Gremlins breeding program - full
-|UA|-
It was already dark when Nedzu got to read through the paperwork of the day. After the assembly, there was a minor mishap with a broken chair. Somehow, a first-year support student managed to turn hers into a flying throne. It even worked… for a total of ninety seconds. Still impressive when she had no tools on her beyond ducktape and screwdriver.
The white animal let out a mad cackle. Oh yeah, this year's bound to be entertaining.
He started by picking the first sheet of paper from the small pile that was on his desk. Nedzu took a sip of his tea while reading through it. The expulsion form from Aizawa. Only one, which is about five less than expected. Then, Nedzu got to the student's name and all his tea was spilled. A shame. It was such a perfect blend.
But the lost tea was the least of Nedzu's problems. No, the bigger problem was that Aizawa decided to expel the next One for All holder, Midoriya Izuku. And without even consulting Nedzu. The paperwork was already filed, so it was too late to try and overturn it.
Oh, the expulsion itself could be fixed quite easily, but the Hero commission would've already registered the expulsion in Midoriya's file, making it all but impossible to get into any hero school now. This was bad.
Normally, Nedzu trusted Aizawa to make the right call, so he didn't bother forcing him to consult every decision with him, but it seemed that this was finally coming to bite the stoat in the rear. Oh, 11 PM is still rather early, right?
With a few touches of the phone's screen, Nedzu called Aizawa using a nice little override he installed a while back to make sure that he wouldn't be ignored. The vibrations overclock wouldn't give Aizawa's position away if he was on a stakeout, but it would certainly wake him up from his nap.
"What?" The man groaned through the phone.
"Aizawa-Kun. Please come to my office immediately. I have an urgent matter to discuss." Nedzu's sweet, polite, gentle tone left the man with little doubt that this was an order and disobedience would be met with Nedzu-brand vengeance. Something must've pissed the rat heavily.
There was no verbal reply, but Nedzu had no doubt that Eraserhead would comply. Hanging up, he dialed the second number, that of Toshinori Yagi.
"Wha- who?" Good, the override worked there too.
"We've got a bit of a situation at hand. Nothing life-threatening, but if you could come right now to my office, it could speed things up slightly."
"Did something happen?"
"Nothing major. Just some paperwork misfile that I need solved as soon as possible." Nedzu reassured him before hanging up. Only then did he start to shake his head in sadness. He had to figure something out or it could potentially become a very problematic situation. He hasn't met Midoriya Izuku in person yet, but the boy already had One for All and he couldn't exactly give it back, meaning that the boy would need protection and training regardless of his admittance to UA.
=|UA|=
"I AM HERE!" All Might burst through the doors of Nedzu's office to find Aizawa and Nedzu sitting by the main desk. Suddenly, Yagi felt like he got called to the principal's office like a misbehaving kid. Or rather a parent of one. Aizawa certainly looked worse than him.
"Good, you're here." Nedzu poured himself some tea and took a sip. He didn't offer any to Aizawa, but Toshinori had a cup in front of him.
"I apologize for the delay. I fell asleep working on something and when I woke up, it was past my medication hour." All Might sighed. "I figured it's about Young Midoriya's case?"
"Indeed. Aizawa-Kun, would you like to start by perhaps explaining your reasoning?" The threatening undertone in Nedzu's voice made the teacher sweat for a moment before he regained his resolve.
"Midoriya is not hero material. He'd only be a liability on the field and during training. He's simply not ready."
All Might buffed himself in indignation. "How dare you! Young Midoriya is perhaps the pinnacle of heroism!"
"The boy lacks even an ounce of control. While his quirk is powerful, he doesn't know the first thing about using it."
"It might be because he got it during the entrance exam." All Might argued. "He is still learning how to use it properly."
"Precisely." Aizawa stood his ground. "He is simply too fresh for the Hero Course. Tell me, what would happen if he accidentally used his quirk during sparring? A flick of his finger is enough to send a ball over seven hundred meters away. His punch destroyed the zero pointer. Tell me, what would such force do to a human body?"
That shut All Might up. He was so focused on his student that he didn't take into account how the others might be hurt in the process.
"While I can see your point, Eraserhead, expulsion was still too extreme." Nedzu shook his head. "You could've moved him to the general course and have him earn back his spot during the sports festival. Or even suspend him and sign him for some quirk counseling. In expelling him, you've ruined any chance he might have to become a hero."
"Expelling him had the additional bonus of reining that class in. I managed to get them to understand the seriousness of this course on the first day."
"By ruining a child's life." All Might growled.
"What is it really about. You are acting illogically." Aizawa's glare penetrated All Might. "You show an inexplicable amount of favoritism toward the boy. His quirk seems to bear some similarities to yours, but I doubt there is any blood relation between you two. So what is it about?"
"That's none of your business." Toshinori huffed.
"Aizawa, Yagi. Please refrain from acting like children. I didn't call you here only to talk about that mess. I came to inform you about my solution to the problem."
"Can you accept him back in?" All Might filled with hope.
"Alas, no. The commission blocked the attempt I made purely out of spite for the last year's mess." Nedzu sent a pointed glare to Aizawa, who once again seemed unbothered.
"They had zero potential and expulsion was the kindest thing to do."
"While I agree with you on that, this is the second year when your expulsion happiness causes an overt amount of problems. As such, your expulsion privilege is suspended."
Aizawa fell on his knees. "No! Please! I beg you! No! You can't!" He begged with tears in his eyes. "Those monsters will eat me alive!"
"Now, I'm sure you're overexaggerating…" Yagi looked at his fellow teacher in morbid curiosity. Just what made him like that?
"You will survive." Nedzu started cackling. "Or not. Either way, the decision is final. And as for the solution, it's quite simple. I'm taking Midoriya as my student while hiring him as vice-principal."
There was complete silence.
"What?" Aizawa stared at the rat in bewilderment.
"While I have full trust in Young Midoriya, don't you think this is a bit… unorthodox?"
"It might be. But fret not, I have it all planned. UA is technically my hero agency. It serves as a school, but it's still a hero agency. Thus, I'm taking Midoriya as a sidekick starting next Monday. This will give him authority second only to mine."
"But… he would need at least a provisional hero license."
"Which he will get by Thursday at the latest." Nedzu dismissed Yagi's worry.
"How?" Both teachers asked. They were so far out of the loop that they couldn't even see it as anything but a straight line.
"I hacked his computer to get to know him better and I found digital copies of some of his notebooks. Toshinori, I'm disappointed. Why haven't you told me that the boy is a natural genius? Why, he already had notebooks with info on how to take out every student of his former class, as well as a potential counter to Eraserhead. And he didn't even realize that what he figured out wasn't common knowledge."
The two men felt a chill go down their spines. Excited Nedzu signified that people were gonna suffer.
-=|UA|=-
Midoriya slowly opened his eyes. He was still dressed in his school uniform. They wouldn't take at least that from him. Not that it was much. Now that he was expelled from UA, it's not like he could get anywhere. No other hero school would take him and even normal high schools would reject him the moment they saw his records.
He spent most of the previous day crying. His mother did too. Once both of them tired out, Midoriya Inko tossed herself into various laws and regulations to somehow fix this mess, but Izuku already gave up. He was expelled. Which meant he had no potential. He would never be a hero. So he spent most of the evening just… existing. He wrote the notes on the quirks he's seen during the test on his first (and only) day at UA, but he barely even registered doing so. He just wanted something familiar.
He got out of bed, not bothering to change. What was the point? He didn't have school to go to after all.
He slowly made his way to the kitchen, only to trip over his own feet while passing the living room. There, his mother was talking with a… white, chubby, animal.
"Sweety, good to see you're awake. I planned on waking you up, but the principal assured me that it was okay. He said that you'd need some sleep."
"Hello, Midoriya."
"Principal Nedzu!" The boy shouted and started to quickly try to stand up, only to trip and fall again.
"That's right. It's me, Nedzu, the one who could be a dog or a mouse or a bear, but more importantly... I'm the principal!"
"Actually, you're closer to a stoat than anything else. I suspect that mumblemumblemubmle."
"Fascinating. It is quite a thoughtful analysis" Nedzu praised, making Izuku blush and mumble quietly. "I actually came here about that, among other things." The stoat jumped off the couch and bowed low. "I wish to apologize for the gross transgression that happened to Midoriya Izuku. His expulsion was hastily executed and then he unwillingly became a casualty in the cold war between HPSC and UA high."
"W-what cold war?" Izuku took a seat next to his mother, much too confused to do anything else.
"Well, it's a long story over a small economical collapse, three illegal black ops, a group of supervillains, and a politician who took inspiration from all the wrong history books. If there is one thing the government doesn't like, it's being shown its own incompetence." Nedzu cackled. "Not that this ever stopped me. But ever since that incident, they were trying to make life harder for me, and I, in turn, decided to make it harder for them."
"O-oh ok… Okay?"
"Last year, Aizawa expelled his entire class. When the commission requested that I reinstate them, I sent them a very polite reply, telling them in no uncertain terms that 'Aizawa has my complete trust'."
"I can see how paraphrasing a two hundred years old book might've angered them."
Nedzu chuckled. "Indeed. I'm pleased you've recognized the quote. Not many do."
"I… um… I like pre-quirk literature. It's… well, it's not all about quirks."
"I can fully understand. Anyway, when I tried to reinstate you after Aizawa all too hastily expelled you, I found my attempt blocked by the commission."
"They responded with your exact quote?"
"I'm happy to see you're perceptive." Nedzu nodded. They did in fact quote the chimera's own words back at him.
"So… there is nothing to be done?" Inko put down her cup of tea. Her hands were shaking slightly.
"Not in accepting Midoriya back into school. And I'm afraid that no other school will take him now." Nedzu bowed his head. "But fret not! For I have a brilliant plan!" He jumped and handed Midoriyas some forms to fill.
"What?"
"Well, it's a funny thing, but there are actually no requirements to take the provisional hero exam. You will be taking one tomorrow, in front of a special judging board consisting of some of my spies in HPSC. Then, you will be allowed to take work studies under me and still attend UA, only as my personal student and not part of the actual High School. Sadly, you won't get a high school diploma there, but I'm sure you can find an online course. Then, by the time your would-be classmates would try to get their provisional licenses, you would most likely already have a proper license." Nedzu cheerfully announced.
"B-but… what? I…"
"Oh! Please forgive me. I assumed you wanted to still become a hero."
"I do! I will do it!"
"Izuku, sweety, are you sure? Maybe… maybe that was a sign?"
"I'll do it! I'll become a hero!" The boy didn't give up.
"But… but why Izuku? I understand that you might feel slightly bad, but it seems like an awful lot of work to go through for just one boy… I'm of course very grateful, but… confused." Inko Midoriya turned to the principal.
Nedzu's brain soaked in the information and he almost immediately realized that the boy's mother didn't know about One for All. Maybe it was for the best. "It's quite alright. As for why, I believe Midoriya has all the traits of a true hero and brain, unlike others. It would be a crime not to nurture his talent."
"We agree."
=-|UA|-=
Aizawa got off the bus near the USJ. He was kept on edge for the entirety of the last week. He knew that he got on Nedzu's bad side when he expelled Midoriya. He knew perfectly well that there was some sort of reckoning coming. He just prayed that he would survive relatively unscathed. When students learned that his expulsion privilege was taken away, he lost most of the hard-earned respect among the student body. Keeping his classroom silent enough to sleep in was now almost impossible. He could still send the students away or to the principal, but it just didn't carry as much threat in it for some reason.
He came back to reality when he heard Kaminari ask him something. He quickly took note of the situation and blanched.
"No! Stay back! Those are real villains!" He prepared to jump down and slow the army of criminals down while the students evacuated, but was frozen still when a trapdoor opened in the center of the plaza.
"You're villains?"
"We are the league of villains." The mist guy announced. "And we came here to kill the symbol of peace."
"That's not good." The guy in the trapdoor shook his head.
"What kind of stupid NPC is that?" The one with a hand on his face growled. "Nomu! Kill him!"
Before the giant beast with the beak of a face managed to close the distance, the trapdoor already closed. The same guy popped in another place.
"Nuh-uh. Well, your kneecaps privilege is officially revoked." The boy then pulled a giant sledgehammer and proceeded to hit the nearby villains with it right in their knees. Then, he disappeared before the beak villain could get to him.
The scene repeated several times. In less than three minutes, over half of the villains at the plaza were incapacitated and had their legs bend in the wrong direction.
"What kind of NPC are you?"
"NPC? I'm the mother-loving boss of this dungeon!" Izuku happily declared. He ducked into his trapdoor of doom and reappeared on the other side of the plaza. "Wanna see my health bar?" He pulled a red crowbar and used it to smack the nearby villains below the belt, only to disappear again.
"He's kiting the Nomu! Kurogiri! Stop him!"
"I… I can't! Tomura Shigaraki, he is somehow able to move undetected. I can't zero in on him. Those tunnels are too confusing."
"If you weren't our exit strategy, I would've dusted you right now."
"He's your exit strategy? Nope." Izuku suddenly was next to Shigaraki. He stabbed the leader with a knife and tossed something at Kurogiri. The man's neck brace suddenly covered in electricity and he fell down unconscious.
"W-what's this!"
"I didn't sign up for this…"
The remaining villains were panicking.
"Get us out of here!"
"Heh. Nope." Midoriya was now sitting in a Gatling gun platform, lazily eating a carrot. "What's up, doc?" The gun started to spin and pelt the remaining villains with rapidly-expanding foam that immobilized all of them. The lead villain screamed something about a bad level design before his mouth and body was covered in foam. He was unable to even move a finger, much less disintegrate his prison. He also couldn't order Nomu, who no longer had any idea what to do.
"Uh… Sensei?" Momo managed to break through her confusion at the scene. "Should we… help him? Or in the opposite case… evacuate?"
"Everyone get out of here. As inconspicuously as possible." Aizawa ordered. "Thirteen, as soon as you have the connection, inform the other teachers that we have code Kraken."
"Is code Kraken about the villains?" Uraraka asked.
"No." Thirteen answered in a shaky voice. "It's the warning that Nedzu unleashed his student already."
"We didn't expect it for at least another week."
"He… he's a gremlin!" The space hero was shaking lightly.
"We're doomed."
"What's going on?"
"Principal Nedzu took a sidekick. You've just seen that gremlin in action."
"He was quite talented." Iida complimented. "While his methods were… unorthodox, we must trust in our superiors."
"He looked like he haven't slept in a week."
"That's because I didn't," Izuku commented, riding a scooter next to the class, who was now outside USJ.
"WAAAH!" They all screamed.
"Anyway, I need to go tell Nedzu that the situation was resolved. Aizawa-san, I trust you will give the preliminary report to the police? Oh! And there are still some villains in the disaster zones. But don't worry. I set up auto-turrets so they won't get out."
"Since when are there Auto-turrets in my USJ?" Thirteen asked, for a moment forgetting who she was speaking to.
"Since it was built? There are auto-turrets everywhere on the school grounds. Just like tunnels." He cheerfully informed before taking a sharp turn and driving straight into the tree.
The students and teachers could only watch as the doors opened in the said tree and the gremlin vanished in some dark tunnel.
Aizawa wanted to cry. What has he done? And how did that shy boy from the start of the week manage to become a gremlin?