Work Text:
“Thanks to Red Riot, we were able to get our hands on an intact bullet. The serum inside of it had DNA, human DNA.”
Izuku freezes, eyes widening as he feels the little hands gripping his costume tighter. The man started reaching for his own gloves before the little girl let go of Izuku and ran back to him .
Everyone turns as a chair collides with the floor. Izuku stands up with his hands clenched against the table. Blazing emerald eyes flash as he glares at Nighteye, a snarl that the rest of Class 1-A feels could rival the one plastered on Bakugou’s face.
“She went back because you wanted a perfect excuse to go into the Yakuza’s house. Your word encouraged an abused child to go back into that environment!” His voice echoed across the quiet room.
“Pray tell,” Nighteye breathes, staring back at him, back straight. “How did you even know she was abused?”
“If the bandages covering pretty much every limb leaving her torso or the fact she was in a raggedy old gown with no shoes, doesn’t do it for you. It could be the fact that abused knows abused!” Izuku growls, knuckles turning white. “If you had told Mirio not to interact with them she would be safe here with us now and he would be locked up! You would even still have a reason to go into their base!”
The group of heroes stay frozen in their seats watching the back and forth. Aizawa sits up straighter, black eyes pinned to his student, the words echoing in his head. How had he not noticed, it was all right there for him to see!
“Deku?” Uraraka whispers. Her friend turns to her, his ferocious gaze softening slightly as he looks at her. “What do you mean abused knows abused?” His gaze softens further as he looks at his other classmates, catching the tears in their eyes.
“It means what it sounds like. I was an extremely late bloomer and mis-diagnosed as Quirkless. My quirk needed a certain amount of body mass to activate.” He tries to offer a smile at them, “I used it the first time to save you, Uravity. Pretty sure I don’t need to explain what happens to quirkless people nowadays.” He offers them one more smile before he turns back to Nighteye, his face hardening.
“How could you fight and take him out without being able to get a little stamp from me?” Izuku feels Mirio stiffen next to him, blue eyes turning to look up at his mentor with wide eyes.
“You mean besides the fact that you used your quirk on a minor without reason? Or what about the fact I was trying not to damage any of your merchandise around your office?” Izuku hisses, standing up straight staring right back at the hero.
“You don’t even know his quirk!”
“It’s a five finger touch activation that needs to be thought of to turn on.” The room all takes a deep breath in as Nighteye’s eyes widen in shock. “Oh, did you think I wouldn’t know it? He wears gloves, his hand twitched toward it and caused the girl to flinch. How would I fight him? All it would have taken was dislocating his shoulders and slamming his head into the alleyway wall or floor to knock him out. Or I could break his wrists and hands with my feet while I knock him out.”
Nighteye glares at him, hands clenching at his sides.
“But because you wanted to go into their base, a little girl has been put back into her abusive environment. Something she only knows one way to interact with. You’ve also given them back their boss who will have some idea of us wanting to take him in.” Izuku’s voice carries across all of them. “You thought a little girl couldn’t cause us any problems. After all, she’s only a little girl. Do you know what her quirk is or does? From what info you’ve given us, I would say it has to do with her horn and she is able to reverse a person or their quirks. Do you know how someone who has been abused reacts in their abusive environment?”
Nighteye remains quiet. Aizawa’s gaze pinning the other male down, while Izuku’s classmates stare at him in horror. The other heroes are still trying to collect themselves.
“DO YOU?!”
“No.”
“She won’t come easy, probably not even realize why we are there asking her to come with us. You get trained to react and act in a certain way. Your instincts are trained to react in a specific way and anything that challenges it will set them off.” Izuku states arms crossing, chin tilting up. “You’ve already failed her and made us fail her too. This will be harder now because she has been brought back after she tried to flee by herself. She got away but your words made us turn her back around into his open arms.”
“Deku,” Mirio tries to reach up to him but Izuku pulls away. “That’s enough.”
“Is it? Why? Because I’ve embarrassed him in front of other heroes? Or because I called him on his bullshit inflated ego?” Izuku snaps, eyes flashing. “I’ve never been good enough for him. Want to know what he told me? I was a mistake. He thinks he knows the best about everything and can’t be wrong!”
“What?!” Aizawa snaps, eyes flashing red as he turns his gaze to the hero.
“That is not here or there. We need to finish the debriefing.”
“If you think-” Aizawa growls, shoving himself up from his chair, hair floating and eyes glowing red.
“Eraserhead-sensei, we need to save her.” Eraserhead turns his gaze to his student. His hair falling back down, tracing his face. Searching and finding nothing but determination. “Please, she needs us.”
“Then we save her.” Eraserhead nods before turning back to Nighteye. “Don’t think for a second this is over though.”