Izuku had no shame in admitting he fled the classroom the moment they were dismissed. He had a murder to prevent, and he didn't have time to waste answering his classmates' pointless questions. After All Might's slipup, Izuku had avoided the onslaught by pretending he had suddenly and inexplicably forgotten how to understand Japanese. Pointed looks from Bakugou might have also helped his case, as well as All Might panicking and interrupting them before they had any real chance to voice to disbelief that Izuku could see so clearly written on their faces. He knew he would have to deal with them at some point, but stopping his mentor from murdering the Symbol of Peace took priority.

Without bothering to respond to the call of his name behind him, Izuku all but ran to office. All Might had screwed up, and Aizawa was sure to have heard about it by now. He wouldn't have had time for a confrontation until the school day had ended, so there was only one place All Might could have gone with any hope of making it out with his limbs still intact-Nedzu.

Later, Izuku would apologize profusely to the poor receptionist that he had barreled past without an attempt at an explanation, but as he burst into Nedzu's office he only had one thing on his mind. Therefore, it took him a moment to gather his wits and assess the truth of the situation before him.

Aizawa looked angry just as he had expected him to be, but when Izuku's attention shifted from his mentor to the emaciated form of Toshinori, that was when everything he had anticipated fell apart. Toshinori didn't have the open expression on his face that Izuku had seen as he stammered out his apology for ambushing him with his offer of One for All. In fact, Toshinori wasn't looking at Aizawa at all. He was turned away from the pro hero beside him, his focus instead on Nedzu who sat calmly on the other side of the desk, steaming mug of tea in his hands. None of them noticed Izuku's entrance, and so he hung back watching as their conversation played out in front of him.

"This was important information for me to know!" Toshinori was saying, his voice no less forceful for the change in his appearance. Although his obsession with All Might had faded to the background once Izuku started working with Aizawa, he had still spent years hanging onto every scrap of video that he could get his hands on. Throughout all the fights that All Might had been a part of, Izuku wasn't sure that he had ever heard that edge to his voice before, although he couldn't quite place the emotion it represented. Anger, surely, but something else as well.

"That was for me to decide," Nedzu said, giving away no sign that he was at all bothered by the confrontation.

"No, actually, that was for Izuku to decide," Aizawa said. His hands were stuffed into his pockets, but Izuku knew of the effort it was probably taking him to remain calm. This was exactly the situation they had wanted to avoid, and Nedzu had made sure that all of their careful work and planned answers had been for nothing. He was only lucky that Hizashi had apparently elected to leave this issue to Aizawa. He had all of the anger and almost none of the self-control Aizawa managed to show when it came to Izuku's safety. "And he decided that he wanted to wait before revealing his recommendation status to his classmates."

"If I had known that Midoriya wanted this to be a secret for the time being, I never would have said such a thoughtless comment. You let me believe that they knew already. In fact, you specifically went out of your way to imply that they knew. I, more than anyone, know the importance of secrets, and you used me to put young Midoriya's out in the open."

"It's better this way," Nedzu started, hold up a hand as Aizawa began to interrupt. "No. Hear me out. It is better this way. You can't keep something like this a secret forever. The teachers know. The board knows. Some of the press knows, although they are currently respecting our request to keep this quiet for Midoriya's safety. That won't last very long, and we need to get the public on our side about his place at this school sooner rather than later. Whether he wants the attention from this or not, he's making history here and Yuuei is making history by allowing it. You want Midoriya to be successful in this? So do I. But that means that you have to play the game. That's what I'm here for."

"You could have come to us," Aizawa argued. "You could have explained your reasoning to us yourself. Instead you let Izuku and I believe that you were on board with our play and then blew it up behind our backs. That's not simply playing the game. You were toying with us, and now Izuku is going to have to play the price."

"What price? He's had time to get to know his classmates, to see what their reactions to him being quirkless are. Now he'll know whether any change of heart they seem to have about him is because of his abilities or because he got in on recommendations." Nedzu still seemed unbothered by the entire exchange, sipping his tea.

"Sometimes, old friend, you go too far," Toshinori said. "I would advise you not to do something like this again."

Nedzu smiled, "Why, Toshinori, was that-"

"I want an apology," Izuku interrupted. The look on the principal's face had been a little gleeful for Izuku's comfort. The look didn't change as his attention shifted from Toshinori to Izuku standing behind him.

"Midoriya, so nice of you to join us. What was that you said?"

So that was how this was going to go.

"I said that I want an apology." Izuku was tired. He had put up with people doubting him all day, all week. He was tired and sore, and even though it had been hours he still felt like he smelled of smoke. Izuku wanted to go home and do his homework and talk to his mother about his day, and he didn't want to play whatever ridiculous game his principal had decided would be the best use of their time. "You've done a lot for me, Principal Nedzu, and I appreciate that. But what you did was wrong. It was wrong of you to do this without telling us, it was wrong of you to use All Might like this. I should have had the chance to deal with my classmates on my own before they found out about you letting me in on recommendations. That was what we agreed to. You want me to trust you, right? Then you can't do things like this just because you can." Izuku knew he was being rude. He shouldn't be speaking this way to the principal of Yuuei, but he was past the point of caring. This day had been trying enough, and he refused to be sorry for speaking his mind.

"Well," Nedzu said, glancing from Aizawa to Toshinori and back. "Then I am sorry that I have caused you trouble, Midoriya-kun."

"But you aren't sorry that you did it?" Aizawa asked, a dangerous edge to his voice.

"As I said, Aizawa-sensei, I believe this to have been the best course of action. The students did not learn this information from you, so there will be nothing to help them make the connection there. Could I have gone about this a different way? Yes. But I felt this was best, and I will not apologize for that."

"Toshinori is right. You do go too far. Put Izuku's well-being in jeopardy again and I will remove him from your influence, Nedzu. Do not test me on this. You will find yourself down two teachers and a student who could do this school some good."

They had talked about this before, of course. Before the recommendation, before Nedzu's test. The entrance exam wasn't designed for people who didn't have purely physical quirks let alone someone without a quirk. They knew they would have to have other options if Yuuei didn't work out. None of those plans had involved Aizawa quitting though. At least, as far as Izuku knew.

"Two teachers?" Nedzu asked. "You speak for Yamada-sensei as well?"

"Do not do something like this again, Nedzu. I mean it. You will not like what I do in response."

Izuku left the office first, not wanting to draw even more attention to himself by being seen leaving with both Aizawa and All Might. He doubted it would be the last time he saw either of them that day though. Inko had given them a standing invitation to the apartment for a reason, and Izuku would be surprised if they didn't both take her up on that offer today, if only to apologize to Izuku for how everything had fallen out. He also doubted this would be the end to whatever plans Nedzu seemed to have going on, but he didn't have the mental space to worry about that problem at the moment. If he hurried he would probably have enough time to warn his mother about what had happened before they arrived.

He hadn't realized how long they had argued before everyone had final accepted the fact that there was nothing they could do about the situation now. The secret was out, and there wasn't any way to make the class forget it. Izuku would have to deal with his classmates eventually, that timeline had just been moved up a little bit. He could handle that right?

Stepping outside the main building, Izuku took a moment to close his eyes and breathe. He thought that he had done a fairly good job of keeping his own anger in check in Nedzu's office. Seeing how shaken Izuku actually was about the situation might have pushed Aizawa passed the short thread of self-control he seemed to have left regarding Nedzu and his meddling, and Izuku didn't want to be the reason that Aizawa quit his job on the spot. Not that he would have trouble finding a new school, Aizawa was scary good at what he did after all, but Izuku knew how much he loved Yuuei despite his grumbling. And if Aizawa quit it would only be a matter of time before Hizashi did as well.

Still though, now that he was away from the crushed look on Toshinori's face and Aizawa's murder stare, it was hard to fight back the wave of anger he felt about this entire situation. He was supposed to have the chance to do things his way, finally. A chance to establish himself before the news of his recommendation status got out and the questions about his sponsor began. People were going to find out that it was Aizawa, it was only a matter of time. As much as they liked to think that they were better at being subtle, they had spent too much time around each other for too long. Izuku would have to deal with that fallout sooner than later as well.

One problem at a time though. He had told himself he had five more seconds to get everything back under control so he could go home when he heard someone call his name. Izuku opened his eyes to see Kaminari Denki running towards him from the main gates.

"Midoriya!" He called out again as he drew closer. "I thought that I had missed you somehow."

Missed him? "Were you waiting on me?"

"Of course!" Kaminari grinned. "I wanted to see if you were alright."

Maybe it was because Izuku had already reached his limit for surprises that day, but Kaminari's words filtered through his head without meaning. "You wanted to see if I was alright?"

"Yeah, I mean," Kaminari looked suddenly nervous, shifting his bag on his shoulder. "I saw your face when All Might said you were the other recommendation student, and you didn't look happy. It was supposed to be a secret, right? You didn't want anyone to know? You looked like you had just been ambushed, and everyone trying to talk to you about it couldn't have helped."

"I was going to tell everyone," Izuku explained. "Eventually. I just wanted to get settled here first without… It's-" Fine, he was going to say, but it wasn't actually, and Izuku didn't want to lie to Kaminari. Not when he actually seemed concerned about him. "I'll handle it. I knew it was going to have to be talked about eventually."

Kaminari nodded, looking hesitant before blurting out, "You know I wanted to be your friend, right?"

And that. Izuku didn't know where that question had come from. "You what?"

"I wanted to be your friend," Kaminari said again, voice a little steadier this time. "I want to be your friend, I mean. And I saw how you reacted in class today, and I didn't want you to think that you were alone or that I only wanted to be your friend because All Might slipped up, because you know I thought you were a secret ninja before that whole test today. So yeah. That was all I wanted to say? I think. I think I said everything."

Was that what Izuku sounded like when he rambled? Because that wasn't nearly as bad as he had made it out to be in his head. Kaminari's face was tinged red, and Izuku knew he needed to say something in response, but he wasn't quite sure what. Mei was the only real friend he had ever had, and their friendship had started by her declaring it so. No one had ever asked to be his friend before, and this wasn't a situation he had thought to prepare himself for when he ran through all his plans for what to do at Yuuei. Somehow making friends wasn't something he had thought he needed to worry about.

"I know that," Izuku said, although it hadn't occurred to him until Kaminari had said that that was his intention. He may not fully understand why Kaminari wanted to be his friend, but he knew that his recommendation status wasn't it. Some people might want to use Izuku to gain connections to the pro hero who had sponsored him, but Kaminari didn't seem like that type of person.

"Yeah?" Kaminari asked, face still red.

"Yeah."

Kaminari smiled like the sun.

Izuku did make it home before the trio of pro heroes but only barely. He had enough time to change into something more comfortable than his school uniform and give his mother the briefest of explanations of what had happened at school that day before Hizashi was bursting into the room at top volume. Inko would never regret giving Aizawa and Hizashi their own keys, but sometimes Izuku did miss the few extra seconds he would have had to prepare his mother for the latest round of drama while he went to open the door.

"Shouta told me what happened, Izuku! That manipulative-"

"Hizashi," Inko warned, cutting him off gently. It was clear that Hizashi had also come straight from the school because he was still dressed in his hero uniform. "Go change clothes, and we can talk about it when Toshinori and Shouta get here. Okay?"

Hizashi nodded before heading back down the hall towards the bathroom, but he paused in front of Izuku, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It'll be okay, Izuku. We'll work it out somehow." It shouldn't have, but somehow Hizashi's simple encouragement made him feel a little better.

Inko watched after Hizashi for a moment before turning back to Izuku. "Is it going to be bad, Izuku?" His mother was probably the smartest person he knew, but there were some things about his situation that she would never be able to understand no matter how hard she tried. She had a quirk, and until the realization that her son was quirkless himself, she had never given much thought to what that must be like. She tried, now, but as much as she tried it still wasn't the same as being quirkless herself.

"I can handle it."

"Izuku," she said, her small hands cupping his face. "That wasn't what I asked. Is this going to make things more difficult for you?"

He couldn't look away from the concerned look in her eyes. "I knew they would wonder how I got in," he said eventually, "but I had hoped that I would have more time to show them what I could do before they found out about the recommendation. Before, I was just some kid who learned how to fight. I could have picked that up anywhere. Now they are going to know that I have a sponsor, that a pro hero trained me. I don't think they would suddenly change their minds about me because of that connection, but how can I know for sure?"

Kaminari had surprised Izuku, sure, but his concern was one that Izuku hadn't thought far enough ahead at that point to be worried about. He had been more preoccupied with his classmates taking him seriously as a hero to worry about them trying to become friends with him because of his recommendation status. He genuinely believed that Kaminari wasn't trying to use him, but what about the rest? Would he be as sure about them? No one had been outright rude to him besides Iida, but there had been enough tension for him to know that more than one person was wondering why he was there.

"Oh, Izuku."

"Besides," he continued, "it's not really that coming out that I'm really concerned about. I was going to have to deal with this eventually. But Nedzu? Mom, he lied to All Might. Maybe not explicitly, but he used him to get what he wanted." Izuku didn't have to explain any further than that. Aizawa may still judge Toshinori for the way that he had approached Izuku, but he was still the Symbol of Peace for a reason. Anyone who was willing to manipulate a person like Toshinori wouldn't have any problem doing the same to someone like Izuku. He had already done that, in fact, although Izuku had long written off the way that Nedzu had lied ot him about the outcome of his test against Aizawa's old students.

"Do we need to be worried about him?" Inko asked.

"Not at the moment," Aizawa answered for him, coming in the door with Toshinori following closely behind him. "Is Hizashi here yet?"

"Was just changing clothes," he said, joining them in the hallway. "What did I miss?"

"Toshinori and I talked to Nedzu a little longer after Izuku left," Aizawa said. "He's not sorry for what he did, but I think the threat of the three of us quitting was enough to stay anymore intervention for now."

"Three?" Izuku asked.

"I said I would quit as well, my boy," Toshinori said, smiling softly at Izuku. "I truly am sorry for my part in this. I thought what I said would have been innocent commentary, and I didn't mean to put you in the position you are in now."

"I know you didn't mean to," Izuku assured him, because he couldn't find it in himself to put any of the blame on the hero. Not with how crushed he had looked when he realized his mistake. "I don't blame you for what happened."

Toshinori relaxed, some of the tension leaving his shoulders at Izuku's words. "Still, I wanted to apologize for how this all played out."

"Nedzu has always loved his games," Hizashi said. "It's what has helped to push Yuuei to the level that it is now. This whole situation has given him a brand new playing field, and I don't think he has a clear enough head to deal with the power this situation has given him. Shouta and I quitting would be a hassle for him, and he would have a hard time replacing us. All Might quitting? Just weeks after accepting the position? That would be a scandal that he doesn't want to have to deal with."

"He'll behave for now," Aizawa said, "but we'll need to keep a better eye on the situation ourselves. Toshinori will have to be kept informed incase Nedzu tries anything like this again."

"So what now?" Inko asked. Izuku couldn't read the expression on her face. He knew that she had to be angry, had to be furious about how the situation was taken from Izuku's hands, but she would have to trust that Aizawa and Hizashi knew what they were doing. Izuku knew that she would have marched down to the school herself if that would have made anything better. He loved her for that.

"Now we stick to the plan," Aizawa said. "Izuku won't mention who is sponsor is, and I have gotten the rest of the teachers on board with me. They already knew that Izuku was a recommendation student and that I am his sponsor. I talked to them about it before the year started. If they see students trying to pry, they'll get the class back on task. That should help for now."

"The class has a lot of events coming up too," Hizashi said. "That should act as a distraction. Tomorrow, will be the worst of it, what with the video session. They're going to see Izuku's fight with Bakugou, and that's going to drive his recommendation status home for a lot of them."

"And we will be talking about that," Aizawa said, smile tucked behind his scarves. "After that, you all have uniforms to test before they are finalized and class representatives to choose. That always gets the class distracted for at least two days. Then there's the field trip for your next practical. The next real break won't be until after that, and by then this will all be old news."

"Practical exercise?" Izuku asked, because none of their teachers had mentioned anything about that yet. It seemed strange to already be looking forward to the next one when they had just finished the first today, but the way their test had gone still didn't sit right with him, no matter what Aizawa seemed to think about his performance.

"You know nothing about that," Aizawa said pointedly. "You heard nothing from me."

"Heard nothing about what?"

"Exactly."

"Besides that," Aizawa continued, "there isn't anything else we can prepare for at this point."

They sat in silence for a moment, staring at each other over the table.

"Oh, go ahead," Inko said, laughing. "Talk about that fight with Bakugou. I want to hear all about it. Hizashi, come help me with dinner." And just like that the tension that had been mounting throughout their conversation was broken. Aizawa was right, after all. Izuku couldn't guess what his class would have in store for him tomorrow. Worrying couldn't do anything for him now.

AN: Sorry if you tried to read this before an ran into a trouble with the formatting. The website has not been cooperating today.

Things are starting to come together! Updates should be back to a more regular schedule soon!

Thanks to everyone who commented on the last chapter!