Chapter Text
The news played on low volume in the Yamada household, but the weight behind every word was deafening. The headlines scrolled across the bottom of the screen, bold and unrelenting:
“ERASERHEAD’S SECRET SON EXPOSED”
“UA FACULTY SCANDAL: WHO KNEW, AND WHO HELPED HIDE IT?”
The program cut between grainy footage of Aizawa at UA and stills of Izuku Midoriya from sports festival broadcasts, side-by-side. The resemblance was undeniable.
Hitoshi Shinsou sat on the couch, elbows on his knees, jaw tight. His violet eyes never left the screen. “It’s true, isn’t it?” he said at last, voice low.
Yamada Hizashi, Present Mic, was pacing. The sunglasses couldn’t hide the tension in his expression. “Shouta didn’t tell us. Not all of it.” His usual boisterous voice was a flat line; every word pressed through clenched teeth. “I knew he had a past. Knew he’d been with someone before. But I didn’t know there was a kid. His kid.”
Eri sat curled in an armchair, holding her stuffed bunny so tightly its fabric ears bent. “Is… Izuku… my big brother?” she asked, looking between them with wide, unsure eyes.
Yamada stopped pacing, rubbing the back of his neck. “Looks that way, kiddo.” He tried for a smile but couldn’t find one.
Hitoshi leaned back, running a hand through his hair. “All those years. All that time he spent drilling me on training, taking care of us. And there was someone else he just… left behind?” His voice cracked, though his face stayed hard. “What are we supposed to do with that?”
Eri’s voice was small. “Does he hate us now?”
Hitoshi’s head snapped toward her. “What? No, Eri, this isn’t your fault.”
Yamada knelt beside her chair, placing a careful hand on her shoulder. “Listen, little bean… grown-ups mess up. Sometimes really bad. And when they do, it hurts a lot of people. But that doesn’t mean it’s about you.”
She looked down, fiddling with the bunny’s ear. “But if he’s Izuku’s dad… does that mean Izuku’s family too?”
Yamada hesitated, glancing at Hitoshi.
Hitoshi finally looked away from the TV. “If he wants to be,” he said quietly.
The three of them sat in uneasy silence, the muted news broadcast still flashing headlines in the background. Somewhere in the city, Aizawa and Izuku were probably facing each other for the first time in years.
In the Yamada household, the air was thick with something none of them wanted to name, the fear that their family might never be the same again.