Eraserhead and Scribe V

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Aizawa waited at the finish line of the obstacle course he, Mic and All Might had helped Kamui Woods set up in the forest. He could hear the students yelling at each other in the woods and he rolled his eyes. Kirishima let out a whoop of joy. All Might snorted. "They're having a good time, I guess."

"A good time isn't what we came here for." Aizawa glanced at the stopwatch in his hand. The kids had run the obstacle course last night. The point behind running it again in the morning was to see if they'd learned anything from the previous evening's failure. If they didn't hurry up, he'd have to assume it had been a waste of time. He glanced at Mic. "Yamada, can you tell what's going on out there?"

Mic shrugged. "if I was Jiro, maybe. Best I can tell, like All Might, sounds like they're having a good time." He grinned. "On the other hand, they weren't having much fun last night, so that's gotta be a good thing, right?"

True enough. Aizawa tamped down his impatience with difficulty. He knew it stemmed from a need to get back to Scribe. He wondered what horrors her dreams had held for her the night before. And how much sleep she'd managed to get before they drove her from the bed.

The nightmares were something neither of them had seen coming. He couldn't tell from her description of them if they were a product of her separation from Shigaraki or something else, something darker, that haunted her now that her quirk was free from the villain. Unless they're actually somehow still coming from Shigaraki.

He shook off the worry just as Iida and Bakugo stumbled into the clearing, gasping for breath. A moment later Kirishima, Jiro and several others broke through the underbrush. Ochaco and Yaoyarozu followed with Mina. Kaminari was third from last. Unsurprisingly, Todoroki and Midoriya brought up the rear, guarding the others. Aizawa clicked the stopwatch, pride filling him at the realization that the entire class was there a full five minutes faster than they'd finished the night before. And they'd lost Mineta then.

He contented himself with a sharp nod. "Get ready for breakfast, then."

"Aw, c'mon man. That's gotta be better than last night!" Kaminari whined.

Jiro hit him. "Be quiet. Heroes don't ask for praise."

Iida nodded. "Good point. Come on, troops. Let's get cleaned up so we can make breakfast."

Mic stood. "Well. That's where you're wrong, see." He glanced at Aizawa as Kamui Woods emerged from the forest, rubbing his elbows with a rueful look.

"True." All Might stood. "We'll be making you all breakfast."

The students stood frozen in surprise, and Aizawa saw them all look at him. He inclined his head. "Nice job. You did, indeed, beat your time by more than five minutes. And you arrived intact. So we teachers will make breakfast, but—" He trailed off until the cheers died down. "Pack your things. We'll be heading back to school immediately after breakfast."

Kirishima hooted with joy and high-fived Bakugo. "Nice!"

The students filed away, looking tired but triumphant. All Might had already started heating a skillet over the fire. Kamui Woods sat in his chair. "Those are some talented kids you have there, Eraser."

"Indeed." Aizawa pulled a pack of bacon from the cooler and tossed it to Mic who started dropping it into the skillet.

"I imagine it's difficult to keep up with them." Kamui Woods accepted the cup of coffee Aizawa handed him. He sipped it and nodded appreciatively. "Thanks. By the way, how is Scribe?"

Aizawa jumped guiltily as he pulled a carton of eggs from the cooler. He handed it to All Might and turned. "She's fine. Why?" Why wouldn't she be fine? Because she's haunted by a villain who loved her and took her from me at least twice, even if it wasn't by his own machinations. Because her nightmares are so powerful she can't even escape them when she's awake. Would either of those be why you're asking?

But Kamui Woods just shrugged. "I've just been worried, that's all. Ever since the Murder Hornet operation, honestly. I've noticed you haven't done as many missions."

"Yeah, well." Aizawa shrugged. "Since the last one, Scribe wanted to concentrate on teaching." He looked up with a half-smile. "I can't say I'm sorry, either. She's not exactly accident-prone, but..."

Kamui Woods nodded thoughtfully. "We've been lucky not to lose her." He frowned a little. "Do you think her quirk is unsuited to hero work?"

All Might turned, his brow furrowed, and Aizawa sensed he was about to berate the young hero for suggesting such a thing. He held up one hand to stop the older man. "It's worth considering and I'm sure it's occurred to Scribe as well. Best I know nobody has ever had a quirk with as many intricacies as hers. We're still discovering ways it has affected her and...and others."

A little silence followed his statement. Aizawa knew they all understood that he'd left out Shigaraki's name. Mic cleared his throat and flipped a pile of bacon onto a platter. "In the end, it's up to Scribe whether or not she pursues her hero career. All I can say is she's a hit at the school and we need to keep her there."

"Agreed." All Might added a mound of scrambled eggs to the platter just as the kids started to return, jostling to get plates and silverware, their cheerful chatter a welcome distraction from the turn the conversation had taken.

Aizawa retreated a little away from the action, taking his cup of coffee with him. He'd developed a taste for the rich drink his wife was partial to and would often pass up tea in favor of coffee if it was offered. I wonder how many other things I've changed about myself because of her. For some reason, this made him think of his last contact with Shigaraki.

I can't imagine not loving her.

Who would ever have thought Tomura Shigaraki was capable of love? And yet his actions where she was concerned were those of a man in love. How do I reconcile those actions with what we know he's done? The destruction and murder and plots to end hero society? Aizawa honestly couldn't answer any of those questions and knew he never would be able to.

And now Scribe was plagued by nightmares. Every night, it seemed. She'd gotten to the point where she could avoid disturbing him most of the time. He'd wake afterward and find her in the kitchen or the tiny sitting area. Sometimes lying on the couch as if she had tried to go back to sleep, but she seldom had.

It shouldn't be possible for Shigaraki to affect her dreams anymore. Their connection should be severed. And even if it was possible, if he loved her, why would he do it in such a horrifying way? Aizawa felt his jaw clench and forced himself to stop grinding his teeth in frustration. None of that would do any good. He did kind of wish he could be certain the connection really was gone, but short of asking Scribe to try it out, he didn't see any way he could do that.

I can't imagine not loving her.

In that one way, he could understand Shigaraki. Everything else was a mystery to him. He figured he just had to pray Shigaraki's love wouldn't destroy the woman they both loved.