Digital Dreamworld

Chapter 1 - Entering the Experiment

Izuku blinked, staring ahead of him when Aizawa announced their next, uhm, project. One of Nezu's friends was working on these virtual worlds where they could study interactions between people like they only met for the first time. The Hero Commission had taken note of this and was now sponsoring the research under the guise of using it for a villain rehabilitation program. They wanted to use it to determine whether they still had a shot at a normal life, whether they were decent human beings if they were put into different contexts without memories of the crimes they committed.

"That sounds great sir, but, uhm, why test it on hero students?" Yaoyorozu asked, her hand up in the air as if that would excuse the fact she spoke without permission. It's not like their teacher really cared about those formalities either way.

"I objected to the idea, but Nezu insisted," Aizawa sighed. "And now that the Commission is backing the program, they can't simply deny us access to it."

Izuku briefly wondered how many strings their principal had pulled in order to get this approved. They were second year hero students, surely there were better candidates! But then again, once Nezu sets his mind to something... Izuku sighed as he read over the paper that Aizawa handed out to everyone. It gave some more information about the whole project with a permission slip attached at the bottom. Would his mom have to sign this? When were they even going to do this? Their schedules were already packed as is!

"We've sent these forms to your parents as well, they should be signed by the end of the week so we can start this project on Monday," Aizawa explained, hearing some complaints from the class. "Nezu wanted to make this mandatory so be glad I'm still giving you the illusion of free choice. Now stop complaining so I can start class."

And so the day continued like normal, but that didn't mean they forgot about it. Izuku wasn't surprised his friends started talking about it when they got back from school.

"Isn't this an invasion of our privacy?" Uraraka asked as she fell down on the couch. "I mean, it has to be, right?"

"They will temporarily wipe our memories, so we won't be able to say anything incriminating," Iida reminded her. "So no, strictly speaking our privacy will not be violated. That doesn't mean I like the fact they're planning on using us to test an experimental device! Nobody is aware whether or not this experience will have side effects or not! Our memories could be permanently affected or-"

"I'm sure principal Nezu wouldn't have us test it if it wasn't safe," Izuku interrupted, trying to reassure his friends, but also himself. There was still a lot that could go wrong in this stage of the project and Izuku rather not think about the possible consequences. By the looks of it, his friends didn't believe him in the slightest.

"Deku, this is Nezu we're talking about," Uraraka deadpanned. "The rat god loves gambling. And experimenting. Especially on students."

Izuku wished he could deny that, but he also knows Nezu regularly invents new lesson plans to see how students would act and perform. The entrance exam in and of itself was just one big game for him, for crying out loud! Sometimes he wondered whether he got joy out of torturing his students... But this was different, wasn't it? This wasn't some trap or test he designed. This was made by someone else and got backed by the commission, so it must have some credibility, right?

"It will be fine," Izuku said with a weak smile. "Probably..."

"Oi! Enough with the depressing talk, you're ruining my mood!"

Izuku turned to see Kacchan walk past with a bottle of water at hand. He must be coming from the kitchen, then. Right, it's Wednesday. He has sparring sessions with Kirishima after school today.