The Light Within The Dark

2- Bound By The Light

Izuku awoke in a slouched position in an uncomfortable metal chair. His arms and feet were bound tightly to the chair, with what he figured were quirk suppressing cuffs. He slowly lifted his head and blinked a few times to adjust to the florescent lights that beamed from the ceiling. The room looked like a usual interrogation room. A steel table sat in front of him with two chairs on the other side facing him. Three of the four walls were bland concrete, with the fourth being slightly shinier. He wasn't stupid. He knew it was a one-way mirror. There had to be cops and heroes watching his every move. This room was eerily similar to the one Shigaraki had kept him in when he was younger.

His mind flooded with old memories and upcoming possibilities for his current situation. Interrupting his train of thought, the heavy metal door creaked open, revealing Erasurehead and a small mouse man. Izuku glared at them both before he redirected his gaze to the floor. "Hello, young man!" The mouse man said a bit too enthusiastically for Izuku's liking.

He waddled up to the table and climbed to the top of the chair. Erasurehead sat tiredly in the chair next to him. "The fuck do you want?" Izuku growled as he stared daggers at the two adults in front of him. "We wanted to have a friendly conversation with you!" He squeaked. "Tch." Izuku looked away. "My name is Nezu! What's yours?" Nezu pushed. The boy sat quietly for a moment before speaking. "Izuku." He muttered. "Great to meet you, Izuku!"

God, does he ever shut up?

"Now let's get down to business." Nezu smiled at the freckled boy. He looked at Erasurehead expectantly. Once the pro noticed the mouse man's expectant gaze, he pulled a beige folder out from under his arm and handed it to the rat. He gratefully took the file and sifted through it before seemingly finding what he wanted. "All right. Says here that you joined the League when you were 5?" He questioned as he read the info off the file. Izuku recognized that file. "Where the hell did you get that?" He snapped. "We have our ways." He smiled at Izuku sweetly. Izuku huffed and broke eye contact.

"Anyway.." He trailed off as he flipped through the pages. "Do you have any useful information on the League that we could use to our advantage?" He looked expectantly at the teen. "Why would I tell you?" Izuku seethed. "I couldn't even if I wanted to." He scoffed. "What do you mean by that?" Nezu cocked his head, urging Izuku to continue. The greenette let out a heavy sigh. He maneuvered his hand so he could tug down on his shirt, revealing a shiny white collar strapped tightly around his neck. "It'll shock me if I even consider spilling. Fucking thing tracks brain waves." He mumbled as he released his grip on his shirt. "I see." The mouse took out a pencil and jotted that down on the file. "Do you know how to take it off?" He urged. "No. Even if I did, it would probably kill me before I could get it off." He sighed, irritated. "Alright, one last question. Do you enjoy being a villain?" Nezu asked with a glint of hope in his eyes. Izuku's heart dropped. No one had ever asked his opinion before.

What do I say? I'm not sure if I even know.

"I've never thought about it. I was practically raised by these people, so it feels like a normal thing. It's not really a decision, more of an obligation." Izuku sighed."I didn't mind it." He shrugged. "Perfect!" Nezu cheered. Izuku cocked his head in confusion. "That settles it! You're going to enroll in UA!" He said gleefully. "The hell I am!" Izuku barked back. Nezu completely ignored him and turned to a half asleep Erasurehead. "Since he has no where to go, he'll stay with you, Aizawa!" He squeaked. Aizawa startled awake and glared at the mouse. "I can't handle a kid, Nezu! I can hardly handle Hizashi!" He retaliated. The creature just smiled and looked back at Izuku. "Welcome to UA's villain rehabilitation program, young man!" Nezu hopped up on the table and clasped a bracelet to the boy's arm before unlocking the restraints. "Why are you freeing him?!" Aizawa yelled. "Well, it's not right to lock up one of our students!" Nezu cheered, and he looked at the boy who was rubbing his wrist. The teen stared at the bracelet Nezu put on. "Quirk suppressing?" He asked as he stared at the white band. "Correct! Along with that, you'll have to wear these while they escort you out of the building." Nezu informed as he held out a pair of handcuffs.

"Now you'll go home with Aizawa here!" He smiled. Aizawa took this as his queue to take the handcuffs from Nezu and put them on the troubled boy. "Alright, c'mon problem child." Aizawa said as he placed his hand on the boy's back as he led him out the door. Izuku tensed at the sudden contact but proceeded out the door. The pro noticed his reaction but decided against bringing it up.

"I did not agree to this." Izuku huffed as they headed to the car. "Trust me, I know." Aizawa sighed as he ushered Izuku into the vehicle. He buckled Izuku because Izuku couldn't do it himself with his hands being cuffed and all. The man slammed the door shut. The loud sound caused Izuku to jump. Aizawa didn't notice this time and got into the driver's seat and started the car. The drive was silent. Every moment was awkward and insufferable to the already anxious teen. His mind raced.

School?

Seriously?

To make it worse, it's UA!

After about 10 minutes, the car came to a stop. He was dragged out of his thoughts at the sound of Aizawa opening his door and unbuckling him. He muttered a thank you and got up. Aizawa refused to let go of the boy even though the front door was only a few feet away. He held onto Izuku's shoulder and forearm, guiding him to the door. At the door, he kept one hand on his forearm as he shuffled through his pockets for his house key. He shoved the metal key into the door and opened the door, revealing a nicely furnished house.

"Welcome back, Shota~" a blonde man yelled from the kitchen before coming to greet him. Izuku assumed, based on Aizawa's comment earlier, that this man was named Hizashi. "Who's this?" He asked calmly. "Nezu said we have to take care of him. Villain Rehabilitation Progam, he's starting." Aizawa said as Izuku stood awkwardly. Normally, he would've walked away by now, but he was still being held. "Alright then." Hizashi said weakly. He looked sad and empathetic, maybe? "Well, welcome to your new home, little listener." He smiled as he patted the boy on the head. Izuku instinctively ducked at the contact. He pulled back to avoid the blonde's hand. "Oh, sorry. I should've asked." He said sadly. Izuku looked at him, confused. He wasn't used to anyone showing sympathy for him. This felt wrong.

"Well, let's get you situated." Aizawa butt into the awkward silence. He led the boy to a decently sized room. It was nice. A bed sat in the far right corner it looked much more comfortable than the one he would sleep on with the League. An oak desk sat against the wall on the other side of the room with a couple of notebooks and pens set on it. The room was dimly lit by a window that was placed on the left of the bed. The window had a lock on it to ensure he couldn't leave. "Alright, you've had a long day, so I'm going to let you sleep. You'll be starting classes on Monday." Aizawa announced as he unlocked the handcuffs. He then shot a sad smile at the teen as he stepped out of the room to leave the boy to himself. Izuku observed the room for a moment before letting out a loud groan and face planting into the bed, falling asleep almost immediately.

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Yay, another chapter done!! I'm exhausted, but I felt very motivated, so I pushed through. Hope you like it!!