Chapter 58

Aizawa, ever the tired man, releases a heavy sigh when his body sinks into the comfortable sofa, allowing a small amount of relaxation while Nezu addresses the problem at hand. His head hurt as much as his currently dry eyes do and he would do anything for a long shower and some sleep. Since returning from USJ Aizawa was not allowed any rest. The villains they had apprehended had been turned in for questioning, which isn't going as well as the officers would like. There's the concern for his students, but luckily they had not gotten fully involved and the only one harmed in any way is Zena, whose situation isn't as bad as things ultimately could have been.

Now he's here with his fellow teachers discussing the meaning of the foiled attack on USJ. From everything that happened, it had been obvious enough that two of those villains were the leaders amongst the pack, as well as the strongest amongst them. They would be crucial factors moving forward.

The attack on USJ only took place because of the symbol of peace and the number one hero, All Might, who couldn't even arrive on time to do his job.

The fact that they knew that All Might would be there and specifically stated that the curriculum said as much, brings up the current issue.

"There's a traitor in UA"

There are very few looks of surprise and some looks of doubt through the room. Sitting with a cup of tea, Nezu looks as serious as a creature such as himself can seem. As intelligent as he is, they would not be surprised if he has already concluded who the possible traitor may be, or has plans to unmask said traitor.

"But first, let's go over what had taken place, hmm?" He says after a sip of his tea. "Class 1A and 1B were to undergo rescue training at USJ under the supervision of Thirteen, Aizawa, Midnight, Kuma, Vlad King, and All Might, who had been very late to the scene"

These are the simple facts, things that everyone present already knew. All Might on his part has the dignity to look apologetic for his delinquency and the danger he unintentionally put everyone in.

"Things then went array when a portal of the sort appeared, announcing the arrival of a horde of villains led by two distinct individuals" Nezu continues with certainty, having heard the recounts and seen the footage. "They were there for All Might, they knew he would be there"

And that is the most concerning fact of the matter.

"They set their sights on the children and so a fight ensued, yes?" Nezu continues, looking to Aizawa and the rest for confirmation, despite his knowledge of the situation. "The students offered their assistance from a safe distance"

They nod in agreement, Kuma in particular wore something close to a smug expression on her face, immensely proud of the students she had been training.

"Midoriya and Yoroi seem to be skilled with firearms and assisted us by taking down as many of the weaker ones they could" she relays, remembering the way one man dropped before he could attempt to strike her in the back. "The one with a portal-like ability had gone for the kids, but for some reason could not get to them, even when attempting to use his quirk. He was later taken care of by Kaminari Denki by targeting the one tangible part of his body"

After that, the numbers of the weaker villains dwindled, leaving the remaining leader to fend off against them by himself, which ended with his defeat and capture.

"Good, that fits with what I've been told as well as the footage sent to me," says Nezu, earning the attention of those present.

"Footage?"

He nods around his cup of tea.

"Kaminari Denki sent out a call for help, while Midoriya Izuku somehow broadcasted the entire event through the school's main system"

Aizawa couldn't even be surprised, especially since he had overheard that boy talking about the super system he has been building. If he recalls correctly, Midoriya has thousands of mini-cameras on his person which he spoke of rather proudly.

"That kid is something else" Aizawa hears Midnight say with a small chuckle.

"Yes, he is" Nezu agrees. "Through this footage, something has come to my attention"

Aizawa's first thought is that the super-intelligent Nezu has already deduced the traitor.

"Our students were all following the orders of one Fox Zena, who reacted immediately to the threat"

That was not what Aizawa had expected to hear, but not something surprising.

"That child either has a very quick reaction time, which is very likely with the type of quirk she has, or," Nezu pauses. "She expected such a thing to happen, which is also very likely with the type of quirk she has"

That is also not much of a surprise to Aizawa or anyone familiar with the person of interest.

"I am familiar with one Fox, a third-year, however, I'm not very informed on the first year"

"She's as skilled as her older cousin," Kuma says with a shrug. "I assume that family may just be a family of prodigies, as the third cousin is on par with the other two"

"Zena in particular is one of the rare few possessing two quirks, one of which grants her telepathic abilities" Nezu further informs those unaware. "This ability is what makes her an important player to us because if she doesn't already know who the traitor is, she is likely the only one who can identify the traitor without issue"

Hopefully. There is no telling if the traitor has some way of bypassing Zena's abilities, but from the way Zena reacted and that casual shrug she offered Aizawa when he looked at her, he'll assume that's not the case.

"What exactly are her abilities?" Is the question Midnight asks. "I'm aware of her elemental powers, but I'm not too certain about her cognitive quirk"

Midnight finds this important information, as it may explain why Zena was in the state she had found her. She had claimed to simply need some rest and was out cold before they even reached the bus. Midnight had brought her to recovery girl as soon as they returned to UA, only to hear the same words Zena had said to her. She simply needed to sleep it off and the nose bleed may have simply been a result of heavy strain on her mind.

Which means she was using her abilities, but as far as Midnight is concerned, she's just a telepath.

When Nezu smiles at her, it's not a very reassuring thing, instead, it is a smile that unsettles her deeply.

"Oh she is as powerful as she is dangerous and it is quite convenient that she strives to be a hero," he says, which should be relieving, and it would be if not for that smile on his face. "I will not be surprised if she had been influencing her classmates to some degree as they were all surprisingly calm despite the situation, and with her mental ability, Fox is likely to have a calm mind even in the face of danger. If we pair that with her empathic abilities, which I'm certain she has, it would not be a stretch to assume she simply exercised this calmness onto her classmates to better keep things controlled"

There is silence after Nezu's analysis of the situation.

"You're saying she is capable of influencing emotions" Vlad King summarizes.

"As well as the mind, yes" Nezu nods. "It's quite the skill to have and she must be quite good at it"

Well, that does make her quite the asset.

Midnight now agrees with Kuma's statement about the Fox family.

"With such an ability, shouldn't she be the first suspect?" Snipe wonders.

And he has quite the point.

"You have to realize Snipe" Nezu starts. "If she were the traitor, we would be unaware of her possessing two abilities. It wouldn't make sense to let everyone know about her cognitive abilities if she were an informant. Her openness about her quirk is what saves her" he says. "And if she were the traitor we would not be having this conversation right now. As I've said before, Zena must be quite skilled with her cognitive ability, so if she so willed it, she could very much alter our memories or feed us thoughts and emotions that would keep us in the dark"

The room descends into silence once more and Nezu drinks his tea with a pleased hum.

Before much else could be said, there comes a knock at the door, followed by a cautious Toga who stands at the door after being granted permission. Seeing all the teachers present makes her stand a bit straighter. Her curiosity has her looking over the room with a quick glance, noting the thick tension settled in the air and reading expressions of concern on certain faces. Her eyes fall upon Kuma, quickly. Only approaching once the woman motions for her to approach.

"Sensei" Toga offers a greeting to those in the room before turning her attention to Kuma. "The documents you requested, sensei"

Humming, Kuma accepts the offered papers without so much as a glance at the contents. There are far more important things at hand, so her work shall have to wait for just a moment.

Having done what she needed to do, Toga turns to take her leave and retreat from the tense meeting room.

Alas, she did not get very far.

"Toga" Nezu's voice is like a command to a computer as Toga all but freezes at the call of her name. When she turns to face the hybrid creature he offers her a smile that may have been his attempt to be reassuring. It is not reassuring. "Would you be so kind as to retrieve Fox Zena for me?"

"Yes, sir"

Toga is quick to leave, closing the door with the same gentleness one would show a newborn child.

A heavy sigh escapes her lips as she scurries away from the door, her steps wide and her brows furrowed.

"What did Kitsune do?" She wonders as she makes her way through the school. She could only imagine the trouble she must have caused to he summoned by Nezu himself. The last time that happened, Israel had done something incredibly criminal.

Arriving at the 1A dorm building, Toga quickly realizes she does not know Zena's room number.

"Toga?"

Apparently, luck is on her side today. Toga smiles when she sees a confused Uraraka approaching her from the living room, taking slight amusement in the face she's making.

"I'm your senpai, you shouldn't address me so casually, Uraraka"

Embarrassed and apologetic, poor Uraraka's face colors pink as she stammers over her words to try to get a comprehensive apology out of her mouth, which proves not to be very successful.

"Oh wow," Toga mumbles, seeing the state she has sent her underclassman into. "I was joking Uraraka, it's not a big deal"

"Oh" is all that comes out of Uraraka for a few quiet moments. "That was embarrassing then"

Toga understands why she would be embarrassed, but she doesn't see any reason to be hung up on it.

"Don't worry about it, it was cute" Toga says as she looks around with searching eyes. "Though since you're here, would you mind helping me find Kitsune?"

When she glances at Uraraka she's still a shade of pink as she nods to her request. Uraraka has very noticeable and prominently pink cheeks, but it tends to spread when she's embarrassed and flustered, making it quite easy to tell when she's embarrassed or flustered.

"Why are you looking for Kitsune?"

"I've been sent to get her" Toga relays honestly. "Did she do something?"

"I don't know" Uraraka can't recall Zena doing anything. Especially today with the whole villain assault on USJ.

"Well, she must have done something" Toga mumbles. "Or Nezu wants to see her for other reasons"

"The principal?" Uraraka asks, surprised. "Oh"

"Yeah"

"It could have to do with what happened today" Uraraka concludes after some time. Paired with the attack, Zena did have to be taken to recovery girl, though Uraraka doesn't know what exactly had befallen her classmate.

"What happened today?" Toga questions. Usually, she would be up to date with anything and everything that happens in the school, but today she had been especially busy with certain activities.

"Um, well, USJ was attacked by a mob of villains," Uraraka says awkwardly. "They were after All Might, but our teachers handled the situation and some of the others helped too"

A glance at Uraraka tells Toga that she isn't as affected by what had happened as she probably should be. It could be because things were taken care of and no one was harmed. But even then Toga would assume she'd have more of a reaction to even recalling the whole ordeal. It's not every day you get attacked by a group of villains set on defeating All Might.

Knowing what happened at USJ does make her a bit more curious as to why Zena is being summoned.

Soon enough they stand in front of a door that looks like all the rest in the current hall. The one unique thing around it is the fact that a sticker of a Kitsune has been slapped onto the door and for some reason, Toga feels as if Zena had nothing to do with that.

Uraraka knocks, Toga stands idly to the side.

It takes a good minute before Zena stumbles to the door, appearing frazzled and confused even before her eyes settle on the two standing outside her door. Her hair isn't in the usual bun, instead loose and wild on her head, which makes her look a bit disheveled.

"Sorry to bother you, Kitsune" Uraraka quickly apologizes once she realizes that Zena may still be recovering from whatever state she had been in. Apparently, she needs sleep to recover and she feels bad for disturbing her. "But Toga's looking for you"

Zena looks at her then, brows raised.

"Nezu sent me to get you" Toga reveals bluntly.

Zena's brows raise higher, if that were possible, and she spares a glance at the watch on her wrist. She purses her lips as if in thought before releasing an almost disappointed sigh.

"Yeah okay," she mumbles, tugging on her collar and glancing back into her room. "Nezu has terrible timing," she says almost too quietly. "Give me a sec"

The door closes in front of Toga and Uraraka's faces, leaving them standing in the hallway with equal parts confusion and curiosity.

"She looks flustered," Toga says after a moment of silence.

"Yeah" Uraraka agrees.

"Disheveled too" Toga continues

"Yeah" Uraraka agrees again.

Silence settles over them.

"Are her and Ashido a thing?" Toga asks now.

"Probably" Uraraka answers.

Silence once more, the girls having come to a silent agreement.

Some minutes later, Zena appears once more, her hair tied up and clothes changed. Standing at her side is an orange fox, who stares up at Uraraka and Toga with little interest.

Why look then?

"Kurama, inside" Zena orders, gently nudging the creature back into her room. "I'll take you out later"

Kurama voices his displeasure with whatever sound it is that foxes make. It is a weird mix between a growl and a yip and it's not very intimidating.

"Inside" Zena urges once more. "Go, Mina will keep you company"

Kurama eventually gives up the struggle and lets Zena nudge him back into her room. She eyes him for a long moment before deciding she's content with whatever she has read in his eyes and steps fully out of her room.

"Mina"

"Yes?"

"Please don't raid my closet while I'm gone" is Zena's request.

She gets no answer.

"Mina"

"I can't make any promises"

Sighing, Zena closes her door and starts down the hall with a simple gesture to Toga and Uraraka.

"Sooo.." Uraraka drawls as she falls in step with Zena. "Any clue why Nezu would want to see you?"

"I have a guess, yeah" is Zena's casual answer. As she walks, she adjusts the devices on her ear, drawing attention to them.

"Since when do you wear hearing aids?" Toga asks, having never seen Zena with the devices before.

"Since I was a kid" Zena answers. "It cancels out my quirk"

"Oh, a break"

"Yup"

Uraraka follows Toga and Zena up to the school building where she decides it's best to stop. Toga and Zena continue by themselves with a comfortable silence between them for most of the walk. They don't interact much due to differing schedules and the fact that Toga is an upperclassman, but they've developed a friendly relationship. Most of their interactions happen during combat class where Toga is almost always present. It seems she's something of an assistant to Kuma, or her class rep,q as Kuma has stated that she has a second-year class under her wings.

"I heard about the USJ situation" Toga suddenly says, the thought coming back to her. Thinking about it, she wonders if that's the reason for Zena's summoning. "Must have sucked"

Zena shrugs.

"All's well that ends well," she says. "Things were handled and none of us were harmed, we got lucky"

Did they?

Was it luck or Zena's interference?

"You're quite cunning," Toga tells Zena with something close to a smile. "I have a feeling you're more involved than you want me to think"

"Whatever do you mean, senpai?" Zena grins this knowing thing at those words, looking at Toga out the corner of her eyes. "I'm just a lowly first year"

"The fox is a clever creature"

"It truly is"

~~~~~~~~

"The air is tense"

Zena's words do nothing to clear the tense air, yet she does not seem bothered in the slightest. Here she is, seated in front of the smartest creature in the world and surrounded by a group of competent professionals, yet she keeps that casual air about her - keeps that almost knowing gaze settled on Nezu as she absently twists and turns in the spinning chair she has claimed as her own.

"I'm sure you know why you're here, Fox," Nezu says, leaning onto his hands and meeting Zena's open gaze.

"You think too highly of me principal Nezu," Zena says with a small laugh. "My quirk is restricted currently, I'm in no one's head"

Nezu hums, smiling this small thing that was never reassuring in any way.

"No reason to play coy, Fox," the mouse-like creature says sweetly. "I would like to discuss today's events and the traitor among us"

Zena leans back in her chair, noting how very comfortable it is compared to the seats in the classroom. In front of her sits a chessboard and she has made the first move only for Nezu to counter with a mirror opening. Staring for a moment, Zena follows up by bringing out her knight, placing it in the center of the board. It is the most common chess opening and one Zena has memorized for no actual reason.

"You think I know who the traitor is"

"Oh, no" Nezu chuckles. He brings out his knight as well. "I know that you know, I just need you to tell me"

Zena hums, thoughtful. According to the basic rules of chess, she should bring out her knights and bishops first as well as castle the king to protect him.

Ah, but that is not where her focus should be.

"Yeah, I know who it is" she admits, moving her bishop right into the middle of the budding battle. "Their circumstances are very...how do I say it?"

Nezu moves his second knight onto the field. Zena follows by castling her king.

"Oh, miserable seems to be the fitting word"

Zena loses a pawn to Nezu's bishop.

How unfortunate.

"How so?"

"It's a long story, Principal. But simply put, his parents struck a deal with the devil and now he's the one paying for it" Zena explains. "Terrible thing"

"You pity him"

"I'm an empath" Zena states. "I'm very aware of the emotions of those around me"

It's hard to avoid.

"Who is he?" Nezu asks now, looking up.

Zena sighs with a glance off to the side. "Would it be too much to ask not to treat him too terribly? He's a kid like me, after all, and is only doing this for his parent's sake. If he doesn't they will likely be killed so they have been forcing him to do everything needed of him"

They could both die for all Zena cares, but Aoyama certainly does not share her opinion on his parents.

"You knew all this time"

Zena swivels in her chair to face Aizawa, who shoots her one of his usual tired glares.

"And you kept it to yourself, knowing the possible threat"

"Geez, weren't you scared at all?" Midnight asks incredulously. "Or maybe that's why you kept quiet?"

"I have never felt fear in this life," Zena says with a smile. "Fear clouds logical thinking and leads to rash actions which can lead to disaster, so naturally my cognitive quirk does not tolerate that emotion"

Either that or she just can't feel that emotion because of the circumstance that has led to this life.

"Then you had no reason to keep this to yourself"

"If I had told you, we might not have captured the villains" Zena explains. "And now that we have those two, we can get information out of them, and when you get information out of them you locate their base, and when you locate their base you locate the rest of them. With that portal guy in custody, and if he doesn't escape somehow, it will be far easier to take out the rest of the organization, no? "

With no Kurogiri they can't make a quick getaway so the members of the LoV can be taken care of far more easily, save for All For One himself.

One mention of that man will have All Might throwing questions and concerns at her.

"I'll tell you who their spy is," Zena says once no one speaks up.

"You have a condition" Nezu observes.

"Well yes, as I've said, he's being forced by his unfortunate circumstances and I would like to set him free," Zena says honestly. "But it's not an easy task considering the king he's working for"

"I see"

"He is but a pawn in this game" Zena states calmly. "Easily dispensible and replaceable"

Tragically.

"But the pawn is the only one that can capture others in a method that's different from how it normally moves" Zena continues. "And the pawn can be made into something powerful if they're careful. A knight, a bishop, a rook or the queen"

"I see"

"I think the knight suits this unfortunate pawn, it's quite dazzling"

The knight hops around the board in such an eye-catching manner it's too easy to be distracted by it. Really, the knight is a dangerous piece in a game of chess. One wrong move and he shall strike, and just like that you have a joust in the back.

"Dazzling?" Midnight frowns, staring at Zena who has her eyes on the board, a white knight in hand. A dazzling knight? "You can't be saying that Aoyama is the traitor"

"Unfortunately he is our tragic blackmailed hero"