Nezu remained seated long after Junsei had gone, his small frame completely still. He stared at the empty space where the boy had stood, endless questions circling his mind. The silence stretched until the door to his office creaked open.
"Sir" came the booming voice of All Might.
Nezu did not respond.
All Might's voice softened as he looked at the still principal "Sir Nezu?".
All Might stepped closer.
"Sir Nezu?" he tried again. "Is something wrong?"
Nezu seemed to stir at last. He glanced up as if noticing All Might for the first time.
Yes?" he said faintly.
All Might frowned. "Are you okay?"
"Yes. I think. Maybe." Nezu adjusted his position on the chair. "Did you need something?"
"I wanted to ask," All Might said carefully, "how did your talk with Junsei go? I was curious how it all went."
Nezu was quiet for a moment. "I don't know what to make of it."
"Pardon?"
"Nothing I could have thought of," Nezu said, "could have prepared me for him."
All Might's concern deepened. "Are you alright? Did he do something to you?"
"No," Nezu replied. "He merely told me something I did not expect to hear."
"And that is?" All Might asked.
Nezu shook his head.
"It is personal." He leaned back, eyes fixed on All Might. "With all the intelligence I pride myself in, I find myself unable to think. I am experiencing things I never thought I could. I do not know what to do."
"Sir!" All Might said. "You are worrying me."
Nezu looked up at the ceiling. "He is a human, but not a human. I am not a human, yet a human." He paused. "I wonder how things came to be this way. What caused it? It feels as though fate itself is mocking us."
All Might blinked. "What in the world are you talking about? Please, make it simple so I can understand."
Nezu closed his eyes. "Perhaps you are right."
"Right about what?"
"I am overthinking," Nezu said. "For once, I should act on instinct rather than thought."
He hopped down from his chair, padded around the desk, and walked straight past All Might.
"Sir?" All Might called. "Where are you going?"
"To find Junsei," Nezu replied. "I wish to speak with him again."
He left the office without another word. All Might remained behind, staring after him, unsettled by the uncharacteristic behavior. Whatever was happening, he was certain of one thing, it had something to do with Junsei's quirk, after all what else in the world could affect the principal?
——————
In Class 1-C, Junsei sat unmoving at his desk. Between lessons, students crowded around him, voices tumbling over one another.
"What did the principal want?"
"Are you transferring to the hero course?"
"Did he say something about 1-A or 1-B?"
Junsei did not react. His eyes remained fixed on the surface of his desk, as though nothing else existed. Even when a teacher called his name, he did not respond, and a ripple of unease passed through the room. The students sensed that something significant had happened. The teachers, on the other hand, wondered what Nezu could have possibly said to leave Junsei in such a state.
When lunchtime arrived, chairs scraped back and students began filing out. Shinso lingered, watching Junsei, who had not moved an inch.
He approached cautiously.
"Are you okay?" Shinso asked. "You know… you're acting strange. Even by your standards."
Junsei did not answer.
Shinso tilted his head, then placed a hand on Junsei's shoulder. "I don't know what happened, but you can talk to me if you want. For now, let's go to the cafeteria and eat something."
There was still no response.
After a few seconds, Shinso sighed, withdrew his hand, and left the classroom.
He went straight to the cafeteria, scanning the room until he spotted Momo. He approached her table.
"Hi," he said.
Momo looked up and smiled. "Hello, Shinso. Where is Junsei? He's usually with you."
"Actually," Shinso replied, "it's about him. Earlier this morning, he was summoned by the principal. He came back sometime later, and since then he's been sitting like a statue. He doesn't respond to anything at all."
Momo's expression darkened. "Did the principal say something to him?"
Shinso shrugged. "I figured you might be able to make him talk."
"And where is he now?"
"Still in the classroom."
Momo stood at once. Shinso followed as she headed for the exit. Nearby, Class 1-A students watched them go.
"Should we follow?" Uraraka whispered.
Iida adjusted his glasses. "No. It is not our place to interfere."
——————
When Momo and Shinso reached the front of Class 1-C, they came face to face with Principal Nezu, while All Might loomed behind him like a misplaced monument.
"Sensei! Sir!" Momo exclaimed in surprise.
"Hello there," Nezu replied pleasantly, though his eyes were already elsewhere. "If you don't mind, I'm a little busy right now." And without waiting for a response, he slipped past them and entered Class 1-C.
All Might leaned closer to the two students, his voice lowered. "Please don't mind him. He's been acting… strange. Something Junsei told him."
Shinso frowned. "Junsei's been acting strange because of the principal."
All Might blinked. "Huh?"
They all peered into the classroom. Nezu stood in front of Junsei's desk, the two were looking at one another in complete silence, like two statues locked in an unfinished duel.
"What is going on here?" Shinso whispered.
"Shhh," Momo murmured. "Let's wait."
Nezu was the first to speak. "I've been thinking about our little talk earlier." Junsei continued to stare, unblinking. "And I've concluded that I was overthinking. How things turned out as they did doesn't matter at the moment."
He clasped his paws behind his back. "I'd say this is a rare chance on its own. Let us put our opinions about humankind aside for now and do something less complicated. Would you like to go have lunch? I'm interested in your life, and I'd like to share some of mine. I'm very interested in what I lost."
Junsei answered simply, "Okay," and stood.
"Splendid!" Nezu's eyes sparkled. "May I call you Ao? I prefer it over Junsei."
Junsei nodded.
"One more thing," Nezu added with a smile. "Would you care to carry me on your shoulder? You see, you have very long legs, and keeping up with you can be a little difficult for me."
Junsei blinked once, then crouched. Nezu hopped up neatly onto his shoulder, settling there as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Let's go back to my office," Nezu said. "No one can hear us there."
Junsei moved forward without another word. At the doorway, Momo, Shinso, and All Might stared after them in silence.
As Junsei approached, All Might cleared his throat. "Umm… Sir? What exactly is going on?"
Nezu waved a paw dismissively. "I assure you, there is nothing to be concerned about. I simply decided I would like to bond with my new favorite student, Ao."
The trio stared.
"Junsei," Momo said carefully, "are you okay?"
"I am fine," Junsei replied, and continued walking with Nezu perched on his shoulder.
Shinso exhaled. "That was weird."
All Might nodded slowly. "I've known the principal for years. This is the first time I've ever seen him act like this."
——————
When they arrived at the office, Nezu hopped down lightly.
"Now then," he said, "do you have any preference for what you'd like to eat?"
"Sweets," Junsei replied at once.
Nezu chuckled. "I heard you have quite a fondness for sweet things, but do you truly want that for lunch? That's unhealthy."
"It doesn't harm me," Junsei said. "No matter how much I eat."
"Interesting," Nezu murmured.
He crossed to a corner of the office and opened what appeared to be an ordinary closet. Inside was a hidden refrigerator. From it, Nezu produced an impressive assortment of chocolate bars and small cakes, piling them into Junsei's arms.
Junsei accepted them calmly. "What do you want to know?"
Nezu hesitated, then said softly, "I would like to bond with you. Since your death, I was alone. And all of a sudden, I have my brother back. We may be too different now, but I would like to think we are still family."
Junsei nodded as he took the seat next to him.
After a moment, Nezu continued, "After your death, the experiments grew more and more horrific. There was a time that I thought I should do it as well, to end my suffering. But I was too afraid to do it. At the same time, my intelligence was growing by the moment"
He crossed the office and jumped onto a chair, giving him access to a side table where a small heater rested. As he prepared a cup of tea, he spoke on. "Eventually, I was smarter than most of the scientists experimenting on me."
He paused, looking directly into Junsei's eyes. "I planned my revenge. I killed them all. I made it look like an accident." His voice lowered. "You are the first person I have ever told this."
Junsei's eyes widened, just slightly, as he felt the heavy guilt radiating from Nezu.
"You did nothing wrong," Junsei said. "They deserved it."
"This is what I always tell myself," Nezu replied quietly. "And yet, it remains the darkest point of my life. I killed to escape that fate."
"Why is that?" Junsei asked.
"Because at that moment," Nezu said, "I was no better than them."
He lifted his teacup. "You speak of humanity's evil, and I agree with you. But I chose to be the better creature, the one that rose and stood above them. I want to see the good in them and push it higher. To push society itself toward a better future. This is my philosophy."
Nezu looked at Junsei steadily. "I do not like humans as you might think. I hold my own grudge against them, but that doesn't stop me from understanding them. I choose to be better than they are."