We finally hit the One v All fight! I took a while to get to here, and I do apologize for that, but I am grateful you're all so patient with me! My AC has been broken over a week at this point, we've been scraping by with box fans, the house fan, and spending a pretty penny on a window unit. Coupled with a second round of COVID and I was having a shit month for energy to write. Art Fight was about all I could get myself to do creatively. SO!
Enjoy!
Chapter 13: A Weird Start and A Beat Down
Kurose laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. The alarm wasn't due to go off for at least another few minutes, and they weren't keen on getting up just yet. They turned their head to glance at the clock. Two minutes. They sighed and sat up, brushing their hair out of their face. They shut the alarm off and swung their legs out of the bed, swaying forward to force themselves to stand. They were never the best at getting out of bed, but once they were, they were wide awake. Today was no different.
Kurose didn't waste time getting dressed just yet. They trudged downstairs with a yawn, cracking their back as they exited to the surface floor. The sun was only just rising when they made it to the coffee maker. Kurose sighed, leaning against the fridge as the coffee brewed. They heard footsteps coming from the boys' side and turned, smiling, expecting Aizawa. Even if the man was perpetually tired, he was up at odd hours and his sleep schedule had been decimated a decade ago. So, Kurose had learned alongside everyone else on staff to just accept that he'd pop up at any time in the morning at the smell of coffee.
Instead, Bakugou popped out of the stairwell, pausing in the entryway when he spotted them. Kurose waved at him, turning back to the coffee when he just nodded. They could smell the sweet, sweet caffeine, taking in a deep breath. Bakugou walked up to the counter, tilting his head at them. Kurose watched as the timer ticked down. Almost. And they'd have their batteries charged.
"Hey."
"Hm?"
"Wanna go on a run?" Bakugou asks.
Kurose blinked at him. They left him to chalk their delayed response up to their tired state. Kurose nodded. They heard the ding of the coffee maker and pulled the pot off the heater. They had gulped down half the pot before they took a moment to breath. They sighed contently and shot Bakugou a thumbs up. Bakugou blinked dumbly at them. Kurose didn't pay it any mind as they moved back towards the stairs.
"I'll grab my shoes," they say.
Bakugou watched them go back upstairs. He rested his palm on his forehead. They had really just glugged half a pot of fresh coffee just like that. Maybe that's why his ramen had been just right. Bakugou moved towards the front door. He hadn't expected Kurose to agree that readily. This was going to be easier than he'd thought.
He waited there until he heard Kurose reappearing from the stairs. They really hadn't bothered to change clothes, only having tied on their shoes. The pot of coffee was empty now. Kurose left the pot on the counter and readily came to join Bakugou. They looked markedly more awake already. Bakugou knew coffee didn't work that fast, but just from watching Aizawa he suspected there was definitely some sort of psychosomatic thing going on there.
Kurose followed just behind him like a duckling, relying solely on him for where his route leads. Bakugou kept them on the route, silent, until almost halfway through. Kurose hadn't said anything, yet. They were just smiling and bopping along with him, keeping pace effortlessly. It was far better than most of the class usually faired if anyone actually tried to join him on the run. Bakugou didn't slow down on any of his workouts, even the morning warm ups, unless he was injured.
The pickings for someone who could keep his pace was low.
And he was about to toss away another option.
"You and Aizawa-sensei are more than coworkers," Bakugou says suddenly. Kurose stumbled.
"WH—hu—excuse me?!"
They nearly face planted into a set of bushes they passed. Bakugou glanced back at them. Their face was bright red and they were flailing limbs as they tried to right themselves. That was as much of an answer as he felt he was going to get out of them. As he stared at them dryly, not giving them any wiggle room to read what he was thinking, Kurose froze.
"U-uh—" Kurose started to back up. "I'mjustgoingtoheadbackandgetready. Ihavetobethereearlytoday. OKAY, get back to the dorms safely, good bye!"
Bakugou watched as Kurose practically sprinted back to the dorms. They slammed the door once they'd stepped into the building. Yaoyorozu jumped at the slam, jostling juice over the counter.
"Wh—sensei?" Yaoyorozu watched as Kurose hardly noticed.
Instead, their eyes locked onto Aizawa. He'd turned their direction once they'd entered, sipping his coffee. Kurose rushed over to him, face still red, and yanked him off the chair. They dragged him upstairs, with Aizawa focusing more on not spilling the coffee across the entire floor than he was about the stairs, his cane clacking loudly on the steps. He stumbled at one of the landings and Kurose halted, using themselves to keep him propped up before he could fall, standing back to back with him.
Aizawa paused. He leaned back, taking another sip of his coffee. "So," he starts. "What happened?"
Kurose breathed raggedly. They glanced up and down each flight of stairs. No one was around, and they couldn't hear anyone, so they sighed and tilted them both until they leaned against the wall.
"Your students are getting too observant," they whispered. Aizawa hummed. Kurose started up the stairs, simply carrying Aizawa as he was, leaned on their back as he was.
"You came back to the dorms, so you went on a run with Bakugou?" he guessed.
"Eeeugh… mistakes were made," Kurose mumbled. Aizawa smirked. He swirled the coffee in the mug, taking in the scent.
"I'm disappointed that you didn't see whatever he pulled coming, Kurose," Aizawa sighed, shaking his head. Kurose stopped once they'd reached the apartment, letting Aizawa stand straight again. As they pushed open the door, Aizawa slowly lowered his mug, back still to Kurose. "…Are we on the girls' side?"
"Well, yes, I have to change," Kurose says. Aizawa huffed a laugh. "What?"
"You drag me suddenly out of the room, without a word, to the girls' dorm side," Aizawa says plainly. Kurose paused in the apartment doorway. They slapped their forehead. "Be prepared."
"I have made multiple mistakes," Kurose sighed heavily.
They shut the door, changing while they tried to run through every possible situation that might arise once they hit the bottom floor again. They opened the door and froze. Aizawa's mug was set in the center of the floor. They looked up, spotting Aizawa's cane set across the window, his Capture Weapon wrapped at the center and taut. Kurose sprinted to the window, looking down at where Aizawa as just landing on the grass.
"SHOU!"
"Oh," Aizawa looked up at them. "I'll meet you down here."
He whipped the Capture Weapon, loosening it at the window. Kurose scrambled to grab at it before he could try and bring it down to him. They braced their feet at the wall, the Capture Weapon made taut again. Aizawa halted, looking back up with a scowl.
"I'm telling Kan," Kurose called down to him.
"Don't you dare."
"Oh? What are you going to do to stop me, hmm?" Kurose held up their phone. They waited for just a moment before realization hit them and they buried their face into their arms. "I'm just going to text him."
"If you don't, I'll cover your patrol shifts for a week."
Kurose paused. They glanced down at him and hummed. "Deal. But not my issue if he finds out because of the kids, though."
"What?"
"Sensei, what the fuck?!"
Aizawa sighed, looking up at the sky. "Damn it."
Kurose watched as Bakugou stormed up to him, shouting swears the entire way. They slipped away from the window, tossing the cane down. Aizawa wrangled the Capture Weapon back to catch it, resigning already to whatever… colorful… lecture he was about to receive. As he expected, he felt Bakugou yank on his arm towards the front entrance.
"This isn't necessary," Aizawa says.
"Bullshit, you're not supposed to do that again," Bakugou snapped. He practically tore the front door of the dorm off its hinges. "HE DID IT AGAIN!"
"Traitor," Aizawa mumbled. Bakugou snapped his neck to look at him, hardly getting a chance to process the quip before several classmates were upon them.
"Sensei, not the window again!" Sero wailed.
"We know you know how dangerous that is!" Uraraka shouted.
"Was it from the top floor again?" Tokoyami asks casually. Someone smacked him on the arm, but Aizawa wasn't sure who, so he just inwardly sighed and looked down at what he regarded as their general heights.
Unknowingly looking directly at Hagakure. She took a step back, shuffling behind Ojiro. Asui patted her on the back.
"I was not going to get injured," he assured them. He ran his hand through his hair. "And I didn't."
"Reckless!" Kurose shouted from the stairs. They pushed through the throng of students until they had reached Aizawa, grabbing him by the arm. "I swear, this is why Chiyo is always mad at you! If you do stunts like that blind, I don't want to imagine what you do on your patrol routes!"
"I get results."
"You're walking a line, Shou."
"I'll get past it," Aizawa shrugged. An arm latched around his elbow. "Kurose don't drag me again. I can promise I won't be compliant."
"I was thinking we'd walk, actually," Midoriya says cheerily, if a little strained. His grip was strong, too. Not enough to leave any mark, of course, but solidly locked to the point Aizawa wasn't sure he'd be able to slip his arm out of Midoriya's without a fight.
"…You're not going to give me a choice, so why bother saying no," Aizawa mumbled.
"That's the spirit, sensei!" Midoriya praised. He gently pulled Aizawa out the door, with Kurose following close behind.
"Keep an eye on him," Bakugou whispered to Yaoyorozu. She nodded, jogging after them.
Once she'd caught up with the trio, she walked just behind them with Kurose. "Sensei…" she began, playing with her hands nervously. Aizawa hummed, inviting her to continue. "There wasn't any damage to the cane, was there?"
Aizawa was silent. He tilted the cane, letting it slip through his palm from one end to the other. He couldn't feel any kind of damage to it. But he hadn't completely thought of that, either. Foolish, on his part. He'd just blindly trusted that Yaoyorozu would've made the cane practically indestructible after what he'd done to the first one. It wasn't a great assumption to make, in hindsight. It could have completely snapped in half at the center for all he knew.
"It's fine," he says instead. Kurose shot him an unimpressed glare through their visor. They turned to Yaoyorozu.
"it's made of quite impressive material, Yaoyorozu! I am sure that it's very sturdy."
"Oh, thank you, sensei. And that is also good to hear, Aizawa-sensei. But… if your own safety is not a concern to you—" Midoriya's arm stiffened again and Aizawa made a mental note that "do as I say, not as I do" wasn't going to cut it, clearly, "—then could you kindly try to refrain from doing activities that would result in breaking this one?"
"…I'll try."
"Thank you, sensei, I greatly appreciate it!" Yaoyorozu says happily, absolutely beaming. Kurose fought back a laugh, regarding Yaoyorozu with a renewed level of respect. No wonder Nemuri liked this class.
Kurose used the rest of the walk to the building, and then to their primary classroom, trying to think of a way of both warning the others of the class's observational skills and how to describe the morning to them. Perhaps, if they let themselves wish, they could do both at once.
It was a blissful ignorance.
Kurose had sent out a text to the group chat that had ended up in a summary that amounted to 'RED ALERT: THEY ARE OBSERVANT. STEER CLEAR OF BAKUGOU'. The most unprofessional they'd ever been in the teacher's chat for years. Nemuri and Yamada had initially responded in just emojis, until Snipe had taken the bait to actually question why Kurose had singled out Bakugou specifically. The moment they sent 'he asked if we were dating', the chat fell into chaos.
Their phone was buzzing almost non-stop since they'd sent that reply, despite not answering their panicked questions afterward. It was an equally foolish decision on their part. But, they were too paranoid of running into Bakugou in the hall. They had no choice once Class 1-A came around to their classroom, but they could at least hold their professionalism during class.
Kami must have blessed them, because Bakugou didn't try bringing it up again.
The weekend was something Aizawa could sum up in a record of few words. It was uneventful. Something he knew he should be grateful for, but he couldn't remember the last time he'd gone this long without going on patrols or getting into a fight. Granted, it was largely due to the patrols that he couldn't go more than a few nights without a fight, but that was beside the point.
Presently, he was lounging on the couch with a puzzle, idly listening to the class as they did their own activities across the dorm common room and kitchen.
Midoriya and his study group had taken up the space surrounding the coffee table (and by proxy Aizawa), Bakugou was tutoring in the dining area, and a few kids were lounging and/or playing on the game consoles. So long as they weren't being too loud, it didn't seem Midoriya and Yaoyorozu were having issues with their study session. The door opened and Aizawa paused in his puzzle making.
"Hello, sensei!"
"Good evening, sensei."
"Hey, sensei!"
"Good evening, kids."
"Ectoplasm," Aizawa greeted, resuming the puzzle. "You missed dinner."
"We left some in the fridge for you, just in case you were hungry," Satou says.
"I appreciate it, thank you."
Ectoplasm bowed, draping the trench coat over the back of one of the dining room chairs. Midoriya watched him, his pencil stopping briefly before he flipped to a new page in the notebook and began blindly jotting down notes. Somehow, they were all in relatively straight lines despite his attention being entirely taken up.
"…Um, Deku?" Uraraka mumbled, poking his arm with the eraser of her pencil.
"Sensei, I thought your eyes were blank because of the mask," Midoriya blurts out. He froze immediately after, his face collapsing into embarrassment. "U-uh, I'm sorry! That was insensitive! I didn't mean to insult you!"
Ectoplasm laughed, throwing the saved food into the microwave. "It's fine, Midoriya."
"I thought they were blank the whole time," Kaminari admitted, twirling his fidget spinner on the tip of his finger. Ectoplasm shrugged, pushing his glasses further up his nose.
"It makes it a lot easier to bluff who I'm looking at," he says. "Aizawa's goggles do the same thing."
"It's an add-on purpose," Aizawa adds. Midoriya was nodding beside him, jotting it all down.
Aizawa lazily felt out the 3D puzzle, already knowing this was going to be the cat again. He should have known when Ashido set it in his palm. The kids took turns calling Ectoplasm across the common room and the dining area, asking questions, making small talk, or just generally entertaining him. From the sound track and the accompanying trash talk, he could tell they had started Mario Kart at some point. He took to lazily trying to solve the puzzle whilst listening to the happenings around him.
The tutoring sessions eventually ended, with Bakugou's group having more whacks to the head with a rolled magazine than correct answers—he felt bad for Yamada at this point—and given that Satou had joined them this time he had the sneaking suspicion that Bakugou's group wouldn't have an extra volunteer for a while. The Mario Kart game turned into a full-blown tournament with a tiered combatant list if Midoriya confidently shouting out opponents for each round was any indication for him.
He wouldn't be surprised if they'd pulled down the theory board to use.
Aside from various conversations around him he didn't feel like picking up on many of the topics. He did hone in on one topic specifically, happening behind him at the counter, between Ashido and Uraraka. Uraraka was speaking lowly, and he could almost see her swaying side to side on her heels.
"I-I don't know… I can't bring him anywhere fancy, I can't afford it."
"Just go hiking, trust me, he loves it."
"But it's not a date. Does he think hiking is a date?" Uraraka asks.
Aizawa paused his puzzle solving. Logically, the only boy Uraraka showed consistent interest in so far, in any obvious capacity, anyway, was Midoriya. But Midoriya, as far as he knew, never went hiking unless it was with Bakugou. Most of the boys didn't, actually. Kirishima would go—if it was with Bakugou. Todoroki would go occasionally—also with Bakugou… he started listing students through his head and each and every one rarely went on a hike alone—and so when they did it was always with Bakugou. He'd noticed it before, of course, and had reasoned it was because Bakugou had by far the most experience with the activity.
In fact, Bakugou was the only one who consistently would ask for time away from the school in order to go on a hike—and half the time his reasoning was that it was endurance training through varying elevations—if he was going alone. If he were to be frank, Aizawa would admit that he knew Bakugou was lying through his teeth just to justify that he wanted to go on a hike for fun.
This? This was different.
"He won't if you say it isn't," Ashido offered. She shrugged, smiling reassuringly. She dropped her voice lower, and Aizawa could hear the smile in it, but only barely over the cheering of the Mario Kart tournament unfolding in front of him. "Besides you could float you both way higher than he could get in the time limit of a weekend."
"A whole weekend?!" Uraraka screech-whispered. She looked around frantically, checking no one was paying them any attention, before she cradled her head in her hands at the counter. "No, no, I can't go on a weekend hike with him—we'd end up sparring after half a day and then what? We lay in the dirt for hours until we're ready to move again?"
"I mean, you could always roll around in the dirt for other reasons—ow!" Ashido hissed, rubbing at her arm. She was giggling though, even as Uraraka's furiously blushing face was glaring at her. "Am I wrong?"
"It's complicated—"
"It's all complicated."
"It's different," Uraraka stressed. Ashido sighed, leaning against the counter.
"You two are vague on purpose," she sighed. She watched as Uraraka held her gaze, and then slowly smiled. Ashido gasped in mock offense. Uraraka bid her a quick good night, retreating up the stairs. Ashido, never one to be deterred so easily, ran after her. "GIRL, YOU'RE TALKING!"
"Only if you catch me!" Uraraka shouted behind her.
Aizawa nodded slowly, taking it all in. Maybe he should consult Nemuri a little about this. He wasn't prepared to be at the center of a mess of relationships this large. He'd rarely had a class near this size in the past—the idea of dealing with his students dating hadn't really been relevant. Maybe it was because they all knew he would threaten to expel them, but he wouldn't. He'd completely dashed any hope of them taking that seriously.
A hand patted his shoulder and Aizawa turned vaguely in their direction.
"Hey, it's lights' out. We're all headed to bed," Ectoplasm says. He gave another pat and moved away, starting to round the kids.
"One more game?" Kaminari asks.
"That's four maps," Ectoplasm says.
"…Okay, but once more?" Jirou pipes in.
"Don't make me use my clones."
"We're going to bed, sensei," Tokoyami says quickly.
Aizawa smirked at the rushed sound of the students putting the common room back together. He kept the 3D puzzle in his palm as he made his way towards the stairs. He'd gotten accustomed to carrying the cane around with him despite knowing his surroundings, always hyper aware of where it was.
He just wished that Ectoplasm was as aware of these things as he was.
Aizawa had fallen asleep before Ectoplasm could make it up to the apartment. He hadn't intended to—honestly he'd gotten more sleep since the start of this than he probably had in his entire career at UA—but the last thing he remembered was thinking he had to remind Ectoplasm to set the alarms and then he was out. Ectoplasm had, of course, gotten into some trouble actually finishing wrangling all the teens for bed after they started clean up.
Because after clean up was getting all of them to actually start their night time routines. And with almost twenty teens that meant a fun variety of nighttime routines. With the communal bathrooms on top of that, it was a fight half the nights for the sink counter space. He wasn't sure how Kurose or Nemuri or Hizashi managed it, but he'd have to ask them their secrets.
Ectoplasm's attempts were trial by fire. On the girls' side all was going well until Uraraka decided to float several items along the sink to the ceiling in a wild whim as she rushed by on her way out. She was giggling as she was chased by Ashido and Jirou, passing Ectoplasm's clone in the hall. Ashido ended up tackling her to the ground and Uraraka activated her Quirk in a panic, sending them both floating. The hall ceilings weren't nearly as grand as the common room, so it was a quick and light kick off the ceiling and a spin and they were back on their feet once Uraraka dropped her Quirk's effect. That did not stop Ectoplasm from splitting into five clones solely to make sure he could monitor all the halls on their side after that, though.
On the boys' end it wasn't much better. Not only did Kaminari think it would be hilarious to give Kirishima a small shock while brushing their teeth, Kirishima had been draping his arm around Todoroki. Todoroki had grasped Midoriya's sleeve in a silent plea for help since his toothbrush was stuck sticking out of his mouth. And Midoriya had, of course, poked Bakugou at the exact moment Kaminari sent his shock through the string of boys.
To say that Bakugou had overreacted was an understatement. In short order all the boys had fled from the bathroom, being chased with explosions, except for Kaminari. He was stuck in a headlock so tight that it took two of Ectoplasm's clones to pry him off, with a threat of detention for both of them, before Kaminari lost consciousness. The small string of explosions and swearing had woken Aizawa up for a brief moment, with the panic that a villain was attacking, but the laughter and the teasing that swiftly followed had him nodding off again shortly.
Ectoplasm trudged up the stairs with a heavy sigh. He should have brought his hero costume to change into in the morning instead of leaving that at the office. He took off his prosthetics, leaning them against the wall with a sigh. He collapsed onto the bed.
Knock knock
"S-sensei?"
Knock knock knock
"U-um, sensei? Are you awake?"
Ectoplasm squeezed his eyes shut. He recognized it as Midoriya's voice filtering through the door. It wasn't long however, before the knocking halted.
"—aking so damn long?!"
"I-I'm already waking them up, Kacchan!"
"You're not even in the room! Move outta my way, nerd, god damn—OI!"
The door suddenly burst open with a loud whack and slammed against the wall. Ectoplasm shot up to make eye contact with Bakugou. Aizawa was far ahead of him, his arm shooting out and grasping the lamp, throwing it across the room. Bakugou caught it with a stumble back into the hall.
"Oi, fuck off, I'm not gonna be late because you don't give enough of a shit to wake up!" Bakugou shouted. Aizawa sighed, pinching his brow. He leaned over, ruffling his hair to try and wake himself up a little.
"Bakugou, do not just kick the door open," he says.
"How do you know I didn't punch it?"
"You need those hands."
Bakugou gave him a 'tch' and set the lamp down. Midoriya grabbed him around his middle and started to pull him down the hall, seeming completely unperturbed at the immediate kicking and screaming that Bakugou let off once they started to move.
"S-sorry, sensei!" Midoriya called after them.
Ectoplasm watched the door groggily. He turned to Aizawa, who was pawing at the end of the bed for his shirt. Ectoplasm grabbed it and shoved it into Aizawa's chest. He swung his legs off the edge of the bed and made to stand. He instantly fell to the floor with a yelp. Aizawa paused and sat straighter, turning to him.
"Your legs—"
"Yes, I remember them now, thank you," Ectoplasm grunted. He sat and grabbed his prosthetics from the wall. Aizawa yawned and rubbed at his eyes.
"You still forget sometimes, hm?"
"Only when I'm really tired," Ectoplasm admitted. "Is that why you wear the blindfold even at night?"
"That only happened once," Aizawa said quickly.
"Mhm—"
"Besides, I forgot to take it off anyway."
"There's the truth," Ectoplasm teased. He stretched, cracking his back. "You're going to be fine getting downstairs without taking the express elevator, right?"
"I should have done that when the hall was empty," Aizawa groaned.
"Don't take it as a learning experience," Ectoplasm says quickly.
Aizawa chuckled. He grabbed his cane from where it leaned on the beside dresser and got up to stretch. He was really going to have to consider asking Kan for a back massage or something, he was getting too stiff not being able to spar with anyone for so long.
"Think you'll be able to get downstairs before I fall asleep again?" Aizawa asks, twirling the cane as he made his way to the door. He paused before it, knocking the cane on the frame to gauge how far it had opened.
"I can wrangle them all in thirty minutes."
"Is that a bet?"
"Hmm…" Ectoplasm tapped his chin. He snapped, turning back towards Aizawa. "Yes, it is."
Aizawa nodded. He made his way back to the nightstand, with Ectoplasm watching him curiously as he did, and rummaged through the drawer. Finally, after a few moments, he pulled out a stopwatch. He'd had Hizashi mess with the settings so that the default was thirty minutes—he mostly used it for his cat naps when he was pulling all-nighters to grade—and pressed the start.
"Start."
"HOW IS THAT FAIR?!"
Aizawa smirked as Ectoplasm rushed into the hall. He leisurely twirled his cane as he made his way into the hall and down the stairs. He passed by floor after floor, hearing the panicked students as they got ready. Ectoplasm had dispersed clones across all the floors, and likely an equal amount on the girls' side, and seemed to be taking something of a hands-off approach. For now. He could hear him guiding the students to do actions that made their morning routines more streamlined, shaving off precious seconds he'd need to win.
Aizawa waited by the front door, leaning on the wall, stopwatch in hand. He heard some footsteps nearing him and nodded. Hagakure peered around his hand to look at the stopwatch.
"What's that for, sensei?" she asks.
There was a crash upstairs and yelling voices falling over one another.
"I'm testing something."
Another crash and an explosion, followed by Bakugou screaming his head off at 'Icy Hot' and 'Pikachu'. On the girls' end it seemed to be going a lot smoother. He couldn't pick up much of what was happening save for some fumbling in the hall. Uraraka squeaked at one point. Hagakure swung on her heels, hefting her backpack over her shoulders.
"What are you testing?" she asks.
"Wait for it," Aizawa says, his smirk growing. He held the stopwatch lower, face up, so Hagakure could read it. "Time?"
"Mm, ten minutes, fifteen seconds."
Aizawa nodded. There was a thundering of feet coming down the stairs. Kirishima was first down the stairs, smiling wide and laughing, followed soon by Satou and Sero who were looking more haggard than anything else. Hagakure tilted her head as she watched the chaos unfold. Ectoplasm had resorted to carrying Kaminari down the staircase over his shoulder. He'd already emitted a shock strong enough to render him stupefied and the day had just begun.
Bakugou came roaring after them, almost lunging on the Ectoplasm clone to tackle Kaminari to the ground again. Midoriya managed to tackle him down instead mid leap. Aizawa wasn't sure what the commotion was about, but he could pick up bits concerning Bakugou getting shocked twice in the last twenty-four hours. And honestly, he was shocked that the kid hadn't blown out a wall yet.
He really was improving.
Hagakure started giggling. "Oh, sensei…" Aizawa hummed curiously, and she snorted. The boys, or half of them, were disheveled to the point that if someone told Hagakure they'd gotten ambushed, she'd believe it.
Aizawa opted, after holding the stopwatch down and hearing Hagakure stumble to speak through her giggles that he had seven minutes, to get coffee. He managed to tap his cane left and right toward the machine without interruption. He heard at least a few students jump out of the way of the swinging tool-turned-deadly-weapon, though. He could smell the coffee as he neared.
He reached down to his cabinet (his cabinet, he wasn't ever going to get past that) and pulled out the only mug he knew was there from the last time he'd been able to slide his hand across the shelving. He was mid pour when Kirishima was slipping past him to the fridge.
"Ah, sorry, Dad, I just gotta grab my shakes," Kirishima says quickly, stumbling as he hopped sideways behind him. Kirishima immediately froze, hand on the fridge handle. Uraraka halted on the other side of the kitchen island, turning slowly, gaping, at the two.
"Just don't grab three like last time, Kirishima and you're fine," Aizawa says easily.
He walked off with his mug. Kirishima watched him until he was at the front door again, holding the stopwatch out. Kirishima turned to Uraraka, joined now by an equally gaping Yaoyorozu and a stunned Tokoyami.
"H-h-he-he didn't even react…" Kirishima mumbled.
Aizawa leaned on the wall, waiting out the last three minutes (according to Hagakure) with his coffee in hand. He took a moment to just take in the scent. He was trying not to panic. He'd made it halfway back to Hagakure when it had hit him what Kirishima had called him. To his face, practically. And so easily, too. He couldn't address it.
Could he? No. It was weird. He'd already walked off. He couldn't just bring it up again. No, that'd be admitting it got to him, wouldn't it? Was it still weird? He opted to just drink the coffee and let the burning liquid distract him, instead. He couldn't let himself get too distracted today—he could have spared time to think about it if it had been yesterday—he had things to do. He was starting to go stir crazy with nothing to focus on.
The stop watch started blaring and Aizawa clicked the button, taking a sip of the coffee. Ectoplasm sighed, drawing all his clones back, and turned to him.
"Don't say it."
"Don't have to."
Aizawa turned on his heel, and out the door. The walk to the school was, as it had been for most mornings, with Aizawa in the center of a mass of his students. Hagakure was hopping in front of him—the rhythm of her shoes hitting the pavement couldn't have been much else—talking animatedly about what they were doing this coming weekend after such a lax one. He admitted he wasn't ever going to turn down a chance to sleep an entire weekend away with minimal stress, but he also couldn't completely relax, either.
He'd been fidgety the entire weekend despite his best efforts. He couldn't give the advice he usually could when monitoring a spar when a student asked. He couldn't help them with visual homework. He'd gone through all the 3D puzzles and Yaoyorozu was a bit busy for him to feel like he could ask for a new one just yet.
He made a quick pit stop at the teacher's lounge for a refill and to officially pass his class off to Ectoplasm. He was able to refill his coffee almost immediately because someone had already started a pot. After making his pour he took a seat at his desk with a sigh, propping his feet up on the corner.
"Ah, Aizawa, how are you?" Yagi asks from the couch. Aizawa tilted his head in Yagi's direction.
"My students no longer understand the concept of privacy."
"..Ah..?" Yagi took a tentative sip of his coffee. An awkward silence filled the room. Aizawa ran his finger over the rim of his mug.
"Is it just you in here?"
"At the moment."
"Okay, good," Aizawa sat up, picking his feet off the desk and leaning his elbows on the desk. "Yagi, I'll need you to help out in the last Hero class today. I'll be informing Nedzu today, just keep in mind after school he'll come get you. Probably."
"I see… should I be concerned?"
"No."
Aizawa offered nothing further. He drank his coffee nonchalantly until the first period bell rang, instead talking about random topics with Yagi rather than discuss it further. Once the bell had finished, and he was reasonably certain that there was a minimum amount of students in the halls, he stood with mug in hand and started to move towards the door. Yagi tapped his finger on his knee a few times before he stood and started to follow Aizawa down the hall, almost escorting him to Nedzu's office.
"I know the way," Aizawa says.
"I'm aware."
Aizawa smirked, shaking his head. Once they'd reached Nedzu's office, Yagi raised his hand to knock, only for the door to slide open. Yagi stared at Nedzu, hand still raised. He had forgotten about that trick of Nedzu's, somehow. Perhaps he was too distracted when he was escorting Aizawa, but he had been victim to that particular "magic trick" almost as much as anyone on staff. And he still forgot.
"Aizawa! I was wondering when you'd come by," Nedzu says cheerfully. He nodded to Yagi. "Hello."
"Ah, hello. I will leave you to it, then," Yagi says, patting Aizawa on the back.
Aizawa hummed in response and sat in front of Nedzu's desk. He had a feeling that there was tea waiting for him somewhere ahead of him, but he wasn't risking knocking it over by reaching for it.
"Is something wrong?" Nedzu asks, tapping his digits against the side of his teacup. "I was under the impression you were quite content with our previous negotiation."
"I had two topics to discuss," Aizawa says, raising each finger as he spoke. "First, that I want to do a demonstration for each Hero Class after school today, or the final class if Kan doesn't have anything too inflexible to work around. And second, there needs to be consideration for a Teachers' Dorm."
Nedzu nodded, paused, and cleared his throat. "I see. Why?"
Aizawa didn't bother thinking about whether he wanted him to answer that for the first or second. He was on a self-imposed time crunch here, lest he let his class start to panic mid-class about where he was. And he really didn't need to Capture Weapon a third of them when they were scattered around the school.
"I want to demonstrate why the class should observe their surroundings closely, especially ones that they frequent, in case they find themselves at a disadvantage such as mine. Or, that they can utilize their other senses when one as vital as sight is taken away in combat."
"Hmm. Initially logical, continue."
Aizawa hesitated. Normally, Nedzu would at least make an argument about that. Maybe something about how it wasn't logical to fight anyone in his current state when he could just wait it out without putting himself in danger. Perhaps he'd have brought up how Aizawa could teach them that just as well in a simulated scenario with something like blindfolds. But, his patience with himself was wearing thin. So, formalities be damned.
"Nedzu if I do not spar with someone soon, I cannot be certain what will happen," Aizawa admitted. "And no, I do not care if I lose, because they will not gravely injure me."
"I see…"
"And there are very few chances where I can legitimately test to see how well I would do in this kind of situation in combat."
"…"
"I came here with that as a formality."
"I do not doubt that," Nedzu admitted. "I of course will be monitoring it, perhaps even be refereeing. Whom did you want to spar with for the demonstration?"
"The entire faculty, excluding you and Chiyo, obviously, as well as Yagi and Kurose."
Nedzu nodded, humming. Going up against All Might, even for a few moments, without his Erasure Quirk was not a spar, it was a slaughter. Kurose's Quirk was simply too dangerous against someone who couldn't see, as well. Unlike with Uraraka in their exam, Aizawa wouldn't know when he was within distance to prime for a take down. And Nedzu wasn't a fighter.
"Very well. I'll have Yagi and Kurose sit on the sidelines with me. And of the Teacher's Dorm?"
"Frankly, it would just be easier," Aizawa says plainly. He waited for Nedzu to prod him further. He was only prepared for it because that was just how Nedzu was, sometimes. But to his surprise, and relief, he apparently wasn't in the mood today.
"I will consider crafting building plans," Nedzu says. "It would certainly make it easier for security, I suspect, having the entire faculty present on the grounds. Of course, it won't be mandatory."
Aizawa nodded. He opted to leave the topic on the table rather than continue with it. He could save that for a legitimate staff meeting to give the others a chance to voice their opinions on the matter. Nemuri would be advocating heavily for some kind of small spring bath, no doubt, not that it would get approved. But regardless of what features the building would have, he wasn't keen on taking on the full brunt of finance budgeting with Nedzu alone.
"You know," Nedzu begins, refilling his own teacup and sliding the one he'd habitually set out for Aizawa closer to him, "I'm rather happy I didn't argue with you further about the teaching arrangements. It's been quite fun seeing how every teacher handles your class!"
"I can only imagine," Aizawa says flatly. I fucking knew it.
He'd known, under normal circumstances, Nedzu could have argued for hours about it, content to negotiate for the entire school day if that was what it had taken. He was just grateful that Nedzu had been in a curious mood than craving only a short debate that day. Maybe he'd been taking pity on him after getting the report.
He wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
"That aside," that Nedzu says, smiling and resting his head in his paws, "Have there been any updates on your condition?"
"Well, checking isn't exactly a fun time."
Nedzu chuckled, waving the comment off. "No, I can't imagine it was! But, not what I meant."
"I can see if it's in total darkness, so it's activated by light. But it has to be total darkness. The only time I've been able to see in the dark with any light was the glow effect of my Quirk. I can only assume because it wasn't an outside light source."
"Interesting… I wonder if the Quirk user is aware of that distinct loophole."
"I doubt it. But, regardless, the pain level hasn't subdued over time. It's rather consistent, and the only difference is that I think I'm starting to get used to it the more I check."
Not that he wanted to check very often, granted.
"I see. That's unfortunate. Anything else?"
"I never thought I'd miss blinking."
Nedzu laughed, hitting the desk. "I didn't think I'd ever hear that sentence! Quite the predicament, isn't it?"
"Nedzu, I regret not hitting that man harder, if that gives you an idea."
"..Ah."
The final class of the day was officially subbed by Yagi, as luck would have it. Aizawa wasn't complaining—the class adored him, and any positive interaction that Bakugou specifically could have with Yagi the better—and it gave him a chance to breathe a little easier before things were kickstarted.
He'd returned to his classroom before the end of class bell. Aside from slightly derailing the lecture with the chorus of greetings that followed his entrance, he hadn't had to intrude too much. Having a full first half the day go by smoothly, followed by an equally smooth lunch hour, the second half of the day was almost paranoia inducing. He'd been able to inform Kan of his plan during lunch, slipping away with the excuse that he wanted to talk to Lunch Rush. And while he was against it at first, Aizawa wasn't taking no for an answer. Kan could have, of course, opted out of participation if he really had wanted to and joined the others on the sideline.
As he stood there on the outside of the changing rooms, Yagi was idly playing with his hands. A door opened to Aizawa's left and Majima held his hand high.
"Hey!"
"Ah, Majima, hello. You're still in uniform?" Yagi asks. Majima shrugged.
"I was asked to help you both out with the class. Nedzu said to keep it on."
"Smart of him," Aizawa commented. Students started to file out of the changing rooms, forming a group not far from the teachers.
"Why is it smart of him..?" Majima asks idly. Aizawa stuck his fingers at his lips, whistling loudly to gather everyone's attention.
"On the bus," he announced. "We're headed for the USJ."
As the kids filed out, half of them very eager and the other half groaning with complaints. Majima and Yagi exchanged concerned glances. Yagi cleared his throat, leaning forward to watch Aizawa's expression easier.
"Aizawa… what exactly will Majima, and perhaps I, be doing at the USJ today? There wasn't anything in the planning notes…" Yagi says nervously.
"Wasn't going to be," Aizawa said flatly. He started off for the bus, leaving nothing else to comment.
The ride to the USJ was, on Majima and Yagi's part at least, tense. Aizawa was being as vague as he possibly could be, dodging question after question left and right. Yagi accepted far before Majima that he was doomed to just discover what the class was covering when they got there. He glanced over at Aizawa. There wasn't anything wrong with the man who sat across the aisle from him.
To an untrained eye.
For Yagi, he could see the tenseness in his shoulders. The grip on the cane was getting tighter the longer the ride to the USJ took, and that wasn't exclusive to Aizawa. A quick glance around the bus revealed that a select set of students in particular were nervous. Uraraka and Ashido were sharing a seat, with Ashido trying a little too hard to distract herself with Bakugou and the rest of her boys. Uraraka was staring out the window, shifting nervously in her seat even as she was grasping Ashido's hand with an iron grip, and Midoriya was turned around in his seat to distract her.
Bakugou was being the loudest—aside from Aoyama and Kaminari trying to sync their impulsive karaoke duet—in the conversation. That came as no surprise. What was a surprise was any brief lull in the conversation lending to a nervous glance around the bus. He turned back to the front with a sigh. He regretted, at least somewhat, using his Quirked form that morning to stop crime, and by extension delaying his arrival to the USJ that day. He'd lie if he ever said he hadn't thought what would have happened if he had made a different decision that day.
"Aizawa," Majima sighed, turning into the USJ parking lot. "Could you not give us at least one hint?"
"I'm just exercising the agreement I had with Nedzu," Aizawa says, twirling his cane.
"That does not bode well," Yagi mumbled. Aizawa smirked. "I'm deeply concerned, Aizawa."
"You don't have to be," Aizawa says, standing to leave the bus first. He leaned against it on the outside, waiting patiently while everyone filed off. He could hear bits of speculation as the students gathered before him, waiting on Majima and Yagi to get off last.
"Is it rescue drills?"
"Maybe from the yacht?"
"I wanted to try the volcano."
"The snow storm sector is an interesting one."
Once everyone was off, they were led inside. The way to the primary arena was, thankfully, a fairly straight forward one. Aizawa had little issue, with the assistance of the cane, finding his way to the arena. It was the staircase that was going to give him the most trouble, he suspected. He couldn't remember how many stairs there were, simply that there were quite a few. He'd leapt down them during the USJ incident because he could land on either the stairs he could see, or land directly on the villains he was already attacking.
He could easily and reliably break his descent one way or another.
Once they'd hit the edge of the large staircase, Aizawa paused briefly. He shouldn't have. His hesitation, however brief, was like a blow horn.
"Are you alright, sensei?"
"Is it the staircase?" Midoriya asks.
"Trying to remember how many there are," Aizawa says, rather than admitting the actual nervousness he was feeling. Majima turned to him.
"Do you need me to—"
"If you suggest carrying me, I will kick you down the stairs," Aizawa snaps. He tested how low the steps went with his cane as the two debated their situation.
Really, just doing that action should have gotten their attention if they were paying enough attention to their surroundings. The quiet "sensei?" he heard from his other side was something he took pride in. His students were paying attention. He'd have to reward them a little bit for that, he supposed, as they were outshining the two Pros beside him, even if just in this moment. He started down the steps, figuring out the exact length and depth of each step as he went. Partially from memory of being in the USJ prior, and partially with his cane.
Immediately he heard Yagi choking, shocked, perhaps on a spray of blood behind him.
"Aizawa, you should wait—!" Yagi called after him, only to stop when Aizawa raised his free hand out of his pocket.
"I prefer this over one of you carrying me, Kami forbid," Aizawa emphasized, mumbling his last words.
He was not, under any normal circumstances, allowing either of them to carry him down some stairs. If he had his sight he wouldn't have any issues, he might even leap down just for the hell of it, but he at least knew his limits. Or, what he could push them to, at least. He heard the massive group behind him start down the steps after him. Two bodies were on either side of him almost immediately.
"Toshinori, Majima, if either of you touch me, I will throw you with my scarf. Do not test me," he warns.
"Can you even lift both of us with that?" Majima asks.
Yagi shot him a sidelong glance, mentally begging him not to actually tempt Aizawa to try and demonstrate. From what he's seen of the (very little) footage of Aizawa's patrols, and the security footage of the USJ Incident, he had little doubt that Aizawa could fling his decimated form to the bottom of the stairs. At least. But, even if he could lift them both, that risked further injury, didn't it? And where would he even know where to throw them?
"Bold of you to assume I can't." Aizawa snapped.
Asui hopped up to them, keeping impressive balance on the steep stairs as she did so. "He can. He's lifted heavier," Asui says. There was an awkward silence until Asui continued, sounding unperturbed by the implication that her sensei could bodily throw both the grown men beside her. "It was quite enlightening, sensei, kero."
"At least my students are smart." Aizawa throws back at them. Yagi sighed heavily, clearly upset but not saying anything. A fool's errand, in Aizawa's opinion. Even blind, he could still feel how off put Yagi was. The man could hide a lot behind that oddly placid, gaunt face of his, but he couldn't hide everything. Anyone would be able to tell by body language and his eyes alone. Majima, however…
"OI," Majima sounded off, taking another skip towards Aizawa. "Now I have to know. For confirmation."
"No, you don't," Aizawa clipped back. He lowered his voice when he spoke next. "Nem's masochism is just rubbing off on you."
"It's for science," Majima insisted.
"That's bullshit," Aizawa mumbled.
There was a snort behind them. He was definitely going to be hearing about that someday, then. Not that it mattered. He'd shattered his image with his class beyond repair and they all knew that regardless of how much teasing they assaulted him with (within some modicum of reason) he wasn't going to expel any of them. He kissed that goodbye before he'd landed himself in this position, of course, but the past days hadn't helped any, either. For certain the class knew he was in some kind of relationship with at least a few members of staff. Not that he was about to bring it up. Not that they were about to bring it up, either—
His foot slipped. The initial jerk of his body to try and regain balance was hardly present for a second before he felt a hand at the back of his collar and Iida yelling. He was, arguably, the fastest person in the entire group at the drop of a dime. Midoriya, Bakugou, and Todoroki had to power up their Quirks for a moment to get even a burst. Iida was almost instantaneous.
"Are you alright, sensei?" Iida asks. Midoriya was right behind, as if the boy had materialized from Aizawa's shadow.
"Do you need a hand, or an arm? Or…. Um…" Midoriya slowly quieted down.
Aizawa was stone silent. Yet, he could feel the intense stare that Aizawa was leveling on them both when he turned to them. Midoriya scuffled away to cower behind Uraraka and Asui. Aizawa had an inkling of movement to his right and shot out the cane. Majima bit his tongue so as not to swear, hopping on one foot. Yagi side stepped a few paces to get ahead of them, turning to watch, and trying to be a little stealthy in his positioning. If Aizawa fell forward, he could at least try and catch him. As emaciated as he looked, he wasn't entirely without strength.
Aizawa, however, instead pinched his brow. He tapped the cane on the stair a few times before he sighed. He held his free hand out and waited. It only took a few moments before it clicked in someone's brain and a hand was grasping his. He felt a little like he was being escorted somewhere, but tried to focus on just not slipping again. He wasn't giving Majima any more excuse to suggest carrying him again.
Once they'd reached the bottom of the stairs, Aizawa pulled his hand back and led the group off course from the central plaza, towards the mountain zone.
"Ishiyama helped construct a temporary piece for the USJ for this," Aizawa explained.
"Bad sign…" Sero mumbled.
When he hit the suspension bridge, Aizawa rested the cane across his shoulders. As the rest of the group neared it, coming up from the edge of the hill, there was a circular wall at the other end of the bridge. Aizawa tapped around the edge until he found the doorway and stood to the side, leaning on the wall as everyone passed by on their way inside.
"Kids, take your seats. Majima, Yagi, you're with me."
The kids shot the trio of men curious looks before they left for their stadium seats. Meanwhile, Aizawa led Majima and Yagi to the opposite end until they met with the rest of the teachers and Nedzu in a small room with a doorway to the center of what was now clearly a small arena. Nemuri bounded up to them, giving Majima and Aizawa a kiss on their cheeks.
"Hello, boys~!"
"Nem, do you know what's happening, because Aizawa isn't cracking," Majima says, shooting Aizawa a sidelong glance. Nemuri snickered—not good—and patted Yagi on the shoulder as she spoke.
"Yagi here and Kurose are joining Nedzu in the observation deck, and we're—" she swiped her hand over them all, save for Aizawa. "—going to go against Shou here in the stadium!"
"What."
"I said I would get this done one way or another," Aizawa says, tapping the cane against his shoulders. "Kan, is your class already seated?"
"Yeah. I have Chiyo watching them all to make sure no one antagonizes anyone else while they wait."
"I owe you for that one."
"Hm, yes, well! Kurose, Yagi, you're both with me!" Nedzu announced, started off down the hall. "To the observation deck we go!"
"Observation deck?" Kurose mumbled. They glanced to Yagi, who could only shrug in response.
"Well, of course! Kurose, your Quirk is a little too advantageous for this, and Yagi, it should be obvious why you're coming with me, as well as why I'm not participating!" Nedzu says.
"That's fair," Yagi sighed. "So, then, Chiyo is here for any sustained injuries?"
"Correct!" Nedzu pushed open the observation door, hopping up onto the table that was formed from the wall, looking out through the massive, glass-less window in the wall. He waved down at the two classes, who were sitting in separate sets of seats, split by Chiyo in the center. "Hello, students! Today you'll be witnessing a demonstration of sorts!"
Yagi looked over the area's center. It was a layer of gravel, rather than dirt, the walls just high enough that someone as tall as Kan couldn't easily leap over them.
"Today you'll be watching a mostly Quirkless hand to hand battle between the lovely staff of UA! Or rather, a demonstration of how to utilize your other senses when one is lost in combat! Eraserhead will be battling against fellow staff members, excluding myself, Thirteen, All Might, and Recovery Girl, of course."
"B-battling?" Midoriya mumbled.
"He must have a plan for this, right?" Uraraka asks.
"He's probably going to lose badly, going against Kan-sensei," Monoma says loudly. Bakugou whipped his head around to him, only being held down by Kaminari and Kirishima.
"You wanna make a bet, Xerox?!" Bakugou shouted.
"Kacchan, please."
"Kick their ass, sensei!" Bakugou screeched, kick starting the entire class joining in with cheers, with over half the class cheering far louder than the rest of them. Inside the walls of the arena, Aizawa turned towards the exit.
"He's got a great set of lungs on him, huh?" Nemuri laughed. Just as she spoke, Class B had joined in to cheer for Kan. Namuri sighed, her shoulders deflating a little. "It'd be nice to have a cheer squad…"
Nedzu chuckled, waiting until the cheers had died away before continuing. "Certain support items are allowed, so long as they are not projectiles. If a staff member is pinned, laid on their back, or trapped for three seconds, they are out and can no longer participate. As this is just a spar and demonstration, the goal is not to knock out your opponent, but to meet one of those three criteria. Pro Heroes! Enter the arena!"
Aizawa was first to exit, cane still languidly set across his shoulders. He had his Capture Weapon already loosened just a little around his neck. Since projectiles were out, Kurose wasn't participating, and Lunch Rush had opted out, he only really had to keep tabs on Kan, Ishiyama, Majima, and Nemuri with her whip. That damned thing.
He stood where he figured was roughly the center of the arena. Ishiyama had let him know the rough size of it, so he wasn't at a total disadvantage, and mitigate accidently slamming someone into the wall with his scarf. Even with Chiyo on sight, he didn't want to cause any of the staff too much pain with an impact like that.
He could hear the others taking their places, forming a ring around him. Each shift of their weight in turn shifted the gravel under their feet. He tilted his head down a little to focus more.
"Are you rethinking this, Aizawa?" Kan asks.
"Are you?" Aizawa asks, smirking under the scarf, and tapping his cane against his shoulder. He was forming a plan of attack as they waited, trying to mark where each staff member stood.
"KICK HIS ASS, SENSEI!"
"Bakugou, language!" Iida screamed.
"Hey, can't I get a cheer?" Nemuri shouted at them, waving her whip with a wink. Ashido stood up, cupping her hands around her mouth. The students around her immediately covered their ears and leaned away.
"FUCK 'EM UP, MIDNIGHT!"
"See, that's more like it!" Nemuri laughed.
"Don't encourage that!" Majima grumbled. Ishiyama chuckled lowly.
"Shou…" Yamada began, fiddling with his fingers a little. "Are you sure you don't want me withdrawing?"
"Too late to get out of it, Yamada," Aizawa says.
He tapped his cane one last time against his shoulder. Nedzu blew the bull horn to commence the spar. Aizawa whipped his arm and threw the cane at Yamada. It whacked him square in the forehead, sending him off balance. Aizawa heard a shift of multiple sets of feet behind him and shot his scarf out. He felt the resistance of a few of Ectoplasm's clones.
"Aiz—mmph!"
Aizawa planted his feet and yanked. He spun on his heel, bringing his head down. He was off mark by a few millimeters, hitting Ectoplasm more in the area of his third eye rather than the middle of his forehead. He released the scarf, kicking out Ectoplasm's feet from under him. A pair of feet came running at him from the left.
He shot the scarf there next, dropping to a crouch as he did. His scarf missed, but he still heard something hit Snipe head on, sending the wind out of him and skidding through the gravel.
"Oh—sorry!" Nemuri called, sucking in through her teeth, trying not to giggle. She drew her whip back to her.
"Asshole…" Snipe mumbled.
Aizawa shot up, sending his Capture Weapon in a wide arc around, snagging Nemuri even as she tried to deflect with her whip. The whip ended up pinned against her body, wrapped tightly alongside her in the Capture Weapon. She quickly readjusted her feet, managing to stay up after the impact. Aizawa yanked Nemuri closer, snatching the Capture Weapon right before it had started to coil around her body and lifted her in a judo flip. She hit the ground with a thud and a groan.
"That's for the nickname," Aizawa whispered.
"That's fair…" Nemuri groaned, capping it off with a chuckle.
Aizawa cut the Capture Weapon, taking one step to the side before a pair of strong arms held him around his torso. Not blocky and without Majima's support weapons—leaving Kan as the likely party. Aizawa did the only thing he could think of to catch Kan off guard enough that he could get free—he went boneless. It awarded him exactly a second of leeway to work with, but it was enough that he shoved Kan's arms up and twist his head to the side so he could slip down.
Once he had crouched, Aizawa grappled Kan's leg. He had to put in a lot of effort to lift, but he was able to still spin and toss Kan a few feet—right into Yamada if the shout was any evidence.
Monoma was stuck staring at the field. Class A was shouting for their sensei like ravenous sports fans, and he was left without any ideas for comebacks. He'd watched this man stomp in another man's head—clay-esque clone or not, that left an impression—and here he was again, watching a concerning lack of care as he threw the staff around like dolls.
"WOOO, SENSEI!" Uraraka screamed, floating just above her class in Asui's tongue.
"FUCK 'EM UP!" Bakugou roared.
"Okay, he's actually terrifying…" one of Class B mumbled. Yaoyorozu sighed, her shoulders sagging.
"Imagine going against him for a final…" she says dejectedly.
Monoma pursed his lips. He wasn't going to be able to get anywhere near this man for any payback for the 'asshole' comment. He would be risking real bodily harm—whether on a table or a wall probably didn't matter much.
Aizawa, meanwhile, had paused in the tension of the area. No one had shifted since he'd thrown Kan into Yamada. Yamada was still in the game, somehow. Kan had hit pavement, but Yamada had probably side stepped right in time. There was a shifting of weight behind him—closer than he'd thought—and Aizawa ducked, twisting his body with his elbow out. It made hard contact with someone's side.
Aizawa wasted no time after initial impact to shoot up. He grabbed the arm, Inui's, and let his body follow instinct. His hand moved to the wrist, his head ducking under Inui's arm to hook at the armpit by his neck. He brought his other arm around, twisting around so he was at Inui's back. He shot his right leg out, hitting behind Inui's left knee and twisted off his left leg. Inui dropped, his legs swept from under him. Instead of following him down, Aizawa released his hold, only snagging Inui's sleeve to pull his body enough that he landed square on his back rather than his side.
"FUCK YEAH!"
"Sensei, teach me that move!" Uraraka shouted.
"Is this how it is with their training all the time?" one Class B student mumbled.
"Kan-sensei doesn't teach hand to hand like this."
"Would we want him to?"
Aizawa stepped back into a ready stance. Ishiyama had yet to come for him, nor had Majima. "Ishiyama, you're not allowed to forfeit."
"…I know," Ishiyama says. "I don't have to."
Aizawa took a pause at that. The realization hit him before the hands grabbed at his ankles. There wasn't much he could about it; if he were honest. He hadn't heard Majima moving amongst everyone else. His feet were pulled from under him before he could properly try and throw his Capture Weapon. Majima had come from the side, but just as Aizawa had force the others to land on their backs, Majima twisted his arms, spinning Aizawa so his back hit the gravel.
"That marks the end of the demonstration!" Nedzu called out. Aizawa sighed, sitting up kicking out. He scored a kick to Majima's knee.
"Ow—that's not necessary."
"This is why we'd all be dead if you were a villain," Ishiyama says, coming up to them.
"He got all but two. Impressive given his circumstance," Kurose says, nodding. They turned to Yagi and Nedzu. "I'm going to join the students. Excuse me."
Yagi looked back down at the arena. Chiyo was checking on Kan and Yamada. Yamada had a shaky thumbs up, but it was clear the wind had been knocked out of him. Nedzu chuckled, hopping down to the floor.
"If they were giving it their all they would've fared better," Nedzu commented.
"If they were giving it their all, I imagine he'd have only gotten two or three," Yagi says, fingers cupping his chin. Nedzu shrugged.
"Perhaps. He wasn't trying as hard as he could have either, though, since it was just a demonstration."
"Hm? How do you mean?"
"Well, he could have easily thrown Kan against Yamada into the wall! Or every time someone was caught in the scarf. He wasn't going for any grievous injuries, after all!"
"Ah…"
Yagi looked back out the window one last time. Aizawa was standing to the side now, waiting for Nemuri to rush back to him with his cane. Yamada sat up once Chiyo was done with him, limping his way to the wall where the students sat.
Uraraka let go of her Quirk, dropping to the seats and skipping up to him.
"Mic-sensei, are you ok? You got hit a lot," Uraraka says. Yamada chuckled, waving the concern off.
"Oh, I'm fine! He could have slammed us against the wall if he was really wanting to," Yamada says, sounding proud. "He was holding back as much as we were."
"He got very far," Sero commented.
"Yeah… hey, kids, want to play a game?" Yamada asks.
"Sensei, I feel obligated to state that I am immediately suspicious," Iida says, raising his hand. Someone on Class B's side snorted.
"Oh, it's not bad!" Yamada assured them. He paused, tapping his fingers at the top of the wall. "Just… a stealth game… of sorts."
Uraraka blinked at him. She crossed her arms. "Sensei. Is this payback for—"
"Don't know what you're talking about, Uraraka, not at all," Yamada says quickly.
"Suss," Jirou mumbled.
"Then a bet?" Yamada offered. Ashido shot up, shoving students out of her way as she scrambled up to meet Yamada at the wall.
"Spill," she says eagerly, a fire in her eyes. "I hear the seeds of chaos. I'm listening~."
Yamada smiled wide.