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Izuku Midoriya lay on the pavement of Ground Beta, his body burning with pain. He was beaten. But the physical pain was nothing compared to the ideological "pop" he'd felt in his head.
"Fuck All Might." "He's a lie.""I'm following Akaza's path."
Bakugo's words echoed in his mind. His childhood friend, his rival, the one person he had always measured himself against, and declared their belief to be a "fucking fairy tale." And the worst part? After everything they had seen, the USJ, the camp, Kamino, Muscular's execution, Rumi's broken body, a small part of Izuku's mind knew that Bakugo was right.
He was so lost in his own broken thoughts that he didn't even hear the footsteps.
Bakugo, walking away, his body still trembling with adrenaline, didn't hear him either.
Thwip.
A gray capture weapon, wrapped around Bakugo's chest, pinning his arms.
"WHAT THE-"
Thwip.
A second set of bindings wrapped around Izuku on the ground, yanking him into the air and leaving him dangling, helpless.
Shota Aizawa stepped out from behind a building, his eyes glowing a furious, demonic red. His hair was floating. He did not look like a teacher. He looked like someone who was about to chop their head off.
"You've got a lot of energy, don't you?" Aizawa's voice sent shivers down both their spines. "It's past midnight. You've just passed your licensing exam. And you decided the best way to celebrate was to have an all-out, quirk-fueled brawl, destroying school property, and, most importantly, waking me up."
He tugged the bindings, his voice dropping even lower. "I had to get out of my sleeping bag. I had to put on my shoes. I had to walk all the way over here. You're both so full of energy… you must be dying for some extra training. How about a training called ' How fast can I kick you both out of this school'?"
"N-No! Mr. Aizawa, wait! It was my fault!" Izuku yelped, twitching in the air. "I… I was the one who-"
"Shut up, Deku! It was my idea!" Bakugo roared, trying to light an explosion, but Aizawa's quirk was active, snuffing out his power. "Let me go, you hobo! This has nothing to do with you!"
"It has everything to do with me when I have to fill out a long ass incident report," Aizawa grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose. He began to drag them both, like disobedient dogs on a leash, back toward the dorms.
"You're both in for it. I'm going to personally design your next month of hell, starting with-"
"Aizawa, please. Wait."
All Might, in his skeletal form, stepped out from the shadows, his hollowed-out face looking tired. He had been watching. He had heard everything.
Aizawa stopped. He didn't release his quirk; he was still burning with irritation. "All Might. This is a disciplinary matter."
"I know. And they will accept your punishment," All Might said, his gaze fixed on the two boys. He looked at Bakugo, his expression full of a new, complex sadness. Bakugo just glared back.
"Please," All Might said, turning back to Aizawa. "Let me speak with Young Midoriya. I will... take responsibility for him."
Aizawa stared at him for a long moment. He then finally let out a sigh. "Fine."
He released Izuku.
"You're lucky. Get this over with. And you're both on 24/7 cleaning duty for the entire dorm for a week. I want to see my reflection on the floor. Am I understood?"
"Yes, sir," Izuku squeaked, scrambling to his feet.
Aizawa grunted. He did not release Bakugo. "You're coming with me. We're going to have a long talk about your new 'path'." He began to walk off, dragging a protesting and cursing Bakugo behind him.
Izuku was left alone with All Might in the ruins of his own fight. He couldn't meet his mentor's eyes. He looked down at his feet, his entire body trembling with shame. He had failed. He had been beaten by Kacchan, and worse, he had just been a party to Bakugo's... his blasphemy.
"Young Midoriya," All Might's voice was soft, heavy with a fatherly exhaustion. "I… I heard most of what was said."
"All Might, I'm so sorry!" Izuku burst out, the tears he'd been holding back finally streaming down his face. "I-I didn't… I tried to tell him! I tried to defend you! I told him what you teach is right, that saving people is right, and he… he just…" He couldn't say it. He couldn't repeat those words.
"He said I was a lie," All Might finished, his voice impossibly tired.
Izuku's head snapped up, his eyes wide with horror. "He didn't mean it! He was just angry! He-"
"He wasn't entirely wrong."
The words hung in the air, heavier than any punch. Izuku just stared at him, his mind unable to process what he'd just heard.
"Young Midoriya… Izuku," All Might said, sitting down heavily on a piece of rubble. "I appreciate your faith in me. More than you will ever know. It's what has kept me going. But… you cannot force your beliefs on others. You cannot make them see the world through your eyes, or through mine."
He looked at his own skeletal hand. "What I did… my way of being a symbol… it was one way. It was my way. I smiled to reassure others, and to trick the fear inside myself. But it… it was not the only way. What Young Bakugo and Young Akaza experienced at the training camp… what they saw… it was a horror I failed to prevent. It changed them."
"But… killing…" Izuku whispered, the word tasting like poison.
"I cannot, and I will not, condone what Young Akaza did," All Might said, his voice firm. "It is not my path. It is not the path I wanted for any of you. But… I cannot deny that he saved lives. I cannot deny that his actions, in that moment, were decisive." He sighed, a sound of deep, profound weariness. "The world is… it's more gray than I ever wanted to admit. What Nezu is doing… what he is allowing… it is a path I do not agree with. But it is a path he believes is necessary to protect this world, and he is delivering those results."
He looked at Izuku, his gaze full of sincerity. "Your path is your own, Young Midoriya. You have my power. You have my heart. But you cannot be me. You have to be you. You've learned to use your legs, to create your own style. Now, you must learn to forge your own ideals. Learn from this. Learn from what Young Bakugo said. Learn from what Young Akaza did. But do not let their rage or their coldness define you. And do not try to force your light onto them. It will only push them further into the dark."
He stood up, patting Izuku's trembling shoulder. "Now, go. Rest. You have a lot of cleaning to do. And a lot to think about."
The next few days were a quiet, awkward hell. Izuku and Bakugo were on cleaning duty from dawn until dusk. They scrubbed toilets, mopped the common room floor, and washed every single window in the Heights Alliance, all under the watchful eye of Mr. Aizawa.
They never spoke. The silence between them was a heavy, charged thing.
The rest of the class tried to find a new normal. The "fakes," as Bakugo had called them, tried to interact with the "Big 4," but the rift was still there. Rumi would just scoff and turn her back on Uraraka. Shoto would give Iida a polite, cold nod. And Akaza… Akaza just looked through them, as if they were made of glass.
The night after their cleaning duty finally ended, the class was gathered in the common room, a heavy, somber mood still clinging to them.
"Hey," Aizawa said, walking in, his voice pulling them all from their thoughts. "I know you're all tired. But your next semester of 'work' has already been decided."
The class tensed.
"We're going to be focusing on Work Studies. Internships, but far more in-depth. To do that, you need to understand what it means to be a pro. You need to see the real top. So, tomorrow, you'll be meeting the students who stand at the pinnacle of U.A. High."
A new energy shot through the room. "The pinnacle?" Kirishima asked, his eyes wide. "You don't mean…" Momo whispered.
"That's right," Aizawa said. "You're all first-years. You've seen a lot, but you're still at the bottom. It's time for you to meet the top of our student body. The Big 3."
The class erupted. This was it. A new challenge. A new goal. After all the darkness, all the conflict, this was something normal. A normal school event.
"The Big 3…" Izuku whispered, his notebook already in his hand, his mind buzzing.
"Tch," Bakugo grumbled, but a small, competitive fire lit in his eyes. He had a new path, and he was eager to test it against these new "extras."
In the back, Rumi and Akaza looked at each other. A new challenge. "The Big 3, huh?" Rumi smirked, cracking her knuckles. "Wonder if they're any good."
"We'll see tomorrow," Akaza replied.
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