Chapter Text
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the explosive hero: King.”
A very familiar voice came out of the speakers. It was slightly distorted, but still very much recognizable.
“WHERE ARE YOU, YOU SHITTY DEKU?”, the aforementioned hero roared.
“SHOW YOURSELF, YOU COWARD!”
The screen in the square flickered to life. The video showed a boy sitting in a chair in front of a dark backdrop. His hands were interlaced and his head tilted slightly in question or mockery. He wore dark formal clothes and a plain, dark green mask that covered his face. Unruly curls peaked out underneath the hat atop his head.
In the area where his mouth should be, there was a smile painted on the mask in neon, almost toxic looking, green paint that ran down slightly in some places. Only one, curved line, not even straight, and yet it looked so unhinged that it made the heroes in the square startle.
“You know, I would say that it is a pleasure to see you, Kacchan, but I would be lying. And I really don’t want to lie.”
The villain, Void, if their intel was correct, spoke with a calm and sharp voice.
“I will give you one chance to turn around now and leave all of this behind.”
Midoriya paused and then started to giggle while standing and opening his arms.
“No? Well, then let the games begin!”
The screen turned black, showing only that painted, unhinged toxic green smile. Leaving the heroes to process what they had just started and giving them a slight taste of what was to come.
-*-
Sometimes, Midoriya Izuku really hated the universe with a burning passion.
Really, why was it so predictable that the higher powers - or whatever one could call it - seemed to always have it out for him? It started with Bakugo, as it always did. Sometimes Izuku thought that they had to be a fixed pair, an item or something like that.
Maybe the universe was shipping them like some characters from an anime. But that would mean that they had some form of chemistry. And maybe they had, but if so, it was the explosive and burning kind, not romantic in any sense. Izuku really hoped it wasn’t. If this was what the universe had in mind when it came to romance, he didn’t want any of it.
Class 1-A had been called to a small assembly this morning, accompanied by their homeroom teacher and Class 1-B. They had sat in the chairs of the smaller auditorium, in front of the stage for a few minutes, chatting amicably with one another when the principal had literally dropped onto the stage from somewhere above.
There was always something about principal Nedzu that Izuku found very unnerving. It was the way the creature smiled, he realized. It looked so human and seemed so natural that it was just a little bit out of place on the principals face. One thing to betray Nedzu, however, was the slight manic glimmer in his eyes, often thoroughly missed by his adversaries.
The thing was that Izuku knew that kind of smile. He knew it very well, actually. This was the same type of smile he chose to smile. It was designed to fool others, to keep them away from the open wounds underneath. He had spend years perfecting the perfect, 1000 watt - as his classmates called it - smile that was so bright it could distract from the shadows behind his eyes.
In theory, Izuku knew that he didn’t need this defense mechanism any more. UA was safe, he had a quirk now, and aside from Bakugo (never Kacchan, not in his mind) nobody would hurt him. The thing was, he wanted to trust them, really he did. But somewhere in the back of his mind there were still the voices, telling him that if they knew what he was, what he had been, they would turn on him.
That dangerous train of thought was interrupted by the principal clearing his throat.
“Good Morning, Students. I am sure you are all wondering why you are here. So let me get to the point. In two weeks time, we will be holding a six day long exam. This will be a group exam and all of you will be judged in teamwork among other things. Your preparation time begins once this assembly ends, and you have to have signed up for one of the two teams within two days and the final teams will be announced on Wednesday morning.”
He paused, letting his words sink in.
“The exam itself will be held on ground beta. As for the exercise: you will be divided into two teams. One will represent heroes and the others will be considered as villains for the duration of this exercise. The hero team will have to run an agency and deal with everything heroes normally deal with, such as working with the police, interacting with fans and so on. The villains are their adversaries. They will be the ones trying to take over the city, causing chaos and running the underground.
The daily life of the city during those seven days will be simulated with bots. Both teams will get tasks to fulfill and each completed task will give points. But only your own completed task will give you points. The teams will be judged on different things, but more information on that will be in your respective rulebooks. It does not matter which team you are on, both teams will have to make difficult choices and even though all of you aspire to be heroes, you may find the hero team to be the more difficult one to navigate.
There will be a full 24 hour surveillance by the teachers and they will be standing by to step in should things go to far. The teachers can help you prepare for the exam, but will stay impartial. Should you have any questions, feel free to come to us. We are happy to clear up anything that you don’t understand. And it is better to do so before the exam, so that each and every one of you has a fair chance.
Both teams will have a respective leader. This position cannot be given to someone else and is chosen by the teachers. First, let us reveal the leader of the hero team. This position will be taken by Bakugo Katsuki and he will be known as the explosive hero: King!”
There was applause and cheers as Bakugo made his way onto the stage.
Of course, Bakugo would lead the heroes, he had the quirk and the ambition to do so. Izuku didn’t cheer. He didn’t even applaud. No, he just sat there, quiet and numb because he knew what would happen next. The universe was so predictable when it came to this. Unaware of Izuku’s inner turmoil, the principal continued after the cheers had died down. “And now for the leader of the villain team. I have chosen to name him Void. Midoriya Izuku, please join us on the stage and take your position!”
-*-
Nedzu read over the rules and objectives once again. They weren’t perfect by far, but they were better than they were before. It wasn’t the first time UA had run this exam and it wouldn’t be the last. In truth, it was his favorite and he would run it every year, if he could. The only problem was that not one class that had partaken in it had actually truly passed it.
This had several reasons, the most important of which was the cockiness of the hero team after they had won against the much smaller villain team. Every class so far had claimed to have the moral high ground and that any of the villains were themselves at fault, not having chosen the superior team. They had handled their win so disgracefully and with no regard to the actual lesson this exam should have taught them that Nedzu failed them all. As a result, every time this exam was run, Nedzu spent several nights trying to implement new rules and objectives to make it more fair.
The villain team would always be lacking in numbers to the hero team, but he also did not want to force it on more students than he had to. They should choose their side on their own. He had to implement some form of equalizer. It wouldn’t do the students any good, if only one team had to think around their own moral code. This exercise was supposed to simulate a real world scenario. But this year, he felt that he had had a breakthrough.
Most of the students that attended UA’s heroics course wanted to be daylight or spotlight heroes. The entrance exam supported this, not that Nedzu was particularly happy about that. The entrance exams had to be a battle exam where the participants had to fight something. This was dictated by the HPSC. The only schools somewhat exempt from this rule were schools specifically catering to underground heroics and underground heroics only.
This was the reason why most hero schools like UA had no underground heroics track and had only very few graduates that went into that field of heroics. And schools that did have such a track had only a handful of students in them. Most students going into heroics and not into daylight heroics tended to go into twilight heroics, the ‘in-between’ of daylight and underground or midnight heroics.
It was a shame, really, and Nedzu wished it was different. But this year, he would use this to his advantage. If they wanted to go into daylight heroics, then they would have to do things daylighters would have to do, such as worry about social media, the press, hero rankings and the public’s opinion. Lobbyism was also an idea Nedzu was playing with. The vigilante-idea from four years ago had also been a hit, serving as something for both groups to work both with and against, while also working against one another. This brought just the right amount of forced chaos to the exam, so this idea was definitely a keeper.
As for the villains, their tasks only varied slightly from the years before. Nothing too drastic, but enough to be chaotic and be creative with. Nedzu had however given them one more way to achieve a win, an automatic win at that. They would be outnumbered, so this would even the playing field slightly.
The only thing left to do was choosing the team leaders. Kendo Itsuka and Yaoyorozu Momo would be some good choices, but that would pit both classes against one another even more than they already were. That mistake had already been made once before and would not be repeated again. No, the leaders had to be in the same class.
The door to his office opened automatically. Aizawa and Kan stepped in.
“Ah, welcome you two. I have finished revising the rulebooks for the upcoming exam. As for the team leaders, I have these two students in mind.”
He pointed to the two pictures on his desk, as the teachers stepped closer. Kan frowned and Aizawa nodded slowly.
“These two? I mean, I know it’s class A’s turn to lead the teams but something has always been off about these two.”
Kan was very much on point with his observation. He had the luck to experience the relationship between the two students from the outside. This gave him a different perspective and, ironically, more in depth view of all the problems and unspoken history that was there.
Aizawa, who should know them better, knew less about the situation.
“No, I can see why. These two have this rivalry going on and the class is already practically split between them. From what All Might tells me, they are childhood friends as well. It’s a solid choice in my opinion. Which one will lead which team?”
Ah, and wasn’t that the crux of the matter: All Might’s involvement in all of this. Nedzu didn’t really trust the man, not after everything he had seen.
But there was a solution for this. Maybe if he separated the boy from the heroic ideal his so-called mentor was pushing him towards, then he would finally find the space to grow on his own. Nedzu knew that that child was far more intelligent than he led others to believe. It would be rather strange if he didn’t, seeing as their strategies for hiding their true feelings, thoughts and intelligence were rather alike.
As for the other boy, maybe putting him in the leading position of the hero team would show him that he still had a lot to grow as a leader and person. He may be strong, but that strength would get him nowhere if his own team was working against him. This match-up would give the villain team that final edge to win, Nedzu knew. But maybe it was time for the tides to turn.
“So it is decided. Bakugo Katsuki will lead the heroes.”
Kan groaned, most likely thinking about his own loud blond, Monoma Neito. That boy would most likely use this exam as an opportunity to drive that wedge between the classes even further. Aizawa just nodded in agreement, but there was a slight frown on his face.
“As for the villain leader…”
Nedzu didn’t finish, just letting the sentence and its implications hang in the air, while pointing to the other image on the desk.
… well, Midoriya Izuku would not like this one bit.
-*-
Izuku was defeated as he returned to the classroom. Aizawa had informed him that they would be having a meeting with Nedzu later and Izuku was a little bit unnerved by this. Logically, he knew that this was for the exam, but he had gone tho the principal’s office before and it had never been a pleasant occasion.
Shaking his head to clear away the negative thoughts that came with the brief flash of memories, he took his place behind Bakugo. The explosive blonde had been smug ever since he was announced as the hero-leader. When Izuku passed him, he had flashed him something between a toothy grin and a snarl with a glint in his eyes that brought back memories of burnt skin and a lot of pain. He didn’t say anything and he didn’t have to. Izuku knew how bad his position was.
Wasn’t it enough that he had to go up against Bakugo? Why did he have to be the leader of the villains of all people. Couldn’t the universe have given that position to someone else for a change? If it had to be someone with a bright personality, couldn’t it have gone to Kirishima or Mina? They both were in good standing with Bakugo and had nothing to lose over this exercise. Or if they, for some reason, had chosen him for the intelligence he thought he had kept hidden, then Yaoyorozu would have been an even better choice. But no, if just had to have been him.
Izuku was mad. At the teachers, the principle, everyone that had had a decision in this. The universe, for assuming that Bakugo and him had to be a pair. And at Bakugo, for all those years of torment. He had to be mad because if he wasn’t, he was afraid. Bakugo hated two things more than anything: losing and Izuku. And he loved two things more than anything: winning and beating Izuku into the ground. No matter how this exercise went, Izuku would end up hurt. If he was winning, Bakugo was going to take his frustrations out on him until Bakugo was winning again. So why should Izuku even try?
Even if it wasn’t just Bakugo’s animosity towards Izuku, which heroics student would even join the villain team? Sure, Nedzu had said that both teams would be difficult to be on for heroes in the making, but just how realistic was that?
“Hey, Deku?”
That was Uraraka, Ochako as she insisted he call her. She had come up to him while he was busy with his own thoughts. The classroom door opened and Aizawa poked his head into the room. When had their other teacher left? The erasure-hero called Bakugo’s name and the boy in question gave Izuku and his friends one more winning snarl before he left. Uraraka stuck her tongue out toward his back before turning her attention back to Izuku.
“Gosh, I know he has an ego, but seriously? You guys are childhood friends turned rivals. He could really turn down that condescending tone.”
Izuku held back his flinch at those words. He had to remind himself that Uraraka didn’t know. That everyone in this school believed in seeing the good in people, as heroes should, and that that meant that they were oblivious to the real nature of his and Bakugo’s relationship. He had thought about saying something and he was tempted to do so, but Iida beat him to it.
“Uraraka is right. We are learning to be heroes one day. This behavior is unbecoming for a student of UA. Anyway, I must say, Midoriya, it was surprising to see that they made you the leader of the villains.”
He was still chopping with his hand in true Iida fashion when he stopped. Izuku, despite not wanting the position as villain leader, felt a little bit offended. It kind of hurt that Iida didn’t think he could do it.
Todoroki hummed.
“Bakugo is strong, he may not be a nice person like you, but I can understand why they would make him the hero leader.”
But would you follow him, even after everything you know? That was the question Izuku wanted to ask but didn’t. He knew Todoroki did not mean any harm, Izuku himself even agreed with his reasonings.
“Yes, kero, I agree. But Midoriya is just too bright to be a villain, let alone the leader of them. Maybe they made a mistake and really wanted someone from 1-B to take the position.”
“Oh, yeah. Maybe if you talk to them now you can still change teams, Deku.”
He knew Asui and Uraraka meant well, he really did. But Nedzu didn’t make mistakes and he was sure that even if he begged on his knees, there was no way that the principal would change anything. Izuku took a breath before speaking up with a quiet voice. Speaking to his friends felt so hard sometimes.
“Hey, guys? I don’t think that Nedzu made a mistake. It’s just that he probably has a plan with this match up, even though I am not sure myself why he would choose me. I know very well that there are better and more fitting candidates. And someone has to be the villain leader anyway.”
His voice got really quiet toward the end. Asui, Uraraka, Iida and Todoroki stared at him for a second, as if mulling over his words. In the end it was Iida that answered while the others nodded in agreement.
”You are right, Midoriya. I apologize if we have made you uncomfortable. It is very noble of you to take on this challenge. As your friends, we should support you in your endeavors. It does not matter what the team is called, it is your team. And I, as your friend, would be honored to be on your team. So if you believe that you have to do this, we will stand by your side.“
-*-
Aizawa Shouta was very aware of the nervous teenager following him through UA’s hallways. Midoriya Izuku was, to him, a puzzling choice for the leader of the villain team. Average grades, always smiling and a bad case of social anxiety. But Midoriya had this aura, one that kept pulling people toward him. And sometimes, Shouta believed to see something behind that bright smile the boy always smiled. But all of that wasn’t quite enough to make him the leader of the villains of all people.
When Nedzu had pronounced Bakugo and Midoriya the leaders, he had expected Bakugo to fill the villain leader role, not Midoriya. Bakugo was loud, called people names and always seemed to be so angry. If Shouta were to compare Bakugo with Midoriya, Bakugo seemed more like a villain.
Looking at the teen behind him, Shouta just couldn’t see what Nedzu must have undoubtably seen. While Bakugo had been smug and confident on his way to Nedzu’s office, Midoriya was nervous, wringing his hands and seemed to shrink in on himself as they came closer. Shouta sometimes wondered where that anxiety came from. Kan’s words came back to him.
‘Something always seemed off about these two.’
At that time he had laughed it off, thinking that the homeroom teacher of 1-B was simply lacking the insight into what ever was between the two students. But he had seen Midoriya’s face when Bakugo was announced the hero leader. He had sat there still and stone-faced, waiting for his name to be called as if he already knew that it would happen. Dread had seeped into his features and he had very much not been excited. At first Shouta had thought that this was because of his position as villain leader, but now he wasn’t so sure about that anymore. Now, there was this small voice in the back of his mind asking: what if Kan was right?
His pondering was interrupted as they arrived at the already opened doors of the principal’s office. Nedzu was sitting in his usual spot at the small glass table by the large floor to ceiling windows, a cup with tea already in his paw. Shouta tried to keep the frown off his face, as the principle greeted Midoriya and told them to sit. Nedzu had made Bakugo sit in front of his desk like any other student, creating a barrier between them, both physically and in power-dynamics. Why was Midoriya different?
“Welcome, Midoriya. I hope you like tea. Both the rules and objectives for the villain team are in this folder.”
He pushed a cup and the aforementioned folder toward the teen, who took them both with a nervous smile. Midoriya was hesitant to open them and start reading, but Nedzu encouraged the teen.
Midoriya read the rules carefully, Shouta could see that. Eventually, the boy nodded.
“These are all of the rules? And anything not breaking them or the general school rules goes? And can I take the wording at face value? Like when it says ‘only first year students’, this doesn’t specify only first year heroics students, but all of the first year student body.”
He directed his questions at Nedzu without a stutter and a very serious tone in his voice. Shouta expected him to dissolve into mutterings but his questions were precise and short. The principle had sparks of something in his eyes as he went to answer.
“Yes, Midoriya, these are all of the rules and like you said, anything not breaking them or the school rules goes. As for the wording, it is exactly as intended. Should you find something that you wish to do and the wording of the rules allows it, you may go through with it. If you are unsure, you can always clear it with me, Aizawa or Kan.”
Shouta was sure the rat knew exactly what Midoriya was planning. And from the way the two were sizing each other up, the student was aware of this as well. There was a silent conversation between the two Shouta wasn’t privy to. One thing was crystal clear though, the rat, or whatever Nedzu was, was interested in Midoriya.
That couldn’t be good, Shouta decided. Not for the first time that day he felt that he was missing something crucial. Nedzu definitely saw something that he didn’t, something that somehow qualified Midoriya as the villain leader more than Bakugo.
Shouta himself had been on the villain team during his own exam. That had been the last year where the leaders had come from different classes. The exam had ended driving a big wedge between the two heroics classes that, for some, never really got resolved by the end of their time at UA. The hero leader had been Iida Tensei, now known as Ingenium, from 1-B, while the villain leader had been Shirakumo Oboro from Shouta’s class, 1-A.
Shouta himself had spent the entire first year until that point trying to stay under the radar. He had barely gotten into the heroics course through the recommendation exam and possessed an ‘I-don’t-need-any-friends’-attitude. Shouta, unlike the majority of his class, had originally wanted to be on the hero team because he thought that he had to prove himself to his year-mates. But whenever he tried to approach Iida, other students from 1-B had gotten into his way. They very much didn’t want him on their team.
By the second day of choosing the teams, someone else came to him. Shirakumo approached him, wanted him on the team and asked Shouta for help with planning. In the end, Shouta caved and accepted. Both teams were mostly even, the hero team only had a few more members, and the classes were pitted against one another. Most of his teammates didn’t like him, but that didn’t matter to Shouta.
The exam ended with the villain team loosing, though that was a very close win for the heroes, class 1-B looking down on class 1-A and Shirakumo Oboro, Yamada Hizashi and Shouta himself becoming best friends. Iida Tensei and Oboro didn’t really hate each other after being pitted against one another so badly, but were never able to become friends either.
Shouta would later become close with the older Iida, but that was towards the end of their second year, when he needed comfort from someone other than Hizashi or Nemuri after their friendship fell apart. Tensei had helped to keep him sane while the now trio rebuilt what had been broken by Oboro’s death.
Shouta winced at the memories of Hizashi’s drunken voice whenever he left messages and his hurtful words that came with them. Shouta himself had been homeless for a while and Nemuri had lost a lot of confidence without her support system. They had, eventually, after years of trying and failing, managed to work out their issues.
Shouta realized that he had zoned out when Nedzu ended the meeting. He berated himself for not paying attention, but was sure that Midoriya would come to him if he wanted his input on something. The teen himself had stood and bowed slightly before hurrying out of the office. Shouta threw one last look at the rat principle. Nedzu was smiling, all inhuman and glee in his eyes.
Anything that Shouta wanted to say or ask got stuck in his throat. He just turned on his heels and left the office. Maybe he could get some sleep in before his next lesson. Because, yes, Nedzu had definitely taken an interest in Izuku Midoriya and if Shouta knew anything about the principle, this entire exercise would end in Midoriya becoming Nedzu’s personal student. And that was terrifying to think about.
-*-
Izuku, despite having weirdly enjoyed the meeting with Nedzu, fled away from the principle’s office. He was vaguely aware of Aizawa sensei following him until they passed the teachers lounge. His homeroom teacher had been noticeably unresponsive and sunken into his own thoughts for half of the meeting.
That was fine, Izuku didn’t have any questions for him anyway. Nedzu had been very forthcoming in answering some questions and clarifying a few things. Izuku was also very sure that the rodent knew what he was planning. He liked to think that the stoat approved of his plans.
For his first action, he wanted to recruit some people for his team. Nedzu had said to take the wording of the rulebook literally. If he played his cards right, Bakugo would be none the wiser to what he was doing until it was too late. The bell for the lunch break would ring soon and they had foundational heroics with All Might later.
That meant his plans had to wait for after school. Luckily, he knew for certain where one of his new recruits would be, all he had to think of now was an excuse to get either away from his friends or get them to leave without him.
Todoroki and Iida would be easy, but his lie had to be convincing and they would ask about it the next day. If it was too weird, Asui would call him out on it and that would gather too much unwanted attention from others. Izuku was no stranger to lying convincingly. He had done it for years after all, and he hadn’t stopped now that he had a quirk.
No, that wasn’t the problem. The real problem would be Uraraka. While she was one of the nicest people he had ever met, she could be clingy at times. And with her remarks about him somehow changing teams earlier, he was worried that she wouldn’t let him go later.
Lunch would be hectic and Izuku needed time to put his thoughts in order. He slowed his pace. With Aizawa gone, he was alone in the hallway and since he was on his way back, taking his time wouldn’t really be an issue. In middle school, it would have been, but his teachers now were easier on these things and he had a quirk now, which seemed to be a big factor in the matter.
Aside from the team members thing, he definitely needed some fighters on his side. If he really wanted to win, they needed to take out some of the heroes. Running a company and manipulating the rankings was also a must, so that had to be prepared as well. Maybe he could talk to the management course for some help?
And then there was the objective about betraying a teammate. He was sure that Nedzu would not count something planned and acted out. For it to count it would certainly have to be real betrayal. It also couldn’t be a fun or mock betrayal. But therein lied the problem, it would cause conflict within his team.
But maybe there was a workaround. If they could trick someone from the other team to betray their own and become an honorary member, then they could just betray them. If his entire team was in on it, it wouldn’t cause a rift and maybe they could find a suitable candidate together. That person couldn’t read the rules, so they had to swap their rulebook early on in the preparation process. So, if possible, on Wednesday morning. That would have to be a planned first operation. Maybe it would be a good test to see where his team was at.
That, of course, meant that he had to have a team first. Thinking about it, Izuku was pretty sure he could count on the two recruits he had thought of so far, as well as his friends. They hadn’t seemed eager to join a team branded with the name of villainy, but they had said that they would support him no matter what. That made them a team of six so far.
Izuku shook his head as the 1-A classroom door came into view. There were still these lingering thoughts in the back of his head, doubting his friends, not believing them. There was a reason for wanting to keep his additional recruits a secret until Wednesday. And maybe that stung, just a little. The thought that his past had broken him so far that he couldn’t even trust his friends.
Izuku steeled his thoughts as his hand came to knock on the door, just maybe ten minutes left before lunch. There could be no doubt in his actions from now on. He had made the decision to win this when he met Nedzu’s eyes as they had walked into the stoat’s office and he was not going to back down from that. Ectoplasm called him into the classroom and Izuku found his seat again. Bakugo snarled when he passed him, but held back. Only ten more minutes.