"I don't remember getting a meeting when I came to UA, why the sudden change now with this new teacher?" asked Hizashi as he walked down the hall with Shota. The underground hero hummed as a reply as he was drinking his coffee. He had barely slept after his night patrol, having been noticed of this meeting last minute. "Maybe some big shot who needed it to work" shrugged the tired man, entering the meeting room, taking a seat next to the blond.
Hizashi kept on talking about who it might be, Shota simply listening as he didn't care much, he was simply waiting for it to end so he could go back to sleep. Then he felt something familiar, making him frown as he looked back at the door, making Hizashi stop in his monologue as he didn't understand why the sudden change in his friend expression.
He turned back to the door too only for everyone to finally see Nezu getting it, followed up by All Might. It was a bad joke right? Since when was he back in Japan? Why didn't he heard of it?
All Might had been taken aback when he saw Eraser Head in the group of teacher, hesitating slightly in his step before quickly taking back his composure, focusing on keeping his muscular form for now.
Nezu then started to explain how All Might would become a new teacher at UA. The underground hero couldn't understand why he suddenly felt like becoming a teacher when all he could think about was saving people. Then he heard mention of an injury, All Might finally letting go of his muscular form, shocking everyone in the room.
Eraser head's stomach couldn't help but drop a little at the sight of his mate looking like this. He couldn't stop from staring at the man since he had entered the room and All Might wouldn't even look at him, not helping him to see what that injury could be.
Nezu didn't go into detail about what the injury was, only doing a briefing about how it should be kept secret. Then came presentation, everyone stating there name and heroes name. Everyone seemed pretty excited about the idea of working alongside the number one hero, even Hizashi could barely contain it, needing to keep a check on his voice not too blast everyone ears off.
"Aizawa Shota, hero's name Eraser Head, but I doubt my name reached someone like you" he couldn't help but comment, surprising everyone in the room. Sure he wasn't the most welcoming person on earth, but he had never sounded this cold before. Hizashi looked rather confused, not understanding where that comment was coming from. He could remember hearing about the two of them often working together before All Might went to America, the hero wouldn't have forgotten so easily about Shota, would he?
"Oh no I have heard of you, don't underestimate your work" smiled awkwardly All Might, trying to play along if the alpha was trying to act as if they never met before.
Then came a time for questions, Eraser Head grabbing back his now cold coffee as he wasn't ready to stick for that part, some calling out to him asking where he was going. As curious as Hizashi was, he figured he could ask his own questions later on, getting up as he quickly made an excuse for his friend "He had a night patrol, he's just a little grumpy".
He then jogged back to join his friend, trying to make him stop in his track as he was walking quickly. "Sho! Wait for me, Sho!" tried to call the blond, finally grabbing his arm to make him slow down. "What was it just now? That was pretty cold, even for you" he asked, clearly looking confused and concern for his friend, wondering if something had happened.
"It's nothing" tried to lie the underground hero. Yet he could see that the radio host wasn't really convinced by his words, the shaking of his hands were probably not helping. He hated how upset he was at the sudden return of All Might and not having received even a word about it only made him feel as if he truly had been nothing to the omega. He had too many feeling clashing against one another and being tired wasn't helping him in processing them correctly.
Seeing how Shota wasn't feeling so right Hizashi dragged him inside one of the empty classrooms, hiding from the people that were coming from the other end of the hallway. "Do you want to talk about it?" he carefully asked, unsure of what could have made him so upset at the arrival of All Might. Something must have happened between the two of them, there was no way his friend would be this upset otherwise.
"It would be too complicated without important detail" simply answered the man, putting his cold coffee on a desk, closing his eyes as he tried to calm himself down. The blond hated seeing him like this, it was reminding him of... a couple of years ago? Shota missed the frown on his friend's face, feeling like this was too familiar.
Yet he couldn't bring himself to ask about it, anything touching too much what had happened eight years ago was a real landmine and he wasn't ready to see his friend dive back into how he was. He had been doing better in the past years, he couldn't just bring that up, especially right now. "Maybe some sleep will help you feel better" suggested Hizashi after his expression softens a little, "I can come and makes some foods for you once you wake up in the afternoon" he added, laughing at the roll of eyes his friend gave him, already feeling more like Shota.
Well, maybe he could try asking later, or even interrogating All Might about it.
Afterwards Eraser Head and All Might hadn't interacted much, the only notable one was when All Might came to spy on his first test for the 1-A class. He noticed the attention he was giving to the young omega, unsure if he should be surprised or not about it since he had the experience to help him.
Other than that one time, they were keeping interaction to a minimum and only when necessary. All Might out of fear he would be bothering the alpha, having caught pretty quickly that Eraser Head was sure he had used him for his own benefit. Eraser Head out of irritation and a sort of self-defence, if he kept his wall up he couldn't get hurt the same way he was eight years prior.
The other teachers were rather unsure what was the deal with these two, yet didn't dare to ask. Eraser Head would most likely ignore their questions, whereas they weren't sure if it was really okay to ask All Might. Hizashi was the first one to try and calm down tension when things were going a little sourer, he knew Shota enough to see when things would turn bad.
Yet sometimes they had no choice but to interact. Sometime the underground hero would need to give him documents or ask a question, but he would always keep it short and concise, All Might following that idea too. The only reason why All Might would need his help was when he was getting stuck with his computer or something related to his teaching. He would try to ask some help from Nemuri and Hizashi first, but sometimes it couldn't work.
"Sorry Yagi," said Nemuri after he asked if she could help with a computer problem, "I would like to help you, but I will be late for my lesson if I don't go now, Hizashi and Shota could help you". She hadn't finished her suggestion that the blond could feel annoyance coming from his back, knowing Hizashi was currently out to get some food.
He didn't even have the time to ask that Eraser Head got up with a sigh, walking up to his desk to see what the problem was. "I already told you four times how the system work" sighed the man, it wasn't that hard to use the school system to add students grades in. He understood that All Might wasn't too used to work with computers, but it shouldn't be this hard to understand. "Shota, don't be so hard on him, he's new to this" commented Nemuri before leaving, making the man roll his eyes as she clearly wasn't the one who had to explain it four times.
He found some paper and a pen, putting it on the desk. "This is the last time I explain, take note and don't lose them" he stated, All Might nodding as he started to take notes on what was explained. He noticed how Eraser Head was explaining a little more than what he needed, nearly going back over all the part of the system they were using the most. This made him smile a little, despite how annoyed and busy the man was, he was still taking the time to rexplain correctly everything to him.
"Thank you Aizawa" smiled the blond, only receiving a hum as the underground hero was going back to his seat. "Can I thank you with a coffee?" he then asked. Eraser Head was about to reply, only to be cut off by Hizashi "Sho guess who's a great friend and brought back some of your favourite coffee?~". "I don't have a favourite coffee" replied the man.
"Don't be like that, you are going to break my heart," complained playfully the man, setting the cup down on the table, "And to think I went and made the cup to your liking," he said with a smirk. Shota was then staring at the cup of coffee, covered with cat stickers. He did seem a little amused by it, taking to cup to drink some coffee, turning back to All Might, "Next coffee is on you" he said, his own way of accepting the offer.
Having him accept his offer made All Might smile, not really expecting for him to actually accept it. "Of course".
The second time they really talked to each other was after the attack of the Villain League.
Eraser Head had jumped into battle to protect his student, knowing it was nowhere near advantageous for him to fight like this. It had been quite some time since he was stuck in such a situation and with no back up it wasn't easy. Really, where was All Might when they needed him? Well, with one of the students on his way he should be coming to help them, so it was already that. He supposed that later was better than never.
One the other hand All Might was already regretting arriving late like this. His body had gone cold when he saw in what state his mate was, making him want to lose it and protect him as much as possible, yet all he could do was leave him to other for now.
And from there, things kept on becoming worst and Eraser Head instinct had kicked in when he felt that things were becoming bad for his mate. He had this want to go back and protect him, yet right now he was absolutely useless. Though, upon forcing himself to take a look through the pain he noticed how All Might seemed disadvantaged from his left side. His injury? He would need to ask about it later if it was such trouble other than just shortening how long he can keep his muscular form.
Then thing blacked out from there, he could remember vaguely Hizashi coming to see how he was doing. Many broken bones, especially near his eyes, were clearly nothing to brush off as nothing, even for him. The next time he woke up it was to two voices speaking in the corner of the room. He first recognised the radio host voice, for once he was talking more quietly. He seemed to be telling the other person what his injuries were and what problem it could cause.
He wondered who the other person was, until he could feel a wave of guilt crashing on him, understanding quickly it was All Might. Hizashi was telling the man that he could stay here and wait for him to wake up. Eraser Head was about to make it know that he was awake, but stopped himself when he heard what the other pro hero was saying, "I don't think Aizawa would enjoy my presence here when he wakes up".
"Nonsense," retorted Hizashi, "I don't know what happened between you and Shota, but I am sure he would be happy to hear you are alright". Then came a pause, uncertainty coming from the same general direction of the voice. "Don't believe me? I was told Shota had become really agitated when you were suddenly in trouble, clearly he wanted to go and help despite his state". The man wanted to groan, he couldn't deny that it was really what happened, but he wasn't expecting for whoever was near him at the time to run their mouth about it.
"Quite talk... in people's back" he managed to get out, more quietly than he would have expected. His whole body couldn't move for now and his full-face hurt? No wonder he had no clear memory of actually talking with Hizashi earlier. "Sho, you are awake?" asked Hizashi, only to receive a groan this time, taking it for a yes.
"How are you feeling? Probably not so great" asked the radio host, Shota wanting to roll his eyes despite the pain. "Not much" he managed to get out. All Might must have been sensing his irritation and pain since he quickly added: "If you are hurting you don't need to talk".
"M'fine" he managed to get out, hearing footsteps getting closer. He really hated having his sigh taken away, trying to guess who it was only by the sound. It was a little too fast to be All Might and if he was also stuck in the hospital he was most likely not wearing boots. "You sure? I can call the doctor if you are in too much pain" suggested Hizashi. "It's alright" he simply said.
After making sure a couple other times, the radio host was finally out the door, needing to be elsewhere for now. A silence then fell into the room, All Might unsure as to what he was supposed to do now. "If you stay... Just sit down" said the underground hero, the blond was most likely injured from the fight too and standing was probably not the best.
He thought the man would simply go away, but instead, the footstep came closer to the bed, hearing someone sit on the chair near it. "I'm sorry" finally said All Might after some silence. He hummed at his apology, unsure about which part exactly he was apologising for. "I shouldn't have strayed from my teacher's duty, I should have been there with you, I should have been able to keep you safe, I shouldn't have used up part of my time on something else".
Eraser Head really wanted to click his tongue at this, "I already know you can't let bad thing happen... You still came in time" he simply pointed out. He honestly couldn't be sure himself if they wouldn't have just killed him if All Might hadn't suddenly appeared at that moment. Sure he was in a bad state right now and he would probably have permanent damage, but at least he wasn't dead.
"'M sorry too" he then said, feeling All Might confusion and surprise at his words, "I wasn't strong enough... to not worry you.. or protect you" he stated, "'M not that great of a mate... I suppose". He was supposed to be able to help and save his mate, yet he had to be saved and put in a hospital bed.
"Don't say that," quickly replied the blond, disapproval in his voice, "I'm proud of having a mate that can protect this well the people he cares about, you shouldn't be judged from how you perform with me", he explained. Then both would be failures in that case, as they hadn't done really great in nearly a decade. The blond being the worst of the two in All Might's opinion.
The underground hero had been taken by surprise by his word, not expecting it. He wasn't sure how to react to them, as the past years had messed up a little how he was feeling towards the blond. Yet, he couldn't help but feel some relief and hope somewhere in himself, something that really wanted to chase away what he had convinced himself in the past eight years.
He turned his head slightly towards where the voice was coming from, a little frustrated that he couldn't see Yagi. He really wished he could see his face to analyse if what he was saying was true or if it was just to make him feel better. Yet all he could get from the blond was this feeling of certainty in his words.
"Still doesn't change... I couldn't help you" pointed out Aizawa, as it was clearly something that was bothering him. "I can save myself," said the man, the underground hero betting he was making one of those fake smiles to reassure him, "It was all due to my poor choice yesterday, I didn't have enough time anymore" he pointed out.
Aizawa could guess it was because of his injury, and this made him want to ask about it. Yet right now he couldn't do much to ask or even see. He took note that he would ask again later on.
He then started to feel sleepy again, the medication probably the one doing so despite him having woken up only a couple of minutes earlier. He warned the older man, only for him to reply by saying he should indeed sleep more. "We can... finish this discussion another time" suggested Yagi, sounding a little hesitant about the idea of going back on the subject.
It took a little while before either of them were really able to be alone. Neither Nemuri nor Hizashi would leave the underground hero alone because of his injuries. Also, it was as if the blond knew what he wanted to talk about and was avoiding him for that exact reason, he wouldn't be surprised if their bond had given him away. It was that or he was still feeling bad for his injuries despite not being his fault.
It was getting rather annoying to not be able to see him alone and to not help there had been the sports festival and its preparation, which left him even less time to talk to him. Only once he was fully healed, or at least enough to be able to work patrol again, was he able to trap the man in the empty classroom where he was finishing picking up documents.
He could feel how apprehensive the man was, not looking directly at him. "We have a discussion I want to pick back up, I had questions too," said Aizawa. The blond was probably about to play dumb, but then he met the serious eyes of the man, both knowing he wouldn't have forgotten. He simply nodded, putting down his documents, "Of course… what did you want to ask?".
"I want to know more about your injury" he finally asked, frowning slightly when he saw how tense the man suddenly became, looking ready to close himself off. "It really is not-".
"Don't say it" warned Aizawa, his tone always as even, despite some anger slipping in, "It cannot be nothing if it affected you enough that you can barely keep your hero form for more than a couple of hours a day" he added, trying to keep in his anger and annoyance, not wanting for the man to be more anxious because of him. "And that's without mentioning how it affects your everyday life, don't think we are blind, we just play along with your stubborn ass when you still seem able to do the work".
Clearly, Yagi couldn't convince him the injury was nothing and all he had said was true. No minor injury would have reduced him to barely be able to use One for All, or even affect his everyday life the way it did. He sighed when he understood that Aizawa wouldn't be one he could lie to, compared to the others who would give up after some time. After all, who would try to force All Might to talk about something personal?
Aizawa would, and he was going to do so.
But Yagi still didn't want to show him. He was barely starting to be alright with it himself and it was far from pretty to look at. It was the reason for his weakness, reminding him of how close he had been to losing against All for One. He would rather not share it with any more people if he could.
And there was this little voice in his head telling him Aizawa would somehow react badly, but more towards himself than towards the blond.
Aizawa didn't like the silence he received, feeling as if he couldn't even be trusted with knowing what kind of past injuries the man had received. "Am I that bad of a mate for you?" he then asked, past worries slowly coming back, "Am I that bad that you cannot even show me some weaknesses from time to time?".
Yagi was startled by the slight shaking he could hear in his voice, looking up to see how Aizawa was looking as if he was going to close himself off again. He could also feel a lot of self-doubt coming from the man. Then he remembered: the man had probably seen his leave for America as something negative. "That's not it!" he quickly said, trying to stop him before Aizawa was back to not letting him in.
"Then show me! Like that I will be able to help you in the future" said loudly the man, startling himself by how loud he had been, but also by how desperate he sounded to know. This seemed to also have surprised the older man, yet when he didn't receive any answer from the man, Aizawa decided to give up, not wanting to try and order the other one around either.
He was stopped in his track by a heavy sigh, his name being gently called out to make sure he wouldn't go away yet. He turned back to the blond, seeing him still hesitant as he was fiddling nervously with the buttons of his shirt. "Promise me not to tell the others, I'd rather this stay known of as little people as possible" simply asked Yagi.
Aizawa seemed to relax a little at that, the words sounding rather familiar, but not commenting on that as he simply nodded. Then the blond proceed take of his coat, still hesitating before lifting the bottom of his shirt, showing the large scar on his left side.
He wasn't sure what he was expecting from the alpha, but receiving nothing as if the man had short-circuited wasn't it. He looked up only to see how pale the man had gotten, looking extremely surprised, worried and terrified at the sight of this large scar. Aizawa took a couple of steps towards him, his hand going to touch him, only to suddenly back off when he saw the man twitch away from his touch. The blond was fast to grab his wrist, not wanting for him to think it was because he didn't want to be touched by him, "I'm not used to people trying to touch it" he admitted, letting go of his hand when he seems to not backing off anymore, "The skin is sensitive and I rarely get touched there gently" he explained, even though he could barely call it being touch, but more punched.
The underground hero seemed to hesitate a little, before gently touching the skin, tracing along some parts of the scars. The man had a complex expression on his face, Yagi already guessing what he might have been thinking about. "Aizawa..." he gently said, the fingers stopping their movements, "Please don't blame yourself, I was the one who wasn't careful enough" he pointed out.
"But if I had come with you I could maybe hav-" tried the underground hero with a frown, sounding frustrated at himself, stopping when he felt a hand gently touch his cheek, making him look up. "I don't think the outcome would have been that different and I wouldn't have forgiven myself if something had happened to you," he said softly.
This was probably the one positive thing in his opinion, not being there meant that Aizawa's instinct wouldn't have pushed him to try and save him. He could only see the bad hypothetical outcome where the man would get out heavily injured, or worst. Going against All for One was his battle and he couldn't bear the thought of others paying the price of his own lack of strength compared to the man.
"You now have plenty of time to save me if needed" he pointed out, his hand slowly sliding away from his face as he looked a little hesitant, "Or at least if you still want me around even after all of this". Things had only recently started to be vaguely alright between them, but it didn't mean Aizawa wanted him again after leaving him behind the way he did.
There was a slight silence when the underground hero put his hand back to his side, still looking unsure about something. "Yeah... I will have plenty of chance to do that" he responded, somewhat giving Yagi an answer about whether or not he still wanted him around. Although, Aizawa would rather not have to save him all the time, meaning he would be safe in the first place. This seemed to make the blond relax a little as he was straightening his clothes, feeling better about the idea of him not completely pushing him out of his life.
Things had gotten better with time, as they managed to warm up again to the other one, catching up slightly to what they had missed in the past eight years. Awkward silence and sometimes tension were making themselves less and less present when they were alone, slowly getting back to where they were when they first officially met.
Of course, this didn't really go over the other teachers head, those closest to them happy to see that their relationship was getting better. The start of the semester hadn't shown a really good start, especially from Aizawa's side. It was indeed good to see him be in good term with the man.
Yet, Hizashi couldn't get out of his head this impression that there was a little something more, unable to forget what had happened that day when Yagi had been presented as the new teacher this year. Yes, he remembered that Shota had worked with the blond, yet even if something had happened it couldn't have been something that could have him react in such a way.
Yet he couldn't get anything out of his friend, the man always either changing the subject or just straight up telling him he didn't want to talk about what had happened. Even coming from Shota, who wasn't really the most open on how he was feeling most of the time, would have told him at some point. Yet, he got nothing, so he thought maybe the tall blond could help.
It was even a good time to ask since the man seemed to be having something on his mind, and they were both alone in the teacher's room. "Yagi, is everything okay? You seem to have something on your mind" he pointed out, catching the man's attention. The taller blond seemed to hesitate before finally giving a small reassuring smile. "It's nothing, I was thinking about something young Midoriya told me the other day," he said.
The radio host had his attention grabbed even more, despite it not exactly being on what he wanted first. "Oh? I didn't think All Might would go to his students for help" he commented. He was barely coming to them for help, and despite not wanting to reduce their students, they might not have as much insight as adults.
"The topic... came up after he asked, although I don't think it is very professional of me to talk about a past relationship with my student" tried to explain the man, Hizashi feeling like he was missing some key information on the situation. He wasn't expecting the topic to be relationship-oriented, especially when talking with a student. But he was indeed missing the whole context and Midoriya was clearly something a little more than just a random student for Yagi. It was hard to miss that last part.
"I see, then what was his advice? Maybe I could help too, I am great at giving advice, my dear listeners often call to get them" he said with a grin, rolling his chair closer to where the man was sitting, ready to listen.
The hero looked away for a moment, looking unsure as to tell him or not. After an instant he must have decided it was alright, since he turned back to him, putting down the pen he was using to write. "It was about someone with whom I had a bad departure and he suggested that I should talk honestly to this person about what I feel, so potential misunderstanding could be taken care of".
Hizashi hummed at his answer, thinking it wasn't such a bad idea. "Was it really bad? What happened? Well, if you don't mind telling me" he asked, knowing he might not get all of it.
Yagi seemed to hesitate again, Hizashi really starting to think there might be more behind this situation than he would have thought of first. "We argued before my leave for America... we didn't really manage to talk about it since I came back to Japan". The radio host then realist just how old that misunderstanding had probably been, surprised the man had done nothing since. Yagi didn't seem like the kind of person to leave thing badly without touching them again.
"It does sound like a more sensitive topic, but I am sure you can explain things, can't you? If you thought of doing it, it means you are still in touch with this person, right?".
The tall blond look down at his hands, fidgeting with his fingers, "Clearing things up won't change how bad I made them feel" pointed out Yagi with a sad smile on his face, "I made them feel used and unloved when I decided to still go to America even if they didn't want to come with me, this isn't something I can change by explaining".
Hizashi smile dropped a little, feeling weird about this setting that was sounding way too familiar. Where had he heard something similar before?
"But I truly loved them, still do today, I would never have used them the way they thought... But I suppose I'm not very good at taking care of those important to me, this urge of helping people was stronger than staying with them" he explained, the memory of that morning not being good to him.
Then it felt like some dots started to connect in the radio host head, looking shocked and disbelieved at what he thought he might have found out. There was no way... But things were matching up too well...
"You should definitely talk to them" he finally said, seeing the other man looking back up at him. "You still love this person right? Then you should explain clearly what happened, it might not change what happened, but if you truly didn't do it in a way to use them, then you should clear things up so they don't keep on feeling that way".
The older man felt like there was a little something hiding being the way Hizashi was telling him to do that but decided not to ask. It was probably just his imagination, the man didn't know after all. "I do... I suppose you are right, it is better to tell them than leave it like that" he smiled softly. He couldn't let Aizawa keep on believing he was used, tricked and not loved.
The sad and strange mood was suddenly broken when the door was opened, making Yagi jump. "Hizashi don't distract him, he's already behind in the correction of his papers," said Aizawa when he saw them. The blond simply put up his hands as he slowly rolled back to his desk, "I was just giving him some advice" he said, winking at Yagi as he said so.
The underground hero frowned a little, unsure as to what they could have been talking about for him to even wink. And there was something in his eyes, telling him the blond had found something interesting, yet he couldn't understand what it was.
He sighed when he heard Yagi confirmed it, knowing he wouldn't get more than that if even the great number one wasn't ready to tell him so. Well, as long as it wasn't something troublesome.
Yagi wasn't able to talk to Aizawa about it, always getting too nervous to do so and backing off. Then came the training camp event and nothing else was on his mind than his student safety and he was positive it was the same for Aizawa.
He was really relieved when he was informed that they had found his potential location, making sure he would be part of the group going to save him. He had some kind of bad feeling about all this, but he couldn't say from where it was coming from. He just knew it was here somewhere in his guts.
He tried pushing this aside, joining Aizawa as he was finishing his preparation to go to the conference. "Aizawa" he called out, the man looking up away from the tie he was battling with, arching a brow. Yagi felt unsure again, wanting to back off from telling him despite the bad feeling he had in his guts, only smiling instead. "Everything is going to be alright, I know you can face these journalists with no problem" he instead encouraged, his mind slightly shifting to the man dislike of the media.
His attempt at changing subject made the man frown slightly, having clearly, yet again, caught up on his hesitation about saying something else. "I'm not exactly used to having the media wanting to tear me apart" pointed out the man, only to shift the conversation away from that, clearly preferring forgetting about it for now. "What did you really wanted to say? Am sure you didn't come simply to cheer me up about having to face a bunch of annoying journalist" he pointed out.
Yagi knew that trying to cheer him up wouldn't have helped, but it had been the only way he could change the subject. Yet, he still couldn't exactly tell him, he probably didn't have the time to explain all in detail and only going for a short version would only distract the man while he was facing something he hated. "I think we don't have enough time for what I wanted to talk about," he said, "But we can talk about it once this is over" he suggested.
Aizawa looked like he really wanted to know now since it was probably important if the man had thought of telling him at this moment. He ended up nodding, guessing that it would also be alright doing it afterwards, "if you say so" he simply mumbled as he went back to his tie.
Yagi watched him struggle, laughing softly as he walked up to him, gently chasing away his hands. "I thought you would know how to do tie better" he teased him a little, gaining a snort. "I don't wear suits and formal clothing other than when I need to, or when Hizashi somehow managed to force me in one for bigger event" he explained, gaining an amused hum from the blond.
Yagi finished tying it correctly, taking a step back to look at him. It was indeed a rare sight than to see him clothed that way, he couldn't remember a time when he saw him wearing such formal clothing or with such clean hairstyle. "I know they will get under your skin, but don't get too mad at them, that's probably what they want," he said, knowing some actual encouragements like the previous one were useless. This time he gained a small and quiet chuckle.
"Are you scared I'll start a fight?" asked the underground hero with a small smile. "No, I was simply giving away free advice on how to deal with them, I know how frustrating they can be" smiled the man. He had his fair share of dealing with the media, and despite always keeping on a smile, there had been times where he would have liked to snap at them just so they could back off a little, especially after more tragic events.
He simply felt the man patting his chest when he passed next to him, heading for the conference with the others. "Don't worry, getting directly mad at them would simply make them win and I can't have that... see you later" commented the man before leaving.
The blond looked at him leave, sighing before getting back to his own preparation. He had a student to go and get back.
He wasn't sure what he had expected upon getting out of the conference room, but stumbling onto the news reporting All Might fight against All for One wasn't it.
He didn't know what to do, they were too far away for him to even consider arriving in time to help him out. Clearly, things were not looking so great for the hero, yet he couldn't help. Again, his instincts were kicking in, making him want to just run to get there. Yet all he could do was watching helplessly what was happening on the television. He couldn't stay put for more than a handful of minutes, needing to move, needing to do something else than just staring at the screen.
His heart and guts had dropped when he turned back to see how miserable the man was looking like, sure he was done for. Panic had started rising in him without him noticing, not knowing what he would do if the blond were to die and he couldn't even be there to help, only watch it happen.
His legs nearly gave in when All for One was defeated, seeing the Symbol of Peace still standing, even if not in such a great state. His mind had stopped registering anything after that, slowly sinking to the floor as he tried to calm his trembling body. Relief was probably too weak of a word to describe how he felt at the moment.
All he wanted to do was run to join him, yet he couldn't even do that. Work was still needed of him and he was pretty sure the man would be too occupied at the hospital once his state was alright. He couldn't even be sure he would be allowed in, since no one knew of his relationship with the man. They were seen as colleagues, friends at best.
Didn't stop him from wanting to go and make sure with his own two eyes that the blond was still alive and ready to not die on them. He was taken out of his thoughts by his phone ringing, quickly finishing putting on the shirt he was pulling over his head. "Thought for a second you wouldn't answer me" came the voice of the radio host, sounding amused. "I can hang up now if you want" replied Shota, receiving quick demand not to do so.
"Anyway, I was calling to ask if you wanted to go and see Yagi at the hospital," asked Hizashi. The underground hero felt a little unsure, not really thinking they would be allowed in, especially this late. He didn't have the time to speak that the blond continued, "I know he needs you right now... and I also know you need to see him too, so let's just go and make sure he's doing good".
Something in the way he was saying it felt weird to him. What was the man insinuating? The way he seemed to insist on the needing part was strange, and this more serious tone wasn't making it sound like some kind of joke. Was he suspecting something? He never gave anything that could lead to Yagi though, and he doubted the man would have done so too.
He didn't hear anything else from the man, as if he was waiting for his answer. He really didn't want to be a bother for Yagi, nor was he believing he would have the right to go. But there was something in him who wouldn't stop worrying until he had seen him. "Okay... let go and see him" he finally answered, hearing the other one hummed satisfied at his answer. "I'll come to pick you up with some coffee, be ready".
He didn't have to wait for too long and just as promised the blond had some coffee for him too. He got inside the car, drinking slowly as the radio was filling the silence. Hizashi was strangely quiet and it wasn't helping his already tense nerve. "How did you know?" he finally asked, keeping it vague enough so he could back out with something else.
The blond side-eyed him a little before looking back at the road again, a small smile on his face. "I just connected the dots after getting enough information, couldn't really believe it at first, thanks for confirming it to me". This made Shota click his tongue, not having thought that he wasn't sure of it, but it was too late to back out, Hizashi wouldn't just drop it now that he had started. "Since when?".
"You remember that time I gave advice to Yagi? That's when" he replied, seeing from the corner of his eyes the other alpha looking back at him as if he wasn't believing him. "He didn't tell me per se" he pointed out, "He did a good job of keeping everything vague when talking of you".
"Then how did you figured it out if he didn't say anything that could really link to me?".
"The way he was talking about the way he left the person he love behind when he went to America, how he had an argument before doing it, how he thought he made this person feel" listed Hizashi, "It sounded rather familiar, then I remember what happened to you eight years ago... Things were just too similar to be coincidences, also explained your reaction when you saw him at the start of the semester and why you were in such a bad and awkward relationship for a long time".
Really, the man could be really observant when he wanted to do so. "Though I am surprised that he is an omega" admitted the blond, turning slightly when he heard a quiet chuckle, "So was I" stated Shota.
"If it can reassure the both of you I won't tell a soul about it" then affirmed Hizashi, not really seeing the point in making his best friend life hell by having the media all over him for being All Might's mate. Plus Yagi already had it hard enough, there was no need to had the discovery of his second gender as a new problem. "Thank you" he heard whispered before a silence came back, this time more comfortable than before.
When they finally arrived at the hospital they weren't sure how to ask to see the man. After all, many most likely wanted to do so. They were both a little surprised when the demand was accepted once the alpha had given out his name, yet it should probably have been expected. The blond couldn't help but smile at how relieved and happy this made his friend, following him through the hallways.
Aizawa still hesitated once he was in front of the door, clearly still feeling unsure about whether he should be there or not. He looked back at his friend only to get an encouraging smile, giving him more confidence, finally opening the door.
He had been a little scared to wake up the omega, yet he found him sitting in bed while reading, catching his attention immediately once he opened the door. "Happy to see you are doing not too bad" commented Hizashi when he saw Aizawa freeze, gently pushing him in as he was closing the door behind them. "I could have been worst" admitted Yagi, still surprised that he had actually managed to get out of this without too many problems.
Tension seems to leave the underground hero shoulder's at the words, taking a place in one of the chairs, sliding it a little closer to the bed. "You sure like to scare me," said the man as he looked back up at the blond, Yagi clearly feeling guilty about that. "It wasn't my attempt, I wanted to save my student, I wasn't expecting for... him to be there" he explained.
The hero then noticed how the other one wasn't actually really blaming him, and if he looked a little better could see him shake a little. "I was so worried... I-I thought for a moment that it would be it, that my useless ass couldn't even help you" started to rambled the man. Yagi was surprised by how honest he sounded, looking back at Hizashi wondering if it was alright to talk about it while he was there. Yet, there was something in the small smile the man gave him that was telling him he knew.
Still, the radio host didn't overstay. He mainly came to see if the man was alright and to make sure his friend would talk to him. "I see you have some rather important thing to talk about," he said, winking discretely at Yagi, "I'll be waiting for you in the café near the hospital," he said to Shota, knowing the man wouldn't be able to stay after visit hours. He received a nod from the underground hero, the other blond telling him to be careful on his way.
Then a silence fell on them, neither of them sure if they should talk first. "I'm glad you managed to win this battle" started the younger one first with a small smile, still shaking a little as memories of what he had seen earlier came back to his mind. "I... I don't know what I would have done if you were gone for good this time" he admitted afterwards, jumping a little when he felt a hand gently touching his shoulder, looking up to see that the man had leaned towards him so he could reach him.
The blond tried to give him a reassuring smile, before taking back his hand, looking down at them, "You won't really need to worry about this anymore" he said, regretting being so vague when he felt a surge of anxiety coming from the alpha. "It's nothing bad!" he immediately corrected, "I thought about it earlier, but... I will have to retire" he finally admitted, not looking up. "I just can't keep up the work now, it would be impossible".
Aizawa felt like he was missing something important to the situation, but he knew that if the man wasn't telling him now, he wouldn't be able to know. He decided to prevent the hurt and simply not ask. It wasn't that Yagi didn't trust him with the information, he was simply not ready to have someone else knowing about it. Also... he had this little fear that maybe the underground hero opinion would change because of this other secret.
The tired man decided not to keep up with this subject, feeling it wasn't really his call to make. Also, it wouldn't be too bad for the omega to retire. Sure, he could probably be considered young compared to some of the older heroes, but Yagi was clearly not in a state to fight well anymore.
"There is something you wanted to talk about?" he instead asked, remembering about that.
The blond looked back, then nodded at this question. He needed to tell him, that battle had nearly ruined his chance to do so, he couldn't wait for something else to finish the job. "Yes, it's actually about eight years ago and how things had been through these eight years".
He could see the other man tense up, clearly not appreciating the idea of talking about it, yet he didn't stop him nor objected, so he decided to keep going. "I know we didn't leave on the best of terms and that it might have caused some misunderstandings... I wanted to clear those up" he stated, catching again the full attention of Aizawa.
"I noticed that you seem to believe I bonded with you only so I wouldn't need to worry about other alpha anymore" he pointed out, "That I never loved you in the first place, but this isn't true! I truly loved you when I asked for this bond and wouldn't have done so if I wasn't, I still love you and I am very happy to have you as my mate, despite me being a horrible one, you are an incredible person Shota, a hero people should look up instead of critique
I know it doesn't change how you must have felt like in the past years, This is my fault for not making it clearer that it wasn't just to use you, or I should probably have control my urge to help everyone and stayed with you until you were more at ease with us".
He had to stop himself from rambling more, feeling like it would only sound like he was putting himself down rather than him saying he was sorry. He had a small smile on his face as he looked away from the underground hero to instead look at his bony hands. "I know I can't be excused for how I made you feel over the years, and that I'm not exactly the best mate and doesn't look that great, but... I really love you and want to try again with you, but this time only as Toshinori Yagi, no All Might in the way".
He didn't dare to look up at the man, scared of the reaction he might get, the silence absolutely not helping him feel more at ease. It was probably too late, maybe Aizawa was truly over him and the little steps they had taken were only towards a decent friendship or at least a good relationship between two colleagues.
"O-of course this isn't an obligation!" he clarified, "I understand if you would rather have nothing to do with me anymore," he said, his voice breaking a little at the end, realising how heartbreaking the idea was.
"Hey, don't go running your mind not leaving me time to respond before you make a choice" he suddenly heard, making him tense a little as he looked up at the other man. Aizawa was looking a little unsure, as if still processing all he had just been told. Yet, it was also as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. There was no way he could doubt his words when all he could feel from the man was honesty and love, mixed up with some anxiety at the thoughts of not being enough.
It was just a little hard to process when he had gone by many years thinking it was the true and Toshinori only accepted him as a tool. He couldn't put aside all of his worry and insecurities in the blink of an eye either, he would need some time to adjust.
But he was overall really happy to hear these word, hearing how much he was loved by the man and how he wish they could try again. Then a small smile drew itself on his lips, the idea of trying again not bad. After all, he would lie if he said he had got rid of his feeling for the blond, they were still there, he had simply refused to listen to them or let them out.
"I... wouldn't mind trying again" he finally admitted, feeling how relieved the other man was, "It will take time for me to fully change how I thought, but... I am ready to let you prove me wrong".
He looked up only to see how the omega was tearing up, feeling a little concerned, getting up to join him. The blond tried to reassure him, wiping away his tears, "I am just happy you are willing to give me this chance" he smiled, making the other one smile softly.
"But for that, I need you to promise me... no more secrets" simply asked Shota, as he knew it was fuel to his doubt and worries. He saw how the man seemed to tense at that, looking to the side slightly. It was probably hard, the man was clearly filled with secrets he had created over the years due to being the Symbol of Peace, someone who had to be perfect.
"I... I will need some time to open up about those" admitted the man a little bit more quietly, "I do trust you, believe me... but this isn't something easy to reveals". The case of his quirk wasn't something easy to reveal, and something in him couldn't help but worry and fear that Shota wouldn't see him in the same way if he knew about One for All.
The underground hero was scanning his face, trying to see what it could be, trying to catch a lie in those words. He would have preferred knowing now, but he could understand that they weren't easy to let go of. At least he had the promise that he would talk about it someday, hopefully, a near one.
He sighed, regretting a little bit doing so when he saw how the man tensed up as if this sigh was something negative, "I get it" he said, gently grabbing one of his hands, "As long as you manage to get to it one day this is alright, I really wish to know all of you and I'm ready to show all of me for that". Well, he didn't have much to show compared to him, but it was still putting himself in a more vulnerable position.
This made Toshinori smile softly, bringing up his hand so he could leave a little kiss on his knuckles. "I promise I will get to it one day, we will have plenty of time for me to do so" he whispered.
It was true, they were going to have a lot of time to do so. Catching up would be hard, some insecurities might get back in the way and it would be impossible to get back to how they were at first, but they could manage to deal with it. Something was telling them they could both make it work this time.