Work Text:
Hitoshi was not having a great day.
Last night one of his foster siblings had decided to use him as a punching bag while he was trying to get work done. This wasn’t exactly uncommon, but he’d already been a little behind on his work and obviously couldn’t get it done then. His foster parents hadn’t given him anything to eat the night before as punishment for the fight with his brother, despite the fact that he hadn’t even started it or given any resistance at all. But he was the ‘problem child’, so pretty much everything was pinned on him. All of this added up to one of the worst nights he’d had in while, which was saying a lot considering his insomnia. He’d woken up the next day with a few bruises and a headache as well as the knowledge that he’d have do his homework instead of eating lunch.
Despite all this, he was determined to do his training with Aizawa as usual. His mentor had been kind enough to take time out of his day to help him, so there was no way he was going to let some hunger and sleep deprivation stop him from showing up to training. He certainly wasn’t going to let Aizawa know he was out of it, because knowing him he’d stop their training immediately.
Unfortunately, because of this, he had far less control over his quirk than usual.
The two had been sparring, and Aizawa had managed to pin Hitoshi onto the ground. Whenever this happened in the past (which was a lot more than Hitoshi wanted to admit), Aizawa had let go soon after. He had never hurt him. But it had reminded Shinsou of the run-in with his foster brother the day before, and in a moment of panic he had used his quirk on his mentor. Eraserhead’s eyes quickly changed from their typical tired irritation to lifeless, and he immediately stood up.
It took a moment for Hitoshi to realize what he had done, but as soon as he did, he released Aizawa from his quirk. FUCK. He’d just brainwashed the one person who believed he wasn’t a villain. Oh god, everyone was right. He was a monster. He had just brainwashed his childhood hero. What the hell was wrong with him?! He’d finally done it. He’d shown him his true nature, and now even Eraserhead would know that he was horrible pers—
“Shinsou, look at me.”
He startled, just now realizing that he was doubled over and completely unable to breathe. He stood up as fast as he could, seeing Aizawa standing right in front of him. He prepared himself for whatever punishment would be given to him, although the thought did nothing to help calm down his breathing. Hopefully he wouldn’t stop training him, although Hitoshi wouldn’t be surprised if he did because heroes don’t brainwash people, after all. Only villa—
“Hitoshi, breathe. I’m right here. I’m fine. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
The last statement was enough to stop his spiral, mostly out of confusion. “How can you say that? I just brainwashed you.”
“It’s quite clear to me that you did it out of panic, and you didn’t force me to do anything I wouldn’t have done myself. In the moment you saw it as self-defense. It likely would have saved your life if I was a villain as well.”
“So you’re not going to stop training me?”
“Of course not. That wouldn’t be logical.”
Shinsou slowly managed to get control of his breathing, and soon enough was able to think straight. After a pause, he rubbed the back of his neck and sheepishly said, “Sorry for freaking out.”
“It’s not your fault, but if this is a common occurrence I’d like to know.”
“It happens sometimes, but I usually can take care of it by myself. Sorry for making you help me. I know I should be able to handle these, and I’ll be better next time.”
Aizawa frowned slightly. “That’s not my issue. I’ll schedule an appointment with a therapist later. For now, we’re done training. We’re going to get some food.”