Aizawa had his arms crossed as he observed class 1-A spar against one another. Well, if he was being honest, he was keeping most of his attention trained on the two vs. one match. He wasn’t sure if Yui’s luck was that poor, or if ‘fate’ had a grim sense of humor that had the teen facing off against Naganuma and Tomono both in the random lot draw they’d done.

It was another day without gear, it was just supposed to be an exercise in Quirk and combat control, so she didn’t have the extra protection her suit provided or the gear that’d help her evade Naganuma’s swamp trap like she had that second day.

The match had started out pretty normally, Yui focusing her attention on the larger teen to dodge the first attack and try to get in close to deliver a blow that Aizawa knew the teen knew by heart but she’d pulled back at the last moment. It made Naganuma stumble but it wasn’t near hard enough to bring him down. If anything, it only seemed to make him hit her harder.

She was close enough to use her Quirk on him. I know she doesn’t like using it but it would have given her a huge advantage. Aizawa couldn’t help but think as he suppressed a wince when she was thrown into the mud the ring was quickly turning into. His eyes narrowed as Yui’s jaw clenched, teal eyes narrowing at the teen that was hanging back. It was hard to miss the heat in that glare as she rolled out of the way of Naganuma’s punch, a glob of mud flying from her hand to blind him as she scrambled to her feet.

She drops into the dirtier tactics when she’s pissed. Aizawa stepped closer, the teens too caught up in their session to pay attention, it allowed him to be close enough to hear Tomono’s next statement.

“Are you getting frustrated, Yamazawa? You gonna go berserk again like a villain?”

His Quirk makes people trust him, why would he be trying to provoke her? Wouldn’t it be more logical to try to get her to drop her guard? His eyes narrowed as Yui flinched at the question, eyes losing their ferocity as she hesitated. Naganuma rushed her, one arm cocked back as he aimed at her head.

He heard Yui’s gasp as his capture weapon wrapped around her, pulling her out of the way as he activated his Quirk. “That’s enough. Naganuma, this is a sparring exercise. We don’t aim for the head like that. This is your first and only warning. You two continue with the exercise. Yamazawa, you’re being reassigned. Work with Haya against Togata.”

Yui blinked, eyes flashing toward the blonde before she stopped herself. She nodded as the capture weapon released her. “Yes, sensei.”

“Hmm… it is strange, Aizawa. According to his file, Tomono’s Quirk, which is updated yearly mind you, states it is a ‘Charisma booster’. His mother’s is almost the same, though she calls it ‘Social Butterfly’. It’s just supposed to make others like them, view them as dear, trusted friends. Why didn’t Tomono try and use his Quirk to make Yui more complacent? I’ve seen him use it to make Hayashi surrender during an exercise.” Nedzu frowned as he watched the footage again.

“You guys really think Tomono has something to do with Yui’s…behavior?” Yamada asked, looking from his husband to his employer. “He can be a little narrow-minded in class but you know how the more affluent kids are. They have some sheltered world views. The class has had some interesting debates because of his or Shimizu’s views. Yui doesn’t even try to talk to him if she doesn’t have to. And Tomono does the same.”

The adults in the room sighed, it was just a smaller cluster of teachers for this impromptu meeting. Aizawa, Yamada, Nemuri, Nedzu and Chiyo. Aizawa hadn’t wanted to bring his suspicions to the rest without more proof than just his gut feeling.

He was starting to second guess himself as they continued to go round and around. But… “Yui flinched when Tomono called her a villain… she looked like she was in pain. It can’t be a coincidence.”

“There’s also the small matter of cameras cutting out at certain times when I tracked Tomono throughout the school. Once or twice, fine. But it’s been multiple times throughout the last few weeks when I was looking.” Nedzu spoke up. “I will continue to look through footage. Maybe I can find something farther back?”

“It’s a chance.” Chiyo sighed, looking up at the pair as she fiddled with her cane, worry lines deepening “Yui hasn’t come by in weeks. She hasn’t gotten any new injuries?”

Aizawa frowned as he crossed his arms over his chest. “She said she dropped the weight bar on her chest and fractured a rib. When I tried to send her to you, she was adamant that she didn’t want to bother you. She convinced me to let Shimizu heal it. If she is injured, she’s hiding it.”

“Oh dear… I will ask Shimizu about it. Maybe she will remember if she felt anything else when she healed the fracture.” Chiyo sighed softly as she watched the footage of the sparring session. “Maybe I can convince Yui to come in for a check up Monday morning? I do want to know how she’s doing on the prescription.”

“I’ll bring it up at dinner tonight.” Aizawa glanced at the clock, wondering if Izuku and the trio had started to move on their plan. He just hoped that it worked-

“Wait a moment. Take a look at this.” Nedzu moved the footage he’d been focusing on to the central screen. “This was a month ago.”

Hado and Tomono were standing in the hall outside their classroom. “Hey, hey, Tomono! Can I ask you a question?” The teen in question blinked when the bubbly girl leaned right into his personal space, putting an easy smile on his face.

“You just did, Hado, but how can I help you?”

“It’s about your Quirk! You never told us what it is but I have a guess.” Hado smiled as Tomono seemed to freeze at the question, his smile faltering for a moment before it steadied. “Is it a sort of emotional Quirk? Like you can make people like you? Does it have something to do with your voice?”

He paused, his eyes a little too wide before he let out a laugh. “Wow, Hado. That’s quite a theory but I’m sorry to say you’re wrong.”

“Aww phooey. Izuku would have been so excited if he’d been right.”

“Izuku? Is he a friend of yours?”

“Oh yeah! Izuku is Yui’s little brother and he’s a whiz at Quirk analysis! He makes these notebooks and he’s making one for everyone in the class. The one he made me has been really helpful, so I was hoping he was right so it’d be more useful for you. Oh, I gotta go! I’ll see you tomorrow for class!” Hado chirped out happily before she left him to join Togata and Amajiki as they headed off.

Aizawa frowned, wondering if he could ask Izuku to show him his notes on the boy without raising any suspicions. He checked the date on the footage. “That was the day before the heroes and villains assignment.”

“The one where Yui lost to Tomono, right?” Nemuri asked, her brow furrowing at his nod before she turned back to the screen as the clip played again. “I don’t like how his body language is. He’s lying, right?”

“Correct. He’s not bad at hiding it, it was enough to fool Hado. But he’s tense after the question about his Quirk. He’s not quite making eye contact with her, either.” Nedzu’s eyes were narrowed as he focused on the footage. “If Izuku’s guess was correct… his Quirk records aren’t accurate. And if he’s able to manipulate any emotions-“

“He could be pulling on Yui’s. He could be making any anxiety she feels worse, anger…fear…” Chiyo frowned as her hand shook as she gripped her cane harder.

“How do we get proof?” Aizawa asked, “Tomono’s Quirk isn’t visible.”

“Mental Quirks are detectable though, aren’t they? There has to be some way to know when it’s being used.” Yamada frowned, fingers tapping against his arm.

“There is. Mental Quirks are usually the trickiest to detect because most don’t have physical reactions. But there is an experimental method that’s been researched. It’s not been perfected yet, according to the research, those with mental Quirks give out a unique wavelength. It’s been dubbed the ‘Hypnos wave’ and can only be seen with the use of a filter on a camera. The filter is a particular lens but the actual construction isn’t that complicated. The amount of power that it requires is.” Nedzu took a sip from his teacup, snout crinkling in distaste when he realized how long his tea had been sitting. “I’ll ask Higari to upgrade some of our cameras, though we’ll only have a few to start out with.”

“Nemuri’s classroom first.” Aizawa looked at his friend, “And Gym Gamma. That’s where the class is going to be mostly for their heroics class. It’d be a start.”

This is pointless… Yui fisted her hand in her hair as she glared at the footage on the screen. Sure, she had proof that her classmate’s eyes looked glazed over but it didn’t help when she didn’t have any proof that it had to do with Tomono! She could only guess that the camera’s cutting out had to do with that damned device he had.

Monday will make it a month, I’m out of time… She grit her teeth at the reminder. Did it even matter? The school was buzzing with talk of a villain, people kept looking at her with suspicion and distrust. Even Haya had looked uncomfortable around her during the exercise today. Like I was going to snap and turn on her. Kami, why hadn’t her friends asked her about the rumors yet? There’s no way they hadn’t heard something.

She jolted a bit at the sound of the doorbell ringing, frowning softly as she glanced at the clock. Maybe Izu invited his friend over? I thought that was going to be Sunday though. “Yui-nee? Can you come downstairs?” Izuku called up to her. She bit back a sigh as she closed her programs before turning her computer off. She shoved her phone in her hoodie pocket before leaving her room and heading downstairs.

Yui blinked when she saw the living room, the… she could only call it a nest, of the softest blankets and largest, fluffiest pillows in the house arranged on the floor in front of the couch. The coffee table covered with snack foods and sweets she recognized from Yuki’s. She froze when she reached the bottom step and saw Togata, Hado and Amajiki clustered together in the hallway. Her eyes widening as she focused on the sheepish-looking green bean as he gave her a little wave.

“Surprise?”