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The scratching of pencils was the only sound that could be heard in the classroom that housed class 1A. It has been an unremarkable few weeks for the class, with them falling into a steady routine between dorm life and regular school work for their classes. Between the peace born from a steady routine, and the pleasantly warm weather, the class felt that they were 100% ready for the next unexpected event coming their way. They were not.
Izuku was absorbed in his work for their hero laws & ethics class. It was a unit that was usually not introduced very in-depth until their second year, but the UA staff had felt it best to accelerate the unfortunate first year’s learning, especially now that they were all provisionally licensed and legally allowed to take action in the case of villain attacks or other disasters and crimes.
Izuku had no problem with the accelerated unit work, however, as his sheer hero fanboy energy manifested in his brain as a sponge that could absorb and store information on all things heroics with absolute, genuine fervor. He had fallen down the rabbit hole of the ethics around excessive force ever since he knew what an Endeavour was, after all, and was adding on to that previous research with glee. It also helped that hero laws & ethics was one of his favourite topics to debate on with his dad. His dad, who may or may not only be the teacher for this particular unit, but also the resident homeroom teacher for the chaotic class 1A.
He continued to scratch notes down on the ethical angles around determining how much force is too much, as he began to recall the night he acquired a dad.
He remembered the wind that whipped his hair in all directions, charged with a kind of energy that could only mean there was a storm coming, as he sat alone on the roof of the, at the time, brand new Heights Alliance building.
As a general rule, Izuku was always looking to the future, working to the bone to become a hero that saves others with a smile.
That day though, he couldn’t stop the thoughts that looped endlessly in his head, filling all the space in his skull with a devastated pressure.
He remembered thinking that he should have been happy. He got to stay at his dream school! But the words of his mother had haunted him. The second Izuku returned to the apartment after seeing All Might out as he got permission to stay in the dorms, he heard three fateful words.
“Don’t come back.”
It turned out, excessive force could not only be applied to physical battles, but to existing tensions between families. The dorms were the straw that broke the camel’s back. His mother decided she couldn’t handle Izuku’s career choice, so she cut him off. Completely. He had hidden this from everyone, and got caught up in all the excitement that followed the initial move into the dorms. Hence his presence on the roof that night, where he struggled to process the implications of her words, and the suitcases she had him pack with every single one of his belongings.
And then Aizawa had found him. Had sat with him in the storm wind, not offering up any sound to the deafening whistle that came with it, but providing a warmth that only the presence of another human being could bring. Gently, he had guided Izuku to the deserted common area, his classmates having gone to sleep long ago, and spoke gentle platitudes of kind support.
Izuku shattered. In the face of such care from his teacher, that had been void of expectation, he could do nothing but share his story. So he did. He spoke all the way from his quirkless diagnosis, to the absence of his father and the continual neglect of his mother.
He spoke of his life before a quirk, and spoke of his life leading up to the quirk. Bruises, burned notebooks, sludge villains.
And he spoke of a quirk that could be passed on from one person to the next. A great legacy that gave him the power to decimate buildings. A great legacy that decimated any thought his mother had left for him. Now that he could stop chasing, and start achieving his dream of saving others, he was too much for her.
In later talks, Izuku would learn that Aizawa had no idea what compelled him to assume guardianship over him at that moment, but that he knew Izuku was special. He had heard the story of a child who was beaten down by the world over and over again, and got back up every time to work smarter, harder and kinder. He had heard the story of a child worthy of love that, in the deep recesses of his mind, Aizawa felt he could give. So he did.
The transition from teacher to guardian should have been awkward. Somehow, it just worked. Izuku smiled as he remembered the first turning point in their new relationship. The two had been in Aizawa’s apartment, which was attached to the 1A dorms. Izuku had been peeking over his dad’s shoulder while he marked his third year’s essays for their hero laws & ethics unit. The wide-eyed look Izuku had gotten from his guardian when he commented on an obscure law referenced in an essay which Izuku had later learned was written by his dad’s top law student -ever- was priceless. The challenging gleam in his guardian’s eye as he asked Izuku about the intent behind the law was met with a gleeful analysis on the actions of a now retired underground hero, that had led to its creation, and the implications that the law had on the current heroics industry, and the structure of the HPSC.
Aizawa had given the biggest, most genuine smile Izuku had ever seen from the man at that point, and asked pointed questions that led to the most fun, mentally engaging conversation of Izuku’s life. Aizawa seemed to have felt similarly as the foundation for their strong relationship was set through Aizawa continually challenging the bounds of Izuku’s knowledge within their newly discovered shared interest, leading to countless late night conversations filled with intellectual discussions on the heroics industry as a whole. They learnt about one another as they discussed their thoughts and feelings on everything, and eventually nothing, as the two grew more and more comfortable in each other's space. Over the months Aizawa-sensei had transitioned to Aizawa, to Shouta, and finally, to Dad.
With thoughts of similar discussions, Izuku felt an itch in his brain that could only be cured through knowledge. As he hit a snag in his note taking, Izuku raised his hand to ask his teacher a question.
“Dad?”
A shockwave passed through the rest of the class as they froze in their seats. Did Midoriya just call their teacher dad?! The class shared nervous glances. They prayed for the poor green bean, and waited for Aizawa’s response to their classmate’s address.
“Yes, Izuku?”
…
A second blow.
Izuku? Since when did Aizawa use Midoriya’s given name?
The class gaped at each other. Some saw Kaminari mouth “am I dreaming?” to himself. It was a sentiment widely shared throughout the room. The class gazed intently between the two. Somehow, neither Midoriya nor their sensei seemed to have noticed the effect their interaction had on the class.
“How do the implications of excessive force change when the villain is especially resilient? Like when All Might fought the Nomu at the USJ?”
The class winced at the mention of the USJ but watched intently as Aizawa seemed to laser-focus on their classmate’s- his son’s?- words.
“As with anything in ethics there’s never one answer, so you need to consider two things: your goal, and the information you have at the time. Based on the villain’s words, the information available was that All Might was the only one at the time with the strength required to beat a seemingly invincible, and seemingly mindless creature. His ideal goal was to end the villain attack without any injuries or casualties. What do you think about the required force, based on those factors?”
“All might had the implication from the beginning that it was only a level of power that he could achieve, so it does make sense for him to use an All Might level of force from the beginning, especially when it wasn’t showing signs of pain, however just because it’s not showing signs doesn’t mean…”
What was that soft look Aizawa-sensei just gave their classmate? Was he amused by something All Might? Or was he amused by Midoriya’s fanboy behaviors? No, that doesn’t seem quite right. Maybe not amused… fond? Was their stoic teacher giving Midoriya a fond-?! look?
Both seemed to be off in their own little world as the discussion continued. The class shared lost looks. They almost felt like they were intruding on a private conversation despite it being on a topic they were all working on. The two seemingly gravitated towards each other as their body language unconsciously shifted to focus wholly on the other, completely forgetting they were in a classroom.
“…he broke the roof which is arguably unnecessary especially since he didn’t know where the Nomu ended up meaning he couldn’t verify if it was knocked out, although the roof issue comes into the property damage side of excessive force as opposed to a discussion on how much power should be used-“
“Izuku you’re getting distracted from the main point”
Oh ok, so the given name thing wasn’t a mistake. Is this going to be a Thing?
“Remember what I said before about the information you have at the time? While it wasn’t ideal considering he wasn’t certain, All Might could be fairly reassured that Nomu was incapable of acting without orders. Even if it remained conscious after being launched into the sky, All Might would have likely been operating on the assumption that it would have been sentenerary, considering its target was nowhere in sight, and had no obvious way to locate him.”
“Oh that makes sense! Wait- Dad- so then does that mean-?”
An inhuman screech made the two pause in their now, rather lengthy discussion. The realisation that they were still in the classroom hit them like a ton of bricks as they sent a wide-eyed look to the other. They both turned to the source of the sound, Aizawa quickly schooling his expression to a resting face- only those close to him could identify the “oops” face hidden under the ambivalence. Izuku did not share that ability and the class got front-row seats to his deer-in-headlights look of surprise.
Silence reigned throughout the class.
An “I’ve been looking in all the wrong places” sounded from Todoroki’s seat.
The rest of 1A took that as an invitation to explode in a series of questions that climbed in volume until nothing could be discerned through the utter chaos that the class had fallen into.
Izuku glanced nervously at his dad, who let out a world weary sigh.
“Enough.” He said through a quirk-filled glare. Miraculously, he was heard, and the class once again fell silent, anticipation buzzing through the room at the prospect of a potential explanation for that whole interaction.
“We will be continuing on with the lesson on excessive force-“
Aizawa was interrupted by a series of loud groans. Surprisingly, it was Iida who spoke up. “Sensei, could you please share the relationship between yourself and Midoriya-kun! I fear we will be unable to focus in light of the questions that have arisen from your discussion with him.”
His dad let out another sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. He locked eyes with Izuku, asking without words if it was ok to share his personal information with the class or not. Izuku gave a resolute nod. “Ok. We’ll talk back at the dorms. Class is almost done for the day anyway.”
And that’s how Izuku found himself leaning into his dad on the couch as they sat in front of the rest of his class and confirmed that “yes, our sensei is my dad, no Todoroki, he is not my biological dad and neither is All Might.” He felt his dad’s arm tighten around him at that last part and he shot an amused look to his dad who responded with an indignant one (perceived as fierce glare in the eyes of the class, who once again feared for Midoriya’s life before remembering that Aizawa was apparently his dad now-).
Uraraka hesitantly spoke up. “Do you guys always have such… detailed conversations?”
Aizawa smirked and the class felt a chill run up their spines. “Kid’s a nerd.”
Now it was Midoriya’s turn to give a look of indignation. “Hey! You’re the one who knows the subject well enough to teach it!”
“Kid, you’re the one who took one look at the word hero and decided on your future as an encyclopedia.”
No, the class reflected. They were indeed not ready for the next unexpected event that befell the chaotic world of 1A. But as they recalled the dim light in Midoriya’s eyes that had gradually recovered before shining the most brilliantly they had ever seen throughout their time at UA, that he was getting the love and care he deserved and more. That was enough for them.
“Dad, you can’t really say that when-“
…the new titles would take some getting used to though.