Chapter 53 - Traitor
Shota Aizawa was not as lazy as people might think.
He spent his days teaching teenagers how to become respectable Heroes and most of his nights fighting crime.
Even then, when he had a rare afternoon off and could have used it to make up for a few hours of sacrificed sleep, Aizawa thought it best to see how his students' first training session went.
He knew Endeavor - an intimidating man whose motives for being a Hero were unclear - and expected Shoto to be at least as disturbing as he was.
In addition to the intimidating side he inherited from his father, the boy was far too much like his problematic nephew and seemed to lack a moral compass.
Endeavor, for all his faults, wasn't the type to lash out at others, even if they were the instigators.
Shoto, on the other hand, had not hesitated to act in the Bakugo incident and had not lowered himself to justify himself to his other ill-informed classmates who had witnessed the scene and thought he was some sort of delinquent.
He had no interest in the opinions of others and - as the brief notes from his college professors had stated - was motivated by nothing more than the exercise of his whims, however fleeting.
Aizawa also knew from an inside source that the boy was a troublemaker; his nephew was his best friend, and together with the other boy, they'd gotten themselves into countless complicated situations that would have gotten anyone else expelled and their school record tainted for life - the advantages of having wealthy, powerful parents, you might say.
All in all, Shoto Todoroki was an unusual teenager, very self-centered and with violent tendencies.
Slightly alarming, but not incriminating.
However, after seeing the first exercise live, Shota Aizawa became concerned.
The fact that he managed the exercise alone and effectively wasn't surprising, and it was even exactly what you'd expect from his personality. Shoto Todoroki, for all his originality, followed a logical and predictable pattern of action.
It was then that Aizawa had been upset: when the boy had faced Midorya, there had been something in his expression that had alarmed him.
The other had cried then and Aizawa had been confused by the impassive way Shoto had looked at him, not a trace of remorse in sight on his face.
Most disturbing of all was the fact that the camera's microphone that had been set up specifically for this room had been damaged, leaving Aizawa with the intuition that Shoto had done it voluntarily. He was also wearing a mask, so it wasn't possible to read his lips.
But what he had read on Midorya's lips worried him.
"Why are you doing this ?"
Aizawa had watched the games and juggled the records of the two students and came to the conclusion that it was almost impossible that they had known each other before.
They hadn't attended the same schools, lived in diametrically opposite places and (he hated himself for thinking it, even if it was true) didn't move in the same social circles.
All in all, the two boys shouldn't have known each other.
So either Shoto had simply decided to make Midorya his punching bag (which again didn't fit with what he knew about the boy whose interest in others was more than limited) or Aizawa was missing something.
And Shota Aizawa never missed anything.
So after watching the rest of the meeting (Monoma had been surprisingly good at copying Bakugo's Quirk from the beginning, blowing up the entrances to the building and thus preventing the Heroes from entering), the teacher returned to his room and waited, correcting some final year papers to pass the time.
Ten minutes later, Shoto walked in.
As soon as he opened the door, their eyes met. Aizawa noticed absently that he didn't seem surprised by his presence - excellent spatial awareness or poker face, he wasn't sure.
"Aizawa-sensei" the boy greeted.
The dark-haired man nodded, studying him as he retrieved the motorcycle helmet from his desk. He wiped the tinted glass with his elbow to remove fingerprints.
"Shoto, why do you want to be a hero ?"
The boy froze.
A few seconds passed, during which the professor never took his eyes off him.
Then he slowly went back to cleaning his helmet.
"For wealth and fame" he replied sarcastically.
"Shoto" Aizawa warned.
The boy raised his heterochromatic eyes at him, and the teacher was mentally outraged that students were allowed to cover half their faces like that.
He already looked blank, and his mask made it almost impossible to read him.
He had a good excuse, though: from what Nezu had told him, the boy had already escaped a kidnapping AND an assassination attempt when he was less than ten years old.
Endeavor had then seen fit to protect his identity at all costs, obliterating everything on the Internet, from a harmless photo of his son to the tiniest line mentioning his existence.
The mask he wore at all times was just another security measure, but perhaps not the most useful, given his unusual hair and eyes.
Endeavor then apparently fought to get his son a license to carry bladed weapons - since he couldn't get a special dispensation to use his Quirks - in light of the threats to his existence.
This was an unprecedented authorization for a minor who hadn't even reached puberty.
"What do you want me to say, Sensei ?"
He looked annoyed.
"It's not important what I want, but that you know why you're doing it"
Shoto stared at him and sighed.
"You saw my fight with Midorya, didn't you ?"
If the professor was surprised that he got to the point so quickly, he didn't show it.
"Anything you want to tell me about it ?"
The boy pretended to think.
"Except that he's a whiner who doesn't have the shoulders to be at Yuei ? No, I don't think so"
"Don't bully your classmates, Shoto"
He hadn't refuted his opinion on Midoriya, and neither he nor the boy missed this half-denial. A thin smile curled the teenager's lips for a moment.
"I wasn't harassing him," Shoto continued. "I just -"
"Don't give unwanted advice to your comrades," Aizawa interrupted him, already knowing what he was going to say. "And don't take it out on them because you're bored"
By the end of the day, Aizawa knew that Shoto was somewhat unstable. Warning him now would allow the teacher to take action against him in the future if he proved to be detrimental to the progress of the other students.
The boy shrugged.
It wasn't as if he was surprised; he had expected at least one teacher to notice his strange behavior towards Midorya, even if he would have leaned more towards All Might.
He'd better watch out in the future, because his teacher - and the smartest of them all - had his eye on him from now on.
"As you wish, Aizawa Sensei"
With his helmet on, the young man left the room without looking back.
It wasn't until the door was closed that Aizawa realized that he had never gotten an answer to his first question.
*
Our penultimate class of the morning had just finished and with it came the class life lesson.
Aizawa waited for Uraraka to return from the bathroom before he announced:
"Today you will elect your class representatives"
I raised my face from the palm of my hand.
Oh ? Is it time already ?
The media had been at the school gates for three days, so I expected the main event to take place much earlier.
"Finally, normal activity," Mina Ashido exclaimed.
That girl irritated me almost as much as Midorya, and I had no idea why.
"Being class president at Yuei must come with great honors" Inasa gushed.
"And tons of opportunities," Kirishima added.
At these words, all the students exchanged glances and began shouting that they wanted to be.
I watched as one by one they began to cry out in frustration.
"I think I've got the skills" Yaoyorozu said smugly from somewhere to my left.
"This job needs someone with manly shoulders, and I've got the most shoulders in this class !"
Aside from the fact that Kirishima was an almost toxic macho, the boy wasn't cut out to be a leader.
At this point in the story, he still had his self-confidence issues and was having trouble managing himself - let alone managing a bunch of teenagers…
Iida stood up, scraping his chair against the floor.
"This position requires someone serious and responsible who can put the welfare of the class first," he announced soberly. "We must elect our representatives in a democratic and civic manner!
"Do whatever you want," Aizawa said as he left the room. "You have the hour"
All the students agreed with the teenager's idea. Yaoyorozu set about making bulletins to distribute to everyone.
A cardboard box in the front served as a drop-off point for small pieces of paper.
The students quickly filled out their sheets and stood up one by one to drop them into the box.
The tip of my pen struck my paper several times as I searched for a reasonable candidate.
Who would be the most entertaining in this role ?
Then I had a flash of genius.
A thin smile formed on my lips.
I wrote down his name, the wheels of my brain turning at breakneck speed.
In the canon, this individual hadn't received enough votes: I felt that the same would be true now, and that I'd have to intervene a bit.
I got up and stood behind the small line that had formed to cast my vote.
Tampering with the results would be no problem: a little genjutsu on a few votes, and the person I wanted would be elected hands down.
I was already anticipating the shock everyone would feel when they saw our delegate.
I wasn't the least bit worried about getting caught: objectively speaking, none of the kids here were a match for me. I had acquired skills they didn't have and abilities they would never understand.
Even if I wasn't on the same level as Madara or Hashirama, I was far more advanced than they could ever hope to be. The only one who could possibly 'worry' me was Aizawa - and he wasn't even there.
"Good!" Iida exclaimed. I suggest that we select two students to read the newsletters !"
"Why is he already acting like he's the delegate," Mina muttered, but her voice carried well enough for everyone to hear.
Iida ignored her and took the list from the call sheet, running his fingers over it until he picked out two names without looking.
"Shoto Todoroki and Ochaco Uraraka !"
I stood up and walked over to the urn where the brunette was already waiting for me. She smiled shyly at me and I didn't smile back.
My gaze wandered briefly over the crowd that was watching us intently.
I'll have a front row seat to the impending fiasco.
"I-I suggest you take out the papers and write them on the board, Todoroki," the girl offered nervously.
"Very well"
She looked visibly relieved that I hadn't attacked her.
I took a pencil and started to write, noticing with astonishment that a name other than my stallion's came out more than proportionally to the canon.
Probably a byproduct of Midorya no longer being the main character.
I put my felt-tip down as soon as I'd finished, glancing amusedly at the surprised faces and open-mouthed 'o's.
"That-that..."
"Well, if I expected that," Kaminari grumbled with raised eyebrows.
The results were as follows:
Midorya Izuku : 0
Mina Ashido : 1
Shoto Todoroki : 1
Momo Yaoyorozu : 1
Denki Kaminari : 1
Inasa Yoarashi : 0
Jiro Kyoka : 0
Bakugo Katsuki : 3
Ochaco Uraraka : 2
Eijiro Kirishima : 0
[…]
Bakugo blinked in surprise, then a broad smile graced his lips. He stood up and pounded his fist on the table, looking down at the other 1-A students.
"I told you, you extra!" he shouted. Iida adjusted his glasses, his expression stern.
"Comrade Bakugo has won the post of class representative," he said. "Congratulations on this well-deserved victory!"
He bowed - the very traditional Japanese greeting - while Bakugo cleaned his ear with his little finger and looked away.
"Yeah, yeah," he said.
He made his way to the podium, almost bumping into Uraraka.
"Now you will all obey my every word !"
"I'm not sure that's how it works," Sero replied, looking uncomfortable.
"What do you mean, it doesn't work like that ? Y'all 'll do what I say and that's it !"
He began to argue with the class, throwing insults here and there while everyone rolled their eyes or smiled contemptuously. Iida had wanted to intervene to tell him that this was no way for a representative worthy of the name to behave, but had sat down when Bakugo pointed out that he hadn't been elected and therefore had nothing to say.
Taking care to remain neutral at all times, I was inwardly amused at the chaos that was about to ensue.
Bakugo wasn't the kind to consider anyone more deserving than himself, so he would never give Iida his job.
My eyes went back to Ochaco.
She frowned at the ballot box, discreetly rereading the ballots.
"Problem?" I said.
I hadn't made any mistakes: the only ballots I had changed were those of students who didn't want to vote for themselves, and which I had memorized beforehand.
She gasped.
"No" she stuttered "Everything's fine Todoroki, thank you"
She dropped the last bulletins as if they'd burned her and stepped back.
I watched her curiously.
"I'm just a little surprised that I'm the vice president " she laughed and rubbed her neck with one hand.
A twist I hadn't expected, but oh, well.
The bell rang, signaling the start of the lunch break.
Now the serious business begins.
I left the room first and went to the bathroom.
Once there, I locked myself in and created a clone: it was the only place where I was almost certain that the psychotic rat who acted as our principal wouldn't put cameras.
My clone used a henge to appear as Itachi.
He was dressed all in black, nothing like the ANBU outfit I had as my hero costume. I was being cautious, and it was better that way than someone discovering a connection between us if he were discovered.
He nodded and disappeared in a shunshin.
I washed my hands and walked out, taking my time walking through the almost deserted corridors. That way, if by some unlikely chance someone thought to connect my clone to me, the cameras would give me an alibi.
I made my way to the dining hall and picked up a tray of various fish dishes and cold soba. There was also a bowl of boiled vegetables and a clear soup with pieces of beef floating in it. Even if I had a chef cooking at home every day, I could safely say that this food was at least as good.
I wanted to sit at a table by myself, but Inasa beckoned me to join him.
At the table with him were Neito, Bakugo, Kirishima and Kaminari. A rather strange group, but they'd make a good alibi.
I sat down with them, absent-mindedly noticing that Neito - still with his strange smile - seemed to be arguing with (or cursing?) other students sitting a little further away.
Bakugo devoured his tray without speaking, focusing on his task as if his life depended on it.
The other boys at the table were chatting among themselves, but I didn't miss the glances - which they wanted to be discreet about - that were thrown in my direction here and there.
Behind them, other 1-A students (even less discreet) looked at me curiously, waiting for me to drop the mask.
I felt amusement rising in me.
I took my chopsticks, dug into the rice and-
Heading for the exit door, a student stumbled, dropped his tray, and collapsed onto the trash cans, emptying them with a thud. Everyone turned to see what had happened.
I quickly devoured my meal.
"It was delicious," I said, patting my towel over my mask.
Probably bad for digestion, but who cares ?
The boys turned and frowned at me.
"Here, have some tea" Kaminari offered, probably feeling like Sherlock Holmes when I nodded.
"Why not ?"
They looked at me intently, leaning over the table; even Bakugo was watching me out of the corner of his eye, his red irises on my mask- And the fire alarm blared, diverting their attention.
*
Author's note :
Importants notes today everyone so please read until the end.
1 - I updated the P@treon and lowered the price of the Kage tier to make it more affordable. I also augmented the number of chapters of the lowest tiers for no price change so if you checked it and thought 'meh, maybe'll later' I'll suggest you checking it again.
2 - Point made by enough people in the last chapter that I decided to explain it here for everyone : Why is Shoto bullying Izuku ?
Shoto doesn't really care about Midoriya as person.
He is mean towards him because he is the supposed protagonist of the world, the one that could be able to put the whole story back on track - and Shoto is scared of that, because it would mean that whatever he does, whoever he kills, no matter how strong he becomes, he will only be this second rate character that has no power over his destiny.
This is litteraly the thing that frightens the most Shoto since Touya tried to kill him for the first time : not being enough.
Let's get back to Izuku : after not receiving the AFO because of Shoto's interference, the boy commited suicide. But for whatever reason he unlocked some weird immortal Quirk - why ? Was it supposed to happen at some point in the original story ? Or is it the world trying to correct itself despite Shoto's interferences ? What does it mean for Shoto ? Is the story always gonna get back on its track no matter what he does ? Does this mean that everything he went through, everything he suffered, everything he survived, means nothing ?
Shoto is irrationally attacking Midoriya, yes. He's acting like a little sh*t, yes.
But, from Shoto's POV, it is justified because as long as Midoriya stays around - as long as Midoriya exists - there is this possibility that he will manage to get the AFO one way or another, which would litteraly mean that Shoto has no power over his life and he will be forced to endure again and again and again for absolutely no reason other than the sake of destiny. And Shoto loathe it.
I explained this point because some readers were confused but honestly there was no need to because it is a plot point that will be explained later on in the story.
Shoto talks about it and explains his behavior at some point, and I get that it can be a bit frustrating for you reading only one chapter at a time but if you've read until now you must know me and my writing style a bit and get that everything will be explained at some point in the story - just be patient.
3 - I decided to take a bit of time off from interacting with everyone.
I will keep on posting the chapters and there won't be any delay (bonus chapter and P@treon included) but I will just distance myself for a bit - hence why I made the note above Shoto's behavior : if you feel confused/conflicted about him it is normal, and I want you to know it will be addressed at some point, I just won't be the one doing it so bear it for a bit.
(And no I am absolutely not taking a break because of constructive criticism (negative or positive) because this is litteraly the reason why I decided to write a fanfiction till the end - I want to get better at writing and for that I need advices and the more I get the better.
I just realised that sometimes shitty comments (non constructive) from people who are clearly not reading the story that I am writing/say weird things for no reason can impede my moral and thus my writing ability and I absolutely can't fall behind schedule if I want to finish this story in one go.
Anyway, enough with the 'I, I, I'.
Hope you liked the chapter, you can read up to 50 chapters ahead on my P@treon, Nar_cisseENG
Power stones goal : 185
See you in the next update everyone !