Chapter Text
Izuku liked to believe that he’s a pretty smart guy, at least that's what his mom always tells him. When he was younger, he was always pretty ahead of the curb compared to his classmates, not that he’s bragging or anything. It’s just an observation he made when he was younger. Of course as Izuku grew up and his teachers grew meaner towards him, he eventually settled into slightly above average intelligence-wise which is perfectly fine with him!
But, while he’s always been smart academically, his social skills were the area in which Izuku had struggled the most. Though, it’s not entirely his fault given the fact that he grew up with like zero friends except for Kacchan, even though Kacchan was a total dick to him for years. He didn’t get the chance to hone all of his necessary social abilities like his classmates, especially when it came to adults since every time Izuku was around any adults in public, his mom was scared that he was scared he’d be kidnapped and sold for ransom to shady people on the black market.
Now Izuku’s all weird and awkward around people older than him because of the stupid little voice in his head ( that sounds suspiciously like his mother ) telling him that he’s going to get snatched up and chopped into itty-bitty pieces. Which is why he’s so… confused by his homeroom teacher's weirdly gentle attitude towards him. It's not that he thinks Aizawa-sensei is going to dismember him and put him in a blender just because the man is being kind( ish ) to Izuku. No, what happened at the USJ proved that Sensei wouldn’t risk any of his class’s safety even at the cost of his own well-being. There's just something about the look in the perpetually tired man's eyes when he looks at Izuku sometimes that sort of makes Izuku want to reach for his mace yet cling to the man's affections at the same time.
It wasn’t just Aizawa either because Yamada-sensei ( Izuku’s favorite hero after All Might! ) was just as suspiciously sweet to the green haired boy, though it was a little less scary since Yamada didn’t look at Izuku like he wanted to throw the short boy in a comically large sack and sprint out the room. The blond seemed to do less noticeable things like accidentally bringing the same American candy Izuku mentioned he liked in one of the English practice sheets or Mic accidentally pushing Kayama-sensei into a wall after she tried offered to tutor Izuku on the history of anti-mutant quirks, demanding offering to help Izuku instead. But those could just be coincidences that happened to revolve around Izuku.
Until today, Izuku had no reason to worry about either of his teachers’ sanity. He had no clue that they were, in a sweet yet scary way, batshit crazy.
-.-.-.-.-.-.
Izuku first noticed their eccentricities after a particularly grueling training session with All Might. The number one hero had gone harder on him than usual after critiquing Izuku on his lack of control over One for All yet.
Which, Izuku argued to himself as he limped into the common room, was fair since he’s still breaking his bones every time he uses his quirk.
But that doesn’t mean getting his ass handed to him by a 7-foot-something man, who’s the size of five Izukus, didn’t hurt like hell. To make things even better, the green-haired boy couldn’t go to Recovery Girl for care anymore, out of fear of her refusing to treat him. That’s fine though! Izuku knows how to take care of himself.
He was so engulfed in this train of thought, he didn’t even notice that he had made it upstairs until he had walked face first into his door. The impact causing his already-broken nose to start gushing blood as he feels tears of pain and embarrassment start to well up in his eyes when he hears Aoyama’s door open to the left of him, the blonde definitely having heard the collision.
“Oh mon Dieu! Midoriya, are you alright?!” Aoyama gasps, freezing at the sight of Izuku covered in bruises before he rushed to help the other boy inside his dorm room.
The simple kindness seemed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back for Izuku as he broke down into heavy sobs, cupping his bleeding nose in his hands to keep the blood from getting on his carpet. Through his tears, he vaguely registers Aoyama gently nudging him to lay down while the french boy whispers assurances to Izuku that he couldn’t hear well over his own sobs but he still nodded along shakily, hoping to reassure Aoyama despite his breakdown.
He felt stupid for crying over a bloody nose but he was just in so much pain, his entire body was throbbing in agony with each deep sob. He didn’t even notice Aoyama had left for a moment until the blonde boy had returned with Aizawa-sensei. Izuku stares up at the man through blurred vision and his green curls, his sobs slowing down to small hiccups as he watches the dark haired man mumble something to Aoyama that seems to soothe the blonde’s worries enough for him to leave Izuku and Aizawa alone.
It was quiet for a few minutes as Aizawa sat on the edge of Izuku’s bed, seeming content to just sit and wait for Izuku’s tears to subside while he observed the teen’s room. If Izuku was in the right headspace, he’d be a bit more embarrassed by the amount of hero merch all over his room - including the homemade Eraserhead merch he had an entire corner dedicated to - but he didn’t have any more energy to feel anything except for exhaustion and a dull pain radiating through his body.
“You really like All Might, huh?” His teacher dryly quips, a sweet but awkward attempt at small talk, as he stares up at the All Might poster above Izuku’s bed before he looks down at the freckled boy with a small smile. A huff of laughter escapes Aizawa when he sees Izuku lift his head to nod shyly, lifting the boy's spirits a little before he notices his teacher's sudden shift in mood as the man stares at him with a small furrow in his brows and a gleam in his eyes that looks like a mix between anger and concern.
Before the teen could open his mouth to ask what’s up, he’s startled by Aizawa reaching out to grip his chin in a firm yet gentle grasp. He blinks up at the man while his teacher stares back at him, blinking slowly ( he’s like a cat in a human’s body ).
“What happened to your face?” The cat-man ( man-cat? ) bluntly asked.
Izuku wasn’t quite sure if he should be offended or not until he realized that the man was focusing on his matching set of injuries - a black eye, split lip, bruised cheek, and a broken nose caked with blood.
The freckled boy laughed softly at the look of protectiveness in his eyes before he gave the man an explanation. “Training with All Might. He, uh, got a little overzealous, y’know? But that’s not his fault!”
He had expected Aizawa to accept the explanation and move on, not seeing any harm in what happened with All Might. What he didn’t expect was the hero’s face dropping into an eerily calm expression while his black eyes lit up with an anger that Izuku wasn’t sure if it was aimed at him or not.
“Did he?” His teacher drawled, tilting his head a bit as he stared at Izuku with an almost-creepy intensity while Izuku stared back at him in confusion. But before the boy could say anything, Aizawa nodded to himself as if Izuku’s confusion confirmed something to the man.
Midoriya looked up at his teacher curiously as the man stood up, a warm feeling tugging in his heart when Aizawa ruffled his hair. “Sensei-” Izuku started to say, unsure of what to say to his obviously upset teacher, but the hero cut him off by gently pushing him to lay his head back down on his pillow.
“Just get some rest, kid.” Aizawa murmured as he slouched out of the room, leaving Izuku to stare at his back in confusion and wondering what just happened before choosing to close his eyes and finally get some sleep.