Cheat Code: Support StrategistClouds (myheadinthecoudsnotcomingdown)
Chapter 17: Abduction
Summary:
Shinso meets half of the chaos duo!
Notes:
Look at this beautiful little drawing Ro made of Izuku!
Chapter Text
Izukul leaned back in his seat after finishing up the list of theories he'd been working on. He'd spent the morning reviewing the videos he had of the hero students and making rough lists of potential ideas for improvement that he could clean up once he'd seen their quirks in action more, but for now, there wasn't much else he could do on that project, which meant that it was time for Extra-Credit-Kun.
Oh god, Mei really was starting to rub off on him, wasn't she?
Izuku shook his head with a chuckle as he grabbed the notebook he'd dedicated to their extra credit project and opened Shinso's file, only to realize that he was at a dead end there as well. At least with the hero students, he had some combat videos to analyze, but all Izuku had for Shinso was his student file and the video of his entrance exam, which obviously didn't show the full potential of his quirk because he couldn't use it on robots. If Izuku wanted his analysis to be of any use to Shinso at all, he needed more information.
The easiest way to get that information would be to simply ask and hope that Shinso wouldn't be too creeped out to answer him. Well, even if he was creeped out, he'd probably still answer if Izuku explained that it was to help him do better in the sports festival. Anyway, it didn't really even matter because he was probably in class right now...but it wouldn't hurt to check, right?
Before he could second guess himself, Izuku opened up the class schedule for class 1-C. Even if Shinso was in class, which he should be, it would still be helpful to know his schedule so he and Mei could track him down later.
Speaking of Mei, she chose that moment to burst through the door to Izuku's workroom without knocking. She didn't even wait for him to look up before she had draped herself over his shoulders, groaning dramatically, "Izu-kun, help! I can't make Shinso's babies!"
Izuku snorted, "Most girls have to actually meet a guy before creating his children."
Mei grabbed his shoulder and spun his chair around so he was facing her and could see the manic grin that had just spread across her face, "That's a brilliant idea!"
Izuku smiled and shook his head fondly, "Let me guess, you need more info on his quirk and fighting style before you can really get started?"
"Yep!" Mei picked an empty spot on Izuku's desk and sat down, "You too?"
Izuku nodded and turned back to his screen, "I was just looking up his schedule to see when the best time to meet him would be."
"Well, make it ASAP!" Mei said impatiently. "I want to start making babies!"
"You can't just rush these things, Mei-chan, it isn't polite." Izuku told her patiently. "We can't just take him out of class...or maybe we can."
Mei jumped off the desk and leaned over her shoulder, "Wait, what is it?!"
"He has a study period right now." Izuku pointed to the screen. "If we got Powerloader's permission, we could probably pull him out of class for a few minutes, since he wouldn't actually be missing any lessons."
"Let's do it!" Mei hugged him tightly before pulling him to his feet and pushing him toward the door. "What are you waiting for?! I have babies to make!"
Their classmates glanced up at Mei's declaration as the door opened, but they spared the two less than a second before shaking their heads and going back to work on their own projects. Izuku still thought it was a little weird how quickly the class had seemed to just accept their antics, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He had Mei and that was enough for him right now. He'd probably just manage to work himself into an anxiety attack if he tried to second-guess every interaction he'd had with his classmates looking for ways that they actually hated him, and honestly, he was too busy with his analysis projects to have any time for that right now.
It didn't take them long at all to reach Powerloader's desk, especially not with Mei still pushing him in her excitement. Powerloader simply sighed and looked at them as they approached, "Should I be concerned about what you two are cooking up?"
"No!" Izuku said at the same time that Mei shouted, "Yes!"
Unfortunately, Mei's voice was just a little louder.
"We just want to ask Shinso some questions about his quirk." Izuku said quickly. "I looked and he has a study period right now, so we were hoping we could borrow him and bring him here. We'd use my workroom so we wouldn't bother the other students. Please?"
Izuku had learned his puppy dog eyes from his mom, and honestly, he wasn't even aware that he was doing them until he caught Mei mimicking his expression out of the corner of his eye. Powerloader simply looked at them tiredly for a long moment before caving, "Midoriya, you go and get him. I'm not sure I trust Mei not to blow something up between here and there."
"Come on, it's not like there are that many explosive things between here and the general education department!" Mei exclaimed. "Just the wiring...and probably the fire extinguishers if you count foam as an explosion...Oh! And the security system! Izu-kun, do you know if there are any bombs in the security system?"
"Yeah, it's probably for the best if I just go…" Izuku said, ignoring the way Mei pouted at him as he turned back to Powerloader. "Could I have a note explaining the situation in case Shinso's teacher asks why I need him?"
"Present Mic should already be expecting you." Powerloader said tiredly. "I mentioned your little project to the other teachers and warned him that it was only a matter of time before you dropped by."
"Oh." Izuku didn't know if it was good or bad that the entire faculty knew about their plans to help Shinso. Honestly, he'd never had teachers care about what he wanted to do before, so this was all new territory. "That's good then."
Powerloader nodded, "Get back quick before Hatsume blows up our lab again."
Mei cackled and ran back toward her desk, "Good luck!"
Hitoshi tapped his pencil idly on his notebook as he reviewed English verb structure for the third time. Not that having a second language wouldn't be useful, but he couldn't help thinking that the hero students were probably training right now and getting more and more of an unfair advantage every minute that Hitoshi spent studying academics. There was only so long until the sports festival and his last chance to get into the hero course, so he didn't want to waste any time.
The silence of the classroom was interrupted by a quiet knocking of the door and a tiny-looking kid with tangled green curls and large eyes poked his head in, "Present Mic, sir? Would it be alright if I borrowed Shinso for a few minutes?"
Hitoshi froze as his entire class swiveled in their seats to look at him curiously, as if he had any idea why a kid he'd never seen before in his life was interrupting his class asking for him by name.
His classmates' curiosity was almost palpable as Mic-sensei looked up from his desk and gave the boy a mischievous smile, "You're one of Powerloader's gremlins, right?"
The kid sputtered for a moment at Mic's wording before apparently giving up on being embarrassed and letting out a sigh as he walked fully into the room, "Yes, sir. He said that he mentioned things to you…"
"Of course!" Mic grinned. "Shinso, go ahead and grab your things. There's no guarantee you'll be back by the end of class." As Hitoshi hurried to comply, Mic turned back to the kid. "Try to return him in one piece, ya dig?"
Hitoshi's eyes widened and he felt himself pale slightly as the kid returned Mic's smile with a small one of his own, "No guarantees. I'm not the one you need to worry about, but also I'm not responsible for anything Mei-chan does when she's excited."
"Oooh!" Mic laughed. "I can see why Nedzu likes you so much!"
The class erupted into whispers and Hitoshi was starting to wonder if he would have a better chance of surviving if he just jumped out the window. Mic-sensei wouldn't actually let this mystery kid, or whoever this Mei-chan person was, hurt him...right?
Hitoshi finished packing his backpack and gulped as the kid smiled at him. Normally, a bright smile like that would put him more at ease, but after hearing the kid basically plot his murder, it just looked vaguely terrifying. Reluctantly, Hitoshi followed his...kidnapper? Was that what the kid was? What was even happening?
His kidnapper didn't say anything as he led Hitoshi down the hallway to a part of the school he didn't recognize, not that that was helpful at all, considering that he'd been at UA for less than a week. He had no idea what was happening anymore and honestly, he was too afraid to ask. All he knew was that this kid might kill him and his teacher wouldn't even care. So much for the teachers at UA being different.
His kidnapper still didn't break the silence and as they got even more lost in the maze that was UA, Shinso eventually got fed up and decided that if he was going to get murdered anyway, it wouldn't hurt to at least ask this kid why he'd kidnapped him. At the worst, he'd just get killed a little sooner, right?
"Um…" Hitoshi's voice sounded too loud and he had to take a step back as the kid pinned him with those wide eyes, giving Hitoshi a strange sense that this kid knew everything about him and was simply dissecting him with his gaze, "I have a few questions."
The kid smiled brightly again, "Of course! I might not be able to give the best answers, but I'll try!"
"Ok…" Hitoshi took a breath, "Who are you? Where are we going? Why did you just kidnap me? Finally, who is Mei-chan and should I be writing my will?"
The kid looked at him in shock for a long moment before he started giggling uncontrollably, "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry! I didn't...and I completely forgot to introduce myself, so no wonder you're...and Present Mic called me a gremlin, which probably didn't help anything. This is probably why our classmates are terrified of us, huh?"
"Probably." Shinso said, not because he knew this kid's classmates, but more because he didn't really have any other response to that. "So…?"
"Oh! Right!" The kid jumped slightly and started walking into the labyrinth that was UA again. "My name is Izuku Midoriya and we're heading back to my classroom. Mei-chan is my best friend. She probably won't hurt you, she just gets really excited about her inventions and they don't always work the first time, which isn't that bad, you just need to be a little careful in case they explode unexpectedly. We're support students...obviously, since Mei-chan has inventions to explode. Um...what else…?"
Oddly enough, Midoriya's rambling was actually calming and made him seem less like some mysterious psychopath, so Hitoshi actually found himself feeling a little more at ease as he cocked an eyebrow, "Why you kidnapped me?"
Midoriya furrowed his forehead as his voice dropped to a mutter, "I didn't...why would I...well, I guess I did kind of steal you away unexpectedly, but that wasn't…"
"Midoriya." Hitoshi interrupted the kid's mutter storm and gestured for him to continue. "Why did you kidnap me?"
"Oh, um…" Midoriya chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck, "I don't want to get into too much detail without Mei-chan here, but basically, we're going to get you into the hero course!"
...what?