Author's Note:
we're getting a bit deeper into the plot now! i really wanted this chapter to focus on izuku, his thoughts, his dynamics with others. and also a bit about aizawa. it's also less humor-focussed than other chapters, i think but going forward i want to have similar balance in the chapters.
anyway, read on! hope you enjoy!
Izuku walks to the dorms in a heavy daze of confusing thoughts. He can't help it. The moment Naruto had vanished, the theories in his head had hopped onto a treadmill, running fast and free.
Beside him, Bakugo and Todoroki talk in heated whispers. He catches bits and pieces of something about the matrimony laws of the twelfth century and decides he wants nothing to do with that conversation.
Worried and curious faces greet them inside the living room. But Izuku avoids them and meets Iida's tense eyes, quickly making his way towards him.
"Where the hell did you disappear?" he asks, throwing a troubled gaze towards Bakugo and Todoroki. "Without you there, those two have been driving me insane."
"I got locked outside," Iida replies, a small smile tugging at his lips. "I tried waiting but I sort of got bored. I knew you'd tell me everything that went inside later on."
Izuku heaves a great sigh, "I will. Ofcourse. But honestly– it's such an unbelievable story. I'm not sure I've processed everything myself."
"Take your time with it," Iida says. "Unlike our classmates, I am not frothing at the mouth to know what went on with Naruto."
At that, Izuku turns his gaze towards the huddle forming rapidly around Bakugo and thanks his lucky stars that his friends decided not make him the target of their hyena-like inquisitivity.
"Hey, Izuku?"
Izuku gives his attention to Iida again and quirks his brow.
"Is Naruto still on the campus premises? Or is he, you know... imprisoned or something?"
Izuku laughs, short and abrupt. Even though he's known the guy for a grand total of two hours, he's sure they won't ever be able to imprison Naruto. Not without a full squadron of trained hero personel anyway.
"No," he sobers up at Iida's confused look. "No. He's not here anymore. He just left. Vanished. Disappeared. Departed. Faded away. Dematerialised. Take your pick."
Iida rolls his eyes, "You're super tired, aren't you? You always say a bunch of bullshit when you're at your exhaustion threshold."
Izuku responds with a skeptical tone, "Are you keeping track of things like that? My personal fatigue limits and such? Will I find an error analysis report on my sleeping schedule in your personal diary next. Will I?"
"See?" Iida smiles teasingly. "A bunch of bullshit."
Izuku nudges him playfully and they both retreat into the kitchen. Ochako and Tokoyami are in the process of preparing instant ramen – a staple of their dorms.
"Hey! You can't use your quirk in the dorms!" Izuku chides exaggeratedly, seeing Dark Shadow pour hot water into a cup.
"I have no control over Dark Shadow," Tokoyami mutters. "He does his own thing. Fight with him, Midoriya."
"Liar," Izuku says flatly. "Make me some too, and I won't tell sensei."
"I already did," Ochako speaks up, amusement shining her eyes.
"Oh," Izuku replies, blinking. "Thanks."
Ochako hands him a serving and they position themselves against a marble countertop while Iida tries to convince Tokoyami to adhere to dorm rules for once, goddamit!
"So, what happened to him? Naruto?"
"Nothing," Izuku tells Ochako. "He escaped. Aizawa sensei is going to tell everyone about what we've learned about Naruto but come to Iida's room later if you want to know before that. I don't think I'll be able to sleep without getting this off my chest."
Ochako hums in thought, "I thought he was with the league."
"He isn't," Izuku quickly reassures. "That much I am certain of. Honestly, I don't think he is a threat. But at the same time, I think he might becomes one if Nedzu and sensei don't handle matters with him smartly, you know?"
"Okay," Ochako says, frowning at the noodles in her cup. "Be straight with me. Should I be worried about this guy? He gave us all a scare. Denki and Mina were so tense till Iida returned. I don't want a repeat of what's happened before by not being on guard."
"I know," Izuku says quietly. "Usually, I trust my instincts on such matters. They're telling me Naruto won't harm us. But let's still be cautious, okay? I am sure we will cross paths with him again."
Ochako nods in understanding and they complete their meal in comfortable yet charged silence.
"Ah, Izuku!" Iida calls and approaches them. "I meant to show you this earlier but we got distracted. I found this in the corridor outside MMR. I believe this belongs to Naruto."
Izuku accepts the object Iida offers him. It's an odd headpiece made of fabric wraps with a metal at the centre. On it is a carved insignia he doesn't recognise. It looks worn and used. Like it has value for its sentimentality much more than its expensiveness.
"I saw this tied to his arm," Ochako says, eyes fixed on the head gear. "He must've dropped it."
Izuku sighs again. "First the handkerchief, now this. It's inevitable that we'll see Naruto again."
"Handkerchief?" Iida questions.
"Let's go to your room," Izuku grins lightly. "It's a long story."
Izukuu wakes up to a sharp jab at his side.
Groaning, he pushes away the offending elbow and scoots towards the edge of the bed. He doesn't yet remember where he is or what species he belongs to but he knows someone really annoying has just woken him up.
He tries to go back to sleep but consciousness kicks in and soon he's sitting upright in Iida's bed, his friend snoring quietly beside him. He stares for a good few minutes at the blinds of the window, barely illuminated by the morning rays.
Then, he hops off and as carefully as he can manage, he opens the door, steps outside and shuts it close. He knows Iida's a pretty heavy sleeper but he doesn't want to take any chances.
He pads his way across the corridor and down the stairs. Stepping into the kitchen, he takes in the lingering smell of ramen. It's too fresh for it to have been from last night.
He figures it's Kirishima or Jirou's doing. They're both notoriously known for being the early-risers in their dorms, oftentimes waking everyone else up with their music-heavy workout routines or jam sessions at the ass-crack of dawn.
Yawning, Izuku pours himself a glass of icy orange juice in one go.
He drinks half of it and then, like a lightning bolt hitting his head straight-on–through the power of vitamin D, he hypothesises– he realises something. Something very important.
If he wasn't mindful of having to clean up later on, he'd have dropped his glass right on the floor for dramatic effect.
Because the epiphany he comes to is this:
He never sent in his internship application and now the deadline has passed.
Fuck his life, he supposes.
Aizawa contemplates aspects of his life on a regular basis.
Sometimes, it's about which eye-drop brand will dominate the market in ten years. Other times, it's about the disturbingly anthropomorphic cat he sees two blocks outside UA everyday. Mostly because looking at that cat is akin to looking at a mirror.
Silver lining: the cat is one handsome bastard.
But most of the time, Aizawa wonders about heroics and heroes, viillainy and villains. How can he not? It's his job. The very fabric of his day to day life. Yamada says he should preside over their Ethics class with all the overthinking he does about their professional morality.
Truth is: Aizawa doesn't know shit about what's wrong or right. What's fair or unfair. Who is a villain? Who is the enemy? Are they the same?
Three years into his career, he'd severely maimed a robber on the run. It was an accident, one he regrets to this day. He'd understood then, that while he was the hero in the old lady's story who had her valuables stolen– he was the villain for the twenty-something year old homeless vagabond.
Maybe these shades of grey in their society, this foggy nuance is making it so difficult for him to pinpoint Naruto's character. Usually, his first impressions and judgements of a person are pretty spot-on, if not a little prejudiced but even after sleeping on the matter, Aizawa is not sure. Naruto is a threat is all he knows. If he's a good or bad person, if he's a nuisance or guidance, if he's helpful or harmful – only time will tell.
But one thing Aizawa is determined to do is give Naruto an open mind. He can't afford to alienate an asset or befriend a foe. Not when he's still learning about what those words mean to him.
It's during the Heroics' History class that the intercom comes alive.
"Uhem," Nedzu coughs crisply, static ringing in everyone's ears. "May I have your attention please? I request sensei Aizawa, Izuku Midoriya, Katsuki Bakugo, Shoto Todoroki and Tenya Iida to kindly come to my office immediately. That's all. Thank you."
Izuku quickly exits the classroom along with the other three and they meet Aizawa-sensei outside Nedzu's office door.
"Well, this is odd," Todoroki helpfully comments.
"It got us out of history, so I'm not complaining," Bakugo replies, pocketing his hands.
"I'll have to take notes from Ochako," Iida mutters, frowning. "It was such an interesti–"
"Do you think he's found a lead?" Izuku asks Aizawa, nodding his head towards the door. "That intercom summoning was a little excessive."
Aizawa sweeps his bored eyes across their group and shrugs, "Only one way to find out."
They knock and open the door. Izuku takes a step in, then freezes.
Sitting across Nedzu, sipping from a hot cup of tea is Naruto himself. They seem to have been engaged in a conversation but are now looking at them – the blond sports a sheepish smile.
"Huh. What a surprise," Aizawa remarks dryly, pointedly, settling into the chair beside Naruto.
Nedzu nods his head indulgently, "Indeed. It seems Naruto wasn't lying when he said he would be back."
"I never lie," Naruto says casually, sipping again. "By the way, this tea tastes like the underside of a muddied shoe."
"Thank you," Nedzu responds politely.
"Are you sure that was a compliment?" Izuku mumbles.
"Now then, let's start our discussions again, shall we?" Nedzu claps his hands once and waits for the four students to take seats on the couch. "True to my word, I have acquired a lie detector. It's being looked over by the Support Department currently. I have called you four–" he looks at Izuku and the rest, "–because you were the original witnesses of Naruto's appearance and whatever has transpired between us since. Please refrain from disclosing information that is shared within this space with your dorm mates. Anything we find that is necessary for them to know will be brought to their attention by your teacher."
Izuku nods because there's no point telling Nedzu that he will be sharing whatever happens here with Ochako later on anyway. Bakugo rolls his eyes but stays silent while Iida dutifully acknowledges the instructions given.
Todoroki has somehow gotten into a starting contest with Naruto.
"I think this is a good time to clarify," Naruto blinks, smiling at Todoroki's victory smirk and turns towards Nedzu. "That I am not here to take the lie detector test or whatever."
"You're not?" Nedzu asks, eyes narrowing. Aizawa is watching things unfold with a keen eye but today he doesn't seem too interested in leaping into a fight with Naruto. Izuku likes that approach much better.
"Nah," Naruto reaffirms.
"Then why are you here?" Izuku questions. He wonders how Nedzu hadn't already gotten the purpose of Naruto's visit out of him already. By the looks of it, the two had been sharing a chat before they'd arrived.
Naruto faces them again and the smile from before is gone. His expression is neutral but Izuku can feel his intensity. It's like a palpable, floaty thing in the room.
"To take back what's mine."
A beat of silence. Then, Bakugo scoffs.
"Here," he throws a white handkerchief right at Naruto. "Take your stupid little napkin and fuck off."
Naruto smoothly snatches the piece of fabric from the air and pockets it. His lips twitch upwards but he's still stone-faced, serious. It's unnerving to say the least.
"That's not what I'm talking about floppy," Naruto says as his eyes find Iida's. "You have something of mine, don't you?"
Aizawa pins them with a questioning look while Nedzu's paw hovers over the small button on his desk. Izuku knows it's for the emergency siren located in the staffroom.
He squeezes Iida's arm in assurance and meets Naruto's dizzyingly blue eyes. His palm tingles.
"You're talking to the wrong person," he speaks up. Patting the slightly bulged side of his pants, he continues, "It's me who has what you lost."
They all had sensed it a while ago. This buzzing energy enveloping Naruto. Like a rubber pulled taut, ready to fire.
Izuku knows the object in his pocket means a lot to Naruto for it to evoke such strong emotions from the blond.
"Cool," Naruto replies, extending his hand. "Mind returning it to me?"
Izuku doesn't have to think a lot about it. The safety and security of his friends and schoolmates always comes before anything else. And this will eat at him later but for now, he'll go with his gut and his strategies.
"No. Not at all," Izuku returns amiably. "But on one condition."
Naruto closes his eyes, then opens them again. He looks irritated now, which is a horrible sign but Nedzu is giving him a look much like approval and Aizawa sensei hasn't intervened yet so Izuku knows his move isn't a bad one.
"I am not taking the lie detector test," Naruto declares, sounding very sure of himself.
"Then you don't get your head gear back," Izuku says simply, factually. One for All is throbbing under his skin, flowing steadily, poising itself for whatever defence might be necessary.
Naruto glances at Aizawa who is seated but alert, at Nedzu whose sharp eyes are trained on him, at Bakugo, Iida and Todoroki who look every inch the heroes-in-training that they are.
And just like that, all tension drains out of Naruto. He slumps into his chair and cards his fingers through his hair.
Izuku wants to think it means surrender. Or the olive branch for a truce. But it's clear that it's none of that when Naruto speaks again.
"I really didn't want to do this but that head gear is more important to me than maintaining cordiality with you so I hope you understand," he rubs a hand down his face, looks straight at Izuku. "Sorry for reducing your ramen supply and for tearing your pants."
Izuku tries to compute the bizarre words. Ramen supply? Tearing your pants? What the hell is he talking abo–
In a flash, Naruto's hand is ghosting near his pocket. A rip echoes in the room and the next thing they know – Naruto is pulling out some kind of scroll at impeccable speeds. He puts the now retrieved metal gear on the paper and it disappears. He makes a weird handsign, shouts a few words and the scroll disappears too.
The good thing to come out of this chaos is the white bandage that is now wrapped firmly around Naruto's waist. Finally, finally, Aizawa has the blond tied up.
Izuku ignores his torn up pocket in favour of surrounding Naruto with his friends. He doesn't comprehend what the scroll means or the vanishing of that metal piece but it doesn't matter. They actually have a chance at subduing Naruto.
But Naruto doesn't squirm or struggle in Aizawa's clasp. He simply stands still, letting them trap him slowly.
"Bakugo," Aizawa calls, his hair floating above his head. "Knock him out."
Izuku can almost hear the crescendo of an opera performance in the distance. They all hold their breaths as Bakugo nods, serious for once, and brings up his hand to boost his blast.
With a single, practiced, swift move, he punches Naruto with a controlled explosion.
Poof.
Naruto's body dissolves into smoke, leaving Aizawa's bandages dangling mid-air.
"What the fuck," Izuku blinks.
"He – he just... " Iida tries to articulate what they'd just seen. It's different than the tendrils of smoke after a teleportation.
This is like a balloon bursting. Like the sudden release of air on it deflating. Like Naruto wasn't made of flesh or bones or blood – but smoke, just loads of white smoke. And now he's gone with the wind, dissipated forever.
Nedzu sighs heavily, collecting the teacups and placing them in the sink at the far end.
"I suppose I will contact Naomasa about this issue. We are clearly unequipped to handle this possible time traveler."
Izuku nods idly, his attention taken over by the ripped out pocket of his pants. It reminds him of the genuine remorse in Naruto's tone before he'd flashed to his side or the steel in those blue, friendly eyes when Izuku had presented that ultimatum.
His hand burns again. He fists it and hopes that he gets to meet Naruto again – if only to ask him why that beat-up scrap of iron is so precious to the blond.
To ask if that story is anything like the one of the ruined, blow-dried notebook that sits in his bedroom's drawer now.
Author's Note:
and that's a wrap! :P
hope you all liked the chapter! i really wanted to show how emotional a person naruto is. his attachment with that forehead protector is immense, we know that. so his response to having it used as blackmail against him is to be expected.
buuuut izuku naruto aren't gonna be enemies or anything like that at all. idk if i made a mention of it or not but this naruto is nineteen years old (i referred to him as a man in chap one several times). just wanted to make that clear.
(also nothing is happening between naruto bkg romantically like come on guys xP)
anyway, thank you loads for reading!!
any feedback is welcome and i hope you have a wonderful day ahead!!