Chapter twenty-three - Duality at Fault

Class 1-A were currently working on their literacy in a productive manner, until someone knocked on the door. Majority of the classroom looked up, including the teacher.

"Come in!" shouted the teacher from the room. Then, emerging from the door, came Nezu.

"Sorry for interrupting the lesson going on, but this is a serious matter." Nezu's face darkened in solemn. This caused the class to whisper amongst themselves in curiosity.

"Principal Nezu never walks into lessons on such random occasion. Something's up…" thought Todoroki. He had an expressionless face but was just as eager to listen as the rest of his classmates.

"It regards a villain." said Nezu. Almost immediately, the class started to panic with growing fear and interest of what this was about. The teacher just calmly nodded, as she now knew what this was about. Bakugou caught on to the teacher's look.

"What the fuck is going on?" thought Bakugou. He really disliked hearing of any villains, due to how easily he was defeated by one. The inferior sensation he got from losing to Faceless washed over him repeatedly and painted his face into one of annoyance. Kirishima glanced at Bakugou, wondering cluelessly at what Bakugou was so worried about.

"Bakubro, what's up with you? You look pissed." said Kirishima.

"Nothing's wrong with me. Just shut up and let's listen to what the bastard's got to say." said Bakugou with a scowl on his face.

"Ah Bakugou..that's our principal you're talking to, you know..have some respect..!" said Sero scoldingly.

"Wanna die, flat-face? Shut up!" said Bakugou in a hoarse tone. The friendly feud ended briefly and they all listened accordingly.

"The villain 'Faceless' has told us about someone in this class called 'Kacchan'. Since we clearly already know your full names and Faceless doesn't seem like the type to lie, we have gathered that it is a nickname. Does anyone in this classroom go by the name of Kacchan?" asked Nezu. He had a vague idea of who it could be, but he didn't accuse people without conviction or evidence. But it wasn't as though Nezu's predictions were ever wrong. At that point in time, he was waiting to confirm his suspicions.

After Nezu had said that, the entire class were now shouting out their thoughts. A villain that knew someone in 1-A? Was there a traitor? Iida and Uraraka's face shone a ray of hope. They were excited but a little scared that Faceless knew about 1-A. He was a villain and if a villain had any connection to a hero school..well..it was an 'oil and water' situation. They mumbled their own theories together, awaiting for the new piece of information on the strange Faceless villain. Todoroki gave a small humming sound when he heard about this. He wondered why this one villain was the centre of attention when nobody had even seen him before. It wasn't like this was his first time hearing of the villain, but why him? There were so many others that were far scarier, far stronger and far more unknown. It was so illogical. However, in the sea of confused, intrigued and shocked faces, there was one that stood out.

A blonde, boastful bastard.

Bakugou's blood ran cold at the sound of his old childhood nickname. In any normal condition, nicknames wouldn't be called by just one person, but a multitude of people. Or at least the nickname would be known by others. But this… this was different. Only Deku called him that. It was no longer debatable to whether or not Deku and Faceless were the same person anymore. Calling them different people would factually be wrong at this point. They own the same hearts, organ systems and bodies. But talking emotionally and mentally, they were completely different from one another. Then why? Why was Bakugou producing so much cold sweat? Why was he the odd one, out of the class of confusion?

Just seeing Bakugou's instant mood change was more than enough to convince Nezu of his doubts and theories.

"Bingo." thought Nezu.

"Haha. Fucking Nezu… playing damn mind games with me? Am I going deaf or paranoid or something? There's no fukcing way Deku is Fac- I'm not even going to think about that fucking name..FUCK. FUCK." thought Bakugou. He was gripping his head like a life line and had the look of a person who in denial. Kirishima was now getting very scared at the way Bakugou was behaving.

"I've never seen this side to Bakugou before..and I've seen many sides to him..surely he isn't related to the Faceless villain..don't tell me that he-"

"Bakugou Katsuki. If you would please follow me outside?" said Nezu in a serious tone. If Bakugou was 'Kacchan', then he was the one who inflicted those burns upon Izuku, then…

"No you won't. Kacchan did it." Izuku's words were repeating itself in Nezu's head.

"So that's what he meant." thought Nezu. He had slowly realised that Izuku knew that Nezu couldn't do much to Bakugou because of his power and the fact that he's a minor. It was now basically confirmed that Bakugou had inflicted those burns on Izuku. Nezu should have known from the get go that Bakugou was Kacchan. Katsuki and Kacchan. Sounds similar. Bakugou applying those burns on Izuku would be enough to give him a suspension. It was enough for that, but Nezu wasn't satisfied with it.

"You are Kacchan, aren't you, Bakugou." said Nezu.

"Y-Yes. Yes, I am. So?" Bakugou choked out. Nezu's eyes widened in pure rage.

"You!" Nezu shouted from the top of his lungs. This scared Bakugou, it showed as well. He never thought that such a small creature could feel an emotion like anger.

"Do you..do you know who 'Midoriya Izuku' is?" asked Nezu in a shaking tone. Bakugou croaked. How was that possible? Why bring that useless bastard up now? Why now, of all times? Bakugou was in a state of contradiction and became agitated.

"I do. He was a childhood classmate." said Bakugou, finally. "Quirkless piece of shit, too.." he whispered. His nervousness soon left him. He was now filled to the brim with gall and exasperance. He wanted to explode everything within his field of vision at that moment. Faceless was Deku...Faceless was Deku...Faceless was Deku! It was such a load of shit.

"Then, I'll cut out the middlemen and get straight to the point. I'm sure you are now aware that Faceless is Midoriya. Now, why did you burn him. He looks nothing like he does in that photo I, and the rest of the staff, were provided with. What did you do to him?" asked Nezu.

Bakugou clicked his tongue and put his hands in his pockets. From that point on, his body was a raging fire of hatred and Deku was the fuel. He spilled mostly everything about Izuku to Nezu unintentionally. He had a habit of talking loosely about the things he loathed. He talked and talked and went on and on about how Izuku was quirkless and how he picked on Izuku everyday and how the teachers didn't care for any of it. The teachers joined in themselves, most of the time. Bakugou talked about how Izuku wanted to be a hero and how he fantasized about being like All Might and helping people. What a daft fucking idea, that was. A quirkless hero was unheard of! The way that Bakugou was describing Izuku's life, from his perspective, was quite light-hearted, compared to the reality. Bakugou didn't leave a lot out, as he thought U.A teachers and his Middle School teachers would be no different.

By the time Bakugou was done, there were a few seconds of awkward silence until he was given a hot slap from Nezu. Bakugou frantically rubbed at his cheek and started down at the Principal.

"Those are the acts of a villain." spat Nezu with disgust, he was fully prepared to expel Bakugou at any given time. "How dare you?! In such a casual way, you spew the acts of a horrid villain. I have the right mind to expel you, Bakugou. Not only have you abused your classmate, but you have committed acts that were against the law! You have illegally used your quirk, you used your quirk for acts of conflict on the defenseless and weak instead of self-defence, using quirk for sadism, robbing money from your classmates and much more. Your parents will of course be called and your place at U.A will be at stake and… you...why on earth…" Nezu just kept going on and on and on and on!

Bakugou was in utter disbelief at what he was hearing.

"Eh?"

Bakugou had staggered a few steps backwards and had his mouth agape. His body felt numb and his chest felt overwhelmed with confusion and anger. His breathing picked up and his red eyes lit up in frenzy. Had Nezu not been the Principal of the best hero school in Japan, Bakugou probably would have killed him or beaten him by now! His mind was fogged with anger that some parts of what Nezu was saying were not heard.

"What? Why does this bastard care about a Deku? Is he deluded? This is the kind of bullshit that gets me mad. So you're telling me that even when that dumbass became a villain, he still couldn't keep himself to himself. Still involving me in his crap." thought Bakugou. He decided to keep his trap shut as it could cost him his place at U.A and Kirishima's friendship. He didn't want to lose that. Losing a friend wasn't even equal in importance to rambling about Deku.

"Am I understood? I'm currently fuming and not in the right mind, so my choice of expelling you is due to my emotions, not my rights as principal." said Nezu calmy. "Your parents will be called. Go back to class." Nezu walked out of Bakugou's sight and into the distance. Bakugou's knees gave out and he dropped to the ground with a crazed smile and his red eyes were submerged in faint bloodlust. He rubbed his face with his hands and thought.

"That damn Deku is still alive, huh? And he thinks he's better than me just because he landed a few scratches on me? Haha...Ah..that fucker.." thought Bakugou, begrudgingly getting up and walking back into class.

In his office, Nezu was currently in great distress about the recent events that had just occurred. He slapped a student, lost composure, half-threatened the student and..defended a villain? Izuku and Bakugou were childhood classmates and Izuku was tormented everyday for about 16 years, up until he joined the League. Surely, there were some laws broken during the whole of those 16 years. All the violence and hate and abuse. All that, because he lacked a quirk? That was utter nonsense.

Nezu was worried for Izuku. He held his head in his small paws and sighed a deep breath, before drinking some water. He thought about the situation at the moment.

"So, Bakugou has a possible vendetta against Midoriya, Bakugou caused those burns and scars on Midoriya's skin for all those years with his quirk, Midoriya went missing, Midoriya was found as a villain, Bakugou and Midoriya hate each other…" thought Nezu, chewing on the end of a pen. There was a blank space at the end of the string of events.

How did Izuku become a villain?

That apparently didn't matter to Nezu much, so he pushed that though to the back of his mind and thought about something else.

There were two options. Either Izuku rotted in a cell or…

"Enroll him. I have to enroll him! Maybe not as a student, due to the relationship he has with Bakugou, but maybe as a teacher!" he jumped out of his seat in hope. It could work. Izuku was clearly skilled in combat and analytical skill..It could work. Izuku had saved a couple of people and met a student in 1-A. It would work! Nezu thought and planned out his idea and decided that Izuku's teachings would be considered an addition to his 'jail time'. Nezu rung the police and the rest of the staff, telling them every detail about his conversation with Bakugou and his plan, regarding Izuku. By the time he finished, his jaw was about to fall off in soreness, but it was worth it. The teachers were all hesitant but the majority of them had no complaints. The police were completely fine with this idea of jail time. Some even thought that involving Izuku with U.A would make him see the light of heroes and feel the taste of hope and happiness. It could potentially save him from the abyss of depression he was drowning in. But perhaps that was maybe a bit hopeful and unrealistic, but it wasn't impossible. Where there's hope, there's a way, goes the saying.

When Naomasa heard about Izuku's past, he was disgusted to the stomach with Bakugou. To think there was scum that would belittle someone that didn't have a quirk. Naomasa was absolutely glad that he was being told this information but he felt as though what Nezu was telling him was only scratching the surface of Izuku's true experiences and his true anguish.

Naomasa melancholily thought of Izuku going through 16 years of despair and torment and emotional turmoil. That was probably hell. However, when there was talk of Izuku teaching at U.A, it was like Naomasa's gloom was scraped away and being replaced with a fresh, white and clean sheet of paper. A new slate for Izuku! He happily thought of ways to help Izuku and what might benefit him. Naomasa was doing all this with good intentions and wishes and only wanted the best for Izuku. He walked over to Izuku's cell.

Izuku was sitting upright in his cell and was told by Naomasa of the situation. Izuku was overwhelmed by all that he was being told after such a peaceful couple of hours. Naomasa was excited for Izuku and of all that could happen if he just acknowledged his potential. Izuku put his hands over his ears, as if Naomasa's voice was too loud. All these people and teachers and heroes and strangers were apparently did this with good intentions..but what about the man himself? What about Izuku? He had no say whatsoever in this! 'Jail Time'? He was being talked about, his life being planned out for him, again and again and again! Why was everyone deciding how he would live again? Izuku gripped at his head in pain and annoyance. He didn't cry, he didn't wince, but the emotional pain was hurting more than any one of Tezobi's kicks or one of Bakugou's Explosions. Even more than one of All Might's punches. It was a bitter and stingy pain that sunk deep within him. It was almost suffocating.

"It's..too much..Not again, God, Not again…I don't want this! And to think Bakugou knows I'm a villain and alive and found and...For fuck's sake...someone just stab me in the heart...End this.." thought Izuku in unease. He was having a panic attack and clutching tightly at his chest.

"I hope you don't min- SHIT! Midoriya!" Naomasa finally realised what he was doing to Izuku. He was loading all of his expectations-no, all of the teachers' and staffs' heavy expectations onto the shoulders of a broken, emotionless kid.

"Shit...What kind of person am I.." thought Naomasa as he aided Izuku and got him to calm down. Naomasa apologised and slowly and carefully proceeded to speak about the plan that Nezu had.

"Is this a fucking joke, Detective?" Izuku said, looking Detective directly in the eyes with his own dead looking eyes. Naomasa shook his head warily, a little frightened of what Izuku might do. He then, after a few minutes, regained his professional composure.

"Don't bother arguing with me, Midoriya. The police are saying you have no choice, as it is part of your jail time. You start tomorrow." said Naomasa sternly. As much as he cared for Izuku, he had to remember that he was a Detective, not someone that should be close with a villain.

Izuku buried his face in his hands and didn't bother to look up. He was too saturated in grief and hollowness to do anything.

"Get out." said Izuku in a softer tone.

"Wh-"

"Detective. Get. Out." said Izuku with a firm, haunting voice and a lethal look in his eyes with a smile drawn on his lips. Izuku's corrupt and wicked face was already enough to shoo Naomasa out of the cell. Once Naomasa had left, Izuku emitted an inhuman, ear-splitting scream that cracked the thick, glassy windows a little and with the swift kick of his foot, he created a hole in the walls. Izuku then innocently dropped onto the mattress in a start position with an unreadable expression on his face.

"So that's what that damned dream was about, huh." murmured Izuku to himself as he remembered the dream form the night before. He was aware he could change the future, but he wasn't selfish. He wasn't into the idea of self-benefit. Maybe it was because he wasn't used to it? Didn't matter. Izuku fell asleep and didn't have any dreams.

"Ah.." said a low, spine-chilling voice. "All Might..It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Five minutes." said the voice of the monitor. All Might nodded.

"You know, the wires and cables monitor my brainwaves and quirk signals. So if I even scratch my nose, those guns point to me immediately in such a frightful way. Even if I so much as think of using my quirk, I'll be filled with holes." said All for One.

All Might said nothing and had a stoic expression on his face.

"Come on." dared All for One. "You didn't come here for nothing, did you? Humour me with a conversation, All Might."

"What did you do to him?" said All Might in a cold as a ice tone.

"Hm?" joked All for One, knowing good and well who All Might was referring to. "Whom?"

"This is no time for jokes. I'm talking about Faceless. He was an innocent little boy until you decided to interfere and pollute his mind with thoughts of evil and-" All Might was rudely cut of by All for One.

"Faceless had already been destroyed by the cruelty of today's society. You know, because of his lack of quirk? Surely, you would know about that, Toshinori?" teased All for One. This made All Might's blood boil. He hated how manipulative All for One was.

"How? As if he would suddenly become a villain after all that. It was you, I know it was you. Be a man, take responsibility, you villain." spat All Might.

"Oh dear me, All Might. Don't be so harsh on me. Don't waltz into Tartarus calling me a villain when you were the last one to crack the egg of despair within the boy. I only hatched him, guided him and ultimately saved him. That's how he came to be the chick of despair he is today! Wonderful, is it not?" proclaimed All for One.

"Saved him? You are disgusting. You don't know anything about the events that happened between Faceless and I." said All Might, folding his arms.

All for One chuckled.

"You are naive, All Might. He told me everything. Open your eyes and step into the real world. Not the one that showers false representations of heros in praise. Not the one that glorifies powerful quirks. No, no. I'm talking about the one that casts the useless to the side and leaves them as nothing, for nothing." said All for One seriously. All Might's eyes opened in shock and realisation. That made All for One speak with joy.

"Do you see now, All Might? You have failed the poor boy!"

"N-No.." whimpered All Might. Second by second, All Might was losing confidence in himself.

"You told an innocent boy that he couldn't be a hero, all in the name of superficiality! You were his last shred of hope! The last thing keeping him sane!" declared All for One in an extravagant way. He was enjoying this to a creepy extent.

"No..I didn't..I couldn't.." said All Might in the way of a hurt dog.

All for One calmed down and spoke in a more serious and poignant tone.

"You caused him to attempt suicide. Did you know that? Did he tell you that?" said All for One. All Might's blood ran cold and his skin went pale. He looked remarkably like a corpse.

"What? What? Huh, what was that? Suicide? This is too much...but he doesn't seem to be lying...and Midoriya looked too depressed. I knew I wasn't being told the full story... I'm a failure..I'm a dud..FUCK!" thought All Might in self-hate. He was in the midst of pure insanity.

"Judging by your reaction, you didn't. It wasn't his first attempt, by the way. But that's a tale for later." said All for One with an unnerving smile. All Might looked up and saw that his time was over. The guard told him to leave and All Might left the room completely distraught.

All for One, however, was having an absolute ball.

"This is reality All Might. Misunderstandings and tearing down one another."

If humans are disgusting creatures, what does it mean to be inhumane?