Chapter 18: Midoriya Izuku XVII

A/N: And we're back, but this time with actual time spent within Yuuei! Just how will Izuku attempt to deal with such an environment? Read on to find out...

"You know, your analysis is really something that I respect! I mean, do you know how many babies that I can make with your help?! I can gain the attention and funding of support companies from all over!"

Izuku nods along, scribbling down what he can within his notes as he reflects upon how he had fallen into the position he's currently in. As is, his first two days at Yuuei were an experience — partially due to the strangeness of being enrolled into the Business Course, but even more so due to his obligations to interact with the girl in front of him.

Hatsume Mei, age 15, born in Kyoto Prefecture. Has a minor mutation quirk dubbed 'Zoom' which gives her crosshair-like irises; her eyesight is capable of focusing on things up to five kilometers away with no loss of detail or clarity. Is a bonafide child prodigy within the realm of engineering, to the likes that Yuuei has never before seen. Her only problems arise from the tendency of her inventions to explode — likely a by-product of using her quirk in the invention process in a novice attempt of achieving miniaturization. Given time, however...

"Just think of all the possibilities!" Hatsume continues. "Psychically generated personal minions! Neural pathway connective powersuits! Portable energy-based capture devices! Travel gear that moves in three dimensions!"

As it turns out, one of the first assignments given to students of the Management Department is to find a Support Course student to sponsor. Izuku had originally partnered up with a timid boy named Samon Toyotomi skilled in crafting small arms, but that had changed when his teacher asked him a favor.

Apparently, Hatsume Mei just doesn't mesh well with any of the other students. As is, her widely energetic nature turns out to be a bit of a handful. She's a genius, there's no doubt about that, but the way she goes about it is widely unconventional. So much so that Izuku turned out to be the only person that could properly interact with the girl.

Which is weird, because she doesn't seem all too bad to me. She's friendly, a bit overly so, and likes to share her passions with others. Though, that doesn't stop me from pitying whoever takes my place when I'm gone, considering the state of my peers after a few minutes with her.

Still, despite the fact that Izuku plans to abscond from his role as a student, he can't stand the prospect of ignoring such a potentially promising asset. So, after a few veiled words with Sensei, he brewed up a plan.

"Hatsume-san?" Izuku interrupts.

"Yes?!" The girl exclaims, hastily leaning towards Izuku's direction until their faces are almost touching.

Also doesn't understand the concept of — or has chosen to ignore the prospect of — personal space. Which, again, isn't all too bad. Seriously, business course students overreact over the slightest of things.

Izuku backs away, just a bit, before continuing. The ways of proper conduct would instill him to do so, after all. "Let's say that hypothetically, I know someone… Somebody with a whole bunch of connections that branch out into various aspects of society. If I were to say, be willing talk to them and convince them into offering a sponsorship to a support equipment company, wou—"

"I'm in!" Hatsume all but shrieks, enveloping his hand in a rough and fast handshake.

Izuku blinks. "That's it? Just like that? I mean, we haven't even discussed—"

"I get my way, Midoriya," Hatsume interrupts, looking him in the eye. "Thing is, I can tell that you do too! So I'm sure that we can reach an agreement between my babies, you, and I. And besides, if things don't work out, I'll just make sure to blacklist you from ever receiving the future services of Hatsume Industries!"

"Right…" Assertively ambitious as well. Need to watch out for that. "We'll hash out the details at a later date if you don't mind. Just make sure that you keep our agreement a secret though — I don't want anyone knowing that I'm favoring you and your babies. It could seriously harm my business prospects if word got out. You get me?"

"Roger that, business man! My lips are sealed!"

"Good. Now, if you don't mind, I need to get going."

Hatsume nods, releasing Izuku's hand and immediately heading back to her tinkering. "Mhm! Now shoo! I need to work on Baby #87! My hover soles will be just wonderful!"

With that, Izuku steps out of the Development Studio. The room is supposed to be purpose-built for hero course costume development, but given Hatsume's tendencies to blow things up and work through lunch — an established fact after just two days of classes — Power Loader decided it best to move her access to the room.

That being said, it's lunch time within the walls of Yuuei; the perfect time for Izuku to finally enact his plan. With his secondary objective of the day complete, Izuku shoves his notes into his backpack and sets off. He moves with the grace of a student who's been there for years, a feat achieved after studying the school's layout with his quirk.

The only snag Izuku came across in his extensive charting involved pinpointing the locations of Nezu's cameras. After listening for camera shutters and dialing lenses, Izuku's confident when he says that the school is full of them. Almost no corner is left unwatched by the rodent's eyes, the few obvious exceptions being the bathrooms and locker rooms.

Of the two, Izuku's current destination involves the latter option. Bathrooms run the risk of having too much foot traffic — a problem not attributed with the much more sparsely used locker rooms. There's only one instance Izuku finds of a student occupying the space, that being an introverted second year eating their lunch in their assigned locker room.

Assuming that the action wasn't a first for the boy, Izuku went ahead and did the same as a test the following day. With the fact that he wasn't interrupted as he ate his lunch, Izuku found it to be a prime time to use a heavily-modified stud finder to search for any potential electrical connections.

Considering the nature of the steel lockers, it took a bit of calibration of the device to properly sense the fiber optic cables in the walls. The fact that he eventually found what he was looking for was what cemented his current plans.

Izuku muses over the thoughts in his head as somebody takes his notice. The individual is walking down the upcoming hall to his right, and there's no doubt of the fact that Izuku will cross paths with the individual within a few moments. Izuku does nothing but move over to the left to make sure that he won't collide with the unknown figure — a decision he immediately regrets as the figure turns the corner.

You've got to be freaking kidding me! I know that he teaches here, but still! Out of all the people!

Eraserhead turns the corner with his hands in his pockets. He's wearing his hero costume, but unlike when Izuku usually sees the man an unmistakable aura of weariness surrounds the man.

He sounds so different from when he's out on patrol! The usual swiftness in his movements are replaced with his languid way of holding himself up, and his stance and posturing is all wrong! No wonder I didn't notice that it was him!

Still, Izuku doesn't let his panic overwhelm him. Whisper wears a full-on face covering, so there isn't a way for Eraserhead to identify him that way. And he's using a different voice at the current moment as well, so that path to identification is also out. Izuku doesn't even hold himself up the same way Whisper does, just like Eraserhead is doing now in his civilian identity.

So he walks, just as calmly as he was doing so before. The two of them pass each other without a hitch, and Izuku can't help but let out a sigh of relief. However, that — unfortunately as well — proves to be too early of a celebration. Just when Izuku thinks he's gotten away, Eraserhead stops in his tracks and turns around, eyes staring straight at Izuku's retreating back.

"Hey!" Eraserhead calls out after him. "Michimoto Jakku, right?"

Wonderful.

There's no point in running. There's no telling if Eraserhead's intentions are hostile or not after all, and Izuku knows it would be best not to incriminate himself of anything by doing so. And besides, without his gear, Eraserhead can catch him in an instant with the two of them being in a straight, obstacle-less hallway. So Izuku does the best thing he can do at the moment, and turns around.

"Yes? That's me."

Eraserhead nods to himself, then stalks towards Izuku.

As the man approaches, Izuku removes the goggles resting on his face — despite their part in building up his disguise, it would be best to distance himself from any possible reminders to the vigilante Whisper.

Eraserhead stops before Izuku, eyes tracking the removed eyewear as it's tucked away. "Hmm." He meets Izuku's eyes. "Those goggles help you focus your quirk, don't they?

"Correct." That's the excuse he has for wearing them, anyways… And I can already see where this is going.

"And you're taking them off to talk to me?"

I thought so. Alright. Plan... what? F, I think? "They also suppress me from stimuli overload when I don't need to be analyzing things," Izuku explains, the rehearsed lie rolling off his tongue. "I've heard that I need to watch out for the scruffy-looking man on campus. No offense, of course, but I want to make my own opinion of you. I don't want to have my interactions with a teacher to be dependent on and built up from rumors made by the upper years."

"Is that so?" Eraserhead drawls. He huffs. "You really are something." He shakes his head. "Is there a reason that you petitioned for a switch over to the Management Department from the Hero Course?"

Ah. So that's what this is about. Izuku lets out a mental sigh of relief. Again, another readied lie rolls out from his lips.

"I thought that I didn't make up to par to what it takes to be a hero?" He phrases it as a question, building up the image of him being unsure about himself.

In truth, the change was to ensure that any potential spotlight was taken off from him. The Hero Course draws too much attention after all; unnecessary attention that Izuku doesn't need for his mission. Nevermind the fact that he had gone through with accepting a position as a hero student, he would have a fifty-fifty chance of being placed in a class with either Eraserhead or Vlad King in charge.

The latter wouldn't pose much of a problem, but considering the former would involve time spent in front of the attentive and investigative Eraserhead, Izuku saw the benefits of switching out to another course. General Education was an option Izuku discarded when he considered their general lack of access to resources the other courses have. And considering his lack of skills for inventing, the business course was the only other option available.

In hindsight, Izuku should have noticed the problem long in advance, but he was so excited with the chance to take the Hero Course entrance exam that he likely subconsciously discarded the obvious predicament from his objective mind.

The fact that Sensei all but laughed when he realized his mistake confirmed that the man had known about the problem long in advance, but didn't tell him just to mess with him.

"Did you now?" Eraserhead asks. "Well, I'll be honest then here, kid: That was rather stupid of you if that was your only reason of doing so."

Izuku blinks, and forcefully shrinks into himself to further build up his image as a boy insecure with his own skills. "Why do you say that?"

"Because you got fourteenth place overall in the practical. Twenty one villain points, and twenty seven rescue points is nothing to scoff at. You would — and still can — make a fine addition to my class."

Eraserhead's really praising my skills! So cool!

Izuku doesn't let his internal excitement show, and merely shrugs in response.

"Well… if you change your mind, there's always the sports festival," Eraserhead informs him. "It will require some work, but nothing that I'm sure you can't handle."

"I'll keep that in mind, Eraserhead-sen—" Izuku stops himself. Shit! Most people don't just recognize an underground hero upon first glance! Idiot! Think! What should I say? "Uh. Aizawa-sensei."

… That's it!?

Eraserhead — Aizawa Shota, Izuku mentally corrects himself — stares down at him. An uneasy silence reigns for a few seconds, Izuku fidgeting as Aizawa stands unmoving. Eventually, the silence is broken when Aizawa speaks up.

"Hmph. Your file really wasn't lying when it stressed the applications of your quirk."

Or that. Again, Izuku finds himself relishing the fact that nothing has gone wrong.

"It's one of the few things I pride myself in," Izuku says, keeping up his facade.

"Hmm. Well, just keep what I said in mind, alright?" Aizawa turns, and begins stalking off in his original direction. "I'll be seeing you, Michimoto."

As Aizawa turns another corner and leaves Izuku's sight, the boy finally allows himself to relax. He doesn't slouch his shoulders or let out a sigh — such physical reactions would be caught on the cameras, after all — but he at the very least tones down on his mental defenses.

Izuku thus promptly turns and continues on his way. Less than a minute or so of walking later, and he slips into the first year locker rooms without another incident.

"Phew." Izuku wipes off a bead of sweat from his forehead. "Finally alone." He suddenly dashes into action, setting down his backpack onto one of the benches within the room. Unzipping his bag, he takes out three things: his trusty laptop, a collapsible high-energy blowtorch.

With the two devices in hand, he moves to the spot in the wall that he had cleared yesterday. He finds himself in front of a locker in the far corner of the room. Considering its location, it's likely to see disuse and thus enforce a longer time until his modifications are found.

Opening up the locker he moves in, lighting up his blowtorch and starting up the process of melting a hole in the locker's anterior wall.

A minute passes before a sizable hole is present; Izuku ensures that the metal circle falls forwards rather than back. Shutting the blowtorch off and storing it into his pocket, Izuku runs back to his bag to pull out some more materials — a clip-on coupler and some network cables. It's not long after that Izuku gets to work, exerting effort to connect his laptop to the larger Yuuei network.

Such an extensive process is needed if Izuku wants to get into the school's systems. Wireless attempts of breaking into the school's systems have been tried and failed before. But gaining physical access? No attempts as of yet — until now.

A few keystrokes later, and—

"In."

Information streams across his screen, files upon files readily being downloaded onto his computer. As the files move into his own harddrive, Izuku takes the time to pursue his spoils.

"Let's see… How about the entrance exam results?"

Izuku can't help but find a smile forming on his face. Ibara got third place, just after Bakugou and some girl from Mie.

Hmm. Speaking of... Uraraka Ochako; and Zero Gravity, eh? And five point activation? Reminds me of Tomura.

Izuku shuffles through the rest of the hero course students.

Alright, who else do we have? There's Tokoyami Fumikage. Dark Shadow sounds immensely useful… His personal profile makes it sound like he's a Chuuni, though. Could be wrong though.

Miss Yaoyorozu Momo looks promising. Aside from her rich background due to her parents owning Yaoyorozu Enterprises, 'Creation' legitimately seems broken.

Hmm. Tsunotori Pony and Rin Hiryu are foreigners — Aoyoma Yuga isn't, despite his claims. Oh? Fukidashi Manga and Komori Kinoko have definite potential with their quirks.

Izuku's eyes widen. Kamakiri Togaru… Razor Sharp might be exactly what I'm looking for. Izuku growls. Gah! Come on! There has to be an aunt or a distant cousin or something, right? He shakes his head. Something to look for late—"

His eyes glance upon another file.

"The heck?! Since when has the Yuuei Barrier been able to turn the entirety of the school into a literal fortress?!"

Hia surprise is halted, however, when his quirk suddenly picks up on something. Specifically, something — someone — small, moving quickly and effortlessly through the open space just above the ceiling. And they're moving straight in his direction.

Realization comes slamming into him in full force.

Shit! But Nezu's supposed to be busy training 3-A in Battle Center E!

Izuku quickly disconnects his laptop from the wall — the files are done downloading anyways — slams it shut, and shoves the remaining gadgetry into his pockets.

The process takes a mere ten seconds, and already Nezu's made double the distance than when Izuku had first sensed him. As is, there's no time for him to erase his presence from the room.

Izuku finds himself appreciating the fact that the whole of Yuuei still subscribes to the usage of human-sized lockers. Tightly hugging his laptop to his chest, Izuku steps inside the locker hee was just working in, and — quietly — pulls the door shut.

He ducks down as far as he can — his stature ensuring that won't be seen through the vents in the locker door — and forms a zone of nullified sound around himself.

And just in time as well.

Izuku might not be able to see it, but he can still hear as Nezu's compact form falls from the ceiling, landing on the tiled floor with a quiet thud.

Well fuck. I'm screwed now. Might as well dig my grave now.

"Hmm…" Nezu hums, his head sweeping the room. His gaze stops, and Nezu begins to walk to his left. He can hear the minute principal struggling to climb up a bench — an Izuku lets out a chuckle at that. Only for that chuckle to die in its tracks as he hears the rodent begin to shuffle around within a backpack. His backpack.

I can't believe that I forgot about that! Idiot!

Izuku hears the principal hop down from the bench, and hears as he moves to the nearest locker. He all but tears open the compartment, spending a few seconds looking into before he moves on to the next one, and repeats the process.

Shoot shoot shoot. Izuku grabs his phone, and sends out a short, if very assertively worded, text message.

[Tomura - You better not ignore this message by swiping it up just so you can finish your game of Tetris or whatever! Because you need to go with Plan B, right freaking now!]

Izuku tucks the phone back into his pocket, and takes one deep breath. Just a little ways away, he continues to hear the monster in a cuddly creature's body getting closer and closer.

One locker. Another. Three. Four—

Piercing alarms suddenly blare all across campus, signifying that an intruder has made it past the Yuuei barrier. The intruder — or intruders, in this case — are mere reporters, stationed outside Yuuei just for a chance to gain information about All Might's role as a teacher this semester. They didn't just break into a heavily fortified school all by themselves though, hence Tomura's timely intervention.

Izuku let's out another sigh of relief, certain that the alert for possible intruders will draw Nezu away. So Izuku waits and listens. And waits. And listens. And—

He's still here, Izuku realizes. He's not moving and he's still there, just three lockers down. Why isn't he leaving?

Nezu's ears twitch, for just a second, — I'm safe in that department — but then the principal raises the front part of his face up, nose pointed up to the ceiling, and sniffs.

Crap.

Nezu moves straight for the locker that conceals Izuku within it. Without a moment to spare the door is pulled open, light surging in Nezu's beady eyes fall upon Izuku.

Still — a minor part of Izuku thinks — this doesn't have to be the end.

The bubble of nullified sound was the first thing Izuku dropped, just before Nezu had yanked the door open and revealed his presence. The second thing Izuku had done before the door opened was adjust his face. Rather than an expression of fear, his features showcase relief, and a tinge of retreating worry. He adjusts his feet so that they cover the circle of cut metal, and he positions himself in just the right way that his torso covers up the hole in the wall. He just hopes that it's enough.

"Oh! Principal Nezu!" Izuku exclaims, strewing contentment and excitement into his voice. "You found me! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Nezu tilts his head. "Well, I must admit that it is a rarity these days, seeing a student stuffed into a locker. I was certain that that old trope had died out around the 2030's." He chuckles, and then strokes the underside of his chin. "Though, please do explain to a philomath like myself: why didn't you call out to me when I arrived?"

Izuku averts his eyes, rubbing one of his arms. "I— I just thought that you were someone else, is all. I… I was going to say something. But then those alarms started sounding and then I was scared and I didn't want to get in trouble or anything and then I—"

"How about starting with how you got stuck in there?" Nezu interrupts. "I find it always best to start at the beginning; less chance of muddling up the details and all."

"Of course," Izuku mumbles, giving a shaky nod. "I was… It's just… I was shoved in here by some guy. I don't know how he snuck up on me — must have had the help of somebody with some sort of concealment quirk or something. I don't know his name either — just that he's blond and has some sort of explosion quirk. The things were sparking from his hands like firecrackers."

"That so?" Nezu chuckles, and Izuku can't help but feel a chill run down his spine at the sound. "Michimoto Jakku is your name, if I remember correctly, yes?"

Izuku hurriedly nods.

Nezu nods in return in a way Izuku can't quite decipher. Almost like it's some sort of blend between approval and… resignation?

Nezu smirks. "I must admit, you're good. And to prevent any sort of misunderstanding; yes, I am referring to your acting."

Ice tumbles down Izuku's back.

"You would have fooled any other skilled investigator," Nezu carries on. "Unfortunately for you, I'm not just so run-of-the-mill investigative pundit. And in case you do want to know — despite how well your attempts to morph them were, it was your microexpressions that gave you away."

It's only now that Izuku notices that Nezu still hasn't backed away from the locker, essentially keeping him trapped within its confines. Logically, Izuku knows that he could easily drop kick the principal. But instinctively? Izuku knows that the bear-dog-mouse hybrid is perhaps the most menacing being that he's faced to date, aside maybe from Sensei himself.

"I checked your records, you know," Nezu explains. "Well, I check the records of all my students, really. I usually start with the hero course students, move down the support course, move to general studies from there, and then to the management department. But you? You interested me. So I moved your files up a bit, just to sate my curiosity. And do you know what I found?"

Izuku gulps.

"I found an empty shell of a boy. For one, your admissions of the schools you've supposedly attended are all genuine, but nobody on staff at those schools recall ever seeing you. Second, the fabricated existence of Michimoto Anzai and Kaori. Bank accounts, property sales, salaries, and taxes — everything fit. Except for the fact that, again, nobody has ever recalled their actual existence. All in all, I must admit my admiration for whoever is backing you. For fifteen years you've existed, but haven't existed at the same time. Quite the paradox, don't you think?"

Well. There goes lasting until the customary USJ practice. At least I only missed out by a day.

"Tomura," Izuku speaks, forming his voice just beside Tomura's ear, all the way outside Yuuei's campus. "I've been compromised. Tell Kurogiri to track my phone signal for coordinates."

He hears Tomura scoff. –Couldn't even accomplish a single stealth mission? I bet that I could have done better than you with a cardboard box. How hard could it be anyways? You'd think–

"Tomura!"

–Fine, fine. Just give him a moment–

"You done with… whatever it is you were doing?"

Izuku snaps back to the present, eyes entrapped onto Nezu's form.

"Looks like you are. Hope that you don't mind us getting started then; tea time is coming up, after all!"

Izuku isn't able process the words in time, but he is savvy enough with his quirk to sense the incoming attack before it's even begun to properly ramp up. As is, Izuku's just barely able to lift up his laptop to block a hit aimed straight for his groin.

Nezu hums, looking from his stopped paw to Izuku's eyes. "I will admit that I was attempting a cheap shot, but can you blame me? The look on your face would have been priceless if my open paw strike were to have connected! I mean—"

Izuku kicks Nezu — or at least tries to. Nezu is easily able to dodge out of the way from the attack, but Izuku finds solace in the fact that he's free to move. And move he does, escaping the confines of the locker in an aimed semblance to even out the battlefield. If he can even do that, that is.

"Rude," Nezu says, eyeing Izuku down from atop a bench. "How am I supposed to monologue if—"

Nezu's the one to interrupt himself this time as he launches himself forward. Again, Izuku senses the attack for what it is, and uses his laptop again to block it. He doesn't mind using his tech as a makeshift shield — the laptop is built to last, after all. It'll take a lot more than a few hits — no matter how much force seems to be behind them — from someone of Nezu's size.

Nezu bounces back from his failed strike, moving back until there's a fair amount of distance between himself and his opponent once more.

"Hmm," Nezu hums. "Your reaction speed is much faster than what's capable for a baseline human. Enhanced senses may perhaps? Is it combat precognition? Or maybe it's just rigorous, back breaking training that has unleashed the generational perks of being born in the age of quirks?"

Nezu banks forward once again, and once more Izuku blocks it with his laptop.

Come on Kurogiri! What's taking so long?!

"And my ridgepaw has been rendered useless as well," Nezu muses. "It must be something else — emitter, most likely. Utilization of air waves, or the enactment of slow motion? You move before your eyes should be able to decipher what you're seeing, and your microexpressions do change long before I'm about to strike."

He's dissecting me down here! It's just a matter of time until— Why the hell does he have a rubber bouncy ball?!

"Why do I have this, you're currently mentally asking yourself?" Nezu laughs as he pulls the small yellow orb in question from his breast pocket. "For situations exactly like this, of course!"

Nezu throws the ball against the wall, the toy predictably bouncing off said wall and colliding with another surface. However, unlike most rubber toy balls, this specific one doesn't stop after the second or third bounce. It just keeps going and going and going...

"The same goes for this handful of dust and sand!"

Izuku's eyes widen in surprise. He can't just dodge, considering the nature of Nezu's next attack. Try as he might, Izuku moves to cover his eyes. But it's too late.

Izuku almost stumbles back as the particles reach his eyes, effectively blinding him. However, he quickly straightens himself out and takes another ready combat position. He doesn't panic; he has no need to when can still hear with his quirk.

Speaking of, he moves just in time to avoid the bouncing yellow ball, ducking as he allows it to fly over his head.

"Oho!" Nezu exclaims. "You're blinded, and yet you still dodge! I got it! I presume then that your quirk involves sound based perception of your surroundings, then?"

Izuku winces.

"Ha! Your face says it all!" Nezu crosses his arms together. "And based on your interaction with Shota from earlier — and yes, I did indeed see that through the cameras — you're Whisper, I'm assuming?"

Izuku doesn't say a word. But apparently, his silence proves damning enough.

"Interesting…" Nezu says. "Now, just what would a vigilante want with Yuuei's files, hmm?"

Izuku holds his mouth. He readies for another strike — only for Kurogiri's signature purple swirls to finally form behind him, just in the nick of time.

"Oh fooey!" Nezu cries. "Just when it was getting fun!"

Izuku doesn't hesitate in the slightest, and backsteps into the portal.

"Toodles then!" Nezu's final words echo on through. "Hope you come back and play with me again, Mister Whisper!"

Nezu, predictably, doesn't follow through. Not long after, the portal dissipates.

Izuku meanwhile lands on his butt, as he finds himself within the confines of the bar. He double checks that he has his laptop held in his arms, and finally allows himself a moment's rest.

His sense of relief is shattered, however, the moment when an unwelcome smirking face fills his vision.

"Guess this means that you're done playing hero now, huh?" Tomura asks.

Izuku growls. "Not. Another. Word."

A/N: The progression of events may seem a bit hasty, sure — but consider the fact that literally the same thing happens in canon. Apprehension Test, Battle Trial, Tomura's break in, and USJ — they all happen in the span of less than a week.

Also, my research into hacking definitely got me onto some government watchlists (as if I wasn't already on some already, hah!) Still, I'm not entirely sure of the accuracy of what I wrote, but… eh. Sounds sophisticated and technical enough for me!