Walking down the corridor, the familiar figure of Eijirou's homeroom teacher appeared, cane tapping against the floor.
"Excuse me, Mr. Aizawa, was it?"
He stopped.
"I'm Haru Kirishima."
"Ahh, I'm glad to know that Kirishima has had someone here for him, I was worried."
Haru winced a little. He'd been to the parent-teacher conferences as Eijirou's legal guardian and so the school must have known something was up. He doubted his little brother would have mentioned about their family situation to the teachers at UA but there was a strong chance they already knew from the news reports about him and their father.
Eijirou wasn't a bad kid he just cared about people and struggled to say no to family which is what led him to the mess he ended up in with the law. He'd been watching TV when the call came through from the police station explaining what had happened, the voice stating that his little brother was currently under arrest.
Getting the address of a hospital had left his heart dropping as he raced over fuelled by fear of his brother's condition.
He'd walked into the room to find police guarding the door and a handcuff securing Eijirou's wrist to the bed. There was also the large bandage on his shoulder too from a bullet.
His thirteen-year-old kid brother had been shot.
He was ready to kill their father that night but the coward was unsurprisingly nowhere to be found leaving Eijirou to face the music for his fuck-up.
As the policeman stated exactly what was going to happen to him, Eijirou didn't raise his head or shed a tear, he just accepted what he'd done and awaited the punishment without even a word or defence for himself or attempting to deflect blame.
The year that followed was the worst he'd ever experienced.
With Eijirou shipped off to a juvenile detention centre he made sure to visit as often as they would allow with his little brother's perfect record of behaviour meaning that bimonthly visits became twice weekly visits. He'd only received two calls from the staff asking him to come over as quickly as possible. The first was early on in the first week of Eijirou being at the centre after their mother had paid him a visit and for all intents and purposes disowned him right then and there, stating that he wasn't allowed to see Eiko either in case he corrupted her.
Now obviously, he hadn't taken that well. He'd arrived to the counsellor assigned to his little brother looking older than his years, emotion clear on his face as he led him through to Eijirou's room where he was curled up on the bed with dark red eyes from crying.
Getting him calmed down took hours and the phone call he'd made after he'd stormed back to the car had been even longer.
The other time had been when his little brother had caught some kind of flu. His body was really struggling to fight it off leaving Eijirou barely conscious and deathly pale. It had been terrifying to see his usually strong brother reduced to the state he was in. They'd transferred him to hospital after he began to struggle for breaths. It was a long three days.
That year also saw him constantly arguing with their mother. By the end their relationship was reduced down to nothing and neither side particularly cared. He had no interest in a woman who would so easily throw her child to the dogs like she did, kicking him when he was already down so low.
When Eijirou's release date approached he finally heard back from social services with the approval of parental guardianship rights. Talking round Kichi hadn't been easy. She had been worried about Eijirou being a bad influence on Osamu but it had taken some reassurance that he was going to have a firm talk with his little brother about ground rules before she finally agreed to let him stay.
After he'd collected his brother from the centre he'd ran through everything in the car ride back to the house. His stern voice had seemed wrong as Eijirou nodded in agreement with every point he'd made, even the ones about having to find somewhere else to live if he encouraged Osamu to do anything illegal or dangerous.
This was his brother who'd been framed by their father; the kid who would give everything he had and then some to even a complete stranger. He wasn't dangerous, or violent, or a threat to his family, he wasn't a juvenile out to make trouble, or a thief, he was a thirteen-year-old who was clearly trying not to cry as he listed through the rules, hearing how even his older brother, the last connection he had to his family, was ready to throw him to the curb if he screwed up again.
Eijirou fit in pretty quickly though, with Kichi coming to adore the kid in a few days. Osamu took to him immediately constantly asking to be picked up, or for them to play superheroes together. He'd caved and allowed him to buy the box of hair dye he'd been begging for and soon his now red-haired brother was heading back for what was left of his final year of middle school.
By graduation he was a different kid entirely thanks to a new friend and a drive to get into UA High. He'd flourished even more after being accepted, something he'd been thrilled to hear from the teacher standing before him in the corridor. He remembered that first conference when he'd first asked Mr. Aizawa to be truthful about whether Eijirou was fitting in. The reply he'd received nearly brought him to tears as he heard that he was friends with the entire class.
"I know this is probably a weird place to be doing this, but I just want to say thank you."
The teacher furrowed an eyebrow.
"I'll be honest I was expecting anger rather than thanks. I have been meaning to come and apologise for not being there for Kirishima during the raid."
"Oh no, the pro he's been interning with came and explained more this morning, he said you were all split off into different groups at the time my brother was fighting so unless you could be in two places at once I don't see what more you could have done."
"Well I'm glad he's alright at least, he should be very proud of how he handled himself against those villains."
Haru smiled.
"My little brother is a very different person since joining your class and I don't know how much you know about him from before he was accepted into UA, but I'm very thankful that you have all allowed him to show what kind of person he really is rather than labelling him purely from news reports and rumours."
"Trust me when I say that I understand what it's like to be presented in a demonizing way through the media. Kirishima is going to be an incredible hero one day, one that will make you very proud."
"He already makes me proud."
A smile came to the teacher's face.
"I'll try and come visit him at some point, but if I'm unable, tell him I'm asking after him and wish him a fast recovery."
"I will do, thank you."
The teacher gave a nod before continuing on down the corridor.
Haru headed back to the room.
Inside Eijirou was tapping away on his phone with a half-eaten apple he was working his way through in the other.
"Oh hey!" His little brother smiled as he came through the door.
"Brought you some ramen."
"Nice, thanks, Haru."
He placed the container down on the table by the bed before taking a seat. He watched as Eijirou opened the polystyrene and grabbed the wooden chopsticks before tucking in.
"Hey, you know I'm proud of you, right?"
Eijirou paused, eyes not rising to meet his.
So no then. Figures.
"Well I am, incredibly so."
He noticed his brother's hand shake a little before light sobs accompanied tears trickling down his cheeks.
Haru smiled, reaching out to place a hand on Eijirou's shoulder and giving it a squeeze.
"Thank you." His little brother's small voice replied.
