Training Shinso

Chapter 6: Memories

Tuesday~

"Aizawa Sensei, I had an idea for something we could possibly try out," Midoriya said.

"Yes?"

"Well, at the Sports Festival when Shinso was brainwashing me I was aware of my surroundings and I could remember what happened afterwards. But when Ojiro explained to me what it was like for him, he told me he couldn't remember anything. So I was wondering- is Shinso able to control whether or not we remember being brainwashed? Another thing is: is he able to alter memories? Can he make someone forget something or maybe even remember something that's not true."

"That's a very interesting thought. I guess we could pause what I had planned for today to try this out instead." Eraserhead said to Shinso, "Do you know whether or not you can make your target remember or forget being brainwashed?"

Hitoshi shrugged, "I don't really know. I've never asked anyone I've used my Quirk on before."

Aizawa nodded, "Okay. We'll try making Midoriya forget first. I don't know what it's like to have your Quirk so you're going to have to figure this out yourself."

Shinso nodded then said, "Midoriya?"

"Yeah-?" Izuku's eyes glazed over after he responded.

"Turn around."

Midoriya did as he commanded and then awoke. He shook his head at Hitoshi's expectant face, "I remember what I did; you told me to turn around."

"Damn it. I thought I'd made you forget," Shinso said, annoyed.

Eraserhead suggested, "Ojiro couldn't remember but Midoriya could. Can you think of anything you did differently for each person?"

Hitoshi thought. "Well, I was controlling multiple people alongside Ojiro but I only had Midoriya brainwashed. And I made Midoriya do a less complex task. But I don't think that affects whether or not they remember. And neither of them were prepared for my Quirk when I used it at the festival, so that's out."

"Maybe it depends on whether you subconsciously want them to remember or not," Deku suggested. "Think about it; you wanted Ojiro and the others to just simply obey your commands to get you all through the match. But with me, maybe you wanted me to be aware of what was happening because it would have been kinda cruel if I'd been ready to tackle you and then a second later the match was over and I'd lost."

"That- makes sense. But it wasn't a conscious decision so... I need to figure out how to make it conscious so I can control when it happens."

"Exactly!" Izuku chirped. "Try it again and see if you can make me forget."

Hitoshi activated his Quirk and said, "Pick up your bag."

Izuku walked over to the bench to pick up his bag. He blinked as he woke up and gasped at the bag in his hand, "Wha- I don't remember anything! It worked!"

"How did you do it?" Aizawa questioned out of curiosity.

Shinso frowned a little as he tried to think of a way to describe it, "I- When I'm brainwashing people it's like- I can feel a connnection to their mind and body functions in my own head. So, when I was controlling Midoriya, I didn't want him to remember and so my mind just forced him not to be aware of what he was doing? It's hard to explain."

"Interesting..." Aizawa said thoughtfully. "Let's move onto Midoriya's theory of altering memories and possibly creating false memories. Now- there are many ethical factors here. We have Midoriya's consent, he has the right to withdraw, he will be debriefed in just a moment and there will be no deception, but we also cannot inflict any psychological harm upon him so we must be careful as we are tampering with his memories here. Now Midoriya. Are you sure you want to go ahead with this?"