Chapter Text
There were many things Kirishima Eijiro expected when he enrolled in U.A.
Sure, he expected crazy and even unfair assignments, made to push them past their limits on their way to becoming heroes! It's one of the most high-tech and popular training regiments, so it's always best to expect the unexpected, right?
Unfortunately, no one was prepared for this.
"You'll split into teams of two. Your job is, once you are assigned your specific child, to take care of them for two months . You'll be assigned pairs, by the way."
What the hell?
"B-But Mr. Aizawa!" Kaminari called. "What's the point ?"
"I'm getting there," Aizawa said tiredly. "In the future, as heroes, you will have to take care of young children during an emergency crisis. Sometimes until their parents pick them up, or…" he paused for a moment, before continuing, "you'll have to act as their guardian until we have a suitable home."
He must be thinking of Eri, Kirishima thought solemnly. Ever since they rescued her, she has been particularly attached to Aizawa, who has taken up the job of caring for the girl. It's obvious he cared for the girl immensely.
"Okay… so this is more of a maternal-paternal unit than actual hero work…" Tsuyu said, one finger to her chin as she spoke thoughtfully.
Iida angled his hand at her, saying, "Taking care of a child in need is hero work! It's one of the most noble things about being a hero - helping someone in need."
"That's right!" Kirishima slammed his fists together in his signature pose. "Being a hero is all about helping those around you, and I'll be damned if I didn't say I was up for the challenge."
As the class cheered, Aizawa's deadpanned words cut through the uproar of the class. "Quiet," he said, "before I have to resort to using my quirk."
The class fell silent as he continued. "The teams I've already picked beforehand. Some are based on compatibility. Others are based on random choice and others still will be based on how you guys can improve your cooperative skills."
Out of the corner of his eye, Kirishima saw Midoriya sneak a look at Bakugo. It was common knowledge those two were often paired up because the staff wanted to improve their relationship with each other. They had made some progress, but it was plainly obvious they weren't each other's first choice.
"I'll be reading off the pairs now."
"Oh, man ," Kaminari groaned. "We're doing this now ? Right when I-"
"I hear you, Kaminari." Aizawa ignored his gasp of surprise and continued. "The pairs are as follows. There will be several groups of three," he added.
He then read:
"Mina and Tsuyu."
Mina gasped and high fived Tsu, who ribbitted happily.
"Ojiro and Hagakure."
No surprise there, I suppose.
"And our first group of three - Todoroki, Midoriya, and Uraraka."
The three of them exchanged an excited look. They were already close so it was very likely this kind of assignment would bring them even closer. And Kirishima didn't miss the relieved sigh Midoriya made when he found out he wasn't with Bakugo.
I wonder who he'll end up with…
"Second group of three," Aizawa continued, "Aoyama, Tokoyami, and Shoji."
The entire class surprised a collective giggle as Aoyama brandishly waved at the other two. "Guess we do need a break from the usual," Shoji muttered.
"Maybe a prep will be a rightful change to this gothic feast."
" Oui ! As I'm sure you'll soon see, I'm completely prepared and the best choice for this sort of project," Aoyama said, partaking in many poses.
His team mates nodded thoughfully.
"Yaoyorozu and Jiro."
Momo gasped and hugged Jiro from behind, who flushed furiously. "This is perfect! I'm sure the two of us will make a phenomenal team, Jiro!"
"Y-Yeah, totally!" Jiro responded. Nearby, Kaminari laughed loudly and Kirishima himself had to try hard to hold in his own snickers. Jiro's crush was hard to miss amongst the Bakusquad, or, really, anyone with eyes. Everyone, that is, except for the actual object of her affections, which never fails to be funny as hell.
Pretending not to see her angry scowl at them both, Kirishima redirected his attention to Aizawa who was reading off the next pair.
"Shinso and Kaminari."
Kirishima wolf-whistled at Kaminari, who turned beet red at the hint. If Jiro was obvious in how she felt about Momo, then Kaminari was way worse. Kirishima laughed loudly at his reaction. Kaminari shrugged at Shinso's confused and tired look. Aizawa groaned at the exchange.
"Sero and Iida."
"That's rich," Bakugo snarked. "The only two with brain cells being put together."
"You saying you don't have brain cells, Bakuboy?" Kaminari quipped, to which Bakugo furiously responded, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?! As if I would lump myself in with the rest of you idiots!!"
The entire class suppressed an eyeroll at that statement.
"Sato and Koda."
The baker and the bug-keeper smiled at each other and waved awkwardly.
"And last but not least… Kirishima and Bakugo," Aizawa said. Apparently not realizing the weight of the words he just said, he continued on talking about the rules for this particular assignment.
Unfortunately, Kirishima couldn't pay attention, seeing as he was positively dying.
Me and Bakugo…?!
Kirishima's feelings towards his explosive friend were something he tried to squash down and keep secret. It wouldn't affect their relationship, he would tell himself, if he never said anything about it.
So every time they spent time together, going to the movies, studying together, hanging out in each other's room… it was a normal friendly thing. Nothing out of the ordinary.
So how am I gonna keep this charade up while taking care of a child with him?!
It's like we're parents … and like…. married and shit.
He shook his head, his face surely reddening. And judging by Kaminari's smirk, it definitely was. Sending his friend a scowl, he sighed and walked over along with the rest of his class to see the list of kids Aizawa was showing.
This is not gonna be easy.