Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Standing in front of the grand entrance to UA ground, Izuku lifted his head up. The sign hung above, and with one step he would be completely under it. Just one more step, and he would be standing inside UA. A step and the alarm would go off. The gates will come closing, the light will flash, the robots will be activated, and the staff will come running looking for the trespasser. With that step, his life would change completely. For the better or the worse, he wasn’t sure yet. He did not want to think about it. By the time he finally had enough courage to come here, he did not want to doubt his choice.

So taking a deep breath, Izuku quickly passed the gates. Just as he stepped inside, the gates came down closing with a bang. He didn’t flinch, remaining standing where he was. The alarm yelled, the red lights shone in the late July evening sky above his head. He could hear the beeping robots in the distance. Izuku waited.

The robots came faster than the heroes. Talking in their monotone voices, they were informing the humans. “Intruder by gate A spotted. Is not on the move. Surrounded. Waiting for further instructions.”

Izuku continued to stay still, looking straight ahead. The road in front of him stretched uphill, up to the glass building of the hero school. It was now mostly empty, though occasional students were on their way home.

There were heroes running towards him. Everyone ready for a fight. Powerloader with some big support item in his hands. Vlad King with his quirk ready. Hound dog on guard. He could also see the space hero, Thirteen in his parallel vision. They were all on high alert, their weapons lifted. Only Izuku stood there, waiting for the heroes to crowd around him. Someone could say even calmly, even though he wasn't even close.

He didn’t know what he was going to say to them. But he continued to stand there, as more heroes joined. They all surrounded him warily.
Just as Izuku took a breath in, calming himself enough to speak, something weird erupted in the air. It somehow had a sweet taste. It must have been Midnight’s quirk. Izuku had the time to notice the purple mist before his eyelids began slowly closing.
The last thing he saw was Eraserhead right in front of him. He was in a fighting stance. His capture weapon threateningly floating around. Eyes glowing red.

“I’m sorry.” Izuku barely whispered, not knowing if anyone could even hear it.

When he woke up, he was seated on a chair in an unfamiliar room. Looking around, Izuku couldn’t be sure what kind of room it was. What he was sure of though, it wasn’t an interrogation room. At least not a normal one. To Izuku, it looked more like it was quickly converted for the purpose, rather than built for it. Which contradicted what he knew of the UA.
He didn’t have too much time to question it though, as the door opened.
Walking in was underground hero Eraserhead, who also happened to be a teacher at U.A.
For a split second, the two pairs of tired eyes met each other. Izuku blinked, averting his eyes as he sunk deep into the chair. The hero turned to close the door behind him.
Sitting down, Eraserhead put one leg on the other. He watched Izuku for a few seconds before speaking.

Somehow, Izuku didn’t expect ‘What are you doing here?’ to be the first question. It was said with venom and indignation. But Izuku could understand why. He had aided in attacks on the hero’s class for most of their high school years. Izuku had hurt his students. He deserved all the harshness he was getting and much more.

“To turn myself in,” Izuku replied. Clasping his hands together until his knuckles hurt.

The hero raised a brow skeptically. “And why is that?”

“I…” Izuku turned his gaze away. He wouldn’t believe him. Eraserhead hated him for what he’d done. But the hero didn’t know how guilty he felt and just how much and regretted everything.

“I am... So, so sorry.” He slowly lifted his eyes to Eraserhead. “I never wanted to cause harm to your students.” Izuku hoped the hero class teacher would hear the sincerity in his voice. But, that didn’t seem to do much. Eraserhead remained stoned-faced.

“I-I never thought it would go this far… Never intended it.” Izuku could feel tears roll in his eyes. “When, When I realized I tried my best to-to do something, or well– not do.’’
The hero did not look impressed.

What could make Erasrhead believe him?
He couldn't,
Izuku had no actual way to prove his words.

“You do understand that after what you told me last time we met face to face I wouldn’t be as quick to trust your word.” The hero crossed his arms. "Right?"

Solemnly nodding, Izuku averted his eyes, blinking away tears.

At that moment he felt like running away. It was clear that the heroes – and Eraserhead in particular – weren’t going to believe a word he said. and it was all his fault.

The hero straightened his head and uncrossed his legs. “Let's start the questions.”
“What is your name?”

“Izuku Midoriya.” The name felt strangely unfamiliar on his lips.

“How old are you?”

“17.” He has been for ten solid days now.

“Why did you show up at U.A. High?”

“I already said it, to turn myself in.” Izuku blankly answered. That did not satisfy the hero.

“And how should we believe you?”

“I-I don’t know?” Izuku helplessly looked up to meet Eraserhead's eyes. “Maybe there is someway for you to find out if I’m telling the truth?”

Eraserhead remained quiet. Face unreadable.

Lowering his head, Izuku stared at his hands. Of course, the hero didn’t believe him. Why should he? He had absolutely no reason to.

A few beats of silence. Izuku wouldn’t dare to speak first. After some time the hero stood up and exited the room. Izuku didn’t look up as he left.

Next, a group of heroes he hadn’t seen yet came in. One of them Izuku quickly recognized as Escoplasm. He could also see Hound Dog in the doorway. Izuku slowly rose to his feet.

“Your hands.” Came the command. But before Izuku could even begin to extend his hands, someone already harshly grabbed them. When his hands were tied with this weird, dark (perhaps metal?) rope, the hero finally let go.
That wasn't for long though, as soon he was held from both sides by his arms. The hold was firm as if he was to run away at any moment. Which he wouldn't. But not like they were believing it.

Were they going outside?

Pulling some sort of headband over his eyes, the heroes led him forward. Where were they taking him, he did not know. He just walked obediently, trying to match the pace of those guiding him so they wouldn't have to pull on his arms too much.

When the blindfold was finally taken off, Izuku had to close his eyes again. The white light was just too bright. When he slowly opened them again, he found himself in a small white room. The ropes from his hands were taken as well. The heroes retreated through the door and Izuku could hear it lock. After standing there for a second, he looked around. This room looked much more like an interrogation room than the previous one. Consisting of a table and two metal chairs. Though there was no two-way mirror. Aside from the door, all the walls seemed empty.

Slowly moving around the room, Izuku made his way to the chair that faced the door. Holding onto its back, he slid onto it with a sigh. The cold of it sent a shudder through his body.
There were no voices from the outside. Izuku was left alone with his thoughts, which he hastily avoided.

This part of the school had to be separated from the main campus. Izuku wondered if it was underground. It could make sense though, there would be no reason for them to make this part anywhere close to the students. For all he knew, it could not have even been on UA territory. The air down there was heavy, or maybe it was just his anxiety. Izuku tried focusing on his surroundings. The walls were white, though not blinding white. Not a hospital kind of white. The floor was tiled, with those big, grayish tiles. Everything was clean and at first glance seemed minimalistic. But if you tried to pay closer attention– which Izuku certainly did, as he had all the time in the world to scan the walls. There, you could see little bits that could be mistaken for paint imperfections at first, but upon further inspection, revealed to be various devices. Up close to the ceiling was a small dot, which Izuku could almost certainly say was a camera. There was another, more concealed one that he guessed to be a microphone or some kind of recording device. Of course, UA would have all those things built in. Putting his elbows on the table he sighed, before letting his face fall into his palms. Izuku was exhausted. Of course, he expected it all to be a lengthy process. After all, they had to verify everything he was saying, and it was expected that his words wouldn't be very convincing enough. They had to contact the right people; possibly someone with a lie-detecting quirk. Involve the police and whatnot. Izuku slid his hands down his face. Should he have gone straight to the police? That would have probably saved everyone trouble. His eyes landed on his wrist. Lowering his hands to the table, he wondered why the heroes weren't keeping him bound. He guessed it was because of the place he was in. The room was secure enough, and together with the cameras that could see every corner of the small room, which the heroes were keeping watch of. He could also say with much certainty that there were more standing guard just outside the door, despite him not hearing a thing.
In short, he couldn’t escape even if he wanted to. A glance at the wall at his side made him think they were steady and most likely quirk-resistant as well.

A distant voice made Izuku perk up. The owner of the voice was getting closer. Stopping in front of the room Izuku was in, they stopped talking. Tilting his head a bit, Izuku waited for someone to come in. In hushed voices, those outside exchanged a few words. Izuku did not want to admit it, but his heart was beating so fast it threatened to jump out of his chest. His life, his fate, now laid in the hands of these people. Maybe that’s why he went here instead of the police? Deep down he knew the heroes would be more thorough and do a better job.
Maybe, just maybe– he trusted them more.

The door opened. Inside stepped two heroes Izuku already seen here before, accompanied by an unfamiliar man. Izuku’s eyes quickly skipped to the new face. There was nothing out of the ordinary about him. Light hair and round glasses. Nothing that could easily give away a quirk. There were only a few hints Izuku could catch though. The man had pupils with strikes resembling eclectic currents and worker’s hands. Some kind of machinery-related quirk? The man slowly nodded at him. Something that resembled a small bow. Izuku didn’t have time to decide if he had to return it, as the man turned his face. Exchanging a look with Ectoplasm, and then Eraserhead. Izuku watched as the latter gave a look of approval, and moved his eyes to Izuku. The moment the hero's eyes fell on him, Izuku dropped his head down. He had apologized to Eraserhead the first chance he got, but of course, no mere apology can reverse the fact he had attacked the hero’s class. Izuku fidgeted with his hands under the table, his shoulders tense.

Clearing his throat, the man sat in front of Izuku. “Alright… I should introduce myself. My name is Touma Raimei” Izuku studied him. For any police official, he was far too nervous. That ruled out a connection to the HSC as well, though Izuku doubted Nezu would think of contacting them first. Now that he was thinking about it– why didn’t the principal show himself? Was he watching through the cameras? Izuku didn’t even glance towards the camera, keeping his eyes on the man in front of him. “I, Um. “ Raimei clearly debated on how he should say it. Was he scared or just nervous? Izuku's heart stung.

Eraserhead took a step closer, his arms crossed. “Raimei is an old friend of U.A. He can operate and fix almost anything that runs on electricity.”

The man awkwardly chuckled. “Y-Yeah, yeah pretty much. And I’m here to help with uh- the lie detector.” He stopped, looking at Izuku for any reaction. Not that there was anything interesting to look at. Though Izuku was glad they got it so soon.
“When are they bringing it?” asked Raimei, turning to the heroes behind him.

“Should be soon,” Ectoplasm echoed.

Just as he finished, the door was opened with much force. In the doorway stood Vlad King with something big in his hands, which Izuku guessed to be the lie detector. Grumpily he put it down on the table, making it shake. Izuku flinched ever so slightly.

Raimei moved quickly to set it up. Izuku took a breath in, then swallowed. He had to make sure to answer everything right. With Eraserhead present as well, he had the more to prove.
Once everything was set, the man leaned back. He nodded to the heroes, and Eraserhead stepped forward. “I will be asking the questions.”
Izuku looked up at him, waiting.

“What is your full name?”

“Izuku Midoriya.”

They both looked at Raimei who nodded. “True.”

Eraserhead turned to Izuku, who was still looking at the big machine.

“Is it true that you came here to turn yourself in?”

“Yes.”

Another nod. “True.”

“Why?”

Izuku opened his mouth but did not answer. “Umm...”

The heroes became visibly more tense. Izuku could feel his heart begin to race again. His hands were shaking as well. Eraserhead put his hand firmly on the table, leaning forward. Izuku almost jumped.

“I’ll repeat the question once more. Why did you decide to turn yourself in?”

“I...I-” Breathing hastily, Izuku licked his lips.

He straightened himself. “I was actually thinking of it for quite some time now…” Izuku looked down, speaking quietly. “I always wanted to help others, and when my skills are being used to do the opposite I couldn’t bear it. I came to the thought that doing nothing at all would be better than aiding that.“ Izuku breathed a shaky breath. It was hard to not stumble over his words but he almost managed it.

Izuku kept his gaze on Eraserhead, as the hero waited for the polygraph.

– Hesitated. “Uhh...” He fiddled with something there. “It’s, um… This seems to be a lie.”

“What?” Izuku’s head snapped to the man. The two heroes turned as well.

“The graph is unclear, but the sudden jump does suggest a deception.” The man sleeplessly said, raising his eyes. Izuku caught his gaze, but the man dropped his eyes fast. Izuku couldn't understand. How could it be? Did he lie on something? He didn't think that he did at least…

A barely audible “Is that so?” could be heard from Eraserhead. The hero turned to Izuku, but the boy did not look back. It did not make sense. The machine must be rigged. Or did he accidentally lie about something?

“Let's continue for now.” Izuku felt the coldness in the hero's firm voice. “Why did you decide to come to UA?”

Of course, he asked that.
“Uuh…” Izuku’s head hurt. But he had asked for this, he had to answer as much as he could. “I figured it would be better because umm... The heroes at UA are- are thorough.”

The heroes always make sure the villain gets the proper punishment. And even if they don’t have enough information or evidence, they will do anything to get it. For them it is personal.

Izuku glanced up for a moment. almost sure he saw Eraserhead raise his brows in question. Clasping and unclasping his hands, Izuku could almost feel them going numb.

Raimei just slowly shook his head, his brows together. Mumbling something to himself, which he didn’t share with the rest.

After that, things went pretty smoothly– well as smoothly as it could after that. There weren’t any issues or lies detected, so it went by fast.

“Do you really feel bad for what you’ve done?”

“Yes.”

“Does any of it have to do with the fact that you’re quirkless?”

“...Yes.”

“Did someone order you to come here?”

“I came because I wanted to. I decided so myself.”

“Answer the answer straight: Did someone order you to come here, to infiltrate U.A.?”

“No.”

Even when the man nodded to signify it being truth, the heroes looked skeptical
Soon the questions ended and all the three left the room.
Once the door closed, Izuku slummed on the table, letting out a breath of relief. Squeezing his eyes shut, he breathed out. Izuku had focused too much on something differently entirely than he had to. He let his head fall onto his arms. Why didn't he pay close attention to himself, instead of worrying about what kind of question would be asked? How could he be so careless?

Sighing, Izuku opened his eyes. He reminded himself that in reality, it probably won't change much. Breathing out, he eyed the camera. Izuku was wondering when Nezu would show himself, but it seemed that for now the principal was still just observing.

The heroes did not walk far from the door before they started talking. Izuku could hear their voices, even if they were distorted through the wall. Izuku turned his head, listening in.

“Yes, that's true, but we cannot disregard the possibility… You know, even the best polygraphs can get confused.” He paused, and Izuku could hear some rustling of papers. “And here you see when everything jumped up, right?”

There was a thoughtful hum in return.

“It may not be because he lied.”

“I see what you are getting at.” Ectoplasm's voice echoed, while Eraserhead remained quiet.

“The kid was scared, Aizawa. Scared and anxious. We cannot trust these results.”

Eraserhead grumbled something in return that Izuku couldn’t catch. The three began walking. Izuku could only hear a bit more before the voices moved too far to be heard.
“... But still we cannot roll out the possibility of a false negative.”

Chapter Text

Izuku sat in the deafeningly quiet room. This was the third, or perhaps the forth? Room he’d been in here. Still white and sterile, not really different from the others.
No windows, only one door. Metal table bolted to the ground. Two chairs turned away from the door, and his own on the other side of the table.

He wondered how much time he would spend in it. Were they moving him around on purpose? So he wouldn’t know where he was? That would be logical. He guesses though, that it was still somewhere on U.A’s grounds. Underground he supposed. Some sort of secret tunnel or bunker. He knew there was bound to be something of this sort with the genius mammal Nezu in charge.

He rested his head in his hands on the table. Anxieties wouldn’t let him fall asleep, so he focused on anything else, anything else to stop his thoughts. He had analyzed the room already, as soon as he was brough in. Now with the lights dimmer, but not completely out he could recognize where everything was. There was one small device in the corner of the ceiling he kept looking at, probably a camera. He briefly wondered who was watching him through it, before turning his head to the other side in hopes of finding a more comfortable sleep position. He replayed the events of the earlier evening in his head.

—

“Hello.” The detective sat down, as Izuku returned a nod with his hands clasped together under the table. “I am detective Tsukauchi Naomsa.” Izuku knew who he was.

“I am here to question you. This will be an official questioning. Let's hope this will be the last time you have to do this.” The man had a reassuring smile. Izuku nodded in return. He hoped so too. Though it most likely wouldn’t be.

The man pulled out a recording device and set it on the table, hitting start.

“For that, I need you to be truthful with me. My quirk will aid the process as it lets me detect lies.” Izuku knew that too. He guessed U.A could get him to come eventually. He was a friend of All Might after all. Some sources even suggested he was acquainted with Eraserhead since his early hero days. “Is that clear?”

Izuku nodded once more. “Please provide me with verbal responses if possible. My quirk needs it.”

Izuku cleared his throat. “Yes.” he answered, voice hoarse. That part he didn’t know. Well, he did guess there had to be limits similar to something like this. Does that mean he can just detect if a statement is a truth or a lie? Wait, can he verify all verbal responses or just yes and no questions? Maybe?

Izuku blinked, turning his eyes down. It was not the time to analyze the man's quirk. He could feel the eyes on him.
The detective was looking straight at him, but Izuku was sure more were watching through the camera. Maybe multiple, it was weird there was only one but Izuku was certain he didn’t see any more.

Taking out a few papers, Tsukauchi laid them on the table. Next, he pulled out of the inner pocket of his trenchcoat a small notebook and a pan. “Okay.” He leaned on the back of the chair. “Let's start. I apologize if you have already answered some of these questions, but I am going by the protocol.”

Izuku nodded slowly, but then added remembering. “Alright.”

The detective read the questions from the paper on the table.
At first these were questions Izuku had already asked. Alias. Name. Age.
After the generic questions, Tsukuachi paused, humming.

“Is there any ulterior motive for which you came here?”
This Izuku simply answered, “no.” Looking up at the detective, he could see him slowly nod. Tsukauchi wrote something in his notebook before continuing.

“What quirk do you have?” Izuku noticed the unusual wording of the question. Were they worried he had gotten a quirk?
Still, he answered confidently as it was the truth. “I am quirkless.”

With a satisfied nod, Tsikaushi scribbled down something more Izuku couldn’t see.
Hmm, so not just yes and no questions then.

Then the detective proceeded to ask Izuku his address. It wasn’t said, but Izuku supposed they would want to look through his stuff.

“Our apartment– um, the one where I grew up… “ Izuku looked at his hands. “It’s… It had been cleared out. Empty since my mum died. I think it’s still empty. You won’t find anything there.”

A nod from the man, but Izuku continued not looking up. “I did salvage some things into a storage unit if that’s of any use… The key is in the bag I had with me.” The bag which when he woke up for the first time here, wasn’t with him. The one that contained all his notebooks.

A hundred ‘oficial’ boring questions later, Izuku started to wonder if they were nearing the end already.

“Do you truly believe that what you've been doing up until now is wrong?”
This time Izuku didn’t lower his gaze. “Yes.”

“Would you be willing to turn away from villainous activities and groups and make amends?”

“Yes.”Izuku didn’t hesitate.
“Even if that means not coming into contact with any of them or their associates anymore?”

Izuku frowned for a moment, but still answered. “Yes.”

Then, for a split second the detective smiled a satisfied and kind smile.

“Alright.” Tsukcauchi put the notebook and pen back in his pocket. “This is all, thank you for your cooperation.” He pushed off the chair, standing up.

Before reaching the door, he turned around. “Principal Nezu will discuss the matter and will come here shortly.” He nodded his head, before exiting.

What would happen to him now? Izuku wondered. Despite it not being cold, pressing his hands closer together he couldn’t stop them from shaking. The principal of the hero school? Yeah, why hadn’t he shown up yet? Why now? It only made Izuku the more nervous.
He groanded, putting his head in his hands.

Izuku was left alone yet again. He didn’t know how much time passed, all he knew was that it dragged on incredibly slow. From time to time he could hear some muffled voices outside, but all much further as he couldn’t make out what they were talking about.

He was once again left alone with his thoughts which he very much avoided.
Looking at the door as if it would make him hear better he focused on the inaudible voices. He could probably hear better if he stood close to it, but despite that he remained seated. If they wanted him to wait, the least he could do was comply. After everything.

Izuku sighed. The voices quieted down. A door opened and closed. Footsteps echoed in the corridor, getting further and further away until Izuku was left completely alone in the silence. He wondered who the people had been. They were clearly discussing him. Were they heroes? Probably. He hadn't seen Eraserhead in a while, or any other hero for that matter.

He eyed the small camera device in the corner of the ceiling. When will the principal make his appearance? Will he ever, before Izuku is sent away? What was he planning? Figuring out how to get the maximum punishment to the villain that aided in breaking onto his school on multiple occasions? Whatever it was, Izuku probably deserved it.

The door opened with a bang, and Izuku jumped. He hasn’t heard anyone approaching.

“Yes, this is me! Nezu, the one who could be a dog or a mouse or a bear, but more importantly... I'm the principal!” The smile on his face sent shivers along Izuku's skin.

“A pleasure to meet you, Midoryia Izuku.”