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Shouta was slightly irritated - but very slightly, huh.
All Might had done everything possible to convince him and Nezu to do that trip, and, strangely, said teacher was missing. He wasn't there to have fun on the beach with their class as Shouta would have expected. (Their class, yes, because, by now, those students were like adopted children, but he could never have admitted it out loud.)
Snorting, Shouta took a few steps on the hot sand, leaving the path that led to the shore.
Where had All Might gone? Ever since they left the hotel, the man seemed to have vanished into thin air - honestly, Shouta hoped the waves of the sea had not taken him away, considering the weight of the older man.
"Don't go too far," he ordered as Midoriya and the others passed by, running to reach the sea.
"Sho! Don't worry, I'm here with them! "
"This is what worries me ..." sighing, Shouta let Hizashi chase the students, then returned to look around.
It was a strange feeling not to have All Might by his side after a whole year of battles, squabbles and, finally, celebrations. There was something missing that only he could offer with his mere presence - calm, tranquility, peace.
By now, that man had become a constant in their lives. Yagi Toshinori was no longer the unreachable man everyone dreamt about, and not having him physically close seemed almost unnatural and wrong. Especially at a time when everyone was having a good time, that absence was strange.
Shouta watched the students jump into the water, happy, carefree and then turned to the forest behind him. The path that connected greenery and beach, at a certain point, was beginning to get lost in the vegetation - maybe even All Might was lost there too.
He took one last look at the students: with Mic there, they would be safe.
The light filtered through the trees, breaking on Toshinori's face at every step, moving and dancing on his skin. It was a good feeling, to be honest: a moment before there was the coo air; then, when a ray managed to pass the leaves and branches, a pleasant warmth came.
It was unusual for Toshinori to enjoy such a moment, without thinking about anything - at the time, his attention was focused on the soft sound of the sea breeze coming from the beach; some curious animal that continued to follow him immersed in the bushes; the salty smell that was mixed with the musky one of the forest ...
It was really relaxing, though extremely foreign.
No LOV, no villain ready to kidnap his beloved students.
Just relaxation - it was all so surreal. He never imagined he could enjoy such a day without pressure. Without feeling on the verge of a nervous breakdown every moment.
He could relax for once.
There were no dangers on the horizon, so when he felt Aizawa approaching him, the calm did not abandon him. He knew that everything was going well. There was no danger menacing them.
"Why aren't you on the beach?"
"I wouldn't be a good show," Toshinori replied with a chuckle, slowing his pace so that Aizawa could reach him. They began to walk side by side, without haste, going deeper and deeper in the green area.
"Why did you insist on coming here, then?"
"That's what kids of their age do," Toshinori answered bluntly, "I forced them to grow up quickly, forgetting that they were just kids."
Although Toshinori expected a sharp, extremely logical response from Aizawa, the latter took a few seconds to observe him.
"It's a mistake we all made," Aizawa conceded instead, with a crooked smile, "but it was inevitable. The chose it. "
"But I wonder if it's fair to force teenagers to take part in certain fights."
Aizawa sighed, almost in resignation or perhaps simply bored with certain speeches. Toshinori couldn't understand it - there had never been a way to speak without being focused on this or that villain.
"Maybe we should leave the reins to them," Aizawa said, chasing away an insect, "and support them as we can."
"You speak like a retired hero," muttered Toshinori. Aizawa retired at age 31 - ridiculous.
There was silence for a while - around them, a chorus of cicadas began to be heard, which perhaps had always been audible, but Toshinori had been too focused on Aizawa - his voice, his reactions.
"Erasure no longer exists."
Like that. Simple, painless - or so it should have been.
Toshinori stopped abruptly, Aizawa, on the contrary, continued to walk, passing him, "what does that mean?"
The answer was neither a sentence nor a monosyllable: it was a laugh, but not sarcastic or even derisive.
It seemed to be genuine, even too much.
"It's not funny…"
How could Aizawa be laughing at such a thing? Had he lost his mind?
"I thought so too," and his tone was calm, controlled, "but I chose to use it to the last, to protect my students."
Finally, Toshinori resumed his pace, but was unable to conceal his concern, returning to Aizawa's side with a deep frown on his face. Of course, everything Aizawa did was for their students, but still...
"And now what will you do?"
"I have Eri to deal with and I can still teach - or are you trying to get rid of me, All Might?" He asked with such a teasing tone that one could believe he was trying to flirt.
"What?! No, no! I could never, Aizawa-kun! In fact, I'm glad you're not losing your will ... "yes, he was happy to know that Aizawa would not abandon the UA, however," but it must not be easy to become quirkless overnight. "
Yeah - for Toshinori, it had been simple enough to go back to his usual way - as long as he could define himself as tackling everything in solitude, perpetually worried about going back to being useless and aimless. It had taken him a while before he realized that he had actually already completed his task - he could relax. He could let himself go.
Aizawa turned and smiled at him, "you can always teach me."
Toshinori's eyes widened, but tried to print that smile in his mind with fire, "what?"
"What you do best: always beyond the limit, Plus Ultra."