When Nezu had asked him to accompany him to meet a prospective student, Shota Aizawa was confused.
Soon after Nezu's explanation, he quickly understood why he had been chosen.
Throughout a large portion of his career as an Underground Hero, he had seen a lot of things.
And he meant it.
However, after the death of Oboro Shirakumo, there had been one single incident where Aizawa had thought:
What can I even do?
An event that carried a pervasive feeling of powerlessness.
The Sky Egg Stasis Incident.
The largest recorded unauthorized usage of a Quirk for vigilantism in recent years in Japan.
For four minutes and thirty-seven seconds, everything within a five-hundred-meter radius of the Tokyo Sky Egg was effectively frozen.
During that time, almost every single Pro Hero in the area had been locked in place.
While Aizawa himself hadn't been inside the radius, he had still witnessed the destruction of the bombers with his own eyes.
Without even a single chance to retaliate, the bombers had been eviscerated.
And yet, Principal Nezu was claiming it had been done by a twelve-year-old who was just entering middle school?
The kid would have been ten at the time of the incident.
While Aizawa trusted the intelligence of his superior, there was still an underlying sense of disbelief.
--<>--
As Aizawa entered the apartment elevator with Nezu, Nezu spoke.
"Eraserhead, while I did bring you here for protection, I believe I mentioned it was more for formality than anything else?"
Aizawa nodded. He had been confused when Nezu said he was mostly here for intimidation, but Aizawa still had some confidence when it came to handling Emitter-type Quirks.
"While it wasn't in the file I provided, Student Shunkan's registered Quirk was originally Precognition before it was updated to Mathematics," Nezu continued. "I believe you understand what I'm implying."
…Never mind. There went that confidence.
'How broken is this kid?'
Ding!
The elevator arrived.
Aizawa followed behind Nezu as they approached the door.
'…Why does this feel like a sting operation when we're only here to talk?'
Nezu glanced at him. Understanding the unspoken cue, Aizawa pressed the doorbell.
Ding dong. Ding dong.
The two waited.
Aizawa tensed slightly when he heard footsteps approaching.
The door opened to reveal a handsome, middle-aged man.
"...Hello?"
Genzai asked, a little tense. After all, it wasn't every day a Pro Hero showed up at your door.
"Hello!" Nezu said brightly, bowing to Genzai. Aizawa followed with a short, awkward bow. "I am a Pro Hero and the principal of U.A. High School, Nezu!"
"And the person behind me is also a Pro Hero and a teacher at U.A. High School—Eraserhead!"
Aizawa gave a small nod in greeting.
"Uh… hello, Mr. Nezu. Mr. Eraserhead. What brings you here…?" Genzai bowed again, clearly nervous.
His son had mentioned Pro Heroes, but he definitely hadn't gone into detail.
Why was the Principal of U.A. at his house!?
"We would like to discuss something with your son."
"…My son?" Genzai hesitated, but ultimately stepped aside. "…Please, come in."
"Well, thank you for having us," Nezu said cheerfully.
--<>--
Genzai led them to the dining table, where Isshun and Kako were already seated on one side.
Nezu and Aizawa sat across from them, and Genzai took the seat beside Kako.
A few seconds of silence followed as Isshun and Nezu studied each other.
Nezu might be a genius.
But Isshun was a supercomputer wearing human skin.
Genzai tried to speak, but Isshun stopped him.
"Mom, Dad, you can just leave me here and grab something to eat."
Genzai opened his mouth to protest, but Kako slapped his back lightly.
"Okay, Shun-kun. What should we get on the way back?"
"…Fried chicken, please."
Kako smiled and stood. Genzai looked reluctant, but she dragged him toward the door anyway. "We won't be long."
The door shut behind them, leaving Isshun alone with Nezu and Eraserhead.
Isshun gave Aizawa a brief glance before looking back at Nezu, silently waiting for him to speak.
"Good afternoon, Student Shunkan," Nezu began pleasantly.
"…Hello," Isshun replied.
"Your parents seem to trust you a great deal," Nezu continued, paws folded neatly on the table. "It's refreshing to see such a harmonious household."
"Yes." Isshun's voice was even. "I'd do anything for them."
For raising him with care. For worrying about him even when he didn't need it. He appreciated that more than he ever said aloud...
…Maybe I act too detached around them sometimes.
'Hmm, it doesn't seem like Student Shunkan is lying,' Nezu thought, inwardly nodding.
Having a healthy familial relationship and an appreciative mindset were good signs of a healthy mental state.
The small talk continued for another minute.
Aizawa didn't contribute. If the student in front of him was what Nezu was saying he was, then it was better if he didn't arbitrarily butt in and say anything if Nezu hadn't said anything beforehand.
Isshun, meanwhile, was already bored.
He was supposed to be making his halo, and this rat was butting in.
"Is there something specific you wanted to ask me?" Isshun cut in politely. "I assume you didn't come all this way just to compliment my family."
Nezu paused at the interruption but nodded as if the small talk had confirmed a great deal.
He suddenly brought up a completely different topic.
"Well," Nezu said lightly, "while my intention in bringing Eraserhead was partially intimidation, it seems you aren't intimidated in the slightest."
Aizawa's scarf shifted slightly, to support Nezu.
"…Should I be?" Isshun asked, raising an eyebrow.
Nezu kept his beady eyes on Isshun for any change in composure, but all he could see was a bit of confusion.
"As expected," Nezu murmured. "Then I'll be direct. I came to ask you something, Student Shunkan."
"Go ahead, sir."
"Are you Blink?"
Isshun blinked once.
"Who's that?"
'That did sound like a cool Pro Hero name...'
Isshun may have been a vigilante, by his own admission, but all he really paid attention to within his range were crimes and inconveniences.
Why would he pay attention to the police if they weren't breaking the law?
Was Blink referring to himself?
Nezu raised an eyebrow.
'He's playing dumb? Someone with his intelligence should already know he's under suspicion…'
However, what Nezu assumed were small mistakes born of immaturity were actually the result of Isshun simply not seeing the need to cover every possible angle like a paranoid conspiracy theorist during the time when tin foil hats were still a thing.
Rather, he had no faith that the Police Force would even come close to discovering that he was a Vigilante.
After all, he had a perfect strategy.
Deny everything.
Where was the evidence?
Show it, then.
If that didn't work, he would just give up.
Simple.
Well, Blink was probably referring to himself regardless, so might as well play dumb anyway.
Looking at Isshun's blank expression, Nezu caught on almost immediately.
And indeed, Isshun's strategy was nearly flawless.
Teleportation made for the perfect no-evidence crime, and it wasn't even listed as part of his Quirk.
Nezu had only narrowed suspects down through probability modeling and preliminary background checks and brute-force investigation using Ragdoll's Search Quirk.
If this was a detective game, Nezu had essentially "cheated."
However, Nezu still had some other methods.
Nezu tilted his head.
"Blink," he repeated pleasantly, "is a vigilante who has been active in East Musutafu for the past two years."
"…I see." Isshun tilted his head slightly. "But I live in Tokyo. How would I be Blink?"
"Indeed. In terms of location, it does seem like a stretch." Nezu nodded at Isshun's statement.
"However, it seems that during that time period, only one family moved into East Musutafu—the Hado Family."
Nezu glanced at Isshun for any change in expression.
Unfortunately for Nezu, Isshun didn't particularly care.
"...And?" Isshun asked for more details.
'Hmm. Student Shunkan is more level headed than I anticipated,' Nezu thought.
After reviewing the available footage from the Tokyo Sky Egg incident, Nezu had noted that Hado Nejire and Shunkan Isshun were in unusually close proximity during the event.
There was even footage of her hugging him moments before everything froze.
That alone suggested a close relationship. Further background checks into Nejire's recent activities only reinforced that conclusion.
And yet, Isshun's composure neither faltered nor changed at the mention of the Hado family.
It impressed Nezu, but it also unsettled him.
On one hand, it suggested the boy was not prone to impulsive violence from an implied threat, which was undeniably a positive trait.
On the other, it raised a different possibility: that Isshun was so confident in his position that even subtle pressure involving the Hado family didn't concern him.
While it might be self-confidence one might expect from a child his age, it didn't line up with his composure he had displayed earlier in the conversation.
"After some investigation," Nezu continued pleasantly, "we found that you spend a great deal of time with the Hado family's only daughter, Hado Nejire."
Isshun nodded. "Yeah. We exercise together pretty often."
"Then, if it isn't rude, Student Shunkan," Nezu said, resting his paws on the table, "may I ask you something more specific?"
"Yes?"
"The distance between Tokyo and Musutafu via Shinkansen ranges from fifty to ninety minutes, depending on the train." Nezu's tone remained conversational.
"However, on multiple occasions, there is footage of you walking home in Tokyo… and less than fifty minutes later, footage of you appearing in Musutafu."
Nezu watched carefully for tension in the shoulders, sudden changes in breathing, or any pause that could imply a change in composure.
Yet there was none.
"So you're asking how I'm getting to Musutafu so quickly?" Isshun immediately went to the crux of the matter.
Nezu nodded. "If it isn't intrusive of course. We're only here to investigate after we saw a pattern, not to accuse you of anything."
'However,' Nezu thought. 'Based on probability alone, Student Shunkan, you are the only viable candidate for Blink.'
Isshun hummed in thought.
However, inwardly, he was quickly calculating a plausible way to explain his Teleportation.
He didn't mind if people knew he could teleport.
What mattered was how much they believed they understood about it.
The statistics, his limits and range, and if there were any conditions.
Most people, including someone as intelligent as Nezu, would make a natural assumption based on his Quirk's name.
Three-dimensional coordinate teleportation.
It was probable and very easily believable.
However, Isshun's teleportation wasn't truly teleportation.
But no one needed to know that.
"...Well, I guess I can explain."
--<>--
A/N: Longest chapter of the fic as of now.
--<>--
4000PS - Complete
8000PS - Not Complete