Deer

Chapter 5

Nezu was intrigued.

And, as anyone who was familiar with the UA principal, knew, an intrigued Nezu is a dangerous Nezu. His attention was something that many students and previous graduates had learned to avoid.

It started when Nezu overheard Aizawa grumbling about a 'problem child' in their first staff meeting of the year. He observed that the underground hero had consumed twice the usual amount of coffee and that the dark bags under his eyes were more prominent than ever. At first, Nezu idly attributed this to hero work keeping Shota up later than he should be. The disgruntled teacher was not looking forward to another batch of students he would have to screen for potential. But a day later Eraserhead was still mumbling about one specific child under his breath, one who was adding so much more to his workload.

According to police files, which Nezu had easily obtained, Midoriya Izuku was being pursued by the notorious Yakuza group, Shie Hassakai.

Not to mention, he was of personal interest to Chisaki Kai himself.

No wonder Aizawa was losing sleep.

No matter how the man tried to hide it with his grumpy exterior and harsh tone, everyone knew that Aizawa Shota had a weakness for children. He cared so much that he would rather crush their dreams of heroism than watch them grow up to be mediocre heroes and die in action.

Hmm. Nezu steepled his paws in thought. A child with uncanny intelligence and perhaps training in several martial arts, constantly searching for trouble in the middle of the night, being pursued by a high-ranking villain. Plans started to form inside the principal's mind.

An intrigued Nezu was a dangerous one.

Aizawa blanched and let out a stream of curses when his boss approached him and asked to meet Izuku as soon as possible.

The Midoriya household was quite homey, with happy family photos hanging on the wall and a variety of deer miniatures and plush dolls strewn about. And he means a lot of deer. Perched on top of the television, sitting on the living room furniture, even drawings of deer were attached to the fridge. They were cartoony and childish enough to be a clear indicator that this obsession must come from the boy. Izuku reinforced that point when he came around the corner, cuddling another doll to his chest, while drinking green tea from a mug with a deer sticker on it. It was hopelessly adorable. And Nezu might have developed a small, true smile at the sight.

Izuku's appearance almost distracted him from those dead eyes. Eyes that a child should never have.

"Hello, my name is Nezu. Am I a dog? A mouse? Or a bear? But more importantly—"

"You're the principal of UA," Izuku finished the introduction for him, and a curious gleam shone within his green eyes. "Sorry if this is rude, but what do you want from me?"

Not one to beat around the bush, then.

Nezu didn't need to lay out Izuku's nightly escapades in detail, as it was clear that Mrs. Midoriya had her suspicions. Not to mention that Tsukauchi or Aizawa had kept in touch with the mother to help ease her worries. She knew some of what Izuku got up to, but she could not stop him, and grounding him meant nothing as he could be very rebellious, something Nezu appreciated about humanity.

So Nezu went for the big guns.

He wanted Midoriya Izuku in the UA Hero course, preferably in Shota's class.

Izuku's answer was—

"I don't wanna be a hero. It's too troublesome."

Predictable. Aizawa had already informed him of Izuku's dislike toward this profession.

Nezu would not surrender so easily, however. He was stubborn, oh, he really was as sometimes one had to be to survive in this cruel world. So, he kept on bargaining. And Izuku kept on refusing. For Aizawa and Mrs. Midoriya, it was like watching an intense tennis match. Back and forth, back and forth, with each side refusing to back down, even if they had to push the other into a corner.

Then Nezu pulled out his ultimate move.

In time, he explained, Izuku would be perfectly safe within I-Island's security. But that position did not include his mother, who had a steady job and was making a name for herself on the legal side of the law. Not to mention young Bakugo, his childhood friend who aspired to be a hero. Izuku already had a target painted on his back, and it would not take long for Chisaki Kai to pursue his family and friends.

Izuku was smart enough to realize this. Being targeted by the leader of a notorious Yakuza gang was a serious business, especially for a civilian. The moment he had landed himself on that man's radar, or on any dangerous villain's radar, really, everything changed. This wasn't just about him anymore, but his neighbors and known associates as well. The Shie Hassakai would not hesitate to use such leverage to get him. Nezu knew Izuku knew. And Izuku knew that Nezu knew he knew. The child's expression may be unchanging, yet his mind was whirring. Those green orbs flickered, weighing any options he had in this situation.

"I can drop my job for you, Izuku—"

"No, mom. Being a lawyer means too much to you. I'm not going to let your dreams fall apart just because of my stupidity."

'If only I hadn't tempted fate...' the principal could almost hear him thinking. 'If only I had just played at being normal a little while longer, then perhaps we could have continued to live a peaceful life.'

Privately, Nezu believed that a normal life was impossible for the boy. A cruel destiny would always follow the path of genius.

Izuku let out a deep, weary sigh, one too old and tired for someone so young. "I know you're blackmailing me," the kid started, finger pointed accusingly at the principal. But Izuku also knew that Nezu was right.

So, he negotiated—or demanded, to be exact. Izuku refused to participate in any of the mandatory courses, he would only show up for attendance. He was already busy with projects for his father's company, practically employed, even though he was still a child in school. Nezu could understand the demand for Izuku's skill, as quirk analysts were highly sought after, with new powers cropping up in the population every day. According to Nezu's personal research, Izuku was good at it. Maybe more than good, if the director of I-Island himself was asking for his input, and Nezu was not ashamed to admit that exploiting that skill was one of the reasons he wanted Izuku in his school as well. The boy also said that he would decline the invitation to move to I-Island for the sake of attending UA, but he could not refuse the job because they had already paid in advance. Doing that, while having to attend hero lessons and complete rigorous schoolwork would be, in his words, 'far too troublesome.'

Lastly, Izuku swore that he would not get a hero license, no matter what. He didn't care if UA fell under scrutiny for admitting a Quirkless student into the hero course and Izuku was not going to budge on this. He absolutely refused to involve himself in any 'hero vs. villain bull crap.'

Nezu nodded in understanding and calmed Mrs. Midoriya over her child's rather direct words. He did not yet know why Izuku hated the hero industry, but he would not push his luck. It was simple enough for Nezu to gather information on the boy, and he suspected that would come back to bite him in the butt if Izuku had the means and technology to research Nezu in return.

Was he paranoid, to be wary of a teenager? No, Nezu had not missed the glint of real anger in those green eyes, a clear indication that Izuku would not hesitate to take his revenge for being forced down the path he so desperately wanted to avoid. While the principal of UA would appear as clean as a whistle online, Nezu did not want anyone digging into his past without his consent.

When the two shook hands to seal the deal, Nezu realized that this fight was not over. Izuku may have agreed to his offer, but he did not expect the boy to follow along easily.

He would most certainly continue his nightly walks, even if he had to break through every rule and barrier that UA placed in his way.

Nezu tried to keep his grin in check.

Midoriya Izuku was an intriguing child, indeed.