Chapter Summary: Let them explain. Make first contact. Get that smoke out of your eyes.

Villain!Izuku, Canon-Divergent.

(Warnings for: past kidnapping, past torture, past experimentation and brainwashing.)

This was co-written by kattenprinsen and is cross-posted onto archive of our own.

Chapter three: the thoughts that linger

The large lecture room was filled with whispering. Shouto stood off to the side, arms folded across his chest. It had been three days since the incident at EUSJ and he had made a full recovery of his stab wound with proper rest and Recovery Girl's help. A single glance told him that all the students of 3-A and 3-B were there. In fact, not only were all the students of both classes in attendance, but most of their teachers were lined up against the far wall. All of his class's regular teachers as well as 3-B's were there.

Well. Almost all of them. Aizawa, Blood King and All Might weren't there, but the rest were. They didn't say a word to each other, but didn't try to stop any of the whispering of the students, either.

Uraraka bounced up to his side, hands clutched as fists and eyes bright. "Todoroki-kun! Do you know what's happening?"

He shook his head. "Do you?" His gaze flicked past her. Iida, Asui and several others of his class, most of Uraraka's friends in fact, were drifting towards them. As Yaoyorozu came closer, he asked her as well, "What about you, Class President?"

"Only that there is an announcement and we should wait here patiently for the arrival of our homeroom teachers and All Might," Yaoyorozu said with a shake of her head, "So only the same as the rest of you."

"What could it be about?" Uraraka wondered, "I mean, do you think it's about… him?" She glanced over her shoulder nervously, but Bakugou wasn't anywhere close to them. He was near a window, leaning a shoulder against it, with a good several feet of distance between himself and the rest of the students.

"It's been three days since the EUSJ incident," Iida said, sharing that same glance towards Bakugou. Even saying that acronym could be a problem, if Bakugou were to hear.

He's such a petulant child, Shouto thought before actively dismissing his not-quite-rival-but-definite-annoyance from his mind. "You said that the principal was going to give him a test, right? Maybe they needed that time to evaluate him- not just from the entrance test but from the whole kidnapping thing."

"Five years is a long time to recover from…" Yaoyorozu said quietly.

"Hey!" came a shout from elsewhere in the crowd, "Everyone quiet down and pay attention!"

Shouto turned to look and saw that the door at the end of the room had opened. In came their homeroom teachers as well as All Might and the principal. They crossed the front of the room as students turned and shuffled around to get a better view. There was a small stage and the four adults took it. The principal cleared his throat and said, "Many of you must have heard by now of the young man rescued during the attack at the Extremely Unforeseen Simulation Joint. Some of you were not only present but instrumental in his rescue. The name of that young man is Midoriya Izuku. Now that he is free of his villainous captors, he has expressed a deep desire to become a hero. Yesterday, he underwent a remedial entrance exam and was evaluated by the same heroes and teachers that evaluated all of you three years ago.

"Midoriya Izuku passed."

The crowd erupted in murmuring again. Shouto tensed. He glanced over his shoulder to see Bakugou with his eyes fixed to the front of the room and his body utterly stiff in anger. He didn't even look like he was blinking or breathing. Shouto grimaced. That asshole was going to be completely out of control for the rest of the damn day.

All Might stepped forward, "You might have heard rumor about what happened to young Midoriya. Some of it is true, some of it is just gossip! Remember, as heroes you must learn how to discern fact from fiction so that you can act with confidence in achieving your goals!"

The principal nodded his head, "It is to that end that we have chosen, with Midoriya's consent, to reveal to you some of his history. Please keep in mind that this information is shared with you not to assuage your curiosity, but to remind you that there are those around you that you must be patient and kind to. Your responsibility as heroes extends not only to those whom you protect but those who fight at your side." He stepped to the side and allowed Aizawa to step forward and recount the information.

"Shortly before turning twelve years old, Midoriya and a former classmate of his were captured by villains. Both he and his classmate were experimented on. This resulted in the death of his classmate, but Midoriya survived." Aizawa's tone was flat, almost disinterested, but Shouto knew he wasn't the only one listening intently. "The experimentation in Midoriya resulted in his acquisition of multiple quirks. For the five years he was held captive, many quirks were given and taken from him and he was tested endlessly on their strengths, weaknesses and uses. It is unknown just how many quirks he has now, although he will be spending time with faculty discovering just what he has access to."

One of the students raised her hand but immediately asked as soon as she did, "Are you really letting him into Yuuei? Isn't seventeen a little old for the first year classes?"

Aizawa gave her a blank stare, "...He tested high enough to pass the written exams that are at your level. Midoriya will be attending a third year class. He will be in 3-B, along with Blood King."

The room erupted in shouting, some of it dismay, some of it simple surprise. Uraraka was one of the dismayed. "I was hoping he'd be able to join our class!" she whispered, frowning.

"Certainly our teachers are aware of Bakugou's reaction to… him." Iida said, cautious as ever, "Putting him in 3-B will assure some distance between the two of them."

"Sounds like a good plan," Shouto admitted, "I certainly don't want to be stuck in the same classroom as the pair of them. Can you imagine? It'd be like Bakugou was fifteen all over again. No thanks."

"But Izuku-kun is so cute!" Uraraka said, "I wanted him in our class! 3-B can have Bakugou instead!"

"...don't you like girls?" Shouto asked her.

"Shut up," She snapped, "Izuku-kun is differently cute. I'm not interested in him like that."

"We are all aware that this is a very unusual circumstance!" All Might's voice rose above the shouting and the students quieted down. "But Midoriya is quite the unusual young man. His drive to be a hero is no less strong than any of you! You must do your best to welcome him back into this world, as he has been left alone and mistreated for many years! Many of the experiences you all went through these last few years, not just as students but as teenagers are foreign to him. He will rely on all of you to help adjust him back into this world after so long in the darkness."

Shouto felt a strange clenching in his chest. Had Midoriya really consented to all this being revealed about his past? Was he really accepting the figure that was being portrayed? Shouto could close his eyes and still see that boy, made of green, covered in green, floating in the air under Uraraka's touch. He had been, in that moment, bathed in sunlight, without a drop of this darkness on him.

The boy that All Might spoke of sounded like a cowering child, unable to speak, to move, to act on his own. Like a child thrust too soon into the cruel adult world-

Like a boy that was constructed for a purpose and not allowed, even once, to be just himself.

The whispering was back, but Shouto could tell they were accepting of Midoriya without having to really listen to the words. He felt cold, colder than normal, and flexed his right arm. There was stiffness in his sleeve and he crushed the use of his quirk without a second thought. To have such a reaction to just hearing about Midoriya's life…

Shouto wasn't sure if he wanted to meet the other boy at once or avoid him at all costs.

Suddenly, at his side, Uraraka was floating above the crowd, "All Might!" She called, "Sensei! When is Izuku-kun going to join us at school? Is he going to be here today? Tomorrow? When!?" There was concern in her voice, clear as a bell.

"He will join the regular classes this afternoon," was the reply. "You all have the morning to come to terms with this information. Remember, though he may smile and seem just normal, there is a lot of pain inside that boy. All of you can help bring out the light in him if you do your very best work, young heroes!"

A cheer went up but Shouto's voice didn't join it.

Do I want to see him? A boy who is… A boy who was an experiment like me?

What kind of purpose was he made for?

Standing outside the classroom door, Izuku took in a deep breath and then let it out slowly. He straightened his shoulders, gave himself a little nod and then lifted up his hand for the handle. This is it, he thought, this is the beginning.

Well actually, he amended as he pulled open the door. It started a long time ago, didn't it? This is just where I finally get to start gathering all my pieces… He ducked his head slightly as he edged into the room, letting his straightened shoulder sag slightly to display are more shy posture.

Blood King, the homeroom teacher for 3-B, greeted him with a broad grin. "Class," he said, "Here is our newest student. Please come introduce yourself."

The staring was something he was going to have to get used to, it seemed. Izuku hesitated on his first step but then, slowly, made it to the front of the room. He let his gaze sweep over the class before glancing down. He didn't let it linger on a single person for more than a second, not wanting to give anything away yet. Instead, he bowed quickly.

"My name is Midoriya Izuku," He said quickly. "I apologize in advance for being kind of, um, awkward but I've… I've not gone to school since I was twelve. I'm really looking forward to making friends and, uh, doing fun things like regular people do!" He looked over the room again, this time making sure everyone was paying attention to him. Assured that they were, he gave his broadest, most dazzling smile. Along with the expression he projected as much cheerful determination as he could. "Please, take good care of me!"

In the silence that followed, Izuku counted twelve blushing expressions, but only one of them mattered. He glanced to Blood King, lowering his bright smile to a softer one. "Which seat is mine?"

"Ah… any that are empty…" The teacher said. He gestured to the room. Izuku nodded and shuffled down the aisle towards the middle and back. He took an empty seat between two other boys, settling in a little awkwardly. Maybe he hadn't thought through his whole 'way fucking tall' plan… The seat was smaller than he'd like and the desk too…

"Hey," said the boy on his left. "You sure about that seat, Midoriya?"

Izuku blinked and looked up. "Who are you?"

The girl sitting in front of the boy turned around and frowned at him. "Sen, introduce yourself first!"

"Kaibara Sen," the dark haired boy said, "And really, you could sit on the other side of me if you want to stay in the back, dude."

"I like this spot," Izuku said. The spot was fine. The chair was annoying. He could probably fix that later though. "What's wrong with it?"

Kaibara looked past him. Izuku turned to look at the other boy, on his right. Immeasurably tired eyes blinked back at him, set in a face that bore only the tiniest hint of pink from that initial smile charm used on the whole class. He had his chin in his palm, his head turned towards Izuku and Kaibara.

"Oh," Izuku said. "Hello. It's Shinsou Hitoshi, right?"

Kaibara made a startled noise. Both of Shinsou's brows lifted. He nodded his head once.

Izuku smiled. "I'm Midoriya Izuku. It's so nice to meet you. Let's be friends from now on!"

Several more students turned around in their seat abruptly. In front of him, the student with a speech bubble for a head had at least a dozen exclamation points pop up. The girl from before audibly gasped. Izuku looked around and asked, "What? Isn't that how people make friends?"

"You don't just ask like that," Kaibara said, leaning over, lowering his voice. "I mean, like, little kids do that!"

That got his desk shoved at by the girl in front of him. She had grown a size or two as well, Izuku noticed. He looked at her and asked, "What's your name?"

She blinked in surprise and then said, "Kodai Yui." The student in front of Izuku turned and introduced himself as well, his name appearing on his face as Fukudashi Manga. No one sat in front of Shinsou, though, and there was no one else behind them.

"Nice to meet you two also!" Izuku said cheerfully. "Let's be- Oh. Um. Instead of asking to be friends? What do I do?" He looked at the four students around him for suggestions.

Let's be friends works for me! Fukudashi's face, or what worked as a face as far as Izuku could guess, displayed a thumbs up shortly after that message. Izuku mimicked the gesture back to him.

Kodai rolled her eyes and did it too, "I'm fine with that."

Kaibara gave him a double thumbs up. "Nice to meet you too, Midoriya." He gave a nervous glance again to Shinsou. "But uh, if you know who that is… Are you really sure…"

"This seat is fine." Izuku insisted. "Well, I mean it's a little small…" He glanced to Shinsou, "You're tall too, right? Doesn't it feel like these desks are a little small? Huh?"

Shinsou blinked at him in silence. His brows still hadn't come down. Izuku leaned over and whispered, "Is your desk not too small? Should I talk to someone about it? Or do we just sit with it like this? Is it some sort of test?"

"Dude, really, he's not going to talk to you." Kaibara said, "Shinsou doesn't talk in class unless a teacher directly calls on him."

Izuku frowned thoughtfully at this, "So you only talk when you're responding to people, but no one needs to respond to you?"

Shinsou shrugged a shoulder, but his brows came down. For using strictly non verbal communication, his face is considerably blank, Izuku noted. He's making it hard to read his expression on purpose, not to mention the fact that he could possibly use sign language in placement of verbal dialogue- unless-

Izuku was pulling out one of his notebooks without thinking about it, flipping to a page half filled with notes as he asked Shinsou, "Does your quirk only work through your voice or are you able to instigate control over others with gestures as well? Specifically, I'm asking if you've ever attempted sign language as a way of using your quirk."

"Uhh…" That was Kodai, Izuku noted absently, basing that on the position and sound of her voice.

Shinsou sat up straight at his question. Izuku couldn't tell if that was because of what kind of question he had asked or because he had asked it at all. He wrote down both possibilities in his notebook, along with a few quick observations.

"Dude," Kaibara said in undertone, as if trying to prevent Shinsou from hearing. Izuku wanted to turn around and tell him not to bother, but, well, it would probably come out a little too sharply edged. "Are you trying to get him to brainwash you?"

At this, Izuku did turn around. He knows his smile is knife sharp just from the way Kodai and Kaibara both sit back in their seats, eyes going wide. "After what I went through to get here, to this seat right now, do you think that I want to be brainwashed?" He let that settle for a moment before letting his smile soften into something kinder. "Besides, it's not like Shinsou would use his quirk on me. I've known him for barely five minutes and he's done literally everything he can to ensure that he doesn't even accidentally use his quirk on me or anyone else around."

Fukudashi's got a shadow and a sweatdrop on his face, but both quickly fade when Izuku glances to him. He turns back around, though Izuku can tell from his hunched shoulders that he's been affected by those words. Looking to Shinsou, he said, "Sorry for asking you those questions. Old habits die hard, you know? I used to study heroes when I was little. I wrote all about them in notebooks. Their strengths, weaknesses, costumes and changes made to their outfits. Even favorite foods or colors when I found them out. Being home again… It brings it all back."

Shinsou didn't say anything, but this time he turned his head away. Izuku sighed, wrote a note to himself in his book and turned the page.

Getting Shinsou on his side wasn't going to be very easy at all.

But if it were, where would be the fun in that? The game is pointless if there isn't any challenge…

After the final bell rang, students poured out of Yuuei, chattering loudly in the hallways and out the door. Hitoshi moved slowly through the flood, his bag a solid weight on his shoulder, his hands tucked loosely into his pockets and a yawn begging to come out. He indulged in the gesture, covering his mouth with his hand and ignored the way it made a couple of girls from one of the other classes look at him funny.

As if there were anything funny about being feared by your own schoolmates, that is. He took his normal route out the school, the quickest one down the stairs and to the front gate. Already he was tallying up the homework he would have to do, the training he wanted to accomplish and how he was going to spend his few free hours that night before passing out at last.

If he was lucky, he'd get a few decent hours. If he wasn't, he'd get one or two good ones and the rest filled with those wonky dreams.

Hitoshi rubbed at his eyes, pausing so he wouldn't end up tripping over himself or anyone else. When he finished he was only more tired than before and the press of people even worse. He allowed himself to be swept up into it and carried outside.

The crowd didn't disperse like it usually did, however. There was something holding it back. Taller than some of the other students, Hitoshi had a pretty good view of the mild explosion that went off at the edge of the group.

Like most of the other students at Yuuei, Hitoshi had a pretty good understanding on different types of explosions and what level of danger they presented. Not only was that kind of information useful out in the field as a hero, but it had a special significance to one of the top students of the school: Bakugou Katsuki.

The smoke that rose from the small plume of fire signified that Bakugou was well and truly pissed. The crowd of students circled around the scene, parting like water around an immovable rock in the center of a river. Some continued on, but others were like Hitoshi. They clustered at the edge, watching curiously, as Bakugou tormented another student.

Who has he got now? The smoke was clearing at last to reveal-

Midoriya.

Who stood a good four inches taller than Bakugou, with one arm upraised to cover his face from the smoke and flame. Bakugou had a fistful of his uniform shirt, one of the lapels and the tie it looked like, and he was pulling hard on it. Hitoshi was close enough that he could see the flexing pulling Bakugou's uniform tight across his arm and shoulder, but…

Midoriya wasn't even budging. He lowered his arm slowly, a solemn expression on his face, and he said, "I'm sorry, Kacchan-"

"I said for you to stop fucking calling me that." Bakugou snarled. His free hand was smoldering, more smoke rising. "We're not little kids anymore, you dumb fuck."

"But, Kacchan-"

"WHAT DID I JUST FUCKING SAY!" That hand came up, fire blossoming and-

Nothing.

No fire. No smoke. Nothing.

Bakugou jerked his hand back, staring at it like it betrayed him. Midoriya had both of his hands up in a defensive gesture, but… there was nothing in them either. An audible gasp rose from the crowd.

"How did you-" Bakugou began, "What the fuck did you just fucking do you little shit!" He shoved his hand back against Midoriya's chest, but while he had to stagger back from the motion, Midoriya only shifted a foot back to brace himself.

"How about we make a little deal?" Midoriya asked, hands still up, giving a little smile. "You don't use your quirk on me and I don't call you that name anymore. Does that sound fair?"

"You don't have any fucking right to make any goddamn deals with me you quirkless-" Bakugou's words stopped in his throat. His eyes were wide. They weren't the only ones. Hitoshi stared right along with him at the smoke curling out of the corner of Midoriya's smiling mouth.

Midoriya gave a nervous laugh, reaching up to scratch at the hair on the back of his head. He coughed, letting out a small plume of smoke, and then it stopped entirely. "Sorry," He said, still smiling, "But I have a bad reaction to being called that. I'm not quirkless anymore. I haven't been quirkless for a long, long time."

He had stopped Bakugou's explosions -somehow- and with that smoke in his mouth, a tell-tale sign of fire breath if Hitoshi ever saw it, it as clear that Midoriya did have at least one quirk. Sensei said he was experimented on, Hitoshi thought, looking the green haired kid over slowly, thoughtfully. Who knows what kind of quirks lie dormant in his body?

What is he even doing here, allowed to walk around with the general public? Is anyone even sure he didn't become a villain himself? Five years with them, given any quirk he could feasibly want- That'd be enough to turn any quirkless wanna-be hero over to their cause. Hitoshi frowned. His own quirk was terrible for combat purposes- he had to rely on base strength and speed without any sort of enhancements. Without being able to actively use his quirk on a regular basis, he might as well have been quirkless himself.

If I was given something like fire breath… or whatever it was he used to stop Bakugou's palms from bursting…

Would I have switched sides too?

"Yeah? Well I feel the fucking same about that goddamn name," Bakugou said. "So don't you dare use it again."

"Don't use your quirk against me again."

Gritting his teeth, speaking as though the words actually brought him physical pain, Bakugou said, "Fine."

Midoriya beamed.

There was no other word for it. His smile spread across his face, bright and shining, dazzling almost. It was similar to the one from earlier that afternoon. Hitoshi felt his face heating up completely involuntarily, just like it had before. He looked away from Midoriya, knowing instinctively that he was the source of that reaction, and saw that there were flushed faces on students all around him.

Sitting in the back of class, barely listening earlier that day, he hadn't noticed it then- had been too alarmed at his own blushing to notice- but now.

Had Midoriya's smile done that to them at that time too?

Even Bakugou was red faced, though the vein bulging in his forehead made it seem more like anger than, well, whatever the hell it really was. Another quirk? How many does he really have? How did he get all of them?

"Thank you, Bakugou," Midoriya said. "I'm glad we could come to an understanding!"

"Yeah, yeah, fuck off, Class B loser," Bakugou snarled, but it had very little force behind it. "Before I fucking change my mind." Even though he told Midoriya to leave, he was the one who stomped away first, smoke curling from his fist again.

Midoriya straightened his tie, smoothed his hand over his jacket and said goodbye to the explosive bully. As he stepped away, his gaze flicked over the crowd and caught Hitoshi's own. At least, so he thought, until Midoriya lifted his hand in a wave goodbye to him.

Hitoshi hadn't even spoken to him yet- had no plans on speaking to him ever, really- so he glanced over his shoulder to see who it possibly could be that Midoriya was waving too. After all, Class A had been the one to rescue him from the villains. He certainly could have a closer bond to them than anyone in Class B.

But there was no one behind him waving back.

Looking back to Midoriya, he raised a brow and pointed to his own chest. Midoriya smiled, nodded, and waved again.

Hitoshi lifted his other brow and did nothing else. Midoriya was...weird.

He was trying. Trying very, very hard. To be Hitoshi's friend.

When his second wave didn't get a response, Midoriya shrugged and walked away.

Hitoshi did have some experience with people who wanted to be his friend as much as Midoriya did. None of them had been kidnapped by villains, but the intent was all the same.

Midoriya wanted access to his quirk.

The only question is, who does he want me to use it against, and why?

TBC