Chapter 292 - 38

Chapter 38: Hopeless Pessimist, Hopeful Optimists

With a pounding headache, Izuku winced as he opened his eyes and wished that whoever was shining their flashlight into his face would stop.

"Easy there, take it slow."

Izuku also wished they'd stop yelling into his ear.

For the next few seconds, Izuku had no idea where he was or what was even going on. His memories felt hazy. Discombobulated. Trying to remember the last thing that happened to him was like trying to remember the moment right before you fell asleep. Then he felt something soft and warm touch his cheek, and the haze and pain in his head began to lift. If he didn't know better, he'd swore he was being kissed, "Uraraka?"

A dream would explain this, of course. It was the only explanation why he would be getting a kiss. And if this was a dream, then it must be Uraraka.

"Hmph. Young man, you should count your blessings that you said it softly enough that no one in this classroom, without super hearing, could hear you."

Young man? Uraraka doesn't call me that in my dreams… it's either Deku, Izuku… or that one time when I…

Izuku's eyes snapped open as he turned, coming face to face with Recovery Girl, "Welcome back."

Izuku opened and closed his mouth, doing a great impression of a fish out of water before asking, "You… healed me?"

Recovery Girl frowned, "Not counting this against you. You were ambushed, for goodness sakes."

Izuku blinked, "Ambushed? I was on my way to class when…" Then, at last, the full effects of Recovery Girl's work kicked in, and everything came rushing back, "Oh god! Toga! Uraraka!"

Bolting up, which was an almost immediate mistake on his part, he had to steady himself on the nearest object he could grab, which ended up being a desk. Shaking his head, Izuku scanned the room, trying to get his bearings. He was in his classroom, and his classmates were there with him. Some were sitting down, others standing up in groups. Ochako was with their group of friends off to the side. Midnight was off at a far corner, sitting down on the floor next to Himiko, who had her arms wrapped around her legs and her head buried behind her knees. All Might, Aizawa, and Nezu were up at the front of the class.

"Oh good, shitty Deku is finally awake."

Before Izuku had a chance to say anything though…

Wack!

Recovery Girl smacked his hip with her cane, "Will you calm down? You had your lungs forced full of a truly horrible gas. If not for the quick work of Uraraka getting you here and Yaoyorozu making you an oxygen mask to help get some good air back into your system, the effects of that gas could have proved much more harmful than it did to everyone else. I also suspect your lungs burned up some of the gas, though you're lucky that the gas wasn't flammable, or else we might be having a much more serious conversation."

"Everyone else?" Izuku shook his head while Recovery Girl helped lead him to his friends, "What happened?"

"I think you'll get caught up quickly enough," Recovery Girl said sadly before looking at Nezu, "I'm going back to my office to look after the rest that hasn't woken up yet."

Nezu nodded, "of course."

While Recovery Girl left, Izuku looked around at his friends for answers. Tenya stepped forward to quickly explain, "We saw it on the news, when you stepped between Saito and Toga, he used his Quirk to knock you out. It's a gas that induces sleep, like Midnight sensei's, but apparently, it's poisonous. After you were hit, it started to spread out into the crowd."

Izuku's eyes went wide. There had been so many people around them at the time. A Quirk like Tenya was describing could hurt so many people.

"Yeah yeah yeah, and then the fucking nut job got hold of a cop's gun and tried to fucking kill Bun Bitch," Katsuki snarled, his patience all but run out, "Now that Deku's awake can we finally get some fucking answers?"

Izuku's head snapped up, "Wait? Gun?!" Though his alarmed question was ignored and drowned out.

"Someone needs to start talking. We're done waiting," Katsuki growled out, with more than a few students nodding in agreement.

Nezu held up his paws, "Now that Midoriya is up and about, I will tell you everything that we know."

Katsuki pointed over towards Himiko, "I think we should hear it from her."

More agreements from students. Ochako bristled, "She's in no shape to get grilled by you!"

Katsuki looked down at Himiko, "Not asking her to explain anything. Just one fucking question. Is it true: yes or no."

Eijirou nodded, "After everything… Toga has to answer at least that much."

Tenya's hands chopped violently, "After everything, Toga should be given a chance to recover. Or do you not recall Thirteen's lesson on crisis management? People in shock are not good sources of information. Focus on what you can fix first, then worry about getting answers from victims."

Yuuga rubbed his hands together nervously, "Is mademoiselle Toga a victim though?"

Mezou grunted, "She…is… Isn't she?"

"Of course she is. Everything about what happened this morning was staged," Rikidou said.

"Doesn't mean they were lying though," Minoru countered.

Tooru shifted around, "That guy pulled a gun and attacked with his Quirk. You can't listen to someone like—"

"It's all true."

The new voice cut through everything else. Himiko was looking up at them over the top of her knees. "Everything is true."

More mummers spread throughout the class, some more aggravated than others. Before things began to get too heated and someone said something that they would probably regret, Aizawa's eyes flashed red as he grabbed everyone's attention, "Enough. I want everyone back in their seats. We need to have this over so you all can be sent home like the rest of the school."

Izuku's head tilted to the side. Ochako answered for him, "U.A. sent the students home. Things got… kinda crazy for a bit. So besides our class, everyone else is gone or leaving."

"Oh…Wait? Everyone?" It began to dawn on Izuku just what that meant, "Oh no." It wasn't just his class that knew now. With all those reporters, all those cameras… the whole country must know.

Ochako read his mind, "Yeah."

Slowly, the class began to return to their seats. A small nudge from All Might got Izuku's group to move back as well, though they cast glances back at Himiko, who was watching the class carefully. Mei ended up sitting on Tsuyu's desk, but neither seemed to mind. Nezu, once everyone was sitting, moved to stand before the class, "I suppose there's no need to tell you all what we were going to talk about originally this morning…"

So Nezu talked. Talked the class through Himiko's past. How her parents reacted to her Quirk and forced her through Quirk suppression therapy. How going years without blood had caused her to build to a psychological breaking point. Her attack on her classmate Saito. Her escape to the streets and being found by Stain and everything that followed. The death spiral she was tumbling down until her fateful encounter with Izuku. Her contact with the police and the deal struck between herself, the school, the Hero Public Safety Commission, and the police departments. Finally, Nezu explained why he and the school did what they did. Why did they take such an unprecedented risk?

To save her life.

Nezu had said his piece, during which Himiko had been led out of the class, with Midnight by her side. Now that everything was out in the open, he told the class to go home. U.A. had many things they had to deal with, so at least for the next couple of days, classes would be halted. More than a few wanted to ask more questions, but Nezu asked for patience. He knew they wanted to know more than just Himiko's backstory. They wanted answers for what had just happened too. But like them, the school also had questions about the morning's events. So before he could answer their questions, he had to get answers to his own. The teachers left, encouraging the students not to linger and telling them to avoid the press. As things stood, it would be in everyone's best interest to let the school handle things from here on out.

One by one, the class began to leave. None satisfied and with still more questions that they needed answers for. But they knew a lost cause when they saw one. Pushing for anything now would only get them in trouble.

But not everyone left quickly.

Or quietly.

"OI! DEKU!"

BOOM!

Katsuki's hands slammed down on Izuku's desk, smoke and fire puffing out from his palms as he slapped his hands down. "The teachers might have clamped up, but you need to start talking."

Izuku winced as the fading headache he had been recovering from the whole talk was pounded back into reality as the explosions from Katsuki's palms ripped Izuku from his own thoughts. With a groan and more snark than he would have thought wise when dealing with the explosive teen as he was, Izuku answered, "Kacchan, what else do you think I know? You just learned everything about Toga. What else do you want?"

It wasn't Katsuki who answered but Hitoshi. "How long have you known?"

Izuku glanced over at Hitoshi and Tsuyu, who were both standing off by themselves, obviously putting some space between the rest of the squad. Out of their group, they had been the last two to be kept in the dark.

"Hosu City. I learned about it there. After we were… ambushed by Stain, and Toga got hurt. He had said some things to her, and she had said some things to him as well. Tartarus was also involved, they had… they were mistreating her. Hurting her while she was recovering."

"I can attest to that as well," Tenya added. "Their treatment of her was inhumane."

Katsuki scoffed. "So it took it getting spelled out for you to confront her, huh?"

Ochako groaned, "She told us, you idiot. After everything, she decided that keeping the lie going wasn't going to do anything but hurt us." Noticing a pair of frowns, she looked over at Tsuyu and Hitoshi, "And immediately after we got back, she was going to tell you guys. That's why you were called to Principal Nezu's office. She wanted a chance to tell you guys first before the rest of the class."

Kyouka pulled at one of her jacks, "So the school decided it was best to tell us then? Doesn't make much sense. If this was supposed to be kept under wraps–"

Izuku shook his head, "There's no way this would have happened unless Toga wanted everyone in the class to know. You can't make Toga do anything she doesn't want to. So if our class was going to learn about her, it was because she wanted us to know. Because she trusted us."

Tsuyu glanced over at the corner Himiko had been sitting in while Nezu talked. her eyes sad."Trusted us… kero…"

"And if she didn't want to come forward. How long would you have kept her secret from us?" Katsuki growled. He wasn't looking at either Ochako, Shouto, or Tenya. His eyes were on Izuku.

Izuku glared back, "From us, or from you, Kacchan?" Izuku swung his backpack onto his shoulder. "Why are you really so upset?"

"Deku," Katsuki hissed through his teeth, "watch what you–"

"Because I bet you don't care one bit about what Toga's done. It's that you were kept in the dark. You don't like that something was going on that didn't involve you. So you weren't the center of attention."

"I don't like being made a fool of, Deku, and I blow the fuck up the people that try," he and Izuku were face to face now, "And if you think I'm going to let you make a fool of me–"

"News flash, Kacchan, I have a lot of secrets," Ochako stiffened as Izuku spoke, "and just because I'm willing to forgive you and move on doesn't mean I'm going to trust you with them. You haven't earned that right, Kacchan."

Before things could spiral out of control, Tenya put an arm between them while Eijirou carefully pulled Katsuki back. "Easy man. We're all on edge and still soaking this all in. Let's just do what the teachers said and go home. Plus, Midoriya still has to be a little off from getting jumped earlier. You don't want to pick a fight while he's like that." Angry eyes glared at Eijirou, but he wasn't put off and just made sure the two were out the door before anything got started. Slowly, more classmates followed while the squad stayed around each other..

"Iida," Hitoshi started, drumming his fingers on a desk, "You were defending Toga pretty hard while everything was going on."

A few heads turned. Iida nodded in confirmation. "I did. So did Todoroki."

"But Toga was trained by Stain. And he attacked you guys in Hosu City."

A few more heads turned as classmates stopped leaving the room.

"We… were attacked, yes. And she was too. Stain also injured Toga terribly."

"And you're just alright with everything? You were acting like everything was normal when you got back."

Hitoshi wasn't raising his voice, in fact, he was calm and collected as he questioned Tenya. Iida was a little unprepared to be the one getting questioned, as he wasn't the closest to Himiko. At least compared to Izuku and Ochako. "Shinsou, why are you asking me this?"

"Because it was your brother that was almost killed by Stain. Out of everyone here, you got hurt the worst by this mess." Every eye remaining in the class was looking at Tenya now. "I guess I want to know how you've just been able to put Toga's past behind you."

Tenya was quiet, his features stiff as he looked at Hitoshi, then at the rest of his remaining classmates. Finally, he answered, "I didn't."

"Eh?" Mina poked her head through the door of the class. Along with a few of the other students that had left.

Tenya took a breath. "I will tell… all of you the exact same thing I told Toga after I learned the truth. From her and from Principal Nezu. I don't think Toga is a good person, but I don't know that for certain yet. The things she has done are not actions that I can simply overlook." He glanced at Izuku and Ochako when he said that. "The way she acts in class, her obvious disregard and contempt for rules. The way she fought during the villain attack… Toga called herself a monster, and if you look at her past… I don't think there are many that would argue with her.

"But when you look at her actions here, yes, she's vulgar, and yes, she breaks rules when she thinks she can get away with it or because she doesn't care, but look at the reason behind her actions. Her joining U.A. Selfish? Yes, but," Tenya gave Izuku a nod of approval, "she chased after the first good thing that had happened in her life in years. A monster wouldn't have recognized a life-saving chance like that. During our first day, she assaulted Bakugou," somewhere in the hall, a very dangerous growl echoed, "but think of the reason behind her actions. Bakugou was charging Midoriya. She was acting to protect someone."

Tsuyu rubbed her hands together. "Then there was the USJ."

Tenya nodded, "Yes. Tsu, you've said that Toga saved your life. But that wasn't the only time she put herself in danger to protect someone. Toga fought multiple members of the League of Villains while Uraraka worked to resuscitate Midoriya, even putting herself between them and the Nomu. Yes, the way she fought was… exceptionally brutal, and now that we all know how she was trained, it makes more sense, but she didn't kill anyone. A bloodthirsty monster would have jumped at the chance. She didn't. She'd even taken measures to keep her Quirk a secret from us, even though this very act mirrored how she was mistreated and abused by her own parents."

Tenya paused as he let his words sink in. "Toga is… a mass of contradictions. She has committed evil, unspeakable acts for her own selfish enjoyment or to please others she looked up to. At the same time, she has done things that are truly heroic. Saved lives, and protected others even at great cost to herself. I can't overlook the bad things she's done, but at the same time, I can not ignore her rehabilitation with U.A.… or the effect it has had on her. Nor can I ignore the good she has done and can potentially keep doing. I told Toga she was not a monster, but she was not a good person. She was something else. Or, maybe she is becoming something else. As her class representative, as her classmate and as her friend it is my duty to her to help lead her down the path Midoriya and U.A. showed her."

Izuku and Ochako were walking down the hall, headed home. After Tenya had spoken, the general feeling of the class was that no more needed to be said, for now. They all needed time to figure things out themselves, and any more outside interference would be unwelcome. As they walked, Izuku noticed Ochako's head was on a swivel. She was scanning the hall and double-checking corners. It would've been funny if she hadn't told him about her fight to get to their class.

Still, there was being careful, and then there was being paranoid. "Uraraka. We're pretty much the last ones leaving the school. There isn't anyone in the halls."

While their class had been in its meeting with Nezu, the rest of the student body had been dismissed.

Ochako huffed, "until we're home, I'm not taking any—"

"Ah Young Mido—"

"Ahhh!" Ochako leaped out of her skin, whirled around and threw a punch that connected with a smack that echoed in the, now obviously not so empty, hallway. Ochako blinked a few times, startled to see her fist totally enveloped in a giant hand. Only realizing that it was All Might's a few seconds later.

"If I didn't know better, Young Uraraka. I'd think you were angry with me. A punch after shooting me in the face. Could make a hero weep."

Izuku looked between the two, "Wait, she shot-?"

"Don't worry about it!" Ochako quickly moved to cover up that little slip-up. "It's fine. Everyone is fine. I'm just wound a little… tight right now."

"…But All Might said you shot him?"

Groaning in embarrassment, Ochako covered her face with her hands and started floating up towards the ceiling. "I had my support gear on."

"The rubber bullets?"

"Yes. You were hurt, Toga was out of it, and the school was going nuts so I wanted to protect you," Ochako answered with a whimper while Izuku blushed. "All Might surprised me, and I kinda… fired at him."

"Hit me square in the face. A good shot for such a fast draw."

"Please, don't praise me for thaaaat!" Ochako was close to tears.

Izuku rubbed his chin, "but how'd you even get your stuff? Isn't it stored in the wall?"

"… I ripped it open."

Izuku blinked and looked up at Ochako, the slight red spreading over his cheeks getting darker. "You ripped open the wall to get your hero gear. With your hands?"

Ochako was too distracted to see the goofy smile and glassy eyes Izuku was getting at the thought of her ripping open school property. Muscles bulging and eyes blazing. Parts of her uniform tearing open, revealing glimpses of beautiful skin. It was enough to make his legs wobble.

"Yaoyorozu made me a crowbar."

That's still so hot… Wait? WHAT AM I THINKING!?

Shaking himself out of his dirty fantasy, Izuku was grateful Ochako was facing away from him. So she didn't see him quickly work to cool himself down. And wipe the drool from his chin. He was so distracted with being happy that Ochako couldn't see him that he forgot All Might was still there, trying not to smile at his dorky students.

Once Ochako had landed, and both she and Izuku had gotten ahold of themselves, All Might looked them over. "I came here wanting to make sure you two were okay. It seems like my concerns were unfounded." 

Izuku glanced at Ochako before he sighed, "Physically at least."

Ochako frowned and nodded in agreement. "Yeah… How's Toga? She was taken out of the class. Can we—"

All Might shook his head, "No. I think it best if you give her some time. Let Midnight and the teachers help her right now. She is not… stable at the moment."

"If she's not stable maybe we can—" Ochako began, but All Might held up his hand.

"We're having some… delicate talks with her right now. Talks that honestly we should have had days ago."Ochako blinked at that while Izuku frowned.

"About Saito?"

All Might nodded, "Yes. Among some other things. Some issues with the boy… began to develop after the sports festival. We didn't want to distract Young Toga when her first internship was coming up."

Izuku looked at All Might as some pieces began to fall into place. The sports festival was televised, so that must have been how Saito learned about Himiko. But there were other things Izuku didn't have answers to, but by what All Might had just said, about things they hadn't told Himiko, he had a sneaking suspicion All Might would know. "All Might," Izuku began, his mouth turning down as his train of thought led him to a not-so-happy conclusion, "Saito said something about heroes coming to his home and threatening him and his family. Telling them to not ask questions about Toga, and to keep quiet. Do you know what he was talking about?"

All Might flinched hard, something both Izuku and Ochako noticed. Izuku's glare at All Might hardened, and All Might found himself wishing he wouldn't look at him like that. Not that he could blame Izuku. This was a messy situation that had just blown up in everyone's faces, with no telling what kind of damage and fallout was going to come.

"It's a delicate matter that we—"

"All Might," Izuku cut in, "What did U.A. do to Saito?"

The harsh tone in Izuku's voice shocked Ochako. When she looked at him, she was startled at the look in his eyes. It reminded her a little of Inko, back when she had first met All Might. It had been one of the few times she had seen the woman angry, and it was genuinely scary. Still, that Izuku sounded like he was trying to stand up for Saito was also concerning. "Deku, he pulled a gun on Toga. He gassed the crowd, you, trying to hurt her."

Izuku's eyes swept over to her. He had learned about that while Nezu had been explaining everything. It had been a huge shock at just how far Saito was willing to go, still, "Am I supposed to treat him any differently than I treat Toga? I learned what Toga went through and what she did before I decided she was still my friend. That she deserved a chance. I can't… I can't make a decision without knowing what happened to Saito. I'm not excusing him, he was… he was so angry and beyond reasoning with. He wanted to hurt Toga before he snapped and pulled that gun. I need to understand. Don't you?"

Ochako wasn't sure what to say to that. While Izuku had been unconscious when things had turned horrific, she had seen it all. The look in Saito's eyes when he pointed that gun. For a brief second, they reminded her of the eyes the villains that had attacked the USJ had. That Tomura Shigaraki had. All anger and hate. It was so hard to try and see Izuku's point of view after seeing Saito like that.

"I can't get into everything. Not out here… and probably not in private because, like everything regarding Young Toga, there is enough red tape to strangle a mountain. But… after Saito and his parents contacted the police, the Hero Public Safety Commission stepped in. As they… have a hand in Young Toga's rehabilitation, they took the lead in how the situation was to be handled…"All Might trailed off, "...No, it's not fair to put this wholly on their shoulders. U.A. agreed to everything that was done, even if we found it distasteful, we went along with it, hoping for the best for all parties. Saito's family was put under a gag order. They were told that the situation with Young Toga was being dealt with and that any interference from them, including attempting any legal methods such as lawsuits or leveling charges against her, would be seen as an act against the welfare of the state. And would be treated accordingly."

Izuku looked disgusted, "So his family was threatened."

"In exchange for them following this ruling, the family would be provided with monetary and other means to ensure they suffered no lingering effects from the decision. Such as donations to school funds, or counseling for the boy. Things like that… Essentially the Commission offered them a choice. The stick, potential legal consequences if they pushed the subject, or the carrot, a bribe of money if they dropped it. Last I heard, the boy's parents had taken the bribe. Though I don't think the Commission has followed through with their end of the bargain yet… And it seems that Saito did not agree with his parents' choice."

Neither Izuku nor Ochako said anything.

"We weren't… happy with how things were handled, but as I said, we ultimately agreed to it. At the time, the alternative posed too great a risk to the progress we had made with Young Toga. We didn't want to undo all the good we had achieved with her. That you had achieved with her."

Izuku huffed. "Well, a fat load of good it did in the end. I can't even imagine what's going through Toga's head right now. Her world just got pulled down around her."

"No one saw this coming. Everything that happened today, I don't think even Nezu had any idea this was going to happen."

Ochako frowned. "What did happen? Those reporters, Toga getting lured out… This is more than just one angry boy making phone calls."

"Tartarus," Izuku replied bitterly. "They were so mad after Hosu, I bet they did this."

All Might shook his head. "We don't know, Young Uraraka. While some of us are working with Young Toga, the rest are working to get to the bottom of this. A great many things had to have gone wrong to get here. We are going to find out what. As for Tartarus…Young Midoriya, I can not believe it was them. As I said, they are a part of the system and have had disagreements with the hero community before. Some nasty ones at that. But they remained loyal to the cause. For them to go rogue, it's just not possible."

"Maybe not all of them, but a rogue agent. One of the officers at the hospital? Like that Officer Shishikura?" Izuku pushed.

All Might didn't say anything at first. Izuku and Ochako looked up at him, and it seemed the idea wasn't that extreme. "We are looking at all possible angles."

Izuku crossed his arms. "What other possible answers could there be? Unless the police force or the Hero Public Saf—"

"Young Midoriya," All Might cut in, "I understand you are upset, but this line of thought isn't going to help anyone. You need to trust the branches that help us heroes."

"Even when you just admitted that those branches are involved in shady tactics?" Izuku countered.

Ochako crossed her arms too. "Maybe they decided Toga was worth the trouble and red tape?"

"No. The Commission wouldn't do that. Not after everything. Please let the teachers figure out what is going on. I don't want you both to start feeling this paranoid about things. Getting jaded this soon to every support system we heroes have is not healthy, nor will it help you in the future. As I said, they are part of our world, and if you turn your backs on them, you're cutting off your own potential as professional heroes." All Might put his hands on their shoulders. "Please. I'm asking you to trust me on this. We will get to the bottom of this."

While he couldn't blame the two, All Might wished that their replies that they would trust him hadn't been so subdued. Besides the assumed betrayal of trust from the forces meant to support heroes, they had caught a glimpse of the more unfortunate side of being a hero. The political side. The back room deals and settlements. The methods to keep the world spinning.

"IIIIIIIIIIZZZUUUUUUUUKKKKUUUUUU!"

After pushing through the raging rapids of tears that burst through the front door to his home, Izuku was pulled into a hug that he was sure was going to crack him in half. "M-mom! I'm fine!"

"I saw everything on the news! Oh I was s-so-so worried!"

Inko kept sobbing, and Izuku's struggles only got worse when a vice-like grip latched onto his leg. Eri had wrapped her little arms around his leg and wasn't letting go. It took a few minutes before he was finally able to dislodge his family and fling himself onto the couch. Eri quickly scurried after him and sat next to him on the couch. Izuku reached up and gently patted her on her head.

"Where's Ochako?" Eri asked.

"We were both pretty exhausted, so she went home."

"She let you come back here by yourself?" Inko asked, surprised.

Izuku rolled over to look at his mother. "I'm perfectly able to take care of myself, you know. She was tired from everything, so I told her to go home."

Inko tapped her chin. "Told?"

"Yeah." Izuku decided to not bring up the almost fifteen minute back-and-forth the two had before he practically had to shove her into the bus to let it take her home. He was almost certain he was gonna have to pay for that later, but he was too tired and stressed out to worry about it now.

Inko sighed, before looking at Eri. "Eri. Why don't you go to your room and play? I want to talk with Izuku."

Eri looked up at Inko, eyes big and wet. "Awwwww. Can't I stay?"

Inko shook her head. "I want to talk with him for a bit. Alone."

Izuku winced.

"Is this about the TV stuff? She didn't let me watch it and made me go to my room. But then you got hurt, and she screamed, and I came out then, and…" Eri trailed off, and Izuku didn't have to guess at what she must have seen.

"I'm fine now. Recovery Girl fixed me right up, so you don't have to worry."

"And what about all the other stuff? I thought the TV mentioned Himiko, but I didn't really hear it because Mrs. Midoriya was crying so much."

Inko started to look distressed but Izuku pulled out the one card he knew grownups everywhere used when they didn't want to talk to little kids about something. "We'll tell you about it when you're older."

Clearly not happy with being sent away, since she had been worried about him too and she wanted to stay near Izuku just to help make sure he really was alright, Eri was ushered into her room, and once the door was closed, Izuku shifted on the couch nervously as Inko took her seat, her movements stiff as she visibly worked to keep her emotions from exploding all over the place. "Izuku. I need to know what's going on. If the things I saw on the news are true and Toga is a—"

"Is a what?" Izuku hadn't meant to snap like that. But after everything that had happened in the past couple of hours, it felt like the best response to anything was to get defensive. It was easy to fill in what others were going to say what Himiko is. 'Toga is a monster,' 'Toga is a villain.' But immediately after, Izuku looked at his mother guiltily. "Sorry I…" Izuku covered his face with his hands and let out an exasperated sigh. "...I didn't mean to…"

Inko softly looked at Izuku and wrung her hands. "No, I should choose my words better." Inko took a breath. "Did Toga do the things the news said she did?"

"...Yes."

Inko's voice quivered. "And what that… that boy said… before he…?" Inko could hear the accusations still fresh in her mind. There was a difference between hearing them from a news broadcaster and from a victim.

"Saito. His name is Saito… and yes. It's true."

Inko gripped her seat tightly, afraid that if she let go, she might start sinking into the floor. She had hoped there was some mistake. Some horrible mistake in identity. That the girl she had let into her house, let be around her son, and now Eri was not the person she had heard described on the news. It was all she could do not to start having anotherpanic attack. But as she sat, fighting to not freak out, it hit her that Izuku, besides being stressed and exhausted from the morning events, was unbelievably calm.

Way too calm for someone that had just found out his friend was a killer.

"Izuku? You've known about her, haven't you?"

Izuku was slow to answer. He pulled at his hands and fingers before finally answering. "...Since I was in Hosu City Hospital. While we were recovering, that's when Toga told us… told me."

"Us?"

"Me, Uraraka, Tenya and Todoroki."

Inko closed her eyes, as she tried to come to terms that her son knew about Himiko. That he had known and hadn't told her. Also, learning that some of his friends knew also stung. That Ochako knew too, almost felt like a betrayal. She had trusted Ochako with her son. Ochako had promised to keep her boy safe. Was this not her breaking her promise? Letting Izuku keep such a secret, such a dangerous and horrible secret, had led to her son getting attacked and hurt. To let her son be around someone so dangerous and to keep this secret from her, Ochako had let her son get hurt because of it.

Had Ochako betrayed her trust?

Inko's grip on her chair tightened even more. She wanted to scream, but she didn't. She made herself think. Ochako wouldn't do something that she would think would hurt Izuku. No, there was something more to this story than the things Himiko had done and the secret being kept around her by Izuku, his friends and if the news was right, the school. They had also only learned about it a few days ago, while they were recovering from yet another villain attack. After such a traumatic experience, maybe it made sense that no one had a chance to say anything. Maybe that was why no one had told her.

The injuries, the recovery, and now a dark secret. When would her son have the moment to even digest it all?

But it wasn't just Izuku that had been hurt. Himiko had been too. She had almost lost her life. And before they had left, as Izuku told it, he, Ochako, and Himiko had decided to continue their journey as heroes together. That had to mean something. More now than ever, now that Inko knew about the things Himiko had done. You don't just make that kind of commitment with a killer. With a monster like the news and that Saito painted Himiko as.

So Inko fought to keep herself from assuming the worst, fought to keep herself from imagining the most horrible ideas from her head, and as calmly as she could, looked at her son and said, "Izuku. Please. Tell me everything."

So Izuku did. Starting from the beginning, he told Inko everything.

After he was finally done, Izuku watched his mom carefully as she digested everything he had told her. He was getting worried because she was still just sitting in her chair and hadn't said anything once he had started, letting him say everything in one go. And now, instead of saying anything,Inko just sat and stewed. Izuku pulled at his hands, afraid to say anything now, but the quiet was beginning to make him nervous. His mother was very open about how she felt about things, so for her to be quiet and keep her thoughts to herself like this was even scarier.

"M—"

Ring

Ring

Ring

Izuku almost jumped out of his skin when the phone started ringing. He started to get up to answer it, but Inko was out of her seat first. Izuku gulped as she walked by, her face an unreadable neutral. Her face tightened when she picked up the phone and looked at the caller I.D.

"Hello, Midoriya residence." Inko listened patiently to the person on the other end. "Yes, I agree a meeting is in everyone's best interest," Inko replied icily.

Izuku blinked, Meeting?

"Yes, I will be available." Inko listened, then answered. "No, I can make it there myself." Another pause. "Yes, we do have a lot to discuss. And you said all the parents are going to be there?" A long pause and Inko's face was slowly becoming less neutral. "Good. Because I have a lot to say… Yes. Goodbye. Until tonight."

Hanging up the phone, Inko glanced over at Izuku. "That was U.A. There is going to be an emergency parent-teacher meeting tonight with the parents of your class." Izuku didn't have to guess what the meeting was going to be about. "The school is sending transportation to make sure all the parents are able to attend."

"Makes sense," was just about all Izuku could think to say. His mother was keeping her thoughts to herself and Izuku couldn't get a good read on her.

"I need to get ready. I'll…" Inko looked away as she walked off. "I'll leave some money for you to order some dinner later. You'll need to look after Eri tonight."

And she was gone into her room, leaving Izuku to wonder just what she was thinking and what she was planning on doing at the meeting.

"This is NHA news, coming to you with up-to-date reports on the ongoing crisis at U.A. While the school has yet to release any official statement, other organizations have commented on the events this morning and on the subject of Toga Himiko. Tartarus, the organization responsible for the secure imprisonment of the country's most heinous villains released this statement:

"We are deeply disturbed by the decisions and actions of the U.A. Taking in a known dangerous suspect and circumventing the system this country has put in place to safeguard its citizens, for whatever reason, is naive at best and criminally dangerous at worst. While we can not speak on the process that this decision was made, we were only made aware of the move after everything was finalized. We are deeply disturbed that our experience with villains was not used when deciding the best course of action. However, we stand ready to help ensure the people that we are ready to make sure that no monster will be a risk to them."

"When asked if that meant they were applying to have Toga moved to their facilities, even though she is still a minor, Tartarus stated that they will do what is necessary to protect the people from the evils of this world."

Click

"—arents of Toga Himiko. Our reporters were able to get this statement from them:

"We're so sorry. There's no way we could ever make up for the horrible crimes and actions she have done. We tried, we tried to make her normal but no matter what, there was no changing her. We could never exorcise the demon inside her. She is a broken thing. When we were told, and let me reiterate, told, by the Hero Public Safety Commission that U.A. was going to be taking custody, we hoped, we hoped that U.A. would have been able to contain her. Keep her locked up. At least it wouldn't be a prison, but we had no idea they were going to turn her into a student and pretend nothing had happened? What could they have been thinking? She's not a normal child, did they really want her so that they could make her a hero? It's absurd!"

"When pressed about what actions they took to try and cure their daughter—"

Click

"The president of the Hero Public Safety Commission has released a statement, condemning the acts taken against the school. The president's statement failed to address the issues of Toga Himiko, and instead, after confirming their support for U.A. focused on the questions and accusations leveled against their organizations."

"Let me address one last thing. The Hero Public Safety Commission does not, nor have we ever, used the school systems to find or train agents that work outside of the law. These rumors of spies and assassins are the mad ramblings of degenerates, villains, and failed members of our society to chip away at the foundation the Hero Public Safety Commission has worked so hard to create. Like these failures, these ideas are best left forgotten and buried away from the public's mind."

"When pressed to issue a statement directly regarding the training of Toga Himiko, or if U.A. is now running some kind of villain rehabilitation program the Hero Public Safety Commission replied simply with, 'We will not comment on any involvement between ourselves, U.A., and the student at this time. The issue is sealed by court ord—'"

Click

"—fical statement regarding the apparent unintentional release of documents regarding Toga Himiko. Per anonymous sources, there was a system error that released the documents for public viewing while the court computer and networks were updating. The error was quickly fixed but not before the documents were sent to news networks all over the country. There is no word on just who was able to distribute the leak so quickly nor who was responsible for organizing the reporters to be on site. Another anonymous source stated that the reporters were given a hint that a massive story surrounding U.A. was going to drop within the hour and that they must be on site when it happened.

"With the documents now resealed, comments from the Hero Public Safety Commission, Tartarus, the Police Force, and the families of Toga and Saito have become left as the only official statements about the events of this morning. There has still been no statement from U.A.

"Another mystery is why Saito, the alleged victim of Toga, was on-site as well. Some have called into question the—"

Click

"It's all over every channel."

With an annoyed and disinterested grunt, Tomura dropped the remote and went back to his drink. "It was great this morning, but come on, now all the news is doing is just repeating the same clips over and over and over again."

Kurogiri watched the TV from behind the bar, cleaning a few glasses as he did. "You were enjoying it when it first came on."

Tomura smirked. "Well yeah, getting to see that brat Midoriya get taken out like that was one of the best things to happen to me in weeks."

"Ouch. Words hurt, you know. I would have hoped some of the people I've found for you would have made you happy." A man, with gray hair, wearing a bright purple suit and scarf around his neck winced sympathetically as he took a drag from his cigarette. "Are you unsatisfied with the people I've introduced to you?"

There was a huff from back in the bar as another man flipped through his phone. A lanky lizard man with bright purple hair, wearing a mask that almost got him dusted right away. Kurogiri poured the man a drink. "We are grateful for your assistance in finding us new allies, Giran. Please do not take offense to Shigaraki's… blunt statements."

"Heh, no offense taken. Nice to hear someone speak their mind for a change."

Tomura waved him off before pointing his thumb back behind him, "He's the only one I like so far. Even if he's just a fan-boy." An annoyed 'hey' was ignored by everyone. "Better than that violent nut job you brought up, or that other guy that had escaped from prison. Fucking creepy bastard."

A growl made a few heads turn as Chimera lit himself a cigar and swirled his drink in his glass, "Those two may be unhinged, but they are strong, which is what you need. Not just someone that likes the same video games as you. Even if they are unstable, a strong leader should be able to control them."

Tomura glared at Chimera, which the giant wolf man didn't care about at all. Giran let out a puff of smoke. "I do have other leads on individuals that may be of use to you. I'll look through them and see if some are… less insane and more down to earth like Mr. Igu… I mean Spinner. No point in having all the strength in the world if you got no brains to go along with it."

"Thank you, Giran. Shigaraki is still recovering so do not feel that you need to rush. Let us use this time to make sure our forces are truly the best fit." Kurogiri said with a bow.

"Yo, Shiga… er, Boss?"

Tomura's eye twitched. "Don't call me boss. That makes me sound old. Just Shigaraki is fine. And what?"

Spinner pointed at the TV, which had a video of the confrontation between Izuku, Ochako, Himiko, and Saito playing again, "I'm pretty sure I know that kid."

Heads turned to look at Spinner, then at the TV. Tomura pointed, "You mean the gas kid?"

"Yeah. I've been talking with this guy for a while now. About fake heroes and how corrupt this society is. Didn't know his real name though, but some of the stuff he talked about made it seem like he had been wronged by the heroes pretty recently."

Giran rubbed his chin. "That kid was screaming a lot about fake heroes and how he had been threatened to be silent about the crap that happened to him."

Tomura huffed. "Knew that bitch was a nut job."

Spinner went on, "Well, after everything on the news, I went to check the message boards, and I just saw he left me a DM. Said he was finally going to get justice and to keep my eye on the news."

Tomura looked up at the screen again, which now had a replay of Saito's attack on the reporters and his immediate capture. "Interesting."

"—and with the way that the U.A. staff was manhandling this poor victim, is it any wonder that he lashed out? While there is no question that this boy must be held responsible for the injuries he caused, one must ask, if U.A. is so dead set on making sure Toga Himiko faces no consequences for her actions, then perhaps U.A. should shoulder the blame for the horrific catastrophe that happened today."

As Vlad King finished reading the news off his phone, Midnight snarled and smashed her fists onto her desk. "Those stupid jackasses! What the hell do they think happened today? And this has to be one of the first reports I've read that actually mentions what that Saito kid did. Not only did he use his Quirk to harm people, but he pulled an officer's gun and took a shot!"

All Might shook his head, "It doesn't look like every station is following the same logic, but none of them seem to want to take responsibility for causing the scene in the first place."

Snipe laughed, "The press? Take responsibility? That's a good joke."

"What about the question that one reporter brought up? About us training assassins for the Hero Public Safety Commission? How many are jumping on that?" Present Mic asked.

Vlad King shook his head, "Not many, thank god. Seems like whatever that crazy woman was trying to stir up got buried when Saito snapped."

Snipe crossed his arms in thought. "They brought up Lady Nagant. That's not a name that's been spoken much in the public for years. Hell of a choice to try and push your story. Especially because of why she's in Tartarus."

"Her story was always odd, I admit, but the contract killer angle is absurd," Vlad King said.

Aizawa tapped his desk. "Out of curiosity, have any of the news stories mentioned whose idea it was to bring Saito here?"

"Not a damned one."

Everyone in the office groaned. Snipe checked his watch. "Midnight, how long is Toga going to be out for?"

"Another couple of hours at least." Midnight said with a sigh. "She'll be asleep until about when the parent-teacher meeting starts." She hadn't liked having to use her Quirk to put Himiko to sleep, but at the rate their conversation had been dissolving, it had to be done. Midnight also suspected Himiko had wanted to be knocked out, seeing as she hadn't done anything to avoid Midnight as she had ripped open a small hole in her costume and had hugged the girl to try and make her stay calm. "Any word about her… request?"

Nezu nodded, "I've been in contact with the president of the Commission. She agreed to work with the authorities to have Saito released back into his parents' custody. And we are working to have any charges brought against him minimized as much as possible. I know Toga wants him off scot-free, but that might not be fully possible. But the Commission does seem to think keeping him out of jail is the best option."

All Might scoffed. "From a P.R. perspective, I'd imagine."

"Oh, most definitely." Nezu took a sip of his tea. "How is your cheek, Kayama?"

Midnight rubbed her sore cheek. "It's fine."

Upon learning that U.A. had been keeping the growing issue of Saito and his family from her, Himiko had lashed out and slugged Midnight in the jaw, knocking her down and leaving her dazed.

Present Mic frowned. "You sure you don't want to go see Recovery Girl?"

"She's been busy all day today. Not going to bother her with this."

"I'm sure she wouldn't…" Present Mic trailed off when Midnight shot him a withering glare. Holding up his hands, he conceded his point.

Not going to heal something I deserve. Toga had every right to be pissed at me for keeping the Saito situation from her.

Aizawa took a sip from one of his energy drinks. "So, what's the word about the leak? Beyond the official statement."

"Not much, I'm afraid. There was a system update this morning. Investigators have confirmed that," Nezu said, "during the update, several files that were designated confidential were released to the public servers. By all accounts, it does look like it was a simple glitch."

All Might shook his head. "Which means it was anything but that."

The teachers all nodded.

"As of now, there has been no evidence of foul play. But," Nezu took another sip, "I was informed that during the system update, there was no documented access to any files in the court and commission systems."

Aizawa frowned, "No documented access? You mean they have no record of anyone logging into their networks? That can't be right. People just doing their jobs would be logged in."

"Well, for when the update was running, it was a complete blank. A common glitch that no one has looked into fixing as it's at most a five-minute window. "

For the teachers, that all but confirmed someone was behind this. It also meant that their list of suspects was zeroing in on someone that had to be aware of that small window.

"So either someone in the courts or the commission," All Might muttered.

"Unfortunately, the police and Tartarus also have access to the network. For when they send in their reports," Nezu clarified.

Snipe tapped the handle of his revolver nervously. "So we have a fox in the hen house. What's next?"

"Nothing," Nezu stated. Then quickly raised his paws to cut off the incredulous outburst he knew a few of his teachers were about to have. "This comes from the top, I'm afraid. The Commission will handle the investigation into the leak. U.A. is not to be involved in it. Too many conflicts of interests and tainted perspectives."

"Tainted?" All Might asked.

"Our recent… disagreement with Tartarus has the Commission worried we might go into any investigation with our minds made up on who's guilty. And we might try and warp the evidence to fit our own personal views and vendettas."

Aizawa shook his head, "We're professionals."

"The Commission knows that. This isn't them saying anything against us. It's the perception they are worried about, how the public would perceive us getting involved in this. And how the other branches would too."

All Might groaned, "I hate politics." Everyone in the room groaned in agreement.

"While they handle the investigation, we are to handle the fallout regarding Toga. We need to evaluate her and make sure she will be able to continue taking part in her studies. We also need to handle the public."

Midnight rubbed her brow. "Getting 1-A's parents on our side will be a good dry run for that. If we can't convince them of what we're trying to do, we have no hope with the rest of the public. Still, it's risky to hold off on our own public statement until we have this meeting with them all."

"Speaking of the parents," Aizawa chimed in. "We were able to get transportation for all of them, correct?"

Nezu nodded. "All parents of the children will be attending. Though, a couple will have to be streamed in. The set-up is getting worked on. Can't do anything else for those out of the country, unfortunately. Or those who adamantly refuse to come."

A string of expletives rocketed out of Midnight's mouth as she thought of the two parents that Nezu was talking about.

Izuku sat quietly on the sofa. Eyes darting from the TV to his phone as he constantly checked the time. Brain a swirl of numbers as he kept thinking, It would take mom about… Then the train would take… So she would have to be at the last stop….

"Eri."

Eri popped her head up from her dinner. "Yes?"

"We're going out. Hurry up and finish, then go get your shoes on, okay?"

Eri glanced down at her almost-finished meal before she scarfed it down and hurried to the hall. "Where are we going? It's already getting dark."

"To my school," Izuku replied as he turned off the TV and walked over to turn off some lights and clean up.

Eri tilted her head to the side and tapped her chin. "But isn't that where Mrs. Midoriya went? To the… um, con…"

"Parent-teacher conference."

Eri nodded. "Yeah, that. Are we allowed to go there?"

"Probably not."

Eri gasped. "Are we being naughty?"

Izuku held up his hand, and almost pinched his finger and thumb together. "Tiny bit."

"Yay!"

Any other night and Izuku might have been a little concerned at how excited Eri was to break some rules. No idea where she could be getting that from.

"We aren't going to the meeting. We're going to see my friend… so it should be fine… mostly. You don't have to worry though. Okay?"

Eri nodded and began to tie on her shoes. Izuku put Eri's dishes away and did a quick sweep to make sure everything was good to go. Clapping his hands together to psych himself up, Izuku turned off the last of the lights.

Oh, Uraraka's here.

"Eri, get the door for Uraraka."

Eri blinked a few times before opening the front door. Ochako was standing there, hand held up to knock. Startled, Ochako recovered. "Oh! Hello, Eri," Ochako said with a smile. Noticing she was dressed to go out, she patted the girl's head. "Are you going somewhere?"

Izuku walked into the hall and sat down as he grabbed his shoes to put them on. "I'm going to go see Toga."

Ochako didn't look surprised at all. She just nodded. "Same. Thought I'd swing by here and see if you wanted to come with me."

"Heh, great minds think alike, I guess," Izuku mused with a smile.

Eri looked between the two. "Oh, this must be what Mrs. Midoriya meant." Both Izuku and Ochako looked at Eri questioningly. Eri pointed at them. "She said you two share a brain cell."

Izuku burst out laughing. "I guess we've been around each other long enough that we… Uraraka? Why do you look so offended?"

Ochako puffed out her now-red cheeks. "If there is only one brain cell between us, I'm the one who's always holding onto it, thank you very much."

"Aren't you the one that shot All Might?" Izuku deadpanned.

"Gah!"

After finally getting ready, Izuku and Ochako, with Eri riding on her shoulders, left the apartment and made their way to the train station to get to U.A. As they walked, Izuku picked up his phone and began to type away. Ochako could see he was concentrating as he typed. He kept at it for a good portion of the walk to the station. Whatever he was working on was a long message. When he was done, Izuku looked over what he had written, and then, with a few quick taps, pressed send.

Ochako's phone chirped and she gave Izuku a questioning look. "So what was that?"

"Something for our friends," Izuku said before he explained what exactly he had sent out.

"You must be the Urarakas. It's a pleasure to finally get a chance to meet you. Inko talks about your daughter a lot." Mitsuki smiled, trying to be polite as she walked up to the couple and Inko. "I'm Bakugou Mitsuki and this is my husband Masaru."

Mr. Uraraka bowed politely towards the pair. "Nice to meet you. A shame it's like this…" he trailed off as the group continued into U.A.'s auditorium for the meeting. The two couples looked down at Inko as she walked silently ahead of them.

Mitsuki leaned over, keeping her voice low which would be a surprise for anyone who knew her, and asked, "Has she spoken to either of you?"

Mrs. Uraraka shook her head. "No. She hasn't said a word."

Masaru sighed. "Considering it was her son that got the worst of that horrific confrontation, I'm surprised she was even able to make this. Seeing that poor boy dropped and motionless on the ground like that, I'm sure was a shock to her."

Mitsuki shook her head, "Let's just keep an eye on her. I have a feeling this meeting is going to get into some fucked up shit, and her poor heart might not be able to take it. That Toga… Inko let her into her home. She hung around Izuku and Eri. Her trust must be really shaken." She then looked at the Urarakas. "I'm sure you're feeling something like that too."

The parents nodded. "It… puts our daughter's match against her in a whole… new light."

"Still," Mr. Uraraka rubbed his chin, "even when that other boy… Saito, I think the news said, was talking about Toga, Ochako didn't seem… surprised."

"She looked like she was going to rip that kid's head off before she grabbed Izuku and Toga and carried them away," Mitsuki recalled. "Not really the actions of someone in shock over those horrific claims…" Mitsuki paused as something occurred to her. "Izuku clearly knew something. He was defending Toga and wasn't shocked about anything. Maybe your daughter knew something too?"

Mrs. Uraraka shrugged. "Unfortunately, we haven't had a chance to talk with her. U.A. rushed to get us out here, so we've only gotten to send a few texts. She told us she was okay, but needed time to calm down."

"So I guess you haven't heard anything else about what's going on from your daughter then," Masaru said with a sigh. "Katsuki wasn't in the mood to fill us in either."

Mitsuki frowned, "Damned brat. He needs to grow out of these temper tantrums already." Her eyes then went back to Inko. "Hey, did Izuku happen to tell you anyth—"

Inko practically ripped the door to the room off its hinges as it slammed into the wall, and she stormed into the meeting room, leaving the four to blink a few times.

"Well, that's a fucking yes."

Quickly going after Inko, they moved down the aisle and towards the marked seats that were already filled with parents. Their conversations carried in the large room. Some expressing worry. Some frustration. And some anger. Everyone had something to say. Except in the front row where a large section of seats was noticeably empty, apart from one man sitting alone. It took a second for the group to realize there wasn't a fire burning in the middle of the chairs but a tall man. Constantly on fire and constantly in a bad mood.

Endeavor sat alone in a ring of empty chairs. He'd taken the spot closest to where the teachers were going to sit on stage and it didn't look like anyone wanted to be near that minefield. Even if they also wanted answers from the school.

Mr. Uraraka scanned the remaining seats and found some empty for them. "Looks like we can sit…um…"

Inko just walked forward, further down the aisle, past the seats Mr. Uraraka had spotted, and towards the empty front. Finding the next closest chair to the teachers, Inko sat down.

Right next to Endeavor.

Endeavor tilted his head to the side, giving whoever had sat next to him an unfriendly frown that was enough to scare some of the villains he'd put away, but paused when he took notice of who was sitting next to him.

Huh, the boy's mother.

His eyes shifted over to the two pairs of parents. One woman pushed past the rest and sat down next to Inko, giving her a worried look. The others soon followed suit. Endeavor noted the resemblance between the blonde and the boy that had tied for third at the sports festival and as for the other parents, it was obvious who their daughter was. Looking back down at Inko, Endeavor gruffly offered, "Perhaps you'd be more comfortable at a different seat. My fire tends to make people uncomfortable this close. Burns can be very painful."

Inko, without even hesitating or looking at the hero, replied curtly, "I'm touched you're so concerned. Perhaps you'd be more comfortable sitting back in the second row."

Mitsuki's eyes almost popped out of their sockets as her head whipped around to look at Inko. The Urarakas looked like they were ready to grab Inko and run while Masaru tried to fade into his chair.

Inko looked up at Endeavor, and not put off at all by the increased flames coming off his body, stated, "I'm here to get answers. I don't have time for anything else. Understand?"

Endeavor recalled the way Inko's eyes burned the last time they had met; when he had talked about her son. That look was back, but at a whole new intensity. And considering what had just happened to her son, Endeavor wasn't exactly surprised. Deciding that this wasn't a fight worth his time and energy, he grunted and asked, "How is your son?"

"Recovering at home." The brief, tense pleasantries quickly ended, and both parents turned their attention back to the platform, waiting for the teachers to finally appear.

Before Mitsuki could ask what the fuck that was about, the door to the platform opened, and staff began filing in. While the teachers, dressed in suits for the meeting, made their way to their table, Power Loader walked over to a desk and began opening up a few large laptops and connecting them to speakers.

Inko scanned the teachers in attendance and listed off their names, Principal Nezu, Midnight, Eraserhead, Ectoplasm, Vlad King, Cementoss, Snipe, Hound Dog, Present Mic, and then finally, All Might.

All Might looked over the now hushed crowd and scanned the different faces looking back at him. Normally, when he took the stage, people would be cheering. Hearing hushed whispers and receiving varying types of unhappy gazes was a new one for him. He found Endeavor immediately and sighed, having a strong feeling that the other hero was going to be the big obstacle for the evening. Then he saw Inko and wished he was a bit more cowardly, so that he could just leave the stage and not have to face her.

She does not look happy…

Taking their seats, Nezu bowed towards the crowd of parents. "I thank you all for being able to come to this meeting on such short notice. We will begin momentarily after we make sure the parents that could not be here in person are video-called in. It should only be a few moments."

Mitsuki shifted in her seat. An unpleasant feeling now sat in her gut. Parents that couldn't be here in person?

Power Loader then motioned towards Nezu. "I have her parents connected."

Nezu nodded. "Ah good." Turning towards a camera sitting on the monitor, Nezu addressed the newest arrivals, "Mr. and Mrs. Toga. Can you hear me?"

The screen flashed as a large projection screen behind the set-up turned on. Two individuals, dressed smartly, sat in a living room, their faces neutral with almost an air of practice. "We do," Answered Mr. Toga.

A few parents in the seat mumbled amongst themselves, getting their first look at the parents of Himiko Toga, while a few select others noted the pair still looked like they had during their news interviews. More like professionals about to read off a prepared statement than parents wanting to solve the current crisis around their daughter.

Mitsuki swore that the air around her suddenly got colder. Which was bizarre since Endeavor, a man literally on fire, was within arms reach.

The second laptop blinked to life as the large screen split in half when another parent called in and was connected.

Nezu addressed the last addition. "Are you receiving us, Mr. Midoriya?"

Oh my fucking god, noooo.

A few people in the crowd had immediate, if varying, reactions as Hisashi Midoriya appeared. Unlike the Togas that seemed to be streaming from their living room with a camera, Hisashi was in some kind of large office or meeting room on a webcam. So his business attire made sense. At least compared to the Togas.

All Might turned to get his first look at Inko's husband and Izuku's father. So, that's the man?

All Might wasn't sure what he had been expecting. There was more than a passing resemblance to Izuku. Same hair and eye color, even if his hair was slicked back. But while the similarities were there, that just made the differences all the more obvious. There was nothing soft-looking about this man. He extruded an atmosphere of professionalism, strictness, and business. Whatever Izuku got from his father, his mother rounded out the edges, giving her son the kindness and joyful features he had. All Might could see no joy from the man. Of course, the man had just learned not too long ago that his son had been attacked, on top of all the other unfortunate news. While All Might hadn't been the one to make the call, though he felt he should have been, he had watched Midnight make the call and deliver the news. Then receive the immediate backlash.

'Well, he's pissed off,' was all Midnight said after she had hung up.

Still, despite everything, as All Might looked over the man, a couple of things stood out as odd. There was something in the man's eyes that felt off. It was anger and mistrust, but it felt different than what he saw from the other parents. Like there was something mixed in that he couldn't place. Another thing was that, Hisashi was looking into the camera, but for a brief second now and then, would glance to the side, or over it. It reminded All Might of a news broadcaster when something got their attention off-screen. Like a teleprompter or aid.

All Might looked back over at Inko and blinked a few times. Inko, still angry as she had been when he first saw her, now seemed to be in an even worse mood and was so obviously making an effort to not look at the screen her husband was on. On a whim, All Might looked over at Endeavor and saw that he, like himself, seemed to be taking a measure of Hisashi. Since Endeavor seemed interested in Izuku and his Boric Pyre, it made sense he would take a moment to judge the man whom Izuku inherited the Quirk from.

Endeavor seemed unimpressed, but All Might could see the hero's trained eye had also caught the same strangeness from the video call. A slight squint of the eyes and tiniest head tilt made that very clear.

Nezu nodded, satisfied. "Good, then I think it would be best if we begin immediately. Parents, I regret that this meeting had to happen like this. I feel that these parent-teacher conferences should be a chance to bring you news and to praise the work of your children. Unfortunately, the events of today have forced us to have a much less pleasant talk."

"Of today?" Endeavor asked. At the same time, more than a few of the teachers thought the same thing.

And here we go.

"This meeting should be over more than just the events of this morning." Endeavor stood up. "I think I will speak for everyone here when I ask, just what the hell is going on? If even half of what the news has reported and what I was able to gather from the Hero Public Safety Commission before they clamped down is true, then you need to explain yourselves. Now. Your actions are beyond comprehensible. This criminal you have brought into the school, by her own parents' admission, was dangerous and unstable. She is a killer, responsible for more than enough deaths to earn herself a death penalty."

Midnight countered, "Except she is a child, Ruled 'not criminally responsible' for her actions by the courts."

Nezu held up a paw, "Please, we will get to that in time, Midnight."

"I am afraid Endeavor is correct. We also want answers,"Mr. Toga added. "When U.A. took Himiko from us, we were told it was to prevent any more unfortunate incidents. But looking at your actions with her, that was never your intention."

Midnight looked ready to say something, but Nezu beat her to it. "Our actions have always been in both the public's best interests and Toga's."

Endeavor scoffed, "And what actions are those?"

"I understand your desire for answers, Endeavor. I just wish to make sure everyone present is given all the information before we start answering questions," Nezu said as he tried to calm the fiery hero. "No one here has yet to hear the full story. Only the…unfortunately spotty reports on the news and the story from the children of 1-A who were still in the process of digesting the story themselves after a very trying morning."

Endeavor crossed his arms and eyed Nezu carefully. "Are you implying my son might have withheld information from Fuy– from me?"

Nezu shook his head. "Not in the slightest. I'm sure the children relayed everything they could to the best of their abilities. I'm simply saying that if you want to be sure to have the full story, get it from the source."

Endeavor grunted but seemed satisfied with the answer, at least for now, and sat back down. Nezu was about to begin again when a new voice interrupted.

"I'm still wondering how you think your word holds any weight anymore? Before you explain anything about that monster you've decided to house train, perhaps you should explain why you all shouldn't be locked up." More than a few heads snapped over to look at the man in the monitor who had just spoken. The bile and disgust in his voice were matched only by the clear contempt he was directing at the teachers. Hisashi then eyed Nezu hard and finished with,"Or caged."

All Might was thrown for a loop. "Sir, that is an… extremely unfair statement. I'm sure once you've listened to what we are trying to accomplish—"

"No, I think right now you need to listen. Especially you, All Might. You may be used to getting your way, this school even flaunts that its teaching methods are unconventional, but none of you are above the responsibility of your constant failures. Even putting your decision to harbor a dangerous fugitive, you've lost all control of the school. And your inability to take even the most reasonable protective actions have put the children, my son, in constant harm's way."

The whole feel of the room changed as the parents watched as a seemingly ordinary man took the teachers to task. Took All Might to task. Endeavor might be able to talk to All Might and the other teachers like this, but this man… Who was he?

Mitsuki felt a blood vessel pop as she exploded. "Since when do you give a flying fuck about any of this? You fucking left the damned country years ago. You haven't been back in years, and I can't even remember the last fucking time you called your own kid! And you want to try and pull this 'concerned parent' crap?!"

Hisashi replied curtly, "I moved to continue to provide for my family. My company had an opportunity for me overseas that would make sure my family would have all their needs met. I make sure my son is taken care of. Unlike you."

Mitsuki growled, "The fuck did you say? You got a lot of nerve!"

"I don't beat my child, Bakugou. Can you say the same?"

"Oh, you mother–!" Mitsuki was about to charge the stage but her husband held her back.

"And to settle your ignorant statement about when I last spoke with my son, we spoke just the other day. He was concerned with the development of his Quirk and was asking me for advice," Mitsuki's eye bulged, "and right after, I was informed of the incident not even an hour ago. Because I live on the other side of the world, the attack had yet to reach me over the news. I attempted to call him at his home. When I got no answer, I called my wife to inquire about his health. She informed me that he was most likely asleep. Recovering from the day's ordeal."

Mitsuki glanced at Inko, who nodded mechanically. Mitsuki swore before she was pulled back into her seat.

Hisashi redirected his attention back to the teachers. "As I was saying, your actions have done nothing to reassure us that you have the capabilities or capacity to control this girl. Within your first week of the school year, you allowed a group of reporters to breach your security, which caused panic inside your school. Worse, it was only settled when a student took some initiative to calm them down. Not a teacher? Where were any of you during this? Then there is the incident at the USJ. Your ineptitude was so unbelievable that you were taken unaware by a rag-tag team calling themselves the League of Villains. An absurd name for a group of thugs. Not only were you, Eraserhead, their teacher and the one responsible for the children's safety, not able to evacuate them. You allowed them to get separated and assaulted by the group."

Hisashi turned his glare towards All Might. "And you were where exactly as this was happening? As a teacher, shouldn't you have been with your class? Instead, you were hopping all over the city, interfering with other heroes who were on duty. Then you were sighted going back to the U.A. main campus. Not the USJ. Where you stayed for an extended period of time before heading out again."Hisashi's voice began to rise, flicks of orange flame escaped from his mouth before he took a steadying breath. "And while you were ignoring your duties, my son was assaulted and beaten to the point of near death. The medical reports are horrific. His shoulder had been shattered and pushed into his body. His skull, cracked. And this isn't the only time your failures have resulted in my son almost dying."

All Might shifted in his seat.

"Your ineptitude almost got my son killed again when you brought him to Hosu City! Where the hero killer was at large! What were you thinking?! The one place in the whole country you shouldn't have taken him, and that's where you go?! No hero worth anything would do that!"

"If there was one place that a hero training a student in the field should have taken their charge, it would be Hosu City."

Hisashi paused and the teachers turned. Endeavor, arms crossed, was looking right at Hisashi. "You are the boy's father, and after the injuries that he sustained on top of the issues you've brought up, I can see why you would question All Might's motives and capabilities. However, let me correct you on something. All Might was not the only hero that night that chose to take their interns to Hosu City. I myself was one as I took my own son there to help with his training."

Hisashi frowned. "You would take your own son?"

"Yes. In Hosu City, Shouto got to see how heroes work in a manhunt, how we coordinate with local authorities, and how we deal with unexpected events. Such as the Nomu attack. The heroes who took on interns have a responsibility to give them the best training we can in that week. Hosu City was the place for that. You are not a hero, nor a member of any police force, so these kinds of events are not familiar to you, but you must understand. The field of work your son aims to be a part of is filled with danger. That is something you must accept."

Hisashi breathed deeply, his hands starting to slither for his suit pocket before they stopped. His eyes wandered before he refocused himself. "Endeavor… sir. Are you saying All Might and the school bears no responsibility for what happened to my son?"

Endeavor looked over at All Might. "In the case of your son, for that specific incident, no. The events that happened that night were beyond anyone's means to predict or control."

"Then who is responsible?"

"The ones that carried out the attack, of course," Endeavor answered simply. "You were raising some excellent points before, but do not try and paint every hero as incompetent because you do not fully understand our field of work and what it entails. I would advise you to refocus on U.A. and not mistakenly insult me or the other heroes that had taken U.A. students to Hosu City. The parents of one such student are sitting beside me, and you don't hear them screaming their ignorance." Endeavor motioned towards the Urarakas, who both went stiff.

Hisashi looked at the two and looked like he was about to say something before he stiffened and turned away. This time, he did reach into his suit pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Flicking out a stick, he didn't immediately light and smoke it. In his hand, he passed it over and around his fingers, like you might see a sleight-of-hand magician do with a coin.

It was a neat trick to watch. Even for a nervous twitch.

While Hisashi was paused, the Toga's whispered to themselves before the husband spoke, "I'm afraid I must agree with Mr. Midoriya. The actions U.A. have taken are not what either of us hoped or expected from such an alleged prestigious organization. The day you took Himiko, you said you would take responsibility and ensure any and all threats would be dealt with. We assumed, as any concerned citizen would when dealing with a horrific villain, that would mean containment from normal people." Mr. Toga paused and then added, "And prompt psychiatric evaluations. I would be very interested in knowing who you brought in to handle that matter. When we inquired with the police and Tartarus about the matter, assuming you would go to them for an expert in this field, we were told that they were not aware of any such hire or consultation."

The Togas had reshifted the attention of the crowd back at the teachers. Midnight snapped back, "The staff here have each been working with Toga to ensure her growth and development. I personally have been leading the initiative as her counselor."

The cigarette in Hisashi's fingers stopped as his head jerked. His eyes darted before he refocused on Midnight. "You? I wasn't aware you were a professional psychiatrist as well as a hero? But I thought it was Hound Dog who was the school's counselor? Forgive me, but what do you do at the school?"

"…Art History."

"Are you all insane? You—"

"Before you add anything, Mr. Midoriya," Nezu cut in, "I would add that Midnight was picked as the best possible candidate to help in Toga's rehabilitation. On the practical side, her Quirk would be able to quickly and safely allow her to ensure Toga could be restrained and calmed down if such an event happened that she was provoked. And on a more personal side, because of the horrific actions of her parents that left Toga like a wounded animal, she does not trust anyone in the field of therapy and psychiatry. Because of that, she needed a more unconventional touch."

A murmur went through the crowd. While the teachers had been weathering an onslaught from the start, this was the first time they had come out and directly blamed someone. The fact it had been Himiko's parents and the implications of what they may have done got the parent's attention.

"HOW DARE YOU BLAME US YOU ANIMAL! WE DID NOTHING WRONG!" For the first time, Mrs. Toga spoke, or screamed. She was off her chair and pointing at the screen. At Nezu. "We did everything we could to make her normal. But she's not. She never was, and she never will be! You were supposed to keep her away. To protect us and the people of this country. To save us the horror of ever having to—"

Mr. Toga pulled his wife back, holding her as they sat back down. "To try to shift the blame of your failure to us just shows that Mr. Midoriya is right. You're incompetent and out of control. For the good of the students, and for us, I feel we should remove Himiko from your custody. You've clearly voided our agreement. We will do what we should have done, despite the shame. She must go to Tartarus. They are the people capable of dealing with this monster."

A look from Nezu kept Midnight, and a few other teachers, from exploding in objection. "Mr. Toga. The Hero Public Safety Commission has stated clearly that Toga is to remain in our custody. Furthermore, I must object to any attempts to remove her. The strides we have made in her rehabilitation over the months would be undone instantly. No, taking her away and then putting her into Tartarus would be the worst possible thing that could be done to her."

"She is our daughter, and we will—"

"How dare you!"

The room jumped in shock as a new voice ripped through the air and cut the Togas off. Inko rocketed out of her chair, ready to go to war. Endeavor was taken aback, not expecting such fury from the small woman, while Hisashi blinked in shock, seeing something he thought he'd never see again. He almost opened his mouth to tell her to wait, but with a jerk snapped his mouth shut and watched. Mitsuki looked ready to reach out and pull her back. But Inko was already on the stage and stalking towards the monitor. The two people inside looked just as startled, if not more so than anyone else in the room. "How dare we… what?"

"Don't you dare call yourselves Toga's parents! After what you did to that poor girl! You've done nothing to give yourself the right to call yourselves her parents."

"We tried to—"

Inko whipped her hand around and pointed to the table where the heroes and teachers were sitting. "Those people have treated Toga more like a daughter than you ever did. They've been trying to help her! You? You abandoned her after your care shattered her soul!"

"We were trying to make sure she was a normal child! We tried to help her!"

"Liar!" Inko stood right in front of the laptop. "If that was true, you would have never taken her to a Quirk Suppression Therapist!"

Vlad King leaned over and whispered to the group, "Shouldn't we be trying to get this under control?"

Midnight shot him a look, "You better not. Unless you want me tearing into them next, and then you later."

Hisashi jerked when he heard Inko mention that last part. "A what?" He then looked at the pair, his gaze hardening and a dangerous glint reflected in his eyes. Small whiffs of smoke trailed out as he breathed. Other parents in the crowd also seemed shocked. They were looking at the Togas differently now.

"If you really, truly, wanted to help Toga, there were avenues you could have taken. Our government has multiple programs for people with Quirks that require special care. One of the very first ones on the list is for people with extreme or unusual dietary needs. It took me less than five minutes to find multiple locations. You could have taken her to one of them. But you didn't. You took her to a place that has long been decried as outdated, dangerous, and cruel. Why?"

"I… We just thought…" Mr. Toga trailed and stumbled. He glanced at Hisashi, looking for the ally he thought he had in going against the teachers. After Hisashi had launched his attack, Mr. Toga thought for sure he would be someone he could count on. But the anger and raw contempt Hisashi was directing at them now was far worse than the way he had looked at the teachers.

"I'll tell you why," Inko continued. "You were trying to save your own reputation! Because you could be anonymous with them instead of signing up with a government agency. You didn't care about her at all. And that horror you just spewed at us, makes it clear you still don't care about her. You aren't her parents," Inko reached out and through her Quirk grabbed the computer's power cord, "and this meeting is for teachers and parents only!" She yanked the cord out, killing the feed and shutting the call off. With a final crack, Inko slammed the laptop screen closed. The sound it gave off made it obvious she had broken it.

Aizawa blinked a few times at the scene and leaned over to All Might to whisper, "And this is the woman you're lying to about training her son?"

All Might gulped loudly.

Inko was breathing heavily while the parents and teachers watched her. As Hisashi watched her. He looked at her as he tried to get a grasp at what he was seeing. This wasn't the Inko he had had brief phone calls with when he had moved away for years. A weak woman who floundered around in life without direction. This wasn't the woman he married and had given birth to Izuku, a calm and loving woman who was happy to settle down and raise a family. No, this was something he thought he'd never see again. Fire and fight, raging against a system and just crazy enough to do something about the things that she hated. A woman, a lifetime ago, he grew up with and saw die on that small decrepit island of Bespin.

Turning, Inko regarded Hisashi with a stern eye. "Anything to say?"

It took Hisashi a second to get himself back on track. "I…"His eyes glanced around. "No. At least not when dealing with those two. For U.A. though, I'm still not satisfied with their actions. And I can't imagine you are either. You must feel they have failed in their responsibilities."

Inko frowned and looked at the teachers. "I am not going to say that I'm happy with everything that has happened so far. But it almost sounds like you are thinking of pulling Izuku out of the school."

Hisashi waited a few moments before he admitted, "The thought had crossed my mind."

All Might stiffened in shock. The idea that Izuku would get taken out of the school had never crossed his mind. That it was even being discussed was alarming, to say the least. However, he did not have a chance to speak as Inko did it in his place, "I don't think we're at that point. I'm not happy, but the things that have happened are so far removed from the ordinary that I can't put the blame fully on them. And at least in regards to Izuku, taking his dream away from him, after all he's gone through, would be cruel."

"U.A. Isn't the only hero school. It's not even the only prestigious one either. Shiketsu has a known reputation for making excellent heroes and is known for taking in transfers. These unusual troubles might be one man's responsibility." Hisashi glared at All Might. "Is it a coincidence that the troubles begin the year he starts teaching? It might be best for Izuku to go and learn somewhere without distractions. Be it from him or the Toga situation."

Inko shook her head. "No, I don't think so. And neither do you, I think." Hisashi tilted his head to the side. "If you really thought that, we wouldn't be talking about it."

Hisashi huffed but didn't say anything.

"I came here for two reasons. To get answers and to confront those two horrible people. I'd like to finally hear what U.A. has to say. Hisashi, I think now is the time to listen. Not to damaged boys on the news, angry Tartarus guards, or reporters that bring up people like Lady Nagant. It's time to listen to the source of the issue."

For a brief moment, the two shared a similar look. No one else saw it, as they were facing each other and not towards the crowd or teachers, but it was there. An understanding about something left unsaid and buried for years. When Hisashi finally nodded in affirmative, Inko bowed to the teachers and walked back to her chair.

Nezu cleared his throat. "Thank you, Mrs. Midoriya. I suppose unless anyone would like to add something beforehand, we will get started."

"Excuse me," a new voice from the back of the room spoke up, "but we would like to say something."