"Now, Midoriya, let me see your latest entry," Principal Nezu said, holding out a paw for Deku to place his notebook in.

Deku carefully pulled it from his bag and handed it to the principal, worrying at his bottom lip with his teeth. "I… uh… I did a write up on Spinner's quirk. I know I gave you an analysis on him in my past notebooks but I've been doing extra research on mutation quirks, like you asked me to, and I think I may have found some things that can be applied to him. I… That's okay, right?"

Nezu nodded, flipping to the most recent page. "Of course it is. I look forward to reading it. You always have such insightful thoughts. I am curious though, you haven't written any analysis on your classmates. Is there a reason for this?"

"Wait, you want me to write about my classmates?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because I'm a villain kid? I figured you wouldn't want me writing the details about your students' quirks."

With a pondering look, Nezu glanced up from the notebook. "While I would not want that sort of information lying around, we have already established that for the most part, your notebooks will be staying here with me, so there is no reason for concern in regards to you writing your analysis. Now, on the matter of you being a, how did you say it, a "villain kid," you aren't that at all. You are a UA student in the hero course. And as such, you must work on strengthening all the tools in your arsenal. One of these tools are your analysis skills. You spend most of your time with your classmates, making them the perfect individuals to practice with. Besides, you can't honestly tell me you aren't analyzing them anyway. I suspect that you are just not writing it down."

Deku averted his eyes, looking sheepishly down at his feet. "I mean, you're not wrong. Sorry."

"There's no need to be sorry! Analyzing others has become like second nature to you. It makes perfect sense that you would do it. But for me to be able to help you, I need you to write everything down. That can be your next assignment."

"But… What if they find out?"

"Your classmates, you mean?"

"Yeah. If they find out, they'll get mad at me. They hate me enough as it is; I don't want to make it worse."

Nezu arched a brow, his beady black eyes sparkling as he gave Deku a small smile. "Now, I hardly think it is accurate to say they hate you, especially since Monoma, Todoroki, and Shinsou have taken to sitting with you at lunch."

"That's different," Deku spluttered. "Monoma is just trying to prove that 1-B is better than 1-A. And Todoroki and Shinsou want something from me. I don't know what yet, but they do. They keep trying to say they want to be my friend, but it's bullsh- I mean, it's bullcrap."

"Why do you believe they want something from you?"

"Why else would they want to be around me?"

"Perhaps they can see the good in you, just as I did. Just as Eraserhead, Present Mic, and Vlad King did as well. Shinsou was present when you first arrived with Eri, so he has seen you act as a hero first hand. Todoroki is friends with Shinsou and would likely follow his friend's lead."

Deku snorted. "Todoroki wants to piss off his dad by being my friend. There's probably more to it but I'm not going to let him get close enough to find out. If he wants to sit there with us at lunch, that's fine. Him being there scares people off from messing with Toga and I. But I'm not about to start asking about his day and stuff."

"Have you considered that because everyone is scared of him, he may not have many friends? His father is the Number 2 hero and that can be intimidating for most people. It is possible that you, being an individual who has shown an ability to stand up to pro heroes, would be appealing to him as a friend. In his eyes, he may think that you wouldn't be scared, or as scared, of his father and thus make a good friend. You would be one of the few who wouldn't care about who his father is."

"But I do care," Deku said, huffing and running a hand through his messy green hair. "I'm definitely not a fan of Endeavor and don't want to be anywhere near him. I'm not interested in being friends with his son and going over to Endeavor's house for movie nights or whatever else friends do."

"You wouldn't need to worry about that. Todoroki has not once brought a UA friend home to meet his family, and since he was homeschooled before he came here, he wouldn't have had an opportunity to bring school friends home then either."

"So, what, you want me to be his friend because you think he's lonely or something?"

Nezu shook his head. "No, I think you should just give him a chance. He's a rather straightforward and blunt young man. If he wants something from you, he will tell you right away."

Before Deku could respond, the door to Nezu's office was flung open, swinging and striking the wall with a loud bang. Both Deku and Nezu jumped in their seats, reaching for makeshift weapons at the same time. Deku had grabbed his backpack by one strap, prepared to fling the heavy thing at any oncoming attacker, while Nezu had grasped a sharp metal pen, which would have worked wonderfully as a palm stick in an emergency.

Present Mic was standing in the door, looking disheveled and panicked. His green eyes were wide as he panted, stumbling further into the room.

"Midoriya! Good, you're okay. Come on, you need to come with me."

Deku stood from his seat, looking panicked. "Why? What's wrong?"

"The League has just started a broadcast. Students are streaming it on their phones and laptops and I want both you and Toga in a safe place, just in case the League says something that sets off the students."

Nezu was out of his seat and hurrying over to Mic, who immediately scooped up the principal and deposited him on his shoulder. "Where is Toga?" Nezu asked, his voice stern.

"1-B was at quirk training. I called Vlad and told him to pull Toga and to meet me at the dorms. I released 1-A from class and told them to go straight to their dorm as well. With how much the League has affected them, I figured they'd be better off away from the crowds while whatever this is happens."

"That was smart," Nezu said, nodding. "We should take Midoriya to your's and Eraserhead's apartment. While his classmates will be nearby, they aren't likely to retaliate against him should the League do or say something that upsets them. Besides, no one would dare to enter Eraserhead's apartment without permission."

The three quickly left and hurried out of the main building. Mic kept Deku close to his side, a hand on the boy's shoulder. For once, Deku wasn't flinching away. As they walked across campus, they saw clusters of students gathered around their phones, talking in hushed voices. A few looked up as they passed, some glaring while others just looked horrified. As they got closer to the dorms, they could see 1-B being led towards their own dorms, Vlad King hurrying along with Toga just beside him. Monoma was with her, a sneered expression on his face as he snarled at anyone who looked at Toga for too long. She was clutching her books closely to her chest, looking nervous. As soon as she spotted Deku, she sprinted ahead of Vlad King and latched herself to Deku's arm.

Vlad King pushed open the door to the 1-B dorms. "All of you, get inside and stay there until I come back."

Silently, the kids filed in while Mic continued to lead Deku and Toga towards 1-A. No one was about to argue with Toga that she couldn't stay with Deku right now.

The person they did have to argue with was Monoma. Instead of heading into the 1-B dorm, he was marching himself off after Toga. Vlad King grabbed his arm and tried to pull him back.

"Stay with the class," Vlad said, trying to usher the boy back.

Monoma ripped himself out of his teacher's grasp. "She will be woefully outnumbered by the 1-A students. It is only right that she has someone from her class with her."

"I will be with her. Now go inside."

"Actually," Toga called out, catching their attention. "I'd like it if he was with me."

Looking rather pleased with himself, Monoma gave Vlad King a dry smile before hurrying after Toga, heading into the 1-A dorms with her.

As they stepped inside, they found the entirety of Class 1-A gathered in the common area, Aizawa with them. The TV was turned on to a news station, which was flashing a warning for viewer discretion at the bottom of the screen.

Mic and Vlad tried to hurry the three kids on, but Toga let out a shriek, stopping all of them in their tracks.

Toga dropped her books. "My parents!" she gasped, rushing across the room to get a better view of the TV.

"Toga, no!" Aizawa said, catching hold of her. "You shouldn't watch this."

"Let go! I want to see!" she screamed, fighting against his grip.

Deku was frozen in place, staring at the screen as Shigaraki's crazed face stared back. His wide, toothy smile was pulled painfully tight, cracking the skin on his lips as he paced in front of a kneeling couple.

It was a man and a woman, both of whom looked rather unassuming. The woman had a slight build and a soft face, with round cheeks and a button nose. Her ashy blonde hair was pulled into a sleek ponytail with long strands gently framing her face. As she stared up at Shigaraki with a quivering lip, her brown eyes began to well with tears. Beside her was a broad shouldered man with mousy brown hair. He wasn't heavily muscled, but he looked fit and healthy, with radiant skin and bright yellow eyes. His square jaw was tightly set as he ground his teeth, glaring at Shigaraki with disdain. Both the man and the woman had their hands bound behind their backs and were covered in bruises and cuts.

"Anything to say for yourself, Toga-san?" Shigaraki said with a sneer.

"That's not my name," the man spat. "I am Hideo Ichikawa and this is my wife, Kimi Ichikawa. You have the wrong people!"

"No, I don't, Toga-san. You are Katashi and Naoko Toga, mother and father of Himiko Toga. Don't try to deny it, not after you publicly disowned your daughter. Saying how she was born bad, all because of her quirk. She bites one boy and you throw her out. You called her a… what was it? Oh that's right. A "creepy demon child." It never crossed your minds that maybe you did something to make her snap. That maybe your parenting was so bad, that your daughter couldn't take it," Shigaraki sneered, walking closer to the couple. The woman sobbed, ducking her head. He tangled his hands in her hair and yanked her head back, hissing at her. "Don't you dare hide your face!"

"She put a straw in that boy!" Naoko sobbed. "She drank his blood! What were we to do? As soon as she showed any interest in blood, we tried to stomp it out! We got her to act normal, and then she just lost it!"

"And then you abandoned her! You know, when she was living with us, she had access to blood regularly. With her thirst quenched, she was able to ignore when someone got hurt. We had a member: smart boy, knew a lot about quirks. He explained that those with blood quirks almost always have a fascination with blood and a need to drink it. Not a desire: a need . Without it, they can get sick. You were starving your daughter. You were abusing her!"

"No! I would never!"

Shigaraki let go of her head, letting her sag as she wailed. Her husband, Katashi, struggled against his bonds in an attempt to reach her.

"And you," Shigaraki snapped, glaring at Katashi. "You don't even care, do you?"

Katashi spat at Shigaraki, the glob of spit barely missing Shigaraki's face. "That girl is no daughter of mine. I have no children."

Silence fell as Shigaraki stared down at the man, an eerily serene look on his face. Naoko's sobs only grew louder, her shoulders shaking.

"You know, she talked about you," Shigaraki said. His voice was quiet and scratchy, like the rasping of insect legs. Deku felt his skin crawling as Shigaraki lowered himself down so he was face to face with Katashi. "She talked about you both. She would tell us about how you didn't want her. She acted like it was fine, but that didn't stop her from crying late at night whenever she missed you. Deku and Magne would stay up all night comforting her. It was pathetic, but she had never been the strongest of the party, so I won't hold it against her. It was good for her, in a way. The heartbreak. The pain. It made her stronger. Made her colder. It gave her the power to level up. But now, she's gone. The heroes took her. They are keeping her from me. And unlike you, I want her back."

Shigaraki then stood, turning to face the camera. "Give back my rogues, heroes. I know you stole them, since they know better than to split the party. They better be released within the next 24 hours, or else… well…" He paused and reached out with one bare hand, dropping it onto Katashi's shoulder. The man's shirt crumbled away to ash and dust. As soon as Shigaraki's skin touched his bare shoulder, Katashi began to scream. Cracks formed across his body, spreading up his neck to his face. He broke apart, piece by piece, until all that was left was a pile of dust.

Toga screamed, breaking free from Aizawa's grasp. She lunged at the TV as Shigaraki moved behind her mother, who was sobbing so hard that she had begun to hyperventilate. Monoma jumped forward and caught hold of Toga, dragging her back into his chest. She fought against his grip, trying to rush at the TV again. No matter how hard she struggled, Monoma kept his arms locked tightly around her middle.

"Return Toga and Deku and these will be the only two to die by my hands today," Shigaraki said, dropping his hand down onto the back of Naoko's neck. Her death was slightly faster, and she had only a moment to let out a pained shriek before she crumbled away.

"No!" Toga sobbed, fighting even harder. "No no no no!"

"Deku's father is next. Then, we move on to innocent civilians. Tick tock heroes. Your time starts now."

The screen flickered to black as someone turned it off. The only sound in the silent room was Toga, who had gone limp in Monoma's arms as she continued to cry. He gently turned her around, allowing her to latch her arms around him as she buried her face into the side of his neck.

Mic slowly reached out to touch Deku's shoulder. "Midoriya -"

Before Mic could say more, Deku lunged towards a nearby potted plant and vomited, emptying his stomach into the pot. A gentle hand rubbed at his back as he heaved, retching up pure bile. As he slowly straightened, he found Aizawa standing beside him, his rough hand on Deku's back and his thumb rubbing soothing circles against his shoulder blade. A girl, the one Deku recognized as the class Vice Rep, approached carefully, holding out a water bottle to him. He took it, giving her an appreciative nod. From her skin, she pulled a tin of mints and handed that to him as well. She then walked over to Toga and pulled a box of tissues from her skin and handed it to Monoma, who held it in preparation for when Toga lifted her head from his shoulder.

"Sensei, I'm going to make a pot of tea," the girl said quietly.

Aizawa nodded. "Thank you, Yaoyorozu."

"Midoriya," Nezu said, hoping down from Mic's shoulder. "I know that was difficult to watch, and you must be very worried for your father, but I need you to focus. Can you please tell us where your father is? We need to reach out to him so that we can -"

"He doesn't know," Midoriya croaked. "Fuck. He doesn't fucking know. This is bad."

"I know. We have to tell him so he can be safe. So that's why we need -"

"No, not my dad. Shigaraki. He doesn't know we betrayed him. This is really really bad."

Vlad King frowned. "That just means he never sent an attack after you. This is a good thing."

Deku shook his head violently, stumbling away from Aizawa and putting his hands out, as though he was trying to keep anyone from approaching him. "I'll go. You don't have to fight me on it. Just don't send Toga. It'll be too much for her."

The room froze. Before any of the teachers could say anything, Bakugou was out of his seat and setting off small explosions in his hands.

"You aren't sending him back there!" he snarled, eyes narrowed at Nezu. "I won't let you!"

"Bakugou, sit down. Now," Aizawa snapped, pulling himself to his full height. "No one is being sent anywhere."

Deku blinked at him, the panic in his eyes clearing and giving way to confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"We aren't sending a child to the League of Villains. Why would you think we would do that?"

"So you could have a double agent on the inside? So the League doesn't kill more people? To have one less villain on campus? There's a lot of reasons."

"Listen, kid," Aizawa said. He paused to run a hand through his snarled hair as he sighed. "It is not your job to go undercover. You are a literal child with no training. It is our job to protect you, okay? We aren't sending you back to the League. To be blunt, if we sent you back, you'd probably get killed. We would never knowingly send a student to your death."

Deku continued to blink up at him in confusion. "But I don't count."

"What does that mean?"

"I'm quirkless and a villain. I don't count."

"Are you trying to say you don't count as a student?"

"I mean I wouldn't count towards your statistics if I did die, so it shouldn't matter. You can easily write me out of the rehabilitation program and it would be like I was never here. You can send me back to League as a double agent and you'd get a lot more information than what I'm giving you now. And if you don't send me back, Shigaraki is going to go nuts. Without me, he doesn't have anyone to analyze for him. He has no hacker. He has no one to act as a brain. The only people he has that aren't what he sees as a "brawler" are his Sensei and Mr. Compress. He doesn't trust Compress enough to ask him for anything and his Sensei wants him to learn to stand on his own or something, I don't know. Shigaraki was always asking for my or Magne's opinions and he'd be having Toga and I collect information for him. Without at least one of us, he is practically crippled.

"You have to send me back or he will become unpredictable. You saw what he did! He's already unraveling! I thought that he would put it together that Toga and I betrayed him and he would just focus on getting back at the two of us. People would be safe because he'd be so busy trying to figure out how to kill us. But no, he had to be fucking stupid and think we got kidnapped and now he's taking it out on anyone he can find," Deku was panting hard as he spoke, his hands fidgeting as he shuffled from foot to foot in a panic. "I have to go back. I can feed him bad information. Throw him off. It'll buy you guys time. That's the only thing we can do."

Mic folded his arms across his chest, his frown severe. "No."

"But -"

"No. You are not going back. I don't care if you think it's what is best. I will not allow a child to go to the League of Villains. You are staying here and that's final."

"Damn," Kaminari whispered, leaning against Mina to whisper in her ear. "Who knew Mic-sensei could be so serious and scary?" Mina elbowed and shushed him while Bakugou finally lowered himself back into his seat, red eyes still glaring at Nezu.

Toga lifted her head, blinking around the room with teary eyes. "Deku-kun," she said, her voice shaky. "I didn't get to apologize to them."

Deku hurried past Aizawa and pulled Toga into his arms, hugging her tightly. Monoma took a tissue from the box and handed it to Deku, who gently wiped at Toga's cheeks.

"It's alright, Toga. You shouldn't have to apologize to them. They are the ones who hurt you," he reminded her, same as he always did when she would cry over her parents. "None of this is your fault. It's Shigaraki's."

"I ruined their reputation! All because I couldn't keep myself from biting that boy!" she sobbed, a fresh wave of tears streaming down her face. "They're right! I'm just a creepy demon child!"

Yaoyorozu came back into the room with a full pot of tea and a stack of cups. She poured out two and went to hand them to Deku, but Monoma intercepted and took them. Looking past her, he glared at the rest of 1-A.

"Don't you guys have anything better to do than stare?" he snapped, shooting them all an icy look.

Turning to look over her shoulder, Yaoyorozu gestured to the tea pot. "Everyone, take a cup of tea and then head to your rooms please. Iida, could you help with passing out the tea?"

Iida nodded, standing up and beginning to pour out equal measures of tea for everyone in the class. When he went to hand one to Bakugou, the explosive teen snarled, smacking the cup away.

"I don't need any fucking tea. Deku, where is your fucking dad? You're supposed to be some sort of amazing hacker, right? You've had to have been keeping track of him."

"I didn't have any interest in finding him, so I didn't do it."

"Bullshit."

Deku shot Bakugou a dark look. "He ditched my mom and I because I was quirkless. He barely ever spoke to us and never paid child support. I've never had any interest in knowing anything about him."

"I can look into locating him," Nezu said, trying to stop the argument before it got much worse. "In the meantime, I want both Deku and Toga to stay indoors within Eraserhead's and Vlad King's apartments. If this is a ploy by the League to distract us from an attempt to steal back or attack the two, then I want them to be well protected. Eraserhead, you already have young Togata, Amajiki, and Hado in your apartment visiting with Eri. We will ask them all to stay so you have help protecting Eri and Deku should the League arrive. Present Mic is in the building as well, so you should have plenty of support. Vlad King, Midnight is in the 1-B dorm and I will be sending a few third years over as well to help watch over the dorms. I will alert the other teachers to be on guard in their own buildings, but I do not believe they will need extra security."

Vlad King nodded before he stepped over to Deku and Toga. He gently set one of his massive hands on Toga's shoulder. Her entire body was quaking as she buried herself further into Deku's shoulder.

"Come on, Toga. Let's get back to the dorms."

"I want to stay with Deku."

Vlad sighed. "I know, kiddo. But we need to get back so we can keep you safe. It's safer for everyone if you two are separate, that way if the League does attack, they have to split their forces. Do you see why that's important?"

She nodded, but still didn't let go of Deku. After another moment of her clutching to him, she slowly let go and pulled away, her eyes bloodshot and her cheeks tear stained. Monoma, who was still holding the cups of tea, handed one off to Deku before reaching out to take Toga's hand. He pulled her hand up and wrapped it around her cup of tea. Her fingers fumbled slightly, but clutched onto the paper cup and pulled it back into her chest, where she wrapped her other hand around it, nuzzling into the warmth.

Monoma's arm lifted, as though he was about to touch her, but then froze. He glanced over his shoulder at the few remaining members of 1-A. Bakugou, who was still sitting and glaring, made a huffing noise and then fixed his attention on Nezu again. Todoroki and Shinsou were sitting with Uraraka, who was waiting for Iida to finish passing out the tea. Shinsou arched one brow, giving Monoma a pointed look before letting his gaze wander back over to Deku. A slight blush creeped up Monoma's cheeks as he let his arm continue its motion and wrapped it around Toga's shoulder. He tucked her against his side and squeezed her upper arm in a comforting gesture. Vlad King gave Monoma an approving nod, an impressed and proud look on his face as he led the pair out of the dorm.

"I'll see you soon. I promise," Deku said, watching them leave. She gave him a watery smile as she passed.

Nezu gestured for Deku to follow him. "Come now. Let us get you settled. Perhaps you can spend some time with Eri, yes?"

As Deku started to follow Nezu, Mic, and Aizawa, he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. Turning, he sees Bakugou trailing after them. Aizawa turned as well, having seen Deku move.

"Bakugou, to your room. Now."

"I'm staying with Deku."

"No, you're not. Go."

Huffing, Bakugou stormed off, stomping up the stairs to his dorm. Iida was corralling Todoroki, Shinsou, and Uraraka up the stairs as well. Todoroki paused, glancing back over his shoulder to make eye contact with Deku. He gave the green-haired boy a small, sad smile before continuing back up the stairs.

Stepping into the apartment, Deku found Mirio, Tamaki, and Nejire gathered in the living room with Eri, all watching a movie about a magical talking cat. Eri seemed particularly entranced, as did Nejire. Tamaki had buried himself into Mirio's side as they watched.

Seeing the gathered people, Mirio straightened in his seat. His bright smile slipped slightly when he saw the state everyone was in.

"Everything okay?" he asked, his blue eyes bright with worry.

"The League… made an example of Toga's parents," Nezu said diplomatically, careful of what he said around Eri. "I am hoping you three can stay in the 1-A dorms tonight and possibly tomorrow night in case the League is planning a strike to hurt or take back Deku and Toga. Would that be alright?"

"Sure!" Nejire said excitedly. "Eri and I can do our hair and watch lots of movies! How does that sound?"

Eri nodded, looking excited, but not quite smiling.

Mirio smiled at Deku and patted the spot beside him. "Join us! The movie is going to end soon but I think there is a sequel we can watch. Need me to fill you in on what's happened?"

Deku shook his head while he stepped further into the room. He looked around nervously, shifting from foot to foot as his eyes flicked between the couch and the hallway to his room. "Toga made me watch this movie before. I know what's going on."

As Nezu left, leaving Mic and Aizawa to keep an eye on the children, Deku eyed the older students carefully. Mirio watched Deku out of the corner of his eye, studying the younger boy as he studied them. Finally, after letting Deku get his fill, Mirio turned to look at him again, smiling.

"How are you settling in here at UA?" Mirio asked, trying to keep his normally loud voice a little quieter, not wanting to startle Deku.

Deku still flinched, jumping slightly and curling in on himself more. "It's fine I guess."

"Good! And it is probably nice living with two teachers. If you ever have questions on the homework, they can help you!" When Mirio saw the flash of surprise in Deku's eyes, he laughed lightly, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Yeah, we know about Present Mic and Eraserhead. They had to tell us since we spend so much time with Eri. We promised not to say anything though."

The credits were rolling before anyone spoke again. Nejire was searching for the sequel while Mirio had crouched down to ask Eri if she wanted a snack. Eri looked nervous as she nodded her head, as though she wasn't sure if she was allowed to ask for food. Tamaki immediately got up and went to get a snack for her, Mirio following behind saying he would find something for everyone. As soon as they were gone, Eri was climbing up onto the couch with Deku, crawling into his lap and curling against him. It was a common occurrence in the apartment, since she was still struggling to warm up to others.

In her eyes, Deku was her savior and she didn't understand why people were always so nervous around him. Aizawa had tried to explain to her that Deku was possibly dangerous and that she shouldn't spend too much time alone with him, but she refused to accept that Deku was anything besides a hero. She would climb into Deku's lap while they watched TV or movies, and she would climb into his lap while he read stories to her. When he did his homework, she would come wandering into his room and sit on his floor with a coloring book, happily working on her drawings as he studied. Nearly every night, Deku would take some time to help Eri with her own studies. They would go over letters, numbers, and shapes, so that when she would spend time with her tutors during the day, she would be a little less confused.

Tamaki stumbled as he came back into the living room, having spotted Eri curled up in Deku's lap. He quickly regained his footing and sat down on the other side of the couch before holding out sliced apples to Eri. She took the bowl and happily munched on one before offering another to Deku. He took it, smiling down at her. Mirio came back with some chips and some juice pouches, which he passed out to everyone. Nejire squealed happily, snatching the juice away and slurping it loudly.

"Nejire, that's rude," Tamaki said, letting his bangs fall in front of his eyes.

"I'm just having a bit of fun! That's what you're supposed to do at slumber parties!" She grinned at him as she took another loud slurp from her juice.

Deku knew right then that it was going to be a long night.