Izuku ducked into the classroom--a full two minutes late and panting from the sprint--and was immediately blown backwards into the hallway by explosive shouting.

"Where have you been?" Kacchan screamed above the general din. Their teacher tried to control the chaos but didn't have much luck.

Izuku was only two minutes late; it wasn't as if this hadn't happened before multiple times, it wasn't as if Kacchan hadn't been five minutes late last Tuesday. What was happening?

Izuku stared at the rest of his class in utter bewilderment, trying to pick out a thread of conversation amidst the hubbub.

"Where have you been?" shouted Abe, her face contorted in fear and confusion.

"I'm only two minutes late!" Izuku protested. Had he missed the start of an important test? None of the national, standardized tests were supposed to happen this month and even being two minutes late to one of those wouldn't elicit this sort of reaction. They were discussing their career interest forms today, but that was it . Nothing time-critical was supposed to be happening.

"Two minutes late, Deku! Two minutes? Are you insane?" Kacchan screeched shrilly, eyes wide with fury and... something else. Fear? Or was it relief?

"What's going on?" Izuku asked softly, his confused question lost beneath a new round of shouting.

"Be. QUIET!" Mr. Kondo, their homeroom teacher, roared. The cacophony died down to a murmur. "Midoriya, where have you been for the last week?"

Izuku's jaw fell slack in bewilderment. "I-I- I've been in class and once I was at a school club and I went to the grocery store on Saturday and my mother and I went to a movie at the theater but mostly I was at home?" He couldn't help but phrase it as a question, the cold suspicion that everyone here knew something he didn't sending chills through his blood.

Mr. Kondo narrowed his dark eyes and continued carefully. "Midoriya, you were reported missing a week ago. No one has seen you for eight days. The police have been combing the city for you."

"I'm sorry. What?"

Thirty minutes after arriving late to class, Izuku found himself sipping tea in a comfortable interview room at the city's central police precinct. It was good tea. He hadn't realized how thirsty he was, or how cold. His clothes--which weren't camouflage but did look like something a mercenary would wear--were ripped and caked with dirt and blood. Some of that blood was definitely Izuku's. Was all of it Izuku's? That was hard to say.

He had no recollection of putting these garments on. He had no recollection of hiding a switchblade in his boot, no recollection of arranging the throwing knives in holsters beneath his sleeves. He had handed the throwing knives over when asked to disarm--those knives were hard to miss once Izuku

started paying attention to what he was wearing--but he hadn't noticed the hidden switchblade until now.

A detective stepped into the room, closing the heavy door behind him with a click. "Good morning, Midoriya. I'm glad to see you unharmed."

"Sir," Izuku said, "I didn't notice until just a minute ago but I had that other knife in my shoe," he pointed to the weapon which he had set on a side table near the door, several meters away and definitely out of reach.

The raven haired man looked Izuku over critically. "Do you not remember getting those weapons?"

Izuku shook his head. "I... don't remember anything ."

"Anything? What do you mean by that?"

"I... I d-don't know where I've been for the last week. I don't remember a thing," Izuku said, trying not to panic as he admitted this terrifying truth aloud. "I don't k-know where I got these clothes or where I got those knives. I don't know who cut my hair but it should be way longer than this. I don't remember how I got these cuts," he pulled up his sleeve to reveal the still healing scabs. It looked like a bite mark. "I don't know how I got the scars on my chest that look like I've had them for years but I know I didn't have last time I looked. I don't remember... I don't remember anything!" He was practically screaming and, at some point, had stood up and thrown his chair to the side. "Please, you have to believe me, I don't--"

"Calm down, Midoriya, calm down. I believe you. I know you're telling me the truth. Take a deep breath." The student did. "Now sit down and have some tea. It's good for you."

Fingers shaking, the greenette clutched his cup and took a few sips. "My quirk," the detective explained, "is called Human Lie Detector. I can tell if someone is misleading me. You're not."

"Does my mother know I'm alright?" Izuku mumbled.

"We sent someone to fetch her from work," the detective soothed. "She'll be here soon. We have a lot to discuss but, if you like, we can wait until she arrives."

Izuku shook his head. "I d-don't w-want to... I don't want to talk about this with her watching. It'll upset her more..."

"Alright. Midoriya, can you tell me what you remember from... what you consider to be this morning? Monday the fourteenth?"

What did he remember? "I-I got up... I stayed up late watching an All Might smash compilation last night," he cringed in embarrassment. He shouldn't have admitted that. "I was r-really tired, so I almost slept through my alarm. I was running late, so I grabbed just... granola for breakfast as I was running out the door but I don't actually remember eating much of it. I was halfway to school and I started feeling sick, n-nauseous... maybe from eating fast and running, so I sat down on a bench, at the 223 Route bus stop, the one by the park that's a triangle," he couldn't remember the park's name, but "the triangle park" was what most people called it anyway, "to rest for a minute and I guess I fell asleep there?" The detective nodded, encouraging Izuku to continue. "I woke up and I... I wasn't on the bench, b-but I didn't really notice that was weird? I-it's... it doesn't make sense but it didn't seem s-strange at the time. It was just... well, "here I am." I realized that it was almost time for school," he glanced at his watch. "This isn't my watch. I don't know where I got it, but it's not mine." This looked like some kind of expensive thing that military personnel relying on down to the second timing would wear. "A-anyway, I got up and ran to school because I didn't

want to be late. I didn't notice I wasn't in my uniform. I didn't notice that I didn't have my backpack, either... I got to school and I was like t-two minutes late? And everyone started shouting at me and screaming and I g-got really confused... and then Mr. Kondo took me to the front desk and the principal called the police and... then I ended up h-here..."

"Hm," the detective nodded, closing the book where he had carefully taken notes on Izuku's testimony. "You went to school on the fourteenth. You arrived on time."

"I did?"

"You don't remember anything about going to school? You had a pop quiz in mathematics. You got a perfect score on it. Physical education played dodgeball. You turned in your career interest forms and discussed them."

Izuku shook his head, straining against nothing because there was nothing there , no wall blocking out memories, no fog oppressing some part of his brain, just nothing . "There's n-nothing there," he said. "I thought... I thought today was Monday. I d-don't... are you sure I went to school?" Of course the detective was sure, but nothing made any sense right now.

"Yes," Tsukauchi nodded. "You also met All Might that day after school. He captured a villain that was chasing you and you asked him if he thought a quirkless person could become an underground hero. He told you something along the lines of, "I'm not sure, possibly." Are you sure you don't remember that?"

Izuku gaped at Tsukauchi, unable to close his mouth. Eventually he managed to find the presence of mind to rage against the heavens. "I. Met. All Might . And. I don't even remember it? No! This can't be happening!"

Tsukauchi's mouth quirked into the barest hint of a smile. "He said you were a bit of a fanboy." Izuku felt the blood drain from his face and liquid mortification take its place. "All Might and I are well acquainted." That was really cool. "He was quite interested in your case seeing as he was quite possibly the last person to see you before your disappearance."

"I'm so embarrassed," Izuku mumbled, hiding his face behind his dirty sleeves. "And what am I even wearing? Why is it so loose?" That was a good question.

"It's an outer layer designed to be worn over body armor; it's loose because you are not wearing anything beneath it now, although I presume you were earlier." Izuku choked. "I also presume from your reaction that you have never owned clothes like this previously? Or any of the knives you had?" The detective opened his notebook again.

"N-no," Izuku mumbled. "And I certainly don't know how to use them..."

"You said you weren't on the bus stop bench when you woke up this morning. Where were you and what time was it?"

"Uh... it was eighteen minutes until the late bell." His memory of waking up was fuzzy. Where had he been? "I was... I was leaning against a dumpster behind a convenience store, uh, Lawson, the one across from the preschool . I was behind Lawson."

"It didn't occur to you at the time that this was strange."

Izuku shook his head. "No. The only thing I thought was that I needed to get to school or I was going to be late."

The detective nodded. "Has anything even vaguely like this ever happened to you before? Have you ever lost track of where you were and turned up somewhere unexpected? Any gaps in your memory? Is there anything at all strange that occurred in the last few weeks to you or, in fact, to anyone you know?"

Izuku pawed through his memories carefully. "I m-mean sometimes I zone out when I'm w- walking to school and I'm surprised that I'm already there but I think everyone does that? Just daydreaming? It's not... I've done that all my l-life, I think."

Tsukauchi agreed with him. "Any unusual strangers? Did you receive strange phone calls or texts or interact with anyone online who was in any way "off?""

Izuku shook his head again. "I spend some time on hero forums but no, n-nothing weird happened there, no weirder than the typical, internet flame wars, anyway."

"Alright." The detective put his notebook away again. "I think that is all the information I can get from you right now. I expect your mother is probably here already. I'm going to go let her in, then all of us can talk."

Izuku winced. "She must be frantic," he mumbled.

"She was very, very worried about you." Tsukauchi left, taking Izuku's mysterious switchblade with him.

Izuku sat alone trying to ward off intrusive, disturbing thoughts. Hopefully the detective would get back soon. The student finished his tea and winced at a pang of hunger. How long had it been since he'd eaten anything? He must have had food during his missing week...probably? He could have eaten anything or nothing. He could have done nothing or anything. Whose blood was caked onto his knees? He could have killed someone and he would have no idea.

It seemed fairly obvious what had happened to him. The detective hadn't spelled out the conclusion but he didn't need to. Izuku might be young but he was not a fool. He'd been possessed. Someone with a mind control or possession or memory alteration quirk had stolen him for a week and used him for... who knew what purpose. Theft? Assassination? Get away driving? It looked like he had been used for something violent rather than something sexual, and he wasn't sure whether that should make him feel better or worse.

Why give him back, though? They stole him away from his mother and from school without a shred of care for the impact this would have on him or his community... and then they gave him back? He didn't really want to think it, not when it was his own life he was considering the end of, but it probably would have made more sense to just kill him. Erase the evidence. Had Izuku escaped his captor somehow? Did the quirk used on him have some limitation that was arrived at unexpectedly? Had someone shown him mercy and released him after he served his purpose? Was the individual who captured him just... a horrible person but not willing to murder a child?

The door opened. Three people entered the interview room. One was the detective, one was Izuku's mother, and one was a scruffy, long-haired man with a huge, off-white scarf.

Izuku expected sobbing. The look in his mother's dry eyes was almost worse than that. She looked as if she had just seen a miracle. She had clearly hoped to see her son again but not really expected to. Midoriya Inko stepped forward slowly, gingerly, as if she could shatter the illusion by walking too quickly. She threw her arms about Izuku's neck and clutched him close. "I hadn't dared to hope too much," she whispered hoarsely in his ear. "Where have you been?" Izuku winced.

"He doesn't know," the detective broke in. "He has no memory of the last week." The scruffy man raised an eyebrow. "You're sure?"

"Are you a lie detector, Aizawa? I didn't think so. Let's all have a seat."

The four of them sat around the table, Izuku's mother close enough to cling to the child's shoulders. "My name is Aizawa Shouta," the scruffy man introduced himself. "I'm an underground hero. I was working on your case."

"Thank you," Izuku said, not sure if that was appropriate but feeling that he had to say something. "What... happens now?"

Aizawa and Tsukauchi exchanged glances. "We need to keep you under observation for a few days," the hero said. "To make sure that there's no chronic problem and run some tests. Has anyone taken a blood sample from you yet?" Izuku shook his head. "We should get that soon then, check to make sure you weren't just drugged. It was probably a quirk, but it pays to be sure."

"What happened to him?" Izuku's mother demanded icily.

Tsukauchi began after another round of glances exchanged with Aizawa. "What we know for sure is this: Midoriya Izuku left for school last Monday, stopped to rest on a bench and woke up this morning in a back alleyway, disoriented and dressed in combat gear. He went to school without realizing anything was amiss and promptly wound up here.

"The day Midoriya Izuku went missing, he attended class as usual and, besides being perhaps a bit quiet and distant, did not behave strangely. He had a brief altercation with another student, Bakugou Katsuki, after both revealed an intention to take the entrance exam for UA High School. Bakugou reportedly damaged Midoriya's property, burned Midoriya with his quirk and told Midoriya that the world would be better off without him in it, although no one has reported on the exact phrasing of what was said." Izuku blinked in astonishment. Kacchan... said something like that to him? His mother growled ferociously, an almost feral gleam in her eyes. Clearly she had never heard these details before. "You are within your rights to press charges against him for, at a minimum, destruction of property and assault."

"I-I don't want to press charges," Izuku shook his head. "I-I don't even remember and... he's not really like that... he was just mad." The underground hero raised an eyebrow. "Besides, I don't want to ruin his life over this... he might not be able to get into hero school with something like that on his record."

Aizawa cocked his head. "One might think that someone who behaves that way doesn't deserve to get into hero school, Midoriya."

"If my son doesn't want to press charges we won't press charges," Inko said, "but heaven help that boy when I tell Mitsuki about this..."

Tsukauchi nodded in acknowledgement. He did that a lot, preferring that non-verbal cue to an "okay." "Continuing, we know that Midoriya left school promptly and we know the route he took home, because All Might encountered him that afternoon. Midoriya was running from a villain we have taken to referring to as "Slimer." All Might captured this villain. Midoriya inquired of All Might if he could have an autograph and also asked whether or not it might be possible for a very motivated quirkless individual to become an underground hero because, and I quote, "most of that is intelligence gathering and ambush hunting where powerful quirks are unnecessary."" Aizawa cocked his head and "hmphed." Had Izuku really said that? He must have, right? "All Might said

that it, "might, perhaps, be possible, although it would be very dangerous for someone without a quirk to pursue that path." Midoriya seemed pleased with this answer, thanked All Might and departed, apparently heading towards his own home. Midoriya never arrived. Midoriya Inko called to report him missing at midnight. Despite the fact that he had not been missing for twenty-four hours, his age led to him being declared missing and a search was organized. Despite the best efforts of police and underground heroes, Midoriya was not seen again until this morning.

"We have checked surveillance footage from the Lawson where Midoriya woke up," that was fast. Izuku had only mentioned that a few minutes ago. "They were happy to send us a copy of their recordings . Midoriya arrived in the alleyway at 1:57 am last night, leaned against a locked dumpster and fell asleep promptly. The only thing of note is that he leapt effortlessly over a very tall chain link fence when he arrived."

Izuku's mother sighed deeply. "What does all this mean?"

Aizawa took over. "It seems fairly clear that Midoriya was under the effects of a mind control or possession quirk. I have seen this a number of times in my career, although this is the only time that I have seen someone returned entirely intact after such a kidnapping. I'm curious, though... Are you capable of leaping over a four meter chain link fence like a cat, Midoriya?" Izuku shook his head. The hero nodded. "Get up, then. I want to try something."

"O-okay?"

"Stop stuttering, I'm not going to hurt you." Izuku followed the hero to the center of the room. Aizawa lunged at him, snatching his wrist in a powerful grip. Before he even knew what he was doing, Izuku had stepped forward, rotating his arm as he did so, using his entire body to wrench his hand out of the underground hero's grip and readying himself to carry out a counter attack. Izuku blinked in shock and stood there dumbly, wondering what kind of martial discipline he had just used.

"That was a hapkido move, I believe, a basic one but perfectly executed. Have you ever studied martial arts of any kind, Midoriya?"

The shocked student shook his head dumbly. "Too expensive..." he said vaguely. He would have loved to join a gym, but he and his mother barely got by as it was. He had tried to learn some things from internet instructional videos, but actually attending lessons wasn't an option.

"I've never heard of a possession quirk transferring muscle memory, but that doesn't mean it can't happen. Typically, when we find the victims of such abductions, they're not survivors if you catch my unfortunate drift. It's ugly, but there's no point in pretending it isn't true." Izuku's mother glowered at Aizawa but remained silent. Izuku could see where the hero was coming from, but really wished the man wouldn't talk that way, not in front of Inko at least. There was no need to be cruel like that.

"I wonder..." Tsukauchi pulled one of the throwing daggers Izuku had carried out of a satchel. "Would you take this and see whether you can hit that dartboard, Midoriya?"

There was a dartboard? There was a dartboard. Why was there a dartboard in this room? "I don't..." Izuku said, taking the weapon by the blade, "I d-don't want to wreck your things!"

"That dartboard is at least fifty years old. Humor us," Aizawa broke in.

Standing across the room, Izuku fixed his eyes upon the target and hurled his weapon. It landed in the center red with a satisfying "shunk." The student shook his head slowly side to side, not sure

what else to do.

"Very impressive," Aizawa said, "I mean, very impressive. I only know a few people who are that good and one of them's Snipe." Snipe was really cool... he worked at UA. Maybe Izuku would still have a chance to go there after all of this... maddness blew over.

Izuku sat down on the floor. "I'm really hungry," he said without much feeling. "And I want to go home." But he couldn't. He had to go be "under observation," whatever that meant.

"Well, we can at least feed you," Aizawa declared.