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As a teacher, Aizawa would never admit that he had favourite students, never. But if he was honest with himself, well, the answer would be another thing entirely. More than himself, the stress of his life had also made him open up on the subject with his friends, sharing this tidbit of information to feel less guilty about it.
It wasn’t rare for some of the teaching staff to go out and bitch about the future heroes, bundled together in any bar where they could be normal people instead of authority figures or heroes. During those hours, Aizawa was not shy to say that one Bakugou Katsuki was his favorite in Class A, making Hizashi cackle about his fondness for loud blonds. It wasn’t his fault if the kid -because he was a kid when he first entered the school- had a deep soul desire to help people that resonated with Aizawa, even if the young boy expressed it in a way that was often misread as a need for power.
Shouta saw through it quickly enough, the swearing and yelling an obvious warning to stay away, to stop touching him or talking to him because it was too much for him. This was not unusual for victims of abuse, and it was common in people fighting panic attacks or PTSD too, both cases fitting Katsuki.
During his years as his homeroom teacher, Aizawa watched him grow and settle more in his life, open himself to others, make friends, and help them in various quiet ways. If he was honest with himself, Katsuki made Aizawa think about his younger self -a more showy and loud version of himself, but still, someone who struggles with proximity and defends himself in the only way they know how-.
The kid wasn’t even that violent about it, the only moments the blond was really violent were when faced with injustice or Midoriya Izuku, which, since he was All Might’s protege and had access to quite a few passes, was a product of injustice by himself. So when the blonde was depicted as a rage-filled animal, a beast, it made Shouta furious enough to confront Nezu about it, and he even threatened to quit and expose the school if an apology wasn’t released. Of course, it was already too late for Bakugou’s mental health once the school condemned the actions from the festival, but it was the least he could do for the kid.
Later on, when he was kidnapped by the LOV, Aizawa couldn’t help but be angry with his colleagues for the attention they drew on Katsuki at the festival, but also with himself for his inaction. There wasn’t time for self-pity, however, because they needed to find the teen and help him.
Katsuki was dubbed his problem child early in his stay at UA, but the title took on another sense altogether once they had the teen back. When it was said with good humour before, it was now a reminder of the hurdles he had to live through.
After all this, the students had to live in dorms, and Aizawa decided to help as much as he could. He tried to help him with his mental state, teaching him some meditation techniques and ways to ward off panic attacks, but also helped him train and better his techniques thanks to some bits of advice and training. They continued like this for years, the two of them working together on the nights when the nightmares kept the younger man awake, while the whole class was growing up, Katsuki in their midst, even though he had retreated into himself after all the things he had gone through. They became close, as close as an authority figure could be with a traumatized teen with trust issues anyway, and Shota learned to pick his battles.
To say he was shocked when Katsuki stood up against the Hero Society as a whole and quit was only half true: yes, he was shocked that the man didn’t finish his studies and become a hero, but he would lie if he said he hadn’t seen the blond disagree more and more with the politics and guide lines of the society as the years went by.
As much as it pained him to say, he understood where this was coming from. Katsuki had been mistreated by society, had been abused by the system, and then asked to say thank you for it. So really, Aizawa understood. He just wished that he could have been more present for the kid, to have been able to help more before all this happened.
When Katsuki came back for his belongings after his explosive declaration, Aizawa did the only thing he could to help and kept his other students back, improvising a speech about opinion and point of view, how everyone was entitled to have some and speak about it, even while being a hero. Once he was sure Katsuki had enough time to get away, he let the students go and smiled to himself when he later saw them come back, grumbling about being too late. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for now.
After this stunt, Aizawa kept an eye open for his former student, looking for him when he was patrolling, but also reading any articles he could find and threatening to sue the publishers if some of them weren’t erased.
He didn’t hide his pride for his former student and his ambition to help people, even in a civilian capacity, which created some arguments between him and other heroes, like Endeavor and All-Might. One such instance was still fresh in his mind: the first real argument they had soon after the two discovered Aizawa’s patrol schedule.
Aizawa was just getting back from combat training and was ready to finally have a coffee to keep him awake when Hizashi screeched to obtain his attention.
“Shouta! How was your patrol yesterday? Any troubles?”
“Hello to you, too. Everything was fine, tiring but fine.”
“Good, good. Did you go see the little listener?”
“Hm. He was working the emergency shift after the incident on Tokohami Street. He seemed good.”
“You didn’t go talk to him?”
“It’s not my place to do so. He’s not a UA student anymore.”
“Yes, but he’s still your kid.”
“Hizashi, don’t-”
“Morning, friends! What are you two talking about?”
Both teachers turned silent when they saw All Might, closely followed by Endeavor, enter the teacher’s lounge. The enormous smile on the blond lips felt false, mocking even, and the lack of sleep made Aizawa snapish enough to respond without filter.
“Nothing that concerns you. Why is he there? One would think you have tarnished our reputation enough as it is.”
“Shouta!”
“Is there a problem with my presence, Aizawa?”
“Except for the fact that you’re an abuser and led to the birth of one of the deadliest villains out there, you mean? I can give you good tens.”
“Aizawa! There is no need for such hostility! You know that what had been said was false!”
Aizawa growled at that and was about to answer when Hizashi outstripped him, to everyone's surprise. The loud blond did a double-take at All Might’s scrawny form before letting all cheerfulness drop from his voice.
“Excuse me? It is one thing to play along on TV for the sake of the Hero Society’s reputation, but to lie to yourself? We all know that everything is true. You’re protegee is best friends with Shoto, so you’re well placed to know the kid has issues.”
“Do not involve my son in this! If you have a problem with me, tell me directly.”
“Which one? The one you abused enough that he turned into a criminal, the one that can’t use his quirk without having a panic attack, or the one that acts like you don’t exist?”
Endeavor all but growled his answer, his hair and mustache going straight in flames, while Aizawa snarled at him, Hizashi looking seconds away from attacking while spitting his reply, and All Might looking all but scandalised. The latter was the one to escalate the issue by involving Katsuki right after this.
“Stop it! You two sound like young Bakugou! You’re lucky it’s just us here, or people could start talking about who put those ideas in his head in the first place.”
“Katsuki is smart enough to see what’s right in front of him, we didn’t need to tell him anything. Maybe you should take a leaf out of his book, Toshinori.”
“Aizawa, this is enough. You can’t defend him when he’s working with Dabi. This kid is not your responsibility anymore, and you would do better to remember it. We gave the order to keep watch on his activity, and it wouldn’t do if you were to intervene.”
Shouta took a deep breath, pinching his nose between his fingers in a cheap shot at reducing his headache while trying to calm himself before he killed someone. Unfortunately, Enji was the one to answer him, reducing his work to nothing.
“Are you telling me you asked for the HPSC to treat Katsuki as a villain because he wouldn’t believe in your crocodile tears? And they accept?”
“What else would he be? Maybe the LOV had a reason to take him when they did. Look at him now, defending one of their core member and publicly announcing his support for their cause.”
The only reason the new Number One hero was still alive was Hizashi’s quick reflexes and his way of making Shouta come back to his senses in seconds. It was safe to say that, if his friend hadn’t started murmuring about Shouta’s reason to teach at UA and the way it would poorly reflect on Katsuki if he was suspended now, the underground hero would have enjoy punching Enji in the face and maybe going low enough to hit his healings injuries too.
As it was, he only spat at his feet and looked at All Might with enough disdain to freeze the man on the spot. What happened after that was nothing anyone but him should know about, but let’s say that if Endeavor’s number of missions in the seedier part of the town increased greatly, well, that was just his luck.
Shaking his head at the memory of the hero’s hypocrisy, Shota sighed for the eniem time today and considered walking to Nezu’s office to give his resignation letter. He wouldn’t, not when he was trying to keep the younger generation of students on the right track, but still. The thought was appealing.
Looking at the clock, he saw that it was time for classes and he couldn’t wait for the day to be finished. The day dragged on until it was finally night, and he was happy to see that it would soon be time for his patrol, and he could finally leave and help the people he swore to protect. In those moments, he felt closer than ever to Katsuki, he felt closer to what a hero should be, what he should be.
In more than one way, Bakugou had become a symbol of evolution in their world: for the citizens who saw a hero help more concretely, for the heroes who saw someone revolting against the HPSC, but also for the next generation who saw him -one of the best UA students- abandon the courses without giving up on his dream of helping the people.
Smiling to himself, Aizawa couldn’t help the fondness he had for the man who braved so many obstacles in life and decided to better the world, to turn toward the good and do whatever he could to do it. This what what it meant to be a hero, and Shouta was glad he saw the man grow into such a fierce figure of change.
Lost in his thoughts, it was only thanks to his training that Shouta didn’t activate his quirk when he felt someone drop next to him in the otherwise empty place. Turning his head, the underground hero was shocked to see the very man he was thinking about: Bakugou was standing here, hands in his pockets in a falsy relaxed stance, while his eyes roamed over Shouta and their surroundings as if looking for something only he could see.
“You’re way out of your patrol route, sensei. Got lost in your old age?”
“Should I even ask how you know my patrol schedule, Bakugou? I’m sure you know that it would cause quite the ruckus if people find out about that.”
“Hm, it’s not my fault you decided to monitor my actions every night you got the next block on your routes.”
“That’s not- Bakugou, you know what I think about your choice, I already told you. I’m not monitoring anything, I’m watching out for you. As competent as you are, you’re still young, and I would be damn if I didn’t help in anyway I can.”
The blonde looked at him with a piercing gaze, eerily still and silent, before sighing and relaxing his shoulders. He nodded towards the next alley before making his way there, and Aizawa followed without a word, knowing this could be the last time he would be able to talk to him now that he had been busted.
They walked for a bit before stopping on top of a building’s roof, the place isolated enough to be sure no one would be there but not so much as to make Aizawa rethink things. Seeing Katsuki sitting at the edge of the roof, looking back at him with a lifted eyebrow and a tilt of his head, was enough to make Shouta relax a bit and follow his example. Not wanting the silence to continue too long, he then started the conversation back.
“Why now?”
“You’ve been checking on me since the beginning, but I thought it was gonna stop when you figured I wouldn’t change my mind and come back. And after everything with Deku, I didn’t know what to think at all anymore.”
“What Midoryia did was in no way right, and he will be expelled for it, I hope you know that. It doesn’t matter that he is All-Might’s successor.”
“You’re sure about that? Because I didn’t heard shit about it. There were so many articles, interviews, and all when I resigned, but I’m supposed to believe that a student being kicked out didn’t interest the press? All they say is that he turned wrong, that he as hiding his real nature or some bullshit, but nothing about it stopping him from having his licence.”
“Bakugou. He will be expelled. This hadn’t been done for now because we need time to draft official documents, but it will happen. I know the system is flawed, and we as heroes are part of the problem, but there is no way this will get a pass. I won’t let it fly.”
Bakugou stays silent for a bit, mouth twitching into a frown, as if he weren’t convinced by Aizawa’s vow. Before the older man could try to press his point, Bakugou started to talk again.
“You know I won’t come back, right? No matter what happens, I won’t. I’m happy here. The people I live with are good; they actually care about me, just like the people I work with. I don’t care that they’re citizen, vigilantes, or even villains; they do more good for this city than any heroes.”
“I know you won’t come back, and that’s your choice; I don’t have any say in it. If you’re happy, then I don’t know why I would say anything. And you know I do underground work, we work alongside vigilantes quite often, even if it stays off the official reports, but you probably shouldn’t tell me about any villain you work alongside.”
“I’m not working with or for them, I still don’t want to be a villain. I’m living with one, though.”
In a rare moment of vulnerability, Shouta saw Katsuki smile, a smile so soft that it struck him that he had never seen the blond this happy before. He looked young and carefree like this, looking to the street below without really seeing it, a fond expression on his face. It reminded Shouta of the way Chiyo looked when she talked about her late husband, and the thought made him stop for a bit. Bakugou looked in love. His child was in love with a villain.
“You- alright, that’s not what I was expecting, but ok. Are they good to you? Are you safe?”
“Right. Well, if you’re safe, that’s all I really care about, kid. I’m glad you can live a somewhat normal life with friends and love. ”
Their gazes met, and this time the smile that Katsuki wore was even worse on Shouta’s poor old heart: the kid looked proud of himself and happy to have Aizawa’s support, like he was looking at him for approval, even after everything.
If Aizawa smiled back, well, that was between the two of them. Sighing after that, the older man looked away before talking again, knowing that he would do whatever he could to keep making sure his former student was happy.
“I hope he knows that if he ever hurts you, there isn’t a single place he could hide without me finding him.”
The laugh this caused in Bakugou was enough to make Aizawa sure of his decision, and he scribbled his number down on a piece of paper before giving it to him. He then got up, put a hand on the blonde’s shoulder, and bid his goodbye.
“Don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything. Or to come to me if you see me. You know my schedule.”
“Sure, old man.”
With a last pat on the shoulder, Shouta nodded and got back to his patrol, knowing that he still needed to make his rounds. Not five minutes later, he felt his phone buzz, and when he looked at it, he saw a message from an unknown number, a simple “thank you” that made him smile.
Hizashi was right, Katsuki may not be a UA student anymore, but he was still his kid, and Shouta would do anything to protect him. The first step would be to push for Midoriya’s expulsion to be quick and for a statement to be made.