"You're a rat."
"On the contrary, Young Zero, I am everything!"
"Rat." Zero said. The teacher groaned, drawing circles on his desk in mock sadness.
"Zero, respect him." Aizawa barked.
"Oh no, it's alright Aizawa! Zero is just having some fun. Isn't that right, Zero?" The short rat turned to look at the boy.
"Yep, Zawa, just having fun. No disrespect here." Zero grabbed a ball off of the rats desk and threw it up in the air, catching it when it came back down.
"So, Zero, I feel like it's time to get down to business. You have promised us information on a multitude of villains, but what do you want in return?"
"To be free? That's literally the only- well no it's not the only reason I'm doing this, but I wanna be free. I don't want to feel like I've got heroes breathing down my back every second of the day." Zero answered with a shrug. He crossed his arms, fully prepared to argue if need be.
"Well that's doable. However, I have one condition. You must attend U.A." Stated Nedzu. Everyone seemed to pause, before chaos broke loose.
"Nedzu, you sly little rat-"
"Sir this is extremely unorthodox-"
"How can you expect-"
The rat principal raised a hand (paw?) to stop the musing of the three other adults in the room. All Might looked worried, Tsukauchi seemed in between screaming and ripping the rat a new one, and Aizawa was just pissed.
"I don't see the problem. Then young Zero here could be monitored and surrounded by teachers if the league tries to take him back." Or if he tries to leave was left unsaid. Everyone knew it weighed heavily in his words anyway.
"Uhm, yeah, hi, Zero here!" Zero began. "Love this discussion, truly, but I'm quirkless. Not gonna be much of a hero, so I think it's just best if you let me go." Nedzu chuckled softly, which quickly turned into maniacal laughter.
"Sir?" All Might asked, timidly.
"Ah, Zero I needed that!" He wiped a tear from his little beady eye. "It doesn't matter if you have a quirk or not! You avoided Aizawa just fine without one. So, you'll begin this upcoming Monday. Great, any questions?" He clapped his hands.
"Uhm yeah, me again, I don't have a house. Can't go to U.A. if I'm homeless." Zero said, eyebrows raised up into his hairline. Was this rat serious?
"Live with me then! Here at U.A.!"
Oh my God he was serious.
His first day living with the rat was eventful, to say the least. His house was massive. There was no need for six bedrooms for one man-rat-thing. So of course Zero went exploring, Nedzu close behind.
"I've always wanted this day to come, where I'd have a successor of my own, so I bought this large house! Pick any room you like."
Zero reeled back a bit at his statement. Successor? Since when!? Whatever, Zero was exhausted and his nose hurt from where Aizawa had slammed it into the table. He just wanted to go to bed.
"I believe this one will suit you quite nicely, Zero." Nedzu said as he opened a door. The room inside was decorated just enough to seem livable. There was a TV mounted on the wall, a desk with a laptop on it, and a large bed. Not to mention the bookcases that seemed to fill the wall where the TV was.
"I was also informed of your ability to learn about and analyse quirks, so I should have some notebooks coming in by tomorrow evening at the latest. They should suit you, they've even got little hero stickers on them." Zero sweatdropped.
Nedzu left him alone for the evening, saying dinner was at seven, just a few hours from now. Zero was exhausted, and the bed looked so inviting, he couldn't help himself. Zero plopped down on it and fell asleep.
That night, Izuku didn't dream.
"Wakey wakey, little apprentice! You slept through dinner, and today is the big day!" Zero groaned and rolled over only for that demon rat to appear on the other side. "Wake up!" Zero sat up, an annoyed look on his face.
"It's not Monday yet."
"Nope!" Chirped Nedzu. "But it is the day I send you out to get your school supplies. It will be our first step if you can be trusted outside alone or not."
"So like, what am I supposed to do, steal? I have no money and even I have morals. Stealing is so bad for the economy."
"Of course not! As my ward, I will be giving you a small budget of 10,000 yen* for you to spend as you please. I'll explain more during breakfast! You should change. Chop chop!" Zero groaned again at the mouse. Opening the closet door near his bed, he saw a lot of clothes in there. Most were way too big for him, so he just grabbed a regular pair of pants and a plain blue shirt. It would do.
Breakfast smelt great as Zero walked down the gigantic set of stairs in the middle of the house. Smelled like… Steamed Rice, vegetables, and Japanese pancakes. Not his personal combination of the dishes, but they smelled great.
"Oh good, you're down. Eat up quickly, I don't want you starving." Zero nodded slowly as he sat down at the island counter. The food smelled good, too good. As if they were trying to cover something up. If they poisoned him, oh well. Zero dug in.
Breakfast was enjoyed in silence, and Zero didn't mind. He didn't really wanna talk to the rat right this moment. As soon as they finished up, Nedzu handed him a list. On it were basic school supplies, but also some training weights.
"This is just the bare minimum of things you need to get. You can get more if you desire of course, but you must get everything on the list."
"What's the weight for?" Zero grunted out.
"While I wish to train you on your intellect and analysis, you are going to be a part of the hero course. You need to train your body as well. Not saying you haven't received training already," Nedzu said when it looked like Zero was going to cut in. "But everyone needs to continuously train. Quirk or no quirk, you will be strong."
Why did that sound so much like a threat?