Summary: Aizawa is a man of logic... That being said, rational reasoning tends to be made null in the face of overwhelming guilt.

As Aizawa made his way toward his classes homeroom, class 1-A's first day back to school in a over a week, when he jostled his bandaged arm which caused the newly grafted skin on his elbow to burn. A stabbing pain arched through his still brittle bones and added to the headache forming behind his tired eyes which were still stinging from his recent quirk exhaustion. Despite his suffering, the teacher barely acknowledged the pain with a slow steady blink.

He continued his trek up the ardorous flight of stairs. Not for the first time did the teacher curse his past self for ever taking on a teaching job, though this time more than just annoyance fuelled his foul mood.

Now there was guilt there too. Terrible, gnawing guilt that hurt more than any injury could and did more damage to his person than any weapon might achieve.

A child was dead…. And it had been Aizawa's responsibility to protect them.

Aizawa was a man of logic and thus seldom gave in to his (admittedly shriveled) sentimental side. Because of this, the teacher knew logically he could not blame himself for the child's murder. He had, after all, taken the most rational course of action.

Such thoughts could not null the pain in his chest, the void in his heart.

Aizawa pulled open the door to his homeroom class. The nervous quiet chatter (which was so unlike this migraine inducing squad of energetic preschoolers) immediately fell into dead silence. It was as if opening the door had sucked what little life had been quivering in the atmosphere, leaving behind something stale, achingly painful, and dripping with guilt.

"Morning Sensei!" A chipper voice tried to soften the air of instilled unease. Aizawa looked to the voice and saw the pink figure of Ashido. She was smiling brightly at him, though the grin did not reach her eyes. Similarly, the quality of her usual bubbly voice was diminished. It was flatter, more strained. She was putting up a front for the benefit of others, though judging by the way she kept glancing toward a certain classmate, Aizawa could guess who she was trying to put on a brave face for.

Kirishima. The normally loud and friendly boy now sits hunched over his desk. His hair, which used to be styled, was now laid flat against his head, untrimmed bangs falling over his eyes. His once bright red hair is accompanied by dark, undyed roots. The boy was staring off into the distance. His face void of emotion, eyes null and greyed. The teacher could tell he was not really with them at the moment. Mind lost somewhere else. Aizawa could easily guess just what the boy was seeing in his mind's eye.

Kirishima had been one of the unfortunate students to have seen the pro heroes fishing out the the half eaten body of their departed classmate.

Ashido wasn't the only student worried about Kirishima. Other classmates who the boy had made fast friends with before the USJ Incident were also giving the boy careful glances. Not that they needed to be so worried. Behind the hazy grey, there was a hardness glinting in Kirishima's gaze. Even as he slouched, Aizawa could see a tense stiffness to his shoulders which spoke of the rising pressure inside of him.

Though Kirishima looked broken and defeated, his teacher knew it was only a matter of time before Kirishima's new found determination would break out and he would stand before the world, firm in his resolve and unmoving in his beliefs.

Kirishima always had great potential for becoming a hero. Though Aizawa hated the circumstances, there was no denying that their first look into the dark void of evil in this world had given the boy the right push to eventually realising his full potential.

Aizawa was not the only one who saw this. Bakugou, the previous owner no doubt having wisely given up his assigned seat after the USJ Incident, now sat behind Kirishima. An aura of protectiveness emmaminated off the boy as he regarded his surroundings with burning eyes.

Considering how only a week ago the abrasive boy had been either ignoring or blowing up at Kirishima and his efforts to be friends, the change was very noticeable. Bakugou now behaved as if he and Kirishima were joined at the hip. He literally never left the red head's side. Either that or Kirishima was the one who kept close to Bakugou and the blonde just decided to accept it. Aizawa thought it was probably a mix of both.

Like his classmates had been doing ever since the USJ Incident, Bakugou would glance at Kirishima whenever the boy became despondent like now. But unlike everyone else who wore expressions of worry or pitty, his gaze was measured. Knowing.

From the moment Aizawa had met Bakugou and looked into the boy's blazing eyes, he knew Bakugou understood the stakes heroes went up against. For most of the class, this was their first experience with death at the hands of evil. That was not the case for Bakugou.

Aizawa did not know who Bakugou had lost, but they must have been close with how it had affected the fiery boy.

A few other students are greeting him as well, though all were drowned out by their vise president's booming voice.

"Aizawa-sensei!" Iida Tenya called out, hand raised in accordance proper classroom rules. Though it mattered little since Aizawa knew the boy would speak before his teacher had the time to even consider acknowledging him. Sure enough, Iida does not even hesitate to breath. "I'm glad your okay! However, should you not resting in order to properly recover from you injuries?"

Aizawa sighed. Normally, it would be illogical of him to push his body like this. But with U. A. having just been successfully compromised by a villain organisation and a student killed on campus, there was no time to rest. So much to be done. Just yesterday Aizawa had pushed to be released from the hospital early so he could attend one of the many emergency U. A. staff meetings. He would have attended them all had the hospital not been so stubborn… and had he woken from his injury induced coma sooner.

What was done was done. Now Aizawa has to focus on what he can do in the present.

Instead of explaining all of this to the class, which would have been a waste of time and breathe, Aizawa simply said, "My well being is irrelevant. What's more important is that the repercussions of the USJ Incident aren't over yet."

The student's stiffened, many glancing toward the two empty chairs in the classroom. Kirishima, pulled whatever dark recess of the mind he had been lost in, focused in on Aizawa, body still subdued but eye's alight. Bakugou remained as stoic as ever, only the slightest flinch giving away whatever dark memory he was pulling from his past into the present moment.

"First off-" The whole class holds their breath. "For those who may not already know, Asui Tsuyu is making a full recover and was admitted from the hospital three days ago. She will be returning to class in two days."

Shiozaki clasped her hands in a quick prayer of thanks to the heavens while the most of the rest of the class sighed with relief.

"Secondly, U. A. is providing therapy for all of you with our on staff psychologist, Inui-san, to assist you in processing and dealing with the USJ Incident. You all are required to meet with Inui-san once a week for a month. After that whether you continue meeting with the psychologist will be up to you and him. I know what a lot of you think about counselors." Aizawa specifically met Bakugou's belligerent grimace head on. "Most pro hero agencies employ their own psychologists for their heroes. Those that don't instead include psychological visits as part of the insurance benefit. Talking with psychologist is a part of being a pro hero. There is no shame in relying on a therapist or counselor for support. To think otherwise would be as illogical as refusing medical attention when injured. A hero needs to be healthy in both mind and body. Otherwise they are worthless."

Aizawa took a moment to survey his homeroom students. In most he could see hesitation, but they have chosen to trusted him. Some he could tell already understand the importance in relying on professional support. Two still do not think they need, and perhaps will never need, a psychologists guidance.

Todoroki and Bakugou stare back at him with the same unrelenting gaze of cold fire.

The teacher sighed wearily. He knew from the first day that he had a lot of work cut out for himself with this class. The amount of emotional baggage and psychological injury those two alone would have been enough work. Too bad everyone here actually have potential. He probably should have expected the universe to eventually have dumped this lot on him after that one semester with a whole classroom of lazy, brainless duds.

Aizawa breathed in, prepared to get this last announcement over with so he could finally rest. "Finally, the Sports Festival has been cancelled to the public."

Just as Aizawa had feared, and predicted, the whole class gasps before bombarding him with hysterical arguments and desperate questions. Before Aizawa can quiet them, other student's have joined in with counter arguments and supportive agreements.

Aizawa lets the children argue among themselves for a moment. He personally agreed with the decision and had been one of the faculty to vote favourably. Aizawa did recognised the Sport Festival's usefulness as providing a huge opportunity for all students. It tested and strengthened hero student's skills against a wide range of different opponents and situations, provided a way for students in other classes to prove themselves and perhaps change courses, and exposed their talent and potential to hero agencies which helped them pursue their career when they eventually graduated.

That being said, Aizawa always struggled with how vulnerable it made their students to the villain world, especially those whose quirks relied on element of surprise or had their own achilles heel. The school was basically broadcasting their students strengths, weaknesses, and abilities, and blind spots to any evil mastermind who might care to use the knowledge to their advantage.

For rudimentary child heroes in training, it placed them in a very dangerous and very vulnerable position. Honestly, Aizawa was surprised no one had taken advantage of their schools hubris until now.

Although, one may argue that they have not yet taken advantage of the Sports Festivals glaring weaknesses, since the attack happened before the festival.

Another reason Aizawa believes the hand-covered leader was an inexperienced man-child. A rational leader with those kind of resources should have waited until after the Sports Festival had revealed all of his student's quirks before jumping the gun and staging an attack with 19 unknown variables. It was thanks to this oversight which had allowed Iida to alert U. A.'s staff of heroes. Without that, Aizawa knew there would have been multiple deaths that day.

It was this fact which Aizawa and several other faculty members used in their argument against hosting the public Sports Festival. The League of Villains proved that U. A. was not an invincible fortress. They could be attacked and they were unable to keep all of their students safe.

How many of them were willing to bet the villains would continued to not ignore the golden opportunity the Sports Festival could provide for them? How many teachers would want to continue to put their students in such danger?

These were the questions Aizawa and several other staff members had posed during their meeting. And these are what one them the vote.

It was the only logical decision.

Aizawa turned his attention back onto his still arguing class. The debate over whether it was the right decision to cancel the Sports Festival was evenly split down the middle, with only one or two students choosing to keep their opinion to themselves. Just listening to his students reminded Aizawa strongly of the final faculty meeting he persevered through yesterday. Only with a lot more yelling and wild gestures.

The man sighed heavily, his creeping headache that had been haunting him since his injury was threatening to become a migraine. What had he ever done to deserve them?

"Silence!" Iida's incredibly loud and authoritative voice forcibly commands the attention of everyone's attention. "Allowing ourselves to fall into such disarray is unbecoming of future heroes. Not just that, but it is also disrespectful behavior toward our sensei! Please, everyone return to your seats. Remember to raise your hands if you have questions or concerns and wait for our teacher to call upon you."

And that was one reason why Aizawa saw potential in the younger Iida brother. Strong quirks are important to becoming a strong hero, but they do not make you a competent one.

The room returned to order and Aizawa breathed in the blessed quit. Aizawa revelled in it for a moment, long enough for everyone to take a relaxing breath but not for any irrational guilt and fear to begin whispering regret into all of their minds again.

"Now that you are all actually listening to me I can answer your questions. First know that no matter what you say now, the decision was not up to you but to the staff whose job it is to insure your well being. Hopefully that will keep you from asking any illogical questions that would only waste your breath and my time."

Yaoyorozu hand was immediately raised.

"Yes?" Aizawa nodded to the girl. Yaoyorozu was a smart girl and least likely to ask pointless questions.

"As class president, I feel it my responsibility to to point out that Aizawa-sensei never said the Sports Festival was cancelled, merely that it was cancelled to the public."

"Wait," a student named Sero spoke up. "So we're still having the festival, right?"

"Yes." Aizawa answered. "The Sports Festival is too beneficial for students training to be cancelled. That being said, it has always been illogical choice to make the Sports Festival public as it only invites potential danger toward students from possible outside threats."

Jirou, nervously playing with her earphone jack, raised her hand. "Sensei. Has the school decided to not open the Sports Festival to the public forever, or just this year?"

It was a fair question at least. "As of right now the Sports Festival is no longer a public event, but a private one."

Many of the students gasped.
"But," Denki (without raising his hand) asked, "how are we going to get scouted by pro agencies after we graduate if we never get a chance to show off our stuff?"
Aizawa huffed, "The Sports Festival no longer being public only means it is now a private school event, not that no one will be there. The school will send out invitations to hero agencies around the country to come and observe. So if you think you can slack off on you training, forget it. The Sports Festival should still be a big deal for all of you. The only thing that has changed are screaming civilian distractions and the media broadcasting all of your strengths and weaknesses to every villain who owns a tv."

Family members are also allowed to come. If you have friends you want to invite, there are forms they can fill out in order to watch. The Sports Festival being private just means your family can come for free, the stands won't be filled with distracting people screaming their heads off, U. A. won't be making any money off of the event, and the media won't be broadcasting all of your strengths and weaknesses to every villain in Japan with a tv."

The blond headed student with struggling test scores tapped his chin. "Huh, guess when he puts it that way, telivisionising the Sports Festival doesn't seem very safe."

"Besides, if the villains were able to sneak inside and attack us during school hours, think how much easier it would be during a public event. All they would have to do is buy a ticket."

"Man, that's scary." Denki shivered. "I don't even want to think about it."

"Aizawa-sensei," Iida raised his hand. "I have a question!"

"Yeah?" Aizawa drawled. His pain meds were starting to abate and true pain come back. He really just wanted this class over. Or better yet, the whole school day.

"Will family members or friends by allowed to come and support us?!"

"Oh yeah!" The invisible girl, Hagakure Toru, waved her arms about. "I wanted to invite some of my middle school friends! It'd be such a bummer if they couldn't watch me in action!"

"Families of students are invited as well, though there will be no discount ticket like normal."

"Ah man! You mean they'd have to pay full price!" Ashido Mina cringed.

"No. I mean your family would go in for free."

"Why didn't you say that in the first place!" Several students cried out at once.

Honestly, Aizawa liked his ruses, even if they were not always logical.

"Friends can come for free as well. They just have to fill out a form and go through a background check. If you are inviting friends, make sure to hand in those forms in as soon as possible."

"Oh pooh!" The invisible girl clothing slouched in her chair. "That sounds like a lot of work for them."

"Don't worry." Ojiro Mashirao smiled encouragingly across at his classmate. "I'm sure if it means a lot to you your friends will be okay going the extra mile."

"Any other questions?" Aizawa asked, before he lost his student's to their social tendencies again.

The room was silent. Finally. "Good. Remember to take the Sports Festival seriously. It might not garner you popularity in the public, it can still lead you to gaining experience and becoming well known within the hero society. For those of you wanting to go pro, it could still open up a path for you in your future. One chance a year, three chances in a lifetime, no aspiring hero can afford to miss this festival."

His dramatic speech of the day done with, Aizawa started unfolding his sleeping bag, preparing for a well deserved (but sadly short) nap until the next teacher would come. "Class dismissed."

The moment his eyes closed, the students all began talking since there was still a few minutes until next class. Some talked about the Sports Festival, others about Atsui's recovery and what get well/welcome back gifts they were getting her. No one directly brought up the USJ… or their missing student.

Just as Aizawa was about to nod off completely, his phone buzzed.

Not just his phone, but everyone's.

Oh… must be an amber alert or something. He momentarily pauses his descent into exhaustion to check his phone. Just a weather report warning people to stay away. Good, he can go back to sleep.

"Huh," one of the students, Aizawa didn't care enough to match a voice to a name, exclaimed. "Freaky weather phenomenon at Hosu airport. All flights are cancelled and police are urging everyone to stay away. Man, glad I'm not there."

"Wow!" another chimed in. "Check out this news channel streaming the storm right now. It looks really intense!"

All of the children get quiet, the only sound becomes the tinny noise from a phone. The mere fact that the whole class is glued to whatever screen they are watching clues Aizawa into the seriousness of the situation. But Aizawa tries not to care. After all, natural disasters happen all the time everywhere. If it is not happening near him, then there is literally nothing he can do.

Then one student breaks the intense silence with a shocked voice. "What dark madness is this?"

"That has to be the work of a quirk, right?" Another pipes up, fear in their voice. "It's just too weird. Plus, I definitely see some crazy lightshow going on that definitely does not look like lightning."

"Not to worry! I am sure the pro heroes will take care of matters quickly and efficiently! After all, the reporter said one of the agencies responding to the disaster is that of Team Idaten. The pro hero Ingenium is sure to help take care of this matters."

"Ingenium is pretty cool, but… I don't know, dude. If it is a quirk, it's crazy destructive and powerful."

"What ill fortune has trapped those souls within such an unnatural storm? I pray for their deliverance from this evil."

"Yeah, I hope everyone is alright too."

The children fall quiet again, not even the sound of shifting cloth is to be heard.

Then, "Hey! What happened to the live stream?! Why'd it go black?"

"I think…. I think the camera just got smashed."

"You don't think the reporter is… you know."

Silence again.

"Oh god… all those people."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Right before it cut out… Did that remind anyone else of what happened at…. at…. At the USJ?"

No one responded. Aizawa could not sleep now. He had to find out what was going on. He had to find out now.

I'm back baby!

Oh it feels so good to be free again. Writing has become a meditative stress reliever for me. Going so long without being able to express this side of me was not fun, let me tell you.

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this new chapter!