Chapter 4, let's dive in!

Listen Close, Midoriya!

Izuku finished his set of chin-ups, hoping off the tree branch he was using.

'Ah. What a warmup!' he thought, reaching for his water bottle; he had tried waiting until three for Shota, but he was just so excited! He had to burn some energy off, coming to the park immediately after school.

'I still have a little time,' Izuku said, grasping the branch again, 'I can probably squeeze a few more in before-'

"Midoriya." Shota suddenly said, unimpressed; 'What is this kid doing?'

"Aizawa-sensei!" Izuku greeted, returning to the ground, "You're early!"

Shota was, surprisingly, not wearing his hero uniform, instead opting for black sweats and a black t-shirt; 'Isn't he ever hot in those?' he pondered. For his attire, Izuku had opted for gym shorts and a t-shirt with "Exercise" written on it.

'Did he get bigger?' Shota wondered, looking at the boy. It certainly looked it; his arms were swelled with lean muscle.

He shook the thought away; 'Probably imagining things; I need more sleep,' he set down his bag, "So are you; you know it's a bad idea to wear yourself out before training, right? I told you, I'm not going easy on you."

Izuku looked confused; "Wear me out? This is nothing, Aizawa-sensei!" he beamed, taking another swig of water.

Shota raised an eyebrow at him; "Right, we'll see about that" he said, taking out a black training mat, placing down on a flat spot in the field.

"So, what're you gonna teach me first? A flying kick? A neck chop? Ooh, how about a grapple?!" Izuku badgered, letting the excitement get the better of him.

"No," Shota deadpanned, sitting on the mat, "first is rules. Now sit," he commanded, pointing to a spot across from him.

Izuku obediently did as he was told, waiting for his teacher to continue.

"One: I am your teacher. You will listen to what I have to say and do what I command without question, complaint, or interruption."

Izuku nodded; 'As if that were ever in any question!'

"Two," Shota continued, "You will use nothing I teach to go looking for a fight; if you must defend yourself, fine, but if I hear of you playing hero again, this is over."

Izuku grimaced, which didn't go unnoticed by him; 'I know you can't help yourself; lets hope that'll make you think twice before running into dangerous situations again.'

"A-anything else, Aizawa-sensei?" Izuku questioned, eager to begin.

"You are to tell no one about this. Not your friends, not strangers, I don't even want to see it posted online," Shota warned, "I have enough trouble keeping a low profile without you blabbing off about our arrangement; is that understood?"

"Yes sir…" he muttered; 'Not like I have many people to tell anyway.'

And it was true; ever since his falling out with Katsuki, Izuku had become a bit of a loner, likely due to his Quirkless status. Him impressive physique shielded him from outright bullying, but that was all; he rarely spoke to his classmates.

"Good. Then we can begin."

They spent the next hour going through various stretches and exercises: crunches, mountain climbers, lunges; Shota wised to gauge exactly what kind of shape Izuku was in, and so far, he was awestruck; not only had he been keeping up, he barely broke a sweat!

'Man, I hope all of Aizawa-sensei's training is this easy!" Izuku thought; he had expected Shota to absolutely destroy him, but so far this was simple compared to what he normally did.

Shota, while impressed, was a bit frustrated; 'I wanted to see what his body's limits were; set exercises aren't getting me anywhere!" Aizawa checked his watch; he only had two hours before his patrol, he needed to try a new strategy.

"Midoriya. I want you to give me as many push-ups as you can manage," he commanded, "stick to my rhythm, and don't stop until you have to"

It was simple, but Shota had to see what he was really working with.

"Yes sir!" Izuku said, getting into position and quickly moving to Shota's "ups" and "downs."

It took 15 minutes before Izuku collapsed from exhaustion; 'Man, now THAT was workout! It's been a while since I've felt this sore!' Izuku thought.

Shota shuddered; '178… forget adults, there are HEROES who couldn't pull that off.'

He took another look at Izuku; 'Though, I suppose it makes sense; heroes are more and more relying on their Quirk to get the job done, neglecting their bodies…. Still, can this really be natural?'

Shota fetched Izuku a water bottle; "Here, kid" he offered, throwing it to him. Izuku accepted, greedily chugging it.

"Midoriya, how long exactly have you been working out?" he asked.

Izuku paused; "Since I was five so… a little over two years now?"

'Two years… That's a lot of progress, even for that length of time… I suppose if his genes were kind…' Aizawa shook his head; he wasn't here to discern the mystery of his muscles; he was here to teach him how to defend himself.

"Alright Midoriya, I'm gonna walk you through a few simple counters and stances; watch me closely…"

Shota spent the next hour guiding Izuku through a variety of moves; he was clearly an amateur, but he managed them all with passable accuracy; refinement could come late.

Checking his watch, Shota beckoned Izuku to take a seat on the mat again; 'Forty-five minutes. I suppose it's time for theory'

"What's next, Aizawa-sensei?" Izuku asked politely, eager to continue.

"Something a little different," Shota started, meeting his student's eyes, "being a hero is just as much in the brain as it is in the body; before a fight can be won on the field, it needs to be won in the mind, especially with your… circumstances" he explained, careful not to upset him with talk of his Quirkless status.

Izuku pondered what he said; 'That makes sense… I can know all the moves in the world, it doesn't mean anything if I don't know when to use them.'

He flashed Shota a grin, determination in his eyes; "I'm ready, Aizawa-sensei!"

His response relieved the hero; a part of him had been expecting Izuku to fight him on this, to want to stick exclusively to fighting.

'At least he's not completely irrational' he thought, closing his eyes; "Alright then, let's walk through a few scenarios…"

As Shota laid out various villains, their Quirks, and the surroundings the fight was taking place in, he realized something; Izuku was one smart kid.

He knew this because he had taken many of these situations from his own work as a hero, and while it wasn't perfect, when Izuku made an incorrect judgment, he was quick to explain why, many of his student's responses had been what he had actually done, so much so that he was starting to believe he recognized them from the news.

'Only one way to find out' Shota thought; he had time for one more exercise and was gonna make it hard for him.

"Alright Midoriya, last one. Two villains have taken refuge in a hotel; both have emitter-type fire Quirks. One has taken a hostage, and the other has approached to engage you. How do you defeat both without harming the captive?" Shota finished, studying Izuku.

'A hostage… This is Aizawa-sensei's first test involving a hostage, I'll have to think carefully' Izuku thought, absorbing the information he had been given.

'With my Quirk, this would be a simple confrontation; you can't rely on that, but there is a way to save them… What will you do Midor-'?

He didn't have a chance to finish his sentence as Izuku spoke; "Use the fire," he started, meeting Shota's eyes, "If I can trick the villain into setting something on fire, the sprinklers will turn on, likely weakening or nullifying their Quirks; from there, they'll probably be easy to take down, not knowing how to fight without their fire… Right?" he asked.

Shota stared at Izuku, wide-eyed; 'Good job, kid. Most would have went straight for the hostage, not only endangering their lives but taking eyes off the one fighting.'

"Correct, Midoriya. Good job." He checked his watch again, raising from the mat. "That's all we have time for. I expect you here at the same time tomorrow," he stated, packing his things.

"Yes, sir!" Izuku replied, excited at the prospect.

Just as he was about to leave, Shota remembered something; "Right… Midoriya before I go, I meant to ask, what exactly do you do for workouts?"

"Oh!" he exclaimed, reaching into his pocket, "here, this is the one I'm on right now, but I'm probably gonna ask for a new one soon; I'm not having trouble with this anymore."

Shota looked over the sheet; 'Not bad, but clearly the work of a novice,' he looks up, "Who made this for you?" he asked.

"My mom makes them every week or two, why?"

'Ah, that makes sense. She means well, but she's being too cautious; he can handle a lot more than this, based on what I've seen today.'

He hands the paper back to Izuku; "Don't bother. I'll have something for you to work with tomorrow. I expect it to be done every day; you can't afford to skimp out on your training," he warned.

"Of course, Aizawa-sensei," Izuku bowed.

"Good. Now get home. It's late, and you don't need to be out in the dark."

VVV

With Izuku gone and Shota now in his hero uniform, he began his patrol, hopping from rooftop tp rooftop Inevitably, his mind drifted to the days lesson.

'He's much stronger than I expected… Smart, too. Maybe he has more potential than I thought.'

Despite himself, Shota grew excited, a wild grin shaping on his face; 'I could get used to this teaching thing. Maybe I sho-'

His thoughts were interrupted by a yell down below; a mugging. Shota adjusted his goggles and jumped to the scene; his planning could wait; he had a job to do.

VVV

And so, a comfortable pattern would emerge over the next two years.

Shota and Izuku would continue to meet at the park five days a week, each lesson growing more and more complex; what had started as simple stances quickly evolved into complex kicks, punches, counters, and feints. He also made sure to dedicate ample time to training his student's already impressive battle analysis skills; he understood that, if Izuku was to become a hero, this would arguably be his greatest weapon. So much so, that he had Izuku begin analyzing the Quirks and tactics of popular heroes; not that he minded, he already unconsciously did so when he watched heroes fight, now he would just have to put the thoughts on paper.

Shota quickly realized that spending their time together on exercise was a waste; as long as Izuku continued to do the workouts he was assigned in his off time; his fitness would improve. He would do periodic checks, to make sure it WAS being done, though he suspected even that wasn't necessary. This allowed him to make much faster progress than he had thought.

Izuku, for his part, was grateful for the new challenges; 'I hadn't realized how easy mom's workouts were until now!' he had thought; whereas before he would only stick with a plan for two weeks at most, it would often take a month before he needed Shota to draft a new regime. He appreciated his mother's efforts, no doubt, but he was grateful to have a teacher who would really push his limits.

Likewise, Shota was glad to have a pupil as dedicated as him; he followed every rule, worked hard, and was exceptionally talented. He had even started visiting Izuku at his home; he told himself that this was to keep his mother updated on his progress and any changes she should be aware of, but he couldn't deny that he was growing fond of his student.

They maintained a good relationship, however the did hit a small snag when Izuku was eight…

VVV

Shota sat down at the table Inko across from him and Izuku in between; normally, he would be here for dinner before his shift started, but this was no social call; Inko had requested he speak to him.

"Thank you for coming, Mr. Aizawa," she said, hands folded on the table, "I'm sorry for giving you such short notice."

"Its quite alright, Midoriya-san; what is this about?" Shota inquired; he doubted she would have requested him if it wasn't important.

"Izuku, do you want to tell Mr. Aizawa, or should I?"

"I-I'm sorry Aizawa-sensei…" Izuku muttered, looking down at his lap.

'What happened? Did he start a fight? I warned him…' Shota thought, a ping of disappointment forming; if he had, he'd have to stop teaching…

Izuku handed him a piece of paper; "I didn't mean to…" he said, refusing to meet his eyes.

Shota looked at the paper; it wasn't a disciplinary notice, but a report card. 'Why's he giving me this?'

He didn't understand until his eyes scanned the page, specifically his grades; while he wasn't failing, he wasn't doing particularly well either.

He looked up to Inko; "How long has this been going on?" he asked, keeping his tone neutral.

"He's been fluctuating for a while now but… this is the first time he's dropped below a B average… I thought maybe you could lighten up until he gets back on track?" Inko explained, eyeing her son.

Shota looked to Izuku; 'How do I handle this… I didn't SAY he had to keep his grades up… Still, he should know better.'

"Midoriya, I'm disappointed," he started, "Not only should school be your top priority right now, but there's no way you'll get into a hero school without top notch grades."

Izuku looked up at him; "I know…" he admitted, "I just got so caught up in my training… Are you gonna stop teaching me now, Aizawa-sensei?"

Shota thought for a moment before replying; "Yes," Izuku slumped, "Until you get your grades up, our training is off."

Izuku perked up; "R-really? Thank you, Aizawa-sensei!"

Shota stood; "Don't thank me yet," he said, "You still have to do it." He turned to Inko; "Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Midoriya-san"

Inko smiled; "Of course, Mr. Aizawa, thank you for being so understanding." In truth, she had been expecting him to drop her son; she was ready to plead with him if that was the case.

Shota made for the door, "Call me when his grades have improved, and we can continue training; have a nice day, you two," and with that he was gone

VVV

It was another month before Izuku could return to training, with the added rule of "If your grades slip again, I won't be taking you back."

Needless to say, he stayed at the top of his class from then onward.

Shota had been impressed with Izuku's progress, both in body and technique. While he was certainly no pro, he could probably hold his own against some low level thugs; that is, if they even tried to hurt him; the kid was sporting a full on six-pack now, and while he was still short, standing at 4'6", he was still taller than most of his peers.

What truly left him in awe, however, was Izuku's analytical skills. In total, he had filled six notebooks, complete with sketches, strengths, weaknesses, and tactics for a wide variety of pro-heroes; having read them, he had no trouble admitting that they were far better than anything he could come up with.

Now, however Izuku was nine, and it was time to take his training to the next level.

VVV

"YOU WANT ME TO WHAT?!" Izuku screamed, drawing the attention of nearby parkgoers.

Shota cringed; 'That doesn't sound suspicious at all…'

"I want you to fight me," he answered, getting into position.

Izuku was terrified; 'Fight him?! Is he insane! I'm not ready for that!'

"Aizawa-sensei, I-I don't think I'm ready for that, maybe we should go over more fundamentals before we start fighting?" he asked, hoping to persuade him to postpone.

Shota sighed, "Maybe I should have been clearer. Midoriya," he commanded, suddenly rushing him, "Fight me!"

He was closing the distance fast; 'Oh no! Gotta make some distance, give myself time to th-'

Izuku didn't have time to continue, interrupted by a quick jab by Shota; he managed to dodge, side stepping to his left; 'Wow, he's really serious about this!'

Shota quickly followed up with a leg sweep, which Izuku avoid with a quick jump, then a backstep.

But he wasn't letting up;" You can't win a fight by dodging, Midoriya, counter!" he commanded, starting a right jab.

Izuku attempted to do so, only to find Shota's left fist connecting with his ribs; 'A feint!' Izuku realized, reeling from the blow.

"C'mon, Midoriya, I taught you how to recognize a feint, focus!"

Izuku's brain was on overdrive; without thinking, he threw a punch, only to have it deflected, receiving a kick to the stomach as a reward, stumbling back into a nearby tree.

Quickly, Izuku recovered, planting himself in a defensive stance Shota had taught him; Shota began rapidly throwing punches his way, though he was able to block most of them. Izuku attempted to land some of his own hits, only to have them blocked or deflected.

He tried looking for openings, but found none; 'It's no use, he's too good; if I want an opening, I'll have to make one!'

Izuku knew that, in terms of pure physical strength, he outperformed Shota, if barely; his fighting style was based around fast strikes and dexterity, rather than brute force; 'I can use that to my advantage!'

When Shota threw his next punch, rather than blocking or dodging, Izuku grappled his arm with all the force he could muster. This clearly shocked him, and that was all Izuku needed.

He reeled his fist back, unleashing a full force punch up to Shota's jaw; the force knocked him to the ground; 'Yes! I got him! I really got hi-'

Izuku didn't get much more time to celebrate, as Shota swiftly performed a leg sweep from the ground, knocking him to his feet. Shota quickly put him into a hold, immobilizing him. Try as he might, Izuku couldn't break free; "Y-you got me Aizawa-sensei, I give."

Shota let Izuku go; "Your movements are stiff, you don't flow between your attacks well, and you spend far too much time on the defensive; when you did manage to counterattack, you didn't capitalize fast enough, allowing me to end the fight." Izuku slumped; had he don't that bad?

"But," Shota continued "Your defense is fairly solid, and when you did counter-attack, you were effective," Shota rubbed his jaw, 'That punch hurt like a bitch!'

Izuku perked up; "You really think so, Aizawa-sensei?"

"Yes. Overall, you did much better than I expected you too"

"Wait," Izuku paused, "You expected to me lose?"

"Of course," Shota answered, packing up his mat, "Did you expect to win?"

"Well no but… Why did we do this then?" he asked.

Shota looked at him: "I needed you to understand that there's a difference between practice and the real thing; knowing the moves, when to use them, its not the same as doing it in the middle of a fight, and I can't teach that; it's something you learn through experience."

Izuku looked down at his scarred fist; "That makes sense; thank you, Aizawa-sensei, for teaching me!"

"Besides," Shota said, beginning to walk away, "you'll be trying again tomorrow!"

"Wait, what?!" Izuku called, following close behind.

Neither saw the piercing red eyes glaring at them from across the park

VVV

After that day, Izuku and Shota would set aside an hour of their training time to sparring, and while Izuku would never win these fights, he was getting closer every day; while Shota doubted it would happen anytime soon, he didn't doubt that it would happen.

Shota made his way to the park; he was early, but he didn't doubt that Izuku had already arrived, probably training or writing in his journal.

When he arrived, he found he was only half right; while Izuku was there, rather than enjoying himself, he seemed to be talking to someone, someone he hadn't seen before, and he didn't look particularly friendly.

Shota had known Izuku for a long time; he generally kept to himself, so seeing him with another boy with ash-blonde hair sent alarms off in his head.

When he started popping off explosions, he started running.

"Spill, Deku! Who's that creep you're out here with all the time!"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about Kacchan!" Izuku stuttered; he had gotten good at stopping that over the years, but Katsuki had a way of coaxing it out of him.

Honestly, Izuku wasn't sure why Katsuki had approached him; they hadn't spoken in years. A part of him hoped that he was there to make amends, to maybe be friends again; despite everything, Izuku didn't have Katsuki; in a way, he looked up to him.

"Fine! Don't wanna tell me? Then I'll BLOW IT out of you!" Katsuki screamed, charging an explosion…

Only for it to die in his hand; "What the hell…"

"I suggest you run home, boy," Shota threatened, eyes glowing red.

"You! What the fuck did you do to my Quirk!" Katsuki demanded.

"Perhaps you didn't hear me," he sneered, stepping closer, "Go. Home."

"Gah… This isn't over, Deku!" he yelled, running off.

Shota rubbed his eyes; 'Damn dry eye,' he thought, bringing his attention to Izuku.

"Thank you, Aizawa-sensei," Izuku bowed, grateful.

"Why didn't you fight back?" Shota asked, a slight edge in his tone, "we both know you could've handled him yourself."

Izuku gulped, "You said not to start fights-" he was interrupted; "You weren't starting that, so try again. Why didn't you fight back?"

"It's… a long story, Aizawa-sensei."

Shota sat, "We have time before your training," he assured.

Izuku told him he and Katsuki's long history; how they met and became childhood friends, how he changed when he Quirk appeared, how he treated him when his didn't appear, and their ultimate falling out.

"I guess…" Izuku started, looking to Shota, "A part of me still wants to be his friend, and another part is still… scared of him…"

Shota nodded; with a history like that, it was understandable his feelings were conflicted; still, this was a chance to teach a valuable lesson.

"Look, Midoriya, I understand your… complex relationship. But you can't be afraid of defending yourself from that kind of abuse; if you can't defend yourself, then you can't be trusted to defend other people," Aizawa said, glancing at Izuku.

He nodded; "I know, Aizawa-sensei; I'll try to do better next time!" Izuku declared, determined.

"Good. Now Let's begin for the day."

VVV

Izuku and Shota continued to train for the next three years, and he had made significant progress. He was lucky in a way; he hadn't encountered Katsuki again in that time; while he had promised to be firmer, he was unsure if he could make good on that goal.

Izuku now stood at a healthy 5'6", with broader shoulders and more muscle. He remained the top of his class, spending anytime he wasn't training studying; if it weren't for his Quirkless status, he'd be the envy of his school.

(Even with that, he was noticing more and more attention from the opposite sex…)

His training was going exceptionally well; while he still hadn't beat Shota in a fight, he was getting dangerously close; he could easily be considered an expert when it came to hand-to-hand, both offensively and defensively.

His analytics had gotten better as well, having filled an additional four journals with his observations and tactics; Shota reckoned that, should the hero thing not pan out, Izuku could easily find work supporting analyzing heroes; finding where they can improve, and how.

Izuku was 12 now; there wasn't anything more for Shota to teach him, all that was left was for Izuku to best him in a spar; once that happened, he could consider his training complete.

VVV

"GAH!" Izuku grunted, quickly recovering from the kick he had just received. This was their longest fight yet, going on for nearly ten minutes, and neither was giving ground.

Shota reeled his left fist back, going for a jab; 'A feint!' Izuku recognized, quickly dodging left, causing Aizawa to stumble; 'Now to counter!'

Izuku drove his fist into Shota's stomach, causing him to lurch forward; Izuku took advantage, grabbing Shota's right arm and performing a textbook shoulder throw, slamming him to the ground.

With Shota on the ground, right arm locked in Izuku's grip, he was forced to admit defeat; he had finally done it.

Izuku helped him up; upon doing so, Shota gave a bow; "Congratulations, Midoriya; that was a hard-fought victory."

"Thank you, Aizawa-sensei," Izuku bowed back.

"Sit down. We need to talk."

Izuku obeyed, sitting on the mat with his teacher; "You're done teaching me?" Izuku asked.

Shota looked at his student of five years; "How'd you know?"

"You haven't taught me anything new in months, I figured you were just waiting until I finally beat you," Izuku explained, looking to the setting sun.

It was true; Shota had long run out of lessons to teach, instead resorting to physical training and repeats of previous sessions.

"Yea. It's time for me to move on; this city isn't nearly as dangerous as it used to be."

"Yea," Izuku laughed, "thanks for that," he paused; "Thank you for everything…"

Shota stood up, bringing Izuku with him, "listen close Midoriya, because I'm only gonna say this once."

Izuku nodded, urging him to continue.

"You have the makings of a fantastic hero," Shota started, meeting Izuku's eyes, "I could not be more proud to be your teacher, Izuku."

Izuku's breath hitched; he never called him by his given name, only "Midoriya" or "Kid."

He was blinking back tears now; "T-Thank you, Aizawa-sensei!" Izuku croaked; Damnit, he thought he had stopped crying so much!

"Yea, don't get used to it, kid."

'And he's back,' Izuku deadpanned.

"And it's just Aizawa now, y'know"

"Right."

They stayed there a while, before it was time to bid each other goodbye. Not much was said; Shota was all out of heartfelt emotion for the day.

Besides, he had a feeling they'd be seeing each other again.

Near the end of his last nightshift in the Shizuoka Prefecture, his mind drifted to the future; what was next for Eraser Head?

'Well,' he thought, giving Izuku's apartment building a final glance, 'I could always take UA up on their offer.'

And that's a wrap! Longest chapter yet (just barely)!

I debated how long I wanted to spend training Izuku with Aizawa; not time wise, chapter wise. I concluded that I didn't need to go into the day-by-day; I covered the important stuff, your imagination can fill in the blanks.

And what a heartfelt ending! Yep, in this universe, Izuku inspired Shota to teach, how sweet!

Don't worry, we'll be seeing more of him soon enough.

Now, onto reviews!

dragonnightmare: Thank you! I noticed that too, I was concerned but it seems to have resolved itself, so no harm done!

MIKE202303: Thank you!

Speckledblight: Thank you! I'll try to respond to all my reviews, but if this story gets big, I don't think it'll be possible. Being my first reviewer, you may get top billing :)

That about covers it, but can I just say: Wow guys, 50 followers already! I'm honored so many of you are interested in my story! Be sure to Favorite, Follow, and Review! Each one motivates me to write that much faster! (I know, 4 chapters in 3 days, how much faster could I get?!)

Next chapter: A long overdue confrontation, and conversation!