Chapter 118

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The greatest happiness for the greatest number of people was an ideology that Nezu firmly believed in.

As long as he was one of the 'greatest number', that is.

He had done much for Japan's happiness over the past few decades... it saddened him to see Taiwan thrown back in his face at the first opportunity.

Granted, China and Japan had almost gone to war, but it wasn't all Nezu's fault - there had been underlying tensions for some time.

And then he almost succeeded.

What would they have done if he had succeeded?

They would have applauded him, thanked him, and he would have become a defence strategist, or maybe even runned his own Private Military Society, as he had been promised.

Instead, he received an arrest warrant from China and was banned from setting foot on Taiwan or Chinese territory. Big deal.

They complained about millions of deaths, but Nezu had suffered too.

He even had suffered enormously at the hands of men.

The fact that he didn't turn on them and made them kill each other at the first opportunity he had was proof enough of his mercy.

For some reason, Aizawa kept telling him never to share this view of things with anyone.

He may have been dumber, but he was also more human.

That had to be worth something.

- Is everything okay ?

Nezu blinked foolishly at Aizawa, then looked down at the document he was writing.

Large circles drawn, getting darker and tighter until he tore the paper.

- Hmmm

Nezu dropped the pen and dipped his snout into his cup of tea, lapping greedily until the bottom of the cup.

There was something strange about tea that always calmed him down, a bit like cats and catnip.

- I take it the meeting with the Commission went badly?

Nezu sat up straight, his whiskers dripping.

He dabbed at his muzzle with an embroidered handkerchief.

Even if he was sometimes overcome by strange excesses of adrenaline, he was still a gentleman: he knew how to behave in society.

- They threatened to take Yuei away from me and put me on the sidelines.

Aizawa, arms folded and slumped against a bookcase full of knick-knacks, straightened up abruptly.

- They threatened you ? How did you react?

Nezu smiled, his pink lips curled on a row of sharp little teeth with bits of meat stuck between them.

He looked terrifying, like a shark that had just swallowed a human, knowing that it would bring him nothing nourishing except the sweetness of his screams.

That was one of the reasons why he rarely smiled with his full teeth out, and only at Aizawa.

- Very well, actually. I said that I agreed.

Aizawa frowned.

Nezu bent down and closed the cage in which the three remaining mice were circling, stupid animals that they were.

He pushed it under his desk with the tip of his foot and then threw a towel over it.

As soon as they saw a few people, the mice started screaming and squealing, as if they needed to be rescued from some terrible fate. At least with the towel they finally got quiet.

- ...and what are you really going to do?

Nezu took a mirror from his drawer and turned it so that he could see himself clearly. Then he cleaned his teeth with a toothpick.

- What I said I'd do: I'll give him an interview with the Todoroki boy and everything will be fine.

Aizawa, his eyebrows even more furrowed than before, watched Nezu cleaning his teeth with the habit of someone who was no longer shocked by years of this circus.

- Isn't Todoroki supposed to be your next All Might?

- The successor of All Might will be my next All Might. Todoroki is, shall we say, someone I'm saving for later. In case of a big emergency.

Aizawa watched Nezu in silence, unable to understand what he was getting at.

Aizawa was the closest person in the world to Nezu, and even after living at his side for more than 30 years, he couldn't claim to always understand the nebulous thoughts that moved the animal man.

- That Ryota, thought, Nezu grumbled as a strip of meat covered in tiny tufts of hair fell onto his plate. I didn't like the way he talked to me.

Nezu didn't like being treated disrespectfully, because we didn't treat people disrespectfully, only animals.

And Nezu hated animals, so stupid and inferior and unworthy of him.

Proof: he was a vegan.

When he was in a good mood.

Aizawa turned his tongue thirteen times in his mouth, hesitated over the wording, before he finally asked:

- And what are you going to do with him?

There was a knock at the door.

The last piece of meat fell onto the plate.

Nezu rinsed his mouth with tea and put the dirty plate, mirror and toothpicks in his drawer.

He swallowed his improvised mouthwash, sat up straight and smiled amiably, as he always did.

- Please come in.

The door opened.

- You sent for me?

Ochaco Uraraka stood in the doorway, one hand on the handle, looking nervous.

Nezu smiled.

- Yes, come in and close the door.

She seemed to hesitate for a second when she saw Aizawa, then obediently did as she was told.

Nezu studied her carefully as she looked around the huge office with a mixture of awe and respect.

Quickly and stiffly, she crossed the half dozen meters that separated her from her chair.

Nezu motioned for her to sit down.

She smiled anxiously at Aizawa who was still leaning against the bookcase with his arms crossed.

Nezu cleared his throat to get her attention.

- I assume you know why I've called you here ?

The teenager pressed her lips together, her eyes wide open even though she was clearly thinking, the tiny cogs in the tiny brain of her tiny mind turning as fast as they could to get her out of her mess.

- It's because my parents haven't paid for the mess hall, isn't it? We've got the money, really. There was just a problem with the card because we've changed banks. I can call them if you want. They'll tell you themselves.

Nezu smiled without showing his teeth.

- Don't worry: when we set up the boarding school, we decided to make the whole school and curriculum free, so that it would be accessible to as many people as possible.

There were good children with good Quirks that Nezu didn't want to risk leaving because they couldn't afford lunch or boarding fees.

The teenager's face lit up.

- What ? Really ? That's awesome !

She smiled.

Seeing her happy made Nezu perk up and he almost forgot his other worries.

- You know, Ochaco, I have high hopes for you. Your Quirk, well trained, can be extremely useful.

At these words, she blushed and fidgeted nervously with her hands.

- I'm not the best, you know, she said. Compared to Todoroki or Inaza...

- Don't put yourself down, Aizawa interrupted abruptly. Your power is different from the others, and you haven't trained as long. But you also have great strength

She offered an unconvinced half-smile.

- It was you who brought Katsuki back to school during the summer camp incident, Nezu continued. You braved a barrier of villains in the darkest night to save your friend. Such selflessness... it's worthy of the greatest heroes !

Uraraka looked at Aizawa who nodded.

- We all remember your fight at the championship when you dislocated your thumb to free yourself from the hold Shoto had put you in. Such strength of character is something very rare, even more so in young people these days.

Uraraka tapped the toe of her shoe on the floor, looking down at her feet, not daring to look up.

- Oh, you know, it's no big deal, she muttered.

She shrugged gently.

Nezu watched her silently, his small black eyes shining with intensity.

He dislodged a piece of meat he'd forgotten to remove with his tongue and swallowed it whole.

- Between you and me, you're one of my favourite students.

Uraraka blinked stupidly, then suddenly blushed.

- I'm sure you say that to everyone.

- It's absolutely true, Nezu pointed out. In fact, it was I who recommended you to All Might when he wanted to create his special Elite Cell.

Nezu, leaning back on his desk, tilted forward slightly and looked into the girl's piercing eyes.

- You are capable of great things, Uraraka. I'm even convinced that you could be as powerful as All Might.

From the look on her face, the idea had never crossed her mind.

- I have faith in you. Will you agree to have faith in Yuei ? To have faith in me ?

She seemed to hesitate.

Nezu smiled benevolently at her, still without showing his teeth.

Frighten her would only damage all his plans.

- Trust me.

- I... I will

She offered him a small smile.

But for Nezu, it was already a great victory.