Chapter 9: Chapter 8: Fog of War
Kyoka Jirou hums to herself softly as she strums her acoustic guitar, laying on her bed. Her homework for the day was completed, and she was bored out of her mind with nothing else to do. She glances at her phone lying beside her, and thinks about texting someone before scrolling through her list of contacts.
Maybe… Kaminari? The guy was an idiot and a bit of a perv, but they have pretty similar taste in music. Chatting with another rocker would be neat, but she can probably guess midway through the conversation he'll probably ask her to introduce him to some girls or something. Pass.
And suddenly, she realises that technically Kaminari was the only friend she made in UA so far. Midoriya didn't count since they met a month before getting into UA. And really, everyone else was acquaintances at best.
…Shit, she hoped this wasn't going to turn out like middle school again. Back then she never had any friends besides acquaintances. Turns out that being anti-social and very blunt were not good combinations for making friends. Didn't help her reputation when she got into a fight with a few bullies who were mocking her for her Quirk. Thank goodness UA seemed to skip that part on her record when they sent their offer.
There was Midoriya, she supposed. They texted and called each other a bunch of times, and their talks were mostly pleasant. He was a great conversationalist, even if he had next to no idea about any topics related to music he would listen attentively, ask questions and actually pay attention. He just enjoyed learning new things and it was endearing.
But he was busy, he said so himself. She doesn't want to disturb him if it was something very important. Then she remembers how he declined her offer to hang out and remembers feeling her disappointment.
She screams into her pillow. What was up with her lately? She was never one to ask people to hang out. Sure it was different, Midoriya was one of the first genuine friends she made in a while. He was a cool dude, not overbearing or loud, not too distant or silent, just the right amount of presence. And he was confident, looking like he always had a plan for everything, and the way he fussed over her when she was injured…
She slaps herself before her thoughts could go any further. This was probably just the first day jitters speaking. Well… second day jitters, technically. Huh, that actually sounds like a song name that would fit something she's been working on.
She pulls out a thin notebook hidden in the back of a bookshelf. It was something she put together, a bunch of song ideas that would never see the light of day. Just something to keep her mind busy, a hobby of sorts. She put that down under 'Potential Song Names' in case she forgets. Flipping through the pages to check her progress and where she left off before grabbing her guitar and a pen.
At least she has something to keep her entertained for the rest of the day.
***
That certainly hadn't been there yesterday. Jirou groans at the sight of what looks like a horde of reporters and cameramen outside of UA's gate. Just being in the general area was already giving her quite a headache from the noise but she has to power through it to get to class.
"Sorry, coming through." She apologises half-heartedly, as she tries to shove her way through the crowd of reporters who were making it as difficult as possible by swarming and asking her questions with their cameras snapping at near point blank.
"Are you a student of All Might?"
"What is All Might like in class?"
"Would you say the Symbol of Peace is an effective educator?"
She barrels through with gritted teeth, covering her ears to muffle the noise. In the middle of this horde of reporters and flashing cameras it sounded like firecrackers going off. Just when she was going to snap and lose her temper, she felt a hand on her shoulder.
Normally she would shake it off but it felt familiar, and then the voice that came with it definitely wasn't one she would mistake for another.
"Back off, can't you see you're making her uncomfortable?" Midoriya snaps at them as he guides her through the crowd, lightly shoving away reporters and ignoring their flurry of questions. His arm was wrapping around her head to help muffle the noise as they moved through the gate where Aizawa greeted them with a sigh.
"Get to class, I'll deal with this mess." he grumbles and waves them off before stepping towards the crowd.
"Better now?" Izuku asks as he withdraws his arm from around her ears, "I apologise for surprising you like that, but you looked distressed."
"Yeah I'm fine now. Sometimes enhanced hearing can be a pain." she grumbled as she rubs her ears. She glances up at the green haired boy and looks surprised at how dishevelled he looks, black eye bags and somehow his hair was even more unkempt than usual, and his tie as always was a mess.
"Jeez, what happened to you?" she asks concerned, "You looked like you barely slept a wink."
"I look worse than I feel." he grumbles as he rubs his eyes, "As for what happened, failed experiment. Leave it at that."
She frowns, Midoriya was appearing to be more irritated than usual. He seems to notice her frown and sighs,
"I'm sorry, that was rude." he apologises, "I'm just irritated because I was hoping for a breakthrough this time."
"Well, if this is some science experiment, why not ask Shield?" Jirou asks, "She's a smart gal, built that power armour by herself."
Midoriya just laughs bitterly, "If she could help me I would've already asked her. But no, this falls outside her field of science."
"What are you working on anyways?" she asks out of curiosity.
"It's a secret." he answers plainly before they enter their classroom where everyone was in the midst of chatting with each other. Mina seems to notice them first and squeals at something.
Both of them were confused for a moment before realising. Izuku had earlier wrapped his arm around her ears before releasing but he never removed his arm from around her shoulder. He quickly took it off with a blush on his face as he looked away embarrassed, with Jirou doing the same.
"Not a word." she points threateningly at Mina before finding her seat, "Again, we're just friends."
"I didn't say anything." the pink-skinned girl says with a snicker.
"We all know what you were thinking." she growls as she sets her bag down.
"Come on." Hagurake says as she joins the conversation, "You both walk into class together with his arm wrapped around you. And you keep saying you're 'just friends'?"
"...Were you trying to make air quotes?" Jirou asks, unsure since the girl's hands were invisible.
At that moment Iida called for everyone to return to their seats and quiet down before Aizawa came in as they greeted and bowed to him.
"Hope you're all rested from yesterday's trials." he says as he drops a stack of papers on his desk, "I took the liberty of looking at your marks for your trials."
He glances at Melissa, "Shield, I'm already saying this twice. Learn to use your Quirk properly, the moment you lost your Support Items you became a liability. If you keep the mindset of 'I can't adjust to my Quirk, so I have no choice' you'll never make it far."
"Yes, sir." Melissa nods determined to improve herself.
"As for you Jirou," he says to said girl who looks surprised, "You need to improve your combat abilities, your enemies aren't going to just stand there and take your hits."
She winces at the memory of her quick defeat. He had a point, maybe she should head to the Support Department to get some gear upgrades, and learn to throw a few punches.
"Iida, you should watch where you step next time. In real fights that could very well have been a landmine and you'd be either dead or crippled." he tells the teen who immediately bowed and thanked him for his advice like the kiss ass he was, "Lastly, Midoriya. Don't play with your food next time. If you could have disabled an enemy from the beginning, best to use it quickly. Besides that I still see you're not using your full power."
"With all due respect sir, it was a spar. We both would have learnt nothing if I instantly took her down." Midoriya reminds as Melissa looks annoyed at getting reminded about that, "Besides, I wasn't exactly looking to kill them or destroy the entire building. If I fought all out I would've caught everyone in the crossfire, including Jirou."
"Then you better figure that out quickly." Aizawa retorts, "You need to improve how power you can use without collateral. Otherwise villains could take advantage of the fact you don't fight your best in cramped areas. Like All Might said, a majority of villain attacks happen indoors."
"Understood, sir." he nods and jots that down in that leather notebook he always carries around.
"Now with that out of the way, let's get on with homeroom notices." Aizawa grumbles, "This might come as a surprise to all of you but…"
She hopes this wasn't some pop quiz or anything, and judging from the accelerating heartbeat of some of the class they were having similar thoughts.
"...you're gonna have to vote on a class president."
"That's so mundane!" more than half the class screeches in surprise with one of the exceptions being Midoriya who raised a hand.
"Apologies sir, but what exactly does that mean? Is that something to do with politics?" he asks, confused but Aizawa simply ignores him and zips up his sleeping bag with himself inside.
"Ask your classmates." he grumbles as he nestles up against the wall and closes his eyes, "And I don't care how you do it, just get me the results by the end of homeroom."
Before he even dozed off the entire class broke into anarchy with almost everyone declaring their intent to become Class President.
"This is madness." Midoriya mutters as he glances around at the chaos.
"This is politics." Kaminari shrugs.
"What even is a Class President?" Midoriya asks once again.
"Eh, it's exactly as it sounds." he answers nonchalantly, "Everyone in the class votes for one person to be the Class President. Afterwards they're basically in charge, making sure the class' happy, safe and getting their work done on time."
"...So a glorified babysitter for a class full of teenagers?" Midoriya asks, still unsure as Kaminari shrugs again. They continued observing the chaos before Iida took charge,
"Enough!" he demands and silences the class, "This is a task laden with responsibility where you must carry and pull everyone's weight. It is not some position you can simply claim just because you like it! It is a holy office that requires great esteem and trust of those around you. The only true and worthy leader will emerge from a democratic choice reflecting the will of the people."
Everyone blinks in surprise at the conviction behind his words, he really seemed to be dedicated to the democratic process of things.
"Isn't it too early for most of us to trust each other?" Tsuyu asks and Kirishima agrees.
"Yeah, won't everyone just vote for themselves?"
"Exactly! So the person with the most votes meant they earned their classmates' trust in such a short amount of time making them a viable choice, isn't that right?" Iida points out.
It was then decided and a box was provided by Yaoyorozu to place the ballots. Jirou hums and thinks about who she should vote for. She was tempted to vote for herself but someone antisocial like her wouldn't probably be a good Class President so she looked for other choices. Iida was definitely too stiff to be class president, too rigid, but who else could suffice? Kaminari was definitely not presidential material.
There was Momo Yaoyorozu, she seemed like a smart gal with her comments during the Battle Trials and she was pretty skilled with using her Quirk with what she saw. Being able to create objects just by memorising their chemical structure took a lot of brains. But she wasn't sure if just brains were enough for being president.
Then there was a certain green haired boy who seemed to have quickly made his decision and submitted his vote; Jirou thinks he would make a good choice. He quickly took charge in the Battle Trials and came up with a plan in an instant. He was a great listener, confident, patient and just the right amount of professionalism, not overbearing like Iida was.
Making her decision, she writes his name down on a slip of paper before submitting it. And once everyone was finished, it was Yaoyorozu and Iida who made the final count before writing them down on the blackboard with two names at the top.
Izuku Midoriya: 4
Tenya Iida: 3
"You gotta be shitting me!" Bakugou rages as he slams his desk hard, "Who're the dumbasses that voted for shitty Deku?!"
"Guess we know who you didn't vote for." Sero snarks as Jirou keeps her head down in case the angry blonde pomeranian suspects her. Last thing she needed was a migraine this early in the morning. And judging from the whistling coming from Kaminari he must have voted for him as well. But then who was the third and fourth vote? Midoriya didn't seem like the kinda guy to vote for himself.
The green haired boy looks surprised and uncertain at that, "Are you sure there hasn't been a mistake?"
"None. We have counted it three times and you possess the highest number of votes." Iida nods, "I look forward to working with you as your Vice-President, Midoriya."
"Well, not exactly a bad choice." Sero shrugs.
"Yeah, he was pretty badass in the Battle Trials." Kirishima agrees, "He'll make a kickass Class President."
The President and Vice-President stood in front of the class and Midoriya clears his throat before speaking,
"Well, I certainly did not expect to get elected." Midoriya admits, "I've played some roles before but a leader was never one of them. But I won't back down from this challenge, I won't let down those of you who put their faith in me. I'll strive to perform to the best of my abilities."
***
"So, Class Prez." Kaminari greets as he slides into the seat next to Izuku in the cafeteria, "How's it feel to be elected?"
"Honestly? Unnerving." Izuku sighs as he digs into his katsudon, "I've never led anyone for anything before so I don't have any experience to draw from."
"What are you talking about? You led us pretty well in the Battle Trials." Jirou remembers as she ate her meal.
"That was just strategizing and executing a plan." he argues, "Anyone can come with a plan, being a leader isn't just about being smart, or strong. It's about inspiring followers to reach new heights, to go 'Plus Ultra' as the school says. I'm not sure I have that figured out yet."
"Nonetheless, quick decision making and strategic mind are still both great aspects of a leader.'' A familiar voice came from behind Izuku who spun to see Iida approaching the table with Yaoyorozu following him.
"It was the reason you had my vote." Yaoyorozu says, "Your performance in the Battle Trials showed the traits of an effective leader, like Iida said."
"So you were two of my votes then?" Izuku asks before glancing towards Kaminari and Jirou, "And you two were the rest, I assume?"
The two nod as Iida and Yaoyorozu sit down.
"So if all of us voted for you, who would you vote for then?" Jirou asks out of curiosity.
"Him actually." Izuku nudges at Iida with an elbow, "The class seems to be quite chaotic, if someone were to take charge I would have liked it to be someone with law and order in mind, to balance it out."
Iida looks touched at that, "So you were one of my votes then? Truly, I am touched by the faith you have in me. I'll strive to work hard as your Vice-President!"
"What're you doing here anyways?" he asks as they haven't really eaten lunch together before, so it was odd.
"I merely believe it would be best for the President and Vice-President to familiarise themselves with each other so we can serve our class to the best of our abilities." Iida says.
"And I followed because I wanted to see what you two had in mind for our class." Yaoyorozu answered, "Now that you have become President, what do you suppose you'll do first?"
Izuku ponders for a moment. What would a leader do in a situation like this? Jace was practically the leader of Gatewatch but it was more about getting all the different personalities and individuals to work together and pointed at a common goal.
Besides that everyone else pretty much did their own thing. Honestly after that most of them went their own ways after Gideon's memorial service, Chandra went on a heroics spree and he remained in sparse contact with her but he hears that she adventured with Ajani and reconciled with her mother, Nissa went back to Zendikar to continued her roles as the plane's protector, Kaya went hunting for those aligned with Bolas that escaped after the War as part of her redemption, Terfiri went with Karn to discuss about Phyrexians and the Mirran Resistance fighting them, and as for him?
He lived in Jace's house in Ravnica much after the war, helping to stabilise the plane after the devastation and helping with any local problems no matter how small. One of the ways of coping after his mentor and father figure's death. Besides that he joined Jace on his journey to Zendikar to search for the Lithoform Core. Other than that it took quite a long time before Gatewatch mostly reunited before their adventure to Innestread. The months without Gatewatch had been rough on him.
"Midoriya?" Yaoyorozu asks again and he realises he had spaced off once more.
"Sorry." he apologises before thinking once more, "Well, as my duty as class president it would be to make sure my classmates are safe…Perhaps we can begin a program where we can discuss practicalities of our current hero uniforms and how to upgrade them. For example, we should find a way to modify Yaoyorozu's uniform so that it will allow her to use her Quirk without showing that much skin, providing better protection."
"Well, the recent battle with Todoroki has been food for thought." she admits, embarrassed, "I could probably do with something that doesn't leave me too exposed to extreme temperatures, like Melissa suggests."
"An excellent suggestion!" Iida applauds, "Taking initiative to improve upon ourselves without our teachers pushing us!"
"Wait, does that mean no more skin-tight costumes?" Kaminari asks, "No more cleavage? No more skimpy costumes?"
"My costume is not 'skimpy'!" Yaoyorozu protests with a blush, "I just…it was practical at least on paper when I came up with it."
"I'm afraid so, Kaminari." Izuku nods as he eats, "They don't provide much protection. I'm thinking of at least some lightweight form of armour. Some half-plate perhaps or a cuirass. Or perhaps boiled leather at the very least."
"...Can I take back my vote?" he asks sullenly before Jirou smacks him with her earjacks, "Ow! Class President, Jirou is bullying me again!"
"I'll stop once you get your mind out of the gutter." Jirou shoots back as she stabs him again as he tries swatting the earjacks. Izuku just looks amused at the scene as Iida attempts to stop the two from fighting. Meanwhile Yaoyorozu continued with her discussion,
"Perhaps you could switch to Kevlar if you are so concerned with practicality." she suggests, "It's five times stronger than steel, afterall."
Kevlar, an organic fibre native to this plane that he has heard off before. He would've attempted to try making some armour from it but his father had scarce resources to work with.
"I would actually like to keep my costume as close to its original design as possible but I suppose it could have some use. I'll look into it." he nods his head as he jots the idea down mentally for later.
He doesn't know what Yaoyorozu was about to say because at that moment, an ear piercing alarm rang. Jirou was the first to react, almost falling over, screaming in pain as she covered her ears to little effect.
"Jirou!" Izuku sprang to action and leapt over the table as he created a copy of the earphones she wore.
"SECURITY LEVEL 3 HAS BEEN BROKEN! ALL STUDENTS EVACUATE IN AN ORDERLY PROCEDURE!"
An automated voice rang out as everyone began panicking and fleeing as fast as possible, contrary to the automated voice's orders.
"Level 3?! What the hell is going on?!" Kaminari asks as he covers his ears to shield himself from the alarm.
"It's when someone has infiltrated the building!" Iida responds with a chop of his hands, "Did you not view the recorded student orientation that Aizawa sent to us on our student emails?"
"...We have student emails?" Kaminari asks.
Izuku ignores them both as he holds Jirou's head in his arms and helps her slip on the earphones.
"Fuck…thanks, Midoriya." she says with a pained grunt as Izuku looks around to analyse the situation. The students were reacting in a panic and all but trampling each other as they rushed to safety. Glancing outside the window he expected to see some dangerous horde of villains attacking but his jaw drops,
"Are those reporters from earlier?" he asks no one in particular, more out of frustration, "Iida, Momo, I want the two of you to let everyone know it's just reporters. Get everyone to calm down and return to their classes just in case."
He says as he storms towards the window, his pupils glowing blue. He had seen the gate of UA, multiple feet of thick steel. If it's destroyed it means something with overwhelming force, something he cannot allow on these school grounds, the same place where his friends were. He will not allow harm to be brought upon his classmates, even if the chance was miniscule he had to be sure.
These reporters were threats, or at the very least a threat could use the chaos they were causing to sneak in and do whatever they please. He will deal with them as he would any threat, and remove them.
"I'll deal with our intruders."
He flickers blue before vanishing like a ghost, phasing through the wall and placing himself in front of the school's main entrance.
"Enough!" he shouts as he flickers into existence in front of the crowd of reporters surprising them, "You are trespassing on the campus. Leave. Now."
He says in a clear tone that indicates no negotiation, enhancing it with mana to make sure everyone heard him clearly. All it did was get the reporters to pause for a moment before shouting erupts again and they attempted to push through him to get to the main entrance.
"Who do you think you are, brat?"
"We've been waiting for two days straight!"
"Give us All Might! He's in there right?!"
"One comment! Just one comment!"
He grits his teeth as he feels anger building within him. If they will not listen to his first and only warning, then so be it. Removal by force it was.
He stomps with a foot infused with red mana, spreading it within the earth and cracking it, creating a seismic shockwave that blasted back the reporters.
"I warned you all." he says coldly before shaping the earth with geomancy to force all the reporters back through the broken gate before snapping his fingers and creating a stone wall to block the hole.
With that dealt with he sighs as he hears footsteps behind him.
"Real impressive, little listener." Present Mic whistles at the sight, "Damn, I always wanted to do something like that to the media."
"Quiet, Mic." Aizawa grumbles before looking at Izuku right in the eye, "And what do you think you're doing?"
"Resolving the issue." Izuku answers as he gestures to the makeshift stone wall he used to seal the gate, "They were trespassing, meaning they were potential threats. I dealt with them as such."
Aizawa sighs and facepalms, "I don't get paid enough for this. You know you technically just assaulted them with your Quirk, which a lot would consider unlawful. The media's gonna eat us up for this. I can see the headlines, 'UA encourages students to attack civilians with Quirks'."
"I apologise if that will cause issues, but I only saw potential threats to my classmates and reacted to remove them. After all, my duty as class president is to keep my class safe, is it not?" he asks Aizawa rhetorically, never breaking eye contact.
"You didn't do the wrong thing, but you sure as hell made a large mess that needs cleaning up." Aizawa sighs again before waving him off, "Get back to class and make sure your classmates are alright, I'll take care of this mess."
Izuku nods and bows before taking his leave.
"Huh, would've thought you'd threaten to expel him." Present Mic says once he was out of earshot, "Getting soft, Eraser?"
Aizawa scoffs, "Trust me, if I was allowed I would've done worse to the media. What they did was borderline villainous. Still, the kid could learn some restraint at least. He should learn that cleaning up messes isn't as fun as starting them."
Before the two can do anything, Aizawa hears his radio blare and picks it up.
"Yeah?"
"Ah, Aizawa." Principal Nedzu says from the other hand of the radio, "I was watching from my office. Your student performed quite the spectacle."
"He was justified, for all we know there could've been a villain amongst them." Aizawa says, sounding defensive.
"Oh I have no argument he did the right thing. Always a delight seeing those vultures get what's coming to them." Nedzu cackles from the other end, "I'd like to meet him if you don't mind."
"Sir?" Aizawa asks confused, "If he's not in trouble-"
"Oh relax, Eraserhead. Just a friendly chat between the student and principal." the rat chuckles, "Would you kindly send him up to my office once classes ends?"
He says in a tone indicating it wasn't a suggestion, but an order. Aizawa immediately felt concern for the boy, nothing was just 'a friendly chat' with the principal.
***
"Are you sure this is wise, Nedzu?" Toshinori asks in his deflated, skinny form.
"Why not?" Nedzu asks as he pours two cups of tea, "We both have questions, so instead of beating around the bush too much why not get answers directly from the source?"
"And what if he is?" Toshinori asks, "If he truly is an agent seeking revenge, and the time comes we arrest him, how do we break the news to his classmates? From what I've seen and heard he's made a considerable amount of friends in his brief time in UA."
Nedzu sighs, "Quietly concealing things would be more trouble than it's worth. I suppose the blunt truth will have to suffice. But this is if our theory is proven right. So far the evidence we have is circumstantial, and I very much hope that this promising student of ours proves we are just being paranoid. It would be a shame to lose someone as talented as him."
A knock on the door interrupts them as the door opens to reveal Izuku Midoriya.
"Sir, you asked to see me?" he asks politely as he stands to attention, arms clasped around his back and standing straight, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, sir.
Nedzu nods and beckons him, "Ah yes I did, please come in. And don't worry, we were just finishing up."
Toshinori glanced between the two before taking his leave, "Yes, we were. Please be sure to let me know how it goes, Principal Nedzu."
He is moved by Izuku who seems to be staring at him with curiosity and a hint of suspicion behind his impassive face. It was…concerning, as if he recognises him. If he recognises that All Might and Toshinori Yagi were the same this could present a lot of issues, but Nedzu keeps a smile on his face as he beckons the green haired child to sit.
"Sit, have a drink. I insist." Nedzu says as he sips his own cup of tea, "I suppose you are aware of why I called you here, Midoriya?"
Izuku nods as he inspects the cup of tea in his hands, "I suppose it's about my actions to the reporters? May I remind you they were trespassing on private property which by the law would make them criminals?"
Nedzu laughs, "Oh yes, that was quite a delightful performance. And rest assured I have no problems with how you did things, always refreshing to see a student take initiative. But still, as we speak quite a few are questioning UA about your behaviour, because no matter the reason a student still attacked civilians with his Quirks."
He intentionally used the word Quirks instead of singular Quirk to gauge the boy's reaction. There didn't appear to be any, either he didn't catch that or he did and was hiding it. The boy simply continued looking neutral as he blows on the hot tea to cool it down before sipping it,
"They were willing to destroy school property to get inside, meaning at least one of them had a Quirk strong enough to do so. That was clearly hostile intent so I retaliated as such." Izuku says and for the first time Nedzu hears a change in his tone, almost sounding angry, "I couldn't allow any hostiles within the school grounds, within reach of my classmates, so I did my duty as class president to keep them safe."
"Taking your duties a bit too seriously?" Nedzu asks as he takes another sip, "Unlawful use of Quirks against civilians usually results in expulsion from Hero Courses, are you aware of that?"
"With all due respect sir, if you are going to punish me do not beat around the bush." Izuku says, sounding almost irritated, "I took action against a potential threat to the safety of my friends and classmates, and I have no regrets doing so."
"Would you allow yourself to be expelled? Have a black mark on your record?" Nedzu asks curiously, "It would mean a lot of trouble getting enrolled into another school with a Hero Course."
"If I got expelled keeping my friends and class safe from a potential threat? Without question." he nods with steel in his voice.
Nedzu smiles genuinely at that, "Respectable. But rest assured that will not happen. Rest assured what the reporters did was clearly villainous and appropriate legal action will be taken against them."
Midoriya raises a brow at that looking confused, "So why have you called me here?"
"To be honest, a simple chat between student and principal." Nedzu says as he opens a drawer and pulls out a small stack of paper, "To satisfy my curiosity, really."
He places the papers on his desk and push it towards Midoriya who picks them up and sees a newspaper page on the top of the stack,
"Teleporting Child Gone Missing"
"You have been missing for ten years, I'm merely curious as to what you have been up to in those times." Nedzu says as he takes another sip, "You evidently have not remained idle. I have seen recordings of your Battle Trial and the Entrance Exam, one does not get on your skill level without training and experience."
"...Do you dig up the past of all your students, sir?" Midoriya asks with a slight edge to his tone indicating his suspicion and caution, "Or is it just me?"
"Only those that catch my interest, Midoriya." Nedzu says, "A boy went missing for ten years and comes back with skills like yours? Quite curious don't you agree?"
The boy shrugs as he taps the cup in his hand, "I suppose that does bring up a lot of questions. Very well, you were kind enough to provide refreshments and it will be a shame to waste them. If it will satisfy your curiosity, ask away and I'll answer to the best of my ability."
"Excellent." Nedzu says he had expected the boy to put up a fight to retain his secrets, but it doesn't seem so, "If I may ask, where did you end up after your teleportation?"
"Some place cold, in the middle of a blizzard. The moment I arrived I was almost instantly buried in snow." he answers simply, "I almost froze to death were it not for the arrival and intervention of a great man."
Snow? Somewhere near North or South perhaps. Alaska? Russia? Perhaps even the North and South Pole? All for One's grip stretched very far even if he remained mostly in Japan. What was concerning was this 'great man' that saved Midoriya.
"A great man?"
"Yes." The boy smiles for the first time since his arrival and Nedzu detects a tone close to reverence in his voice, "The greatest man I've ever met, and my mentor. He taught me how to control my powers. Sent me to a place, a school, to further hone my skills. I owe him my life and more than I could ever possibly repay."
"This mentor of yours, did he have a name?"
"He told me to call him Gideon. But if you're asking for his birth name it wasn't that, still Gideon was what everyone called him."
Nedzu nods impassively at that, deep in thought, before asking, "And why did he not send you home? Surely you must have explained you had a family waiting for you? Wondering and worrying where you are."
And just like that the boy's mood soured, "He tried his best, but returning was not as simple as you think it was."
"Is that what he told you?" Nedzu asks. Perhaps this 'Gideon' wasn't as benevolent as he sounded. Perhaps he wanted to make use of Midoriya for his Quirk. Such cases were not uncommon, and an extremely rare Quirk like Midoriya's would mean many would want to have that in their pockets.
Midoriya narrows his eyes, "I don't like what you're implying, sir. We did all we could, but returning home wasn't as simple as hopping on some vehicle for a few hours of travel."
Very defensive of his mentor it seems.
"If it isn't simple then please, enlighten me." Nedzu insists.
The boy was tense now, "With all due respects, sir. I'd like to keep that information for myself. We all have our secrets don't we?"
Midoriya asks rhetorically as his eyes glanced backwards where Toshinori has left. So the boy knows, somehow he was able to discern the relation between All Might and Toshinori Yagi. And was now taking advantage of that? Nedzu would have applauded such cut-throat behaviour had it been any other circumstances. But just what was he hiding? What possible reason could there be for being unable to return home for ten years?
"Of course, Midoriya." Nedzu nods, not letting his smile fall, "But continuing, I would like to know which institute this 'Gideon' sent you. Perhaps it is one I'm familiar with?"
Midoriya almost smirks at that as he hides it behind a sip from his cup, "It went by the name Strixhaven. I very much doubt you'd heard of it, but you are welcome to surprise me."
Nedzu wracks his mind searching through his memory for that name but to his annoyance he comes up blank. It could be a false name to throw him off, a red herring, but something tells him otherwise.
"I do not know of any official institution that goes by that name." Nedzu concedes, "Is it located somewhere perhaps in the West? The United Kingdom perhaps?"
He recalls All Might busting a training facility in the UK that All for One used for valuable underlings a few years before his climactic battle with the villain. Midoriya just shrugs at that and continues sipping his tea. Nedzu doesn't like it but he has to admit some difficulty reading the boy. Whoever taught him to hide his feelings like this taught him well.
"And they taught you how to fight?"
"Among other things." Midoriya nods, "But my stay was brief, for barely a year. My mentor came calling with a favour to help track down an old friend of his. I followed him and it was where I had my first taste in combat."
"He dragged a child to combat?" Nedzu asks, "That was quite irresponsible."
"Unknowingly." Midoriya defends, "He tried sending me back as soon as possible but I stuck by him. I owed him my life, so despite his protests I stood by him and we would meet others like him. We banded together, fought together and I learned from them. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them."
"And who did you fight exactly? Villains?"
Midoriya sighs as if in exhaustion, "Villains…That would be understating but still an apt description. Before you ask, no, you wouldn't have heard of them."
"I see." Nedzu hums, "The way you described them, it almost sounds as if they were vigilantes. Are you saying you were a vigilante, Izuku Midoriya?"
"Can one be a vigilante if the land he fought in had no such law?" Midoriya asks before looking down at an empty cup, "And what else? I spent…I spent almost five years with them before I found my way home. Possibly the best five years of my life."
He says with a soft smile before looking up to face Nedzu, "Those were how I spent the past ten years. I hope your curiosity is satisfied, sir."
"Quite a tale you've told me, Midoriya. It does fill in the large gap." Nedzu nods, "But I still find myself with questions. You neglected to mention the specifics of how you returned exactly, and just why it took ten years. And the identities of your other compatriots."
"With all due respect, Principal Nedzu. Not even my own family knows that yet, so forgive me if I'm reluctant to share it with you. You ask for me to explain what happened between the ten years and I have, I hope you will be satisfied with that." Midoriya says as he sets the empty cup down on the table, "It has been a pleasant talk, but if you would excuse me? I had plans to visit the Support Department after class."
"Very well, I've kept you for long enough. Thank you for your time Midoriya, and satisfying my curiosity. Have a good day."
Midoriya gets up to leave before he remembers something and reaches for his bag, "Ah yes, before I forget. I wanted to hand this to you."
He pulls out a small stack of paper binded together and hands it to Nedzu.
"For me? What is it?" Nedzu asks genuinely curious as he flips through it.
"Merely suggestions. The alarm for UA nearly incapacitated one of my classmates, Kyoka Jirou, because of its volume. I would recommend toning it down for anyone with enhanced sensory Quirks, and use a combination of sound and visual to alert people instead, by having lights turn red for example. You'll find a multitude of suggestions within that binder." Midoriya explains, "And a recommendation for weekly drills. The students nearly trampled themselves during their evacuation effort; some regular drills may help keep them calm during events of a real emergency and prevent injuries."
"I see." Nedzu nods as he reads his suggestions, "I'll be sure to look through these, you have my thanks for this Midoriya. Your class chose well for the Class President."
"Thank you, sir." Midoriya bows, "But I also have one more question, if you don't mind."
Nedzu motions for him to go on and Izuku turned serious and concerned,
"The alarm. It mentioned a Level 3 security breach which indicated someone breaching the main building." Izuku slowly says, "But when I intercepted the reporters, they were only halfway through the courtyard and in the midst of making a mad dash to the entrance of the building. Why is that so?"
It was Nedzu's turn to be serious, "I see…so you've caught that as well. We searched our security cameras but we found no traces of anyone within the main building. Nothing was missing as well. It could just be a system error."
"And what about the cause for the gate's destruction?" Izuku presses, "Has the person been caught?"
"...No. Footage shows an unidentified male approaching the gate and destroying it with a single touch before making his leave." Nedzu confesses, "I recommend you to leave the situation to us, your teachers. We are Pro Heroes as well, and you can rest assured we will get to the bottom of this."
"...Very well, sir." Midoriya says after a pause and bowing once more, "I'll be taking my leave now."
***
Toshinori tries to press his ear against the door to try and get a glimpse of what they were conversing about. But to his disappointment it was quite soundproof so he was unable to. But then the door unlocks and he quickly moves away and attempts to look as if he had been busy scrolling through his phone instead of attempting to listen in.
Midoriya exits and looks at him with a confused glance before shrugging it off and walking away. There was also that inquisitive gleam in his eyes when he glanced at him, one that made him nervous, as if it was able to see through the facade.
He enters the room as quickly as possible to find Nedzu pondering, his hands clasping together under his chin.
"Well?" he asks as he shuts the door behind him, "What did you find? Is he truly-?"
"An agent of All for One seeking revenge?" Nedzu finishes for him, "...I do not believe he is one."
"You don't think so?" Toshinori asks, flabbergasted. It was always a yes or no when it comes to Nedzu, through the years they knew each other, the number of times he wasn't completely sure could be counted on two hands.
"He gave no concrete answer, most of what he told me were half-truths or he refused to elaborate or explain himself. And reading him was a bit of a challenge, so calm, only letting his mask crack a few times." Nedzu says with a cackle, "I'm almost looking forward to figuring out this strange puzzle before me. But as for whether he has any involvement with that villain? It is unlikely."
"So… he's just a normal student then?" Toshinori asks with some hope before Nedzu shakes his head.
"Definitely not ordinary, that much I can say. If we can take what he says as face value, he may have been raised and trained as a vigilante of sorts, in somewhere where the laws were either lenient or non-existent." Nedzu explains what Midoriya told him, "That would explain his combat prowess, but despite what he says about his 'mentors' I find it hard to believe that 'Gideon' had completely pure intentions with the child, afterall he was kept away from his family for ten years. Perhaps he saw potential in the boy's Quirk and wanted to wield it to his own ends. And furthermore they joined up with more vigilantes to form a group of sorts, and evidently fought together for sometime, but then one day Midoriya left for some reason or the other."
"Perhaps he wised up to their intentions?" Toshinori suggests, "Maybe they did something he doesn't agree with morally, and couldn't stand with them any more."
Nedzu shook his head, "Unlikely, he spoke of them with reverence and he talked about how his time spent with them were the best years of his life."
"Could he have been brainwashed perhaps? Toshinori asks, concerned and slightly enraged. The thought of one of his students having been taken advantage of boils his blood.
"It remains to be seen. Like I said, this is just a theory, with what information Midoriya gave us. It was difficult to get a read on him, for all we know he could have been lying."
"I find it difficult to believe someone can lie that well to your face, Principal Nedzu." Toshinori says as Nedzu chuckles.
"Not lying exactly, omitting several details with a pinch of half-truths to be accurate. As a result it's hard to separate facts and falsehoods from his story." Nedzu says, "We have a puzzle before us but the pieces we were given are incomplete and we aren't sure if they're the right pieces as well."
"So, we either have a brainwashed agent of All for One seeking revenge, or we have a vigilante trained from childhood." Toshinori recounts with a sigh, "And here I thought the biggest trouble I'd have with students would be convincing them to pay attention in class. What do we do with him then?"
"For now? We continue to do some digging but do nothing directly towards him. We'll keep a close eye on him but I doubt he'll be in any trouble." Nedzu says as he shows the stack of paper Midoriya gave him, "He seemed very serious about the safety of his classmates. Now that I could tell he was being completely honest about it, either that or he's a very good actor."
***
Izuku walks out of the office passing by the skeletal form of who he assumes to be All Might. The similarities were just too much, both had roughly the same hair and with a quick check he found their mana signatures match, so unless there were three people running around with the same Quirk then the skeletal man was All Might.
Probably took some sort of other form to avoid getting noticed for whatever reason. He doesn't blame him, if the reporters were what he has to deal with every passing second he would choose to disguise himself as well.
But back on topic, it was clear that the reporters were some sort of diversionary tactic. An infiltrator had entered the school during the breach but why? If nothing was stolen, then it ruled out theft. If no one was injured or killed, that ruled out assassinations. What in the world could there be in a school that would be worth breaking into? It wasn't like it was Strixhaven where there could be ancient artefacts or scrolls, mastercrafted artworks or secrets that would justify risking breaking into.
Sending a message then? To let UA know their power? But if so, where was the perpetrator's signature? Was it the act of a singular daredevil or part of the plan of an organisation seeking to undermine UA for whatever reason?
So many questions, not enough answers. But one thing was certain.
The perpetrator was able to destroy the gate with a single touch, as Nedzu described. And he managed to escape without detection. It was likely another attempt would be made, and he fears that instead of swarms of reporters, it could very well be regiments of hardened killers, or hordes of monstrosities.
His mind instantly shows him visions of Eldrazi storming UA and massacring the students as teachers desperately fought back. He sees hordes of Eternals through the hallways with a dragon toppling the main building, melting glass and steel with its breath. Finally the image of Phyrexians completing his classmates, turning them against each other.
He struggles to breath as he leaned against the wall for support. He won't let anything like that happen. Never again.
No matter the threat he will protect his class. He played the role of student, but now he'll play the role as defender and for that he requires armaments.
The route to the Support Course was short but by the time he arrived he had already decided on plans and sketched out mental blueprints for constructing it, and a list of materials he'll need. Just as he was about to open the door, years of reflexes honed by combat and being housemates with a pyromancer had him leap away from the door just as an explosion knocked it off by the hinges.
"Hatsume!" yelled a familiar voice, "What the hell was that?"
"Shield?" Izuku asks in surprise as he dispels the smoke with a spell, seeing Melissa Shield dressed in overalls and covered in soot stumbling out of the workshop in a daze.
"Midoriya?" she looks in surprise as she removes the goggles that shielded her eyes, "What are you doing here?"
"I came because I am in need of services provided by the Support Course." he says as he glances over her, "What happened? It looks like a bomb went off."
Before Melissa could answer, another voice interrupts, "Just a little something I call 'progress'!"
A girl with pink dreadlocks appeared from behind Shield with a pair of strange goggles over her head and eyes that looked like they had crosshairs on her pupils.
"Progress?!" Melissa asks incredulously as she turns around angrily, "You nearly blew up the entire workshop for the tenth time today!"
"Come on, Shield. You should know there's no progress without setbacks!" The girl, Hatsume as Melissa had called her, shrugs off her complaints and goes back to her workbench where a flaming wreck of some device laid, "We all learn something new from failure. Case in point, I learnt that this baby can only overclock at 109% before breaking down. Don't worry little guy, momma's gonna get you all fixed up."
Melissa seems to be wrestling with whether or not to commit manslaughter from sheer frustration. Aiming to keep his classmate out of jail, he decides to interrupt.
"So…what exactly happened?" he asks the blonde engineer who sighs.
"Izuku Midoriya, meet Mei Hatsume." she gestures to the pink haired girl currently working on repairing her wrecked device, "She's my classmate in Class 1H, that's the Support part of my hybrid course. And that explosion? Let's just say she goes overboard with testing her inventions."
"Hey, better for it to go wrong in testing than in the field, am I right?" Hatsume asks rhetorically as she puts out the flame with a small fire extinguisher.
"The difference is that you intentionally, and explosively, overclock your devices!" Melissa snaps back irritated, "You're a living workplace hazard!"
"I leave for the bathroom, for five minutes." came another voice from behind Izuku who finds a slouching shirtless man with some sort of oversized helmet who sighs at the sight before him, "Hatsume?"
"Hatsume." Melissa nods.
"For the love of…" the man rests a hand on his helmet before sighing again, "At this rate I think we'll have to seal off her entire working area, build a wall around it."
"Please do." Melissa begs, exhausted, "I've been with her for barely three days and I feel I'm at my breaking point."
"Oh! That's a great idea!" Hatsume says enthusiastically, "Less distractions when I'm working on my babies."
The man sighs before turning to Izuku, "Sorry for all that, I don't recognise you from the Support Course so I'm guessing you're from the Hero Course. Here for some Support Items or upgrades?"
"Yes, and you must be Higari Maijima, Power Loader." Izuku bows, "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. My name is Izuku Midoriya."
"He's my classmate in the Hero Course actually." Melissa says, "And our class president."
"Really? In that case, glad to meet you." Majima says, "So what're you here for exactly?"
"I'm here for a weapon actually." Izuku explains, "Something that I believe will help me make use of my Quirk more effectively and precisely during combat."
"Well I'm sure we can think something up." Melissa says as she pulls out a notebook, "If you can give some details on your Quirk-"
"Actually, I'd rather do it myself." he says, surprising the two of them and Hatsume who stopped working on her device to listen, "I was thinking I could borrow some equipment and material to construct it myself."
"Really?" Majima asks, curious, "Not a lot of Pro Heroes or students make their own gear. Here I thought Melissa was going to be the only one, but shows what I know. It's great to see kids like you taking an interest in their gear."
He gestures to a collection of empty workbenches, "Pick a workbench, is there any specific equipment or materials you need?"
"I need metal, anything works as long as it's strong but lightweight. As for equipment, do you happen to have a forge?"
***
"Here we are." Majima says as he pulls a sheet of plastic off a furnace of unfamiliar design, "We don't really have much use of it, so it's been lying in storage for who knows how long."
"I can tell." Izuku says as he kneels to get a closer look and places a hand on it, "Look at you, fallen into disuse like this. Left to linger and rust. I hope you have enough for one last creation at least."
"Are you…talking to a furnace?" Majima asks, incredulous.
"I believe that tools should be given the proper respect they deserve." Izuku shrugs as he snapped his finger and lit its interior with fire, "It'll serve its purpose."
"I'm surprised it still works." Majima admits, "I don't really remember a time I've ever seen it put to use. And as for materials I got a few slabs of titanium from our fabricators, I hope it'll suffice."
He hands the bars to Izuku who tested their weight before nodding, "They'll do. Many thanks, sir."
Using telekinesis, he guides the metal to the furnace.
"I hope you don't mind if I stay, I'm curious about what you're cooking up." Majima says, "Don't think I've ever seen someone make a Support Item like a blacksmith before."
"Very well." Izuku nods as he sets up the rest of the equipment by summoning with his magic. An anvil and a pair of goggles to shield his eyes. Once that was done he snapped his fingers again and the flames intensified, burning bright blue as the titanium bars started glowing orange instantly, Majima had to take a step back from the sheer heat the furnace was emitting but Izuku was protected by a layer of mana that shielded him.
He waits for the metal to melt before once more using telekinesis to whisk the molten metal from the furnace, hovering it in front of him in an orb before waving his hands and shaping the metal to form a long, thin pole with a sharp head.
The metal starts to cool already but he sets the molten spear, contained within a telekinetic field, down on the anvil before raising a hand and manifesting a hammer of pure red mana before slamming it down hard. Occasionally between strikes he would return the spear to the furnace to heat the metal, making it more malleable, before striking once more.
Each blow sends a shockwave that was felt through the room, both Melissa and Hatsume pausing from their respective work to glance at the commotion.
Izuku pays them no heed as with each blow he infuses into the spear red mana before the hammer shatters from the last impact. Undeterred he creates another one, made of white mana this time, before bringing it down once more, repeating the process.
Each blow shapes the spear in ways it shouldn't have, but was made possible through magic. Each blow infuses what he expects of the weapon. Something to be used to defend others, to protect first and foremost. To strike at anyone who would see harm be brought to innocents.
With the last blow he raises his empty hand to his mouth before biting down hard, drawing blood and letting a drop fall on the still glowing hot spear. It fizzles as the spear pulses with red and white energy, now it will recognise and act only in accordance to its wielder.
Once that was done he grabbed it with glowing blue hands, cooling the metal, until it shined with a silver sheen. The spear was six feet tall with a diameter of two inches, made completely out of titanium. The tip of it was slender and triangular but with two circular holes in its centres, each glowing with red and white mana he had infused within it. He gives it one more look before nodding in approval, it will do nicely.
"That's…certainly new." Majima says after taking a moment to get over his surprise, "So you used your Quirk to assist in making it, thereby cutting the time required by a significant amount. It's impressive, may I?"
He held his hands out and Izuku moved to hand it over when a pink blur rushed by and snatched it from his hands.
"That was so cool!" Hatsume says as she looks it over with gleaming eyes, "You used your Quirk to help make it? What's it to do, it can't possibly be just a normal spear can it?"
"I just infused it with energy generated by my Quirk." Izuku explains as he snatches it back before she could poke her eyes out, "This would allow me to manipulate it and channel my skills in a more precise manner without sacrificing firepower."
He taps the butt of the spear on the floor before it shrinks into the size of a baton, further surprising everyone. As he tests its weight, Hatsume grabs him by both his shoulders.
"You. Me. Partners!" she demands with a hungry and fiery look in her eyes, "Can you imagine the sorta babies we'll make together? My designs and your Quirk? We'd make the best babies the world's ever seen!"
"Pardon?!" Izuku asks flabbergasted with a flush on his cheeks, "Are you suggesting-"
"She means her inventions." Melissa interrupts and stops his mind before it ventures somewhere else, "But…how does that work?! You just hit it with some glowing hammer and now it can shrink?"
"Along with a multitude of other things." Izuku says as he flicks the baton and it enlarges to full size with the tip of the spear glowing with red flames, "Like I said, it will also allow me to channel my abilities more precisely. Not my best work but I wanted it done by today so I can use it as soon as possible."
He shrinks it again before handing it to Majima, "Can I have this assigned to me by tomorrow? If I recall, we have training exercises then and I'd like to get used to it as soon as possible."
"Uh, sure." he holds it pointed away from his face just in case, "How does it work? It's like you somehow reduce its mass but that shouldn't be possible."
"I used my Quirk to make it, and well… Quirks are weird, aren't they." he shrugs as he glances at Melissa, using the same words she used to try and satisfy his questions on how her Quirk worked.
The blonde engineer looks annoyed, "But that's not a satisfactory answer!"
"Yes, annoying isn't it?" Izuku says, unable to hide a slight grin as Majima struggles to think of how to fill out the paperwork for his new weapon and Hatsume goes on listing ideas of 'babies' they could make together.
***
"It's marvellous, don't you think?"
A short, bald man with a bushy moustache muses as he gazes at a creature within a large cylindrical glass vat full of viscous green liquid. Inside was a massive beast with a bird-like head and exposed brain, charcoal black skin with surgical scars running through its body, and four separate arms each strong enough to crush an armoured truck like paper mache. It was glorious.
"I suppose so, if one is fond of monstrosities." came a disgusted voice from behind him.
"Oh come now, Chisaki. Surely a part of you must feel pride for your part in creating this." The doctor says, "A biologically engineered being that can rival one of the strongest beings in the world."
"A means to an end. Now for my payment as promised." Chisaki demands to hold out his hand while being flanked by two of his lieutenants, Chronostasis and Mimic.
The doctor nods and brings out a briefcase before opening revealing jars of organic material, "The material you asked for, as promised."
Chisaki takes one of the jars out to inspect before nodding and putting it back, "Now if you don't mind we'll be leaving now. Our business is concluded."
"Are you sure I cannot convince you to stay?" the doctor asks, "A Quirk as versatile as yours and your medical knowledge, you'll make an excellent partner. We can always use someone like you and the Shie Hassakai in our League of Villains. With the raid on your headquarters a few days ago by the Pro Heroes, I'm sure you are eager for revenge against them, no?"
Chisakai scoffs, "I have no intention of playing villains and heroes. Our goal is much grander than that. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get out of the disgusting lab of yours as quickly as possible."
"Very well, such a shame." the doctor says as he snaps his fingers, "Kurogiri can you please show them out?"
In the corner a man made entirely of black mist nods as he steps forward and creates a gateway of black mist for them to exit through.
"Once again, I must thank you for your assistance and the donation of your underlings' Quirks. They will be put into good use."
"I'd say it was a pleasure. But it wasn't." Chisaki mutters before he leaves and the warp gate closes behind them.