Chapter Text
“Kaminari Denki is the UA traitor.”
There it was. The information they had spent months trying to unearth. Now it was out, nobody wanted to believe it. But there it was, clear as day. The evidence laid out in front of them, almost too extensive to have any doubts.
Yet here Aizawa was, teaming with doubt. Kaminari was a good kid. Yeah, he was a grade A headache, but who out of his kids wasn’t… excluding Kouda of course. If the League or anyone else was going to infiltrate a highly secure institution, surely, they wouldn’t have picked a dyslexic, ADHD kid who fries his brain if he overuses his quirk. Something just didn’t add up.
The teacher lifts his gaze from the pages before him to take in the reaction of the room. The general reaction matched his own, utter disbelief. There were a few determined or even angry faces from some of the teachers that clearly didn’t know the electric student. Aizawa’s eyes met Yamada’s. The man looked distraught. It was no secret that Kaminari was his favourite student, the boy teaching his sensei new English slang, and on occasions memes. That was something Shouta was less pleased about, even if they did sometimes get the rare smirk or chuckle out of him.
To his surprise the first to say anything was All Might.
“This is absurd, young Kaminari would have been my last guess. He has such a pure spirit and the real drive to be a hero. He has come too far for me to have any doubt about that.” The skeletal man claimed, almost as if he were trying to convince himself more than anything.
The must have been difficult for the former number 1 hero, he was used to seeing a bad guy and taking them down. This was one of his students, one of the kids he fought so hard to protect.
“Unfortunately, the evidence is all there.” Nedzu reasoned, “I thought it would only be fair to share it with you before calling in the police-“
“No.” Aizawa shot to his feet, slamming a hand onto the table. “This is one of my kids, let me talk to him first.”
“Eraser, be logical here. This kid could be the terrorist that has put all of our students at risk. What more proof do you want? It’s all there. The safest thing right now, would be to let the police take him in before questioning. The longer we drag it out, the closer the League gets.” Snipe weighed it. His logic in the situation angered Aizawa but he knew he wouldn’t get far with it.
“Snipe has a point, this is what we will do: to avoid suspicion, Eraser, you will hold homeroom as usual. Everyone else meet outside 1A’s classroom, we will wait for the police and escort Kaminari out in a civil fashion. He shouldn’t try anything in front of his class, but if he does, I expect everyone’s full co-operation.” Nedzu shot Aizawa a warning look, the latter glared back making no effort to object.
After further discussion, most of which Aizawa ignored, the meeting ended. The majority of the teachers rushed off to finish any preparations for the day, leaving Aizawa, Mic and All Might with Nedzu.
All Might flicked through a handful of evidence, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
“Where did all of this come from all of a sudden, surely we would have seen at least some of this over these couple of months.”
That was a very fair point, they had a state-of-the-art security system but somehow all of this had managed to slip past them. Yet here it all was, clearly from the school’s camera showing Kaminari in various compromising situations.
For the first time in their careers, they saw the principle stumped. It was like he was trying to force a memory to the surface but didn’t know how. He stayed like that for a moment too long, before collecting up the sheets as if nothing had happened.
“Right, off you all go, we don’t want to raise suspicions now do we. I have a call to make.” Nedzu said in an upbeat chipper.
The men in the room shared a concerned look before leaving. That was definitely not right. Aizawa gave the two other teachers a look, getting nods in reply as they parted ways.
Shouta hated this. He made his way to his classroom, forgoing his sleeping bag to slump against his podium. He needed a moment to breathe. An uncomfortable weight had settled itself in his stomach, he felt like he could be sick. Sick at the thought that he had let the possible traitor sit under his nose for so long, sick that if he had been more observant, he could have saved everyone so much pain, sick that he was doubting his intuition. Kaminari was, no, is innocent and he needs it to be true more than anything.
Before he could spiral, the door opened revealing Iida.
“Good morning, Sensei. Class starts in 15 minutes, it there anything I can do for you?” The class president asked in his normal, formal tone. Too loud for so early in the morning.
The teacher waved him away, taking some papers from his bag. He tried to look busy but didn’t know how convincing he was, his brain was miles away. He looked up at the only student present. The boy neatly arranging his pens into lines.
“Iida.” The boy looked up at the deep, tired tone.
“ Yes sensei!”
“I need you to promise me something as class president.”
The student stood from his desk, bowed, and waited for the teacher to continue.
“No matter what happens today, I need you to keep everyone under control. I give you and Yaoyorozu permission to use any means of doing so, as long as nobody gets hurt.”
The tall student stared in shock for a moment before collecting himself.
“But sensei, what could possibly-“ He didn’t get a chance to finish as the door opened once again. A flood of students came in, finishing their conversation. Aizawa gave Iida a final knowing look before getting back to his papers.
He managed to stay busy for another 5 or so minutes before he heard the undeniable, cheery sound of the self-proclaimed Bakusquad. They entered the room, laughing at something probably ridiculous. Even Bakugou had a smirk on his face. The group noticed their teacher staring and gave him a greeting. He nodded at them, sweat uncharacteristically starting to form on his brow. That kid right there, the goofy, happy, sunshine before him, could possibly be one of the most dangerous people in this school. He tried looking for any signs or tells, something to make him feel the slightest bit less guilty than he did in this moment.
The bell for the start of the day rang. Iida got up and took attendance. The class looked at their teacher, ready to learn. Aizawa took a calming breath and started with announcements. He didn’t have much to say, as he had no clue how his day would progress. He instructed them to get out any homework or projects they were working on and continue with those. He was stalling for time now, it just needed to happen. The wait was always the worst.
There was a slight scuffling sound outside the door, a few whispers and shadows moving in the windows. The door suddenly flew open, and an avalanche of people entered. They circled the room, guns drawn. A few of the teachers were scattered too, most at the front of the room. A police chief Aizawa didn’t recognise entered in a suit, warrant in hand.
There’s a moment of silence, all anyone can do is stare at the intruders in shock and fear.
“ Kaminari Denki! You are under arrest for a number of crimes linking you to the UA traitor. Anything you say or do may be used against you in a court of justice.”
There are multiple loud gasps, a few cries of confusion and some choice words. All eyes now on the boy in the centre of the room. He was stock still, all colour drained from his face. The only movement was his jaw opening and closing like a goldfish.
Half the class looked betrayed, accepting the fate of their classmate, and condemning it. The other half looked ready to start a resistance, build a barricade and save their comrade.
“Please get on the ground with your hands on your head. You will be made to wear an inhibitor collar, until deemed safe to remove.”
At those words tears started filling his eyes. They thought he was a villain. They thought he would betray his friends. His family! The electric quirk user looked around, trying to gage his friends’ reactions. Kirishima looked like he wanted to be sick, Mina had tears streaming down her face, Sero looked hurt but concerned, and Bakugou, Bakugou looked angry. More so than usual. Not at Kaminari, but at the officer at the front of the room.
“WHAT DO YOU IDIOTS THINK YOU’RE DOING?” The angry blonde screamed. His face red, mouth spitting, hands curled ready to strike.
“Bakugou-“ Aizawa started.
“YOU’RE NOT GOING TO STOP THIS? YOU OF ALL PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW THIS IS BULL!”
“Katsuki,” A trembling voice whispered “don’t. Please.” The voice cracked at the last word.
The aggressive blonde backed down almost instantly. It was a strange sight, but it was clear even he knew this was a fight he could not win.
The golden-haired boy slowly rose on shaking legs, took a step to the right, raised his arms to his head, and knelt down on the floor. Tears were now streaming down his face. He looked up at his homeroom teacher, the man he had accidentally called dad on two separate occasions. The man looked distraught; he wasn’t even trying to hide it anymore.
“S-sensei, I would- I would never. P-please, you have to believe m-me!” The boy said between sobs.
The teacher made eye contact, his own eyes starting to moisten in the corners. ‘I’m sorry’ he mouthed at his student. He never let up the eye contact after that, like it was his way of reassurance.
Two burly police officers stepped forwards, the first forcing Kaminari face down into the ground. The boy let out a sharp gasp but tried to hide his pain, as if trying to give his friends less reasons to worry about him. The second roughly looped an inhibitor collar around his neck, before placing large cuffs around his wrists.
The small boy winced as the cuffs bit the skin around his wrists. The pain swiftly mellowed out; his brain too abuzz with a billion thoughts that everything else started to feel numb. The collar felt like it was sucking away his life force, the usual tingle under his skin was gone. Everything that made him, him was no longer there. With it his energy and will to fight.
Kaminari was dragged to his feet roughly, the brutal grip of the two men should have hurt. That amount of pressure against his arm must be leaving a bruise, but he couldn’t tell anymore. Suddenly he was nothing, just an ant about to be squashed by a very powerful boot. He hung his head in defeat.
Sensei was sorry. Did that mean he was sorry this was happening to him, or sorry that he had ever believed Kaminari was a good kid. At this point Kami’s brain was so muddled, he might as well have short circuited. What if he was actually the traitor all along and didn’t know it. What if he really was bad and hurt his friends.
They barely made it three steps before the door was rammed into. A mop of messy lilac hair stumbled in, panting as if he had sprinted.
“Kaminari no!” Shinsou Hitoshi straightened up, ready to push through the crowd to the other boy. “Let him go, he’s done nothing wrong!”
Before the mind reader could take another step, Present Mic stepped in his way, hands on the student’s shoulders. His eyes were stony through his orange glasses.
“Why are you here little listener?” The teacher’s voice was stern and out of character. There was no real aggression in his tone, but it didn’t mean it wasn’t chilling. Shinsou didn’t flinch though, too focused on the golden boy just beyond. “Answer me please, nobody else should have known of this.”
“That idiot Kaneshiro,” Shinsou spat, the distain clear in his voice. “He kept going on about how Kami was going to get thrown out for being the traitor. He’s lying thought! He has to be lying.”
Shinsou trailed off in the end, looking Present Mic right in the eye. His eyes had dulled, face morphing into defeat. Yamada pulled the boy into his arm, comforting him while turning to face Eraserhead. The latter clearly having the same thought process, shot out of the room at a sprint.
It was well known Shinsou struggled with making and maintaining friends, Kaminari being first to successfully break through the many walls he had put up. He wasn’t going to believe that his one friend, one true friend was the bad guy all along. If that was true, what would that make him? Maybe his middle school bullies were right, maybe he did have a villain’s quirk, maybe evil attracts evil… The thought made him want to be sick. He couldn’t handle this anymore. He could feel himself shutting down.
The police chief glared at the cause of the commotion, before turning back to his team. He sent orders to those around the room before filing out, small, scared suspect in hand. The last few pro heroes followed out leaving a shocked class 1A, Shinsou, Present Mic and All Might. There was about 30 seconds of silence before all hell broke out.
“WHY WOULD HE DO THAT?” “THERE’S NO WAY!” WHERE ARE THEY TAKING HIM?” “HE’S INNOCENT IDIOTS!”
The noise was unbearable. Any of the classes in the area would no doubt have been shocked at the sheer volume.
“QUIET!” Present Mic screeched, not even bothering to use his quirk. It had the desired effect as silence fell in an instant.
“I know a lot of you are confused right now and you have every reason to be. Yes, Kaminari has been taken in for questioning as to whether he is the UA traitor. There has been enough evidence provided to build a case, however there are a lot of factors that don’t add up. I can’t tell you anymore at this time so please be patient. Iida, whatever orders Aizawa gave you, please make sure they are follow through.”
It was the best Mic could do to reassure them and himself.
“But he’s a traitor! That villain got away with so much and so many of you are supporting him! We should have just got rid of him there and then, so he has no way of hurting me again in the future!” Of course that would be Mineta, the small purple boy always jumping to the extremes without a second thought.
“Aren’t you his friend? How could you say that? He never once hurt you!” Mina growled at him; her voice rough from her tears.
“Like I could be friends with an idiot like him. He nearly got me killed just by being here.” The grape spat. He looked like he was going to wage a full-blown war, a lot of his classmates looking ready to weigh in too. Before they had a chance to get any further however, a powerful force shook the building. The lights flickering before going out.
Present Mic wasted no time before passing Shinsou off to All Might and booking it out of the door. His first thought was that Kaminari had somehow gotten out of the inhibitor collar and was attacking. That would confirm his part as the traitor and that wasn’t something Mic could consider right now. The other thought being, they were under attack. Either the league was staging some rescue or there was another force at work.
What he didn’t expect was what met his eyes as he burst through the doors to the courtyard.
The armed officers and teachers were scattered around in various positions, some injured on the ground, others upright, all completely frozen in place. It was as if someone had hit pause on them.
About 10 metres in front of him was the police chief. He was hunched on the ground, gripping his arm. A sluggish trail of blood ran down the side as the man retched, clearly not effected by what had got his team and other teachers.
Beyond the chief was a sight Yamada almost didn’t believe. Both Aizawa and Kaminari were sprawled across the ground, bleeding in multiple places. To their side was, at first glance, a grey shimmering blob. Under closer inspection Mic could just about make out a figure. He could tell it was one of the students, from the uniform.
Kaneshiro.
The one Shinsou mentioned. He had some stasis quirk if Yamada remembered correctly. He was a reasonably quiet kid, kept pretty decent grades and mostly stayed out of trouble. Every now and then he’d get a bit cocky, but that could be expected from any teen, so wasn’t exactly anything odd. As far as Mic knew, his quirk wasn’t that powerful. There was no way all of this was all down to him. He’d never known someone take down Aizawa that easily, especially a student. Something was amiss.
The dark aura around the student seemed to grow. He was saying something, but Mic couldn’t quite make it out. To his relief, Aizawa raised his head, starting to shift into an upright position. His movements were slow, and pain was clear across his face. The sound of the now moving teacher seemed to rouse Kaminari, who shifted slightly but failed to move much more.
Present Mic started forward slowly, trying not to draw too much attention to himself. He was wary of the student’s quirk, deciding it would be safest not to rush headfirst into this. That being said, why wasn’t Eraserhead erasing his quirk. What had happened for things to get this bad? Realising he was now in range, he tried listening out for any answers to his many questions.
“But hero society is the problem! The sooner we bring it down, the sooner people will stop dying because of the mistakes of those who are meant to protect them. Any collateral damage,” Kaneshiro looked over at Kaminari. “Is just icing on the cake. This idiot was way too easy to frame, too busy overusing his own quirk to notice he was being the perfect decoy. Not that any this matters now anyway, I guess my cover’s busted. But if it bought 1A down a peg or two then at least I’ve achieved my own little bonus.”
“You think you can frame and attack one of my students and get away with it? Screw your stupid ideals, nobody hurts my kids!” Eraser rasped. His eyes lighting up as he tried to activate his quirk.
The dark aura flickered for a second before increasing in size. It was almost like Eraser’s quirk was erased itself. The teacher gasped as he rubbed his eyes, now dry and raw.
“You really do insist on still using your quirk don’t you. For a teacher, you’re pretty dumb. I can just speed up you quirk stupid. A whole 10 minutes of eye ache rolled into a single second. It’s really only a blip for me. Your attempts are really starting to get on my nerves though, so I might have to wrap this up and get as much from this place as I can before the stasis wears off and I’m outnumbered again. Goodbye Eraserhead.”
Everything seemed to slow down. Whether it was because of the quirk or the fear in that moment. The aura started to draw in, pulling towards the traitor’s swirling palms. He was bringing his hands around in circular motions, as if winding up a ball of yarn. Arms shaking from clear overuse of his quirk. All too soon he outstretched his hands, unleashing the ball towards the prone teacher.
“SHOUTA!” Yamada screamed, still too far to do much else. Even with his quirk, the sound did nothing to change the course of the attack. He directed another scream at the traitor, miraculously landing the blow.
He turned his eyes back to those on the ground, a flash of gold glinted through the tears blurring his vision as the attack hit in an explosion of deep grey. The force of it sent him stumbling back, only to get caught by one of the nearby officers. It seems his own attack had broken the stasis effect. He couldn’t spare it a thought though as he had much more pressing matters. He pushed off the officer and sprinted forward, faster than he had in his life. He entered the grey cloud, surprised to see it was nothing more than the light aura before. Despite that, it was almost impossible to see through. He pushed forwards until he finally stumbled across the target of his worry up ahead.
From where he was, all Mic could make out was a blob. His eyes still somewhat blurry from residual tears. As he got closer, he could hear slight mumbling. The cloud around him started to clear, revealing Aizawa hunched over a head of gold hair. He held it close to his chest as he rocked in place.
The dark-haired man looked up, making eye contact with the other teacher. His eyes were wide and pleading as he continued to whisper to the kid in his arms.