All the Stars in the Sea: Chapter 6 – Eyes where you sleep

AN: Howdy, partners! Sorry for the wait on this one. My work schedule is kind of weird for the summer, so starting today, I'll be jumping into a more set routine of posting comparatively longer chapters within the span of 4-5 days (hopefully). That way, I won't destroy my body attempting to finish a chapter after work because I know I will.

And congratulations to one LifeHater (same) for being the first to comment/recognize the Marvel reference I made in chapter 4, those being The One Above All and The Living Tribunal! I'm drawing a bit of inspiration for what Izuku will become from The Living Tribunal, whose main purpose is to judge fairly the people of reality to maintain balance in the multiverse. For this story, we won't even be hitting anywhere near universe-level maintenance for Izuku, but the concept stands.

On semi-unrelated note, I've got a big paycheck from my summer job! What should I get myself as a present? Add it into a review/comment to the chapter!

P.S. Music credit for this chapter: Allegro moderato from Vasily Kalinnikov's Symphony No. 1 in G Minor

I do not own My Hero Academia or any of its characters.

The train ride to UA's campus was uneventful. The train car that Izuku rode in was devoid of life, so he took a window seat and watched lazily as the dark of the early morning turned in the sky, a mixing of dark purples and black settling on the horizon. As he sat, Izuku reflected on all that happened the other day.

"Your father, Izuku? What brought this on so suddenly?"

Out of all the things that Inko had prepared herself to go through when she was told that her son was in the hospital, being questioned about her long-absent husband was not exactly one of the topics she considered as primarily relevant.

"I, well, we haven't seen him in so long, since I was four really. I just don't really remember a lot about him. What was he like? What did he look like?"

"Oh, honey…"

"It really has been a long time since we have seen Hisashi, has it not? It is not hard to forget when all you have is an empty bed, but Izuku…he has nothing. That fight must have really scared him to have brought Hisashi up."

"Your father, he was…a quiet man." Inko started, taking a seat next to Izuku's bed. "He always had this air of maturity and intelligence around him, like he always knew more than he let on. We first met at the store, the one near Mr. Daichi's. I wasn't watching where I was going, and I bumped into his back. He caught me before I fell, and helped pick up my groceries as well. After that, he asked me to coffee and we just hit off after that. It was romantic in a more…subdued manner I suppose. He stood tall and confident, with short hair and light eyes."

"Is he really called Hisashi?"

"Izuku, I…what? Ye-yes, dear. His name is Hisashi. Hisashi Midoriya. And he was a good man."

"Ah, Mr. Midoriya, it is good to see that you are up!"

"AH! Mr. Pr-Principal!" Izuku started to elevate himself higher, but a raised paw and downturned head from Nezu stopped his ascent.

"Now now, Midoriya, there is no need for that right now! I bet that you are surprised and wondering why I have come to visit you, hm?"

"I-If I was to b-be compl-pletely honest, sir, after Mr. Aizawa and All Might visited, well, it drained me of feeling a lot of anything. It has been a long d-day, sir."

"I understand completely. After your ordeal with All For One, there must be a lot in your head currently. I will spare you my lecture on proper engagement procedures when breaching villain headquarters for now as I am certain that Shota has already said what I would say, but do note that he was not the only person considering the expulsion of you and many of your classmates. It was dangerous to lead a charge against organized villains of the caliber you faced at the Wild Wild Pussycat's summer camp with high ranking pro heroes, but adding heroes-in-training that do not even possess their provisional license yet? It should have been more of a disaster than it turned out to be."

Midoriya slowly sucked in air through his clenched teeth. "We really did mess this up, didn't we?"

"But, most everything turned out comparatively fine. Casualties were heavily reduced in All For One and All Might's struggle as we evacuated as many people as we could beforehand. Katsuki Bakugo is safe and away from the villain's clutches. All For One was finally defeated and is sitting in a cell in Tartarus and will do so for the rest of the foreseeable future. The reveal of All Might's true form was a bit of a shock to the world, but even that has helped out in a certain way. You see, this fight was majorly broadcasted across every available TV in Japan. Every event, mister Midoriya."

"I am aware that your mother was in here earlier, correct? She must have seen that All For One did something to you. Effectively everyone is under the assumption that it was some type of quirk that casts extreme pain by physical contact. I, however, do not hold the same assumption, and think that something much more unfortunate has occurred. Would I be correct, Midoriya?"

"I…I…yes, sir. I have it."

Nezu stopped for a moment only. High Spec gave Nezu many blessings in the department of intelligence, a constantly active quirk that enabled him to learn more than any human ever could. In some ways, High Spec gave him too many blessings. The few years of experimentation he suffered under from an organized group of maddened quirk doctors always left Nezu on edge. Being surrounded by people every day did not help much to alleviate this stressor, but it was necessary to ensure the continued success of the rising generations of heroes.

"Another tally to the necessary, it would seem." Nezu regarded.

"Mr. Midoriya, do you know how I learned all that I did?"

"I, uh, n-no sir. I gu-guess that your quirk has a factor to play in your heightened intelligence, but not many people have questioned where it was that you learned all that you did."

"I have multiple honorary degrees for the contributions that I've made to many fields, but I never studied at a university. As I suppose you may know, it is rare for quirks to develop in animals. When people found out that I had a quirk, many people had an investment in studying how my quirk factor evolved to aide studies in childhood quirk development and growth. One group of scientists, in particular, had a stronger urge than others to study me. I was kidnapped and heavily experimented on for roughly a year, being forced to intensively study a wealth of topics in a short span of time and undergo multiple gene modifications and largescale splicing."

"In my time of captivity, I grew a feeling of hatred for humans and their ability to concoct such twisted ideas and have the audacity to carry them out without thinking beforehand and questioning the moral boundaries behind their actions. To this day, while I most certainly do not hate humans, I still feel cautious around them. What I would give to simply know who was and was not a good person, it would be anything."

"The reason I am telling you this, Mr. Midoriya, is because I want you to know that I understand, more than almost anyone else, what it is that you are going through right now. Someone forced something onto you that you did not want, and you have to live with their actions. If I knew of a better way to convey what I truly feel I would express it, but what I can say is that I am sorry. I am sorry that I, the staff of UA, and the rest of the pro heroes on this case were not enough to save you when you needed it the most." Nezu was bowing towards Midoriya, a look of grief spread across his face.

"I…I don't know what to say, Mr. Principal…" Tears formed slowly at the corners of Midoriya's eyes.

"Then do not say anything. Sometimes it is better to simply accept than attempt to repay immediately in words. If you will allow me to continue on, though, we have other important matters to discuss. Before all of this, Mr. Midoriya, you were a unique case. Your ownership of One For All is, to All Might, the passing on of a legacy of peace manifestation and preservation. The symbol of peace himself believes that you are worthy of holding this title one day, and while no teacher will show favoritism to our students while educating them, the staff at UA will give everyone the tools to become great heroes one day, in any field they choose."

"This, however, hinged on your original situation. Even within UA staff, information regarding All Might's quirk and state were kept at an exclusively need-to-know basis. No one would connect you and All Might together without having to dig deeply into information not readily available to many people. With All For One, though, a new quirk that I am certain you have no control over currently, I have to intervene to preserve the secrets of One For All as well as the safety of the other students and faculty."

"As such, I propose a simple solution! We will be modifying your academic schedule and classes to be held not in the traditional classroom setting, but in one-on-one lessons with me as your teacher! Direct heroics courses will be provided by different heroes working on a rotating schedule, including me. These heroes will, as a prerequisite, already possess knowledge of both One For All and All For One. For example, one of them is someone I believe you are already familiar with, Gran Torino, one of UA's previous homeroom teachers and mentor to Toshinori. All Might is a given, I as well, and Aizawa as well. The others? I will leave that as a surprise!"

"I-I can't believe it! To get to learn directly from THE Nezu! UA's principal!" Some light started to return to Midoriya's eyes as the spark of hero fanaticism shined through him. "And to learn heroics all the time in one-on-one sessions? It's like a dream come true…"

"…but, what about everyone else in 1-A? Will they be getting private sessions as well?"

Nezu shuffled slightly in his spot. "Mr. Midoriya, you have to understand. With a quirk such as All For One, the ability to take potentially any quirk from any person at any time, what do you think could happen in a quirk related accident with it? The consequences would be dire, and the secret behind One For All would start to waver. Until it is possible for you to contain the power of All For One, I think it would be best if you did not attempt to make any contact with your classmates."

Watching his student's face fall, Nezu quickly added in, "Think for the safety of your friends, Mr. Midoriya. As I understand it, you are close with one Iida Tenya and Uraraka Ochako. I would not wish to see the pain you would be in if you were to accidentally take one of their quirks because you could not control your own. If not for your own sake to improve your quirk control, do it for their sake and everyone else's."

"If you truly wish to be the next symbol of peace then the first step you must take now is to control your quirks, and the safest, quickest way to help you do that is in a contained environment."

To be the jury of the world, it is not a task for the weak-willed. Their burden is always difficult, because they shoulder the verdict of the masses. The jury is what the people are, have been, and will be. The world's jury renders absolute what is fair punishment, while their judge finds it proper within the constraints of the world. All things do not abide by one direct impact, but instead branch out and touch all of time. Is it fair for one to be punished for brushing against the tree that hundreds of years later would kill a child? That is the responsibility of the jury, their job to determine the punishment that the world will suffer for. This punishment is their morality.

All beings are watched over by one that is above all, they who are lonely at the top of the world.

"I…I understand, Mr. Principal. I…I accept."

"I am glad to hear that you do, Mr. Midoriya."

It was a short walk from the station to campus, and little time was wasted given that Izuku already shipped most of his home supplies to UA.

Silence washed over the area like the tides over a beachhead. The blue hue of the surrounding streetlights casted light over the encompassing darkness. One light, closest to Izuku at the moment, started to flicker violently then burst, the bulb dying and darkness surrounding the general area. Izuku stopped only for a moment as he looked out across the strings of streetlights casting light on everything but himself.

"How unfortunate, I hope they replace the bulb soon."

"Ah, Mr. Midoriya, I am glad to see that you are early. Dedication to your goals will get you far, just be certain to not overwork yourself while on the way."

"Mr. Pr-Principal, good morning."

"Come, I'll lead you to your building." Izuku then watched as Nezu casually strode up to him, climbed up his leg, then his chest, onto his shoulder, hoisted himself into his hair, and sat on top of his head.

"Uh, s-sir,, what are you-"

"So, you'll be walking towards the USJ. Most of your practical lessons will be taught at either the USJ, Ground Gamma, or Gym Gamma while we will utilize Ground Beta sparingly for practical scenarios and tests. Your academics, as we discussed earlier, will be taught to you by me. Oh, it has been too long since I got to directly teach. It brings back some of my glory years while progressing through the academic chain, and now, with all of the knowledge I possess, I can increase the intensity tenfold!"

As Nezu progressed, his grip started to tighten around Midoriya's hair. "Ah, sir, that's all well and good, but could you lessen your grip? You are pulling a bit too har-"

"Oh, the joy of watching you squirm under my tutelage as you attempt to answer questions that no person of your current education, or anyone for that matter, should be able to do, will be absolute bliss! Think! Think of how much fun it will be as your mind is pushed to the very brink day after day by me and your body pushed to its limits day after day by all of your other teachers! A perfect specimen for an experiment on high-stress and high-intensity educational methods!"

"Mr. Principal, please, it's starting to hur-"

"Of course, everyone else will just say 'Oh, Nezu's just gone off the deep end again' or 'You can't legally do that Nezu, it's outlawed under child care in educational settings safety programs.' They don't think I listen, but I do. I always listen. I always listen, always watch, and always learn. You and me, Midoriya…" Nezu brought his head close to Izuku's ear.

"We are going to have a lot of fun learning, are we not?"

"My head, it hurts!"

"Oh, we're here! How conveniently paced!" Nezu made his way out of the perch from Midoriya's head and walked toward a quaint two-story building, the walls made up of a traditional cherrywood. A sign hung above the entrance, reading "House Leto." Above it, a small balcony hung from the second floor, a rocking chair and small table set out in a picturesque manner to watch over the rest of the campus. All around them was a small grove of trees, setting the house off from notice unless one was looking for it directly.

"We had the aid of Cementoss and Kamui Woods while creating the new dorms and houses on campus. All of your belongings are currently inside, and you will see that the building itself really is like a little home. A kitchen, dining room, living room, bathroom, bedroom, laundry room, and even basement are provided, altogether a much larger living space than what your previous classmates currently have provided for them. They will be arriving later in the day to their dorms."

Midoriya's mood dropped at the wording, but did not stop Nezu's mini-lesson. "Nothing is planned for the rest of today nor tomorrow for you, so I suggest that you unpack your belongings and get comfortable! This will be your new home for the time being. Now, I must be off, as the work of a principal is never really over! If you need anything, there is a built-in phone and list of pro heroes for you to contact or message. Please use the line sparingly or in the case of an emergency. Do that, or contact Toshinori, he should know how to help as well. With that, have a good day!"

Turning on his heel, Nezu walked out of the grove and towards the campus. Watching the principal leave, Izuku looked out on the begging of the day. The looming building of UA's campus in the distance casted a barely distinguishable shadow over his new home, the light of the sun beginning to creep over the horizon. Turning on his heel, Izuku walked into his new home.

"My new life…"

"I will tell you more about what will happen from now on tomorrow. That's all."

"Wait, Mr. Aizawa! What about Deku, I-I mean, Midorya? Is he just coming in late?"

Aizawa paused at the question. "Shit, I knew I forgot something."

"None of you need to concern yourselves with Midoriya right now. He's being properly taken care of."

"Is he still in the hospital? I heard that he was in the hospital after what that guy that faced down All Might. To face up to that kind of guy just to protect us from being noticed, it was so…so MANLY!"

"No, he's not in the hospital anymore, but his situation is a bit more complex than all of yours."

"So, he will be moving in at a later date, then, ribbit?"

"…no." Silent gasps filled the commons as Aizawa continued. "Midoriya's situation is complicated. None of you have to worry about his education, training, and experience. It is being dealt with. For now, all of you will have to deal with him having an extended leave of absence from the class. To fill his gap, I will be pulling someone from the General Education department up who has some potential to transfer to the heroics department for the time being. Should he prove himself, then 1-A will have a new classmate. You will meet him in two days. If there is nothing else, then I will be going. I have some serious work to do. And by work, I mean sleep."

Pulling a portable sleeping bag from his pocket, Aizawa covered himself in it, flopped onto the ground, and rolled out of the dorms.

"…did, did he just roll out of the dorms?"

"Do you really want to question that, Kaminari?"

"I don't get it, though. Other than being attacked by the guy that held All Might off, Midoriya did all of the same stuff that we did, as shortsighted as the whole plan was. If anything, he acted more heroically than all of us by facing that guy down when he blew apart that wall! What do you think happened to him?" Kirishima paced across the common room, Yaoyorozu, Iida, and Shoto sitting on the couches.

"I, for one, do not think that he was expelled. Given the unique wording of Mr. Aizawa's responses, it would not make sense. It seems as if they have him somewhere else, but he is still being trained?" Iida offered up.

"Have they put him in another school, then? Or perhaps he is working under a pro hero? If that were the case, though, why the secrecy behind his situation? There is something that we do not know that we are not taking into account. Something that the teachers are keeping from us." Shoto replied.

"If that is the truth, then it is probably classified information. Given Aizawa's responses, it is something that we do not have the authorization for, and probably for good reason. Pushing into this matter will only get us into further trouble, and we are already on the proverbial 'thin ice'. " Yaoyorozu supplied.

"Just leaving him out like this, though, doesn't feel like the manly thing to do. It has to be something with that guy that All Might fought, since he is the only unique thing about the encounter. Maybe…maybe it wasn't a pain quirk that he used on him. Maybe he did something worse. You all saw how he had multiple quirks, what if he used something else?"

Silence reigned as the collected students regarded the possibility. "On a wholly statistical basis," Yaoyorozu started, "it is more than likely that this man could have done something else to Midoriya, exactly what it was, though, is the mystery, and something that we probably should not attempt to find out. For now, I think it would be best if we left this matter to the teachers. We all know what happened the last time we attempted to interfere with their plans, and I would not like to 'push my luck,' as you say it."

Having spent most of the day unpacking and arranging his belongings across the house, Midoriya went to his room and got ready for bed.

"It is a lovely place as a house. I bet mom would really love to live in something like this, to have a bit more room to move around in. But…she isn't here."

"…it's just quiet."

Laying his head onto his pillow, Izuku looked out a window to his side, framing the waning moon at the center. On such a clear night, it only happened by chance that Midoriya's eyes would catch a small red beam poke its way through the tree line and into his window. Watching the beam move, he then saw a thin line shoot out from the trees and move towards the main campus, the silhouette of a person on the far end of the line.

"Wait, red glow, thin strands of something for mobility, that's Eraserhead's signature style. But, what is he doing using his quirk out here? Wait, what is he doing out here? I would figure that they have some motion-based security measures installed, but I didn't trip over anything I think. He wouldn't be out here unless he was looking for someone, or…watching someone."

"I'm the only one out here, he was watching me. They leave me to be alone, but I can't be left alone. While I want to protect my friends from this quirk, I don't want to be alone with this. I can't tell anybody that doesn't already know, and those that know are all a bunch of adults. They're good people, but all I want right now is a friend."

"Are they missing me in the dorms right now? Do they even know? No one has sent any messages asking about what happened. Do they even care?"

Midoriya heaved a sigh as his mind twisted and turned. "I don't want to be alone, but what choice do I have?"

"It really is lonely when you are at the top."