Swan Dive

Chapter 6: First Patrol

Shouta let out a sigh of relief, as did his companions, as they went in.

It's been nearly a day, now, and Shouta was refusing to sleep. No matter how much Inko worried over him (which he found sweet), he wanted to be awake when Izuku woke up.

So he was the first to see it when the kid's eyelids twitched. Inko was sleeping on the other side of Izuku's bed, and Hizashi had gone on a coffee run for them.

"Aizawa?" He groaned as his eyes blinked open, unfocused and tired. Shouta released a heavy breath as he felt a great weight drop off his shoulders.

"Hey, Problem Child. How do you feel?" He kept his voice low and gentle, not wanting to wake Inko.

"You look like crap." Izuku pointed out dryly with a wince. Shouta grabbed a glass of water with a straw and carefully helped him drink. "Thanks."

"You've been out for a day. We've been worried. Do you remember what happened?"

"Y-yeah... Four third years cornered me... and then you and Hizashi saved me." He smiled softly, though there was a small amount of bitterness to his smile. "I'm sorry. You must be disappointed in me."

Shouta stared. "Illogical. Why would I be disappointed? Everyone needs help from time to time, even pros. If you think this changes anything, you're wrong."

"B-but I couldn't even fight back."

"Then we'll work on getting stronger. I'll teach you more techniques to help you. This wasn't your fault, Izuku." He didn't know when he started using his student's given name, but it just sort of... happened. And it stuck. Even Hizashi did it.

"A-Aizawa-sensei..."

"It's only Aizawa-sensei during lessons." He corrected. "It's Shouta, kid."

Damnit, that smile was too bright to be legal. I should've had Hizashi grab my sunglasses.

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The month after that was spent mostly working on the kid's analysis skills. Shouta and Hizashi didn't want to push him physically, though he could tell the kid was getting frustrated with the lighter workout routine. Luckily, he didn't have any real nerve damage, aside from the occasional shaky hand, so that was one good thing.

Shouta had honestly been unsure of continuing to teach Izuku. The kid could've been permanently crippled because of his connection to him, after all. He was lucky he got away with minimal damage. Hizashi and Inko (surprisingly enough) managed to convince him to keep teaching Izuku.

"If you leave now, he'll never recover. You'll break his spirit." Inko had argued. "You swore to protect Izuku. If you leave, I will never forgive you."

Those words had hurt him more than he'd admit. Shouta didn't know when it happened, but Inko had become a very good friend of his—almost like how he'd imagine a sister to be like.

Shouta invested himself even more in the kid after that, and either himself or Hizashi made sure to keep an eye on Izuku from the time he left home to the time he reached training, whenever they could. If their presence in his life was going to paint a big red target on his back, then they were going to make damn sure this kid could fight back if he needed to, because they did not want a repeat of the Alley Incident.

Shouta had noticed the way the kids at school looked at him, but since Izuku remained stubbornly silent and refused to point out his bullies, Shouta could do nothing to intervene. The most he could do was give Izuku more tools to use to protect himself.