Hero Hunter: Izuku Yagi [opm x mha]

Chapter 62: U.A. days

The sky was still dark when Izuku's eyes snapped open.

He could hear it. Soft groans, pained gasps, the dull thud of bodies collapsing to the ground outside. Not screams, not fear, just raw exhaustion. He dragged himself out of bed and crossed to the window, peering through the glass.

Students.

Class 1-A.

Barely visible in the dim morning light, they were running, pushing, crawling through Aizawa's brutal punishment regimen. Collapsed bodies dragged themselves back up again. Iida was clutching his side while forcing another lap. Yaoyorozu was creating dumbbells mid-run, eyes glazed. Kirishima trembled as he held a plank, teeth clenched like he was on the verge of breaking. And all of them were soaked in sweat, their faces pale, expressions tired.

Izuku didn't react. He didn't frown either. He just stared, silently.

Then he grabbed his coat and stepped outside.

No one noticed him as he walked toward the field, hands tucked in his pockets. Not until Aizawa, standing off to the side like an executioner, turned his head slightly.

Aizawa: "You're up early." He said, his voice rough with fatigue.

Izuku: "Your fault." He said with a yawn. "You're training them like they're joining the military."

Aizawa didn't respond. His scarf shifted slightly in the wind.

Aizawa: "Come with me."

Izuku raised an eyebrow, but followed without a word.

They didn't speak as they left the cold air behind and made their way into the school building. The silence was more comfortable than awkward. Aizawa led him to his office, opened the door, and gestured inside.

Izuku stepped in.

And froze.

The mountain of paperwork looked like it could topple and kill someone. Stacks of forms, folders, envelopes, sealed notes, signed warnings, medical reports, training evaluations, disciplinary notices, and god knows what else were piled on every inch of the desk.

Aizawa: "Six months' worth." He said flatly.

Izuku: "You're joking." He said. But Aizawa's face made it clear he wasn't.

Aizawa: "You took the entrance exam. Then disappeared. Then reappeared and became international news. Meanwhile, U.A. still had you listed as a student."

Izuku: "And none of you thought to just... delete me?"

Aizawa: "Nezu said you'd be back."

Izuku: "I'm going to hunt him one day."

Aizawa: "Get reading."

Izuku: "What if I burn it all?"

Aizawa: "You do it again. From memory."

Izuku sighed and sank into the chair, glaring at the paperwork like it had personally offended him.

Izuku: "This is worse than the fights I had."

Aizawa: "Good. Think of it as therapy."

He shut the door behind him and left Izuku alone with the mountain. The sounds of training continued faintly in the distance.

Izuku picked up the first file.

Izuku: "Yagi, Izuku. Quirk: None. Evaluation: Promising, yet volatile."

He blinked.

Izuku: "...Wow. Even back then, you had me pegged."

He set it down and reached for the next.