Feel my Pain, Change my Fate

I'm Sorry, What?

That week ended up being one of the worst weeks of my life. Mother decided to take the week off work, telling them that I needed help preparing for high school. They believed it of course, after all, in their eyes, Midoriya Inko is the kindest person in the prefecture. I spent the week in agony, the only times mother stopped hurting me were when I cooked for her and when she went to sleep.

The morning of my meeting with Nedzu was the worst of it. Mother didn't actively harm me, not wanting Nedzu to find evidence of anything, but the looks she sent me promised nothing but pain when the meeting is over. She finally went back to work that day, leaving me a few hours to try and heal. Granted, a few hours does nothing for quirk and whip-related injuries, but at least I finally got a chance to properly treat my injuries.

Despite how mother treats me she doesn't actually want me dead or bleeding all over the house. That would screw her over just as much as actually getting caught. So, she always left a supply of cheap bandages in the bathroom for me, and it's actually the only thing she buys for me. I hardly ever actually use it because she doesn't always restock it, only ever using it when something's going on and my usual bandage of old ruined shirts won't work.

A meeting with Nedzu definitely qualifies as a reason to use actual bandages. The old shirt probably would smell a bit like dried blood, that smell never really went away. It also wouldn't hide the smell of any new blood from the wounds. At least with bandages it'll hide the smell a bit better. Letting anyone, even Nedzu, notice anything would just make things worse for me.

The train ride to UA was agonizingly slow, giving my brain the chance to worry about what exactly Nedzu wanted to talk to me about. I know Power Loader said I got first place in both the practical and written exams. Maybe they think I cheated, and are expelling me before classes even begin.

Luckily the train's arrival at the station is able to pull me from the thought before I can overthink it too much. When I arrive at UA's gates Power Loader is waiting, ready to lead me to the meeting.

"Follow me kid, lets get you to that meeting," Power Loader says, and I just nod in response, not trusting my voice.

As Power Loader leads me through the building I can't help but marvel at the corridors. I hadn't been able to take in or appreciate how the building looked before or during the entrance exam. I didn't get a chance afterword either because I was too anxious about the results and getting home before Mother noticed. I hadn't relieved I had zoned out until we reached Nedzu's office and Power Loader spoke again.

"Alright kid, were here," He then turned to me. "Just do everyone a favor and delay the world domination for as long as you can."

The sentence caught me off guard and I just stared at him in confusion until I noticed the door slide open. The door that nobody was touching. Kinda creepy. Nedzu's unchanging smile at them from behind his desk did nothing to minimize that creep factor. I hadn't realized how creepy Nedzu was before because I had been too focused on my entrance exam, and now that I didn't have that distraction I could fully appreciate it.

"Please do come in Midoriya," He then turned to Power Loader. "I'll see you at the beginning-of-the-year meeting Maijima." Power Loader obviously took that as a dismissal and he retreated toward the support labs. "Feel free to take a seat Midoriya, we have much to discuss."

I made my way over to the chair opposite to him, and once I was settled he started taking.

"How did you figure out quirk copying tech?" Nedzu starts. "Most are not even aware it is possible, with only select few support engineers knowing about it with even fewer actually able to produce it."

"Um, I just... did?" I respond. "I like to analyze quirks and when I do I'm able to break them down and figure out how I could replicate them. Some quirks are simple and easy to replicate, like mine. Others, not so much. It's less in the engineering and more in the programming. To replicate a quirk you do need the tools to do it, but more important is the knowledge of how it's supposed to work. The bot from my entrance exam would only be able to copy a few...-" It was at that moment I realized exactly how much I was rambling. "Sorry, I'll stop."

"There's no need to stop Midoriya," Nedzu reassured(?) me. "In fact, that brilliant mind is exactly why I wanted to meet with you."

"Huh?" My confusion was palpable.

"Of all the students I've encountered, none have had a mind that was as brilliant as yours, even those with intelligence quirks. In fact, I have only met a few adults with a mind to rival yours. It's rare to find others with IQ's close to 200 after all."

I just stared at him, not understanding his point. I wanted to argue that he was wrong, and I wasn't that smart, but something in his face scared me away from that so instead I just stared.

"Midoriya Izuku, I want you to be my personal student."

I'm Sorry, WHAT?