Chapter 35: Tit for Tat
"Is Power Loader going to be okay?" Hatsume asked.
Recovery Girl frowned. "I think so, dearie. He simply seems to be badly dehydrated. Were there any clues about his condition where you found him? Anything of note?"
"He was just lying in the storage room," Hatsume said.
Recovery Girl sighed. "We'll simply need to ask him when he wakes. Thank you for your help, but you should get back to class now."
"Okay, Recovery Girl," Hatsume said with a nod. "Class is kinda over by now though."
Recovery Girl glanced at the clock. "So it is. I'll need to inform the rest of the staff of this development… you just go on home."
Izuku woke up slowly, yawning. Everything around him was soft and plush, like fluffy clouds, and Izuku felt tempted to roll over again and just go back to sleep. But then, he remembered everything that had happened in Nedzu's office, and he sat right up immediately.
He was in a bedroom, gray-and-white with green accents. There was a playful pawprint pattern on the walls, All Might-themed baubles lining the shelves, and a stack of books in the corner. There was one potted plant, but it was placed directly under an artificial light, likely to compensate for the lack of windows. The bed was oh-so soft, with warm fuzzy blankets.
A regular bedroom. But not lived in. Too artificial.
Izuku carefully got up and walked over to the door. Though he expected it to be locked, it opened easily once he turned the handle.
It opened up into a living room, one with several couches and a TV, with the walls painted blue. A figure sat on the sofa, which immediately put Izuku on guard.
"Hello?" Izuku asked carefully.
He turned around, and Izuku immediately gasped. "Tsukauchi! Why are you here?! What's going on?"
Tsukauchi sighed. "I'm glad you're awake, kid. We're Nedzu's prisoners."
Yeah, that's basically what Izuku had expected. "W-why was Nedzu acting like that?" Izuku asked.
"He's under the influence of a quirk," Tsukauchi explained. "Dark Reflection… Sparklebright, a hero at the gala, used it on him. It accentuates a negative trait in a person, usually either their worst or one they were indulging in at the moment they were affected. I hadn't realized how bad things had gotten."
"Oh," Izuku said. "So… his was…"
"Possessiveness," Tsukauchi said. "I'm almost completely certain."
"So he wants to possess you too?" Izuku said.
"Well... sort of. This was all a bit circumstantial," Tsukauchi explained. "I came to tell him about the fact that he was under a quirk, but he'd already figured it out and decided that he preferred the new him. He said that it would be a shame to kill me, but that I could be a useful caretaker for one of, ah…" Tsukauchi hesitated slightly.
"For one of what?"
"One of his most important possessions," Tsukauchi said, wincing. "Sorry, kid."
"And that's me," Izuku said, resisting the urge to sigh. "So he wants you to take care of me?"
"That's not all!" A new voice chimed in, over an intercom.
Izuku froze.
"Apologies for the intrusion," Nedzu said. "But I thought it might be useful if I were to answer some of your questions now!"
"W-why is Tsukauchi here?" Izuku blurted out. "You can let him go! I don't need a caretaker! He wouldn't tell!"
"Yes, he would," Nedzu said. "This is the best way to repurpose him. He is one of the few that I know of that are trustworthy enough to handle you. Besides, humans do quite poorly in isolation. I'd always known that you would need someone to accompany you!"
"Do you intend to keep us here forever," Tsukauchi said, steel behind his words.
Nedzu laughed, and the cold sound sent a shot of fear through Izuku. He took a step closer to Tsukauchi, almost hiding in his shadow.
Nedzu cooed at the reaction. "I knew I made the right decision," he said. "And yes, I do."
"And what about the cameras," Tsukauchi said, which surprised Izuku. "In the bedrooms? Bathroom? Or just the living room?" Tsukauchi pointed at the corner of the room, and Izuku only then noticed the camera present.
"Only living room," Nedzu said. "I promise. Humans need a safe place to hide away! A lack of privacy can be psychologically damaging, and Midoriya's brain is the best part of him! It's just like owning a guinea pig. Every responsible pet owner knows you need to get your pet a little cave or whatnot for them to hide in."
"Nedzu," Izuku said, feeling sick.
"Please, take some time to settle in. I understand this may feel stressful, but I ask you not to worry! You'll be safe now, I'll be watching," Nedzu promised.
Izuku got the sense that that was meant to be comforting. It wasn't.
When neither of them responded to that statement, the intercom turned off with a click.
[ALERT: ESCAPE QUEST ACTIVATION!]
Escape Quest: Escape
Goal: EscapeREWARDS: +??? DEX points
Izuku almost wanted to punch his quirk in the face. Yes he was aware that he needed to escape. Just fantastic.
[ALERT: HEROICS QUEST ACTIVATION!]
Heroics Quest: Quintuple Teacher Rescue
Goal: Cure Infected IndividualsREWARDS: +5 stat points per person cured
Okay. And he needed to save everyone. Pretty standard impossible quest goals.
...Wait, was that implying there were more people infected besides Nedzu?!
A staff meeting had been called about the condition of Power Loader, who had apparently been found unconscious in the storage room. Aizawa, almost finished with his papers thanks to Hizashi's help, dragged himself to the after-school staff meeting despite the fact that he was starving and wanted to go home and wanted to sleep. He'd been tempted to skip this, but he'd decided to show up out of respect for Power Loader in case he was really badly injured.
"Did any of you see Power Loader over the weekend?" Nedzu asked.
Most of the staff shook their heads. "I think I saw 'im working in one of the support labs," Snipe said. "Can ya check the cameras?"
"I plan to, but I wanted to see if Power Loader had informed all of you of anything before I did so," Nedzu said. Strange. Normally Nedzu always checked the cameras first, but maybe he'd been busy with something? "Regardless, he is expected to recover… all of you can go."
Aizawa left, stepping out of the conference room with Hizashi dogging his footsteps.
"Can I meet you at home?" Aizawa asked. "I need to ask Vlad about something."
Hizashi scowled deeply again.
Aizawa sighed. "Hizashi, it will be ten minutes."
"Promise to come home straight afterward," Hizashi commanded.
Aizawa thought he was being ridiculous, but he agreed, mostly to get out of the conversation. "I promise. Right after."
The two split up, though Hizashi shot him glances every two seconds as they walked opposite directions in the hall. Aizawa had to hurry to catch up with Vlad King, who was stalking down the hallway like someone had killed his puppy. He looked mad.
But Aizawa knew they needed to have a talk. This was getting ridiculous.
"I think this 1-A and 1-B rivalry has gone a bit far," Aizawa said, carefully. "I'm sorry for spurring it on, but I want us to have a good relationship as coworkers."
"Shut up! Shut up, shut up," Vlad growled. "I hate how your voice sounds!"
Aizawa frowned deeply.
Vlad's fiery gaze met Aizawa's, and his anger only seemed to grow. "Why are you making that face at me?" he snarled.
"Because you're being rude!" Aizawa snapped. "What's wrong with you?"
Vlad walked a few steps forward towered over Aizawa. Aizawa wasn't short by any means, but it was tough to compete with someone approaching six and a half feet tall.
"I'm reaching the end of my rope," Kan said, quietly. "I'm fucking done. Say one more thing to me, I dare you."
His voice was dead serious, and it gave Aizawa pause.
Aizawa had a choice here. Maybe if he'd been in a bar, and he was being challenged by some drunk stranger, he'd quietly back off, pulling all the stops to defuse the situation. It's not like he wanted to get into a fight. But this was Vlad King. His coworker. Vlad King was better than that, he knew better than to get into a brawl with another teacher. And like hell he'd let himself be intimidated in his own workplace.
"I-" before Aizawa could finish what he'd said, Kan grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the wall.
"Ggh-!" Aizawa struggled to breathe as Kan lifted him and pressed him against the wall. He kicked out and thrashed instinctively, but Kan didn't even flinch. His only focus was applying more pressure to Aizawa's throat.
The adrenaline meant Aizawa's quirk was automatically firing, but it was futile. The only thing Kan was using to attack him was raw muscle, and so Erasure was useless. Aizawa scrabbled at his wrist, nails digging into skin. Kan hissed, but didn't let go.
"Stop," Aizawa gasped. "Stop. Stop it."
Kan's blood-red eyes, glazed over, didn't even seem to register the words.
In a fleeting moment of rationality within his panicked haze, Aizawa drew upon the dregs of his training, wound up a kick, and deliberately sent it into Kan's neck.
That's when Kan let him go. He stumbled back, hands darting up to his throat, while Aizawa crumpled to the ground, Aizawa gasped, taking deep breaths of delicious air, coughing and choking in an attempt to get the precious oxygen to his lungs.
Aizawa looked at Kan's face. Though it had been alight with rage only moments ago, it was now stark with horror and confusion.
"I'm sorry," Kan said. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me."
He looked down at his hands with wide eyes, as if it were them alone that had done the strangling. Aizawa still felt a spike of fear looking at those big hands and murderous red eyes.
"Stay back," Aizawa croaked.
Kan, regret etched into his features, backed away immediately, giving Aizawa plenty of space. "I'm sorry," he repeated. "I'm so, so sorry, Aizawa… I don't know what happened…"
So apologetic. Well, if he really cared that much, he wouldn't have done it in the first place. And Aizawa didn't want to be around when Kan's anger returned and he had a repeat outburst.
"Should I get Recovery Girl?" Kan asked, looking anxious.
"No," Aizawa said. "Just leave. I have something more important to do."
Kan didn't interfere, and Aizawa limped towards Nedzu's office.
Aizawa threw open the door into Nedzu's office. He didn't bother with knocking, he simply swung it open, letting it hit the wall.
"Why are you here?" Nedzu asked pleasantly, though he had some idea. He'd seen the incident on the security cameras. Just as he'd thought he might need to intervene, Aizawa had managed to free himself, thus saving him the trouble.
Clearly, Aizawa had come to him to report the incident.
"I…" Aizawa took a breath, seemingly trying to steady himself. "I'm quitting."
"Oh?" Nedzu said. He peered at the bruising that was beginning to show on Aizawa's neck. Interesting. "If it's about what happened with Vlad King, I can assure you that such an incident will not be repeated."
"That's your entire reaction?!" Aizawa snarled. "What about Vlad King? Is he still going to work here?"
"He will." Nedzu's smile got wider. "Regardless. There will be not quitting."
"Is that all you care about?" Aizawa's voice was tinged with disbelief. "I can quit whenever I want."
"On the contrary, you're under contract." Nedzu opened his mouth in a grin, revealing his fangs. "You can't just quit mid-year."
Aizawa huffed, looking offended. "Well, what would you even do, sue me?" he challenged.
"Maybe," Nedzu said. "Imagine, being sued for breach-of-contract with UA. The legal fees would certainly be something, plus the payout, since you would most certainly lose. And with a scandal like that under your belt, I wonder if the Hero Commission would even be keen on you continuing as a hero."
Aizawa's heart sank.
"I personally wouldn't recommend it. I mean, unless you'd rather it go back to the way it was when you were a child," Nedzu said. "Always hungry, scrabbling for purchase. Before all this. I wonder if you still remember that life?"
Aizawa did remember.
"Why are you doing this?" Aizawa searched Nedzu's gaze for something to indicate he was lying. He found nothing. Nedzu didn't even look guilty. The shine of his eyes was simply that of excitement, the same as whenever one of his plans came to fruition.
"You're an asset," Nedzu said. "I'm keeping you."
A fountain of frustration hit Aizawa, and suddenly he was shaking with muted anger. "Is that it? That's your only reason for doing this? You-"
The emotional exhaustion that came with having been attacked by Vlad King was a lot to handle, but even worse was this anger. It permeated Aizawa's entire being.
Anger with Nedzu, and even anger at himself. Why hadn't he seen this coming? Nedzu lied to everyone, manipulated everyone. He threatened and blackmailed like his life depended on it. Aizawa had been present to see many of Nedzu's schemes come to fruition.
How had he been so stupid to assume he was the exception?
How had he not seen this coming?
The worst part was that he'd legitimately thought that Nedzu was mostly honest with him. That any manipulations he wrapped Aizawa up in were incidental, rather than malicious. Even Nedzu hadn't claimed these things. No, Aizawa had fallen for a trap that wasn't even there, hook, line, and sinker. Like tripping over his own feet, or getting lost in broad daylight.
Aizawa had 'quit' mostly just to show he wouldn't put up with being attacked at his work. He hadn't even really meant it. He'd just been posturing, if he were honest.
But after Nedzu had tried to blackmail him to his face?
He meant it now.
"I don't know why I ever trusted you," Aizawa said, venom in his voice.
Nedzu hummed, unbothered.
"You'll never leave this job," Nedzu said, voice casual. "Not yet, at least. You can take the rest of the day off to acclimate to this state of affairs, but you will not be quitting."
Aizawa's anger flared to bursting. "I hate you," he said.
Nedzu didn't even react to his response. "I'll see you tomorrow, Aizawa."
Oh, you won't, Aizawa thought, eyes blazing. He scowled at Nedzu and walked out the door, still fuming. You just watch. You may think you've cornered me, but there's nothing you can do to stop me. Good luck finding me, you damn rat.
Aizawa walked out of UA, with no plans of ever coming back.
Chapter 36: Gilded Glass
Power Loader shifted in his sleep. Recovery Girl put down what she'd been holding and turned her attention to him. He shifted again, and then slowly opened his eyes.
"Here… why am I here?" Power Loader croaked.
Recovery Girl handed him a glass of water, which he began drinking without explanation.
"You were found in the storage room, extremely dehydrated," she said. "Do you know what happened?"
"Dehydrated… I…" Power Loader clutched his head. "I don't remember… but… it doesn't matter. I need to get back to labs…"
"You certainly don't," Recovery Girl said. "Unless you have something that'd be dangerous if left unattended."
"No… no… just need to work…" Power Loader rasped. "Please…"
"You certainly do not," Recovery Girl said. "I don't need you picking up Aizawa's work habits, thank you very much. Now can you give me any explanation over what happened to you? I doubt-"
Power Loader, still mumbling about work and need to finish project, sank back into bed and fell back asleep, likely from exhaustion.
Recovery Girl sighed. Idiot teachers, always thinking of work.
A letter laid on the counter, hastily written.
Dear Hizashi,
I know that you're struggling. I can tell that you need to be around me all the time to feel happy. I know this probably hurts, but I think it would be healthier for both of us if we spent some time apart. I know you won't like this, but I think it's for the best.
I just think the stress from the USJ is just catching up with all of us. Some of the other teachers have just decided to take it out on me. I know why, everyone thinks I'm an asshole, so it's the obvious choice over the nicer, friendlier teachers. I can't say it hasn't left me disillusioned with UA, though.
I've left a few avenues of communication open in case I'm wrong about Vlad King and Nedzu's cruelty only extending to me, but I'd appreciate it if you could keep an eye on the situation too. I trust you. Check on Nemuri for me.
I'm sorry for worrying you, I'll contact you soon.
Love,
Shouta
Hizashi read the note, and wailed.
"Okay, okay… we need to get out of here," Izuku said, turning to Tsukauchi.
"Let's go to one of our rooms to talk," Tsukauchi said.
Izuku followed Tsukauchi into his room, which was much plainer than Izuku's. While it was simple and clean, with a bed and other basic furniture, Izuku could tell almost immediately that less effort had gone into it than his bedroom. Maybe because Nedzu hadn't been sure who it was for before he kidnapped Tsukauchi?
"The layout is simple," Tsukauchi said. "This place isn't very big, I explored it yesterday… when I got here. Two bedrooms, a living room between them, and one bathroom. The main door, presumably leading outside, is in the living room. It's an electronic lock, made from steel. There's a panel in it that he sends items through."
Even though Tsukauchi had closed the door, meaning Nedzu shouldn't be watching them, Izuku still felt like insects were crawling over his skin. "Do you think he was telling the truth? About the cameras?" Izuku asked.
Tsukauchi nodded. "He was. My quirk, remember?"
Izuku blinked. "Oh."
"I forgot to ask him about audio devices, though," Tsukauchi said, shrugging. "We'll have to ask him the next time he comes on… if he does. Anyways, I have reason to suspect that we're beneath UA."
"Why's that?" Izuku asked. It made sense, but Nedzu theoretically could have plopped them anywhere.
"The food," Tsukauchi said. "It tastes like Lunch Rush's, and it's hot."
"So unless he kidnapped Lunch Rush too… we're underneath UA," Izuku said, frowning. "I'm not sure if that makes it better or worse. I know UA better, which could help us escape, but it's totally Nedzu's home turf."
Tsukauchi sighed. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Izuku offered. "We'll figure it out."
Priority needs to shift to saving myself immediately, which means using the fullest extent of my abilities. What can I do?
Izuku had thirty-five spell points, and twenty-four unallotted stat points. "Stats," he muttered.
VIT: 50, STR: 18, DEX: 21, INT: 50, WIS: 50, CHA: 22
Unallotted Stat Points: 24
Even if he put all his stat points into a skill, he wouldn't reach fifty to get a new unknown ability. Ugh, But that was a bad strategy anyway, relying on the random chance of getting a good ability. Oh well. At least he knew he could buff any one of his stats by a decent margin right now. In fact, he could get up to 59 spell points if he totally invested it in VIT.
With that kind of investment…
He could learn Flame and Fireball together, Heal Major Wound, or both Jolt and Arcing Bolt. There was a chance that the electric abilities could damage the lock on the door, but that was just as likely to trap them inside as it was to set them free. None of his raw stats (like strength) could free him. Healing wouldn't help him here. Investing in anything was risky.
"I can't think of anything," Izuku said, trying not to break into hysterics. "I can't."
"It's okay, it's okay," Tsukauchi said, soothing. "It's only been a few minutes. We have plenty of time to strategize. We'll think of something."
Izuku sat on the bed. He was pretty sure he'd seen notebooks in his room, but he was feeling much too touchy to write down any plans right now.
Tsukauchi and Izuku talked strategy for a while. None of their plans were good exactly, though Tsukauchi suggested combing the place for weaknesses before they did anything rash. Izuku highly doubted there would be any weaknesses, but he supposed it might still be worth it.
A pleasant chime sounded.
"Huh?" Izuku said.
"The bell rings when it's time to eat," Tsukauchi said. He frowned. "Hm. I forgot, it must be around lunchtime."
The idea of that rubbed Izuku the wrong way, but he was too hungry to complain. When he and Tsukauchi got to the living room, there were already two plates of food sitting at the door, piping hot, and chopsticks in plastic wrap sitting beside them.
"Katsudon," Izuku said, a bit faint. "How'd he know it was my favorite?"
"I don't know, kid," Tsukauchi said. "I just got plain rice on my first day here."
The two stared down at the food a while longer, saying nothing.
Izuku puffed out a breath. "I guess we should eat."
Nedzu wouldn't… drug Izuku again, right?
Izuku jumped back as the intercom crackled.
"It's good to see you two are getting along!" Nedzu said.
"You're already back?!" Izuku said, startled.
"I like to check in on you!" Nedzu said. "Don't stress about it! Do you want a treat?"
"...A treat?" Izuku said, frowning.
"You've been exhibiting signs of stress, but it seems like you and Tsukauchi have been getting to know one another! Proper socializing is good behavior. Good behavior is rewarded," Nedzu said, sounding excited and cheerful. "Do you want any toys?"
Ugly shock roiled through Izuku. He was not a dog.
"I want to go home," Izuku said, angry and upset.
Nedzu sighed. He sounded disappointed, now. "That's okay. I'll get you something anyway. Now, if you want me to go-"
"Wait," Tsukauchi said. "Any listening devices?"
"A few. In the living room, and Midoriya's bedroom," Nedzu said. "None in other places. So long as your voices can't be heard through the walls, I won't be able to hear you in the two other rooms."
Izuku glanced at Tsukauchi for a verdict.
"He's telling the truth," Tsukauchi said. Izuku sighed in relief.
"Try not to spend too much time plotting against me!" Nedzu said. "Spend some time relaxing, too. Things will be just fine."
The intercom clicked off.
"Let's take our food to my room, then," Tsukauchi said. "No one listening."
Izuku nodded and picked up his katsudon, deep in thought.
Maybe the room itself didn't have any weaknesses… but Nedzu definitely did.
Nedzu legitimately thought that the two would never be able to escape. He was arrogant. And, secondly, he really seemed to care about Izuku in his own twisted way. That was both an exploitable weakness and their saving grace.
"I think I have an idea," Izuku said. "But… there's… things you need to know first."
Tsukauchi perked up a bit. "Oh?"
"There's a lot I didn't tell you about my quirk," Izuku said. "But the most important thing you need to know is that I can set things on fire."
Chapter 37: Golden Flames
"I know this is probably a bad time to explain my quirk," Izuku said, nervous.
"No, this is definitely a good time to know what you're capable of," Tsukauchi said.
"Okay, my quirk is called The Gamer," Izuku said. "It lets me live life like a video game."
"Like a video game?" Tsukauchi echoed. "What does that mean?"
"I can gain experience points and level up, and put stat points towards my abilities!" Izuku said. "And there's like, skill trees and things."
"Okay," Tsukauchi said. "This is all registering as true… but a video game quirk?!"
"I know, it's unbelievable!" Izuku huffed. "That's why I didn't tell anyone. But it's true. And the reason my previous lie worked is because whenever I almost die, I complete a quest by surviving, which gives me new abilities."
This was partially so that Tsukauchi could make suggestions about how to use his quirk in this dire situation, but it was also partially a test. The fact that he hadn't gotten a pop-up saying from The Gamer about completing the 'tell Nedzu and Tsukauchi about your quirk' meant that Nedzu didn't know. This meant he wasn't listening, which meant they could discuss their secret plans knowing Nedzu would be oblivious to them.
"I suppose it's not unlike your classmate Jirou's quirk," Tsukauchi said, still struggling to square the idea of this quirk existing. "Yours, a video game. Hers, headphone jacks. Another example of technology affecting quirk development…"
"I've never thought of explaining it like that," Izuku said. "Huh."
"But… setting things on fire?" Tsukauchi brought up.
"Ah," Izuku said. "There's a magic system skill tree. Fire magic's in there. I'm not that far along yet, but I can do a little…"
"What else?" Tsukauchi asked.
"Um, okay. I can use Observe, of course, and I'm hyper-durable. I can heal when I eat certain foods, and I can heal using magic," Izuku said. "But I have a limited number of mana, so I can only cast so many spells. I learn very fast, and my problem solving abilities are very good. Poison-resistance. I also have a relationship screen where I can see how people think of me."
Tsukauchi blinked. "How does Nedzu think of you?" Tsukauchi asked, probably out of morbid curiosity.
"Right now? Um, relationships," Izuku said.
Nedzu. Rep +99999. mineminemineminemine
"Nothing good," Izuku said.
"Hm," Tsukauchi frowned, creasing his forehead. "Okay. So fire, hyper-durability, hyper-intelligence. Several good abilities, but I'm not sure how many would be useful in this situation…"
"I do have an actual plan," Izuku said. "Using an ability I haven't told you about yet. But it might put you in danger."
Tsukauchi sighed. "We don't have many options left. What's your idea?"
Nedzu threw a pile of papers to the ground, pacing frantically for a few moments before deeming it waste of time and rushing back to his computers.
Aizawa was gone. Gone! Nedzu's breath hitched, he'd just received the message from Yamada. Nedzu hadn't anticipated this.
What had he done wrong? It quickly sprang to his mind. Aizawa was stubborn and contrarian, of course he wouldn't put up with that sort of thing. Nedzu had been far too rash, deciding to threaten him. He required a gentler touch--if Aizawa came back, Nedzu would remember that.
Through the panicked haze, Nedzu ran through all his options.
Check all the places he'd go--where would he go how to track him--
An automated alarm went off, and Nedzu was horrified to recognize it as the one for Midoriya's living area. Now this too? Shoving his thoughts about Aizawa aside, he quickly pulled up a camera feed to check on Midoriya.
"Nedzu," Midoriya breathed. His face was a mess of bruises, and he was curled in on himself, as if protecting stomach injuries.
"Let me out right now or I kill the kid," Tsukauchi said, blank-faced. He held Midoriya up in the air by the back of his uniform.
Nedzu saw red. "Hound Dog, basement area 1-2-5. Main building. Intruder threatening student," Nedzu whispered harshly into his communicator. Once Hound Dog gave the affirmative, Nedzu clicked the on button for two-way communication.
"Release Midoriya," Nedzu said.
Tsukauchi paused. "Would you let me go?"
"If you were to release Midoriya with no further injury, I would," Nedzu said.
"You just lied to me," Tsukauchi said.
Nedzu growled. "If you release Midoriya now, I will give you a painless death," Nedzu said. "You will die no matter what. Spare yourself the suffering and release him."
Tsukauchi's muscles stiffened, clearly sensing the truth in that statement.
Hound Dog would be there in a few minutes. He would capture Tsukauchi.
Then, Nedzu would have the chance to seal him off in a separate room. He could keep Tsukauchi there for days, and give him the slow, torturous death that he deserved. By starvation, maybe, after Nedzu had the chance to personally dig his claws into the man that threatened his things.
"All Might would find out if you killed me," Tsukauchi said, slowly.
"You think All Might is a threat to me?!" Nedzu barked a laugh. "And by the time he finds you, it'll be too late! All he'd be finding is your decaying corpse! Let Midoriya go while you still have the chance!"
Hound Dog threw the door open to the room. He'd been given access to the room the moment Nedzu'd seen Midoriya in danger, now he could stop--
"AGHH!" Nedzu shouted in surprise, pain, and fear as sharp pains erupted around his face and muzzle, and in his abdomen under his shirt. He slipped off his chair, clutching his face.
Ithurtswhere'sAizawaMidoriyaindangerI'mindangerithurtscan'tsee--
Everything felt like it was spinning, even though Nedzu couldn't see. Why was the world so cloudy? Everything was all foggy--
Nedzu laid on the ground, dazed.
Hound Dog entered the room to see a man (familiar, but that didn't matter now) holding a bruised student hostage. That same student who'd he had to rescue early from the support basement! The moment he entered, however, the student shot a fireball right at him!
"Wait--I'm here to rescue!" Hound Dog barked, but even though he'd tried to twist out of the way his fur caught fire. He tried to put it out with his jacket, but then his jacket caught fire. He dropped the jacket and tried to pat himself out, but he ended up just burning his paws. As panic enveloped him, and the smell of burning fur became unbearable, the man and student went racing past him through the door.
"Stop, drop, and roll!" the student shouted, shoving him aside as they ran out the door.
And though he wanted to run after the student, his whole shoulder was on fire now and it was burning and burning and Hound Dog threw himself to the ground in an instinctive panic. Even as he did, however, he fumbled for his phone and called the teachers' emergency groupchat.
"Intruder on the loose! Black hair, tall, skinny! Carrying green-haired first-year!" Hound Dog shouted into the phone.
Alarms started blaring as Tsukauchi ran at top speed out of the school, carrying Izuku as he went. Once they were a few hallways down, he dropped Izuku, who started running beside him. "East hallway!" Izuku shouted. They sped past a group of students, who gave them puzzled looks.
He'd just have to hope that Retaliate would keep Nedzu down long enough for them to escape. Izuku had sort of had to guess at how much HP Nedzu had.
Tsukauchi had been horrified when Izuku asked him to punch him until visible bruises appeared on his face, but it had served two purposes.
One was catching Nedzu's attention, and getting the door open.
And the second was disabling Nedzu. Retaliate would hit him with unexplained injuries, which would at the very least shock him and throw him off his game.
Izuku knew that Nedzu likely wouldn't come to the door himself. Nedzu was fast and quick, an excellent fighter--but he didn't have any bulk, which would make it hard for him to play defender and keep Izuku safe. Izuku had thought either Vlad or Hound Dog would come--either way, he would have set them on fire.
Hopefully he did not just kill Hound Dog with Fireball. Hound Dog was sturdy, right?
Izuku decided not to think about it any further.
The alarms were definitely bad, but they'd considered the fact they might go off. Izuku had purposefully chosen the second-shortest route to the exit, the one that didn't go past the teachers' lounge. At this point, it was just running, hoping, and improvising.
They got out the doors.
Yagi walked into Nedzu's office.
Upon hearing Hound Dog's message about an intruder kidnapping a green-haired student, Yagi had been frantic. But then he realized there wasn't any reason to worry--Aizawa had told him earlier that Midoriya would be home for a few days because of some kind of family emergency. Luckily, Midoriya wasn't in the school at all!
Still, it was a problem. Ectoplasm and Cementoss were still out looking, but they hadn't received any further communication with Nedzu, which was concerning. Yagi was coming in to check on him.
"Nedzu?" he called.
The only response was a muffled sob.
Yagi's head jerked towards the source of it, a lump laying beside Nedzu's chair. Nedzu.
"Nedzu! Are you okay?" Yagi quickly walked over there.
"I lost them," Nedzu said. "They're gone--I failed--"
Yagi quickly checked Nedzu for injuries, horrified to find there were many. The worst of it seemed to be his face, where bruising was already noticable even under his fur. Both his eyes were swollen shut, and blood trailed down his face. Tears clumped the fur near his eyes.
Yagi resisted the urge to gasp--he'd never seen his boss in such a state. Crying, or injured. The whole situation felt like an affront to nature. Nedzu had always seemed so invulnerable-- Had the intruder attacked Nedzu?
"Are you okay?" Yagi asked.
There was no answer.
"I'm going to take you to Recovery Girl," Yagi said. "Is that okay?"
This time, a shallow nod.
Yagi gently picked up Nedzu and started walking towards the infirmary. Nedzu shifted in his grip, pressing against him.
The sinking feeling that something horrible had gone on when Yagi had entered the room was nothing compared to this--now Yagi knew something was wrong for certain. And he was going to find out what.
Izuku didn't feel safe until they were a few miles and a train ride away from UA, and even then he knew they'd have to keep moving. How did one avoid being tracked?
"Okay, we escaped," Tsukauchi said as they walked down the street. "Any other plans?"
"We have to get Aizawa," Izuku announced. "He can erase quirks--if we can get him to Sparklebright, this all should be solved!"
"We ran in the wrong direction, then," Tsukauchi said, dryly.
Izuku blinked. He'd been so focused on escaping UA--
"So we have to get Aizawa without catching Nedzu's attention," Izuku said, head already hurting at the idea of trying to pull off that heist.
"I have a better way," Tsukauchi said. "We can talk with some of my police buddies--let them in on what's going on at UA. At the very least have them call Aizawa to the station, then we can fix all this for good."
"Good idea," Izuku said. "Okay--let's find your police friends!"
"We should be careful, though," Tsukauchi said. "Nedzu might suspect us going there."
"We'll be careful," Izuku said. "We just need to contact Aizawa."
With a little luck, they'd be able to get in touch with Aizawa before Nedzu even knew what was happening.
Chapter 38: As It Was
The remaining first-year teachers sat at a round table.
Ectoplasm, Snipe, All Might, Thirteen, and Cementoss. Startlingly few.
"Where is everyone?" Snipe said, glancing around the table. "This is an emergency, it should be all hands on deck.."
"This is everyone available right now," Yagi said. He stood up, face serious. "The location of Midnight, Eraserhead, Vlad King, and Present Mic is currently unknown. None of them came in to teach today for unknown reasons, and Midnight has been absent for two. The police are checking their homes for them as we speak."
It was dead silent as all the teachers took that in.
"In addition, Hound Dog was attacked by two intruders. A green-haired male teenager with a fire quirk, who was pretending to be a student at the time, and a tall, black-haired man," Yagi said.
"Is Hound Dog alright?" Thirteen asked.
"He's stable, but badly burned," Yagi said. "He's in the infirmary right now with Power Loader, who, as you know, collapsed yesterday. We have word from Recovery Girl that it was dehydration."
"Dehydration?" Thirteen echoed. "How did that happen? Could it be related?"
"How did they get in?" Ectoplasm asked grimly.
"We don't know, but Hound Dog said he'd seen the student before, meaning this was likely some kind of long-term infiltration," Yagi said. "But we know he doesn't go here. There are no green-haired students with fire quirks at UA."
"Okay, so we know why the other teachers are gone," Snipe said. "But where's Nedzu?"
"That's the last thing," Yagi said. "Nedzu was attacked in his office at the exact same time the two intruders were spotted. Across the other side of the building, likely a third intruder. He's expected to recover soon, but he's not able to be here."
The table was shocked. Cementoss, though, continued right along with business.
"Did his injuries give any clues into the attacker's quirk?" Cementoss asked.
"No," Yagi said, shaking his head. "Nedzu was beaten with fists, not a quirk."
"Someone punched Nedzu?" Snipe said, in disbelief. "Seriously?"
"Okay, what do we do?" Thirteen said.
"Well, I told the students that the alarms were a drill, and emailed parents saying the school is closed down for maintenance tomorrow," Yagi said. "Right now our primary focus needs to be finding the missing teachers, capturing the intruder, and discovering who else was involved in this plot."
The teachers nodded. It was obvious that All Might was taking command. If this were any other situation, there might have been protests, but All Might was the oldest and most experienced hero of the group. Not to mention that infighting at this point would be idiotic, considering how weakened UA was already.
"Snipe, I need you to go on the security cameras and figure out what the hell happened in the past hour. Thirteen, investigate the areas where the attacks happened, and you'll be responsible for escorting forensics to the right location when the police arrive," Yagi said. "Ectoplasm, take the perimeter. Use clones to make sure we don't have any additional intruders or lingering students. Leave a clone or two in charge of the security system so we have access to it. Cementoss, I need you by the infirmary, in case the attackers swing by to try to finish off Hound Dog or Nedzu while they're injured."
"What about the other missing teachers?" Thirteen asked, rising from their seat.
"I'm in contact with the police," Yagi said. "Once we know more, we'll have people searching for them right away. I'll keep all of you posted."
"Understood," Thirteen said.
"I will put the security system at high alert," Ectoplasm said.
"Good," Yagi said. "We need to figure out exactly what happened, and fast."
Not long after, Yagi's phone rang. He picked up immediately. "Tsuragamae? Do you have news?"
The police chief barked an affirmative. "We found three of your teachers. Midnight, Vlad King, Present Mic. None in good condition. All of them were delirious. Vlad King and Present Mic could be convinced to return to UA with our men by playing on their delusions, but Midnight had to be sedated. All of them are on their way to you right now. We sent some additional nurses and a doctor with them to help you, they'll be a handful."
"Delusions?" Yagi echoed. "And what of Aizawa?"
"Not found in his home. Present Mic was sobbing about how Aizawa had, 'left him'," Tsuragamae said. "But again, he seemed to be strangely hyperfixated on Aizawa. I don't know how much I trust his word."
"Alright, understood," Yagi said. At least they'd found them, though Aizawa's absence was worrying. "What do you think this was?"
"My guess? A quirk, or a mass drugging," Tsuragamae said. "Test for both those things and everything else you can think of. I've got to go, woof. There's more to be done."
"Got it, thanks. I'll keep you posted," Yagi said.
Izuku and Tsukauchi went to the police station that Sparklebright was being held at. Izuku stayed behind the building (with strict orders to run if Tsukauchi didn't return in twenty minutes) while Tsukauchi entered, evidently planning to either explain the situation to his superiors or at least contact Aizawa from the station.
A few minutes later, Tsukauchi poked his head in back. "Alright, we're in the clear. Come in."
Izuku followed him.
"We can't get Aizawa in, but my coworkers believe me," Tsukauchi explained. "They said the story tracks--apparently, Midnight, Present Mic, and Vlad King are all acting oddly, and Aizawa is missing. My story is an explanation."
Quintuple teacher rescue, Izuku remembered. Five teachers in need of help. Could it be Nedzu, Midnight, Present Mic, Aizawa, and Vlad King?
Wait… Sparklebright had been seen at the party, right? But Aizawa hadn't been at the party, while all the other teachers had. How had Aizawa come in contact with Sparklebright if they hadn't met at the party? Maybe it wasn't Aizawa.
"We need to find him," Izuku insisted.
"He's not in his home, he won't answer his phone," Tsukauchi said. "We're trying to catch him, but… well, Aizawa's a skilled hero, Midoriya. An underground one at that. He definitely knows how to escape detection, it will be tough to lure him out if he doesn't want to be found."
"How are we going to cure everyone then?" Izuku asked, worried.
"We'll have to try other methods," Tsukauchi said. "And there's a chance he might come out if UA asked him too--I'm going to try to tentatively contact a teacher who we know isn't affected by Sparklebright. I'm going to try to contact All Might and let him know what's going on."
"Wait, did Sparklebright say who she infected?" Izuku asked.
"She said she infected 'every UA teacher she could find', but All Might was busy with preparations away from the general public, so I know he's not under the influence of it," Tsukauchi said. "We just have to convince All Might to side with us before Nedzu gets involved."
"Okay, good luck," Izuku said, nervously.
Thirteen called Aizawa.
There was a muffled sound, like the shifting of fabric. "Thirteen, I thought I told you not to call me if it wasn't an emergency," Aizawa whispered. "If Nedzu figures out you have the number for my burner, he's going to be able to track me."
"This is an emergency, Aizawa," Thirteen said. "I don't think you're in your right mind right now. We just got in Present Mic, Vlad King, and Midnight in. None of them are acting anything like themselves, I think they were affected by the quirk of a potential intruder. You probably were too."
"A quirk?" Aizawa sounded puzzled. "That would explain why Vlad King and Hizashi were acting so weird to me. But I don't see why I would be affected."
"It's not like you to just quit your job," Thirteen pointed out.
"I had a reason," Aizawa snapped. "Vlad King and Nedzu betrayed me."
"See, this is what I'm talking about. You sound paranoid-"
"I'm not paranoid!"
"-and we need you back here, don't you understand?"
"It sounds like you're just going to stuff me into an infirmary room until you figure out I'm not affected by a quirk. I don't think I'd actually be able to help with your situation if I went back, so I'm not sure if I should," Aizawa said. "Besides, if you're just going to believe Nedzu about everything--"
"Nedzu was beaten unconscious this morning!" Thirteen said sharply.
There was silence on the other end of the line.
"We don't know who did it. It feels like half our teachers are out of commission. This is chaos. We need you, Aizawa--and if we find who did this, we need your quirk to undo it," Thirteen said.
Aizawa hung up.
"Dammit!" Thirteen said, throwing their phone across the room.
Cementoss, once in charge of making sure nobody came back to attack anyone in the infirmary, was now more in charge of containing everyone in the infirmary. His cement-based powers quickly came in handy as he was forced to separate many of the patients. Midnight, at this point, screamed obscenities at anyone who came close, and destroyed everything in her room out of rage. Cementoss was a little concerned she would injure herself, but she seemed at least to have the presence of mind to rip into pillows rather than punch the walls and hurt her hands.
Vlad King was sitting in his room. He'd been hostile when they first arrived, but now he was obsessively going over plans on how 1-B could trounce 1-A on their next training sessions. He quickly became angry at anyone who interrupted him, even if it was to give him food and water.
Present Mic, on the other hand, was simply inconsolable. He was sobbing nonstop for seemingly no reason. Hound Dog, physically unable to rise he was so weak from his burns, still tried to sooth him from his hospital bed.
Meanwhile, The swelling around Nedzu's nose was getting bad, to the point where Recovery Girl was getting worried about his airway. Power Loader was still unconscious, but he was starting to stir here and there, mumbling about needing to get back to his projects.
Even with the doctor and nurses that they'd been lended, everyone was being run ragged. This was an absolute disaster.
Suddenly, Cementoss noticed Snipe running by him in the halls.
"Snipe, what-?"
Snipe skidded to a stop. "I checked the cameras. The intruder… the green-hair… they do go here! Midoriya Izuku, he's from Class 1-A! And the other 'intruder' is Tsukauchi, the detective! And there is no third intruder, Nedzu collapsed by himself."
"What?" Cementoss said. "That doesn't make any sense."
"I've got to tell All Might--maybe he'll know what's going on or be able to contact Tsukauchi--see you later, Cementoss!"
Snipe gave a quick wave and ran towards the teachers' lounge.
Cementoss dearly hoped whatever affliction had taken down the rest of their teachers hadn't affected Snipe as well. They had enough problems already.
Chapter 39: Release
Yagi's phone rang once again. At first he assumed it was Tsuragamae, so he was surprised to see that the caller was actually Tsukauchi. Yagi answered the call immediately.
"Hey, Toshinori-"
"Naomasa," Yagi said, surprised. "You weren't answering my texts earlier."
"I got caught up with… something," Tsukauchi said. "But there's something urgent going on. Some of UA's teachers were affected by a quirk."
"We know that now," Yagi said, wishing that Tsukauchi had told him that sooner. But there was a chance he knew more. "Do you know what quirk it is?"
"I do. It's called Dark Reflection, and it exaggerates a minor character flaw until it becomes their entire personality," Tsukauchi said. "We know Nedzu's been affected for sure, but I'm not sure how many others."
"Nedzu?" Yagi said, confused.
If Nedzu was under the influence of the quirk, then why would the intruder with the fire go the extra mile to attack him? Was it because he was the principal, or because this was a completely separate attack? "We'll have to keep an eye on him, then. He's in the infirmary right now, he was attacked."
"Ah," Tsukauchi said, awkwardly. "I see. Regardless, the person who used their quirk was arrested, they're at the police station. You really need to find Aizawa and get him here, stat. Before Nedzu wakes up. Or, barring that, you need to be able to contain Nedzu."
Yagi paled. "Contain Nedzu? Is that even possible?"
"For a short time, potentially," Tsukauchi said. It seemed he'd already thought about this. "I wouldn't trust anything we came up with to keep him, but someone else has already done the work for us. Double-check the documentation from when he was experimented on in the labs. They must have done something right, considering how long he was trapped there."
"That's horrific," Yagi said, a bit disbelieving.
"You do need to make sure he doesn't escape," Tsukauchi said.
"Maybe he's unaffected," Yagi said. "High Specs could have let him fight off the quirk, right? If we wait--"
"Trust me, he's not fine," Tsukauchi said, firmly. "I'm sorry, but he's not normal right now, and he's definitely dangerous."
Yagi sighed. As much as he hated it, he trusted his friend's judgment on this. "Alright."
"Thank you, Yagi," Tsukauchi said, sighing. "I'll try to find a way to stop the quirk."
"See you soon," Yagi said. Then, he set down his phone.
The moment he did, he felt cool metal against his neck, and a paw resting on his shoulder.
"I could slit your neck before you turn on your quirk," Nedzu whispered, holding the knife against Yagi's throat. "So don't move."
Yagi froze. He hadn't even seen him enter.
He was pretty sure he'd be able to transform into All Might before Nedzu killed him (he transformed quite quickly) but Nedzu sounded so chillingly certain that he stopped himself from doing so.
"Just stay calm and nothing bad will happen," Nedzu said. There was a strange affect to his voice, it almost sounded like a purr. "With my advanced hearing, I could hear Tsukauchi's side of that phone call. I would have never expected this sort of thing from him a week ago, but now I understand his true nature."
Yagi made a decision. He would power up and stop Nedzu if it seemed like Nedzu's mental processes were degenerating or he was about to strike--but he'd hold off for now. There was a chance he might still listen to reason.
"Nedzu, I'd appreciate it if you dropped the knife," Yagi said.
"Ah, that's not an option. We both know why." Nedzu clambered off Yagi's desk and onto his back, knife still held at his throat. "You know, I just woke up a few minutes ago! Was a bit of a hassle to escape the infirmary, but no one was trying to secure me. They didn't know."
"Ah," Yagi said. "Are you… doing okay?"
That seemed like it was the right thing to say. Nedzu beamed. "I'm fine, And I remember what you did for me." Nedzu wound his tail around Yagi's arm. "When I was injured, you were the one to take me to the infirmary. You were very kind. And you protested against Tsukauchi when he suggested that horrible plan."
"So-" Yagi tried.
"I am not done," Nedzu snapped. He dug claws into Yagi's side. "One cannot consider the good without seeing the bad. You may have argued against the plan but you still agreed at the end. The only question is whether or not you were lying to appease him." When Yagi took more than a moment to respond, Nedzu snarled, "Well, were you?!"
'I was thinking about it' definitely wasn't what Nedzu wanted to hear, so Yagi tried a different approach. "I didn't think you were affected by the quirk, so I wasn't planning on doing anything," Yagi said.
Nedzu didn't seem completely satisfied with the answer. "Well, if I had been-"
The door to the office opened. Yagi braced himself to power up and move as Nedzu tightened his grip on the knife.
Then, the knife clattered to the floor.
The moment it did, Yagi activated One For All. He whirled around, snatching Nedzu around the middle and kicking the knife to the other side of the room.
But Nedzu barely seemed to notice.
"Aizawa!" Nedzu said. A broad smile appeared on his face, and he reached out towards the form by the door. "You came back!"
Yagi looked back, and it was true. Aizawa stood by the door.
Incredibly glad, but also confused, Yagi said, "Thirteen said you weren't coming! Not that I'm not thankful-"
Aizawa huffed. "We can't have compromised teachers running around and endangering the students. Of course I came back. What do I need to do?"
Though Yagi had no plans of dropping his All Might form, Nedzu suddenly didn't seem so dangerous anymore, completely transfixed by the situation. "You came back," Nedzu said. "So loyal. That's one of the reasons I like you."
"I literally abandoned the school, Nedzu," Aizawa said. "That's the opposite of loyalty."
Nedzu almost seemed to pout at that, which didn't look right on his face.
But, back to business. "You need to go to the station. The one where Tsukauchi works--you know where that is, right?" Yagi said.
"Right," Aizawa said. Nedzu sighed in defeat.
"Go there, Tsukauchi has the person who did this in custody. Erase their quirk, I'll tell Tsukauchi that you're coming," Yagi said.
"Got it," Aizawa said, with a serious nod. In moments, he was gone.
The relief that swept through Izuku when Aizawa stalked into the station was unlike any he'd ever felt before. Still, he was a bit wary--he had no idea if Aizawa was being influenced, or how much. Luckily, Aizawa simply spoke with Tsukauchi for a moment, before he was escorted by an officer into the back.
A few minutes later, his quirk chimed.
[ALERT! Heroics Quest Complete! Collect rewards?]
Izuku sighed in relief. "Collect rewards," he whispered.
Escape Quest Complete!
Rewards [Hidden]: +10 DEX
Quintuple Teacher Rescue Complete!
Rewards: 25 stat points
Oh! He'd nearly forgotten about the escape quest. He must not have paid it any attention when it popped up because he was too busy panicking and fleeing from UA. Luckily, 'collect rewards' triggered his quirk to give him the rewards for all outstanding quests. Ten DEX points was a pretty hefty increase, though it wouldn't make him as fast as Iida. Plus, of course, twenty-five new shiny stat points to play with. He could probably get Major Healing with that many, if he put it in VIT, or unlock the special DEX 50+ skill if he put it into that.
And 'Quintuple Teacher Rescue', at five stat points per person rescued, meant five teachers were affected. As the name suggested.
A few minutes later, Aizawa came stumbling out of the room, clutching his head.
"Are you okay?" Tsukauchi asked.
"Just a headache," Aizawa answered.
Tsukauchi frowned. "Were you affected?"
"I didn't think so, but now I'm not so sure," Aizawa grunted. "Regardless. We should go check on the others."
Tsukauchi nodded. "You two go back to UA. I'm going to ask more questions from Sparklebright--or, as she'll be called without her hero license, Kinoshita Kaede--since I didn't get much time to ask her about details before things went off the rails."
"Contact us about what you find," Aizawa said. He turned to Izuku. "Midoriya, let's go--" Aizawa paused, squinting. "--What happened to your face?"
Izuku winced. He hadn't gotten the chance to heal up after Tsukauchi had punched him in the face to escape Nedzu.
"I'll be fine after I drink some soup, or maybe a smoothie or something," Izuku said, shrugging. "I can regenerate."
"That doesn't answer the question." Aizawa glanced sidelong at Tsukauchi, and Izuku realized he was peering at Tsukauchi's split knuckles, which were a bit bloodied from punching him. An obvious giveaway.
"Well, Nedzu was affected, and we really needed a distraction, so I got Tsukauchi to attack me," Izuku explained.
Aizawa gave Tsukauchi a sharp glare. "And he actually hit you?"
"Nedzu would have known if it were fake," Izuku pointed out. "Either way Nedzu was way more dangerous than some bruises, so this was the right thing to do."
Aizawa sighed, and he looked away from Tsukauchi. "Alright. Let's just get back to UA."
The journey to UA was short, just a quick walk, but there was a tension in the air that was a bit disquieting. Izuku guessed that Aizawa was probably uncomfortable with the idea he might not have been in full control of his actions.
"Did anyone else get hurt?" Aizawa asked on the way.
"Hound Dog and Nedzu did," Izuku said. "And I think maybe Power Loader, but nobody else."
"I see," Aizawa said. "Let's get to Recovery Girl, then. She should be free to heal you."
They entered through the gates and made their way to the infirmary, where Yagi was there waiting for them. "Hello, you two," Yagi said. "It's good to see you back--I think it might have worked. Everyone seems somewhat disoriented, however."
"It's not the Sports Festival anymore?" Nedzu said. He looked confused, and had his eyes squinted shut, like the brightness of the room was bothering him.
"It's not the Sports Festival any longer," Yagi answered. "You were put under a quirk. Do you not remember?"
"No?!" Nedzu said. "How long has it been?"
"Like a week?"
Nedzu looked mildly alarmed at that, a fact that actually put Izuku at ease. Nedzu had never looked insecure under the influence of the quirk, as far as Izuku had seen; no, he was always confident and in-control. While Izuku felt a little bad for Nedzu, this was a nice change of pace.
Recovery Girl popped out of the other room. "The rest are starting to return to normal," she said. "They seem to be unaffected by the mind control now, they're just dealing with some side effects from being under. Cementoss is explaining to them what happened."
"Do any of them remember the past week?" Yagi asked.
She shook her head. "None of them. Power Loader just woke up too, and he doesn't remember either, so he's likely among the number affected."
Aizawa tilted his head, and Izuku could practically see the gears turning in his mind. Aizawa remembered, after all. Did that mean he was unaffected?
Izuku would count up the teachers later and check if he had been.
"How many teachers?" Nedzu asked.
"Five," Recovery Girl said. She glanced at Aizawa. "Six, if he counts."
Aizawa shrugged.
"Naomasa is interrogating the perpetrator right now," Yagi said. "He may have more answers about exactly what it does."
"Do we know anything about it right now?" Nedzu asked, and Yagi nodded.
"It exacerbates a negative personality trait until there's nothing else," he said. "Everyone who was impacted by it went wildly out of control a few days ago. Luckily we shut down the school before any students--" Yagi glanced at Izuku for a moment, "--ah, well, before any students were injured except Midoriya over there."
Izuku did a little wave.
Nedzu looked at him, question implicit in his gaze.
"I took a few--" Izuku paused. "...strategic punches. So we could save you guys faster! It was fine. I can explain exactly how it went down later. Tsukauchi should probably be here for that."
Nedzu looked unsettled, but accepted it with a nod.
"You'll owe us an explanation eventually," Yagi said. "I know pieces... because of what I saw on the video cameras, but I'm a bit confused about the whole truth."
Izuku nodded quickly. He knew full well he couldn't hide the whole kidnapping incident forever. But he was hoping that when Tsukauchi came back, Izuku could tell Nedzu the whole truth of the situation, including the truth of his Gamer quirk and exactly how he escaped. But, he wanted Tsukauchi to be there when that happened so that the man could vouch for him and tell Nedzu he was telling the truth about the quirk.
"Do we know what personality trait everyone was hit with?" Aizawa asked.
Yagi shrugged. "I have an idea of some..."
"I know Nedzu was possessiveness," Izuku said. "And I'm almost positive Midnight was anger."
Yagi nodded in agreement. "Recovery Girl tells me that Power Loader worked himself into unconsciousness, so overwork, perhaps."
Recovery Girl, who was examining Nedzu's vitals in the corner, nodded.
"I think Hizashi's was obsessive codependence, or some kind of other toxic relationship behavior," Aizawa said, contemplatively. "He refused to let me out of his sight and got angry when I hung out with other people."
"That just leaves Vlad King," Yagi said. "Married to his work, like Power Loader? He refused to stop planning out exercises for Class 1-B."
"That doesn't explain why he attacked me," Aizawa said.
Everyone in the room whipped their heads around to look at him.
"Attacked you?" Yagi said.
"What do you mean?" Recovery Girl asked.
Aizawa blinked. "Hm. I forgot that none of you knew."
"You didn't… tell anyone?" Yagi said.
"I told Nedzu." Aizawa pulled down his capture scarf to reveal ugly blue-black bruising. (The fact that it was layered over his old burn scars, the ones he'd gotten in the Conflagration Zone, only made the injury look worse.)
"You should have come to me for healing immediately," Recovery Girl said, appalled. "The neck is a delicate structure!"
"I was going to," Aizawa said. "But I went to talk to Nedzu first, and then Nedzu ended up trying to blackmail me instead of being useful. So I quit my job and left immediately, and sort of forgot to stop by before I left."
Recovery Girl was too slow to lecture him for his forgetfulness, Yagi was too excited to put the puzzle together. "That's why you disappeared!" Yagi said. "We'd thought you'd run away because you were under the influence of the quirk!"
Aizawa shook his head. "Yeah, I didn't run away, I formally quit. Though I guess Nedzu never let you guys in on that part."
"So our assumptions about you being under the quirk because you left were incorrect," Yagi said. "Quitting after that is actually sort of reasonable."
"It still doesn't explain why I felt weird after erasing the quirk though."
Nedzu looked surprised at the exchange. "Blackmail? Did I do any other damage?" Nedzu asked.
Izuku was actually the most qualified to answer that question. "Hm," Izuku said. "I think your damage was localized to UA, since your problem was possessiveness. Hound Dog's injuries and mine were kinda your fault--but only indirectly! It was more my fault than yours, both times. So don't worry about it?"
"Indirectly? Wait, your fault?" Nedzu said, frowning.
"I'm sorry I'm being vague!" Izuku said. "It's just that a lot happened."
Recovery Girl, though, had had enough of this. "Both of you sit down," Recovery Girl said, pointing to Aizawa and Izuku. "I'm healing you both right now, and I don't want you toppling over if you're tired."
She healed them both, but luckily, Izuku managed to stay awake despite his exhaustion. Aizawa did too, though he looked twice as weighed-down after. Then, Recovery Girl went back to the other rooms. While Cementoss and a volunteer nurse or two were keeping an eye on everyone, she needed to explain what happened to them.
"Here, Tsukauchi got a better explanation out of her, he just texted me," Yagi said, looking at his phone. "She targeted teachers specifically, and she can sense the traits she gives people. Nedzu received possessive, Vlad King got rivalry, Present Mic was obsessiveness over romantic partner, Power Loader was obsessiveness over work, and Midnight was anger."
Izuku nodded along. All of those answers made sense, and were consistent with what he'd seen.
"We got most of them right," Aizawa murmured. "And rivalry--that would explain why Vlad King was hostile to me only. I was the rival, and 1-B were his allies."
"That's not all, though. Aizawa, you were effected, but only partly," Yagi said, scrolling.
"Partly?"
"Apparently, before the party, she ran into you in the hallways. And you flashed your quirk at her. Do you remember that?"
Aizawa furrowed his brow. "Wait, the sparkling eighteen-year-old?"
Yagi nodded. "She's the one."
"Why'd you use your quirk on her?" Izuku couldn't help but ask.
Aizawa shrugged. "She slammed into me, I was surprised. Why does my quirk matter, Yagi?"
"Well, she says she used her quirk at the exact same time you used yours, and there was some kind of strange interaction. Due to Erasure, the connection was not fully formed, so it only had a partial hold over your mind. Oh, by the way, your negative trait was avoiding your problems instead of facing them."
Aizawa sighed at that. "...That would explain why I left UA rather than staying to investigate," he said.
Yagi just nodded. "Since you were only partly affected, your trait wasn't noticeable until you had something you explicitly needed to avoid at UA, that being Nedzu and Vlad King," Yagi said.
Izuku thought about it for a moment. His quirk only gave him credit for five teacher rescues… but, he thought, it was possible his quirk didn't register Aizawa as being under mind-control due to the fact he wasn't completely affected. Or, thought Izuku, it's possible that my quirk doesn't really count Nedzu as a teacher. He doesn't technically teach any classes.
Izuku wasn't sure which, and it wasn't like his quirk would answer if he asked. In this scenario, the information from his quest had nearly been a hindrance--because no matter what, he'd have been convinced there were only five victims. The reality was slightly more nuanced.
"Why only target teachers?" Nedzu said, frowning. "There were many other powerful heroes at that gathering."
Yagi sighed. "That was one of the first things Tsukauchi asked. But we don't have much of an answer. She said she only targeted teachers because to target teachers--only teachers--was her specific order. By her superior."
"Ordered by who?" Nedzu asked.
"She won't say," Yagi said. "She's been doing a lot of talking under the idea she might get a plea bargain, but she absolutely refuses to even hint when it comes to this."
Nedzu nodded seriously, frowning deeply, while Izuku resisted the urge to sigh.
...Of course. The mastermind is still at large.
But who would do something like this?