Lightning in the Ashes (Katsuki Bakugou x OC Fem)

Chapter 11: The Calm Before the Storm

Aizawa stood frozen in the doorway, eyes wide with a mixture of shock and disbelief. Bakugou and Izuku stared back at him, the weight of the conversation still hanging in the air. The silence stretched, growing heavier with each passing second.

Finally, Aizawa blinked, his expression shifting from shock to something more serious. He closed the door behind him quietly and stepped further into the room, his usual calm demeanour now clouded with a storm of emotions.

"You two..." Aizawa's voice was low, steady but strained. "You're telling me you think Valerie is my daughter?"

Izuku, ever respectful of his mentor, fidgeted slightly, looking to Bakugou for support. Bakugou, however, had never been one to back down.

"That's what the evidence points to," Bakugou said bluntly, his tone a mix of frustration and certainty. "Valerie's quirk—her shield that erases quirks on contact—it's too similar to your erasure quirk. And we saw today that you couldn't erase her quirk. Plus, the stuff about her mom, Odette, being here in Japan the same time you were? It adds up."

Aizawa's jaw clenched, the tension in the room thick enough to cut through. He ran a hand through his dark, messy hair, staring at the ground as if piecing everything together. His mind raced back to the memories of Odette—her bright smile, her determination, and the sudden, unexplained way she left all those years ago. Could it be? Could she have been pregnant and never told him?

He looked up at the two boys, his voice quieter now, more vulnerable. "Odette never said anything... I didn't know."

Izuku, who had been carefully analyzing every detail, stepped forward cautiously. "Aizawa-sensei, if she left without telling you, there must have been a reason. Maybe... "

Aizawa's eyes darkened at the thought. The idea that Odette might have kept something like this from him was painful, but at the same time, he could understand her fear. Their futures had been on divergent paths, and neither of them had been ready for the kind of responsibility a child would have brought.

But still, if Valerie was his daughter, that meant he had missed out on years he could never get back.

"Have you shared your suspicions with anyone else?" Aizawa asked, his voice more to himself than to Bakugou or Izuku.

The boys shook their heads, "If she really is my daughter, then... I need to know for sure."

Izuku nodded. "We can find a way to confirm it. There are ways, but we need to be careful. Valerie doesn't know yet, and if this turns out to be true... it'll change everything for her."

Aizawa sighed deeply, his shoulders sagging as the weight of the situation settled over him. He looked at Bakugou, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, though the fire in his eyes was unmistakable.

"And what about you?" Aizawa asked, his tone shifting. "I've noticed you two getting closer. If Valerie really is my daughter, I'm not going to stand by while—"

Bakugou's reaction was instant, his defensive walls shooting up. "It's none of your damn business what happens between me and Valerie."

Aizawa raised an eyebrow, his smirk faint but present. "Is that so? Because if she's my daughter, I'd say it's very much my business."

Bakugou's face flushed red, but before he could launch into a tirade, Aizawa's expression softened. "I'm only just finding out I might have a daughter. I'm not ready to be a grandfather so make sure you manage your hormones"

Bakugou's eyes widened in pure horror, his face going an even deeper shade of red. "Wh—What the hell are you saying, you damn—!" He tripped over his words, completely flustered for the first time in ages.