In Need of a Hero by LowlyWriter

by alkhuzamaa

After a very bad day at school, Izuku makes a split-second decision to take matters into his own hands while waiting for his train. He feels like he's stuck in a tunnel of intrusive thoughts where there seems to be no light at the end— That is until he meets a strange man by the name of Aizawa Shota.

3. Ch 3

The night Shota meets Izuku, he does not end up going on patrol.

His conversation with Nezu had been long, and he hadn't even managed to drag himself into the apartment until just before two AM—where he'd been tackled and held in a death grip by a near hysteric Hizashi.

It was at that point he realized he'd forgotten to reply to any of Hizashi's texts between his worry for the child, and his blinding rage at the kid's situation. He feels bad that Hizashi had been subconsciously shifted to a back burner so he could focus on Izuku and then had been ultimately forgotten about.

He'd had an apology on the tip of his tongue when he catches Hizashi's eyes for the first time since walking through the door, but his words died on his tongue when Hizashi's expression crinkled with confusion, before softening with worry. He must look more wrecked than he felt, which he imagines looks ghastly if the swirling emotions in his chest are any indication.

It's been a long, long time since anything has shaken him like this, and Hizashi can clearly read it all in his expression. Maybe that's why any lingering annoyed frustration in his husband's eyes flickers out of existence as they study one another for no longer than a second, stood silently in their genkan.

He'd been ushered into the apartment— Hizashi hardly even waiting for Shota to kick off his shoes— and lightly pushed onto the couch (just the light weight of his husband's hand pressing against his tense shoulder had him tipping backwards in an exhaustion he'd been shoving down since classes ended that afternoon). He hadn't realized how tired he actually was.

In the safety of his apartment, he'd finally let his tired, aching eyes slip closed as his husband wrapped a blanket around his shoulders, telling him to rest before disappearing into the kitchen. He returned with Shota's eyedrops— bless him— and two steaming mugs of what smelled like chamomile tea.

He wishes it were coffee in his husband's hands, but that's not how Hizashi rolls.

Still, Shota rolls his eyes after dripping some of his eye solution into his dry, stinging eyes, but

Hizashi just shoots him The Look that has Shota's nose wrinkling in annoyance, but he doesn't bother voicing any complaints.

"You smell like coffee," Hizashi's nose had scrunched up along with the accusation. "It's so unhealthy how much coffee you drink, I'm surprised it's not coursing through your veins at this point."

Shota had huffed out a noise somewhere between a laugh and a defeated sigh, but didn't bother denying it. How else was he supposed to work a night job and a teaching job? Coffee is basically just 'be nice juice'.

Despite the craving of another steaming cup of coffee that he knows his husband won't offer until the morning, he takes the tea gratefully, letting the warmth seep into his cold hands.

Hizashi sits on the couch beside him, and Shota can't help but topple to the side, pressing his nose into Hizashi's shoulder. Hizashi has the sense to grab the mug in Shota's hands by the rim as he falls unthinking to the side, and he somehow manages to keep all the tea in both mugs without any spilling.

Hizashi's a miracle worker, Shota decides offhandedly.

For a while, Shota doesn't say anything. He just breaths in the scent of fruity shampoo and lingering leather he's come to associate with his husband.

Hizashi doesn't say anything either; doesn't force Shota to talk. Shota knows he's worried, and antsy, and probably wants an explanation as to why Shota is arriving home at two AM, when he'd texted Hizashi that he was leaving Yuuei just before nine.

Hizashi just quietly sits there; sips at his tea, and lets his second-hand card through Shota's hair that he carefully, and with ease, takes out of the lazy half-bun. Shota all but melts into Hizashi, and tries to let his buzzing thoughts calm enough that he can explain himself.

When he finally finds his voice, he tells his husband everything.

Catching Izuku out of the corner of his eye, rumpled uniform and closed-in posture. That unexplainable sense of dread that had dropped in his stomach.

He tells Hizashi of the panic he'd felt as the kid stepped closer to the edge of the tracks, how the child had tipped forwards—how Shota had barely caught him. Hizashi wraps an arm around him and squeezes tightly, burying his face in Shota's hair.

Shota is not new to attempted suicides, it's unfortunately part of the job as an underground Hero, especially one who travels by rooftops more often than not, but each one always claws at his own mental health; this one even more so than any before, because Izuku is the youngest person he personally had seen attempting to take their own life.

The dark-haired man tells his husband of the train ride, his observations about the child—those little details like the injuries and the spattering of charred holes in the boy's gakuran, and how he'd been holding himself—subconsciously nursing his injuries to alleviate pain.

He speaks of panicking when the kid tried to leave, and convincing him to tag along to the café, where Shota could actually see the child's injuries. Assess them, and then figure out where to go from there.

He tells Hizashi of the horrors the kid faced—running for an hour straight as punishment first thing

in the morning; running until he was physically sick and then made to keep going to carry out the punishment with no regard for the child's safety. Being tricked into thinking he was marks away from failing when he was obviously a smart kid. He talks of Izuku being shoved around in the hallway, forced to his knees and hurt by kids older than him, and how the kid had skipped lunch in genuine, warranted fear of the school cafeteria.

Shota finds himself choking on his own words as he tells Hizashi of how the boy had been shoved in a supply closet and left by his classmates. Ignored for hours, left alone in that closet for at least five hours depending on when his school actually lets out and what time the janitor actually let him out.

How the teachers at this child's school did nothing to help; how they hadn't so much as cared. He only remembers to breathe when Hizashi's hand resting on his shoulder gives a prompting

squeeze.

Shota sucks in a breath before finally continuing; telling his husband how he'd watched as the boy broke down into a panic attack, so dissociated from the world around him that it had taken ten minutes for Shota to even get through to the kid, and another five before Izuku had so much as looked up at him, eyes dark and clouded with terror.

And then... then the man pulls out the note that had been left in Izuku's locker. Izuku hadn't even noticed when Shota had slipped the note into his own pocket instead of handing it back. The child didn't need something like that around.

Shota had seen how just glancing over the note had sunk it's claws into Izuku fragile mental health, and frankly, he wants to burn the little piece of paper. And he would if there wasn't a chance of needing it as evidence at some point.

He passes the note wordlessly to Hizashi, knowing he wouldn't be able to force those words out if he tried. They were far to cruel, and Shota knows better than anyone how close Izuku had come to succumbing to the written sneer. How close he'd been to not making it to the kid in time.

Hizashi's entire frame stiffens under Shota as he reads the short note. His hands clench, crinkling the paper as he does so. He feels Hizashi's chest expand with a calming breath before he's blowing it out and turning to look down at where Shota is watching him.

"So... where do we stand now?" Hizashi asks calmly, and it's only because Shota has known this man since they were fifteen years old does he hear the anger in his tone.

"I talked to Nezu on my way home," Shota informs as he rubs at tired eyes.

It's all the information either of them needs to know that the issue is on its way to being handled. Nezu doesn't get involved in things unless he plans to fuck shit up, and he'd been quite happy to jump on board the takeover whatever abusive, discriminatory school Izuku attends train.

If there's one thing Nezu is good at, it's delving into things he shouldn't even know about and exposing secrets. Not to mention his influence, connections and general dislike of the human species—especially when it comes to abuse and discrimination. No non-human creature has ever held so much power in its tiny little paws, and Shota doubts anyone likes causing chaos more than Nezu.

"Good," Hizashi seethes, "I hope he burns that poor child's school to the fuckin' ground." Hizashi is pissed. It's not often that the bubbly, eccentric Present Mic, even out of costume, ever

curses. Shota's only heard Hizashi say fuck maybe... ten times in all the years he'd known him? The sound of it startles him briefly, before filling him with satisfaction. Another person on Izuku's side.

"If he doesn't, I will," Shota drags a hand back through his hair. His own voice comes out deathly calm, almost darkly—that eerie calm that can only be pent up rage.

By three AM, Shota is already three hours late for his shift.

Hizashi had just stepped away, leaving Shota with his thoughts in the living room. His husband, kind, and thoughtful, and honestly the only thing keeping Shota alive at this point, had taken his balled-up costume and capture weapon to the laundry room to soak in hopes the gum residue will loosen.

Shota has half a mind to get up and change into his spare gear, go on patrol anyways, but he knows he's not in the right headspace. A kid had almost died in front of him—and he should be booking himself a therapy appointment, as well as one for the kid.

That's an illogical thought though, because he still doesn't know Izuku, and he has no control over anything the boy does—that's a guardian's job. There's not a doubt in his mind he'll be getting into contact with the boy's mother at some point though—not only for a wellness check on Izuku, but with the names of a couple therapists that Shota knows won't be discriminatory bastards.

Plus, if he knows Hizashi, and he does, he's sure his husband had used the cleaning of his costume as a logical ruse to disappear into the other room so he can make a phone call to Shota's own therapist office. The office is most definitely closed now, Hizashi would just be getting the answering machine, but Shota would bet money on receiving a call about booking an appointment in the next few hours.

If only it were that easy for everyone.

The thought of sneaking off to patrol is short lived.

He knows if he sneaks out now, Hizashi will track him down. They both know how dangerous it is to be out on patrol if you're not clear-headed. That's when lives are lost and you put those around you, as well as yourself, in danger.

You can't make good split-second decisions if you can hardly think straight.

He knows it's not the end of the world that he's late for patrol, or thinking about skipping it. It technically isn't even a big deal, so long as Shota handles it right.

It's true that underground patrols are different from limelight patrols—they're not technically leashed down to set routes and starting and ending times, but he still just can't completely skip out on his patrol.

Shota shifts around on the couch, shuffling his phone from his pocket and scrolling through his contacts.

Shota gives a tired smile as he opens the new email from Nezu that pops up in his notifications, sent just after Shota had gotten home, the entire staff included in the chain. He'd scheduled a staff meeting for six AM, and there's not a doubt in Shota's mind that it's about Izuku. Good. The rat's making progress, and fast.

The man scans over the blunt yet annoyingly put-together and friendly email before closing the

app. He instead moves to his contacts, scrolling through the long list of names.

He has quite a few Heroes in his contacts from over the years—majority being underground Heroes.

Underground Heroes might not be well known to the general public—Shota least of all—but to underground Heroes themselves, they're a small community.

Working underground is more of a team effort than most limelight hero work is.

They do their own thing for the most part: patrol alone, and usual take out the petty thugs and low- grade villains they come into contact with on any given night, but they all keep an eye on each other and help out when needed. They have their own communication channels that are linked directly to the police, which makes night work easier and a bit less dangerous considering the majority of the world, limelight Heroes included, are asleep and of no use to help.

They know each other's routes, often times overlap with other underground Heroes as well. They're familiar with one another; Quirks and personalities.

Shota can name all of the underground Heroes who cover patrol routes in the Musutafu area.

Underground work often deals with bigger operations and organizations that take place in the night, like taking down drug rings and human trafficking organizations; the types of things that the government wants kept under wraps as to not worry civilians, where teamwork and police assistance is a must if they want to succeed.

Limelight work deals more with things covered in the media—flashy robberies, hostage situations and overconfident rampaging villains. Big names taking down wide-spread crimes due to media coverage. It makes people feel safer when they see names they know, faces they know, taking down threats.

Both underground and limelight are equally important, but there are some aspects of underground work that are darker than most daylight Heroes give them credit for.

He knows of one Hero who should still be in the area near Shota's assigned patrol route.

Nightwatch eagerly agrees to checking out Shota's route in his steed, not even needing to hear Shota's excuse for skipping out on patrol. He hadn't expected the Hero to pass it up, honestly, but he's still a bit surprised Nightwatch had jumped so quickly on the request.

Nightwatch was a newer underground Pro who Shota found himself running into more often than not due to their overlapping routes. Nightwatch had taken an interest in Shota, for whatever reason, and now the Erasure Hero is sure the kid looks for him on patrol.

The hooded, goggle clad Pro had slowly eased his way into Shota's tight circle of considered acquaintances.

He was young—not much older than Shota's current second-year students; as far as Shota knows, he'd just recently graduated from Shiketsu, and had all the same over enthused and excitable puppy traits that he was trying to teach out of his students. Heroics wasn't a game, and every Hero, limelight or underground, always gets a rather rude awakening at some point or another.

Nightwatch had a mutation Quirk called Vision. Not only did he have 20/8 vision, similar to that of a hawk or an eagle, but he also has night vision that made him an asset in the underground Heroics

world.

Maybe that's why Shota had let the new Pro get close—eye-based Quirks were few and far between, so it was nice to find someone else who had similar struggles. Nightwatch had also been one of the Pros Shota had been thinking of when he'd told Izuku that quite a few underground Heroes tend to fight Quirkless.

Shota slumps back into the couch after getting a 'thumbs up' confirmation text from Nightwatch.

The man lets his eyes drift shut again until Hizashi is walking back into the room, pausing at the side of the couch and eyeing Shota with uncertainty, "you're not going on patrol tonight, right?"

Hizashi's voice is strained, like he's rearing up to launch into a lecture about overworking and not taking your own needs into account, a rehearsed spiel he often recites to Shota. The dark-haired man's lips twitch faintly into a smile, as he lulls his head in Hizashi's general direction, eyes locking on worried green.

"No," Shota huffs, humor curling his tone, "Nightwatch agreed to checking out my route for me. I don't know if you saw the email, but we've got a staff meeting with Nezu in like three hours, and I'd like at least an hour of sleep before that."

"That's a relief," Hizashi sighs, slinking towards the couch where he perches on the arm of it, "wait, seriously? That's fast, even for him. I get it though, from what you told me, it doesn't sound like something Nezu would delay. But, yeah, you're right. We definitely should catch some z's before we gotta get ready—I'd hate to have to drown myself in coffee like you do to stay awake."

"If it works, it works," Shota returns in a deadpan.

Hizashi laughs once again as he stands, stretching his back before offering Shota a hand.

The man grabs a hold of Hizashi's hand and lets himself be pulled up. His foot catches on his shoulder bag, and for a second, he pauses as something crinkles inside it, "oh, wait," he pulls away from Hizashi and crouches by his bag, "I have something for you."

Hizashi perks up, as he always does for surprises, and Shota's too tired to pretend he doesn't think it's cute. He pulls out the brown paper bag, hoping the treat didn't get to squished.

"This is from Izuku," Shota tells his husband softly as he holds out the brown paper bag containing the singular cinnamon roll that Izuku had insisted Shota bring home for Hizashi. He doesn't need to cement how sweet of a kid Izuku is, he's sure Hizashi got the picture from how Shota had talked about him, but it has the desired affect when Hizashi softens even more, taking the bag into his own hands.

"Gah!" Hizashi coos after peeking in the bag, "I haven't even met the Lil' Listener yet and I already love him! He's to sweet!"

Shota just smiles softly as he follows Hizashi to their bedroom, listening to his husband plan his morning breakfast to include the cinnamon roll. Shota doesn't need to plan his breakfast: coffee. And maybe a jelly pouch, if he can manage without Hizashi noticing.

He does get at least an hour of sleep before he's jolted awake by Hizashi's annoying alarm clock, tired body protesting in every way as his sleep-hazed brain curses Nezu's very existence.

"Good morning, Teachers!" Nezu greets the entire staff as he scurries into the room. It's so early—

especially for the man who hadn't slept more than five hours in the past two days. He clutches at his coffee mug, and no one mentions it. "I trust you're all well rested and are ready for the day!"

The pointed look at Shota has the man scoffing under his breath as he cradles his coffee closer. Like Nezu didn't respond to his text seconds after he'd sent it at one-thirty in the morning. The double standards.

There's a dull murmur of voices muddling together, nothing really prominent over the rest. Shota doesn't bother trying to decipher any of the chatter—he knows Hizashi is peppy this early in the morning, so if anything of importance is said, Shota knows he'll hear about it at some point.

Nezu lets the tired drawls continue until they fade off, ears flicking like he'd intently picked up everything everyone had said. He gives a light nod as he pulls himself up into one of the office chairs, then up onto the long conference table.

"I assume few of you know why I've requested this rather abrupt staff meeting, and I do apologize for the haste of it. An important matter has come to my attention, and thus will be dealt with in a timely manner."

"Does this have something to do with the class cancellations today?" Midnight asks with a quirked eyebrow. She's not yet dressed in her costume, instead donning a sweater, a pair of skinny jeans and he regular prescription eyeglasses.

Shota thinks briefly to the second email he'd groggily squinted at when he'd woken that morning.

The second email was addressed to the staff and the entire student body. It was a simply cancellation of classes for the day, and Nezu had offered no excuse as to why. Shota just knew that come tomorrow, he, and the rest of the staff, will need to do damage control, and the questions he knows will arise already make his tired head hurt.

That's a tomorrow problem.

"It certainly does!" Nezu cheers happily, whiskers twitching as he makes his way to the center of the table. "Instead of teaching like usual, I have a very important assignment for each and every one of you."

Shota watches as some of his associates faces pinch in confusion, while others look intrigued by the idea. He's sure he and Hizashi are sharing a grimace, unsure what Nezu actually has planned, but knowing more than any of their co-workers.

He understands the confusion and hesitance silencing his peers though, it's a first that Nezu willingly cancels classes in his precious school. It's also one of the few occasions Nezu sits them all down with an assignment.

It's quiet enough to hear a pin drop as the rat pauses for dramatic effect.

"Today, I will be sending you all off on surprise inspection visits!" Nezu flashes a toothy grin to his staff. The silence magnifies into stunned confusion. "There're simply no people I trust more than my own hand selected staff, so you all will be conducting surprise visits to schools in the Musutafu area!"

"You cancelled our classes today so we can conduct school visits?" Vlad King blinks slowly, as if processing the words, from his spot at the table. "What about our students? Is this really worth impeding on their educations?"

"Indeed, I did!" Nezu struts along the table top towards the stocky man, tone edging authoritative despite the cheer, "it has come to my attention that some schools across the city have been displaying discriminatory and frankly abusive tendencies that have been long overlooked. That simply will not do. Can we call ourselves Heroes if we turn a blind eye and ignore the problem? I don't think so!"

"I see," Vlad wilts back into his seat, "I apologize, Sir."

"Forgiven," Nezu stared at him with his beady black eyes, a silent warning, before he's marching back to the center of the table, hands laced behind his back. "As for our students, I don't doubt some will be upset at the lack of classes today, as any student eager to learn would be, but patience is also a key trait one must possess to be a successful Hero. And," the principal's smile sharpens, "even Yuuei students deserve a break every so often."

The teachers glance around at one another, but no one dares say anything.

"Now then," Nezu draws all the attention back to himself, "I do think it's high time these dreadful accusations were looked into, no? I've set you each up with a schedule of schools in the area you will be stopping in at. Your instructions are simple— observe.

"Observe the students. Observe the staff. Each one of you is a skilled Pro Hero. Look for discrepancies in how schools are running, versus how they should be running. A Pro Hero showing up unannounced will make them scramble if they are indeed guilty. We want that. We want them to panic. Covering up one's wrongdoings in a hurry often leads to things of importance being overlooked. It leads to openings for us.

"I'd like to make this clear, teachers, if you have any doubts about the safety of any students you come across— a single lapse of confidence in how a school is running or treating their students— you report back to me and I will look into it promptly. You are completely within your rights to act on any blatant abuse you come across, but do keep in mind once school officials are onto us, they will cover their tracks."

"How did this come to your attention, Sir?" Snipe asks calmly. He's the brave one to speak, overly- brave even, since they'd all seen Nezu's cheerful disguised short-temper just seconds ago when addressing Vlad.

"A member of our staff came to me with some concerns after encountering a child in a very poor headspace yesterday evening. I'll spare you all the details for confidentiality sake, but I do hope we can all do our best and get to the bottom of this. I'm sure we can all agree that this is of utmost importance—a child suffering under Pro Hero watch, in a school no less, is appalling. Negligence like this is often overlooked due to Quirk status, and I doubt this is the only child in need of help out there. You all know there's nothing I despise more than cruelty. Do take my word on the severity of the situation, and handle it with care, teachers."

When Nezu stops talking, the teacher around the table glance at each other. Shota keeps his head bowed over his coffee, hair curtaining his eyes. He feels Hizashi's hand squeezing his knee softly under the table, and takes great comfort in it.

"Well then, if there's no questions or comments, a list of schools selected specifically for each of you will be sent to your emails shortly. You have the entire school day to make your rounds, hence classes at Yuuei being cancelled; I expect you all to provide your full and uninterrupted attention to this assignment. Email me any school you find lacking, as well as any incidents you might come across. Use your best judgments as the fine Pro Heroes and teachers I know you all to be!"

There's another murmur of voices, all in agreement. No one is willing to deny Nezu, and none of this staff would ever look the other direction when it comes to children and students in harm's way —whether that be a villain, abuse or discrimination.

The staff disperses in an orderly fashion as soon as they're dismissed; everyone leaving the conference room to prepare for their tasks. Some of them are in costume, like Hizashi and Shota, while others are leaving to get changed and gather their equipment.

Shota hesitates after the last person leaves the conference room. He'd gotten his own list of schools, but none of them were even close to the district he'd met Izuku in, nor where Izuku lives.

"A question, Aizawa-kun?"Nezu, sharp as ever, asks without turning to look at him.

"Did you find the kid?" Shota tucks his hands in his pockets, shoulders slumping.

"I did." The stoat turns to face Shota, his expression softening faintly, "I assume this is about the fact you're not visiting any schools in the area—that was indeed intentional, Aizawa-kun. You're already far too involved in this case, so I decided it would be unwise to let you anywhere near the school that has harmed the child you met."

Shota opens his mouth to refute, but Nezu carries on before he can, "I know how you tend to get, Aizawa-kun. You care far more than you let on, and I know you're seeking justice for the child, but brunt force will not do any of us any favors. So, take a step back from Midoriya-kun's case and focus on the work you've been assigned. Put faith in your fellows, Aizawa-kun."

Shota's jaw snaps shut as his shoulders slump in defeat.

He only wanted to kick Izuku's teacher's teeth in a little bit. And maybe his P.E. teacher as well. And, depending on the principal and how much he knows, him too. Not to mention that group of abusive little pricks who'd targeted Izuku in the hallway, and this 'Kacchan' character that had watched his friends lock a poor kid in a storage closet for hours—

...

Maybe Nezu has a point.

"Who's going to his school then?" Shota can't help but ask, a frown on his face. As much as he does trust his peers, this feels more personal than it should. Shota wants to know this will be handled efficiently.

"Don't fret, Aizawa-kun," Nezu's eyes darken, if that's even possible, "I will be handling Aldera Junior High personally. I expect you to follow your assigned schedule just as the rest of the staff is. You're welcome to see me at the end of the day if you're curious about the outcome, I'll have tea ready!"

Well, that's about as terrifying as any school could get. Nezu is well known and feared. There's no doubt that the rat will get exactly what he wants, even if that happens to be burning the school to the ground.

Not that he would.

...Probably.

"If that's all?" Nezu chirps, hands laced in front of him as one of his ears flicks in amusement.

"Yes," the man finally sighs out, hands digging deeper in his pockets, "that's all."

"Wonderful!" Nezu flashes a toothy smile, "I look forwards to all the reports I'll be getting in, it gets a tad bit dull around here sometimes."

Shota just nods dumbly as the stoat bows his head and slips out the door past Shota. How Nezu can think anything at Yuuei is boring is beyond him.

The man lingers for a second longer before blowing out a sigh and turning on his heels to follow everyone else out. There's no point in trying to argue a losing case—Nezu has clearly already made up his mind, and the last thing Shota needs is to put himself on Nezu's shitlist for being persistent.

Looks like Shota will be joining Nezu for tea this evening.

Aizawa Shota 3:42 PM

How was your day today, Izuku?

I hope it was better than yesterday.

Shota honestly forgets he impulsively texted Izuku just after leaving the third and last school he was assigned to visit. The results weren't great overall—but nowhere near as bad as Izuku's school had been reported as.

Aldera Junior High.

The name put a foul taste in his mouth.

The first two schools Shota visited didn't have any Quirkless attendants.

Still, Quirk discrimination happened everywhere, especially in school settings where supervision was lacking. He met a handful of kids with impractical Quirks, and even came across a few kids with 'villainous' Quirks, which struck a dagger of knowing through Shota's chest.

He'd been in the exact same position with his own Quirk.

Shota jotted down names of teachers who looked far too jittery and antsy to have a Pro peeking into their classroom, and reported any incidents he happened across.

Nezu will surely have his work cut out for him.

Bullying seemed the most common offense in these schools, with teacher overlooking or ignoring, but it was hard to pin that on someone. Disregard and ignorance would be the fall of mankind at this rate.

One such bullying incident involved a purple-haired boy getting shoved into a row of lockers and laughed at. Snarled taunts of 'Villain-waiting-to-happen' and 'villainous Quirk' making Shota undeniably angry as he approached the commotion.

Erasure was enough to have the assailants fleeing hastily, stumbling over themselves as they put distance between the purple-haired kid and Hero and themselves. There was really no need to activate his Quirk, since no Quirks were being used, but he knew it was a terrifying sight that made villains nervous.

Even more surprising, the purple-haired kid, Shinsou Hitoshi, as he'd introduced himself as when asked, had known him. Rare. Frighteningly so. The number of adults he'd needed to flash his Hero License at just for them to believe he was a legit Pro Hero was astounding, but here was a child no older than a first year who knew him.

He'd asked similar questions to what he'd asked Izuku the evening before—receiving answers not much better than the green-haired boy. Shota bit back a sigh as he patted the kid on his fluffy, unkept hair (a kid after Shota's own heart), telling him to ignore the criticism that came with Quirks people deemed scary.

He pretends not to notice the tears glistening in the child's eyes when Shota tells him he can be a Hero too. As he gets down on the child's level and tells him that Quirks don't define the person; which Shota really shouldn't have to keep telling all these poor mistreated children, but won't stop telling them until they don't need to hear it.

Shinsou gives a determined nod as he wipes away the evidence of the tears that didn't fall. Another child Shota looks forwards to teaching in the upcoming years.

The third school he visited did have a Quirkless child attending, but the results there were nowhere near as bad as he'd expected. He'd talked to the child in question, a young girl just about to graduate, and he didn't pick up any of the same mannerisms or red flags he did from Izuku.

The school was in a higher end area, admission fees probably costing a small fortune.

She had decent grades, and a group of friends, most of which having quite powerful Quirks (according to the teacher). A frankly protective group of friends, if the cautious, watchful glares Shota received as he talked to her were anything to go off.

The school wasn't perfect, no school is, but it was by far one of the best he'd seen. Nothing he could see to report back to his boss, which was nice. Not all schools were revoltingly discriminatory, and as it turns out, the whole new generation wasn't a complete loss of decency.

Shota shakes himself from his thoughts as his phone vibrates. It's almost startling, considering the only person who really texts him is Hizashi, who Shota knows is doing some catch up marking in the teacher's office and wouldn't be texting him.

He can't help but smile when he sees Izuku's name flash on the screen.

Izuku 4:24 PM

Oh! Aizawa-san!

I didn't expect to hear from you again!

I really didn't think you were serious last night Sorry!!

Izuku 4:26 PM

It was so much better!

You won't believe what happened today!

Wait

youre probably busy

I'm sorry for bothering you Aizawa-san.

I wasn't ignoring you. I was on the train home when you texted!

I just get a little excited sometimes.

It was just so cool!!

I'm still being distracting

Sorry.

Aizawa Shota 4:26 PM

I texted you first, Izuku, so it's illogical to believe you're bothering me. Don't leave me in suspense here, Kid. What happened?

Izuku 4:27 PM

A Pro Hero came to my school today!!!

Can you believe it? An actual Pro Hero!

Aizawa Shota 4:28 PM

No kidding.

Shota smiles to himself unable to cap the fondness spreading in his chest. He'd known Izuku was fond of Heroes, just by how he'd innocently commented about wanting to be one when he grew up, but he hadn't known he was this into them.

He imagines the boy bouncing on the balls of his feet, eyes wide with excitement. He liked that look on Izuku far more than the defeated despair he'd first encountered.

For a second, Shota wonders if the boy would've acted differently if he'd originally introduced himself by his Hero name when they met. Would he have closed off completely, or opened up easier? How deep did his Hero worship run?

He shakes his head as he types out his next text, intent to keep the boy talking even though he already knows exactly who Izuku met.

Aizawa Shota 4:29 PM

Which Pro did you meet?

Izuku 4:29 PM

Mr. Principal!!

He was so cool, Aizawa-san! Have you heard of him? He's an animal with a Quirk!!!

Isn't that so cool?

It's sooo rare!

I just can't believe he talked to me! I've never actually met a real Hero before! He was a little scary at first, but he was just so nice! Just like you!

An amusement crosses Shota's face as he reads the boy's texts. He hovers his thumbs over the keyboard and thinks of a teasing reply when a new text pops up and Shota's nearly laughing at the obvious backtracking the kid does.

Izuku 4:31 PM

Not that I think ur scary! Youre so nice!

Aizawa Shota 4:31 PM Oh yeah?

That's pretty cool, kid.

Izuku 4:32 PM

I know!!!!

He even answered some of my questions!

Then he came into the classroom and asked to speak with sensei in the office.

He was gone for the whole day, and we had this really nice sub who put on a Pre- Quirk film for us to watch! Plus no one did anything to me because Mr. Principal was in the school!

I wonder what happened

Do you think he's in trouble with the Pros? "Are you chatting with Midoriya-kun, Aizawa-kun?"

Shota startles, having completely forgotten that he was in Nezu's office sipping at a perfectly steeped green tea made exactly how he likes it. Nezu is a master of teas, he shouldn't be surprised the rodent knows him and his palate so well.

He gives a gruff hum, wrinkling his nose as he sets his phone screen-side down on his thigh. He's a little surprised Nezu hadn't called him out for being rude, just inquired about the boy. He should probably be afraid Nezu seems to already have taken a shine to the boy.

The fact Nezu stopped in to chat with Izuku; answering his questions, and being pleasant enough for Izuku to deliver such a raving review of the usually terrifyingly passive stoat should also be worrying.

"He was quite charming," Nezu's nose twitches, "as far as humans tend to go. Very intelligent as well. You were right about the lack of accurate grading; I found a file of falsified test papers in one

of the principal's drawers. That boy is smart, Aizawa-kun. Knowledgeable, and quite gifted in analysis as well; from what I gathered simply from the questions he asked about my Quirk. Very few professional analysists have delved quite so far in the abilities of my Quirk."

Nezu pauses, gazing over Shota's shoulder thoughtfully, "do you know if Midoriya-kun has any interest in Heroics? Interest in Yuuei in general? Business, Support Course, General Education?"

"He does," Shota answers slowly, a little afraid of what Nezu is plotting. "Or he did. Izuku doubts he'll even make it into high school, and with almost a whole semester of near failing grades, not to mention everything from before Junior High. We both know his worries are valid, those grades alone will make his chances of admission nonexistent. You should know that."

"Yes, yes," Nezu frowns, whiskers arching forwards thoughtfully, "and there is the rather hefty disciplinary file I found as well. The grades are quite easily swept away with retesting and proper marking, but that... hm. It is quite true that many schools will turn the boy away due to it—our admission rates are low as is, it'll be difficult to find schools willing to give the boy a chance with that kind of academic anchor tied to him."

"I don't think he's a bad kid," Shota offers quietly, and it's not much, and doesn't really feel convincing considering he too has only known the boy for a day. "The levels of blatant discrimination in that school were disgustingly high. It's discriminatory slander. If his grades were falsified due to his status, who's to say his whole record hasn't been?"

"That is a very real possibility," Nezu gives a nod, one foot crossing over the other as he sips his own cup of tea, "as of now, there's little I can do to have it wiped clean. What's done is done."

Shota opens his mouth to dispute the rodent, but Nezu, quick as a whip, carries on, "that said, however, if he is interested in Yuuei come the start of his high school career, I am willing to overlook and wave away his unsavory record due to the questionability of how legitimate it truly is. Should he decide to pursue school at Yuuei, he will start with a clean slate, and I will personally vouch for the boy at any school to applies to—as I'm sure you will as well, yes?"

It's not perfect, but it's better than nothing. Shota's word doesn't mean a whole lot. He's hardly known despite his Hero license, but Nezu on the other hand? He has power. His words mean something.

"Thank you," Shota bows his head, relief easing some of the weighing tension off his shoulders.

"Don't mistake me, Aizawa-kun," Nezu shakes his head with a fond smile. It's fond, but edging towards sharp and scheming, "I'm not doing this for you, though you did bring this to light. I'm merely curious to see what the future holds for that boy."

Shota stills as he eyes the rodent across from him. Nezu doesn't so much as blink as Shota studies him. He's known this rodent for many, many years and he still has no idea how to read him. Shota doubts anyone does.

Nezu's whiskers flick forwards in silent agreement as if he'd read Shota's mind. Or read his thoughts in his neutral expression.

Just something else that makes Nezu terrifying.

"Just so we're on the same page, Aizawa-kun," Nezu smiles over the rim of his teacup, "he'll receive no favoritism nor special treatment— should Midoriya-kun choose the route of trying for Yuuei admission; it won't be easy. We live in a world where Quirks are power, as unfortunate as

that notion is. He'll need to pass on his own account—perhaps as you did, Aizawa-kun. It has been quite a few years since a student has shown such promise."

"Of course, Nezu-san."

"Not that I've ever doubted your teaching in the slightest; you've always been a fair and just man —expulsion record aside."

Shota lets out a huff, "thanks."

Aizawa Shota 5:02 PM

I'm not sure, Kid.

Maybe.

Your teacher didn't sound like a very nice man to me.

He probably got what he had coming, karma catches up to everyone. Good or bad.

It didn't take long for the media to sink it's claws into the fact Yuuei Pro Heroes waltz into all the schools in the Musutafu area, in one single day. At first, no one quite knew what was going down. It all just appeared as random check-ins—a first, but not strange—until one week later where Nezu spent the day personally visiting each school with skeletons in the closet, a smile that's to taut to be kind leaving everyone in his path shaken.

They called it the Education Purge— and it blew up across Japan. Dozens of teachers were fired for various reasons.

Teachers and administrators across elementary schools, middle schools, junior highs, and high schools were dismissed at Nezu's sharp insistence. It's not like there was any chance of redemption when Nezu was the one insisting—not to mention all the cold hard evidence the rat had managed to get his hands on in under a week.

Shota's not sure he's ever felt so proud of a group of Heroes than he was of the Yuuei staff, who rid the education system of over forty teachers across the Musutafu district who abused their position and/or their students.

Six of which teachers ended up charged and in Tsukauchi's hands, a couple of which could quite possibly be facing jailtime.

Izuku homeroom teacher was among them.

There was video footage of the man grabbing Izuku's shoulder and arm, getting in his face, and

though the cameras don't have sound, it was very clear that he was screaming at him.

The abuse was so clear that Shota's stomach had screwed up as he'd watched the collection of multiple incidents involving Izuku and his homeroom teacher. Some in private and others in front of the whole class.

He wonders why Izuku didn't mention that, but the kid did seem to believe a lot of what happened to him was normal.

Society was so fucked. This was why he'd become a Hero in the first place; so he could help those

in need. He knew school wasn't a nice place for some people, his own school career prior to getting into the Heroic course hadn't been easy, but it's worse now.

And it'll only keep getting worse if they don't do anything about it.

Shota could not be more pleased with what they'd accomplished as a whole.

Everything was brought to light as soon as Nezu started digging around. It wasn't hard to get justice when someone actually tried—all the schools had security footage. It was all there, clear as day

and recorded. It's almost sick how all this evidence was just sitting in untouched in various hard drives while these kids continued to suffer because no one thought to skim the videos. No one cared to.

Well, people do now.

Izuku 11:58 AM

Aizawa-san!!

Sensei got arrested! It was on the news!

We had a whole new teacher today, and she was so nice! She even told Kacchan to keep his feet off the desk cause it's rude!

Shota lifts his head from his desk, eyes flicking to the notifications on his screen. He has two students in the back of the classroom working on an assignment, and a third writing an essay towards the front.

He has a raging headache from lack of sleep and just wanted some silence—as much as he loves his loud, boisterous, loud husband. He definitely was not hiding away in his classroom. Definitely.

He'd begrudgingly allowed the students to use the classroom to work if they promised to be quiet. He didn't care either way, so long as they were using their time wisely and not annoying him.

He sits up, hiding the bottom half of his face in his capture weapon as a tiny smile twitches onto his face.

Izuku's school had been closed for a couple days while they figured out teaching replacements for his homeroom teacher, and the principal who'd known about the falsified grading, Izuku's not being the only ones, and done nothing.

Aizawa Shota 12:01 PM

I saw that on the news

I didn't know that was your teacher. Yes he did.

Aizawa Shota 12:02 PM

Looks like I was right about the karma.

Izuku 12:02 PM

Yeah!

You were! He was a pretty mean teacher sometimes.

He just didn't like me, I think

Or kids in general mayb.

But I didnt think he could end up in so much trouble because of me

Do you think that's why the principal is leaving too?

Izuku 12:03 PM

Oh right I forgot you don't know

but the principal is also leaving at the end of the week.

He's retiring, but it's pretty short notice?

And he's only like 40

Think it has anything to do with the education purge?

Aizawa Shota 12:04 PM

Who knows?

All that matters is that bad teachers are getting what they deserve.

I'm glad the Pros are finally starting to get their asses in gear. This has been a problem for too long.

Izuku 12:06 PM

Don't say that about pros!!!

They work really hard, Aizawa-san!

Shota snorts a laugh that draws in two of three student's attention. He looks away from them sharply, and they take the hint, returning to their work.

Shota tries to think up a response, but Izuku beats him to it. The kid just cements over his own Hero defense.

Izuku 12:07 PM

Did they come to your school, Aizawa-san?

The news said they went to every school in Musutafu. Did you meet any of the heroes?

Aizawa Shota 12:07 PM

I saw some of them.

Izuku 12:08 PM

Youre probably a very nice teacher, so I dont think you have anything to worry about! Youve been so nice to me

I wish you were my teacher, even though I like our new sensei so far.

Shota bows his head, nose digging into his capture weapon. His smile widens slightly and he can't seem to wipe it off his face. He'll forever be grateful to his capture scarf for hiding away all his emotion. Smiling like this would ruin his image.

This kid. How could anyone be mean to this child?

Aizawa Shota 12:10 PM

Thanks, kid.

Maybe I'll have the privilege of teaching you one day.

On that note, shouldn't you be getting to class?

Izuku 12:12 PM

Oh right!

Lunch is almost over!

Oh wait

You're a teacher

I'm sorry for bothering you while you're at work!

If I'm at school, you're at school.

Duh

Duh to me, not to you

Aizawa Shota 12:13 PM

Don't worry about bothering me.

I wouldn't have given you my number if I didn't anticipate you using it. I will be bothered if you're late to class though.

Izuku 12:13 PM

Right!!

Have a good day, Aizawa-san! :)

The next time Shota sees Izuku is just a couple weeks after the Education Purge coverage has died down. It's the weekend, and he's at the café with Hizashi—one of those rare Sundays where

neither of them had anywhere to be, or anything to do. Sunday is the one day Shota tends to have off, if he's not involved in any cases with the police department, but Hizashi usually has morning meetings with his radio show producer.

His producer was on holiday with his family this week though, so Hizashi is also free for the first time in a while.

Shota had just rolled out of bed after a late patrol, and Hizashi had been antsy to get out of the house in something that wasn't his leather costume. Shota can't say he himself looks much different in his own hoodie and sweats, but Hizashi at least has style. Most of the time.

So, of course they head to the café for coffee and treats.

Shota mostly just for the coffee, though he does take offered bites of Hizashi's muffin. Shota's not sure how Hizashi can consume so much sugar and still function. It probably fuels his bouncy golden retriever mannerisms.

Shota doesn't look up, at first, when the door chimes announcing a new customer. It's mid-day, so the café is filled with a decent number of customers. The line is long and the majority of the tables are taken.

He does look up when he hears a familiar voice.

"One hot chocolate please," Izuku requests lightly, and Shota can hear the smile in his voice. His head jerks up with enough of a jolt that Hizashi startles, the blonde's own hot chocolate sloshing over the edge slightly and onto his hands.

He shoots Shota a glare, but Shota's eyes are fixed on the familiar small frame of the child paying for his drink. Izuku is wearing what appears to be an All Might sweatshirt (figures) and regular jeans. His green curls are just as wild as when Shota met him, which makes him easily recognizable.

He hasn't seen the kid since walking him home that night, but Izuku had made good on texting Shota every day—or, texting back when Shota texts first at least. But recently Izuku had been the one to send the first sparks of text conversation. He actually knows a fair bit about the kid at this point (who knew twelve-year-olds lacked a filter and tended to overshare), and it just cements the fact Izuku probably doesn't have many friends he can talk to.

Shota stands, much to Hizashi's confusion.

It's not until Shota calls out a light, but projecting, "Izuku-kun?" that Hizashi seems to finally realize what's happening, eyes widening as he gapes in surprise for a second.

Hizashi's jaw clicks closed when Izuku stiffens at the call of his name.

The boy swirls around in an almost panic before he spots Shota and his expression relaxes, "oh, hi, Aizawa-san! I didn't think I'd see you here!" He pauses. "I probably should've though, I mean, you did introduce me to this place! And you said you visited all the time too..."

His voice is cheerful, but Shota can't focus on that. Nope, something else draws in his attention first.

Something that has anger swirling in his stomach, hand twitching to reach out and grasp the boy's chin between his fingers so he can inspect it properly. "What the hell happened to your face?"

For a second, the boy looks confused before his nose wrinkles. He reaches up to prod at his own very bruised eye, shaking his head, "it's nothing, Aizawa-san. An accident."

An accident. Of course it is. That's Izuku's go to excuse, apparently. Shota knows he mouths the word back to himself in disbelief. This kid. Why is it always this kid?

Behind him, Hizashi had stood up too, and Izuku's eyes instantly trail to him. He takes a tiny step backwards at the unknown addition, calculating eyes flicking between the two of them.

"Izuku-kun," Shota manages out after reigning in the bubbling anger. He sucks in a slow deep breath, gesturing back halfheartedly to Hizashi, "this is my husband Hizashi. 'zashi, this is Izuku- kun."

"Hiya, Izuku-kun!" Hizashi takes the floor, smiling widely despite the worry glinting in his gaze that only Shota can pick up, "it's great to finally match a face to a name! Sho talks about you loads, Kiddo. All good things, of course! I've been dying to meet ya!"

"H-hi," Izuku gives a little smile back, head bowing respectfully. "It's nice to meet you too."

Hizashi's smile widens as he shoots Shota one of those lovesick looks that one would have after meeting a baby animal— the expression that would usually be accompanied by a squeal of 'can we keep 'im?'.

"Why don't you come join us, Izuku-kun?" Shota suggests easily, eyeing the teen who's making a conscious effort to position his hair just right so it covers his bruised eye. Izuku freezes at the offer, eyeing Shota with the one eye not curtained by his hair, reading something in the man's expression that has him slouching with a pout.

"I feel like I don't really have a choice in this one," Izuku mumbles, shoulder slumping.

Hizashi straightens up to assure the boy he does, but Shota beats him to it, eyes narrowed on the child, "you're correct."

Hizashi squawks, slapping Shota's shoulder in a silent warning, but Shota stands his ground. Izuku huffs, the corner of his lips twitching into a smile as he nods.

It's not even two minutes later that the three of them are sitting at the table together, Shota and Hizashi sipping at their ceramic mugs while Izuku clutches at a paper to-go cup of hot chocolate.

"So, what kind of accident was it this time, huh? Kacchan and his lackies?"

"No," Izuku shakes his head with a light smile, "Kacchan isn't usually the problem now. And since he's backed off, so have his friends. He's still not nice, but he's better than before. Hardly talks to me now."

"Where'd you get the shiner then?" Hizashi asks, head cocked to the side and giving Izuku his full attention.

"Just because the kids in my classes backed off, doesn't mean everyone did," Izuku sips his hot chocolate. "The teachers have been paying more attention, I think they're all still pretty scared of the Pros, but there are hidden areas in the school where teachers don't go a lot."

Shota can read between the lines, "you got jumped in school."

"You're very invested in this, Aizawa-san," Izuku's nose scrunches up with his playful smile. Hizashi actually snorts and Shota kicks his heel back into his husband's shin. Hizashi clamps his bottom lip between his teeth to keep himself from making any noise.

"That wasn't a no, and I'm worried, Izuku," Shota corrects. "You're still a target, clearly, and you shouldn't be. You should be safe at school."

"I'll always be a target," Izuku softens his voice like he's the one consoling Shota, and Hizashi's voice does a high-pitched squeal that human ears can barely pick up. Shota shoots him a warning look, before lulling his attention back to Izuku's downcast face. "I'm Quirkless—"

Izuku's attention jerks up suddenly, eyes flicking nervously to Hizashi. Shota forces his own body not to react with Izuku's, reading the boy silently.

Hizashi doesn't seem to have picked up on why Izuku is panicking, and that in itself seems to calm the boy. Hizashi just glances cautiously between the child and his husband, green eyes taking in the situation.

Had Izuku been waiting for Hizashi to react?

Izuku clears his throat after shooting Hizashi one last nervous glance that makes the blonde frown, "—and I'm small, and scrawny, and... I'm just a generally easy target. I can't fight back— of course I'm a target, Aizawa-san!"

"You should fight back," Shota rubs at his forehead, not expecting the laugh from Izuku. He drags his eyes up from his coffee, a frown tugging at his lips as Izuku laughs behind his hand.

"I can't," the boy smiles almost sadly, "I don't know how. Last time I tried to punch someone back I almost broke my knuckles and gave them an opening to sock me in the stomach."

"That's awful, Kiddo," Hizashi draws in a breath, sad gaze on the oblivious child. Izuku just shrugs like it's a normal thing.

"You should know how if you're always in situations where you're in danger. You're right, you'll always be a target," Shota frowns thoughtfully, "have you thought about self-defense classes?"

"We tried," Izuku informs softly, fingers drumming on the side of his cup, "mom tried to enroll me in one after the bullying started getting sorta bad when I was little, but none in our area accepted Quirkless kids, and the closest one who did was in Hosu—she really did try, but we didn't have the money to put me on the subway twice a week."

None of them speak for a long second. The fact the self-defense classes are denying Quirkless people, kids no less, who are in the most need of it is disgusting.

"Y'know, Izuku-kun," Hizashi smiles widely, voice sing-songy in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere a little. Hizashi pauses as he swings a hand back to gently slap the back of his hand against Shota's chest for emphasis, "Shota here is an excellent self-defense teacher. He's done some training, has taught quite a few students and he's been practicing since he was just a kid, yo."

"Really?" Izuku perks up, "I really didn't expect that."

"Oh yeah," Hizashi shoots Shota a playful grin that's met by a blank look in return, "laid me out

flat one of the first times we met! I barely saw 'im coming! He's feisty—"

"And that's enough out of you," Shota scoffs, softly shoulder-checking a cackling Hizashi. "I really

don't like the idea of you having no self-defense at school. Would you be willing to take some private classes with me? With your mother's consent of course."

"Are you serious?" Izuku's hands flatten on the table, and Shota shifts uncertainly at the awestruck determination in Izuku's eyes as he stares intently.

"Of course I am," Shota blinks, forcing his tense shoulders to relax, "I don't offer up things I don't intend to do. That would be illogica—"

He's cut off by a child barreling into him. He hadn't even seen the kid get up, let alone round the table, but now he's managed to snake his arms under Shota's own arms, tucking his own head under Shota's chin. Izuku squeezes him like he's afraid Shota will suddenly disappear.

This is a new development.

He's not used to hugging people in general—especially not kids. None of his students would dare hug him, and Hizashi is the only one he ever really touches. Of his own will, at least. Then there are forces that he just can't avoid—like Nemuri wrapping him in constricting hugs and Nezu cuddling up in his capture scarf whenever Shota was wearing it and he felt the need.

The man flounders for a second, arms hovering over the child as he shoots his husband a panicked look. Hizashi, the traitor, just smiles softly as he guides Shota's hands down to press against Izuku. The boy seems to curl in even closer at the contact, and it's just then that Shota hears the watery, strung together 'thank you's'.

He counts at least five.

He ends up rubbing the boy's back lightly, green curls tickling his nose. Izuku is pressed close for a good minute before he's pulling away and wiping at watery eyes. "Sorry," he laughs wetly, "I just... no one's ever offered before. Y'know, offered to help me keep myself safe..."

"Yeah, well," Shota clears his throat as Izuku plops back into his seat, "people suck." The boy lets out a weak laugh, nodding in agreement. "You really mean it, Aizawa-san?"

"So long as your mother is on board," the man offers with a one shoulder shrug. "I should probably meet her at this point anyways. You've been texting me for weeks—that's probably odd."

"She knows about that already," Izuku tells him, "she asked who I was texting, since I don't text anyone usually. She, um, wants to meet you as well? She's not upset! I told her you're really nice, and you haven't done anything, y'know, w-weird or anything!"

Probably not great.

Shota knew it was unconventional to be texting a child whom he doesn't really know without parental consent, but desperate times call for desperate measures. He'd do it all over again if it meant making sure this child lived. Plus, it's a good thing his mother is worried about an unknown strange man contacting her child; he'd be more upset if she wasn't.

"Relax, Kid," Shota shakes his head, "I'm glad you told your mother—remember when I met you? I told you to tell her."

"Oh," Izuku blows out, "yeah. Right. I forgot about that, Aizawa-san. I just don't want you to get in trouble, because you're not... you're not creepy."

"Such high praise," Shota drawls, hiding the small smile behind the rim of his coffee mug.

Izuku makes a panicked choking noise that Shota probably shouldn't find as amusing as he does, "you-you know what I mean, Aizawa-san! You're so nice, and I don't think she really knows how nice you've been to me! But she will when you meet her!"

Shota doesn't let his face twist with disbelief, because nice is not the first thing people think about him when they meet him. Hizashi's knee brushes against Shota's under the table, grounding him.

Shota brushes the child's words off, instead asking him about his classes.

Both Shota and Hizashi listen intently as the boy launches into the interesting information he'd learned in Pre-Quirk history.

It's two days later Shota finds himself sat at the table in the Midoriya apartment with a mug of tea in front of him. Across from his sits Midoriya Inko, who'd kindly let him into the apartment with a bouncy Izuku who'd gone down to the parking lot to collect him.

Izuku had arranged this meeting so that both he and Shota were off from school for the evening, and so it was in the two-hour period between his mother waking up and when she leaves for her evening job.

Midoriya-san had eyed his appearance, and Shota almost wished he'd listened to HIzashi and opted for a button up and jeans instead of his loose long sleeve black shirt and a pair of pants the edged towards sweats.

After the introductions, curtesy of Izuku who look far to pleased, Midoriya-san had shooed Izuku off to his bedroom. Shota feels silly for being worried he no longer has an Izuku shaped buffer.

He knew he wasn't the best at talking to parents—parent-teacher interviews were a nightmare.

They sit quietly at the table together for a second, and Shota longs to have either Izuku there too, or Hizashi to use as a crutch in conversation. Every introvert needs an extravert.

Midoriya-san is the one to finally break the silence.

"My Izuku tends to sing high praise about people, even if they don't deserve it." Midoriya-san tells him softly, tucking strands of dark green hair behind her ear, "he's just such a sweet boy. I wasn't sure what to make of you when he told me he was talking with you, and had been for weeks. A man he'd met on the train— essentially a stranger who exchanged numbers with him. I don't think anything can prepare a mother for the implications of that."

"I am sorry about that," Shota tells her honestly, though he'd never take back what he'd done, "I've had students like him before, and I... I know when something's not quite right. It was instinct to check in on him. I had no ill intent, I just wanted to help. I also apologize for how long it's taken to meet you."

"Oh, no," the woman laughs softly, waving her hands frantically in dismissal, "I know, I wasn't accusing! From what Izuku has told me, you've been nothing but kind to him and that... it's refreshing. I assure you, when I found out, I read through all the messages you two have exchanged, so I really... I should be thanking you, Aizawa-san.

"I know I'm not here for him as much as I should be, so thank you for looking out for him when I can't. He really likes you; I've been so worried about him being lonely when I'm working late

shifts, or even double shifts. He's my priority, but I need to work to be able to provide for him."

The woman dabs a tissue she pulls from the box on the table against the corners of her eyes, sniffling.

"After he got diagnosed, people just... turned on us? Him being Quirkless shouldn't have been a big deal, but it was, and I... It's been hard. He's just such a sweet child. Kind, and caring—I didn't even know the bullying had gotten that bad. That his teachers weren't actually helping him."

The tears come faster now, as her voice wobbles. It's quite clear this is a struggling single mother.

"I just don't understand how they could set him up for failure like that—why him? Why my precious baby? I'm just... I'm so grateful for the Pros, Aizawa-san. That education purge that happened; I didn't even know it was an issue until after it was resolved. His marks are so much better," the woman give a wet laugh, gesturing to the fridge where two tests are stuck up with magnets, a 100% and a 95%.

"I always knew he was such a smart little boy, always chattering about that Hero analysis he's just so enthralled by: stuff that always went right over my head. I should've known. I should've seen things weren't adding up."

"His teachers deserved what they got," Shota can't help the snarl, but he does manage to keep it low. Non-threatening to the woman across from him. "You should be able to trust your child's teacher, and I'm sorry you couldn't. I'm sorry Izuku couldn't trust his teacher."

The woman lets out another laugh, nodding in agreement.

"Izuku said you're a teacher," she mumbles softly, "I'm glad there are still some good ones in the world looking out for our kids."

Shota bows his head thankfully, but doesn't say anything.

The woman wipes at her eyes again, before her hands settle on the table in front of her. She sniffled again, catching Shota's eyes across the table, "now, I know you didn't come here to listen to me brag about my son or complain; Izuku was saying something about self-defense training?"

Shota gives an absent nod, interlacing his own hands on the table, "I've trained some students in the past, and there's a dojo not far from here that lets me use the space. I've been going there a lot of years, and I've occasionally helped with classes. I'd love to give Izuku-kun a couple lessons and teach him the basics—it's been made abundantly clear that his peers are still a problem, even if his teachers aren't."

"Are you sure?" the woman whispers, thumbing at her mug of tea, "I can't... I can't pay you, Aizawa-san. Money is already tight, and—"

"I wouldn't ask you to pay me," Shota shakes his head, a frown pulling at his lips, "I told your son I wanted to help, and I do. It's only a couple hours of my time once or twice a week, and it'll be teaching him a skill he'll use for the rest of his life. I'd never ask you to pay for something I came to you offering, Midoriya-san. Frankly, I'd feel a whole lot better knowing Izuku-kun has a means to defend himself."

"I'd really appreciate it," Midoriya-san whispers, eyes filling with tears again, "I hate seeing him so banged up. I mean, his eye—it breaks my heart. I just never thought kids could be this cruel..."

Shota nods solemnly. Kids can definitely be cruel.

Shota leaves the Midoriya residence with a curly green-haired shadow. Izuku is bouncing behind him, cheering about the fact he'd be starting self-defense on the upcoming Sunday.

Shota will gladly give up his day off if it means making someone else's life a little bit easier.

And how can he not feel fuzzy inside when Izuku is giving him a smile bright enough to make his

already aching eyes throb. It's worth it.

It's the second private self-defense class Shota has with Izuku, the second week he's known Midoriya Inko (who was now another new contact in his phone), when Shota finally decides to broach the topic of Izuku's mental health.

He keeps his word of not telling Midoriya-san exactly how he'd met Izuku, even if it's probably not the best course of action. Shota still doesn't think the boy is a danger to himself, he hasn't even seen a glimpse of the Izuku he'd first encountered, and he doesn't want to break the trust he'd built up, but, that said, he has intentions of informing Izuku's therapist when Inko and Izuku settle on one.

He'd known since the night he met the boy that getting Izuku help, from an actual licensed professional, was non-negotiable. Izuku had been mistreated, abused and bullied by peers and adults in his life—if anything, the kid needed a safe space to vent.

So he'd walked the boy home and managed to run into a very tired Inko. Inko had ushered Izuku up into the apartment to finish up his homework that would be due the following day, and then had agreed to talk with Shota.

Shota had softly mentioned the fact he'd noticed some things about the boy that were a bit worrying to Midoriya-san. Things he'd report to counsellors at school if he noticed it on any of his students.

Midoriya-san had cried—bawled and sobbed, and Shota was at a loss. Comfort had always been Hizashi's thing, but he'd offered her a hug that she gladly accepted (the Midoriya's seem to get comfortable around people very quickly) and continued on when he knew she was focused again.

He'd talked her through the therapists he'd found, and even showed her therapy programs for children with less-than-ideal Quirks, having checked twice to make sure that it was Quirkless friendly, and even scoped the place out himself before even mentioning it.

These were the ones that offered free counselling to children in need.

He did not mention the fact that it was the place he nudged youngsters he found on patrol who were heading down the wrong paths in life towards. Shota encountered a lot of kids down on their luck, turning to villainy and gangs as a means to live. He sees a lot of how shitty the world is on patrol.

Shota is just glad Midoriya-san takes his words with a determined, protective nod. He'd expected to be brushed off like when he mentions these sorts of things to the parents of his students. Instead, she's grateful, eyes watering in appreciation as he explains the programs to her.

When he's finished, she hugs him again and he can just hug her back as she cries. All the mattered was that Izuku was getting some legit help.

As it turns out, Izuku is a fast learner.

They decide on self-defense training every Sunday. Shota teaches him how to defend himself, and, after the boy has that down pat, Shota may even teach him how to properly fight.

He's just preparing the boy for the future, he tells himself. Self-defense is good, but fighting technique is also useful.

Being able to throw a punch without hurting yourself is a good skill to have—especially if you're interested in Heroics and you're Quirkless. There's no doubt that Izuku will be faced off against strong, both physically as well as a Quirk, competitors.

He teaches the kid how to throw a punch, how to kick without hurting himself. He teaches Izuku how to throw a bigger opponent to the ground (and tries to ignore the fuzzy feeling of pride swelling in his chest when Izuku manages to actually sweep Shota's legs out from under him and sends the man sprawled out on the mat for the first time), just like he'd done to Hizashi during the Sports Festival their first year at Yuuei.

Izuku is quiet, determined and generally an easy teach. He focuses, and absorbs everything Shota offers like a little sponge. He can't help but wish sometimes that his own students were this focused on learning.

Shota can't help but notice how nice it is teaching someone who hasn't had the world laid out for him—a kid who actually needs to work for what he wants. A kid putting blood, sweat and tears into bettering himself. Into something he doesn't even truly believe is possible.

The majority of the Heroics course students are there because they're powerful—they have strong Quirks and they've been deemed important to society by Nezu, or the Commission; those who display powerful Quirks but poor sportsmanship and basic decency, or even those getting by solely by recommendation.

It really is no wonder Shota boots so many Heroics students into Gen Ed, Business or Support. Izuku is different. Izuku hasn't been handed anything.

Shota loves teaching the next generation of Pro Heroes, but there's just something refreshing about one-on-one with his personal Problem Child.

Shota's not sure when the self-defense classes turn to martial arts, and then to parkour. Had he really unintentionally been training the brat like he would his own students interested in Underground Heroics? He really hadn't meant to transition what was supposed to be self-defense, which Izuku picked up remarkable fast but still refused to really use, into a full Yuuei worthy regimen.

"Have you given Heroics anymore thought?" Shota asks as he dodges Izuku's attempt at kicking his feet out from under him. The child is covered in sweat, but his eyes are still sparkling with determination. Good.

"Not really," the boy breathes out, dragging a hand up through sweaty green hair, "good grades now don't make up for years of bad ones. Plus, I'd never pass the exams."

"You're kidding, right?" Shota quirks an unamused eyebrow, "Izuku, you're smart. I'm sure you could pass the Yuuei written test in your sleep—"

The boy opens his mouth, but Shota beats him to it and continues, "and I've told you before, there are alternatives to passing the Entrance Exam. That thing's pretty rigged anyways. Getting into the school is what matters; showing your potential may take time. Class transfers happen all the time, and it's something you should look into if you still want to be a Hero."

Shota pauses, looking at the boy's pinched expression.

He sighs, snaking a hand out to ruffle through Izuku's curls, "just give whatever you choose to be when you grow up your all. A detective, a doctor, a Hero, a Quirk analysist. Doors may close because you don't have a Quirk, but guess what, Kid? Doors have handles. Open them. I know you talked about how being a Hero was a childhood dream, but I gotta say, Problem Child, with how I've seen you work, it's a very real possibility."

"I'm Quirkless."

"So be the first Quirkless Hero. Show kids in your position it's possible; that they can be a Hero

too. Be the best damn Hero around without a Quirk."

"You should quit as a teacher and be a motivational speaker."

The words prompt a laugh from Shota, who pushes Izuku away by his head, where his fingers had still been carded in green. "Who would train Problem Children like you if I quit?"

"That's a good point," the boy snorts a laugh. He pauses, staring down at his own red shoes, "you really think I could be a Quirkless Hero?"

"I think if anyone's capable, it'd be you, Izuku."

Izuku 8:19 PM

I got in!!!!

Well, I got into general education at least, but im still in!!

Three years pass surprisingly fast.

Shota's not sure how he becomes a permanent fixture in Izuku's life, nor how the kid manages to weasel his way into Shota's own life. And no, Hizashi, he is most certainly not a dad, thank you very much.

Shota's not even sure how he managed to survive three whole years being a Pro Hero, teaching classes of Heroic idiots, and training who he knows will be the world's first, and best, Quirkless Hero on the side.

Shota had planned an actual training regimen for the boy when he'd decided, once and for all, that he wanted to be a Hero. When Izuku stood in front of him, shoulders held high and with that endless gaze of determination, and told him he was going to be a Pro no matter what anyone said.

Shota could only grin wide and proudly.

Aizawa Shota 8:20 PM

That's still an accomplishment. Congrats, Problem Child.

Classes are the same as usual; how they always are. Shota insists his class ditch orientation, and he hosts the same Quirk apprehension test he does every year.

Two kids fail; and though he'd only threatened to expel the one who came in last place, he lets both go.

Mineta Minoru— who'd been overly confident in his frankly lacking abilities, had harassed every single one of the girls in Shota's class within the first hour, and had talked to Shota without an ounce of respect—had been permanently expelled from Yuuei entirely, effective immediately.

Ito Shoyo— a young boy with an elastic limbs Quirk, who'd tried hard but hadn't quite met Shota's standards— would be moved to Gen Ed, where he'd have the chance at redemption come the Sports Festival.

His class showed promise this year. Good Quirks. Decent temperaments (sorta). Respectful (mostly).

It was only missing one thing.

And he just so happens to run into that one thing the second day of school, first thing before classes even started.

"Aizawa-san?!" Shota pauses, eyebrows furrowing before a smile stretches across his lips. He turns, one eyebrow cocked in question as he catches Izuku's gaze—wide green eyes watch him like he's a ghost, or a figment of his imagination or something.

"Problem Child," Shota greets back, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards. "Fancy seeing you here. The uniform looks good; though, I don't know how that tie passed dress code."

The boy's hands lift to his tie self-consciously.

"Mom was half asleep," the boy defends as a flush crawls up his cheeks.

Shota shakes his head, stepping closer as he takes pity on the boy. His hands move with practiced movements, untying then retying the teen's tie. He knows how to tie ties from his own Yuuei days, even though he absolutely hates them. A useless piece of fabric.

"Um, Midoriya did... did Eraserhead just tie your tie for you?" Shota lulls his head in the direction of the second voice, a faintly familiar voice.

"No, Aizawa-san did—" Shota bite the inside of his cheek to stop from laughing as the boy physically freezes, like a rebooting computer, mouth agape as his eyes scan Shota up and down. "Y-you're E-Eraserhead?!"

"Last time I checked," Shota drawls, hiding the bottom half of his face in his capture weapon. The man's eyes flick to the side, squinting at Izuku's friend.

Purple hair, purple eyes, and that familiar voice, "Shinsou," Shota greets, "good to see you again."

"Wait, you know him?" Izuku bursts, swirling to glare at Shinsou.

"Oh no you don't, do not turn this around on me, Midoriya. He just tied your tie!" Shinsou fires back, looking just as confused as the Problem Child, "I met him in middle school once, when all those teachers were getting fired—what's your excuse?"

"I—well," Izuku flounders for a second before he's whipping around to face Shota again, "hang on, you were a part of the education purge?!"

"I may have been a part of that, yes."

"Aizawa-san!" Izuku glares, but Shota just stares back unbothered, "you told me you were a teacher!"

"I am a teacher," Shota gestures halfheartedly to the school hallway they're standing in. "You're a Pro Hero!"

"Yeah, that too."

"Wait, wait," Shinsou glances between them, eyes wide as they settle accusingly on Izuku, "you told me yesterday Eraserhead was your favorite Hero— because he fights Quirkless most of the time—you mean to tell me you didn't know he—" Shinsou jerks a thumb in Shota's direction, "— was Eraserhead?"

"No!" Izuku frantically shakes his head, "he's just—ugh, I did not know! Aizawa-san has been training me for years—like martial arts and self-defense and parkou— w-wait a second. You- you've been training me to be an underground hero this whole time!"

"In my defense, it did start out as purely self-defense," Shota shrugs. "You're a quick learner, and I knew you were capable of amazing things from the beginning. You flew through all the self- defense lessons."

"Hang on, I'm jealous," Shinsou cocks an eyebrow, turning to Izuku, "you've been training with Eraserhead, that gives you an edge on me. How'm I supposed to kick your ass at the Sports Festival if you know Eraserhead's tricks?"

"My whole world is falling apart around me," Izuku mumbles blankly, eyes narrowed on the Pro. He doesn't even appear to have heard Shinsou, but Shota furrows his brow in interest. Maybe it's a good thing he has two open spots in 1-A. Ito might have competition if he plans on trying to rejoin.

Shota shoves his hands deeper in his pockets as he forces down the need to smile, "really, Problem Child? That's a tad bit dramatic."

"It's not!" Izuku pouts, "I told you you were my favorite Hero!"

Izuku looks like he wants to curl into a ball and cry.

"And I was very touched," Shota snorts a laugh.

"I-I showed you my notebook! I showed you the analysis about Eraserhead—a-about you!" Izuku squeaks, covering his face with his hands. "Oh my God."

"I thought it was very insightful," Shota shrugs, the corners of his lips twitching into a smile as he ruffles the kid's hair. "I even tested out some of your experiments."

"You did?" Izuku perks up, embarrassment forgotten for the sake of his analysis.

"Yeah," Shota bows his head in a nod, glancing briefly at Shinsou. "I'll tell you later."

Izuku pouts before his eyes seem to settle on Shota's capture scarf, eyes sparkling with interest.

It's no wonder, the kid had been practically vibrating as he'd told Shota all about the capture weapon Eraserhead used. It was fairly unique piece of support gear, but he'd definitely be willing to train some students how to use their own. Maybe the two in front of him, depending on what he thinks of Shinsou's potential... and when he can talk Midoriya-san into it. It's not like he'd never thought about training Izuku to use one, he'll need every advantage he can get his hands on.

"Woah," Izuku mumbles in awe, stepping towards Shota, who just watches on with a glint of humor in his eyes. Izuku being in his space isn't new. Shota just huffs an amused breath as Izuku tousles the edge of the scarf between his fingers. Shota can practically see the gears turning in Izuku's head as his calculatingly gaze scans the material.

Shota lets out another huff, closer to a laugh this time, when he notices the way Shinsou is staring at Izuku like he's the bravest kid in the world. Izuku doesn't even notice the nervous, uncertain looks his new friend is shooting his direction, Shinsou's hands twitching at his side like he's holding back from dragging Izuku away. "What's this made of, Aizawa-san?"

"Tell ya what," Shota offers easily, thoughts drifting back to the first time he'd met Izuku, "make it into my class, I teach 1-A by the way, and I'll tell you. I might even teach you. Think you can manage?"

Shota's eyes flick to Shinsou, "that offer extends to both of you."

Shota sees the exact moment the fire lights in both of their eyes. The two share a competitive look before determinedly accepting the proposition. Shota can't wait to see what this year's Sports Festival has to offer, between what he's seen of his students thus far, what he remembers of Shinsou for years prior and what he knows Izuku can do.

Shota decides then to take his leave, waving the two boys off tiredly. He had been on his way to the teacher's office after all. Shinsou takes his own leave, respectfully, like a good Problem Child, but Izuku, Izuku just falls into step at Shota's side, not that the man minds all that much. Even though being trailed by a duckling might tarnish his image. Oh well.

They hardly take five steps when Izuku breaks the comfortable silence.

"I cannot believe I've known you for three years, that you've literally seen me once a week every week in those three years, and you not once mentioned you were Eraserhead!"

"It wasn't a secret," Shota shrugs as Izuku tails after him like a duckling. "I wore my jumpsuit to a couple training sessions. I literally don't look different out of costume."

"Eraserhead fight footage is grainy," Izuku defends, "not to mention nearly nonexistent! I scoured the internet, Aizawa-san."

"I'm underground, what do you expect?"

"I should've figured it out," Izuku continues with a pout, arms lacing over his chest as he lets out a huff, "I mean, the teaching? Fine. That's normal. The fact I tell you that night that my teacher sucks and then Mr. Principal shows up at the school and my teacher gets fired? Odd, but could totally be a coincidence. The fact you were literally a ninja—a ninja who was teaching me how to be a ninja? I should've guessed!"

"I'm a little surprised you didn't, actually," Shota laughs, muffling the noise in his capture weapon, "I thought for sure you figured it out when you finally showed me your analysis. Your sketch was pretty spot on."

Izuku shoots the man a glare, but it's softened by the fact he's literally still trailing at Shota's side like a kitten, "yeah, yeah," Izuku grips at his yellow backpack straps lightly, "any other big huge secrets that will blow my mind?"

"Hey, Sho, Nem was looking for you in the—oh! Green-bean!" Hizashi's smile widens as he pauses beside Shota's slumped form. Shota bites back a smile as Izuku's face slackens as he processes the new information. "I forgot you were attending Yuuei this year, Lil' Listener! I'll be teaching ya English this year, yo!"

"Hizashi's Present Mic?!"

"Uh, was that supposed to be a secret?" Hizashi blinks, gaze flicking between Shota and Izuku over

the top of his tinted glasses. "I thought he knew?"