Chapter 6: House Arrest
Izuku felt his chest heave unevenly as he tried his hardest to suppress the well of emotions rising in his throat. His recount of the villain attack had gone smoothly, up until the verbal tussle with Kacc- Katsuki. The poker face he had put on was faltering, and he knew that the pro heroes were noticing. 'Dammit, Izuku. Get your shit together. You can deal with the fucked up psyche of Katsuki later. Right now, you have to prove to possibly the grumpiest hero in Japan that you are worth a spot at UA. Don't. Fuck. This. Up. '
Resting his remaining hand on the bridge of his nose, Izuku shut his eyes and acted like as if he was attempting to remember details of the fight. The facade was clever, but hardly effective. As soon as he paused to breath, he felt a gentle hand rest on his right shoulder. Present Mic's voice soothingly whispered, "It's ok, kid. What you went through was stressful. Don't hurt yourself trying to sort through all your emotions at once."
With a deep breath and a glance to his missing forearm, Izuku continued his story in as strong of a voice as he could muster, "It's alright Present Mic. I can handle it. Right, so Katsuki Bakugo was laying down, propped up on the alley wall behind us. I had been turned around to face where I had last seen the slime villain and it became obvious to me that the fire wall I had set up was wearing thin. I could hear the sludge evaporating off of the villain's body, but he just kept approaching. I was out of options, so I panicked and pushed every ounce of power I had out all at once."
Izuku's voice adopted an accelerated staccato, "I'm sure that alone was enough to cause a lot of damage to the surrounding buildings, but by this point my fight or flight response was going haywire. I knew that if I didn't do something, then me and Katsuki would've died — and all of my actions would've been for nothing. Anyways, when he got within striking distance…"
Izuku paused to catch his breath and to look back at Eraser Head. The man was staring at him intently, but his expression was still irritatingly hard to read. His unkempt mop of hair left stands to shield his eyes, but even through the obstruction, Izuku could clearly sense the severe scrutiny. It was unsettling to know just how thoroughly he was being inspected. One slip up and he'd have no chance of getting into UA. No chance of being the hero his dad entrusted him to become.
Coughing to clear his throat, Izuku prepared the final part of the story. It was what the pros actually cared about. "When the villain finally broke through the flames and got close enough to prepare an attack, I felt something inside of me become agitated. I was desperate, so I relied on that feeling and held out my right hand. I thought I was gonna use some extra strong flames, but instead I felt the charcoal substance that enveloped my arm constrict. There was an audible popping sound as my arm vanished. It was all a blur and couldn't have lasted more than a second or two, but I think I saw a dark orb no bigger than a marble where my hand had been. It just kind of floated there until one of the sludge tendrils hit it. I immediately passed out, so I don't remember anything, but I saw the news. Apparently, I caused half the alley to explode. I swear I didn't do that intentionally."
The room remained quiet now that the story had been finished, only the mechanical hum of miscellaneous hospital equipment filling the void. Izuku wondered how his mom was staying so composed. When he had told her the story earlier, she had been inconsolable. The expression she currently wore was clearly distressed, but thankfully she wasn't bawling her eyes out. Momentarily inspecting his mom, it was clear that she wasn't doing well. Her eyes were in a constant state of puffiness, her hair was a mess, and her clothes were disheveled. She had spent the night in an uncomfortable hospital chair, after all. A pang of guilt flowed through Izuku's chest before he focussed back on the conversation. Present Mic looked sympathetic and had removed his iconic sunglasses but remained silent. It was clearly Eraser Head's responsibility to figure the situation out.
Eraser Head continued staring at him for an uncomfortably long moment before leaning back into his chair and indifferently asking, "I see. My condolences for the hand. So, starting from the beginning. Katsuki Bakugo, the kid you saved. Is he a friend of yours? Records show that he also attends Aldera Junior High."
Izuku shifted in his bed awkwardly. Who was Katsuki Bakugo to him? I mean, just off the fact that he refers to him by his first name was a clear indicator of something. But even that was a recent change. For as long as Izuku could remember he had always been 'Kacchan', but ever since their fight during the chaos of the villain attack, something had changed. They had been going at each other's throats for years now and, for even longer, Katsuki had despised his very existence. Nevertheless, Izuku had still felt a sense of closeness to him, as if he was a kindred spirit. A small part of him always longed for the day when they'd fix whatever rift had come between them, but yesterday had twisted something in his gut.
He remembered the feral visage Katsuki had adorned after ripping him away from the sludge villain's control. It had confused him at first, but the screaming made something abundantly clear — there was no saving their relationship. If Katsuki wasn't willing to make amends on death's door, then there would never be reconciliation between them. Izuku had put his life on the line and lost a hand for him. Not even a 'thank you' was given in return.
Earlier, the nurse had told him that Katsuki had already been discharged. Maybe if he had made an effort to at least see him or ask about how his arm was doing, then things would've been different. But he hadn't. He just left, without a word.
The familiar burn of anger consumed his thoughts. Katsuki had been nothing but an asshole to him for almost a decade now. Izuku wasn't even sure if he deserved to be saved. Not by him, at the very least. There was no going back to how things were when they were kids. Izuku understood that now. 'Kacchan' was a name of endearment he coined as a toddler, it wasn't something that the current Katsuki earned. Even referring to him by his first name felt wrong and left a stale taste on his tongue.
So who was Katsuki Bakugo to him? An asshole. Why he had rushed in so eagerly to save him was beyond Izuku's current realm of understanding. He had broken so many laws in the process and he could've been killed at any moment during that fight. Was it worth it? Izuku really didn't know. If he didn't do anything, All Might would've just come in a few minutes later and have saved the day anyway. That's what Katsuki wanted in the first place, right? There was no point for him to rush into the fight. But at the same time, what if the villain finally managed to kill Katsuki in the few minutes it took All Might to arrive? If he hadn't rushed in, Izuku might have had to live with the guilt of doing nothing for the rest of his life. He wasn't sure that was something he could stomach.
Izuku realized he must have made a face at Eraser Head's question when the man nodded, "Let me guess, it's complicated?"
Izuku glanced towards his mother, who stared back at him with wide green eyes. She knew that he and Katsuki didn't get along perfectly well, but she had only heard about one or two fights between them. There was no way for her to know the kind of hell that Katsuki put him through. And he would never tell her — not when her best friend was said bully's mom. If Izuku told his mom anything, he knew that his mom would tell Aunt Mitsuki everything. That would just make everything worse. "Yeah. It's something like that."
Eraser Head continued, "Alright then. How about that black substance of yours? How does that work in general, and what do you think happened right before you lost consciousness?"
Izuku smiled softly, "Well, it's embarrassing, but I actually don't know a whole lot about it. I mean, clearly. I'd still two hands if I did."
Izuku took the silence that followed as a sign that older people had no sense of humor. "Anyway, I don't really know much about it. I know that it acts similar to an oil and that it reacts to my flames. It comes out of my fingertips and tends to coat my entire hand. I can also slightly move it to and from my hands telekinetically. My mom can do that with small objects, so I assume it is somewhat related to that. As for what the substance is made out of, I suspect it is closely tied to the material that shield my insides from my own internal heat. My dad had an internal substance that did the same thing, but he couldn't secrete it. He never got it examined, though, so he never really knew what it was made out of. I'm guessing it wasn't too different from mine. I've heard from my doctor that it is dense with barium, but that isn't really help-"
Eraser Head broke Izuku's train of thought, "That's enough. You're starting to mumble. Just tell me what happened to it in the attack."
"Right. Um, well, as I mentioned before, the substance had enveloped my hands. Both of them. And then when I tried to go Plus Ultra, I felt a sharp tug on my arm where the substance had been and it just disappeared. The arm was cut cleanly through, like it had no resistance. I was, you know, on the verge of passing out, so I didn't get a good look at anything, but I'm fairly sure the substance shrunk alongside my arm into a marble. My theory is that my telekinetic control over the substance went haywire and just shrunk itself."
Izuku surveyed his audience. His mom had her head in her hands. Present Mic had a look of disgust on his face, but a ghost of his pleasant smile persisted. Eraser Head was staring at him intently with the same unwavering blank expression. Izuku had no idea if any of what he was saying made sense to him. "What was interesting was that that weird black orb just hovered there for a moment. It just stayed still until one of the villain's arms hit it and that's when it exploded, Or at least, that's what I think happened, I wasn't exactly awake for it. And if it exploded on contact, then it had to have been a pressure based explosion, which makes sense if the air, my hand, and my flames all got shrunken to the size of a marble. Once the villain touched it, it probably released the energy that had been stored and it all kind of exploded at once. Since the substance itself is known to react to my flames, I bet there was some kind of chemical reaction mixed into it as well, but that's all just theory at that point."
What felt like the millionth silence of the visit filled the room. Present Mic was the first one to respond in his usual upbeat tone, "Wow, kiddo, you've sure got a good head on your shoulders. I would have never been able to think of all that at your age. And it's only been a day since the accident! Don't know if it's scary or impressive you've already analyzed everything this much after something so traumatic."
Izuku said nothing, but slightly smiled towards the cheery hero. He appreciated the words and would have been over the moon to hear them at any other point in his life, but right now, Present Mic wasn't the one who would make or break his hero career. Eraser Head nodded thoughtfully, pondering the new information he had just heard. The whole world seemed to slow down as the room waited for the dreary hero to respond. "Well. Present Mic is right. You're smart, Izuku. Your analysis of the situation is more than I had anticipated coming in. It'll help a lot with the paperwork."
He took that moment to lean back into his chair, crossing his arms in the process. "But this story also only confirmed to me what I had already expected. You're reckless and barely have any control over your quirk. You seem to have a good grasp on understanding your quirk, but your actual discipline is nonexistent. As it is right now, I wouldn't allow you to enter UA. It would be too dangerous for yourself and others."
The hero paused again and appraised Izuku, who had just felt the full weight of the world crash down upon him. While he remained stiff in his expressions, Izuku was a mess on the inside. Eraser Head continued, "That isn't even mentioning the damages you caused and the several crimes you committed that would establish you as a felon. And trust me when I say that UA does not accept convicted felons. If you want to be a hero, you need to grow tremendously in both decision-making and quirk-control."
Present Mic coughed awkwardly and softly kicked Eraser Head's leg as the tension in the room rose to uncomfortable levels, "Aizawa. If you're gonna get to it, get to it."
A cold side-eye from Eraser Head shut up his compatriot, "As I was saying. Izuku, you're talented, I won't deny that, but as it stands you're also a massive liability."
He leaned forward in his chair and settled a heavy stare onto Izuku, "Fortunately for you, however, you've garnered some attention from powerful places. During the fight yesterday, you caught the eye of the Wild Wild Pussy Cats. Hard not to when you gave one of their members second degree burns. They reached out to UA and petitioned that you would be pardoned from the crimes you committed. They also recognized your innate ability and suggested that UA get involved. Against better judgement, Principal Nezu agreed and contacted the Musutafu Police Department. Thus, you have been given an opportunity at redemption."
Eraser Head sighed, "The police department agreed to be lenient on you, but they refused to let you off outright. This incident will not be on your permanent record and it will be officially reported that All Might saved you and Katsuki Bakugo before defeating the slime villain. It has also been decided that you will serve out a sentence of 12 months on house arrest and undergo regular psych evaluations. Quirk counseling is also required of you during this time period. Additionally, the expenses for the damages incurred during the attack will be covered by UA. Do you understand?"
Izuku was at a loss. He tried to speak, but the words wouldn't form on his tongue correctly. His mind swam erratically as he digested what he had just heard. The all too familiar sting of tears threatened to break his stoic facade. He wasn't going to prison! And this wasn't even going on his permanent record! And he didn't have to pay for the damages he caused! A year of house arrest sucked, but it was nothing compared to a lifetime as a felon. Izuku nodded his head absentmindedly while he considered the repercussions of these conditions.
Present Mic took that moment to budge into the conversation with a low tone that inverted his typical joyous tone, "That is all true. You should consider yourself lucky, kid. You committed some crazy crimes there and you're getting off very easy for what happened. If you ever meet Principal Nezu, you should thank him. He's the one that has been pulling all the strings for you. I can't tell you if it is a good or bad thing, but you've successfully caught the interest of one of the smartest living beings in Japan."
Much to Izuku's confusion, Eraser Head just rolled his eyes, "Mic, let me finish. Izuku, he is right. You've caught the attention of the principal. While under normal circumstances, that would be a bad thing, in this case, you're lucky. He is extending an offer to you. He feels that you spending the next year on house arrest would be a waste of time. So in typical Nezu fashion, he's designed a deal."
"Instead of serving a full year of house arrest at your home, Nezu has come upon an agreement with the police department to lessen your sentence by two months. However, in exchange for the two months, you must spend the next ten months under direct pro hero supervision. If you accept this offer, it has been arranged for the Wild Wild Pussy Cats to take you in for the duration of your sentence. As idiotic as it seems, you left quite the impression on them and they were eager to help you out. They will monitor you and help you control your quirk. Ultimately, the choice is yours on which sentence you choose to take, but if you want to be a hero, I think the answer is obvious."
Izuku let out a nervous laugh. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. ' I must have actually died in that fight with the sludge villain, because there is no way this is happening right now. I mean, what kind of offer is that? Definitely not one the school hands out often. '
"That, uh. That doesn't make sense. This seems more like a reward than a punishment. And why would the principal of UA do so much on my behalf just to lessen the sentence by two months?"
Eraser Head ran a hand through his mess of hair, "Your guess is as good as mine. As for the shortening of the sentence, it is so that you can take the UA entrance exams. To me, it seems like Nezu's interest in you and his willingness to cover for you financially is a gamble on your ability to get into UA. He must see something in you in order for him to go out on a limb like this. Just consider this your lucky break."
For the first time in this conversation, Inko stepped in to interrogate the heroes, "Wait, wait, wait. So your plan is to just wipe the entire slate clean and then have my son train to become a hero on the whim of some principal who has never even met Izuku?" Her eyes darted between the heroes, "That seems incredibly vague and as if this principal is abusing his influence with the police department. And for what? For the sake of cornering Izuku into becoming a pet project? I'm not sure if I'm sold on this whole story."
Izuku tilted his head to look at the staredown between Eraser Head and his mom. His mom had brought up exactly what had been running through his mind. This isn't a normal reaction to a kid committing unauthorized quirk usage. There had to be more to this whole situation.
Present Mic chimed in, "Mrs. Midoriya, I can assure you that the UA faculty only wishes to see your son succeed. We are giving you the option to have Izuku shorten his sentence while furthering his development as a fledgling hero. You don't need to take it. The principal has an eye for talent and if he has taken an interest in Izuku, then I am sure that he wants nothing more than to have the opportunity to train the boy himself at UA. We would never abuse our power of authority to influence your decisions or to control Izuku's future. Wiping the slate clean is an act of goodwill so that your son doesn't have the label of criminal hanging above him for the rest of his life."
Inko's eyes lost a shade of aggressiveness, but she still wasn't satisfied, "Don't get me wrong, I'm appreciative of all that you guys have done for me and Izuku, but this isn't a normal thing for the school to do. I trust that you only have good intentions in mind, but the principal scouting my son after the worst day of his life and then offering aid both financially and academically is suspicious. It is too good to be true. There has to be something else going on here."
Eraser Head flicked stray hairs out of his face and sat up straight in his chair before assuring Inko, "I understand your concerns, Mrs. Midoriya. I will be honest, I've never heard of such an arrangement between UA and the police department happening before, either, so your trepidation is valid. I am also in the dark on Nezu's curiosity in your son. However, I do know that whatever his rationale is, it is for a good reason. Everything Nezu does is for a purpose. As a teacher for the first year hero course, my best guess is that the strength in Izuku's quirk has raised concerns for the safety of himself and those around him. I believe Nezu is trying to help Izuku control his quirk before there becomes an incident even worse than what happened yesterday."
Inko pursed her lips and let out a short hum before responding, "I can see why that might be a concern, but my son isn't some loose cannon. And why would Izuku have to go off with non-UA affiliated heroes in order to appease this 10 month option? We live close to UA. Why can't his pro supervision be done there?"
Izuku's eyes darted between the arguing adults. Frankly, his mom had raised several good points. The entire situation did seem kind of sketchy once he moved past the heroic idealism. There was no way UA would have the police clear him of criminal charges without an ulterior motive. He also suspected that Eraser Head was telling the truth. He doubted either of the two heroes knew what was happening to that extent. It was clear now that them visiting him was not of their own volition.
Principal Nezu is playing some sort of game here, but there was no way of knowing what it was or why he was doing it. From what he knew about the man-stout, he would never come close to knowing the truth if Nezu didn't want him to. The only way of finding out would be to continue going along with it.
While undoubtedly shady, Izuku figured that going along with it wouldn't be the worst move to make. There was no clear downside at the moment for accepting the proposed offer. It would give him direct training of his quirk by a group of pro heroes and would also put him in a good position to get into UA. He was sure that there would be some stipulations to come down the road, but opposing Nezu's scheming right now would be a mistake.
Turning to face his mom, Izuku gently nudged his mom's arm, "Mom. I know it seems strange for this to happen, but we can't let this opportunity go to waste. If UA is willing to help me escape this mess with not only a clean slate, but a path to improve my quirk, I don't think we should shoot it down. Regardless of what the principal wants from me, I attacked a pro hero and blew up an alleyway. Things could be a lot worse."
Inko's head tilted in sympathy for her son as she softly rubbed her thumb on the back of his palm, "Oh honey…" She turned to the sleep-deprived hero, "If Izuku does take the offer and goes to the Wild Wild Pussy Cats, then how will he finish school? And when would he be expected to leave?"
Still exhibiting an unreadable expression, Eraser Head adjusted his scarf as he responded, "Firstly, we cannot allow non-UA students or staff onto campus for security reasons. Additionally, it would be perceived as favoritism by the public if we allowed Izuku access to the campus' facilities. If he were to apply to UA in the next entrance cycle and UA accepts him, it would appear as if we allowed him in based on bias and not of his own potential as a hero. Not only would UA be heavily scrutinized for malpractice, but your son would be ostracized by his peers."
He paused and switched his gaze back to Izuku, as if he was making a specific point, "Furthermore, serving his house arrest sentence under the Wild Wild Pussy Cats is a completely separate ordeal that has nothing to do with UA. It is purely a deal between the Musutafu Police Department and the Wild Wild Pussy Cats. Nezu is acting as an independent coordinator between the two. Officially, UA High School has no involvement in this. Present Mic and I are here on account of the Musutafu Police Department using UA as an extension of their own power."
A heavy gaze was cast by the gloomy hero to the Midoriyas. Izuku clearly understood the message being sent here. This wasn't something that they wanted to be traced back to UA. He could sympathize with that decision. The entire nation would be in an uproar if UA started accepting based on bias over talent. If everyday kids were being restricted from spots at the nation's top hero academy because seats were reserved for the children of pro heroes, then the public would lose hope in hero society as a whole. The heroic dreams of the youth would be irreversibly damaged if they believed that, regardless of their efforts, someone from a higher privilege would prevent them from being accepted into the hero program.
When the 'recommendation student' program emerged, there was a harsh backlash from the public for the same reasons. It was common practice for decades for children of established pro heroes to take the general entrance exams with the rest of the public so that they would not have any preferential treatment. There was a problem with that model of testing though — children of pro heroes are more experienced, better trained, and have distinct genetic advantages over the rest of the applicants. It wasn't obvious at first, but after several years of statistics, it was clear that hero course acceptances were becoming dominated by legacy heroes. When the media brought this discrepancy to the public's attention, it sparked a heated debate on the legitimacy of hero course selections and how 'fair' the whole thing was. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, UA had come up with a controversial solution. Separate the general exam from the exams for the children of pro heroes and otherwise more adept applicants. The public backlash to this decision was severe, but once UA established a limit of four recommendation students per year, the criticisms slowly faded. Despite the program's success over the years, however, if the public caught wind that an applicant received direct training from UA and then got accepted right after, it would become a PR nightmare.
Eraser Head continued, "Rest assured that during the ten weeks Izuku spends away from home, he will still be receiving adequate schooling. The current plan is to have him homeschooled online. The pro heroes he will be staying with are more than capable of helping Izuku in anything he may struggle with. However, after hearing his breakdown of the fight, I don't think you will have to worry about his academic abilities. If you accept the offer, he will be leaving Monday morning. The doctors say that he should be discharged by the end of the week. Detective Tamagawa will oversee your transportation to your residence. Izuku, you'd be expected to remain in the house at all times until Monday morning, when Detective Tamagawa will pick you up from your home and supervise your transport to the Wild Wild Pussy Cat's headquarters."
The pro hero nudged Present Mic, who swiftly stood up as well before handing a business card to Inko. Eraser Head made it clear that they were leaving, "Please respond by the end of the day with your decision. And Izuku, if I haven't made it abundantly clear already, you will have no preferential status with UA. This procedure is purely between the police and the Wild Wild Pussy Cats. If you want to get into UA, you will have to do it of your own ability."
With that, the two heroes made their way to the entrance to the room, their shoes clacking against the tiled floor. They both turned and bowed before Present Mic dawned his glasses once again and gave Izuku a thumbs up paired with a large grin. Without another word, they both left the room, leaving the Midoriyas to stare at the empty doorway in a stupor.
After a beat, Izuku joked, "Mom? I think I just had the most elaborate hallucination in history."
Inko's thousand yard stare didn't waver as she muttered, "You don't say…"
Izuku pointed his nub toward the door, "So we are both in agreement that something fishy is going on?"
Inko smiled widely, "Oh absolutely. This is simultaneously the best and most worrisome news I've heard in at least the past 12 hours. The fact you're getting your record wiped clean is astonishing, but I don't like how even these heroes didn't know the full extent of the situation."
"Yeah. Eraser Head is so cool though."
Inko laughed, "You're always a sucker for the underground heroes, Izuku. How do you feel about everything? You're only a day removed from the incident and there's already more problems to deal with."
Izuku looked down at his arm. Reality hadn't quite jostled its way into place yet. Everything past his elbow was gone, but unless he was physically looking at it, it felt like it was still there. Since he had been cooped up in a hospital bed all this time, he still didn't know what daily tasks were now going to be the bane of his existence. Losing his dominant hand is unfortunate, but he had seen videos online of people training themselves to become ambidextrous, so he figured he would be able to do the same in time.
"Honestly, if this is what it costs to become a hero, I'm not sure whether it's worth it."
Inko cupped Izuku's cheek, "I'm sorry baby. I know this is horrible, but you're the smartest person I know. If there's anyone who can make the most out of this, it's you. And besides, you saved Katsuki. I'm not going to pretend like I didn't see your hesitation earlier. I know there's stuff between you two that you aren't telling me, but saving his life will always be the right thing to do and I'm so proud of you for it. Even if it was extremely dangerous and highly illegal."
Izuku laughed bitterly at her last retort, "Yeah. I think what is done is done and looking back on it isn't going to help me. I should take that offer to get trained with the Wild Wild Pussy Cats. Eraser Head might've been right. Maybe I am a danger to people around me. And if I am, then it's my responsibility to make sure I train so that a situation like this never happens again."
"So noble." Inko pinched Izuku's cheek, "I'm going to miss you, though. What am I supposed to do all alone for an entire year? What if that pesky principal will start scheming again."
"Oh, you can always bet on Nezu scheming. He's the smartest mammal in Japan by a landslide. I just hope that whatever he has in store for me isn't too bad. And besides, I'm pretty certain he'll only become a pain in my side if I end up getting into UA." Izuku wrapped his mom in a hug with his left arm, "Hopefully you'll find something to do while I'm gone. I'm sure Auntie Mitsuki and Uncle Masaru would love to hang out."
Izuku considered that for another second, "Actually, please don't tell the Bakugos where I'll be going. I know I haven't told you what has been going on between me and Katsuki, but I don't want him knowing what I am up to."
Inko looked up at Izuku from the embrace with a mix of concern and curiosity, but the expression on her son's face told her that it's not something he was ready to discuss, "Alright honey, I won't tell them. I'll say you're off with our extended family."
Izuku smiled softly. He really did have the most understanding mother. "Thanks mom."