Chapter 3: Tea with the Principal

Once more, we’re back with a bit of a short chapter but I couldn’t add more stuff without throwing off the mood of things. I'm in a great mood while I'm writing this, I wasn't for a while, but then I got to play with a bunch of the neighbor's dogs and it doesn't matter if you are 10, 20 or 80, dogs will always make a male happy. Kinda sad then that this chapter doesn't feel good but I think that you all know by now that this series doesn't strictly feel good, after all, I already killed Iida off-screen and put Midoriya through hell.

Chapter 3: Tea with the Principal

Reaching the door, she didn't reach for the handle, instead saying something extra. "I wish that I didn't have to go through it, that Eri could have been happy even if I wasn't in her life but, that's not how things went…The cruelty I witnessed, the pain, the sorrow, it was almost overwhelming. Some days I would nearly drown in it and I…" She couldn't tell him that she had returned that cruelty and pain 10fold, that would lead to questions she didn't want him to ask.

Grabbing the door handle, she prepared to leave. “If that is all, I have to get to class.”

"Have you spoken to anyone about it?" She turned to look at him, his face returning to what she was used to, but there was still a glow of concern in those red eyes of hers.

"My therapist…and Mom." She wasn't lying, as she had a therapist that the MLA set up for her. He was the one she split her heart to, and the one that helped her create a narrative to feed her HPSC-appointed therapist lest they create a profile on her that could implicate her.

“I’m sorry.” Hearing Bakugo say something like that made her let out a bitter laugh.

“Things really did change…and they will continue to, see you later, Bakugo.” She opened and closed the door behind her, leaving her old friend on the roof by himself.

Line Break

"Dammit, Bakugo, why did you have to say that?" Midoriya said to herself, as she sat in the front row waiting for Snipe to arrive. She couldn't stop going over the conversation, and what Bakugo saw in her. Of course, he knew she was different, that was obvious but…she didn't know, but something in his words, or was it his eyes, whatever it was, it was getting to her more than she thought.

His words in her eyes echoed in her head, she pulled her compact mirror from her bag and looked at it and saw that he was right, thinking back on it, she used to look so bright, so happy and ready to help, to be a hero. But that wasn't what she was seeing now. Where her emerald eyes were bright like the sun, they now burned like an inferno, even as she sat in class, completely calm with no thoughts or violent impulses, she couldn't quite suppress that about her. But that was a good thing, wasn't it? If she had come out of that hell the same, she would suspect something worse was wrong with her than it already was.

She changed, and used that to escape, to become a stronger person. To create a better world, that was worth it…

Right?

Her mind flashed to her kills, from how much she enjoyed beating Chrono into a bloody paste, smashing her way through Overhaul's grunts before killing his two other Bullets and breaking him in every sense of the word. Even now, she dreamt of that day, of the glee she felt and how terrified and utterly broken Overhaul was as she laid into him. Was that the dream of a hero? She knew that was false, but she also knew she enjoyed revisiting it, hearing his plea and begging, trying to fight back with no strength or crawl away from his fate.

Even after that, she could perhaps say that maybe, just maybe it was extreme circumstances, that she was still high on her first dose of Venom, that she was riding on violent emotions. But that didn't excuse the lives she's taken since. That was why she didn't advertise that she hung out with Himi because she was a wanted serial killer and if people looked into it, they'd find her hands were just as bloodstained. But it wasn't for nothing either, she was fighting for a better world, for people like her, for people like Eri.

Yet Bakugo’s words still rang in her head, as if in direct opposition to that which just annoyed her as she put the mirror away.

“Something on your mind, Ms. Midoriya?” A chipper voice started from the doorway, blinking, she turned to see that it wasn’t Snipe or another teacher but a small mammal in a suit, his smile as pleasant and mysterious as always.

“Principal Nezu?” She asked, surprised to see him there as she wondered how out of it she had been for him to have opened the door without her noticing.

"That's me! Snipe had been called away for something but I was more than willing to step in for him." His response didn't make her any less weary, if for no other reason than his reputation as she had already heard what he had done to Mina and Kaminari during final exams, and how gleeful he had gone about screwing with them from afar, treating them like rats in a maze. “However, instead of going over some history,” Stepping into the class, she saw that behind him were two robots carrying supplies, namely a table, a foldout seat, and tea and biscuits.

"I would like to have a conversation with you instead." He finished as the robots set them up near the front of the class, with the principal taking his seat as he started to prepare the tea for them while the robots set the table, placed the plates and other dishes and sorted out the biscuits.

She had never believed she could predict him, she didn't think anyone could, so she didn't have anything to fall back on with this rather unusual request but there was also no reason to refuse him, so she got up from her desk, her school supplies left behind and took the larger of the two seats. The principal hummed at this as he continued to prepare tea for the two with practiced ease, not a single wasted which spoke to how many times she had done this.

Before long, the kettle had boiled and the mammal slowly poured the water over the teabags within the pot, stirring it for just a few moments before he closed it and poured some first into her cup and then into his own. As she was still deciding what to add, he added a spoon of sugar into his own, along with something else, which he stirred for a moment before taking a sip, letting out a pleased hum at the taste.

“It’s keratin powder, with things as stressful as they are, I wouldn't want my fur to be anything less than tip-top shape." He answered the unsaid question as he took another sip of his tea. "But that said, I wouldn't advise it for you, which is why you just have the option for sugar or honey." He directed her gaze back to her side of the table, where as he said, there were just the two things.

"I'll take the honey then, it's not every day that I use it in my tea," Midoriya stated as she reached for it, pouring a little into her tea and stirring it, watching it fuse into the liquid.

“So, you drink tea daily?" She found her ears turning red, even if she could see he wasn't judging or mocking her as she took a quick sip and nibbled on a biscuit.

“Not really, but I can’t say I don’t like it.” Her mother typically made it whenever one of them had a stressful day, so she tended to have fond memories of it even if the leaves were used for cheap store brands with little flavor, much inferior to what she was having now. As she finished her biscuit, she paused as she reached for another one, as there was the elephant in the room to address. “Forgive me, principal Nezu but was there a reason for this? I can’t imagine that you don’t have enough on your plate as is.”

Continuing with his drink, he replied. “You’re quite right on that, even if things were in better times, the job of a principal is never quite finished. So, I’ll cut to the chase,” It was only then that he placed it down, with the look he gave her made her feel naked and unnerved. She wasn’t even sure he was doing it on purpose but those eyes expressed a level of knowledge and influence he rarely displayed.

“Do you know why I allowed you into U.A.” She felt her heart skip a beat, as she hadn't considered it, not till now as she hadn't done anything wrong that would bar her, and the teachers hadn't treated her any differently than she had expected but why was she there? She was always thinking of other things to worry about and how she got it.

With his gaze still on her, his smile as revealing as a fog-filled box, she started to try and figure it out. She knew she was high profile, and that letting her in would have been good PR for U.A. after both the USJ and Hosu, but U.A. wasn't that kind of place and had never accepted applicants for anything more than charity. But there was one other reason that seemed to line up.

“All Might visited me in the hospital, we met…before I was captured,” She wasn’t sure how much he knew, but he wasn’t about to reveal it all to him. Partly for herself, partly for All Might so she kept it vague before continuing. “I thought he implied he’ll talk to you, which was why I was allowed to prove myself, late as it was.” Recalling it, she felt a bit of bitter frustration but also acceptance as while he had been late to apologize and give her the chance, looking back on it, she probably would have refused him regardless, and she’s fine with that.

"That is a good guess, All Might had approached me about the topic, as he wished to give you the chance to chase your dreams but I didn't agree to it because of that," Nezu replied, a knowing smile on his face as he recalled the rather strange phone call and following a meeting with the Symbol of Peace. “I did so because I’ve had my eye on you for a while now, ever since you first applied to U.A. over a year ago.”

Midoriya was suspicious about that response, she knew she wasn’t anything remarkable in those days. “That long? I find it hard to believe.” She tried to keep that close to her chest, but in terms of skill, she was a novice playing against a master of the game as Nezu saw right through her, but he didn’t react negatively to it.

On the contrary, he had expected that response from her. “Oh, it’s quite true. U.A. might have done away with their rule barring the quirkless from the hero course, but you were the first person to ever take us up on that offer.” She frowned at that reminder, of all the jeers she faced when that damned teacher announced it, how she had to fight just to work up the courage to make that choice.

Nezu either didn’t see her reaction, or he didn’t think it was worth stopping for her as he reached for his tea again. "Your record was an impressive one. Good grades, and excellent observation skills when it came to quirks but below average P.E. scores. If nothing else, while I doubted you would have made it into the hero course, I envisioned that you could get to it via the support or general course and become a hero much like herself, a command-and-control type that utilized the skills and abilities of others to ensure the best possible outcome.”

"If you didn't think I could cut it till later on, why give me such attention?” She asked him, as it was like he was painting a picture of an idealism with no hope of turning that into reality.

“Overhaul.” Her eyes flashed, just for a second to pools of acid baths of rage and madness, before she managed to regain control. She was sure he was caught but he surprised her again as he didn't seem shocked, appalled, concerned or fearful. If anything, she could see the first real emotion in his eyes to be sympathy that could only be born from a similar experience. "My apologies, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories, I know too well what it's like to be treated like a lab rat." He raised a hand to his face, and the very visible scar over his right eye.

There was a story there, one that students and teachers whispered about with as much curiosity as they did fear as all that was accepted to be fact was that he was experimented on, but nothing else. Nezu never said what, and no one was foolish enough to ask but, at that moment, as he touched his scar and recalled memories from a past he, like her, hoped to leave buried, he let her see underneath the mask.

And it was terrifying

His cute, plushie-like face seemed to melt away and, in its place, a depraved, desperate and violent chimera. His teeth were barred and ready to chomp through flesh and bone with the force and skill that could only come from experience while his scar looked fresh and ugly. Lastly, those eyes of his that were once like vaults that kept his true feelings hidden and secured, transformed into black pits of animalistic fury and bloodlust.

All this came and went in a moment, all of which felt like hours but it was enough for Izuku to tell that he could understand, that he did understand. The pain, the confusion, the fear, the desperation, the despair and the instinctual feral desire to hold onto that sliver of hope when you see it, damned the consequences, and twice be damned the morality.

The smile she gave him in turn. It was a bitter, pained one, but honest in what she felt about it. “Believe me, I wouldn’t wish that fate on my worst enemy, and for what it’s worth, from one survivor to another, I’m sorry you had to go through that.” Nezu gave one in kind, as both had people say similar things, which they understood for what they were, what they meant but if you haven’t gone through something, could you really say if you’ll wish it upon your enemies or not? Could you truly sympathize with those who did? The answer they often found themselves having to hold in the back of their throats and hearts was no.

"Back to the topic at hand, I read through the report after the fact. You did more than most could ever hope to do, first in holding onto hope in a hopeless situation and inspiring it in the heart of a little girl who had never known it. That is the core of what it means to be a hero to me, not how many people you arrest, or how many lives you save…but how much light you bring into this world we live in. Not to make people forget about the dark, but to remind them to always reach for something better." Nezu's smile was kind, kind in a way born from hate and pain and tempered by age and wisdom.

Hearing him say that, relieved her in more ways than she realized as Bakugo's words that had been ringing in the back of her head felt silent as she was reminded of that. Wiping her tears away, she couldn't help but quip. "I never thought that the same person that went on a tangent on fur care would be so wise."

“We all have our quirks, don’t we?” They laughed at that admittedly bad joke before things moved along. “Now, another interesting thing I learned was your views on this from Eraser, though it took time for him to inform of it, understandable as there were more pressing matters.” She frowned at that, as she knew that her opinions were far from popular, she hadn’t been so bold as to state them openly to her classmates or friends in other classes, but rather she tried to slowly lead people to it, and each time they changed the subject or showed the firsts signs of displeased they were about, so she would pull the plug before they could get suspicious, or see it as anything more than a passing thought, a had conversation topic.

Pouring himself another cup and pouring in his keratin, Nezu chuckled at how worried she looked. “No need to worry, my dear. Nothing you said was incriminating, rather it was insightful in a way that most aren’t. All Might, and this era of peace he supports, just isn’t stable.”

She was hesitant but decided that if she came this far, she might as well continue as it wasn't illegal to discuss it, and between the two of them, it was the least unorthodox thing they could speak of. "As great as All Might and for how much I'm grateful for all the good he's done, he's still human like the rest of us. And that means he's aging, getting slower…weaker." She thought back to the slime incident. A prime All Might would have caught him before she was ever in danger, but that wasn’t prime All Might.

Nezu nodded, speaking his contemplations. "I too have those fears, as I've noticed a flaw in human behavior relating to it. They've convinced themselves that All Might will be a constant and have not only stopped innovating like they once did but have no plan for when he does eventually retire. I've been trying to prepare for that for a while now, but there is only so much I can do." He disliked that feature of humans, among others. Heroes brought hope, yes, but All Might had unknowingly tricked the world into thinking that there was nothing but hope, and that oversight was coming home to roost.

“Is that why All Might took a teaching job here?” Suspecting what she knew now, he might have taken the job to find this successor of his, even if she had no proof to back it up yet.

“Yes, what people forget is that All Might has been active on the hero scene since he was around 18, that was 37 years ago. Most pros retire when they hit 50, the stress and high physical requirements of the job force them into it, but he’s well past that.” Nezu confirmed, though from another point of view as while most people knew how long he had been around-no-one stopped to consider how old that made him. Like a mountain, it was just there and no one questioned it, and just assumed it would be there in 100 years as it was 100 years prior, but All Might was no mountain.

"He's on borrowed time," Izuku stated without pause, Nezu’s eyes bearing on her as his earlier amusement left him.

"And he knows it, after all, less than 3 hours of hero work isn't much." He didn’t so much as flinch as she looked shocked that he would just say something that could be considered a state secret. “He informed me of your first meeting.” She might have tried to keep details, but the other party had not, as it was part of his request to let this seemingly unassuming girl with no feats to her name into U.A. in such an unusual matter. He even knew she was his first pick for One for All, but that was neither here nor there. He had already passed it to someone else.

"Back to it, with that in mind, I suggested that he use what little of it he has left to teach the next generation to be better, as cruel as it is to force them to correct the faults of their predecessors, I fear that if we don't, forces like the League will bring only more suffering and death," Nezu explained, as he wasn’t blind to how unfair it was to force the young to make up for their mistakes, but that was just how things needed to be if they wanted the world to have some semblance of peace or guidance through the growing storm clouds.

Midoriya could understand that there were plenty of MLA members her age if a little younger, fresh recruits or children of long-standing members. “Problem is that people my age, heck people Midnight and Aizawa-sensei’s age, were born in this age of peace. Unless something happens, how could you even imagine a world without him? Why would you want to?”

She hadn’t had the best life, but through it all, she held onto the image of All Might, and what he meant so she never truly delved that deep into the alternatives. Into a world where All Might didn’t arrive in time, if he failed, if he retired or God forbid, was killed.

“Don’t forget yours truly as I was also, shall we say, born in this era of peace. It’s only through my curious nature that I ever contemplated about the past as I researched it to learn more about human society.” Nezu added as the conversation continued for the rest of the extra period, and in that time he came to understand something about her.

With the tea finished and the biscuits all consumed, he prepared to end things. “As I thought, you’re different compared to your classmates. You’re fighting for reasons different from them.”

“I’m fighting for my daughter, and people like her. I want a world where such people can find happiness and freedom. One that isn’t so…restrictive by pointless rules.” She corrected him as got up, giving him a short bow before fetching her things and leaving the mammal with some interesting conclusions about her.

“Oh yes, quite different. I’ll have to keep an eye on that one.” He mused to himself but he had much greater things to worry about now, namely the coming raid against the League, set to begin in just a few short hours.

And with that, the chapter closes with Nezu having his first sit-down with Izuku where he learns a little bit more about her, much the same as her learning about him. You might have noticed that I was light on the details of his past, which was the point. Izuku didn't need him to spell it out, and he wouldn't think about the details of him, but what he did show through his actions was more than enough for her to get a good feel for it. Oddly enough, speaking with the principal of the top hero school helped her with her slight crisis of faith that Bakugo unknowingly gave her in the last chapter.