"Indeed. Though that is simply the worst case scenarios. Just as we can't overlook them, we also can't overlook the possibility that our enemy was simply caught of guard."
Nezu added.
"There remains the chance that Mr. Takumi was somehow able to escape his captors before his first public appearance and they could only react when it was too late. It might be wrong, but with the inconsistencies, that's the most likely option right now."
"Ultimately, we have to consider carefully. Not because I want to doubt a traumatized child, but because the alternative—assuming he's free and being wrong—could cost lives."
All Might's expression darkened, but he held his tongue for the moment.
"Nezu ... Where are you headed with this? Because I frankly don't like, nor want to consider the possibility of where this is going."
Nezu continued, his analytical tone measured. "There's also the matter of Young Takumi's reaction upon discovering the conditioning. According to his own account, he became aware of the neural implants yesterday—before your battle training class, Toshinori. The compulsion was supposedly gone by then, yet his first instinct wasn't to report to faculty or seek immediate help from trained professionals."
"He explained that," Tsukauchi interjected. "The conditioning made him avoid authority figures—"
"Yes, but it was already removed at that point," Nezu said carefully. "He claims the device accident freed him, yet he still chose to attend class, participate in training exercises, and only came forward after the League's attack made it impossible not to." The principal's eyes gleamed. "One has to wonder: would he have told us anything at all if Shigaraki's failed command hadn't forced his hand?"
All Might's jaw tightened. "You're suggesting he was hiding it deliberately."
"I'm suggesting it's a valid question to ask." Nezu's voice remained neutral. "Why would someone who just discovered they'd been mentally controlled for an indeterminate period choose to keep that information private? Even without the compulsion active, he made a calculated decision to remain silent."
"Because he's a scared kid!" All Might's voice rose despite his weakened state, then he winced and lowered it. "Nezu, you're asking why a fifteen-year-old boy who just recovered memories of a decade of torture didn't immediately run to the adults? Maybe because he needed time to process! Maybe because he was terrified of what it meant! Maybe because—" He stopped, taking a breath. "Maybe because after ten years of being experimented on, trusting authority figures doesn't come naturally anymore."
Recovery Girl nodded firmly.
"The boy's been through hell, Nezu. You can't expect textbook rational behavior from someone in his position."
"I'm not expecting anything," Nezu replied, his tone softening slightly. "I'm merely noting the inconsistency. Understanding his trauma doesn't mean we ignore potential security concerns." All Might leaned forward despite the pain it caused. "Then let me make this simple. If their goal was to kill me, and if Young Takumi was truly still under their influence, I would already be dead. He had multiple opportunities today—during the battle, after it, while I was weakened and vulnerable. He could have used those rods to nullify my quirk completely and finished me off. Instead, he saved my life."
The room fell quiet."He stood against the villains with us. He protected his classmates, he brought me to safety when I couldn't move. Every action he took today was that of a hero, not an assassin. That has to count for something."
"It does," Nezu acknowledged. "More than something, actually. His actions today may have saved not just your life but prevented a catastrophic blow to hero society. I'm not discounting that.""Then what are you saying?""I'm saying we remain vigilant while also providing support. We don't treat him as an enemy, but we also don't assume we have all the answers." Nezu's expression was difficult to read. "All For One has orchestrated schemes that took years to unfold, Toshinori. Layers upon layers of contingencies. If Young Takumi is genuinely free and traumatized, then our caution costs nothing and helps protect him. But if there's more to this situation than we currently understand..."He didn't finish the thought.Tsukauchi closed his notebook with a tired sigh. "I'll start a discreet investigation. We'll look into the Commission's medical staff who handled Ken's assessments, cross-reference disappearances of quirkless individuals during the relevant timeframe, and analyze any patterns we can find. If there's a traitor or if we're missing something, we'll uncover it."
"He should come for more medical scans as well." Recovery Girl added, though her tone made it clear she didn't like it."
"Regular scans, disguised as routine student health checkups. If anything changes, we'll know immediately."
"Good." Nezu hopped down from his chair. "Detective, I'll need you to coordinate with—"
A sharp knock interrupted him. The door opened to reveal a harried-looking administrative assistant. "Principal Nezu, I'm sorry to interrupt, but the Hero Commission representatives have arrived. They're demanding an immediate briefing on the attack."
Nezu's ears twitched with obvious annoyance. "Of course they are. Tell them I'll be there momentarily."
He turned back to the room. "It seems we'll have to continue this discussion later. Toshinori, rest. You're useless to anyone dead. Detective, compile your initial findings and send them to my secure channel. Recovery Girl, keep our Symbol of Peace alive despite his best efforts to the contrary."
"I always do," she muttered.
As Nezu moved toward the door, his mind was already racing ahead—calculating, analyzing, planning. The attack on U.A. was unprecedented. A direct assault on the nation's premier hero academy, casualties among villains but thankfully none among students, and now the revelation of All For One's potential involvement in systematic human experimentation.
The Hero Commission would want answers. They'd want reassurances. They'd want to know how this breach happened and what would be done to prevent it from happening again.
And he'd have to provide those answers without revealing everything they'd just discussed. Ken's situation needed to remain compartmentalized—too many people knowing would either put him in danger or compromise the investigation if there truly was a traitor in the Commission.
The political fallout alone would be substantial. Questions about U.A.'s security, about All Might's effectiveness, about whether students were truly safe here. The media would have a field day once word got out, which it inevitably would. He'd need to coordinate with the Commission on messaging, damage control, parent communications...
Then there was the matter of the other students. Team B had witnessed a massacre—not by heroes, but by some unknown entity that systematically eliminated every villain at their location. They'd need counseling, support, careful monitoring for trauma responses. The same for Team C, frozen by Todoroki and nearly caught in the crossfire. And Team A, who'd seen their classmate go toe-to-toe with threats far beyond what any first-year should face.
The semester had barely begun and already they'd been baptized in blood and chaos.
'All For One's timing is impeccable as always.' Nezu thought grimly. Strike while they're still adjusting, still vulnerable, still learning to trust each other. Classic.
But something else nagged at him. Something he'd noticed during the entire conversation with Young Takumi but hadn't voiced aloud.
The lighting in Recovery Girl's office was soft, designed for patient comfort. Overhead fluorescents cast gentle illumination that created faint shadows beneath furniture, medical equipment, the people in the room.
Faint. But visible.
Ken Takumi had sat in that chair for nearly half an hour, moving, gesturing, shifting position. The chair had a shadow. All Might's bed had a shadow. Recovery Girl's cane cast a thin line across the floor. But Ken himself?
No shadow.
Not even a faint one. It was subtle enough that no one else seemed to notice—after all, the shadows were dim to begin with, and who pays attention to such details during an intense conversation about mind control and experimentation? But Nezu had noticed. He noticed everything.
And then there were the reports from the students about the "shadow entity" that had slaughtered the villains. A being made of darkness, moving with inhuman speed and precision, leaving no survivors except the students themselves.
Coincidence? Perhaps.
But Nezu had long ago learned to distrust coincidences, especially where All For One was involved. 'Young Takumi.' he thought as he walked down the corridor toward the waiting Commission representatives.
'What exactly are you hiding?'
Four quirks was already impossible. Five would be... unprecedented. Unless.
Unless the experiments had succeeded in ways even All For One hadn't anticipated. Unless the trauma and the testing and the forced evolution had created something entirely new. Unless his student wasn't just a victim of All For One's schemes, but something far more complex.
Did All For One even know about this Possibly ... Not? A failed experiment that became an unexpected success.
A weapon that gained autonomy. A boy with powers even he might not fully understand yet. The massacre on the villains ... Did Mr. Takumi have a hand in it?
The shadow entity had killed Shigaraki and Kurogiri according to the students' accounts—the very people who'd tried to activate Ken's supposed conditioning. Convenient. Almost protective.
Perhaps, subconsciously.
Or, another part of Nezu's mind whispered, 'You're seeing patterns where none exist. The boy is traumatized, he saved All Might's life, and you're connecting unrelated dots because that's what you do.'
True. He couldn't discount his own tendency toward excessive analysis.
But he also couldn't discount his instincts, honed over years of facing impossible situations and emerging victorious.
The Commission representatives were waiting in his office—two stern-faced bureaucrats and a hero liaison he vaguely recognized. He painted on his most professional smile.
"Gentlemen, thank you for coming so quickly. I assure you, the situation is well in hand..."
As he launched into the carefully prepared briefing, part of his mind was already planning. Discrete surveillance of Ken's movements—not invasive enough to notice, just... observant. Cross-referencing the timing of the shadow entity's appearance with Ken's reported location. Perhaps a few carefully worded questions to the students about exactly what they saw.
Nothing accusatory. Nothing that would alert anyone to his suspicions.
Just... due diligence.
Because if he was right—if Ken Takumi had somehow manifested a fifth ability, one directly connected to that massacre—then the implications were staggering. If he was conscious of it, then he had willingly used his powers to kill. That alone violated several laws and was a dangerous red flag that could scar a student for life.
And if he was wrong?
Then he was simply being paranoid about a traumatized student who'd already been through far too much.
Time would tell which it was.
'I hope I'm wrong,'
Nezu thought as the Commission representatives droned on about protocol and security measures.
'For Young Takumi's sake, I genuinely hope I'm wrong.'
___
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