Super long chapter again. So much angst to fit in…

Pay No Mind to the Rabble

Midoriya listlessly stared out the car window. The streets and buildings of Tokyo slid past in a blur of concrete, glass, and people. A bright, early morning sun hung overhead.

It was strange being outside. He'd spent so long underground and then in a hospital room in Tartarus it was almost surreal to see sunlight and the bustle of people going about their daily lives. They moved around without a care in the world – as if the threat of the League of Villains was something that only existed in newspapers and could never affect them personally.

Midoriya envied them for their naivety. He remembered being like them once. He remembered once believing that as long as heroes were in the world villains would never win. But now he'd seen the darker reality of their world and knew he truth: no one was safe from touch of evil.

"I think you're going to like the new dormitories," All Might's voice broke Midoriya out of his thoughts. The older hero sat beside Midoriya in the back seat. "I haven't seen them myself yet but Principal Nezu showed me pictures and they look wonderful."

Midoriya made a noncommittal hum. He didn't look away from the window. This was probably the fifth time All Might had tried to start a conversation since they'd left the safe house. Midoriya couldn't find the willpower to engage his former idol. The thought of talking exhausted him. He could feel All Might's eyes on him - the sadness of his gaze like physical weights on his skin. He couldn't find the strength to care. He was too tired and too nervous about returning to school to endure forced chatter.

Tsukauchi and Aizawa sat in the front of the car. Aizawa seemed to be dozing but Midoriya knew better than to think the erasing hero wouldn't snap to attention at the first hint of danger. They'd been driving for almost two hours now. Tsukauchi had taken so many detours and roundabout routes Midoriya was no longer sure where they had originally been.

The safe house had been a nondescript two-story house in a quiet suburban neighborhood of what Midoriya assumed was Tokyo, or maybe one of the megalopolis's outer cities. It was hard to say. Midoriya had been given so little information. And even if he had, Midoriya didn't think he would have cared. He was never meant to stay there for long anyway. As planned, after four nights in the safe house, Tsukauchi had arrived that morning in an unmarked police car to shuttle him and his teachers back to UA. Today he was scheduled to rejoin class 1-A.

Midoriya's stomach twisted at the thought. Unaware of his own actions, his arms snaked across his stomach to hold his sides. The world beyond the car window became a meaningless blur of colors and vague shapes.

He didn't think he was ready to go back. In fact, he knew he wasn't ready to go back. He didn't deserve to return to UA. Not after everything he'd done. But no one seemed willingly to listen to him. Nezu and All Might just kept telling him to hold on and wait, to not be too hard on himself after everything he'd been through. Only Aizawa had truly acknowledged the hardships and difficult decision he faced. But even he had urged Midoriya not to make any final decisions yet. All they kept saying was that it was for his own protection that he had to return to campus. They kept assuring him the League wouldn't be able to get him again as long as he was at UA.

So, against his will, Midoriya had swapped one prison for another. UA might not have any bars or cells, but he was still going to be guarded and kept under watch. And this prison was not without its own tortures. At least in Tartarus he'd mostly been left alone if he ignored his minders. Back at UA he was going to have to go to class and face his former friends. He was going to have to endure their stares. He would be lucky if all they did was keep their distance from him. At worst he was fated to endure their hatred and incriminations for what he'd done while under Shigaraki's control. Midoriya's stomach twisted harder. The interior of the car suddenly felt a little too small and hot.

"My boy?" All Might softly intoned. "Are you alright?" He leaned his scarecrow-thin body across the center seat. Worry shined in the shadows of his eye sockets.

Midoriya shook himself out of his thoughts with a startled jump. He realized he'd begun to breath hard. His hands were gripping at his sides so hard he was putting creases in his school uniform jacket. Forcing himself to relax, Midoriya unwound his arms from across his belly and instead gripped his hands together between his knees.

"I'm fine," he quickly lied, turning back towards the window to hide from All Might's gaze. Unfortunately, with his new haircut he no longer had a protective curtain of curls to hide behind. Midoriya tucked his head down closer to his shoulders.

All Might, however, was undeterred. "Midoriya… I know you must be nervous but you really shouldn't be. I have a feeling your friends are looking forward to having you back."

Midoriya couldn't stop his lip from skeptically curling up in the corner. He kept his face determinedly turned towards the window, away from All Might. "I highly doubt that… Not after what I did at the train station. I don't remember much, but I remember snapping Kacchan's fingers. I don't think he's going to be very happy to see me again."

All Might gave a tiny sigh. "What happened at the train station was not your fault. You must stop blaming yourself for what Shigaraki made you do."

"I should have been stronger to resist Shigaraki," Midoriya growled under his breath. He continued to stare hard out the window. "But I wasn't and I hurt my friends. That's a lot to ask someone to forgive."

Tsukauchi glanced away from the road up into the rearview mirror. "Midoriya, I don't know your friends as well as you do, but I spoke with each of them after the train station attack. They were all still in a fair amount of shock, but most of them were more worried about finding out what happened to you than answering my questions. The doctors almost had to restrain Endeavor's son to stop from getting out of bed when he woke up. He seemed ready to commandeer my squad car and make me take him to you when I went to get his statement. I don't think they're going to hold anything against you. Your classmates knows what the League of Villains is capable of."

"That's right," All Might agreed. "Your classmates know what you went through. They know it wasn't your fault."

Midoriya finally looked away from the window towards All Might. "How much did you tell everyone?" An unbidden thrill of panic gripped his heart.

"No more than Principal Nezu and I explained in the press conference. They know you were a captive of the League and that you were being manipulated by Shigaraki. We did not go into any other details when we announced you were coming back to the class. It did not feel like our place to explain…"

Midoriya relaxed a bit in his seat. At least there was that. He didn't know if he wanted his classmates to know any details about his confinement. He already felt like he had no privacy left. After being subjected to Rorschach's attacks he no longer felt like his own mind was a sanctuary. Every memory or thought he'd ever had had been torn through and analyzed like he was a psychological case study.

He doubted any of his classmates would understand what that was like. Oh, they would try. But none of them actually would. Even Aizawa had admitted what Midoriya went through was something he'd never experienced before. So what would a classroom of pubescent teens know about being isolated in pure darkness, tortured, and made to relive every bad memory they'd ever had?

Nothing. They would know nothing about what Midoriya went through. He also didn't want their pity. He didn't want them to know how weak he'd been. He could deal with his own guilt, but he didn't want to deal with the shame of them knowing how easily Rorschach had broken him and turned him into Shigaraki's pet. It was embarrassing. He'd already felt like an imposter most of the time before his kidnapping. All his classmates had been born with fantastic quirks that made them special and unique while he'd had to be gifted one like a beggar boy. And how had he used that quirk when he'd finally gotten one? He'd let a villain twist his mind and convince him to hurt others. He didn't deserve to go back into the hero course. He was a failure and the rest of 1-A was sure to recognize that as soon as he stepped back onto campus.

Midoriya sullenly stared out the window. Silence once again engulfed the car. As Tsukauchi turned onto a new road, Midoriya suddenly realized where they were. They were only a few kilometers of UA. Tsukauchi had taken so many back roads Midoriya hadn't even realized they'd gotten this close until now. The sick feeling in the pit of Midoriya's stomach intensified.

Several minutes later Tsukauchi made another turn and one of the campus's side gates appeared in the distance. It was the east service entrance – one mostly used for deliveries and for staff to come and go. A group of people appeared to be milling around the gate.

"Dammit," Aizawa hissed from the front seat. Midoriya hadn't realized he'd woken up. "Looks like reporters."

All Might leaned forward to scout between the front seats. He was already beginning to swell into his muscular form. "I thought Nezu was going to have guards stationed at all the gates to hold back any press."

"Either he forgot about this one or these reporters are being particularly persistent," Aizawa scowled. He already had his cell phone out and was typing off a message. "Ever since your and Nezu's press conference, Midoriya and UA have been all the news has been talking about."

"What do you want me to do?" Tsukauchi asked from the driver's seat. "I could do a lap around the block and wait for other teachers to come out."

All Might shook his head. "No, look. They've already spotted us. If we do a lap they'll only put out an alert that we're here and more reporters will be waiting for us when we come back around. Best thing is to go straight through now."

Aizawa swiveled around in his seat and glared at All Might over the folds of his capture weapon. "The whole point of waiting to move Midoriya until the late morning was to avoid the morning rush of students and the press. I don't want my student mobbed by reporters and have his picture plastered all over the evening news!"

"I'll take care of it," All Might murmured. As best he could in the confines of the backseat he shrugged off his yellow suit jacket. "Tsukauchi, try not to hit anyone but don't stop until you get past the gate. If any reporters try to follow us onto campus the automated security system will stop them."

"Here," All Might said, shaking his suit jacket out and swinging it around over Midoriya. He held it draped over Midoriya's head with one arm so it hung down around Midoriya like a tent. "Just keep your head down. I won't let them take any pictures of you."

Midoriya did not argue. He could already hear the animated shouts of reporters drawing closer to the car. It reminded Midoriya of a pack of hunting dogs sounding the location of their prey. He ducked his head under All Might's suit jacket. Without realizing it he huddled closer to the older hero's side.

Within moments, the cacophony of shouting voices were all around them like a swarm of insects. Even behind All Might's jacket Midoriya was half blinded by the flurry of camera flashes that seemed to come in through every window.

"All Might, is that Izuku Midoriya in the car with you?"

"Tell us about your time with the League of Villains!"

"Midoriya, look up please!"

Behind his shield of yellow fabric, Midoriya struggled to remain calm. He suddenly felt trapped. All that separated him from the pack of reporters was a thin piece of glass and the unspoken expectation his teachers would try to protect him. In that moment he desperately hoped his trust wasn't misplaced. He unconsciously huddled closer to All Might's side, wishing to somehow escape this madness.

Over the din, he heard Aizawa crack his window and shout at the reporters. "Move out of the way! You are trespassing on UA property!"

There were more camera flashes. Thumps of hands against the roof and sides sounded as Tsukauchi slowly tried to inch the car through the mob of reporters.

Midoriya's breathing quickened. His arms instinctively wrapped around his sides. What if the reporters overtook the car? What if they dragged him out and cornered him with their flashing lights? He couldn't trust Aizawa and All Might to keep them back. This was quickly getting out of hand. Would he be allowed to do anything to protect himself if the worst happened? He didn't want to go back to Tartarus. He didn't want to be put back inside a cell. But the reporters were shouting so loud and they were pounding on the car for him! He might have to defend himself. His fingers anxiously clawed at his sides. He tucked his head down closer to his chest. Panic and building anger warmed the backs of his ears. Why wouldn't they leave him alone?!

As though sensing Midoriya's mounting distress, All Might shifted his grip on the suit jacket and reached overtop Midoriya to the window controls on that side of the car. "Enough of this nonsense," Midoriya heard All Might growl through gritted teeth.

"All Might, what are you doing?" Aizawa spat from the front seat.

As the window slid down several inches the reporters at that window surged forward. Midoriya imagined a wall of microphones being shoved towards the opening.

"All Might! All Might! A word!"

"Please give us a statement!"

"What are your plans to protect your students in the wake of this scandal?"

"BACK AWAY FROM THE CAR! RIGHT NOW!"

In the wake of All Might's authoritative roar, startled silence reigned both inside the car and out. The reporters must have all jumped back because the car lurched slightly as Tsukauchi hit the gas. The clatter of industrial grade fencing rolling aside sounded. Midoriya felt the car bump over the lip of the gate before the clatter of fencing sliding back into place rattled behind them. The car's speed increased and Midoriya knew they were through.

Midoriya was breathing hard in panicked little gasp as All Might swung his suit jacket off of him.

"Are you alright, my boy? I'm sorry if I startled you by yelling like that."

"I-I'm fine…" Midoriya could not gather his thoughts to say anything else. In the wake of the press mob, anxiety gnawed at the back of Midoriya's mind. He knew the reporters were behind them now. There was no way for them to follow them onto campus with the security system. Logically, he knew these things. But that didn't seem enough to shake the faint residue of violation and lingering unease from him. No matter how hard he hugged his sides he couldn't seem to make his body stop trembling. He hadn't even reached the main building yet and already he wanted to find someplace quiet to hide.

From the front seat, Aizawa cast All Might a long look. "You're going to pay for that in tonight's news. You've never gotten surly with the press before. They're going to jump on this like flies on day old rice."

"I don't care," All Might bit back. "It was the only thing I could think of to get them to back off quickly. If they want to drag me through the news tonight, that's fine. Better they focus on me than Midoriya. He doesn't need their attention right now."

"Do you want me to call in a patrol car to break up the reporters?" Tsukauchi offered.

"No," Aizawa murmured, glancing at his cell phone. "Hound Dog is en route to the gate right now. He'll scare them off."

The rest of the car ride to the main academics building was spent in silence. Midoriya was beginning to feel some semblance of control return to him by the time Tsukauchi pulled up to the back entrance. Nezu stood waiting for them at the top of the stairs.

"Good morning!" he brightly called as they all got out of the car. "I heard there was a bit of an incident at the east gate just now."

"You could say that," Aizawa groused. "I thought you were going to have all the gates cleared for us by the time we got here."

Nezu shook his head apologetically. "Unfortunately, the press was more determined to get a story than we originally planned. Hound Dog had all the gates cleared by the start of first period but obviously the reporters snuck back. My deepest apologies."

Nezu glanced at Midoriya as the group came up the stairs to join him. He offered the teen a warm smile. "Welcome back to UA, Midoriya. You don't know how glad we are to have you back. After classes today you'll be able to settle into your new room in 1-A's dormitory. Your personal items will be waiting for you there. I know you're several weeks behind the rest of your classmates, but Mr. Aizawa and several other teachers have offered to tutor you in the evenings to get you back up to speed. Aizawa will go over more of those details with you later."

Midoriya shifted uneasily from one foot to the other. He nervously tugged at the straps of his backpack. His mother had bought him a new yellow one, which she'd sent to the safe house along with the rest of his personal items. "Oh… thanks…"

"In the meantime, fourth period is just about to begin. If you like, you could take a few minutes in the teachers lounge before Aizawa escorts you to class."

The sour feeling that had been brewing in the pit of Midoriya's stomach the entire car ride worsened. For a brief moment he was sure he was about to be sick. The panicky feeling that tickled the backs of his ears was spreading to his neck. He fought to smother down the urge to turn and flee back towards the car.

"No… actually if we can just go to class that'd be fine. I'd like to get this over with as soon as possible…"

"Alright," Nezu nodded. "If that's what you would like to do." He glanced at Aizawa. "Do you feel you're ready to retake control of 1-A?"

"Of course," Aizawa said. "Fourth period? That would be history. I reviewed the lesson plan last night. I can teach it."

Nezu clapped his paws together with a beaming smile. "Fantastic. I'll tell Cementos he won't need to cover that class anymore."

"I'll be taking my leave then," Tsukauchi announced, turning to head back down the stairs. "I'll keep you informed if my taskforce comes up with anything else."

"Thank you for all you hard work," All Might said. He gave the detective a bow of gratitude.

Tsukauchi smiled. "Take care, Midoriya. You'll be safe here. If anything happens you have an entire staff of pro heroes to watch out for you. And my department is just a phone call away."

Midoriya stared at the ground. He couldn't seem to find the same level of optimism as the detective. "Thank you, sir…"

Inside the building, a soothing chime sounded.

"Ah, that would be the start of class," Nezu said. "All Might, shall we escort Aizawa and Midoriya to class? Then afterwards we can go to my office to discuss some things."

"Of course." All Might immediately stepped forward to walk beside Midoriya. "Let's go."

Midoriya fought back another wave of nausea as he reluctantly followed Nezu and Aizawa into the building. The hallways were empty. Everyone appeared to already be in their assigned classrooms. Midoriya supposed that was a good thing. He was about to have all the eyes he could stand on him in a few minutes. Being spared the curious looks of other classes seemed like a small blessing from the gods.

Far faster than Midoriya ever would have wanted, they arrived at the massive door of 1-A's homeroom. On the other side of the door the murmur of teen voices mixed together in an unintelligible drone.

Midoriya gripped the straps of his backpack harder. That prickly, panicky feeling on the back of his neck had returned. It was getting difficult to breath. For a brief moment, Midoriya wondered if it wasn't too late to take Nezu up on his offer to hide in the teachers lounge for awhile before he faced his classmates.

All Might seemed to read the growing cloud of anxiety on Midoriya's face.

"Will you be alright from here, my boy?"

"Y-yea… I'll be fine." Midoriya thought his reassurance sounded weak even to his own ears.

Aizawa studied him for a moment over the folds of his capture weapon. "Just take a deep breath, Midoriya. I will be teaching class. No one will bother you during the lesson. It will give them time to calm down and get used to the idea of you being back before you have to talk to anyone."

All Might leaned closer. Blue eyes shined brightly in the shadows of his face. "If you need anything, anything at all, at any point today do not hesitate to call me. You have my number in your new phone."

"Yes, sir," Midoriya weakly agreed.

With a final pat on the side of Midoriya's arm, All Might straightened up to his full height and glanced down at Nezu. "You wanted to discuss some things with me, Nezu?"

"Yes!" Nezu chirped as the two strolled away down the hall. "I wanted to give you a run down of the new security measures we've implemented on campus."

"Ready, Midoriya?" Aizawa asked. His hand was already on the door handle.

Midoriya took a deep breath in a vain attempt to calm the wild beating of his heart. There was a suspicious lack of noise coming from inside the classroom now.

"…yea."

Uraraka glanced at the clock for what felt like the millionth time that day. It was already late morning. Next period was history, and after that lunch. Today was supposed to be the day Midoriya returned to class. Yet despite the lateness of the day there still wasn't any sign of their missing classmate.

The same thought seemed to be on everyone's mind. There was a noticeable tension in the air that day. Her classmates chattered and laughed between classes like they normally would. But Uraraka didn't miss her classmates' furtive glances at the clock through the day or the way everyone's eyes seemed to immediately swing towards the door whenever someone walked in. With each passing period, 1-A became more and more restless. Everyone seemed to be waiting on the edge of their seat. Uraraka didn't know how much more she could take before the stress finally got to her.

"Uraraka, are you alright?"

Uraraka glanced over to see Iida turned around in his seat towards her. Worry shined in his eyes.

"I'm fine. Just… wondering if Midoriya's ever going to get here. Do you think something happened and he's not coming back today? All Might and Principal Nezu said he was supposed to come back Monday."

Iida released an uncharacteristic sigh. "I don't know. Everything concerning Midoriya has been kept so secret. If plans have changed we would be the very last ones to find out. All we can do is wait and hope Midoriya comes back." Frustration tainted the class president's voice.

Uraraka understood Iida's feelings too well. The last two weeks had been utter agony not knowing where their classmate was or what was happening to him. Uraraka once thought the death of a friend was the worst thing she'd ever have to go through, but she'd been wrong. She now realized the worst thing to have to endure was the uncertain waiting.

From the hallway, the gentle chime that signaled a new class period sounded.

"Everyone, hush!" Iida announced. "Fourth period starts now."

The class obediently quieted and settled into their seats. Uraraka opened her history notebook to a fresh page. Cementos had been covering Aizawa's history lessons for the last two weeks and he typically liked to jump right into his lectures.

The class sat in relative quiet, but Cementos did not appear at the door. As the minutes ticked by, murmurs began to circulate among her classmates.

"This is so strange," Yaoyorozu said from the corner of the room. "I don't think Cementos-sensei has ever been late before."

"Do you think someone else is going to cover class today?" Kaminari wondered.

"Maybe," Ashindo shrugged. "The teachers have been swapping classes so often it's hard to keep track of who's supposed to teach what anymore."

The murmur of voices filled the room. Uraraka slouched back in her seat, already tired of the speculation. So much had changed and continued to change it felt useless to try and make sense of things anymore. It made her wish for the relative monotony of their first semester.

The chatter continued to build. Iida tried to hush the class, but he was mostly ignored.

It was only when Aoyama at the front of the classroom suddenly sat straight up in his seat with a sharp, "Taisez-vous!" that 1-A quieted.

Outside in the hallway Uraraka was just able to make out the faint whisper of voices. It sounded like several different people speaking. Distinct voices were impossible to distinguish but they sounded male and deeper in tone – meaning they were probably adults. Except one. One voice that drifted in and out of hearing sounded younger, quieter. More like that of a student's…

Utter silence descended over the room. No one seemed to move or even breathe. All eyes were fixed on the door. Before that moment, Uraraka would have never thought 1-A capable of such silence. For reasons Uraraka couldn't fully explain, her heart began to beat harder.

The door to the classroom suddenly slid aside and Aizawa strode in. Behind him timidly followed another.

Uraraka's heart leapt into the back of her throat.

Izuku Midoriya slunk in behind Aizawa with his head bowed as if too afraid to even look up at his classmates. Aizawa stepped behind the teacher's lectern and looked out over the class. Midoriya stopped beside him and stared at a spot on the ground somewhere just in front of his toes.

Uraraka could only stare. Midoriya was dressed in his school uniform with a yellow backpack hanging from his shoulders. But that was where the similarities of the boy she remembered from last semester to the one standing before them now ended.

Most noticeably, Midoriya had a dramatic new haircut. Shaved short on the sides with the longer top portion styled to hang over his forehead, there was no hint of the shaggy mop of green curls she remembered. The new haircut seemed to accentuate the hollowed look of his cheeks. In the full light of the classroom, Uraraka realized Midoriya must have lost at least 5 kilos since he'd disappeared at the shopping mall. Dark circles ringed the boy's eyes as if he hadn't had a full night's sleep since then either.

Unlike the last time she'd seen him, Midoriya did not have that wild, berserker grin or terrifying shine of rage in his eyes. Right now, Midoriya looked like a frightened boy on his first day of school. He stared down firmly at the floor, his expression one of simmering panic. He seemed to be trying to hide behind what little bangs he had left to escape his classmates' stares. He almost looked like he was fighting with himself not to turn and run back out the room.

Aizawa gave a weary sigh, which rang loudly through the stillness. "Class, please welcome your classmate, Midoriya, back to 1-A. While I expect all of you will want to speak to him as soon as you can I ask that you try not to bombard him with questions right away. You'll have plenty of time to catch up with him later. Midoriya, go ahead and take your seat."

"Yes, sir," Midoriya murmured, hurrying to his old seat on the side of the classroom and sliding in behind the desk. He immediately hung his head, as if wishing he could disappear into the desktop.

In front of Midoriya, Bakugo noticeably stiffened in his seat. If he had been a cat, Uraraka was sure the blonde's hair would have been standing on ends. At the desk behind Midoriya, Mineta cringed back in his seat as if desperate to be as far away from the green-haired boy as possible. Fear glistened in his eyes.

"Everyone turn to page 45 of your history textbooks," Aizawa ordered from the front of the room.

There was the soft rustle of pages as everyone did as instructed, but Uraraka didn't think anyone's eyes strayed from Midoriya for more than a few seconds. Everyone's attention seemed riveted on their resurrected classmate. Midoriya hung his head lower. He tilted his face towards the wall to hide from everyone's gaze.

Aizawa dove into the lesson as if he hadn't just returned from a long absence with their long-thought-to-be-dead classmate in tow. Uraraka doubted anyone heard anything Aizawa said.

As Aizawa droned on, Uraraka studied the back of Midoriya's head. With his new haircut she was startled to see constellations of what appeared to be small white spots dotting his scalp. They appeared to be in clusters of five. For the life in her she couldn't think of what could have made such marks. Whatever it was, though, must have something to do with Midoriya's time with the League of Villains. A cold shiver went down her spine at the thought.

Finally, what felt like ages later - but extremely soon at the same time - the chime for the end of class sounded.

With a harsh scrap of his chair against the floor, Bakugo shot up from his seat and swept out of the room before even Aizawa could gather up his materials and leave. Only a few students paid any attention to Bakugo's departure. Now that class was over, everyone's full attention was once again on Midoriya.

For his part, Midoriya remained frozen in his seat. His chin almost touched his chest he tried to cower so deeply into himself. His bangs did little to hide the mounting panic in his eyes.

Aizawa seemed to be taking his time at the front of the classroom. Uraraka didn't miss the way his eyes continued to drift towards Midoriya. But then with a defeated sigh, as if realizing he couldn't delay any longer, he gathered the last of his teaching materials together and slunk towards the door. "Have a good lunch," he muttered over his shoulder.

The rest of the class began to gather up their school supplies. The room was eerily silent. The only sound was the quiet rustle of papers being put away and the click of pencil boxes closing. Everyone was noticeably taking their time, drawing out the simplest task for as long as they could, all the while casting Midoriya furtive looks out of the corners of their eyes. Uraraka couldn't blame them. No one knew how to proceed. Their classmate had just returned from the dead and no one knew how to approach him.

What exactly did you say to someone who'd been the victim of a villain kidnapping? Were they supposed to welcome Midoriya back and just pretend like nothing ever happened?

Iida glanced behind him and shared an anxious look with Uraraka. He seemed to be suffering the same helpless uncertainty as her. But then with a firm look of resolve, Iida abruptly stood from his desk. Straightening his uniform jacket, he strode straight across the room towards Midoriya's desk.

All their classmates stared after him in curious silence.

"Midoriya," Iida loudly announced as he came to stand beside the other boy's desk.

With a startled jerk, Midoriya jumped to his feet. He edged towards the wall so that his desk stood between him and Iida like a barrier. Wariness seemed to radiate off him in tangible waves.

Iida offered Midoriya a small bow. "As class president of 1-A, I would like to formally welcome you back. I know it must be strange to be back after such a long absence, but please know that I and the rest of your classmates are here to help you. If you need help with anything at all do not hesitate to ask!"

The initial wariness seemed to melt a bit from Midoriya face. "I… thanks, Iida," he finally murmured after an overwhelmed pause. The tension seemed to lessen in his shoulders. "It… it's nice to be back."

Like a dam breaking, the tension in the room disappeared. Within the blink of an eye all of Midoriya's classmates were suddenly gathered around him. Uraraka hurried across the room and pushed her way to Iida's side before she could be boxed out by everyone else. A flurry of voices began to talk at once.

"Midoriya, man! Cool haircut!" Kirishima announced.

"Oui," Aoyama agreed. "Tres chic!"

Todoroki appeared by Midoriya's side. "Are you alright, Midoriya?"

"We were all so worried about you," Yaoyorozu chimed in.

"Everyone, please!" Iida begged. "Mr. Aizawa said not to overwhelm Midoriya so soon!"

Midoriya nervously ran a hand along the side of his head as if he'd momentarily forgotten he no longer had his curls. "It's okay, Iida… Really. I'm happy to see everyone."

Kirishima leaned forward out of the press of people. "Dude, we all thought you were dead. What happened? No one would tell us anything."

The change in Midoriya was instantaneous. Almost immediately the small sparkle of light that had begun to shine in Midoriya's eyes disappeared behind a dark shadow of wariness and remembered pain. His body language became guarded. "I…" He shifted nervously from foot to foot. He suddenly seemed reluctant to look at anyone. "Can… can I please not talk about that right now? I'm sorry. It's just… it's all still a little too raw for me right now…"

Like a wet blanket being thrown over the class, the tone of the room instantly changed. Several concerned glances were exchanged.

"It's okay, Midoriya," Asui softly ribbited. "You don't have to talk about anything you don't want to."

"That's right!" Uraraka eagerly joined in. She hated seeing that shadowed, fearful look in Midoriya's eyes. She wanted to see it gone as quickly as possible. "We're all just glad to have you back!"

A small chorus of agreements answered her from the rest of their classmates.

Midoriya released a tense sigh. "Thanks, guys. I-"

"No!" a shrill voice yelled. "No! You know what, I do want to talk about what happened!"

All eyes swung towards the desk behind Midoriya's. Mineta still sat in his seat, glaring up at Midoriya. He was almost visibly shaking. Whether from anger or fear Uraraka couldn't tell.

Mineta's glare swung around towards the assembled wall of people, pausing at Iida, Uraraka, Asui, and then Todoroki in turn.

"Are all your memories really that short?!" he shrieked at them accusingly. "Did you all forget what happened that night at the train station?! Midoriya went crazy and almost killed us!"

Mineta stood and took an angry step towards Midoriya. He pointed a finger at the other boy's chest. "You tried to kill me! You grabbed me by the front of my costume and said you were going to make me fly! If it hadn't been for Bakugo you would have too! And we all saw what happened to him after he went up against you! The doctors aren't sure if his hand will ever heal properly!"

He spun and glared up at Todoroki. "He broke your jaw and you ask him if he's okay?! He should be asking you that! You're lucky he didn't take your head off that night!" He spun around and glared at Iida, Asui, and Uraraka next. "And he sucker punched Midnight! We still don't know if she's ever going to come back to UA! Not to mention Midoriya was literally trying to kill All Might!"

"Mineta, this is not the time," Iida sternly tried to intercede.

"No!" Mineta stubbornly yelled. He'd worked himself up into such a frenzy by now he seemed incapable of stopping. All their other classmates continued to look on in spellbound horror. Uraraka realized this was the first time any of them were hearing details of the train station attack. "I don't care if Midoriya was supposedly under Shigaraki's control or not! He was following Shigaraki's orders like a lap dog, and all of you are pretending like it never happened! He tried to kill me! He crushed Bakugo's hand! He was trying to kill All Might! There's a word for how he was acting that night! It's called a villain! And then he has the audacity to come back and act like none of that ever happened! What do you even have to say for yourself, Midoriya?!"

Ringing silence filled the classroom. Uraraka swore she could hear her own blood pulsing in her ears it was so quiet. The tension in the air was back. Uraraka didn't dare even take a breath for fear of drawing attention to herself.

Midoriya stood transfixed under Mineta's glare. That panicked look he'd had when he'd first entered the classroom was creeping back into his eyes.

"This isn't fair," Sero weakly spoke up. "Principal Nezu said Midoriya was under the League's control. We can't blame him for anything that happened."

"You weren't there!" Mineta spat, viciously rounding on Sero. "You didn't see what kind of monster he was! If All Might hadn't shown up when he did, Midoriya would have murdered all of us with his bare hands and enjoyed it. He deserves to be in Tartarus right now for what he did!"

Todoroki stepped forward, his hands balled into fists by his sides. He glared down at the other boy through slit-thin mismatched eyes. "Stop talking. Right. Now."

Several other voices murmured in Midoriya's defense.

"Todoroki," a soft voice broke in. Midoriya was staring at his feet, his expression defeated. "It's okay… Mineta has a right to be angry with me." He hesitantly looked up to meet Mineta's gaze with the emptiest eyes Uraraka had ever seen. "I don't remember much of that night. Whatever Shigaraki gave me would always make me so mad I'd never remember much of anything afterwards. I don't remember threatening to kill you. But… I believe you."

Mineta stared at him in incredulous disgust. "You don't remember threatening to kill me?!"

"Mineta, back off," Shouji hissed from the crowd. "You're way out of line right now."

"No," Midoriya insisted. "He's right. He deserves an apology."

Straightening up to his full height, Midoriya swung forward at the waist in an excessively deep bow. "Mineta, please forgive me. I'm sorry for threatening to kill you. To everyone else that was there that night, I also apologize. I'm sorry if I hurt anyone. I promise I won't let it happen again."

Bent forward like that with his new short hair, the back of Midoriya's neck was fully exposed to everyone's gaze. Uraraka's stomach twisted at the dark, knotted mass of scar tissue she saw. It looked painful and barely half-healed. The edges of the scar were ragged, as if something deep had been violently ripped away from Midoriya's neck. She was not the only one to notice. More than a few uneasy glances were exchanged between her classmates. Such a violent wound was upsetting to see without any warning. It was just a grisly reminder of how little they knew about what happened to Midoriya those two months he was gone.

Quickly righting himself, Midoriya turned and fled the room without even a backwards glance. Uraraka did not miss the way he bowed his head as though to hide the tears that were already beginning to form in the corners of his eyes.

In the wake of Midoriya's departure, all eyes swiveled back towards Mineta.

"What?" Mineta defensively spat at the wall of glaring faces. "I deserved an apology!"

Kirishima was the one to say what all of them were thinking.

"Dude… so not cool."

Todoroki took the stairs two at a time, breathing hard. He rounded a bend in the staircase and sped up the next flight of steps. It had been almost twenty minutes since Midoriya fled the classroom. He, Iida, Uraraka and several others had split up to look for him. As of yet, no one had been able to find Midoriya.

Todoroki was starting to get worried. UA's campus was large, but there were only so many places a student could hide. How far could Midoriya have possibly gone?

He was currently checking one of the last places he could think of. Midoriya had left obviously upset by what Mineta said. If Todoroki was Midoriya, he would want to find a place with the least amount of people. He would want to go someplace quiet and private. Somewhere most people wouldn't even think to look. There was really only one place Todoroki could think of like that at UA. So following a hunch, he was heading for the roof. He only hoped he wasn't wrong or Midoriya was on the opposite tower. Todoroki really didn't want to have to go all the way down and back up the other side. His calves were already burning from exertion.

Reaching the top of the stairwell, Todoroki pushed open the door. A brisk fall breeze greeted him as he stepped into the sunlight beyond. An empty dome of cloudless blue stretched overhead. He took a moment to let his eyes adjust. Or… at least that's what he told himself. He didn't want to admit how winded he'd gotten running up all those stairs. If Endeavor ever found out, he'd force Todoroki to do nonstop aerobics for the next two weeks.

As the world came into focus Todoroki scanned the rooftop. His heavy breathing almost instantly stilled at the sight of Midoriya's hunched form sitting on the far side of the roof with his back against the parapet.

Taking out his cell phone, Todoroki tapped out a quick text message and sent it off. He replace the phone in his pocket and crossed the rooftop.

If Midoriya knew Todoroki was there, he didn't show it. He continued to sit with his head bowed to his chest and his knees drawn up. As Todoroki neared he saw that Midoriya's arms were wrapped across his stomach. He seemed to be holding his sides as if for protection.

Quietly coming up beside the other boy, Todoroki eased himself down to sit beside Midoriya. He leaned back against the parapet and released a shaky sigh.

He would have been lying if he said he wasn't overcome by relief to finally find the other boy. Before starting at UA, Todoroki never would have thought he'd one day have someone to call a friend. The concept had been so foreign to him at the time. So mysterious, and even distasteful due to his upbringing. Friends were not something his father had ever encouraged him to have. Friends didn't exist in the Todoroki household. There were only underlings, competitors, and useful allies to help climb higher in society. But never friends.

Despite Todoroki's initial standoffishness, Midoriya had taken it upon himself to chip through Todoroki's cold exterior and show him what it was like to have someone that genuinely cared about him, and vice versa.

When Midoriya was supposedly killed, Todoroki had initially refused to believe it was true. There was no way Midoriya was actually gone. It was impossible! How could someone go to a crowded shopping mall on a Saturday afternoon and just disappear in a villain attack? It was too much for Todoroki to believe. Midoriya had survived far worse than a single villain attack in the past.

But as the days dragged on and there was still no sign of the green haired boy, Todoroki was forced to accept reality that his first (and arguably only) friend was gone. He had, unsurprisingly, not dealt with Midoriya's death well. Not even Fuyumi or his mother could help. They had listened and commiserated in what he assumed were all the right ways, but neither was able to offer him any actionable relief for the gapping spot in his heart he hadn't even realized Midoriya had made until the other boy was suddenly ripped away.

Everything had changed after Midoriya died. Todoroki still ate lunch and passed free time between classes with Iida and Uraraka, but their clique was never the same. The integral piece of their group was missing. If Todoroki was being completely honest, he'd been extremely lonely. Iida and Uraraka were nice and he enjoyed their company, but they were not the same as Midoriya.

So then, after two months of mourning, he'd arrived on the scene of a devastated train station to find that not only was Midoriya still alive, but he was being used as an attack dog by the League of Villains.

Todoroki hadn't been awake for a lot of what happened after Midoriya knocked him out, but Iida and Uraraka had filled him in on the details. It had taken time for him to wrap his head around it all. Everything had only been made harder by the fact that none of them knew what happened to Midoriya after his fight with All Might. For all Todoroki knew, Midoriya had once again disappeared in a puff of smoke. It had seemed like a miracle when Nezu and All Might announced that Midoriya was coming back to school. It had been the only thing Todoroki wanted since he found out his friend was still alive.

But now he sat with Midoriya right there beside him – alive and whole! But hurting. And so desperately, desperately sad. Todoroki hated himself for not having the faintest idea what he should say.

He knew if their roles were reversed Midoriya would have known exactly what to say to make him feel better. It was one of those inalienable truths about Midoriya: he was helper. He always seemed to know exactly what to say when others were upset.

But Todoroki was not Midoriya. He'd never been good at offering words of encouragement. Before he met Midoriya Todoroki would have never even entertained the idea of going out of his way to comfort someone else. But in that moment he wished more than ever he had Midoriya's people skills. He hated feeling this helpless and so utterly out of his element.

For several minutes, the two just sat next to each other in silence.

Finally, as though pulling himself together, Midoriya leaned fully back against the parapet with a wet sniff. He ran his hands over his face. It was impossible to hide the fact that he'd been crying. His cheeks were still shiny with half-dried tears and his eyes were puffy and red.

"I'm sorry," Midoriya murmured. He wiped at his nose with his jacket sleeve. "I shouldn't have run away like that. I'm surprised you actually found me up here."

"I thought you'd go someplace no one else would be," Todoroki murmured. "I hedged my bets. I'm just glad I didn't get up here and see you were on the other tower."

Midoriya hugged his sides, miserably staring at his knees. He seemed unwilling to look at Todoroki. "I knew I shouldn't have come back. I knew something like this was going to happen."

"Mineta shouldn't have said those things. It wasn't your fault what happened at the train station. We weren't able to get many details about what happened to you, but Nezu told us the League was manipulating you. We saw Shigaraki use that Berserker Serum. I don't blame you for anything that happened."

"But you should," Midoriya insisted. "I don't remember much of that night but I do kind of remember punching you. Mineta said I broke your jaw?"

Todoroki shrugged. "I'm fine. I was only in the hospital for a day. Recovery Girl stopped by and healed me. My jaw clicks sometimes when I eat now, but other than that I'm fine."

The mortified look of horror on Midoriya's face only seemed to intensify instead of lessen as Todoroki had hoped.

"Really, Midoriya. I'm fine," he insisted.

"That's not the point! I hurt you! I could have killed you! When I see red no one is safe. I'm still not sure about everything the League did to me. All my memories are such a blur. I shouldn't be here! I don't trust myself anymore. How can I be sure I won't go on another rampage?"

"I don't think anyone here on campus has any Berserker Serum," Todoroki deadpanned in complete seriousness. "So I don't think you have to worry about that."

Midoriya released a frustrated sigh, staring miserably ahead into the middle distance. "You know what I mean…"

Todoroki studied Midoriya for long moment of silence. "I believe nothing else is going to happen because the person I saw that night was not the Midoriya I know. Whatever Shigaraki made you do was against your will. He was drugging you to attack people. I know you. You're not a bad person. I don't' care what the League made you do. You're my friend. I know coming back to school must not have been easy for you. And I know I'm not someone who really knows how to… talk to people. But if you ever want to talk, or even just vent, I'll be here to listen. You don't even have to give me any details if you don't want to. I'll never ask you to discuss what happened if you don't want to. But I'm here if you need me."

Midoriya glanced at Todoroki with the first hint of anything other than misery since Todoroki arrived on the roof. "Thanks, Todoroki… You're a really good friend, you know that? But I should still apologize to you. I hurt you."

"You already apologized back in the classroom. And it was partially my fault anyway. I froze when I was fighting you. I couldn't bring myself to use my flames. I was so shocked to see you still alive, and then suddenly everyone was fighting. I didn't want to hurt you with my flames like I did at the sports festival – not after thinking you were dead for so long. Heroes aren't supposed to freeze in battle. I failed my training. Endeavor even visited me in the hospital afterwards and gave me a dressing down for getting knocked out." Todoroki was unable to completely keep the sneer out of his voice. "He didn't seem to care too much that I was hurt – only about how I'd gotten hurt."

"I'm sorry," Midoriya murmured, casting Todoroki a commiserating look. "I wouldn't ever try to get you in trouble with your dad."

Todoroki just shrugged. The issues with his father were unlikely to ever be resolved. It just was an unpleasant fact of life at this point.

"Still," Midoriya went on. "I owe you a formal apology."

"Seriously, Midoriya, you don't have to."

"No. I insist." Getting to feet, Midoriya stood before Todoroki and dipped into another deep bow. The sight of the scar on the back of Midoriya's neck made Todoroki's skin crawl. He also still wasn't sure what to make of the scars dotting Midoriya's scalp and the sides of his face. If he ever found out who gave his friend those marks Todoroki promised himself he would personally see that person go up in a plume of fiery hellfire.

"I am so sorry I hurt you. Please forgive me."

"I accept your apology."

Righting himself, Midoriya returned to his place beside Todoroki on the ground.

"Do you feel better now?"

Midoriya pondered the question for a long moment of silence. He seemed uncharacteristically sad and withdrawn. Todoroki didn't like this new Midoriya. He reminded him too much of himself before Midoriya broke through his icy exterior. But if even half their speculations about what happened to Midoriya were right, the boy had every right to be quiet. No one could survive endless weeks of torture and not somehow be changed by the end of it. Todoroki knew he had to prepare himself for the possibility that the old Midoriya he knew might never come back. But even if he never did, Todoroki was relieved to have his friend back, no matter in what capacity. He wouldn't give up on Midoriya so easily. Not after everything Midoriya had done for him.

"Not really," Midoriya finally murmured. "I still don't feel like I deserve to be here anymore."

Todoroki frowned. "I know it might not mean that much to you, but I'm glad you're back. Nothing's been the same since you disappeared. I've missed you."

Todoroki didn't know why, but that soft admission seemed to be just the thing Midoriya needed to hear to finally relax. Like water draining through a sieve, the pinched look of worry seemed to ease from the corners of Midoriya's face.

"Thanks, Todoroki," Midoriya said, casting him what could have almost been considered the faintest hint of a smile. "I missed you too. It was really lonely with the League of Villains. It's nice to know someone missed me."

Before Todoroki could reply, the service door to the stairwell swung open on the other side of the roof. Midoriya and Todoroki looked over to see Iida and Uraraka. Uraraka appeared to be carrying a plastic bag.

"There you are!" Uraraka called as they drew near. "Thank goodness Todoroki found you! He texted us where you were. We were looking everywhere for you."

Midoriya sat up a little straighter against the wall and wiped his sleeve one last time over his face to rub away the residual wetness. "Sorry," he murmured. "I know I shouldn't have run away like that. This wasn't how I was hoping my first day back would go. I didn't mean to make a scene."

"Nonsense," Iida shook his head. "It's completely understandable you would become overwhelmed after everyone cornered you like that. Especially after Mr. Aizawa told us not to. Not to mention Mineta… There is no excuse for what he said to you. I will be sure to scold him for his disrespectful words after lunch."

"Please don't," Midoriya begged. "It's fine. Really. Mineta has every right to be angry at me. I don't remember much of that night, but I know how it feels whenever Shigaraki made me see red. If I was acting even half as dangerous as I felt Mineta should be upset at me."

Iida and Uraraka joined Todoroki and Midoriya on the ground, forming a little circle.

"But we know that wasn't actually you," Uraraka said as she set the plastic bag she carried in the middle of their huddle. "Shigaraki was making you do those things. You shouldn't blame yourself for what happened."

"You sound just like Todoroki," Midoriya huffed.

"If we're all saying the same thing, then you should believe it," Iida insisted.

Midoriya did not seemed convinced. If anything, he suddenly seemed tired and no longer interested in arguing.

"In any case," Uraraka brightly interjected. "You hungry?"

Iida nodded. "That's right. You need to eat. You've lost an alarming amount of weight. You need to rebuild your body mass."

Midoriya listlessly shook his head. "Not really. But you guys must be. You can go to the cafeteria without me. I'm not ready to be stared at again just yet."

"That's what Iida and I thought you might say, so we stopped by the cafeteria after Todoroki texted us and got some onigiri to go. I got you tuna and mayo. I know it's your favorite."

Midoriya stared as Uraraka unpacked several bottles of cold green tea and onigiri and set it all out on the bag between them.

"Here," she said, holding a triangular rice ball out to Midoriya.

Midoriya wordlessly took it.

"Here, Todoroki," Uraraka went on. "I know you like konbu. Aaaaand, Iida, here. Salmon flakes. And pickled plums for me. We got three of everything, so if anyone wants to try something else for your second or third balls go ahead. I think we got enough for everyone to mix and match."

Midoriya seemed momentarily overwhelmed.

"You alright, Midoriya?" Todoroki asked, leaning closer to the other boy.

"Yea," Midoriya weakly replied. "It's just… thanks. I almost forgot how much I missed you guys."

Companionable silence fell over the group as they unwrapped their lunches. After several minutes, Uraraka started a round of light conversation. Todoroki noticed she refrained from mentioning anything that might relate to Midoriya's kidnapping or the League of Villains. Instead, she focused her chatter on changes to their class schedule for that semester and their new dormitory. Midoriya seemed willing to go along with this unspoken compromise and quietly listened as he nibbled at his food.

Nonetheless, the issue of Midoriya's time with the League of Villains still hung like an oppressive presence in the air. It was something they were going to have to acknowledge at some point. But not right now. Not so soon after they just got their friend back. They would deal with those things later once Midoriya was more comfortable being back with them. No matter how long it took, Todoroki promised himself, he would help his friend come back from the dark.

Author's Note: I hope everyone enjoyed Midoriya's return to 1-A. If I don't get another update out before the new year, happy holidays and happy New Year! Hopefully, 2021 will be a better year than 2020… If you liked what you read, please drop me a note. This chapter basically consumed my soul for 48 straight hours. It's the only reason I got this new chapter out so quickly.