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Just another kid with an overpowered quirk, so much so he didn’t even bother trying to control it.
Izuku Midoriya got into UA through pure luck. If a Pro Hero destroyed their own body to “save” just one person like he did, they’d only become a liability for others.
‘It’s irrational to let someone like that into UA.’ Shouta thought as he observed the classroom, marked with a bright red 1A. His class this year looked slightly more promising than the last one did, save for a certain green haired child.
At a glance, he could tell which students would become problems in the future. Bakugo stood out from the rest; he had a powerful quirk and the skills to back it up. But, his personality looked hard to manage, considering he was already starting fights with his classmates. Unfortunately, Iida wasn’t much better with how he was micromanaging everyone. Shouta almost laughed at how different he was from his brother.
Though they all had a long way to go, none of them had noticed him in the doorway yet.
It was strange, then, how he still felt eyes on him. But it could just be chalked up to Nezu’s antics or maybe the invisible girl watching him, either way he decidedly didn’t mull over it.
“If you're here to socialize, then get out.” He said, still lying on the ground in his sleeping bag.
Shota held back a grin at the students' reactions, the three by the door looked especially horrified.
They happened to be two of the students he was complaining about, Midoriya and Iida, though that Uraraka girl was also with them.
She would be sad to see her new friend get expelled later.
“This is the hero course.” Silence met his words, good.
Shouta finished drinking his jelly pouch before standing up. As he did, a green fire lit next to Midoriya, though it put itself out before he could get a good look at it. Could it have been just a trick of the light?
His eyes swept across the room, taking in his new class as they finally quieted down.
The silence didn’t last long, however, because Shouta soon started to hear whispers. A conversation happening just out of his reach, he strained to listen but the words were muffled, as if they were underwater.
Focusing on the voices led him back to Midoriya.
The boy froze like a deer in headlights as Shota’s gaze landed on him, meeting it with anticipation, or perhaps fear? The longer their staredown lasted the more his student hunched in on himself, making himself look smaller and smaller.
Midoriya’s voice(s?) dropped to where it was just barely audible, he had an odd voice, but it wasn’t the strangest thing Shouta had heard. Honestly, he thought anything was better than how Hizashi mimicked people’s voices like a parrot.
Though despite his familiarity with vocal mutations, Midoriya was still getting annoying. He should have quieted down the second Shouta entered the room. And so Shota mentally added disrespect to his list of reasons why Midoriya shouldn’t be at UA.
Shouta sighed, “Stop talking already, Midoriya. Time is a precious resource. You aren’t very rational, are you?”
The moment the words left his mouth Midoriya’s voice got louder, whisper-shouting gibberish at his own teacher.
His face however dropped, his eyelids almost closing as his gaze glued itself to the floor. It was only then that Shouta realized his mouth hadn’t been moving.
Midoriya quietly responded, “Sorry sir, I didn’t realize I was mumbling.”
Did his irrational quirk cause this? Strength enhancement should have nothing to do with sound, it didn’t make sense.
Unless Shouta was imagining things, maybe his sleep deprivation was getting to him.
Besides Midoryia, Uraraka spoke up, “He wasn’t even talking! Who are you, anyway?!”
So the voices weren’t real. Shota ignored how the realization made the hair on his arms stand up. Especially considering he could still hear them, only able to make out a single word; “ninth”. They grumbled, sounding agitated.
The rest of the class began to whisper between one another. Shouta was almost thankful for how it brought him out of his thoughts, despite his disappointment at how none of them were taking UA seriously.
He sighed, finally responding to Uraraka’s demand, “I”m your homeroom teacher, Shouta Aizawa. Pleased to meet you.”
He stepped forward towards Midoriya, digging through his bag for the class's gym uniforms. The closeness coincidentally gave him an excuse to listen more intently.
“Ugh, even Torino could make a better first impression than this...” Something whispered, and Shouta swore he saw a flicker of purple flames around Midoriya.
—----------------------------------------
Shouta had his new class gather at one of the school's fields, having set up several aptitude tests.
He’d deliberately placed himself as far away from Midoriya as possible, not keen on dealing with whatever else was wrong with the boy, besides the self-destructive quirk.
Thankfully, the voices disappeared once he put some distance between them.
“You’ll be doing a quirk aptitude test.” Shouta announced, watching how most of his students lit up.
Some students even set off their quirks, like the orange flames that suddenly spewed out of Midoriya, pulsing like they were sentient-
What the fuck.
He couldn’t hide the surprise on his face when he saw those flames, that definitely wasn’t strength enhancement.
But… none of the other students reacted, even as the flames encased them, no one spared it a single glance. The only one who seemed to acknowledge them was Midoriya himself, his eyes shifting between the fire and something unseen.
For some reason, Shouta got the sense that the fire was happy, its movements seemed purposeful as it twirled around Midoriya.
Shouta was either going insane, or this kid lied on his quirk registration form. Either way, he wasn’t going to deal with it, he would expel Midoriya and be done with it all.
‘Let's just get this test over with.’ He thought as he turned back to the rest of his class.
Once he actually got started, the tests felt like they went on forever, Shouta just couldn’t focus when rainbow flames were spouting out of a student. Why? He had no clue, but it felt like whenever he looked over at Midoriya a new color appeared.
Even so, Shouta persevered through the first test, taking note of how it looked like Midoriya was speaking to the fire. It was simple to assume, then, that that was the source of the voices earlier, which meant Shouta definitely wasn’t getting close to it.
He couldn’t wait to get this kid out of his class.
Throughout the tests he watched how the other students made use of their quirks, seeing that some had rather innovative ways of using them. Ashido in particular managed to increase her speed by sliding on acid, it was a good tactic, though she clearly lacked practice with how she almost slipped during the timed running. Regardless, her quirk has both rescue uses and offensive power, if she can make it through his class without expulsion she’ll have the potential to make a very competent hero.
And she wasn’t the only one who had such potential, there were obvious powerhouses like Todoroki and Bakugo, but also students like Tokoyami who managed to wrangle a sentient quirk, one that clearly had the opposite personality as him. He used that ‘Dark Shadow’ in almost all the tests, propelling himself short distances by having his quirk push him forward.
He made good time on the 50-meter dash using that method, and Midoriya was up next with determination in his eyes.
He’d been intently watching Tokoyami the entire time the bird-headed boy was up, appearing entranced by him.
Midoriya lined up with a few other students, the fire around him turning a pinkish purple and rising above him in a strangely angelic way. It grabbed Midoriya, and Shouta’s closeness to the lineup unfortunately forced him to hear those voices again.
“Alright, let’s do this! Try to land on your feet, Kay Izuku?” A distinctly feminine voice said, and Shouta could almost make out a humanoid form in the flames, its arms gripping midoriya.
Shouta wasn’t sure if he should ready his quirk or not.
Midoriya gave a final nod to the woman before the start signal went off.
And then he went flying.
Even if Shouta wanted to, he wouldn’t have been able to use his quirk on the kid in time. Not with how the flame person fucking threw him, he cleared the dash in 3 seconds, and kept going past the finish line.
Once he finally came to stop, his body floated above the ground. Then he simply dropped like a puppet with its strings cut.
A second later he was up and running back to the rest of the class. Some of his classmates looked on with amazement.
“Woah! You went so far!! And you didn’t break any bones this time, good job!” Uraraka shouted, smiling as Midoriya bounded towards her. He stopped in front of her and dusted off his clothes, returning her grin.
“Y-yeah! I’m not the best at controlling it yet though..” he replied as the pink flame encased him in what looked like support, a hand patting his head. At his side stood a white wispy figure, its flame softer than the rest. Shouta could almost make out a smile on its face as it faced Midoriya with pride(?).
“Still, you did pretty great!” Uraraka complimented, giving him a thumbs up.
Shouta stood in shock, unable to make out any of what the flames were saying since Midoriya had gained distance from him, though at least now he knew he probably wasn’t going insane.
Still, he needed an explanation. But just as he cleared his throat and began to approach Midoriya, an explosion went off near the finish line.
“DEKU YOU BASTARD, TELL ME HOW YOU DID THAT!!”
When Shota turned, he saw Bakugo, running full speed at Midoriya as sparks sprang out from his palms.
Green flames that looked more like electricity than fire surrounded Midoriya, encasing the boy as he spun around to face his classmate like his life depended on it. His hands were raised into a defensive stance before even seeing Bakugo.
Not only that, but orange flames roared behind him like they were trying to break free. He could almost hear it speaking, even though he thought he’d been out of range.
Was it yelling?
Shouta swiftly grabbed his capture weapon, closing in on Bakugo. This kind of thing was why he thought the boy would be a problem student earlier, sad to know he was right.
But, he didn’t know the full story between Bakugo and Midoriya. He’d heard they came from the same middle school, but that was about it. And after seeing both of their powers, it was easy to assume the two had some sort of rivalry due to their quirks. It would be better to stop him now and see if it happened again before expelling him.
Shouta’s capture weapon wrapped around Bakugo just before he could attack Midoriya, and he tightened it as Midoriya's eyes widened in disbelief.
His reaction was concerning, he looked like he expected Shota to just let the other student beat him up. He resigned to his perceived fate before Bakugo even spoke.
Bakugo was similarly surprised, a dumbfounded look on his face as he struggled against the binding cloth. He writhed like a kid who’d never been told no.
Now closer to Midoriya, he was forced to hear the what sounded like a grown man yelling;
“LET ME OUT! I CAN TAKE THIS BRAT!”
“Daigoro, stop. You're gonna hurt someone..” The woman from earlier said, exasperation clear in her voice.
Daigoro? It wasn’t a name Shouta recognized, and it definitely wasn’t on his roster.
“That's the point! Lemme teach this dipshit a lesson, he’s been messing with Ninth for too fucking long!”
That definitely wasn’t something Shouta would allow, but another voice cut in before he could step in.
“Izuku can’t handle Blackwhip, so we aren’t giving it to him yet..” Another voice chimed in, smooth and calm as if they were the leader of this “group”. Just hearing them made Shouta shiver.
“And besides, it looks like someone else took care of the issue for us.” They added as Shouta finished reeling in a screaming Bakugo.
All of the voices went silent, and Shouta suddenly felt like he was being studied under a microscope. Despite the unnerving feeling, he pulled Bakugo away from the other students and gave him a quick scolding.
By the time he was finished, it was a little too late to talk to Midoriya. He would rather not postpone the rest of the tests after all.
Though Shouta couldn't deny that part of his apprehension was due to being unnerved, he would never admit that to the student in question.
The next few tests went similarly to the first, with Midoriya being thrown by the flame people that may or may not be his quirk. Shouta still wasn’t sure about what exactly they were, but from what he’d gathered they were only able to interact with Midoriya. They hadn’t been able to help him during the grip strength test as they only phased through the handle.
It was reasonable then, to assume they were his quirk. But why wasn’t this included on his quirk registration form?
Even despite that, Midoriya was able to hold his own well enough during the tests. If he’d been like this during the entrance exam, Shouta wouldn’t have been so resolute about expelling him.
But that didn’t mean he was in the clear.
“The next assessment is the ball toss, Bakugo, since you scored the highest on the entrance exam you’ll go first.” Shouta said, handing Bakugo a baseball as he stepped up.
“Anything’s allowed as long as you stay inside the circle. You can begin now.”
Bakugo grinned wildly as he cocked back his arm and threw the ball, screaming “Die!” as he sent it flying with an explosion.
As the ball soared, Shouta heard some of the other students whispering to each other in astonishment. He also noticed Midoriya’s tense posture at the sound.
“Woah, you think anyone else will throw it farther than that? Kirishima whisper-shouted to Kaminari, they seemed to have made quick friends.
“Damn, it’s still going.” Sero added, hand shielding his eyes from the sun while he watched.
“Hmph, we could do better by sixth’s generation.” A voice he couldn’t fully hear said, Once again coming from Midoriya.
Speaking of, Midoriya had stopped even paying attention. He looked to be in an active discussion with Tokoyami, eagerly writing in a notebook which he definitely didn’t have before. Weird, where the hell did he pull that out from?
As the ball hit the ground, Shouta displayed his score; 705.2 meters. Bakugo shook the sweat off his hands and walked back to the rest of the class, ignoring praise from Kirishima and Kaminari. He shrugged it off with a quick comment, “I already know I’m great, don’t need you extras to tell me.”
Tokoyami came up next.
Shouta was curious as to how his quirk worked, sentient quirks were rare, and this was the first time he’d had someone with one in his class. He doubted Dark Shadow was truly sentient, if it were, there’s no way it would willingly be called Dark Shadow.
Said Dark Shadow stretched out from behind Tokoyami, laughing as it took the ball from Shouta.
“Let’s hang out after school, Midoriya!!!” The shadow creature said, cheerfully waving at the green haired boy who now stood in front of the rest of the class, having wormed his way there to watch.
“O-oh! Ok!” Midoriya’s face flushed, his eyes growing wide.
Shouta sighed, commenting, “Again, you're not here to make friends. Get on with your turn and don’t hold up the class.”
The same voices from before returned in full force, reminding Shouta that Midoriya was standing just a few feet away from him now.
“This guys such a buzzkill, don’t listen to him. Make all the friends you want, little nine.” The gruff sounding man from earlier said, having calmed down from trying to fight Bakugo.
“I don’t think he can actually stop you, anyway. And they seem nice! I think you should get to know them.” The calm man from before added, his voice light and airy.
The other voices clamored in agreement, drowning each other out as Shouta tried and failed to listen in.
He sighed, silencing them.
“Hurry up.” He repeated, more to bring himself back to reality than to actually rush Tokoyami.
Though out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Midoriya turn and stare at him, his eyebrows drawn together as he stood unnervingly still.
“Alright.” Tokoyami replied, calling Dark Shadow back over.
Tokoyami didn’t take long after that, he had Dark Shadow throw the baseball and ended up with a score of 200 meters, not bad at all. As Shouta turned the scoring device to the rest of the class, (a fear tactic more than anything) Midoriya quickly jotted it down while nodding.
“She did good!” The woman who threw Midoriya’s said, her flame returning to float by the students' side.
She?
Dark Shadow visibly blushed as it and Tokoyami made their way back to the class. Huh, Shouta didn’t know that was possible.
“Thank you, Shimura!!” It whispered, just close enough for Shouta to hear.
Once again, a name he’s never heard. He would’ve brushed it off if not for the fact that it was someone other than Midoriya acknowledging the flames. Shouta carefully watched Dark Shadow as it(she?) discreetly high fived the purple flame.
He opened his mouth to finally confirm what he was seeing, speaking at the same time as a new voice.
“Who’s Shimura?”
-
“I think your teacher can see us.” A green flame flickered behind the student, quite a bit larger than the others.
Midoriya’s face blanched, his head whipping back around to stare at Shouta.
“It’s nothing, sir. Just Dark Shadow’s nickname for Midoriya.” Tokoyami supplied, and Midoriya immediately agreed.
“Yeah! It’s my nickname.” He repeated, barely a second after Tokoyami.
It clearly wasn’t, judging by the fact that Shouta could hear the orange flame (Daigoro, his mind helpfully reminded) talking to her.
“So Nana got us caught? Or does he just hate Izuku?”
Was Nana Shimura her full name? If they were Midoriya’s quirk, it didn’t make sense for them to have different last names.
But considering Tokoyami’s quirk was literally named Dark Shadow, anything was possible.
“No, I can sense he holds ill intent towards us, not just Izuku.” Shouta still couldn’t place the green flame’s voice, it was monotone, almost blank sounding.
The more the man spoke, the worse Midoriya looked. He stood stiff as a board, the only motion he made being nodding along to Tokoyami.
Dark Shadow, on the other hand, recoiled at the flame’s statement, she jumped in front of Midoriya, her arms spread as if Shouta was about to attack them. Ridiculous.
“Dark Shadow,” Tokoyami called, shooting a glare at his quirk. “Come back.”
“No! He wants to hurt our new friends.” She exclaimed with a frown, clenching her fists at Shouta.
The rest of the students were staring, whispering to each other. They must be confused, unless they could see the flames as well..
Speaking of which, new colors had appeared. Dark red and blue burned high above midoriya, puffed up in what could only be taken as a warning.
Midoriya looked terrified, whether of his own quirk or Shouta, it wasn't clear.
Shouta sighed, he should just expel Midoriya right then and there. But the tests weren’t over yet, and the child hadn’t done anything egregious. Shouta logically imagined his quirk must have two halves, like Todoroki; one that was sentient and mostly unknown, the other being self destructive strength enhancement. Why he hadn’t told anyone about the first half was a mystery.
Midoriya had only used the sentient half thus far, but if he couldn’t properly utilize his strength he would be useless as a hero. Being tossed around by your invisible quirk didn’t do much when fighting a villain. If he didn’t prove himself by the end of the day, he was expelled.
Shouta watched as the flames danced, orange mixing with the other colors to threaten him. “Daigoro” said,
“He wants to hurt us, huh? The more I hear of this loser the more I wanna punch him.” The man went silent, suddenly whispering, “Wait. Can he hear me?”
Shouta stared specifically at Daigoro, sighing, “Yes, I can. And I can also expel you lot if you keep up that attitude.”
Midoriya went pale, almost shouting in response.
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Aizawa!! They aren’t used to people- they don’t know any better! I promise they’re usually friendly!”
.
.
.
“Why’s he talking about us like we’re his pet?” A young sounding voice asked, confusion clear in his tone. The only detail Shouta could recognize on his flame was that he wore a high collar, not dissimilar from Best Jeanist’s hero costume.
“Because you guys are as annoying and needy as one..” Midoriya mumbled, barely audible.
Shouta wasn’t sure what to make of that, but whatever. He would give Midoriya one more chance, get a decent score on the ball toss(without injuring himself) or be expelled. They could work out the weird quirk later.
Honestly though, Shouta wasn’t expecting much.
He sighed, taking a good few steps back to quiet Midoriya’s quirk.
“Midoriya, I’ll ignore all this for now, but we will be discussing it after class. Anyways, you're up.”
He tossed the ball to Midoriya as the boy stumbled over, watching him fumble with it in his hands. Though Shouta made sure to stay out of his quirks range, he was tired of hearing it talk.
Unfortunately, he could still see them. A whole rainbow of fire now flickering by Midoriya’s side, Shouta guessed it was supposed to be another threat. But he really didn’t care, erasure should be able to work on them if they tried anything.
The rest of the class was chattering behind him, likely gossiping about the “one-sided” conversation he had with Midoriya.
Back to the student in question, he hadn’t moved from the center of the marked circle. All he could do was stare at the baseball in contemplation, those flames couldn’t interfere with the outside world, but his strength would destroy his own body. He had a choice to make.
Shouta watched closely as Midoriya’s expression hardened, a determined, but almost helpless look in his eyes.
Green sparks of electricity fell off him, the same ones Shouta remembered coming off him when he fought the zero pointer.
Midoriya reeled his arm back, he’d made his choice.
And then…
Nothing happened, Shouta erased his quirk immediately, watching the fire disappear from next to Midoriya. He wasn’t just going to let his student destroy his arm again.
But then his vision went white.
Almost instantly, he lost all his sense of touch. Replaced by a searing pain covering every inch of his skin, it was as if he’d been thrust into a star.
Move, Shouta felt that he had to do something.
But his body refused to. Erasure was already active, but it seemed useless against his opponent. Who was he fighting? Could they have a mutation quirk?
Panic fueled him as his eyes flitted around the space he was in, no structures could be found as far as he could see. Was he even seeing? If not for the blurry figure in the distance he would have assumed someone was just shining a light in his eyes.
His eyes burned all the same, but he couldn’t close them.
Somehow, the slouching figure approached him in the searing light, white hair covering their face.
He stared at them, glowing red eyes burning holes into what should’ve been their quirk. Instead it was just their forehead.
“You tried to take us.” The man said, his voice the same as one he heard from Midoriya.
Shouta couldn’t reply, couldn’t speak, his body was completely frozen by whatever it was he was facing. The figure stopped at what looked like a few feet away from him before they continued.
“It looks like Nana spoke too highly of UA.” The man sighed, “Eighth feared you would target Izuku, but I shouldn’t have held out hope.” He said, more directed at himself than Shouta.
The man went silent, and Shouta had no idea what was going on through his head. All he could see was a slight grimace on the stranger's face. His hands fidgeted, clenching like he was trying to stop himself from doing something.
“I can overlook your attempted use of erasure on us, but tell me, what reason did you have to single out Ninth?”
There was that word again, ninth. Shouta guessed it was referring to Midoriya.
But singling him out? Midoriya singled himself out by being reckless, none of what he's done would fly in a real fight.
As if he could read Shouta’s mind, the man took a deep breath before he spoke again.
“Isn’t it your job to teach him? If this were a real fight, you’d be dead by now. Does that mean you no longer deserve to be a hero?” There was a tinge of disbelief in his voice. “It doesn’t.” The man added, barely above a whisper.
But it wasn't the same, Shouta was already a pro hero, he’d taken down his fair share of villains. To suddenly revoke that over one bad fight would be irrational-
“One bad fight can cost you your life, if being a hero required you to never struggle against your opponent, there would be none at all.” The man replied, voice raising slightly. “Besides, there’s more to being a hero than just strength.”
Midoriya is only capable of throwing one hit before he’s incapacitated, if he never took the time to control his quirk, he has no place at UA. He will save no one, not even himself that way.
The man finally looked up at Shouta, his tired green eyes piercing through Shouta’s red.
“Is that truly all you think of him?”
The space they were in started to crackle with green electricity, stretching towards him like a hand reaching to steal. A second later it was consumed by the white light.
Shouta couldn’t ignore the way the man pouted at the sight, his eyebrows drawn up in contemplation.
“You’re wrong.” The white haired man finally finished, his hands going limp. He sighed as if he had lost the will to fight.
He stared down at the stranger, trying to glean any bit of information from their mostly hair-covered face. They said they weren’t a villain, but how much trust could he place in a stranger who essentially kidnapped him.?
His connection to Midoriya was clear- likely being the kid’s quirk- but Shouta couldn’t discern much else.
The stranger let out a hum in acknowledgment.
“I’m not going to harm anyone, I just wanted to talk.”
“You gave me a scare when you used erasure, I acted on impulse, and I’m sorry if I hurt you in the process.” He added, his eyes wandering away from Shouta’s gaze.
Another crackle sounded around them, this time leaving a large black scar on the space. It spiraled out behind the white haired man like a mark left behind after a lightning strike.
“Ninth is really insistent..” The man mumbled, finally looking back up at Shouta.
His bright green eyes pierced Shouta’s, and he felt the burning pain dull.
“I think I should go now, I hope one day you can see what I see in Izuku.” He said, a smile creeping onto his face.
Green electricity overtook the space, and slowly reality faded back into view. Suddenly Shouta was looking up at the blue sky, sparse white clouds decorating it.
He could properly feel again; the grass against his numb palms.
He was on the ground, when had he fallen?
Shouta attempted to move, but his coordination was off. His hand twitched and swung as he lifted it, though someone else steadied it.
He looked up to meet those same green eyes as the man from before, wide and watery. Midoriya was kneeling over him with a clenched jaw.
“Mr. Aizawa, are you okay? I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize my quirk doesn’t react well to being tampered with.. but this has never happened before! I didn’t know it would-..” tears began to roll down his face, but Midoriya wiped them off before they could fall.
“I’m.. fine.” Shouta quietly answered, slowly moving to rub at his sore eyes.
“O-oh! Right!” Midoriya said, suddenly fumbling with something on the ground.
He then shoved that something into Shouta’s face, his eyes still welled up with tears.
“H-here! All Might said you need eye drops after using your quirk.”
“Wha- All Might?” Shouta hadn’t realized the man paid enough attention to him to notice that.
As he took the drops he regained his composure, noticing that the rest of the class was gone. Midoriya seemed to sense his confusion, and answered quickly;
“He also took the rest of the class inside after you collapsed!”
He took the class inside but not either of them? What did he think he was doing? Shouta was sure All Might had more than a few skeletons in his closet(not counting himself). But he just didn’t understand how that correlated to Midoriya’s fucked up quirk.
He let out a deep sigh, finally using his eye drops. His quirk had been activated the entire time he was out, it must’ve looked horrifying to a class of first years.
Usually, he enjoyed scaring his students, but even this was a little too much for him.
Disregarding that, Shouta was starting to get an idea of what happened. Erasing Midoriya’s quirk triggered something. Looking into his students' familiar green eyes, the white haired man’s words rang clear in his mind.
Had he been wrong to single out Midoriya?
He was reckless, and his quirk destroyed his body after just one use. There was no guarantee that would change with training, some quirks just weren’t compatible with their user.
Wasn’t it better to not let him hope for a potentially unattainable dream?
A light caught his attention.
The purple flame had returned, rising above Midoriya and hovering over them both. For some reason, he could see the woman’s face clearly now, though still surrounded by fire.
Her expression was hard to read, jaw tight but eyebrows pulled into a look of concern. A white cape cascaded over herself and Midoriya, and Shouta noticed that she was holding onto the kid’s shoulder.
Black hair floated around her face, framing it in an almost angelic way. The strangest part though, was that she looked closer to his age than Midoriya’s. No, even older than him.
Shouta didn’t think it was normal for quirks to have a different physical age to their host.
“Are you feeling any better, Mr. Aizawa? Do you need anything, water?” Midoriya said, his voice quaking. The woman just watched.
Shouta sighed, the only thing he needed right now was a proper explanation.
“What the hell was that?” He asked.
Midoriya stiffened at his words, and he stayed like that for a good minute. Biting his lip as he contemplated what to say.
Shouta could clearly see a man with deep scars whispering into Midoriya’s ear, he was the same dark blue as the flame that had threatened him earlier.
“My uh, my quirk. It’s… sentient? I’m sorry, no one’s been able to interact with it before now…”
“I thought no one would believe me if I told them.” Midoriya spoke, as if it were rehearsed.
Shouta got the feeling he wasn’t going to get actual answers anytime soon..
————————————
Light filtered in through the curtains of the nurses office Shouta sat in, having been forced there by a very panicked All Might, despite his protests. Not like he had much time to argue, anyway, he was scooped up and deposited there in barely a minute, All Might was gone in even less.
Recovery Girl looked as tired as ever, “I should’ve quit the second Toshinori decided to work here..” She muttered.
Shouta ignored her.
“Can I get back to teaching now?” He interrupted, “it’s not like I was physically injured.”
He still needed to expel Midoriya, after all. Or at least continue interrogating him.
“No.” Recovery Girl scolded, leveling a glare scarier than most villains at him. “You may not think you’re injured, but you’re still suffering from quirk overuse. Not to mention a concussion.”
Before he could ask her to just heal him, she continued,
“I think it’s time you take a break, All Might’s letting your class catch the end of orientation.” She said, forcing a tray of food from the cafeteria in his hands. “And time you eat some actual damn food.”
Great, now All Might’s going to undo all the progress he made earning the fear respect of his class. He was far too soft to handle the hero course.
Shouta offloaded the tray onto a small bedside table next to him, scoffing as he held the spoon, his hand swaying away from the rice where he tried to aim it. Sure, he was a little uncoordinated, but that didn’t mean they had to trap him there all day! He was perfectly fine to teach, he just had to lay off on using his capture weapon.
He sighed, glancing between Recovery Girl and the door.
“Don’t even think about it. Or I’ll send All Might to personally drag you back.”
They were torturing him, that was the only explanation for this.
Shouta fell backwards onto the bed, resigning himself to his fate. He knew Recovery Girl would make do on her threat, and he’d rather not be carried by All Might again. He could only hope his class didn’t see it the first time.
Speaking of, the man waited a concerningly long time to take Shouta to a doctor.
Based on the short conversation he had with Yagi, Shouta had just collapsed in the middle of using his quirk. None of the people near him saw the flash of light or the strange white haired man.
For an experienced Pro Hero like All Might, the first priority should’ve been to check on your unconscious colleague, especially when their quirk is going out of control.
It should not however, have been to clear the area when no one but Shouta was in danger, or to leave a student with him. By all accounts All Might should have assumed it was a medical issue, even involuntary quirk use is a fairly common sign of brain injury..
All Might didn’t become the symbol of peace by accident, he was dense at times, but he wasn’t an idiot. That much Shouta knew.
The only logical explanation is that he knew Shouta would be fine, somehow. It couldn’t be that Midoriya told him, as even he admitted that that was the first time his quirk harmed someone like that.
“Did All Might even tell you what happened to put me in your office?” Shouta asked, figuring it was worth seeing what Recovery Girl knew. She’d known All Might for decades, if anyone knew about the odd connection between him and Midoriya, it would be her.
“He told me enough, your quirk clashed with a student’s and you got injured in the process.” She decidedly didn’t look at him, closing the curtain in between her desk and the beds.
Shouta bounced back, not caring about the new barrier between them, “Yeah, but why? As far as I know he has a simple strength quirk, strong, yes. But those types aren’t usually so unpredictable.”
No matter how he spun it, he couldn’t figure out what exactly Midoriya’s quirk was. Even All Might’s seemed more clear than his.
A deep groan came out from behind the curtain, “Aizawa, just rest. There’s no point in mulling over this while you're in my office.”
Shouta couldn’t accept that as an answer, not after everything he’d seen that day. But regardless, she wasn’t going to let him leave. He laid back on the thin medical bed, figuring he could pass the time by sleeping.
Usually, his naps last 20 minutes tops before his students cause enough of a ruckus to force him awake. Or mic forgets to turn off his quirk in the teachers lounge… But for once, it's an hour before he’s awoken by a soft tapping on his shoulder.
A warm feeling engulfs him, not unlike when Midoriya’s quirk went out of control. Except now if felt oddly… friendly? It was almost comforting, if not for the reminder of what had transpired earlier.
He slowly opened his eyes, rolling over to get a look at who woke him.
A hand fell onto his forehead, attached to a man made of golden flames.. with no.. discernible… features…
‘Not this bullshit again.’ He thought, eyes widening.
“Aizawa! I was worried about you.. are you feeling any better?” Yagi said softly, and Shouta had to crane his neck around the flame to see him.
He stood behind the flame, a guilty expression on his face and a large cup of coffee in his hand. He was in his smaller form, the over the top persona from before now missing. But Shouta preferred it that way, he could almost see himself being friends with the man when he wasn’t acting for the public.
Yagi’s eyes flickered between the coffee and Shouta, “I hope you accept this as an apology..” he said, placing it down on the bedside table.
The golden flame acted similarly, seeming to copy Yagi’s movements.
“Thanks, I guess. And I feel fine.” Shouta said.
He didn’t, but Yagi didn’t need to know that. Shouta had learned from the way the man mothered their coworkers in the past that nothing good could come out of him knowing.
Not knowing the truth, both Yagi and his fiery doppelgänger lit up, standing up straighter and smiling at the same exact time. Or at least Shouta thought the flame was smiling, he couldn’t really make out if it had a mouth or not.
“That’s good! The students were very worried when you fainted.” The blond replied, looking away for a moment as he rubbed the back of his neck.
This time, the doppelgänger acted differently, hanging its head low with a crestfallen expression.
“Is that what you’re calling it?” Shouta prodded, staring deeply at the fiery-person standing at his bedside.
Both Midoriya and All Might had them, apparently. The ones surrounding that student never strayed very far from him, and Shouta wasn’t sure if they could. The same seemed to be true for Yagi’s. He regretted ever erasing Midoriya’s quirk, that was probably what triggered him to see these things more clearly.
“Well… what else would it have been?” Yagi’s voice was strained as he spoke, as if even he knew what happened back on the training grounds wasn’t normal.
Shouta was sure he did know.
Though Midoriya’s quirk didn’t make sense, neither did All Might’s. Shouta turned to stare into the harsh lights of the nurses office, internally regretting that he ever agreed to work at UA.
One of the most well known facts about quirks is that they tend to get stronger throughout each generation. Parents often pass down stronger versions of their own quirk to their children.
It wasn’t hard to guess why All Might was covering for Midoriya, or why their quirks were so similar.
“What happened is that your kid’s sentient quirk went out of control during class.” Shouta huffed, “And now you're doing damage control.” He said.
Shouta tried not to smirk at the way Yagi’s eye went wide, almost comically stretched as he coughed up blood.
He hacked into a towel, though Shouta wasn’t sure where he got it from.
“I- I think you have the wrong idea!” Yagi sputtered, throwing up his free hand to wave away at Shouta’s assumption. “Young Iz- Midoriya and I aren’t related at all! I don’t have children.”
Shouta didn’t buy a word of what he was saying.
“Except you clearly know him, or else you wouldn’t have just left him with me out on the field.” He sighed, squinting at how Yagi’s doppelgänger had doubled in brightness and somehow turned pink.
“Most damning of all, you have what looks like the exact same quirk. I’m just glad yours doesn’t talk.”
Yagi froze, “Ah.. you really can see them.” He muttered, lost in thought.
“I can, and you need to get that kid under control. I’m letting him stay in my class, but that doesn’t have to be permanent. He’s on thin ice.” Shouta said, bringing Yagi out of his thoughts.
For a moment, Yagi was silent. He simply stared at Shouta with a conflicted look in his eyes, wincing every few seconds as if he couldn’t make up his mind. Though the flame's emotions were much clearer, glowing brightly while it literally jumped with joy for some unknown reason.
Finally Yagi’s face hardened, and the flame once again exploded with light.
“Y-yes. Young Midoriya is my son.” He said, his posture shifting as if he suddenly took on some unbearable weight.
He took a deep breath, the air going frigid with his demeanor, “Eraserhead. You aren’t a very well known hero, so I don’t expect you to understand me when I say this,”
“But you cannot tell anyone about this. I’ve seen many past heroes have their families be targeted by villains,” his voice cracked as he spoke the word family, “I've seen them have to abandon the people they care about to protect them from such fates. And I will not let anything like what I’ve seen happen to that young man,”
All Might paused, “I will certainly not have you be reason that his identity is leaked-“
Shouta cut him off, “I wasn’t planning on telling anyone. I couldn’t care less.”
Yagi went silent, his piercing blue eyes unmoving as he stared down Shouta.
“Ah, well, that’s good.” He sheepishly replied, cheeks turning pink.
“But,” Shouta added, “This doesn’t mean I’m going to ignore it if you favor him, you need to be equal with all of our students now that you're a hero course teacher.”
“Of course!!” Yagi replied quickly, nodding. The flame lit up. Again..
Shouta groaned, “Great, now get out. I’m tired of looking at the fucking flashbang you call a quirk.”
——————————-
“YOU TOLD MR. AIZAWA I’M YOUR WHAT!?” Izuku screeched, dropping his lunch onto the small office room’s table with a loud clack.
All Might rubbed the back of his neck, looking embarrassed, “I’m sorry!!! I couldn’t think of a better excuse that wouldn’t expose One For All..”
“Wait- don’t apologize!! I’m the one who should be sorry, All Might!!” Izuku rushed to clarify, he wasn’t exactly mad. It was actually his childhood dream to have All Might as his dad and his ao3 search history definitely reflected that- but he was just surprised!
He didn’t mean to come off upset.!
“It’s okay for you to tell him that.. I’m just shocked..” somewhere behind him, Daigoro cackled louder than Izuku had ever heard him laugh.
Even Third was cracking a smile, and Izuku had never seen more than a slight frown on his face…
“Are you sure you're okay with it, young Izuku?”
Izuku couldn’t help but smile at the sound of All Might saying his name, “Yeah! Honestly it makes me kind of happy..” More than kind of, but he didn’t want to come off as too excited to get to pretend to be All Might’s son..
“Oh.” All Might muttered, a soft smile growing on his face, “well then I’m glad it worked out.”
Vestige-Might also smiled at Izuku’s statement, with his entire body. Izuku could barely see the room anymore.
“We really need to figure out how to stop him from doing that..” Nana commented, resting her head on her fist.