U.A. High School – Principal's Office – 8:30 p.m.
All Might shuffled through the corridors of U.A. in his true form, exhausted down to his bones. Recovery Girl had finally released him after hours of healing and stern lectures about overexertion.
He just wanted to go home. Sleep for approximately sixteen hours. Maybe cry a little about how close they'd come to disaster today.
His phone buzzed.
Nezu.
Nezu: When you're released from Recovery Girl's care, please come to staff lounge office. Several faculty members are gathering. There's something we need to discuss.
All Might frowned at the message. Had something else happened? More information about the League? Evidence of other attacks planned?
His tired body protested, but he redirected his path toward the administrative wing.
The teacher's lounge wasn't far.
Inside, he found Aizawa slumped in a chair looking like death warmed over, Midnight perched on the edge of the desk, Present Mic gesturing animatedly at something on his phone, and Snipe and Cementoss standing near the windows.
"Everyone."
He greeted.
"Man. You look rough. You ok?"
"Indeed." Midnight added. "You should be resting—"
"It's fine. Recovery Girl released me with strict orders to go home and sleep for sixteen hours. It's just a little exhaustion. I've handled worse ..." He glanced around the room, taking in the unusual gathering. "I'm here because the Principal called."
"Has something happened? More information about today's attack? How is the public response to the breach?"
Everyone exchanged glances.
All Might's brows furrowed.
"What's going on?"
"Well, that's rather the interesting part." Midnight began carefully.
However,
"The attack on U.A. ain't even making the evening news anymore," Present Mic announced, waving his phone. "We've been completely overshadowed!"
All Might blinked. "Overshadowed? By what?" Aizawa, without opening his eyes, muttered: "One of our student's secret identity just went national."
"I'm sorry?"
Midnight turned her phone around, showing him the screen.
BESTSELLING AUTHOR K.T.R.T IDENTITY REVEALED: 17-YEAR-OLD U.A. FIRST YEAR KEN TAKUMI
'Huh?'
The man's jaw dropped comically. "I—this," He stared. Then stared some more. "Hehe ... What did I tell ya?"
Snipe chuckled.
"I had the same expression you did when I heard it. Kid was missing for ten years. Came back with mysterious powers and apparently a bestselling novel in his back pocket."
"Quite unbelievable right?"
"I—yes, but—" All Might looked at the article again, reading through leaked contracts, timeline details, photos. "When did he... how did he..."
"This explains certain aspects of his character, though it raises more questions than it answers." Aizawa began.
"But that's not our immediate problem. Our immediate problem is that one of our first-year students just became the most talked-about person in Japan, and we need to decide how to handle it."
Present Mic leaned back on the couch, staring at the muted television. His usual grin was gone. "Kid's gonna have a rough few days," he muttered.
"Rough few months. The media's not going to let go of this one." Midnight said, concern clear in her voice. "I've dealt with celebrity students before, but this is different. This is national attention focused on a minor whose private information was illegally obtained."
"It's not every day a missing kid shows up at U.A., turns out to be a hero student and a literary celebrity," Mic said. "The PR team's gonna have a meltdown."
"They already are. U.A's being hounded online for an official statement, and reporters are camping outside the school gates," Snipe added. "Security's keeping them back, but they ain't leaving. This isn't good."
All Might's exhaustion was replaced by worry.
'First Grounded Beta, now this?'
He looked at everyone. "What can we do to protect him? What about .."
"Now calm down All Might."
The door creaked open, followed by a calm, cheerful voice interrupting. Everyone turned to the door. "Principal. Thank Goodness you're here. This .."
"I'm well aware of the matter Toshinori. That's why I called you. It seems the rest of the staff are here as well."
Nezu padded into the room with an air of unbothered calm, a cup of tea balanced neatly in one paw and a folder tucked under his arm.
The small principal smiled pleasantly as he climbed onto his chair. "Now then," he began, voice smooth and even, "I believe everyone's aware of the situation?"
Aizawa exhaled slowly. "Hard not to be. The kid's name is plastered across every channel in the country."
Present Mic whistled. "You'd think the League's attack would be the big story, but nope! The public can't get enough of their teenage literary prodigy-slash-missing-person-slash-U.A. student."
Midnight rubbed her temples. "The story writes itself. A mysterious boy vanishes for ten years, reappears with amnesia, aces U.A. exams, and turns out to be the author of a cultural phenomenon. The tabloids are going to eat him alive."
Nezu nodded. "Yes. And that's precisely why we're meeting. U.A. must act immediately before the situation escalates beyond control."
All Might leaned forward, worry visible even in his emaciated form. "The school gates will be swarmed by morning. You said reporters are already gathering?"
Snipe grunted. "Half a dozen vans parked by the entrance, and that's just the ones we could see. Some of the vultures are pretending to be parents or delivery men just to sneak photos."
"Security has them under control for now," Cementoss added, "but once the morning bell rings, it'll be chaos."
Nezu sipped his tea calmly. "Then we'll need to ensure our students never come into contact with the media. At least not without explicit clearance."
The room went quiet again. Even for a school used to controversy, this was uncharted territory.
Midnight broke the silence first. "We can't keep him out of sight forever, Nezu. The public knows his face now. The moment he steps outside, someone will want a statement."
"That's why we'll manage the narrative," Nezu said. His tone was light, but the weight behind it silenced further protest. "Everblue Publishing has already reached out to our PR department. They're scrambling to contain the breach, but they're also terrified of lawsuits. That gives us leverage."
Aizawa's tired eyes flicked up. "You're saying we coordinate?"
"Precisely. We'll release an official statement first thing in the morning. Simple, factual, and polite. Something that emphasizes his right to privacy and U.A.'s commitment to his safety."
All Might frowned. "And the press will listen to that?"
Nezu's whiskers twitched in amusement. "Of course not. But it gives us the moral high ground—and time to prepare him for what's coming."
That was the part that made Aizawa's expression darken. "He's still recovering from the attack. The whole class is."
"Then we'll ease them back in," Nezu replied, setting his cup down with deliberate care. "Thankfully, classes are suspended for tomorrow so we'll have time. Not to mention, Mr. Takumi's enrollment situation with the other first years is special to begin with."
That was right.
Rei TAKUMI was a special case in class 1-A for an accelerated training course. If not for lack of practical experience, he wasn't supposed to be with the first years to begin with.
There was a lot of room for maneuver.
"What are you thinking?"
"Campus boarding."
Nezu uttered, surprising all of them.
"Boarding? You mean? .."
"Just as you suspect. U.A reveals his special accelerated programme. Then we have him live on Campus as a boarding student away from the reach of the media."
"Here, Young Takumi can remain on campus, under supervision, until the media frenzy calms down."
The lounge fell silent. "That's .... A pretty good idea." Cementoss uttered. "Yeah. And here I was thinking we might need to get the kid some bodyguards." Said Snipe.
Nezu school his head and smiled.
"This isn't a villain attack or a Quirk battle. It's a public spectacle. And that sort of battlefield requires a different kind of defense."
The logic was sound, simple even.
Nezu opened the folder he'd brought, revealing a stack of printed reports, screenshots, and statements. "These," he said, sliding them across the table, "are transcripts from Everblue's internal communication. The security breach originated from their Osaka headquarters approximately five hours ago. It appears to have been deliberate—an intrusion using stolen admin credentials."
Midnight's eyes widened. "So this wasn't an accident?"
"Oh no," Nezu said pleasantly. "Someone wanted this information to be public. Badly."
All Might's posture straightened. "Could the League be involved?"
"No," Nezu said after a pause. "I found nothing suggesting any relation. It is unlikely to be related."
Everyone nodded.
"So what about the jerks who did this?" Snipe asked. "They did go after one of our students. Though the information wasn't sold or used for extortion, hurting and innocent kid, especially one of our own is low. We gonna swallow it?"
"Hehehe ... Of course not!" Nezu's smile grew even wider.
"Corporate intrusion is a crime. We're all heroes after all, and it is our duty to stop such criminals. I've been meaning to exercise my mind anyway. This just happens to be quite the convenient task."
The silence that followed was long and uneasy.
Even Present Mic didn't have a joke ready.
Everyone in that room knew what that meant. When the Principal of U.A. personally involved himself in a matter, things moved fast. And people tended to… disappear from the problem side of it.
"Sir," Cementoss began carefully. "When you say you'll handle it personally—"
"I mean exactly that," Nezu interrupted smoothly, setting down his teacup with a soft clink. "I'll be communicating directly with Everblue's executives. I've already requested copies of their internal breach reports, security logs, and staff access chains. By morning, I'll know the names of those responsible."
Aizawa's expression didn't change, but the faint twitch in his eyebrow said enough.
'Well, sucks for them.' Everyone knew Nezu was capable of doing it.
Midnight leaned forward, arms crossed. "You're not planning to involve the Public Safety Commission?"
"Oh, I already have," Nezu said pleasantly. "But bureaucracy tends to crawl when morality runs. So while they draft their preliminary statements and form a committee to consider an investigation, I'll be two steps ahead."
The words were delivered so softly that it took a moment to register the quiet threat under them.
Snipe gave a low whistle. "Remind me never to end up on your bad side, sir."
"Oh, nonsense," Nezu replied cheerfully. "You're all on my good side! So long as none of you sell confidential data about our students to the press."
"Can't say I ever planned to," Mic muttered.
"Since that's all decided," he said finally, clasping his paws together, "let's address the second issue."
He looked around the room, meeting each teacher's gaze in turn. "We need a coordinated response. U.A. has a responsibility to protect its students, and Young Takumi is now in a uniquely vulnerable position."
Present Mic raised a hand. "Real talk though—did anyone else know he wrote that book? Because I feel like that's something we should've been aware of."
Silence.
Then, all eyes turned to Nezu.
The principal's smile didn't waver. "I was aware, yes."
Midnight blinked. "You knew?"
"You knew?" Present Mic echoed.
Even Aizawa looked genuinely surprised.
Nezu nodded. "Of course."
Midnight sat up straighter, incredulous. "Nezu, I personally recommended that book for our curriculum! You let me champion it without telling me one of our incoming students wrote it?"
"I did."
Aizawa's eyes narrowed. "Why?"
"Because Mr. Takumi requested anonymity, and I saw no reason to compromise it." Nezu's tone remained cheerful, but there was steel beneath the softness. "When Everblue Publishing submitted the manuscript for review, I recognized certain... thematic elements that suggested the author had unusual life experience."
He tapped a claw against the desk. "A simple background check and analysis revealed that K.T.R.T.— was Rei Takumi—a minor with an extraordinary history. Missing for a decade, returned with abilities that warranted U.A. recommendation, and somehow found time to write a sophisticated narrative about war, responsibility, and the burden of power."
"And you just... kept that to yourself?" Snipe sounded incredulous.
"I kept it confidential," Nezu corrected. "There's a difference. Young Takumi had a legal right to privacy. His publisher had a contractual obligation to protect his identity. I saw no benefit in compromising either, especially when his work stood on its own merit."
"But you inducted it into our curriculum," Cementoss pointed out. "Knowing one of our students wrote it."
"I inducted it into our curriculum because one of our students wrote it." Nezu's eyes glinted. "It demonstrated that we have students capable of not just physical heroism, but intellectual and creative achievement. That our incoming class contained someone who could articulate complex themes about heroism, morality, and responsibility in a way that resonated with millions."
He paused, letting that sink in.
"What I did not anticipate," he continued softly, "was this level of security breach. Or this level of public exposure."
All Might sank into a chair, processing. "So you knew. This entire time."
"Yes."
"And you said nothing because you were protecting his privacy."
"Precisely."
"But now his privacy has been violated anyway."
"Unfortunately."
Midnight crossed her arms, expression troubled. "The media is going to tear him apart. They'll want interviews, appearances, explanations for every aspect of his life. Especially the missing decade."
"Which is why the dorm is the perfect solution."
Nezu turned to Midnight. "I need you to coordinate with our PR team. Draft a formal statement from U.A. about student privacy and our zero-tolerance policy for harassment."
"Consider it done."
"Snipe, find Vlad—work with security to ensure no unauthorized media personnel get within a hundred meters of campus."
"Sure thing." He nodded, immediately departing.
"And me?" All Might asked.
Nezu's expression softened slightly. "You rest. You've done more than enough today, Toshinori."
All Might wanted to argue, but the exhaustion won out. He simply nodded.
"One more thing," Nezu said, his tone shifting slightly. "Young Takumi may ask to withdraw. To leave U.A. and escape the attention."
All Might was stunned before shaking his head.
"No, he wouldn't."
"Are you sure Toshinori?"
".."
The man couldn't reply. Ken wasn't Midoriya, and he wasn't familiar enough with him to predict what he would do. If Nezu of all people said this, then there was a very high chance of it happening for reasons he had probably already calculated.
"I don't think he'll be able to handle all the attention."
"Indeed." Nezu paused, letting that sink in. "Which is why .. we do everything in our power to convince him to stay. Because U.A. is exactly where he belongs."
This wasn't just because of this whole reveal. There was a bigger threat in the shadows, and having Ken leaves U.A would only expose him to more danger.
The teachers exchanged glances.
"Agreed," Aizawa said finally.
"Agreed," echoed around the room.
Nezu hopped down from the chair. "Then we have our plan. Go home. Rest. Tomorrow will be... interesting."
____
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