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Taking a tea break, Nezu decided to check the cameras, particularly those overlooking 1-A.
After their ordeal at the USJ, Nezu thought it best to keep an eye on them. He also told Aizawa to inform the class they needed to schedule at least one session with Hound Dog.
Aizawa had come off as dismissive to the request, but he was sure that was just the pain meds talking. Surely a man as logical as Aizawa understood the needs of his students after such an ordeal! Though, perhaps he should have fought harder against him returning to work so soon while still injured.
“Oh, dear,” he said upon seeing the commotion outside Class 1-A's door.
He watched and listened with growing anger as the other students sent the class looks and made comments about how “lucky” they were to be noticed for surviving a Villain attack or how arrogant they must all be.
Of course, Bakugou's attitude did not help the situation, especially after a tired looking boy with purple hair, Shinso Hitoshi, Nezu remembered, decided to poke the bear further.
The boy had an obvious chip on his shoulder, no doubt bitter due to not passing the entrance exam for the Hero course. Well, what did he expect? It's not exactly a secret UA uses robots for their exam and the boy didn't even attempt to grab a makeshift weapon to fight them when his quirk didn't work. He didn't even earn any rescue points, despite several opportunities being presented to him.
However, the arrogant Gen Ed student was silenced by Midoriya. As the boy began to berate Shinso, as well as the other students, for their jealousy at their trauma, Nezu truly understood why Yagi chose the boy.
He had a now terrified Shinso into a wall when Aizawa appeared.
Good. He would get Midoriya's account of the situation and-
"Midoriya, 1 week of detention starting tomorrow for harassing a student."
…what?
"What? But-"
"No buts."
"Can I just explain-"
"I don't want to hear whatever excuse you have."
Midoriya opened his mouth again to argue but Aizawa-Sensei held a hand up.
"This is not a discussion, Midoriya. Can it."
Izuku clenches his fist but mutters his agreement. Aizawa let out a grunt, turned around and began walking away.
…what the hell was that!? In what way was it “rational” or “logical” to punish a student without getting the full story!?
"What? You not used to getting in trouble, golden boy?" Shinso snidely said.
And now Nezu was a hundred and ten percent done.
“That is quite enough,” Nezu announced over the intercom, getting all the students and Aizawa’s attention, the older man freezing in place at his tone. “Everyone who is not from Class 1-A, please move along. Aizawa Shouta and Shinso Hitoshi, report to the principal's office. NOW.”
“I must say, I'm very disappointed in you both,” Nezu calmly said, both his student and employee scowling.
Though Aizawa’s mouth was covered by bandages, he was sure it was there.
“I didn't do anything wrong,” Shinso scoffed. “That little perf quirked-”
Nezu slammed a paw on his desk and bared his teeth, startling the young man out of whatever attitude he had and even startling Aizawa.
“Young man, I will not tolerate the use of slurs in my presence or in my school,” he all but snarled. “Unlike Aizawa, I saw the whole altercation and I am appalled by your behavior! Midoriya is not in the Hero course because of his quirk, but because of his hard work and dedication to helping people! In the entrance exam, he literally mangled both legs and an arm to save someone from the Zero Pointer, getting in solely on rescue points!”
While Shinso gawked at that, Aizawa rolled his eyes.
“Those bandages do not hide your expression as well as you think, Aizawa,” Nezu snapped.
As Aizawa looked away, Nezu calmed down and continued.
“In 1-A, there is a girl whose quirk is simply to be invisible, a boy with sticky purple orbs for hair, and a boy with a tail. They all managed to pass the exam. Would you say they have “perfect” or “flashy” quirks?”
Shinso desperately tried to respond as Nezu brought something up on his computer and played the security footage captured at the USJ.
Shinso was honestly horrified by what he saw and heard. He had no idea it was that bad.
Nezu paused on the image of Shigaraki with his hand on Tsu's face, making Aizawa shudder.
“Look at the man sitting next to you,” Nezu said, waiting until Shinso did so. “With a monster on his back and his limbs twisted like pretzels, he managed to fight through the pain and activated his quirk, saving young Asui. Could you say you're strong enough to have done the same?”
As Hitoshi hung his head, Nezu began rapidly typing.
“You will be given detention for the next week for antagonizing your classmates, you will apologize to 1-A for your comments, and you will begin counseling sessions with Hound Dog to address your behavior,” Nezu said before handing Shinso a small packet. “I also expect to see you following this training plan to prepare for the Sports Festival.”
Shinso's eyes widened as he looked between Nezu and the packet.
“B-but…I…why?” Shinso sputtered, bringing a smile to Nezu's face.
“Because no Hero is a one trick pony, Shinso,” Nezu calmly said. “Despite your behavior today, I believe you can become a great Hero. However, I need you to show me you have the drive and dedication to overcome your faults. Can you do that, Shinso?”
“I-I'll try, sir,” Shinso said, his eyes shining with unshed tears.
Nodding, Nezu dismissed the boy before turning his attention back to Aizawa, who looked quite uncomfortable.
“Look, Nezu, I-”
Nezu simply held up a paw, silencing Aizawa.
He then played for Aizawa the footage of the incident, ending with him and Shinso being called to his office.
“So…,” Nezu calmly began, folding his paws on his desk. “Still think you're as rational as you claim to be?”
“I-I just…I thought-”
“No, you didn't,” Nezu interrupted, his beady eyes narrowing. “You assumed the boy, who, need I remind you, helped save your life at the USJ, was harassing a student for no reason other than your own biases.”
“I am not biased,” Aizawa almost growled. “Midoriya is a clearly classic case of someone praised their whole lives for a strong quirk that he never bothered to train!”
“And how the hell could he train a quirk he didn't even know he had!?” Nezu shouted.
“...w-what?” Aizawa dumbly questioned.
“The entrance exam was the first time he ever activated his quirk,” Nezu scowled. “He was thought to be quirkless his entire life and only activated it to save Uraraka’s life, something you'd know if you read his file, the same damn file I specifically told you to read!”
“Th-that's impossible!” Aizawa said, stubbornly refusing to admit he was wrong.
“Oh, like it's impossible for someone to be able to fly or an animal to talk?” Nezu sarcastically asked before scoffing. “In a world of quirks, anything and everything is possible!”
Aizawa was stunned into silence. There was no way he was so wrong about a student. And if he was wrong about Midoriya, how many others could he have been wrong about?
“You know, I was really hoping it was the pain medication messing with your mind, but it seems I was wrong to place so much trust in you,” Nezu sighed. “You are being suspended for dereliction of duty and will undergo a psychological evaluation.”
“But-”
“No buts!” Nezu coldly interrupted, quickly printing out a suspension form and signing it before sliding it over to Aizawa. “You may not be crazy, but you are not entirely well, either, and I cannot trust my students to someone who will punish them off of baseless assumptions.”
Aizawa clearly wanted to argue, but instead just nodded and made for the door.
“Also, you will apologize to Midoriya, both for this little incident and how you have failed him as his teacher, and tell him he will not be serving that detention,” Nezu added, making Aizawa flinch before reluctantly nodding.
A month later, Nezu watched with pride as a weeping Midoriya was given his first place medal.
Gunhead, who had taken over as 1-A's homeroom teacher, had quickly proven to be a much more diligent and effective teacher than Aizawa. He scheduled everyone an appointment with Hound Dog, with Bakugou, Todoroki, and Mineta being forced to attend more sessions in order to stay in the Hero course, and had enrolled Midoriya, Kaminari, Aoyama, and Uraraka in extra quirk counseling.
He even offered additional physical training to any who wanted it, with Midoriya and Uraraka happily taking him up on that offer.
On the second place platform stood Bakugou, who, though he looked annoyed with his arm in a cast, had clearly been performing the breathing exercises Hound Dog had taught him.
In third place, Shinso, who Gunhead had taken under his wing along with Midoriya and Uraraka, smiled down at his bronze medal. He had worked hard this past month, both physically and in his sessions with Hound Dog. He had even formed a friendship and friendly rivalry with Midoriya and Uraraka.
In Nezu's opinion, he had finally proven himself worthy of a spot in the course. While he didn't need to demote another student for this to happen, he felt Mineta should be demoted to Gen Ed in his place.
Unlike Bakugou and Todoroki, Mineta hadn't shown nearly as much progress.
The next day, after his final healing session, Aizawa entered Nezu's office.
Aside from the scar under his right eye, Aizawa looked better than he had in years. His long hair was clean and tied back, the bags under his eyes weren't as dark, and Recovery Girl said he had even asked for a razor for him to shave before the meeting.
He was also wearing a black t shirt, blue jeans, and sneakers instead of his Hero costume or some old sweats.
“Hello, Nezu,” Aizawa said in a less tired tone than Nezu was used to before taking a seat.
“Good afternoon, Aizawa,” Nezu nodded while pouring a cup of tea. “Could I offer you a cup?”
“Yes, please,” Aizawa nodded, truly taking Nezu aback and almost causing him to spill his tea.
Despite years of offering, Aizawa had never accepted his offer!
“My, it seems you really have changed for the better,” Nezu joked, getting a chuckle from Aizawa as he passed him his cup.
“Yeah, who'd have thought a month of proper sleep and therapy would have done such wonders for me,” Aizawa joked back.
The two then sat in silence for a moment, just enjoying their tea.
“...I caught the festival yesterday,” Aizawa said, looking down at his tea with a ghost of a smile. “Those kids have really improved, especially Midoriya. Zashi and Nem tell me Gunhead's a helluva teacher.”
“Indeed,” Nezu said with a sad smile. “In fact, he accepted my offer to stay on as 1-A's homeroom teacher full time.”
“I understand,” Aizawa nodded with a sad sigh.
“However, I'd still like to offer you a place at UA,” Nezu continued, getting Aizawa’s attention. “With the League of Villains still on the loose, we could use someone with your unique talents in a security position.”
“I suppose it makes more sense than to have me as a teacher,” Aizawa shrugged.
“Splendid!” Nezu cheered, pulling out the contract.
Aizawa filled it out while Nezu explained the position and after he finished his tea, he shook Nezu's paw and made his way to the door.
“Oh, and tell Miss Fukukado I said hello!” Nezu cheerily said, making Aizawa flinch and slowly turn to face the grinning principal with wide eyes. “Her scent is all over you.”
With a familiar tired sigh, Aizawa left and Nezu broke out cackling.