The analysis Izuku was working on was vital, but that didn't mean that he was putting Bakugou on the back burner. No, it was quite the opposite actually. Especially after he and Nedzu had another afternoon chat over tea during Izuku's day off. He had been escorted onto UA's campus by Hizashi (and he really could not wait until he could move about freely again without worrying about being harassed by Bakugou) and he could tell by the look on Nedzu's face that it was going to be a serious talk.
"You were correct," Nedzu began after serving the tea and cookies. There were more cookies than normal-enough that Izuku would be able to take some home with him after, which was rare.
They were apology cookies, he realized after a moment. That didn't bode well at all for the conversation they were about to have.
Izuku settled back into his seat, wrapping his hands around the sturdy mug Nedzu had given him, instead of the normal (and slightly more delicate) tea cup he was normally provided. "What happened?" Izuku asked gently when Nedzu didn't immediately begin.
The only sign of Nedzu's upset was the way his whiskers twitched as he said, "I observed Bakugou for quite a number of days."
"Until Best Jeanist took him out of the field," Izuku said in agreement, fingers tightening slightly around his tea. Nedzu didn't do this . Nedzu was the most direct creature Izuku had ever met, he didn't dance around the subject. Izuku didn't like this at all.
"Bakugou, when he was in the field, was focused and effective, if destructive," Nedzu continued quietly. "A credit to Shouta's teaching." He paused then. "Unless you were in the near vicinity. I calculated that when Bakugou saw you, or had reason to believe you were near, the structural damage he caused increased by seventy-five percent, and injury to civilians and other Heroes increased by thirty at a minimum."
It was all Izuku could do to keep his breathing steady. Shouta had offered to switch patrol shifts with someone else and come with him. Izuku had refused-he'd had tea with Nedzu hundreds of times, he hadn't thought there was any reason to be concerned.
He wished Shouta had come with him.
"OK," he managed after a few moments, pleased that his voice was steady. "Is it that the thought of me distracts him?"
"I thought so, at first," Nedzu murmured. "But as I continued to observe him, I realized it was deeper-and far more concerning. The thought of you infuriates him. The mere thought of you being around makes him lose all semblance of control." Nedzu sighed then. "I had thought," he admitted, "That when you gave me that analysis, you were perhaps being blinded by what had happened during school. It was arrogance on my part, that made me refuse to consider that a student from UA could act in such a villainous manner."
Izuku managed a small smile. "I was worried I was being blinded too." His smile grew a little at the slight twitch of the nose Nedzu offered at that, his only expression of surprise. "There was a reason I brought you the analysis, beyond just wanting your help," he pointed out. "I needed to know if what I was seeing was accurate, or if I was projecting my own issues with Bakugou."
"I wish I could have given you different news," Nedzu said quietly. He had known Izuku for years at this point, and he could clearly see that Izuku was holding onto his composure by a bare thread. He could also see that Izuku would refuse any attempt to pause the conversation until Shouta could be reached to come and provide moral support
"So do I." Izuku sighed, forcing his white-knuckled grip on his tea mug to loosen. "It is what it is, unfortunately."
Correctly taking Izuku's renewed focus on his as the silent request for him to continue that it was, Nedzu took a sip of his own tea before speaking again. "You are already aware of this, but it bears repeating. Bakugou is under the impression that he is in love with you. He believes he is in love with you, and he hates you for your constant denial of him." A quick, sly little smirk darted over Nedzu's muzzle when he caught Izuku's surprise. "I didn't observe him only while he was in the field, that was just where I was most obvious."
Izuku took a moment to acknowledge, if only to himself, just how creepy that sounded. And then he dismissed that, and leaned forward slightly. "Find out anything else interesting?"
"He has managed to convince your co-worker that he is far less possessive than Shouta is, and that in his gratitude he would be willing to, ah, share you with her once they've managed to separate you from Shouta." Nedzu couldn't help the faint grimace that crossed his face at that.
Izuku's expression matched perfectly, an equally disgusted grimace twisting his own face. "Well, that's horrifying," he muttered. "Explains why she's helping him though. And confirms that she is helping him." They'd known she was, but hadn't been able to prove it. Nedzu observing that was more than proof enough for Izuku, and he couldn't think of anyone who would disagree. Even those who disliked Nedzu would admit that if he said he'd seen something, he'd seen it. He wouldn't lie, not even for his favorite student.
"Quite so." Nedzu rested his chin on his paws for a moment, considering. "I also managed to confirm that Nite-Lite was the one who had ransacked your apartment-apparently Shouta said something to her that upset her greatly, and she decided to take it out on you since at that time they were both unaware of where Shouta lived."
The conversation might have started with terrible news-even if it had been expected-but all Izuku felt now was an overwhelming sense of relief. He was finally getting some answers . He had never done well with unknown variables, and waffling between whether it had been Nite-Lite or Bakugou had stretched his nerves thin.
"That is very good to know," Izuku breathed out with a small, bright smile. "Did they mention how they found out where Shouta lives?"
If it had been anyone else, Nedzu would have been concerned-or even suspicious-about that sort of smile in the face of the news he'd just been given. But Nedzu could see the open relief, and he knew first hand just how much Izuku hated unanswered questions. "They did not, unfortunately, but I am confident we will figure that out in time as well. I believe, given that I've heard Nite-Lite is being temporarily transferred to Tokyo, that now is a good time to start the secondary part of our Media attack."
Izuku paused. "How do you know she's being sent to Tokyo?" He had to swallow back his laughter at the politely incredulous look Nedzu shot him. Yeah, that had been a dumb question. "Never mind. I agree, now is going to be a good time to start the second phase." He went silent and tipped his head to the side, considering their options. "I have Todoroki on our side as well, and he's willing to spread some false information."
"Perfect!" Nedzu clapped his paw together, pleased with how things were coming together. "Bakugou was asking him about your whereabouts and when you would be alone, so first and foremost I believe our first step should be making sure that Todoroki informs Bakugou of how you are escorted everywhere now." He held up a paw, forestalling Izuku's protests. "It is important that you be protected, Izuku, and Bakugou is far less likely to confront you if you aren't alone."
Izuku knew when to give in gracefully-at least when it came to Nedzu. "Then we'll need to make sure that we overemphasize how often people other than Shouta are around. He's made it clear that he's perfectly willing to confront the both of us together, but he's never directly confronted me when anyone else was around."
Nedzu nodded, typing on his computer briefly. "That works well. We will continue to have Todoroki feed him false information, and when the time comes we will have Todoroki lead him right to us."
The right lie-like Izuku being in a vulnerable place and in a spot where Bakugou might be able to get past his armor enough to steal him from Shouta-would lead Bakugou to them as easy as breathing. "We'll need to make sure Todoroki provides enough obviously correct information that Bakugou will believe him when the time comes," he mumbled to himself, digging briefly for his notebook and scribbling down a few ideas before looking up at Nedzu's soft noise of amusement. "What?" He asked, suddenly a bit self conscious.
"I've missed watching you take an idea and run with it," Nedzu said, affection obvious in his voice. "Come in!" Nedzu raised his voice, his office door opening and revealing Hizashi standing there-still poised to knock.
"I hope you know that never gets any less creepy," the blonde grumbled as he stepped into the room. He paused and swept his gaze over Izuku's mug and the tightness around his eyes that betrayed his stress, no matter the slight blush still on his cheeks. "Should I come back?" He asked slowly.
Izuku met Nedzu's gaze for a moment. "No," he decided, tipping the mug back and draining the remainder of the tea. "I think we're done for today."
"I agree," Nedzu said, hopping off of his chair to gather the remaining cookies in a container that he offered to Izuku.
Taking the container with a small, warm smile, Izuku turned to Hizashi. "I'm ready whenever you are."
The walk back to the apartment was filled with quiet chatter, and Izuku calmly slapping Hizashi's
hand away every time it crept anywhere near the bag he'd stashed the container of cookies in. Izuku deserved those cookies tonight. But Hizashi had an impressive pout, and Izuku sighed and handed over one cookie with a slight scowl.
"Yes!" Hizashi cheered, quickly popping the cookie into his mouth like he was afraid someone would try to steal it. "Nedzu never bakes for us, but these cookies are to die for!"
"You only get the one, so enjoy it," Izuku said, amused despite himself at the exaggerated look of despair Hizashi gave him. "Nedzu almost never bakes enough cookies for me to take any home with me. These are apology cookies . From Nedzu ."
Laughing, Hizashi agreed that he wouldn't be giving away apology cookies baked by Nedzu either.
They said their goodbyes at the door, and Izuku slipped into the apartment quietly. Shouta wasn't back from patrol yet, so Izuku decided to make dinner-something that would still be good warmed up, just in case Shouta was out later than expected. Focused on the stove, Izuku jumped and squeaked- loudly -when arms wrapped around him from behind. "Smells good," Shouta murmured against his neck, laughter evident in his voice.
"Rude," Izuku huffed, making sure to hide his smile. "I'm making you dinner and you try to give me a heart attack." Turning to face Shouta, he wrinkled his nose and took a small step back. "Go shower," he ordered.
Pretty much covered in a mixture of dry dirt and dust that left him a pale gray, Shouta offered a little smirk. "I think I'd like another hug again, first," he teased, taking a step forward.
"Absolutely not." Izuku couldn't hide his laughter this time. "I don't look good in gray at all."
"You look great in everything," Shouta said firmly, before swooping in and scooping Izuku into a tight hug despite Izuku's laughing protest. "And now you match-can't have the back half of you all gray and not your front."
Izuku groaned and shoved at his chest. "Go take a damned shower," he laughed, shaking his
head. Brushing at his clothes uselessly after Shouta let him go, he rolled his eyes. Hearing the shower kick on, he turned the heat on the stove down and moved into the bedroom to change clothes quickly. The dusty mixture was sticking to his clothes stubbornly, and he had no interest in eating covered in dirt.
Shouta re-entered the kitchen as Izuku was turning the stove off, and the sweet kiss and far more gentle half hug than the one he offered earlier would have soothed any irritation if Izuku had been feeling any. "How was patrol?" He asked as they settled in to eat.
"Messy," Shouta answered drily, making Izuku laugh.
"No kidding," he agreed. "That was on par with some of the messes Hitoshi has had to clean off at my apartment-although nothing could ever beat the green slime. I might have to make you a scrapbook of your biggest messes as well," Izuku teased gently.
Shouta paused. "If you have pictures of the green slime I'm going to have to insist on seeing them," he said after a moment.
Izuku grinned at him. "Oh, I absolutely have pictures."
After dinner, Izuku hopped up on the counter beside the sink after Shouta shooed him away from the dishes. "You cooked, I'll clean up," he said firmly.
"Nedzu and I had an interesting conversation today," Izuku murmured after a little while of just watching Shouta. The silence was comfortable, but he had no interest in bringing this up too close to bed. That was just begging for nightmares that he hadn't had in years to pop back up.
"Hizashi texted me and said you seemed upset after."
Ah. That explained why Shouta had actually been home a little early, despite the obviously messy capture he'd participated in.
"Yeah. Nedzu said he agreed with my new analysis of Bakugou, which is what I expected." Despite that, a frown tugged at Izuku's lips.
"You don't seem happy about that," Shouta observed neutrally.
Izuku offered a slightly sheepish look. "No," he admitted. "I was honestly hoping that I was blowing what I'd been observing out of proportion, but I wasn't. Nedzu did the calculations, and apparently both injuries and structural damage by Bakugou go up significantly if he even thinks I'm in the area."
Shouta grimace. "Well, that's a problem."
"No kidding," Izuku muttered before sighing. "Well, part of the problem is going away-at least for a little while. Hideo transferring Nite-Lite is a huge weight off of me, and hopefully collaborating will be too difficult with the two of them in different cities."
"We can only hope," Shouta grumbled as he finished the last of the dishes and held a hand out to Izuku so he could hop down off the counter.
Taking Shouta's hand with a smile, Izuku let Shouta steady him as he hopped down and made his way to the couch for their nightly cuddling session. It had easily turned into his favorite part of the day. "Nedzu was also apparently spying on Bakugou more than we saw-he heard Nite-Lite and Bakugou talking, and not only did it confirm that they're working together, but he heard that Nite- Lite was the one who broke into my apartment the second time and tore it all up."
"Damn," Shouta murmured, slightly wide eyed. "How did Nedzu-"
Izuku didn't let him finish the rest of that sentence. "I don't know, and I don't want to know. How Nedzu gets anywhere he does and overhears what he does is way beyond my paygrade." It made sense in the school-the vents went above every single room, and Nedzu was small enough that he could go through the vents and not be heard or seen at all. But outside of the school? It was best for Izuku's sanity to just not think about it. Otherwise he'd have to consider if Nedzu had ever spied on him outside of school.
"I'm sort of pissed off that Nite-Lite transferred," Shouta admitted almost casually. "This gives me the best excuse to go and really light into her."
Izuku winced slightly. He almost didn't want to tell Shouta the rest, but if he didn't it would inevitably come out at exactly the worst time for both of them. "Well, Nedzu said she did it because you said something that pissed her off, and since you did it on my behalf she decided to take it out on me." The way Shouta's expression froze made him want to flinch, but he was careful to keep his own expression calm and his body relaxed.
"It was my fault," Shouta said flatly, and then he closed his eyes. "You were so upset-I'm so sorry, Izuku. I never would have spoken to her if I'd realized she'd retaliate against you ."
Izuku measured his response carefully before he spoke. Shouta didn't care for empty platitudes, so a careless response would only upset him more. "A person like that would have found a reason, Shouta. If it hadn't been you confronting her directly and telling her to leave me alone, it would have been one of the times I told her I wasn't interested. Or when she was put on probation. Or when Hideo gave her a formal reprimand for putting her hands on me. And maybe," he continued gently, "If it hadn't happened when and how it did, I would have been home during her little escapade."
Shouta huffed, but he had relaxed. "Everything happens for a reason?" He asked drily. "Ugh, no," Izuku grimaced. "Everything is happened because those two are fucking psycho." "Truer words," Shouta agreed.
"Anyway, Nedzu and I have finalized some plans, so I'll be reaching out to Todoroki in the next few days to give him some detail on what we need him to do." Izuku grinned suddenly. "And then Nedzu and I are going to start our second phase of the Media attack on Bakugou. It's going to be fantastic, I can't wait for you to see it!" If Izuku wasn't plastered to Shouta's side, he would be bouncing off the walls. As it was, he wriggled in excitement, making Shouta laugh.
"I can't wait either," Shouta admitted. "With both you and Nedzu at the helm, it promises to be utterly devastating in the best way."
Izuku blinked, and then a pretty blush spread across his cheeks slowly. "That might be the sweetest thing you've said to me yet."