The Physical, Emotional, and Legal Consequences of Wanting to Watch a Movie With Your Friends

Izuku Midoriya had always hated horror movies.

At first it was because he was a kid, and he didn't like scary things. Then it was because his life was already plenty scary enough for him, and he wanted to use his precious TV time for his well earned escapism. Then it was because some things were a little too familiar, a little too impactful.

But all of that was fine. It was just a weird Deku thing. Besides, his mom didn't like horror movies much either, so it was okay.

And then they moved into the dorms.

Izuku loved his classmates, all 18 of them, but sometimes he really wished they were a little less persuasive. Because Izuku Midoriya did not like horror movies, and yet here he was, on the couch watching one. Thankfully, it turned out a lot of the other 1A students didn't like horror movies either, so the one they were watching was more of a horror comedy. So it was fine.

Until it wasn't.

On screen, a girl was being chased through the woods.

It was fine.

She was crying.

It was fine.

She tripped.

It was fine.

The killer caught up with her.

It was fine.

She begged for him not to hurt her.

It was fine.

He did anyways.

It was fine.

She screamed.

IT WAS FINE.

Kaminari whispered a joke, but his senses were already fading so all he heard was Jiro respond with quiet

L A U G H T E R.

It wasn't fine.

He curled up inside his skull and let his senses slip away from him. His hearing was always the first to go, and then his vision got blurry and touch became weird and distant. It was fine. He would just close his eyes and pretend to be asleep, slipping and slipping until, if he was lucky, he fell asleep for real. He let himself fade for a while, distant and gone, and then at one point realized someone was touching him. He instinctively tried to focus on where the sensation was coming from, and then mentally recoiled from it and let himself go all faded again.

He didn't want to think right now. He didn't want to focus. It was okay. Someone was touching him, but nothing could hurt him when he was like this, so it was fine.

A lot of people were talking around him. To him? No, it would be weird to talk to someone who was asleep. It was bright in the room too, so someone had turned the lights on-

Ah.

He had forgotten to close his eyes.

Izuku thought about coming back just enough to let his eyes slide shut, but of course it was too late. They had already noticed that he was away. That was too bad. The only person who had seen him like this and not thought he was sleeping was Kacchan, and his response had been to try to snap him out of it. Forcefully. That hadn't been pleasant to come back to, but still, he was glad that he had been away while it happened.

It was fine.

Someone touched him again. Annoying. He retreated further. Mentally, he conjured up the image of a small room in the back of his skull. A closet, maybe. He curled up on the floor of it and pulled a heavy blanket over himself.

A smell pierced through his skull, the closet door, and the blanket. The cloying scent of horribly burnt sugar. The scent that always meant

DANGER.

A small whine tore from him, unbidden and unacknowledged, and suddenly it was as though there was a lock on the closet door. That was okay. He didn't want to come out anyways.

It was fine.

The noises increased. Izuku really wished they would stop, but he couldn't quite come back to himself enough to say that, so instead he just tucked his knees up under his chin and pressed his hands to his ears. Someone shook him, but even though his eyes were open he couldn't see who it was. So he just floated.

And then all at once, the noises and sensations and touches stopped. For a moment, Izuku couldn't help but wonder if he had retreated too far. If he had died. But then something warm and heavy settled in his hand, and he felt... something. Relieved, maybe. Maybe annoyed. Someone started to talk again, but this time it wasn't loud and so many and demanding. It was soft and just one and if you want. He could hear noises that he knew were words, but couldn't for the life of him decipher which ones. It didn't matter. He floated.

Slowly, accidentally, he found himself focusing on the sensations. Without meaning to, he began to settle back into his body. And then, two words snuck in through the fog over his brain.

"-worried-"

"-safe."

Ah. Someone was worried about him. Well, that just wouldn't do. He began to focus on his senses, trying to identify what he felt. The garbled noise was a familiar voice, the blurry shape was a person, and someone was holding his hand... which was a little weird. He knew he had smelled nitroglycerin, so he fully excepted to wake up alone and aching on the floor again.

He blinked slowly, forcing his vision to clear further. Finally, he was able to tell that the person was Aizawa.

Ah, shit. He thought. For him, Aizawa was in a weird space of "he'll protect me" and "I can't let him see me weak". He was a hero, and heroes were good, but he was also a teacher, and teachers were bad. He would protect his students from villains, but he also threatened to expel them at the drop of a hat. So Izuku didn't really know how to feel about him.

"You back with us, kid?"

Izuku blinked. Oh, yeah. He had to come back now.

Without hesitation, he reached up and sank his teeth into his hand hard enough to draw blood. The pain yanked him back into awareness just in time to see his teacher's startled face.

"Hey, hey, none of that." Aizawa tugged on his hand, and Izuku obediently let go. The teacher frowned down at the bleeding marks, then turned his gaze back up. "You alright?" Izuku nodded. He felt a little rattled, his hand was throbbing, and he could taste blood, but he was fine. Better than he had expected. "Can you talk?" Uh oh. Right now, talking felt like a monumental task, but nobody liked it when he went silent like this. He shrugged, and then tensed, waiting to see if he would be reprimanded for it. But to his surprise, Aizawa just nodded. "That's fine. Is it okay if I ask you a few questions?"

Izuku wanted to ask 'How many?', but he couldn't quite manage to push the words out of his throat, so he just nodded.

"Good, that's good. Do you remember what happened?"

Izuku nodded again. He didn't remember most of what happened while he was away, except the vague smell of nitroglycerin and people yelling and touching. He had no idea how long he had been gone for, but he knew that he had been gone and he knew what caused it.

"Alright, good. Do you know what dissociation means?"

Izuku's brow furrowed and he hesitantly shook his head. He felt his shoulders hike up as he curled in on himself, but then Aizawa started gently rubbing circles into his hand, which was a little weird but also a very good distraction, so he didn't mind.

"Hey, it's okay. This isn't a quiz, I'm just trying to figure out how I can help you."

That only made him frown harder. Why would you want to help me?

Aizawa must've seen the look on his face, because he cocked his head to the side. "I'm your teacher. It's my job to help you."

Without meaning to, Izuku let out a quiet, disbelieving snort of laughter. Too late, he stiffened, slapping a hand over his mouth and looking up at his teacher with wide, fearful eyes. But nothing happened besides Aizawa's touch going still.

"You don't believe me?" Aizawa asked. Izuku let his gaze slide to the floor and shrugged with one shoulder. "...Alright. Did- did I do something to make you lose faith in me?" Izuku shook his head immediately. No, Aizawa had never hurt him. It had just been every other teacher he had ever had since he was five. "So you've had a bad experience with a teacher, or a hero, in the past?" Izuku started to shrug, not able to say only teachers, but then remembered bright red shoes on the edge of a roof and an echo of be realistic and he nodded. Both. "Okay." Aizawa said quietly. "Okay. Thank you for telling me. Can you believe that I want to help you?" Izuku hesitated, but after a moment nodded slowly. His teacher let out a quiet sigh of relief. "And- do you trust me?"

Izuku hesitated again. He wanted to say yes, both out of fear and because he wanted it to be true, but he honestly wasn't sure. He shrugged again, wincing when the gesture made his teacher let out a slow, shaky breath.

"Alright. That's fine. Do you- is there anyone else who you would be more comfortable with?"

Izuku took a moment to think about it, running through the options in his head. He wasn't close enough with most of his classmates to feel comfortable being this vulnerable around them. Uraraka was amazing, and he really cared about her, but he didn't think he could handle her loud concern right now. Iida would want to know everything he was feeling and what had caused all of it and he didn't feel like playing nonverbal twenty questions. Todoroki... Todoroki would probably understand, but the poor boy was already dealing with so much, and sometimes the way he looked at Izuku like he was already a hero made him want to throw up.

He couldn't bother his mom with this, she was already on the verge of pulling him out of UA. The other teachers were, well, teachers. He could handle Aizawa because he had seen the man fight for them (seen it over and over and over, in real life and when he zoned out in class and in endless nightmares-), but the other faculty were just... a little too much. They were heroes, which had been enough for him to let his guard down in the beginning, but now they had settled more towards teachers in his mind.

And All Might...

Izuku shied away from that thought. He could never, ever let his mentor see him this weak. What if he realized he made a mistake and asked for his Quirk back? He wouldn't, couldn't let that happen. He couldn't be a hero without a Quirk, and if he couldn't be a hero he would die. He had known that for certain when All Might left him on that roof. Ever since that day he had known he would either be a hero or he would be dead. There was no other option. And despite how he threw himself into fights, threw himself into pain and fear and fury, he didn't want to die. He did it because he wanted to live, wanted to feel like he was living. Like he was human.

Blinking back tears, Izuku shook his head.

"Really?" Aizawa said, sounding a mix of confused and worried. "No one?" Izuku's breath hitched and he started to pull his hand back, suddenly feeling vulnerable and stupid and pathetic. "Hey, no, it's okay. I'm not upset, I'm just- I'm sorry, I didn't- I'm just confused. I'm not... very good. At this." Izuku shot him a confused look. "At emotional things." He clarified, which only confused Izuku more, because Aizawa seemed pretty great at it. Better than Izuku, at least, and every other teacher than had had to deal with him when he was like this. He tried to say so, but it felt like he was trying to swallow glass, so instead he just hesitantly patted his teacher's hand. Aizawa snorted. "Thanks, kid, but I'm supposed to be the one helping you." Izuku shrugged, unsure how to respond to that.

There was a moment of awkward silence before his teacher suddenly spoke up again.

"Do you want something to drink?"

Izuku blinked at him. He tilted his head, thought about it, and then nodded. He wasn't particularly thirsty, but it was better than sitting around doing nothing. Aizawa let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"Alright. Do you want hot chocolate or tea?"

Izuku blinked again, having assumed he would get water, and hesitantly held up one finger. The teacher nodded.

"Got it. Don't move, I'll be right back."

Aizawa let go of his hand and stood up, shuffling off towards the kitchen. Izuku took the chance to scan his surroundings. He was still in the common room, but the lights had been dimmed and a blanket had been pulled over his shoulders. There wasn't anyone else in the room, but he couldn't hear anyone moving around up in the dorms either. It was weird for the building to be so quiet. He glanced at the clock and did a double take when he saw it was nearly 1 AM.

Why is Aizawa-sensei in the dorms so late? Izuku wondered, and then remembered the soft voice that had brought him back in the first place and thought No way, was he here talking to me this entire time?!

They had started the movie at around 8:30 PM, and it would've been about two hours until the movie ended and someone noticed he was away, and went to get Aizawa. Which meant that Aizawa had sat with him for three and a half hours at least. But that didn't make any sense. Usually, if a teacher or Kacchan found him like that, they would give him a smack to knock him out of it. He gave himself a quick scan for injuries, only growing more confused when he didn't fine any.

Just then, Aizawa walked back into the room, and found Izuku with the blanket wrapped tightly around himself staring at the floor with a baffled expression. The hero sat down on the couch beside him, handing him one of the mugs.

"What're you thinking about?" He asked, taking a sip of what looked like coffee. Izuku held his mug with both hands, letting the warmth leech into his aching bones. He glanced at Aizawa nervously, and then directed a pointed look at the clock. The hero followed his gaze and then huffed when he saw the time. "Don't worry, I'm usually up this late for patrol anyways." 

Unfortunately, that only made Izuku feel worse. You're missing your patrol because of me? He thought, frowning.

"I had a friend cover for me." Aizawa said. Izuku didn't take the bait and ask which hero it was, only frowning more. Aizawa sighed and reached over, gently flicking him on the forehead. "Drink your chocolate and don't worry about it, kid."

Resisting the urge to pout, Izuku obeyed. Aizawa went quiet again, but this time the silence was comfortable. Quite suddenly, Izuku realized that at some point the wary feeling of not knowing what his teacher from him wanted had slipped away. In it's place was some sort of warm, sweet feeling that he usually only got from his mother.

Then again, maybe that was just the hot chocolate.

"How are you feeling, kid?" Aizawa asked suddenly.

"'m okay." Izuku mumbled, taking another sip. The warm drink seemed to loosen the lump in his throat. Aizawa didn't seem startled that he had spoken, just nodded.

"You wanna tell me what happened?"

Izuku hesitated for a second, unsure. He kind of got the feeling that if he said no Aizawa would just say okay and leave it alone, but for once he didn't really want to. Maybe, just a little, he could admit that he was tired of lying and smiling and pretending he had a handle on everything. Maybe, for once, he could tell someone a bit of what he was dealing with.

Just a bit, though. Most of his secrets weren't safe to share.

"I... don't like horror movies." Izuku muttered, and then winced and fell silent as he realized how whiny he sounded.

"So it was something in the movie that set you off?" Aizawa prodded. Izuku shrugged and made a so-so gesture with one hand.

"Combination." He said stiffly. "Character was... screaming. Asking for help." Begging not to be hurt. "And Jiro... laughed." He shuddered slightly at the memory. "I didn't like it. So I just... went away." He made a vague gesture with one hand and took a sip of his drink to signal that he was done talking.

"...Alright." Aizawa said, voice oddly thick. Whatever he read into Izuku's response, he didn't like it. "Did I explain to you what dissociation is?" Izuku shook his head, and the hero let out a quiet sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, so, basically dissociation is the medical term for 'going away'. It's- fuck, how do I say this?" His voice dropped into a mutter, but Izuku still heard and was startled by the swear. "Basically, it's a trauma response. It tends to happen when an individual is reminded of bad memories or is overwhelmed by negative emotions."

Oh. Izuku thought, somewhat numbly.

"So it's- it's not just me then?" He said, so quietly that it was almost a whisper. Aizawa shook his head.

"No. It happens to a ton of people."

"Oh." Izuku said, staring blankly into his mug. "But I don't- I don't have trauma." Aizawa raised an eyebrow at him.

"You don't, huh?" He hummed thoughtfully. "Not even from the, what, four villain attacks you kids have been part of this year? Five?"

Izuku made a mental checklist in his head. USJ, Hosu, the mall, the training camp, and then Kamino. Ah, and the two sludge villain attacks. Were those last year?

"Seven." He mumbled. "But two of them were just me."

Aizawa blinked and turned to look at him. "Seven?" He asked, frowning. "No, there was USJ, Hosu, that time at the mall, the training camp and then Kamino." He counted off the events on his fingers. "That's only five, and only the mall incident was just you." Izuku shrunk down in his seat, shoulders hunching. The hero straightened up, frowning down at him. "Midoriya." He said sternly, making Izuku flinch and pull his blanket tighter around himself, eyes locked on the floor. "What aren't you telling me?"

Izuku bit his lip, took a sip of his drink, and glanced nervously around the room. He wasn't stalling, of course not, just... just getting his thoughts in order. Finally, he let out a quiet sigh.

"It doesn't matter." He mumbled. "It was before UA anyways."

"You were part of two villain attacks before UA?" Aizawa asked. The disappointment on his face shifted into something a little more confused. "That wasn't on your file."

Neither was my Quirk manifestation date. Izuku thought, a little bitterly. Instead of saying that, he just shrugged.

"It wouldn't be." He said simply. "No one knew except the hero who saved me."

"What?" Aizawa said, sounding even more confused. "What about the paramedics? Or the police?"

"I wasn't injured." Izuku said, equally confused. "And I wasn't asked to give a statement."

"...Midoriya," The hero said, staring at him. "It's basic protocol to have everyone involved in an attack cleared by paramedics and give at least a short statement before they leave. Did the hero seriously not do that either time?"

Izuku shrugged again, feeling uncomfortable. "He was in a rush." He defended. "The villain was dangerous. He had to get them to the police. And there wasn't anyone else there."

At least the first time. He added in his head. The second time All Might had left him with other heroes, and they hadn't had him checked by paramedics either, so it wasn't All Might's fault.

Aizawa shook his head. "That's no excuse. He could've told you to stay put and called an ambulance to come check you." Aizawa paused and tilted his head. "It was the same hero both times?" Izuku stiffened, and after a moment hesitantly nodded. He was beginning to regret having spoken at all. "That's a gross display of negligence." He said, scowling. Without meaning to, Izuku shot the hero a glare.

"You don't understand." He muttered darkly. "It- there was a lot going on."

Aizawa paused and turned to face him again. Izuku tried not to shudder at the familiar feeling of being scanned.

"Okay," The hero said slowly. "Then explain it to me. What am I missing?"

Izuku hesitated. He didn't want Aizawa-Sensei to think All Might was a bad hero, but he also couldn't tell the man everything surrounding the circumstances of their first meeting.

"It- it's a long story." He muttered, glancing at the clock. 1:24 AM.

"I have time." Aizawa said, pointedly taking a sip of his coffee. Izuku tried to hide a pout behind his mug, but based on the amused tilt of Aizawa's eyebrow he didn't succeed. He hesitated again, but some part of him needed Aizawa to understand that it wasn't All Might's fault. It was Izuku's, like always. 

"I- well- I guess it was around... ten months before the entrance exam? And, uh, I was having a pretty bad day. I left school, and, uh, this villain found me. A guy made of sludge." Aizawa raised an eyebrow but didn't interrupt. "And- uh, he said that he was going to, well, hijack my body. And then he kind of- went down my throat? And, um, it wasn't fun. I couldn't really b-breathe? So I sort of... panicked. And then A- the hero, um, came and saved me. He had been following the villain for a while, s-so he had to leave right after. To get him to the police. But I was- I had a question, that I had to ask. It- it felt important to me, at the time. So I kind of- well, I did something dumb. But b-basically I asked my question, he answered it, and then I had to find a way down so I could-"

"Woah woah woah, hold on. Run that by me again?" Aizawa asked, brows furrowed in confusion and concern. Izuku blinked up at him. "You said you had to find a way down. What do you mean?"

Izuku froze.

"Um." He croaked. "Any chance you could forget that?"

"Yeah, not with that reaction." Aizawa said, and then winced at his own snark and took a deep breath. He lowered his tone into something more gentle. "Listen, if you don't want to talk about it, I won't force you to. But you said I should know the full situation. So if you think it's not important, then I'll believe you."

Izuku bit his lip. What All Might had told him wasn't really important, but... he kind of wanted to tell someone. Maybe then he wouldn't feel so bad about it anymore.

"...Can I tell you that part later?" He asked quietly. 

"Sure." Aizawa said. "Like I said, I have time." Izuku breathed a small sigh of relief and nodded, mentally picking back up where he had left off. 

"So, uh... Right, he had to leave, and I had to get home. And on the w-way home, I found the sludge villain attacking another k-kid. And it- it was my fault, because when I tried to stop the hero I knocked the v-villain out of his pocket- ah, he had put him in a s-soda bottle, uh, to contain him, and then I let him loose again and then he had another st-student-"

"Bakugo." Aizawa said, nodding. Izuku's head snapped up. 

"W-what? How did you...?"

"The attack was in his file." Aizawa said, raising an eyebrow so Izuku could clearly hear the silent like yours should have been. Izuku looked away, deliberately ignoring it. 

"Yeah, it- it was Kacchan. And, uh, the heroes- they weren't really... doing anything? And later I found out that, um, the villain wasn't- he wasn't trying to kill him. Like he had with me. He was just holding him h-hostage. But I- I didn't know that. So, when I saw that the heroes were just- just standing there, um, because their Quirks were a bad match, and I saw his face, and I saw how scared he looked, and I saw- I saw his eyes. He couldn't t-talk, but I knew. I just knew he was saying please help me. He looked- he looked really scared. I'd never seen Kacchan scared before." 

Izuku paused for a moment, fiddled with his mug. It was mostly empty by now, and the liquid had long since gone cold. He took a deep breath, and then forced himself to continue. 

"And I- I thought about how scary it was, to have people ignore you when you ask for help. To have people just- just look away, when you're in pain. And I panicked. My body just sort of- moved without my permission. It was- heh, it was really scary. Um, I threw my bag at the villain, and I- well, I hit him in the eye, and it gave Kacchan time to breathe, and then we were b-both scared and everyone was yelling- and the h-hero came back. And he saved me again. And, um, he had to leave again, he was in a rush, but the other heroes on the scene yelled at me for getting in the way, um, and they kind of... accidentally blocked the paramedics from getting to me? And since I w-wasn't injured, and I didn't really want to stick around to let them y-yell at me some more, I just sorta... left. So, uh. Yeah. Those were the two attacks I was apart of before UA." 

"Huh." Aizawa said. Izuku risked a glance at him, but the man was staring at a wall, clearly lost in thought. "Why didn't you use your Quirk?"

Izuku's heart lurched. Feigning casualness, he took a sip of his chocolate milk and shrugged. 

"W-well, I didn't want to get arrested for v-vigilantism. And, th- my Quirk has to be consciously activated, so things like p-panic and fear just make me l-lose focus, and that makes it h-harder for me to- to use it. And since I didn't have any c-combat experience at the time, and it still broke my b-bones, it wouldn't- um, wouldn't have helped." Izuku nervously glanced at his teacher, who seemed to accept the excuse and nodded. 

"So what about the other thing?" Aizawa asked. Izuku blinked in confusion, and the teacher made a vague gesture with one hand. "You know, the thing that happened with the hero after the first attack." Izuku made a face, having hoped he would forget about it. The hero caught his expression and let out a soft huff of laughter. "I can't help you if you don't tell me." He reminded, though he sounded more amused than concerned this time. Izuku bit his lip. 

"It- it wasn't a huge deal. Um, like I said, after the hero saved me, he was in a hurry to leave. And I- I had a question. That felt really important at the time. It had- I had already gotten my answer. From everyone else. I was gonna ask him if- if it was possible, for someone like me to become a h-hero. Someone who was- who had a self destructive Quirk. And- everyone else around me had already said that I should give up. That it wasn't possible. But I was- I was really desperate. And I thought a r-real hero would know best. So I just- I needed to ask him. I didn't mean to g-grab him, honest, I just wanted to stop him from leaving. But, w-well, he took off, and I accidentally grabbed him, and then we l-landed on a roof, and- I asked him if I could be a hero. And he... said no. Um, and then he had to go get the villain to the police, so he left, and I had to figure out how to get down, because the door was locked, and then- the se-second attack happened. And he saved me again. And then after that attack he said he was, um, impressed? By my bravery? Or s-something like that, I'm not really sure... But he- he took it back, said that I could be a hero, with- with his help. And, uh, then he helped me train. To get into UA. So, uh, yeah." 

This time, Izuku didn't dare to look up. He kept his head bowed, clutching the blanket tightly around himself, and stared resolutely at the floor. Laying it all out like that now, it sounded... kind of bad, honestly. But All Might had been right! He had barely managed to get into UA with One for All, and without it... well, he would've been toast. He started to chew his thumbnail nervously, too scared to look up in case Aizawa was mad. 

"Wow." The teacher said suddenly. "There's a lot to unpack there." Izuku let out a quiet noise that was part huff of laughter, part sigh of relief. "So, let's start at the beginning. Offense number one, gross negligence of duty. He didn't take your statement, didn't get you checked by medical personnel, failed to safely deliver the villain to the police, and even recklessly endangered you by taking off while you were trying to stop him."

"W-what?" Izuku said, baffled. "No, that- that was my fault. I shouldn't have-"

"Err!" Izuku startled and turned to look at the hero, eyes wide with surprise. Had Aizawa really just made a buzzer sound? Maybe he had kept the hero up too late after all... "That is not correct. He is a hero, and you were a victim of a villain attack, as well as a child. It was his responsibility, both as a hero and as an adult, to make sure you were safe. Mentally, physically, and emotionally. He failed. That was not your fault. Besides, if a hero becomes incompetent every time the person they rescue gets hysterical, then they have no business being a hero at all." Izuku scowled at the insult, both to himself and All Might, but he couldn't really argue. So he just looked away and glared at the floor. "Offense number two: he told you that you couldn't be a hero. Bullshit. You're here now, aren't you?" 

Izuku didn't even wait for him to finish talking before he started shaking his head. "I wouldn't be here if he hadn't helped me. I wouldn't have passed the entrance exam." 

I wouldn't have made it to the entrance exam. His mind whispered to him.

"Right." The hero said dryly. "The entrance exam, where you ran around for ten minutes and then shattered three of your limbs. You definitely seemed well prepared to me." Izuku blushed bright red with shame, hiding his face in the pillow. 

"It would've been worse without him." He muttered, irritated. "The Q- my Quirk would've completely blown off my limbs if I hadn't built up enough muscle mass. Without that help, I wouldn't have been able to save Uraraka-san. I wouldn't have gotten any of those rescue points."

"So he helped you build up muscle mass, huh?" Aizawa hummed thoughtfully. Izuku nodded. "What else?" He gave his teacher a confused, wary look. "What else did he teach you?"

"That's-" He began, but was cut off.

"Because it seems to me like this pro-hero didn't teach you anything about actual hero work. Not even basic fighting styles, which could've been taught while building up muscle mass. So, it seems like you really didn't need this hero at all. All you needed was someone to tell you that your dream wasn't impossible." 

"That's not true!" Izuku snapped, rattled enough that he had to fight the urge to jump to his feet. Instead he just uncurled himself, tapping his foot on the floor. "You can't- I owe everything to him. I never would've been able to a hero without him." Aizawa blinked, straightening up. 

"Who told you that?" He said incredulously. 

Maybe it was because of how late it was. Maybe he had just let his guard down. Maybe he was too caught up in his indignation to think clearly. Maybe it was because he had just come back from- from dissociation. Maybe it was the underlying hope that if Aizawa knew who it was, then he would understand. More likely, it was a combination of all of those things that made the next words slip from his lips. 

"All Might." Izuku said. 

Aizawa's eyebrows shot upwards in alarm, and Izuku went very, very still as he realized just how badly he had fucked up, and began mentally berating himself. He never should've let his guard down. He shouldn't have let Aizawa talk him into spilling everything, fuck, All Might was going to be so disappointed-!

"All Might, huh?" Aizawa said slowly. His face settled into something carefully blank as he stared at a wall, which only heightened Izuku's panic. "So he was in a hurry because of his time limit?" 

Izuku couldn't breathe. He was shaking like a leaf, clutching the cup so tightly he thought it might crack. 

"You-" He gasped out, drawing the hero's focus back to him. "I can't- Please d-don't tell him I told you! I w-wasn't supposed to, it was supposed to be a secret-!" He was properly panicking now, tears springing to his eyes. Immediately Aizawa slid off the couch, kneeling in front of him with wide eyed concern.

"Hey hey hey, it's okay, you're okay. Take a deep breath- Midoriya, look at me, everything's gonna be fine. I won't tell him you told me, alright? Come on, follow my breathing, kid." Aizawa grabbed Izuku's hand and pressed it to his chest, taking slow, exaggerated breaths. Izuku tried desperately to slow his breathing, pressing a hand to his mouth to keep himself quiet. 

"I'm sorry," Izuku sobbed, tears spilling down his cheeks. "I'm sorry, you can't- please, you can't tell him-! Please-" He choked on a sob, ducking his head and squeezing his eyes shut. "I don't- I don't wanna be useless again," He whispered. 

"You aren't," Aizawa said immediately. "And- hey, Midoriya, look at me. You aren't useless. You never were, and you never will be. Even if you didn't have that training, even if you didn't have your spot in the hero course, even if you didn't have your damn Quirk you wouldn't be useless." Izuku felt his breath hitch, which the hero seemed to take as a good sign. "There's no such thing as a useless person, you hear me kid? You don't have to do great things to be someone who matters. You matter just because you exist. And, hell, you just told me that the reason you got that training in the first place was because you tried to save someone's life. You're a good kid, alright?" 

Izuku shook his head frantically. Some small part of him glowed at the words, but he couldn't acknowledge it because that would mean acknowledging that All Might was wrong, and he couldn't do that because that would mean-

That would mean he would have to admit what he had already known. 

"He didn't-" Izuku started to say, and then choked on a sob. "He didn't d-do anything wr-wrong! You- you can't- you can't blame him!" 

"Midoriya," Aizawa said slowly, in a tone that had Izuku already shaking his head to disagree before he even said anything. "You can't actually believe that. What he did was emotional manipulation at best-"

"You think I don't know that?!" Izuku hissed, sobs wracking his body. "I'm not- I'm not an idiot. The whole sit-situation was sketchy from the st-start! But I don't care, because it's All Might. I'm fine with being his p-puppet, or his successor, or- or whatever else he needs me to b-be. Hell, I wouldn't give a shit if he beat me bl-black and blue. He's fuckin' All Might, and he was-" He cut himself off with a hiccup, and all the furious energy seemed to drain out of him. "He w-was the first- first person to ever believe in me. To ever trust me with an-anything more than a damn grocery trip. And he- he gave me everything that I am, everything that he was. He gave me a legacy, a title, a- a friend. He gave me support, and training, and a reason to fuckin' live. All because- because my damn feet moved without my permission." Izuku was curled up again now, face pressed into his forearms and shoulders shaking. Aizawa was silent for a long, tense moment. 

"This isn't just about training, is it?" The teacher asked finally. Izuku let out a quiet noise that was part laugh andpart sob as he shook his head. 

"No," Izuku whispered. "It's not. He gave me- he gave me his Quirk." 

Aizawa inhaled sharply. "What?" He asked, voice thick with quiet disbelief. 

"I was Quirkless up until the day of the en-entrance exam." Izuku said, feeling oddly numb now. "S-sometimes I feel like I still am. He gave me his- his Quirk that day. Hitting that zero pointer was the first time I ever used it. Hell, I th-think it may have been the first time I ever punched, w-well, anything." 

"Jesus, Midoriya," Aizawa breathed, rubbing his face. "How did- how did he give you his Quirk?"

"It's called One for All." Izuku said quietly, and felt something in his chest loosen at being able to say the name freely. "It's an energy st-stockpiling Quirk that can be passed from person to person. It gets stronger as it g-goes on. All Might is stronger that his mentor, and one day I'll be stronger than- than him."

"One for All..." Aizawa said slowly. "That sounds an awful lot like..."

"All for One." Izuku finished. "Y-yeah, I know. First- sorry, the first user of One for All was All for One's brother. He died two hundred years ago, like five minutes after passing on his Quirk to Second. First had a transferable Quirk, but since this was at the dawn of Quirks they just assumed he was Quirkless. He was also pretty sickly, so All for One gave his brother an energy stockpiling Quirk to help him get better, and the two fused. He died fighting his brother, and then Second did too, and so did Third, and s-so on." 

"How many were there?" Aizawa asked faintly. "Before you?" Izuku couldn't help the fond smile that crossed his face. 

"I am number Nine." He whispered, fond and reverent. Aizawa let out a strangled noise. 

"And- and everyone before you died to All for One?" He asked, sounding choked up. 

Izuku looked up, smile dipping into a frown at his tone. "Well, yeah. All for One held a grudge, so he hunted down and killed every user." 

"Jesus Christ, kid!" Aizawa said incredulously. "You took this Quirk knowing that it would paint a massive target on your back?" Izuku flinched and looked away again. Aizawa suddenly went very, very still. "He did tell you about all this before giving it you, right?"

"He thought he was dead!" Izuku defended. "There was no reason for me to know!"

"No reason to-?! Fuck, Midoriya, you can't actually believe that!" 

"I believe that All Might did what he thought was right." Izuku said firmly, glaring at him. "And I will never fault him for that." 

"God, kid." Aizawa said, dragging a hand down his face. "You- Okay, so- fine, let's say he did what he thought was right. What about you?" Izuku tensed as Aizawa's eyes fell on him again. "Do you think what he did was right?"

Of course, Izuku thought, but the words caught in his throat. He took a gulp of the chocolate milk, but it didn't help. 

"It doesn't matter what I think." He mumbled finally. "All Might has more experience than me, so he knows what's best." Aizawa paused and regarded him for a long moment. Long enough that Izuku began to fidget uncomfortably. And then, finally, the teacher spoke. 

"Why do you think you don't get a say in your own life?" He asked softly. 

Izuku froze. The words slammed into him like a truck, threatening to topple his already shaky faith. The answer came to him immediately, and for once he dragged it out into the open instead of pushing it down. 

"Because I never have before." He whispered. Aizawa paused and then let out a soft sigh.

"Yeah, I figured as much." He murmured, wrapping an arm around Izuku's shoulders and pulling him close. Izuku followed the motion, resting his head on the teacher's sternum as he trembled with the force of his realization. 

"I- I was five." Izuku whispered. "When I was diagnosed Quirkless." Aizawa paused, probably having not yet stopped to consider that getting his Quirk on the day of the entrance exam meant that he had been Quirkless for the previous fourteen years. "Two days later, my mom made funeral plans for me." Aizawa's grip on him tightened. "I was- I was five, and she had already decided I was going to d-die soon. I found the papers when I was eight. I understood them when I was ten. And even then-" He inhaled shakily. "Even then, I wasn't m-mad at her. I was just relieved. I was ten years old, and I was relieved that my mom was prepared for me to die, because everyone I knew had already t-told me I was going to kill myself before I turned eighteen." Aizawa made a choked noise, and Izuku tucked his face against the man's chest, tears pricking his eyes as he fisted his hands in the fabric of the hero's shirt. "I really believed them," He whispered. "I really thought I would be dead by now. And now- now that I'm not- I don't know what to do. I'm just- drifting. I don't know what I want to do. I don't know if I'm allowed to want anything."

"'Course you are, kid." Aizawa said quietly, resting a hand on the back of Izuku's head. "No one can stop you from wanting. There's no shame in living one day at a time while you try and figure out what your goal is. And besides, you want to be a hero, right? So you're already on the right track." 

"But do I r-really deserve to be here?" Izuku whispered as he blinked back tears. "It was all luck. If I had never m-met All Might..." 

"Only you would call nearly being drowned by a villain lucky." Aizawa muttered fondly, and Izuku let out a wet giggle. "Now, I'm not exactly a philosopher. We could spend all night debating who 'deserves' what. But in the end what matters isn't what you deserve, it's what you have, and like it or not you have a spot in my class. You can give it up if that's what you want, but you shouldn't throw away your future, your chance to save lives, out of some misguided sense of justice." 

"I don't remember how to want anything." Izuku said quietly, squeezing his eyes shut as tears leaked out. "I don't remember how to be anything other than Quirkless. And it's- it's really hard to remember that I'm not anymore. When All Might first told me he could give me a Quirk... my f-first reaction was fear. I was just so s-scared that I couldn't even do anything but cry. Because even if I hated it, 'Quirkless' was the only l-label I had for most of my life. It was all I was, all anyone ever s-saw me as. And the idea that he could take that away from me... took some getting used to. And it's- it's hard, trying to find out who I am outside of that. I still don't feel 'Quirked'. Hell, m-most of the time I don't even feel human. Because no one- no one treated me like I was. There- there was this one kid in middle school. His Quirk let him heat up his finger tips red-hot. One day, he told me he w-wanted to try his Quirk out on a person. So that he could know how much force to use against villains, so he c-could be a better hero." Aizawa tensed, already seeing where this was going. "I st-still hear it sometimes. What he said to me. He s-said 'I've always wanted to try my Quirk out on a human, but a d-dog like you will do too'." 

"Oh, kid." Aizawa breathed shakily. Izuku choked back a sob. 

"I didn't- I didn't even try to argue. He was st-stronger than me, so I knew it wouldn't work, but I didn't even t-try to fight back. I just s-sat there. And then a t-teacher came. She- she saw me. She looked me right in the eye while I screamed and just- looked away. Kept walking." Aizawa's grip on him tightened. Izuku barely noticed. "He didn't even notice she was there. And that- that wasn't even the worst p-part. It was his expression. He wasn't like everyone else. He wasn't smiling, wasn't laughing, he wasn't h-happy he was hurting me, he just- he didn't care. His expression was just... curious. He really did just want to see what his Quirk would do to a h-human, and he chose me because he didn't see me as a person. Because he knew he wouldn't feel g-guilty if it was me, knew he could get away with it if it was me because everyone already knew that there was no one who would ever try to help me-" He cut himself off with a choked sob. 

"It's alright, kid, you're okay, you're safe, everything's gonna be okay..." Aizawa mumbled, running a hand through Izuku's hair soothingly. 

"And I know, I know you're not like that, not like all the other teachers, but I just- I can't- I'm so scared, all the time, it feels like I'm scared of everything. I'm scared that someday everyone's gonna find out, or All Might is gonna ask for his Quirk back and I won't be able to say n-no and I'll stop being human again, stop being cared about and helped and- and useful. I'm terrified that one day s-someone's gonna recognize the shoes and it'll all come crashing down and my friends will all hate me because I never would've been friends with them without it-" 

"Breathe, Izuku." Aizawa said quietly, and he obediently choked down his rambling to take a deep breath. "Do you really think your friends are shallow enough that they'll hate you just because you used to not have a Quirk?" It was a rhetorical question, but Izuku shrugged in response anyways. "Because I don't think they would. Your Quirk-" Aizawa continued, pretending he didn't notice the way Izuku tensed at the emphasis. "-is a tool. If you were locked in a box that was filling with water, and someone got you out by unscrewing the door, you wouldn't thank the screwdriver, or even the person who gave them the screwdriver. I'm sure that's how Uraraka would feel about it." Izuku bit his lip, but he didn't protest. Just kept focusing on his breathing. "Your friends all care about you. They're loyal to you. Everything you've gone through together isn't going to just go away because of a label like 'Quirkless'." 

That's what I thought about Kacchan. Izuku thought, but felt his anxiety settle a bit anyways. 

"Thank you for telling me all of this. I'm sorry that happened to you," The hero said, and Izuku had just started to say it's not your fault when he continued. "And that's not guilt. It's sympathy. No one deserves to be treated like that, especially not a child. Everyone who hurt you, everyone who ignored your pain, they were cruel and they were wrong. Everyone in your life did you a disservice, willfully or not. Including me." Izuku stiffened and shook his head, but Aizawa kept going before he could say anything. "As a hero, and as a teacher, it's my job to help my students. I'm sorry I didn't see that you needed help. I'll do my best to be there for you from now on, alright?" 

Izuku... didn't really know how to respond to that. He felt sort of uncomfortable, but also grateful? Either way, he got the feeling that arguing wouldn't go over well, so he just sort of nodded.

"Okay." He whispered, soft enough that even he barely heard it. "I trust you." 

"Thanks, kid." Aizawa mumbled back. Izuku wasn't quite brave enough to look up and check, but the hero sounded genuinely grateful, and a little choked up. "You're really brave, you know that?" Izuku wanted to say it wasn't a big deal, but it kind of felt like it was, so he just shrugged again. 

The two of them sat there in silence for a long while. Izuku didn't look up, but the hero seemed to be thinking really hard about something. Izuku wasn't. But it- it wasn't dissociation this time. He was somewhere between his constant state of whirling anxiety and the hazy numbness of going away. Just sort of... existing. It took him an embarrassingly long time to name everything he was feeling. Relaxation, safety, contentment... All sorts of things he didn't realize he was still capable of. Logically, he knew that it should feel weird to be so close to an adult, never mind a teacher. But strangely, as the tension seeped out of him and his eyes drifted shut, Izuku found that he didn't hate it. 

"Get some rest, problem child." Aizawa murmured. "You sure as hell earned it." 

Izuku didn't reply, and his breathing was slow enough that Aizawa guessed he was already asleep. The hero let out a quiet sigh, tilting his head back to stare up at the ceiling as he rested a hand on the kid's head. 

"Fuck," He muttered. "You kids are really gonna be the death of me." 

And then he closed his eyes and decided he would deal with everything in the morning. 

. . .

Shota woke up to quiet giggling. 

"Kaminari," Someone hissed. "You are going to die." 

"He'll die doing the lord's work." Another voice said with a delighted giggle. 

The hero blearily opened his eyes, blinking slowly, and then tensed when he saw something approaching his face. Instantly he reached out and grabbed it, and then snapped out his other hand to cover the attacker's mouth when they drew in a sharp breath like they were going to scream. Several other people in the room yelped in surprise, and Shota blinked the sleep from his eyes to see Kaminari standing in front of him, staring at him with wide eyes. He blinked again and saw that he was holding the kid's wrist, and in turn the kid was holding a marker. 

He shot Kaminari a glare, making the kid let out a tiny squeak of fear, but before Shota could say anything he heard a soft noise off to his side and turned to see Midoriya, fast asleep and curled up on his lap with a blanket wrapped around him. Despite himself, Shota felt his expression soften, and he let out a quiet sigh. He turned back to Kaminari and let go of his wrist, instead holding a finger up to his mouth. 

"Be quiet." He said softly. "Midoriya is still sleeping." Kaminari nodded quickly, and Shota removed his hand from his mouth. Immediately the kid scampered back, and Shota turned back to Midoriya as he pulled himself to his feet. Midoriya let out a quiet huff as the movement jostled him, but didn't stir. Shota ignored the feeling of eyes on his back as he bundled the kid in the blanket before scooping him up, one arm under his legs and the other wrapped around his back.

"Se'sei?" Midoriya mumbled, yawning. 

"Go back to sleep, kid." Shota said as he turned and walked towards the stairs. 

"Mkay..." Midoriya hummed, wrapping his arms around Shota's neck and resting his head on his shoulder. 

"Sensei," Iida began, starting forwards. "Given that class will begin in less than an hour, it maybe be better for him to wake up now-" Shota paused mid step and turned a Quirk enhanced glare on the kid, making the gathered students freeze in place. 

"If you wake him up, I'll kill you." He snarled. Iida blanched as someone off to the side choked in surprise. Shota paused and reigned himself in, dropping his Quirk. "Expel," He corrected himself. "I meant expel you." He shook his head and leveled his tone with a sigh. "Midoriya won't be attending class today." 

"I- alright, sir." Iida said shakily, and Shota winced as guilt welled up in him. 

"Sorry." He mumbled, turning back towards the stairs. "I'm not- mad at you." Iida nodded faintly, and Shota trudged up the steps, leaving stunned silence in his wake. 

"Holy shit, he's pissed." He heard Ashido whisper, seconds before the room burst into frantic mumbling. Shota shook his head again and continued on, nudging the door to Midoriya's room open with his foot (glowering when he saw the walls plastered with All Might merch) and set the kid down on his bed. He pulled a blanket over Midoriya and then paused, staring at him for a moment. 

He looked so young when he was sleeping. He didn't look like the hero-in-training Deku (oh, fuck, the kid's hero name was literally 'useless'-) that he was when he put on the costume, or the flighty, nervous boy he was in class, or even the excited, apprehensive kid he was with his friends. He just looked young. Vulnerable. Shota scowled as his eyes landed on the kid's arms, wondering how many of those scars were from his own Quirk and how many were from someone else's. Not for the first time, Shota found himself hating the hero system with all his heart. He knew it was important to start training them young, so they could protect themselves, but that very training had painted a massive target on his kid's backs. Both from heroes and villains, it seemed. Shota sighed and leaned down, pressing his forehead to Midoriya's. 

"You did a good job getting this far, kid." He mumbled. "I'll take it from here." 

Then he straightened up and drew the curtains closed before turning and leaving the room. The common room was filled with anxious chatter, which fell silent when he walked into the room. Shota beelined straight to the coffee machine, where he poured himself a mug of coffee, chugged it, and then poured himself a second one that he sipped. Then, he let out a low sigh and turned to face the room, where his students were all staring at him apprehensively. 

"C'mere, hell spawn." Shota said, waving a hand to gesture them over. The class made their way over to him, glancing at each other nervously. "Heroes don't fight alone." He said suddenly. The kids blinked back at him in confusion. "It's a common misconception that they do, but they don't. Heroes that fight alone die. All Might was put into retirement because he fought alone." Somehow, he managed to keep the venom out of his voice when he says the other man's name. "So, if any of you brats ever need or want help, for the love of god just fucking ask for it." Some of the class startled at the swear, but he continued on. "If there is ever anyone who hurts you, or makes you uncomfortable, or makes you feel unsafe, you tell me as soon as possible, alright? Whether it's an adult, or another student, or a teacher, or a hero or whatever. You tell me, and I will help you. I will keep you safe, and I will ensure that the person in question faces consequences for their actions. Understand?" He looked around, making eye contact with each one of his students, and getting an uneasy 'yes, sensei' out of each of them. "Good." He said with a sharp nod as he took another sip of coffee, settling back with a sigh. The students gave each other a confused, way glance, until suddenly Uraraka stiffened. 

"It's Deku, isn't it?" She said, staring at him. "That's why you're mad. You found out why he dis-disocated." 

"Dissociated." He corrected. He had given the class a basic rundown on dissociation the night before, a few minutes before sending them all to bed, when he walked in on Bakugo forcefully trying to snap Midoriya out of it. "But, yes. You're right." Somehow, the air in the room got even more tense at his words. 

"Is- is it bad?" She asked, voice shaking. Shota thought of teary eyes and panic and please don't tell him and I don't remember how to be human and he took a deep breath, pushing down his anger. 

"Yes." He said, voice carefully calm. "It is." 

"But he's okay now?" Iida asked hopefully. Shota hesitated, wondering how much he should share. 

"No." He admitted finally. "But he will be soon." Midoriya's friends deflated at the news, and he reached over and ruffled their hair. "Don't worry about it, brats. I'll take care of it." They nodded, mumbled something like 'yes, sensei', and Shota turned to look at the class. "Which reminds me. Bakugo, I'm launching an official investigation into Aldera Middle." Bakugo froze, eyes going wide. "If you have anything you want to tell me, you can talk to me after class, or slide a note under my door or... something..." He trailed off when he saw how pale Bakugo had gotten, and then the realization hit him. 

Fuck. He thought. If Midoriya was Quirkless during middle school, than that means he and Bakugo probably aren't actually rivals. 

He... didn't have the emotional energy to deal with that revelation right now, so he chugged to rest of his coffee before setting the mug down, putting both it and the other problem off for later. 

"Right." Shota said, standing up and shaking out his limbs. "Well then. First things first..." 

He crouched down and reached over, feeling along the underside of the counter until his fingers brushed cool metal. He grabbed it and pulled, and with the sound of tearing tape he straightened up to show he was holding a pair of brass knuckles. He heard someone let out a choked noise as he peeled off the rest of the tape before sliding it onto his fingers and clenching his fists. Sure enough, they still fit. He was a little tempted to get the knife from the upstairs bathroom, but figured that would be a tad overboard. He looked up to see his students staring at him in shock. 

"It seems like I won't be able to make it to class today." Shota said, feeling a bit more settled with the familiar, cool metal pressing against his hands. "You kids are old enough to handle a self study period, right? Don't start any fires, don't get into any fights, don't get arrested, you know the drill." 

"What- what are you gonna be doing?" Hagakure asked, voice shaking. 

"I'm going to be arrested for assaulting a pro-hero." Shota said, partially because he didn't want to lie but mostly just to see the looks on their faces. Sure enough, they did not disappoint. Iida especially looked shell shocked. "Which is wrong, by the way, and you should never do." He added. 

"Do you take requests?" Todoroki asked with an almost hopeful expression. Shota paused, bit back a curse as he made a mental note to ask about that later, and nodded. 

"I do. Not today, though, my schedule's packed." Todoroki nodded slowly, and Shota gave him a pat on the head before turning to the rest of his students and raising an eyebrow. "Well? Don't you brats have a class to get too?" The kids all scrambled away, Todoroki touching his hair with a look of quiet wonder, and Shota turned and walked out the door. 

He kept his hands in his pockets as he walked to, and then through, UA's main building so that no one would see the brass knuckles. He was sure he kept his face perfectly calm, and yet somehow most of the students he encountered seemed to be able sense his anger anyways, as they all got out of his way fast. He continued unimpeded until, a few minutes later, he bumped into Hizashi. 

"Sho!" The man said, visibly brightening up, only to falter slightly when all he received in turn was a short not. "Are you alright?" He asked. Shota shrugged vaguely. 

"I will be." He said. Hizashi shot him a concerned look as he fell into step beside him. 

"Do you want a hug?" Hizashi asked. Shota thought about it for a second, and then shook his head. That would calm him down enough for him to realize that what he was about to do was a bad idea, and he didn't want to second guess himself. 

"Not right now." Shota said. Hizashi nodded and gave him a sympathetic smile. 

"Well, lemme know if that changes. So what happened? Was it the one of your kids? You didn't come back from the dorms last night." 

"Yeah," Shota said quietly. "Yeah, it was." Hizashi paused, waiting for him to roll his eyes and sarcastically correct him from 'kids' to 'students'. He didn't. 

"That bad, huh?" Hizashi asked softly. Shota nodded silently. The memory of finding Midoriya sitting there, staring blankly at a wall as his friends desperately tried to snap him out of it had that old, bitter rage in his gut welling up again. He let his anger carry him down the hall, until he stopped in front of the teacher's lounge and took a deep breath. He ignored the concerned look Hizashi gaze him as he shifted his posture and expression into something calmer and pulled the door open. 

A quick glance around showed three teachers in the room, besides Hizashi and him. Snipe, Nemuri, and All Might. Shota returned Nemuri's cheerful greeting with a short nod, ignoring the concerned glance she shot Hizashi, and beelined straight for the couch where All Might was sitting. The hero was hunched over some paperwork with a hand over his mouth, mumbling under his breath in a gesture so obviously picked up from Midoriya that it made Shota's blood sing with rage. Shota stood next to All Might for a second, waiting. All Might didn't notice him. With a sigh, Shota reached out and tapped his shoulder. All Might startled and looked up at him, smiling. 

"Ah, Aizawa!" All Might said cheerfully. "What can I do for you?" 

Shota tilted his head and smiled warmly. 

"Die." He said. 

And then he punched the number one hero in the face as hard as he could. 

The sound All Might's face made when Shota's brass knuckles slammed into his face sounded eerily similar to the sound Shota's face had made when that Nomu had put his face through the concrete at USJ. And yet, this time, it didn't taste like blood and desperate terror. It tasted like righteous fury and victory and divine fucking retribution. 

His coworkers didn't seem to agree. 

He managed to get a solid six or seven hits on All Might's face before the other heroes in the room scrambled over the furniture to hold him back. The second he was pulled out of arm's reach of All Might, he stopped fighting, letting himself fall limp with a completely neutral expression. Hizashi and Nemuri were both holding him back while Snipe had placed himself between him and All Might, gun drawn but not pointing at him yet. 

"What the fuck was that, Sho?!" Hizashi blurted. 

"Consequences." Shota replied, keeping his eyes trained on All Might as the other man sat up slowly. 

"Ya reckon he might be Toga?" Snipe said, eyeing him warily. 

"I'm not." Shota said, though he didn't blame them for thinking so. "Toga uses knives, and I don't. I'm not under the effects of any sort of mental Quirk, either." 

"Well, do you feel like sharing your reasoning with the class?" Nemuri asked jokingly, but her voice trembled slightly and she kept her hand an inch from her sleeve. Shota scanned All Might as the man got to his feet, and then decided that the man wasn't in nearly enough pain. 

"Let me hit him one more time," He offered. "And then I'll explain." 

The other heroes in the room stared back at him, jaws dropped in shock. 

"I'm afraid I can't allow that." A squeaky voice said, and they all turned to see Nezu standing in the doorway, head tilted as he scanned the scene in front of him. He turned to look at Shota with a raised eyebrow. "And here I thought you were the 'logical' one." 

"My decision was made of entirely sound mind and body." Shota said, though his words were slightly at odds with the blood splattered across his hands and face. 

"I believe there's been a misunderstanding..." All Might said nervously, words slurred slightly from his swollen lip. "I'm sure this matter can be resolved with a civil discussion-" 

"You wanna talk?" Shota snarled, all semblance of composure falling away the instant that bastard spoke. "Fine then. Let's talk. Let's talk about how you told a suicidal, abused, Quirkless child that Japan's number one hero, that his number one hero, was dying! And then you told him that he could never be a hero and left him alone on a locked roof with only the fast way down!" He jerked forwards in his friend's grip, ignoring their stunned expressions as he bared his teeth. "And then, as if all that bullshit wasn't enough, you told him that it was only possible for him to be a hero with your help. You manipulated an abused child into thinking he was worthless, and that you were the only one who in the world who could help him become 'useful'." He spat the last word with as much venom as he could muster. 

"Sho-" Hizashi said, glancing between the two of them with a concerned, horrified look on his face. For once, Shota ignored him. 

"And he believed you." He continued. "He believed every word you said, every lie you told him, because he was a kid and you were a hero. He gave you everything he possibly could, he maimed himself for you, because he believed in you. He gave you his life, his future, his devotion, his loyalty- But you wanna know something, hero?" Shota's lip twisted in a sneer. "For all that he gave you, there was one thing you could never earn. You don't have his trust. In fact, he's terrified of you, because you isolated him from everyone else who could help him when you forced him to keep the truth about his Quirk a secret. You stopped him from getting the help he needed, you let him get permanent nerve damage because you told him not to tell anyone about his Quirk, and how late he got it. 

"And you know what? He nearly had a panic attack when I found out. He begged me not to tell you that I knew, because he was so afraid that you were going to ask for it back, and that he wouldn't be able to say no. In his own words, he was terrified of being useless again, of going back to not even being human. How dare you, All Might? How fucking dare you let him think that? How dare you use that fear for your own benefit? How dare you kill the hero he could be, and try to force him to become a carbon copy of you instead? You say you hate All for One because he hurts children, he manipulates people, he tears apart dreams- But from where I'm standing, you two don't look so different at all. You're a failure, All Might. As a hero, as a teacher, and especially as a mentor. You let him down in nearly every way you possibly could have, and yet here you stand in front of me, asking to talk. Well talk, hero. Give me your excuses, your justifications, and I will tear them apart. Tell me what could have possibly made you think that anything you did to him was good or right." 

All Might's face got more and more pale with every word, eyes going wide with horror. There was a long pause where the two of them stood shaking, Shota breathing heavily with the force of his rage and the other with numb shock. And then, faintly, All Might spoke. 

"Midoriya wasn't abused." He breathed. 

If Shota was in a more forgiving mood, he would attribute it to shock. If he was calmer, he might remember that denial was the first stage of grief. If he was a kinder person, he might have let that slide. 

He was none of those things. 

His vision went red, every muscle in his body tensing with a bone deep fury as his Quirk activated without his knowledge. 

"Let go of me." Shota snarled, keeping his eyes locked on his prey All Might. "I'm going to rip his fucking throat out!" 

"Alright, alright," Nezu said, paws raised as he moved to stand next to Snipe, who was rigid with tension as he glanced between the two of them warily. "It seems like we have a lot to discuss. Given that Midoriya's safety has been called into question, I'll have to ask that you not approach him until such time as we can get a hold of Tsukauchi and get to the bottom of this." Nezu said to All Might, who immediately began to protest. 

"If Midoriya is in such a state, I should be there to support him-!" All Might started, but Shota cut him off with a furious growl.

"If you ever go within ten feet of him again, I will knock your teeth down your goddamn throat." Shota gritted out, teeth bared as he strained against his friend's grip. 

"Now, now, there's no need for that." Nezu scolded, and Shota had to brush aside the vivid mental image of himself punting the rodent into the stratosphere. "I can assure you that both of your concerns will be addressed, once everyone has calmed down and Yagi-san's injuries have been treated." Nezu cast a disapproving look at Shota. "We will settle this in a legal, civil way. Understand?" 

"According to the temporary guardianship paperwork I signed, if I determine someone to be a threat to one of my students, I am well within my legal rights to remove them from the premises. With force, if necessary." Shota replied dryly.

"That doesn' apply if tha person in question is a pro-hero." Snipe said, fidgeting nervously. Shota bared his teeth in a feral grin as he looked past Snipe to lock his gaze directly on All Might once again. 

"Well then, it's a good thing he's not a hero anymore." Shota said, reveling in the way it made All Might wince. "He returned his license to the commission when he retired. It was all very dramatic." 

"But- but I work here!" All Might protested, looking lost. Shota's grin stretched wider. 

"Oh, really?" Shota drawled smugly. "You're teaching at a hero school without a hero's license or a teacher's license? Be careful, old man, that's downright unlawful." All Might's face paled as Nezu shot him a sharp look. 

Technically, Shota was entirely in the right legally (though he was pushing it a bit with the brass knuckles, and could probably be charged with excessive force). But there wasn't a single court in Japan that would take his side against All Might. Having said that, if Shota were to kick up a fuss about it, UA's reputation would take a huge hit, something that Nezu absolutely could not afford what with all the villain attacks. Shota had essentially just told Nezu that he wanted All Might out of this school and away from Midoriya no matter what, and he wasn't afraid to make an enemy of Nezu and the entire UA faculty to do it. That alone told the rodent that he was dead serious. Shota may have been a bit feral and prone to falling back on old habits of murderous rage when one of his kids students were threatened, but he wasn't stupid. He would never threaten Nezu with something like that without the conviction to back it up. 

"Alright." Nezu said softly, and Shota knew he had won. "I would like to hear the full story from all involved parties, but I can assure you that all of your concerns will be addressed." 

"Excellent." Shota said in a tone that was almost cheerful, compared to his usual one. "Because I have concerns about students other than Midoriya. In fact, I would like to investigate Aldera Middle in an official capacity, though you don't need to be involved in that. I would like to request your help investigating Endeavor, and his interactions with Todoroki." 

"Oh, dear." Nezu chirped, tilting his head and smiling. "You're putting an awful lot of work on my plate, aren't you?" Shota barely stopped himself from snidely replying that he could consider it karma. Because there was no way in hell Nezu hadn't know about One for All, and god damnit someone should've told him- "Well, no matter. Snipe-san, please take Yagi-san to Recovery Girl's office. Yamada-san, Kayama-san, you may step back. Aizawa-san will not be behaving violently any longer." His coworkers gave him a wary look as they shuffled back, but Shota didn't attack. He didn't even look at All Might as the man was shuffled from the room, instead just straightening up and brushing off his clothes. He glanced at the clock and tilted his head, frowning as he turned back to Nezu. 

"I'm late for class." Shota said, and then bowed slightly. "If you'll excuse me..." 

"Yes, yes, go have fun." The rodent huffed. "Do remember to come back after class, and bring Midoriya with you. I'll contact Tsukauchi." Shota bristled at the implication that Midoriya would lie about something like that, but he just nodded and turned to leave the room. 

A few minutes later, he pulled open the door to the 1A classroom, pretending he didn't notice the way the class instantly went silent as he walked in. He moved over to his desk and pulled out his notes for the day, realizing too late that he was still wearing his brass knuckles... And that he still had All Might's blood splattered across his knuckles. He ducked his head to hide the slightest smile behind his capture weapon. That explained some of the odd looks he had gotten in the halls.

"S-sensei?" Hagakure managed, and then let out a tiny squeak when he looked up at her with his usual blank expression. "You- uh, you've got s-something on your face..." Shota blinked and reached up to touch his cheek, fingertips coming away tinged red. Again, his lip twitched upwards in amusement, and though he quickly smoothed his expression out again several students caught the shift and glanced at each other with wide eyes. 

"Yes." Shota said, pulling out a pack of disinfectant wipes from his desk and beginning to clean off the mess. "It's blood." Iida went pale so fast Shota thought he might pass out, and Bakugo looked nauseous. "It's not mine." Shota added, tossing the bloodied wipes in the trash.

"Whose is it?" Uraraka whispered. Shota ignored her and instead picked up a marker before turning to the whiteboard and beginning to write. 

"Today, we're going to be discussing how, when, and where it is okay to take the law into your own hands, and how that can tie into hero work." 

"What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck..." Kaminari whispered, until Sero kicked him to shut him up. Shota finished writing on the board with a firm dot before turning to face the class.

"Now," Shota said, crossing his arms and grinning in the face of his terrified students. "Any questions?" 

Three Months Later

Aizawa was in a good mood. 

That alone was terrifying enough, but combined with the way he was humming as he tapped away at his laptop had the whole class on edge. Three months had passed since the day Aizawa walked into class dripping blood and grinning, and a lot had changed since then. After class that day, Aizawa had whisked Izuku away to go give his statement to Tsukauchi and Nezu. Izuku, who hadn't known he was going to talk to a cop, had sort of panicked and half-yelled at Aizawa for starting multiple investigations without asking him at all. (Though he was relieved that someone was looking into Endeavor, he didn't really expect to see anything change.) The hero had turned bright pink and quickly apologized, quietly admitting that he had been angry enough that he wasn't exactly thinking clearly. He also assured Izuku that they didn't have to press charges against All Might if he didn't want to, but for his and other kid's safety they did kind of have to investigate Aldera and get All Might out of UA. Izuku had bit his lip and fretted and dragged his feet, but ultimately did end up giving his statements to the detective. 

The first one, where he gave a basic rundown of his first meeting with All Might combined with everything the hero had ever said or done that made him feel unsafe or uncomfortable, was about as unofficial as you could get. They didn't even record it, which Izuku was grateful for since he didn't really want any recorded evidence of One for All out there, nor did he want to take any of this to court. Izuku was startled (and just a little annoyed) to discover that the detective already knew about One for All. Aizawa assured him it was okay to feel like that, since All Might had been a massive hypocrite by telling the detective in the first place and then not telling Izuku that someone else knew. To be honest, even after their discussion the night before, Izuku was still mostly convinced that nothing All Might had done to him had been a big deal. But the way the detective and Nezu and Aizawa reacted pretty quickly convinced him otherwise. Izuku nearly had a heart attack when Nezu, who was famous for his poker face, actually bared his teeth. 

And then, when Tsukauchi left the room to go scold All Might, Izuku caught a glimpse of the hero, and the brand new scar curving across his cheekbone. The door had slid shut before he could do anything other than straighten up in surprise, but Izuku still panicked and asked what had happened. He wasn't sure what he had expected, but it definitely wasn't Aizawa interrupting to admit to being the cause of the scar. Izuku had stared at him incredulously, waiting for him to say that he was joking, but he didn't. Nezu just sighed into his tea while Aizawa looked away almost sheepishly, leaving Izuku to try and process the knowledge that Aizawa-sensei had punched the number one hero in the face hard enough to scar him for Izuku's sake.

After that, he had to give his second statement, the one about Aldera. He very quickly learned that trying to defend his old teacher's and classmate's actions would only result in Aizawa and occasionally Nezu going off on tangents about how any excuse or justification he could come up with was bullshit. So Izuku switched to downplaying, over and over telling them that what had happened wasn't a big deal, but that only seemed to make them more upset when the detective registered his words as true. Izuku was very careful not to mention Bakugo at all, but somehow Aizawa saw through him anyways and began asking pointed questions about the boy. Izuku dodged as many as he could, and did manage to keep the worst of what Bakugo had done to himself, but eventually he slipped up. Aizawa looked stricken when he finally got Izuku to admit that Bakugo had been the main instigator, if not the main preparator. (He often did things first, but the other kids following his lead always did them worse.)

Seeing the teacher's expression, Izuku immediately began to defend Bakugo, giving a detailed layout of exactly why the boy had acted like that and how much he had changed once he started actually getting the support he needed at UA. He told them that separating Bakugo from the support system he had built up would be extremely counterproductive, and also may have subtly implied that if they expelled Bakugo, he would basically be a sitting duck for villains. And wouldn't it be such a shame if the public found out that one of UA's very own students had been thrown to the wolves over a bit of middle school bullying? Nezu had looked more amused than threatened, though, and Aizawa had just given him a fond, exasperated look. 

"It would be nice if you were as fierce defending yourself as you are for other people." The hero mumbled. 

Izuku had no idea what to say to that particular gut punch, so he just didn't speak. Nezu told him that Kacchan's punishment would be decided between the principal and the Bakugo family, so unfortunately Izuku didn't have a say in it. He did reassure him that Kacchan wouldn't be expelled, though, so that was nice. Nezu said that if any of what Kacchan had done had been on his file as it should've been, the boy never would've gotten into UA. They prided themselves on having a very strict policy against Quirk discrimination. However, like it or not Bakugo had gotten in, and so it was now their job to protect and guide him until he graduated. Nezu also added that the 'punishment' was more likely to be some sort of counseling than anything else, which was a huge relief. He was a little uneasy when Nezu suggested counseling for Izuku as well, but Aizawa assured him that he just had to participate for a month or two, and if it didn't help then he could stop. Izuku agreed, though he still wasn't sure about it. 

To be honest, Izuku was having a lot of mixed feelings. He appreciated everything Aizawa was doing for him, but he felt a little uncomfortable at the idea of anyone, especially All Might, being punched on his behalf. He wasn't really mad at Aizawa, he understood why he had done it, but... it sort of felt weird to have an adult be so protective over him? Like... he wasn't quite sure if he was worth it or not. It was also beyond weird to have someone tell him that he didn't deserve to be hurt, and that the people who had hurt him were going to face consequences. He couldn't quite bring himself to fully believe it, but when he saw how angry the adults around him were Izuku allowed himself a bit of cautious hope. 

But that was only the tip of the iceberg. Most of Izuku's complicated feelings didn't have to do with Aizawa at all, and was instead centered around All Might. Specifically, whether or not he wanted to keep training with the man. They hadn't talked since that movie night, which Izuku was sort of glad for because he had no idea what he would say. All Might was an irreplaceable figure in Izuku's life, for better or worse. Anyone could've become his mentor, or his teacher, or, embarrassingly enough, his father figure. But All Might was the Eighth. There was a sort of bond that came from having the same exact Quirk that no one else in the world would understand. Izuku kind of understood why All Might would want to keep it a secret, even if he also agreed that they probably should've told Aizawa. At the beginning of the year, before he knew sensei could be trusted, he wouldn't have wanted to share that secret either.

And yet, some of the things All Might had said and done were wrong. Not just wrong, they were damaging. And Izuku didn't know what he would do if All Might wouldn't or couldn't admit to that. Even if he admitted he was wrong and apologized and did better, Izuku wasn't sure he could ever look at the hero with the same blind adoration he had before. And maybe that was a good thing, but he wasn't sure if All Might would think it was. On top of that, he also felt a little unsure about bringing Nezu down on his old teachers, even if he logically knew they deserved it and that it would be safer for the current and future students of Aldera if they did...

So when Izuku returned back to the dorms, hours after class ended, he probably looked terrible. It was bad enough that his classmates didn't even jump him to ask what had happened, like they had during lunch that day. Even though Todoroki and Iida had fended them off while Uraraka whisked him away, Izuku could tell that all of his classmates were equally curious, especially when Bakugo was called away the next day. And then All Might didn't show up for class, and Aizawa told them with a vicious little grin that he would be quietly retiring from UA at the end of the week, and both Bakugo and Izuku started staying after class for counseling...

Well, to put it simply, his classmates weren't stupid. They knew something had happened, and it all came to a head one day when Todoroki had to go give his own statement. When Aizawa had delivered him back to the dorms hours later, the boy had looked shell shocked. Izuku and their friends had fretted nervously while Aizawa bundled Todoroki up on the couch and pressed a mug of tea into his hands. Then, the hero had grabbed a small bag out from behind a vent cover and stormed out of the dorms, every line of his body tense with unbridled fury. (After the brass knuckles incident, 1A had been on the lookout for any other weapons Aizawa had stashed around the dorms. So far, they had found fourteen, though they had gotten the hero to admit offhandedly that there were twenty in total. After a very lengthy discussion, the students decided to just pretend they didn't know about any of them.) When Izuku offered to hug Todoroki, the boy agreed immediately, climbing up onto his lap and curling up against him without any trace of his usual reservation. 

"He's going to stop him." Todoroki had whispered, looking awed and hopeful and confused and scared. "He's going to stop him for me." 

Of course, that had Izuku promptly bursting into tears. He held Todoroki close and whispered to him over and over again that it was okay now, that they could trust sensei, that they were finally going to be seen, to be helped, that he understood- 

At that, Todoroki's head had snapped up, eyes filled with tears while he asked Izuku if All Might was like Endeavor. It really was unfortunate that their classmates weren't stupid, because all of a sudden everyone in the room was hyperaware of Todoroki's fire wielding father, the massive burn scar on the boy's face, Izuku's close relationship with All Might, and the hero's sudden retirement. Izuku realized that he wouldn't be able to just let it blow over like he had hoped, and decided that they deserved to know why one of their teachers had been taken away. So, after frantically assuring Todoroki that All Might had never done anything nearly as bad, he hesitantly asked the class if they wanted to know why All Might had been fired. His classmates agreed immediately, though they told him that he didn't have to say anything if he didn't want to. 

But Izuku kind of wanted them to know, and after the way they had reacted at just the implication of Endeavor's abuse, he was pretty sure they would actually believe him. So, hesitantly, he started to speak. He started from the beginning, from his diagnosis to his childhood spent quietly waiting to die to his hellish days at Aldera. He didn't mention anything about Bakugo, but to his utter shock the boy freely admitted that he had been a bully, and even apologized in his own special way. Izuku forgave him immediately, of course, since he could clearly see that Bakugo regretted his actions along with how much he had changed. (And he was a little afraid of what would change within the class if he didn't.)

The other students were still a little wary of Bakugo, Izuku's friends especially, but he insistently told them that Aldera had been a shitty situation for both of them, and Bakugo had just picked up more... destructive coping mechanisms. Bakugo seemed a little uncomfortable being defended by him, but then Kirishima stood up for him too, and he sagged with relief. His expression was conflicted, though, and for a second Izuku could've sworn that he was going to insist something stupid like how he didn't deserve their friendship, but then the rest of the bakusquad piled onto him and he just mumbled a thanks instead. Todoroki gave the two of them a conflicted look, but eventually just shook his head and didn't say anything. 

(Later, Todoroki would come up to Izuku and quietly ask him if he found it easy to forgive the people who had hurt him. It took Izuku a second to realize what he was talking about, at which point he empathetically told Todoroki that what Bakugo had done was nothing compared to what Endeavor was doing, and then proceeded to run though every single difference between their situations. He firmly told Todoroki that he was not obligated to forgive Endeavor, or even tolerate him, which the boy had been so relieved to hear that he nearly cried.)

And then Izuku told them about the day he met All Might, leaving out the suicide baiting. At first, he had fully intended to not mention One for All at all, but by the time he got to that point in the story his friends were already so filled with righteous fury at everything that had been done to him that he found himself unwilling to lie to them. So, without meaning to, he felt the full story of One for All and All for One spilling from his lips. He told them everything, all the way from the First to the Ninth. At one point, when his classmates realized that All Might had given him a Quirk that would make him a target for a two hundred year old supervillain without telling him about the danger, he had to physically restrain his friends from going to fight the hero. He quickly assured them that Aizawa had already done so, which they didn't seem surprised by for some reason. Well, at least that explained why they had been so nervous around the hero for the past few days. 

All in all, the night had ended in a lot of tears, lots of hugs, and a massive stack of cookies, courtesy of Satou's stress baking. They had all fallen asleep in a pile on the floor while watching a musical (horror movies were now strictly prohibited, at least in the common room), so it was a bit of a scramble the next morning to get to class on time. Half of them were late by varying degrees, and with all the rush it wasn't until lunch the next day that they heard the news. Izuku had thought it was his imagination when he walked into the cafeteria and felt the whole room staring at them, until Kaminari sent a message in the class group chat that consisted of a link and about two pages of frantic keyboard smash. Izuku made a face when he saw Endeavor in the thumbnail, but clicked it anyways, figuring it must've been something interesting for Kaminari to get that worked up about it. 

He barely got thirty seconds in before he choked in surprise, coughing up half a lungful of water onto his lunch. As he caught his breath, he rewound the video and gestured for his friends to look as he put his phone on the table in the middle of them. They all made similarly annoyed faces when they saw it was a clip of Endeavor being interviewed, but then a blur came flying in out of the corner of the screen. Izuku barely caught a glimpse of a boot slamming into the hero's jaw before the camera jerked, both the cameraperson and the reporter yelping in surprise as they scrambled back. It took a second for the camera to center itself again, and when it did it showed Endeavor tied up with bright red strips of cloth and unconscious on the floor, a towering figure looming over him and stomping on him over and over again. 

The figure was dressed in a hoodie and pants, heavy black combat boots, and a smooth white mask with a lopsided frowny face scrawled on it in sharpie. Two strips of cloth were wrapped around his forearms, the other ends pinning Endeavor's arms to his body. The attacker's hair was pulled into a messy bun, a few strands flying out with the force of his stomps. Even with the mask, Izuku knew immediately who it was. If the way his friends choked in surprise was any indication, they saw it too. 

"Hey," Iida whispered, eyes wide with shock. "Isn't- isn't that Aizawa-sensei?" 

Izuku couldn't do anything other than nod as they watched their teacher stomp Endeavor into oblivion. Finally, after a long minute, Aizawa sat back to catch his breath. He scanned the still-unconscious hero, tilted his head, and then kicked Endeavor in the face, shattering his nose with a dull crunch. With that done, he unwrapped his capture weapons from the man and turned to leave. He paused when he saw the camera, and the reporter shook herself out of it before darting forwards, ignoring the cameraman hissing her name in a frantic attempt to get her to stop. 

"No, you idiot!" Uraraka groaned, pressing a hand to her forehead. "Even on a good day, sensei hates reporters! Have some sense of self preservation!"

"Excuse me, sir!" The reporter squeaked, holding out her mic to Aizawa. "Can I ask you a few questions?" Aizawa tilted his head at her, and Izuku could perfectly imagine the 'are you an idiot or just suicidal' expression on his face. 

"Is this live?" Aizawa asked, voice garbled and electronically filtered through his mask. The reporter winced at the sound but nodded. Aizawa sighed and looked straight into the camera. "Pro-hero Endeavor is down at the corner of 54 Aito street and 21 Suzuki street. I'd guess he has four broken ribs, a broken arm, and a broken nose. Blunt force trauma to the chest and stomach area, may have some amount of organ damage. I'd suggest getting an ambulance here in about twenty minutes, or it'll end poorly. You can send a hero if you want, but I'll already be gone by then." 

True to his word, Aizawa turned and lashed his capture weapons around a street light, yanking himself up. The camera jerked to follow him as the reporter scrambled forwards. 

"Ah, w-wait! Can I ask you for your motivations behind this unprovoked attack?" The reporter asking quickly, standing on her tiptoes and holding her mic up to him. Aizawa paused, tilting his head as he looked down at her. 

"It wasn't unprovoked." He said finally. "He hurt one of my kids." 

And then he turned and jumped over to the nearest roof, vanishing into the night. The reporter turned back to the camera, face flushed with delight as she hyped up the audience. Izuku could see from the timestamp that the video had been taken last night, which explained why Aizawa had been borderline cheerful that morning. The video ended, and Izuku looked up to see all of his friends staring at each other with wide eyes. 

And then Todoroki began to giggle. Within seconds, he had devolved into hysterical laughter, doubling over and gasping with it. For a moment, Izuku was kind of worried he was going to pass out. Izuku's phone pinged as he frantically patted Todoroki's back, and he glanced at it to see that Uraraka had sent an image of Todoroki laughing so hard that tears formed in his eyes while Izuku fretted over him with the caption 'Todoroki liked that video'. Several other people in the chat were laughing or in shock or checking to see if anyone else had recognized Aizawa-sensei, which they all had. Izuku caught a glimpse of Shoji wondering how Aizawa was going to get out of this one, and he couldn't help but be a just little bit worried. 

As it turned out, his concerns were unfounded. Barely a day later, an official from the HPSC had showed up in an attempt to quietly arrest Aizawa-sensei. Jiro had been in the courtyard, and the second she came close enough to the gate to hear what was going on she plugged on earjack into the wall and the other into her phone before calling the class chat. As soon as Izuku realized what was happening he started recording the call, just in case. The whole class listened in mostly-silence as the agent asked Aizawa to come with him. Aizawa simply said that if the commission had an issue with him then they could contact him professionally, through his agency. When the agent smugly informed him that he was, in fact, under arrest, Aizawa just calmly asked what for. Annoyed, the agent said it was for attacking Endeavor. The two argued back and forth for a while, Aizawa asking what proof they had that he did it, the agent telling him to quit arguing and come with him, Aizawa telling him to come back with a warrant, etc. 

Finally, Aizawa huffed and asked if the commission would be gracious enough to allow him a chance to clear up the misunderstanding. The agent grumbled something that might've been an agreement, and there was a moment of quiet rummaging before they heard a few hard clack noises. It sounded like someone tapping on a phone. Sure enough, a few seconds later the agent asked what they were looking at, and Aizawa explained that it was the security footage of himself training his personal student the night before. At the same time as the attack. The agent got frustrated enough that he snapped that the video could've been faked, and this all was a waste of time because they knew that Aizawa had a motive anyways. 

"No, I don't." Aizawa said, voice perfectly level, if a bit exasperated. The lie was so blatant that even the agent was stunned into silence. "I don't have a motive." Aizawa repeated. "I'm an underground hero. What reason could I possibly have to beat up the current number one on live TV? Doing so would risk exposing me, which would have a hugely negative impact on my career. What on earth could I possibly gain from doing something like that?" 

The agent didn't say anything for a long moment. Finally, Aizawa made a little gasp noise. 

"Oh, unless..." He trailed off, sounding unbearably smug. "There is something? You mean to say that Endeavor, Japan's current number one hero, is hiding a secret so big that I would risk my career to hurt him for it? And, whatever this hypothetical secret it, the commission knows about it? And they aren't doing anything?" 

Several of the students giggled, and even Jiro pressed a hand to her mouth to hide her laughter. 

"You-" The agent snarled, but was quickly cut off. 

"Me." Aizawa said agreeably. "Now are you going to admit that I don't have a motive and leave, or are you going to tell me there's something going on there that I should be upset about?" 

The agent left. 

Izuku was pretty sure that wasn't gonna be the end of it, there would probably be some more legal action behind the scenes, but it seemed like things were going to go well. Jiro scurried off, only to be stopped barely five feet away by Aizawa dropping out of nowhere to land in front of her. She let out a startled shriek before the call cut off, leaving her classmates to somberly thank her for her sacrifice. 

…She got off with a detention, which everyone attributed to Aizawa's good mood. 

Over the next two weeks, Todoroki was whisked away by Aizawa-sensei three more times. He kept quiet about what they were doing, and Aizawa didn't spill either, so all the class knew was that one day, all of a sudden Todoroki had been taken in by Aizawa under an emergency foster license. Supposedly, it was one of the few solutions Nezu could think of that would allow Todoroki to continue attending UA without letting the commission get their hands on him, but Izuku walked in on Todoroki staring off into the distance with a look of quiet wonder while Aizawa absentmindedly pet his head often enough to think that maybe there was another motive there. 

Not that Izuku minded. The change of guardianship was doing wonders for Todoroki. He was almost emoting at the same level as a normal human these days, and he was getting better at communicating his wants and needs. Izuku was sure that their class would never let Todoroki live down the time that he went up to Aizawa-sensei, showed him that he had gotten a 100 on the last test, and then politely demanded to be pet. Even more hilarious was the way Aizawa simply raised his eyebrow and obeyed, and then Todoroki nodded seriously and walked away like they had just conducted a high stakes business deal. 

Besides Todoroki, Izuku and Bakugo had all also seen notable improvement as a result of their counseling session. At least, Bakugo seemed to be making an effort to be actually listen to his friends more, even if he did often follow it up with 'stupid idea, never open your mouth around me again'. And Izuku certainly had a lot to think about.

Apparently, his teachers were supposed to protect him instead of egging on the other kids, his mom was supposed to help him not get hurt instead of just teaching him to bandage his wounds, and his dad was supposed to stick around and help him learn how to be a person. Supposedly, Izuku wasn't supposed to want to walk swiftly in the opposite direction when he saw a cop or a hero, because he knew running would make him a target and if they checked his ID and saw Quirkless then they would find something to get him in trouble for. He had felt a little nervous when he made Hound Dog cry during their second session, but Todoroki assured him that he had done that too, so Izuku figured the hero was just a very empathetic person... Until Bakugo came in to smack both of them upside the head and say that their backstories were 'sad as shit', and that anyone would be depressed hearing it. 

And then, because apparently Aizawa hadn't collected enough traumatized kids, Shinso transferred into their class. Izuku spotted The Signs immediately, but he barely had time to glance at Aizawa before the man grumbled that he was working on it. A week later, Aizawa gained a second foster kid, and Izuku forcibly gained a new friend. 

So, all in all, things were going pretty well. 

Which led them to today, three months after the start of Izuku's character arc of self worth. Aizawa-sensei was in a really good mood. And given that the last two times he was that cheerful had been because he had spilled blood... Well, suffice to say the class was nervous. The teacher appeared to be copying something off of his laptop onto a packet of paper, and the way he was smirking down at it had the hairs on the back of Izuku's neck standing on end. Honestly, after everything he had seen, he wouldn't be surprised if Aizawa was literally making a hitlist that consisted of the top members of the HPSC. 

The teacher stood up. Everyone in the room froze, watching Aizawa closely as the man walked across the room. He stopped in front of Izuku's desk, and the boy looked up at him sheepishly, mentally running through every mistake he had ever made. But the teacher just plopped a packet onto his desk, patted his head, and walked away. Izuku sent up a quick prayer to whoever was listening that it wasn't something that could get him arrested before picking it up to read it. It took him a second to realize what he was seeing, and once he did, he felt his heart lurch in his chest as he suddenly forgot how to breath. 

Takuya Ito
Ruling: Guilty on all counts
Sentence: 32 years

Daiki Ren
Ruling: Guilty on all counts
Sentence: 13 years

Kobayashi Oami
Ruling: Guilty on all counts
Sentence: 15 years

Chida Gando
Ruling: Guilty... 

And on and on it went. 

Izuku recognized every single name. They were all members of the Aldera faculty. Shaking, Izuku looked up at Aizawa with wide eyes. The hero gave him a long look, softer than anything Izuku ever would've expected to see at the beginning of the year, and mouthed congratulations. 

Izuku burst into tears. He pressed the papers to his face to try and hide them, but it was no use. It took him several minutes to calm down enough to explain to his friends that he was okay, and then he promptly shoved the papers into Bakugo's hands. The boy stared down at them with an unreadable expression for a long moment, and then burst into unbridled laughter. Izuku, unable to himself, followed soon after with his own hysterical giggles. Bakugo only laughed harder when he flipped to the last page, and Izuku leaned forwards to see that it was the headline of a news clipping. 

LOCAL MIDDLE SCHOOL FOUND GUILTY OF CHILD ABUSE
Aldera Middle Shut Down By UA

Izuku laughed so hard he couldn't breathe. He was shocked to find that, as conflicted about it as he had been about it at first, he really was delighted to see Aldera (metaphorically) go up in flames. 

"Thank you," Izuku whispered, breathless with laughter as he scrubbed away his tears. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you..." 

He honestly wasn't sure if he was thanking Nezu for allowing this or Aizawa for instigating it or the lawyers for doing all the legwork, or even some sort of unseen higher power. Izuku didn't usually believe in that kind of stuff, but right then he just felt so unbelievably blessed. Maybe he was a bad person for enjoying this so much, for being so delighted by this petty act of revenge. 

Well, who knows. Izuku thought, grinning tearfully up at his friends as they crowded around him fretfully. I'll bring it up with Hound Dog.