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"Looks like we found the leak."
Rumi's words hung in the air of the common room as realization hit everyone. Yuga Aoyama was pinned against the wall, his feet dangling inches off the floor, Rumi's grip on his collar iron-clad. His face was full of terror, sweat beading on his forehead, running down his face.
"Usagiyama-san!" Iida stepped forward, his voice shaking with confusion and authority. "Put him down! This is madness! Aoyama-kun is our classmate! You can't just accuse him of — "
"Shut up, Iida," Akaza said.
Everyone was shocked by his sudden appearance.
'When did he come back???'
He hadn't shouted. He hadn't moved from his spot near the kitchen. But his voice cut through the room like a blade, silencing everyone. He walked forward, as the class parted for him instinctively.
He stopped next to Rumi, looking at the trembling boy.
"Check his phone," Akaza said simply.
Rumi reached into Aoyama's pocket with her free hand. Aoyama whimpered, trying to struggle, but against her strength, he was like a rag doll. She pulled out his phone. The screen was still on.
It was a message draft. It was a message ready to be sent to his parents. The message contained strings of coordinates and a status report on the heroes' conditions after the High-End fight.
Rumi turned the screen so the class could see.
"Explain this," she growled.
"I... I..." Aoyama's voice cracked, tears streaming down his face. "I didn't want to! I had no choice! He... He... can do things! He knows where my parents are! He gave me this quirk because I was born without one, just like Midoriya! And the price... the price was my life!"
The revelation hit the class like a physical blow. Izuku's eyes widened. Born quirkless? Just like me? He looked at Aoyama, seeing a twisted mirror of what he could have become if All For One had found him instead of All Might.
"You sold us out," Mina whispered, her hand over her mouth. " The training camp... Kamino... it was you?"
"I was scared!" Aoyama sobbed, his flashy persona completely dissolved into a puddle of fear. "I just wanted to be equal to everyone! I just wanted to sparkle! But the darkness... It's too deep!"
The dormitory entrance slid open. Shota Aizawa stood there, his capture weapon already floating around his neck, his eyes glowing red. He had been alerted by the commotion.
He took in the scene instantly. Rumi holding Aoyama. The phone. The confession hangs in the air.
"Usagiyama," Aizawa said, his voice low. "Put him down."
Rumi hesitated. Her grip tightened for a second, her knuckles white. She wanted to hurt him. She wanted to make him pay for every injury, every fear, every moment Akaza had to suffer because of the League.
"Rumi," Akaza said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We will handle it."
She looked at Akaza and saw the calm in his eyes. She finally exhaled and opened her hand, dropping Aoyama on the floor.
Aizawa walked over. He didn't look angry. He just looked incredibly sad. He knelt down next to his student.
"Yuga Aoyama," Aizawa said quietly. "You're coming with me."
"Sensei... am I... am I expelled?" Aoyama choked out.
"That is the least you should be worried about," Aizawa said. He stood up, his capture weapon wrapping around the boy's wrists.
"But right now, you need to tell us everything. About All For One. About the League."
He led the weeping traitor out of the dorms. The door slid shut, leaving Class 1-A alone in the silence.
It wasn't the camp's angry silence. It was a heartbroken silence. They looked at each other, realizing that the enemy hadn't just been outside the walls. He had been eating breakfast with them.
"He was... scared," Toru Hagakure sniffled, her invisible form shaking. "We didn't even know."
"Doesn't matter," Bakugo growled from the couch, though his voice lacked its usual bite. "Scared or not, he put us in the ground. If Rumi hadn't caught him, more incidents would have happened."
Akaza looked around the room. He saw the doubt, the fear creeping back in.
"He's gone," Akaza said firmly. "The leak is plugged. We move on."
He grabbed Rumi's hand, interlacing their fingers. "Let's go, carrots. I'm tired."
As they walked to the elevator, Izuku looked up. "Akaza-kun... how did you know?"
Akaza paused. He didn't turn around.
"Because," he said, his voice flat. "I know what a person looks like when they're drowning."
The Weekend
The atmosphere at the Todoroki estate was usually cold enough to freeze the air, regardless of the season. It was a traditional Japanese house that felt more like a museum than a home.
But tonight, there was warmth.
Fuyumi Todoroki bustled around the kitchen, plating food with a nervous, happy energy. "Shoto! You're here!" she beamed as her younger brother walked into the dining room.
Shoto nodded, placing a small gift box on the table — a melon he had picked up on the way. "Hello, Fuyumi."
"You're looking... good," Natsuo said from the table, though his tone was guarded. He was playing with his chopsticks, his eyes darting to the head of the table.
Enji Todoroki, Endeavor, sat there. He looked different. The fight with the High-End Nomu had left its mark. A jagged scar ran down the left side of his face, from his eye to his jaw, mirroring the one he had given his son years ago. He wasn't wearing his hero costume. He was in a simple yukata, looking uncomfortable and large in his own home.
"Shoto," Endeavor said, his voice gruff. "Take a seat."
Shoto sat down. The tension was noticeable, like a thick rubber band waiting to snap. Fuyumi quickly served the food — cold soba for Shoto, spicy mapo tofu for Natsuo, and traditional dishes for the rest.
"So," Fuyumi started, her voice a little too bright. "How is school? The dorms? I saw the news about the villain attack in Kyushu. You guys were amazing at the license exam!"
"It's fine," Shoto said, picking up his chopsticks. "We're busy. Work Studies have started."
"You're with... him," Natsuo muttered, jerking his chin at Endeavor without looking at him.
"I am," Shoto replied calmly.
Endeavor cleared his throat. He seemed to be struggling to find words that weren't orders. "Your... classmates. The ones who interned with you. Usagiyama and Bakugo. How are they?"
Shoto looked at his father. It was a clumsy attempt at small talk, but it was an attempt. "They're strong. Bakugo is loud, but he's learning to focus. And Rumi... she's relentless."
"And the other one?" Endeavor asked, his eyes narrowing slightly, though not in anger. "The boy. Asura."
"Akaza," Shoto corrected. "He's doing well."
"He is... dangerous," Endeavor stated. "I saw the reports from the camp. What he did to Muscular. And what Hawks told me about Kamino. He operates on a different wavelength."
"He does what is necessary," Shoto said, his voice firming up. "He saved us. He saved Bakugo when All Might couldn't. He opened my eyes."
Endeavor paused, his chopsticks halfway to his mouth. "Opened your eyes?"
Shoto put his bowl down. He looked directly at his father, his heterochromatic eyes steady.
"I hated you," Shoto said.
The room went dead silent. Fuyumi gasped. Natsuo's grip on his chopsticks tightened until they snapped.
"I hated you for Mom. For Touya. For everything you did to us to make your 'masterpiece'."
Endeavor didn't look away. He took the hit, his expression stoic, though his hand clenched on the table.
"I refused to use your fire," Shoto continued. "I thought that by using it, I was becoming you. I thought I was letting you win. But Akaza... he told me something. He told me that by rejecting the power, I was still letting you control me. I was defining my life by your actions, not mine. He told me that family deserves a second chance, even when it's hard."
Natsuo stood up, his chair scraping loudly against the floor. "That's bullshit!" he yelled, his face red. "Second chance?! After what he did to Mom? After he locked her away?! Shoto, are you brainwashed?! You can't just forgive him because some guy told you to!"
"I didn't say I forgave him," Shoto said, his voice remaining calm, a stark contrast to Natsuo's heat.
He looked at Endeavor. "I haven't forgiven you. I don't know if I ever will. The scar you gave me... the scars you gave this family... they don't just go away because you decided to be Number One."
Endeavor looked down, the shame radiating off him in waves. "I know," he rasped. "I... I am trying to atone. But I know it may not be enough."
"It's not," Natsuo spat. "I'm leaving. I can't do this 'happy family' act." He stormed out of the room, the sliding door slamming shut behind him.
Fuyumi looked like she was about to cry. "Natsuo..."
"Let him go," Endeavor said quietly. "He has the right to be angry."
Shoto picked up his chopsticks again. He took a bite of soba.
"I'm not forgiving you yet," Shoto said again, looking at his father. "But... I'm watching you. I saw you fight the High-End. I saw you raise your fist. You're trying to change. Akaza said that power is mine. My life is mine. So, I'm choosing to see who you become, Dad. Not who you were."
The word 'Dad' hung in the air. It was the first time Shoto had used it without venom in years.
Endeavor looked at his son. Really looked at him. He saw the strength in Shoto's eyes, a strength that didn't come from hatred anymore, but from conviction. He realized that the boy sitting across from him was no longer his creation. He was his own man.
A lump formed in the large man's throat. He nodded.
"I... I will show you," Endeavor said, his voice thick. "Just watch me."
Shoto nodded. "I am."
Fuyumi wiped her eyes, a wobbly smile appearing on her face. "Eat," she urged gently. "It's getting cold."
They ate in silence, but it wasn't the cold, oppressive silence of the past. It was a fragile, tentative silence. The cracks in the foundation were still there, deep and jagged. But for the first time, instead of trying to ignore them or widen them, they were starting, slowly, to build bridges across them.
Shoto looked out the window at the moon. He thought of Akaza, back at the dorms with Rumi and Eri.
Thanks, Akaza, he thought. I think... I think we're going to be okay.
---XXXX---
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