Mornings were not Shouta's favourite time of day, neither were afternoons or evenings but mornings sat snuggly down there at the bottom, especially when he hasn't slept a wink. The abstract feeling of loneliness and stillness got to the man, no loud blonds, no insane bosses, no kids running and screaming with their quirks. There was nothing to stop his mind from wandering to places that would be better left buried deep in the man's mind.
This is why when he got an email from the rat god at 4 in the morning he didn't hesitate to jump out of his bed and walk, defiantly not run at full tilt, towards his boss's little cabin on the outskirts of the woods. The hybrid once said something about being one with nature and getting back to his roots but honestly, Shouta couldn't care less, the place was serene. Why would he even take a second to hesitate? Sinking further into his capture scarf, the man slid himself silently through the cabin, not making a sound as he made a beeline for the study on a route he'd travelled countless times before.
Silently, the pro opened the wooden door with the same effect as he had in the rest of the house, before walking in and sliding himself into an all too familiar bright yellow bean bag. The same as his sleeping bag.
'I see you're taking the yellow one as usual Shouta' The principal hummed. Said the man said nothing sinking further into the seat, keeping his gaze firmly on the principal.
'So your godly eminence, your holy cheesiness, the supreme lord of our pathetic existence, what reason exists on this mortal coil that you would dare call me during my slumber?' Aizawa asked, still completely submerged in both the beanbag and scarf.
Nedzu chuckled, his eyes flicking to the man for a moment before focusing back on a weirdly shaped laptop.
'Well my dead insomniac if you must know, it's because I am tendering my resignation.'
Aizawa didn't say a word but slowly lifted himself forward, perching on the edge of the beanbag and making a confused look.
'What?'
Nedzu waved his paw in the air, 'It's neither here nor there my friend. What is intriguing though is the very reason I am quitting.'
'And that would be?'
The tips of Nedzu's mouth snaked upwards into an intimidating look, 'Why didn't you know? There's no such thing as an ethical legal system!'
'...what?'
'Confused? I know I am my dear Shouta. You see if you remember all these horrible agendas that have been pushed as of recently all seemed far too convenient for that old fool who died in a fucking tux! I mean come on it was a di-,' Nedzu stopped, took a deep breath and slowly lowered his paws which had managed to sneak their way into the air during the conversation, 'Sorry, I am a tad bit... emotional at the moment.'
Aizawa nods, 'As expected, continue.'
'Yes, yes. Anywhos now that the fashion disaster is dead I thought, hey! Maybe no more stupid political agendas, so I stopped focusing so closely on my political pu- contacts. To make a long story short, while I was looking away they managed to pass multiple legislations allowing for the branding to be done on every person deemed dangerous. Quirks they don't like, the villain's in your family, weak quirks, people of Chinese or had relatives from the old Empire of Jong-Un, just a few things to name they are going to be actively prosecuting against.'
Aizawa hummed before raising his hair from its usual loose style into his more formal ponytail, 'I see... by your standards that would make me and you a target along with a large number of both the faculty and student body branded without a doubt and the rest left with a... large risk. Am I correct in my assumption?'
Nedzu clapped his paws together, finally fully tearing his gaze away from the screen and back to Aizawa, 'Indeed! So my ex-personal student what is the best course of action in this scenario?'
Aizawa groaned something inaudible before flopping back into his disgustingly yellow beanbag, 'OF COURSE, LET'S HOLD A FUCKING PRESS CONFERENCE. THE ONE THING I HATE MORE THAN MISSING MY MORNING COFFEE!'
Nedzu said nothing but slowly slid off his chair to make his way towards the door, before turning back and attempting to gain eye contact. 'I do apologise Shouta, I do but this is the only path forward.' The principal received nothing but groaning in return, 'Oh well, regardless I believe Lunch Rush will have received our coffee orders,' This time shuffling was heard instead of the groaning, 'And of course, yours is pure espresso with a touch a sugar and cinnamon.' This time the man launched himself out of the beanbag before scooping up Nedzu and making a mad dash back towards the school. And totally not planning to drink three litres of coffee, no, no, no... well maybe.
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Izuku glared silently at the TV, how couldn't she? It betrayed her!
It was just another normal night, one of her few sleepless ones, but it's normal! And what does one sleepless teen do when trapped under a blanket of black goop with the most adorable child cuddled on top of them and no girlfriend to keep her distracted?
Simple watch hero news.
Izuku loved hero news, being able to not only see some of her favourite customers in action (WITH HER GEAR NO LESS), but she was also able to scout out her competition and borrow, yes borrow she totally didn't copy the exact blueprints from a single glance from multiple in use pieces of support equipment, ideas from her colleagues/competitors.
So when the Igeniums newest fight against a villain of the week, dumbell dude or something, was cut right before he landed the final blow, Izuku thought she had the right to be annoyed, even if it was illogical. Though the TV quickly swapped from one of her favourite customers to her favourite legal dad and uncle, sitting somewhat well-dressed at seven in the morning.
Needless to say, she flipped moods fast and now paid full attention to the unexpected broadcast.
It was minute but to someone who spent so much time around him, she noticed the moment they both directed their full attention to the camera's, small adjustments to their postures and a pure lack of emotion that sat on their faces wasn't unusual but unnerving nonetheless.
What truly set her nerves on edge though was the smile that her uncle took on, a single arc spreading from both ends of his mouth, yet no other change.
Truly it was terrifying.
'Thank you for having us this morning,' Nedzu nodded to someone behind the camera, 'and I do apologise for the late notice but I felt it was best to get this sorted right away.'
An awkward silence followed as neither of them let their focus slip from the camera.
'Now then,' Nedzu continued, 'Onto more pressing matters. Unfortunately, it has come to my attention that some rather... disgusting laws were passed rather recently. I do believe that you all should be receiving an article about them about now.'
Izuku didn't even glance down when the screen lit up next to her bed, keeping her focus on the broadcast. She could feel that this was it, the final straw.
'For those of you who do not have a device to hand I shall summarise.' Nedzu raised his paw to his mouth, clearing his throat as Aizawa slid a small stack of paper in front of the mammal, 'As of 10 am this morning the government may brand any and all troublesome quirk users as they see fit, either to stop who they think have a weak quirk from progressing in life or even to isolate those they believe have villainous quirks. They may do this as they see fit, they do not need to give a reason for the mark, nor do they need to have one in the first place.'
Nedzu shifted ever so slightly, pawing the stack off to the side and lowering his nose below what it was before, he took a sharp breath before continuing, 'And they may do anything to achieve this, be it in public, breaking into private residences or even terminating those who resist or stand in the way.'
Izuku froze.
She ran her eyes across both men on screen, searching desperately for some form of hope, a plan, something, anything. Tears began to form and both of the men's faces held strong.
This time instead of Nedzu continuing, Aizawa spoke, drawing the attention away from the principal.
Yet despite being widely unknown, it was clear his gaze held more weight than his boss. While his eyes didn't shift into their reddish hue, the pressure people felt both in the studio and from behind the screen wasn't lessened.
Japan fell silent, holding their breaths for the mans words. Confirmation, denial, anger, sorrow, the country was on the edge of their seats, wholly focused on the unassuming yet terrifying pro hero.
The country froze.
Then he spoke.
'My name is Aizawa Shouta. My quirk allows me to temporarily remove the quirk of another. I am a pro hero with more than 7,000 arrests under my belt, from rapists to child traffickers. I have laid my life on the line for the citizens of the country night after night, from the moment I stepped outside of high school.'
If anyone was doing anything before, they stopped. Even the villains who had heard whisper of the devil hero held their breaths.
'And now, this law? It would condemn me, mark me, punish me. It would mean for every minute spent on the streets was useless. It would mean I failed. Why?' He leaned forward, his hair freeing itself from the formal hairstyle he wore as his eyes started to glow their familiar red.
'Because the citizens would never be safe, they would be afraid, afraid of the people who are in power would abuse it. They would fear that what happened to their neighbours might happen to them. That when seeing a hero or a police offer, instead of comfort and joy there would be fear and terror.'
The country hung on his every word, every person, no matter the quirk couldn't look away. Even as the man's posture shifted and he rose himself from his sitting position to something more raised and much closer to the camera.
'To that? I say no.'
And then the TV went black.