Chapter Text
Aizawa Shouta often considered himself a decidedly grounded and reserved individual, or so he liked to believe most of the time. Being an underground hero for nearly a decade, a commendable accomplishment that toughened his mind with the daily challenges he faced, was only one facet of his life. Additionally, he served as a teacher to a bunch of teenage brats. And gods did the second one sometimes want to make him look into early retirement options. At this juncture, any scenario offering his comfortable couch, two affectionate cats, an overly loud husband, and a son with a caffeine addiction rivalling his own seemed like an appealing prospect.
Now that he thinks about it, it was clear that he had it too good for too long. That with expelling his entire class last year, something had to come back to bite him in the ass. Letting out a frustrated groan, he ran his fingers through his hair, observing a short, blonde terror single-handedly take down a zero pointer, pulling one of the other contestants from the rubble.
He vaguely could recall who the child was. UA staff have all been briefed about a mysterious private student of Nezu, the first one since Aizawa himself, roaming the hallways of the school about four years ago. But none of them has ever really seen him around even when the announcement was made. In fact, nobody had heard or seen anything about him after that initial revelation. It took two months before a betting pool emerged, accompanied by discussions questioning the child's existence. Whether he was real or merely part of an elaborate social experiment the principal included all of them in started. And no matter how much any of them pestered the damn rat, the question remained unanswered.
Now, as they all observed the practical part of the entrance exam, Shouta was almost certain everyone’s eyes were locked onto the tiny force of nature. Watching as the child's villain and rescue points surged rapidly as the exam neared its end, captivating onlookers in various stages of shock. They watched in awe as he effortlessly manoeuvred through the field, dispatching robots with a casual flick of a stray feather, the cameras intermittently capturing the glint of sparkling gold eyes. The shade of gold carried an uncanny familiarity, though Shouta couldn't quite pinpoint where that sense of recognition stemmed from.
“You know, Eraser” Kan pointed towards the screen as three black feathers appeared in the boy's hand, flying fast towards a two-pointer shortly after. “You can take this one.”
“What’s the little guy's name?” Yamada asked curiously and Shouta was honestly considering pulling out his sleeping back and laying down in the corner of the room, his ‘to go’ cup firmly in his hand. He could see his own kid run into the frame, smiling widely at the blonde and catching a jet-black feather thrown in his direction. And he could absolutely feel his headache starting as he watched Hitoshi wink in his direction before dashing forward toward another robot. The wide grin on Hizashi’s face did not help in the slightest.
It was the next two words that were uttered by the principal, clearly said with pride and amusement, that had him choking on his coffee.
“Izuku Takami.”
A simple name, two words that lingered in the air with such ease and innocence. And gods, let him be wrong this one time.
“Please tell me his father’s name isn’t Keigo” He glanced at the smiling rat and slammed his head on the desk in front of him. To be completely honest the smug grin itself told him everything he had to know. “Any beings above that can hear me, please have mercy on our souls.”
He saw the confused look that Hizashi and Nemuri shared with each other, the rest of the staff looking at him and the principal, confusion clear in their eyes. He saw the exact moment Chiyo made the connection and her eyes widened as she hid her face in her hands.
And Shouta just knew he gained the first Problem Child of the year.
It took Shouta an entire month, an excessively long phone call, and more coffee than socially acceptable to finalise the most crucial document of his entire career, encompassing both his role as a teacher and a pro-hero. He had reread it about a dozen times today alone, slowly making his way to the teacher's lounge, as if ensuring it covered every significant detail on such short notice. Sighing, he opened the door to allow Recovery Girl entry, with Nezu comfortably perched on his shoulder. As he leisurely approached the central table in the room, he slammed the folder onto its surface, immediately capturing the attention of everyone inside. He suppressed a smirk upon seeing Toshinori startle in his chair, a stark contrast to the deep conversation he had been engrossed in with Snipe just a moment ago.
“Well, you’re clearly in a good mood. Care to enlighten us about the contents of that mystery box, Eraser?" Kan remarked sarcastically, eyeing the envelope with a raised brow.
"This" Aizawa began, slowly extracting a stack of papers. Giving all of them but one to Shuzenji who already started handing them out to everyone in the room. "This is a meticulously crafted set of rules compiled over the past month. Read through it, commit it to memory, and swear by it. Burn it onto your forehead and stick it on your fridge if necessary. I don't particularly care. And maybe, just maybe, you will be lucky enough to survive the next three years.”
"Aizawa's guidebook to hopefully subdue and conquer the Takami Demon Child? Really, Shouta?" Nemuri's snort echoed as she read the title aloud. He crossed his arms over his chest, maintaining an unamused gaze. “Wait, you're actually serious? Is that the kid from the entrance exam? The one that took down the zero pointer?”
Aizawa surveyed the room slowly. Most of the staff had already set the papers aside, not bothering to delve beyond the first page. Hizashi, bless his husband, reclined in his chair, much to Kayama's amusement, carefully scrutinising each point, biting his lip harder with every revelation. Chiyo, somewhere in the corner of the room, sat on one of the couches, methodically reading through the list, silently nodding to herself with a grave expression.
‘Good.’ he thought to himself. ‘Maybe at least those two will make it out alive.’
“He scored first on both practical and academics, didn’t he?” Ectoplasm asked, throwing the paper on the table when he saw Nezu nod silently. “He’s just a teenager, I don’t think a room full of pro-heroes needs an entire guidebook to deal with one kid. Why spend a month to even put it together in the first place?”
And Aizawa fucking snorted.
“Because this one kid” Shouta began, bringing his hand up to massage his already throbbing temples. “This short, absolute force of nature and menace of a child is the son of an ex-underground pro-hero I had the displeasure of crossing paths with. And I am giving you this out of the pure goodness of my heart because I already know how much of a headache he will be if he’s anything like his father.”
Mōkin remained a true enigma among the underground heroes. Guarded about his civilian life, he divulged little, leaving others with scant knowledge aside from his hero name. He wasn't one to linger after drug busts or raids for a chat, preferring efficiency in his takedowns. Swift and silent, blood-red feathers soared through the sky, disappearing from anyone's field of vision even faster. He had been active for several years before Shouta completed his own studies. Never took in any interns, never tied himself down to any sidekicks, and handed out his personal number to a handful of others. To Shouta's knowledge, besides him and Tsukauchi, he wasn't certain if anyone else possessed that number. They were also the only two acquainted with Mōkin's civilian name, a piece of information that stayed hidden even after the man transitioned to the limelight heroics, surfacing as Hawks.
The two had collaborated on numerous cases over the years, and despite Shouta's reluctance to admit it, Takami proved to be a reliable and methodical partner when needed. Shouta didn't know what prompted the change, and he was never nosy enough to inquire. He would be a liar if he said he didn’t watch the man climb the ranks in record time after his debut with a weird sense of amazement. Years of experience backed him up, it was clear as day and out for everyone to see. Yet seeing the person he remembered as vague and closed-off now strutting the streets with a smug look and an overconfident persona occasionally made his head spin when contemplating it. If Takami's next of kin was anything like him, well, they were all in for a ride .
He watched Hizashi rise from his chair, meticulously folding the paper and tucking it into his jacket pocket.
"With all due respect, Aizawa, I'm sure we can handle a child just fine without a guidebook, regardless of who his father is" Toshinori stated cautiously, eyeing him as Nezu hopped off his shoulder to retrieve his own copy of the ruleset from Recovery Girl.
"For your own sake, I hope you're right" Shouta responded grimly, exiting the room with his husband at his side, heading toward the parking lot and their car.
“I will have to learn these rules by heart, won’t I?” Yamada inquired as he fished out the keys, arching an eyebrow and smirking at him.
Shouta grinned widely as he settled into the passenger's seat, leaning forward to retrieve his sunglasses and pushing them up onto his head. His husband regarded him curiously as he closed the door.
“I can already tell you, you will be praising every single god you know about that you did.”