The second part of the exam was, indeed, interesting for one definition of the word.

Izuku stayed with his tight-knit group of friends, plus Kirishima who was becoming something of a close friend especially to Kacchan. They roved across a huge simulated disaster, carefully prying trapped actors free from their stony prisons. There were no actors playing dead. Presumably, at the pro licensing exam for rescue and frontline heroes there would be triage; there would be black tags, people who had to be... abandoned in order to allocate resources to those who could still be saved.

Izuku helped Kirishima lever a piece of debris away with an improvised crowbar, meeting the eyes of the young woman beneath--"You're safe now," he said to, no, begged of, the teenager as he cradled her in his arms. She smiled at him and whispered, "give them hell, Switchblade. You were right about them... right all along. I was... a fool... for helping them..." "Teresa," he begged, but death does not hear the pleas of a rescuer who came too late--Izuku snapped back to reality. This... flashback had taken only the barest fraction of a second and no one seemed the wiser. The greenette shook his head to clear it. This woman they had found wasn't dead, wasn't even hurt, was just acting and Izuku really did not need someone else's PTSD messing up his stress responses. The student helped the freed woman limp to the first aid station then sprinted back, the exertion helping to clear his brain of the jittery aftershocks of terror-horror.

These visions should only be in dreams, or in semiconscious relaxed states like at the old bunker where Katsuki transcribed his rant. The fact that flashbacks were starting to invade his waking life was... he'd passed "extremely concerning" a long time ago. This was probably best described as "extremely, obviously, terrifically bad" but now wasn't the time to think about any of that.

Fortunately, only that one vision plagued him during the exam although he was constantly reminded of battlefields he had (not) stood upon and horrors he had (not) partaken in... (or had he?).

Kacchan growled at a few of the trapped people as the students endeavored to free them and yes, the actors were being intentionally obnoxious and yes, it was less tolerable than it would be in a real situation because you could see it in their eyes that they weren't really traumatized, but that

didn't mean that you could growl--not if you wanted to pass the test, anyway. Izuku chose to give Kacchan his best disappointed look each time the other teen started huffing. It would likely be more effective than just telling him not to act like that--

The arena rocked with the force of a huge explosion, dust and debris falling from unstable structures and actors screaming in faux-terror. Presumably none of them were really in danger. This was planned, right? It wasn't a real attack, right? "Kacchan!" Izuku called to him. "You and Kirishima have really good quirks to team up in combat." They blinked at him. Apparently this had never occurred to them? It must have occurred to them. "You should go fight!" There was a ragged hole in the arena wall through which a steady stream of mook actors poured. "Ojiro and Shouji and I should keep working on the rescues!"

"He's right," Shouji pointed out and returned to freeing an older woman from beneath a severed tree branch. Izuku, usually the least useful of the lot when it came to moving debris, made steady trips to the first aid station with individuals ranging in apparent age from two to eighty in fireman's carries or draped over his shoulders.

The greenette kept a careful eye (and ear--the quirks and weapons involved were loud) on the encroaching battle. The examinees were going to have to move the aid station if the warring parties got any closer. The students' main opponent was apparently Gang Orca and wow he looked scary right then, playing up a villain's persona like a master actor. The rest of the combatants were probably sidekicks of the whale hero or police officers who volunteered to shoot children with cement guns. Most of them were earnest professionals, but some whooped and cheered, clearly having the time of their lives.

Katsuki, Aoyama, Ashido, Kaminari and the angry Shiketsu student as well as perhaps a third of the other participants engaged in combat while the rest continued to rescue the disaster actors.

Todoroki was solely responsible for the protection of the aid station, wall after wall of ice rising from the ground to shield the vulnerable parties behind him. This, fortunately, kept him away from Katsuki and Angry Shiketsu Student who were both attempting to attack Gang Orca directly and just barely managing to keep out of each other's way. Adding a third fighter to that mix would have been... not explosive because Kacchan was there so it was already explosive, but something along those lines.

Without warning the mooks broke through the ice shield, shards exploding in every direction, and Izuku calmly joined the aid station evacuation effort as Todoroki, Ashido and a handful of others attempted to get the villain cloud back under control. The faces of the students evacuating the actors were grim at best, mortally terrified at worst. Izuku wondered if he ought to feel some of that terror himself but this was so... utterly tame in comparison to the battlefields he had seen... he was taking it seriously, of course he was, but... there was no cause for fright here. Even if this weren't a simulation, the situation was mostly under control. Todoroki, Ashido and their helpers would get the crowd corralled shortly. Izuku's allies might be largely inexperienced but sheer numbers dictated that the students would be able to hold their ground if not defeat the attackers outright.

Izuku had just finished evacuating his fourth actor to their fallback location when a sharp buzzer sounded and, abruptly, the chaotic mess of shouting and explosions which had blurred into background noise fell to silence. "The examination is now complete. Please wait while we tabulate score cards."

Izuku stretched his arms. Muscles ached from carrying so much weight such a distance. Shaking the strain away, he slowly made his way towards the arena exit. The student would have a clear view of the scoreboard there. Anxiety put aside in the heat of the moment began to gnaw on him in

earnest. Had he passed? He'd done everything he could, played his part, reacted appropriately to questions, consoled the injured as much as possible without wasting time... but at the end of the day he was still quirkless. He didn't have any superhuman way to help locate actors or free them or protect them. At the end of the day he was relegated to support roles in situations like this... would that be enough to cost him his license? After everything? After all the work he put in to get here?

Scores and names went up--Midoriya Izuku. There he was. He made it. He actually made it. He'd been so frightened it wouldn't happen and now it had and he almost couldn't believe it. What about Kacchan? There he was! Even Todoroki was on the board. Angry Shiketsu Student might have passed or might have failed. It was impossible to tell since Izuku still didn't know his name.

In total, nine individuals had failed and not a single one of them was from UA.

The individuals who had passed lined up to get their licenses. Those who had failed were taken aside to discuss remedial courses. "I'm so glad that's not me," Izuku whispered as he finally came to the front of the line. An exhausted man in a rumpled suit handed him a thick envelope--thicker than those handed to the rest--and Izuku made his way through the crowd back to UA's bus.

Aizawa waited for his class with the ominously pleased expression of a cat that had just learned to open bird cages. Izuku was one of the last to arrive having been near the back of the line, but there were still plenty of seats on the bus. The greenette collapsed by a back window with Kacchan in front of him, Ojiro behind, and opened his envelope with shaking fingers.

"Provisional Hero License" it read followed by "Fossa" and then, in bright red letters, "DISTRIBUTING ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THIS OPERATIVE WITHOUT PROPER AUTHORIZATION IS A CRIME," which was standard on undercover licenses. There was no personal information on his card save his full legal name, a (terrible, washed out) picture, his school of record, year of birth, date of licensing, and primary hero identification pin number. As an undercover hero, he would be assigned a secondary pin (a closely kept secret) whose purpose was mostly to aid Izuku in identifying himself as a friendly if he were ever arrested during an operation gone south. That would be in this thick envelope somewhere.

"My picture... is so bad," Shouji bemoaned. "I look like a squid." "It can't be as bad as mine," Ojiro consoled him.

"That's how they know the ID's real," Kacchan put in. "If it were a good picture they'd think it was fake." Was that really true? Would All Might's hero license picture be terrible then, too? That was... hard to imagine.

"Do we need to memorize our hero pin numbers?" wondered Mineta, squinting at his card. "You might not need to," Izuku said, "if you plan to keep your license on you at all times." "You don't plan to do that?" asked Kirishima.

Izuku shook his head. "It's really only frontline and rescue heroes that carry them everywhere," Izuku replied. "Underground heroes sometimes carry them, but only sometimes depending on what they're doing, and undercover heroes virtually never carry them. Way too risky. You memorize your pins and use them to identify yourself to the police or other heroes if necessary."

Kirishima mused, "I keep forgetting that undercover heroes exist..."

"That's how it should be," Izuku replied. "Most of the time, anyway. When it comes time to raid a villain hideout, though, remember that there could be friendlies in the mix." That got him a few

thoughtful nods.

"I would forget underground heroes exist, too, if it weren't for, you know, our teacher being an underground hero," Kirishima continued and, in front of him, Ashido snorted in amusement.

"I think I need a nap," Katsuki decided, a look of profound irritation on his face.

Good idea. "You know what? Me too. Enough stress for one day." More than enough. The drive back to school would be quite long. There was plenty of time to cool down and catch up on some of the sleep Izuku had missed the night before.

You weren't supposed to have pets in the university dorms. Izuku figured nobody would mind a little lizard like Mamba. Mamba was a viper gecko, the animals being named for the markings on their backs, the almost downy scales of their tails, and the liquid gold of their eyes. Lizards like these were low maintenance pets; a few tiny crickets, a little tank with a heating pad misted daily and one's nocturnal desert friend would be happy for years. Mamba didn't mind Izuku picking him up and would happily curl up in the palm of his hand and bask in his body heat. Occasionally, a long pink tongue would emerge to lick an eye.

As he stared at the shattered glass, Izuku wondered if it was normal to feel this devastated by the loss of such a small pet. Love had nothing to do with size of the animal course... He wondered if his roommate had done this or if someone had wandered drunkenly into the wrong room and smashed over his desk. Things like that happened sometimes; Izuku was diligent about locking the door even when he stepped out for a few minutes, others not so much.

He picked through the glass and scattered sand, locating Mamba at last. The little gecko looked up at him. Still alive... Izuku could see the lizard's throat moving as he breathed. He wouldn't live long, though, not with a leg crushed like that. It wasn't as if there were any veterinarians around who would see such unusual, exotic animals and even if there were Izuku certainly couldn't afford to pay for one.

"I'm sorry," he told Mamba hoarsely. "I should never have brought you here. You could have lived another three years at least if someone else had been taking care of you. You deserved better."

"What's going on in--oh," Kuma had apparently become impatient waiting for him in the common room and come to see what the hold up was. "Oh..." she repeated, staring at the shattered glass and at the mortally wounded lizard. "Your asshole roommate has some serious explaining to do."

"Yeah," Izuku said, not caring much about that. Kuma's yes darted side to side as she considered

something then she closed the door and locked it. Here on the eleventh floor there was no need to worry about anyone looking in a window, other than perhaps one of the bald eagles that trolled for fish along the Mississippi.

"If I show you something," she whispered, "you have to promise not to tell anyone else, ever." "Uh... okay?"

"Give him to me."

Izuku gingerly handed Mamba to her. Kuma took him in one hand, collecting sand and glass in the other. "Watch out, you'll cut yourself--" Izuku stopped abruptly, jaw falling open then snapping shut as, from the shattered glass a glowing globe assembled in Kuma's hand, the little gecko vanishing in a flare of white and then, in her palm, Kuma held a globe, like a snowglobe except depicting a desert, and Mamba lay in the middle of it, frozen with his head cocked inquisitively.

"They don't suffer," Kuma told him. "No pain, no hunger, no thirst, no aging, no death... it's not much of a life for a human, but animals don't seem to mind spending years there and maybe... maybe someday you'll be in a position where you can find someone like me," she grimaced, probably second guessing her decision to reveal this, "with a different power, someone who can save him."

"I'm a meta too," he blurted because he could see the consternation, doubt, fear on her face and he needed to make sure that she knew he wasn't going to out her, wasn't going to judge her...

"Oh. That... makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?" she said, the smallest hint of a smile on her lips. "Anyway... smashing the globe frees everyone and everything inside, for when... when you decide to let him out."

Izuku's eyes snapped open and he yelled, "that's what the snow globes are about!" very loudly before he got a hold on himself. Kaminari, Kirishima, Tokoyami and... well, most of the class were staring at him. Kacchan was still asleep. Apparently that hadn't been enough to stir him from his nap. Had Katsuki just... not slept at all last night?

No one seemed to know what to say about Izuku's outburst--a few people snickered--until Dark Shadow inquired, "weird dream?"

"Yeah," Izuku told the black bird. "There were... snow globes..."

"We kind of figured," Dark Shadow told him as a few more people began chuckling or burst into guffaws. Izuku fought the urge to roll his eyes. They'd all heard him wake screaming before, after all. This wasn't so embarrassing in comparison to that.

Kuma's quirk allowed her to induce suspended animation in living creatures which were stored inside snowglobes. All For One probably stole her quirk when he killed her. The other dream, that one from a very long time ago now, when Izuku was looking at the snow globes and boiling with rage... the former HPSC member with the snow globe collection who had disappeared at the same time as Izuku... Hirano Niko. Had that man owned snow globes All For One had made with this stolen quirk? Or had he cut some kind of deal with All For One in order to get Kuma's ability for

himself? If the latter were the case, had Izuku's body thief killed the man for daring to use Kuma's quirk and... apparently imprison dozens if not hundreds of people inside glass knickknacks? That made... terrifying amounts of sense.

He understood now. Provided that the pieces in his mind were meant to fit together, that they all belonged to the same puzzle, he got it.

Whoever had taken Izuku for a joy ride had been after All For One to... kill him? Force him to give the quirk away? What exactly had been the goal and why now? Why not go through this decades ago? Did the perpetrator only recently learn what had happened to Kuma and her meta ability or only recently amass enough power to challenge All For One? Was challenging All For One even the goal? Had the body thief just wished to speak to All For One to find out who had Kuma's quirk, uncaring about the Soul Stealer himself, only interested in killing the man who was

currently using an MLA general's meta ability in such an ignoble way?

The greenette stared at his hands, imagining them covered in the blood of a former HPSC official, a man like the exhausted worker who'd handed him his license an hour ago. Hirano might have been an absolute unforgivable criminal (or he could have been totally innocent or even completely uninvolved; this all could be a misunderstanding as these ideas were built on conjecture) but even if the man had been a monster... It would have been the coldest of cold blooded murders... but hadn't he been thinking of performing just that kind of revenge kill on All For One? He hadn't been seriously considering it but... if he'd been able to come up with a convenient way to acquire the weapon needed to pull it off... No. He wouldn't have. He wasn't that kind of person and he never would be.

Had he killed Hirano Niko? Izuku was probably going to remember if he had. It might be years before he dreamed of it, but it seemed that the memories Izuku viewed were (with some exceptions) associated with extremely intense feelings--joy, pain, fear, rage. Certainly a murder would be tied up with emotions powerful enough to sear his brain. Hopefully there was no such memory to find. Hopefully Izuku would never have to see his own hands take a life under another's power. Killing as Bit Weasel, observing her take another's life between her fingers and squeeze, was disturbing enough but if it were his body... He swallowed down the nausea and turned his gaze to the scenery beyond the window.

He wondered what happened to Mamba. That was something he would probably never know. Chapter End Notes

I expect a number of people knew this would be the reveal this chapter. It's not so much a plot twist as an "oh, now I get it," moment for Izuku. I believe there was at least one person who put forward this exact theory a very long time ago, like twenty chapters go, but I've forgotten who it was (sorry--feel free to gloat in the comments if you like).

Zuko does what he wants in this world. He doesn't see the need to take an offensive role when a defensive roll suits him better and allows him to make fun of mooks when he freezes them into ice blocks (he was doing a lot of that--Izuku couldn't hear it over the general din).

Truth or Dare or Trauma

Chapter Summary

Class 1-A has a party and then work-study is discussed.

Chapter Notes

Mandatory Disclaimer: I do not own BNHA. Please do not repost this work.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

The entire class had an enormous party the night after their exam victory. This included fizzy drinks, paper hats, loud music, video games, and, at long last, a game of truth or dare. Izuku took his place in the circle in the common room, fascinated by this icon of pop culture in which he was about to take part for the first time... but also nervous. "W-what if someone asks me something that I'm legally not allowed to talk about?" Izuku asked Ashido, who was apparently running the game.

"Uhhh," her cohost Kaminari blinked owlishly at Izuku. The two conferred. "I guess if that's the case then you have to say so and whoever called on you gets to ask another truth? Or you could just choose dare all the time..."

"But that would be boring," Ashido shook her head.

"What, afraid to play? Hiding some terrible truths?" Kirishima playfully nagged Kacchan, who was not interested and trying to sneak upstairs to his room.

"I'm not afraid, it's just a stupid game and I don't want to play!" Katsuki protested. "It's already late and I'm freakin' tired."

"Fine, suit yourself," the red head shrugged.

"Just know that you're being kind of a boring old man right now," Sero piped up. Katsuki's glare promised there would be hell to pay, but apparently the teasing had riled him up enough to participate out of rage. He took a seat in the circle with a tremendous scowl.

"And now that's everyone. The whole class," Ashido rubbed her hands together gleefully. "I've never managed to get a whole class to play before!" When would she have even had the opportunity to try to make that happen?

"Question," Aoyama raised his hand, "is Dark Shadow playing?"

The familiar glowered at him and hissed, "of course I'm playing!"

"I meant no offense," the sparkly student replied, flapping his hands.

Aizawa passed them by with a cup of... hopefully not coffee at this time of night. "The dorms had

better still be standing when I wake up tomorrow, got that problem children?"

"Yes, Mr. Aizawa," the class (who were apparently all problem children now) chorused.

"Don't traumatize each other." The teacher left them to their own devices... and tender mercies. Izuku had never been to an actual party before. How did this usually go? Were they liable to traumatize each other?

"Alright. Who starts?"

Everyone talked at once. Izuku found himself blurting "Dark Shadow!" although he wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because the familiar had looked so... it was hard to ascribe emotions to someone of such an alien species, but Izuku swore he'd sounded insecure, nervous, when Aoyama questioned whether he was playing. Somehow, Izuku had managed to make himself heard and a few others agreed with him. By dint of his faction shouting the loudest, Dark Shadow began the game.

"Truth or dare, Uraraka?" the bird inquired.

The gravity eraser blinked. "Truth," she said.

"Have you ever destroyed something by floating it accidentally and what was it?" Uraraka blushed. "That's a good one," muttered Kirishima from Izuku's left.

"I... the dining room table," she covered her face with her hands. "God, I was so embarrassed. My mom still teases me about it and dad brings it up anytime he wants something from me. I fell asleep doing homework and when I woke up... boom!" A few people chuckled. Izuku winced in sympathy. "Alright. Bakugou, truth or dare?"

The blonde growled, annoyed to be picked on right out of the gate. "Dare."

She considered for a moment, probably trying to settle on something that wouldn't put a target on her back next time the class sparred. "Go stick your head under the kitchen sink for thirty seconds and you're not allowed to fix your hair afterwards."

Kacchan glared at her then complied, snarling under his breath throughout the whole process. He came back with his hair sopping wet, hanging in straggly curtains which obscured his vision and dripped onto his clothes. "Icy hot," he pointed at Todoroki, "truth or dare?"

Apparently that was an acceptable mode of address, even if Zuko was still heavily preferred. The dual quirked student considered. "Uhhh... truth. I don't want to get my hair wet right now."

"You wouldn't get the same dare as Bakugou, kero."

Todoroki cocked his head in confusion. "I wouldn't?"

"No," Ashido explained, "Bakugou would choose a new one for you." "Oh." He considered. "I still choose truth."

"Fine. How'd you get that--" Kacchan abruptly shut his mouth, almost blushing as he thought better of whatever he had meant to say. "Why do you really want us all to call you Zuko all the time?" That wasn't really a secret...

"Because it annoys my father so much he looks like he is having an aneurysm every time my alias

is mentioned. It is glorious." Todoroki's face split into a disconcerting slasher grin and he rubbed his hands together gleefully. There were several audible gulps.

"Now you get to ask someone--" Ashido began to explain.

"I understand now," Todoroki nodded. "Apologies about earlier. I had not heard of this game before tonight save in passing. Now... Tsu."

"Yes, kero? I mean, truth." "Did you hatch from an egg?"

The frog girl remained motionless for a moment, stunned, then snapped back into action. "No, kero, well... I was born in the same manner as live bearing frogs, so not quite in the same way as most of you, no placenta for one thing. I could talk more about these differences but I don't think you want to know. Although you may have to hear about it in health class next semester, kero."

Izuku, whose face was burning as he looked firmly away from every member of the opposite sex, was grateful for the short answer. He was not the only one, either. "Thank you, Tsu," Kaminari said, strangled. A few people chuckled.

"Truth or dare, Aoyama?"

"Dare, please," the sparkly student raised his eyebrows. "Bring it on, let me shine!"

"I dare you to stand on the counter and sing the entire opening theme song to that cartoon with the boy dressed as a black cat you were watching last week, kero."

A few minutes later, Aoyama bowed and stepped off his podium. Izuku clapped politely, even as his ears burned from the abuse. "Which, Jirou," Aoyama called on her.

"Uh, dare?"

"Tie a gym shoe around your neck and wear it for the rest of the night. If anyone asks you about it you must call it your "precious jewel."" Jirou rolled her eyes and went to fetch the smelly item in question. Izuku couldn't help but snicker. It looked pretty ridiculous.

Jirou pointed to Ashido. "Dare," the pink haired girl said before even being asked. "I dare you to give Kirishima a kiss on the cheek."

"What?" Ashido squeaked. "N-no I can't! I..."

Jirou smirked. That seemed like... was this normal for a truth or dare game? Izuku had heard that they sometimes got out of hand. Was this getting out of hand? "Really? A peck on the cheek is too much for you? It's not like I'm asking you to really kiss him."

Ashido's mouth twisted into a bizarre shape then she darted across the circle and sort of bumped her lips into Kirishima's face before clearing the distance back to her spot in a single leap. The two victims stalwartly refused to look at each other afterwards, their whole faces red as Kirishima's hair.

"Midoriya!" Ashido pointed at him.

"Truth," he said, not at all interested in being sent out to kiss some random classmate at her whims. He hadn't had his first kiss yet, not even a cheek peck, and he wasn't going to waste it here. Or had

he? He didn't remember Bit Weasel ever kissing anyone, either with his body or her own... If he didn't remember it then it didn't count.

"How'd you get that bite scar on your upper arm?"

Crap. It could have been worse. She could have asked him what his quirk was and that... He'd have to take dares from now on because someone would certainly ask him that and he should have thought of that earlier, kisses or no kisses. How much could he actually say? That scar really was something he couldn't talk about, most of it anyway. "I can't tell you about that because of an active police investigation," he said at last, deciding that the snippets he could potentially share such as "I was bitten by a shapeshifter" would not suffice as they were obvious. The mood in the room shifted, students giving him confused, sidelong glances. Only a few of them had seen that scar. Most had no idea what was going on here.

"Seriously?" Ashido asked.

"Yeah," Kacchan put in, arms crossed. "I know some about it. He can't tell you anything except he's not a werewolf, apparently." Someone snorted. It wasn't what Katsuki said but how he said it (and who the blonde was as a person) that made it funny, lightening the mood significantly.

Ashido rolled her eyes, "fine, then, what's your quirk?"

Oh, come on. Izuku sighed deeply, staring at the ceiling to give him strength. "I could tell you that," he began, "but keeping it a secret could very well save my life in the future. I'll do whatever nasty thing you want me to do as a penalty but I really, really need to keep that to myself."

Ashido and Kirishima exchanged glances, whispering to each other as they tried to come to some sort of conclusion. The mood, lightened by Katsuki's joke, had been thoroughly doused in darkness again. Izuku shouldn't have played at all... "Fine. It's not fair to give you a penalty for something like that I guess... Games shouldn't like... get people killed or... or..." Is this what Aizawa meant about not traumatizing each other? "One more try. Why was Nedzu reading you bad poetry?"

Izuku blinked. "Oh. You heard that?"

"Yeah," Ashido nodded, "as I was stepping out into the hall I heard you talking to Aizawa and I've

been dying to know."

It... couldn't hurt to tell them this, could it? Many of them already knew he was not destined for the limelight and, really, given what he had heard on the bus that afternoon it might do them good to be reminded of the fact that undercover heroes existed. "He was mock torturing me to prepare me to take the undercover auxiliary exam last week."

"Oh. That's a thing?" Ashido blinked.

"It is indeed although I was not aware that Midoriya had taken it," Iida commented. "I presume you passed?" Izuku nodded. "Congratulations. I have heard it can be harrowing."

Izuku shook his head. "It wasn't so bad. It was... mostly just really weird. It's my turn now, isn't it?"

"Yes," Kaminari nodded.

"Promise I'll choose dares in the future," Izuku said quickly, just making himself clear. "Uh... Tokoyami."

"Truth," he replied.

Suddenly Izuku had no idea what to ask. "Uh... are there dentists for people with beaks?" Oh my god, what had he just said that was so incredibly rude why did he say that yes it was an interesting question but why--

"There are not, in fact, beak dentists. I see a specialist doctor, but beaks seem to require entirely less maintenance than teeth. I have to keep it trim of course." He did not seem offended in the slightest. Izuku must have been overreacting.

The worst thing the greenette was dared to do (and he was only called on twice more) was pet Kacchan's soggy hair and call him "good kitty cat." The blonde looked as if his skull might explode from the sheer force of fiery rage building there. Someone was going to pay. This must be what Aizawa meant about trauma.

"Know who you're going to be with for work-study?" Ojiro asked as the four made their way to lunch.

"I don't think I'm going to manage to do it this year," Shouji replied with a shrug. "Usually you don't start it until second year, anyway, so I don't feel like it's really a problem."

"Fair," Ojiro nodded. "I will try to find something but..." "What?" Kacchan snorted.

"I think I might be too boring," Ojiro sighed.

Izuku blinked. "Uh... what?"

"I'm boring," Ojiro replied. "I... it was pretty clear during room tours. I think I had the least personality of anyone. I'm not flashy enough to attract any pro's attention." He shrugged.

"Being a minimalist is not the same as not having a personality," Shouji pointed out. "Like I said, I'm certainly not going to find an agency to take me this year and I am certainly not boring." True. "What about you two?"

Katsuki grimaced. "Three Ring, the guy who's running Genius while Best Jeanist is taking his dirt nap, offered to take me in. The agency's plenty prestigious and they take a lot of work study students so I think I might do it even though..." he shook his head. "It'll be all... gloomy."

That did sound gloomy. It would still probably be a good opportunity, though. Katsuki turned to him expectantly. Izuku shrugged. "I... might see if False Flag will take me." It would, without a doubt, be the most insane experience of his life... She was clearly more than a bit crazy but she

was good. There would be so much to learn. Also, maybe he would have an opportunity to find out why she gave him her number in the first place, what it was she knew that he didn't.

"Don't know her," Shouji hummed.

"She's a... the undercover hero equivalent of top ten. There aren't actually rankings like that, but everyone knows she's one of the best," Izuku explained.

All of this led to the most awkward telephone conversation of Izuku's life. He left False Flag a text message asking if she had time to talk to him, signing "Fossa of the Hosu Incident" to identify himself.

She texted him back and said she would give him a call on Saturday night.

"So, Fossa," she hummed as Izuku jumped to pick up his phone on the first ring. "It's good to hear from you. How have you been?" She spoke as if she expected his reply to be exceptional. It was not.

"Uh... fine. How about you?"

She huffed, irritated, but the greenette couldn't begin to imagine what he might have said to annoy her. "The usual. Now, what was the purpose of this phone call?"

"W-well... I w-as wondering, since you gave me your number, I was wondering if you might be willing to, uh, you know... I'm looking for a work-study placement?" Izuku would have slammed his head against the wall in mortification if he weren't afraid of False Flag hearing the impact.

He could clearly hear her trying not to laugh at him, although, again, it sounded more like a disbelieving laugh, as if she thought he were faking his nervousness, than legitimate mirth. "And why me, Fossa?"

"Uh... you're really good at your job?" "Lots of people are good at their jobs."

"But I don't know any of them... and I know you? And you're really good at your job and have a lot to teach potentially and your quirk is really fascinating--"

"Fair points," False Flag interrupted him, considering something and "hmming" to herself under her breath. "Trying to think if I'm working any cases lately where it would be helpful to have an ornament..." Izuku almost objected to being called an "ornament" but on some level it was probably a fair assessment of his current usefulness. "Yes, yes. Can you play a Trigger junkie, Fossa?"

Izuku only vaguely knew that Trigger was some kind of fad drug. "Uhh... maybe?"

"That's good enough for now," she decided. "I will swing by UA and have a discussion with you and your instructors. This sort of work involves a lot of signatures."

"O-okay," Izuku nodded emphatically, excited and frightened in equal measures.

She sniffed. "I'll give Nedzu a call and find a time that works. Pleasure speaking with you, Fossa." The way she said his name... he couldn't put a finger on it but there was something strange in the tone. Maybe she thought it was a silly name? A lot of things she said seemed to hide deeper meanings beneath the surface, like icebergs sailing in a sea of dark emotions.

"You, too." The call ended. Izuku spent the next hour agonizing over the stuttering, rambling mess he made of himself during that conversation.

Izuku lingered after class. Aizawa watched him neutrally. The greenette carefully closed the door and paced slowly towards his teacher. He'd spent the whole day working himself up to this. He was just going to say it now. "At the exam," Izuku began. He hadn't meant to begin this way, but now he had... "At the exam I had a flashback." His teacher blinked at him, becoming more alert and rising from his slouch. "It was only for a second, but it wasn't... it clearly wasn't one of my memories, in the sense of I don't remember ever witnessing something even remotely like it..."

"Something that happened to you when you were missing?" Aizawa raised an eyebrow.

"That's my theory, I guess... a girl died in my arms. I couldn't place where it was, only that I was trying to help her not hurt her." All of this was true. There was no need to go into details beyond this, no need to so much as mention the MLA. Izuku could, potentially, get help for PTSD symptoms without revealing what was really going on in his head, the stuff that would get him thrown out of school in the best case scenario...

"You were under an enormous amount of stress during that exam, likely more than you would have been in an actual combat situation," Aizawa pointed out.

Izuku shook his head. That wasn't right. "I wasn't worried at all--"

"Yes you were, problem child. I watched you break five pencil in half the day before the exam." Wait. Really? Izuku had... no conscious recollection of that. "And I can understand why. You're quirkless and many of your skills are the result of a horrible crime. You have more to prove than anyone else who took that test. I'm not really surprised that it triggered something, that being said it's very concerning. I've been trying to shoe you towards psychotherapy for a long time." Izuku blinked. He had? "Yes, I have. You just--" Aizawa shook his head. "I was being too subtle I suppose. I'm going to insist at this point."

Izuku nodded. "I mean... I was going to insist if you didn't."

"Good, we're on the same page. I will inform Hound Dog. You can speak with him first, and if you're not comfortable we can arrange to find you an outside therapist." An outside therapist would probably be better. Anything he said to Hound Dog would be confidential in theory, but in practice...? The school guidance councilor was a hero first and Nedzu's beady eyes were always watching. Money could be an issue, though.

Izuku fidgeted but spat out his question at last, "does... UA reimburse for outside therapy costs?" "Yes," Aizawa answered, "partially at least."

This was good. He should probably have gone ahead and done this long ago regardless of his fears and potential money problems. Izuku would have to watch his tongue, make sure he didn't give away the truth of his situation, but he really needed help at this point. And he wasn't going to get it

any other way.