Nejire had seen the news about Hosu the moment it broke.
She knew exactly how bad things had to have been for U.A. to issue an immediate freeze on all ongoing internships.
As she rode the train into Musutafu, reading the daily headlines, she had the message drilled into her head over a dozen times.
But nothing could have prepared her for the moment she sat down in U.A.'s auditorium and had to listen to Nedzu begin to say a eulogy for one of her underclassmen.
Iida Tenya. Slain in the line of duty in Hosu defending the innocent during the League of Villain's freshly-dubbed 'Night of Terror' by the Hero Killer: Stain - the same villain who crippled his brother, Ingenium, barely two weeks prior.
At least, that was what U.A. allowed the media to believe. The truth was far less noble, and as the non-Hero courses slowly filtered out of the auditorium Aizawa seemed determined to make sure everybody present knew that.
"Iida Tenya died a gruesome, painful, and miserable death." He spoke neutrally into the microphone, uncaring of the way several first-years were openly crying (the tears were only exacerbated by his calloused tone). "And he deserved it."
Before the entire building could explode into an uproar, his eyes flashed red - daring anyone to interrupt. "Iida took it upon himself to launch a crusade against the man who crippled his brother, doing so solely for selfish reasons such as revenge and hatred. His reckless actions not only endangered those around him, but led directly to his death. Let this be a lesson to you all - vigilantism and petty anger have no place in Heroism. If you don't already know this, then you better get with the program. Iida let his personal bias cloud his judgement, leading him to make an irrational decision that cost him his life."
Now, Nejire had never had a real problem with Aizawa. He was a bit of a hardass (and he expelled half of her kouhais last year, which was rude), but he had never done anything that rubbed her the wrong way or went after one of her friends.
Right now, though, she really wanted to knock his teeth out for talking like that.
And based on the way Mirio's fists were clenched and Tamaki looked like he was struggling not to snarl, the feeling was rather mutual.
Her heart went out to the pool girl sobbing her eyes out in the front row - a brunette who was being comforted by an equally distraught girl with green hair that looked like it was done in a bow - Iida was probably her friend.
They got to leave after that. Nedzu didn't look too happy.
To be completely honest, though, Nejire didn't know where to go. Her parents were very understanding towards her about what had happened last night, and she appreciated it, but that was a long train ride north and she didn't want to deal with that right now. Hanging around in Musutafu was an idea, but again she had no idea where she would go, especially not when half of the city seemed to be in mourning of a fifteen-year-old whose memory would be built on a lie.
She didn't even know why she was practically moved to tears by the disaster. As sad (and regretful) as the situation surrounding Iida's death was, she didn't know him. To Nejire, he was just somebody she should have met one day, someone who seemed nice but could be a real stick in the mud (she could gather that much from his highlights in the Sports Festival). It was horrible, yes, and she should have felt bad, but something about his death made her all sorts of shaken.
Not even Yuyu looked as frazzled as she felt about it. She looked shaken, sure, but she wasn't exactly quaking in her boots like how Nejire felt she was. Mirio and Tamaki both looked upset, but their reactions were practically nothing compared to hers.
Maybe it was because of the way that first-year was crying out like she lost a loved one, and Nejire didn't want to confront the possibility that one day they would be here for one of her friends.
Maybe it was because every time she thought of Iida, Nejire's mind instantly replaced his straight blue hair with curly green locks and a pair of vibrant emerald eyes that looked completely and utterly void of any life within–
That settled it, Nejire wanted to see Izuku.
–
Izuku's mom had allowed him to stay home from school that day, on account of the fact that he had been practically catatonic for the better part of the night after seeing that… thing.
Logically, he knew it couldn't have been Tsubasa - the boy had been more or less fine when Nejire had blasted him away into the sunset last week, so how on Earth could he be whatever the hell that abomination was at Hosu? It was just a coincidence that their wings were similar - no more, no less.
And then he made the mistake of turning the news on in the morning.
Nomu. That was what the name of the creature that had decided to make a home in his nightmares.
Apparently, the creature, or at least a variant of it, was also involved in the U.A. break-in that had occurred a little over a month ago. There wasn't too much information that the police were willing to disclose, but they seemed to be mindless soldiers (hence the exposed brain) under the control of the League of Villains - who were also behind that U.A. break-in. All Might had been present to take down the one in the U.A. incident, but there was no All Might in Hosu.
Just a bloodbath.
Endeavor did what he could, supported by several other major heroes, but he was no Symbol of Peace. There was a lot of bloodshed that night, mostly from the nomu being taken out, but there were plenty of civilian casualties. The fact that the entire city seemed to wind up engulfed in flames didn't help.
Also, apparently the nomu had multiple Quirks. That was how Izuku realized that it really was Tsubasa. If this League of Villains somehow had the ability to give a semi-living thing (because it was really debatable if those things were alive or not), then they almost definitely had the technology to alter their appearance - or, more likely, the ability to keep the subjects from breaking apart as they somehow forced multiple Quirks into their body. It would explain why the nomu looked so… distorted, for the lack of a better term. Maybe their bodies simply couldn't handle the strain of being injected with multiple Quirks.
If it sounded weird that he had approached the situation with such an analytical mind, let it be known that these conclusions all came after a sleepless night full of terror and screaming. And hyperventilating.
Never let it be said that Izuku couldn't compartmentalize all his problems away.
So here he sat, curled up on his loveseat, cradling a cup of coffee in a vein attempt to stay awake beneath his little pile of blankets. The shower he'd taken earlier had helped, but it still felt like every time he closed his eyes he saw the glassy-eyed stare of the not-Tsubasa as it lunged at him–
Izuku's eyes shot open. This was why he couldn't fall asleep.
He checked the time on his phone. 11:32. He had a long way to go if he wanted to make it to tonight, even if that didn't even solve his problem in the first place.
Thump thump thump
Izuku blinked in confusion at the sound of someone knocking at the door. Who visited their apartment in the middle of the day? His mom wasn't home, and she almost never was at this time. Did she order a package or something?
He did his best to silently move over to the door. Call him paranoid, but there was no way he was letting whoever was out there know that somebody was home.
The peephole was calling his name, and as Izuku stretched up onto his tippy-toes to see who it was–
He fell over in shock, thudding loudly against the floor and almost certainly catching the attention of his visitor.
Why was Nejire here?
Scrambling to his feet in a panic, he opened the door as quickly as he could to greet his periwinkle-haired friend. "N-N-Nejire?" He asked, "W-w-what are you d-doing here? I-I-it's–"
Izuku cut himself off sharply as he took in her frame. Her eyes were red, her shoulders were shaking, and she looked like she was barely holding herself together.
Despite all of that, and despite the way her lips quivered, she still found it within herself to smile at him.
"H-hi, Izuku," she greeted, "Um, I–"
The words tumbled out of his mouth before his brain even realized it. "Are you okay?"
Nejire stopped in her tracks, and Izuku immediately made to backtrack. "S-s-sorry!" He winced at how frail his voice sounded. "I d-d-didn't m-mean to interrupt or a-assume–"
"I don't know," Nejire whispered, cutting through his stammering like a knife between the ribcage, "C-can I come in?"
His door opened faster than she could blink. Well, it opened wider than it already was - it wasn't like he was speaking to her through the peephole. Izuku stepped back and extended his arm towards his living room, doing his best to seem as welcoming as possible.
She stepped forward slowly, almost robotically, and Izuku winced at the way she seemed so out of it. Nejire's eyes lingered on Izuku for a moment, but quickly found their way to the bags under his eyes.
"Are you okay?" She asked, parroting his question from earlier as she stood in the entrance to his apartment, "You look, um–"
"L-like I didn't sleep?" Izuku retorted, "It's b-because I, uh, d-didn't."
Nejire shifted on her feet. "B-because of the news?"
Izuku winced at the reminder. "S-s-sort of."
Nejire moved closer to him, slowly at first, almost as if she was scared he'd run away like a wild rabbit.
The hug Izuku found himself in was different than usual. Instead of him being the one pulled into her grip, it was like Nejire was trying to find solace in his arms instead.
It was weird. But not unwelcome. He tried his best to be there for her, wrapping his arms around her torso and patting her on the back.
"One of my kouhai died there last night," she whispered as she held onto him, "In Hosu."
Oh.
Oh dear.
Izuku froze briefly, the shock and horror of the situation briefly overriding his embarrassment at being hugged by the most beautiful girl he'd ever met. All of a sudden, it made a whole lot of sense as to why Nejire would be shaken.
"L-l-let's s-sit down," he offered, trying his best to guide himself and the much taller girl to the loveseat.
"Okay," Nejire agreed, voice cracking slightly as the word came out. She didn't put up any resistance, but it was still more or less a Herculean task for Izuku's tiny frame to get her a few feet over to the living room.
He pulled through though - and it was a good thing, too. Nejire practically collapsed into the cushions of the couch the moment the back of her legs reached it, and she nearly pulled Izuku down with her.
Scratch that - she did pull Izuku down with her, but he was nimble enough to land at her side instead of directly on top of her like it originally looked.
Now that they were at around the same height, Izuku dimly realized that she had started crying again. Nejire hiccuped for a moment, wiping at her tears to the best of her ability, and then they came back with a vengeance.
Izuku wasn't very good at this kind of thing (especially considering the fact that Nejire had been the one to comfort him on more than one occasion), but he used that to his advantage and tried to copy what she would do - or rather, what he would want her to do if the roles were reversed.
"I'm s-sorry," he whispered, rubbing her back with one hand and pulling her close, "I-I-It'll be o-okay."
Nejire buried her head in the crook of his neck, shaking it slowly and not bothering to voice her disagreement. Izuku chose not to push it, and instead placed his other hand on the back of her neck to try and offer whatever comfort he could provide - which probably wasn't much, but he'd be damned if he didn't give her his all.
For a while there was nothing in the world but Izuku, Nejire, and the sound of her sobs.
After what seemed like an eternity, Nejire finally moved her head away, and Izuku removed his hands from her body as if he had been touching an open flame. "I-I'm sorry," she said shakily, trying to laugh the situation off, "I don't know w-what came o-over me. Or why I'm s-so upset."
Izuku gulped. This was going to take a firm hand; one that Izuku didn't think he had. He didn't think 'Helping Trauma Survivors' was an elective Musutafu General offered.
"You don't have to apologize," he replied earnestly, meeting her teary-eyed gaze, "Like you've been for me, I'm here for you. It's okay to be upset, too. D-do you want to talk about it?"
She shifted uncomfortably, and for the first time it seemed like she was the one unable to maintain eye contact. "I just feel like if I'm going to be the strongest I shouldn't be getting so messed up over someone I didn't even know when my friends aren't even batting an eye–"
"P-people handle grief differently," Izuku said quickly, "U-um, just because you can't t-tell what they're thinking doesn't mean t-they aren't as u-upset. A-and it's okay t-to be, um, m-m-messed up, too. You w-went to school with them, right? E-even if you never had a chance to interact with them, maybe you saw them in the hallway, o-or watched them in the Sports F-Festival. I-It's natural to be sad."
She made a pained sound - almost like a whimper - that really tugged at his heartstrings. "B-but–"
Izuku threw all caution to the wind. If he was in her shoes, he'd probably want another hug right now, so that's what he gave her.
Nejire clung to him like he was the only thing in the world, tears coming down even harder than before. "I hate that I'm so scared of it," she admitted through choked out sobs, "That any day a villain could kill Mirio or Tamaki or Yuyu or you or anyone else I care about and there's not a single thing I could do about it. I hate that someone two years younger than me got killed and I hate that Aizawa mocked him for it and I hate that Ryukyu didn't let us go to Hosu and I hate that I feel like I can't talk about this with anybody else because if I do they'll know that I can't handle everything because we know people die as Heroes but–"
Her ramblings went on for a while. Izuku hated that he couldn't offer her more comfort, but he tried the best that he could. Eventually, she seemed to tire herself out, sitting limply in Izuku's arms as he attempted to figure out what to say.
"...I-It's okay to feel that way, Nejire" he said quietly, "For something like this to happen, there has to have been a l-lot of things that went wrong. A lot of people are p-probably to blame, but you couldn't have done anything… a-and that's just how it is sometimes. Your friends are strong, a-and they all work with strong Heroes too, so I t-think they're always going to have someone looking out for them, even if you aren't there. This may seem a little, um, rich, coming from me, but you're still only a k-kid– I mean, ah, you're s-still in school. You shouldn't have to deal with these kinds of things, and you shouldn't have to see anybody in your school, f-friend or not, have to… g-get hurt. It's okay to be afraid, and it's okay to be angry at people around you for screwing up."
Oh. Had he started rambling in the middle of trying to help? Some friend he was.
Nejire had gone still - even stiller than she was before - and was giving him a look that he couldn't place for the life of him.
Izuku sighed. "Um, I-I'm sorry if t-that wasn't much help–"
"It was," she replied softly, pulling him in tightly (for what was probably the third time, but who's counting?), "Thanks, Izuku."
"N-n-no p-p-problem…" he stammered, "U-uh, I'm h-h-happy t-to h-help… A-and if you ever w-want to talk a-about this k-kind of thing–"
"I know."
They sat in a relatively peaceful silence after that, and Izuku fought the urge to yawn. His lack of sleep was really catching up to him now, and it took a lot to not let his eyes start fluttering.
"...Izuku?" Nejire asked, shifting slightly to catch his eyes.
He blushed as a result of their close proximity. "Y-yeah?"
"Are there things you're scared of?"
He gulped as hundreds of visions of starbursts erupting in front of his eyes danced across his mind. Of an old Hero, weathered and worn, trying to hold back the darkness that lingered beneath the surface of society with what little time he had left.
Of Nejire and the others realizing just how worthless he was and leaving him as everyone else had done before.
"...Yeah," he whispered, quickly glancing away. "There are."
The blush that remained on his face became the only piece of honesty on a canvas of guarded expressions.
For some reason Nejire didn't press him, and he was very thankful that she didn't.
"A-anyways," he began, slowly standing up, "D-do you, um, want something to drink? W-we have the s-same drinks as last time…"
She nodded slowly, her eyes following his retreating form to the kitchen. "Water, if it's not too much trouble."
Izuku didn't question her choice. She had done quite a bit of crying, so maybe lemonade wasn't the best way to get her fluids back.
"S-so, um," he began slowly, handing her a glass, "W-why did you come here of all places– not that I'm complaining! N-normally I'm n-not home at this time…"
Nejire blinked, as though the idea of him not being here was foreign to her. "Where would you be?"
Izuku stared at her for a moment. "At school?"
She froze as she slowly sipped her water. "Oh…" she mumbled, "Right. I didn't really think about that. U.A. let out early because, um, y-you know… and I just wanted to see you."
His blush stormed back immediately. "U-u-um…" he stopped and started like a broken printer, "I-I'm f-f-flattered?"
The older girl giggled at his flustered expression, a smile finally returning to her face as he tried not to implode. "So," she asked, mercifully changing the subject, "Do you mind if I stay for a little?"
Izuku shook his head so quickly she looked worried it might fly off. "N-not at all!" He stammered, "B-but, um, I don't know if I h-have many t-things to do here… aside from j-jigsaw puzzles and old movies…"
Nejire hummed. "Old movies?" She asked, a playful glint in her eyes, "Whatcha got? I'll let you pick."
"Well, uh…" Izuku rubbed the back of his neck bashfully before turning towards the cabinet that held their DVDs. "I like a lot of pre-Quirk movies, but there's a few series that I really like to rewatch…"
"Lay them on me!"
Hours later, when Inko returned home from a long day of work, she said nothing as she saw the two teens cuddled up together on the couch - sleeping peacefully in the middle of the Ice Age heptalogy (because her son liked those crappy movies, for some reason).
She said nothing, but she smiled like there was no tomorrow.
And took a few hundred pictures. For posterity.
And maybe blackmail.
–
Nedzu let the terse smile slip off his face as he stared at the retreating forms of Toshinori and Togata. Their little meeting revealed quite a bit of progress had been made in his mastery of One For All, though for some reason he named his recent success as the result of a coincidental meeting with one Midoriya Izuku - a name that made both Toshinori and Nedzu hesitate, albeit for different reasons.
He couldn't assume what the Symbol of Peace's relationship with the boy was, but Nedzu couldn't imagine it was for the same reasons as him. The principle was enthralled by the fact that this random boy, who Hadou seemed to meet on complete accident, was apparently able to not only propel the girl he befriended to new heights off the back of a few hours of Quirk theory but also able to fundamentally change Togata's perception of One For All within a single conversation.
Midoriya Izuku. A mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a riddle, by the looks of things.
His investigation of the boy had led him down some interesting rabbit holes. Quirklessness, for one, was not a common status in the modern world, especially for someone as young as he. Middling grades in his current high school coupled with downright abhorrent ones in middle and primary school (plus a record with enough red and black marks to make a ladybug blush) would lead the average person to assume they were nothing more than a troublemaker, an undisciplined youth with a penchant for trouble.
Nedzu was not the average person. And Hadou was not a poor judge of character, nor were she and Togata so foolish as to miss pieces of their Quirks that someone with a failing GPA would be able to pick out.
And he saw the boy at the Sports Festival, tracking him retroactively through the many security cameras hidden throughout the stadium. There was no way that timid child matched up with the descriptions his educators had provided when prompted - it was inconceivable.
Which meant they lied. And considering that Quirklessness was the prime reason individuals faced discrimination in the modern world, it didn't take much to see why.
Unfortunately, his searches had been put on hold for the time being. Nedzu had a great many projects, of which Midoriya Izuku was the least important. As fun as it would have been to pick the boy's brain as soon as he could, he had much bigger things on his plate.
Namely, the man standing outside his door.
He pressed a button that sat on the underside of his desk, ushering Aizawa Shouta into his office. "You wanted to see me, sir?"
Nedzu nodded. There was no point in pleasantries with Eraserhead, especially not after the little stunt he pulled earlier.
"I'm not happy," he said simply, "I hope you are aware that you killed Iida Tenya, Aizawa."
The man had the audacity to look affronted by his words. "What the hell are you talking about?" He demanded, "Iida got himself killed."
Nedzu nodded slowly. "Yes," he acquiesced, "Tenya's actions were irresponsible, immature, and lead to his untimely death at the hands of Stain."
His eyes hardened, and Aizawa gulped unconsciously. "But you were the one who approved his internship. We all know Stain was in Hosu, and you approved his internship with Manual - someone who the boy had no business choosing when he had offers from Best Jeanist and Gunhead, by the way - knowing full well that the only reason he would do so was to get a shot at going to Hosu to find Stain."
The teacher fidgeted in his seat. "It is not my job to make sure–"
"Yes it is." Venom dripped off Nedzu's every word. "You are a teacher, are you not? I have put up with your logical ruses and expulsions every single time. I have defended you against countless angry parents, all because you were doing so to protect students. This time? This time you went out of your way to avoid doing your job, and in doing so allowed Tenya to run headfirst to his death. You are there to support these students, Aizawa! You are meant to guide and nurture them and do not give me the lecture on them needing to know these things already. How come Vlad King never has a problem with students distrusting him? How come his students succeed as Heroes at a rate just as high as yours do, if not higher? It's because of things like this. You think you are letting your students fend for themselves, when in reality you are simply throwing them to the sharks."
He took a deep breath, slowly lowering the hackles on his fur. "And don't even think about getting me started on the little stunt you pulled at the assembly today." Nedzu pinched the bridge of his nose tersely. "Most of your students are never going to trust you again. I've already received three requests to transfer out of the Hero course in the wake of this, all from your class."
Aizawa was quiet, seemingly believing that doing so was his smartest choice of action. "I see." He nodded slowly, not bothering to say more.
Nedzu sniffed. Did he have no remorse?
"Well, I guess I should clarify," Nedzu continued, "All from your former class. You are being relieved of teaching duties for 1-A, effective immediately - not that you were doing much in the first place. Kayama will be taking over for the foreseeable future."
That got a reaction out of him, because of course it did.
Aizawa stood up in indignation. "You can't–"
"I already did." Nedzu's tone offered no remorse. "The Iida family wanted your head for Tenya's death. Be grateful they settled for something as minor as removing you from your students. You will be placed on administrative leave for the time being, and I'm going to do an independent investigation. If what I find displeases me, it will become permanent. I will offer the students who requested a transfer the chance to remain, to see what this school can do with them under a teacher who actually cares about them."
"I do care–"
Nedzu slammed his paws against the desk, the thud shutting him up better than any interruption he could have made himself. "If you did, then Tenya would still be alive. Get out of here before I have the bots drag you out."
It was a damn shame, but Aizawa chose this moment to finally make a smart decision. His first one in a long time, if Nedzu was right.
He stood up silently, and Nedzu watched as the Hero walked out without another word.
—
A/N: Another shorter chapter, but the next one should more than make up for that.
Finally done with uni this semester, so I'm either going to get a lot more writing done or I'm going to burn out in a fashion unseen by human eyes before. We'll see! Also RIP Iida - let me know what you thought about this chapter since I was kind of unsure about it while writing.
Hope you enjoyed! See you next time!