Chapter 21: Revelation

Amatsuki Nekoya, Neko to everyone, really hated the villain Neo Kumo. Before he appeared, her life had been good. At least taking into consideration how she had been born without a super power in a world full of quirk-elitism, where her only weapon were her wits. Blessed with good looks, people often disregarded the fact that she actually was borderline genius. A little crazy, but those two always came hand in hand, didn't they?

She had made it into Seishin Academy. Japan's most elite anti-quirk, or quirkless-supporting as they called it, middle and high school. Inside the walls of this insular institution, she had built her own little empire. Teachers, students, school staff, they all were at her mercy.

Because Knowledge is power. And she had all the talents needed to accumulate knowledge no one wanted her to have. And so, she grew powerful over the years. At least until he came and destroyed everything she had built.

He took away her best, her only true friend. It was his fault that they found out about Neko's operations, it was his fault that she was almost kicked out of Seishin. Being under tight surveillance not only of the school administration but also the freaking authorities themselves made it so much harder to continue her business. But there was a tiny bit of benefit coming from all this: the more difficult it got, the better she became at it. The moment she would graduate would be the moment a new mastermind entered the scene.

Because she wasn't just good at the things she did. She enjoyed those things, she lived for them. Hikari once remarked that her behaviour could be seen as villainous and become problematic in the future, especially after leaving Seishin, but Neko only shrugged it off. Hikari never brought it up again. Because whatever her friend said, nothing could stop Neko. She was simply born for this business.

The quirkless girl didn't bother to knock before entering Yotsune's room, the boy was expecting her anyway. His room was dark and messy as always. The bright light of the screen reflected on his glasses as he waved her towards him. Neko complied but kept her distance, well aware of the boy's perverted nature.

"You should listen to this." No formalities were exchanged. After Hikari's leave, he was the closest ally Neko had, the only one she could trust in some ways. And his skills were pretty useful at that.

Neko sat on the second chair she had ordered him to put up since their meetings became more frequent. She put in the second pair of headphones the boy held up and watched him digging out a file deep in the vast ocean of folders. It was an audio recording. After throwing her one last glance, Yotsune clicked the play button.

"... thinking?!" the distressed voice of Seishin's principal spoke. Papers rustled, a drawer was opened. The recording had to be from her office. Neko was impressed by her ally's ability to get almost anything she asked for.

"Principal, please…" Neko didn't know the man the voice belonged to.

"Going out in the open like that?! He didn't even bother to inform me!"

"Princip-"

"You don't seem to grasp the severity of this incident," the principal stressed. A loud thud indicated that she hammered her fist on the table.

"I knew I shouldn't have trusted him. Our stock is almost exhausted, we can't continue our experiments like that. Everything will be for naught if we don't get more supplies soon."

"Principal," the man tried to get her attention, "I'm sure we'll find a solution. He has given us the name of the supplier, maybe we can-"

"Are you suggesting we initiate contact with the Yakuza ourselves?! Are you MAD?"

"We don't have a choice! As you said, our stock will last us for another two weeks or so, until then-"

The recording broke off. Neko and Yotsune exchanged a glooming look.

"Is there more?"

"Sadly, no," Yotsune explained, "I got this when I was bored during English, I didn't expect I would actually manage to hack into her system."

"But you can do it again?"

The boy bared his teeth in a creepy grin. "You bet."

"Then what are you waiting for? I'm gonna see what I can get out of some people." Neko ripped the headphones from her ears and stomped towards the door.

"Don't forget my crisps!" The boy called after her as she exited.

It was the third time someone had mentioned those experiments.

Last night had been awful, just like the night before. And the night before that night. Izuku sighed. He had drifted in and out of sleep for hours until he decided to let out his frustration by jogging around the campus at five in the morning. At least he got to see another beautiful sunrise. As the others got up, he avoided going near the common area. Not that he was hungry anyway. His nervousness peaked whenever he remembered what day it was: The day he would tell his closest friends about Dragon. He still didn't know where to start. Time flew by as he tried to distract himself by reading Iida's notes on the classes he missed yesterday.

A knock on almost caused him to fall out of his chair. "Y-yes?"

"Midoriya? Are you feeling alright?"

Shit. They were worrying. Izuku stumbled to the door and tore it open. "Yeah, sorry, I was looking at your notes. What's up, Iida-kun?"

For the split of a second, Iida peered over the freckled boy's shoulder into the room before adjusting his glasses. Then he announced, "The others brought snacks from their trip to the city, we're having a movie marathon tonight! They're trying to choose which ones to watch and we wanted you to join us."

A movie night? That sounded ordinary. He could use ordinary right now. "Sure! I'm coming."

Izuku quickly turned around to turn off his desk lamp before following his friend downstairs.

It was horribly loud in the common area. Izuku winced. Ever since his sleep schedule ceased to exist, he grew sensible to noise. Trying to play it down he put on his best fake smile. Yaoyorozu and Jirou unpacked grocery bags in the kitchen area, Ojiro and Tokoyami stood in the middle of the room focusing on the description on one of the DVDs. Most of the others sat on the couches, vividly discussing. Ashido held up some kind of musical or dance movie while loudly explaining what its plot. Only a few of their classmates were missing the scene.

Despite the uneasiness tingling in his belly, Izuku joined them with Iida. In his clumsiness, the future symbol of peace stumbled over a leg being widely extended from the closest couch. Immediately, red irises bore into his soul.

"Watch out where the fuck you're going, nerd!" Izuku expected more but to his surprise Bakugou just turned away. He had been acting different towards Izuku lately. Was it thanks to All Might exposing his secret or had it started after Onderon? It was hard to say.

Izuku and Iida squeezed themselves on the couch beside Uraraka and Asui. Uraraka was arguing with Ashido whether her musical movie was good or complete trash. Their loud voices mixed with the news broadcast on the TV in the background, somewhere a phone rang, then Iida proceeded to scold Mineta for whatever he had intended to do - and it grew too much. Izuku closed his eyes and tried to focus. He tried to block out the noise, the yelling, the-

A hand on his shoulder almost made him jump.

"Midoriya."

Izuku quickly tried to get his panicked expression under control. "To-todoroki-kun! W-what i-is it?"

"Do you have a minute?" A strange request from the dual-quirk wielder. Izuku nodded, not trusting his voice. He got up and followed Todoroki to the back of the room, where it was much quieter.

"You don't have to be here if you don't feel like it." Blunt as usual. Two differently coloured eyes bore into him, seeing right through his lazy disguise. Izuku's face crumpled.

"I… It's not that I don't want to, i-it's just…"

"Midoriya," Todoroki started again, "you don't look well. Maybe you should rather rest."

"Rest? Me? Sure. Haven't tried that one yet." He regretted it as soon as the words left his lips. Izuku immediately slapped a hand in front of his mouth, eyes wide, not believing what he just said. Todoroki looked equally startled. He had probably never heard Izuku giving such an impulsive, almost aggressive and sarcastic reply. Heck, Izuku himself wasn't sure if he had ever said anything the like out loud.

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't be." After the initial shock disappeared, Todoroki returned to his usual, stoic self. "Iida and Uraraka are here as well. If you want, you can tell us now. Whatever it is that makes you feel that way, I don't think you should keep it to yourself any longer." It was a well-intentioned advice, yet all Izuku heard was you're acting weird. He gulped.

"I-I..."

"Oh my god it's him!" Whatever the freckled teen was going to say - he wasn't sure himself - it drowned in a wave of appalled outbursts. All attention was drawn to the TV screen in front of the seating accommodation, someone turned the volume up. Izuku and Todoroki exchanged one last glance before approaching the small crowd forming there. The moment they came to a halt, Izuku wished he hadn't come. Because, as Kaminari had yelled, it was him.

Dragon.

Unmistakably. The short but unruly raven hair, the sharp handsome features. The a tad too big looking eyes. He stood on top of a building, everything around him shrouded in darkness. It took Izuku exactly half a second to recognize the manifesto from Onderon. But why? Why were they showing it? Why here, why now?!

Izuku's breaths grew quick and shallow as the man's words sunk in. His fingers clawed to the backrest of the couch, needing the support so he wouldn't fall over.

"Midoriya…?" sounded Iida's voice, full of worry. Izuku couldn't look up to his friend, eyes fixed on the back of his hands, ears sucking in the venom dripping words of his father.

"Midoriya-kun? A-are you alright?" He didn't even register who the voice belonged to. Sweat began to run down his temples. He knew he was breathing, but it felt like he was suffocating.

"Midoriya!" Multiple voices screamed. Then, Iida once again, instructed, "Turn off the TV!"

"NO!" It sounded alien to Izuku. He didn't think he was still able to speak. "Please… I… I need to see this." Black dots danced around his vision. But he only saw one thing: Dragon.

Heavy, fast steps could be heard from the outside. The door burst open. Both Aizawa-sensei and All Might stumbled in.

Dragon disappeared. The TV cut back to the news reporter.

It felt like all life was drained from his body. Izuku's legs gave in. Both his teachers were at his sides in an instant, holding him up. The boy couldn't hold back his tears anymore. They tried to talk to him, comfort him. He felt All Might's bony hand carefully petting his back, a little awkwardly. He felt the stares of his classmates. But whatever was happening to his body, it didn't stop. He gasped for air between his sobs. His arm burned, his back, his whole side, every spot dragon's flames had touched. They burned, as if freshly inflicted.

Then, something cold touched. He felt the cool soaking his clothes, alleviating some of the pain.

"...going to be fine, my boy. He can't hurt you here." All Might. Bit by bit, the blocked voices came through.

"Midoriya, I need you to calm down. Take a deep breath." Aizawa-sensei. They were here, all here. For him. Slowly, the pain began to dissipate. Izuku tried to wipe his tears away. He just had had another panic attack. In front of all his friends.

"Good, that's it. It's going to be fine, young Midoriya." He looked up at All Might. His mentor was smiling at him, eyes full of worry. In front of him, Uraraka fell on her knees, equally as much tears in her own eyes. "Deku-kun!"

The whole class was jolted awake by her action. They all cried his name full of concern. Iida came down beside Uraraka. Todoroki was already crouching in-between Aizawa-sensei and All Might, cooling Izuku's burns with his quirk. Izuku turned to him, forming a quick thank you with his lips. His voice didn't obey. Todoroki got his message though and nodded in return. Taking a few deep breaths under Aizawa-sensei's direction finally calmed his inner turmoil. He was suddenly tired. He felt empty. He turned to a state of apathy.

Aizawa turned to the class. "Iida, Todoroki, please help Midoriya get cleaned up. All Might and I are going to have a word."

The two called students took Izuku by the arms and helped him on his shaky legs. They led him down the hall to the baths.

The class was silent. Most of them sat at the tables, some slouching on the couch. No one dared to say a word. Uraraka was still wiping away a few stray tears while Tsuyu held her hand, petting her head.

"Okay, I have enough of that depressed mood. What the hell just happened?" Ashido lifted her arms in a defeated gesture. She looked around the room, finding only thoughtful and clueless expressions. She frowned at Bakugou.

"Who the hell you looking at, Pinkie? The hell I know. It's not like that shithead would talk to me about anything."

"But you've known him for a long time!"

"It's not like he's ever done that before if that's what you wanna know! I don't fucking know what's up with that shitty nerd lately." He frowned. He always frowned, but this time it seemed less out of anger, more out of something no one could identify.

Tsuyu spoke up next, "Bakugou is not wrong though, kero. Midoriya has been acting off, lately."

"I admit, I too am quite worried," Shouji threw in. Aoyama agreed, "Me too. Pauvre garçon."

"Don't pressure him. He will come to us when the time is right," Tokoyami reminded his friends with JIrou backing him up. "He sure has his reasons not to tell us."

Silence returned. An unsettling mood set over them. Finally, Yaoyorozu broke it once more, "Hikari… You don't happen to know something?"

Startled, the girl by the window turned to the rest of the class, all eyes fixed on her. She had joined them only moments before the recording aired.

"Midoriya seemed to calm down after you told Todoroki to cool his burns."

For a moment, her expression was blank. Then she avoided their gazes by fixing her eyes on the floor. "It's... Not my place to tell."

Obviously, the class wouldn't leave it at that. Asui, with her amazing reception, stated, "Something did happen in Onderon, didn't it? Something regarding this villain on TV, Dragon."

"I really can't-"

"It's fine." They all turned to find Midoriya, flanked by Iida and Todoroki, standing by the door. Uraraka immediately jumped to her feet, dashed towards her friend and squeezed his hand.

"Deku-kun!"

"I… This…" He was clearly having trouble finding the right words. He closed his eyes, taking a few shaky breaths. "I should have told you a long time ago, b-but I didn't k-know how…"

"Take your time, you don't have to force yourself if you're not ready!" Iida sympathetically reminded him. Izuku gave his friend the tiniest remnant of a smile. "Thanks, Iida-kun, but I really need to do this."

He turned back to the rest of his class. "The villain you just saw on TV, Dragon, he… He… He is my father."

They all stared at him in disbelief.

"Woah, Midoriya, that's nothing to jok-" Jirou quickly elbowed Kaminari in the ribs, making him stop.

"I-I… I just," Izuku stuttered, "I didn't know! W-we always though h-he was abroad, w-working o-overseas, he s-s-sent money each month, I-I didn't even remember him…" Fresh tears were streaming down his face. "And suddenly he was there, r-responsible for all this… For so much pain and death-"

"Midoriya," Todoroki reminded everyone of his presence, "did he… Did he do this to you?"

Midoriya froze. Of course, some of them would puzzle everything together. They were smart.

"I… I attacked him. He, he defended himself."

"But he burned you."

"He… Yes, he did."

There was silence. Again. The two boys looked at each other. Todoroki's eyes full of anger, Midoriya's full of terror as if he just realized the graveness of the incident. The air was thick. The tension electrifying. The first sound, almost making their ears bleed, was a chair being pushed back. They all turned to Satou who clapped in his hands. "I made cupcakes for everyone this morning! Who wants one?"

It was almost hilarious. His feeble attempt to loosen the mood. Many awkwardly glanced between his smile and Midoriya's still blank expression, until Uraraka lifted her hand. "Yes, that's a great idea, right, Deku-kun?"

Ripped from his thoughts, the boy blinked, then feigned a smile. "Uh, yes, that's… That's great…"

A collective sigh went through the rows. Some got up, the first awkward conversations were started. Satou rushed into the kitchen, taking Shouji and Aoyama with him to help get the cupcakes. Yaoyorozu promised to make tea. Kouda suddenly appeared in front of Izuku, placing a small rabbit in his arms.

"They always help me to calm down when I'm anxious," he admitted, voice so low they barely understood him. Midoriya's smile grew a little less fake. "Th-thank you, Kouda-kun."

It truly was… Different from how Izuku had imagined the big reveal. They ate cupcakes, talked about ordinary things. His friends were trying their best to distract him from any dark thoughts. It would take them a while to overcome the shock and realize the severity of the situation, though.

Izuku played with the rabbit for quite a while until Mineta decided to scoop it up and almost tossed it into the air, so the poor, scared to death animal peed all over him. Many of them tried to hold back, but half the class broke out in laughter. It was his punishment for trying to peek into Hagakure's room that morning.

Izuku was grateful. He couldn't imagine any other place he wanted to be more. None of his friends were upset with him for being the son of a villain. If anything, they tried to cheer him up, directing his thoughts somewhere else.

For a brief moment, his eyes locked with Hikari. She flashed him a proud smile that warmed his heart. Kouda brought the rabbit back to his room, the mood was rather elevated that evening. No one besides Kirishima noticed the thoughtful stares Bakugou directed towards Izuku every other minute.

Up in his room, a message flashed up on Izuku's phone.