Two days. Two days and no sign of the heroes. No email back, no report on the news… nothing. Deku was starting to get worried. Did Eraserhead not take the email seriously? There should have been some sort of movement by now, right? Had Eraserhead even read the email?
Toga had offered to snag some blood and make a trip to UA to see what the pro hero was doing, but Deku had shot that idea down. It was too risky. If the heroes figured her out, she'd be arrested on the spot. And if Shigaraki found out, he'd kill her. Deku had considered hacking the UA camera system to see if he could spot the underground hero, but decided against it after he realized that Nezu was most likely the one to design it.
Deku knew he was reckless, but he didn't have a death wish. He knew better than to mess with Nezu.
Maybe it was time for more drastic measures.
With a sigh, Deku opened a new tab and began typing another email to Eraserhead. He attached another video, this time of a Yakuza thug dragging the girl out of her room, and he attached the blueprint of the basement and labs. Deku typed up a quick message and sent it, sitting back in his seat.
"If that doesn't get him moving, I don't know what will," he mumbled to himself.
Toga sat up from where she was sprawled on the bed, a groggy look on her face as she yawned.
"What're you doing, Deku-kun?"
"Trying to get Eraserhead to get off his ass."
"Ooh! Let me see!" Toga said excitedly, scrabbling out of the bed and looking over his shoulder to see the email he just sent. She snorted once before starting to read aloud. "' Eraserhead, are you too busy fucking your husband to save an imprisoned child or are you just lazy? Do you need more proof that she's in danger? How about this video? Here are the blueprints for the building and her cell. Get up and come get her. Let me know if I need to prop the door open for you or something. ' Damn, Deku, you really have no chill. And is Eraserhead really married?"
Deku nodded. "Yeah, it's not common knowledge but I figured it out. You'll never guess who."
"Do I get a hint?"
"He's loud."
Toga paused and thought for a moment. Suddenly, she gasped. "It's All Might!"
"No, dumbass, it's Present Mic. Literally the loudest hero out there."
"You make an excellent point, but please consider this: I am stupid."
Deku shook his head, laughing. "You're not stupid, Toga. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
Before she could respond, Deku's computer chimed, alerting them to the fact that there was a new email. They looked back to the screen and both of them smiled when they saw who it was from.
"I thought that email might get his attention. Mention the husband, and he'll panic," Deku said, running multiple programs to ensure the email was safe to open. "Let's see what he has to say."
--
Aizawa's phone went off in class, which was a first. His ever present poker face remained intact as he pulled his phone from his pocket. When he lit the screen, his eyes went wide. After a moment of fiddling with his phone and reading something, his head snapped up, his gaze set on the confused students.
"Stay here and study until I get back. Shinsou, with me. Now."
Shinsou was out of his seat before Aizawa even finished the sentence, quickly following after his sensei. He had to lengthen his strides to keep up with Aizawa as they hurried towards the teacher's lounge.
"Aizawa-sensei, what's going on?"
"Deku emailed me again. He knows something about me that he shouldn't."
Shinsou's mouth went dry and he felt a heavy pit in his stomach. He knew how secretive Aizawa was. For this villain to be able to have any sort of information on him was terrifying, but also somehow slightly impressive. When they reached the teacher's lounge, Aizawa threw the door open, startling the scant few teachers inside.
"Mic, we need to talk. Now," Aizawa said, an edge to his voice that clearly put all the teachers on edge.
Present Mic didn't even question it. He was on his feet and out the door within seconds. When he opened his mouth to ask what was going on, Aizawa put a hand up, signaling for him to be quiet.
"We need Nezu for this too. I'll explain as soon as we are in his office."
When they got to the Principal's office, the door was already open and there were cups of tea set out for each of them.
"Midnight called and told me that you seemed rather distressed, Aizawa," Nezu said, his voice even and calm. "I checked the footage and saw you were on your way to see me. Please, sit. Tell me what the matter is."
Shinsou let his teachers slip in ahead of him, quietly closing the door to the office behind him. As he sat down, Nezu nudged one of the cups closer to him, his smile kind even if his black eyes expressed little emotion. Shinsou gladly took it, the warmth of the tea feeling nice against his suddenly cold hands.
"Deku emailed me again," Aizawa said, pulling his phone out and handing it to Nezu. "He knows about Hizashi."
Shinsou frowned, confused on who Hizashi was. He went to ask what was going on, but was interrupted by Present Mic spluttering.
"Again? What do you mean by that? Deku has emailed you before and you didn't think to tell me?"
"I didn't want to worry you. Besides, the contents of the email are confidential. It relates to a case I'm working with Shinsou." Aizawa paused, running a hand through his hair, a nearly anxious gesture. "The only reason I brought you in now is because Deku mentioned you in the email."
Well, that answered Shinsou's question. Mic-sensei was Hizashi. This revelation only raised more questions though. Why was Deku talking about Present Mic? What did it matter to Aizawa and to the case? And why did Aizawa-sensei call Present Mic by his first name?
Nezu said nothing but handed the phone to Mic, who snatched it away to quickly read. As his green eyes scanned the screen, his face went pale.
"Shit," he hissed under his breath.
Aizawa shot him a glare.
"Don't curse in front of a student."
"It's okay, I've heard and said worse. But if someone can explain what is going on, I would really appreciate it," Shinsou said, his eyes flicking between the two teachers.
Mic handed him the phone. As soon as Shinsou saw the word "husband" he nearly dropped both his tea and the phone.
Aizawa snatched it away, pocketing his phone again. He kept his eyes fixed on the ground, looking almost nervous.
"Now you know. You're not allowed to tell anyone. And I mean anyone. Do I make myself clear?"
Shinsou wordlessly nodded before taking a shaky sip of his tea. Mic was looking him over, a careful and calculating look in his eyes that Shinsou had never seen before.
"Do you have any questions, little listener?"
It took a moment, but Shinsou eventually managed to clear his throat and speak.
"You guys are… gay then?"
"I am," Aizawa said, still not looking at Shinsou.
Mic raised his hand. "I'm bi. And before you ask, Sho and I have been together since high school. Got married when we were 23. No kids, but we do have two cats. We've kept the relationship a secret from everyone except a few close friends and trusted coworkers."
Shinsou nodded again. Nezu watched the boy carefully, noticing how he was bouncing his knee and biting his lip, his eyes still looking between the two teachers.
"Shinsou, if you have a question, now is the time to ask it," Nezu prompted. "This isn't a topic I see being brought up again in the future."
Heaving a shaky sigh, Shinsou let his eyes drop to look at the floor, one of his hands coming up to rub at the back of his neck. In that moment, he looked very much like his mentor, which brought a small smile to Nezu's face.
"Why did you keep it a secret?" Shinsou asked, his tone oddly even and emotionless.
"The villains Sho goes up against are the type that would happily try to kidnap and use me against him, so we thought it best to keep our relationship quiet, especially when we first started out. We've considered coming out now that we focus more on our teaching jobs, but we still haven't made any decision on it.
"So… you're allowed to be gay and be hero?"
Aizawa almost seemed to shrink into his seat at the question.
Mic narrowed his eyes slightly, becoming protective of his husband. "Of course it's allowed. Being gay has no impact on our ability to be good heroes. A number of your peers are gay too, you know this. Shinsou, if this is going to be a problem, then maybe you shouldn't be working with Sho for your-"
He cut himself off when he saw the tears welling in Shinsou's eyes. The boy looked both confused and in awe as he continued to stare at the ground.
"I can be gay and be a hero?" he asked, his voice cracking. Aizawa's head whipped up, shock evident on his face. Mic stared on, his mouth hanging open as the boy teared up. "I thought that I'd have to hide it. I already have a villainous quirk, and I thought if anyone found out I was gay, I wouldn't be allowed to be a hero. Thought that the Commission would pull my license or something, since they are always talking about how heroes have to be perfect role models and stuff like that. I know there are gay heroes, but they are the ones in the spotlot with good quirks, like the others in 1-A. But… Aizawa always says that he gets crap for his quirk, like I do, so if he can be gay and married then maybe I… I…"
Without a word, Aizawa reached across Mic and wrapped Shinsou in his arms, letting the boy bury his face into his shoulder. Aizawa petted Shinsou's wild purple hair, smoothing it only for it to pop back into place.
"It's okay, kid. I get it," Aizawa breathed. "I get it."
"I'm so happy," Shinsou hiccupped. Then, with a gasp, he wrenched himself backwards. "Oh fuck, a villain knows you two are married. Shit, this is bad."
"It's definitely not great," Mic said with a nod. "Who is this girl that Deku is talking about though? And what is this case?"
It took them about five minutes to fill Mic in. He listened quietly, nodding along. Once they finished telling him everything, he didn't speak for a moment, soaking it in.
"And we haven't gone to save the girl because… why?" he asked.
"We don't have enough information," Aizawa said. "Shinsou and I have been patrolling the area, but we don't have enough evidence to legally break in and find the girl."
"If there even is a girl. This could be a trap," Nezu pointed out.
Mic poked at Aizawa's shoulder and put his hand out, making a "give me" gesture.
"Let's email Deku back then. Tell him that we need actual proof that this is legit. If he provides it, great. If not, we continue investigating," he said.
Aizawa shook his head. "I am not letting you email a random villain, especially not when he's making thinly veiled threats against you."
"It's not a thinly veiled threat."
"He's making it clear he knows about you and that he isn't happy with me. That means he'll go after you. This is exactly why we've kept our relationship a secret!"
"We shouldn't dismiss the idea too quickly," Nezu said leaning forward in his seat. "Let me craft the email. Please hand me the phone."
Groaning, Aizawa handed him the phone. Nezu took it, read the email one last time, and then began to type.
"Deku, you must understand that these things take time," Nezu read aloud as he typed. "Can you provide any more evidence regarding this girl? At this point, you have provided little to no evidence that this is a legitimate case. I need assurance that this is not a trap set by the League or by the Yakuza. Sincerely, Eraserhead."
Nezu sent the email and then handed the phone back to Aizawa.
"You could have tried a little harder to sound like Sho," Mic said, almost laughing.
Nezu frowned. "In all of his emails to me, that is how he sounds."
"Yeah, because you're my boss. I have to sound professional."
Shinsou picked his tea back up, not caring that it had already gone cold. "Let's hope Deku just thinks that Aizawa is being formal because he's talking to a villain."
A few minutes later, the phone chimed. Aizawa opened the email and rolled his eyes.
"It's Deku. ' Hi Nezu, I'm pretty sure I emailed Eraserhead, not you. I guess I should have assumed he would bring this to you. Maybe you can light a fire under his ass and get him moving. You should sympathize with the kid; the Yakuza are using her for research and experimentation. I can try to get footage of Overhaul and her, but it won't be easy. They don't keep cameras in the rooms that they do the work in. As for the matter of whether or not this is a trap: you're just going to have to take my word for it. No matter what I say, you will think this is a trap. All I care about is that the girl is saved and put in witness protection, or something similar. I sent this case to Eraserhead to handle it because he is an underground hero and slightly more trustworthy than the spotlight heroes. If you have to bring other heroes in on this, fine, I don't give a shit. Just do your fucking job and save the girl. "
"Deku sure does have a mouth on him," Shinsou mumbled. Mic snorted, nodding.
Nezu pressed his paws together and sat back in his chair.
"How curious," he said, a pensive look on his narrow face. "Deku knew right away that it was me that drafted the email, not Aizawa. This means he has a history of reading either my writing or Aizawa's. Or perhaps he made the correct assumption that Aizawa would not speak like this to a villain and, thinking of who Aizawa has the most contact with, concluded I was the one to send the email."
"Does it really matter?" Mic asked. "The bottom line is that this dude is scary smart and possibly spying on all of us… we need to start planning."
--
"How could you tell so fast it was Nezu, Deku-kun?"
"Eraserhead wouldn't care if it was a trap. He's knowingly run into traps like, a million times before just because it meant there was a chance of saving someone. There was no way Eraserhead wrote the email. Also, it is the middle of a school day. Only people Eraserhead would talk to about my email would be Present Mic and Nezu. And I don't think Present Mic has ever signed an email with 'sincerely' in his life. Especially not to a villain. So that left Nezu."
"Your brain scares me sometimes."