A Silent Kind of Strength

Chapter 70

By the time Aizawa returned the three teens had been joined by several of their peers. A small group of hero students gathered on the couches watching a movie and trying to help their obviously upset classmates calm down. The man sighed at the scene. Already exhausted and it wasn't even the first full day of the training camp.

With a grumble he made his way over to the group, scooping up the remote from its place on the coffee table so he could pause their movie while he talked. He then settled onto the table himself, facing the small group of three teens in the center of the huddle. He met each of their eyes individually, making sure they really were ok for himself. After he settled that bit of protective rage that was trying to seep into the air he got on with letting them know how things would go down.

"Alright kids. For now Monoma is on probation. We would have sent him home but honestly that would be a headache and a half. So instead he is to be escorted at all times by a teacher or one of the pussy cats. He will not be participating in any of the fun activities planned for the week. And once school starts back up he will be watched closely. If anything like this happens again he will either be kicked to gen ed or expelled completely depending on the severity of what he does. I would have expelled him today but Vlad honestly thinks with some therapy we can help him. So he is getting one chance to redeem himself. That being said, if any of you are uncomfortable with him being around in any way shape or form let me know and I will remove him from the general area. Or request the bus drivers to take him home."

He quieted then. Letting all of the teens, but especially the tree in front of him, absorb the information he had just given them. After a moment he was rewarded by hesitant agreements from his foster sons as well as a stoic nod from Asui. With that he stood, letting them know he would be in the mess hall if he was needed and wandered away to let them continue the movie.

He had some paperwork to start on.

___

Dinner had been delicious. The pussy cats had prepared a large spread of fried rice and simple meat dishes. Things that made it easy to set platters in the center of the long tables of the mess hall so the starving teens could serve themselves. They did warn the kids that from then on all of the meals would be prepared by the students. Breakfast and lunch made by a rotation of 10 kids from each class at a time and dinner a large group effort. They were hoping to instill some practical kitchen skills into the kids by the end of the week.

But now that their surroundings were explored and their meal was eaten the kids were all excited to hit the hotsprings. Especially class A, tired and sore after their ordeal they had been looking forward to a soak since they reached the lodge.

It wasn't until they were filing into the small locker area outside of the utilitarian shower area that Izuku realised just how little privacy there was in an onsen. He hesitated by the cubby he had ended up by. Listening as the other boys chatted around him. Staring blankly at the wall as his panic screamed through him quietly.

He hadn't decided on what to do before a hand on his shoulder dragged him back into his surroundings. Most of the others had already started to trickle into the shower room, settling down on the stools to rinse themselves off.

He turned his head to find Hitoshi, frowning slightly, violet eyes showing his concern. And of course the other boy was able to cut right through to the problem. "Izu. If you're uncomfortable I'm sure Aizawa will let you come back and shower later. But… if we wanna be heroes we all need to get used to scars eventually… And if any one tries to judge you for yours I can always brainwash them into doing something embarrassing so we have blackmail on them. Kinda hard to talk shit when someone can ruin your social standing."