Chapter Text

Chapter One: The Domino Effect

Valse Sentimentale: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

What crime is most commonly committed?

Different countries sport different answers. Some places such as New Zealand have a higher rate of assault or minor violence, while in Egypt there is a higher rate of corruption and drug trafficking. Despite this, however, there is one crime that stands above all as being one of the most reported and apparent in modern times.

Theft.

Pickpocketing, housebreaking, larceny, burglary, shoplifting, mugging, extortion, and just plain robbery.

The official government page of America’s FBI states that every 5.5 seconds a theft of personal property takes place, which is exactly why it is so crucial that we keep what is important to us close.

Modern technology has kept up so far, at least. But as our resources grow, criminals begin to learn .

Lock picks on high-security doors, crowbars for drawers, and a simple USB to import certain data. As we grow our defences, attacks will only get worse . The same certainly happened by the time Quirks were introduced into the mix of things.

Which brings us to the moral of this story. It takes U.A three weeks to host a celebratory Gala event for students, politicians, Heroes, and other highly trained attendees, but it will only take Izuku Midoriya that very same amount of time to bring it all crashing to the ground.

It’s his final exam, after all. Go beyond! Plus Ultra!

—————

When Izuku Midoriya was six years old, his apartment was broken into.

Oftentimes it would just be him and his mother in the house, and while Inko Midoriya was a strong woman - she had to be to bear having such a worthless child - she didn’t have the ability to be in multiple places at once.

The game Heroes and Villains had lost its shine after his fourth birthday. Before then he’d had a chance, but then on the off chance a group of kids would accept him into their fold, he’d only ever be invited to play the role of a hostage. The only role in any game where you could disappear and nobody would notice. Quirkless kids were good at disappearing, after all. Why should he be any different?

His mother was only one person, after all, and each time he’d begged her before to play the Villain it's always mostly been the same game. One person versus another singular player.

It grew too much to bear the loneliness when he’d hit five, and Izuku politely took Inko aside to ask if they could maybe try something new.

Izuku was good at hiding, and hide and seek was fun! Sure, a three-bedroom apartment didn’t have the most available hiding spots, but Izuku grew crafty. He’d learnt to position cushions behind curtains and shoes at their bottom to appear as if he were there, he’d hid under mattresses and chairs as well as blankets and washing - he’d hid in the bathroom stalls as a teenager, bento in hand and blood dripping to the floor in steady droplets. He’d dived behind garbage dumps and alleyways to hide from pursuers- and would run into the house full speed each time they arrived back with groceries to hide in wait as his mother unpacked their supplies before eventually heading after him.

And it was one of those times, he’d crawled into his own mother's closet to peek out of a slowly widening crack in the oak finish only to realise something was off .

Glass peppered the floorboards and all drawers lay open. Clothing lay unfolded as if it had been tossed, and his mum's work laptop was certainly not where it was supposed to be.

As his six-year-old mind finally came to terms with the fact that many things were off, the perpetrators had finally arrived.

The first had their lounge television in his possession. The moderately sized item was held in place by four clamps that hugged the item snuggly against the robber's back. Obviously a mutation Quirk for him.

But as young Izuku began to quiver, the other thief stepped into his line of sight.

This was Izuku Midoriya’s first-ever interaction with a real Villain.

His features were fully hidden by dark clothing. A standard robbery uniform one could wear with only cold yellow eyes peeking out from the balaclava obscuring his features.

And the aura had been threatening .

Izuku held back tears as the sheer aura of bloodlust which he had believed at the time to only be possible from the use of a Quirk hit him. A gasp tore itself from his throat as the man entered his line of sight and simply just stood there.

And in a snap, those cold yellow eyes had locked onto green with the only separation between the two being a flimsy old oak closet, some coats, and a few feet of space.

Izuku would never know just how long he stared at the man, and how long the man stared at him . He’d wished for a hero like All Might, or really anyone to save him, but nobody had come. Inko Midoriya at the time was still absentmindedly putting away groceries. Not once even noticing the fact that the tv stand behind her was empty, or that her phone which had been on charge wasn’t there anymore.

And then, after however long of just simply staring , the two slipped away. Goods were in their possession, and one lone boy was left stuck in a closet, struggling to breathe.

Quirkless kids were good at disappearing, after all. Why should he be any different?

He’d stayed there until his mum entered the room and screamed.

Inko searched for Izuku before even calling the police, but when they did arrive it was far too late. They’d been briefly questioned over the events, but other than that the items were replaceable, and whatever insurance wouldn't cover the nigh unlimited pockets of Hisashi Midoriya could. He never played hide and seek after that.

The duo were caught four months later having stolen from six other residences and two major shopping chains. Their faces were brought up briefly on the news and caused Inko Midoriya to cry tears of relief.

Izuku Midoriya, upon searching the two criminals found them sentenced to three years imprisonment, and their Quirks stated on the public registry all convicted criminals were required to adhere to.

Two minor mutation Quirks. One, having four adjustable tendrils over the Trapezius and Latissimus Dorsi, while the other providing vital structural support to the Auditory Ossicles of the ears.

The bloodlust had never been something Quirk related, but merely something used . The two had only been stealing for extra money. Not to hurt people, but to simply survive.

And this provided Izuku with the perfect lesson on how even the scariest Villains to him were people too. As well as a lesson on how even the most useless of powers could be used to incite fear and chaos. It’d been one of the reasons he’d fully gotten into his Quirk analysis, despite having started at an earlier age. The never-ending opportunities that Quirks held were simply too bountiful to comprehend and his mind thirsted for information.

Many years later, he’d meet The Hero Killer: Stain and remember this bloodlust. The memories from that moment of time, while he was six, sharply came to mind, but were repressed backwards in lue of the more important events going on around him. The same to be said the moment that he’d gone to save Katsuki Bakugou from kidnapping, at the hands of All for One’s sheer amount of dominating power.

But even though they are now in a dorm system, that wouldn’t necessarily equate to them being safe, would it?

—————

“Listen up, hellspawn. Before you all leave for the day I have one final announcement.”

Aizawa huffed and set aside their final quiz papers. Shuffling the pages into a neat stack before plopping them down with the rest of his files for the day to the left of his table.

Izuku was observant, as most Quirkless- previously Quirkless kids were. He knew how to tell when a teacher was hiding something from a class.

Now, Aizawa was good at hiding things. Like insanely good at hiding things. He was an Underground Hero capable of espionage and combat and was good enough to balance out his highly demanding night job with his day job of teaching highly demanding students. He’d been working in the line of fire for twelve years and had spent three of them balancing out teaching with Heroics, so the man had a large amount of experience in keeping information to himself.

Luckily for him, however, Izuku also had approximately 13 years' worth of expertise in drawing out analysis from even the most meagre amounts of information.

At the beginning of the day, Eraserhead had woken up and immediately began to take roll.

Immediately, red flags appeared in Izuku’s mind.

Every day of class they’d always begin with a judgement on how many seconds it took them to get quiet. Every. Single. Day. Sometimes, the class would be too loud to hear him but nonetheless, Aizawa would always find a way to bring it up.

Except for today.

From there on, it was easy to see just how their teacher was hiding something. The slight pauses whenever he finished a sentence as if waiting to bring something up, the longer periods of sleeping in class- or perhaps just thinking rather than a regular nap. While there wasn’t any possible way for him to tell being seated towards the middle of the class and not possessing any hearing augmentative Quirks such as Jirou or Shouji, he would probably bet on Aizawa not actually having the general heart rate or breathing speed of someone asleep.

And now that he knew for certain that something was off, it was easy to see it with other teachers as well.

Ectoplasm-Sensei was a man of few words, but even today the man hadn’t asked a single question during maths. Instead, giving them page items to do in their workbook while occupied in a text file of his own. English with Mic-Sensei carried on differently however as the man himself was simply more excited than average and thus asked more questions. When he himself had been called upon and processed to stutter out a random answer to whatever question had been produced. Midnight had just been straight up missing from their classroom. Ectoplasm once again had produced a clone of himself to stay watching over them as they completed a minor test on the different aspects of Hero costume design.

Or perhaps that had in itself been the real Ectoplasm? Maybe Ectoplasm never truly showed up to classes and instead just used a series of clones to appear as if he were at school while at the same time completing Hero work during school hours. Was there a fourth Sensei clone out there directing the other three during their tasks? All clones are still one person and connected via a hive mind of sorts, so did that mean there was always one main Ectoplasm who stood behind the scenes and relayed orders to the other clones?

Sero softly nudging his elbow brought Izuku back to attention. A few flickering gazes fixated on him making him realise he must have been muttering out loud. Face turning bright red, Izuku mumbled out an apology causing Sero to grin at him and give a quick thumbs up before turning back to Aizawa.

Turning to face their teacher himself, blushing and still strongly fixated on his features, Izuku brought himself back to reality to listen to what was about to be said.

Rubbing the space between his eyes, Aizawa began.

“So, while we haven’t run it for the past however many years, Nedzu made the decision to bring back an old U.A tradition.”

Instantly, Izuku’s mind went through what possible traditions could be referred to as Uraraka raised her hand and began to speak excitedly.

“So is it a tradition like how the Sports Festival was? Or do you mean more along the lines of saying ‘Itadakimas’ before we eat?!” Uraraka bounced a bit, causing their teacher to rub in between his eyes once more before answering.

“More of a Sports Festival thing,” He paused and let out a sigh, “But next time actually wait for me to call on you to answer, rather than just talking the moment you put your hand up.”

“Yes sir!”

Saluting in agreement, the girl then sat back down with a wide smile. Iida chopped his hand as he no doubt reprimanded her for speaking out of turn despite how he was technically doing the same thing. It was times like these that Izuku wished his seat was closer to where his friends were rather than straight behind Bakugo and in front of Mineta.

Scrunching his face up slightly in thought, Izuku broke out of it the moment that Aizawa began to speak again.

“About four years back there was an incident wherein the U.A student files were released into the public.” Izuku remembered that scandal. Remembered how a former staff member had sold students' personal information out for extra money which had then led to the critical injury of two third-year students and one first-year by Villains who had targeted weak points in their Quirks. Izuku remembers how the Hero had their licence stripped in the largest court case he’d ever seen published online before. How that Hero had been scrubbed from all databases, left jailed and banned from ever possessing a Quirk licence again. 

“And what you students may not perhaps know, is that the former Hero Nightlight actually stole the student's physical files during the U.A gala. An event we are bringing back in three weeks' time where we will be-”

“WHERE WE, AS THE TEACHERS OF U.A WILL BE INVITING A LARGE GUEST LIST OF HIGH-RANKED HEROES FOR THE LARGEST DISPLAY OF JAPANESE HERO CULTURE THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN!”

Izuku let out a wide-eyed shriek as Midnight burst through their doors with a bang, slightly reminiscent of when she had come in to help with their Hero names but instead with far more enthusiasm. Koda had also let out a yelp, his paper falling to the floor which set off a chain reaction of Tokoyami releasing Dark Shadow with a squawk who flew out to hit Kaminari in the back of his head, Jirou choking on her own laughter as the other boy let out a burst of electricity in fright which coincidentally hit Mina next to him. The two of them then convulsed for a few short seconds before finally falling still. A slight strain of drool formed at Kaminari’s mouth.

For a moment, blessed silence perpetrated the room as students huffed from the shock of it all, and just out of relief it wasn’t a Villain attack for once.

Aizawa’s eyes were shrouded in darkness as Midnight sweat dropped. One hand rose to the back of her neck as she let out a grimacing smile at the chaos she’d caused.

“Jeez… I, uh, didn’t mean to burst in too loudly?”

A soft ‘you think?’ Came from what suspiciously was Aizawa’s direction, but Midnight was quick to fall back into good cheer again.

But Izuku still felt himself reeling from the knowledge that U.A was going to be having its formerly annual Gala again.

Midnight cracked her whip against her hand, causing Mineta behind him to make a strange gasping noise he did not want to think much about.

“For those naughty students who may not know about the U.A Gala-” someone muttered something along the lines of ‘as if’- “It used to be one of the MOST acclaimed celebrations in Japan! With all sorts of Heroes attending, namely the top ten at any time, as well as many high-rankers from other countries such as America or China. The Gala in itself is a black tie event where we at U.A show off our greatest monetary possessions and other historical assets of Japan!”

Students now began to sit forwards in their seats. A faint popping coming from Bakugo and quiet whispering began to start, but Izuku felt his eyes hooked onto Midnight.

One of the most, if not the largest gatherings of famously powerful Heroes. Probably an even bigger expo than what is held on I-Island, if not only because most of the more powerful members of Japan would attend. Not even just Heroes themselves, despite that being what the Gala was focused on, but also almost every high-level worker of the Hero Commission coming around to broker peace with Nedzu by showing off their country’s rich culture.

And the sheer amount of Quirks that would be around-

Izuku had to stop himself quickly before he began salivating at the thought of so many Quirks to analyse.

But why would they be bringing this up to them in class? Midnight must be drowning in work as the teacher of modern Hero art history, thus probably being one of the coordinators of the event along with the Principal, so why would she bring it up to them in class if it weren’t for-

“As you students must know by now, the Gala is only to be attended by invitation only. No invitations can be just ‘brought online’ due to the highly sensitive amount of riches we show off.” Being cut off from his train of thoughts, Izuku zoned in once again to wait in anticipation as Midnight only grew more enthusiastic at the idea of historical items on display.

“However, there is another part to the whole ‘invitation only’ aspect. One that we generally don’t release to the public, and will be having you sign a non-disclosure agreement later in the day.”

The classroom began to chitter about what the NDA could be for, but he had a slight suspicion. Izuku’s hands felt weak as Midnight’s grin practically took over her full face as she snapped her whip and gave out a pose.

“All U.A students have a special invite to the Gala!”

And the class utterly erupted .

Kaminari and Mina hugged each other and even Todoroki looked slightly surprised. Uraraka was floating in the air and Izuku couldn’t wait to go and finally get to see what sort of Quirks were on display and what Heroes would be around there anyways? Would their teachers all be going? Would All Might be there even in his weakened form? Endeavor never missed a chance at a ball or celebration run even slightly by the Hero Commission so did that mean he’d be there as well?! Poor Todoroki if so. But which American Heroes would be there?! It would probably be just like the I-Island expo but even more selective and high-class.

“Oh! But that’s not all, while you Hero students get a free pass no matter what, we’d also like to offer you a full-time position as security for the event due to the prices of all the artefacts we have on display!” Uraraka practically drooled in her seat at the thought of how much the items could go for. “We’d like to encourage all of you to take the jobs as well!”

If possible, the classroom was even more alert now, and Aizawa took over from where Midnight had left off. “Security will be getting some real behind-the-scenes experiences of the event in itself, as well as the fact this will give you experience for the more stationary side of Heroics. Protecting a targeted area. As well as that, all students who do succeed in security will not have to do their practicals for the next final exams. You will be graded, however, so don’t think just attending is an automatic pass.”

And that was exactly what a room full of teenagers wanted to hear. The yelling got even louder and soon enough it was a struggle to hear their teacher handing out resource packets on their responsibilities if they take up the role or not.

Izuku couldn’t help but gaze down at his own packet. His mind was shockingly quiet for once.

Before he knew it, class was let out. A happy buzz going through all his classmates as they remarked upon what they would be wearing or whether or not they’d be taking the job as security.

“I mean- I need this, don’t you think?! I don’t think I’d be able to do another round of those remedial lessons Aizawa gave us at the camp…”

“Kaminari, you guys barely even got one night of those lessons! How could you be so afraid of it happening again when you didn't even need to do the work last time?”

“Man, just the one lesson we did was hard enough for me! I think I'd honestly just rather have another Villain attack rather than go through that whole thing again-”

“Deku-Kun! Aren’t you also just so excited about this thing?!”

Uraraka bounced over to him with Iida in tow. The other floundered around as he was dragged across the classroom. Izuku blushed slightly, mind still stuck on the idea of how many Heroes there would be to talk to.

“I just- I just can’t even imagine all the Heroes who would be there! Oh, do you think Godzillo would be there?! He was at the I-Island exp after all so I would assume he attends Japanese parties even after moving to America… oh! Unless I’m just assuming and the expo was just a coincidence but even then still -”

“Midoriya!” Iida startled him out of his mumbling with fright and the other pushed up his glasses, hand chopping beside him while their female friend stifled her laughter.

“While it is admirable to have such appreciation for Heroics I must simply stop you at once before you go off on a mumbling stream again!”

Uraraka couldn’t hold it in anymore and began laughing. One hand quite literally slapped her knee in a display of over-the-top dramatism as Iida’s hands continued to chop- what was with his friends and really exaggerated movement?! Izuku murmured an apology as his embarrassment grew even further. What was it today with him and going off a tangent today?! Guess they really did make a good team.

The thought made him feel warm. It was just amazing to have friends. Nice to be able to spend time with other people who actually for once liked him.

But wasn’t that just sad though? His first actual friends since primary school and they were only friends with him because of One for All. If he’d never gotten a Quirk he would have remained as Quirkless Deku. That worthless freak who stuttered and mumbled and wrote in creepy notebooks when nobody was watching. But did a Quirk really change anything?

“Anyways-” Uraraka said while wiping an imaginary tear from her eye, “What do you think about the whole Gala thing!”

Iida puffed out his chest, glasses practically shining in the fluorescent lights. “I think it is an amazing opportunity that we cannot simply just forgo! The fundraising part of the event is also quite admirable in particular, and as Heroes in training, I believe this event may be a great way for us to cement our positions in Hero society!”

“Ooo, you make a great point!” Uraraka turnt to Iida. “But still, you must have been to the event before, right? Like- as a young heir to the Iidaten throne and all that! What was it all like?”

A meagre blush covered Iida’s features as he turned away. Both Uraraka and Izuku now staring at him in anticipation with wide eyes.

“I… well I must admit I haven't exactly been to the Gala before.” Uraraka let out an exaggerated gasp, hand flying to her mouth.

“They never invited you?! But Iidaten is so large- and famous !”

“Typically, only fully registered Heroes and other government officials are invited.”

Izuku turned to the newcomer, a smile beginning to beam out from over his face. “Todoroki-Kun! So even the families don’t get invited at all?”

Uraraka gasped once again, Iida next to her looking slightly put off that Todoroki had even joined the conversation in the first place. “So do you mean to say that even you haven’t gone?! Like- as the son of the Number One Hero?!”

Todoroki shrugged, a slight flinch rolling off of his shoulders as his father was mentioned before the flinch was gone as if nothing were ever there. “Even if I were All Might’s son I wouldn’t have been allowed to attend. As it is a celebration of Heroes, the security measures are fierce, and even if Endeavor had done everything he could to sneak me in… I doubt I would have gotten near the doors.”

So security was that harsh? How would they be adjusting it because of the league? Maybe there were sensors for body heat and motion so that people like Hagakure couldn’t sneak past, or that a Quirk was in constant use to see the number of people in one area at a time so even that Mr Compress guy’s Quirk wouldn’t be able to hide a life source? They’d have to have security screening for people who aren’t who they’d say they are like Himiko Toga and any other shapeshifters, but even then did that mean it was a system fully developed on Quirks?

As his friends continued to speak, Izuku continued to zone out. His mind moved a mile per minute as he automatically listed down potential Hero candidates who would be attending. Whether or not the majority would be from Japan.

The only reason for the continuation of the Gala was to gain reputation for the school after they’d failed to protect students from multiple Villain attacks.

None of them realised the shadowy figure that was steadily growing closer and closer until-

“What the hell are the four of you still doing in my classroom? Go back to the dorms and talk there so I can sleep.” Uraraka jumped as Aizawa appeared behind her, Izuku jerking back to reality alongside her as Iida instantly began to heat up at the embarrassment of taking up the precious time of a teacher.

But before the other could even utter one word of apology, Aizawa raised his hand to cut them all off. His face looked unbelievably tired for one moment as their teacher seemingly regretted all of his life choices.

“Just leave my classroom. And quietly , please.”

Just as the four of them began to exit, all three of them humbled except for Todoroki because seriously this guy never gets embarrassed- they were stopped once again.

“Wait. Problem child, hang back for a moment. I have a job for you.”

Oh. He was stopped.

Signalling for the others to carry on ahead of him, Izuku was suddenly very conscious of the fact that he was now alone in the classroom with his Sensei. Had he done something wrong?!

Uraraka exited last and with one final salute, shut the door behind her. Now it was just him, the silence of a normally obnoxiously loud room, and his very menacing teacher.

“I’m not that scary problem child.”

Izuku let out a yelp, covering his mouth as his eyes flew wide in embarrassment while his teacher merely snorted.

“You didn’t mumble anything, I could just tell what you were thinking from the way you looked. You really need to get sorted on fixing that whole ‘open book’ thing you have going on Midoriya or else one day a Villain may start to get ideas.”

He shuffled around his feet in silence as Aizawa sat back down at his desk. His signature yellow sleeping bag slowly rose up to cover his figure like the world's most hellish cocoon.

After a few more seconds of silence, he snapped. “Y-you wanted to talk to me? Aizawa-Sensei?” That stammering also must have gotten on his teacher's nerves he was just so useless -

“Not me. I said I have a job for you, and I do.” Rubbing between eyes once again- was it because of persistent pain due to his Quirk?- His teacher once again began to speak.

“Nedzu told me to tell whoever the last person in the classroom was to go to his office for a quick talk. That if there were a group of people, then to go by the person ranked last in class seating order. Knowing that rat bastard though, he’s already intentionally calculated that it was going to be you, and wants to talk about a mistake on your file or something in private. Just head up to the teacher's lounge and go three doors down if you don’t know where it is.”

By now, the sleeping bag had risen over his features to surround his face. Izuku is in the odd situation of looking as if he were in conversation with a giant mutated worm.

“Anyways, he told me to get whoever the student was to bring him up some papers I have in my desk drawer, so I’ll hand them to you and then I want you out of my classroom so I can sleep. Got it?”

Izuku nodded furiously and fumbled as his teacher handed him an entire briefcase full of papers. The weight of the item being oddly heavy for such a small bag.

And Izuku was on his way. Shutting the classroom door behind him, but not before Aizawa could pull the cord of his bag to fully cover his face except for a small hole to breathe out of, and then flopped to the floor.

Since when has his life become this crazy? And in only three weeks he would be attending a celebration for some of the brightest minds and best Heroes in all of Japan, and probably the world !

So the question was this. Why did Nedzu need him at all?

He could cross something about All Might off of his list. Even as one of the only people who knew about One for All, it wasn’t as if Nedzu was all too interested in such a Quirk himself. Or maybe it really was because of a mistake in his files! But no he wouldn’t need to be called up to the office for something just as small as that… and even if any other principal would call on him to ask about whether or not his Quirk status was correct as Quirkless, Nedzu once again knew of One for All. So what really was this whole thing about?

Izuku quietly rapped three times on the mammal's doors before he almost immediately heard a soft clicking of mechanical gears to signal the door was no longer fully locked.

And as he walked past the two facing together blue couches, the office chair spun around to reveal the Principal himself

“Am I a dog, a mouse or a bear? More importantly... I'm the principal!” Beady black eyes fixated on Izuku as a tear of sweat slowly dripped down the back of his neck. Any hope of Aizawa being wrong about Nedzu specifically wanting him to visit going down the drain.

The perpetual smile on the creature’s face widened slowly as he took in the fear Izuku must have been producing as Nedzu stood up. “Why don’t we take a seat for this, shall we?” The smile grew more sadistic in nature, and Izuku gulped. Quickly settling down onto the worn couch which viewed the door. Being careful not to take his eyes off Nedzu as he grabbed a remote and metal shutters slowly began to descend down from every window.

Was he about to die here?!

Eventually, the dog/rat/bear sat down on the opposite couch and sipped a cup of tea Izuku hadn’t seen in his hand earlier.

The tea was still piping hot too. Steam trailed from the top of the cup as the hybrid sipped.

They were left in uncomfortable silence for what was probably a full minute. Izuku choosing not to disturb Nedzu as he continued finishing off the tea.

… The boiling hot tea might he add. 

Only when the cup was totally empty did Nedzu look up at him, and have his smile grow wider. Setting the cup upon a placemat, the other then looked over him for a moment. 

“You’re an interesting person, Izuku Midoriya. Don’t you know that?” A ding occurred, and suddenly another cup had risen from the table full with new tea. The hybrid caressed it in his paws, before looking back up to Izuku who had frozen. “I mean, one out of the three hundred and forty-four Japanese kids of whom are all Quirkless just happens to meet one of the two men who could pass along a Quirk- and not just any Quirk, mind you, but maybe one of the most powerful Quirks the world has ever seen from one of the most powerful Heroes the world has ever seen. I mean, the odds of that are truly phenomenal!”

Izuku jolted back. Thinking about where this could be headed. Was Nedzu actually suspicious of him?! Or was there another unknown factor leading to just why they were currently having this conversation-

The mammal chuckled to himself, once again placing searingly black eyes on Izuku’s own which made him flinch back.

“And not only just a Quirkless kid but one of the few who has dreams of becoming a Hero with a great mind to boot! As you very well must know the unemployment rate for Quirkless folk is at an astounding seventy-eight percent! Not to mention the suicide rate for Quirkless kids being at the highest rate ever seen at about forty-three percent itself. This in turn is the highest in Japan of all places! This heightens the further south-east one travels… You were born in Musutafu, right Midoriya-Kun? Right around the centre of Japanese Heroics. At about the Musutafu area, I would raise that forty-three percent chance to a sixty-five myself. And what interesting statistics are those.”

Izuku felt his hands beginning to tremble. Where was Nedzu going with this? Was he trying to probe some kind of information from him? Best to remain curious. Don’t show that he’s thinking about where this could be headed otherwise Nedzu may find whatever he's looking for if he hasn't already.

“N-Nedzu-Sensei? What are you-”

“Why don’t we drop the honorifics here, Midoriya. I have a task for you, and while I may be humble enough to understand I am not the smartest person in the world, I am also realistic enough to know that I am one of them so why don’t we cut to the chase here to not waste time.”

And just like that, Izuku now had an inkling of what was going on. Nedzu wanted something only he could give, and since All Might wasn’t here it likely wasn’t to do with One for All which meant the only thing this could be alluding to could mean-

“This is something a-about the Gala… right, sir?” He mumbled under his breath and knew it’d been the right choice to reveal he had an idea from the smile which only grew over his principal’s face.

“Why Midoriya, you are exactly right” Beady eyes turned sharp, and all of a sudden there was a projector screen lowering down to the right of them. While Izuku didn’t jump himself, he let out a short squeal of shock as the rumbling noise began to take place. Nedzu raises an eye at him, but otherwise takes short sips of his tea.

“While you may know of our more… acclaimed artefacts such as the Copper epitaph of Funashi Ōgo, or the first Quirked copy of the Rosetta Stone to match that which lies within the British Museum, there are a few more items of which we at U.A are particularly proud of holding.” On the screen, two side-by-side pictures were shown of an old rusted copper sheet, and then what he almost thought was a tableau which must have been the copy of the very famous Rosetta Stone.

“However, those of us who are ‘in the know’ of things are aware of a far greater prize that is held within our walls.”

And suddenly, a painting came to the screen's surface.

Izuku really couldn’t tell what made him feel like this, but that painting felt anguished . It was a video that was playing very obviously, but the scene shown on the painting's surface was somehow heart-wrenching. Hands outreached grasped and flailed towards the sky as the hellish landscape the hands were reaching from grew up into a heavenly land of clouds as angels and cherubs waltzed in the painting oil, entirely unaware as to what was going on beneath them.

Or perhaps, judging from the three cherubs that lay off to the far left of the canvas who were descending down only to throw one of the owners of the outreached hands from their paradise of clouds, the angels and cherubs were simply just ignoring what was going on below them.

While he had been trapped in thought, Nedzu stood up on the table and walked over to the screen showing them the earthlike scene. His face was unusually solemn for one so normally unbothered by the nature of humans.

“This, Midoriya, is the piece ‘Chiedendo Perdono Alle Porte Dell'Inferno’ by Isaia Marchetti. Or when translated into English, “Asking Forgiveness At The Gates Of Hell”. Otherwise known as ‘The Gates of Hell’ painting.”

The two of them sat in silence for a few moments longer. Izuku felt his gaze enraptured by the piece. His eyes were unable to tear away, even when the video of the moving paint froze for a moment, before turning back to the beginning. Angels once again moving to an unheard waltz.

After one more replay of the entire scene, Izuku had to tear his mind off of the awfully tragic painting and look towards his principal, who was still staring up at the piece. His mouth set into a firm and straight line as he seemingly pondered the work.

“Why… why is it so…”

He struggled for words before Nedzu slowly spoke.

“Agonised?”

Afraid that words would fail him, Izuku simply nodded.

Letting out a sigh, Nedzu clicked off the screen which returned to a blank state. The two of them now left together without the painting to distract them both.

“This painting…” Nedzu began before a grimace fell over his face. Unused to such an open display of emotion from his principal, Izuku blinked at the other in shock.

“Isaia was the first Quirked painter in history. Not assumed, but the true first Quirked artist in the world. As a refugee from the Italian/Austrian war she’d seen true violence and experienced much of it herself as the war was not kind to her, nor her family.” The mammal scratched the side of his snout before continuing onwards. “And when she painted her first piece of just what she had experienced, her Quirk was discovered as one of the first in existence. A Quirk to impart all of one's emotional status into whatever work they created, or so we assume. Etched into the back of the piece are the words ‘If there is a God, he will have to beg for my forgiveness’. This is believed to be a homage to old writings found at the sight of the Holocaust, and was also believed to be the last thing she ever wrote before being put to death.”

It took Izuku moments to even fathom the pure magnitude of those words. But even then, just why was Nedzu showing him this? Why was he allowing Izuku an insight into this tragic visualisation of someone's pain?

“Why… Why are you showing me this? Is there a point to all of this? What are- what are you wanting me to do ?”

A bead of frustration bled into his last words, but Nedzu didn’t even blink. Cupping the tea in his paw with his fur on end and ears pointing upwards.

The mammal sent a solemn look. His eyes locked with Izuku’s as he spoke.

“In three weeks the Gala will occur, and in three weeks I want you to rob U.A blind .”

Izuku blinked a few times, rubbed at his eyes, and then blinked again while jolting up to his feet. “I’m sorry, you want me to do what ?!”

Nedzu just grinned smartly. Sipping from his tea- but seriously he wanted him to do what?!

Smiling in what inevitably must have looked like a grimace, Izuku sat back down on his couch. “I’m- I’m sorry sir, but I must have misheard-” 

“Oh, no worries! You never misheard a thing actually, unless you didn’t hear the words ‘I’m wanting you to rob U.A’ after all. If you heard something else then yes, you would be correct in being under the assumption that you have misheard my intentions!”

And the menace of a school teacher just crossed his legs elegantly as if he hadn’t just proposed the most preposterous thing Izuku had heard in his life.

Rob U.A ? At one of the most hyped-up and elite events in the whole of Japan?! An event, mind him, that would be filled only by either the strongest people, strongest Quirks and most influential and wealthy politicians who practically shadow-governed their entire society?!

Nedzu wanted him , Izuku Midoriya, to rob his own school-

And that was the biggest question in his mind. Why was one of the smartest creatures in the world wanting a simple first-year Heroics student to rob his own event?

“Why…” He’d begun without thinking, face scrunching up in thought. “Why are you wanting a student to rob your own school of stuff you already own?”

Nedzu’s grin stiffened for a moment, and for a second Izuku hoped that his principal had discovered reason, before once again that sadistic glare came to the other’s eye. Izuku shuffled as his teacher began to speak.

“Why, you do have a point there, Midoriya. Why would I be wanting to recruit a simple student such as you to rob a school that I govern? You are certainly correct about it not making much sense in those regards, but would you mind so terribly if I were to explain to you my situation at the moment?”

Nodding at the mammal, still slightly shocked, Nedzu took it as his moment to continue on.

“Now, put yourself in my shoes. You may just be able to relate to some of this, so I will be brief. You’ve been hurt by humans. Many times in fact and every time has been a conscious effort on behalf of the human or humans in general. Most students do know the rumour of me being a lab subject, but did you in fact know that this is very much not just a rumour?” Izuku absently nodded, causing the chimera to get a sadistic look in his eyes.

It was probably best to just gloss over how Nedzu said he may be able to relate to some parts of his history, Izuku thought, but nonetheless, he felt his hands curl up into fists. Nails dragging across taunt skin piercingly.

“So you’ve been hurt by humans before, but then something happened. An event that changed your whole life around, and now you have struggled up to the top of the very same society which used to put you down. You understand this, right Midoriya?” And Nedzu gave him a glance to which Izuku looked away. Eyes focused on the nearest object in the room of which happened to be the screen which was still pulled down.

Nedzu hummed in acknowledgement, probably taking from that what he would. “And then after a lucrative career- and this is where the similarities veer off for us hopefully, you find yourself at the end of your time doing what you enjoy. Not death just yet, but facing a sort of forced retirement.”

Wait, so Nedzu was being forced into retirement ?!

The thought of U.A without the mammal as their principal felt off. Nedzu had been running U.A from even All Might’s time, and supposedly should be able to spend around twenty or so more years as their principal without too much of a fuss.

But forced retirement? When the creature clearly didn’t want to retire himself?

“Ah yes, forced retirement. You are correct in your assumption that I certainly wish to retire on my own terms rather than the Hero Commission’s, but here we are.”

Izuku’s eyes widened. His hands released from their fists as he brought in the information.

The Hero Public Safety Commission was trying to get Nedzu to retire? The H.P.S.C ?!

Yes, it was true that Nedzu and the H.P.S.C had fought in the past, from Nedzu’s rule changes differentiating from those which the Commission had wished to put into place, to how the Commission simply just refused to take U.A’s side in events such as the USJ disaster or the press conferences held after their failed training camp, but to think they were actively trying to get Nedzu kicked from his job?!

Well, it made a disturbing amount of sense.

After all, how was it that Endeavor still held the number one spot as a Hero? There had to be medical documents from the number of times he’d hurt Todoroki. How was it that so many Heroes in the line of duty became corrupt? The sheer amount of Heroes that had been working directly under the control of the Commission who would proceed to become Villains? Not even to mention the fact that the employees of the H.P.S.C were politicians and practically governed the whole of Japan.

As he was thinking, Nedzu let out a quiet chuckle, setting down his second finished cup of tea for another one once again to pop out from whatever mechanism was a part of his office table. “I see you are able to understand just how serious this problem is, aren't you Midoriya?”

Izuku looked back up at the mammal, cringing softly at the piercing look which was fixated on him.

“I… I have some questions, if you don’t mind.”

And the principal’s grin grew wider. “Why, of course, Midoriya! Do ask anything you wish to have clarification on.” Nedzu rubbed his hands together, brushing off his suit as if it'd ever been dirty in the first place. “I will attempt to answer all of them as truthfully as possible.”

He started off first with the question that was most plaguing his mind at the moment. “So- uh- why do you want me to steal something from you? I don’t exactly understand how all of this relates to your… um, current problem?”

Nedzu’s eyes grew sharper as a faraway look came to his face. “My, I never truly did explain to you just what the point was here about your new objective- although, I would never truly force a student into doing something that they are so against! Allow me to explain what I can.”

Izuku shuffled around to get more comfortable as his principal began to explain.

“If things go the way that the Hero Commission plans for them to go, I will be announcing my retirement just after the Gala. While their threat to remove funding from the school would impact our resources, I have made enough calculated investments to make sure that anything in those regards would only affect us minutely. No, the true kicker here is this .”

Nedzu shuffled forward with the most serious look in his eyes that Izuku had ever seen from the creature, making him flinch back by a millimetre. “Reputation. The H.P.S.C will send out a missive to all the top Heroes and other figures in the limelight to force them into denouncing the school if they are wanting their jobs.”

That made so much sense . U.A was the most popular school in Asia for all Heroics students based on the reasoning that high-ranked Heroes often remarked on it as being the reason for their quick succession up to the top! Izuku unfolded his legs and distractedly began to tap his foot against the couch he sat on.

All Might may or may not still be held in quite high esteem, but if even just Endeavor denounced U.A as being a fraudulent lie or being unsafe, which had in all honesty been declared by the numerous amount of Villain attacks they had faced so far this year, what would be stopping the most powerful corporation in Japan from taking over their curriculum?!

What would be stopping the H.P.S.C from finding out about One for All? 

He didn’t want to be trained however Hawks was. Didn’t want to be brought up in a school other than U.A either. This place had become his home - but if Nedzu thought that would be enough to force him into saving the principal's failing career then he would have another thing coming.

“And- and how does that tie into the whole stealing thing?”

Instead of actually answering him for once, because why on earth would Nedzu ever give a clear answer?! The principal sighed. Looking down at his paws contemplatively.

“Are you aware, by chance, of the recent overhauling of the Commission’s structure?”

Yes, he did know this one. Probably everyone knew this one! What did it have to do with what Nedzu wanted from him? “The appointment of Nishimoto to the head of the H.P.S.C? Or do you mean their recent change in laws for public Quirk usage?”

Nedzu clapped his hands together in glee which caused Izuku to give the mammal a concerned look. “The first one of those, but it is truly wondrous to know that the youth of today are still so interested in laws and other boring subjects!” Izuku blushed at the praise while slightly hurt to think that his own principal of a school thought laws were boring- oh wait, never mind. With all the things their class had gotten away with it actually made a lot of sense.

“Yes, Mr Isao Nishimoto kept it quite quiet in the papers so I would doubt too many of your peers who are not as motivated as you are to go over current events would know that the former Madam President is no longer in charge. While Madam herself was quite the interesting person herself, I regret to say that Commissioner President Nishimoto is rather… inspired by Madam’s predecessor. Perhaps a bit too inspired when one thinks about just what drastic actions he took thinking it would make things right.”

Something was off about Nedzu, Izuku noticed silently. Maybe there was a draft, but the mammal’s hair was sticking up on end whenever he mentioned that predecessor to the newly-former President.

A horrible thought came to his mind, which Izuku attempted to shut down the moment it even occurred to him, because if Nedzu had never publicly released who had conducted whatever horrible experiments he had gone through, then who was to say it was even a Villain organisation in the first place?

“But yes-” Izuku zoned back in as Nedzu continued talking “Mr Nishimoto has some very specialised view on what a Hero should be like, and an uncombative non-human like me fits the bill quite cleanly. The Gala will be his first public appearance as a representative of the H.P.S.C, and it is then I have decided to strike.”

This probably had something to do with the whole ‘rob U.A’ thing, so Izuku straightened up to listen.

“The H.P.S.C will be fully funding all security for the event, and when I convinced them to remain with having all of their Heroes stay non-lethal in case of a break in, they responded as to how U.A was only being broken into as it wasn’t under their control. That their security would be better than just an animal playing at being human.”

The mammal was practically spitting out his words now. A smile still stretched over his face despite the sheer amount of anger and sadism on the creature's face at the moment. 

“It would be an event very reminiscent of our old ‘Civil War’ exam. A team led by one student tasked with facing Heroes at their own game. If you can succeed in taking the task items I will be assigning for you to steal, and all you need to do is remove them beyond the borders of U.A, of course, then you will be able to save this school from H.P.S.C control. It is as simple as that.”

And the room was silent.

Izuku was internally panicking as sweat ran down his neck because it wasn’t just as simple as that!

Stealing a painting that supposedly was on full display in front of the greatest security Japan has probably ever seen before, with Heroes and other powerful figures surrounding him every move, was practically impossible for him. He would mess up in one second and then boom ! The entire Hero force would catch him, and while at least Nedzu would be a cover for why he was doing such a thing, it still meant that the biggest Heroic organisation in the entirety of Asia wouldn’t hold him in very high regard. You know, the organisation of which he has already clarified is basically a shadow government for his entire country. The moment he was churned out of High School then he’d be denied a Heroics licence! Or perhaps even worse…

Wait… Nedzu had said he’d be stealing task items . Items with an s- were there going to be multiple things he had to steal?!

“It is very intriguing to hear the signature Midoriya mutter storm myself, I must say! And yes, you do bring up some very valid points.”

Yelping softly upon realising he’d been talking out loud for just who knows how long- Izuku began to stutter out an apology.

“I-I’m so sorry Nedzu-Sensei, but I- I don’t think I would be able to even touch the painting without being caught!” He heaved, but the mammal simply took his cup of tea and sipped softly in thought.

“I think I may have something to ease some of your doubts. May I elaborate?” Izuku nodded eagerly, relieved to be getting any clarification in the slightest.

“Now, I’ll give you some insight into what you’d be dealing with, if you so choose to take this mission, and I will also answer some of your questions. Firstly, the H.P.S.C are not as blind to this as you’d think.”

Izuku straightened up to attention as the popup screen turned on once more. This time, an image being portrayed of a sallow black-haired adult standing up on the screen. Two lines of grey neatly ran across the sides of his head to match the purple-tinted suit he was wearing.

It would be an image of an otherwise average man if Izuku didn’t happen to know that this was the new face of the Hero Public Safety Commission, a Mr Isao Nishimoto. Otherwise known as the President of the H.P.S.C.

“Me and Mr Nishimoto, while having our differences, have made a deal of sorts. Think of this deal almost as relating to the saying of making a ‘deal with the devil’.”

Nedzu stood up on the small coffee side table once again with a rectangular remote in his grasp with buttons to presumably control the screen's functionality. Clicking a button with a forward-facing arrow on it, Nedzu changed the image on the screen to show a closer image of the man with a scowl on his face. A security detail of regular guards and two Heroes accompanied him as he walked in the rain towards an incoming black vehicle.

“While keeping it hidden from the rest of the Commission, I managed to broker a deal with Nishimoto that if his security were to fail while holding U.A’s most prized possession I would be able to spend the rest of my years as principal. He is aware that I will be hiring a sort of help to steal the painting, and that said help is only allowed to be a student of our esteemed school. Think of it as a test to see whether or not my teaching has been sufficient over the years.”

The slides changed to a press conference where the former Madam President conducted her business while Nishimoto stood off to the side, otherwise unassuming, and Izuku was hooked . He was undeniably, without a doubt, hooked . 

He was fucked, wasn’t he?

“The only problem with this deal, however, is that as principal I would have to adhere to the rules of the H.P.S.C. Either way, if I take the deal or not, U.A would be under their control. So my solution? Steal every one of U.A’s most valuable treasures!” 

The slideshow switched to a blank screen, the white light reflecting off of Nedzu’s face in an honestly terrifying way.

So why wasn’t Izuku scared?

He knew fear. Knew that fear hid in school hallways, in loud noises, and in people in particular. That fear could surround a person in its suffocating embrace as if a blanket or a noose. He’d experienced fear far too many times to count in his lifetime, and wasn’t that just a sobering thought?

This feeling… the hot flush which lay stagnant by his cheeks, the desire to grab an empty notebook and fill it with plans and ideas and blueprints-

Izuku Midoriya wasn't just excited, he was obsessed .

He felt more invigorated to do something than he had in a while. He needed to do this just as much as he’d needed to save Iida in Hosu, or Todoroki during the Sports Festival. He was looking at the slime Villain with Kacchan in his clutches, but instead of being only him it was every single one of his friends and teachers. It was his family and the slime Villain wore the face of a bureaucrat.

While Izuku thought, Nedzu began to switch from slide after slide. Each one showing a target he’d have to acquire as the mammal explained each item.

“First of all, there is ‘The Gates Of Hell’ painting which is your number one main priority.” Somehow, Nedzu had gotten a laser pointer and was proceeding to point out details of the slide pictures that came up again. “It is your prerogative to get this out of the building at all costs before the end of the Gala comes to be. An added bonus to make things easier for you is that we keep the painting hidden behind curtains before its final unveiling to make sure that our guests and guard do not get so distracted by the work that they forgo anything else. I would recommend that you do not watch the painting too closely on the day!”

And of course there was such a high risk of danger from perhaps one of the easiest parts of the whole mission, actually carrying the painting. That is to say if he ever got that far. But Nedzu carried onward, Izuku watching on in pure concentration.

“Now the next item is the ‘Cullinan Blood Rose’. A necklace crafted from the remnants of a pre-Quirk era necklace worth millions of dollars that was ruined during World War Three. To justify why it is in our showcase of Hero and Quirk-related pieces, I can tell you that it was made by a Quirk-mad gentleman with the idea of creating a Philosopher's stone of sorts from some of the most expensive jewels in the world!”

The screen switched to show a beautifully sculpted piece of jewellery. Probably hundreds of diamonds were layered over the intricate woven silver designs on silk, but the most eye-catching feature by far were the red stones held in the middle of all of it.

It was strangely tragic and was the first thing Izuku thought of at the sight of it. Just like the painting, it filled him with a sense of awe and tragedy. Much like he’d imagine watching one of Shakespeare’s plays would feel like. But despite this fact, the ruby- or was it some other sort of stone? That could be important he’d have to find out some time- was ginormous. Large to the point where he couldn’t imagine any person off the street just wearing one of these in any capacity unless they were to have some kind of strength Quirk.

“This necklace is held within one of our vaults beneath the school, however, it will be brought up to a new and ‘better secured’ cell if the H.P.S.C are correct in their security measures effectiveness. This will remain inside the cell, however, and the only access allowed into the general area will be for trained Hero Commission agents and top Hero. As the new number one, Endeavor will be receiving the honours of viewing it towards the night’s end. You will need to take it out before he notices something is off and has a chance to detain you.”

“Uh, Nedzu-Sensei? Sorry, but I have a quick question.” The principal paused and nodded agreeably, so he went on. A bit of a nervous glint in his eyes as he spoke. “Sir, why can we not switch them out beforehand, and then reveal the robbery afterwards? If it’d be so difficult, I mean. Wouldn’t just- just taking them out first make things so much easier?!”

Nedzu seemed… oddly appreciative of his foresight and continued to nod agreeably. “Yes, you would be absolutely correct about that, Midoriya! The only problem, however, is that before we even start the Gala for every day of the week beforehand, and even then on the day of the actual Gala itself, there will be H.P.S.C workers going to check on our items! Most likely they are doing this to prevent the very event you suggested too, which would make swapping them beforehand entirely impossible.”

Izuku sighed grimly, his mind working a mile a minute, as the screen began to swap again to once more show the face of Commissioner Nishimoto.

“Now, the next item for you to obtain is arguably the hardest.”

Izuku snapped to full attention, eyes wide in disbelief. How much worse could it get from an unstealable painting and secured to high heaven necklace?!

“This item could be anything, but I want you to take a personal item from Mr Nishimoto’s possession. An object of which preferably means a lot to him.”

He could have fainted on the spot. An item he had to take directly from the man who would probably be the most secure guy in the entire building . Somehow, Izuku would have to take something the man treasured from him. Maybe the watch? No, that was too easy for everyone to see- And what other sort of important item could he have on him? A wallet ?!”

Nedzu grimaced down at him in understanding but Izuku was certain the mammal had no idea at all just how heavy this weighed over his soul. Three items so far though, so what else could be next?

“Finally, however, I need you to steal a private document from the H.P.S.C’s files. A private document of important details which has never been released to the public before, and there are extra points to be had if it is one even I haven’t come across before!”

Oh. So Nedzu actually did want him dead.

As Izuku lay on the blue couch with his soul practically leaking out from his body, Nedzu shut down the hanging screen. The projector slowly moved up and into the ceiling as the room lights turned on again.

Nedzu sat down on his couch and stared contemplatively down at his tea, before finally setting it aside. The cup was still half full.

Izuku still couldn’t believe it though. He was expected to do so many things , and literally all of them would be against his moral code. Why was he even doing this? To save his school from an evil dictatorial government facility?!

“Why yes, but of course I will offer you some very heavy incentives for each task that you manage to complete.”

Izuku let out a shriek and fell over to the side. Somehow, his principal had snuck up on him and was now standing on the leftmost side of his couch and had his whiskers practically an inch away from his face.

Straightening up, as if he hadn’t just given Izuku a heart attack by listening into another muttering fit apparently, the mammal then sat down disturbingly close to Izuku so that they were almost touching. His furry brow scrunched up in thought.

“First of all, I am not so heartless as to make you do all of this alone. In one night all that I’ve given you would almost certainly be entirely impossible! You will be the sole one in charge of whatever crew you pull together, however, I must say. No spurring off leadership duties!” Izuku let out a sigh of relief. His body absently shuffled away from the hybrid who sat next to him. Honestly, on close inspection, it seemed almost as if the mammal’s main biology was suited towards being a rat. The whiskers were a main indicative sample as no bear or dog would have such long and luxurious whiskers. Or maybe he could be a mouse? No, because a mouse would have much larger ears than his principal and the shoes indicated larger feet than a mouse would have in proportion to its size. Aside from that, however, the tail did suggest some genetic interference. But he was getting off-topic!

“So… so I don’t have to do this alone? I could ask if All Might-Sensei would be able to help me or if I could get Todoroki-Kun to- ""I’m going to have to stop you right there unfortunately, Midoriya.”

Izuku looked at the rodent beside him questioningly, as the other smiled supportively at him. “I cannot risk any teachers apart from us to know about these circumstances.” Just as Izuku was about to open his mouth to argue, however, Nedzu held up a hand once again in a halting sort of motion. “I cannot reasonably risk any pro-heroes knowing about your tasks, especially Yagi. While I would agree he likely wouldn’t send you in cuffs to the Commission, it is imperative that no leak is possible.”

Nedzu continued on, the smile fading to his regular blank-eyed stare as he continued. “Meanwhile with students, I will just not allow you to use the support of any students in your own classroom. One student per class and course at U.A is what I will allow as your support, but other than that I will not allow you to enlist any more help or I will take away rewards. For the rewards, by the way, I will allow none of the people you have enlisted to be forced to take any end-of-year practicals or paper exams. You included with this, of course. Then, for each extra item you take, I will allow you to have an extra boon. This boon being anything I could possibly do for you as students.”

And the worst part was, was that it made sense .

Izuku wouldn't be able to ask Todoroki to freeze entire sections of security cameras because he would be far too recognizable. They would be caught immediately. He loved his friends, but on even the slightest chance that they, as the top Hero class in U.A could be working for the Commission… it was just too hard to risk it.

So he would have to enlist one person per class to his group. How… awful. Did he even know any students from other courses? But more importantly…

Izuku lowered his head and peaked at his principal from behind bushy dark green hair. His eyes locked onto the mammal as he simply surveyed Izuku with his own beady black gaze.

“Why… Why me .”

And Nedzu continued to grin despite his mood visibly lowering. Eyes growing dimmer as he prepared to speak.

“Because… out of every student I could have asked, your rate of success is a 2 percent higher chance than anyone else.”

The silence rang heavy for a moment longer before Izuku could finally speak again.

“And… and the chance for a regular student?”

“... That would be at about 0.46 percent.”

The two of them went silent, Izuku’s mind reeling. The room felt suffocatingly quiet for a place belonging inside a school.

Nedzu sighed, leaning his head back to the soft surface of the couch's backing. His eyes closed as he contemplated the situation he was forced into.

“Now, as I mentioned at the beginning of our talk, I would never force you into completing these tasks. After all, you are still a child first and to place a burden such as this on an upcoming Heroes shoulders would be-""Would there be… a possibility of me getting a notebook and coming back up here? Just to write down all the rules so I won’t forget everything by the Gala.”

The principal opened his eyes and looked back at his student, and Izuku was scared .

Scratch that, he was absolutely terrified . This one act could jeopardise his entire future. If he went through with this and got caught at an inopportune moment then there was a chance he would be forced out of a Heroics path in itself, for as long as the H.P.S.C were in charge of Japan there would always be a hierarchy. If Izuku went through with this, he may just be labelled as a criminal the moment Nedzu got forced out of U.A. Or even if he succeeded, the Commission could always decide it was too risky to have such a rebellious Hero in its jurisdiction.

But…

As long as the Heroes Public Safety Commission was in control, there would be bias. A force around controlling the country and forcing people who were different from what they believed to be the absolute definition of a Hero to quit what they had struggled for years to scrounge up the courage to achieve.

It wouldn’t be very heroic of him to let that happen, would it?

Because right now, there were two other emotions deep down in Izuku’s bones that hummed far stronger than any sort of fear he’d ever felt before.

Determination to do what was right, and a craving to prove himself.

Izuku let out a shaky smile and raised his fist to the air in a symbol none too dissimilar to All Might’s signature pose. Nedzu watched with a curiously wide-eyed stare as Izuku’s grin grew even wider while still under strain.

“Plus Ultra, right? N-Nedzu?”

And the principal of U.A, the smartest being in the whole of Japan, grinned right back at him. Reaching out an arm to steadily shake the hand of one student who was going to change the world .

“Plus Ultra indeed, Midoriya. Plus Ultra.”

—————

Shouta Aizawa watched as his student raced past him with a steady glint in his eyes.

Izuku Midoriya truly was an odd child, wasn’t he?

“No running in the halls, kid.” He muttered. His sleeping bag snugly fit over his lithe frame as he attempted to crawl to the staffroom. It probably looked utterly baffling to anyone with an eye on him, but that was exactly what he wanted it to appear like to other people. Well, that and the fact that he was tired.

And the hellion of a child halted the moment he realised he was going against the rules. Face blushing in embarrassment.

But if Shouta had learnt one thing about people during his time as a Hero, it was to tell when to trust his gut. And right now, his gut was saying to question Midoriya.

Stopping the student again with a click of his tongue, Shouta stretched within his bag. 

“What was it that Nedzu was wanting to talk to you about?”

The problem child turned slowly to face him, and for once there strangely wasn’t a single note of panic in his expression. There wasn’t any anxiety, and the ringing silence of the empty halls protruding in his ears.

But it snapped in a moment. Snapped so quickly that Shouta could have barely recalled the expression being there in the first place, as his number one problem child blushed slightly in embarrassment and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

“I’m sorry, Sir!” Midoriya spoke with thinly veiled humiliation. “It really was just a problem with the paperwork my mum gave him for the dorms!”

And the unease in his gut abated. Shouta blinked before relaxing once again into his sleeping bag as the student in front of him shuffled about with his bag. Most likely excited to be going back to his room and spending time with his friends.

“Alright then, off you go.”

And away Izuku Midoriya went. His head held high as he took steady strides in the direction of the 1-A housing area.

Little did Shouta Aizawa know, however, was that his student had just lied directly to his face. And if the pro-Hero had been paying just a bit more attention to the goings ons of his student's personality, he would have noticed that the glint in his eyes had been determination.

And throughout the entire confrontation, Izuku Midoriya hadn’t stuttered one bit.