A Tarnished Hero

Izuku leaned his back against the sturdy metal chair, his eyes focused on nothing as his mind circled around the revelations earlier in the day.

His mother was dead. Midoriya Inko, was dead. Suicide, they said, because she couldn't bear living without him. She was also struggling, what with his father leaving her during his early years, but there was always one constant that made her stay to look forward.

Him.

And he left just as abruptly as his father did when he went to get the milk down the road. It was surreal. Here he thought he would be able to reunite with his mother after months of hell, and life decided that it wasn't meant to be.

Sometimes, he wondered if something from the far beyond hated him with a passion.

A chuckle escaped his lips as he rubbed his tired eyes. No, he wouldn't succumb to atrophy. His mother believed he could be a hero. He'll show her he can be a hero. He'll show them all.

The lightbulb hanging from the ceiling wobbled slightly, the force causing it to swing like a pendulum. Izuku raised his eyebrows when he felt the table tremble for a bit, but even after minutes had passed, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.

So, he waited, eyes darting around the room to look for anything remotely interesting to soothe his under-stimulated brain. His ass was beginning to chaff from all the sitting before the door to the room opened, revealing a police officer that had a cat head.

And no, Izuku didn't mean a cat-like head. The officer literally had a cat's head.

"Come along now, Midoriya Izuku." The cat officer gestured towards the door to which Izuku raised his shackled arms. The officer wasn't even phased at the action and instead headed directly towards Izuku before he procured a key from his person. A quick insert into the locked cuffs and Izuku was free once more. "You are hereby cleared of all the murder charges after a significant amount of investigation, however the HPSC has hereby decreed that your vigilantism must be punished and as such, has assigned an agent to be your handler for your rehabilitation."

If Izuku wasn't a smart enough person, he would've never thought that the officer was just spouting lines from a predetermined script that was probably written by of the many lawyers in Japan. That said, he was grateful for the fact that he was no longer considered a murderer - it was idiotic to even suggest that the person who saved children from villains by killing them was a murderer - but he was a bit miffed because he was officially a vigilante.

Not like it was that much of a bad thing. Sure, vigilantes were looked down upon because they weren't handled by the government, but at least they weren't villains - except for the vigilantes that become villains. Those are the people he would gladly skewer with All Strike if they even dared to kill him. Not before he gave them a chance to run, though.

Following the officer, Izuku was greeted by the many eyes in the precinct, officers on duty milling about doing their jobs. They weren't surprised by him passing by and the eyes that glared at him made him guess that he wasn't the most well-liked person in the building currently.

It took a few minutes of navigating the corridors in pure silence before Izuku and the cat officer were standing just in front of the main door to the building, with Tsukauchi talking with Nezu and All Might still in his deflated form waiting for the two to finish their talk.

"But Principal Nezu. Wouldn't the HPS-" The rat's beady eyes narrowed at the detective and Tsukauchi clamped his mouth shut. Hell, even the other police officers who managed to see the exchange turned away and walked like nothing was happening.

"And I'm telling you now that an agent from their main office isn't necessary. Surely, a man of their stature must be busy day-in and day-out managing most of the heroes registered in Japan." Nezu's snout quirked into something resembling a grin, before his beady eyes focused on Izuku who had just arrived. "And, for the record, Midoriya Izuku here had just accepted his new role in our prestigious academy, isn't that right?"

Something told him that should he refuse Nezu right now, hell would come later. So, without even a hint of hesitation, Izuku nodded at the principal's words with a tight smile.

"See? I even have all the required documents if you need more proof." Nezu lifted a briefcase, which Izuku just noticed was hanging from one of his paws and opened them with a click, revealing a bunch of papers that he didn't want to see anymore due to how many they were. "And as a bonus, the graduating students will have some knowledge on how vigilantes operate in case they run into them thanks to Midoriya here sharing his experiences."

A quick look to Tsukauchi had Izuku tilting his head. The detective looked like he was on his way to the gallows, what with the long face and eyebags. Glancing at his side, he saw the cat officer even cringing at the sight. Good to know he wasn't the only one.

"Alright, alright. You've made your point. Just…" Tsukauchi released a sigh before he grabbed the cup of coffee that was on a nearby table. "Just make sure no more incidents occur, otherwise the HPSC will deem your school unfit to rehabilitate vigilantes."

His piece said, Tsukauchi left, but not before gesturing towards the cat officer beside him. With a nod towards the rat principal, the cat officer followed Tsukauchi like a lost stray, kind of funny seeing that he literally was a humanoid cat.

"Midoriya, follow us. And quickly please, we haven't got all day." Nezu closed shut the briefcase full of papers and hefted it off to All Might who accepted it. Seeing no reason to refuse, Izuku followed the two into a pick-up truck parked neatly into a parking space. A far cry from the black car they used when they headed to the cemetery earlier in the day to visit his mother's grave.

Izuku's chest ached a bit at the memory.

"Midoriya, hurry up." The tone that left Nezu's mouth slapped Izuku out of his thoughts and he quickly hopped into the backseat. Despite how it looked - both outside and inside - it was surprisingly comfortable.

All Might - because who else would be able to drive this thing among the three - inserted the keys and started the engine. It roared to life like an angry God, Nezu and Izuku frowning at the noise.

"All Might, remind me again how old is this thing?" The gaunt blond rubbed the back of his head at the question.

"Two and a half decades?" Even Izuku had to blink at that. This pick-up truck was that ancient? As far removed as he was from Japan at this moment, even he knew the lifespans of most cars nowadays weren't able to go above fifteen.

"I see, would you want a replacement?" Nezu's question caused All Might to visibly glower.

"I'm afraid I would have to turn down your generosity, principal Nezu." The air inside the vehicle grew heavy and Izuku blinked again. "I'm sure you can understand."

"… As you wish." Nezu clamped his mouth shut as the truck's engine roared once more before they were strolling through the city. With the air sour and tense, nobody in the truck was too keen to make some small talk.

"By the way, Midoriya. My thanks for going along with the impromptu act in the precinct." Nezu looked back at the backseat, Izuku still quiet as he regarded Nezu with thinly veiled curiosity/wariness. "But not to worry, the papers I have on my person are legitimate. All I need are your signatures and you will be incorporated into my school as one of the assistant teachers."

"A question." Nezu waved his paw, probably the signal to continue. "Why do you want me in your school so badly?"

"Well, from what I've seen with your combat accolades during the USJ, your emotional stability in the cemetery, and All Might vouching for you, I can proudly say you would fit right in with the rest of the staff." Nezu's grin stretched from ear to ear. "Provided you can get along with them in the first place, but I doubt you would have that much of a problem with them."

"Still, I'm confused." Izuku frowned as he narrowed his eyes at the rat. "Why go to all these lengths just to get me this early? You could've gotten me if you just… scheduled with the HPSC for me to teach if really needed."

"Ah, but that's where things get a bit more complicated." Nezu's grin turned into a frown, all the while All Might focused on the road. "It is an open secret that I despise the HPSC, more specifically, their policies. I'm sure you're aware of how the masses view the hero society?"

Izuku tilted his head again. This was a surprise, knowing that the principal of the most prestigious hero school in Japan disliked the current status quo. He hummed, trying to figure out why the rat hated the HPSC, and even after a few more minutes of thinking, he came up with nothing.

Maybe he should've strengthened his intelligence with runes more…

"Well, it is quite simple, really." Nezu returned to making himself comfortable in his seat. "Hero society as we know it, is slowly collapsing in itself."

Izuku blinked again. What did Nezu mean by that? Looking out of the window, everything seemed fine to him. Buildings were still pristine, everybody was milling about with smiles on their faces, and things were generally not looking like the Lands Between. He was also pretty biased with the hero culture, what with him being a hero fanboy. He may have lost some respect with All Might, but that didn't mean he hated all heroes now.

"You won't be seeing the signs now. It just started during the rise of All Might, after all." Nezu's chuckle grew a bit despondent. "We won't be alive to see the fall, decades, even centuries from now. It's a funny thing, really. The Symbol of Peace is ultimately the main reason why humanity's collapse is all but guaranteed."

Looking at All Might, Izuku could see that even the gaunt blond agreed with the rat's conclusion. Question is: why? Why is he one of the main reasons humanity would fall in the future?

"I can imagine your mind turning around and around." Nezu's chuckled a bit more. "Another simple answer to a complex question: Heroes are just human. They cannot be in every place at the same time. But seeing how our society is, you can imagine why it is such a dangerous status quo."

Once Nezu said his piece, Izuku clicked the puzzle in place. The heroes cannot save everyone, and those that slip through the cracks grew disillusioned.

Villains are made, not born. Who knows, maybe some of them aspired to be heroes in the past, but life kicked them down and they turned villain instead. Some became villains out of spite, but others became villains just because they thought there was no other way to survive.

"That's not even including the fact that different kinds of quirks are being discriminated against, and take a gander as to what kind of quirks are mostly given the spotlight?" Izuku clicked his tongue. Of course, it just had to be like that. Mutation quirks were always looked down upon because they changed how a person looked.

It was odd. That different kinds of quirks gave rise to different kinds of reactions. Was it the influence of heroes in the higher ranking having flashy quirks that were marketable? Was it because of that most of the people thought that quirks that differed from the norm - the norm being the top ranks of the Japanese hero system - were villainous?

Enough said about the quirkless. They were treated like a sub-human at best.

But wait…

"That… That doesn't explain why you think All Might is the reason why everything will collapse…" Izuku questioned the rat, and Nezu's grin told him that he barely scratched the surface of the rat's thoughts.

"How astute of you Midoriya. I knew I had a reason to like you." The rat's scarred beady right eye bore into his. "The reason why I mentioned All Might is the reason, is because he is the pillar holding up the current hero society. What would happen if it broke?"

"Everything would come crashing down…"

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