Kapitel 2351: 93
Chapter 93 Annex
A/N: Nezu shenanigans this time around! Just what does everyone's favorite rat-dog-bear creature have in store for you all today?
Nezu clapped his paws together, standing up in his chair as Izuku finished telling his story.
"Splendid!" Nezu cheered, taking a moment to refill his fourth serving of tea. "What a truly dubious story that you've disclosed to me on this fine day, Midoriya-kun. Truly makes me think, you know."
Izuku rolled his eyes, resting back in his bed. "And this is the part where you say that you don't believe me, right?"
"Nope!" Nezu cheered. "It's completely probable; in a world of superpowers, anything is possible after all. I mean, look at me! I'm a hyper-intelligent, talking animal who runs a school for superpowered hormone-filled humans and holds a decent hold over the world market!"
Izuku furrowed his brow. "Wait, what?"
"Exactly!" Nezu exclaimed, trudging along with his rant. He pulled his phone out from his coat, jotting down a couple messages to some unknown recipients.
"But honestly," Nezu continued, typing at the same time, "when you think about it Midoriya-kun, I see this as a silver lining. In fact, when you consider—"
Nezu froze. His ears twitched, nose wrinkling up as he sniffed the air. His head jerked towards the door of the room after a silent few moments.
"What's wrong?" Izuku asked, body tense and ready to spring to action as he stared at the door.
Nezu responded with a nervous chuckle. "Nothing to worry about, I can assure you. Well, not for you, anyways. As for me…"
Nezu stood up in his chair. "When the cops come don't get worried, alright? Go along with what they're saying; just make sure not to say more than necessary."
Izuku felt his eye twitch in irritation. "Principal—" He was cut off.
Nezu ducked under the bed, an action of which was followed by the sound of what Izuku assumed was a vent closing up. The tea set vanished alongside the principal, all happening before the door to his room slammed open to reveal a woman Izuku was all too familiar with.
"IZUKU!"
"Oh." Shit. I'm dead. What should I say?! Umm…
"Hey mom." Izuku mentally slapped himself.
A distraught, red-eyed Inko Midoriya zoomed over to her son, her arms instantly clamping around his tired form.
"I'm fine mom. I was just…" Izuku paused. Considering the raid, it's secretive nature, and the fact that the HPSC and the police had kept his kidnapping out of the public eye...
Izuku returned the hug, resting his head on his mother's shoulder. He let the comfortable silence reign for a few seconds before he opened his mouth. "...Exactly how much did they tell you? About what happened, I mean."
"What did they tell me?!" Inko said, her voice incredulous. She backed away a little, hands on Izuku's shoulders as she looked into his eyes. "Nobody told me anything! One moment I'm sure that you're safe and sound within the walls of your school, and the next thing I know you're out in the middle of a dangerous battlefield!"
Internally, Izuku let out a sigh of relief. Inferring from his mother's words, she hadn't been notified of his recent bout as a victim of kidnapping. It was best that way; not only would she have less to worry about, but he had the added bonus of staying at UA.
Though — and while Izuku didn't know it — his relief was misplaced. Considering his mother's unrelenting nature and her worry over her son, she was nowhere near done with berating Izuku.
"Why didn't you tell me this was happening?" Inko demanded, hands tightening their grip on Izuku's shoulders. "Do you know how worried I was when I saw your classmates on T.V.?"
"I, uh… wasn't exactly allowed to tell you," Izuku admitted. It was the truth, in a way, after all. "And the students as a whole weren't really… in the known until the day of."
"So you're saying that you couldn't have told me even if you had wanted to?"
Izuku nodded his head vigorously in return.
Inko huffed. Fine… But!" She held a finger up. That doesn't explain why you ended up in this hospital bed in the first place!"
Izuku gulped. "Well—"
"And don't you lie to me!" Inko interrupted. "I'll have you know that there are hundreds of videos depicting what happened. And believe it or not, some of those showcased you of your pink classmate's back. Usually I wouldn't be berating you for something like that, but you were in the middle of all that mess! Do you know how many heroes died just to that villain alone?! What were you thinking!?"
"I—" Izuku sighed. He met his mother's eyes. "I was thinking that I could help, mom. I couldn't let even more people die to Shigaraki. Not when I could do something to wear him down."
Tears began to spill from Inko's eyes, little droplets rolling down her face maring her features. "Izuku!" she yelled. "All you can do is control bugs! What could they do against a monster like that?! No, the real question I have is what the heck your school was thinking letting somebody like you in the middle of all of that!"
"I can handle myself, mom!" Izuku interrupted.
"That's not the point!" Inko retorted. "Do you have any idea how many times you've almost died ever since you enrolled into U.A.? Too many times, I tell you! Too many! And you shouldn't have to be going through that!"
"Mom…" Something caught Izuku's attention in the corner of his eye. He moved his gaze a little, finding the door to his room opening and a man peeking in. A man Izuku wasn't exactly sure he wanted to see, ever since the first time they had met.
Izuku blinked. "Uhh…"
"Izuku?" Inko asked, her voice weary. "What's wrong?" Then she noticed his gaze, which prompted her to turn. "What are you looking at?"
The moment her eyes met those of the man at the door, she yelped, springing to her feet. "Ah! Mister Commissioner General! What are you doing here?"
For a second, Izuku's heat leap in his chest. The easy recognition of the man by his mother led him to thinking her in the know despite his previous wishes otherwise. Though Izuku quickly disregarded the thought. Considering how often the Commissioner General showed up on T.V. for press conferences and such, it wasn't a stretch for his mother to recognize by sight.
Meanwhile, the gruff man at the door remained stoic to the display before him. He eventually entered the room, revealing that a few other officers were in his company. One of which was an orange-haired woman Izuku was rather familiar with as well.
"No need to be so panicked, ma'am," the Commissioner finally announced. "Please, sit. I promise that we're not here to cause any trouble. We just wish to share a few of our…" his gaze shifted over to Izuku, "concerns, about your son."
Inko immediately obliged, moving her chair so it was facing the Commissioner before sitting down in it. "Of course, sir. But, excuse if I seem a bit rude, but why exactly are you meeting with me here? Shouldn't you have called, or… something?"
"We would normally, yes. But as it is, Izuku Midoriya is a rather special case."
"He is?" Inko asked.
Izuku himself glared at the man, daring him to go against his promises from informing Inko. The Commissioner merely returned the glare with his own flat expression.
"Yes, Miodoriya-san," The Commissioner said, placing his attention towards Inko. "And due to our… interest in the boy, we find it prudent in ourselves to prioritize the boy's safety. Hence, our concerns towards one of your recent decisions."
"You see," The Commissioner reached into his coat, pulling out a manilla folder with U.A.'s logo on it. "We intercepted the papers you sent regarding young Midoriya's unenrollment to UA High School."
Izuku's eyes widened. "Wha— Mo! You can't do that!"
Inko narrowed her eyes at her son. "I can, and I will. I can't allow you to be putting yourself in scenarios where you can get yourself killed anymore, especially when U.A. seems to be encouraging it!"
"Mom!"
"Izuku," Inko said, voice stern. "I'm not telling you to stop heroing — I wouldn't do that to you, Izuku. You could go to Shiketsu if you want! But we can talk about that later. There's other business that I need to attend to."
Inko ignored Izuku garbled cries, focusing on turning back towards the present cops. "You!" she pointed at the Commissioner. "What business do you have poking your noses into my personal business?! What right do you have questioning my own decisions regarding my son?!"
"Considering my connections to the Hero Public Safety Commission, I have all the rights to do this, ma'am." The Commissioner said calmly. "You see, pulling Izuku Midoriya out from U.A. High would be rather foolhardy, considering it's status as the most advanced, funded, and highly defended heroics school in the country. Taking your son out of such an environment would only expose him to villains wanting to capture him as a child who has made plenty of waves in his short time as a student."
"Then we'll move!" Inko retorted. "As long as we aren't in the reach of those villains who seem so interested in my son!I have some savings—"
"That would be a probable action for you to make," The Commissioner interrupted. "And normally, I'd allow for such a thing to happen. But this time around, I simply can't. Not when your son's continued well-being within the country of Japan directly affects the integrity of our society's national security."
"I… what?" Inko sputtered, her gaze going back and forth between Izuku and the Commissioner.
The Commissioner nodded. "The first time that your son was… kidnapped. During the Kamino incident. The villains seemed to have… done something to him. Nothing bad, I can assure you. In fact, their hasty decision making has actually granted us a great boon against this new villain. As of yesterday afternoon, we've confirmed Izuku Midoriya's ability to directly hamper the abilities and effectiveness of the villain known as Tomura Shigaraki."
Inko narrowed her eyes. "So what? You plan on using him as a weapon? Against someone's who's already killed dozens upon dozens of heroes!? If you think either me or my son are just going to bend down to your whims—"
"Your son has already consented to it, ma'am."
"He what!?" Inko jerked her head towards her son. "Izuku? Is it true?"
Izuku blinked. Once. Twice. "Oh!" He rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah… It's like I said: if I can do anything to help, I have to, right?"
Suddenly, the orange-haired woman beside the Commissioner moved. Kaniko planted herself just beside Izuku's bed, moving to wrap an arm around the immobile Izuku."
"Monika Kaniyashiki's my name; pleasure to meet you, Miss Midoriya! Just wanted to tell you that you have nothing to worry about regarding Midoriya-kun's safety! After all, I'll be watching him like a hawk! Nothing of his will get past me!"
"Agh, Kaniko," Izuku whined. Squirming within her hold. "Not so tight please. I'm still aching a bit from earlier."
"That… certainly puts me at ease, knowing an officer wants to watch over my Izuku," Inko said as she eyed the two. "But, I can't happen to notice… Do you two know one another?"
Kaniko and Izuku froze for a split second, berating themselves for the show of familiarity they had just put on display. Thankfully for the sake of Izuku's cover, Kaniko was quick to respond.
"Uh— Yup!" Kaniko grinned. "I was one of the officers helping around after USJ! Midoriya was one of the students I was, erm, directed to watch! And the same with the Kamino Incident; I was there to break him out from those villains' clutches. Mido-kun and I have been staying in contact ever since! I've even been smoothing things out with the law for him!"
"Kaniko," Izuku said between clenched teeth, warning the woman.
"What?" Kaniko said,her smile still bright. "Don't want me to tell her about all the trouble you stirred up with that Stain video? About the misunderstandings I had to clear with you being associated with a villain or all the fan-mail?"
"Fan-mail?" Inko asked, seemingly lost.
"Yup!" Kaniko nodded. "Since Mido-kun here seems to attract so much attention, I've put it upon myself to deal with all the trouble he stirs! Like, as I said earlier, after that whole Stain debacle there was this whole pile of—"
"Enough, Kaniyashiki," the Commissioner interrupted before looking over at Inko. "Look, ma'am. I know that your mind is in a rather turbulent state at the moment. It's understandable, considering what I've just revealed to you and recent events. If you wish, we can discuss further details elsewhere."
"Of…" Inko looked over at Izuku, who gave her a reassuring nod. "Of course. I'll be right there."
"Great!" Kaniko cheered, moving to wrap her arm around one of Inko's own and moving her out from the room. Before long the door to the room closed, leaving Izuku alone in silence.
Izuku shook his head. "What the heck just happened?"
"It's rather simple really!" Izuku flinched at the unexpected and sudden voice that had answered his question.
The newly appeared Nezu, meanwhile, wasradually repositioning and making his way onto the chair left by Inko. Once he was settled in, Nezu pulled out his tea set again and poured a cup, handing it to a dazed Izuku who took the offering subconsciously.
"The fun and short answer to what just happened: I spun a tale!" Nezu cheered. "Now everyone's happy!"
Izuku sighed. He decided to take a sip of his tea — Passionflower, he noted — if he was going to deal with his psycho principal's antics.
"And how so?" Izuku questioned.
Nezu let out a maniacal laugh. "After hearing your story, I made up a reason that AFO was specifically after you — that he saw potential in your absolute control over bugs. In turn, that's why you were captured for Garaki's experiments. They were trying to take your quirk and make it into the ultimate remotely controlled, more advanced system of handling nomu."
Izuku blinked. "You're serious."
Nezu nodded. "But that's not all! I told both the Safety Commission and the Commissioner General an… adapted version of your story. That Garaki ended up making a mistake, giving you a connection to Shigaraki not unlike the one you have to your bugs!"
"And seeing as to how powerful Shigaraki now is with All For One," Izuku added, "you've made me into an undeniable asset. Perhaps their most important thing to them if they want to end this whole thing quickly."
Nezu chuckled, let his amusement run wild as he let Izuku stitch the pieces of his pan together. "Exactly! But that's not all!" the principal said.
Izuku took another sip of his tea. "By mentioning Garaki's role in forging a connection between me and Shigaraki, the Commission has no reason to fear any possibility that my absolute control over bugs now translates to other people, right?"
Nezu smirked. "Mhm. Best to keep something like that a secret, don't you think? Otherwise, unsavory individuals and a handful of 'accidents' would be coming your way in the future! Isn't this great?! I've finally gotten one over those Safety Commission bastards, after all this time! All thanks to you!"
Izuku sweatdropped at the maniacal laughter that followed, averting his gaze away from the cackling form of Nezu. Some things were best left to the imagination, after all. Especially something Izuku found so utterly terrifying.
Izuku cleared his throat. "So, ummm…"
Nezu ceased his laughter. He put on a small smile, moving to pat Izuku's arm. However, despite the outwardly comforting nature of the gesture, Izuku saw through it. Nezu was coursing a full-on aura of hatred and malice. "Oh. And, about Doctor Garaki…"
Izuku froze.
Nezu chuckled. "Certain events as of late have made temporary imprisonment of the man a bit of a problem. As you know, he's an important asset to the villains, and his escape is something nobody wants occurring. As such, I… called in a few favors. You see, the mad doctor is technically under the jurisdiction of the Mustafu Police Department at the moment. But as you can guess a normal prison cell for such a high-risk prisoner didn't exactly sit well with anyone. So!"
Nezu clapped his paws together. "I've taken it upon myself to become his prison warden.
Izuku blinked, his mind racing at the implications. "You mean—"
"I hope you won't feel too uncomfortable with his presence," Nezu apologized. "But think of it this way! With him being held under campus, I'll have all the time in the world to teach him a new lesson."
"That lesson being?" Izuku found himself with a small smile appearing on his face. He had a pretty good idea of what the answer would be.
Nezu smirked. "Why, how's it like when an experiment bites back, of course. I find myself being quite the expert in the field, don't you think? And p[erhaps the best part? I'm certain that nobody will come about complaining if the doctor comes out a bit… different, when they come to collect him."
It may have been wrong for him to think so, but Izuku found solace in the principal's words.
"And," Nezu continued, "you can visit him all you want, seeing as I'm in charge of him. Perhaps I can teach you some of my methods, if you want?"
Izuku shook his head. "No, no. That's fine… I think that I'll leave you to that."
Nezu hummed, tilting his head. "Something wrong, Midoriya?"
Izuku took a few seconds debating his words in his head before he spoke. "I can't help but think that… that you went out of your way for Garaki. I mean, they could have sent him to Tartarus, right?"
Nezu chuckled for a bit, clearing his throat before muttering something that sounded like 'Not exactly anymore' under his breath. Nevertheless, Nezu found himself crossing his arms together, gazing at Izuku for a few seconds before responding.
"You could say that, I suppose."
Izuku's lips scrunched in thought. It was a surprisingly straight answer from Nezu. "But why?"
Nezu smiled, leaning a bit forwards before speaking in a soft voice. "You and me? We're the same now. Of course, we were already quite similar before. Our individual intelligence and our tendencies to scheme and plot saw to that. But now? Now it's much more than that. We've both survived something that very few in our society can say they have. And well, one must protect those of their own, eh?"
Izuku tilted his head in thought. "Is that why you've placed so much attention to Eri? She could have gone to the foster system after all. I would've hated that of course, but I would've understood. But instead you made her a ward of U.A. Set her up with Aizawa — even if he didn't take much convincing."
Nezu winked. Those beady black eyes had the audacity to wink at him. "Seems like you caught me, Midoriya-kun. But don't go telling anyone, you hear? A horde of people aiming to mutilate themselves by way of forcing themselves to the more unstable villains of the world just to get in my good graces won't exactly look good for me, you know?"
Izuku chuckled. "Yeah."
Nezu nodded. "Wonderful! Now, if you don't mind, this whole incident has gotten me piled deep in complaints and paperwork you see. I'll have to be leaving you for the time if that's alright for you."
"Of course," Izuku said. "Don't let me keep you from it. Besides, I still have others to entertain me in the building, don't I?"
"Ah, yes. Your mother, and then your friends!" Nezu ducked under the bed once more. "I'll leave you to it then! Get well soon, Midoriya!"
"Yeah," Izuku breathed. "Thanks, Nezu. I… I really appreciate it."
Nezu popped back out, smiling at Izuku. "Of course. I'll always be there when you need me, alright? Remember that."
And once again, Izuku was left to his own devices. Though, considering everything that had happened since he had awakened not too long ago, Izuku was alright with that. He laid back in his bed, closed his eyes, and let his mind wander.
"Fellow survivors, eh? I like the sound of that."
A/N: Well. Nezu sort of ran off on me this chapter. His part was… a lot longer than I originally planned. At this point the hospital stay is going to be, what? Two more chapters? Sheesh. I'll try to cut it down. That way, we can finally get to the action again in: Interlude III!
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein