Narration POV
Nezu walked down the halls.
He made his way slowly out of the building, his mind weirdly blank. He had no idea where to go with Arthur, so while he didn't like doing it, he was going to do as he said and let Arthur figure out what he wanted on his own.
He finally came out of the building of U.A. and to the school grounds.
He waited there, for almost half an hour, his button-like eyes fixed on the road leading to U.A.
However while he couldn't think about how to help Arthur as he waited he continued to replay a few details in his head.
"Heroes don't kill. It's the one rule. The only rule. And I broke it."
Such black and white thinking. Such moral absolutism. It was both Arthur's greatest strength and his most dangerous weakness. Nezu had seen it before, heroes who thought the world operated on simple principles, only to be crushed when reality proved otherwise.
But Arthur... Arthur was different. His moral compass wasn't naive optimism; then again maybe it was. There was naivette there sure, but that wasn't it, at least not fully.
The sound of engines pulled him from his thoughts. A bus was coming his way, followed closely by two police cars.
He waited there, adjusting his tie with one paw while the other remained clasped behind his back. His usual smile, the one that unnerved most people with its too-wide grin and glinting eyes, not that he knew that.
The vehicles stopped in front of him with a collective hiss of brakes and the soft rumble of engines winding down.
Students began to file out of the bus like soldiers returning from battle. Some moved with the shaky legs of adrenaline comedown, others looked done with the day, not that he would blame them, others were pretty normal all things considered.
Teachers emerged next. They were again all fine. Except for Aizawa and 13 who were on All Might's back, with Recovery girl at his side, she had done what she could, now they needed to stay in the U.A. facilities.
Police officers stepped out of their vehicles last.
Among them, Nezu recognized detective Naomasa Tsukauchi, one of the few people who knew about All Might's true condition.
"Hello everyone," Nezu called out, his voice carrying that characteristic squeak that somehow commanded attention despite its pitch. "Please direct to the infirmary those of you who have suffered injuries which Recovery Girl couldn't patch up on site."
He looked at Aizawa's and 13's state and couldn't help but have a knot forming in his chest.
"Please All Might, bring them and come back quickly," he instructed.
All Might nodded, his usual booming voice replaced by grim silence as he burst away with his injured colleagues.
Nezu's gaze swept over the students, cataloging each face, noting who was missing. Aside from Izuku Midoriya, who sported freshly wrapped fingers courtesy of Recovery Girl, everyone else appeared physically unharmed.
Mentally and emotionally, however, was another matter entirely.
His attention shifted to the teachers present. Recovery Girl stood among them.
"Yes, I know," she said before he could speak. "Take care, Nezu."
With that, she began to walk toward the building, so as to take care of the teachers.
The police approached the clustered students. Detective Tsukauchi stepped forward.
"We'd like for students to remain here so we can receive a full report," he announced. "A few other officers are already at the scene. USJ will be closed for investigation, I can't tell you how long that will take."
"Don't worry about closing USJ," Nezu replied, he really couldn't care less about a facility. "As for your report and their testimonies, go ahead."
Tsukauchi's expression shifted slightly. "That's a problem. We've taken initial reports just to understand the situation, but one of the students is missing. Arthur Pendragon."
Nezu felt his tail twitch. "Yes, I've been made aware."
"He seems to have had a significant part to play in this incident."
The understatement of the century, Nezu thought wryly.
"Well, sorry to disappoint, but I have no clue where Arthur could be," he said, which was technically true, he knew Arthur was in his room, but not exactly where in his room, so it wasn't quite a lie, not that it would matter if he lied.
It was his sister who held the quirk, polygraph.
"Nezu."
"Honest to god," he replied.
"Fine. When you do find him, please tell him to come down to the station. We have some questions for him."
"Will do so."
Nezu stood there as the students gave their testimonies, one by one recounting their experiences with varying degrees of coherence and emotional stability. Some looked annoyed, Bakugo, predictably, seemed more frustrated by the delay than traumatized by the experience. Others struggled to find the right words, clearly torn between honesty and uncertainty about what they should reveal.
Kaminari and Hagakure especially had trouble stringing their words together. But despite the variations in their individual experiences, all their stories converged on the same crucial point: Arthur killing one of the two Nomus.
The weight of that revelation settled over the assembled group like a heavy blanket. These students had just witnessed their classmate—someone they'd known for mere days—take a life to save theirs. That kind of burden wasn't something a curriculum could prepare anyone for.
"Okay, I think you've badgered them enough," Nezu finally interjected when he saw the exhaustion creeping into his students' faces. "Students, please go back inside and pack your things. The rest of the day's classes are cancelled. I'm deeply sorry this happened."
The students filed past him one after another, their voices mixing into a low murmur of whispered conversations and shared trauma.
Nezu wasn't typically one to eavesdrop, his enhanced hearing meant he got enough unwanted information already, but he caught fragments anyway.
He walked over to Tsukauchi once the last student had passed.
"Bring that kid down to the station soon."
"He'll go there when I find him," Nezu replied smoothly. "Until then, I guess you'll just have to wait."
The words had barely left his mouth when the person in question appeared in front of them, as if summoned by their conversation.
Arthur stood there in casual clothes rather than his hero gear, his eyes still reddened from crying but no longer holding the broken look Nezu had witnessed in his room.
Nearly two hours had passed since their conversation, and while Arthur still looked fragile, Nezu could tell Arthur was much better..
He felt a surge of pride mixed with concern.
Strong kid.
"I'm sorry for leaving the scene," Arthur said, his voice steady despite everything. "Force of habit. Can we do the testimony here?"
Tsukauchi shook his head. "I'd appreciate it more if we went down to the station for yours."
"I'll go down with you to the station," Arthur replied, his grip on Excalibur tightening.
"Thank you for your cooperation."
As Arthur headed toward the back seat of a police car, Nezu felt that familiar protective instinct surge.
"I'm coming with."
Without waiting for permission, he ran after them and jumped headfirst into the seat, his small stature making the maneuver look more comical than dignified.
But Arthur needed an advocate, and Nezu had appointed himself to that role long ago.
They sat in silence as the police car navigated through Musutafu's streets. Nezu watched Arthur from his peripheral vision, noting how the boy's grip on Excalibur's hilt never loosened.
The weight of taking a life wasn't something that disappeared with time or reasoning.
Nezu knew that from personal experience, though his own circumstances had been very different from Arthur's.
Still, the fundamental truth remained, killing changed you, whether it was justified or not, whether you had a choice or not. It was your choice what to make of that change.
Finally, the car came to a stop outside the police station. Arthur moved to open the door, but Nezu stopped him with a gentle paw on his arm.
"Little secret, but cop cars are like limousines, they open the doors for you."
It was a small attempt at levity, and Arthur's faint smile suggested it had worked, at least marginally. The detective opened the door for them just like Nezu had said, and they stepped out onto the pavement.
"Please come with me."
They crossed through the doors of the police station, but their progress was immediately halted by two officers who stepped forward with apologetic but firm expressions.
"I'm sorry, but we can't allow weapons in the premises," one of them said, his gaze fixed on Arthur's sword.
Arthur squinted at the man, and then he said something which left Nezu befuddled, for two reasons the first being that Arthur had been gloomy ever since he came out of his room but now he was smiling a bit and second because of the contents of what he said.
"Hey, I remember you. You're the one I told that Miss Takamura needed someone to listen to her. So did you guys find her someone?"
The transformation in the officer was immediate and striking. His official demeanor was all but replace by a reddened face and some stammering.
"Oh yes, I didn't expect you to... nevermind, yes, I did find her help."
"That's good," Arthur whispered. "Help is good."
"Your weapon?" the other officer prompted, bringing them back to the immediate issue.
Arthur looked down at Excalibur and Avalon, his grip tightening almost imperceptibly around the sword's pommel while his fingers traced the crossguard.
"None of you can hold them, and I'm not leaving them on the ground."
Nezu's befuddlement grew. Nezu already knew Arthur was attached to his hero equipment more than most, but this sounded like a different thing all together.
"I'm sorry, we can't hold them?" Tsukauchi asked, his confusion evident.
"You can't, no. I'd let you try, but they don't like leaving my side."
"Uh huh," Tsukauchi said, clearly processing this unusual request. "Nezu?"
Nezu looked between Arthur and the detective, weighing options and calculating the best approach. Arthur's earlier breakdown had been triggered, at least in part, by being separated from his usual sources of comfort and strength. Forcing him to abandon his weapons now could undo whatever progress had been made.
"Please, if any of my good graces count for anything, don't have him leave them on the ground. And it isn't like he's being detained, is he?"
Tsukauchi scratched the back of his head. After a moment of internal debate, he sighed. "Well then, just please don't draw it, Arthur."
"I won't draw her, don't worry," Arthur replied, and again Nezu noted the gendered pronoun, it hadn't been the first time he had heard it and yet he had never asked him why.
Still Nezu had to let his inquiries go as with that resolved, they walked into the building proper. Tsukauchi led them down a corridor lined with interview rooms, each one designed to be as non-threatening as possible.
"Sit there," Tsukauchi instructed, opening the door to one such room.
Nezu started to follow Arthur inside, but Tsukauchi's hand on his shoulder stopped him. "You can't."
"He's a minor. He needs a guardian at least." The protective edge in Nezu's voice surprised him with its intensity.
"I let you bring the sword in. You give me this."
Nezu was prepared to argue further, Arthur had been through enough today without facing an official interrogation alone, but the boy himself intervened.
"Nezu, it's fine. Really," Arthur said, managing another small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "You stay out here."
The door closed behind him with a soft click, which Nezu didn't like one bit, no sirey.
"Come on," Tsukauchi said, his voice gentler now. "You don't have to stay here. We'll go behind the glass, you can watch from there."
"Thank you, Tsukauchi."
"Don't worry about it."
They made their way to the observation room, where Nezu settled into a chair that was comically oversized for his small frame. Through the one-way glass, he could see Arthur sitting alone at the metal table, his posture straight and yet relaxed.
Soon, another person entered the interview room, and Nezu recognized her immediately.
She had mid to lower back length, jet black hair parted to the right, green eyes, and a distinctive beauty mark at the corner of her mouth. She was wearing a professional one piece suit and she had papers in her hands which she placed down on the table before taking seat.
Makoto Tsukauchi.
Naomasa's younger sister and holder of the quirk Polygraph, the ability to detect lies by monitoring the physiological signals of any person she touches. It had caveats like most quirks, for example the person had to be relaxed to fool her and she had to very careful with her questions, so as to leave no wiggle room.
She moved around in her chair for a bit, before settling down, then she looked at Arthur and smiled.
Then she began.
"So you're Arthur. Nice to finally meet you."
A/N: Arthur is a big boy, no more self wallowing, I mean maybe he gets a nightmare or two but he can deal with nightmares, he has a few of those already and if he can't, welp he has Avalon he doesn't need the sleep.
I think 2 hours is a good amount of time to somewhat come to terms with everything. He still is pretty sad but yeah he won't stay in his room. Now he's going to the police station as a witness no less.
Thx for reading. Hope you enjoyed it. Author out.