Chapter Text
Aizawa thinks of the day he agreed to join U.A.’s teaching staff after an invitation from Nezu.
It’ll be a great opportunity for you to guide the next generation!
He supposes Nezu was right back then. No matter how strict he is with his students, how many he’s expelled in the past, he’s seen many more go on from his classes to become great sidekicks, heroes even. So for that reason alone, he’s pushed through and stuck to the job despite having to deal with hormonal, angsty teens and mountains of paperwork.
No one told him he’d have to deal with this sorta shit, too.
“You have five seconds,” he drawls, pinching the skin between his eyebrows as he already feels a headache coming on, “to explain what the hell a tiny Todoroki is doing under the dining table.”
Because it is, without a doubt, Todoroki. He’s tiny, yes, incredibly so. About the size of a toddler, or maybe a little older if he had to guess from looks alone. He’s covered in nothing but a oversized bomber jacket, which is a bit of a hassle. But Aizawa can’t see much more, considering how most of his students are crowding around him right now begging for help, and while he’s taller than most of them, a few of them are big enough to block his view. Not to mention, Todoroki’s already partially obscured by the chairs he’s brought before him.
But even like that, it’s glaringly obvious who it is, from the heterochromatic hair and eyes, to the slight scorch marks and bits of frost on the tables and chairs around him.
It was a quirk, Midoriya explains frantically.
They’d been off campus at the nearby mall to hang out. Midoriya stammers an apology for going out without permission, but Aizawa just shrugs. He was supposed to be more strict with when and how often he let them leave the dorms, considering the safety hazard, but he trusts the kids enough to watch out for themselves. All of them have their provisional licenses too, so the whole legality thing’s a weight off his shoulders.
He gestures for Midoriya to continue, and watches as he does so apologetically.
Some girl had gotten into a fight with her boyfriend and her quirk lashed out. It sent a beam out, heading straight to Midoriya, but Todoroki noticed and pushed him out of the way. It hit him directly, though, and the next thing they knew, he was tiny and passed out.
They’d panicked, of course, but luckily Iida, ever the responsible one, was there with them to grab the woman and contact local police. They weren’t sure how many people saw the incident, but they cleared it up with a police report and no further issues besides the woman apologizing profusely.
She had a De-Aging quirk of sorts, apparently. It would revert people hit with it to a younger age, though exactly how far back it would go was a lottery. When asked how long the de-aging would last, she explained that it depended on how much of the body was hit. A small zap may last a matter of a few minutes, but a full-on blast like Todoroki got could push it to—
“A week?”
Midoriya flinches at Aizawa’s growl, nodding meekly.
“That was her estimate.”
It’s a major problem, Aizawa thinks, for more than just the obvious reasons. It’s a huge setback for Todoroki’s classwork, seeing as he can’t train like this, and for his students considering how distracted they’ll probably be. He’s more helpless like this too, body too small and weak to withstand his own quirks, let alone fend off any possible threats. Not to mention…
A thought hit Aizawa like a sledgehammer.
It’s not just a Shrinking quirk, it’s a De-Aging one. That would mean…
“How old is Todoroki now, exactly?”
The room goes silent, and Aizawa groans.
“We don’t know,” Midoriya admits finally.
His life can never just be easy, can it?
Keep him somewhere safe ‘til the effects wear off, were the exact words the police had used when all was said and done, so they brought him back to the dorms. Leaving his unconscious form on the couch, they tried to fend off all the commotion from the rest of their classmates and come up with a plan.
They didn’t get a chance, though, because halfway through their brainstorming, a tiny Todoroki was waking up and, in a panic, shooting fire and ice at them rapidly.
That brought them to where they were now—Todoroki crouched and hid beneath the table, staring at them all in unveiled suspicion and fear, while the rest of class 1-A fidgets and stares at their toes apologetically.
“None of us have been able to get close,” Midoriya continues. “The second we try, he lashes out with his quirk.”
“He’s a brat, he can’t keep up forever,” Bakugou scoffs. “Deal with him after he exhausts himself and passes out.”
“Bakugou, we can’t do that!” Kirishima chastises. “He needs to trust us, not hate our guts!”
“For now,” Aizawa cuts in, rubbing his temples, “at least try to get him dressed. Did any of you look for clothes for him at the mall?”
Silence.
“Mineta’s clothes may fit hi—”
“Absolutely not,” Midoriya cuts off Ashido with a scowl on his face. Aizawa would address that, but he really doesn’t need that extra headache right now. Besides, it doesn’t look like Mineta’s all too keen on the idea either.
“If I may,” Yaoyorozu suddenly cuts in.
Aizawa sees the telltale pink glow on her chest. A small set of clothes appear in her hand, and she looks to him as though for approval. He nods, before tentatively turning towards Todoroki, who’s pushed himself further into his maze of chairs as an attempt to hide himself more. She steps forward slowly but with resolve, until she’s just few feet away from the table. Once she’s there, she kneels down to be at eye level with Todoroki.
“Hello there,” Yaoyorozu says, her voice as sweet and mild as she can muster. The boy doesn’t budge. “I’m sorry for startling you so. Are you cold? The AC’s always a bit strong in this room.”
“…’s fine.”
Todoroki’s voice is barely above a whisper, but in the clear silence of the room it’s almost too easy to hear, especially as those around him strain their ears to listen.
“Really?”
“I…I can make m’self warmer. ‘S part of my quirk.”
“I see. What a cool quirk!”
To her credit, Yaoyorozu’s playing her part well. She’s calm and collected, but she doesn’t move or otherwise do anything that might startle the kid. Aizawa thinks about her high rescue scores from the provisional license exam, just a little impressed.
“Still,” Yaoyorozu continues, holding out the clothes in Todoroki’s direction to show him. “Would you be more comfortable if you changed? I’ve made these clothes for you, they might be more comfortable.”
“…Made them?” Todoroki sounds confused, surprised even. “How?”
“It’s my quirk, you see. I’d be happy to show you more later, if you’d like, but you should probably get changed first.”
“…Okay.” Todoroki pauses, moving the chair in front of him just a bit. “My name’s Shouto. What’s yours?”
Aizawa refuses to admit to the warmth spreading in his heart as a small, stubby hand reached out to Yaoyorozu’s own.
“Momo,” she replies, shaking the tiny hand happily. “Shall I help you get changed?”
“Can do it m’self,” Todoroki grumbles, and Yaoyorozu hands him the clothes obediently.
Yaoyorozu glares at the rest of the class, who had been staring at the interaction in awe, to look away, and Aizawa does the same.
He doesn’t bother looking back until he hears loud scraping of chairs against the floor. By the time he looks back, Todoroki’s now dressed in a simple T-shirt and shorts. He hasn’t come out from his hiding spot, but he’s moved the chairs completely so he’s completely visible.
Now, Aizawa can get a clearer look of the boy’s face, and he notes that the scar that had once covered half his face was nowhere to be seen. That gives them a hint about his age, if nothing else. He’ll need to ask around and see when it was exactly he got that scar in the first place.
“Do you wanna join me?” Todoroki asks suddenly, reaching out a hand to Yaoyorozu as though to pull her in.
“Ah, well, I mean.” Yaoyorozu’s flustered as she shakes her head. “I think it’d be a bit cramped for me, there.”
Todoroki huffs, but nods as he scooches just a bit forward.
“Why don’t you come on out, and I’ll introduce you to everyone here?” Yaoyorozu suggests instead, but Todoroki shakes his head vigorously.
“Dun wanna. They’re weird.”
“Aw, Todoroki-kun—”
“Why that brat—”
“Bakugou no—”
“Enough,” Aizawa barks. “Everyone go back to whatever you were doing. No one leaves the dorm until we figure out a plan as to how to deal with this.”
“But sensei—”
“Consider this special training. You need to learn how to deal with spontaneous situations even like this. Put your heads together and work hard!”
“I see! Indeed, U.A. doesn’t miss a single chance to instill in us great life lessons for our futures as heroes. Everyone, let’s work hard together and tackle this mission with all we have!”
“O-okay!”
Iida really is so useful.
He nods before continuing, “Yaoyorozu will stay with him for now. If you can, introduce yourselves, but do nothing to startle or frustrate him. Don’t think of him as your classmate for now, but as a civilian child you’ve saved.”
“Yes, sir!”
“What will you do, sensei?” Hagakure asks.
“Hm,” he thinks. “Well, first order of business is contacting the school about this dilemma, as well as his legal guardians. Depending on what they all say, we’ll decide the next steps.”
Satisfied with his answer, the group starts to disperse. Some of them stay in the common room area, watching Todoroki and Yaoyorozu with a mix of longing, annoyance, and confusion. They keep their distance though, thankfully, while the rest of the class head back to their rooms.
Just as he’s about to step away and walk to campus, he’s stopped by Midoriya.
“U-uh, sensei?” he stammers out, and he raises an eyebrow at the boy. “I know this, uh, may seem a bit weird, but, uhm, I mean, is it, is it okay if—is it possible to—”
“Spit it out, Midoriya.”
“Is it possible to not contact Endeavor about this?”
That startles him a bit. He knows Todoroki’s home relationship wasn’t the greatest, and the boy didn’t have the best view of his father. Aizawa had been the one to go to the Todoroki estate to request permission for Todoroki to stay in the dorms, after all. He was supposed to go with Yagi, but Endeavor's fixation on the Number One Hero spot and overtaking All Might, it didn't feel appropriate. So, Aizawa had gone alone, and while he'd received the permission a lot quicker than he expected, he could still feel the tension thick enough to cut through with a knife. Todoroki seemed to absolutely loathe his father, glaring daggers into the man's skull with an intensity Aizawa had never seen before from him.
But still, the idea of keeping Endeavor completely out of this whole De-Aging situation, asked by Midoriya no less, felt… unsettling.
“Midoriya,” he starts tentatively. “He’s Todoroki’s father. He has legal rights to know what happens to his son, as his mother currently isn’t in the picture. He’ll need to be told when incidents like this happen, especially when Todoroki is in the care of U.A.”
“I know! But, just…Endeavor’s not…”
In usual circumstances, he’d shut down the suggestion right away. Too many problems, wholly irrational, no clear explanation why—all things Aizawa had no desire to deal with. But something about the look on Midoriya’s face had him hesitating.
“…on his file, Todoroki has a secondary legal guardian.” What is he doing? “An older sister of his, apparently. I will call her first, and once we have more information on the situation, I’ll decide whether or not to call Endeavor.”
It’s not a promise, but Midoriya brightens up regardless.
“Thank you!”
Oh boy, what has he gotten himself into?