Izuku lay there on the blistering concrete, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. He choked on his own breath, hands slowly grasping at the rubble and dirt that had settled next to him. All Might stood only a short distance away, chest puffed and standing proud. It was in that moment that Izuku realized just how scared he was. He felt tiny, insignificant next to the towering hero; despite that, the only thing Izuku could focus on was the man's smile. It's all that occupied his mind.
'It's wrong!' His brain screamed at him. 'His smile is wrong!'
He couldn't help but agree with the sentiment. Every photo, every poster, every memory of All Might's smile... it was one that said that he wanted to help, to provide comfort to those around him, even if he wasn't successful in doing so. But the man before him gave no impression of the sort; his smile was one filled with cruelty, the intent to inflict the worst pain and enjoy it. It reminded him of Stain. That deplorable anti-hero who struck fear into himself and every hero around him that fateful night.
A scream of fury broke Izuku from his trance. He quickly looked to the side, watching helplessly as Bakugou literally exploded from his position on the ground, landing on his feet and running with reckless abandon towards his target.
"I'll show you a bad time!" He threw his hands out in front of him, causing a large, blinding flash of light directly in All Might's face.
Izuku's mind raced at the scene unfolding before him. 'A stun attack? But that isn't going-'
This thought process froze as he saw a large hand spring out from the smoke, grabbing Bakugou's face. He was expecting the other boy to reel back to free himself, but to his surprise the blonde boy leaned forward, extending his hands once more as he unleashed a barrage of more potent blasts at his foe. Izuku could hear Bakugou yelling, but his attacks made it impossible to tell what he was saying.
His heart jumped in his chest cavity as he realized that he still hadn't moved from his position on the ground. Izuku scrambled to his feet, looking around for a quick exit. His eyes settled on a small alley, and before he knew it his feet were already carrying him towards it. He briefly glanced at Bakugou and All Might, to see if they were still fighting. Bakugou was still continuing his barrage of attacks, screaming incoherently as he continued attacking. However, the pro hero's attention was not on the one attacking him.
He was staring straight at Izuku, watching his movements.
All Might quickly put an end to Bakugou's berserking. He hardened his grip on they boy's face, putting all his weight onto the smaller boy until his knees buckled and he was brought crashing to the ground. It was then that All Might showed that even with his restraints, he was still leagues ahead of his students. He quickly jumped back, landing next to the same handrail that Izuku knocked Bakugou into just a few minutes before. He pulled it from its bearings as one would pull a weed from the soft earth, like it was nothing to him.
'A weapon?!' His mind raced for answers. Expecting the worst, Izuku readied a blast beneath him, sending himself rocketing upwards. But All Might didn't move towards him.
The hero charged up power in his right arm, pulling the guardrail back and throwing it with perfect accuracy. It surged through the air, striking Izuku in his chest and sending him back into the building behind him. The guardrail sunk into the brick around him, smashing once more into his chest. He felt something give way inside of him, a sickening crack echoing through his lungs as he felt the familiar taste of sickly iron settling on his tongue. The guardrail embedded itself into the wall behind him, locking him in place some thirty feet above the ground.
"A gift for the boy who chose to abandon his partner!" All Might called from below him. "Did you expect me to lose track of you that easily?"
Izuku was too busy trying to maintain his breathing to respond. It was getting hard to draw air in. He watched as All Might turned his attention back to Bakugou, who was shakily getting back to his feet. Before he could react, the hero landed an underhanded punch straight into his stomach. The sheer force of his punch lifted Bakugou off the ground, and squeezed his stomach so tightly that its contents rushed upwards, spilling out of his mouth in a vile arc as he was thrown back.
"You must feel so angry right now." All Might reprimanded, walking slowly towards the blonde. "After all, Izuku is rising in the ranks, where you feel you have stagnated. But... that's to be expected, isn't it? His quirk only just came in. You've had a lifetime of honing your skills. If you're at level 50, then he's at level 5; it's only natural that the rate they grow would be different! You can still grow, you know-"
"Don't talk like you know me." Bakugou wiped the bile from his lips, rising back to his feet. "Don't talk like you know him, either. He's been lying to everyone this whole time. I don't want anything to do with that bastard! I'd rather lose than get the help of someone like that!"
All Might paused, his face darkening as his smile slowly morphed into a grimace. "...Is that so? I see. You better not regret that decision."
The hero pulled his hand back, ready to unleash another blast and end this test once and for all. It was clear these two weren't going to learn to work together. Aizawa was wrong about them, some things you just can't-
A series of explosions jolted All Might from his fatalism and caused him to drop the power building within his arm. He turned around to face the source of the blast.
Izuku had been building air mines the entire time, and by the time they all detonated he had not just freed himself from the handrail but had shattered almost the entire wall of the building, sending the debris flying towards the two on the ground. Seeing the mangled bits of metal, brick, and glass heading towards him, All Might stepped in front of the blonde and brought his hands up to guard himself. He grunted in pain as the heavy and sharp materials struck his already bruised body, causing him to slide his foot back to keep his stance. He felt a shadow rush over him, followed by the sounds of more explosions echoing behind him. Once the torrent subsided, he turned to find Izuku racing away in the distance, struggling to carry Bakugou with him.
He crouched down, ready to rush after them... but he paused. Izuku didn't need to rescue Bakugou. He could have passed by just using the opportunity to run.
He stood back up, brushing his suit off and checking his body for the extent of his injuries.
"Don't talk like I know you, huh?" He grunted, leaping up in the air to reach the gate. "Maybe so."
It took a moment for Bakugou to react to the events that just unfolded. He felt his recently emptied stomach lurch as he was dragged along in short bursts, Izuku grunting as he struggled to carry him along. Once he regained his composure, he ripped himself from the other boy's grasp, tumbling along the ground as the one carrying him skidded to a stop.
"You bastard... what the hell were you thinking?!" Bakugou yelled at the top of his lungs.
"We needed to retreat." Izuku quietly replied, slowly walking towards his partner. "You were just about to get the crap beaten out of you, and it's not like I'm doing any better right now."
"We could have worn him down!"
"No. No we couldn't." Izuku grunted, his hand instinctively moving to grip his chest, but stopping just short. He coughed, his chest seizing up as a razor sharp pain rippled outwards. The intensity of it nearly drove him to his knees, but he just barely managed to keep himself up. "I can't last much longer. We need something to take him down quickly."
Bakugou's eyes levelled at his partner's chest. It took him a moment to notice that the metal plating was dented inwards, so deeply that it seemed to have went inside his chest. The boy clenched his fists, pushing himself slowly to his feet. "Then leave. I'll take him myself."
"Like you did last time? We need a better strategy." Izuku paused, before reaching up to his helmet and popping it off. "Besides, I'm fairly certain we'd fail if we did that."
"Huh? That's the rules, one of us leaves, we pass!"
"Remember what Nedzu said? They factored everything into the pairings. Powers, skills... and he went out of his way to say our relationships, too." Izuku shuddered, gritting his teeth against another wave of pain. "And who else in all of Class 1-A has a bad relationship, other than us?"
Bakugou waved his hand. "Who cares? Barely any of them matter to me."
"It's only the two of us, you idiot!" Izuku yelled, wincing as his yelling caused his chest to sting once more. "We're the only two people who can't stand each other. This whole exercise is about getting us to work together, and if we can't do that then we're not going to pass."
Bakugou gritted his teeth, looking away. "So... you're saying the teachers think I can't beat All Might without you."
"They know that."
"Bullshit." He clicked his tongue, before kicking a stray bit of trash away. He stared down the end of the alley, fists clenched as he shook in place. He snarled, baring his gritted teeth to no one in particular. He weakly sent his fist into the brick wall, before leaning against it and slowly sliding to a crouching position.
After a moment of silence, Izuku spoke up once more. "We need a plan to beat him."
"Okay! Fine. Spit it out, Deku."
Izuku's heart jumped as his old nickname was brought up. He quickly shoved the oncoming memories aside, looking down as his helmet. He brushed his thumb over the visor, moving it around to watch the light bounce off it. He sighed, closing his eyes as he reeled back and slammed it into the wall. When he turned it back around, the visor was covered in web-like cracks and fissures. It wasn't long before the glass was ejected from the helmet, dropping to the ground with a dull thud.
"What the hell was that for?!" Bakugou cried out. "Stop fucking up your shit and just tell me what you're planning!"
Izuku brought his leg up, smashing his foot against the visor and grinding his heel into the glass. "It's meant to break in large chunks so it doesn't get in my eyes. But if you keep smashing it, the pieces get smaller and smaller." He kicked a few pieces lightly over to Bakugou. "Help me break it down."
Bakugou stared at the other boy for a while, watching as he blankly and wordlessly began destroying his own equipment. He shook his head, before crashing his foot down on the pieces Izuku gave him.
"This better fucking work, whatever this is."
All Might didn't waste any time making his way to the exit gate. Though, to his surprise, he had not encountered either of the duo in neither the air nor ground. He stopped, standing directly in the middle of a street that had been spared the pure carnage and destruction he had rained down upon the boys in the center of the field. He ground his heels into the concrete beneath him, looking to the side to gaze at the brilliantly white exit gate at the end of the street. He clenched his fists, feeling his outfit strain as his muscled tensed.
His silent posing did not last long, however. A loud thud from just behind his back grabbed his attention, and he spun around to meet the angry gaze of Bakugou, his gauntlet pointed at the pro-hero, ready to strike. He screamed, unleashing a dark plume of flame and smoke directly into All Might's chest. The explosion rocked the ground, and the fires bloomed from his torso, spreading all around him and obscuring everything from view.
This didn't stop him, not one bit. Just like before, he reached out through the blast, finding the unfortunately familiar shape of Bakugou's head brush his fingers. He clenched his fist around it, pulling it down to meet the ground with more force than before. The boy had very little stamina left in him, and his head nearly bounced against the ground with a sickening crack.
All Might sighed. "You really never learn, do you?"
"What are you waiting for?" Bakugou called out, in a half-yell half-slur that sounded like it should have been louder.
All Might grimaced. The boy didn't sound right at all... Did he-
The smoke from the blast cleared away, and with it his train of thought. He was staring directly into a small metallic hole, only an inch away from his face. In the few milliseconds he had to react, he only barely managed to process the situation in front of him.
The hole itself was the opening on the top of one of Bakugou's grenade gauntlets. But instead of its normal wielder, it was in the hands of Izuku Midoriya, whose eyes peeked out from behind his visorless helmet, glaring at him with an intense fury that would have easily matched his teammate-rival. Izuku's other hand was firmly grasping the pin on the side of the weapon, and with a scream that vaguely resembled the word "Fire!" from the boy beneath him, the pin was pulled.
His last thoughts before the explosion hit him directly in the face was on that metallic hole. There wasn't something right about it, the inside of it had this strange glimmer to it...
And with that, the flames sprang forth into his gaze, and the world went dark.
Izuku felt the fires singe his uniform, the rebound of the blast rocking his shoulder back so much that he felt like it was going to pop out of its socket. Something wet splattered onto his helmet, and behind his closed eyelids he felt it fly through the empty space where his visor should have been and speckled his skin.
His ears hurt, but thanks to his suit they didn't ring much. He could still hear just fine.
The smoke from this latest explosion had not cleared yet, but Izuku knew he couldn't wait for that. His hands scrambled to his pockets, shakily pulling out the cuffs given to him by Aizawa. All Might's voice reverberated through the black haze.
"I surrender."
All the gears in Izuku's head ground to a halt, his body frozen in place. "Wha- You..."
"I surrender." He repeated. "I'm no longer in any condition to fight. You have passed the exam."
The back of his mind barely registered the announcement that rang from the intercom. He mused on the fact that they were the second team to pass, before his legs gave out from under him. He fell on his side, hazily looking up as the smoke cleared. He could make out an unconscious Bakugou, lying face down on the ground. He looked up, to look at the hero whom he had defeated. He wondered what expression All Might would have. Pride? Worry?
His tired curiosity turned ice cold as he registered the man's face. All Might's mouth was twisted into a pained grimace. His eyes were clenched shut, and from them came numerous trails of dark blood, some of which had become caked and dry from the heat.
"You... you had an ace up your sleeve, didn't you?" The hero grunted, slowly sitting down next to Bakugou. "You broke your visor and used it as shrapnel to amplify Bakugou's all out attack. It's very brutal, but effective."
Izuku wanted to say something, anything to stifle the knot growing in his intestines. But he couldn't make any words leave his mouth. The corners of his vision began to darken.
"Don't worry about me, young Midoriya. You wouldn't be the first person to damage my eyes. Recovery Girl's a true miracle worker, we'll all be in top condition in no time."
All Might shuffled uncomfortably, opening and closing his mouth, trying to find the right words to say. Izuku only stared at the pro hero in front of him. He knew, they both knew, that what he just said could very well be a shallow lie. That knowledge threatened to tear Izuku apart from the inside. He wanted to say something, anything, to say that it clearly wasn't the case. He tried to open his mouth, but found that he couldn't. His entire face felt like it was overcome with a wave of static and numbness, and whatever noises he tried to force out of his mouth simply couldn't be created. He wanted to cry, to say he didn't think it would turn out this badly, to simply say that he was there. But the only thing that he could make was silence.
"You know, I think young Bakugou had a point. I don't know you. At least, not as much as I'd like." He paused, chuckling. "It's been very long since I've spoken like this. I must apologize again. This whole time, I've been treating you like a wounded civilian, that if I spoke the right words I could mend the gap. But... the people I rescue are looking for help, and I wasn't responsible for their pain. Those set you apart, young Midoriya. You didn't need my help, especially when I was the reason for your pain. I've been acting as if you liked me deep down, and I just needed to... pull the right lever to bring that out. It went beyond breaching the boundaries you were comfortable with... and I was too wrapped up in my own insecurities to see the position I kept putting you in.
"I'm sorry, young Midoriya. I will respect your wishes; a simple 'teacher-student' relationship. Perhaps then, we may find a way to build from that, but it should be your decision, not mine."
He let out a pained sigh, feeling the weight slip from his shoulders like a loose gown. He waited in his darkened silence for the boy's response. At first, he thought that Izuku was simply lost for words, but as the quietness stretched on, it began to dawn on him that the boy probably didn't hear anything he just said.
"Ah... you probably passed out. Figures... both you and Bakugou put up quite a fight. It's probably for the best, really. This isn't exactly the place for this type of conversation. I'll tell you at a more appropriate time." He began to slide his hand across the ground towards where he thought Izuku would be. He stopped himself, grimacing and drawing it back into his lap. "Well done, young Midoriya."
Izuku realized, as the gears in his mind slowly began to lurch forward once more, that he could not open his eyes. With as much effort as he could muster, he tried to move his eyelids, but to no avail. They ground against his eyes, as if someone had placed sandpaper under them while he was out. He paused, and let them return to their resting position.
His other senses began to slowly bleed into his consciousness, the sensation of a thin blanket and an equally paltry pillow resting against the side of his face. He mused that it could be worse, the fabric didn't cause his skin to itch or feel irritated. He began to smell the scent of chemical cleaner, slightly singing his nose as he breathed in. He registered the sour taste that lingered in his mouth, though he could barely move his tongue with how dry it was.
His limbs felt restless, almost aching to move, but he could hardly find the energy to do more than twitch his fingers. As he waited, the hazy fog that clouded his waking thought cleared away, little by little. The sensations being fed to him were slowly being pieced together, letting him deduce where exactly he was. His memories slowly formed shape in the back of his mind, and as they did it felt as if there was a weight that had resettled on his chest. He scrunched his eyes, feeling as his tear ducts began to produce some desperately needed moisture.
After some time, he tried opening them a second time. They felt almost... sticky, but not like the horribly uncomfortable sensations like before. He could feel them open, letting light trickle into his pupils. It was blurry at first, but eventually he began to make out his surroundings.
As he suspected, he was in a hospital room, though for how long he didn't know. He looked around, noticing the ECG machine silently showing his vitals off to the room. He traced the wires leading out of it into the ones currently attached to his skin. He looked down at himself, noticing that he was out of his hero costume and in a pale blue gown. He began to slowly shift his legs and arms, rubbing them lightly to alleviate their aches.
He froze in place as he noticed Iida was sitting in a chair on the other end of the room, his body almost shoved into the corner so that he was directly facing Izuku. His arms were folded, and his head tilted back with his eyes closed. He looked so peaceful, despite what could only be an almost painful position for him to sleep in.
His attention was grabbed by the sound of the door to his room softly sliding open. A nurse walked though, putting a finger to her lips as he approached Izuku.
"I saw your heart rate increase, so I came here to check on you. I'm glad to see you're awake now!" She whispered, giving the boy a kind smile. "Would you like a drink?"
Izuku slowly nodded. She quickly exited the room, coming back with a small paper cup of water.
"Drink slowly now," she warned. Izuku shakily put the cup against his lips, sipping slowly. The nurse looked over at Iida, before continuing. "You've got a real friend there, don't you? He's been here ever since you got here, he got permission to stay the night here in this room. I don't think he slept at all last night, from what the other nurses said to me. He really wanted to make sure you were okay. I'm going to let him sleep for a few more minutes while you get your bearings, is that okay?"
Izuku grimaced, placing the cup in his lap. He nodded slowly. The nurse's smile widened as she bowed and left the room, closing the door behind her. As she left, he stared back at the sleeping Iida, and a sense of overwhelming guilt washed over him like a tidal wave. He brought his hands together, rubbing his thumbs against each other as he bit his lip.
Iida was a part of the problem. He's going to be a hero. He's going to fight villains. He's going to feed into the same depraved system that served to placate those who couldn't be bothered to the power granted to the them.
Or... maybe he isn't. Iida didn't go out of his way to hurt anyone. He didn't believe in participating in the crude social politics of management. He simply wanted to help those in need, to alleviate their suffering. Iida wasn't a bad person, and despite him wanting to destroy Stain, the man who destroyed his brother's life... he recanted, because he knew it was wrong of him.
Izuku quietly let out a shaky laugh.
"...I'm the bad one," he squeaked out.
It really was that simple. He couldn't abandon his own dreams, his desires to create a world where his brother wouldn't suffer, to annihilate this disgusting dichotomy that everyone willingly devoted themselves to. But... it would invariably lead to him being in conflict with people like Iida, who truly just wanted to right the world that thrusts so many wrongs upon its occupants.
And he knew that no matter what, if that fight were to happen, he wouldn't be on the just side of that battle.
Iida inhaled sharply, his eyes hazily opening to greet the world. Izuku's heart jumped out of its chest, and he froze like a deer in headlights as the other boy slowly stretched in his chair. His eyes snapped to Izuku, and almost immediately any traces of tiredness left him as he ran over to observe him up close.
"Izuku! You're finally awake!" He waved emphatically, moving around as if he was personally inspecting the bed-ridden teen. "I was so scared when we were told you were sent to the hospital! You shouldn't have pushed yourself so far! The test clearly went overboard and I'm certain the faculty would have understood-"
Iida's voice died in his throat as he noticed that Izuku was crying, stuck in place and trying to stifle his tears and sniffles as quietly as possible.
"...I'm sorry." Iida choked out. "I... didn't ask if you were okay. I'm a terrible friend."
Izuku's lips wrenched upwards, trembling as his emotions blended and fizzled together in a cascade that he couldn't control. "N-no... you're no-not..."
Before he could force anything else out, he felt himself being pulled into a tight, strong hug.
"It's all going to be fine, okay?"
The emotional surge in his head increased tenfold, and with it he lost every last restraint on them. He clumsily clutched at Iida's back as he buried his face into Iida's shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably.
Iida didn't say anything, there was nothing to say. He did what he could, letting Izuku hold tight as he calmly rubbed circles into his back.
After all, a hero is supposed to alleviate the pain of others, and what hero would he be if he couldn't do that for his friend?
It wasn't long after he woke up that Izuku was cleared for release from the hospital. Iida said his goodbyes, as it was a school day and he needed to carry out his duties as class president. A nurse came by not long after, leading him to the lobby where his mother waited. She showered him in cries and hugs, thankful to the doctors and every god she knew of that he was alright. It wasn't long before a doctor had led them into his office to fill them in on what happened.
As a result of his test, Izuku had a number of fractures that sprawled his ribs, and one of them was completely broken. Luckily, it hadn't been able to puncture any vital organs before a healing quirk doctor was able to treat it. There was also some bruising along the torso and abdomen, but it was nothing severe. A CT scan also revealed no injuries to the skull or brain, most likely due to the protective features of his helmet.
Inko was clearly unhappy with her son being injured at all, but she wasn't about to complain to the person responsible for making her son fit to resume normal activities.
It wasn't long after they got home, that Inko received a phone call. It was Nedzu, requesting that she and Izuku come to his office after school to receive an official apology and explanation for the events that culminated in an overnight hospital stay.
Within the hour, they were on the train once more.
Nedzu was waiting for them in his office, along with some others involved in the incident. Nedzu sat in an armchair at one end of the coffee table, and on one side sat Aizawa, All Might, and Shuuzenji. They all sat on the plush couch, almost painfully straight up with grim looks painted on their faces. On the couch opposite theirs sat Katsuki Bakugou, and his mother Mitsuki. Izuku couldn't tell which of the two looked angrier. He took a seat on the corner end of the couch, letting his mom fill the space between him and his partner in the test.
As everyone settled in their places, Nedzu quietly clasped his hands together. "Now, before anything gets discussed, the faculty involved and I would like to offer our most sincere apologies."
Nedzu and the three other staff members stood up, bowing to a ninety degree angle, hands parallel to their chest and holding that position.
"What happened that day was completely unacceptable and should never have occurred."
Inko was chewing the inside of her cheek. A meager apology didn't satisfy her.
"I want to know why my son was sent to the hospital." Mitsuki interjected. "I heard there were serious injuries, and I assumed he went overboard and hurt someone. Then I found out his diaphragm was nearly torn in half?! I want some fucking answers here!"
Nedzu nodded, returning to his seat. "That is perfectly understandable. Due to the assault on the USJ, one of our disaster rescue training sites, we had decided it was necessary to accelerate the learning process. Ultimately, our solution was to forego our standard robot training test, and instead have the students put into an arena against their teachers. The intention was that we would give them the illusion of a fair fight, so that we could prod them into learning to overcome faults in their fighting tactics in a live battle scenario. It was largely successful. With the exception of Izuku and Bakugou, those who learned to mitigate their weaknesses passed, and those who didn't attempt to improve themselves failed."
"And why was our sons the exception?" Mitsuki interrupted. "If that was all, then this shouldn't have happened!"
All Might cleared his throat. "That fault lies with me. Bakugou and Midoriya were my responsibility. They have issues interacting with each other, something that could result in tragedy or even loss of life in the field. As such, we felt this was too important to ignore. With no guarantee that their relationship would get better, we needed to teach them to work together and set aside their hostilities. I... failed to limit my power to an appropriate level, and as a result I seriously injured them and led them to do some actions that would be considered... divisive in the heroics field."
Aizawa butted in. "What he means to say is he beat your sons to the point that they felt it necessary to blast shrapnel directly into his eyes to stop him."
"Shouta!" All Might exclaimed in surprise.
"Don't act coy about it. We're here because you were dangerously close to killing both of them. If it were up to me I would have fired you already."
All Might opened his mouth, but could not find anything to say in response. Shuuzenji quickly filled in the tense silence.
"Luckily," she began, "the response team arrived almost immediately, and they received treatment for their injuries. While it is completely regrettable that these events happened, the important thing is that there was staff on hand that treated the issues swiftly. I only hope now that this is the last time anything like this happens."
"Agreed." Nedzu nodded. "In the future, we are going to make sure each teacher demonstrates their tactics and power level to all of the staff, and all staff must approve before it is introduced as a test."
Inko remained silent, clutching her purse tightly as her eyes slowly observed everyone in the room, one by one.
"What about Katsuki's test score?" Mitsuki asked, placing a firm hand on her son's shoulder.
Aizawa shifted in his seat, leaning forward to directly address the students and parents. "While it is true that they managed to work together, they were put in dire straits to accomplish that. In addition, the method in which they won was very disturbing. Had it not been for the context of being severely injured by All Might, I would have expelled them. As a result... I will not score their exams."
"What?!" Mitsuki yelled, looking as if she was about to crawl over the table and strangle the scraggly hero. "Are you fucking braindead?! You little shits nearly kill my son, and you have the audacity to tell me he's going to be punished for what he had to do?!"
"We're not failing him." Aizawa calmly responded. "It's not going to count against his grade. If I pass either of them, I would be condoning their actions. If I fail them, I would be punishing them for something they were forced into. So I refuse to grade it at all. They will still attend the summer camp, and won't have to take the remedial courses assigned to those who didn't pass."
"My son deserves a grade!" Mitsuki raged on. "I will take this to the press if you-"
Inko stood up, throwing her purse angrily on the couch. "Are you done? Are all of you done?"
Mitsuki fell silent.
"I don't want to hear about what should have happened. I don't want to hear about why he's not getting graded. None of you have explained why it's okay in any capacity to move on from the fact that you hurt my child and countless others."
"Inko!-"
"Don't 'Inko' me, Mitsuki. None of you, none of you, know what it's like to fear for your child because they had no quirk." She clenched her fists, trembling in anger. "I was supposed to be happy when I found out my son got a quirk. But he comes home more often than not covered in bruises, he's spent more time in the hospital this year than his entire life before that. I finally watched the Yuuei sports tournament, and what did I find?"
No one responded, and after a moment she continued.
"I saw children, I saw my child, encouraged to fight each other into submission, until one of them left begging for mercy or on a gurney. And I'm supposed to be okay with that, with my child hurting other people for sport?"
Nedzu paused, placing his hands in his lap and clasping them gently. "It's a necessary part of our curriculum, ma'am. As unfortunate as it is, these students will be fighting among others in their future. That is simply the nature of heroics. Your child isn't a mere child, not anymore. It won't be long until he's out on the field. With that in mind, we set these events in place to help them hone their skills and put them in an environment where they'll be comfortable performing these tasks, while they are in an environment where we can keep them safe and allow them to recover."
The answer didn't seem to assuage her. "So you're training them to be okay with hurting one another?"
"Please don't misrepresent what we're doing." Aizawa cut in, staring at her with a gaze that clearly conveyed that this isn't the first time he's had this conversation. "Heroes must be okay with using their powers on other people, something that many aren't initially comfortable with. You've had to have seen any amount of hero broadcasts on the news. Most heroes have always needed to use their quirks on others. If that weren't the case, then they would be unable to save others. That's something they need to learn. But even so, we need to make sure they learn how to keep from going overboard, and keep them safe while we train them. That's why we called you here to apologize, because we failed you and your son in that aspect."
All Might cleared his throat, pulling at the collar of his shirt. "If I could make a request... I would like to have a moment to speak to Mrs. Midoriya in private."
Nedzu sighed. "Very well." He replied, hopping off his chair and walking to the door. He opened it, and ushered the teachers out.
As Mitsuki approached the door, she looked down to Nedzu. "I'm not happy about the test scores, but we accept your apology. Can we go now?"
The principal glanced back at the two adults who remained seated, before nodding. "Yes. Unless you have something you need addressed, we have no reason to keep you longer. I apologize for the inconvenience."
She pulled her son close. "This little shit's been an inconvenience since his ego got so big. This is nothing, really. If anything, he's really simmered down these past few months. I should be thanking you."
She briefly bowed to the Nedzu and the other two faculty members in the hallway, before leading Katsuki down the hallway, away from the group.
Izuku slowly walked out the door, glancing back at his mother and the pro hero as the door closed.
"I know what you must be thinking." All Might began, his voice laden with uncertainty. "You don't want him here, possibly the entire heroics industry as well."
Inko slowly nodded, her gaze shifting between one of anger and fear.
All Might stood up, before falling to his knees and placing his face on the floor. Inko was clearly taken aback by the apology.
But All Might gave her no chance to speak. "I need to apologize for so much more than this incident. I... I've failed your son before. I took the hope he had and crushed it. And beyond that, I continuously tried to push him into situations he was clearly not okay with, because I simply wanted the easy solution to mending the bridge between us. Your son..."
His voice cracked, and he paused, trying to find the right words. "Your son... he's capable of so much more than what he is now. I truly think that if I could just restore his hope, not in me, but for the rest of the world... he could become the greatest hero our society has ever known. I want him to be the successor to my legacy, all of it! I want to put him on the right path, walk side by side with him so he can avoid the pitfalls and mistakes that I and so many others have made. And..."
He pressed his head further down, the floor creaking under the force he exerted upon it. "And if it means I have to put down my life to protect him, I will do it without hesitation!"
All Might kneeled there in silence, his heart almost frozen in place as he waited for her response. Time seemed to drag on, and the dread that his apology wasn't enough began to pool in his stomach. Eventually, she snapped out of her shock, quickly getting out of her seat and kneeling beside him. She pulled him up onto his knees, looking at him directly into his eyes.
"I... can't accept that apology." She told him, the bluntness of the statement feeling like an iron punch to the gut.
"I... see." He looked down, inwardly cursing his own ineptitude.
"I can't accept someone laying down their life like that." She breathed in deeply, shaking in place as she tried her best to appear strong and resolute. "If you truly want to teach and nurture my son, then I want you to stay alive as long as possible so you can help him to the fullest extent possible."
All Might's head snapped back up, staring in shock at the woman who uttered those words.
"If you can promise me that, then... I'll allow it. I won't stand in your way."
All Might immediately lowered his head to the ground once more, and without hesitation uttered a simple "I promise."
The pro hero once again felt the light touch of Inko's fingers on his shoulders, pulling him back up. They both slowly stood up, and she walked over to the door, opening it up for the others.
"I'll let him stay here... Izuku, promise me you won't put yourself in this situation again. I can't stand to see you get hurt... and I don't want to see you hurt others this badly again."
Izuku swallowed thickly, nodding slowly.
"Well," Aizawa sighed. "If that's everything, I've got work to get back to."
Nedzu nodded, dismissing the other faculty.
"Actually..." Izuku interjected, "I want to say something to All Might."
"Feel free to use my office, Izuku." Nedzu motioned towards the door. "I can wait out here with your mother."
Izuku slowly trailed into the office, but he refused to sit down. He faced his former hero, rubbing his wrists as he waited for the door to close.
All Might grimaced, shutting the other two adults out of the room.
Almost immediately, Izuku blurted out, "I heard what you said. At Ground Beta... I heard what you said at the end of the test."
All Might froze, any possible response he could have made frozen in his chest.
"I... I don't want to hate you. I'm trying, I really am, but... it's hard to explain. I'm trying to sort some things out in my head, but... it doesn't work right."
"Young Midoriya, I'm sorry but I don't really understand what you're trying to say."
Izuku opened his mouth, but he realized there really wasn't any way to explain it. The side effects of All for One on him made it difficult to view All Might in any positive light. It's effects have been dampened somewhat... but even then he was still very uncomfortable around the pro hero.
"...Nevermind. I... I think what you said back then... we should try that. Start over. I don't want things to stay sour."
All Might sighed, a small smirk creeping up on his lips. "I'm glad, Midoriya. I'd be happy to do that."
"Ah, you've finally arrived, Hagakure." Sensei called from where he sat, in front of his computer. The room was nearly pitch black, save for the cold glare of the computer screen. The light bounced off his scarred face, as he swiveled around and faced the girl who could not be seen.
"And here I thought I finally managed to pull one over on you." She chuckled. "I'm here to give my weekly report."
"As expected. How is Midoriya doing these days?"
"Well, he's still clearly not happy about the way Mirio went down. But at the very least he's retained his viciousness in combat." She walked around, before sitting down on the end of a stray table holding a mountain of papers. "According to some conversations in the teacher's lounge, All Might went a little overboard and Izuku responded in kind. Nearly destroyed the guy's eyes beyond repair!"
Sensei placed one of his scarred and calloused hands to his face, feeling the folds of flesh that covered the sockets where his own eyes used to be. He chuckled. "Oh, the irony if they remained that way."
"I'm sure you two would have bonded during braille classes."
Sensei hummed, clasping his fingers together as he continued staring eyelessly at Hagakure. "You don't sound very happy. Is something the matter?"
"Really? You're asking that now? You know why I'm pissed."
"You don't think Midoriya is going to become the villain I want him to be."
"Of course he isn't. He's got friends there now, not fake friends that he can smile and be done with. Actual people he started caring for. He and Iida Tenya are all over each other." She clicked her tongue, swinging her feet around. "And Tomura isn't exactly helping. What's the purpose of someone who's been trained to be a lap dog when their owner stops giving them attention? Izuku's not up to snuff. If he doesn't rat us all out, he'll absolutely be broken working with us. I don't need a broken, useless comrade."
"I see. So are those your only concerns?"
"Only co- What are you on about, Sensei?" She grunted in frustration. "They should be the only concerns! They're kind of massive!"
Sensei didn't say anything, he just smiled and turned back to his computer.
"...You... you planned for this? I want answers, Sensei. You know I hate being left in the dark."
"Very well. Regarding Shigaraki, well, I've given him a choice and he's acting on it. He's performing marvellously for now." He began typing away on what appeared to be a semi-popular forum, though what exactly he was saying Hagakure couldn't discern. "As for Izuku... how do I put this?"
After a few moments of typing, he turned back around to face the invisible girl. "What would you say is the difference between a religious person and a zealot? How do you get them from simply believing the existence of a higher power, to them living and breathing every word from their book until they die?"
"I... huh." She stayed silent for a moment, before answering "You give them a first hand encounter? If I met god, I probably wouldn't defy him."
"A reasonable conclusion, but ultimately incorrect. Rather... the opposite is true." He shifted in his seat, fiddling with the tube in his neck to make it a little more comfortable. "You see, in many religious texts, there seems to be a consensus that the only ones who are able to truly believe in their doctrine are those who have underwent a massive crisis of faith, something so massive that it rocks their belief to their very core. It's true, someone might lose their faith if that were to pass, but if they come out of it with their ideals intact... they will be unshakeable for the rest of that person's life."
"So you're trying to give Izuku an ideological crisis."
"Exactly that. Izuku has a very particular set of ideals and goals, but they've never been directly challenged. Stain's beliefs did conflict with his, but they were regrettably something he could immediately reject. I need him to truly question his core values. Only then will they begin to cement themselves in him. If that happens, well... He will stop at nothing to achieve the world he wants."
"He could turn on us. It looks extremely likely, given his new relationships."
"That's a gamble I'm willing to take. It's true that I cannot control everything, but at the same time... there's a perfect blend of determination and animosity in him. If I can nurture that, and keep him on the path I set him on..."
Sensei smiled, prompting Hagakure to respond. "He'll become a great villain?"
"No, more than that. He'll become the greatest villain our society has ever known. A true successor to my ailing legacy."
A/N: Long time no read, huh? Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. We're just about to hit the end here, and I really hope you'll love what I have in store for you. As always, please leave a comment letting me know your thoughts, and thanks for all the comments and support you've given me thus far!