A/N: Welcome to the latest, and longest, chapter of FamilyRunsDeep everyone! (So far!)
Okay, so the last chapter was the immediate aftermath of the USJ attack, which culminated in good ol' Present Mic, well, blabbing about Shouta's crush on Shizuna, while she was standing right next to them no less.
And yes, Shouta was understandably pissed.
Did Mic really think he was going to escape his slipup unscathed?
With a friend like Aizawa, no, he was certainly not.
We'll find out what the Erasure Hero did to the loudmouthed blonde in this chapter - somewhat - and see what happens when he and Shizuna finally talk in private.
But first, let's see how Class 1A is faring, shall we?
Chapter 26: After the Raid Pt. 2
After leaving their teachers outside, the students of Class 1-A were quite subdued as they made their way to the locker rooms to change. The chit chat that would usually happen after a lesson was replaced with a silence that only made the two rooms feel eerie and uncomfortable the longer it lasted.
No one was really in the mood to talk as everyone quickly switched their hero costumes out for their regular school uniforms, and that silence followed them as they headed back to their homeroom.
However, once they actually entered said room, some of the students were more than ready to speak their minds. . .
. . . And speak their minds, they did.
"So, that was quite some trip huh?" Ashido mumbled, a nervous smile etching itself on her face as she returned to her desk, testing the waters as she looked around the class.
"It was definitely something alright," Jirou mumbled as she twisted her left earphone jack around her fingers. "Never thought we would face villains so soon. . ."
"Heroes have to be ready for anything. If you're incapable of doing that much, then you should get out of the hero course while you still can!" Bakugou loudly cut in, his words only serving to raise his classmates' ire.
"Lay off Bakugou!" Uraraka called out, looking more disappointed than angered as she glanced at the blonde.
"Uraraka's right," Ojiro jumped in, shaking his head. "We just survived a situation that was life threatening for all of us, and the first thing you want to say is that we should leave if we're not ready for this?"
"He's speaking like he's been doing this for months now when it's still only the first week, for all of us!" Sero added, looking mildly annoyed with the blonde. "I realize now that you hold yourself to a high standard, but that doesn't justify you being rude to the rest of us!"
"Bakugou has definitely shown that he really doesn't care about other people's feelings, or care for any sense of tactfulness for that matter," Daisuke mumbled, his words earning him an angry glare from said classmate. ". . . But he does make a fair point on one thing."
"And what exactly could that be?" Tsuyu asked as most of the class looked at the cat teen with expressions that ranged from curious to absolute disbelief.
"Just because we didn't expect to see villains at USJ, doesn't mean that it was never a possibility." Daisuke emphasized, his tone blunt. "Yeah, we attend one of the safest campuses in the country, but not even U.A's security system is completely foolproof."
"Well, when you put it that way, there's no arguing with you there," Sero admitted before glancing over at Bakugou. "It still doesn't excuse your bad attitude though."
"I don't need to explain myself to you!" Bakugou exclaimed, looking more annoyed than angered.
"Yeah, but you do have to explain yourself to the teachers when your bad attitude starts to show itself again," Yukino cut in, stopping Bakugou before he could speak again. "After all, they have already called you out on it before . . . Give Aizawa-sensei a perfect reason to kick you out of the course, and he could very well take it."
"Tch, whatever. . ." The explosive teen grumbled as he looked off to the side. ". . . My point still stands."
"And you could have been nicer about it," Daisuke bit back in return, completely unbothered by his attitude. "Like Sero said, just because you have a point, doesn't mean you have to be rude about it."
"So, how did all of you manage in the zones after we were all split up?" Yukino decided to ask, hoping to distract from the brewing verbal feud between Bakugou and her brother.
"It was… weird, to be perfectly honest with you," Kirishima admitted as he crossed his arms. "In a split second, we go from trying to fight that weird portal villain, to being dropped into a rundown building crawling with villains. . . Well, that's what happened with me and Bakugou."
"Switch 'rundown building' with 'side of a mountain' and you pretty much get mine, Yaoyorozu, and Pikachu's experience," Jirou mumbled, immediately noticing how the ponytailed teen's face became slightly flustered at the mention. . .
. . . It was not hard to imagine why.
"Oh yeah, I'm so going to talk to her about that moment later," The rocker teen thought as she looked away, smirking slightly. "But we managed to hold our own until some of the teachers found us."
"Midoriya, Daisuke, and I got dropped in what I'm guessing was a shipwreck zone of some kind," Tsuyu said next. "Ribbit; it was just us on a partially sinking boat surrounded by villains with water based quirks."
"It's one thing to get surrounded by villains. It's a whole other story when you're surrounded by villains and water!" Kaminari sighed, slightly shivering at the thought. "That sounds like my absolute nightmare."
"Considering what your quirk is, I can understand why. . ." Uraraka remarked, grimacing slightly.
"How did you all escape?" Todoroki was the one to ask, voicing a question that was on the tip of the tongues of many of his classmates.
"Midoriya had the bright idea to gather up all the spare fabric we could find on the ship, shred it, and then throw it all around the villains to distract them-"
"Is that why you lost your pants?!" Yukino suddenly asked, looking over at her suddenly wide-eyed brother. "I noticed they were missing when we all regrouped."
"Yeah; they became part of the confetti," Daisuke quietly conceded, grimacing slightly. "But hey! I still had my bodysuit, so I wasn't totally pantsless!"
"It's a good thing he did have his bodysuit then," Momo thought, her face turning slightly red. "If he wasn't wearing it, he would have been left in his underwear until we got back to school . . . Of course I would be a good classmate and offer to make a pair of pants or a towel for him so he wouldn't be so bare, but still . . ."
"Hmm, looks like you weren't the only one to lose a piece of clothing at USJ."
Jirou's sudden whisper in Momo's ear almost shocked the heiress out of her shoes, the girl turning her head turning to see the music enthusiast smirking, which only made her red face grow even redder. ". . . Was it something I said?"
"Something like that. . ." Momo whispered in return as she looked away "Must you bring that up again?"
"I just think it's good to know that you and Daisuke have something in common, that's all." Jirou said in her defense, playing innocent as Sero and Kaminari could be heard laughing, and judging from the way Daisuke was glaring at them, it was likely at his expense.
"You are enjoying this, aren't you?"
"A little. . ." The rocker admitted, smirking slightly as she returned her attention back to the conversation at hand, leaving Momo to her flustered thoughts.
"So, what happened after you guys distracted the villains?" Sato asked, regaining the cat teen's attention.
"Well, as I was saying," Daisuke drawled out, shooting one more pointed look at Kaminari and Sero before continuing. "Once they were distracted, Midoriya leapt from the boat and created enough wind pressure with his quirk to cause a freaking whirlpool that caught the villains in its current."
"He created a whirlpool?!" Kaminari exclaimed as most eyes went straight to the freckled teen, who looked quite unsure of all the attention.
"We used that moment of chaos to get out while we could. Daisuke and I, ribbit, leaped from the booth while Midoriya sent another torrent of pressurized wind at the villains to keep them at bay," Tsuyu added. "The momentum gave us enough of a boost that we landed a few feet from the shoreline."
"And then you got out of the water and got the hell out of there?" Ashido asked.
"It's not like we were going to float there in the water and chill for the rest of the afternoon," Daisuke stated in return as he leaned back in his seat. "Plus, when all the surrounding villains have the environmental advantage, it's best to get out the first chance you get."
"You didn't even bother to put up a fight?!" Bakugou called out, only to be answered by Daisuke's disbelieving glare.
"As if you could have done better?!" Daisuke shot back. "Since your quirk is effective based on the amount of sweat you produce, tell me, do you really think you would have fared any better in the Shipwreck Zone, an area where not only do all of your enemies have a definite environmental and tactical advantage, but your quirk wouldn't be as effective either?"
"My quirk would have been effective!" The explosive teen growled, but the cat teen was undeterred.
"But how effective is it against water quirks then hmm? Have you ever tested it out before?" He asked, leaning forward slightly as the two made eye contact, watching him intently as he waited for an answer that was slow coming. ". . . Well?"
The class, having fallen completely silent, awaited Bakugou's response with baited breath, with some looking very eager to hear what he had to say, while others, like Yaoyorozu and Iida, were busy thinking about how the explosive teen would fare in that exact scenario.
Midoriya, with his inquisitive brain, had already developed his share of theories on the matter, but he still looked like he was itching to get a notebook out to jot down notes.
As for Bakugou himself, he so wanted to respond to Daisuke's inquiry, mainly to put him in his place, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he couldn't confidently say that he would have dominated if he'd been dropped into the Shipwreck Zone instead.
He knew that water could have a possible effect on the nitroglycerin-like sweat he produces, but to go against a multitude of villains that could control or had a natural advantage in that element?
That was possibly pushing it.
It would have been sensible for him to use his quirk to escape the zone, but that wasn't his style. To him, that felt like giving up, and as someone who aspired to be the number one hero, he was determined to take on all challengers, and completely eviscerate them. . . But still, the question lingered in the air, and everyone was awaiting his answer.
Unfortunately, the answer he had was not an answer he was happy with, but he wasn't going to give Daisuke the satisfaction of hearing him say it.
Bakugou was too stubborn and prideful for his own good, and even he knew it, but that still wasn't going to stop him in any case.
"So, are you going to answer, or are you just gonna stay silent and not even bother with a response?" The twin finally asked, shaking his head when Bakugou simply turned away. ". . . Well, that answers my question."
"Damn, Daisuke got Bakugou to shut up again!" Kaminari exclaimed, too awed to be undeterred by the explosive teen suddenly glaring in his direction. "Hey! You didn't say anything, so what I said is technically right!"
"I guess you can say that Daisuke is Bakugou's kryptonite, well, from the verbal argument perspective that is," Momo mused as the explosive teen looked like he was trying hard not to set off some explosions in Kaminari's direction.
"Daisuke, how do you do it?" Ashido immediately asked. "What's your secret?"
"Don't argue without the facts to back you up," He advised in return. "If that doesn't work, make them think from your perspective. . . You'd be amazed at the arguments you could win with that move."
"To be honest, that is some very good advice," Shoji admitted, others nodding in agreement.
"Even when I'm catty - no pun intended - I try to be helpful . . . Anyway, once we escaped the Shipwreck Zone, we ran for the main entrance, but that brought us to the plaza."
"Did you guys engage with the villains there?" Iida asked, already looking like he wanted to reprimand them if he didn't hear a good answer.
"Not at first Iida," Midoriya admitted, speaking up for the first time. "We ran up just as our senseis and the villains reached some sort of standoff. If we were going to escape, we had to go through them."
"Why didn't you try to circle around and find a different exit?" Uraraka asked, looking curious.
"Well, we could have done that," Midoriya conceded as Daisuke quietly shrugged. "But with USJ being so unfamiliar to us, and not knowing how many villains there truly were, we figured it was better to not go with the riskier option."
"Can't argue with that one," Kirishima admitted, just as his eyes widened slightly. "Wait! Were you guys there when Onizaki-sensei set off that huge burst of aura?"
"We practically had front row seats," Daisuke mumbled as Tsuyu silently nodded her agreement, her wide eyes making her look perennially traumatized. "There tends to be multiple levels to it, but I've never felt it like that before."
"Her transformed state was just as imposing, if not more," Midoriya added, bringing a hand to his chin. "Out of all the creatures she could have possibly turned into, becoming a naga was not what I was expecting."
"A naga?" Kaminari asked as he turned to his green haired classmate. "What's a naga?"
"A naga, well, a nagani in Onizaki-sensei's case since she is a woman, is a half-human, half-snake being that's a common figure in the cultures and religions of East Asia," Tokoyami suddenly explained. "They're usually seen in a guardian type role and are known as decent beings as long as you do not insult them. . . They are also usually associated with water, and in some myths, they even have wings."
"And how exactly do you know all of this Tokoyami?" Uraraka asked as half the class looked at the raven with wide eyes.
"I have an interest in mythology," He admitted, like it was the simplest thing in the world.
"Well, everyone has to have a hobby right?" Sero asked. "Still, becoming half snake was not what I was expecting. . . There's no visible hints to it, ya know?"
"Oh, you mean like how Daisuke's ears hint to his quirk?"
"That's exactly what I'm talking about Jirou!" The tape quirk user admitted as he pointed in her direction. "She doesn't show any sign of having snakeskin, she doesn't seem to have pointed fangs . . . I just don't get snake from her, you know?"
"What about her aura?" Sato asked.
"Snakes are intimidating, but none of them has a presence like Onizaki-sensei." Tsuyu cut in, sounding like she was almost stating the obvious.
"Okay then, what did you guys think her quirk was going to be then?" Yukino decided to ask, honestly curious to hear their responses.
"I was thinking she was a vampire-themed hero," Sero admitted, going first. "You know, like Vlad King-sensei, just without the focus on blood."
"I'm with Sero on this one," Uraraka admitted, smiling slightly as the tape wielder grinned brightly in her direction. "With her red eyes, tall height, pale skin, and pale blonde hair, your aunt wouldn't look too out of place in a vampire movie Yukino, Daisuke."
"Don't forget the intimidating aura and the penchant for wearing red and black." Ashido added as the door loudly slid open, bringing everyone's attention to the front of the room to find their homeroom teacher quietly strolling in. "Oh, hi Aizawa-sensei!"
"Hmm, you all sounded quite animated on the walk up to this room," He announced, sounding like his usual tired self as he slid the door closed behind him. "You must have been discussing something interesting . . . What happened at USJ perhaps?"
"Well, that was what we were talking about, at first . . ." Kirishima admitted, sounding a little embarrassed as he scratched the back of his neck.
". . . Then we switched the topic to Onizaki-sensei's quirk and how it was something that none of us expected!" Ashido finished, sounding cheerful in comparison. ". . . Speaking of Onizaki-sensei, where is she?"
"And Yamada-sensei!" Kaminari added, exclaiming it as soon as the thought occurred to him. "Did they go back to the crime scene?"
"Present Mic is still outside, thinking over a few things," Aizawa calmly explained as he walked over to the podium. "And Onizaki-sensei is back in the fitness wing. . ."
He trailed off, not wanting to explain more than that. Truth be told, Aizawa had gone down to the fitness wing first to finally talk things out with the blonde, but when he arrived at her office, she wasn't there.
Backtracking, he looked around the wing until he reached the shower rooms that were designated for the teachers, and once he heard what he believed to be her singing voice, he decided to head for his homeroom instead, figuring it was best to leave her to her shower for now and come back later.
Plus, the thought of her singing in the shower was just a little too much for his tired brain to handle at the moment, so he reasoned that seeing his students again would be a good distraction away from such . . . well, scintillating thoughts.
"Aizawa-sensei, what happened to your capture scarf?"
Uraraka's question was innocent enough, but it still made the Erasure Hero pause as he reached for his sleeping bag. When he looked up, twenty sets of eyes were firmly on him, well, his neck specifically, where his signature weapon was nowhere to be found.
"I guess it is kind of odd seeing me without it," He thought, almost grabbing the space where said scarf should be out of reflex. He didn't want to tell them that he used it to hog tie his best friend outside, so he went with a different excuse. ". . . I left it with Present Mic."
"Um, can I ask you a question, Aizawa-sensei?"
"Is it about Onizaki-sensei's quirk?" He asked, looking over at Ashido, the one who asked the question. "It wasn't a difficult thing to guess . . . I did hear you guys out in the hallway after all."
". . . Were we really that loud?" Sato asked, slightly embarrassed for much of the room.
"Considering that the only people currently on this floor is us, yes, yes you were," Aizawa bluntly stated as he looked over the class.
"Um, Aizawa-sensei?" Kouda asked, bringing everyone's eyes on him. He wasn't used to having so much attention directed his way, but he pushed on, bravely ignoring the stares as he spoke in his whisper-like voice. "Has Onizaki-sensei's aura always been so . . . far reaching?"
"Far reaching?" Their teacher asked, his right eyebrow going up slightly. "Why do you say that Kouda?"
"Tokoyami and I were dropped in the, well, I guess you can call it the downpour zone; it was raining to no end where we got dropped at," He started to explain, the mention of said zone instantly making the hero's eyes widen. ". . . It was quick, like a sudden burst, but it was so strong. . ."
"It definitely made us and the villains we encountered stop for a second," Tokoyami added, sounding a little awed rather than unsettled.
"Yeah, yeah . . . She definitely still got it," Aizawa mumbled, immediately realizing that he spoke loud enough for the whole class to hear him. ". . . Ehem, what I meant to say is, yes, Onizaki's aura has always had that kind of effect. . . The fact that you felt it so strongly in the Downpour Zone, which is probably the furthest zone from the plaza, and definitely the furthest from the main entrance, means it definitely hasn't lost its effect from our high school days . . . In fact, it's only gotten stronger."
"Wait a sec! What was her aura like when you guys were students?!" Kirishima asked, his curiosity easily matched by many in the room.
Plus, with their teacher seemingly being in a talkative mood for once, it was best to take advantage while it lasted.
"Onizaki's aura was a . . . surprising thing to experience at first. She mainly used it at the teachers' discretion, or when she was getting her point across, and she was only able to use it on one person at a time," Aizawa reminisced, tucking his hands into his pockets as he spoke. "I never felt how strong her aura could get until a few of my classmates dragged me to campus to check out the Second Years' Sports Festival against my will. . . I still remember how quiet the stadium got when she released it the first time."
"That must have been some sight," Yukino quipped. "I don't think I've ever seen a video of it though."
"Because you won't, unless you check the school's video archives that is," Aizawa admitted, peeking the class' curiosity even more. "Even though the Sports Festivals have been televised for as long as I could remember, the media has a penchant for . . . only favoring the cutesy stories, if you will. They don't tell the full story when they should."
"You mean, they tend to be biased towards certain narratives that likely fit theirs or their associates agenda instead of focusing on the entire picture?" Todoroki surprisingly cut in, taking a couple of his fellow classmates off guard with how harsh his tone was.
Aizawa, for his part, nodded in the affirmative, but was quick to take note of the teen's demeanor, guessing it had something to do with his father, which he couldn't really blame him for. He's met and personally worked with Endeavor before, and from his point of view, the media really didn't give the man's personality enough credit.
He may be one of the top heroes on the scene, but his entire attitude and demeanor was, simply put, absolute trash that was forever burning in a furnace of his own making.
"You're exactly right Todoroki," Aizawa admitted. "Of course, yes, the media is an important part of our society. It's the main source of information for many groups of people, which you would think would prompt those working in the media to be more infallible and impartial with how they deliver such information, but not everyone's perfect . . . I would get more into that, but that's something you'll learn more about in your Second and Third Years, so I'll stop for now."
"Anyway, back when Onizaki competed, she only partly used her quirk as she progressed through the tournament bracket. She didn't utilize her full power till she reached the final round, and she did win . . . But what was supposed to be her crowning moment got lost in the controversial media frenzy that happened afterward," Aizawa continued, looking more annoyed with each word he spoke. "Simply put, some people thought her Naga form, coupled with her aura, was too villainous for someone that was training to be a hero."
He wasn't expecting for his words to cause a complete firestorm amongst his students, but it definitely struck a nerve with them, especially among those whose had the same kind of criticisms leveled their way in the past. It didn't take long for the room to come abuzz with the students' chatter, many of them expressing their displeasure with this new bit of info.
Aizawa ended up being quite pleased with this turn of events, knowing that his students were wisely becoming more desensitized to the more. . . nuanced injustices in their world. They still had a long way to go, but it was a start.
"What a load of BS!" Sero let out, summarizing the current sentiment in the room. "Oh sorry about that sensei."
"You're forgiven . . . But yes, quirk bias, unfortunately, is a mentality that still persists today," Aizawa admitted. "There are people out there that stupidly think that what a quirk looks like or can do is what determines whether or not a person is going to be a hero or villain . . . It's people with such quirkest views that contribute to the negatives in Quirk society today."
"But those people didn't win, well, win in Onizaki-sensei's case, right?" Uraraka asked.
"They definitely didn't . . ." Aizawa admitted, almost smirking. "As soon as the first critics made their opinions known, there was immediate pushback. Her family definitely didn't allow it to get that bad, and U.A. and other heroes and media personalities that got hit with similar criticism were more than happy to join in. . . The pushback got so strong that some members of the National Diet were calling for an investigation on quirk bias in the media."
"So much for media impartiality," Daisuke mumbled as a sharp knocking sound came from the door.
"Indeed. . . Come in!" Aizawa called out, watching as the door slid open to reveal the principal's petite secretary standing in the hallway. "Afternoon Ms. Hinamori. . . Did something come up with Principal Nedzu?"
"Not particularly," She admitted as she walked into the room. She was a short, forty-something year old brunette who barely reached Aizawa's chest when he fully stood up straight, but her eyes held an intense, calculating edge that could only happen when you had a highly intelligent anthropomorphic animal as your direct superior. "Nedzu is still at USJ, but expect a department wide meeting to happen once he returns . . . As for your students, they'll be coming with me to the cafeteria for their interviews with the officers that have just arrived. You'll be giving your statement directly to Detective Tsukauchi correct?"
"That's the plan," Aizawa admitted as he gestured for his students to stand up. "I need to talk to Onizaki first though. . . It's a bit overdue."
Hinamori's eyes widened slightly at that, but her look of surprise quickly disappeared as she nodded her head. "Fair enough; you do what you need to do, and I'll escort your class downstairs."
Shooting her a grateful nod, he quickly made his way out the room, but not before giving his students a quick reminder to act accordingly and respectfully as they talked to the cops. He ignored the curious looks that some of his students sent his way, leaving them to stew in their own thoughts as he walked down the hallway.
After all, even though he was their teacher, he didn't need to tell them everything. . .
. . . Some things, like a potential relationship in the making, were better left unsaid for now.
F ~ x ~ R ~ x ~ D
As Class 1-A followed the secretary to the cafeteria, Aizawa quickly made his way back to the school's fitness wing. When he reached the dojo, he found the shoji doors slightly open, so he slipped inside and walked over to Shizuna's office to find her door open, and her sitting at her desk staring intently at her computer screen.
Her hair was still damp, and she had switched out what remained of her hero costume for civilian clothing, but neither detracted from her overall beauty in Aizawa's eyes, finding himself standing right in front of her doorway, admiring it from afar.
Then again he knew he couldn't stay there forever. . . It would just be a little creepy.
"Hey!" He called to her as he tapped his knuckles along the doorframe. "May I come in?"
"You're always welcome to," She warmly admitted as she looked up to watch him enter. "You took longer to get here than I expected. . . Did you take a detour?"
"Something like that," He admitted as he closed the door behind him. "I came down here earlier, but you were in the shower . . . Figured I'd bide my time and check in with the students for a bit before coming back here."
"Oh, you were down here when I was showering?" Shizuna asked as her fingers paused on top of her keyboard. ". . . Did you hear me then?"
"Yeah, pretty well actually," Aizawa admitted, watching as her cheeks started to blush pink. "You have a good singing voice. It's quite sultry if you ask me."
"I didn't mean to be so loud, but I guess I should be happy that you liked it," She mused, sounding almost embarrassed as she looked off to the side, missing the smirk that crossed Aizawa's face. "And what about Hizashi? You weren't too hard on him were you?"
"I dealt with him, simple as that."
"You dealt with him? That doesn't sound reassuring in the slightest Shouta," She argued, her embarrassment now a thing of the past as he slipped into a chair. "And how exactly did you deal with him, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I hog tied him with my capture scarf and left him in the bushes outside," He bluntly admitted, sounding absolutely unrepentant . . .
. . . Actually, he sounded quite pleased with himself.
"Huh, that would explain why you're not wearing it right now," She mumbled as her eyes settled on his neck and shoulders, particularly the bare part of his collarbones that were slightly peeking out from his shirt.
Aizawa was quick to notice how much her eyes lingered there with unhidden interest and, well . . . yeah, maybe she was more interested in him than he ever thought, which was good news to him in any case. "Eh, I'm sure someone will find him, but how badly did you tie him up exactly?"
"I didn't tie him up too bad; just enough to give whoever frees him a little difficulty in setting him loose," He freely admitted as he leaned back in his seat. "If Mic is found by someone who knows their knots, he'll be fine."
"Aren't you afraid that someone will just say 'Fuck it' and find a way to cut through your capture scarf anyway?" She countered in return.
"The rest of the staff have known me long enough to know that attempting to cut through my scarf is not a good idea," Aizawa mumbled as he reached for his belt. ". . . And speaking of weapons, I need to return yours."
"Thanks for keeping it safe," She said in return as she took the offered katana back. "So, how are the students? I wouldn't be surprised to hear that some of them were a bit. . . out of it now that they're all out of harm's way."
"Everyone experiences their first time in the field against villains differently, but this year, this class. . . I'll admit it. There's something different about them," Aizawa admitted, sounding vaguely impressed. "I know it's only been a couple of days, but from what I've seen so far, they. . . they have that capability to go all the way; to be viable, long lasting heroes that can serve the people."
"Even Midoriya?" Shizuna asked, her voice teasing rather than accusing. "You dubbed him the class problem child for good reason."
"Technically, a number of his classmates can easily hold that distinction as well, for different reasons of course," Aizawa was quick to clarify. "I only gave Midoriya the official title based on his issue being the most obvious the first day."
"The first day of the semester?"
"More like the day of the entrance exam. . ."
"Well, he did make quite the bone breaking impact that day," She sarcastically mumbled, still being able to remember that day clearly."
"Despite his faults, Midoriya has a decent head on his shoulders for the analysis and strategy part of hero work, and if he can learn to properly use his quirk, I don't think anything is going to stop him."
"Maybe his continuous emulation of All Might might, but other than that, yeah, you're not wrong."
"Continuous emulation of All Might?" Aizawa asked, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I might kick myself for asking this later, but what do you mean by that exactly?"
"Hmm, let me count the ways," Shizuna stated as she pushed her keyboard to the side. "Midoriya has shown a tendency to jump into situations without really thinking, something that All Might is known for, especially at the beginning of his career. He did it when he protected Uraraka from the Zero Pointer and he did it earlier to help All Might against the Nomu."
"I see . . ." Aizawa mused, nodding slightly. "Continue! What else do you have?"
"Well, Midoriya's choice of costume is another strike against him. . . The green getup even includes the hair tufts somehow."
"I saw it in the Battle Trials video; you can see the influence, especially from the shoulders up," Aizawa admitted, shaking his head as he remembered making the connection the first time he saw it.
"And there's one more thing worth mentioning. . . His move set," The blonde further added, her eyes narrowing in the way that Shouta knew was her thinking that some BS was afoot. "He moves too much like All Might when he fights, and not enough like Midoriya. . ."
"He's acting in All Might's shadow, rather than being his own person," Aizawa conceded, nodding his head. ". . . And that kind of thinking is never foolproof."
As a man known for having a very logic-based mindset, he wasn't one for entertaining conspiracy theories, but what Shizuna had presented so far was making quite a bit of sense to him. He's all for finding inspiration in something or someone, but there were simply way too many similarities between his green haired problem child and the Symbol of Peace to ignore.
Even now, he can remember how much All Might grinned when they watched Midoriya take down the Zero Pointer.
It wasn't the ecstatic, job well done grin that he expected. It was more knowing, as if he knew to expect what Midoriya had pulled.
And then there was their talk after the apprehension test. . .
"I think you may be on to something, Shizuna," Aizawa finally admitted after taking a moment to think it over. "Yes, Midoriya's emulation of All Might is very noticeable, especially when you look for it . . . but I think there's something more behind this, something that All Might's not telling the rest of us, well, besides maybe Nedzu and Recovery Girl."
"You think so . . ? Well, Yagi's no stranger to secrets," Shizuna said in return, her tone turning thoughtful. "After all, not everyone knows the truth about him and his last encounter with Toxic Chainsaw."
Aizawa couldn't help but roll his eyes at the reminder of the story All Might and the Commission released to the public to hide the truth about his encounter with All For One. Though Toxic Chainsaw was known for being one of the toughest villains any hero could possibly face, he still wasn't capable of dealing the amount of damage AFO dealt Yagi. . . His name was simply a convenient one to use, especially since he was the last one he encountered before AFO appeared . . .
. . . A convenient stroke of luck if there ever was one.
"Everyone has their share of secrets . . . Some just tend to be bigger than others."
"You mean possibly society shocking, but bigger works too," Shizuna mumbled as she went back to work on her keyboard.
"Thanks for the correction," Aizawa mumbled, smirking slightly as he watched her fingers deftly move across the keys. ". . . What are you working on anyway?"
"I'm accessing U.A's security network," She mumbled as she typed in her credentials. "Hopefully there's something from the USJ feeds that can give us some more insight on the break in."
"Good thinking," He admitted, nodding in approval, only for his eyes to widen when he saw her suddenly start scowling. "Nothing?"
"They completely fucked it up," She hissed, her tone sounding a little serpentine as her eyes narrowed slightly. Aizawa was more interested in her eyes than her voice, which seemed to glow a brighter red in response to her irritation. "Come see for yourself."
Accepting the invitation, Aizawa walked around her desk, coming to a stop just over her right shoulder, a grimace crossing his face as he looked at the monitor. The screen was supposed to show the feed of four of the cameras within USJ, but instead, they had been rendered glitchy, almost indecipherable messes.
"The Tech Department is going to have a field day trying to get something useful out of all of this." Aizawa theorized, his eyes feeling itchy just from the sight alone.
"My heart goes out to them. . . Maybe they'll find something on the outside cameras instead," She suggested as she looked up at him.
"Yeah, maybe. . ." He trailed off when he looked down at her, his dark eyes looking directly into her red ones. Now up close, he couldn't help but be amazed at how vivid they were, the shade reminding him of that brand of red wine that Nemuri convinced him to drink one time.
That was a drink he ended up regretting, having not remembered the rest of the night afterward. . .
. . . He was having no such thoughts now.
"Um, a penny for your thoughts Aizawa?" She asked, her head leaning to the side slightly as she started to feel her face turning red again due to their close proximity.
She hadn't noticed how close they were till now, but now that she had, she couldn't help but trace his jawline with her eyes, being as subtle as possible, though a part of her figured that he probably caught her by now. "Is there something on my face?"
"No, no. It's just. . ." Aizawa managed to say before taking a deep breath, centering himself for what he was going to say next. "Your eyes are very beautiful. They're . . . striking, very striking."
"Thank you." Shizuna breathed, her face becoming slightly more flushed in response. "That's so sweet of you to say."
"You're welcome," He said in return as he stood straighter. ". . . And, well, that's not the only thing I wanted to tell you."
"Oh?" She questioned as he walked back to his seat. "What else do you have to say to me?"
"Uh, bear with me, because as you've probably guessed by now, emotions and feelings are not my strong suit," Aizawa warned her as he resisted the urge to bring a hand to his neck. Shizuna quietly agreed, nodding her head as she waited for him to continue. ". . . You see, what Mic said outside, it wasn't his story to tell, but it is the truth."
"I kinda guessed that based on your reaction," She admitted. "That kind of outburst you had. It even took me off guard."
"Yeah, that's usually not how I handle things. . ."
"But, to be honest, I didn't mind it one bit. . . Actually, your angry side is a bit of a turn on."
Shouta's eyes widened at her words, currently in a state of shock, embarrassment, and awe as he looked at the woman sitting before him. Nothing was coming to mind as he digested the fact that Shizuna liked seeing him angry, to the point she described it as a turn on.
He really didn't know what to say to that, but one thing was for sure, he was damn glad that this conversation was turning out way better than he could have ever protected.
"You think my angry side is a turn on?" He asked, simply to make sure what he was hearing was correct.
"Well, actually, I think I like it when you show any strong emotion for that matter," She clarified , not hesitating in the slightest. "It just proves that you're not the completely emotionless man that you show yourself to be to others. . . It proves that there is a heart underneath all that armor you've been putting up over the years, ever since we were younger."
He heard the implications in her words clearly enough. He wasn't an expressive person before attending U.A as a teenager, and he, admittedly, grew worse after Shirakumo passed away.
It wasn't like he completely became a robot. . . He simply became a lot more guarded, even to the people he was close to.
"I guess you're right. . ." He whispered in return. "I have put up my fair share of emotional walls."
"And doesn't it get tiring after a while?"
"I've wanted to break down a couple of times, I'll be honest," Aizawa admitted. "But I never allowed myself to; not to everyone at least."
"But you are letting your walls down for me. . . You wouldn't be admitting that you have feelings for me if you didn't."
"You got me there. . ." His tone was slightly sarcastic as he leaned back in his seat. "But. . . yeah, I've had feelings for you for a long time, since the first day of my freshman year in fact . . . When I saw you walk into my homeroom that first day, I couldn't help but think that you were breathtakingly beautiful."
"Breathtakingly. . . beautiful?" Shizuna thought as she unconsciously brought a hand to her chest, just above her heart. "You thought I was breathtakingly beautiful?"
"I still do, even now."
Shizuna's heart rate had elevated slightly since their conversation started, but it went up another notch as soon as he said those words.
The camera feeds were now a distant memory as she took a moment to really digest what she was hearing, her eyes wide and shining as she watched the usually stoic man sitting before her open his heart to her in a way that a rare few were likely privy to.
He was opening his heart to her, and now she was ready to do the same to him.
"Would you believe me if I said that the feelings are very much mutual?"
"What?" Came Aizawa's smart reply, immediately sitting up straight as he tried to wrap his head around the sudden question that she posed to him. ". . . Um, can you repeat that?"
"Is it that hard to understand? I kinda hinted at it before I left you and Mic outside earlier," Shizuna mumbled, smiling slightly at how cute she found Aizawa's expression to be. "You weren't the only one crushing on a fellow student back then."
"You liked me back then?" Aizawa sputtered. "I mean. . . you liked me back then?!"
"Well, it definitely wasn't love at first sight, if that's what you're wondering . . . It was more of a gradual thing," She admitted. "At first, I appreciated that you had a sensible mind, that you cared about your friends, that you knew when to keep your emotions in check when the situation called for it . . . And then I started to notice your other things."
"What other things?" He immediately asked in return, trying in vain to hide the embarrassment creeping into his tone.
"Just. . . the little things you did; the little quirks that you tend to do without realizing it," She explained, remaining vague as her expression became teasing. "When I realized that I was noticing these things about you, that's when I started thinking that I did care more about you than I previously thought."
"So, to keep things short, we both cared about each other more than we let on," Aizawa summarized. ". . . And neither of us was ready or willing to act on it."
"I believe that sums it up," Shizuna conceded, her face now looking sheepish. ". . . So.
"So. . ?" He asked in return. ". . . So what?"
"Why didn't you act on it? Why didn't you say anything?"
"Well . . . I guess you can say that it felt a little daunting to me," Aizawa conceded as he looked off to the side. "A First Year revealing his feelings to his Second Year senpai?"
"It has been done before!"
"Even when the Second Year is not just your senpai, but also comes from one of the most established hero families in the country?"
"I didn't take you for someone that cared or judged a person on their family lineage."
"I don't, now," Aizawa said in his defense. "But back then, I was still trying to find my footing, and maybe I was a little intimidated by that part of your life, more than I should have. . . Plus, you were my first ever crush, and we were becoming quite good friends! Do you really expect me to be perfectly reasonable in that instance when my history of talking to girls in that matter was basically nonexistent?"
"When you put it that way, you make a fair point," Shizuna mumbled, looking apologetic for even asking the question.
". . . I also didn't help my case by thinking that if I did confess my true feelings to you back then, I may have been ruining a good thing," Aizawa grumbled, shaking his head at his past timidity. ". . . And then when Oboro died, at that point, I definitely wasn't in the right state of mind to think about any potential relationship with you. . . Well, I still cared, but. . ."
"It's okay. You don't have to explain yourself there," Shizuna advised as she got up from her seat. ". . . The trauma of losing one of your close friends trumped everything else."
"Yeah. . . exactly," Aizawa admitted, smirking despite the current topic. "Your knack for guessing works in your favor once again, but what about you?"
"What about me?"
"Why didn't you act on your feelings for me?" He clarified, his tone soft and coaxing despite his blunt question.
"Well, like I said before, my feelings for you grew gradually, and I partially blame my upbringing for that," Shizuna admitted as she took a seat on the lip of her desk, practically sitting right in front of the man that has always caught her eye. "My father always told me and my siblings to always be cautious around people. With a last name like ours, you never know if the new person that you meet wants to genuinely be your friend or just wants to associate with you for the sake of fucking notoriety."
"Understandable . . . I guess you really took it to heart when it came to possible romantic relationships then?"
"Exactly. . . Though it was my mother that emphasized that part, not my dad," She admitted. "My mother had a bad history with boyfriends before she met my dad . . . She didn't want the same to happen for her children, but Sandstorm never really got the memo, well, at first that is."
"Nothing makes you take advice to heart more than a real life example close to home," Aizawa mumbled as he took in the white diamond pattern that decorated the bottom of her red shirt dress.
"Yeah, pretty much. . . I was so hesitant to make the next move that by the time I finally worked up the courage to ask, you were already deep in your grief and self imposed isolation. . ."
". . . That by the time I was starting to get out of it, you were already overseas," Aizawa concluded, shaking his head. "And I was jumping headfirst into hero work."
"And yet, here we are, over a decade later, back at where it all began . . . It's amazing how things can come full circle."
"It is, but to be honest, it feels more like a second chance," Aizawa mused as he watched her move, taking in every inch of her as he prepared to say his next words. ". . . And I don't want it to pass me by this time around."
"Wha-. . ." Shizuna managed to say as Shouta stood up, his eyes now intently on hers. "Are you saying that you want to give it a shot? You want to give us a shot?"
"That's exactly what I want," He admitted, finding the nerve he wished he had back then. "Look, Shizuna, we've already admitted to each other that we liked each other then, and that we still like each other now, even after all this time. . . After admitting all that, and I'm shocked that I'm even managing to say this, why not take a leap of faith and see where this takes us?"
"I never expected that fanciful question to come out of your mouth, but I'm impressed that you're so bold to say it. . . You do know that there are possible issues that can come from this if we choose to pursue this right?" She asked, her tone half serious, half teasing as she too stood up.
"We're not going to rush into anything. . . We'll take things slow, one day at a time, and if a problem does arise, we'll figure something out . . . The two of us are too logical to think otherwise, don't you think?"
"Hmm, fair point," She conceded. "And if it wasn't for the 'logical' comment, I would have thought you took your little speech from some old rom-com you watched."
"I didn't take the words from a rom-com, but I was inspired by one that didn't bore me to tears," Aizawa sheepishly admitted, trying to not look too embarrassed.
"Romantic comedies don't seem like a genre you'd willingly watch, so let me guess . . . Mic and Midnight?"
"Mic and Midnight," Shouta admitted as Shizuna's amused expression returned. "They've managed to rope me into a few of their movie nights."
"As they should! We don't need you becoming a complete shut in on us after all," She playfully reprimanded him, her tone managing to bring a smirk on his face. ". . . So, us, in a relationship?"
"Yes, us, in a relationship," Shouta repeated, surprising himself yet again by reaching out to take hold of one of her hands, reveling in its softness for a hot second before pushing forward. "So, what do you think?"
"This is probably the most emotional I've seen you in quite a while, but knowing you, you wouldn't be like this if you didn't mean it," She admitted as she looked down at their conjoined hands, and Aizawa couldn't help but feel his smirk widen as he watched her face soften. ". . . And I think you're right. This is something definitely worth pursuing."
"So, it's a yes?" Aizawa asked, his tone almost uncertain as he held his breath. . .
. . . And then that uncertainty went away with one quick kiss to the cheek, courtesy of the woman who has long held his affections.
"It's a definite yes Shouta," She confirmed, grinning from ear-to-ear as she leaned her head close enough that their foreheads touched.
Unlike with most people he encountered, Aizawa was reveling in the close proximity that the two were sharing, closing his eyes to enjoy the comfortable silence the two had fallen into. . .
Only for it to end thanks to the phone buzzing in his pocket. "You have got to be kidding me. . ."
"Hmm, shouldn't you answer that?" He heard Shizuna ask, opening his eyes to see the slightly knowing look on her face.
"I'd rather let it go to voicemail, but something tells me that would be a bad idea," He mumbled as he reached into his pocket, pulling it out to check the screen. ". . . It's Recovery Girl."
"Looks like your instincts were right," Shizuna mumbled as Aizawa took the call. ". . . That woman hates being left on read."
"Yeah, yeah. . . We'll be right there," Aizawa grumbled into the receiver before hanging up, ending the call before a minute could even pass. "She wants to check us over before the meeting starts. . . Nedzu's still at USJ, but he should be coming back soon."
"Well, we had to see her again eventually before the day was up," The blonde reminded him, trying to not be amused at the look of annoyance that crossed his face.
After all, Recovery Girl and Aizawa did have their issues, mainly due to her believing that he didn't take good care of himself, and him not really disputing that. "So, shall we go?"
"By all means," Aizawa conceded as she started leading them forward, out of the room and into a new beginning. ". . . Lead the way."
A/N: Okay, it's "a few things" time. . .
- Again, in this story, the students are not going to tolerate Bakugou's behavior, pass it off without any repercussions, or play it off for laughs like they usually do in canon. They will call him out on it and show more agency. . . And of course, Bakugou will remain as stubborn as ever, for now that is.
- Since the effectiveness of Bakugou's quirk is determined by the amount of sweat he produces, you have to think it wouldn't be as effective as it usually is if he suddenly found himself in the Shipwreck Zone, especially if he fell in the water. Like, his sweat would just be washed away wouldn't it?
- I really had Shizuna's quirk being snake-themed planned out from the very start, but looking back, I did give her a vampire-esque vibe didn't I?
- Quirk bias is real in canon, it's definitely real in my story, and Aizawa is understandably disgusted by it.
- I'm pretty amazed that the whole Midoriya-All Might connection isn't delved into more by others in the early chapters of the canon story. Like Todoroki does the whole "Secret love child" bit that gets memed to death now, but no one else seems to make this connection in the story . . . For my story, I want people to notice the connection more, particularly those that should have noticed it in canon, like Aizawa. He and Shizuna are starting to see it, and let's just say the more they look into it - which they will - the more they'll find out about things they never thought possible.
- Yes, I finally established one of the central couples of this story! The other two will happen soon, but for now, enjoy the AizawaxOC goodness.
Next chapter will be Part 3, where the staff will come together to discuss USJ, and maybe find out about Aizawa and Shizuna's new status.
For now, this is SandsnakeQueen signing out!