Chapter 16: Once The Coin Is in the Air, You Realize Which Side You're Hoping For
The silence was eating away at any leftover confidence Midoriya had. No one had said a word since his declaration, not even Nezu, which quite frankly unnerved him. Had he said the wrong thing? Should he have just kept his mouth shut? His self doubt was invading his consciousness like an aggressive virus.
Nezu was aware that he should probably speak up to avoid any sort of angry opposing debates from his staff, as well as to reassure the boy's dwindling confidence. But his morals had long been twisted and although he would never admit it, seeing the kind that had once enjoyed his suffering now squirming under him brought a sick sort of satisfaction to his brain.
The principal often fought with himself on this issue, especially now after he had met Midoriya. He couldn't lie, he did enjoy toying with humans, but messing with the reserved student didn't feel as good as messing with his staff. Maybe it was because the two had similar upbringings? He was able to deduce that pretty easily on the second day, where the teen was hospitalized after the training exercise. But that didn't explain away all of his strange behavior. Unfortunately though, that was a thought to ponder another time, as he could tell his staff was beginning to grow quite restless.
"How could you possibly tell this was decayed based on such flimsy facts?" Vlad King questioned cynically, his arms crossed to buff up his figure.
The intimidation tactic was clearly working, as the boy slinked back, huddling in on himself. Gami growled protectively, taking a menacing step towards the blood hero, but thankfully, someone else intervened before the ghost could attempt to get physical.
"Actually," Powerloader spoke up, surprising even Nezu, "That's not a far off conclusion to draw."
Vlad, along with the other heroes, quickly turned their attention to their fellow comrade. The hero took a few steps forward to inspect the metal himself, taking in a good whiff of the air. He stepped back and nodded almost immediately.
"Metal had a distinct smell due to its high potency of iron," the support teacher explained, "You can actually determine an accurate guess of the method of destruction from the smell alone. I'm actually inclined to agree with the kid."
The 1-B teacher huffed and prepared to refute the claim, but Nezu had enough of the pointless arguing.
"That was the exact conclusion I was reaching as well," the rodent laughed eerily, "Though, I would say the dust surrounding the barrier is a large giveaway."
That seemed to finally shut up the rest of the staff, and Midoriya breathed a heavy sigh of relief. His mentor, on the other hand, was not so easily fooled. His paranoia towards the other adults wasn't dismissed as quickly as his successor's, and for good reason.
Just like the old spirit expected, another baseless claim shot itself into the tense air.
"How do we know this kid didn't have anything to do with the break in?" Snipe's perceptive attention locked into an implication previously stated. "I mean, didn't he just admit he has a decay quirk?"
Now it was Aizawa's turn to be fed up with his colleagues. "For your information, Midoriya actually helped calm down the chaos from the break in. I watched the security cameras, and he's accounted for the entire time. I'd appreciate it if you actually think before making such damaging claims about my student."
The sudden burst of protectiveness startled said boy, and he turned towards his teacher in shock. He wasn't the only one. Both Gami and Present Mic also snapped their heads to look at the tired pro. Nezu didn't have to look, and simply smiled through the entire ordeal.
Not having four different heads, Aizawa chose to turn to Midoriya out of all the stares. "Yes Problem Child, I saw your entire stunt during the break in. You're starting to make me think you've got a disorder that only lets you pick the most reckless of plans."
The teen looked down bashfully at that, but could feel the tension start to wither from the air. Ignoring the jab as his friend, Gami silently thanked the hero for the extra support.
"Now that we're done all this immature finger pointing, it's best we hold an emergency staff meeting right now to gather up the rest of the pros," Aizawa announced, quite frankly done with the childish banter.
"Ah, I was just about to suggest that, Aizawa-san," Nezu piped in cheerily, "It is quite frightening how alike our minds work."
The teacher rolled his eyes, but didn't bother to quip back. Midoriya took the opportunity to leave the spotlight of the broken barrier and stand closer to his homeroom teacher.
"Well, that is the smartest course of action," Cementoss agreed, and the rest of the staff follow suit. After all, Nezu was the principal, and no one dared to get on his sadistic side.
"Wonderful!" the rodent exclaimed, "I'll meet you all in conference room A then. Come along now Midoriya."
And that sent the pros right back on the apprehensive path they were just on at harrowing speed.
"Wait, you're letting this kid sit in on the meeting?" Snipe shot (lol sorry I had to).
"As much as I'm for the integration of youth," Midnight started huskily, "is this really a good idea Nezu?"
But the principal had already started whisking the boy away from the barrier, "Quite surely! We'll see you all there!"
Aizawa rushed off after the two, muttering curses under his breath concerning the rodent stealing his student. Nezu was moving at a surprising speed, almost as if he was eager to remove himself from the crowd of pros, while Midoriya was simply doing his best to match pace, like a lost puppy. Unbeknownst to him, Gami was floating beside the two, taking occasional glances back at the hero as well as the rest of the crowd to make sure they wouldn't try anything.
The teen shuffled nervously behind the principal, eyes downcast and hands fumbling. As much as he wanted to sit in on the meeting, he had to agree with Midnight. Was it really a good idea for him to be there? Especially since some of the pros knew his secret and some didn't. What if there was a slip up? It was risky enough for four of the staff to know, he couldn't imagine what would happen if the entire staff did. Maybe it was for the best he sat this one out…
"N-nezu sir…" he began under his breath once they were away from prying ears, "I don't have to go if it'll cause problems…"
"Nonsense!" Nezu exclaimed, "It would be most beneficial if you attended!"
Aizawa narrowed his eyes at that claim, inclining to agree with his student. But he wasn't able to speak as the albino rodent cut him off, seemingly aware he was about to contradict him.
"After all," he continued, "Gami's account of the situation is crucial since he arrived at the barrier first. And your insight into the damage deserves to be pointed out for safety reasons."
"But can't you just relay that to the rest of the staff yourself?" the boy asked, "And you aren't going to tell them about Gami, are you?!"
"No, no," the principal laughed, "Keeping your secret under wraps is a priority to me, so I'll just keep his account as vague as possible."
Nezu lifted a paw to his chin, pretending to contemplate a thought even though he was currently strolling down the hall. Midoriya figured it was just for dramatic effect, but combined with the added pause he took, it left an eerie silence in the hallway only accompanied by the echoing of footsteps.
"But concerning your attendance at the meeting, I feel it is necessary for you to come. Considering what I just observed outside and what Aizawa has vouched for, your analytics may prove useful."
"Vouched?" the student wondered, "What do you mean, 'vouched'?"
"I lent him the notebook you let me borrow," Aizawa butted in to clarify, "I figured he'd enjoy flipping through it."
Something akin to dwelled anger sparked deep within his soul at that, but he swallowed it back down for his own sake. He was quite protective when it came to his quirk analysis notebooks, and hearing his homeroom teacher admit to handing one of them around so nonchalantly made him feel fury. But this was Nezu they were talking about, and if his notes were safe anywhere, the paws of U.A.'s principal was a decent place to start.
"And indeed I did!" he assured, "Quite impressive notes for your age I must say! And that brings me to my next point…"
Both the ragged pro and the reserved teen turned their attention towards the rodent leading them, waiting on a response to satisfy their curiosity.
Nezu smiled thoughtfully. "If someone were to say they had notes of this scale written by a teen your age, most would simply ignore it, as Aizawa-san likely did…"
Said teacher grumbled and looked away with a scowl.
"It's a fatal human flaw, to characterize capability by maturity. Many would look away from an achievement like this simply because they believe age defines ability. That is the exact reason I insist you attend this meeting. I refuse to let your intelligence go to waste on the sole prospect of your status as a minor. It truly is illogical."
The raven haired man huffed, "When you put it that way, it makes rational sense, but I'm more concerned about a student sitting in on a meeting on how their school was broken into."
"Ah," Nezu sighed and waved a paw, "well risks must be taken. Sacrifices must be made."
Aizawa looked as if he was going to shoot a response back, but it was at that exact moment that the three reached the entrance to the conference room. The rodent pushed open the double doors, indeed revealing that they were the first ones to arrive. Nezu strolled right on inside, and the other teacher gestured for Midoriya to enter as well. He dared not to disobey and hesitantly took a step forward, wondering where exactly he should sit, if at all.
"Is this truly a wise decision?" Gami finally spoke after a long period of absence.
"Well…" his successor whispered, "It's too late now."
There were plenty of extra chairs in conference room A, or at least that was what Nezu had said, so Midoriya didn't feel too bad sitting down and getting comfortable.
The principal had chosen his seat for him, so that took away the added stress of potentially taking a seat that didn't belong to him. The teen sat directly between Nezu and Aizawa, with his back facing the door, giving him ample access to get out of the room if necessary. He knew this was an intentional choice, but that didn't mean he understood the reasons behind it. He didn't bother questioning his mentor about the issue, as it seemed quite frankly pointless.
Aizawa was seated next to him, phone in one hand, and a stack of papers in the other. He insouciantly scrolled through his device, while flicking the corners of the stack rhythmically. Just out of the corner of his eye, the boy could tell the papers were long and tedious, most likely office paperwork. He couldn't see what his teacher was scrolling through without turning his head completely, and there was no way he was going to do that. The repetitive flicking of the man's thumb made him want to pull out his own phone, but he was afraid of making any sort of movement.
The door behind him suddenly flew open with a loud bang, and he instinctively flinched hard in his swivel chair, but fought his subconscious to keep still. With each entrance, the flinching grew less and less apparent until it was almost invisible to even those looking for it. But that didn't erase the automatic fear response the slams triggered in his head, nor did it tone them down. Each bang felt like flooring the gas in an unmoving car, sudden and terrifying. Every time he heard one, his train of thought immediately went to reminding himself that no one was trying to break down his door and hurt him. That's right. He was safe.
So why didn't he feel safe?
"Wonderful!" Nezu cried all of a sudden from the seat to his right, "I think that's everyone!"
The room had largely filled up since he last observed. All of the heroes from outside were here in attendance, but the room had some new additions, mainly being Hound Dog and Lunch Rush. But there was one key component missing from this heroic chaos.
"We're still missing All Might," Thirteen remarked from a few seats away.
A bit of a collective grumble could be heard around the table, but that didn't dismiss the fact that the pro was correct. The number one hero was nowhere to be seen…
"Knowing Yagi," Recovery Girl sighed, "he's probably out doing hero work when he should be taking it easy."
That made a few heads shake in disappointment, but the matter soon fell into oblivion. At least, that was, until Snipe picked it back up again, along with another issue thought to be left at the broken barrier.
"Wait, we can't be saying anything about All Might," the hero realized, "At least, not while this kid is still around."
And so the fear of having all eyes on him became much more than a simple fear. The slightly oversized swivel chair already made Midoriya feel out of place, but now, he was debating whether to make a dash of the exit behind him.
"I'll admit," Nezu began, drawing the attention to him instead, "that did slip my mind. Hopefully that isn't too much of a problem for you, Midoriya."
"Wha-" Snipe cried, followed by other gasps of surprise at the sadistic rodent's response.
"I-it's not, sir," he replied, opting to ignore the rest of the room in favor of the principal seated next to him. But at the same time, he couldn't help but wish Nezu kicked him out of the meeting already. That, or just the prospect of his existence blissfully ending right there on the spot. Whichever came first.
But unfortunately for him, neither of those two options presented themselves. Instead, Nezu reached his grubby paws for the third option the teen was desperately trying to avoid, pulling it into the limelight as if he were discovering a new species of animal.
"Oh?" he pondered, "What do you know about All Might then?"
That focused all the attention back onto him, which was the exact opposite of what he wanted. Bringing this topic back up wasn't the only thing starting to resurface, but lying straight to the faces of a dozen pro heroes just wasn't going to cut it. So he swallowed his rising bile and trauma and decided to just get on with it.
"I can admit." The words began for him thankfully, because if he relied on his shaky confidence, they'd be here all day. "I didn't know All Might's real name until just now. But I do know about his time limit as well as his other form."
The teen debated on whether to add his knowledge of the hero's strange quirk, but none of that had been truly confirmed to him, so it was best to leave that information to himself.
"And how exactly do you know this sensitive information?" Cementoss asked carefully, as if he were walking on eggshells. And though no one else had said a word, all of the staff were eagerly awaiting a response, especially Aizawa and Nezu. Although, the former was waiting with more suspicion, while the other with curiosity.
"He told me, when we met under an overpass about a year ago."
The nonchalant answer nearly made every adult in the room deadpan. Aizawa resisted the urge to slam his head into the table in front of him, or better yet, his stack of paperwork.
"I don't know whether to feel relieved or disappointed," the ragged man sighed as his shoulders dropped in displeasure.
"I'm going to smack that boy the next time I see him," Recovery Girl added, "Maybe that'll fix his brain for good this time."
Trying to stray away from the comments of utter disbelief on the part of the number one hero, Midnight pointed her flogger style whip right at Midoriya.
"You must be a fan of the big man," she started, "Can't say I blame yo-"
"I'm not."
The simple, yet punctuated answer made the R rated hero, as well as nearly everyone else, do a double take to process it, all caught off guard by how forceful it came across. The only one not fully surprised was Present Mic, but that was only because he got to witness the interaction between the student and the number one hero earlier. And while he wasn't sure why, he could tell there was a hostile relationship between the two, or at least on Midoriya's side.
Nezu picked up on the hostility as well, but he chose to save that bit of information for analysis later. The more he learned about the boy sitting next to him, the more interested he became. But now was not the time to pick apart the student like he was an 8th grade biology project. He'd have plenty of time to do that later.
"Now, now," the principal reined in his staff, "we'll have plenty of time for idle chatter later. But we've got more important issues to discuss at the moment."
Hound Dog growled, "Lunch Rush and I only know the bare details. You'll need to fill us in."
"Not a problem!" the rodent exclaimed with an inappropriate amount of cheer for the situation, "A recap of the situation would be beneficial to us all! Aizawa, would you care to start us off?"
The pro sighed, but picked up his stack of paperwork, lightly tapping the stack against the table. He then laid the stack back down where it just was, making Gami shift in confusion at the redundant act.
"At approximately 12:30 this afternoon, the front entrance barrier activated earlier was incapacitaed, allowing a mob of reporters to infiltrate the school grounds." With every word his homeroom teacher spoke, the severity of the situation was brought back to him like a slap in the face. "The exact method of infiltration was unknown at first, but was later determined to be disintegration."
Nezu cut in there. "Thanks to Midoriya and Maijima-san's accounts, we can narrow down that field to look for a decay quirk in particular."
"Wait," Hound Dog interrupted, but with a curious tone of voice, "I understand Power Loader, but I don't understand how this kid fits in."
The teen was starting to get sick of being referred to as "this kid"…
"Midoriya has a bit of a complex quirk," the principal jumped in to explain before his staff could witch hunt the boy again, "But it does allow him to decay objects at a touch. That's how he was able to identify the cause of entry so quickly."
"And before anyone says anything." Aizawa took his turn to interrupt. "It has been confirmed that Midoriya had nothing to do with this break in. He is accounted for on video surveillance for the entire time the infiltration took place."
Hound Dog didn't seem to expect the assertive defense for the boy sitting at the other side of the table, but couldn't argue with any of those claims, not that he particularly wanted to. Besides, he trusted Nezu and Aizawa, so if those two vouched for the student, he had no problem extending his trust to him as well.
"Anyway," Recovery Girl stated sharply, bringing everyone back to the topic at hand, "What is our next course of action considering we have no video evidence of who exactly initiated the barrier's destruction?"
"Simple," Aizawa replied without hesitation, "I'll get Tsukauchi to run decay and disintegration quirks through our villain database. Those kinds of quirks aren't common, so if we get a hit, it's a great place to start."
"But what if this is a first time offender?" Vlad King pointed out, "Or a villain who hasn't been registered in the database yet?"
"Like I said," the underground hero reiterated, "It's a great place to start. Considering how little we know about this villain, we need to explore every lead available to us."
"Are we sure this was the work of a villain, though?" Snipe backtracked, "I mean, couldn't a reporter have done this for a scoop?"
"Highly unlikely," Nezu chimed in, "All reporters must submit their official quirk records to their networking agency when applying for a position. If a reporter truly did this, it would be fairly easy to track the damage back to them, which they would understand as well. Knowing the risk involved when messing with U.A., no smart reporter would jeopardize their career for a story they may not even get."
"I can see where you're coming from, Snipe," Aizawa reassured, "We do have video evidence of all the reporters crowded by the barrier, so I can have Tsukauchi run all of their quirk records easily. But like Nezu said, it's highly unlikely we'll find our instigator among them."
The room devolved into an eerie silence after that, each individual pondering something different than the next. All of the previous talk was mere recap for Midoriya though, so he spent his energy recounting everything he could deduce himself, hoping to find a breakthrough there.
The "who" is mysterious, but simple enough. The instigator was an unknown villain, unlikely to have any affiliation with any of the reporters or networking agencies present. The assailant is cunning and opportunistic, using the spontaneous development of the crowd as cover to infiltrate the school without being seen.
The "what" is self explanatory as well. The front entrance barrier was destroyed with surprising speed, at least according to Gami's account. All four layers were completely disintegrated, leading me to believe a decay quirk was the cause. The mob of reporters shielded the assailant from view of the cameras though, so I can't be completely sure.
"Where" is quite obvious. The break in occurred at the front entrance of the school, which was being crowded by reporters since early this morning. That fact is easy enough to deduce.
The "when" is clear thanks to Aizawa-sensei's account of the camera feed. The barrier was destroyed at around 12:30 this afternoon, though the villain was likely at the barrier before this initial time, staking out the scene to confirm the risk and reward of the opportunity.
But the most debatable aspect of this crime is why? What was the reason behind this attack? Was it to steal something from the school, or an intentional declaration of war? The crime was opportunistic, so it's likely that-
"Midoriya?" Nezu's voice suddenly echoed around his head.
"Ah!" he stumbled out, nearly slamming into the table in shock. The embarrassment quickly set in, so he fumbled around with his words while desperately trying to get the attention off him. "I-I'm sorry sir. I was j-just lost in thought…"
"I could tell." the principal sounded strangely intrigued, pressing for more. "Anything of interest?"
Nezu was asking him to share his thoughts? His assumptions were just that, assumptions. He was lucky enough to be sitting in on a meeting of this sensitivity, there was truly no need for him to contribute as well. But the principal had asked him a question, and he felt obligated to respond as truthfully as possible, whether or not he felt that truth was important. Nezu had been kind enough to keep his secret as well as allow him to continue learning here at U.A. It was only fair that he did his best to assist in return. That was the formality after all.
"I-I was just… trying to piece together the intent behind the break in…" Midoriya muttered just loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Ah," the rodent huffed, "That does bring up a good point. What exactly was the reason behind this crime?"
The rhetorical question brought only another wave of silence and thought among the pros. Sure, Nezu had his own ideas, but he very much wanted to hear the opinions of others before implanting his own into everyone's heads. And by others, he was more interested in one person in particular.
"How about it Midoriya? What do you think on the matter?"
"M-me?!" the boy cried out in a mix of bewilderment and shock. The rest of the heroes seemed to agree.
"What? Nezu, you can't be serious," Vlad Kind echoed the thoughts of everyone in the room.
But he just smiled menacingly, "Oh, I quite am!"
Gami, who had been quietly listening in on the meeting since the start, now moved to step in. "Just take a deep breath in and collect your thoughts. If you panic here, you will lose any sort of respect you had among these adults."
Following his mentor's instructions, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, feeling the pressure of his chest expanding. He listened intently on the sound of the air leaving his nose, focusing his mind on the hissing noise. He opened his eyes after completing the breath, his panic now just simmering in the background.
"Well, I'm torn between two reasons," he started carefully, trying not to come off imposing, "Either the break in was to take something from the school's main building, or to be seen as a statement against heroism."
That made Nezu smile even wider than before, something the boy didn't think was possible. The response made logical sense, and that was what surprised most of the room. Many of the heroes didn't think the teen wouldn't contribute much to the meeting, but his statement was the start to proving otherwise.
"But what about an attack?" Thirteen added, "What if the purpose of the break in was to ambush a hero? All Might maybe?"
"Unlikely." That was the moment Midoriya's brain hit the autopilot, no longer concerned about speaking to a group of pro heroes. "If the assailant's true goal was to attack a hero, they would have made their presence known. It was no mistake that the intruder was not caught on camera, that was intentional. The fact that no one saw the intruder further confirms to me that this was an infiltration, not an ambush."
"Plus there are no staff members or students currently unaccounted for." Present Mic began to see the teen's point. "And no injuries linked to an attack were reported. If the villain's plan was to attack someone but failed, we would have likely caught them. I don't think the intruder's intent was to ambush anyone, neither hero nor student."
"I agree with that wholeheartedly," Nezu confirmed, "Using that exact thought process, I was able to rule out the idea of a planned or spontaneous ambush."
"Ah!" Midoriya interjected right after hearing that, "That reminds me of something I was thinking about before."
The boy raised a hand up to his chin, pressing a pointer finger to his cheek to further separate his thoughts before speaking. He could feel shivers run down his spine, along with the rising feeling of dread, but he pushed them back down. He still had more to say. He still had to be useful.
"The crowd of reporters obviously wasn't planned at all. It was a spontaneous development, which makes planning around it a challenge. That fact increases the likelihood of this being a statement attack rather than an infiltration to take something, though, that doesn't take the idea of the intruder stealing something off the table."
"So you're saying due to the nature of the situation," Aizawa clarified, "it would be easier to pull off a scare tactic than a planned infiltration with a set goal."
The teen nodded, but his hand twitched violently, almost breaking his confidence, "Exactly, though if the assailant had preplanned what they would do upon breaking into the school, it's still possible their motive was to steal something. They could have just used the opportunity the mob created to jumpstart their plan."
"Interesting!" Nezu hummed, "Reviewing all of our video feed is a must then! And I need all files to be checked and accounted for. If this villain did manage to take something from under our noses, we need to figure out exactly what is missing, no matter the sensitivity."
Midoriya opened his mouth to say more, but finally found his train of thought empty. In fact, it was more derailing than anything else. His anxiety and paranoia had finally caught up to him. After all, he couldn't run on autopilot forever, as much as he wanted to.
He hoped. He desperately hoped this would conclude the meeting, because he had nothing left. That was all of the analysis he had time to complete, and now that it was out, he had no more information, no more use. What if someone had another question? Would Nezu be upset with him? Would the rest of the heroes in the room retake their minimal respect for him?
Hearing his breathing worsen, he tried to calm himself to no avail. He couldn't break down here, that would screw up everything. Everyone would get upset with him. Everyone would be disappointed in him. He had to hold it in. He pushed against the hurricane forming in his stomach, hopelessly trying to fight it from surfacing.
Gami was good at picking up his successor's moods. Albeit not as good as he wanted to be, but decent enough. So when his gaze picked up on the slight twitches coming from the boy's fingers, he knew something was terribly wrong.
"Just ask to leave. I am sure they will allow you to."
I can't. I can't.
The teen's head shook subtly, so slightly one would miss it if they weren't looking. His eyelids fluttered as his breaths turned from quiet and pained to raspy and uneven. It was something he found himself resorting to during these episodes: quiet hyperventilating. His fingers now curled, looking for something to clutch around, but he wouldn't dare bring them to his shirt and risk someone noticing his current panic. He wanted to clasp his hands together and pick at the fibers of his gloves like he always did, but his blood felt like ice, freezing all possible movement. So he did the next best thing and clutched his pants for dear life.
Present Mic had exceptional hearing, though, not for the reason you'd expect. His quirk did not give him super hearing, it actually had the opposite effect. Years of listening to the damaging volumes of his own screams left the hero suffering from hearing loss in both ears. Such a detriment could develop into an occupational hazard, so he quickly invested in hearing aids. They were small and unnoticeable unless one was searching for them, and he often had them cranked up a few settings so he could eavesdrop on the staff and students. Was it wrong and invasive? Maybe. But the pro did enjoy some good gossip, and there was only so much he could get from Kayama.
So when quiet gasps and wheezes reached his ears from two seats over, needless to say he was quite concerned.
The sad part about it was he knew exactly who they were originating from. It nearly made him sick to think his mind registered those noises as familiar. But the blond couldn't lie to himself, or attempt to trick his brain.
He just kept telling the guilt to go away as he looked over to Midoriya in worry.
The hero was surprised that Aizawa, who was next to the teen, didn't seem to hear a thing. How high were his hearing aids turned up? How hushed were the noises?
When Nezu made eye contact with him, he felt slightly relieved in the sense that he wasn't crazy or hearing things. The principal seemed to acknowledge the situation currently playing out, and gave a small nod as reassurance. He watched the mammal turn his attention back towards the faintly shaking boy, all while the rest of the room didn't even notice, too wrapped up in their conversations to care.
Still, Yamada moved to step out of his chair and approach the student, but true to his implied actions, Nezu beat him to the punch.
"Well," he began, the conversations around him stopping to give their attention, "I trust you all will investigate into the matters revealed at this meeting. You all are free to remain here and continue discussing the incident, however, I will be taking a break with Midoriya."
"What?" came from around the room in a chorus of shared confusion. Even Aizawa, who was squished between the green haired boy and his husband, wasn't sure if he completely registered what was being said.
"I won't repeat myself." Nezu's words cut through the room like a scorching knife, sharp and unyielding. "Come Midoriya, let's get going."
Nearly all of the teachers cried out in surprise when the student sitting with them stood up robotically, without a moment of hesitation. As if he were on a charted course, Midoriya turned slowly and followed the principal out of the conference room, all without saying a word in response. Aizawa, who had seen a lot of eerie shit while out patrolling or engaging in nighttime fights, still seemed relatively spooked by the display, though he would never admit it if asked. But no one argued against the rodent, or cried out for the boy to stay.
As for Midoriya, his foggy head was just happy to finally receive something he could process without failure…
A command.
Nothing truly registered through Midoriya's eyes. It was all just a mess of shapes and colors, all smashed together like they were trapped in a blender. His soft footsteps didn't even make it from his ears to his brain. The echoing of his thumping heartbeat bounced around in his skull.
It was kind of funny, in an oddly depressing way, that he was back on autopilot again. His warped sense of comfort felt most at home when he wasn't thinking. And that's exactly what autopilot was for him: not thinking. He just let his instincts take over and lead him wherever. But just because he felt more comfortable like this, didn't mean he enjoyed acting this way. It was a choice between comfort and freedom, and sometimes he found himself hating both options.
So he didn't realize he was currently sitting on the couch in Nezu office until the principal asked him something. Of course, the comment never actually made it through his thought process, so the boy cocked his head slightly, hoping that would be enough for Nezu to repeat himself.
"I was wondering if you would care for some tea?" the mammal smiled while standing by a small table against the wall.
His mind was still hazy and he didn't trust the words to come clearly out of his mouth, so the teen just nodded. As more seconds passed, his consciousness grew less muddy and he took the time to properly observe his surroundings.
The student was curled into the armrest of the couch, though in a more formal way than he was expecting. Both of his feet were still planted firmly on the floor with his legs pressed together. His upper body was squished tightly into the side of the couch, almost as if he was trying to take up as little room as possible. His balled up hands clutched desperately at his lap, wringing out his pants like a towel. He could feel slight tremors run down his spine and to the tips of his fingers.
Nezu walked over to the coffee table by the couch, two glasses in paw. He placed both cups on said table, pushing one closer to where Midoriya sat. He watched the wispy steam swirl into the air, not making a move to grab his drink.
"I hope you enjoy it." The principal attempted at light hearted conversation. "Chamomile tea is known to reduce stress and induce the feeling of relaxation."
Again, not trusting his speech, the boy just nodded. It took him a few moments to work up the courage to grab his cup, but the minute its warmth touched his gloved hand, he felt at peace. He now gripped the glass with both hands, wishing to feel more of that warmth in his soul. He didn't take a sip, but merely sat unmoving with the cup clutched between his fingers.
By that point, Nezu had pulled up an extra chair to the other side of the coffee table, preferring to give Midoriya the entirety of the couch. He watched the teen's still form with interest. The rodent wasn't lost by any means, his quirk giving him understanding of even the most confusing of human psyche. But he had only read about minds as severely damaged as Midoriya's in psychology books, never having the experience of seeing it in person. The rational portion of his mind wanted desperately to pick apart the boy, to figure out what made him tick. But at the same time, there was a sliver of his morality that felt almost sad as witnessing the display in front of him. It had been a while since he felt sympathetic towards a human, and the idea of meeting someone as potentially damaged as himself thrilled the principal more than picking him apart.
Maybe he'd entertain his subconscious this one time.
Nezu stood up and walked over near the small table where he had prepared the tea, his back to the student. He knelt down at one of the bookcases, and reached his paws towards a wooden box on the bottom shelf. He pulled it out gently, careful not to scrape it against the floor. It wasn't particularly heavy, but for someone with Nezu's stature, lifting it could prove difficult. But he managed to haul it to the coffee table, and placed it down softly. In the corner of his eye, he noticed the teen eyeing the object with a curious glint, only making the rodent smirk wider.
"Would you care for a game of chess, Midoriya?" he asked with a hint of unnatural cheer, "I would truly like to get to know you."
Chess? At a time like this? He couldn't lie, the idea sounded quite entertaining, but what about the meeting and all the other heroes?
Nezu seemed to catch onto his hesitation. "I'm sure the other heroes will be fine wrapping the meeting up without us."
His gut wasn't so sure of the principal's words, but at feeling the sudden touch of his mentor's hand to his shoulder, he eased up. It was easy to forget the ghost was in the same room as him sometimes, especially during and after breakdowns like this.
"That… sounds nice." were the first words that exited his mouth upon leaving the conference room.
"Oh wonderful!" he smiled. "I'll set up the board then."
He watched the mammal open up the box, pulling out a beautiful wooden chessboard and a sack presumably filled with pieces. The box container reminded him of Ishihara's back in the guest room, but this one just didn't feel the same. Ignoring the slight sensation of sadness, his eyes continued to follow the erratic, yet graceful movements of Nezu's paws setting up the pieces.
The principal had set aside all of the dark pieces for himself, and had given Midoriya the lighter ones. Honestly, he was fine either way. Ishihara had taught him the best ways to start with either color. But he did prefer the dark pieces. Something about playing as an underdog gave him a spark of satisfaction that made enjoying the game all the easier.
The board was eventually all set up, so the teen removed one of his hands from the cup to make his first move. But before he could, Nezu piped up again.
"Before we get started," he chuckled, "how about we spice up the game a bit?"
The boy's brows furrowed. "What do you mean by that?"
The rodent in front of him let out another stifled giggle, the sound unnerving him. "Every time you capture an opponent's piece, you get to ask them a question. No lying or evading allowed!"
"I do not like the sound of this."
Midoriya couldn't agree more.
Nezu easily picked up on the apprehensiveness. "The rules apply to me as well. This is your opportunity to ask me anything!"
That made the idea sound a bit more appealing. Knowing more about the principal would be beneficial in the long run, but who knew what the sadistic animal in front of him would ask. That thought alone made him shudder.
This situation was another example of his age old debate between comfort and freedom. He could stay in his secluded comfort zone, and deny participating while he still could, or give in to his urge for freedom, and risk having to answer an emotionally volatile question. Both had their pros and cons, and this wasn't the first time he felt equally torn.
So he reached into his pant pocket, and pulled out a single yen coin. It was still shiny, practically fresh off the mint. He twirled the coin between his fingers, watching the glint of reflected light move across its surface.
"Heads or tails?" he asked without making proper eye contact with anyone, though Nezu was smart enough to understand the boy was talking to the ghost he claimed followed him around all day.
"… Heads." His successor had asked him to choose between the two often enough that he understood what it meant.
"Heads it is," he repeated for no particular reason. Leaning over the armrest of the couch, he flicked the coin from his fingers, watching it clatter against the floor as it spun around. The scratchy metallic noise made as it revolved became almost pleasing to listen to, but it eventually stopped as the coin settled to a side. Leaning over further to pick the coin up, he got a good view of the side it had landed on.
"Alright then," the teen stated with neither excitement nor disappointment, "let's get started."
Nezu flashed his wide signature smirk, "Oh wonderful! Your move then!"
And so Midoriya did as he was told, placing the coin on the table exactly how he picked it up from the floor, careful not to make too loud of a noise. He didn't hesitate with his first move, grabbing one of his pawns near the center of the row and moving it up two spaces.
The principal's smirk didn't fade and he slid one of his darker pawns to match the move exactly.
So that was how Nezu wanted to play then? That was fine. He had no problem playing aggressively, even if it guaranteed Nezu the first question.
The boy moved the next pawn over up two spaces, so it was side by side with the first one he moved.
The rodent didn't even bother hiding his increasingly large smile as he moved his pawn from before, capturing the pawn Midoriya just moved. The giddy look on his face remained as he picked up the light colored piece and brought it off the board.
"Well then Midoriya." He seemed to have this question thought out already. "Who is your favorite hero?"
That question was innocent enough, and relatively easy to answer. "Eraserhead."
The answer made the principal hum, as if he was trying to dig deeper into the response, but the teen didn't let him as he aggressively moved his bishop into play. Nezu held in a chuckle and returned with an equally forceful move of his queen, bringing the student into check. Unfazed, he moved his light king piece out of the way and watched the principal move a pawn directly into the line of his now active bishop. The boy narrowed his eyes at the suicidal act, but took the piece anyway.
"Oh wonderful!" Nezu seemed way too enthusiastic for this. "What is your question?"
He didn't respond right away, not having thought about what to ask. He needed something simple, yet respectful. After all, this was still the principal of U.A. he was conversing with.
"Can… you explain your quirk?" Midoriya asked carefully.
"My quirk?" he repeated, not expecting that as a question, "Well, my quirk is called High Spec. It is a mutant quirk that has exponentially increased my intelligence to that well beyond human capacity. My quirk is what has allowed me to integrate into human life so painlessly."
He nodded at the reply, soaking up as much of the key information as possible to record later. He didn't want to pull out his notebook now, in the middle of the game. That would be quite rude, after all.
The two continued with their game, making aggressive, yet calculated plays. After about ten more turns, most of the pieces were scattered around the chessboard. But it didn't take long for another piece to get captured, this time being one of Midoriya's white bishops.
Nezu laughed as he used his pawn to knock the bishop off the board, "It's my turn again… how wonderful! Tell me about your school life before coming to U.A."
The typically shy boy narrowed his eyes apprehensively. "That's not a question."
"Oh of course! My bad, my bad," he corrected himself, "What was school like before coming to U.A.?"
Gami, who had been watching the events of the game since it had started, growled at the sensitive question, but Midoriya just waved him off. The exchange was not missed by the observant mammal, however.
Collecting his thoughts delicately, he answered with more hesitation than the last time, "Mundane… and lonely."
There was a long pause after that, and upon realizing that the boy would not say any more concerning the topic, Nezu didn't push. They resumed playing the game. This time though, the principal noted some increased aggressiveness in his opponent's plays, forcing his queen to retreat with a few pawns. A bit distracted, Nezu didn't notice a trap being set up until a few moves in, but by that point there wasn't much he could do. Both his knight and pawn were in danger and he could only move one, so he chose the optimal piece and allowed his pawn to be captured.
This time, the teen had a question ready. "What's your favorite brew of tea?"
That instinctively made the rodent take a sip of his chamomile. "That would have to be green tea. A bit of a basic choice, but it does help lessen my symptoms of PTSD."
The surprise on Midoriya's face was visible. Not obvious, but still visible. The spirit standing next to him was reasonably surprised at the reply as well, but neither pushed for more. The response was sensitive enough.
The student kept on the offensive, constantly making Nezu monitor the position of his queen. Pushing his light knight forward, he once again put the principal's queen in danger, but instead of retreating this time, Nezu moved the piece far onto Midoriya's side of the board, taking a pawn in the process.
He wasted no time with his next question. "What is Gami-san to you."
That made the boy blink. He really wasn't expecting a question like that, but it still made him pause. Of course, he knew exactly what his relationship with the old ghost was, it was just a bit difficult to explain.
"Gami is… a lot of things. The easiest way to describe our relationship… would be mentor and successor, I guess. But it's a lot more complicated than that."
He paused to look up to the specter next to him, but couldn't detect any hint of emotion.
"Gami's filled a lot of roles for me. From a mentor, to… a parental figure, to a friend. I'm… just really grateful he decided to stick around with me."
Midoriya swore he heard a sniffle come from the space next to him, but didn't bring it up to spare the ghost the embarrassment.
"Hm, a complex relationship indeed," Nezu agreed, "Let's continue."
And so they did. It was only two moves later that Nezu captured a white rook.
"Why aren't you a fan of All Might?"
Gami felt the temperature in the room drop a few degrees, the pleasant atmosphere created by the last question completely erased. Looking over to the seated boy, he noticed the grip on his pants grow much tighter than before, as if he was restraining himself. Twisting his body, the spirit moved to ruffle his hair, but stopped when he saw his shoulders tense up, deciding against it.
He didn't even know where to start when it came to All Might. The man had been his idol for almost his entire life, and that day they met ruined everything. For a hero who preached such inspiring ideals, he sure didn't follow them. That experience constantly made him wonder whether it would have been better for him to live in ignorant bliss.
The words came out laced with more anger than Midoriya would have liked, but he had thankfully restrained most of his outburst. "He's a hypocrite with flawed logic."
Catching his tongue, he refused to say any more. Nezu looked a bit surprised at the answer, but not necessarily offended or anything.
"Such strong words, very interesting indeed," he remarked as if he was studying the boy in front of him, "I wonder what brought you to that conclusion."
He couldn't catch himself this time, "You already used up your question."
"That is true," the mammal chuckled dryly, "Well, your turn then."
Midoriya, still clouded with bits of remaining anger, mistakenly moved a simple pawn, allowing the principal to capture his last rook with his queen, as well as put his king back into check. He nearly slammed his fist against the table, but he had more restraint than that and merely clutched his pants tighter.
Nezu wasn't an idiot, in fact he was quite the opposite. He could see the obvious emotional strain his last question brought, and as much as he wanted to know the story behind the boy's dislike of the number 1 hero, inquiring deeper into the matter could shut him down for good. So he switched gears a bit.
"What are you most scared of?" he asked as he moved the rook off the board.
Scared of? That was a strange change of topic, still a sensitive one though. There were a lot of things he was scared of, not that he would ever want to admit that. But what scared him the most, well that was something he wasn't sure he could decide.
"I… I don't know," the teen admitted.
Not quite the response Nezu was expecting, he rephrased the question, "What's something you're scared of then?"
Still not a question he wanted to answer. But naming one fear was much better than listing them all. "I don't like fire. Heat is fine though."
"Fair enough," the rodent hummed. That answer made sense, considering what he knew about the boy.
Midoriya moved his king out of check, and the game continued. The two players exchanged moves, sliding their knights around the board as if it were a real track for horses. Seeing a fateful opportunity, the analytical student used Nezu's move against him, moving his knight to capture a dark pawn and put his king in check at the same time.
Keeping up this round of reverse, he shot the principal's question right back at him. "What scares you the most?"
Unlike he himself did, Nezu paused for a moment to think before answering snappily, "I guess my greatest fear would be feeling helpless again."
There was a lot to unpack in that statement. Helpless? Again? It made the boy's mind spin as he tried to piece together what the rodent in front of him meant. But he didn't bother asking another follow up question, just nodding and focusing his attention back on the game.
The principal moved his king out of check, and it was at that moment Midoriya could see his winning play. Nezu had practically trapped his own king at this point, all he needed was to eliminate the black knight near it and he was sure his plan would work. He had a risky idea to capture that piece, but pushed his self doubt down just enough to go through with it.
The teen slid his queen right onto Nezu's side of the board, allowing it into a position where it was putting the opposing king in check, but also at risk of being captured by the knight. Now, he could only hope the principal took the bait.
The next second felt like an eternity, but alas, Nezu moved his knight to capture the queen, falling right into Midoriya's trap.
Still, their game of questions and answers didn't cease. "I know you've explained how you interact with souls before, so hopefully I'm still understanding this right. But have you ever had to send off the soul of a loved one?"
"Yes."
There was no hesitation behind that response, instead only hard punctuality. Nezu took it as a que that this was an extremely sensitive topic and left it at that.
"Alright then, your move," he reminded.
Without even a smile on his face, the boy moved his bishop instantly into a preplanned spot. "Checkmate."
The mammal carefully reviewed his king's movement options, but true to the words spoken, there was nowhere he could go. Sighing heavily, he placed both paws on the table.
"Congratulations!" he cheered, his mood shifting drastically, "That was a most exciting game!"
Gami, who was still observing, celebrated as well. "That was beautifully executed. Truly well done."
His heart warmed at the praise from both sides, but he still felt generally down from that last question.
"I guess I was simply too focused on taking pieces to ask questions," the principal tried to explain, "Distracted by the wrong motive."
Midoriya's eyes narrowed, wondering if the intellectual individual in front of him simply let him win. But he didn't have too much time to ponder that option as a soft knock came from the door behind him.
"Come in!" Nezu called, not bothering to even look up.
The teen turned around though, curious to see who was entering. His mentor followed suit.
Yamada walked in slowly, unsure of what to expect. But seeing Nezu and Midoriya seated with a chess board was certainly not a possibility he had thought of. He didn't bother closing the door behind him, leaving it slightly ajar. "Hey little listener. I came to see if you were ready to leave."
"The meeting's over?" He couldn't help but ask.
"Yeah," the pro confirmed, "It ended a little while ago."
Nodding, the boy set his empty cup down on the coffee table, to which Nezu grabbed and picked up along with his own cup. "It was a pleasure playing against you, Midoriya. I hope we can do so again in the future!"
"Yeah…," he responded, a bit unsure of himself, "Thank you for the tea, sir."
The principal laughed, "It was no trouble at all. And please, call me Nezu."
That would not happen for a long time, but the student nodded anyway. He picked himself off the couch, smoothing out the mess of wrinkles on his uniform pants. Swinging his backpack over his shoulder, he prepared to exit the room with Present Mic.
"Do not forget about your coin," Gami reminded him.
Huffing lightly, he turned back around to pick up the piece of currency. Lifting it into his fingers, he watched the sunlight bounce off its surface. It was still facing the exact side it had landed on when he flicked it earlier, making him half heartedly stuffed it in his pocket before leaving.
Midoriya wished the tails side looked more appealing.
Despite the engaging game of chess, Midoriya still didn't feel that much better. He was still feeling the effects of his panic attack far after it was over. Of course, he didn't really point any of this out to Aizawa or Yamada.
The day had come and gone fairly quickly, despite how eventful it turned out to be. The three had eaten takeout for dinner, courtesy of the ragged underground hero, and immediately retreated back to their designated corners of the house. The two teachers lounged together in the living room, while the teen remained isolated in the guest room.
Well, isolated would be a lie. Links was there as well, but the two respected each other's personal space by staying in opposite corners of the room. The boy was curled up on the bed, while the small kitten was huddled underneath the desk.
Midoriya couldn't deny he was a bit bored, along with feeling stressed. He couldn't really write notes while on the bed, and the feline was preventing him from sitting at the desk. He had resorted to staring at his shelves of greenery to pass the time, but it had almost been 30 minutes after dinner and his attention was running thin.
"Why don't you do something productive?"Gami suggested.
The teen groaned, "But there is nothing productive to do…!"
The ghost sighed at his successor's childish antics. He really wished the boy wouldn't isolate himself like he did, and worked harder to develop bonds with the adults that he was staying with. But the man wasn't going to force anything, after all, he knew these things took time. He was happy enough that he was eating with them, so that was a start.
Then, both heard a buzzing sound come from the backpack at the foot of the bed. Curious, Midoriya leaned over the side to pull the bag up and unzipped it hastily. He pulled out his phone, unsurprised. I mean, what else would be vibrating in his school bag?
Turning on his cell, he noticed one pop up on his screen. Assuming it was just a news update, he ignored it, placing his phone on the corner of the bed and laid back down. His fluffy, green hair flopped over his eyes, so he used his breath to push it out of the way. He tried closing his eyes to calm himself, but that only made him focus on his thumping heartbeat even more, so he opened them back up.
There was another buzz from his phone.
"You should probably check that…"
He groaned again, "Fine…"
Lugging his dreary form upright again, he reached for his phone. Now there were two pop ups on the screen, but when he actually took the time to read them, he realized they weren't news updates at all.
"Shouto sent me a text?" It came out as more of a confused response than a statement.
That made the spirit perk up real quick. "Oh?"
"Don't even start…" Midoriya attempted.
"It is far too late for that," Gami stated bluntly, "What did he say?"
"Hold on, I'm checking right now." The boy quickly unlocked his device and opened up his messages. Clicking on the candy cane student's contact, he was able to see the two new texts on his phone.
Hey.
How are you doing?
He was about to read them to his mentor, but upon seeing the ghost eyeing his screen from over his shoulder, he scoffed lightly.
The man didn't seem to care. "He texted you first…"
"And?" he replied sarcastically, "Stop making weird implications."
"Do you plan on answering him back?"
"Obviously, I'm not just going to ignore him." He rolled his eyes dramatically, making sure the specter noticed. Fumbling with his gloved fingers, he typed out a series of rushed responses.
Hey!
I'm doing alright
What about you?
It didn't take long for a reply to come in. Todoroki must have been waiting by his phone.
I'm a bit tired.
Though I've attributed that to the chaos that happened earlier.
Chaos? Did he mean the panic during the security breach or something at home? Midoriya moved to clarify.
You're talking about the panic at school, right?
Once again, the response came in quick.
Yes.
I hope you were not injured during the incident.
When he received that second text, the boy just knew the spirit next to him was going to make another remark. So he quickly turned around to face him and cut him off before he even began.
"He's just being a concerned friend," he interjected the man's drawn breath.
"I did not say anything," Gami finished snidely, the smirk on his face nearly auditory.
He huffed like the bothered teenager he was, but gave up and grabbed his phone instead. The ghost took that as a victory and smirked even wider, though no one could see.
I've got nothing more than a few aches
I hope you didn't get hurt either
"Concerned friend?"
"Yes!" he hissed, "I'm returning the formality!"
He was unable to ignore the light chuckling coming from behind him, but he did his best.
I was not injured.
Though that was due to your efforts with Iida and Uraraka.
The teen felt his face heat up slightly, but he just credited the feeling to embarrassment. Thankfully, Gami didn't say anything.
Ah
Well the three of us couldn't just stand around and do nothing
Iida did most of the work though
"Izu…" the spirit attempted to sing-song, but ended up sounding more like a disappointed parent than anything, "We have talked about this…"
Confused, he looked back to the man. "What?"
"About giving yourself more credit…"
Midoriya shrugged. "It's true… I mean Iida was the one who calmed everyone down."
Gami tried to refute, but just then another buzz came in.
It was your plan though.
That confused the boy even more. How did Todoroki know that?
How did you know?
"See? Even he agrees that you need to give yourself more credit." Gami tried to emphasize his point further.
I took a guess.
I figured a plan as reckless as that would only be yours.
The ghost let out a hard laugh, something he didn't do often. "I am starting to like this child more and more."
The shocked student merely just sat there. "I don't know whether I should take that as a complement or an insult…"
I guess that's fair
Midoriya's confidence was a swirling mess at this point, unsure of whether to skyrocket or go right down the drain. But as the next text arrived, it didn't take long for him to decide.
Still, your plan was quite effective, so I shouldn't complain.
Though, that does make me wonder why you gave up your position as president to Iida.
The praise made him feel good about himself. But concerning the matter of the class president spot, he thought it was quite obvious. Gami didn't say a word, silently wondering how his successor was going to respond.
The boy's fingers hovered over the screen for quite a while as he debated with himself on how to word his response without sounding rude. After a few more moments, he hashed out a mess of words, afraid to lose Todoroki's attention.
I just don't think I was right for the job
Iida's really good at leading others, so I felt if anyone should be president, it should be him
The red and white haired boy's response was considerably slower than before, making Midoriya wonder if he had said something wrong. His anxiety from before started to build, now being fueled by a new insecurity.
That's understandable.
I'm glad you're still on the council as secretary though.
Another odd rush of unfamiliar pride swelled within him at reading his friend's words, the nervousness from before gone. Maybe being on the council wouldn't be so bad after all…
Thanks
I honestly only stayed on the council to honor Iida's request
But you saying that makes me feel better about it
The teen swiftly turned around at the snort that came from behind him. His eyes were met with the sight of the old ghost holding a bony hand to where his mouth probably was, and shaking a bit.
"What's up with you?" he questioned skeptically.
"Oh nothing. Nothing at all," Gami answered with a hint of sarcasm that made the boy wonder if he was being serious.
I'm glad.
All it took was that single sentence, those two words, for a bright smile to explode on Midoriya's face. Suddenly, all of the events that happened throughout the day were forgotten, replaced by a giddy feeling of bubbliness. The spirit simply watched from his spot by the bed. As much as he enjoyed teasing his successor, he wouldn't dare ruin this rare mood he was in.
It had been a while since the man had seen him so happy.
Another subsequent buzz came in on his phone, making the attention of both return to the screen.
Sorry, I have to go.
My father is calling me.
The drop in his shoulders was near instant, and though he was a bit saddened at the fact that Todoroki had to go, he was more than grateful at having the chance to talk to him in the first place. Something about chatting with the normally stoic boy was so enjoyable, he couldn't put it into words.
That's fine
It was nice talking to you
Stay safe
Midoriya held his phone in his hand as those three messages were sent. He watched as the "delivered" notification popped up on his screen, making his phone hum. He held onto the device for a little bit longer, but after a few minutes, he set it back down at the edge of the bed nervously.
The "read" notification never popped up.
After Todoroki left, Midoriya had to find new ways to occupy his time. He bounced around activities, from scrolling through news updates on his phone, to tending to his plants, to even playing 20 questions with Gami. If anyone popped their head into the room, they'd easily be able to tell how bored the boy was. Though he would never complain about his boredom.
Eventually, night creeped in and the sun kissed the horizon goodbye. The teen still hadn't interacted with anyone in the household since dinner, and he was intent on staying that way. His mentor, on the other hand, was growing tired of the stuffy room.
"Why don't you take a break from this room?"he tried to suggest without implying that he was the one who desperately wanted to leave.
"Why? I'm perfectly fine like this…" the boy questioned while narrowing his eyes.
This was going to be harder than he thought, but the ghost knew it would be beneficial for both of them to leave the room for a bit. "I just presumed you would want to be in a more comfortable spot for when you sort tonight."
The appeal to his successor's sense of work seemed to be enough to persuade him. "I guess, but not now. I'll go later when they're both asleep."
That was a fair compromise, so the man didn't argue it more. It was already pretty late, just past midnight, so the two heroes were bound to hit the hay soon. Of course, he would love it if Midoriya went to sleep earlier and got more rest, but he of all people understood that a proper sleep schedule was nearly impossible when constantly plagued with declining timers. A Death's life was certainly a stressful one, especially if social relations were a priority.
The two were cut out of their respective thoughts at the sound of footprints coming down the hallway. Afraid of being caught awake, he dived under the covers, a stunt children typically performed. The sounds stopped right in front of the guest room door, and the teen slowed his breathing to further add to the authenticity of his act.
"Should we go in and say goodnight?" he recognized the hushed whisper as the voice of Present Mic.
"No, he's probably asleep." That harsh tone could only be Aizawa. "Plus he's not five."
The sound of Yamada's groan could be heard, but the two walked away from the door at that, presumably towards their own room instead. Letting out his own sigh of relief, he crawled out from under the blankets and tiptoed his way to his door, with Gami floating behind. Pressing his ear against the door, the boy listened as another door was opened, and then closed. And after a while of silence, the duo deemed it safe enough to leave.
Silencing his footsteps was a trick Midoriya had learned a long time ago, but still one of his most useful. There was practically no sound as his bare socks touched the hardwood. He shifted his body weight periodically, still unsure of where the creaky floorboards were. All of the lights in the house were turned off, leaving him guided by only moonlight. Carefully, he made his way to the living room, and sat down softly on the couch.
Surprisingly, the dark atmosphere felt oddly comforting, and he didn't want to disturb it by starting his work. But the clock was ticking, and the night wasn't getting any younger, so he sucked up his complaints.
It was almost surreal, when all of the souls popped into the living room. Most of them still had a bright glow to them, and lit up the room as if it were an observatory. The teen had always viewed the puffs of light as stars, but being in the dark room really made it seem that way. He sat still for a moment, just taking in the scene around him, before immediately feeling a rush of guilt. These were all real people that had died, he shouldn't be enjoying this in the slightest.
Naturally, the dimmest souls crowded around him, so he reached for one of those, cupping it gently in his hands. It wasn't as warm as the others, almost as if he was holding a breath of autumn air. He swiftly got to work, letting his mind shut down and run on autopilot.
"Hey Gami," he asked suddenly, breaking the silence, "How did you do this for 5 centuries?"
The ghost didn't seem to understand. "What do you mean?"
"Well, this job is really depressing," he stated bluntly, "and I know you have to do it for a full century, but why did you continue for 4 more?"
That caught the spirit off guard, at least, according to his body language. But he didn't answer right away, leaving the question to dwell in the air like a musty smell.
"I… do not remember," the man answered with what seemed to be a hint of anguish, "Everytime I attempt to, all I get is a rush of blankness and a slight migraine."
"Oh…" Well that was to be expected. His mentor didn't remember much about his past life, only bits and pieces that the two were desperately trying to fit together like lost puzzle pieces.
"However." He perked up at that. "Whenever I try to remember my time as Death, I feel a mix of strange emotions. Almost like anguished determination if I were to describe it."
Anguished determination? What was that even supposed to mean? What kind of situation would even provoke one to feel that way?
"You mean desperation?" the boy tried to rationalize.
"No, not desperation," the specter replied picky, "It feels like determination, but not the inspirational kind."
That just confused him even further. Wasn't determination supposed to be inspiring? He recorded the strange account in the back of his mind for further analysis later, but otherwise dropped the subject. The two continued their idle chatter for a few more minutes, casually switching conversational topics.
A sudden creak came from the hallway, and both of them froze. Midoriya quickly stopped sorting, which put out all the light coming from the souls, and held his breath. A few more creaks were heard, confirming that this was in fact real and not a trick of his tired brain. He pulled his legs onto the couch quietly, shrinking his form to better hide himself in the darkness. He wasn't sure if his breathing was quiet enough, so he brought a hand to his mouth just in case.
As the steps came closer, he could hear a hushed voice hiss at something. Straining his ears, he could make out the voice of his homeroom teacher talking quietly to himself.
"Seriously Nezu, if discussing Bakugo was the only reason you called me, you could have left it for tomorrow in person." That pretty much confirmed that Aizawa was on the phone with Nezu, not talking to himself.
There was a short pause, as Midoriya couldn't make out what the principal was saying on the other end of the line, but he stayed quiet. He felt a bit guilty for eavesdropping, but it wasn't his intention. And if he came out now, Aizawa would get upset with him being up still.
"Well, I wanted to move him to general studies, but you wouldn't let me," the pro seemed to be getting upset, "And you still haven't explained why."
What? Aizawa had wanted to move Bakugo out of the hero course as a result of the incident during the training exercise? He understood the reasoning behind a decision like that. But the fact that Nezu had denied him? That was an even stranger issue that was never brought up.
"I'm telling you, it doesn't seem like a simple anger management issue." The frustration was now obvious. "Bakugo has a lot of unnatural hostility towards Midoriya, almost like a grudge. I've seen some hostility towards Todoroki, but compared to the Problem Child, it's nothing. And the rest of the class has gotten off easy considering that boy's temper."
Midoriya gulped. Of course an observant hero like Eraserhead had noticed the odd relationship between himself and the other student. He was hoping no one would pick that up.Nezu had figured it out easily after all, with only a few references to go off of. The last thing he wanted was for his past to catch back up to him. He was here at U.A. for a fresh start. Well, as fresh a start as he could get.
"I agree, the kid's got potential, considering we push him in the right direction, but that doesn't dismiss his actions against the other students involved. Whether you want to admit it or not, we got lucky he hit Midoriya and not one of the other two."
He could hear an exasperated sigh come from Aizawa, it echoing loud and clear in the silent night.
"I just don't understand why you insist on not expelling him!" he hissed in a whisper, "We've never tolerated this kind of behavior."
Aizawa wanted Bakugo expelled? Wow, he knew his teacher wanted him punished but he had no idea he wanted that drastic of reprimand. It makes sense, he could acknowledge that, but still. He couldn't help but think of what the decision might have been if he hadn't voiced his opinion to Nezu, if that was even the deciding factor in the first place.
Relief had never punched him so hard before.
"Yeah yeah, I switched around the seats. Midoriya's in the back with Todoroki and Yaoyorozu's up with Bakugo. It's the best option for all three parties, Bakugo, Midoriya, and the other two: Iida and Uraraka."
So that was the reason behind the seat swap today. Well, with context, it now made sense. Plus, he'd be lying if he didn't admit he was more than pleased with his new seat. He really enjoyed hanging around Todoroki, even though they'd only talked a few times.
"If this is all you wanted to talk about, then I'm hanging up. It's one in the fucking morning, Nezu. I know you're a night owl, but some of us like to get our beauty sleep when we can."
That nearly made the boy snort in amusement, but he managed to hold it in. He had never heard Aizawa talk like that before, and the change in personality was enough to incite laughter.
"Sure, sure whatever. Goodnight."
An audible click could be heard after that, signaling the end of the phone call. And with that click came the rush of fear that reminded him of his current situation. He was hiding in the living room, and his homeroom teacher was standing just beyond in the hallway. He desperately hoped the man would return back to his room and not decided to walk in a few steps further.
The footsteps began again, and to the teen's horror, they were coming in his direction. With every echo, he could feel his blood pressure spike and his heart drop at the same time. His face grew cold and clammy while his throat was sucked dry. He had never heard so many curses going through his head before.
Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shi-
He watched terrified as the hero walked through the living room and into the kitchen, almost making him exhale in relief as he hadn't been noticed. But that relief never came as he saw the ragged pro move towards the light switch.
He gave one last cry to the universe, wishing for it to just erase his existence right then and there.
The kitchen light was blinding compared to the darkness he had been sitting in for the last hour. The white light was invading his eyes and forced him to squint. Unfortunately, that wasn't the only thing it invaded, as some of the light flooded the living room.
Aizawa was noticeably startled when he saw Midoriya's curled up form on the couch. If it weren't for the skills he had picked up being an underground hero, he would have probably yelled out instinctively.
"Holy shit, Problem Child," he gasped under his breath, "What are you doing up?"
Well, there was no getting out of this now.
"I-I'm sorry Aizawa-sensei," he whimpered quietly, "I j-just needed to do m-my… my job and I've b-been in my room all day and-"
"Ok, ok," he cut the boy off, "It's fine. You just startled me. I wasn't expecting you to be up and about this late."
"S-sorry…"
"You don't need to apolo-" Aizawa stopped himself as the realization flooded his head, "Wait, did you hear my phone call?"
"I d-didn't mean to!" The high pitched cry broke his voice near the end. "It w-was an accident and I-I didn't know what to do."
He shushed the boy so as to not wake up his partner, but gave a hefty sigh, "It's fine. I'm not mad or anything."
"You're n-not?" he asked to settle the fear in his conscience.
"No Problem Child," he huffed, "You said it was an accident and I believe you."
The two stared awkwardly at each other, with Gami in the background. He honestly didn't know what to make of the situation, practically giving up for the night. The teacher then dropped his shoulders almost as if in defeat.
"Well, I was just going to get a glass of water," he started, "but since you're up, I guess I'll make something more complicated."
Aizawa pulled out a mug from one of the upper cabinets, setting it down on the counter. He looked towards the curled up boy on the couch and sighed again.
"I'm making hot chocolate," he clarified, "You want some?"
Midoriya's head perked up at the mention of the sweet drink. He didn't want to trouble the man, but at the same time, he did offer. Oh the options were conflicting, but when he turned back to look at Gami, all he got in return was a curt nod. Well that made his choice quite obvious. Who was he to resist such a divine temptation?
"Yes please."