Another chapter guys, thx for the patience. Also I responded to everyone with questions over PM... I hope yall got them lol.
Chapter 12: After the Fact
"DAMN IT!"
Kurogiri flinched as his colleague continued throwing a temper tantrum and making a mess all over their secret base.
"I can't believe this shit! That scrawny little kid in the alley that day got the damn spider! This isn't fair!" Shigaraki wailed, lashing out on another piece of furniture.
"Shigaraki-san, perhaps you should calm down for a mom-"
"Shut the hell up Kurogiri! You're the one who lost the damn thing and stopped me from killing him that day! Do you see what you've caused!"
The purple shrouded being gulped and stepped back nervously as his pale boss approached. "Sh-shigaraki-san, please forgive me, we can stop this, we can seek the boy out and end him!"
Walking up to his subordinate and closing the distance to corner him, the hand covered villain could only glare deeply. "Yeah? And then what? Master will be all over us if we act without his orders! And if we kill him, the spider really is gone and unusable…"
Noticing that his leader's eyes glazed over and broke eye contact, Kurogiri instantly knew what he was thinking before finishing the train of thought. "Right… If we keep him alive, then Master can take the quirk back! You're a genius Shigaraki-san!"
"Tsk, you dumbass, I outta kill you for how stupid you are."
"Huh?"
Breaking away from the dark misted villain, Shigaraki stomped back towards the bar and found a seat that he hadn't corroded away. "Having Master take back the quirk is a last resort, and even then it might get us killed for insubordination…"
Feeling the tension in the pregnant pause, Kurogiri merely stayed silent and waited for his leader to finish.
"Don't think so small Kurogiri, if we find out more about that damn brat, maybe he can switch sides willingly…"
Widening his eyes, Kurogiri couldn't help a smile from forming as the puzzle pieces all fell together in his head. "And that way we can say our plan was to give it to him all along!"
Shigaraki smiled devilishly as his purple shrouded friend finally got the picture, it was a damn good idea after all.
"Looks like we're watching the sports festival this year Kurogiri."
Shota Aizawa definitely considered himself someone who very much paid attention to detail. Often finding himself in the background, he was no stranger to staying silent, but that wasn't always a bad thing. It allowed for more listening and observation, which in turn strengthened his senses and overall gut feeling. He always trusted his gut, logic would always fail eventually, the attack on USJ just yesterday was proof of that…
Which was the primary reason he was full of brooding concern as he walked through the halls of the school with one destination in mind; the principal's office.
The students were all safe and out of danger, so that wasn't an immediate concern. Sure, he was slightly ticked off due to the fact that he couldn't help All Might with the bulk of the fighting yesterday, but everything ended well, so he couldn't complain. The school had even canceled school today in order to appease parents and keep them calm, so everything was under control now.
Well, mostly under control.
Damn, I should have been there.
As Nezu's office came into view, Shota shook his head at the recollection of statements from multiple students who witnessed the main fight, or at least the end portions of it. In basically all of the statements, one name continued to come up.
Izuku Midoriya.
Stepping inside the spacious office. Aizawa resisted the urge to sigh as he took a seat in front of the principal and next to a very skinny looking All Might.
Why do I feel like I already know what this is about…
"Alright, let's get this over with," The underground hero began with a small yawn. "What's so important that we needed another one of these super secret meetings."
"Do not take this so lightly Eraserhead, this is serious. I think my suspicions have been confirmed." All Might stated seriously, all but leering at the erasure user.
Aizawa noted that Nezu was staring forward silently with no reaction at all. "Just cut to the chase already, I get it. This is a big deal."
All Might stared for a bit longer before clearing his throat and continuing. "As I just told Nezu, I heard our mystery villain say something quite interesting to Young Midoriya just before him and the teleporter disappeared. Without hesitating for even a moment, he pointed at us and said word for word; I know your secret."
Silence hung in the air for a solid minute as the words sunk into the teacher. In fact, even Nezu seemed to be processing still, and he'd already heard the story once.
"Was anyone else there to witness this?" The small creature began, breaking the thick layered silence.
All Might didn't seem to appreciate his curiosity however. "Yes, another student, young Kendo I believe. Is my word not enough, dear friend?"
Nezu kept his straight face and ignored the sarcastic bite from the number one hero, replying without an ounce of hesitation. "I see, this is most unfortunate. I do not wish to bring any suspicion to our theories by snooping around and asking another student. We will need to tread carefully here no matter what we decide to do."
Grunting slightly, All Might nodded, turning now to Aizawa who had yet to even react to the news shared over a minute ago.
"Well, this certainly got interesting…"
Turning his attention to the underground hero now as well, Nezu raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean Aizawa? You have something?"
Looking up from the floor for the first time. Aizawa let out a long sigh. "I agree All Might, that is indeed very concerning."
Feeling like someone was finally on his side, the symbol of peace burst into a wide grin as his fellow teacher continued.
"Don't look at me like that, it's not for the reason you think."
Looking even more confused now, All Might was about to open his mouth when Aizawa cut him off.
"You said he pointed at all of you, so yes, it's possible that he was pointing directly at Midoriya, and we should definitely be on high alert when it comes to him. But that isn't the only possibility. What if he was pointing at you, All Might?"
Nezu's eyes instantly widened, a rare show of emotion that was quickly swallowed up by pure indifference once again.
All Might on the other hand was gritting his teeth as if he was stumped on a frustrating riddle that he just couldn't find the answer to.
Regardless of their facial reactions, it was the principal that reacted verbally to the comment first. "I see, I had not considered this option. That would indeed be a terrifying scenario. I commend you Aizawa, it would be good to prepare for this as well."
"Tch, thats… Thats impossible. No one knows my secret…" All Might choked out through gritted teeth.
"Hey, relax All Might. Like I said, it's not like we know for sure." Aizawa reminded the man, hoping to calm his irritated state. "Your theory about Midoriya could still be true. If anything this just motivates me even more to keep my eyes on him. His actions yesterday proved at least that he's on our side firmly for now. But that can all change in an instant."
This seemed to stabilize the mood of the room momentarily, but not for long. Not if Nezu had anything to say about it.
"You're right Aizawa, about both points. In my opinion, both could be right, but both could also be very wrong. I've been holding back a very important piece of information that you both must hear."
Both men turned their full attention to the white furred creature, not daring to interrupt even once.
"This morning we found evidence that our security breach on Tuesday was more than just reporters… A class schedule was stolen. And they knew just where to look. It appears that whether we know who it is or not, we officially have a mole…"
All Might wasted no time in practically jumping out of his seat, taking the honors of speaking first gladly. "There! That's proof! We need to find Midoriya and arrest him. I have a friend in the police who can get all the truth out of him in no time!"
Aizawa stood slowly from his seat as well, making heavy eye contact with the symbol of peace. "All Might, you need to calm down, stop acting like a child. We don't have all the facts yet. We need to-"
"Don't have all the facts!? Then let's interrogate him damn it! Nezu just admitted that there's a mole! How can we not follow up on this information!?"
"While I agree with your urgency All Might, Aizawa is right, we can not make a rash decision. If the boy is guilty, then revealing that we know right away is not for the best."
All Might grunted to himself and turned away from the two men, running a frustrated hand through his wild blonde hair.
Aizawa on the other hand, kept his composure as he thought to himself. His eyes narrowing in suspicion more and more.
This doesn't make sense.
"Nezu, if I may, I believe that our best course of action is to just remain vigilant for right now. Something just isn't adding up."
Both Nezu and All Might now had their full attention on the tired looking teacher. Neither of them looked very agreeable at his suggestion.
"What do you mean Aizawa?" Nezu questioned. "While I agree that All Might's proposal is too rash, yours is on the opposite side. Could you be more clear?"
"It's just, think about it. This doesn't add up. Why would the villains go through all this trouble to plant a mole, only to give up his identity themselves?"
The principal merely nodded, appearing to have already considered this possibility, but All Might looked stunned, his theory well on its way to being crushed.
"I want to keep this school safe as much as you two do, but we can't go around making too much noise about things like this. It has to be handled silently and discreetly, just like underground hero work."
"Very well," Nezu stated with a nod of approval. "Aizawa has a point. We will continue to stick to the shadows. Both of you will keep very close eyes on Midoriya. But no action will be taken without my knowing, is that understood?"
All Might knew Nezu was directing that last comment at him, and it aggravated him to no end. He knew that both men had good points, but he just knew in his gut that something about Midoriya was fishy. One thing was certain, he would get his answers one way or another.
With a stiff nod, All Might rose and exited the room with a sharp slam of the door in his wake.
Leaving the remaining two heroes in a comfortable silence, Nezu couldn't keep his curiosity at bay.
"Aizawa, what is your true opinion of the boy, without any of this conspiracy?"
"Can I be honest?"
"Of course."
Taking one more deep breath, the tired man spoke. "I'll admit the kid has rubbed me the right way so far. He's strong but also modest, I'd even go as far to call that modesty timidness sometimes. I don't know him so well just yet, but he's easily one of my top students. And I would be lying if I told you that I want him to be the traitor, because I don't. Especially not after the guts he showed yesterday."
Nezu took a moment to dissect the information he was given, looking as though he was staring into the teacher's very soul.
Out of nowhere, though, a bright smile appeared on his small and furry face. "You are a good teacher Aizawa, I'm grateful to have you on my staff. You may take your leave now. Thank you for your time."
Nodding without another word, Eraserhead got up and walked out, leaving the principal alone with his thoughts.
My oh my, what are we going to do with you Izuku Midoriya. I hope your teacher is right about you…
Itsuka Kendo winced as she took a kick directly to her stomach, falling to a knee as she attempted to catch her breath.
"Hmm, I'm proud of you for wanting to train so fast after what happened yesterday Itsuka, but I'm shutting it down. Your mind is clearly elsewhere."
Wincing slightly as she attempted to stand back up, Itsuka responded defiantly. "No way Dad, I'm not done yet."
Needing no more convincing than his daughter slipping on her own sweat and falling back onto the mat, the man known as Itaru Kendo smiled as he finalized his decision. "Heh, yeah, you're through. I've never beaten you that easily in sparring. And we aren't even using our quirks. Wipe down the mats and hit the showers. I have another class to teach in half an hour."
Blowing hair out her face with a pouting huff, Itsuka sat up and watched her father walk away.
He's right? What's wrong with me?
The girl played dumb, but she knew exactly what was wrong. She wouldn't say it outright, but something about yesterday was really eating at her Or better said, someone.
She just couldn't help that Midoriya was such an intriguing person, and if she had a handful of questions for him before, well, let's just say that now that handful had turned into a truckload.
What was he thinking attacking the villains head on like that? He was usually so much smarter and careful about his decisions. And what about those creeps that attacked the school? Who were they? And why did they tell All Might they knew his secret, what was that about?
Ugh, this is so annoying. I'm gonna kill that kid when I see him tomorrow! Taking up all this space in my brain like this, I'll show you!
Wait a second, I'll show you…
All of the sudden, a lightbulb went off in the orange haired teen's head about something she had already mentioned to her green haired friend. Something that could give her the perfect excuse to talk to him!
Wow, I sound like some love sick teenager.
"Dad! Hold up!"
Turning around, the very muscular and red haired man had his disciplined expression blank once again. "Yes dear?"
"I want your advice on something, its about uhh… teaching."
Putting a large and calloused hand to his chin, the man hesitated. "I'm sorry Itsuka, I'm not sure I understand. You mean teaching as in martial arts?"
Kendo blushed at her indirect wording. "Yeah, that, I was just wondering if you could give me pointers since I've never taught anyone before. Well, at least not one on one."
The truth was that she had taught many times alongside her father in their Karate dojo, but if she was really gonna train Midoriya out of his funky fighting style, he was gonna need more than just pointers on form.
"Hmm, interesting. I assume this is for a classmate of yours?"
Itsuka nodded, allowing for him to continue.
"I see, well, there's not much of a science to it, dear. It just comes from the heart. Your drive to see the person improve as well as your love for the martial art. You already know many stances for many different fighting styles. Obviously we prefer Karate, but I've made sure your range of knowledge is deep in almost every martial art. So as long as you remember those first two things and you know the art, you can teach any way you want."
Itsuka looked on proudly at her father, his words hitting her in all the right places before she realized he wasn't done.
"Honestly, you're going to have an advantage with it being a one on one lesson. In my opinion, that is the true way to teach someone to fight. Endless sparring, with trial, error and pain. Those are the best teachers.
Now grinning from ear to ear, the big fist user now knew exactly what she needed to do. "Thanks Dad! That's great advice!" She shrieked out as she pulled her dad in for a big hug.
Ruffling his daughter's hair with a grin that reached his eyes, the man took a moment to cherish the closeness with his daughter in a rare show of emotion.
"There there, go on now dear. The mats still need cleaning."
Kendo promptly slipped away from the hug with a groan. She was hoping he would forget about that.
Ugh, my body feels like it's been inside a blender.
Groaning like a zombie, Izuku squirmed around under his sheets until he was sure sleep was no longer possible.
Sitting up slightly, the boy stretched his shirtless upper body with a heavy grimace as the soreness of yesterday hit him like a train.
"Ugh, remind me to leave a bad review on the Nomu express next time," the boy mumbled to no one in particular, craning his head to check the time.
One thirty!? In the afternoon!? Wow, look at me becoming a useless member of society.
Getting up with a few more spurts of pain, Izuku at the very least rejoiced in the fact that his slowly growing sense of humor was back after the heaviness of yesterday. He had only noticed after the fact how intense and serious he had been during the USJ incident. Which, to be fair, could you blame him for? Yesterday was his first ever villain attack, heck, it was probably everyone's.
It really was an indescribable experience, it was a mixture of shell shock, fear, and the slightest bit of excitement. And that really freaked him out.
No wonder Peter is always joking around. It keeps the mood light not just for the reader, but for his own sanity as well.
An exceedingly loud rumble of his own stomach was what it took to end the teen's internal thoughts.
"Heh, I guess I should get off my butt now shouldn't I?"
Grabbing his firm stomach in an attempt to quell his hunger, Izuku walked over to his desk and sat down, examining its new contents while also brainstorming his plan for the day.
Alright, breakfast can wait a minute. This might be the perfect way to spend my day off.
Running the interesting material through his sensitive fingers, the green haired boy's mind was running at an olympic pace.
Training was definitely out of the question for today. He had gotten pretty good at gauging the speed of his healing factor after the battle trial earlier this week, and by his estimate, his cracked ribs would be at least serviceable by tomorrow.
No, what he had set aside for today was using the special carbon fiber thread that Maijima-sensei had supplied him with. It was officially time to begin work on his Mark II suit.
Although, the material is a little darker of a green than I wanted. Oh well, It's still gonna be awesome!
Already having specs written down for a while now, Izuku was about to begin sewing when his stomach grumbled again, this time even more aggressively.
"Yeah, you're right tummy, some food first will give us the boost we need."
Right on cue, the boy heard soft knocking on his door, presumably his Mom trying to determine if he was still asleep.
"I'll be right out Mom, just rolled out of bed."
"Oh thank goodness. I was beginning to think something was wrong," she said in her meager and muffled voice through the door. "Ooh that must have been such a traumatic experience for my baby, and on his first week no less! Are you sure you're alright honey? You don't want me to go down there and set that fancy school straight?"
The super powered teen couldn't stop the slight upwards curling of his lips at his mother's worry over him. Not only was the idea of his tiny and shy mother going and ranting to the principal amusing, but he was pretty sure the school was already dealing with enough complaints right now.
"Thanks Mom," the boy chuckled, picking up a shirt off the floor and throwing it on. "But I think U.A got the idea from all the other parents already, everything's fine."
She didn't sound convinced, but Inko relented. "Ok Izuku, if you're sure. I'm gonna start on lunch. I'll let you know when it's ready."
"Thanks Mom," he replied, listening to her soft footsteps get further and further away. He felt good that she was here for him, but it was still not ideal to get her involved in this mess.
Though I doubt the school would even listen to her anyway… After what that villain said to me yesterday, there's no way that All Might isn't suspicious of me.
Should he just come clean? He knew his situation wasn't normal, but he hadn't broken any laws as far as he knew. So what was wrong with telling the truth?
Because I'll get kicked out of U.A, that's why…
Izuku shook his head and pushed those thoughts back as far as he could. There was no way he would let that happen, he wasn't hurting anyone, so his secret was staying a secret for now.
Ugh, how am I gonna explain this to Kendo-san!? She was right there with us!
And what about those crazy villains! They remember me too! Agh! This is so crazy!
In the end, the boy vowed that if he ever saw those villains again, or if they became any sort of threat to the school. He would come clean immediately. He didn't feel good about it, but it was what he was going with. Even if it did feel like a small, yet selfish decision that Peter would have made, only to regret later on…
*RIIIING!*
"Alright class, settle down, into your seats," Aizawa muttered, a small yawn escaping his lips.
The whole class swiftly began to plop into their desks without needing to be told twice. Despite everything that had happened a few days ago, all seemed normal in the class of 1-A. But as everyone got settled and turned their attention forward, it made it all the more obvious when one student had their attention elsewhere.
That idiot is late! Where on earth is he!? Kendo thought distastefully. Her annoyance burned a bit as the boy had once again left her hanging on the walk to school this week.
Noticing that his main class representative had her eyes glued to the door, Aizawa opened his mouth to say something, but a new third party beat him to it.
"I'm here!" Izuku all but shouted as he burst through the door a little too roughly. "Sorry I'm late, Aizawa-sensei!" The teen said again, still attempting to catch his breath and gather his jumbled thoughts.
Sighing even deeper than before, the underground hero rolled his eyes. "Just shut up and sit down Midoriya. You're causing a ruckus."
With an audible gulp, the green haired boy quickly shuffled to his seat, unintentionally making as much noise as possible.
He also did his best to avoid locking his green eyes with some intense turquoise ones. Completely naturally and inconspicuously of course.
Letting out one final sigh as the room turned their attention back to him, Eraserhead began his thought again. "Alright, as I was about to say, I'm glad you're all ok, I hope you all took yesterday to recover from the shock of Wednesday."
Most of the class nodded in response.
"You all did incredible in defending both yourselves, and your classmates, and I'm proud to call you my students."
Growing more upbeat at their sensei's words, more and more students began to brighten up, with only a few outliers looking indifferent.
And speaking of those outliers.
"However, it was not all fine and dandy. We got lucky, and some of you were outright reckless with your quirks. Overall, I consider it a miracle that we got out of there with only minor injuries." Aizawa concluded morbidly, instantly killing the upbeat atmosphere forming in the air.
"In the end," the instructor began again. "What matters is that you're all ok. Some of you may not see it this way, but what you all experienced was exactly what's waiting for you out in the real world. Being a hero is not all sunshine and rainbows. I know that most of you understand that, but I just want to make sure. Getting that first experience out of the way now will likely make it a lot easier to deal with in the future. Is that understood?"
"Yes sensei!" They all called out in unison, a more intense and motivated feeling washing over the room.
"Good, now we can get onto the real news. As I'm sure you all know, the U.A Sports Festival is drawing near…"
Great… The other hero class probably hates us now…
Izuku sighed as he left the last class of the day, his wandering thoughts drifting to earlier when Bakugo decided to take on almost all of class 1-B…
I'm honestly kinda surprised that Kacchan didn't get physical when their class representative stood up to him. He looked furious.
In reality though, he knew Bakugo wasn't an idiot, any kind of fight would have been grounds for some serious punishment. Not to mention that the sports festival was in two weeks time, that was where all frustration could be dealt with properly.
Still, it would have been pretty funny to watch an instructor come out of nowhere and try to stop them. Or better yet, Kendo-san, she's our representative and already an expert on de escalation haha.
Speaking of the orange haired teen, Izuku had been forced at lunchtime to cough up why he had ditched her this morning on the walk to school. This had him stuttering and apologizing like a fidgeting mess. His only relief was when she started laughing at his explanation of staying up late to work on his costume. He really needed to get better at time management.
"Don't worry about it dork, just make it up me by meeting after school in gym gamma. I have a proposition that you might be interested in. Especially with the sports festival coming up."
Shaking from his thoughts to the present, Izuku pressed forward though some doors. What he saw next left him absolutely speechless.
This gym… Is amazing! Are those panels on the floor to change the layout on command!? I've never seen anything like it!
The boy didn't get to geek out any further because a waving Kendo caught his attention in the corner closest to the entrance. She had already changed into a turquoise shirt and a black pair of leggings, and there must have been a storage closet somewhere nearby as well, because laying at her feet was a large red sparring mat.
"Over here Midoriya! Did you bring your gym clothes like I asked?"
The boy nodded as he took in his surroundings, gulping as he began to catch a whiff of where this was going.
Smiling genuinely and punching her open palm roughly, Itsuka happily responded. "Sweet! Then get changed and take off your shoes, cause you're about to learn how to fight!"