Quick A/N: I have no idea how U.A. works, so I'm making up some stuff as I go along. It's okay, though, because this is technically an AU and still very much fanfiction.
Also, super sorry for taking so long to update. Life got complicated.
Hope you enjoy!~
Being alone in the dorms was... unsettling.
When he had still been living with his family, he had gotten accustomed to the constant hustle and bustle of two younger sisters, one energetic mother, and the clientele that was constantly coming in and out of the shop owned by his family. And then, once he had moved into the dorms, the constant noise had never subsided. Everywhere he went, there was usually always someone. Even if he was with the quieter students, like his closer friends in the class, there was always someone doing something around him.
Now... now there was no one. And it was terrifying to him.
There was absolutely nothing going on around him for the first time in his life.
It was a foreign feeling that he wanted to go away and immediately be replaced by the chaos of having people around him once again.
He had read the letter that had been written to him by the school, letting him know that he needed to relax and take care of his mental health- they believed he had gone through a traumatic experience and had not been given enough time to properly process it. So they were excusing him having to take any class for the next two days so that he could get much needed rest...
How could he get rest when he wasn't even able to fall asleep without getting terrorized by nightmares?
He couldn't rest... his mind was racing. There was no way he'd ever be able to get any rest in such a state... even though his eyes were so incredibly heavy and his body felt like it weighed more than it actually, physically, did...
Shouji blinked as he refocused his mind on the here and now. Outside of his body, he was still within the kitchen and he had not moved a single inch since his classmates had wished him a good day before they had left for school.
How much time had passed since then?
There were no clocks in sight at the moment, so he wasn't really able to tell how long he had been standing in the kitchen. But he knew that it had been a while from the ache that was beginning to seep into his ankles. His stomach was rolling as well, but there was a biting hunger that he couldn't ignore... he hadn't even gotten to eat breakfast before Aizawa-sensei had informed him that he didn't have to go to school.
It was uncomfortable how hungry he was. But it was torturous how his stomach was constricted into itself- he highly doubted he'd be able to keep anything down if he managed to eat anything.
His body felt stiff. Making it move took a lot more effort than it should have.
The silence around him was deafening and he hated it.
He couldn't remember the last time he had spent a day alone... nighttime was fine- nighttime was for sleeping, after all. But the day time was supposed to be for being active and being around others.
His feet carried him into the common room and left him standing before the couch he had become pretty well acquainted with ever since he had almost lost his life during the weekend.
Shouji pressed his face into his hands, the one from the upper arms, and fought back the urge to cry.
He had thought that he had managed to go about life in a pretty normal way, even if he hadn't been able to sleep at all. He had honestly believed that he hadn't been bothering anyone with the way he had been going around... but he had failed at keeping up appearances.
Most probably, his fellow classmates had not been fooled in any way with the way he had been acting and had told Aizawa-sensei about their worries. It wouldn't surprise him at all if Tokoyami had been the main person to tell on him; he had been avoiding any serious conversation with his friend... it wasn't normal for him to do such a thing.
The silence was deafening.
With his eyes still covered, the six armed teenager groped at the couch cushions to either side of him with his other arms in an attempt to find the remote control for the large television before him. After a few seconds of blindly reaching out, his left hand bumped into it and he was able to grab onto it. Without truly thinking too much about his actions, he turned the television on and raised the volume to a volume that was higher than necessary, but not too loud to- hopefully- be heard from the outside.
It seemed that Aoyama had been the last person to use the television; he was the only person in their class that was interested in Korean dramas. Shouji raised his head just in time to see that the way the actors were dressed seemed to allude to a historical setting- it seemed that the channel was currently playing kind of romantic historical drama with a female actress in what could be taken as a male's warrior garb.
He didn't know too much about Korean history to be sure.
The voice acting wasn't half bad, from what he could hear, but he hid his face within his hands and just allowed the words to surround him; he wasn't listening to what was going on, but he wanted to have something to destroy the deafening silence.
The television didn't do a very good job of aiding him escape the deafening silence.
He woke up to a soft poke on his cheek.
Shouji was completely thrown for a loop as soon as he noticed that he had been sleeping, groaning softly as he blinked his bleary eyes. His neck was incredibly stiff and when he tried to move his face to the side, he found that there was a stab of pain that shot up through his left side. His shoulders were burning with the ache of lack of proper movement.
"Sho-kun. It's time to wake up."
Blinking rapidly to have his eyes accustom to the light around him, Shouji was eventually able to see... absolutely nothing in front of him.
Had he imagined the poke and the voice?
"It's Hagakure."
As soon as he heard this, Shouji felt his cheeks heat up and he sat up lightning fast, hoping that he wouldn't accidentally bump into her in any way. If he didn't see any uniform or gloves, it meant that Hagakure was completely naked.
Why was she completely naked?
Apparently his confusion and discomfort was easy to read on his face because he soon heard Hagakure offer, "I'm going to put some clothes on."
He appreciated that.
A heavy yawn occupied Shouji for the next few seconds. He took the moment of silence to stretch out his arms and back, then pressed his right upper hand to his forehead- there was a slight headache beginning at his right temple.
He closed his eyes and breathed.
When had he fallen asleep?
As he opened his eyes, he heard Hagakure shout something at him from the upper floors- he wasn't able to make out what she said.
He was so tired.
The silence was... why was there silence now?
When he looked at the television, he found that it had been turned off. Probably Hagakure had turned it off when she had seen that he was asleep.
By the time Hagakure returned, dressed in a simple set of short pajama pants and long sleeved shirt, Shouji was standing up and stretching out his aching joints. She offered a playful wolf-whistle that managed to make soft smile tug at his lips.
Maybe having fallen asleep had helped better his mood. Even though his brain didn't consider the action to be as friendly or humorous as he was sure he normally would have considered it to be, he still found it to be reassuring. Hagakure was here for some reason and had decided he was worth spending some time on. That... that was nice.
His relations with the rest of Class 1-A had always been positive. But he never been particularly close to anyone other than Tokoyami and Kouda. He got along pretty well with everyone- even Bakugou and Mineta. Mostly that was because he had a pretty neutral disposition and mostly kept to himself when it came to his thoughts.
The girls of the class called him Sho-kun or Sho-chan because they considered him to be as serious and quiet as a general from the Warring States Era probably should have been. Hagakure and Uraraka had been the two to come up with such a nickname. He mostly liked the name because it was given to him with only the best of intentions; but he was somewhat bothered by it because he didn't want to seem like a serious person at all times. He was much more relaxed than serious in his his own eyes.
"Sho-kun, have you eaten anything?" she asked after he finished up stretching his back.
Shouji shook his head even as his stomach began to gnaw at itself once again. He had skipped breakfast and his stomach was none too pleased with this fact.
"Well then come on. Bakugou said the food you didn't eat last night is still in the fridge- you can eat that." she skipped towards the kitchen, leaving him to follow after her in a daze.
Bakugou had packed up the food he hadn't eaten last night?
Shouji... didn't really know how he felt about this occurrence. Bakugou had stated from the very beginning, when more than half of the class begged him to cook for them when he had the time, that he wouldn't take any pity on any extras- if they didn't eat their food, he was going to eat it. And on a few occasions Midoriya and Kirishima had both suffered how real the threat had been.
His classmates were acting really... oddly.
As Hagakure heated up his food, Shouji sat himself at the counter, mind dazed with the fog of tiredness clinging heavily to his brain.
Eventually, he was able to formulate the words he needed to say to ask Hagakure the number one thing he was confused by. "What are you doing here?"
Hagakure hummed in tune with the microwave as it beeped, letting them know that the food had finished heating up.
"I'm here to check up on you, of course." he was sure that if he could see her face, she would be smiling indulgently at him. "Why else do you think I'd risk the wrath of our teachers to sneak back into the dorms in the middle of the day?"
Shouji blinked at the information; and then he was dumbfounded when he found that the food Bakugou had set out for him was a hefty plate of takoyaki.
When Uraraka had given Bakugou a list of all of Class 1-A's favorite foods, the explosive blonde had let them know that he wouldn't be doing more than half of the foods on the list because they were much too complex for him to make in less than two hours. Shouji knew that Takoyaki was one of the foods he wouldn't prepare because the ingredients necessary to make them weren't really ingredients they were always stocked up on in the dorm.
"I know they don't really taste the same re-heated, but here's some sauce." Hagakure offered him a lidded bowl that contained a dark brown sauce. "I made that with all of my love."
Shouji was floored by his classmates' kindness.
He... hadn't been expecting any of this.
He hadn't thought anyone would want to check up on him when he had been forced to stay in the dorms. He didn't think any of them would even bother with making sure that he had food prepared for him to eat now- he was in the dorms, he had easy access to anything to be able to cook... he couldn't cook to save his life, sure, but it's not like any of his classmates knew that.
The takoyaki in the bowl before him was round, fat, and clearly not as perfect as a perfectionist as Bakugou would have probably liked for the balls to be. But the smell wafting from the re-heated food was delicious and for the first time since he had been told he wouldn't go to school, his stomach didn't feel like he was about throw up if he tried to eat anything.
"What, Sho-kun? Do you expect me to pour the sauce too?"
"No." he huffed, but still felt the corners of his lips rise yet again at her antics. "I can still use my hands."
"Then use them. And eat up." Hagakure pressed him to hurry up, so he moved as fast as his aching body allowed him to so he could begin eating.
As he utilized one of his arm's mouths to eat, he asked with his main mouth, "How did you manage to sneak out of the school?"
Well... even though he had no idea why in the world Hagakure was here with him now, he at least now understood why he had found her completely naked when she had woken him up.
She'd probably left her clothes with the rest of their classmates so she could sneak through U.A.
Hagakure moved to the refrigerator to pull out some other container as she answered his question. "With very intelligent use of Uraraka and Yao-Momo's quirks, my clothes appear to be seated right beside the rest of the girls in the lunchroom. I just slipped out and stealthed my way through campus. It was easy."
Shouji's eyes widened- did the whole class help her in some degree?
Was... was the class worried about him?
Shouji blinked at this possibility.
He hadn't been expecting this. Not at all.
When Hagakure sat down beside him, she had a heated up plate of food in her hands. It was a simple stir-fry with more vegetables than meat and she seemed somewhat happy with her plate.
"Itadakimasu!"
He was struck with how improper he had been by starting to eat without even saying such a thing... but it was already too late to attempt to fix such a mistake. No, it would be better to just continue eating as if he didn't even think anything about it.
They fell into a comfortable silence as they ate. Shouji found that this silence wasn't as deafening as the one he had been subjected to in the past. It was incredibly enjoyable to not be alone again.
After they had finished eating, Hagakure went back up to her room, shed her clothes, and Shouji began to wash up any evidence of her visit outside of proper hours. He heard the front door open up and he knew that he would once again be subjected to his loneliness- but this time it didn't feel as terrifying as it had during the morning.
"So, just so you know, if you ever need anyone to talk to, Sho-kun, I'm here for you." he heard Hagakure call, then, in a softer, kinder tone, "Just like the rest of the class."
He was struck dumb by the information.
Hagakure before he had the chance to form an intelligent response.
He didn't want to worry anyone. But... clearly the way he had been going about it had not been the right thing to do.
Talking to a psychologist sounded just... too much... so he didn't want to go to the school's psychologist.
He knew that there was no weakness in seeking help. But he didn't know the school psychologist; and he didn't feel comfortable trying to talk to complete strangers. Heck, he barely felt comfortable opening up to people he knew.
So... he was now standing in front of Aizawa-sensei's dorm-room and he was so uncomfortable with the idea of what he was about to do that he felt like any little noise would make him bolt.
He had expected for his teacher to take his sweet time answering the door; just like he did with just about everything he did in his life. But the door swung open only a few seconds after he had knocked on it, revealing his perpetually tired teacher with a small frown pulling at his lips.
Immediately Shouji took a step back, guilt beginning to rise up in his chest. "If this is a bad time, I can come back some other day."
The man stared at him for a few more seconds before softly shaking his head and taking a step back into his room; he lazily raised his arm in a halfhearted 'come in' gesture.
Shouji felt nervous as he stepped inside his teacher's own dorm, just about jumping when the door closed behind him.
"Would you like anything before we begin? Something to drink or eat, maybe." Aizawa-sensei offered, but Shouji merely shook his head quietly.
He was feeling... better, somehow, when it dealt with his displeased stomach. And the dinner he had eaten surrounded by his friends had been one that had filled both his stomach and his heart... he sounded cheesy, he knew, but spending dinnertime with his friends after Hagakure's visit... well... he didn't feel so worried about facing tomorrow's silence; especially now that he knew that Hagakure would attempt to sneak back to the dorms during lunch so that they could play some video games together.
Even though he was feeling better, he didn't really need anything at the moment.
When the students had been moved into the dorms, their homeroom teachers had been moved in along with them. The teachers had a full dorm for themselves, of course, but the building was pretty close to the students' buildings just so that they were nearby in case any emergency ever arose. Shouji had never given much thought to the living space of his teachers because it was weird to think of them as to having lives outside of school... so he didn't really know what to expect when he came to their building.
Having the main door opened by Mic-sensei in bright pink bunny pajamas had certainly not been something he ever expected he would witness in his lifetime. And it was an absolutely surreal experience to walk through the halls of the building knowing that his teachers were inside of their respective dorms- living their lives outside of school.
The blonde had walked him all the way to Aizawa-sensei's room before dropping him off there with a hurried 'hope you get better fast, kid- I missed you in class'.
Aizawa-sensei's room was... not what he had expected.
Then again, he was not very sure what he had expected to find, really... well, maybe something like Tokoyami's own room in the 1-A dorms. Aizawa-sensei was a man that seemed to prefer the dark and anything that combined well with darkness. So maybe he had expected to find a dorm-unit that had opaque curtains covering up any windows and only scant decorations that alluded to darker passions.
But... Aizawa-sensei's room was... normal. Well, it was more of a small apartment than a regular, student room, actually, because there was a lot more space here than in the students' rooms. The door led into a long hallway that had one opening immediately to the right, another to the left, and then two more doors towards the back. Aizawa-sensei directed him towards the opening directly to the right and Shouji was able to find a regular looking living area.
The walls were a light gray color that somewhat bordered on blue, the decorations and furniture were sparse but light in color, and there was a beige cat stand towards the side of the small living area. There were some cat toys by its base, along with a bowl of food. There was a notable lack of cat hair, though, and cat.
"As you know, this little session is going to be recorded, just to ensure your safety out of school hours." his teacher began to repeat in a tired monotone and Shouji wasn't sure if the tone was because he didn't want to have to repeat what he had already informed him during their phone call or because he didn't want to deal with Shouji right now; but the teen hoped it was the first and not the latter. "You can sit down wherever you'd like in the living area."
The man waited for Shouji to sit down before he chose a place to sit. Shouji stared at the living room with sweat beginning to build in all six of his palms before he eventually decided on the dark blue sofa closest to the cat stand; this prompted his teacher to sit down in a chair directly in front of the sofa. Wordlessly, the man pointed towards the bookcase in front of them both and then Shouji was able to see the faint red light of a camera that was recording.
He nodded and brought his two middle hands together, all the while his lowest remained frozen on top of his lap and his upper arms hung softly against the couch cushions.
The silence between them was loud. But, Shouji could concede, it wasn't deafening.
"You can begin whenever you feel comfortable."
Shouji's mouth dried up. He glanced down at the hands he had clasped together, eyes narrowing.
What was he even supposed to say? How could he begin to explain himself? How could he even form the right words?
His thumbs began to press into the palms of either hand; he had never been particularly good at telling other things that bothered him. He had always been fine just keeping his thoughts to himself. He had never wanted to bother anyone, after all. And on many occasions, his worries weren't really all that important to take into account. Most people had problems much bigger than his own.
He could have died.
His eyes went wide as soon as this insidious reminder hissed at his mind.
Afterwards, he closed his eyes and hung his head.
"I... When Tokoyami got hurt, I was frozen- I felt useless because I didn't do anything." he admitted in shame, throat closing up as his eyes began to fill with tears. He frowned when he noticed that his throat was refusing to work properly. His guilt... it was making him feel... terrified.
Aizawa-sensei remained silent as he allowed him to compose himself.
Eventually he sighed heavily, "This time I didn't freeze up. I moved without a second thought... and..."
The tears began to threaten with falling.
"I could have died..." he whispered, voice so quiet he doubted his teacher had managed to hear him.
The silence that fell over them both was extreme this time around.
Shouji began to worry all of his hands now, pressing his palms with fingers with the hands that were together, all the while worrying at his thighs or the couch with the others.
He hadn't been expecting Aizawa-sensei's response.
"How old are you?" the man sighed softly and Shouji wasn't very sure if he was meant to respond or not. His teacher continued without waiting for an answer, though. "Last I checked, you were the youngest in a class of high schoolers."
Well... he was.
"I don't understand..."
Aizawa-sensei huffed and when Shouji raised his head, it was to find that his teacher was shaking his head at him, eyes closed. When he opened them, though, he was able to see the softest look the man had ever allowed anyone to see within his eyes.
"You're a kid, Shouji. You're all kids." his teacher informed him with an exasperated sigh, "You're a fifteen year old student that faced off against a serial killer that's killed people twice your age. You're a fifteen year old that was forced to watch as his friend was kidnapped by a villain. And instead of allowing yourself to react like a fifteen year old kid is supposed to, you feel ashamed for such a human reaction."
Shouji was floored by his words.
And then Aizawa-sensei absolutely broke him by offering him a small smile- the first smile the teenager had ever witnessed from his teacher. "I'm here for you, Shouji Mezou. For as long as you're plagued by these moments, I'm here. Just like I was here for all of the other problem students when they faced situations they should have kept their noses out of."
All he could properly do was just... well... stare.
His teacher had always seemed like a very aloof kind of man that didn't want to deal with the insanity of his class. Shouji, of course, couldn't blame him for such a wish because the fact of the matter was that his classmates were incredibly active individuals that tended to get into a lot of trouble by just... well... existing. He really loved them, but even he believed that they really needed to learn how to not get into so much trouble. Not one day seemed to pass without something happening in the dorms... except for the last few days...
Wow. He was really blind.
Not just to his classmates care for him, but also to his own teacher's care for everyone in the class.
Beside himself, Shouji found the corners of his lips tugging upwards. The tears were still stinging his eyes, but now they weren't purely from frustration at his inability to keep himself together.
"Thank you."
He couldn't really think of much anything else to say.
Aizawa reminded him that they still had quite some time left before he was supposed to return to his dorm- there was no need to rush to anything. And he was around to help.
U.A. was an amazing place.
I've managed to scout out the homes of both boys. Knowing what I know now, it only makes sense Shouji Mezou has grown up with proper ideals. Midoriya being a single child would have predisposed him to selfish behavior, so he is a curiosity. But his mother seems kind enough; possibly she did a good job of raising him well and selflessly.
Heroic ideals are first taught within the home, after all.
Both houses are now under investigation. I am beginning to play with the idea of placing Midoriya Inko under protection as well. Like her son, she does not seem to have much of a wariness of the world and its darkness. If not for a neighbor coming out to take out his trash, she would have gotten assaulted by some no good punk.
The punk, of course, breathes no longer. There's enough trash like him in this disgusting society; the loss of just one will not cause a ripple.
Shouji Yua is somewhat less worrying. Possibly having to worry over three children, two of which still live with her, has made her more alert of possible dangers to her family. She is aware of her surroundings and does not put herself into any possibly dangerous situation- she seems to be teaching the children that still live with her to do the same.
It is a good thing that her oldest son did not learn such a lesson. It would have sullied his possibility of becoming an actual hero.
I have yet to see the presence of a husband in the daily lives of either family. But I have only been running this surveillance for around a week. There are dozens of possibilities to explain away such absences that do not simply infer the death or abandonment of the men. I'll need to investigate some more to make sure that the people within the house are the ones I have seen to this day.
Monitoring Midoriya Inko will not be too problematic, considering how she lives in the city. But Shouji Yua's family will take a bit more effort, seeing how her main place of employment requires a full hour's drive out of the city to reach.
The cameras will first be placed near the Midoriya apartment. The Shouji home will require some more surveilling before I am able to properly assess the danger.
He had been doing much better ever since he talked with Aizawa-sensei. And with all of the subsequent conversations they had shared, Shouji knew that he was getting better. He had managed to sleep a full eight hours last night, after all. This would be the first time he had managed such a feat in almost a month.
It was Saturday. He was on his way to visit his family, and then later tonight he was supposed to meet up with some of his classmates in the movie theater at a mall near to the Academy so they could catch the latest showing of a bad comedy almost anyone had enjoyed- Kirishima's idea of fun.
His family's restaurant was within his eyesight at this point and he felt his heart swell at the familiar scenery. The restaurant may have been small and ancient, but it was a second home to him. He had grown up helping his mother with taking care of their customers and he couldn't wait for another break from school so he could come back and help out once again.
Now that he was on his way down the stoned path that led into the mountain-side restaurant, Shouji felt a sort of calmness enter his soul.
Things truly were beginning to look up for him.
As he walked down the path, he crossed a visitor that had a thick scarf covering the lower half of their face. This person, unlike most of the customers he was accustomed to seeing, struck out in Shouji's mind because of their walk- quick, heavy, and somewhat hunched over. The way they looked was also pretty striking: their black hair was pulled back into a long ponytail that was more disheveled than controlled and their clothes were particularly heavy and didn't really let Shouji get a good glance of their body... it wasn't really all that cold up in the mountains.
Well, they received all kinds of customers up here; at first it was because of their reputation in the nearby towns, but now it was also because of his sister's great job of inciting visits via social media. It wasn't really odd for people from all walks of life to eventually find their way to them. And as long as they left pleased with their service, Shouji didn't really mind who the person may have been.
Once they had been close enough for Shouji to speak to the person without worrying he wouldn't be heard, he greeted them and thanked them for their visit. The person's response was a mute nod.
They both continued on their way without anything notable happening. Shouji continued on his way up the mountain path and eventually found himself face to face with his home away from home and he heard and saw nothing else from the notable looking customer.
All that struck out about him, his mother informed him later on, was that he was a quieter sort of person that had recently started coming every few days a couple of weeks ago. He always ordered something different and never once showed any signs of being displeased or even bothered by their service of the food they gave him. All in all, he was a good regular to have acquired recently.
Shouji was pleased to hear such a thing; recently their regulars had become less regular because life had gotten more complicated for everyone in recent years. It was comforting to hear that their little old restaurant had acquired a new loyal customer.
I left both of the boys' invitations within their rooms.
I was not expecting for Shouji Mezou to return to his family's restaurant today, but it is a pleasant coincidence. He seemed happy; I am sure his family will also be happy to have him visit.
Still, neither of these children make a habit of visiting their homes very often. I will have to monitor the weekends with explicit care to make sure that both boys read my invitation and follow my instructions accordingly. It will be a shame if I have to go about completing the threats I left, but I am not foolish enough to not go about completing said threats. These children are the future of this nation and I will not allow them to squander their talents because of their blind faith in a broken system.
If there is one thing I can say this society of fakes got right it is that one must take charge of the education of the younger generations to make a change and ensure it will be successful. Never before had I contemplated having a student; then again, never before had I met children with hearts as heroic and pure as those of these children.
Within the month, they will begin to be trained by me.
This plan of mine- it will be successful.
~..~..~
Please review and tell me your thoughts!