Rooftops are Peaceful. I Assume You Agree?

Chapter 2

Shouta would never regret adopting Izuku. He'd never regret helping train Izuku to get into UA (or Shiketsu, there were points made about entrance exam biases) and become the hero he was meant to be. He did, however, slightly regret introducing Izuku to Nezu. (He did, but he also really, really didn't. Because Izuku deserved to be as happy and chaotic as he wanted to be.)

The first time Izuku met Nezu, it was for nothing more than signing adoption forms—sometimes it was nice having a boss who was powerful enough to rush paperwork—and testing Izuku's intelligence. After investigating Aldera, they unanimously agree that they had no accurate records of how well Izuku was doing academically and, for reasons relating to putting him in an online school for his last two years in middle school, a placement test was needed.

Nezu gave him a normal middle school placement test, saying he'd get back to them in a couple of days, only to call them a day later to tell them he accidentally gave Izuku the wrong test—one meant for a transfer student—and needed them to come back so he could take the actual test. Shouta found it a bit suspicious, his old teacher wasn't known for making mistakes, but Hizashi just said to mark it on the calendar—it wasn't often Nezu made a mistake.

Shouta should've known it wasn't a mistake. They brought him in on a normal school day, Nezu promising to take good care of him after he finished his exam, and assumed that would be that. (It's never "that would be that.") It wasn't until two hours later, when Nemuri ran into his class, asking him if he knew why Nezu was cackling in his office like he'd just destroyed the Hero Commission, that Shouta knew he'd made a mistake. (Was it really a mistake if it helped Izuku reach his full potential?)

It wasn't until during lunch that Hizashi and Shouta could check on Izuku. (And if they were slightly scared to see Izuku playing chess with Nezu when they got there, then no one else had to know.) Shouta wasn't sure whether to bang his head on a desk or to cheer when he heard that Izuku had completed Nezu's Hell Test in those first two hours, a record all on its own, while also beating the previous top score of 72%, scoring a 94%.

He was almost certain he should bang his head on a desk after he heard Nezu's offer to personally teach Izuku. He and Hizashi had been a bit hesitant, they didn't want Izuku to dominate the world too early, but after agreeing on no world domination lessons until at least the second semester of his first year in high school, they agreed. (It was not because of the look on Izuku's face when he heard he might be learning from the smartest being in the world, not at all.)

It was convenient for him and Hizashi at least, Izuku's coming to school with them. They didn't have to worry about him being bullied or about not being able to pick him up on time. And if rumors of a ghost haunting UA started spreading, then was it really Shouta's fault that his son was a vent gremlin?

(There was a moment, just a moment of regret, when all UA teachers received an analysis of their quirk through their school emails. When most of the teachers—all but Shouta, Hizashi, and Nezu—had miniature breakdowns over how well they actually knew their quirks. When he remembered just how good his kid was at analysis—and he was so proud—and realized how much better they were about to get with Nezu as Izuku's teacher. But he couldn't regret it for more than a second, because Izuku was comfortable enough to show Nezu his analyses. To show him something that it'd taken him weeks to show Shouta and Hizashi because kids were cruel and those notes were his lifeline.

There was another moment of regret when Shouta heard the support lab blow up and he found Maijima in the teacher's lounge with an expression of exhaustion and horror and he found out that his son had been introduced to the wonders of the support lab. But one look at the smile on Izuku's soot-covered face, one second of hearing Izuku ramble about how useful support would be when he was a hero—because he was quirkless and battle fields were full of parts—and he couldn't bring himself to regret it.

So yes, there were moments when he regretted Izuku and Nezu meeting. But he could never regret it for long. Because this was Izuku. This was his kid and he'd always want what was best for his kid. And if the best was learning how to create explosives out of household chemicals, haunting UA's vent system, and learning how to manipulate the Hero Commission, then who was Shouta to regret it? (It wasn't like Shouta wasn't teaching him how to take down people twice as big as him and parkour across rooftops.) After all, he was Izuku's dad, he'd survive when he took over the world. And for now, he'd just enjoy seeing his kid happy.)