Chapter Text
The first time Shota Aizawa did something that could be considered fatherly for Bakugo, he didn't believe it.
Bakugo had just come back from a visit to his parents, and there was something quite noticeable on his face.
A black eye. A bad one.
He hadn't noticed the boy until Kirishima brought it up the moment Bakugo came in.
"Jeez, man! What happened to your eye!?"
Shota swore he saw Bakugo flinch. But he wasn't sure if he had imagined it or not.
".... Nothing Shitty Hair.. none of your business, anyway.."
Shota wasn't one to get personally involved with students. He was there for them, sure, but in a heroic-teacher kind of way.
He did care for them, but not that personally.
But as he saw Bakugo quickly mutter something about "needing to unpack shit in his dorm" and scurry off, he knew something was up.
Something that could be putting him in danger, judging by the black eye.
And that was something Shota knew a hero and a teacher should be getting involved with.
But he knew it wouldn't be easy getting Bakugo to open up. The boy was the most stubborn Shota had ever seen, and he would probably rather die than ever admit he needed help.
So this task would be no walk in the park.
It wasn't until a day later he quizzed Bakugo about the eye. On a particularly rainy school day too.
He knew he had to be discreet. He wasn't the kindest teacher around, but he knew no student liked it when a teacher told them: see me after class in front of the whole room. For both the "oooooh someone's in trouble!" remarks and the nervousness that came with it.
So when he was walking around the room and ended up next to Bakugo's desk, he dropped a small paper down onto it.
Sure enough, the boy gave him a look that was a mixture of anger and confusion, before he opened it up.
When he read it, he went to look back up at Shota again, but he was already gone.
***
"See me after class. You're not in trouble. I just need to talk to you about your eye."
Katsuki had had the fright of his life when Mister Aizawa had dropped the note onto his desk, he thought that he was in some deep shit.
Well, he was in some deep shit, but not the kind he had expected.
Not that this was any better.
He remembered the way his mother's fist had slammed into his eye, her yells about how why couldn't he just be a better son!? as he doubled over in shock and pain.
His eye was healed now, he had went to school early (being the best meant being on time for class, and Katsuki was the damn best of all, so waking up earlier than usual was just a price he had to pay) to see Recovery Girl and get it dealt with, but he knew the class had already seen.
And that, was a problem.
Because now fucking Aizawa knew about it.
And he was going to quiz him on it.
Which meant that Katsuki was gonna have to think of some super good lies.
***
The class had all gone.
And now it was just Shota and Bakugo.
Bakugo was sat at his desk still, staring- well, glowering at Shota, but what else was new?
"Come to the front."
There was some hesitation from Bakugo before he did what he was told.
Which was surprisingly rare for him. Despite his violent nature, Bakugo actually listened quite well (usually.)
"When you came back from your parents house, you had a black eye."
"No shit."
Shota briefly muttered to himself. "Language.."
"As your teacher, it's my job to make sure you're safe. Both at home and at school."
He noticed Bakugo's fingers drumming on the desk he was at.
"So I'm gonna ask: what happened?"
Shota got up from his own desk and walked over to Bakugo's.
"How did you get that black eye?"
".... Nothing.."
Bullshit. Absolute bullshit. Shota thought.
"Bakugo, nobody gets a black eye from nothing. The truth please."
Shota's voice was stern. Very stern.
He could sense that Bakugo was starting to grow tense, and probably even worried.
He ended up kind of regretting making his voice go that way, he should probably be more calmer.
"... You're not in trouble. I just need to know.."
This time his voice was more mellowed, in hopes of calming his student, as calm as one could be in a moment like this.
"... Got into a fight.."
This time it sounded more believable.
But Shota had a feeling. And he was also wondering why Bakugo hadn't just been right out with it from the beginning. Yes, he was an exceedingly good student with grades and potential, but he had his... moments, to say the least. And he usually wasn't one to hide them. Bakugo didn't ever really seem to care what people thought of him. That included teachers, so why he was so desperate to hide a "fight" that didn't even take place during school from Shota, he didn't know.
"... Well, that does sound a little more believable.. but now I'm curious about why you were so desperate to hide it from me.. especially since it didn't even happen in school, so it's not like I can punish you for it.."
"... I just.. Didn't wanna cause drama.."
Shota still had that feeling. And it was probably because of how out of character Bakugo was about the whole thing. His voice was usually so confident and head-strong, like everything he said was fact, but now he sounded like he was hiding something still.
"... Something tells me you're still lying.."
All of a sudden, Bakugo's hands slammed down onto the desk. "LOOK, IT'S FUCKING NOTHING, OKAY!?"
Shota was taken off guard by this out-of-the-blue outburst, and he normally wouldn't have taken getting shouted at by a student, but this time, he just decided to let it slide. Mainly because of how on edge Bakugo clearly was.
Shota took a deep breath before letting it out.
"... Look, Bakugo.. I'm not the kindest teacher, and I'm not the most laid back.. but I still want you to know that you can trust me, as both a teacher and a hero. And if something is genuinely wrong, it's best you let me know about it."
".... But I fucking can't.."
This definitely worried Shota.
"... What do you mean you can't-! Bakugo.. what's wrong..!?"
Now Shota's heart was pounding. This was starting to really sound like Bakugo was in danger.
"... If I tell you-! Screw it! Just- I wanna go now! Please can I go now!?"
Now Bakugo was literally begging him to let him out of the classroom.
This was some of the most concerning behaviour from him Shota had ever seen.
"Bakugo.. are you in danger at home..?"
"... What will you do if I say yes?"
Yet another red flag.
"Well, that usually depends on how severe what happened at home was. In your case, it's clearly physical abuse. So I'll most likely need to have a meeting with your parents, then call the police. But if they're unavailable, then I just call the police straight away."
"... Right.."
"... So, I'll ask again. Are you in danger at home?"
"...."
Bakugo looked down at the desk.
"Yes."
For a second, Shota's stomach twisted.
"... I'm really glad you told me in the end, Bakugo."
"..." Bakugo was clearly at a loss for words now.
"I need to know now, who gave you the black eye? Your mom or dad.."
"... Mom.."
That honestly didn't even surprise Shota, and he hated that. No one should ever not feel surprise when someone admits a parents been abusing them.
".. I see.. you can go to your next class now." Shota handed him a note he had written for his next teacher to excuse his absence.
For some reason, a part of him felt bad. It felt like he was just sending the kid away after such an intense conversation, like it had never happened.
"... And Bakugo?"
He turned to look at him in the doorway, without a word.
"... I'll make sure you're safe."
Bakugo seemed taken aback for a split second.
But then he just rushed off to the lesson he was now late for.
Shota needed to sit down.
When he did, he knew that he would be writing an email about a very interesting meeting to Mitsuki Bakugo.
For some reason, he felt sick. Really sick. But he didn't even really know why. It wasn't Shota's first time dealing with a student being abused at home, he had sadly dealt with a few in the past as well, but none of those past students had left him feeling like this. Sure, he was always disgusted by the parents's actions, but he had never been physically sickened by it.
Why was it different now? It wasn't like him and Bakugo had any sort of genuine personal care for each other. The only reason Shota had even spoken to him now was because he was his student who was facing abuse. Any teacher would have stepped in. It was literally required.
So why did he feel like this?