve? Did she want to save people too?” He lowered his hands. “… I can’t let anyone else die because of that horrible place… I  have  to help.” 

Both men fell silent as Nezu crossed his arms, seemingly raising his shoulders in order to better comfort himself. All Might paused before saying the word he knew was coming. “But?” he said. 

Nezu sighed and his ear fully flattened against the back of his head. “But I’m terribly frightened to do it,” he admitted. “I haven’t thought of that place or what it did to my psyche in years now. I thought I had moved on. Now that it has returned, rearing its ugly face at me again, I find myself wanting to disappear.” 

He laughed, but his laugh was an uncomfortable one. “But what kind of Principal would I call myself, if I left and abandoned this school and its students, in our most desperate times?” he said. 

Nezu waited a moment and raised his head again. “I have conditions, of course,” he said. “That I can discuss with them afterwards… But I needed more reassurance. I knew Tsukauchi would go and get you, because you’re the only one who knows how much this affected me. So, I haven’t told them my decision yet.” 

“If you’re still afraid, you shouldn’t go, Sir,” All Might said. 

“How funny that they sent to fetch you so you could convince me to go, but here you are, trying to convince me to stay.” 

“I’m trying to protect you.” 

Nezu smiled weakly. “You were always so kind that way,” he said. 

All Might huffed and looked outdoors again. “If you insist on going, then at least take someone you know to accompany you,” he said. “Someone you trust.” 

The Principal nodded solemnly. 

All Might hesitated a moment before straightening out to his full height. “I’ll go,” he said. 

“Absolutely not,” Nezu said, finally turning his head and looking at his friend. “I won’t allow that.” 

He turned back to face the windows. “Not only are you powerless to help if the time came, but the students need you here, Toshinori,” he said. “You are still a symbol of Hope to them. You’ve learned much over the past year since I hired you, and your guidance has become invaluable to their young minds. They need a hero like you to show them how to act.” 

Nezu sighed and looked at his feet. “And I don’t know if I could bear the burden of being responsible for anything that happened to  you  of all people,” he said in a whisper. “Your friendship over the years has been one I cherished. So, the answer is no; you are not coming with me.” 

All Might did not argue. He knew Nezu would disagree with him, and besides the fact that no one could persuade the animal to change his mind, All Might wanted to know exactly to what extent Nezu would go to protect him. 

With other people, the protection frustrated him. It became a wall that others built around him to keep him “safe”. But he knew Nezu well enough that there was more than just Hope and the school’s image to protect when the principal insisted All Might be careful. 

“Alright then,” All Might said, crossing his arms. “I can’t change your mind, nor will I try, as much as I want to.” He looked at Nezu again. “Who will you take then?” 

Nezu side-eyed him, but before he could speak, someone else broke the silence. 

“I’ll go!” 

All Might and Nezu looked over their shoulders and stared across the office at the boy in the green poncho, hands closed into fists and a bold frown over his brow. Eri stood nearby, looking on in silence. 

Midoriya raised his head. “Let me accompany you, Principal Nezu,” he said. “We have to choose an agency to intern at tomorrow anyhow, and I haven’t come to a decision yet.” He bowed as low as he could. “I’d be honored if you let me intern with you on this mission.” 

Despite failing to remain silent and patient, and per the norm jumping right into the middle of things because of his emotions, All Might was nevertheless proud that his apprentice was ready to help in any situation. 

Nezu let out a very quiet and short laugh, one that All Might heard. “Reminds me of someone I know,” he whispered. 

The animal turned around to face the children. “You volunteer to be my intern?” he said. Before the boy could respond, Nezu smiled and nodded. “Yes, I think that could work.” He looked at All Might. “But I think I may want to choose another student as well, to balance out his hastiness at times.” 

All Might nodded. “Who else did you have in mind?” he said. 

***** 

Chapter Text

“Wow, you guys both get to intern with Principal Nezu?” 

Midoriya looked up from fastening his mask around his neck just as Uraraka had spoken. All of the Second Year Hero Classes A and B were waiting outside the school’s main building, waiting to be led off by their homeroom teacher. First years had already left and Third Years were bunched together near the front gates of UA, playing Rock, Paper Scissors with each other. Second years were spread out near the front steps of the school. Most were chatting about who they would be interning with that week, and the rest began studying up on the agencies and their heroes. 

Midoriya hoisted his yellow backpack onto his shoulders—he had made sure earlier that he had all the essentials for his trip. He looked over at his classmate who would be joining him. 

Next to Midoriya, Tsu grinned and nodded. 

“That’s so cool, I didn’t know he did any field work anymore,” Uraraka said, placing a finger to her mouth. 

Midoriya hoisted up his backpack over his costume. “He doesn’t, and he certainly wasn’t on the list considering he’s the principal, but the Police Force needed his help with this one,” he said. “Since he’s worked for them in the past, he, uh… figured he would lend them a hand one more time.” 

“Ribbit; or a paw,” Tsu said, making Midoriya and Uraraka chuckle. 

Iida whipped his arm back and forth. “You will of course remember to tell us what it’s like to be working with our prestigious principal,” he said, just as Todoroki walked over. “I would very much enjoy hearing every detail.” 

“So, you  are  interning with Nezu, huh?” Todoroki said, leaning in. “Wonder what that will be like. My father used to tell me about when Nezu worked as the Lead Strategist at the Police Force. Every Pro in Japan wanted him to strategize for them if their rescue missions called for it.” 

Iida nodded in agreement. “My father said he turned down opportunities around the world when he left to become a teacher at UA.” He whipped his arms up and down again. “Despite this, it is still a great honor to have him at this beloved school!” 

“He was pretty intense on us in the finals from first year,” Todoroki added. “And from what Togata told us last year, they say he’s incredibly tough to beat in any competition. In  and  out of the classroom. That should make field work interesting enough.” 

“Didn’t Jiro and Yaomomo fail against him last semester?” Uraraka said. 

“Yeah, but no one can beat him, Ribbit,” Tsu said. “He’s too smart. His Quirk makes him unbeatable unless in hands-on combat. And even then, he’s all about speed. He’s surprisingly fast for someone who’s so relaxed. Or so Hado told me.” 

Midoriya hummed as he pulled out his notebook. “He sure is amazing,” he said, more-or-less to himself. 

Uraraka leaned towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Are you alright, Deku?” she asked. “You seemed pretty occupied since we got our assignments for the week. Are you nervous?” 

“Me? Nervous?” Midoriya laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Nah, I’m not nervous, Uraraka! I’m excited to learn directly from Principal Nezu and find out more about his Quirk…” He put his arm down and looked up at the school. “I’m just… thinking about something else, that’s all. Don’t worry about it.” 

He looked at Todoroki. “You interning with your dad again?” he said. 

Todoroki nodded. 

“Good luck.” 

His friend grinned and shrugged half-heartedly. “Oh, I can handle him,” he said. “If anything remotely interesting happens with him, I’ll let you know.” 

“It’s a pity All Might is retired,” Iida said, looking at Midoriya. “Imagine you interning with him instead of Principal Nezu, if he had been called on the field.” 

Midoriya only smiled in reply. 

Aizawa eventually came out of the school with Cementos and Vlad King, ready to escort the remaining students to the train station. After saying a few words, the gates to UA grounds opened and they began filing into the armoured vehicles waiting for them. 

“Have fun, you two!” Uraraka said as she ran off while waving. “I can’t wait to hear what your week will be like!” 

Midoriya and Tsu waved back. 

Aizawa pulled out some sheets of paper as his coworker leaned towards him, eyes on his students. “Pity we have to make this a security matter,” Vlad King said, as Cementos went to speak to one of the drivers. “If it weren’t for the League of Villains, the children could ride a bus. Or even walk.” 

“Better safe than sorry nowadays,” Aizawa said with a sigh, watching his friend head off. He then turned to the two students who had not filed into the vehicles. The clad-in-green Midoriya and Tsuyu looked up at their teacher, waiting for their instructions. 

“Principal Nezu is gathering a few last-minute things in his office,” Aizawa said. “You two can wait for him in the lobby of the school.” 

He handed them each a sheet of paper. “These are a few rules you should remember, mostly composed of a list made by All Might,” Aizawa explained. “The upmost important one, which I absolutely hold you accountable for if you do not follow it, is do not ask him more questions about the situation than needs to be asked. Greater Good Research Laboratories is a very touchy subject for The Principal, so as much as knowing more on the situation would be helpful to you, be aware that you are treading over unstable grounds. Do exactly as he instructs you to do, and don’t make him stress out more than he already is.” 

Tsu raised a hand. “If this is so stressful for him, why did he agree to take on the mission?” she asked. “And why did he insist Midoriya and I accompany him?” 

Aizawa sighed and stuck his hands into his pockets. “I would like to know the answer to that question myself,” he said, looking up at the school. “As would the other teachers. Besides what All Might told me, there hasn’t been very much that’s been said.” 

He looked at his students again. “As for why he chose you two, the answer is fairly simple,” he said. “Midoriya has a Quirk that rivals All Might’s, and since Nezu and All Might have worked on the force together in the past, he’s familiar with it. That, and Midoriya can use the practice at making better decisions under extreme pressure. It might save him a broken arm or two. 

“And he chose you because of your level-headedness, your connection to a part of the animal kingdom, which includes abilities he says will come in handy, and you balance out Midoriya’s strength with calm. You may be able to help him make more… appropriate choices.” 

Midoriya felt his face grow hot as Tsu looked at him. She patted his back. 

“That aside, Nezu thought the two of you could come in handy for the sneaking around he’ll have you two do. Although Midoriya is best for combat, the part you’ll probably use most in this mission is your keen mind. Nezu’s always liked that part of you best. So be sure to listen to all his instructions.” 

Midoriya gulped and nodded. 

Aizawa took a deep breath. “That’s all for now,” he said. “Follow instructions, be careful, and rely on each other. You may go back in and wait for the Principal.” 

***** 

Midoriya and Tsu waited an hour in the lobby, talking about the mission, before Nezu came to find them with All Might. During that time, Midoriya filled Tsu in with the bits he had overheard from that last Sunday.  

Tsu had not been present when All Might told the story about his and Nezu’s first mission together, so she only had the basics that most students at UA knew about their principal… which were he cared about the school, about those residing within its walls, and that he had been experimented on in the past by humans. Ever since All Might had retired the year prior, Aizawa’s students began approaching him more on his spare time to hear stories of literally anything, and Midoriya had been part of the group that heard about Nezu’s first Field Mission as Lead Strategist at the Police Force.  **

So Midoriya gave an abridged version of the story to his classmate, which clarified what the laboratory was and what connection it had with Nezu. 

“Ribbit; so, it’s a personal mission?” the girl whispered. 

“Seems like it,” Midoriya said. “But it doesn’t feel like Principal Nezu would take on something so personal.” 

“That sounds more like something you would do.” 

Midoriya blushed, making Tsu chuckle. “Y-yeah,” he said. 

Tsu tapped her chin. “Well, I guess for now, we might as well just do as Mister Aizawa said and follow the Principal’s instructions,” she said. “Maybe there’s more to why he really decided to take on this mission despite it being personal. Even though he’s a Pro and helping people is what they do, I don’t think even I would want to go back to a place that traumatized me  just  to help some officers.” 

Midoriya clasped his hands together and grinned, his eyes shining. “If I can break seriousness for just one second,” he said, “I’d like to say that I am  so  excited to see him use his Quirk in action. Seeing it utilized in final exams is one thing; but seeing him out in the field?” Midoriya squeaked. “I’m itching to make notes already!” 

“Just make sure you don’t drool all over his silky fur.” Tsu received a punch in the shoulder for saying this, but she only laughed in response. 

Their conversation ended shortly before the teachers arrived. Nezu had a jacket on, and unlike his usual dark coloured attire he wore at school, he was wearing a cornflower blue vest and a faded salmon pink ascot, between the vest and his blouse. It was odd, seeing him wear brighter colours than he often did—Midoriya figured later it was to balance out the dreariness of the situation and no doubt the location they were headed. 

 He smiled at the students as he hoisted up a backpack on his shoulders, thanked them for their patience and clapped his paws together. 

“Detective Tsukauchi is waiting outside for us right now,” the principal said. “The Police Force Chief has already gone ahead to our destination, along with the rest of his chosen troops. We will be joining them in…” He looked at his watch. “About six hours from now.” 

“That means you’ll get there around three in the afternoon,” All Might added. 

Midoriya raised his arm. “So, it’s at night?” 

“Preferably not.” 

Nezu patted his backpack. “I have all the blueprints we need to study,” he said, “Which we will do in the evening once we’re there. Our mission does not begin until early tomorrow morning, so you two will have time to sleep… I will need that time to… gather my thoughts.” 

Tsu raised her arm. “Is there anything you’d like us to help you with on the way there, Principal Nezu?” she said. 

The white mammal smiled, and Midoriya noticed it was not genuine. 

“Just study strategy building,” he said. “And quiz each other on what you would do in certain situations.” He pulled out a handbook. “I wrote this years ago, when I was on the Police Force. It came in handy for my first Field Mission.” He handed it to Tsu. “Study it together. And once you’re through with that, play a game. Enjoy the scenery. I know I will be. As much as I love it here, leaving the city always feels like... a breath of fresh air.” 

The students nodded and then bowed. Once All Might made sure they had packed provisions for each other, they were ushered out of the building. 

Then, it was only the two of them left in the vast lobby of UA. 

Nezu hoisted up his bag again and took a deep breath. “Taking the plunge,” he said, only loud enough that All Might could hear. “It’s not nearly as easy as climbing out, sometimes. But my chosen path in life was never the easy one, was it?” 

“You’re sure you want to do this, Sir?” All Might said. 

“Oh, not in the slightest. But I have to… for my own sake.” Promising his friend that he would make sure One For All’s bearer would return safely—adding to return the girl equally as safe of course—Nezu turned and walked out the doors. 

Shortly after he had disappeared, Aizawa, Vlad King and Cementos returned from dropping off the other students. 

“He was dragging his tail,” Aizawa muttered to All Might, as the others stopped near them. “He’s clearly not thrilled to be taking on this mission.” He looked at All Might. “You were supposed to convince him not to go.” 

“He had already made up his mind by the time I got there,” All Might argued. “And you know what he’s like when he’s already done that. Had he not, I’m sure I would have been able to change his thought process.” He paused. “… Maybe.” 

Cementos sighed. “Perhaps he’s right,” he said. “Perhaps this is something Nezu needs to do. And that is not necessarily something you always  want  to do.” 

Vlad King groaned and crossed his arms. “Still worries me that he insisted on taking two students with him instead of two of us,” he said. “Why would he take children to the Hell hole he came from? That’s not like him. He’s usually against anything that will put the kids in danger.” 

All Might stuck his hands in his pockets. “Nezu is small, children are small,” he said. “He had to fight through the big guys to climb to the top, and that’s what our students are doing. Despite not agreeing with him to let him go, I don’t doubt he’s chosen wisely on who to take with him. Young Midoriya and Young Asui will do him well. We should just focus on our own jobs here at the school.” 

All Might paused before turning on his heels and walking off. “Oh, and he left you in charge, Aizawa,” he said. **

“Excuse me?” Aizawa said. He then glared at Vlad King when the man choked on a laugh. 

“You’re standing in as Principal until he’s back.” 

“Why would he put  me  in charge and not you?” 

“Because I’ve got classes to teach and yours is out for the week.” All Might turned his head and smiled shrewdly. “And he doesn’t trust me to pull off keeping a school in one piece. I’m too old to learn that.” He raised an arm and waved. “Good luck. You can always holler if you need help; I’m sure Present Mic will hear you.” 

Aizawa glared and wrinkled his nose while the other two chuckled. 

I never even asked to be a teacher, and this is what I get?  He thought. 

At least he respected Nezu enough not to argue. 

***** 

Chapter Text

The countryside of Japan was always something that captured Izuku’s breath. He did not visit it often, seeing as school took up most of his spare time, but he could still remember the trips he and his mother would take on summer days, or winter breaks. There was always something beautiful to find. 

The green fields on either side stretched far and wide, interrupted every now and then by some woodland. Rolling hills in the distance covered in trees, villages and towns hidden somewhere within their shrubbery.  Farmers were out, tending to their fields. Mount Fuji loomed in the distance. Earth green as emeralds and sky a periwinkle blue, everything was in its place out here. 

It made the black, bullet-proof SUV they were driving in stick out like a sore thumb. 

Detective Tsukauchi was currently driving them to their destination. He had greeted Midoriya upon entering the vehicle, and had made only one stop to get them all breakfast before continuing on to their destination. Officer Sansa Tamakawa was sitting in the front passenger’s seat, going over details of their mission, making sure he had not forgotten anything. 

Midoriya and Tsu went through their principal’s notebook he had filled from his time on the Police Force, grouping the different strategies with different situations in which they would be most beneficial. Midoriya would jot down notes, silently complimenting his mentor’s work, while Tsu explained how the strategy had worked and saved the Pro Heroes time. Both students took turns telling each other how they would have strategized, had they been in the position at the time, and then tried to find why theirs would not have been as efficient as Nezu’s. 

It was studying but backwards, and it definitely was an effective way for Midoriya to remember things. As Tsu silently read another strategy before discussing it with him, the green-haired teenager looked up to the other side of the vehicle, to see whether their principal was paying them any attention. 

Nezu was leaning against the window, staring out over the rolling hills and rice fields. His paws were together on his lap, grasping each other. His ears only twitched at odd intervals, as though he was subconsciously listening for something the further they got from the city. 

His eyes caught Midoriya’s attention the most. They were dark, but even then, it was easy on most days to see the hope and optimism in them. Nezu was, despite his height, recorded as one of the strongest, most persevering principals UA had had since its founding. Students respected him and treated him as one of their mentors, as students should, but they also were never afraid to play games or jokes with him. Many a time since he had arrived at UA, Midoriya had caught third year students trying to play pranks on the principal. It was only later that he learned the reason why they did so was because Nezu’s Quirk allowed even his senses to be on the highest alerts, making him impossible to trick. That presented a challenge that all Third Year students gladly welcomed, especially outside their Strategy Class, which Nezu taught. 

Mirio had told him once that he had spent an entire class with Nezu, where the rodent remained on his feet for three hours teaching. It was only at the end of the class that he alerted the students that he had been aware of the thumbtacks that had been glued to his chair since the moment he entered. 

He was a stern and difficult teacher but a wise, caring and joyful principal. All of his feelings for his students reflected in his eyes, just as brightly as the hope in All Might’s did. 

They were void of all of these feelings when Midoriya cast a glance at him. Instead, there were only pools of black, staring out over the scenery. They were far away, lost in a distant time. They looked old and very tired. 

Loneliness and… fear. 

Midoriya did not want to be caught staring at him, so he quickly looked away. He wondered if it was the right decision for All Might to let Nezu take on this mission now. 

He kept his thoughts to himself and returned to studying strategies with Tsu. 

***** 

The sun was low over the hills and mountains by one in the afternoon when they had arrived in the Mie Prefecture. The drive was now silent and tense. Midoriya and Tsu had stopped studying to look out the window, looking for animals scurrying about. Tsukauchi and Tamakawa had stopped speaking upon arriving in the forest. 

After nearly an hour of the heavy silence, Tsu tugged on Midoriya’s sleeve and directed his gaze across the backseat. At the other end of the vehicle, Nezu had suddenly perked up, his ears standing on end. His paws were gripping his knees, his nose was wiggling as though he smelled something familiar, and his eyes began darting back and forth through the treelines. 

While the students found it oddly interesting to see his animal senses acting up, they could tell he was uneasy about something. 

Nezu’s head moved quickly in one direction and then another. His ears twitched madly at every sound now. He glued his face against the window for a split second and sounded as though he let out a gasp before pulling away and leaning forward in his seat. “What are you doing?” he said, staring wide-eyed into the front of the vehicle. 

Tsukauchi looked back at him through the rear-view mirror. “We’re taking you to the Rendez-vous point,” he said. “I thought that was discussed. All Might said you—!” 

“I was under the impression you would be parking the vehicle near the outskirts of the forest,” Nezu interrupted him, his voice quivering with a sense of urgency his students had never heard before. “And we’d walk the rest of the way.” 

“The Chief thought it would be quicker if we parked a little closer.” 

Nezu buried his face in his hands and groaned. 

“Would you like me to stop here, Sir?” 

Nezu let out a laugh, a laugh that bordered the realm of insanity. Midoriya and Tsu felt goosebumps climb their arms. 

“Please tell me the others didn’t drive right up to the front  doors,”  the principal said, peeking through his digits. 

Tsukauchi and Tamakawa exchanged a look that only made Nezu sigh in exhaustion and fall back against the seat. 

So, the driver brought the vehicle to a slow halt and turned around in his seat. One thing Midoriya admired about the detective was that, despite how he took his job seriously, he was also aware of the stress certain situations brought upon people. He had a sense of compassion that went hand-in-hand with his sense of justice. 

“If you’d like me to stop the vehicle here, we can do that, Principal Nezu,” he said, and Nezu peered over his paws. “All Might made it perfectly clear that we were to make sure you were comfortable going forward with this. Making you anxious is the last thing I want to do. So please let me know if you would like to stop here.” 

Nezu let out a sigh and uncovered his face. “It doesn’t honestly matter at this point, Detective,” he said, putting on a calm façade. “There are cameras all over this area of the forest.” He gestured to the trees outside. “If anyone is in the Lab, then they’re already aware of our presence. Any secrecy the Chief had has flown out the window by now.” 

Tsukauchi sucked in his bottom lip while Tamakawa looked out the windows at the trees. “How did you know there were cameras in the trees?” he said. “I don’t recall seeing them when I was here last.” 

“That’s the point of hidden cameras, Officer,” Nezu said. He turned a paw around in the air. “They put them all up to keep unwanted guests away from the Laboratory’s location. They were also meant to…” 

His voice diminished, and all eyes fell on him once more. Nezu stared at the back of the seat across from him, almost as though in a trance, before shaking sense into his head and clearing his throat. “To keep… experiments inside,” he muttered hastily before casting a glance at his interns. 

Midoriya and Tsu returned the gaze, but said nothing. 

“Would you mind if we walked the rest of the way, Detective?” Nezu said, quickly changing subjects. 

Tsukauchi shook his head. “Absolutely not, Sir.” 

“Good. I want to start my interns training right now.” With that said, he popped off his seat belt and opened his door, sliding out of the vehicle. 

Everyone else followed suit. As the two officers gathered the equipment they would be bringing, Nezu called over his students and had them pack their backpacks up tight. 

“First job of the week,” the principal said, and despite his voice being the upbeat tone it normally was, Midoriya and Tsu could tell he was trying to cover up whatever unease they had seen earlier. 

Nezu held out his paw towards Midoriya. “Did you pack that remote I told you to get from Miss Hatsume, Midoriya?” he asked. 

Midoriya reached into his backpack and pulled out the remote in question. 

“Good. Both of you slip on your goggles, please.” 

As Tsu adjusted her frog-like goggles so they could fit over her eyes, Midoriya pulled his rabbit-like mask over his. The eye holes had been redesigned at the beginning of his 2nd year, so that they could incorporate goggle-like lenses that were light yet durable. Currently, Hatsume had designed it so that it could not only keep his mask over his face when he wore it, but so whatever database of maps or information Midoriya needed while on a mission when his notebooks were not available, could be accessed over the lenses like holograms whenever he needed it. All he had to do was tap the side of the mask where the strap for the goggles were, and he had an instant library of information at his disposal. Different patterns of taps gave him access to different functions, including an ear piece and mic. 

For an age where technology advancements had slowed due to the discovery of Quirks, this was the best piece of equipment Midoriya could have ever hoped Mei to perfect. Not even All Might had had access to something like this, despite being best friends with David Shield. 

Once they had their headgear in place, Nezu held up the remote. “At my request, she added a new feature to your goggles, Midoriya, and also enhanced one on yours, Asui,” he began. “Since it was very last minute, only I can give you access to it by this remote. So once the job is done, I’ll turn it off.” He pressed a button. 

Tsu recoiled and muttered a  whoa  just as Midoriya noticed his lenses darken for a split second. When he could see through them once more, the forest around him had enhanced in colour and sharpness, and his ear piece picked up faint beeping. 

“Your goggles have now been equipped with special sensors that for you, Midoriya, increase your hearing, and you, Miss Asui, increase your vision a hundredfold,” Nezu continued. He pointed at Midoriya. “Your vision has increased as well, but only in sharpness so you can notice colours that are out of place. Your earpiece will allow you to hear the faint beeping or ticking of a spy camera, something that is too high for any human to hear on their own. The closer you get to a camera, the louder the beeping will get. You will also be able to notice light reflecting off the camera the closer you are to it.” 

He pointed at Tsu next. “While your Quirk already allows your eyes to be sensitive to movement, your vision has increased to the point that your goggles will analyse any shape that is non-organic,” he said. “It will also notice light reflections and blinking from hundreds of feet away. If you were searching for a living creature, you’d have the option of switching to infra-red.” 

He tucked the remote away. “There are about fifty-six cameras in this area alone, leading to the laboratories,” he said. “Your first job is to infiltrate them all and destroy them as quietly as possible. You will know when the area we are currently in is free of cameras when I begin moving forward.” 

“That’s a lot of cameras,” Tsu said. 

“You want us to take care of the ones up in the trees,” Midoriya added. “Are there any on the ground?” 

Nezu nodded. 

“Then should we—!” 

Nezu raised a paw to his mouth in a sign to be quiet. “Let me finish before you ask questions, Mister Midoriya,” he said in a whisper. 

Midoriya tightened his lips and tried to keep a blush from forming. He nodded firmly. 

“Your training on making decisions under pressure will not start until later, but for now I need you to begin trusting me.” Nezu said. “Sometimes, it is important to listen and trust blindly. I know you trust your classmates, but there will be times where you need to trust a newcomer just as much. That will help you work with other Pro Heroes in future situations where strategies fail and time is of the essence.” 

The principal put his paw down. “There are even more cameras near the forest floor,” he continued. “For reasons I will not disclose, it was necessary for the Scientists who worked here years ago to keep a better eye on the forest floor, but up in the trees was just as important. You two, with your jumping abilities, will deal with the cameras higher than what we can reach for. I will deal with the ones on the ground.” 

At his signal, Midoriya and Tsu jumped into the treetops and began their search for the hidden security cameras. They were well hidden, but the updates Nezu had asked for facilitated the search much more than Midoriya had thought possible. 

Nezu watched them leap off, camouflaged and surprisingly silent, before pulling a tablet out of his bag and turning it on. 

“How are you going to blind the cameras on the ground?” Tamakawa said. “Do you know where most are, Sir?” 

“I do,” Nezu replied. “I know where they all are.” 

“How—!” 

Nezu raised an eyebrow and looked up at the officer with an amused smile over his lips. “Do you need the same lesson as Midoriya, Officer?” he asked. 

Tamakawa cleared his throat and looked at his hands, his ears falling back. 

Nezu cast a quick glance at Tsukauchi as the man chuckled before continuing his work. “You going to jam the frequencies, I assume?” he said. 

“How’d you guess,” Nezu muttered, but his amused smile was still visible. 

“Oh, I had figured that you of all people would have studied every inch of that place by now and still remembered it like the back of your hand. It only makes sense that you would know what frequency they worked on.” 

Nezu smiled a little longer before finally letting it dissipate. “Jamming is the easiest thing I can do for now,” he said. “Despite it being temporary, it will at least keep me invisible.” He did not speak again after that, and only began moving forward once the cameras nearby were blinded and he had noticed the treetop cameras on his monitor were no longer functioning. 

***** 

Chapter Text

The forest was quiet with only birds chirping now and then, and the sun was able to break through a few holes in the canopy, as the Chief and the few men he brought with him kept watch on the abandoned facility hardly one hundred feet ahead. The thicket that had shielded it from the world was twice as thick now than it had undoubtedly been decades ago. Tall grass and old trees surrounded it like an eerie fairy ring. Grass and weeds grew at the entrance of the building, but it had recently been stepped on by his men. 

Chief Itsuki took a deep breath and eyed the laboratory with contempt. Since Quirks had begun to pop up, it was normal that labs around the world began to dedicate study to understanding how they work. Lab rats were still a common thing to use as testing, although most labs were humane. There was no torture, no unnecessary testing, and what was done was always done with respect and professionalism. 

Professionalism. Itsuki hated using that word to describe good things, especially since villains could also do their work with a level of professionalism. The work that had been done in the Greater Good Research Laboratories was still unknown to most people in Japan, but the Police Force was aware of its basis. And just knowing Nezu, it was nothing good.

Itsuki lit his cigarette and inhaled. Nezu had caught his attention during training, back when they were looking for new recruits for Headquarters. Itsuki did not trust him right away, but then again, he was weary of every person with a Quirk who joined his department. Nezu, being a hybrid animal of some sort, was suspicious enough, but dang could that guy think fast. He was never strong enough physically to beat someone in a fist fight, but he could dodge almost any attack, and his Quirk allowed him to execute the most flawless of plans, every time. It was no surprise, at the end of his training, that Nezu quickly climbed up the ladder at the Police Force.

Shortly after Nezu had secured a position at Headquarters, any news that came from the villages that surrounded the labs in the Mie Prefecture, news that involved people in white lab coats, ceased. No one knew what made it stop, no one knew the exact location of the labs, and no one knew exactly what they had been researching—the only town that seemed to have an idea refused to answer anything officials asked. 

When Nezu was questioned about it during his first year as Lead Strategist at the Police Force Headquarters—they knew he came from the area—he immediately shut the conversation down and would get cold with anyone who questioned further. Even Itsuki had been unsuccessful, though he did respect the animal’s desire to keep his past to himself. The more anyone asked what Nezu knew, the more alienated he became. And someone as smart as Nezu was not someone Itsuki wanted as an enemy.

That was where All Might had stepped in. On one of his visits, he caught some researchers from another floor asking Nezu some questions about the GGR Labs—somehow the name of the facility had been discovered, and Nezu’s connection to it became a little more than curious for most. The Strategist had gotten defensive to the point of baring his teeth—something he did very rarely, seeing as he never considered it decent or respectful behavior. Itsuki had even been close enough to hear a low growl from in the animal’s throat. 

All Might had immediately gotten between the feud before it progressed. It was one of the rare times Itsuki saw him glare, no smile on his lips. The Hero shamed the researchers for sticking their noses in business that did not concern them, and made it perfectly clear that, just because Nezu was an animal, it did not give them any more right to be rude than if he had been a human with as mysterious a past. 

It had been effective. When the Number One Hero was involved, people listened. The researchers promptly apologized to Nezu, clearly embarrassed for causing him stress, and promised not to bother him about it again. After that, All Might asked Nezu if he’d like to go out for lunch, and the whole ordeal was immediately set behind them. 

Itsuki sighed and exhaled, sending smoke from his cigarette. All Might’s relationship with Nezu since their first mission together made it clear that if anyone knew an ounce of what consisted of the animal’s past, it was All Might. And he had never shared it with anyone. The scar on Nezu’s right eye made it obvious that his past had been a horrendous one, and once he had gained everyone’s approval and trust, the Police Force, Commander General as well, honored his desire to keep his past where it was. 

In conclusion, what the Police Force knew about Greater Good Research Laboratories was very limited, besides that it had been an illegal work location funded by someone who was not in line with the law, and that Nezu was connected to it. It remained lost and forgotten for years after Nezu left the Police Force. The only reason it was resurfacing now was because they had gotten an anonymous tip that the League of Villains had stored some information there. 

With the injuries some of his men had received thus far, Itsuki was nearly completely certain that it was them—but anonymous tips were known for being deceiving as well. So, the safest way for them to go around this was to have the only person he knew who knew the location, to be part of the mission. 

He knew by the glare All Might had given him once they exited Nezu’s office that the Retired Pro was not pleased with the way he had presented the problem. If anything happened to UA’s Principal, the Chief had a feeling the faculty would be furious. 

His train of thought was interrupted when he heard the faint sound of a bell ring. Pushing up his glasses, he turned, telling the sniper next to him to remain where he was and keep his eye on the door of the lab. 

Tamakawa was just tying a thin scarf around his collar bell as he, Tsukauchi and Nezu walked in the Chief’s direction. They carried they students’ backpacks over their shoulders.

Nezu’s eyes were focused on the tablet in his hands and his ears were twitching, straining to hear any sound. The other two walked on either side, holding handguns at the ready in case they were needed. No one spoke a word. 

Chief Itsuki waited a moment, but when no one spoke he cleared his throat. 

“I would advise you to stay quiet,” Nezu suddenly said, his voice cold, as he raised a paw in the air to stop the man. 

The man was put back by the hasty gesture, but did as he was told. 

Nezu came to a stop two dozen feet away, the officers next to him doing the same. All three men watched him drag his fingers over the tablet and tap it here and there. 

He stopped moving. His left ear flicked once before he closed the cover over his tablet and took a deep breath. He raised his head. “Area secured,” he said, passing the tablet to Tsukauchi. He snapped his fingers. 

Istuki was about to ask what he meant by ‘area secured’ when two figures in green dropped from the treetops between them. The Chief recoiled in surprise while his other men jumped. 

Nezu clasped his paws together as his students pulled off their goggles. “Excellent work, you two!” he said. “You managed to put out all fifty-six of those cameras in the area. And you did so with almost no sound.” He pointed at Midoriya. “You need to watch where your feet land sometimes, my boy.” 

“Yessir,” Midoriya replied as he and Tsu bowed. 

Itsuki finally stood up and caught everyone’s attention. “What does that mean?” he said, as the teenagers turned to face him. “We had this area secured two weeks ago—!” 

“You have no say in the matter,” Nezu said, and it was the first time Midoriya had ever heard his principal snap. 

The animal walked around his students, pointing at the chief while his eyes shot daggers. Suddenly the more optimistic tone in his voice had disappeared.

“Do you even realize what you’ve done?” the principal said. “Driving into the forest and setting up camp hardly thirty meters from the building?” Nezu spread out his arms and gestured to the area around them. “Without even bothering to check if there were any security cameras? You might as well walk up to the front door and knock!” 

The Chief said nothing. He merely cleared his throat again and rubbed the back of his neck while looking at the laboratories. 

“There is a reason why I nearly got killed leaving this place,” Nezu said, and his voice was enough to send a chill down everyone’s spines. “They had eyes on every inch of this forest. Nearly Sixty cameras coming from our direction, which my students deactivated, and those were only in the trees.” His ears went flat. “There was double that on the forest floor. Whether my presence has been noticed or not, they certainly know the Police Force is here.” 

“Now hold on, Nezu,” Itsuki said, holding up his hands in defense. “I understand we didn’t think our entrance through very well, and I will take the heat for that.” He held out an arm towards the labs. “However, we have no idea if there is even anyone in there watching us. For all we know, they could have just left the place barren and just left on the traps!” 

“Whether that be true or not, one must take precautions,” Nezu said, his voice finally finding its usual composure. “You don’t know this place like I do. My first year here was spent taking things with a grain of salt. After the first dozen punishments... you learn never to underestimate anyone who worked here.” 

He pointed at the sniper nearby, who looked up in surprise. “Move your men back another dozen feet,” he said. “You’ll still be able to see the labs from the thickets.” 

Itsuki groaned. “Nezu, we’ve been set up here for the past—!” 

“Does it look like that matters to me?” Nezu said, his voice cold again. “You asked me for my help on this mission, and I gave you my conditions. I am not going to have you drag me into my past without a safety net. I stick out like a sore thumb here, being as white as my fur is. If you are going to pull me away from my school and back onto the Police Force, you will do as I say.” 

Itsuki sighed loudly and turned in place while grabbing his head. “Damn, All Might was not kidding when he said you had reservations,” he said. 

“He also understands the importance of secrecy,” Nezu said. He held out his arm to the sniper again, and the chill in his voice melted once more. “Please move your men back. For their safety, for my students’, and for mine. That is my first condition.” 

Itsuki massaged his temples and exchanged a look with Nezu in silence before making a gesture with his hands for his men to move back. All stood up as silently as they could and moved their things back. 

“At least you didn’t park the vehicles anywhere near the laboratory,” Nezu muttered, catching the man’s attention. He gripped the strap of his backpack and stared at the building. “I thank you for that.” 

The Chief could not help but sprout a little smile while he rolled his eyes. 

“Do forgive me for being stern, Chief.” 

Itsuki shrugged. “Why? I clearly goofed here,” he said. “We did come to UA to ask for your help, and I should have expected you’d be stern with how this operation would work.” He waved an arm in the air, dismissing the feud, and followed his troops back. “Let’s do this the right way. Get yourselves settled in and we’ll talk strategy.” 

Tsukauchi and Tamakawa followed suit after their chief, leaving UA’s principal with his students. 

Midoriya and Tsu exchanged a look before the boy cleared his throat. “Principal Nezu, Sir,” he said, and the animal’s ear perked up. “Did you need us to do anything to make, um… anything easier?” 

Nezu turned his head ever so slightly, so as to look at him. “Just get settled in,” he said. “As soon as we break for tea and a late lunch, we’ll be discussing the next steps.” 

“Would you like us to do anything else for you, Sir?” Tsu said. 

Nezu looked at her and smiled weakly, but they could tell it was forced. “Not right now, my dear,” he said. He turned his attention back to the laboratory up ahead. “Now go get comfortable. Start some tea.” 

The students bowed in reply and walked off after the other officers, not saying another word. Midoriya only stopped once to look back over his shoulder. 

Nezu continued to stare at the building just beyond the trees. His tail lowered and his paws gripped his backpack straps tightly. 

If only there was connection in the forest—Midoriya wanted to text All Might and ask him for any kind of advice. 

***** 

Chapter Text

 Midoriya, Tsu, Nezu, Tsukauchi and Tomakawa ate lunch together as the Chief gave them a quick briefing of their current situation. While no movements had been recorded on the outside the laboratory, their sensors were picking up signs of life, or at least movement, from within. This could either mean that the machines had been left on, or someone was there. 

“We’re thinking probably the machinery, since those traps could only be set off by motion detectors,” Itsuki said. “Whatever’s inside is definitely of value if the traps are set up.” 

Nezu laughed sarcastically as he chewed on his rice, catching their attention. “Those traps were not set up to protect whatever information the League of Villains has,” he said. “If anything, the traps were an added bonus.” 

“You’re sure about that?” 

“Those traps were meant to keep Subject Number 001 in the labs. They served no other purpose, I promise you.” 

Itsuki furrowed his brow as Tsukauchi cleared his throat.

“What is Subject Number 001?” the detective asked. 

Nezu looked up at him but did not reply. Instead, he told the Chief to continue, asking what they had been able to do in the past week. 

As they discussed further on, Midoriya took the opportunity to study the building he could just see past the thickets. 

The building looked like any other business building Midoriya had seen when he used to walk to middle school. It had two floors, separated in three parts by pillars. A short cement wall held it up about three feet from the forest floor, but it and the stairs were hardly visible due to years of shrubbery growing. There were windows, but most had either been smashed or else sealed up by steel from the inside, or the forest life itself. The roof had patches where shingles had been worn off by the weather. Vines and trees were growing alongside the building’s walls, stretching over the windows and even into the building. It looked small, but Midoriya had a feeling that only meant that most activity was below the surface of the forest, in who knows how many levels of basements. 

In the sunlight peeking through the trees, and the dust and leaves that danced around it, it looked like any other abandoned building he had read about, lost in the forests of Japan, lost for centuries in the past before Quirks existed. It was a piece of history that seemed to want to be remembered. 

It sent a chill up Midoriya’s spine at the thought, and he looked at his principal as the rodent continued discussing the mission with the other officers. Nezu had remained in his frozen state of earlier, staring at the laboratory, for several minutes before pulling away and joining them. When he had, Midoriya saw a glint of concern, of fear, in his dark eyes. 

Fear had never been something to ever find in Principal Nezu’s eyes. He was too proud, too confident to have fears. He held the entirety of UA on his shoulders, or so everyone believed. When All Might retired, he held up everyone’s heads and urged them to continue as though the world was the same. They were all encouraged to face the future by tackling the present, and that meant preparing to be better heroes. And he had faith in every single one of his students, no matter what department they were in, to succeed. 

Whatever history the Greater Good Research Laboratories held, it was something so horrendous that even the plucky principal could not stand to look at for long. 

Nezu had only muttered a ‘thank you’ to Tsu when she poured him tea. Then he was silent, unless he had to speak up in the conversation being held. 

“He’s scared,” Tsu whispered in her friend’s ear, as they half listened to the grownups’ conversation. “He hasn’t looked at either of us since we sat down, and his eyes aren’t as bright as they usually are.” 

Midoriya nodded subconsciously, relieved he was not the only one to notice.

“You don’t think he’s gonna have to go in that place, do you, Midoriya?” 

Before he could speak, Chief Itsuki coughed loudly into his sleeve and then held up a lighter to his newly brandished cigarette. “So that’s where we are,” he said. “I don’t think anyone’s made it past the first five traps. One guy nearly lost his feet and an eye.” 

“That was a double maneuver trap,” Nezu said, holding out his paw to Tamakawa, gesturing that he wanted something to clean himself with. “You have to leap over the swinging knife before it trips you, and then you have to roll out of the way of the darts that come out of the wall.” 

“Holy shit, Nezu; what the hell did they do to you in there that you know exactly how to dodge all of those?” 

Nezu waved his other paw in front of his face and coughed a little, as the man blew some smoke in his direction. “They tested me on a daily basis, making every test harder than the last,” he said. “Chief, please don’t blow that in the direction of my students; I’d rather they return to class with pristine lungs.” 

“You used to smoke with me, remember that?” 

“Only as an new recruit. I needed something to relax to. Please, Chief.” **

Itsuki shrugged and blew smoke in another direction. 

“I didn’t know you smoked, Principal Nezu,” Midoriya said, catching the animal’s attention. 

Nezu shook his head. “I used to when I moved to Tokyo and became a Police Force trainee,” he said. “I stopped shortly after meeting All Might, which was about a year and a half afterwards. No one told me that it was bad for my health until All Might said how he couldn’t understand why people smoked cigarettes to relax.” He pulled out his tablet. “Considering I’d rather try to outlive my species, I gave up smoking after that. Besides; it’s not a good influence for you children.” 

Itsuki chuckled and nodded his head at Nezu, while the rodent began typing over the tablet screen. “He’s got this massive soft spot for kiddoes,” he said. “Every time one of my employees brought their kids over, he was like a magnet for them. Probably because of the candy he kept in his office. Or his cheerful disposition.” 

“I thought it was because I was fluffy,” Nezu muttered without looking up. 

“Aw come on, Nezu. Don’t act like you didn’t have a good time at the Police Force.” 

“I would rather not talk about my past right now, Chief; especially with it looming over me a little over fifty meters away.” He continued typing in silence for a moment before taking a deep breath. “Shall we begin discussing our plan of action for tomorrow, Men?” he said. “I want my interns to take out the rest of the cameras surrounding the lab before dinner.” 

Itsuki cleared his throat and propped himself up against the tree he was sitting by. “Sounds fair,” he said, as Tsukauchi pulled out the blueprints for the labs. “I’ll have men rotate to watch the labs tonight so the rest of you can rest up. I’ll take one of the rotations myself. Tamakawa, if you could stay up with me as well, I’d appreciate that. You see better at night than I do, and you know how to work this tech better than I do.” 

The cat nodded his head. 

“We acquired the blueprints to the labs, so we’ve got a map to follow, though I’m pretty sure you have copies of your own, Nezu. Tsukauchi, I was thinking that our best bet would be sending you in since you’re the best on the team for any sort of fast pace movements,” he said. “Your training sessions with All Might have paid off.” 

Tsukauchi nodded slowly, and Midoriya noticed the tight lips and the slightly widened eyes. He was clearly nervous of entering since the others had gotten injured. 

“Don’t worry, you won’t go in alone,” the chief said, waving an arm through the air. “I just think you’re best suited for the job. Nezu will join you so he can guide you through the traps and get you to the—!” 

“Absolutely not.” 

The group fell silent, and even the nearby troops looked up. Midoriya and Tsu exchanged a glance before looking at their principal. 

Nezu’s eyes were now focused on the Chief, but his facial expression had changed. Gone were the tired eyes, the exhausted voice, and the fearful ears. Muzzle was wrinkled as he pulled it up, ears were flat and stiff, and a frown was over his eyes, which were now filled with a burning fire that sent a chill up one’s spine. 

Again, another expression Midoriya had never seen. 

“No power in Heaven, Earth or Hell, will get me back in that building,” Nezu said, his voice dry. 

The officers looked at each other in silence, clearly taken aback by this new expression as well.

Only the Chief was unmoved. Itsuki pulled his cigarette out of his mouth and blew a cloud into the air. “Nezu, this was the whole reason we asked for your help,” he said, and Midoriya could tell by his tone that the man was trying not to grow impatient. “And you agreed.” 

“There was no agreement on me stepping through that door,” Nezu said. 

“How else do you expect to help us with the mission? Why did you come here?” 

“To keep more of your officers from getting injured.” 

“Dammit, Nezu! Why the hell did you agree to come if you won’t go into that building? You’re the only one who can get through those traps!” 

Before an argument ensued, Tsukauchi reached over and placed a hand over the Chief’s chest, holding him back. “All Might told us that we had to cooperate with Principal Nezu on this, Sir,” he said with a soft frown. “We’re dealing with a deeply disturbing situation.” 

“Damn right we are,” Itsuki growled, brushing the man’s hand off of him. “How is he going to help us if he won’t be going through the traps himself?” 

“He did say he had conditions. And I promised All Might that we wouldn’t force Nezu to do anything he doesn’t want to.” 

The Chief grew increasingly more irritated, to the point of biting down on his cigarette. He opened his mouth to retaliate, but Nezu held up a paw to stop him. 

“I know all those traps by heart,” he said, a frown still over his brow. “I don’t need to go through them in order to know how to maneuver them.” 

He held out his paw and Tamakawa handed him the blueprints they had set out before them. “I know this building like the back of my paw,” he said, turning the map towards him and trailing his digit over its corridors. “Each floor is layered in traps, with the intent of keeping Subject Number 001 inside, if it ever escaped its cell. The security room where all the traps are activated and where all the cameras are monitored, is at the back on the first floor. That’s where we would get the information the League of Villains is holding here.” 

“Wait, how would you know that?” Tsukauchi said, leaning over the blueprint. 

“Because the main computer motherboard is there as well,” Nezu said. He looked at the security room on the print. “I was often taken there, at first to just get myself accustomed to all the workers, but eventually it was where they would test my knowledge of technology. That backfired, since I was able to memorize all of their passwords and learned where all the cameras were located that way…” 

Midoriya saw his eyes grow tired again, and a faint smile appeared on his face. It was sad. 

“For five years, the only time I saw grass was on those monitors,” Nezu said with a weak chuckle. “And the first time I felt it beneath my feet, I was running for my life.” 

There was a moment of silence before Nezu shook sense into his head and cleared his throat. “The security room is large, split into two rooms,” he said, looking at the chief. “It’s one of the more important rooms in the building, so it has a special code to get in, which I have, and the traps around there are numerous. We’ll need two USB sticks to get the information off the computers.” 

No one questioned how quickly Nezu changed subjects, but Midoriya and Tsu shared a look. 

“Why two?” Itsuki said. “We only have the one. And it’s big enough to pull off as many as a Terabyte of information. I doubt they’ll have anything that extensive on there.” 

“You also need a USB to hack into the mainframe,” Nezu said, typing over his tablet. “There are far too many codes to crack in order to get to any of the information on there, and I don’t doubt Shiguraki has at least some computer knowledge. If they chose this location to store information, then he undoubtedly knows about its history and how the computer system works.” Nezu looked up at Tsukauchi. “Do you have a spare USB on you?” 

The detective rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t, sorry,” he said. 

“That’s alright. I packed one just in case.” Nezu pulled out a drive from his coat pocket and stuck it into his tablet. “I can write out the code needed to hack into the system and bypass all the passwords. It will probably take me an hour or two to do it, but once the key is created, I’ll just need the night to load it onto the drive.” 

Itsuki buried his face in his hands and groaned. “Dammit, I hate it when you come prepared to every situation and just show how unprepared we are,” he said. 

“My Quirk gives me an advantage over you humans, so don’t be too hard on yourself,” Nezu said, as he typed. “After the briefing you gave at UA, it was easy for me to figure out what measures to take and what to bring. This is only a temporary key, though, so it will only work once. That means we only have one shot at getting that information.” 

“Why only one?” 

“Do you think I’m senseless enough to send anyone into that building more than once?” Nezu said with a scoff. “I can deactivate all the traps, but only once the key is used.” 

“So does that mean you’re going in?” 

Nezu let out a sarcastic laugh before looking at the man. “As I said earlier, nothing will get me into that building,” he said. “I can radio them information and instructions. I’ll be guiding them blindly, but if we put a tracker on them, then it will be easy for me to tell exactly where they are, what to avoid, and how to get the information as quickly and as quietly as possible.” 

Itsuki sighed and leaned against the tree, squishing his cigarette butt against the trunk. “So you’ll be the guide,” he said, rubbing his chin. “Yeah, that could work, I guess. I won’t ask you to be careful because I know you will be.” 

“Every precaution will be taken, I guarantee it. My goal is to get the information using as little of your men as needed. However, cameras still need to be taken care of out here, and we still run the dangers of anything being in there—!” 

“I highly doubt there is anyone in there, Nezu—!” 

“I didn’t say anyone. I said anything. There is a vast difference.” 

This rendered everyone, even the chief, silent. The idea of someone alive in the building was still doubtful at best. The tone of Nezu’s voice when he said those words was unsettling though; he clearly believed that something was in the labs. 

Nezu ignored everyone’s anxious stares and merely spoke his next words to the detective. “Mister Tsukauchi,” he said, “I will leave the security out here to you and the chief. If anything besides our team comes out of that building, make sure it doesn’t get away. I can guarantee it isn’t safe.” He pointed at his tablet. “And I will probably need you to monitor the tracking devices while I give instructions.” 

Itsuki held up his hands. “Hold on, I understand you refusing to go in,” he said, “But the reason I asked Tsukauchi to go in is because he’s best suited for the situation. He had training sessions with All Mightin the past, for crying out loud.” 

“I am not entrusting him with the task of crossing the labs, Chief,” Nezu said with a shake of his head. “He’s too large. He will not be able to maneuver properly in certain cases. He may have trained with All Might, but even All Might would be ill suited for this operation. I need agility and flexibility for this.”

He pointed at the chief when the man began to retaliate, and glared at him while baring his teeth. “Need I remind you that you asked for my help on this mission?” the animal snapped. “Condition number two is that you and your team deal with the outside of the building; I will be the one in charge of the operation inside. You are not best suited for this.” 

Itsuki groaned, clearly frustrated to be proven wrong once more, but he respected Nezu enough that he did not retaliate further. “Then who the hell will you send into that damn place, Nezu?” 

“Why do you think I brought interns with me?” Nezu held out his paw to Midoriya and Tsu, who recoiled at being addressed all of a sudden. “The task of retrieving the information will be up to Izuku Midoriya and Tsuyu Asui.” 

Tsukauchi widened his eyes, clearly as surprised as the others were. 

“You’re sending in children?” Itsuki said between his teeth. “That’s probably the first stupid idea you’ve ever come up with.” 

“Is it though?” Nezu looked at his students. “Midoriya and Miss Asui are two of our top second year students,” he said. “Asui is skilled at undercover operations, as her Quirk allows her to move her body differently than others, and allows her to go completely unnoticed if the time calls for it. Her tongue stretches twenty meters out and can easily be used to maneuver around tight corners. 

“Midoriya’s Quirk rivals All Might’s, but he has the advantage of a lean body and a bright mind.” Nezu tapped his forehead. “If I trust anyone to retrieve the information in the computer system, it would be him.” 

Midoriya smiled, feeling a burst of pride, and exchanged the look with his classmate. 

The Chief passed a hand over his face and sighed. “Why children, though?” he said. “You’re running a huge risk, sending in minors.” 

“I trust children more than I do full-grown adults,” Nezu replied. “And they both passed their Provisional License Exam in first year; if anyone can get this job done, it’s them.” 

Itsuki and Tsukauchi looked at each other in silence before staring at the two UA students. 

Midoriya held up a fist. “We can do this, Chief,” he said, and Tsu nodded. “You can trust Principal Nezu.” 

Itsuki let out a short laugh. “Trusting him I can do,” he said. “I’ve already made the mistake of not trusting him in the past, so I don’t plan on doing that again.” ** He looked at the rodent. “It’s letting two kids head into a building that killed one of my men. That’s what worries me.” 

“With my guidance, they will be able to maneuver the traps,” Nezu said, continuing to type. “Are you sure you trust me?” 

“Not a good time to test me, Principal,” Itsuki said, but an amused smile was over his lips now. He sat back again. “Alright; I’m handing the command wheel over to you for whatever happens inside that building. And that means that if anything happens to those kids, you’ll take the heat for it. And I’m sure that’s all UA needs, especially now that All Might is retired and the League of Villains has targeted you guys.” 

He then changed subject and decided to get his men split into groups to scour the forest floor in search for any cameras. Nezu agreed to pass on the program he used to blind them. 

“Midoriya and Tsu can continue taking care of the ones up in the canopy,” Tsukauchi said. “Since they’re the best for the job.” 

Nezu nodded without looking up from his work, and the officers dismissed themselves. That left him alone with his students again. 

“You heard the man,” Nezu said, addressing his words to the teenagers. “If you can take out one hundred cameras each within the next two hours, then I will share the desert All Might and Sato packed for me.” 

Midoriya and Tsu stood up. “Yessir,” they said, bowing to him. 

“Now run along. I will time you. I need to finish this key.” 

The animal stressed an ear to listen to the students dash off, and only once the area was quiet again did he look up from his work. Nezu’s ears fell back and he let out a sigh before looking at his tablet again. 

It was the first time he was unsure of himself. 

***** 

Chapter Text

Which way? Which way do I go? Which way is the right way? Should I take a chance and head North? Or East?  What if I hit a dead end? Which way, which way?  

Midoriya and Tsu returned from their camera expedition shortly before the sun set. Nezu could see the pride in their eyes for having accomplished their job before the time limit, although  Midoriya  was the only one who showed it over his face with a wide grin.  

It had made Nezu smile a little, thinking back to the enthusiasm and pride he had shown when he first began training at the Police Force. Accomplishing any task made one feel  damn  good.  

Nezu had continued to create coding for the USB key as the others enjoyed a quiet but comfortable dinner under the stars.  Midoriya  and  Tsukauchi  exchanged stories of All Might, and the Chief quizzed the boy on districts and their representing Pro Hero.  Tsu  was asked how her camouflage move worked, and for how long, and how poisonous her mucus could become.  She spoke about some of her classmates and what they did on free time.  The teenagers spoke proudly of their Quirks when asked, and  Tsukauchi gave Midoriya  a rub on the head, indicating that he too, was proud with how far he had come with the difficulties of taking on One  For  All.  

Nezu refrained from speaking the rest of the evening. Only when a question was addressed to him about the mission did he say anything. If he was asked specifics detailing his past, he would respond with ‘not now’ or ‘I don’t remember.’  

Oh ,  but he remembered. He remembered every detail of his time at the Greater Good Research Laboratories. While a handful of his old coworkers from the Police Force and his faculty and students at UA knew that he had been experimented on by humans, he had never told anyone how he had escaped, what had happened, and just how traumatizing the testing had been. His closest allies, which included All Might, could tell that it had been something that had scarred him, psychologically and physically, but they had no idea of the finer details. Those had been things Nezu had held closely to him, and planned on taking them to the grave with him at that.  

Being requested for this mission opened up old wounds, old fears. Nezu had not told his students, but he did notice Midoriya and Tsu glance over at him from time to time during their briefing. He knew they noticed the change in personality in their principal.  

Nezu had tried to hide it earlier, but it was exhausting. He had never led a field mission before; only directed it from the office, where all his strategies had been thought through. Even  the  plan to properly hide the rescue team sent to Kamino Ward t he previous summer, t o rescue  Bakugo ,  had been done from behind  closed doors .  Given that he was the Principal by then, he did not orchestrate that plan. But as expected, the Police Force did mention it briefly and asked for some tips.

After his first field mission with All Might, he had been asked to continue. But Nezu had never enjoyed being at the front lines, and so he chose to return to the Police Force to continue helping from his office. He preferred being behind the scenes, controlling the mission from there. That was why he loved being Lead Strategist, and the Principal of UA.  

His strategy for  this  mission  in particular  was flawless. He knew that better than anyone.  He had come up with dozens of scenarios, workarounds and loopholes.  It  would succeed.  

However, he also knew that whatever was still in the laboratory building was part of a past he was trying to bury, which meant that if anything unexpected  did  happen, he risked losing his students.  

Long after everyone, besides the officers who stayed up to keep watch, had called it a night, Nezu remained awake. He was waiting for the key to completely download, and during that time, he pulled up the feed for one of the cameras he had walked by earlier that afternoon. He had blinded all of them for at least a day, except for one. This one was sitting at the base of a tree with a giant knot in  it,  a tree   he had stopped by on his way to freedom.  

He did not know what had compelled him to keep that one active after a  twenty minute  jamming—morbid curiosity, or maybe desire to see a past he had successfully escaped. To reassure himself that all was well.  

He backtracked through its years of files, surprised that nothing had gotten archived, and found the date for that fateful night,  years ago .  

Nezu paused and felt his heart race as he stared at the file. He then tapped the screen and opened  it .  

For a time, all he saw was the forest floor at night. Fireflies danced in the grass as it swayed with the gentle breeze. A few stars peeked out from canopy above, blinking in and out of sight thanks to the rustling leaves.  

Then a white animal pounced in on all fours, crouching low to the forest floor. It was pristine white, unfortunately matted and bruised here and there. There was a yellow tag on its left ear, and blood staining around its neck, as though a collar had been torn off violently. Its paws were stained in blood. Its body went up and down at an alarming rate as it panted. It raised its head, looked this way and that, ears flipping in every direction. It was in such a panic, that it did not bother to tend to the wounds it had over its body.  

And then it turned towards the camera. Nezu took a breath as he stared back at himself.  

Despite being  several  years apart, it was a perfect reflection. Not so much physically—Nezu could see age was apparent, even though he knew probably no human could ever. He could see the same emotions, matching to a point, looking back at him.  

Fear. Panic. Desperation… Uncertainty.  

Younger Nezu stared at the camera a moment longer before reaching up to his right eye. He winced at the pain, tried to clean more of the blood that trailed down that side of his face where the fur and skin had been  torn through .  

But he hardly had a second to do so when a bullet whizzed by him, causing him to jump and look back in terror. Without a second hesitation, the animal ran off on all fours. Not even a moment later did a group of human legs and white lab coats rush by, chasing after him.  

Nezu stopped the video recording and set his tablet aside before leaning back against the tree he was now sitting next to. With a sigh, he set a paw over his right eye and trailed it down over the scar. It had remained as his only physical reminder of what the cruelty of humans could create. He had worn it not with pride, but with courage, telling the world that it would take more than that to stop him. Especially now, with the League of Villains targeting some of his students and faculty, it had served him as a reminder that he was there because of the hard work he had put in to pushing his life forward and proving himself.  

He thought the video would at least reassure him that he had nothing to worry about . He had escaped, so there was hope.   I f anything ,  it only reminded him of the dangers that awaited within the lab.  

Maybe he should go? No; that was why he chose  Midoriya  and  Tsu . Because he believed in their abilities and their courage. And he knew they would stop at nothing to prove their loyalty and trust to him.  

He wrapped his tail around his legs and leaned over his lap, setting his head down over his arms. “Why is this so much harder than I anticipated?” he whispered to himself.  

He looked over to his left, in the little nest of blankets, bags and grass between the trees and bushes. It had served as a little place to rest for his students, who were currently wrapped in their sleeping bags and resting next to each other.  

After a moment, he turned and looked to his right.  

His past stared right back at him in the form of concrete walls and broken windows.  

Nezu shook out a shiver and hugged himself a little more before sitting back against the tree and keeping a watch over the laboratory.  

He knew he had to face his demons at some point, but he had never expected it to be this difficult.  

Which way? Which way do I go?  

*****  

Chapter Text

Students rushed across the school grounds to get to their classes Tuesday morning.  There were laughs as friends raced each other. Even in the light rain, there was a sea of umbrellas of various  colours  dancing around, puddles splashing here and there.  

The sun was predicted to come out later that afternoon and start drying everything off. For the time being, the teachers had to deal with soaked students and wet footprints.  

All Might finished up his tea as he walked under his blue umbrella. The sound of raindrops hitting the canvas made him relaxed and ready to take on another day of class.  He sighed, taking in the peace that morning, and despite worries he had at the back of his mind, he was thankful the school day was at least starting off on the right foot.

“Hang on; let me catch up with you, Boy!”  

All Might looked over his shoulder with a small smile as someone rushed over to him. There was only one person in UA who still called him boy. She might as well, seeing as she was three  decades  his age and still living.  

“Despite your injuries, you’ve done well with your energy levels,” Recovery Girl said, coming to a stop next to the giant and walking  alongside  him. She had to tilt her pink umbrella in order for them to see each other, seeing as she was half his height. “I can hardly keep up with you now.”

All Might sipped at his tea casually.  

“Okay fine; I will give credit to your Boy.  He seems to keep you on your toes half the time.”  

They walked in silence for a moment or two, taking in the sounds of the schoolyard.  

“Who are you teaching this morning?” Recovery Girl asked.  

All Might looked at his watch. “General Class 1-C,” he said. “I was going to take them to one of the training grounds for the exercise I had planned, but that may be unsafe if the ground hasn’t dried.  So,  I was thinking of asking Thirteen if they’d be alright with us using the USJ.”  

He wiped off some rain that fell over his hand. “Nothing extravagant, but I did say I wanted to test them while the Hero Department was out on Intern week,” he added. “Some of the First Years this year have some pretty remarkable grades. With the right push, they may be able to transfer next year to the Hero Department.”

Recovery Girl nodded solemnly. “You’re getting the hang of teaching better, I see,” she said, an amused smile on her lips.  

“I was forced to,” All Might  said  with a nervous laugh. “Though the kids are still teaching me more.”  

“You’re still improving though. I haven’t had  Midoriya  in my office in nearly a year now. Quite Impressive.”  

“Do you need me to give you another box of chocolates, or are you never going to let that go?”  

Recovery raised her chin and grinned at her old pupil, who merely rolled his eyes with a smile in reply.  

“What do you have planned for today?” All Might asked.  

“The usual,” Recovery Girl said with a sigh. “Although… it will be a little less crowded.”  

The man cast her a side-glance. Sure enough, the plucky woman was staring at the ground as they walked, with a worried expression over her face.  

“After tea and a bite to eat with the principal, we tend to walk to the school together  fussing over what we expect to happen or which student will show up in our office that day,” the woman said. “He always correctly guessed that  Midoriya  would end up in mine on the days he did. And I always correctly guessed that it was  Togata  who would try to prank him that day.” She smiled momentarily. “He just loved it when that boy tried to get the best of him.”  

She sighed heavily and shook her head. “He shouldn’t have agreed to go,” she said. “The Greater Good Research Laboratories is such a hard subject for him to deal with.”  

“He can do it,” All Might said. “As much as it worries me, I know what he’s like. Nezu has never said no to a challenge.”  

“You don’t spend half the day with him,” Recovery Girl argued, pointing her walking stick at the man. “After he made his decision, he came to see me and asked for some advice on what to pack for a mission. He didn’t tell me for what, but when I finally asked him why he needed it all, he said he was going to visit a place he needed to confront. And that he was taking two of  Aizawa’s  students with him.”  

Her frown disappeared and worry crossed her eyes again. “Most people don’t know it, but I know you and I do,” she said. “That place broke him, All Might. It snapped something in him that has never healed. I can feel it whenever we have serious discussions about the League of Villains. He’s good at taming it, but whenever he has his chance, that flash of vengeance in his eyes is all too bright to miss.  

“I admire him for his courage and his pluckiness; standing up to all the problems we’ve faced since your retirement makes him one of the strongest men I’ve ever known. But that place is different. I don’t doubt he can get the job done, but it needs to be done right if he is to return less broken than he was before. And UA can’t lose  him,  not yet.”  

Recover Girl sighed again and shook her head. “You boys are both wearing me out,” she said. “Your influence on him on that first field mission, and his influence on you when you were hired here; you’re both going to be the death of yourselves.  Then  who will I have left to nag?”  

“You can’t tell me he lets you do that to him too,” All Might said with a laugh.  

“ Oh,  he doesn’t. He won’t say a word, which is more than I can say about you, but his fur stands on  end  and his ears will flatten out. He  hates  being nagged by humans.”  

All Might  raised  his tea to his lips. “ Most  humans,” he corrected her. After a pause, he cleared his throat. “I agree with you on everything you just said about him, Ma’am. But one thing I learned from Nezu is that when he has his mind set on something, no one can convince him to do anything else. He wanted to make sure no other police officer injured themselves, and he has a few demons to face. We’ve all been there as Pro Heroes.”  

“True, but he’s deliberately dragging in two teenagers on top of that,” Recovery Girl added. “As much as I know he chose the right two, Nezu has never had interns before. He’s never worked on a field mission with children. His faith in their abilities is unwavering, but I’m more than certain his heart is fretting at this moment—wondering how to keep them safe while utilizing their abilities, and what should happen if something goes wrong.”  

“Nezu never worries about things going wrong.”  

“ When it involves children, he does. He loves them so, All Might. Just like you. That is going to hinder the mission if something unexpected happens. I’m one hundred percent sure that if he has any doubt right now, it involves  Midoriya  and  Asui’s  safety.”  

All Might finished his tea and closed his cannister. “We can continue to worry about it, but there’s nothing we can do now,” he said. “Nezu’s already in the South with the kids and they’re probably putting whatever plan of his in action as we speak. We just have to trust him. That’s all he ever wanted from us and the rest of the faculty and staff.”  

Recovery Girl let her head fall back and sighed again, eyes closed. “I trust him,” she said. “I just hope he can trust himself when something backfires. Delicate situations are delicate, no matter what you say to make them better. And no matter how smart you really are.”  

All Might said nothing, but he concurred. Nezu’s strategies never failed, but every Pro had a breaking point, where they had to learn how to tame their emotions. Even the principal had one.  

He’ll be fine,  All Might thought.  He’ll figure things out.  

*****  

Chapter Text

Midoriya woke first that morning to the sounds of birds chirping and animals playing in the trees. He yawned, grateful for the beautiful shades of green and the still rising sun that was just beginning to peek through the trees in the east. 

There were two officers who were awake a few ways away, playing a quiet card game while keeping an eye on the monitors over the lab. Detective Tsukauchi and Officer Tamakawa were in their own sleeping bags, laying down in the nest they had all sat in the previous day. Chief Itsuki was sleeping in a sitting position against the tree he had chosen the day before, arms crossed and a jacket over his body to keep warm. The other officers were scattered here and there in bushes to stay hidden. 

Tsu was still sleeping next to him, but had turned onto her side sometime in the night. Midoriya sighed of relief, knowing it would be an incredibly awkward situation for him if he had to get up with her up against him—they had decided to sleep closer together in case Tsu’s body temperature lowered too far. 

That and she did not feel like sleeping next to a police chief who smelled like smoke. 

Midoriya sat down and brushed his hands through his hair and then stretched his arms out. He took a sip of his water cannister and then stared up at the canopy before looking to his right. The tree they had decided to sleep next to was one of the largest in the area, and the roots sprung out to make little nests and cradles for anyone to sleep in between. It also acted as great cover from the Laboratories that were still waiting for them up ahead. 

Sitting on the largest root that had sprung out, against which the students had decided to rest, was UA’s principal. Like the chief, he was leaning against the tree, his jacket collar turned up to keep himself a little warmer. His ascot was puffed out, undoubtedly to keep the chilly night air from getting into his shirt.

His head was turned away, in the direction of the abandoned building, but his chest moved gently up and down, indicating he was still fast asleep. 

Midoriya stood up carefully and stepped around Tsu. Nezu still had his tablet in his hands, a battery charger connected to it so it could continue downloading the key onto the usb drive. His paws held onto it with a weak grasp, and Midoriya guessed he had fallen asleep that way. 

The boy grabbed the tablet and gently pulled it out of his principal’s hands. The movement made Nezu wince and groan, and Midoriya froze, hoping he had not woken him up. 

“No,” Nezu mumbled, subconsciously squeezing his paws into fists. “Please…” He then turned onto his side, back to Midoriya, and continued to sleep. 

Midoriya sighed and stepped back, looking at the tablet. There was a box on its screen with the message ‘download complete, drive may now be removed’. 

He looked up at the principal again and promised to keep this moment to himself. 

***** 

Raw eggs and rice was on the menu for breakfast. Tsu and Modoriya were not the biggest fans of raw eggs, but they understood why frying anything could attract unwanted attention. 

Luckily for them, Nezu had packed a little extra for their breakfast. He pulled out a banana for each of them, some chicken that they gladly mixed in with their rice, and some miso soup. 

“Recovery Girl had told me to make some before coming, and to put it in this cannister,” he said, putting it away once they had their food. “Apparently it’s one of Endeavor’s and it keeps food warm for over twenty-four hours. Quite useful!” 

Midoriya tried to ignore the jealous looks some officers gave them for having a larger breakfast than them. He thanked Nezu for the food. 

After breakfast, Chief Itsuki had his men split into several small groups to surround the facility, still keeping it within sight but staying at their current distance from it. They were to keep an eye on every exit, every window, and report if they saw any other movement besides what they had recorded thus far. 

“Here’s hoping we get this done today,” he said to Tsukauchi, checking the time. “Nearly eight in the morning. Let’s get this over with.” 

He headed off with another group, leaving Tsukauchi and Tamakawa to watch the front doors with Nezu. 

“I’m not sure why,” Tamakawa said as he and Tsukauchi got down behind the tree root they were hiding behind. “But this mission makes me a lot more nervous than any other I’ve been on. My fur is standing on end.” 

Tsukauchi pulled out the blueprints and set up Nezu’s tablet. “If all goes well, we should be done with it by early afternoon, granted Nezu can guide them that easily,” he said. He patted the man on his shoulders. “Stay strong, Officer.” 

He then cast a glance over to the side, where a dozen or two meters away, Nezu was busy gearing up his students for the task ahead. 

Tsukauchi sighed and hoped Nezu’s strategies continued to remain flawless. 

***** 

“Head gear on.” 

Midoriya and Tsu adjusted their goggles. 

“Heat sensors in place?” 

“Yessir.” 

“Arms don’t feel strained, Midoriya?” 

Midoriya shook his head. 

“Do you have Detective Tsukauchi’s USB, Miss Asui?” 

Tsu nodded and placed a hand on the pouch she had around her belt. 

Nezu nodded solemnly and took a deep breath before holding out the key. “Insert this into the computer first when you arrive in the room,” he said, handing it to Midoriya. “It should hack through the largest number of passwords without detecting your presence. There will be three more you will have to put in afterwards, but I can easily give those to you when the time comes.” 

He pointed at his ear. “Are your audio pieces in properly?” he said. 

Midoriya and Tsu tapped their right ears. 

“Retrieving the data will be the easy part of this mission,” Nezu said, putting his hands behind his back. “Getting in and out of that room will be where the most danger is. You must keep your mics and ear pieces on at all times. I will be in constant contact with you, following your heat sensors. You must always do as I say, even if you think another way would be more useful. When I tell you to stop for two minutes, you stop for two minutes. Do not, under any circumstance, go down another route or enter a room that I did not first tell you to. And if you see any kind of movement, you say so clearly and I will direct you to the nearest shelter.” 

“There’s shelter in there?” Tsu said. 

“A few. Most may be cramped, but I’ve used them when I escaped. They are safe enough to stay in for a few moments.” 

The students nodded. 

Nezu looked back at them in silence before Midoriya noticed his eyes grow old again. The sternness on his face melted away. 

“Rely on each other when you come across a predicament,” Nezu said, his voice much gentler. “And don’t trust anything within those walls. It may seem pristine on the outside, but there is a lot of darkness it holds. Trust my directions, follow them perfectly and we will have this place behind us by the end of the afternoon.” 

“Yessir,” the students said in unison, bowing to their principal. 

Nezu nodded made a gesture with his hands. “Then Go Beyond,” he said. 

Midoriya and Tsu held up their fists. “Plus Ultra,” they said.

And with that, they turned on their heels and rushed as silently as they could into the thicket towards the abandoned laboratories. 

Nezu watched them leave before letting his shoulders drop and his ears fall back.

“Be careful,” he whispered. 

***** 

Chapter Text

Despite knowing people had been in the building recently, the front doors were difficult to force open thanks to the rust on the hinges. Midoriya managed to crack it open wide enough for the two of them to slip in. 

So far, that was the most difficult part; making their way unseen to the building was easy doing since they were both dressed in green. 

On the inside, Midoriya and Tsu forced the door closed and took in their surroundings. The walls were covered in dust, rust and a few vines that could squeeze in from the outdoors. Most vents from above were broken or had deteriorated over time, with pieces strewn about the floor. Wires were exposed and hanging here and there. 

And the only source of light was the sunlight from outdoors. Which would become less the more they made their way into the lab. 

Tsu pulled away from the wall and muttered a quiet ew as she dusted a stray cobweb from her shoulder. Midoriya adjusted his goggles. “It’s a lot darker in here than I thought it would be,” he said, and the slight echo to his voice made him sound smaller than he already felt in this place. 

“Maybe we should have brought a flashlight with the protein bar we have as a snack for later, ribbit,” Tsu said just as quietly. 

Their audio pieces made a rustling sound. “Unfortunately, the safest thing to do for now is venture in without that,” Nezu’s voice replied. “Until I’m certain your light won’t attract unwanted attention, you’ll have to trust me blindly.” 

Tsu nodded and looked at Midoriya. 

“Which way do we begin, Principal?” Midoriya said, finishing with his goggles. 

“Head straight. You’re safe for the first little bit.” 

Their footsteps echoed only a little as they began walking down the main corridor, trying to avoid any dead, crunchy leaves or sticks that could alert their presence if stepped on. There were not many doors in the beginning, more like one every two dozen feet on either side. Some doors were opened as though they had been searched, but they were so dark Midoriya could not tell what was inside. 

They passed one lab room with glass doors. The bottom of the walls was tiled, most cracked or completely missing. Examination tables lay strewn across the floor, wires hanging low from the ceiling, windows thick with dust and grime. Where the windows had broken, there were steel plates over them. 

“I wonder what they did in there?” Tsu whispered, before they continued to move. 

The further they walked from the exit, the darker it became. Faint green glows from solar-powered exit signs were the only things that lit the corridors now and then, when sunlight could not break through. The eerie shadows cast over the mess on the floors and the wires that hung out of the ceiling were enough to make Midoriya question whether they should have agreed to come. 

It’s creepy enough, abandoned, Midoriya thought, as they passed another empty lab room on their left. I don’t even want to begin to know what it was like when the cleanliness hid its secrets better. 

“STOP!” 

Both teenagers immediately came to a stop in their tracks when Nezu told them to. 

“Take one step back before you lose an eye.” 

Midoriya widened his eyes and cast a side glance to the wall next to him. It looked pristine, besides the rust and cobwebs. He did what he was told and stepped back. 

“First trap is here,” Nezu said. “Darts containing a poison that will make your muscles feel like they’re on fire. I’m not completely aware of what the components are, but while it won’t kill you, it will definitely torture you for the next seventy-two hours.” 

“That’s very specific,” Tsu muttered, looking at the walls. 

“You learn to recognize weapons once they’ve been used on you more than twice,” Nezu responded. 

Midoriya and Tsu looked at each other in horror. “Principal Nezu, did they use that on you?” the boy asked. 

There was silence on the other end of the connection. “The darts are all spaced out, so if you maneuver them the way I tell you to, you will get through them,” Nezu said, after a pause. His tone of voice made it clear that he was not going to answer any of those types of questions. 

“Get on all fours,” the principal continued. “Can you see the floor clearly?” 

The students adjusted their goggles and looked down at their feet. “Yes,” they said in unison. 

“There are a few tiles with kanji written on them,” Midoriya said. “Do we need to know exactly what they mean?” 

“Kinda makes you wish Bakugo was here to read it for us, huh?” Tsu said, making Midoriya’s heart skip a beat. 

“Please don’t joke about that, Tsuyu.” 

Tsu had time to pat him on the back before Nezu cleared his throat. “It’s not necessary for you to read it,” he said. “I already know them by heart. It was only warnings.” 

“Of what?” 

“Of the darts. So that the workers didn’t injure themselves.” 

Midoriya scoffed. “How kind of them to add stepping stones for each other,” he said, making Tsu cover a giggle. 

“Most of them could pass through without having to crouch, but considering it was the last trap I had to get passed in order to escape, I never bothered to study how they moved higher up. It has something to do with eye motion, I believe. Since I’m not that tall, I didn’t give it a second thought. 

“Now Miss Asui, go first. You’re a little more agile than Midoriya when it comes to moving on all fours. Put one foot down on the first Kanji you see and then reach over with your arm to the next. There are three sets of different Kanji; whichever one you decide to step on, you must continue stepping on the same version. Otherwise a dart will come out.” 

Tsu reached out with her foot and set it down over the kanji. A faint glowing line appeared around the kanji, forming a perfect square. The light was blue. 

“Was it supposed to do that?” she said. 

“Do what?” 

“Light up.” 

“Oh yes. I forgot that. One set lights up in blue, the other yellow, and the third green. If the colours don’t match up when you step on them, they will all turn red and a dart will come out from the left.” 

Midoriya cursed under his breath as Tsu began traversing over the blue light Kanji tiles. He was still learning to be agile on his feet, and being on all fours while keeping one’s balance was still difficult for him. 

Tsu passed without any problem, and she turned and sat on the floor when she had crossed all the Kanji. She gave an encouraging smile to Midoriya and urged him forward. 

Midoriya gulped and looked at the Kanji. Taking a deep breath, he took a step forward and set his foot down on a tile. 

It lit up in green. 

Reaching for the second was tricky enough, seeing as he was trying to get used to moving that low to the ground without toppling over. Once his left foot landed on the third tile, he was able to calculate his balance better. 

The next time he set his foot down, he thought he had gotten the hang of the trap. 

Until the tile lit up in yellow, and all four tiles then glowed red. 

“Midoriya!” Tsu gasped. 

Midoriya looked to his left, just as a dart came shooting out from the wall. He gasped and lowered himself as low as he could, and the dart just grazed the tips of his mask’s rabbit-like ears. 

“Quickly get your foot off that tile and put it on the correct Kanji,” Nezu said, a tone of urgency in his collected voice. 

Midoriya dodged another dart and looked for the right tile, only to find that the next one was damaged. A bullet had been lodged into it, destroying any of its functionality. 

“Someone shot a bullet in it, Sir,” Midoriya said, leaning back and dodging a third dart. 

“What?” 

“Someone shot a bullet into the floor and it landed on the next tile I need to step on! I can’t jump over it to the next; it’s too far!” 

“A bullet?” He heard Nezu cover the mic, probably to curse. “You’ll need to work together to get out of that one, then,” the principal said hastily. “Miss Asui, are you safe?” 

“Yeah,” Tsu said, side hopping with anxiety. 

“I need you to reach out with your tongue and grab Midoriya,” Nezu continued. “I had no intention of getting you two in this predicament, but it seems some officers don’t understand that firing off guns in a dangerous location is never the solution… dammit,” he muttered, his voice muffled with the last word. 

Tsu held her tongue out at the ready. 

“Count the seconds between each dart. There’s a pattern. When you get that pattern, get Midoriya to safety between the darts.” 

Tsu nodded and began focusing on the darts coming out at intervals. 

Midoriya watched her eyes move from side-to-side, studying the timing. He could feel his limbs ache at the amount of weight he was putting on them in an awkward position, but he tried to ignore it for her sake. 

Tsu began snapping her fingers to count the seconds between each dart and calculated how fast her movement had to be. 

Just as Midoriya felt his legs begin to give in, Tsu’s chosen opening came and she snapped out her tongue. It wrapped around Midoriya’s arm and yanked him forward with a yelp, just barely missing another dart. 

As he was dragged over the floor, all the kanji tiles lit up and several darts began shooting out of the wall, but by then Tsu had managed to get Midoriya to safety. She dragged her classmate a few feet away from the darts and they both stared on at the stream of grey. 

“Maybe this is the world’s way of telling me I need to really study my Kanji some more,” Midoriya said with a gasp, hand on his chest. 

“Are you safe?” 

“Yessir.” 

Nezu was silent for a moment, and when he next spoke his voice was once more collected. “The next trap is the double maneuver one I mentioned yesterday,” he said as the students stood up. “It’s the one right before the last door on your right. An intersection follows afterwards.” 

Tsu helped Midoriya to his feet and stared down the dark corridor. “That’s not too far, but at least it gives us a bit of breathing room,” she said, as they began to walk once more. 

***** 

Once he told the students to stop three meters from the last door, Nezu temporarily pulled his audio piece out of his right ear. He then proceeded to grab both ears and pull on them while groaning loudly, catching Tsukauchi and Tamakawa’s attention. “Who had the bright idea of carrying in and setting off a handgun?” the rodent snapped. 

“I mean… it is meant for defense,” Tsukauchi said.

“You don’t need bullets to protect you from the League of Villains; you need Quirks. And even that has failed us in the past. I only know one man who uses guns with his Quirk and does it effectively. Because he never misses.”  

Nezu massaged his face. “And you most certainly don’t need bullets to solve a damn puzzle,” he groaned. “That bullet nearly cost my student’s sanity on the first trap.” 

Tsukauchi tugged on Tamakawa’s sleeve. “Go ask Chief Itsuki if there was anyone else who let off more bullets in there,” he said. “I think it would help if we knew better.” He waited for the cat to rush off before looking at Nezu, who was cradling his head in his arms. 

“Was it Midoriya?” Tsukauchi asked. 

Nezu sighed heavily and nodded. 

“You got him out, and that’s important—!” 

“I cannot let All Might know that I nearly injured his Successor within the first five minutes of entering that place,” Nezu said behind his paws. “He was already concerned for my well-being, coming here. He’ll have a heart attack. Not to mention Recovery Girl will be furious.” 

“You know All Might wouldn’t hold it against you; you’ve worked together before,” Tsukauchi said. “Risks happen. That’s what comes with being a Pro.” 

“True,” Nezu said, uncovering his face, “But the problem with this location is that I am the only one who knows of the dangers that lurk in that place. If anyone, even any of you out here, gets injured, then it would be of my doing, since I never properly warned anyone about it. A stray bullet I don’t know of could completely dismantle my strategy.” 

“It’s still early; you could call it off.” 

“I can’t send them back through that trap, Detective. Not until it’s been deactivated. They don’t deserve to have the same nightmares I do.” 

There was a little buzzing coming from the ear piece, and Nezu replaced it in his right ear. “Yes?” he said after fidgeting with it. 

“Are you alright, Sir?” Midoriya’s voice said. 

Nezu sighed again and looked at the blueprints laid out before him and Tsukauchi. “Yes,” he said. 

“If you’re worried, we’re alright if you want us to come back.” 

“Ribbit. Yeah; we wouldn’t mind it, if it’s making you too stressed, Sir,” Tsu added. 

Nezu set his chin in his paws. “You’d give me that option?” he said. 

“We don’t want you feeling responsible for what happens.” 

“We both agreed to take on this mission as your interns; we don’t want to let you down. But if you want us to come back and better prep, then we’re okay going through that trap again.” 

Nezu let out a soft laugh and trailed his paw over his scar. “I see both Aizawa and All Might have rubbed off on you two,” he said. “That must feel like a tug-of-war at the worst of times.” 

“Ribbit. Uh-huh.” 

“You have no idea.” 

The principal smiled tiredly at the hasty responses. “I doubt extra planning will make this easier, considering nothing would have changed,” Nezu said, “So let’s move on then. Go beyond, per the norm.” 

“We’ll Plus Ultra after we pass the next trap,” Tsu said, and Midoriya could be heard chuckling.

“Understandable.” 

Nezu removed the audio piece again and reached for his water cannister. 

“They want to keep going?” Tsukauchi said. 

Nezu hummed a response as he took a drink. 

“That’s UA for you.” 

“That’s my teachers for you.” 

Tsukauchi chuckled and turned back to the tablet to keep track of the students’ heat sensors. “That’s their principal too,” he said. 

Nezu side-eyed him for a moment before staring back at the abandoned facility before him. Despite looking peaceful, he could feel its shadow constantly stretching out to grab him. 

He frowned. You won’t stop me that easily, he thought, although his tail was quivering. 

***** 

Chapter Text

The second trap was easier to pass for both  Midoriya  and  Tsu , since it involved movements they were both good at: jumping and rolling. They were told that at ninety percent of traps in the lab, they would have some kind of way of getting through them without activating them. Now and then, usually in intersections of hallways, they would need to merely leap through with precision and timing.  

Nezu continued to guide them through the maze of traps for the next two hours. It was slow-going, seeing as the traps were all his level of difficulty to pass, but according to their principal, the teenagers were making great time.  

Most traps were puzzle-based, but had deadly consequences if not solved. Nezu explained that they were all based on tests he had to go through, which were meant to be hard for him to pass without at least a few minutes of thinking it through. The scientists had not anticipated Nezu’s Quirk to adapt so well, though, which had undoubtedly made his escape that much more successful, or so  Midoriya  thought.  

Despite knowing how dangerous the traps were, and the eerie tone the abandoned facility gave off,  Midoriya  enjoyed figuring out how each trap worked. Getting through them without Nezu would have still been doable for him, considering he loved puzzles, but their time would have been doubled, since Nezu was familiar with everything.  

Nezu did not break into casual conversation with them. One time, when  Midoriya  was commenting on how amazing the principal’s Quirk was that he could remember so many details, the animal hastily cut him off by changing subjects.  Tsu  asked him if there was a reason why he could contain so much information about this place, but Nezu replied with “Not the time, my dear.”  

Midoriya  brushed it off, despite still finding Nezu’s mood alarming. They were on a mission, and it was time to take things seriously.  

Midoriya  wanted to pause and write down some of the traps they passed, but of course Nezu was never patient enough to let him do that. One involved applying the right amount of pressure to certain tiles otherwise lasers would lower and shoot on sight; another involved finding the correct password and rearranging characters on the wall into words. Tsu let Midoriya take on this one when she made a mistake and an ax swung out of the wall. It would have chopped off her feet, had she not jumped up.  

Another actually involved them getting into a tank of water and swimming. It went below several feet of flooring, and they had to find the correct key to open up the door at the other end. All while holding their breath.  

“Several of the tests I had to undergo while here involved swimming and searching for things,”  Nezu  had said before they entered the tank. “This was not a trap that was easy to get through quickly, so I avoided this intersection when escaping. Only the security guards and the scientists who were going to the testing labs did, since they were often there all day. It also had other ways to deactivate temporarily with a key card, which I did not have nor considered getting.”  

This trap was one where  Tsu  could thrive. It took her no time flat to reach the other side and find the right key, so it was agreed that she would dive in and once it was open, signal for  Midoriya  to follow.  

Midoriya  and  Tsu  never came in quite as close an encounter with serious injury since the first trap, and it was all thanks to Nezu’s guidance. Most consequences remained within the walls of the corridors, never rearing their ugly faces at them.  

The two teenagers got more glimpses of rooms as they walked by, most covered in dust and cobwebs. Instruments and examination tables were strewn about in an unorderly fashion, as though they had been left in a hurry. Spiders and other insects bustled about over the floors.  

“ Midoriya .”   Midoriya  froze in his tracks when he heard the voice of his principal whisper in his ear piece.  

It was then that he noticed he had taken a step or two towards one room, where the door was ajar, hanging off of its hinges. There were file cabinets and white boards with words written over them, some of which had caught his attention: Unknown… white… comprehensive thought… asset…  

In his fascination, he realized he was breaking one of Nezu’s rules, and attempted to enter an area that was not advised to enter.  

“Please,”  Nezu whispered again, and  Midoriya  could hear the heaviness and heartache in the word.  

The boy instantly pulled his foot back and then backed away from the doorway. He squeezed his fists together and looked at the floor. “Sorry,” he murmured.  

Tsu  placed a comforting hand on his shoulder before encouraging him to continue down the chosen path with her.  

Another trap they came to stretched over the length of an examination room. It involved monkey-bar-like crossing, where each bar had a separate  colour  and letter on it. According to Nezu, the moment they grabbed on, spikes covered in a poisonous substance would rise out of the floor and remain there until they had crossed. The fall wasn’t high enough to kill them if they fell, but the poison would be slow and painful.  

They had to spell the words Greater Good by following the  colours  of a rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet.  

“The more we go through these, the more it scares me to think what they did to Principal Nezu while he was here,”  Tsu  said, as she tucked away the wrapper of her protein bar once they had eaten their snacks.  

Midoriya  silently agreed, as he made sure his gloves were secure. “They must have used the poison on him at some point,” he said. “I wonder how many times…”  

“Or, he just read about it in a book.”  

He looked over his shoulder at his friend and smiled pitifully, seeing the fear in her eyes. “Yeah,” he said. “It was probably that. They probably had him read up on it so he’d know what he’d be in for.”  

They stood up and stared down the corridor before looking up and examining the bars near the ceiling. They were old and rusted, but there were still faint traces of  colours  on them.  

“Maybe they used it on Subject Number 001,”  Midoriya  said in a mutter. “Principal Nezu did say the traps are meant to keep them from escaping.”  

“I hope not,”  Tsu  said, rubbing her wrists. “I don’t like the idea of anything being experimented on in here. Whatever Principal Nezu went through, it must have been ten times worse for them.”  

Midoryia  cracked his knuckles and swung his arms around. “Okay, let’s do this,” he said with a deep breath. “ Tsu , prop me up so I can reach the bars, please.”  

Tsu  wrapped her tongue around  Midoriya’s  waist. Once she had a good grip on him, she raised him up. He reached out his arms and as soon as he had a grasp on the bar,  Tsu  released him. He yelped at the sudden pull gravity had on him and then shuddered when he heard the spikes snap out of the floor below him. He laughed nervously before looking down at his friend. “ Uraraka  would be super useful here, huh?” he said.  

“She’d be useful only on this trap so far,”  Tsu  said. “All the others would have ended up triggering something.” She looked at the spikes, hardly a foot before her. “Mister  Aizawa  was right; your brains and my flexibility are probably the most useful of our class’ Quirks for this mission.”  

“I  dunno ;  Ojiro  could be of help. And  Koda  calling animals or bugs to help would be handy in some of them—!”  

“No.”  

Midoriya  and  Tsu  fell silent when they heard Nezu mutter the word in their earpiece.  

“Too risky.”  

They waited to see if he would say why, as he seemed to always have a reason why he disagreed with them, but the receiver went silent after that.  

Midoriya  decided not to question it and looked down at  Tsu . “I’ll spell the words out, and you grab onto the bars I grab,” he said, swinging his legs back and forth.  

Tsu  hopped up as soon as he had moved away from the first bar. He muttered the  colour  and letter of the next bar he would grab, and  Tsu  would take a mental note of it before moving on.  

It was slow, seeing as  Midoriya  was not as nimble on bars as she was, but  Tsu  did not mind. It would take some time before her arms were tired of hanging on.  

So,  she decided to start up a conversation, seeing as it was brainless work for her book savvy friend. “You figured  Ochaco  would be the  handiest  out of all our classmates,  Midoriya ,” she said. “Is there a reason why?”  

Midoriya  moved onto the next letter and swung back and forth. “No,” he said. “I just figured the whole gravity-part could be avoided if she was here.” He muttered the next letter and  colour  and moved on.  

Tsu  took another step forward and hung there as he figured out the next. “Really? Because you said her name pretty quickly,” she said. She looked down at the spikes before taking another swing to the next bar. “You know, the girls are seeing a bit of a pattern, and from what I heard from Aoyama, it seems like there’s one with you too.”  

“What are you talking about?”  

“Do you have a crush on  Ochaco ,  Midoriya ?”  

Midoriya  gasped and his hand slipped from the bar he was reaching for. He swung awkwardly for a moment, regaining his balance before reaching for the bar again. “ Wh - wh -what ?” he squeaked, turning his head and looking at  Tsu , his face already beet red.  

Tsu  smiled. “You do, don’t you?” she said.  

“N-n-n-n-no!  Wh - wh -what would make you think that?!”  

“Just the way you talk to her and the way you make her laugh. Your cheeks go all pink when she does.”  

Midoriya  squeaked and looked away while huffing. “I-I-I-I-I just get nervous speaking to girls,  th - th -that’s all,” he scoffed, but his ears began to burn. He looked up at the next bar they needed to grab, swung his legs back and forth to gain momentum, and leaped for it, snagging it with both hands.  “I was nervous talking to you at first too.”

Tsu  reached for the next bar with her tongue and hung there, arms crossed. “You don’t seem to get nervous around her,” she said.

“ Uraraka  is just a friend, just a classmate; just like you!”  Midoriya  snapped, leaping for the next bar.  Tsu  leaped for the next one ahead of her and grabbed it with her hands, and once she was  there  he turned and glared at her. “This is not an appropriate time for this type of conversations,  Tsu ,” he scolded. “That’s something you could have brought up in the van, not over certain death!”  

“You would have answered me if I asked in the van?”  Tsu  asked, a curious gleam in her eyes as she tilted her head.  

Midoriya  groaned and looked away, face burning. “There’s no crush,” he said, his voice still quivering. “I don’t have a crush on  Uraraka !”  

Tsu  grinned a little more, enjoying the stuttering mess she had made of her friend. She had been thinking of a way to defuse the tension of their mission, but she had not expected it to be this interesting.   

“Alright, you don’t, I guess,” she said with a shrug. She watched him move forward before leaping for the next bar and swinging there.  

“What about Todoroki, then?”  

*****  

The shriek at the other end of his audio piece would have terrified him, had he not known what the context of the conversation was. Since he did, his ears merely folded backwards, as though in attempt to block the sound from shattering his eardrums. Nezu shut his eyes tightly, trying not to show any emotion in front of the two officers sitting nearby, studying the heat sensors.  

“ Tsuyu ! Stop it!”  

“Well, do you? You like hanging out around him a lot too.”  

“Please stop, I can’t concentrate anymore—!”  

“You were at the first O in Good, Ribbit. I have a good memory as well, heh.”  

Midoriya  whimpered.  

Nezu had his chin sitting over his paws for the past fifteen minutes now, just staring in tently  at the lab doors up ahead. At first, he was lost in thought, thinking back to his days spent here; but that was interrupted by  Midoriya’s  stuttering at  Tsu’s  clear attempt at starting a friendly conversation to ease the fear she felt.  

Unfortunately, it raised the tension the boy clearly felt, and his responses were enough to irritate the principal.  

Nezu hated losing his patience on his students, but now was not a good time to play games, especially when he was already concerned for their safety.  

“Am I not allowed to just hang out with my friends?”  

“Friends can be crushes too, Ribbit.”  

“Are you enjoying this?”    

“A little.”  

Midoriya  stopped momentarily to mutter the next bar letter and  colour . “The Principal is on the other end; he can hear everything you say!”  

“Who’s your secret crush,  Midoriya ? We all know you have one.”  

“ Tsuyu , PLEASE! I BEG YOU!”  

Nezu waited for  Tsu  to giggle before letting out a loud groan, catching the attention of  Tsukauchi  and  Tamakawa . It was the most frustrated groan anyone had heard Nezu utter.  

The animal pressed a digit against his earpiece. “The whole point to a secret crush, Miss  Asui , is keeping it a secret,” he said.  

There was no response on the other end.  

“Also,  Midoriya , please refrain from screaming so loudly in response to a question. I truly thought your life was at stake again. You must learn not to let your emotions get the better of you under pressure.”  

“Yessir, Principal Nezu.”  

Nezu rubbed his temples and let out a sigh. “Let me know when you two have crossed the trap,” he muttered before lowering his volume and burying his face in his paws.  

Tamakawa  was chuckling behind his hand as  Tsukauchi  cleared his throat with a smile. “Teenagers?” he said behind a laugh.  

“No matter how long I live, nor how far I surpass human intelligence,” Nezu said, “I will never understand what makes the mind of an adolescent tick.” He peeked between his digits. “It doesn’t help that I never got to live out those years like a normal person.”  

“They’re just making for small talk. They know it should be quiet, but they have been in there for a few hours now. Kids will be kids.”  

Nezu hummed and passed his hands down his face. “Yes,” he said, with a weak smile. “I just wish they would behave like them without giving me a heart attack.” He fell silent for a moment as  Tsukauchi  and  Tamakawa  returned to their work, before adding, with a scoff, “Crushes. Goodness.”  

The two officers snickered.  

*****  

Chapter Text

The sun had reached its highest point in the sky by the time Tsukauchi had relayed their progress to the Chief. It was slow, but they were still progressing faster than he had anticipated, and twice as fast as they had with their own officers.

Nezu was certainly a good asset to their team.

“Don’t let him catch you calling him that, though,” Itsuki said, while lighting another cigarette.

Tsukauchi, about to head back to Tamakawa and Nezu, stopped and looked over his shoulder. “What?” he said.

“An asset. Nezu hates being called an asset to his face.” Itsuki put away his lighter and blew out a puff of smoke. “Anything that would label him as an item makes his fur stand on end.”

Tsukauchi turned to look at him. “Even if it just means he’s a valuable person?” he said.

“Nezu is very particular with things, Tsukauchi,” Itsuki said, staring at the lab. “He doesn’t need to be told he’s valuable because he already knows he is.”

Itsuki inhaled his cigarette and then pulled the stick out of his mouth, exhaling a large cloud of smoke. “Because of whatever happened here, Nezu was very quick to shoot down any compliment we’d give him, if it could also be given to an object,” he continued. “I think half of it had to do with the fact that he doesn’t trust humans easily. Children are a different story altogether; he seems to appreciate their purity and innocence, and never takes anything they say to heart if it’s insulting. He’s proud and aware of his physical features that may arise questions in some—like his fur, his scar or even the type of animal he is—and he always has a clever response. But when it came to congratulating him on a job well done, especially when it came to his Quirk, he would nod it off politely. And he’d either twitch an ear or an eyelid, wrinkle his nose or nod very coldly if we said he was a valuable asset or something special.”

Itsuki exhaled smoke again. “Being addressed as the animal with a Quirk also got on his nerves, though it was less of a problem for him,” he said. “He understood why people would address him as such. But addressing him in a way you would address an inanimate object rubbed him the wrong way. He’s very well-mannered and will never sound curt when he speaks. That’s why his unhinged madness was frightening; you never knew when it came or how creepy it could sound. Today is the only time I’ve ever heard him speak with a cold tone to anyone, and it’s understandable, given the situation. But even in his peppiness and optimistic tone, you could feel the chill down your spine if he spoke and he was not pleased with something you said. He knew he deserved the same respect any other officer deserved at the Police Force, and he was damn good at getting it. And yet, he was still compassionate as hell and put other’s lives before his.”

He sucked on his cigarette again and released more smoke. “That’s what made it hard to see him leave the Force when he was offered the position of History Teacher at UA,” he concluded. “Everyone thought he’d be better off in a high leadership position. He could work for the Prime Minister, or the Emperor, for crying out loud. He’s had lunch with them on numerous occasions. But he chose to teach the next generation of heroes, because he believed they could be better than those who came before them.”

The Chief took a deep breath and looked at Tsukauchi again. “Bottom line; don’t compliment him if the word you’re going to use can be given to an object,” he said. “Even if it can be given to a person, any relations he can make to the way he was treated here will not go over well with him. Compliment him like you would a child… he likes that. Makes him feel more human.”

Tsukauchi watched him smoke in silence for a moment before looking at his phone. “You know him better than I thought,” he said, looking up again. “You must have enjoyed working with him.”

Itsuki chuckled, half coughing. “Feared him seventy-five percent of the time,” he said, “But when he was in a good mood, Nezu was as reliable as All Might could be. He was never afraid to speak his mind, and he was equally as gentle if he sensed your anxiety was peaking. Pro Heroes all over Tokyo would give an arm and a leg to work with him. You can imagine the frustration it caused them when they learned he had quit the force to become a teacher.” He inhaled his cigarette again. “The only Pro who stayed in constant connection with him was All Might.”

They fell silent for a moment before the Chief groaned and hoisted himself up against the tree he was sitting against. “That aside, make sure he doesn’t do anything crazy,” he said. “I don’t doubt Nezu for a second, but because he had the bright idea of bringing in two kids, his emotions may go out of whack. He dropped everything for All Might that first time he fought against All For One… I don’t want to begin to think what he would do if those kids of his got into a tight situation.”

Itsuki side-eyed Tsukauchi. “Keep an eye on him,” he said, his voice filled with concern.

Tsukauchi looked on in silence before nodding and heading back to his partner. He already knew Nezu was capable of jumping the gun—he probably had a plan B for such a situation already.

“Nezu is usually collected, but when he needs to pull out a plan B super-fast, he can do it at the risk of his life,” All Might had warned him that afternoon at UA. “Typical Pro Hero instinct. It doesn’t cloud his judgement; he’s too smart for that. I want Young Midoriya to learn how to make wise choices in the face of his emotions, something he can benefit from Nezu, but those labs might awaken something dormant that Nezu hasn’t had to face in years; and that’s the fight or flight instinct of an animal. Make sure that doesn’t mix with his experience as a Pro Hero.”

Tsukauchi heaved a heavy sigh at the thought and passed a hand over his face. Pros can be so exhausting to work with, he thought.

*****

Chapter Text

Noon came and went. Dark blue clouds began settling in overhead, and a cool breeze made the treetops rustle. It was not enough to bother the officers on the forest floor, but the clouds did bring the risk of rain.  

Nezu turned over his coat collar to hug the sides of his face, and kept a constant vigil over the blueprints and the heat sensors on the tablet— Tsukauchi  had put it down to eat and discuss any extra course of action with  Tamakawa  once they retrieved the information, which allowed Nezu to visually keep an eye on his students.  

So far, everything ran smoothly. A few times,  Midoriya  and  Tsu  ran into dilemmas, often due to fallen debris, but most of their course was done effortlessly.  

Now and then the students broke into casual conversation about classes, grades and even theories about the League of Villains.  Tsu  would at times grow nervous about her surroundings, so like a good friend  Midoriya  would ease the tension by saying a joke—or rather trying to—or playing a game until they reached the next trap.  

Nezu sat, elbows over the tree root and paws clasped together. He rested his chin over his hands, eyes shifting from the tablet to the blueprint, to the lab yards ahead of them. Whenever the students broke into conversation, and whenever  Midoriya  would try to cheer  Tsu  up, he could not help but smile, even if it was sadly. He had to often tell them quietly to listen to their surroundings, cutting their conversations short.  

He felt a mix of pride and guilt, for putting them in the positions they were in. Pride because he knew he had chosen the right students for the job— Midoriya’s  enthusiasm whenever they reached a puzzle trap, and how Nezu could just picture him swinging his fist victoriously through the air when he muttered “Yes!” secretly, and Tsu with her keen senses and happy little croaks as she made it through puzzles. Nezu loved hearing them enjoy themselves and feel like they were accomplishing something great.  

However, it did not erase the fact that this place was dangerous. And putting two children in there when he should be the one facing the darkness of his past, left Nezu feeling desperate for the mission to conclude. He would never forgive himself if either child got injured.  

“Nearly two and already they’re nearly there,”  Tsukauchi  said, making Nezu’s ears perk. “I know that’s six hours, but I doubt we’d be anywhere near this far without you guys, Nezu. Midoriya and Asui  are making amazing time, thanks to you.”  

“Mm,” Nezu said, not tearing his eyes off of the laboratories.  

There was a pause, during which they could hear the distant drum of thunder.  

“Nezu, Sir?”  Tsukauchi  said, making the animal’s ears twitch again. “Are you alright?”  

Nezu did not reply, nor did he look at the man. He said nothing for a moment, taking in the fresh, humid smell of rain in the distance.  

He could feel the two officers’ eyes on him.  

“I don’t like this anymore,” Nezu said, more or less to himself. His ears flattened. “Or even less so than before… Something doesn’t feel right.”  

He heard  Tsukauchi  shift positions. “Are the traps too easy?” he said in a low voice.  

“No; nothing about the traps,” Nezu replied, still keeping his eyes on the lab. “Those are all the same. Without me, your men would probably all be in critical condition, if not dead.” He shifted positions and pulled his tail closer to him. “It’s just… a familiar feeling. I remember the way my fur would stand on end when I felt the foreboding shadow of power drape over me…”  

Nezu shuddered and his nose wrinkled. “The feeling of dread… when you've missed something obvious, the zing of electricity coursing through your nerves from the collar you wore, and the burning bite of a hypodermic needle awaited to give your skin a kiss of fire,” he said, lowering his voice to a whisper again. “The feeling when you were forced to show submission, otherwise suffer the consequences… And the seeds would come out of that tiny bag…” He wrapped his tail around his legs and took a deep breath. “I haven’t felt like this in over a decade.”  

His ears flicked as he addressed his next words to the detective. “There are five more traps before they reach the security room,” he said. “Let me know when they’ve reached the door. It will be to their right, once they turn left down the next corridor. Two traps from now.”  

“Does the intersection have a trap?”  Tsukauchi  said, grabbing the tablet.  

“Yes. A sort of hopscotch trap, unlike the other intersections. They’ll need to hit the right spaces with the correct answers to the matching math questions.”  

The man nodded and settled back with the tablet in his hands. Nezu shook off another shudder, but never pulled his eyes from the building. Another distant rumbling of thunder.  

An audible gasp came over his ear piece. It was  Tsu .  

“What?”  he heard  Midoriya  say.  

“Did you see that?”  

Nezu’s ears immediately stood on end, and he lifted his head a little. Tsukauchi and  Tamakawa looked at him.  

“See what?”  

“Ribbit… I don’t know. It moved too quickly.”  

“Where was it?”  

“Down there.”  

Nezu felt his heartrate hasten.  

“Maybe it was a trick of the eye… It’s so dark, even with these upgrades on my goggles I can’t see that well…”  

“It might be your mind. You have been getting uneasy with the place.”  

There was a pause, an incredibly uneasy one. Nezu slowly set his paws down against the root of the tree, and subconsciously began digging his claws into the bark.  

His chest moved up and down.  

“Yeah… it’s probably that.”  

“I’m here with you, remember? We’re both in this together.”  

“Uh-huh. Ribbit.”  

“Let’s keep moving. The next trap should be right up ahead. We’ll be in and out of that room sooner than you think.”  

“Okay. You’re right. Besides; we’ve faced worse, right?”  

“You bet.”  

Nezu did not realize his breathing had gotten so shallow until Tamakawa asked if he was alright. The rodent cast the cat a quick glance before staring back at the laboratories with wide eyes. “Tsukauchi,” he said, almost in a trance.  

“Yeah?” Tsukauchi said.  

“As soon as the information is retrieved… I want my students out the fastest way possible.”  

Tsukauchi and Tamakawa looked at each other.  

“And I’ll have a little job for your men.”  

*****  

Chapter Text

Knock, knock-knock!  

Aizawa looked up from having his head in his hands, reading through more paper sprawled over the principal’s desk. The office was so large and so quiet, any small sound was enough to startle him. It was impossible to take a nap there. 

When the cheerful sounding knock came over the mahogany doors, he jumped up in surprise, sending papers fluttering to the ground around him. He gasped softly, looked about, before clearing his throat. “Come in,” he said. When silence followed, he groaned, forgetting how large the room was again. “Come in,” he repeated, much louder. 

The door clicked and opened. In ran Eri, her white hair tied in a braid behind her, a large red ribbon tied at its base. She smiled brightly, running in with her arms out wide. “Hello, Mister Aizawa!” she exclaimed with a laugh, skipping towards him. 

Aizawa sat up straight upon seeing her and then looked up at her current sitter, who closed the door behind him as he followed the girl in at a much slower pace with a book tucked under his arm. The blond-haired man smiled over his reading spectacles, his bright blue eyes glistening amusement. 

Aizawa narrowed his eyes and glared at his coworker. 

“Having fun, Mister Principal?” All Might teased. 

“Don’t test my patience,” Aizawa said behind clenched teeth. 

The older man chuckled and shrugged. 

“If I wouldn’t have known better, I would’ve thought you were enjoying this form of torture.” 

All Might stopped in front of the desk, just as the erasure hero picked his charge up. “Nezu would never torture his faculty,” he said, though the tone of his voice said otherwise. 

“ You  haven’t worked for him long enough yet,” Aizawa said as he set Eri down on his lap. He looked at the papers spread out over his desk and sighed with a groan. “I knew he did a lot of work, since he is the principal, but I never realized  how  much. I thought he only had phone meetings and a handful of paperwork to do a day—turns out I hardly have a second to even  close  my eyes. And that’s not counting the crap he needs to deal with about the League of Villains and the Commissioner General.” 

“Yeah; that’s how Nezu likes it. He drinks his tea in the morning and in the evening, and then he hops from meeting to meeting, to his third-year class and then back to meetings and paperwork. Once a week he’ll have a spare to go visit Recovery Girl, maybe more if he’s lucky, but usually he spends that time reading a book.” 

Aizawa slammed his forehead against the desk. 

All Might choked on a laugh. “I thought you knew that,” he said. “Mister  You-Haven’t-Worked-For-Him-Long-Enough-Yet.”  

Eri leaned over, placing a hand on her guardian’s back while asking him if he was okay. Aizawa raised his head without replying to her, and proceeded to glare at All Might in exhaustion. “The amount of energy that rodent has for someone of his age and stature perplexes me,” he said. “I was so stressed, I was this close to throwing a book at Present Mic when he came in earlier to ask if I was okay.” 

“I thought you would have enjoyed doing that.” 

“Oh shut  up,  Old Man.” 

All Might shrugged while grinning from ear to ear. 

“Are you sure he didn’t just put you in charge and you’re using this opportunity to get back at me for something?” Aizawa said, as Eri began braiding his thick ebony hair. 

All Might spread out his arms “What do I have to get back at you for?” he said. 

“I dunno. I must have done something to irritate you.” 

“I always thought it was the other way around.” 

“How so?” 

All Might flexed and immediately transformed into his muscular self. 

Eri cheered, throwing her arms into the air. 

“Anytime Eraser-Head needs a new reason to hate his job,  I AM HERE!”  All Might said flamboyantly, flashing his trademark toothy smile. 

Aizawa wrinkled his nose as Eri clapped and giggled in his lap. “Are you  trying  to vex me?” he said. 

All Might transformed back to his regular form and smoothed off his sleeves. “Lighten up, Aizawa; it’s not like he left you in charge for the rest of the school year,” he said, setting down the book he had on the desk. And squatting down to pick up the papers that had fallen earlier. “To be honest, I thought you’d be honored that he chose you to fill in for him this week.” 

“How would giving me work to do while my class is out be an honor?” Aizawa said, as Eri continued to braid his hair. 

“Because he doesn’t trust anyone but you to do it. Why do you think he asked you and not Vlad King? His class is out for the week too, remember?” 

Aizawa fell silent at these words. He watched All Might pick up the rest of the papers and set them down in a pile on the desk. 

“So what is all of this?” 

“Just the forms from the Pro Heroes who took in our students for internships. I was organizing them and just making sure I signed all of mine and Vlad signed all of his before filing them away.” 

Aizawa held up one form and handed it to his coworker. All Might took it and adjusted his glasses in order to see it clearly. 

“This is Midoriya’s form,” he said. “Asui’s is the same.” 

All Might’s eyes scanned over the page until they had reached the bottom, where the signatures were. He furrowed his brow. “Nezu didn’t put a date on it,” he said, looking at Aizawa. 

“He didn’t really sign them either,” Aizawa said. “He only put his initial:  N. ” 

“It’s incomplete. That’s not like him.” 

“He was distracted. By something.” 

All Might rubbed his chin thoughtfully. 

“I’m beginning to think he was not completely on par taking our students with him to this laboratory of his,” Aizawa continued, crossing his arms over his chest. 

All Might passed a hand over his face and through his hair as he let out a sigh. Bringing his hand to rest on the back of his neck, he looked out the windows that overlooked the schoolyard. 

“I know he trusts Midoriya and Asui to do their best, and I will never question his judgement. But if  he  was scared of that place, then I can’t seem to understand why he would take two students with him. It’s not like him.” 

All Might shook his head, muttering his agreement. 

“Should we send backup? You know him better than I do when it comes to Field Missions.” 

The Retired Pro shook his head again while turning to face his coworker. “If we send backup, that’ll weaken his trust in us,” he said. “He hates it when people don’t believe in his strength. It’s a pride thing.” He sighed again. “And that’s if we even got help to him in time; I don’t even know where those Labs are located.” 

“I don’t care about his pride right now; I care about my students coming back safe and sound,” Aizawa said with a frown and a clenched fist. “And about getting  him  back in one piece.” 

“Even if he had told us to send help if we didn’t hear back from him, we don’t know enough about those Laboratories to be of any aid,” All Might argued, although his voice was gentle. “That was a part of his past that I never asked to hear more of than what he told me.” 

After an awkward moment of silence, Eri set a hand down on her guardian’s chest, patting it. “Mister Aizawa?” she said. “Is Deku in trouble?” 

Aizawa looked at her and put a hand on hers before letting out a sigh. “I trust him, All Might,” he said before looking at his coworker. “I trust Nezu more than most people I know. But this sends me shivers up my spine. There’s got to be more than just their Quirks or intelligence for Nezu to want Midoriya and Tsu to join him. I trust him to keep them safe, but he knows the risk he’s taking, bringing two kids on such a dangerous, little-known mission.” 

“We don’t know if it’s as dangerous as we think it is,” All Might said, trying to remain positive. 

“If Nezu asked for  two  interns, and packed an entire  backpack  to boot, then it’s not a walk in the woods to explore an abandoned lab.” 

“I’m trying to ease  my  nerves as much as yours, Aizawa. Please consider that before you respond.” 

Aizawa fell silent at these words. 

“We just have to keep trusting Nezu is going to take care of them. It’s all we can do for now. Until he calls us.” 

Aizawa pulled out his cellphone and looked at it. It was just past noon, and not a single email or text from the principal. 

“Right,” Aizawa muttered, stroking Eri’s head. “Trust him.” 

Never had those words been so hard for him to swallow. 

***** 

Chapter Text

Upon his request, Nezu had  Tsukauchi  connect another two-way radio to the frequency that the students were using to communicate with Nezu on their ear pieces. It took a few minutes of Nezu asking  Midoriya  to constantly speak so they could catch the right frequency, but eventually it was found and the detective was then able to hear everything the children said.  

He did not bother asking the principal why he suddenly wanted him to be on the same frequency. By the look in the animal’s face, Nezu was aware of something that made him anxious enough that he wanted  Tsukauchi’s  ears on the conversation now as well.  

“ Midoriya , can you hear me?” the man said, holding the radio up to his mouth.  

There was a bit of static before someone responded. “Yep, loud and clear, Detective,” the boy responded.  

“Perfect.”  Tsukauchi  looked at Nezu, giving him the reigns again.  

The rodent did not return the stare, and instead continued trailing his fingers across the blueprint. “Intersection Hopscotch trap,” he muttered. “That’s the next one, my boy.”  

“Got it, Principal Nezu.”  

“I know math is one of your strongest classes.”  

“I mean, I enjoy it, yes.”  

“You will need your brain on this one. I don’t remember the questions that will be scribbled over the tiles, but I remember the answers. Each tile in the intersection has an equation you must solve, and I have the answers for each correct one.  So,  solve the equation, read it back to me with the answer and Hop across. The wrong tile will be brittle and break, taking you down at least three floors.”  

“Oh my god… Um…”  

“You can do it.  I’ve  seen the way you think in exams.”  

It was clear that  Midoriya  had heard the hastiness in Nezu’s compliment— Tsukauchi  could just feel the boy hesitate to respond because of it. But he did, and boldly at that.  

“You solve the question,  Midoriya ; I’ll hop across the tiles,”   Tsu  said. “I’ll grab you with my tongue afterwards.”  

“Th-thanks,  Tsu . I appreciate it.”  

Tsukauchi  listened as  Midoriya  read back the equations after solving each. His voice had a quiver in it, most likely due to knowing what the consequences to guessing them wrong would be. Nezu had a quiver in his voice as well when he said which tiles were correct, but it was more due to his desire to hasten the mission. Whatever conversation he had heard the children have earlier, it had made him tense and desperate to get the children out.  

Once  Tsu  had begun hopping across the tiles, clearly confident in  Midoriya’s  solving abilities, her classmate began to show more signs of courage, and his voice grew more stable. When Tsu had successfully crossed the gap, the boy let out a nervous laugh and then relayed the success to his principal before having  Tsu  pull him over.  

“Three more traps, Children,” Nezu said before covering his face. “Three more traps,” he added in a whisper, more or less to himself.  

Tsukauchi  watched him breathe heavily as the children congratulated themselves, but did not ask if he was alright.  

Clearly,  he was not.  

*****  

Chapter Text

The three next traps were just as dangerous as the several others the children had gone through, but after the hopscotch one they were less stressful for Midoriya. He had never enjoyed dark pits or falling to his doom. He knew the iron soles of his boots were heavy too, so he had been worried it would bring down the rest of the floor. The next puzzles were a cinch compared to this one. 

Midoriya pulled his mask off of his head and looked up at the thick steel door that stood before them. It was not pristine quality, and it had its blemishes, but it seemed much sturdier and thicker than all the other doors they passed by on their way to their destination. 

He took a deep breath and placed his hands on his hips, holding out his chest with pride. “We’re here, Principal Nezu,” he said, just as Tsu pushed up her own goggles. “We made it to the Security Room.” 

“Fantastic!” he heard Tsukauchi say. “Good job, Kids.” 

“How do we get in now?” 

“The security pad to your right,” Nezu replied. “You need the correct security code. Or a keycard, which I don’t have.” 

“Right.” Midoriya pulled off his glove and held his index finger at the ready. “What’s the password?” 

“4732837*4663.” 

Midoriya and Tsu paused and looked at each other. That combination spelled Greater Good if dialed on a phone keypad. 

“And after three seconds, add in 001.” 

Midoriya furrowed his brow. “You mean for Subject—!” 

“Please, Midoriya. Just do as I say.” 

“Uh, yessir.” Without another question, Midoriya did as he was told and typed in the combination, waited three seconds and did the next one. 

A deep click emanated from within the door, making the students jump in surprise. Midoriya then pressed his hands against the door and pushed it open. 

It opened with surprising ease, something he would not have expected from a door in a building that had been abandoned for a decade. 

The room was dark inside, and there was just as much dust as there was in any other room in the facility. However, it seemed more disturbed. There were partial footprints on the floor in the dust and dirt, which certainly meant someone had been in the room before. 

To their right upon entering, was the massive computer system and monitors. The entire wall was covered in monitors. There were blinking red lights under most, indicating that it the system was on standby. 

Midoriya frowned as Tsu walked over to the computers. Someone had certainly been using the system, but something felt off about it. Especially considering this seemed to be the only room that had been disturbed. It was as though the League of Villains were extremely familiar with the trap placements and how to avoid them. 

That felt like too much of a coincidence, but Midoriya had no time to think it through before Tsu beckoned him over to the controls. 

“Are you in front of the computers?” Nezu asked. 

Tsu pulled an old office chair over as Midoriya arrived. “Uh-huh,” she said as her classmate looked for the power button. 

“Good. Turn it on then—!” 

The words had hardly been uttered when Midoriya brushed his hand over an old mouse and the system hummed to life. The boy yelped and jumped back as the monitors all lit up, casting the dark room into an eerie pale light. 

“Uh,” Midoriya said, looking at Tsu. “… Looks like it was only on standby, Sir.” 

“Standby?” 

“Yeah… As though someone had been using it recently.” 

Tsu wrinkled her nose, and when she looked at Midoriya, he could tell that she too felt uneasy about this discovery. 

“That doesn’t seem right,” Tsukauchi spoke up. “Even after a week of being on standby it would need a moment to startup again.” 

Nezu let out a frustrated groan. “It could have been left on for twenty years for all I care,” he said hastily. “We just need to get that blasted information and get out of here. Midoriya, do you have the key?” 

Tsu pushed the chair towards Midoriya as he took a seat on it in front of the controls. “Yessir,” he said, pulling out the USB. 

“Alright. Is there a sign in screen?” 

“Yeah.” 

“The password is GGRL-SubNum-001*Shirakura.” 

Midoriya did not question the spelling of the password this time, but he did ponder it as he typed it in. Shirakura was the name of the mountain not too far from where they were situated, and he had a feeling the other parts of the password had to do with the name of the lab and this mysterious Subject Number 001. 

Upon clicking enter, the screens lit up to show various security cameras around the laboratory. The larger ones had data lines processing over them, with smaller windows popping up asking for authorization keys to pass. 

Midoriya felt Tsu place a hand on his shoulder and squeeze it. They had no idea the cameras in the entire facility had been on the entire time they were traversing it. For all they knew, someone or something had been watching their every move. 

Midoriya held her hand for a brief moment before pulling out the USB key. They both refrained from mentioning it to Nezu, afraid it would make him more anxious than he already was. He found the port to put in the USB and pressed it in. 

The screens flickered and went black. Lines of data ran through them, windows with smaller bars filling with blue light indicated that information was being uploaded. Midoriya guessed this to be the hacking key to get passed all the passwords Nezu had made the night before. 

“It’s working,” Midoriya said, although he was not surprised. “Your hack is working, Principal Nezu.” 

There was no reply right away. “Let me know when it’s done processing,” the rodent said almost in a whisper. 

Midoriya continued to watch the key do its job, unable to contain his excitement. He grinned and clasped his hands together and tried holding in an excited squeal. 

Tsu’s pat on his shoulder indicated that she was teasing him, but he did not mind. 

Her grip suddenly tightened for a moment, but before he could ask what was wrong he heard a distant clink as though something had been knocked to the floor. He spun around in his chair to look in the direction of the sound as well. 

They heard another clink but then the shadows fell silent. Midoriya squeezed his fists and looked at Tsu, who was biting her bottom lip. 

“Progress report, please.” 

Midoriya spun back around to face the computers when his principal spoke. He looked at the largest screen, just in time to see the last password being hacked. Then it reflected the desktop of an ordinary computer. 

“It worked,” Midoriya said as he held out his hand so that Tsu could pass him the proper flashdrive. “You said there were three other passwords to get through?” 

“Yes, as soon as you put in the new flashdrive and then two as you explore the desktop,” Nezu said. “But they’re easy to remember.” 

“USB is in. Fire away, Sir.” 

“The first is GGRL001.” Nezu paused until Midoriya told him to continue with the next. “The next two are GGRL*001 and GGRL**001.” 

“That’s so… mundane compared to the other ones.” 

“All the humans who worked here were mundane, my boy.” 

Midoriya made sure to continue typing as he spoke, even though another sound in the background made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. For all he knew, it was probably just the foundation of the building shifting, making things fall. Which was still a good reason to leave as soon as possible. 

He grabbed the mouse and began going through folders on the desktop. “Alright, what should I look out for?” he asked. 

Tsu leaned over his shoulder. “What about that one?” she said, pointing at a folder on the screen. 

Midoriya squinted to see better. All the folders in the documents file were labeled with codes and numbers, but this one said very plainly, BASE INFORMATION. 

“That feels too easy, but okay,” he said, clicking on the file. 

Inside that folder were hundreds of folders named various things. 

“Wwwow. Okay, now it’s a maze.” 

“But it’s still easy,” Tsu said. “I mean they’re all labeled something, but their first letters are the initials LOV.” 

Midoriya snickered. “That’s almost as bad as my mom’s file naming ability,” he said. “Love you Mom, but you were always horrible at hiding your tax info.” 

“Are you sure you’re not a villain?” 

“If I was, I wouldn’t name my group with the same initials as love.” 

Tsu covered a giggle, which made Midoriya chuckle as well. 

There was some rustling over their audio pieces. “Maybe you two should try sticking to getting the files on the USB,” Tsukauchi said. “Just to get things done quickly.” 

“I hate breaking happy moments, but it is making me rather anxious,” Nezu added. 

Midoriya nodded and backed out of the folder. “Want me to just grab the folder screaming Take Me?” he said, refereeing to the one named BASE INFORMATION. 

“Yes, just take it all Midoriya,” Tsukauchi said. “We can go through it at Headquarters.” 

The boy did as he was told and dragged the folder to copy it onto the USB drive. “All in all, I think this was a success,” he said, looking at Tsu with a smile. “Think of what we get to tell the others when we get back to school.” 

“We worked as the principal’s lackeys?” Tsu said, making Midoriya cover a laugh. 

“I’ll laugh at that later,” Nezu muttered over their ear piece. “Let me know when it’s finished downloading, and then I’ll get you to do one last thing, Midoriya.” 

***** 

Chapter Text

The clouds had rolled in outdoors, but despite looking as though they were heavy with rain, only a drizzle came out over them. Easy enough for the canopy above to shield them, but enough to silence the entire forest besides the rain falling. 

A few stray pellets would make their way to the forest floor. Tsukauchi and put on his hat and Tamakawa shook rain from his fur before covering his head with his coat. They pulled the blueprints and the tablet closer to them so as to keep them as dry as possible. “You guys did magnificently,” Tsukauchi spoke into the radio. “All Might and Aizawa will be impressed, I’m sure.” 

“I get the feeling they’ll be more relieved than impressed, Ribbit,” Tsu said. 

“Either way, good work. It’ll be a treat to work with you two when you’re official Pros.” 

He looked at Nezu. The rodent was ignoring the conversation, and the rain on top of that, and only shook it out of his fur when it tickled his nose. He pressed a finger against his earpiece. “How much longer, Midoriya?” he asked, keeping his eyes on the lab. 

“Only a few seconds, Sir,” Midoriya replied. “It’s surprisingly fast for the amount of info I’m copying.” 

“We can worry about that later. I will need you to go into another program after this to disable the traps throughout the laboratories. Think you can handle that?” 

“Absolutely, Principal Nezu.” 

“It just finished downloading,  Midoriya .” 

“I’m ready when you are, Sir. Just tell me what to do.” 

Tsukauchi could see the stress slowly over-powering the rodent. Now that they had retrieved the information, he would have expected the animal to be more relaxed. Instead, Nezu seemed the most stressed he ever had been that whole day, ever since the children entered the room. 

“You’ll need to go into the computer’s registry and type in a few commands,” Nezu began. “Do you know how to locate that?” 

“Yep. Let me pull that up.” 

Tsukauchi could hear faint sounds of the boy typing over the old keyboard, and the hum of the system in the background. He did not expect it to take him longer than a second or two to punch in the start code, but then again, Tsukauchi was not computer savvy. He only knew what he needed to know to do his work at the Police Force. 

Another noise filled the radio, catching his and Tamakawa’s attention. It was the sound of something crashing to the floor. The cat’s ears immediately perked up.

“ Midoriya —!” 

“What the?!” 

A loud screech made the speaker get staticky, and suddenly all the officers were hearing was sounds of a tussle, more screeches and the startled screams of Midoriya and Tsu. Crashing and thumping soon joined the barrage of sounds. 

Tsukauchi grabbed the radio with both hands. “Midoriya?” he shouted. “Midoriya, what’s going on? What’s happening in there?!” 

“Detective— kauchi!”   Midoriya’s  voice shouted, breaking up. “Something jus—from the ventila —stem—!” 

“Midoriya? Is everything alright?” 

“Some  ki ---MONSTER—TSU!” 

He heard Tsu shout out and Midoriya scream her name before the radio went dead silent. 

“Crap,” Tsukauchi said between pants as his heart rate began to race. He tried shaking the radio to get the connection back. When he was unsuccessful, he stuffed the radio into Tamakawa’s arms and pressed a finger against his own ear piece. “Chief Itsuki, we’ve got a situation that needs immediate action.” 

“What?” came the Chief’s gruff reply. 

“The kids got attacked by something in the security room and we’ve lost all communications with them.” 

“Are you shitting me?” 

“What should we do?” 

“I don’t know, dammit! This wasn’t supposed to happen! If the traps haven’t been disabled, I don’t know how to get those kids out safe and sound! Ask Nezu! Make sure he has a plan B through Z!” 

Tsukauchi muttered a curse under his breath and turned to the principal. “Nezu, we need to know if—!” 

He felt his blood freeze and his breath leave him as he stared at the place in the grass where the rodent had been sitting: it was completely vacant. 

Tsukauchi gasped and swung his head around to face the laboratory entrance. 

Dashing through the tall grass towards the building, while tucking something into his side, was a white animal in a dark coat. If not for the colour of his fur, he’d be completely invisible in the tall grass.

Tsukauchi got on his knees and leaned over the tree root. “NEZU! WAIT!” he shouted. 

The animal never looked back and leaped through one of the broken windows of the building, disappearing as quickly as he had rushed over. 

“That was a handgun,” Tamakawa exclaimed, catching the detective’s attention. “He took your handgun with him!” 

Tsukauchi looked down at the grass where he has set his things down, and then looked at his now empty gun holster tied around his side. 

Rustling in the bushes behind them alerted them to the Chief’s rushed arrival. Tsukauchi kept his eyes glued on the building in horror. 

“What the hell was all that yelling about?” Itsuki said through gasps and coughs. “And where’s Nezu?” 

Tamakawa pointed towards the abandoned facility eyes wide. Itsuki followed his arm and his face was drained of all colour. “Are you kidding me?!” he exclaimed. “He ran head first into that place?” 

“We lost connection with the children, so he must have gone in to rescue them,” the cat said. “He knows the place though, right? He can get to them in time.” 

Itsuki groaned behind his hands and pulled on what hair he had left before kicked the tree root. “DAMMIT!” he yelled. “All Might is going to have my head if the Faculty of UA doesn’t get to us first. SHIT!” He kicked the tree root again before storming off. “Keep trying to get any connection with those kids and for goodness sake, get Nezu online!” 

Tamakawa watched him leave before looking worriedly at his partner. “Naomasa?” he said. 

Tsukauchi, still in his frozen state, took a shaky breath. He curled his fingers into fists. “Come on, Nezu,” he whispered, wondering why everything went horribly wrong so quickly. 

***** 

Chapter Text

The attack happened so suddenly,  Midoriya  hardly had a chance to leap out of his chair to avoid getting swat at by sharp claws.  Tsu  had already leaped out of the way, thankfully, but the shrieking shadow gave her chase around the room, knocking into things and throwing them to the floor.  

Midoriya  had the chair knocked onto him and he got back up from the ground in a daze, clearing his mind just in time to avoid being swat at again. He gasped and jumped aside, dodging an attack and grabbing anything he could to throw it at the creature as it stepped into the light of the computer screens.  

It was rabbit-like, with hollowed eyes and giant teeth. Its dark fur was  poorly  kept, matted in some places, and the fur on its tail had withered away to hardly a bald stump. Its ears were torn, parts seemed to have been bitten off. It had an unsettling twitch in its neck every few seconds, which would eventually bother it enough that it would shake its head in an attempt to get rid of it, and then the twitching would continue. A chilling hiss escaped from its mouth as it advanced on its four feet. Each paw was adorned in sharp, yellowed claws, and a yellow tag swung madly from its ear whenever it shook its head.  

The most horrifying feature was how large it was—as large as a  tosa  dog, and just as burly. At this size,  Midoriya  had no idea how strong it was actually capable of delivering a blow.  

The boy  cursed under his breath and grabbed another chair, holding it up in front of him every time the rabbit swung at him. It only survived three slashes though, and burst into pieces on the fourth.  

“Crap!”  Midoriya  threw anything he could find at it as it continued to advance upon him. “What the heck is this thing?” He tried contacting Nezu, but his audio piece had gone completely dead. As far as he knew, they were on their own.  

The rabbit shrieked and leaped for him, landing on top of  Midoriya  and slashing his arm. The boy screamed in pain and grabbed the filing cabinet he fell against. He threw it at the beast to try and gain some ground between it and him.  

The rabbit dodged the cabinet and leaped off of it, landing on  Midoriya  again. The boy fell against the floor and pushed his arms against the creature, trying to keep it from doing any more serious damage than cuts.  

If only he knew how stable the building was; then he’d use one of his attacks. Full cowling would easily smash this creature into the wall and give them the chance to make a run for it.  

But then they’d have to face the traps outside the room.  

Without Nezu.  

He managed to kick the beast off of him and turn over to make a break for it on all fours, scrambling for the entrance to the second part of the security room. The creature scrambled   back to its feet and rushed  Midoriya , only to have  Tsu  leap off of the wall where she hid in camouflage and smash her feet against its chest, landing against the computer controls.  

Midoriya  held his bleeding arm for a moment as he turned over onto his back against the door frame. His hands were also cut and bleeding, thanks to the fact that he had removed his gloves to properly use the computer keyboard, and they were currently lying over the controls near the  flashdrive . He wiped some blood from his cheek injuries and tried propping himself up in his pain.  

The beast had composed itself after being knocked over with incredible speed and was now chasing  Tsu  around the room. She hopped from one wall to the next, landing on the controls to filing cabinets to shelves, anywhere she could push off of that was high enough.  Unfortunately , the rabbit was just as fast and dug its claws into the walls to clamber after with speed Midoriya had never seen a rabbit make.  

The rabbit leaped across the room and ran into  Tsu , knocking her off her path and into some shelves, breaking items on their descent. It slashed open her shoulder, making her scream in pain.  

“ Tsuyu !”  Midoriya  shouted, jumping to his feet. He ran for the creature and swung his foot around, sending a Shoot Style kick into his opponent.  

The rabbit was knocked clean off of  Tsu , barreling across the room and into the wall, sending spider-like cracks up its sides. It fell to the ground in a daze.  

“That hardly knocked it out,”  Tsu  panted as  Midoriya  helped her to her feet.  

“I didn’t try, that’s why,”  Midoriya  replied. “I don’t know if I’ll bring the ceiling down if I kick too hard.”  

They had just made to the steel door when the rabbit jumped back to its feet and landed directly over the door, blocking their exit.  

“Dammit!”  Midoirya  said, yanking  Tsu  out of the way and leaping with her to safety. The rabbit managed to scratch him across the back, making him groan but thankfully not going as deep as the cuts on his chest and his arm.  

The teenagers made a mad dash for the second part of the room, again throwing what they could at the rabbit as they passed.  

The second room was dark, and only parts were cast in light due to the computer screen in the other doorway.  Tsu  turned on the lights she kept on her goggles in case of searches beneath the surface of the water, but just as they got a glimpse of a table or two, some shelves with books and chairs here and there—more filing cabinets—the beast leaped up against their backs and shoved them forward into the tables and shelves with screams.  Tsu’s  lights were knocked out.  

“What is it and how is it that strong?!”  Midoriya  said with a groan, picking up a piece of a broken table and throwing it at the rabbit. He helped  Tsu  back to her feet, and she slipped once or twice thanks to the cuts she had sustained on her legs.  

“We need to get out of here,” she said, as the rabbit got on all fours low against the ground and began approaching them slowly. She stumbled against fallen debris as  Midoriya  continued throwing things at the creature. “We don’t know anything about this thing; and if we’re not careful, this whole building can come down. What do we do?”  

Midoriya  grabbed a shelf, yanked it off of the wall and threw it and its contents at the rabbit. “The door behind us probably takes us to another part of the lab that we’ve never been to, so our best bet is the door we came in from,” he said through pants. He wiped blood from his lip. “But we’ve got a ravaging monster rabbit standing between us and our best bet out.”  

“Can you get Principal  Nezu  on the line?”  

“I tried earlier, but our connection got cut.”  Midoriya  threw a chair at the approaching rabbit and then stumbled because of an injury on his leg, gasping in pain.  

Tsu  grabbed him and helped him back to his feet. They backed away from the animal until there was nothing left between them and the back wall. “I’d ask you to try grabbing it with your tongue and throwing it aside, but I’m worried you may get it sliced off,”  Midoriya  said as he grasped his side.  

They held out their arms in ready stance, but even if they had not been injured, they would still be shaking in fear. The rabbit bared its teeth and a low growl emanated from its throat.  

Midoriya  held his fists as steady as he could. “Dammit,” he hissed behind his teeth. “It was going so well until now! What are we supposed to do?”  

The rabbit reared its back legs and roared at them, making the teenagers cower.

As it readied to leap for its prey, something dropped from the shadows above and landed square on the creature’s head, slamming it down against the floor with a shudder. The creature shrieked in pain.  

Midoriya  and  Tsu  recoiled and strained their eyes to see what had fallen. Due to the bright computer monitors in the other room, it was difficult to tell what had just happened.

Nezu had his paws pressed hard against the rabbit’s head, squishing it against the floor. As it continued to struggle beneath him, he slammed his foot down against the rabbit’s back, making it yelp. Then he looked up at his interns, teeth clenched.  

Midoriya  and  Tsu  looked on in complete shock, unsure what to make of this sudden arrival.  

Nezu squeezed his fists. “RUN, STUDENTS!” he yelled at them. “RUN!”  

*****  

Chapter Text

They did not have to be told twice. Midoriya and Tsu dashed out of the room, running around the creature and back into the computer room. 

“Turn right when you get out,” Nezu ordered. He stomped down on the creature’s back again, making it squawk. “The traps are all in motion the way you came because I triggered them all by crossing them without solving the puzzles. Don’t stop running!” 

Midoriya snatched his gloves on the way out and helped Tsu open the door. It opened with a loud groan and Tsu did not waste a second to hop out when there was enough space. Midoriya was halfway out when he realized something had been forgotten in the commotion, so he turned back to the computers. 

He heard a sharp yelp in the other room, making him freeze in his tracks as he reached for the usb. He could not tell which animal had made the sound, especially when the sound of a table being knocked over made his heart skip a beat. 

Nezu came dashing out of the office room, much to his relief. “GO, Midoriya!” he snapped, noticing the boy had not yet left. 

“But the—!” 

“GO NOW!” 

Tsu reached into the room and grabbed a hold of Midoriya’s arm. She yanked him into the hallway hardly a second after he was scolded. The principal followed close behind. 

Nezu grabbed the door handle and swung around it into the corridor, slamming the steel door shut behind him. He took a few steps and then skidded to a stop when he heard some dull thudding in the security room. 

The steel door gave a mighty shudder, and a second later tore open as the rabbit leaped out of it, landing against the wall across from the security room. It had torn through the steel as though it was nothing more than paper. 

Nezu scurried off a moment after, and the rabbit roared as it gave him chase. 

Up ahead, Midoriya and Tsu were running blindly through a new corridor. Neither of them had any idea where they were headed besides deeper into the Research Laboratories. They could hear the creature shrieking and its claws digging into the walls and the ground as it sped after them. Midoriya could just imagine it snapping its teeth at his heels. 

“Well, this sure took a turn, Ribbit,” Tsu said through pants as Midoriya caught up. 

“Not exactly how I expected this mission to go, but it never does go smoothly,” Midoriya added, nearly tripping over a loose tile. “Are you okay?” 

“My shoulder’s bleeding. And my heart’s racing. My ankle’s a bit sore from when that thing chased me around the room. Computers and filing cabinets are not fun to smash into.” 

“I can carry—!” 

Something orange sped between them, cutting him off and making the teenagers gasp. As it landed on the ground ahead of them, Midoriya recognized it to be one of Nezu’s shoes. They both looked over their shoulder. 

Nezu was in the middle of throwing his other shoe at the rabbit, moments before it would have grabbed a hold of Tsu’s hair. It impacted with the back of the rabbit’s head, causing it to tumble over the ground. Nezu pressed his front paws down on its head and pushed off of it before landing on the floor and continuing on his way past the tumbling animal. 

The rabbit did not stay down for long. Scrambling back to its feet, it shrieked and dashed for Nezu, raising an arm as it leaped into the air, ready to strike. Midoriya and Tsu were about to come to a stop and help, or at the least shout a warning, but to their complete surprise, the principal was much nimbler on his feet than they had been led to believe. 

Nezu hardly turned his head before dropping on all fours and pouncing towards the wall. Out came his own claws and he dug them into the cracks. He then pushed off, head-butting the rabbit in the chest, making it yelp as they tumbled over the floor. Nezu quickly regained footing and continued running after his students, this time on all fours. 

It was the fastest Midoriya had ever seen his principal move. Most teachers he spoke to, including Aizawa, had said that Nezu was not fast on his feet. He was as useless as a doorknob in a one-on-one battle of force, which was why he was best behind the lines, using his brain. As long as he was the one who came up with the plan, anyone could win a battle. Even Recovery Girl, who had worked at UA longer than all the current teachers and principal, said that Nezu was physically incapable of winning in any race or any fight. His body was not built for intense physical activities, especially after the injuries he received at the Greater Good Research Laboratories. 

All Might had been the only one who never gave Midoriya or any student a straight answer. If asked if Principal Nezu was fast or not, he would only smile and say, “How fast do you think he is?”

Suddenly, Nezu was something else. Gone was the image of the calm, slow moving man UA called its principal. Gone was the tame nature, the warm smile, the collectiveness. In their places were agility, speed, claws and bared teeth. 

This was not just a Pro Hero. This was the only animal in the entire world with a Quirk. 

And damn was he fast on all fours. Not a speeding bullet, but he certainly had the natural instinct of moving and avoiding attacks that not even Midoriya had yet perfected. 

“Which way now?” Tsu called out, and Midoriya saw they were coming to a fork in the road ahead. By the look in her eyes, he could tell she had been just as mesmerized of Nezu’s actions as he was, but their situation was still dire. 

There was another yelp from the creature behind them. “To the left,” Nezu replied. “And don’t stop for any reason!” 

“Does that mean there’s more traps?” 

“This entire facility is filled with traps, Miss Asui. Unless you have a key card, we’ve got no choice but to face them head on.” 

“We’ve never been down this part of the lab, Sir,” Midoriya said. “We’re running in blind!” 

“Just do exactly as I say,” Nezu shouted behind him. “To the letter! You need to trust me now more than ever!” 

Midoriya and Tsu exchanged a worried look but did as they were told, turning left and dashing through the swinging doors around the corner. 

They ran only a few meters when Nezu’s first command came. “Move to the right and slide low,” he shouted. 

The students moved to the right side of the corridor and dropped into a slide against the floor. Hardly as soon as they had, a long blade came slicing through the air, barely two inches over their faces. Another three sliced the air above them, making the space between the ground and the lowest blade the only place they could get through safely.

“Now get up and leap three feet up!” 

Midoriya was grateful he had learned how to move quickly, despite not being as smooth as Tsu; a rod of hot iron stretched across the corridor and just barely missed their feet. 

“Triple maneuver trap! Slide-and-duck, then dive to land in a somersault before pushing off and clearing the center of the corridor!” 

Midoriya and Tsu were amazingly synched with each other, though it certainly helped that Tsu muttered “now” every time they had to do the next move. It was the first time Midoriya found himself having to time every one of his movements, including every step, so perfectly in line with another’s. 

He never dared look back over his shoulder because he was worried to lose his momentum. Now and then, he could hear the rabbit shriek and roar, followed by a brief tussle and a yelp. Several times, he heard high-pitched squeaks, but he had no way in telling which animal had made the noise. 

“Go down the stairs,” Nezu shouted after several dozen traps had been called out, and several swerves around corners and intersections. “At the end of the hallway, there’s a door with a window; take the stairs beyond that to the very bottom!” 

Tsu and Midoriya dodged another trap. “Are there any traps in there?” the girl asked. 

“Not in the stairwell; too risky.” He was interrupted by another shriek, followed by another tussle and a yelp from the rabbit. “There aren’t any traps in the basement; they needed it clear to do the amount of testing they had for Subject Number 001.” 

“Shouldn’t we be trying to escape?” Midoriya said. 

“I need a moment to gather my thoughts and get you two someplace safe,” Nezu replied. “Continue to do as I say—!” 

One of the vents in the ceiling burst open a few feet ahead of the teenagers, and another creature dropped from the grate. This one looked like a rat, with the same features as the rabbit, including its massive size. 

Tsu screamed as Midoriya yanked her back, inches from being bitten in the neck by the creature. They took a few steps back, arms around each other. 

“Another one?” Midoriya screamed. 

He was about to decide whether or not to use his Quirk when something white moved at the corner of his eye. Turning his head, he was just able to catch Nezu leap off of the walls and dive at the rat, sending it sliding backwards across the floor. They rolled around, throwing claws at each other before Nezu managed to leap back and hop out of the way. The rat regained itself and chased the principal, who dashed off on all fours again towards the stairs. 

“Principal Nezu!” the students said. 

Nezu led the creature across the corridor before coming to a halt and turning to face it. He leaped into the air and grabbed a bar that popped out of the wall, swinging onto it only seconds before the rat slid by, landing in the trap and getting pelted by darts. It screamed and rolled around over the floor, attempting to alleviate the pain. 

Midoriya and Tsu stared in awe at what they had just witnessed, but hardly had a second to even take a close look at their mentor when the rabbit behind them let out another shriek and gave them chase. Nezu had undoubtedly stalled it for a time so he could protect his students from the other threat. 

“DON’T STAND THERE!” Nezu yelled, catching their attention again. He pulled off his coat while glaring at the teenagers. “This is not a demonstration; KEEP RUNNING!” 

Tsu leaped over the trap the principal was perched on, just as Nezu threw out his coat so as to catch the darts and prevent both students from being harmed. Midoriya had just enough time before jumping over it as well to look up at the principal. Nezu took no heed of him and glared at the oncoming creature, crouching low over the bar. He rolled up his sleeves once he released his coat, now covered in darts. His ascot was hanging out of his buttoned vest. He had acquired a few scratches, one of his ears looked torn, and his fur was ruffled. 

He had a wild fire in his eyes, a look Midoriya had never seen in him before, and he could have sworn to have heard the principal growl as he bared his teeth. It was a different light than the one he often saw in his eyes from the result of madness: this was the look of a wild animal about to pounce. 

Midoriya had hardly cleared the trap when Nezu leaped off in the opposite direction. Without looking back, he followed Tsu through the door and into the stairwell. 

***** 

Chapter Text

They ran down the stairs as quickly as they could, blinded by the darkness besides the solar-powered exit signs at each floor door. The clack-clack-clack of their boots on each step, their hands sliding down the railing, and their breath echoing with every pant, was all that accompanied them as they journeyed further and further from any known exit. 

They had nearly reached the last flight of stairs when the sound of a fight bursting out of the main floor above exploded in the empty stairwell. There were growls and squeaks and roars, and clanking as they smashed against each other and any metal object. 

Midoriya stopped at the bottom and stared upwards. “Do you think we should help?” he said. 

A large shadow was suddenly tossed over the side of the railing, falling towards them. Tsu grabbed Midoriya’s hand and tugged him forward, just as the rabbit came crashing down where he had been standing. 

“He’s a Pro; we need to do as he says, Midoriya,” Tsu said, as they continued running into more darkness. 

Midoriya looked at her before peering over his shoulder. 

The rabbit was just recovering when the rat was thrown down on top of it, followed by Nezu slamming his feet down on top of both of them. They howled in pain and lashed out at him as he snarled. 

The last thing Midoriya saw before looking away was Nezu grabbing the rat by the snout and smacking its head against the concrete floor. 

“He said there were no traps down here, right?” Tsu said, catching her friend’s attention. “Do you know where he’d want us to hide? Did he mention anything to you?” 

Midoriya shook his head. 

Something heavy landed on his back, pushing him forward and scaring the daylights out of him. He was ready to scream when he felt Nezu’s tail wrap around his arm for support. 

“Go straight,” Nezu said through pants, wiping a paw over his forehead and setting the other down on Midoriya’s head for support. “I need an open space.” 

“For what?” Midoriya asked. 

“No questions. Just trust me.” 

Midoriya wanted to get a better look at him, but Tsu yanked him forward when he began trailing behind. Adjusting to the extra weight, he picked up speed in order to keep up with his now leaping friend. 

Following Nezu’s directions, they zigzagged through the dark corridors with nothing but exit lights and Nezu’s voice to guide them. Behind them, they could hear the howling of the two creatures, which were still giving them chase—thanks to the principal, at a much wider distance. 

“Up ahead,” Nezu panted, pointing. “But stay away from any walls or cages.” 

“Cages?” Midoriya echoed. 

Tsu suddenly came to a complete halt with gasp, nearly causing Midoriya to trip forward over her. After stumbling to regain his footing, he looked up and realized why she had stopped and what had filled her eyes with dread. 

They came into a wide-open space that looked similar to an experimental lab from cartoons. Cages lined the walls nearly to the ceiling, and there were two extra rows lined in them. 

And inside each was a different animal—typically small, but here just as big as the rabbit and the rat that were chasing them. 

Tsu covered her ears to block out the howling and growling around them that had resulted from their arrival. 

“There’s more of them?” Midoriya exclaimed, feeling the blood drain from his face. “There must be at least a hundred of them in here—!” 

“One hundred twenty-seven,” Nezu corrected him. “They’ve actually had at least five thousand, but never at one time.” He was the only one who did not seem nearly as horrified, but there was a hint of concern in his eyes. 

The shrieking persisted behind them, and Tsu and Midoriya broke into a sprint down the nearest aisle just as the beasts came sliding around a corner and charged them down the corridor. 

“Stay away from the closed cages!” Nezu said, hardly before Tsu was nearly grabbed by an outstretched arm in a cage. 

“Principal Nezu, how is any of this supposed to help our situation?” Midoriya said through pants. “We should stop and fight them, shouldn’t we?” 

“Not everything is solved by brute force, Midoriya,” Nezu said. He looked over his shoulder and then ducked as another arm reached out to grab him but missed. “I have an idea, but I needed to be sure I could execute it down here.” 

“If I used—!” 

“Do not even think of using your Quirk here, not now,” Nezu scolded, swatting another hand away. “That is not why I let you accompany me. The sheer power of your attacks could bring down the foundation of this building on top of us. You need to trust me.” 

“But we’re getting further away from the exit! We shouldn’t go in deeper if it makes you anxious!” 

“Midoriya—!” 

A talon reached out from a cage and managed to snag onto Nezu’s collar as they passed by. He was yanked off of Midoriya’s shoulder as the boy continued to run. 

Midoriya gasped and turned around, coming to a stop. “Sir!” he said. 

He had hardly spoken when the rabbit came bounding out of the darkness towards him while screeching. Midoriya yelped and ducked, just barely missing the beast, and clambered away on all fours, missing another attack when the rabbit charged him and smashed into some cages instead. 

He ran as quickly as he could go, skidding around corners of cages and avoiding being grabbed, all the while attempting to shake the rabbit on his heels. He had no idea where to go besides zigzag through the cages. If he ventured off into the dark corridors, he risked the chance of getting lost and being at the mercy of the creatures. 

But what good was he here if he could not use One For All to help his mentor? 

The rabbit managed to grab onto Midoriya’s mask, yanking him backwards to the ground. With a gasp, Midoriya rolled this way and that to avoid being clawed at. The rabbit roared in his face after not landing a blow, and then sunk its claws into Midoriya’s side, making the boy yell in pain. 

When he opened his eyes, the rabbit was glaring back down at him, teeth bared. It raised a paw and made to swat him across the face, but just as it would have, Tsu lashed out with her tongue and smacked the rabbit aside. She then wrapped her tongue around her friend’s ankle and yanked as hard as she could, pulling him away before he was attacked again. The rabbit chased after Midoriya as he was dragged across the floor towards his classmate. 

Midoriya screamed and dodged one attack after another as he was pulled. “FASTER!” he shouted, shielding his head with his arms. 

“This is as fast as I can go!” Tsu replied at the end of the aisle. She pulled Midoriya to his feet and they both jumped out of the way as the rabbit skidded into the wall of cages. 

They ran down another aisle and then came to a stop, turning around to face their opponent. The rabbit launched for them again, but Midoriya swung his foot around and kicked it, sending it flying backwards. It charged once it had regained composure. 

“Midoriya,” Tsu said, pointing at the cages behind them. 

Most were unlocked and empty, including the one at their feet. 

Midoriya gasped and looked up at the charging rabbit. He had a split second to react, and opened the cage door just as the animal leaped into the air. It landed inside the cage. 

“Close it!” Tsu said, as she and Midoriya slammed their hands down over the cage door. 

The beast stuck its arm out of the cage bars and scratched Tsu’s leg before reaching for Midoriya’s hand as he struggled with the lock. 

“Dammit!” Midoriya gasped, yanking an injured hand back just as Tsu fell backwards with a painful yelp. He flexed his fingers and then grabbed Tsu around the arms to pull her back as the rabbit kicked the door of the cage wide open again. 

“It’s too fast; we’re not quick enough to do anything that it hasn’t already caught onto,” Tsu said behind a painful grimace. 

Midoriya set her down and then got between her and the rabbit as it stepped out of the cage. He held his fists up and got into ready stance, his legs shaking. 

“Midoriya; you can’t use your Quirk, remember?” Tsu said, reaching out for him. “It’s too dangerous.” 

“What else am I going to do to keep you safe?” Midoriya said through pants, his heart racing. “I can’t think of anything else anymore—it keeps attacking before I get the chance to even assess my surroundings.” 

Tsu grabbed his leg and tugged on his costume, slowly pulling him towards her. Midoriya wanted to stay where he was, but he was so terrified of what would happen to them both that he allowed his friend to pull him back. His arms shook and his breath faltered. Tears filled his eyes as he realized there was nothing he could do. 

He forced up a quivering smile, remembering how All Might had stood his ground against All For One. “Come at me,” he said under his breath, as Tsu pulled on his arm. 

The rabbit arched its back and bared its sharp teeth. Hissing, it dug its claws into the floor. 

Midoriya felt his legs give in and he dropped next to Tsu. “Dammit,” he whispered again, as they wrapped their arms around each other. 

The rabbit reared back and with a shriek, leaped into the air towards the teenagers. 

Midoriya and Tsu braced themselves for the worse, but looked up as a shadow swept over them in the opposite direction. 

Nezu dove over their heads and collided with the rabbit midair. The creature yelped as both animals tumbled backwards into the cage and disappeared from sight. The cage filled with angry growls and roars, a few yelps and painful squeaks as it shook furiously at the tussle happening inside. It was enough to shake the entire wall of cages. An empty one even crashed to the ground a few feet away. 

Midoriya and Tsu braced themselves every time an empty cage tumbled over, but kept their eyes ever wide, on the place their teacher had disappeared. 

The battle inside the cage continued on for another minute or two before everything went deathly still. Not a sound emanated from it. Just an eerie silence. 

The students strained to even hear heavy breathing, but they heard nothing besides their own panting and their hearts beating in their ears. Once his breath had caught up to him, Midoriya swallowed and slowly let go of Tsu. 

“S-Sir?” he said. He got on all fours and took one step forward, until Tsu grabbed his belt and held him back in fear. “P-Principal Nezu?” 

Silence was the only thing that replied. Midoriya could feel his heart racing as panic made his body shake. “Principal Nezu, are you alright?” he called out as steadily as he could. “P-please answer—!” 

A shadow loomed over them from behind, and Tsu’s grip on his belt tightened. Midoriya turned around with a gasp and stared at the rat that had somehow suppressed the pain from the darts to fight. It growled and stood up on its hind legs, front paws out, ready to attack its prey. It shrieked. 

Midoriya and Tsu screamed until their voices were interrupted by a deafening BANG! The chamber echoed with the sound and made their ears ring. 

In a split second, the rat had a bullet hole right between the eyes. 

Tsu covered her mouth in horror and looked away, burying her face in her friend’s shoulder. Midoriya stared in utter disbelief as the rat’s eyes rolled back, and he watched as it dropped dead to the cold floor at their feet. 

He kicked it away clumsily, his heart beating in his ears. 

Then the sound of someone struggling to move made both of them turn around to face the cages again. A quiet groan, the sound of feet dragging.  

Out stepped Nezu, his right paw clasping the side of the cage for support and his left arm outstretched with a handgun pointed directly to the spot where the rat had been standing. His bullet had sailed between his students, hitting his target straight on and killing it instantly. 

He panted and every breath seemed like a struggle, as his left hand began to shake. “I told myself I would only use this… If I had no other choice,” he said through breaths. He let the gun drop to the floor and then placed his left arm around his waist as he clenched his teeth and groaned in pain. He then took another step, completely removing himself from the cage. 

“Principal Nezu!” Midoriya said, his voice quivering just as much as his smile did. He wiped away tears before crawling over to the animal, Tsu at his side. 

Nezu stumbled and held out his arm to keep his balance. He then proceeded to wipe his front paws down over his clothes, as though ridding himself of some dirt. The rolled-up sleeves of his blouse were torn and stained; there was a tear in his vest over the left side of his chest, and Midoriya could just see the already dark blood stain over the white of his blouse.  

Nezu leaned over himself as he caught his breath, and the teenagers came to a stop in front of him. “Are you two alright?” he asked, and his tail quivered. 

They nodded their heads hastily. 

“I’m terribly sorry you had to see that last bit… I promised myself I’d never use a weapon like that ever again, unless the need arose. And my plan went sour the moment we were separated.”

Tsu nodded as she wiped some tears from her eyes. 

“Are you alright, Sir?” Midoriya asked. “Y-you look really injured. You’re covered in blood.” 

Nezu looked at himself, but hardly seemed phased by the injuries—even his now uneven and dirty fur did not bother him, or the fact that he was bare-footed. 

“I’m alright,” he said, subconsciously reaching up to his left ear and rubbing the tear that was there. “A little roughed up, that’s all… it’s been sometime since I last ran on all fours. A pity I had to lose those shoes but they make running clumsy business otherwise.” 

He looked down at his dirty feet. “A bit rusty, I’m afraid,” he added. “But it works in a pinch. I can gain better ground on all fours.” 

Tsu sniffed and squeaked a quiet Ribbit. “What happened to the rabbit, Sir?” she asked. 

“… Never you mind that. We no longer need to concern ourselves for it.” 

“Th-then what do we do now?” 

Nezu looked from one student to the other before reaching to his right ear and fiddling with his ear piece. Pressing his digit against it, he let out a heavy sigh. “I have the children, Detective,” he said. 

Midoriya could hear a very faint sound coming from the ear piece. “Nezu! Oh thank goodness!” came Tsukauchi’s voice. By the way it quivered, it was clear he had been worrying for their safety. “I’ve been trying to contact you for the past ten minutes or so! Are you alright?” 

“I’m fine. Had to do some… extermination. I needed to concentrate so I turned the reception off.” 

“Does that mean the threat’s been terminated?” 

Nezu looked up at his students. Midoriya and Tsu stared back in silence. 

“… Temporarily,” Nezu replied slowly. 

“You need to come back, Nezu. Chief Itsuki is throwing a fit. Forget the information and get those kids out.” 

Nezu straightened out as best as he could, and Midoriya noticed him force back a painful wince. “Not possible; I need to find them a place to rest first and recuperate, Detective,” he said. “We’re in no condition to jump through traps right now.” 

“… Are you sure? You do know where you are, right?” 

“I think I would recognize my first… home, if I was in it, Tsukauchi,” Nezu said, though the children could hear the reluctance to call the labs so. 

Nezu looked around them and smelled the air. “I will take the children someplace safe to rest,” he said. “And I will… gather my thoughts. I need to turn the radio off now in case… anything else overhears us. Don’t send anyone in after us, and just wait for my return.” He then pulled the audio piece out of his ear, turned it off and stuffed it into his pocket. 

“Can you two walk?” he said, as Midoriya and Tsu slowly rose to their feet. 

Tsu stumbled once and Midoriya grabbed onto a nearby empty cage to help himself up. “We’ve got a few injuries,” Midoriya said, “But nothing we can’t handle. We’ve been through worse.” 

Nezu scanned them and took a good look at their bigger injuries. “I need to bandage you up,” he said, more or less to himself. He turned away and began walking off. “Follow me. Stay away from the occupied cages, and don’t make a sound until we get to the safespace. And don’t stray away. Stay near me, please.” 

He was clearly attempting to hide any injury he had; Midoriya could tell by how he tried to hold himself up, chest out, like he normally did. He refused to show any sign of weakness. 

Debating weather this was good or not, Midoriya and Tsu followed him. 

***** 

He was silent after that. As Nezu led his students down the dark corridors of the basement, the sound of their footsteps the only thing echoing, he never once looked back at them. He did not speak when Tsu asked where they were going, and the only time he moved his ears was when he raised his head to smell the air and listen to anything familiar. 

He was in pain, Midoriya could tell; he had tried to walk with both arms at his side, fists clenched, but after a few steps he stumbled, gasped quietly and then continued to grasp his right side. He also tried to hide his limp, but Midoriya had noticed. 

He wanted to help him somehow. Nezu had risked his life for them, and entered a building he swore the day before never to set foot in again. He was suffering physically and most likely psychologically, but he remained silent—like All Might did on numerous occasions. 

They passed one empty room after another. Every room down there had no windows, and if they did, they were very small and let in only a minimum amount of light due to the foliage growing outside. Every time they passed a room Midoriya or Tsu thought would be perfect to hide in, Nezu merely continued without a flinch. 

Nezu stopped at one point in an intersection and stared down the corridor in silence. He went incredibly quiet and motionless. The students watched him, uncertain what to make of this freeze, but waited nonetheless. 

He took a step back. “Go around,” he whispered, more of less to himself. He turned to the right and took two steps before stumbling and gasping in pain, holding his side. 

Before Midoriya or Tsu could say anything, Nezu regained his footing and continued on. “We’ll go around,” the rodent added. 

The teenagers looked down the way Nezu had avoided. “What’s this way?” Tsu asked. 

Nezu did not reply right away. “… Nothing good,” he muttered. “I meant to take the shortest route but… I forgot that was there.” 

“What was?” Midoriya said. 

“Just a room.” 

“What was in—!” 

“Students, I admire your curiosity and desire to understand this place, but please…” Nezu said in exasperation, raising his head to the ceiling and letting his ears fall back. “No more questions. Not right now.” He stumbled again before taking a deep breath. “It’s not a tale I wish to share.” 

Hearing him go quiet was odd for Midoriya and Tsu; before that mission, they knew Nezu as the overly cheerful, proud and protective principal of Japan’s most prestigious school. When Midoriya’s mother asked what their principal was like, the best way to describe him was in three words: short, tea, and long-winded. Even when it was clear as day that students found his long speeches unbearable at times, Nezu never cared. He knew of his flaws and he accepted them, and delighted himself in speaking of them or how irritating some people thought they were. 

Yet here he was, refusing to answer questions, refusing to speak of his past, and refusing to give them any sort of eye contact. He was avoiding everything; as though it was the only way he would be able to survive in this place. 

Midoriya saw Tsu wrap her arms around herself, as she watched Nezu with worried eyes. He reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder, and he knew they were both thinking the same thing. 

After some time, spent walking in a maze of corridors and rooms with no windows, they arrived at a wider corridor that ran around a square room. The walls were coloured differently than the rest, coated in some other kind of building material than the bricks and concrete they were familiar with. Again, there were no windows, and the door was made of thick steel, with only a slot at the bottom for slipping in what Midoriya thought would be food. 

Nezu stopped in front of the door and reached up for the security pad, only to pull his arm back down. 

Tsu walked over to the pad before he could ask her to. 

“Zero, zero…” Nezu took another breath and let out a sigh. “… One,” he added in a whisper. 

Tsu punched in the code and the door unlocked with a deep CLUNK. Midoriya then grabbed its handle and pulled the heavy door open, allowing them passage. 

Nezu pulled out a very small flashlight from his pocket, and shined its light over the small room as he stood in the doorway. It was barren, besides an old pet bed and some old bedsheets and rags in one corner. 

His ears fell and his paws shook. He raised one of them to his mouth and closed his eyes, taking another shaky breath. 

“Sir?” Midoriya said, and his ears stood up again. 

Nezu cleared his throat and gestured for them to follow him, again never casting them a glance. “We’ll be safe in here,” he said, and it was the first time Midoriya heard a tremble in his voice. “Close the door behind you, Midoriya. I want to clean you two up. You need to rest, anyhow.” 

***** 

Chapter Text

Recovery Girl sat in her office as the light rain fell outdoors. She had tried to push away all her doubts for the day, tending to notes from her Healing Class in the Support Department of UA—some students had her wondering exactly what they wanted to accomplish in her classes with grades so low. The afternoon was nearly through, and students would be free to go back to their dorms in an hour.

Now that she had nothing to do for the rest of the day, she was left to sit alone with her thoughts. After reviewing the last student’s grades, she pushed away from her desk and turned in her chair to watch the rain fall outside. The rain was always a soothing sign for her. It brought healing, renewal, something any Healer found reassuring.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. It had been raining a little on the first day she met Nezu. He had been a teacher at UA for a month prior to that, but it was hard to get a formal greeting from someone who had the natural habit to scurry off. From what she had heard, the new History Teacher was so energetic and filled with ideas you could hardly hold him still for more than a minute, unless he had a story to tell you. May the spirits bless you if you ever got stuck with him then; Nezu could talk for hours if he was allotted the time.

The thought made her smile a little. When she finally met him, he was coming in to file a report about one of his students. A colleague of his had to rush off on a family emergency, and asked if Nezu could deliver the papers to the School Nurse in her stead. Seeing as Nezu had been present when the student had injured themselves, he gladly obliged.

He was dressed in a dark red golf vest, his blouse sleeves unbuttoned as though he was ready to head home and relax—wherever that was. No one really did know where Nezu lived, and he liked keeping that way. He had a red bow tie on, one Recovery Girl had suspected was his favourite, since he wore it often.

“So you’re the new History Teacher, hm?” she had asked, once he had handed her the report and they had gotten the chance to discuss the student’s accident.

“Oh yes; I don’t think I’ve ever actually introduced myself properly,” Nezu said, smoothing out his vest and holding out his paw for the middle-aged women to shake.

“It’s Nezu, right?”

“Yes. Recovery Girl, I presume?”

“Says so on the door.” She had always been a little sassy towards her colleagues. Some found it irritating, but Nezu was one of the few who smiled every time she broke from her serious personality. It made his eyes twinkle.

“All Might has spoken quite highly of you,” Nezu had said.

“You know him? He was one of my former students. Such a sweet little boy… so much on his shoulders. Though I’ll admit; his flamboyant public image does irk me at the worst of times.”

“I don’t know; I kind of like it,” Nezu had replied with a shrug and a smile. “I do like anything positive and encouraging. Very inspiring, despite being slightly naïve at times.”

“Are you one of the many who needed a good push in your life? From what I’ve heard from staff here and the principal, you’re already so upbeat. Apparently, you can’t be tricked. I heard students talking about that last part.”

It was the first time she heard Nezu laugh, and Recovery Girl could still remember how it had made her feel. It sounded incredibly happy, just as every one of his laughs did after that. So happy, in fact, that she got the feeling it was also meant to cover up any other emotion.

It was genuine, but it was also meant to shield something. Something dark.

“With a Quirk like mine, it’ll take a lot to fool me,” Nezu had said, winking at her.

“Is that so? Do you have experience in jumping through hoops or solving puzzles?”

The smile he gave her was a sad one. It shocked her just as much as the laugh had, but Recovery Girl was good at covering her emotions. Her years of being a Pro Hero and seeing injuries of all sorts had helped her tune into it. She had to be hopeful and encouraging, but she needed to quell any negativity she felt so that those under her care did not stress or worry.

“Let’s just say I’ve been solving puzzles my whole life,” was Nezu’s reply, as he placed his paws behind his back. “I know all the students at this school show great potential, and I intend on making sure they always feel like they need to try and best me at something. That’s how I know they’re paying attention.”

“Does that mean you’ll eventually let them get the best of you in a prank?”

“Oh absolutely not. I’ve never lost a game in my life. And I don’t intend on letting ano… uh, a human do that to me even now.”

Nezu hardly stuttered in his words, if ever—that was one of the qualities of being so confident. The only reason Recovery Girl could think of Nezu stumbling or revealing so much of himself to her in that one meeting, was because by that time, he knew of All Might’s Quirk, and how Recovery Girl was someone he could trust if he had any problems.

Nezu bowed politely to her after that, saying that he had to rush off to run some errands, and suggested they get lunch soon. Recovery Girl saw him off while encouraging him to come by whenever he had to.

Which he eventually did, making it a daily thing for them to sit and chat. It was during one of those conversations months later that he admitted All Might had encouraged him to be completely open with her about himself, at least as open as he was with All Might. But he was so distrusting of humans, he had to be one hundred percent sure Recovery Girl would not betray him.

He had All Might’s optimism, but certainly not his ability to trust people as easily. Not to say that All Might was naïve in that manner, no; he was just better at hoping for the good in others. It was part of his job as the Symbol of Peace.

Nezu was not as easily swayed on human trustfulness, despite getting along with all of his coworkers at UA. Trusting them, to him, meant making himself vulnerable, and after the hell he had gone through in the first five years of his life, there was no way he would do that again. So it took a little time before he knew he could trust them all, and once he became Principal he only hired people he knew he could trust wholeheartedly.

The only human Recovery Girl knew Nezu had trusted from the get-go was All Might. And that was because All Might immediately saw him as an equal, never thinking of him any differently.

“What about your family?” she had dared to ask one day.

“… I had to learn to trust them as well,” he had replied. Before she could say anything else, he hastily changed subjects.

Recovery Girl opened her eyes and looked out the window again, staring at the rain. As close as she was to Nezu, she never did learn his whole story, and she had the feeling she never would. Not even All Might knew all the details. And any chance she had to ask the principal about his family, he always hastily changed subjects or asked her not to use that word. Not out of scorn, but more out of fear. Fear of what though? She never did find that out.

The thought of that brought back the concern she had for her friend, out in the south, facing off whatever demons he was facing off. Fear; Nezu never showed that. Even when the League of Villains kidnapped Bakugo, even when several students were injured at summer camp, even when Little Eri was rescued. Whatever hell was thrown at him, he faced it head on, and everyone at UA admired him for it, calling him the bravest principal UA has ever had.

But she saw the fear in his eyes when he told her he was going back to those laboratories. She could see it as clear as day, and she knew everyone else who worked for him saw it as well.

It was unsettling. She didn’t agree with him going then, and she still did not agree with him. Especially when he said he was taking two students as interns.

She had to trust him that he’d be alright.

That was easier said than done.

The door opened and in stepped Eri, red ribbon and dress and shoes. She opened her mouth to say hi when someone outside cleared their throat loudly. The little girl looked back and then covered her mouth, before taking a step back, turning to Recovery Girl and knocking her knuckles on the door.

The old woman chuckled.

“May I come in, please?” Eri said, teetering on her feet.

Recovery Girl nodded, and the little girl skipped in with her plush kitten in her hand. The door opened all the way and in followed the tallest man she knew who worked at the school.

“Babysitting duties, I presume?” Recovery Girl said with a twinkle in her eye.

All Might closed the door behind him. “Aizawa has one last meeting before taking her back,” he said. “So since Midnight took the day off to see family, the Charge decided to spend most of her day with me.”

Eri jumped onto the bed and pointed at All Might. “He’s my Knight in Shining Armor!” she said.

Recovery Girl furrowed her brow. “I thought that was Mister Aizawa,” she said.

“No, he’s my King. He brings me cuddles and toys and kitties. My Knight brings me flowers and candies!”

“You better not let Aizawa hear that, otherwise he’ll have you tied up in a jiffy,” Recovery Girl said, looking at All Might.

All Might shrugged with a smile. “I don’t feed her candies all day,” he said. “Just when she finishes her work or she’s good while she waits for us to finish teaching. If there’s anyone you should scold for that, it’s Present Mic. He gives her a bag of candies every time she sees him.”

“You boys are spoiling her!”

The teacher shrugged again before walking up to the bed and sitting down next to Eri.

“Please tell me you’ve heard something,” the nurse said, catching All Might’s attention as he picked Eri up and set her down on his lap. “Anything… even a whisper. From the Chief, Tsukauchi or even your Boy. Someone must have said something, right?”

Her friend shook his head.

“Not even… from him?”

“I’m as worried as you are, but you need to trust him,” All Might said. “You never saw how he was in the field. Even if he breaks an arm, Nezu will be up and running. He’s built up more resilience than anyone I know. He won’t stop until he sees his mission through. And that includes bringing back Young Midoriya and Young Asui in one piece.”

Recovery Girl sighed in exasperation and set her head back against her chair. “You boys will be the death of me,” she muttered.

Eri raised her arm. “But I’m not a boy,” she said, and the nurse looked at her. “And my Quirk could stop you from dying, when I learn to control it.”

Recovery Girl smiled at her. “At least you boys are teaching her how to be good hero,” she said, making All Might chuckle. She looked out the window again, letting her smile fade.

“I hope you’re right, All Might. I really hope you’re right.”

*****

Chapter Text

Any sound from the outdoors was completely cut off from the room they were in. It was deathly still, besides the sound of their heavy breathing. Beyond that, it was only darkness and silence. A silence that had the ability to choke them, if they lost their minds.  

As he sat against the cold wall next to his classmate,  Midoriya  had the feeling that that was what had happened to any living creature that had resided in these laboratories at any point in time.  

In the dark room, the only source of light was Nezu’s flashlight, and he held it between his teeth or between his cheek and his shoulder as he tended to his students. At the corner of the room, there was a faucet that still ran water—according to him, the labs had their own well—and because Subject Number 001 was their upmost important subject, they made sure it had the freshest water, and that meant giving it at least a tap from which it could drink for from whenever it so desired.  

Nezu grabbed an old bedsheet from the corner pet bed and soaked a part of it in cold water, using this to wash his students’ wounds. He tore a few pieces off for  Tsu  to use to apply pressure to her most serious wounds while he tended to  Midoriya’s  first. Since the boy was not as nimble or speedy in tight spaces as the girl was, he had the most cuts. The wound he had on his side also needed tending to immediately before it got an infection.  

The principal never spoke to them besides the few quiet directions he gave them. It was as though entering the basement made his personality make a complete 180-degree flip. He was quiet, again never looked either of them in the eye, and he never complained about the pain he was clearly in as he tended to them.  Midoriya  could see the grimaces he made as he stretched out his arms to reach wounds, and he could hear nearly inaudible squeaks from the principal’s throat as he bit back any yelp he wanted to make.  

Tsu  passed  Midoriya  some water Nezu got for them to drink, and he gladly took it.  

“Sorry, Sir,”  Tsu  said in a whisper.  

Midoriya  looked at her over his drink, and then looked at their mentor. Nezu did not look up from the bandaging he was doing over  Midoriya’s  right arm.  

“For what, my dear?” he said, but his voice was very weak.  

“For making you come into the laboratories,”  Tsu  said. “We wanted to get the job done without having to make you come in.”  

“That was not of your doing, Miss  Asui ,” Nezu replied. “I would not trust anyone else to take care of those things, seeing as no one knew about their existence but I. However, I should have been clearer with what dangers could still be within these walls. I suppose I was… hoping they would have all died off.”  

Midoriya  gasped at the sting as Nezu quickly cleaned the wound on his hand and tightened the bandage. “What was that thing?” the boy asked, trying to keep his voice a whisper. “That… creature?”  

Nezu’s ear twitched. “It was a rabbit,” he said without looking up. “Amami, to be more precise.”  

Tsu  leaned in and shared  Midoriya’s  horrified look. “Ribbit; that was a big and very deformed rabbit,” she said.  

“That it was, my Dear. Good observation.”  

“Why did it look so much like a monster?”  

“Years and years of experimentation,” Nezu said. He tied down  Midoriya’s  final bandage and moved onto his other student. “All those creatures we saw in that room are victims to years of abuse and torture at the hands of humans.”  

Tsu  kept her arm out so her principal could bandage it first, but rested her head on Midoriya’s shoulder. She looked on in horror. “Why are some humans so horrible?” she said. “Experimenting on animals, even humans in Eri’s case… why do some people do those things?”  

Nezu smiled very weakly as he bandaged her shoulder and then cleaned the smaller injuries. “Misguidance somewhere in their childhood,” he said. “Or a bad influence. Pride. Maybe something terrible marked their lives forever and they seek out vengeance…”  

His ears fell, and his movements slowed. “Or… they are merely doing what they think is for the Greater Good,” he whispered, his voice saddened. “Everyone’s idea of what is Good and what is Evil is different. But actions always speak louder than words, so watch for those the most, Students.”

Tsu  nodded her head as  Midoriya  studied his principal’s body language. He continued to bandage  Tsu’s  arms and shoulders before moving to her leg, but his motion was slow; almost sluggish. His head was hung low, his ears drooped, and his shoulders sagged.  

As though whatever burden he was carrying was becoming heavier by the second.  

“Principal Nezu,”  Midoriya  said, and the animal’s ear twitched at his name. “Why are those animals all disfigured and monster-like? What did they do in this lab exactly?”  

“They experimented on animals,” Nezu said without looking up. “The Laboratories were headed by a man named Yasunori Matsumoto. A brilliant research scientist. He had a quirk that allowed him to grow greenery—and do other things on top of that—which aided in keeping this facility secret. He had ideas and research to back them all, which made him incredibly respected in his profession. He named this place Yori  ōkina   zen  Laboratories, because his research was always for the Greater Good. He was a powerful, controlling man, and he never stopped what he was doing until he got the job done. He only ever hired those who saw eye to eye with him; people he could trust.

“They did experimentations of all sorts here, but their main goal at this facility was the study of Quirks. How they came to be in humans, where it began. And to see if they could successfully pass a Quirk on from one animal to another. Believe it or not, this has been a subject of interest in researchers for generations. Matsumoto’s team were no different. They failed for years, but nothing stopped them. Especially with Matsumoto’s research backing him, and the physical evidence he said he ‘had’. And he had already done so many great things in the world of science that people trusted and believed in his abilities. However, he wanted to keep this project secret, until they had at least been able to produce something concrete to show the world.”  

“I thought experimenting on animals was unethical,”  Midoriya  said, feeling  Tsu  press herself against him in discomfort from both the information given and the stinging of Nezu tending her wounds.  

“For most things, it is,” Nezu replied. “But if the animals are treated properly, and no serious harm comes to them, then it’s acceptable… Borderline, maybe, but acceptable.” He moved on to  Tsu’s  legs and began cleaning the wounds there. “But the Greater Good had a name and a World-Known Research Scientist that painted it in a light that others would never suspect. Or at least most people would not. Several of the nearby villages and towns did not approve of these secret labs and suspected misconduct, considering it was hidden, but without any proof they could do nothing.  So,  it remained as a positive thing in the world of Science. Even to this day, no one knows exactly what happened here.”  

Tsu  winced at the sting of the cleaning again before speaking. “ So  what does Subject Number 001 have to do with all of this?” she asked.  

“ Tsu , don’t,”  Midoriya  whispered to her. “Mister  Aizawa  told us not to ask anything personal. We should really just—!”  

“It’s alright,  Midoriya ,” Nezu interrupted, holding up his paw. “After what happened earlier, it would be unfair to keep you two in the dark any longer. Considering I’m now back in here… I really don’t have much of a choice.”  

He finished with one leg and moved on to the next. “Subject Number 001 was known as Ground Zero, the Root of the research labs,” he began. “It was the reason for all those experimentations. The first inhabitant of these labs, not counting the humans here. The reason for why everything here took place. It was Dr Matsumoto’s most prized possession, and he spoke of it highly to others… like a prize he had won in a contest.

“Testing was done literally every day with Subject Number 001, watching it learn and interact and grow. It had to solve puzzles, get through mazes, escape injury and learn basic skills. Never any rest. Anything you can think of that could be done in an experimentation lab on an animal, Subject Number 001 was subject to it. Those poisons and darts in those traps were used specifically because of the effects it had on Subject Number 001. Whenever it adapted to the pain, they increased the dosage. Everything at the Greater Good Research Laboratories, was done because of Subject Number 001.  

“The project was being funded, therefore as long as Subject Number 001 was alive, their research would continue. They were poised on learning the secrets of Quirks and how they could potentially manifest in animals.”  

“But they can’t,”  Midoriya  said “You’re the only—!”  

He stopped in his words as the truth settled in.  Tsu  gasped as she covered her mouth, and Nezu stopped bandaging her and merely stared at the floor he was sitting on. His tail twitched at the end.  

“You were Subject Number 001,”  Midoriya  whispered.  

Nezu’s paws slowly gripped at his knees as his ears fell. “They thought that, if one animal could get a Quirk, why couldn’t another?” he said. “As I have admitted before; Human Perseverance is quite fascinating. They will stop at nothing to learn the truth… But it’s also very frightening, when you think too hard about it.”  

Nezu looked up at the walls of the small, square room they were in. “This was my quarters,” he said, and the students looked around. “My ‘home’, so to say. The safest time for me in this building was at night, when they locked me in. That’s why I do my best thinking in the dark at school, when the lights in my office are out. Subconsciously… it’s still a means for me to feel safe.  

“The walls are made with a mixture of Orthoclase and glass fragments—orthoclase because it was just hard enough that I could not bite through, and glass fragments because if I did break through, the glass would irritate my mouth. I can’t recall how they figured out how strong I could bite, but these walls have been here since I can first remember. They were thick enough that no amount of screaming could ever do me good, so I learned to hope in silence. The only way in or out is through that door.”  

He paused for a moment, as though remembering something, and then continued bandaging Tsu . “They tested me on a daily basis,” he said. “Hardly a moments rest. Some tests were harmless, but if I failed or even tried to retaliate, Matsumoto would punish me. Only he was allowed to do so. If I did not give him the results he wanted, I’d get a shock from my electric collar, or Matsumoto would use his Quirk to…”  

Nezu stopped and shut his eyes tightly, shaking a shiver out of his body. His fur stood on end, puffing up, and he let out a quick gasp, as though something had caught his breath. He quivered and wrapped his tail around his legs, raising his shoulders and hiding his head between them.

“It’s just a moment, nothing more,” he whispered to himself, shaking his head again. “He can’t hurt you; it’s just in your head.” He let out an incredibly anxious chuckle before putting his front paws down against the floor and shaking out a violent shudder.

“Damn, I can still feel those roots climbing,” he added, digging his claws into the floor. He shook out another shudder, inhaled and then grasped his side.  

“Sir,”  Midoriya  said, catching the principal’s attention. He shook his head and added, “Please don’t feel like you need to share anymore.”  

Tsu  peered over her hands, which she was hiding behind over  Midoriya’s  shoulder.  

Nezu looked at the boy in silence before coughing and continuing to bandage  Tsu . “No, it would not be fair to you two if you did not fully understand the horrors that happened here,” he said. “These are things I should have told you earlier.”  

“Ribbit; why didn’t you?”  Tsu  asked, her voice meek.  

Nezu let out a weak chuckle. “Heh; I suppose I was… afraid to,” he muttered. After a pause, he continued: “Aside from tests and puzzles, they would prick me with needles of all sizes, hours a day, and inject my blood into the system of other animals. Every time I learned something new, they recorded it and took bone marrow samples, or brain scans. Bone Marrow aspirations and biopsies were the most painful. I can still feel it sometimes today. When I understood how their schedule worked, I tried to stop learning, or learned in ways that were discrete, so that I could slow the amount of time I had to be held down against my will while I was in pain. That was always difficult, seeing as I’ve had a desire to learn more ever since my Quirk manifested.”  

“What did they do with the animals?”  Midoriya  asked.  

Nezu shook out another shiver. “They tried to transfer my Quirk to them,” he said. “They tried everything; mixing my blood with others, mixing it with chemicals, sometimes just straight injecting only my blood into their systems. They tried manipulating their minds to match mine, brainwashing, forceful fighting matches. Sometimes, they were part of my testing, and I had to escape them before the clock ran out. At one point, they wanted to try electric-shocking, but when it was clear that that would stress me out to a point where my body couldn’t handle it, Matsumoto forgo it. He didn’t want anything he couldn’t potentially handle have any lasting negative effect on his prize—!”  

“Please don’t call yourself that,”  Tsu  muttered behind her hands. “You’re not an object, Principal Nezu… Ribbit…”  

Nezu seemed to try and smile at these words, but even that had become a difficult task for him.  So,  he continued: “The animals would either die—the lucky ones—or they would turn into creatures so dangerous they had to be locked away. They would never kill them because they wanted to continue studying them. While a Quirk never manifested in them, their senses did sharpen, their bodies grew in size and they learned by watching. Like primates. Which I assume is how that one got out of its cage.”  

He cast a glance at  Midoriya  before continuing: “Like the  Nomu , they were the direct result of overloading a creature with a Quirk, or at least, the attempt to, considering blood transfusions don’t pass on Quirks. In a way… they’re the animal version of those monsters.  So  we will have to take extra precaution getting back out of the lab. In case any more go out.”  

“Principal Nezu,”  Midoriya  said. “Did you… ever tell anyone about what happened in here?”  

Nezu finished bandaging  Tsu  and looked at his paws. “No,” he said. “Not even All Might knows the full extent of the nightmare I had to endure here, and I’ve told him plenty. But that’s the wonderful thing about a man like him; he knows when not to pry. Having a secret of his own that he kept until he told you students, he knows the pain that comes with bearing such a burden, as well as the pain that comes with sharing the load when the time is not right.”  **

His shoulders dropped. Nezu placed his paws on his knees and bowed before his students. “Please forgive me for allowing you to enter this place without me, Children,” he said. “I should have gone in alone. It wasn’t fair to have you go in and face the demons I need to face myself.”  

“Ribbit; and let you take the brunt of the injuries, and maybe not returning?”  Tsu  said. “Not very likely, Sir.” She sat up straight and wiped tears that had formed in her eyes. “Even if you had told us the whole truth, we would have still gone in. Seeing how nervous you were in the  beginning,  I had hoped the Chief wouldn’t expect you to go in.”  

“And you did guide us through all those traps,”  Midoriya  added. “There’s no way  Tsu  and I could have done that alone.”  

Nezu took a deep breath and stood up slowly. “Nevertheless; it was my willingness to bring you with me with no explanation that caused this,” he said. “But we can discuss that later. For now … let’s get a bit of rest. You two deserve it after the hard work you put in.”  

Midoriya  and  Tsu  looked at each other. “Are you… sure that’s safe, Sir?” he said.  

“Trust me; nothing can get through that door. This is the safest place to be in the entire facility.”

“But what about you? Isn’t it—!”  

“ Midoriya .” Nezu placed his paws together as he looked at the boy. “This is part of your training. You must learn to trust me without argument. You can’t constantly act upon your emotions. That can have consequences that are irreversible in certain situations, and I know you know this from past experience.”  

Midoriya  lowered his head as he felt his face get hot with a blush, but he did not say anything else.  

The rodent placed a hand over his side, clenched his teeth and made a grimace, and then let out a sigh before continuing. “You need to rest,” he said in a whisper. “It’s not logical to run on adrenaline. Especially in this place.  So  get some sleep. A couple of hours won’t do us any harm.” He then turned around while turning his audio piece back on and sticking it into his ear, likely to let  Tsukauchi  know they were going to rest for a bit. He walked off.  

Midoriya  held up his bandaged hands until  Tsu  passed him the end of one of the old bedsheets in the corner. He took it, thanked her silently, and then turned his attention back to his principal.

Nezu sat down very carefully a few ways away, nearly across the little room from his students, and stared at the back wall in silence. Although it was too dark to see anything specific, Midoriya could tell he quivered once or twice before raising a paw to his face and wiping something away.  

Tsu  settled down against him under the bedsheet. “ Midoriya ,” she whispered, catching his attention. “I know it’s important to push your emotions aside on missions in certain situations, so I agree with Principal Nezu.” She looked at him. “But it’s still nice to know you care that much.”

Midoriya  smiled weakly in thanks.  

*****  

Chapter Text

Midoriya was able to sleep for only half the time that they were in the basement. Turned out that Nezu was right, and rest was what they all needed. Even the principal had managed to fall asleep, although no doubt uncomfortably, given the wounds he had. 

When sleep refused to return to him, Midoriya decided to contemplate on their situation while Tsu continued to rest on his shoulder. 

Recovery Girl had told him and his classmates that Nezu had been experimented on in the past, but he had never expected it to be as bad as what the rodent had just told them. Prodded at with electric rods, needles and other instruments yes, that was the extent of what he expected. Testing, blood samples, bone marrow biopsies and pure torture for one reason or another, had never come to mind. 

It made sense, though. In a society where Quirks were a norm, an animal suddenly manifested one. That alone was cause for curiosity, and considering the superior complex some humans have, it was exactly what you’d expect. 

Only worse. 

Midoriya heaved a sigh and looked at his surroundings, wondering how his principal could have called this anywhere near home at one point. It was true that they seemed to give him a safe hideout, fresh food and fresh water, making sure he was always healthy, but the pet bed was enough for Midoriya to know that they had treated him nothing more than what he was: an animal. 

The way Nezu addressed Subject Number 001 as a thing without personality made it far too clear that it had done psychological damage to him.  

Yet somehow, years after that time, he rose to the position of Lead Strategist at the Police Force, and then moved on to becoming the Principal of UA. When All Might shared the story of how he met Nezu to a handful of his students, Kaminari had questioned Nezu on why he had decided to give up such a respected position, and maybe even better positions, to teach teenagers. 

Nezu had said the answer was simple: he loved children. He was again fascinated in their perseverance and their desire to learn more about their surroundings, but it was different than the perseverance he was used to with grownups. Nezu knew that the future belonged to the younger generations, and he wanted to prepare them to be the next heroes, the next people who could make the world better. The people who had a chance to be better than their predecessors.

Now that Midoriya knew more about the torture Nezu had endured in those labs, his personality made more sense. Mistrusting humans was one thing, his unhinged madness in battle was another. He had detached himself from Subject Number 001 to start anew, to forget about the pain he had gone through. However, there was always a piece of it that followed him to the present, the right amount of madness that could send a chill down one’s spine. Now that they were back at the labs, his identity from the past presented itself to him like an old acquaintance he had so rudely forgotten. 

Then there was also the way he worked. He never stopped until he got the job done, and he only worked with people he trusted; just like the lead research scientist of the Greater Good Research Laboratories. 

He knew he had to separate his emotions from this mission, but Midoriya was realizing more and more just how difficult that would be. 

Dammit, he thought, setting his head back against the wall. He wanted to help make this easier for Nezu, but he was finding that frustrating; that and it was supposed to be part of his training to learn how to make good choices and to watch how Nezu made them without letting his emotions drive them. 

A voice suddenly broke the suffocating silence. Midoriya strained to listen at first, given that it was very quiet, but the singing slowly grew loud enough to match the gentle cooing of a mother.

It was an old Japanese lullaby, one Midoriya recalled his grandmother singing to him before she passed on. It told a story of hardship, that life was not easy, but it was still used as a means to teach children to work hard and find joy in every little thing in a difficult life. 

Midoriya had no idea why it took him so long to realize it was Nezu singing—there were only three of them in that room after all. Perhaps due to the fact that he had never expected his principal of all people to have such a good voice. The song was calming, especially in such a dark place. 

Midoriya tried to stay discrete, but moved his gaze onto his teacher as he continued to sing. Nezu was propped up against the wall where he had settled down before, looking at his paws as his tail swayed very weakly to the beat of the song. 

He wanted to say something, but he knew it would disrupt the moment of comfort Nezu was giving himself. So Midoriya held his tongue and tried to get some more rest. 

It had been a while since he felt so conflicted during a mission. 

***** 

Four hours had gone by where Nezu let his students rest. Eventually, Midoriya had been able to fall back asleep until the principal woke him. They had some more water and made sure they could stand without too much trouble before the animal went over the next steps they would take. 

“Four hours isn’t nearly enough for you two to rest, but unfortunately it’s all the time I can give,” Nezu said. He seemed to be standing a little taller now, though Midoriya could still tell he was in pain—at least he had managed to stuff a torn piece of bedsheet into his shirt so as to cover the wound over his chest. 

“While you were resting, I came to a few conclusions after going over today’s events,” he continued. “Some loose ends need to be tied up.”

He looked up at the teenagers and clasped his paws together tightly—Midoriya noticed that it was to keep his trembling arms from being too noticeable.

“First, I need to get you two out of this basement. We’ll have to climb a few vents this time, to avoid the majority of traps, but I can take you through the corridors that have next to none so you can get through safely. They won’t lead you to the main entrance of the building, but it will lead to an exit.” 

Nezu pointed upwards to the ceiling and the teenagers followed his gaze. “There are still traps in the vents, but these ones are more to set off the alarm system instead of just plain injure you,” he said. “This will be the perfect place for you two to use the abilities I chose you for. Your collectiveness and animal senses, Miss Asui, and your intellect, Midoriya. Watch what I do, do as I say, and we will be through the first phase in no time. Are you willing to traverse through this place again?” 

Midoriya and Tsu nodded firmly and held their hands in fists. 

“Excellent. I wouldn’t expect any less from you two. Now; were you able to get the information Detective Tsukauchi asked for?” 

Midoriya noticed the smile Nezu was wearing now was forced. He was clearly just as, if not more, terrified than they were. 

“Yes,” Midoriya said. “But that rabbit attacked us before we could grab the flash drive. It’s still in the computer.” 

“Then I will go back and get that once you two are out of harm’s way,” Nezu said. 

“But Sir—!” 

“No arguing, my boy; this is not your battle. You two have done marvelously, so leave the rest up to me.” 

Midoriya wanted to argue, but he knew Nezu would be even less persuasive than All Might, or even Aizawa. He looked at the floor in defeat and squeezed his fists. 

There was a pause before Nezu asked Tsu to exit the room. He instructed her to use her camouflage ability to blend into the wall in case there were any other creatures on the loose, and if one did come their way, there was a vent opening above the entrance of the room, one that he was certain not even the creatures knew existed. She would be safe there. 

He had something to discuss with Midoriya in private. 

Tsu obeyed silently, watching Midoriya before slipping out of the prison room. She cast him an encouraging look before she left, closing the door behind her as quietly as she could. 

“I truly appreciate your bravery, Izuku Midoriya,” Nezu said the moment they were alone. His voice was once more uncharacteristically gentle for someone as eccentric as he. “You volunteering to help when your Master could not; you are the epitome of what the new generation of heroes should be. I was not surprised when you spoke up that day in my office.” 

Midoriya tensed. “Then why won’t you let us go back with you to the security room?” he said. “What if there’s something else in here than that creature? Don’t you find it strange that those things are still alive after all these years?” 

“Of course, I do.” 

“Then why—!” 

“Because you’re children, that’s why.” 

Midoriya had not expected that to be the answer. Of course, it was a simple answer, one that most parents would have used as an excuse for walking across the street. But he had expected something more along the lines of ‘because I’m your Principal and I told you so.’ 

Instead, Nezu said the honest truth: he could not let Midoriya and Tsu risk their lives any longer. 

When Midoriya looked up, the figure standing before him looked nothing like the Nezu he knew from school. His ears had fallen back, his steadfast smile had vanished, and his eyes were tired. The spark of energy that always made his dark eyes bright on a hard day at school had been snuffed out. His injuries, tattered and blood-stained clothes, and his unkempt and dirty fur, all made him look older than he often looked. If it weren’t for the pride that remained in his eyes and the effort he put into standing as tall as he could, Midoriya would have thought he was staring at a complete stranger. 

He looked exhausted. 

Nezu placed his hands together. “Do you know what I said to your Master, after he had made all those video calls to you students for being accepted into UA?” he said. “When he told me, he had chosen his successor, and that the boy who had gotten sixty Rescue points was he?” Nezu paused, and then took a deep breath, more or less because of his injuries. “I said that I trusted him. I told him, whatever child he chose was up to him, not me. But I would support his decision. I had only suggested as part of the job that he could find a fine young student at UA to replace him. That’s how much faith I have in every single one of you. Some show more potential, but you all strive to be the next heroes… The true reason I wanted him to be a teacher… was not to lose one of my dearest friends.” 

Midoriya let his fists loosen. 

“You’re just like him, did you know? He gave me all the freedom and the credit I needed on our first mission together, but his heart is too big for his own good. He was constantly afraid that something would happen to me before I got my chance to prove myself. He has never said it to me out loud, but that’s the thing about my Quirk; he didn’t have to. I can read eyes just as easily as a book at the best of times. I was glad he never did, and I’m also glad he never jumped in when he clearly wanted to. Nevertheless, I could tell he was concerned when I wanted to try certain things… He still gets that way. He does that with you, as well. 

“That being said, I know you’re concerned for me. And I appreciate it. But I need you to push your emotions aside and trust me. More than you have ever as a student at UA. Learn how to make difficult decisions and choices, despite what your heart tells you. You cannot follow me into that room.” 

Midoriya held up his head. “If anything happens to you, UA will crumble,” he said. “It’s you who always gets the school back up on its feet since the League of Villains happened. You’re as important a pillar to us as All Might was. We can’t afford to lose another one.” 

“You worry too much. That’s why you’ll be a fantastic replacement for All Might.” Nezu raised his chin and smiled, but it faltered. “You won’t lose another, my boy. I don’t plan on crumbling yet. But I have to do this alone. I need you and Miss Asui to head for the exit when I’ve gotten you to the area that is void of traps.” 

Midoriya shook his head. “I came as your backup, Principal Nezu,” he said firmly. “This place is—!” 

“Dangerous, I know. But as I said earlier, this is not your battle. It’s mine.” 

“… But…” 

“Izuku Midoriya. Can I trust you?” 

“… Yes, Principal Nezu.” 

***** 

Chapter Text

Midoriya closed the door after Nezu spoke a little more to him, and joined him in the dark corridor. Tsu signaled to them from her place on the wall up above and began opening the vent when Nezu asked her to. 

He watched as Nezu sunk the claws on one of his paws into the wall, or at least between the bricks of orthoclase. Just as he kept his fur silky smooth, Midoriya was certain his principal kept his claws well sharpened for just the right situation. The rodent then grabbed onto another brick, hoisted himself up while grunting in pain, crawled up the wall a few feet and then planted his feet flat against the wall and pushing off towards the vent. He scrambled into it with Tsu’s help before the girl reached out with her tongue and helped her classmate up as quietly as possible. 

The vents were tight, but still enough space for the teenagers to crawl after their mentor. Nezu led them through the maze of vents, whispering his plan of action in detail. He instructed Tsu to be his ears while he tended to the puzzles they came to at every turn, and to keep an ear out for any danger in the vents behind her, since she was coming up in the rear. 

Midoriya watched the principal, just as he was instructed to do. The traps in the vents were just as Nezu had said; nowhere near as life-threatening as the others were. The worst they would do was activate some version of alarm system and bring all the creatures over to their location—which was still bad, but certainly better than dead. 

At every trap, Midoriya watched as Nezu muttered, similarly to how he did, and played with the tiny keypads or instruments set up near lasers. Some had to have the correct code inputted; others were patterns of colors or numbers. Others again were lock dials or math equations, which involved some heavy-duty brain power. 

Every time he solved a puzzle, he motioned for the teenagers to follow him, and held out a paw for them to stop when he arrived at another. There was a good five to ten minutes of crawling between every puzzle. 

Midoriya was still not completely on board with the principal’s plan, but he had no say in the matter now. He was not the Pro Hero—Nezu was. This was also not a terrain Midoriya was familiar with. 

As much as he wanted to fight it, he had to trust Nezu knew what he was doing. 

Just as he had to trust All Might in First Year at Kamino Ward. 

Nezu snapped his paws at one point—or clicked his claws together—catching Midoriya’s attention. The animal did not look back at him, but it was clear he was looking for the boy’s eye. 

“Calculus, my boy,” Nezu whispered, his voice echoing ever so slightly in the darkness around them. 

“Yessir?” 

“I need you to solve this math riddle for me while I deal with the pattern. Turns out this place is overwhelming me enough that I can’t do two riddles at once.” 

Midoriya inched a little closer. “I’ll do my best, Sir,” he said. 

“81 x 9 = 801.” 

The boy furrowed his brow. 

“81 x 9 = 801,” Nezu repeated. 

“But that’s… not correct,” Midoriya said. “The answer is 729.” 

Nezu clicked his claws again. 

“I don’t—!” 

“Think outside the box, Midoriya,” Nezu whispered. “It’s a riddle. Explore the empty space around the equation. Look at it from another perspective.” 

Midoriya bit his lower lip. He drew the numbers with his finger against the bottom of the vent and muttered to himself. 

It only took a few seconds of mulling it over before understanding what the riddle was. He looked up at the rodent ahead. “108 = 6 x 18,” he said. 

Nezu nodded his head and turned back to his work. 

Tsu leaned forward. “Ribbit; but that’s not even the same equation, Midoriya,” she whispered. 

“It is.” Midoriya turned and looked at her. “Turn the equation backwards, and turn the nine upside down.” He paused and looked at Nezu again, just as he finished disarming the trap and began crawling forward. 

“You knew the answer to that,” Midoriya said, catching the principal’s attention. “There’s no way someone with a Quirk like yours didn’t know that. You were lying.” 

“Not lying,” Nezu said. “I don’t lie. That’s not very Hero-like, is it?” 

“You said you needed my help to solve the puzzle, yet you seemed to know exactly what I had to do to solve it.” 

“I also said I can’t concentrate too well at the moment and needed some assistance.” Nezu turned back towards the way they were headed. “The traps out there, I know by heart like the back of my paw. But I’ve only ever traversed these vents once, and that was several years ago.” He sniffed the air. “Time does things to one’s memory, even if my Quirk keeps mine as young and fresh as it is.” He made motion for them to follow and they continued on their way.  

Every now and then, they came to bends in the vents that slowed crawling down almost to a standstill as Midoriya and Tsu struggled to turn without hardly a sound. They hardly spoke, and Midoriya watched as, even on the climb up the vents that led vertically up the floors, Nezu would stop and solve puzzle after puzzle. It did take him longer than it had when they were running through the corridors and he was shouting out the movements for each trap, or even when they were communicating over their earpieces.  

The climb upwards took nearly two hours. Nezu had asked for complete silence unless spoken to. A dozen times, when Tsu alerted him to some movement, he told them to stop and they remained still for at least a minute, until it was clear they were not in any danger. 

Midoriya watched Nezu’s every move. He was not asked again to solve any riddles, but he did take note of every pattern in case Nezu forgot one. 

During one lengthy puzzle, Midoriya took the opportunity to turn his head back and check on his partner. It had been a while since he got to make sure she was doing alright. The events they had gone through had certainly marked her—while Tsu was a strong and bold girl, she became very distraught when faced with any form of animal or human cruelty, torture or death in particular. He had not had the chance to make sure she was still faring well. 

Tsu locked gazes with him as he turned his head, and it was clear that she knew why he had looked back. She smiled in appreciation and nodded, as if to tell him that she was fine. 

Midoriya smiled back, but hardly a moment later did the vents fill with the sound of something flying by at great speeds and impaling in the side of the vent with a dull bang. 

But what caught the students’ attention was the painful squeak that rang out almost instantaneously as the shot. When Midoriya whipped his head around with a gasp, he had just enough time to see Nezu hunch over himself and groan in pain, all the while wrapping his arms around his head. Everything in his body went rigid, and his muscles continued to tense and relax over and over again. His breathing was sharp. 

“Dammit,” Nezu hissed through his teeth. He tensed again and a quiet squeak escaped his lips. 

“Principal?” Midoriya said, his heart racing. After no response, he squeezed his fists. “Principal Nezu, are you alright?” 

Nezu continued to tense and let out another groan before attempting to shake out the pain. His ears whipped back and forth as he shook. He tried sitting up but when his muscles tensed again, he contorted and shrunk back down. He pressed a paw against his head. 

“Sir?” Midoriya repeated, and one of Nezu’s ears rose. 

Midoriya felt Tsu grab his foot. “Ribbit… Principal Nezu?” she said meekly. “Are you alright?” 

Nezu turned ever so slightly, but his right paw was covering his eye from view. He breathed in sharply. “I’m alright,” he said, through tensing. He contorted again and shook the pain out of him. “The good thing about being the lab rat is that I’ve grown accustomed to the pain and it… shouldn’t bother me too much for the next day or two…” He tensed again and relaxed, letting out an exhausted sigh. 

Midoriya and Tsu finally looked up at what had apparently grazed their principal. The end of a poisn-filled dart was sticking out of the roof of the vent. 

“Is that the same stuff inside the darts in the traps?” Midoriya said with a gasp. 

“You said that doesn’t wear off for another seventy-two hours,” Tsu added. “Are you sure you can keep moving?” 

Nezu tensed again and groaned through clenched teeth. “It’s bearable,” he said. “Just let me grow accustomed to the waves for the next five minutes and I should be well enough to move on.” He pulled his paw away from his face gingerly before inhaling sharply. “Damn, that still feels the same,” he hissed. “I remember getting shot directly in the side by this one back when I was escaping… It was one of the ways they discovered my whereabouts mid-escape. Ingenious alarm system, I’ll admit.” 

He shakily returned to finishing the puzzle, and only once he had—which took twice as long now that he was tensing and shaking in pain—Nezu let out a sigh and lay down against the cool floor of the vent. He pressed the right side of his head against the metal. “Let me catch my breath,” he whispered. “And then I should be fine to move on. Don’t worry; I promise I’ll be fine in a few minutes.” 

As Tsu released his foot, Midoriya began debating whether it really was the right thing to let Nezu’s plan run its course. 

***** 

Chapter Text

Nezu limped as he crawled. He knew his students could tell this when they set off again in the vents. It was bad enough his side was in excruciating pain and his chest had a claw slash through it the width of his paw. Now, his entire body was pulsating in fiery pain. 

His right eye was burning as though someone had blasted it with pepper spray. He could feel his scar swell where it had been grazed by the dart. Despite being able to control the pain through his body, Nezu wanted so desperately to claw at his eye until the burning there stopped. 

His eye sight had always been worse in his right eye due to the injury he had received over a dozen years ago. It was not nearly bad enough that he needed glasses, but he had the feeling that after this, he may need to invest in a good pair of spectacles to read. 

He continued to solve puzzles as they made their way to their destination, now and then asking for Midoriya’s help—with the constant need to control the pain he felt, Nezu needed the boy’s mind. 

Within time, when it was well near time for the sun to set, they finally reached the corridor that would lead the children to safety. Nezu kicked out the grid and jumped out, followed by Midoriya and Tsu. 

“Straight down that way,” the rodent said, pointing down the dimly green lit hallway, and the eyes of his students followed his pointing. “About ten minutes. And don’t look back.” 

Midoriya turned and looked at him. As Tsu and the boy nodded, Nezu could see the reluctance in his green eyes. 

Nezu nodded his head in the same direction this time, not taking his eyes off of the boy. “Off with you,” he said. “Otherwise it won’t work.” 

“Do you really have to do this, Sir?” Midoriya said. 

“I do. You go now. Both of you. Do not follow me into that room.” 

Midoriya opened his mouth, but instead of speaking he let out a sigh and nodded. Both he and Tsu bowed to their principal, and without another word, the two of them turned on their heels and rushed off. 

Nezu watched them leave as the echoes their footsteps left faded away, and then turned around to face the darkness of the laboratories before him.  

He inhaled shakily and squeezed his fists. “For the Greater Good,” he whispered before getting on all fours and rushing off. 

He did not like it, the feeling of familiarity that overflowed him as he ran by room after room. The horrors he had suffered here, the nightmares and the constant feeling of despair and failure; all of these carried him back in time. Back when all of these feelings were normal, regular… everyday life. 

The worst part of it all was that his heart was not racing at it all. He was not overwhelmed to the point of breaking down—instead he was used to it. In a way, his body welcomed a piece of familiarity. 

He knew this was dangerous to think this way. He had to constantly remind himself of where he was and what he had to do, and why he had to get back out. 

“My name is Nezu,” he whispered to himself as he ran through traps without batting an eyelid. “I am intelligent, I am special, I am not yours.” 

He still found it oddly compelling, eerie as well, that he could very easily cross every trap soundlessly, as long as he was on all fours. That part of his memory could only be jogged if he did it the way he was fastest physically. And despite his injuries and the ever-pulsating pain he was in, he was still faster on all fours than his back legs.

The adrenaline was definitely helping as well.

“My name is Nezu,” he continued to whisper, over and over again. “I am intelligent, I am special; I am not yours.” 

He had to repeat that to himself, as his mind slipped further and further away from the present. It was the only thing, in this darkness, that reminded him of reality. Something someone dear to him had told him to repeat, in case panic overwhelmed him. For years, he had repeated these words. Now was the most important time and place to be doing it.

Arriving at the busted door of the security office, Nezu cautiously approached and made sure the corridor was just as void of life as the rest of the facility was. Then he peered in through the hole, listened, and climbed into the room. 

The computers were still on, miraculously, despite the tussle that had taken place earlier. Nezu approached them while keeping an ear out for any more danger, but kept his eyes transfixed to their screens. They were all still on the window Midoriya had left them on when he was interrupted by the rabbit. 

Sticking out of the side of the controls was the untouched USB, loaded with their information and ready to be pulled out. 

Nezu climbed onto the chair, albeit with extreme difficulty, seeing how injured he was. He needed to disable all the traps in the facility so that Tsukauchi’s men could come through with no danger. Nezu could then take the USB out and leave his haunted past behind him. 

This counted as facing his demons, right? 

The room was quiet for a time. He typed in commands, where the only sound in the room besides the monitors humming was the keys on the keyboard click-clickity-clicking away. 

Ka-clink!  

Nezu caught his breath as his ears turned and alerted him to a sound nearby. He scanned the room, all the dark corners, eventually turning back to his work. He tried to hasten the commands.

Ka-clunk! 

His ears moved again. Nezu cast a side glance to his right and continued typing. 

His heart skipped a beat and he gasped as he did a double-take. Sitting on the controls a few feet away from where he was typing, was a large needle with a blue handle. The needle itself was hollow, cut at a slant at the end. He could just see the light from the monitors shining off its tip, making it glisten. 

Nezu stared at it with wide eyes. His heart began to race. His entire body went rigid as he stared at the aspiration needle in dismay. 

There was another sound in the darkness; the sound of something being stretched taught. The needle had been a distraction, and Nezu had unknowingly let his guard down. 

He looked over his shoulder just as he saw a shadow lunge at him. He leaped out of the chair as quickly as he could, barely raising his body over the controls and crawling over the keys, just missing the giant root that came swinging out and smashing against his chair.

Nezu jumped off of the controls and another root brushed against the right side of his face, slicing through the skin where the dart had earlier. He groaned and tumbled off the board, thankfully catching himself and landing on all fours. He had no time to look up and began to fully rely on his ears to catch every noise as giant roots began lashing out at him from the darkness.

He zigzagged low over the floor, attempting the same manoeuvres he had done back when he had escaped the first time. With his injuries, he was already slow, so the best way to go was getting out of the room before he was incapacitated.

But he had just pushed off of the wall in the direction of the hole in the door when a couple of seeds, just barely visible, were tossed in front of him. 

“Seeds of Power…” 

Nezu gasped as he clumsily landed on the floor and skidded to a stop just as the seeds exploded and roots sprang from them, creating a blockage over the door. They stretched up to the ceiling and over the floor, digging into the tiles and cracking them. 

Nezu hyperventilated as he clambered onto all fours again and scrambled away from the stretching roots. He climbed onto a table nearby and jumped over another root that lashed out at him, hopping over another two before finally being snatched in midair. The root wrapped around him, constricting his body and making him yelp in pain before pulling him over to the doorway that led to the next room. It turned him around until he was facing the darkness. 

He struggled to break free. Nezu swung his legs and tried wiggling his arms out. 

“I thought you learned your lesson,” a voice spoke into the darkness. 

The root tightened its hold. Nezu screamed in pain and immediately ceased his efforts of escaping in order to preserve energy. He coughed and took as deep a breath as he could before looking up at the doorway again, teeth bared. 

A man dressed in a dark overcoat stepped into the light cast by the monitors, holding up a bag of seeds in one hand. He had eyes as pale as ice and ebony hair with streaks of grey, signs of age over his face. This only added to the venomous grin that stretched across his face as his eyes bore into Nezu’s. 

“Struggling is useless,” the man completed. 

Nezu growled. His fur stood on end and his ears pressed against the back of his head. 

“Aren’t you going to say hello to your Master?” 

***** 

Chapter Text

Yasunori Matsumoto. That had once been a name Nezu had feared.

In the earliest moments of his life, Nezu remembered seeing him nearly every day, tending to his wellbeing. He was the only human Nezu came in contact with until he was old enough to begin testing.

Then, he hardly saw the man, unless Matsumoto had a specific reason to see him. Usually, it was never for anything good.

If someone spoke his name in the same room as the rodent, it meant Nezu had failed at something or disappointed him.

It meant personal punishment. 

First, Matsumoto would wrap his roots around him and constrict him. After five years of attempting to evade the roots, Nezu had stopped trying to get away, knowing he would be caught anyhow. And the longer he managed to evade them, the tighter they’d squeeze. It was shorter of a punishment if he just stayed where he was, even though their looming shadows and quick snatches made his heart beat like a drum.

Then he would be held up at eye level to the tall man. Tall to Nezu of course; Matsumoto was actually five-foot-six, just shy of the average height for a Japanese male. Those ice blue eyes, almost without pigment, pierced his very soul, so Nezu had learned to avoid them. If he did not look at the man in the eye, it lessened the punishment, even if it was very little. Submission, was what he was told it was called later. 

Matsumoto would pull out a bag of seeds. The seeds were varied, but the ones he used for this punishment were either hybrid poplar or cottonwood—trees that had fast growing, strong and aggressive roots. 

He would pull one out, sometimes two or three—depending on how disappointed he was—and hold them up so it was clear to Nezu what he was holding. He would then grab Nezu’s muzzle and force him to open his mouth. When Nezu began to refuse, Matsumoto used his roots to pry the animal’s mouth open. One way or another, he would make it open. And he would stuff the seeds into Nezu’s mouth until they were so far down his throat Nezu had no choice but to swallow. 

Then the real punishment would begin. 

As per the man’s Quirk, Matsumoto would begin making the seeds sprout. It was the worst form of torture Nezu had ever felt during his time as a lab rat. The roots from the seeds would spread in his throat, in his stomach, anywhere they were when the scientist began using his Quirk. It felt like a tickling feeling at first, but then it would slowly grow into pain as they pressed and squeezed around his oesophagus. It was slow but the pain was long. He had never learned how to supress it. 

He coughed, he hacked, he shook his head, hoping it would make the seeds slide out. He tried to throw them up. At times, the roots squeezed so hard he could not breathe and would gasp for air. The longest amount of time he had to spend enduring that pain was ten minutes. 

Only when Matsumoto decided that Nezu had learned his lesson, would he make the roots retract and return to the seeds, allowing Nezu to gasp for air and either throw them up or continue to digest them. 

Nezu often would make himself throw them up later, afraid the scientist could still torment him if they remained inside of him. 

“How disappointing,” Matsumoto would say, before grabbing Nezu’s head and holding it up. “You failed.” 

“I-I’ll do better,” was the shaky response. “I always d-do better.” 

“Naïve; you’re supposed to be perfect. You get it right the first time, not the second.” 

“P-please, I promise I will do it right the next time.” 

The man would chuckle, making the animal cower. “Isn’t perseverance fascinating?” He then walked away from the animal, and his roots would unravel, dropping him to the floor. “Make sure you do. Remember; perfection is the only solution, Subject Number 001.” 

And he would hardly have a chance to catch his breath before being ushered back into the testing chambers. 

It was horrible. Yet, that was the norm. As he learned how to get accustomed to his so-called Quirk, Nezu learned how to predict the margin for error in every test. He learned how things worked, even though it exhausted him. That part was pushed by fear. It was only after he had escaped that he learned how to really push himself to learn because he wanted to. He wanted to be the smartest creature in the world. 

Back then, he only wanted to survive to see the next day. Even if he was taken care of, the torture was real. Matsumoto was the only one there who was allowed to punish him. 

He thought it would be the end of it all once he had escaped. 

He should have known better. 

*****

Chapter Text

He was still just as tall, just as looming. Those were indeed the same icy blue eyes, but Nezu had come a long way since then, and he could now stare back into those eyes with a fire in his own. He would not let him overpower him with his stare. Not this time. 

Matsumoto seemed pleased by Nezu’s defiance. He opened his arms wide. “Really? Not even a hello?” he said. “I’m hurt; do you really not recognize me?” 

Nezu said nothing but growl. He bared his teeth and tried pushing back against the root imprisoning him when the man reached out towards him. 

“Maybe I should give you a little reminder,” he began, pulling out that familiar bag and holding up a seed. 

His hand was hardly an inch from his nose when Nezu lashed out and snapped. His teeth snagged onto the man’s glove, and while Matsumoto recoiled, he pulled back with the seed between his teeth. He waited for the man to be watching before biting down and snapping the seed in two. 

“I dare you to try stuffing another one down my throat, you sadist,” Nezu hissed, and his fur puffed up. 

Matsumoto looked on in silence before smiling again and letting out a soft laugh. He placed the bag of seeds back into his pocket. “Impressive,” he said. “Although I shouldn’t be surprised. You always did impress me with what you could do when you put your mind to it.” 

The root tightened around Nezu’s body again, making him yelp and groan before attempting to shaking out the pain. 

“However, retaliation was never something I overly enjoyed,” the man continued. “You used to be so good at just doing what you were told. It was so much easier back then, don’t you agree?” 

Nezu said nothing. He tried not showing any pain, but the root was applying pressure against his most severe injuries. It took every ounce of strength he had to keep from showing the man any weakness. 

The root squeezed again, making the rodent squeak. Matsumoto approached him as Nezu shook out the pain again. “Feels like a family reunion,” he said. “I was so excited when I saw you rush into the laboratories. It was like watching a child run home. Didn’t it feel like that to you?” 

He grabbed Nezu’s torn ear, pulling on it. Nezu clenched his teeth to bite back the pain. 

“Hm. You haven’t really been taking care of yourself very well though, have you?” Matsumoto said, and Nezu could hear the sarcasm. “I would have hoped you would have kept taking care of your silky fur—!” 

Nezu swung his head violently and attempted to bite, narrowly missing the man’s hand as the scientist pulled it away. He had hardly begun growling again when the root squeezed harder. This time, Nezu screamed in pain. 

“Well that’s new,” Matsumoto said with a chuckle. “You actually tried to bite me.” 

Nezu gasped for air and coughed a few times before glaring at the man. “Biting is beneath me,” he said through his teeth, and it was clear that he was in immense pain now. “Especially biting humans as rotten as you. I was merely trying a scare tactic, and clearly it worked.” 

The man threw his head back and laughed. “Rotten?” he said, with a wolf-like grin. He leaned towards Nezu again, and the rodent recoiled as they came nose-to-nose. “I was making this world better,” he said through a hiss. “Just think of all the possibilities we could achieve if animals could all get Quirks like you? Service animals are great, but if they had Quirks, they could do more.” 

“What more could possibly do this world any good?” Nezu said. “It’s impossible to transfer Quirks, I know you knew that. That whole scheme of yours, making animals stronger and smarter, that was all a cover up. There’s no way you honestly believed that you could transfer my Quirk to another creature. You’re far too intelligent to give into that nonsense!”  

Matsumoto chuckled and pulled away. “Did you just compliment me?” 

“Oh please, it was hardly a compliment. I’m merely addressing the facts.” 

The scientist stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Well; you’re not wrong,” he said with a shrug. “I had a feeling you would eventually figure that part out. But I will admit; all those experiments and testing was still fun, and part of the job. Being able to see what effect your DNA had on other creatures was always part of the learning curve. It allowed me to understand Quirks a little more, and what effect they could have if transferred.” 

He spread out his arms. “I could have created an army of unbeatable creatures, who only responded to my voice,” he said. “Or at least, that was one of the things that could have happened, had you stayed.” 

“So it was you who released those beasts into the lab,” Nezu said. “You kept them alive all this time.” 

“Naturally. After you escaped, my employees slowly trickled off. Most were afraid they’d get caught for doing experimentation, now that the world’s most intelligent creature had escaped and would no doubt let authorities know of their whereabouts.” Matsumoto pressed a finger against Nezu’s nose, and the animal growled again. “But I knew you better. There was no way in heaven or earth that you would ever let anyone know of this place’s whereabouts, or trust any other human with anything that had to do with your past.” 

“You don’t have to rub that part in; I already know you take credit for that,” Nezu said. “I figured early on in life that one of your goals was to make me distrustful towards others. Only you mattered. You were the only human who was allowed to have any control over the situation.” 

Matsumoto smiled, venom behind its innocent look, and shrugged. 

“And you watched as innocent men and women walked into your lab, getting injured or killed.” 

“Not my fault they tried getting past those traps,” Matsumoto said. “If they wanted to go in uninformed, then let them. Curiosity killed the cat, as they say.” 

“But satisfaction brought it back,” Nezu finished. 

“Oh, are you proverbial now? Becoming a teacher dampened your mind; you now rely on old sayings instead of facts and numbers. Disappointing, Subject Number 001—!” 

“I have a name and it’s not that hideous barcode,” Nezu said, wrinkling his nose. 

“That was the name we gave you.” 

“You gave that name to an item. I am not an item.” 

The root squeezed again, and all Nezu could do was gasp for air. 

“With no manners,” Matsumoto said, the smile gone from his lips now. “Do I have to show you your place again?” 

Nezu bared his teeth. 

“Back to the matter at hand,” the scientist said. “Yes; the research to discover the secret of Quirks in animals was a cover up, but oh was it all so necessary.” Matsumoto made gestures with his hands. “Picking you out of that breeding program for the way you acted, it was all too clear that there was something different about you. At first, learning what made you different was the main goal, but when it was clear that you did indeed have a Quirk, and oh the kind of Quirk you had, HA! There was no way I would part without a good price. I had to learn how it was possible, and when I realized what its effects had on other creatures, it just added more fuel to the fire in my mind. The possibilities were limitless. All that mattered was making sure you became smarter with every test we put you through.” 

“You’re no better than the rest of those villains out there, harming innocent people,” Nezu said.

Matsumoto looked at him and smiled. That smile had made Nezu’s heart sink to the pit of his stomach in the past—it was devious and covered in venom. 

Nezu shook his head very slightly, realizing the truth, before pulling his ears back and showing his teeth again. “You monster,” he growled. 

“Well that took long enough. I was expecting you to put two and two together long ago.” 

“If I wasn’t in my right mind—!” 

“But are you? Are you really, Subject Number 001?”  

The animal remained silent. 

“You actually decided to come back to this place, and without proper back up. You don’t trust anyone well enough to do that here. Not even the old number one, All Might. Are you really in your right mind, getting emotional in a place like this?” 

Nezu slowly unclenched his jaw, and it was at that moment that he realized he was breathing heavily and his eyes were filled with tears. Chin trembling, he sniffed before attempting to steady his now trembling tail. His ears fell back and he lowered his head, staring at the floor that was only still visible thanks to the glow from the computer monitors behind him. 

“Ugh, you make things so difficult now,” Matsumoto groaned. “Years ago, I never had to use anything emotional to bring you to submission. You knew no one or nothing besides what was within these walls, so you had no emotional attachment to anything. Now that you’ve had the chance to live your life outside, you’ve gotten weaker. It’s dulled your mind. Emotions are easy to toy with. So after gathering enough information, I figured out your weaknesses.” 

He beckoned the root over and it came, carrying Nezu with it. “You care too much for the people, Subject Number 001,” he whispered, his voice sending a chill down Nezu’s spine. “Your faculty, your students… It was obvious since the beginning that you loved them, but since the League of Villains began attacking your school, I noticed they seemed to strike a bigger chord in you when danger came and reared its ugly head. You have a soft spot for children.” 

Matsumoto leaned into Nezu’s ear. Nezu kept his eyes turned away. 

“And somewhere deep within you, you wanted to come back here,” the man continued in a sugar-covered voice. “You wanted to erase this place from your memory for good. Getting you here was easy, once I learned how to go around your Quirk. Granted, it took several years for me to figure it out, but once you became the Principal of the country’s most prestigious High School, it was like taking candy from a baby. You made it too easy to outsmart you.” 

He laughed here. “And on top of that, you had the bright idea of dragging two teenagers into your past with you! When they reached the controls room by getting past all those traps, it was too easy to just watch them panic when that rabbit reached them. To think: their very own principal lured them into hell itself to get torn to shreds by a demon. And I had no part in that brilliant move. That was all you, Subject Number 001.” 

Nezu did not raise his head. His ear twitched when the scientist grabbed his chin and raised his it. When he felt his breath down the side of his face, the white mammal turned his head away to avoid as much contact as he could. 

“Ah, the submission has already begun,” the scientist whispered in his ear. “You refused to look at me in the eye every time I had you to myself. You knew who was the one in charge. You obeyed quietly back then; was it not easier when you had less to think about?” 

“I was always thinking,” Nezu said just as quietly, still keeping his eyes off of the man. “Always trying to find a way out. Always trying to escape the endless loop you made me live in.” 

“But you had no responsibilities. Wasn’t that easier than all the negative media attention you’ve gotten because of All Might and your Hero Students?” 

“I see those as successes as long as my students are safe,” Nezu said, pulling his head further back when the man breathed over him again. “There was no future in this place for me; but because I was able to escape, I can insure that my students have a future of their own.” 

“And what about Mayumi, hm?” The man snapped, making Nezu cower. Matsumoto grabbed Nezu’s chin again and violently turned his head towards him once more. Fire was in his eyes, but Nezu kept his closed tight. 

“Did you think of her future when you shot a bullet through her head?” the man continued. “Did you think of her parents, or the man she was supposed to marry?” After a pause, he tightened the root around Nezu, making him squeak. “DID YOU, SUBJECT 001—!” 

“My name is Nezu,” Nezu hissed. The root tightened once more and he felt a snap, making him yelp. 

“ANSWER THE QUESTION!” Matsumoto yelled. 

“I always think of her,” Nezu snapped back, finally opening his eyes and locking gazes with his tormenter. “Day and night, she is on my mind. She still haunts my dreams.” He took a deep and shaky breath here, as more tears filled his eyes. “But I had no choice,” Nezu added, teeth clenched. “She stood between me and freedom, and I was not about to let that slip away because of a soft spot.” 

“You know what I still find funny about that?” Matsumoto said, leaning against a table. “You seemed to like her. Out of all the people who handled you here, you liked her the most.” 

“I never liked anyone who refused me the right to live,” Nezu replied, a tremble in his voice. “She taught me sign language for the times where I wished not to speak, and she was the one who brought my meals. Her voice was always gentle. But when you told her to restrain me, she would do it without a second thought. She never comforted me during those times. I was but an experimentation to her. She was just as guilty of delivering the torture I sustained here as you were.” 

“I find that hard to believe,” the man scoffed. “I remember the look in your eyes when she dropped. The immense fear was replaced by pain. And you stared at her for a moment before you realized your predicament and made a break for the exit.” 

Nezu growled. 

“Did you ever write to her family? Did you ever seek them out, or did you continue to hide in your prison of a school?” 

“Don’t taunt me,” Nezu said. “I came here to make sure no other innocent person was injured to the ridiculous traps you set up to catch me. Leaving the school vulnerable was difficult as it is.” 

The man smiled deviously. “Who did you leave in charge in your stead?” he asked. “That buffoon, All Might?” He chuckled when Nezu said nothing. “How you fell in with him, I’ll never know. He’s like a giant child. Makes a mess after every fight and laughs it out with that ridiculous smile of his. Could you imagine where he’d be now, if you had stayed and decided to work for the League of Villains? Your Quirk would be put to better use with them.” 

Nezu said nothing. He knew it was true; his Quirk was incredibly valuable to both sides of the war they were fighting. However, he had chosen long ago to be better than that, and to use his gift to help others, not harm them. 

With a gesture of the man’s hand, the root holding Nezu loosened. He gasped for air and groaned in pain, but had no chance of getting away before Matsumoto grabbed the back of his vest and held him aloft like a cat. Given the situation he was in, Nezu had no energy in him to try breaking free. His whole body was aching, and he was quite certain now that bones were broken when his side pulsated and his left paw ached any time he moved it. 

The man poked his chest, making Nezu squeak in pain from the injury he had received earlier from the creature. “Admit defeat, Subject Number 001,” he said. “Emotions made you blind to the extent of your Quirk. The tests we did here made you stronger.” 

“If anything, they worked my vocal chords,” Nezu said, rubbing his chest. 

“Oh yes, I remember those ones. Well, a little pain goes a long way.” 

“Go to hell, Matsumoto,” Nezu hissed, squeezing his good fist. 

The scientist laughed as he reached over the table for something, keeping his eyes on Nezu. “You forget who you belong to,” he said. “Only humans have the freedom you’ve been living. You are nothing but an animal born with a gift. And you will learn your place in this world, even if I must do it the hard way.” 

When he pulled his other arm in sight, Nezu felt the blood drain from his face. As his ears fell, he let out a soundless gasp and stared in horror at the syringe needle that the scientist was holding, filled with liquid. 

Matsumoto turned the needle around, pretending to study it, and smiled. “Bone marrow aspiration would be the best way to go first at this point,” he said. “And maybe another brain scan. Considering it’s been so long since the last one, I’m sure you’ve learned something new, despite getting soft.” He pointed the needle at the rodent. “But first I’ll have to get you out of here without a peep.” 

It no longer mattered to him if he was in pain. Adrenaline spiked as his natural animal instincts activated. Nezu kicked his legs about frantically, trying to escape. His heart raced as he tried prying the man’s hand off of him. 

“It was unwise of you, with a Quirk like High Spec, to actually come in here without any backup. The biggest mistake of your existence.” 

Nezu continued trying to pry the fingers wrapped around his vest off. Panic began to settle in. Despite knowing this was how his plan would go, seeing the needle had resurrected feelings of desperation he had tried to bury for years. 

He swung his legs back and forth, trying in vain to reach up and kick the man’s arm. He scratched at his hand and looked over his shoulder as the needle approached him. 

There stood the door that led to another part of the laboratory. His only escape. 

“Do not follow me into that room.” Those were the words he had told Midoriya in the basement. 

The needle was within arm’s reach now. 

“Do not follow me in… until I say so.” 

Nezu turned his head around and stared at the closed door to the room. “NOW, MIDORIYA!” he screamed. “NOW!” 

And right on cue, the door was blown off its hinges with a gust of air. With a yell, Midoriya slammed his feet down on the floor over the fallen door and held his fists out in ready stance. His glowing green eyes targeted the scientist. 

“What the?!” Matsumoto said, pulling the needle back. 

Midoriya curled one finger back and held his arm out before him. “Delaware Smash AIR FORCE!” he shouted before flicking his finger forward. 

The breeze created with One For All made the wall separating the two parts of the room crumble before charging straight for Matsumoto. The man braced himself for a brief moment and then he was knocked off his feet. He screamed, releasing both the needle and Nezu as he was sent backwards into the wall across the room. 

Tsu hopped in behind Midoriya and leaped over his head. She lashed out with her tongue, catching Nezu in midair and grabbing the needle with her hand. 

Midoriya walked over to the scientist and pressed his foot down over his chest, holding him in place. Matsumoto groaned. 

After landing nearby, Tsu gently placed the principal back on solid ground. Nezu smoothed out his fur and inhaled deeply before clasping his hands together and beaming at his students. “Good job, you two!” he said, albeit covering up as much of the pain he was feeling again. “You did cut it rather close, and unfortunately the wall came down but the building is still standing. You aimed exactly as I told you to, Midoriya. A solid A- in my book!” 

Midoriya swung a fist at his side and muttered “yes!”  

Matsumoto hoisted himself up a little against the wall. Tsu immediately lashed out her tongue and wrapped it around his body, holding him in place. 

He tried to break free. “W-wait, what does that mean?” he said. Looking at Nezu, he added, disbelief in his eyes, “You mean that was all an act?” 

Nezu rubbed his paws together. “High Spec is more than just learning mathematics and strategies, Matsumoto,” he said. “The reason why you thought emotions make you weak, well, that’s part of the reason why I’m smarter.” He tapped his head. “Of course, I came with a backup plan. But you were so obsessed with seeing my Quirk the way you thought it should be seen and used, that you forgot how complex my brain truly is, and how the human race cannot even comprehend what I can.” 

Nezu walked over to the scientist and stood as tall as he could. “One of the possibilities I thought of when I was first reached out to several days ago was that you had returned, trying to lure me in,” he said. “Yes; I did have demons with this place that I needed to deal with, but first and foremost, I had officers to keep safe. Innocent people were getting injured because of this place, so I could not just stand idly by and let them risk their lives for something only I knew how to get passed. So, despite knowing one of the possibilities of this outcome was that you were trying to lure me back, I came anyway, being it was my job as a Pro Hero to act.” 

Nezu held out his arm towards Midoriya and Tsu. “I am a principal because I care for my students. But they are not my weakness. They are the reason I enjoy what I do, and why I do it. Of course I would never want harm to befall them, however I am also not stupid enough to walk into a trap you set up, without having someone there in case things go awry. My Quirk does not allow me to have the mobility that these two have. Nor the strength. What I use in movements is only what my body can allow me to use, especially after all those aspirations.  

“I knew the moment my students were attacked that you were behind it. Once they were out of harm’s way, I began plotting to get the upper hand. I would be the cat this time; not the mouse. So on our way up to the exit, I told my students the plan. Walking into this room alone would be me signing my life away to you. I would not allow my students to come in with me, but instead I trusted them to make a detour near the exit, follow my instructions, and wait outside the door for my signal. Which they did, just as model Hero students would.” 

Nezu held out his paw towards Tsu. Confused but obedient, the girl handed him the needle. 

Nezu patted the needle in his other paw like a baseball bat. “High Spec does not only mean that I can think better than humans, Matsumoto,” he said. “It also means that I can feel more than they can. And I have an unbendable trust in my students and my faculty. Something you can only have if you are emotional… something you lack.” 

Nezu held up the needle. “As for All Might,” he said, and his voice suddenly so ominous it sent a chill down his students’ spines, “I would advise you to keep your thoughts about him to yourself. You have no idea what that man had to sacrifice to keep this world safe. Maybe it was a naïve thing to do, hiring him as a teacher in the hopes that I could perhaps keep a dear friend from injuring himself more. But I’ve never regretted it. He has been the hope and inspiration for my students, and his smile is enough to brighten the darkest room. Even in the darkest of times, he can make a classroom of terrified students smile and know they are safe. Even now, despite being unable to battle, he continues to be that beacon of hope for them. The world needs more optimism like his. I would see myself drowned before any harm came to him for being the light my students need.” 

His eyes flashed the same spark of energy Midoriya had seen when he watched the principal play the villain in students’ finals every semester. A dangerous fire filled his being, and he let out a giggle. A giggle so covered in burdens of a past of distrust towards humans, it made his unhinged madness emerge. Even the grin on his face was filled with insanity for a moment. 

It was the very first and only time Midoriya ever saw Nezu grin like a wolf, his fangs completely visible. 

Nezu held the needle up and looked at it before locking gazes with the scientist. By the sheer horror in Matsumoto’s eyes, he knew he had the upper hand. “Though I do have you to thank for a few things, Yasunori Matsumoto,” he said. “You taught me to keep striving for the best results. And the bit of sanity you stole from me does allow me to truly embody villainy when I need to test my students in their exams. I haven’t been beaten yet.” 

He laughed again before lowering his head until his eyes were nearly covered in shadow. “But I think your fun here is through now,” he said, his voice cold again. He stepped onto Matsumoto’s stomach and walked up to his chest. “There’s over a decade of things I’d like to say, but I have a mission to complete and two interns to get to safety. The reunion was short-lived, but I don’t intend on staying in touch. Rot in hell, you sadistic, perfidious piece of trash.” 

Nezu held up the needle and bared his teeth in a wide grin again. “And Sweet dreams!” 

He stuck the needle into the man’s shoulder and injected its contents into him. 

Tsu covered her mouth as Midoriya gasped. “Principal Nezu, what are you doing?!” he exclaimed. “Did you just—!” 

Nezu looked at him over his shoulder. He ears stood on end when he realized what their expressions were saying. “Goodness no, my boy!” he said, pulling the now empty needle out. He tossed it aside and walked off the man’s chest. “It’s only filled with general anesthesia; he’ll be out cold for the next few hours and by the time he wakes up, he will be delivered to the Police Force.” The tone in his voice would have convinced anyone that his moment of insanity had never existed. 

Midoriya looked at the scientist. Sure enough, the man’s eyes rolled back and he drifted off to sleep. 

“As much as I loathe him, I would never kill him,” Nezu said. “As they say in America, been there, done that. And I did not enjoy the feeling that came with it.” 

He walked up to the controls. He pushed the computer chair back over to the destroyed computer monitors. “However, I will not deny; giving him a taste of even an ounce of the hell he put me through feels rather… refreshing.” 

He climbed onto the chair and leaned over the keyboard. He smacked the only screen that had  

Been untouched by Midoriya’s attack, and continued smacking it until it turned on. Nezu dropped into the chair and began typing. “Miss Asui, keep the doctor tied up so you and Midoriya can carry him out,” he said. “I am disabling all the traps in the lab so we have a clear way to the exit. And safe passage for the Police Force.” 

“Why?” Tsu asked. “Why let them in?” 

“So they can go to the basement and put those poor souls out of their misery. They’ve spent far too long in those cages and in those forms. They deserve release.” 

They watched him type away in silence, coughing a few times. Now and then, he shook his left paw and groaned in pain. His typing was restricted now that it hurt terribly. He wiped blood away from his eye, momentarily forgetting that he had received the gash there due to evading the roots earlier.  

The children said nothing, although he could feel their eyes studying his every injury. 

Nezu squeaked in pain and grasped his side. “I think I will be in need of some time off, once we return to the school,” he said, turning the chair around and pulling out the usb stick Midoriya and Tsu had left there earlier. “I haven’t had to recuperate from a mission in a very long time now. Moving around is almost impossible at this point.” 

Midoriya walked over to the rodent. “Sir,” he said, holding out his hands, “Did you need any help getting do—!” 

“I’m fine, don’t worry,” Nezu interrupted, in a very defensive tone, while holding up a hand to stop the boy. “I do not need assistance.” 

“Uh… y-yessir.” 

He stood there, watching the principal grunt and groan as he slowly slid out of the chair and landed on the floor. Nezu hissed painfully, rubbing his hip before straightening out and pointing to the exit. “All’s clear,” he said. “Now let’s get out of this nightmarish place and catch our breaths.” 

Tsu and Midoriya watched him walk off. As Midoriya walked over to the unconscious scientist to pick him up, giving his friend a hand in moving him, Tsu cleared her throat. “Principal Nezu,” she said, stopping him in the doorway, “Your plan was flawless. I know I shouldn’t be surprised since it was you, but it was pretty impressive.” 

Nezu’s ears perked and his tail swung. “Thank you, my Dear,” he said, turning around to face the teenagers. “Years of practice and knowing your enemy is essential for formulating a plan that flawless in but a span of a few minutes.” He looked at the man Midoriya was carrying. “Although there was one thing that I did not expect.” 

“What was that?” Midoriya said. 

“I was surprised to realize that he actually was a villain.” Nezu looked up towards the ceiling. “All this time, he was not trying to achieve the goal of transferring Quirks to animals. That became a game to him. He was actually prepping me.” 

“Prepping you for what?” 

“To be an asset. A weapon to be used against Pro Heroes… like All Might. He was trying to make me grow so alienated to the world of humans that I’d want nothing but their demise. First, he was pushing me to use my Quirk to its full potential. I’m certain that, had I not escaped, he’d teach me about how Pro Heroes were eyesores. With an army of nomu-like creatures, there’s no denying that he had at one point gotten into contact with All For One. Killing Pro Heroes would come quite easy to me once my disdain for them would be in place.” 

Nezu rubbed his injured wrist but never looked at his students when he spoke. “Fancy that, huh?” he whispered. “Had I not escaped, I may be the very one you children would have to defeat. I wonder how that would have played out.” Nezu paused and then began heading off. “Let’s get out of here, Students—!” 

“Wait, one more thing,” Tsu said, making the animal stop in his tracks again. “What he said when Midoriya and I barged in; was it true? Did you really act all of that out?” 

Nezu turned his head a little, but his ears fell and he did not look at his students. He held a hand to his chest. “No,” he said, a sad smile on his lips. “Not all of it was acting.” 

***** 

Chapter Text

They walked in silence for a time, following their teacher down the quiet corridors. The silence was not as eerie, now that the mission was completed and the traps were deactivated.

Midoriya observed the animal as it led them to the exit. He was still limping, if not a little more so than earlier. He still flinched at the poison in his body, but that seemed to be at the back of his mind.  

Besides the bruises and scrapes all three had acquired, Nezu still had the gash on his chest, which seemed to be bleeding through the cloth he had stuffed into it earlier. His left paw was constantly being rubbed or gently carried in his other. His right eye looked like one of the worst injuries due to everything that had happened around it. The skin from his scar was raw and slightly swollen. Blood trailed down over it from the gash on his forehead. Every now and then, Midoriya noticed him raise a paw to wipe some of the blood aside. Nezu eventually pulled out his ascot and held it up to the gash, tying a makeshift headband around his ears to stop the bleeding.

It took a long time of listening to their footsteps echoing down the path before Midoriya finally decided to speak up. He could not bear seeing his teacher in so much pain.  

“Principal Nezu,” he said, his voice hoarse.  

Nezu’s ear twitched at the mention of his name.  

“Are you sure don’t want me to… carry you? You look like you’re—!”  

“As I said earlier, I’m quite alright, Midoriya,” Nezu replied. “I am in no need of assistance.”  

“But your leg—!”  

“I said it’s alright. Nothing I can’t handle. Besides; your hands are full.”  

Midoriya sighed and looked at his feet, worried he had made his Principal upset by offering to help him.  Aizawa had said to his students that Nezu had pride when it came to his independency.

Tsu watched her friend look away in shame. She knew he only did what he did to make things easier for others, and therefore felt like she should find a way to bring that to light.

Clearing her throat, she said: “Sir, if you don’t mind me breaking one of All Might’s rules,” she began, and the principal turned his head ever so slightly. “Aizawa gave us a list before we left, saying that we were not to ask you anything that didn’t pertain to the mission, since it would be crossing over the personal line…”  

Nezu’s ear twitched again.  

“But I have to ask you, because it’s been bothering me since we started the mission. After you told us a little bit about your time here, would your past as Subject Number 001 be the reason for you not… liking it when humans touch you?”  

Midoriya looked up when she spoke those words.  

Nezu turned his head over his shoulder and looked at her.  

“I apologize if I’m crossing the line, Sir.”  

Nezu looked on in silence before turning his head away again. “You would be correct, Miss Asui,” he said. “Aside from being a proud individual who would rather not be pet like a dog or patronized, the root of the reason I don’t like being touched would be the way I was treated here.

“I was handled in a way that made me think all humans treated animals that way, so it took an extremely long time before I was alright with even a handshake. I don’t mind some contact, as long as I instigate it. Something like a handshake, or a high-five, or even climbing up onto another teacher’s shoulder. I often like to sit up high, considering it’s easier for me to see that way, and Vlad King and All Might are two of my favourite perches, seeing how tall they are. But they never make the first move. It must always be I who does. As long as I know I am controlling the gesture, then I don’t mind it.”  

He fell silent here, in a way that Midoriya and Tsu knew he was not finished speaking; only mulling over the next words he would have to say.  

The animal sighed, and his ears drooped a little. “Hugs, on the other hand, are completely off limits,” he said, and his voice was much gentler, as though he was embarrassed to say so. “I know psychologically, most people like hugs; the tightness and feeling of someone holding you when you’re afraid stirs your endorphins, allowing temporary healing and security. But for me, it’s constricting.  

“Whenever the research scientists came into my room to fetch me for a bone marrow aspiration—always without the anesthesia—I was held down against my will. When I was carried there, they often needed two people to keep me still. Then I was set down on a table, on my stomach, and they would press down on me to keep me from wiggling away. My arms, legs, tail, even my head, were pinned down by three, sometimes four people, just so that I could not escape. I had to endure ten minutes, sometimes fifteen, every month or so, of the most horrific pain I ever had to be in. And not once was I allowed to even wrap my tail around my body for security.”  

He paused and then a very weak laugh escaped his lips. “It also has to do with… more torture Matsumoto personally put me through but I… don’t plan on discussing that in detail with anyone…” Nezu shook out a shiver and his ears flattened. “It’s a nightmare I plan on dragging to the grave with me if I must.”  

Nezu raised his head, but did not look at the students behind him. “The feeling of having someone wrap their arms around me, even if I see it coming, is enough to trigger a panic attack,” he said. “I never did get over that… even now, I can still feel the pain and fear from those moments. I don’t like being in a situation where I cannot control the contact, so my animal instincts instantly kick in and it becomes fight or flight. Granted, if a child were to rush over to me and wrap their arms around me—which has happened in the past—I can subdue the instincts enough that I won’t harm the child, but it does become rather… exhausting to do that.  

“What happened here over a decade ago did so much psychological damage that I could never feel safe in someone’s arms… So, I am content with kind words. My idea of security is a cup of tea by the window on a rainy day, with a friend there to listen to my stories about strategies, or to even listen about how silky I can get my fur.”  

There was a pause before Tsu muttered a quiet ribbit. “Not even a blanket?” she said. “I like having those wrapped around me.”  

“Unfortunately, a blanket is just as constricting as a hug for me,” Nezu said with a soft laugh. “Not nearly as terrifying, since I know blankets aren’t alive, but it still makes me uncomfortable. I like to sleep with minimal bedsheets. Usually, I only have a thin one and that’s all.”  

“Thank you for answering my question, Principal Nezu,” Tsu said, bowing her head. “Despite it being very personal.”  

“After a mission like this one, you two deserve to know the truth,” Nezu said. “Thank you for remaining so calm and collected the whole time, my Dear. That is a virtue most heroes still need practice on.”  

Tsu blushed but thanked him. She looked at Midoriya.  

Midoriya was staring at his feet, shame across his expression as he seemed to suppress tears. He stopped walking, and Tsu had to stop as well since her tongue was still wrapped around the scientist he was carrying.  

“I’m sorry if I offended you earlier, Sir,” Midoriya muttered, and Nezu stopped walking as well. “I didn’t realize… I mean I should have…” He shut his eyes tightly as the principal turned to look at him. “I just… noticed how much pain you were in, and what a struggle walking is probably for you right now… I wanted to maybe alleviate it somehow.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry if I sounded like I was patronizing you, Principal Nezu. Please forgive me!”  

“… You sound just like him.”  

The soft laugh made Midoriya look up. It had been a long time since he had heard his principal laugh so warmly, even if it was quietly.  

Nezu looked back at him with his usual warm smile, and shook his head. “You and All Might are so alike in nature, it’s almost mindboggling,” he said, and his tail rose a little. “Nothing you said offended me, Izuku. I know the nature of your heart; it’s as compassionate as his. If anything, I appreciate that you did reach out to ask if I needed assistance. The last time someone did so was on my first Field Mission, when the Number One Hero dropped everything to make sure that I could walk without any pain.”  

Nezu turned around to completely face his students. “Both of you have shown so much kindness, bravery and loyalty today, I don’t even know where to begin to grade you on this internship,” he said. “You not only willingly chose to trust my voice as I guided you blindly through the laboratories, but you also trusted me when I told you not to follow me right away into the security room. Miss Asui, with your constant level-headedness, even when seeing things that clearly distraught you; and you Midoriya, when despite feeling strongly that I should be accompanied, you made the choice to trust and step back, despite your heart telling you to do the opposite. You observed me making last second decisions, and I watched as your eyes studied my movements. You still have a long way to go, but that’s why you’re at UA; to learn. No one became a Pro Hero overnight.”  

Midoriya bowed his head. “It’s been an honor learning from you, Sir,” he said.  

“As a final reassurance, Midoriya, it’s not that I don’t want your help,” Nezu added. “In fact… it would be greatly appreciated right now. But as I said earlier today: this was my battle. And I have to walk away from it on my own. Afterwards, I will be happy to let you help me into the armored vehicle.”  

“Yessir.”  

“And one last thing, the both of you.” Nezu’s smile weakened a little. “I know it’s customary for classmates to speak about their internships the following week in class, but I would be very grateful if you kept this mission under wraps… for my sake.”  

“You can count on us, Principal Nezu,” Tsu said.  

Nezu nodded and then pointed down the corridor. “Now, we march, my interns,” he said, as he began walking. “Because I don’t know about you, but this place is giving me the willies. Time to go!”  

Midoriya watched him walk off and could no longer suppress a smile.  

“He’s pretty cool, huh?” Tsu said, grinning as well.  

“Uh-huh. He sure is.”  

“What should we tell the others if they ask us what we did?”  

Midoriya hoisted up the man on his shoulders. “That we studied strategies and relayed them to the Police Force,” he said as they began walking.  

“So basically, paperwork.”  

“Basically.”  

“That sounds boring.”  

“Well, it is Principal Nezu… The guy who likes to talk about how his fur is so silky smooth instead of immediately jumping to important school details at orientation—!”  

“My ears also work better than a humans’,” Nezu called out from up ahead. “Imagine that.”  

The children giggled.  

“Also, don’t worry, you two; we still have about five days or so of internship left; I’ll have something else for you to do during that time that isn’t paperwork. Along with that, maybe some one-on-one training.”  

Tsu clasped her hands together. “Now that sounds interesting,” she said. “What do you have in mind?”  

“Oh… a field trip of sorts. Now hurry along!”  

*****

Chapter Text

The sun was setting when they finally exited the laboratories. Midoriya kicked the door open when Nezu said to. Feeling the last of the rain drops from the canopy, hearing the crickets in the long grass and smelling the dampness in the air, made the three of them sigh. The worst was now behind them.

“Midoriya!”

Tsukauchi rushed over through the tall grass, waving his arm through the air, followed closely by Officer Tamakawa and Chief Itsuki. Several other officers peered out of their hiding spaces.

The detective came to a halt before the children as Nezu continued limping by. “Are you two alright?” he asked, looking Midoriya and Tsu over. “You look like you were in one heck of a fight. Are you in need of any medical help?”

Midoriya and Tsu looked at each other. “No, we’re fine,” he said. “Principal Nezu took care of most of the injuries. They just need to be cleaned and they’ll heal up.”

“Ribbit; if anyone needs some healing done, it’s Principal Nezu,” Tsu said, pointing at the rodent. She then pointed at the man Midoriya was carrying. “But I have a feeling he won’t accept anything until you take care of him first.”

Tsukauchi was already looking at the limp scientist in confusion. He opened his mouth to speak when he was interrupted by his chief.

“Dammit, Nezu! The hell were you thinking?” Itsuki scolded as he slowed down, watching the animal limp by. “Do you have a death wish or something? And who the hell is—!”

“Do yourself a favor, Chief, and be quiet,” Nezu snapped. “My sanity has already been tested by humanity today, so you do not want me to lose the rest of it on you now. I am in no physical nor emotional position to be taking anymore yelling. Please let me rest.”

The chief kept his mouth hanging open as he was scolded. He was about to argue when he noticed all the injuries over the rodent, some of which he had not seen until he was up close. He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his head. “Uh… my apologies,” he muttered.

Nezu tossed the usb drive over his shoulder at the man, taking the chief by surprise as he fumbled to catch it.

“There’s your information,” Nezu said. “I hope it’s all that you need.”

Itsuki looked at the stick in silence until Tsukauchi and Tamakawa walked by, now carrying Matsumoto over their shoulders for the teenagers. Midoriya and Tsu followed in tow.

“Who is that?” Itsuki asked as the children stopped by him.

“Doctor Yasunori Matsumoto,” Midoriya replied. “He was the founder of this facility.”

Itsuki looked at him with wide eyes. “You mean he’s…” he pointed. “That man is…” He looked at Nezu and passed a hand over his face. “Oh man, I need a drink.”

“We can explain it to you on the way to our vehicle, Sir,” Midoriya said. “It’s a lot to explain. And I think it’s best that we get out of here.”

“You’re telling me; I wanted out the moment your principal rushed into hell with his arms wide open.” He looked at Nezu, just as the animal came to a stop under a tree. “You mind telling me where my detective’s handgun is, Mister Guns-never-helped?” he said, hands on his hips.

Nezu slowly turned around. “It’s in the basement,” he said. “Lying outside a row of cages.”

“Cages?”

“Your men can go down and retrieve it if it means that much to you. I’ve disabled all the traps, so it’s one hundred percent safe now.”

“Why do they need to go down to the basement?”

“To put the rest of the victims of this place out of their misery. There’s a little over a hundred. If they stay away from the bars, your people should be fine.”

Itsuki gaped for a moment before heaving a sigh and passing a hand over his face. “Never a dull moment with you, Nezu,” he said.

“I try.”

“Alright, I’ll send them down while I get you guys to the vehicles. Tsukauchi can drive you back to UA, since you’ve already done enough and I would prefer to stay in All Might’s good graces—!”

Nezu shook his head as he tried shaking out another wave of pain from the poison. “We’ll be making a short detour,” he said. “I want to take the students somewhere where I can continue their internship in peace…” He looked up at the sky. “… And somewhere I can get a breather I’ve long needed.”

“Uh… okay, do whatever. I’m done being the nanny.” He called over the rest of his officers and directed them into the building as the children continued on to where their principal had stopped.

Nezu let out a weak scoff before slowly getting down to the forest floor. “Nanny indeed,” he muttered, lying down in the grass and staring up at the canopy.

Midoriya and Tsu stopped nearby and looked on as the rodent let out a heavy sigh. His chest raised as high as he would allow it painlessly. He closed his eyes, let the rain drops from the leaves drench him. His mouth tightened and his chin trembled.

They decided not to bother him.

*****

The sun had nearly set by the time Nezu decided he had rested long enough. The chief stayed by the students and asked them for a brief report, knowing that their principal was in need of rest, and Nezu only muttered “yes” or “no” when specific questions were asked. Otherwise, he remained silent.

Seeing as Tsukauchi and Tamakawa had been told by the chief to go ahead and get Matsumoto back to Tokyo—they placed him in handcuffs and removed any seed on his being as Nezu suggested—the principal figured they should quickly join them before making the men drive their vehicle into the thicket.

Midoriya made sure to say nothing until Nezu made the first move and asked for help. At his say-so, the boy squatted and allowed the rodent to grab onto his mask and hoist himself up onto his back. It was slow-going, seeing as now that he could relax, all the pain he had pushed back was making his entire body ache. Sitting up was a hassle already.

Placing his hands behind him to support the principal, Midoriya got to his feet, and he and Tsu began the hour trek to the vehicle.

Nezu did not say a word the entire way, unless the students asked him a question, but even that was done at a minimum. He set his head against Midoriya’s back and his arms at his sides as the boy gave him support to sit on. His body was still, as though he was attempting to keep from moving too much and feeling the pain. He did not sleep; from what Tsu had noticed, his eyes were much more peaceful than they had been when they had first arrived.

He did not stare at anything in particular, yet they seemed to be contemplating nevertheless.

Matsumoto had been sent off with another four officers to Tokyo by the time the three had joined Tsukauchi and Tamakawa—the detective felt it would be less stress on the principal if he was not riding in the same vehicle as his tormentor. Tsukauchi had set up one side of the backseat in a manner that could comfortably accommodate Nezu. Despite being a proud individual, Nezu did not refuse the gesture and Midoriya helped him get settled down. The children sat down across from him.

“I’m sure Recovery Girl and All Might will be plenty relieved to know you’re safe and sound,” Tsukauchi said, as he began driving out of the forest. “Unfortunately, we’ll probably get back at UA late, nearly three in the morning, but—!”

“Actually I’d… like it if you made a detour and dropped us off elsewhere, Detective,” Nezu said through deep breaths, lying on his back on the seat. “They don’t need me back at UA for another five days. And even then, I’ll probably be taking a week off to recuperate.”

Tsukauchi looked at him through the rear-view mirror. “Uh… detour, Sir?” he said.

“To a village. Just north-east of here. About six kilometres.”

“Okay. May I ask why?”

“I would like the opportunity to fulfill Midoriya and Asui’s internship, in a better learning environment… that and I need a place to properly relax without Chiyo and Toshi helicoptering over me.”

Tsukauchi smiled at Tamakawa as the feline chuckled.

“I can give you a briefing once we stop… In the meantime, we’ll rest.”

“Just give me the address and I will get you there in fifteen tops.”

*****

Midoriya and Tsu had quickly fallen asleep in the back, hardly a moment they had gotten into the vehicle. The bounce of the vehicle on dirt roads was surprisingly soothing.

The first thing he saw when he woke up were street lights.

They were driving through small town, down a street that was lit by only quaint street lights and lined by small, Japanese-styled houses. The stars were out where the clouds did not cover them, and any bit of light was reflected in the puddles on the streets left by that day’s rainfall.

They came to a stop in front of a house at the end of the street, just on the edge of town. A hill further down led up into the mountains of forests. Trees bordered the yard, with a giant one peeking over the roof from the back. A red pick-up truck was parked next to a mini-van in the driveway. The lights were still on indoors.

A young woman was sweeping the front porch when Tsukauchi pulled up in front of it. She had golden blond hair tied up in a braided bun, dressed in overalls and a striped blue shirt. She looked up when the truck came to a stop.

“Ribbit; I was expecting maybe an inn, but not someone’s house,” Tsu said, as she and Midoriya peered out the window. “Who’s that?”

Their attention turned to Nezu. With a few painful grunts and groans, he dragged himself to the window and placed his paws on its ledge, propping himself up enough that he peered over it and locked gazes with the young woman.

Immediately, the woman recoiled upon seeing him.

“How you’ve grown,” Nezu whispered, placing a paw against the window.

The young woman gaped and dropped the broom she had in her hands with a clack to the wooden porch floor. The grin appeared almost instantly over her face. She hopped in place for a moment before she turned and shouted something into the house.

Midoriya opened the door when his principal asked him to, and he watched as Nezu slid carefully out of the vehicle.

“Mom! MOM, DAD! NARI, Quick!” the woman was shouting. Just as a young man peered out of the open doorway, with the same coloured hair, the woman leaped over the broom and ran across the yard. “Nezu’s home!”

“Mom, it’s Nezu!” the young man exclaimed, scrambling to put on outdoor shoes and running out after who Midoriya assumed to be his sister.

Nezu kept the door open once he set his feet down on the grass and held onto the door for support until he was too far ahead to reach for it.

An older couple came rushing to the front door just as the two younger ones dropped to the ground in front of the white mammal. Their eyes were bright and the smiles on their faces stretched from one ear to the other.

“Took you long enough to come back,” the woman said as her brother knelt down nearby.

“Dang, what kind of classes are you teaching at UA?” the man said with a chuckle, as he held out an arm so that Nezu could lean against it. “You’re a mess!”

“Oh, I don’t… normally look like this,” Nezu said with a weak laugh, and his tail finally perked up. “You know I like to keep my fur cleaner than this… It’s been a rather long day.”

“No kidding.” All three looked up to the house as the older couple rushed over.

The parents seemed no older than All Might, with a few wrinkles and grey hair to their names. The woman, dark brown hair tied back in a bun, dropped to the ground between her children. Despite the gratefulness in her smile, there were tears in her eyes.

Nezu took two steps towards her before she held out her hands so he could set his paws in them.

“You didn’t tell me you were visiting,” the woman said, like a mother who was pretending to be upset.

Nezu tried to shrug half-heartedly. “It was last minute,” he said. “I had business to… attend to in the mountains and I… thought I should pay a visit.”

The looks on all four humans told Midoriya that they knew exactly what he had meant by those words.

The older woman placed her hands on Nezu’s cheeks and held his head. “Why in the world did you go back there?” she whispered as his ears fell.

“… No reason,” Nezu said with a quiver.

She shook her head. “Well now you’re here,” she said firmly, “And we won’t bother with that place. This is a safe place.”

“We were just getting dinner ready,” the older man said, leaning over his wife. “Later than usual, but we were all tending to things. We have plenty of tea brewing. Your favourite, actually.”

“I do… I do love tea,” Nezu said almost inaudibly.

The older woman nuzzled his forehead and then leaned over him. She wrapped her arms around the rodent, and to the students’ amazement, Nezu returned the gesture.

“We missed you, Nezu,” the woman whispered.

Nezu closed his eyes as he set his head in the crook of her neck. “I missed you too,” he said.

Midoriya could not help but smile. It reminded him of how much being in his mother’s arms meant to him.

He made a mental note to call her the following day.

Tsu leaned around to see better. “It’s funny how he’s contradicted himself a lot today,” she said, catching her friend’s attention. “He said he’d never set foot in the labs, then he rushed in. He planned to catch Matsumoto, planning to act to ease him, but then said not all of it was acting. And now, he’s hugging someone who clearly didn’t ask him to hug him back, but he’s not freaking out.”

Midoriya shrugged. “I guess family is an exception,” he said.

“Ribbit; I would never let my brother touch me within a ten-foot pole if I was as beat up as that.”

Midoriya nudged in response. Tsu chuckled and stuck out her tongue.

They stayed in their seats until Nezu called for all four of his guests to come out and introduce themselves.

Midoriya and Tsu were curious to see where the next part of their internship would take them, given that their mission was now completed, but all they could think of at that moment, as the the teenage daughter pulled them into the house, was getting a well-deserved hot meal in their stomachs.

Training could take a back seat for the rest of the night.