"These are the new assignments," Nezu said as he placed a folder on the table. The English was coming to him much easier now. Natalie was quick to pick the folder up. "Please pass these around. For those who attend school, tell them to meet here after their last class. Tell the rest to be here at six in the morning for training."

"We ordered dinner, sir. Pizza," John began as he bowed his head. He was now properly holding his gun in a holster, and Nezu had shown him how to make sure the safety was on. "We weren't sure what you wanted, so we got pizza. Um, with pineapples sir. And barbecue. It's not traditional, but..."

"I like trying new things," Nezu said. "Make sure everyone is gathered for dinner. I also wanted the oldest members to escort the youngest home. Just to make sure they make it safely. Though, I understand some members stay here."

"Yes, sir. They were kicked out or ran away from home," Natalie replied.

"I will have to get with a social worker," Nezu said. "Just to make sure that you have all the resources to be successful when you hit the age of an adult. So, I-"

A knock on the door interrupted Nezu. John and Natalie both tensed. Nezu just smiled and raised his voice, "Come in!"

Thomas hurried in with a bow and spoke, "Sir, there is a man outside the door who wants to speak with Frank. We told him that Frank was unavailable because we had a new leader, and he knew your name. He demanded to speak to you but won't tell us his name."

"Dark hair? Dark eyes that looked like he hasn't slept in a decade? Bloodied white shirt with a few claw marks in it?" Nezu questioned. Thomas raised his radio and repeated the question.

"Yes," Bob answered over the radio.

"Tell Aizawa that I am fine, and he should be resting that stab wound," Nezu said. John's eyes widened.

"That is your assassin?" John asked.

"Yes," Nezu answered. He looked at Thomas. "And do tell Aizawa not to scale the building. I will get in contact with him when I am ready."

There was so much Nezu needed to do. First, he had to get these kids on the straight and narrow. Then, they would spread word about his deeds which would allow them to recruit more people. A change in management would cause other gangs to test their territory, and Nezu would be able to absorb those gangs into his, growing their ranks.

Then, they would take over the world.

Sure, there were steps in between, but that was the short version of his plan. Hmm. Why had he never done this with UA?

Right. The teachers wouldn't let him. It was mostly Recovery Girl, though.

Hmm. Maybe he could drag her in on his plans for world domination.

"Sir, you mentioned a social worker," Natalie began as Thomas left the room.

"Ah, yes. I want to make sure that you kids have all the resources you need for when you reach adulthood. I have already vetted some social workers, but I have to find one who works with kids like you and believes in you as I do," Nezu said.

"You believe in us, sir?" John asked.

"Well of course I do," Nezu said. "You-"

Another knock interrupted them, but it wasn't from the door this time. Nezu turned his head to look at the window. A very unimpressed Aizawa had his fist resting against the window. He was standing on the fire escape. This place had very poor security, and Nezu would see about removing that fire escape.

"I thought I told you to leave, Aizawa. And to not scale the building," Nezu said in Japanese. The pro hero studied him unimpressed. Maybe he couldn't hear him? Aizawa slowly took off his suit jacket. "What are you doing?"

The answer was given as Aizawa wrapped the sleeve of the jacket around his hand. Nezu frowned, "Aizawa, that is not a-"

Aizawa's fist slammed directly into the window. Nezu sighed as Aizawa unlocked the window and raised it with ease. He climbed into the office. Both John and Natalie were staring, and John had his hand resting on his gun. Nezu held his hand up to them.

"Windows are not cheap to replace," Nezu said to Aizawa.

"We're going home," Aizawa said as he unwrapped his hand. There was a fresh cut or two on his arm that he paid no attention to. "Present Mic has airplane tickets on standby."

"I have too much work to do here," Nezu dismissed as he looked back at Natalie and John. He sensed the movement more than anything, and he turned, slicing the knife across Aizawa's hand. "Don't."

Aizawa slowly looked at the three cuts on his fingers. They weren't super deep, but irritation still showed on the man's face. Nezu spoke, "I have much work to do to make sure this gang reaches its potential, and I know you won't stop me."

"These kids need a social worker. Not you," Aizawa said.

"I'm going to connect them with a social worker soon," Nezu dismissed. He studied the fresh blood on the knife and placed a claw to it, letting a drop fall onto his paw. "After I help them."

"This is not an army for you to create for world domination," Aizawa said as he looked at the other two in the room. "They are part of a gang of criminals who beat up people for fun."

"As I have been told," Nezu said. "I am going to help them train their quirks and set them on the correct path in life. As they grow stronger, our gang will as well. Then, we will absorb the other gangs and-"

"No," Aizawa interrupted. "You can help these kids out, but you aren't going to stay and make them into soldiers for you."

"Why not?" Nezu asked as he tilted his head.

"Because you don't live here. You have a job and responsibilities back home," Aizawa said. Nezu moved his eyes back to the blood again. He hadn't meant to lick the blood off of the knife. It was just meant to be for dramatic effect for the former gang leader.

But, the blood hadn't been too bad...

And it wasn't like the first time he tasted human blood.

"I can help these kids, Aizawa. That is why we're heroes," Nezu said. Aizawa sighed deeply as annoyance flashed across his face. "Are you upset at me?"

"You stabbed me," Aizawa stated as he met Nezu's eyes.

"Yes," Nezu agreed.

"And now you want to stay here with this gang," Aizawa stated.

"Yes," Nezu repeated. "If it makes you feel better, I had to stab you."

"Had to?" Aizawa demanded. "What do you mean you had to stab me!"

Nezu watched in interest because he had never heard this form of tone from Aizawa. It was mostly indifference from Aizawa. Not anger like right now. Especially because the pro hero was glaring, and his jaw was tightened like he was clenching his teeth.

"I have never seen you this worked up before," Nezu commented.

"You stabbed me and left me in an alley," Aizawa hissed as he took a step forward. Nezu lifted the knife again. He wasn't scared to stab a finger if he had to.

Hmm. He was being a little silly about this, but the gang did need his help. Frank the Tank was just going to get these kids arrested or worse. And it was Nezu's job as a pro hero and principal to help those who needed it.

And Nezu was having a lot of fun with this power. These kids were in awe of him. They didn't try to argue with him or try to give a better suggestion. They just listened. And sure, he felt bad for stabbing Aizawa in the stomach. It made him feel guilty. A little bit at least.

Hmm. This wasn't good. Recovery Girl would tell him that he needed to get back in touch with his human emotions. To have empathy. Yes, he needed to have empathy for the man he stabbed. Aizawa wasn't one of the humans who experimented on him. In fact, Aizawa had protected him during the fall.

"It was a rational deception. Something you are very fond of," Nezu said. "I was worried they would try to kill you or me if I didn't play into their illusions of us being Yakuza. I now realize they are harmless. But, I made sure to stab you in a way that you wouldn't bleed out.

"I will take your feelings into account next time," Nezu said. There. Perfect amount of empathy.

Aizawa's eyes twitched.

Hmm. Maybe not.

A hand swiped toward the knife, and Nezu instinctively raised it. The knife was snatched out of his grasp, and Aizawa's other hand grabbed him by his suit. A yelp left him as he was jerked out of the chair.

"Put him down!" John ordered.

"Tell them that they are going to dispel this gang and do something productive with their lives," Aizawa said. "There are a lot of shop owners here they have terrorized. Go help them and make up for what they did."

"Aizawa," Nezu warned. He reached both claws up to dig into Aizawa's hand as a message. "Let me go."

"Tell them what I said," Aizawa replied.

"This is my gang."

"You don't have a gang, Nezu! You have a group of teenagers and young adults who think they will die if they disobey you. They think you are Yakuza!"

"Let me down," Nezu repeated. He pierced his claws in more. Aizawa only blinked at him. "Now."

"No."

Nezu snarled and lunged upward. He bit down hard on Aizawa's fingers. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Aizawa's eyes flare red, and his hair lifted as he activated his quirk. John and Natalie stopped in their tracks. Aizawa placed the knife he had taken from Nezu into his pocket. There was a small cut on his hand from when he had cut himself as he snatched the knife up by its blade.

Aizawa wiped his hand on his shirt and lifted the other hand. Then, he grabbed onto Nezu's nose and pinched it shut.

Just like he would a cat that had something in its mouth.

The two of them stared at each other. Nezu could feel that his teeth had not only broken skin but were clamped down pretty deep in two of Aizawa's fingers. The pro hero looked more annoyed than anything. And it was as Nezu accidentally swallowed some of the blood as he was trying to breathe that he realized exactly what he was doing.

Nezu's mouth flew open. Aizawa kept his hand on the front of Nezu's shirt. The other hand moved from his snout to the back of his neck, and Nezu couldn't do much but hang there awkwardly as he was lifted by his scruff. The grip was tight. Not enough to hurt but enough that he couldn't just escape out of it.

"My colleague is right," Nezu said in English as he looked at the other two. "You need to disband your gang. Go to the people you have hurt and help them. Turn Frank in to the police. I will be checking in on all of you within a week. That is how long you have to turn your lives around."

Both of them stared at him with wide eyes. Nezu allowed himself to be limp in Aizawa's arm. Then, John bowed to him and hurried out. Natalie bowed as well.

"Thank you, sir. We won't disappoint you," Natalie promised as she turned and ran out. Nezu looked at Aizawa. The pro hero was gripping the desk with his free hand, and as soon as the two Americans had left, he closed his eyes and took a shaky breath. It was a few more moments before he reopened his eyes.

"Will you let me down?" Nezu asked. Aizawa did not answer him. Instead, he turned and climbed out of the window, keeping Nezu's scruff in his hand. He felt like he deserved this considering he had gone overboard. "Can I at least have the knife back?"

Nezu didn't get the knife back.

"Thank you for the ride. We appreciate the hospitality, and I appreciate you helping out my friend," Nezu said as he looked at the wonderful young man in front of him. Dan was a veterinarian, and he was the one who had stitched Aizawa up. His family had also been tormented by Frank the Tank and his gang.

"You have my number so do not hesitate to call at any time. I do have contacts in America who can help. We will also have Present Mic sign some merchandise for your kids. Plus payment for helping us out. Thank you once again,"

"It was our pleasure," Dan said with a small smile. "Are you sure we can't help more?"

"You've done more than enough," Nezu smiled. He glanced to his side and saw Aizawa was leaning on a wall silently. They were only two hours removed from Aizawa carrying Nezu back to Dan's place. And Aizawa had yet to say a word. "I will also make sure to send some of that tea your neighbor likes."

"Thank you," Dan said with a bow of his head. Nezu bowed and watched the man hurry back to his car. He turned to face Aizawa. The pro hero simply grabbed Nezu and picked him up, setting him on his shoulders. Then, they headed into the crowded airport.

Nezu was more than a little nervous as they pushed through the crowd of people. He couldn't imagine trying to walk here, so he was grateful that Aizawa had let him ride on his shoulders.

"They were quite nice," Nezu commented. No response was given to him. Nezu looked down and gripped Aizawa's new jacket. They had stopped long enough to get Aizawa a new set of clothes on their way to the airport.

And, no comment was made as Aizawa grabbed a few souvenirs before stalking off to pay for them. Now, those souvenirs were stuck in his pocket as they made their way toward the help desk. Nezu grabbed his hero license and ID out of his pocket. Aizawa did the same as he stopped in front of the desk.

"How can I help you?" the woman asked. Nezu smiled down at her.

"Hello, we called earlier about getting tickets back to Japan. We are pro heroes Eraser Head and Nezu. We were displaced by a teleportation quirk," Nezu said with the kindest smile he could offer. The woman smiled in return.

"Of course. Let me just see your IDs and license."

As Nezu handed his over, Aizawa did the same. The woman turned toward her computer and typed into it. After another minute, she handed their IDs and licenses back. Along with their tickets.

"Your flight leaves in an hour at gate A-2. Just make a right from here and follow the hall. Can I help with anything else?" the woman asked.

"No thank you," Nezu said with a bow of his head. He glanced at Aizawa. "Make a left and follow the hall. We're at gate A-2."

Aizawa made his way down the hall without a word. Nezu frowned as he looked at the other man. Aizawa looked exhausted like normal, but it wasn't like him to just not acknowledge anything that Nezu said. He must still have been angry.

"I've noticed you have been stumbling a little," Nezu began. Aizawa still did not respond. "I think you may be concussed, so if I can help, let me know."

Silence filled the space between them as they made it to the gate. Aizawa sat down and instantly laid his head back. His eyes closed. Nezu settled in the seat next to him and studied their tickets. A deep sigh left him. He had to think of a proper apology, but he doubted that Aizawa would ignore him for a flight that lasted over ten hours.

Nezu was not wrong often, but he was wrong about Aizawa ignoring him. As soon as they were settled on the plane, Aizawa went right back to sleep. Though, this rest was a lot more disjointed. Nezu noticed him shifting a lot more often. His eyes would slowly open for a few moments before they would close once again.

Nezu could see the clear signs of being unable to sleep, but he didn't think he could say anything to the man that would help. The process continued for another few hours as Nezu found himself staring off into the distance, thinking of what to do about the gang. He was going to use his contacts to make sure they could get on the right path.

As the flight attendant came around to take their order, Nezu was slightly disappointed to see the options were American food. Mostly because he never got to try that pizza. He ended up getting a hamburger that had too many toppings and not enough sauce. But, he ate it without complaint as he was starving. Aizawa ordered the same and ate his food before stepping away for a few minutes.

Nezu found himself stopping the flight attendant once again. She smiled at him and spoke in perfect Japanese, "What can I get for you, sir?"

"Do you have sleeping pills? My colleague is having issues sleeping," Nezu began.

"Of course sir," the flight attendant said as she walked away. It was only thirty seconds before she returned with a small bottle of water and the sleeping pills. Nezu placed the bottle of water on his lap as he held the plastic cup in his paw.

It was only a minute or two before Aizawa returned. He immediately sat down and closed his eyes again. Nezu reached over and gently lowered the table in front of Aizawa. The water bottle and plastic cup were set on the table.

And when Aizawa restlessly opened his eyes a few minutes later, he stared at the medicine. Then, he took the medicine and drank the water. Nezu made sure to close his eyes and pretend to be asleep. When he reopened his eyes, Aizawa was out like a light.

Nezu took the rest of the flight to categorize a plan for each member of the gang. Then, he moved onto thinking about what to do about Mr. and Mrs. Imu. The police had already been contacted thanks to Yamada, but they would wait for Aizawa and Nezu to be back in Japan first.

It was quite the situation, though. Mrs. Imu had clearly been going after Aizawa, upset because her son had been expelled. Now, did she have enough control over her quirk to know where she was sending Aizawa? Did Nezu jumping it mess up her quirk and cause them to go somewhere?

If they had been sent where Mrs. Imu intended, it was clear she was trying to injure if not outright kill Aizawa. The fall had only been broken by the items they crashed into, but if the fall had been a straight drop, it very well could have killed the pro hero.

Attempted murder was on the table.

Now if Nezu jumping in caused the quirk to malfunction, they wouldn't know her original destination. This was going to take some questioning. Not to mention the delicate household situation. This was a mess. But he had plenty of time to think about the mess.

But try as he might, his eyes kept drifting back to the man next to him. Aizawa's head had lolled to the side, and while hair covered most of his face, the part that wasn't covered was the white bandage that was taunting Nezu.

His guilt was starting to come to the surface.

Aizawa had pulled him close to protect him from what would have been a fatal fall for Nezu's small body. And it wasn't like Nezu didn't notice him limping or favoring his elbow. And to return the favor, Nezu had stabbed him. Part of him felt like Aizawa would have already forgiven him.

If Nezu didn't bite him.

It was stupid. He had leaned way too far into his animal instincts when he did that. It was so embarrassing. No one was going to let him hear the end of this. Nevertheless, he needed to apologize. And give a proper apology.

As Nezu tried to think of the proper apology, he felt the plane starting to descend. His paw nudged Aizawa, and the pro hero stirred slightly. Nezu spoke, "Aizawa, we are landing."

When there was no response, Nezu poked the man in the face. That seemed to get the man's attention, and his eyes slowly opened. He blinked a few times and started to rub his eyes. Nezu stared at the bandages covering Aizawa's hands. Especially the larger one covering his fingers where Nezu had bit down as hard as he could.

Aizawa continued to rub his eyes and blink away the sleep. He sat up in his seat before slowly popping his neck and then the rest of his body. Nezu adjusted his seatbelt and studied Aizawa, waiting for him to look more awake.

"Thank you," Aizawa muttered.

"For what?" Nezu asked.

"The sleeping medicine," Aizawa said as he grabbed eye drops and put them in his eyes.

"Oh. That was no problem," Nezu said. "But, I should have been the one to speak up first. I am sorry for my behavior this past day. I... I don't know what came over me. Truly. I wanted to go with the flow as others would say, and it spiraled out of control. And I had too much fun being a leader for kids who didn't question me."

"Because they were terrified of you," Aizawa grunted as he slowly flexed his fingers. "Do you have rabies?"

"No!" Nezu said quickly. He tried to shove away the offense he felt at the question. "I can pay for your rabies shots if you want."

"I'm up to date," Aizawa dismissed.

"Hmm. Well, I let the power go to my head too much," Nezu admitted. "And that's part of the reason I lashed out at you. I am very sorry."

"You're forgiven," Aizawa said. He focused on Nezu's eyes. "As long as you help those in the gang without further indoctrinating them."

"I will not indoctrinate them," Nezu promised. As the plane landed, he patiently waited for their turn to get off the airplane. On the other hand, Aizawa looked ready to punch out another window to escape. When it was finally their turn, he scooped Nezu up and put him on his shoulder again.

"Are you sure you forgive me, Aizawa? I was out of line," Nezu said. Aizawa grinned, and it was a lot more feral than Nezu's.

"I figure if I don't talk to you now, you'll give me space when we get back to UA. And I am not going to be the one who explains this to Recovery Girl," Aizawa said as he motioned to himself. Nezu felt a tremor run through his body. Today would be the day Recovery Girl hit him with her cane.

Or worse, got the spray bottle back out.

Before Nezu could lament on it too much, he was forced to duck his head to avoid his face smacking against the exit of the airplane. Thankfully, the pro hero also ducked. Nezu found himself clinging onto Aizawa's hood as they made their way through another large crowd.

"We are done with house visits, right?" Aizawa asked as he trudged forward. Nezu chuckled as he tried to find a place to nestle in the jacket. The hood was nowhere near as comfortable as the capture weapon.

"No," Nezu answered. He studied the grimace on Aizawa's face. "I do have a question if you would be willing to answer. What happened with Mr. Imu?"

Aizawa sighed and looked down as he stuck his hands in his pockets, "I was part of a raid to take out his organization. We chased him up to the second or third floor, and there was a quirk that caused the building to be unstable. Mr. Imu, Ragra was his villain name, fell out the window. I tried to use my capture weapon to save him, but it was already frayed from fighting."

"The fabric caught him as he was falling over the edge, but I could tell it was tearing. I made it to the end of the wall and lunged forward to save him, but I just... missed." Aizawa said. He sighed deeply and rubbed his eyes. "I should have saved him."

"It sounds like you did everything you could," Nezu said. "And it sounds like your capture weapon saved him from being thrown out of the building completely. Stopping his momentum before he fell again may have saved his life."

Aizawa shrugged. Nezu frowned. From her file, Mrs. Imu loved to have criminals face the crimes they committed, quite literally. In her mind, justice may have been for Aizawa to face the same kind of fall that her husband did, and whatever injury he received would have balanced the scales.

"Aizawa," Nezu began.

"It doesn't change the fact that I wasn't able to stop an injury that could have turned into a death," Aizawa said. "But, I just had to learn from it and move on. I-"

"Sho!"

Like a freight train, Yamada slammed into them, nearly knocking Aizawa over. But he definitely knocked Nezu off of his perch. Nezu closed his eyes, waiting to smack into the ground. A hand snatched onto the back of his shirt, and he grunted.

"We're in public," Aizawa hissed as he lifted Nezu back onto his shoulder and looked at Yamada. Two hands grabbed Aizawa's face as Yamada studied the bandage.

"I almost didn't recognize you," Yamada said. He looked at Nezu. "I can't believe you got him to wear a gray jacket."

"It was the only color they had," Aizawa sighed.

"Were you hurt?" Yamada asked as he looked over Nezu for any injuries.

"No. Aizawa protected me during our fall," Nezu answered. Yamada's eyes widened.

"It wasn't that far of a fall," Aizawa said quickly. Yamada unzipped the jacket and grabbed the bottom of Aizawa's shirt. "What are you doing?!"

"You said you were stabbed," Yamada said. Aizawa smacked his hand away and then winced. Yamada latched onto the new injury and studied Aizawa's hand. "What happened here? How is your stab wound?"

"It's a stab wound," Aizawa grunted. "A stray bit my hand."

"I told you to stop presenting your hands like that," Yamada scolded. Aizawa shrugged and didn't fight as Yamada looked over the rest of him. Nezu did his best to get in Aizawa's line of sight, and he gave the pro a grateful nod.

Nezu felt the shoulder he was sitting on move in another shrug. Still, the principal leaned over and spoke softly, "I owe you one."

"I'll keep that in mind," Aizawa muttered.

"You should keep in mind not presenting your hands," Yamada agreed as he took off the bandage. "This looks deep. Is that a stitch?"

"A veterinarian took care of it."

"You took the stray to a veterinarian after it bit you?" Yamada asked.

"Yes," Aizawa said. Nezu noted that it wasn't a total lie. In fact, it wasn't a lie at all. Aizawa met his eyes as they made their way outside. "Any news about Mr. and Mrs. Imu?"

"Nope. They left the nest. Turns out they also poisoned some tea in a cup. Did you drink any, Nezu?" Yamada asked.

"No," Nezu said as he felt a bit of rage touch his chest. How dare they disgrace tea like that! "We will have to keep an eye out for them."

Yamada nodded his agreement, and they fell into a peaceful silence as they walked through the crowds. Eventually, they made it to Yamada's car, and Aizawa opened the door for Nezu. The principal crawled off of his shoulder.

"You should try sleeping," Aizawa told Nezu. "You need to be rested if you want to implement all your plans."

"I will try," Nezu promised.

"We'll get food too," Yamada said as he leaned on Aizawa and gently kissed his neck. Nezu turned his gaze from them as Aizawa closed the door. Yamada's next words were quieter but still easy to make out. "Are the cats a lot more vicious in America?"

"Yes," Aizawa sighed as he turned toward Yamada. "When is Nezu's birthday?"

Nezu put on his seatbelt and closed his eyes as he listened. Yamada hummed as he seemed to think about it, "First day of the year. I remember Nemuri trying to explain the difference between a birthday and Christmas to him."

"Easier to get a gift for both when it's that close," Aizawa commented.

"No, it's not," Yamada protested. "Especially if it's almost two months apart, Sho. Don't tell me you're going to combine gifts. You can't do that!"

"I never said I was going to do that. I was just wondering when his birthday was," Aizawa said as he moved to the passenger's door but didn't open it. Nezu peeked an eye open.

"Got inspired for a gift idea while on your trip to America?" Yamada teased as he moved to the driver's door.

"Yeah," Aizawa said. Nezu saw Aizawa's hand slip into the pocket where he was holding onto the knife he had taken from Nezu. Only his hero license let him carry it onto the plane. "And I think it's something he'll really like."