Warning: Mentions of death
Aizawa POV
Things were uneventful after Nezu left.
Scratch that.
Things were as uneventful as they could be with a demon child residing in his house and an evil-genius making plans to bring Midoriya to the dark side. Shouta wasn't exactly sure what the dark side meant for the 2'9 principal, but he was sure it was nothing good.
But they'd managed to get through the rest of the day and night without any kidnappings, further memory loss, or escape attempts; that was always nice.
Still, Shouta hoped he was making the right decision here. Midoriya had been quieter after meeting Nezu. Normally Shouta would be all for having some peace in his home, but Midoriya's lack of mumbling was a little disconcerting.
He'd been reserved in the way Shouta used to be whenever deep in thought. Like even asking for a glass of water would disturb whatever track Izuku's train of thought was drifting on.
And now, in Shouta's second class 3-a free day, he was growing concerned. He'd woken up and immediately assumed there would be a repeat of yesterday. He was used to being the last one awake. But after walking around the entire house, Midoriya was still nowhere in sight.
Shouta panicked, grabbing his shoes and coat before dashing out the door.
Why had he expected there to not already be a problem? Really...it was becoming obvious when it came to Midoriya nothing was easy.
If the problem child was trying to run away again he was gonna-
Shouta dug his heels into the dirt, just barely stopping in time to avoid running over the child sprawled out on the grass. He blended right in with the overgrown blades and fallen leaves.
As if just comprehending he'd been two seconds away from being smushed, emerald eyes blinked up innocently at him. "Shouta? What are you doing outside?"
He wanted to be upset that the kid had made him so worried over nothing, he really did, but the way Midoriya asked the question so genuinely threw him off. Like he was more concerned about what was troubling Shouta than any trouble he might be in.
Shouta let out a long breath before settling down next to him, making sure to keep enough distance between them he wouldn't scare him off. "I think I should be the one asking you that kid."
Midoriya's eyes drifted back to the sky.
Shouta looked up too. Gray clouds swirled above them, blocking out most of the morning light. If was by no means what he would consider a nice day; but Midoriya seemed fascinated by it. Like a little kid watching a light show for the first time.
"I was thinking."
The answer came unexpectedly. Quieter than the rustling branches around them.
"Thinking?" Shouta prompted. "About what?"
"You're like the clouds," Midoriya said. He pointed a hand up to the sky above him. "Even if you seem gloomy. You help protect me from the sun."
Protect him from the sun? What an odd thing for a kid to say. Shouta didn't know what to make of the statement.
Midoriya had gone from sass to philosophy in a matter of hours.
"What are you talking about?" Shouta asked. He watched Midoriya shift in the grass, his gaze drifting from cloud to cloud.
"You act like my dad. You cook for me, explain things to me, all the things a dad is supposed to do right? It's weird," Midoriya commented. He didn't sound upset about it, more curious than anything.
Shouta really had no idea where he was going with this now. A little curiosity might be warranted, but he had no idea what any of this had to do with clouds or whatever it was he was talking about.
"It's a little different kid."
"You don't have any kids?" Midoriya asked.
He was probably unaware that it was a rather personal question, but then again, it wasn't like he didn't have a right to know. If Shouta was going to fulfill the role of character for the next unspecified amount of time, it made sense for Midoriya to know just what it was he was getting himself into.
Shouta shook his head slowly. "No. I don't have kids."
"But you like kids?"
Shouta answered honestly. "Not particularly."
Midoriya paused at that, his hands stilling from where they'd been fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. He was obviously taken aback by the confession. "But- but you teach kids?"
"Yes. The amount of torment I put myself through depends on the groups of kids I'm assigned to teach and how destructive they all are, "Shouta answered. In reality, he didn't like most children. But his group of students was different. As much as they gave him gray hairs and migraines, he enjoyed watching them grow into heroes.
The next question was a little harder to answer.
"So why did you volunteer to take care of me then? Couldn't you have handed me off to one of the others teachers?"
Because the thought of another teacher taking care of his problem child made him unreasonably upset.
"Because it's my responsibility. I'm your homeroom teacher and one of your mentors," Shouta answered. He thought for a moment, trying to amend the statement. "Besides it's only temporary. We'll get you back in the dorms in no time."
"Back to the dorms..." Midoriya trailed off, once again becoming lost in thought.
A warm wind swept over them, sweeping bits of grass and twigs up in the air.
"Do students always stay in the dorms?"
Shouta's heart rate picked up at the loaded question. He thought through his next answer very carefully. "No. Sometimes they return back to their caretakers for vacations or to visit someone. But if they chose not to there are always staff on campus to take care of them and make sure they are staying healthy."
Midoriya sat up suddenly. His eyes zeroed in on him in what could have been read as a challenge. "Staff like you?"
"Sometimes."
"By caretakers you mean parents," Midoriya corrected.
It wasn't a real question but Shouta answered anyway. "Yes."
The grassy green in the kid's eyes hazed over in a way that broke Shouta's heart. He'd seen him cry plenty of times before, but they were always tears of joy. He couldn't remember a time when he'd seen his skin express outward emotional pain, in fact, before the memory wipe he'd been talking with Nezu about enrolling Midoriya in therapy.
But this version of Midoriya, unguarded by his past defenses, everything was suddenly becoming more clear.
"I guess you know where this is going," Midoriya confessed. "So where are they? Why haven't my parents come to get me yet?"
Shouta hadn't wanted to have this conversation with the poor kid so early on. He hadn't wanted to have it at all.
"Are you sure you want to talk about this now? You just got h-"
"Yes!" Midoriya all but shouted. He immediately lowered his eyes. "Sorry. I mean yes. I've been thinking about it ever since the principal came over and we made our 'plan'. He didn't say anything about my parents. Why would he do that?"
Shouta looked back up at the sky, sending a silent prayer to whoever was listening. He'd never been an overly religious person, it just wasn't how he was raised. But now, sitting next to a child who clearly wanted reassurance, he prayed to the universe for guidance.
"Your father disappeared. According to your records, he left when you were very young for a job overseas. But a few years ago we lost all contact with him," Shouta explained softly. He'd been outraged when he heard the news. How could any kind of father abandon their child? Abandon a child as wonderful and selfless as Midoriya?
"And my mother?"
"It was an accident. A horrible accident. At the end of your first year here, she was in a car crash. They did everything they could for her but the head trauma was irreversible. I'm so sorry kid," Shouta whispered.
The memory of Izuku's face shimmered in front of him. He hadn't cried. He'd just stared blankly at Shouta when he told him his mother was in the hospital. He hadn't cried when he'd gotten back from the funeral either. It had been like watching a zombie.
And just as Midoriya had been finding clarity and peace as a third year, he was now forced to relive that heartache.
Shouta wished he could take the pain away from him, to protect Midoriya from everything that could-that would hurt him.
"So there's nobody left?" Midoriya asked, his voice growing cold. He rose too quickly for Shouta to try and stop him.
"Midoriya wait-"
"I've heard enough."
Shouta swore, watching Midoriya run back into the house.
He should have known that was the wrong thing to say, if there was a right way to begin with.
He was completely and utterly lost. Shouta couldn't protect him from the pain and he was angry at himself because of it. These past two days he'd allowed his anger to take a backseat while focusing on Midoriya. But after seeing how much the truth was hurting him, the anger was flaring back to life.
If he'd looked at the woman one second earlier, Midoriya might still remember who he was. He wouldn't be forced to learn about how screwed up his past life had been. Wouldn't have been forced to depend on Shouta.
Shouta could hardly take care of himself, did he really expect to be able to take care of Midoriya?
He needed guidance, and the universe seemed Hell-bent on keeping it from him. Sighing, he decided to call the one person he knew would help.
---
"Eraserhead. Decided to give me Midoriya already?"
God he should have known it was going to go like this.
"Not exactly," Shouta grumbled, pressing the phone closer to his ear. He was still outside and hopefully not within hearing range of Midoriya. "I need...advice."
"Advice? Of course, go ahead," Nezu said, his voice rising in volume a little too much to make the sincerity feel genuine. Shouta knew Nezu would of course take all Midoriya matters seriously, but that also came with a fair share of passive-aggressiveness directed toward Shouta. A true Monkey's Paw type deal.
Shouta began to pace in the yard, kicking up bits of turf and grass.
"I told him about his parents and he didn't take the news very well. Not that I expected a great reaction to begin with. But I don't want to make this harder for him than it already is. How can I comfort him without lying?"
"You can't."
Well damn.
"But," Nezu continued. "Healing the pain of the past can be accomplished by paving the way for the future."
And apparently, everyone was on some philosophical nonsense today. Still, Shouta didn't stop Nezu from continuing his lecture.
"I'm guessing Midoriya feels alone right now. He has lost his self-identity and parents all in one blow. He needs to feel attachments, real attachments, ones that he can fall back on to gain a sense of self. If he can develop a sense of belonging, it will make the healing process much easier."
"And how do you suggest I do that?" Shouta asked. The idea sounded plausible. But it was hard when Midoriya was still terrified of everything and still didn't know large chunks of his past. Making him feel secure would be like trying to put a puzzle together without any of the outer pieces; the picture was still there but the frame holding it together gone.
"You had him talk with his friends correct?"
"Yes, but one conversation isn't going t fix the problem here. And they're a lot for him. You know how Iida is and frankly, Uraraka is a little terrifying at times. Todoroki was so co-dependent on Midoriya before that I don't even know how that's going to work. I'm not sure how much of their antics he can handle at the moment."
Nezu hummed. "Give it some time. Their bond might help more than you think. Friendship is wondrous chaos, and I feel sorry for anyone who is deprived of it."
Shouta really had to stop himself from asking if Nezu even had any friends. He'd once walked in on him playing chess...against himself. Not that Shouta could really talk. The last time he socialized was when he'd been forced to go to that hero assembly.
"I'll keep that in mind," Shouta agreed. His voice civil.
Just as he went to hang out Nezu cleared his throat.
"Oh and Eraserhead? Do try and do something about those bags under your eyes. You don't want the poor child to think he lives with a ghost."
That motherf-
----
Woah there. Not in front of the kids.
I'm sorry I'm really trying to stop with the Disney references. I should just let it go.
Okay I'm for real stopping now.
I hope you liked the chapter! Thanks for reading!