This is the original chapter 31. It is going to be out of order from the usual deleted scenes but the reason for that is this was the original chapter 31 I put up. I feel the fact that it was an actual chapter gives it priority over the other material I have. There is actually more here than in the main chapter because I was working on Aizawa's thoughts for a future chapter that have now been rendered more or less useless.

Before posting it, I was kind of on the fence about whether it was a good idea to stick with this chapter or not. It was just as device among my readers as it was in my mind. So, I listened to what my readers said and came up with a new way to approach the situation that was in part based on the comments that were posted at the time.

Unfortunately, most of those comments were lost when I deleted the chapter from the main story (the ones on FanFiction remained intact, though).

Hopefully my readers enjoy the alternate version I post on the main story. Personally, I like the approach I came up with as a result over there better than this one, although it will take longer to play out. At the time I post this, said plans will not be out in their completion yet, though.

I also want to mention that there is a good chance that several passages from this will pop up within the main story that will be directly or indirectly from this. So, keep that in mind.

I am not sure when I will have the new version of chapter 31 ready but I am working on it.

Punishment

Shota stared at the boy who was once again crying. This time, in obvious self-hatred and disgust.

Considering his tale, Shota wouldn't say that it was completely unjustified. He wasn't about to comfort Bakugou with false platitudes and tell the boy that he hadn't done anything wrong.

Besides, if Shota was honest, he didn't much feel like comforting Bakugou at the moment. As a result of the nature of his quirk he had hardly had an easy childhood, either. There were few things considered creepier than a quirk that could interact with other quirks and the kids around him had made sure he knew that. Still, it was nothing in comparison to what Midoriya had apparently gone through.

So, on an emotional level, he had no tolerance for the type of behavior Bakugou had admitted to.

But he had admitted to it and acknowledged that he knew it was messed up. Furthermore, he had also revealed that he had been encouraged by the people who should have been stopping him. For now, Shota would keep reins on his emotions. There would definitely be targets to release the full brunt of his fury on later.

In Shota's opinion, one of the best parts about being able to hold back his feelings when acting was the results of plans that he actually took an emotional interest in. Sure, he had to restrain himself and it took longer for a result than if he had just charged in but the ultimate payoff was often far greater than anything that could have been achieved if he had rushed forth in fury.

Hearing about the school these boys hailed from, the promise that this could be one of those times was one he could easily make to himself. It was the only comforts he could take from this.

The promise would make that particular waiting game easier.

With that in mind, Shota pointed out, "Don't think that you were the only guilty party. You played a major role, but group think and failure of your role models played a part, too. So, don't take the full credit all for yourself."

"You can't be saying you don't blame me."

"Oh, make no mistake, I am holding you responsible. You admitted to harming not only Midoriya, but several other children."

And he had already thought of the consequences he would lay down for Bakugou's actions. The idea he'd come up with had come to his mind with far too much ease for his liking.

"...So, what now?"

"You told me something, knowing I wouldn't like it. Now it's my turn. Your punishments."

Bakugou drew himself tall at that, his face emotionless, except for his eyes which glowed with a determination that was reminiscent of Midoriya, himself. He'd already accepted that he was going to face consequences for his action. He expected them. And despite Shota's anger, there was a touch of pride at how the boy was willing to take whatever punishment he was given.

"I have a short term one, and a long term one." It was the latter of the two that he was disgusted at himself for coming up with. But, looking at the boy before him, he also knew Bakugou would accept nothing short of a horrendous punishment in order to ever have a chance of redeeming himself and what he had in mind would more than cover it.

Shota wasn't sure that Bakugou would even accept praise on either his bravery or his willingness to accept the consequences of his actions from him after this.

Even if the worst of it would probably never happen.

Shota hoped it wouldn't, for many reasons but knowing Midoriya and hearing about his past, he had to accept that there was a possibility.

Many heroes, once properly introduced to the system in all its dysfunctional glory, became disillusioned. Most such people tended to accept it or burn out. Midoriya was the type of person who might act on his disappointment, though. He could easily see the boy expressing his opinion publicly once he'd gained some clout. But if the worst-case scenario ever came to pass and he felt that such actions weren't enough; if he decided more extreme actions were necessary…

Shota recalled the fight from the previous night, remembering the way Bakugou had known exactly how to counter Midoriya's fighting style.

Shota hated himself for even considering this… But he was getting ahead of himself. First thing, first.

"The school has technology capable of disabling chemical-based Quirks. Once the requested equipment is set up, you'll be wearing it until I say otherwise. I plan to allow you conditional use of your quirk during training. Other than that, when you're outside of your room, you should be wearing them." The only reason Shota allowed for this condition was constantly keeping his hands in the devices would be detrimental to Bakugou's health. "I'll be checking to make sure you are keeping them in working order and should you have a physical reaction to them, you're to inform me immediately. Are we clear?"

"Yes. And what about the other one?"

Aizawa fought to keep his features neutral as he said, "I'm lifting my threat of expulsion and trading it for a new responsibility that you will hold for the rest of your hero career."

"What?! You're lifting your threat? After everything I just said?" Bakugou was furious as he declared this, offended at the prospect of Shota seemingly letting him off easy.

Shota held up a hand, gesturing for silence before saying, "You will listen to what I have to say, Bakugou. Believe me, I'm not reducing your punishment. Not in the slightest."

The boy looked skeptical at the thought that Shota could come up with something as bad as getting kicked out of heroics.

Honestly, this was probably worse.

"What you've just told me was essentially an origin story for many a terrifying villain from the perspective of one of the people who gave them the biggest push toward it."

"Deku would never turn to villainy!"

"No. He'd never stop trying to rescue people who need help." Shota smiled grimly as he added, "The two aren't necessarily mutually exclusive in our society." He glared at Bakugou and said, "Midoriya has the potential to become one of the greatest heroes of our time. Maybe of all time. But, because of how Japan operates and the way he grew up, there will always be potential for him to turn into a villain by choosing to help people that the rest of our society has chosen to ignore. He's seen the darker side of it; you, his childhood friend turned bully, played a major role in showing it to him when you turned your back on him for being 'weak.' You, your old classmates, your old teachers; they all helped him see that. Are you telling me he wouldn't ever rush to help people who have been cast aside like he was?"

Bakugou looked down at the ground. "Well, yeah, he would but... Fuck!" That was all the answer needed to prove Deku could easily get the 'villain' label slapped on him. If he reached out to save the wrong people, his reputation as a hero would be ruined.

Knowing that wouldn't stop Midoriya, either. It wouldn't even slow him down. "He's already gone vigilante multiple times and danced the line to help save you in Kamino. The law is no issue for him."

"So, what does the possibility of Deku turning villain have to do with my punishment?" Bakugou asked bitterly.

As if the change in subject might lead to something more pleasant.

It wouldn't.

"From this moment, you will share the responsibility of keeping Midoriya stable within hero society. You will keep an eye on him. You will learn about and watch for any possible triggers and do your best to help him through them." As bad as it was to demand Bakugou manipulate and distract the other boy so that he didn't see the suffering of 'the wrong people,' Shota felt it paled in comparison to the final part of his order. "And if he turns, you will bear the greatest responsibility in our movements against him. Or, if you are not yet experienced enough to hold that position, you will be trained for it while contributing what you can to any efforts against him."

"And if he's convinced me he's right?"

Aizawa levelled his gaze at Bakugou and said, "We both know that you want to be a hero first and foremost to prove you're the best of the best. You may be developing more reasons to care about the people around you but I doubt you'll change enough to be willing to surrender your position in the ranks of this system. And now, as of this moment, you'll have an actual reason beyond that to hold your position."

Bakugou's held his hands at his sides. By tightly clenching his fists, he almost hid how they trembled. "If Midoriya were to go villain, he'd make Dusty look like a joke. Even without All Might's Quirk. Especially if he breaks through the rules he's set for himself. Deku knows the strengths and weaknesses of everyone around him and has plans for exploiting them."

"I know, I found out what he was writing in his journals last night."

"Is that what he's going to Nezu about?"

"Yes. We're locking them away and then applying some actual education to his talent."

"You're teaching him how to use his analysis skills better?" Bakugou asked, awe and terror leaking into his voice.

"It would be a waste to ignore his abilities, especially considering the type of role that he will be intended to take as All Might's successor." Even if that role would clearly need to be heavily altered in the post 'Symbol of Peace' world.

"He's going to be an absolute terror."

"And if he uses it against us, you'll be the person who knows him best. As a result, you'd also know how to counter him more effectively than anyone else. That fight you had last night proved that. I saw him winding up for the punch and you watching for it. If I hadn't stepped in, that fight would've probably been yours."

Bakugou glared at Aizawa in deep fury. Finally, he said, "You'd set up an enemy for Deku, even while you train him?"

"Yes. And now you're not just one of the people who helped set up this precarious situation. You're also the final back up plan if everything else goes wrong. If Midoriya stays in the system, you will be expected to keep pace as his competitor, just like you want. If he goes rogue though, you'll eventually be both the main fire power used against him and the primary predictor for the psychological factors of his movements in the team that we'd need to assemble in our attempts to outmaneuver him. I will personally make sure you are prepared for and placed in that position."

"What if he won't stop?"

A good question because it was a distinct possibility. No, probability. If Midoriya believed he was doing the right thing, he would never give up. Years of doing so, despite the consequences, had forged him in a way where he might not even understand the concept of giving up, let alone act on it.

"I expect that if it reaches a point where it's necessary, both you and I will have to do whatever we must to stop him." Shota didn't like saying it. He hated it. Hated how logical this step absolutely was.

"How can you stand there and scheme against him like this?!" Bakugou growled.

"Because I've spent most of my life placing logic before emotions. For those of us without flashy Quirks, it's the best chance we have of saving the most lives and surviving ourselves. No matter how much it hurts." Shota barely fought down his self-disgust as he said, "It probably won't make you feel better to know this but every one of us who have the potential of reaching a certain threat level have plans in place against us, even if we don't know what they are. I don't know what plans Nezu has for me but I can guarantee that they're there. There are also ones in place for him." Although, Shota had a distinct feeling that Nezu had probably predicted what they were and already come up with countermeasures just for some 'fun' thought exercise.

"How can you all just agree to stand there smiling at each other while pulling this scheming backstabber bullshit?!"

"Because we know if we restrict ourselves from tugging on the strings, someone else will do the pulling and we'll just be the puppets suspended from them. This is what it's like to hold real power in the hero system, even without aiming for the top. You don't need to be part of it to reach the high ranks for the public, but if you want to be calling any shots behind the scenes, this is how you have to think."

Tears ran down Bakugou's face and dripped from his jaw as he declared, "Then, Deku will do amazingly and despise it."

Shota nodded, expressing his agreement before stating, "And you will be one of the primary people he'll have to thank for learning the skills that will allow him to do it so well."

"I fucking hate it! It's not fair!"

At this, Aizawa gave the boy a smile that was full of teeth and empty of joy as he retorted, "Welcome to your first experience of what Midoriya learned before he reached his fifth birthday. Life hasn't ever been, isn't and never will be, 'fair.' You wanted to have a chance to claw to the top so badly? Congratulations. I've opened the door for the opportunity and am shoving you through."

"This is bullshit! I'll never forgive you for this!" But he wasn't refusing, either.

"I wouldn't accept your forgiveness, even if you did offer it, Bakugou," Aizawa replied tiredly. He didn't see what he was doing as forgivable in the slightest. "If it makes it more…palatable, keep in mind that if it wasn't you, it would've been someone else who doesn't know Midoriya as well nor care about him as much. Now that you know, would you really prefer that? Someone who would just be able to just look at him as a traitor and a villain so they could do 'what must be done' without a second thought?"

Bakugou's eyes widened at that, once again on the verge of tears. "Don't you fucking dare!"

"As long as you're there, I won't need to," Aizawa assured. After all, it was clear that there was no one who would better fit the role. Bakugou would care about Midoriya as well as the rest of the public.

Maybe it wasn't logically sound to set up that dynamic. Perhaps placing someone who was more distant in control of such operations and place Bakugou in a position where he mainly explained Midoriya's probable reasoning and took orders in the field would be the 'smarter' approach. But he'd be damned if he'd completely throw Midoriya to the wolves who would have pushed him into the position that would force them to fight him.

Bakugou would stand against Midoriya if he had to but he would also never be able to dehumanize him.

Shota would do his job as a hero and protect society from any threat but he would also do whatever he could for his students in the process.

So, as promised, Shota would do everything to make sure Bakugou was the one in control if this ever came to pass.

"It probably doesn't need to be said, but as far as the rest of the world is concerned, the last part of this conversation never happened. I will be discussing it with Nezu. Otherwise, unless the worst-case scenario comes to pass or we need to discuss it, such as pointing out work you might need to do to prepare, we won't say anything. And even then, never in the company of others. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Mr. Aizawa," Bakugou replied bitterly, clearly disgusted but both accepting the punishment doled out to him and agreeing to hold his silence.

The man's gaze softened as he added, "Good. Hopefully, we'll be able to pretend to forget we ever discussed this. You may go now."

"I won't ever be able to act like this never happened."

And with that Bakugou ran off, not so much as glancing back.

This was painful to write. When I first started in on Bakugou's talk, I had no idea it would end up taking this turn but it did and I couldn't bring myself to scrap it so, here it is. Originally, I actually debated on scrapping this chater but I think I will use it to bring up a new set of issues that exist in the MHA world.

Although he isn't getting expelled, I think this is a punishment that could fit Bakugou's crime, to be the person they use for this plan for it everything goes wrong. I hate doing this to Izuku but it seems like something that would realistically happen when building up someone like him to be so powerful (Izuku trained in both mind and body could be a real force to reckon with).

This chapter has dark implications to it. Know that nothing is set in stone with my story but there is the possibility of this conversation coming into play if the series makes it that far. Then again, it might not at all. I plan on Izuku having deep interactions with a wide variety of characters in the future where his views might get challenged, though. So it's possible that I might eventually write him turning on hero society as it is (although it would not be without a reason very reminiscent of him that I would build up to it in a way that makes sense for his character).

After reading some comments, I was inspired to write, among other things, another section of this chapter where Aizawa reflects on what he learned from Bakugou's conversation but I felt it would both rob from the impact of what is already here. Speaking of which, there's a chance that it could be a little time before the next set of chapters are ready to go. I've been taking to completing these in chunks and making minor changes down the line before posting based off of ideas I get. Much of that inspiration comes from my conversations with my readers, so thank you for your help with this story.

Up to this point is the chapter as it was when I removed it. The following is the partially developed post conversation thoughts for Aizawa after Bakugou leaves. Only readers who come here will get to see it. Its in various stages of development, with parts of it mostly complete and parts of it in very early development stages where I just jot down what I should cover. There are probably also several errors, too.

Shota stood there silently, giving Bakugou some distance before he started his way back toward the main grounds and the school, itself.

Shota couldn't blame Bakugou for being upset. He hadn't gone easy on the kid, but he couldn't afford to.

What Aizawa did

Demand Bakugou watch Midoriya and be ready to face him if he goes villain

Why

Midoriya's capacity to choose what right leading him to choose to help wrong people, turning back on society

Bakugous capacity to predict him

Bakugou's care for Midoriya (protect him from other heroes if he is generally doing good but be there to step in if Midoriya pushed to breaking point)

Bakugou atonement for being childhood bully

What that entails

Training Bakugou

Building connections for Bakugou

A parallel training system to cover/exploit Midoriya's weaknesses

Training him to distinguish legal, right and wrong, rather than let others dictate for him

Expected consesquences:

Bakugou will probably never forgive Aizawa

Bakugou and Midoriya will never be able to have a complete relationship

Potential for Midoriya to also feel betrayed

Shota massaged his temples, fighting his own inner turmoil. He'd placed Bakugou in a position where he would want to support Midoriya but their relationship would be forever poisoned. It would always be in the back of his mind that he would be set up to betray Midoriya if his dreams took him outside the admittedly malformed scope of heroics. He had ruined the possibility of their bonds ever completely healing and destroyed Bakugou's view of the hero system and of Shota himself, for the sake of protecting Japan.

It wasn't the first time he'd done something despicable to save lives.

But he felt no less like garbage for it.

Shota instantly knew that All Might would be kept out of the loop for this. He didn't even want to think of how the man would react to this if he ever found out.

If Shota were the retired hero, he'd call his first sidekick, arrange a private charter to I-Island and throw Midoriya aboard in order to get him the hell out of the country in. To separate the boy from all the monsters scheming against him from all sides.

If that happened and Shota was assigned to stop them, he wasn't one hundred percent sure that he wouldn't purposely fail.

But rather than focus on things that might never come to pass, he needed to focus on what he now knew now and what he could do about it. What he had just discussed with Bakugou was a worst case scenario. Shota would do everything he could to prevent that from happening, for both boys' sakes.

So, the single largest fact he could be sure of was that, both Midoriya and Bakugou had been messed up by the system.

Bakugou:

Superiority & Inferiority Complex

Might is right

Violent behavior encouraged

Bakugou had been encouraged to flaunt his abilities and trample anyone else who stood in the way of his 'superiority.'

Midoriya

Self confidence

Pain Tolerence

Trust Issues

Relationships

And Midoriya had been messed up even worse. He had been seen his best friend become a bully, had to watch his back not only against classmates but his teachers and had been considered worthless by all of them. Yet, he'd still been determined to help people whenever he could, despite the often-painful consequences.

This was probably the source of many of Midoriya's self-confidence issues which he was constantly fighting.

It was also the source of his determination to push forward, no matter the cost. What had started out as an admirable trait to push through all of the abuse had become an all consuming monstrous thing that pushed him beyond logic and safety.

Shota remembered Bakugou's description of how even his self-injurious behavior was, one part born of his suffering and one as a way he was taking back that self control. An approach that Shota himself had pushed the boy toward.

He felt his stomach sink further as he again recalled the way Midoriya had smiled after tossing that ball. It was well and truly a challenge to call him hopeless again. And as horrible as the self harm was, it wasn't that which caused fear to spike through Shota

And he also found himself thinking of all the times Midoriya had disobeyed orders and charged into fights he should have taken no part in.

Now Shota knew about the teachers at his previous school, his refusal to pay heed to authority of any kind made a disturbing level of sense. After all, neither rules nor law had ever protected him from the bashing that his pervious teachers encouraged.

Midoriya had been taught that trusting authority figures would get him hurt. Looking back now, he realized that the only reason Midoriya followed directions is that he could see the logic in their orders, not because he felt any great urgency to do as he was told. Directions, rules or laws; Midoriya only followed any of them at his own at his own discretion.

Midoriya wasn't actually 'obeying' anyone. He didn't trust anyone enough to. Except possibly All Might, who wouldn't know enough to recognize he even had that power, let alone know how to apply it.

It hit Shota as hard as the USJ Nomu's fist. Midoriya had long learned to prioritize what he thought was best over all other commands. He was a loose canon that just happened to be pointed in the right direction to fool everyone into thinking otherwise.

And trust was one of the biggest anchors that had been cut to make him that way.

Shota also recalled how Midoriya reacted to his words of not having to pretend to be okay being what had finally caused the boy to break down the night before. How many people had told him something like that? How many people did he actually trust enough that he was willing to break down like that for them?

Shota also thought about his actions both as a teacher and as a hero in Midoriya's presence and realized that, despite all the logical ruses he through at his class and the scolding and threats he'd thrown Midoriya's way, he was probably one of the people Midoriya trusted most.

The realization didn't bring Shota any comfort. He wasn't exactly the best person for anyone to put their faith in. He had in fact spent years cultivating distrust in his kids, keeping them on their toes because they never knew what was coming.

And in Midoriya's case, he'd already betrayed that trust. He had just plotted to move against the kid if need be, setting up his childhood friend turned bully turned rival as a possible future enemy.

But he also wanted to see Midoriya succeed. Not just that but to still live safe and happy, too. In heroics, that was a hard thing to balance. Maybe even impossible.

But, despite everything he put them through, he wanted it all for these kids. He also knew that Bakugou and Midoriya were probably the least likely to achieve that. And although he'd most likely just sacrificed his ability to ever directly provide that support to Bakugou, he could still play a role for Midoriya.

At least long enough for the boy to learn to open up to others, so that if he did find out about Shota's other plans, there would be others there he would be willing to let help him.

That something would probably not be helped by sending Midoriya to face Nezu alone.

Midoriya & Nezu

Concerns

Similarities

differences

Aldera

Bring it up with Nezu

Get someone to investigate/investigate himself

My original plans for chapter 31 would have included this part but I had decided that the ending would detract from the impact of the main chapter and that the scene would also be a good mood setter for the chapter where Aizawa would walk into the meeting with Midoriya and Nezu.