"Kagamine, Bakugou," Aizawa said as they walked out of class. "The principal has requested to see you both after the fourth period."
The two boys froze. "The… principal… as in, Nezu? Like, in his office?" Len asked.
Aizawa nodded. "And no, I don't know what it's about yet. I'm supposed to be there as well."
"Okay. Whatever," said Bakugo, trudging on out of the room, his back slouched, his bag strung over one shoulder.
Len lagged behind. "Something else to say, Kagamine?" Aizawa asked in a bored voice, looking down at the papers he was shuffling.
"No, sir."
"Good. Out with you."
Len left the room, following Bakugo at the end of the trail of 1-A students. To his surprise, the other boy was seething, grinding his teeth nervously. He'd been putting on a show of disinterest to Aizawa.
Len gulped. "Hey, you don't think it could be about…"
"Of fucking course that's what it's about!" Bakugou hissed, interrupting him. "There's no other reason for me to be grouped in with your extra ass! For anything!"
"So, uhhh… what are we gonna do?"
"Don't be dense. We're gonna do the only thing we CAN do. Try and lie our way out of it."
"And if that doesn't work?"
"Then me and you are toast, Warping Wacko. T-O-A-S-T. Hope you fucking had fun while it lasted. Damn it, damn it, damn it!" He seemed to swear at himself for the last part, breaking ahead of Len somewhat.
Len's face twitched. He's seriously stressed. That's not good at all.
If the principal of UA had somehow found out about their illegal Quirk training, then they were in deep shit.
𖦹𖦹𖦹
At the end of fourth period, Len had calmed down a bit. There's any number of things it could be. And if it DOES happen to be about that, then it won't do me any good to be all sweaty and stressed.That'll just make me look more suspicious.
A glance across the room at Bakugo seemed to confirm that the other boy was taking a similar strategy. He seemed like his usual scowling, mildly disinterested self.
As the bell rang, Mina tapped his shoulder. "Ready for lunch?" she asked with a bright grin.
"Sorry, can't. I have a meeting with, um… the principal." Dammit, I am really bad at coming up with lies on the spot.
Mina's eyes widened. "Ooooh. Did Leeennn get in trouble for something?"
"No. Well, maybe. Shut u—"
"What's going on?" Uraraka was saying, standing in front of the door. Len looked around to the doorway, where none of Class 1-A were exiting.
He stood. "What's the holdu—"
There were tons of students blocking the exit to the classroom. They were chatting to each other, but some were giving 1-A deadly looks. A few even had their phones out as if they were recording.
"What is this?" Iida demanded. "What business do you have with our class?"
"They're scouting out the enemy," Bakugou said in a bored voice, walking up. "We were the ones who got caught up in a villain attack, so we're a big deal right now. That makes us their biggest competition in the Sports Festival."
When Len comprehended his words and realised what was going on, he facepalmed. Oh my god, that's so stupid. The principal might be about to kick me out of the school, and I have to stand here and deal with beef between classes?
"Move aside, please," he told the students in front. "I have an important meeting to get to before next period."
A few people glanced at each other nervously and jostled, but overall they refused to budge.
"Not gonna work if you ask nicely like that, Crackhead," Bakugou said, stepping up. "Outta the way, extras. Me and this guy here really do have somewhere to fucking be."
"You can't call people extras just because you don't know them!" Iida shrieked from behind.
"I came to see the glory of the famous Class A…" a bored voice said, pushing to the front. Len looked at the guy. He had sleepy eyes like Aizawa's, and purple hair that stuck up. His eyes were also purple. "But you seem pretty arrogant. Are all the hero students like this?"
"NO!" Iida shouted from behind. Uraraka and Midoriya shook their heads frantically. Len's eyes narrowed. This guy thinks he's all high and mighty about something, doesn't he?
"Makes me kinda cynical about this whole thing, you know." The purple haired guy scratched his head. "Some of us in general studies and other courses only enrolled because we didn't make it into the hero course."
"Boohoo, too bad," Bakugou snarled. "You didn't make it in, and we did. Get over yourselves and stop crying about it. I could wipe the floor with all of you." He broke through the crowd forcibly, headed for Nezu's office.
Len watched him go, a sickly expression on his face. I should hurry and follow, but I don't want to have to break through them like that…
Purple guy seemed to turn his focus to Len. "The school has given us a chance, however. If we perform well in the Sports Festival, the school will consider transferring us into the hero course… and transferring other people out."
Midoriya gasped. Len clenched his fist. I really need to go… this guy is annoying.
"Scouting out the enemy? Nah. I just came to say that if you're in the hero course, don't think you're safe at the Sports Festival. I'm here to make a declaration of wa—"
Len made up his mind. "I literally couldn't give less of a shit, dude. I have something genuinely important to get to that isn't dumb games. Now PLEASE get out of my way. I don't want to act like the other one, but I will if you make me."
Purple dude seemed nonplussed, his cheeks heating up at being interrupted. Clearly he'd been planning for some big intimidating speech. The rest of the group murmured and mumbled, giving Len strange looks… and then parted the waters. He walked on, already tuning out the scene behind him.
Why does everyone care so much about a sports festival? And why are we all enemies? This isn't some normal high school where you can afford to have factions and cliques. We're all working towards one goal of creating a safer world. If you focus so much effort on fighting each other… that just makes things worse.
But it felt like he was the only one who thought that. Was he the wrong one here, then? The school enables this sort of behaviour, perhaps to bring out the highest potential in students. But for those of us without competitive drive… it's just kinda irritating.
Then again, maybe purple guy was about to get his wish. There might be two open spots in the hero course soon.
Bakugou was waiting outside the principal's office in the first of a line of wooden chairs. The boy was almost steaming. "I know," said Len. "Those guys back there were super annoying."
Bakugou resisted agreeing with him and clicked his teeth. "Tsk. They said they wanted to talk to you first. Hurry up."
Len turned toward the closed door that read PRINCIPAL on a foggy glass window. He couldn't see anything on the other side. "Did you see who was in the—"
"No. Like I said, hurry the fuck up."
"Okay, okay, I'm going."
He walked into the office. Into the belly of the beast.
He was immediately aware of several things. First, the office was crowded with heroes. All Might, Midnight, the one in the cowboy hat, the 1-B teacher, and of course Aizawa, still wrapped in bandages. Nezu sat at their center, hands folded behind his desk. Secondly, Len was aware of the detective guy from USJ standing there too, next to a TV that had footage queued up to play. Thirdly, he noticed that they all looked kind of pissed off.
"Young Kagamine," said the principal, the only one who was smiling. That didn't make him feel any better, though. "Why don't you have a seat?"
Len sat down on the green couch in the room. Nezu got down from the desk and came around nearer to him. "Would you like some tea?"
"No thank you, sir." The yellow energy within him was beginning to spin, frantic, as if telling him teleport now now now escape now. It was his fight or flight response, he realised. It wasn't just the energy on its own. Every cell in his body was resisting being here, in this place. With no outlet, Len began to spit words that reflected the stream of his subconscious. "With no offense meant, all of you are really starting to frighten me. Can I know why I've been called here now, and why you all look so mad?"
The heroes exchanged glances. The detective rolled the TV over, and began to play the footage.
Len gulped. It was as he feared. Footage of him from their day off two days ago, outside the Quirk facility. He was leaving in a hurry, looking extremely anxious. Of course I was anxious, because that was right after that guy told me about the League recruiter…
"That is indeed me," he squeaked. His throat was really dry, besides the yellow that was swimming around in it.
The detective glared at him. "It is. And that's an illegal Quirk training ring."
"What were you doing there that day?"
"We'll ask the questions." The detective stopped the TV. Midnight and Aizawa were glaring daggers into Kagamine. All Might was averting his eyes, as if ashamed. Jesus Christ, All Might is disappointed in me. "Listen, I can expla—"
"I'll know if you're lying," said the detective, his eyes flashing. "It's my Quirk."
Oh God. His Quirk is a lie detector? That would make sense for a detective… wait, he might be lying himself to psych me out! To trick me into giving up and telling the truth!
But that was a difficult dice to roll. Too difficult. Len sighed.
"I swear to you, sir, that was the last time I planned to visit that place. I just wanted to go in there and say my goodbyes, as well as pick up some stuff."
"Pick up some stuff? I don't see anything on your person in that footage," Aizawa said, taking a step forward. Len clashed eyes with his homeroom teacher, and suddenly all these moments came rushing back. That time I didn't use my Quirk on the softball throw. That time I turned down the class rep position. All this time, Eraser Head has had no idea what to make of me, and he's been trying to figure it out. And now he thinks he's come to a conclusion.
Len suddenly felt angry. He narrowed his eyes coolly. "The stuff I picked up were some paper masks that I put into my pockets and the hoodie you see wrapped around my waist." That's one hundred percent the truth, if this detective guy's Quirk is what he says it is.
"The last time you meant to visit, you say?" asked Nezu, still smiling that creepy smile. "When was the first time? How long have you been going? How often?"
Fuck it. I'll tell the truth. Don't see what else I can do, really. "On average? Maybe once a week for the past year and a half, up until the UA entrance exam. I stopped after that, until two days ago when I made my last visit."
"I see," said Nezu. "And at what point were you approached by the League of Villains?"
"Wha…" his face flashed red. The League? They know they were there? But… his head spun. But wait. I was never approached. I wouldn't…
"You display a similar Quirk to the villain Kurogiri, who evaded our capture," Snipe growled.
"And the information on your Quirk in the registry is extremely limited. I was wondering why that was. You've been trying to stay lowkey this whole time, haven't you? Holding back." Aizawa's red eyes were filled with fury between his bandages.
"You even held back during my Battle Trial, allowing yourself to lose to Young Kirishima and Young Asui," said All Might. "You knew that would make the rest of the class disinterested in you. Maybe you thought you slipped up by scoring too highly in the Quirk assessment."
"Kagamine, you see how we've arrived at this." Nezu spread his hands. "The League of Villains could not have pulled off this operation without help from inside our school. As such, we have reason to believe that you are a traitor to hero society. The League ordered you to take the UA entrance exam and infiltrate us. That is why you stopped visiting that place right after the exam. Unless he was lying about that…?" Nezu gave the detective the side eye.
The detective shook his head. "What he said was the truth."
"Then here's some more truth," Len snarled, and the entire room of heroes froze. "I'm no traitor, and never have been. The only reason there's limited information on my Quirk in the registry is because my parents are Quirkless, and hate me for what I have. They wrote the limited sentences you see in those records, because they couldn't bear to think about my power any more. They also refused to ever let me train it, so I had to turn to illegal means if I ever wanted to get strong enough to pass your stupid exam. Apparently it didn't prepare me enough to fight against other people, though. So sorry for losing your Battle Trial, All Might. I'd say I'll try and do better next time, but I guess there won't be a next time, since all you clever people seem to have made up your mind."
The detective's face was blank with awe. "No lies at all," he announced to the room, although his voice was barely above a mumble. "That was pure, unbridled honesty."
Aizawa and Midnight looked shocked. All Might at least had the decency to look down in guilt. Nezu's facial expression remained the same as before, infuriatingly.
"Well then," the principal said after a silence, clapping his hands together. "I guess that rules you out. Do tell Bakugo to come in on your way back to class." He walked back toward his desk.
Len sat up straight, confused. "You're… dismissing me?"
"Yes. You may go back to class. Or lunch, I suppose? Yes, it is lunch period right now. How silly of me."
"I'm not being expelled for breaking the law?"
"Under certain circumstances, perhaps. But from your outburst about your parents, I can only surmise that your reasons were not malevolent. We may have to look more into that." Nezu took a sip of tea.
What the hell is with this guy? "If you mean you're going to talk to my parents, they'll just ignore you. They didn't even answer the call about USJ."
"Oh, I know," said Nezu. "I made the calls myself. Your parents not answering gave me another clue to the puzzle I was piecing together, but I could still see two solutions at once. We decided to interrogate you about the first solution, but you have just confirmed the second."
Len's eyes widened. He was playing me the whole time? "But…"
"Like I said, you are free to go. I wouldn't want to cut too deeply into you or Bakugo's lunchtime."
Len awkwardly stood up to leave. "One more thing," he said, looking at the detective. "I can only assume you were at that facility because you thought the League might have been recruiting there. Did you find anything, besides me and Bakugou?"
The detective seemed like he wouldn't answer for a moment, but curiosity won out. He shook his head. "We did not."
"There was a guy there with a flexibility Quirk who warned me about the League. Said a recruiter came along a while back and took two of his friends. The recruiter had brown hair, and a Quirk that let him shoot bullets out of his fingers."
The detective's eyes widened. "That…"
"… matches the description of one of the villains who was arrested," Aizawa finished. "I remember him, one of the first I took out during the attack."
"Did this man tell you anything else?" the detective demanded.
Len shook his head. "Just that the finger bullet guy came and took his friends. Didn't say where they were going. If you want to question him more, he's probably still there. Real lanky guy, hair going a bit grey. Shifty eyes. Go easy, though. He seemed kinda nervous, and he did manage to say no to going with the League. I think he's a good guy, besides the whole lurking-around-illegal-training-ring thing. Anyway, that's all." Len turned, and left, not giving the heroes another glance.
Bakugo looked up expectantly. "Did you…"
"Get expelled? No. I just told them the truth. The detective has a lie detector Quirk. I think you'll be fine."
Bakugo exhaled. "Jesus. Okay. Well, uh…" the blonde boy stood up, and stiffly went inside.
Len's face twitched. Well. That was insane.
Nezu might have been playing with the strings a bit, but some of the hero teachers seemed genuinely convinced that he was some kind of traitor. Do I really give off that impression?
And now he'd had two outbursts, one at his parents, and another at the heroes. Anyone's forgiven if they think I'm a problem child, I guess. And maybe he was. Would a problem child be self aware?
It suddenly occurred to Len that maybe Bakugou really WAS a traitor, and that's why he'd been there at the facility the whole time. Nah, I don't think so. He may be hot blooded, but it's… genuine, I think.
The warping boy exhaled as he entered the cafeteria. The past few days had been way too intense, and it had been affecting his mood. Dammit, I just want to be chill and easygoing again, not some brooding angry loser! I want Mina to like me, dammit!
He sat down at the table without getting any food, as it was already over halfway through the lunch period. The other five all gave him strange looks. Well, four. Impossible to know if Hagakure looked strange.
"Where've you been?" Sero asked, turning some noodles over his chopsticks.
"Being interrogated by the staff. They thought I was some kind of traitor to the school, and that I colluded with the villains to help them sneak in to USJ. Say, Tsu, could I have some of that pork?"
Dead silence. The frog girl gave him a look of blank shock, her tongue hanging slightly out of her mouth.
Then, Mina and Hagakure and Sero burst out laughing.
"Pffffft!" Mina wiped her eyes. "Len, that was funny!"
"Dude," Sero breathed, "how do you make jokes like that with such a straight face?"
"That's just Kagamine-kun for you," Hagakure chuckled. "His humor style is just… pfffft."
"Here you go, ribbit," Tsu mumbled, grabbing some pork with her chopsticks and dropping it into Len's open hands. "Here," said Shoji, sliding his tray over slightly to let Len use the surface. "You can have some of my rice, as well."
"Thanks, guys." Len sighed. He supposed that if they took what he'd said as a joke, then he wouldn't argue. Careful. You all may end up getting questioned next.