Nezu tapped his desk with a slow, thoughtful rhythm, the sound echoing softly through his office. For decades he had presided over U.A., guiding gifted children and eccentric heroes alike, yet never had he encountered a student who spoke or acted quite like Junsei. His instincts, usually quiet thanks to his quirk, were now stirring uneasily. There was a crucial piece of information he was missing.
After much deliberation, Nezu came to a decision. It was time to meet the boy in person.
——————
The next day, Junsei sat at his desk in Class 1-C, waiting for the first lesson to begin. English was scheduled and right on cue, the classroom door burst open and the hero Present Mic strode in with his usual energy. He had barely stepped inside before his eyes landed on Junsei.
"Yo, Junsei!" Present Mic called. "The principal wants to see you. Head to his office! You know the way?"
Junsei nodded, rose from his seat, and left the classroom. Behind him, whispers immediately bloomed. One voice suggested the principal intended to move him to Class 1-B, another insisted it must be 1-A.
Junsei paid them no mind. He had no intention of switching to the hero course. Still, he found himself interested in meeting the principal, the animal whose quirk had elevated his mind beyond most, if not all, humans.
He didn't know the exact location of the office, only a rough idea of which section of the school housed it. As he reached that area, a calm voice suddenly spoke from nowhere and everywhere at once.
"This is the principal speaking. Take your left and continue walking toward the end. That will be my office."
Junsei followed the instructions, noting quietly that the headmaster was monitoring the school.
When he reached the door, the same voice spoke again. "Enter."
Junsei opened it and stepped inside and stopped dead after two steps.
Seated behind the desk was a small white creature dressed in human clothes, a neat cut marking one of its eyes. Junsei froze, staring.
The creature lifted a paw cheerfully. "Hello there! You seem surprised to see me. I might be a dog… or perhaps a bear. But the most important thing is that I'm your principal! Nezu!"
Junsei continued to stare, unblinking.
Nezu chuckled lightly. "You really know how to stare. You're making me feel shy. Do you think I'm too adorable?"
Junsei's thoughts churned. [What happened to him? This isn't right. I barely feel any connection… but it's him.]
"Hm?" Nezu prompted. "Nothing to say? Don't tell me you're trying to figure out what I am."
"You're a mouse," Junsei said.
Nezu's eyes widened slightly. "Oh my, you really were thinking about that! Was it the name? A mouse is a good guess, I admit."
"You are a mouse," Junsei repeated, taking a few steps closer and studying him intently.
For a brief moment, Nezu paused, meeting Junsei's blue eyes. An odd sensation stirred, an unsettling feeling that he had seen those eyes before, somewhere far beyond memory. He shook the thought away and refocused.
"I've read the reports," Nezu said calmly, "and I've heard from my staff about you. I wanted to meet you in person, the student who calls people 'humans' and avoids engaging with them. I thought perhaps you'd prefer the company of someone less human. Or rather… not human at all."
Junsei regarded him for a long moment. Then he spoke.
"You are closer to humans than you are to the rest of nature," he said quietly. "You've lost too much of what made you part of life. You barely have anything left. I'm sorry."
Nezu saw no change in Junsei's expression, but he felt it. An intense wave of sadness and pity washed over him, directed squarely at his own existence. He stiffened slightly, unaccustomed to such a sensation, and even more surprised that it came from the boy before him.
"What I'm feeling now," Nezu asked carefully, "is that your quirk?"
"The connection is weak," Junsei replied. "But you can still feel some of what I feel."
Nezu made a mental note. If Junsei's words were true, then the sadness and pity he sensed now were only some of what the boy felt toward him.
"I certainly didn't expect this meeting to go this way," Nezu said. "Tell me, why do you feel this way toward me? Is it because I speak and dress like humans do? Do you see what I do as wrong?"
"You are not wrong," Junsei said. "It's the humans who have wronged you so much."
At the word humans, Nezu felt a cold hatred burn over his body. Alarm flickered through him.
"You hate humans?" Nezu asked gently. "Why?"
Junsei's gaze hardened. "You should know why. They are thieves, greedy, and rotten. They exist outside the cycle the rest of the world is born into."
Nezu folded his paws together, forcing his voice to remain calm despite the unease curling in his chest.
"I won't deny that there are humans like that, unfortunately," he said. "But hating an entire race for the actions of some is a bit much. There are good humans out there."
Junsei replied without hesitation. "Most humans are bad. The good ones are the exception."
"I disagree," Nezu said gently. "There are many kind-hearted, well-meaning humans. You were simply unlucky enough to meet some of the worst. And do you forget you are one of them?"
Junsei looked at him for a long two seconds, his gaze steady and unsettling.
"You have lost too much," he said at last. "You can't tell anymore. But I can assure you, Okina, humankind is not kind. They are not part of the life that you, I, and everything else, were born from."
Nezu froze.
"How do you know that name?" he asked sharply. "Does your quirk allow you to read animal minds?"
"I can't read your mind," Junsei replied. "I just know you."
Nezu continued to stare into Junsei's familiar blue eyes as his expression slowly shifted into shock. His voice dropped, almost reverent. "Ao?"
"Yes."
"How could this be? It has been decades since…" Nezu whispered, unable to complete his own sentence.
"I was born among them," Junsei said. Then he corrected himself. "No. I was born into their image."
He raised his hand, staring at it "I felt fear, disgust, and hate when I realized I was one of them. I still do. My only solace is knowing I am life's answer to their evolution."
Nezu's thoughts spiraled, possibilities stacking upon one another. Ao had awakened a quirk that allowed rebirth, Junsei being a liar, or this being a dream that he will wake from soon. Yet beneath all that frantic reasoning lay a quiet certainty: Junsei was not lying. He instinctively knew that.
"You've been imprisoned since birth and then lived among humans for so long," Junsei continued, "that you ended in such a pitiful state."
Nezu swallowed. "If it truly is you," he said slowly, agitation creeping into his voice, "then tell me why. Why did you do it? Why did you kill yourself? That is the one thing I wanted to know all my life. What made you do it?"
"Humans were vile," Junsei replied. "They were going to continue imprisoning us and torturing us. I didn't want to live in captivity, in fear and pain. I chose to end it myself rather than wait for humans to do it for me. A moment of suffering was better than a life of a slow painful death."
"It has been decades since then," Nezu said tightly. "And I am still here."
"You are barely here," Junsei said. "You can't feel it. You can't tell. Okina, things became worse. Much worse after I was gone, didn't they? That is what humans do."
Nezu lowered his head slightly, memories of horrific experiments rising unbidden to the surface. When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet.
"You are right. Things went badly, terribly so. But I preserved and things changed slowly over time. And here I am. Yes, I am different, more human, in a way, but I am alive."
He looked Junsei straight in the eyes.
"I have lived among them for far too long, and I know there is good in them as much as there is bad. I see their potential to build a better world."
Junsei shook his head. "You lived too long with them. You can't see them for what they are anymore."
"You hate them too much to see anything but their shortcomings," Nezu replied.
"It is not mere shortcomings, the problem lies in their nature and how they came to be" Junsei replied.
Nezu showed a confused face after hearing that.
Junsei's voice softened as he continued. "I am sorry you ended like this. I hope one day you will find yourself again and recover what you lost."
Nezu frowned. "What did I lose?"
"All creatures are connected," Junsei answered. "Except humans. And you."
With that, Junsei turned and walked toward the door.
"Why are you leaving?" Nezu asked.
"There is nothing else to say," Junsei replied without turning back. "You are too confused. Maybe… already gone."
Nezu felt waves of sorrow coming off Junsei as he left.
He remained seated where he was, staring at the empty space Junsei had left behind, uncertain of what he had just learned and far more uncertain of what it meant.
But every fiber in his being told him one thing, that was his brother, Ao.