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Chapter - 06

This place.

This human.

Aizawa, as the Nezu creature had called him, had brought Izuku? Well it was quite an impressive territory to behold. The entrance doors to the main building itself was nearly as tall as the front of some other smaller buildings.

Sure he's used to the tall structures humans supposedly developed. (Izuku is sure his ancestors had helped the clumsy humans figure it out) To think though that this vast territory was controlled by an animal... Quite a small one at that, what's more Izuku couldn't help but smell that at least part of him was made up out of rodent.

Its demeanor reminded him of humans but his instincts told him it was covering up its true nature. It even wore the same type of outer fur they did. Possibly it all was to make humans more comfortable? It seemed a fruitless endeavor to Izuku but clearly there was merit to it if this Nezu had enough power to claim this large of a territory.

Izuku himself never bothered to maintain as large a territory as the rest of his kind would, he found that it was tedious to check if his borders were being respected. No he mainly focused on marking out the areas where a kinder human could possibly have left him food and the areas where he slept frequently.

Was he really willing to give up how he's been living just to find out where he came from? It was too late to wonder about that as he was already here though. The conversation about it had started and no amount of second thoughts and stalling can delay it forever.

He snapped out of his thoughts and answered the question trying his best not to fall into thinking about the woman with eyes that matched his verdant green ones. It hurt so much to talk about it out loud. The chance he has to kept increasing though, he couldn't help but start to overthink things. Why a mere dream hurts like that is something he thinks can never be known. It was just a name after all, he's given it to others plenty of times.

Somehow this time felt different, possibly because he might learn where it really came from? Was the woman real or actually just a dream? He wasn't sure which one he would prefer. Then came the very question he was just thinking about.

Nezu tented his paws with that same smile he's had since the beginning "That's a very nice name you have, do you remember who gave it to you Izuku?" he asked, his gaze fully on Izuku now instead of flitting between him and Aizawa occasionally.

Izuku gave the chimaera his attention in return, not avoiding his eyes anymore. He swallowed, and said "I don't remember my mother or my litter mates at all so probably no i don't."

Izuku could kick himself. If he didn't want this creature to pry too deep into this he certainly wasn't helping with his cryptic answers. He was practically leading him to it. Nezu's expression was one of someone who had spotted a tasty treat upon hearing that, it was almost predatory in nature. Then as if on cue he leaned forward slightly asking "Oh, why probably?"

Izuku sighed to himself hoping he could just have kept his mouth shut. Then contradictory to what he just thought he blurted out "I'm not sure but, if I were to be entirely honest, well I have an idea but I'm not sure about it at all."

There's no escaping this route now, why is his mouth saying the opposite of what he actually intended to do? The next available opportunity he had to walk this back, it was getting dangerously close to something he doesn't want to face, right? They'd just think he's insane and then surely the help would disappear. Nezu's voice brought him back from his own thoughts again.

"Would you mind sharing this idea with us?" Nezu's tone had lost that predatory tinge it had gained once he smelled a mystery. Perhaps he realized that it slipped through or he noticed how it had sent Izuku spiraling into self doubt. Whatever the reason, Izuku noticed and appreciated it very much. Nezu had given him a chance to calm down and back out if he wanted it.