Passing Euphoria (Aizawa Shouta x Reader) (Commissioned Series)

Ch.13

"Is everything with your father okay?" He treaded lightly.

You laughed, a deep tone of disbelief heard in it. You shook your head, wiping away a pair of tears that fell from each side of your face.\

"Oh he's fine." You inhaled sharply. "He was fine enough to bring up the usual bullshit. They all were! God... I'm so sick of being treated like a disappointment! Like my own path is a disgrace!"

Aizawa moved towards you and put a hand on your shoulder. You looked at him and nodded towards the man. He led you to your couch and you sat down. He took a seat on a chair next to the couch. He wanted to respect any need for space you might desire. Your lips pressed together into a thin line and then you laughed pitifully.

"Sorry. I kinda snapped at you." You apologized. "Let me... fill you in a bit. I think venting might be the best thing for me right now."

Aizawa nodded and so you inhaled. This would be hard, but it needed to be said and you hoped this weight would lesson even by a mere gram.

"You know I left to go see my father. He had a heart attack, but it was a small one and he's just going to need to be more careful about his stress level and what he eats." You told Aizawa, closing your eyes.

"My entire immediate family was there. My older brother who is my father's doctor. My younger sister who is a rising celebrity in the fashion industry with her modeling. My mother, who I've never connected with or really felt any maternal attachment from her growing up. My father, like I said, was awake and acting like normal. Like my mother, my father and I were never close. But, unlike my mother, he's fine openly telling me all his grips with my work and comparing me to my siblings."

You felt a bit calmer now, speaking about this all. You still kept your eyes closed or your head down. Making eye contact seemed a bit too intimidating right now. You hoped Aizawa would understand and not see it as rude.

"Do you parents and siblings not see a hero career as a career worth merit?" Aizawa's voice reached you and you shook your head. "Is there any particular reason?"

You shrugged. "If there is... my parents never said anything. For my siblings, it's more that they think since my career is as busy and stressful as theirs, I should also be doing exactly what they do: taking time off, going on family vacations, family dinners, and showing up in a timely manner at a family emergency."

Your hands balled together and your head looked down at the floor and your eyes opened. You sucked in a trio of ragged breaths and then decided to speak again. You were amazed right now, sure you felt like you wanted to throw something through a window, but you didn't feel like you wanted to throw yourself through a window. Or at least not yet...

"It's not like I want to miss all that stuff! But I'm working two jobs technically and am on call for both UA and hero work! Free time longer than a literal night's sleep comes rarely! And I can't just take off from work whenever I want! I have students depending on me! UA is putting their trust and faith in me helping their students. I have my own selfish pride too! That I want to make sure every student feels secure and stable... and never like how I do near constantly!"

"It's not fair for any of them to demand you to do something without first experiencing your job." Aizawa told you. "Most of the public is under the impression all heroes do is fight off threats and do press events. But there's a lot more: working with local governments on better safety protocols, paying for damages, filling out incident reports that will later go to the police, and so much more. Heroes work hard, both in and out of the fight."

"Thank you." Your voice was genuine. "But, they don't consider it a career. My father has always been vocal on how heroes are just children who never grew up and want an excuse to use their quirks legally while filling their egos from the support of foolish civilians."

You scoffed. "And my role at UA didn't get any praise either."

"Not even helping the next generation is a worthy career to him?"

"Not if it has to deal with mental health." You told him, lifting your eyes up, but kept your eyes closed once more. "He... doesn't believe in it."

"I've never understood that." Aizawa admitted to you. "Your brain and mind are just as important as your heart and lungs... so, why is it that when someone has a heart attack it's a serious threat, but when someone is struggling with mental health- the brain suddenly isn't important any longer?"

"I'd love to know the answer." You exhaled and then looked up to the ceiling and opened your eyes. "Being so vocal, the rest of my family has no issue also taking shots at me about my career and anything else they see as worth pointing out. I feel more exhausted spending thirty minutes with them than going head to head with someone who literally wants to kill me."

Aizawa huffed, though it sounded more like an amused chuckle. "It sounds like you knew what true suffering and despair was before you were a hero."

You groaned. "That's the polite way to put it. Gods! Sometimes I want to cut ties and move on! But... they are my family and... the only people I have."

"Blood may be thicker than water, but doesn't always make it easier to swim in." Aizawa told you. "Listen. I'm not going to tell you to abandon your family, but you do have other people who care for you. Myself and Eri are two such people and I imagine a lot of students also feel grateful for your presence."

You sniffled and finally looked at the man. Aizawa had his eyes closed and exhaled gently before opening his eyes and looking at you.

"What you decide to do about your family is up to you." Aizawa spoke gently. "But... just know that whenever I take Eri out of UA, she begs me to invite you along as well."

Your smile finally returned and the tears disappeared. "She's so sweet."

"If you do want to tag along, just let me know." Aizawa smirked at you. "She gets rather excitable at times and you would be able to properly enjoy her excitement with her more than me."

You laughed at that and then smiled at Aizawa. "Thank you, Aizawa-sensei."

"I'm not your teacher, so Aizawa works just fine."

"Well, thank you Aizawa. I really appreciate what you said." You smiled at him warmly.

The conversation didn't last much longer after that and soon Aizawa was leaving. Your spirits seemed very well now. As he walked out of the complex, he wondered if he should feel disgusted with himself.

He had been using his quirk that entire time through your melancholy angered rant. Only when the mood lifted did he stop. He knew how your quirk worked though. So, if it helped you get back onto your feet faster if the happy feelings were the ones to be magnified, was it really wrong of him to erase your quirk in the moments where the negative ones surely would have overwhelmed you?

He was too tired to debate his own morality. But, if anything... he was glad to know you'd reach out to him. He just hoped you'd tag along with him and Eri, not just for Eri, but because your presence was also starting to become something he enjoyed and wanted more of.