(Authors note: I wrote myself into a corner and couldnt figure out how to continue on from where I left off so i have rewrote the last part of this chapter.)
Zuko wakes up with the sun, dressing in fine day clothes and stuffing a wallet he had filled up with notes from the card his father kept open for him leaving his home early and heading for the seedier part of his city. Half an hour of walking, making himself seem like an easy mark when he's pulled into an alleyway by a pair of clawed hands pulls him into a dark alleyway.
"Give me your wallet or I'll burn you alive." a deep feminin voice threatens and zuko chuckles.
"Good luck with that." he rasps, grabbing her arm and spinning her pinning one arm behind her back, his knee on her spine.
"Seventy thugs attacked the usj yesterday. That kind of thing makes a splash on the street, what do you know about it."
"I know nothing."
"I don't doubt that." he twists her arm just to the edge of where it might snap."
"Stop, stop! They talked about a bar, said that they paid good money. I never made it to the bar, told-em to shove it."
"Good, now this never happened julie." he says her name letting her go and when she jumps up he's disappeared, she sighs, picking her wallet up from the ground and finding her identification gone.
"Do gooder bastard." she snarls a wisp of fire escaping her mouth.
Thousands of bars in this city alone, and with the warp quirk user the bar could realistically be anywhere in the world he'd need to go for a more direct method. He changes in an alleyway, donning his blue spirit costume heading for the prison holding a large portion of the lesser villains from the usj, making his way inside, dodging cameras and making his way to the main holding area before the alarms sound opening a cell and slipping inside catching a fist and snapping the arm backwards tossing him against the wall.
"Who the fuck are you!" the man spits holding his broken limb, zuko drawing his swords and in quick concise movements he carves one word into the wall above his head.
U.S.J
The man's eyes widen, "I don't know anything, I swear, they took me to a bar gave me some drinks…. The kid shigaraki asked me some nerdy video game questions and told me that we'd be gathered to attack the usj" i. Zuko moves, carving another word.
Poorly lit, uh… stone dingy I could smell those shitty cigarettes Giren smokes."
Giren he carves again.
"Information broker, grey hair missing tooth. Go after him… fuck hes gonna kill me." he mutters looking down and when he looks back up zuko is gone, partway to the fence when a pillar of fire nearly hits him, zuko sensing it and dodging to the side.
"Give up, before you get burned." If zuko was not a method actor he would groan. His father, here to apprehend him. Zuko tilts his head to the side as if considering before rushing his father, drawing his swords and dissipating his fathers so called hellfire slamming the bottoms of the word into his fathers temples throwing him off guard as he pushes off of him running up the gate and jumping over the barbwire to land between the two fences cutting through the second one as Endeavour regains his bearings and blasts his way through the fence to give chase. Zuko rushes into an alleyway and by the time Endeavour catches up he's vanished.
The rest of the break passes quickly, this Giren is a ghost, known by everyone in the underground but he contacted you, not the other way around. He walks into class early to find Iida sitting in his seat in an empty classroom.
"Todoroki" he greets standing and power walking over, bowing.
"I would like to thank you for helping our classmates during the attack, all i was good for is running messages but you saved lives that day."
"You saved lives too, sometimes it is better to bring reinforcements than to try and take on the enemy alone."
"Yes, a good bit of wisdom. Thank you but I still wish I was able to do more." he says standing up both going to their desks as the rest of the hero course trickles in, zuko had already graduated so he would begin training with the second and third year classes to try to fit in as many of the courses U.A had that a regular school did not.
"I know that you've all had a harrowing experience but now is not the time to rest." Aizawa warns coming up to the podium, most of the class panicking.
"The sports festival will be held in one week, this is a big moment for any aspiring hero." he goes on to explain that they only get three chances throughout their lifetimes to compete.
"If you screw it up you can get stuck as a sidekick forever." Jiro adds side eying Denki.
"Hey!"
"Todoroki, the older one." aizawa clarifies. "You will not be participating in the sports festival due to your level of skill displayed during the villain's attacks,Nedzu has decided you will not be allowed to participate in the sports festival."
Zuko nods, having expected this.
"Good, now nedzu wants to see you, after class go to his office.
"OOhh someones in trouble." kaminari jokes earning a glare from Aizawa.
Zuko knocks on the simple wooden door.
"Come in." zuko pushes the door open walking into the room, finding nedzu sitting at his desk sipping tea.
"Ah, young todoroki welcome. I have an offer for you.. Well i say offer but its more of an ultimatum."
"I do appreciate the honesty sir." he says going to sir across from nedzu.
"I reviewed the reports from the Villians attack of my campus." Nezu says pausing to take a sip of hot leaf juice.
"Aizawa and allmight agree that you preformed better than many pro heroes, and from what ive seen things are going to get worse quickly from this point foreward."
"And what part have you decided i will play in this?" zuko asks getting to the point of this.
"Straight to the point, i can appreciate that. Ive made an agreement with the hero association for you to take a modified version of the provisional licencing exam alone in one month."
"And would i want to know how you arranged this?"
"Telling you would be giving up my leverage." he says with a laugh.
"Tell me, what would you gain from me getting a provisional hero licence."
"You and Azula are very interesting up and coming heroes, and i am excited to see your growth. I believe you are atleast as well trained as aizawa and seeing as you will be with class 1a at almost all times it seems like a good idea to make sure you can fight freely without having to worry about the law." Zuko knows Nezu would ask something from him later but he finds himself longing to freely use his bending.
"Ok, ill do it." zuko agrees and nedzu grins, showing far to many teeth.
"Perfect."