Chapter Text
“If you act like a child, I will treat you like a child.” Aizawa deadpanned as he watched the four troublemakers.
Todoroki stood silently, Shinsou slouched in boredom, Midoriya hung his head low, and Bakugou shook with pent up rage. All four were facing a brick wall in the middle of the mall - having been placed in “timeout” after acting like complete idiots in public.
Bakugou had been being his normal self and had insulted Midoriya, prompting Midoriya to give a rare response. In a matter of seconds, fists were flying. Shinsou’s bright idea was to bring Bakugou under his quirk. Once under, Todoroki froze the explosive blond in place, only to have Bakugou break free of the mind control due to the sharp change in temperature.
The resounding screaming and popping from the feral teen had drawn everyone’s attention, including Aizawa’s. After having Bakugou thawed, he had scolded each of them for their part in the embarrassing mess that had thankfully not caused any property damage to the public space.
These were UA students, they needed to grow up. Thus, Aizawa had decided that this punishment may be for the best, since none could seem to act like the adults they were supposedly becoming.
Aizawa had read plenty of parenting books after taking on Eri and was currently using his new found skills to seemingly great effect. The boys stood silently as they faced the wall - be it due to his use of eye contact and stern tone or the fear they already felt towards their teacher - Aizawa didn’t really care. They had already stood for eight minutes, but Aizawa was determined to have them finish out the sixteen. One minute for every year of life. It wasn’t as if Aizawa had anything better to do as the trip to the mall had been a treat for the students.
“S-Sensei… I’m r-r-really s-sorry.” Midoriya murmured, shifting uncomfortably but not looking away from the wall in front of him.
“I appreciate the apology but you are going to stay there until the sixteen minutes are up. Actions have consequences. Maybe these more childish consequences will actually permeate your thick skulls and prevent the four of you from acting so recklessly in your future. You are lucky you have hero licenses or you could have been arrested for quirk use. I should be confiscating your hero licenses on the basis of immaturity.” Aizawa said in response.
Midoriya didn’t speak up again.
Just as the timer ticked down to only two minutes, Aizawa’s attention was drawn away from the four boys in front of him.
A young child - probably not even school aged - was running full kilt towards him, tears streaming down her face as she called for her mother. Aizawa stood from his crouched position on the floor to move out of her way, only to have the child trip and fall, forcing Aizawa to reach out and catch her before she could harm herself.
The moment he moved to stop the little girl’s tumble, he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. It was hero basics not to step in front of a distressed child. Young kids couldn’t control their quirks well and you never knew what you may be hit with. It was better to let them run past and try to stop them with calming words and actions. It was only logical.
And yet, here he was, reaching out towards a distressed child. But the girl had reminded him of Eri, running down the hallway after a nightmare and Aizawa’s instincts had kicked in.
They were bad instincts.
The moment he touched her skin, his own began to tingle. The girl in his arms hiccupped for a moment before turning to him with wide teary eyes, shining bright gold. Then, the world went black.
Aizawa-sensei had made it very clear not to turn away from the wall, lest they earn a more serious punishment. However, the crying of a child had Izuku turning, only to see his teacher shift in his peripheral, making the teen snap his gaze back to the bricks in front of him.
Aizawa-sensei could handle a lost child. It was a basic task that the first years had already learned. He needed to focus on the wall. He needed to ignore the tingling in his finger tips telling him to jump into action. He needed to stop his instinct to turn around and aid in calming the child - because Aizawa-sensei would never let that excuse fly.
Izuku could hear the scolding in his head if he turned away before the timer went off. So he forced himself to stay still.
But then the child cried out louder. And there was a familiar grunt. And the crying stopped for a split moment, only to pierce the air once more - and Izuku finally turned around. Consequences be damned.
The child was maybe four or five, her long black hair set into two braids. The girl was crying hysterically from her spot on the floor. Directly beside her, was a pile of familiar dark clothes. Izuku’s heart stuttered at the picture.
“G-Guys…” he whispered, but the other three teens had already turned and taken in the situation as well.
“Calm the child.” Todoroki murmured pointedly at Shinsou. “You can use your quirk to calm her. I’ll go find an officer and hopefully, the girl’s mother. Midoriya, you should check Sensei. Bakugou, call UA.”
“Don’t tell me what to fucking do, half n’ half.” Kacchan grumbled before whipping out his phone and dialing a number.
Shinsou had knelt down almost immediately, trying to gain the girl’s attention whilst Izuku moved around her, eyes held firmly on the black pile of clothing.
Upon further inspection, Izuku was pleased to find that his teacher hadn’t simply vanished. Unfortunately, the sight he was met with wasn’t much better. In place of the 31 year old hero, was a small, lanky child - appearing to be the same age as the one that Shinsou had just managed to calm.
The boy on the ground was unconscious, the capture weapon pooling under the small head like a pillow as the young child drooled in his sleep. Shoulder length hair covered most of the boy’s face but Izuku could already tell that the toddler before him was, in fact, Aizawa-sensei.