Chapter Text
Yaoyoruzu let out a small huff as she walked down the corridors of the main building. Today had been a rather long day with them having to train since nearly the start of the day. The hero course really was quite demanding and it left most of the students sapped at the end of the day. Especially since they had been focusing on learning detective work today. She’d always been fascinated with that aspect of this industry but it wasn’t exactly easy. You had to pay attention to every little detail and you had to constantly question your own thought process. She had done very well but it had taken a lot of thinking leaving her with a killer headache.
But to add to her frustrations not only had Mineta been extra nosy today but she had to spend close to an hour trying to tell Hatsume that no she wasn’t interested in her ‘babies’ and just needed some modifications to her costume.
A series of whispers caught her attention. She turned to see three business course students sitting around discussing something but what really caught her attention was the distinctive green notebook in their hands. That was Midoriya’s and he’d been rather distraught having misplaced it.
She didn’t know Midoriya all that well but she got along with him just fine. He was friendly, focused and humble which made him a rather safe person even if he could be skittish and his mumbling could get annoying especially when she had a headache.
“Excuse me” she called out, “That doesn’t belong to you”
They turned to her in surprise, “Y-Yaoyoruzu from the hero course right?”
“Yes what-“
“Do you know the kind of stuff that’s in this?”
“It’s Midoriya-san’s analysis notebook. He does analysis on our quirks and abilities” she replied, “Still I must ask that you hand it over”
The three of them exchanged glanced which made her surprisingly nervous, “Listen…there’s some pretty intense stuff in this. We think he might be selling information”
Where the hell did that come from?! To say the least she was caught off guard. She was sure they were grasping a straw mostly since the other courses had made no attempts to hide how much contempt they held for hero course students, “I-I see…well please just hand it over to me”
“Yaoyoruzu-san seriously have a look through it. You’ll agree with us” one of them replied before handing the book back to her.
As she walked back, she felt a little dizzy. Midoriya the traitor? Impossible! Someone like him - so earnest and straightforward could never be the traitor. He was such a bad liar on top of that…as she glanced through his notebook, she felt a bit more certain about it since it was mostly innocuous. There was a weaknesses section sure, but it was very generic things. Uraraka’s page for instance simply spoke how keeping her at range would mitigate her quirk and fighting style and also mentioned her hands needed to be protected at all costs. That and the cutesy descriptions of how cool she was...there was no way he could be the traitor.
…
There was no way he could be the traitor…right?
A treasonous little thought entered her mind. Maybe it was a little too perfect? Wouldn’t someone like him be perfect as a spy, someone who was generally rather meek and who most would assume harmless? But behind that she knew the kind of analytic mind he possessed. Someone like him could easily gather information and people wouldn’t think twice. She felt so conflicted because it was so difficult to picture Midoriya as the traitor…but those were based on feelings rather than evidence. What evidence did she have?
Just like that everything clicked in place. She wasn’t close to him so she didn’t know an awful lot about him but the bits and pieces all fit together -
Bakugou’s surprise during the quirk apprehension test at him showing a quirk;
Constantly breaking his bones when he used his quirk
The villain All Might fought in Kamino being able to take and give quirks.
His closeness to the former Symbol of Peace and the reveal of his emaciated form.
Being in the center of various incidents such as the USJ, Hosu, Kiyashi Mall and Kamino.
The villains targeting and kidnapping Bakugou who’d been nasty towards him since day one and they had history.
But most of all how nervous he tended to act when people asked him about his quirk or his past…
It painted a terrible picture and it left her stuck not knowing what to do. On one hand she knew she should bring it up with one of the teachers since they were pros, but accusations like this were taken very seriously and she didn’t want to get him in trouble when she wasn’t certain herself. At the same time, she could be putting her other classmates at risk if he was…she didn’t know what to do, she didn’t know what to do…
In the end the problem was that she didn’t have enough information to know anything for certain. Perhaps she should ask one of those closer to him. Uraraka came to mind first but she didn’t think she could get an honest opinion from her given she was head-over-heels for him, something which she now found uncomfortable rather than adorable. Todoroki was out too because he was far too loyal a person and he would let Midoriya know immediately which would defeat the purpose of this.
Iida was a good choice though. The class rep was responsible and knew Midoriya well enough to be able to fill in the blanks. One thing she knew for certain was she couldn’t go around spreading her suspicions. Rumors tended to stretch the truth and it could absolutely derail any chance of a proper investigation.
But in her haste, she forgot one little detail…there were three students that already knew.
His head was spinning. Midoriya had been one of his best friends since the start of the year and his first instinct was to defend him claiming there was no way he could be the mole…but everything made just a little too much sense which scared him. Like Yaoyoruzu he was having a tough time separating feelings from facts that were presented in front of him.
What hit the most though was his timing in Hosu, having shown up right as the Hero Killer was about to strike him down. That and the big question mark that was his past. Despite being so close to him he knew very little about him aside from the fact that it was just him and his mother, and his deep admiration for All Might…he didn’t want to admit it but he felt a little left out seeing others in his class knowing more things about him. Even Bakugou seemed to know things about him that he didn’t and the explosive blonde made no effort to hide how little he thought of Midoriya.
The idea that everything – their whole friendship, every experience they shared – that it was all faked, that the Midoriya presented in front of him was a farce…no that couldn’t be it. Maybe to an extent but it couldn’t be it entirely. Part of the reason why he had grown close to him was because of how sincere a person he was. No, he could at least say that Midoriya wouldn’t willingly work for the villains.
But coercion? What if they were threatening his mother? What if they accrued a massive debt, given they weren’t particularly wealthy? What if he’d wandered into the wrong place at the wrong time and was being blackmailed?
It made more sense to see things that way. In fact, it made everything else seem even more plausible. The constant skittishness, the evasiveness when asked about his quirk or past but most of all how good a liar he really was despite people thinking he was an open book.
…
“W-well that’s what I think Iida-san. I’m not a hundred percent certain because I do not know Midoriya-san that well”
He took a deep breath, “Unfortunately I agree with everything you said. It definitely makes a lot more sense if we see it as Midoriya-kun not doing it willingly”
Her eyes widened, “I didn’t consider that…is his family situation bad?”
“It’s just him and his mother…he’s never made any mention of his father but he always seems to get upset whenever the topic is brought up”
She nodded, “He looks middle class so a debt is possible”
“I thought so too…or his interest in hero fights ended with him seeing something he shouldn’t have…”
She put a hand on his shoulder, “I understand this is distressing…but we have a chance to help him out if he’s in trouble”
He took a sharp breath, “I suppose you’re right…we should bring this up to Aizawa-sensei”
“Very well…the pros should be able to handle this better”
Aizawa rubbed his forehead in irritation. It wasn’t uncommon for hero course students to start finding ‘suspicious’ things when they began classes of this nature. Learning how to think in a new way often led to them hunting for clues in the most obscure places. Suddenly everybody was a detective and figuring out every last dark secret in the world…typically it was just an annoyance since it violated some people’s privacy but this was one of the few times it was something potentially serious.
The notebook itself didn’t have anything implicating but when he considered it with the others things Yaoryoruzu and Iida brought up it definitely hinted at something much more sinister. But he was a man of reason and he didn’t jump to conclusions without all the information present.
Years of experience as a pro instinctually told him that Midoriya was most likely not the traitor. He had considered it several times since it was brought up after the training camp but it never stuck. Either he was the world’s greatest actor or more likely he was a teenaged boy with self-esteem issues and an overactive mind. He could attest to his character knowing that even if he was approached by villains, he would have found a way to turn himself in but mostly it was the fact that he was so close to All Might. They might have their differences, but the man had been the Number One hero for a reason – there was no way he would have missed something so big especially if it had to do with his arch nemesis.
Unfortunately, none of this would do any good in an actual investigation because there was no evidence that he wasn’t the traitor. Anything to do with the League would bring in the HSPC and their methods were…questionable to say the least. They tended to approach everything as guilty until proven innocent which unfortunately was a completely irrational way to go about an investigation because proving someone’s innocence was infinitely harder than proving their guilt. Midoriya was his student and a child, so there was no way he would allow him to go through all of this alone. As it was now, he was best placed to prove his innocence but he knew the commission would look for any excuse to paint him as biased and handle it on their own. Telling these two that he didn’t think Midoriya was a mole would do a lot of good right now, but in the long run it would just give them ammunition to call him biased and he didn’t want to force his students to perjure themselves because it would be undue pressure and create even more problems.
He had to play it very carefully from this point forward. Them bringing this up meant others would likely catch on. They may be smart and honest kids but they were just that – kids. Being put in a situation like this involving their classmate and friend would be tough enough but slip-ups were more than likely. That was where things would go out of control because the truth would get distorted and it would bring forth a lot of circumstantial ‘evidence’.
Scaring them into silence wasn’t going to work either. It’d just put more stress on them which would make them more likely to do something stupid with this information. Considering his options he took a deep breath, “Both of you sit down. What we’re going to discuss will stay between us understood”
Both nodded solemnly. Taking a second to compose himself he continued, “Since the training camp we’ve been investigating several students at the possibility that they may be working as a spy. Midoriya is unfortunately one of the several suspects”
Iida took a sharp breath at that, “I-I see…”
“Iida” he called out getting his attention, “While he may be a traitor, there is every chance that he isn’t. This investigation is the best chance to clear his name. So, you absolutely have to keep this from everyone in the class, especially Midoriya”
They nodded, “Understood sir. What of the notebook?”
“I’ll hand it back to him. Head back to the dorms now both of you. And keep your eyes and ears peeled”
“Yes Aizawa-sensei”
He sighed wearily before picking up his phone and sending a message to certain individuals. He better get on top of this before it blows over. As much as he trusted those two to keep their mouths shut, they were still teenagers and slip-ups could happen, especially since it involved a fellow classmate. Midoriya was a good kid and something like this would drag his name through the mud potentially destroying his hero career before it even started.
First stop Recovery Girl.
Kayama gave him an incredulous look, “You can’t seriously believe that Midoriya is the traitor? Him? He’s such a sweetheart”
“I never said I did. That’s why I’m collecting evidence”
She nodded thoughtfully, “Before an official investigation. Clear it up before it gets muddled and becomes circumstantial ‘evidence’” she made sure to emphasize evidence with air quotes.
He let out a small snort at that. They had seen their fair share of trials and cases where something small was taken way out of context, but there was no real way of disproving their claim. Being a hero wasn’t just physically demanding, the toughest part of the job was making sure you did things right. Letting bad guys off the hook or worse implicating innocents was absolutely the worst thing possible. So, they had to be careful with whatever information that was presented in front of them.
Unfortunately for the both of them, a certain purple-haired girl with a hearing quirk heard bits of their conversation and did exactly what he feared the most.
Jirou groaned in pain as she walked away from Recovery Girl’s office bemoaning the fact that explosions were loud, her ears were extra sensitive and Bakugou really didn’t understand the concept of restraint…they were still ringing now but at least they didn’t hurt. She focused a bit on her hearing trying to pick up small sounds to make sure her hearing was alright. She picked up a pair walking down the corridor two floors up so she focused on what they were talking about. It wasn’t clear but the minute she heard their first words she wished she hadn’t.
“…Mido-ya -…traitor. He’s…uch-“ that was definitely Midnight’s voice.
She recognized the other voice as well since it belonged to her homeroom teacher, “-collect- vidence”
She gulped…that didn’t sound good.
“-cial investi-…muddled-…stancial evi-nce”
Not wanting to hear anymore she bolted heading straight to the dorms. Her mind was racing a hundred miles a minute not knowing what to do with this information.
Midoriya a traitor? Her first response to that would be to laugh it off as a joke, but their teachers – actual pro heroes – had come up with it so it definitely seemed plausible especially since Aizawa was one of them. He wasn’t one to joke much less about something so serious.
She raced straight to the communal bathroom in their dorms with no signs of her panic vanishing. She needed to talk to someone about this now or her head was going to blow up. Taking her phone, she dialed her best friend.
Yaoyoruzu showed up with a concerned expression several moments later, “Kyouka? Are you alright?”
She shook her head fervently, “No…I heard Aizawa and Midnight talking about something…they think Midoriya’s a traitor” she was taken aback when her friend flinched, “Momo”
“You…I…I trust you so please don’t share this with anyone else” she told her pleadingly to which she nodded.
She proceeded to explain to her friend exactly what was going on. Jirou stared at her in shock, “So he really is-“
“W-we don’t know yet. But…” she looked down sadly, “It certainly looks that way to me. You’ve seen how easily he flips his attitude…Iida-san is close to him so he probably will have a difficult time accepting but even he agreed that most of what I pointed out made sense”
“Because it does…you think they used the information against us?”
“It is possible…Midoriya-san has a sharp eye for quirks and weaknesses. He didn’t have anything particularly dangerous in his notebook but you could come up with some insidious things with what he has listed. Take Uraraka for example, he wrote her hands have to be protected at all times…a villain could easily come up with something like chopping her hands off. I feel terrible imagining a classmate doing such a thing but-“
“Hey I don’t want to imagine it either but it has to be someone right? The USJ, Summer Camp – heck even the Licensing Exam”
She furrowed her eyebrow, “What do you mean the exam?”
“Apparently someone pretended to be that Shiketsu girl that attacked him”
She froze, “Wait…wasn’t one the Leagues members supposed to be able to transform into others?”
Her eyes widened, “You don’t thin-“ she stopped having sworn she heard something, “You hear that?”
“I don’t have your hearing” she pointed out.
“Yeah…” she shook her head brushing it off as her imagination, “Let’s head up to your room. I don’t want to sit on the bathroom the entire night”
That was when it hit her. Her eyes widened in alarm, “Oh no…someone might have heard us!”
Jirou stiffened as well. Had she really imagined the noise? Could it have been Hagakure skulking around? She shook her head, “H-hey the time’s kind off odd, I doubt anybody would be back in the dorms. Let’s go now”
“B-but Aizawa-sensei said-“
“It’s fine Momo. Nobody heard” she replied firmly.
She shook her head hesitantly before the two headed up to Yaoyoruzu’s dorm. Unfortunately neither of them realized another person walked away from the bathroom having heard everything. A sinister grin graced their face, ‘Never thought I’d get a chance like this…time to create some chaos’. They pulled their phone out and sent a text message.
We need to talk now!
Three Days Later:
Something was up…having grown up around Bakugou, Midoriya had learned how to read people’s moods. It especially helped to know when the volatile blonde was in a particularly bad mood and had to steer clear of him. He was glad that chapter of his life was over and they’d moved on but it did help in certain instances since coming to UA.
Right now, there was a wall of sorts between him and some of his classmates. When he talked to them, they seemed almost…avoidant, even a little scared. He wanted to think he was imagining things but when Iida of all people started making constant excuses to not hang out but continued to watch him like a hawk…
He decided to test his theory during lunch that day when he approached Kaminari, “Hey Kaminari-kun” he noticed instantly how he flinched away.
“H-hey Midoriya. What’s up?” he asked trying and failing to not sound nervous.
“I was wondering if you wanted to…talk about that RPG you mentioned last week”
His eyes widened a bit, “Ahh…sorry Ashido wanted to talk to me about…something! Yeah! See you later!” he replied quickly before walking off.
He frowned now knowing for certain something was up…they were avoiding him. Did he do something? But it wasn’t everyone in the class though, only some of them. Uraraka, Todoroki and Asui continued to hang out with him like usual and had been just as perplexed as him at the sudden shift in everyone’s behavior. Kaachan was Kaachan as always – and others like Tokoyami, Shouji and Kirishima didn’t act any different either.
Now most people would expect him to instantly go into a panic as it gave him flashbacks of middle school and the isolation, he suffered but an unfortunate side-effect of being constantly bullied was it had made him rather thick skinned. Sure, it would annoy him and embarrass him, but nothing could really get to him. He’d heard every possible insult, taken hundreds of beatings – in all honesty a few great months at UA weren’t enough to circumvent the years of bullying he faced. Most of all though, he was rather fatalistic when it came to relationships. He wouldn’t give up the friends he’d made for anything, but he always lived with the expectation that they’d eventually want to leave him. As it stood, he almost expected everyone around him to eventually move on from him so he wasn’t nearly as put off by it as most people would expect. It sucked sure but it was hardly something he wasn’t expecting.
He was grateful at least that his closest friends had chosen to stick by him even if he felt deep down that their friendship came with an expiration date. That’s why he’d cherish it while he could…
“Midoriya-chan? Are you alright?”
“Huh? Yeah I’m fine Asu-sorry Tsuyu-chan”
She grinned, “Good you’re remembering now kero but…I think you’ve noticed how everyone has been acting…just wanted to make sure you’re alright”
“Oh that…yeah I’m fine. It’s a bit weird but…I’ll be ok”
Uraraka frowned, “You shouldn’t be…even Iida-kun has been avoiding us”
Todoroki stroked his chin, “Hmmm…smells like a-“
“Please no” the three of them pleaded but it fell on deaf ears.
“-conspiracy. I’ll get to the bottom of this” Todoroki replied standing up and walking off.
“…seriously he’s a great guy but he’s got a few screws loose” Uraraka deadpanned.
“Not his fault. At least he’s dropped the whole All Might being my father thing…for now”
“Anyways…I think I’ll go talk to Iida-kun. I don’t like this…”
“You don’t have to go out of your way to do that Uraraka-san. It’s fine, I’m sure it’s-“
“Don’t finish that sentence” she shot back sternly, “I don’t like people making my friends feel bad”
“I’m with Ochako-chan” Asui nodded.
He deflated, “Fine…but if you don’t find anything you drop it, ok?”
“Deal. I’ll you guys later” she waved as she headed out of the cafeteria intent on talking to their class president.
“Ah Uraraka-kun! I was just planning on reaching out to you!”
“Hey Iida-kun. That’s good I had something I wanted to talk to you about as well”
“Sure! Let’s talk in here!” he replied motioning to the empty classroom.
She followed him inside and decided to be blunt, “So you haven’t wanted to hang out with us for the past few days. What’s up?”
He blinked in surprise, “I assure you it is nothing of that sort. I simply-“
“Iida-kun” she interrupted him, “I know when you’re lying. Did Deku-kun do something to upset you?”
“What makes you think Midoriya-kun did anything?”
She sighed, “We’re not blind Iida-kun. It’s obvious whatever’s going on it has to do with Deku-kun…so I’m asking you did something happen?”
He took a breath, “I’m asking you as a friend to believe me that nothing happened…”
She frowned, “I don’t like this…I won’t pry but if this is looking anything like internships again, I’ll beat the answers out of you. Todoroki-kun would be happy to help I’m sure”
He pursed his lips, “I understand…but there are a few things I wish to ask you as well”
“Shoot”
“It is about Midoriya-kun…are you aware of his family situation?”
She began to feel really suspicious now. Iida had always been a little oblivious, but for him to ask about the very person he said he wasn’t avoiding immediately after…something was very off. She knew she should have pursued it further because she could have got him to talk but she chose to let it be, “Why are you asking me? You can ask him directly, right?”
He looked anywhere but at her, “I don’t feel comfortable asking Midoriya-kun directly. Plus, I believed you’d know”
She frowned, “He isn’t really comfortable talking to people about it but…I guess he’d be ok with you knowing. It’s just him and his Mom which you know”
“His father?”
Her expression turned sorrowful, “He left them when he was really young. Doesn’t really like talking about it…”
“Oh…”
“Yeah…but he’s never mentioned any relatives either so I don’t think he really talks with them much”
“I-I see…has he mentioned being in any sort of trouble?”
She narrowed her eyes, “Why are you asking me this Iida-kun?”
“Just out of interest” he replied stiffly, “Moving on…have you ever peeked into those books he writes?”
“A couple of times, why?”
“I see…what do you make of the information?”
She folded her arms, “What are you trying to ask me?”
“What are your opinions on what he writes in those books?”
Ok this was getting too much. She took a step forward, “Iida-kun you’re really starting to weird me out…it’s just him writing down errant thoughts. You know how much he overthinks things”
“I-I do but perhaps-“
She raised her hand, “I think we’ve been friends long enough for us to be honest with each other…so I’ll ask you this one last time…is there something I should know?”
He stared at her for a moment, “No, there is nothing”
He was lying to her. Iida her best friend since the first day at school had brazenly lied to her face when she’d always been honest with him. He’d been one the first people she’d ever told why she was really becoming a hero along with Midoriya. She held back her tears and nodded stiffly, “Alright…I’ll see you later”
“Wait Uraraka-kun I-“
“I just…I need some time to myself Iida-kun” she cut him off.
“I see…I’ll talk to you later Uraraka-kun”
“Yeah…” she responded glumly walking out her door. As soon as she was out, she pulled out her phone and messaged Asui.
Uravity: Something’s up. Make sure one of us is near Deku-kun
Froppy <3: Was planning on it anyway. Did Iida-chan say anything?
Uravity: He was acting very weird. He knows something but he’s hiding it
Uravity: I don’t have a good feeling about this Tsuyu-chan
Froppy <3: Me either. Let’s just keep watch, ok?
Uravity: Of course =D
“Uraraka-chan! Tsuyu-chan! Where are you off to?” Ashido asked them rather energetically as always.
“Oh, hey Mina-chan. We were just going to the park with Deku-kun and Todoroki-kun”
Neither missed how her eyes almost bugged out, “Awww come on! You’re always hanging out with him! Come hang with the cool kids for once!”
“Bakugou-chan is anything but cool” Asui deadpanned.
“Ehh you’re not wrong…but the rest of us are! Come on girls!”
Uraraka glanced at Asui who nodded, “We’d love to but we decided before. We can’t ditch them”
She seemed almost desperate Sero spoke up, "Don’t you get weirded out by Midoriya’s whole muttering thing…kinda creepy actually”
“Don’t call Deku-kun creepy!” Uraraka snapped taking a step at Sero who backed away rather intimidated, “He gets enough of that crap from Bakugou! Seriously what the hell is wrong with you?! You can't just go around calling people creepy just cause you're jealous of them!"
Ashido waved her hands frantically, “I-it’s not that! We’ve…we’ve got to tell you something important”
She wasn’t particularly in a good mood so she just turned around not responding, “Sorry Mina-chan” Asui responded flatly, “Maybe next time”
“Hang on-“ but she didn’t get to finish as they walked off.
“Ok…what the hell was that?!” Uraraka asked shocked, “The nerve of him! I know it’s a little irritating, but how can they call him creepy? He’s the sweetest thing on the planet!”
“I don’t know…from what you told me and the way everyone is acting…I don’t want to jump to conclusions but the class knows something about Midoriya-chan that we don’t”
“But I don’t get it…what could he have done?”
“I’m not so sure he’s done anything…I don’t think we know anything for sure Ochako-chan. I think it’d be a good idea to stick around him as much as we can so he doesn’t start feeling like he’s being isolated”
“Yeah, you’re right…but even Iida-kun’s been acting super weird and he’s so close to him. I really don’t like this Tsuyu-chan…”
She patted her back, “Me either…but let’s forget about it right now”
She nodded, “Yeah you’re right…”
Seeing the two boys conversing she brightened up instantly. She’d be there for her friends no matter what.