"So you're telling me that these two kids, who are members of the League of Villains, stole this girl and these quirk-destroying bullets from the Yakuza?" Vlad King said, eyeing Deku and Toga carefully.

Toga was smiling at him, stars in her eyes. She had been doing that ever since he'd stepped in the room, her hand fisted tightly in Deku's sleeve. Recovery Girl had come in with Vlad King, shuffling along and grumbling about the hour. She'd planted a kiss on Deku's cheek without question, closing his injuries. A white, shimmery scar was left behind, splitting his brow. The bags beneath his eyes had darkened, his eyelids drooping as he got tired from the energy drain. Recovery Girl had forced a handful of energy gummies at him before trying to get Eri to come with her to the clinic for a full check-up. The little girl had teared up, not wanting to leave her "heroes" but with some prodding and promises from Deku that he would see her soon, she'd eventually agreed to go with Recovery Girl, still wrapped tightly in the black jacket.

Overall, it had been a very confusing 15 minutes for Shinsou.

Deku, who had been staring down at his hands, looking nearly catatonic ever since Eri left, looked up at Vlad King and frowned.

"Technically, I wasn't a part of the League of Villains. I'm a freelancer."

"Yet you lived with the League and worked for them?" Vlad scoffed.

"I hacked for them and did research and analysis in exchange for room and board. They kept me safe; that was our deal. I also would work for a broker when he found people who needed my skills. I got paid for that stuff."

Aizawa raised an eyebrow. "Want to tell us that broker's name?"

"Not really, no. My knowledge is probably the only thing keeping me out of handcuffs right now so I'm not about to hand everything over right away."

"Smart," Mic said, nodding. When he saw Aizawa shoot him a deadly glare, he gave him a shrug. "Can't fault me for complimenting the kid."

"King-kun, what kind of blood is your favorite?" Toga asked, nearly leaning out of her chair. Her grip on Deku's shirt was the only thing keeping her from tumbling to the ground. "I mean, obviously human is the best but it sooo hard to get a bunch of it at once. So when Shiggy let's me drink blood, I usually just get whatever animal blood that I can. Pig is my favorite but usually I can only get cow."

Vlad King's mouth dropped open in shock, as did Mic's. Nezu, Shinsou, and Aizawa were better at hiding it, but the widening of their eyes was indication enough that they were startled. Shinsou, not knowing Vlad very well, was shocked that Toga thought a pro-hero drank blood, while the teachers were all shocked that she knew Vlad King did.

"What… How…" Vlad stuttered.

Deku grabbed Toga's arm and pulled her back closer to him, sending an apologetic smile towards the startled hero.

"Sorry about that. I told her about how you liked blood too and she's been really excited about it ever since. Don't be surprised if she asks more questions."

"And how did you know, Deku?" Nezu carefully asked, sipping at his tea.

"Well, it's sort of obvious, isn't it?" Deku said, cocking his head, making Shinsou think of a sweet, curious little puppy. "I mean, he has a blood quirk. A strong one at that. Most people with blood quirks have some sort of affinity for blood. With his fangs, it's obvious that he would have an interest in the taste of blood. Most people with a blood quirk who like drinking blood have a mutation to their mouth. It's like, the main signifier for it. Like Stain! He had the tongue. Toga has to drink blood for her's, as you guy's know, but she also needs it for her health. I think she might also be anemic, but I can't be sure."

"Wait, how do you know about Stain's quirk?"

Deku turned his eyes on Aizawa. "Oh, I hacked the camera feeds and watched the fight. Your students are really fucking stupid, did you know that?"

"Nuh-uh," Toga giggled. "You thought Todoroki made the right choice when we watched the fight with Spinny."

"Yeah, given his options he made the right choice, but he also shouldn't have been running into a fight like that with no plan or information. The dumbest one was the kid that went after Stain alone. He's the real dumbass."

"Right! The Ingenium knock off!"

"Iida?" Shinsou blurted out, not thinking. "He's one of the smartest guys in our class!"

Deku fixed his green eyes on Shinsou and gave him a lopsided grin. "Iida? So he is related to Ingenium! Oh, it all makes sense now."

Shinsou went to speak again but stopped when Aizawa's hand came down on his shoulder. Looking up at his mentor, he saw that Aizawa was giving him a look Shinsou had seen a million times before: Aizawa wanted him to keep his mouth shut.

Deku's grin only grew. "Are you two related? You've both got mental based quirks, similar builds, and similar facial features. The hair is pretty different though. And the activation for your quirks is pretty different too, so maybe not. Distant cousins? You do have a voice quirk though, so maybe you're actually related to Present Mic. Sorta doubt that though: you guys look nothing alike."

Toga elbowed him. "You're rambling again, Deku-kun."

"Oh, sorry," Deku said, a blush creeping up his face to his ears, making him look impossibly cuter. "I can't help myself sometimes."

"An analysis quirk. Should have guessed," Vlad King said. He folded his arms and leaned back in his seat.

"Incorrect," Nezu said. He poured two more cups of tea and pushed them towards the young criminals. After a moment's hesitation, he poured another and passed it to Shinsou, seemingly deciding that all the children needed caffeine and comfort.

Deku's eyes went wide as he stared at Nezu, not touching the tea.

"So… You know?"

Nezu nodded. "I knew as soon as I saw you."

For the first time since Shinsou had seen her, Toga lost her smile. She grabbed hold of Deku with both hands and barred her teeth at Nezu, clearly threatening him.

"Deku-kun is amazing and if you try to hurt him, I will -"

"Oh, I have no intention of hurting him! You have nothing to worry about, my dear. I have no intention of hurting either of you. In fact, I planned to offer you both a place here at my school."

That caught everyone's attention.

"You can't be serious," Aizawa snapped. "She tried to kill my students!"

"And mine!" Vlad snarled.

"I wasn't going to kill anybody! I just needed some blood!"

Nezu raised a paw, signaling for silence. "These two risked everything: their lives, their standing in the League, their home. All to do the right thing and save a little girl's life. Before you all arrived, they explained that Overhaul was planning to move their headquarters. They would likely have been gone before we arrived for the raid. Now that we know what time they are planning to leave, we can attack while they are unstable. There will also be less risk, now that there will be no civilians within the base.

"For a few years now, I have been pushing to have a villain rehabilitation program implemented here at UA. The Commission pushed back and would not approve, stating that it was too dangerous, that most villains had no interest to be rehabilitated, and that there were no stable villains young enough for the program to work. But now, Deku and Toga have proven them wrong. With the right diet, and possibly medication, I believe Toga would be able to be an excellent candidate. Deku, with his brilliant mind, could easily see himself at the top of the class within months. There has been an open spot in 1-A for some time, ever since Young Mineta left after the USJ event, and there is an opening in 1-B now that Tsunotori has completed her study abroad. Toga and Deku will fill these vacancies."

"Wait," Toga said, looking mildly panicked. "We'd be hero students?"

"Am I even allowed?" Deku asked. "I mean, I thought it was against the rules."

"There is no rule against it. Who told you there was?"

Mic scoffed. "I'm pretty sure there are rules against kids with criminal records being in the hero courses."

"I don't have a record. Neither does Toga." Deku gave Mic a smile that was somewhere between self conscious and smug. "We've never been arrested."

"Fine. Kids with warrants out for their arrests."

"None of you know my real name."

"And I don't suppose you'll be telling us that, will you?"

"You know me so well already, Eraserhead."

Nezu cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention. "We, as heroes, have a duty to help those in need. Right now, that is Deku and Toga. If they were to return to the League, they could very easily be punished for what they have done. They need UA's protection and that is what we will do. If you are all uncomfortable with the idea of them being in the hero course, I will find another way to keep them safe. But I believe it would be an opportunity to show more diversity within our hero course, which I know is something you have been campaigning for, Eraserhead. It will also help the current students to learn that they need to learn an individual's full story before passing judgment. I believe it will also help Toga and Deku learn to trust heroes again if they were to spend time with heroes-in-training. Additionally, it would be the safest place for them. If there was to be an attack, they would be better protected."

"And you also think that if we were to attack, the hero course kids would be better at protecting themselves," Deku chimed in. He didn't sound or look offended by this: he was just stating a fact.

Nezu nodded, not at all ashamed. "Precisely. I will be putting this to a vote, which is why I have gathered you all here. I wanted the input of both homeroom teachers, a student in the hero course, and a third teacher with less of a stake. This way, we would have a more diverse voting pool."

"What if we don't want to be heroes?" Toga asked.

"Then you will be arrested and treated as any other criminal."

"Got it, okay, do your voting thing."

"Now, there would be rules and safety measures put in place," Nezu said, addressing the teachers again. "They wouldn't be given free reign. Obviously, I will be voting to include them in the hero course, since it is my idea. Vlad, what is your vote?"

Sighing, Vlad looked over at the two criminals. Deku had his eyes downcast avoiding eye contact. There was a nervous energy to him that seemed disproportionate for a simple vote. Toga was flashing Vlad a wide smile, but was still tense and clinging to Deku.

"Fine. Let them join. If they step a toe out of line, we arrest them."

"Mic?"

"I mean, they're kids. There's gotta be a story there of why they thought they had to be villains. I say give them a shot."

"Aizawa?"

Aizawa gave a groan and closed his eyes. "I'm going to go gray early. I just know it."

"I'm taking that as a yes. Shinsou?"

All eyes were turned on him as he took a shaky breath.

"I… I don't know how everyone else is going to feel. Doesn't feel right that I'm the one that has to speak for both classes. Maybe we should have Iida and Kendo vote. They're the class reps."

Nezu shook his head. "I chose you to do the vote because you are aware of the case and have been on it from the start. We want your honest opinion, Shinsou. If you say no, we will just privately teach them. It won't be a problem, do you understand?"

Shinsou nodded before looking over at the villains.

They weren't so different from him. Toga had a "villain's" quirk, like him. Deku must have one too, since he seemed so scared of anyone knowing what his quirk was. One bad thing, one change in Shinsou's life, could have been the difference between him being a villain, like these two, or being a hero.

Who was he to judge them?

"Yes. Give them a chance. They deserve that much."

Deku gave a shuddering sob and folded over on himself, leaning into Toga. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders in an attempt to comfort him. Everyone else, besides Nezu, looked startled at the reaction. Carefully, Mic stood up and picked up a box of tissues from Nezu's desk and slid them over to Deku.

Toga grabbed a tissue and wiped at Deku's face, smearing tears and blood across his cheeks.

"See, you can still be a hero, Deku. He was wrong. They were all wrong! It's okay, you don't have to cry."

"But… I… I can't… I…" Deku hiccupped, unable to get a word out.

"You can," Nezu said, a smile on his face. "We'll help you."