Leaving the Nest (Platonic Hawks and Tokoyami)

Aizawa

Shouta was going to find and kill whichever incompetent coworker of his authorized Tokoyami's work-study form. Silently seething and wracking his brain for likely suspects, he staked towards Nezu's office. Not Vlad King; he understood perfectly well that Hawks was a terrible choice. Not Ectoplasm; he wouldn't have the gall to accept an internship for one of Aizawa's students without permission. That also eliminated Cementoss, Hound Dog, Snipe, and Thirteen, as they were all somewhat scared of Aizawa. Good, they should be. That left just Mic, Midnight, All Might, and Nezu himself. Not Mic or Midnight; they knew just how protective Shouta was of his students, and not Nezu either; he left most of this stuff to the teachers. It had to be All Might; he was the only one stupid enough to think a child could manage top-level hero work without injury. All Might was a dead man; All for One may have done the initial damage, but Aizawa was going to deal the final blow. Still, he tried to remain composed as he entered Nezu's office. He failed.

Flinging open the door, Aizawa slammed the documentation down onto the desk and glowered at Nezu. "Explain this. Now," he demanded.

The fuzzy principal kept his tone light-hearted and even-tempered as he peered over the papers. "Well, Eraserhead, this would appear to be a work-study form for young Tokoyami. It says here that it's from Hawks. You should be proud that one of your students has yet again garnered the attention of such a high-ranking pro!"

"And what, pray tell, made anyone here believe Hawks was qualified to run a work-study?" Aizawa spat, "He can barely keep his sidekicks with him! That man is in no way capable of teaching and watching over a high schooler!"

Nezu's calm smile became ever so slightly smaller, as tense as the mouse man ever let himself appear. "Eraserhead, do you not think this is a wonderful opportunity for Tokoyami?"

"A wonderful opportunity to get himself killed or injured, that's what it is!"

"Now now, no need to fret; All Might assured me that he had done thorough research into Hawks' credentials. He is more than qualified to teach your student."

So it was All Might, of course. And yeah, right, that man had most certainly not spent any time doing research; he had been busy spending every free moment trying to snag the problem-child a work-study. He had probably just glanced at Hawks' name, saw that he was in the top three, and signed the paper with no regard for the safety of any non-Midoriya student, like always. That obnoxious American-wannabe was going to get a serious lecture about not letting his blatant favoritism affect his already lacking abilities as a teacher.

"Yes, well, Tokoyami is still my student, so I have the final say. Remove that offer from our records. Tokoyami will not be interning with that reckless mess," he grumbled. Honestly, why did no one run these things by him? They were his students!

"Hmm... Very well, but I have to inform you that Hawks was already informed of the request acceptance. You'll have to tell him why it's been rescinded." Explained Nezu. "But, you also have to be the one to explain to Tokoyami why he doesn't have any offers. That's all I'll say." And with that, Aizawa was dismissed from the office.

Oh. Lecturing Hawks in person was something Aizawa was fine with, he'd do it gladly, but explaining the situation to Tokoyami was another story. The bird-boy wouldn't cause a fuss or question his choices like other, more problematic, children would, but Aizawa could already tell he wouldn't like it.

Aizawa wasn't blind; he knew admiration when he saw it. Hawks was one of the only heroes in the top ranks with a mutation, minor as it was. Aizawa had seen it time and time before, students whose appearance was something other than entirely human and their faces when they saw, yet again, an entirely non-mutant top 10. To be favored by the only bird-like hero in the top spot clearly meant a lot to Tokoyami, as much as he tried not to show it. The boy had likely spent his late elementary and middle-school career looking up to the winged hero. To deny him the opportunity to work with his idol would be soul-crushing to the boy, but Aizawa had already seen his spirits dampened.

You never meet your heroes for a reason; they always disappoint. No one can reach the pedestals we place them on, and the aftermath of the two-week internship seemed to confirm that Hawks had not met Tokoyami's expectations. The poor boy had come back frustrated, ashamed, and crestfallen. He did his best to not show it, but Aizawa knew his student well enough to see the disappointment. Hawks was as arrogant as he was efficient, too caught up in his own work and speed to truly care for anyone else. Hawks was not, however, stupid. Aizawa knew this. So if Hawks had said something cruel to Tokoyami, he had meant to do it. Aizawa could never forgive that, could never respect someone who deliberately disheartens one of his students. Aizawa didn't want Tokoyami to experience that disappointment and hurt again, but would it be worse if he didn't go with Hawks at all?

By interning with Hawks, Tokoyami could learn new ways to make up for his lacking close-range combat and speed. That was only if Hawks actually did his job, though. If Tokoyami was left to his own devices like last time, he would struggle to make progress; you can only learn so much by watching. Lack of progress could severely dishearten the bird-headed boy; he already had low self-esteem due to perception of his quirk, and Aizawa didn't want Tokoyami to lose motivation. Alternatively, watching Hawks from the sidelines could provide a goal to reach and work towards, which might spark progress and innovative strategies. Anything could happen, really.

In the end, the work-study would be more helpful than detrimental to Tokoyami, but that was only if the student made it through unharmed. Hawks was irresponsible and reckless as all young twenty-somethings were oft to be. He should never be left in charge of a teenager, especially with his less than desirable track record with sidekicks. Tokoyami seemed no stranger to personal injury, but that didn't mean Aizawa was alright with seeing one of his students hurt. If Hawks failed to keep his student safe, there would be hell to pay.

By the time Aizawa had run all the options through his head, he found himself back at the student dorms. Might as well tell the kid the good news; he should get ready as soon as possible.

Tokoyami looked almost shocked to hear that Hawks had requested him again, his eyes widening a fraction while his feathers puffed up and smooth out again. Still, the boy was clearly happy with the news, and it warmed Aizawa's cold heart to see his student so hopeful. It truly was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and Aizawa was proud of his student for securing such an internship, even if it did worry him. Not that he'd ever say that out loud.

Aizawa could hear those left in the common area clamoring around Tokoyami to talk about the work-study, and he sighed as he walked back to his office. This internship could still go very poorly, and it pained Aizawa to think of such things.

Aizawa was not unfamiliar with the facade that Hawks put up. He knew exactly how involved the man was with the commission, and it put a sour taste in his mouth. Despite technically working for them, Aizawa despised the HPSC. The thought of authorizing such a long exposure to the commission's most loyal attack dog just didn't sit well with him.

Shouta knew full well that the commission had a habit of producing child soldiers. He knew that UA also made child soldiers, in essence, but UA at least allowed them lives outside of heroism. The same could not be said for the HPSC, and that concerned Aizawa greatly. The commission had been not so subtly trying to take Tokoyami off their hands for a while now; presumably to turn him into a Hawks 2.0. They would almost certainly use Hawks to try and convince Tokoyami to come under the commission's tutelage. Not that the boy would, but it still rubbed Aizawa the wrong way that the commission was preying on the one student with no family to back him up. God, Aizawa hated the commission, Hawks had better keep Tokoyami away from them.

Aizawa heaved yet another tired sigh in the comfort of his quiet office, Nemuri and Hizashi were right; he was getting soft. He couldn't remember being nearly this attached to any of his other classes, in fact, he hated most of his other students. He got a good set of kids this time, though, annoying as they were. They had so much potential, such willingness and drive to help others, they'd be great heroes in the future. Maybe he was so attached to them because of all that they had been through. It wasn't every day that Aizawa almost died for his children, and he'd be damned if he let any of them get injured ever again on his watch.

God, he just referred to his students as his children, hadn't he? Aizawa really was too attached to this class. Oh well, if Aizawa spent a little more time worrying and keeping an eye on his students, then that was for him to know.