A/N: It's probably obvious by now, but I really, really love writing AFO as a bastard (affectionate). Enjoy the chapter!

"Oi, who the hell are you texting all the time?" Bakugou called irritably over to where Kirishima was sitting, startling the redhead into looking up. "You can't wait until school's over or something?"

"Sorry, guys," he sheepishly replied, pocketing the phone and taking another bite of his meal. "It's just a friend I haven't seen in a while. He recently got back in touch with me and I've been trying to catch up."

"Do I know him?" Mina asked as she leaned forward, eyes sparkling.

"Probably not. He moved away years and years ago."

"Well, spill!" Hagakure pressed from next to Mina, chopsticks waving in the air. "How is he?"

"He's alright, I guess." Kirishima shrugged, setting his bowl of rice down. "He was just telling me about school. Apparently it's a rival hero academy that's pretty well-known over there."

"Private school, huh?" Bakugou mused, taking a bite of rice. "What's it called?"

"Besupin Heroes' Alliance Academy, I think." Kirishima pulled out the phone and squinted at his texts. "... yyyyyeah, that's what it's called."

"Sounds like a knockoff of Yuuei," the blond grunted through a mouthful of food.

"Bakugou! Don't be so rude!" Uraraka scolded as a few from their group slid in. "Sounds like a good school, Kirishima."

"A private hero academy," Iida mused as he sat his tray down. "I wonder why I don't remember that name…"

"Apparently it's not in the recommended list because they don't get proper government assistance," the redhead explained. "Since it's more a private than a public school, they rely more on dormitories and annual tuition."

"Sounds lame."

"Sounds like a place to research," Todoroki spoke up, shooting the blond a look. "I'll have to ask my father about it and see what he knows. Perhaps Midoriya went there?"

"So soon?" Iida shook his head. "Sensei would have mentioned it to us if he had transferred. The principal wouldn't be treating the situation as if it's so dire if it were that easy."

"Still, it's worth a shot!" Mina said, pulling out her phone. "Hang on, lemme look it up real quick…"

The table fell quiet, waiting for her to finish typing. A minute passed - and then Mina shook her head with a disappointed frown.

"I don't know why I was expecting a roster, but there is none," she lamented, pocketing the device. "Plus, no newsletter or any social media posts mentioning him anywhere."

"To be fair, I wouldn't advertise that I had Deku either," Uraraka admitted with a sullen look. "No offense to him, but that's practically begging for the League to show up at your doorstep."

"That's a good point." Kirishima chuckled, shaking his head. "I'll have to ask him later if they've gotten any news of new students lately. Somehow I don't think it would be easy to keep that kind of info to yourself."

"We'll keep looking, then," Todoroki pressed, pausing to take another bite of food. "Perhaps Shiketsu would take him?"

"You really think they'd keep that to themselves if they had him?" Bakugou retorted. "Please. The principal would just be fighting to take him back, even if he had to exchange one of us for him."

"Good point," Uraraka mused reluctantly. "Well, let's keep trying regular public high schools. There's got to be one that he decided to try."

"I'll ask my father about Heroes' Alliance," Todoroki repeated softly. "I wish I'd thought of checking hero academies; it seems like such an obvious choice, doesn't it?"

"Well yeah, but… we're an obvious choice," Kaminari piped up from one end of the table. "And if Midoriya couldn't stay here… I don't think he'd try another one for a while. He looked really shaken when he got back."

"I wonder what they said to him…" Uraraka quietly trailed off. "He didn't run away… right? That's not like him at all."

"Besupin Heroes' Alliance, huh…" A sneer curled the villain's lip as the door opened and he ducked inside, revealing a modest office. "Principal Inoue."

The woman inside looked up from her desk, her lips pressed into a line. Her wary eyes studied the man before her, up and down before she finally sat up straight.

"So," she began coolly, "you must be Midoriya's father."

"Midoriya Hisashi, at your service." A charming grin spread across his face as he gave a theatrical bow. "I must say, you're running quite the quaint little operation here. Had it not been for my son, I would have never had a reason to visit."

"Indeed," she agreed bemusedly. "What do I owe you for the visit? I know you aren't just passing by the neighborhood."

"As astute as you are clever," he praised. "True, true, I wasn't just passing by. On the contrary, I felt I had to step in and congratulate you."

"You, congratulating me? Whatever for?"

"Making the right decision, of course." Here, a more malevolent piece of his expression made her stiffen, her gloved hand reaching underneath the desk. "Now now, no pressing panic buttons. Allow me an audience so that I might explain our shared interests."

"One does not simply just allow an audience with a villain," she pointed out flatly.

"Yet here I am, gracing you with my presence." He dramatically paused. "Might I have a seat?"

"I don't suppose I can stop you." Heaving an exhausted sigh, she gestured to the empty chair opposite the desk. "Go on."

Flashing her a charming look, he pulled out the smaller chair and hunched down into it. Humorously, he was just a bit too large for it; his legs bumped the desk and despite sitting down he was about the same height as the principal.

She regarded him with a cool look before threading her fingers together and resting her chin atop them. "You'll have to make your pitch fast, Mr. Midoriya; I have a meeting with my staff in approximately half an hour."

"You needn't worry about that. I have my ways of persuasion," he reassured.

"I'm sure you do."

"Now, regarding my son. I've heard the interview went quite well. So well, in fact, that you wish to have him enroll."

"Yes," she answered cautiously. "Your son's transcript more than makes up for the… interesting reports that came from Yuuei. I've chosen to disregard the incidents involving villains, considering his connections with All Might. He's bound to attract unwanted attention anywhere he goes."

"That he does," the man mused with a twitch of his lip.

"So disregarding the villain activity involving All Might, that leaves me a promising young man with the smarts - and wits - to thrive in my school." Inoue raised a brow at him. "Is that what you wanted to hear? Accolades for your son?"

"Oh, no, no, you misunderstand me. I already know my son is intelligent and clever; he's my son after all." Hisashi boasted. "The reason I'm meeting you today is because I believe we have similar interests when it comes to Yuuei High."

Leaning forward, he questioned, "Inoue Asuka, correct? Forty-three years old, former student of Yuuei High School, graduate of Tokyo University's business and education departments, quirk name Cubic Disorder?"

"That information isn't exactly private," she answered tersely, eyes narrowing. "But yes."

"They asked you to leave because of your Quirk, didn't they? Cubic Disorder… that could cause some real harm if you decided to become a professional hero."

"I've already dealt with this years ago, Midoriya," she responded.

"You dealt with it, but you've never gotten over it, have you?" Hisashi leaned in with a grin. "You merely having a destructive Quirk can't possibly be the only reason they asked you to leave the school. That would be discriminatory on the grounds of Quirk assignment, which is against the law. A law that was written and passed before your case. They would know this. No…" he whispered, "you did something to force their hand, didn't you?"

Inoue's hand froze minutely in its place for the scantest of seconds. "I don't know what you refer to, Midoriya."

"Information isn't hard to come by when you've lived as long as I have," he mused, reaching out to take her hand in his. The rigid appendage twitched as he inspected her gloves. "Hm… the same type that I wish to get for my older boy. Interesting…"

"You don't know as much as you think you do," Inoue retorted.

"Don't I?" Hisashi's eyes flashed. "Fujioka Ken, approximate age seventeen at time of incident, Quirk name Tongues of Fire, now age forty-f-"

"Stop." The principal's voice grew sharp and loud as her other fist slammed down on the desk, the noise bouncing off the walls of the office.

Silence fell upon the room. Inoue's shoulders were tensed, her head bowed. Her dark bangs fell into her face and hid away her expression.

"Information isn't hard to come by at all, if you know the right people," the villain murmured, squeezing her hand. "Least of all for you, Inoue- chan . I know for a fact Fujioka's wife and children would be surprised to hear that the one that forever crippled their beloved's budding career was guiding her own batch of kids on that same path that she stole from him. What a hero you are, truly. Beating down one bully and going on to raise more heroes in his place."

"What the hell do you want with my school, All For One?" She finally breathed, looking up at him with a severe glare.

"Finally recognized me, did you?" He gave a chuckle of amusement. "Ah, I should have known my face was so well-known. I'd have worn a mask."

"Only one man would go through so much just to intimidate someone." Her eyes narrowed further. "Now answer the question. What the hell do you want?"

"What I want is a truce." Red eyes glinted. "An agreement, if you will. You take my son in, and I'll tell my villains to stay far away from your little slice of paradise."

"My taking in Izuku was always going to happen regardless of what you had to say," she retorted. "I don't need you threatening it into me for it to get done. As for your end of the deal, how am I to believe that you'll keep your word? For all I know, you could be waiting for me to lower my guard so you'll pick off my star students one by one. I'm not stupid."

"Stupid you are not," he mildly agreed with a smile. "I'm not surprised my wife likes you so much. No, I like you, Inoue. I think my son will be in good hands. All I ask is that you treat him well - and I won't let harm befall your school."

"The catch?" She dared to counter, finally meeting his eyes.

Hisashi chuckled again, deep and hearty. "I want you to do a little something for me. Call it recon. I want you to help me turn public opinion against Yuuei High School - and I believe it goes unsaid, but that includes their principal, Nedzu."

Her eyes shifted, and in the light he could see something in her face that flickered by almost unnoticed - but he did notice. The subtle flicker of relief and interest that caught his eye made him lean back with a satisfied expression.

"I know how hard it's been for you, all these years," he mourned with a theatrical sigh. "Pushed aside by the very school you idolized, made out to be a villain while the real tormentor goes free with a publicity train of support, forced to continue your education as a civilian with no hope of ever being the pro you spent your whole childhood dreaming to be… I feel for you, truly, I do. Don't you want a chance to finally turn all of that around?"

"I'm not easily swayed," she warned, swiping her hand back from his grip with a sneer of what seemed like thinly-veiled disgust. "I'm not like you. I worked through my hardships, not let them define me. I'm not like you."

"Of course you aren't. I wouldn't have had to make the trip myself had I believed it would be this easy." Hisashi winked at her. "I know the grudge you have against them. I mean, look at you: you struggled your way up from nothing into something, a would-be alumnus who happens to have an education from one of the best universities in the country. And then, they choose a glorified rat… " he leaned in for emphasis, "... over you."

"My personal feelings about Nedzu have nothing to do with my feelings about Yuuei as a whole," Inoue answered flippantly. "True, I do have my criticisms, but there's nothing to be done about one person's criticism versus a whole nation's praise."

"And that's where I come in." Hisashi raised his hands, and she eyed them warily. "We could be wonderful partners, you and I. I have the resources to make your dream a reality; with your publicity with the locals, plus my access to the plain figures, the people of Japan can finally realize what a hypocrite they've been all these years right under their noses."

"Just because they put out an abusive hero every now and then doesn't mean they're being…"

"You're only one case," Hisashi interrupted, making her purse her lips in annoyance. "Bullying and toxicity have been going on in those halls for decades. My own son experienced horrific bullying even before he was in Yuuei, and nobody stopped to consider stepping in to make it stop. I have it on good authority that loose discrimination against those with Quirks considered to be 'villainous' still plagues the student body. Quirkless applicants, while they can still apply to enroll, are quietly pushed off the lists in favor of better - Quirked - individuals. One of the only reasons my son got in was partially because of All Might's meddling with his… Quirk . And since you mentioned it, Endeavor is still getting away with being a right bastard to the people and nobody, not even All Might, the sickly-sweet bastion of good and justice he brands himself as, is taking any measures to stop him. Face it, Inoue-chan ," the smile dropped from his face and the stony disposition made a shiver go down her back. "Japan's wonder school has been rotten to the core for a long, long time."

She openly stared at him now, her careful countenance slowly crumbling to awe - and fear. "You are… awfully serious about the downfall of one hero school. This cannot just be because of your hatred of All Might… is it?"

"Oh, no, my dear, All Might was only the tip of the iceberg." Then he smiled, too many bright teeth flashing in a malevolent expression and her hand twitched as if to automatically go to the panic button. "No, no, no… the real reason I'm going after Yuuei… is because they messed with my son."

A/N: Not gonna lie, I had to look up my notes on MHAA just to remember what Inoue's age is. And now you get her Quirk name too! (I seriously struggled with what to call it... I was gonna go with Cubic Chaos, but that sounded too cheesy. I think Cubic Disorder sounds much better.)

Please tell me what you thought!