Fates Entwined (A TodoBaku ff) ✔

LII

Aizawa was the one to find him, limbs sore and hand frostbitten as he obliterated another target, his shards of ice piercing through the wood and right into the wall beyond. Dismembered limbs of the human model he had brought with him to train with lay scattered around him, a head rolling right in front of Aizawa's feet. Shoto watched it come to a halt, and looked up to see the man staring at him with what was a mix of awe and, though it sickened him to acknowledge, the faintest traces of fear. Shoto knew he was dangerous, born and bred to be a human weapon, but to see that fear no matter how small made him want to recoil and bury his power away forever. 

He stood there, breathing deeply as ice melted all around him, the air in the room almost a fine mist. He didn't know what to say, he wasn't sure why Aizawa had come to find him. He was sure there was no meeting to be held today. Slowly, Aizawa walked into the room, assessing the damage his power had caused to his target, how his sword glinted with ice in a way that was almost blinding in the early afternoon sunlight. Soon it would be dark, for winter stole the sun away for herself sooner and sooner with each passing day.

"How are you, Shoto?" Aizawa greeted him as if they were having a polite conversation over tea and biscuits. "I hope Bakugou hasn't been too... Bakugou." 

"He's been fine, as always." Shoto replied, wondering if Aizawa had seen Katsuki enough in recent days to know he's been trying to change, to be a little less competitive and more cooperative. To take a second longer to think before acting. Shoto knew first hand how Katsuki was growing as a person, and he wanted others to see that and not stereotype him as the person he was as a child, a teenager, someone who lost someone important too young. 

"That's good."

Shoto watched as Aizawa noted a discarded wooden leg in the corner of the room, streaks of black that looked like scorch marks along the ankle. He stepped to the side, just enough for his figure to hide it from sight, left hand clenched in a fist behind his back. 

"I stopped by training just now, the warriors are making good progress. Your friend's soldiers are also invaluable." 

"Everyone is working hard." Shoto felt this conversation to be very uncomfortable and stilted. It was like Aizawa was stalling, or skirting around what it was that he truly wanted to say. And for Shoto, who had enough trouble interpreting people as it was thanks to his isolated upbringing, it did nothing to ease his mind. 

There was a silence between them for a long moment, Aizawa continuing to assess the scattering of ice throughout the room. Shoto's breath formed small clouds in the air, slowly dissipating as the room carefully warmed back up. 

"There is something I need to ask you, Shoto." Aizawa finally spoke, turning to give him his full attention. He looked strong with resolve one moment, and then a pained expression overtook his face. "As Bakugou's godfather..." he began slowly, almost like he was trying to formulate the sentences in his head before speaking, "it's part of my responsibility to look out for him, as Mitsuki entrusted me to do. Masaru is an excellent father, yet I don't think he's... straightforward enough."

That was something Shoto could agree with. Masaru was a great man, and seemed to know Shoto more than someone should with what short time they had known each other. He sometimes spoke in riddles, leaving things left unsaid that Shoto wished he would simply explain to him. At the same time, he knew when to let both his son and Shoto learn by themselves, giving them space to grow. For Shoto, he was what a father was supposed to be, how his father could be in another life. 

"Therefore, I'm going to ask what he won't." He took a few steps forward, now only an arm's width from Shoto. It felt like he was being interrogated, like the man could see right through him with his intense stare. But he didn't back down, and kept himself straight and blank-faced. "Shoto, do you have feelings for my godson?"