Guilt: The Trial of Izuku Midoriya

Chapter Five: Revelations (Original)

As she approached the classroom, Ochako checked her watch. 35 minutes early, shit. Reaching for the door, she paused when she heard faint voices inside.

"We can't tell him. We just can't." She prepared to back up, not wanting to eavesdrop, until she heard a familiar name.

"Midoriya deserves to know." A man's voice sounded annoyed, and insistent. Ochako recognized the voice as her teacher, Mr. Aizawa, and the other as the pro hero Midnight.

"Eraser, it will break him. You know it will." Ochako listened intently. Something will hurt Izuku?

"...I know. But we can't hide it from him. It's not right." Her homeroom teacher sounded tired, and almost a little sad. "He'll find out sooner or later anyways, he's too smart for his own good. It's better if he hears it from us." With a final huff of anger, Midnight pulled the class door open, perhaps a little too hard. She stalked off, her attitude visible in her gait. Ochako poked her head in, and upon making eye contact with Mr. Aizawa, entered and took her seat. She knew that her teacher could see the obvious curiosity in her eyes, but he decided not to address it, and instead settled on to the floor in his yellow sleeping bag. She wasn't ready to give up though.

"Sensei?" Her voice came out high, cracking slightly. She watched as one bloodshot eye opened, peeking at her, waiting. "What...what were you and Ms. Midnight talking about?" She quickly looked away, flinching, ready to be immediately rebuked. As each additional second of silence passed, she gathered her strength and met his gaze once more. She held firm as she stared into his frozen face, seemingly carved from stone. His eye met hers, but it seemed to be looking through her. After an excruciating silence, he finally spoke.

"Don't worry about it."

Ochako's mind raced, but as his eye slid closed, she knew the conversation was over. Frustrated, she lay her head down to pass the time.

30 minutes later, as the class filtered in, Ochako kept and eye out for Izuku. She didn't know what Mr. Aizawa and Midnight had been discussing, but it didn't sound good. It had to do with news that would break him. Break him? Ochako couldn't imagine anything that could break the strongest spirit she had ever seen. As her mind wandered to the worst possible outcome, she imagined if All Might had died. No... not even then. He would be devastated, but he would carry on in All Might's name. The more she thought about it, the more worried she got. What could be worse than All Might dying? As Izuku walked into the room, she studied Mr. Aizawa's face. She saw a quick flicker of emotion, so fast that unless someone had been waiting for it like she was, it was invisible. In that moment, Ochako saw deep, deep sadness. The kind of sadness only seen in a guardian that couldn't protect their charge. She could feel her stomach knotting as her worry expanded. All she could do now is wait.

Izuku walked into the classroom, his hand locked with Eri's. He didn't know if he should've brought her or not, but he hadn't wanted to leave her alone all day. Making eye contact with Mr. Aizawa, he watched his teacher study his face for several seconds, before giving a small nod of permission. "Don't let her distract you." His teacher continued to stare him down. Izuku nodded, smiling, and sat down. After a quick pause, Eri hopped up on his lap, and snuggled into his chest. She was small enough so even with her there, he could still reach over to his desk. Blushing at the noises his female classmates made, he gave Eri a quick squeeze, and turned his focus to class. Throughout the day, Eri sat quietly, simply enjoying her time with her de facto father. Every so often, Izuku thought he saw an odd look on his teacher's faces, and when he had made eye contact with Midnight as she came to teach her class, she looked as if she was going to cry. Whenever his mind would drift off trying to figure out what what going on, Eri would bring his mind back to class with a quick poke to the bottom of his chin. In what felt like minutes, the day's classes were winding down, and everyone was preparing to leave.