"So, back in the sports festival when you guys were here, who was on your team for the cavalry battle?"

"Zashi, Vlad King, and Best Jeanist."

"Really?!" Hitoshi laughed. "Did everyone you went to school with stay and become a teacher here?"

"I think Oboro would've if he'd still been alive, he always talked about it. Tensei didn't but he obviously had his whole family agency thing waiting for him when he graduated, and Best Jeanist decided to get rich, which wasn't a bad idea." He smirked. "Vlad and I didn't talk at all really back then but he has a competition going between our classes."

"Well there's a reason your students are in 1-A, which means there's a reason you're their teacher too."

"Oh don't get all soppy it doesn't suit you." Shouta teased before throwing out the material of his capture weapon and pulling Hitoshi's foot out from under him, he heard the sound of the kid quickly trying to keep himself upright a few seconds later. "And too slow."

"That was a dirty move."

"Do you think villains play it by the books, no."

"We were having a moment." Hitoshi faked offence.

Shouta shook his head.

"Come on, laps."

"Yes, Sir."

The teen bounced on his heels a few times excitedly before running off.

"You're going to need one of these."

"A blindfold?"

"You gonna' be okay wearing it?"

"Yeah they didn't use these too much, not enough where it bothered me. So what's it for?"

"People look at blindness as something debilitating but out there on the streets it can be a blessing. If you're too reliant on your sight then you're not focusing on what's important. Paying close attention to an enemies' breathing and movements can help you to predict their next move. We're going to train your senses by isolating them which in turn will improve your combat skills too."

"That sounds awesome." Hitoshi smiled.

"Put it on."

The teen followed the instruction.

He took a step to the side.

"Now I want you to take three steps forward."

Despite being unable to see his attempt he couldn't help the smirk on his face as he heard the squeaks on the floor.

"How do you make this look so easy, I mean you run like this?"

"Years of practice. If I couldn't hold my own fighting solo then there's no way I'd be licensed. If you can lose that reliance then your defence will improve tenfold. It also means if you're ever in a situation where the lights go out you'll know what to listen out for."

He moved to stand behind Hitoshi.

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course." The teen answered.

Shouta smiled.

"Glad to hear it."

He unravelled some of his capture weapon.

"If you fall I'll catch you. So, now that you don't have to worry about falling I want you to turn round and try and land a hit on me."

"Why did this go from 'take three steps' straight up to 'punch me in the face blindfolded'?" Hitoshi teased.

"Just shut up and do it." Shouta shook his head.

The teen spun around, tripping over himself before finding the capture weapon wrapped around him.

"I wanna' go again."

"Good, I like that spirit."

Shouta reset Hitoshi before awaiting the move.

The teen tried again, this time successfully managing to turn without stumbling but missed him.

"There we go, you missed but you got the footwork down."

"Aww man…"

Shouta smirked.

"Are you really that excited to punch me in the face?"

"Meh if you're offered the chance of something you might as well take it, you know?"

When lunchtime came Shouta accompanied Hitoshi to Lunch Rush which was strangely quiet with half the school away on placements.

"It's been a while since I've ate in here. The three of us used to just eat on the roof."

Hitoshi smirked.

"The cool kids."

Shouta smiled.

"We were anything but that; there were like two people who talked to us."

"Midnight-sensei and Tensei?"

"Yeah, Nemuri likes to make it out like she was too cool for us back then but she knows she was honorary rooftop gang."

"Rooftop gang, that's so sad."

"Thanks, Hitoshi…"

The teen laughed.

"Anyway, eat up, you need your energy."

He heard the sound of Hitoshi's chopsticks clinking against the bowl a few seconds later before continuing with his own meal.

Footsteps passed them a few minutes later before he could practically feel the teen flinch from across the table.

Paying closer attention he could hear snickers as the footsteps faded in the distance.

"Hitoshi?"

"It's fine." The teen replied quickly before attempting to start eating to avoid his questioning.

"It's not fine, what did they do?"

"Just leave it, Shouta… please."

He sighed.

Hitoshi didn't say anything for what felt like a millennium until…

"Will they ever let me become a hero?"

"What do you mean?" He asked softly.

"I'm a traitor and that's never just going to disappear. If I went to the exam would the commission even want me out there, no one will trust me?"

Shouta took a breath.

"I know what it's like to be deemed dangerous by society. My Dad killed seven people including my Mom. I have a quirk similar to his so everyone expected me to end up like him, despite the fact that he tried to kill me too." Shouta stated. "You can't let them get to you or you'll never climb out of that hole, trust me. I've already been talking to the police and the commission, they are starting to come around more it's just going to take a bit more time but once that bracelet's off you'll have the same chances as every other kid in the country."

Hitoshi was silent for a few seconds before he spoke up.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"After everything that happened, why did you keep the surname?"

"I didn't."

"What?"

"Aizawa wasn't his surname, it was my Mother's." He explained. "After the trial revealed just how busy he'd been, the police were worried the victim's families would track me down if I didn't just pick a random surname. Plus they didn't think anyone would adopt a kid with the surname of a serial killer on death row so there was that too. I didn't budge on my choice and so I legally became Shouta Aizawa, and later Bakugou, technically."

"They really thought people would hurt a kid?"

"Back when I was fourteen some newspaper did a spread covering the case. It was supposed to be some kind of expose about the real story of what happened and it was all lies. The police tried to shut it down quick but they'd already doxxed me, which is not only illegal, but very illegal when against a minor, especially one who's vulnerable and in police protection. Nothing they did mattered though 'cause the story was out there and suddenly everything felt different. People didn't look at me the same and I even got death threats. Some of the families did like a national TV appeal asking everyone to remember that I was as much of a victim as them and to stop the hatred but people could click over to the next channel and see my Dad on death row with a guy in a suit talking in depth about how evil he was. They couldn't draw the line in the sand between me and him."

Shouta fiddled with the material of his capture weapon.

"I remember being so scared to back to school on Monday but turns out I had a much bigger problem. The foster placement I was in saw the picture and knew it was me so they called my social worker and demanded I be sent back. The group home I used to live in was full and the church funded one didn't want me so I ran. And because I'm just that lucky, the second week I was out there saw some of the heaviest snowfall in the history of Japan. So there was me outside on the streets like the idiot I was freezing to death. That's when Mitsuki and Inko found me and every single part of my life got better from then on."

He cleared his throat.

"Sorry, you probably didn't want my entire life's story."

"No, I'm honoured." Hitoshi replied sincerely. "Thanks for telling me, I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Shouta smiled.

"You're a kind kid, Toshi."

He heard the sound of the teen putting his chopsticks down.

"Do you think I could get more food?"

"Eat as much as you want."

"Thanks."

Hitoshi walked off to get a second helping.

"I wonder how the rest of the kids are getting on?"

Later That Week

"There's terror on the streets of Hosu City tonight as strange creatures have descended upon the city. We are hearing reports that numerous heroes are already on the scene but the scale of the damage is already widespread with fire raging through the city. And… what's that? Breaking news, the hero killer Stain has been sighted, the police are telling locals to stay in their homes and if you're on the streets find somewhere to hide if you are in proximity of the West Side…"