Izuku and Katsuki have to have a talk, and Shouta is very worried for how it's going to go. Kyoka regrets her Quirk. Zero's identity as a vigilante is outed. Tenya has words to say to her.

It was like clockwork. Specter turned to Zero and spoke quietly, but his voice was clearly audible. "Just hold on and let me deal with this," he said, to which Zero's eyes narrowed. Aizawa couldn't see the expression she gave, but after a brief second Zero nodded severely, wrapping her arms around Eri and giving her a quick hug.

Bakugo had just stared at the figure as Specter stood up, turning to look at Bakugo, face still hidden. Shouta wished he saw this coming. He really, truly did. But it felt like it happened in slow motion. Bakugo's expression began to twist, to curl, going from shock, to the happiest he'd ever seen on the blonde boy's face, and then started to fall, to turn into a snarl, red eyes glaring as he took one, single step forward…and all hell broke loose.

Specter bolted for the window and without even an 'as you please' launched himself through the glass. Shouta shouted in fear, worried that the glass would shred the teenager, but his keen eyes noticed that Specter had somehow made the glass hover around him for a brief moment before falling away from his body, the vigilante twisting in midair as he hit the ground, rolling to bleed off some of the impact. He landed well, but it was still a two story drop, and Shouta could see him stumble for a brief moment as he started to run.

Not that he had much time to react as Bakugo, with a sound that could only be described as a cross between a roar and a screech, leapt through the same window, explosions blasting behind him and sending him rocketing towards the vigilante. Half the class leapt to their feet, but Shouta slammed his hand down on his desk, pulling everyone's attention to him. "Silence!" he hissed. "Get back in your seats and stay there!"

"But sir, why would that boy dive through the window like that?! And why is Bakugo chasing him?!" Ida asked, his hand chopping the air as he turned towards Shouta.

"I'll explain later! Zero!" Shouta shouted, making the girl turn her head up enough to look at him. Idly, Shouta noticed how many of his students reacted to the name…Ida, Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, and Shinso all perked up, staring between him and the teenager in the back corner. "The hells going on?"

She had the audacity to shrug. "You want an answer, you ask Deku. Him and Kacchan got history. Never expected to see him here. Probably shoulda by Deku's stories about him though."

Shouta slammed his hand over his face. "Forget it. Stay here. I need to find your boyfriend before Bakugo kills him. The rest of you, stay in your seats, and don't pester her." With that, he bolted out the window, his capture cloth grabbing the ledge and letting him drop quickly, falling into his own roll as he launched himself down the path where he still heard the explosions, heading straight towards one of the larger training grounds.

Shouta had been chasing the two teenagers for a good five minutes before the sounds of explosions seemed to finally peter out. He bolted over another rooftop, using his capture scarf to fling himself to the last location he'd heard a sound, and falling into a roll he came up on the edge of one of the buildings in Ground Beta. Peering down, he saw Specter standing there in the middle of the street, Bakugo a few meters away from him. Bakugo's fists were clenched, but pops of his Quirk were audible as he glared at Specter, teeth visibly grinding even from Shouta's perspective. He decided to stay quiet and see what happened, not wanting to just jump in and trigger anything violent since both teenagers seemed to have at least calmed down slightly.

"Is…is that really you, Deku?" Bakugo asked, his voice a growl but an almost beseeching tone in it.

"...yeah. It's me," Specter replied, his customary sarcasm missing as he spoke softly.

Bakugo stared at him for a good ten seconds, before he bit out "Take off the fucking mask."

To Shouta's immense surprise, the normally recalcitrant Specter did as he was asked, pulling the hat off his head and removing the face mask, revealing his scarred, green-eyed visage to the other teenager. Shouta blinked rapidly, seeing Bakugo's expression shift through a dozen emotions so rapidly he had no idea what he'd settled on, the explosive teenager's shoulders shaking.

Bakugo swallowed audibly, taking a step forward, his fists still clenched at his side. "Seven years. Seven…fucking…years. We've been looking for you for seven years!"

Specter's expression twisted, looking almost…remorseful. His voice was still soft, quiet, almost comforting as he replied to Bakugo. "I know. I'm…I'm sorry, Kacchan. I couldn't-"

"Couldn't what?! What the hell couldn't you do? You couldn't tell us, couldn't tell me you were still fucking alive?!" Bakugo roared, flinging one hand to the side, taking another step forward, stomping on the cracked concrete as he moved.

Specter sighed, shoulders slumped. "I couldn't risk you, or Auntie or Uncle. It wasn't…it wasn't safe, Kacchan. It's still not safe. I shouldn't even be here. I shouldn't be talking to you right now, it's-"

"Shut the fuck up!" Bakugo screamed, no longer slowly moving forward. In three quick strides he was in Specter's face, one hand gripping onto the top of his tracksuit and yanking him closer, nearly nose to nose with the blonde. Shouta almost leapt off the building at that, but Specter didn't resist, hanging limply in Bakugo's grip as he kept his eyes locked onto Bakugo's. Bakugo shook Specter angrily, snarling at him. "Who are you to decide what's safe for us?! You were fucking nine! We had to bury you! Don't you get that! We had to bury you and we didn't have a body and all we had was Auntie and, and, I took flowers to your grave every fucking year! How, how could you just fucking leave us! You can't…you shoulda trusted Mom and Dad! Why didn't you trust them?! Why didn't you trust me?!"

Shouta never thought he'd witness the sight of Katsuki Bakugo, the most surly and snappish of his students, crying angrily; and yet, he was forced to bear witness to that, the blonde's hands now shaking so much Specter was nearly being rattled just by the grip on his tracksuit alone. He never thought he'd see such a stricken expression on Specter's face, a mix of pain, sadness, and guilt all wrapped up in one, but he was watching that now too. And he hadn't ignored the age…nine. Whatever happened that made Specter into, well, Specter, had apparently happened when the boy was nine. Which meant he was right when he assumed the vigilante was the same age as his class, either fifteen or sixteen.

"I do trust you, Kacchan. I always trusted you, I swear!" Specter's tone was almost pleading, like he was begging the blonde to believe him. "But I still…Kacchan, I couldn't take the chance! I couldn't! Mom, she…" Specter cut himself off, choking on his words, his own eyes welling up with tears and Shouta was really not sure how to react.

There was something so painful beneath the surface of these two boys, and while he wasn't sure what yet, he was able to start putting pieces together, and the puzzle that was forming before him was not one he enjoyed. It was broken, and brittle, and the specter of death was looming over it and he was very worried about both of them right now.

"You, you…you fucking moron!" Bakugo roared, his left hand reared back for a punch as his right held tight to Specter's tracksuit. Shouta…honestly, he never expected the punch to land. He'd seen Specter dodge so many punches, he knew Specter's reputation for avoiding blows, and yet he became surprised once more as Bakugo's fist smashed into Specter's face, the vigilante's head snapping back from the pressure, a loud crack sounding that made Shouta wince. Enough was enough. He wrapped his capture weapon around a pipe and quickly made his way down to the ground, silently so as to not trigger either boy more, but needing to get close enough to stop any further violence. He kept himself hidden behind a doorway, ready to jump out if necessary but choosing to keep quiet for now.

But Specter didn't retaliate. He just stood there for a moment, breathing heavily, before he pulled his head back to look at Bakugo plainly, the blonde still panting in confused, teary-eyed rage. His fists unclenched; his left falling to his side, the right letting go of Specter's shirt, and he slumped forward. Shouta paused, feeling something heavier in the air, as Bakugo's form slumped forward, all the energy seeming to have drained from him as Specter caught him in a tight hug, the blonde gripping the other boy tightly.

"I'm so sorry, Kacchan," Specter whispered.

"You fucking better be, you bastard," Bakugo said back, no bite in his tone.

After a few moments, Specter broke the hug, his hands on Bakugo's shoulders as he stared the other teenager in the eyes. "Kacchan, you have to promise me something."

Bakugo growled, angrily wiping at his eyes. "What's that?"

"...you can't tell Auntie and Uncle I'm alive," he whispered, making Bakugo stand up straight, the anger flooding back into his face as he growled at the other teenager.

"Fuck that! We buried you, you jackass! Mom and Dad deserve to know you're okay! Everyone does! I'm not fucking lying to them because you're being weird-"

"I'm not being weird, I'm keeping you guys safe!" Specter snarled back, shaking Bakugo. "If they know I'm connected to you, they might come after you!"

"I can handle myself!"

"You have no idea who I'm even talking about! You've got no fucking clue what you'd be getting yourself into!"

Bakugo spread one hand wide, as if gesturing to the training ground they stood in. "I'm a fucking hero student, you idiot! I'm training to fight fucking villains and save the day! Are you kidding me about this shit?! It doesn't matter who it is, hell, tell me who killed Auntie and I'll go fucking take them out my damned self!"

Specter groaned, tugging at his hair with an annoyed grunt. "Oh my god you are so stubborn! Read my fucking lips you overheated bomberanian, you cannot just fight these people and win! If I could, you think they'd still be around?! If I had my way, every single fucking one of them would be dead, and the ones who messed with 'Chako would be buried too!"

Bakugo blinked at the vehemence for a moment, before his expression flipped back to the annoyed one. "Hold up, you're not making sense. First off, who the hell is ''Chako'? That the girl you were sitting with?"

Specter opened his mouth to reply before freezing, closing his mouth and taking a deep breath. "I've already said too much. Just…Kacchan. Please. Please. I need you to keep quiet about this. I'm begging you, please. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I never told you, but just please, trust me on this one. Please."

Bakugo stared at Specter with narrowed eyes, the wheels practically visible in his head as he kept his ruby gaze locked on emeralds. After a moment, he sighed, one hand rubbing the back of his neck. "...fuck. Fine. For now. But I want an actual explanation eventually. You promise me I get one, and get it soon, and I'll keep my trap shut for a little bit. But not for long dammit! Mom and Dad deserve to know and you know they do!"

Specter's shoulders slumped once more, looking more lost than Shouta had seen yet. "Honestly Kacchan, you'd all be better off if you gave up on me and just stuck to thinking I was dead. It'd be better for everyone."

"...the only reason I'm not punching you for saying something so fucking stupid is I am aware it won't make you change your mind. But I want it on the fucking record I really want to punch you again. And you didn't didn't promise me back. Promise me I get an explanation, and I'll keep your little secret for now."

Specter sighed. "...fine. I promise. But keep it from everyone. Including Eraser. He's going to ask you for details about us."

Shouta realized he was in a bit of a bind now. He'd been spying on them, and he had a feeling neither boy would be happy he was. But if he kept it from them and they found out later, it would be even-

"You can come out Eraser. I know you're here," Specter called, interrupting Shouta's thoughts.

"...I admit, I'm surprised. If you knew I was here, why didn't you say something?" he asked calmly, looking at Specter's blank face. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bakugo looking away, as if he didn't want to meet his gaze.

Specter's face twisted in a glare, looking more like the Specter he knew as he grabbed his face mask and began to reattach it. "Because Kacchan was right, he deserved answers and I figured I wasn't going to get privacy either fucking way." He slammed the hat on his head, annoyance clear in his posture as he continued. "Now are you done spying on our private conversation or what?"

"Specter, I understand why you'd be upset, but see it from my point of view. One of my students went running off after a vigilante who broke through the window and-"

"You're a fucking vigilante?!" Bakugo broke in, making Shouta wince as Specter sent him a dismissive glare.

"...by some definitions, I suppose. But that's not important right now,"

"I fucking swear to every god Izuku you had best have a goddamned good explanation," Bakugo growled as Shouta tucked away that name in his mind. Izuku, huh?

"I said you'd get one and you'll get one. Later. Eraser…yeah, I'm not unreasonable, I get why you followed. Still shoulda come out before, instead of being a fucking spying snake!" Specter hissed at Shouta.

Shouta took a deep, calming breath. He was well used to temperamental teenagers snapping at him, and this one just so happened to be more prickly than most. And to be fair to the boy, he had caught their clearly very private conversation. He did owe him an apology. He held up his hands placatingly. "You're right. I should've identified myself immediately. I just didn't want to interrupt what seemed to be an important conversation."

"Oh sure, so spying on us was that much better," Specter scoffed.

"I'm not going to apologize for making sure neither of you got hurt. But I am sorry for intruding on something personal."

"...Deku," Bakugo said softly, calling Specter's attention to him. With an eye on Shouta, he beckoned the other teen over, the two coming close as they held a quick, whispered conversation, both keeping one eye on Shouta, the teacher choosing to stand still in as non-threatening a posture as possible. After a few moments, Specter gave a visible eye roll to Bakugo but turned back to Shouta with a slightly less defensive stance.

"...we done here then? I want to check on 'Chako and Eri," Specter said in a carefully bored tone.

Shouta nodded. He'd deal with this all later, he was sure Nezu was going to be very interested in all this, but for now it would be best to be sure his other hellions didn't cause Zero to murder them. With a gesture, he started to lead the way out of Ground Beta, hoping the classroom was in one piece when he returned.

Everyone thought the annoying thing about Kyoka's Quirk was that she couldn't turn it off. But no, that wasn't the most annoying aspect of it. If that was all there was to it, she still could at least dismiss things to the back of her mind as background noise, not really taking it into account. That's what an average person did after all…cars and buses traveling down the street, dogs barking in the distance, kids playing outside, most people could tune those out and just ignore them entirely.

But not Kyoka. Her mom had the same problem. A lot of Quirks altered the body and mind in subtle ways, and she was no exception. Her brain, instead of dismissing things as background noise, categorized everything. She couldn't ignore the things she heard. It made things a struggle, really…when was it right to violate someone's privacy and report them if they were clearly having trouble? Half her classmates had severe nightmares, ever since the USJ attack, and she never quite knew what to do with that. She tried what she could without making it obvious she knew…she'd hum soft, relaxing music, she'd offer people their favorite candies, she'd hang out with friends and cheer them up when she could, but even all that she felt limited, and never knew when the right time to interfere was.

Which led to now. Kyoka felt really bad. She hadn't meant to cause any problems. It was just…when she heard the name 'Deku', and she remembered how many times she'd heard Katsuki whisper it under his breath, or the times she'd heard him crying in his room when he thought no one was around and said that name, she just…Katsuki was her friend, after all. She worried about him. And the conversation between the three in the back was kinda off-putting to begin with.

To the little girl, both teenagers were kind and calming, mostly encouraging her. To one another, they had this weird half-conversation, where they would stop midway through their words and just somehow still understand the other. Supposedly the girl's name was Mochi, and the boy's was Deku as she learned, and so she said that and well…there went this Deku and Katsuki, and then their teacher, out the window. Leaving her in a very uncomfortable room, where everyone was trying (and failing) to not look back at the teenager in the back corner, who had, cool as a cucumber, picked up the notebook the boy had dropped and was casually writing in it like he had been.

But that name, Zero, had gotten the attention of a number of her classmates and it worried her more. Because of who reacted. Two children of pro heroes in Tenya and Shoto, the child of some of the wealthiest in the country in Momo, and…yeah, Hitoshi was the odd one out there. Apparently though, not everyone was willing to wait patiently for answers, as Mina leaned over to Momo and whispered "So…you know that girl?"

Before Momo could reply, the girl in question spoke, an edge to her accented voice. "I believe your teacher said not to pester me."

Mina turned to her and gave an unamused look. "Well, I'm not asking you, am I?"

"You're askin' about me, that's the same thing, princess," Zero retorted, still not looking up from her notebook.

"The point is moot regardless because the answer is no, Mina. I don't know her," Momo replied calmly.

"Then why did you flinch at the name?" Denki asked, apparently not able to see a clear intent to stop the conversation.

"It's nothing, don't worry-" Momo began, but Shoto cut her off.

"Zero is the name of a thief and information broker," he said in a quiet, calm voice. There was a flicker of pink from the back of the room, just a flash, as the girl in question's hand stopped moving.

"I prefer vigilante, if you gotta label it," she said quietly.

"Then you are Zero, the vigilante who works with Specter?" Tenya asked, standing up from his seat and turning around to look at her.

Her hand, previously frozen, started writing again, still steadfastly refusing to look up from her notebook. "Don' see how it's any of your business, but fine. I am. What about it?"

Tenya strode through the room, ignoring all the hissed whispers to sit down and wide eyes worried about him breaking the rules, until he stood in front of her seat. After a moment's silence where everyone worried what would happen…he leaned forward in a deep bow, making Kyoka's jaw drop (and from what she could see in her peripheral vision, half the class as well).

"I wish to offer my heartfelt gratitude for the assistance you provided my brother against the Hero Killer!" Tenya exclaimed, still in a perfect ninety degree bow. "He was most clear that without your and Specter's help, he would have been injured or worse. So, please, allow me to express my thanks!"

Kyoka finally got to see Zero's eyes beneath the hat, a chocolate brown gaze lifted up to stare at Ida in confusion for a moment. "O-oh. Right. Ingenium is your brother, huh? Well, uh…sure. You're…welcome?" Zero replied, sounding the most unsure she had since she'd entered the room. She cleared her throat. "But uh, we weren' there to save him, ya know? It was more a happy accident or whatever. Stain was a jerk and glad we put him down, but don' wanna take credit for what was more a chance meetin' or whatever."

Tenya stood upright, shaking his head. "That merely makes me more pleased to know that you saw a moment of danger and rushed in to help my brother! Once again, I offer my deepest thanks!"

Kyoka, for all her confusion and worry about how this day had gone, could barely hold in a snort at the clearly flustered vigilante in the corner as she tried to wave off Tenya's earnestness. Ida continued, looking over at the window. "Oh, was that young man Specter?! I hope he returns soon so I may offer him my thanks as well!"

"I uh, I can um, pass it on if he doesn'?" Zero offered, her shoulders scrunched up like she was embarrassed.

"That would be most appreciated, but I do hope he returns soon. Katsuki seemed somewhat…upset."

Zero's shoulders lost some of their tension and she shrugged, looking down at her notebook once more. "Deku and Kacchan got some history together, that's all. I'm sure they'll figure it out."

"...Kacchan? Oh my god that's adorable, I'm so calling him that!" Denki said with a wide grin on his face.

"It's your funeral bro," Hanta added, snorting at Denki .

Zero shrugged again. "It's what Deku always called him when he told me stories about him."

"So, Specter's real name is Deku then?" Momo asked, tilting her head to the side.

"It's…a nickname," Zero muttered, her body language closed off as she seemed to start feeling exposed, if Kyoka had to guess. It seemed to be bothering the quiet little girl in Zero's lap, turning around slightly and tugging on Zero's sleeve. Zero bent down so she could whisper in her ear, and even though Kyoka wanted to give them privacy, she really could not turn her ears off.

"Can…can I call him Deku too?" the little girl asked.

Zero's eyes crinkled in such a way Kyoka was pretty sure she was smiling as she whispered back. "Sure you can, he'd be happy if a cutie like you did!" Kyoka hadn't expected such sweet words from the vigilante, and yet here she was, comforting that little girl. Honestly…she couldn't blame her classmates for their curiosity at this point, Zero was interesting.

"Hey uh, if you're Zero, whose that?" Eijiro asked, pointing at the girl in Zero's lap. Said little girl squeaked as attention came towards her, turning her face inward to hide in Zero's shirt, making the vigilante turn to glare at Eijiro for a moment, before letting out a sigh.

"Her name's Eri. We needed Eraser's help with her so-"

"Wait…Eri, as in, the child the Shie Hassaikai had, ribbit?" Tsuyu asked, one finger on her lips as the room seemed to skid to a stop at her words. It wasn't like they'd missed out on what had happened. The work study students had tried to keep everything under wraps, but when the news reported on the sudden destruction of a Yakuza base overnight, it ended up getting spilled out about the mission they had planned on going on and it being squashed.

Zero's piercing gaze stared Tsuyu down, Tsuyu merely keeping her placid expression locked on the other girls. Zero huffed. "Yeah, that's her."

She seemed fine with giving that little information, but Eijiro leapt to his feet, jaw dropped as he stared at Zero. "Wait wait wait, di-did you and, the other guy, did you guys-?"

"Break those Yakuza bastards over our knees and left them screaming in pain? Yes, yes we fuckin' did," The sudden, visceral rage that filled Zero's voice made nearly everyone flinch, a chill running down Kyoka's spine. She was so taken aback by the sudden change in her words, in her voice, she nearly missed Zero's next words. "The Yakuza deserve only one fate…to burn," she hissed, her hands visibly shaking as she said those words. Even stoic Todoroki blinked at the vehemence in which she spoke. Granted…Kyoka was pretty sure the main reason they all were so taken aback was the fact Zero meant every word she said.

Katsuki could be surly and snappy, and saying 'I'll kill you!' was basically his way of showing affection, they'd figured that out by now. It's not like none of them had ever felt anger, or had dark thoughts about what to do with some of the horrific villains they'd heard of or faced. But this? This was pure, unadulterated rage, a fury that was embedded deep inside her that none of them had any idea how to deal with.

Luckily or unluckily, she supposed, none of them had to, as the door to the room opened, showing a surprisingly calm Katsuki, their teacher, and Specter…who gave Katsuki a squeeze on his shoulder before immediately striding through the room and back to the corner, sitting down next to Zero who wrapped one arm around his shoulder almost instinctively, Specter leaning into her with a sigh everyone could hear.

Aizawa took one look around the room, seeing Tenya and Eijiro standing, everyone half-turned in their seats to look at Zero, and narrowed his eyes. Before he said anything, Zero spoke up, her voice soft and in control now. "It's fine, Eraser. They just asked a couple questions, nothing bad. And Ingenium Jr. here was just being nice," she gestured up at Tenya , making the taller teenager sputter for a moment.

Tenya shook his head quickly. "I apologize for not following your instructions perfectly Sensei, I merely wanted to express my thanks to these two for their efforts in helping my brother. I have already done so to Miss Zero here, so if I may Mister Specter, I would offer you my sincere gratitude as well." Tenya bowed once more, treating the entire class to a second vigilante now sputtering in confusion. Kyoka could hear the barely audible chuckle from Zero, the girl whispering into Specter's ear that Tenya did this to her too and was Ingenium's brother, calming Specter down.

Specter swallowed. "Right, uh…thanks. It's…it's fine. All in a day's work?" His voice lifted up in question at the end, and Kyoka swore she heard Aizawa let out a snort at that, but when she glanced back at him his face was still locked in a stoic, expressionless grimace. She let herself look over at Katsuki, the blonde looking…lost, was the best term she could think of, his eyes continuously flicking back to the seated vigilantes.

"Alright, that's enough excitement for one day. Back in your seats. We still have classes to get through," Aizawa said, pulling everyone's attention back to him. Tenya nodded, offering one more bow to more sputters from Specter, before he strode back to his seat and sat in it primly, Eijiro slowly lowering himself back into his seat as he stared wide-eyed at the two vigilantes and child in the back. As if nothing had happened, Aizawa started writing on the board, proceeding with the original lesson…but Kyoka was pretty sure everyone had a lot of questions left.

It's funny how Izuku and Ochako are the main characters of this story and I STILL haven't done a section from their point of view lol. I also cannot stop writing this story! Chapters 4 and 5 are done, working on 6 while putting more work into PMPK. Writing hyperfixation, go!