Chapter Text
Izuku Midoriya’s absence has left a gap of sorts in Class 1A.
Many of Shouta’s students relied on the greenette to keep their schedule and normalcy running smoothly. Todorki has gone back to the closed off shell he’d been at the start of the year after learning of Midoriya’s removal. Iida looks not unlike how he’d been when Stain attacked his brother. Uraraka has flat-out refused to speak the past week. Asui has no outright noticeable changes about her, but Shouta can recognize just how distraught she really is. Kaminari, Sero, and Kirishima are no longer their usual, bubbly selves, and Sero in particular has refused to look at Midoriya’s old desk next to him, as if refusing to accept that it’s no longer being filled by the familiar greenette.
Though, Shouta notes the most prominent changes are from Bakugou and Shinsou.
Shinsou is Midoriya’s “replacement”. Once Midoriya was officially removed from the hero course, his seat was left open for anyone to join. Shinsou had shown the most promising potential next to Hatsume Mei, but Hatsume wasn’t interested in joining the hero course, so of course it went to Shinsou. Shouta hadn’t expected Shinsou to have much of a reaction, and yet, he sees that glimmer of guilt in his protege’s eyes every time he’s around the heroics students, his classmates.
Which means he sees it every waking moment Shinsou is in class.
And then there’s Bakugou.
The explosive teen hasn’t said a word, which is very out of character for him. When Shouta first made the announcement, the entire class had blown up to defend Midoriya. But none blew up like Bakugou did. He shouted, demanded, that Shouta explain why Midoriya had been moved to General Education. And he did. “Midoriya causes more trouble than he’s worth, as the board has decided. So to keep him from causing that same trouble, he’s being taken from the spot where it originates.” There was an uproar in class, but Shouta could only focus on Bakugou silently sitting down in his seat.
Shouta didn’t like the choice either. Maybe if he had expressed that to his students more, they wouldn’t be like this. He knew they would react negatively. Midoriya was a very important friend and classmate. He was kind, bright, and did his best to help with even the smallest of things.
He’d branched out and made friendships with everyone in Class 1A at one point or another.
It was only natural they would be upset at losing his presence. They all seemed to perk up when Shouta explained that Midoriya had a chance of returning if he proved himself to the school board. And he still lived on UA property, he would just now be in the General Studies dorms. They were more than welcome to keep talking and spending time with him in their spare time. They buzzed with excitement, promising to help their resident sunshine boy of their class return.
Shouta can’t say he isn’t biased, because he is. He wanted the problem child to return, he still does, if anyone deserved to be here it was Izuku Midoriya. He hoped his students would help the problem child, and they did. They met up with him after school to discuss ways he could possibly re-enter the course, often asking Shouta himself to answer their questions. He gave them their answers, he was a teacher after all, it was only right. He wasn’t trying to help them.
He was simply pointing them in the right direction.
Things were okay for a few days. Midoriya didn’t seem too affected by the swap, and even seemed to be forming a budding friendship with Shinsou, to Shouta’s surprise. Maybe he shouldn’t be surprised. Midoriya wasn’t exactly the type to hold a grudge, Shouta knew that. Todoroki opened back up, but only when Midoriya was present. Iida, Uraraka, and Asui stuck close to the greenette’s side the entire time. Sero, Kaminari, and Kirishima were clearly doing their best to get back into the normal routine and friendship they’d held before with Midoriya, but Shouta could see they were particularly more doting on the boy.
Things were starting to turn around for his class, Midoriya included.
Until they weren’t.
Uraraka had come to Shouta with worries and queries about Midoriya’s whereabouts one day. Apparently they hadn’t seen him for a few days. They’d passed off the first two absences as a possible sickness, or maybe he was busy with something else. But then five days later, and they hadn’t heard a word about or from the greenette. Only a select few of his students had Midoriya’s phone number. Uraraka, Iida, Todoroki, Kirishima, Asui, and Ayoyama (strangely enough). When they’d attempted to reach out to him, the boy had responded by telling them he was fine and not to worry about it, later on adding that he was simply figuring some things out.
Was he taking a break from school?
That’s the most logical solution Shouta could come up with. He had to commend the boy for taking off time for himself, if that really was the case. Midoriya was a workaholic. With what had just happened to all his progress and hard work, Shouta could understand the need for a break. While they may not have seen how Midoriya was totally affected by the choice, aside from a constant shakiness, he knew they weren’t seeing the entirety of his reaction. For as much as he cried at the start of the year, Midoriya had gained a bad habit of bottling up his emotions. Shouta knew there was something he and the rest of his students weren’t seeing. (Yes, the rest. He still thinks of Midoriya as his own student.)
Another few days pass and Shouta asks his husband, the Gen Ed and English teacher, Present Mic, if he’s heard any word on the problem child.
And his downtrodden response made Shouta swear his heart stopped for a few moments on that day.
“Nedzu didn’t tell you? He dropped out of UA.”
That couldn’t be right.
Midoriya wasn’t the type to just give up. He fought tooth and nail for what he believed in and to protect people. Being a hero was a part of that.
Izuku Midoriya was a natural born hero.
Maybe Shouta hadn’t seen that when he first met the problem child, but he knew it was true now. No one deserved to be a hero like Midoriya did. He had the heart, the care, the effort. He wouldn’t just give up like that.
He had no choice but to tell his students the next time they asked that Midoriya was no longer a student at UA.
All that progress they’d made? Gone within moments. Shouta swears he saw Uraraka start crying, but he couldn’t blame her. Her best friend was gone, just like that. The class was in shambles. Shinsou was panicking, the three boys were breaking down, Todoroki looked like he was ready to commit murder.
Shouta had all but stormed to Nedzu’s office, Hizashi only just managed to convince him not to bring a metal rod to beat the chimera silly. That didn’t stop Shouta from kicking the door inwards and slamming his hands on the rat’s desk as he demanded answers.
The stupid rat simply took his time sipping his tea and Shouta felt his eye twitch.
When Nedzu was finally done fucking with Shouta, he’d given him simple confirmation.
Izuku Midoriya has transferred schools. That’s all Nedzu has, aside from the school’s name.
Naturally, Shouta demanded to know which school the boy transferred to so he could get his student back. Nedzu handed it over almost too easily, but with the comment that bringing him back to UA only to be shoved back into the General Education course would do more harm than good. And Shouta hated how that thought made him hesitate. That meant Midoriya was now going to a school where he could continue learning heroics. Nedzu was absolutely right. Bringing Midoriya back to a place where he couldn’t have that would be harmful to him.
“Perhaps we can set up a sort of… joint training between schools.”
Of course that caught Shouta’s attention.
He looked up to see a bastard smirk on the rat’s face.
Joint training, huh? It’d certainly give his class the chance to reconnect with Midoriya… He could work with problem child again...
It was settled.
Shouta Aizawa left the office that day with a heavy weight in his chest.
Things could just never be easy for Class 1A, could they?