Heads-up low key season 4/manga spoilers. I just mention a name or two, nothing in detail, but you have been warned.

Hizashi liked having a bit of noise around the apartment; it helped fill the gap left by his parents and two siblings after he moved out. They'd been a noisy household, especially given that three of the five of them had voice-related quirks. Even when they signed to each other-a necessary form of communication to make sure they didn't destroy the house while they learned to control their abilities-they were rather loud personalities. So naturally, the first thing he did when he woke up every morning was flip on the radio. Normally, he'd turn it to a local music station so that he could jam out while he was in the shower, but today, he turned it to the news.

"-controversial story of Vermillion, a hero local to Mustafu, near Tokyo. Rumors have long since surrounded the hero concerning tax evasion and embezzlement, as well as unproven counts of excessive violence and civilian casualties, but according to local police authorities, last week an anonymous tip came providing hard evidence of these speculated crimes, as well as proof of several counts of domestic abuse and unethical quirk use. Vermillion has denied all charges in preliminary investigations, but considering the number of successful investigations sparked by 'anonymous sources' providing evidence against corrupt heroes in the past two years, the public is confident that he will be proven guilty.

"And now we return to our top story: the unprecedented villain attack on the UA Academy of Heroics."

Hizashi winced slightly as he steeled himself for whatever was said next. It might be the whole reason he'd opted for the news instead of his usual channels, but that didn't mean he had to be excited about it.

"The faculty and police have officially released the information that a class of first-year hero course students at a rescue training facility were attacked by a gang of criminals calling themselves the League of Villains. Little information has been given by police officials concerning their members or their motives, only that this group has reportedly been plotting to kill UA teacher and popular hero All Might since the spring of this year. Three students and two teachers were hospitalized as a result of the attack, but doctors have declared that they will all make a full recovery. Police arrested seventeen members at the scene, but the League's ringleaders and a significant number of other members escaped. Their whereabouts are unknown. If anyone has any information…"

Hizashi sighed as he hopped in the shower, letting his thoughts wander while the radio continued to chatter in the background-something about a rescue op and Good Samaritans in an earthquake zone up north and speculation about connections between several new vigilantes in various parts of the country, from the rumored Hero Killer Stain to the so-called 'Gentle Criminal' that had started posting videos about corrupt heroes and about himself busting minor criminal organizations, from drug rings to an especially vocal sect of the Creature Rejection Clan.

Honestly, the police had told the media about as much as he himself knew. Yesterday had been wild on every level. When Shouta's kid, Iida Tenya, burst into the teacher's lounge, red-faced and gasping for breath, he and the other members of the faculty initially could only stare in shock. Nemuri was the first to react, leaping to her feet and pulling the boy inside, although when she tried to insist he take a seat, he'd shaken his head feverishly, sucked in a deep breath, and babbled for a straight two minutes about the mess going down at the USJ before he took another one. Ectoplasm leaped into action next, instantly forming about a dozen clones that rushed from the room, scattering in all directions to spread the word of the intrusion. Within about five minutes, the campus was going on lockdown, while he and around a dozen other pros raced after Iida to the USJ.

Only, when they burst inside, Snipe with guns blazing, Nem with her whip on her shoulder and Higari with his hands to the ground, it was already practically over. About a third of Shouta's students were already gathered by the entrance, eyes wide with a mixture of hope and terror. The pink girl, Ashido Mina, was crouched by Thirteen's prone form with tears streaming down her cheeks, and the quiet kid, Kouda Koji, was helping Shouta's secret love child (not that Hizashi would ever call him that in his best friend's presence) limp up the stairs. One command from Nezu and the teachers scattered to all corners of the building, searching for the others.

Since there were no longer any large groups of villains to deal with, Hizashi himself wound up helping Kirishima Eijirou bring Bakugou Katsuki up from the main plaza, since Uraraka Ochaco obviously had Shouta well in-hand. The blond kid and Hizashi's best friend were both semi-conscious, the former due to shock and the latter due to pain. Neither of them were speaking much, which left it to Kirishima and Uraraka to explain what happened. Apparently, the villains had appeared by the fountain out of a sphere of black smoke that perfectly matched the description of the portal seen at the battle simulation a few days earlier. Shouta had jumped in (because of course he had; no matter how he tried to deny it, it was obvious that he doted on his kids) and Thirteen had led the students back towards the entrance, only to be stopped by the villain responsible for the warping. He introduced their group as 'the League of Villains', Thirteen tried to attack and got absolutely schooled on why they were more of a rescue hero, and then the villain scattered the students that didn't manage to dodge his gate throughout the facility.

Kirishima was one of those that dodged.

Uraraka wasn't.

From there, the tale became a little more disjointed, as Shinsou began chipping in while Recovery Girl worked on cleaning what appeared to be a bite mark on his leg ("Stupid human shark managed to duck underwater before I could catch him with my quirk."). As they filtered in, other students contributed to the story as well, although frankly very few of them were in any fit state to do so. Honestly, it was somewhat horrifying to see how badly they had been messed up by this attack: Higari climbed the stairs carrying the still figure of Asui Tsuyu, while Tokoyami Fumikage and Aoyama Yuuga trailed behind him, stumbling with exhaustion as they supported one another's weight ("Those villains caused even my sparkling personality to flicker!" "What a mad banquet of darkness."); Hound Dog cradled Hagakure Tooru against his chest, the girl shivering violently judging by the movement of her gloves, while Todoroki-also shivering although not as badly-walked close beside him, keeping his left hand on the girl's shoulder ("I wish I'd noticed her sooner-I almost froze her."); Ectoplasm carefully guided a braindead Kaminari Denki by the arm while Jirou Kyoka and Yaoyorozu Momo followed behind him ("You did good, Pikachu, now go on over to Recovery Girl." "Kyoka-kun, are you actually concerned for Kaminari-kun?" "Oh back off, Yaomomo!"); Sekijiro lugged Ojirou Mashirao's bruised and semi-conscious body across his back, glancing over his shoulder with no small amount of concern. All the pros had reported a few scattered villains in the respective zones they had visited, most of whom were unconscious, which might be why they hadn't managed to flee with the other villains.

("I can't believe we let them escape after everything they've done!" Nemuri had growled.

"Well they did catch us completely by surprise," Nezu sighed in turn. "For now, our priority must be the safety of our students. Half of the present faculty should form a perimeter, just in case, while the rest sweep the facility and apprehend what villains may remain.")

While Recovery Girl leaped into doctor mode and Ken slipped off to help All Might after a quiet word from Uraraka, Hizashi tried to piece together the scattered bits of information that the students could give him. From what Hizashi could tell, the students agreed that their opponents weren't much, but their environments made things more challenging. Even if the attacking villains hadn't known anything about them, the warp villain obviously had (although Uraraka did comment that if they'd really wanted to mess Bakugou up, he should've been sent to the conflagration zone-nitroglycerin sweat mixed with flames would not have been pretty). Most of the students agreed that if All Might hadn't shown up when he did, then things probably would have turned out much worse, as it was only after he showed up and started fighting some giant black monster that the villains suddenly began vanishing back through the portals. (However All Might himself, as well as Shouta, were more inclined to think that the villains had already been preparing to leave when he arrived.) Beyond that, Uraraka had the most information of all the students.

"There were three leaders, it looked like. The warp guy, a crazy guy with hands all over his body-"

"Hands? Were they part of his quirk? Like Shouji-san?"

"No, no, like literally dead hands as a part of his costume. It was really creepy. But yeah, them and a boy that I would guess was around our age." She paused, worrying her lip as she glanced towards Bakugou. "He was fighting Aizawa-sensei, so he was constantly moving around and it was hard to get a clear look at his face, but judging by the picture Mina showed everyone, he looked a lot like Bakugou-kun's childhood friend. The one he thought he saw at the battle simulation."

And hadn't that left them with a lot to think about.

Unfortunately, the villains had left just moments before he and the other faculty arrived. Despite their disappointment that they didn't manage to capture the ringleaders, they were at least relieved that none of their students had been too badly hurt. Ojirou was the worst off, with multiple broken bones, open wounds, and a severe concussion, followed by Asui with severe heat exhaustion bordering on heat stroke and Hagakure with onset hypothermia, but none of them would have to be in the hospital for longer than twenty-four hours. When the police arrived, Hizashi left a detective to continue with the questioning while he rode to the hospital in an ambulance with Shouta. He remained there for the rest of the day, accompanied by Hound Dog and Nemuri, watching over their students and coworkers as they were attended to. It was a relief to hear the doctors confirm that everyone would make a full recovery, and even more of a relief to hear that Shouta should be discharged by the following morning.

Which was why Hizashi sent a quick text the moment he was finished gelling his hair, then hopped in his car and started driving to the hospital. He ignored the pair of pings! his phone made along the way-it was dangerous to text and drive, after all. One way or another, when he pulled up in the roundabout outside the main entrance, Shouta was waiting for him, hands shoved in his pockets and eyes narrowed with displeasure. Hizashi just grinned and beckoned to him, and eventually his old friend visibly sighed, rolled his eyes, and slid into the passenger seat.

"I tried to tell you that I could just take the train," Shouta grumbled as he buckled his seat belt. "But when you didn't so much as read my texts, I figured it was pointless."

"Shouta, you had a concussion yesterday. I'm not letting you take public transportation for the next week at least."

"Mother hen."

"Alley cat."

"Shut up."

Hizashi grinned and kept driving.

"Mind if we swing by my place on the way?"

"No prob."

The drive to Shouta's apartment and then to UA was filled with companionable silence. As much as Hizashi liked a little noise around the house, quiet time spent with a friend was nice, too. It was something he'd learned back when they'd been at UA together. Nemuri had been the kind of friend he could whoop and holler with, the kind who could make him forget his worries for a while so that he could just have a little fun. Tensei had been the mom-friend of the group, the responsible one that kept them in check and reminded them that he was always there if they needed him. And Oboro… Well anyway, Shouta was that friend who somehow just knew when Hizashi was struggling. Without a word passing between them, he'd sit down beside him and just… be there. A quiet, grounding presence through all the turmoil going through his head. He was the friend that didn't need Hizashi to smile all the time. The rock that would be there through thick and thin. It was a nice feeling, knowing that he had a friend like that.

The campus was silent when Hizashi parked his car and the two of them headed inside. As soon as the incident was resolved the day before, the students had been sent home and told not to come back the next day. It made the massive halls of the institution feel oddly eerie, like the setting of a horror movie. That sensation faded a little bit when they met Sekijiro on the way to the conference room. He glanced Shouta over once, nodded, and grunted in greeting, and that was it. No words necessary. Hizashi was sure that Shouta appreciated it. He knew that he did.

"Well howdy, partners," Snipe acknowledged as they stepped into the room. Nezu was there, too, as was Nemuri. "Eraserhead, it's good to see you back with us."

"And a good mornin' to you as well," Hizashi grinned. He wasn't certain how forced the expression was. It felt like being back on campus and hearing the oppressive silence brought to a head that yesterday had been real. Villains really had attacked the USJ, and a number of Shouta's students really had gotten hurt. "Who else are we waitin' on?"

"All Might's on his way with that detective friend of his," Nemuri piped up. "Ectoplasm is on the next shift at the hospital, keeping an eye on Thirteen, and Power Loader and Cementoss are still figuring out the system overhaul, so they're out. They said it should go faster now that they have a little more data on that villain's warp quirk though."

"Yeah," Snipe sighed. "We weren't exactly prepared to deal with that. Even after those kids saw it at Ground Beta."

"Warp quirks are very rare," Hizashi acknowledged, making his way to an empty seat.

"Yes, and they can completely change the course of a battle," Nemuri agreed. "It's frightening to know that a villain has such a power."

"The other villains were nothing to sneeze at either," Shouta frowned, his hand drifting towards his right elbow.

"Tenko and Midoriya," Nezu nodded, noticing the gesture. "I look forward to hearing whatever information you may have on them."

"Would you prefer it now, or after the others arrive?"

"We might as well wait for All Might and Tsukauchi-kun," Nezu considered, glancing towards his phone. "They should be here any-"

"Forgive the intrusion."

"-moment."

"Aizawa. It's good to see you on your feet," All Might smiled. Hizashi always felt like when he smiled-or better said grimaced-in that skeletal form, he looked a little demonic, but the gesture was appreciated. By him, at least. Shouta just grunted. All Might took his seat beside Nezu, and everybody turned towards Detective Tsukauchi.

"My apologies for being late," the detective began, bowing to them all. "It's been a busy morning."

Another grunt from Shouta, then, "So how should we proceed?"

"Well Eraserhead, you've had the closest contact with the villains thus far, but I haven't had a chance to properly interview you, so I believe that the most effective way to carry out this meeting would be for me to say what we know and have you fill in as many blanks as you can."

"Alright, then. Let's get going."

The detective nodded, pulled a file out of his bag, and began. "Our investigators are trying to learn everything they can about this so-called League of Villains. We've made some progress, but we can't find much. We started out looking for any information on this 'Tenko', the villain reported to have pale blue hair and wear hands on his body. We've searched our records for men from their teens to their thirties who are registered as having some sort of disintegration quirk, but so far, we've come up empty." He cast a glance towards Shouta, who seemed to ponder this information for a moment.

"The warp gate villain called him 'Shigaraki Tomura'," he said slowly. "It was the boy, Deku, that called him Tenko, and Shigaraki was rather vocally upset when he did. By what he said, the implication was that Tenko was some kind of… childhood nickname. Perhaps he changed his name to Shigaraki Tomura when he became a villain, or who knows, but if that's his preferred alias, then you may be able to find some information that way."

"Good to know," Tsukauchi nodded, scribbling a note in the margin of one of the papers. "Speaking of the warp gate villain, we haven't been able to find any information on him, either. It's likely that he's either not a citizen of Japan, or he's using an alias. Hard to pin down either way. However the third individual leading the attack has proven to be a somewhat more promising lead."

"He didn't exactly lead the attack," Shouta muttered. "He didn't show up until midway through the fight. But yeah, it was obvious that he had some sort of authority over the others."

"Midoriya Izuku, a.k.a. Deku, age fifteen, registered in official government records as functionally quirkless," Tsukauchi continued grimly as Hizashi took the picture handed to him. The boy in the photograph was obviously very young. A pale, skinny kid of around twelve with a shy smile and freckled cheeks that gave onlookers the spontaneous urge to squeeze them. He had curly green hair and dark green eyes, but there was something… a little off about them. It took Hizashi almost a minute to realize what it was: the boy's smile didn't reach those eyes.

"On the twenty-first of May three years ago, a missing person's report was filed by his mother, Midoriya Inko. He had apparently disappeared on his way home from school, having attended classes all day. We've recently come to learn that Midoriya was in fact caught up in a villain attack on his way home, only to be rescued by All Might here."

Hizashi passed the photo along to Shouta, looking towards the tall, skinny blond man with no small amount of surprise as he seemed to shrink in on himself. That seemed a little odd to Hizashi. This was a man that could navigate reporters and cameras with ease; why would he be so uncomfortable under the gazes of his coworkers after being told that he'd saved someone?

"According to All Might, after knocking the villain unconscious, he called in the incident, tied the man up with his belt and prepared to leave, since he was about to lose hold of his stronger form, but Midoriya, not understanding the situation, followed him to ask if it was possible to be a hero even if he was quirkless. As a result, the boy happened to see All Might's weakened form. In the conversation that followed, All Might explained his injury and told Midoriya that he didn't think it was possible to do hero work without a quirk."

Hizashi winced a little bit. So that was why All Might looked so awkward under their scrutiny. But, well, he couldn't really blame the guy. This was a difficult line of work, after all. Considering All Might's own experiences, he wasn't really surprised that he'd wanted to warn the boy away from it. Still, there were some people shooting poisoned glares across the room at the number one pro, Nemuri foremost among them.

"How could you crush a boy's dreams like that?" she glowered at the man.

"I've already had this discussion with Recovery Girl," All Might sighed, seemingly resigned to their disdain. "What I said, no matter my intentions, was insensitive at best, and I recognize that, but that's not the focus of this meeting."

"Right," Tsukauchi nodded in agreement, pulling another piece of paper from his file. "During the investigation spurred by Midoriya Inko's report, Midoriya Izuku's belongings were found abandoned on a bridge overlooking a river with no signs of a struggle. When this note was found with it, the team investigating his disappearance was led to believe that he had committed suicide." Once again, Hizashi accepted a sheet from the detective. This time, it was a scan of a piece of paper torn from a notebook, with a note written in slightly-shaky kanji. Something in the pro hero's chest seemed to tighten slightly as he read it.

Dear Mom,

I'm sorry that you have to find out this way. I wish I could have told you in person, but if I had, you would only have gotten hurt. I'm sorry that it has to be this way, but at least like this I'll finally be able to change things. I'll be able to show everyone that even a deku's life matters.

I love you. And Dad. Please don't blame yourselves. I hope to see you both on the other side.

Love,

Izuku

It was devastatingly simple, and just vague enough to be interpreted in exactly the way the police force had seen it. But, knowing what they knew now, it seemed even worse than a suicide note. Midoriya Izuku had obviously known exactly what he was getting himself involved in when he decided to become a villain. His wording was strange though. What exactly was he trying to change? And what was 'the other side'? Hizashi frowned as he passed the note along. Shouta frowned as he read it, too-he had probably picked up on the strange wording as well.

"All Might," he began slowly, "are you absolutely certain that when you met that boy he didn't have a quirk?"

"Well, I suppose I never saw evidence of it either way. But I do know what he asked me, and it was if he had a chance of becoming a hero without one."

Shouta's frown deepened and he passed the note on to Snipe. "Tsukauchi, are you certain that the records of his not having a quirk haven't been tampered with in any way?"

"As certain as I can be without launching a deeper investigation. Why?"

"Because he definitely had a quirk when I fought with him," Shouta replied, his eyes boring into the inspector's. A ripple of surprise passed through the room and everyone turned to face the underground hero. "When the kid appeared during the battle training, Nezu and I discussed the possibility of Midoriya simply being under the power of someone else's quirk-someone with an ability to conceal others or who knows what else-but fighting him one-on-one made it obvious that the kid has some sort of ability. His jumps and hits were much too powerful for any quirkless individual, and anyway, he had a tell. His eyes glowed green every time it activated."

"By what you described, do you think that this Deku has some sort of strength enhancement quirk?" Nezu piped up. Shouta visibly hesitated.

"I think it's a possibility," he said finally, "but just one of many. He also seemed to have impossible dexterity and on occasion I swear he turned invisible. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that the kid had multiple quirks."

Hizashi jumped when All Might coughed violently, a line of blood trailing from the corner of his mouth. Mumbling apologies, he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the trail of red away, but he still seemed a little off, exchanging quick, nervous glances with Nezu and Tsukauchi. If Shouta noticed (which he probably had), then he decided not to comment on their strange behavior.

"Could he possibly just be a late bloomer?" Nemuri frowned.

"Possibly," Nezu conceded, "although manifesting a quirk later than the age of seven is unheard of. It is possible that he had some form of 'invisible quirk', one that just needed the right conditions to be revealed, although based on Aizawa-kun's description, I find that hard to believe. If Deku did indeed manifest a new quirk at his age, then he is a medical marvel. A scientific discovery."

"What other possibility is there?" Snipe frowned.

"I'm not certain yet," the principal replied easily, "but I would be very interested in finding out."

"So what else do we know about this kid?" Sekijiro cut in.

"Midoriya Izuku has been neither seen nor heard from in the last three years."

"So we don't know anything," Sekijiro groaned, leaning back in his chair.

"Not exactly. We know that prior to that time, he was just starting his second year of middle school. He lived alone with his mother, Midoriya Inko, his father Midoriya Hisashi having been out of the country for work reasons. My understanding is that Midoriya-san has returned to Japan since his son's alleged death. Other than that, we know that Midoriya Izuku was a good student, although he didn't appear to be involved in any extracurricular activities and didn't appear to have any friends."

"That's not entirely true."

"Aizawa-kun?"

"Midoriya did have at least one friend, although I get the sense that there's some complicated history there," the underground hero clarified, fishing something out of his scarf. "And actually, he was spotted about a year ago." Hizashi watched with no small amount of interest as Shouta pulled out the composition notebook they'd stopped by his apartment to fetch and slid it across the table towards Tsukauchi. "Start at the beginning. That's where I've managed to translate the bulk of his notes." The detective quickly took the item in hand and flipped it open. Within a minute, his eyebrows had crept up half the height of his forehead and Hizashi couldn't handle the suspense anymore.

"What's that?" he asked, peering at the cover, which appeared to say something about quirks in vaguely familiar handwriting.

"It's a quirk analysis journal, most likely written by Midoriya Izuku."

"Where on earth did you manage to find this?" Tsukauchi asked, a little dazedly as he tore his eyes away from the page he'd been reading.

"One of my students had it. Bakugou Katsuki. Apparently, he and Midoriya grew up together. They were in the same class in middle school when he disappeared."

"An' how did he come to have this journal?" Snipe piped up, his mask doing little to distort the sound of his frown.

"Do you remember the sludge villain incident last year? Bakugou was in fact the student involved. He told me that he saw a person that looked vaguely like Midoriya. Upon seeing him, the individual ran and Bakugou gave chase. He wound up in what appeared to be a deserted alleyway and was taken captive. He managed to use his quirk to free himself moments before he passed out, but before that happened, he claims that he actually saw Midoriya, and it was him who told him how he could escape."

"A stress hallucination?" Sekijiro offered from across the room.

"That was my first inclination as well. But then he found that notebook in the alleyway. According to Bakugou, Midoriya used to write in notebooks like these all the time when they were younger. Back then, he was obsessed with heroes. Used to follow fights so he could take notes on their quirks and techniques in the hope of becoming one someday. That alone wouldn't be enough to convince me, but this particular notebook also contains notes on some villains-villains that I personally saw and fought at the USJ."

"Indeed? Might I have a look, Tsukauchi-kun?" Nezu asked, and the detective handed the notebook over, still looking a little shell-shocked.

"If that happened almost a year ago, then why didn't anyone start searching for Midoriya sooner?" Hizashi frowned.

"Probably because it was too circumstantial," Tsukauchi groaned. "A boy that had just come from a stressful situation claiming that his childhood friend that had been dead for two years had appeared to him right before he lost consciousness and told him how to escape, his only evidence being a journal with no name attached to it?"

"Alright fair point," Hizashi groaned, rubbing his hands over his face. How had this become so complicated? "So what do we do? Interrogate Bakugou about his long-lost friend?"

"I'll definitely be interviewing him," the detective nodded. "If they really have been friends for so long, then he might have some insight into why Midoriya chose to turn to villainy."

"Judging by the note he left for his parents, I can already guess the basics," All Might sighed, passing the aforementioned note to Nezu, who seemed more than a little reluctant to tear his attention away from the notebook in his paws.

"Oh?" Sekijiro frowned.

"He said that he wants to show the world that 'even a deku's life matters'. Considering that's the alias he's chosen to use as a villain, I suspect the word has a much more personal meaning for him than it does for most. If he really was quirkless up until recently, then it's very likely he was a bully victim in school. Of course how he intends to change the world is anyone's guess, especially considering the actions taken by the League of Villains so far, but I'd be willing to bet that at the core of his motivation is a desire to improve the lot of people like him. Of the quirkless, or at least of the social outcasts."

"That would fit with what he said at the USJ."

Hizashi glanced towards his best friend, noting the thoughtful frown twisting his lips. It was rare that Shouta and All Might agreed on anything, so the fact that they were agreeing on something like this was a little bit concerning. It was so much harder to fight a villain with ideals than it was to fight a petty thief.

"What did he say?" Tsukauchi prompted. "It might give us some insight into his plans."

"Well, when he spoke to me, he mentioned several of my students, citing them as being potentially disillusioned by hero society and what it stands for. That became even more clear when he spoke briefly to Bakugou. I couldn't quote him word for word. I had a concussion and was pretty dazed all around at the time. But it was something about realizing he couldn't save people as a hero, so he decided to do it as a villain."

"That seems… remarkably noble for the leader of a villainous organization," Sekijiro frowned. Shouta's eyes snapped towards him, and Hizashi internally winced. It was time for his bestie's soap box.

"Kan, what exactly do you think the difference is between a hero and a villain?"

"Their actions, of course. One tries to uphold the law, and the other breaks it."

"No. It's perception. I have yet to meet a single criminal that didn't believe they were breaking the law for a valid reason. Maybe that reason would seem petty to you or me. Maybe it would seem downright twisted, but one way or another, they all believed themselves to be justified. A thief believes that he needs the money. A killer believes that he needs revenge. A terrorist believes that the world needs to change. History is written by the victors. That's the only reason we see one side as right and another side as wrong. As a UA teacher and a pro hero, you should already know that."

"Are you suggesting that we simply overlook the boy's actions?"

"The boy threatened the lives of my students-of course I'm not saying that we should brush him off. If anything, I'm saying that Deku may be the biggest threat this school has ever faced. After all, the most dangerous villains in history were the ones that believed they had something worth protecting. And if this kid truly believes he's saving the world, then he has a whole lot to protect."

"I would even go so far as to say that Deku may be one of the greatest threats our entire society has ever faced," Nezu agreed softly, his eyes gleaming in a worrying way as he set the notebook down. "His quirk is a mystery. He's a talented enough fighter to hold Aizawa-kun at bay in single combat. He's extremely intelligent and has an eye for determining an ally's or opponent's strengths and weaknesses if this journal is anything to go by. And he has a cause and a conviction to fight for."

"That doesn't change the fact that he's a fifteen year old kid," Snipe frowned.

"A fifteen year old kid that got over seventy villains to view him as their leader," Shouta countered. "He obviously has the charisma."

"Didn't you say the kid didn't show up until the end though?"

"Yeah. I got the sense that Shigaraki went behind his back with the attack."

"But if that's the case, wouldn't that imply that they view this Shigaraki as a leader just as much as Deku?"

Shouta hesitated; obviously he hadn't thought of that. "Could they possibly be rivals of some sort?" Hizashi suggested cautiously. "Like they're somehow competing for the top spot?"

"Well, part of that could be explained by the fact that several of the villains taken into custody claimed that they'd been hired that very day. However, some had been at least loosely connected to the League for longer. If Midoriya and Shigaraki are in some kind of competition, it would mean there's someone over both of them, waiting to award the position," Tsukauchi frowned, shooting glances towards All Might and Nezu.

"If that's the case, then I'd say Midoriya is winning. Hands down," Shouta snorted softly.

"How so?"

"First, his command to the Nomu creature superseded Shigaraki's. Second, Kurogiri followed his orders primarily. Third, he gave Shigaraki orders and called him out for insubordination. Fourth, he was completely unafraid of Shigaraki even though the guy could disintegrate him with a touch. And finally, he had this air of authority around him that everyone in the vicinity could feel, myself included."

"Not to mention that Shigaraki has the personality of an entitled little brat," All Might muttered, nodding in agreement. "When things didn't go his way, he was visibly upset-honestly, he acted more the part of a child than Midoriya did. He threw a tantrum when Nomu was defeated and didn't respond well to orders, such as when he was commanded to retreat. It seemed like he'd never been told 'no' before, like he thought things would go his way no matter what. He kept talking about Nomu like it was some kind of pet, bragging about its power and screaming whenever he thought that it wasn't trying hard enough. He was like… some sort of man-child."

"A child with incredible power though."

"That's no excuse when a fifteen year old boy acted with more maturity than him," Shouta snorted. Hizashi stared at them, still a little shocked that Shouta and All Might were actually agreeing on something.

"A child that behaves like a man, and a man who behaves like a child," Nezu mused. "It's frightening to think how much common ground both these individuals may share with our students. They all have so much potential. And, like our students, I suppose-as Tsukauchi-kun suggested-that it's possible someone may be guiding them, trying to nurture their malice and villainy."

"I don't wanna think about what that could mean," All Might groaned, leaning on his clenched fists, his blue eyes fixed on the table.

"So what can we do to stop them?" Nem asked quietly, obviously worried by the furrow of her brows.

"Well, this case has been given top priority, even over the recent rash of corruption cases in the station," Tsukauchi smiled in a way that was probably meant to be reassuring. "We'll expand our investigation and continue searching for the perpetrators who planned this attack."

"In the meantime, we should probably discuss how to proceed from here," Nezu agreed, smiling. "First, I think we ought to consider the upcoming Sport's Festival. We should decide upon which pro heroes we want to ask to attend as extra security-"

"We're not holding the Festival. End of discussion."

Hizashi blinked at Shouta, surprised by the determined set of the glower he sent in the principal's direction. It wasn't the bluntness that was shocking-that was kind of Shouta's thing. It was the worry hovering just below the surface of those dark eyes. The concern that he usually kept so carefully hidden behind his gruff exterior.

"Not that I don't understand your concern," he began slowly, "but I wasn't expecting you to be the most outspoken on the matter, Shouta."

"Nor I," Nezu agreed slowly. "Your reasoning?"

"That notebook for one. As you said, Midoriya has a talent for picking apart his enemy's strengths and weaknesses. He's already shown an inordinate amount of interest in my class and likely all of UA judging by what Shinsou told me a few days ago. Do you really want to put every single student's capabilities on display after he openly declared war on them?"

"It is precisely because of that 'declaration' that I believe we should continue with the Festival," Nezu replied calmly. Hizashi actually reached out to grab Shouta's shoulder when his best friend's eyes flashed angrily in return. (Literally-he subconsciously activated his quirk.) "According to the information passed on from Shinsou-kun, Midoriya has already been watching the school and its students for multiple years-perhaps since his disappearance three years ago. If that is the case, he likely knows everything there is to know about our second and third year students already, and judging by the warp villain's actions during the USJ attack, he has likely already gathered the bulk of information he could use against your first years as well. So we may as well demonstrate that this attack will not hold our students back."

"My first years, maybe. But all of the others? Highly doubtful. How can we possibly risk their lives on a political statement?"

Hizashi found himself biting his lip as he chewed over that thought. He didn't have a homeroom class, but he taught English to all of the first years in the school. He didn't want any of them to get hurt. And Gods, seeing the looks on those kids' faces after the USJ… He really didn't want anyone else to have to go through that kind of terror. Especially not this early into their hero training.

"Not for a political statement, no." Nezu replied lightly. "The Sports Festival is an opportunity for hero course students to make connections-to be noticed by pros seeking promising proteges. If we want our students to be capable of standing against this newest threat, then they need the training that the Sport's Festival invariably leads to."

"Then let's just give them the extra training ourselves. They shouldn't have to take that kind of risk."

"We may be working on a system overhaul, but considering that Midoriya has gone completely undiscovered in the past three years of forays onto campus, do you really think we can guarantee that he wouldn't still find a way to observe such training?"

"So we just televise their abilities instead?!"

"I never said that," Nezu countered calmly. Shouta hesitated, and Hizashi's hand on his shoulder relaxed slightly. "I propose that we not televise the Festival this year. Furthermore, we don't open up the stands to the public, nor do we open up booths for vendors outside the venue. Instead, we send out invitations to specific pro heroes to watch the festival and have police and more pros working shifts around the perimeter to prevent any unauthorized access to the stadium. Finally, we can make participation in the Sports Festival optional to students. That way they can choose whether or not to take the risk that less trustworthy eyes may have found a way to spy on them. Does that sound agreeable?"

"Perhaps… that could work," Shouta muttered, although the worry never left his eyes.

Hizashi couldn't blame him. He glanced towards the photograph now resting near Sekijiro on the opposite side of the room. The conversation cautiously moved forwards towards logistics and people who should be invited to the Festival, but Hizashi wasn't really listening. That shy, joyless smile seemed to mock him, reminding him that this enemy they were facing was still a child. Someone the same age as his students. Someone that he should have had the responsibility to protect, not fight.

He couldn't help wondering, if they had been able to reach Midoriya Izuku before the League did, could things have turned out differently?

Outtake:

Ochaco hurried across the sands, casting a regretful frown towards the piles of junk scattered across the beach illuminated by the sun as it descended towards the horizon. This was probably once a beautiful place. The kind of place that people came to all the time, but now Dagobah Beach was basically an illegal junkyard. It seemed a strange place to meet on a Sunday evening, but she supposed that at least the mess meant that there was nobody around.

Maybe she could convince some of her classmates to help her clean it up?

"All- Yagi-san!" she corrected herself as the skinny blond man came into view, seated on a bench set close to the ancient wharf midway down the beach. He glanced back towards her, a tired smile twisting his lips as he waved for her to join him. Panting slightly, Ochaco accepted the wordless invitation, taking a seat beside her teacher. "What's up?" she asked without preamble, smiling up at him even as she fought to catch her breath.

He blinked, obviously a bit startled, then chuckled. "You seem well, Uraraka-shoujo," he smiled. "I hope you're not shaken too badly by everything, then."

"Oh, I was a mess that first night," Ochaco shrugged, "but Shinsou-kun has been nice enough to let me stay with his family over the weekend, so it hasn't been too bad overall."

"Shinsou-shounen seems like a good friend."

"He really is, even if he'd never admit it," Ochaco laughed, looking over the sunlit water. It really was awful that so many people in his life had cast him aside just because of his quirk, because Shinsou-kun really was an incredible person. She shook her head slightly, casting aside such sad thoughts. "So anyways, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Ah. Well, I… I wanted to get to know you a bit better," All MIght admitted, rather awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Er, not in a strange way of course. It's just… well, you know a rather sensitive secret about me, young lady, and I do trust you, but, I suppose I feel obligated to… keep track of the people that I have entrusted it with."

The brunette blinked at him, then beamed, her brown eyes scrunching up with the width of her smile. "Well, alright then! What d'you wanna know?"

"W-Well, for starters, I was curious about the combat skills you displayed before?"

"Oh that," Ochaco laughed a little, grinning. "The pro hero Gunhead came to my hometown a couple of years ago to teach a self-defense seminar. I loved his class, so I've kept it up over the years."

"Well, it's obvious that you learned his lessons well, Uraraka-shoujo."

"So? What else?"

"Erm, well, I already know what your quirk is and that you want to be a hero… although I suppose I am curious as to why?"

"Hm," Ochaco murmured, turning towards the ocean once more. "If we're cutting to the chase, it was about the money."

All Might choked next to her, spraying blood, his blue eyes wide. There followed several minutes of the both of them scrambling for a handkerchief and apologizing back and forth because… well, honestly she couldn't remember how it had started. "So, what is it about the money that appeals to you, young lady?" the blonde asked after regaining his composure, wiping his bloodied lips with the tissue they'd eventually found.

"My parents own a construction company," Ochaco explained quietly, fidgeting in her seat, "but in a world of quirks, there isn't exactly a lot of work for them. It's not so much that I care about money, really, it's just that my parents have sacrificed so much in their lives to care for me. I want to be able to make enough money to give my parents an easy life, and since I enjoy helping people too, being a hero just sorta… fit."

"I see. That's quite admirable-"

"But…" Ochaco mused, frowning down at her hands, "it's more than that now, ever since I saw Bakugou-kun's friend at the USJ. Y'see, I grew up poor. So poor, we didn't always have enough to eat. I remember feeling so… lost. Helpless, even. There was one time I remember sneaking down in the middle of the night because I was so, so thirsty, only to run back up the stairs because I saw my mom crying over the most recent water bill and my dad just holding her and trying to be strong. I remember what it was like to feel desperate, and alone, and like nobody could help us. Like nobody cared to help us. And when I saw Bakugou-kun's friend, just for a second, I thought that he looked the same: lost and hopeless, just like I was back then.

"I guess… I guess I wanna be the hero that reaches out to those kinds of people. I wanna be the hero that brings hope to the ones that fall through the cracks. That saves the people nobody knows need saving. Then, maybe, we'll have a few less people in the world that are desperate enough to become villains."

All Might had fallen eerily quiet by the end of Ochaco's quiet confession. She was almost afraid to glance up at him, wondering what she would see in his eyes. But when she finally worked up the courage to meet his gaze, all that Ochaco could see was warmth. Warmth and maybe even something like pride. She blinked in surprise as the man reached out, gently placing a hand on top of her head and offering her a kind smile, so much more genuine than the ones he gave in his muscly form.

"If anybody can do it, you can, Uraraka-shoujo," he murmured, turning to watch the sunset once more. "You'll be a remarkable hero one day. I know it."

What'd y'all think of the teachers' take on everything? And what I did with the Sports Festival? And All Might getting to know Ochaco a bit? And her new reasons for wanting to become a hero?

Anyway, next update comes from Class 1-A's manly man! Those of you commenting about how Bakugou's gonna have some major BFF trauma, it's coming up on June 20th! Until then, go beyond! PLUS ULTRA!