Shinso watched as Kirishima directed Todoroki and Iida toward the courtyard of the hospital. The redhead- probably fake if he was being honest- had been acting strangely earlier, so he decided to follow him. You don't just switch from practically inconsolable to determined in so short of a time unless there was a change in circumstances. And he turned out to be right; his fellow classmate was planning a rescue mission for Bakugo.
He hadn't heard the finer details, but what he did catch was that they were all meeting Yaoyorozu because she had the thing that made it so they would be able to rescue him. Kirishima had apparently recruited Todoroki for the cause since he was so strong, but Iida had wormed his way in to 'keep an eye on them'. However, Shinso didn't entirely trust this since Iida was the one who had been trying to commit murder. His friend had more pent-up anger than his stick-up-the-butt exterior would've suggested.
Yaoyorozu was already there, standing deep in thought with something in her hand. She looked really concerned and conflicted, which made him even more suspicious as to what they were planning. If the class mom was concerned, then that meant it wasn't entirely safe or legal.
"Yaoyorozu! What are we waiting for? We've got to go save Bakugo right now! A bro doesn't leave a bro hanging!" Kirishima looked ready to run in and fight as many villains as there were in the forest. Which was incredibly misguided. His dad had always taught him that if you need to fight someone on their turf and are outnumbered, you don't go in without at least a loose plan. There's always room for improvising, but you cannot just go in blind. He already went against that advice once and the hero killer would've killed him had Izuku-sensei not been there.
"What do you think you're doing?" All four guilty parties swung around to face him, eyes wide with panic. "You cannot think that this is a good plan. What, are you going to just charge in there and hope everything works out for the better? Name one example where that strategy has worked."
"It may not be a concrete plan, but we have to rescue Bakubro!" Kirishima turned to leave again, but this time Iida was the one to stop him.
"Shinso is right, Kirishima. We can't rush into this. I did that once already and people almost died because of it. I told you that I was coming with you to make sure you didn't do anything reckless, and that is why I am telling you to wait a moment and think about what you have to do. The pros are already going to be there, so we can't get in their way. And we can't use our quirks to fight them. That would be vigilantism, and it's not going to help in this situation. All we are going to do is get to Bakugo and get him out without doing any damage." Okay. So Iida had learned from his experiences. That's good.
Yaoyorozu spoke up next. "That was exactly what I was thinking. We should use disguises so we are able to get there without much trouble, and we have to be discreet until the last moment. And no using our quirks to harm them for sure. That has clear and explicit laws against it." As he and Iida had found out the hard way.
"And I'm coming with you." The group nodded, and Shinso could feel Todoroki's eyes on him. But not in the same way as before. It was more like he was curious about something other than the suspicions he had voiced time and time again. It was... unsettling. Like he was aware of it but it didn't matter. Strange.
"I placed a tracker on the Nomu, so we know where to go. We have to stay out of the hero's way, and we still have to avoid the public. After the Sports Festival, we became very recognizable, and it would be bad if anyone saw us up and about right after Bakugo was taken. UA is under a lot of scrutiny right now, and there would be a lot of attention and questions that we don't want."
They all nodded and headed off where Yaoyorozu was directing them. It felt strange sneaking through the huge crowds, trying to keep out of sight while also trying not to appear suspicious. Even though they weren't technically doing anything illegal, it still felt like they were. And Shinso totally knew that he was getting grounded the second he got home, but it was worth it to make sure Iida didn't try and murder anyone again. It would be so annoying to elect a new class president.
Yaoyorozu ended up leading them to this clothing store where she made them try on a bunch of different outfits. She seemed to be having almost too much fun with it, telling them they needed to 'act the part'. And for Shinso that meant he had to show more expression on his face. Apparently, 'insomniac who doesn't care' wasn't the look that she was going for. And while it was annoying to be forced to smile and actually stretch his facial muscles for once, it was all worth it when she told Iida he had to act like a pervert. The disgust on his face was priceless.
And it was hilarious to see him thinking about how a pervert would act and then just deciding to emulate Mineta. He tried the grabby hand motion that Mineta tried to pull sometimes, and he did it completely wrong. Yeah... he wasn't going to fool anyone. Which was a good thing, under normal circumstances.
"Okay. Now where do we go, Yaoyorozu?"
"I have the location of the Nomu in this tracker, so we just have to remember to try and stay out of sight. And out of the heroes' way. We're not going to mess up his rescue, we are here just in case we need to be."
Shinso piped in, "And whatever you do, make sure that Aizawa-sensei never finds out that you were just going to go in guns blazing at first. Trust me, getting your arm torn off by wild dogs would be better than that."
Todoroki looked sideways at him, and all his other classmates looked away. Kirishima tried to pretend to whistle, but failed miserably. "Well, you would know that better than anyone Shinso. After all, he is your dad."
Oh crap.
"Todoroki, I don't know how many times I have to tell you, I am not Aizawa-sensei's secret love child. I'm not lying."
Todoroki had the gleam of victory in his eyes. "I know you are not Aizawa-sensei's secret love child. However, you are his child." Shinso opened his mouth to argue. "And don't bother trying to deny it. Izuku-sensei already confirmed it because he didn't know it was supposed to be a secret."
Oh, dang it. We totally forgot to tell Izuku-sensei not to spill the beans. We just thought that since he wasn't told at first like the other teachers we wouldn't have to bring it up. That was probably our first mistake; you should never assume that Izuku-sensei won't find something out. And he can be so oblivious to others' confusion that he didn't see he wasn't supposed to tell the others if they asked. At least it was just Todoroki and not-
"Yeah, sorry Shinso. Todoroki burst in to tell both class 1-a and 1-b he was right. I think Kaminari was there too, but he wanted to wait and make sure you were okay with everyone knowing first. He seemed a little worried about you."
Well, there goes playing with them a bit before they find out- wait! Kaminari was worried about me? He wanted to make sure I was okay with them knowing before Todoroki shared with everyone? He wanted to respect my privacy... oh god I am so screwed because I think he is the cutest person to ever exist. Dad was right, we do have a type and it's loud blondes.
"Uh... yeah. So, Aizawa-sensei is my adoptive dad. Iida, I think I told you and Uraraka that I was adopted at lunch once. Are you... upset that I didn't tell you?" Shinso looked hesitantly at his friend. He hadn't had very many of those in the past, so he was actually really scared of losing him right now. He hadn't expected to really like anyone in the hero courses, so it hadn't bothered him before that he was going to be essentially lying, but now he was going to have to see if there were any consequences for his actions.
"Of course not! It's perfectly reasonable that you kept your relationship with our teacher secret. Nobody can really blame you for that. Are you upset that Todoroki told all of us?"
Shinso thought about that for a moment. Was he upset that they had found out? He knew that he was going to tell them eventually, but he thought he would have more time to prepare for that. But at the same time, he felt really... comfortable having everyone know. It felt like a huge weight had come off of his shoulders. And as for the little game he and his dad had been playing, he saw Todoroki scribbling 'Secret Parent #2' in there with a question mark, so there was still some fun to be had on that front.
"No, I'm not upset at all. Maybe a bit embarrassed that you guys know now, and kinda dreading everyone's reactions when you get back, but it's not like I expected it to stay secret forever. I just... didn't really want it to be you're first impression of me." He offered that last bit hesitantly.
"Good! I am glad that we did not overstep any boundaries you were not comfortable with! It would have been truly remiss of me, as your class representative, to let any personal information of yours be spread around the classroom if you did not wish it to be so!" There were the choppy hand gestures again...
"Ah... sure." Shinso awkwardly cleared his throat.
They weaved through the crowd, making their way to the location Yaoyorozu had pulled up. But they did stop when their teachers appeared on a giant live television in front of them. Reporters were asking them questions about the attack on the training camp, and the crowd wasn't happy with UA. They were making it out to be like they were the ones to blame for what happened, even though they had done their best to keep them safe. It wasn't fair.
'What will you do to prevent things like this from happening again? Are changes going to be made? Can parents trust you with their children anymore?'
'Of course changes are going to be made to ensure that this never happens again. We will increase security around the enitirity of UA, and we won't have another training camp like that happen again. And parents will always be able to trust us with their children. Right now we face a dark time, but UA has always made its students their top priority, and that will never change. We are doing everything that we can to make sure this never happens again.'
'Right. But one of your students has already been hurt by UA's incompetence. And we have heard rumors that the villain group in question kidnapped him to have him join their side. Do you think that this could happen?'
'No. I simply cannot see a situation where Bakugo would join them. He-'
'At the Sports Festival he seemed to demonstrate pretty brutal and cruel behavior. What makes you think he wouldn't do this for the villains? Bakugo had to be restrained so he wouldn't attack anyone when he received his medal at the festival. Are you absolutely certain he doesn't have the seeds of villainy in him?'
Shinso glanced, concerned, over to where Kirishima was standing next to him. The redhead was clenching his jaw and tightening his fists, obviously agitated with what the media was insinuating about Bakugo. Yaoyorozu grabbed his arm and shook her head twice, signaling to keep his cool if they wanted to be able to rescue Bakugo. He nodded back, but still looked angrily at the giant screen in front of them.
Shinso wasn't worried though. He knew his dad, and he knew that he would never stand for someone saying one of his students is a villain. Or about to become one. When his dad says that he thinks someone has potential, he means it. And that meant that he believed in you. Shinso knew better than anyone else how amazing his dad was when it came to defending those he believed in.
'That does not mean that Bakugo will ever listen to what they have to say. He may be angry, but the reason he was in particularly rare form during the Sports Festival was because he saw his win as an empty one. He believed that his opponents held back and that meant he lashed out. None of that means he will be a villain. He is also fiercely stubborn and loyal. Nothing would convince him to join the villain side in a million years.'
The reporter cleared his throat, obviously anxious to move on to the next question. Kirishima squared his shoulders and exhaled deeply, and Shinso thought he heard his fellow classmate whisper, 'So manly, Aizawa-sensei'. But maybe that was just the wind.
...The wind didn't usually say manly.
Todoroki gestured for them to continue following Yaoyorozu. They couldn't let themselves get caught up in what the reporters were asking right now. For all they knew, the League of Villains was killing Bakugo right now. Which wasn't nice to think about, but it was the kick in the pants they needed right now. Iida had to practically hold Kirishima back from running.
Before they could turn the corner onto the street that would lead them to their destination, Yaoyorozu stopped and turned around. "Remember, we aren't going to be of any use if we get into the hero's way, and we can't use our quirks to hurt anyone. If we have to use them it's going to be for evasive maneuvers. Are we clear?"
All of them looked at each other and nodded. "Yeah, crystal."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Izuku checked to make sure he had all the things he needed in his pouches for the fourth time, since the first three checks didn't quite seem to be enough. There were heroes scattered all around the room, all preparing to go and raid the League of Villains hideout. There were several of his old students there, as well as some newer heroes that he had only heard about. And reviewed some footage of them and their exploits while he was away. It always paid to keep up with the latest news in heroes. Sometimes the information could save your life.
And this time he would make sure it would save Bakugo's life. All the heroes here had one priority that reigned above all the others, and that was saving his student. They would capture and take out as many villains as they could, but they would not let it interfere with the rescue of his student.
Tsukauchi hustled in, waving a slip of paper in the air rapidly. The white sheet rippled and waved, and all eyes were on it, right up until the point where they sped out the door. Now that they had their warrant they could charge right into the League of Villains' base. They would have to be careful and try to take out Kurogiri first since he would be the one to get them away, so they had Kamui Woods for that. Restraining the villains first was the tactic they were going to be using. Less casualties and a higher chance of success that way.
All Might led the way while Izuku strayed toward the back of the pack. He needed time to get a look at what was happening before he would be entirely effective.
"Izuku-sensei, are you-" His former student cut himself off when he looked into his eyes. Whatever he saw made him set his jaw further and nod, speeding up to be in the middle of the crowd. Izuku saw Kamui woods glance back at him, gesturing towards All Might respectfully. All Might paled, and whatever he said got Kamui to stop looking towards him.
The streets had been relatively cleared out, as many civilians as they could get cleared away from the area. Of course, they couldn't notify the League that something was happening so it had to be done very carefully. Some areas had been closed down for 'maintenance', and others had construction workers pretending to do things. They had to make sure nothing went wrong while executing their plan.
Because if they did, Bakugo could die. And Izuku would not let that happen. Not now, or at any point in the near future.