Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“The end is nigh; do not interrupt my quest, for it will be the death of us all!” announced the villain towards the raiding party. Izuku knew he shouldn’t have followed Mr Date when they figured out where Starservant’s lair was, but Kamui Woods had been called for the raid, and Izuku needed to get more notes on his Quirk.

The battle went outside quickly; several of the buildings around them had their windows removed by Starservant’s Quirk and balls of glass flew left and right trying to hit Kamui Woods, while the villain’s underlings fought the police and Kamui’s sidekicks. Izuku tried to stay safe amidst the chaos, but he had to stay constantly on the move because of the stray glass spheres, bullets, and other projectiles flying around.

Then he noticed it. A sphere that missed Kamui Woods just narrowly, carried forward by momentum towards…

Izuku didn’t even have time to land after jumping in between the orb and Mr Date. The last thing he remembered was the impact with the left half of his face, and then, pain.

Izuku opened his right eye.

He reached a hand over the bandage that covered the left half of his face, the memory of how he lost his eye sparking to the surface if Izuku so much as dozed off like he did moments prior. He looked around, the lobby of the MPD Headquarters greeting his reduced vision. Izuku recognized the place, he had been taken there after trying to stop an attempted murder – which ended with him developing a concussion and memory issues regarding the incident.

So much for a weekend in Tokyo, he sighed, not entirely bothered by the ordeal.

A tap on Izuku’s shoulder made him jump and look around. A young man in a suit greeted him with an apology for the scare and a polite smile. Izuku could swear he looked like a younger version of Mr Date, so perhaps they were related? Families of policemen weren’t unheard of, even after the decline in interest on the job after heroism became what it did, so that wasn’t out of the realm of possibility…

“Mr Midoriya?” called the young man that Izuku assumed to be an officer. Izuku blanched at the thought of having said that out loud.

“Y-yes, how can I help you?” he answered, hoping that if he did say his thoughts out loud, the officer would ignore it.

“Could you please follow me?” he asked, and Izuku was all but ready to die of embarrassment, but complied anyway, heading with the older man towards an elevator. The man pressed no button, yet the doors closed and the elevator started to move anyway. The same had happened when Mr Date first took him to ABIS, so Izuku was sure that that was where they were headed.

Izuku still didn’t quite understand what the people of ABIS wanted with him after everything; the case was all but closed, even though Starservant escaped arrest, and he’d already been chewed out plenty by police officers for going into the middle of a raid. There was little else they could say that he hadn’t heard already.

The elevator ride was short and silent; as was the walk to the room with “Commander’s Office” written on the plaque beside it. With another smile, the officer opened the door for Izuku to walk through, and closed it behind him.

Inside the room was Mr Date, standing by a shelf, and a woman in red sitting on top of the desk, who Izuku believed to be the commander that the plaque referred to. He gulped.

“Izuku Midoriya?” the woman asked, and Izuku nodded in confirmation. “Before anything else,” she began, standing up, “I’d like to thank you for what you did for Date. I have my qualms about you breaking into a police perimeter, but were it not for you being there, it is entirely possible Date would be dead by now.” She bowed. “So, thank you.”

She returned to her desk and picked up a file. “Now that the formal stuff is out of the way,” she said immediately, not giving Izuku any time to process what just happened, “let’s talk about the eye you lost.”

“H-huh?” was the very thoughtful sound that came out of Izuku’s mouth. Mr Date cleared his throat.

“Ah, right, introductions,” the woman said in response, “everyone calls me ‘Boss’, even my friends from outside ABIS, so you can call me that, too,” she waved. In the lack of an actual name – or anything else to call her by – Izuku dubbed her “Boss” in his mind. “Now where was I? Right. Your left eye.”

Mr Date sighed. Whatever message he tried to convey earlier clearly failed to reach Boss. Izuku’s mind finally caught up to him and he sputtered unintelligible gibberish for a couple seconds. When at last Izuku succeeded in containing his confusion, Boss opened the file with a smile.

“The doctors said you were lucky you only lost your eye, and I can see why. If the ball shattered or hit you anywhere else, you could have easily died.” Izuku knew that, he had heard it several times from the doctors and the police, but Boss’ tone wasn’t harsh like theirs. Where was she taking the conversation? “Fortunately for you, we at ABIS hate being indebted to people, isn’t that right, Date?”

“Kind of, yeah,” Mr Date answered, and if Izuku had to guess, his voice sounded like he wouldn’t have phrased it that way, “look, what she means is that we have a way to make up for you losing your eye.”

“And what is that?” Izuku questioned, suddenly more curious than intimidated.

“It’s… hard to explain. You know what? I’ll just show you.” Just as those words came out of Mr Date’s mouth, Izuku let out a yelp. What other reaction should he have had when Mr Date’s left eye literally jumped out of his eye socket and grew a translucent body? Izuku was about to assume it was a Quirk, but that wouldn’t make sense given how Mr Date phrased it.

Which opened the possibility that that wasn’t the effect of a Quirk. What could that mean? Izuku didn’t know of technology that advanced outside of heroics, but if it wasn’t a Quirk, that was the only other explanation that made sense. So Mr Date had a prosthetic eye that could jump out of the socket at any moment. Wait…

“I see you figured it out,” the walking eyeball spoke. Izuku didn’t know whether to blush for falling into his muttering habit again or gape at the thought of being offered a prosthetic eye, but what he did know for sure was that that was the most incredible piece of technology he’d ever seen and would love to learn more about it.

“This is Aiba,” Mr Date introduced, “the official name is AI-Ball, but that’s what we call her. She’s been my partner for six years now.”

“A pleasure to finally talk to you, Midoriya.” Aiba waved with her petite… paws? They weren’t really hands. “The conclusion you arrived at is true. We at ABIS would like to offer you an AI-Ball to replace the eye you lost; that, and one other thing. Right, boss?”

“What other thing?” Izuku and Mr Date said in unison.

“Really, Aiba? I wanted to con him into signing the papers,” Boss chastised, then sighed. “Yes, there’s one other thing: Izuku Midoriya, as of now you are officially invited to join the ranks of ABIS as a Psyncer.”

Mr Date choked. “What the fuck, Boss?” he asked. Reasonably, in Izuku’s opinion. “He’s not even 15 yet!”

“Relax, Date, I know that.” Boss closed the file and looked straight at Izuku. “Listen, this is just for paperwork reasons; we can’t give you an AI-Ball if you’re not officially affiliated with us,” she explained, “I won’t have you do anything, not even be the coffee boy, unless you want to.”

“Furthermore,” Aiba continued, “even if you don’t accept, we at ABIS are more than willing to help you in other ways. You want to be a pro-hero, right? We’ll gladly help you train for the UA entrance exam.”

“W-what?” Izuku thought that was too good to be true. There had to be a catch to it.

“I don’t buy it.” Mr Date beat him to the punch. “I can believe supporting him with the entrance exam, that’s fine, but you wouldn’t want a teenager in ABIS if you had nothing to gain from it. You’d have given him an AI-Ball illegally in that case.”

Izuku stumbled at how casually Mr Date revealed that his superior would break the law, but if that was true, it raised a good point. What did Boss want in exchange?

“Fine, you got me,” she sighed. “But it looks like you haven’t read Izuku’s Quirk registry if you don’t know that.”

“His… Quirk registry?” Mr Date raised an eyebrow, and Izuku froze. She wanted him… for his Quirklessness?

“Simply put, Date, he’s like you: Quirkless.”

Izuku could tell Mr Date’s surprise was for a reason similar to his own. Outside of the internet, he had yet to meet a Quirkless person. Izuku didn’t go around hiding his Quirk status, but it was hard to want to share it when every time he did it, everyone around him suddenly took a condescending attitude. To meet someone who could understand what he went through was… it was…

Izuku held back the tears for the sake of composure. A herculean effort, but one he succeeded in.

Mr Date looked at Izuku, then back at Boss. “So that’s why you want him,” he realized, but Izuku couldn’t understand the logic behind it.

“Um, e-excuse me?” Izuku meekly butted in. “What does being quirkless have to do with becoming a Psyncer?”

“Our research has revealed that Quirks have an effect on people’s psyches,” Aiba took it upon herself to elucidate, “to summarize, certain combinations of Quirks may have adverse effects on both the Psyncer and the subject, which is why we’d like to have as many Quirkless Psyncers as possible.”

It made sense on all accounts. Izuku thought back to Kacchan’s demeanor; it was true that every school they’ve been to inflated his ego to an unhealthy degree, but it wasn’t accurate to claim that that was the entire cause of how he behaved. His personality did fall in line with how his quirk appeared, with intense bursts of emotion. Izuku made a mental note to look up more of that online, but he had more pressing things to talk about.

“What happens if I accept?” he asked, voice slightly shaken.

“Like Date said, even if you refuse, I’ll find a way to replace your eye; it’s the least I can do,” Boss answered, “the only real difference if you accept is that you get a police badge and clearance to Psync with someone if we need you to and I give my approval.”

Izuku wanted to stop and think, but there were barely any downsides to the deal Boss proposed; if she was being honest, and Izuku had no reason to believe she wasn’t after she revealed why she wanted Izuku, then agreeing to join ABIS or not was irrelevant. He’d get a prosthetic eye like Aiba and the support of the department to get into UA. What more could he want?

Most of himself wanted to reject the offer anyways, because it was only made after he saved Mr Date, and he wouldn’t have been called to ABIS and proposed a position in it if he hadn’t. The proposal didn’t feel hollow, but Izuku didn’t want to take it simply because Boss – because Mr Date – felt indebted to him. He didn’t even have any training! How useful would he be for the police like that? At the same time, he didn’t want to do nothing in exchange for their kindness. That was the first time in years that anyone other than his mom showed him support.

As if knowing Izuku’s thoughts, Mr Date approached him, and knelt so their eyes were on the same level.

“Listen, whatever you decide, everyone here will support you, so don’t feel like you owe us. If anything, we owe you and this doesn’t even begin to make up for it,” he said, right eye staring at Izuku’s bandage, much like Izuku’s saw the closed lids of his empty socket. “You want to be a hero? Then I have good news for you: you already are. And anyone who says otherwise is wrong. Got it?”

Izuku nodded slowly. Tears started to well up in his eye, but he contained himself. He had to do one last thing.

He looked past Mr Date, at Boss, resolute.

“Deal.”

“This is Pewter; local genius,” Mr Ryuki introduced. Another new face to the list, the second that day. Mr Ryuki’s was the first.

“Please,” Pewter laughed, “just because I am a surgeon and an engineer doesn’t mean I am a genius. Shoma has far more potential than me.”

Huh. Did that mean Pewter would be the one to perform the surgery on Izuku? Alone? Maybe accepting Boss’s deal wasn’t a good idea after all.

“Anyways,” Pewter carried on with the conversation, “the rest of the medical team will be prepared shortly.” Izuku sighed at that. “Until then, I would like to introduce you, Mr Midoriya, to your new partner.” He reached around, into one of the lockers in the medical office and took out a small sphere. “This is Nemo. Your soon-to-be left eye.”

“It doesn’t look active…” he commented out loud, picking it up from Pewter’s extended hand and examining it closer.

“Of course. It doesn’t have a personality yet.” Pewter explained. “I have developed an algorithm that, based on a brain scan, produces the best possible partner an AI-Ball could be, all thanks to the power of the Wadjet System.”

Fascinating. Izuku couldn’t wait to see the results.

Chapter Text

“Cannonball!”

A shout rang from above, but Aiba was unbothered. From her position, she could relax and enjoy her sunbathing without issue; the water wouldn’t hit her. She could also hear Midoriya yelling in panic, a fair reaction to having your first psync start with a fall from that height, even if there was no real risk to him.

Through her sunglasses, Aiba could spot Nemo above her; a mere point in the blue skies of Atami, easily ignorable. She closed her eyes, it would still take a couple seconds for him to reach her, so she decided to wait. As the voices grew louder, Aiba found that her relaxing time was coming to an end, which made her sigh. Teaching was such a demanding job.

The “splash” of Nemo’s body hitting the water told her that they arrived. Taking off her sunglasses, she watched as a young man in formal attire stepped out of the hot spring and walked towards her with a shark-like grin while Midoriya took audible deep breaths. Those two were off to a great start together.

“That was so fucking fun,” Nemo said once he was standing before Aiba.

“I think I lost a few decades of my life there,” Midoriya commented after recovering his composure.

Aiba stood up after that, beckoning their attention. While Date had been the one to propose Midoriya Psync into him, it fell on her to explain the basics of Psyncing. Nemo had that much already established in his programming, but Date insisted in having Midoriya Psync at least once anyways because “experience is the best teacher”. Aiba just hoped Midoriya wouldn’t experience the more – as Mizuki put it – viscerally revolting parts of Date’s mind.

“Midoriya,” Aiba started, looking at Nemo, “as you surely have noticed, you don’t have a body to call your own in the Somnium world. That is because the nanocables that go through your left eye interface with your AI-Ball; if you didn’t have one, you would be manifesting here directly.”

“As far as Somnia are concerned, we are one and the same, Izuku,” Nemo carried on, turning to face the area Midoriya was observing them from with a thumbs up, “so don’t be afraid to boss me around if you think it’ll help.”

“I wouldn’t phrase it that way, but yes. Nemo shall act as per your instructions,” Aiba continued, “just keep in mind that you are on a time limit of six minutes; any longer and your consciousness risks being absorbed by the subject, but you don’t have to worry about that if you use your TIMIEs wisely.”

“TIMIEs?” Aiba could hear the tilt of Midoriya’s head as he asked that.

“Time Inducing Matter In Encephalon,” Nemo provided, “it’s just a fancy name for a thing that makes time pass faster or slower in dreams. You’ll need to manage them well to open up the Mental Locks.”

“Mental Locks are the things we need to unlock to go deeper, right? I remember Mr Date saying something about that. But, I don’t see any locks. Just… a lot of very… scantily clad people…” 

Aiba didn’t need to physically see Midoriya to imagine the look on his face, likely resembling a tomato at this point. Sure enough, all around them were bathers in various states of undress. She would be shocking Date later for exposing Midoriya to this.

“Ignore the extras, Izuku. They’re not what we’re here for!” Nemo called out, still grinning like a shark. The twin hair horns in front of his head bounced as he moved his head. The rest of his hair was a spiky mess, almost entirely white except for the few streaks of orange running through it. “As for the Mental Locks, just leave those fuckers to me!”

Aiba took a step back as a familiar storm of lightning gathered around Nemo. “Somnium Scan, activate!” 

Aiba had never seen a Somnium Scan from the point of view of an observer. What she saw was quite… underwhelming. The area around her didn’t seem to move and warp like it did when she was the one doing the scanning. Nemo just kind of floated there for a second, surrounded by lightning, then landed back on the ground as it dissipated. 

“So, that means there’s three of those locks, right?” Midoriya sounded hesitant, almost shy. 

“Yep! You got it, Izuku! The first one seems to be near the old pervert, so let’s start there…” Nemo punched his fist into his palm, his eyes almost manic with excitement. “Let’s crack this motherfucker open like a piggy bank and see what’s inside!”

Oh dear, this was going to be a long six minutes for her, wasn’t it? Aiba could only sigh and resign herself to her fate.

One of the advantages of guns that didn’t rely on explosions to launch projectiles was that they were naturally more silent than regular firearms, so Izuku didn’t need to wear ear protection at ABIS’ shooting stand. But it hadn’t really sunk in until the first time Mr Ryuki took him there that he would get a gun , even if only for training. Izuku did his best to hide the shaking in his hands once he realized what was going to happen.

— Don’t get so worked up just yet, Midoriya.— Tama’s voice echoed within Izuku’s head. He was still trying to get used to that. — You won’t be getting your hands-on experience right away. We need to work you up to something that big. — Izuku gulped at how Tama intoned that.

“Don’t make him more nervous than he already is, Tama,” Mr Ryuki said aloud with a sigh as he placed the briefcase he was carrying down on a table in the back of the empty room. “Today, I’ll be teaching you the basics of gun safety and the additional Evolver safety mechanisms.”

“Right,” Izuku nodded, taking out the notebook and All Might pen he had brought in his backpack, pleased that they didn’t turn out to be unnecessary.

— You know you don’t need that crap when I can record everything, right? — Nemo pointed out.

— W-well, that’s true, but it’s an old habit, I guess. — Izuku did his best to answer without saying anything out loud. — Besides, it helps me keep the information in my head. —

— If it works for you… — Izuku could imagine Nemo shrugging as he said that.

“Now that that’s settled,” Mr Ryuki continued, making Izuku stammer as he realized he had been broadcasting his thoughts in the open communications channel, “I won’t go too in depth about how regular guns work, just the safety mechanism. On top of that, Evolvers won’t fire unless they’re within a 2 meter radius of your AI-Ball and facing away from you.”

— Nemo can also stop yours from firing if anything happens, — Tama added.

Mr Ryuki decided that that was the perfect moment to open the briefcase on the table, while Nemo pulled up a model of an Evolver in his AI-Sight. Having part of his vision obscured by Nemo displaying information to him was another thing he’d have to get used to, but it would probably be easier to adjust to than not talking out loud with his own eye. Inside the briefcase was a disassembled gun, but the pieces didn’t match the model in Izuku’s vision.

Mr Ryuki noticed Izuku’s confusion and cleared his throat. “This is actually a custom model made for you, Midoriya. Boss requested it,” he said, taking out the pieces and organizing them on the table, “do you want to assemble it? It helps with understanding what I’m talking about.”

Izuku almost agreed on the spot, engrossed by the thought of understanding the mechanics behind the ABIS-issued weapon. Then he remembered it was a weapon . True, Mr Ryuki just explained why it wouldn’t be dangerous to him even after assembly, but the thought of holding a gun in his own hands, of putting it together, of firing it made him back off. Izuku, somewhat timidly, shook his head.

“It’s alright.” Mr Ryuki nodded and gave Izuku a reassuring smile. “I was also really scared of picking up a gun at the police academy, I know how it feels. Take your time, and tell me when you feel you’re okay with it, alright?”

“S-sure!” Izuku responded with a nod of his own and a shaky smile, taken slightly aback by how positive Mr Ryuki was about his refusal. Being one of the two Psyncers of ABIS with a Quirk, Izuku expected something more… aggressive wasn’t quite the word… idealistic, maybe? Mr Ryuki didn’t come across as someone who would look down on Izuku, but he was surrounded by Quirkless people who were more experienced than him in what he did.

In a sense, Izuku half-expected to have joined a cult of Quirkless people of some kind.

Mr Ryuki carried on, assembling the gun as he described the many, many safety mechanisms it had. Izuku attempted to take note of it all, but ended up overwhelmed by the sheer amount. He sighed just as Mr Ryuki finished the weapon.

— Maybe that was too much? — Izuku heard Mr Ryuki say in the open communications channel. Was that intentional?

— I said it would be, but Mr Academic Perfectionist thought otherwise… — Tama’s smug voice retorted.

— But that’s still an important thing! I can’t just give him a gun without teaching him proper safety with it! — Mr Ryuki tried to argue, and Izuku realized that he wasn’t supposed to be listening in.

“Um, Mr Ryuki? You’re on the open channel,” he said, meekly. Tama and Nemo immediately burst out laughing as Mr Ryuki grew very red with embarrassment. Izuku was a bit relieved to know he wasn’t the only one having trouble not broadcasting his conversations.

“A-a-anyways,” Mr Ryuki tried to move the conversation along. “If all else fails, this Evolver still has the safety measures of a regular glock, so all you gotta do is set this little switch to safe; but still,” he looked at Izuku’s eyes, suddenly dead serious, “be very careful. I’ve made mistakes with a gun before, and I don’t want you to end up in the same position. Treat a gun with respect, and you should be fine.”

Izuku decided it was best not to pry at that time. Instead, he just nodded with a firm look of his own, and said: “I promise to.”

Izuku listened to the birds singing as he dried off his hands.

“You know, you’re supposed to wash your belly button as well. It’s the most sacred part of the body in Shinto,” a voice called out, causing Izuku to jump in surprise. He could hear Nemo chuckling in his head.

— Izuku, there’s someone behind you! — The AI-Ball finally told him through his laughter. Izuku spun around, still flushing as he faced the woman he was summoned to meet.

— You could’ve warned me sooner! — Pewter had explained to him that AI-Balls have a massive area they can scan, more than enough to cover the entirety of Ikume Shrine and then some. 

— But that wouldn’t have been nearly as fun! —

Deciding to ignore his unhelpful partner for the moment, Izuku bowed briefly to the new arrival, Mizuki Date.

“I’ve never heard of that, M-Ms Date! But I’ll wash it out right now, if that’s the tradition here…” Izuku still wasn’t looking up at his senior, instead fiddling with the hem of his jacket.

“Okay, first of all, drop the Ms Date thing. Calling me Date reminds me of that old pervert. Just call me by my first name.” Ms Date wasn’t smiling, Izuku could hear that in her tone.

“A-alright, Miss Mizuki…”

“...We’ll work on it,” Mizuki sighed, shaking her head with a slight smirk. “You sound like Ryuki, all Mr Date this and Mr Date that. Although you don’t sound as desperate to swap spit with that old porno mag-reading geezer, though.”

Izuku felt his skin heating up at the implication, stammering incoherently at the suggestion.

— Mizuki, I think you broke him. — Nemo chirped.

“Yeah, I can see that. So, kid, you know why I asked you to come here?” Mizuki asked as she put a hand on his shoulder. Izuku quickly regained his composure, locked the idea of Mr Ryuki and Mr Date doing… that… so deep in the recesses of his mind that not even the best Psyncer on Earth could get to it. 

“Um, no, actually… Are we here to make a wish or something?”

“Nope! We’re here to make a fighter out of you! Welcome, Young Midoriya, to Master Mizuki’s Patented Extreme Training Course!” The sheer glee in her eyes had Izuku gulping in fear. Mr Date had told him a bit about Mizuki’s strength Quirk and fighting prowess. She was good enough to have a Hero License without having had to go to a hero school, although that was only to allow her to use her strength while on the job.

“Let’s head over to that open field over there to get started! And don’t worry, I’ll try not to knock down any of the trees this time!” Mizuki clapped her hands together, an almost psychotic grin on her face.

“T-this time?!” 

— Knocking down trees? —

Izuku and Nemo both gulped. This was gonna hurt.

Izuku hissed as he rolled his shoulder, recovering from being slammed into a tree. He felt like less of a person than a mass of bruises and aching muscles. Miss Mizuki had spent the past few weeks running him ragged, but he could feel himself improving. He was starting to actually be able to dodge her, even when she was using her Quirk!

“You doing alright, Midoriya?”

“I-yeah, Miss Mizuki. Just sore.” 

Izuku blinked as a cold liquid dripped onto him. Looking up, he found her standing over him, holding a water bottle slick with condensation out for him.

“Here, drink up. You’ve lost a lot of water,” she said, flashing him a smile as he took the bottle and gulped it down. “You’ve been making a lot of progress, Midoriya. You were about as threatening as a limp noodle when I started training you, but you’re a quick study.”

Izuku flushed, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I-I’ve still got a long way to go.”

— Oi! Cut that shit out, Izuku! You should be fucking proud of all the progress you’ve made! — Nemo shouted over the public com. Izuku could all but feel his partner slapping him upside the head. 

“I-I know I’ve made a lot of progress, I just really don’t think I’ll be ready in time for the Entrance Exam.”

“You know, if that’s what you’re worried about, I could recommend you for the Heroics Course. Between my hero license and being part of ABIS, that Nedzu guy would have to let you in!”

Izuku choked on the water. Mizuki quickly slapped his back, helping him cough up the water he’d just breathed in.

“I-I appreciate it, Miss Mizuki, but you don’t need to do that! I-I want to make it there on my own.” Izuku stared down at his hand, closing it into a fist. “I’ve been told my whole life that I have no place even trying to stand on the same level as Kac– as people with quirks. I-I want to show them wrong, or, if I fail, I want it to be because of my own efforts. I don’t want to bring anyone else down with me.”

Izuku let out a yelp as a hand actually did smack him upside the head. 

“Midori– no, Izuku. Look at me.” Mizuki’s voice was firm, but warmer than he was used to from her. He looked up, his mismatched eyes meeting her one eye. “Even if you failed the recommended exam, you wouldn’t be bringing any of us down. We believe in you; we’ve seen your potential. But, I get where you’re coming from. So, here’s what we’re gonna do. We’ll keep training, and we’ll decide if you’re ready for the exam at the start of the school year.”

“And if I’m not?”

“Then we’ll keep training. You’re not getting out of this that easily, Broccoli Head. Not after all the work I’ve done training you.”

“But if I fail the exam, how can I–”

“There’s another way. Every couple of years, someone from Gen Ed at UA happens to transfer into the Heroics Course, based on their showing at the Sports Festival. You’ll definitely be able to show up all those flashy brats by then! Izuku Midoriya, you’re going to be a hero! The entirety of ABIS, me, Boss, Ryuki, even that porno-mag addicted old pervert, are all behind you, and we get shit done.”

— Damn fucking straight! Screw the haters, you’re gonna be a great detective and a great hero, Izuku! —

Izuku could tell he was crying already, but he felt no desire to try and stop the tears. These were the words he’d been dying to hear all his life. For the first time since his diagnosis, he felt truly hopeful for his future; for his dreams.

Chapter Text

“So you’re trying to get into UA’s Gen Ed course, huh, Deku?” Katsuki repeated what their homeroom teacher said with a derisive snort. “Seem like you finally realized where you belong, but would they let a quirkess little shit like you even into Gen Ed? I don’t like your chances.”

Deku was packing his things, clearly in a rush, but he could make some time for Katsuki, couldn’t he? He wouldn’t like the consequences of running the fuck away. That was when he noticed them; the notebooks. Both read “for the future” on the cover, but one of them covered the other’s title; the one Katsuki could see was labeled “hero analysis”. Maybe things weren’t as perfect as he thought.

“The fuck is that?” Katsuki reached to swipe them from Deku’s hand, but the nerd pulled his hand back at the last second. If Katsuki didn’t know better, he’d have thought Deku dodged him.

“It’s n-nothing you need to know, Kacchan,” the nerd squeaked, and Katsuki felt his hands start to twitch and spark; his good mood began to slip. Katsuki glared at Deku. “J-just some training notes, really.”

“Training?” Katsuki raised an eyebrow. What was the shit nerd planning?

“Y-yeah! I realized I probably won’t be able to make it past the Entrance Exam without a quirk,” Deku started to blabber and Katsuki had a distinct feeling he wasn’t going to like whatever bullshit was about to come out of the nerd’s mouth. “So I decided to train and maybe I can transfer into the Hero Course later into the year.”

Katsuki couldn’t hold back his laughter. So, the useless deku still had hopes of becoming a hero, huh? If it was any other extra, it might’ve been a good plan. A loser’s plan, but better than nothing. Deku, however, would crash and burn before even having a chance, so Katsuki decided to be nice for once and try to steer him off that path.

“You really think that you actually have a chance at it? And the people in this fuckhole they call school say I’m arrogant,” Katsuki said after his laughter died down. “Don’t bother. The only way to transfer in is through the Sports Festival, and even if you somehow made it to the finals, you’d lose to whatever fucker you went up against. Hell, you might even have to go up against me! And we all know how that fight will end, with you on the ground like the worthless pebble you are, a mere stepping stone for your betters.

“So, for once in your life, listen to the voice of reason, Deku,” he continued, moving to place a hand on the nerd’s shoulder, already heating his palm up. “Don’t even think of try–”

Before his hand even touched the nerd, there was a deafening snap. Katsuki screamed.

There was something different in the air within Aldera. Contrary to what he expected, Izuku didn’t feel stifled by it. There were definitely stares and murmurs around him, but they somehow didn’t feel as hostile as he imagined they would be. If anything, what he expected was…

“Midoriya. Principal’s office. Now.”

…that.

Izuku lowered his head as he walked by the first years’ teacher and headed for the stairs. Running away from the school after breaking Kacchan’s arm like that wasn’t really the smartest move – in fact, he didn’t even want to break it regardless of how good it felt – but what was done couldn’t be taken back, and so, he headed to meet his fate.

— Months of training, wasted. — Izuku hated that part the most. One of the conditions he imposed on himself when agreeing to train at ABIS was to not get in trouble at school, and what did he do on his first day of third year? Get into more trouble than he ever had before. Kacchan was right, he couldn’t be a hero, not if he was to use the training he put in so irresponsibly.

— Hey. Don’t say that. — Nemo’s somber voice cut through Izuku’s thoughts. — That fucker had it coming. You told me yourself, he beats up anyone that badmouths him. —

At last Izuku arrived at the office. — We’ll continue this later. — He placed his hand on the handle and took a steadying breath before pushing. Whatever happened in there couldn’t be worse than losing ABIS’ support, anyways.

He kept his head down as he stepped in, closing the door behind him.

“Midoriya, eyes up,” a familiar voice called out and Izuku’s head snapped to look at the principal’s desk. Sure enough, sitting on one of the chairs in front of it was Boss and behind her, a very pale looking Principal Kobayakawa, wiping some sweat off his forehead. “Good,” she smirked, “now come. Take a seat.”

Izuku, rigid with nervousness, did as told. Sitting beside Boss and facing the principal; hands tense, closed into fists, on top of his thighs and a throat suddenly dry. He didn’t know why Boss was there, but he could take a guess, and he didn’t like where it could lead.

“So, um… Miss…” Principal Kobayakawa prompted.

“Call me whatever name you like, we won’t be seeing each other again after today,” she said bluntly. “I’ll get straight to the point. Midoriya, you will not face repercussions for what amounts to lashing out at a bully after years of abuse. Abuse that had been deliberately ignored for years by those who were supposed to be taking care of you.”

“W-what?” Izuku looked at Boss, incredulous.

“Oh, the principal and I had a lovely chat before you arrived,” Boss explained, “and Mr Kobayakawa here was quite agreeable during it. Especially after I brought up how–”

“N-now, now Miss,” the older man interrupted with some apprehension in his voice. Izuku could see the sweat making his bald head glisten in the harsh fluorescent lighting. “You don’t need to give him all the boring details; in fact, it’s better he gets going, classes are about to start, after all. W-wouldn’t want Mr. Midoriya here to miss class.”

“You’re right,” Boss nodded. “Go on now, Izuku. And be careful so something like this doesn’t happen again.”

“Y-yes, ma’am.” Izuku stood up as quickly as he could, bowing at a perfectly right angle. “There won’t be a repeat of this, ma’am.”

“I hope so. Oh, and one more thing,” Boss said, “I know how you feel about this; don’t go thinking you can do whatever you want just because of that. I’ll arrange a fitting punishment for you.”

Izuku, still not standing up from his bow, responded: “I understand, ma’am.”

— See? It worked out fine! — Nemo commented, while Izuku robotically walked out of the room.

— Nemo… — Izuku began after stepping out, slightly concerned, — how did Boss know what happened? —

His silence told Izuku everything he needed to know.

“Why!?” Izuku demanded, not bothered by the fact he spoke out loud.

— I had to. — Nemo’s quiet voice answered. — Pewter gave me two instructions only he can revoke. —

“And what are those?” Izuku asked, indignant.

— To support you unconditionally, and to inform ABIS of any occurrences of bullying or discrimination directed towards you. —

Izuku stopped for a moment. That did fall in line with what ABIS had done for him since he joined, but not being told about these secret directives still stung. It stung because he knew he wouldn’t have told them anything about the bullying otherwise, just like how he never told his mother. He had underestimated ABIS. They were smart; uncovering people’s secrets was literally their job. Maybe they’d found out from Mr Date’s Psyncing into Izuku before he’d lost his eye.

It didn’t matter. Izuku had tried to hide something from ABIS, and they had hidden a secret from him in return. That was the truth.

— Izuku? — Nemo tried to reach out. He even projected his human form in Izuku’s left eye, so that he appeared to be walking beside Izuku.

— I’m sorry, it’s just… — Izuku searched his mind for the words, walking towards his classroom. — I’m just not used to being around people who understand. —

— It’s alright, Izuku. We’re partners, that’s what we do for each other. And if any other bastard decides to bother you, I’ll jump out of your socket and fight them myself! —

— Thanks. — Izuku thought back. — Actually, there’s one thing I want to ask. —

— What is it, Izuku? — Nemo’s curiosity was audible.

— That. Can you… please stop calling me by my first name? — Izuku nervously asked. — It’s not that I don’t think we’re friends or anything like that! —, he quickly added. — It’s that… your voice sounds a lot like Kacchan’s, and I feel weird hearing that name from that voice. —

— That’s it? No problem! — Nemo’s acceptance of Izuku’s request took him aback. He wasn’t used to being heard like that. — But I’m not calling you just “Midoriya” either. —

Izuku went down the stairs, back to the corridors where students walked around and whispers about what happened to Kacchan ran amok. Izuku paid them no mind as he continued his conversation with Nemo.

— Then why don’t you give me a nickname? — Izuku suggested. — Hm… what could you call me… —

— I’ve got it! — Nemo raised his voice, and Izuku flinched. — Sorry. I’ve got an idea. How about Yamikumo? —

— “Dark cloud?” — Izuku tilted his head while walking. The other students were beginning to head into their classrooms as well.

— More like the meaning, “reckless”, — Nemo snorted, — it’s not everyone that breaks into a police perimeter during an active villain attack like you did. —

— Hey! — Izuku mentally cried out.

— But if you weren’t like that, I wouldn’t be who I am, so it’s alright. — Nemo continued, ignoring Izuku’s distress. — I just gotta make sure you think before you pull that shit a second time. I have your back, Yamikumo, alright? —

Izuku stepped into his classroom with a rare smile.

— Sounds good to me. —

Things still felt weird after that, especially inside Izuku’s classroom. Before, his classmates wouldn’t talk to him unless they had something mean to say, but the way they avoided meeting Izuku’s gaze after that first day was even more off-putting; how they minutely tensed up whenever they noticed he was nearby was unnerving, and the way they spoke in whispers if Izuku was within earshot almost made him paranoid.

Kacchan glared and growled at anyone who dared bring up Izuku’s name. Many derisive comments were thrown his way by students who disliked him and were more than pleased by the news that a Quirkless classmate of his managed to break the arm of the school’s golden goose. In fact, Izuku had become quite liked among the people who didn’t have a positive view of Kacchan, mostly kids who’d found themselves on the wrong side of Katsuki’s explosions.

Izuku also received his fair share of questions about the new things in his life. The different color of his eyes, along with the darker skin around his left one, were a point of whispers and gossip among all who came across him. Izuku didn’t feel like correcting any of the assumptions – nor could he really explain the truth – so he just chuckled and tried his best to not sound awkward when diverting from the topic.

At first, being ignored by Kacchan felt weird, especially after his arm was finally out of the cast, but Izuku soon grew accustomed to it. However, as the weeks passed, it became more and more obvious something was wrong with him, and Izuku wanted to find out why.

He was a detective now, after all.

— Nemo, is anything different about Kacchan? — he asked, hoping that the AI-Ball could spot something his regular vision couldn’t.

— The fucker’s muscle mass seems to have increased exponetially. — Nemo answered, not bothering to even try to hide the distaste for Katsuki in his tone. — It looks like he’s hitting the gym. Makes sense, since he’s shooting for a spot at UA. —

Izuku couldn’t disagree with that, but there was something off about Katsuki these last few weeks that Izuku couldn’t quite put his finger on.

— I wish I could Psync with him, just see what’s going on in his head. — Izuku knew he had no probable cause to drag him all the way to Tokyo and use valuable ABIS resources just to settle his own private curiosity. He also had no desire to explain to Kacchan that he’s technically a police detective now. That would make him go nuclear.

— You could always Wink Psync with him. — Nemo mentioned, his voice unusually hesitant. — It’ll use up a lot of my power, but it lets you get a six second look into their dreams. Though I gotta warn you that I can only do it once between charges. —

Izuku stopped as he considered the information. — And it won’t hurt him at all? Would he notice? —

— That fucker won’t notice shit. — Nemo confirmed. Izuku pondered the implications.

— Would this count as an invasion of privacy? I didn’t ask for his permission to look inside his head. This isn’t for a case or anything, is it any of my business? — The sheer weight of what he could do fully sunk in for Izuku. He could look into anyone’s mind, at least once a day, and there was little they could do to stop him. — Is this even legal? There are telepathic quirks out there. Can you check quirk statutes to see if there’s any laws about this? —

— This isn’t a quirk, so it doesn’t fall under those laws, Yamikumo. The law hasn’t caught up with us, so you’re in the clear. Besides, that fucker’s done nothing but invade your privacy. He tried to read your notebooks without your permission and pushed his dumb ass into your schooling decisions. He’s forfeited any right to privacy. Besides, it’s only six seconds. —

Izuku hesitated, then steeled himself. He waited until Katsuki had turned towards him, then had Nemo activate the Wink Psync.

The entire world seemed to freeze and bend around him, Kacchan stilling as the Psync started.

Laughing. All he could hear was laughing. Katsuki was standing surrounded by shadow-y figures, all pointing at him and laughing. Izuku watched as Katsuki seemed to shrink, growing younger right before his eye, until he was four years old again. One figure stepped out from the mass of dark figures.

“Silly little Kacchan!” Izuku’s four-year old self laughed, somehow looming tall above Kacchan. “You thought you were worth a damn? Everyone here can see exactly how worthless you are! Even a quirkless deku like me can see that!”

“Yeah, you’ll never be a hero, Bakugo! You’re worthless!”

“Who would want to be anywhere near him? He’ll never be a hero.”

“All Might wouldn’t want a thing to do with him.”

“SHUT UP! EVERYONE SHUT UP!” Kacchan screamed, his hands fisting in his hair as he fell to his knees. The figures only grew.

“Need a hand, Kacchan?” Izuku’s voice called out, mocking and cruel, a hand reaching out to him. Before Katsuki could do anything, the six seconds were up, and Izuku was kicked out of his childhood friend’s head.

Izuku couldn’t pay attention to anything going on around him even after being brought to reality. Was that how Katsuki saw the world? How he’d understood Izuku reaching out to him? Izuku could remember that day well, the day his friendship with Kacchan died, although he didn’t realize it at the time. If Katsuki interpreted the act of reaching out to help him as arrogance, then his response, as someone so overly competitive would be…

— To prove he doesn’t need that “help”. — Nemo filled in, and Izuku realized he was mumbling again.

— And then I broke his arm… — Izuku continued his train of thought silently, — and now everyone in the school is mocking him over it. —

— And he has the emotional management skills of a toddler, — Nemo carried on, and Izuku absolutely hated where that logic was leading him.

— Kacchan’s overexercising, — he concluded, and Nemo’s Somnium form showed up in his left eye’s vision.

— That idiot is gonna get himself seriously hurt if he keeps up with it. — Nemo looked dead serious, a hint of his distaste for Katsuki overshadowed by the somberness the situation required. — Yamikumo, I hate him, but I can’t just do nothing about it. It’s one of Asimov’s laws of robotics. —

— I won’t stay silent either, — Izuku thought, resolved to help Katsuki, even if against his will. — Call mom. Auntie Mistuki will definitely listen to her about it. —

— Will do, but… —

— Kacchan will hate me even more for it, I know. — Izuku nodded. — But I won’t let him get hurt because of me. —

The next day, Izuku could feel Katsuki staring daggers at him the whole day long. But without any evidence, he couldn’t say Izuku was the cause of whatever Auntie Mitsuki told him.

Acting like it didn’t bother Izuku became easier with each passing day. He had an entrance exam he needed to study for.

Chapter Text

Eijiro stretched to alleviate the soreness in his back. The Entrance Exam had been every last bit as challenging as he’d expected, but he was pretty sure he did well on the practical, if his maths weren’t wrong. He watched as the other students walked out of the UA campus; apprehensive faces and some grins. Maybe if Eijiro weren’t so tired he’d try to cheer some of them up, but as it was, all he wanted was a shower and some sleep.

He wasn’t paying attention at all when he began to walk towards the exit, so he didn’t notice when a pair of people showed up on the hallway, which led to him walking face first into the back of someone, who he realized immediately after to be a girl.

“Sorry!” Eijiro said after stumbling back.

“Oh, it’s okay!” The girl turned to Eijiro with a smile, while her companion looked at them with lingering surprise from the encounter.

“A-are you two alright?” he asked, and Eijiro noticed his mismatched eyes then, the area around his eye also seemed to have some darker skin. Huh.

“Yeah, I am.” Eijiro gave the other kid a thumbs up with an awkward smile.

“Great!” the older girl carried on, her light blue hair bouncing as she nodded excitedly. “Moving on! Midoriya, you didn’t tell me what happened to your eye!”

“W-well, uh…” The kid – Midoriya – gave an awkward chuckle. “It’s nothing impressive, really. I just got caught up in a villain attack.”

“Really? It must have been scary,” she commented. “Were you close to the villain?”

Eijiro was slightly hesitant to participate in the conversation, especially with how personal it seemed to be, but as they walked, he realized they were headed in the same direction and the other two didn’t seem to mind him being there, so he decided to add a question of his own.

“What’s up with the different colors? Is it that thing… what’s it called…”

“Heterochromia,” Midoriya provided, “and actually no. I lost my eye in the attack.” To prove his point, Midoriya inserted his fingers in his eye socket and took out the fake eye, holding it out for Eijiro and the girl to observe.

It looked… off. Eijiro didn’t imagine glass eyes looking like that, but he didn’t know enough about them to question it either. The girl took that as an opening to ask more questions.

“So cool! What do you think of it? Was the surgery dangerous? Was it painful losing your eye? Was it because your eye got stabbed?”

Eijiro’s mind struggled to keep up with all the questions, and Midoriya seemed to grow redder by the second. Should he intervene?

“A-actually, it was crushed,” Midoriya stammered. “The villain had a glass manipulation quirk, and one of the balls of glass he made hit me right on the eye.”

Wait. Glass manipulation? It couldn’t be…

“Were you the kid at the Starservant raid in Tokyo?” Eijiro was hopeful about the answer. “The one who jumped in front of an attack when it was about to hit someone else?”

“H-how did you know?” Midoriya’s eye widened. “Wait. That’s a dumb question, of course that showed up on the news…”

“It isn’t dumb if you don’t know!” the girl cut him off. “Even if you realize the answer right after, it’s good to ask questions.”

“She’s right!” Eijiro nodded. “Besides, I really wanted to meet you! You inspired me to become a hero! I’m only here thanks to that!”

“R-really?” Midoriya asked as he put his eye back in the socket. “I-I had no idea! That’s so cool!”

“Nah, man, you’re way cooler! Someone like you really deserves a spot at UA’s Heroics course.” Eijiro laughed, but his laughter died down when he noticed the weird look Midoriya gave him.

“I-uh, I took the Gen Ed test,” he explained, “I didn’t think I had what it takes to pass the Heroics exam.”

“Aw, really?” Eijiro wanted to question why Midoriya didn’t take the Heroics exam, but thought better of it. “I’m sure you would have blasted through those robots in no time!”

“There were robots this year?” The girl suddenly turned to Eijiro. “I wish I could have wrecked stuff like that in my exam.”

“Yeah, it was real fun! But that Zero Pointer made a number on me,” Eijiro laughed. “But seriously, Midoriya, right? You absolutely deserve to be called a hero. You know what? If we both get in, I’ll sneak you out of your Gen Ed classes and into my class!

The girl laughed as Midoriya and Eijiro stepped through UA’s gates to the outside. It was only after they parted ways that he realized he forgot to ask for a means to keep in touch with Midoriya, or even his first name, or to introduce himself.

Eijiro shrugged. He knew they’d meet again in UA, and if they didn’t, he could always track Midoriya down after becoming a hero.

Izuku had rushed to ABIS after receiving the call from Boss, prepared to deal with whatever emergency they were facing. The train ride was tense; he could barely sit still and bolted out the doors the moment he recognized the station he usually dropped off at in Tokyo.

The ride to Kasumigaseki took him longer than he would have liked, but he arrived there. Briefly flashing his police badge at the front desk to show he had permission to be there, Izuku ran towards the ABIS-exclusive elevator, the doors opening automatically as per Nemo’s instructions. After a few seconds, Izuku was facing ‘the Drop’ as the ABIS officers called it.

Izuku didn’t hesitate when the elevator doors opened once more, and ran across the familiar corridor towards the Commander’s Office.

“What’s the emergency?” Izuku asked frantically, ready for action.

Then, a ‘bang' went off right beside him, causing him to jump.

“Congratulations, Midoriya!” a chorus of voices echoed in the room as confetti rained down on top of Izuku’s hair and clothes. It took him a few moments to understand what was happening, but when it registered, he couldn’t help but let his lips part in a massive smile.

“Guys! I haven’t even gotten the results yet!” He laughed awkwardly as he shook his head to take out the confetti.

“So what?” Miss Mizuki said from the corner beside Izuku. “You tried, and that’s worth celebrating! Besides, we’re sure you passed, Nemo can slip you all the answers, after all!”

Izuku knew them long enough to know it was a joke. He also knew them long enough to know they wouldn’t care if he actually had cheated on the exam, but couldn’t help but feel flustered at the implication of him actually doing it.

“Mizuki! We both know Midoriya wouldn’t cheat like that!” Mr Date chided. “He’s too pure. We haven’t gotten him that deep into our cult yet.”

“A… cult?” Pewter adjusted his glasses as he expressed his confusion.

“Yeah! The AI-Cult!” Mizuki explained. “Aiba illuminates us with knowledge when we offer to her our shower thoughts and 3 AM random epiphanies.”

“I simply realized it’s better to indulge and satisfy their curiosity,” the hamster-like AI-Ball elaborated, and Izuku noticed she was on top of Boss’ desk, beside Tama. “Some of those questions would haunt them for days, otherwise. Very long days.”

“But seriously, Midoriya,” Mr Ryuki beckoned with his ever present gentle smile, “we’re sure you did well. We’ve all seen how dedicated you were to studying for the exam. You deserve this.”

Izuku felt his left eye twitch as Nemo wiggled around in his socket. Then he jumped out, landing soundlessly as the AI produced a translucent substance that enveloped him, taking the form of a penguin with a giant eye for its size. Yet another thing Izuku still wasn’t used to.

“Damn right, Yamikumo!” Nemo said as he waddled towards Pewter, near Boss’s desk, who in turn picked him up and placed him on top of it, beside Aiba and Tama. “Just relax and enjoy the party.”

Sitting in her chair, for once, Boss gave Izuku a wry smile. “Actually, there’s one other surprise for you today. A gift from ABIS,” she said. “If you pass, it’s your reward; if not… Well, you can keep it as consolation.”

“And what is it, ma’am?” Izuku stiffened slightly, as he always did when talking to her.

“First, drop the ‘ma’am’ for today, will you? It makes me feel old. And I couldn’t get permission to bring your gift down here, so you’ll have to go to the parking lot later to fetch it.”

The parking lot? Come to think of it, Izuku didn’t really visit any other parts of the MPD building besides ABIS; he didn’t even know how to get to the parking lot. Although he was sure he could ask Nemo to guide him through the building when he went to get whatever it was.

Their small celebration went on after that, with Mr Date showing some sleight of hand tricks he’d learned in his youth and a heated debate between Mr Ryuki and Pewter over clothing articles, which led to a rare instance of Mr Ryuki using his quirk outside of work to prove that formal suits could be adapted for combat.

It was only when his mother called that Izuku realized what time it was. There was no way he’d be able to get back to Musutafu in a reasonable time even if he took the train immediately. Before he could have answered the call, Mr Date spoke up. Could AI-Balls do that, too? Or did he just call her through Aiba?

“Hello, Mrs Midoriya,” he said, and the voice of Izuku’s mom came out through Aiba’s built-in speakers.

“Mr Date,” she started, clearly worried, “Izuku hasn’t been answering my texts. Has something happened?”

“Oh, Izuku is fine. Sorry, we just got caught up in our little party,” Mr Date explained, “I can let Izuku spend the night in my apartment tonight, or he could crash with Ryuki if he wants.”

“Oh, thank goodness!” Izuku could hear the waterworks on the other side of the line. “I won’t get in the way of your party, then, thank you for having him.”

“It’s not a problem,” Mr Ryuki spoke up from where he was, “we were just wrapping up, anyway.”

“Right,” Izuku’s mom answered while recovering her composure, “I’ll trust Izuku to you, then.”

The call ended, and silence followed as everyone looked at Izuku. The atmosphere started to feel slightly awkward when Boss cleared her throat.

“Well? There’s still one thing left,” she pointed out. “There’s a gift waiting for you in the parking lot, Midoriya. Why don’t you go check it out?”

Izuku nodded and picked Nemo up from the desk while Miss Mizuki and Mr Ryuki inserted their AI-Balls into their sockets. Before long, everyone was walking up the stairs towards the underground parking lot of the MPD, and Izuku was glad for his training so that he didn’t feel exhausted from the trip.

Mr Ryuki rushed ahead after they arrived, and before Izuku knew it, All Might suddenly appeared in front of him.

“I am here, Young Midoriya!” Izuku could recognize Mr Ryuki’s voice attempting to imitate All Might’s, which made him smile. It wasn’t a good imitation by any means, but it was fun to watch. “ABIS has a special gift for you,” the All Might construct “said”. “If you would kindly follow me.”

“Sure!” Izuku grinned, and accompanied the false All Might… Faux Might? Izuku settled on the name and started to evaluate its precision. The walk wasn’t really accurate but it was close enough to fool any less dedicated fans. Mr Ryuki must have worked hard on that part.

— Hell yeah! — Nemo said to Izuku as their little party followed Faux Might.

— What is it? —  Izuku asked.

— Your gift is right there! —

“We are here!” Faux Might announced, and Izuku realized what Nemo meant as he took a look at what was in the spot they walked towards: a green scooter with white accents greeted his eyes.

“I-I-you–” Izuku stammered, “what do I even say!?” he managed to sputter.

“Now, now, don’t be embarrassed, young man!” Faux Might placed a massive hand on Izuku’s shoulder, but he could only feel the much smaller touch from Mr Ryuki’s hand within the construct. “It’s very normal to feel overwhelmed at times like this.”

“We thought about getting you a red one, to match your shoes, but decided we didn’t want you to look like a walking Christmas display,” Boss interjected.

“Says the woman who has had a Christmas tree up for almost a decade,” Mr Date muttered under his breath.

The tears started to well up in Izuku’s eyes as he turned to face everyone. “Thank you so much, you guys. Really.” He bowed, not sure if he’d be able to keep whatever he said intelligible amidst the crying.

“Don’t be so formal, Midoriya,” Boss said, and Izuku could tell her indifferent tone was just for show, “we can’t have you dependent on public transport all the time, and I figured, why not make a big deal out of it?”

“Uh, isn’t he too young to drive?” Pewter reminded everyone.

“He’s turning 16 this year,” Boss shrugged, “and besides, Nemo will be the one actually driving until then. I don’t see a problem. And he’s got a badge, anyone who sees it will think he has a youth quirk or something.”

Izuku decided to ignore his superior’s blatant disregard for the law. Miss Mizuki was whistling to the side, while Faux Might seemed to shine a bit brighter. Izuku took that as Mr Ryuki trying to fool the security cameras so he wouldn't get involved if ABIS got in trouble over the scooter.

“So,” Mr Date approached Izuku, “ready for your first lesson on how to ride this thing?”

“W-w-what?”

— Actually, he’s right, — Nemo pointed out. — Even with me driving, you gotta learn how to pilot and all that shit. —

“Exactly,” Mr Date nodded, tossing a helmet to Izuku. “Put this on, and we’ll do some laps around the place.”

“Oh, oh, I wanna teach him too!” Miss Mizuki jogged up to them, while Boss and Pewter argued in the back. “And I can also show him that cool maneuver I did at the stadium in February.”

“This scooter doesn’t have rocket engines, Mizuki,” Pewter announced, and Izuku was very glad to know that. He didn’t trust Nemo with piloting a rocket just yet.

He turned towards Mr Date. “Do we have time for that? It’s pretty dark outside.”

“Yeah, sure!” Mr Date answered, “just enough so you don’t fall while Nemo drives. You can even ride it to my home, or Ryuki’s. Wherever you wanna spend the night.”

“Yeah, about that…” Mr Ryuki said in his normal voice, dispelling the All Might construct, “I think Izuku should stay at my apartment. It’s closer to here and he can sleep in the guest room.” He rubbed the back of his head as he continued. “I mean, if Midoriya slept in your apartment, either you or Mizuki would have to sleep on the floor, right?”

“Good point. I still haven’t gotten that extra mattress,” Mr Date agreed.

— So it’s decided. Midoriya will spend the night with Ryuki. I’m looking forward to it. There’s a lot for him to take in. — Tama purred and Izuku felt himself grow red.

“A-a-anyways,” Izuku tried to change topics, “t-the lesson. L-let’s get to that,” he said while putting on his helmet and climbing on the scooter. Nemo turned it on the moment Izuku’s hand grasped the handle, and before Izuku knew it, he was moving.

They tore off into the night, laughter and screams mingling in the air.

Izuku took a deep breath, grasping the straps of his backpack as he looked through the giant metal arch to the shining glass facade behind. He’d finally made it, UA High School. He wasn’t in the hero course like he’d always dreamed of, but he was on his way there, with the support of the friends he made at ABIS and the ones he’d make.

— Let’s wreck ‘em — Nemo declared, and Izuku couldn’t say he disagreed with the sentiment. If he wanted to get transferred to the Heroics course, he would need to leave an impression.

He tightened his tie, which Nemo had helped him tie (— Yamikumo, that looks like a fucking scrunchie. Do it like this. —), and put his foot through the gate.

“Dude, you made it!” Before he could even respond, Izuku was all but tackled by hard muscle. He let out a yelp, nearly falling over as a redhead tackled him.

“I knew you were gonna make it in!” He grinned, squeezing Izuku tighter.

— W-who is this? —

— Already done. Vocal analysis confirms that this is the kid you met after the entrance exam. Not the bubbly chick, the black-haired kid. He must’ve dyed it. I took the liberty of hacking his phone. His name is Eijiro Kirishima, Class 1-A, Heroics Student. —

“Kirishima, I-I can’t breathe!” Izuku gasped out.

“Oh, sorry, dude! I was just so excited to– hey, you know my name!” Kirishima grinned as he let go, resting his hands on Izuku’s shoulders.

“Y-you introduced yourself when we met,” Izuku panted, face flushed. 

— He-he hugged me. — Nemo didn’t deign to respond, merely sending the noise of whistling over the com.

“I did? I coulda sworn I forgot to. I was beating myself up for not getting your number or NILE account,” Kirishima shrugged. “Speaking of, we should totally exchange numbers! Gimme your phone!”

Izuku dug around in his pocket before handing the smartphone over.

— I mean, I already know his number, but it’d probably be creepy if you knew it without him giving it to you. —

— You’re so considerate, Nemo. — Izuku’s tone was as dry as the Sahara as Kirishima quickly entered his number. 

“And there! Send me a text at lunch, we should meet up!” The redhead laughed, sliding Izuku’s phone back into his pocket for him.

“Yeah! We should!”

“Oh, shit. I’m gonna be late! Text me, dude!” Izuku was left standing as Kirishima took off. 

“S-someone just gave me their number.” 

— Earth to Yamikumo. Yamikumo, come in. Houston to Yamikumo. — Nemo popped up in front of Izuku, waving his hand in front of him. — Thanks, hardhead, you broke him. —

“H-he wants to be friends, Nemo!” Izuku squealed, spinning around and hugging himself. He could still feel the ghost of Kirishima’s arms on him, touching him without hurting him.

— C’mon, Romeo. You’re gonna be late if you keep standing here. — Izuku chose to ignore that particular remark as he searched for the way to his homeroom. 

Izuku stood outside the massive door to the 1-C classroom. The doorway was nearly two stories tall, far taller than any door he’d ever seen. 

— Was the architect compensating for something? — 

— N-Nemo! This is UA! They wouldn’t do this for no reason! It’s probably for people with quirks that make them huge. This is a heroics school, that sort of thing is going to be a lot more common here. Heroes on average are 30 cm taller than the general population, so of course the doors are going to be bigger. —

— Okay, okay, I get it, ya big nerd. Are we just gonna stare at it or are you gonna go inside? — 

Izuku let out a squeak, his hand shooting out to slide open the door. His seat number was 17, so he was on the far side next to the window. The room was already partially full, but his row was empty and the teacher was nowhere to be found.

Izuku looked around at the students already there. In the front row was a bored-looking kid with light blue hair and a red arm. 

— I wonder what his quirk is, something to do with his arm? — Izuku wondered idly as he sat down in his seat.

— According to UA’s student files, that is Shigu Yonemitsu. His quirk is listed as Container, which lets him store up to ten liters of matter using his mutated arm. —  

Izuku blinked slowly. — Nemo, maybe we shouldn’t be hacking into the private records of the top hero school in the country on our first day here. — 

— Fiiiiiine, spoilsport, — Nemo groaned. Izuku could just imagine his Somnium form crossing his arms and pouting like a child, and had to bite his lip to stop from giggling at the mental image.

— The ability for me to read your thoughts might be disabled at the moment, but I can still feel you mocking me, Yamikumo. — The AI growled. — Best remember I can shock you if you’re acting up too much. — 

— Now who’s the spoilsport? — 

— Still you, because you’re not letting me hack into this school’s woefully weak security system. I could get any test answers before you even know a test is coming! —  

As the two bantered back and forth, the rest of the room quickly filled up with students. Izuku pulled out a notebook and began writing in it, drowning out the noise by focusing on his analysis work. 

Now, Ryuki’s quirk. It makes light constructs. Unlike a normal hologram, though, they’re in full color. Applications for this include diversions and obstructing the view of an opponent.

The sound of the smack of leather on flesh jolted Izuku out of his thoughts.

“Well, well, well. Look what we have here,” a sultry voice purred once the room quieted down.

— Tama? — Izuku shook his head, practically vibrating in his seat as he stared at the new arrival.

“Welcome to Class 1-C, my adorable little students. I’m Nemuri Kayama, and I’ll be your homeroom teacher,” she said by way of introduction. Most of the boys, and several of the girls, were staring at her and practically drooling already. 

“Y-you’re the R-Rated Hero: Midnight!” Izuku shouted out, before slapping his hands over his mouth.

“Thank you for the glowing introduction, you sweet little dear! But while we’re in class, you’ll call me Kayama-sensei, okay? I’m not on the job here. Well, not on that particular job.”

— W-was Tama explicitly based on this chick? —

— A question to ask Mr Ryuki later. —

Once the class had settled down, Kayama-sensei called the students up one by one to introduce themselves.

After most of the class had gone, they’d reached Izuku’s row.

“Seat number 16, please introduce yourself to the class!”

“Hitoshi Shinso, my quirk is Brainwashing, and I’m going to get into the heroics course. I’m not here to make friends,” the purple-haired kid in front of Izuku sounded exhausted and bored at the same time. Izuku made a mental note about the name of the quirk, already formulating questions about what it entailed. It was only his training that let him avoid the approaching whip from Kayama-sensei.

“Nice dodge, Number 17! You’ve got good reflexes. Why don’t you go ahead and introduce yourself?”

“I-I’m Izuku Midoriya, from Aldera Middle School. I’m also hoping to transfer into Heroics, and I’d love to make fr-friends with you all!” Izuku bowed deeply as he spoke, before quickly sitting down in his seat.

After the rest of the class had introduced themselves, Midnight told them to talk amongst each other while she went to see if everything was all ready in the auditorium for the entrance ceremony.

“H-hey, Shinso! How does your Brainwashing work? Do you need to lock eyes with someone to brainwash them or what? It sounds super useful!” Izuku fired off questions at his classmate, notebook at the ready.

“Why would I tell you? We’re both trying to get into the heroics course, so why would I give you any kind of information to help you beat me,” Shinso drawled, rolling his eyes.

“I-I’m just curious. Are the people under your control conscious or do they keep no memory of being under your control? Are there limits to what you can make them do?”

“You know, you’re asking a lot of questions about my quirk when you haven’t said a thing about yours. Is it ‘fit for a villain’ like mine, or is it something flashy, and you were just too inept to pass the practical exam?” He sneered, irritation dripping from his voice.

Izuku flinched. He had hoped he would’ve had more time to get to know his classmates before this question came up, to just be Izuku Midoriya, not The Quirkless Kid. Then again, this was UA High School, surely things would be better here! He’d already made a friend! And Kirishima thought he belonged in the Heroics course. Maybe Shinso would be just as friendly. Things were going to be different!

“I-uh, I don’t have one. I’m quirkless,” Izuku admitted, internally proud of himself for not stumbling over the word ‘quirkless.’

Shinso stared at him for a long moment, then his lips stretched into a sneering smirk.

“No wonder you’re so obsessed. Even a villainous quirk is better than nothing at all.”

Izuku’s smile froze on his lips. It seems things weren’t going to be so different after all.

Chapter Text

It took Midoriya a good half an hour after entering Kuruto’s apartment to calm down from the ride from the MPD building, not that Kuruto blamed him. According to Tama, Nemo only just barely stuck to the traffic laws while driving. The poor kid must have seen his life pass before his eyes.

“So, I have some old clothes in the guest room,” Kuruto said, “I think some of them might fit you, there’s a bathroom inside the room as well.”

“Thanks,” Izuku responded, voice still shaky. Kuruto nodded.

“I’ll go take a shower as well, and there’s some food in the fridge if you want some, just gotta heat it up in the microwave.” Kuruto instructed as he took Tama out of his eye socket.

“Aw, no show for me tonight?” she complained, and Kuruto could spot the exact moment Midoriya’s mind registered the implications of that sentence.

“No!” he nearly shouted, almost as red as Midoriya, “God, can you not say this stuff when we have guests?”

“But that’s what makes it fun!” Tama countered, and Kuruto sighed.

“Anyways, Midoriya, don’t mind her.” Kuruto placed Tama on top of the table in the center of the living room. “You can watch TV if you want, too,” he continued as he headed towards his bedroom, unbuttoning his jacket, “Nemo can control it, I think. He and Tama can control pretty much every appliance here.”

“Alright!” Midoriya said back, his voice slightly more distant. He was probably on his way to the guest room. Kuruto continued into his bedroom and finished stripping, then stepped into his shower.

Kuruto said nothing as the warm water washed over him; his usual shower thoughts were replaced by Midoriya and his attempt to enter UA’s Heroics course. While Kuruto wished nothing but success to him, the thought of Izuku in that uniform didn’t bring any good feelings to mind. The people at ABIS already commented on how similar the two of them were, minus the freckles and difference in hair color.

Kuruto shook his head. Midoriya was not Yukuto, and Kuruto didn’t need to let his past haunt the present any more than it already did.

He stepped out of the shower eventually, put on some of his casual clothes and headed towards the kitchen. Midoriya was there, heating up what appeared to be a small microwave pizza, and engaged in some kind of conversation with Tama. The fact he wasn’t red as a tomato told Kuruto something was off.

“Ah, Mr Ryuki!” Izuku smiled awkwardly. “We were just talking about you.”

“About me?” Kuruto parroted, “what about me?”

“Midoriya found your old UA uniform,” Tama said bluntly, “I was telling him about how you were also a Gen Ed student there.”

“Is that true, Mr Ryuki?” Midoriya asked, eyes sparkling with admiration.

“Yeah,” Kuruto sighed, running a hand though his wet hair, “I actually used to do Heroics there, but… something happened and I asked to be transferred to Gen Ed.”

Midoriya’s eyes widened as he heard that. He was ready to ask the natural next question but appeared to think better of it – something Kuruto was glad for – and settled on asking about something else.

“How… difficult was the Gen Ed course?” Midoriya awkwardly tried to carry the conversation on. “I mean, if I want to transfer into Heroics, I need to keep good grades, especially if I don’t manage to make it in the first year,” he elaborated. Kuruto couldn’t help but smile.

“It’s tough.” Kuruto moved to open the fridge as he talked, searching for something to eat. “Tougher than the Heroics academics stuff, and I’m pretty sure some universities base parts of their curriculum on the UA material.”

“I… see,” Midoriya nodded. The microwave beeped, indicating his food was done heating.

“Ryuki actually had some pretty low grades there,” Tama revealed, much to Kuruto’s chagrin. “He got some 60’s and 70’s on a few tests.”

— Real shit? That was the lowest Mr Early Graduate got? — Nemo asked, audibly more baffled than Midoriya appeared to be.

“Yup,” Tama confirmed with a popping sound.

“Oh, that was nothing compared to Yukuto,” Kuruto commented, resolved to tell Midoriya the story. “He… was my other half, so to speak; my twin brother.”

“He ‘was’?” Midoriya tilted his head after sitting down to eat.

“He died,” Kuruto said, “a truck ran over him during our third year.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Midoriya sounded earnest, and Kuruto couldn’t help but smile forlornly.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Midoriya,” he rebuffed, “besides, Yukuto would really like you.” Of that much, Kuruto had no doubt. “We enrolled together in Heroics. Our quirks complemented each other well, so we were supposed to be a duo after graduating.”

Midoriya perked up at the mention of a quirk, which Kuruto always found endearing. “What was his quirk?”

“Modulator. Basically, he could manipulate audible sound like I do with visible light.” The moment the words were out of Kuruto’s mouth, the gears in Midoriya’s brain began to turn as he started to mumble. Breaking down his brother’s quirk and its usage, figuring out the many aspects of it that made it such a great complement to Prism. And even putting ahead questions that Kuruto himself never considered.

— Yamikumo, — Nemo called out. And Midoriya’s eyes widened.

“Oh! OH! I’m so sorry! That was very insensitive of me.” He said, preparing to take a bow.

“It’s alright, I’m not bothered,” Kuruto was quick to reassure. “I… haven’t really talked to anyone besides Tama about Yukuto. I’m glad to have someone else to listen to me.”

The conversation didn’t last long after that, but the silence didn’t feel uncomfortable. Kuruto pondered his memories of Yukuto, his time at UA and everything that followed. He didn’t really like UA all that much after what happened, too many painful memories, and would gladly forget he’d ever studied there – at least, before he met Midoriya.

Maybe Kuruto should get in touch with his old classmates; see how they were doing. Midoriya would appreciate the connections.

Orientation day was very unnoteworthy after Kayama-sensei’s round of introductions, save for the lack of Kacchan or Kirishima at the Entrance Ceremony. Izuku didn’t try to strike up conversation with anyone after Shinso’s… heartful comment about his lack of a quirk, in no small part because Nemo was about ready to jump out of his eye socket and fight his classmate.

… Izuku didn’t object to hacking his phone, though.

Shinso looked like someone who liked his sleep; it’d be a shame if his phone alarm went off at every hour from 3 AM onwards for the rest of the week.

— That was evil, Yamikumo, — Nemo giddily commented the following day, when Shinso showed up with clear bags under his eyes. Izuku giggled, but he acknowledged doing it the whole week was too much. Shinso could probably handle another day, though.

Groups of friends were starting to form already, but Izuku didn’t feel like approaching any of them, afraid of a repeat of what happened with Shinso, so he simply took out his notebook and had Nemo replay clips from some of the hero fights that were on the news until Kayama-sensei arrived. The sound of her whip announced her arrival as soon as she got to the classroom.

“I see you all are starting to get along,” Kayama-sensei said as everyone took to their seats, “that’s good! So much youthful energy in this room! So, let’s see how intimate with one another you already are. Today, you’ll be choosing your class president!”

As if it was rehearsed, all students turned to one of the seats in the center of the room, short silver hair bobbed slightly as student in seat number eight sighed, then let out a slight chuckle.

— Yu Narukami, Quirk: Natural Leader, — Nemo explained, and Izuku blinked out of a stupor he didn’t realize he was in, — according to his file, everyone will basically want to hear what he has to say if he’s part of a group decision. Kinda creepy, if you ask me. —

— Hey, that’s not nice, — Izuku chided, — his quirk is actually pretty interesting! I’m sure there’s plenty of applications! —

“Sorry, everyone, I should have explained my Quirk better yesterday,” Narukami said with a small smile, “but if you guys actually want me to be class president…”

“I do,” Izuku said out loud, then realized he did that, “I-I-I mean, if we’re gonna do this every time a decision needs to be made, m-might as well make it matter, right?”

That seemed to make everyone start talking amongst themselves, Izuku noted. Did hearing someone else’s voice break the sort of trance? Something to ask Narukami about later. As the murmurs began to grow in volume, Kayama-sensei brought down her whip on her desk, gathering everyone’s attention.

“Alright, class. Raise your hand if you agree with Midoriya’s proposal.” Following her order, several hands went up, including Shinso’s, much to Izuku’s surprise.

— Hypocrite much? — Nemo scoffed, and Izuku decided not to comment on that. Before he could think more deeply about that, Narukami spoke up.

“Okay, then, I vote for Midoriya to be the vice-president, what do you guys think?”

Maybe it was the effect of Narukami’s quirk, but everyone raised their hand.

Right before the bell rang, Izuku’s phone buzzed in his pocket.

— It’s Shark Week. Want me to read it out? — Nemo asked as Izuku packed up his things.

— Sure. —

— Hey Midoriya, it’s Kirishima! — Nemo read out. Izuku stumbled.

— A-are you reading it in Kirishima’s voice?! — He sputtered, quickly hurrying down the hall to avoid the weird stares people were giving him.

— I have the ability to mimic the voice of anyone who I’ve heard talk for a long enough period. Since it’s his text, I figured you’d wanna hear it direct from the source. Especially with how you’re swooning over him already. —

— I-I am not swooning over him! He’s a nice guy who’s nice to me! —

— Yamikumo, you do know I can see your dreams, yes? That kiss at the end was a bit too sappy if you ask me. — While he wasn’t projecting himself right now, Izuku could hear the smug note in his voice and imagine Nemo standing with his arms crossed over his chest with that smirk.

— W-w-we didn’t kiss in that dream! J-just finish reading the text already, Nemo! —

— Alright, alright. — The AI laughed before continuing. — Dude, we should totally meet up for lunch! I’ll wait for you outside the cafeteria! —

Izuku felt himself starting to grin. — He wants to have lunch with me! A friend wants to have lunch with me! — He could’ve skipped down the hallway, but restrained himself. The only outward sign of excitement was him hurrying a bit faster than normal.

As he arrived at the cafeteria, he ended up running face-first into another person, just barely managing to keep on his feet.

“Are we always going to meet like this, with one of us running into the other?” Kirishima chuckled, patting Izuku on the shoulder. Izuku flushed a bit, but quickly straightened himself out. They made small talk as they got their lunches, before Kirishima spotted a group sitting at a nearby table.

“Oh! Follow me, Midoriya! They’re saving us a seat!” Izuku barely had a chance to respond before he was dragged over by his overly eager friend.

“Hey guys, this is Midoriya, from, uh, what class are you in again, dude?” He asked as they sat down at the table.

“I’m in 1-C, Gen Ed. It’s nice to meet you.” He bowed his head briefly in greeting.

The group went around the table introducing themselves as Ochako Uraraka, Mina Ashido, and Denki Kaminari.

“This guy’s aiming for the hero course!” Kirishima grinned, squeezing his shoulder.

“Did you not pass the exam?” Uraraka tilted her head. Izuku froze, choosing to stare down at his food instead of meeting their gaze.

“Midoriya didn’t try for it. He thought his quirk wasn’t suited for the exam,” Kirishima butted in, saving Izuku from the awkward silence. “But trust me, this guy’s super manly! He saved a guy from a villain attack last year!”

“Wait, that was you?!” Ashido squealed, clapping her hands together with a grin, “Kirishima wouldn’t stop talking about that video for the entirety of third year!”

— Yamikumo, your facial temperature has increased significantly. Are you okay? —

“Awwwww, he’s blushing!” She cooed, drawing a yelp from Izuku as he tried to hide his face.

“Give him a break, Ashido. You’re embarrassing him,” Kaminari said as he elbowed her. “So, I have to ask. You’ve got really pretty eyes, like the lights of a beautiful Christmas tree. Are they connected to your quirk?”

“I-uh, well,” Izuku stuttered, scrambling for an excuse. Memories of Shinso’s sneering popped into his head, along with everyone at Aldera all calling him useless.

“Why don’t we share our quirks first, Kaminari? It’s not manly to ask for someone to share something without telling them about yourself first!” Kirishima swooped in to save Izuku again, cementing him as his favorite.

“I’ll go first!” Uraraka said, “my quirk is called Zero Gravity, I can make anything float just by touching it with the pads in my fingers!”

Izuku could already feel ideas for how that could be used bouncing around in his head, and his hands ached for his notebook and pen.

“No wonder you’re so obsessed, even a villainous quirk is better than nothing.”

He kept his ideas to himself.

“She used it to completely dominate in the Battle Trials earlier. Just floated her way up to the top of the building.. What about you, Kaminari?”

“Me? Well, I can do this!” The blond shot Izuku what was probably intended to be a dazzling smile as he held up his hand. Sparks danced on his palm, and Izuku’s eyes shined. “I can generate a ton of electricity. Pretty cool, huh?”

“That seems like it’d be great for hero work!” Izuku commented, and limited it to that. His brain on the other hand was already cataloging the practical uses of such a quirk. Paralyzing villains to take them in easily, or, during disasters when there’s no electricity, filling batteries and powering equipment for the emergency crews.

— You’re going to be spending a good chunk of the night writing out ideas for their quirks, aren’t you? Will I have to knock you out tonight? — Izuku specifically chose to ignore his partner.

“Y’know, back in middle school, I would let my friends stick the end of their power cords in my mouth to charge them!” Kaminari flashed the inside of his mouth, “I’ve been told my touch is electric, wanna try it out?” Izuku let out an unholy squeak, his face flushing bright red.

Mina elbowed Kaminari in the side again, causing him to bite down on his tongue. “Weren’t you the one telling me not to embarrass him? Ignore the flirt, Midoriya. Why don’t you tell us about your quirk?”

“I-uh, I’d rather hear about yours, Ashido! Mine isn’t worth going on about,” Izuku said, any blush instantly disappearing.

“My quirk’s called Acid! It lets me secret a powerful acid from my skin to melt stuff! I’d demonstrate, but I think Lunch Rush would be pissed if I damaged the tables.”

“She used it all the time back in middle school to slide around and stuff! She’d completely wreck her shoes. Our homeroom teacher hated it,” Kirishma laughed as Mina socked him in the arm.

“What about you, Kirishima?” Izuku’s eyes looked up to the clock. There was still so much time left in the lunch period, he needed to stall. “What’s your quirk?”

“Me? Mine’s nothing special. I can harden my skin to be impenetrable. It’s not very flashy, is it?”

“That’s an awesome quirk, Kirishima! It’s really versatile when you think about it! Way more than it might appear at first glance!” Between its uses as a weapon and a climbing tool on top of the obvious heightened resistance – and thereby its usefulness when shielding other people – Izuku quickly concluded Kirishima’s quirk was a textbook example of a good all-rounder.

Izuku could see the stars in Kirishima’s eyes as he grinned.

“Dude, that was so manly! You’re the real deal, Midoriya!” The redhead suddenly grabbed Izuku in a tight hug, squeezing all the air out of Izuku’s lungs. Although that worked as a distraction from the fact that he spoke out loud and kept his mind away from the embarrassment.

“What about you, Midoriya? You’ve still not told us what your quirk is!” Kaminari leaned in after Izuku was released from the vice grip.

“Yeah, you’ve been pretty quiet about it,” Ashido frowned, tilting her head.

“Uh, well, I-” Before Izuku could come up with an excuse to change the topic, the sirens suddenly went off. Izuku suddenly shot up, head scanning around as the students started to scream.

— Nemo, what’s going on? —

— I’m checking the security system right now. Ah, there it is. It seems some shitty reporters broke down the front gate. Several teachers are already on their way to kick their asses out. There’s no danger. —

Izuku let out a huge sigh of relief, turning back to the group. Before he could tell them that there was no danger, the whole room started stampeding out.

While their entire group was dragged along with the crowd of panicking students, Izuku and Kirishima quickly got separated from the others.

“Midoriya, this way, let’s get away from this mess,” Kirishima called out, pulling Izuku out of the mass of students into an empty corner of the lunchroom. The two slid underneath the table, getting entirely out of the way.

Izuku let out a breath once his movements weren’t so limited to the point he felt like a fruit being squeezed for juice, all packed in with the mass of terrified students. It had felt like the entire student body was pressing in on his chest, like all of Fatgum’s weight pressed down on him.

“Man, we’re lucky to get out of that, huh? Panicking like that is so unmanly. I wonder what’s going on?” Kirishima pulled out his phone, looking over it.

“Attention Students: There is no cause for alarm! The security perimeter was broken by the press, which triggered the automatic alarm. I repeat, there is no cause for alarm. Return to your normal schedule.” As the PA system’s voice echoed through the hall, Kirishima let out a huge sigh.

“That’s a relief,” he chuckled, wiping his brow, “Honestly, we’re lucky they broke in when they did, huh?”

Izuku blinked, tilting his head. “Why’s that?”

“So that you didn’t have to reveal you’re quirkless yet.”

Izuku stiffened, staring at Kirishima with wide eyes.

— How the fuck did he know that?! I swear, if that eyebags motherfucker was spreading shit, I’m gonna kill him! —

“Oh, shit. Sorry, I didn’t mean to put you on the spot like that.” He at least had the grace to look awkward about it, rubbing the back of his neck. “I, um. Look, dude, my cousin’s quirkless. I saw how you kept trying to divert the conversation whenever the topic of your quirk came up, just like he does when meeting new people.”

“O-oh, I g-guess there was no chance of hiding it for long, was there?” Izuku looked down at his hands, twisting his fingers together.

“Not forever, especially not once you move up to the hero course.”

Mismatched eyes shot up to stare at Kirishima, jaw hanging open.

“W-what? Yo-you still think I can be a hero?”

“No, I don’t think you can be a hero. I know you’re going to be a hero! A great hero!” Kirishima’s smile didn’t look any different from when he found out Izuku was the person he saw in the news. Nothing less than admiration oozed from him. “Saving that dude was hella manly! And you didn’t have some rock hard skin or something to cheat! You did that all on your own, man! If anything, I just find you even more inspiring now! I’ve gotta work just to keep up with you!” Kirishima flashed Izuku a bright, shiny grin.

He had no idea how to respond. Someone outside of ABIS believed in him, someone who barely knew him thought he had what it took. Not just anyone, but a hero student at UA was so sure of it. Izuku knew he was crying, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop. At least, not until they had to get out from under the table.

Izuku quickly wiped his eyes, not wanting anyone else to see the signs of his tears. “We should probably get back to class,” Izuku sniffled, still smiling wide as he wiped his nose.

“Yeah, I don’t wanna get on Aizawa-sensei’s bad side this early in the year,” Kirishima nodded, stretching his back until it popped. “But Midoriya? Don’t let the unmanly jerks get you down. They’ll see how manly you are soon enough!” He clapped Izuku on the shoulder, squeezing it tight as they walked out into the hall and went their separate ways.

— I like Hardhead. — Izuku let out a sudden laugh, caught completely off guard.

— I like him, too, Nemo. I like him, too. —

The first sign Izuku knew something was wrong was the complete lack of any texts from the group chat that morning. For the past week or so, he, Kaminari, Kirishima, Uraraka, and Ashido had set up a chat on NILE to talk to each other. Kaminari posted constantly, always having a meme or snarking about their classmates. (Nemo was particularly fond of his insults about a certain explosive member of 1-A.)

Yet today, aside from a brief mention of a field trip that 1-A was taking, the chat had been utterly silent. Izuku tried to just write this off as them being too busy on this mysterious fieldtrip. It was probably some training exercise that was keeping them busy.

— Hey, Yamikumo. I’ve taken the liberty of hacking into the UA systems. Class 1-A is currently on a field trip to a rescue training facility called the USJ. —

— They’re at Universal Studios Japan? —

— Nope, it’s an acronym for Unforseen Simulation Joint. That is probably why they’ve been so silent. —

— It sounds like a lot of fun. — Izuku couldn’t help the bitterness seeping into his thoughts.

— Don’t worry, Yamikumo! You’ll be there soon enough! I doubt this will be the only trip to this massive fucking facility. Once you’re in the hero course, you’ll get to play there, too! —

“As for the contributions of Japanese people around the world, one of the most famous of recent years is the Japanese-American attorney Phoenix Wright.” Kayama-sensei cracked her whip, causing the class to collectively jump. “Midoriya! Do you know what Phoenix Wright is famous for?”

“I-uh, he’s a lawyer who helped end the Dark Age of Law in the US?”

“Very well done! Now, can anyone tell me what the Dark A-” The shrill noise of a phone silenced the entire classroom. Everyone looked around at each other and started feeling their pockets. Their teacher’s gaze hardened as she pulled out her phone, reading whatever was on it.

“Class, please use the rest of this period as a study period. I need to step out for a bit,” Midnight said to them, quickly hurrying out of the room.

The second she was gone, the entire class erupted into frenzied discussion.

“Do you think it’s an attack?”

“If it were an attack on the school, Kayama-sensei wouldn’t tell us to stay here. We’d be moving to some kind of safe room or something.”

“Everyone, please!” Narukami called out, raising his voice above his normal flat monotone for the first time Izuku had ever heard. “I’m sure this is nothing. Let’s just go back to work and wait for updates. Or at least talk about something else besides this.” Everyone nodded, the class breaking apart as everyone started talking with their friends. Shinso, sitting at the desk in front of Izuku, put his head down and tried to sleep.

While everyone else seemed to take Narukami at his word, Izuku was a detective. — Nemo? What’s going on? —

— I hacked into Bondage-sensei’s phone. She was called to an urgent meeting in Nedzu’s office, along with the rest of the staff. Every teacher in the school got the same message. —

— What’s the meeting about? —

— It didn’t say, only that it was “of the utmost urgency.” —

— Can you hack into Nedzu’s office cams or something? —

— Can do. Streaming it to you now. —

Izuku closed his eyes, tuning out the noise of the classroom.

A fly-on-the-wall view of Principal Nedzu’s office filled his left eyes vision, looking down from a corner camera. Every member of the faculty was there except for All Might. All of them bore varying levels of concerned looks on their faces.

— This is no regular staff meeting. —

— That’s the understatement of the fucking century. —

Nedzu emerged from a hidden panel on the wall.

— Is that a tank? —

The principal of UA was sitting in a small tank studded with weapons, an intense expression on his face that looked nothing like the happy one he wore at the orientation ceremony. Izuku couldn’t help shuddering.

“There’s no time to stand on formalities. I have just received word that the USJ has been attacked, with the doors sealed and all communications jammed. One member of 1-A, Tenya Iida, was able to escape and ran all the way here to warn us. Eraserhead is already engaged wit the villains, but Thirteen has been incapacitated.”

Izuku wasn’t there, but he could feel the temperature in that room drop.

“Wasn’t All Might supposed to be with them?” Vlad King demanded.

“All Might had a delay that required him to stay here, but he is already on his way to the USJ,” Nedzu’s voice was curt and tight.

“What the hell are we doin’ sittin’ round here? We need to get over there now!” Snipe snapped out, hand already resting on one of his guns.

“There’s an armored transport vehicle downstairs with enough room for everyone, for just these kinds of situations. Let’s go save our students.” Everyone flooded out of the room, and Nemo cut the feed.

Izuku quickly go to his feet and ran towards the door.

“Midoriya, we were told to stay here,” Narukami called out.

“I just need to use the restroom! Don’t worry!” He shouted back, not bothering to wait to hear a response before he dashed down the hall.

— Nemo! Call ABIS, now! Tell them it’s an emergency! The USJ is under attack! —

Nemo complied, and as the seconds passed and the phone rang, Izuku could only hope Boss was in her office ready to pick it up.

Chapter Text

Shizue didn’t like being seen on her office’s chair. Even when a serious event occurred and she had no choice but to put aside her more humorous persona, few underlings of hers ever caught her sitting properly on the chair behind her desk. If she absolutely had to, the door to her office would be locked, with Mario firmly planted outside, preventing any intruders.

Admittedly, when her computer sounded the emergency message notification from Nemo, doing that was the last thing in Shizue’s mind. She just hopped on her chair and read.

‘ UA has been attacked by villains. Call when available, ’ it read. She didn’t waste a second in calling up Nemo.

“B-boss?” Midoriya squealed, the model Nemo produced looked as taken aback as his voice indicated. She hoped he didn’t say that out loud somewhere where he could be heard.

“I got your message, what happened?” Shizue didn’t waste time; she wouldn’t when one of her subordinates got caught up in yet another villain attack.

“ We don’t know the specifics, but a training facility was raided by villains and the UA teachers are on their way there, ” Nemo quickly explained, “ we’re requesting permission to head there immediately. ”

“Absolutely not!” Shizue almost shouted, the memory of the look on Date’s face as he waited for Midoriya’s eye removal surgery to end bobbing to the surface. “You are not to go there until at least one other member of ABIS arrives, am I understood?”

“W-what?!” Midoriya’s eyes widened. “Why?!”

“Because while I know that you’re not stupid,” Shizue raised a hand to point at the model in her screen, “you also have a tendency to jump into incidents without giving a damn about yourself. There’s no guarantee the fight will be over the moment the heroes arrive, and if I let you go, you will try to get involved in it.”

“ With all due respect, Boss, fuck this shit! ” Nemo butted in. “ I was programmed exactly so Yamikumo didn’t pull bullshit like that. Are you saying you don’t fucking trust me? ”

Shizue didn’t have time to explain all of her reasoning, not if she wanted to justify involving ABIS in this case to her superiors, so she chose to ignore that.

“I’m sending Ryuki over. He doesn’t have any cases right now, and was already nearby. Tama should call you once they’re close enough so you two can go,” Shizue said instead of acknowledging Nemo’s outburst. “Remember, Midoriya, you’re supposed to keep the fact you’re a police officer on a need-to-know basis.” She couldn’t help but smile encouragingly as Midoriya’s head drooped. “But I know I can't keep you still even if I tried, so… just wait for a bit. You’ll get your chance to act soon.”

Izuku raised his head with determination as he heard that, nodding once.

“Understood, ma’am.”

Shizue hoped Midoriya didn’t have any plans behind that. She had a bad habit of taking impulsive rogues into her department.

Izuku hopped off of his scooter outside the USJ, taking a deep breath as he fished for his badge. As soon as Boss had given them the go-ahead, Nemo had called up the school, spoofing his mom’s number and mimicking her voice in order to tell the school that Izuku needed to return home immediately. (They would apologize and explain what happened to her later.) With his excuse in place, it was only a matter of finding where the USJ actually was, which Nemo handled easily.

Flashing his badge at the inspector on site (what was his name again? Kaniza?), he walked through the hologram tape and started looking for Mr Ryuki. The scene was chaotic. Izuku had not yet been allowed to visit a crime scene himself as an investigator, so he took a moment to take all this in.

There were several ambulances parked all around the entry to the massive building, its bright white dome shining in the clear blue sky. The bright, clear day and the untouched exterior of the building set Izuku on edge. It looked too normal for what had happened inside.

— How did the villains get inside? The building looks completely undamaged. — 

— I’m sure we’re gonna find out. C’mon, I’ve pinpointed Tama’s location. —

Izuku followed in the direction Nemo was leading him, nimbly sidestepping the paramedics and other officers at the scene. He hadn’t seen any of 1-A yet, which was a relief. He really didn’t want to have to explain his job to Kirishima or the others.

Tama had been sending Izuku updates on the situation as they drove to the scene, so they had the basic jist of what went down. A huge number of villains had infiltrated the USJ shortly after 1-A arrived for their lesson. The students had been scattered and had to face off against the villains.

Mr Ryuki was already at work, interviewing Principal Nedzu. Izuku could tell the exact moment Nedzu noticed his presence, his eyes briefly flashing in Izuku’s direction before he stood taller, his fur seeming to puff up.

“Mr Ryuki, I’m here to help,” Izuku called out, briefly saluting him.

“You don’t need to salute me, Midoriya, we’ve been over this. You’re as much a member of ABIS as I am,” Ryuki sighed, shaking his head with a small smile.

“Detective Ryuki, I was unaware that one of my students was an intern at the Metropolitan Police Department,” Nedzu said, his voice betraying no emotion. Izuku couldn’t help but shiver.

“Midoriya isn’t an intern. He’s a full member of ABIS, as much as any of us are,” Ryuki said, “he has been for over a year.”

“I-I’m just here to help with the investigation, Principal Nedzu.” Izuku was quick to jump in, feeling the tension growing.

“I see. I will need to speak with Commander Kuranushi soon.” Izuku couldn’t help but shudder at Nedzu’s icy tone.

“I-I’m sure that can be arranged, but for now, I have a few more questions I’d like to ask. Midoriya, I’d like you to watch and observe how to conduct an interview.”

— Oh, you want him to watch you while you’re hard at work, Ryuki? Sounds dirty to me, — Tama purred over the open com line. Izuku couldn’t help but flush.

— Not the time, Tama. We’re working right now. — Ryuki’s exasperation was palpable over the open channel.

“Principal Nedzu, I was asking how you were informed of the attack.” None of the exasperation Ryuki felt over the coms was coming through in his speaking voice.

“Yes, as I was saying, a student had escaped from the facility and ran all the way to UA to inform us of the attack. All communication out of the USJ had been jammed by one of the villains’ quirks.” Nedzu’s posture had relaxed slightly, but it was still more stiff than it had been before.

“All the way to UA? That’s a significant distance.” Ryuki blinked. “How much time passed between the start of the attack and you being informed of it?”

“Around ten minutes. The student who informed us was Tenya Iida,” Nedzu explained.

“Iida? Is he related to Ingenium?” Izuku finally interjected, before yelping as both Nedzu and Ryuki turned to look at him. “I-I mean, Ingenium’s quirk lets him run incredibly fast, and his surname is Iida, so I was just thinking that they might be related.”

“Correct you are, Midoriya! Tenya Iida is Tensei Iida’s younger brother. His quirk is in his legs, while Tensei’s is in his arms,” Nedzu was grinning, which only served to unnerve Izuku more.

— This rat’s mood swings are so fucking creepy, — Nemo shuddered, and Izuku couldn’t help but agree.

“Tensei did mention his parents had just had another kid. He was so excited to be an older brother,” Ryuki mused, a wistful, but pained, look on his face. Nedzu seemed to soften a bit.

“You and Yukuto were pretty close to him at the time, if I remember correctly.” Mr Ryuki flinched, as if someone had just lightly slapped him.

“Let’s focus on the present, Principal Nedzu,” he said, his voice tight and face carefully schooled into a blank expression.

“You were saying that Tenya Iida ran all the way from the USJ to UA?” Izuku jumped in. “What happened after that?”

“Mr Iida ran into All Might at UA, who immediately informed me of what was happening,” Nedzu said. “All Might was sent on ahead to the USJ while I gathered the rest of the faculty. I sent out an urgent alert, calling them to my office, and told them of what had transpired.”

Izuku nodded.

— That must have been when Kayama-sensei left the room. Her phone started buzzing during a lesson in first period, — Izuku broadcasted over the open channel.

— Midnight left at 9:13 AM. After that, I obviously hacked the cameras to see what the fuck was going on, — Nemo added, — All the teachers were into Nedzu’s office by 9:17 AM.  They left by 9:20 AM. I’ve sent the video of the meeting to ABIS already. —

— That gives us a pretty good window for when the attack started, — Ryuki said. — Good work, you two. —

“How long did it take for you and your faculty to get from UA to the USJ?” He asked aloud, turning his attention back to a very attentive-looking Nedzu.

“Interesting, very interesting,” the principal muttered to himself, before looking up at the two detectives. “Oh, it’s normally a thirty minute drive from the main campus to the USJ, traffic depending. When organizing trips to the USJ, we have the hero class come to school earlier than normal, so they have time to change into their uniforms and get on board the buses.” Nedzu’s face shifted to an almost crazed grin. “But when there’s an emergency, it’s possible to get from UA to the USJ in around ten minutes.”

— So, that means they would’ve arrived around 9:30 AM or so. — 

“What was the situation like on the ground when you arrived?” Ryuki asked.

“Well, by the time we arrived, All Might had already dealt with that massive villain and the villains were all but routed.”

“And then the leader escaped, correct?”

“That would be, unfortunately, correct, Detective Ryuki,” Nedzu sighed, his face dropping. “This terrorist group, the so-called League of Villains, have a member with a warping ability. That was how they got into the facility, without tripping any of our silent alarms. This also provided their leader with a very easy and untraceable escape route.”

Izuku frowned, stroking his chin as he thought.

“Principal Nedzu, I have a question for you. Something isn’t adding up here for me,” he said.

“Oh? What’s the problem, Mr Midoriya?” Nedzu head tilted, an unsettling, almost hungry, gleam in his eye.

“Is the USJ in use every day?”

“No, it’s more often empty than filled. Today is the first time it was to be used this school year.” Nedzu was trying to hide a grin. “I can see you are onto something, Midoriya. Please, do share with the class.” Izuku couldn’t help but gulp at being put on the spot like that.

“I-it’s just a theory, but, I don’t think the facility itself was likely to be their target. Otherwise, they would have come at night or something. The odds of them happening to show up when a class happened to be there are far lower than the alternative. Therefore, in all likelihood–”

“The class was the target,” Ryuki finished for him.

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I was thinking. But there’s a bigger problem with that.”

“Go on, Midoriya,” Nedzu’s grin had only grown larger the longer Izuku spoke.

“The main question here is, how did the villains know when 1-A was coming today? 1-A themselves weren’t told about the field trip until this morning, or Kirishima would’ve been raving to me about it last night. All he told me was that they had to be at school earlier than usual. So, it couldn’t have been leaked by one of them. By the time they found out, the villains had to have already put together their attack force.” Izuku had started pacing, his hands punctuating him as he spoke.

“Is it not possible that the criminals were on the look-out for mentions of UA classes arriving early, Mr Midoriya? After all, we always have classes arrive a bit earlier than usual before a trip to the USJ. Perhaps they were watching social media from UA Heroics students, waiting for this opportunity,” Nedzu suggested, grin now almost manic.

“Principal Nedzu, how many villains were part of the attack force?” Ryuki asked, his eyes seeming to light up.

“Oh, there were dozens of them, mostly minor criminals, at least sixty if not more. All of them were spread out across the USJ.”

“There’s no way a force could’ve been gathered and deployed on that short of notice,” Ryuki said, “which means–”

“The League of Villains had the UA course schedule, and have had it for a while,” Izuku finished for him, his stomach falling to his feet. “They got into UA, without anyone noticing.”

“An excellent deduction, detectives! Well done!” Nedzu clapped, causing both Ryuki and Izuku to jump, startled. “That is the exact same conclusion I came to as well.”

“This attack must have been in the works for a while,” Izuku breathed out, the blood in his veins running cold.

The principal’s countenance darkened, his beady eyes narrowing. “And we were caught completely off guard. Somehow, these villains have infiltrated my school, stolen our schedules and plans, and used that information to attack and main my students. This will not stand.”

— I would not want to be this League of Villains when the mouse gets ahold of them, — Nemo shuddered.

— Yeah, he’s… unsettling when he’s angry. —

“Principal Nedzu, you had mentioned that All Might was the first to arrive. We need to interview him for our investigation,” Ryuki asked. Izuku felt his heart rate rise at the thought. He was finally going to meet All Might!

— I can hear your fanboying already, Yamikumo. Remember, we’re on the clock right now, so you can’t ask for his fucking autograph or something. — Izuku elected to pointedly ignore Nemo’s teasing, instead focusing on trying to keep his composure.

— Aw, don’t be a spoilsport, Nemo! Izuku’s so cute when he gets excited like this! Getting all worked up, his cheeks all flustered. Absolutely delectable, — Tama purred, causing him to flush.

— Tama, leave the poor kid alone. Anyone would be excited to meet their hero. — 

— Like how excited you were to meet Date? I remember that moment very well. — Ryuki decidedly did not take the bait, although on his cheeks was a dusting of red. 

“All Might is already being interviewed by another detective, Naomasa Tsukauchi, at the moment. I’m sure Detective Tsukauchi will send you his report,” Nedzu’s voice was almost artificially sweet, and Izuku deflated.

— That’s odd. — Tama said over the open channel, the playfulness disappearing from her tone.. — Tsukauchi works out of the Organized Crime Unit of the Metropolitan Police Department. We worked with him on a case, what, three years ago? What is he doing here? — 

—  Yeah, when we were trying to break that trafficking ring in the summer of 2210, — Ryuki groaned over the line. — That investigation was a nightmare. —

— More than that. Did you see the fucking look on the rat’s face when he said that? He’s almost taunting us! — Nemo growled.

— They’re definitely hiding something, something they don’t want us to know, — Izuku concluded. — But I don’t think it’s related to the attack itself. —

“Very well, thank you for your ti–” Ryuki was interrupted by shouting. 

“Move out of the way! We need to get him to the ambulance, now!” Paramedics shouted out, shoving the crowd out of the way. A stretcher was being carried out, a limp form laying on it. Something was wrong about the shape, the silhouette. The crowd gasped in horror.

The form of the body was off. He couldn’t identify what was wrong.

The paramedics drew closer to them, heading to the ambulance right behind them. Izuku still couldn’t make what he was seeing make sense, the pieces just wouldn’t fit.

— Yamikumo. — Nemo’s voice had a tone Izuku had never heard, quiet and subdued, like he was trying to keep his voice deliberately soft, as if speaking to a frightened animal. — His arms are gone. — 

As the stretcher approached and they got a closer look, Izuku turned to the side and promptly threw up on Ryuki’s shoes.

Izuku decided he didn’t like it when Mr Date wore his mask, not because he disliked the mask itself, but how visibly uncomfortable it made everyone in ABIS, Mr Date included. It showed that they had stories Izuku wasn’t privy to, and so he couldn’t understand their issues and help navigate them.

Izuku could see the hints of discomfort in Mr Date’s expression whenever he happened to take a glance at a reflexive surface and was greeted with a face that was not his own.

“Uh, I forgot to ask… where are we going?” Izuku began awkwardly.

“Central Hospital,” Mr Date answered, his modified voice still not familiar to Izuku, “the people injured in the attack are there for treatment.”

Izuku couldn’t help but wince. The word ‘injured’ quickly brought to mind the image of Sato’s body, surrounded by the paramedics as it was quickly carried off into the ambulance; the red, almost black bandages from the blood pouring out of the stumps where his arms once were, the mangled limbs themselves being carried off by some police officer that happened to be near them when Izuku happened to look.

— Yamikumo. Breathe. — Nemo’s voice cut through Izuku’s thoughts cleanly; the upside to having a psychic connection to him.

Izuku heard Mr Date tell Aiba to drive the car while he leaned towards Izuku with visible concern in the silicone face he wore. Izuku shook his head, attempting to even out his erratic breathing as he looked into Mr Date’s eyes, which, for a moment, were wide with surprise and concern.

“Midoriya,” Mr Date spoke, with clear effort to keep his voice level. “Midoriya, can you hear me?”

“Y-yes,” Izuku croaked out, his breath finally steadying. “I just… I saw him , Mr Date.”

Mr Date frowned, but Izuku didn’t want to explain. If he did, he was sure his reaction would be even more violent, so Izuku simply left it to Nemo to give Mr Date the details. With a shaky hand, Izuku reached into his scarred eye and pulled Nemo out, letting him grow his body and jump onto the seat.

“Yamikumo saw the student that lost his arms being carried into the ambulance,” Nemo explained with a somber voice, “you can tell he didn’t react well.”

— We can request to have Midoriya removed from the case and seek professional help, — Aiba suggested over the comms.

“ No ,” Izuku demanded, “I want to help with this case. It’s the least I can do.” He swallowed, the bubbling emotions held back only just slightly by that. “Out of everyone in ABIS, I was the closest to the USJ, and I still couldn’t have done anything to prevent the attack. I couldn’t even know there was going to be an attack!”

“ Nobody knew that, Midoriya,” Mr Date responded immediately, “the only one with even a chance of knowing there would be an attack was the principal, and he was completely blindsided. There’s nothing to blame you for.”

“He’s right, Yamikumo.” Nemo turned to Izuku, holding onto his hand with both his flippers. “There’s no way anyone could have anticipated this, but there’s one thing we can do now: find out how it happened and make sure those bastards get what they deserve.”

— Crime scenes are often gruesome sights; Date has seen a person being decapitated, and the Half-Body serial killings took its toll on Ryuki and Mizuki, — Aiba pointed out, addressing the other of Izuku’s issues caused by the case. — There is no shame in stepping down if it overwhelms you, Midoriya; keep that in mind as you go on. —

“R-right,” Izuku nodded, somewhat numb. ABIS often dealt with the goriest cases around, victims with missing limbs or organs are just another day for their agents, but still… “I… I don’t think I’m ready to meet with Sato just yet. If we have to take his statement, I’ll be better off waiting outside.”

Mr Date let out a sound of acknowledgement, before returning to the steering wheel. Something told Izuku it was more because he didn't want to hold eye contact than to drive.

“We never told you, but everyone in ABIS has had issues with blood. Hell, the only ones there who haven’t tried to kill someone are you and Mizuki,” Mr Date admitted. “Seeing a crime scene sometimes reminds me of all the blood I’ve spilled. Victims of gunshots bring me the worst flashbacks.”

Izuku froze, staring at nothing but the road ahead with his right eye. Nemo didn’t move, his flippers still holding Izuku’s hand.

“Why?” Izuku eventually managed to speak over the tense silence.

“I thought they deserved it,” Mr Date confessed, “I had nothing but resentment for the world. So, when the first guy started boasting, my only thought was ‘don’t miss.’ I don’t know where I’d be today if it wasn’t for Hitomi.”

No one spoke after that; Izuku was mulling over what Mr Date said, while the older man probably mulled over the memories of his gore-filled past. That silence was only broken when Izuku’s AI-Sight burst into his field of vision. Boss was calling both of them.

“What is it, Boss?” Mr Date asked their commander.

“I just got word from the hospital,” she informed them, “both Sato and Aizawa are unconscious, and the former is about to undergo surgery for inserting prosthetics. UA is covering the costs.”

“So we’ll have to wait for them to wake up,” Izuku concluded.

“Maybe in Sato’s case, but we already have the statements of the students who were with him,” Boss countered. “On the other hand, Aizawa fought the leader of the villains and that monstrosity of theirs directly, and we don’t have the time to wait for him to wake up. I have already arranged the paperwork. Agent Date, Agent Midoriya, an ambulance is on the way to bring Shota Aizawa to ABIS soon. One of you will Psync with him.”

“Understood, ma’am,” both policemen said in unison, though Izuku’s voice was still shaken from his breakdown earlier. When Boss hung up the call, Izuku sighed.

— Calculating route to ABIS, — Aiba said as Izuku decided to close his eyes and to try and let his own dreams calm him.

Chapter Text

The word “Psyncing” was accurate, not only because of the acronym within, but also because it really did give Izuku the sensation of sinking into the sea of the human heart. The descent wasn’t uncomfortable, but the feeling of losing sensation from his limbs, of being reduced to the very core of what made him him wasn’t something he’d ever grow accustomed to.

He took in his surroundings. Izuku found himself in a classroom at UA, which looked almost identical to the 1-C classroom. From the window, all that seemed to exist was a spiral of black and red. Izuku couldn’t help but shudder despite his current lack of body. Tearing his gaze from the eerie sky outside, he looked around the rest of the room.

“Nemo, where are you?” He called out, unable to see his partner anywhere.

The massive classroom door slammed open, and Nemo rushed inside, his feet skidding across the tile as he turned around, a piece of buttered toast hanging from his lips. He slammed into one of the desks, taking a bite from the toast.

“Hey, I made it just in time!”

“Where did you get toast?” Izuku couldn’t help but giggle.

“Remember, Midoriya, you only have six minutes in Somnium,” Pewter interjected before Nemo could answer. The AI nodded, standing up from the desk and popping his neck.

“How can you even do that? Do you even have bones?” Izuku wondered aloud, not expecting an answer.

“Somnium Scan: Activate!” The world seemed to stretch and pulses of light shot out of Nemo, then returned to him. The map of the Somnium world took shape in the shared part of Izuku’s and Nemo’s minds. Nemo was quick to mark down the location of the Mental Locks.

“Huh, only three?” Nemo tilted his head.

“I mean, Eraserhead wouldn’t be intentionally trying to hide stuff from us, so that makes sense,” Izuku said.

“I guess,” the AI shrugged. “So, where do you wanna start, Yamikumo?” Nemo punched his fist into his palm, grinning wildly.

“Hmm… Why don’t you try giving a lecture? If this is the 1-A classroom, and we’re in Mr Aizawa’s dream, we could trigger something by imitating how he would act.”

Nemo walked up behind the desk, and slammed his palm down on it.

“Alright, listen up you brats! It’s time for Nemo-sensei to give you the lecture of a fucking lifetime!”

“I-I don’t think Eraserhead would curse out his students, Nemo,” Izuku winced as Nemo continued his lecture.

“Then how the fuck will they learn this shit? You need to beat it into them!” The AI laughed as Izuku groaned.

Before Nemo could say anything else, a transparent visage of Mr Aizawa took his place behind the desk.

“I’ve reviewed videos of your battle trials. Most of you did okay, but there’s plenty of room for improvement.”

“Bakugo, don’t sulk like a child about your loss, grow up.” One of the desks along the far wall suddenly transformed, becoming coated in burn marks.

“Todoroki, that sort of collateral damage is not acceptable in the real world. You have a lot of power, but you need to work on how to modulate it.” One of the other desks now was half-coated in ice.

“Bright, try not to give your classmates a concussion with that staff of yours next time.” A pair of Strega-brand sneakers appeared on another desk.

“Kirishima, your Hardening makes your punches stronger. Try to be careful not to damage the structural integrity of the building itself. If this were a real situation, you could’ve brought the whole building down on top of you and your partner, which would also have set off the bomb.” One of the desks was coated in a rocky shell, cracking the wood beneath.

The Eraserhead phantom disappeared, and all the other desks were soon covered in various things. One was sparking with electricity, another was all wrapped up in tape, and yet another started floating half a meter off the ground.

“These kids. They don’t know what they’re getting into. Maybe I should’ve expelled them all, save them from this life. You wouldn’t have liked it, but maybe then this wouldn’t have happened,” Mr Aizawa’s voice echoed out, bitter and sarcastic.

Izuku put the comment in the back of his mind, to be examined later. He needed to focus.

“Sweet, got a nice TIMIE from that!” Nemo grinned.

“Save it, I bet we’ll need it later. For now, try investigating some of the desks.” Nemo walked down the far right aisle, next to the windows looking out to that eerie sky. He stopped at the desk covered in burns.

“I bet I know what prick this desk belongs to,” Nemo hissed as he kicked it, “Blastface would fuck up shit he doesn’t own like this.”

“I think these are symbolic, Nemo. Unless whoever sits behind him regularly leaves sneakers on their desk,” Izuku chided, looking over the other desks. “I think these show his first association with the student sitting in the seat. So, Kacchan’s desk is covered in burns from his explosions. I bet the one crackling with electricity is Kaminari’s desk. The one floating in the air has to be Uraraka’s.”

Nemo froze as he looked over the desks. “I think that’s our target, Yamikumo.” His voice was uncharacteristically quiet and subdued.

In the far back of the room, next to Uraraka’s floating desk, was a desk with two arms jutting out of the top, reaching for the air. Nemo walked over to them, and reached out to touch the limbs.

“Nemo, wait–” Izuku called out, but it was too late. The second Nemo’s hand touched the arms, they broke off the desk with a deafening snap, falling to the floor at an unnaturally slow speed. The second they hit the floor, bouncing off the tile, the entire room flashed, blinding both Psyncer and AI.

They blinked the white spots out of their vision, and if either of them had stomachs right now, they would have thrown up.

The classroom was a horror show. The walls were splattered a vibrant, almost sickening crimson, covering nearly every surface. The desk with the arms was now completely covered in blood. Phantom hands and arms emerged from the walls and ceiling, wiggling around and grasping at the air. Everything seemed to glow with an unearthly red light.

As they took in the changes, blood dripped from the ceiling, landing on Nemo’s cheek.

“W-what is this?” Izuku stuttered.

“I don’t know, Yamikumo, but I don’t like it,” Nemo concurred, shuddering as he wiped the blood away. As they scanned their eyes around the horrific room around them, they saw an umbrella in the corner, just under the window.

“Look, Nemo! There’s no blood over there! That’s gotta be what we need to do!”

Nemo hurried as fast as he could. Before he could reach the corner, one of the hands grabbed him, holding him fast as time seemed to speed up.

“Midoriya, Nemo! Those arms are incredibly dangerous! They’re going to drain your time!” Pewter called out as Nemo smacked the hand, before finally jerking free.

Nemo took a deep breath.

“We lost a good 15 seconds from that,” Izuku groaned, “we need to be more careful.”

“You try weaving between these fucking creepy ass things! God, the skin was so slimy and sticky. I’ll need to shower for a week to wash that away,” Nemo shuddered, before continuing on.

The umbrella was dripping with water and looked like it had seen better days, with some tears in the yellow fabric.

“Well, what should we do with this?” Nemo asked, picking it up by the duct-tape coated handle.

“Look, the window’s open. I-I think you need to jump out,” Izuku suggested, “Use the umbrella like a parachute!”

“Do I look like Mary Poppins to you?”

“C’mon, Nemo, let’s go fly an umbrella!”

Despite the creepy ambiance of the room, Nemo couldn’t help but grin. “What the hell, I’ve always wanted to try skydiving!” The AI clambered onto the windowsill, looking out in the empty expanse of red and black spirals. He opened up the umbrella, showering himself in droplets of water, before he leapt out, a joyous whoop as he plummeted down into the empty void.

MENTAL LOCK #1 – Escaped the Classroom

Landing was something Nemo had practice with. More often than not, during Izuku's practice Somnia, he'd make an entrance from above, so falling in dreams was a sensation both of them had become accustomed to. It was something odd to say when there was no real ‘sensation’ for Izuku to feel, but the sight of the approaching floor still spooked him occasionally.

When they reached the ground, the umbrella was gone, and there was no evidence of the window they jumped through, not any sign of the UA building. Instead, Izuku and Nemo were at the scene of the crime: the very center of the Unforeseen Simulation Joint. Nemo stood still while Izuku took in his surroundings, comparing them to the map in his mind, the bird’s eye view momentarily obscuring his vision of the area around his partner.

“So, we’re here now, with four minutes and thirty five seconds to do what we need to,” Nemo said, catching Izuku’s attention.

“Huh? My timer says we only have four minutes and twenty two seconds,” Izuku corrected. “Pewter?” he called out. It was a good thing he didn’t have to try and move his body for that; he still wasn’t able to the way Mr Date could.

“You’re correct, Midoriya. The subject’s brain activity flared up when the classroom changed.” Pewter sounded bothered by that. “It appears he involuntarily activated his Quirk, which may have thrown off the interfacing between the Psync machine and Nemo.”

“Be careful when you proceed,” Boss advised, “if you and Nemo get too off-sync, we’ll have to cut the Psync short.”

“Understood,” both partners said.

Talking with the control room made some time pass, and a deep red mist formed in front of Nemo. Blood dripped onto the concrete below the cloud like rain. Several hands, just as starkly red, started to appear around the central area, each one of them grasping for something invisible to Izuku and Nemo. The two approached the mist.

“Thirteen’s statement said something about a villain without a definite form being the warper,” Nemo told Izuku, “but it wasn’t this red.”

“Try sticking your head in,” Izuku suggested, “maybe we can take a look at where they came from?”

“You sure it won’t close with my head on the other side?” Nemo didn’t sound too put off by the idea, but Izuku knew him well enough to know he was hesitating.

“It’ll be fine! You can always grow your head back,” Izuku reassured with as much of a smile as he could convey when he was just a disembodied voice.

“It’s… not a pleasant process, though. Besides, wouldn’t the other head die? Would the other head not be a different person who just happened to share the memories with the old one?”

“I’m pretty sure there’s an anime about that…” Izuku pondered. “Anyways, in you go!”

Doing as told, Nemo leaned into the red mist. Izuku watched as his head came out right beside his body, eyes closed as if ready to say goodbye to this mortal coil. He just barely contained his laughter at the sight.

“You can open your eyes now, Nemo,” he decided to say with a chuckle.

“H-huh?” was the superintelligent AI’s thoughtful response. Nemo then opened his eyes to the sight of his butt to the left of his head, rather than behind it. That made Izuku’s thin grasp on his amusement disappear, and he burst out in giggles. “I’ll take offense to that.” Nemo’s pout failed to placate his giggling in the slightest. If anything, it only made Izuku laugh harder. As Nemo indignantly pulled himself back, Izuku let himself enjoy the humor of the situation.

“So Mr Aizawa doesn’t know where the villains came from,” Izuku concluded from their experiment, “what else do we know about the warper?”

“They can transport multiple people to several locations at once, according to the students’ statements,” Nemo listed off, “but they apparently can’t close a portal when someone is going through, or else there’d be plenty more injured people. Their portals also can’t suck matter in, but if they’re placed correctly, a person could be forced through.”

“Right. The villains not at the center were probably deployed first, then,” Izuku picked up from there. “They needed to get accustomed to their surroundings since they didn’t know the students’ quirks.”

“Which leaves the fuckers sent to the center of the ring. Shit-racker or something and that monstrosity,” Nemo completed their train of thought. At the mention of the weird creature that participated in the attack, something in the red mist shifted, and shapes started to walk out from it, just as crimson as the mist itself. Most of them lacked distinguishable features, outside of the odd mutation that could be traced back to some of the villains apprehended. While most of the villains were but red silhouettes, two of them were vividly recreated by Mr Aizawa’s memory.

Dripping with blood, covered in writhing hands that looked all but aching to jump off his body and crawl around or join their floating siblings around the circle that made up the central area of the USJ, this had to be the man that Kacchan’s statement identified as ‘Shigaraki.’ Beside him, dark red muscles spasming and an exposed brain that pulsates with each movement, must be the creature that the reports identified as ‘Nomu.’ Its hands seemed to smear the very air around it with blood as it slowly moved. The red sclera that made up the creature’s empty eyes made Izuku shudder in a way that he could feel through his actual body.

“So that’s the monster,” Nemo whispered, just as taken aback as Izuku. “I’m getting Mental Lock readings from it,” he continued, hanging his head, “guess there’s no putting off getting near it, is there?”

“Doesn’t seem like it,” Izuku responded. “Maybe we’re supposed to recreate the fight? But Kacchan’s testimony is too vague.”

“Eraserhead fights with a capture weapon, so containing it might make something change,” Nemo wondered aloud. “Though I can’t see anything that we could use.”

“Maybe up on top of those stairs?” Izuku indicated. “You could get a really good view from up there.”

“I don’t know, Yamikumo,” Nemo said, “it would take a while to go up there and then get back. Although…”

“Yes?”

“Blasty said in his testimony that he and Mr Aizawa jumped towards the area with visible villains as soon as the latter recognized it was an attack,” Nemo explained, voice somber, “it might help if we recreate what they did.”

“Alright, I’ll get a TIMIE ready. Get ready to run in three… two… one… now!” Izuku felt the dizzying effect of the surge in electricity that meant his synapses were firing into the machine at an even faster rate than usual.

Nemo had a toothy grin plastered on his face as he brushed past the floating hands and bolted towards the long set of stairs, taking them two at a time with enthusiasm and without slowing for even a second. The TIMIE’s effect ran out halfway up the staircase – it was one of the simpler ones that only stayed active for a limited time in Somnium; Izuku couldn’t keep the other, more complex ones active for long yet – and time went back to normal as they climbed.

“Alright, we’re here,” Izuku said upon Nemo reaching the summit. “It’s kinda difficult to spot the portal from here… what did the other people involved say about that?”

“Aizawa saw the portal from afar and immediately informed Thirteen they were under attack,” Nemo answered, “then he jumped off and Explody McMurder followed suit, against his explicit orders.”

“Huh, maybe it has to do with how his quirk works? His eyesight does seem marginally better than a baseline human’s, but that’s only speculation without any testing. Besides, even I have some noticeable mutations compared to a pre-quirk human, so it’s hard to really define ‘baseline’ anymore. Maybe in an interrogation after he wakes up we can–”

“Yamikumo, be careful, you might overwhelm the machine and waste our time!” Nemo shouted, promptly stopping Izuku’s mumble streak.

“Sorry,” he let out on instinct. Nemo grunted in frustration; he still didn’t get rid of Izuku’s habit of apologizing when it’s not needed.

“I have to jump off the stairs now,” he chose to say instead of chastising Izuku, “so, do you think you can handle another TIMIE?”

“This should be faster than climbing up the stairs, so I don’t think we’ll need one,” Izuku answered. “Ready whenever you are.”

Nemo walked away from the edge of the stairs, stretching his legs like a runner right before a foot race. He held the position for less than a second before taking off with a running leap. The next moment, his feet landed squarely on the ‘face’ of one of the unidentifiable figures that stood beside the portal. After he pushed off the figure, it vanished.

Then the hands shifted.

“DIE!” Izuku heard Kacchan's voice, followed by a burst of crimson light. Kacchan’s form was just as red as the villains; his explosions were pure color with no heat. When they made contact with the faceless silhouettes, the villains they were meant to represent disappeared. That, Izuku figured, meant the villain had been dealt with, as far as the dream was concerned.

Another one of the figures crashed into the Nomu, but it didn’t flinch. Izuku could hear a crack – probably the bones of the villain being crushed as his body absorbed the brunt of the impact – as Mr Aizawa came rushing in with his capture scarf, making quick work of most of the villains around him. Izuku heard something coming from Shigaraki, and the Nomu lunged–

Everyone but that monster and Aizawa disappeared; the floating hands were suddenly much closer to the pair, and Nemo’s form was visible to Izuku again.

“So, what the fuck we do now?” Nemo posited as he looked around himself. The frozen scene in front of them seemed to be the only thing under the miasma of black and red that either of them could interact with. “According to Walking Fire Hazard, this thing was meant to take on All Might. Someone like Eraserhead didn’t stand a chance.”

“Maybe not,” Izuku said and he was sure Nemo could feel the grin in his voice, “but look at their positions; we can kinda guess what Mr Aizawa was planning to do.”

Nemo’s eyes widened as he realized what Izuku was implying. “But nothing like that happened,” he countered, “the Nitro Crotch would have said something if he saw it.”

“Still, it’s worth trying; it’s what he was attempting to do,” Izuku insisted. “Nemo, wrap Mr Aizawa’s capture scarf around the Nomu. It might not unlock a new memory, but it could give us insight on how to proceed.”

“Alright,” Nemo sighed. An explanation wasn’t necessary – it was in his programming to do as Izuku asked without question unless it violated a core protocol – but it served to make him more sure that that was a valid course of action. In a sprint, he grasped the end of the floating scarf and circled the monster once, twice, three times. In just thirty seconds, he ran several laps around it and returned to where Mr Aizawa was standing. “That should do it.”

The moment the words were out of his mouth, Nemo was gone.

“One second. That was all the time I needed to keep that monster away from the kids,” Mr Aizawa’s voice echoed around them once more, “but I didn’t get that; because even one second is too much of a luxury for a hero. You wouldn’t have needed an extra second, would you? You never hesitated once in your life. Would that have been enough to save him?”

Izuku didn’t have the chance to wonder who Aizawa was talking to, as the Nomu started moving again, dragging Aizawa along despite him digging his heels in as it rushed towards an edge. The floating hands started to move, too, melding and warping as they coalesced in a vaguely human form right in front of the creature. The figure quickly solidified into the visage permanent burned into Izuku’s mind, Rikido Sato. The capture scarf barely restrained that creature as it kept running, the fabric tearing with each step. Its hands grabbed onto the edges of the human shape, and pulled.

The blood that sprayed out was far more than a person could possibly have within them. It shot out like a torrent, painting the floor red. Izuku would never forget that scream.

MENTAL LOCK #2 – Restrained the Nomu

A dread silence fell over the arena as the figures vanished. Izuku stared at the empty air where the figures once stood as Nemo’s form reappeared.

“T-that was how he lost the arms,” he all but whispered. Nemo remained silent.

A crazed laugh echoed shattered the still air. “When that monster ripped Sato’s arms off, I was powerless to stop him.” Mr Aizawa’s voice said as the laughter continued. “The lead villain, he laughed like this was all just a joke to him, a big game. If this is all a game, then I lost it.”

“Yamikumo, look!” Nemo called out. The USJ had disappeared, leaving them standing in a black void. “We’ve moved again,” he groaned.

“And we’re running out of time,” Izuku pointed out.

“Yeah, only about two minutes left,” Nemo said.

“My timer’s reading just over a minute!”

“Midoriya’s correct, Nemo. You need to hurry.” Pewter shouted.

“Thankfully, you’ve only got one lock to go! You’ve got this,” Boss said.

“Alright, no screwing around Yamikumo!” Nemo said with a grin as he punched his palm. “You see anything we can mess with?”

Izuku did the disembodied equivalent of squinting at the distance, looking all around Nemo in search of anything they could interact with. As he searched, Mr Aizawa spoke up once more.

“I couldn’t allow myself to be in shock at the time, not when there was another student in danger.”

The second he finished speaking, a red silhouette took form before Nemo, and Izuku voiced his instructions to head towards it. As they approached, the vague shape became more definite and human and AI noticed the striking features about it.

“It’s Explodo-Prick!” Nemo shouted, his fist curling.

True enough, the red person turned out to be Kacchan, but there was something off about him. He wasn’t grinning at the opportunity of letting his quirk loose, nor was his perpetual scowl plastered on his face. No, his expression was blank; his gaze, distant; his eyes, glassy, and his mouth hanging open. It took Izuku a few instants to understand what was going on, and when he did, he let out a small gasp.

“Sato losing his arms…” he whispered in a horrified tone, “Kacchan saw it happen.”

For once, Nemo looked towards Kacchan with a sympathetic eye, but before he said anything, Shigaraki’s laughter was back. It echoed in the empty space, and Kacchan started to slip away, as if the very space between them was stretching. Nemo began to run towards him.

“The fuck is going on!?” he asked, voicing Izuku’s thoughts. The laughter grew in volume, while Kacchan seemed to stay just out of reach, like Nemo was on a treadmill. In the distance, another red silhouette took shape, and Izuku didn’t need to see it to know it was Shigaraki; his laughter grew louder as his shape became more definite and the distance between him and Kacchan shrunk. The man’s hands were reaching out towards the blond. That was when Izuku realized: Shigaraki had attacked Kacchan in reality.

”Nemo! Don’t let Kacchan get too close to him!”

“Easier said–” he stretched out his hand with a grunt, stumbling and barely managing to recover in time “–than done!”

As they neared the villain’s form, Izuku could see that the hands covering Shigaraki’s body were squirming slightly Nemo’s fingers slipped on Kacchan’s.

“Just a little more…” Izuku grunted.

“There!” Nemo shouted when he managed to get a firm grasp on Kacchan.

And Eraserhead spun Kacchan around, blocking Shigaraki’s hand with his body.

MENTAL LOCK #3 - SAVED BAKUGO

All three figures vanished as the scene changed again, landing them back in the USJ. Eraserhead reappeared, covered in wounds on his back and side. He was dripping blood into a growing puddle below him. Kacchan stood nearby, breathing heavily with a glassy, hollow look in his eyes. One other figure joined them, landing with a thump next to them.

“Is that…?” Nemo asked, voice quiet as if they might be overheard.

“All Might,” Izuku said in awe. Even though this was just a dream, the figure of All Might would always inspire awe in him. Despite being in a suit, rather than his hero costume, he was still the Symbol of Peace.

Right before their eyes, steam emerged from All Might. He turned to Kacchan, about to shout something, when the steam engulfed him. The hero seemed to deflate, his muscle completely disappearing. Where once stood several hundred pounds of solid muscle was now an almost skeletal figure, the mustard yellow suit hanging limply from his body.

Eraserhead pushed himself up a bit as All Might rushed forward.

“Aizawa, don’t move, you need to rest! The villains are gone, just rest, paramedics will be here soon.”

“Can’t. Need to- need to talk to Nedzu. Danger,” Eraserhead ground out, hissing as he stretched his wounds.

“You’re in no shape to do anything, Eraserhead.”

“W-we need to- to start investigating.” Aizawa kept trying to get to his feet, with little success. His knee slipped in the blood, sending him tumbling to the ground face-first.

All Might winced, moving to kneel down next to his injured colleague.. “Tell me, Eraserhead, tell me and I’ll tell Nedzu as soon as I see him,” he whispered, glancing at a staring Kacchan.

“Shigaraki, the– the leader. He taunted me. About how he got… got in. Got our schedule. There’s a traitor. A traitor within UA.”

Izuku felt his blood run cold. He couldn’t see the look on All Might’s face, but he could see the way his weakened form stiffened. Before he could even say anything, however, the detective felt a familiar pull.

“Midoriya, your time is up, we have to pull you out, now!” Pewter shouted as the image of the three figures grew smaller and smaller.

“Wait! We need to hear–”

Before he could finish, it was time to wake up.

SOMNIUM COMPLETE - LEARNED ABOUT THE TRAITOR

Chapter Text

Pewter let out a sigh of relief as the chairs in the Psync Machine lowered. They had really pushed their luck this time. The timer read six minutes, ten seconds. Any longer and he would have personally pulled the plug. Date had already rushed out to go check on Midoriya.

“Shit,” Boss breathed out, burying her face in her hands. Pewter couldn’t help but agree. They were now privy to a massive secret, one that could shake the very foundations of society if it got out.

“The Symbol of Peace,” he began.

“Is dying,” she finished. He could see her shoulders slump, and he didn’t blame her.

“Hard to believe, isn’t it? I can barely remember a time before All Might. He’s just always been there, you know? Knowing this, it’s like seeing the walls of my childhood bedroom crumbling away.” He couldn’t help but shiver. The room seemed just a bit darker now, like the lights had dimmed.

“He debuted when I was in my teens. It wasn’t a good time, before him,” Boss whispered. “I would hate to see us go back to… that.”

“I always knew something like this was coming, he’s as mortal as any of us, but it always seemed like a distant prospect,” Pewter continued. Boss was resting her head on her clasped hands, leaning on the desk.

The door to the room squeaked open as the two Psyncers rejoined them. If Boss looked drained, their youngest agent looked like he’d just watched his entire world end. Date had an arm draped protectively over Midoriya’s shaking shoulders.

“We shouldn’t have done that,” he said, letting the door slam shut behind him.

— Yamikumo! We needed to get that information! — Nemo tried to interject.

“He’s in a coma!” Midoriya shouted. Pewter couldn’t help but jump a bit. Midoriya almost never shouted, not in the entire year he’d known him. His eyes darted over between Boss, who said nothing, and Date, looking down at Midoriya with an unreadable expression. The kid’s hands were coiled into fists, but there was a subtle shaking to them. “We are required to get consent from someone or their guardian in order to Psync. Eraserhead wasn’t able to sign one.”

Date stepped in front of Midoriya, squatting down a bit to look him in the eye. He rested his hands on the boy’s shaking shoulders. “Izuku, kid, listen to me. Normally, you’re right. We do need signed consent and an NDA in order to conduct a Psync. There is one exception to that rule, when lives may be in imminent danger. In situations like that, we are empowered to act in defense of innocent lives.”

— He’s right, Yamikumo. I wouldn’t have let the Psync happen if it were in violation of that regulation. —

Midoriya was still shaking, moisture collecting at the corners of his eyes.

“But- there wasn’t any imminent danger here,” he said.

“We didn’t know that for sure until we could see what that Shigaraki guy had said to Aizawa. There was a serious chance that the attack was a diversion, drawing attention, and thus all the heroes on the faculty, to the USJ while another force attacked the main campus.” Date’s voice was soft, almost soothing. Pewter had only heard that tone from him a couple times in the many years they’d known each other. “Speaking from experience, psychos like him love to monologue.”

“But, Kacchan was there. He would’ve said if S-Shigaraki had said anything.”

“Midoriya,” Boss began, but stopped when Date shot her a look.

“Izuku, Katsuki Bakugo’s entire account was just a series of yes or no questions. He hasn’t said a word since the attack ended,” Date said.

Pewter could see the moment that knowledge truly sunk in for Midoriya. He seemed to collapse in on himself, his legs buckling. Before he could fall, Date grabbed him in a hug, almost cradling their youngest agent.

Pewter looked over at Boss, who had intentionally averted her eyes from the scene. The only thing he could hear was the echoes of broken sobbing.

“Izuku, we’re here.” Mr Date spoke, snapping Izuku out of his reverie.

Izuku couldn’t take his mind off of the revelations the Psync yesterday brought. The image of All Might’s weakened form couldn’t be shaken off. Izuku had been prepared for the disturbing images; but the knowledge that the Symbol of Peace, his hero, was nearing his end was so shocking that the entire thing suddenly felt twice as impactful.

He stepped out of Mr Date’s car with a sigh and a shake of his head. Mr Date brought him here to stop thinking about the case, and yet, he’d spent the entire trip with nothing else in his mind.

“Where… are we, Mr Date?” Izuku asked as he looked around. The neighborhood seemed peaceful enough. In the distance, he could spot the high-rise buildings that became a common sight to him over the past year, but the area was otherwise entirely unfamiliar to him.

“Shinagawa District, near Kabasaki,” Mr Date answered as he slammed the car door shut. “I’m surprised I haven’t brought you here after all this time.”

— We are stopped in front of the Matsushita Diner, advertised as home of the best omelet rice in Tokyo, — Nemo expanded, and Izuku saw him project himself beside the car, facing the building, — Its chef, Ota Matsushita, is listed in the MPD’s persons of interest database. Wonder what a fucker like that did to get the honor… —

— I’ve caught myself asking the same in the past, — Aiba commented from within Mr Date’s eye socket.

“That’s how you know their food’s good,” Mr Date grinned, “he also knows about ABIS and AI-Balls, so no need to keep that a secret. Just enjoy the place.”

— Just who is this person? — Izuku mused to Nemo as the pair entered the diner.

“Sorry, we’re not open at the moment!” A young-sounding voice shouted from the kitchen.

“Oh, it’s Uncle!” another, female, voice exclaimed, and Izuku couldn’t shake the feeling he had heard it somewhere before.

“Oh, Iris! Didn’t know you were here!” Mr Date said to the woman in pink sitting by one of the tables. Izuku’s sense of familiarity grew, but he couldn’t tell where he saw her before at all.

— Stage name: A-Set, — Nemo explained, and… was that a hint of excitement in his voice? — She’s an idol at Lemniscate. She’s been in business for a good while now. —

“And who is that, Mr Date?” the person in the kitchen, probably Mr Matsushita, asked.

“My name is Izuku Midoriya, nice to meet you.” Izuku bowed.

“Wait. You’re Izuku?” A-Set squealed. Mr Date had called her Iris, hadn’t he? Was that the Iris he heard Mr Date talk about so often? “Uncle talks about you whenever he can!”

“H-he does?” Izuku stammered for a second. Did Mr Date really think that highly of him?

“Yeah,” Mr Matsushita answered for the both of them, “I’ve heard Mizuki talk about you a lot, too. All good things!”

“I hope to live up to your expectations, then, Mr Matsushita,” Izuku said while fighting a blush.

“Please, just call me Ota. Everyone does.”

“And I’m Iris Sagan. But you probably know me as the net idol superstar A-Set, you bet!”

— That’s her catchphrase! — Nemo squealed. Izuku didn’t even know that that was possible. — Er, I mean… that’s what she says at the intro to her videos. —

“Izuku needs to take a break from a case, and I decided to bring him here,” Mr Date said as he took a seat by the table where Ms Sagan was, beckoning Izuku to follow suit. Aiba jumped out of Mr Date’s socket, landing with the ease Izuku saw often.

“And I would also like to introduce my newest brother,” she announced with some pride in her voice. Izuku took that as a cue to remove his left eye from its socket and place it on the table. Seconds passed without anything happening and Izuku began to worry.

— Nemo? Are you alright? — he questioned over the whisper channel.

— I can’t do this, Yamikumo! — Nemo responded loudly and Izuku held back a wince. — What if Tesa gets frightened? It’s difficult to tell what my body looks like, and– —

Mr Date burst out laughing.

“Did you just call her ‘Tesa’?” He said between guffaws. “Don’t tell me you’re a fan of hers too.”

“Oh, you didn’t know?” Aiba tilted her head, as if that was common knowledge. “His browser history is full of A-Set videos. I’ve seen him get in a fight with Ota on To-Witter once.”

“Do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down?” Mr Ota interjected, exasperated. Ms Sagan, with a giggle, picked Nemo up and held him in her palm.

“Come on, now, don’t be shy!” She coaxed. “A friend of Aiba’s is my friend, too! And I love to get to know my friends better.”

That seemed to get a reaction as Nemo started to roll over her palm until he fell off her fingers and onto the desk. The usual translucent substance coated his body and started to take form, until there was a one-eyed, transparent penguin standing beside the one-eyed, transparent hamster.

“H-hello…” he waved, and Izuku could swear he was shaking.

“Hi!” Ms Sagan beamed, and Izuku could hear Nemo make some sound befitting of a dying animal in his head in response.

“So you’re a fan, too, huh?” Mr Ota decided to ask as he approached the table with a plate of omelet rice that he set in front of Ms Sagan. “I’ll make some more for you two,” he added, as he turned to enter the kitchen.

“I-I wouldn’t call myself a fan…” Nemo tried awkwardly, and Izuku found himself grinning at the fact he wasn’t the one with problems interacting with someone for a change. “Your songs are just pretty nice to listen to. And I like the urban legends, too.”

“Thank you for watching my videos, anyway!” Ms Sagan, still very cheerful, said.

“I’m sorry, but… urban legends?” Izuku asked with a tilt of his head. “I thought you were an idol or something.”

“Oh, I do more than just singing and dancing,” Ms Sagan explained.

“That’s right!” Mr Ota cut in from the kitchen. “Tesa also plays games, acts out scenes of stuff she liked, and tells people about urban legends!”

“What kind of urban legends? Like, Hanako the Bathroom Ghost?” Izuku questioned.

“That was one of her first videos!” Nemo jumped in. “She went to this old, abandoned school and broke into it, and there were these creepy sounds there!”

“Uh… Nemo, you know I’m a police officer, right?” Izuku couldn’t help but grin as he looked up at Iris.

“You can’t arrest Tesa, Yamikumo! You’d be mauled alive on To-Witter! …and the statute of limitations has expired anyway!” Nemo’s flippers were flying rapidly as he glared up at Izuku.

“For the sake of your relationship with your partner, I think that this time, we can let it slide, Agent Midoriya,” Mr Date laughed as Nemo turned his back on Izuku, flippers awkwardly crossed over his chest. “Besides, Hitomi would be very pissed if Iris got arrested by my department.”

“And you wouldn’t get to spend all night at her place anymore, would you, Date?” Aiba fixed her partner with a glare. “And then show up to work late the next day! With a limp!”

“Shh, shh, Iris is here!” Date’s hands shot out to grab the little hamster AI.

— Midoriya! Change the topic, now! — Date barked over the whisper line, — That’s an order! —

“Uh, so you, uh, said you make videos about urban legends, right, Ms Sagan?”

“That’s right! But seriously Izuku, call me Iris!” Ms Sagan laughed.

“What was the last one you did a video on, Ms Sag-I mean, Iris?”

“Oooh! That was a really fun one!” Mr Ota jumped in as he brought over plates of omelet rice. “You wanna tell the story, Tesa?”

“You bet! This is an old one, going all the way back to the dawn of quirks!” Iris’ voice dropped into a hushed tone, as Mr Ota went over and flicked the lights off.

“The first known quirk was a baby born in China that glowed,” she said, flipping on her phone’s flashlight. “After that, more and more children began developing supernatural powers and mutations all over the world. People were scared, and chaos reigned.”

Izuku nodded along, remembering the story from his history classes.

“That’s what everyone learns in school, but they never tell you about this. Out of the fires of the old world emerged a dark figure. No one knows where they came from nor who they were, or even their name. Some even argued they were that glowing baby themselves. But whoever they were, they rose to power as the old world died,” Iris flicked the flashlight off, leaving only the setting sun outside to light the room. Izuku couldn’t help but shudder.

“This person, according to legend, had the ability to give and take quirks. People who were outcast for their quirks would seek them out and actually get rid of their own quirks, and some of those without quirks would seek them out as well, to try and get a quirk of their own.”

Izuku couldn’t help but gasp at the thought.

“As the world slowly rebuilt itself, this dark figure slipped into the underground, where they run the underworld with an iron grip to this day, stealing the quirks of those who oppose them. Even scarier? There are rumors that, if you talk to the right people, you can find them and get rid of your quirk, or get a new one, but only if you pledge eternal allegiance to…the Collector.” Iris let the silence hang in the air, before Mr Ota flipped the lights back on, blinding Izuku.

“Isn’t that so creepy?! Imagine it, the glowing baby still being alive today, exchanging quirks and ruling the underworld!” She squealed with a laugh, causing Izuku and Nemo both to jump.

“Y-yeah, that’d be scary!”

“I can’t even imagine how it would feel to just have my quirk stolen from me,” Mr Ota shuddered, “just having nothing there at all.”

“Yeah, that’d be so messed up,” Iris agreed, shivering.

“You know, I wonder if the Collector is able to do this through their quirk? Like, there’s that hero who can erase someone’s quirk, after all,” Mr Ota wondered aloud.

“That’s a great point, Ota! With a quirk like that, they probably didn’t figure out their quirk for a while. Imagine going from being seemingly quirkless to having all this power, it’s nuts!”

Izuku couldn’t help but fold in on himself a bit, looking down at his untouched omelet rice.

“Remember who you’re talking to, Iris,” Date called out, voice a touch more harsh than normal.

“Oh, shit,” she breathed out, hands flying over her mouth, as she looked over at Izuku, “I’m sorry, Izuku, that was thoughtless of me.”

“Yeah, same here, dude. We weren’t thinking,” Mr Ota said with a wince, rubbing the back of his neck.

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it,” Izuku put on a smile, “I’m used to it by now. At least you guys actually apologized for it.”

If anything, Izuku’s comment seemed to just make the pair wince harder, looking away.

“Why don’t we take these omelet rice to go? It’s a long drive back to Musutafu, and we’ve got an important meeting tomorrow,” Mr Date said as he stood up and stretched, Aiba already replaced inside his eye socket.

“Yeah, we’re going to UA, right?” Nemo said as he crawled onto Izuku’s hand. Izuku nodded as he replaced Nemo in his eye and also got up.

The food was boxed up largely in silence, before being handed over in a brown bag.

“I included utensils and some ketchup packets in there,” Mr Ota explained, “and again, I’m really sorry, Izuku.” Before he could respond, Mr Date had taken the bag and was heading for the door.

“Thanks for the food Ota, and for making it for us on the house!” Mr Date called back with a wave as they left.

“Hey! I never said it was–” Mr Ota tried to complain, but the door sliding shut cut him off. As they walked to the car, Date put an arm over Izuku’s shoulders.

“C’mon, we can eat in the car. My treat!”

Izuku only entered the UA building after everyone called to the meeting was already in the room. It was part of what he had discussed with Boss.

“Leave an impression,” she had said, “and they’ll know not to get in your way. A well-timed entrance is part of it.”

So he waited in Mr Date’s car, a feed of the security camera in the room was being transmitted to Nemo, who in turn displayed it for him. All the seats were occupied, which meant no one would see Izuku and Mr Date heading inside. He stepped out, adjusted his uniform, and walked alongside Mr Date into the building.

“As I have informed you, this meeting is in regard to the recent attack on the Unforeseen Simulation Joint,” Principal Nedzu preambled, “I have brought Commander Kuranushi from the Advanced Brain Investigation Squad, a special branch of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department that runs independent investigations into special cases, to talk about our future course of action. Commander Kuranushi, these are–”

Boss didn’t let him finish. Rather, she stood up taller, looking around at the assembled ranks of some of Japan's finest.

“Shouta Aizawa, AKA Eraserhead, Hizashi Yamada, AKA Present Mic, Masazuku Nishida, AKA Ectoplasm, Ken Ishiyama, AKA Cementoss, Anan Kurose, AKA Thirteen, Toru Nara, AKA Snipe, Sekijiro Kan, AKA Vlad King, Higari Maijima, AKA Power Loader,” she went around the room, naming each one of them in order.

“And Toshinori Yagi, well, we all know who you are. Truly, it's an honor.” She bowed, but Izuku could tell that her power move had connected. All the teachers visibly tensed, and All Might – Izuku still couldn’t believe that that guy was All Might – even coughed some blood.

“As I was saying,” Nedzu, apparently unbothered or maybe it was simply because his expression of shock couldn’t be comprehended by human brains, carried on as Boss sat back down, “Commander Kuranushi has some words to say about our future movements in light of recent events. Commander?”

“Boss certainly knows just how to make herself heard,” Mr Date said over the audio of Boss detailing ABIS’ less compromising findings, “even if they think that revealing All Might’s secret is a bluff, they won’t dare to try to call it.”

“Still, I feel dirty blackmailing UA like this,” Izuku confessed as he pressed the button to call the elevator, “do we really have to do this?”

“Everyone at ABIS has trouble following rules,” Mr Date smiled, “but trust me, Boss wouldn’t do something like this unless she thought she had to.”

They walked into the elevator; all the teachers seemed more and more upset by Boss’ description of the events and how accurate it was. Mr Ryuki had managed to get access to the statements of all students involved, and from there, reconstructing the timeline was child’s play with the help of the department’s AIs.

The elevator arrived. “And now,” Mr Date placed a hand on Izuku’s shoulder as they approached the door to the meeting room, “we wait for our cue.”

Izuku nodded, nervousness wracking him.

— You got this, Yamikumo, — Nemo tried to cheer him on, — if anyone says shit, we’ve got your back! —

— Thanks, — Izuku managed a shaky smile.

“And that concludes the sequence of events,” Boss finished, standing up once more. “I’m sure you have already realized that the fact certain students were placed in zones advantageous to their Quirks clearly means the villains didn’t know what they were.” She smiled, and Izuku could tell where she was going with her logic. “However, that raises a very interesting question, though: the villains knew that there was going to be a class there at that time, and that All Might was supposed to show up, but how could they? Even 1-A didn’t know about the trip until the morning of.”

The discomfort of the staff seemed to grow with each word as Boss walked out of her spot to circle around the meeting table.

“Let’s add some other facts to the picture. The villains were familiar with the layout of the USJ; they clearly had the opportunity to prepare. This kind of information could not have been gathered by a simple information broker. UA’s systems have stronger security than most militaries, after all,” she stopped, her back to the door. Izuku swallowed as he steeled himself. “There is only one conclusion. This information could only have been leaked from someone within UA. There is a mole, a traitor, within your ranks. One who somehow managed to slip past all of the school’s regular security. This is clearly a very crafty individual, hiding beneath your very noses. So, in order to investigate, I have assigned someone who can provide a different approach to things than your own methods. Allow me to introduce them now.”

She stepped to the side; that was the cue.

Izuku placed a hand on the knob and twisted. Then he walked forward.

“You have got to be fucking with me,” was the first thing Izuku heard when he entered the room, in Eraserhead’s all too familiar voice, “Kaname Date, the most illogical man in the entire police force, investigating here, within UA?”

“Is ‘illogical’ your favorite word, or something, Shouta? Of all the insults you could come up with for me, that’s pretty shallow,” Mr Date snarked with a grin. His mask was on – Izuku was probably too distracted with the security camera feed to notice him putting it on – and his right eye bore straight into Eraserhead with what Izuku assumed to be mirth.

“Oh, I have plenty other words to describe someone like you, but that one hits the nail on the head, especially when it comes to your work methods,” Eraserhead countered with a snarl, “the Centaur Killer case was a mess that I would rather not relive, and you have yet to provide a sound explanation for how you located the murder weapon used on the last victim.”

“It’s all on the reports, Shouta. Are you sure you should be teaching students if you’re having trouble with basic reading?” Mr Date said, still amused by the situation.

“If you two are done flirting,” Midnight cut in, more annoyed than Izuku had ever seen her be in class, “could someone please explain to me why one of my students is accompanying a police officer into this top secret meeting?”

When she pointed out Izuku’s presence, all eyes suddenly turned to him – some more judgemental than others – and Izuku fought the urge to cast his eyes downwards from the scrutiny. He had a job to do, and he couldn’t back out now.

“I-I’m sorry, Kayama-sensei, allow me to explain,” Izuku spoke up as he reached into his pocket, fished out his police badge, and steeled himself, addressing all the teachers at once. “My name is Izuku Midoriya, Special Agent at ABIS, and I will be responsible for this investigation. I look forward to your cooperation.”

The room was silent for a moment as everyone digested that information. Boss had schooled her express to be perfectly neutral, while Date didn’t even try. He had a massive, shit-eating grin on his face.

“This is ridiculous!” Vlad King shouted, being the first to voice his discontent, “a student acting as a police officer? What, are the police so desperate for manpower that they’re hiring on children, now?”

“With all due respect, Sekijiro,” Boss responded sharply, “anyone teaching at this school has no right to complain. Agent Midoriya is a special case, unlike your students.”

Nedzu made some sound that resembled a cough, his body shaking slightly as he covered his mouth.

“I can’t accept this.” Eraserhead leaned back into his chair. “He isn’t even a heroics student; if the traitor turns violent, he won’t be able to fight back.”

— Permission to fucking punch that bastard? — Nemo growled within the comms.

— Permission granted, — Mr Date answered promptly.

— No! Absolutely not, — Izuku shot back just as quickly, holding a hand against his eye so as to restrain it.

“Special Agent Midoriya has undergone special training over the past year,” Boss countered, “he is quite capable of handling a hostile.”

“If I may,” All Might said. The knowledge of who he was, despite his appearance and uncertain voice, commanded every ounce of Izuku’s attention. And everyone else’s apparently. “I don’t believe UA is in a position to… deny any requests made by the police, lest we hinder the investigation.”

“Very well put, Yagi,” Nedzu replied, quelling the discussion, “myself and Commander Kuranushi have already spoken at length on the matter. UA will take all measures available to ensure Agent Midoriya executes a thorough investigation.”

Everyone settled down after that, most of their faces betraying displeasure. Boss’ smug expression didn’t falter as she bowed and thanked the principal.

“I have gathered some preliminary notes on the matter, in fact,” Nedzu continued, producing a file that made Izuku’s eyes widen with the sheer girth of it. “I wish I could have compiled them in a more concise manner, but time is a rare luxury these days. I do hope studying these won’t prove too daunting a task.”

“It won’t,” Boss said with finality.

— I thought the rat bastard knew about me, — Nemo commented, — It’ll barely take a day before all that is in my database. —

“Very well, this should be everything, then,” Nedzu clapped his paws while as Izuku approached his seat to pick up the file, “I look forward to seeing you in class, Agent Midoriya.”

Izuku couldn’t help but shudder at the grin Nedzu gave him.

Chapter Text

Nemuri Kayama took a steadying breath outside the 1-C classroom, her hand resting on the handle. To say the past few days had been stressful would be an understatement. Between the attack on the USJ and the media scrutiny of UA’s security, the atmosphere on campus was already tense. The faculty meeting last Sunday had only made things worse. 

She slid the door open, stepping into the classroom. If she were blind, she would have assumed the room was empty based on the oppressive silence hanging over it. Everyone was present, miraculously, but they were all quiet. Her normally rambunctious class were all sitting in their seats, and any whispered conversations had died the second the door started sliding open. The effects of a direct attack on UA could be felt even in the General Education course; such was the closeness of the danger. 

“I’m glad to see all of you are here, safe and sound,” Nemuri said, placing her whip on the desk. Her eyes roamed over the room, looking at the expressions on her students’ faces.

Most of them were as glum as she felt, eyes downcast. Narukami’s face was blank, as usual, but there was a different feel to him this time, his odd sense of humor was absent. Shinso had his head on his desk and appeared to be asleep, but she could tell from the movement of his chest that he was wide awake. Yonemitsu was staring determinedly at the wood on his desk, as if that would provide him answers. Midoriya…

Midoriya was looking around at the rest of the class, his mismatched eyes taking them all in, inspecting them. Her mind flashed back to the meeting on Sunday, to the revelation that one of her students was an active-duty police officer, a detective working for the mysterious department known as ABIS. 

She admittedly knew little about them. She knew they had been involved in that explosion over Japan National Stadium and the scandal around some weird New Age cult last year. After the meeting, Shouta had ranted at length about the “illogical pervert” Kaname Date, but had none-the-less admitted that, while he couldn’t stand the man, “he does get results.” Principal Nedzu had declined to elaborate further on ABIS or his relationship with their commander, but everyone could tell that they had history.

“Right, let’s do the roll call.”

As she read off the class list, Nemuri couldn’t help but wonder what sort of police department would hire a then-middle school student. After the meeting, she had went and reread Izuku Midoriya’s file. There was nothing unusual in there, no major disciplinary issues, nothing that would make him stand out. He seemed like an ordinary, if academically gifted based on his grades, kid.

Knowing who he was now, she could see the signs of training in how he carried himself. He was clearly attuned to his peripheral vision. There was a tension in his shoulders that she associated with trained heroes. He almost seemed to be trying to make himself be as unassuming and unnoticeable as possible. 

However, his reflexes were too honed to be just from training. The way he dodged her whip the first day spoke to years of practice in dodging blows. Midoriya’s quirk registry, with the big, red characters reading “Quirkless,” loomed large in her mind. Perhaps there were other reasons why he was so skittish. 

“Midoriya.”

“Present!”

Regardless of whoever else Midoriya was, he was still just a kid. 

“I want you to understand that I’m only doing this because I want my students cleared of suspicion as soon as possible,” Vlad King muttered to Izuku as they walked through the corridors of UA towards the exit; Kayama-sensei accompanied Shinso ahead while making light conversation with him. The chattering of the 1-B students behind them drowned out their conversation. “I don’t understand why you think they should be put under suspicion, but don’t expect me to be convinced of anything without some really solid evidence.”

— Yamikumo, remember what we told you, stand your ground. You’re the authority here, not this bastard, — Nemo coached, and Izuku could hear the undertones of murderous intent in his voice.

“I understand your concern, sir, and I really hate to have to suspect them,” Izuku started, keeping his voice level, sympathetic, “but you should also remember I am investigating you just as much as your students.”

Vlad King recoiled slightly, and Izuku tried not to smile at Nemo’s satisfied snort.

“Be that as it may, I’m watching you. My students are already very distraught about everything that happened without you asking invasive questions,” Vlad King finished as the group reached the bus waiting outside. Kayama-sensei spoke up.

“Just as a reminder, Midoriya and Shinso may join your class in the future, so don’t be afraid to show off. They need to understand what they’re getting themselves into.”

Izuku didn’t know what to think when her eyes met his own for a second.

Some 1-B students nodded while others excitedly vocalized their understanding. As they shuffled to board the bus, Izuku took one glance at Shinso, who didn’t seem pleased at all by the arrangement, and shook his head. They’ll talk eventually – much as Izuku didn’t want to – after he begins to look into his class’ involvement in the attack.

Awkwardly, he took a seat beside a gray-haired student whose eyelashes seemed to form a mask around his eyes. Izuku allowed himself a moment to acclimatize to the striking appearance before initiating conversation.

— Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, — Nemo disclosed, voice professional, while displaying a summarized profile in Izuku’s AI-sight,  — Age fifteen; security footage shows he was in his classroom at the time of the attack. —

— Did Principal Nedzu’s file say anything noteworthy about him? —

— Nothing about him specifically… — Nemo answered while dismissing the profile, — but there’s one thing. The creepy rat made a point of noting that all the 1-B students flocked to Vlastard King when the press broke in, the other day. —

— Huh? Why did he think that that day was impor– —

Izuku’s thoughts were interrupted when Tetsutetsu grunted.

“Oi, what are you staring at?” he asked with an annoyed tone that prompted Izuku’s eyes to widen, forcing him to focus on his surroundings again. Absently, Izuku noted that that might be a common, even if unpleasant, occurrence to the other boy.

“Oh! Um… I’m sorry. I just spaced out for a second there,” Izuku tried to salvage his first conversation with a 1-B student. “I’m Izuku Midoriya.”

Tetsutetsu grunted before his expression morphed into a smile, which seemed almost aggressive with the way his eyes bore intensely into Izuku.

“No problem, man! I’m Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu,” he answered with a thumbs up, “you’re from 1-C, right?”

Izuku nodded, preparing to attempt to steer the conversation towards the day of the USJ attack. “Yeah, I’m planning to move into Heroics after the Sports Festival, though I wish those two spots didn’t open up the way they did.”

Tetsutetsu averted his eyes, which looked even more aggressive than normal after Izuku’s comment, and spoke up with a grunt. Did Izuku mess up?

“How many points did you score in the practical exam?” His voice was more somber than before as he tried to change topics. Izuku swallowed, ready for the inevitable disappointment, but Shinso, who passed beside them right at that moment, beat him to the punch with a snark.

“He didn’t even take the exam. No way he could without a quirk.”

Izuku froze.

— This has been reported to ABIS, — Nemo informed, — Boss is gonna put the fear of fucking God in him. —

— Wait! — Izuku mentally shouted, — No need for her to intervene. I’ve got this. —

Izuku turned to look at Shinso with a placid smile, the best impression of Boss’ smirk he could muster, and tried to keep his voice as calm as possible when he spoke.

“And what about you, Shinso? You did take the exam, right? How many points did you score?”

Nemo barked out a laugh, the kind that Kacchan used to make when someone proved to be right where he said they’d be: beneath him.

— Eyebags did apply for the practical exam, — Nemo explained between wheezes, — but he fucking walked out when he was told the goal was to destroy robots! —

Izuku immediately put that information to use, before Shinso could respond 

“Oh, wait! My bad, you just walked out of the practical. Too much effort for someone who likes cheap shots.”

Shinso winced, and Izuku felt satisfaction bubble in himself, making his smirk just that more genuine. As Shinso went to take his seat, Izuku turned to find Tetsutetsu staring at him, his mouth a grim line.

Right, Shinso let the cat out of the bag.

“So… you’re quirkless,” he began, and Izuku felt dread as he realized the direction the conversation would likely take. He prayed to be wrong, but measured his next words nonetheless; uncomfortable as he may be, the investigation takes priority.

“Yeah, so I ended up not taking the practical exam for heroics.” As the words came out of his mouth, the possibility Izuku envisioned became more and more real to him, much to his irritation. “It’s usually designed for people to use their quirks, anyway.”

“That’s true, but… are you sure you want to move up?” Tetsutetsu asked with genuine concern in his voice, just as Izuku expected. He probably didn’t even realize what he actually asked, implying Izuku couldn’t hold his own in heroics.

Any intention Izuku had to engage in small talk with the other boy died then and there.

“Yes,” he said firmly, “and I’m not gonna let myself be discouraged so easily by what happened at the USJ.” Izuku fixed Tetsutetsu with a glare as he said that, then forced his expression to display less animosity. “Speaking of, do you know if your class was going to do something there?”

“Yeah…” Tetsutetsu hesitated for a second before continuing, the tension in his body language didn’t wane. “The day it happened, we were told to arrive early the next morning because we’d have a field trip or something like that.”

“Did you know the USJ’s location?” Izuku pressed.

— Nemo, thermograph. —

— On it. —

“No, we weren’t told where we were headed,” Tetsutetsu replied, audibly confused. The wave of color that filled Izuku’s vision didn’t betray any possible lies. “Why do you ask?”

“No reason,” Izuku answered promptly, and decided to not continue the conversation. The awkwardness Tetsutetsu felt was ignored in favor of focusing on the investigation.

Izuku got to thinking, covering his mouth so his possible mumbling didn’t become noticeable. Tetsutetsu had no reason to lie about whether the class was informed of the USJ’s existence and location, and pairing that with the thermograph readings, it’s safe to say Tetsutetsu told him the truth. Of course, there’s a chance he was just that good at lying. Either way, Izuku had no reason to doubt his statement at the moment.

The bus moved. Everyone had boarded.

Izuku would get the opportunity to ask that same question to the others later, when they arrived. For the time being, there was nothing he could do but ponder what to do next.

— Hey, Yamikumo, — Nemo whispered over the sounds of the ongoing battle exercise some 1-B students were engaged in, — you got a message from Mr Mental Unhealth. —

— Mr Ryuki? — Izuku asked as he sketched Kuroiro in his notebook, beside a few preliminary notes on his quirk. — Doesn’t he normally call? —

— He tried to, but I told him what you’re doing. He sent a text instead, — Nemo explained, his voice still a whisper, then made a sound as if clearing his throat, to indicate he was about to read it in Mr Ryuki’s voice. — Hey, Midoriya. Can you drop by Tokyo later this week? There’s someone I want to introduce you to. —

— An introduction? Who could it be? — Izuku pondered while scribbling some more notes on Kuroiro’s quirk. The stealth potential it had made him a very likely suspect, but there was still the matter of confirming his alibi. From his showing during the exercise he also hadn’t mastered how to move large distances with his quirk.

— No fucking idea, but it oughta be important. Man’s got no concept of friends outside of work. Hell, I’m surprised he has friends at work, — Nemo commented with a bored tone, — it’ll probably be someone who can help with the case, so there’s no reason not to go. —

— You’re so mean, Nemo. — Izuku chided, before changing tracks. — What does the file say about Kuroiro? —

— It has a list of all students with good stealth quirks, but the first years were crossed off pretty quickly, —  Nemo provided, his words slightly more enthusiastic. — I think the creepy rat has already narrowed it down a lot. Most of the student body has been ruled out. —

— That should make things easier. — Izuku mentally sighed. Before the conversation could carry on, a buzzer sounded.

“Time’s up,” Vlad King said into the microphone amid the monitoring equipment in the observation room. “Shoda and Tokage, you did well. Fukidashi, Kaibara, you’re up next.”

— Still, how is Nedzu so sure that so many people are above suspicion? — Izuku pondered as he moved on to the next page. If Shishida used his quirk to forcefully get access to the class schedule, there would be some noticeable signs. The same applies to anyone with a strength enhancement quirk, like Kirishima or Kendo. Some possibilities were right out. Kacchan being a traitor was something he couldn’t even begin to imagine.

— Who the hell knows how the rat’s mind works? Either way, this is an independent investigation. There’s no need to take his word for it that these extras are innocent. —

— I wonder if we’ll need to figure out when the schedule was stolen, — Izuku continued to ponder as he moved on to the page on Kaibara’s quirk. — Maybe that’s how the principal is so certain that so many people are above suspicion… —

His words trailed off as he watched Kaibara weave his way through the many different onomatopoeia Fukidashi dropped around, sometimes having to force his way through by using his arm as a drill. Gyrate was another quirk that would leave obvious signs if it was used to force someone’s way into the Teachers’ Lounge, and even then, things would have to happen at a time no teacher was present; at which point a student would be unlikely to be the culprit.

— No, — Izuku shook his head slightly, — with Quirks in the mix, nothing is for certain. —

— Maybe Tortoise Shell Freak wants to introduce you to that Truth Man guy? It’d make it real easy to go over everyone then if we had a way to know if the fuckers’re lyin’ to us. Maybe he has a truth telling quirk? — Nemo suggested

— If a person with a quirk like that worked on the force, we wouldn’t be here, — Izuku rebuffed. — By the way, have there ever been any other incidents of direct attacks on UA? —

— No, that’s the first villain attack, although there was that false alarm the day… before… — Nemo slowed down as the realization struck them both.

“The press break-in!” Izuku said aloud, turning all eyes in the room to him. Shinso, beside him, snorted.

“Oh, sorry! I just remembered that I was, uh, supposed to meet a friend after school that day! I need to call them!” The detective lied, earning a snort from Nemo. Everyone seemed to collectively shrug and turn back to what they were doing.

— Nice save, motor mouth. Real smooth! — Nemo teased. 

— You shush! I covered it fine! But besides, I had a breakthrough! — Izuku couldn’t help but grin like a madman. They finally had a lead. — The press break-in! All the teachers rushed out to keep the press from flooding the campus! That’s where we need to start investigating! — 

— I’ll start seeing if I can pull the camera records from that day, see who’s missing. —

— And when we have a chance, we’ll go to the scene of the crime! —

Izuku decided that that was enough sleuthing for the time being. It would be better to go over possible suspects once Nemo was done running the face matches, and the UA gates wouldn’t go anywhere so soon; with a smile of excitement over his progress, Izuku decided to focus on his notebook more properly.

— I’ll replay the last exercise, since you missed some stuff. —

— Thanks, you’re a lifesaver, Nemo. —

— And you better not forget it, Yamikumo! —

Chapter Text

Tensei had to admit, this was not what he had expected when IdaTen’s receptionist told him a member of the police was there to speak with him.

“Kuruto!” He called out, running forward and sweeping his old classmate up in his arms.

“T-Tensei! Can’t breathe!” Kuruto Ryuki gasped out, and, after a moment, Tensei finally released him. The hero took the opportunity to look over his old friend. His eyes were mismatched colors, one a bright red prosthetic, both with bags under them. He was still skinny as a twig. While he didn’t look as bad as he had that fateful day half a lifetime ago, when he’d dropped out of the hero course, he still didn’t look fully healthy. Something in Tensei ached at the sight.

“It’s been so long, Kuruto! Come on, let’s head upstairs and catch up,” he said, pushing those sad thoughts from his mind. Kuruto finally felt like reaching out after so many years, that had to be progress, right?

Before long, they were up in Tensei’s office at the top of IdaTen’s tower. The windows looked out over Tokyo, a clear view for any trouble.

“Please, go have a seat! I’m gonna brew some tea. Any preference on flavor?” Tensei insisted as he put the electric kettle on to boil.

“Uh, I’ll take jasmine. Thanks, Tensei,” Kuruto nodded, taking a seat on one of the couches. Tensei kept this little sitting area in his office for when he needed to talk with victims, their family members, or his sidekicks. It felt more relaxed, more personal than sitting behind his desk. That was reserved for talking with his marketing team and the HPSC reps when they showed up.

As he brewed the tea, he kept looking back at Kuruto, just to make sure he was actually there. The couch seemed to almost dwarf his friend. Had he always been this small?

“How have you been, Kuruto? I see you ended up joining the police force,” he said as he sat two mugs on the coffee table, before plopping himself down on the adjacent couch. “How has being a cop been treating you?”

“It’s been… I’ve been surviving. I was in a dark place for a long time. It’s been hard since… since Yukuto.” Kuruto stared down at his mug, his shoulders seeming to collapse in on himself a bit.

Tensei couldn’t help but wince. He still remembered that day very clearly. Kuruto and Yukuto hadn’t shown up that morning, which was already unusual for them. They so rarely missed class. Shortly thereafter, the principal had called an assembly of the entire school, and announced to them that Yukuto Ryuki had been killed saving a small child from a truck. The second death from their year, after what happened to Shirakumo, the previous one. The media had taken to calling them “the cursed class” after that. Kuruto had transferred to Gen Ed shortly thereafter, and cut all contact with Tensei and the rest of the class.

“You know, Kuruto. If you ever wanted to try again, to come into heroics, I’d be happy to take–”

“I appreciate the offer, Tensei, I really do, but I’ve found where I belong. I’m, well, I’m happy there.” Kuruto looked up from his tea, flashing him a soft smile. Tensei couldn’t help but grin back.

“You seem like you’re doing well for yourself. I’m so glad to hear it, Kuruto. Just know, if you ever need a place to stay or anything, I’m always available,” Tensei said. He weighed his next words carefully. “I’m sure Yukuto would be proud to see that you’re moving on. To see what you’ve become.”

“Thanks, Tensei. You, too. He’d be proud of you, too,” Kuruto sniffled, wiping at his eye briefly.

They chatted for a fair bit longer after, catching up on each other’s lives.

“You dealt with a cult? What, does that super fancy new eye of yours come with a trouble magnet?”

“They were so frustrating. Whenever I tried to question their leader about anything, she’d break into some lecture about a nonsense 200 year old conspiracy theory. I couldn’t stand her. And I’m pretty sure my eye would take offense to that… if it could.”

Tensei couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“So, you really are dating that Hauler vigilante?” The officer asked, taking another sip of his tea.

“His name’s the Crawler!” Tensei snapped indignantly. “Well, I guess it’s the Skycrawler now. He’s a sidekick in New York.”

“Long-distance relationship, huh? That’s gotta be tough,” Kuruto sighed, shaking his head. “But I’m glad you found someone. Your pining for that Ketsubutsu upperclassman, Takagi, was painful to witness.”

“Hey! Like you were any better!”

The conversation continued long after they’d both finished their tea, the empty mugs abandoned on the coffee table. It felt almost like they were back in school again. Tensei’s heart ached for all that he had missed.

“So, I do actually have a reason to be here besides just catching up,” Kuruto finally said, sitting up as he pulled out a picture from his inside suit pocket. “We have a new agent at ABIS, one who wants to break into Pro-Heroics,” he explained, handing over the photo.

“This is Izuku Midoriya, age 15, currently a Psyncer at ABIS and a student in UA’s Gen Ed program.” Tensei inspected the photo of the kid. He had the same contrasting eye color as Kuruto, with a mop of green hair and studded with freckles, just like Yukuto had been.

“Isn’t he a little young to be a police officer?” Tensei asked, his brow creasing. This kid was the same age as Tenya. The way his parents, both retired pros themselves, had completely frozen up when they’d heard about the USJ attack, the cold terror squeezing his heart and nearly ripping it out of his chest as he waited for news, the broken look on Tenya’s face that evening. All of it came quickly to the fore. “Are you sure this is a good idea? He’s just a kid.”

“Trust me, I wouldn’t want to put a kid on the line like this normally. There are… extenuating circumstances. I’ll explain them later, when I send over his file. He’s a good kid, with a lot of potential. But things are going to be harder for him. He’s not like us. He’s, well, he’s quirkless.”

Tensei leaned back into the couch, staring down at the photo in his hand.

“Tell me about him, Kuruto. I wanna know all about Midoriya.”

Izuku looked between his phone and the building before him. This was the location Mr Ryuki had sent to him, but why would he be meeting someone at a quirk gym?

He’d rushed here right after school let out, not even taking the time to change out of his uniform. He was now wondering if he should have gone home first to get some training clothes.

— Nemo, are you sure this is the right place? — He asked over the private channel. The address on his phone wouldn’t change despite him glaring at it. — I thought I was meeting someone for the investigation, not some surprise training! —

— The fuck kinda trick is the Washed Up Detective Prince tryin’ to pull? — Nemo growled as Izuku moved to open the door. — And why are we at a quirk gym? We don’t need that shit! —

— I dunno, Nemo. I’m as lost as you are. Can you scan for Tama? Tell me where to go. — Nemo did exactly as asked, leading Izuku down past the desk and into a hallway.

As they walked through the gym, he couldn’t help looking in at the various facilities. For obvious reasons, Izuku had never been to a quirk gym before. They were a fairly common sight these days, a place for people to have a safe place to train their quirks. As they were private property, the laws against public quirk use didn’t apply here. In one room, he saw a class of young kids being taught how to control their new quirks by a quirk counselor. In another, a pair of middle school age kids were practicing fighting with each other, probably training for hero school entrance exams. One kid had a quirk that let him stick to walls, and he leapt down on the other kid, who had some wild rainbow hair. That kid managed to throw up a wall of what appeared to be rainbow light, which the sticky kid slammed right into. In yet another room, a young man and woman were sparring. He recognized the woman as a newly debuted hero, Power Girl or something? Must not be part of an agency big enough to afford their own private training centers.

Izuku wanted to stay and watch them spar, his hands aching to take notes on all these quirks, but he forced himself to move on. He had work to do.

He finally reached the end of the hall, one door on his left, and a set of stairs running up to the next floor. The stairs were chained off, with a sign hanging from them. “Keep Out. Exclusive Level Members and Members of Affiliated Organizations Only.”

— Hey Nemo, are Tama and Mr Ryuki upstairs? — Maybe ABIS counted as an “Affiliated Organization”?

— No, they’re in the training room to your left. I can sense the Insomniac is in there with Tama and… one other person? — Nemo answered. A sign on the door to his said that it had been reserved for a private event. That must be them. — Want me to turn on the X-Ray?— The AI asked. Izuku shook his head.

— No, let’s just go in and find out for ourselves. —

Izuku took hold of the handle and swung the door open, stepping inside the room.

This training room was covered in pads on the walls, the floor, and the ceiling. Clearly, it must be designed for some acrobatic training. Izuku couldn’t help but shudder at the implications of this choice of training room.

“Midoriya! You made it!” Mr Ryuki’s voice called out as Izuku walked in. The look on the older detective’s face froze as he saw Izuku, falling silent. Izuku looked down at himself, trying to see if there was anything on him.

“Uh, Mr Ryuki?” He asked, tilting his head.

— Sorry Midoriya. It’s just… last time Ryuki saw you in this uniform, we were all distracted, and he didn’t notice… — Tama began, before the other person stepped forward.

“Hey, you must be Izuku Midoriya, right? Damn, between the uniform and the freckles, you look just like Yukuto after Shirakumo slipped green hair dye into his shampoo,” the new person called out, and Izuku’s heart felt like it was going to explode out of his chest.

Standing there, in a pair of sweatpants and a sleeveless undershirt, was Tensei Iida, the Pro Hero Ingenium. He draped an arm over Mr Ryuki’s shoulders, giving them a squeeze as he flashed that award winning smile at Izuku.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Tensei Iida!” he said, holding out a hand. It took Izuku a moment, but he did finally shake the offered hand. He was pretty sure his soul left his body at the fact that he was shaking hands with Ingenium! Ingenium knew his name!

“Ni-nice to meet you, M-Mr Ingenium, sir!” He stuttered out, staring at their joined hands.

“Midoriya, relax! I’m not in uniform, I’m just Tensei here!” Ingenium, no, Mr Iida, laughed, letting go of Izuku’s hand to ruffle his hair.

“Mr Iida, got it!” Izuku nodded hard, his hair flopping around from the speed of his bowing. He could hear Tama and Nemo snickering over the open line, but elected to ignore them.

“You’re giving my little brother some stiff competition in being overly polite, Midoriya.” Mr Iida laughed, and even Nemo couldn’t help but smile at his infectious charm.

Mr Ryuki seemed to have gotten a hold of himself, giving Izuku a soft smile as he watched them interact.

“Alright, so, Agent Midoriya. Welcome to your first Joint Training Session between ABIS and the IdaTen Agency!” He announced with a flourish, his finger flying out to strike a dramatic pose. Some confetti suddenly started falling around him, but it went right through anything it touched. Was Mr Ryuki showing off?

Nemo let out a howling cackle at the theatrics, but Izuku could barely hear him. His mind was completely consumed with the fact that he was going to train with the number thirteen hero, Ingenium.

“We’ve got a fun day planned, Midoriya! I hope you’re ready!” Mr Iida grinned wide, as Izuku felt twin feelings of excitement and dread pooling in his gut. This was gonna hurt.

A loud thump echoed through the room as Izuku slammed into the padded wall, the air being shoved from his lungs. They’d been going at this for at least two hours now, and to say the teen was exhausted would be an understatement.

— You’re definitely getting better, Yamikumo! — Nemo tried to cheer him up, flashing Izuku a thumbs up in his AI Sight, to little effect. Izuku pulled himself back up, leaning against the wall as he cracked his neck and panted.

While he may be improving, Mr Iida still outclassed him in every possible way. There was no way he could keep up with that speed, no matter how hard he tried. A Pro Hero was truly something else.

“Hey, Midoriya, catch!” The hero called out, tossing a water bottle towards him. Without even thinking, Izuku’s hand shot up and grabbed it on reflex. He gulped down the nice, cold water hard, nearly draining the bottle in one go.

“Great work out there, kid, you almost managed to dodge me a couple times,” Mr Iida said, plopping down next to Izuku with his own bottle of water. It was just the two of them (plus Nemo) in the gym room at the moment. Mr Ryuki had had to leave about an hour ago, having been called away for something at ABIS. He’d assured Izuku that it was nothing to worry about, but Izuku couldn’t help it.

“Yeah, I guess… I don’t feel like I accomplished much of anything, though. I’m still no match for you,” Izuku murmured, pulling his legs up to his chest and resting his chin on his knees.

— Don’t give us that crap, Yamikumo! He’s a pro! Of course you’re not going to be able to go toe to toe with him yet! — Nemo shouted, appearing in the AI Sight as if he were sitting down next to Izuku on the other side. The AI’s fingers appeared to flick Izuku’s head, while his face looked troubled.

“It’s not that I don’t appreciate it, sir, but… why me?” Izuku finally broached the topic he’d been wondering about the entire time. There was no reason why Izuku would catch Ingenium’s attention. Him and Mr Ryuki clearly knew each other, but that shouldn’t be enough to justify taking so much time out of his incredibly busy day to train some kid..

“I mean, how much did renting out an entire training room at a quirk gym in downtown Tokyo even cost you? Just to train a kid not even in the hero course.” The boy let out a sigh, squeezing his legs. Training with a Pro should be a dream come true, so why did he feel worse than ever?

“First of all, getting to train with you is worth it. You’ve got serious potential, you just need to hone it. And don’t worry about the money. We’re not spending a single yen on this. Kuruto wasn’t kidding when he said that this is an official joint training between ABIS and IdaTen,” Mr Iida began, resting a hand on Izuku’s shoulder. “These sorts of training sessions between the police and heroes are pretty common. The HPSC and the National Police Agency strongly encourage heroes and officers to train together, to build a rapport between our two groups. All expense for this is being covered by the MPD, and they’ve got deep pockets. This is nothing compared to the multimillion yen ball of tech sitting in your eye socket, after all.”

— The fuck? How the hell does he know about me? — Nemo growled.

“Did Mr Ryuki tell you?” Izuku asked, his head perking up. The existence of AI-Balls was supposed to be classified. His records only mentioned that he had a prosthetic eye, nothing more advanced than that.

“Yeah, he let it slip the other day when talking about the incident at the stadium in February,” Mr Iida couldn’t help but laugh a little. “Kuruto and Yukuto were terrible at keeping things secret back when we were in school. The two of them tried to get back at Shirakumo during a prank war once, but were so bad at trying to act natural that he’d figured them out instantly. He ended up switching the body wash they’d messed with with Shouta’s. Poor guy was glittering like a disco ball all week! He was so pissed about it.”

Izuku felt a small smile tugging at his lips. The idea of formal and staid Mr Ryuki pulling pranks, he couldn’t help but want to laugh at the very idea.

“He’s changed a lot, hasn’t he?”

“Yeah, we all have…” Mr Iida’s voice had lost its cheerful tone a bit, the very air seeming to grow darker. “I can only hope your time at UA is happier than ours was. You deserve to have fun, especially when you move up to the hero course.”

Izuku’s head jerked around to stare at Ingenium. Not if he moves up to the hero course, but when, as if it were an inevitability.

“You-you think I can make it? Despite my… quirklessness?” The teen practically whispered the last, hated word, shrinking in on himself. Mr Iida smiled softly at Izuku, and draped an arm over his shoulders, giving him a squeeze.

“A few years ago, I ended up working with a couple of vigilantes.” Tensei began. Izuku couldn’t help but lean in. “The younger two were pretty green, but had serious potential. Their leader, though. He was a different story. He was able to take down a dangerous villain that even the heroes had trouble contending with. The dude was quick, powerful, and incredibly effective. If we had fought one-on-one, I’m sure he could’ve kicked my ass, hard.” Ingenium couldn’t help but laugh, shaking his head. “Had one hell of a mouth on him, too. Would make Tenya go into a fit if he heard him. He was a damn good fighter, one of the best I’ve seen.”

“Are you talking about the Hauler?” Izuku had followed the Naruhata vigilantes closely during their peak. A whole section of Tokyo shut down for a giant fight, and the vigilante at the center of it all ended up fleeing to America. Ingenium’s name hadn’t been mentioned once in the reports, though.

“His name was the Crawler!” Mr Iida barked out, before breaking out into laughter. “God, Koichi always hated how badly people butchered his name. But, uh, no. It wasn’t him. The guy I’m talking about was Koichi’s mentor, the man who taught him how to fight, how to be a vigilante, and, eventually, how to be the hero he was always meant to be.” There was a fiercely proud expression on Mr Iida’s face.

— How is Mr Perfect on a first-name basis with a vigilante? And his heart rate spiked hard when he brought him up. Blood flow to his face has increased by 50%. —

— Maybe they’re close? Ingenium has always been noted to have a fairly… relaxed attitude towards vigilantes. —

“A-anyway, this guy taught Koichi everything. Took out some incredibly dangerous villains, went toe-to-toe with the Pros,” Mr Iida turned to look at Izuku with a soft smile on his face. The air seemed to still, as if a bomb were about to drop.

“And he did all of that with just his body and his brain. He stood as an equal among the greats, while being a quirkless vigilante.”

After Mr Iida’s bombshell, the conversation had quickly trailed off. Izuku had been left with a lot to think about.

Both men stank to high heaven from their exercise, and quickly hit the showers to wash the sweat off. While Izuku was still cleaning himself, Mr Iida had called out to tell him he had to take off to deal with a villain attack in the nearby ward. Izuku, left on his own, stayed under the spray for a while, letting the hot water soothe his aching body.

— Ingenium thinks I can be a hero. — He finally said.

— And he’s fucking right about that, Yamikumo! He wouldn’t encourage you if he didn’t buy it. —

Izuku didn’t respond verbally, just sending a happy feeling over the comms. After another twenty minutes in the hot water, with his hands starting to wrinkle, he finally turned it off and dried himself, humming the entire time. He couldn’t suppress the smile on his face, practically skipping out of the locker room.

His happy skipping was interrupted by something standing in his way, knocking both himself and the other thing to the ground.

“Ow, ow, ow,” Izuku hissed, rubbing a bruise on his butt that he’d landed right on. When he blinked his eyes open, he found a hand reaching out to him.

“Dude! Midoriya! What’re the chances?” Denki Kaminari laughed as he helped pull Izuku to his feet. “What’s up, man? You here for some quirk training?”

“Something like that,” Izuku laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. “I assume that’s what you’re here for?”

“Yep! Just got out of an intense session upstairs,” he boasted, flashing that 20 gigawatt smile of his. Izuku couldn’t help but flush a little. “We should totally hang out after this! There’s a killer beef bowl place down by the station! Wanna hit it up?” Izuku’s stomach chose that moment to let out a massive growl. He’d not eaten since lunch, after all, and it was nearly six in the evening.

“You know what, Kaminari? A beef bowl sounds really good right now,” Izuku grinned. “C’mon, lemme give you a ride.”

“Dude, you can drive?!” Kaminari looked dumbfounded as Izuku handed him a spare helmet. “Wait, aren’t you, like, 15?”

“Well, I’m not the one driving; there’s an AI that does all the piloting,” Izuku said, internally apologizing to Nemo for referring to him in such generic terms. The AI is as boastful as Kacchan after all.

“You’re so cool, man! I think I’m falling in love…” Kaminari swooned with a wink. Izuku did his best to hide the blush he got from that. “You even have one of those uber expensive driving AIs! Y’know, my quirk means I gotta stay on top of electronics stuff, so I know a thing or two about them. What’s yours? Azamon Sasha or Elgorg Helper?”

“Uh… neither. Mine is… kind of an indie one? I got this scooter as a gift from some really tech savvy friends.” Izuku took his seat in the vehicle and motioned for Kaminari to do the same. “Make sure to hold on tight,” he warned.

“Oh, I wouldn’t let go of you if I could,” Kaminari continued in a tone not too different from Tama’s. Izuku really should stop spending his time around so many people like that, lest his mind ends up like Mr Date’s.

— Careful, there. Wouldn’t want to hurt Dream Shark Week’s feelings, now, — Nemo cheerfully provided, further enlightening Izuku to the poor quality of his friendships.

Kaminari climbed onto the scooter, wrapped his arms around Izuku’s waist, and gave him a squeeze to let him know he’s ready. Izuku couldn’t help but shiver at the fact another boy was so close to him. With that, they drove off towards the station. The fastest way to it was to briefly get on the highway. Izuku kept track of their location through the AI-Sight while Kaminari laughed, barely audible over the wind on their faces and the engine noise. Good. Izuku could take that time to think for a bit.

Ingenium’s words replayed in his head, “a quirkless vigilante.” Hardly something that would make headlines; not when what that person was doing didn’t even count as vigilantism under modern laws. If he was showing up the Pro Heroes, like Mr Iida had said, then there was even more reason to keep it hushed up. The HPSC wouldn’t want the embarrassment of their big names being upstaged by a quirkless vigilante, after all.

But even then, someone like that wouldn’t be the flashiest vigilante around, especially if he were trying to keep himself on the down low. Izuku decided he’d need to do some digging later. Mr Iida hadn’t given him a name, but surely he could find something with a super-smart AI on his side.

— ETA: three minutes, Yamikumo, — Nemo informed, perhaps sensing his lack of focus on the road. — There’s a comm line built into the helmets, by the way. Pewter thought it’d be good in case you had to give a ride to a coworker. —

— Thanks for telling me, Nemo. Can you turn it on? —

— Will do. —

“We’re almost at the station, Kaminari,” Izuku said as they maneuvered through some cars. One of those cars honked at him as they weaved between them.

“Dude, comms in the helmets?! That’s some Detnerat shit!” Kaminari exclaimed, audibly impressed. He felt the other boy’s hands start to tingle against his stomach. “They have some sick stuff! My dad hasn’t had a seizure since we started commissioning them for clothes!”

“Seizures?” Izuku had a moment of bewilderment, before it dawned on him. “Ah, right. Electricity quirks. Makes sense.”

— I hate to stop you before you start breaking a quirk down, but we have a problem, — Nemo butted in. — Villain spotted headed to the station at high speeds; we might need to– —

The warning was cut off when the white paint on the asphalt began to distort, moving wildly like tendrils, and somehow more solid than the simple coat of paint they originally were. Izuku was about to ask who was responsible, when one of the tendrils hit the scooter with force, sending both students flying to the side of the road, while a muscular man was carried by the white lines.

“Endeavor!” the villain shouted, “Here I am, Endeavor! Come and try to kill me!” The villain swatted cars left, right and center across the road. Izuku had skidded hard on the concrete, tearing up his uniform and the skin below. He’d landed on his leg at an angle, and the entire limb felt like it was on fire. The helmet protected his head when it bounced on the concrete, although it left his head ringing like a bell.

“Kaminari! Are you okay?” Izuku shouted out first after recovering his bearings. His eyes scanned over the scene. Kaminari was laying on the pavement, seemingly unharmed. All the cars around them had been stopped, some tossed onto their roofs, others having swerved and ran into the high fences on either side of the highway. He tried to get to his feet, but his left leg screamed at him when he tried to put any weight on it.

— You better look out for number one first, Yamikumo. Your femur is shattered. You’re not going anywhere! — Nemo warned, his voice unusually serious. — The comms are working; Kaminari is fine, but there’s a couple in the Edison over there who aren’t! Their car’s battery is going to explode soon. —

To accentuate the emergency, Nemo turned on the heat vision in the direction of the car in question. The bright red Edison was upside down, and the person in the driver’s seat wasn’t moving. The one in the passengers seat appeared to be conscious, but dazed. That wasn’t good, but Nemo didn’t mention any injuries, so he could hope they weren’t badly hurt. Still, Nemo wasn’t done.

— The door lock got damaged; they’re stuck. I can hack it, but it needs to have some current passing through it, — he explained. — You know what to do. —

Izuku nodded once, trying his best to keep himself level headed.

“Kaminari, can you hear me?” he asked, voice shaky due to the circumstances, but firm. He heard a groan in response. “I… I need you to answer me clearly whenever I ask you anything.”

“Y-yes…” Kaminari spoke after a moment. He sounded dazed, but otherwise normal.

“Okay… okay. That’s good, that’s good. Listen, there’s a couple in the car over there who can’t leave. I can see they’re alive and not too injured, but I can’t move, and their battery is going to explode very soon,” Izuku explained, his voice starting to grow hoarse, “You need to get to the car and keep a current running through the door handle, and I can open it. Can you do that?”

“I can…” Kaminari hesitated, before trying to move, then, his voice more resolute, he repeated himself, “I can do it.” And he was off. Izuku watched as the blond stumbled to his feet and ran towards the upturned car.

“The one sitting on the passenger side is unconscious; you’ll need to pull him out,” Izuku continued, watching as Kaminari approached the car.

“H-how do you know all this?” Kaminari asked, but Izuku had no time for lengthy explanations.

“I can see into the car with my left eye! It’s– just trust me,” he said, and left it at that. Kaminari didn’t question him further as he grabbed the handle.

— Alright, this should work. Remember to tell Boss to give him a prize later, — Nemo attempted to lift the mood as the door opened. — There’s an ambulance coming our way. Just try to stay awake until then. —

Watching as Kaminari helped the men get out of the car and away from the vehicle as fast as possible, Izuku felt himself fading fast. The high from the adrenaline was fading, and the pain of his injuries was getting worse. His only thought was that, once again, he’d gotten caught up in a villain attack and the culprit was left at large. The last thing he remembered was a boom as the car, now empty of passengers, harmlessly exploded into flames before the world went dark.

Chapter Text

Natsuo finished reading the papers for the fifth time since they were handed over to him. He sighed. The patient was very lucky he ended up being Natsuo’s charge this time. By this point, he could recite the profile without looking.

“Name: Izuku Midoriya.

“Age: fifteen years old.

“Quirk… blank.”

And that was really what tripped up Natsuo’s reading every time. It couldn’t be an error in the database – he’d triple checked – which left only one other alternative, one that Natsuo rarely, if ever, considered about other people: quirklessness. Not a common sight in people’s daily lives, but slightly more common in the medical field… or so he heard; that was the first time he met someone like himself on the job, and younger than him, too.

The ambulances began to arrive, one after the other, filled with injured people. Once the passengers were brought into the hospital and new cots were loaded, they rushed back to the scene of the mess. The one Midoriya was in would arrive shortly, Natsuo knew, but the apprehension still gnawed at him.

Until it arrived.

Midoriya’s unconscious body was quickly carried into the emergency room, not letting Natsuo get a good look at the boy; he barely could confirm that was his patient when a nurse shoved him out of the way and into the hospital proper. Checks for damage to the head revealed a pair of mismatched eyes that were not in his identification picture, but that was to be expected.

The profile went on.

“Special notes: experimental prosthetic left eye. Manufacturer unknown. Surgeon unknown. No known allergies.”

Natsuo sat beside Midoriya, waiting for the teenager to wake up. The minutes ticked by, making the older man more nervous with the passing moments. The nurses setting him up on the room were similarly frantic, as he could come to at any moment, and that would make things all the more complicated

When at last Midoriya’s eyes opened, Natsuo cleared his throat while waiting for him to get his bearings; he needed to remain professional.

“You are Izuku Midoriya, correct?”

Midoriya looked around frantically once he heard the sound of Natsuo’s voice. He seemed disoriented, not unlike any other patient Natsuo’s met before, but something in his behavior seemed… guarded. As if awaiting an incoming attack, but not from the villain he came across forty minutes ago, no… he seemed afraid… of the nurses?

That gave Natsuo pause. Had… had Midoriya been mistreated by medical staff in the past? The thought alone made Natsuo’s blood boil, but he had no evidence, and there was more important stuff to worry about.

“Hey, it’s alright,” Natsuo continued, as if his charge were a frightened animal – which was not far from the truth, with his behavior – and Midoriya snapped to look at him with eyes that screamed something at Natsuo, though he couldn’t quite identify what. “It’s okay, you’re in good hands. I’m quirkless, too.”

That made Midoriya stop. His wide eyes remained, but he seemed less agitated by the circumstances. Midoriya, mumbling something to himself, started to visibly deflate and let the nurses continue with their job. Putting his leg on a cast and suspending it was a quick effort; they were done before long, leaving only Natsuo and his patient in the room.

“So… I’m Izuku Midoriya. You?” he began, slightly awkward. Well, that was progress.

“I’m Natsuo Todoroki, and I’ll be responsible for you until your legal guardian or the police arrive.” Midoriya perked up at that. Natsuo braced himself.

“Todoroki? Like Endeavor?”

There it was; the question every patient asked him when he introduced himself. While it made for a perfect way to establish some form of rapport with the patients, and wasn’t entirely surprising with how often children were obsessed with heroes, it still stung.

“Yeah… I’m… I’m related to him,” was all Natsuo could muster to say when asked. The phrasing often implied enough of a distance that further questions would be turned down.

“Oh, and…” Izuku paused thoughtfully, “are you close to Shoto, his son? He… he got caught up in that villain attack.”

“Yeah, we… we don’t talk a lot. He’s usually busy with training,” Natsuo replied, trying not to stress the last word, lest he invited more unwanted questions. “Thanks, for your sympathies, but you don’t need to worry, he was not harmed.”

“That’s good to hear,” Midoriya said with a relieved sigh. “So, what’s gonna happen to me, now?”

“Nothing much, Recovery Girl is on her way to treat the injured in the attack. The cast is just there to avoid issues with her quirk, like infections or bone malformation, she should be arriving–”

“It’s Recovery Girl!” an elderly voice shouted from behind the door. Natsuo stood up.

“Well, speak of the devil,” Natsuo said to Izuku, “your mother has already been informed of what happened and is on her way; the police should be accompanying Recovery Girl and will ask you some questions, too, so…” Unsure of what to say, Natsuo shrugged.

“It’s alright, thanks,” Izuku said with a slightly more steady tone, “I hope we get to see each other again, well, with me not on a hospital bed, hopefully.” He chuckled, and so did Natsuo.

Yeah, that was a nice thought.

Izuku had mixed feelings about Shoowaysha. If, on the positive side, their detailed investigation work when it came to quirks and how often the information they uncovered proved key in police investigations (as well as Izuku’s own analysis) was praiseworthy, their harsh editorials – often criticizing the restrictions on quirk usage to an arguably overexaggerated level – always left Izuku with a slightly bitter taste in his mouth.

But when Kaminari had sent him a message screaming in joy about the interview he recorded for them, Izuku couldn’t help but be happy for him. He had saved that couple in the bridge, it was only fair he got some praise for it, and Izuku could put his reservations about the company aside for the sake of his friend.

“The interview airs in ten minutes,” Nemo informed from over the dinner table while Izuku and his mom prepared the food for their guests.

“Thank you, Nemo,” his mom responded, putting the plates of food on the tray to be taken to the TV room. It was Mr Date’s idea to have them eat while watching, and, despite Aiba’s protests about proper etiquette, his mom agreed. “Izuku, can you take these to Mr Date? You can start eating, too. I’ll join you in a bit.”

Izuku made a noise of agreement and picked up the tray. When he arrived at the TV room, Mr Date seemed to be enraptured with one of the cabinets near the TV stand.

“You won’t find anything…” Aiba’s annoyed tone sounded from the sofa, “and even if there was an adult magazine there, what would you do with it? Look through it, in another person’s house ?”

Izuku’s brain caught up with his ears and he realized what was happening. He would pretend to ignore it – he’s seen how much Mr Date’s brain is occupied by lewdness in his very first Psync – but he realized something else.

He realized just which cabinet Mr Date was looking through.

— Oh, no, — he thought, not even registering the thought was sent to Nemo until the AI-Ball responded from the kitchen.

— Hah! Did the perv find it already? — he heard the traitorous prosthetic respond. Izuku had to do something, quickly, but his body might as well have been made of lead. The apprehension made his muscles lock in place and a knot took hold in his throat. The longer he stood without doing anything, the greater the chance Mr Date would find something he wasn’t supposed to, but his body simply refused to move.

“Success!” Mr Date spoke up, emerging with a manga cover in hand. The manga cover, in fact. “Very sneaky, hiding this in an old shonen cover. Now, what have we here…”

Time froze. Izuku distantly recalled hearing somewhere that in a time of crisis, the human brain processes information so much more quickly that even a moment feels like eternity. That was such a time.

Izuku had to make a decision: let Mr Date read the forbidden contents of his personal doujinshi collection, or protest, and hope he didn’t find the outburst revealing. Each moment of placidity was one closer to the certainty of being embarrassed; of giving Mr Date ammunition to tease him like there was no tomorrow the next time they meet, but crying out in the wrong way would bring the same outcome.

While Izuku ruminated the possibilities, Aiba cut into his thoughts.

“Don't you dare,” she said, a clear threat in her voice. Something in it told Izuku it wasn’t the usual playful threat she made, and Mr Date realized it, too.

“Fine, I won’t open it here, but can I take it home?”

“NO!” Izuku shouted before he could contain himself. Mr Date jumped, quickly turning around with a grin. “I-I mean, that’s part of my collection ; I don’t think you’d, uh… be interested.”

“Oh, I see,” Mr Date said and silently put Izuku’s manga back inside the cabinet. Izuku sighed and walked up to the table in front of the sofa. “Uh… I’ve seen some of Ryuki’s stuff from time to time, so I’m sure it’s nothing I haven’t seen before. And, um… if you want any advice when you find someone with the same preferences, you can always talk to us.”

Izuku placed the tray on the table, as if to quash the topic under it, and reached for the remote. Shoowaysha’s news channel was still listing off hero fights that happened across the country throughout the day. Aiba was staring at Date as he approached to take his seat. The awkward silence lingered, feeding into Izuku’s anxiety like a dead carcass to a hyena.

— Why did I even hide that there ? — Izuku wondered in the whisper channel, hoping that Nemo’s interjections would at least quell the sense of awkwardness.

— “I have to keep one thing a secret from Mom: either that, or the gun I got from ABIS,” — Nemo responded, mimicking Izuku’s voice, — “and I’d rather be embarrassed than taken away from the investigation.” —

— I was hoping for a sarcastic answer, you know, — Izuku replied with a deadpan.

“Has it started already?” Izuku’s mom arrived from the kitchen with her own bowl of food and Nemo over her shoulder.

“Not yet, but it’s about to,” Aiba answered as she stood up and jumped on Izuku’s shoulder while he sat down on the sofa, beside Mr Date. “The interview seems to be a point of interest for the network as well, given they’re airing it at prime time.”

“Maybe because they got to talk to a UA student before the Sports Festival?” Izuku offered. “It’s rare to talk to a UA student this early, and the first years are pretty famous after…”

Mr Date frowned and nodded, and his mom’s face was inexpressive as she took her own seat. Before any of them could follow up on the conversation, the TV screen flashed. The interview was about to air.

“The day is April 6th, a group of UA first year Heroics students has headed out to a training facility: the Unforeseen Simulation Joint. When they arrive, the worst case scenario erupts, a massive group of villains attack the students.” The female announcer, off-screen, narrated over images of the UA building as well as the USJ. “While all villains were eventually routed by these brave students, some bloodshed was unavoidable, and a student lost his arms during the battle.

“Yesterday, on April 28th, one of those same students found himself involved in yet another incident: an attack on a highway in Tokyo, specifically aimed to get the attention of the number two hero, Endeavor. During the attack, this young hero-in-training has lived up to his course and rescued a couple who had been endangered by the attack.

“That hero, Denki Kaminari, age 15, has agreed to talk to me about the experience,” the journalist continued, as the image panned over to some short clips of Kaminari talking, without sound. “His liveliness was certainly contagious, and despite the weight of recent events his attitude was befitting of a professional: calm and ready to assuage the worried people around him with some good humor. But you’ve heard enough of me talking, let’s hear what he himself has to say.”

Izuku couldn’t help but feel giddy, despite his reservations, as he saw Kaminari on TV. He knew that soon enough, both of them would be on a national stage at the Sports Festival, but this was different.

“So, Kaminari, thank you for agreeing to talk with me. Everyone’s been so excited to hear from you since the couple you saved were interviewed by our esteemed colleagues at NHK that evening. Can you tell us your account of events?” The interviewer said as Kaminari smiled for the camera.

“Sure! That afternoon I’d been training my quirk at a gym downtown. The Sports Festival’s coming up, you know, and I wanna do the best I can!” Kaminari said, “That's when I ran into my friend Izuku.”

“This is Izuku Midoriya, right? Our sources indicate he was injured during the attack and had to be taken to the hospital.” Izuku couldn’t help but glance back down at his leg, now free from the cast. Kaminari hadn’t told him he was going to be mentioned.

“Yeah, he got hit by the worst of it, but he’s the true hero here! We were on our way to grab some grub after training, riding on Izuku’s self-driving scooter. That thing was sick! A custom model, he said!”

“That is certainly impressive! Already building up connections with UA’s Support course, aren’t you?” the interviewer said with an audible chortle.

“Actually, he’s in Gen Ed, but he’s also aiming for Heroics!” Kaminari corrected, with a hint of enthusiasm. “The entrance exam isn’t very forgiving to people without really destructive quirks, so I’m glad the Sports Festival gives people like him the chance to show what they’re made of!”

“Indeed, this is an issue that my colleagues at the Deika Shimbun have talked about before,” she agreed. “So, you were on the scooter with Midoriya when the villain attacked?”

“That’s right.” Kaminari’s face fell a bit, his eyes looking down. He kept trying to recompose himself, but his voice cracked as he spoke. “I-it happened right out of nowhere. We were just talking, having fun one moment; the next, something white had hit the road and knocked us off the scooter. I wasn’t thrown as far as Izuku. He… he couldn’t get up. His leg was broken.”

“That sounds horrible!” As Kaminari was speaking, the screen showed an image of the shattered highway from shortly after the attack. Izuku couldn’t help but shudder. The damage looked so much worse from above than it did from where they were. “It’s a miracle no one died,” the interviewer continued, “and as far as I understand it, that’s in large part thanks to you.”

“I didn’t do too much, honestly,” Kaminari said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. “Honestly, if it weren’t for Izuku, I wouldn’t have even known there were people in there. He seemed to be able to see through the car itself! He could even tell that the battery was going to explode.”

“That sounds like a truly impressive ability. So, Midoriya was able to tell you that there were people in there?”

“Yeah,” Kaminari nodded, “because of his leg, he couldn’t get there himself, or I know he would have. Despite the pain, he was able to stay awake long enough to guide me to the car and told me how to open it.”

“How to open it?”

“Yeah, I had to use my quirk to trigger the electronic lock. My quirk lets me produce electricity in my body,” he said, holding his hand up and letting it spark.

“A truly useful power! It seems like, if not for you and Midoriya using your quirks, that couple would have died.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

Izuku felt a twinge of annoyance at that particular statement. Of course they’d assume he had a quirk, how else could they explain him being able to see into the car? Immediately, he tried to shove it down; between a quirk and a hi-tech prosthetic eye, the former was a more believable explanation anyways. Still, he could see Mr Date mirror his feelings with the way his mouth tensed slightly into an expression of frustration. His mom flashed them a look out of the corner of her eye, her chopsticks pausing briefly before her lips.

“Anything else you’d like to say to the people of Japan, Kaminari?”

Kaminari turned to face the camera, flashing that bright, winning smile. “Izuku, I know you’re watching! Let’s win the Sports Festival, together! And everyone else, watch out, because we’re taking the competition by storm!”

“Well then, our loyal viewers, there you have it! UA already has its two heroes-in-waiting throwing the gauntlet!  We’ll be sure to keep an eye on them going forward, but if you ask me, I think we can expect great things from these two!” The interviewer said, mimicking some of Kaminari’s enthusiasm in her voice. “The Sports Festival begins in three days, and, as always, we will have wall-to-wall coverage right here, on TV Tokyo! Be sure to tune in!”

Izuku sat back on the couch, an uncertain expression on his face. On the one hand, he was happy for Kaminari. This was a huge break for him. He was sure to get some good internship offers already, just from this publicity.

On the other hand, the way the interviewer spoke left him disquieted. The way she automatically assumed he had to have a quirk, while not unreasonable, left a sour taste in his mouth. Plus, now that they’d told all of Japan that, the media was going to be looking at him extra hard.

Izuku’s reverie was shattered when Date suddenly leapt to his feet. 

“Aiba! Repeat what you just said!” He all but shouted, his voice contained only by the seriousness reflected in his eyes. Whatever Aiba said must have been over their personal channel, because Izuku didn’t hear her say anything before Date started swearing.

“Sorry, kid, Mrs Midoriya. I’ll have to take a raincheck on that dessert. I need to go,” he said, grabbing his coat and heading for the door. The last time Izuku had seen Date with that level of intensity was the day of the USJ. Before either him or his mother could ask what had happened, he was gone, Aiba in his eye socket and a quick promise to make it up to them in the future leaving his lips as he rushed out. 

“I hope it’s nothing too serious,” his mom said, holding the plate of daifuku forlornly.

“Yeah, I hope so, too…” Izuku agreed, looking at the door Mr Date just left through. In the back of his mind, he couldn’t help but feel he was once again missing something important about his mentor.

Chapter Text

The preparation room was lively. A bit too lively for Hitoshi’s liking. Oki’s excited chattering could be heard by everyone, only just barely muffled by the conversations the rest of the class were engaged in. Hitoshi and Narukami seemed to be the only ones not talking to themselves or with someone else.

“Yo,” said someone, approaching Hitoshi. Tall, muscular, blond… if memory served that would be Daisukenojo Bito. “You’re shooting for a spot in Heroics, right? Good luck, man.”

For his part, Hitoshi chose to nod and leave it at that. He didn’t really have anything to say to the other student, who, like almost the entirety of the Gen Ed course, wasn’t really aiming for a seat among UA’s hero hopefuls.

Other students, perhaps spurred by Bito, started gathering around Hitoshi to wish him luck as well, before moving on to another part of the room, to where Midoriya was, to do the same to him. Hitoshi couldn’t say he wasn’t flattered by the gesture, but he also wished to be left alone for the time being.

When the rounds of good wishes were complete, Midoriya stood and walked over as well. Hitoshi’s social battery was beginning to reach its limit, but he figured he might as well get things over with.

Hitoshi never paid that much attention to Midoriya’s physique before, probably because the UA uniform did a good job of hiding it, but he could tell Midoriya had some muscle built up. He couldn’t help but feel bothered by that revelation. Oki and Bito were large, so their muscular builds weren’t exactly a surprise. Midoriya, however…

Hitoshi didn’t know what to make of him. Quirkless, yet determined to be a hero. Talkative and curious, yet he avoids making friends with the others in their class. He was a mess of contradictions. Contradictions Hitoshi wished he could ignore.

“Hi Shinso,” Midoriya said once he was in front of Hitoshi. Something about his tone seemed a touch too saccharine. “I hope you’re ready to lose to me today.”

Before he could respond, the speaker in the room blared to life, a simple tune calling attention to it before a high-pitched voice, probably Principal Nedzu’s, spoke up.

“Attention students, two minutes left before Present Mic announces your entrance, please make your way to the arena gates immediately.”

“Well, that’s our cue,” Narukami spoke aloud as he started to organize the other students. Hitoshi gave Midoriya a wry smile; it was cute that he thought he even had a chance against Hitoshi’s quirk – regardless of how strong he might be in a fight, the game’s over the moment Midoriya says a single word.

“As if,” he said in the end as he got up to leave the room and take his spot in the entrance.

The crowd was very hyped up by Present Mic’s showmanship. Their outcries of excitement, muffled by the walls around the students, seemed to make the very floor beneath Hitoshi shake. He could spot students from 1-D taking their places to the left of Hitoshi’s group, while the students from 1-B did the same to the right.

“And that’s enough pre-show, ladies and gentlemen!” Present Mic shouted. “It’s time we get to the main attraction! I want everyone giving a warm welcome to the students who showed those villains who’s boss! From the Heroics Course, Class 1-A!”

The uproar was almost unbearable, Hitoshi thought, and quite off-putting considering what happened to one of their students, which even prompted another of theirs to quit in less than one week of classes.

“But they aren’t our only hero hopefuls this year; next up: Heroics Class 1-B!”

Hitoshi saw the students walking up the stairs to the large gate that led to the arena, with a feeling of nervousness pooling into his stomach. That was it, his first of only three chances to get into the Heroics course. His nails almost cut into his palm.

“UA isn’t Japan’s top school for nothing, mind you, as our next groups will show. Everyone, get ready to see our General Education classes: 1-C, 1-D and 1-E!”

Showtime.

Izuku couldn’t stop his heart from racing as the classes were led back inside after the opening ceremony. He had seen the stadium on TV every year. He had thought he was prepared, but being there in person, with all those thousands and thousands of eyes on him? It was humbling, and more than a bit terrifying. If he messed up here, he’d be messing up in front of the entirety of Japan.

— I can feel you thinking too hard, Yamikumo. Don’t worry about the audience! — Nemo’s voice echoed in his head, helping to ground Izuku.

— I know, I know. But there’s millions of people watching us, Nemo! Millions! —

— Millions of people to see you kick fuckin’ ass! —

Before Izuku could respond, a voice shouted out to him. “Oi! Midoriya!” Kirishima was running up to him, waving before grabbing him in a tight hug and lifting him up. All the air was squeezed out of his lungs by his friend’s embrace as his feet left the ground.

“K-Kirishima! Can’t! Breathe!” he gasped out, before finally being released and his feet returned to the ground. Kirishima gripped Izuku’s shoulders, looking over him up and down.

“You and Kaminari scared the hell out of me, you know!” His friend’s face was serious, eyes penetrating him.

“S-sorry! We weren’t trying to get caught up in a villain attack,” Izuku said.

— I should have called him sooner. Just messaging him that I’m fine was a dick move. —

— You were recovering! You deserved to rest! —

— Still… —

“I can’t leave you alone for five minutes, can I? Between this and you jumping in front of that cop, you just have a knack for attracting villains, huh?” Kirishima said with a laugh, his face splitting into a grin. “We need to get you into the hero course ASAP, Mr Villain Magnet.”

Izuku felt his cheeks heating up, before Kirishima started dragging him by the wrist in a different direction from his own class.

“H-hey! I need to go meet up with my class, Kirishima!”

“C’mon, we’ve got time! I wanna introduce you to some of my classmates!” Kirishima was energetic as ever. Nemo laughed as his partner stumbled as he was pulled along both by Kirishima’s grip and his enthusiasm.

— Should I leave you and Shark Week alone? Robodom would love the gossip. — Nemo laughed, only increasing the blush on Izuku’s face. What crimes had he committed in his past lives to end up with friends like this? Had he been a murderer? Maybe an evil spirit who tried to destroy the universe? Perhaps a Speedygraph influencer? Whatever he had done, it must have been truly heinous to justify such serious punishment.

Izuku was torn from such metaphysical concerns, not having even realized they’d stopped, by Kirishima elbowing him lightly in the side. In front of them were three students from 1-A. — Mashirao Ojiro, Yuga Aoyama, and Estelle Bright. All in 1-A. — Nemo informed him. Those names were familiar from the dossiers Nedzu had provided him. Ojiro was fairly well-built, with a tail that was thick with muscle. His bearing reminded him a bit of Miss Mizuki’s when they were training, the pose of a martial artist. He would be a real threat one-on-one. His quirk was that very tail. Aoyama was much skinnier, seeming to sparkle in the light. He had some kind of belt around his waist, with a big lens in the center. From what he remembered from the dossier, that belt was needed to support his quirk, which otherwise damaged his stomach when he fired his naval laser blasts.

— According to the quirk registry, the total power output of his navel laser is– —

— Don’t. — Izuku interrupted immediately, — I already have an unfair advantage from the dossiers. I don’t want to make things even more unfair by getting even more info on them that I rightfully shouldn’t know. —

Nemo huffed, but said nothing while Izuku’s attention returned to the group in front of him.

The third member, who had to be Bright, was also fairly tall. She didn’t look Japanese to his eyes, maybe she was American? 1-B had an American transfer student after all. She also had a piece of support equipment, a long staff made up of many different bits of metal. It was all but necessary for her quirk, he remembered reading.

All three of them were looking over Izuku, as if trying to eye him up. Bright seemed to come to a decision the fastest, stepping forward and sticking out her hand.

“You must be Izuku, right? I’m Estelle! Hard Head and Pikachu won’t stop talking about you! Nice to meet you!” The girl said with a grin as Izuku shook her hand. His hand ached a bit from the strength of her grip.

“I-I hope they’ve only been saying good things?” Izuku said.

“I would never say anything bad about you!” Kirishima shouted, drawing a laugh from Bright.

“That’s the truth there! It’s been driving Blasty up the wall,” she laughed as Izuku flushed. Kirishima had been talking about him to 1-A?

“And every time he gets all shouty, you smack him with that staff of yours,” Ojiro snickered.

“He’s too loud! Someone needs to put him in his place!” She shouted, causing Izuku to jump. In his head, he could hear Nemo laughing uproariously.

— I like this girl already! —

— Why am I not surprised? — Izuku mentally made a note to never let Nemo and Bright actually meet. The list of people Nemo must never meet was growing disturbingly long at this point.

“But ma beauté virile, you are as loud as him!” Aoyama said, flipping some of his hair.

“...why do I get the sense that you just insulted me in more than one way, Frenchie?” Bright’s tone was shivery, and Aoyama threw up his hands as he backed away.

“No, no, no! I simply called you a beauty! Nothing but compliments from me, mademoiselle!”

— He called her a manly beauty to be specific, — Nemo informed him. Izuku considered telling her, but he figured not starting a fight would be for the best. — I dunno, a fight could take out some of your competition, Yamikumo! —

— I wanna win this fair and square, Nemo, not because I disqualified everyone else! —

— Fine, Mr. Goody Two-Shoes. —

“What does viral or whatever you said mean then, huh?! I’ll remind you that I have a very large stick!” Bright’s shout was incredibly loud, almost as loud as Kacchan, as she shoved the point of her staff at Aoyama’s face. He scurried away, running up next to Izuku and hiding behind him

“Ah, Midoriya, mon ami! I, uh, I never got the opportunity to introduce my sparkling self, did I? Yuga Aoyama, enchanté!” He said, almost seeming to sparkle despite his cowering.

“Hey! Stop trying to change the subject! And stop hiding behind the Gen Ed kid!”

“I’m Mashirao Ojiro, nice to meet you, Midoriya.” Ojiro interrupted. He bowed briefly, before straightening back up. His face had hardened as he stared Izuku, causing Izuku’s guard to shoot back up. “So, Kirishima has mentioned that you want to move up to the hero course?” Izuku nodded. “Are you sure about that? Do you really want to join the class that got attacked once already?” The air thickened. The lighthearted atmosphere had vanished as the mere hint of the USJ seemed to darken the room. Bright and Aoyama stiffened, as did Kirishima.

“Hey, not cool, Oji-” Kirishima began, before Izuku raised his hand, cutting him off. He could see Kirishma flashing him a look out of the corner of his eye, but he didn’t let that deter him.

“I-I’m sorry for what happened to your class, obviously. It was awful what happened. I-I heard someone was seriously injured…” Izuku said. The three heroics students shifted in place, breaking eye contact with Izuku.

“Yeah, Sato. His… his arms were… torn off. He had to withdraw from the hero course to focus on his recovery…” Bright’s voice was soft, quiet. One of her hands gripped her own arm, so tight the skin whitened near her fingers.“He was so excited about the trip that day, too…”

“And then Mineta dropped out. He would have died if not for Tsuyu,” Kirishima sighed, scratching the back of his neck. His voice was utterly devoid of any of the joy and spirit it usually held.

“I-I’m so sorry, I don’t know what to say…” Izuku said, looking down at the ground.

“Don’t keep saying you’re sorry if you want to be a hero, mon ami.” Izuku’s eyes shot up to stare at Aoyama. “Just make sure you can keep up with us.” His voice was heavy, the lilt he’d had in it earlier all but gone as he fixed Izuku with a stare as hard as diamond.

Before Izuku could respond, a voice shouted out, breaking the tension. “Midoriya! There you are!” The group all started as Narukami ran over.

“Midnight told me to come find you. We’re lining up to head out for the first event. No time for pleasantries,” he said, before grabbing Izuku and slinging him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“I’ve gotta go! I’ll see you guys later!” Izuku said, waving back as he was literally carried away by his class president. The 1-A students could only laugh, the absurdity of the moment banishing any lingering depression, and return his wave.

— Looks like these losers won’t see what’s coming, — Nemo commented as Izuku took his position at the starting line. The entry point to the stadium was a giant metal box, blocking their view of the obstacle course track. They were packed in here tighter than a Tokyo subway at rush hour. There was no doubt the cramped space was an obstacle in itself, and the large doors on the other end of that container would be hell to pass through.

— Nemo… — Izuku said, very serious, while looking straight ahead. His AI-Ball’s holographic form appeared before him immediately.

— Did… did something happen Yamikumo? — Nemo asked, his tone of voice much less cocky than before. — Is what French Fry said still bothering you? —

— A bit, yeah, — Izuku admitted after a moment of hesitation. Kirishima and the others seemed so… bothered when Izuku offered his sympathies for the USJ attack. And then there was what Aoyama had said.

“Don’t keep saying you’re sorry if you want to be a hero, mon ami. Just make sure you can keep up with us.”

It was at that moment that it really hit Izuku just how the people in 1-A felt after everything that had happened, how hard they were taking it. The Sports Festival was both an attempt to move on as well as a statement. ‘We’re still standing’, they wanted to shout, and if Izuku wanted to be a part of that, to be a part of them, he’d have to prove himself to the other Heroics students.

Heh. As if there’s any novelty in that.

— Listen, if any fucker wants to underestimate you, all you gotta do is do something so fucking awesome that they completely forget what they were expecting of you. — Nemo was smiling as he said that. Not his usual shark-like grin of confidence, nor his teasing smirk when he was messing with Izuku, but something softer and utterly sincere.

“All right, folks!” Present Mic’s voice cut through the moment of reflection Izuku was having, “We’re starting in three seconds! Everyone, count down with me!”

The crowd outside began to chant the numbers. Izuku’s eyes narrowed as Nemo disappeared from his AI-Sight.

“Three!”

The doors started to creak open.

“Two!”

The contestants started to gather, pushing each other into a yearning mass of humanity.

“One!”

— Let’s rock’em! —

“START!”

The doors slid fully open and people poured out through it, dozens at a time. Izuku could hear the shouts coming everywhere from the audience as well as among the crowd of students. He shoved his way through them, maneuvering around the people in whatever ways he could, before he spotted the next obstacle.

— Like I said, those losers can’t see what’s coming. — Nemo’s cockiness was back in full swing as Izuku took in the massive volume of gray in front of him. — I spotted the fog machines with X-Ray Mode. The terrain ahead is highly irregular as well. Time to see if Drunken Fist’s training is worth a shit. —

“Our first obstacle is the Invisible Road!” Present Mic declared enthusiastically. “There’s hills, walls, and holes. But where are they? Who knows! But don’t worry, our special thermal cameras will let you all in on the action!”

— Thanks for the hint, Present Mic! — Izuku giggled internally, — Nemo! Thermograph! —

— On it! —

Izuku continued running ahead while a flash of light overtook his vision. He quickly adjusted to the new sights around him as Thermo Mode activated. Some of the track ahead had been dug up, the dirt peppered with potholes and hills. Izuku couldn’t help but agree with Nemo’s sentiment: time to put Mr Ryuki’s parkour lessons to the test.

There was a long cliff-like depression up ahead, but the walls, while tall, weren’t perfectly vertical. That could be useful. Izuku dashed towards it while a painfully familiar booming sound from somewhere up above and behind him started approaching. It repeated in a rhythm. Boom… boom… boom…

“Take that you pieces of shit!” Kacchan shouted. Judging from the volume and distance of the explosion noises–

“And there’s Katsuki Bakugo from Class 1-A! The second place student in the Entrance Exams sure doesn’t look willing to settle for the silver medal today! In a matter of mere seconds, he’s managed to dodge the entire obstacle by flying way above it!”

— Show-off… — Nemo made the noise of a clicking tongue. Izuku giggled a bit, but there wasn’t any time to enjoy the situation.

He jumped onto the cliff wall, taking advantage of the momentum and inclination to take some running steps along it, before kicking himself off towards the opposite wall. Another couple steps, another jump. Beside him, he could hear some students running on the floor as well.

“Watch out for my babies!” One of them shouted, rushing past Izuku at a speed he couldn’t match. The AI-Sight showed a vaguely humanoid figure, entirely horizontal, zooming ahead while producing a lot of heat. Was it a machine or a jetpack quirk?

— Yamikumo! Focus! —

Nemo’s cry brought him back to Earth. There was a large patch of potholes just outside the canyon, and Izuku couldn’t cover it with just a jump. Without a choice, he let himself land on the floor and kept going, hopping from one hole to another with each step. Whoever designed the course really had it out for people with speed quirks, huh? Izuku felt a bit sorry for Ingenium’s brother.

“And we already have some students making it through the first obstacle!” Present Mic cried out, which prompted some worry from Izuku. “1-A’s Eijiro Kirishima has smashed his way ahead like no other! Accompanied by 1-B’s Jurota Shishida! Bakugo has also just landed! Things are heating up, folks!”

— We’re not too far behind! Just a couple more meters! — Nemo cheered on, and sure enough, Thermo Mode turned off just as Izuku saw that the pothole patch was over and Izuku was out and away from the fog. He could spot several other students making it past it as well. Briefly, he wondered if their quirks helped them with the low visibility, but was off to running again in no time.

“An invisible foe is terrifying, but sometimes the devil you know isn’t better than the one you don’t! The next obstacle is… Snipe’s Gallery!”

— Hah! Bring it on! — Izuku could feel Nemo’s grin, even if he couldn’t see his partner. With visibility no longer being an issue, maybe he could get a feel for the situation.

— Nemo, are the leaders on camera? — Izuku asked.

— Pulling image up right now, — Nemo reported, and Izuku could spot Kacchan up ahead, blasting like a madman through the air, but he didn’t seem to be gaining much terrain. Below, a wall of ice was erected, but Todoroki didn’t seem to be faring any better. The reason was obvious: above a tall wall overseeing an entire patch of the path was the Gun-Slinger Hero: Snipe firing round after round of ammunition from a cannon mounted there.

— So that’s their game, huh? — Izuku couldn’t help but grin. That was his big chance! With a whoop, he was off.

Chapter Text

Denki let out an exhilarated whoop as he leapt over another student. Well, leaping over wasn’t quite accurate. More like literally stepping on the competition. His foot pressed into their back as he used them to leap over the obstacle in front of him, shoving them down into the dirt track. Maybe this was mean, but hey! He was nicer than the support chick slamming a rocket into them, or Blasty shooting an explosion right in the face of the blond dick from 1-B (although he had to admit, that had been hysterical) back at the very beginning! He was being positively merciful in comparison!

“Sorry, dude, but I’ve got a race to win! No hard feelings, alright?!” he called back to his schoolmate, who was struggling to pull himself out of the mud, with an overly cheerful tone. He dodged a wad of muddy spit from the poor fool. He waved back to them, shit eating grin firmly in place, before turning back to the race.

And just in time, too! He just barely had the time to jump up into the air again, dodging one of the cannonballs heading right for him. He managed to graze his hand over it, charging it up with electricity, before landing safely on the other side in a roll. As he leaped to his feet and continued running, he heard a sharp scream from behind him. It seems the cannonball had hit some poor student, and his little present had acted like a taser, shocking anyone unlucky enough to be in the way. Tough luck, buddy, that must have really hurt!

A large explosion sounded out from up ahead. Several pieces of one of the giant cannonballs were flying up over the track, landing safely in the nets on the side set up to protect the audience from any such shrapnel. A massive cheer went up from the crowd, the wall of sound nearly deafening. It almost felt like he’d been punched in the chest by the sheer volume.

“What an amazing display from 1-A’s own Eijiro Kirishima! He utterly blew away that cannonball with a single punch! What’re you feeding those kids in 1-A, Eraserhead?” Present Mic’s voice sounded out.

“A move like that isn’t amazing, it’s reckless. In a battle situation, such a move would have put nearby civilians in danger,” Aizawa-sensei drawled, being a buzzkill as usual. Yeah, he had a point, but if the Sports Festival is meant to be a show, it needs to be big. Besides, the Pros could always trust the sidekicks with evacuation.

Denki couldn’t help but whistle as he kept moving, his eyes glancing over the shattered pieces of metal as he tore on past. Seems Kirishima had a few tricks up his sleeve. Not that he wore sleeves. He’d gone through the effort of ripping off the sleeves from his gym uniform right before they’d headed for the lineup, saying something about how they ‘impeded his movement.’ Denki thought he just wanted to show off his biceps. He wasn’t complaining, though.

Denki shoved past another student in his way as he neared the end of the shooting gallery. This time, he made sure to electrify his hand like a taser, just enough to make the student freeze up. All’s fair in love and war, after all! He could hear that satisfying thump behind him as they fell to the ground for a moment.

A bit ahead of them, he could see Midoriya. He’d been keeping an eye on his friend throughout the race, and he couldn’t help but bite back a grin at what he saw. He knew he was right about him! Somehow, Greenie was managing to dodge every single cannonball fired at him! Even when Snipe’s remote-controlled cannons shot at him from behind, he always managed to get out of the way just in time. With how close he was getting to the cannons, far closer than even Bakugo dared to go, it was a miracle he hadn’t been hit yet. A miracle, or the result of Midoriya’s vision quirk.

Enhanced vision and senses were pretty common quirks, but most people really didn’t know how to use them to their fullest. Since only heroes could use quirks legally, a lot of people never bothered to train theirs. Midoriya was different, though. He had clearly had some training with using a quirk like that to his advantage. Just imagine if everyone trained their quirks like he did, if they didn’t hold them back. How much better things could be!

Either way, Midoriya deserved to be in the hero course! Dude had not only a really useful quirk, but he also had a good head on his shoulders. He’d kept his wits about him despite being in intense pain when that villain had attacked, and they had made a pretty great team together. They’d saved two lives! Plus, he was cute as a button! That was sure to help him climb the charts! UA would be absolute idiots if they didn’t let him into the hero course, especially now that his name was out there in the press thanks to his interview!

One of the smaller projectiles smacked into Denki’s back, making him stumble and jerking him out of this thoughts. As he tried to stop from falling on his face, he could see Bright cheekily grinning at him, flashing him a peace sign.

“Always watch your back, Sparky!” She called out as she flew by. He grit his teeth as she laughed at him.

“That’d be easier if my classmates didn’t use their special support items to hit balls right at me!” He shouted back, well aware of just how hypocritical he was being. He’d managed to regain his stride, quickly picking up speed, but she’d managed to gain a substantial lead on him in the meantime.

“You snooze, you lose!” She laughed, pulling even further ahead of him.

Before he could snap back again, a ball of mud slammed into his head. As he shook his head to get rid of the dirt, the kid he’d shoved into the dirt, some gangly guy with purple hair, glared at him and tried to say something. Denki just flashed him a smile and took off. Small talk was reserved for his classmates and Midoriya.

Besides, the next obstacle was coming up, and he needed to make sure he got through to the second round. It’d be real embarrassing if, after all his hard work saving that couple on the bridge, after surviving the attack on the USJ, after several years of training, after all that blood, sweat, and tears, he failed here, at the first event of the Sports Festival.

He would not be a disappointment. He would make damn sure of that. He’d make everyone so proud of him.

— Nemo! Activate night vision! —

— You got it, Yamikumo! —

A second later, the darkness was banished, and the entire tunnel was bathed in green. The other students who’d made it into the tunnel before him were clearly visible through his AI-Sight, as was the nature of the final stretch of the race. The entire tunnel was a full on mini version of the obstacle course, filled with potholes, rounded spikes, sharp turns, and very uneven terrain. He could even spot a few cannon balls lying around, probably to be used as weapons and obstacles in the dark. The only light came from a few small holes in the ceiling, but it was almost completely black inside. None of these could cause serious injury, but if you weren’t careful, you’d definitely be tripped up and get stuck.

Sure enough, far up ahead he saw right as Kacchan stepped right into a pothole, followed by a quick faceplant right into a padded spike sticking out of the wall. Loud, angry cursing echoed down the tunnel back to Izuku, who couldn’t help but wince. That really looked like it hurt.

— Ha! Take that, Explodo-Dick! Maybe you should watch where you’re going next time! — the AI cheered, earning an eye roll from Izuku as he continued running.

— Be nice, Nemo. It’s not his fault he can’t see. Plus, they really went all out on the obstacles here. — He saw Kirishima jump back to dodge an explosion Kacchan fired to boost himself up and out of the hole and over the spike in front of him. In an instant, Kacchan was gone around the bend, launching explosions ahead of him to blow up some of the obstacles.

While the other students struggled, for the two of them, they might as well be up in the daylight. The little cracks that let in just the tiniest bits of light from up above provided plenty of light for the night vision lens to make everything perfectly visible to Nemo and Izuku. The other students seemed to slow to a full on crawl, barely making any progress as they had to feel around to avoid ending up just like Kacchan, while they easily dodged the obstacles with speed.

As he rounded the bend, Izuku could see the kid with the ice quirk up ahead.

— Shouto Todoroki of Class 1-A. Quirk: Half-Hot, Half-Cold. It lets him shoot ice from one side, fire from the other. — Nemo informed him.

— Why isn’t he using his fire side? He could illuminate this place no problem, if he wanted to. — Izuku wondered. Todoroki had made a path with his ice to try and avoid the obstacles, which worked fine for the holes and traps, but did nothing for the spikes jutting out of the wall. Izuku let out a wince as he ran right into one, his head slamming into it and sending him sliding right back down his ice slide.

— That’s gonna leave a lump. —

— Good thing they padded those spikes. — Izuku agreed, sliding under the ice as he ran around the corner, jumping up and shoving off the corner of the wall to maintain his speed.

A loud crash echoed through the tunnel as he saw Kirishima punch one of the spikes, shattering it completely as he raced forward unimpeded.

— Damn, Shark Week’s got some power behind those punches! —

— He can hit them at full strength thanks to his Hardening! Anyone else would risk breaking a bone if they tried. — Izuku said to Nemo as he rounded yet another corner. How many turns did this tunnel have? He was trying to make a mental map of the place as he went, but he’d long since lost count of the turns.

— Yamikumo! Hold up! There’s something to your right! — Nemo shouted at him. Izuku skidded to a halt, leaping out of the way as the rocket girl shot past him, the bright lights coming off of it briefly blinding him.

— I don’t have time to hang around, Nemo! — Izuku shouted back as he pressed up against the wall. He blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to get the spots in his normal eye to go away.

— Right there! Beneath your left hand! Pull the lever! — Nemo ordered. Izuku’s hand grasped around, finding a small lever embedded into the wall. His fist closed around it, and he yanked it down. The wall directly across from him slid open, revealing a much narrower tunnel jutting off from this one.

— Quick, through there! My scans indicate that this tunnel is your ticket out of here! It goes straight to the finish line! — Izuku couldn’t stop himself from grinning as he ran forward into the tunnel. This passage was far skinnier than the main one, restricting his movements somewhat, but he could definitely feel it elevating upwards towards the surface. The other tunnel was still leading down, based on the incline. This path was mostly devoid of obstacles, making it smooth going up.

As he neared the surface, based on Nemo’s scans, Izuku could feel the path getting steeper and steeper. His shoes were starting to lose traction on the ground, and he nearly slid right back down. The tunnel was also getting narrower, more claustrophobic. He was forced onto his hands and knees, scrambling up higher and higher. The tunnel finally stopped narrowing, opening up and out, and he could see light shining down up ahead.

As he climbed out into the more open area, he found himself facing a rock climbing wall. At the top of it, maybe fifteen meters above him, was the exit. He could see sunshine blaring down through the slits in a grate over the exit. He let out a hiss and covered Nemo, the light almost blinding when amplified by the night vision.

— Nemo, deactivate night vision! — Izuku said, and the green hues disappeared. He lowered his hand, before inspecting the rock climbing wall.

— We’re right below the finish line! Get climbing, Yamikumo! — Izuku took a deep breath, before running at the wall. At the last second, he jumped, grabbing onto the handholds and starting his climb. His fingers slid a bit, but he kept moving, going from handhold to handhold as he scaled up the wall.

The light up above got brighter and brighter the higher he climbed. The sounds of the crowd, which had been impossible to hear in the tunnel, were now coming in through the grate.

“Who do you think is gonna come out first, Eraserhead?” Present Mic’s commentary was audible again as Izuku climbed higher and higher.

“Whoever was the most observant. Navigating a nearly pitch black tunnel requires careful concentration and constant attention to your surroundings. Whether any of these kids are capable of that, we’ll have to wait to see.”

Izuku was about two-thirds of the way to the surface, when the tunnel began narrowing again. The climbing wall and the smooth concrete on the opposite side were getting closer together. He could tell the wall was getting close to pressing against his back as he climbed those final few meters.

Finally, he reached the grate. His hands wrapped around the metal, and he tried to push it up. It didn’t budge at all.

— Fuck! This thing must weigh at least twenty five kilos! — Nemo swore.

— How am I supposed to move something that heavy without falling?! — Izuku wanted to scream, to punch the walls, to cry in frustration. Had they really come this far, found this secret passage, all just to be stopped at the last obstacle?! By the time he’d gone all the way back, the race would be over!

“Need a hand?” a voice asked, causing Izuku to let out a yelp. He clung to the wall, his head spinning around to see who was talking to him. From the shadowy area on the wall opposite, a pitch black head and torso emerged from the wall behind him. Shihai Kuroiro of 1-B stared back at him.

“You’re Kuroiro, right? From 1-B?” Izuku asked, a grin starting to grow on his face.

“Correct. I shot past you after you opened up this passage, but got stuck here,” Kuroiro said, his mouth pulled into a tight frown. “I can’t merge into the grate and get out, it’s too bright.”

“Right, right, your quirk only lets you merge into dark colored things. And so when you got here, you were stuck.”

“Yep. Figured that the Gen Ed kid would catch up soon enough, and here you are.”

“We can open the grate if we work together! Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do. Press your back against mine, and we’ll grab the gate together. On three, we’ll push back against each other and lift!” Izuku said. The two got into position, back to back with their hands around the bars.

With an almighty shout, the two pushed the grate up and out of the way. Kurioro easily pulled himself out, but Izuku’s feet slipped. He let out a scream as he started to fall.

— Yamikumo! —

Before he could fall any further, he felt a pair of hands grab his wrist, stopping his descent. Kurioro had caught him. With a strained grunt, he pulled Izuku up to the edge of the hole. Izuku grabbed hold of the dirt, his fingers digging into the soft earth as he pulled himself fully free.

Izuku blinked rapidly in the sunlight as he stumbled to his feet. There was the finish line was just a few meters away!

“You found the passage, you deserve to get first,” Kuroiro said, flashing him a grin.

“But–”

“Just go, Gen Ed. Second’s almost as good. Just don’t make a fool of yourself in the next round, and we’re even,” he said. Izuku nodded, and ran forward across the line, Kuroiro right behind him. The buzzer announced Izuku’s victory as they crossed the threshold with the sensors, and the cannons to the sides fired multicolored confetti over them.

“Wait, what the fuck?” Present Mic, clearly flabbergasted, said in English, and Izuku briefly chortled at the thought of TV stations nationwide having to censor that. “Someone already crossed the line!?”

The entire crowd either gasped or laughed at that, the screens mounted around the stadium were still showing Kirishima and Kacchan disputing third place as if it were first. only for them to stop in their tracks with Present Mic’s surprised announcement.

— Quick, Yamikumo! Grab Omni-goth and strike a pose to the camera! —

“Well, let’s see who the winner is!” Present Mic continued just as Kuroiro reached Izuku’s side. Izuku reached out with a quick thought, wrapping his arm around the other’s shoulder and raising his free hand with a single index finger stretched out. The screen changed just in time to a picture of Izuku’s grinning face while Kuroiro raised his own arm showing two fingers.

“Izuku Midoriya of Class 1-C takes first, with Shihai Kuroiro of Class 1-B in second!” Present Mic declared.

“How did that Gen Ed kid get there?” Eraserhead said into the microphone and the crowd erupted.

Izuku let his arm drop as he let go of Kuroiro, briefly thanking him again for the help in the tunnel before they went their separate ways. He was tired, elated, and in utter disbelief.

First place.

He had come in first place!

— Hell yeah you did, Yamikumo! — Nemo, equally ecstatic, said, then a screen popped up in his AI-Sight. — Hold up, I’m getting a call. —

— Now? Wouldn’t that be against the rules? —

— Relax, everyone is winding down. No one’s gonna notice! And besides, it could be an important ABIS call… — Izuku could feel Nemo winking at him, even if his partner wasn’t currently visible.

— Fine. Connect it. — Izuku sighed. He was in a good mood, so he could humor Nemo a little.

— Hey, Izuku! — Miss Mizuki’s 3D model greeted him with a grin. She also had Aiba on. — Nice going, there, kiddo! You must’ve had one hell of a teacher. — Her voice and demeanor never failed to put a smile on Izuku’s face. He had to admit, ABIS was starting to rub off on him, for better or for worse.

— Hi, Miss Mizuki! Yeah, Mr Ryuki’s parkour training helped a lot! — he thought back with some faux-edge.

— Yeah, yeah. Keep that up and you’re gonna get a mouthful of metal pipe to celebrate. —

— Mizuki, I thought you were past beating your friends up with your pipe, — Aiba admonished, — besides, this call shouldn’t last long. Remember, you’re part of UA’s security detail as a Pro-Hero today, and Midoriya isn’t supposed to be making phone calls right now. —

— Bummer… — Miss Mizuki huffed, but didn’t seem all that bothered. — Anyways, I’m calling to let you know that Boss managed to get her hands on a copy of the DNA results of the monster that attacked the school. Just something for you to keep an eye on after the festival. —

— Understood, — Izuku responded while looking around as the other contestants started gathering for the results. — We can talk later, looks like Present Mic is about to announce who’s made it to the next round. —

— Good luck, Midoriya, — Aiba said in her usual calm demeanor. — Be sure to keep taking them by storm. —

— He will, — Nemo returned with a snort before the call turned off.

“Now, then, everyone! The last student has made it through the finish line! You know what that means! Iiiiiiiiit’s results time!” Present Mic began with the full force of his showmanship, drawing the crowd’s excitement once more. “Here are the rules on how we decide who’s passed: after the first place contestant makes it through, everyone else is on a time limit. As long as you make it within the time limit, you’re still in the game!”

Izuku looked around, some faces were relieved, as if they weren’t sure if their placement landed them on a good spot until Present Mic mentioned that. He spotted Shinso looking at the screen intently, as if trying to will his name on the list. With a quirk like his, he still had a good chance, regardless of his physical condition.

— Good. I want you to crush him personally. — Nemo growled as he showed up on Izuku’s AI-Sight with a murderous grin. More specifically, he appeared on the still empty screen where the results would be displayed. — You like it, Yamikumo? I’m trying out some AI-Sight tricks. Animating it like this is a nice challenge. —

“And here’s the list of passing competitors! The first 43 students have made it through!”

Izuku’s golden name made it on top of the list, followed by Shihai Kuroiro and Kacchan. He quickly skimmed the list for any notable names, and was surprised to find Todoroki so far below where Endeavor’s son would be expected to be. Still in the top ten, but just barely at number ten.

— There’s Phone Charger, — Nemo pointed out, highlighting Kaminari’s name in the roster in Izuku’s AI-Sight.

— And there’s Kirishima… — Izuku noted, mentally bracing for Nemo’s teasing. He hadn’t heard much about him during the race, but he wasn’t surprised. If Izuku managed to come in first, then Kirishima had to have placed well.

— Wet Dream Material came in fifth, huh? — Nemo commented with a playful tone.

“Surprisingly, one student from my class hasn’t made it through,” Eraserhead said from the narrator’s booth. “This year’s non-heroics students are going to be a pain. Five of them making it to the second round is a record number, not to mention one of them getting first place, unprecedented.”

“For the ones that didn’t make the cut, don’t worry! We’ll have some time dedicated exclusively to you guys later so you can make yourself shine!” Present Mic carried on, with the same enthusiasm while the eliminated contestants walked out.

— I caught what some of the losers were saying, — Nemo chortled, and Izuku felt like sighing at the AI’s tone. — Don’t give me that, Yamikumo. I just… happened to be paying attention! It’s important for investigators to always be listening! —

— How were you eavesdropping? Sound analysis or lip reading? — Izuku deadpanned.

— Both, — Nemo promptly answered. — Anyways, they were talking about who to root for, and it seems like you’re pretty popular. —

— That’s good, — Izuku said over their connection and left it at that.

Midnight took up the show from there, climbing the stairs to the small stage that was built in the arena to announce the next round.

“Good job, everyone! You performed really well!” she said with a wink aimed at Izuku. His sheepishness returned tenfold. He couldn’t help but feel a bit cocky about making his teacher proud. “The next event will split you guys into three teams of fourteen, drawn randomly. Before we decide on what it is, though, the first place competitor gets a perk for doing so well!”

And Izuku’s smile froze in his face when he felt everyone’s gaze turn icy cold as they glared at him.

“As a reward for finding that secret passage, our first place contestant gets a chance to skip straight to the final round!” Present Mic completed. “If he can complete a little challenge first!”

Izuku gulped.

Chapter Text

Tensei watched the Sports Festival with certain amusement as he took off his shirt. It had always been his pet theory that the events of the Sports Festival were picked at random, but he was beginning to reconsider that. The perk Midoriya received for coming in first place seemed almost too perfect for him.

The Monty Hall Problem, except Midoriya’s expensive eye would let him know exactly where the prize – the free pass to the third round – was… assuming he wasn’t as much of a goody-two-shoes as Tenya or Kuruto and used it to cheat.

Tensei propped his phone up on the bench as he took off his pants next, listening in while Present Mic finished explaining the rules of Midoriya’s little puzzle, an almost exact set-up of the original problem, with a few key differences: there, four doors were built in the arena, not three; behind one of them was a ‘pass’ to the third round, while the other three would greet him with a load of paint the moment he opened them and he’d still have to take part in the second round.

Tensei took a glance at the stream on his phone as he put on the special pants that were meant to be used underneath his armor. Midoriya seemed to be studying the doors, probably running some kind of x-ray against them with his overpowered eye. One of the cameras closed up on his face, but he didn’t seem very pleased with what he saw; which wouldn’t make sense unless he was either acting – improbable – or was unable to see anything.

Yeah, this game was made specially for him. Specifically, it was made to counter the MPD’s prosthetic eye. There goes Tensei’s theory. Was Nedzu testing them? He wouldn’t put it past the old rat.

As Tensei was finished putting on his suit’s pants, his cell phone rang. It was a video call from Kuruto. Tensei glanced at the clock in the changing room. He had time, so he decided to pick it up.

“Hi, Kuruto!” he said, flashing a grin, the camera propped up a bit away from himself so he could fetch his undershirt. Kuruto answered by stuttering and stumbling on his words for a few seconds.

“T-Tensei!” Kuruto finally managed to say, “you can’t just pick up video calls in the middle of changing!”

“Oh, I was just about finished,” he answered with a hearty laugh. It hadn’t been his intent to make Kuruto flustered – he picked up the call without thinking about that – but he reacted kinda like Koichi at that moment when Tensei teased him; it was kinda cute. “Gotta do some patrol today, nothing much. Although I wish I could see Tenya and Midoriya kick ass in the third round.”

“Work is being rough on both of us,” Kuruto admitted, “Boss said I should stay in Tokyo; the MPD wants all hands on deck to track down Stain.”

“So you’ll be coming to Hosu? I hear Nihil’s been his latest victim.”

“Seems like it,” Kuruto sighed. “I can drop by your agency and we can go together, then.”

“Sounds like a plan!” Tensei grinned, sliding on his undershirt at last. “If you can stick around for a bit after we’re done, I can also introduce you to Koichi!” He’d managed to schedule a video call with his boyfriend today. It’d been too long since they’d last spoken.

“That sounds great!” Kuruto replied with a smile of his own. Tensei tried not to mention it, but he was glad Kuruto was keeping in touch. He didn’t want them to grow apart again. He hadn’t been able to be there after Kuruto had dropped out of Heroics, nor for any of the dark years that followed it. He couldn’t fix the past, no one could, but he could be there now. He wouldn’t let Kuruto slip away again, not if he could do anything to stop it.

“Alright, I hope you enjoy bad movies, ‘cuz we’ll be watching some tonight!”

“If the movie is bad, doesn’t that mean I won’t enjoy it?” Kuruto asked, tilting his head in confusion.Tensei burst out laughing.

“It’s fun when you do it with friends! Anyways, I gotta go now. Duty calls and all that. See you in a bit!”

“Likewise.”

Hanging up the call brought back the noise of the Sports Festival live stream, a thunderous roar assaulted Tensei’s ears as he moved to pick up his phone. Hizashi’s commentary was almost drowned out by the crowd’s excited screaming.

“And there we have it, folks! Izuku Midoriya managed to secure his spot in the third round!” he announced with enthusiasm, “looks like the choice to switch doors was the right one after all!”

Tensei snorted a bit, remembering the old trivia videos he used to watch online. It didn’t surprise him that swapping was the right choice in this situation. The Monty Hall Problem was counterintuitive like that. Good on Midoriya for figuring it out.

Deciding that that was enough dilly-dallying, Tensei closed the Sports Festival stream and went to put on his armor and gloves. A quick affair, from how used to doing it he was, but one that always left him with a sense of pride; of cementing that, from the moment his helmet was on and until he took it off, he was Ingenium.

And as Ingenium, he couldn’t just sit around waiting for Kuruto to show up. But it wouldn’t be smart – or fair to his friend – to simply head out, especially with the Hero Killer around. Admittedly, he hadn’t been very concerned about the threat the man posed, until he heard what happened with Nihil.

So he had decided to do his homework on the man instead. It wouldn’t be hard to get the files about Stain’s M.O., what with him preferring to attack heroes – over forty of them, in fact –, and only fourteen of them surviving, albeit with career-ending injuries. He was no genius investigator, certainly not on par with the likes of Sir Nighteye, but who knows? He could make a breakthrough.

It was twenty minutes later that Ingenium was told that Kuruto had arrived. He put away the horrifying files, trying to shake the images from the crime scene photos from his mind. Reading over those did nothing but horrify him with the villain’s brutality, while offering no clues about how to find him. So much for a breakthrough. It was unlikely he’d run into him on patrol anyway.

With a sigh and a shake of his head, Ingenium left his office and took the elevator down to the lobby. Kuruto seemed taken aback by his costume, just… staring at him for a bit. Tensei shifted uncomfortably. Was he bringing back uncomfortable memories of their school days? He hadn’t changed the armor much at all since then. The Ingenium design had been pretty standardized for a while. Tensei took off his helmet and approached the other man.

“You ready to go, Kuruto? Looking forward to patrolling with you,” Tensei said in lieu of a greeting, resting a hand on Kuruto’s shoulder. That seemed to shake his friend from his reverie, as he shook his head, lips splitting into a smile.

“S-sorry about that,” Kuruto said after returning the greeting, “let’s get going.”

— Yamikumo, — Nemo called while Izuku left the restroom. — I think we can say for certain that Not-Mickey knows about me. —

— Yeah, — Izuku sighed, — he wouldn’t know to make the doors out of lead if he didn’t know I could use X-Ray. But how did he find out? —

— The rat probably figured it out when Thunderbolt blabbed about the villain attack, — Nemo provided. — But knowing how creepy he is, he probably had his suspicions even before then. —

— And yet, Boss still managed to strong-arm him into letting us investigate… — Izuku thought back, walking through the empty halfway. — Talk about some scary people. —

— Yeah. We’re lucky they’re the good guys… — Nemo said, a sense of finality in his tone. Izuku could imagine the AI shuddering. He resisted the urge to do the same. — There’s another thing, too. —

— What is it? —

— I finished the analysis of the camera footage from the day the press broke in. — Nemo showed up before Izuku in his AI-Sight. Arms crossed, expression serious. Izuku braced himself for bad news. — No one from outside was detected inside the building in any of the footage. —

— So it is a spy, — Izuku concluded, somber. That didn’t sound good. — Anything else? —

— Yes, — Nemo continued, — for some reason, the hallway on the top floor of the building, where the offices and club rooms are, was full of students right before the alarm sounded. —

“This can’t be a coincidence,” Izuku said under his breath, rounding a corner. “Do you know why they were there?”

— Nothing I could tell from the camera feed alone. — Nemo started to walk beside Izuku, his coattails phasing through Izuku when the AI turned around. — Too much chatter to make out what they were talking about, but they consisted mostly of second and third year students. None of them were Heroics students, either. —

— They were probably setting up their clubs for the school year, — Izuku reasoned while greeting some other students who were headed towards the restroom. — Did Principal Nedzu’s file mention anything about that? —

— Not at all, — Nemo answered with the edge of confidence he had when finding a reason to criticize someone. — Looks like there’s still things that can get past that creep. If you give me permission, I can hack into UA’s systems and see if there’s anything of note that happened around that time. —

Izuku nodded, sending an affirmative signal through their connection. Absently, he took note of the empty, untagged waiting rooms they were passing by in the hallway. The sounds of the festival going on were muffled by the walls around him, but still very audible. He was about to request that Nemo pull up a live feed of the event as he walked back towards his seat, but his partner spoke up first.

— Got it, — he announced. — Hey, Yamikumo. Go into that waiting room over there, I can show you what I found in there. —

Izuku did as told, silently walking into the bland, unassuming room. He looked around to see a desk and folding chairs stacked against the far wall, with Nemo sitting on top of the former in his AI-Sight.

— So, what do you have to show me? — Izuku asked, tilting his head to the side.

— To start with, we can assume that whoever went in had some kind of tech made for the operation, — Nemo began. — All the upstairs cameras stop rolling a few seconds after the alarm blares and the teachers leave to see what’s going on and only come back a few minutes later. —

— So anyone could’ve walked in at the time… — Izuku concluded.

— Yeah, and the halls outside are too packed for us to get a good look at who it might be. But we can be sure that whoever went in there was already inside the school beforehand. —

— Anything else? — Izuku asked, already frowning.

Nemo jumped off the desk, his bare feet made no sound as he landed and walked towards Izuku. — I’ve built a model of the room based on what the images show before and after the cameras started rolling again, — he said, — I think we should take a look. —

— Right, — Izuku nodded, taking a steadying breath. It was his first time trying this feature. Part of him was excited to see it in action, and the rest was preparing to look for clues. — I just have to close my eyes, right? —

— You got it! Now let’s get this show started! — Nemo said as he punched his palm with a ferocious grin. — Get ready to rock, Yamikumo! —

When he closed his eyes, Izuku found himself in a blue recreation of the teacher’s lounge. He couldn’t help but start walking around. He’d heard about those VR sets that companies like Post were making, but this was intense.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Nemo said from right behind Izuku, causing him to jump and spin around. Nemo, in his full human form, was standing right behind him, a cocky grin on his lips as he leaned forward into Izuku’s space. “Ain’t this awesome, Yamikumo?”

“Y-yeah!” Izuku said, straightening up into his partner’s space. He bit down a grin before saying, “Pewter’s amazing!”

Nemo’s reaction was instantaneous. The cocky smirk fell right off as he crossed his arms over his chest, his bottom lip jutting out. “Hey! I’m the one doing this, not that ex-con fudanshi!” he snapped.

Izuku laughed. “I know, I know! Sorry for poking at your little ego, Nemo.”

“It’s not a little ego!” Nemo declared with a pout, his expression changing to mischievous as he thought of a response. “It’s a big, mighty, girthy ego!”

“Please never call it girthy again,” Izuku said, coughing as his cheeks heated up. “Remind me to watch how long you and Tama are in the same room,” he added, fixing Nemo with a deadpan look.

“So long as you stop attributing my amazing powers to someone who wears a cyberpunk cosplay to work.”

Izuku let out a laugh, shaking his head. “I think he looks more like a Kusemon villain, but you have a deal,” he said, grinning widely.

Looking away from his AI, Izuku’s expression turned serious as he inspected the room. Nemo stepped up next to him. The two inspected the room, painted in a blue hue.

“This is the faculty office as seen after the cameras came back on, but before any of the teachers arrived back,” Nemo explained. He lifted one hand into the air, and seemed to grasp at the fabric of reality. With a flick of his wrist, the room melted into a blur, before stopping right back as it was before, albeit with a few things changed. “And this is how it was right after the teachers left, but before the cameras cut out. I can switch back and forth between the two states at any time.”

Izuku’s lips split into a wide grin as he turned to face Nemo.

“That is so cool! It’s like we’re time traveling!” he said, rubbing his hands together in glee. “This is gonna make our investigation a breeze.”

“Now who’s got a big ego?” Nemo laughed, reaching out and ruffling Izuku’s hair. Izuku let out a yelp, his hands reaching up to try and unmuss it.

“Yamikumo, I’m not actually able to touch you, ya dork! This is all a simulation in your eye,” Nemo laughed again. Izuku huffed as he started to look around.

“I knew that!”

“C’mon, nerd, we’ve got work to do,” Nemo said.

“Alright, let’s start with what we know. The League of Villains somehow knew both when the USJ was going to be used by a class being taught by All Might, as well as the layout of the facility, given that they had placed villains in strategic locations,” Izuku said as he started pacing between the two long, conjoined desks. “This means that they somehow obtained both a class schedule as well as a map of the USJ. Both of which are things that would be in here.”

“That sounds right to me,” Nemo concurred, leaning against the wall as he watched Izuku pace, a soft smile on his lips.

“We also know that the cameras in this room were taken out right after the room was vacated. Whoever the traitor is, they were likely in here during that break.”

“But can you prove it? If you can, that lets us knock some names off the suspect list.”

“Let’s start by looking at the desks,” Izuku said with a snap, looking back out over the room. “Which one is Eraserhead’s?”

Nemo pushed himself off the wall, briefly scanning over the room before pointing out the desk on the far corner. “That’s his, based on the footage I’ve looked over.” The room shifted again, jumping back a bit further in time. Now all the teachers were sitting at their desks, except for All Might, frozen in time. Izuku had to admit, it was honestly a bit creepy.

Izuku wove his way over there, looking over each desk and taking note of what’s on them as he passed. Present Mic had been reading some book in what seemed to be… German? Dutch? He couldn’t really tell, just that it was in the Latin alphabet and it wasn’t English. Midnight had her nose buried in a manga with two men making out on the cover (Izuku couldn’t help but respect her taste. That series was one of his favorites). Vlad King was going over some notes, his brow furrowed. Izuku peeked over his shoulder, and saw a class listing, containing a list of the names and quirks of the 1-B students. He tried to reach out and grab it to get a closer look, but his hand went right through.

“Sorry, Yamikumo, but I can only show what was visible on the cameras. There’s not a way for you to directly manipulate and get a better view of things. If I had been able to directly scan the room, then I could do more, but as it stands… Sorry.”

“It’s okay, I don’t think you need to. I think all that’s on there is the 1-B class roster and quirk list,” Izuku said, moving on with his search.

Eraserhead was sitting at the desk next to Vlad King, looking over what seemed to be a lesson plan. Izuku leaned over the semi-transparent form of the teacher to get a better look. On the paper was a list of areas, including Ruins Zone, Flood Zone, and Fire Zone, with student names in spaces below. Eraserhead was in the process of scratching a name out from the list.

“He must have been planning out the USJ field trip,” Nemo said.

“All for nothing, too… They didn’t even get to do any training before the villains attacked,” Izuku sighed as he continued reading through the list. Kirishima was going to be assigned to the Landslide Zone to work on his defense.

“Looks like Blasty was in for a rough time!” Nemo chuckled, pointing to Kacchan’s name under the heading Flood Zone.

“Probably wanted to test how well he can use his quirk when he’s wet. Water tends to weaken his explosions by diluting his sweat,” Izuku said. Rainy days had always been some of Izuku’s favorites in middle school, since it meant Kacchan was more restricted in his quirk.

As he continued reading the list, he froze. One name stood out to him, sending a chill down his spine. Rikido Sato had been scheduled to work in the Ruins Zone. He would never get that chance now. Izuku gulped, trying to push the images of Sato’s still body being carried out on a stretcher from his mind as best he could.

“Yamikumo?” Nemo asked, leaning over him, a concerned look on his face. Izuku flashed him a grim smile, standing himself up.

“Hey, Nemo, can you let things play out? I should see what happens,” he asked, needing to get back on track. Nemo frowned for a moment, looking almost as if he wanted to say something else, but Izuku wouldn’t let him get the chance.

“Please, just… do it,” he insisted. Nemo paused for a second before sighing and snapping his fingers.

In utter silence, the scene played out. Present Mic leaned over, trying to sneak a peek at Midnight’s manga. She snapped it closed, flicking her colleague on the nose. He flailed back, grabbing at his nose with an offended look on his face, looking very much like a squawking parrot. Vlad King had started to laugh, while Eraserhead rolled his eyes. Before they could get back to work, however, everyone shot to their feet.

“That’s when the alarm went off,” Nemo explained as the heroes leapt out of their chairs and started moving towards the door. While the others raced on ahead, Aizawa was a second slower. He took the time to open up the drawer of his desk, place the schedule inside, and then closed and locked it up, before joining his colleagues. He ran right through Izuku, as if he wasn’t even there. He couldn’t help but shiver, wondering if this is how ghosts felt.

“And just about fifteen seconds after that, the cameras cut out,” Nemo said. Izuku pondered the scene as he looked at the row of desks and what was on them.

“Eraserhead had the presence of mind to lock up his lesson plan before he left, so that couldn’t be where the traitor got it.”

“Oh? Why not? Picking a flimsy drawer lock isn’t hard.”

“Sure, I suppose the thief could have picked the lock, but would they really have had time to pick the lock, take a picture of the class schedule, put it back in there, reset the lock, and get out in the amount of time they had? I don’t think so. No, I think our answer is somewhere else.” Nemo nodded as Izuku explained his thinking.

“All fair points. But, it’s also possible the traitor had a quirk that would let them see it through the desk or open it up. We can’t know for sure they didn’t see it,” he pointed out, leaning against Eraserhead’s desk as Izuku started to pace. He started mentally running through the quirks of the students at UA that he knew off the top of his head, wondering if any of them had one that could work here, before an idea came to him. Izuku snapped his fingers, turning to face Nemo with a grin.

“No, we can!” Izuku said, “Think about what we know about the attack on the USJ. Tsuyu Asui was put in the Flood Zone, Eijiro and Kacchan were put in the Ruins section, Todoroki was in the Landslide Zone. What does that tell you?”

Nemo’s lips split into a wide, almost feral grin. “They weren’t put in areas that would disadvantage their quirks! Otherwise, Frogface would’ve been put somewhere to dry her out like the Conflagration Zone, and Boom for Brains would be sent to the water area to neutralize his sweat!”

“Exactly! If the League had had this list, they would’ve not just known all of 1-A’s quirks, and in detail, but also would have known what zones Eraserhead was planning to have them work in. He would have basically done a good chunk of their work for them, letting them easily plan a a much more effective distribution. Instead, it was seemingly random where the students ended up.”

“Hell yeah,” Nemo said with a wicked grin, “We’ll make a detective out of you yet, Yamikumo!”

“Still, while the traitor didn’t get ahold of that list, there’s still so much information they could get while they were in here. Look at Vlad King’s desk. He just left that sheet of paper out. Names and quirks visible for anyone coming in to see.” Izuku gulped. He knew better than most how dangerous having detailed information on someone’s quirk could be. They had to assume from this point forward that the League had at least all of 1-B’s quirks, a dangerous prospect if and when they attacked again.

Shaking such dark thoughts from his mind for the moment, Izuku resumed looking around. He came up to another desk, one covered in papers.

“This is Thirteen’s desk,” Nemo helpfully informed him. Izuku tilted his head as he took in the mess. He’d honestly expected her to be more organized than this, based on her public persona. This was more what he expected from Present Mic’s desk.

As he looked over the papers, he saw what looked like a folded up map. Izuku leaned in closer to get a better look.

“Flood Zone?” he read out. “Flood Zone! This must be a map of the USJ! Thirteen was one of the other teachers on the trip, and she’d designed the entire facility!” Quickly, Izuku turned around to where his partner was, leaning against Present Mic’s desk. “Nemo, jump back to the future, please.” The entire room melted, and Izuku looked at the desk again. It was slight, but there was a difference.

“The papers moved!” Izuku exclaimed. The student list on Vlad King’s desk was now folded to the second page, and the map of the layout of the USJ on Thirteen’s was fully unfolded and spread out. “Jackpot!”

“Seems like whoever did this wanted to get a nice good look at the USJ layout,” Nemo said, frowning as he looked down at the desk. “Look, they’ve spread it out in just such a way to be able to take a picture.”

“Someone was definitely in here,” Izuku agreed, “and they were looking for information on the USJ.” Despite the grimness of the news, Izuku couldn’t help but feel a little giddy. They were actually making progress on the case!

“Let’s keep looking around. We still haven’t found out how they learned the class schedule,” Nemo said.

Izuku nodded, straightening up. “What about All Might’s desk? He’s the heroics teacher, and he was assigned to the USJ that day.”

“Over there, the one shoved in all awkwardly next to the filing cabinets,” Nemo said. Said desk had clearly been a recent addition, not fitting in with the rest of the layout at all. Had UA really shoved the Symbol of Peace into a desk in the corner? That almost made it seem like the choice to hire him was… somewhat last minute. Why did All Might start working at UA?

His injury may have rendered him less effective as a hero, but that alone doesn’t justify his decision to turn to teaching, especially if it was a sudden development. In that case, it was possible he was looking at retirement once his condition couldn’t be worked around. That means something at UA happened to make him want to teach here–

“Oi! Earth to Yamikumo. Come in, Yamikumo,” Nemo said. Izuku started. UA’s staffing decisions were not his priority right now.

“Sorry, I got distracted,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

“We’ve only got so much time to do this, you know,” Nemo chided, a frown on his lips. “The second round’ll be wrapping up soon, and if you wanna to avoid suspicion, you’re gonna need to pick up the pace.”

“I know, I know,” Izuku grumbled, shoving his musings aside to be considered later.

Scanning over the desk, Izuku frowned. “There’s nothing here.” The surface of the desk was completely barren, clean as a whistle. He was right about to ask Nemo to rewind, when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something. There, on the floor under the desk, was a piece of paper. Bending down, he could just make out the words on one part of the page, the rest of the area a black void. On the page, he could see a time written, 8:30 AM, and the start of another word he couldn’t quite make out.

“It’s the class schedule for 1-A!” Izuku whooped, straightening back up. “Hey, Nemo. Rewind it back to before the cameras cut out.”

“Sure thing.”

Before he could say anything in response, the room melted again. Once reality had restabilized, Izuku bit back a grin. The class schedule had disappeared from the floor and reappeared on the desk, sitting right in plain view.

“That’s how they did it,” Izuku said. “They got the list from All Might’s desk and the map from Thirteen’s.”

Nemo grinned, jumping to his feet and slapping his hands together.“Aaaaand I think that’s it! Ready for the main event, Yamikumo?”

Izuku blinked, taken aback. “Main event? I-I thought this was the main event?”

Nemo chuckled as he rubbed his hands like a supervillain and grinning like a madman.

“Nah, this shit was just to get all the clues we needed! Now, it’s time to put it all together.” The room shifted yet again, now with them out in the hall, just around a corner from the teacher’s lounge. Nemo had in his hands a big movie camera, pointing right at Izuku. He had a beret on his head.

“Ya ready for your big break, Yamikumo? You’re gonna be a movie star, kid, acting out what the traitor did!”

izuku blanched. “W-what? Is all this really necess–”

“Quiet on the set! Ready to start rolling!” Nemo shouted. “Aaaaand action!” Izuku jumped, trying to bite back a small smile.

“Aaaaah, here I am! The devious traitor for the League of Villains! Any moment now, the alarm will sound, and I shall begin my plot! The mass of students already in the hallways will be a perfect means to let me avoid suspicion!”

An alarm sound played, a recording from the day of the break in. Down the hall, the door to the teacher’s lounge opened up, and the entire UA faculty poured out.

“See, now the lounge is empty! And they left the door unlocked, the foolish heroes!” Izuku said, letting out a mock evil cackle. He dramatically tiptoed down the hall and, after looking both ways, slipped the door open and went inside.

“I need to find those lesson plans! Hmmmm, I shall check Eraserhead’s desk!” Izuku said as dramatically as possible, walking down and coming to the 1-A homeroom teacher’s desk.

“He must have put the lesson plan inside the drawer!” he said dramatically, before miming trying to open the desk. “Drat! Foiled again! The drawer appears to be locked!”

“Yer doin’ great kid! What a natural!” Nemo called out as Izuku mimed looking around the room.

“I know! Thirteen designed the USJ and All Might is our main target! They’ll have the information me and my evil comrades need!” With a flourish, he ran forward to Thirteen’s desk, where he mimed unfolding the map.

“I shall take a photograph of this with my mobile phone!” Izuku said, holding his hands up over the desk, as if to take a picture. He clicked his tongue, before looking at his hands as if checking the photograph. “Perfect! Now for the class schedule! I’ll need to be quick, I’m running out of time!”

He mimed pulling the schedule off of All Might’s desk, dramatically holding his hand up as if holding the paper aloft. “Behold! I now know when we can attack the Unforeseen Simulation Joint and take out All Might, the Symbol of Peace! 8:30 AM!”

As Izuku made his declaration, the alarm sound cut out. Izuku stopped what he was doing, looking up at the clock on the wall.

“They must have dealt with the press outside! It is time for my dramatic escape!” After pretending to toss the paper behind him, where it would land right under the desk, Izuku ran for the door, slipping out and closing it behind him.

“Now I just need to deliver this to the League, and we can begin our master plan!”

“Aaaaaaaaaand cut!” Nemo shouted, his camera disappearing. “That’s a wrap, people! Great work, Yamikumo! Everyone give him a hand!”

The sound of recorded studio clapping echoed in Izuku’s ears as he took a dramatic bow. “Thank you, thank you!” As Izuku straightened himself up, he frowned, an idea hitting him. “You know, there is one thing that’s been bothering me, Nemo…”

“Yeah, me too,” the AI said, crossing his arms over his chest. “You go first.”

“How did the traitor know when the press would break in?” Izuku said, holding his chin. “They would have had to be in position and ready to go the second the faculty left the teachers’ lounge. It’s almost like…”

“They knew the press would break in,” Nemo finished. The two stared at each other.

“Nemo, quick, pull up the footage from the gate right before the press break-in.”

“Got it.”

The world shifted again, the two of them now looking down on the sealed gates of UA, as if floating in the air. The mass of reporters were pressing against the metal, banging on the gate. Then, the solid steel of the door started to crumble from the middle out, turning into dust before their eyes.

“Nemo, zoom in on where the crumbling started!” Izuku shouted, a heavy stone settling in his gut.

The scene shifted. There, amidst the gaggle of tabloid reporters, was someone in a ratty black hoodie. They watched as the figure pressed his hand against the gate, and the thick, military grade steel crumbled at his touch like it was made of ash. As the press surged forward, the hooded figure looked up just enough for them to catch a look at his face.

A smirking Tomura Shigaraki was staring up at them.

Stumbling out of the empty room, his mind swimming with the conclusions he’d reached, Izuku rested a hand against the wall, steadying himself.

— I’ll send that recording and what we learned to ABIS ASAP, Yamikumo. — Nemo said as Izuku adjusted back to the light of reality.

— Thanks. Tell them something else as well. We can eliminate all of the faculty from the list of suspects. A member of the staff wouldn’t have needed to do any of that to get into the teachers’ lounge. —

— Which means… — Nemo began.

— The traitor has to be a student. — Izuku finished Nemo’s thought. They’d just eliminated the worst case scenario, that one of the heroes had betrayed them.

— Oh, it looks like the second round’s just wrapping up. — Nemo said, shaking Izuku out of his reverie.

— Who won? — Izuku pushed himself off the wall and started heading towards the locker room. There was a break for lunch before the third round, and he could use the fuel.

Before Nemo could answer, Izuku heard the sound of boots slapping concrete behind him. Whoever it was, they were coming on quick. Izuku quickly spun around, crouching low in a fighting pose Mizuki-sensei had taught him, which would let him toss whoever it was over him and disable them, if need be.

“You’re a shrimp, kid. Size is never gonna be on your side, so you have to fight smarter, fight dirtier, if you wanna stand a chance against the kinds of villains and criminals we have to deal with.” Her words echoed in his head.

Thankfully, none of that was needed this time. Before he could even fully comprehend what was going on, a shirtless, paint-coated Kirishima slammed into him, squeezing him in a tight hug. Izuku’s face was firmly pressed right between Kirishima’s pecs as the air was squished from his lungs like he was a big squeaky toy.

— Yamikumo, I detect sudden rushing of blood to both your face and your nether regions, is everything okay? — Nemo said. Izuku could hear the smirk in his voice.

“Dude!” Kirishima said as he finally let go of Izuku, getting a good look at him. Izuku’s face was smeared with green and blue paint, as were his gym clothes. Izuku took a moment to recover, glad the paint was hiding his blush.

“Eijiro!“ Izuku smiled back, taking in his friend’s appearance. Kirishima was covered head to toe in various shades of brightly colored paint. Even his red hair was mostly other colors now, the spikes sagging under the weight.

— Quick, Nemo! What happened in the second round? Who won? I need to make it seem like I was watching! — Izuku demanded.

— Worried you’re gonna hurt his feelings since you didn’t watch? — Nemo cackled. — Especially after you just got face-to-chest with him. —

— Shut up! If I wasn’t watching, it means I was doing something else! And he’d ask what that something else is! I don’t wanna have to cook up more lies, please, Nemo. —

— Don’t worry, I’ve got ya covered, Yamikumo. Mr. Shirt Allergy’s team won the Color Contest. His team and the MVPs of the other teams have advanced to the final round. Shark Week himself was instrumental in his team winning. Him and She of the Very Big Stick knocked Slappy and Steel Boy Run out together. — Izuku managed to keep from laughing at Nemo’s descriptors.

“Congratulations, Eijiro! You were great out there! Saw you and Bright wiped the floor with some kids from 1-B!” Izuku said, putting on a huge grin.

“Thanks, dude! I’m so pumped we’re both going to the third round!” Kirishima grinned. “I didn’t get a chance to tell ya how amazing you were in the first round! How’d you even find that secret passage? It was all but pitch black in there!”

Izuku blanched. He’d been hoping no one would ask him about that. As far as anyone knew, he just had a normal prosthetic eye, nothing fancy. Nemo was technically classified technology, after all (although a disturbing number of civilians seemed to know, between Iris, Ota, and several others he hadn’t even met yet but heard about, like Mr. Ishiyagane and Mr. Enda.)

“I, uh, I got lucky! There was a lever in the wall that opened up the passage, and my hand ran over it as I was running down the hall,” he lied, his voice speeding up to an almost frantic pace, “I was really glad it was a shortcut and not some old construction thing! Must’ve been a test by Principal Nedzu or something!”

— That’s your cover story?! You found it by accident? C’mon, hype yourself up a bit, Yamikumo! — Nemo laughed. Izuku could just imagine his partner shaking his head at him.

— Stop laughing or I’ll get Aiba to block you from watching A-Sat videos for a month! — Izuku threatened.

— You can try! And you’ve met her! How can you get her name wrong?! It’s A-Set, normie! —

— She’s just Miss Sagan to me! —

— As I said, normie. —

“Yeah, he’s always got some secret test going on! Like the rescue points on the entrance exam,” Kirishima sighed, shaking his head with a wry grin. Izuku mentally let out a sigh of relief of his own, so glad his friend had bought his story and hadn’t noticed him spacing out as he argued with Nemo.

“Oh yeah, I heard about that. Didn’t you save one of your classmates from the Zero Pointer and get a ton of points?” Izuku said. He knew he remembered reading that in the documents Nemo had lifted from UA’s files on the Entrance Exam.

Kirishima stilled, looking down and rubbing the back of his neck, a bashful expression on his face.

“Oh, you heard about that? Yeah, I, uh, I did. Got a bunch of rescue points for that,” he said awkwardly. His eyes were definitely avoiding Izuku’s, for reasons he couldn’t discern.

“That’s really heroic, Kirishima! You absolutely earned your place in the hero course,” Izuku said, looking down, “meanwhile, I didn’t even try for it…”

“Dude! What I did wasn’t anywhere near as heroic and manly as you saving that guy from that villain!” Kirishima leaned forward, grabbing Izuku’s shoulders as he looked him dead in the eye. Izuku gulped audibly at the intensity in Kirishima’s expression. It was too much, too soon. “I saved someone in a controlled test environment. I should’ve realized she’d be fine. UA wouldn’t let someone get killed. You pushed a guy out of the way in an actual villain attack! You lost an eye! That’s real manliness right there!”

Izuku winced, his hand going to feel at the scar around Nemo. His fingers ghosted over the puckered skin. A growing shadow in front of his left eye flashed in his mind, growing bigger and bigger until indescribable pain, Mr. Date leaning over him as he fell, a horrified expression on his face.

Kirishima’s face fell, and he let go of Izuku’s shoulder, backing up. “Shit, sorry. I shouldn’t have brought that up…”

“N-no, it’s fine. It’s been two years, I’m fine, I swear,” Izuku insisted, shaking his head. “Don’t discount yourself, Eijiro. Saving Uraraka, even in a simulated environment, is a really damn manly thing to do! The test was designed to test for that, and you passed without even having to think about it. Your body just… moved.”

Eijiro stared at him, stars in his eyes as a massive grin spread across his face. “You always know how to pump a guy up, don’t ya, Izuku? I’ve gotta go wash off this paint, but wait for me. We’ll grab lunch together, and then, well. Promise me something. Promise me that we’ll face off in the third round, okay? Man to man,” He held out a hand. Izuku felt himself tearing up a bit.

— Geez, could this sound even more like a shonen? —

Izuku pointedly ignored Nemo’s snark as he nodded, grabbing Eijiro’s hand in his and giving it a firm shake. “You’re on. No holding back. Just you and I, man to man!”

Chapter Text

“Date, this is not something you should concern yourself with now,” Boss ordered, throwing up that authoritative persona she used when she wanted to keep people away from sensitive topics that could hurt them. Kaname grunted, knowing there was no point in trying to outstubborn her this time. “Just… enjoy your time with Hitomi and Iris,” she said. “It’s your day off, don’t stay away from them for any longer than you need to. You’ve spent too much time away from them.”

“Fine,” Kaname said, his gruff voice without the vocholocho echoing slightly in that uncomfortable corner of his brain that he’s been learning to deal with over the past two years. “Just call me if there’s any updates I need to know. We still don’t know how they managed to move it without setting the bombs off.”

“I’ll be sure to,” Boss agreed. “And you be sure to enjoy your time watching the Sports Festival. Midoriya wouldn’t be happy to know you’ve been too busy dealing with work to watch his moment of glory.” Her playful snark brought a smirk to Kaname’s lips.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right. I’ll be going now,” he finished, pressing the end call button on his phone. He stared at the black screen for a second, thinking about how naturally the action came to him, despite how sparsely he’d used a physical phone in his lifetime. A second later, reality caught back up to him and he realized he hadn’t even stepped out of his car.

As he walked over to the entrance to the Sagan residence, a familiar-looking van pulled into the vacant spot near Kaname’s car. The door opened to reveal the short figure of Ota Matsushita, carrying a small stack of lunch boxes in each hand. Kaname fought off a groan, before reminding himself to at least remain civil around the younger man, for Iris’ sake. The memory of what had happened in the cafe with Izuku still rankled him.

“Oh, hello Mr Date,” he greeted, not seeming particularly thrilled to see Kaname either, while a clone of himself closed the van door and disappeared in a burst of smoke. “I didn’t think you’d be here today.”

"Oh, that so?” Kaname raised an eyebrow. “Why is that?”

“It’s in the news, the MPD is putting a lot of people in Hosu after Stain attacked Nihil,” Ota explained, “I guess I just assumed you’d be there too.”

Kaname shook his head as they walked up to the door. The MPD was taking the Stain case seriously, then. Good. Tokyo has had enough serial killers running around. Fortunately, this one wasn’t part of the same family tree.“I requested today off; didn’t even know that was happening until you mentioned it.”

“I see,” was all Ota had time to say before Iris opened the door, beaming at the two men waiting outside. Her expression shifted to exaggerated anger as she looked at Kaname and then at Ota.

“Date, Ota, you’re late!” she said in an over-the-top chastising tone. “The third round is about to start! Where have you been all this time?” She stepped aside for them to enter. Inside, Hitomi and Inko were sitting at the couch, the latter blowing her nose on a handkerchief after what must have been one of the signature Midoriya tear floods.

“I’m so sorry, Tesa!” Ota bowed until he was at a perfect ninety degrees, simultaneously summoning a clone to place the lunchboxes on the counter in the kitchen area. “Making the food and cleaning up the diner afterwards took longer than I thought!”

“Apology accepted,” Iris nodded, turning to Kaname for his explanation. “And what about you, Date? What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I… had a fight with Mizuki over breakfast again?” He tried, watching as Iris scrutinized him from top to bottom.

“No, that’s wrong!” she shouted confidently. “If that were true, you’d be in a hospital bed with a few broken ribs right now!” Kaname couldn’t help but wince at the truth of that statement, but also…

“But Ota’s also lying!” he tried to rebuke, playing along. “There’s no way he could take this long to do his chores when he can make so many clones at once!”

“H-hey! Don’t rope me into this!” the Ota at the kitchen counter shouted while the one in front of Iris moved on to sit on the couch.

“Yeah, but he brought us food!” Iris countered, “That’s enough to bribe me into relenting.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Kaname said as the pair finally went on to take their own seats in front of the screen. “So, who’s Izuku up against?” he asked as Inko and Hitomi turned to him with smiles of their own.

“The bracket has just been announced,” Inko explained, “Izuku’s fight is coming up first, against a boy named Iida from the Heroics course.”

“That name sounds familiar,” Ota commented, “where have I heard it before…?”

“From Idaten!” Iris cut in, “the hero family that runs the agency are the Iidas!”

“Taking on a legacy student already?” Kaname couldn’t help but whistle, recalling Ryuki requesting joint training with the current Ingenium from Boss. He remembered the days of the previous Ingenium, a stern woman who happened to be around a lot during his days as a patrolman, though they never had the chance to talk. If she had given her kids the same kind of training she had, Midoriya was in for a tough fight.

“I’m sure he’ll perform well,” Hitomi defended as she took a sip of the tea Ota’s clone brought to her. Kaname couldn’t help but feel that familiar pang of guilt at seeing her using her left arm for it. “He did finish the obstacle course before Iida, though I suppose the terrain is different now. Less irregular.”

Their discussion came to an end when Present Mic eagerly announced the entrants to the first fight of the third round, though Kaname couldn’t help but notice the look on Midoriya’s face as he was shown walking into the arena. Inko looked similarly off-put by it.

“Oh, no. Did someone say something that made Izuku upset?” she wondered aloud, drawing the attention – and confusion – of the other three. “He doesn’t look his usual self…”

Kaname had to admit, the angry glare Midoriya was sending in Iida’s direction wasn’t very pleasant to look at, but he knew well the emotion behind it. “Whatever they talked about before the fight got him pissed off,” he speculated. “I can guess what it was, too. Iida probably said shit about Quirkless people.”

Inko’s face immediately turned into a scowl as Iris and Ota looked at one another, uneasy. Hitomi sighed. “Then that’s all the more advantage to Izuku,” she reasoned, “his opponent is underestimating him.”

“Right,” Inko nodded, her voice shaking slightly with something Kaname couldn’t figure out, but he had his ideas. Inko, before her son had joined ABIS, had seemed to have a pretty different attitude.“and now Izuku will show him exactly why he shouldn’t do that.”

“BEGIN!” Present Mic shouted.

Iida took off immediately, fire coming out of his engines boosting his sprint. Midoriya stayed put, either getting instructions from his AI-Ball on how to proceed, or maybe it wassomething Mizuki had instructed him to do. Kaname had taught something along these lines to her as well; that if your opponent is faster, then you make them come to you.

Another advantage for Izuku here was that, with Iida’s speed, he had to prepare his own attacks well in advance. Enough for a trained fighter or an AI-Ball to catch his movement and react accordingly. Sure enough, it didn’t take Midoriya much work to step away from a punch in the nick of time, shoving him away and sending Iida flailing towards the edge of the arena. He quickly recovered, though.

“Yes!” Iris beamed. “That’ll show him what for!”

“Oh, my! Did our Gen Ed surprise outmaneuver Iida?” Present Mic asked with evident incredulity. Kaname barely contained a snort at that. The camera focused on the speedster as he turned around and probably began to reassess the situation. Kaname knew that look: Iida had thought this would be a cakewalk, but now that Midoriya had shown him what’s what, he was gonna be an actual problem.

“Midoriya hasn’t won; don’t make it seem like it,” Aizawa responded, stern and irritated like always. “If anything, things are only going to get rougher from here on out.”

True enough, Iida started to handle himself more carefully around his opponent. His next charge wasn’t as clearly telegraphed as the first one, and Midoriya took a nasty punch to the stomach that sent him reeling. He barely had the time to recover when Iida tried to combo into a wheel kick that would end the fight if it connected.

Midoriya seized the opportunity. Literally.

His arms wrapped around Iida’s oncoming leg as he used the momentum to pivot him around and then released. The sudden action made Iida stumble towards the center of the arena for a second, but he recovered much more swiftly than before and prepared for a close-quarters fight against the quickly approaching smaller boy.

They dodged each other’s blows for the next few seconds, the height difference giving Midoriya ample opportunity to target Iida’s chest even if his punches didn’t connect that often. Iida managed to reclaim the advantage by forcing Midoriya to retreat, one step at a time, even if he didn’t hit most of the time.

“Oh, don’t tell me he’s–” Ota started, realizing just where Midoriya was standing. Kaname leaned forward towards the screen while Hitomi and Iris each gripped one of Inko’s shoulders. Iida may not be able to outdo Midoriya on skill alone, but he still had the overwhelming advantage of training above what most civilians could get, not to mention the fact he was much bigger than Izuku.

Midoriya was at risk of being knocked out of the ring at this rate. One strong kick from Iida and it would be over. He had stopped throwing punches altogether, simply focused on trying to defend against Iida’s attacks, until Iida lifted his foot. He was aiming for Midoriya’s chest.

“Go for it, kid!” Date shouted standing up, just in time to see Midoriya crouch below the oncoming kick and roll away from the edge. Iida tried to adapt immediately, furiously stomping down and trying to counter with another roundhouse when Izuku rolled into position. The second he was lined up behind Iida’s leg, he slammed into him with all his might.

“Iida is out of bounds! Midoriya wins!” Midnight announced, and Date was suddenly too relieved to care about the streams cascading out of Inko’s eyes.

“Amazing!” Hitomi cheered as she handed Inko yet another handkerchief. “That’ll show them not to underestimate him. Although that might make his opponents go harder on him…”

“Then all he has to do is fight back harder,” Ota continued the conversation, pumping a fist in the air. “He’s with ABIS, after all, no way he can’t give them anything less than the ass whooping of the century.”

The celebrations carried on as Present Mic capitalized on the result to throw some playful verbal jabs at Aizawa. The previously tense mood in the room quickly melted into ecstatic cheering, almost as if they thought Midoriya could hear them if they were loud enough.

His pocket vibrating brought Kaname down from cloud nine as he saw the caller’s name. Ryuki. Kaname immediately frowned. Ryuki was supposed to be on duty right now. The only reason he’d call Date while on duty was if something urgent had happened.

“Excuse me,” he told the others as he moved to the back of the room. He had barely pressed his phone against his ear when he heard the distinct sound of an Evolver firing. His heart stopped.

“Date, we’re under attack by Stain,” Tama told him immediately, followed by Ryuki’s desperate cries as he fired more shots. “I’ll send you our location. I’ve informed Boss, too. We need backup, now!”

The line went dead and Kaname sprinted towards the door, barely managing to shout a quick apology as he took out his car keys. As he left behind the confused group watching the Sports Festival, he could only hope Ryuki would be able to hold himself together long enough for him to get there.

Iida had turned around the second after the end of the match was announced. Izuku hated to admit it, but he was slightly frustrated that he didn’t knock the jackass down when pushing him over the edge, but a win was a win. Knowing his luck, Ingenium probably would get revenge for his little brother by training even more harshly with Izuku.

— He can come at us as hard as he wants! — Nemo said with that usual ‘your ass is grass’ attitude he gets when things work out the way he likes. — The other losers better prepare for the Green Steamroller! —

— Really? — Izuku made a concerted effort to not let his deadpan show on his face as he went on to talk with Iida.

“I hope that that’s enough to convince you,” he said aloud, managing to grab Iida’s attention, “that I can hold my own in Heroics.” He finished with a smile, as friendly as he could be. He relished the look of surprise on his face.

“I can see that,” Iida said, adjusting his glasses on his face, then bowed down to a perfect ninety-degree angle. “I misjudged your skill… or rather, I didn’t even consider it. It wasn’t just a mistake, it was quite rude of me. I’m very, very sorry for this.”

Izuku’s eyes softened a bit. “Well, at least you won’t do it again. I hope. Besides, I wouldn’t have had the first idea about how to deal with you if your brother hadn’t given me some lessons the other day.”

“Wait, you trained with Tensei?” Iida all but shouted, jerking around to look at Izuku with visible confusion. Izuku, meanwhile, was desperately wishing he could swallow his words. “If I may be so bold, how did you get in touch with him?”

“W-well, uh…” Izuku rubbed the back of his head as the pair started to walk away from the arena. How the hell was he supposed to explain a quirkless nobody training with the number 13 hero?

— Nemo, help! —

— Where would you be without me, Yamikumo? — he said with a grin, holding back a laugh while loading a script in Izuku’s AI-sight. — I’ve got you covered! —

“So, um, you know how Ingenium shows up to some quirkless awareness events?” Izuku stammered out, hoping he sounded natural. “I met him in one of those, actually. He gave some of us a couple lessons in self-defense.”

— Please buy it, please buy it, please buy it… —

“Ah, then I suppose that was why you approached me before the fight?” Iida asked, and Izuku suppressed a sigh of relief. “Yes, that would make sense. Of course you’d want to be friends with Ingenium’s brother, seeing as he has had such an impact on your life.” Once they walked away from public view, Iida bowed a second time, almost at a full ninety degree angle. “And you even told me of your quirklessness out of trust that I would be as supportive as my brother! I must apologize again, I broke your trust and sullied the Ingenium name!”

— Lawful good types, — Nemo said with a sound somewhere between a scoff and a snort, — you can always get into their heads if you know someone they admire. —

Izuku decided that he’d unpack how he felt about that comment later. “It’s nothing I’m not used to, so don’t beat yourself so hard over it, Iida,” he chose to say instead. “Just… pay more attention to what you think of other people and why.”

“Yes, I will take that advice to heart!” he announced without raising himself.

“And I think your classmates are waiting for you to go back,” Izuku continued, and Iida finally straightened himself at that, “I should get back to mine as well.”

“Oh, yes. We do have to return, don’t we? I’ll be watching my classmate fight next. It wouldn’t be in good form to not be there to cheer him on with the others.” Iida headed down the hallway, towards the stairs that led to the seats reserved for 1-A. “Good luck with the next fights, Midoriya. I’ll be rooting for you.”

“Thanks!” Izuku smiled as he walked towards the other set of stairs. His classmates will probably start cheering him on pretty much as soon as they see him approach. Except for Shinso, obviously, he’d be too busy thinking up something snarky to say.

— Morpheus’ Most Hated is grumpy because he didn’t get to jerk off to sleep last night, — Nemo said with disdain, — can’t wait to knock him on his ass. —

— Do you think we’ll fight him? — Izuku couldn’t help but wonder. — I actually didn’t think he’d make it this far… —

— Probably. His fights are all against people who don’t know his Quirk. Odds are he’ll trick them and get them to walk out. But I’ve been keeping track of him in P.E. classes and he hasn’t improved a lot. —

“So he didn’t train,” Izuku said aloud, “he wants to take everyone out with only his quirk. Even me…” Izuku’s lips split into a vicious grin. He was pretty sure Miss Mizuki smiled in a similar way whenever she had a training plan figured out for him. “Hey, Nemo, what do you think of giving him a big scare?”

Izuku stopped walking just as Nemo appeared in front of him, his own grin just as mischievous. — I’m always down to making an asshole piss himself. —

Izuku fidgeted a bit as he sat down in a seat in the rest area of the stadium, the big screen TV showing the arena currently dark as they got ready for the next fight.

— Nemo, can you pull up my no– — he began, wanting to get back to work on the case. He didn’t have time to relax, not with a mole on the loose. His hands almost ached for his investigation notebook, to go over his notes and try and fit in the new clues they’d picked up from the VR investigation. (The actual ache from the fight didn’t count. But did Iida’s body have to be so hard? His palm was still stinging from that last blow.)

— Absolutely not, Yamikumo. You’re gonna sit and rest for a bit! — Nemo said, appearing in Izuku’s AI-sight as if he were laying on the vacant bench against the wall, both hands behind his head.

— I need to work on the case, Nemo. There’s so much new information we have now, — Izuku countered.

— Yamikumo, you need to rest before your next fight. If you wanna go the distance, you’ve gotta pace yourself, and that includes letting your best weapon, your brain, rest. — Nemo’s tone was surprisingly serious as he stared at his partner. — I’m your partner, I’m here to support you and to make sure you take care of yourself. If you’re gonna be a good detective and a good hero, you need to know when to recover your strength. —

Izuku frowned, his brow furrowing as Nemo’s words really sunk in. He couldn’t exactly argue against Nemo’s point, even if he wanted to. His mind was urging him to keep working, to keep going, that he was already too far behind. Too far behind the mole, too far behind everyone else. He was always behind.

— I need to keep working, Nemo. My classmates are counting on me. Mr Date and ABIS are counting on me. —

Nemo sighed, sitting up with a groan. — Then think of this as research. Remember, the mole didn’t get the class rosters, except maybe for 1-B’s. They’re almost certainly here watching the fights, watching your classmates and friends. This will give them a much better idea of their quirks. You need to pay attention to see what information they might glean from this. Besides, you’ll get to see everyone’s quirks in action! —

Izuku was about to fire back, but as the words settled in his brain, he couldn’t deny the logic there, nor how much he wanted to see everyone fight. — Fine. Who’s up next on the roster? —

Nemo bit back a grin.— If you would be so kind as to look at the TV… — he indicated, projecting the bracket on the screen along with a miniature of his penguin form in a suit and with a baton, pointing at one of the pairings. — Next fight: 1-A’s Katsuki Bakugo vs. 1-H’s Mei Hatsume. — The pictures of the two fighters appeared next, and Nemo took out a sharpie to draw on Kacchan’s face.

— 1-H? That’s one of the support department classes. I think the last time a support course student got through to round three was back when I was in elementary school. What can you tell me about her? —

The two pictures disappeared, replaced with Mei’s student ID photo and her info next to it.

— Mei Hatsume’s the big star of this year’s support department. In his emails, Power Loader has both praised her work and also mentioned his sheer terror at how far she’ll go for her ‘babies.’ — Nemo said, pulling up one of the emails in particular. — He’s also expressed concern that she doesn’t leave the workshop until the school is closing and is at the gate ready to get in before the school is even open. Recommend throwing a melatonin gas at her, should knock her out pretty quickly. If that fails, bribe her with coffee. —

— Your habit of just… casually hacking UA’s servers without even asking me is concerning, Nemo. — Izuku chided him, although he kept reading the email regardless. — Please don’t read people’s email without a good reason. —

— You wanted to know, Yamikumo! I’m just doing as you requested! — Nemo shot back.

— Don’t try and put your nosiness onto– —

— Her quirk is Zoom, which lets her zoom in on anything up to five kilometers away! Wow, that’s actually a bit further than even I can see. —

— You’re still manlier, Nemo! Don’t worry, — Izuku teased.

— You and Shark Week are hanging out too much, — Nemo said with a laugh, — his obsession with manliness is starting to infect you. —

— So, Kacchan’s gonna be fighting her? — Izuku’s tone darkened a bit as the screen finally came on. He hadn’t actually seen Kacchan fighting since middle school, outside of Aizawa’s memories. He had no idea how far he’d come since then.

— Remember, support students are allowed to bring support items with them. Crotch-4 won’t know what hit him! —

“Weeeeeeellllllllcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to the UA Sports Festival!” Present Mic’s voice screeched out from the speakers, sounding a bit tinny as they struggled to reproduce his voice. “It’s time for the next fight of the first-year’s round three! From the Hero Course’s Class 1-A, hoping to avenge his classmate’s loss, it’s the always explosive Katsuki Bakugo!”

Out into the stadium, two figures approached the center ring as the crowd went wild. Kacchan’s face was as stony as ever, firm and tight. Izuku couldn’t help but gulp nervously. Even after all this time, Kacchan still intimidated him.

“And from the Support Course’s Class 1-H, it’s the pride and terror of the workshop, Mei Hatsume!”

Hatsume, on the other hand, was practically bouncing her way into the arena. She had a wild grin on her face, with a whole bunch of gadgets on her. She had massive boots on her feet, although they didn’t seem to be hindering her mobility as much as Izuku would have expected. On her arms were futuristic-looking gauntlets. On her back was something resembling the backpack she had used during the race, but he wasn’t sure of why she brought it to this fight..

Izuku wished he were sitting in the stands right now with everyone else, so Nemo could get a closer look at them. There had to be some secrets in there.

“Go!” Present Mic shouted as soon as Kacchan and Hatsume had hit their marks.

Kacchan shot out first, running forward to try and score an early win. He shot explosions from his left hand to blast himself forward as his right hand came up in a nasty right hook.

— Kacchan always starts with a right hook. — Izuku said.

Nemo scoffed. — That sort of predictability is gonna get his ass in trouble one day. —

Before the fist could connect, however, Hatsume had dodged, her boots somehow giving her extra boost. From where Izuku was sitting, it looked like there was some kind of rocket engine inside, allowing her to move faster.

As she dodged, Hatsume lifted her arm and fired something at Katsuki. The projectile burst apart, expanding into a net.

— He’s gonna get caught in it! — Izuku thought, biting his lip.

— Ha! Like a fish! I wanna see him squirm! —

Before it could touch him, Kacchan fired off a series of explosions that set the net alight. The entire net burnt up incredibly quickly, with aggressive flames that seemed out of proportion to its size. The net became a ball of fire, flying right at Kacchan. Izuku couldn’t help but gasp.

— The fire’ll set his sweat alight! — Izuku drew in a sharp breath, forcing himself to watch. Even Nemo seemed worried, no snarky comment forthcoming.

To their relief, Katsuki managed to jump and roll out of the way, the fireball flying right over his head, singing his uniform as it shot into the concrete wall on the far side. The spectators in the stands there jumped from the flames before they burned themselves out, leaving a black stain in the shape of a net on the concrete .

As Kacchan dealt with the net, Hatsume had been entering something into a screen in her gauntlet. By the time he had recovered, she had slammed some button on it, firing out a series of small drones. Before the audience’s very eyes, a series of holograms of Mei appeared in the arena, circling the edge of the ring.

Kacchan was clearly confused, but he recovered quickly. He shot an explosion at the nearest hologram, but it blasted through with no effect.

“Now, my lovely customers!” Hatsume said, the holograms moving around as Kacchan tried to attack them. Somehow, her voice was coming over the microphone as clearly as Present Mic’s.

— Did Dreadlock Tesa hack into the speakers? — Nemo asked. — She did! There’s a backdoor I hadn’t set up in the system! —

— Seems like you have a hacking rival, Nemo! — Izuku laughed, — Try to get on her good side before she tries to mess with you too! —

— As if just any human could measure up to me! — Nemo countered with a scoff.

As they watched, Kacchan kept firing explosions at each hologram. He managed to hit the drones a couple of times, the number of holograms decreasing.

“As you can see here, my lovely Drone Gauntlets can fire out up to 25 drones!” Hatsume continued. “And these ultra-light rocket boots enhance the wearer’s mobility by up to 50%! Both them and the gauntlets are made from an extremely light yet extremely durable carbon fiber!”

“Stand and fucking fight!” Kacchan yelled, his voice being picked up on Mei’s microphone as he managed to destroy another couple drones. His shouting sounded different, more frustrated and absolutely done with the situation, rather than the sneering anger Izuku remembered.

— Get fucked, bastard! — Nemo jeered.

“And these gauntlets also have the ability to shoot a wide variety of ammunition!” she said, utterly ignoring Kacchan’s declaration. One of the Hatsumes spun around, shooting another net at Kacchan’s back. He just barely managed to dodge it, fixing his gaze on the Hatsume who had fired at him. He leapt at her, but she managed to jump over him, using the rockets on her boots to just graze over the top of his head.

He tried to grab her ankle, but only managed to grab her for a moment before she broke free. As she passed over him, she fired again, and at point blank range, the net managed to entangle him, leaving him pinned to the ground. His grip on her ankle managed to send Hatsume stumbling to the ground, rolling almost all the way out of the ring. Kacchan struggled against the net, but wasn’t using his quirk to burn it. Without that, he couldn’t push himself free.

— Guess the asshole has some sense of self-preservation. — Nemo said.

Izuku hmmed. — I don’t know how he’s going to get out of this without it. Is Kacchan… going to lose? — The very idea seemed ludicrous to Izuku. Kacchan didn’t lose, he just didn’t. Not in a fight like this. Izuku had only managed to beat him in the obstacle race by finding a secret passage, after all.

Hatsume recovered quickly, jumping back to her feet and continuing her pitch. “And the net here is made from a very strong fiber that resists most forms of weapons while being incredibly strong. Unfortunately, the material is quite flammable. I’m working on fixing that!”

Kacchan shouted at her, trying to rip the net off of himself.

“So, my lovely customers, when you next want to invest in support gear, remember the name Hatsume! Thanks for the use of your microphone, Present Mic!” she said, bowing as the holograms flickered off. Immediately afterwards, she leapt back over the edge of the ring, surrendering the match.

“I-I guess Bakugo wins?” Present Mic said, finally allowed to speak as Midnight came back into the field, freeing Kacchan from the net and lifting his fist.

Kacchan grabbed the microphone from Midnight’s hand. “I withdraw!” Kacchan shouted, before shoving the mic back into her hand and storming off the field.

Silence. The arena was utterly silent. Izuku and Nemo were utterly silent. The announcers in the booth were utterly silent. It felt as if the world had gone silent.

A moment later, the silence was broken as the entire stadium erupted in intense discussion.

“He won, why is he withdrawing?”

“Did you see that Hatsume girl? She wiped the floor with him and then gave up?”

“Why wouldn’t he want to go on?”

— Boom Bastard withdrew?! What the fu– — Nemo all but shouted. Izuku could feel Nemo’s body shaking in his eye socket. He reached up, pulling him out and letting Nemo sit in the palm of his hand.

Despite how long he had been paired up with Nemo, he still wasn’t used to seeing himself in one eye, and other things in his other. It messed with his head.

“I… think I get it,” Izuku said, ruminating. “He didn’t actually win that fight. By all rights, Hatsume should be the one moving up the bracket.”

“But why wouldn’t he take the chance to move on? He won!” Nemo said, crossing his flippers over his chest.

“Because no one would accept his victory,” Izuku said, snapping his fingers as realization dawned. “Everyone saw him clearly lose to Hatsume, any victories he had after that would be tainted because, by all rights, he shouldn’t have been there.”

Izuku could hear the comments people would make in his head, that Kacchan had to have cheated. This was a chance for UA students to show themselves off, and if he took the chance to go on, it wouldn’t look good.

“But wouldn’t he want to prove this was a fluke?”

“I don’t think Kacchan could accept it himself. For all his faults, he takes victory very seriously. He always has. Back in middle school, on the rare times someone did manage to beat him in something, he accepted that defeat as fair.” With one Izuku-shaped exception. Izuku was always the exception when it came to Kacchan. “But this? Taking something he hadn’t earned? That would be worse than losing for Kacchan.”

“That’s not a good approach to heroism. Wanting satisfying wins every time could bite him in the ass,” Nemo mused.

“Kacchan knows that,” Izuku argued, “or at least, I think he does. He’s always been a brawler, even back when–” he cut himself off. Back they still hung out together and had fun talking about All Might. Back when they were still friends. Back when there was a chance he could have a quirk. “What I mean is, he knows he won’t get to win the way he wants every time, but he wants everyone to know it was his victory in the end.”

“Talk about a fragile ego…”

Izuku chose not to respond while Present Mic’s voice came from the TV speaker. He didn’t want to admit just how much he understood exactly how Kacchan felt.

“And it looks like we’re gearing up for a battle of coolness, everyone! On one side, the suave motormouth of 1-B: Neito Monoma! On the other, the stoic and silent powerhouse of 1-A: Shouto Todoroki!”

Izuku allowed himself a smile when Shouto’s name came up. Natsuo was probably watching his brother; maybe Izuku should root for him? Either way, he’d go back to his classmates later, missing out on any second of this would be criminal.

“Ready? Begin!”

Chapter Text

Shouto squinted as he exited the tunnel into the blinding, piercing, harsh sunlight. He had to do this. As his eyes adjusted, he looked down at his left hand. He could feel the heat flowing through it, below the surface, just waiting to be tapped. As always, he shoved it down, using his ice to cool the inferno within. The fight with his father was still fresh, the words still echoing in his head, bouncing around in the cave of his skull, repeating over and over.

“You should have used your fire, Shouto!” His father had said.

“I’m not going to use your quirk!” he had shouted back. He would never touch the hellfire burning within him.

“Selfish, stubborn boy. You are weakening yourself!” The words had hit like a punch to the gut. Shouto could feel his teeth groaning as he gritted them, his fists coiling.

“I won’t touch your power!” he had spat out, turning to leave for his match. He could feel his arm frosting over, getting colder and colder as he tried to rein his anger in. “I don’t need it.”

Endeavor scoffed. “I’m sure your former classmate could have used the help.”

Shouto had had no response to that. He stormed off. Like a child. He didn’t want to admit, even to himself, that his father’s words had gotten to him. He could still see Sato’s face before him, could still hear the scream followed by silence as his arms were shorn from his body, could feel the blood hitting his face.

He’d been just a second too late, too slow. He had stopped to fight one of the villains who kept dodging his ice by sticking to Shouto’s left side. His fire could have taken him out.

If he’d been there just a few seconds sooner, he could have frozen the Nomu before it got Sato. Before it shed his blood. Before it tore his arms off.

He had tried to tell himself that there was nothing he could have done, nothing that could have stopped the Nomu. Even Aizawa-sensei hadn’t been able to stop that monster. But the denials rang hollow. The constant refrain of ‘what if’ repeated in his brain, like a monk chanting the Name.

As he entered the arena itself, he tried to push those thoughts from his head. He needed to focus on the here and now, not on the what has been. No room for his self-doubts. He would prove that he didn’t need that bastard’s fire to be a hero. He needed to prove it, to his father and to himself.

As he centered himself in the present, he saw a hand being offered. His opponent was sticking out his right hand. He blinked, looking up at him. He didn’t remember his name, it didn’t matter.

“Good luck,” his opponent said, still offering that damn hand.

Shouto scoffed, batting the hand away.

“I don’t need luck. I’m going to win,” he said. He missed the smirk on his opponent’s face, the way his lips pulled into a grin. He stepped back to the line as Midnight announced the two fighters.

He readied his ice, preparing to freeze him the second the fight started.

With a bang, they were off. He immediately fired out a wave of ice, far too fast for his opponent to dodge. A massive glacier of ice shot up, filling a good half of the arena.

This fight was already over. Shouto turned to Midnight, waiting for her to declare him the winner. That was when he felt the rush of heat heading right towards him, blasting away the ice. He only barely managed to throw up an ice wall before the wave of fire slammed into it. His fire.

His wall of ice exploded under the onslaught, sending Shouto flying back, over the edge of the arena and out of bounds.

The fight was over indeed. He had lost.

He passed out.

Izuku walked back to the 1-C stands as he racked his brain, trying to understand what had even happened during the last fight. Monoma’s fire quirk had proved effective against Todoroki’s ice, perfectly so, in fact. However, there had been no fire use that he had seen at any point during the previous rounds. There hadn’t been enough fire to light a stick of incense, let alone enough to equal the blast Monoma had used to counter an attack as large as Todoroki’s opening move. Besides, how could Monoma have made it as far as he did without relying on it at any point? He would have had to be fighting quirkless this entire time. But why?

— Nemo, what do you make of the fight? — he probed. — And no giving away details I shouldn’t know even if they’re on the file. I’m getting tired of it. That’s an order —

— It’s not like you won’t end up knowing soon anyways. — Izuku could envision Nemo shrugging with a pout, mad that he couldn’t show off. — But I can tell you it was easier than I thought it’d be. Prince Zuko there could and should have put up a better fight. —

— You mentioned it during the fight, too, — Izuku thought mostly to himself, — Todoroki’s fighting was weird. He put out a lot of ice for a friendly competition. He’s so used to throwing huge amounts of it out there to be able to clean up. Unless he could melt it himself… maybe that’s where Endeavor’s Hellfire kicks into his quirk? He didn’t inherit the fire, but he might be able to melt it quickly enough to not make this strategy too aggressive if his goal is to simply immobilize the opponent. Plus, if he can– —

— Don’t forget that he’s not your next opponent, Yamikumo! — Nemo cut him off. — You’re up against the blond guy with a chip in his shoulder! —

— What? No silly nickname this time? —

— I dedicate 3% of my processing power to make up these awesome nicknames, thank you very much. — Nemo projected himself in front of Izuku walking backwards just as Izuku advanced down the hall.

— That doesn’t sound like a lot… —

— Excuse you, do you know how many zettaFLOPS that is? I can make I-Island engineers jealous! —

— And yet you still haven’t used even one for Monoma, — Izuku smirked, finally approaching the staircase that led to his class’ stalls — or maybe you haven’t figured one out? —

— As if, — Nemo disappeared from Izuku’s AI-Sight so he could make his way to his seat, — but you told me to stop spoiling you on your opponents’ quirks, so I won’t tell you until after the fight. Good luck puzzling it out, Sherlock. —

Izuku snorted before greeting his classmates; some even asked for high fives! He was trying to not tear up from their excited praise – so excited he could barely make out what most of them were saying – so it was his lucky break that Present Mic began to announce the next fight and he could let the excitement wash over the happy queasiness in his chest.

“Are you ready for the next one, folks?!” His voice boomed, bringing up the same hysterical cheering that permeated the stadium the entire day so far.

— There must be people with voice quirks here. I refuse to believe anyone’s throat can survive screaming like that for so long otherwise. —

“Our next match is a love letter to our modified martial arts lovers, the ones who look at a hero with an extra limb or that off-kilter swagger and watch them take down an opponent with precision and fluidity!”

Rude! No need to call Izuku out like that!

“Well, I should get going,” Shinso said from somewhere behind him, Izuku turned his head in time to see him walking towards the stairs. “My fight comes after that.”

“I’ll be rooting for you, Shinso!” Izuku shouted with a smile. It would be a shame to let a good idea go unused because Shinso didn’t make it to the fight against him. Shinso didn’t respond, even as the others joined him in voicing their support.

“The second place racer who managed to match his pace with Midoriya, our big surprise: from class 1-B, Shihai Kuroiro! And the master hand-to-hand fighter of 1-A, Mashirao Ojiro!”

Izuku had his notebook and pencil in hand the moment they were in his field of vision. Adapted martial arts are the number one enemy of close-quarter combatants, so Izuku had to study this fight in depth. He practically sketched each exchange between Kuroiro hiding in Ojiro’s shadow to dodge a blow and Ojiro leaping to avoid being grabbed at his ankles by hands that sprouted from it. Not a fast victory, but Ojiro was clever in having his shadow cross the arena boundary.

— You think people are gonna ship Omni-Goth and Thick Rod when they go pro? —

— Please don’t talk about that so casually… — Izuku sighed mentally.

— Remember that I know your browser and purchase history, Mister Hawks Doujin– —

— A–anyway, — Izuku hoped no one saw the red in his cheeks, putting down his notebook, — Shinso’s fight is about to begin. —

— As if you’ll write anything down for it. Whoever wins, it’ll last no less than a minute. —

And indeed, Mina Ashido walked out of bounds almost immediately after the fight began. Izuku saw at least half of his class grimacing in sympathy while the other half smiled at yet another Gen Ed student beating someone from Class 1-A.

“The way it’s going, it looks like you and Shinso are gonna fight pretty soon, huh?” Narukami leaned forward from his seat, approaching Izuku. “What do you think he’s planning to do since you know how his quirk works?”

— Does he have a plan? — Nemo guffawed.

“It’s probably nothing I can’t deal with,” Izuku smiled, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head, “but you can’t go in thinking you know for sure what’s gonna happen…” Even if in Shinso’s case he had a pretty decent idea.

What he didn’t know how to deal with was watching Eijiro Kirishima’s (newest) shirt get torn off his body during his fight against Manga Fukidashi. Between the mess of debris that came from the fight and the chasing around that Eijiro had to do – Izuku definitely wouldn’t have thought of using engine sounds as vehicles – both the lead of Izuku’s pencil and the blood in his body were rushing downwards.

— Bet you wanted his pants to go next. —

— Just the crotch area would be– — Izuku caught himself, finally tearing his focus away from the notebook innocently sitting above his lap.

“Something wrong?” The girl a slight bit away from Izuku’s seat asked. Kurosuzu, if memory served.

“N-no, nothing!” He stammered with an awkward laugh, almost drowned out in his own head by Nemo’s boisterous guffawing. “Just got too into the analysis.”

Eijiro winning that fight probably meant there’d be more teasing coming his way.

Izuku’s embarrassment abated when Kaminari walked onto the arena next, to fight his classmate Tokoyami. Something about a longer range battle had alway been exciting to Izuku, but this one wasn’t particularly eventful: the light from Kaminari’s electricity disarmed the projection that attacked him easily and consistently, until the gap between the fighters was small enough that he could zap Tokoyami unconscious directly.

— Huh, I didn’t expect that shadow to be sentient, — Nemo commented after the fight was over, watching Kaminari pet it as the fighters left the arena.

“So he’s up against Shinso next…” Narukami mused aloud. “A tough fight, for sure, but Shinso will probably pull it off. His quirk kinda makes me jealous, you know?”

“Shinso’s?” Izuku ventured.

“Nah. His is fine, but not my thing, despite appearances,” he answered. “I wish I had some of Kaminari’s lightning, though. Very useful for powering my phone,” he chortled.

Izuku spent the rest of the break between fights doing light conversation with his classmates until Present Mic announced the last of the fights before his: Ibara Shiozaki, from 1-B, would face off Estelle Bright, the British exchange student in class 1-A. That was his cue to head down and prepare to go on stage, though he wasn’t just about to miss out on their fight – and something told him Nemo wouldn’t let him either.

— What? I wanna see the girl who whacks Blowjob-Man upside the head in action! —

— Were you talking with Tama behind my back? I swear she’s rubbing off on you too much… —

— Not today, no. She’s been pretty silent since this morning. —

Izuku shrugged. As curious as he was, he had more immediate matters to focus on, like the fight Nemo was projecting onto his eye. It looked like Shiozaki wasn’t having a hard time keeping Bright at bay, but she was still the one coming under pressure, even if faintly. Estelle Bright seemed a hard and fast hitter, and the distance between them was slowly vanishing, to her advantage.

By the time Izuku arrived at his room, Bright was pounding away at Shiozaki’s – admittedly sturdy – vine walls.

— Look at that, — Nemo whistled — looks like Crime Scene Hair is gonna take as much as he can dish in the next round. —

Izuku couldn’t deny he was also excited to see Kirishima in a battle of brawns. As the minutes passed and he stretched, Shiozaki’s thorny shield was slowly giving way to Estelle’s concrete fists. Huh. Shiozaki retaliated with a surprisingly fierce punch to the face, but she wasn’t as good at hand-to-hand combat as Bright, and, despite making full use of her vines, she was firmly taken out of bounds eventually.

“And this ends the round, folks!” Present Mic proudly declared. “Estelle Bright goes on to the quarter finals! But first, a quick intermission as the stage is prepared. Our next fight is gonna keep all of you hooked! 1-C’s big surprise, Izuku Midoriya up against 1-B’s powerhouse destroyer: Neito Monoma!”

Even inside the tunnel, Izuku could hear the crowd. They weren’t cheering quite yet, but the conversations of thousands of people eagerly awaiting you was deafening, intimidating, threatening. Of all the parts of being a hero, this one was by far the most anxiety-inducing for him. All of those eyes, staring down at him, at quirkless little Izuku Midoriya, expecting big things from him. It was, quite frankly, terrifying. The dread pooling in his stomach almost made him nauseous.

Maybe he shouldn’t have had that big flashy finish in the first round, it would have made it easier to avoid the scrutiny if he failed here. He stopped and smacked himself on the cheek. He couldn’t think like that. Not anymore. No more second guessing, no more what ifs. He had to step up to the plate, burn his dread, and let his colors fly high! He had too many people rooting for him to let them down now. Mom, Boss, Mr. Ryuki, Miss Mizuki… Mr. Date. He couldn’t let them down, not after all they’d done to get him here.

— You ready to rock, Yamikumo? — Nemo’s voice echoed in his head. Izuku forced a Kacchan-style wicked grin into his face. He wasn’t walking out of this stadium with anything but victory.

— I was born ready, Nemo! —

The second Izuku stepped into the arena, he immediately had to cover his eyes from the blinding sunlight.

As he blinked away the darkness, his eye adjusting to the glare of the May sun shining down, Present Mic’s voice sounded out from countless speakers. “Aaaaand there he is, ladies and gents! The shocking star of 1-C, the wonder who took first place in the first round, who beat one of our own Heroics students, back for more! Give it up for Izuku Midoriya!”

The roar of the crowd was utterly deafening, a wall slamming into him. He nearly stumbled over from the sheer pressure.

— Ya hear that? They’re cheering for you! — His partner said as Izuku climbed the stairs into the central arena. Sure enough, Izuku could hear the sound of his name in the midst of the wave of sound breaking over him.

— Is this how All Might feels all the time? — Izuku wondered. It was overwhelming, hearing thousands of people shouting and cheering, all for him. He didn’t just surpass expectations, he set new ones for himself; and it was time to live up to them.

As he took his spot, getting ready, he glanced around the arena, studying the fight venue. There was no cover for him to hide behind, unfortunately. All the rubble from Kacchan’s fight with Hatsume had been cleaned up and the concrete repaired by Cementoss; the onomatopoeias from Kirishima’s fight with Manga, as well as the left-over vines from Bright and Shiozaki’s match had been efficiently cleared away. That would make things difficult. He had nowhere to hide from Monoma’s fire. The dirt surrounding the arena was still singed from Monoma’s fight with Todoroki, a layer of soot on the top on his side. This was going to be… rough.

— I’ll have to focus on keeping moving and getting behind him. If he manages to hit me with a fireblast, it’ll be all over, — he thought.

A second roar from the crow jerked him from his thoughts, pulling him back into the present. He hadn’t heard what Present Mic had said, but he could see Monoma emerging from the opposite tunnel. Izuku took a steadying breath.

— You’ve got this, Yamikumo! Trust me! — Nemo assured him. Izuku forced himself to smile as Monoma got close.

As Monoma finally took his place opposite him, a grin stretching his lips, Izuku racked his brain, trying to remember any other details about Monoma’s quirk from the training he had sat in on with Shinso last week. Nothing came to mind, at all. He’d been so distracted by the other quirks and thinking about the case, he realized, he hadn’t seen Monoma fight at all.

Monoma offered his hand out, a grin on his face. Something about that grin, the smugness, the almost predatory expression, reminded Izuku far too much of the smug looks he saw on the other kids at Aldera, the ones they had right before they gave him fake love letters, or dumped a drink on his head, or otherwise humiliated him. It was an expression he learned to be wary ofl. Izuku kept his hands firmly at his side. Monoma’s grin, if anything, seemed to get wider when he dropped his hand.

“Alright fighters! Get ready, steady…” Present Mic called out, his voice blasting at them from all directions. It seemed as if the whole stadium was holding its breath, waiting to see what would happen. The calm before the storm.

Izuku got himself into position, ready to jump out of the way of Monoma’s fire blast the second it came. He just waited for–

“FIGHT!” The word was punctuated by the bang from Midnight’s starting gun.

— Dive right, Yamikumo! — Nemo’s voice shouted in his head. The AI had doubtlessly already read Monoma’s movements and calculated where he was going. Izuku refused to hesitate. He immediately jumped to Monoma’s left. His opponent had leapt forward with a solid right hook, his hand opened and reached out for him.

He had expected a blast of flames and heat, and the lack of even a lick of fire threw Izuku off for a moment as he rolled back to his feet.

“And they’re off, listeners! Midoriya dodges Monoma’s sharp right hook, almost as if he knew it were coming! This is sure to be one heck of a fight, huh, Eraser?” Present Mic’s color commentary blasted out over the speakers as Izuku continued to dodge.

“It’s just the first move, what do you want me to say? That kind of skill is just par for the course if you want to take on a Heroics student.” Aizawa said, his voice sounding utterly exhausted as usual, but his words almost felt like a jab at Izuku.

“What do you think of our two competitor’s strategies? Midoriya is dodging every attack Monoma throws at him.” Izuku slid under a kick that Monoma tried to follow up with a downward swing of his arm.

“Dodging is a good skill to have, to be sure. But all it does on its own is extend the fight and use up your energy,” Aizawa drawled, “If Midoriya wants to win, he’s going to have to actually attack at some point.”

Izuku hated to admit it, but Aizawa had a point. All he was doing was dragging things out.

Nemo, apparently, disagreed. — Easy for him to say! He doesn’t have to worry about his enemy’s quirk, since he can just erase it! —

Izuku blocked Aizawa out, he had a bigger issue to focus on.

— Why isn’t he using the fire? — He wondered as he dodged another attempt to hit him, — Does it have some kind of cooldown and he used it all up fighting Todoroki? Hourman’s Miraclo quirk only lasts an hour after he activates it, maybe it works like that? Maybe that’s why he hadn’t used it until the fight with Todoroki, where he had no choice. —

Nemo didn’t respond. Izuku knew his partner knew what Monoma’s quirk actually was. He knew he could have his questions answered if he just asked, but he still refused. It was an unfair advantage, and he wouldn’t use it.

“You just gonna dodge the whole fight, Gen Ed?” Monoma shouted out to him as Izuku danced around him, “Come on, let’s give everyone a real show!”

Izuku’s face tightened as he glanced at the crowd. While they were still cheering, their enthusiasm had definitely been dampened. They hadn’t come for a simple fistfight between two high schoolers. They’d come for an all out quirk on quirk fight. He needed to get this going, before they started getting too antsy.

He shifted his stance, narrowing his profile as he got ready to go on the offensive. He took a breath, before finally throwing his first punch at Monoma.

He saw the moment Monoma realized the change in tactics. He saw his expression change, his grin returning as he leaned to the side.

Monoma managed to dodge, almost. The back of Izuku’s fist skimmed Monoma’s cheek, just barely touching him.

Wait, no. Something was wrong. Monoma should have been able to dodge that fully. He could see it in his AI-Sight. Monoma had stopped just short of getting fully out of the way. He had wanted to get hit!

Izuku quickly spun around, going right back on the defensive. It’s contact-based, then. Monoma’s expression had changed again. First, to utter confusion. Less than a second later, some sort of realization seemed to dawn on him.

Monoma threw his head back and cackled, sounding almost deranged. Izuku took a step back.

“Oh, this is brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!” Monoma laughed, his hands clapping together as he fixed his eyes on Izuku. “No, you’re absolutely brilliant, Midoriya!” He pointed a finger right at Izuku.

— Nemo, what’s going on? — Izuku demanded, taking another step back.

— You ordered me not to tell you, Yamikumo. Unless you rescind that order, my circuits are tied, — Nemo said. Izuku spat some on Kacchan’s favorite words under his breath, but he refused to rescind the order. — Fucker’s enjoying himself, though, clearly. —

“What’s going on down there, Eraser? Neither fighter has seemed to use their quirk yet!” Present Mic’s commentary cut through the fog of Izuku’s brain. He tried to ignore it, keep his focus on Monoma, but his opponent had stopped dead, too.

“That’s not surprising at all, given who is on the field,” Aizawa said, and Izuku’s blood froze. No, he wouldn’t. Not here, not like this.

“Oh yeah, that’s right. Since Midoriya’s quirkless, Monoma doesn’t have anything to copy.” Present Mic’s words echoed in the stadium.

Silence.

Total, complete, suffocating silence.

Izuku felt numb. There it was. On national television. His quirk status, for all of Japan to hear.

— I am going to kill him, that absolute– —

“Bastard!” Monoma shouted, unintentionally finishing Nemo’s thought. Izuku jerked his eyes back to his opponent.

“Oi, Midoriya!” Monoma’s voice was enraged, but it didn’t seem directed at him, “the fight’s here! Those guys don’t matter!”

“W-what?” he stammered, thrown off-guard. If Monoma had wanted to, this would be the perfect time to attack, to charge at him and throw him out of the ring.

“I said, those guys don’t matter! We promised our audience a show, so let’s give it to them!” he said, throwing his arms wide, “Let’s show the whole world what you can do!”

Monoma’s lips had stretched back into a grin, but one free of any of the smugness he had seen earlier. Izuku found himself matching it.

“Let’s dance!”

Chapter Text

“You sure you don’t wanna copy something, Monoma?” Kendo asked, offering out her arm. “You can borrow mine, if you want.”

“Kendo, Kendo, Kendo, where’s the fun in that?” Neito laughed, shaking his head as he did his pre-fight stretches. “We’re supposed to be showing ourselves off! How can I show myself off if I just borrow your quirk?”

“It was sheer dumb luck you were able to copy and make use of the 1-A kid’s quirk last time,” she said, smacking him over the back of the head with her hand.

“And it was spectacular!” Neito grinned, rubbing where she had smacked him with one hand. “He thought he’d taken me out so quickly, and then immediately got blasted away! The son of Endeavor, defeated by some kid from 1-B! What a magnificent show!”

Kendo rolled her eyes at him, scoffing at his entirely reasonable and rational point, thank you very much! “If you wanna show off and not give a damn about winning, be my guest. You’re up against that Gen Ed kid, right? The one with the mysterious quirk no one’s figured out yet?”

“Yes, exactly,” he exclaimed, slapping his palms together with a devilish grin, “he’s a complete mystery. Plus, he’s the one who helped that electric kid from 1-A save that couple, so he’s already gotten some media attention! If I can be the one to help show off his quirk, we’ll be the talk of the school! No, of Japan!”

While he could tell Kendo remained unconvinced, he could see in his mind’s eye the headlines, the online discussions, all of it! It was going to be a grand show!

Before his classmate could say anything further, the roar of the crowd echoing down the corridor caught their attention. It was time.

“Go break a leg, o great showman,” Kendo said, grinning before socking him in the shoulder. He yelped, but couldn’t hide the friendly smile. As he was about to exit into the field, he turned back and flashed her a peace sign before stepping out into the blinding sunlight.

“Aaaaaaand his opponent, from class 1-B, it’s the surprise powerhouse who blasted his last opponent across the field in one hit, it’s Neito Monoma!”

The roar of the crowd was utterly exhilarating, a wave of pure sound washing over him. The two of them were the center of the universe right now, the eyes of not just the entire stadium but the whole country were on them. The sun above was like a spotlight, casting them in sharp relief.

As he stepped into the center ring, he tried the same trick he had before; he offered his hand to Midoriya, a nice, polite, sportsmanlike handshake. Even as he did so, he couldn’t suppress the smug grin on his face. He wondered how this would go. From the few times he’d seen him around, Midoriya always seemed unflinchingly polite. Would that compel him to shake Neito’s hand, or had he figured out the trick?

The Gen Ed mystery looked him over with his mismatched eyes, as if looking for some sign. Whatever he found, he kept his hands to himself. Oh, this is going to be fun.

“Alright fighters! Ready, steady…” Present Mic’s attention was like a lens, focusing everyone’s attention onto them, exactly where it should be. The two of them were going to give the world one hell of a show.

“GO!”

With a bang from Midnight’s starting pistol, Neito shot forward. He needed to copy Midoriya’s quirk as fast as possible. He tried to slap his open palm against his opponent, but almost before he had started moving, Midoriya was dodging to the left out of the way. Oh, this was brilliant!

Maybe his quirk was something to do with precognition? That would explain why he hadn’t tried for the entrance exam, it was too combat focused. He couldn’t wait to find out what it was, but he needed to touch him first!

Unfortunately, that was proving easier said than done. He had completely tuned out the commentary at this point, focused entirely on trying to land even a single hit. Midoriya, however, was insanely nimble. He dodged every hit. It was an impressive display, but also a frustrating one as it just dragged the fight out, and not in a way that would entertain their audience. He could tell they were starting to get restless.

“You just gonna dodge the whole fight, Gen Ed?” he taunted as Izuku slid under him. “Come on, let’s give everyone a real show!”

His taunt had exactly the effect Neito had been hoping for. He saw Midoriya’s stance shift, and now, instead of dodging, he shot forward like a rocket. Neito had just barely the reaction time to calculate his play. Taking a full hit would be too much, but he still needed to touch Midoriya. He leaned to the side, almost but not quite out of the way. The skin of Midoriya’s knuckles grazed his cheek, just barely brushing him, less than a second of skin contact. But it was more than enough. He couldn’t hide the feral grin on his face.

And then… nothing. He had gained nothing, at all. Normally, when he copied a quirk, he could immediately feel it in his gut. Todoroki’s quirk, for example, had felt like he had just downed a whole pot of scaldingly hot tea and a full liter of supercooled ice water, and the two refused to mix. Even the weakest of quirks still felt like something.

That was when it hit him, all at once. Midoriya’s quirk had been a complete mystery, when the answer had been staring him right in the face. The phenomenon of 1-C, the Gen Ed wonder, the kid who’d beaten Ingenium’s brother, was quirkless!

This is too much. He couldn’t hold back his laughter anymore. What an incredible twist! It seemed so obvious in hindsight.

“Oh, this is brilliant!” he said. A quirkless kid was showing them all up. “No, you’re absolutely brilliant!” He could see the look of concern on Midoriya’s face, the way he took a step back.

He decided immediately that he was not going to expose Midoriya, especially not on national television. Something like this was already hard enough on him, of that he had no doubt. He wouldn’t be keeping a secret so strenuously if he didn’t have good reasons. Exposing him on national TV would just be cruel and, whatever else Monoma was, he wasn’t cruel.

Fate, however, had other plans. He had missed whatever Eraserhead had just said, but Present Mic’s response he heard loud and all too clear. “Oh yeah, that’s right. Since Midoriya’s quirkless, Monoma doesn’t have anything to copy.”

The silence that fell over the stadium was deafening. Neito drowned in a tidal wave of red, seething rage. How dare they?

“You bastard!” he shouted, shooting the announcer’s box with both the nastiest glare he could and a hand gesture he was sure was going to be censored before being broadcast. As he turned back to Midoriya, he couldn’t help but see him in a new light now. Neito knew exactly how shitty society was to people without nice, pleasant, or showy quirks. He could remember the insults hurled at him for his own quirk, how he was little better than quirkless since he had to copy others’ powers to use his own. How much worse must it be to actually be quirkless?

“Oi! Midoriya!” he shouted, seeing his opponent was distracted, “the fight’s here! Those guys don’t matter!” He needed to get Midoriya’s head back in the game, to get him into the fight so he could show everyone how skilled he was, without a quirk. At this point, his own victory didn’t matter to him. He needed to see Midoriya show everyone up, especially after he was exposed in such a public way, and that meant giving them one hell of a show.

“W-what?” Midoriya stammered, the sudden shift in both topic and attitude clearly throwing him.

“I said, those guys don’t matter! We promised our audience a show, so let’s give it to them.” Ever the showman, he couldn’t help but dramatically throw his arms wide like a circus ringleader. “Let’s show the whole world what you can do!”

Neito knew where he worked best. He was a mirror. He helped others to shine as bright as possible, to reflect their light and help them to truly shine. He was not the star of this show, not the hero of this story. He knew he was going to lose this fight, but that didn’t matter to him. What mattered is that it would be a spectacular loss.

He laughed again as Midoriya returned his grin. “Let’s dance.”

Izuku felt like something was off when Midnight declared him the winner, the thought almost muffling the crowd’s hollering and Present Mic’s commentary. Monoma hadn’t held back, Izuku was sure of it, but something in the back of his head told him that he wouldn’t have fallen out of bounds like he did. When the word “pity” popped into his head, he felt that old rage in his gut, the one he spent years channeling into focus and determination, change tracks within him.

Then he turned to Monoma, laughing on the ground as though he just had the time of his life. Not the smile of someone who felt they were doing charity on a whim, or like they thought the fight was inconsequential, and that fire returned to its normal course.

— Fax Machine is the weirdest one so far, — Nemo commented, — if my calculations were right, and they always are, he’d have stepped out of bounds anyways, he just threw himself off to make it more dramatic. —

‘Dramatic’. That was what the whole fight so far had been, right? Between the tight spots with a miraculous opening Monoma had placed him in, and the similar turnabouts that Izuku suffered, he realized this was the kind of fight he’d see in a battle shonen manga, dragged out by a good ten chapters and with several pages of exposition for each twist.

Suddenly, the crowd seemed all that louder, and Izuku hoped he wasn't shrinking into himself from the attention. It wasn't unwelcome, he realized, not after Aizawa and Present Mic had outed him so unceremoniously, but there was another person’s hand involved in that. He walked up to the owner of that hand, sprawled on the ground, and extended his own.

“What a show,” Izuku smiled.

“The best I can offer,” Monoma replied with a smirk, taking it. “Shame I couldn’t play myself up a bit more, though. I kept expecting something to happen whenever we touched, and it threw me off.”

Perhaps it was Izuku’s time with ABIS agents that should watch what they say around their younger coworkers, but he couldn’t help but blush at that phrasing.

“O-Old habits die hard, right?” He replied, trying to stick to Monoma’s intended subject. “You were still pretty impressive against Todoroki, so I’m sure this fight didn’t hurt your chances too much.”

— Actually, I’m sure this fight didn’t hurt his chances at all, — Nemo sniped, — his melodrama will probably score him some points with the fujoshis, at least. —

— Nemo, not here! —

— Hey, that was a compliment! Boss and Tesa are both in that category! —

“Well, what happens, happens,” his smirk grows into a grin. “But I think Vlad-sensei won’t let me near 1-A’s classroom door for a while. If I get close, Eraserhead and Present Mic will get more than just a piece of my mind.”

“I could hear at least one of my friend’s swearing at him when it happened,” Izuku laughed as they walked to the stairs leading to the gate.

“Now for the finale.” Monoma stopped Izuku with his arm, then climbed down the stairs on his own and at last turned around. Izuku couldn’t contain the amusement in his face when Monoma made an exaggerated movement with his hand and bowed. If the crowd’s excitement had abated after the fight, it returned with newfound furor.

“Monoma’s bowing to Midoriya! Yet another hero student paying him that level of respect! If it wasn’t clear already, it looks like we’re in for a tough contender!”

— That’s what I’m fucking talking about! — There was no denying the grin on Nemo’s face when he appeared beside Monoma, holding the camera from their VR sequences as though documenting the scene for posterity. A camera crane, also operated by Nemo, appeared beside Izuku, along with a screen with instructions that read ‘strike a pose and exit, stage left!’

So Izuku turned to it, turned to the narrator’s booth behind the projection, and gave it the nastiest ‘fuck you’ glare he could before putting on the stage smile and throwing his thumbs up to the audience.

They walked out after that. Monoma had called him a natural in the ‘backstage’, as it were, and wished him good luck before heading to 1-B’s seats. Alone, Izuku’s mind circled back to the moment of the outing. The way Present Mic said it aloud like an afterthought. Ironically, if it was a private conversation, Izuku knew he would have felt pleased by the casualty of it.

— Dumpster Diver really should practice what he fucking preaches, — Nemo cut through his darker thoughts before they formed yet again, — what was all that about being logical and pragmatic, and still having fucking zero situational awareness? —

Izuku had to concur. The crowd was ecstatic thanks to Monoma’s spectacle, but that initial silence; that second of ‘what did you just say?’ that washed over everyone, even Aizawa and Mic, still chilled him. He could say as much to their face, all he’d have to do was ask Nemo to guide him to the booth.

But the tournament was still on, and he was in the middle of an investigation. He’d rather not get even more attention about that than he needed, Izuku told himself through gritted teeth.

“Okaaaaay, listeners! That’s enough downtime! Tune in for the next showdown in a second, where the second of the Gen Ed revolutionaries takes the arena against 1-A’s God of Thunder!”

The mention of Kaminari brought Izuku back to Earth, and then he remembered how much he had told – or rather, hadn’t told – to his friends. Shit.

Izuku was a coward, and he knew it. — Nemo, mute my phone unless it’s an emergency. — He really didn’t want to deal with any of this right now. He knew he should have told his friends sooner, that this sort of thing could have happened, but it had never seemed like the right time!

As he headed through the corridor towards the locker room, he saw Kaminari walking towards him, his phone pressed to his ear. He looked troubled, if not outright panicked, and he seemed to be having some sort of heated argument with whoever was on the other end of the call.

“I swear, I didn’t–” he started to say, before apparently being cut off.

— Nemo, don’t, — Izuku ordered immediately, knowing exactly what Nemo was thinking. He was a coward, but he was no hypocrite. Kaminari’s personal issues were his to solve or share as he wished.

— But Yamikumo, — he started to say before Izuku cut him off.

— This is none of our business. I’m ordering you not to tap or hack into his phone. Don’t even look at who he’s talking to. — Izuku’s tone made it clear this wasn’t up for debate, and Nemo dropped it with a huff.

Kaminari froze as his eyes met Izuku’s, his whole body seizing up. A flurry of emotions flashed across his face, too fast for Izuku to catch, before he managed to lock it down to a blank smile, the ‘can’t deal with this right now’ kind. He pointed to the phone, rolling his eyes. Izuku barely had a chance to say anything, to apologize for not telling him, before Kaminari had turned and headed off the other way. Izuku tried to not let it hurt him, to feel like he had messed up one of his first real friendships irrevocably Kaminari had his first fight coming up soon, after all. He didn’t need to be dealing with Izuku’s issues, especially after Izuku had lied to him, had made him lie on national television, even if it were just a lie of omission.

— I’ll have to apologize to him after the Festival. Remind me, okay, Nemo? — he said, letting out a sigh as he kept walking.

— He’ll get over it, Yamikumo. You didn’t have to tell him anything! —

Izuku was going to argue, say that friends shouldn’t keep big things like this from each other, when he felt a pair of rough, calloused hands grab him and pull him into a side hallway.

“Dude!” Eijiro said as he spun Izuku around, holding him up by the shoulders. His face was pulled tight in anger, a rare expression on his face, but it didn’t seem to be directed at him. “How are you holding up? You didn’t answer my texts!”

Izuku relaxed almost immediately. Eijiro had already known, so he wouldn’t be mad at him, maybe the only friend who wouldn’t be.

“Eijiro…” he said. He didn’t want to go back. He couldn’t.

“What the hell, dude? How could they do that?” The sheer rage in Eijiro’s voice, the venom dripping from it, caught Izuku off-guard. If Izuku didn’t know any better, he’d have said that Eijiro’s eyes were literally sparking with rage.

“It was going to come out anyway,” he said, “if I want to get into the hero course, I was going to have to go pub-”

“That doesn’t excuse Aizawa-sensei and Hizashi-sensei exposing you like that, on national television!” There was something off in how Eijiro said their names. Had he ever used their actual names instead of their hero names before? He looked ready to punch the nearest wall in the absence of their faces. It was nice, if Izuku were being honest with himself, to see someone so angry on his behalf, especially towards a teacher.

“It sucks,” he found himself saying, “it really sucks. I wanted to have the chance to do this on my own schedule. I-I didn’t plan to keep it from everyone forever!” Izuku’s eyes squeezed closed in frustration. “It’s just… it was nice, you know, to not be the Quirkless kid for once! Just once, people judged me based on my own skills, rather than an-an accident of birth, an extra toe joint.” He took a steadying breath, trying to ground himself. “I don’t wanna be a useless deku again.”

“Midoriya,” Eijiro said, squeezing his shoulders, something that sounded almost like pity in his tone. Izuku flinched, before being pulled into another hug. “No one is gonna treat you differently. No one who matters, at any rate.”

Izuku wanted to believe him, he truly did. Sure, ABIS had become almost like a family for him, where he wasn’t judged for being quirkless at all. He even had Date, one of the most incredible people ever (all All Might excepted of course), who was Quirkless just like him. But they were different, different from the rest of the world. Not everyone was created equal. That was a lesson he had learned the hard way.

“You know, I was watching your whole manly match with my classmates. And can you guess what they said when Yamada-sensei exposed you like that?”

Izuku didn’t want to know, didn’t want to hear how disappointed and betrayed they felt, due to his lies.

“Sure, they were shocked at first. Well, most of them. Bakugo seemed unphased for some reason. Sero actually dropped his drink right onto Aoyama’s head!” Eijiro laughed, “oh the look on his face. He had to run off to wash it off right away.”

— I bet Frenchie was pissed, — Nemo snickered. Izuku mentally shushed him.

“But after the initial shock, they were angry.” Yeah, Izuku had expected that. “Angry on your behalf. I think I actually learned some new English swears from what Bright said about Yamada-sensei.” Izuku felt his own lips pulling into a matching smile. “Did you know Uraraka slips into Kansai-ben when she gets angry? I had no idea!”

As Eijiro spoke, Izuku found himself relaxing in his arms. Eijiro wouldn’t lie to him, wouldn’t make things up just to make him feel better. He didn’t keep things from him. So; if he said it, it had to be true, right? Maybe things would be different here, after all.

“They weren’t mad I lied to them?” he had to ask.

Eijiro shook his head. “Not for a second.”

Izuku let out a sigh of relief, like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He had more to say, more he wanted to know, but Midnight’s voice over the PA system cut them off.

“Eijiro Kirishima, please head to the eastern arena entrance and get ready for your match,” the tinny voice echoed down the corridor.

“Wait, already?” Eijiro asked aloud, “Denki’s match just started!”

Right, Kaminari was supposed to fight Shinso after Izuku’s match, as if to add injury to insult. He was the one who had said on TV that Izuku had a quirk – on primetime news, in fact. Shinso probably got to him through that, the asshole that he is. Another reason to apologize to him later, even if he wasn’t mad, like Eijiro said.

Eijiro had no choice but to let Izuku go. He took a step back, heading in the opposite direction.

“Eijiro!” Izuku called after him. He stopped and looked back. “Go kick some ass out there!”

Eijiro grinned, his sharp teeth almost seeming to shine in the light. “Yeah, you too, dude! Let’s get to the finals together!”

Izuku returned his grin. “Together!”

— Yamikumo, someone’s coming. —

The door further down the corridor rattled before swinging open, and Aoyama, his hair slightly damp, tried to hurry out, nearly running right into Izuku. Izuku stepped back just in time to avoid that, and Aoyama barely managed to avoid falling on his face.

“Ah, Monsieur Midoriya,” he greeted, showing Izuku an awkward smile. “Do forgive my current state, will you? I had a… mishap a few minutes ago.”

“Eijiro told me,” Izuku rubbed the back of his head, smiling back at him. “Sorry, I guess that was my fault, kinda…”

“Mais non, circumstances just couldn’t be more unfortunate for either of us. You did no wrong, and it isn’t like some soda will ruin my shimmeringly brilliant self.”

— ‘Shimmering’? More like ‘boiling’! Baguette here is about to turn into a fucking toast with how hot his thermography is reading! —

— It is a pretty embarrassing thing to happen to you. —

“Still, I feel the need to ask,” Aoyama’s lighthearted demeanor gave way to a somber tone, “now that Present Mic has made it public, it’ll make you an even greater celebrity, and not necessarily the good kind. Are you sure you want that kind of attention?”

Izuku didn’t answer immediately. Not for lack of an answer – falling into the public’s good graces was welcome, but ultimately immaterial – but rather because the idea deserved serious thought regardless. Monoma had wanted to prop Izuku up through their fight; to make everyone watching cheer for him with fervor they wouldn’t have had if it went differently. Not everyone was going to do that. If anything, they would want to tear him down. Even if they didn’t, he would inevitably mess up. Hell, even All Might had had his share of controversy over the years!

“If you think you’re not cut out for the limelight, now’s the time to reconsider,” Aoyama continued over Izuku’s silence. “You can be more discreet; have a less public appearance. Aizawa-sensei isn’t that famous despite his skills. He blends in.”

The question hung in the air while Izuku mulled it over, but Aoyama seemed to be finished with that topic, bringing back that self-assured smile that featured in the conversations they’ve had together. “Anyways, congratulations on getting into the semifinals! Your next opponent should be getting decided now, n’est ce pas?”

“You could say that,” Izuku shrugged. He was more than confident he could beat Shinso, so it’d come down to whoever won between Eijiro, Estelle Bright, and Mashirao Ojiro.

— Because Boomjob quit. I wonder if it’d be better to watch someone else knock him out or to punch his face in ourselves… —

“Unfortunately, I could not shine as brightly as I wanted to during the second round, but if all goes well, I’d appreciate a match against you someday, cher,” Aoyama put a hand on Izuku’s shoulder as he walked by. “I think everyone would like to have a go at you.”

— We can take them all, — Nemo replied, almost rattling in Izuku’s eye-socket at the challenge.

— No, we can’t! —

“Well, I hope I make for a good sparring partner then,” Izuku said.

“After what I’ve seen today? It’ll be a match for the ages, my dear Midoriya.”

Watching Eijiro fight Bright from the gallery instead of the changing room was definitely better, Izuku had to admit, even if it might cost him on prep time for the fight against Shinso.

— Then again, — the parts of his mind that Nemo and the others rubbed off on provided, — he might need more prep time than I do. —

— Hell yeah, he does! — Nemo laughed, his projection held onto a pair of binoculars as he observed the arena. — Damn, that Bright girl knows how to sass a guy up. —

— You’re reading their lips? —

— When I can. I can’t get a good look at them all the time. Sponge-hands looks pissed, though. — As he spoke, Nemo overlayed Izuku’s vision with a zoom in on the arena, clearing his fantastical throat to speak in her voice. — “So, wanna see who hits harder with that quirk of yours?” —

“Right, she can mimic materials she touched!” Izuku brought it up aloud, bringing his classmates’ attention to him as well. “She wants to counter his hardening by hardening herself as well!”

“Wouldn’t peg her for the type,” Narukami chimed in and everyone burst out laughing while Izuku tried not to show his embarrassment.

“Y-you guys know what I mean!” he yelled. “Look! The fight is more level now! That said, Eijiro's quirk also gives him a strength boost, and Bright’s quirk doesn’t let her copy the quirk itself like Monoma’s. Rather, while the material over her skin is the same as Eijiro’s, she still has to deal with his greater strength. She can’t take a hit head on – inertia would still screw her up – so unless she finds a way to hit him harder and more frequently, Eijiro still has a pretty clear advantage that–”

— So the Shirtless Wonder isn’t anywhere close to losing. Relax, Yamikumo. —

Izuku didn’t fight the blush this time. The others would think it was because he got caught up in his mumbling again, which was embarrassing, but not as much as getting hit with Nemo’s impeccable timing for inopportune innuendos.

“Eijiro, huh?” Bito asked from his seat. “You two friends or somethin’?”

“Yeah, we are,” Izuku smiled, turning around to look at his classmates. “We met up after taking the heroics entrance exam. You two would get along well, actually.”

“I dunno man; I’m not really cut out for hero pals,” he sighed, leaning forward. He looked at the arena, but didn’t seem too focused on it. “Tell you guys the truth, it was a damn miracle I made it here in the first place. No way a guy who has to deal with the stuff they dish out in class plus hero training would wanna be buddies with me.”

“He would!” Izuku replied immediately, jumping to his feet. “Eijiro’s really nice, and he enjoys chatting with everyone! I bet you two would find something fun to talk about really quickly. He wouldn’t try to avoid you over something as dumb as not keeping up with academics. Hell! He’d probably call you manly as hell for getting into UA even when you’re struggling–”

“And he’s got a big dick!” Narukami cut Izuku off with a supportive tone that almost tricked him into agreeing. Some people laughed, and he could swear Kurosuzu was looking at him like her affinity for the occult gave her some sort of revelation. “But seriously, you two seem very close. I don’t mean to pry, especially after what happened earlier, but are you sure he’s just a friend to you?”

The world froze for a second along with Izuku’s thoughts. He’d been teased time and again by Nemo over this, and not without reason: Eijiro featured in many parts of Izuku’s mind, including his dreams. Especially his dreams, and Nemo knew them better than Izuku himself did. But it was always just teasing.

Izuku’s thoughts had never veered deeper into this subject, and why would they? Sure, Izuku’s improved – he can do much more now than when he jumped between Mr. Date and that glass ball that claimed his eye – but he still can’t manage a conversation without venturing down into mumble streaks, without gushing about quirks and practically vomiting his thoughts at an unintelligible rate. Those talks with Eijiro were heartfelt, but Izuku couldn’t shake the feeling that anyone who liked being with him only liked it in moderation.

Like they would turn away when Izuku went from a nice company to overwhelming.

“We’re just friends, that’s-that’s all.” Izuku’s cheeks darkened as he looked down at his lap. Just friends.

“Is that all you want to be, Midoriya? Just friends?” Narukami asked as he fixed Izuku with that deeply penetrating stare. It was almost unsettling. And perhaps even more unsettling? The fact Izuku didn’t have an answer even for himself.

Chapter Text

Estelle tried to focus, she really did. She wanted to root for her friend, to support Sparky in his big fight, but she just couldn’t focus. Her mind kept wandering as they waited for the battle to start.

The word ‘quirkless’ kept echoing in her head. Present Mic announcing that Kirishima’s little Gen Ed friend was quirkless, live on national television, after he’d already beaten Iida and was in the process of beating that copycat jerk, had certainly shockwaves through the audience. To say her and her classmates had been surprised would be an understatement.

Anger followed next. She’d definitely said some words that’d get Joshua sighing and scolding her for language unbefitting a hero. Words she had learned from hanging around Agate for far too long.

But, unlike the rest of her classmates, there were two who didn’t seem shocked at all. Kirishima hadn’t even looked surprised. He looked… resigned. Like this was something he had been expecting to happen eventually, and hadn’t wanted it to happen like this. He was close with Midoriya, so maybe he’d already known. He also looked angry, glaring up at the announcer’s box with a look she hadn’t seen since the USJ.

The other surprise there was Blasty. In the month or so she’d known that overdramatic ass, he had had zero ability to moderate any of his reactions at all. With him, what you saw was what you got. In some ways, it was honestly refreshing, compared to a certain brother of hers who had a real bad habit of not letting anyone see what he was really feeling. And what you got when Midoriya was revealed to be quirkless was… nothing. Just a scoff. “‘bout time,” he had muttered under his breath, “how long did you really think you could hide it, Deku?” There was, surprisingly, no anger in his tone like she would have expected. Just a neutral, almost pitying statement. One that, if she hadn’t been sitting right next to him, she would never have heard it. No one else seemed to.

“‘Deku,’ huh?” she whispered to him. The word felt like an insult. A mean one. Bakugo started.

“None of your business, Stick for Brains,” he hissed with a glare. Yeah, he definitely had history with Midoriya, and oh, how she wanted to pry. But alas, she could also tell, from the look in his eyes, that that was a bad idea.

“Who are you calling Stick for Brains, Boom for Brains?!” she shouted, deciding to cut off that topic here. He saw him smirk almost in thanks, before leaning back with his hands behind his back, closing his eyes. Well, almost. She could tell he was watching as Midoriya won the fight, and he was clearly fighting back a bit of a smirk.

By the time Kaminari was walking out onto the field, Estelle was still letting her thoughts wander. Knowing he was Quirkless made some of Midoriya’s behavior make more sense. For a guy who wanted to be a hero, he was weirdly shy. Kirishima had had to practically drag him to meet them. It reminded her of Joshua, her brother. Her quirkless brother. When he’d come to live with them, he had been so shy around other people, and the way people had looked at him, with pity on their faces upon learning he was quirkless, galled her. He didn’t need their pity, he could kick all of their asses without breaking a sweat! And yet, people always discounted him for being quirkless. The same way she could tell they were discounting Midoriya now.

Any further thoughts on the topic were cut off by Present Mic. “Oh, what’s this? Kaminari has turned around and started walking out of the arena!” She jerked forward, leaning over the railing to get a closer look.

Estelle could only watch as her friend, for seemingly no reason, was giving up on the fight without even trying. She’d missed whatever Shinso had said to him, but what the hell could he have said? Kaminari had been so excited for this, to show off what he could do!

“Oi! Sparky! What the hell are you doing?!” She shouted down at him, he didn’t seem to hear her, despite her position right over his entrance to the arena. He just kept walking, his expression vacant. A moment later, his foot crossed the boundary. A buzzer sounded. He lost.

“He won!” Izuku cheered, leaping out of his seat as the stadium roared. Eijiro stood in the center ring, panting and clearly spent but victorious. Bright had landed in a heap outside the ring, Eijiro’s final punch having sent her flying. Even before Eijiro had left the ring, Izuku was on his feet, rushing back inside to go and congratulate him after such a long, gruelling fight. Both him and Bright, for that matter. She’d done an incredible job, too!

He tried not to think about what Narukami had said before, the questions he had asked. He couldn’t think about it. — Like there could ever be anything more between me and Eijiro. —

— Yamikumo, — Nemo said. He sounded almost at a loss. It was a strange tone to hear in his voice. Izuku pretended he didn’t hear it, didn’t hear him. Even if it weren’t an impossibility, he couldn’t think about that right now. Between the festival and the much bigger issue of the traitor case, an impossible romance was a distraction he couldn’t afford.

He found Eijiro and Bright both in one of the corridors beneath the stadium, walking together as they talked. Both of them looked to be in good spirits. Well, Bright looked a little down, but not angry or upset. She seemed… satisfied, for lack of a better word.

“I swear, Hard Head, you sure you aren’t packing a strength quirk as well? I could feel that final punch of yours making my bones rattle, and that’s while I was all hard like you!” Izuku could hear her say once he was close enough.

Eijiro almost looked briefly alarmed, before quickly brushing it off with a laugh. “Nah, I can just punch harder thanks to my quirk shielding me from the knock back! Plus, I could really go all Plus Ultra with you hardened like that! I knew you could take it!” Eijiro laughed. A moment later, his eyes met Izuku’s. A grin split his lips.

“Izuku!” Eijiro called out. Izuku tried to ignore how his stomach flipped at the way Eijiro said his name. Miss Bright also had a grin on her face as she looked between them, as if she had just realized something.

“Midoriya! Great to see you!”

“That was an amazing fight, you guys,” Izuku gushed. “It really could’ve gone either way, with both of you all hardened and giving it your all. Your quirk was really well suited against Eijiro’s, Bright! And-and those moves! I had no idea you were a martial artist! But it makes sense, given who your fa–“ Any further rambling was cut off as Miss Bright took a couple steps forward and rested a hand on shoulder. Izuku froze, his cheeks darkening.

“I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone,” she whispered into his ear. The blush on Izuku’s face deepened into a bright red as he tried to scramble to correct her, but she just plowed on. “Besides, I bet Joshua will be blowing up my phone any second. But, before I go,” she said. Her voice dropped the teasing tone. She fixed Izuku with a hard look, her grip tight on his shoulder. Izuku blanched. Had he done something to offend her somehow? “Midoriya, if anyone gives you shit for being quirkless, you have the official Bright Permission to punch them right in their dumb face.”

Nemo burst out into laughter. — Oh, I think I like her! —

“I-I really don’t think that’s permission you’re authorized to give!” Izuku squawked. Eijiro also had the gall to laugh.

“I dunno, I think I’m on Estelle’s side here, dude! And if you don’t wanna punch ‘em yourself, lemme do it!” he said, slamming his fist into his palm with a wicked grin on his lips.

“No one is punching anyone!” Izuku whined.

— I think you’re outvoted here. It's either punching, or the Tutor from Hell’s pipe to the face, Yamikumo. Your pick! — Nemo added, with that edge of glee his voice got whenever violence came up. Izuku had to wonder if everyone in law enforcement was that eager to commit assault for his sake.

“Alright, alright, no punching,” Bright said, a bit too chipper. Izuku breathed a sigh of relief that at least one of them was being reasonable. “Thankfully, I have a very large stick to brain people with instead! Anyway, you and Eijiro have fun, alright?” She flashed them a grin before all but skipping off. She was gone before Izuku could even protest.

“If you win this, you’re onto the final fight, right?” Eijiro said, jerking Izuku’s attention back from Bright and towards the fight to come.

“Yeah, Shinso and I are half of the semi-finals. And you’re in the other, right?” Izuku said.

“Yeah. Me versus Ojiro. He moved right up, since Bakugo withdrew. Still can’t wrap my head around that.” Izuku’s friend shook his head.

“Yeah, Kacchan’s always been… like that,” Izuku said. It was basically a mantra he repeated to himself so often that it came out almost without thinking about it. “He wants to win on his own, not because someone else gave it to him.” Izuku remembered the one time they’d been assigned to work together on a group project in school. Kacchan had insisted on doing all the work himself.

“Kacchan?” Eijiro said, his voice falling. “You and Bakugo, huh? Guess I can see it. Who wouldn’t wanna be with a manly guy like Bakugo, right?” There was an undercurrent of something Izuku couldn’t quite identify in his voice.

Izuku froze, his mind skidding to halt. What? Him and Bakugo what? Shit, he hadn’t meant to let slip that they knew each other! “Um, we, uh, we went to the same elementary and middle schools. That’s all,” he said quickly.

“That long, huh?” Eijiro said, kicking the ground. Izuku tilted his head. Before he could say anything, there was a voice over the PA system.

“Izuku Midoriya, please report to the east corridor for your fight.”

Eijiro flashed Izuku a grin, giving his shoulder a light punch. “Go kick some ass! We’ll meet up again in the ring for the finals, yeah?”

Izuku returned the grin with one of his own. “Count on it!”

The audience at last began to give signs that the day had been wearing down their throats, despite Present Mic’s best efforts. The cheering and hollering was still audible, still thumping on the walls of the arena, but it wasn’t as intense as it had been in the earlier rounds, wasn’t as overbearing.

Izuku took a few deep breaths. Shinso was waiting on the other side, expecting to eventually talk enough to get Izuku to slip up, despite the fact that he knew how Shinso’s quirk worked.

— He’s really full of himself, huh? — Nemo quipped, and Izuku smiled instead of pointing out the hypocrisy of Nemo calling anyone conceited. He vibrated slightly in Izuku’s eye-socket, letting him know of his indignation at that stray thought.

— Truth be told, it’s not like there’s no merit to that approach. Knowing someone’s trying to get under your skin is sometimes not enough to keep them from doing it. If nothing else, constantly thinking ‘I must not say anything’ makes it easier to slip up, — Izuku replied, stopping before the arch that separated the corridor from the arena proper. — Heck! I’d have a hard time if I tried. —

— Fortunately, you have me to make sure you don’t give him the satisfaction! — Nemo quipped right back. — You can always let me handle the sassing. Besides, if push comes to shove I can always shock your body into shape, — he laughed, the buzzing in Izuku’s eye socket returning as his arm and hand involuntarily twisted into a raised finger facing the entrance.

— Have you ever thought of taking up drawing? —

— Nah, my kind ain’t exactly welcome in that field. Can’t say it’s undeserved, though. —

“Well, that’s enough downtime, my friends!” Present Mic called, “Now for the fight that I never thought I’d see! Not just one, but two Gen Ed students making it to the semifinals, facing each other down – meaning that for the first time in years, one of them will move on to the finals!

“So, everyone give your best cheers yet for today’s greatest surprises! Shinso Hitoshi, Enigma Extraordinaire, who finished all his fights within ten seconds of the starting buzzer without breaking a sweat; and Izuku Midoriya, clever martial artist, parkour connoisseur, and – if you’ll pardon the pun – quite the eyefull!”

Izuku groaned for a second before walking out onto the arena, looking at his and Shinso’s pictures on the giant screen; his one placing obvious highlights on his scarred left eye. UA somehow having good-looking shots of them that were clearly taken during the chaos of the previous rounds was frankly terrifying.

“So, you made it to the semifinals,” Shinso greeted. “Honestly, I wanted to take you on in the second round, but then they gave you that clutch while I had to get covered in paint. Not a pleasant experience.”

“On your marks, you two!” Midnight ordered from her spot.

“Then again, you’d have a hard time working with a team if you had to play. You’d have to tell them about your condition. And after Kaminari was so excited to talk about your cool quirk on national TV. So that was probably for the best, don’t you think?”

Izuku took his fighting stance, fist raised above his chin.

“And did anyone want to work with you?”

Shinso’s smirk became a grin when he heard Izuku’s voice.

“BEGIN!”

“Turn around and leave the arena.”

Izuku stood still. He stared ahead as Shinso’s grin turned into a confused frown. ‘He didn’t hear me’, he mumbled to himself, taking a few steps closer to Izuku. Izuku made sure to have Nemo record that for his notes on Shinso’s quirk; the subject had to be able to understand the orders.

“I said to turn around and leave the arena,” Shinso repeated, slightly more annoyed.

“Sorry, I don’t feel like it.” Izuku’s mouth didn’t move as he spoke, as he tackled Shinso towards the edge while he was still processing what just happened. They fell to the ground before he could take Shinso over the edge, and Shinso had recovered just enough to roll to the side before Izuku could pick him up for a throw. “Hey, you actually have reflexes! Wasn’t expecting that!”

Shinso’s mouth hung open when he realized Izuku wasn’t moving his mouth – wasn’t actually speaking to him. Izuku ran in for a punch to the chest that had Shinso keeling over. Before he could do anything else, Shinso threw himself towards Izuku, surprising him enough to make him stagger, and tried to use his weight to pin him down.

“How are you doing that?!” He demanded.

“Wouldn’t you like to know, raccoon boy?”

Izuku had to make some effort to stand back up, but Shinso couldn’t force him down for long, and, by the time Shinso was back up himself, Izuku’s foot swiftly connected to his side with enough force to bruise and force him over the boundary.

“And there you have it, listeners!” Present Mic’s yelling cut in before either of them could have said anything to one another, “In a real blitz of a match, Midoriya knocks Shinso out of bounds, and he doesn’t even look worse for wear! Any thoughts from the resident grump?”

“They’re classmates, so they must have had plenty of time to become familiar with each other’s approach to battle,” Eraserhead provided, “Shinso needs to work more on his hand-to-hand skills if he wants to engage any opponents who don’t or can’t trigger his speech-based quirk. It’s better than sitting out in an emergency.”

Izuku looked down on Shinso, who was clutching his side while trying to get himself back up. He wasn’t about to be cruel, as much as he felt a little voice in his head suspiciously similar to Boss’ telling him to leave Shinso to struggle, so he walked up to his classmate and extended a hand.

“Can I trust you to not try to brainwash me again?”

“Would it work?” Shinso winced as he looked up at Izuku, and he was quite proud of that. “Did you record yourself, or something?”

“Or something,” Izuku answered while pulling Shinso up. “You should go to the infirmary for that.”

“No shit,” he let go of Izuku’s hand. “Goddamn, you have a mean kick.”

“Made meaner just for you,” Izuku laughed, watching as Shinso held onto his side and began to walk down the stairs. Helping him up was enough being nice for today, and Nemo would have mentioned it if he cracked anything, so Shinso could handle the rest.

“Yeah, fine. Guess I should have seen that coming. See you in class, I guess.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you then.”

Izuku leaned hard against the wall. He brought the bottle to his lips, eagerly quaffing the ice cold water.

— Fuck yeah! We did it, Yamikumo! We actually made it to the finals! — Nemo’s grinning face filled half of his vision, as if he were standing next to him in his Somnium form. The wicked grin on his lips was infectious, and Izuku couldn’t help but return it. — Oh, the look on Eyebags’ face when I started talking, priceless! I’m gonna be playing the video of that over and over later. —

— He’s gonna keep asking how I did that, you know, — Izuku thought back. It was a concern, after all. He didn’t have any way to convincingly explain it. While Shinso had seemed to accept the idea of a recording, Izuku knew there were too many holes in their story, Nemo’s responses had been too specific, for it to keep him satisfied for too long.

— Well, too bad for him! I’m classified, after all! He can suck it the fuck up. —

Izuku snickered under his breath as he pushed himself off the wall and started heading for the locker room. He knew he should probably be watching Eijiro and Ojiro’s brawl, but he had no doubts Eijiro would win. And, more importantly, he knew he didn’t have any good tricks to use against his friend. In terms of pure, muscular strength, he wasn’t even close to a match. That was before he took his quirk into account. His Hardening both made any hits Izuku could land utterly ineffective, and it somehow enhanced his strength to make him hit harder. The open arena left him little room for any tricks either, and he didn’t have a weakness he could exploit like with Iida. He needed to try and think of an idea, and this was the best time for it.

“Izuku! There’s the star of the show!” A voice calling out made him jump. A second later, Miss Mizuki’s fist slammed lightly, for her, into his shoulder. “You kicked some serious ass out there!”

“Miss Mizuki!” he said as he rubbed his shoulder, wincing a bit. That had hurt. “Aren’t you supposed to be working security?”

— Yes, we are! — Aiba said. — But Mizuki insisted on coming to see you. She wanted to talk after your fight with Monoma, but she couldn’t decide between that or, to use her words, ‘ripping those dicks up in the announcer’s booth a new asshole.’ —

“Enough about that!” she said before Izuku could even think of a coherent reply. “Today’s about you, and you murdering everyone out there!” The grin on her face was more than a bit terrifying.

“I-I haven’t been murdering anyone!” Izuku insisted, his arms flailing. It wasn’t like that. Both Nemo and Miss Mizuki laughed at his expense.

“Just because we’re cops doesn’t mean we can’t murder our rivals metaphorically!” she said, slamming her fist into her palm with a thick smack. “Although, you would probably be doing even better if they let you bring your Evolver.”

Izuku wanted to scream. “I-I shouldn’t be bringing a gun to the Sports Festival! I’m not trying to kill anyone!”

— That is correct. You are not authorized to use lethal rounds yet. — Aiba jumped in. She was Izuku’s favorite right now. — Stun rounds, either in taser or flashbang form, or anaesthetic rounds would be much more effective. — Aiba was no longer Izuku’s favorite.

“I’m doing fine enough without my Evolver!” Izuku whined. He was! Although a wire round would’ve been nice against Iida, to tie up his legs.

— I dunno, shooting Eyebags or Blasty with a taser round could be fun! —

“Yeah! The look on their faces when you pull that out would be priceless!” Mizuki laughed.

“You are not helping!” Izuku crossed his arms over his chest, huffing. “Besides, I’m supposed to be undercover. If I pull out my Evolver, there’s gonna be a lot of questions I can’t answer without exposing myself.”

“See, that’s why I never take undercover assignments,” Miss Mizuki said with a smirk, her hands folded behind her head. “I leave those for Hasegawa.”

— Actually, you have never been offered undercover work, Mizuki. Both Boss and Date agree that you are ‘unsuited’ for such an assignment, — Aiba chimed in.

— Somehow, I doubt that’s the wording Boss and Detective Porno Mag used, — Nemo added.

Izuku could see the argument brewing. “Who’s Hasegawa?” he said, jumping in before Miss Mizuki could respond.

“Oh, him. He’s another guy in our department. You haven’t met him, he’s on a long-term job,” she said.

— Mizuki, Best Jeanist is calling. He likely wants to discuss plans for getting everyone out of the stadium. — Aiba’s comment cut off Izuku from asking more.

“Shit, gotta go, Izuku. I’ll be cheering for ya! Go kick that guy’s ass!” she shouted back to him as she hurried off.

Izuku waved after her for a moment, before he turned the corner and continued heading for the locker room. As he walked, he realized something.

— Wait! I was gonna tell her about what we figured out about the break-in! —

— You’ll have plenty of time later! I’ve already sent the video to HQ, and besides, it’s not immediately urg– —

“Oi, nerd!”

Izuku froze. He slowly turned, finding himself face to face with Kacchan. He had just come around the corner with an unreadable expression on his face. Izuku couldn’t figure it out, and that concerned him. He knew Kacchan better than he knew himself, and he could read most of his expressions as if they were words on a page. It was unsettling to suddenly find a new language in them. Granted, it had been a while since they had actually talked. Izuku hadn’t realized what time apart truly meant, it seemed.

“Hey, you just gonna stare at me with your jaw hanging open like a dumbass, or are ya gonna actually answer me?” Kacchan growled, a bit more muted than Izuku remembered. It was enough to snap him out of his reverie.

“Oh, um, what-what do you wanna talk about, Kacchan?” Izuku said. He rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. He hated how his voice still stuttered a bit when faced with Kacchan looming over him. He was glad Nemo was staying quiet for now, letting him focus on this.

“Your fight with Shitty Hair’s next, yeah?” Kacchan grunted. He’d crossed his arms over his chest, as if to remind Izuku of how much bigger they were than his. Whatever weird, unreadable look had been on his face was gone, replaced with a milder version of his usual ‘angrily-resting’ expression.

“Yeah?” Izuku said with more than a touch of confusion. “I-I mean, that’s right, Kacchan. A-assuming he beats Ojiro, of course.”

Kacchan rolled his eyes. “Tailman’s good, but he ain’t gonna be a challenge for him,” he said as he took a step forward, resting a firm hand on Izuku’s shoulder. Izuku tried not to wince, but he couldn’t help it. Memories of burns flashed too readily in his head. “Just make sure you give Shitty Hair a good fight, Deku. Don’t wanna deal with him whining if you embarrass yourself.” The hand on his shoulder squeezed, but not painfully so.

— Who does this fucking dick think he is?! — Nemo growled, but Izuku ignored him as he failed to fight the smile that spread across his face, the kind of smile that usually made Kacchan look at him like he was stupid. Kacchan, for a second, snarled like he just realized he set off a trap; like when Izuku was about to go on a quirk tangent.

“I will, Kacchan, don’t you worry! Thanks for wishing me luck!”

Both Kacchan and Nemo sputtered. “I-I wasn’t-” Kacchan stammered, before cutting himself off by taking a calming breath. “Break a leg, Deku.” He gave Izuku’s shoulder another squeeze before pushing past him down the hall and around the corner.

As soon as he was gone, Izuku let out an unholy squealing noise, tears building up in his still intact eye. “Kacchan just wished me good luck!” he cackled, barely holding himself from skipping across the hall. The conversation played itself again in his mind, and again, and again. His laughter grew with each loop until it turned almost manic.

— Fuckin’ strange way to do it. Can’t that asshole just be straightforward for once? — Nemo grumbled. — What, is he embarrassed about being fucking nice? —

The question hung in the air between them for a second, as Nemo gave Kacchan’s words more thought. By the time Izuku was out of the hall, they were both chuckling.

“And this is it, ladies and gentlemen! The final round of the First Year Sports Festival!” Present Mic’s voice was quite tinny coming through the speakers in the corridor. Apparently UA spared no expense, except for the speakers in their big arena. Despite the morale boost from Kacchan of all people wishing him good luck (albeit in typical Kacchan fashion), Izuku couldn’t help but feel butterflies in his stomach, especially with the dull roar of the crowd rumbling through the concrete like an earthquake.

— I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this, — Izuku thought as he waited to be called.

— Don’t worry, you’re gonna kick some serious ass out there, Yamikumo! — Nemo’s voice was cocky, self-assured, confident. All the things Izuku wished he could be.

“Now let’s welcome our finalists! First into the ring is the Viridian Menace, the Gen Ed Phenomenon who’s taken the Sports Festival by storm! Give it up for our Round One Champion, Izuku Midoriya!” That was his cue.

Izuku stepped out into a wave of pure sound. The sunlight briefly blinded him as he made his way towards the center of the arena. Once his eyes had adjusted, he could see that any damage from the previous fights had been repaired by Cementoss during the intermission, leaving an untouched ring for the fight. Izuku looked around and took in the sight of the crowd as he arrived at his spot in the center ring. As soon as he was in place and the crowd’s roar had died down somewhat, Present Mic continued.

“And for his opponent, we’ve got the Rockstar from Class 1-A, the boy who took first place in the Entrance Exam, let’s have a warm round of applause for Eijiro Kirishima!”

The crowd roared as if on command as Eijiro made his way into the arena, all smiles and waves. — He really is a natural at this, — Izuku thought to himself. Eijiro had also already ripped the sleeves off of his new gym clothes to reveal his muscular arms, not that Izuku was complaining.

— I think this is his third set. The first one got wrecked by paint in the second round, and the second in his fight with Pigtails, — Nemo interjected as Eijiro made it to the center ring. — Why rip them off on purpose, though? He loses them so quickly you’d think his quirk is teleportin’ them away. — Izuku remained silent for the sake of his own dignity.

“You ready for this, Izuku?” Eijiro said as he cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders. He had a huge grin on his lips, which was so infectious Izuku couldn’t help but return it. That smile was all he needed to cool his nerves. The crowd almost seemed to vanish, like it was just him and Eijiro. Win or lose, he was gonna give it his all!

“Born ready!” he fired back, getting into position.

“Here we are, my dear listeners! The finale of one hell of a debut for our first years! Let’s end it with a real bang!” Present Mic called out, right as Midnight lifted the starting pistol into the air.

BANG!

Izuku immediately dodged to the left as Eijiro lunged at him with a mean right hook. It was honestly a bit easy to avoid, Nemo didn’t even have to say anything. As Eijiro skidded to a halt where he had been standing, Izuku’s leg kicked out to hit him in the gut with a firm smack. Eijiro hadn’t fully hardened yet, so the impact clearly did him some damage, knocking him back a bit.

“And we’re off to an exciting start! Midoriya dodges Kirishima’s opening attack like it’s nothing, and responds with a hard kick to the gut!” Present Mic’s voice boomed out as Izuku and Eijiro circled each other, looking for an opening. “What do you think, Eraser?”

“I think Kirishima should have been able to block that, either with his quirk or with his arms.” Eraserhead’s dry voice sounded almost suspicious. Izuku made an effort to block them out, to focus exclusively on Eijiro.

Izuku could see Eijiro’s next punch coming from a kilometer away, his shoulders telegraphing it quite clearly. Izuku just had to lean to the side to dodge. The fist sailed right past, the air whistling. He responded with a punch of his own. His fist slammed into Eijiro’s chest. The skin was noticeably hardening beneath his knuckles, but too late.

Eijiro stumbled back, the wind knocked out of him. Despite this, he still flashed Izuku a grin. Izuku’s heart skipped a beat. Eijiro’s fist hit Izuku’s gut. That should have sent him flying, he knew how strong Eijiro was. It knocked him back a bit. It hurt, but he’d had worse.

— Is he… — Nemo started to say. Izuku mentally cut him off.

He stopped and stared at Eijiro. His friend stopped, too.

“Izuku?” he asked. He had the gall to sound concerned. Genuinely concerned. Izuku gritted his teeth.

“You’re holding back.” It wasn’t a question. Izuku had seen Eijiro fight. He was a powerhouse. It was subtle, but he wasn’t putting his full force into his punches, he was telegraphing his movements too much, he wasn’t hardening as fast as Izuku knew he could. “You’re holding back!” He shouted again.

“Izuku, I-“ Eijiro began. Izuku didn’t let him finish. He immediately lunged forward, a flurry of punches all aimed right at him. Eijiro didn’t have time to think. He immediately hardened his skin, blunting the impact of Izuku’s fists. He hadn’t budged a centimeter.

“There,” Izuku said. His hands were still coiled into fists, shaking ever so slightly. “That’s what you should be doing!” Eijiro looked struck. “You’re not taking me seriously!” Izuku didn’t know when he had started shouting. Izuku didn’t know when his intact eye started watering. Izuku didn’t know when he had gotten close to Eijiro’s face. “Am I just a joke to you?!”

Eijiro’s fist slammed into Izuku’s face, splitting his lip and knocking him to the floor before he could say anything else. Izuku wiped some blood away from his mouth. He stared up at Eijiro.

“Of course you’re not a joke to me!” he snapped. “Do you really think I’d look down on you?”

“You were holding back!” Izuku snapped right back.

“I wasn’t trying to hold back, dude, I swear,” Eijiro said. “I just,” he rubbed the back of his neck, not quite meeting Izuku’s eyes, “I just want you in the hero course already, dude. You belong with us, y’know?”

Izuku stared. He breathed out, the anger slipping away with it. “I know, I do, too, but I wanna make it there on my own merits. No, I have to make it there on my own. If I get in just because my opponent was going easy on me, well, I wouldn’t feel worthy to stand there with you.”

Eijiro’s eyes squeezed closed, his fist clenched as he shook his head. “Dude, that’s so manly! The peak of manliness!” he said, his voice almost cracking from how choked up he was. As Izuku got to his feet, Eijiro slammed his fist into his palm, a wide grin on his face. “Alright, I can’t hold back after a speech like that! If you’re gonna give it all you got, so am I!”

— He really loves that word, huh? — Nemo snarked, but Izuku ignored him. He got into position, his stance firm. — Still, he better go through with this if he values his career! I’m already preparing to go to war on To-Witter and AzureCeleste against his ass! —

“You ready for this?” Izuku asked.

Eijiro laughed. “I was born ready, dude! Let’s rock!”

Chapter Text

Tomura was just about ready to jump over the counter and drink whatever booze he could get his hands on straight from the bottle, Kurogiri be damned. Alcohol was a better thing to pour over than that staggeringly uncooperative manual. He had stormed into the bar with words too complex for normal humans to pronounce floating in his head, just as they had started haunting his dreams lately.

“Good afternoon, Shigaraki,” Kurogiri had greeted when Tomura took his usual seat. “I have compiled a report on the UA Sports Festival so far, and people to watch out for in the coming years. Any progress on the device?”

“Those morons didn’t make the tutorial accessible at all.” Tomura slammed a fist on the counter. “It took us the whole fucking day just to power that shit hardware on.”

“And the doctor?”

“Finally powered it on.”

Kurogiri nodded. The Doc was only passably trained in engineering; his stats covered just enough to handle the equipment they had, since he had put all the rest of his points on the genetics branch of his skill tree. So, it came as no surprise that, despite his excitement, he had yet to make any meaningful discoveries about their acquisition.

“Your usual cocktail?”

“Just give me the whiskey,” Tomura sighed, making an effort to keep his hands away from his neck. “I managed to dig through some of the software, but all I could find was info about these new upgrades. Something about interfacing with some other device.” A key item they had yet to add to their inventory.

Kurogiri browsed the shelves for whatever drink he thought suited Tomura’s mood, but he didn’t care. MP items rarely restored more than a bit. Kurogiri’s notes sat atop the counter, and you know what, screw it. He was already rifling through those optional lore files no one ever read; might as well get started on these. Sensei would have read them, surely.

“Why do people care so much about these upstarts?” Tomara mused aloud, none of the profiles catching his attention. “They’re putting on a show, it’s all cutscene battles. No real stakes.”

And all loudly heralded by All Might’s alma mater, celebrating that disgusting platformer mascot as some kind of legendary warrior. A warrior, all right, he can give the bastard that much. Anyone who causes that much damage to Sensei is strong, at the very least; but he’s getting older. Weaker. He couldn’t repeat the feat if given the chance.

The monitor on the bar pinged. A call from the Doc’s warehouse. Tomura welcomed the opportunity to look away from the nauseatingly bright red hair on the page about that super strong brat from the USJ. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t already seen.

“Tomura, I bring good tidings!” Doc shouted immediately as his call connected. “That new firmware you mentioned, the recent update to the machine’s interfacing. I dismounted one of its headsets to take a closer look, and I seem to have found a lead!”

Tomura rolled his eyes, grunting to let him know he was listening, and went back to the dossier, languidly flipping to the next page with more attention than he really wanted to give to anything at the moment. The last piece of ‘good tidings’ he had had from the doctor was when he had found the power plug.

“Do tell, Doctor,” Kurogiri answered instead.

“The headset seems designed to connect not only directly to the subject’s brain, but also to some form of terminal. The ports are too small for it to be any commonplace computer part, but they do seem suspiciously close to nervous system terminals used in certain prototype prosthetics.”

The second place candidate’s profile was far more fascinating than Tomura had realized at first. Quirkless, not even a hero student, and yet still skilled enough to defeat two of those brats. Tomura whistled. Apparently, he had lost his eye in a fight with a villain two years ago. Perhaps Tomura should try and add him to his party. A Quirkless kid had to have a bunch of grudges against society, and he’d make for a perfect training dummy once Sensei was back into shape…

“I see you also appreciate the implications of this!” the Doc continued. “The cables are designed to interface with a terminal inside a person’s eye socket! An optical prosthesis! Truly marvelous!”

Tomura stopped. Staring at Izuku Midoriya’s picture as the Doctor’s prattling bounced around in his head. Staring at his mismatched eyes.

Oh.

Things seemed all the more interesting all of a sudden.

All Might’s hands shook a little as he slid the medal around Izuku’s neck. “Congratulations, Young Midoriya! You really showed your all today!” He said, voice booming. Izuku’s heart felt like it might explode. All Might had just said his name! All Might had just congratulated him! “It’s been many years since a Gen Ed student made it to the podium. You should be proud of your accomplishment!" Izuku’s mouth refused to cooperate, so he just nodded rapidly. “Whoa there, don’t break your neck, kid!” All Might laughed, resting a hand on his shoulder and giving it a firm squeeze.

He stepped back from Izuku, who was now blushing, before he took the final medal, the gold, from Midnight. Izuku watched as All Might lifted it up and placed it around Eijiro’s neck. His best friend was positively glowing as he stood up straight and the cameras flashed. “I couldn’t be prouder of you, Young Kirishima! You went out there and told the world ‘I am here!’” There was a look of almost fatherly pride on the Number One Hero’s face.

— Seems like he at least takes his job as heroics teacher seriously, — Nemo murmured, but any further discussion was cut off by Present Mic.

“And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen! Your First Year UA Sports Festival Champions: Hitoshi Shinso with the bronze, Midoriya Izuku with the silver, and your champion, Eijiro Kirishima of Class 1-A with the gold!” The crowd exploded. An avalanche of sound poured down on them, confetti fired from one of Snipe’s cannons repurposed for the job falling like snow over the three. Izuku and Eijiro looked at each other, sharing a grin, just basking in this utterly perfect moment.

It was over both all too soon and not soon enough. The three medalists were allowed to get down from the podium once the cameras had snapped their pictures for the press. They were ushered into the corridors beneath the stadium. Their classes were no doubt waiting for them somewhere inside the arena, Izuku was sure of it.

— I need to talk to Kaminari, — Izuku thought as he made his way through the corridors. — I need to apologize for– —

— You don’t need to apologize for shit, Yamikumo. — Nemo insisted.

— He’s the one who went on national TV and talked up my non-existent quirk! And then the fact he was wrong was just national news! — Izuku countered. He really tried not to think too hard about that. He hadn’t dared to look at To-Witter or AzureCeleste, or even any news headlines from hero news sites. For once, he had hoped that the fickle interest of online trends would work its magic, and not leave a permanent mark on Kaminari’s history before he even began.

As he turned a corner, he saw him. Kaminari was standing at the end of the hall, alone and looking at something on his phone with a serious expression. Izuku briefly wondered why he wasn’t with the rest of 1-A, but decided that was irrelevant right now. “Kaminari!” he called out. His friend’s head jerked up from his phone. Their eyes met. He started walking towards him.

“Ah! There you are!” Miss Mizuki’s voice made him jump and come to a halt. He started to turn away from Kaminari to glare at her. Any complaints he had died in his throat at seeing the expression on her face. “We need to go, now,” she said with a grim expression. Izuku couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen her so serious.

“Ya need something, Mr. Silver Medalist?” Kaminari asked as he approached the two of them with a curious but flat expression. He glanced between Izuku and Mizuki and his face lit up, but the smile didn’t meet his eyes. “Didn’t know you were friends with a pro! And a cute one, too. You’re Bunny Crusher, right?”

“Yup, and you must be, wait gimme a sec, oh yeah! Way out of your league,” Mizuki replied without missing a beat.

“Damn, didn’t even give me a chance to try. At least let a guy down easy!” he laughed easily, running a hand through his hair. “I’ll leave you two alone. We’ll catch up later, Izuku, no worries. Oh, and congrats on the silver, dude.” Kaminari waved as he headed down the hall and around the corner.

Izuku wanted to call after him, he didn’t want to leave things like this today, but Miss Mizuki was already pulling him away. If he tried to stop her, he had no doubt she’d pick him up and carry him off. “We need to go. Now,” she insisted.

“What’s going on?” Izuku demanded, a bit snappish. “What’s so important?”

Aiba answered for her, and her words chilled Izuku to the bone.

— Ryuki’s in the hospital. He was attacked by the Hero Killer. —

The drive over had been quiet. Miss Mizuki had only been able to give Izuku the basics of what had happened, as she hadn’t been told much herself. Mr. Ryuki had been on patrol with Ingenium, part of the HPSC and MPD’s Joint Hero/Officer Cooperation Initiative, when they came under attack from the Hero Killer in an alley. Both had survived, but were seriously injured. Izuku was left to stew in those facts the entire ride from the stadium back to Tokyo.

At long last, Mizuki’s scooter finally pulled up outside of the hospital. The waiting room inside initially seemed to be empty, until Izuku noticed a single figure sitting hunched over in the corner. The figure looked up, Izuku finally recognizing him as Mizuki went over to the front desk.

“Midoriya?” Tenya Iida asked. He looked awful. His eyes were redder than usual, puffy and irritated. Tearstains ran down his cheeks. His shoulders were hunched, so unlike his usual stiff posture. Much like Izuku, he was still in his gym outfit from the festival. He hadn’t even had a chance to change.

It was a drastic change from how he had looked just a few hours earlier at the Sports Festival. He had looked proud even in defeat. Now, he just looked defeated.

“Iida, what-what are you doing here?” The answer came to him the second after he had asked. Tenya was Ingenium’s brother. Of course he was here.

“I could ask you the same thing,” he said as he wiped his eyes. “Oh, my apologies, I neglected to congratulate you on taking second place at the Sports Festival. It’s-it’s well-earned. I saw some of your fight with Kirishima while sitting here.”

“Iida, you-you don’t need to do that,” Izuku said, taking the seat next to him. He rested a hand on his shoulder. Miss Mizuki was whispering with one of the doctors, which gave them some time alone. “Your brother was seriously hurt, you don’t need to put on a brave face for me.”

Tenya stared at him. “How did you know that?”

— Shit. The news about Ingenium being attacked hasn’t broken yet. — Nemo oh so helpfully informed him. Izuku really hoped his face didn’t show the panic rushing through him, the cold sweat suddenly running down his back. He needed to figure a cover story out, and fast.

— What would Mr. Date or Mr. Ryuki do? — Izuku thought. — Wait, Mr. Ryuki! That’s it! —

“Damn, between the uniform and the freckles, you look just like Yukuto,” Mr. Tensei laughed.

“My cousin. He’s, um, he’s a police officer. They told me he and Ingenium were attacked while patrolling together.” Part of Izuku hated just how accustomed he had become to lying. Heroes didn’t lie. And Kacchan had always said he was a terrible liar. But since joining ABIS, he’d gotten very good at it, and that was serving him well right now as Tenya’s hard, suspicious gaze softened immediately.

“So, you’re Officer Ryuki’s cousin? I-I can see the resemblance.” There was nothing but sympathy in Tenya’s tone, and that just made Izuku feel even worse. It was like he was claiming sympathy he didn’t deserve. Sure, he was close with Mr. Ryuki, they got along quite well, but they weren’t family. It wasn’t his brother up there, lying on a hospital bed or being operated on in a desperate effort to save his life. Still, he had no choice but to nod.

“Yeah. My mom’s job wouldn’t let her off, so the police brought me here right after the medal ceremony. I wasn’t even told what had happened, just that him and Ingenium were attacked by-”

“The Hero Killer.” Tenya’s voice was broken glass, all jagged edges and sharp sounds tearing from his throat. “They haven’t told me much more than that. He’s-he’s my brother, and they won’t tell me anything! Not about his injuries, about what happened to him, or about the scum that attacked him!” Izuku jerked back a bit at the sudden shouting. While they hadn’t interacted much, he knew this sort of venom was out of character for Tenya. “They need to make him pay.”

“I-I’m sure the doctors are just busy making sure he’s okay.” Izuku tentatively reached out to rest a hand on Tenya’s shoulder. It felt like solid steel beneath his hand, he was wound so tight. “Mr. Iida is strong, too strong for something like this to take him down for long.”

Before Tenya could say anything else, Miss Mizuki was back. — Don’t worry, Yamikumo, I told her about your cover story. —

“Midoriya, if you would come with me. Your cousin just woke up.”

Izuku’s hand stopped, clasping the door handle.

— Yamikumo, your cortisol levels are rising. Your heart rate increased, and I’m detecting mild tremors. You’re nervous. —

— Of course I’m nervous! Ingenium’s in the ICU, and he still hasn’t woken up, and Mr. Ryuki was found hallucinating after Stain fled! —

And that wasn’t even including the injuries. Several cuts, none too deep to threaten their lives individually, but there were a lot of them. Many in Mr. Ryuki’s hands and arms, the report had said. He had been found in a state of delirium, and Tama jammed his Evolver (though fortunately, he had had enough composure to not try and fire at the arriving officers).

Miss Mizuki shoved Izuku’s hand away and opened the door to the room herself. Mr Ryuki was sitting upright on the bed, while Tama sat atop the bedside table. His arms were covered in bandages, and his head just barely turned to look at his visitors. Then he shot up.

“Yukuto!” he yelled, and the pair froze. He stared at them, at Izuku, his eye blown wide and his breathing intense. They stayed like that for two seconds until he broke eye contact. “Sorry,” he said, “I-I shouldn’t have yelled.”

“It’s fine,” Izuku said back. Mizuki walked further in until she was sitting beside Tama, looking at them.

“You think you’ll hold up?” she asked him.

“Better than last time, all things considered,” he tried to laugh, but it came out hollower than the wooden cabinets in the room. “But seriously, thank you two for coming.”

“It was the least we could do,” Izuku approached the bed, but stopped at the way Mr. Ryuki winced when he turned to look at him again. For a second, Izuku saw his expression change, his eye starting to cloud over before he regained himself.

“Sorry, I… it’s my fault. You just look so much like him, and–” he laid back against the mattress, facing the ceiling “–I lost him, because I couldn’t save him. I thought I lost Mr. Date, too. And now I might lose Tensei. It really feels like I’m cursed to lose everyone I care about…”

“Ryuki…” Tama jumped on top of him.

“I know! I know Tensei’s alive, and I know Mr. Date is alive, too! But it was all just dumb luck! If I had done one thing different… if I missed a shot, if my hand slipped…” he turned to Izuku again, his eye not really focused on the person before him at all, “they’d have ended up like you, Yukuto.”

Izuku tried not to squirm under Mr. Ryuki’s look, at how he was clearly seeing someone else standing in his place, and he was so glad Miss Mizuki cleared her throat before it lasted even a second more.

“You think you can tell us what happened? We have Tama’s recordings, but I wanna hear it from you.”

Mr. Ryuki shook his head, turning to look at her while Izuku stood, chilled.

“There’s not much to say,” he began, “Tensei and I were out together. We were supposed to look for the Hero Killer, but he found us first. Even Tama only noticed him when he had already gotten the drop on us.”

“Literally,” she added, “Stain ambushed us from above with throwing knives. Analysis of his movements during the fight and the resulting scarring in Ryuki’s and Tensei’s bodies indicates he was aiming for superficial cuts more than fatal blows.”

“But didn’t he want to…” Izuku began to ask, his voice trailed off for a second, the reality of what had almost happened gripping his throat like a vise. He coughed to disguise the blunder, and looked at Tama with as much professionalism as he could muster. “Sorry. Wasn’t Stain’s goal to kill Ingenium?”

— Loading medical reports of surviving victims, as well as the autopsies of victims who were together at the time of attack, — Aiba informed them. Nemo let out a single beep to indicate his participation in the data scouring.

“It seems that way. He kept attacking Tensei more than me,” Mr. Ryuki continued, “trying to keep us apart and get closer to him. He got a hold of one of the knives at one point, one of the ones that had hit Tensei, and when he licked it…” his breathing picked up, and Tama practically forced herself into his eye socket to help him calm down. Izuku turned away, irate and ashamed of himself for making his witness panic. For making Mr. Ryuki relive all that.

— Tensei collapsed after that and hit his head on a spiked bit of rubble, — Tama continued the story, — that was when Ryuki opened fire in earnest. He’s not allowed live rounds anymore, but I bet Stain wishes it was one of those that hit his arm. — The last part was said with an almost sadistic glee.

“What hit him instead?” Izuku ventured to ask.

“A wire shot,” Mr. Ryuki answered, with an edge of pride in his voice that Izuku wanted to share even if imagining the damage made him wince. “It’s gonna leave a nasty scar, at the very least, and keep him tied down to Hosu for a little while longer.”

— Finished analyzing those records, — Nemo announced the moment the conversation broke, — victims displayed multiple lacerations, all inflicted pre-mortem. Accounts of surviving victims also resemble Ingenium’s sudden collapse mid-fight, though they remained briefly conscious, passing out due to blood loss instead. —

“So we can assume his quirk causes that collapse,” Izuku continued, trying his hardest not to picture Ingenium on the ground, red dripping out of open wounds and gaps in his armor, “and that it requires contact with the target’s blood.”

“So we’ll have to keep him away from his knives,” Miss Mizuki stood up, not at all smiling like she usually would when making battle plans. “Is there anything else you can tell us?”

“Nothing that you won’t find in Tama’s report,” Mr. Ryuki sighed, leaning back on his bed. “I’m just glad that I didn’t fuck it up even harder this time.”

Izuku couldn’t bring himself to answer, looking at the way Mr. Ryuki seemed ready to welcome death, despite having gotten off easy compared to his friend. No, not despite. Because.

Tenya came to mind along with that thought, and Izuku couldn’t help but picture Tenya lying in Ryuki’s bed for a second, especially as he heard a whispered ‘I’m sorry, brother,’ coming from him.

After silently making their way out of the room and closing the door, Izuku slumped to the floor. The medal on his chest clinked. He wanted to throw the damn thing away.