Thank you for being so patient with me guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Also, I went back and changed Izuku's age from eighteen to nineteen, just so everyone's aware.
Shouta could already tell that this wasn't going to be an enjoyable discussion.
He made one quick skim of the room, taking in the grim and uncomfortable expressions on everyone – except Nezu who, like always, seemed both pensive and almost manically amused – and promptly collapsed into the first available seat. He groaned quietly, closing his eyes and slumping in his chair, mentally preparing himself for the torture he was about to endure.
He could already feel the migraine forming. Though maybe that was just a by-product of the presence of the hulking man standing in the corner of the room.
There was a soft clink, and he cracked his eyes open enough to see the teacup that had been delicately placed before him. He didn't reach for it, didn't particularly want it, but the gesture was nice all the same.
His gaze drifted to the few screens embedded on the opposite wall, immediately focussing on the one visible figure.
Midoriya looked even smaller on the monitor, and the nondescript clothes he wore, at least one size too big, did nothing but emphasis the fact. The kid wasn't particularly tall, and for all his muscles, he also wasn't large. Sitting with his elbows propped up on the table, his shoulders hunched forward and his eyes drooping low, he just looked like an exhausted teenager.
He had put up a good front during his interrogation, but now that he was alone, he wasn't even trying. He knew there were cameras on him – Shouta had seen the way he had assessed the room the moment he had stepped inside – but he just didn't seem to care about appearances unless someone was in front of him.
"Well?" An all too familiar, and entirely unwelcome voice broke him out of his observation. Shouta's lips curled in distaste before he wrangled that reaction back under control. "What did you find, Naomasa? Was, was the boy – telling the truth?" The question was a bumbled mess, and Shouta moved his hand to block his eyes for a moment so that he could roll them without anyone seeing.
Hizashi shot him a quick, conspiratorial grin from the seat beside him, but otherwise kept his attention dutifully on the detective as he started to answer.
"My report –"
"Will be of great help, but perhaps a brief overview now will help us to handle this situation more effectively." Nezu cut in smoothly, offering a kindly smile. It soothed the prickle of annoyance that Tsukauchi was undoubtedly feeling. Shouta dropped his hand to cup his chin and flicked his eyes to the detective as well.
He watched the man nod, then clear his throat in preparation. "As I informed Aizawa on our way here," he began, gesturing vaguely at Shouta, "I detected no traces of deception from Midoriya. As far-fetched as his story seems, it is true."
Shouta waited, then bit back a sigh when All Might spoke once again. "E-everything? Including…"
Tsukauchi nodded, his attention pinned on the other man. "Yes."
Shouta narrowed his eyes at that, darting a look between the two suspiciously. He supposed it could have to do with Midoriya's claim of being All Might's apprentice; but the haunted expression on the blond's face seemed too strong a reaction. It might have been a surprising revelation, but surely not enough to warrant a look like that.
The quiet sorrow on the man's face was too personal, and Shouta felt a thought begin to roll around in his mind.
Did he know Midoriya?
He tried to recall all the information he had managed to gather about the boy, about the circumstances of his death – but the reports had been heavily redacted due to him being a minor. He would have to request to get his hands on the official reports soon. If All Might was somehow connected to Midoriya, beyond what the kid claimed, then that might cause a problem.
He cut that thought off for now. He had very little desire to deal with All Might's personal business, to deal with the man period, but he would keep the potential connection in mind.
"Are we sure the kid doesn't just think he's telling the truth?" Nemuri asked, tapping her nails on the arm of her chair in agitation. She was frowning, her eyes on the monitors.
"Maybe he's been affected by something, something that makes him believe he's…from the future?" Her tone turned appropriately cynical towards the end. "Or maybe he's just insane? I mean, that sounds more probably then time-travel, right?"
She glanced at Shouta, but he refrained from commenting. He would have agreed with her, if he hadn't already done some digging of his own. He had only shared the information of Midoriya being well and truly dead with Nezu, Tsukauchi and Hizashi, though the latter had found it out by rooting through Shouta's files.
Tsukauchi looked at him too, before sending an inquiring nod in Nezu's direction. The principal hummed and took a sip of his tea. "That would be our most likely guess, if Midoriya Izuku had not been killed last year in a villain attack."
"Wait, what?" Nemuri's eyes widened.
Behind them, closer to the monitors, Shouta noted how stiff All Might had become.
"It's true," he said, still watching the blond, "I looked it up last night. He's dead, but the DNA results came back positive. That kid is Midoriya."
"A shape-shifting quirk, then," Nemuri shot back, "they're not unheard of."
But Tsukauchi was shaking his head before Shouta could say anything. "Shape-shifting quirks are dependant on having something to copy off of. If he," he pointed at the screen, and Midoriya, "was transformed into Midoriya Izuku, then he would need a source of some kind to draw from. From what I understand, he had nothing like that on him when you brought him here. Also, losing consciousness should have caused him to revert; or simply the amount of time he's been here. He wouldn't be able to maintain it indefinitely, he'd exhaust himself, and he hasn't shown any signs of altering."
"Besides," Shouta interjected, tone just shy of derisive, "why transform into a dead kid? What possible purpose would that serve? Why age himself up? Midoriya was fourteen when he was killed, yet he's clearly several years older. It'd do nothing but lead him here, being interrogated and held under suspicion."
Nemuri leaned back at his rebuttal, but the stubborn glint in her eyes didn't disappear. Shouta felt his migraine start to throb. The silence stretched for a long minute, before Hizashi spoke up, tentative in a way he normally wasn't. "So, it is time-travel?"
Shouta caught Tsukauchi's eye. The detective frowned, tilting his head. Shouta shrugged. Tsukauchi shook his head.
"Not time-travel?" Hizashi hazarded, watching their wordless interaction with sharp eyes.
"We don't believe so." Tsukauchi eventually said, heaving a sigh and pinching the bridge of his nose. He looked very reluctant to broach the topic. "There's – look, there's not a lot of research revolving around time-based quirks. They exist, but most are contained to a small range; like having the ability to rewind several minutes into the past. The longest example I've ever heard was of a man in Europe going back an entire day, and the effort almost killed him."
He paused long enough for that to sink in. "From what we've learned, and from our own observations, Midoriya is from about three years in the future. No quirk I have ever heard of has that kind of power." Helpfully, Shouta pulled out the license he had pulled from the kid and flicked it over to Nemuri. The woman pursed her lips and studied the card intently.
All Might crept closer, gazing over her shoulder. The look on his face grew worse, and he swiftly retreated back towards the monitors.
Nemuri sighed, handing the license to Hizashi, who returned it to Shouta. "So, how is it not time-travel, then?" She demanded.
Shouta pocketed the card, gaze locked back on Tsukauchi. He had been dancing around their biggest piece of evidence, and Shouta decided to have mercy on the man when his expression tightened.
"It's not time-travel because if Midoriya were from the future, from our future, then he technically shouldn't exist." There was the first stirrings of confusion and frustration on the others' faces, and he continued before they interrupted. "His present self is dead. Kind of hard to be alive in the future if he died in the past."
"Well then where is he from?" Nemuri snapped, throwing her arms up and glaring at Shouta as if this were all his fault. "You already ruled out an imposter, and now you're saying time-travel isn't the answer. So, what is it?"
"An alternate universe."
The soft mutter cut off whatever reply Shouta was about to give, and as one, they looked at All Might. The blond was facing the screens, one of his hands hovering over the image of Midoriya. His fingers, Shouta realised, were trembling lightly.
"That's what you were going to say, yes, Aizawa?"
Shouta pursed his lips, "That's my current theory." He confirmed, and All Might nodded robotically.
"No. No way." Nemuri said, shaking her head and cutting one of her hands through the air. "I draw the line at alternate dimensions. That's impossible –"
"Ah, but that was said about quirks, was it not?" Nezu said, utterly calm in the wake of what was potentially a world-shattering concept. "Quirks and the abilities they grant were originally seen as fanciful things, the stuff of dreams and wishful thinking. And yet, we now live in a time where many are capable of what were once considered impossible things." The principal's eyes were sharp as he gazed at all of them, smile still in place.
"Who are we to deny the existence of something unprecedented? There are many quirks in the world, and if young Midoriya's story is to be believed, the user that attacked him wasn't even aware of the extent of his quirk; merely that whatever he touched vanished, never to be seen again. Perhaps we are not the first to receive an unfortunate victim of this quirk, or perhaps Midoriya is simply the first one we have come across."
The implication of that was disturbing, and Shouta hated that he hadn't immediately thought of that himself. The last thing they needed was more people like Midoriya dropping in out of nowhere. If that was indeed what had happened, there was every chance that it could happen again.
And there was no guarantee that the next person that quirk spat out would be as obliging as Midoriya.
Shouta looked around the room again, seeing as they all came to the same conclusion as him.
"This still begs the question of what to do." Tsukauchi said, folding his hands into his lap and glancing at the monitors with a thoughtful frown. "There isn't really a rule stating what to do with," his eyes fluttered closed for a moment, "dimension-hopping Pro Heroes. We don't even know if this is a permanent issue. He could be snapped back to his own world."
Or he could be stuck here forever, Shouta thought with some sympathy. It was a depressing one, and he couldn't begin to imagine what Midoriya might be feeling right now.
"I was supposed to have dinner with my mum."
He squeezed his eyes shut, banishing the memory of that pained whisper.
"We have to watch him." Shouta said, shifting forward, perching his elbows on his knees and linking his hands together. "We can't afford to let him go running around without supervision. I –" he paused, searching for the words, "I don't think that he's a threat, per se. He intervened in a fight he didn't need to. He defended my students when I couldn't, protected them when he didn't have to. And he saved me. Twice."
Nemuri winced, and even Hizashi looked uncomfortable at the reminder. Shouta hadn't held anything back when he had filled them in on the events of the attack. He had spared no detail, and all of them knew just how close he had come to being killed by that thing.
None of them liked thinking about it, least of all him, but it was an important point.
Tsukauchi nodded carefully, his expression neutral. "Round the clock surveillance would be the best idea, at least until we know for sure that he isn't dangerous."
Shouta refrained from scoffing at that, because there was no doubt in his mind about it. From the small glimpse he had gotten, the kid had a ridiculous amount of strength behind him, not to mention speed and technique. Plus, he was intelligent. Far more intelligent than his appearance suggested.
A strong opponent was bad. An intelligent opponent was worse. But those two traits wrapped in one body was by far the worst possible combination. He suspected that Midoriya would be absolutely brutal on the field.
He could see why some other version of him would be willing to work with the kid.
Tsukauchi continued, "I can have him taken to a secure facility outside of the city limits. With the suppressor on him he shouldn't be too difficult to transfer."
Curiously, or perhaps not, it was All Might that protested. Shouta knew the man had a bleeding heart, and despite how the idea made a small part of him twinged, he still knew it was the most logical plan to go with.
"Surely there's no need for such drastic measures. The boy has been nothing but cooperative so far, and as Aizawa said, he did prove himself with the attack, defending the students as he did."
That wasn't quite what he had said, but Shouta didn't bother pointing that out. It really wasn't worth the effort.
"Then what would you suggest?" Tsukauchi asked, somehow making the question sound courteous, rather than sarcastic.
All Might faltered, but he rallied himself faster than Shouta had expected. "What about having him stay here? U.A. is just as, if not more secure than your facilities, and with so many Pro Heroes on campus, he would not be a danger."
Nemuri turned in her seat, staring up at the blond, incredulous. "You want us to let an unknown entity stay where we teach children? Young, impressionable children, I should add. What if he is a threat? What if he's somehow playing us all? Letting him stay here would put him in contact with our students, and that's more than dangerous – it's stupid."
All Might twitched at the accusatory tone, but he held firm. "It would make sense. The school has state-of-the-art equipment, and there is not an inch of the campus that isn't under surveillance. Plus, a more relaxed environment would give us a chance to better observe him and his intentions. And we have the necessary rooms to contain him should we have to."
Shouta must have lost his mind, because that actually made some iota of sense. Normally, agreeing with All Might wasn't something he did often, mainly due to their differing views on some of the core aspects of their work, but this time he had to admit that the man had a point.
And, if Midoriya were at U.A., it would give Shouta unlimited access to the kid, meaning he would get the chance to figure the other out at his leisure.
"It makes sense." He said, taking a second to enjoy the disbelief that overcame all of their faces. He turned to Nezu, because if anyone would be the deciding factor, it was him. "Having Midoriya here also allows us to keep the circumstances of his arrival under control. If he were put into police custody, there's a chance the story could get out. At least here we can contain everything."
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw how Tsukauchi frowned at the suggestion of a leak in his department, but the man tellingly stayed quiet. There had been speculation for a while now that someone under his command was an informant, they just hadn't managed to pin down who. Until then, it was safer for everyone if Midoriya was kept away from it all.
Nezu drained the last mouthful of his tea and set the cup down gently. "I see no problem with that plan. Detective?" He asked cheerfully, ignoring Nemuri's noise of displeasure.
Tsukauchi sighed once more. "It's not exactly standard procedure, but this isn't a standard situation. I suppose it's fine. Someone will need to be directly responsible for him though. To watch him and keep us appraised of any developments."
"I will," All Might offered, taking a step forward, but Shouta stopped him.
"No. You've got enough on your plate. This is your first year teaching a subject and you need to concentrate on that. You can't afford to be distracted by something like this. Besides," he stared the other down, his jaw clenching, "don't you have a protégé to train?"
This time, All Might did flinch. Shouta didn't apologise. He had made his opinion on All Might's undisguised favouritism apparent from the first moment he became aware of the private tutelage Togata Mirio was receiving.
"I'll watch him," Shouta said after a moment, and All Might looked away. "I have an established rapport with Midoriya already. He seemed inclined to trust me, and if the need arises, I'm the most capable of subduing him – I've seen him in action."
It also went without saying, that if Shouta was the one watching him, Midoriya would always have a suppressor around him, even if he ever happened to slip the one on his wrist.
"And what about your students?" Nemuri asked, "You have to have him with you at all times. You're fine with him interacting with your class?"
Shouta nodded. He didn't bother elaborating, didn't tell them how he was sure that Midoriya wouldn't hurt his students. He remembered the fond way the kid had spoken about his classmates when he first told Shouta who he was. He remembered the spark of honest-to-God love in the kid's eyes that night, the casual way he named his students and their quirks and interests as evidence.
He didn't feel like they would quite understand, if he tried to tell them.
"Very well, then." Nezu said, clapping paws together. "Detective Tsukauchi, would this be acceptable?"
The man barely had the chance to agree before Nezu was jumping up from his seat. "Excellent! I would like to meet our traveller personally now that this has been resolved, but I have a very busy day ahead of me, so I suppose it will have to wait. Aizawa, would you please go collect your new charge and explain the situation to him? We'll get the paperwork started, and have an access card made up, with restrictions of course."
The principal hurried to the door, turning to smile at them all once more. "Have a good day, and please bring young Midoriya by my office this afternoon."
Shouta let himself briefly marvel at Nezu's ability to completely throw a room's atmosphere askew, before he pushed himself to his feet.
He had an hour or so before he was due to homeroom, and he wanted to have everything in order before confronting the inevitable chaos his class unleashed on a daily basis. They had been buzzing with excitement and trepidation ever since the USJ attack, and the news of the unknown hero who'd jumped in and assisted with the fight had been circulating for the last two days.
They would probably go rabid when he brought Midoriya in, bursting with questions. He knew Asui Tsuyu and Minoru Mineta in particular had been asking him for information about Midoriya, not that that surprised him.
Before he brought the other in, he had to make sure Midoriya was on the same page as the rest of them, and that they had a solid backstory in place – because there was no way Shouta was introducing his students to someone who was, very likely, from an alternate version of their class.
He nodded farewell to the others, already heading for the door. Tsukauchi rose to accompany him. They got to the elevator before they were stopped.
Shouta tensed when he felt All Might's large hand come down on his shoulder, but the other hero wisely retracted it. "My apologies, Aizawa. I merely wished to speak with you."
Shouta looked at Tsukauchi, but the man was already politely stepping away, giving them the illusion of privacy.
Deciding to bite the bullet, he turned. "What?" He asked flatly.
All Might shifted, his smile becoming pinched. "I was hoping for an opportunity to speak with the – with Midoriya. I would like to confirm some of the things he claimed."
Shouta narrowed his eyes. "You mean about him saying he was your apprentice."
All Might's eyes darted away from him, "Ah. Yes."
"Why, looking to expand your collection?"
All Might's smile dropped completely at his arctic tone, and Shouta tried to find any satisfaction at that. He couldn't.
Looking to the side to hide the stab of guilt, he sighed. "Look, let me get everything sorted first. Once we have Midoriya's story ironed out, and have all his paperwork approved, then I'll let you at him. Can you wait that long?"
Surprised at the concession, All Might blinked down at him. "Y-yes, that's absolutely fine. Thank you, Aizawa."
He grunted, stuffing his hands in his pockets and turning to face the elevator. Tsukauchi pressed the button, doing a remarkable job of pretending he hadn't heard their entire exchange.
They entered the lift, Shouta just barely keeping his relief hidden when All Might made no effort to join them. It was bad enough being in the same room as the man sometimes; being trapped in the confined space of the elevator would have made Shouta's already frayed nerves snap.
The silence between Tsukauchi and him grew a little too pointed. Shouta's frown deepened.
"Don't say it."
"I wasn't going to say anything." Tsukauchi denied.
Shouta huffed, "Don't lie, you're terrible at it."
There was a pause, then –
"You were a little rude."
"Oh my God," Shouta muttered, rolling his eyes, "I'm always rude. It's part of my charm."
"You're prickly, Aizawa, but you're rarely that mean. Why don't you like him?"
Tsukauchi was, Shouta knew, a friend of All Might's. He didn't know how close the two were, but if he were anyone else, that fact alone might have prompted him to be quiet.
As it was, he didn't really care. "He irritates me."
The other chuckled, eyes shooting to him as the doors opened. "That wasn't the truth," he said, his lips twitching.
"It wasn't a lie, either." Shouta replied, marching forward.
His relationship with All Might was complicated, and he had no intention of dredging up his issues with the man in front of Tsukauchi. He had not intention of doing that with anyone.
They reached the room Midoriya was waiting in. Shouta tapped his card against the lock and threw the door open. "Midoriya." He said, harsher than he meant to.
Midoriya shot up from where he was slouched, expression startled. "Sensei!" The kid's eyes, if possible, widened further. He hunched over, cheeks flushing, "I – I mean, Aizawa. Um, sorry, that was…reflex."
Behind him, Tsukauchi choked back a laugh. Shouta, very professionally, didn't kick the man.
"Get up, we've got things to do."
Midoriya tripped as he scurried around the table, and Shouta stared because this was vastly different from the way the kid had been acting previously. He refrained from commenting though, sparing the other some humiliation, and just held the door open invitingly. "Come on, we have to get you up to date on a couple of things."
The three of them returned to the elevator, and as they walked Midoriya regained some of his confidence. His steps grew surer, his back straightened, and his head was held higher. He walked between Shouta and Tsukauchi as if he had done it a thousand times before.
Which he might have, Shouta mused. Midoriya had said the three of them had worked together regularly, wherever he was from.
And in that moment, Shouta could see it.
Izuku looked between the two men across from him, trying not to let his panic show. "I'm sorry, what?"
"You'll be staying here, at U.A., for a probationary period." Naomasa explained patiently, "Just until we confirm that you don't pose a threat to anyone." There was a small, encouraging smile on his face that didn't quite reach his eyes, but Izuku supposed he appreciated the effort. "Aizawa has offered to act as your supervisor during this time, so you're expected to stay with him and do as he says." The detective paused, shifting the file he was holding to his other hand.
"You will also have to wear the quirk-suppressant for the duration – security reasons." He said with a shrug.
Izuku shook his head, "No, that's fine, I understand. It's just," he squinted up at Aizawa, "aren't you teaching 1-A? I would have thought, I mean, you have them to look after so why – is this even a good idea?" He finally got out, biting his lip.
"It was this or shipping you off to a prison," Aizawa told him, blunt as ever, and Izuku didn't bother holding back his grimace at that.
"Well, when you put it that way," he muttered, glancing off to the side, "I'm just a little worried, I guess. 1-A…they are, were, my classmates. I don't know if I should be around them too much. I don't want to," he gestured vaguely with his hands, like that could somehow encapsulate everything wrong with his situation, "mess anything up."
"So long as you stick to the story we give you and you don't mention anything about how you got here, you'll be fine."
"And what is my story, exactly?" Izuku asked, slightly apprehensive.
Here, Aizawa crossed his arms over his chest and traded a look with Naomasa. The detective waved a hand in permission.
"Right," Aizawa leaned forward, "I've thought it over, and it'll be easiest if we go with you being an underground hero. You've worked with me in the past, and I've asked you to join me at U.A. due to the recent attack, as an extra hand in case something else happens."
Izuku mulled it over, frowning. "It would explain why no one knows who I am, even the other heroes that aren't aware of what really happened to me."
Aizawa nodded, "Precisely, and it'll give us a convenient excuse for you knowing as much as you do." He stopped, staring at Izuku intently, "You do realise we will be asking you for information regarding the League?"
Izuku hummed absently, eyes focussed out the window of the office they were in, "Would you like a written report, or just verbal ones? I can tell you who the current members are, what their quirks are, where their base is, and how to beat them." He blinked, looking back at the two.
Naomasa looked a little surprised, but Aizawa was merely intrigued.
"Just like that?" Naomasa asked, sounding disbelieving.
Izuku's frown deepened, "Of course. The League was responsible for a lot of destruction in my time. World." He corrected, still uncomfortable with the idea. "If I can help prevent even one of their schemes, then I'm going to. They might seem disjointed now, but they find their feet soon, and when they do…" Izuku's eyes darkened.
Aizawa and Naomasa shared another look.
"When they do, it'll be hell. Tomura and I took out an entire district in our last fight. We – we lost a lot of people before I managed to stop him." Izuku's hands curled into fists. "If I can save even one of them, then of course I'm going to tell you whatever I can."
The three of them sat in a stifled silence, waiting as Izuku regained his composure.
Eventually, Aizawa broke the darkened mood. "Anything you can give us will be useful," he told him, voice soft, the way he sounded whenever Izuku had come to him before, on the verge of breaking and with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
"We'll have to be careful though," Naomasa said, "we don't actually know how accurate your information will be here – there are already some discrepancies. And even if it is accurate, the more we change, the less likely we'll be able to predict them." He sighed, rubbing at his forehead. "I suppose for now just some information about who we're dealing with would be beneficial. We can at least start preparing for who our enemies are."
Aizawa nodded, and Izuku did as well after a beat. "I'll write up everything I know about them and their quirks. I can also make a list of future members, if you want. Some don't join until towards the end, but if you want to keep them under surveillance…?"
Naomasa smiled at the offer, more genuinely. "That'd be great."
Izuku exhaled slowly, fiddling with his fingers. It was odd, working with Naomasa and Aizawa again, but without the warm camaraderie between them. It just reminded him how alone he was right now.
He was out of his depth here, and he knew it. He wanted, more than anything, to be able to go home. He wanted to see his mother, to have that dinner he promised her. He wanted to see his friends, to celebrate their latest win, to go out and drink and bask in their laughter and joy. He wanted to sit down across from his Aizawa and Naomasa, talking about whatever case demanded their collective attention.
There had to be a way for him to return, something he could do to get back to them. But the ruthlessly pragmatic side of him was already adjusted, already planning and calculating just how much he could help here – and Izuku wondered if that made him a bad person, to so easily accept that this might be irreversible.
He coughed, casting those thoughts aside for now. "So, what will I even be doing while I'm here?"
"Assisting." Aizawa said.
"Assisting with what? Teaching?" He raised his eyebrows. "I'm not a teacher. I only graduated about a year ago."
Aizawa inclined his head. "You won't be there in an official capacity. We need a reason to have you with me, and it'll work well with your cover. The most you'll do is stand around, maybe hand out some papers, answer questions. I think you can handle that."
Izuku couldn't help but snort at that, "Thanks, Aizawa." He said dryly. But his humour faded. "There might be a small problem, though." He began, shifting awkwardly. The two of them stared at him. "One of your students might recognise me."
Aizawa frowned, "Most of them saw you when we took you out of the USJ."
Izuku winced, his worry growing sharply at that information. That's not good, he thought, biting his lip again. "Bakugo Katsuki," he said quietly, and Aizawa straightened at the name of his student, "if I died in this world, and if it's the attack I think it was, then he would have been there." He admitted, and Aizawa's frown became thunderous.
Izuku leaned back but met the other's gaze evenly. "Kacchan and I grew up together, we've known each other for years. If he sees me, he'll recognise me right away, and your cover story won't be worth anything then. I doubt he took my death here well, and seeing me will definitely set him off."
And Izuku knew that that was the truth. Bakugo and he had a tumultuous relationship, to say the least, but Izuku knew his friend, and he knew seeing him die would have ruined Bakugo in the worst possible way. They hadn't been close when they had been attacked back then, but Bakugo had confessed to him once – a few months after their graduation, during a quiet patrol – that seeing Izuku run at the sludge villain, watching his small, quirkless childhood friend clawing desperately to help him, had absolutely terrified Bakugo.
He had told him, with plenty of stops and starts to his story, that in that brief instant Bakugo had regretted everything and his fear for Izuku had outweighed his fear for himself.
If the same had happened here – but Izuku had died instead of being rescued by All Might, then Izuku knew Bakugo would have broken under the weight of his misplaced guilt.
If Bakugo hadn't seen Izuku when he was whisked out of the USJ, if he hadn't glimpsed his hair or his face, then maybe he could spare the other some pain. But if he had then Izuku knew he had to get on top of this before it grew out of hand. If he was going to be spending any significant amount of time with Aizawa and his class, Bakugo needed to be prepared.
"I think we should tell him." He said.
"Absolutely not." Naomasa snapped, "Your whole situation is a secret. Only a handful of people are aware of who you really are. We're not going around telling first-year students something of this magnitude."
"You don't understand," Izuku pressed, "Kacchan – he'll pick me out instantly. If I walk into that classroom, and he has no prior warning, what do you think will happen?" He turned to Aizawa beseechingly. "He probably watched me die, he probably blames himself for it even if he'd never admit it, and if he sees me there won't be a classroom anymore, because what little control he has over his emotions will go out the window."
"We'll give you a full-face mask," Naomasa countered firmly.
"That won't do anything," Izuku said, "he'll still figure it out. I'll slip, I know I will. It'll be hard enough pretending I don't know anything about the rest of them – I won't be able to do that with him. I'll make a mistake and he'll catch it because he's too smart for his own good and then there will be nothing but explosions."
Naomasa was unmoved.
Izuku looked to Aizawa, desperate. "Please, sensei. He'll already be upset and confused and guilty, and I can't hurt him like that. I can't."
The breath Aizawa released looked like it hurt, but he slowly nodded. "It might be for the best."
"You can't be serious!" Naomasa exclaimed, head swinging around to face him. "We just agreed that telling anyone about this would be a horrible idea – you said we had to contain any leaks, and now you want to tell everything to a student?"
Aizawa grunted, "Bakugo is one of the most volatile kids I've ever seen, Tsukauchi. If he was there and witnessed Midoriya's death, do you really want to see what he'll do if he finds this out on his own?"
"'If' he was there, 'if'. We haven't confirmed that yet." Naomasa said.
"Well, call your department, see if they can tell us. You can find out, and if it's true, we'll find a way to break this to Bakugo a safe way."
For a minute, it looked like Naomasa would refuse on principle, but he tugged his phone from his pocket and stood, walking off to the side and putting it to his ear with the air of a ruffled cat.
Izuku slumped in relief, "Thank you," he murmured sincerely. "I know it's not ideal, I know it's a lot to ask, but if I can avoid making this whole thing worse for him, I have to. Though, if he saw me at the USJ, he's probably already suspicious." He huffed in amusement, "That's Kacchan for you."
"You're close then, where you're from?"
Izuku nodded, then shrugged. "We were best friends, but we grew apart when I didn't – after some stuff. By the time we both got into U.A. we might as well have been strangers. It took a long time for us to get back to what we were, and even than it wasn't really the same. We pushed each other, he saw me as someone he had to overcome, and I saw him as something to aspire to be like. I wouldn't be half the hero I am today without him."
He swallowed then, a sudden wave of sorrow coming over him. God, it hurt to talk about this, knowing there was a chance he might never see his friend again, not as he knew him.
"He's kind of a dick." Aizawa said blandly, and Izuku barked out a laugh, startled.
"He'll mellow out eventually. And I don't think you should speak about your students in that way, sensei."
Aizawa shrugged, "You really don't have any experience teaching if you think that we don't say things like that all the time. The teacher's lounge gets wild sometimes."
Izuku smiled, ducking his head as a bubble of warmth grew in his chest at the easy back-and-forth. They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, until Naomasa ended his call and joined them with a morose expression.
"Well?" Aizawa asked, even though he must have already known the answer.
"We'll have to do this gently," Naomasa said, "preferably before the school day starts. If he gets overwhelmed we might have to contain him, but if he handles it relatively well we can send him home so he can process."
Aizawa nodded.
"Kacchan always comes in early," Izuku said, "so if you want this done, we might as well do it now."
Neither of them looked enthusiastic about the idea, and Izuku couldn't blame them.
He didn't really want to do this either, but he'd rather break it to Bakugo on his own terms then wait until his friend discovered it himself and confronted him.
He just had to be smart about this.
Let me know your thoughts. My tumblr is 'Child_OTKW'. Thanks guys!