Skip to the end of the day and the meeting with Nezu.

Izuku fidgeted with nervous energy as he sat in the waiting room outside Nezu's office. It was an entirely new experience for him, one the he didn't like. Not once had he ever been sent to the principal's office. He'd never done anything warrant such a situation after all. He'd never caused trouble such that he needed such discipline, nor had his teachers cared enough to send him there to seek solutions to all the things that troubled him through his previous years of school.

But here he was. Outside the Principal's office. At UA. For some reason unknown to him.

To say he was tense was an understatement. The power of his quirks was thrumming beneath his skin, ready to be grasped as the fear he felt would not leave him.

"Recovery girl, can I ask a question?" He had asked Chiyo when he brought the notes he'd taken for Kasumi, as promised. The girl had yet to show signs of waking, but Chiyo was certain she would be up before the sun went down fully. Hopefully she'd be willing to finish their conversation.

"I think I can already tell what you're going to ask, Midoriya." Chiyo had responded as she cataloged everything she had used that day. She was certain to address him as any other student as Aizawa was awake, the man trying his level best to ignore her as he graded papers and slowly ate leftover Musei had saved for him. "Is it normal to feel fear when dealing with Nezu? Is it cowardice to lock up under his stare? Am I close enough?" The teasing smile was hidden from him as she kept turned away, but it was easy to hear.

"Y-yeah. It feels like... whenever he looks at me, he's doing so from a microscope." Izuku shivered as he remembered the eyes of the chimera looking at him earlier in that very office. "It was like he was pulling me apart, dissecting me to find out what drives me. It felt inevitable that he would learn all my secrets, everything I fear in order to either make me the best I can be, or crush me entirely."

"And that's a perfectly reasonable reaction to Ol' Nezu, because that's exactly what he's doing." Chiyo chuckled a bit as she finished with her current work, moving to sit across from him. Her face had a gentle, reminiscent smile on it as she continued to speak. "It's not something he can simply choose not to do. More so than being part of his quirk, it's a part of his instincts, the ones that make him what he is. Like how All Might's instinct is to rush to help those in need, even if someone else is capable of doing just as fine a job as he could. And even if he could stop, I dare say he shouldn't. It's what has made him such an effective hero, and an even better instructor and administrator of UA."

Though Chiyo was looking at him, her eyes were seeing far beyond him. Back down the paths obscured by the mist of time. The dark blue eyes flecked with gold, such striking colors that Izuku could have lost himself in them for hours, and had on more than one occasion had done so, were looking decades back in time. Her face, eternally young and eternally beautiful, had a look of fondness that only came with knowing someone for as long as she had, despite her visual age.

"Nezu has a grudge, and you may even rightly call it hatred of humans it's so strong." She started, coming back into the present. "Instead of letting it consume him, Nezu has channeled it into a far more positive outlet. Using his hate, his experiences, Nezu has made this school far grander than it already was. The quality of heroes rose quite noticeably as soon as he took over. Using his hate as fuel to better his students, his school, and even this country, despite the **** he suffered at the hands of humanity makes him a better hero than most anyone else. Even when he can no longer keep his darkness contained, he can still find ways to enact his **** in order to help the students grow, even if they don't realize it until far later if they ever do. If there's anything else you can count on, it's for Nezu to have only the best intentions for this school and all who attend it." Chiyo told him, shaking her head at remembered antics of the otherwise composed animal.

"So, Midoriya, keep in mind that for everything that would give him every reason no to be a hero our Esteemed Principal has chosen that road of his own free will. Don't let the fear of him keep you from seeing all sides to him." Chiyo implored, looking Izuku in the eye as she said this. Izuku could do nothing but nod to her request, it was so simple yet heavy. She held her solemn look for a moment before she grinned in rare deviousness. "Though if you don't want to see him when he feels slighted, I suggest you run to his office before he thinks you're beyond fashionably late!"

_And yet, that still doesn't make me feel much better about meeting him in his office... _Izuku thought, Chiyo's laughter echoing in his head as it had in the halls as he ran all the way from the infirmary all the way to the main office as fast as he could without causing any property damage.

His attention was brought outward once more as the door into the office opened automatically with an ominous click.

"Come in, Mr. Midoriya." The principal's voice seemed to echo out of the room. It may well have been the acoustics, however, as his voice sounded neither raised nor strained as the vaguely happy monotone seemed to shake Izuku's bones as he stood. "I've been hoping to speak with you for some time now."

_Well, it's now or never I suppose, _The green haired man thought to himself. If he couldn't face his principal, he might as well hand All Might a strand of his hair and go die in a hole.

Still, he could not **** One for All or Incubus Fuel down any further as he walked into the office bathed in the light of the setting sun.

"Come, join me for a cup of tea young man."

Izuku nearly tripped over his feet, seeing Nezu not sitting behind his desk, looming darkly as the arbiter of his future that held Izuku's life in his paws. Instead, the mouse-dog-bear being was sitting at a much cozier looking table covered with a green cloth with white designs intricately sewn in. Nezu had prepared a large pot of tea, already sipping at a cup that seemed comically large for the child-sized animal.

"Uh..." Izuku could only stare dumbly for a moment before his brain caught up. "I mean, thank you sir!" Izuku bowed at the most powerful being in all of UA before walking over and taking a seat.

"Oh, it's no trouble. Tea alone is delightful, but I find with good company it is exponentially more satisfying." The guardian animal of UA opened his eyes, looking them onto Izuku's as the eighteen year old picked up his cup. "It seems that you are ill at ease, Mr. Midoriya. Every time I begin to speak, your facial muscles make minute twitches and your shoulders lock up. Do you perhaps believe yourself to be in trouble?"

"N-no, sir." Izuku tried to look away from the intense gaze of Nezu, but found himself unable to keep his eyes away for long. There was a part of Izuku's mind that was screaming at him to run, another to keep watch of Nezu without blinking. "I-I've just never been sent to the principal's office in my life at all. It's really... really nerve wracking."

"Yes, I did notice that when I overlooked your academic records." Nezu nodded, sipping at his tea again. "Be assured that you are not in any trouble whatsoever. I merely called to get your perspective, as student council representative of your class, on how your fellows are dealing in the wake of the incident at the USJ." Nezu told him. "I am quite concerned at how they may be handling it. While I do trust Hound Dog to help any who are willing to come forward work through the whole ordeal, I fear that some of your classmates may keep it bottled up until the pressure gets to them and it's too late to help repair any damage that's been done."

"Well," Izuku sipped his tea, blinking as Nezu did to keep his eyes from burning. It was a very pungent blend, the taste sticking to his tongue long after he had swallowed. Very earthy, more so than most teas that Izuku had drank in his life. Maybe a personal blend? "I don't know most of the events that happened to everyone. While Yaoyorozu has confided in me what happened with her, Jiro and Kaminari during the incident while doing our duties as the student council members of our class. I found myself stranded with Tsuyu Asui and Minoru Mineta."

"Yes, I have read the report. Multiple times, in fact." The animal told Izuku, setting his hair on edge. Was the principal getting annoyed with him, or was he merely telling Izuku that he didn't need to go over the entire incident again? Either way, Izuku found his quirks thrumming still beneath his skin, ready to do whatever he decided to do.

"S-sorry, sir." Izuku bowed at the rodent, who did nothing more than once again sip his tea. "Though no one, besides Yaoyorozu, has come to me about the incident, I have noticed that they are more focused on their training. I think that, after fighting in a true life or **** situation, they know the reality of their chosen path a little better. Instead of bottling it up, they may be using it to give them the motivation to do their very best. Even Mineta, physically the most lacking of our class, is striving to go the extra mile in training."

"I see." Nezu said, focusing his eyes on Izuku once more, who once again felt like he was under a giant microscope. "I'm actually quite relieved, honestly. While I could easily put a psyche evaluation of each of your classmates together quite easily, I find myself increasingly busy. With the employment of All Might at this school still making the news cycle, combined with the aftermath of the incident at the USJ, I can't quite make the time to sit down with Hound Dog to do so. So I will simply ask you to give me a before and after report on your classmates mental states, starting since school began and ending with the aftermath of the USJ incident." The mouse sipped his tea, holding up a paw when Izuku began to speak once more.

"Think of it as an extra credit lesson for heroics. Learning how to quickly ascertain mentalities is very invaluable in Heroics, be they your fellow heroes or bystanders. Even being able to figure out if the villain is an emotional ticking time bomb or a monster in human skin can drastically alter how you approach a situation, and the outcome as well." Nezu sighed, his nose twitching as he held the steaming cup under it. "I don't find myself giving out homework very often, and only to those I suspect are capable of great things. As of now, with Toshinori, Chiyo, Nemuri and Musei's faith placed in you, I find myself willing to do the same."

"I'm... sorry sir?" Izuku began slowly, watching the rat before him with partial honest confusion and part worry. What did he know? What did he think Izuku knew? "I know the names of Recovery Girl and Midnight, but who are the other two?"

"Mr. Midoriya." The principal clipped out. "I do hope that you wouldn't think that I, as the principal of UA, would gloss over my own homework?" The eyes of the principal, already terrifying, took on a quality that made Izuku's body lock up. It was as if the animal had a secondary quirk, one that allowed him to freeze people with his stare. "It is one of my self-appointed tasks to know about my students, be they current, future or even past. What kind of instructor would I be if I assumed one size fits all mentally or physically?"

"M-Mr. Nezu, sir," Izuku tried to speak, but a paw held up to stop him made his voice die in his throat. The principal finally put down his own cup of tea, the setting sun casting its rays over the white-furred creature. Though the creature was small, relatively speaking, the shadow it cast was immense, looming behind Nezu as he clasped his hands under his snout, eyes glinting dangerously and without mercy.

"Do you perhaps think so little of my abilities, Mr. Mirdoriya?" The principal asked, the one note voice airy yet loaded even as he smiled. "I took the time I had during the break to do what research I could on all the new students. I know quite a bit about you, including many of the circumstances of the last year. Even if Toshinori hadn't told me about you, I would have easily been able to know that you were his successor after your show of power at the entrance exams. Subtlety is not your strong suit when you use One for All."

The rodent continued to stare into Izuku's soul, unblinking as he went on. "Naturally, when it comes to the next Great Symbol for Heroes the world over, I would take **** measures to ensure I knew as much as I could. It was through this these measures that I learned much more than publicly available. Your quirk, Stress Eater, is very lackluster if you were to only look at the public records. However, if you know the right people as I do, and are also in the position that only further warrants looking beyond publicly available information, one can gain access to the original documents without all the redaction nonsense. It was a rather enlightening look into your background, to be sure. Of course, such information also contained any past and current jobs you have had."

One for All and Incubus fuel pulsed as adrenaline flooded Izuku's veins. "And..." Izuku tried to swallow, his entire mouth dry as he spoke. "W-what do you plan on doing with that information, S-sir?" He asked, genuinely worried what the rat in front of him could do with the information. Even if Nezu had put all his efforts into being a hero, it was still terrifying.

"Hmm?" Nezu hummed, his ear twitching. "Oh, I don't plan on doing anything with it. After all, it is a perfectly natural need that you satisfy with your job, especially in an industry as rife with danger and **** as Heroics. It is only natural that females of any species would flock to any male that they see as the most desirable. More so, it isn't a position you would want known outside the circles it existed for in the first place. Humans certainly are strange creatures. They acknowledge this basic desire inherent in all life to breed, but at the same time shy away from it at every turn as a society. As long as it doesn't interfere with your studies or your ability to succeed Toshinori, feel free to do your duty to heroines around the world."

Silence hung in the office for some time, Nezu refilling his tea during the quiet period. The sun slowly set, the shadow of Nezu looming higher and higher.

"Come now, Mr. Midoriya." Nezu said finally, breaking the silence. "Surely you didn't think I would hold you prisoner with the information?" He tilted his head, his smile finally changing. Sadly, it only grew wider in such a way that did nothing to ease Izuku's nerves. "While I most certainly could, I have always found it much easier to work with heroes and the government than against them. And you are certainly a future powerhouse in the former, no doubt about it. As long as you are a hero, you can expect no true danger from me beyond simple disciplinary measures should I think you begin to stray." Nezu sipped his newly refilled cup as Izuku did the same to try and calm himself. "I only ask that you leave my female faculty and students with enough energy to finish the day if they find themselves in **** need of your services during the school day, unlike Ms. Bakugo."

Nezu laughed when Izuku choked on his tea at his surprise declaration from the ROUS.

"I've already gotten requests from the various other Heroic Universities in Japan if you could make special appearances for their staff and students, so you will have to work extra hard in class." Nezu continued after he could stop laughing at Izuku. "As it stands, you will have days where you will have to take 'Remedial quirk counseling' officially. I've heard that most students think that you have some trouble controlling the power of your quirk, like your classmate Yuga Aoyama, which works out well for you. Even if your quirk does augment your ability to withstand and wield One for All, it's obvious that you can't control it all that well yet. Which is no surprise, given just how much more powerful it has grown under Toshinori's care. However, it should be obvious that these 'counseling sessions' are in fact a cover for you to keep up with your job. You should touch base with the heroines of these schools to work out a schedule so that I can help you on this end."

"Uh..." Izuku certainly wasn't expecting this turn of events. He'd have to talk to His Girls, since the ones that worked at the various schools in Japan could give him better information on the students he'd be attending to and which ones needed his services first. "I... Um, Thank you very much, Sir." Izuku bowed once more. "I'm sorry if I offended you earlier."

"It's perfectly alright, Mr. Midoriya. At least this time." Nezu's words held the obvious warning casually, as if asking about the weather. "As the Administrator of UA, it is my duty to help my students be the best that they can be both in and out of the walls of this facility. If there are matters so delicate that you cannot talk to anyone else, my door will always be open."

"Thank you, Mr. Nezu." Izuku smiled lightly at the principal. Somehow, with those words, the air in the room was cleared. It was odd. Had Nezu planned it? It was certainly possible. The animal was considered one of the smartest beings alive on the planet, so directing a conversation with a high school student was well within his capabilities. "So, um, would you believe me if I said All Might never told me his name and I was genuinely confused for a moment back there?" The verdette asked, hand finding its way onto his scalp as he felt a twinge of embarrassment.