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When she thought back to her mother, she remembered her hugs the most.
They were soft and warm and smelled good, and being hugged by her mother made Izumi feel safe.
She stilled missed her, even now.
She didn't remember what had happened to well, there was a weird smell in the hallway and then a loud noise and heat and everything had been so Scary, her throat hurt and so had her eyes because the air itself was hurting her.
And no matter how loudly she had called, her mother hadn't come for her.
She didn't remember too much of her mother anymore, only that her hugs were some of the best, and that she was the best mommy anyone could ever ask for, and that she was gone now.
Instead, Izumi had been taken to a large building with people she didn't know, who told her she was going to live there now until a new mommy and daddy came by and wanted her.
That didn't happen, after she found out she didn't have a quirk all the mommies and daddies didn't want her anymore, she was no good.
But then Mr. Aizawa came by, and he wanted her.
Mr. Aizawa was called Eraserhead and he was a Hero, and he wanted her? He had showed up to take her home and before she found out she was broken she had wanted to go live with him, but afterwards she didn't think he'd want someone like her.
But apparently he did, and Izumi couldn't help but crying even if it made Mr. Aizawa start panicking.
“Are you okay? Are you hungry?.” he pulled out a book and begun leafing through it quickly.
Nowhere in it did it say what to do with a suddenly bawling four year old, he had just set her down in the apartment when it started!.
Tossing the useless book over his shoulder he picked the hiccuping toddler up and began rubbing her back and wondering what he had been smoking when he thought of this.
_
sleeping arrangements turned out to be.... Difficult.
“Izumi, you can't sleep in here.”
large green eyes peered at him as the girl grasped the edges of the comforter.
Shouta was a strong man, he had to be. he would not fold to...
…
did her eyes get bigger?.
..
“Just for tonight.”
_
a load knock on this particular door usually resulted in about ten solid minutes of baleful silence before a demon finally answered the door, but this time that did not happen.
The loud crash and muffled oddly child friendly language floated from behind the wood before it was yanked open and wide red eyes starred at the bedraggled appearance of one Aizawa Shouta, his black hair usually so lank was Everywhere, what looked like flour and egg matted in the strands and his eyes were...
Wow...
“Do..... Do you have makeup on?.” Hizashi wasn't one to try and filter what he thought or said, he was quite proud to be as blunt as he usually is but...
he felt that his lifespan would shorten by a large margin if he commented on the yellow and red eye shadow underneath the mans eyes but he could not help himself.
“I tried to make him look less sleepy!.” the Very young girlish voice drew Hizashi's eyes and he felt shock rocket through him.
The girl was dressed in a miniature version of Shouta's usual black shirt and pants, the only thing marking the difference between them being her green hair and large, sparkling eyes.
And freckles, couldn't forget those.
All he could think was who the hell was crazy enough to let Shouta babysit.
_
after the entire train wreck of Nemuri signing him up to Teach of all things Shouta did everything he could think of to get the boot.
But apparently Nezu liked his teaching methods, which was to terrify the little shits until they could barely breath without fear of him expelling them.
It wasn't his fault that they thought the entire thing was a Game, people depended on heroes to Protect them, to save them when they were in danger.
Not every person could be saved, but None would be if he allowed these upstart punks to get their licenses.
Better to crush their dreams at the start, rather than later on and they had to be faced with their failure in a more permanent form.
_
he could say one thing, having a teaching job helped.
..
in the way that throwing gasoline on a burning building 'Helped' it by burning it quicker.
Now he had hero work, teaching work, and of Course he had to take care of a kid.
At least the paycheck was nice.
_
the first time Izumi spoke was roughly three weeks since the adoption had gone through, she had asked Why he had wanted her when she was 'Broken'.
Shouta had never felt so sad and disappointed at the same time.
_
ever since she had began to talk, she had always called him 'Mr. Aizawa.'
he had told her to just call him Shouta because he didn't see the point in formality.
Now three years later since he took in Izumi, two since he began to teach he was faced with another title he hadn't ever thought he would be prepared for.
Dad.
_
the first time obviously had been somewhat of a slip up, she had rushed out the door to school before yelping and rushing back.
“Dad I forgot my lunch!.”
just a sentence, five words.
He had never felt the emotions he had felt then and couldn't tell if they were good or bad and her face was beet red, her words stuttering over themselves. “I-... Mr. Aizawa I mean... uhh...” she shuffled around him, grabbed her lunch and ran so fast it was a wonder she didn't have a speed quirk.
After she left he didn't know what to do with himself and sat down hard.
Logically it only was a matter of time, she had no other male parental figure that she would remember and he looked after her.
That afternoon when they both got home she didn't mention it, and he couldn't bring himself to bring it up.
The odd feeling in his chest when she kept calling him 'Mr. Aizawa' wouldn't go away though.
_
the slip ups kept happening, and little by little they both just kind of... Settled into the ideal.
Shouta couldn't say he Disliked it, Izumi was....
she was a brat, and too smart in an almost scary way, almost fanatically obsessed with All Might of all people and had a bad habit of mumbling in a crazed fashion.
But she was also Smart and insightful in a way that was almost supernatural even if the doctors said she didn't have a quirk, her heart was bigger than the moon and she was too eager to share it, and she was obsessed with the thought of helping people, of becoming a hero.
She was quirkless and fragile, with a drive in her that almost overwhelmed him.
And she was his kid, his little problem child.
She'd be the best damn hero the world had ever seen.
_