Summary: A small scene from by Code BNHA au, after X.A.N.A. returns and Class 1-A is on a trip to France.
[AO3]
It was in the middle of the fight, an impossible fight that Shouta never thought he would be part of even with all the years of hero work under his belt, when it happened.
When Aizawa watched one of his students die.
Ever since he began his work as a teacher, he had one rule.
Students with Zero potential would not be welcome in his class.
He refused to send kids to their deaths.
Even when later on it wasn’t enough, even when later Shouta had to go to one of his former students' funeral.
On this case, it wasn’t enough.
And has Shouta watched his student, as he watched Ishiyama be hit by one of the Megatanks after throwing Shouta himself off the small cliff to protect him - her own teacher whose job was to protect her -, Shouta knew it hadn’t been enough.
Ishiyama Yumi had *potential* to be a good hero, even with all the mysteries she apparently harboured.
She would have been a good hero.
Just like Oboro.
“Ishiyama!” Shouta screamed, automatically being able to fall correctly, quickly climbing back up the cliff.
But it was no use, there was only the Megatank left.
And Shouta knew, he knew that in this weird world there may not be any type of body left, with how he watched Ishiyama disintegrate as he had been thrown off.
As if whatever code had kept her here had come apart.
As if Shigiraki had used his quirk on her.
Even with it all, he still he couldn’t help but hope-
“Where-?”
“Yumi isn’t there any more.” Belpois said, sounding neutral.
As if his friend hadn’t just died.
What had these kids gone through, what had Ishiyama gone through, to make the kid able to brush off a death of a dear friend and focus on the fight so easily when even veteran pro-heroes had difficulty with it?
Doesn’t matter, Shouta thought, closing his eyes for a second as he heard his students cry out from where they were keeping the monsters off the Factory, already grieving for their friend, as he heard fellow heroes through the communicators protect the civilians and Shouta’s own few, so very few students who had stopped, as he heard Ken shout in denial at the news of his niece's death, as he heard his husband and his best friend and Ishiyama’s she was so young, why did she have to die so young like Oboro- friends fight the monsters to get Schaeffer to the tower.
It didn’t matter because Shouta had to do like Belpois and focus on the present.
Opening his eyes, Shouta let his quirk flow through him as he turned to the Megatank - who had finally noticed him if it turning around was anything to go by - and he knew one thing.
X.A.N.A. was going to regret messing with Shouta’s kids.
(Meanwhile, in the real world a floor below the lab, in the scanner room something happened that was unknown to everyone but the veteran fighters against X.A.N.A.
One of the Scanners opened and inside laid a curled up and panting slightly Ishiyama Yumi, with her eyes closed as she recovered from her ‘death’.)
