Midoriya Izuku awoke about an hour before Katsumi's alarm was scheduled to go off.

He rubbed his eyelids with his free hand, wiping the crust out of his eyes. With his vision cleared, he glanced over at Katsumi, who was wrapped gracelessly around his side, using his chest as a pillow. Her wild blonde hair was splayed out across him in a tangled mess that he knew would be very annoying to brush out, and her sharp, expressive eyes were partially concealed by her unkempt mane as she slept peacefully, her chest rising and falling steadily in tandem with his own.

He had also remembered that she was very nude.

They both were, in fact.

Izuku traced his fingers gently up and down the curvature of her spine, lightly brushing her skin with his fingertips, watching her shiver in delight and lean into his touch greedily, like a particularly affectionate cat. After a few more minutes of massaging her with feather-light ministrations, which Katsumi fully enjoyed, even while asleep, he slowly wrapped his arm around her lower back and pulled her firmly into a warm embrace, enjoying the feeling of her naked body pressed against him.

That was what finally woke her up.

Stirring slowly, she yawned ferociously and stretched out her limbs like a puma before she finally opened her eyes and looked up at him, her expression equally smug and afectionate.

"Morning, sunshine," Izuku whispered, cupping her cheek with his free hand.

"Sap," she teased him, even as she pressed her cheek further into his palm, wordlessly demanding even more of his attention.

"Maybe," he grinned shamelessly. "But your sap, nonetheless."

Katsumi snorted. "Shut up," she grumbled, laying her head back on his chest and closing her eyes.

"Oi," he deadpanned. "I know you still have an hour, but I gotta get up. My uniform's still at my place."

"Mm," she hummed, thinking about it. "Nah. You're staying here. You smell too nice."

"I'm gonna be late, you know."

"You can afford to be late."

Izuku sighed, exasperated.

"Kacchan. Seriously. I gotta go. My mom's gonna worry about me if I'm not home soon," he tried to reason with her. "Here, use my pillow. It probably smells like me by now."

Katsumi sighed dramatically before finally relenting, lifting her head to let him slip out of her grip, giving him a very nice view in the process—one that he did his best to ignore. There was a time and a place for everything, and unfortunately, that time wasn't now.

Izuku slipped his pillow under her head and planted a chaste kiss on his girlfriend's forehead, combing through her hair gently with his fingertips, willing her to go back to sleep.

"Get some rest, Kacchan. I'll see you at school," he murmured into her ear. She hummed, adjusting her position on her pillow slightly, and soon drifted back to sleep. He pulled up her blanked, tucking her in properly, trying to make her as comfortable as possible, then got dressed as quietly as he could and slipped out of her bedroom door.

Walking down the stairs, he stepped into the kitchen and greeted his girlfriend's parents, who were currently eating breakfast. Masaru-san returned his greeting with a polite smile and nod, but Mitsuki-san was grinning at him like the cat that caught the canary, her expression eerily reminiscent of her daughter's.

Well, if I didn't know where she got her attitude before….

"Good morning, Izuku," she crowed teasingly. "Have a late night?"

He scratched the back of his head embarrassedly, chuckling. "Ah, sorry. Were we loud?"

"Katsumi certainly was," Mitsuki laughed. "But I just assume you two are up late every time you're over."

"Again, I'm very sorry; we don't mean to keep you two up at night," Izuku bowed his head sheepishly.

"It's fine, brat, relax. You aren't keeping us up or anything," she waved him off casually, before pointing over to the half-full coffee pot on their counter. "Coffee's there if you want it. You know where the mugs are."

Izuku thanked her, quickly moving to procure himself a mug. He could smell the rich, earthy aroma of the coffee as he poured it, and he thanked her again after he took his first sip. The Bakugou family had always been very generous to him, and while he sometimes felt they were overly so, he still found himself more grateful for their generosity than worried for their finances most of the time. It was probably selfish, but the Bakugou were far more well-off than he was, and he wasn't going to refuse such benevolence.

"So," Mitsuki interjected, pulling his attention away from his steaming mug. "How're things between you and Katsumi?"

Izuku smiled, gently setting his mug back on the counter. "It's going really well, I think. We've been on really good terms pretty much the entire time."

"Really? Not a single fight?" Masaru asked, surprised.

Izuku shrugged. "I mean, we have small disagreements here and there, but they're usually resolved pretty quickly, so they don't get too out of hand or anything. We're getting along pretty well."

"We can tell," Mitsuki teased.

Izuku could feel the heat rise in his cheeks. He coughed to try to hide his embarrassment.

"Again, sorry about that."

"Like I said, it's fine," she dismissed again. "I'm just surprised you aren't fighting more often. Katsumi's pretty contentious."

"Well, we did most of our fighting before we started dating," Midoriya chuckled. "I don't even know what else is left for us to fight about."

Mitsuki and Masaru shot a glance at each other, grimacing. Izuku knew that they both were well aware of their daughter's past behaviors, along with his and Katsumi's very contentious dynamic before they had officially started going out.

"So, uh, are you sure you're okay with…you know…this going on?" Izuku asked, gesturing up to Katsumi's bedroom, trying to veer the topic back to something a bit less distressing.

"Oh, yeah, it's fine. God knows I was just as bad, if not worse at her age. At least with you, I know she's in good hands," Mitsuki replied, smiling.

"I'm, uh…I'm glad you think so," Izuku replied, scratching the back of his head, a bit embarrassed at her sincerity. He took another sip of his coffee to hide his sheepishness, though Mitsuki probably saw right through him either way.

"Of course. You're a good guy, Izuku. My daughter would be hard-pressed to find a better guy than you, in my opinion," she complimented him.

"Indeed. Inko raised you well, my boy," Masaru chimed in.

"Well, uh, thank you, I appreciate it," Izuku thanked them, surprised at their sudden flurry of compliments.

Then Mitsuki grinned teasingly once again, and he knew she was back to messing with him.

"Plus, Katsumi's much easier to handle after you spend some time with her," she chuckled.

Aaand that's my cue to leave.

"I'm…glad I can help," he choked out, having been thoroughly embarrassed. If Katsumi had heard any of this conversation, she probably would have killed and buried all of them just to save herself from the humiliation. "I've gotta head home, though. Get ready for school and all. And, uh, also, could you keep all this a secret from Katsumi? She still thinks you don't know she's sneaking me into her room, and I can't imagine it'll be fun for anyone if she finds out."

Mitsuki snorted. "Sure, kid. She won't hear anything from us."

"Alright. Thank you for having me."

"Thank my daughter," Mitsuki smirked.

"I don't know how to respond to that," he admitted, smiling embarrassedly. "I'll see you soon."

"You're always welcome, Izuku," Masaru bid him farewell.

"Thank you," he repeated, and with a wave, slipped out the front door.

His cheeks were still warm by the time he got home.

Izuku had made it home just before his mother woke up. She used to wake up earlier, but now that she no longer had to take him to school, she often only woke up just in time to see him off. They very rarely ate breakfast together anymore.

Izuku didn't mind too much, but it made him treasure the days where they did.

Slipping into his room, Izuku moved past the bookshelf stocked full of notebooks, publications and figurines toward his closet. He slid the door open and pulled out his school uniform laying it neatly on his bed. Quickly stripping out of his clothes, Izuku tossed them into his hamper before throwing on his uniform, then tying his tie as neatly as he could around his neck. He didn't have enough time to shower before school, but at least he took one last night.

Unfortunately, that hardly mattered, considering what he had done shortly after.

He would just have to hope that the smell wasn't too obvious, and try to get a quick shower in after gym class.

Turning around, Izuku suddenly noticed something off about his room. He hadn't particularly paid much attention when he first entered the room, since he was focused on getting ready for school, but the far corner of his rug was neatly overturned, like the folded page of a book, and Izuku did not remember it looking like that when he left for Katsumi's last night.

Paranoia began to sink its icy claws into his chest. Izuku racked his brain, trying to think of every plausible scenario, before systematically eliminating the most improbable ones to narrow down the most likely possibilities. Theory after theory ran through his head, and each were analyzed in turn, almost at lightning speed. Eight of the possibilities he had come up with were soon discarded. Six remained. He needed more information.

Izuku flipped the rest of his rug over, then lifted the floorboard he kept purposely loose, peeking into the secret compartment he kept under said floorboard. Dark ceramics and metals lined the compartment, all arranged in a specific manner so that onlookers would not be able to ascertain what the objects were without picking them up. The only thing that still could be made out was the wine-red Ito that he had never quite been able to fully disguise. If any of the objects were moved, however, then the bright read thread that he had woven throughout the objects in a very precise, particular manner would be moved, thus alerting him to any possible tampering.

Luckily, a quick scan determined everything to be in order. Nothing had been tampered with.

Four possibilities remained.

Possibility one: I accidentally kicked over the rug myself and didn't notice. I can't discount the possibility that I was just being unobservant. I was in a bit of a rush, after all, but I don't want to assume that that's what happened until I've discounted everything else.

Possibility two: Kaa-san found my gear and doesn't know what to do about it. It's unlikely, since nothing's been moved, but I'll know for sure if she confronts me about it today.

Possibility three: my old sensei has found me. Given how we parted ways, I sincerely hope that isn't the case. I also won't be able to confirm if that's the case just yet. I might have to do some research on the deep web, see if anyone's spotted him lately. It's been a couple years since I've seen him, but if anyone could slip and out of people's houses undetected, it's him.

Izuku glanced back to the upturned corner, still mulling over the possibilities.

Then again, he wouldn't leave the corner like that—not even on purpose. It's too careless of him, and he doesn't send messages.

Of the three possibilities, the first made the most sense, but he couldn't discount the other two.

Nor could he discount the fourth.

Possibility four: someone else has tracked me down, and they knew what they were looking for. It's possible that the lifted rug could have been a message, but if it isn't a threat, I couldn't begin to guess what else it's supposed to be. I don't see any other clues, so I don't think whoever found me is looking for a meeting, assuming this is a new party. People looking for meetings generally leave notes.

If it's someone with I've fought before, then they clearly know where I live now, and I don't know who they are or how competent they are. I'll have to be more careful going to school from now on, at least until I can find out more.

He really hoped that his was all just him being unobservant and paranoid. The alternatives were much worse.

With no other evidence that he could find, Izuku decided to shove it into the back of his mind for now. He would still remain on guard, but there was nothing he could do about it at the moment. Perhaps he'd let Kacchan know, but other than that, he didn't even know where to begin. If there was someone out there looking for him, the best he could do was stay alert and wait for whoever was looking for him to reach out and make contact.

Or try to make a move against him.

With any luck, that wouldn't happen anytime soon.

Once he had finished getting ready, Izuku left his room, intent on making a quick breakfast before school. He was planning on something easy and quick, like egg furikake, but as he entered the kitchen, he found he had been beaten to the punch by his mother, who was currently making two servings of tamagoyaki for each of them, humming an upbeat tune all the while. Opaque white steam rose off of her pan as she slowly folded the egg over itself, and the smell of eggs and soy sauce wafted gently throughout the apartment.

Inko was awake earlier than he thought she'd be.

That might be evidence that she knows. I'll have to tread lightly. She usually has something to tell me when she gets up early and makes breakfast.

"Hi, Kaa-san," he greeted her, waving lazily as he sat down at the kitchen table.

"Good morning, Izuku," his mother returned brightly, plating the eggs as soon as she deemed them ready, and brought the plates over to the table, setting one plate down in front of Izuku and one in front of her own seat before sitting down and tucking in.

"Any plans for today?" Izuku asked, already halfway through his breakfast.

Inko shook her head. "I don't—" she paused to finish chewing her food. "I don't think so. Not much needs to be done today. I might go grocery shopping, but I'll probably just be watching TV or reading."

"Gotcha," he responded, taking another bite of his breakfast.

"What about you? Do you know what you'll be doing in class today?" she asked in return.

"Not really," Izuku shrugged. "Probably gonna be discussing Heroics Law in my law class, since the festival finished recently. The rest will just be gen ed stuff, most likely."

"That's nice. Are you still planning to specialize in Heroics Law? I hear it's a pretty competitive field," Inko inquired concernedly, her hand pressed to her cheek.

"Yeah, I am. I know I'll do well at it, and it's a pretty good job. I'd really like to go into Quirk Analysis, but there aren't really classes for that. Usually it's just a mentorship program, so you have to know someone in the field willing to train you, but Law has a somewhat similar skill set, so if I can't become an analyst, I can become a lawyer. It'll probably help get me connections, too. Good transferability, y'know?" he explained, gesturing with his chopsticks for effect.

"Ah, I see. Well, I'm proud of you, Izuku. You've always been smart, so if anyone can do it, you can," Inko encouraged him, smiling a little nervously. Her cheer seemed genuine, but it was backed by a familiar anxiousness, like she was desperately hoping that he would accept her encouragement at face value, with open arms.

It seemed that neither of them had forgotten the last time he had asked her about his dreams.

"Thanks, Kaa-san," he smiled, trying to keep the strain out of it. "Hey, uh, did you happen to move anything around in my room yesterday?"

His mother looked at him like he had asked if he had grown another arm. "No, why?"

"No reason. I just lost my nice pen. I think I misplaced it, but I was just asking in case you had borrowed it or something. Guess not, though," Izuku lied, trying to sound casual.

"Oh, no!" Inko exclaimed. "The fountain pen, right? I hope you find it! If you can't, then I'll get you another one. Your grades have been really good lately, and I've been meaning to get you some sort of gift, but I haven't been able to find anything that you'd really like. New hero merch has been sparse, and you don't collect nearly as much anymore, so it's been difficult," she rambled nervously.

"Alright. Thanks, Kaa-san," Izuku smiled at her, standing up from the table and bringing his now-empty plate to the sink, rinsing off his dish before he deposited it. "I've gotta get to school, now, so I'll see you when I get back."

"Alright! Have a good day at school!" She called to him as he headed for the door.

"I will!" he returned, slipping on his red sneakers, grabbing his pack and stepping out of his apartment, heading for the train station.

He hoped he wasn't late. The bell waited for no one.

Something strange was going on.

Izuku swore that he could feel someone staring at the back of his head throughout the train ride. He had tried to subtly look around to scout out the potential stalker, making a show of digging around in his backpack for something as a cover while he scanned the train for suspicious figures, but he couldn't spot any obvious suspects, and he didn't want to give anything away by searching the train more overtly. If the stalker realized that he knew he was being watched, they could possibly end up trying something rash, and he couldn't take that risk while he was unprepared and out of position, not to mention all the potential casualties

It grated on him, but he had to act like nothing was wrong.

The walk to school was no different. He kept to populated main roads, mingling with the crowds, that way no one could try anything without causing a scene, but that didn't change the fact that he could still feel that same stare on his back the whole time. It irked him that nothing could be done about it, but he knew he had to be patient.

The stalker would slip up eventually, and when they did, Izuku would make his move.

The only real question he had was whether he should take it to the teachers or not.

Generally, it was a good idea, but at the same time, given that they had only barely managed to fight off a villain attack on school grounds, he wasn't sure if they were all that equipped to handle it. The best heroes on staff to handle it would be Aizawa and Snipe, but Aizawa was just recently hospitalized and was in no shape to do any fieldwork anytime soon.

Another option was to inform Principal Nezu and ask him to inform the police, but an undercover escort could be just as much of a risk. Undercover cops weren't always the most subtle, and if the escort was found, Izuku's stalker would know that he was blown and possibly act then and there, while Izuku was still unprepared. Not to mention the fact that the stalker knew where he lived, and could take his mother as a hostage at any point.

Unfortunately, there was nothing stopping the stalker from doing that anyway.

…Fuck. I'm gonna have to go to Nezu about this, aren't I?

Izuku would have preferred to wait and get his girlfriend's opinion on the situation before he committed to anything, but he couldn't afford to waste any time. Every minute Nezu didn't know about the situation was a minute not spent thinking about how to stop it, and Izuku needed all the extra brain power he could get right now. Kacchan would probably be annoyed that he didn't tell her first thing, but she would understand.

The tricky part, however, was how to tell Nezu about it without the rat figuring out why he was being targeted in the first place. And he had no clue how the hell he was going to pull that off.

Izuku sighed, staring at the front entrance to the main university building.

It doesn't matter. Kaa-san's safety comes first.

He strode into the main hall with purpose, heading directly for the principal's office. He still had a few minutes before class started, and given he was going to be talking to the principal, he would most likely be excused for being late. Nezu was certainly eccentric, but you didn't run the best hero school in the country without being a good principal.

That did not make the principal's large, heavy wooden doors any less intimidating, however.

Izuku stopped in front of the principal's office, took a deep breath to mentally prepare himself, and knocked on the doors.

"Come in," a small, high-pitched voice called faintly from the other side of the doors.

Izuku stepped inside, closing the doors behind him. Nezu's office was quite spacious, incredibly so for a rodent of his size. The walls were lined with photos, placards, awards and kintsugi tea sets, all of which obviously held personal value to the principal. Nezu had never struck him as materialistic, aside from perhaps a secret library that he probably owned somewhere incredibly hidden. That, Izuku could see.

"Principal Nezu," he greeted, bowing politely.

"Midoriya Izuku," he returned enthusiastically. "It's good to finally see you. I've been planning to arrange a meeting between us for a little while now."

Izuku blinked. He hadn't quite been expecting that response.

"Why?" he blurted out before he could stop himself.

"Midoriya-kun, you're currently the only quirkless person at UA. I'd be a poor principal to not check in on how you're doing. I'm not blind to how quirkless people are treated these days," Nezu explained.

"Ah," he responded. "It's alright, I guess. It's better than middle and high school."

"You aren't currently being bullied by anyone at UA, physically or emotionally? You aren't being threatened by your classmates?" Nezu inquired.

"No, nothing like that," Izuku confirmed. He wasn't lying, either. No one had bullied him at UA thus far. Middle school students generally rejected anyone that didn't fit in, and those that didn't were prone to being ostracized and bullied. High school was similar, just to a lesser degree. Bullying was much rarer, but ostracization was common. University, thus far, had been full of "tolerant" and "open-minded" people, who instead looked at him with pity and treated him like he was made of glass. Perhaps it was better than being bullied, but he still couldn't stand it. He was quirkless, not helpless. Most people barely ever used their quirks, especially for their jobs, so Izuku thought it was ridiculous that people would look down on him for having one when most people didn't even use theirs.

"Then what is it, Midoriya-kun? You seem to be performing excellently in class, so I don't imagine you're here to ask for advice about academics your academics," Nezu surmised.

Izuku shook his head.

"I believe I am being followed," he stated gravely. "Someone has tailed me from my neighborhood's train station all the way to UA. It's possible that they already know where I live, as well."

"Oh, my," Nezu murmured, folding his hands in front of his mouth. "That's certainly not good."

"I'm mainly worried for my mother," Izuku admitted. "She's dealt with anything like this before, and I'm scared that whoever's following me might potentially abduct or hurt her to get to me."

"Why do you think it's you specifically that they're after?" Nezu queried.

"Well, I'm the one being followed, for one," he responded drily.

"Indeed. However, if a villain is intending to hurt your mother specifically, they could very easily do that by kidnapping or harming you," the principal pointed out.

"I suppose, but I still think they're more likely after me. My mom's just a housewife. She used to be a nurse, but she stopped years ago, after my dad started working overseas, so she doesn't get out of the house much. I can't think of any reason someone would have to go after her that wouldn't make me an equally valid target," Izuku explained.

Nezu was leaning forward now, his black eyes gleaming interestedly.

"You say that, but you believe you're being watched for a different reason, don't you?" Nezu asked, suspicious.

Izuku hesitated with his answer, struggling to come up with a believable lie or misdirection, and that was all Nezu needed.

"Well, Midoriya-kun," Nezu began, leaning back in his chair. "I would like you to explain your real theory as to why you specifically are being targeted, if you please. We need to know everything about the situation at hand, and withholding information only hinders us. You may pull up a chair, if you like."

He held Nezu's gaze for a minute, but eventually relented, sighing. Izuku pulled the blue armchair that was sitting next to the couch against the left wall over to Nezu's desk and settled in, trying to figure out how to give him as much relevant information as possible without having the principal realize exactly what he had been up to the past few years.

This could take a while.

"When I came home this morning, the corner of my rug was flipped up. My mom didn't do it, I asked. I suppose it could have been me, but I think I would have remembered kicking it up the night before if I had. It didn't look like an accident, either. Any competent thief would put it back the way they found it, and nothing of mine was stolen, or even moved. I think it could have been a message," Izuku began.

"What sort of message do you believe a flipped rug would send?" Nezu challenged.

"The kind that says, 'I know who you are, where you live, and what you're hiding under this rug,'" he responded. Telling the principal exactly where his secrets were buried was something he wanted to avoid, and while he doubted that Nezu would be willing to break privacy laws to personally enter his home and search his room, he wasn't willing to take that chance. He would still probably have to find a new hiding place for his stuff. Paranoia had served him well until now, and Nezu was an incredibly crafty individual. Giving the rat any more power over him than absolutely necessary was something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

"I see," Nezu sat back, thinking. "And your other reasons?"

"I'm quirkless, sir. A couple of years ago, multiple quirkless people were targeted and kidnapped for unknown purposes. The situation was never publicly stated to be resolved, but disappeared after a while. The media just stopped talking about it. I assume whoever was behind it went to ground, but was never caught, and it's possible that they're now resuming operations. It's also possible that the USJ attack had some kind of connection to this, since I've only started to be followed after the sports festival aired on TV. I think that the same group might be targeting me, or perhaps these two separate groups are in league somehow."

He admittedly hadn't thought of that before he had entered the school, but it was a significant observation. He probably should have thought of it sooner.

Nezu nodded. "Good conjecture, but mostly speculation. Your last observation brings up an interesting question, though, because it's very interesting that your face might have been recognized, since you didn't make it past round one. You would have been shown for only a brief period, and likely in a crowd, so whoever possibly did recognize you obviously recognized you from an incredibly small and complex shot. Someone would have to have a reason to remember your face.

"What reason would a potential villain have to remember your face to such a degree, Midoriya-kun? You're suggesting that whoever is stalking you knows your face very well."

Izuku stared at Nezu for a second, before he sat back in his chair and sighed defeatedly.

There was a reason I didn't want to come to Nezu with this.

"They might," Izuku admitted, more truthful than he meant to be. "Have some reasons, I mean. It's possible for anyone to recognize me on TV, depending on what kind of quirk they have. A memory or information quirk could be involved somehow, or someone was specifically looking through the sports festival frame by frame to find someone potentially cross-searchable, like someone on a quirkless database," he rambled, trying to backtrack on his slip-up.

Nezu stared at him expectantly.

Fuck. He knows.

"Fine," Izuku relented, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. "I might've used to get up to some trouble back in high school. Got into some fights around town. I've kept clean for over a year now, but it's possible that someone from back then held a grudge and recognized me. It could also be someone new, or someone with less of a personal connection to me, but I don't know where they would have seen my face. I don't think I was all that well-known."

"Ah, I see, I see," Nezu nodded. "Clever, Midoriya-kun. I should have thought of that loophole myself. Excellent deductive reasoning on your part. I can see why you're working toward a heroics law degree."

He definitely did think of it himself. He just wanted the confirmation, and now he knows where to look to find out the rest. Shit.

"Nonetheless, you are a student here, and the fact that you are potentially being targeted is concerning. Thank you for being responsible and bringing this to me, instead of just going out and trying to handle it on your own. I'll talk to my contacts in the police and bring them up to speed on the situation. We'll have Japan's best detectives as your undercover bodyguards by the time school is over," Nezu stated.

"No."

"Hm?"

"Anyone who can pick me out of a crowd and track down where I live just from that has to be pretty damn competent. I can't count on undercover cops; if they're detected, then whoever's tailing me might do something rash, like kidnap my mother," he explained. "I'm not willing to give them that kind of power over me. They don't know that I know about them yet, so I think they'll be willing to sit back and gather information for now, but if they find out that I'm onto them, they could move up their schedule."

"You have a suggestion, then?" Nezu leaned forward, his beady eyes gleaming.

"I think our best bet is to be more overt, but in a way that doesn't make my tail think he's been found. What if we had some police stake out my home, like I was under watch?" Izuku suggested thoughtfully.

Nezu grinned. "A good idea, but I'm also going to add an underground hero I personally trust to this case. If your stalker knows your past, it wouldn't be too out of line for one to be working with police to try to bring you in. I'll send out a few emails and have a team assembled by the time school is out. I assume your mother shouldn't be informed about this development?"

Izuku shook his head. "Her anxiety will give us away too easily. She's not good at hiding things."

It pained him to keep her in the dark, but this was all for her safety. He couldn't let his own mother get hurt, even if he had to keep secrets from her to keep her safe and sound. Even if he had to lie to her face.

He supposed nothing had really changed.

"If that is everything, Midoriya-kun, then you should get to class. I'll send a message to Yamada-sensei so that he'll excuse your tardiness. Good luck with classes."

"Thank you, Principal."

Izuku stood, bowed, and began to walk out of the office, but Nezu stopped him.

"Oh, and Midoriya-kun," he began.

Izuku turned around.

"I understand that you believe you can handle yourself, but I cannot condone any reckless behavior. Please do not attempt to confront these people on your own, potential legal loopholes or otherwise. Leave this to the professionals. You are a student here, now, and I cannot allow you to take part in such delinquent behavior. If I find out that you have, I may be forced to remove you from this school," Nezu stated gravely, paws folded. "Am I understood?"

He nodded. "Yes, sir."

Izuku left the office, closing the door behind him, and walked to class. He scratched his head, sighing in annoyance. Izuku understood why Nezu had banned him from handling the situation on his own, but being forced to sit back and do nothing really grated on him.

On top of that, he would also have to explain his situation to Kacchan today. Since he was gonna be on watch, he probably wasn't gonna be able to sneak out to go to her place for a while, so she needed to be caught up on the situation.

He could feel the headache coming on already.

Yeah, she's gonna be pissed.