Dad For One

Chapter 37 - Shirakumo

The world had fallen into chaos after the battle in Jaku City. Secrets were spilled and Hisashi came clean about All For One, ratting out All Might with One For All as well. All he asked in exchange for his confession and full cooperation, was to take care of his home and his family. The house for troubled children and teens was to be supported by government funds and his son, who lay unconscious in the hospital ever since the battle, was to be forgiven for the way he lashed out in Jaku City.

There were a lot of factors that had to be taken into account, things that played out in Izuku's favour, so no charges were pressed for now. The Hero Commission had decided he would get a chance to become a hero on a few conditions. One, Izuku was to return the quirks of the heroes and civilians he stole during his rage at Jaku, and secondly, he was to be monitored at all times. UA would be taking full responsibility for his actions as long as he remained a student there, which caused the necessary ruckus among the public.

The doctor was arrested and brought to Tartarus with All For One after his trial and all information regarding the Nomu experimentation was destroyed. But the villains weren't the only ones taking a hit from this fiasco. No, because for the first time in years, All Might's popularity ratings dropped. The whole country had seen him trying to murder a child who'd lost control over their quirk. That and his actions at UA had come to light during Hisashi's statement, causing the public to go wild.

Nobody wanted to believe it at first, but with confirming statements from both Eraserhead and Nezu, there wasn't much room for debate. Yeah, it had been a hectic week... Aizawa was tired, but he wasn't allowed to sleep just yet. Not before he saw him.
"You ready?" Yamada asked as the black ray of sunshine walked into the hallway where he was waiting.
"No" Aizawa answered honestly.

To be frank, he would never be ready to face him. To see him alive and breathing after what happened... It was like a dream come true. Something so unbelievable, it had to be too good to be true. There had to be side effects, things they weren't seeing, things that would affect his health or his surroundings. There had to be... And yet they found nothing. Of course the condition he was found in wasn't great, but he was fine now. Healthy and in good condition, as if nothing had changed in all those years he was gone.

Yamada gave his friend a reassuring smile, patting him on the back before guiding him into the hospital room. Aizawa stopped breathing for a moment as he saw the blue haired kid stand in front of the window, staring out at the sky as birds flew by. Once he heard the door close, his head whipped around to face his visitors, a gasp escaping his mouth.

"Oh my God! It's really you!"

Aizawa was at a loss of words... There he was, just the way he remembered him...

"O-Oboro..." Aizawa breathed, feeling involuntary tears well up in his eyes.

"Shouta! Hizashi!" the boy exclaimed, happily running over to them. Aizawa couldn't react to the hug the boy gave him. Couldn't comprehend the height difference between them, let alone the age gap they now had. God... Shirakumo was still 17 years old, he hadn't aged at all...
"Look at you guys! All grown up!" the blue haired boy smiled.
"The nurses told me you're pro heroes now, right? I bet you've got awesome stories, right? Come on, tell me!"

He dragged them towards the hospital bed, bouncing a little as he sat down, looking up at them expectantly.
"You... Do you remember what happened to you?" Aizawa asked, quickly wiping away some stray tears. Yamada was having his own struggles keeping in the waterworks, but he wasn't having as much luck as Shota had.

"About the accident during our work studies?" Oboro asked, frowning.
"Yeah, I remember... I pretty much died, didn't I?"
He forced a smile, trying to shrug it off like it was no big deal but Aizawa could see right through that façade. He'd never been a good liar...
"Your body was altered" Aizawa continued, hearing Yamada burst out into tears beside him.