[Third Person's PoV]
Towards the end of the school day…
Just as Tony was packing up, Aizawa called out to him while aligning a stack of papers.
"Tony, can you stay behind for a moment? Nezu wants to see you."
"Eh?" Tony raised an eyebrow. "Is it about Master Splinter?"
"No," Aizawa replied, his expression as unreadable as ever.
Tony glanced around the room before quickly asking, "Alright, which one of you snitched? Who told on me? Fess up!"
Aizawa's eyebrow twitched. "Tony, I don't know what you think you're guilty of, and honestly, at this point, I don't care. But for the record, Principal Nezu isn't calling you in because you're in trouble."
"...Oh," Tony muttered in a soft voice.
"Pfft, talk about incriminating yourself, man," Denki snickered.
Tony sighed, slinging his backpack over his shoulders. He turned to Melissa. "Wait for me, it shouldn't take long."
Melissa nodded as Tony added, "If it takes too long, I'll text you to go ahead without me."
---
Tony stood in front of the large principal's office door, eyeing it up and down before knocking.
"Come in," Principal Nezu's voice called from inside.
As soon as Tony stepped in, he grinned playfully. "That's an awfully big door. Compensation for something, much?"
Nezu's nose twitched as he gave Tony a pointed look. "Is that a remark about my height?"
"It's friendly banter," Tony said quickly, before smirking. "Should I build you a suit that looks exactly like you, but human-sized, so you can control it from inside?"
"No—Wait, can you actually do that?" Nezu asked, surprised.
"Yeah, just thought of it now. Imagine you casually patrolling the halls, hands behind your back, but human-sized. The students would freak out!" Tony chuckled at the mental image.
Nezu let out a squeaky laugh, clearly amused. "If it's coming from you, I'm sure it'll be incredible. I'd gladly accept it."
Tony smirked. "Consider it done. I'll have it ready by tomorrow morning."
Nezu's smile widened, but then he shifted to a more serious tone. "However, that's not why I called you here. I wanted to update you on Oboro."
"..."
"..."
Nezu stared at Tony's blank expression in disbelief. "Tony… don't tell me you forgot who that is."
"Of course I remember!" Tony said, eyes darting away awkwardly. Slyly, he pulled out his phone and quickly searched the name. "Ah! Kurogiri! See? I remembered!"
'How the hell was I supposed to remember his freaking name? That was ages ago!' Tony thought to himself.
Nezu gave a wry smile and shook his head. "Well, just to update you—Oboro is doing much better now. Since you healed him, he's made remarkable progress, especially mentally."
Tony, half-listening, thought to himself: Honestly, I should thank Nezu for reminding me that I collected the DNA structure of his Quirk when I placed the helm on him. I should start working on that portal project soon...
Nezu continued. "—With Hizashi's help—"
Tony blinked, confused.
Nezu sighed. "With Present Mic and Aizawa constantly visiting and supporting him, they're now considering allowing Oboro to supervise outings."
Tony nodded in understanding. "And I take it he'll be visiting U.A.?"
"Most likely. This place holds his most precious memories, after all," Nezu said proudly.
Tony smirked. "How cunning~"
Nezu tilted his head slightly, feigning innocence. "Whatever do you mean?"
Tony chuckled, shaking his head. "This isn't just a supervised outing. You're using this as a rehabilitation technique. By bringing him back to where his most important memories reside, you're hoping to permanently cement Oboro's personality over Kurogiri's, preventing any chance of the latter resurfacing. And by labeling it a 'supervised outing,' you're making it feel like a break rather than therapy. If he knew it was meant for his recovery, the effect wouldn't be as strong."
Tony grinned. "Like I said, how cunning~"
Nezu chuckled. "Yes, what you say is true—this is indeed a rehabilitation technique to help him. However, please don't think of this as some grand scheme. I still care deeply for my students, and he deserves this bit of a break."
Tony shrugged. "I never said you didn't. But I seriously doubt you called me here just to inform me of this. You could've just sent a message or called."
Nezu nodded. "You're right. There is more to it. I was hoping to contract Stark Industries for a project—a collaboration, if you will. Of course, you will be compensated; I'm not asking you to work for free."
"A project?" Tony tilted his head, intrigued.
Nezu leaned forward, folding his paws over each other. His usual carefree smile faded, replaced by a more serious expression. "You see, I don't like how quiet things have gotten. Silence in a world like this is never a good thing—it always precedes something bigger. AFO went down too quickly. Not to mention, he's still alive and contained somewhere. As long as he's breathing, no one is truly safe."
Tony raised an eyebrow. "Is that really how the principal of the top hero school should be talking? Because from where I'm sitting, it sounds like you're saying AFO would be better off dead."
Nezu sighed. "It is, unfortunately, the truth."
Tony nodded, unfazed. "I'm not saying you're wrong. In fact, if it weren't for All Might, I might have killed him myself. Both of them, actually."
Nezu raised an eyebrow and threw his words back at him. "Is that really how a hero of this school should be talking? Especially to his principal?"
Tony smirked and threw his own words back at him as well. "It is, unfortunately, the truth."
Nezu stared at Tony for a moment but merely closed an eye and nodded, which Tony interpreted as Nezu turning a blind eye to his words for the moment
"In all seriousness," Nezu continued, reopening his eyes, "the peace we're experiencing right now is nothing but an illusion. If we truly want to maintain it, we need to take countermeasures. After all, what is peace if not preparation for war?"
"You should put that on a shirt," Tony quipped with a faint smirk. "I'm sure it'd sell well."
Nezu sighed. "Tony, I'm trying to have a serious conversation here, please."
Tony raised his hands in surrender, making a zipping motion across his lips before motioning for Nezu to continue.
Shaking his head in mild amusement, Nezu went on. "As I was saying, I want to take countermeasures. That's why I'm reaching out to you. When the peace we have inevitably shatters, I want a fortress to stand, keeping those who want no part of the chaos safe.
"In short, I want to turn U.A. into an impenetrable stronghold. And I believe you, Tony, are the only one who can help me accomplish this. It's not that I doubt my own team of professionals, but even I have to admit—you're ahead of the game when it comes to things like this.
"What you create isn't something just anyone can replicate, let alone breach. And that's not all. I want to upgrade all of U.A.—a full-scale, all-out training program that will push everyone to their limits.
"I hate to say it, but the students here will inevitably be dragged into whatever's coming. If we can't prevent that, the least we can do is prepare them for it."
Nezu then stood up in his chair and bowed his head. "So please—"
"Why the hell are you bowing?"
"Eh?" Nezu blinked, looking up to see Tony standing awkwardly, one hand on his hip and the other rubbing the back of his neck, eyes shifting to the side.
Tony sighed. "Didn't you say you were going to employ Stark Industries? Meaning I'll be paid for this? Accepting the job is just me doing what I do. So why the need to bow?"
Nezu paused, then let out an awkward laugh, rubbing the back of his head. "I suppose I got caught up in the moment."
Regaining his composure, Nezu smiled. "Since you've agreed, should I get in contact with Ms. Shield to handle the logistics?"
Tony's shoulders slumped. His head lowered, and his eyes darkened, appearing lifeless. "No need… Just send them to me directly."
Nezu, startled by the sudden shift in Tony's demeanor, hesitated. "Is… something wrong?"
Tony let out a long sigh. "No… It's dandy. I'm currently grounded by my parents, and as punishment, they're making me do all of Melissa's work. On top of that, I already finished a month's worth of my own work this morning, and now here I am, accepting more."
Nezu watched as Tony's expression grew increasingly drained.
"So I can't help but wonder… what's the meaning of life?" Tony continued in a monotone voice. "We work just to die a meaningless death. We subject ourselves to this continuous torture of contributing to society, and in the end, it's all for nothing. The money we earn isn't coming with us to the afterlife. We're all just slaves to a system, working ourselves into the ground with nothing to show for it—"
Nezu shifted uncomfortably in his seat, unsure how to respond. After a long pause, all he could think to say was…
"I'm… sorry to hear that."
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