Chapter 12: The Impossible Deal with the God Complex Rodent!

Nemuri composed herself and let her professional side take over, though her eyes didn't leave the boy for a single second. She set the folder of reports on the edge of the desk and took a couple of steps forward on the plush carpet.

"Principal, with all due respect," she began, her voice melodic but firm, "the phrase 'educational collaboration' is delicate enough on its own. If you add 'Mt. Lady's assistant' and 'unlicensed civilian' on top of that, I can practically hear our lawyers panicking. The kid might have all the goodwill in the world, and that's always charming, but letting someone with an unverified Quirk take part in one of our programs... it seems like too big a risk for U.A. I'm not worried about his enthusiasm. I'm worried about everything that could go wrong if something happens."

"An insurance nightmare waiting to happen," Nezu finished, his jovial smile not budging an inch. "Yes, I know. Your objections are reasonable, predictable, and, as always, impeccable. That's precisely why young Midoriya's original plan struck me as so deliciously problematic."

"His original plan?"

"Young Midoriya proposed a small field experiment, so to speak. It consists of taking a U.A. student with great potential, but whose Quirk still remains untapped... What a deliciously chaotic proposal! And from an educational standpoint, absolutely fascinating!" Nezu explained with a smile.

Nemuri paled a little. Just the image of Izuku loose among hundreds of nervous students, touching left and right, was exactly the kind of headline that ended with a school dragged into court.

"Please tell me you said no."

"Oh, no, I'm thinking of something much more interesting," Nezu replied with a soft chuckle, bringing a paw to his chest. "Your timely intervention, dear Midnight, reminded me how important prudence is. So I decided to refine the idea. Instead of involving one of our U.A. students, I turned it into a single case study... carefully selected and completely unrelated to the academy. Much more elegant, don't you think?"

He leaned back in his chair, and for a moment the chatty plush toy gave way to the principal who was pulling every thread of the conversation.

"When the applicant list for the next entrance exam closes, Mr. Midoriya will have access to every profile," Nezu explained with a serene smile, interlacing his paws on the desk. "His task will be to pick a single candidate. Not necessarily the brightest one, but the one whose potential could flourish with the right encouragement. After all, education is precisely about discovering which small spark can bring about the greatest change, wouldn't you agree?"

He paused briefly before continuing.

"During the weeks leading up to the exam, Mr. Midoriya will personally take charge of guiding that applicant. And you, dear Midnight..." His eyes gleamed with amused satisfaction. "Since you've been kind enough to appear at the perfect moment, you'll supervise the process in your capacity as teacher and professional hero. I'm convinced you'll bring the ideal balance between enthusiasm and responsibility."

Nemuri turned the information over in her mind at full speed. It wasn't the madness she'd imagined walking in, but it was still a risk the size of a building.

"Hold on, Principal." She raised a hand with a half smile. "You're saying I'll be his supervisor? Because I already have a whole first year class, patrols, and mountains of evaluations. I'm flattered by the trust, but becoming the babysitter of a civilian with initiative sounds pretty far outside my job description."

"Precisely for that reason, dear Midnight, you're the ideal candidate," Nezu replied with a soft chuckle, bringing a paw to his chest. "Of all the U.A. teachers, no one spots improper behavior as quickly as you do. It's a talent I'm frankly proud of."

His smile widened a bit.

"If young Midoriya were to stray, even a millimeter beyond the established limits, I'm convinced you'd be the first to notice. So, rather than a burden, consider it a recognition of your extraordinary judgment. After all, who better than you to confirm that everything is going exactly as it should?"

Nemuri narrowed her eyes. Nezu knew exactly which buttons to push and in what order.

"Sounds fine to me," Izuku said, shrugging. "If Midnight-san's gonna be watching every single thing I do, all the better. That way nobody can say later that I did something shady behind their backs. A professional witness gives the whole thing credibility."

Nemuri glanced at him sideways. The kid had just turned her surveillance into an endorsement, and he hadn't even realized how clever he'd been.

"The test will be a very simple one," Nezu explained with a cheerful smile. "If the young person Mr. Midoriya selects passes the entrance exam, then he'll have passed our little evaluation as well. If he doesn't... we'll sincerely thank him for his cooperation, we'll consider this curious experiment concluded, and everyone will return to their usual duties."

He paused briefly before adding, with an amused sparkle in his eyes.

"But if the outcome is favorable... I'd be delighted to offer him a provisional position as a teaching assistant. That way we can observe, with the proper academic rigor, that fascinating talent of his. Doesn't that sound like a most interesting prospect?"

A silence settled over the office. It was a strange offer, the kind of opportunity you'd expect to find in a fever dream. The full weight of the decision fell on Izuku, and both Nezu and Nemuri stared at him, waiting for his answer.

Izuku didn't hesitate for a second. To him there was no hidden risk in the proposal, only a challenge with the rules clearly laid out on the table.

"Let me see if I got the deal right," he said, and started counting on his fingers. "I pick an applicant from the list, I train him for a few weeks, and if he passes the exam, I pass too. If he doesn't, I say goodbye and nothing here ever happened. And if he does, I stay working at U.A. Is that right?"

"Absolutely correct," Nezu confirmed, delighted.

"Then I've only got one important question left." Izuku leaned forward a little. "Is this Shizuoka tea included with the job, or would I have to bring my own?"

Nezu let out a short, sharp laugh that shook his whiskers.

"I must admit I enjoy your company, young Midoriya," Nezu commented as he delicately lifted his teacup. "Allow me to treat you. Consider it the first benefit of our completely imaginary contract. Although, who knows... the most interesting experiments usually start out as a simple joke."

"In that case, I accept," Izuku said. "A clear goal and a simple way to know whether I've met it or not. I like the sound of that."

Nemuri let out a sigh. It was official, then. The katsudon with legs had dragged her into his orbit, and now she was stuck watching.

"Splendid!" Nezu exclaimed, giving a couple of soft claps. "Then it's settled. The list won't be ready for a few more weeks, so we'll let you know in due time. In the meantime, I'll repeat my request, Midnight-san: it'd be quite convenient for our instructor candidate to get to know the facilities up close."

With a lazy wave of his paw, Nezu turned back to the screen, calling the audience to an end.

---

******

---

The heavy wooden door closed behind them, and the silence of the U.A. hallway felt completely different from the one inside the office. Nemuri walked a few steps, stopped, and leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms. She looked Izuku up and down with a curious expression she no longer bothered to hide.

"Well, well..." Midnight purred with a smile as she closed the distance between them. "You know? You just pulled off something very few people can brag about: convincing Principal Nezu... in his own office... while chatting with him over his tea. That deserves an explanation, at the very least."

Izuku tilted his head slightly.

"I always tell the truth, Midnight-san. It's easier than making up a lie and then having to remember it later."

A small laugh escaped Nemuri's lips.

"What a perfect answer. I almost believe you. But I saw your face at the restaurant, remember? So while we walk, you're gonna tell me how your Quirk really works. And this time, no hiding behind words like 'potential.' You already burned that card in there."

She gave him an amused but firm look.

"I'm the teacher in charge of supervising you now. If I'm gonna vouch for you, I need to know every last detail. So... talk, kid."

She started walking and he followed.

"Truth is, I don't really know how it works," Izuku admitted, his gaze already lost on a display case full of hero costumes. "It's new to me too, I'm barely figuring it out. But it goes something like this: we all carry an engine inside us that we almost never rev to the max. Most people, even heroes, put a brake on that engine so they don't hurt themselves, and that's fine, it makes sense. The problem is that almost everyone presses the brake way too hard and ends up running well below what they could actually do. I just loosen it a little and let the engine breathe."

Nemuri listened carefully, weighing every word. It was a simple explanation, and yet there was something intuitive and true about it.

"And what about your first 'case study'?" she asked with a mischievous smile, resting her cheek on one hand. "The one with that... unforgettable revelation about backsides. Come on, you can't drop a line like that and then leave me hanging. Tell me everything."

Izuku thought about it for a second, remembering every detail of that situation.

"Ah, that one was a great case," he said. "A ton of hidden power tucked behind a padded be—"

Suddenly Izuku stopped dead and pointed to a section of the wall with wide open eyes.

"No way! This is the part they had to replace after the black hole incident with Thirteen, in their first year as a teacher. The spatial tension left tiny, permanent cracks in the original metal, and that's why the color doesn't quite match the rest of the wall. I've read about this a bunch of times, but seeing it in person is a whole different thing!"

Nemuri sighed. Supervising this kid was gonna be exhausting, and also very entertaining.

The tour kept going down that road, a strange mix between professional interrogation and guided visit for U.A.'s number one fan. Izuku pointed out corners, dropped little known anecdotes about the teachers, and showed an almost obsessive knowledge of every hallway. A while later he recognized the stretch of stairs where, according to some old interview nobody remembered, Eraserhead had fallen asleep on his feet after a double patrol shift.

"But where did you get all that from?" Nemuri said, amused, looking at him with curiosity. "Even I don't remember half those details, and this place is supposed to be my second home."

"I've been reading everything I can get my hands on about heroes for years," Izuku said, shrugging. "People collect stickers or figures. I collect facts that aren't useful to anyone until, all of a sudden, they're useful to someone."

In a display case there was a mannequin wearing a retired heroine's costume, and Izuku stood there staring at it with a frown before turning to her.

"Uh... hey, Midnight-san, a work question," he said, with all the seriousness in the world. "About the night we met... I didn't get the chance to ask, but your costume shows a lot of skin on purpose, right? So the scent of your Quirk gets out faster and covers more range. At first I thought it was for show, but now that I think about it, it makes tactical sense."

Nemuri blinked, visibly surprised. She was more than used to men getting all googly eyed over her costume. Almost nobody bothered to ask why she showed so much skin.

"Oh, wow... Yes, exactly," she admitted, recovering with a smile. "The exposed skin helps my scent disperse more quickly. You're the first person to notice without me having to explain it."

"It makes sense. It's a smart design," Izuku agreed, and kept walking as if nothing had happened, leaving her behind with a slightly thoughtful expression.

This kid just checked out my cleavage and pulled out a combat theory, and he didn't even blush. Who the hell is this boy?

Nemuri picked up the pace to catch up with him, and little by little an idea started forming in her head. The kid wasn't lying, she was sure of that, and he wasn't trying to manipulate her either. What was walking beside her was a genuine prodigy, with a brilliant and very strange mind, completely oblivious to social rules, though with a conviction in his purpose that didn't budge a single centimeter.

At the end, the tour led them to one of the most imposing doors in the complex, an enormous set of metal gates with a plaque that read 'GYM GAMMA.'

"Welcome to Gym Gamma!" Nemuri said, sliding her access card through the reader. "This is where miracles happen... or U.A.'s most spectacular disasters. The difference usually depends on who walks through that door."

---

******

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The place was imposing, an open space as big as an airplane hangar, silent and cold. The only sound was the hum of the lights on the sky high ceiling. Cranes and platforms of every kind rested piled up along the edges, an entire construction maze at the service of any hero hopeful.

Izuku walked in with wide eyes in shock. Nemuri let him enjoy the moment before closing the gates behind them, and the metallic clang echoed through the whole empty space.

They stopped in the center of the gym.

"Not bad, huh? Now then, the principal already made his offer and you accepted it. You've seen the facilities... so now it's my turn."

Izuku turned his gaze back to her.

"I heard everything you and Nezu said. It sounds great on paper... but I don't settle for just explanations. If I'm gonna take responsibility for supervising the training of one of my future colleagues, I need to know exactly what you're capable of."

Nemuri smiled and held his gaze.

"I wanna see it with my own eyes, Midoriya-kun. No stories, no recommendations."

She took a step forward, crossing her arms.

"So let's do a test. Here. Right now."

********

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