The police had arrived with the heros, and a group of them headed in with handcuffs while the paramedics swarmed the students to make sure everyone was okay. Katsuki had pulled him up after giving him a quick second for his from-relief freakout.

Izuku was very glad that the injuries from his poltergeist form had disappeared because he'd really hate to have to explain those. He glanced to his side where Kirishima, Todoroki, and Kacchan stood. Eheh… he already had enough people who he'd have to come up with an explanation for. Kacchan, in particular, seemed shaky, scarlet eyes dilated, and finger's twitching with restrained explosions. A paramedic seemed to think the same, because he approached with a shock blanket only to be shouted off by Katsuki's angry yelling that- "I'M NOT A WIMP. GIVE THAT STUPID BLANKET TO SOMEONE WHO ACTUALLY NEEDS IT."

That was sweet of Katsuki.

"Oh, so this must be Kacchan." The boy in question whipped around to Sansa, hand poised where it would have been popping little sparks if he hadn't already used up most of his sweat.

"HAH? Who the FUCK are you calling Kacchan?"

"He's much uglier than you described, Midori." Suke commented, stepping out from beside Sansa.

"Wha-? No way, Suke-san! Kacchan is the cutest!" Izuku pouted, affronted. Kacchan had such pretty eyes full of complete determination for victory and pale skin flushed by battle, dirt smudging his cheek and yes he was kind of a wreck at the moment-but it was a testament to how hard Katsuki had fought!

"Deku~" Katsuki growled threateningly. "Why the hell were you describing me as cute to the police-strike that, why the hell do you know the police?" Kirisihima and Todoroki perked up, clearly just as interested

"Eheh, weeeell, it's a pretty long story so I mean-"

"That's fine. I've got time." Ah, Kacchan was scary.

"Sorry," Sansa interrupted. "You actually don't. Since Aizawa was unconscious in the center, we need the four of you to come in and answer questions. We'll need parental permission of course, but you'll be in police supervision until we receive it."

Izuku winced, ready to sneak away. "I'll just be going then, you know me, no need to be part of it right?"

Sansa laid a stern hand on his shoulder. "Not this time, Midoriya. We need you more than anyone else. Don't think we forgot that you somehow knew about this beforehand."

Katsuki's head snapped toward them at the words. "WHAT THE HELL? That's why you were acting weird? You fucking shitty nerd I'll fucking kill you-" Kirishima held him back from a lunge with some placating words, though he sent an odd look at Izuku as they all trailed after the police.

Izuku let himself drift slightly behind, glancing at Nana who stood, soul dimmer than normal a few feet away. "Nana-san?"

"Sorry, Bean." She choked out, eyes locked on the floor. "This is probably my fault. If I hadn't felt like I needed to tag along like a lost puppy after Toshi then-" Izuku stood on his tiptoes to flick Nana lightly on the forehead.

"No." He asserted firmly. "This is not your fault. Even if I'd borrowed," his voice quieted, "One For All, I might have just ended up with broken bones and not been able to do anything. Everyone did their best."

"But, Tenko-If I hadn't been so obsessed with seeing where the product of my teachings took Toshinori then-"

Izuku shook his head again. "I'm sorry, Nana-san, but you are a ghost. There's nothing you can do." His gaze drifted away from Nana, up toward the cloudy sky. "Once we're gone, all we have left is our legacy." He smiled at the sun. "Be proud that the legacy you left is as bright as it is."

Izuku wished he could say the same of what he'd left behind.

• • •

Izuku was not worried about the interrogation. Key word, "was". Then Tsukauchi Naomasa walked in and suddenly Izuku wanted to sweat. He knew the man of course, had 'met' him a few times while following All Might around all those months ago.

The human lie detector. If his quirk had worked based on heart rate or body signs or anything it would have been fine, but of course it was based on the mind itself. This quirk would work on Izuku.

He fidgeted nervously as Tsukauchi pulled out a heavy metal chair that screeched against the ground, making both of them wince at the grating sound.

"So, Midoriya-kun. Before we begin I have to inform you that this conversation is being recorded-"

"That won't be a problem."

"What?"

"Wut?" Izuku panicked. Why had he said that? Sure, he could already tell that the camera's were down, the light blinking on them far to erratic for the video feed to be any good, and the recorder was closer so of course it was going to be more effected, but how stupid!

Tsukauchi stared at him, dark eyes steady, before sighing. "Okay then, I'll continue."

They ran through the basic questions-name, age, what he was doing at the USJ, before Izuku encountered his first problem.

"What is your quirk?" Izuku remained silent, staring at the detective who just eyed him, weirded out by his weird expression. "Quirk?" he prompted, confused.

"Uh… Manifest. Physical Oddities." There. The answer and a nonsense sentence. Should be fine. Tsukauchi hmm'd, flipping through the papers he had in front of him.

"It's labeled as Physics Negation?"

"I've recently realized a new application of it. It would probably be more accurate to say it is Physics Manipulation." Not accurate by any stretch, but more so, he could deal with. That settled that, and Tsukauchi moved on. Izuku was happy to describe Aizawa's fight with the villains and the things he said, carefully skipping over any mention of a Tenko Shimura.

"What was the name of the villain with the disintegration quirk?" Well, heck. Remind Izuku again why the world hated him? He could tell Tsukauchi who would tell All Might but who knows what would happen then. Would it be better to tell them now? Izuku would have to think about it, honestly.

"Kurogiri called him Shigaraki Tomura." It went smoothly, Izuku mostly able to dodge any questions about the time he was in poltergeist-sicko-mode.

"Your classmates explained that you engaged in battle with the lead villains and the noumu. They also mentioned there was a point where you… 'changed', in their words, but they seemed unable to go more into depth than that. Can you tell me what happened?"

Izuku's gaze flicked away. "I'd rather not."

"Midoriya," Tsukauchi began, carefully. "I promise you that you're safe here. If you have knowledge that you or someone else could be in danger-"

"No one is in danger because of-" he choked, cutting himself off. If he'd continued that sentence, it would become a lie. He couldn't remember it clearly, but he'd felt the bloodlust and the hatred he'd had as a poltergeist. It was like all the pain he'd felt as he'd died had been transmuted into anger and a desire to kill embodied in a smile that hurt his face. Who knows what he would have done. Izuku swallowed heavily. "No one is in danger."

Nodding carefully, Tsukauchi looked at the last question. "Can you tell me how you knew about the villains beforehand?"

Finally, a question he was prepared for. "If you ask Sansa and Suke, you'd know I get in trouble a lot."

Tsukauchi huffed a laugh of disbelief. "An understatement." Oh good, he probably knew about 'Midori' already then.

"I came across a villain informant called Giran a… little while ago. He told me that the villains would be attacking the USJ today."

"Giran?" There was a visible surprise on his plain face. "But he's so notorious for being trustworthy with villains," he paused. "Also a very dangerous man. Why would he approach you?"

He didn't of course, but as long as Izuku didn't acknowledge that- "He seemed interested in me." He had. "Maybe he wanted to recruit me?"

Tsukauchi nodded carefully, studying him. Izuku knew no outright lies had been said during the meeting, but he still worried. It was dangerous dealing with Tsukauchi.

"All right then, Midoriya. Thank you for your time." Tsukauchi smiled. "You can join your classmates now. Please be careful though," his smile smirked lightly. "We at the police force don't want our little pseudo-vigilante getting hurt. Let me tell you; it was a pain getting you that restricted license, Mr. Midori."

Izuku's smile was genuine as he left the room. "Thank you, Tsukauchi-san!" Maybe the man wasn't that bad-even if his quirk was a pain for a ghost.

Katsuki sat in the uncomfortable waiting room chairs. Shitty Hair had stolen the only not-shitty one-it had cushions and armrests for some godforsaken reason-draping himself comfortable over the lounge. Why there was a throne amongst cheap-ass plastic office chairs, Katsuki had no clue. The green color was stupidly familiar though.

He drummed fingers rapidly against his leg. There was a bruise there, and it hurt with each tap against the spot, but the pain was ground.

Green. Deku. Fucking Deku. Deku and red crimson dripping, spilling, staining concrete a dark maroon that didn't belong on the pale grey. Deku, bones sticking from his joints where they had splattered, fragments never to be healed. Splinters of grisly white caught in scarlet and heady, sickening iron scent.

"Bakubro?" Shitty Hair asked, using the newly coined stupid nickname. His hand didn't stop ticking, but he moved his gaze away from unfocused green to stare at the bastard who somehow gave him a worse nickname than Kacchan. (Fuck you, it doesn't matter that he likes being called Kacchan by Deku). "You all right?"

"Shut up Shitty Hair."

"It's Kirishima!" The teenager responded, almost as brightly as Izuku. "Man, I don't blame you for being shaken. That was crazy, whatever happened wit-"

"Where the fuck do you get off calling me shaken, you extra!"

"Aw man…" he pouted. "I thought we'd gotten past that. We fought so well together. Surely I've earned some respect!"

"Ehem." Interrupted Peppermint, from where he sat at the other side of the room. He was ignored.

"YOU'LL GET RESPECT WHEN YOU EARN IT!"

"That's what Kirishima said." Candycane said, interrupting again.

"Did I fucking ask?"

The idiot managed to look confused. "No, but i figured you should know since you seem too stupid to pay attention to our fellow pupils-"

Katsuki snarled, ready to blow up the station. A soft hand on his arm, quieted him instantly, recognizing the small white lines across his knuckles (where bones had pierced and snapped and left fingers mangled and blue).

"Be nice to our classmates, Kacchan." Deku chided. A tension Katsuki didn't know he'd been holding onto dropped at Izuku's bright smile (there were no drips of vermillion staining his teeth anymore. That would be enough for Katsuki).

"Midoriya." Canada said, stoically. "I'd like to ask about what occurred during the battle." Fucking hell. The damn idiot couldn't give them a minute of respite, could he?

"O-of course!" Izuku stuttered, eyes flitting around the room dartingly. "There's a park nearby, if you want to talk about it there?"

• • •

It really was nearby, less than a block away, and for whatever reason, Deku decided to sit down on the swing set. He began kicking back and forth, and Katsuki realized it's because he couldn't be still.

"So…" Shitty Hair began awkwardly.

"How were you able to change your appearance and be terrifying?" the Koi Fish asked inelegantly.

Shitty Hair ran a hand through his shitty spikes. "Not the way I would have phrased it, but yeah, that." He turned his gaze to Katsuki. "You seemed pretty surprised too. Did you know about that ability?"

He hesitated before answering honestly, shaking his head no. He heard Izuku take a deep breath beside him, and knew he had reached a resolve.

"My real quirk is actually much more along the lines of the abilities of a ghost." Well fuck. Katsuki didn't think Deku would reveal that much, but he at least knew the boy enough to know that was as far as he would go.

"And why do you hide it?" asked Santa-Katsuki needed some new information on the boy so he could find a good nickname for Scar face.

Izuku laughed nervously. "Think of it like a horror movie ghost. My quirk is scary and… I can lose control. It's better if people just don't know."

"Bro!" Shitty Hair protested, standing up from the bench. "But isn't that, like, limiting your abilities?"

Izuku shook his head firmly, a wry smile biting at his lips. "It's safer this way, trust me."

Shitty Hair shook his head, almost like he was disappointed. "Sorry Midoriya, but that's not very manly. You should trust us to trust you, you know? I thought you were the type to give it your all." He sighed, before kicking at the bench leg and leaving with a short explanation that his mothers were waiting for him, and probably really worried.

Prince Zuko remained at the bench, sitting primly as he eyed Midoriya contemplatively. "I think I understand." He said blandly, before standing and leaving without a good-bye. What a snob. Katsuki didn't hesitate to cuss him out as he slid onto the ground next to Izuku, wanting to be as close as possible.

Silence hung for a minute as they stared at the sky. Their moms would probably begin panicking soon, but for now they had quiet.

"Kacchan," Deku began, voice wavering, and Katsuki's attention immediately snapped to him. "I'm scared."

"Hah?" Deku had faced down literal monsters and villains just hours ago and now he was scared? That was a shitty delayed reaction if Katsuki had ever seen one.

"I'm worried I'll hurt someone. That I'll be a villain." Izuku didn't look at him, but Katsuki knew that voice, the one thickened with tears that glistened in malachite eyes.

"Don't be stupid." Katsuki scoffed. "You're too weak to hurt anybody."

Izuku coughed a wet laugh. "Thank you." He said shortly, breath still thick, but lighter too. Silence returned as they stared at the darkening sky, but it wasn't really quiet.

Cicadas buzzed into the humid evening air, quieting as the last rays of light began to sleep.

"FUCK THEM ALL!" Tomura raged, sending a kick through one of Kurogiri's bar stools. They were so fucking close! They'd almost had All Might, almost killed those kids, almost killed Eraserhead, almost, almost, almost almost almost almost almost ALMOST!

It was all that fucking green rat's fault, and Tomura still couldn't get that chill and a soft voice that whispered Tenko off his back.

"Tomura." Sensei greeted from the television, static covering his picture as he didn't bat an eye at Tomura's tantrum. "If you can't explain properly, I'll have to ask Kurogiri.

Shigaraki clicked his tongue annoyed as he forced his anger into his hand and quickly grabbed a glass, allowing it to disintegrate into fragments of sharp diamond dust.

"It was all because of this fucking brat. He had some sort of illusion quirk-it was terrifying. I don't get scared like that Sensei. It had to have been cheat codes."

His teacher hummed, unconvinced. "An empath quirk then."

"The noumu got scared too. Enough that it failed to follow orders."

Static filled the dim bar as Sensei didn't respond. Tomura continued. "He hacked into my log history and made illusions based on my past. I want to kill him..How dare he make me remember things I don't want to… how dare he-" Tomura muttered.

"Shigaraki." Sensei interrupted. "If you don't want to remember, you don't have to. Just forget until you're ready."

Tomura froze, before nodding. "Of course. I've already moved past that. I still want to kill him though. He managed to almost kill the noumu several times and-"

"He almost killed the noumu?" Sensei broke in again, leaving Tomura irritated. "I thought his quirk was empath based?" He seemed genuinely interested now.

"That's what I don't understand!" seethed Tomura. "He was able to teleport and avoid Kurogiri's portals and he had some sort of OP telepathic power-he slammed the noumu and he broke my arms! Then when he decided to go emo middle-schooler on us, except he was an actual Chuunibyo. And the air got cold too! There was frost even after he quit his fucking empath act so-"

"Interesting." Tomura glowered at the TV that housed Sensei's voice. How much would he be punished if he disintegrated it? "I'm very interested in this boy, Shigaraki. What an odd variety to belong under one quirk…"

Kurogiri reacted to the conversation for the first time. "You think he may have multiple?"

Sensei let out a chilling laugh. "Anything is possible."

Shouta woke up with a splitting headache. When had his bed gotten so uncomfortable? He thought he'd bought those weighted blankets so he'd be warm, why was he that the sheets felt so thin and yet he couldn't move a single damn limb. It was like they were broken.

Fuck.

His students-were they alright! He attempted to struggle up, ignoring the blackness-he wasn't blind, he could feel the rough bandages across his face.

"Now now, Shou-kun," Chided Nedzu, laying a large paw across Shouta's chest and trapping him down with the deceptive strength of small animals. "All of your students are unharmed."

A flash of Midoriya, covered and blood and splintering bone flashed through his head. That was fine? "Mid..oriy...a?" He grunted through a hoarse throat.

"Perfectly fine!" Cheered the rodent, probably throwing round paws into the air. "Not one scratch on him. He probably got off best out of all the students!"

That seemed impossible, but Shouta knew he had no chance of arguing with the principle. However even if he was physically fine, he had been there when Shouta had gotten crushed right? That was traumatizing for pro heros and-why did Shouta have faint memories of talking to the boy after he'd been nearly killed?

"Now go to sleep, Shou-kun. You have a concussion, and head injuries can cause loss of memory surrounding the event itself or recurring memory loss after the injury. Severe memory loss is unlikely, a low chance that I won't bore you with now, but you had a Grade 4 concussion, and are honestly lucky you did not go comatose. You'll have to refrain from activity for a few weeks, Shou-kun, but I need my best teacher back as soon as possible, so rest up."

He'd find out when they got back to school. Probably. For now he really wanted to just fuck it and just do what Nedzu said.

Shouto passed out before he could finish the thought