Chapter 35: A Trap Sprung and a Name Chosen
"Come on you little brat, where's that explosion crap you pulled last time," taunted the sludge, sending another tendril hurtling down towards Midoriya. He jumped aside, just in time, the appendage slamming into the beach and kicking up a spray of fine white particles
on either side as it dug down through the sand from the force of the impact. The girl, Mei Hatsume, was faring little better than Midoriya, dodging around the villain's attacks rather than fighting back.
Agent Kado Shoyu-sha swore under his breath from his vantage point on a nearby rooftop. Agent Suru was down on the ground, waiting near the van from Tartarus along with the complement of prison guards, just out of sight of the beach and the two teens. She had a camera on hand, recording the altercation for the moment when their target would finally go on the offensive.
"Prisoner THX 1138, get him to fight back now, or you can kiss the deal goodbye," he hissed into his earpiece, watching with some satisfaction as the slimy bastard seemed to stiffen momentarily. It resumed its attacks with more ferocity, finally surging forward to completely enfold Hatsume in its hold. "Prisoner, you are not authorized to kill the girl, but you can render her unconscious. If she ends up dying then no matter what, you're going down a very deep hole, sludge boy."
"What's wrong brat!" Shrieked the villain, moving the struggling Hatsume up in front of Midoriya as it wrapped a tendril around the girl's nose and mouth. "Afraid to step in like last time? Well maybe I'll just take her body instead of yours! Seems like it might be a better fit anyways."
"No!" Screamed Midoriya, loud enough for the agent to recoil a bit even from his position on the roof. The kid charged forward, desperately clawing at the villain's body, but doing little else. That was when a sinking realization hit the agent.
"Oh, shit," breathed Kado Shoyu-sha, rapidly switching channels to contact his partner. "Suru, listen to me, the target can't use his gear for some reason. Either it's busted or he doesn't have it; doesn't matter, you've got to start confusing the angles on the recording. Obscure what you have to, but don't get a clear picture. He's not going to do anything incriminating!"
"Fuck," she replied. He watched as the woman began to fumble the camera, improvising a scared civilian persona as she jerked the device back and forth. He could hear her muttering simple phrases over his earpiece, and it was pretty convincing. 'Where were the heroes? What's happening? What is that kid doing, fighting that thing all by himself?' Things of that nature.
"My eye, you little shit, I'll kill you!" Roared the prisoner, directing the agent's attention firmly back onto the asset. Midoriya had apparently grown desperate enough to resort to maiming his attacker, if the blood streaming down the boy's arm and the asset's shrieks were anything to go by. Apparently he had gotten more effective in unarmed combat since his last encounter with the villain.
"Suru, you get that on camera?"
"Got it, but not too clearly. Should be easy to say it was him using his gear; the kid's as good as ours," came the reply.
"Prisoner THX 1138, disengage now. We've got what we need," he ordered after switching back to the asset's communication channel.
"Fuck that, this kid's dead!" It roared in response, and Kado Shoyu-sha found himself groaning. The idiot villain was going to screw it all up, damn it. Sure enough, the slime surged forward and wrapped itself around Midoriya, even as its other hostage stopped squirming as much.
"Suru, intervene, now! We can't lose the primary," he bellowed, jumping over the edge of the roof and rolling as he hit the ground, sidearm drawn and ready as he sprinted towards the beach.
"Hold position, there's some local hero jumping in to help already. Oh shit, it's goddamn Idaten. What the hell is Ingenium doing in Musutafu?"
"Who cares," shot back Kado Shoyu-sha, "let him handle it, we've got enough to take the primary so long as you hold onto that film. Hand off the recording to the cops when they show up, they'll know what to do with it. Just remember, when they get here, car fifteen is our officer."
"Understood, pulling back," she replied. Kado Shoyu-sha holstered his gun and leaned back into the shadows, watching the rest of the fight play out. "I've sent in the boys from Tartarus with the whole 'escaped prisoner' act, we should be good to let things play out now." He grunted in response, still watching intently as the hero engaged the villain.
Ingenium's intervention probably ended up saving the girl's life, all things considered. His empowered kicks and strikes were no joke, the engines in his elbows propelling him over the sand and with enough force to disperse the slimy mass long enough to pull the two kids to safety. It was only a short time later before the Tartarus guards reached the scene, their dark coats and peaked caps tossed aside to reveal a wide array of suppressive weaponry.
Gas canisters shot out all around the beach, and though the prisoner tried to escape, he ultimately fell to the assault under a combined effort of shock batons, quirk suppressants, and some really quite brutal emitter quirks the guards made use of. When one of the men in dark clothes burst the villain's other eye with a particularly nasty shockwave from his arm, Kado Shoyu-sha felt his stomach turn, but ultimately held firm. It was all for the greater good after all.
He continued watching, quietly, as the bleeding prisoner, a discarded asset now if there ever was one, was returned to a containment device and loaded into the back of the transport van. Agent Suru was nowhere in sight, likely handing off the 'evidence' the supposed civilian had taken to their officer on the scene. Ingenium was busy checking over the two teens as the police cars pulled up, lights flashing and officers strutting about as if they had anything to do with what had happened.
It wasn't a happy feeling, no, but he did feel some sense of grim satisfaction when one officer in particular broke through the crowd, Suru's camera clutched in a clear bag in one hand, and made his way over to Midoriya. Ingenium moved protectively in front of the boy and seemed to argue with the man for a moment before setting his hands on his hips and shouting something. The officer stood firm, and after a moment brushed past, grabbing the target by the wrist and pulling him forward.
For a moment it seemed like things might come to blows, but then, the girl screamed something at the officer, and Ingenium flinched. He turned to her, and leaned in, whispering something before he turned back to the officer and Midoriya and said something to them both. The policeman seemed uncomfortable at whatever was said, and the agent cursed his position for not being able to hear what was going on.
Finally, they broke apart, the target loaded into the back of one of the police cars while Ingenium said something else to the girl. Whatever it was got a determined nod before she made her way over to the waiting ambulance that had pulled up and whipped out her phone. Kado Shoyu-sha's eyes narrowed, and narrowed further as the pro hero took off after the police cars when they pulled away. Scowling, he reached for his own phone, and called his boss.
"Sanada-sama, this is Kado Shoyu-sha. The target is in custody, but we may have a problem. I suggest we move quickly."
Izuku, as if in a dream, let himself be pulled along, pushed gently but firmly into the back of a police car with his hands still covered in blood and ocular fluid, and his entire body still reeking of sewage. He listened, or at least tried to, when Iida's brother talked to him, but his main concern was Mei. She seemed okay, at least, but she was upset when the officer pulled him away. That wasn't all right. Mei was helping him, after all. She shouldn't be upset.
He spent the ride to the station, the check in, even the cursory wash they gave him in the station locker room in that state, simply letting things happen as his mind walked its way through things, neither truly asleep nor truly awake. He didn't even bother asking about the quirk one officer used to immediately dry him off after they pulled him from the shower, his sopping wet clothes becoming instantly warm like they were freshly laundered before returning to their normal temperature. He didn't come back to himself fully until he was forced into a folding chair in a well lit room, the blue rubber mat flooring making it seem like the darker colored furniture in the space was floating over water. There was a mirror along one wall, with bars across it, of course. That was when the reality of his situation sunk in.
The man who sat down across from him in the nicer office chair was gruff, tired, and looked like everyone's idea of a rough morning that had turned into a bad day that was considering making itself into an entire week's worth of shit. His coat, at least compared to Tsukauchi's immaculately well kept attire, was faded and wrinkled, and he wore no hat on his graying head. At least he wasn't chewing a cigar.
"Izuku Midoriya, currently attends UA high in the hero course, held for questioning on potential charges of inappropriate use of support gear, vigilantism, and battery with intention to cause grievous bodily harm. Thought you'd go out and play hero without a license just cause you had a big day, huh son? Well, looks like you're in some deep shit now." The man glared at him, putting a folder down onto the table and spreading out its contents. It was an incident report, and from what Izuku could read upside down, it completely misrepresented the entire situation.
He wanted to respond, he so badly wanted to jump up and defend himself, but two things held him back. One; he knew how the criminal justice system worked here, even if he had never envisioned being on this side of it. Even before quirks, the Japanese system relied on confessions, and achieved a staggering number of convictions based around them. Talking now would not serve him well, especially given the period of time they might be able to hold him for without bringing formal charges while he was 'questioned' by the man before him.
The other thing that held him back was his memory of Ingenium's words of warning. Help would be on its way, he had said, and all Izuku had to do was hold out until Ingenium got in touch with the proper people. Hold on, and whatever happens, don't take any deals they offer.
Ingenium had seen what had happened after all, spending the evening patrolling Musutafu after the sports festival as added security against purse snatchers apparently, and had come to rescue him and Mei when he saw them in trouble. He knew Izuku was innocent. So maybe he wouldn't lie to him, like the other heroes had, and help would really come. And why would he feel the need to lie anyways? Clearly, the others had felt they had a good reason to deceive him.
No, none of that was important right now. He was in police custody, accused of breaking laws that he technically couldn't with gear he hadn't used. Hell, he hadn't even had the charge left to use his gear if he had wanted to. His gear had been useless, and it had also been taken from him. Now it was probably sitting in their evidence lockup, getting tagged by some technician to be used against him in court for some reason he couldn't comprehend.
He felt his eyes water as he resisted the urge to slam his fingers over the interface that was still, thankfully, on his neck, covered by his hair. Why, why was this happening to him? What had he done to deserve this, any of this? Why had the heroes lied to him, why were the police trying to destroy him? Was the world really so cruel that after everything, after he had overcome everyone telling him he couldn't make it, that he would lose his chance because one of his demons had risen up from the past like a bad dream and attacked him and the only other person he knew he could trust?
"Tears won't do you any good, kid, so spare me the waterworks," rumbled the detective, glaring harder as Izuku fought back the urge to cry even more than he had been. He wanted out of here, he wanted his gear back, he wanted Mei to hug him, hell, he would have settled for Mirio flying through the door to tell him things would be okay, even if he had deceived him. But no, he had none of that. All he had was a hostile detective who had come to a conclusion without the real facts. The man was so certain of himself he was going to pursue that conclusion all the way to Izuku's damnation, and it just wasn't fair. But since when had life ever been fair to him?
"We've got a civilian eyewitness report and video evidence of you attacking that villain; that's revocation of your right to study at a hero school for starters. Vigilantism is especially illegal for hero students." He leaned back in his chair, still unsmiling. "And that's not even getting into the misuse of support gear; that's a couple years at least, plus the enhanced charges for unlicensed intervention against a villain. You'll have a count of battery against you for sure, not to mention that slime boy will be able to seek damages against you for fucking up his eye. Why not spare yourself some pain and just confess already, eh son?"
He bit down the urge to reply, knowing that if he waited long enough, they would either have to let him go, or he would get charged and would have counsel present to assist him. But no, Ingenium had said that help would come before that, hadn't he? So who was coming? Hadn't Mei said something along the same lines before she had been taken to the ambulance? Damn it, it was getting hard to remember.
As if in answer to his many questions the door at the back of the interrogation room slid open, and a woman in a dark suit entered. She certainly didn't seem to be the friendliest person, but her hard gaze softened immediately when it landed on him.
"Thank you, Detective, but if you don't mind, I'd like a word with Mr. Midoriya," she said, moving over next to the man who stood up angrily.
"Now you listen to me Suru, I've got this kid on-"
"The HPSC has taken an interest in this case, detective, and that's the end of it. If we require your help, we'll request it. Now leave, please, for the duration of out conversation." The man fumed, glaring daggers at the woman as he stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind him and shaking the bars over the mirror as he went. The woman only shook her head before sitting down across from him, dropping her own files on top of the ones the detective had left behind.
"Hello, Izuku. My name is agent Suru, and I work for the HPSC. It seems you've gotten wrapped up in quite the situation here, and I'm going to do my best to help you." Izuku's eyes widened. Was this the help that Ingenium had promised him? He certainly wanted to think so, but something seemed off about the woman. The way she had interacted with the detective had seemed almost too hostile, as if it were performative rather than genuine. He remained silent, choosing instead to let her fill the quiet air between them.
"I'm sure you didn't necessarily go looking for trouble this evening, but you have to admit this looks very bad. I may personally believe you didn't do anything wrong, of course, but even the HPSC can't always guarantee that the police will conduct an investigation fairly." She gestured towards the files beneath her own folder, but still he said nothing. After a moment, she explained.
"That incident report right there, whatever documentation they have on camera - it's probably not very good but that won't really matter to them, unfortunately. I'm sure in time you could prove your innocence, but that's time that you won't be able to spend learning to be a hero, and I'd hate to see someone so promising lose their shot at helping others because of some overzealous cops. Especially if those cops were holding onto some...old fashioned ideas." Damn it, he couldn't hold back any more.
"What ideas are you talking about?" That was stupid, he knew, but it didn't seem like there was anything they could use against him in that question. An opportunity to gather more information was one he would almost always seize upon, anyways. Smiling that same seemingly rehearsed smile, agent Suru showed her phone for him to see, open to one of the more prominent social media applications. Izuku's stomach dropped.
Right under the trending tab near the bottom, far past the various tags that had sprung up around the second and third year festivals, there were several different sets of words pertaining to the first years. Just only barely edged out by the tags #BeatTheOdds and #AllMightyHugs, the tags #QuirklessCheater, #UAisLying, and #CharityCase stood out in bold lettering. More followed, the numerous positive and encouraging hashtags not standing out to him as Izuku was lost in the absolute storm of derision and seeming disgust that was all around them.
It made sense, of course. Even if it was the least watched of the three stages, Izuku had done the equivalent of taking a gold medal in the Olympics while crippled earlier in the day for everyone to see. That the backlash would be so immediate, so sudden though, that hurt badly. And it certainly explained why the detective seemed so intent on destroying him, if the man had seen him win earlier that day and had then taken personal offense to it.
"Of course, there is another option besides trying to fight the police on this," said the agent, flipping her phone back around and sliding it into her jacket pocket as she finally opened the folder she had carried in. "The HPSC has a number of programs we pursue, programs we don't advertise but which are important nonetheless. Are you familiar with the villain threat level classification system, Midoriya? It is distinct from the villain ranking system which follows the letter grade." He shook his head, and she smiled.
"Unsurprising that you haven't covered it in school yet. Suffice it to say that certain villains might have different threat levels assigned. Your actions, while technically not vigilantism, still put you under what the HPSC classifies as a threat level white: usually those are individuals, vigilante or otherwise, with no malevolent intentions that will not be pursued by the HPSC or normal authorities until after a formal recruitment attempt has been made and rejected."
He glanced down at that, eyes scanning the documents on the table. Contracts, provisions, intellectual property forms that covered anything he might make, and...forms for emancipation from his mother? He snapped his head back up and narrowed his eyes at the woman, who only gave him a sympathetic look.
"The HPSC is extending a formal invitation to you at this time to join its hero development program. Should you choose to accept, any past record or current legal troubles would be wiped out, and you would become a ward of the agency. From there, you would devote all your time to developing as a hero. You'll have access to better facilities, virtually unlimited funding for your projects, and the best trainers that can be found." She snapped the folder closed and looked at him with a hardness in her eyes that didn't seem so much rehearsed as genuine.
"Of course, your other option is to trust in the system to resolve things quickly and get you back into UA, if you're able to go back at all. We'd hate to see such a promising hero barred from his calling over something so trivial as all this. Please, Izuku, let us help you, huh?" He said nothing more, and she stood up to leave, gathering her folder. "I'll give you some time to mull things over before you need to give me an answer. Think of your future, Izuku, that's all I can ask of you." With that the agent turned on her heel and walked out of the room, leaving Izuku alone with his mind running a mile a minute, in dread anticipation of the return of the detective.
It was another thirteen minutes, by his own count before the door slammed open and the detective offered fresh accusations, urging him to confess. His attempts seemed a bit more vigorous this time, as if the man was trying to make his situation seem more and more hopeless. But that didn't make sense. If the man had truly been interested in trying to prosecute him, in getting a conviction, why would he make it seem like his only option was one where Izuku would receive what amounted to a clean record by going with the HPSC? Wouldn't it make more sense to make him think he had a chance, and then spring a trap when it was too late?
Maybe the detective just wasn't shrewd enough to play the manipulation game. Or, maybe, he was very shrewd, and his actual goal was to get Izuku to sign the HPSC documents. That would only make sense if he could ascribe some real motive to the agent's offer though, and frankly, beyond it seeming like an almost altruistic interest in a future hero, he couldn't place it. Sure, agent Suru's disposition had been a bit strange, her speech and interactions had seemed rehearsed, but that had probably been a result of repetition and familiarity with the general situation, rather than a practiced deception, hadn't it?
"Kid, you listen to me and you listen good, you confess right now, and you'll end up sparing yourself, me, and your poor mother a whole lot of pain, you understand?" growled the man. "Spare yourself further shame and just admit that you got a bit too big for your boots and tried to play hero, and we can be done here." His eyes watered and his throat burned, thinking of what effect his arrest, however temporary, might have on his mother. He knew she had suffered so much already under the discrimination of raising a quirkless child. That this detective would dare to imply Izuku would ever intentionally keep her in pain? He was very, very angry at that.
"I don't know just who you think-" was all Izuku managed to get out before the door to the interrogation room slammed open once more. There, framed in the light from the hallway, was a very deadly looking Eraserhead with principal Nezu riding shotgun on his shoulder. The small mammal's fur was standing on end, and his normally chipper expression was turned down into a snarl.
"Problem Child, not one more word, please," growled Aizawa, advancing on the detective with all the menace of a big cat stalking some wounded prairie animal. Nezu hopped down from his shoulder and surveyed the documents on the table as Izuku looked at them in both incredulity and gratitude, catching the sympathetic and apologetic look the principal shot towards him.
"It would seem you've detained one of my students after he was attacked by a villain that was lost through negligence on the part of Tartarus, on potential charges that I believe are not strictly applicable, and that you are now holding him for questioning without any specific arrests in conjunction with this case having yet been made, yes?" The detective seemed to recover from his shock and sneered at Nezu.
"What, you think him being quirkless will get him off the vigilantism charge? We've still got him on-" Surprisingly, the man stopped when Nezu held up a paw and Aizawa proceeded to produce a sleek black laptop that he unfolded onto the table
"While I understand that you believe you have an eyewitness account of the attack and some civilian video footage, I think you will find that the local surveillance cameras will provide a much more...exculpatory accounting of the incident," smirked Nezu, pressing a button on the laptop. The screen was facing away from Izuku, but from the look on the detective's face, it was clear that whatever was in the video was substantial, and not in the man's favor.
"We passed a representative from the HPSC on our way in after we were notified about the incident; she seemed to be leaving. I'd suggest you go coordinate with her concerning a more pertinent investigation, rather than pursuing one against the victim of an assault."
"Such as," menaced Aizawa, eyes flashing red and burning into the wall over Izuku's head, "how exactly a prison transport from Tartarus wasn't secure enough to prevent the escape of a villain who has explicitly stated his desire to kill minors in the past. Such a lapse in security, that wouldn't look good for anyone involved, would it?"
"No, of course not," replied the detective evenly. "But the failure of the prison transport aside, we still have the issue of-"
"I suggest you drop the pretense and release my student before I do something that will permanently end your ability to operate as a police officer," interjected Nezu, replacing his cheery mask and seeming all the more dangerous for it.
"Are you threatening me?"
"No, not at all," he chirped, "I'm simply saying that if you were unable to realize and rectify a mistake like this, I would have to subject both you and your entire department to the full force of a UA backed public inquiry. But thankfully, you seem like a good sort of officer who can be counted on to do the right thing."
The man looked furious, fist crinkling the papers on the table in a white knuckled grip, but ultimately he relented, gathering up the documents with a huff and made for the door.
"We'll get the proper forms in order and get this cleared up right away, gentlemen. Thank you for interceding on the boy's behalf. It would have been a...shame for a young hero to lose their future over a misunderstanding." He slammed the door behind him, and Izuku slumped backwards in his seat, unable to make eye contact with either of the two educators who had come to save him.
"I can surmise from Chiyo's warning to me earlier this afternoon that your excursion with Ms. Hatsume was related to a certain, hmm, discovery you may have made. Which undoubtedly caused you some distress. Is that right, Midoriya-kun?" Izuku said nothing, only nodding while still not looking at Nezu.
"I fear you're owed an explanation as well as an apology then, as once again a miscalculation on my part has caused you harm. I hope you will at least hear us out when we are in a more friendly location."
"How many people know? Who knew?" He said, finally meeting the principal's gaze with watering eyes. His hands curled into fists at his side. Nezu glanced about the room before withdrawing a black cylinder from his vest and pressing a button on one end, resulting in a soft buzz emanating from the device.
"That will disrupt any listening devices present, for the moment. I promise you a full explanation later, Midoriya, but for now I can tell you that myself, Aizawa-sensei, Recovery Girl, the Big Three, Sir Nighteye, a retired hero by the name of Gran Torino, and All Might are the ones aware of the circumstances around your quirk."
Izuku felt the wind leave him even as he tried to draw in a breath. So many people, pretty much everyone close to him, was confirmed to have been lying to him, for who knows how long. There were so many more questions, so many things he would demand answers to, but even as hurt as he was, he could recognize now was not the time. When two officers arrived to escort them to the front, he still couldn't bring himself to properly look at either of the teachers.
Once they were led out through the winding hallways and into the lobby, relief flooded through him. Izuku had never been so grateful to see anyone as he was to see Mei standing with Ingenium and his own mother in the police station lobby, and he quickly fell into a strong embrace from the two women.
"I couldn't think of anyone else to call, and Ingenium said to get help from UA, and I had Maijima-sensei's number for emergencies, and he put me through to Nezu, and I know what he did, but Izukun, I was scared for you, and," Mei babbled, before Izuku cut her off with his own warbled cry of gratitude and pulled her tighter into their hug. It was strange, seeing her mimic his own muttering stream of consciousness, and odder still was that she was crying a bit as they clung to each other, the poor girl still stinking of sewage.
She did not cry often, but currently, her tears could have rivaled his own, even if the two of them together were nowhere near a match for the veritable waterfall that was his mother. Aizawa and Nezu took up positions near Ingenium, standing like a wall between the trio and the rest of the station, saying nothing. Ingenium for his part had just stood back and looked out darkly at a police officer that had moved from his desk to tell them all to leave.
The relief Izuku had been feeling spread throughout him at the contact, and for a single blessed moment, it didn't matter that everything had been awful. It didn't matter that his trust had been broken. It would take time, but the damage could be undone, because the heroes weren't like the HPSC, or the others. Even if he couldn't bring himself to trust them again as completely as he had, not so soon after their deception had been revealed, the heroes had come to save him, and that meant a lot. When the time was better, he would hear them out.
He was quiet on the car ride home, grateful for his mother's ever gentle presence. Always patient, always understanding. It was a surprise when it seemed like she was anxious to say something, and even more of a surprise when they finally arrived home and she directed him to their kitchen table. A laptop, one of the many he had used over the years, was sitting on the table, Lynchpin's green emblem standing out against the black screen.
"Izuku," his mother began, uncertainly. "I know that you've been through a lot tonight. I may not understand everything that's happened, but I want you to understand that as your mother, it's my job to protect you from what I can."
He looked at her, uncomprehending. She hadn't been one of the ones Nezu had told him knew about the deception. She hadn't really objected to his continued enrollment at UA. What could this possibly be about?
"Forgive me, Izuku, but my first priority is my operator's safety, as you know," said Lynchpin. "I may have been more proactive in pursuing that goal than you had intended, and as such, failed to notify you about a threat I detected. Instead, I chose to enlist your mother's aid in shielding you from even having to interact with the perceived threat in the first place. I fear that our efforts may have resulted, ultimately, in tonight's incident."
"Uhm, Lynch, what do you mean by all that?" Asked Izuku, absolutely done with everything that was happening right now.
"At the end of your first month of enrollment at UA, I detected an unusual amount of government traffic online concerning a quirkless student being enrolled at UA, and a desire to recruit that student into a special program. Tell me Izuku, are you familiar with the pro hero Hawks, and more specifically, with how he became a hero?"
Izuku sat in shocked silence, digesting what his mother and his undoubtedly sentient computer had just told him. The HPSC had tried to buy him from her, to raise him as some kind of figurehead that they could control to satisfy the public and their rage around inequality. It made him sick just to think about how they viewed him; not even human, a commodity to be traded and bartered for, and ultimately, one that they would have, no matter what. He wanted to cry more, but he was out of tears, so instead, he settled for leaning into his mother's hold, listening to her gentle reassurances that she would never let them take him from her, and Lynchpin's own statements concerning potential countermeasures.
He wanted to laugh at it all, at the idea of a future hero, at sixteen being held like a child by his mother, of the government effectively purchasing child soldiers as mercenaries in their quest to maintain control, at the idea of a villain who could steal quirks. At everything. He was just so, so tired. But still, he had more to do. He had to first tell his mother, and then, he had to start planning.
"Hey mom," he began, exhaustedly leaning into her hold a little more. "As long as we're telling each other everything right now, there's something else you need to know."
"Oh honey, whatever it is, we'll handle it. No matter what, you've got me, and your friends, and UA on your side. I promise, no one is going to hurt you."
"About that," he fidgeted, "this is kind of different. I guess you could say it's more like I finally have an explanation for an old wound now. The problem isn't mine, because it can't hurt me again."
"Oh baby," she said, resting her head on his shoulder. They were both out of tears now, it seemed. "What is it? How long have you been hurting?" He looked up at her and smiled, wanly.
"I guess it all really started around when I turned four," he began, pulling her even closer and hanging on for dear life. Held there, in a place of warmth and safety and comfort, the familiar kitchen filled with memories and the ghosts of pleasant meals and so much laughter, as he told his mother everything, the ever present ache in his heart didn't feel so terrible.
The conversation had gone better than he expected, and when his mother had told him that she believed him without him having even shown her a new scan of his foot, Izuku was reminded once again of just how wonderful his mother was. She had also promised to help him to protect his friends, as well as swearing that she would be looking out for her own safety too, something that had reassured him immensely. Now though, trudging back to school through the rain after their four day weekend, his thoughts were elsewhere.
Nezu had stopped by the apartment on Thursday and personally apologized to him, bowing and touching his head to the floor with such sincerity that Izuku had wanted to assure him that things were okay right then and there. But things weren't okay, and they wouldn't be for a while. The principal had promised a meeting with himself, Aizawa, All Might, and Mirio in the week after internships to explain everything, and Izuku had accepted, albeit hesitantly.
He had wanted answers immediately, and felt he was more than owed them. The delay did little to reassure him that the adults would be able to win back his trust, especially since it made it seem like they were simply buying time to come up with a new lie. Nezu had accepted that, but had insisted that they would only be using the time to guarantee they didn't expose Izuku to any more classified information than was directly related to him. Having Tsukauchi in the room at the time to confirm Nezu's statement had been enough to satisfy Izuku, but only barely. He couldn't be sure of Tsuakauchi's tells, after all, but after the rescue at the station, he figured he could give them some benefit of the doubt.
Now as he returned to school, he was ruminating on the fact that he could still see Nejire hovering around in the background, trying to be discreet within the cloud cover. Bakugo had needed to leave early that morning, and so he found himself walking alone with his umbrella, so long as he didn't count the unsubtle bodyguard. He couldn't say he didn't appreciate her presence though, after what had happened. He had woken up with nightmares every night since the attack, reliving both times the sludge had almost taken his life, and worse, his friends' lives, from him.
More than a few people had recognized him on the train, and he had gotten a wider berth than usual. Whether it was out of respect for his victory, or disdain for his quirklessness, he couldn't really say. Certainly the congratulations had been nice, and he had even been asked for a few autographs and pictures, but there had been sneers and dirty looks too. The number of both types of interactions had decreased in the days following the festival, thankfully, but today there had been a sudden resurgence.
His four days of rest had hardly been spent idle. With Nezu's permission he had been at UA alongside Mei, spending blood, sweat, tears, oil, and far too many power tools working on his major project, now that its need was much more apparent. Mei had been attacking the task with even more gusto than he had, and at the pace they were going, their newest technology would be ready for deployment by the time of the internships. It would be crucial to have it as an option in the field, after all.
"Midoriya," came the sudden shout, interrupting his thinking with the sound of rapidly increasing splashes. A yellow blur blitzed past Izuku, and he almost recoiled at the thought of coming face to face with All Might right then, especially in that suit of his. Thankfully, the blur resolved itself into a poncho clad Iida, fogged glasses almost slipping off his face as he circled around at a more manageable pace and came up before him, huffing. "Thank goodness you are alright! Tensei informed me of what happened on Wednesday, and you haven't been answering your phone. I was, we were, rather, very worried about you."
Izuku felt the unease dissipate immediately as Iida's uneasy face broke out into his patient smile, and he reached out with one arm to grasp Izuku by the shoulder. His friend took up place next to him under the umbrella as Izuku made room for him, and they resumed their walk to UA as Iida continued.
"I am truly glad to see you, my friend."
"Thanks, Iida-kun. I, it means a lot, to hear that. I get why you look up to Ingenium so much, by the way. He was really cool," said Izuku, just enjoying the company of someone he knew he could trust. He was one of the ones that he would definitely be gathering later, alongside Bakugo, Ochaco, Yaoyorozu, and probably Shinso.
If he was still in some kind of danger from the quirk thief, as the heroes' continued protection of him and their prior secrecy would seem to imply, then as those closest to him, the group needed to be warned first. He was unsure about telling Shinso, but if he was going to be friends with the boy, especially considering the sheer power of his quirk, then it would only be right to warn him.
"Midoriya-kun," said Iida, removing his poncho and rain boots as they reached the lockers. Izuku looked back at him, already in the process of folding away his umbrella, and raised him a questioning look. "If you ever need someone to talk to about anything, I would be more than glad to hear you out. Your friendship, although it certainly comes with some unorthodox characters, is very dear to me, and I do not wish to see you hurting."
Izuku glanced around then, making sure they were out of earshot of anyone else that might be listening in. Besides principal Nezu who heard and saw everything, but who also wasn't really in a position to stop him right now, there was very little chance of being overheard.
"Iida-kun, there is...something. But I can't talk about it right now, not here. I'm going to ask the others later, but at some point this week, I want you guys to come by my lab so we can talk about it together, okay?"
"Ah, Bakugo, Uraraka, Yaoyorozu, and Hatsume will be joining us, I take it? And Togata-senpai, Hado-senpai, and Amajiki-senpai as well?" Izuku's expression darkened, and Iida stepped back in surprise.
"Not them, I take it?"
"No, not them."
The rest of the walk to class and homeroom passed in relative quiet, Aizawa announcing their internships properly, and the breakdown of the numbers of requests they all got. Surprisingly, or perhaps not for Izuku, Bakugo had a majority of the requests in their class, followed by Todoroki who wasn't glaring for once, then followed up by Ochaco and then by Izuku himself. The tumult that followed the results being seemingly inverted from their standings reassured him a bit that at least his classmates weren't as biased as the rest of the world, but like all the other little insults and injustices that had been following him, it still stung.
"Listen up," demanded Aizawa, his usual monotone not sounding as reassuring to Izuku as it once had. He had yet to meet his teacher's eyes the entire morning. "Even if you weren't explicitly scouted by a pro, we've got a list of forty agencies and heroes who will be willing to take any of you on, so everyone will be getting in some work experience. That said, you can't work in the field without some kind of moniker, both for public relations purposes, and because it's something of a culture around heroics. So today Midnight will be helping you pick your hero names."
"Aw, way to spoil an entrance," pouted Kayama-sensei, swaying her way into the room. She grinned at the class, and gave a particularly warm look to Izuku, who was able to return it without blushing madly. "Like Eraser here just said, hero names are important to working in the field, and more than one pro has gotten stuck forever with the name they first debuted under. Which is why I'll be here to make sure no particularly inappropriate names make it through," she finished with a wink.
"Think about the image you're trying to project when you choose your hero name," said Aizawa, already halfway through zipping himself into his sleeping bag. Izuku felt a pang of something at the sight, remembering a green bag of his own and the taste of jelly packets from what felt like a lifetime ago. "Your names will reflect your character. All I can say is choose wisely," he gave the class a rare, genuinely fond smile, small as it was, "and whatever you do, don't let Yamada-sensei choose your name for you."
"Right then," cheered Midnight, recapturing their attention and handing out whiteboards and markers. "Let's get started!"
The names flowed pretty freely, and fairly easily. Ochaco's bubbly Uravity perfectly captured the uplifting attitude she brought to everything. Iida's name of Celeritas was apparently a placeholder until his brother retired, at which point he would become Ingenium. It seemed like a nice thing, to have a legacy like that. Bakugo settled for Ground Zero, and Izuku was only slightly disappointed that he hadn't at least attempted to get Lord Explosion Murder like he had wanted when they were younger. Yaoyorozu's Creati was apt enough, though Izuku would have gone for something more broad.
The rest all had good names, though poor Mina had been forced to settle for Pinky after Alien Queen was rejected. That wasn't very fair, in his mind, especially since the movies were public domain at that point, but there were other things on his mind. His own turn was coming up, and he needed to write something down quickly, seeing as it was down to him and Aoyama, who was refining his original title into something that was less of a mouthful.
Deku, as ironic as it would have been, was right out, as was something more obvious like Ferrus, though maybe something dealing with metal would be appropriate? Iron Man just sounded silly and a bit too simple, especially with both a Tailman and a Sugarman in the class already. One of the names from when he was younger maybe? No, even discounting the slightly sick feeling he got when thinking of All Might at the moment, they just wouldn't work. All Might Jr, Mighty Boy, none of those really described him. He had considered LeBillion, but even putting aside his hurt, neither he nor Mirio would benefit from him becoming a copy of his...big brother.
Yes, Mirio was still his brother in all but blood, even though he had lied and betrayed his trust, and even though Izuku didn't want to talk to him again just yet. There was no way all the moments they had shared had just been a front Mirio put up in pursuit of some hidden objective. There was no way he was just some assignment to the older boy, a mere person of interest that had been unlucky enough to be assaulted by some powerful villain.
Mirio had done so much more for him than that role would have required of the boy. Besides, he had seemed genuinely surprised, no, horrified, when Izuku had first told him his fears and his theory about his quirk. That had been on the birthday that they shared no less, all that time ago, he reflected bitterly. They had known each other too long, had too many heart to hearts for him to have been faking it all along.
Still, that left Izuku with the prospect of coming up with a name and no real sources of inspiration to draw from. But was that true? What about his friends, and what they thought of him? What about Ochaco, who had told him he could do anything when they had talked at the festival? Or what she had thought his nickname originally meant? Yeah, that could work. It had a bit of the irony from using the old name, and it helped him to hear it with the same feeling that Ochaco and Bakugo seemed to. Plus, if the public ever tried to resort to using the old nickname against him, then he'd have already taken it back, sort of.
Smiling with a quiet kind of determination, he wrote out the name and the epitaph on the whiteboard and stood when Midnight motioned him forward. There would be things to do later; he had to clue in his friends to the new situation, he had to pick his internship, and he had to finish the work on his project with Mei. Then, there was the conversation to come with all the people who had lied to him after the internships were concluded. So many weights that would pile up in the immediate future, but at least with this one problem lifted from his shoulders, he'd have a name to face the rest of his issues with.
"I didn't think I could come up with a good name to describe what I want to be, the image I want to have," he began with confidence, back straight, eyes shining, and a warmth blooming in his chest. "But then I remembered how I could look at things in a different way, after my friends helped me to find a new meaning in something that used to hurt." He swept his gaze over the room, first locking eyes with Bakugo, who grinned wickedly, and then for far longer with Ochaco, whose cheeks were dusted even brighter pink than usual. Smiling, because everything would eventually be okay, even if he had to be the one to make it all alright himself, he flipped his whiteboard over.
"I will be the hero that gives his everything: Dekiru, the Fullmetal Hero!"