Chapter Text
“A-Aizaw- ghrk - Aizawa, what is the meaning of this?”
Aizawa didn’t listen to All Might’s pleas of confusion, too occupied by the broiling rage in his stomach. His fist clenched at every sentence that tumbled from the Symbol of Peace’s mouth, the same voice that ripped a 14-year-old’s life into confetti. His teeth ground together as he stomped through the halls, feeling his capture weapon shifting restlessly along his neck.
“A-Aizawa-sensei?” His eyes snapped to Uraraka and Iida, the girl looking confused and Iida positively terrified. He took a deep breath, trying to calm down enough to respond.
“W-where’s Midoriya? He never came to the gates, and Cementoss let us in to look for him…” Ah. He’d forgotten that Midoriya met Iida and Uraraka at the gates every night after school.
“He’s fine, he’s just… I can’t say. He’s okay, but he won’t be walking home with you tonight. Go on ahead.” Uraraka looked about ready to protest, but Iida grabbed her shoulder and, yelling apologies and assurances too fast to be heard, dragged her away. He assumed that Iida had been the only one to see him this angry- it had happened when Tensei had done something idiotic that almost got him crushed. He had seen Shirakumo in that instant, and he hadn’t thought he’d ever get that angry again.
He was wrong.
Now, he was filled with white-hot anger, burning as hot as Bakugou’s explosions.
...He still had to do something about Bakugou. Well, that can wait a little bit. Right now, it was All Might’s mistake being fixed. He kept moving, not letting All Might stand fully upright.
Aizawa was a tall man, sitting at a square 6 feet. Even with this, All Might towered above him, at a solid 14 inches taller. But right now, that 14 inch difference was obsolete- Aizawa had no issue dragging the man down to his level.
His back must be hurting by now. Shame.
Finally, they were in the special gym that Yama used to train his Quirk. It was soundproof, structurally stable, and completely separate from any outliers or students still here for whatever reason.
Aizawa roughly shoved All Might into the gym before him, before slamming the door shut behind him. The tall man cowered, shrinking to half his height in less than 5 seconds.
Aizawa took a deep inhale, letting his eyes burn red.
“A-aizawa? What are you…?”
“We have to talk, All Might. ”
Midoriya sat on the edge of the- his bed, watching his fingers rest on his knees. This whole evening had seemed like a blur, from Aizawa backing him into a corner, forcing his secrets out and getting removed from his mother’s care, it was all surreal. He was oddly reminded of an interview he’d seen, from the beginning of Quirks. It was a girl interviewed on the scene of a drowning, face tearstained and sniffling. The reporter asked her what she thought of the incident, and she stumbled her way through an explanation that felt oddly similar to now.
“I just- we heard screaming, and he was thrashing in the lake, and- and there were people right there and… and he still died. He was a stranger, I don’t know who he is, but… but it still hurts, y’know? It almost feels… fake. Like the universe is punking us and we’re all just having a fever dream.”
“Do you believe the discovery of powers, currently termed Quirks, could have helped?” The girl looked straight into the camera, and honey-toned irises twinkled in a glint of pure knowing as she responded.
“No doubt. One day, there’ll be someone whose Quirk is to breathe underwater, or can manipulate clothing, or can even use air to blast water out of the way. One day, things like this will be a fear of the past. One day…”
Midoriya wondered if she had a Quirk. Her eyes had been pure and innocent, but jaded at the same time. They were eyes that had seen a thousand outcomes, half of them the worst case and half the best case.
Still, her words were… truthful, even if his situation was different. This all felt fake, like he’d wake up next morning to his mother cooking breakfast and checking all of his supplies to make sure absolutely no harm could come to him. To her, he was still her ‘Quirkless daughter’, and she had no qualms in making him know it.
But now…?
What does he do now? Is there something he has to do, proof that he’s worth taking in? Clean, maybe? That always got him in his mother’s good book, a reprieve from the endless needling and micro-managing. Cook? Maybe…
A knock on his door frame startled him back into the real world, and he looked up to see Shinsou leaning on the frame.
“Hey. Mind if I come in?” Midoriya shook his head and mumbled something about the haphazard mess that was the stuff he had, apologizing for something he didn’t entirely know. He didn’t know Shinsou all that well, but… maybe he will. Maybe he will know Shinsou well, and maybe have a new friend. It took long enough for his mom to accept him being friends with Uraraka and Iida, the fretting about them playing too rough and hurting her little doll almost sickening to hear after the first three hours of it.
Maybe this would end better.
Shinsou sprawled into the desk chair, sitting sideways in it. His legs were thrown over an arm, his back balanced on the other. It looked… oddly comfy. He was never allowed to sit oddly, because apparently it’d hurt his back and injure him. Maybe he’d try that soon.
“How do ya feel?” He blinked and looked at Shinsou, who had a vaguely concerned look on his face.
“Uh- what? I mean, sorry-! What do you mean?” Shinsou’s breath caught, and Midoriya felt himself tense. He’d messed up! He’d annoyed the teen, now he’d leave and there would go the concept of a new friend-
“Nah, you’re good. How are you feeling, after… everything?” He waved a hand lazily through the air to accentuate his point, and Midoriya felt a tiny chuckle burble from his throat. Maybe… maybe he’d laugh a little more here.
“Uh- it’s… it’s a lot. I-I, I really didn’t expect to- y’know, for this to happen?” The sentence was garbled and Midoriya mentally smacked himself for messing up again, now he would definitely leave-
“Y’know, I was in the same boat you were before I met Aizawa.” The offhanded comment caught Midoriya’s attention in the same way Aizawa’s dark gaze had, pushing all the buttons that felt… right.
“W-what?”
“Yeah, believe it or not. Was raised in a foster home, foster home was s-cruddy, got bullied, abused, the whole thing, and got taken in by Aizawa-sensei after he found drugs in the house.” Midoriya instantly objected, shaking his hands.
“No, n-no, I didn’t have it that bad! My mom… she’s overbearing, but she’s never hurt me and she always does what’s best, right? Adults do what’s best f-for us!” Shinsou sighed, a small, sad smile creasing his lips.
“Ah, yeah, that’s normal thinking. But, Midoriya?”
“Hmm?”
“Put that thinking out of your mind.”
“H- wha-?” Shinsou’s amethyst irises bore into his own, silver pupils locking him in place.
“Tell me. Did your mom ever put you down, needlessly control you, anything like that?” Midoriya opened his mouth to object again, before hesitating.
...was his mom controlling him?
No- no, he can’t think like that! He was Quirkless, he would have been in more danger if she hadn’t!
But she hurt your feelings, made you bleed inside.
It didn’t matter! She kept him safe, even if he was hurt by her actions!
She said she cared, but she never believed you.
He was sure she believed him at least a little! She stopped forcing him to go over to Kacchan’s house when he got burned!
He just came over to our house instead.
She stocked his medical kit, and fed him!
You learned how to cook, and she only stocked it because she kept burning herself on the stove.
She taught him how to cook! If she hadn’t, he’d have been in trouble when she worked more!
He wouldn’t have had to learn if she’d stuck around.
She got him gifts, and celebrated his birthday every year!
The condescending smile on her face as she asks you how many gifts you want, like it won’t be just one All Might figurine, and it still gets you every. time.
She…! She-
…
She…
She hurt you, verbally and emotionally. She treated you like a porcelain doll, to be handled with gloves and baby talk.
She had to have a reason! His Quirklessness-
No other adult treated him the same way. If it was your Quirklessness, they would have.
He kept picking fights-!
Kacchan came after you, and you couldn’t fight back.
He acted out in class…?
The teachers pinned any and all transgressions on you. If it happened on the other side of school, it would still be traced to you.
He…
…
...what did he do?
What did he do to be treated so differently? And… his auntie Mitsuki, she was always kind, if not harsh and rough.
...Why did it hurt so deeply to really think about how Aunt Mitsuki often treated him better than his mother?
Why did it cut him to the bone to remember that when he came back with a burn on his face, his mother just sighed in exasperation and tutted while she stormed into the office and demanded explanation?
Why…
Why…?
Why?
“Are you getting it now?” Shinsou’s voice cut through the fog that had settled over his mind, and he slowly dragged his eyes up to Shinsou’s eyes from where they had dropped to his hands again. He quirked a corner of his lips up, and his eyes filled with empathy.
“I think you get it now.” He just let his gaze drop again, feeling numbness flood his body until it was all he felt- or rather, couldn’t feel. A hum from the purplette on the chair.
“Yep, that’s how I felt too. Listen, okay?” Midoriya couldn’t look up again. Everything was weighed down but floating at the same time, and it felt impossible to even breathe.
“It gets better. Soon, you stop asking yourself ‘what did I do to get this treatment’, and start asking ‘why did they choose to do that to me?’ It takes a bit, but trust me.” There was a pale hand clasping his own, grounding him to the world and sending a shock of pure real through his system.
“You have help.”
All Might trembled in the face of his rage, and Aizawa took a moment to be amused at the fact that, despite All Might’s raw power and unwavering presence, he could instill this fear in the man.
“W-what do you have to say? I’m all ears…” Aizawa couldn’t stop the derisive snort that forced its way out at the trembling sentence.
“Oh, you will be all ears.” Yagi gulped, eyes glittering in fear.
“Yagi, tell the truth. What in the everloving Kami were you thinking when you told a Quirkless child they couldn’t be a hero, and left them on a rooftop?”
Yagi blanched pure white, already sickly skin somehow getting worse.
“Wh- h- what do you mean?”
His stuttering made it obvious he knew exactly what he meant. He pinched his nose, bemoaning the utter lack of lying skills the man had. How did he make it this long in the media without knowing how to hold a poker face, hiding his emotions behind a smile successfully?
Ah, the smile. The smile so, so many people took at its face value and didn’t bother to even try interpreting another way. It was brave, it was bold, it was positive, and no one took the time to think it could be hiding a festering pit of negativity.
It was almost laughable. The world blindly followed All Might, and they would to the end of the earth. Some day, he’d lead them into a pit, and they would never recover. Hero society as they knew it would crumble, and the once-figurehead of society would be left in the dust.
But for now, Aizawa was content to give the man a piece of his mind.
“I mean what I said. Why did you tell a Quirkless child, who could be a hero if they worked hard enough, that they had to give up and then leave them alone on a rooftop?” Yagi flinched backwards again, sweating in nervousness.
Good.
“T-they can’t just be a hero without a Quirk, Aizawa! How could I send them into this world just to be killed?”
“Okay… so if Midoriya didn’t have a Quirk, would you want him in UA?” Yagi did a spit take without water, spluttering in surprise. He was careful not to give away his knowledge of One For All.
Not yet.
“Of-of course, he will be a strong hero!”
“Even if he was Quirkless?” Yagi opened his mouth to retort, but no words left him. Aizawa cocked an eyebrow, letting some disgust mix with the anger.
“Yagi?”
“Of- of…” His silence answered the question. Aizawa felt a sigh of anger and disgust rip through him, and he grit his teeth.
Midoriya looked up to All Might, but he didn’t know if he could trust the teen around the hero anymore. If something as simple as a lack of a Quirk made All Might revoke his support of a boy he had spent months with prior to school, he did not want Midoriya around someone who feels like that.
At his judgemental face, Yagi sputtered into animation, rushing to explain.
“It-it’s not because of anything other than concern, of course not! I just cannot condone sending someone without a Quirk, without power into a world where they will die on their first day of a job!” So that was it. People without power were crushed under the heels of those with powers, even if it was unknowing. Well, All Might would learn a truth tonight.
“Yagi, that thinking is more harmful to Quirkless people than a job in heroism is. Do you know the statistics of Quirkless people, know why it’s so rare to see them?” Yagi just stared at him, and Aizawa repressed a growl of anger.
“Yagi, about 87% of Quirkless, in Japan alone, commit suicide by the time they turn 18. 90% of total Quirkless people, maybe more, are clinically diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and other various mental illnesses per year. In that 90%, maybe 23% got the medicine and care they need, and 13% of those people commit suicide in their early 20’s. If the world of heroism is too dangerous for Quirkless individuals, the world of normal people is worse. In hero statistics, about 95% of the Quirkless individuals that live to their 30’s are killed in either villain attacks or hero negligence. That’s a mortality rate of 95% a year, Yagi.” He let the statistics sink in, watching his words tear into the man.
“Aizawa… I grew up Quirkless, as a late bloomer. It can’t be done, if there can be Quirkless heroes I would be one.”
“See? You put too much weight on the past. What of the superhero Batman, known for his only power being smart? What about Tony Stark, who built a Quirk for himself? What about War Machine and Falcon and Hawkeye, whose powers were technology? They were years before Quirks were found, and they inspired Quirkless and Quirked alike. So why have those morals faded into the past?”
Yagi looked away, but not before Aizawa could see a glimmer of defiance in his eyes.
“Times change, and morals change too. Quirkless people would be too dependent on support items. If they didn’t have any, they’d be at a disadvantage at all times. Also the media is cruel, someone without power wouldn’t be able to hold a candle in dealing with news to someone with power dealing with it. Quirkless people just… aren’t cut out to be heroes.” Aizawa pinched his nose again, slowly heaving a sigh.
“What do you think of Midoriya’s mother?” Almost instantly, the man perked up, and it was immediately clear that he didn’t know of her treatment of Midoriya.
“Oh, she’s a lovely woman! A little overbearing, but I get it! She’s worried about young Midoriya, which makes sense!” That confirmed it for Aizawa.
“Yagi, listen to me, and listen closely.” He blinked, and he knew he had the Symbol of Peace’s attention.
“Midoriya Inko’s being a ‘little overbearing’ has almost ruined Midoriya’s life. He never had a chance to make friends, and she never supported him. Her ‘overbearing’ has harmed him over and over again, and as of tonight she is no longer in custody of Midoriya. You aren’t allowed to know anything else as of right now.” At that Yagi’s eyes flashed in anger.
“Why not? Inko is a lovely woman, and Young Midoriya is-”
“None of your concern as of right now. He has been placed in the custody of UA, and as a UA faculty with seniority over you I’m placing a ban. With your views and how they connect with his mother’s, I don’t want Midoriya anywhere near you without me, or another teacher, nearby. I don’t want you texting, either.” Yagi buffed into All Might, and Aizawa just let his eyes burn. He deflated with a surprised yelp, and Aizawa didn’t blink.
“You believe that Quirkless equates to useless. Only when Midoriya was given One For All did you truly believe he could be a hero. And you didn’t even train him to use it correctly. I will be working on that with him, no worries.” Yagi looked as though he was about to object, even paled in fear, and Aizawa silenced him with a glare.
“Yes, I know about One For All. My ban still stands.” He turned and made to walk out the door, before pausing. Turning back to Yagi, he added:
“The ban is effective tonight. Midoriya needs to heal, and you’ll probably make it worse by either defending his mother or insulting Quirkless people and I don’t want that for Midoriya. You said morals can change, so change your morals.”
He strode out the door, leaving the Symbol of Peace behind.
He had one more order of business before going back to his apartment.
“Nezu, I want Bakugou Katsuki out of my class for repeated Quirkism, using his Quirk to harm a student, peer abuse, violent bullying, and suicide baiting. Effective by lunch tomorrow, at the latest. I don’t care if he’s moved to 1-C, or expelled, he is not welcome in 1-A anymore.”
Midoriya hummed, both in contentment and in exhaustion, as he felt the warm weight on his back shift a little. He was currently swaddled in blankets and laying on his stomach on the weirdly comfortable mattress, feeling sleep slowly pulling him into darkness.
The cat purring and kneading at his back also helped a little.
Whispered conversation from outside the room, and the door opened a little. He hummed again, trying to drag his heavy eyelids open to see who it was. A tiny chuckle, and a heavy, rough hand gently mussed at his hair.
“Sleep, problem child.”
And with that, he was dragged into the black of deep, healing sleep.
Aizawa let a soft chuckle out as he saw Midoriya fighting his own exhaustion. He had arrived and Hitoshi had almost instantly whispered to him to be quiet, because Midoriya was sleeping (or almost there).
He walked across the room, and in a moment of hesitation, let his hand rest on Midoriya’s head. Ruffling the fluffy hair softly, he let a small smile quirk his lips as he spoke.
“Sleep, problem child.” With that, Midoriya let a soft sigh out and the tension in him drained away. He gently extricated his hand and used a hand to pet Marlowe, the cat in question meowing at him.
Midoriya had a while to go. But… with support, and love, maybe he’d get to see the child under the shell. It had happened with Hitoshi. He had traveled leaps and bounds, from the scared kid who flinched at every word spoken to the sarcastic, mouthy kid he is now.
He couldn’t wait to see Midoriya make that transformation.
There was a lot to go. They’d have to sit and discuss boundaries, and Midoriya would have to face his own insecurities. He would probably live in fear for a little while, scared of losing a supportive home and going back to Inko.
It would take time. But Aizawa swore to himself, watching the face normally so twisted in a mask slacken and relax to show a soft, vulnerable child that was forced to be strong, that he would help this boy with every step of the way.