Chapter Text
It had been two weeks since the Sports Festival.
Two weeks of his students refusing to look him in the eye.
Two weeks of watching Bakugou enter his classroom with bloodshot eyes and never speak.
He used to be the loudest person in the room, and now…
Now he’s this.
Aizawa couldn’t help but feel like this was all his fault. Hizashi told him to stop blaming himself, but he just couldn’t. Toshinori wasn’t much better. The man had stopped showing up to V.I.L.E meetings for a week, claiming to have caught the flu.
What he caught was a midlife crisis. The man had come back into work for the first time today, and to say he looked rough was an understatement. Midoriya wouldn’t even acknowledge him.
Aizawa sighed as he stepped behind his lectern, his students trickling in. It was dead silent, the only sound the soft stepping of his students footsteps and the rustling of paper as they prepared to take notes on his lecture.
What was his lecture even about? He didn’t remember.
He didn’t care. He just wanted his kids to talk to him again. To feel comfortable enough to talk in his classroom again.
They’d even been quiet when his husband was teaching. Hizashi had come home despondent, because he couldn’t get anyone to talk to him like they used to. It was their own fault. They had been too late to protect Bakugou from Kamaya. The damage was done, even if she had ‘taken a job at another school.’ and been reassigned by Nezu.
The scraping of a chair jerked Aizawa out of his thoughts. Midoriya had yanked his chair away from his desk, and he sat down with a huff, looking everywhere but Aizawa. The man would have laughed- even now, Midoriya still wouldn’t directly disrespect him. This child was too pure for the world. Aizawa shifted his gaze to Bakugou in the back. What he saw turned his stomach.
The boy had his school uniform on, but it was all wrinkled, something Aizawa hadn’t seen before. His fiery red irises were dull, the purple bags marring his skin offsetting his bloodshot eyes. Bandages peeked out from his rumpled jacket sleeve, a fresh white that suggested they’d just been changed. His hair was still spiky as ever, an attempt to appear normal.
And that’s what it stayed.
An attempt.
Because Aizawa saw right through it. He could see the little boy, hidden under the mess and the white gauze. He saw that little boy sobbing, curled in a dark corner, unable to escape the memory of being betrayed by the people he’d looked up to the most in his life.
In that moment,
Aizawa didn’t think about V.I.L.E. He didn’t think about Nezu. He didn’t think about himself, or Hizashi, or Oboro. He didn’t think about anything, except for one, single fact.
He was going to fix this. He was going to give this kids another life. Another path.
The one they should have been given a long, long time ago.
And that was going to start now.
“Class.”
Everyone looked up, their faces tired, angry, defiant, defeated.
“I’m sorry.”
Silence.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
“I’ve said this before. What I say will never make what happened right. But I want you to know that Present Mic and I had no idea what was happening to Bakugou until he was on that stage. If I had known, I would have stopped it long before anything had occurred.”
More silence. Aizawa took a breath, then continued.
“Bakugou.”
The blonde stared at him. Aizawa couldn’t read his expression.
“This apology is mainly for you. I failed you, as a teacher, and as an adult. You gave me your trust, and I broke it. I made a promise to this class to protect and teach you to the best of my ability. I couldn’t do that. I won’t ask for your forgiveness. Class is dismissed. If anyone says anything to you all, tell them I gave you permission to leave.”
The class gaped at him, mouths open. They looked a bit like fish.
Whispers spread throughout the room, and Aizawa wanted to sing. His students were talking again. Not to him, but it was a start.
A voice startled him.
“Thank you, Professor.”
It was Iida. Aizawa wasn’t surprised that he was the first one to break the collective vow of silence.
“I didn’t do anything worth your thanks.”
Iida pushed his glasses higher onto his nose. “Sir, it is that humble grace that is why we enjoy being your students so much. I will not speak for the rest of the class, but I forgive you. I recognize that you mean no ill will.”
Aizawa’s heart swelled, and he allowed a small smile to bloom on his face. Iida was an incredible young man.not because he forgave Aizawa, but because of his strong moral compass.
“Me too! We forgive you Professor!” Uraraka shouted, waving her arm over her head. Asui, Momo, and Hagakure nodded beside her. Well, Aizawa assumed Hagakure was nodding. Her uniform was bobbing up and down.
Most of the class, though, was looking at Bakugou. Kirishima stood beside him as he packed his belongings into his bag, silent. The rest of his friends were quiet as well. Watching him. Their loyalty to him is incredible. They would only forgive their teacher if Bakugou was ready first.
Bakugou finally looked up, slinging his bad over his shoulder.
“I forgive you, or whatever the fuck.”
Aizawa blinked. He’d expected to be ignored again. He honestly thought Bakugou deserved to hate him more than he seemed to now.
“Why?”
The question burst out of his lips before he could stop it. Bakugou shrugged.
“What could you’ve done? You were in the announcer box. And you got me out. I was.. I just didn’t know who to blame.”
Bakugou’s voice got quieter towards the end. Kirishima put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
“Thank you. I’ll never be able to fix what happened, but I will try.”
Bakugou huffed. “Whatever.”
With that, he made a beeline for the door, the rest of his friends trailing after him. Kirishima still didn’t look at him, but Kaminari and Sero gave him a small wave, and Mina smiled shyly at him. Todoroki gave him a stiff nod as he walked past with Tokoyami, Dark Shadow watching him as they passed. Midoriya was walking out with Iida when Aizawa stopped them both.
“Boys. I need you to do me a favor.”
The two teens stopped, looking at him in confusion.
“Keep an eye on Bakugou for me. I want you to tell me if anything happens to him.”
“What do you mean?” Midoriya asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
“He doesn’t look well. I’m not going to let one of my students burn themselves out. Same for everyone else in his group. Look after each other, all right? I want you all to stay healthy.”
The boys nodded. “Of course, sir.” Iida agreed.
“We’ll make sure Kacchan and the others are okay.” Midoriya added. Aizawa blew out a relieved breath. “Thank you both. Now go. Be with your classmates.”
The boys nodded again before running off. Aizawa collapsed back into his chair. What a day.
A knock at the door made him groan. “What?” He snapped.
Toshinori appeared in the doorway. Aizawa sat up, surprised.
The symbol of peace cleared his throat. “We need to talk.”