The Flap of a Butterfly's Wings

Discussions From the Now

    "Ah, Midoriya-kun! It's so nice to see you in person!" the being says as he clasps his hands together. "I've heard so much about you, and I wanted to ask you something. But first, there's a few people who are excited to see you."

    Izuku can't do much but look at the principal in shock before directing his gaze at the other heroes. His stomach flutters in warmth at seeing the people who have saved him far too many times to count. More than they would ever know.

    "Little listener! It's so good to see you again!" Hizashi's smile is as bright and loud as his voice. Izuku can tell by the twitch of his hands that he's holding back from crushing the life out of Izuku with a hug.

    Nemuri doesn't even bother to hold back, "It's been so long! How have you been, Zuku? Wait, is it okay if I call you that?" He can barely manage to nod and Nemuri squeals while squeezing all his air out of his lungs before finally letting him breathe again.

    It doesn't take long for Izuku to collect himself, "It's nice seeing all of you again, and It's nice meeting you Mr. Nezu. You're all welcome in." He opens the door wider to let the four come in, Aizawa ruffling his hair affectionately when he walks past him. Mitsuki and Masaru greet them before they all sit on the couches.

    "Thank you again for saving me. I'd probably be dead or still rotting in the arena if it weren't for you." The concept of death shouldn't be that easy for a seven year old, and Izuku almost feels bad for making them wince. Not quite, but almost.

    "Oh, kid, we'll always be there to help you. You don't need to thank us." Izuku is glad that Present Mic still has that fatherly kindness to him even now. "You'll probably be seeing us a lot more often. I don't know if you've noticed, but everyone's taken a liking to you. Even Shouta here." Yamada nudges Aizawa playfully and winks. It makes Izuku grow flustered and giggle at the same time. He doesn't think he'll ever get used to having adults like him and care for him.

    Not when so many of them have let him down.

    "So, Mr. Nezu. What did you want from me?" Nezu smirks, and everybody but Izuku visibly shivers from it. Izuku had never been scared of Nezu or his intelligence. He's amazed by it.

    "You're the one who articulated the escape plan, am I correct?" The sparkle in his eyes grows into a sharp glint as Izuku nods.

    "I guess so. I had lots of help though." A cackle escapes the being's throat and the tense air the adults are bringing about is annoying Izuku. There's no reason to be afraid of the principle of U.A.

    It's illogical.

    Out of nowhere, Nezu pulls out a chess board. It's fancy, and Izuku knew just by looking at it that it cost an unnecessary amount of money. "Well, Midoriya-kun. Let's play some chess, shall we?"

_______

    Izuku to the surprise of himself and everybody in the room (besides Nezu. Because Nezu knows, and he knows, and knows, until he doesn't know what he doesn't know), he wins. He looks up from the chess board to see Nezu scaring at him with a smirk that shows his fangs (Izuku didn't even know he had any fangs. They look so cool!).

    "No one has beaten me in a game of chess in a very, very long time, Midoriya-kun."

    The boy shrugs, missing the gapping looks the teacher's are giving him. "It must've just been luck. Besides, it's just a game. A pretty simple one at that."

    "Trust me when I say this Problem Child. That wasn't luck."

    Nezu pulls up tea seemingly out of nowhere and sips out of it while cackling. Izuku and the heroes aren't fazed by this. Both have witnessed the principal's addiction for tea first hand, but the Bakugou's weren't faring so well. Their faces were pale in a way that was almost comical, and even Mituski looked at a loss of words. A snicker escaped Izuku before he had a chance to hide it, but thankfully no one noticed. Except for maybe Nezu who only started to laugh longer.
   
    "Getting straight to the point I want you to become my private student. I'll teach you things no one would think to teach you at your age -or any age-, and depending on what you want and your potential, you'll be guaranteed a spot at U.A when you're old enough."