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It was a normal, boring school day in the gen-ed program.
The only unusual thing about the day was that Shinsou was tired . Not his normal tired that spawned from his chronic insomnia, no… Shinsou had learned to live with that as his normal. This exhaustion was different. It was more physical, bone deep, and it didn’t seem to fade no matter how many mocha energy drinks he pounded down. He’d been waking up so fucking early to train for the sports festival with his father and despite being his kid, Aizawa did NOT go easy on him.
He was lucky that math came relatively easy to him and he could afford to doze off in this class. Most of his teachers were pretty lenient with him since they knew who his parents were. It was something he didn’t usually like abusing, but it was nice to be able to put his head down without worrying about being written up.
Shinsou was fifteen minutes into this math-nap, the teacher droning on about quadratics, when someone ran by outside the classroom yelling.
All the students looked over at the door, but no one could make out what the person had yelled and the teacher hadn’t even paused his lecture so Shinsou laid his head back on his arms with a yawn.
He very nearly bit his own tongue off, snapping his mouth shut when an alarm went off.
“What’s happening?” a student called out.
“Fire?”
“That’s not the fire alarm.”
“Everyone be quiet please.” The teacher, a middle aged man who used to be a sidekick called ‘Cactus’ walked over to the door and flipped a thick lock. “That is the lockdown alarm.”
“What do we do?”
“Remain calm. This is a school filled with heroes. We have several of these a year. I… I didn’t check my emails this morning so it could very well be a drill for the heroics students.” The teacher moved back to sit at his desk. “Just be quiet until we get the all clear. I suggest you work on your assignments.”
Like hell. Shinsou thought, watching as literally every single one of his classmates pulled out their phones. Shinsou slowly did the same, tabbing open his messaging app to check for any new texts.
He had two, one from his dad and one from his best friend, but both were from two hours ago before school even started.
Dad: Good morning Toto! You and Papa BOTH forgot your bentos so I’ll have them in the lounge at lunch. You’re both beautiful idiots and I love you dearly.
Tenya: I saw this cat on my way to school and thought you would appreciate it.
Tenya: *1 image attached*
Shinsou ignored his dad’s message, grinning as he chose to reply to Iida’s instead.
“Drill my ass!” one of his classmates shouted suddenly.
“That’s what she said.” Another snickered.
“Shut up, I meant it’s not a drill.”
“How do you know?”
“Students please. We need to be quiet.” The teacher tried to silence them, but failed miserably.
“My sister is a 3rd year in heroics. She said a bunch of villains attacked the USJ and all their teachers left to go fight them!”
Shinsou slowly set his phone down, listening intently now, a little bubble of fear appearing in his gut. Not for himself, he knew logically the gen ed department wasn't much of a target and even if it was, their teachers were all still technically heroically trained…
No the fear was for his-
“Oh god. She said they killed that 1A teacher, Aizawa-Sensei.”
Shinsou froze.
It was the worst nightmare for any kid that had a pro hero as a parent. All the sounds of his classmates faded into ringing white noise until all he could hear was the sound of his own pounding heart. He… he had just seen him barely two hours ago.. It couldn’t-
No.
Not Papa. No. NO.
Shinsou stood, his chair squeaking violently.
None of his classmates even bothered to look at him, too enthralled in their conversations. But his teacher… was looking right at him. His sensei’s eyes were wide and fearful.
“Shinsou you can’t .” The teacher pleaded.
“Try and stop me.” Shinsou couldn’t summon more than a whisper before he bolted. Before the portly teacher could even stand up, Shinsou had already flipped the lock and was sprinting down the hall.
The halls in the education building were mercifully empty and no one tried to stop him, though he doubted anyone could if they tried. He’d never run so fast in his entire life, terror fueling his adrenaline sprint. He made quick time, he’d basically been raised on this campus and knew it’s layout like the back of his hand.
He couldn’t lose his Papa. He couldn’t . Not like this. He couldn’t- his Dad wouldn’t be able to cope and Shinsou would be alone and he couldn’t-
He stumbled down the steps that went from upper campus to the training buildings, felt his skin scrape off as he stuck his hands out to catch himself before his head hit the sidewalk. They were bloody when he held them up, and shaking- he was shaking, but he had to keep going. He wiped them off on his pants, some distant part of his brain noting that he’d ripped both knees open and they were bleeding too, before pushing himself up, resuming his run.
His stomach lurched when the USJ building came into a view. Some of the windows were shattered and a thin line of smoke was weaving its way up to join the clouds. Campus security vehicles had the building surrounded.
It was chaotic.
Security officers and pro teachers alike were running around, some were running towards the building, others were shepherding students away. Shinsou recognized Iida and his heart jumped in momentary relief that his best friend was ok, but his worry returned full force when he caught sight of Present Mic’s signature plume of blonde hair…. His dad was sitting away from the crowds, slumped over on the bumper of a security golf-cart.
Alone.
Shinsou booked it. He didn’t realize he had started to cry as he pounded across the courtyard. He was so so terrified and laser-focused on his Dad that he didn’t notice the other teacher that suddenly threw out an arm, catching Shinsou just a few short yards from Present Mic.
“Fuck kid, you can’t be here.” Ectoplasm growled.
“Let me go.” Shinsou sobbed. He tried to activate his quirk, to make Ectoplasm let him go, when he saw that his dad was crying and more importantly, what his Dad was holding .
Hizashi’s Present Mic speaker was tossed aside on the ground and the man was shaking slightly, from his hands dangled Eraserhead’s goggles.
Cracked and bloody.
It was true.
His Papa was dead.
“No. NO! NO NO NOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Shinsou’s anguish felt like it was cutting his throat as he screamed, eyes focused on the goggles. He struggled in Ectoplasm’s grip, kicking at the man desperately.
Hizashi looked up immediately, concern flashing over his exhausted face when he saw the state of his son, not only hysterical but bleeding .
“T-Toto?” He gasped. “Hitoshi?”
Shinsou made eye contact with his dad’s red rimmed eyes and snapped. This time, instinct took over and instead of flailing, he twisted in Ectoplasm’s grip and using a move Aizawa taught him, used the teacher’s body weight against him, flipping the man off his feet.
Ectoplasm grunted in surprise as he hit the ground, but Shinsou paid him no mind. He ran forward on unstead legs, stumbling to the ground, crying out when the rough sidewalk made contact with his already scraped palms.
Hizashi dropped the goggles and was in front of him in the blink of an eye, sinking to his knees.
“ Hitoshi. ” He reached out and grabbed his son’s face. “Baby what wrong!?”
“HE CAN’T BE! NO NO NO NO HE CAN’T!” Shinsou didn’t recognize his own broken voice. He had never been one to show his emotions so easily, but he was spiraling into a breakdown he had no way of controlling.
“Oh god baby what happened!?” Hizashi’s hands slipped from his son’s face down to grab his hands, turning the bloody palms over. “Hitoshi were you in there!? Are you hurt!? Where else are you hurt!?!?!?”
“ He’s dead. How can he be dead!? ” Shinsou sobbed. “I n-need him Dad. I need him I-”
“ Who’s dead!? Toto what are you talking about!?”
“ Papa. ”
“What-” Realization dawned over Hizashi’s face. He dropped Shinsou’s hands and immediately reached to pull him into an embrace, burying his son’s face against his chest. “No, Hitisho no. Papa isn’t dead baby.”
“ W-what?” Shinsou croaked, muffled in the leather of his Dad’s jacket.
“ God, honey he’s not dead. Papa’s not dead.”
“But… but you were crying and… an his goggles and I heard-”
“No. No.” Hizashi pressed a few kisses against Shinsou’s temple. “Hitoshi he’s… he’s not dead. He is in pretty rough shape and they took him to the infirmary but the medics told me that he’s going to be ok.”
“But you-”
“I just needed to sit down for a minute Toto. I have his goggles because the medics left them and… and baby you know me, I cry a lot.”
“He’s… he’s not dead?” Shinsou let out a disbelieving breath, shuddering in his father’s embrace.
“No baby. He’s ok. He’s going to be ok.” Hizashi squeezed him tighter when Shinsou all but sagged against him.
Shinsou was shaking with the force of his relieved sobs and it was all he could do to cling to his dad. He’d never been so scared in his entire life and to find out his Papa was alive? The opposing emotions were overwhelming and he-
He was going to be sick.
He shoved his dad back and barely had time to turn before he was losing his breakfast all over the cement. His dad was there immediately, rubbing soothing circles into his back.
“Mic, people are starting to look. You’re going to blow your cover.” Ectoplasm’s voice intruded.
“Yeah. Yeah, ok. Tosh?”
“I’m fine.” Shinsou groaned, wiping his mouth off with his sleeve, his hands still shaking.
“Yeah you are baby.” Hizashi reached out and squeezed Shinsou’s arm. “How about we go find Papa? Find out exactly how he’s doing.”
“I can come?”
“You don’t have a choice.” Hizashi stood up and gently pulled his son up by the elbow, gently taking one of his hands. “I want someone to look at your hands and… and I think I’d like to have our little family together right now. Sound good?”
“Yeah.” Shinsou offered him a weak smile. He was… very grateful his dad just knew that Shinsou needed to not be alone right now AND that he needed to physically see his Papa before his pounding heart could settle.
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Classes had all been cancelled while UA investigated the incident as people were calling it so Hizashi hadn’t seen the need to go home. He and Shinsou had both spent the night, not willing to leave Aizawa’s side. Recovery Girl and the other medics had assured them throughout the night that he was doing ok, but it had been rough.
Hizashi had always been pretty good at remaining optimistic, and he was even better at faking it for their son’s sake. But it was hard to keep up that act when they just kept adding bandages and bandages and even more bandages .
Aizawa had woken up a couple times, long enough to ask if his students were ok. But he passed out before he could really talk or reassure them in any way.
It had taken it’s… emotional toll on their son.
Hizashi had never been more grateful in his life when Shinsou had fallen asleep before Recovery Girl came in to give him the… summary of his husband’s injuries, throwing around horrifying words like brain trauma and organ damage.
His cheerful Present Mic persona faded pretty damn quick after that.
He waited until they were alone and then crept off to the bathroom to wash out his hair and to get out a quick cry session. When he was relatively back to a stable emotional state, he shuffled back down to the infirmary.
His son was right where he left him, slumped across a cheap couch Cementoss had dragged over for them from the teacher’s lounge. He looked… comfy despite his sleeping situation. Hizashi had forced him to change into a pair of sweats and a tshirt Aizawa kept at the school. They were massive on him, making him look smaller than Hizashi knew he was. And after what had happened today, seeing his son break down like that… Even though he knew Shinsou was becoming a capable young man...He couldn’t help but just see his baby.
He smiled and carefully sat on the end of the couch, doing his best not to disturb him. He double checked that all the beeps and boops on his husband’s machine looked… well he wasn’t sure what he was looking at but nothing was red or blinking in any menacing way so he felt safe enough to slump back into the cushions and close his eyes.
They flew open seconds later when Shinsou wiggled up the couch and dropped his head on Hizashi’s thigh, burying his face against the side of his dad’s stomach.
“Toto?”
“Shut up.” Shinsou mumbled.
“I wasn’t going to say anything.” Hizashi smiled and dropped his hand down to run his fingers through Shinsou’s hair, scratching lightly at his scalp. Shinsou made a pleased sound and relaxed slightly, but even as Hizashi continued he could still feel the tension his son was holding.
But he had an idea how to fix that.
“Tosh?”
“What?”
“I um… I’m still feeling pretty worked up about everything that happened today. Would you mind if I sang a little? I’ll be quiet I promise.”
“Ok.” Shinsou whispered.
Hizashi didn’t stop his fingers as he began to quietly sing one of the songs that always managed to calm his son down when he was little.
“Slow down you crazy child.
You're so ambitious for a juvenile
But then if you're so smart tell me,
Why are you still so afraid?”
He kept his volume down. The students that had been hurt were in a separate section, but Thirteen was sleeping down on the other side of the room with only curtains separating them and he didn’t want to wake her.
It worked though. Even as quietly as he was singing, he felt Shinsou melt against him and he was out cold again before Hizashi even got to the ‘ Vienna waits for you’ line.
He still finished the song, and a few other Billy Joel hits for good measure before he let himself sink off into a slumber of his own.
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Shinsou woke up to the sounds of low voices and his Dad’s soft laughter.
He blinked in the bright sunlight pouring in from the skylights. At some point someone had put one of the scratchy infirmary blankets over him and it slipped down to his waist as he sat up and looked around.
“Oh good morning Tosh!” Hizashi said cheerfully. “I’ve never seen you sleep so late.”
“What time is it?”
“Almost nine.”
“ Nine. ” Shinsou turned to look at him, ready to accuse him of lying (he hadn’t slept in till nine in years) but froze when he saw that BOTH his parents were awake. “Papa. You’re awake, are you ok? Has he said anything?”
“He’s been awake for a while this time.” Hizashi chuckled. Hizashi was sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, a hand gently resting on Aizawa’s thigh over the blankets.
“Long enough to hear you knocked Ecto on his ass.” Aizawa’s voice was rough and muffled under the bandages that covered his face, but it sounded genuinely happy. “Nicely done.”
Shinsou scrambled off the couch to sit on his other side, tripping over the borrowed baggy sweats.
“I used that move you taught me, to use his body weight against him.” Shinsou waved a dismissive hand. “Are you ok?”
“Well I just slept longer and better than I have in months.”
“Pop.”
Aizawa sighed, but conceded. “Everything hurts a little more than it usually does and my vision is still a little blurry, but I’m ok.”
“I… when I was in class someone got a text that said you were dead.” Shinsou watched his parents share a look and Hizashi reached over to squeeze his hand.
“I know… I know that you know that this is something we risk in our line of work. I also know that fact doesn’t make it any easier. I won’t lecture you.“ Aizawa said after a moment. “But I will say I’m sorry I scared you. I’m sorry I scared the both of you.”
“I… I broke the rules. I was going to use my quirk on Ectoplasm. I couldn’t… I couldn’t even focus I was so scared and I think I’m going to pull my name out of the festiv-”
“Hitoshi.” Aizawa cut him off.
“I wasn’t heroic. ”
“What!? Honey your are-”
“Hizashi.” Aizawa cut his husband off too. His arm twitched in his casts and Shinsou had no doubt they both would have been smacked if he was able to move them.
“Tosh you were scared.” Aizawa started.
“I know. I-”
“Will you two let me finish?”
“Sorry.” Hizashi and Shinsou said at the same time.
“You were scared. You were afraid for your family. I am not going to lie to you Hitoshi, family… the people we love will always be a hero’s greatest weakness. But being afraid… being distracted by them doesn’t make you unheroic . The shit I have seen other pros do, the shit IVE done to protect you or your Dad… It happens. It’s going to happen.”
Shinsou looked away and Aizawa took a deep breath before continuing.
“But… it’s going to be your greatest strength too.”
“How?” Shinsou scoffed.
“You’re a barely trained teenager Hitoshi and you knocked a seasoned, experienced pro hero on his ass because you were focused on getting to Dad. That gave you strength, your family gave you strength. I… wanted to give up yesterday.”
“What?” Shinsou gaped at the sudden change of direction.
“I wanted to give up. I don’t know if I’ve ever been in so much pain. It’s not the first time in my life, won’t be the last. You know what kept me fighting? What keeps me going?”
Shinsou didn’t answer, still refusing to make eye contact.
“You do Tosh. You and Dad. There’s nothing I wouldn’t fight, nothing I wouldn’t do to keep the two of you safe. And I will always fight with everything I have to come home to you. You make me strong, do you understand?”
Shinsou nodded.
“You’re not taking your name out. You are going to be a hero, Hitoshi. A damn good one. And me and Dad are going to be there for you every step of the way.”
“Always.” Hizashi added, squeezing his hand again.
Shinsou blinked a couple times, unwilling to cry in front of his parents a second day in a row, before he looked back at them, smiling. He felt dumb, felt silly for reacting the way he had… but his Papa was right. He felt stronger when he was with his parents…. When he thought about them, knowing they had his back.
“Ok.” He managed to croak.
“Good. Now go get a notebook. I want to talk about your training schedule leading up to the festival.”
“W-what!?” Shinsou actually laughed. “Pa I don’t know if you know this, but like… you’re kind of fucked up right now. We can’t train.”
“I can’t fight you, but I can sure as hell train you. I’ll supervise and Dad will be your sparring partner.”
“I WHAT!?”
“He what!?”