Beta'd by Greed720 and HardwinPotter

Shota held his eye dropper over his eye and squeezed. A puff of air left the empty dropper, irritating his tired eyes even further. Glaring at the dropper with an expression that would have left any of his students packing their bags and saying their farewells to their classmates, Shota groaned, stretched, and pulled himself out from behind his desk.

Days after the incident, Recovery Girl still had a line of students waiting outside her door. Kirishima, with a cast over his left arm, and Kaibara, nursing a bandaged hand, parted ways as Shota entered her office. He waited in the corner while Recovery Girl examined X-rays of Shishida's ankle. After a quick healing kiss, she sent him on his way.

Once the office was empty, Shuzenji looked Shota over and said, "If I wasn't so busy, I'd prescribe sleeping medication and shove it down your throat myself."

"There's too much to do." Shota handed her the empty dropper. "We'll have a meeting with Midoriya-kun the moment he leaves the hospital."

"Good. We let this stay out of hand for too long."

"Has Nezu-san been in touch?"

Shuzenji rapped her cane on the floor and shook her head at him. "You know I can't tell you."

"I don't know what to do, Chiyo. Nezu's the one with all the plans. We can't afford to screw this up."

"Have a little more faith in yourself, sweetie, you're doing just fine." Recovery Girl patted him on the arm. "You're not the only one here who wants to do right by the kid. We'll help you through this, just trust us."

Shota silently regarded her, wondering if he had any other means of persuading her, but he knew she'd follow any order from Nezu to the letter. There was always the chance that Hound Dog might be less tight-lipped, but even if he did get answers, odds were he wouldn't even be able to reach Nezu, much less convince him to come back.

With a sigh, Aizawa said, "I'll call Nighteye."

"Use Nezu's phone. His can't be tapped."

The next morning, he had sent All Might to pick Midoriya up at the hospital. The event would be a P.R. nightmare as was, but at least the Number One Hero's grinning face would drown out the fact that U.A. had, once again, sent one of its students to intensive care. For all the disdain with which Shota regarded Yagi's teaching ability, he could respect that the man knew how to spin the media around his fingers like a piece of yarn.

Upon arriving at the school, Nighteye gave Shota a cold stare and asked if he could speak privately with All Might before the main meeting. It was then that Shota realized exactly why All Might had looked so relieved to be assigned hospital duty, despite the vultures of the press crowing for fresh meat.

As Shota escorted Nighteye into the building, Vlad King fell in beside them. Nighteye gave the new addition to their meetings a raised eyebrow, but made no comment. Recovery Girl and Hound Dog were already waiting in the room, with fresh tea brewed and poured out in memory of the absent principal.

Ostensibly, the meeting they were having was to discuss additional security for U.A. from Nighteye's agency. For the benefit of the HPSC, they were discussing moving up the timetable for choosing All Might's successor. Shota was no expert on the more public form of subterfuge, preferring to keep his sneaking around to dark alleys and shadowed rooftops, but Nezu had thought far enough ahead to give him step by step instructions on how to set up these meetings.

"Before we begin discussing anything," Shota said, "I need to fill you all in on why Sekijiro-san is here. He was there when Midoriya revealed his Quirk to us. Aside from the fact that we have discussed the Quirk before, Sekijiro-san does not know anything about these meetings."

A subtle nod from Nighteye was signal enough to show that he understood that One for All and other secrets were off the table. Vlad King scowled and said, "Nezu, I could understand keeping this from me, but the rest of you? What the hell made you all think that keeping a Category 5 Quirk hidden from everyone else was a good idea?"

Inui looked distinctly uncomfortable, but Shuzenji didn't waver under his glare. "It's for the boy's safety. The more people that know a secret, the harder it is to keep it."

"I've heard my students muttering about Midoriya-kun having a Quirk," Sekijiro said with a smirk. "Not much of a secret now, is it?"

"We will address that after we learn more from Midoriya," Shota said. "Right now, we need to decide how we are going to help Midoriya open up about his Quirk."

"I would think that's straight-forward," Nighteye said. "We ask questions, and he answers them. Seeing how he already knows how the conversation's going to go, there's little point dancing around the topic, isn't there?"

"Actually," Inui put in hesitantly, "I don't know how much help we can give him with his Quirk active. I think his Quirk is inhibiting his ability to feel anything."

Hound Dog's thought gave Shota a sense of dejavu, but he couldn't remember where he had run into it before. Nezu's notes, probably. "Well, I can't use my Quirk on him forever. I have to blink eventually."

"We could ask him to turn it off," Shuzenji suggested. "If he doesn't have control, I could look into medication to suppress it."

The faint buzz of Shota's cell phone interrupted the meeting. After a peek, Shota said, "He's here."

"Coming through the door, like a normal person!" All Might shouted out as he threw open the door. "Sorry, I'm late, you know how it is with news reporters."

When Midoriya stepped out from behind All Might, Recovery Girl left her seat to inspect his injuries. A quick peck on the cheek lightened the inflamed tissue around the closed-up wound on his stomach. She swatted him on the head with her cane and scolded him for getting injured, to which Midoriya nodded and promised not to let it happen again.

"To get started," Shota said as Midoriya took his seat, "You know what this meeting is about, correct?"

"My Quirk," Midoriya answered bluntly. There was a vague sense of unease on his face, one that Shota could barely tell was there.

"We were hoping to have this discussion while you weren't using your Quirk. I won't force you to turn it off, and quite frankly, I can't make you, not for how long it would take us to have this conversation. So, first off, can you turn off your Quirk?"

"I can, sort of. I will still see what will happen in the distant future, but I can stop myself from seeing this conversation."

"Would you be willing to turn off your Quirk?"

"I'll do it right now."

Shota could see the Quirk release its grip on Midoriya. He went from the stoic student Shota had known for the past year to the frightened teenager he had gotten a glimpse of at the summer retreat. His breathing audibly quickened, and his eyes became unfocused.

As Shota was wondering if having Midoriya turn off his Quirk was such a good idea, Inui flew up from his seat. With his hackles raised, he growled at everyone, "Out, all of you. Right now."

Sekijiro frowned. "If something's happening, I want to-"

Recovery Girl grabbed Sekijiro by the sensitive flesh between his thumb and index finger, drawing a wince from him. "We're going. We'll be right outside."

As they filed out of the room, Nighteye pulled All Might aside. Vlad King glared down at Recovery Girl, who stared back at him with her arms crossed.

"Midoriya's having a panic attack," Shuzenji said. "It might be a while before Inui-san can calm him down."

"A panic attack?" Sekijiro asked. "Because he turned off his Quirk?"

"He spent his whole life knowing exactly what would happen to him," Shota said flatly. "It's no wonder he has trouble coping with uncertainty."

"Oh, I'm not denying that. I'm just wondering why none of you seem to have done anything about it. Does Nezu have such a tight leash on you that you'll do whatever he says, no matter how messed up it is?"

"Were it within my power to help him, I would have," Recovery Girl said, "Regardless of what Nezu asked me to do. Our hands were tied by the kid's Quirk. Try to corner a kid that flighty, and he'd have disappeared."

"The point is, we are acting with Midoriya's safety in mind." Shota glanced back at the door, but the soundproofing kept him from hearing anything going on inside. "Are you concerned about the same thing, or are you just frustrated that Nezu never saw fit to let you in on his secrets?"

Sekijiro fumed, but he said nothing.

"I don't know about you," Shuzenji said, breaking the tense silence, "But I'm too old to spend a whole afternoon standing around. My joints would go stiff. Why don't we grab lunch and wait for Inui-san to text us back?"

The moment Aizawa asked him to turn off his Quirk, Izuku felt the skin-prickling vertigo of the world falling out from under his feet. This time, he didn't have his Quirk to lift him out of that spiraling free-fall. Izuku was only vaguely aware of someone growling, he couldn't make out the words, not with his ears buzzing like wasps nests.

Arms wrapped around him in a gentle embrace. Desperate for any form of support, Izuku latched on and buried his face into a muscular chest. As his whole body was racked with sobs, Hound Dog patted him on the back and muttered softly into his ear.

"Talk to me," Inui said after a while. "Are you feeling okay? Do you need anything?"

Izuku sniffed. Snot ran down his nose, and his face was a tear-streaked mess. "I - I don't know. It's all blank, from this point on. There's a few things, important things, but the rest of it… I can't see anything!"

"Look at me." Inui gently raised Izuku's chin until they were both making eye contact. "You're choosing not to use your Quirk now, right?"

"Y-yeah, I am."

"Then it can only mean that, no matter what happens next, you're strong enough to face it."

Izuku stared back with wide eyes. Any other time in the past year people have called him strong, it was too easy to dismiss it. He wasn't really any better than his classmates, everything was just his Quirk. To hear Hound Dog say it, using logic Izuku couldn't deny, made the compliment powerful enough to move him to tears.

"T-thank you," Izuku said between sobs.

Inui wrapped him up in a hug. After a moment of startlement, Izuku eagerly returned the embrace. The hug didn't feel that it had lasted nearly long enough when Inui pulled away, but Izuku couldn't bring himself to pull him back.

"I can only imagine how hard this is for you," Inui said. "Right now, I want nothing more than to have you tell me everything about what you've been through so I can get you the help you need. However, the people outside the door need to come up with a plan for what comes next. That includes what we tell your classmates and how we handle your Quirk going forward. Can you talk with them?"

At the mention of his classmates, Izuku felt sick to his stomach. Even though he knew it wouldn't be a problem, lingering fear of his secret being known made his skin crawl with a thousand imagined spiders. Forcing down his urge to vomit, Izuku nodded.

"Good, you're doing good. I'll let them know they can come back in. If you need space again, just tap on my arm."

Rather than get up from his spot next to Izuku, Inui sent a text. A few minutes later, the door opened slowly, and the other staff filtered in one at a time. Aizawa took a sharp breath and clenched his jaw at Izuku's tear-streaked face, and Recovery Girl gave him a pat on the arm as she sat to his right. Nighteye gave him a cursory glance as he returned to his seat, while Yagi, who trailed behind his former sidekick, was too lost in thought to pay Izuku any mind.

"So, are we actually going to get this meeting started?" Vlad King asked irritably.

Aizawa's eyes glowed and his hair floated as he glared at Sekijiro. The other teacher returned his stare, until he cast a glance at Izuku. With a sigh, Vlad King apologized and settled into his seat.

"Midoriya had a mild panic attack," Hound Dog said, "But he still intends not to use his Quirk. We need to start therapy as soon as possible. For now, he is stable, but we should keep calm and give him space. I will let you know if you need to leave again."

Aizawa nodded. "Izuku, the first thing we need to do is admit to the fact that we've known about your Quirk since the beginning of your first year."

Events of the Quirk Assessment played back in his head. His Quirk vanishing. Aizawa changing his mind. Resentment rose in his chest like bubbling hot oil. "I- I know," Izuku said bitterly. Hound Dog gave him a wary glance at the sudden anger in his voice.

"You knew?"

"It's why you didn't expel me on the first day, right?" Izuku's hands shook as he stared down his first-year teacher. "I never saw it very clearly, because you used your Quirk on me, but I could tell I was supposed to be in the General Studies course. I got last place in the Quirk Assessment, I was supposed to get expelled, but instead, you kept me around because I had a Quirk, right?"

Izuku's angry shouts echoed through the room. As the silence grew, Izuku wilted in on himself, his anger popped like a soap bubble and was replaced with burning shame. Inui gently pulled his hand onto his arm. Though Izuku grabbed it, he didn't tap any of his fingers.

Aizawa racked his brain, thinking back to that first day. He knew he needed to respond quickly, to heal whatever wound he had unwittingly left festering in Izuku's heart.

"You're right about one thing," Aizawa said. "I was planning to expel you." At Izuku's stricken expression, he hastily added, "Not for being Quirkless, mind you. Someone Quirkless and stronger, I would have welcomed, but you were physically behind even the weakest of your classmates, with no Quirk evident to compensate for that. I erased your Quirk at Nezu's request, as he was trying to understand how your Quirk functioned. Had I known how much pain that would put you through, I would have never agreed to it, and I wish I could have apologized for that sooner."

Izuku tried to speak, tried to tell him that he didn't have to apologize or say that he was right about him being weak, but the words stuck in his throat. A soft growl rumbled in the back of Hound Dog's throat as he stared at Aizawa, angered by his decision.

"When I did," Aizawa continued, "I saw that, despite how much it terrified you, you were able to stand in the face of that fear. Anyone can be physically fit, but not everyone has the courage and willpower to stand against what terrifies them most. Standing tall in the face of danger is the essence of a hero, and that can never be taught. That is why I changed my mind."

Aizawa thought he had said something wrong when the waterworks started back up. He tensed up, ready to make whatever apologies necessary, but Izuku beat him to the punch.

"I - I'm sorry, Aizawa-sensei, I hated you for that," Izuku stammered. "I thought you were some Quirkist j-jerk."

"You have nothing to apologize for. Though I wish you had reached out to us sooner, the truth is, it is our fault that you went so long without the help you needed. We should have approached you as soon as we learned about your Quirk, but instead, we played it safe, too afraid that we would spook you into leaving if you realized what we knew. For that, and everything else you have been through because of our inaction, I'm sorry."

Izuku latched onto Hound Dog as more sobbing tore out of him. Inui patted his back and asked if he needed another moment, but Izuku pulled himself up and shook his head. "N-no, I'll be fine. I'm sorry."

"Take as much time as you need, dearie," Recovery Girl said, "We're here for you."

"Well, I do have a meeting in an hour," Nighteye added. Recovery Girl swatted him in the shoulder with her cane.

"I'm ready," Izuku said firmly. "What do you need?"

"While we knew you have a precognitive Quirk," Aizawa said, "We didn't know how it worked or what it does exactly. If you can tell us about your Quirk, every detail you can think of, then we can figure out how to help you."

Izuku nodded and started from the beginning. Nine years of memories and their pain all flooding in at the same time. The agonizing headaches he had gotten when he tried telling his mother about his Quirk, or when he tried to call the police about a villain attack he knew would claim a dozen lives the next morning. His first death foretold, and All Might's unexpected appearance changing it. The foggy future after Eraserhead used his Quirk, the second salvation at the USJ, and to no small amount of Izuku's embarrassment, his Quirk's indecision and blindness towards Mina.

Hound Dog started growling and flinched when he caught himself. Recovery Girl muttered to himself, and Aizawa looked more ashamed with himself after each sentence of Izuku's account. Nighteye looked positively horrified as the implications of a constant, uncontrollable precognitive Quirk laid themselves out before him.

"Well," Nighteye said, once Izuku was done, "It's evident you need better control over your Quirk. We can arrange an internship, and I'll guide you as best I can."

"Before we decide that," Aizawa said, "We need to figure out how many people we're going to reveal this Quirk to. Midoriya, do you know what exactly would happen if people learned about your Quirk?"

Izuku shook his head. "Whatever it was, it's not going to happen, I t-think. Still, I'd rather not…"

"I have no intention of letting the public know."

Vlad King glared at Aizawa, but Izuku heaved a sigh of relief. "That's good. I - I guess Monoma-san and Kacc- Bakugo-san know."

"Bakugo knows?" Aizawa asked.

"I, uh, kind of told him, after I jumped through the portal."

With the voice of someone dreading their future, Aizawa said, "I'll have a word with him. In any case, most of 2-A and 2-B have pieced together that you have a Quirk, since you were seen giving it to Monoma. To avoid speculation, I think it's best that we tell them about your Quirk."

Izuku reluctantly nodded. "And… what about my mom?"

The staff exchanged looks. "To be honest, we hadn't thought about that," Aizawa said. It's your choice."

Izuku wanted to, but the thought of revealing his Quirk, even though he had wanted to for the past ten years, terrified him. He clutched his shoulders, hunched over, and shook his head.

"That's okay, you don't need to push yourself." Inui patted him on the back. "You can tell her when you're ready."

Aizawa took a deep breath and finished his tea, which had long gone cold. "To keep your Quirk's presence a secret, you'll need to use it around anyone outside of 2-A and 2-B. Your personality shift is too dramatic otherwise. This includes the Sports Festival."

"I - I don't see it happening."

The teachers tensed up. Vlad King said, "What do you mean? Is it going to be cancelled?"

"I don't think so? I don't see anything about it being cancelled either, so, I guess I competed without using it? I don't know who will win either. So, maybe it doesn't matter?"

Both Nighteye and Vlad King gave Izuku irritated looks. Izuku shrank further in his seat.

"Well, is there anything you can see?" Sekijiro asked.

"A few things. I know I'll be interning with Nighteye."

"An internship with Nighteye would be unusual if you're in first again," Aizawa said, reflecting on how much Nezu was rubbing off on him. "But an internship with All Might would be less suspicious."

Nighteye smiled at All Might. "Then his agency and mine could work together, to harken back to my time as his sidekick, and he can spend some time around Lemillion. Yes, that's perfect."

Yagi looked as though he wished he could sink through the floor. Desperate to change the subject, All Might asked, "Anything else, Midoriya-kun?"

Izuku shivered as another patch of memories came to mind. "There's something I d-don't know if I can tell you, I really want to, but every time I tried, my Quirk didn't let me. I've tried so many times, I've seen so many disasters coming and I always thought if I could just call someone, leave an anonymous tip or something, it's not like anyone would have figured out if I did it right-"

"Breathe, Midoriya-kun," Inui said, giving Izuku's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "You're rambling. Breathe, and tell us what's going on."

"I - I don't know…"

"Can you try?"

Izuku breathed in and out. His hands clenched hard enough to make the plastic table creak. "I'll try." Izuku latched onto a cup of cold tea and drank it down. Rivulets spilled down the sides of his lips. Breathing hard, Izuku braced himself and said, "Yaoyorozu-san…" Emboldened by the lack of any reaction, Izuku took another breath and said, "She's going to be kidnapped."

"What!" Sekijiro roared. "How? What can we do to stop it?"

"I don't think we can," Izuku said sadly. "I mean, I don't see it happening, but I do see us rescuing her. It's…" Izuku scrambled for the nearest garbage can. Inui knelt beside Izuku, muttering softly to him. After a few seconds, Izuku's stomach settled itself, and he sat back on the floor.

"It's not good. She looks pale and thin, and so tired, and her mouth is black for some reason. They had her making some kind of vial, I don't know what it is."

Nighteye grimaced and said, "It's Trigger. The current drug supply is imported from the U.S. and distributed by the Shie Hassaikai. Either something's going to cut off their supply, or a competitor will try to undercut them."

Shuzenji frowned. "The Trigger must be absorbing into her skin as she makes it. Poor girl. I'll see about getting some treatment options on hand."

"We can at least warn her, and tell her how to handle herself," Aizawa added. "Might as well make it a class lecture."

"What, we're not even going to try to stop it?" Sekijiro asked.

"We will," Nighteye said, "But from my experience, knowing what will happen, all we can do is prepare to mitigate the fallout. I can speed up the investigation into the Shie Hassaikai, and hopefully we'll get leads on where they'll take her."

"And we'll boost security on our end." Aizawa stood up and said, I think we're done here today. I'll keep you all posted."

As they all left one by one, Aizawa lingered by the door for a last glance at Izuku. His student looked as though he wished to stay something, but he hung his head and kicked his feet against his chair. Aizawa walked over, knelt down, and put a comforting hand on your shoulder.

"Don't be afraid to reach out for help. Even heroes need it from time to time."

Izuku reached out for a hug, and stopped short, embarrassed with himself. Aizawa braced himself and hugged him.

"T-thank you, Aizawa-sensei."

A/N: Happy Easter! And what a special occasion it is. 1,000 reviews, 2,000 favorites, and 2,500 followers, all achieved in the same week! Couldn't be happier with the turnout after last chapter.

In celebration of this momentous event, and definitely not something I've been forgetting to do for weeks now, I'll slap a link both here and in my profile to a discord community called the Emerald Library, which I'm a part of. I have a private channel where you can chat directly with yours truly. There's other authors there as well, Hero DarkyDark, darkfire1220, and Greed720, to name a few you might recognize. All I ask in return is that you respect the forum's rules and be civil.

This link never expires and has unlimited uses. Use it wisely. Remove the obligatory spaces and underscores before use. Everything else should all be there though. I'll see if my profile is kinder to it.

h_t_t_p_: / /discord . gg //pKEmKfrUQq

Oh, also, I had this idea that it would be nice to offer quotes from reviewers, so people reading these know what I'm replying to. Starting this week, I'm doing that. Perhaps not the entire review, but enough to at least give context.

jikap: I kind of feel like Izukus's stamina ended too abruptly, one second he's fighting Nomus like he's not tired at all, then next he just gives up because of exhaustion.

Bardothren: Excellent critique. It's something I'll bear in the mind in the future, but I'll leave it as is for now. Didn't want to drag out the event longer than I already had, tbh, but you're right about it being abrupt.

Pridesbane: "Oh my god, he shot Dabi," absolutely cracked me up

Bardothren: I had no idea where the urge to put that reference came from, but Twice having both lines just felt right somehow.

dav102102: if izuku and sir nighteye played rock paper scissors who would win

Bardothren: a fun question, and one that might yet be answered.

kain541204: one aspect of the story i have yet to see is the argument of free will, versus preordained.

Bardothren: the English major in me loves the fact that you picked up on this theme. I can't say I've had a deliberate plan to make some deep, meaningful message on the subject, but I've definitely kept it in mind as I've been writing this story.

StillHere: Of course, that's all just a theory- A FICTION THEORY.

Bardothren: Thanks for reading! ;)

killerstreak: what if izuku had a sentient quirk like tokoyami but it would be izuna from jujutsu kaisen , or gojo:s infinity and six eyes.

Bardothren: I'd actually prefer to do Todo's Boogie Woogie. It's such a simple power, but one with so many applications in combat and rescue work. I can only imagine how sick that would be combined with Bakugo.

That's it for this week. See you in the discord!