Nezu sat behind his desk with his paws crossed when Aizawa pushed through the office door without knocking first. The principal looked up from a stack of documents spread out in front of him, and his black eyes glinted with curiosity as he studied the tense expression on his most exhausted teacher.
"Aizawa kun, what a surprise to see you here during class hours," Nezu commented in a friendly tone, tilting his head to one side. "From your face, I'm guessing you didn't come to complain about the quality of the coffee in the teachers' lounge."
Aizawa closed the door with his elbow and stood in front of the desk without bothering to sit down.
"Principal, I need you to cancel the rescue training at the USJ scheduled for today."
Nezu blinked several times.
"Canceling a practical exercise fundamental to the training of professional heroes…" he repeated slowly while folding his paws in front of himself. "That's certainly an interesting request coming from the teacher most committed to rigorous education. Any particular reason, or did you just decide that today you'd rather sleep in until noon?"
"Midoriya Izuku reported a suspicious individual watching U.A.'s facilities during yesterday's incident with the reporters." Aizawa crossed his arms and held the principal's gaze. "Someone who didn't fit the behavioral pattern of the press. A person observing from the shadows with unclear intentions."
Nezu's polite smile didn't change, but a dark emotion passed through his eyes as his mind analyzed the information at a speed impossible for any normal human being.
"What an interesting coincidence," Nezu murmured, drumming his claws against the polished surface of the desk. "First, we have an inexplicable security breach that allowed unauthorized civilian reporters into a militarized campus. Then, one of our students detects an observer with anomalous behavior on the perimeter during the chaos. And now you, Aizawa kun, are coming to my office asking for the immediate cancellation of the only off campus exercise scheduled for today."
Aizawa clenched his jaw.
"I don't have concrete proof of anything. I just have the intuition of a problem student who could be making up excuses to divert my attention from his own disciplinary issues."
"But you also have the professional experience of someone who has watched comrades die from ignoring warnings," Nezu finished gently as his expression turned serious.
Aizawa didn't answer, and his silence was answer enough.
Nezu leaned back in his chair with his paws crossed, and his eyes shone with anticipation.
"Tell me something, Aizawa kun. If you were a villain who had just obtained the complete itinerary of U.A.'s activities, what target would you select for an attack?"
Aizawa didn't have to think about it long.
"The rescue training at the USJ. A group of first year students off the main campus with only two or three supervising teachers. The perfect target for an ambush."
"Exactly," Nezu nodded. "And that's why I'm not going to cancel the training."
Aizawa looked at him in disbelief.
"Principal, you just confirmed that we're probably going to be attacked, and your solution is… to continue with the original plan?"
"My solution is to turn their ambush into our trap," Nezu replied as he pressed the intercom button on his desk. "Kayama kun, please come to my office immediately. And bring Ishiyama kun with you."
Midnight's voice came through the speaker in an amused tone.
"Is this an emergency meeting, or did you just miss my company, Principal?"
Nezu's response came instantly, accompanied by a small refined laugh.
"Both, Nemuri kun. So I'd appreciate it if you'd hurry."
Nezu cut the communication and looked at Aizawa.
"If there's something I learned from the humans who tortured me for years with their experiments, Aizawa kun, it's that the best revenge against those who underestimate your intelligence is to show them exactly how wrong they were. And these villains have just made the mistake of believing that U.A. is an easy target."
He settled back in his chair, folding his paws together with a thoughtful expression.
"We're going to give them exactly what they expect to see: vulnerable students in an isolated environment with minimal adult supervision. What they won't expect is to find every available combat teacher hidden and waiting for the signal to attack."
Aizawa processed the implications as he leaned against the wall.
"You're going to use the students as bait."
"I'm going to use the villains' arrogance against them," Nezu corrected. "The students will never be in real danger because the ambush will be ours from the beginning. But I need you to trust me, Aizawa kun. Can you do that?"
Before Aizawa could answer, the door opened to reveal Midnight walking in wearing her full hero costume, with Cementoss following her, his expression serious.
"Principal… Aizawa," Nemuri Kayama greeted with a slight bow over the desk, smiling with amusement. "This must be important if you're interrupting my Modern Art class. We were right at the part where I was explaining the subtle differences between aesthetic tension and sensual repression in the…"
"Kayama," Aizawa cut in flatly.
Midnight let out an exaggerated sigh and rolled her eyes dramatically.
"You are such a boring man, Aizawa. Please, continue, Principal."
Nezu looked at the three teachers gathered in front of him.
"Gentlemen and lady, we have reason to believe the League of Villains is planning to attack the USJ during our rescue training scheduled for this afternoon. And we're going to give them the welcome they deserve."
Izuku returned to his seat at an easy pace as Aizawa disappeared through the door, dragging his sleeping bag like a giant yellow caterpillar. The rest of the class murmured among themselves about the teacher's strange exit, but Izuku barely paid them any attention.
Well, I did my part, he thought as he dropped into his chair. I passed the info to Aizawa sensei, and now it's his problem. I can get back to focusing on important things like… shit, what the hell is this worksheet?
He stared at the paper in front of him in confusion. The instructions were in English and seemed to demand complex verb conjugations he definitely didn't remember studying.
Momo leaned slightly from her seat with a concerned expression.
"Did everything go okay with Aizawa sensei, Izuku kun?"
"Yeah, I told him what Toga saw, and he… well, he left." Izuku shrugged. "I guess that means he took it seriously."
Ochako looked up from her own worksheet with a relieved expression.
"That's good, right?" Ochako tilted her head slightly with a soft, genuine smile. "I mean… at least now you don't have to carry the whole responsibility by yourself."
"Exactly," Izuku nodded as he picked up his pencil. "Now I can worry about simpler things like… what the heck does 'past perfect continuous' mean?"
Momo let out a small, elegant laugh before pointing delicately at one section of the exercise.
"It's a verbal structure used to express an action that began in the past, continued for a certain amount of time, and concluded before another specific moment also in the past," she explained calmly. "For example: 'I had been studying English for three years before I entered U.A.'"
Izuku looked at her like she'd just spoken to him in an alien language.
What a diligent girl! She probably had British tutors since she was five. Meanwhile, I can barely tell 'your' from 'you're.'
"Yaoyorozu san is super smart!" Ochako said with a smile. "Honestly, I don't really get any of this either."
Momo shook her head slightly as a faint pink tint appeared on her cheeks.
"It's nothing extraordinary," she replied modestly. "Really, it's mostly a matter of practice and constant exposure to the language. If you'd like, I could help you both with the exercises during lunch."
The classroom intercom let out a burst of static before Present Mic's explosively energetic voice invaded the room.
"YEEEEEEAH, LISTEN UP, CLASS 1-A! I've got an ULTRA HOT announcement fresh out of the oven!"
Several students flinched at the volume.
"This afternoon, you'll be having a SPECIAL rescue training session at the amazing U-S-J! That's right, future heroes! You're gonna meet the legendary rescue heroine Thirteen and learn how to save lives like real PROS!"
A thump came through, like someone had put a hand over the mic.
"…Huh? I gotta read the serious part too? Ugh, what a buzzkill…"
The sound of pages shuffling crackled through the speaker.
"Ahem. Make sure you bring your hero costumes. The bus leaves at two o'clock sharp. And, uh… and I quote: 'Don't be late.' Because apparently it 'won't wait for anyone.' Scary stuff, people."
His tone shot right back to that exaggerated excitement.
"SOOOOOO GET HYPED, YOUNG HEROES! MAKE SOME NOOOOOISE!"
"USJ?!" Kaminari practically jumped out of his seat. "Bro, that's awesome! It's like a mix between a theme park and a pro hero training ground! Can you imagine all the crazy stuff they must have in there?!"
Iida adjusted his glasses with a quick motion as he settled into a perfectly straight posture.
"Rescue training under the supervision of the heroine Thirteen!" he declared with visible enthusiasm. "This will be an extremely valuable experience for our development as professional heroes! I strongly recommend that we all take detailed notes and pay absolute attention throughout the entire session!"
Kirishima slammed a fist into his palm with a huge grin full of energy.
"Yeah! I'm gonna save so many people that Thirteen's gonna be like, 'That kid is way too manly, I gotta recruit him right now!'"
Izuku felt a jolt of excitement.
The USJ… that means actual practical exercises. Simulated rescue situations in controlled environments. Perfect for testing how my Quirk can help others during emergencies… Ahem, as long as I don't grope anybody. Yeah, gotta be careful with my hands.
Then he remembered something important that dropped his excitement several notches.
Hold on. Rescue training means teamwork. Teamwork means they're probably gonna pair me up with someone at random. What if I get stuck with Mineta? Or Bakugo? God, I'd rather have a water pipe explode in my face than deal with that idiot's attitude for hours.
Ochako spun in her seat with a bright smile that made Izuku's worries dissolve for a moment.
"Waaa, Izuku kun! This is gonna be amazing! I've never been to the USJ before, I'm so excited I feel like I'm gonna float away! They say they have everything: fire zones, floods, shipwrecks… even earthquakes! It's kinda scary, but… we're gonna give it our best!"
"Sounds exciting," Izuku admitted. "Also sounds like the kind of place where you could die if you don't pay attention."
Momo nodded with a serious expression.
"Professional training facilities are designed to simulate real danger conditions. That's why it's essential to maintain focus and follow the supervising instructor's directions without deviating from the established protocol."
Translation: don't do anything stupid, Midoriya.
The classroom door opened to reveal Aizawa dragging himself back inside with his sleeping bag tucked under his arm. He looked even more exhausted than before, like he'd just run a mental marathon over the last fifteen minutes.
He dropped into his chair behind the desk and looked at the class with bloodshot eyes.
"You already heard the announcement. We're going to the USJ this afternoon," Aizawa said in his usual tired tone. "Bring your costumes and follow instructions. If anyone does something stupid and dies… I'll fail their corpse."
Kaminari raised his hand timidly.
"Sensei, can you… can you actually fail a corpse?"
"Figure it out yourself if you're so curious; it's a waste of time to explain. Now, finish the English exercises in silence. I'm going to sleep for exactly thirty minutes. If I hear a single sound above a whisper, the rescue training is canceled. Instead, you'll spend the afternoon running around campus until your lungs stop functioning. Be rational and don't wake me."
He climbed inside his sleeping bag and closed his eyes.
The class went silent, scared by the threat of running all afternoon.
Izuku looked at Momo with a silent pleading expression while pointing at his worksheet. She smiled patiently and slid her own paper toward him so he could copy the correct answers.
Momo is a gift from heaven. I'm definitely gonna help her with Quirk training after this. Maybe I could even… no, Izuku, focus on the exercises. Perverted thoughts for later.
Time crawled by as the class worked on the exercises under the supervision of their sleeping teacher. Izuku finished copying Momo's answers just as Aizawa woke up with a low grunt and crawled out of his bag with the leisurely pace of someone who's slept exactly as much as he needed.
"Time's up," he announced, stretching. "Hand in the worksheets."
The students dutifully placed their exercises in a pile on the desk. Aizawa scooped them up without looking and shoved them into his briefcase with complete disinterest.
"You have an hour for lunch. After that, get ready for the USJ. Come with a professional attitude, or don't come at all. Class dismissed."
He got up and walked out, shuffling his feet while the class erupted into excited conversations about the afternoon's training.
Izuku felt a soft tap on his shoulder. Ochako was looking at him with a happy expression.
"Wanna grab lunch together, Izuku kun?"
Momo closed her notebook gently.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to join. I have some questions about rescue techniques I'd like to discuss before the practical training."
This is dangerously close to a group date. Why has my student life turned into a romance anime when all I wanted was to be a hero?
"Sure," Izuku replied as he picked up his backpack. "Let's go before all the good spots get taken."
*******
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