Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Morning, Tsuki!” Sansa called out, a devious grin planted on his face. 

Naomasa groaned, sipping at his coffee to help him through his first interaction of the day. “Hello.”

Sansa looked him over, whistling appreciatively. “Who are you all dressed for?”

“A hot date.” Naomasa said dryly, looking at Sansa like he was the dumbest person he had ever seen when the man seemed to buy it. He rolled his eyes, taking another sip of coffee, feeling his annoyance slowly ebb away. “We have a big meeting this morning.”

“Oh? Anything exciting?”

Naomasa shook his head, setting his stuff down. “Probably not. At least, I hope not.”

“Yeah, I feel ya. Well, good luck!”

Naomasa frowned. “What do you mean?”

“When does your meeting start?”

“Nine.”

Sansa shot him a look. “You’ve got three minutes.”

“Shhhhh-oot.” Naomasa cursed, grabbing his file, praying that was all he needed before walking over towards the rooms, using his badge and ID to get through the security checks and slipped inside the conference noisy conference room, finding his seat at the end of the oval table and sighed, taking another sip of his coffee and let the dull noise of his co-workers and other officers filter through. 

“Honestly, this case has been beating my ass-- ”

“--No, and I’m tired of acting like anyone needs to care about this.”

“You’re not serious? Who is it?”

“She got picked up again? Dammit, I owe Sansa 1000 yen then.”

“Tsukauchi.”

He stood up, alert and ready to find his boss coming through the doors, silencing the other people in the room as they too stood. He nodded stiffly to the man, tensing up as he walked around the conference desk and sat directly across from him. 

There was an air to the way Chief Daigo walked, something purposeful in his footsteps that Naomasa was only faking most days at work. He wondered what made his unnaturally tall superior walk in such a way, but he refused to think on it for too long as he looked into the man’s pale blue eyes, wondering ( not for the first time ) if he had a mind-reading quirk. 

He had been Chief for nearly 15 years, with Naomasa working under him for around 10 of those years. He felt like they were close work associates, though he was obviously Naomasa’s superior and that boundary was never crossed, no matter what was happening. 

In Naomasa’s eyes, he was a fair boss. Things might not go the way Naomasa wants them to all the time, but Chief Daigo is kind enough to work to find a compromise for all of them with every single decision he makes for them. Of course, he was still the boss, but there was a quality to him that made him approachable, of which Naomasa was eternally grateful for.

The projection behind Chief’s seat turned on and on the board lit up the presentation of all of the facts about this ongoing case that they’ve been working on for nearly six months without any outside help until now. 

Naomasa’s palms were sweaty and he felt sticky enough that he wished he could loosen the tie from around his neck and breath, but instead he forced himself to stand still and try not to make these men think of him as less while he freaked out. 

“You may sit.” Chief Daigo finally announced as he sat down, his assistant scrambling to place multiple documents in front of him and many different files to his left. 

The sounds of chairs being pulled back out filled the room as everyone sat back down, relaxing back into their seats as they scooted forward and opened their own files that they had been instructed to bring. 

Naomasa let himself look around, wondering what this team was doing together and how effectively they would collaborate. He saw a few…bright personalities sitting around the room and prayed they wouldn’t be overly-excited for this project. And, seeing as Naomasa needed three cups of coffee to fully open his eyes in the mornings, he didn’t see any friendships forming with the ones who were self-proclaimed morning people. 

Regardless, Naomasa knew that he was a relatively well-known detective who worked in the Major Crimes department, but most of the people currently surrounding him were members of the Public Security Intelligence Agency and a few others were even from the Central Intelligence and Research Office, meaning he was so out of his league sitting in the room he was tempted to scream and run away. 

Maybe the Chief would let him quit on the spot. 

Probably not. He didn’t think he’d ever be that lucky. 

“To begin this meeting, I’d like to take a moment to thank both the CIRO and the PSIA for aiding us with this mission.” Chief announced, nodding his respect towards them. Naomasa did the same, ignoring the way everyone seemed to have their egos inflated after that. “I also thank your teams for dedicating themselves to this project and respecting how confidential this case is.”

“We’re happy to be here, Chief.” Inoue Naoya, newly promoted team leader for the head of the PSIA Profiling Team spoke up, looking casual as he addressed the man. 

Naomasa watched as the Chief's smile tensed before he moved on. How interesting. He wondered if there was a story there or if something about the new leader rubbed him the wrong way. 

“We have reasonable belief that the Paranormal Liberation Front is still active and recruiting through high schools in the region.” Chief dropped the bomb, shocking most of his audience. Naomasa suppressed his smile, knowing full well how dramatic the Chief could be when he wanted to be. “This will be a high-priority sting operation, though, we have a few details to iron out beforehand.”

“Like?” Inoue called out, flipping through his file. 

Chief stared into Naomasa’s eyes. “We still need to alert our informant.”

“Wait a second. You mean to tell me the person going in the school doesn’t even know yet?”

Naomasa shook his head, even as the Chief nodded. 

“He’s too young.” Naomasa blurted out, his cheeks slowly turning red as the attention in the room snapped over to him. 

“What did you just say?” Masatoshi Yanai, team leader of the CIRO Crisis Management Team asked, looking a bit baffled at the fact that he spoke up. 

Naomasa cleared his throat. “We’ve been considering sending in a hero-in-training of high school age, though I believe he’s too young.”

“He’s plenty capable of the job--” Chief argued. 

“I never said he wasn’t capable…”

“Tsukauchi.”

“Sir.” He huffed, gritting his teeth. “I still think we should reconsider.”

It was silent and the room suddenly felt stuffy, like no one knew exactly who to look at and what exactly was going on between them. The tension in the room felt stifling, though Naomasa would rather pass out than let up the pressurized look he was sending his boss. 

“Is this person capable of conducting an undercover mission?” Inoue asked, breaking their staring contest. 

Chief Daigo nodded, confident with his assessment. “Yes. He was a fundamental part for ending the war the way that it did.”

Inoue looked over, staring at Masatoshi and having a silent conversation with the man for a few seconds before, finally, shrugging. “His age doesn’t matter to me as long as you think it won’t pose a problem.”

“It won’t.”

“Then I don’t see the issue.” Masatoshi confirmed, glancing over at Naomasa. 

He grit his teeth, damn near glaring at his boss, his eyes desperate as he tried to make the man reconsider for a moment. 

Chief looked away from him as he spoke, his words like the final nail in his coffin. 

“Make the call.”

Naomasa let himself sit in his chair for a few silent seconds, the tension nearly electrifying the room, before he stood. With a tilt of his head, Naomasa made his way out the conference room and ignored the way the door slammed closed behind him, scrolling through his phone and letting his thumb hover over the contact before he pressed it. 

With a sigh, he held up the phone to his ear, praying they wouldn’t pick up. 

“Nezu speaking.”

Naomasa swallowed. “Nezu, it’s Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa.”

“Ahh. I was wondering when you’d call.” Nezu chirped, sending Naomasa spiraling. What the hell did that even mean? “What can I help you with?”

Naomasa took a deep breath, preparing himself. “We’d like to use one of your students in a sting operation to act as an undercover high schooler.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line when Nezu only hummed, obviously considering his options while he made Naomasa sweat. 

“Who?”

Naomasa grit his teeth. “Midoriya Izuku, sir.”

There was another pause. This time lasting longer than before. Naomasa found himself holding his breath as he awaited the man’s answer. 

“Do you have the mission details?”  

Naomasa breathed out. “Yes sir. We require an undercover high schooler to infiltrate and keep tabs on the new Paranormal Liberation Movement that’s been reported to be based out of this specific high school.” 

“What sort of high schooler will he be?”

“Hmm?”

“What will Midoriya’s persona be?” Nezu clarified. 

Naomasa cleared his throat. “Ah.” He took a deep breath. “The persona is someone…quirkless.”

Nezu paused again and Naomasa didn’t dare to move as he listened intently to the silence on the other side of the line. 

“I’d advise you to alert Yagi beforehand, but otherwise I see no issues.” Nezu explained as he slowly gave his consent. Naomasa breathed out.  “Do remember to have everyone sign their names on the contract, though. They are all going to be held liable should anything unfortunate happen to him.”

Naomasa nodded. “Yes sir. I understand.”

“And the case?”

“I’ve already sent you the entire file and forwarded our emails.” Naomasa answered.

“Good. Then we’ll talk later today when you come by the school to officially speak with Midoriya.” Nezu planned and Naomasa did his best not to groan in the receiver. That meant he needed to tell Yagi what was going on way too soon. “And tell Chief Daigo that I have final say over Midoriya’s participation, okay?”

Naomasa smiled, his grin growing when he realized what it meant to have Nezu be head over the operation. 

No one else would have complete control over their process, which meant Nezu could prevent the potential power problem he could foresee coming to them in the new future. It would be nice to let Nezu take the reins, though he knew how hard the Chief worked for this operation and if it ever came to light, the news would credit the entire project under Nezu’s name. 

Naomasa considered it for a few moments, still trying to wipe the grin off his lips as he cleared his throat. 

“I will.” Naomasa promised, slowly pulling his phone away from his ear as Nezu hung up and turned around, shooting a thumbs-up to his boss through the windows that he was looking at Naomasa through. 

He flipped through his contacts, walking to his office as he called his friend this time, fully not ready to talk to the overprotective man. 

He didn’t see this going well. Not in any universe. 

Naomasa chugged the rest of his coffee, preparing himself to tell his friend the news. Oh he was so in trouble for this. 

Chapter Text

"Urarakaaa!" Izuku yelled out, knocking on her door over and over again. 

He heard a few muttered curses, a bang, something crashing and suddenly Tsu appeared at the door, frowning at him. 

"It's six in the morning." She said, still glaring. 

Izuku nodded. He knew the time.

"So why are you here?" Tsu pushed, her eyes digging into his soul. 

Izuku leaned back. 

"Umm, I just need Uraraka for the moment," He answered, eyes darting above her to look through the cracked door for any sign of Uraraka. "I forgot something."

"How long will this take?"

Izuku shrugged. "Not long at all, I swear. You'll have your girlfriend back so quick."

"I'll hold you to that, Midoriya." Tsu croaked before shutting the door in his face. 

Izuku rocked on his heels and pursed his lips, waiting for a few minutes before Uraraka finally answered the door, a tired smile on her face. 

"What did you forget to do this time?" She teased him. 

Izuku rubbed the back of his neck, showing off their homework Ectoplasm had given them. 

She gave him a look. "I thought you already did his assignment?"

"Yeah," He looked down, face turning red. "But that fire-spit villain burned it up when Kacchan and I fought him. Remember?"

She laughed, eyes crinkling as she did so. "Oh my goodness, I forgot about that. Alright. Meet me down at the dining table. I gotta grab it."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Izuku shouted, walking backwards in an effort to follow her instructions. "You're the best!"

"I know!" She shouted back as she disappeared from the doorway, obviously looking for the homework assignment. 

Izuku bolted down the stairs, nearly running over a sleep-deprived Kaminari and Mina as he did so. 

"Midoriya! Be more careful!" Iida yelled at him from the kitchen. 

Izuku grinned. "I know, I know. I'm sorry, Iida."

"Hmph." Iida huffed, turning to dig in the fridge and Izuku watched as the boy grabbed the orange juice and started chugging it. He watched, in equal parts horror and fascination as the boy drained the jug and shut the fridge door, walking off. 

Iida could be so odd sometimes. 

"Alright. Here ya go." Uraraka spoke up, sliding over her homework to him as she sat down and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl, chomping into it. 

"Yes," Izuku smiled, immediately getting to work on copying the answers. "Thank you..." 

"What the hell are you doing?" Kacchan asked from right behind him, making him yelp. 

"Kacchan! Jesus, don't scare me like that."

"Are you cheating?"

"No!"

"Sure looks like it."

"Nu-uh," Izuku frowned, moving his shoulder to cover Kacchan's view of the two papers. "Besides, I saw you do this with Kirishima yesterday, so I don't wanna hear this from you."

"You callin' me a cheater?" Kacchan goaded him, sounding ready to fight. 

Izuku shrugged. "I'm not callin' you a truther."

"You little--!"

"Baku-bro, you ready?" Kirishima yelled out, turning the corner. "We gotta go. It's almost time."

Kacchan growled, glaring at Izuku for a few seconds before storming off and out the door, Kirishima right behind him.

Izuku breathed out. 

"Here." Todoroki set down a plate of toast in front of him with jelly on it. "Eat."

"Thanks, Todoroki." Izuku smiled, shoving a piece in his mouth as he wrote as fast as he could. 

“Midoriya! You’re going to be late!” Iida yelled out, getting a grumble from Jirou as she walked out of the dorms and slammed the door so hard the frame rattled. 

Izuku snickered before he chugged his water, scrambling to eat the rest of his toast as he copied the last problem off of Uraraka’s paper. She swiped her homework back, ignoring his protests as she stuffed it in her bag. 

“Hurry up, Deku. We’re gonna be late!” She urged. 

He rolled his eyes. “I had no idea.” He muttered under his breath, packing away his assignment and moving into the entryway, grabbing his shoes and walking out to the porch where Todoroki and Shinsou were standing. 

Izuku smiled, hopping into his shoes as he spoke. “Aww. Did you two wait for me?”

Shinsou scoffed. “I was threatened.”

Todoroki shrugged, a small smile dancing in the corner of his lips. “He was encouraged to wait for you.”

“Awwww, guys…”

“Move it or lose it, Midoriya.” Shinsou grumbled, walking off the porch, leaving Todoroki and Midoriya to catch up to him. 

He giggled, poking Shinsou in the cheek and bouncing away from the boy when he swiped at him. “Thanks, Shinsou! You’re so sweet!”

“Midoriya, settle down.” Shinsou groaned, glaring at the ground as he walked. “It’s before eight AM.”

“So?”

“That means you should shut the fuck up.” Shinsou said. 

Izuku shrugged. “But it’s Friday! And we have Saturday off!”

“I’m not planning on leaving my room the entire weekend.” Shinsou promised. “I refuse.”

“How will you use the bathroom?” Todoroki asked, looking confused. 

Shinsou shrugged. “We have a porch, don’t we?”

“Oh! Shinsou!” Izuku made a face. “That’s gross!”

“It’s the best shot at providing me happiness, Midoriya. I’ll suffer through the temporary disgustingness of it all.”

“You’re so dramatic.” Izuku rolled his eyes, chuckling fondly at Shinsou as he muttered to himself, obviously mocking Izuku. 

Todoroki looked far too contemplative, probably still wondering how sanitary it would be to stay in your room for the entire weekend and refuse to leave.

"Is that even a word?" Todoroki asked. 

Shinsou rolled his eyes. "Don't even start this with me."

"It was just a question." Todoroki defended himself, his eyes gleaming with mischief. 

"You're such a little shit." Shinsou glared. 

Todoroki shrugged and Shinsou made an affronted noise, as if he couldn't believe Todoroki had done such a thing. 

Izuku ignored them, humming happily to himself as he walked with them to class. 

They walked into class, dropping their homework off in the basket sitting on the edge of Aizawa’s desk before taking their seats, Iida glaring at them and getting ready to reprimand them for being so late when the bell rang. 

Izuku smiled at the boy and watched as Iida glared at Shinsou while he dropped his head on his desk, closing his eyes. 

Izuku snickered. 

“Class.” Aizawa greeted them as he opened the doors, strutting into the class and standing in front of the teacher’s podium. 

“Good morning, sensei!” Kaminari and Mina shouted out, grinning at the man as they did so. 

Aizawa’s golden eyes flickered red at the two and they sat back in their seats, mimicking a zipper across their lips as they did so. The man sighed heavily. 

“No urgent announcements this morning,” Aizawa announced, blinking slowly to himself. “Do not act insane before lunch and remember to turn in your essays before class officially begins in 20 minutes.”

Izuku turned around, excited to spend his time annoying Shinsou when he heard his teacher cough and turned back around to see the man staring into his soul. 

Ah, crap. 

“Midoriya, with me.” Aizawa said, walking out of the classroom and leaving Izuku to flounder for a moment. 

“Good going, Deku.” Katsuki smirked, laughing at whatever misfortune had befallen him this time. 

Izuku wrinkled his nose. “I’m taking you down next time.”

“Hah?!”

Izuku smirked to himself as he moved around the desks and slipped out the classroom door, turning to face Aizawa and tried not to die as he looked at the man. 

Aizawa sighed. “Nezu requested you.”

“I’m so sorr--” Izuku blinked. “Wait, what?”

“Principal Nezu would like to see you.” Aizawa repeated, this time looking at him oddly. “You’ve been excused from class for as long as it takes.”

“Uhh-- but…”

Aizawa raised a brow at him and Izuku clamped his mouth shut. His teacher sighed. “Nezu wants you. Not for anything you’ve done, but he’d like to speak with you.”

Izuku nodded, still not daring to say anything. 

Aizawa looked at him, something searching Izuku’s eyes as he spoke. “You can deny him, whatever he wants from you. Remember that, alright?”

Izuku nodded, sounding a little breathless when he finally whispered out a confirmation. 

Aizawa cocked his head up, still looking at him intently. “Then head on up. I doubt Nezu would care to be kept waiting.”

“Hai!” Izuku agreed, a bit too loudly as he rushed away from the man and around the corner to get to the staircase. How embarrassing. 

He nearly ran to the principal’s office, breathing heavily as he wondered what he was even being called out for. He hadn’t done anything noteworthy in a while, a fact he was proud to admit, especially since that meant his classmates finally erased the ‘Days Since Deku Broke His Bones’ counter from the communal whiteboard in the common room. 

Izuku bounded up the last set of stairs and stared at the excessively large office doors, wondering why Nezu needed those as they cracked open ominously. 

“Come in, Midoriya!”

Izuku gulped, peeking his head through the doors and seeing Nezu smiling at him, swirling a comically small spoon in a teacup as he sat at his large desk. 

He walked in as the man beckoned him in, looking around the large office --noting the wall-length windows in front of him, the bookshelf filled to the brim in front of him and to his side, a couch, two armchairs and a coffee table to the left of him and a concerningly large desk to the right, situated perfectly on a small stage the office seemed to have for some reason. 

He sat down in front of Nezu, wringing his hands together as they sat in silence. 

“It’s…nice to see you, sir.” Izuku finally greeted, wondering if that’s what Nezu was expecting from him. 

His principal flicked his ear as he raised a brow and Izuku wondered what the hell that even meant. “Midoriya. It’s wonderful to speak with you again.”

Izuku nodded. “It’s been too long.” He agreed, trying to placate the man for whatever he had done. 

“Hmm.” Nezu looked at him, his beady eyes boring into his own as he took a sip from his cup and clicked his tongue. “I’ve been offered to send one of my students on an undercover mission, one that will require greater analytical skill and social dexterity than most cases. It is highly sensitive; I want whoever I choose to acknowledge this and be comfortable keeping everything they will learn as the closely guarded confidential status that it will be.”

“Oh.” Izuku perked up, wondering if he was called here to refer one of his classmates as a candidate for this mission. 

Nezu seemed to smile at him. “Yes. I’ve been thinking of a few of your classmates and I’ve come to a decision.”

Izuku couldn’t help himself; He leaned forward, eyes wide and eager. 

“I’ve decided I’d like to send you.”

Izuku blinked once, then twice. “Huh?”

“You are capable of respecting confidential information, are you not?”

Izuku leaned forward slightly, eager to prove himself. “Yes. I can absolutely do that, sir. I can-- I’m capable of keeping secrets.”

Nezu looked amused with his response. He didn’t know if that was good or bad. “You can, can’t you?” He commented, appraising him. 

Izuku swallowed, glancing around the room before looking back at his principal. “Umm, I’m sorry, sir. I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.”

Nezu took another sip of his tea, this time a smirk lingering on his snout as he spoke. “Of course. Of course. Well, regardless of that, I’d like to formally invite you to the team. They need someone to infiltrate a high school.”

Izuku blinked, considering the proposal for a moment before staring at the principal in front of him, feeling like he wasn’t getting all of the information he needed. 

“Anything else worth noting about who I’d need to become?” Izuku prompted before he gave his final answer, sweating a bit when Nezu looked at him like he had gotten exactly what he wanted. 

“Your character will need to be quirkless.” Nezu finally revealed, making Izuku pause. 

It had been a long time since he had thought about being quirkless and most certainly didn’t plan on dealing with how he felt about it all so soon. Of course, going undercover as a second-year would help him tremendously for his career, especially when he graduates with his class and competes against them just to find a job. 

Izuku let himself swallow heavily as he fell back into his chair, eyes vacant as apprehension took over him. Did he even have what it took to be that person again? 

“So…what’s your decision?” Nezu asked, smiling at Izuku with a small twinkle in his beady eyes that said he knew exactly what Izuku’s response would be. 

Izuku forced himself to cross his arms and straighten up, eyes hardening as he felt determination overtake his previous apprehension. “I’ll do it.”

“Excellent.”

Chapter Text

Izuku went back to Nezu’s office after his school-day, holding his breath as he went to knock on the door and nearly groaning when it cracked open. 

He wondered if he’d ever be able to catch his principal off-guard one of these days. 

Probably not. 

He pushed open the doors further, walking into the office and seeing Nezu sitting there, waiting for him with an easy smile on his snout. Izuku wondered why he did that and if it was supposed to comfort him or intimidate him. 

Either way, Izuku was intimidated. 

He walked in, seeing the tea set out for two on a tray and Izuku watched as Nezu poured for both cups. 

“Hello, Principal Nezu.” Izuku finally greeted, sitting down and getting comfortable in the chair, feeling the cushions in the chair move with him as he crossed his legs. 

Nezu nodded towards him, handing over some tea for him. “Hello, Midoriya. I trust you had an eventful day?”

Izuku smiled, taking the offered cup. “Yeah. Yes, I did.”

“Good.” 

There was a moment of silence between them as they both sipped on their tea, Izuku enjoying the warmth that flooded into his bones as the green tea sat on his tongue. 

He spent his time trying to gather his thoughts from their previous discussion, wanting to go into this meeting with a clear enough mind. Izuku wanted to be able to ask Nezu more questions than he had, though he didn’t intend to use the answers as a reason to get out of this project. 

Quite the opposite. 

Izuku knew specific schools were run a specific way. There was a different hierarchy in each school, different people, different influences. He needed to know the culture before he was thrown to the wolves. 

Or, he needed to learn how to adapt. Quickly. 

Either way, he had an abundance of questions that he needed answered, though he wasn’t convinced Nezu would give them to him the way he’d like. 

The man was a cryptid around the school, known for his elaborate puzzles that went unnoticed to most because of how he structured them. According to rumors, he loved riddles and enjoyed being stumped over something he didn’t understand, constantly looking to grow his mind in whatever area he could get his hands on. 

But, according to the other rumors, Nezu also eats humans for breakfast and dogs for dinner, so Izuku wasn’t sure how much merit he should give them. 

“You look like you have something on your mind.” Nezu spoke up, looking at him intently. 

Izuku blinked before he shot the man a sheepish smile, finally putting down his tea. “I’m that obvious, huh?”

“You don’t seem to be hiding it.” Nezu commented. 

Izuku shrugged. “I suppose. I just-- I have a few questions about this case.”

“You understand I can’t  provide you with the confidential details, yes?”

Izuku nodded quickly. “Yeah. Yeah, I totally get that, but I just--”

“Have questions?” Nezu smiled, finishing his sentence for him. 

Izuku breathed out, nodding at the man. “Yeah. That’s all.”

Nezu kept looking at him, intently searching his eyes for something before he nodded back. “Alright. Please, enlighten me.”

Izuku glanced at him, wondering where he should start. “Alright. Umm-- What can you tell me about the high school?”

Nezu looked at him appraisingly. “You’ll be sent to Saitama Prefecture to attend Inagakuen High School.”

Izuku’s jaw dropped. “Wait. Isn’t that…”

Nezu nodded. “It is one of the largest high schools in Japan.”

Izuku breathed out, nodding to himself as he took in the information. Oh, this was going to be stressful. 

Nezu grinned. “They have six houses on their campus, all connected to each other, but each house operates under its own vice-principal.”

“How?” Izuku blurted, feeling his cheeks heat up when Nezu looked at him.  

“The school has one principal and six vice-principals, along with about 250 teachers and staff employed.”

Holy shit that was a lot. 

“Okay…” Izuku wrapped his hands around each other, pulling on them periodically. “So, who am I investigating?”

Nezu pushed a file towards him. “You’ve been placed in House 3, which focuses on Humanities. Your goal is simply to fit in.”

Izuku gave him a look. “No one in particular you want me to get close to?”

Nezu shook his head. “There’s a reason you’ve been chosen to act as a quirkless transfer student.”

Izuku blinked, understanding slowly dawning on him. 

They wanted him to stand out and in a high school as huge as Inagakuen that could prove to be more difficult than anyone wanted to deal with. He'd be another drop of water in a sea of students, especially when the school was big enough to need an acting principal for each house it had. 

But the label quirkless would force him into the kind of spotlight he needed. That was the key. 

“I see.” Izuku said, looking back down at the file in front of him. 

Nezu gestured towards it as he leaned back. “Read through it. I’ll answer any more questions that you have afterwards.”

Izuku nodded, slowly opening up the file and seeing a description staring back at him. 

Izuku snorted, immediately covering his face when he did so. He didn’t mean to, honestly, but it just came out of him when he read through the description he was supposed to make happen. 

'A quirkless high schooler. Mildly depressed.'

Izuku shook his head. It wasn’t even that funny to think about, but he couldn’t stop seeing the image of idiots pouring over this description, wondering how to describe a poor, fragile, little quirkless kid. 

He wondered what kind of a heart attack these people would have if they knew the truth. 

“Midoriya,” Nezu finally spoke up, looking at him intently. “Care to explain your thoughts?”

He wanted to know what he was thinking and although Izuku could probably attribute it to Nezu being naturally curious about most things intelligence-related, Izuku couldn’t help but think that it was more than just curiosity. There was something bigger at play here, something Izuku had no choice but to trust in until he knew what was going on. 

He sighed, reaching into his bag and pulling out his notebook he had grabbed during lunch, setting it on the desk and pushing it towards the man. “This should work better as a character description.” Izuku proposed, leaning back and nervously biting at his lips as he watched his principal greedily take the thing and read through it quickly. 

“This is…informative.” Nezu said, flipping a page and looking surprised to see more. 

Izuku shrugged. “It’s the truth.”

Nezu hummed. “May I ask why you have this?”

Izuku grit his teeth, rolling his shoulders back as he shifted in his chair. “No.”

Nezu glanced up, locking eyes with him for a few moments, slowly nodding before looking back down at the notes Izuku had written out. “I understand.”

Izuku nodded, though he highly doubted his principal honestly understood where he was coming from. 

There was something about this whole thing that rubbed him the wrong way. He was going back to a person he wasn’t anymore and that scared him, mostly because he wasn’t sure when he had changed so much. 

Acting quirkless was going to get some taking used to, sure, but what he wrote out at lunch just…came to him. The knowledge of what to do felt ingrained in his bones the same way a child learned how to ride a bike and suddenly had that muscle memory burned into their mind for the rest of time. 

There was something about going back to being quirkless that made his stomach churn, but Izuku refused to acknowledge it. He was needed for a mission and Izuku would complete it to the best of his ability, no matter his personal feelings. 

He couldn’t wimp out on this one, mostly because he was (as much as he didn’t want to be) the perfect person for this role. No one else could perfect the role of a quirkless high schooler like Izuku would be able to. He knew that for a fact. 

His emotions needed to take the backseat for this, no matter what. 

“I approve.” Nezu spoke up, staring intently at Izuku. “I’ll send the description to the police force for their records and, of course, Aizawa will be sent the details as well.”

“Why?” Izuku asked, his confidence growing as Nezu looked at him approvingly. 

“Aizawa will be overseeing your involvement.” Nezu explained. “In layman’s terms, he’s your emergency contact and will be acting as a prominent figure in your life throughout the mission.”

Izuku nodded. “I understand.”

It was smart to think of something like that. Izuku wouldn’t have thought about who would be his emergency contact, especially because he wouldn’t want his mother to worry herself if the school decided to phone home for any reason. 

Nezu nodded at him, still a glint dancing in his eyes. “Did you have any more questions, Midoriya?”

He stared at the principal, chewing on his lip as he hesitated. “No.”

“No?”

“No.” Izuku lied, looking him in the eye. “I don’t have any more questions.”

Nezu hummed and Izuku wondered if, just for that second, if some of the rumors about Nezu actually had merit. It felt like he could see what Izuku was hiding from him and determine if he needed to press further or ignore it and still get a good result. 

It was eerie. 

“Alright.” Nezu finally said, paws crossing over one another. “Then enjoy your weekend, memorize your character and your assignment begins on Monday morning.”

Izuku nodded, standing from his chair. “Hai. Thank you, sir.”

Nezu smiled. “I’ll see you soon, Midoriya.”

With a last good-bye, Izuku walked out the office and forced himself to keep walking down the stairs, head looking forward. 

He didn’t know why he felt so rattled at the moment, why his fingers were tingling and his breaths were coming in quick. His head was pounding and he felt like his throat was closing up, as if he was slowly losing the ability to speak. 

Izuku let himself go into a locker room, moving past the lockers and dropped to his knees as soon as he got in the safety of a stall, not even bothering to close it as he held his hands close to his chest and leaned over the toilet, unsure if he needed to throw up or let the panic pass. 

It felt real, like he was losing a part of him as he lost the power he’d worked so hard to gain. 

He was back to being powerless. 

It was sickening. 

“Midoriya?” A voice called out from behind him. 

Izuku groaned and shook his head, closing his eyes. 

“Midoriya.” A hand landed on his back and Izuku groaned again, not wanting to look up or deal with anything. They said something again, too softly for him to accurately make out and he let his arm come up, dropping his head on it so he could rest. 

The hand rubbing circles on his back helped tremendously and gave him something other than his breath to count and think about as his mind slowly cleared and his worries faded from their panic state. 

“Thanks.” Izuku whispered, still letting his head rest and his mind calm down. 

They hummed. “Of course, Midoriya. There's cold water next to you. Try to drink some.” 

He nodded weakly, feeling a bit blissful in this post-panic state until he realized something very important: The voice behind him belonged to a woman. 

He let his eyes open, not capable of feeling panic in his haze but much more alert than he had been before as he turned. “Jirou.” He breathed out, letting his eyes focus on her. 

She smiled. “That’s me. Try to drink your water, yeah?”

Izuku frowned. “But…what are you doing in here?”

She looked amused as she watched him, someone walking up to her from behind and he glanced up, seeing Yamomo there. 

“You came into the girl’s locker room.” Jirou explained, still rubbing his back. 

He groaned, going to push himself up off the floor before Yamomo stopped him. 

“Stop. It’s okay, Midoriya.” She promised, giving him an understanding look. “We know you didn’t realize where you were after a few minutes.”

“Hmm.” Izuku blinked at them. “But, I shouldn’t be here.”

Jirou snorted a laugh as she looked at him. “No, not under normal circumstances, but we trust you.”

“Oh.” He blinked again. Then, he looked around. “Wait. How long have I been in here.”

Yamomo glanced away, presumably at a clock, before she responded. “About thirty minutes.”

“Ahh.” He felt awkward, being watched that long. “I didn’t mean to--”

“Stop worrying about it, Midoriya.” Jirou scoffed, brushing the offense aside. “It’s fine.”

He shook his head. “But, I must’ve scared the girls and I really didn’t mean--”

“Relax, Midoriya,” Jirou said. “Seriously.”

“Besides,” Yamomo chimed in, blushing a bit as she spoke. “We were the only two people in here. You didn’t bother anyone.”

“Oh,” Izuku said, breathing going back to normal as he calmed down when they spoke to them. “So, it was just you two in here?” Izuku asked, looking back and forth as they both glanced at each other and blushed, looking away. 

“Uhh, yes.” Yamomo finally spoke up, coughing a bit when it got awkward. 

Izuku raised a brow at them, wondering why they were so flustered about being alone in a locker room together until his brain finally caught up and he fought the grin threatening to break across his face, feeling more out of place than before. 

He really wasn’t wanted in here. 

“Right. Then I should just-- Uhh…”

“Let us walk you.” Yamomo volunteered, surprising him. 

He shook his head. “No, you really don’t need to do that for me--”

“But, you’d do it for us,” Jirou protested. “So let us walk you back to the dorms.”

Izuku looked at them, his cheeks warming as he looked down. “You know you can…stay in here while I leave. I don’t need--”

“Midoriya,” Yamomo called out, a small, almost teasing grin on her lips. “Jirou and I can finish…hanging out in the dorms.”

“Ahh.” Izuku spoke up, positive his face was beet red. 

Jirou laughed a little at his expression and Izuku really wanted to hide away in his bed and not crawl out for a week. 

“Come on. Let’s get you back.” Jirou said, cocking her head towards the exit. 

Izuku nodded, pausing for a moment before he walked. “Thank you, guys. You know, for--”

Jirou waved him off. “Like I said before, you would do the same thing for any one of us. No need to thank us.”

“Right.” Izuku gave up, looking between them, happy that his sentiment was coming across and a bit touched that they knew he would do anything for any one of his classmates. “Let us go.”

Yamomo smiled at him and he felt like he had made a strong friend when she held the door open for him, guiding him out of the school with Jirou listening for heartbeats to avoid any others as they left. 

He couldn’t help but feel his heart crack a bit at the idea of not being surrounded by his friends when Monday came around. 

This was not going to be easy. 

Chapter Text

“Midoriya!”

Izuku whipped around to see Shinsou hopping over the couch and smiling at him for two seconds until Todoroki barreled into him, knocking the both of them to the ground. 

He sighed. 

“They’re like animals.” Tsu piped up from behind him, trading money with Sero. 

Uraraka hummed in agreement as she took bets, writing in her pink notebook that she reserved specifically for class bets. 

Izuku crossed his arms, looking back down at the ground where Shinsou and Todoroki were still wrestling. 

“Do I even wanna know?” Izuku called out, still wondering what this was about. 

Both boys paused and looked at him, looking at each other and then back at him. “Nope.”

Izuku blinked as they went back to wrestling each other. 

“Tch. Fucking idiots.” Bakugou called out, rolling his eyes at them as he walked into the kitchen.  

Izuku couldn’t help but agree, watching fondly as they rolled around on the floor and conducted the worst wrestling match he had ever seen. 

He was content just watching them though, especially since after he got back with Jirou and Yamomo he holed up for a few hours in his room, calming himself down further and convincing himself he should hang out with his classmates for the weekend to try and soak up all of their friendship that he’d be missing out on soon. 

So he headed downstairs and sat on the couch, where Kaminari and Kirishima were playing some horror video game and he sat next to them quietly, watching as they ran from psycho killer and unhooked each other from crane hooks. 

He, honestly, did not understand the game. 

But that wasn’t his goal. So he stayed quiet, smiling when they laughed, grinning when they teased each other, snickering when they both screamed as they died. 

“Wait wait wait. Move!” Kaminari yelled out as he stood from the couch, full of urgency. 

Kirishima did the same and Izuku finally realized the two grappling on the floor were blocking the lower half of the TV screen and the killer was running towards them fast. Comically, the music got louder and more dramatic as they blindly ran away from the killer, still standing up and trying to work around Todoroki and Shinsou on the ground. 

Izuku rolled his eyes. “Guys, you gotta move.” He finally spoke up, looking at the two on the ground. 

They paused, glanced at each other and back at him before nodding and silently crawling to the other side of the common room, the corner no one really went into and resumed their fighting, much less rolling involved than before. 

Izuku sighed and let his head fall against the back of the couch. Those two could be so dramatic when they wanted to be. 

“Thanks, Midori.” Kaminari said with a heavy sigh as he hid inside a locker and waited out the killer. 

“Yeah. Thanks, bro.” Kirishima squeaked, still running away as fast as he could, his shoulders raising as he ran, the killer right on his tail. “No, no, no, no, nononono-- NO! ”

“Pipe down, idiots!” Bakugou yelled, ignoring Kirishima’s anguished cry. 

Izuku smiled. 

“I got you, man.” Kaminari promised, watching as the killer grabbed Kirishima and drug him to the nearest crane to hang him up on. “Well, maybe.”

Kirishima frowned as he was put on the crane and the killer circled around him, waiting. “Is he fucking puppy-dogging me right now?”

Kaminari sucked his teeth. “I think so. What an asshole.”

“Language!” Iida yelled out. 

Kaminari rolled his eyes at the boy, going to respond, no doubt with more colorful language than before, when Sero came around the corner, a bowl of fruit in his hands. He sat on the edge of the couch next to Kaminari, silently holding out the food and the boy ate it, all three friends staring intently at the screen in front of them. 

Izuku snickered to himself. 

He let himself stand and head up to his room, staying up there for the rest of the night and most of the next morning. His last day of his weekend went pretty much the same, though Aizawa had come up to him and told him to be ready to go at 5 am, sounding like he would not hesitate to leave Izuku here instead of taking him if he arrived a minute too late. 

That night, nightmares kept him moving, making him feel like he hadn’t gotten a decent night’s sleep. It was odd; the nightmares. They were full of faceless kids, taunting him and insulting him as soon as he told them he was quirkless. He was ridiculed for something he hadn’t been ridiculed for over the span of nearly a year. 

And now he was willingly going back, throwing himself right into the lion’s den. 

Izuku shook his head at himself, grabbing the brand-new uniform of his temporary high school and threw it on. 

It looked nice enough, with the short-sleeved white button down, black slacks, black socks and an orange tie. Simple and easy. He also put on the mic and small video recorder designed to look like a button on him, spending far too long making everything look invisible as it possibly could be. 

He jogged downstairs, pleased with himself when he saw Aizawa sitting at the counter and walked over to the kitchen. 

“Morning.” Izuku acknowledged awkwardly, suddenly full of nerves. 

Aizawa grunted in his direction and Izuku took it for the greeting it was meant to be as he stepped into the kitchen, grabbing some juice to drink. He didn’t think it’d be smart to eat breakfast this morning, even though eating lunch probably wasn’t in the cards for him today either. 

Something hit the back of his head and Izuku turned to see a kelly packet falling to the ground, Aizawa slurping away on his own as he looked at Izuku. 

“Ow?” Izuku commented, looking at his teacher oddly. 

The man shrugged, continuing to slurp away on the thing, no even deigning him a response. 

Izuku sighed, but grabbed the thing anyway and cracked it open, slurping up his own, immensely grateful his teacher had given him some nutrients to hold him off for the day. 

“Ready?” Aizawa asked and Izuku nodded. “Then let’s hit the road.”

Izuku followed after his teacher, slipping on his red shoes and trailing after the man, following him to his car. They got in and Izuku was almost surprised to see how clean it was on the inside. He had expected it to be filled with empty jelly packets and sleeping bags. 

Aizawa turned on the radio and they drove in silence for a while, Izuku staring out the window, watching as a few mountains came into view the further they went from the city. It took until they turned off the highway and got close to the school for Aizawa to clear his throat. 

“Make sure to keep to yourself as much as you can, kid.” He warned him, not looking away from the road. 

Izuku blinked, the words not fully registering. “Hm?”

Aizawa tapped his finger on the steering wheel. “Just-- Do your best to stay out of trouble.”

Izuku crossed his arms and grumbled, “Trouble finds me.”

“I’m well aware,” Aizawa sighed, turning left. Then, he leaned forward, looking at the gigantic high school in front of them. “Holy shit.”

“Language.” Izuku whispered, leaning forward in his own seat to take a look around. 

The campus looked huge, with six separate buildings all built in a circle and seemed to be connected to each other via a second-floor corridor attached to each building. There were spaces dedicated to different sports all around the campus, a few buildings built further out, away from the circle and big signs that labeled them ‘pool’ and ‘gym.’

Izuku forced himself to blink as they drove up to the small building in the middle of the circle, seeming to act as a main office of sorts. They parked and sat in the car for a few more seconds, still completely speechless with what they were seeing. 

This place was huge.

Hopefully they put him in the right house or he would have some serious running around to do. 

Aizawa opened up the car door, getting out and Izuku hurriedly followed the man’s lead, getting out and squinting as the sun beat down on them. 

Hopefully this place had air conditioning installed or Izuku might just cry. 

“Kid,” Aizawa called, popping the trunk. “Come get your stuff.”

Izuku nodded, walking over and dipping down to see all of the things he had requested from Nedzu, smiling a bit to himself when he noticed how new everything looked. He rolled his eyes as he examined his new bag, a bit disappointed to see it looking so…perfect. 

He’d need to fix that. 

He dug around some more, smile growing wider when he found the lock-picking kits and a multipurpose pocket knife, stuffing those inside the small pocket of the bag before moving on to the other, more boring, things, like his workbooks and uniform pin. 

“This isn’t a hands-on mission.” Aizawa said with a slight frown, looking at him a bit oddly because of what he had seen. 

Izuku shrugged, not bothering to correct the man as he kept digging around the trunk, grabbing his extra pair of socks and gloves as he finished. “I know.”

“...You know we’ll intervene if anything gets physical, kid--”

“No,” Izuku cut him off as he readjusted his collar, wrinkling it as much as he could with the little time he had. “Do anything but intervene.”

Aizawa shot him a dangerous look. “I’ll be intervening whether you like it or not if someone touches--”

“Then I’ll take my mic off right here and you guys won’t get the evidence you need.” Izuku cut in, glaring at the man. 

Aizawa seemed taken aback by his standoffishness, blinking at him, obviously seeing him differently because of this. He wondered if the man was confused by his assertiveness or his willingness to go up against him, but he couldn’t let himself think about it for too long. He had the whole school-day to worry about, after all. 

Izuku sighed. “Just-- This won’t work unless you let this happen, okay? Some things-- You need to look at the bigger picture to see it, alright? You need the evidence, and, well, you probably won’t get it if you intervene every time something hurts me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Aizawa was quick to ask, looking at him with clear concern shining through his golden eyes. 

Izuku gave him a humorless laugh and ripped the front of his backpack. “The life of a quirkless kid comes with bruises, Aizawa.”

“How do you know this?”

Izuku shrugged, bending his textbooks to break the spine, wincing as he did so. He really hated ruining books but this was a necessary evil at the moment. 

Aizawa looked at him strangely for a few more moments while he stuffed his things in the ruined bag, slinging it over both of his shoulders, hiking it up and tossing his wallet in the car. 

“Wait, you--”

Izuku shook his head. “Trust me, that needs to stay in there.”

Aizawa looked at him again. “Can you explain to me why?”

Izuku regarded him thoughtfully, wondering if he should. As he went to answer, he saw the head principal coming towards them and shook his head, slowly hunching in on himself. “Not right now.”

Aizawa nodded slowly and Izuku wrapped his hands around the straps of his bag, hanging his head low as brought his shoulders in and put on his best ‘terrified puppy-dog’ look.

“Welcome!” The man laughed, holding out his hand to shake Aizawa’s and briefly glanced at Izuku’s meek form. “You must be our newest transfer.”

Izuku nodded, his body trembling before the man as he let his eyes flick up and then back down, bowing deeply to the man. “M-My name is I-Izuku Aizawa and I, uh, I’m grateful to be in your care. Please take care of me.”

The man chuckled, his blue eyes gleaming with a dark look for a moment and Izuku suppressed a shiver. What was that?

“It’s good to meet you, child! You may call me Principal Yamura, otherwise known as the head principal of this prestigious institution.” He grinned and Izuku fought the urge to lean away from him. 

There was something wrong with this man and he had no idea what it was. 

“Class will begin soon,” Principal Yamura interrupted his thoughts, turning to face the school. “So, just as a reminder, Mr. Aizawa, student pick-up and drop-off is in this parking lot if that’s something you’re interested in. And young Aizawa will be in House Three, directly in front of us, otherwise known as the building with the thick orange band painted around the top floor of it.”

Aizawa blinked. “And, why is that?”

“Hmm?”

“Why are the houses color-coded?” Aizawa re-framed his question, sounding genuinely interested. 

The principal smiled. “To boost student spirit. The colors of each house are represented on their uniforms, which has been proven to inspire healthy class rivalries and other things of the sort.”

“I see.” Aizawa nodded, glancing at Izuku. 

He nodded slightly, silently promising to walk through every single one of these houses at some point. 

“I best be going then,” Aizawa announced, nodding to the principal and to Izuku. “Have a good day at school.”

Izuku smiled. That sounded so foreign coming from Aizawa, but he appreciated the sentiment nonetheless. 

“I’ll see you later.” Izuku promised, waving him goodbye as he got back into the car and drove away. 

It took a few moments for Izuku to steady himself and turn around to face his new principal once again. 

“Forgive me for my curiosity, young man,” Principal Yamura spoke darkly, his eyes flashing with an emotion Izuku wasn’t sure he wanted to identify. “But, are you truly quirkless?”

Izuku swallowed heavily, old feelings he thought he had long since buried threatening to resurface again as he felt his throat close up and his body tensed, waiting for something wrong to happen. 

“Y-Yes. I am.” Izuku finally responded, not needing to exaggerate the stutter as he flicked his eyes down to the ground, looking more ashamed than he honestly felt. 

He listened as the principal hummed, looking him over before turning around and beginning to walk. They took a small tour of the first building, Principal Yamura telling him about how the school was built in 1984 and is considered a coeducational school, which meant one of the houses had his juniors in it. 

It was an odd thought, but the way that the school was set up made it easier to comprehend. 

He was walked through the first floor, where there were rows and rows of lockers and blinked, looking at everything. Hopefully he’d remember to figure out which one was his before he left, cause this seemed like a daunting task. 

“And here is your locker,” Principal Yamura presented to him, slowing down to a stop to the side of it. “Inside you’ll find your appropriate indoor shoes, and your winter uniform.”

Izuku looked at the locker. “Number Nine, huh?” He muttered, opening up the locker much more reluctantly than he had anticipated. Inside sat his school uniform and the shoes he’d need to wear, to which he breathed a long breath out. 

Looks like the school wasn’t as horrid as he thought it was going to be. 

He quickly changed his shoes, stuffing his red ones in his locker and closing it, hoping no one would be rude enough to steal his things this time. 

The principal smiled. “Well, I suppose it’s time you meet your homeroom, yes?”

Izuku nodded. “That’d be wonderful, sir.”

They walked up the stairs and to the right, going through the corridors between the building until they reached the orange one, where he heard a few students laughing loudly in their classrooms, obviously excited about something. He felt a pang through his heart, reminding him he wouldn’t be spending time with his friends during school for a while, and walked forward with the principal, stopping at a classroom labeled ‘2-E.’

He slid the door open, everyone quieting down and staring at them as the man strode in the room confidently and Izuku trailed behind him, feeling the gazes of his new classmates sizing him up. 

He let his eyes flicker around nervously, cataloging all of the exits and windows before taking note of how curious certain students seemed to be, wondering what was going on with the group of three boys sitting in the back, glaring at him. 

Oh, that might be a problem. 

“Class 2-E, please welcome your newest peer,” Principal Yamura smiled, something sharp and twisted lingering in his words. He looked at Izuku. “Introduce yourself.”

“Umm, H-Hello.” Izuku bowed his head a bit. “I’m Izuku Aizawa.” 

“And…?” The principal prompted, the glint in his eye coming back. 

Izuku grit his teeth, letting his eyes nervously flicker over the room. “And…I’m q-quirkless.”

The air changed, like they were sharks that smelt the first sign of blood, and Izuku hunched his shoulders in even more, eyes locked firmly on the ground in front of him. 

Ahh. There was the warm welcome he was waiting for. 

Chapter Text

“Hai, Chief,” Naomasa nodded. “I understand.”

“Good.” The man said, looking at him critically for another moment before walking out of his office. 

Naomasa sighed, slouching down into his chair and finally letting all of his stress pool at the bottoms of his feet rather than fuel his body. 

The team was stressed, looking through the entire case, paralegals coming around more often to review the legalities of it all, court orders being signed away and processed, their high school undercover operative breaching the school in a few minutes-- It was a lot to worry about. 

He let his head fall back, resting on the top of the back of his chair and stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment. 

There were many things clouding his mind right then and he honestly wished they could all shut up for five minutes so he could relax. 

Instead, his brain came up with more potential problems to worry about. 

The seizure warrant that was currently pending needed to be signed quickly, or else they would be able to let Midoriya grab everything he needed to grab from the school. Suiting their undercover kid with a mic and a button recorder that Midoriya warned them might be broken during the school day by some punk kids just made him worry enough that he wouldn’t be surprised to see gray hairs atop his head when he went home for the night. 

There was also the case of them not knowing who exactly it was that they were after. 

Naomasa knew that the Paranormal Liberation Front was in hiding and using Inagakuen High as a breeding ground of sorts, spreading their ideology into the kids and indoctrinating them as soon as they started there. He knew Inagakuen High was special to the group and that they wouldn’t simply abandon the largest high school they had gotten their hands on, so he knew that this case had the potential to officially shut down their efforts and scatter the group too thin to come back. 

The biggest problem, Naomasa thinks, is not telling Midoriya what they were after specifically. 

He was their biggest asset, especially since he’d be able to get in and out of the school without suspicion for the next few months. No one at the school knew of his position, which meant if Midoriya played his cards right, no one would ever know of his involvement with the police and heroes. 

Of course, he didn’t hold out too much hope for that to happen. He knew Toshinori and Midoriya were similar in more ways than one, their borderline self-sacrificial need to help save everyone they possibly could, included. 

At least he knew what to expect from them, though he was disappointed with himself for letting Midoriya get involved with this project in the first place. 

It was just-- when he realized they wanted someone to have a persona as a quirkless high schooler, he knew Midoriya had the potential to be the perfect undercover agent for them. Yagi had told him before that his new successor was quirkless before One for All was given to him and that was, apparently, the only reason he could even hold the powerful quirk within his body. 

Anyone else would’ve been led to a very quick and untimely death. 

So, yes, he knew that Midoriya was their perfect man for the job, but he hated that he’d be sending the boy into a building with a bunch of quirk supremacists and fanatics. 

He sighed again, letting himself relax in his chair for another moment before he forced himself back to work. 

He needed to get back to work. 

“Knock knock,” Sansa sang out as he opened his office door, grinning. “How you doing, buddy?”

Naomasa eyed him warily. “Fine. What brought you here?”

“Lunch.” 

“Sansa…”

“I don’t want to hear it,” The man said, looking at him with such intensity he had to stop what he was moving to begin doing. “You need a break.”

Naomasa held out for a few more seconds before nodding, reluctantly pulling away from his desk and grabbing his hat, knowing the sun would be beating down on them this afternoon. 

Sansa grinned. “Alright man, I found this new little lunch spot. It’s nice and apparently it’s a growing chain in the Americas.”

Naomasa raised a brow, looking at the man questioningly. “You have my attention.”

“It’s a chicken salad shop.” Sansa spoke with jazz hands, looking too excited about this. 

“Isn't that the food that looks like grayish slop?”

Sansa nodded. “Yep, kinda! I’m so excited to finally try it. I’ve been eying that place for ages.”

“Then why haven’t you gone?”

Sansa shrugged. “Eh, never really found the time. They close before we leave work anyway.”

“Hmm. Well, good thing we’re going now.” Naomasa said with confidence, a smile growing as Sansa’s eyes lit up and grinned at him. 

“Too true,” Sansa agreed, turning a corner. “You know, a couple days ago I was talking to an old friend from high school. Weirdest thing I did that day, and I had to attend an autopsy that morning.”

Naomasa blinked, his quirk telling him that Sansa was telling him the truth. He looked at the man next to him and couldn’t stop himself from smiling. 

Sansa had an amazing ability to just…speak. Sure, sometimes Naomasa has to tell him when he should hold back momentarily, but most of the time Naomasa enjoyed the random little conversations Sansa would bring up and then forget about as soon as he spoke, living blissfully in his own little cloud. 

The best part about it, though, was the fact that Sansa never lies to him. His quirk always told him the man was telling the truth, which made every one of his stories that much better to listen to and enjoy. 

“Hmm,” Naomasa finally responded. “That’s fun.”

Sansa shrugged. “Not really. I mean, sure, it was fun talking with them and stuff but they were so dry to talk to, like, if you’re going to reach out to me then why are you incapable of finding a topic to talk about? You know that note I have in my phone dedicated to things to use to start conversations with people who can’t hold one? I made my way halfway down that list before I gave up talking to them.”

Naomasa grinned. “Oh my. That’s almost impressive.”

“I know it,” Sansa nodded. “It takes some skill to be that dry to talk to.”

“Hmm.”

“Oh!” Sansa smiled, walking quicker. “Here it is!”

Naomasa looked at the shop sign, the words ‘Chicken Salad Chick’ on the side, a green circle with a blond lady beside it. 

“That’s quite the shop.” Naomasa commented. 

Sansa just nodded and opened the front door for him, herding him inside. 

They ordered quickly and sat down, talking more about work and life in general while they waited for their food. It didn’t take as long as he was worried it would, and they came out to present them trays of their meals. 

Naomasa looked down, seeing what he had ordered and being slightly impressed with how enticing they made the slop look. 

“Ohhh, yes,” Sansa danced a little in his seat, grabbing his sandwich with both of his hands and stuffing his first bite into his mouth, smiling and closing his eyes. “Perfecto.”

Naomasa chuckled, shaking his head as he grabbed his own sandwich and began to eat, pleasantly surprised with the taste and texture. 

They ate together and Sansa gave Naomasa the pickle that had come with his sandwich, obviously uninterested in having it on his plate. Naomasa shrugged and ate it, happy enough to have another one. 

“Thanks for coming with me.” Sansa said as they threw their trash away and took their drinks back to the precinct. 

Naomasa smiled, feeling a bit more relaxed now that he had gotten some food and spent some time away from his desk. “Thanks for bringing me along.”

“You know it,” Sansa grinned, shaking his drink around before drinking it as they jogged across the street. “Oh boy, that was uncomfortable.”

“What? Drinking while jogging?” 

Sansa shook his head. “Jogging.”

Naomasa chuckled. “You poor thing.”

“Mmhm. It’s a true tragedy that I've had to deal with things like jogging.” Sansa agreed, exaggerating his pouty-face as he spoke. 

Naomasa smiled at the man, shaking his head while he pulled open the doors to the precinct and let Sansa walk inside before him. 

“Thank you, good sir.” Sansa dramatically thanked him, walking towards his own desk. 

Naomasa smiled, watching his friend walk away before he split off, making his way towards his own office where he needed to spend the next however many hours it took for him to obtain his warrant. 

He opened his office door and stopped. 

Something was wrong.

A chill washed down his back and Naomasa whipped his head around, looking for anyone that might’ve been near him, but the hallway was empty. He grit his teeth, clenching his drink in his hands a bit harder than he needed to and looked around again. 

Something was very, very wrong.

He stepped back into his office, looking around with a careful eye before he kept walking forward. 

Something was off in a way that it hadn’t been before he left. 

He slowly shut the door to his office, standing there for a few seconds, trying to understand what exactly was wrong with the picture in front of him. 

His desk was still a mess like he left it, with papers strewn about and his laptop half-covered, old coffee sitting in a coffee mug, and a cup full of pens and pencils. Behind the desk, his filing cabinets were closed and looked untouched, even the trash can looking like it had before he had left. 

Around the room, nothing seemed to have changed. The pictures he hung up were all in the same spot, the wall itself wasn’t disturbed, the chairs in front of his desk were left the exact same way, but for some unknown reason, something told him his office had been messed with. 

Slowly, Naomasa crept forward, coming around his desk and stared, more than confused at his desktop being on and opened to an employee registry. He sat down, once again his desk feeling odd in a way he couldn’t describe and flicked his attention back to the screen, scrolling a bit out of pure curiosity.  

Naomasa paused and took his time to glare at the screen in front of him, reading it over and over until he gave himself a headache and couldn’t look anymore. 

HPSC Agent Adachi Kaito 

Status: In Field 

Current Alias: Inoue Naoya

Naomasa grit his teeth, falling back into his chair. 

He didn’t know how, but he knew the HPSC had something to do with their current problem. And he knew he’d be the one to get to the bottom of it. 

Chapter Text

The bell rang and Izuku watched as everyone started talking, standing up and stuffing their things into their bags. 

“Remember! I need your essays in one week! And our test is next Friday!” Hinata-sensei, their homeroom teacher, called out. 

“Hai!” A few students yelled out before slipping out the door, rushing to lunch. 

Izuku took his time, more than familiar with this routine, especially when he realized two boys had blocked off the doorway when the teacher slipped out the door, both staring at him. 

“Hey,” Someone from behind him called out as soon as the room was cleared out and the doors were slid shut. “It’s Aizawa, isn’t it?”

Ah, here we go. 

Izuku nodded, flicking his eyes to meet the boy who had stared at him from the back of the room, along with his two lackeys standing at the door. Someone else with a superiority complex?  “Uhm, y-yes. That’s me.”

“Get up.” The boy said with so much hate in his voice that Izuku could confidently say that wasn’t faking when he shot out of his seat and felt his body freeze, as if he was waiting for more instructions to follow. 

A part of him scolds himself for having such a reaction, especially when the boy’s eyes lit up, like he had just gotten a prize of some sort, but a larger part of him was somewhat pleased that there were a few things that were still ingrained into him from middle school. 

Because, if there’s anything that he learned from those hellish years, it was that he always listened to someone else, whether they be commanding him or simply testing the limits of what he would do. 

The boy now in the middle scoffed, looking down his nose to show his disgust towards Izuku. He had a familiar face, like Izuku had seen his features on someone else before, but didn’t take too long to think about it as he stepped forward and Izuku forced himself to step back, hunching in on himself just so. 

He arched an eyebrow. “Call me Yamura. Haruki Yamura.”

Izuku’s eyes widened the moment Yamura’s lit up. 

“Yes. That’s as in the firstborn son of principal Yamura.” He grinned, though it felt wrong to look at. “Go ahead. Call me Yamura.”

Izuku forced himself to exaggerate his swallow as he licked his lips and nodded. “Y-Yamura. It’s, umm, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Hmm.” Yamura smirked, looking at him with an odd glint in his eyes. 

“He’s like a dog.” One of the other boys commented, laughing as he did so. 

Yamura nodded along with him and Izuku swallowed, eyes flicking around the room as he tried not to panic at the idea of being treated like an animal. Again. 

He couldn’t do it. 

“Agh!” Izuku yelled out as someone kicked him down. He distantly heard other boys laughing, but he could only hear those upperclassmen from all those years ago. 

“No!” He cried out, tears streaming down his face as he was kicked down once again, holding his stomach tightly as bile threatened to rise up. “Please! Stop!”

The boy, the terrifying upperclassmen that he tried his hardest to avoid, simply laughed and kicked him again. 

“Silly puppy,” He spoke with mirth in his voice, crouching down to whisper to him. “Doggies can’t speak.”

“Ack!” Izuku screamed as his hair was grabbed and used to pull his head up, forcing him to face the other boy. He sniffled, more tears pouring down as he tried to get control of himself. “No more. Please.” He called out, feeling weak. 

The other rolled his eyes, shoving his face back down into the ground as he kicked at him again. “I guess this lesson wasn’t enough of a reminder for you, huh? All you have to do is be an obedient little dog for me.”

He kicked and Izuku cried out, sweaty forehead dropping to the ground, defeated. 

“Now, bark for me.”

Izuku cried again, eyes squeezed shut tightly. 

“Did you hear me, bitch?” Yamura asked him, looking annoyed as he flicked Izuku’s forehead. 

“Wha- What?” Izuku stuttered as he felt tears well up in his eyes, well aware he was only close to crying because of the memories this brought up rather than the action itself. 

“I mean, you’re essentially useless, aren’t you?” Yamura grinned cruelly, looking down at Izuku. “Do everyone here a favor and go back to where you came from. This school doesn’t need anything to tarnish its respectable reputation.”

“Yeah,” One of the lackeys spoke up. “Just do the only thing you’re capable of doing: Leave.”

“Ha-Ha!” The other boy laughed, pretending to wipe tears from his own eyes. “Yeah! Leave this fucking Earth!”

Izuku’s eyes widened, staring at the boy with unshed tears. 

Go take a swan dive off the roof, fucking Deku.

Yamura sighed, obviously annoyed as he turned to look at the other boys. “Sato, shut the fuck up.”

“Whatever.” The guy who suscide-baited him responded, though he looked thoroughly chastised. 

Izuku couldn’t help but be a bit amused as he watched it happen, though it was concerning to know these kids had no issue throwing around such words to someone they had just met that morning. 

He’d need to watch for Sato and avoid being left alone with him, that was for sure. 

“Don’t forget your place, useless,” Yamura said, turning away from him. He wondered if he missed another part of the conversation he hadn’t heard since Sato was walking towards them, getting closer and closer to Izuku. “Beneath the rest of us.”

Don’t forget your place, stupid Deku!

Izuku felt the first tear drop, sliding quickly down his cheeks and dripping off his chin and the only thing he could bring himself to think about was if that tear was salty or not. He knew it wasn’t from sadness, more from the amount of sudden memories that were flashing through his mind, but it still didn’t feel good as it happened. 

Honestly, he felt awful.

“Awe, look, the little bitch is crying!” Sato grinned down at him, kicking his leg with little effort, as if to just get his attention rather than beat him up again. “Don’t worry, useless. There’s plenty more where that came from.”

They walked away, finally done with him and as they slipped out the door, Yamura called back, “Hope to see you tomorrow~” and Izuku swallowed roughly, watching as the door slammed shut and he sank further against the wall he had been propped up on. 

Holy shit. What a day. 

He didn’t realize old feelings would resurface as he acted undercover, but now that they’re back, he really wants them to leave. 

There’s something so cold about the resignation settling into his bones, forcing him to accept his life of loneliness for the time being and a life without comfort. 

God he wanted his mother so badly right then. 

His phone buzzed and Izuku sniffed, finally wiping away the tears that had fallen and breathed a broken sigh out as he fumbled around for his phone, trying to figure out who was messaging him. 

Aizawa-sensei: Are you okay to continue?

Izuku breathed out again, shaking his head as he got up off the floor and brushed his pants off, a bit annoyed that Aizawa seemed to be ready to pull him out of this mission, probably because he’s acting so weak already. 

Izuku: I’m fine. 

He stared at his phone for a moment, wondering if he should say anything else before another text came through. 

Aizawa-sensei: Okay.

He stared at his phone, unsure of what he was feeling but put it away before he cared to identify what he was feeling. 

That wasn’t something he could spend too much time worrying about, especially since he’s wasted half of his precious lunch break already and he should expect the other kids to come back soon enough. 

Izuku walked over to his bag and opened it up, thankful to see his bento unharmed and untouched. He pulled it open, staring at his sad lunch before beginning to eat. 

Although he knew going into this that he wouldn’t be able to eat what he was used to eating in UA, he was not happy about only having a snack-sized position of a few takoyaki balls and a small beef bao with shepherds purse to go with it. Oh well. He’d make up the calories he was losing during lunch as he ate dinner tonight. 

It’s just-- Well, it was dangerous being at school with a full stomach. And that wasn’t an experience he was fond of reliving. 

He finished his food quickly, tossing his bento back into the bottom of his bag and pulled out his notebook, only allowing himself to doodle as he thought about his peers and who he was supposed to potentially be looking out for. He knew the students weren’t going to be the big problem, so his goal was to fly under the radar and figure out which teachers were paying too much attention to him. 

But, he also knew students could be cruel and create inconveniences, so he avoided writing down any of his findings as he drew from the rest of the time, uninterested in being found out all because he needed to write about what he had learned about the school during school. 

Slowly, students started trickling back into the classroom, the first few being quiet enough and using their backpacks as pillows to rest their heads for the small amount of time they had left of lunch. 

A few gave him odd looks, like he looked as if there was something wrong with him, though he knew that could be a plethora of things, such as his freckles or his quirklessness making him look inherently unattractive and displeasing to the eyes.

But then he watched as Hinata-sensei paused from where he was standing in the door, locking eyes with Izuku and he was suddenly aware that he had been kicked and rolling around on the floor and there was probably a tear on his uniform from it or, at the very least, dirt all over him. 

He tensed, eyes flicking down to his desk, unable to make himself look up from his notebook and he heard the man sigh as he walked in further, the bell ringing and classes starting back up like usual. 

The rest of the day passed by like he expected it to happen, with only a few hiccups when he was called on by teachers and needed to answer the hardest questions out of the unit they were currently learning from. 

Unfortunately for them, UA’s curriculum was much more strict, which meant he knew every single answer expected of him. 

But he couldn’t let them know that. So, he stumbled through his answers, taking care to get them wrong using the right process and allowing himself to shrink into his seat with each wrong answer, looking more and more defeated by the time school was officially let out for the day. 

“Aizawa-kun,” Hinata-sensei called out after the bell rang, silencing his rowdy classmates. “Stay behind.”

He nodded, sinking back into his seat, ducking his head and biting his lip as the class started up again, all whispering and sneaking glances at him as they walked out, obviously happy that they’d have a plethora of gossip to talk about as they walked home. 

He watched as Yamura and his lackeys walked past him, all three smirking at him as they walked out last, with Sato slamming the door closed as he did so. 

And then it was just Izuku and Hinata-sensei left. 

“Come up here,” Hinata-sensei said, sounding annoyed at him for still being in his seat. “Unless you want me to lecture you like we’re still in class.”

Izuku shook his head, keeping his eyes down as he grabbed his bag, tossing it on his back as he hurried to the front of the room, gritting his teeth as he stood in front of the man, wondering if he’d be like the teachers from Aldera or a different beast entirely.  

“I understand this is your first day here, but we do not accept our students to wear dirty and ruined uniforms around here.” Hinata-sensei scolded him, not even looking at him as he wiped off the whiteboard. “See to it that you don’t forget.”

Izuku nodded, looking as sheepish as he could force himself while anger sizzled through his veins, making him grit his teeth harder and drop his head down, eyes glued to the floor beneath him. 

“I understand, sensei.” He said as respectfully as he could, standing in front of the man as he waited for a proper dismissal. He knew from experience that if he left before he was given the all-clear, he usually got weekly detentions that he could’ve lived without. 

It was silent for a few seconds, but eventually, he heard Hinata-sensei hum to himself as he turned around and stood facing Izuku. 

“I will see you tomorrow.” He seemed to warn him. “I hope, for both of our sakes, that you do not disappoint me again.”

Izuku nodded, taking the dismissal for what it was when the man turned back to the whiteboard and clutched at the straps of his bag as he sped-walked out of there, not wanting to overstay his welcome. 

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down as he made his way towards the side door he had scooped out on a map the other night. 

He had started avoiding the front doors like the plague during his first year at middle school, mostly because going through them would guarantee a day of hell rather than slight inconveniences throughout the day. 

He had a good feeling this school followed the same social rules, which meant he’d be using as many different entrances to get to class as he could manage. 

There was no reason to make himself an easier target than he had already made himself. Hopefully his previous efforts would be enough to continue the mission or he was going to need to reinvest in some bruise cream. 

Izuku stepped outside and made sure to look around as well as he possibly could, happy to see no one from the school still standing out in the side parking lot as Aizawa’s sleek car pulled up and he hurriedly got in, uninterested in spending too much time out in the open. 

He groaned, his bruises no doubt rubbing against the seat and being irritated as he pulled his bag off of his back and put it down near his feet. 

“What the hell happened?” Aizawa asked, seemingly comfortable demanding an answer from him. 

Izuku grit his teeth, looking out the window as he reluctantly answered. “That was life as a quirkless kid.”

“They beat you and blamed you for your ripped uniform.” Aizawa pointed out, no doubt confused as to why this happened the way it did. 

Izuku sighed. “Yes, they did.”

“You didn’t stop them.”

“Why would I?” Izuku turned to look at Aizawa then, not understanding the man. “I won’t defend myself and risk compromising this mission--”

“But you don’t need to just… take it. You can at least fight back--”

“And earn myself detention for life?” Izuku huffed out an unamused laugh. “No way. That’s completely off the table.”

“Why? You know how to defend yourself--”

“An average quirkless high schooler doesn’t know how to defend themselves.” Izuku explained, his eyes sliding back to the window to watch the buildings pass them by as they drove. 

“Aren’t you underestimating the quirkless?” Aizawa piped up after a moment, making Izuku pause. “They aren’t defenseless simply because they don’t have a quirk--”

“You think I’m not aware of that?” Izuku spoke through gritted teeth, forcing himself to keep staring out the window so Aizawa couldn’t see the anger on his face and in his eyes. 

Aizawa sighed. “I think you’re too smart to think like that. But that still doesn’t explain why you won’t defend yourself.”

Izuku stayed silent for a moment, still staring out the window and ignoring the way the wind was blowing around, the dark clouds rolling in and covering the sun. 

“It’s too late to change it now,” Izuku eventually settled on. “Those kids already think I’m an easy target and nothing will change that now.”

Aizawa sighed again and Izuku ignored the man in favor of trying to calm his spinning mind. 

He was too close to this kind of role and Aizawa was so close to figuring out why Izuku knew how to play the part of a frail quirkless kid. It was only a matter of time before Aizawa started asking more questions, wondering why Izuku knew to do certain things, wondering why Izuku was comfortable in this position when any sane high schooler would be freaking out about the treatment they’d been subjected to. 

But, of course, Izuku just had to be the hero once again. He knew he didn’t want any of his classmates to understand what it meant to be undercover as a quirkless kid and he certainly didn’t want any of his loved ones getting too close to a dangerous case that was guaranteed to leave a few bruises. 

Rain pouring down on the car snapped Izuku out of his thoughts momentarily, turning to see Aizawa frowning up at the sky as he made a turn in the opposite direction and sighed to himself.

“Umm…”

Aizawa sighed again. “We’re a few minutes away from my place. I was going to get us inside to wait out the storm just in case it gets worse.”

Izuku nodded, well aware the man wouldn’t take any of his students to his home unless there was a good enough reason to have them over. “Okay.”

Aizawa flicked his eyes over to look at Izuku, but he didn’t notice as he turned back to look out the window, watching the rain pour down as if buckets of water were being poured onto them without mercy. 

True to his word, in only a few minutes they were pulling into a parking garage right next to an apartment complex and Izuku perked up, his curiosity about where Aizawa lived awakening as they drove up and up, finally parking at the fifth floor.  

“Come on, kid.” Aizawa told him as he shut off the car and got out, leaving Izuku to scramble out of his own seat, feeling more than awkward. 

“Are you sure?” He had to ask, suddenly worried about going into this. He didn’t want to burden his teacher more than he already was with all of this stuff.  

Aizawa gave him a flat look and he nodded, not speaking any longer as he trailed behind Aizawa like a little duckling, stepping into an elevator with him and riding it up, silently stepping into a hall and walking all the way down to the end where Aizawa pulled out a key and unlocked it, kicking at something in the door as soon as he walked in. 

“No.” Aizawa grumbled, leaving Izuku a bit baffled before he saw the furry gray tail in front of them. 

Ah. He hadn’t realized that Aizawa owned cats. 

That was…much different than he had pictured the man’s apartment. If he was being totally honest with himself, he half-expected to see nothing but the man’s sleeping bag and maybe some food sitting on the counter ready to go at a moment’s notice. 

When he pushed open the door, he realized he grossly underestimated the man’s sense of style and ability to decorate a home. 

“Come on in,” Aizawa instructed him as he pushed the door open further, pointing down to slippers that looked to be his size. “Use those.”

He watched as Aizawa took off his own boots, toeing them up on the shoe rack before slipping into pink slippers and Izuku felt his mind break a little as he watched the man walk into his apartment, leaving Izuku to simply stand in front of it, taking it all in. 

The little entryway was a rectangle and directly in front of him was the man’s living room that seemed to have been decorated by someone who was a maximalist through and through. There were two rugs draped across each other on the floor with a funky wood coffee table sitting atop of it, a couch and a few armchairs facing towards the TV that was mounted on the wall. 

There was a picture wall behind the couch and the room was painted a dark green, with the wall behind the couch being a slight pink color to it. Or maybe that was peach. He couldn’t really tell. 

“Close that door for me.” Aizawa called out and Izuku finally snapped back to himself, remembering what he was supposed to be doing and hurriedly tossed his bag on the bench in front of him, putting his shoes up on the shoe rack and slipping into the yellow slippers.  

The cat came around the corner, staring at Izuku and he stared back, unsure of what to do. 

It was completely gray, with its eyes a dark green color and he was immediately enraptured by the animal, falling in love with it faster than he had any right to do. 

“Who’s this?” Izuku softly asked as he slowly crouched down, holding out his hand for the cat to sniff at. 

The cat came up to him easily, sniffing at his hand before looking up at him, blinking and walking away, leaving Izuku more than disappointed. He had wanted to pet the cat. 

“Abu.” Aizawa answered him, putting a big bowl of cold noodles out in the middle of the table. “He’s an ass, so make sure to watch your step.”

Izuku nodded, though a part of him couldn’t help but smile at how fond his teacher seemed to be of the cat, no matter what the man’s words were. His tone said it all. He obviously loved it. 

Aizawa walked around, huffing to himself when he checked his phone and digging through a hall closet that was on the wall of the couch. 

“There’s an official storm watch for the night,” Aizawa announced, throwing a blanket and pillow onto the couch. “So just stay here and I’ll take you to school in the morning.”

Izuku blinked and looked outside, watching harsh winds blow around tree branches and rain thundering down. “Uhh--”

“Don’t fight it, kid,” Aizawa warned him, turning back around and walking into the kitchen. “Hizashi said there’s a typhoon warning out for the area.”

“Hizashi?” Izuku questioned before shaking his head. “Wait…typhoon? In this area?”

Aizawa shrugged. “Who knows. We get so many warnings a year but hardly anything ever happens. Oh, and Hizashi is Yamada.”

Izuku blinked, filing that tidbit of information for later when he could properly process it and kept staring at Aizawa, wondering when the man answered people with more information than he needed to. 

Maybe Aizawa was coming down with a cold. 

“Fucking storm.” The man grumbled as he moved around. 

Izuku tilted his head, staring at him. Hmm. Maybe he was just complaining. Either option was completely viable at the moment. 

“Now, come on. Let’s eat.” Aizawa spoke up, walking back into the kitchen, coming out with plates and bowls to set down on the dining table. 

He followed the man, his stomach gurgling loudly as he drew closer, looking over the feast Aizawa seemed to prepare. 

Izuku looked at him questioningly. 

“I meal prep on Mondays.” He explained, grabbing a cheese rangoon and stuffing it in his face. 

Izuku nodded, feeling a bit dizzy as he grabbed his own utensils and grabbed himself some of the naengmyeon and threw some green onions on top of it before mixing it around, quietly saying his thanks before digging in. 

He had to say, Aizawa was a much better cook than Izuku thought he was. 

He stuffed his face, eagerly trying the food set out, though he had to pause to avoid choking on his food as he ate the naengmyeon and ended up cutting the noodles to eat them. He was happy enough to see steamed buns sitting out on a plate, just waiting for him to devour them.

He watched out of the corner of his eye as Aizawa raised an eyebrow at him and Izuku stuffed more food into his mouth, shrugging at him as he reached over to grab another steamed bun. 

“I had a light lunch.” Izuku explained as soon as his mouth wasn’t as full. 

“No kidding.” Aizawa said dryly, slowly eating his own noodles and reaching over to grab some kimchi, putting it on his noodles. 

Izuku stared at him, pausing for a moment before copying him, taking a bite and closing his eyes as he enjoyed the taste. Maybe his teacher really did have working taste-buds despite the concerning amounts of coffee he consumed on a regular basis. 

Color Izuku impressed. 

“Slow down,” Aizawa grumbled, rolling his eyes as Izuku enjoyed his food. “You’ll give yourself a stomach ache.”

Izuku glanced over at him, slurping up his noodles before he finally nodded, reaching over to grab his water and drinking a few sips of it, trying to remind himself not to look so desperate for food in front of his real homeroom teacher. 

Who knows what kind of lecture he’d have to sit through if the man realized how small his lunch actually was. 

“Right.” Izuku agreed, a bit sheepish as he forced himself to take slower bites, savoring the food.

They ate peacefully together, with the only sounds being their utensils and the cat eating with them, which made him a bit amused with everything. 

When they were finished up, Aizawa pushed himself out of his chair and Izuku finally looked up, watching as the man walked away again and Izuku got out of his own seat, watching the man oddly.  

Aizawa pulled open a hall closet door, digging around for a few moments before closing it back up and walking back towards the dining room where Izuku was awkwardly standing in.  

“Wear these.” Aizawa told him, throwing clothes directly into his face. 

Izuku grabbed them, holding them out to look at them with a light frown. “Whose are these?”

Aizawa gave him an unimpressed look. “Gandhi.”

Izuku looked away, dropping his arms as he felt his face flush, more than embarrassed over the stupid question he just asked. “Right.”

“Bathroom is the first door on the left down the hallway,” Aizawa prompted, still cleaning up their dinner. “Go on.”

He stood there, feeling out of place when the man moved the leftover food to the kitchen, tossing plates into the sink and cleaning up without expecting Izuku to help him. 

Aizawa sighed. “Go and change, Midoriya.”

“Right, sensei.”

Aizawa winced. “And don’t call me ‘sensei’ in my apartment.”

“Right…Aizawa.” Izuku responded, scurrying away and ducking into the bathroom as quickly as he could. 

He shut the door and breathed out. 

“Sensei.” He whispered the honorific, unable to help himself. 

He pulled on the clothes, happy enough to see the clothes fit him well and glanced over to the sink, feeling a bit touched when he noticed the new toothbrush and small toothpaste set out for him. 

He cleaned himself up, washing his face while he was at it and nodded to himself in the mirror, ready to get to bed and sleep off the woes of the day. 

Izuku walked out, feeling refreshed and marginally better as he made his way to the living room, where Aizawa was sitting down in an armchair, reading through a packet of some sort. 

Izuku cleared his throat, making his way over to the couch, stumbling over himself to avoid the cat pat that darted out to hit his ankle from underneath the couch. 

“How was your day?” Aizawa asked, only looking up from his packet when Izuku turned around to face the man. “Any clarifying questions about the mission?”

Izuku shook his head, not really needing to say anything to debrief the man about how his day had gone or what the mission was about. He knew enough to know there was a reason they didn’t tell me exactly who he was supposed to be monitoring and he knew he should respect it, no matter how curious he was about it all. 

“Are you positive there’s nothing you’d like to tell me?” Aizawa prompted him, looking at Izuku expectantly. 

“What?” Izuku said, tensing to avoid shivering as cold washed down his spine. There was no way Aizawa knew about him actually being quirkless. He couldn’t know. 

It was only the first goddamn day. There was no way Izuku already gave up all of his clues about his closely guarded secret. 

“The way you handled today was not something I see every seventeen year old deal with the same way you have.”

“So?” Izuku growled in response, defensive. 

Aizawa sighed. “I just want to understand.”

“You don’t need to--”

“And why is that?” Aizawa pushed, looking at him intently. “Hmm? Why don’t I need to know about this?”

“Because!”

“Because?”

“Because it doesn’t affect you!” Izuku yelled out, finally bursting from the tension of the day and this conversation. “Because it doesn’t even affect me anymore!”

Aizawa looked at him. “I don’t care what you have to say, it obviously still does affect you. Whatever it is.”

Izuku huffed. “It shouldn’t.”

“That doesn’t mean it won’t.” Aizawa advised him. 

Izuku grit his teeth together, stubbornly looking the other way. 

“You can tell me--”

“No.” Izuku shut him down without looking back, staring at the wall in front of him, ignoring how damning it felt to stop hearing Aizawa’s footsteps approaching him. “I can’t.”

It was quiet for a moment too long, long enough to make Izuku wonder if he had messed up and been too shut off for Aizawa before he heard the man let out a breath. 

“Feel free to tell me when you can, then.” He finally said, still standing behind Izuku for a few seconds before walking away and he listened to a pitter patter of footsteps follow him out and down the hall. 

“I’ll try.” Izuku whispered as he sat down on the couch, curling in on himself and wincing as he felt his bruises ache from the position though he refused to move again. 

It was silent for about half an hour before he heard a door creak open and listened to soft footsteps pad down the hall, little pitter patter following after them, making Izuku smile to himself as he listened. 

Aizawa came around the hall in a dark shirt and pink sweatpants that made Izuku’s mind break a little and he flicked his eyes all around the living room, looking incredibly out of place for someone who lived in the apartment. 

“You want to watch a show?” Aizawa stood in front of him, looking incredibly awkward as he held up the remote in his hand, tilting his head to stare at Izuku just so. 

Izuku watched out of the corner of his eye as the cat walked through the living room, laying down on the rug underneath the coffee table. 

He silently nodded, moving around to make room for Aizawa on the couch, pulling his legs up and tucking them under himself as the man sat down next to him and turned on the TV, showing off the cable channels he had. 

He flipped through them, landing on an old show called ‘The Joy of Painting’ by some American painter named Bob Ross and he blinked, looking over at Aizawa questioningly. 

The man sighed, seemingly knowing exactly what question Izuku had in mind as he gestured loosely to the TV. “Hizashi got super into American shows when we were roommates. This was one that played nearly 24/7 in our apartment, so I suppose you could call it a habit to put on.”

Izuku nodded. “Ah.”

It was quiet as they watched the man paint trees and Izuku chewed on his lip, feeling incredibly awkward. 

“Do you prefer something different?” Aizawa suddenly piped up, sounding a bit unsure. 

Izuku thought it was the oddest tone he had ever heard from the man. 

“No, this is fine.” He assured him, sinking into the couch as he tried to get comfortable in an effort to prove how comfortable he was with this choice. 

They watched a full three episodes and Izuku could confidently say he understood why Aizawa took a liking to this American show. There was something so soothing about listening to the host paint all the different landscapes, like background noise anyone could fall asleep to. 

He sunk further into the couch, untensing his muscles as he relaxed around his teacher, still curled up on his side of the couch.

Once their fourth episode finished, Aizawa turned off the TV and Izuku watched as Aizawa tossed the remote onto the other armchair, sitting back onto the couch as he kept staring at the blank TV. Izuku followed suit, not looking at him, though he felt like he could hear Aizawa’s head turning with thoughts. 

He wondered what they were. 

“You’ll tell me if you need my help? Right?” Aizawa finally asked. 

“I will.” Izuku promised quietly, staring at the dark TV and ignoring the way his heart ached when he lied to the man. 

“Just-” Aizawa sighed, something heavy hanging in the unspoken air. “Try to get some sleep, alright, kid?”

Izuku simply stared at the TV in front of him, listening to the winds blow viciously around the building, the rain smacking against the windows and forcing himself to close his eyes, not interested in properly dealing with anything tomorrow. 

He ignored the few stray tears that slipped out from his eyes, pretending to not notice them as he grit his teeth and counted imaginary sheep until he finally fell unconscious. 

What a fucking day. 

Chapter Text

“Pft. Look at little Deku, trying to do something,” They laughed, kicking his back and knocking him back down, face planting first into the wet mud below him. 

“Why does he keep trying?” Ito, one of his worst bullies in middle school, spoke up, approaching him. 

Izuku couldn’t help it. He froze. 

At the sound of the other boy’s voice, he quit fighting against the torment and laid there, waiting for the next blow. 

He didn’t care that he wasn’t quirkless anymore. At heart, he’d always be the worthless failure that he was growing up. Nothing, not even All Might, could change that for him. 

“Try not to scream.” Ito whispered in his ear, shivers crawling up his spine at the feeling. 

Izuku grit his teeth and closed his eyes, staying still. 

Forget having a quirk, he couldn't even bring himself to use it against his bullies. Had he always been this easy to bully? So useless that he simply laid down and took everything they offered him?

There was something about the mud drying on his face and the sweat dripping down his back, making his cuts sting that bothered him. The way every breath forced him to tighten his core in hopes of avoiding aggravating the bruises littering his skin annoyed him. It all made his skin tingle, an itch under there that he himself was incapable of scratching himself. 

Izuku grit his teeth, his entire body tensing as someone ran their finger down his spine, stopping at the small of his back. 

He dropped his head, the itch lying directly under their finger. And yet, he didn’t move to scratch. He didn’t move to alleviate the irritation building underneath him. 

He simply held his breath, a strong kick knocking the wind out of him and pushing him further into the earth, as if they were trying to bury him alive. 

Salty tears wet the mud beneath him and Izuku couldn’t even sob for fear of making too much noise as they kicked him again and again, his throat tight and back screaming. 

He truly was the definition of a dekunobou doll.  

The point of a knife trailed his back and Izuku stopped breathing, not wanting to see what they’d be doing to him. 

“I’d say our doll needs some re-branding, don’t ‘cha think?”

“Oh-ho. That’s a good one, Ito. Brand him.”

Izuku shook his head furiously, unable to stay quiet any longer. 

“Hold still, Deku~ or this might hurt a lot worse.” Ito giggled, shoving the knife into him. 

Izuku sobbed into the earth, hiccuping as the pain forced more tears out, wailing for mother nature to help him. 

. . . 

Izuku snapped his eyes open, shooting up and off the couch, trying to figure out where he was and why he was freaking out. 

“Meow.” 

He looked down, hand still held over his heart and softened when he saw Abu walking around and pushing up against the corner of the couch. 

“Morning to you too, kitty.” Izuku greeted, rubbing at his eyes as he calmed himself back down. 

It seemed it was just a nightmare that woke him up. A clap of thunder lit up the window and Izuku jumped again, shaking his head as he looked outside and realized it was still raining outside. 

It was shaping up to be a dreary day. 

“Coffee?” 

Izuku whirled around to see Aizawa standing beside the couch, eyes closed as he held a cup of coffee to his lips. 

Izuku smiled as he shook his head. “I’m good, thanks.”

Aizawa grunted and Izuku took his time watching as his teacher visibly gathered himself enough to finally open his eyes and his face fell slightly at the pouring rain, wrinkling his nose. 

Huh. He always thought Aizawa would’ve enjoyed the rain for some reason. 

He wondered how odd it would be for him to ask the man about that. 

“Your clothes are hanging in the bathroom,” Aizawa said, coffee still resting on his bottom lip as he spoke. “We’ve got a few minutes before we gotta get on the road.”

Izuku nodded, making his way towards the bathroom. “Right, uhh, thanks, Aizawa-sensei.”

Aizawa made a warning sound and Izuku backtracked immediately. 

“I meant Aizawa.” Izuku coughed. “Sorry…Aizawa.”

The man huffed and Izuku scurried into the restroom, sighing when he finally shut the door. 

“Meow.”

Izuku snapped his head down, looking in slight awe at the cat that sat on the mat, licking its paw and staring up at Izuku. 

“How in the hell did you get in here, Abu?” Izuku mumbled, moving closer. 

The cat didn’t respond, obviously content to sit and stare at Izuku the entire time he got ready. 

Wonderful. 

It was a quick affair to get himself ready for the day, turning away from Abu when the cat didn’t budge as he changed. He sighed to himself, looking his belt through the loop and opened the bathroom door, glancing behind him only to see Abu gone. 

He cracked the door open further, jumping when he saw Abu sitting down in front of the door, staring into his soul. 

What an odd cat. 

“Abu…” He heard Aizawa call out, shaking a bag around. The cat sauntered off towards the kitchen, where he obviously found his owner. 

Izuku shook his head slightly at the display. He could confidently say that he did not understand that cat at all. 

He wondered if Aizawa could understand Abu or not. 

“Eat slower, fatty.” Aizawa grumbled. 

Izuku snickered with disbelief. Maybe his teacher did understand Abu better than he thought. 

He walked out of the hallway to see Aizawa drinking his coffee as he stood next to Abu, who was inhaling the food set out in front of him. 

“You ready?” Aizawa asked, still focused on his coffee. 

Izuku blinked. He hadn’t realized Aizawa would be aware of his every move, though it made sense given his occupation--

“Midoriya. Are you ready to go?” Aizawa raised a brow at him as he asked again. 

Izuku smiled awkwardly, arm coming up to rub at the back of his neck. “Umm, yeah. Yeah, I’m ready.”

“Good,” Aizawa nodded. “Then let’s go.”

Aizawa gulped down the rest of his coffee, putting the mug in the sink before walking to the front. Izuku scrambled to follow after him, more than a bit put-off by watching his teacher inhale his morning coffee. 

He grabbed his bag and stepped into his shoes as he followed Aizawa out the door, down the hall, down the elevator and into the parking garage. 

They hopped into the car and Izuku watched his teacher intently as the man grumbled to himself, driving out of the safety of the garage and out into the pouring rain. The man turned on his wipers and Izuku watched as he slowly crept closer and closer to the windshield, staring out at the road intently. 

Aizawa grumbled again, squinting his eyes as he moved even closer to the steering wheel. 

Izuku cleared his throat. “You don’t like rain?” He finally asked, pretending to be much less interested in the man’s response than he really was. 

“I don’t like inconveniences.” Aizawa responded. 

“Huh.” Izuku blinked to himself. He needed to remember that so he could write it in his notebooks when he got back to the dorms tonight. He’s sure he could find a way to use the information for something. 

Without thinking about it, Izuku felt around his bag, tensing up when he didn’t feel his notebook before he forced himself to calm down. 

This wasn’t actually a repeat of middle school. 

He wasn’t some hero-obsessed quirkless nerd with stalkerish notebooks. He was simply quirkless. 

And his notebooks were safe at the dorms, not in his secret front pocket like they used to be. 

There was an odd sense of deja-vu as he went to school under the pretense of being quirkless. 

At UA, it seemed as though he had gotten used to having friends to talk and laugh with throughout the day. He had gotten used to the caring staff and their slightly cryptic principal watching over him. 

Hell, he had even gotten used to the villain attacks at some point. 

But there was something so daunting about the idea of showing up to school, this school, with the same sinking feeling in his stomach as he used to get as he prepared for another day of hell on earth, also known as his middle school years. 

“You ready?” Aizawa asked him, brows furrowed as he looked at him. 

Izuku glanced out the windows to see the school in front of them and belatedly realized he spent most of the trip in his own head. 

Izuku nodded, lying straight through his teeth. “Mmhm. I’m good.”

Aizawa didn’t seem to believe him, but granted him the courtesy of not acknowledging his lie. He simply nodded and unlocked the doors, letting Izuku gather himself and get out of the car, sighing to himself as he dove into the sea of students, doing his best to avoid getting too close to anyone as he made his way over to House Three. 

It was only sprinkling now, which Izuku was eternally grateful for since he hadn’t thought to ask Aizawa for a raincoat or an umbrella. 

He walked up the steps, nearly half-way up when he felt the familiar zing of danger sense and tensed. 

“Morning, quirkless.” Someone chuckled, grabbing his bag and pulling him down the stairs. 

Izuku wrapped his arms around his head, wincing as he fell down and landed in a small puddle. He heard a few giggles and felt stares as he picked himself up from the ground, brushing himself off and rushing inside, not wanting to be late. 

What a great start to the day. 

He ran into his classroom, sitting down as soon as the bell rang and breathed out a sigh of relief, not wanting to worry too much about being late. 

The day went on as usual. He was perpetually uncomfortable in the wooden seat and slightly damp from his fall in the morning that left him shivering when the school turned on their AC. People threw small balls of paper at him throughout the day and he forced himself to ignore it all. Teachers called on him to answer a question only to interrupt him and explain how he was wrong before going on to teach the rest of the class. 

And then lunch came. And Izuku had every intention to stay put and maybe get in a much-needed nap, except he noticed a few others staying behind along with him and Izuku raced out towards the courtyard, uninterested in being beat up in that classroom once again. 

The courtyard was huge, though he supposed that made sense since this school was mind-breakingly ginormous. And, luckily enough, it had a roof over it to protect them from the heavy rain that was still pouring down. 

He walked around, seeing kids in different colored uniforms, obviously belonging to the other houses and wondered to himself how the lunch rotations even worked as he found a large Pagoda Tree to sit underneath and take a breath, relaxing against the trunk of it. 

He stared out at a few of his peers standing in a circle, kicking a hacky-sack around between them. There were a few students playing a game with one holding note cards and the others guessing what the definitions were. 

Zing!

Izuku hunched his shoulders in, right before his bicep was grabbed and he was dragged away from the tree, a few feet away from the trunk. 

“Finally,” He heard Yamura say. “I thought you had disappeared.”

That was the goal. Izuku squeezed his eyes shut, scolding himself for having such defiant thoughts. 

This was only a mission. Nothing more, nothing less.

“Hey, quirkless,” Danger Sense went off again and Izuku tensed just in time for someone to kick his stomach, forcing him to curl around himself with a drawn-out groan. “We’re talkin’ to you.”

Izuku glanced up, locking eyes with Yamura as he did so, unable to look away from the boy. 

Yamura grinned. “Good to see you again, loser.”

Izuku grit his teeth, an old wound flaring up in his bones at the sound of Yamura’s mocking. 

It was just like middle school. Same old quirkless loser being beaten up and bullied for something beyond his control. 

But…it was different this time. 

There was a certainty in his bones that hadn’t been there when he was actually quirkless. There was something that whispered to him, “You’re worth it” and Izuku grasped onto it, holding as tightly as he could manage and allowed himself to let the hateful words wash down his back. 

He kept staring into Yamura’s eyes and watched closely, trying to pick out a single emotion from them. Interestingly enough, Izuku could only see the face of someone desperate. 

He wondered what that could possibly mean. 

“Ahh!” Izuku yelled out, curling around his midsection as he was kicked again. 

“What a vocal bitch.” Sato laughed, grinning down at him. “I wonder how much louder he can go?”

“Wanna find out?” The other lackey asked, something sinister in their voices. 

Izuku groaned, uninterested in finding out how far these kids were willing to go to show him his proper place.

“Hey!” He heard someone shout. “Get the fuck off him, Haruki!”

Izuku opened his eyes and turned his attention to a tall girl storming their way, her navy hair flowing behind her as if she was underwater, her eyes flashing a bright blue the angrier she got. She came out of the shadows of the trees and Izuku cocked his head to one side, wondering why her skin seemed to be glinting blue in the sunlight. 

He heard Yamura scoff, kicking Izuku hard before finally backing up and spitting at the ground next to him. 

“Of course the villainess would take a liking to your kind. ” Yamura growled, clenching his fists. “Let’s go.” He stormed off in the opposite direction, his two lackeys following closely behind him. 

“Are you alright?” She called out, her voice smooth and relaxing. 

Izuku felt himself relax slightly. There didn’t seem to be any reason to worry around her. 

“I’m fine.” He promised her, brushing off her worries. 

She looked at him, a sorrowful sort of sadness dancing in her eyes. “Ah, right. Well, you may call me Adachi. If you’d like.”

Izuku nodded, wincing slightly as he pushed himself up, brushing his palms together and feeling the sting as he wiped the dirt off of him. “Call me Aizawa, please.”

She smiled but there was nothing but sadness in her expression. “It’s good to formally meet you, Aizawa-kun.”

He nodded, a part of him feeling weird about enjoying being called that. “You as well, Adachi-chan.”

It was quiet between the two of them and Izuku glanced around, hoping to find something about the courthouse that he could talk about with her, or else this was going to be so much more awkward than it already was. 

“Sorry about, well, all of them.” She spoke up, picking at her nails and Izuku quickly jumped to reassure her. 

“It’s fine! I mean, umm, there’s no reason for you to apologize.” Izuku chuckled awkwardly as he finished talking before shaking his head at himself. He couldn’t believe how difficult it was to speak with someone who was only showing him basic kindness. She probably didn’t even want to have this conversation. 

She smiled, a tinge of sadness in it. “Right.” After picking at her nails for a few silent moments, she turned her attention back towards him. “You’re new aren’t you? The one in House Three.”

Izuku nodded, warily looking at her. “Yeah, that’s me.”

“Well, it’s good to finally meet you.” She said, looking over him with a critical eye. 

And, for some reason, he couldn’t find it in himself to care. 

In fact, he smiled at her and nodded. “It’s great to meet you as well.”

She smiled back. “Yes.”

“Mm.”

“Umm, can I--”

“Is there--”

Izuku felt his face fall as he flailed his arms around, his face slowly growing red. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to talk over you! Please, go ahead.”

“But, I mean, are you sure?”

“Please,” Izuku pushed her. “I insist.”

“Oh,” She chuckled, clearing her throat. “Alright, then. I was just going to ask why you transferred here in the middle of a school year.”

Izuku gnawed on his lip, glancing down at the ground below him. “Ahh. I, umm, well…I had some issues at my other school.”

“Ah.”

“Yeah.” Izuku rocked back and forth, the awkwardness between them coming back in full force. Even if this was the part he needed to be playing, he still felt so weird about having this conversation with this girl he had just met. 

Maybe he needed to take up acting classes for his next undercover assignment. Or, at least, practice talking to other people without sounding like he had been in isolation for the past ten years. 

“Well, I’m gonna go back to my homeroom,” Izuku said, pointing with his thumb at the building behind them. “Umm, would you like to join me?”

She brightened and Izuku knew he had made the right decision. “Sure!”

They walked together and Izuku glanced around, watching as a few people stared at them and pointed. 

“Sorry about this.” He mumbled, kicking at the ground. 

She shook her head. “Don’t be. It’s my fault. They all think I’m a villain in the making.”

Izuku frowned. “That’s stupid.”

She looked at him oddly. “...You believe something different?”

He shrugged. “I just think it’s a bit presumptuous to judge someone based on the rumors of them.”

“There’s usually some truth to rumors, though. That’s how they stick.”

“Well, in that case, I think I’ll form my own opinion of you and report back.” He joked with her, forgetting his persona for a second. 

She hummed. “You’re very interesting, Aizawa-kun. Perhaps that’s why they don’t like you all that much.”

“You think that’s the reason?‘

She huffed. “Haruki might be terrible, but he usually has a bigger reason for bullying people. There’s always something other than what he says it is.”

Izuku laughed, something more relaxed than what he had done before. “I see. Well, have you found any particular reason that he might use to not like me?”

“Hmm, I’m not really sure.”

“...Ya know,” Izuku started conversationally. “I haven’t seen them bully anyone else around here. Do they?”

She chewed at her lip as she responded. “I’ve never seen Haruki like that, so hateful, but…then again, we’ve never had a…umm, well, one of you at this school.”

Izuku nodded, knowing what she was trying to get at. “Ahh, I see. What’s he usually like?”

“Still unbearable,” She answered without hesitation. “But, he’s never been cruel. Just…annoying beyond belief.”

Izuku nodded, not wanting to overstep his boundaries by asking more clarifying questions but still feeling that curiosity burn his throat and coat his tongue the more he thought about it. 

They walked back into House Three and Izuku wondered if she was in his class or just in the same building as him. He couldn’t remember her being in any of the seats, but he had directed most of his attention to all of the obvious bullies rather than the potentially bullied. 

Something for him to think about later, he supposed. 

She pulled open the door to their homeroom and Izuku smiled at her as he walked through, bee-lining for his own desk. 

“Thanks, Adachi-chan.” He spoke up as he sat down, watching her make her way to a desk in the middle of the last aisle. 

She smiled. “Anytime, Aizawa-kun.”

His phone buzzed and he waited until she was staring out the window to pull it out and look at the new messages. 

Aizawa-sensei: Remember to text me every hour.

Aizawa-sensei: And don’t get too beat up.

Izuku rolled his eyes, smiling fondly at his phone. It seemed his teacher had a sense of humor, or maybe he really thought telling Izuku not to get the shit kicked out of him would somehow help him get out of the daily beating. 

Izuku: You got it!

He put his phone away, looking up to see the first trickle of students come back from lunch and sighed to himself as he pulled out his notebook. 

Someone tapped on his desk thrice and Izuku glanced up, seeing Adachi standing in front of him. 

He smiled and whispered, “What’s up?”

“You wanna get outta here?” She asked, a bit of light hitting her eyes just right to make the blue look as if it was moving around, like an ocean would. 

Izuku glanced around to see a few more students trickle through the doors and bit his lip, worrying about getting back to class once they were done. 

“It’s alright if you don’t want to, Aizawa-kun. I understand.” Adachi said, her eyes dropping to the floor as she seemed to deflate. 

Izuku hurried to correct her, grabbing his own bag. “No, no. It’ll be-- We’ll be fine. Let’s go.”

She brightened back up and Izuku felt himself believing his own words, positive they’d make it back before classes started back up. 

They’d be fine. 

After all, there was nothing to truly worry about. Not with Adachi here by his side. 

They walked down the hallways together, side by side, ignoring the final warning bell. Izuku felt no reason to worry about it as he followed Adachi. 

He felt fine. That seemed to be the only thing he was capable of feeling right then. 

“You wanna see my favorite place?” Adachi suddenly asked him. 

Izuku grinned. “Show me the way.”

They snuck around, back through odd-looking stairwells and going up and up until they were finally at the roof access door. 

Izuku heard his phone ring but ignored it in favor of popping open the roof door, letting Adachi walk through before he followed after her, not caring to keep the door propped open. 

After all, that didn’t matter. 

He was fine. 

Everything was fine. 

They stepped out on the gravel of the roof and felt the rain pour down on them, but Izuku knew he didn’t need to care about it. 

Because he was fine. 

“I think the view from up here is so pretty.” Adachi said, eyes fixated on the city in front of them and Izuku stepped forward, looking at the skyline with her. 

“Yeah,” He breathed out, eyes wide with wonder. “It’s gorgeous.”

She smiled. “This is where I come to get away from everything and remind myself that I’m fine and the world is fine, too.”

Izuku nodded, her words settling over him like a warm blanket as he stepped forward again, a smile never leaving his lips. “Yeah…I think I get that.”

He couldn’t feel the rain anymore, not with the warmth of her words shielding him, acting as his own personal sun as he stepped forward again, eyes locked on the city before them. 

“Do you feel fine, Aizawa-kun?”

Izuku hummed, closing his eyes slightly as he walked forward again. “I feel fine, Adachi-chan. Do you?”

“I’m incapable of feeling anything other than fine.” She responded bitterly. 

Izuku didn’t pay her response any attention as he walked forward again. He wasn’t sure what this feeling was, but he certainly never wanted to let it go. 

“Aizawa…?”

Izuku smiled, stepping forward, looking down the ledge. “It’s fine. I promise.”

“Umm, Aizawa…?”

Izuku took in a deep breath, his smile never leaving his face. If this was what bliss felt like, he’d gladly stand in front of a storm with his arms open on a roof ledge. Perhaps bliss was what it felt to be right before death, the moment reserved for silence and euphoria. Maybe, just maybe, this bliss was because of what he knew was coming next. 

Izuku opened his arms, smiling up at the heavens and closing his eyes, ignoring the rain washing over him and pretended to feel the warmth of the sun beaming down on him. 

In his mind, it was the perfect warm day, with a chill just cool enough to keep comfortable for the day. There was peace with every breath he took. There was calmness where storms raged for everyone else. 

There was thunder, but to him, it was the song of the day. 

Izuku stepped forward, his toes over the edge. 

Everything felt fine. More than fine, truly. 

He felt at ease. 

“Are you fine?” Adachi asked, something in her voice pushing him to answer her. Something in her voice pushing him forwards.

“Of course,” He breathed out, eyes still closed and arms still open to the heavens. “I’m more than fine.”

“Izuku!”

Izuku blinked, looking down with a slight frown as he saw Aizawa running towards them. He tilted his head, not understanding what was going on until he looked back behind him, seeing Adachi with tears in her eyes. 

Then, cold swept over him, making him shiver as he looked back, finally realizing the gravity of his situation. 

He was standing on the ledge. Of a fucking roof.  

Even worse, Adachi was about to be forced to watch and Aizawa had caught him. 

He stumbled back, scrambling away from the edge as quickly as he could, falling backwards and crawling away from it, hands shaking. 

Holy shit. He almost did that. 

He felt the rain pound against him, cold seeping into his bones as his teeth chattered, eyes fixated on the spot he had just been. 

He was about to…

“Izuku!”

Izuku felt a sob rip itself free from his throat and curled over himself, tears pouring down his own face as he struggled to understand what was going on. 

He never once thought about doing something like this. He had always had his mother to worry about. Or UA. Or the fucking war. 

He had never--

So why…?

“Izuku!”

He sobbed again, his entire body crying with him as he wrapped his arms around himself, trying to conserve the little body heat that he had left in him. 

He felt so wrong in that moment he couldn’t help but long for the fantasy he had been in just a moment ago. For the bliss of it all was gone and in its place stood grief with her arms open wide. And, try as he might, he couldn’t walk away from her. 

“Izuku!” He heard a door slam and footsteps pounding towards him, and yet he did not move. He rested his forehead against the gravel of the roof and sobbed harder, his tears falling along with the rain. 

Warm arms wrapped themselves around him, holding him tightly. It took him a while for him to realize they were attached to his teacher, who was slowly rocking him and mumbling too many apologies for his comfort. 

Izuku hiccuped, trying with all his might to get himself back under control. 

Only tears came in response.

“What are you doing?” He heard Aizawa ask as the man lifted his head. 

Izuku shook his own, lifting himself up with as much strength as he could muster. “No,” He mumbled, eyes screwed shut. “No, s-she didn’t do anything.”

“That’s clear--”

“Stop.” Izuku pleaded, his throat tightening with effort as he tried to prolong his sobs. He needed to say this. Needed to be able to defend Adachi from something that obviously wasn’t her fault. 

“Izuku--”

“Stop.” Izuku choked, grief gripping him stronger than ever as his sobs ripped free and his tears fell once again. 

Rain pounded against the gravel and Izuku focused on the slight sting in his knees from sitting on the roof for so long. The cold made its home in his bones and he felt creaky, no doubt irritating his hands for the next three days. 

He hugged himself tighter, finally taking in a deep breath. 

He grit his teeth in an effort to prevent himself from crying again, although he was sure his tears were still streaming down his face as he lifted his head to finally face his teacher. 

“Hey,” He had never heard Aizawa’s voice so soft, never realized the man was capable of holding him so tenderly. 

Izuku blinked rapidly, wanting to get his tears out. “H-Hi.”

“Let’s get inside.”

Izuku nodded, letting himself be pulled up and walked inside through the roof door, barely recognizing Adachi as she came through the door with them, shaking worse than he was. 

He reached out to her. “Adachi…”

She flinched away from his touch and he took his hand back in horror, not understanding anything right then. 

“Sorry,” She mumbled as Izuku was pulled away by his teacher, wide eyes still staring at her. 

He didn’t know how things had gotten so screwed up. He didn’t know why he had done that. And he had no idea how to reassure Adachi, though he feared he wouldn’t be able to as Aizawa pulled him down the stairs and Adachi followed behind them a few steps away, eyes locked on the ground in front of her. 

“I didn’t mean to.” Izuku couldn’t help but say, feeling more than lost. “I thought I was fine.”

Aizawa’s grip around him tightened and he watched as Adachi’s face screwed up, fresh tears falling down her face at his words. 

Izuku grit his teeth, feeling his own tears threaten to spill. 

Fuck. He just kept making things worse, didn’t he?

They walked through the front doors and Izuku frowned at the sight of Aizawa’s car being pulled up halfway on the sidewalk, parked haphazardly.

Ah, he had done that too, hadn’t he?

“Aizawa--”

“Get in the car.” Aizawa spoke up, looking at him intently. 

Izuku frowned deeper, looking back to see Adachi still there, now holding an umbrella to protect herself against the rain. 

“Are you alright?” He had to ask, eyes searching hers for any sort of response. 

She smiled, and still, there was sadness ebbed in her every feature. “I’ll be fine.”

Izuku nodded, something odd settling over him with her wording, but didn’t have time to think about it any longer when Aizawa pulled him over to the car.  

“Car.” Aizawa said. 

Izuku rolled his eyes, unable to help himself. “But I--”

“Get in the car.” Aizawa demanded and Izuku opened his mouth to protest until he caught a glimpse of Adachi’s wet lashes, heart-break burning in her eyes. He huffed, snapping his mouth shut and stalked towards the car, getting in and sinking in the seat as he watched them have a conversation he wasn’t privy to. 

He pouted. He hadn’t meant to make anyone sad today and he certainly hadn’t wanted to make anyone worried for him. 

He truly hadn’t meant for… any of that to happen today. 

Fuck. This mission just got ten times harder, didn’t it? 

He didn’t know what had gotten into him, but he knew he didn’t want to die. He…He had friends, and a family, and a future that he cared about. He had a legacy greater than All Might resting on his shoulders for god’s sake. 

He wouldn’t just…

But, then again, he almost did.

Izuku sighed, dragging a hand down his face as a headache set in behind his eyes. 

This was such a god awful day. 

Aizawa stormed back towards the car, a glare perfectly intact as he got in and shut the door harshly, making Izuku jump to sit back up. 

Aizawa was silent as he started the car and Izuku chewed on his lip, unable to help himself as the tension in the car became stifling. He watched as his teacher grabbed a towel from out of the backseat and dropped it in his lap, staring at him intently. 

Izuku grit his teeth, using it to wipe himself off as well as he could before folding it up and slipping in on the seat for him to sit on. 

“Thanks.” Izuku whispered. 

Aizawa grunted in response as he finally pulled out of the parking lot. 

Izuku looked out the window, watching Adachi walk towards the train station and frowned, unable to shake an unfamiliar feeling of wrongness that was settling in him. 

There was something off about what had just happened. He just had no idea how to prove it. And he had no idea what his next steps were going to be for tomorrow's school day. 

“You wanna tell me what that was about?” Aizawa growled, his grip on the steering wheel knuckle-white. 

Izuku waved him off, still staring back to catch a glimpse of Adachi. “I’m, uhh, not really sure.”

“Midoriya.”

Izuku snapped back into his seat as soon as he heard Aizawa’s tone, staring out the front window like a picture-perfect kid that he was. 

“What. Happened?”

Izuku flicked his eyes to trail along with the people walking along the sidewalk, a few on their phones, one running with headphones in, another balancing five different bags in her hands. 

Then, he sucked on his teeth. “I’m…not exactly sure, but I know there’s no reason to worry--”

“Shut up.” Izuku’s jaw clicked from how quickly he closed his mouth, breathing slowly as he listened to his blood rushing. 

Holy shit, Aizawa was terrifying when he was upset. 

Aizawa sighed. “Let’s start easy. How was your day?”

Izuku frowned, feeling like this was a trap but answering anyway. “It went fine enough--”

“You call that fine? ” Aizawa cut him off, glaring hard. 

Izuku huffed. “No! Well, I mean, not really but I’m--”

“Say ‘fine’ one more time and I will make you run the Hell Track until you pass out.”

Izuku snapped his mouth closed, glancing out the window. 

“That’s what I thought.” Aizawa grumbled, closing his eyes as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. 

He stayed quiet, glancing over to see Aizawa rolling his eyes and taking a turn off the highway. Izuku didn’t speak up, simply let himself look around as he was driven to, what would probably be, his deathbed. 

Aizawa pulled into an odd looking parking lot, a few shops right behind them as he pulled into a spot facing the highway. 

Izuku frowned. “Why’d we park here?”

“Get out. Follow me.” Aizawa instructed. 

“Umm--” Izuku scrambled to get out of the car, unsure what they were doing in front of a cafe called ‘Cloud Seven’ and rushed after the man, going straight through the door, hearing a bell jingle as they walked through. 

“What…is this place?” Izuku murmured as he paused and looked around with fascination. 

The first thing he noticed was that the counter and the ceiling were the same color of baby blue while the rest of the place was painted a dark blue, clouds swirling along the walls and drifting around the ceiling as if they were actually moving. 

Not many people were sitting around the place and Izuku looked back to see Aizawa at the counter, ordering something for himself and grabbing a number from the cashier. 

“Over here.” Aizawa called out, sitting down at a booth in the corner, the number being placed on the table where the waiter could see it best. 

Izuku sat down hesitantly, eyes still flickering around as he took in the little cafe and stared at Aizawa, unable to ask his question properly. 

Aizawa glared at him and stayed silent until three drinks were brought over, one being placed in front of Izuku, along with kurobo brown sugar sticks as a snack selection and he watched as Aizawa took a looong sip before finally speaking up. 

“We clearly need to talk. And we aren’t leaving until I get answers I’m satisfied with.”

Izuku gulped, his heart dropping. 

Oh boy. They were going to be here for a while.

Chapter Text

Naomasa rubbed at his eyes, bright white spots flashing from behind his eyelids and groaned. 

Everything about this case was a mess. Even more so than these sorts of cases usually were. 

He had been working overtime to figure out how to prove that Inoue Naoya was actually an HPSC agent who’s real name was Adachi Kaito and should not be working this case with them since last week, but nothing was coming up. 

Naomasa knew he’d be laughed out of his boss’s office should he show him the Commission card and alias written under it. It wasn’t solid proof and everyone knows it. 

He’s sure Inoue himself knew it. 

Naomasa rubbed at his eyes again, picking up his coffee mug and bringing it to his lips before he realized it was empty. 

With a sigh, he pushed himself out of his chair and left the comfort of his office, frowning when he realized someone had shut off the hall lights. 

It seemed as though he’d be the last one to leave. Again. 

There was something that was stumping all of them in this case, except Naomasa didn’t know what they were missing. 

There were the obvious things; the files proving the PLA’s existence and physical evidence in general. They were missing a lead suspect and only knew the headmaster and Midoriya’s homeroom teacher were somehow involved in the whole thing. 

He knew he needed to find someone by the name of Hisoka Kurokawa, since they’ve been named as the leader of the operation at the high school. The only problem was, no one on staff had that name, so they needed to look a little further to figure out who he was and where he was hiding. 

On top of that, he needed to figure out what the hell the Hero Commission was doing, sending an agent to sit in on the case, especially this sort of case. 

During the war, everyone realized the commission had thrown their gauntlet in with both sides, the villains and the heroes, making them untrustworthy to most of the public. They had used their political power to keep a dying infrastructure alive and booming all while covering up their foundational problems. 

After the war, people called for change, but the biggest problem with that was that the commission owned a lot. They owned news channels, media outlets. They had the money to pay off their politicians and leaders. Heroes were tied to their side either by contract, money, or both and the general public realized a little too late that the commission ran everything in Japan. 

Not much happened without their say-so and the things that did happen were persecuted in the news, making the general public much more uneasy than they needed to be. 

Which, in Naomasa’s experience, only made his job that much harder. 

So it was safe to say Naomasa didn’t trust the commission at all and the fact that there was an agent on this particular case rubbed him the wrong way, but he couldn’t interrogate someone based on a feeling. He needed hard evidence. 

Sadly, the commission was legendary at doing just that. 

Naomasa sighed, grabbing his lighter and his half-full pack of cigarettes as he headed outside. 

He needed to clear his head and give himself a moment of peace before he tried to make sense of this case once again. 

Just a moment. 

Naomasa walked out, pushing open the already cracked door just in time to see Chief pull a long drag from his cigarette, sighing to himself as he slowly breathed out, visibly getting annoyed when the nicotine high didn’t last for long. He turned around, looking surprised to see Naomasa. 

“Ah. I didn’t expect to see you out here,” Chief explained himself, looking sheepish. “It’s a…nasty habit of mine.”

Naomasa shrugged, pulling out his own cigarette and lighting it. “I’m not here to judge.”

Chief nodded, regarding him with a different type of appraisal than usual. “I see.”

“Hmm.”

Chief stared at him for a moment longer before turning and smoking his own, both men enjoying the mutual silence. 

They didn’t speak to each other as they stood and enjoyed the cool night air together, smoking rolling between them. 

Naomasa found it relaxing to simply stand there with his boss, not doing anything but taking in life around them. 

“You’ve been developing the case?” Chief asked, smacking his pack against his hand a few times before putting out a new cigarette. 

Naomasa nodded. “Yep. There’s a few things we still need to get the warrant signed. And new information has been coming to light.”

“New information?” Chief raised a brow, raising up his lighter to start on his next cig. “New leads?”

Naomasa shook his head back and forth as he did the same with his hand, breathing in the nicotine, letting the smoke rest of his tongue before breathing it out. 

“Sorta.” He finally answered, eyes glued to the night sky. “I haven’t been able to figure it out.”

“Well, let’s hope that you do.” Chief said, looking out towards the sky himself. 

If Naomasa squinted, he swore that he could see a few stars here and there, but then they moved and he realized he was simply looking at a plane crossing the area and his hopes of seeing a starry night plummeted further. 

“Are you leaving soon?” Chief asked him as he dropped the butt of his cigarette and stomped on it, prompting Naomasa to do the same. 

“That’s certainly the goal.” Naomasa grinned as he responded. 

Chief nodded and opened the door for them, letting Naomasa walk through first as they went inside and down the dark hallway, Naomasa stopping in front of his office to grab his things before he finally headed out. 

“Get home safe, alright, Detective?”

He nodded. “I will. Are you leavin’ soon?”

“I might someday.” Chief grinned. 

Naomasa shook his head. “Don’t overwork yourself, sir.”

Chief chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind. Now, go on and get some sleep, Detective. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Naomasa nodded, a small grin adorning his lips. “Hai, sir. See you in the morning.”

He grabbed his bag, locked his office door and made his way out of the station through the back door that was connected to the parking lot, happy enough to get going and hopefully catch a few hours of sleep before he had to head back to work. 

His phone buzzed twice and he ignored it, not wanting to check it until he had gotten home.  

Naomasa frowned as his ringer went off, someone obviously unable to wait for his attention, and he twirled his keys around his finger as he grabbed his phone and answered it. “Detective Tsukauchi speaking.”

“Meet me at Musufatsu Hospital.”

Naomasa blinked, pulling the phone away to stare at the screen, realizing exactly who was calling him and felt his heart jump. 

“Why?” He asked, walking quicker. “Are you alright? Is the class okay? Aizawa? Are you there?”

“I’ll answer that when you get here, yes, mostly, and yes.” The man answered him back in order. Naomasa huffed. “Just get here, alright?”

“Will I be doing any paperwork tonight?”

“Most likely.”

Naomasa groaned as he got into his car and drove off, driving just a bit above the speed limit as he did. 

“Alright. Well, I’m on my way.”

“See you soon.”

The man hung up and Naomasa let himself push on the gas further, his heart racing and skin prickly with goosebumps as he did so, making a quick turn at the turning light. 

It was a quick affair to get to the hospital. Or maybe he simply didn’t remember the long drive as well as he should’ve. 

Either way, Naomasa rushed through, showing his badge and getting into the hero ward where there were nurses going in and out of the room he was being taken to, his heart sinking as he sped up, eyes searching around desperately as he looked in the room. 

In the middle, laid out on uncomfortable, stark-white bed sheets, was young Midoriya, where he was being poked and prodded by a few different doctors, all fretting over him while one man in a lab coat was talking quietly with Aizawa in the corner of the room, both of them staring at Midoriya with an emotion Naomasa didn’t dare to identify.  

“Ah, Tsukauchi.” Aizawa called out, beckoning him over. 

He nodded, walking towards them, his eyes constantly drifting over to look at Midoriya and check up on him as well as he could. 

“Aizawa, Doctor.” He greeted as he stood near them, eyes still drifting over in an effort to check up on Midoriya. 

“He has some news.” Aizawa said, gesturing to the doctor. 

Naomasa frowned, leaning towards the men to whisper, “What happened?”

Aizawa’s eyes flicked over to Midoriya as he sighed, suddenly looking much too tired to be standing. “I found him on the edge of the school’s roof.”

Truth.

“He was…what?” Naomasa asked, stuck in a state of disbelief. 

“He was on the roof,” Aizawa said, like it physically pained him to say. Maybe it did. “About to jump.”

Truth.

All the breath left him and Naomasa found himself scrambling for an answer to grasp onto. It didn’t make sense. It couldn’t make any sense to him. The image of Midoriya standing at a ledge with no intention of coming back didn’t compute in his mind, like something was intrinsically wrong with that idea. 

“There are a lot of triglycerides in his system, which can explain his state of mind.” The doctor, Sung-ho according to his nametag, spoke up, tapping his pen to his clipboard. 

“What?” Aizawa asked, looking three seconds away from throttling the man. 

Sung-ho cleared his throat, nodding uneasily. “Yes, umm, in young Midoriya’s bloodwork, there was an abnormal amount of triglycerides in his blood, which is consistent with what we’ve recognized to be foreign quirk residuals.”

“Foreign quirk residuals?” Naomasa asked, needing more clarification. Because, from what he knew, Midoriya only had One for All and who knew if that’s what was showing up in the blood work rather than something else. 

“Yes. Over the years, we’ve learned that those under the influence of a quirk end up having higher levels of triglycerides in their blood because of the amount of stress their body went under.” Sung-ho answered them easily. “And, with the euphoric state of mind he had described being in when it happened suggests he hadn’t consciously made the decision to…attempt.”

“Do we know what quirk caused it?”

“No,” Sung-ho shook his head, looking disappointed. “But we can estimate that it was either a reality-altering quirk or an inhibition suppressor based on his charts.”

“Inhibition suppressor?” Aizawa asked. 

Sung-ho looked uncomfortable, but nodded nonetheless. “Yes. What’s consistent with his data charts includes a common quirk that, in short, gets rid of a person’s inhibitions for a short period of time. It should be noted that the intricacies of the quirk always differ, so it may not mean that, uhm…”

“You think Midoriya without inhibitions would throw himself off the roof?”

“Aizawa…” Naomasa warned him. 

Sung-ho waved him off. “I’m fine, sir. And to answer your question, no, but then again, I do not know him.”

Aizawa frowned, turning away from the man and Sung-ho sighed before handing a slip of paper to him. 

“Take this to the pharmacy downstairs. They’ll make sure to send you off with his prescriptions. Don’t worry, we’re only using them to get his body back to normal, but make sure to call if he experiences any side-effects. And…well, I don’t know his state of mind, but I imagine it’s quite fragile right now.” Sung-ho looked over at Aizawa as he spoke. “Be careful with him.”

“I see.” Naomasa answered him, mind racing. “Thank you, Doctor.”

Aizawa nodded towards the man and Sung-ho made his way out, the leftover nurses following him out. 

And then there were only the three of them in the room. 

To Naomasa, Midoriya looked oddly small in the hospital room. The bed made him look so much younger than he already was and he’s positive the fluorescent lights didn’t help with that. 

There was something so heart-wrenching about seeing the young boy in the hospital bed and knowing why he was laying there in the first place was even worse. 

Because, in part, this was Naomasa’s fault for putting him out there. He’s the one that made the call. He’s the one that officially brought him on the case. He’s the one that did this to him. 

He nearly killed Midoriya. 

And for what? A case? One last shot at destroying the PLA for good?

Even if that were so, Naomasa wasn’t willing to bargain with death on behalf of Midoriya just to get rid of them. There were other methods. Longer ways. 

They’d figure it out sometime and they’d all be alive to do so.

“So, am I good to go?” Izuku asked, eyes lighting up as he looked towards them.

“You’re spending the night under observation.” Aizawa bluntly told him, crossing his arms as he stared at the kid. 

Naomasa sighed. “Just to monitor you, kiddo. You know how it is.”

“Yeah,” Midoriya sunk back down in the bed, pouting a little. “I know.” 

Truth.

Naomasa refrained from wincing, knowing the kid was probably used to the hospital scene because of how volatile One for All used to be with him. He remembered when Yagi would call him, freaking out and on the verge of tears because his boy had broken himself again and he had no idea how to help him with it. 

They were silent for a moment, Naomasa watching as Aizawa stared at Midoriya like he would disappear if he stopped looking at him and Midoriya refusing to look up from where he was picking at the bed sheets covering his legs, before Naomasa finally sighed and grabbed a chair, settling down into it and crossing his leg. 

“Well, would you say you’re up for some questions?” Naomasa asked, raising a brow when he saw Midoriya perk up. 

“Yep. I’m ready.” He answered. 

Truth.

Naomasa suppressed his smile and nodded. “Alright. Can you walk me through your day?”

Midoriya nodded and delved into his day, giving them a step by step about what had happened and how he met someone named Adachi at lunch and spent the rest of the day with her. 

Naomasa frowned but kept on writing, making sure to jot her name down and mark it as important. He wasn’t exactly sure why, but the name was familiar to him and he needed to check all of his bases to know why. 

“And then, uhh, you know,” Izuku looked down, picking at the sheets. “I was on the roof.”

Naomasa nodded, doing his best to portray his sympathies as he watched the boy struggle to say what had happened out loud. And he knew exactly why. The idea of suicide is a rough subject for anyone to talk about, let alone him. “Would you say that you’ve made some enemies at the school?”

Midoriya shook his head, chewing on his bottom lip. “Not really, I mean, people don’t like me but I don’t think I’ve made any enemies.”

Truth.

Naomasa nodded. “No one that’s tried to harm you before?”

“I really don’t think of the bullies as potential enemies, ya know?” Midoriya picked at his nails. “They just seem a bit confused, that’s all.”

Truth.

“Do you know anyone at the school who would try and do that to you?” Naomasa pushed, ignoring Midoriya’s look. 

“Do that?” Midoriya questioned, looking confused. “Do what?”

“Try and force you to jump off of a roof.” Aizawa bluntly said before Naomasa could figure out the best way to sugarcoat it. 

“No, I-- Wait, are you saying someone tried to…make me-- It wasn’t…me?” Midoriya asked, eyes shining. He wondered why that was. 

“Yes.” Aizawa confirmed, staring at the boy intently. “It was proven to be the work of a quirk.”

“Ahh.” Midoriya nodded, chewing on his lip as his eyes dropped down, looking thoughtful. 

Naomasa glanced over and shared a look with Aizawa. 

The man sighed. “You’ll be taken off the case--”

“What!” Midoriya shot up, looking panicked. “No!”

“No?”

“No! I can keep doing this!” Midoriya said urgently, as if this was something he needed to be doing. 

Naomasa frowned. “Kiddo, you don’t need to--”

“But I’m the best person for this job,” He protested, looking deep into Naomasa’s eyes. “You know that.”

Truth.

“Midoriya…” Aizawa sighed, shaking his head. “With what you told me in Cloud Seven, I think it’d be best for you to sit this one out.”

Midoriya looked appalled as he turned to look at his teacher. “What! Just because I told you I was a-a late bloomer you think I’m not -what- capable anymore?”

“Midoriya…” Aizawa glared at him, glancing over at Naomasa.

“Don’t do that,” Midoriya glared at him, his fists balling. “Don’t say my name like you’re warning me against something I have no idea about. I know how to survive without a quirk. You can’t take me off this case.” 

“Yes, you didn’t have a quirk, but you don’t understand undercover missions.”

“And how else am I supposed to learn…?”

“In a classroom!” Aizawa yelled. “Or somewhere safe!”

“Where have I ever been safe?!” Midoriya yelled back. 

Naomasa watched as Aizawa seemed to flinch back from the accusing tone and he winced as he looked back over to Midoriya, who seemed horrified at what he had said. 

“Sensei…”

Aizawa held a hand up. “Don’t. Just--” 

“You’re positive that you wanna keep doing this?” Naomasa cut him off, staring into Midoriya’s eyes. 

He watched as the boy’s resolve hardened, ignoring the way Aizawa glared at him when the boy did so. 

“I’m not giving up.” Midoriya stubbornly said.

“Midoriya--” Aizawa protested. 

Naomasa shook his head. “The kid’s right. He’s the best person for the job.”

Aizawa looked like he wanted to argue some more, but Midoriya beat him to it, staring his teacher down. 

“I can do this.” Midoriya promised. “I swear I can do this.” 

Naomasa and Aizawa sighed together and he was positive that nothing short of his mother being in trouble would convince him to drop this case at this point. 

“Alright,” Naomasa said, watching as Aizawa backed off. “Then let’s get you prepped for your cover story. You said some girl was there on the roof with you?”

Midoriya nodded and started talking about everything. There was still something about her name that struck Naomasa as odd, but he didn’t question it for too long as Aizawa started trying to interject and quickly their strategy talk delved into chaos. 

Naomasa couldn’t help but smile as he stared at Midoriya while the boy was arguing with his teacher. Though the kid was still young, he knew he’d be accomplishing great things when his career officially took off. 

After all, he already made one hell of a hero. 

Chapter Text

“Haruki. Let’s go.”

“Hai,” The man shot him a harsh look and Haruki forced himself to hold in his sigh.  “Father. Hai, father.”

The man nodded stiffly and Haruki grit his teeth, stuffing his hands in his pocket as the man started walking away. 

Haruki trailed after his father, steps as quiet as he could make them and head down, counting the cracks on the pavement as he walked. 

He always hated these sorts of mornings. When this man tried hard to act like his real father. 

Hisoka Kurokawa, otherwise known as the commander of the Paranormal Liberation Army, tended to enjoy getting ‘into character’ as he watched over Haruki and attempted to become his father, constantly trying to replace who he thought of as a father with his own image. 

Of course, for the past year he’s been demanding that everyone refer to him as Yamura Hisato and officially calling himself Haruki’s blood-related uncle because of their shared family names all while stating that the fake name rolled off the tongue better than his government name. Whatever that meant. 

Honestly, Haruki was betting on the man trying to hide his identity and involvement with the war rather than simply wanting a new name. And, well, he seemed to want to integrate himself into Haruki’s fucking family for whatever reason.  

“Haruki.”

He scurried over to the car, jumping in the passenger seat and desperately tried to distract himself from how much his skin burned when he heard that man call him by the name given to him by his real father. 

Kurokawa stared at him, but didn’t say anything as he started the car and took them to the school, soft music playing from the radio. 

They made it the entire ride to the school and into the principal’s office before Kurokawa turned his attention back to Haruki, raising a brow at him. 

Haruki dutifully responded. “Nothing new to report. No developments have been made.”

“You move so slow,” Kurokawa huffed disapprovingly. “While I appreciate your attention to detail, do remember what needs to be done.”

“Yes sir.” Haruki responded, doing his best to ignore the man as he spoke with him. These sorts of conversations were always easier to put up with whenever he wasn’t paying attention to them. 

“And you remember what I need you to do today?” The man said, glaring at him from his comically large black office chair. 

Haruki nodded, forcing his eyes to meet Kurokawa’s. “Make sure the quirkless kid doesn’t come back.”

Kurokawa nodded, looking proud. “And don’t hold back. Get it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Now get going.”

Haruki nodded, scurrying out of the principal’s office and racing towards House Three. His mind was frazzled with the urgency in Kurokawa’s voice and it made his spirits lift, if only a little. 

The last time the man spoke to him with any sort of urgency was when their position in the war had been exposed and heroes had taken them away, locking them in a prison more isolated than Tartarus for the rest of their days and charged with war crimes. 

He remembered that so well because that’s what happened to his real father. The man had moved them to Delkia City in an effort to revitalize their life after his parent’s divorce and ending up bringing him into a cult full of madmen. 

Kurokawa Hisoka had taken an instant liking to his father and after the war, when the news of his real father’s imprisonment broke, he had graciously taken him in and treated him as his own son. 

The problem was, Haruki didn’t trust the man as far as he could throw him. 

And he didn’t have a strength quirk. 

It became obvious that Kurokawa thought of himself as his real father around the time he tricked the headmaster of Inagakuen High into resigning and giving the position up to him, allowing him to lead a school directly into the hands of the remaining PLA members. He was well aware of the indoctrination that was going on around the school. 

Most of the teachers were members of the PLA and the students were falling for it all, much to the pleasure of Kurokawa. 

Haruki actually considered this damned school a breeding ground for the cult-like group, especially since they had been able to fully incorporate Delika City’s personal history in social studies classes, naming the city as a resistance group and painting them in a golden light. 

He hated it all. 

But, with that being said, he couldn’t help but be curious about their newest student. 

The quirkless kid, Aizawa Izuku, was a bit odd, though he had never met anyone quirkless so he’s not sure if that’s how they should be. And, on top of that, he noticed every single time the boy wrinkled his nose in class, as if he disagreed with what the teacher was saying. 

Which was amazing. Because no one else ever disagreed with the teachers. 

And Haruki was so desperate for someone to talk to. About all of it, really, but he would settle for simply enjoying the other boy’s company and letting himself let down the guard he had built so high.

Of course, he’s not entirely sure how he’ll get the boy’s attention or figure out a way to drive him out of the school, but he’ll figure it out. 

He needed to. 

His life depended on it. 

. . .

“Sensei…”

“Quit whining and answer me,” Aizawa huffed, pulling into the parking lot. “You’ve got your heart monitor?”

Izuku touched his chest, feeling the monitor that was strapped around the top of his ribs. “Yep.”

Aizawa nodded, pulling up and parking. “You made sure your mic is on and picking up sound?” 

Izuku rolled his eyes. “For the hundredth time, yes.”

Aizawa shot him a look. “Don’t use that tone with me.”

Izuku held his hands up in surrender. “Right. Sorry, sensei. Won’t happen again.”

“Yeah right, brat.” Aizawa narrowed his eyes at him before finally unlocking the car doors to let Izuku out. “Remember to message me every single hour.”

“I know. I know,” Izuku assured him as he slipped out of the front seat, ready to go. “See you later!”

He slammed the door closed and walked up, a smile perfectly intact and his back straight. 

Izuku had a bit of a wake-up call yesterday from nearly being forced to throw himself off a roof and that was that no one was to be trusted. 

Sure, it was more concerning for him when he realized what had happened was, admittedly, not fine and he couldn’t feel anything but fine about the situation, but he wasn’t sure who to blame that on quite yet. 

Yes, Adachi-chan was there with him, but her face…and how scared she had looked-- Izuku refused to believe that she had been the one to use her quirk against him. 

It was something else or someone else. He could feel it in his bones. 

But! Regardless of who it had been, Izuku needed to change up his tactics a little bit. He hasn't been gaining any new information since he first started here and he’s quickly running out of time the longer he waits around. 

He’s only been falling further and further into this depressive spiral of being this hopeless, quirkless character that he forgot to let himself actually be a human and express more than just two emotions at any given time. 

There’s a part of him that can’t care about the persona he had submitted to Nezu, mostly because he knew quirkless people were more than what they allowed people to see. 

That was something he intimately knew. And, it was also something, comically, he fell for. 

So he’s positive he’ll be allowed to show more than the ‘Deku’ persona that this school now knew of and is confident he’ll be able to pull off what he’s planning. 

Hopefully he doesn’t end up giving Aizawa a heart attack this time. 

While he was grateful the man had been there for him at every turn, he couldn’t help but feel coddled whenever the man was near. Like he wanted to protect Izuku from a life he has already lived through. 

And…he needed to leave the safety net he had unintentionally set up for himself. 

Because he needed to get some answers about this place.  

Honestly, he’s hoping for an extreme enough reaction to get sent to the head principal’s office. There was something off with that guy and Izuku would love to have the chance to speak with him again. 

He walked up the steps and made it to his locker without being bothered, though most students just stared at him like they couldn’t comprehend his existence. He switched his shoes and walked past the rows and rows of lockers, deciding to take the north stairwell this morning. 

“Aizawa!” He heard his name being harshly whispered out. Izuku turned around, looking for anyone who might’ve called him, but no one was looking at him. 

He frowned. How odd. 

Maybe it was a ghost. Or some kid trying to scare him into thinking the place was haunted. 

Izuku shrugged. 

He walked forwards, ignoring the squeak of a door being thrown open and yelped as he was dragged backwards into a small hall closet. 

“Ow…!”

“Shut up, idiot.” Yamura hissed in his ear as he slammed the door shut. “You’ll give us away.”

“You-- Wait, what?” Izuku whispered, confused about why he was just pulled into the closet.

“You know what shut up means, don’t you?” 

Izuku felt his jaw drop slightly when he realized how Yamura’s attention was locked on the shutters in front of them, peeking through to make sure no one had seen him get pulled into this…janitor’s closet. 

Oh boy. 

“Listen, Yamura,” Izuku started, his hands in surrender. “I don’t want any troubl--”

Yamura scoffed. “I told you to shut up, didn’t I?”

Izuku swallowed, forcing himself to tense up enough that his arms began shaking from the force. He needed to play a part. 

He needed to be a part. 

“Yamura-kun…”

“Aizawa, yes or no: Do you understand what shut up means?”

Izuku huffed. “Yeah, but…wait, why did you pull me in here?”

Yamura rolled his eyes, glaring down at him. 

“Get to class, everyone. The bell’s about to ring!” He heard Hinata-sensei shouting out. 

“Well this was, um, so great but--”

“Not so fast.” Yamuna grabbed his arm and Izuku flinched away from the boy as he was pulled back near him, tensing up as it happened. 

Yamura huffed, pulling him closer. “Stop being stupid, new kid. You think anyone cares about your quirk status as much as we pretend to?”

“Ummm…”

“Shh!” His hand clamped over his mouth and Izuku only had a split second to wonder why when he heard the voice of his homeroom teacher calling out a warning once again. 

He frowned. “Why are we hiding from him?” He made sure to whisper, looking slightly up at the boy standing behind him. 

Yamura didn’t take his eyes off the closet door as he answered. “Cause he’s not fond of me. And he’s especially not fond of you.”

“Me?”

Yamura looked down, an odd sort of pity in his eyes. “Yeah. He hates anyone who has a useless quirk or…ya know…anyone quirkless. They mean nothing to him.”

“Ahh.” Izuku nodded, looking apprehensively towards the door. He should’ve realized his homeroom teacher was a quirk supremacist, and yet the idea still baffled him so much he needed a few seconds to process it. 

“Do you know where you are?” Yamura asked in a whisper, staring into Izuku’s eyes intently. 

Izuku looked around, pretending to be confused with the question as his mind raced. “Umm, school?” He chuckled, watching Yamura intently. 

Maybe the boy knew more than he had let on. He was the principal’s son, after all. 

“Whatever,” Yamura frowned, hands running through his hair as he let go of Izuku and looked towards the ceiling. “This is a mess.”

“Yeah it is,” Izuku agreed before an idea came to mind, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Yamura. “But, you’ll just get your dad to fix everything for you, isn’t that right?” Izuku smirked as he taunted the boy.

Maybe this’ll work. With the jeers he’s acquired in his vocabulary just from sharing close proximity with Shinsou and the blunt way Todoroki has started getting Izuku to talk, he might actually be able to pull something as stupid as this off. 

He can only hope Aizawa doesn’t find out about how reckless he’s been this morning.  

Yamura’s face dropped, a bitter scoff escaping his lips. “He’s not my father.”

Izuku blinked owlishly. “Huh?”

Yamura seemed to grit his teeth as he looked away. “He’s more of a family acquaintance than anything.”

Izuku blinked, feeling like his jaw should be on the floor right then. This was so not in the mental script he had written for this conversation. 

What the hell was going on?

“You should go.” Yamura suddenly said. 

Izuku couldn’t agree more. He really should be getting out of here. 

“Right, well, it was good talking to you--”

“Not so fast.” Yamura said, grabbing Izuku’s bicep to prevent him from leaving. Again. 

Izuku shot the boy a look, unable to hold himself back from doing so any longer. “Umm, yes?”

“I meant, you should get outta this school.” Yamura stared at him intently. “It’s really not safe for you here.”

Izuku raised a brow. “But you just said no one cares about my quirk status as much as they pretend to and besides--”

“No one really cares because they’ve been taught to not care about people like you,” Yamura explained, looking at him oddly. He wondered what the boy was thinking. “But soon, that’ll change and they’ll start learning to hate you.”

“Hmm. That isn’t good.” Izuku said. 

Yamura rolled his eyes. “Whatever, kid. Long story short is: you need to get outta this school as fast as you can. While you still can.”

“So…” Izuku tilted his head. “Why are you telling me all of this?”

“I told you, Aizawa, I don’t actually care about your quirk status--”

“I really find that hard to believe.” Izuku spoke before he could think about it, eyes widening when he realized what he had said. “I mean…uhh--”

Yamura waved him off. “No, that’s fair, but this is the only way I can help now.” He clenched his fist, looking down. “I’ve hurt so many people because I was terrified of all of them, but now I have the chance to help someone. So please leave.”

Izuku smiled, giving the boy his best reassuring look. “Don’t worry. I’m perfectly safe.”

“You don’t understand--”

“I promise you,” Izuku winked. “I understand just fine.”

Yamura huffed. “Why? Why are you determined to stay here?”

“Because, like you said, I have the chance to help a lot of people and I won’t let it go because of my own fears.” Izuku smiled, turning around and putting his hand on the closet door. “You’re a good person, Yamura. I hope you know that.”

The boy scoffed. “You don’t know anything--”

“I’ve seen real evil,” Izuku said, pulling the door open and looking back to see Yamura’s shocked face. “And trust me, you’re far from it.”

He stepped through, brushing off his jacket slightly as he walked forward, finally ready to get to class and figure out what the punishment would be for getting to class so late without a note in hand. 

“What are you doing out of class, young man?”

Izuku froze, turning slowly to see Hinata-sensei stalking up to him, face brightening when he realized which student he had caught. 

Ah, crap. 

“Oh.” Hinata-sensei stopped in his tracks, looking behind him. Izuku glanced down to see Yamura’s shoes and internally cursed. “Yamura-kun.”

“Hinata-sensei,” He said, stepping forward and landing a hand on Izuku’s shoulder, gripping it tightly. “We were just…talking.”

Hinata-sensei smirked, falling for the fib easily, obviously convinced Yamura had been giving him a rightful beating for the morning. “I see. Well, Yamura-kun, make sure you get to class. You, with me. We’re going to pay the head principal a visit.”

Yamura nodded, turning his head just in time to whisper, “limp” to Izuku before walking away, hands in pockets as he made his way back to the classroom. 

Izuku didn’t acknowledge him, but started limping slightly as he walked, happy enough to see Hinata-sensei move his attention to his legs, a terrifying grin intact. 

How lovely. 

The walk to the principal’s office was quiet and surprisingly quick given how large the entire campus was. Hinata-sensei knocked on the double white doors, stepping back, nearly running into Izuku as he did so and the doors swung wide open. 

“Ah, hello, Hinata-san,” He heard Principal Yamura greet from inside.”I thought I saw you walking over here.”

Izuku tensed as he heard the man in front of him hum, stepping forward to expose him to the principal. He grit his teeth when the man snapped his attention to him, eyes gleaming. 

Oh dear Jesus. That look did not belong on a human’s face. 

“Hinata-san?”

The man cleared his throat and stood straighter as he was addressed. “Sir. He was found making trouble for young Yamura and nearly made the boy late for class.”

“I see,” Principal Yamura frowned, looking at Izuku critically. “Thank you for the report, Hinata-san. Please return to your homeroom. I’ll deal with our…troublemaker here.”

“Hai.” Hinata-sensei bowed, turning around and shooting a wide smirk Izuku’s way, smugly waltzing out of the doors and closing them. 

Izuku grit his teeth. Between what Yamura-kun had told him and what he knew about the Principal, he was not fond of being left alone with the man. 

But he needed to do this. He needed to prove his worth to this case once and for all. 

“Aizawa-kun,” Principal Yamuna clicked his tounge, looking lazily at Izuku as he glanced over at the calendar behind him. “You certainly lasted longer than most of us expected you to.”

Izuku blinked, his jaw nearly dropping for the ten millionth time that morning. The teachers, before they had even met him, had bet on when he’d run away from this school, tail tucked between his legs and refusing to look back? 

That’s what everyone thought of him? 

He never thought about it for too long, mostly because he wasn’t fond of the memories, but even in Aldera there were at least a few people who believed in him. 

The weekend janitor was someone he once considered friendly. 

Not a friend. In middle school, he had no friends. 

But this janitor was nice enough to let him off the rooftops he had been locked upon and was kind enough to silently sweep up the dirt and trash peers had stuffed into his locker. 

Even the lunch ladies were nice to him in their own way, always closing off the bathrooms closest to his homeroom for him to eat in and take a breather from being so alert the entire day and leaving him snacks during late night detentions. 

And now here…this place was making him think of his middle school fondly.

Yamura clicked his tongue again. “I see. You don’t want to speak. Very well.”

The principal waved his hand again, his eyes glowing softly as he stared at Izuku. 

He clutched at his chest, sucking in as deep of breaths as he could, but it wasn’t enough. 

It wouldn’t be enough. 

“I know what your kind are like, but I do expect you to pay attention when I speak to you, don’t you agree, young Aizawa?”

Izuku nodded his head rapidly, unable to answer. 

Principal Yamura hummed in satisfaction. “Good.”

The man snapped his fingers. 

Izuku gasped for breath. 

There was something subtle about the feeling pressing against his chest. 

It was so small. The feeling of crushing his ribs with every breath he took. And, as if he knew who was doing it, Izuku forced himself to look at the principal in front of him, his heart dropping when he saw how wide the man’s smirk had gotten. 

He winced. 

Yamura’s smirk grew wider. 

“I understand your kind are less developed and therefore might struggle with keeping up with the other students here, but I do expect better than attempting to skip class and blaming your peers,” Principal Yamura ranted, the tension in his chest growing. “You understand the consequences only get more severe with your every infraction, yes?”

Izuku grit his teeth and forced himself to nod, tears springing to his eyes as he clutched at his chest, wanting the pressure to get off of him. 

Principal Yamura clicked his tongue. “I expect an answer, young Aizawa.”

“Yes,” Izuku gasped out. “Yes, sir, I understand.”

“Hmm.” The principal eyed him, pretending to not believe him for a few moments before waving his hand away from him. Izuku dropped to the floor as the pressure was unexpectedly pulled away from him, greedily sucking in the air that he hadn’t been able to get before. 

“You’re dismissed.” 

Izuku nodded, pushing himself off the ground shakily and turning around, hoping with every prayer he had that Aizawa hadn’t been alerted with a spike in the heart monitor. That would be tough to explain. “Hai, sir.”

“Young Aizawa,” Principal Yamura called out, something sinister brightening his eyes. Izuku tensed as he looked back. “Make sure not to have an incident like this again. We would hate to punish you further.”

Izuku nodded silently, limping away and out into the hall, arms curled around himself, like an odd attempt to hug himself right then. 

He felt more vulnerable than he anticipated and he wasn’t fond of feeling like it, especially in front of that Principal. 

He walked right back to his classroom, uninterested in getting a punishment for arriving late. Izuku forced himself to keep limping since he didn’t know where the security cameras were in the school, but he was positive that they had some form of security around here.

Izuku slid open the classroom door, eyes locked on the floor when it went silent, all eyes turning to stare at him.  

He gulped. 

“Welcome back, Aizawa,” Hinata-sensei greeted him, looking too happy about what had just happened. “Take your seat quickly and stop disturbing the rest of the class.”

“Hai.” Izuku looked down, shoulders hunching up as the murmurs and giggles littered the classroom. He walked over to his desk, only glancing up when he almost sat down. 

Then, he slowly nodded his head, locking eyes with Haruki as he did so. 

He didn’t notice Adachi watching his every move like he probably should’ve. 

“That’s all for today,” Hinata-sensei announced as the bell rang. “Remember: debate team has a meeting in this room in ten minutes, yearbook club meets in 3-C, and the kendo team is meeting in House Four in room 1-D.”

A few students stayed seated, waiting for everyone else to clear out and their teammates to come over, so Izuku made sure to grab his things quickly, uninterested in staying for too long and being stuck with new company. 

That would not be ideal in his book. 

He ignored Haruki like he usually would as he grabbed his bag and slung it over one shoulder and bolted out the door, doing his best to keep his head down and ignore any and all stares directed his way. 

He rushed down the stairwell, getting to his locker and putting up his school shoes while grabbing his own, stepping into them as he kept walking, beelining for the front door. 

He stared at the front doors of the building, more than excited to finally get out of the school. 

Which, of course, was when his life got more complicated. 

Izuku's arm was grabbed and he forced himself to go along with it, allowing himself to be dragged into an empty classroom, finally turning around to see Adachi holding onto him. 

He tilted his head, looking at the smaller boy and cocked an eyebrow. “Umm, Adachi-chan?”

“You know, don’t you?” She wasted no time asking the question that was burning her tongue. 

Izuku frowned, not really understanding what he was getting at. “Which part?”

“Who the bad guy really is.”

Izuku shook his head, holding his hands in surrender as he spoke quickly in an effort to explain himself. “No, that’s not--”

“It’s okay,” Adachi explained, glancing down at her shoes, looking a bit sheepish. “I consider him a villain too.”

“...Who?”

Adachi glanced up. “My father.”

“Excuse me?”

“What?”

“Ahm,” Izuku cleared his throat, shaking his head. “No. Sorry. I meant, uhh, why do you think he’s a villain? Is he a villain?”

Adachi frowned, looking at him intently. “You are Deku, aren’t you?”

“Huh?” Izuku’s eyes went wide as he flailed his arms around. “W-Who is that? Ha, Deku. That is such an odd name. I don’t think I’ve ever heard it before--”

“You’re not exactly subtle, ya know,” Adachi smirked, tossing her hair over her shoulder. Izuku gulped. “I remember Deku being distinctly…green. And not quirkless.”

Well. That was sort of ironic considering what Deku used to mean for him. 

“Right…” Izuku spoke, long and drawn out. “Have you hit your head or something? Maybe you have a confused mind?” 

“You’re a hero, right?” Adachi pushed, staring at him intently. 

Izuku shrugged helplessly. “I’m just a quirkless--”

“Cut the shit.” She demanded, stepping forward to address him. “I need you to answer me: Are you or are you not the hero Deku?”

Izuku pursed his lips, shaking his head slowly. “I don’t know what you want from me, Adachi.”

“I want the truth.”

“I’m telling you the truth…”

“Is that all heroes do now?” She glared at him, her face twisting in anger. “Lie until everything all works out?”

Izuku held his hands up, backing up a step. “Hey, woah. I-I don’t-- I mean, Adachi-chan, can’t we talk about this?”

“Now you wanna talk?”

“We never finished!” Izuku answered back, more than exasperated. 

Adachi huffed. “Fine. Consider this conversation over.”

“But…!” Izuku felt his head spin as he looked at her like she just spoke a foreign language. “Nothing is resolved?”

“You picked your poison. Now you have to drink it.”

“Is that really the saying?” Izuku pondered before he shook his head. “Right. Not the right time for that.”

“I can’t believe you.”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying,” Izuku looked at her intently, leaning forward. “Just help me understand.”

“Do you even care?”

“Of course I care about you!”

She shot him a look. “Even after what I did to you?”

Izuku froze. He didn’t mean to, but his mind immediately went to the rooftop, part of him wondering why Adachi simply stood in the rain and nearly watched him jump. 

He shook his head. “No…”

“Yes.”

“No,” He backed away, eyes darting around the empty classroom. “No. You-- You wouldn’t do that.”

She looked at him with a sad sort of pity swirling in her deep blue eyes. “You don’t even know me.”

“But-- How is that possible?” Izuku stared at her, unable to find the right words. 

“The more stressed you become, the more euphoric you feel,” She said, eyes apologetic but her tone suggesting otherwise. “That’s my quirk. Bringing you up to the roof stressed you out and, well, you walked towards the ledge yourself to try and chase the euphoria.”

Izuku shook his head. “Don’t try and blame me for this.” Izuku whispered in an effort to keep his voice from cracking. 

“I didn’t do it.” Adachi defended herself. 

He didn’t understand her. She said one thing but her eyes told a different story. She looked scared and desperate, like she was actively trying to make him hate her. 

He couldn’t understand why.

“Just help me understand,” Izuku said, stepping forward. “Please, Adachi-chan.”

“Don’t step any closer.” She glared at him, a hand going behind her back. 

Izuku listened to her, though he didn’t move from his position. “Please, just listen to me.”

“I won’t listen to the likes of a hero,” Adachi promised, eyes hardening. “Especially not one like you. ”

“Please…”

“I wish this wasn’t how it had to be either, Deku,” She sighed, eyes sad. Izuku’s eyes snapped all the way open. “But you know how the story goes. With every hero there’s a villain.”

How did she--

He shook his head. “It doesn’t need to be like that.”

Adachi smiled, a tear falling down her cheek as she looked  at him, nothing but sorrow swimming in her eyes.

“It already is.”

Chapter Text

The coffee of the morning tasted bitter on his tongue and Tsukauchi could only frown down into his mug, upset his pick-me-up had the audacity to taste as burnt as it did without sugar. 

Holding his breath, he tilted his head back and gulped down the rest of his disappointingly lukewarm coffee and shook his head as he swallowed, unable to help the face he made. 

He set the mug on the counter in front of him and leaned over it, letting his eyes close slightly as he breathed to himself. 

Today was not the greatest day in the world, for one reason and one reason only: he had no idea what came next. 

Over the course of this entire undercover sting the department was in charge of operating, Tsukauchi had been worrying about his own, quiet, investigation into the newbies brought into the department on this case. 

He knew he shouldn’t and his boss would probably have his head if he found out what was going on, but that small voice in the back of his head kept telling him he needed to be on the lookout for something, someone. 

It was a paranoid voice, something he had hoped would drown out with time, knowing it helped to work alongside his co-workers to simmer the detective in him, always searching for the secrets he could sense. 

But he had that feeling. That feeling that had gotten him the job he has now. 

And that feeling had never been wrong before. 

He wished his feeling had been wrong this time. 

Tsukauchi clenched the files in his hand, crinkling them as he stormed through the halls, his co-workers darting out of his way when they saw him. 

Though he might’ve felt bad for scaring off his fellow officers any other day, today was an exception. 

He’d been searching. And Tsukauchi was not a fan of what he had found. 

6 Days Ago

“Detective! Just the man I was looking for.” 

Naomasa turned, brows raised, to see Inoue Naoya grinning as he walked up to him. 

He kept quiet, letting the man approach him without prompting and stared at the man as he held out a manilla folder to Naomasa, a pleasant smile on his face. “The updated affidavit for the case so far. Judge Farley has granted Mr. Midoriya immunity once an arrest has been made.”

Naomasa frowned. “Midoriya’s undercover will need no immunity; he’s participating as a student, not a yakuza member.”

Still, even with his comment, Inoue’s smile didn’t falter. “Just think of it as insurance during trials.”

As quick as he came, Inoue walked off, Naomasa standing in the middle of the hallway as he watched the man walk away and clenched his teeth, resolve hardening. 

He needed to learn more about the man in his precinct. 

Something was wrong, though Naomasa had no evidence, circumstantial or physical, to prove it. It was a gut feeling. It was an inherent distrust, something that whispered in his ear that he needed to be looked into. 

It was a feeling he followed that night after he overheard how excited the man was to get in bed after work, only to slip into an unmarked car, leaving his own sitting in the parking lot. 

Naomasa followed the car as inconspicuously as he could bring himself to be, dipping off the main highway and following the car to a parking garage where the fighting ring for big championship fights were commonly held. 

Luckily for him, tonight seemed to be busy, with other cars parking in the garage and people pouring out of cars, all filing through three sets of double doors that were open, burly security guards at each door frame. 

Curiosity gripped him as he drove slowly through the garage and waited several minutes after the two men and Inoue from the blacked out car disappeared around the corner to find a parking spot before getting out of his own vehicle. 

He tossed all of his gear and badge in the glove compartment, unsure of what company he'd be joining. 

Though it felt exposing to go somewhere without his gear, he knew he was worse off bringing gear into a fighting ring. Especially if those security guards took their jobs as seriously as they seemed to. 

Naomasa switched his hat with a dark baseball cap and stepped out of his car, locking it and striding along with the small crowd of men that were passing by, all headed towards the entrance and loudly proclaiming their drunken allegiance to their favorite fighters that were competing for the night. 

He checked his phone, realizing that tonight was in fact, a legitimate fight night. So not something inherently nefarious. 

Still, his gut told him Inoue was using this for something wrong. So he walked through the doors and sifted through the strange crowd of people who seemed to forget how to walk properly and pushed his way through, seeing a glimpse of Naoya at the betting booth. 

His neck damn near snapped as he focused on that wall, watching the TV’s flip through scores and stats faster than anyone without a mental quick could keep up with. 

Then he settled on watching Inoue, narrowing his eyes as the man placed his bet, talking longer with the guy at the counter than necessary before walking away, dissolving into the crowd. 

With a frown, Naomasa went to follow him before he was slightly bearded forward, not realizing that he’d been integrated into the betting line. 

He looked forward, internally shrugging to himself and kept put, wondering if there was any way he’d be able to get information from the man behind the betting counter. 

The line moved quickly and suddenly, Naomasa was at the front, staring dumbly at the man before him. 

“Hello, sir,” Naomasa said, clearly his throat when the man huffed. “Just have a few questions for ya.”

“You police or just curious?” He asked gruffly. 

“Curious is all,” Naomasa replied swiftly. “Just had some questions on betting? What would a regular typically bet towards?”

“You ain’t never watched these guys fight?”

“Yes of course but,” Naomasa scrambled. This wasn’t the best idea. “Are all these bet collectors with your company?”

The guy sighed deeply and he heard someone behind him groan. Oh he needed to make this quick. 

“You won’t get scammed ‘round here.”

“Sorry,” Naomasa laughed sheepishly. “How much does someone usually bet for them?”

“There ain’t no limit.”

“So there’s no maximum on betting for the fights?” Naomasa pressed, scrambling for anything that could help explain why he felt there was an issue happening. 

“It ain’t illegal to be betting on the fights,” he warned and Naomasa got the feeling he wouldn’t be invited back into the ring if he kept pressing for questions. 

So, instead of pushing harder, asking for more information, he smiled bashfully, coughing out an awkward agreement with his head bowed. Turning, he got out of line, brushing shoulders with a few of the gamblers waiting for their turn impatiently. 

Stepping into the hall, headed towards the parking lot, he allowed himself to sigh, head hanging down as he got out his phone. 

Though he knew he shouldn’t, he needed to call Yagi and talk to not only his friend but someone who would understand how frustratingly stuck he was in the moment. 

“Good luck, Tsukauchi,” A whisper called out to him, brushing past his ear. He whipped around to see the man, Inoue himself, walking away with self-confidence he shouldn’t have felt. 

Naomasa stared at his back, an eerie calm falling over him. 

“Tsukauchi?” Yagi answered the phone, snapping him back into focus.

“Yeah, yeah,” he spoke, blinking rapidly. “Do you have time? I need to talk to you about a case.”

“An official one?”

Naomasa grinned, part of him settling at how well his friend knew him. “It’ll be official soon.”

“I’ll put on some tea.”

“I’ll be there in 30.” 

3 Hours Ago

“Nezu,” Naomasa sighed. “I need help.” 

Nezu grinned. 

He hadn’t really known why until Nezu projected his computer screen onto the desk itself, the information on Inoue Naoya littering the desk. 

“How?” Naomasa dared to ask. 

Nezu simply sipped his tea and offered no explanation. 

Ignoring the fact that he wouldn’t get an answer, Naomasa looked over the desk, slowly scrolling through the projection and reading the information.  

It was convoluted in a way Naomasa hadn’t expected.

Sure, he had known letting the HPSC do their own internal investigation was stupid, but they had used the perfect time to announce their plans. While everyone was focused on the aftermath of a war, the HPSC struck. 

And it was clear just how deep the HPSC was in this. 

Inoue Naoya. Also known as Adach Kaito. Father to one daughter who was currently enrolled in Inagakuen High School. 

Old records and anonymous sources linked him to the Liberation Movement when it was established in Delkia City. Some mentioned positions of power as strategic advisor for the man that were theorized to be held. Others mentioned he was fond of attention and typically used his quirk on unwilling participants. 

His quirk was named Compel. He had the ability to “ask” people to do something and, within the limits of their own mind, they would do their best to make it happen. 

Or, allegedly, die trying. 

“I need to go,” Naomasa suddenly stood, gathering his things. “Could you…?”

“Already sent!” Nezu chirped before sipping some tea. “I’ll be there within the hour to help with the interrogation process.”

Naomasa nodded, ignoring how gleeful Nezu seemed with that and grabbed his coat as he sped-walked out of the building and drove quickly back to the station. 

He went through the doors, ignoring his coworkers and found the Chief in the man’s office. 

“Detective?” The Chief prompted. 

So Naomasa spoke quickly. “I sent you what I found. Inoue Naoya is operating under an alias given to him by the HPSC. He’s been linked to the PLA and I have a theory he’s using his daughter to keep tabs on Inagakuen High School.”

The Chief blinked. “And you can prove all this?”

“Sir, I have enough to get him on child endangerment and malicious intent with a quirk as of now,” Naomasa said, his voice unwavering. 

The Chief nodded, his arms crossed with one hand coming up to rest on his chin. “Then make the arrest. I’ll instruct Aizawa to get in contact with Midoriya.”

Naomasa nodded and nearly darted out of the office, intent on finding the man before he left the building. 

Blessedly, Inoue/Adachi was in the building walking through the interrogation hallway. Unfortunately he looked ready for a fight. 

“Detective!” He cheered in a false voice. 

Naomasa stood in front of him, wondering what the hell he was even doing as this man’s hands turned into drills and he aimed them tauntingly. 

What the actual fuck. 

“Move, little Detective.” Adachi grinned. 

Naomasa stubbornly, stupidly, stayed put. “You’ll have to move me yourself.”

“If you insist.”

Adachi ran at him and Naomasa dropped to the ground, rolling away and grabbing his quirk taser and he felt the ground shake with the force of Adachi’s drills. 

“Your quirk was listed as something different,” Naomasa yelled, sitting in a fighting stance as Adachi glared at him. 

Then, smugly, Adachi grinned. “Oh come on Detective, don’t forget how influential All for One was.”

Truth.

Naomasa let his eyes widen, almost a second to late as Adachi ran forward. 

Thankfully, someone behind him grabbed his arms and slapped quirk suppressing bracelets on the man’s wrists. Naomasa grinned when he saw Yagi standing tall, holding Adachi tightly. 

Many people thought of the man as weak without his All Might form but Naomasa knew better. Being the number one hero for so long didn’t simply disappear. 

“Where’s this one going?” Yagi asked. 

Naomasa opened room number 3 and gestured for them to come inside, where he properly cuffed Adachi and then left, telling Yagi everything that had been happening. 

Talking off his coat and hat, Naomasa went back into the room and began the long conversation with Adachi. 

It took quite a few hours for them to end up here, with Naomasa’s hair tousled, his shirt and tie loosened and Nezu finally walking through the door, looking exceptionally happy to see Adachi looking just as worn. 

“Hello Adachi,” Nezu greeted. “I’m Nezu.”

Naomasa watched him sit back in the chair, sighing dramatically. 

He tilted his head, ready for another round of bullshit to begin spewing from the man’s mouth. 

“I do wonder if that bomb will be going off with everyone still in the building or not.” Adachi hummed to himself, casually picking at his nails. 

Truth.

Naomasa frowned, leaning forward. “A bomb?”

“Hmm,” The man glanced up, pretending to look surprised. “Ah, well I suppose you’ll find out soon enough. Yes. The bomb.”

Truth.

“Midoriya.” Yagi whispered under his breath,his voice sounding through the earpiece from behind the glass, sounding  horrified. 

“I hope, for your sake, that you’ll be able to alert him in time.” Adachi grinned, chuckling under his breath as Naomasa ran out of the interrogation room, leaving the man with Nezu as they scrambled to get contact with Midoriya. 

Chapter Text

The moment Shouta knew something was wrong was when Izuku’s mic was only sending static back to him. 

The second, most damning thing was getting a phone call for the police chief, detailing the issues of the HPSC Agent they’d found hiding amidst their ranks like a rat. 

Shouta sped as fast as he could from UA to Inagakuen, something in his bones telling him Midoriya was in danger. 

He flew through the campus and drove quickly, breaking hard when the windows of the 11th story of the 3rd building blew out. 

Midoriya’s building. 

Shit. 

The building shook and groaned and another bomb went off at the base of it, blowing smoke out. 

Shouta opened his car to get out and help when the building dropped, tumbling down into itself, stray pieces of concrete and debris crashing into the nearby buildings. 

Screams started weighing down the air and Shouta watched with horror as the closest building’s corner started moving and swaying under the pressure. 

The dust made it impossible to see what he needed to and he grabbed his radio and turned it to the hero emergent line. 

“I need as much personnel as you can spare.” He swallowed. “Theres been a bombing at Inagakuen High School.”

Ignoring the call for details from the radio, he wrapped his capture weapon around his mouth and head before opening the car door again, pushing heavily against the wind and began his search. 

“Midoriya?” Shouta yelled out, something catching in his throat that made his wince before shouting, louder, “Midoriya! Midoriya! Where are you?”

He pushed through, eyes squinting through the dust holding his breath unintentionally as the dust got denser and oxygen became a luxury. 

He climbed over a concrete slab, a large rod sticking up from the end of it and he ignored the thought of finding his student impaled on one of them, pushing forward. 

“Midoriya!”

There was a sob, some scuffling off to his left and Shouta sprinted towards the noise, his capture weapon wrapped around his nose and mouth as he moved further into the thick of the smoke and dust. 

It felt otherworldly; to be stuck in a situation as helpless as a bombing. Doubly so because it was a school bombing. 

How many students were beneath his feet? How many watched their friends die? How many were stuck below, unable to breathe or see?

How many were bleeding out, limbs lost and hope withering?

He coughed, listening intently as he heard someone shuffle around again and he raced forward, coming up to a black circle, wrapped tightly around something glowing green. 

“Midoriya?” Shouta called out, desperate and scared. 

A groan came from the circular mass and slowly, painfully slow, the black tendrils retreated back into their owner, revealing his bloody and exhausted student, dirt caking every single crevice. 

Shouta shot forward, catching Midoriya and wrapping his weapon around the boy, turning around and leaping out of the rubble, looking over to see the rescue team arrive and begin to set up camp. 

He raced over to their tent, holding his student in his arms and let one hero look at the boy, an IV finger coming out of him and sticking into Midoriya’s hand. 

They both led him to a cot, where Shouta was gently muscled out of the way while nurses went to work wiping down Midoriya, trying to find where he was injured and how much medical attention he needed. 

“Are you alright?” A first responder asked Shouta, looking over him and he nodded, refusing to look away from his student. 

It took a while, far too long, before Izuku could peel his own eyes open, immediately groaning. He rolled over, slamming down on the ground, his head ringing and his mind shaken. 

Izuku grit his teeth, releasing the pressure once he felt a headache spike and though he was aware of people around him, he couldn’t hear anything they might’ve been saying to him. 

Hell, he couldn’t even hear his own breaths. 

Izuku swallowed, flexing his ears as he was helped up from the ground by strong arms. He felt his head try to lull but he stubbornly kept it straight, not wanting to seem weaker than he already was. 

“-oriya. Hey, Midoirya, seriously, I need you to answer me,” Aizawa’s voice, though distant, finally filtered through the ringing. 

Izuku forced himself to crack a small smile. “Hi sensei.”

Aizawa’s shoulders dropped and, just to surprise him, Izuku was wrapped up in a hug. 

He might’ve been stunned beforehand but this was unparalleled. Izuku had no idea Aizawa was even capable of hugging someone. 

“Sensei?” Izuku questioned, his own words soft to his ears, but he suspected he might’ve been whispering as to not scare the man. 

Aizawa cleared his throat and pulled away, nodding at Izuku once before scanning him over, obviously making sure he was alright. 

“I thought the worst,” Aizawa swallowed and Izuku stared at the man, wondering when he’d become comfortable with vulnerability. 

“I’m okay,” Izuku said back, unsure what he was expected to do now. 

Aizawa shook his head, a wry grin on his cracked lips as a small gleam of light shone through his eyes, bringing much needed life into him. 

And then Izuku looked up to see the wreckage of the building, horrified at how helpless he’d been to prevent this from happening. 

He swallowed hard. “Are they all…?” 

Aizawa stood and breathed slowly. “We don’t know yet.”

“Look and tell me everyone made it out alive,” Izuku demanded, though his voice cracked and dropped low in defeat. 

Aizawa gripped onto his shoulder instead and shook his head. “Those deaths are not on your head.”

But Izuku felt the weight of that uselessness drip down his neck and weigh his ribs down like sand, that feeling that no matter what his reality was now, he'd always be as incapable as he was when he was Quirkless. 

Then he saw the flash of a news camera and the head principal stood on the rubble as he adjusted his tie, smiling at the reporters as they went live. 

Izuku felt bitter hatred towards the man, unable to stop himself from approaching the scene. 

He knew, distantly, that they wanted to wrap this case up with a bow and silently wipe their hands of it but that was before someone influenced Adachi to hold a bomb remote  and helplessly press the trigger for it, clearly horrified. 

Now this case is public. 

“You.” Izuku seethed, his voice sounding layered, as if the vestiges within him felt the same as he did.

The principal, a poor excuse for a man, smiled and cleared his throat, obviously concerned about how Izuku was acting but not enough to heed the clear warning as he finished his speech to the press who had already arrived. 

“I only care for the well-being of my students and though this horrific tragedy has struck against them, struck us, I know we can prevail against these villains who attempted to destroy us.” 

“You planned this,” Izuku’s voice was disembodied and layered as he stood near between the man and his cameras, glaring at the man as his eyes shone a bright green with the unconscious effort of his quirk. “You’re responsible for children’s deaths.”

The principal laughed and Izuku felt the sound burn through him. “That’s simply preposterous--”

“Hisoka Kurokawa,” Haruki yelled out, looking scared and shaken as he backed away from the staff. “That’s his real name.”

Izuku watched as Backdraft came to stand next to Haruki, the man protectively keeping the boy close and away from the adults he’d just sold out. 

He understood why: Haruki was now a key witness. And they needed him alive if they wanted to wrap the case up as cleanly as possible. 

Still though, Izuku let something in his heart calm when he realized the heroes were not going to let the boy be harmed. 

“The entire staff is in on it,” Izuku spoke, voice calming down to less voices as Haruki nodded to second his statement. 

Quickly, heroes surrounded the faculty, slapping quirk suppressant cuffs on them and leading them away from the surviving students. 

Police were arriving, right on time as they began to take the criminals to the station, most likely for processing and Izuku let himself breathe. 

Of course, that’s when the ringing come back, the pain making him squeeze his eyes shut and-

And suddenly he was under the building in front of him. Dust settling, blocks of concrete fallen on top of each other to create a labyrinth. 

“Deku…?”

His head spun, hearing Adachi’s voice call out to him. Izuku took a step forward, but the image fell away, leaving him out on the lawn, too far from the building to help. 

“I need to go help Adachi,” Izuku said, resolute. 

Aizawa shook his head. “No, kid, I can’t let you do that-”

“She needs help!” Izuku protested. “Adachi needs help! She’s stuck under there!”

“The bomb squad is extracting from the rubble as we speak: we’ll only get in the way.”

Izuku huffed, swallowing his anger though he could feel it rising. 

He needed to help. Adachi called out to him. For him. 

It was his job. 

“Eraserhead!”

His teacher took off, curing under his breath, running towards the sudden commotion with his quirk activated. Two heroes seemed to be trying to corral Haruki but it wasn’t nearly as effective as Aizawa’s capture weapon was. 

Izuku watched as Aizawa held Haruki and the boy winked at him. 

Izuku smiled. Then, before anyone could protest, he called One for All to him and bolted into the rubble of the school. 

He was going to find Adachi. 

Chapter Text

“Adachi!” Izuku screamed, coughing from the dust and grime that stuck to him. 

He pushed forward though, through a tunnel the rubble had made. It was small. Small enough to force him to crawl through on his arms and legs, praying he wouldn’t get trapped underneath. 

He was sure he could’ve used One for All but disrupting this much rubble when he didn’t know who else was down here seemed to be the stupidest plan he could’ve conceived. 

“Aizawa?” He heard faintly and Izuku scrambled. 

He crawled through the tight openings that were made with the rubble falling haphazardly. He forced himself through the man-made cave system and gasped when he finally saw her laying there, crushed under a very large piece of rubble, the concrete smashed against her legs, the rods piercing the ground next to her and her abdomen. 

“Adachi,” he gasped and pushed through into the small opening in front of him to get closer to her, horrified that there was no real opening for him to get through to get closer. 

“I-I’m sorry…Deku,” Adachi coughed out, her face caked with dirt and hair sticking to her, lifeless. “I didn’t mean any of it.”

“I know.” Izuku’s voice cracked as he pushed further in, trying to find a better way to remove all of this rubble without letting it collapse on top of them. “Don’t worry. I never-- That never mattered to me.”

“But…I hurt you.”

Izuku shook his head. “Everyone hurts someone. It’s part of what makes us human.”

A tear rolled down Adachi’s cheek, dragging the dirt down with it. “I didn’t mean to try and send you off the roof,” She choked on a sob, her blue eyes boring into his own. “I-I didn’t think that’s what would happen.”

“I believe you.” Izuku answered her quickly, brushing some of the small rubble out of his way, tensing when the entire structure rumbled from above them. 

“Leave me.” Adachi urged him, a small smile on her face despite her predicament. 

Izuku immediately shook his head, eyes darting around to find another piece of loose rubble to move. “Absolutely not.”

“Deku…”

“No--”

“Leave…”

“No!”

“Deku,” She cried. “Please.”

“No,” Izuku whispered, unable to speak up as he looked at her. “I can’t.”

“I promise you can.” She smiled at him and he shook his head again, refusing to entertain any of this. 

“I will save you.” Izuku felt his own tears slip down his cheeks as his nails bled while he raked his fingertips across the rubble to get it out of his way. 

Adachi smiled, and still she looked as if grief had personally touched her, forcing her to experience something beyond sadness or depression. 

It was worse. Like her entire being was weeping, crying out for something that would never fulfill her. Her eyes were endless pools of unshed tears dancing in front of her dying soul and Izuku could do nothing but cry with her, digging until his hands were as raw and vulnerable as this moment between them felt. 

“My father,” She began weakly and Izuku shook his head, still pulling small rubble away from her as he tried to find the best plan of moving the big piece. “He has the ability to command people to do things. Like using their own quirk in hopes that the people near them harm themselves.” She sniffed. 

“Or press a trigger remote,” Izuku confirmed, grim when she nodded. 

“You’ll always be my hero.” She said, as if she had already accepted the worst. “And I’m sorry I’ve treated you the way I did.”

Izuku shook his head, another tear slipping out. “I don’t deserve to be your hero.”

She shook her head, her eyes devastatingly sad. “Go save the good ones, Deku. You’ll do great. I know you will.”

He sniffed, swallowing heavily as he stared into her eyes, a part of him feeling as if they were looking into each other’s souls. 

Hers was sad, something so anguished in her crying out for a release of any kind. 

He’d never been so horrified in his life. 

It wasn’t something people spoke about in interviews. How stuck they felt, how it felt as if any moment could be taken from you. 

There had been one bomb but what if there was a second one? What if more lives were lost?

Attacks like these were unpredictable, though he supposed in some part of his brain, he still refuses to believe someone could be so evil as to harm a school. 

Even as he dug and dug, hoping to get Adachi out and safe, there was trepidation there. His heart turned away from her, as if to protect itself from another attack. 

He sobbed, something so ugly and raw and hurtful it forced him to let his head hang and his hands still. 

Her own hand grabbed his, blood mixing with her blood. And they sobbed together, wailing for the losses today, of both innocents and protectors. 

He hadn’t noticed when her sobs peter out, but when her hand dropped from his, Izuku looked up to see her lifeless eyes staring up as if to try and get one last glimpse of the sky. 

“NO!”

Izuku’s eyes went wide, unable to see anything past the haze of dust and dirt in front of him. 

He couldn’t--

He…He was supposed to save her. 

Heroes were supposed to save the day in the end and yet he had failed her. 

Izuku wailed, his grief loud and angry as it thrashed out of him, angry at the world for causing this, angry at the people who asked a child to sacrifice themselves for a cause they’d eventually abandon when it no longer favored them. 

It wasn’t fair.

Adachi’s death wasn’t fair.

She should’ve been saved. 

If this had been a novel, Izuku would’ve been able to save her. If he had simply acted faster, if he had been willing to get under there with her and hold the collapsed building on his shoulders as she got out. 

If only. 

But this was real life and if there was one thing Izuku learned about the war, it was that the ones who deserved to live will always end up taken from them. 

Grief tore at his heart, striking him down and he fell to his knees, fists pounding against the dirt below him as he wailed for the loss of such a soulful person. 

There were no words in any language that could properly explain his grief as it gripped his heart with its large fist and squeezed, tighter and tighter until Izuku couldn’t breath and he could do nothing but sob and plead with the gods for a chance to have her back. 

Just one chance. One chance and Izuku would change it all to save her, uncaring of the consequences of messing with Father Time. 

He grabbed the large piece of rubble and focused on Blackwhip, letting his anger fuel the tendrils that struck out and helped lift the rubble around him. 

He grabbed Adachi and cradled her in his arms, somber as he slowly lifted the rubble nearby and gently set them down, scared in case someone else was under there and were passed out and unable to call for help. 

Unknowingly, Izuku used Float to lift himself and Adachi out of the hole he’d created. He gently set down on a long concrete wall that had been flattened and stood for a few seconds before dropping to his knees, releasing an anguished cry, leaning over Adachi’s body as he sobbed, holding her close to his chest as he did so. 

Izuku didn't know how many cameras were pointed towards him, the silence across the campus deafening as he mourned his friend that’d been forced to be a pawn in a horrible game for terrible villains. 

All of these kids had been used as pawns. And because of the actions of the people they assumed were going to protect them, they were hurt. 

They were murdered. 

Izuku grit his teeth and tried to stand, stumbling as he did the first time but righted himself finally, still holding Adachi closely. 

He looked up, a hard look in his eyes and hurt on his face as saw the cameras and the heroes watching him, others behind them still moving the rubble and searching for other people. 

Then Aizawa came into view. When did he get over here?

“Come on,” he herded Izuku away and towards the tents police and heroes had set up. 

It took a long time before Izuku had the strength to lay Adachi down on a stretcher, a blanket over her body. 

Izuku stood with Aizawa afterwards, having been told multiple times he needed to stay out of rescue operations, opting just to watch with his teacher. 

He blinked and before he knew it, the sun was setting and Nezu stepped out of a UA car with Yagi, both walking up to him and Aizawa. 

Nezu stepped up to him and bowed low. Izuku backed up half a step, face screwing up as he pushed his hands out as if to stop him. “Um, sir, you don’t have to--”

“Thank you for your sacrifice, young Midoriya,” Nezu spoke over him, not caring for his awkwardness. “You’ve done well.”

Izuku silently nodded, unable to bring himself to say anything as his principal stood straight again, dusting off his pants slightly before turning to Yagi and letting the man place him on his shoulder, the two of them walking away to talk with authorities.

31 hours later 

.

.

“The police department can only hope that our apologies to the community for such a tragedy will be received. UA Principal Nedzu of Musuatfu has agreed and insisted on paying for the funeral expenses of each of the 12 students and 3 faculty members that suffered at Inagakuen High School.”

Sansa stacked the papers in front of him as he stood from the table, clearing his throat. “Now, joining our press conference is HPSC President Veronica along with her associates Althea Abalos and Chen Yu-hsuan of their Internal Crimes Division. And our guest speakers for the night, UA Principal Nedzu and Provisional Hero Deku.”

Polite clapping welcomed the five onto the stage, Nedzu and Izuku sitting down at the table Sansa had been at, while the HPSC bureaucrats sat at the other table to their right. 

President Veronica cleared her throat as she stayed standing while her associates sat down, shuffling her papers as the press reporters sat in their chairs and cameras were adjusted to follow along with every angle of the stage. 

Izuku grit his teeth. 

“The HPSC has been called into question because of an undercover mission operating in Inagakuen High School,” Veronica said, getting straight to the issue, refusing to back down. “We are taking the proper steps to ensure our internal affairs remain in order and in the public’s best interest, though, as far as I know, the 93rd Police Precinct has yet to issue a statement claiming the same.”

Izuku sat forward, forcing himself to act as though he was adjusting in his seat when Nedzu gave him a look, as if to say, be patient.

“The lives that were lost were needless. They were not lives that should’ve been put in danger. And yet they were.”

“President Veronica!” A reporter called out, leaning forward when she pointed to him. “It’s been recently confirmed that a man named Adachi Kaito had been working in the HPSC and was a department head under the name Inoue Naoya. He’s been linked to the bombing and the remains of the PLF. What do you have to say about this?”

Veronica didn’t let her face drop and, in fact, turned to the other cameras and reporters. “The HPSC does everything in its power to protect the citizens of Japan and, because of that, we’re issuing student grants that will cover tuition for the school of their choice so long as they remain in school.”

Turning to the two of them, Veronica sighed, eyes dangerously dark. 

“Are you satisfied?” President Veronica asked, sickly sweet as she shot him a warning look. 

Izuku smiled back as he stood from his seat, well aware Nedzu was sporting the same smile. “We haven’t even begun.”