All Might stared at Aizawa, troubled. His iconic broad smile was nowhere to be found. Instead, it was replaced with a grimace that served as a gate preventing much darker emotions from manifesting. The two teachers remained silent for the next few moments, quietly going through their prior conversation and the inevitable consequences their final decision would wrought.

"I do not think it is a good idea," Aizawa was the one who broke the silence.

"He has so much potential," All Might murmured quietly, seemingly ageing a dozen years. "It might help him develop," he added, but whether he was trying to convince himself or his speaker remained unknown.

"That is undeniable," Shota Aizawa stated in his usual down and dull voice. "But … putting him through Endeavor might be a killer move. I can reason with your overall idea … however, you are setting the bar too high for him, All Might. You certainly can describe him as a prodigy, but this is too much," he continued, slowly and sluggishly standing up from the couch. "That being said … I will support whatever decision you make."

"Appreciated," All Might's voice was a mere whisper. "I'll contact him, Shota."

"Let me ask you one question," Shota remarked stoically. "Are you doing all of this for Bakugo or Midoriya?"

"I'd want to say I'm doing this for both of them," the number one hero started, casting down his sight towards the carpet. "But … without him, Midoriya would eventually lose his drive. For better or worse, Bakugo motivates him to be stronger and better," he added quietly. "Shota … I don't know how long I can keep up being a hero. When the time comes for me to step down … I need to have someone ready to replace me, to fill my spot, and become a symbol of peace. I think … no, I hope one of them will be my successor."

"Is it not too early to think about retirement?" Aizawa asked, his voice subtly tainted with irritation. "These two are but boys who have a long way ahead of them to become the heroes. They, undoubtedly, have the potential to reach the top, but it will take them a while."

"I know," All Might commented, shaking his head as if he did not heed the hidden meaning behind his peer's words.

With nothing more to add, Aizawa left the room, quietly closing the door behind him. Something told him; perhaps it was his intuition that no matter how long he would have tried, All Might would have made the same decision. So … it was easier to accept the inevitable. That being said, he was hardly the one affected by it the most. For a split second, the teacher thought about his explosive student. Considering how alike Bakugo and Endeavor were, it was bound to get out of hand pretty much the moment the sparring session would start. The Flame Hero would try to assert his dominance, and knowing his student … well, he would not yield no matter what. Many things could have been said about Katsuki Bakugo. He was impatient, overly aggressive, and explosive, yet simultaneously intelligent, unyielding, and, above all, gifted. As much as Shota did not like the thought that popped inside his consciousness, it was inevitable that Katsuki would be returned to them pummelled and bruised. The only question still lingering in the teacher's mind was whether this young boy's pride would survive what was to come. No … the longer he thought about all the possibilities, the more his head ached. The least he could do for Bakugo … the least he could do for him as his homeroom teacher, was to wait and be beside him when the worst would descend.

It was one of these rare days when Aizawa made it to his classroom before his students. Considering yesterday's conservation with All Might, he felt unusually stressed and entirely incapable of finding any solace in his sleep. With a quiet groan, he untapped his eye drops, preparing to apply another dose, feeling uncomfortable burning in his bloodshot eyes. As the thick liquid spread, the teacher exhaled, overall content for the moment. However, the silence he had found entering the classroom did not last all that long, unfortunately. It felt like a heartbeat before the already irritated blonde swiped the door open, making his way towards his usual sitting with a grimace of utmost discontent glued to his strongly sculptured face.

Aizawa considered addressing the teen immediately, but someone high above had other plans regarding this very moment and wholly disregarded the teacher's intentions. Before he could muster enough courage to speak up, the class 1A representative, Tenya Ida, entered the room, bowing momentarily when noticing the Aizawa. Expectedly, he was followed shortly after by the vice-representative, Momo Yaoyorozu. With his plans crushed, Shota nodded simply, waiting for the rest of the misfit's group to gather.

Thankfully, the dark-haired teacher did not have to wait all that long.

"Before we start, I have one thing to announce," Eraser Head started when all the students appeared. "Bakugo, I need you to stay after the class. It should not take long," he said, focusing his bloodshot eyes on Katsuki. "Other than that, let's start today's lesson."

A loud whine filled the air as a few of the teenagers expected something far more interesting than the announcement that their homeroom teacher had provided them. Though a single glance from the dark-haired man was enough to quell the situation, allowing the class to go on.

All in all, the lesson seemed to fly by within moments from the Eraser Head's perspective. Before he could properly prepare himself for his upcoming talk with Bakugo, the bell rang, marking the end of the class. With a heavy exhale passing through his slightly parted lips, he shook his head, trying to come up with a plan.

"What do you need of me?" Katsuki's voice was a mix of confidence and boredom.

"The teacher staff recognised your potential," Shota started unusually quiet.

"And? What of it?" came an impatient response.

"Some of us believe that you can benefit from a sparring session with an already established and experienced pro hero," the teacher retorted.

"Who?" Bakugo questioned, intrigued.

"Endeavor," the dark-haired man replied. "Some of us believe that you might be able to relate to him and learn a thing or two from him."

"Sounds a little suspicious," the blonde commented, creasing his jaw. "When and where would the session take place?" he asked after a short pause.

"Tonight," Aizawa replied quietly. "One of us will lead you to the training ground at 9 pm."

"Sounds reasonable," the teenager remarked. "Anything else?"

"No … for now, it is all."

Bakugo did not hesitate to pick up his backup and leave the classroom immediately. From his perspective, the topic must have been concluded. Well … the raven-haired man could hardly blame him for such an attitude. After all, as far as his observation went, the blonde believed in his superiority, and each victory only fuelled this overly-grown pride further. If he were to compare Katsuki to his class peers, he doubted many would have caused him trouble in combat. Perhaps only Todoroki and Midoriya could stand a chance. That being said, despite his yells and overly loud behaviour, he was a tactician. After such a short time, Aizawa was certain that giving Bakugo an inch or an advantage would be disastrous. He would inevitably figure out a way to use any noticeable weakness. It was laughable that many would have seen him as a loud brute who could only push through hardships with power. No … it was a trivial way to view him. However, in reality, hardly anything could be this trivial. To Shota, the blonde was an enigma to some extent, or at the very least, a complicated and complex young man. Still, he would have wanted to know the reasons behind this seemingly constant anger engulfed around him. What caused all of this? He would have paid a lot to find the right answers.

At 9 pm sharp, the blond-haired prodigy was led to the dimly lit training room that he was certain he had never seen before. Even though most of its area was shrouded by shadows, it became quite obvious quite quickly that it was a relatively empty space. With nothing better to do, the young man marched forward, delving deeper into the darkness. For a split second, he thought he would hear his guide's steps behind him, but the speculations appeared flawed. Instead, he heard a soft click as the door closed behind him. Then, unexpectedly, something in the distance flared up, casting away the shadows. At first glance, it would seem a mere pylon of bright red fire. However, the devil lay in the details. As Katuski's eyes adjusted to the newly founded luminosity, he realised his mistake. It was not a pylon but his sparring partner, the number two hero, Endeavor. His palms started sweating extensively. Even though he only had a black muscle shirt and matching long baggy pants, he felt too hot for any comfort.

"Ready?" a short question filled the void.

"Tch," the blonde scoffed, visibly preparing himself for the upcoming combat. "Do not ask stupid questions!" he yelled, charging forward.

"I will not go easy on you," the man engulfed in flames commented, hardly threatened by Bakugo's fast approach. "Give up, or you will suffer," were his last words before chaos erupted, making everything hazy.

Katsuki put on his usual mask of bravado, already knowing that inaction would not carry him too far. If he were to stand even the slightest chance against The Flame Hero, he needed to be the one on the offensive. Expecting a relatively sloppy approach from Endeavor, the blonde juked to the side, utilising the movement advantage his quirk provided him with. The plan was simple: get behind the hulking man and attack the fragile parts of his monstrous physique. Perhaps landing a direct hit behind one of his knees would buy him some time to come up with a better strategy. But … for now, the only feasible way to win was through death by the thousand cuts.

Unfortunately, as much as Katsuki was a prodigy, he tended to overlook certain trivial details or sometimes underestimate his opponents. With The Flame Hero, he made the same mistake. He put all of his trust into a gamble that he would be faster than the hulking man, and … it backfired. His right leg was caught seemingly effortlessly and held in a tight grip.

"I told you I will not go easy on you," Endeavor said quietly. "Now … suffer the consequences."

Without as much as a split-second hesitation, The Flame Hero ignited his hand, searing through the boy's pants and forcefully mixing it with the flesh underneath. The loud, piercing scream that filled the air was disregarded – the combat continued. However, it was more of a one-sided affair than a proper fight.

When Aizawa made it to the hospital wing, his face was pale, and his eyes wide open. Slamming the door open, he entered the ward, where he found his student lying motionlessly on the bed, covered in snowy sheets. Immediately, he noticed a fragile silhouette he associated with All Might. The number one hero sat on the chair next to the hospital bed with his visibly trembling hands clasped on his lap.

"What happened?" Aizawa demanded, allowing his voice to sound hostile. "What happened, All Might?"

"Well … I made a mistake, as you can see," the exhausted symbol of peace retorted, pointing out at the unconscious boy with his twitchy finger. "I thought … I thought Endeavor would've pushed him beyond his limits. But … what he did was an utter dismantling."

"What did he do?" Shota questioned slowly, putting as much anger into each word.

"A few broken ribs, dislocated hip bone, burnt flesh, and concussion," All Might said after a short pause. "Most of these are no more. However, for the next few weeks, young Bakugo will live with burn marks on his face, abdomen, and chest."

"Was it worth anything, All Might?" the dark-haired teacher hissed, finally approaching the bed his student currently occupied.

As the number one hero said, the left side of Katsuki's face was hidden beneath a solid layer of bandages. For a brief moment, Aizawa felt an urge to remove the dressing to see the damage extent. However, the moment the inappropriate idea crossed his mind, it was discarded.

"What do we do?" he asked his friend.

"We pray he wakes up, then … I don't know," the blond-haired hero said gravely.

Author's notes section:

Hey, I'm sorry but for this chapter I will need to release a preview, as I might have problems finishing it throughout the weekend. As a side note, I'm currently trying to rewrite the 4th chapter of `My home is where my heart lies` and write a new chapter of `Once in a lifetime party`. Unfortunately, it turned out that this story needs a lot of adjustments as the quality is lacking to say the least. I hope these will be released fully without me needing to split them into the two stages. Anyway, I hope you will enjoy the preview of the current chapter.

Hello, I know I should not post new stories when I visibly struggle to finish the already started one. However, I felt a need to write sth new, sth I had yet to overcomplicate. As of the story, I'm currently not sure how I will handle it. My original idea is to either set up a relationship between Cheeks and Bakugo, or Momo and Bakugo. That being said, I will update the relationships as the story progress.

Please note that the dialogues written in italics are thoughts.

As always, I would like to thank you for everything. See you soon :)

Changelog:
[2024-06-02]: A chapter was released.

References:
- NESTOR - Caroline
- NESTOR - Victorious
- NESTOR - On the run
- Avenged Sevenfold - Coming Home

End of the author's notes section.