Flora

1

Aizawa wasn't having the best day. He woke up with a hangover, Hizashi had screamed at a stray insect, a villain managed to stuff his nose somehow, and he didn't have that much work to do. Which landed him to where he is now, sitting on a park bench looking homeless and pathetic.  

He chugged his coffee and sighed out heavily, 'This day is to long'. He pinched the bridge of his nose in an effort to try and clear it out, it surprised him that such a tiny difference bothered him so much. 

"Calm down- there's plenty for everyone."

He opened his eyes, 'Who was up this late at night?' He turned his head to try and spot the speaker. 

"Shush, shush, you already had some."

Internally groaning, Aizawa pulled himself up and off of the bench slowly, a loud rustle escaped the bushes next to him. 

"Where are you going?"

A cat pushed its head against Aizawa's leg. Aizawa reached down to pick it up and smiled slightly at the familiar smiley face on the cat's head. 

A boy with light green hair stumbled out of the bushes, "There you are, Emote." 

Aizawa quirked an eyebrow, "You named Smiley, Emote?"

The kid was unfazed, "You named Emote, Smiley?" 

Aizawa was slightly impressed. "Were you the one talking?" 

The kid nodded his head and stepped back a bit to sit in the bushes, "Yeah, it's quiet at night. Emote usually follows me around to make sure I'm not alone, together we like to take care of some of the damaged plants."

"You sounded like you were talking to multiple beings, you aren't hiding any cats from me, are you?"

The kid let out a soft laugh, it fit his voice, gentle, "No, sometimes squirrels or badgers or just passing animals will join us for a short while." He brought out a bag of food from his hoodie pocket, "It became a habit to bring snacks along, it would be unfair if I didn't let them have any." 

Aizawa didn't realize he was smiling until he sat down. He felt... cleansed, "What's your name, kid?"

The boy held out his hand, "I'm Midoriya Izuku. A junior high student. What's your name?"

"Aizawa." He reached out to shake his hand, it felt cold, but in a good way.

"Well, Aizawa, it's nice to meet you." 

"Same to you." 

The two sat and talked while Emote sprawled out in between them. A few other animals would pop out of the bushes and lumber over to Midoriya for scratches or simply sat besides him. 

"I'm sorry, but is your hair moving?" 

Midoriya let out a small gasp and went to pat his hair back down, "I'm sorry, my hair acts like leaves do, they startle at the slightest breath of wind." 

"It's okay, my hair moves too." Aizawa activated his quirk and let his hair float through the air, he sensed a quirk gene in the child but couldn't get to it, "What's your quirk, Midoriya?"

Midoriya seemed to glow, just a bit, and happily explained his quirk. "I call it Flora, as in Flora and Fauna. It allows me to have characteristics similar to plants, to use a trait I have to know the scientific and common name for the plant as well as its regional areas. I think the animals are a side effect, I feel like nature to them, nature is safe." He held out an arm and Aizawa watched as small slivers grew out of his skin, "Opuntia, commonly known as the prickly pear cactus. I use this for defense, but people mostly leave me alone." The prickles retreated back into his arm. "I can photosynthesize as well, it saves my mother money and is much more fulfilling than actual food." He let out a sigh, "The drawbacks are that I can't hold my breathe, I can't get scared near people due to the prickles, I can't seem dangerous to animals unless I activate a poisonous plant, and I have a suspicion that using to many plant transformations in a day would take a toll on my body." 

"Suspicion?" Aizawa had been listening intently to Midoriya as he spoke, his use of the word suspicion threw him into a loop. 

Midoriya shrugged his shoulders, "I haven't really found a limit yet, sometimes as night I wake up unusually exhausted and find flowers everywhere but that could just be a side effect from using my quirk unconsciously. Besides that, what's your quirk, Aizawa?" 

Aizawa let out a huff, "My quirk let's me freeze other quirks as long as I have them in my sight, when I blink the effects vanish. It causes a strain on my eyes and my hair lifts when I use it." 

"Have you tried using your second eyelid?"

Aizawa gave him a look, "My what?"

"Oh, do you not have one?" The boy looked thoughtful for a moment before opening his eyes widely and showing Aizawa the transparent cover he had over his eyes. "I suppose it's another effect from my quirk, some plants have protective coverings." He blinked, "I don't think I would have found that out without your help, thank you." 

"You're welcome."

The two sat in silence and Aizawa wondered why he exposed his quirk. The kid is so open, he acts like he doesn't have anything to hide. It makes me feel like I don't have anything to hide.

"-night?"

Aizawa shook his head, "What was that?"

"I asked why you are out so late at night. It's not exactly healthy to be wandering around."

"Hypocrite." 

The kid lightly shook his head, "No, I live right over there." He pointed to the apartment complex across the street. 

Aizawa was perplexed, who just- gave away where they lived to a stranger? "How do you know I'm not a murderer? I could be a villain for all you know."

"I do know." Midoriya lightly pet Emote's back, "Emote wouldn't spend time with you if you had ill intentions. I secretly believe he has a quirk, but he can tell whether somebody will do wrong. So I know you aren't out this late at night because you carry bad will."

"Alright, you caught me. I work for the legal system and just finished a late night shift." 

Midoriya gave him a smile that screamed 'I-knew-it', oddly enough, Aizawa wasn't insulted. It was more of a gentle reminder that Aizawa was O-K. 

Midoriya lifted himself up and offered a hand to Aizawa to help him up, "I hope tomorrow's shift will be easier for you, I hope to see you again. It's almost awakening time for everyone, the badgers have all gone back into their holes and the tree leaves are starting to bend towards the east. Good day to you, Aizawa." 

Midoriya walked across the street and into the building, Aizawa walked back towards his house and only realized once he was on the couch that his nose had cleared.