Into the Light

Chapter 8

Dabi and Kuroguiri surprisingly fit right in at Yuuei. Dabi was an excellent instructor and Kuroguiri was practically born to teach. Izuku loved his classes with them and everyone saw the bond they had. Dabi would almost always gravitate towards Izuku when he was in class. They learned first hand how Izuku became as good as he was. Kuroguiri liked to use Izuku for examples and only Izuku. Sometimes it was like they were in the background but present at the same time. The change in Izuku was so noticeable now that he had his family with him.

Izuku was more open and he smiled a whole lot more. His violent outbursts were still there but Dabi had them handled like a champ. The other teachers watched and were amazed at the progress their students had started to learn from just two new teachers. They wanted to know their backstories but kept their curiosity at bay. Izuku was growing in leaps and bounds since they joined and everyone was so proud. They watched firsthand the way Kuroguiri and Dabi interacted with him and saw the familiarity in it. It had been a couple of weeks since they joined and Nezu honestly thought it was becoming the best decision he's ever made, aside from saving Midoriya.

"Dabi, Kuroguiri. How are you liking Yuuei so far?" Kuroguiri sat a little straighter and turned facing Nezu.

"Principal Nezu, I am liking Yuuei a great deal. I have always enjoyed mentoring to the best of my abilities and I am able to do just that here. I must thank you again for the opportunity you gave us."

"I'm enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would and the kids are all very talented give the few exceptions. I'm glad I get to teach Izu again as well. I honestly can't thank you enough for what you did for him, we were worried he wouldn't adapt well."

Nezu caught the meaning behind Dabi's words. They'd set Izuku up to be captured to save him from that life. He knew now that he'd made the right decision. After a few more minutes of idle chatter, the staff room door was flung open and a frazzled looking Lida stood in the doorway. Across the room Aizawa groaned, letting out an annoyed sigh before rushing out after him. Dabi and Kuroguiri were hot on his heels. They'd learned that that behavior was designated for just Izuku or Problem child as Aizawa referred to him as. They arrived out in the training yard to see the most brutal fight they'd ever witnessed.

Todoroki, Bakugo, and Izuku were going all out in a three-way battle. Todoroki was using both his quirks on full blast along with the other two. The field was covered in chunks of ice and debris. The ground was littered with craters and the boys were all covered in sweat. They looked plenty best up and it wasn't until Bakugo and Todoroki attacked Izuku together that they realized it wasn't a three-way battle but a two on one. Bakugo had probably been running his mouth again and dragged Todoroki into it. What had probably started as a three-way had turned into a two on one, from the way things looked.

Izuku's breathing was ragged as he dodged another column of ice and deflected another explosion. They'd wanted to be as strong as him so he'd brought them out here at the beginning of lunch and let loose on them. They learned quickly so what had started as a simple three-way spar had turned into a full out battle. Bakugo and Todoroki were drenched in sweat, him right along with them, but none was willing to give any ground. They hadn't noticed Lida leave to get teachers, nor did they notice the growing spectators. Student and Teacher alike had stopped class to watch the spectacle. Teachers giving advice as they narrated, still keeping it a semi learning activity.

Aizawa couldn't believe how many had skipped regular classes to come to watch. He shouldn't have been surprised as this could be seen as quite the learning experience but the boys had obviously been at their limits ages ago. They were all on the verge of collapsing and you could tell they were physically exhausted. It wasn't until Dabi gasp and stepped forward that he truly became worried, then he saw it. The shift in Midoriya's eyes. There was a spark of insanity swirling around his emerald orbs and Dabi called the match, snapping Izuku out of it.

"Alright, boys that's enough for one day. Hit the showers and get ready for your next class."

"Dabi, what was that? I've never seen that look in Midoriya's eyes." Dabi let out a resigned sigh and turned to face Aizawa.

"If Izu pushes himself too far he starts to snap, going into survival mode. He'd been pushing himself so far at the league that the insanity was starting to take over. He was a child with a penchant for murder, he still is deep down. Yes, he'll make a damn good hero but he has to watch himself otherwise he'll be right back to the villain."

"When Izuku was young he'd go through these episodes where he'd hate himself and get violent because of the things Shigaraki made him do until his mind found a way to cope. Now the episodes only happen when he's on the verge of unconsciousness as a last-ditch survival tactic. Back when he was constantly exhausted he was stuck in survival mode and did things for no rhyme or reason." Kuroguiri supplied. Aizawa was thinking and realized that for being kidnapped so young and tortured as he was he'd seemed to sane, now he knew why. Izuku's insanity only presented itself when he needed it to survive. He could help work with that now he just needed to figure out how to breach the subject.

"Does Midoriya know about these episodes or is he oblivious to them?" Kuroguiri turned to Dabi.

"He can't feel them come on but he knows when he's in one. He said once that it felt like all rationality left him an he felt like more of a monster than human. I tried to help him work through it but I just couldn't ever get through to him. It's one of the things I regret not being able to help him through."

"Don't worry Dabi, I'll do what I can to help him recognize when it's happening. It's going to take some work and he'll probably respond better if you're a part of it. I'll start working on a plan today so we can try to help him work through this."

"Thank you, Aizawa. It means a lot to Kuroguiri and me. We just didn't know how to help."

Izuku, Bakugo, and Todoroki didn't show up to the next class or the next. When Dabi went looking for them he found them all on the couch in the dorms sleeping. Izuku was sat in the middle with Todoroki on his right and Bakugo on his left. Dabi couldn't pass up the chance and snapped a photo sending it to Kuroguiri. No sooner than it'd sent did the portal wielder appear. With an angry Aizawa tagging along. Aizawa wanted to let then sleep but they still had two classes today. The boys were rudely awakened when something wrapped around them and flung them forward into the floor. Sparks flew from Katsuki's hands as he readied for a fight. Todoroki activated both quirks stifling the air. Izuku looked feral for a split second as his mind caught up. If they hadn't been restrained Aizawa knew they would have attacked him.

Izuku groaned when he realized what happened. They'd showered and gotten dressed then sat down instead of going to class. Todoroki looked horrified that he'd missed so much as a second of school while Kaachan didn't look fazed in the slightest over what had transpired. Izuku knew his stay here at Yuuei was detrimental to his attendance and grades, but he'd needed the sleep after their sparring at lunch. His body was stiff and sore, bruises and burns littered his arms, neck, face, and legs. Todoroki and Bakugo were no better off, both favoring certain areas. The glare from Aizawa stopped them all in their tracks as this wasn't his usual glare. This one promised something dark and sinister.

"Well problem children, seeing as we had to hunt you down for two missed classes I've got something you can do to make up for it." The looks of horror on their faces was enough to put a victorious grin on his face.

"You three will be Dabi's examples all class. Every new thing you three will be demonstrating and using." Izuku immediately calmed down until he saw the smile on Dabi's face. This did not bode well for them.

All Might had included his Heroics class into Dabi's Weapons training making it that much harder. They had to incorporate everything together. Izuku passed with flying colors but Bakugo and Todoroki, not so much. Todoroki couldn't grasp being a villain for this exercise and Bakugo struggled with being a hero. Oh, the irony, the villain played a better hero than the actual hero, of course, he played an even better villain though.

Once their day ended they were dragged back into a classroom and handed the notes and homework from the two classes they'd missed. They arrived back at the dorms just in time for dinner which they scarfed down. They'd spent lunch fighting then slept and then fought more. They were ready for the day to be over, something Dabi and Aizawa decided for Izuku wouldn't be the case.