A/N:

fun fact: when I set out to rewrite one of my fics, my first choice was Unhinged

in the end, I kept getting too embarrassed to read further LOL

maybe one day, when my willpower isn't as flimsy as a stale cracker

with that being said, I am in constant pain (near-physical, I tell you) trying to reread the original ACOH. the aforementioned first person POV is especially cringe-inducing, and I fear that I'll drop dead from embarrassment

anyway, here's the next chapter because I'm horribly impulsive :)

-=+=-

 When Izuku opens his eyes, he's deeply concerned that he's managed to blind himself by virtue of being incredibly unlucky.

As it turns out, though, the gods favor him this once, and he's able to blink away the sunspots with relative ease. He has the oddest urge to crack his neck, but he refrains from doing so, instead attempting to push himself upwards.

And then he's promptly jerked backwards with an undignified yelp, because there are chains binding his wrists to the unfamiliar bed.

Dear god, he wonders, horrified, Was I kidnapped?

He pauses at that thought, brows furrowing.

Actually, why would anyone ever want to kidnap a quirkless kid? That's ridiculous. But... He bites his lip. What other reason would there be for someone to keep me from moving like this?

He turns, and upon meeting the tired gaze of a scruffy-looking hobo, Izuku's soul leaves his body.

Well, he thinks. This is it for me. Tell mom I loved her.

The man huffs, then leans backwards, eyes narrowed in suspicion. As if Izuku is the dangerous one here.

Izuku swallows, and when his nervous gaze flicks around the room, he can't help but notice that it looks like he's in a nurse's office. 

Which has chained him to the bed. For... some reason.

Also, he seems to have a larger audience than he'd thought. One consisting of the aforementioned hobo, a skeleton, an elderly woman, a man in a trenchcoat, and an animal of undeterminable origin.

Well, this isn't terrifying at all.

The elderly woman turns around to eye Izuku. He squeaks in response, and everyone's gaze snaps onto him. His body bursts into metaphorical flame, and he finds himself wishing that he could melt into the sheets.

"You," the woman says briskly, stepping towards the bed. Izuku is trying to figure out where he knows her from - because he swears he has - when she presses her hand to his forehead and clicks her tongue. "From what I can tell, he's perfectly fine," she concludes before walking back to her computer. She either doesn't see Izuku gaping at her, or she just doesn't care.

"Well then," the suited animal says pleasantly, clapping his paws together, "Then let's get on with this, shall we?" The animal's gaze slides over to the man in the trenchcoat, and he nods.

"Deku," the man begins, causing Izuku's gaze to snap onto his. For whatever reason, it causes the man to tense, briefly. After a moment, he exhales. "I'm Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa. My quirk allows me to determine whether or not someone is telling the truth. I've come to ask you a series of questions, at the request of several precincts as well as Yuuei. As it stands, I suggest that you concede to questioning."

Izuku opens, then closes his mouth, desperately hoping that he doesn't look like a particularly dense fish. "Um," he lets out. "Okay...?"

There are... so many things wrong with what he just said.

The man frowns before shaking his head. "First off, can you confirm that your legal name is Izuku Midoriya?"

Izuku licks suddenly-dry lips. "Uh... Yes."

Tsukauchi marks down something in his notebook, and Izuku resists the urge to shift nervously. Not that he really can, considering his current predicament.

"And that's what you go by?" Tsukauchi asks. When Izuku furrows his brows, he clarifies, "Have you ever used any other aliases?"

"...I haven't," he replies. "Um. Unless like, online things count I guess."

Tsukauchi pauses at that, but doesn't further that line of questioning. "Not even 'Deku'?"

Izuku is bewildered by the idea that a detective would know anything about that. "Well... Um. I wouldn't say it's an alias," he says, feeling a little stupid. "More of a nickname."

"Right," the man says, a little dubiously. "And do you admit to being at Yuuei highschool prior to your waking up?"

Izuku's brows draw together. "No...," he draws out slowly, wondering where the man would get an idea like that.

Tsukauchi stills. "What?"

"No," Izuku repeats, frowning. "Why would I be?"

The man exchanges glances with both the skeleton man and the mouse-bear-thing.

"Before you were in the alley," the latter elaborates, "Were you at, or anywhere near, Yuuei?"

Izuku feels like he's going to cry. Out of confusion or stress, he's not really sure. Maybe both. "I was not," he manages to get out through the lump in his throat. Then, before Tsukauchi can continue, he blurts out, "I'm... I'm sorry, I don't understand. Why are you asking me this?"

Tsukauchi remains silent for several moments before he exhales. "De— Midoriya," he asks, "What is the last thing you remember before waking up?"

"Um. Well, I was—"

He frowns, finding that his memories are oddly... fuzzy.

"Is something wrong?" the hobo man prods. Izuku startles before biting the inside of his cheek.

"I... I don't know."

"You don't know?" Tsukauchi echoes. "You don't remember what you were doing, or you don't know what's wrong?"

Embarrassingly, Izuku's eyes begin to burn. "Both," he answers, barely able to swallow down a sob.

The skeleton looks alarmed, while the others look to be either disturbed, confused, or a mix of both.

"There's nothing?" the skeletal man asks disbelievingly, only offering a slight grimace to the detective that shoots him a warning look.

"N-No," Izuku says. "Look, I don't know who you are—" the skeleton chokes, but he forges on, "—or what you want from me. I just... I'm..."

He shrinks in on himself and shudders. After a moment, Tsukauchi speaks up again. "Midoriya," he says, tone having lost most of its hard edge, "Why don't you think you'd be at Yuuei?"

Izuku pauses, sniffling. "W-What?"

"You seemed surprised about the location," the suited animal notes, an odd glint in his eye. "I find that rather curious."

"I...," Izuku lets out. "I'm. I'm quirkless," he forces out, even though it pains him to say. "There's no reason for me to be... well..." He swallows, voice lowering into a mutter. "A hero school..."

There's a brief moment of silence before the hobo man sighs and mutters under his breath. The one who actually speaks, though, is the chimera(?).

"Well. I think that most certainly makes room for some interesting questions!" he says cheerfully, "That we should likely discuss before this conversation goes any further. But, just to make sure..." He turns towards Izuku, and a chill goes down his spine when he sees the chimera smile. "You remember nothing of why you were at Yuuei, yes? And you aren't, say, plotting to harm anyone in or outside of this room?"

Izuku is barely able to keep himself from outright gaping. "...No," he eventually answers when he realizes that oh, this isn't a joke. "I don't remember. And I... I don't want to hurt anyone."

The chimera laughs. "Yes, well, that would be silly wouldn't it?" His gaze sweeps over the others in the room as he wears a secretive sort of smile. "You'd all be amenable to take this meeting to my office, yes? Oh, but please do remove those cuffs from Midoriya before we go."

The skeletal man makes a noise of protest, but he's quickly quieted when the chimera shakes his head.

"Do trust me, won't you Toshinori?" he asks. The two stare at each other for several moments before the man eventually backs down, though he looks a bit sullen about the whole ordeal. The chimera's smile widens, and his eyes flick towards the hobo man, who just sighs in response. Izuku has never seen someone look quite so tired before.

The man slowly rises from his seat, then seems to stare into Izuku's soul. "Don't make me regret this," he says flatly.

Although no obvious threats fall from his tongue, Izuku has the odd feeling that he'll face dire consequences should the man become displeased. He swallows and forces himself to nods, and after another moment, the man's gaze slides towards his cuffs.

"Good," he says simply, and unlocks Izuku's bindings with two swift clicks.

Izuku slowly draws his arms back into himself, absently rubbing his wrist. He is curious as to how they were made and unlocked without using any sort of key, but he figures that right now is not the time to ask.

So he watches, silently, as each of the adults shuffle out of the room.

"Ah," the chimera says right before stepping outside, "It was nice meeting you, Midoriya. I'm afraid you'll have to stick around for a little longer. I hope the rest of your stay here is far more pleasant than it has been so far."

Izuku watches the door close with furrowed brows, before his gaze slides over to the only person left in the room. And, just like that, he has an epiphany.

"Oh my god," he says aloud. "That was Principal Nezu." Then, suddenly mortified, he whispers, "Oh my god, this is Yuuei."

He places a hand over his mouth, slumps down in the bed, and groans.

-=+=-

A/N:

well that's different, innit?

aahaaaaaa

Thanks for reading <3