So, fun fact, the original version I had for the events surrounding Bakugou setting off the alarm took place at the school. Izuku met up with Shinsou and while they talked the alarm went off. I had it pretty much written out but felt it was too much on top of the attack of 1-A against Mirio, so I cut it. But, since I save my cut stuff, I was able to apply huge chunks of it here and with a few minor adjustments, was able to make a nice little chapter while I continue to hammer out my conversation between Nezu and Izuku. This is also the reason I haven't posted anything in SC:SotCRF. So, now I will soon have a few posts ready to go with that that you can expect to see over the next few weeks.


Outsider Observations

Hitoshi sighed as he threw his stuff into his bag. He'd originally planned on showering before heading out but had decided that after this long, he could wait until he got back to the dorm. He was ready for the day to be over.

When the alarm had gone off, he and Mr. Aizawa had just wrapped up their latest training session. While teacher had stayed with him, he had clearly been anxious…well clearly been annoyed but even in the short time that he'd known the hero, Hitoshi had learned that this was the closest to anxious he would ever show.

Hitoshi had a feeling that if he hadn't been there, the teacher would have rushed off. Three guesses to where and the first two don't count. If something was going on, 1-A always had something to do with it.

So, when Mr. Aizawa's phone went off and he picked it up to listen before sighing in frustration, Hitoshi could hardly be surprised. After assuring whomever was on the lime that he would head 'out there' right away, he assured Hitoshi that there was no danger but he was still required to stay in place until the alarm shut off. After getting an affirmation that he'd been heard, Aizawa took off to deal with whatever had happened.

Now, a few minutes after the alarms had shut off, Hitoshi could still feel the indents left in his palms and wrists from the cloth of the capture weapon he'd been working with, provided by the aforementioned teacher.

Actually, his hands had changed quite a bit since Aizawa had accepted him for personal training a few months ago.

At first, Hitoshi had gotten awful blisters. Mr. Aizawa had warned him that, while he could go to Recovery Girl to get them healed, it would take longer for the calluses to form in the areas they were coming up and thus he would have to deal with blistering for longer.

So, Hitoshi had tolerated said blisters and Mr. Aizawa had provided supplies and helped him tend to them. The teacher would allow them time to heal by shifting the focus of their training on other important skills which did not involve as much use of his hands. The man was constantly testing his stealth, strength, speed, and form, all of which would prove critical in the field.

The training had begun during the internships, 1-A's absence allowing the teacher to start off hard, pushing him to his limits. After the normal classes had picked up again, Mr. Aizawa had scheduled after school sessions for them. For the first part of the summer, they'd actually been able to pick up their original training sessions again, the only exception being a few days where 1-A had extra credit training.

Even then, Aizawa had allowed him to watch the security footage of their sessions before they discussed what they'd seen, considering things such as what the students did well or poorly and what Hitoshi might have done in their place. Mr. Aizawa had also pointed out that, with his quirk, he might have even been capable of diffusing the hostage situation the staff had simulated within moments of arrival, if he could get a response. The teacher then required Hitoshi to come up with a report of what he would do if he couldn't get the required response out of the villain in this situation.

For a short while longer, everything had continued in this way, Hitoshi taking solace from the fact that he would at least get a week off when his teacher would be taking the hero course to a training camp of some sort. He had almost been able to ignore that pang of jealousy that he couldn't join them, that despite the hero students having only a month of training on him—much of which was probably evened out by all of his personalized sessions—he still wasn't considered good enough to join them.

It made him feel a little better when Mr. Aizawa stated that, under normal circumstances, this would have been his testing point and he would have been ready for it. Unfortunately, one of the results of 1-As experiences was that they had been forced to advance at a rate far greater than most first year classes and Vlad King had also accelerated training for class 1-B training in order to keep pace, so Hitoshi had much more training to perform if he wanted to catch up to and keep up with the students. The teacher further pointed out that as long as Hitoshi continued to show promise, despite the fact that the 1-A students were already functioning at a level on par with most second year students, he would be ready to be tested by the end of the year.

So, having basically been told that he was doing well enough as he was by the teacher best known throughout the school for his expulsion rates, Hitoshi was able to push through his doubts and refocus on his training.

Then the Summer Camp Attack and the Kamino Ward Fight had both happened and even he could understand that there were other priorities afterward.

As Shinsou reflected on all of this, he headed out into the main hallway. He smiled as he passed his classroom, glad to be able to look at it without the anger and despair it had represented for him at the beginning of the year.

Things had changed so much for him since then. And while the requirement of moving into the dorms to attend UA frustrated many of his classmates, it was actually great for him. His foster parents made sure that his needs were met but didn't really care all that much about him beyond that.

Not to mention that now that he'd displayed his quirk during the UA tournament, it made him a bigger target than he'd ever been before and moving into the dorms would be safer to stay on UA grounds. Not to mention he wouldn't have to deal with people instantly recognizing him and openly express disgust or fear as about as often as they would congratulate him.

Furthermore, Aizawa had also decided that it was illogical to exclude Mondays and Fridays from his training sessions. So, now he had even more help in training for his chance to enter the Hero Course next year.

Hitoshi expected that since it was a Monday, when most students still weren't expected to stay after school and none of the clubs had adjusted for the fact that everyone was now living on campus, he wouldn't have to worry about bumping into anyone except the odd teacher. Especially now that the alarm had gone off.

As he took a turn into the main hallway, he heard something, a strange mumbling. Cautiously, he looked in the direction that led deeper into the building, rather than toward the entryway.

The school alarm system had just been set off, after all and with everything that had happened this year, there was no harm in being careful.

A familiar green haired figure was shouldering a backpack that was probably once a banana yellow but had faded with age. He stood at a bank of elevators, staring at the buttons on the wall and trembling, looking absolutely terrified.

Hitoshi wondered what could scare someone like Midoriya that way. The guy didn't even flinch at the possibility of exposing himself to quirks that would leave him vulnerable nor did he hesitate breaking his own bones. What could be waiting that could put so much fear in the powerful quirk wielder?

But at that moment, he didn't look immensely powerful at all. Neither big smiles nor determined glares. Just fear.

Hitoshi should just walk away. He knew that. Let the hero student deal with his own problems. Heck, the guy could probably do with experiencing a little fear, considering he'd probably never really dealt with it before UA, seeing as people with quirks as big and flashy as his knew they were strong and generally grew up believing they were untouchable.

On top of that, there was the fact that he had broken himself free of Hitoshi's quirk. No one else had ever done that on their own before. Was it something about Midoriya specifically or did Brainwash have some weakness that he was unaware of which the other boy had exploited? It scared him. Not just of Midoriya's ability to break free of his power but a new burning desire to use his quirk on the other boy so he could figure out what happened.

Hitoshi knew better than to act on that, of course. Some of the worst villains did stuff because they 'just wanted to know.' He'd never act on his curiosity, of all things, without a reason but the urge was still there.

He looked at the trembling, mumbling figure standing there, seeming ridiculously small and timid in comparison to the boy he'd seen in the arena. A completely different person.

He couldn't just walk away, could he? The realization came with no small amount of annoyance.

Sighing, Hitoshi turned toward the boy and said, "Usually, someone has to press a button before anything happens."

Midoriya jumped and spun, lifting his arms defensively before recognition crossed his features, followed by embarrassment. "Oh, y-yeah. S-s-sorry." And he relaxed…no not really, more like he was trying go through the motions of calming down but couldn't.

And there was something way too familiar in the behavior to Hitoshi, except it couldn't be right. Someone like Midoriya didn't match up with the type of person who would have to put up with bullying. Still, he moved slowly, as if to do otherwise might startle the other teen and decided to test it. "You don't need to apologize."

"Sorry, you're right. I didn't mean to…"

No way. Who was strong enough to even—?

It wasn't his business. Whatever happened wasn't his problem. Even if he wanted to, he wasn't close enough to Midoriya to even ask the right questions for that.

Hitoshi was here to deal with the problem of the moment. But he'd bet his chance at heroics that, somehow, Midoriya was a long-time abuse victim. He knew enough of the signs from being that person.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Hitoshi asked instead, the first question he'd asked since approaching the other boy.

"I'm supposed to meet Nezu and—" Izuku shouldered his bag, "and talk. I don't suppose you've met him and could tell me what he's like. All Might didn't exactly say anything encouraging."

Hitoshi thought about the few comments Mr. Aizawa had made in passing about UA's principal and had to fight the urge to wince. "Not really."

Midoriya bit his lip. "Then, c-c-could you do me a favor?"

Hitoshi frowned and said, "Depends on what it is."

"Y-your quirk's trance-like state can be calming. C-c-could you put me under for a minute? That is, unless my quirk starts acting out. It shouldn't since it's not a fight but…"

"Wait, what?"

"I know it's kind of weird to as to use your quirk to calm down but—"

"No,, that's not what I meant," although under normal circumstances, that would be at the top of his list because who would be crazy enough to risk surrendering their control to his quirk for 'calming' effects? "Wat do you mean if your quirk starts acting out in a fight?"

"Brainwash made me aware of a mental aspect to my quirk, although it didn't come up again those times you used it after our fight…oh, I wonder if that means…" Midoriya shook his head, his nervousness gone. "How aware though? Is it through my awareness or is the interaction direct?" He started descending into incomprehensible mumbling and was actually starting to become agitated. "What would that mean though? Are they always watching…maybe it was just a coincidence, they'd have to be real to watch, wouldn't they?"

Whatever Midoriya was thinking about, he was clearly becoming distressed over it.

"What are you talking about?" Hitoshi asked, focusing on the other boy.

"Oh, I…"

Link established, Hitoshi wasted no time in using Brainwash, causing the other boy to fall silent. "Calm down," he ordered, "breathe. Relax."

Midoriya stood there, breathing visibly slowing but otherwise unmoving, a blank gaze acting as the most visible evidence of being under the effects of Hitoshi's quirk.

After a few moments, he released Midoriya from his control.

"Thanks," Midoriya said, officially making him the first person to actually show gratitude for Hitoshi using his quirk on them. "That really helped." And he really did look calmer than he had a moment ago.

"If you say so." Hitoshi didn't know how to react to that but he was sure he'd be grappling with his thoughts over this for some time, much as he has been with their arena fight. Speaking of which, glad that Midoriya was the one to bring up the subject in the first place, Hitoshi asked, "So, the thing you did during the tournament was something with your quirk and not something about Brainwash that I don't know about?"

"Oh," Midoriya said in realization. Then, "Oh, I'm so sorry! I can't imagine what it must be like to wonder if there's some unknown weakness your quirk! I didn't even think about that. No, it's not your's! It's definitely mine. Although, I didn't know it could do anything like that before you used Brainwash on me. Still, that doesn't mean it can't happen again. There are probably other people out there with quirks that would give them a resistance to yours, even once you get your response from them, whatever the exact limits for that is. Because clearly there's some limits, otherwise simply acknowledging you said something or having an emotional reaction would be enough to give you control but it's clearly not…"

"I'll keep that in mind," Hitoshi said, finding it uncomfortable to listen to his quirk being dissected. It served as a reminder for Aizawa told him that even one encounter could reveal critical information about his quirk or his fighting style which could make the difference between life and death in the field.

Perhaps sensing his discomfort, Midoriya trailed off, looking thoughtful before continuing, "Actually, I'm trying to learn more about my quirk. Would you mind…umm…helping me with that, sometime? Maybe spend some time using your quirk on me and seeing if I can break free at will or if it's a special circumstance? Maybe there's a way I could even do it without breaking my fingers. "

"You want me to use Brainwash on you to get that effect again?" Hitoshi asked.

Izuku nodded. "It'd be useful if I had to deal with a villain or a panicked civilian with a similar quirk."

Whether Midoriya was legitimately thinking about rescuing civilians with mind control quirks or had added it for Hitoshi's benefit, he was grateful to hear someone express that just because a person might have such a quirk didn't mean they were probably a villain. It made him feel a little better that the other wasn't operating on a 'you're different from others like you' type of mentality.

"That is, if you want to…" Midoriya added, sounding a little less confident, "If we do, I could tell you my thoughts afterward. Your quirk could be really versatile." He seemed lost in thought before stating, "Umm, if you don't want to hear about it, you can tell me to stop but I've been thinking, if you can't get into the hero course, maybe I could talk to Iida about reaching out to the Ingenium agency. They have an internship route for getting into heroics and are really supportive. And even members who don't pass the Licensing Exam but perform well enough in the field can hold secondary sidekick positions, so people with quirks that aren't supported by the system still get to do limited hero work. They actually have a few very unique members on their team. I'm sure they'd be able to find a spot for you…"

"You'd be willing to do that if I can't get into the heroics course?" Hitoshi asked.

"Yeah, it would only be me asking, nothing more but I think you deserve a chance."

Hitoshi rubbed the back of his neck. There was a part of him that wanted to ask Midoriya why he was doing this. People didn't just go out of their way to do things like this. Especially for someone they barely even knew. Surely, that just happened on TV or in stories. He didn't trust that part of him that wanted this to be real; that someone wanted to help him just because he needed it.

Still, either way, he had learned long ago that he couldn't afford to mess up any opportunity he was offered. What he'd said to Midoriya about the boy who'd given up his chance to advance simply because he wasn't sure how he got there hadn't just been to get a reaction. He'd legitimately been upset that the other could throw his chance away like that.

A part of him was jealous that the hero student could afford to for the sake of morals and still remain safely within the hero course. Hitoshi couldn't. Not without sacrificing his dreams entirely. And he wouldn't for a tournament where there were no lives at stake.

And he sure as hell didn't feel any sympathy for the privileged brats who could afford to do that without any real risks beyond having a few less heroes interested in having them specifically for an internship.

So, whether Midoriya was offering this just to help him or if he had some deeper motive, Hitoshi could never snub the other's offer, even if it turned out he ultimately wouldn't need it. "Would you still be willing to do that even if I waited until next year to see how things play out?"

Midoriya smiled and said, "Of course. I knows something's going on, even if I don't know what. I hope it works out for you!" Both the words and the grin seemed so genuine.

"And I'll think about your request to work on our quirks together some time." Even if he couldn't imagine why Midoriya would want to do that. his willingness to actively reach out to him to be placed under control of his quirk seemed wrong. They barely even knew each other and Midoriya was happy to hand over his free will and trust him. No one ever trusted him.

It scared Hitoshi as much as it excited him. As did that that desire to use his quirk on the other boy. Even if it were to help the other boy, though… "Just give me some time to think about it."

Izuku blinked in surprise before nodding. "Let me know if you decide you want to. If not, maybe we could do something else together sometime."

Hitoshi frowned, feeling awkward. "I'm not out to make friends, Midoriya." While he wouldn't shove away the helping hand, he also wouldn't go so far as to lead Midoriya on like that. He took a step back as he said, "And I really need to get going anyway. I've got a ton of homework to take care of."

Izuku seemed sad at his response but stated, "I guess I need to get going, too."

Hitoshi turned and walked in the direction of the entrance, glancing back over his shoulder only when he heard the ding that accompanied the opening of the elevator doors. He caught a glimpse of Midoriya stepping in before looking away again, repeating his statement to himself, as a reminder:

'I'm not here to make friends.'


The Hostage situation simulation mentioned is from Special Episode: Save the World with Love. The reason I say that 1-A is on par with second year students is that this is what is implied by the fact that they are preparing for a licensing exam that most students wait until at least their second year to take. One that all of them passed a few months afterward, implying that they are better than most second year students form other schools by that point (thanks in no small part to their ability to function as a team).

This next paragraph is a spoiler for Anime Onlys (ones that are hinted in the season five trailer and will be covered pretty early).

So, in the 1-A vs 1-B arc, Shinsou shows some evidence that he is really thinking about using his quirk on Midoriya again (there's even a scene where he's describing some limitations to orders he can give and the image used to display those limits involves Midoriya as the hypnotized figure, which I kind of think is Shinsou's mental image as he talks about it) . I imagine Izuku breaking free of Brainwash in the way that he did probably terrified and fascinated the other boy, since I doubt anyone else has ever done.

A major thing that some people who have been bullied/abused do is apologize for everything. It's something that I have to work on, myself.