Everyone looked shocked at how quickly Shoto calmed down without his quirk being temporarily erased. They watched on amazed as their classmate genuinely apologized to Aizawa. And he actually meant it by witnessing his ashamed and embarrassed expression. 1A began to see the moody teenager Todoroki in a totally different light than what they originally perceived from his first impressions.
Aizawa looked down at his student turned child and barely managed to stop himself from succumbing to the child's large watery eyes. Using all of his training, the underground hero steeled himself against this new attack form. Aizawa straightened his back and hardened his face as much as he could before responding.
"Once you're back to normal, you get detention with me for a week."
Shoto's hopeful face slumped into a disappointed pout, but he accepted his teacher's punishment with a small subdued nod.
Now satisfied with how he dealt with Shoto's out of control actions, Aizawa turned his attention to the next topic of high priority. Eraserhead turned and bent down to pick up something that was placed behind his legs. He stood up with the same red fire extinguisher cradled in his arms like a newborn baby. Aizawa expectantly looked at Aylee as if she could immediately identify the issue. When only long silence followed, he sighed in exasperation while rolling his eyes heavenward like he was praying for the strength to deal with her. How the hell was she supposed to figure out what he was trying to say! She could probably figure out a 1-month-old babies needs before she could ever begin to pick up Aizawa's cues.
"We need to refill the fire extinguisher."
Aylee agreed to his point with a tired nod. "I can guess why. But, maybe next time you could erase his powers? Just a suggestion though."
"No. We have a fire extinguisher for this exact reason." Aizawa said matter of factly in a deadpan tone and leaving no room for debate. She didn't get to say another word before he turned away and began to take charge of the other students that lingered in the lounge.
A small hand tugged on the hem of her dirty blood-stained shirt. Aylee tilted her head down towards where the insistent pulling was coming from and met Shoto's reddened eyes. The 5-year-old saw he had her full attention and bounced up and down on the tips of his feet.
"Mom, I'm hungry," he whined.
Aylee nodded at his statement and tiredly walked across patches of burnt carpet to get to the small kitchenette area in the corner of the large lounge. Shoto dutifully followed after his caretaker like a lost puppy.
"Let's see what we have." She said as she stiffly bent down to peek in the fridge.
She quickly glanced at the shelves that held some meagre ingredients and ran through quick and easy recipes in her head that she could make with them.
"We have just enough to make some miso soup." She nodded with her own assessment and looked down to her charge-standing next to her. It was hard to miss the kid's unsatisfied pout with what she claimed would be on the menu for the night. Aylee thought maybe he was disappointed at not getting to eat his favorite food for dinner.
"You can't eat cold soba for every meal, peppermint."
She tried to lean down even further to reach a pot from the bottom cabinet but a sharp pinch for her neck halted her body's movements. Before she could struggle even more to achieve her goal, a hand gently pushed her out of the way. Surprised with the helpful action, she followed the hand up to see the smiling side profile of Hawks' face.
"I got this baby bird. Why don't you go sit down for a bit?" She could tell his suggestion was more a stern command, but he already had done so much for her to even be here.
"Hawks I can't..." She started to object, but the pro hero didn't even let her finish her protest.
"My assignment is to protect you and the kid. And the way you were handling the pot was definitely dangerous." He said this playfully and added a small wink at the end that would make any sensible girl swoon.
Aylee gave him a grateful smile and mouthed thank you to their new bodyguard. His red wings flutter behind his back and stretch themselves higher in the air catching the light and her attention. A tiny body shoved between the two adults shattering the moment.
Aylee immediately looked down to see an upset face on the red and white-haired 5-year-old boy.
"Let's go watch some TV while Hawks generously cooks for us. Okay?"
Shoto looked up at Hawks with a frosty glare and took Aylee's hand, to lead her away. He gave the hero a smug look before he stuck out his tongue, almost like the boy was bragging at getting his caregiver's attention.
Said caretaker obviously didn't see this interaction and guided her charge to the somewhat still intact entertainment area.
They both sat on the couch and he climbed in her lap like a monkey before resting his head back on her chest softly.
Satisfied that they were both comfortable, she turned on the TV and watched as it slowly came to life with a blink. The screen showed a news anchor reporting that they found the missing UA student, Shoto Todoroki, and that they had exclusive footage of an interview with a pro hero.
The screen changed to show Aizawa walking past reporters in the street to reach the school and casually eating a corndog. He didn't seem to care to answer any of the questions being shouted at him by the crowd. The teacher by day and hero at night held up a hand to the noisy crowd and immediately they silenced at the commanding motion. They watched in anticipation as the man slowly finished his snack before turning to address the camera.
"No comment."
The group of reporters angrily shouted but Eraserhead just turned around and walked through the school's gates, ignoring their words and taunts.
The reporter scrambles after the practically useless footage is played and moved on to talking about the latest news on Japan's top heroes.
"Number 2 pro hero Endeavor takes the stage once again as his agency surpasses it's numbers from last year in total lives saved and villains taken in."
She goes on to talk about a recent appearance the flame hero made at the opening of a brand new hero museum. The reporter briefly spoke about the photos provided and made the passing comment that Endeavor attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony alone and elaborated that his wife hasn't been seen in public for years.
Shoto touched the scar on his left eye when the reporter mentioned his mother's common absences. She sensed his sombre mood and turned the channel to a kids show. Aylee watched Shoto's entire mood change slowly after a few minutes from sad, to curious, then content.
After 30 minutes of watching the episode, Shoto was absolutely entranced by what was playing on the screen.
He pointed out characters he liked and laughed when one of them does something silly or dumb. It was refreshing to see the stoic and closed off child she met actually act his proper age. Well, current age technically.
Hawks looked up at the close pair and smiled fondly. He said loudly enough for them both to hear him above the sounds that came from the TV.
"Dinner is served."
Aylee turned off the tv and removed the 5-year old from her lap before she stood up. Shoto whined at the tv being turned off and didn't move from his new, less comfortable, spot on the couch.
"Are you not hungry anymore? I guess me and Hawks can just eat together while you continue to watch tv then."
She walked away from Shoto without looking back and towards hawks with a smirk on her face. Shoto stared after her with a frustrated look on his small scrunched up face, he looked back and forth between the TV and Aylee's walking figure.
Aylee counted down to herself in her head
5
4
3
2
1
"I'm coming too," Shoto shouted as he hurriedly climbed down from the couch.
He ran to catch up to the pair sat in the middle table seat immediately so the two adults couldn't sit together.
Hawks noticed the kid's true purpose with the seating arrangement when Shoto stuck his tongue out towards him while Aylee was serving up the soup bowls.
She turned around with the bowls in hand and his tongue immediately disappeared.
The trio was quiet as they ate but Hawks could tell how much Aylee was enjoying the food. She had a cute little smile at the corner of her lips when grabbed another spoonful of broth and there was a bright look in her green eyes as she ate. He glanced at the kid to see his reaction to his cooking. The 5-year-old tried to hide his glee while eating but the boy's swinging legs and wide eyes were all the hero needed to see.
They finished the meal and Aylee began to clean up their dishes before she took them to the sink. Hawks helped her wash their bowls and utensils quietly at her side. It was nice and monotonous after a crazy day she hadn't even been able to decompress yet.
She felt a demanding tug on her pants leg and didn't even need to look to know who it was. Of course, it was her little peppermint. This kidnapping had made him a bit clingier than before but maybe it was just an effect of shock that would fade in a few days.
"Sweetie, I'm a bit busy cleaning right now. Why don't you play with Midoryia for a bit?"
Shoto pouted at her suggestion but ran off towards the broccoli hair boy with a nod. Aylee let out a small relieved sigh at her charge's acceptance before she turned back to the sink.
"Thank you for tonight, Hawks. Dinner was delicious and even Shoto really liked it." She gave him a tired smile that didn't reach her eyes entirely. But he could tell she was being very genuine.
"He seems to be really attached to you."
Aylee nodded at his words before she spoke, "Well I'm the one who found him alone and scared. And after meeting Endeavor, I get the feeling he didn't have the best childhood."
Hawks continued with his probing as gently as he could manage. "He calls you 'mom'."
She grimaced but silently agreed with a nonchalant shrug.
"It's not the first time a child I cared for has called me that, and it probably won't be the last. I just have to make it clear that my role is temporary and minimal in his life. Besides, in a couple of weeks, the effects of the deaging quirk will wear off. He'll forget all about me soon enough."
As Aylee dried the now clean dishes with some paper towels Hawks looked back to the subject of their conversation.
Shoto was watching the boys play some video games and Kirishima even let the boy help use his controller. From a glance, the child was having a great time and enjoyed playing with them. But upon closer examination, Hawks noticed the kid looking back at Aylee every few minutes.
Hawks thought in silence about what Aylee said to him just now about her 'temporary role' and how she was so sure she would be 'easily forgotten'.
He honestly doubted that.
Author's Note: Hey guys thanks for being so understanding about the 2 parts for chapter 8. I hope this part meets all your expectations. I really tried and I like how it turned out. I truly feel glad that there are people out there who are enjoying this. Special thanks to everyone who commented and saved this story, you're the real mvp.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything of the My Hero Academia universe, manga, characters, tv show, movies, etc. This is just for fun.