Chapter Text
It had been exactly 3 weeks since Shota had gone to live with Naoko. It had been quite the drastic change for him, seeing as for the first 14 years of his life he grew up with a poor family. Naoko was anything but poor. Shota still remembered pulling up to the ginormous mansion for the first time. He thought it was too good to be true.
Shota had noticed that despite being able to have almost anything they wanted, Hotaru didn't like the new environment. She always secluded herself to her bedroom (which she thought was too big, so she moved into the closet.) She never spoke to Naoko; she hardly did so much as make eye contact for more than a few seconds. Shota found this strange, considering for the first few days she had wanted nothing more than to be by his side. The ravenet even found himself getting jealous of his godfather on certain occasions. But now? He didn't know what it was. He figured she was just grieving, so he left her alone.
Aside from Hotaru's strange behaviour and adjusting to her new personality, there were other things Shota found himself needing to get used to. One being the fact that he was being waited on hand and foot. There was practically a servant for everything. Shota was used to doing everything on his own, even when his parents were around. They had wanted him to grow up independently and be able to do things on his own.
Naoko had even tried getting Hotaru and Shota to transfer to a different school, ritzier and closer to home, but that was one thing Shota decided he wanted to stay the same; he felt as though even though he didn't fit in and he was mocked at school, he needed to graduate middle school without transferring.
The school was actually where he was now. He sat in the very back of his classroom fiddling with a pencil. Sitting next to him was his best and only friend Haruna Midoriya. She was actually 2 years younger than he was, but she had advanced so much in her studies that she was moved up to Shota's same grade. Her deep green hair was tied into a tight french braid and her large glasses slipped down her pale face as she concentrated on her exam. Shota had long finished his exam; he was always the first one finished. Haruna was whipping through the exam effortlessly, despite not being near close to done. Shota had noticed that she was taking the extra time to triple check her answers.
"Done," she whispered, standing and straightening her papers. She glanced at Shota, "ready?"
Shota nodded and stood, taking his papers. The two of them walked to the front of the room to turn in their exams. The teacher narrowed his eyes as he snatched the tests and skimmed over them. Moments later, he looked back up at the duo with utter shock in his eyes.
"So can we go?" Haruna asked eagerly.
The teacher nodded slowly, skimming over the tests once again. Haruna grabbed Shota's hand and quickly dragged him out of the room and through the hallways.
"Did you see the look on his face?" the green-haired snickered.
"He was shocked..." mumbled Shota, a soft smile appearing on his face.
The duo stopped walking and took a seat on the bench just outside the school. Haruna yawned and stretched exhaustedly. Shota looked down at his black shoes. It had been a long day. The two of them had an emotionally draining day ignoring gossip and dodging the bullies.
"Not that I'm counting," Shota began, breaking the silence. "but we graduate from middle school in exactly 37 hours, 42 minutes, and 15 seconds. Fourteen... thirteen..."
Haruna giggled softly, "you have that down to a science, huh?"
Shota nodded, a sheepish smile forming on his pale face. They both sighed in unison. Shota liked spending his free time with Haruna. She made him feel like he belonged and like he actually had a place in the world. Their friendship seemed eternal, and that was something he hoped never to lose.
"Have you decided what high school you want to attend, yet?" Haruna questioned, glancing at the ravenette.
"Not sure... I considered Yokishiba Academy. That's where my father went. But... Naoko suggested UA High." Shota responded.
This response gained a shocked look from the green-haired, as Shota had never really had an interest in heroes. "UA? Like... the hero school? Why would you wanna go there?"
"I don't," Shota yawned before continuing. "but it's worth considering. How about you? Any idea where you wanna go?"
"Oh... well," Haruna trailed off, looking up at the sky.
"Well?"
"I doubt I'll be getting into any high schools at all. I'm advanced, but I'm young. We'll have to see. I'll probably end up going to a neighbourhood school that doesn't require entrance exams. You know how we are on money..."
"I see," Shota paused to think for a minute. "So you're just giving up your hero dream?"
"Huh?"
"Your dream to be a hero. You're throwing it away?"
"Shota, I can't-"
"I'll try to get into UA if you do." Shota determinedly declared.
"Shota, no. You can't do that for me."
"Did I stutter?"
There was a pregnant pause before Haruna stood and stretched her arms, giving off a long sigh. She faced her companion, their grey and green eyes locking.
"I will try... but on these conditions; you swear you will really try, you won't complain, and you seriously consider this. Maybe talk to Naoko. He's a pro, right?" Haruna helped Shota off the bench.
"Yeah, he's the 23rd ranked pro hero... I'll ask him more about it. But I don't want you to give up your dream, and I really don't want us to be going separate ways. I could always do support and you can be in the hero course... We'll still be at school together."
Haruna nodded. The duo began walking back to Haruna's family's flat, beginning to more excitedly discuss their plans for getting into the hero course. Neither expected to actually pass the exam, but they could hope. Haruna was getting progressively more excited, as more and more fear and regret crept into Shota. He hoped this wasn't a decision he would regret.
~*~
Shota sat at the dinner table alongside Hotaru. Across from them were Naoko's three children, Meia, Lei, and Nao. Naoko himself was out working, so it was only the children at home. Shota never really talked to any of the other children. He didn't know too much about the family, besides that their mother had died shortly after Meia was born. Hotaru had talked to them more than Shota had, but even she didn't know much.
There was a heavy awkwardness in the room as Meia, Lei, and Hotaru reluctantly began to eat their dinner. Nao and Shota's food remained untouched and no one spoke a single word. Shota questioned why he never spoke to them. They were his new siblings, after all. From the looks of it, Nao wasn't much older than Shota himself. What was he so afraid of?
After about 15 minutes of uncomfortably loud slurping of noodles and the clinking of chopsticks against the china bowls, the 3 younger children left the room, leaving Nao and Shota alone.
Nao sat with such a posture the entire time that Shota began to wonder if he had been to a finishing school of sorts. He had curly black hair, only slightly lighter than Shota's, and it gradually grew lighter the closer to the tips it got. His hair was swept more to the right, as his bangs hid his eye ever so slightly. The hair was cut right above his earlobes and was obviously well-maintained. He also had quite a distinguishable feature none of the siblings or even Naoko himself had; a set of royale, feathery wings sprouted just below his shoulder blades. They were tucked neatly behind him, as even they appeared to have been maintained to keep posture. His deep violet eyes studied his bowl of soba so intensely, one might wonder what he was thinking about in the moment.
"You seem rather interested in me," Nao spoke suddenly, causing Shota to jump.
"I-... huh?"
"I can see you watching me," he glanced up, his violet eyes briefly connecting with Shota's grey.
"Oh, well I just... uh," Shota couldn't think of an excuse as to why exactly he had been staring for such an extended period of time.
Nao did nothing but ring a small bell, summoning a maid to remove their untouched bowls. Shota slumped back in his chair, thinking of something- anything- to say in the instance. Nao remained seated, his posture ever so professional and perfect.
"I'm Naoko Aizawa," Nao spoke, causing Shota to look up again. "I was named after my father and prefer 'Nao'. I am 16 and attending UA High, about to finish my first year in the hero course. My quirk is a combination of my mother's and my father's. I have my mother's wings and flight ability, and my father's manipulation of wind... now it's your turn. Tell me about you."
Shota sat shocked for a moment before speaking, "Okay then... I'm Shota Ky-.... um... Shota Aizawa. I'm 14... I'm about to graduate middle school. My quirk is my mother's, erasure. And... I guess I want to go to UA?"
"You've decided to go to UA?" An excited voice from the doorway spoke. Both Shota and Nao looked over to see Naoko standing in the doorway sheathing a katana.
"Oh... well, yeah. I-" Shota was cut off.
"Oh, that's wonderful! You shouldn't even need to take the exams, I can just recommend you! Oh, it'll be amazing. I'm so glad you finally made this decision. What course were you wanting to go into?"
"Um... sup-" Shota paused and corrected himself at seeing Naoko's excited expression and Nao's worried one. "The hero course...?"
"Oh, that's just amazing! I'll recommend you right away! Make me proud like that disappointment never could."
Nao visibly tensed but showed no offence through his expression. Shota didn't know what to say in this instance, so decided to brush it off and awkwardly ask Naoko to recommend Haruna into the hero course as well, to which he agreed immediately before walking away. Shota faced Nao again, who simply stood and promptly left the room, ruffling his feathers in what seemed to be an annoyance.
Shota shook his head and stood. This had been one of the most awkward evenings he had experienced in his life... He tried to brush it off and decided he should call Haruna to tell her about it.