If he was being honest with himself, he should have known that something was wrong when All Might started fidgeting like a cat in a dog kennel for no apparent reason, but Aizawa was about five hours, two cups of coffee, and a vacation away from caring.
The day had started with the announcement that due to renovations in the cafeteria, lunch would be spent in a specially prepared room further in the building. It wasn't anything special, actually. Just tables and chairs with some fancy catering service that Lunch Rush had organized. It was somewhere for the students to eat for the day. Plain and simple. Works for him. Most of the students didn't seem too concerned either, so no problems there. Great. Moving on.
After that is when things fell into the usual chaos. Aizawa couldn't bring himself to try and remember what classes it happened in, but if he was correct, there had been approximately five times that Mineta got slapped, two instances of Midoriya's mumbling, a giggling fit from Kirishima, and three explosions, two of them being verbal (and one of those two involving whatever Kirishima found so funny) and a literal one that cost Sero his desk. A part of him thinks that he should probably give Bakugou detention for it, but the other part of him is too used to it, which just makes it seem tedious and unnecessary. There were also a couple of times where the permanently deflated All Might would crash class for no reason other than to release nervous energy and get bloodstains on his sleeping bag.
When lunch came around, Aizawa inspected their temporary cafeteria. Besides the previously mentioned tables and chairs, the room was very plain, with open windows and a hard tile floor. It was originally meant for storage, but was never needed and is now simply used whenever an extra room is required for an event or emergency. From the looks of it, it was business as usual and the teacher assigned as supervision that day was at their post. Satisfied, Aizawa left for the teacher's lounge to get one of those cups of coffee he was lacking.
"YEAH! What is up, Eraserhead?" he heard Present Mic greet (announce?) from somewhere to his left.
"What happened to the coffee machine?" he asked, almost a hint of disappointment in his voice. Almost.
Present Mic shrugged. "Eh, from what I've been told, two students got into a serious fight of epic proportions and were sent here to calm down and make up." He stared mournfully at the destroyed piece of machinery. It would be missed. "They didn't."
Aizawa glanced at him with a knowing, deadpan look. "Was one of them Bakugou?"
"Probably."
"Figures." Not only were the remains still smoldering, but he now noticed the absence of one of the couches and the coffee table, as well as the large painted over scorch mark on the wall behind Mic. Yep, Bakugou. Aizawa let out a tired sigh.
"I am here!" Despite his scrawny appearance and the spray of blood that instantly followed his proclamation, the moment he opened the door, All Might was puffing out his chest and giving his best grin as if it were habitual. It probably was habitual now, if he were honest, considering the circumstances, and especially considering that it was only the three of them the room.
He was still being fidgety. Normally, he only acted like this if his hero instincts were going off. Considering All Might's history, said instincts were certainly reputable. However, A) As of late, this often happened with smaller, personal matters, such as a student being sad or ill. B) Recently, their security had been especially tight, thanks to the training camp fiasco and the Kamino Ward incident. So, logically speaking, there shouldn't be anything to worry about. It was All Might's problem. He could go find the problem student in his own time. For now, there was still plenty of time for a nap before afternoon classes, and Aizawa intended to take advantage of that fact.
Present Mic watched in confused amusement as Aizawa promptly face-planted into the nearest couch. The Voice Hero waltzed over as if he owned the place to stand near his head, completely hidden under a mass of dark hair and pale cloth, and leaned over him. "Hey, where's your sleeping bag?"
"Midnight stole it." She probably wanted to wash it after it got splattered by All Might, and it annoyed him to no end. It wasn't even like he didn't already know how to wash out blood stains, considering his line of work.
Either way, he didn't want to worry about anything right now. All he wanted was some peace and quiet. Was that so much to ask these days? These were the last thoughts running through his mind before he finally started drifting to sleep.
His head had never shot up so fast as when All Might's and Present Mic's incessant chattering was silenced by the sound of a muffled gunshot.
By the time Aizawa had thrown himself off of the couch and into action, All Might was already in full sprint towards the cafeteria, Present Mic giving chase and Aizawa not far behind. A part of him wanted to say that someone from the support department was being careless, but at this time, most students should be in the makeshift cafeteria right now, so it most likely wasn't an accident, and even less likely that it was a student or faculty member behind it. If it was the supposed traitor or the League of Villains making a move, then security and surveillance would prove this to be a really stupid one, so that likely wasn't the case either. But then that left the question of who snuck onto the campus and how.
Of course, saying that this was an attack in the first place without any evidence suggesting it was as of yet was the textbook definition of jumping to conclusions, but somehow, after so many years of experience in the hero biz under his belt, he knew better than to assume the best.
"AIZAWA-SENSEI!"
Iida Tenya came to a screeching halt ahead of them. As All Might and Present Mic kept on plowing forward, Iida approached Aizawa so that they were running side by side. Aizawa instantly noticed how pale he was, his eyes a mix of astonishment and terror. His hair was slightly disheveled from the simultaneous effects of fast movement and sweat, and his glasses were left lop-sided in his rush.
"Sensei, there has been an attack! A sniper, we believe!" he stated breathlessly. "Two students have been injured!"
Aizawa felt his stomach drop as Iida continued to ramble, the majority of the time being uncharacteristically incoherent solely because of how fast he was talking. The faint sounds of mass panic from the cafeteria became more prominent as they approached. "-It was amazing, sir! Truly inspiring! The most heroic thing I've ever seen him do! Now we must send for Recovery Girl immediately!"
All Might threw the doors open just ahead of them, Present Mic leaping forward. "ALRIGHT!" he shouted enthusiastically, trying to assure his audience. "EVERYBODY STAY CALM!"
"Don't worry, for I am here!" Entirely habitual. It was the second time Aizawa had heard him announce himself, but if no one else noticed the stark lack of cheeriness behind it this time, he decided it was best to keep it that way.
"ALL MIGHT!" A shriek. Unbridled fear. Desperation. A voice dry and cracking from excessive use. All Might's reaction was instantaneous.
As All Might dove through the crowd of students, Aizawa took a moment to take in their surroundings. From where he was, there was a clear view of the large windows to the left. One of them was almost completely shattered, massive cracks spider-webbing through the glass and perfectly framing what was a painfully obvious bullet hole towards the bottom of the panel. Directly across was a clear view of the city, bustling with excitement as the U.A. Barrier activated with no obvious threats in sight. It must have been set off manually by one of the other teachers.
If it was a sniper as Iida claimed, then there was no way that the civilians he was seeing didn't hear the gunshot, which meant that the media was gonna be down their throats momentarily. Spectacular.
He also noticed a distinct lack of supervisors. Where'd that guy gone!? He was new. A rookie hero with an admirable amount of grit and passion for teaching and the hero industry. He was only supposed to keep an eye on them until Midnight returned from her stupid little errand and took his place, but now, he was nowhere to be seen. Aizawa made a mental note to have Nezu fire that guy at all costs.
"Young Midoriya!" he heard All Might call. "What happened?"
"I just- I don't- I don't know! I- I- Please, help him!" Aizawa could tell from his voice alone that he was hyperventilating. It was worse than he thought, wasn't it?
Pushing through the crowd of students, the first thing he noticed was blood on the table. As he grew closer, he caught a small glimpse of Midoriya, his shoulders shaking so violently that they could cause an earthquake and eyes carrying so many emotions that it was absolutely dizzying. All Might was speaking to him in a calming manner and at a volume where Aizawa couldn't really make out what he was saying. Meanwhile, Present Mic had somehow gotten ahead of him and was tending to the injured that Iida had reported.
It wasn't difficult to put the final pieces together at the sight of a panicked Kirishima. He was standing behind Present Mic, watching over his shoulder with his shaking fists clenched so tightly that they were bleeding. Aizawa finally broke through the crowd.
If he hadn't known who he was talking about, he'd say that Bakugou looked like he was dead. Present Mic had already unbuttoned his uniform jacket and dress shirt and was currently tearing through his soaked tank top. Compared to the dark red color staining it, it made his skin look especially ashen.
What concerned him the most, however, was how completely limp and still he was. Normally, he was wearing a scowl or a smirk, brows furrowed and body tensed up like a spring; A predator ready to pounce. Right now, there was no tension in his body or face whatsoever, the only sign of life being the shallow rise and fall of his chest as Mic finally tore his shirt apart.
They were greeted by the sight of a bullet wound in his chest. Iida was more than right. They need Recovery Girl now.
"Eraser," Mic's voice took on the most serious tone he'd heard from him in a while. "Comfort isn't really your thing. You take him to Recovery Girl while All Might and I handle student morale. Hurry."
Aizawa couldn't argue with that logic. Ignoring the protests that rose from Kirishima when Present Mic pushed him back, he picked up his unconscious student bridal-style and turned to make a hasty exit.
"We'll come with Uraraka once everything settles down." Mic added.
Aizawa blinked. From his peripheral vision, he noticed her crawling over to where Midoriya was, now huddled up to All Might and still shaking like a leaf and grinding his teeth miserably. There was a steady stream of blood running down her face, originating from a massive cut on the heavily bruised right side of her forehead. She looked shaken, still within the process of registering whatever had happened, so Aizawa's first theory was that she'd also been in the line of fire and was grazed, but the angle made little sense and it didn't explain the bruise.
For now, however, it didn't matter. He could find out the details at a later time. As of that moment, getting Bakugou to Recovery Girl was his absolute number one priority and nothing was going to distract him from it.
And with that, completely ignoring any cry or protest from behind him, Aizawa left the scene at a speed that shouldn't have even been physically possible for him.
The sniper had been aiming for Midoriya.
The culprit himself had been a mentally unstable former hero and military veteran. From what Aizawa understood, he claimed that voices in his head had convinced him that the U.A. student Midoriya Izuku was trying to replace the Symbol of Peace all along and that he needed to be eliminated. Aizawa wasn't sure if he was truly that deranged or if a villain was pulling the strings behind this.
The reason he could get away with stalking and spying was because he had a quirk that allowed him to change and manipulate his own DNA to some degree, so he never appeared the same as he left and he kept slipping under the radar by simply changing things like his hair and eye color or his height. It was literally a perfect reconnaissance quirk, second only to Hagakure's, in the hands of someone with clearly dwindling sanity and possibly decades of experience.
The location of the makeshift cafeteria also gave him a perfect shot from a specific building down the street to execute his scheme, somehow both hidden from view while still allowing him to shoot at just the right angle, and thus, his plan went into action. He would have been successful too, if it hadn't been for one sole factor that no one could have ever considered:
Bakugou's inexplicably inhuman reaction time.
He'd been nearby and just so happened to be looking out the window when he saw the flash of light and reacted. The kid never ceased to amaze, did he?
Aizawa huffed. The last thirty six hours had been absolutely exhausting. The bullet had been embedded just under his heart, missing it by about a centimeter, and Recovery Girl had to surgically remove it before she could heal him. Thankfully, the operation went relatively smoothly despite the immediate threat of shock.
Much to Aizawa's relief, calling his parents went just as well, though rather than the disbelief and concern one might expect, Bakugou's mother simply responded with a "that idiot" and a curse, and that was about it. He chose not to worry about it for now. There was something in her tone that he couldn't quite decipher, but it did help to put him at ease to some degree.
He chose to spend the night in the infirmary, especially since Midnight finally returned his stupid sleeping bag. He'd have a stern talk with her later. It was also a wonderful excuse to avoid any contact with the news crews that were roaming around, and he couldn't be more grateful for that.
It was a little while after the surgery that Mic showed up with Uraraka. The bleeding had been stopped, so she was only there for proper cleanup and bandaging. Aizawa was sure, however, that she had ulterior motives.
The moment Present Mic left, she spoke up. "How's Bakugou?" Yep. That's what he thought.
"He'll live." he replied simply. "He'll probably be back in class by next week."
Despite the good news, Uraraka was on the verge of tears, trying her hardest to not let them spill. "...He saved me, too, you know."
"Huh?"
"From the sniper... He saved me, too."
It was here that Aizawa learned that he had been half right. Uraraka had, in fact, been in the line of fire. Before Bakugou intervened, Uraraka had unwittingly stepped in the way of the shot. Considering their difference in height, if Bakugou hadn't been fast enough, Uraraka most likely wouldn't have survived. When Bakugou saw the flash of gunfire, he'd grabbed her by the back of her shirt collar and violently thrown her to the side before positioning himself between the projectile and Midoriya. Uraraka's head injury resulted from the fall. Aizawa didn't know whether to laugh or facepalm.
It was still incredible, though. Within the span of a few seconds, Bakugou managed to predict what was about to happen, save two lives (one of them being Midoriya of all people) from certain death, and then nearly get himself killed. If that wasn't Guinness world record material, he didn't know what was.
"I don't think he even knows how to be gentle." Uraraka chuckled. Aizawa could see the concern still present in her eyes, but her shoulders didn't seem as tense as she made her way back to the dormitory. Aizawa continued to rest while he waited for either Kirishima or Midoriya to drop by next. Or All Might. That was also an option.
Turns out the correct answer was Kirishima, though Aizawa very quickly noticed that Uraraka was back and that she and Midoriya were childishly peering around the corner down the hall. Somehow, their presence didn't surprise him in the least.
Kirishima was looking up at him expectantly, eyes glistening with unfallen tears, and Aizawa couldn't help but sigh, motioning for him to do as he pleased. Kirishima moved swiftly to see his friend.
Aizawa's tone was deceptively bored. "Uraraka gave you all a status report from her last visit, correct?"
"Yeah." Kirishima breathed. "She said he was fine. I just..."
"I imagine that you were with him when it happened?"
Kirishima nodded. "We were heading to the dorms early 'cause he agreed to tutor me. One second, he was there, and then he was gone the next... I didn't even realize what happened until he...fell."
His shoulders slumped, head hanging low and unkempt red hair cascading carelessly over his face. After a moment, he turned away. "Sero, Ashido, and Kaminari might be coming by at some point. They wanted me to tell you that."
Aizawa nodded, slightly smirking under his scarf as Midoriya and Uraraka advanced to peering through the doorway.
Kirishima seemed to freeze up a little at the sight of his best friend's unmoving form, but his pause was only momentary. Despite how disturbingly slack he still was, the color had returned to his face and he was breathing much more easily than before. Kirishima took a chair and sat down next to him, gently nudging his shoulder in affection. "Don't scare us like that, man. Seriously. You nearly gave me a heart attack."
Aizawa watched silently as Kirishima shook his head, finally letting a couple tears fall. "To be fair, though, that was hands down one of the manliest things I've ever seen."
He sat and talked to his unconscious friend for an unknown amount of time, as Aizawa wasn't really paying attention to that, or even what was said for that matter. Whether or not Bakugou heard a word of it was also beyond him.
Once Kirishima left, Uraraka crept back in, Midoriya directly behind her. This was the first time that Aizawa had seen him since the attack, he realized, and he looked like he was in complete disarray. The bags under his eyes were a strong indicator that he hadn't slept, and it wouldn't surprise him if his hygiene had suffered as well. He refused to look anyone in the eye as he constantly fidgeted, shooting glances around the room like a cornered animal.
"I'm back." Uraraka smiled cheerfully.
"I can see that." he responded curtly.
Her smile only wavered when she glanced behind her at Midoriya before turning back to her teacher. "You wouldn't mind if we stayed for a while, would you?"
"Ugh, I feel like I got hit by a fucking bus."
"Ah. You're awake."
Bakugou looked absolutely drained. He merely gave Aizawa a glance before making a grimace, trying to pass it off as a scowl. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I just thought that as your teacher, I should keep an eye on you. That, and I had nothing better to do." Bakugou gave him the most annoyed look he could muster in response. Aizawa remained completely unfazed. "I also thought that you'd rather not have him be the first face you saw when you woke up, considering the hypothetical collateral damage that would ensue."
He motioned towards a couple of chairs in the corner of the room, where an exhausted Midoriya and Uraraka had fallen asleep. "They followed Kirishima here when he came to check on you and refused to leave. They skipped classes just so they could both play nurse for Recovery Girl."
"Well, kick 'em out!"
"All Might won't let me."
"Why not!?"
"Don't know." At some point, All Might had dropped by as expected, pulling Aizawa aside. Recovery Girl was having Uraraka assist her as she gave her patient a checkup, while Midoriya stood by for when supplies needed to be gathered.
"Young Midoriya is blaming himself." He'd told him sadly, though Aizawa had supposed as much. "I've told him that there was nothing he could have done, but..."
Even now, Aizawa could remember Midoriya's shaking, eyes filled with regret, anger, concern, fear, and so many other emotions that he couldn't even be bothered to list. Within that moment, the kid had genuinely thought that his childhood friend was going to die and that it was entirely his fault. Looking over the two extra occupants in the corner, the underground hero could clearly see just how exhausted they were, especially the problem child. Aizawa shook his head.
"He hasn't slept since the attack. Just leave him be." For all he knew, Uraraka hadn't slept either, but she was doing a much better job of hiding it if that was the case.
Bakugou continued to glare daggers at him, before shooting a look towards what he probably considered intruders in the corner and turning away in disgust. "Whatever."
Aizawa rolled his eyes. The kid could spout his hatred for his childhood friend and his little posse all he wanted. Actions speak louder than words, and logically speaking, people don't take bullets for people they don't care about.
It was as this moment that Midoriya decided to stir. Aizawa watched as Bakugou tensed, his brow furrowing and teeth clenched in annoyance. The freckled boy yawned, stretching slowly and rubbing his eyes in a tired manner.
"Sleep well?" Aizawa asked nonchalantly.
Midoriya looked over at him groggily. "Mm-hmm."
There was a growl. "Great! Now go get Round Face over there and drag yourselves the fuck out of my sight! You're such an eyesore."
Midoriya's head instantly spun around to face him, eyes wide with a sea of emotions. "Ah! K-K-Kacchan!"
Aizawa counted the seconds as the boys' eyes seemed to drill holes into each other, before Midoriya realized that he was staring, which was visibly agitating his childhood friend, and quickly looked away. They sat in awkward silence; an uncomfortable silence that seemed to weigh down the air in the room and make it difficult to breathe. Insecurities were left unspoken. No apologies or gratitude were uttered. Just silence.
And then, "Stop moping, you moron. It's pissing me off."
Midoriya looked up, but immediately turned away. "You shouldn't have done that..."
"Don't tell me what to do, shitnerd."
They still hadn't made eye contact, though Bakugou was glowering dangerously at him, but a small smile was now gracing Midoriya's lips. "Please don't do that again."
"What did I literally just say?!"
Aizawa blinked. They'd fallen back into silence, but preferring to stare at their hands rather than each other. Hidden under his scarf, Aizawa let a small smile creep across his face as he stood to leave.
"It wasn't your fault."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"Never risk your life for me again."
"No promises."
Aizawa made his exit, deciding to leave the fate of the infirmary in the hands of Uraraka and Recovery Girl. His students had been left without him for long enough and he almost feared what madness awaited him due to his own absence. He'd also have to think of a fair punishment for Midoriya and Uraraka skipping out on class.
"Whoever started the whole 'comparing you to a villain' thing isn't very smart." he heard Midoriya comment off-handedly.
There was a snort in response. "No kidding?"