AN: Eleventh chapter: class 1-A and teachers find out about the past abuse Bakugo has put Izuku through (aka consequences). I tried to spin it a little more realistically/differently from other past abuse reveals, or at least I tried to. This will be split into 3 maybe 4 parts, part 2 will be in a couple days while I fix up part 3 and/or start part 4.

It was in the midst of their training for the Provisional Hero License Exam that it happened.

"Class, this is the Mind Reading Hero: Daydreamer." Aizawa introduced his students to the young man standing next to him. The hero was dressed semi-casually in a pair of black jeans, a long-sleeved dress shirt with a constellation design, and black tennis shoes. Star-shaped sunglasses adorned his face.

"He's a fairly lesser known hero who focuses on working with the police," the teacher continued to explain. "While he is trained in combat his quirk's specialty is projecting a person's memory, one to several someone is thinking of at the time of physical contact, from his eyes like a projection screen. It recreates sounds in the memory as well. He uses said quirk on criminals, villains, and so on to give the police something to go off of when a regular interrogation isn't showing results. This works well when it comes to gathering information, since no matter how much individuals may not want to verbally answer the police their mind will instinctively answer the question being asked."

Daydreamer waved at the students politely when he heard them muttering in excitement.

"Thank you for the introduction, Eraserhead. I'm glad many of you find my quirk interesting!" He directed the latter statement to the class. "Anyway, in case he hasn't informed you the reason I am here today is for a different sort of exercise. As first year students you all usually focus on various forms of rescue and battle training among other types, but you're a couple weeks away from the PHLE. You're already doing special move training much earlier than you would usually do. That being said, you first years are a bit unique. With the amount of villain encounters you've had it was decided that you would receive a few bouts of mental training a year early too."

A few hands shot up when he took a moment to pause.

"I'm about to explain what that entails," he said with a chuckle. The hands went down slowly. "It's good to know you're eager though! Today's mental training exercise will be an easy one to get you all more comfortable with my quirk; it will strengthen your bonds with your fellow classmates."

"Now I know what you're thinking. What are the benefits? Well, being a hero can be tough, and we've found that having friends to rely on and share parts of their personal lives with allows many individuals the means to heal. It helps with empathy training as well. For those of you who are not aware, a hero should treat all those involved with empathy and not feelings of pity or apathy. It's important not only to your careers as heroes, but in development as better human beings." His tone had taken a much more serious tone. "You will work with people your entire life. There will be innocents in danger, villains you dislike or even hate, friends you cherish, colleagues who fight by your side, idols you look up to, and people you love; all of them deserve empathy."

"However," he continued as the class remained silent, "not everyone is naturally empathetic. Some are able to picture themselves in another's shoes easier than someone else. Empathy cannot be forced, but it can definitely be learned. If everyone is willing to open their hearts and minds for this training you will all become better for it. Not just better heroes, mind you, but better people."

There were a few seconds where Daydreamer thought he'd been too dramatic. When most of the class erupted in cheers and clapping at his speech a moment later, he couldn't stop himself from flushing.

Aizawa decided to quiet them all with a loud clearing of his throat.

"Daydreamer will be working through each of you one at a time," the homeroom teacher stated tiredly. "I want all of you to push the desks out of the way so that there's a clear open space to arrange yourselves in a circle. You have five minutes to do this as well as go to the bathroom if you need to. Once he begins none of you will be leaving until all individuals have gone."

The Mind Reading hero jumped in then, smiling cheerfully. "If everything goes according to plan you should be out of here early! Everyone will just have to hold onto my hand for a couple minutes while I ask them a couple questions. We have four hours to do this, and even if everyone uses the ten per person I estimate it will take we'll be out of here in roughly three hours."

Aizawa nodded. "What he said. Now everyone get moving." With that the underground hero walked behind his desk and crawled into his sleeping bag. Daydreamer stared at the scene in disbelief, shaking his head with amusement after a couple seconds.

"Man, Eraserhead never changes."

"Excuse me?"

Daydreamer turned around to see a student with long black hair put up in a ponytail. "Yes, miss?"

"I had a quick question about the exercise." She stated respectfully. "You mentioned you had questions for us to answer. Will we all be answering the same questions, or will there be different ones for each student?"

"You'll all be answering the same three. I'll actually explain it in more detail once everyone's settled."

She smiled pleasantly at the response. "I see. Thank you, Daydreamer."

It wasn't long after that the twenty students were seated on the floor. There was a large open space in the middle of the circle where Daydreamer sat like the nucleus of an atom.

"I apologize for not being able to face all of you," he started, "but this has turned out to be the best setup for this exercise. Anyway, as I explained earlier I will be moving around to each of you in order to project whatever is on your mind. You have the choice of grabbing my hand or my wrist, whichever you may prefer, while I ask you three questions. The questions will all be the same for each of you. Your answers will be in the form of the memory or memories projected in response to said question, so no verbal answers are required. I actually don't mind if we're completely silent throughout the entire exercise. I also don't mind if any of you have the urge to speak up, but do mind your manners and raise your hand first. Among the purposes of this exercise is strengthening the bonds between you. Open up as much or as little as you want; however, my quirk will show whatever it is you're thinking so do try to be conscious of your answers."

With the exercise thoroughly understood, Daydreamer looked at the sheet given to him by Aizawa and asked which one of them was the class representative.

"That would be me, sir! Tenya Iida."

The hero smiled. "Iida, there's no need to call me sir. Daydreamer is just fine. Anywho, Iida, would you be willing to start the exercise?"

"It would be an honor," he said. "As the class rep going first will set my classmates at ease."

Daydreamer chuckled at the boy's enthusiasm. He got up to walk over to the student, sitting down a foot in front of Iida. Holding out his hand, he instructed the student to only touch him once he thought of an answer to the question.

"First question. Why do you want to be a hero?"

Iida didn't hesitate grabbing the hero's hand.

Within seconds the hero had turned his head to look upwards in the middle of the circle. With the help of a support device he had settled over one eye like a monocle, both eyes lit up until there were twin beams of yellow light flowing from them turning into an ovular surface made from said light taking shape in the air. A couple more seconds passed when dozens of other colors came from the hero's eyes.

It was then the screen of light he was projecting became clear, revealing an image of Ingenium. In the image he was smiling brightly with his helmet under one arm, his eyes full of affection as he stared at the viewer who was his little brother.

"He's a likable hero who honors the rules and leads people." The memory's sound— Iida's voice— echoed throughout the room.

The scene shifted after a little bit though, showing Tensei Iida lying in his hospital bed. Many students looked to their class rep in surprise. They knew how hard it must have been to share this memory.

"If you're up for it," Iida's older brother spoke, "will you take this name for me?"

And then one more flash of memories.

This time instead of them showcasing Tensei, however, Izuku's form filled the screen. The memory's perspective was from the ground looking up at the green-suited hero in training at an angle.

"I came to save you, Iida!"

A flash of Todoroki and Izuku's backs.

"The two of us will protect them," Todoroki's voice.

Now an image of Izuku looking them in the hospital.

"Let's get stronger... together."

Iida took his hand away with a slight smile on his face. Beside him Uraraka was crying (so was Kirishima among a few others), and beside her Izuku couldn't help but stare at his friend in shock. Had his words really made such an impact?

The rest of Iida's turn went by quickly and without comment. This meant that when the Mind Reading hero turned to face the brunette next she was jumpy but prepared for the first question. What she was really ready for though was the second question.

"Uraraka," Daydream asked, "what makes you happy?"

The girl grinned as she let her hand slip back into the hero's. Moments later several scenes flashed across the screen in quick succession.

"I love you mama, papa." A much younger Uraraka's voice said as the image of her parents smiling down at her lovingly. It was obvious even without hearing their responses that their family was one that was close and happy.

"Mmm, mochi!" The girl hummed happily around her food. This scene was much more animated, various clips of food filling the vision and making many students laugh.

Next there were a couple scenes of her friends. Walking home with Iida and Izuku, getting donuts with a handful of her classmates, spending time in the U.A. lounge with the girls; all of the memories were just as bright and bubbly as her personality.

Soon after she'd answered the last question, Daydreamer turned to the next person in line.

Despite Iida and Uraraka's turns going well, Izuku couldn't help but feel nervous. While Daydreamer was kind his quirk set Izuku on edge. Not because of the nature of his quirk— it was actually really cool and the greenette thought it was amazing— but since his mind ran a mile a minute he didn't trust himself to keep his thoughts as organized as the two students before him. What if he slipped up and projected something he didn't want them to see? Sure he could retract his hand, but leaving his classmates worrying because of a half-finished memory could be just as bad.

"Midoriya?" Daydreamer said. The student in question snapped out of his stupor with a sheepish smile. "Are you ready for your turn?"

"Y-yeah!" He answered with false enthusiasm.

Daydreamer nodded. "Okay, then I will ask you the first question. Why do you want to be a hero?"

Izuku was prepared for this question. He grabbed the hero's hand and watched the projected screen with a somber smile. Immediately a familiar computer monitor filled the projection, the video of All Might's debut filling the room with the sound of laughter.

"It's fine now. Why? Because I am here!"

"Classic Midoriya," Kirishima commented. A few others in class chuckled in agreement.

Another memory, this time one on a rooftop, of Izuku staring at the concrete filled the last one's place.

"I want to be the sort of hero that when people see my smile they'll know they're safe. I want to be the strongest hero, just like you!"

The image abruptly cut away to another memory, one that had his previously grinning classmates speechless.

The scene changed to display who the students now recognized as All Might in his skeletal form. Despite not being in his once regular muscled form the man still looked just as imposing standing there in the dying light of a residential area.

"Top heroes have stories about them from their school days," All Might said. "Most of their stories have one thing in common: the bodies moved before they had a chance to think."

From the sudden change in angle it seemed Izuku was curling forward, the scene now showing the ground.

"That was true for you, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," younger Izuku croaked. He blushed at the memory, feeling a bit embarrassed, but to his surprise he found his classmates watching in silent awe.

In the projection the slight blurriness of the edges made it obvious he'd started crying. The occasional blackness cutting out the scene while the sound continued must have been him closing his eyes as he sobbed.

And then All Might spoke again, five words that gave Izuku the courage to become who he was today.

"You can be a hero."

Taking his hand away before some more controversial memories popped up, Izuku gave a shaky smile.

"I'm ready for the next question."

Daydreamer grinned. He was rooting for this kid already.

"Question two then; what makes you happy?"

Izuku thought about it hard. He needed to get his memories in order just in case one of his many with All Might came up. While his classmates knew the two were close they didn't need to know exactly how close.

The first few memories were nothing more than ten second snippets of him and his mother. One was of him pretending to be All Might and saving her as a child, another was him cooking kastudon with her, and another of them cuddling together on the couch watching the news. After that he let some memories of him at U.A. fill the projection, snapshot after snapshot of Izuku's friends seen through his eyes. Uraraka's close-eyed grin, Iida's dramatic gestures, Todoroki's subtle but meaningful smile, Kirishima's radiating positivity, Mina's excited shouts, Tsuyu's happy trills, and so many more memories popped into view. All Might flashing him a thumbs up and a grin after a training exercise too. Then, before moving onto the next question, there was a flash of four year-old Bakugo smiling at him while holding an All Might figurine.

"What the hell?" Bakugo growled out just as Izuku withdrew his hand once more. "Don't include me in your shitty slideshow, you stupid nerd."

"Dude," Kaminari broke in, "you shouldn't be yelling at him for including you in his answer of what makes him happy. Honestly you should be more surprised considering how much of a dick you are to him."

"I don't know how anyone could think about 'Bakugo' and 'happy' belonging in the same thought process anyway." Sero commented. To his side Mina gave him a low five in appreciation of the burn.

Bakugo stood up, small explosions popping in his palms. "What did you idiots just say? I'll kick both your asses!"

"Bakugo, calm down!" Kirishima tried.

"Shove it, Shitty-hair. I need to teach Sparky and Tape-arms a lesson."

"Excuse me," Daydreamer interrupted with a commanding voice. Bakugo did not lower his arms, but he did turn his glare onto the hero. "This exercise is about strengthening bonds, not destroying them. Bakugo, was it? Please sit down so we can continue. If you don't I will be forced to wake your teacher, and if my memory serves me right that's not something you want to happen." The memory of Aizawa's murderous glare after having woke him up from a nap last year made him shiver.

Bakugo glared at the hero for a couple seconds before sitting down. With a sigh of relief, Daydreamer brought his focus back to the greenette looking at the floor sadly.

"Are you okay to answer the third question, Midoriya?"

He answered with a voice much smaller than he'd heard previously. "Yeah."

While Daydreamer didn't quite believe him he decided to allow the student to finish up anyway. "Alright then. The last question: who are you?"

Izuku gulped. "Who am I?"

He remembered Iida's memories showing him as a caring son, brother, and friend. There had been images of him studying hard, performing his tasks as the class rep (which included him leaving the USJ during the attack to get help), and flashes of him fighting in hero training or during the sports festival.

Uraraka's had been of her family, working hard to study for classes alone in her apartment, having fun with her friends, and training to get stronger with Gunhead and her classmates.

What did Izuku have to show? It seemed like he had so much, yet so little. What moments would stand out the most?

Hesitantly he grabbed Daydreamer's hand one more time and desperately prayed something would come to him. When the projection started playing a memory from the first few days of attending U.A. he let out a relieved breath; perhaps he wouldn't screw up his turn after all.

The perspective was moving so fast it was hard to see what was going on, but it was apparent Izuku was getting closer and closer to the warp gate villain. The USJ flashed by on the outskirts of his vision. Finally, his voice screamed out.

"Get away from All Might!"

Izuku's fist came into the right of the memory just as a hand popped out of nowhere.

"I won't be falling for that again." Kurogiri remarked snidely as Shigaraki's hand reached out towards Izuku's face. It filled the entire projection and some of those in class watched in terror. Had their friend really come that close to dying?

The next scene was of him running through a forest, his breathing accelerating as he came to a small cliff face. It showed the Muscular about to attack Kota from Izuku's point of view, the scene continuing just as it had happened in real time. The villain taunted him, threw him around, and laughed about how he killed the little boy's parents. The twisted words coming out of his mouth disgusted Izuku's classmates almost as much as they were horrified by the fact their friend had lived through this. Their feelings soon turned more somber, however, as Izuku wrecked himself in order to protect Kota.

"Fine, it's fine." The words were ground out painfully as the screen filled with bulging muscle and a purple, shattered right arm. "I will not let him past me! Run!"

"Show me your blood!" Muscular screamed, the screen going dark soon after. The sound of rock breaking made some of the classmates flinch. "I'm going to crush you!"

And then Izuku's eyes opened up moments later, Kota's words giving him the reminder he needed to push past his limits.

"As if I'd let you kill him!"

The memory faded just as Muscular's form lay against the rock he'd been thrown into. No one could bring themselves to speak even if they wanted to, the next scene filling the screen with enough sound to keep them from interrupting.

The image consisted with fire and smoke, making a few students gasp in surprise. Behind the sound of a panicking crowd of citizens and frozen heroes calling for backup a massive monster made of sludge laughed. Suddenly the video tunneled as if Izuku was focused only on the figure being surrounded by said sludge. It was Bakugo. He seemed to be struggling wildly, some of the sludge in his mouth pushing in further to suffocate him.

Across the room several students looked on in silence, eyes wide at the terrifying situation their classmates had lived through. Bakugo, however, was absolutely livid.

"Stop thinking about this, Deku!"

Izuku did not stop. This was his memory after all, and not even Bakugo could take that away from him.

In the memory a telltale yellow backpack made contact with the sludge villain's eye, making him cry out. Hands scrambled at the villain's churning form just as Bakugo was able to take a breath of air.

"Kacchan!" Izuku's voice cried out, tears permeating the memory.

The blond choked as he screamed back. "Why are you here?"

"My legs moved on their own! I don't know why, though!"

Said memory broke off when an explosion broke his concentration. Bakugo was standing up and looking at Izuku with murder in his eyes.

"Deku, I'm going to kill you!" He let off another explosion, and Izuku instinctively closed his eyes.

That was when things went wrong.

On Daydreamer's screen a scene played out.

"Kacchan, stop! Please!"

Explosions, children laughing, and Izuku's screaming filled the screen. This made the entire class react with varying emotions: shock, sadness, anger, and so on.

"What's wrong, Deku? Still think you can be a hero? If you can't even beat me and a couple friends you'll never be more than useless." Young Bakugo's face flashed by as the perspective tilted until it hit the ground and blacked out.

Another memory played directly after, this time in a classroom. The view was of the floor.

"If you want to be a hero that badly, there's a quick way to do it."

Bakugo's eyes widened.

"Deku, stop!" He roared in preparation to tackle Izuku away from Daydreamer; however, he found himself wrapped in scarves instead. Dread fell upon the blond as Aizawa heard crystal clear what Bakugo knew he was about to say.

"Believe that you'll be born with a quirk in your next life and take a last chance dive off of the roof!"

As the memory showed Izuku turning around to see an absolutely menacing Bakugo setting off explosions threateningly, Aizawa quickly activated his quirk. He didn't even need to cross the room and pull Daydreamer away from his student. When the hero came out of it, the shock of his quirk shutting off without his influence, there were tears of regret welling up in the hero's eyes.

"I'm so sorry," the hero apologized. "I should have explained I'm not always completely aware when I'm projecting. I should have told you that you needed to break contact for my quirk to stop."

Aizawa put a reassuring hand on Daydreamer's shoulder.

"We're rescheduling the rest of this exercise for next week," he instructed. "Today everyone is dismissed early. Daydreamer, stay here. As for my students I want all of you out of this room save for Bakugo and Midoriya in the next thirty seconds. I don't want to hear a peep out of you while you do it. Your time starts now."

Class 1-A had never moved so fast in their lives. They didn't even have time to see if they could comfort Midoriya or wring an explanation from Bakugo about what they'd just seen. Bakugo didn't miss the positively murderous glare on Uraraka's face though, the look not matching her usual bubbly personality or carefree smile.

When the room was empty of everyone save the two heroes and main problem students, Aizawa let out a long sigh.

"Daydreamer, can you call principal Nedzu and inform him to bring All Might to his office? Tell him the four of us will be joining them there shortly."

"Of course…"

Aizawa turned his sharp-eyed gaze to the greenette, who flinched under the intensity of the stare.

"I'm going to leave you to explain the context of what I just witnessed to the principal. Depending on how cooperative you are I won't be forced to call in your mother right away, but I will need to speak with her regarding getting further information of your treatment prior to your enrollment here. I'm not sure if you're aware, Midoriya, but this is a serious matter. I cannot simply let this go."

"Bakugo," he finally brought his attention to the blond staring at the ground angrily. "You're suspended until further notice."

"What? Why the hell—"

The teenager's scream was cut off by the cold indifference settling onto Aizawa's face.

"One more word and I will expel you on the spot without giving you a chance to redeem yourself. Don't think I won't; I've expelled others for less."

Izuku gaped at his homeroom teacher. The stilted animosity in the hero's voice was… new. What was even newer, however, was the amount of self-control Bakugo was exhibiting.

The explosive blond didn't let out a peep the entire trip to the principal's office.

To say the conversation that followed was awkward would have been an understatement. In all of Izuku's life he'd never once told anyone about the abuse he'd suffered at Bakugo's hands (literally and figuratively). Seeing as he couldn't get the words out either, most of the "conversation" was him holding Daydreamer's hand and projecting his memories of his former classmates' cruelty. All Might, Aizawa, Daydreamer, and Bakugo remained silent as Nedzu interjected every now and then with questions.

"Thank you for your cooperation, young one. I appreciate your honesty and bravery," the principal told him with a soft smile. It faded as soon as he turned to Bakugo. "I must say it is surprising for someone with such a spotless record prior to enrolling here to have acted so unruly without facing proper repercussions. Would you care to explain why your teachers turned a blind eye when they should have been correcting such behavior?"

Bakugo crossed his arms. "None of the teachers cared about what we did."

"Could you please elaborate on that?"

"It is what I said. They were too busy making sure we hit average on national tests to break up every little fight that took place on school grounds, the principal included. Some of the teachers would avoid confrontation on purpose because they believed we should have been able to fend for ourselves. The only one who seemed to care was the nurse, but after fixing Deku up so often she learned to mind her own business as well. She tried to get me in trouble once, but because of my quirk being revered by most of the staff and my high scores on every exam the principal didn't want to ruin any chance of me getting accepted into U.A.; he told the nurse to just fix the nerd up and any further questions would result in replacement."

"First of all, that is illegal. I will have to contact a case worker to put Aldera Junior High under investigation."

Neither former student showed any signs of remorse. They both knew their school was one of the worst, and if any staff were fired for their negligence then they deserved it.

"As for the bullying," Nedzu continued, this time turning to Izuku, "no one ever contacted your mother? What about when you were injured?"

Izuku looked guilty. "I, um, told them not to. My mother has a lot of anxiety so I decided it best if she didn't know about how bad our relationship became."

"She didn't notice you coming home injured nearly every day?"

"I was very good at hiding the bruises and burns, and treating them in my room when she wasn't around was easy. By the time the other students started to hurt me really badly they learned to not make it too obvious."

The terse frown on the small mammal's face grew. From the side of the room All Might and Daydream seemed distressed while Aizawa radiated anger.

"This is indeed troubling. We'll have to discuss this in more detail with the appropriate parties. What I will say for now is that I stand by Aizawa's decision to suspend you, Bakugo, until further notice." Nedzu stated with a flick on an ear. "You will remain suspended until we've talked to your parents, whom we will be contacting tonight to schedule a visit for tomorrow after school, and come to a more permanent solution after. The four of us will be having a long talk about what has occurred before your time at U.A. Directly before that we will be having a similar conversation with the Midoriyas. Once that is all over Aizawa and I will decide where to go from there with both families present."

The blond remained silent, having accepted his punishment. Arguing now could lead to him getting expelled on the spot.

"That being said we will allow you to remain in the dorms for the suspension instead of sending you home; with the Kamino incident still fresh in our minds it would be foolish to send you home unless it comes to expulsion, to which we would employ a hero or police force to watch over your home."

As he switched gears to Izuku, he noticed the boy's hand raised again for permission to speak.

"Yes, Midoriya?"

"I'm sorry sir, but to my understanding Kacchan hasn't done anything to deserve suspension. While the matter of bullying is a serious issue I understand that much of it happened outside of school grounds making those matters of personal account. I for one choose not to act on them. The stuff that happened in school could only get him in trouble if I press charges, which I won't. Since I am sixteen and technically a minor my mother would be able to overrule my decision, but I'm confident she would trust me to make my own choice."

All Might seemed at a loss.

"My boy, the actions I saw were not those of an upcoming hero."

"I know," Izuku stressed. "I know what happened in the past was wrong. It," he took a deep breath, "was not okay. Kacchan shouldn't have treated me like that; it's not how a hero should ever behave. I'm aware of that, and he's aware of—"

"Midoriya," Aizawa's low voice cut him off. "Are you trying to deflect the fact that he's broken several quirk regulations by using his quirk on school grounds, on public property, while also causing harm to another person?"

"The 22nd quirk law states that after 365 days if said use of a quirk in public shows no evidence of having occurred that the charges are dropped except for cases of murder, arson, theft, and a few small subcategories. It was made to keep those who illegally use quirks in public out of jail so there would be more room for other offenses. Anyway, since there's no evidence of long-lasting effects of him using his quirk from back then it means his actions can't go on his record."

"You're serious, aren't you? You really don't want him to face the consequences of his actions."

"There are no consequences to face, or rather he's already faced them. He's changing for the better, Aizawa-sensei. Suspending him now for what's happened in the past when the affected, that being me, does not want to press charges or deal with the added stress of having the past dredged up makes no sense."

"Your reason for defending him is not logical. Years of abuse have made you blind to the fact he shouldn't be allowed to continue his education at one of the top high schools in the world for heroics. He apparently hasn't the slightest idea of how to be a decent human being."

Daydreamer winced. "Aizawa, isn't that a bit harsh? He's sixteen, and, well, your student."

"That makes me even more disappointed." The teacher answered flatly. "I defended him against the media, to his parents, and many others skeptical about his violent behaviors and volatile personality in the past countless times; however, while he has made minimal change it is just that. Minimal. I can't help but feel that I failed as his teacher. Perhaps keeping him in my class any longer and hoping for growth is a mistake. Perhaps his potential is zero after all."

All Might tried to intervene, but Izuku's stubborn voice drowned his out.

"Thant's not fair, sensei! He deserves to be in your class just like everyone else. He worked so hard to get here, and it would crush his dream to—"

"Newsflash, kid, but he didn't give a damn about your dream when he threw your notebook out a window and told you to jump off a roof. Dreams die all the time. It's just a part of life."

"He didn't mean it though! I know it's hard to understand, but even after what you saw I know he's still my friend."

Aizawa's eyes narrowed. Before he could comment, however, Bakugo was standing up. His entire body shook with unconcealed anger. The expression on his face was more one of absolute confusion though, as if he were unable to understand what the greenette was saying.

"What the hell, Deku? I've treated you like shit since we were four! Everyone else here saw it. We're not friends!"

Izuku frowned harder, genuine hurt flashing across his features.

"It's true you became cruel when your quirk came in, Kacchan, but just because you changed didn't make me think you were anything less than my friend."

"Your head must be screwed up from all those fights you've been in, nerd. We haven't been friends for over a decade. Friends don't beat the crap out of you, ostracize you from having a normal childhood, and let them pity you."

"I've never pitied you! I looked up to you, and still do. I admit our relationship is a bit… complicated. It's not like you actually hate me though, right? You did everything because you wanted me to give up on my dream just so I wouldn't get hurt when we thought I was quirkless, and you bullied me so the other people at school wouldn't treat me worse. Only my friend would act like a jerk at the cost of his own image to make sure I was safe. In your own unique way you've been protecting me since we were kids. You're my hero, Kacchan."

The room went silent, everyone in the room processing Izuku's words. Was that really the way Izuku had decided to analyze the situation for his entire life? Moreover, was what he said true to any extent?

All eyes slowly focused on Bakugo, who stood slack-jawed. His red eyes were wider and more despairing than ever.

Realization finally clicked in the blond's stubborn head.

"Holy shit. Deku, you're serious?"

"Of course I am! What're you—"

"Stop." Bakugo's voice was raw with emotion, caught between frustration and sadness. "After all these years thinking you've been looking at me with pity, arrogance, you mean to tell me it's because you thought I was looking out for you? You actually thought me telling you to jump off a roof was because I cared?"

Izuku seemed less sure now, but answered nonetheless.

"I do. And it's not like you meant it, right?"

"Of course not! I say stupid shit all the time; I knew you wouldn't go through with it and I knew your dumb ass wouldn't think I was serious. Do you think I'd risk my future like that?"

Before Izuku could answer someone else beat him to it.

"You already have. It… that's not something friends say to each other. Friends— good people— don't tell other people to kill themselves," Daydreamer spoke up. "What if he'd actually listened to you, Bakugo?"

The blond was still shaken, but he was able to answer with a grunt. "I already said I knew he wouldn't take me seriously! And damn, it's not like it's the worst thing someone can say to someone; telling him to commit suicide is shit compared to other things I could have said to him. Are you even from here?"

The Mind Reading hero seemed confused. "You mean Japan? No, actually. I grew up in the United States on my mom's side. I only came here for high school and onward to take care of my aging family on my dad's side. Why?"

Nedzu chose to jump in then.

"You see, in Japanese culture suicide can be considered as the morally responsible thing to do when an individual risks dishonoring one's family. Young Bakugo is trying to say that while in American culture the idea of telling another person to kill themselves is appalling, it is not as extreme an action in Japan. In a way many outside of western culture think it is a… socially acceptable solution."

Daydreamer seemed horrified. "That doesn't make sense. I mean, implying it's fine to tell anyone, much less a young boy, that killing one's self is an acceptable solution to anything is just..." he trailed off, his composure become less professional and more emotional.

"I understand you're upset," Nedzu tried to comfort him, "but different cultures, religions, and individuals have different views on ideas such as life, morality, and the like. There is no one right opinion to have on the matter, unfortunately."

"That's the same as saying what Bakugo told Midoriya was fine," he ground back out. The young hero seemed deeply upset by where the conversation had veered.

All Might cleared his throat. "Sorry, but if I may speak? I don't believe that is what the principal was trying to imply. He simply wanted to give you information; offending your personal and cultural beliefs wasn't what he intended. It was simply his way of understanding the situation. I for one agree with your point of view. The thought of Young Midoriya being told to jump off a roof, even flippantly, leaves a heavy feeling in my chest."

"Do you regret it?" Aizawa suddenly broke in, his thoughts still racing a mile a minute as he attempted to analyze his most troublesome students. From one he was still wrapping his head around his blind, fanatic faith in his abuser while the other boy screamed misinterpretation and anger issues. "Bakugo, would you apologize to him if I told you to?"

The blond gazed at his teacher warily.

"Why should I? He's fine, isn't he?"

Those two emotionless sentences sealed his fate.

"Principal Nedzu, if I may, I believe I've found an appropriate solution to our problems. I think both of their parents will agree to the conditions when they hear them tomorrow."

The mammal nodded in interest. "What is this solution? We're all ears."

The underground hero turned to Midoriya first, tired eyes more awake now than ever.

"Midoriya, you will be attending U.A.'s free counseling service during your free period every Wednesday. Talk about whatever you wish, but you'll be going until we decide you don't need to anymore."

The greenette tilted his head in surprise, but nodded after a couple seconds of thought nonetheless.

"Both of your parents," he continued, "will be informed of the situation by principal Nedzu himself. There your parents and the principal can decide what actions they might take against your old schools for allowing these incidents to happen ceaselessly. Either way they will be hearing from the Hero Association."

Finally, Aizawa turned to Bakugo.

"For you, Bakugo, I have a few simple conditions. You will be suspended indefinitely until you apologize to Midoriya."

"Huh?" All Might, Izuku, and Bakugo shouted simultaneously.

"I don't mean an insincere apology either. When you decide you're ready I want you to get a hold of Midoriya and I, then we will determine if your apology is acceptable. Oh, you'll also be required to attend anger management counseling with me every Tuesday and Thursday after classes are done for those days, as well as attending counseling sessions every other day you are suspended. If you get in trouble at any point before delivering the apology, by the way, I will expel you. Does that sound fair to you?"

Fists clenching in what appeared to be a combination of anger and dread, Bakugo simply nodded and walked out of the office without another word. As the door closed Izuku let out a strangled noise.

"I've never heard him apologize to anyone in my entire life. Can he graduate from U.A. if he's suspended for over two-thirds of his time here?"

Aizawa wanted to face-palm so hard.

I need a long, long nap.

AN#2: Just in case the question arises, I did my own research on American bullying laws in school (which vary school to school district annoyingly enough) along with suicide views in varying cultures. At the risk of seeming ignorant I also messaged a friend from college who is half Japanese (like Daydreamer) if what I wrote concerning Japanese view was in any way offensive to which she said it was not really a big deal to her and wouldn't be to most of the friends her age (suicide to her though is a bit of an "accepted out" apparently, which I don't understand completely but basically we agreed everyone will have different opinions anyway to which I decided what I wrote was fine), but depending on the generation or person it may come across as a historical-present day inaccuracy? Either way I hope if anything this chapter does upset anyone the following chapters will answer questions/resolve issues anyone may have with what's going on. This is going to be messy lol.