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Henry:

I actually like suites. Really, I like dressing up, period. It makes me feel important and just a tad more confident. When Charles made me practice business meetings with him, I always wore a well-tailored suit. The fitting process was a chore, but I liked how I looked when it was done.

Here I stand in the hall outside the office of principal Nezu himself, the man... creature?... who runs the entire school. This is the boss of UA. I'm dressed in a nice baby blue suit to emphasize feelings of innocence, while my tie is pink to give the ensemble a nice pop. My briefcase is a light gray. The Yamadas went all out to get me an interview with Nezu, and I SO appreciate it. Clothes can be a tremendous part of professional presentation, and I don't want to ask for entry into a prestigious school in my street clothes.

My nerves are on edge. Hizashi offered to help me present my case, but I can't shake the feeling that needing someone to hold my hand or direct my speech will only add a layer of inauthenticity. I have to remember the strategies that Charles taught me—at least at the negotiation table.

A soft adult voice calls me into the office... here goes...

I step into a surprisingly spacious office. The floor is a laminate green, the walls are white, on my right is a gray closet, and on my left is a metal bookshelf with alphabetized books of nearly uniform height. In the middle of the room is a rigid-looking dark wood desk, and behind the desk is a large black swivel chair facing away from me. The office looks over the city of Musutafu through a huge window that almost takes up the entire wall past the chair. It's an arrangement that exudes organization, structure, and a sense of responsibility as you overlook the city. I was told the principal is a nice person, but this is more than a little intimidating, to be honest.

The chair swivels around, and... oh crap. Why?

This big, imposing office and the guy running it is a heteromorph that looks like a white, anthropomorphic cartoon mouse from a children's show—complete with cute paws and a well-made suit that only worsens the effect. Don't laugh, don't even chuckle, you idiot!

I stand for a second, trying to force myself not to cringe as the mouse man puts his chin on his hand. "Go ahead, have a reaction- it's actually worse if you just stand there stifling it. I'm honestly not offended," he says. I finally give in to a slight chuckle. "There, see? It's fine. And honestly, I feel like laughing a little myself. Your outfit makes you kind of adorable, considering your age. Almost like you're trying too hard to seem like a man." My shoulders slump a little when he says that. "Don't take that the wrong way; the effort is appreciated, I assure you. Had you come in here with street clothes, I would likely have thrown you out without another word." I freeze at that statement. "Yes... about what I expected. Now that we understand how strict I plan on being- go ahead and explain why you believe I should accept two middle school convicts into the most prestigious high school in the county- mid-session, no less. This doesn't happen often, and I don't intend to make it a habit."

I swallow, then bow politely. He nods and waves to a seat in front of his desk. When I sit down, suddenly, he's not so cute. He's huge—at least in my eyes if not in reality. He's the person who holds my future in his hands.

He begins the talk by saying, "There are a few things I want to clarify, Mr. Yamada. First, I will not refer to you as Miles out of respect for my friend Hizashi—does this bother you?"

"I would actually prefer Yamada, sir. Miles wasn't a good father." I say, folding my hands, confident in at least that statement.

"Good. Next, I am aware of the dire nature of your situation. UA has allowed children to take refuge in its halls before; it's not unheard of. However, in your case, there are complications. One, until Hizashi took you in, UA had no real interest in your case; second, and more importantly, your criminal status will bring unwelcome scrutiny to the school. We have an eight-year-old girl who lives in the dorms right now to shelter from the Yakuza, but she is innocent, and no one questions her presence because she constitutes no threat. We even have a middle school girl who is also sheltering with us because brutal experiments brought out a quirk enhancement in her that many nefarious agents may want access to. However, she too is innocent, so her presence is taken strictly as us being charitable and heroic. In your case, you are related by adoption to one of the most dangerous men in the country, and you are a known criminal," He then takes a small pack of playing cards out of his desk and shuffles through it until he produces a card. "Look familiar?"

The deck is a famous heroes and villains card game that is popular worldwide. The card is mine, The Purple Bandit. It has the lowest attack potency but is still above a henchman card. Really, it's a tactical villain card called a thief card, and my card can summon a special copy of itself from the deck. It steals points from the opposing player, which can't be returned until both Purple Bandit cards are taken out, meaning both have to be attacked in one turn, forcing attention away from more significant and more dangerous cards. It's actually well modeled after my abilities and a damn good card.

"I'm not exactly proud of that kind of publicity," I say.

"I imagine not, but this is a top-rated card, " the principal says. If I let you into this school, the public will know who I am dealing with."

He puts the card down and continues. "As I understand it, you fear for your life in prison." My eyes go wide, and he puts up his hands. "Please know that if I really believed that this school was the only key to your survival, I would let you in without question for shelter, if nothing else. However, I am aware of several safe houses across the country, and I have connections. Rest assured, what is on the line here is your admission, not your life."

That... that takes a little wind out of the sail. If I'm not worried about my life and my sister... why do I want to be in this school?

"Finally, in the unlikely event that I approve your entry into this school, know that your life here will not be easy. UA has and does host refugee students like yourself, but unlike yourself, most of them aren't experienced criminals. Twelve-year-old Hotaru, for example, is allowed to use our facilities for normal middle school activities because she is being hunted by dangerous criminals and has few alternatives. However, she presents no immediate danger to the students or staff. Her use of the facilities cost us far less than the average full-fledged student. You, however, have a criminal background, and I have no real reason to believe that's entirely behind you. We will have to house you and implement security measures and devices to monitor your behavior, which will cost the school. If you think I will not be demanding a commitment from you to balance that out, then you can just go back to sitting in jail or a safe house somewhere."

I sigh and sit back, thinking for a bit. "Pops... he made it seem like this was life and death. Or at least comfort vs prison."

"I see," I expect Nezu to tell me to see myself out at this point, but he doesn't. "But you came in here, dressed up, and used good manners- I'm guessing you had an offer to make, and I'm interested to hear it. You're wrong if you think UA may have nothing to offer you. We offer a host of courses and some of the best instructors in the country, if I say so myself. As a convict and an orphan, I will say your future, at the moment, doesn't look very bright, but we can help you change that."

I think for a few more minutes. "I generally haven't been able to think of the future. I think a few days or weeks ahead because that's how fast things come at me. On the street, you have to constantly be on your toes just to survive. If you're asking if I've thought about what happens when I'm an adult... I... I..." I pause, realizing the truth, "At this rate, I just go back to the street when I'm an adult, don't I? Me and Tori both."

"I'm sorry, but that is how it looks, yes. If you take the substandard education offered by prisons, or if you're made to constantly move schools in witness protection of some kind... You won't have any foundation from which to make a promising future. I mean- it's possible, but the prospects are poor. If you could make it into a school like mine, your prospects would improve dramatically. Do you value that?"

I cringe when he asks as if he thinks I might say "no." "Of course I do, especially for my sister. We got away from the street and... and... and damnit we're not going back- heck no. Sir, I came to give you a presentation, and if you'll listen, I'll give it."

"That's what I like to hear," Nezu's expression brightens a little. "You're looking to better yourself, not just survive. If that's the case, proceed."

Here we go. Now, back to the lessons from Charles. The first step is to break the ice and make a good impression. I guess I've done that already. The next step is to humanize yourself. No one wants to deal with a monster or a robot. "First, it would be prudent to correct your impressions of me and my sister. From the way you talk about me, I get the feeling you think she and I were criminals by choice... or are you assuming that she and I aren't too different for me to really represent her?"

"You're here, and she isn't. I'm choosing to take that as intentional between the two of you. Thus, I take it that you are here representing both of you. Is this assumption correct? By the way- goodness you're articulate for your age."

"Savant," I say with a shrug, giving that as a simple explanation for my command of my faculties. "And you assume correct, sir," I say with a nod. I put my briefcase on the desk and open it, taking out several manilla folders. I hand him two of the folders. "Those are the case files from the trials of me and Tori; read them if you will." The principal nods and opens them- from the movement of his paw over the pages, I can see he's speed reading- at an incredible rate. He even waves his other paw for me to continue. Yeesh, when Hizashi said this guy was a brain case, he wasn't kidding! "Um... right. As you can see from the case summaries, Tori and I both were confirmed to have been heavily coerced. While some of our crimes reached the level of felonies, and I won't deny that some may have been serious from a... certain context... none were violent. Theft, secretarial work, evasion, yadda, yadda, the point is you have no reason to believe your students will be in any physical danger from us."

Nezu quickly finds the case summaries as I talk. He nods as I speak. "Yes... yes, I see. Hmm- how ironic that your villain card gets used in combat rounds all the time. Do you even have combat experience?"

"Um... to be honest, no sir."

"Interesting. That partially helps you and partially counts against you. That means you present less danger to the students or staff than I thought. It also means you have no qualifications for being here whatsoever."

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"To be fair, sir, I'm twelve. How many people are qualified for anything at my age?"

"True- but I have no reason to let you in."

I clench my teeth. No, don't snap, don't get defensive. Avoid going on the defensive. Remember what Charles said, everything is about perception. "There are reasons to take me on, sir. For one, I'm a math savant with good spatial awareness. And let's not forget that I'm experienced in combat scenarios, even if I've never thrown a punch in those fights. My solution to conflicts was to run, but they were conflicts that I willingly engaged in, and I arose free and with my objectives intact. Judging a mission by its success is better than how soundly the enemy was beaten."

"Your "enemies" were heroes that were no doubt going easy on you." Nezu looks up for a moment. "But... I will admit it's more than most twelve-year-olds can claim to have done. Too bad it's meaningless when averaged out." He looks at me and cocks his head, raising an eyebrow as if waiting for my obvious question.

"Why is it meaningless?"

"Because it was all discovered while in the service of crime. We're not even talking about tax evasion; we're talking about theft and directly terrorizing the public. You were a notorious figure- it matters that you didn't brutalize anyone, but not as much as you seem to think. If I had to say if you were capable of violence, I would say absolutely. If it were a question of you being a threat, I would say that most of the students could hold their own owing to your age and size, but for others, well... I don't know WHY you never physically hurt anyone. You could have been acting out of conscience, but then why steal? If I argue coercion, then why didn't the coercion make you violent? No, the most logical reason for your lack of violence was tactical. You didn't want to be brutalized by Pro Heroes, so you kept the temperature down. This means I have no reason to believe you are a good person at heart."

My eyes go wide. This isn't him testing me to see how I respond; these are serious allegations. "I... I... I don't..."

"I'm sorry. I thought maybe there was a chance you could find a way to set my mind at ease, though I must admit, I don't know what you could possibly do. If you're going to say this isn't fair, you're right it isn't- but with no assurance that you even WANT to reform, I'm not sure how we can proceed."

"I'm helping to take down the entire criminal empire of Charles..." I croak.

"Revenge- irrelevant."

"That's not..." I clench my teeth. "Fine... just fine. I guess I was a little terrorist, and that's all. I was put in an impossible position, and you sit there so sure you would have done b-"

"I'm warning you not to go down that road. You don't know what my life has been like." He says, putting up a paw. He looks down. "I'm sorry. I know I'm asking a lot here, but is there anything you can do to show me who you are besides what Charles made you?"

I dig into the suitcase and pull... it... out. "My sister made me bring this. You're not going to care, but... give it a look. Do you want evidence of who I was? Then here, have a look." I toss him the notebook and lean back in my chair, feeling defeated. The way I am, who would want me? I can't blame him.

"The Adventures of the Purple Bandit," Nezu reads off the notebook's cover. He carefully turns the worn pages of the book as he reads. "I would guess this was made when you were seven or eight from the drawings and terrible grammar. I will comment that the drawings are poor but show good size and distance relationships..." He pauses for a while after reading. "Bandit was supposed to be a hero."

I look away. "Yeah. Yeah, he was."

"So why use him as a villain alias? You had to know you would destroy the name and never be able to use it the way you wanted."

"Why? Because I didn't have a choice, that's why." I fold my arms and speak barely above a grumble. "Charles found that in my belongings when he first adopted me. At first, he said it was cute. I discovered who and what he was days later when he took Tori and me into a pool room. He threw that notebook at my feet- then forced Tori's head under the water, saying I would either don the costume of the Bandit and work for him, or he would kill her." I hold back a few tears. "Have you ever actively taken part in destroying your own dreams? Charles wanted me to be his heir... I wanted to fight, to not be what he was making me."

I wipe away a few tears and continue. "I didn't attack the heroes because I knew so many of them from TV. I admired them. I remember watching UA sports festivals—I even went to one live when I was seven. I remember the contests, the skirmishes... I even remember dark and brightly colored heroes telling me, "Young man, come join UA when you're older because someday YOU can become a hero too." I clench my fist. "But it was all just a stupid dream."

I start to get up, but Nezu motions for me to stop.

"Suppose... suppose I hear you out." I slowly sit back down when he says this. "What is your proposal?"

Had Tori's insistence on a sentimental old comic book saved the day here? How?

No matter. I grab a tissue from the desk, clean myself up, and continue. "It's simple. First, I offer all the intelligence I can legally offer you on how modern crime syndicates work—from an insider. From an heir."

Nezu puts the notebook down. "That's an interesting offer... to get YOU in. Will your sister be helping you with these... briefings?"

"She was a secretary, so I guess I can have her fill in a few blanks."

"So far, you haven't said why she should be let in..." He taps my old book. "And it would be a shame if you couldn't offer something. She at least has good instincts if she was the one to tell you to bring this."

"Oh, I have something for her- for both of us, but she's the key. Take a look at this."

Nezu looks at the colorful Academia pamphlet I hand him. "I've seen this- I published it. It's for a defunct hero EMT program that fell through."

"Why- pray tell," I'm getting my confidence and smile back as I fold my hands on his desk.

"Simple, really. Emergency Medical Technicians are all about medicine. This school focuses heavily on combat and rescue scenarios- EMT is thought of as mostly a medical field. In truth, several quirks would assist in getting medicine or treatment to people in emergencies, but we needed to beat the image of being a bunch of brutes playing doctor. There needed to be a student with a dedicated medical quirk to feature in advertisements. Investors weren't interested in backing a medical program where everyone seemed better suited for fighting. See, medical quirks are rare and worth a lot of money. No parent was interested in risking sending their potential doctor to a hero school for an unproven program. The program couldn't be proven without a medical quirk, and no one wanted to put a medical quirk in an unproven program."

My smile grows as I hear his voice grow increasingly disappointed. Clearly, Nezu was attached to this idea—perfect!

I pull another manilla folder out of my suitcase. "Oh... oh... what's this? Could it be the record of my sister's quirk?"

"I thought the court cases said she didn't have one..." Nezu says, taking the folder.

I chuckle. "I'm a math savant. Do you think I never tried my hand at hacking? I have a confession to make—one you may understand. I hacked the quirk registry to destroy all records of my sister's quirk—you're holding all that's left."

"Why would I understand that? It sounds like you sabotaged her..." His eyes go wide. "I was starting to get a feeling that you treasured her."

"I couldn't risk that creep, Charles, realizing what she could do. Who knows how he would have used her? That folder is the only remaining record of... it... the ultimate medical quirk. I call it the miracle quirk- they called it "flesh fuse." She can fuse animal-based biomass on a molecular level. Essentially, from what the doctors saw before Charles got her- she can mend skin, muscle, and bone cells- you name it. In tests, she was able to re-attach a mouse's front leg. Give her training and practice..." I leave a purposeful, empty space.

"That's... that's insane." Nezu just stares at the folder. "Do you know what an ability like that is worth?"

"Millions? Billions? But I'll make it cheap for you. Just give Tori and me relative freedom." My smile is now downright cocky. I can see it in his eyes- I've got him. "Maybe work to get us clean records and help us get the training for good careers as EMTs... here's my proposal. Every week, I brief your staff on what I know about the inner workings of modern syndicates. Over time, you can pass that on to your students and gain an edge in producing better heroes than other schools could hope- at least for a few years, as information like this is time-sensitive. Hence your motivation to NOT just leave us in prison until we're old enough to attend your school under traditional circumstances." I relax in my seat a little. "Not that you would want to risk me going to a competitor with my sister. Imagine someone ELSE starts your EMT program, along with having my intel... UA could fall into obscurity..." I lean forward, "We wouldn't want that, now would we?"

"I see you're not wasting your previous father's training. You certainly can sound like a mafioso." His eyes focus on me. "You had to do research to present this- and I wonder, would you really go to other schools if I refused you?" I nod. "Despite that, your new father works here?"

"Guess I'll have to work something out."

"Informed, determined, and ruthless... careful boy, I might start to like you." He smirks.

"An offer you can't refuse..." I say, playing into the stereotype.

"Watch me."

I freeze.

"I'll give you a challenge. Accept, and you'll be in for a wild ride. Turn me down, and I will let every hero school know you're a coward." Now it's his turn to stare me down. I pause, looking at him. "Oh- did you think you were the only ruthless one?"

My mouth is going dry as I ask, "Okay... what's your proposal?"

"You have offered me more than most students- at least regarding my bottom line. Your criminal history shows you have more skill than most children your age- heck, you could run intellectual rings around half my seniors, I'm sure. You have even given me a reason to believe that maybe, just maybe, you really have the desire to be a hero," Nezu looks at the small comic book again. "But I need to know if you can live up to the key values of a hero. We at UA hold three values above all others, determination, excellence, and integrity. If you don't have these- it's not worth it for anyone to train you as a hero. I will let you and your sister live on campus for one week. In that time, you may take advantage of any training anyone will give you. By the end, you must be ready for an entrance exam of sorts. Fail it, and back to jail you go."

"Okay..."

"There will be a written portion, though the questions will be set for middle school to give you and your sister a fair shot. However, the physical portion of the test will go like this. In a controlled skirmish, you and your sister will be tasked with trying to capture and restrain UA's top first-year student before he captures both of you. I'll even allow you to use nonlethal equipment to give you an additional edge if needed. If you pass the test, you will live on campus instead of in jail and be groomed for the Hero EMT course. Once you two graduate from the Hero EMT course, you will likely have guaranteed well-paying careers as you'll be the first and only ones in your field. If you fail the entrance exam because of a lack of skill, you'll be free to try again in a month; after all, I do like your proposals. Fail because you can't live up to UA's values- then give up and go back to jail because no one will accept you in this field without those values, and no one should."

I gulp nervously but still proffer my hand to shake. "You've got a deal."

Nezu:

Was I too harsh? I don't know. To be honest, I want what that boy is offering, and a part of me feels enough pity for him and his sister that I want to help them for the sake of it.

Sometime after he walks out, I leave the office as well. A deep, loud, and confident voice speaks behind me, "That was an insane offer, and you know it. A couple of middle schoolers in a battle with Bakugo Katsuki? He'll take those two apart. I won't tolerate blood sport..."

I turn around and raise an eyebrow at the muscle-bound blonde-haired man. "Bloodsport? You know me better than that, Allmight. At least, I hope you do. There are laws on this kind of thing, especially at the ages of those two. Lower your guard. The conditions of the encounter will be that Bakugo has to capture them UNHARMED to win, and they, in turn, have to capture him, again, unharmed."

The man seems to relax. "Of course, I should have realized that old friend. Still, the Purple Bandit and a girl with a dedicated medical quirk against Bakugo?"

"I'll have Aizawa tell them the details. The worst anyone will get is bruises or maybe a twisted muscle. He'll train them for the week until."

"One week? They'll lose for sure!"

"And the world will see. I'll be broadcasting."

"NEZU!"

"You work for me, not the other way around, Allmight. Besides, I have my reasons. Bakugo's public showings have been terrible. I want to give him one last chance to show that he can control himself. Conquering the Bandit non-violently is the perfect opportunity for that. Besides, if the world sees Bandit trying to enter the school and he demonstrates our values, they'll have to give him a chance, too."

"It sounds like you plan on the boy losing..."

"Who, Henry? Ha- of course, he's going to lose. Just don't tell him," I say, opening a can of tea and sipping... I then almost wretch. "They never make these right," I toss the can away. "Anyway, I'm not only going to be watching how they fight. I'll be keeping my ear to the ground. How do they prepare, and how do they plan? Will they give it their all, demonstrating determination- or will they throw up their hands in despair till the last minute? Will they plan to cheat or resist the urge, demonstrating integrity?" I turn back, "And when they see cameras on them, will they back out or fight on, holding to their determination and integrity no matter the cost or embarrassment? When the camera roles- will they show me excellence?"

Allmight chuckles. He then hands me a box. "Juice?"

"Thanks- at least vending machine juice is better than vending machine tea."