Author's Note: A reminder that FF STILL has their Email notification system screwed up so don't be offended if I am delayed answering reviews.

People thought that Shota didn't care.

They saw how he held himself, how he interacted with people, and they assumed that he didn't care about anyone or anything. 'Misanthrope' was the word they threw around if they wanted to be clever. 'Heartless Bastard' if they were lazy.

Shota didn't do anything to make people think otherwise. He wanted people to think he didn't care.

When people knew you cared about someone that person because their way to hurt you. To attack and wound you. He'd seen it so many times with new underground heroes who didn't get that their line of work was different from what UA taught. He and Nemuri had gotten into long debates about marketing and the like and how there was too much of a focus on it. Because it made all hero students think they needed to be loud… and then the first person would die. And if the hero was lucky it would be themselves. Because dying was easy… living with the guilt that you'd gotten your mother, or your father, or your siblings, or your spouse killed? That ate away at you.

And the worst… was the death of a child.

It was why he did all he could to not bond with his classes. Or rather never let people realize he was bonding with them. Because that would make them targets. And he would rather die a thousand deaths than see any of his students crushed or maimed or torn apart.

So he remained aloof. Disconnected. Built up his walls so he could protect them while keep away from them. For their own safety.

But… watching as Midoriya clearly struggled with something while Todoroki brooded in a corner, lost in thought, and Bakugo growled and snarled under his breath due to his VERY clear case of Imposter Syndrome that he hid under layers of bravado?

Kenobi's words, about his students trusting him, echoed in his head.

'What's good about protecting them from a distance if that means you aren't there when they tear themselves apart?' he thought as his students prepared for the final event of the Sports Festival.

Pushing himself away from the wall he decided to try Midoriya first. He had been the one he pegged as possibly needing the most help at the beginning of the year. Quirkless kid? Yeah, he was going to be a bundle of nerves and issues which was insane because plenty of heroes fought quirkless. Hell, his own style was based around NO QUIRKS. And while Midoriya had done surprisingly well in the Entrance Exam (to the point that Shota had already decided even before the first day that unless the kid truly screwed up royally he deserved his spot in his class) he had still kept an eye on him.

But Midoriya had built himself a good support network. Tano, Ochaco, Inasa. Iida was coming along and he got along well enough with Yaoyorozu. Even Todoroki seemed to do a bit better around him… though he wondered how much of that was because the boy's clear drive to be the best meant that he didn't see Midoriya as a threat.

'Which is a massive mistake,' he thought to himself. 'Wonder if after the first two events Todoroki is looking at things differently.' The supposed 'weakling' of Class 1-A had managed to do well in the first event and then had shocked everyone and utterly decimate the competition in the second event. 'He knows how to make allies… he sought out that girl from Class 1-B because he knew she would have the perfect quirk for that competition. He planned ahead and was able to come out on top.'

Which was going to make trying to talk to him all the harder.

'He sees plans within plans. Wheels within wheels. He's going to question everything I ask him.' He let out a sigh at that before steeling himself for what might be a difficult conversation. Shota had interrogated thugs, pimps, and drug addicts and knew how hard it could be at times to get proper confessions from them. He had little doubt that Midoriya was going to be even more trouble.

He barely noticed when Asui and Jiro were called to head to the arena, the first of the matches for the day. He knew he should have but both of them could handle themselves just fine. Both were rather calm and collected, the right temperaments for heroes, honestly. As bad as it was to say sometimes a teacher needed to look away from the students that they knew they could leave alone and not worry about. That allowed him to focus on the ones that did need his help.

"What's the matter, kid?" Shota said. The kid didn't jump as much as he might have suspected… clearly he had known that Shota was walking over but not that he was planning to talk to him. 'Good special awareness… even if it doesn't speak well that he didn't think I'd want to speak with him.'

"Mr. Aizawa," Midoriya stammered. "What was that?"

"I asked what the problem was," he said. "And don't try and claim that everything is okay. I can tell something is bugging you." That caused the boy to squirm a bit but at least he didn't try and claim that everything was fine and that Shota was jumping at shadows or the like. "Not about the event, is it?" Even as he asked he knew that his guess was wrong; he had seen students worried about the final event and the worry that was currently plaguing Midoriya didn't reflect that at all. No, this was something outside of the Sports Festival.

The green haired boy looked down at his hands. "Mr. Aizawa… if you knew someone was in trouble and needed help… but they wouldn't appreciate you helping them… what would you do?"

That caused the teacher to settle down onto the bench Midoriya had been sitting on. "I assume this isn't a round about way of asking for help yourself?"

"Well, I guess about the problem I have with knowing someone needs help?" Midoriya stated. "I mean I don't need help in the first place… if that makes sense?" He frowned. "I mean I do need help its just the original source of the help needing didn't come from me it came from someone else and that isn't me trying to dance around the fact that-"

"I get it," Shota said, cutting him off and causing Midoriya to scrunch down his head into his shoulders. 'How the hell is he able to take command in the heat of battle with no problem but he gets so flustered and tongue tied when just sitting on a bench?' Out loud he said, "What's the problem, kid?"

"I… can't say. Because-"

"Yeah, the person might not like it." He let out a tired sigh. Evasive, just like he'd thought. Still, at least the boy was talking with him. That was a plus. "Okay, let's take this a step at a time. Is the person doing something that will get them in trouble."

"No," Midoriya said before frowning, wringing his hands together. "I mean, they might think they are but they aren't really! Not at all. No one-" He cut himself off.

'So whoever it is… they are trapped in a bad situation.' That made things a bit harder, honestly. Shota had dealt with enough women who were beaten by their husbands, left bloodied and covered in bruises, only to plead that 'they didn't mean it' and cry that Shota couldn't arrest their husbands because 'it was my fault'. 'Abuse then,' he thought to himself, trying very hard to not look about the room. Because Midoriya's worry had come on rather quickly, meaning he must have learned something… and it had to be about one of his classmates. 'And with everyone's families in attendance… it's child abuse.' He hoped he was wrong but he had a bad feeling that he'd hit the nail on the head. 'The Sports Festival is supposed to be where the students get to show off… but parents get it into their heads this is their only chance to make a name for themselves.' He had been forced to step in more times than he liked to count when a parent began to scream at their child for not getting any further in the competition.

He sighed. This… this was going to be hard.

"Midoriya… believe me when I say that they are going to be grateful that you helped them. Maybe not at the beginning… but they will eventually realize that you only did it out of the best of intentions. And they will thank you for it."

"Even if we can't help them?" Midoriya asked softly.

"Kid, I can deal with an abusive parent."

"…even if they are a hero?" he asked in a small voice.

Shota's shoulders slumped. "Fuck."

There were only two students in his class with heroes for parents. Tenya he wasn't worried about because even though his parents were neglectful asshats Tensei was his guardian in all but a legal sense and Shota KNEW that his friend wouldn't be abusing his brother. That left the other…

Todoroki.

Fucking Endeavor.

'Damn it,' Shota thought, 'no wonder the kid is a bundle of nerves.'

He had encountered plenty of students who wore rose tinted glasses when it came to the hero community. They saw it all as a game where the heroes always won, the villains were defeated, the only harm was a few empty buildings, and the good guys were good and the bad guys were wicked. It was something he worked hard to drive out of his students, so they understood the gray of it all and the filth that was under the shine.

The heroes didn't always win. Sometimes the villain got away. Those buildings were filled with soft squishy people that would die from an attack no matter if it were hero or villain who sent it out. How there were villains who were only villains because they had no choice… in some classes he would actually go through the entire roster, one at a time, and explain how one bad choice could have turned every student into a villain. And how some of the most brilliant heroes were just bullies and thugs who had government authorization to beat people up.

And Midoriya had apparently uncovered that the Number 2 Hero was abusing his son.

'Fuck,' he thought to himself.

"Tell me who it is," he said, needing Midoriya to confirm it. But the boy just shook his head, tears gathering in his eyes. "I promise you that I'll help," he said.

That caused Midoriya though to sniff. "Everyone says that."

The sad thing was that Shota knew he wasn't being glib. "I think I already know who it is. I just need you to confirm…"

"It's… it's okay though!" Midoriya stammered. That caused Shota to frown and he opened his mouth to tell him that abusing a child was NEVER okay only for the green haired boy to continue. "Someone is helping him!"

"They are?" he asked slowly.

"Someone… really important."

"Mmmhmm," Shota said, not believing him.

"Its true." Midoriya looked down at his lap. "That's… the other thing."

"What other thing?"

"What do you do… if you know a secret? A really big secret. Like… the biggest secret in all of Japan."

Shota frowned. "I get that this abuse is-"

But Midoriya cut him off, blurting out, "I know who Star Might really is!"

'…this problem child...' Shota thought, feeling a headache building. "And I assume that this isn't merely, "She's All Might's secret daughter?" Midoriya bobbed his head up and down; yes, there was a headache building. He had suspected ever since he'd seen the news report that there was more to Star Might than the Number 1 hero was telling the public. While Shota hadn't dealt with All Might before the man was famously secretive about his life outside of being a hero. He didn't reveal his real name, he was never spotted out in public, and at best people knew he owned a white t-shirt and blue jeans after a single incident where he'd fought a villain. But otherwise… nothing.

It was almost Underground level of paranoia and protection and he had to admit… it impressed him. Most Daylight Heroes loved the spotlight and did all they could to let everyone know they existed. And while of course All Might had his giant gaudy tower and his action figures and his breakfast cereals and three Christmas albums (Shota would NEVER admit that he actually enjoyed listening to them… ever) the man revealed very little of himself. There was no All Might Manor. No autobiography… not even a brief history on a web page. People knew he had gone to UA but it had been discovered, rather surprisingly, that he had gone under an assumed name; if Nedzu knew the hero's true name he wasn't saying (and Shota had little doubts the rat had figured it out).

All Might guarded his secrets… and Shota respected that. Others might assume that it spoke of some grand threat but he assumed it was a case of him wanting to protect himself. Understand that the more you ruffled the feathers of criminals and villains the more they would seek a way to hurt you.

No different than Shota with his students.

'Revealing he has a daughter though… that is asking for trouble,' he thought. 'So why do it?' Out loud he said, "And can I assume from the way you are acting that there is something… different about Star Might?"

Midoriya worried his lip.

"Kid," Shota said softly. "Is it a danger to you or anyone else?"

"To her," he whispered before adding, "she can change her form."

At once Shota understood. 'The ability to look different… that would be a game changer.' Hero masks and costumes had originally come about, after all, to hide the identity of heroes. To protect their loved ones. Now it was just a fashion statement or a way to get attention. But before there were Hero Agencies and deals so one could hire security to protect their families… there had been masks. 'If Star Might can change her form… All Might can too. That's why he never has been seen in public… he probably looks completely different.'

"What… what should I do?"

Shota looked down at the problem child. "Kid… listen. I'm guessing you found out by accident. This is… big. Really big. So if you need to talk to anyone about it you come to me, okay?" He paused before pulling out a notepad and a pencil and jotted down his number. "This is my personal cell. You ever feel like you are going to lose your mind you call me, okay?"

"I-"

"I mean it," he said firmly. "I won't be mad. No matter the time or what I'm doing. I will be if you tell anyone else. You're right… this is very important. I'll find a way to let Star Might know that you know, okay? But we can't tell anyone else."

Midoriya shifted.

"…who else did you tell?" he said with a sigh.

"No one!" Midoriya said quickly and from the panic in his eyes Shota believed him. "But… Todoroki knows."

…

…

…

"Fuck," Shota muttered.

~MC~MC~MC~

Anakin winced as he watched Asui easily dodge Jiro's latest attack, managing to get behind her and wrap her up with her tongue. If the girl had been a bit stronger she would have been able to fling Jiro right out of the ring but she lacked just the amount of muscle to do that and as such was only able to drag her closer to the edge.

"Bad matchup," he muttered to himself.

Obi Wan nodded, making sure his mic was off even as Hizashi gave play by play of every move that was happening. "If she were another close range fighter Jiro would have the edge… or if she had put in for support gear. But many students want to prove that they can battle with just their raw quirk." He rubbed his chin and Asui dodged an attack from Jiro's earjacks, easily leaping over them before firing off her tongue again. "She will not forget this lesson."

"What would her support gear have done?" Anakin asked.

"When Jiro plugs her jacks into something she is able to project her heartbeat out as a physical sonic attack."

Anakin's eyes widened. "And she DIDN'T want to have those available?"

"As I said, she wanted to prove herself. But Asui needs no support gear to keep her agility-"

Suddenly the Frog-Quirked girl rushed in close, delivering a few quick hits that drove Jiro skidding back right over the line.

"And the winner of round one is Asui Tsuyu!" Hizashi cried out, the girl tilting her head before giving a slight wave to the crowd before going to check on Jiro, who looked mildly put out by her lose but accepted a hand up. Hizashi switched off his mic with practiced ease before stating, "That's good… real good. While a few heroes like to see the losers defiant and full of bluster most want them to be gracious in their loss. That will net her a few more requests."

"Requests?" Padme asked, having decided to play with Eri so Obi Wan could focus on commenting and Nemuri could remain down on the field to ensure that any students that went too far were quickly stopped before they caused true damage. They were seated on the ground where she was teaching the little girl a Nubian Balancing Game.

"The Sports Festival isn't all just having fun and showing off for the heck of it," Hizashi told her. "Pro heroes watch the Sports Festival, especially First Years, to determine if there is anyone that they want to put out a request to have intern under them. Usually there aren't that many for First Year, mind you, but we do get a few. The later years tend to be about proving yourself if you had a bad first year and had to go with one of the regular internship routes… we have hero agencies that will accept any student so everyone gets an internship but those don't have the prestige that getting a ranked hero to pick you does. So first year establishes yourself, second year is about showing what you've learned, and third year is all about giving the public and the hero community one last chance to see what you can do."

"And any hero can put in a request?" she asked.

Anakin, sensing what Padme was thinking, decided to pay attention as well. After all, he was a hero too (even if he barely patrolled most days as 'Sir Steel', with the cover story being that he was focused on his artificial organs and the truth being he was running around as Vader to try and clean up the streets the proper way).

"Yes," Hizashi stated. "I've put in a few myself! Not always…" He shook his head in amusement. "Heroes and students all tend to make the same mistake. They all focus on the flashy or the famous. Students get their internship requests and instantly look at where a hero is ranked. Never mind if the hero is actually a good fit for them. We had about 4 years ago one student whose quirk was water based, long range projectile stuff. They decided to intern with Ironnail, who specializes in close range fighting. Now don't get me wrong, sometimes its good to work with a hero that can help you with your weakness… but they need to be willing to teach you how to deal with said weakness. That happens too… a hero doesn't bother to think about what they can do to help a student. They just want them for… I don't know, fame or to screw over a rival-"

"That's horrible," Padme said.

Obi Wan nodded. "Which is why we are going to do a few meetings on internships before we let the students decide. And I will be making sure to reach out to any heroes that request a student and make clear that they are expected to actually teach them. No photo shoots or autograph signings."

"Oh, next match has been decided," Hizashi said, turning on his mic. "Alright folks I hope you didn't get tired out by that thrilling action because we have another scorcher coming to you! It's the teen that looks to explode onto the scene, Bakugo Katsuki, taking on the shadowy skullsmasher, Tokoyami Fumikage! Why don't you tell us a bit about their quirks, Kenobi?"

Anakin got up from his chair and walked over to Padme, who smiled as Eri stuck out her little tongue, focused entirely on trying to balance a few rods so she could plunk a ball on top of them without it falling into a cup. Padme had once tried to explain the game to him but honestly she'd lost him when she'd gone into how it was supposed to represent the balance of nature and all that.

"You're thinking of taking an intern?" Anakin asked softly.

"Not me," Padme stated. "Toshi. I'm not ready to begin teaching a student… I'm still learning all this stuff myself."

"Doing better than me," he said. "You patrol a lot more than I do."

"You are working on your organs which is a big deal," she said softly. "Anakin, those artificial organs and limbs are going to change so many lives. You are going to save more people than most heroes will in their entire careers! Don't ever doubt that."

"Yeah," Anakin said… refusing to mention Vader. It wasn't that he wanted to lie to his wife; he didn't even see it as lying as it was more, in his opinion, just not telling her the full truth. But he needed that release. His life from the age of ten til they had arrived on Earth had been action and excitement. With the death of Qui Gon Obi Wan had been made into the Council's go-to Jedi for negotiations. Sometimes he wondered if they had done it just to punish the two of them for going against the Council's orders. But the point remained that they had been sent on a lot of wild missions and that was the norm for him. After that had been the Clone Wars… and then suddenly he found himself with nothing to do. He was on a single planet that might have had villains but also had plenty of heroes to shoulder the burden. Japan alone had 56,000 active heroes… that was 5 times the number of Jedi and that was in a single country!

Anakin had gone from feeling like he needed to be a thousand places at once to feeling utterly in the way.

"And Bakugo has done it!" Hizashi exclaimed, drawing Anakin's attention back to the match. He saw smoke drifting from the arena floor and the blond student smirking, hands stretched out as he looked across the battlefield towards Tokoyami, who had been sent crashing past the out of bounds line and into a wall. "In a stunning show of skill he managed to take out Tokoyami and move on to the next round! We told you there would be fireworks but I don't think anyone imagined they'd be as bombastic as that!"

Anakin frowned, looking up at Obi Wan who merely caught his eye before nodding ever so slightly.

Yes… Bakugo's win… and the way he had done it… was concerning.