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Aizawa was worried.
Which was by no means a new feeling for him. There wasn't a day that went by without him being concerned for at least one of his students, weather that be Denki, who had a habit of forgetting to submit assignments; or Jiro, who Shouta had begun to notice was very socially anxious with most people; or even Shoto, who's quiet and serious demeanor spoke wonders about his childhood, and the problems therein.
But, oddly enough, none of those students were on Aizawa's radar today. For awhile now, life in Class 1A had been rather quiet, content and, well, normal. There were no villain attacks, no sudden issues with his class Shouta felt the burning need to attend to. For the most part, almost everyone was doing just fine.
Almost, however, was not everybody.
So while his students were happily living out their high-school dreams, thoroughly enjoying their new dormitories, Aizawa's eye was trained on one child in particular.
Katsuki Bakugou had been...well, different since the Kamino incident. That was the word they were using now. "Incident". The event had affected everyone in some way, but it had understandably hit Bakugou the hardest. But while some student's grades slipped a little (Kaminari), or some tried to distract themselves with different activities (Yaoyorozu and Uraraka), Katsuki's approach had been very different from the others.
He worked, harder than ever before. And while the boy had always been eager to put fourth his best effort, he was now going so far beyond in his training that Shouta could see the toll it was taking on him. He never missed class, but would sometimes show up minutes before the first bell, something Bakugou had never been known to do. Punctuality was one of his values, and letting it slide was sign of a real problem. Aside from that, he was reclusive. The boy had never been particularly social, but before Kamino he would at least put fourth the effort for the sake of his friends. Now if he wasn't training, he was studying, and if not studying, asleep. That too, had caught Aizawa's attention. What used to be a strict sleep schedule had fallen apart completely, being sacrificed instead for extra sparring or working out on his own. As a result, he always carried an exhausted air about him, one that lacked the energy to lash out at others or carry the usual cockiness the kid was known for.
He was just so much quieter now.
Instead of shouting at Midoriya or bitching about something Kaminari had done, he sat silently at his desk, fidgeting with whatever was on hand. That wasn't exactly new, he had always had a tendency to fiddle with the things around him, but it had become much more frequent since Kamino. There was hardly a time where Katsuki couldn't be seen nervously fidgeting with something, especially when he was idle and not working.
But that was to be expected, wasn't it? Bakugou had undergone a traumatic experience, and there were going to be some effects on his personality as a result for a while. Shouta had suggested therapy to the administrators, but he didn't know if the idea had actually gone into action or not. Honestly, he was thinking of recommending therapy to Katsuki before the incident, given his impulsive and anxious habits. One way or another, he assumed that there had been conversation between Nezu and the boy's parents, and that something had been worked out.
He shouldn't have assumed.
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It was hot outside that day. The frigid spring days had slowly been growing few and far between, allowing hints of summer weather to break through the generally moderate mid-May weather. And, because the weather and schedule were not known to align, Class 1A was working on outdoor physical training in the heat. Some of the students were already wavering, despite only having completed the warm-up exercise, panting and taking large drinks from their water bottles. Normally Shouta would get on their case for dawdling so much, but in heat like this, hydration was going to be crucial.
After everyone had sufficiently rested, Aizawa got the class going on the workout. It wasn't anything extreme-running laps felt like enough for today. Four of them, to be exact, or one mile, at their own pace. If they felt like going the extra step, they could do more. That was all the instruction Shouta offered before letting the kids go, watching intently as they paced themselves up compared to their classmates. The slower people tended to clump together, conversing and such as they ran, whereas those at the front were a bit more solitary in their endeavors. At the very front was Iida, with Bakugou Kirishima not far behind. The two of them both had fine endurance, so it would probably end up being a competition between the two of them over who would finish first.
Aizawa glanced down at his phone, where he had recorded everyone's previous times. Ejiro and Katsuki had both managed a rather impressive time under eight minutes, and that was towards the beginning of the year. Now they would undoubtedly be able to finish at the top of the class without too much trouble.
And, after only a few minutes, he saw Katsuki and Kirishima finish their fourth lap, only seconds apart. That wasn't all that surprising. What was, however, was how Bakugou didn't stop running. This evidently confused Ejiro too, as his dumbfounded glance over his shoulder proved, but neither wanted to tell the blonde to stop. If he wanted to do the extra credit, that was his own choice. Besides, it wasn't unheard of for Katsuki to go after extra assignments and challenges, even though he really didn't need to. A few more laps wouldn't kill the kid, Shouta thoght to himself as he watched the other students finish their workouts as well.
"Once you're done, you may be dismissed," Aizawa informed, finding the relieved sighs from the class rather amusing. Eventually, one by one, every single once of the teenagers finished their mile and, shortly after, left the area to go cool down. Every student that is, except Katsuki.
Shouta stood with a sigh. If Bakugou wasn't going to quit, he was going to make him. It was too hot to run like this without more water, and he looked tired enough as is. But just as the man was about to go tell his student to take a rest, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around he saw Tenya, clearly wishing to report something to his teacher.
"Yes, Iida?" He asked, maybe a bit impatiently.
"I'm sorry to bother you Aizawa-sensei," The class president said quickly. "But I was wondering if you could report to me my time during our run and how to improve it?"
Shouta smiled. Tenya's readiness to do better always amazed him. "You did very well. I was very impressed by how you did today. I can tell you've been putting in the extra hours." he paused. "Did you want some advice to improve yourself on?"
Iida nodded, and Aizawa didn't waste time in telling the boy how he could conserve his energy to keep up a steady pace the entire mile, knowing he would take every word to heart. It only took a minute or two, and then Tenya thanked him and left. It had by no means been a long interaction, but when the teacher turned again, Bakugou was gone.
For a moment Shouta thought he might have somehow slipped by him unnoticed somehow, but after a quick scan over the area he saw that Katsuki hadn't disappeared as he'd at first thought, but had simply moved off to the side of the track halfway through.
That probably isn't good.
Shouta began to make his way across the field, his pace quickening slightly when he saw the boy lean up against a wall to the side of the place he had only minutes before been running tirelessly at. He was vaguely wondering if Bakugou had somehow hurt himself, and that was why he'd stopped so suddenly, but as he grew closer, he could see that that wasn't the issue.
Katsuki's head was tilted towards the ground, hand resting on the wall as he leaned into the solid surface. His eyes were closed, and Shouta could see his face had been drained of the flushed color it should have held while working in the intense heat. He was taking deep breaths, too, in through his nose and out his mouth.
"Bakugou," Aizawa called, approaching the blonde. "Are you all right?"
The boy's eyes opened and he offered a tight nod before spitting onto the ground.
Shit.
Shouta sighed before moving forward, slowly as not to startle the kid, and placed a hand on his back. Even despite his caution, he could feel Katsuki tense under his touch.
"'M fine," he mumbled, though he didn't make any effort to tell Shouta to leave.
"Everyone else left already," Aizawa assured, proceeding to rub light circles on Bakugou's back, to which he received no complaint. Instead, the blonde took a deep breath and closed his eyes again. Before the teacher could ask if he was okay again, the boy lurched forward with a harsh gag, his lunch splattering onto the ground below.
"There you go," Shouta mumbled, trying not to wince at Kasuki's strangled coughing
"I'm fine," The teen muttered a second time, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth. "I can still do my shit."
Aizawa narrowed his eyes. "No, you're done for today. If you throw up while you're working out, that's your body saying you need to take a rest."
"I don't need a fuckin' rest," Bakugou hissed, glaring up at his teacher. "What I need is to get stronger so I can be at the top."
"You're already at the top," Shouta pointed out, exasperated. "Agencies everywhere are willing to jump through hoops to sign you on. You're doing a fine job where you are."
Katsuki didn't say anything. Instead he opted to stare at some point in the distance with a scowl, though the deep circles under his eyes took some of the edge off of his gaze.
"You need rest, Bakugou. Working yourself sick isn't going to get you anywhere."
Bakugou's eyes shifted to meet Shouta's. "If you aren't working your hardest, you're just a burden."
The statement hits the man like a bus, causing an ache deep inside his heart. He couldn't really think that, could he?
"You are not a burden," Aizawa said, choosing his words slowly and carefully. "Who ever told you you were?"
In a single moment the glint of anger in Katsuki's eyes evaporated, replaced with something the teacher couldn't quite read. Fear, maybe? Sadness?
But the boy didn't give him a chance to discuss it. Without another word he pushed past Shouta, already stalking off towards the school.
"Bakugou," Aizawa called, raising his voice so the teen could hear him.
Katsuki paused, but did not turn to look at the source of the noise. Shouta took that as his sign to continue.
"You can tell me if something's wrong. I'm here if you need me."
There was another, slightly longer pause, before Bakugou nodded and began walking again.
Aizawa furrowed his brow but said nothing more. Something was wrong with that boy, and he was going to give it his all to fix it.