"Let Me Help You"

Six.

Dazai now sat in the principal's office, lounging on the couch with an air of feigned innocence. Across from him sat Nezu and All Might, the latter in his frail, skeletal form.

"Mr. Dazai, do you know why we called you here?" Nezu asked, his calm tone betraying no emotion.

Dazai tilted his head, his lips curling into a mischievous smile. He couldn't take the principal seriously; Nezu's rodent-like appearance was too absurd. A mouse? Really? Dazai thought. He and Chuuya considered themselves far from normal, but at least they looked human.

"No idea! Is this even legal? I thought teachers and students couldn’t be alone together—something about boundaries? Not that I’d know. I’ve never been to a real school before, but that’s a rule, right?” Dazai babbled, his tone playful.

Of course, he knew why he’d been summoned. First, there was the knife. UA probably wasn’t thrilled about the attempted murder incident. Second, he’d seen something he wasn’t supposed to: All Might’s true form. The heroes were clearly desperate to keep that a secret, but Dazai had pieced it together instantly.

All Might chuckled awkwardly, amused despite himself. Dazai took pride in that reaction—exactly what he’d planned.

"What do you mean you’ve never been to a real school?" Nezu pressed, narrowing his eyes.

Dazai shrugged. "Didn’t need to. School’s boring. I already know everything they’d teach me.”

Nezu’s brows rose. “And your father allowed this?”

“In Yokohama? Of course. I just aced some tests to prove how brilliant I am, and that was that. Mori doesn’t care what I do as long as I’m useful.” Dazai’s grin was sharp, but his tone was casual. He left out the details: His "father" practically ran Yokohama, his real name wasn’t Osamu Dazai, and Shuuji Tsushima had been listed as missing since he was four  He could do whatever he wanted to. Because again, Osamu Dazai wasn't a real person.

“How peculiar,” All Might murmured, leaning forward slightly.

Dazai’s eyes flicked to the emaciated hero, analyzing him with calculated precision. A shell of his former self, Dazai mused. Dazai was quick to read that this man had become quite jaded with his power. He had done his research on the hero. As a young boy, he had transcended among the ranks rather quickly. However, he was in a big battle, and he had been on hiatus for quite some time. Even with him back in action, his meritorious acts have begun to fade, a grand innuendo signaling to his decadence. All Might’s meteoric rise and subsequent decline fascinated him. The man reeked of weariness, burdened by a power he could no longer wield fully.

Nezu cleared his throat, steering the conversation back. “You know why you’re here, don’t you?”

Dazai forced a wide-eyed expression of innocence. “Nope! Not a clue. Care to enlighten me?”

At that moment, Aizawa entered the room, coffee in hand, looking as exhausted as ever. He flopped onto the couch beside Nezu, offering only a half-hearted, “Sorry I’m late.”

Nezu wasted no time. “Regardless of how things are done in Yokohama, UA has rules. No weapons on campus, no fighting, and certainly no murder attempts—whether or not your life is in danger. A hero does not kill.”

Aizawa had his eyes on the boy, desperately trying to read him. He was well aware of the boy's actions at the training arena. He kept the bomb underwraps but definitely knew about it. The boy let off some sort of umbrage.

Dazai noted the subtle tension in All Might’s posture. So, he doesn’t fully agree with the rat, Dazai thought, filing the information away. All Might reminded him of Mori—an unsettling a mix of cunning and ruthlessness. The man was far more interesting than Dazai had anticipated. A man willing to do anything and risk the life of anyone for his own benefits and desires. He may be the root of this "mission" Mori had sent him on.