Work Text:
Since the events at Kamino Ward the media had been focusing heavily on All Might’s retirement and what it would mean for the future of hero society, feeding off of the fear they were stirring up in the general public. The more they wrote about the end of the Symbol of Peace, the more unease spread through cities, which led to more articles, continuing the vicious cycle that captured people’s attention and brought in more views. Of course, not every news article or TV broadcast was about All Might. Reporters, journalists, and newscasters alike continued to discuss the villains involved in the fight, Bakugou Katsuki’s kidnapping from UA’s training camp, and of course the staff and faculty of UA.
As an underground hero it was important that few knew about Eraserhead outside of the hero community. Publicizing his identity, quirk, and fighting style would make his work just that much harder, so Shouta went out of his way to avoid the press. Even if he had been a limelight hero he still would have kept his disdain for dealing with the media, though, as he had seen secondhand just how persistent they could be about making everyone else’s business their own. So when Nezu told him that they would have to speak at a press conference on behalf of UA when Bakugou was kidnapped, he knew the press would be breathing down his neck for weeks.
-
Not unlike his fellow coworkers, Kajiwara was immediately intrigued by Eraserhead’s appearance at the UA press conference. The hero was not well known, and those who knew of him were well aware that he actively avoided the press and would ignore them and quickly leave if he was approached. Seeing him, face not obscured by his hair and goggles, speaking at a conference that was nationally televised was extremely out of character. TV, newspapers, magazines, blogs, and social media all theorized about the man; from his work as a hero to his role as a homeroom teacher to his identity, sharing the very limited information that was publicly known.
As the reports regarding All Might and Kamino began to get repetitive in the weeks following the number one hero’s retirement, members of the media began to look for a new topic to latch onto. Many, including Kajiwara, decided on the mystery that was Eraserhead.
Kajiwara had been trying to tail the hero for almost three weeks with no success. He was hypervigilant and always seemed to know when anyone was following him or attempting to take his picture. The few images he had taken so far were dark and grainy, Eraserhead no more than a black smudge, his scarf blocking his face. He’d heard that a few braver journalists had attempted to simply approach the man and he had used the scarf to propel himself up across rooftops before they could even finish asking him a question. Kajiwara had found that if he loitered around a cluster of restaurants about six blocks east of UA for a few hours he had a higher likelihood of catching a glimpse of the man.
Tonight he had been sitting on a bench at the park next to the ramen shop, headphones on but not plugged in as he pretended to read by the lamplight. He’d picked a bench that wasn’t easily seen from the street but gave him a view of a few storefronts and the sidewalks, his camera in his worn brown messenger bag next to him, just in case Eraserhead showed. Approximately an hour into his stakeout he caught movement out of the corner of his eye and subtly shifted to look towards the deserted street. It was just a tall blond walking down the sidewalk on the other side of the road, phone in hand. Kajiwara leaned back against the bench to begin pretending to read again when something looped around the lamppost and suddenly Eraserhead was hanging from the light, talking to the blond on the sidewalk. Upside down, the hero's dark hair fell in waves below his head, his bright yellow goggles pushed up into his hairline.
Kajiwara immediately grabbed his camera, ensuring the flash was off before focusing the lens to take a shot. As he lined the two people up in the frame Eraserhead leaned forward, moving into the blond’s personal space as the shutter clicked.
-
Shouta woke up to his phone ringing on his bedside table, the vibrations shaking it toward the edge. Blinking against the light streaming in the window he grabbed it before it could fall to the floor, unplugging the charger as he answered the call.
“Nemuri, there better be a good reason for why you’re calling me at 9:17 on a Saturday morning.” He settled back against the headboard, pulling the covers back over his lap. With his late patrol and Hizashi’s radio show going into early morning the two usually slept in on Saturdays in an attempt to average a decent amount of sleep.
“Sorry to interrupt your beauty sleep, but you’re kind of all over the news right now.” Despite her teasing at the beginning of the call, she sounded serious.
Shouta frowned. “What do you mean, I’m all over the news?” He hadn’t had any large missions or busts lately that would warrant being publicized. Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “If this is about Kamino again…”
“It’s not.” Nemuri echoed his sigh, “Just… put me on speakerphone and look it up.” Glancing at Hizashi, who was currently facing away from him and quietly snoring, Shouta figured that the call wouldn’t wake him up. The line was quiet as he switched to speaker and pulled up the browser on his phone. Typing “Eraserhead” into the search bar he figured he would get a few hits about an old case or someone complaining about UA, but instead the results showed tens of articles posted within the past few hours or minutes. The titles all varied, from “Underground Hero Spotted With Girlfriend in Public” to “Pro Hero Eraserhead: A Secret Romantic” to “Sorry Ladies: Eraserhead Isn’t Single”, but one thing they all had in common was a picture of Shouta and Hizashi kissing during his patrol last night.
“I- goddamnit.” A sad chuckle filtered through the phone.
“Do you want me to come over?” Shouta shook his head before remembering she couldn’t see him.
“Not right now, but later. Zashi and I need to talk first.” He looked over at his husband, who had shifted slightly, cutting off his snores. “I’ll text you.”
Nemuri hummed, “Okay, keep me updated. I’ll let you know if anything changes, but at least for now they seem to only realize it’s you. They’re still speculating about who Hizashi is.”
“Thanks, Nem.” Hanging up, he dropped his phone onto his lap and buried his face in his hands, a low groan rumbling out of his throat. Hizashi stirred, causing Shouta to look up. Sighing once more, he reached over to gently shake his husband awake. “Hizashi.” Blond brows furrowed as Shouta pushed at his shoulder again. “Hizashi, wake up.”
-
Sorry Ladies: Eraserhead Isn’t Single
Ueda Bunko
Pro heroes are our crime-fighting celebrities, saving us from villains one day and going on talk shows the next. During their time in the spotlight many heroes chat about their lives, including their love lives, or lack of. It has become common for heroes such as Hawks and Kamui Woods to be nominated as some of Japan’s most eligible bachelors, and the ladies let them know just how much they’d like to take them off the market.
This isn’t usually the case for underground heroes, though. Recently Japan has been abuzz with talk about Eraserhead, a hero few had heard of before the Kamino Incident. When the man appeared at UA’s televised press conference with a sharp suit and piercing eyes, everyone wanted to know who he was. The hero, who is rarely photographed, seems to usually be the tall, dark, and ruggedly handsome type, with light stubble and long hair he wears down while he works. He was instantly the talk of every single woman (and many who are married, too), wondering if he was single and if they had a chance.
Unfortunately, it seems they do not.
Late yesterday evening photojournalist Kajiwara Shoma spotted Eraserhead talking to a blonde on an empty side street that houses a few small restaurants and cafés. Hoping to finally capture a picture of the elusive hero after three weeks of work, Kajiwara snapped a quick shot, only realizing afterwards what he had captured. Hanging from a lamppost, Eraserhead holds onto his scarf while kissing the blonde he had been speaking to. The identity of the woman is unknown, as her back is to the camera and Kajiwara never saw her face.
[img]
(Image description: Eraserhead hangs upside down from a lamppost using his scarf, his feet and hands both gripping it in a manner reminiscent of the American pre-quirk comic book hero Spider-Man. He is wearing a black jumpsuit and a small peak of his yellow goggles can be seen from where they are pushed up at his hairline. A tall woman faces him, her back to the camera. Her long blonde hair covers most of her jacket, and her tight jeans are tucked into a pair of low-heeled boots. Her hand holds the side of Eraserhead’s face as they kiss.)
It seems that Eraserhead is romantically involved with this woman, though it has not been confirmed as to whether she is his girlfriend, fiancée, wife, or something more casual. Many are already wondering who this mystery woman is and whether or not she will come forward as Eraser’s lover. Either way, it seems Eraserhead may not be one of Japan’s bachelor heroes after all, to the disappoint of many, but if he and his mystery woman are to call it quits, then we know for future reference that his type is tall blondes with long hair.
-
>Shinsou 11:52 am
friends to lovers slowburn 100K words
<Aizawa 12:11 pm
What are you talking about?
>Shinsou 12:11 pm
that’s Present Mic in the picture from last night, isn’t it?
<Aizawa 12:24 pm
…yes. I’m telling you this because I trust you and it was likely you might find out eventually, but you can’t tell anyone else.
I’m assuming you’re referring to the fact that Hizashi and I were friends in UA?
>Shinsou 12:29 pm
yeah
plus you seem like the type to pine forever before one of you finally confessed and got together
Shouta sighed in exasperation at the most recent text his protégé had sent him, Hizashi leaning over his shoulder to read the conversation. Chuckling, he leaned against Shouta’s side.
“Y’know, he’s not wrong. We did pine for way too long before we got our shit together.” Shouta pushed his husband’s smirking face away, Hizashi falling to lay down on the other end of the couch. He laughed harder as Shouta muttered something about Shinsou being a brat under his breath.
<Aizawa 12:40 pm
You’re running laps at training on Monday
>Shinsou 12:46 pm
damn
I’m sorry though, it’s shitty that the press did that to you
<Aizawa 12:52 pm
Thank you. It is unfortunately something that is always a possibility as a hero, no matter how much you attempt to avoid the media.
>Shinsou 1:07 pm
What are you gonna do?
<Aizawa 1:08 pm
We’re still discussing our plans.
What are you gonna do? That really was the question, wasn’t it? Shouta would like to continue to ignore the press, but they were like feeding dogs table scraps, once they got a taste of something they would beg and whine until you gave in. Just another reason why he was a cat person. It’s likely he would need to address his relationship status, and while neither he nor Hizashi liked the press, he wasn’t a fan of lying to them either. If they found out he was lying he’d be demonized and rumors about if he could be trusted as a hero if he lied to the public would be thrown around carelessly. While he could just confirm that he was in a relationship, they’d also probably want to know about his partner, and Shouta also wasn’t entirely sure if he was ready to come out, even if he didn’t disclose who his husband was. If he lied people might not trust him, but if he came out there was also the likelihood that people would deem him unfit as a hero and teacher due to his sexuality. Looking over at Hizashi, who had stopped laughing and had pulled his phone out, likely to read more articles that had been published since they got up that morning, Shouta couldn’t forget that this was up to his husband just as much as it was up to him. No matter what, they would do this together.
-
Getting to school on Monday was significantly more exhausting than it normally was. Usually Hizashi would drive both of them and they would go into the school and head to the teacher’s lounge together, but with the horde of reporters and journalists surrounding the campus that Hound Dog had texted them about, it was unlikely they could follow their normal routine without being spotted. Instead, Hizashi drove about halfway, stopped to let Shouta out in a random parking lot, and then continued on his way to UA. Shouta then walked the rest of the way to the school, climbing buildings and jumping across roofs to avoid any potential members of the press.
Of course, they were unavoidable once he arrived at the front gates. He briefly wished he had Hizashi’s hearing loss so he could just turn off his hearing aids and not have to listen to tabloid journalists ask him questions about his love life. Since he didn’t have the luxury of being able to completely tune them out he simply ignored them, refusing to answer any questions, and when a few people pressed further, getting into his space right as he was scanned into the gate, he flashed his quirk, grumbled a quick “No comment.” and left Hound Dog to deal with the swarm. By the time he gets to the teacher’s lounge he only has a few minutes to prepare for homeroom, and the entire time is spent chugging a cup of coffee and ignoring Toshinori’s pitying glances.
Internally sighing, he walked to his classroom, pausing outside the door to listen to the chaos before plunging into what was sure to be one hell of a homeroom.
“- see the news?”
“Yeah! As soon as I woke up I saw Mr. Ai-“
“- do you think –“
“- not our business, however -”
Deciding to just rip off the metaphorical bandage, Shouta slid the door open and stepped into the room. “Settle down. I’m sure you have a lot of questions.” Setting his stack of graded papers on his pedestal Shouta looked over his class. At least half of them looked like they were chomping at the bit to interrogate him, and even those who usually were uninterested in gossip seemed vaguely attentive. “Unfortunately for you, I will not be answering any questions right now.” Immediately the class exploded, both figuratively and literally, as Bakugou yelled at the rest of the class to shut up. “We’re doing quirk training today. If you all behave and don’t cause any major property damage or injuries I will consider answering some questions after school.”
-
Hitoshi was already stretching on the gym floor when Aizawa showed up for training. He stood up as he approached, a tiny smirk quirked across his lips. “How was your, what do you call them,” Hitoshi pulled his hands out of his pockets to make air quotes “’hell class’?”
Folding his legs to take Hitoshi’s place on the floor Aizawa narrowed his tired eyes. “Run your laps. I’ll let you know when you can stop.” Groaning, Hitoshi took off to circle the gym, his mentor stretching off to the side.
Fifteen laps and one sweaty water break later they had pulled the sparring mats out of the equipment closet. Dodging a punch and feinting right before returning a blow, Hitoshi piped up again, “Why are we sparring? I thought the plan was to work on my capture weapon this week?”
Grabbing his wrist and twisting him to shove him onto the mat, Aizawa frowned before letting him back up. “While I would like to continue your training with moving using the capture weapon, the woods outside would be best suited for those kinds of maneuvers, making it more likely that we will be spotted and bothered by the press.”
“Damn, they really don’t know how to quit, do they?” Hitoshi watched as Aizawa took a sip of his water before tying his hair back out of his face.
“No, they really don’t.”
“I know I already said this, but I’m sorry they think it’s okay to do this.” Looking down at his sneakers scuffing the gym floor, he spoke again. “You and Present Mic don’t deserve this. You should be able to share about your relationship only if you want to.” Looking back up at his mentor, he couldn’t help but ask “Do you want to? Go public about your relationship, I mean.”
Nudging him back into a fighting stance, Aizawa shakes his head. “We’re still not sure.” The sentence is punctuated by a kick aimed for Hitoshi’s ribs, which he barely dodges. “It’s dangerous for personal information about underground heroes to be leaked to the public. Villains can use this to their advantage to target you or the people close to you, putting more people than necessary in danger. Plus since we’re both teachers and Mic is a very public personality coming out could be a bit disastrous. Society has definitely gotten more accepting in the past few decades, but there are still those who would consider us unfit to be role models, mentors, teachers, or even pros and would call for our resignation.”
Executing a quick back handspring to put space between them, Hitoshi snorted, “Well, those people are idiots. It would be nice to have more out pros. It would mean a lot to a lot of kids.” Aizawa lunged for him, fist catching the edge of his jaw before his knee slammed none too gently into his stomach. As Hitoshi wheezed Aizawa sat down on the mat, motioning for him to the same before tossing a water bottle at his head.
“Are you alright?” After receiving a nod, he continued. “Tiger from the Wild Wild Pussycats has been out for years, and Bubble Girl casually came out in the past few years as well.”
Nodding, Hitoshi begins his cool-down exercises. “Sure, but most people tend to focus on Tiger being trans, not gay, and no offence to Bubble Girl but she tends to be looked over since she’s a sidekick. It would be different to see a couple who has been together for years while being successful heroes.” Holding up his hands, Hitoshi hurried to clarify, “Not that I’m trying to pressure you into coming out or anything! I just, well um, I’m happy to have a role model like me. I- it would have meant a lot to me when I was younger, but it still means a lot to me now, even if I only know this in private.”
Standing up, Aizawa ruffled Hitoshi’s hair before beginning to wipe down the mats. “Thanks, kid.” Once the mats were cleaned and put away they gathered up their bags and stepped out into the hall, where a handful of class 1A was pretending they hadn’t been watching for the past hour. One student, Hitoshi was pretty sure her name was Ashido, ran over to him, practically yelling in the quiet hall.
“Shinsou, you were amazing! Normally when Mr. Aizawa spars with us he kicks our butts!” The other students echoed the sentiment and Hitoshi rubbed the back of his neck, a light blush dusting his cheekbones and the tips of his ears. Coughing, he choked out a quick thanks before hearing Todoroki ask Aizawa if Hitoshi was his son. That was officially his cue to leave, and after scooping up his bag from where he had dropped in next to his feet he waved a quick goodbye and booked it for his dorm before he could hear any more questions about his hypothetical parentage.
-
Switching out his boots for a pair of slippers Shouta entered into 1-A’s common room. “Again, Todoroki, Shinsou is not my son. I would have been 16 when he was born.” This grabbed the attention of the rest of his class, who had sprawled across the floor and couches, obvious spots left open for their classmates and teacher.
Before Todoroki could discuss the probability of teen pregnancy Midoriya piped up from his spot next to Iida. “Really, Todoroki? You have to stop asking people that just because you noticed some similarities between them.” Lifting a brow at the fact that apparently this was not Todoroki’s first time trying to piece together non-existent family trees, Shouta received an apologetic look from Midoriya.
Settling into the obvious spot his students had left him on the couch, he took a second to scan over all of their faces. “Alright,” he was going to regret this, “you can ask questions, but I reserve the right to not answer any of them.” Silence washed over the room for approximately 15 seconds before someone finally spoke up.
“Are you in a relationship? Is that your girlfriend? What is she like?” Hagakure blurted, the questions spilling out in one big rush. Deciding to ignore the last question, Shouta shook his head, “Yes and no. Yes I am in a relationship. No, that is not my girlfriend. That is my spouse.” At the last second he changed his mind about answering the last question, deciding to tease his students just a little. “It’s not important for you to know what they’re like.” The room erupted in questions and exclamations of “spouse?”. He waited a few seconds for Iida to attempt to calm them down before clearing his throat.
Once the attention was back on him he waited for another question. Kirishima, after a small nudge from Kaminari, spoke up. “How long have you been married to them?”
Ah, good. At least one of the kids had caught on to his usage of gender-neutral terms. “We’ve been married for six years.” This evidently seemed to shake the rest of the kids out of their stupor as they begin to shout with a renewed vigor.
“What was your wedding like?” Hizashi’s 21 year old younger sister was their flower girl, Nemuri was the maid of honor, they had color coordinated tuxes, and Shouta cried more than he had in years.
“We didn’t know you were in a relationship, let alone married!” That was kind of the whole point of keeping it a secret.
“Do you have any kids?” Yeah, over 20 of them.
“Man, you must never get to see them since you have to live in the dorms and watch us!” He and Hizashi actually shared an apartment on campus and went back home together on the weekends while the other staff supervised his kids.
Yaoyorozu’s voice was clear over the rest of her classmates, grabbing his attention. “Mr. Aizawa, are you and your spouse okay? It must be very stressful to have your relationship publicized so unexpectedly like that, especially since I’m assuming you kept it private on purpose.” God, these kids really just care so damn much, don’t they?
Standing up, he shoved his hands in his jumpsuit pockets, slouching slightly as he addressed the room. “We’re both fine. We are currently discussing how to address the breach in our privacy. Take this as a lesson, though. The media will try to make your life their business, even when it is not. You are under no obligation to tell them anything, and any information you share with them is solely up to you. You should never feel pressured to share things with the public that you want to keep private.” Sighing, he headed for the door to put his boots back on. After tying his laces he looked back up at the room to the quietly chatting teenagers. “One more thing. I shared this with you in confidence. I trust that you will keep this information between us and not tell anyone else, whether student, staff, or family, unless I tell you that you may.”
Heading out the door towards the teachers’ dorms he muttered to himself, “God, I need a nap.”
-
Hawks, call me @hotaru_is_a_hoe
Damn, Eraserhead is fine as hell and we don’t even get a chance with him 😫
>view 2,386 replies
Yukiko @yasutake_yu23
Does anyone else think that Eraserhead could be dating Mt Lady? I feel like she fits the description and they’ve probably worked together
>view 12.7K replies
uWu bitch @endeavor_stan_3 reply to @yasutake_yu23
Nah Mt Lady is shorter that Erasers gf when shes not using her quirk
Ryu @_ryu_k_ reply to @yasutake_yu23
Plus their hair is different shades of blonde
Takeyama @mt_lady_official reply to @yasutake_yu23
Eraserhead and I are not in a relationship, we’re simply colleagues.
Pirate girl @pegleggy reply to @mt_lady_official
That’s what someone who doesn’t want the public to know would say
Camie @cutie_Camie
I saw Ms. Joke flirting with Eraser once!! Maybe she was disguised so people wouldn’t recognize her? Totes cute!!! 💕
>view 52 replies
Hirayama S. @br1ght_h1rayama
has anyone considered the fact that Eraserhead may not be in a relationship with a woman? most articles state he’s seeing a woman despite not knowing any real info. it’s rude to assume
>view 98.4K replies
Sleeb @can_i_take_a_nap reply to @br1ght_h1rayama
Right?! Like we know nothing, and it’s not even any of our business. Leave the man and his partner alone
<3 @fatgum_owns_my_ass reply to @br1ght_h1rayama
I’m thinking that his partner is a man, his hand looks more masculine and from what I can tell he looks like he’s got a lean but muscular upper build with a slimmer waist and hips
Muramoto @cl0udy_daY_Moto reply to @fatgum_owns_my_ass
I agree, plus the jeans he’s wearing are a popular men’s brand, you can tell by the pocket stitching
Raven Dark’ness @emo_edgelord_99 reply to @cl0udy_daY_Moto
So you’re saying that someone other than a man can’t have a “traditionally” masculine build or wear men’s brand clothing?
Vantablack @not_Anish_Kapoor_iro
Eraserhead is a respected pro and teacher and we should not invade his privacy by making assumptions about him or his significant other. We have no rights to his personal life and should leave him be.
>view 65 comments
-
“Hello listeners and welcome back to Put Your Hands Up Radio! Tonight we have a special guest with us, and isn’t our lucky day, because this is one of his very few public appearances in his 13 years as a sidekick and hero. I welcome my colleague and former classmate, pro hero Eraserhead, to the show! How are you doing tonight, man?”
Shouta smothered a small smirk at his husband’s antics, knowing his crazy-upbeat radio personality was just that, a personality, one to draw people in through his wild speech and stories. Shaking his head fondly, he leaned toward his microphone. “As well as expected. Thanks for having me, Mic.”
“It’s my pleasure! Now let’s get this show on the road. So for most of this segment we’re actually going to answer questions you send us, listeners. So, if you want to ask Eraserhead or I something shoot us a tweet, tagging Put Your Hands Up Radio’s Twitter account, and we might just answer! While our questions come rolling in, why don’t you tell us a bit about being an underground pro, Eraser? Most people aren’t very aware of the work you do or how it differs from other hero work.”
“In many instances the work I do as an underground pro hero does not differ from that of pro heroes that work in the limelight. Most underground pros have an agency they work with that will help them keep in contact with other pros and keep up to date with what villain news is circulating. I typically patrol areas that may not be frequented by many other pros and handle many criminals who tend to lay low or work covertly, or they don’t hit the villain radar for most pros.” He quietly huffed as Hizashi cut him off.
“Eraserhead does some of the down-low dirty work that keeps us safe, even if nobody is there to see it. He’s dealt with some really terrible villains over the years, and it really can be dirty work, you don’t want to see some of the alleys he’s fought in before.” Before he could start another rant about the filthy, garbage filled alleys he spent many of his evenings in, Shouta continued.
“Mic is right. My work can be very dangerous, which is one of the many reasons why you don’t hear about it. However, I also am called into cases and missions where I work with other pros, such as Fatgum and Present Mic himself. It’s common for pro heroes to assist each other if their specific quirk, skillset, or fighting style is needed. That’s why I teach my students that while it is fine to want to work alone sometimes, you have to be willing and capable of collaborating with others. Denying help in our field of work can lead to disaster.” Shooting a smirk towards where Hizashi was seated next to him, Shouta tacked on “So even if you may not see me, I’m working behind the scenes with other pros to keep the public safe and assist them to the best of my ability.” His husband’s heart-eyes could probably be seen from space right about now as he continued on with the show.
“You heard it here, folks! Eraserhead is just a call away for all of your crime-fighting needs. Seriously though, he is an extremely competent hero who’s very dedicated to his work, and I’m proud to work alongside him.” Hizashi took a breath, pulling his laptop over to sit it on the table between them. “With that, let’s get into some of your questions, yo! First up, someone asks ‘You said Eraserhead is your former classmate, did you go to UA together?’. That we did! We didn’t start out in the same class, though…”
As Hizashi gushed about Shouta wiping the floor with him during their first Sports Festival and his subsequent transfer into the hero course Shouta scrolled through the many Tweets they had received in the past few minutes. Many of them were about the recent articles and his love life, but he didn’t want to answer any of them just yet. He’d work up to those. Once Hizashi’s story was done Shouta cleared his throat, reading the next question. “This person asks ‘What is it like teaching at UA?’.” Pausing to consider his answer for a moment, he finally decided on “Fulfilling. I’ve been given the opportunity to help these kids become the best heroes and people they can be. Sure, they’re exhausting and some would consider them more trouble than they’re worth, but I’m proud to see them grow.”
“Aww, Eraser’s a secret softie!” That’s it, Hizashi was sleeping on the couch tonight. “The kids are great though. I’m not a homeroom teacher, but I love to see them improve their skills and grow into young adults, and I know they’ll all be the best at whatever career they choose or whatever path they take.” He chuckled. “I wish they’d stop trying to make me go gray before 40, though.” Taking a sip of water, Hizashi picked the next question, one from a user who definitely was one of their students. “’Why did both of you decide to become teachers?’ Ah, good question, listener! I’ve always liked kids, and as many of you know I’m fluent in English, so it was sort of a no-brainer for me when Midnight told me that there was an opening as an English teacher at my alma mater!”
Leaning back into his chair, Shouta crossed his arms across his chest. “I’ve seen too many kids and young heroes seriously injured or worse because they were under-prepared or not cut out to be pros. I didn’t want this cycle to continue, so when Mic and Midnight both told me about a position as a homeroom teacher for the hero course I decided to apply. I know I have a reputation with the students for expecting much from them and for expelling those without potential from my class, but I have my reasons. It’s better to ensure students are prepared for the future and to remove those who will not be able to succeed and help them find a new track in life than to let them continue with a dream that will leave them in serious danger.” Shooting a glance to his right, he raised an eyebrow. “Of course, I haven’t been able to get rid of Mic since high school, so when he started working at UA I knew that it wouldn’t be long before he drug me there, too.”
Ignoring the sputtering squawks coming from beside him, he decided to brave one of the many questions regarding the picture taken of him last weekend. “’Are you in a relationship with the person in the picture from the other day?’” he read aloud. “I prefer my private life to stay private, but even as an underground hero I have to acknowledge that information about me will be shared publicly. This is something I had to come to terms with when I became a teacher, especially with the events occurring this year.” Taking a deep breath, he steadied himself, Hizashi slipping a hand in his as a comforting gesture as he spoke again, “To answer your question, yes. I am in a relationship with the person in the picture. We have been together since we were young adults and have been married for six years.”
Hizashi shot him a blinding smile as new questions began flooding the show’s Twitter page. Honestly, if all of the interns weren’t lurking outside and they weren’t on air at this exact moment Shouta would probably kiss him right now, but instead he settled for briefly squeezing his hand. “Wow listeners, that sure seemed to get you excited, huh? You’re going to make my laptop crash with how many new tweets are coming in! Ah, let’s see, here’s a question, ‘Was Present Mic at the wedding?’. Hey, of course I was! Eraser and I have been friends for years, if he hadn’t invited me I would have crashed the ceremony.”
“Mic was part of the wedding party.” Shouta chuckled lowly, “Midnight was also part of the wedding, she was our maid of honor, a role she took quite seriously.” Pausing to scroll through the questions, he addressed the audience again. “Many of you want to know the identity of my spouse. That is up to them to share or not. It can be dangerous to be the partner of a pro hero, and even if I step into the spotlight occasionally that does not mean my spouse has to unless they want to. Relationships are built on trust that boundaries are honored, and I won’t cross those boundaries by sharing that without their consent. If they decide they are comfortable with telling the public, then I will fully support them, but I also respect their privacy.”
Looking suspiciously misty-eyed, Hizashi cleared his throat, “Aaaaalright listeners, we’ve got time for one last question! Eraser, would you like to do the honors?”
“This person,” whose profile picture look suspiciously like Nemuri, “wants to know if my spouse and I have any kids.” Staring Hizashi right in the eyes, he answered, “Yes, we have more than 20. They’re all terrible.”
As Hizashi choked down his snickers and thanked him for joining the show, Shouta couldn’t help but think about how much he really loved the man sitting next to him. They’d been through some of the most unimaginable situations together and despite them had made it back to each other through every one. Sure, every day as a pro hero married to another pro was a dangerous one, but it was completely worth it. He wouldn’t trade the life he had right now; a wonderful husband, talented young students, friends and colleagues he trusted with his life, and a protegé that reminded him of their high school days and gave him hope for the future, for anything.
“That’s the end of this segment, but after these messages from our sponsors Put Your Hands Up Radio will be back with some real bangers!” As soon as the On Air sign turned off Shouta gave into his earlier urge and pulled his husband into a kiss. The interns were too scared of the two of them to actually do anything, anyway.
-
His students were insufferable the next few days, though they wouldn’t ask him any questions, as they knew he wouldn’t answer them. Instead, they pestered Nemuri and Hizashi about the wedding, whether they were friends with his spouse, if they had gone on a honeymoon, anything they figured they could get away with. It wasn’t just his students, either. Word had quickly spread through the school, so whenever he walked through the halls he could hear the whispered gossip traded between classes. From experience he knew it was hopeless to attempt to stop the gossip, so he simply let it be, only shooting warning glares their way when they got a bit too rowdy.
Shinsou found it hilarious. He had taken it upon himself to spam his phone with the most ridiculous theories he had heard in the halls or seen online, including assumptions about what he and his spouse were like at home and memes that had begun circulating after the show. Hizashi’s favorite assumption was that Shouta had a traditional 1950s American-style housewife, complete with pearls and frilly apron. Shouta was adding a nice waist apron to his shopping list for their anniversary, maybe a bright pink that matched his favorite pair of sweatpants.
Once their Tuesday afternoon training had ended and Shinsou had gathered up his gear he had shoved everything in his bag and turned to head for the dorms, but Shouta stopped him before he could reach the door. “Shinsou?”
Twisting back to look at him, the kid quirked an eyebrow. “Yeah?”
Shouta walked towards him, slinging his own bag over his shoulder. “Channel 17, 8 pm tonight.”
“That’s oddly cryptic, but okay.”
“Trust me, I think you’ll enjoy it.”
With that the two left the gym, Shinsou heading to the 1-C dorms and Shouta heading to the teachers’ apartment building. Once inside he kicked off his boots and dropped his bag next to the kitchen table, grabbing a change of clothes before climbing in the shower, shoulders immediately relaxing as the hot water washed away a day’s worth of grime, sweat, and stress from wrangling over a dozen overpowered teenagers. He should really ask Nezu for a raise soon.
Body and hair sufficiently washed, he toweled off and changed into a black v-neck and joggers he’d stolen from Hizashi years ago before shuffling into the kitchen in search of dinner. Finding leftovers from two nights before, Shouta ate in silence, grading worksheets in between bites until his dinner was gone and his 7 o’clock alarm had rung. After cleaning up his dishes he placed his grading back in his bag and slipped his shoes on before beginning the short walk to the 1-A dorms, letting himself in just in time to see Kaminari vault over the back of one of the couches to sit next to Ojiro. Resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose, he walked further into the room. “Kaminari, please refrain from jumping over the furniture.”
Said student jolted, blond head swiveling in his direction before ducking and rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry, Mr. Aizawa.”
Uraraka waved from where she was sitting on the couch across from Ojiro and Kaminari with Ashido and Hagakure. “Are you going to grade in the common room again today, Mr. Aizawa?”
Nodding once, he sat down in the corner of the unoccupied couch, placing his stack of work next to him. “Yes. Let me know if any of you need assistance with your work while I’m here.” Tying his hair back into a low bun to keep it out of his eyes he pulled a red pen out to begin grading, though he also grabbed the TV remote and turned on the large flatscreen and set the channel to 17 before turning the volume down and placing the remote on the arm of the couch, something all of the students in the room quickly took note of.
Kirishima leaned over the back of Shouta’s couch, looking at the mindless medical drama playing on the screen before turning to look at him. “I thought you were going to grade?”
“I am. Sometimes I like to have something playing in the background.” Technically true, though he preferred one of Hizashi’s records, or one of the mixtapes he had made on cassettes when they were younger.
Appeased, Kirishima wandered off towards one of the dining room tables, where it looked like Midoriya and Todoroki were working on a math assignment for Ectoplasm’s class. The muted talking and scratching of pen and paper continued until 8, when Shouta gave up on actually grading and turned up the sound on the TV. The increase in volume and the beginning of the new show drew the attention of most of his class, many of whom either joined their classmates and teacher on the couches or watched from where they were already stationed.
“Hello! I’m your host, Kataoka Aika, and this is Evenings with Aika. Tonight we have a performance by local musicians Emerald Spring, a…“
“What is this crap? Why are we watching this?” Bakugou grumbled from his spot near the kitchen, Sero glancing up to see what he was glaring at.
“…and an interview with Present Mic! So stay tuned, we’ll be right back after this commercial break.” The mention of an interview with a pro hero, one who was their English teacher, no less, stopped any more complaints from the students, Bakugou included. One by one they all settled around the room, waiting for the interview to begin. Shouta continued to pretend that he wasn’t listening and was simply grading essays, but as soon as the interview segment began he gave up on the façade to focus on the TV.
Sitting in a plush chair on the right of screen was a willowy woman in a pressed mustard yellow suit. Grass-like green hair was shorn close to her scalp in a buzzcut, and as she gestured to her right gold jewelry glinted against her dark skin. Sitting across from her in a matching plush chair was Hizashi. His hair was gelled up in his ridiculously endearing cockatoo style and his orange sunglasses were perched on his nose, but his outfit was not entirely his usual hero gear. The stage lights always made it too hot to wear an entirely leather outift, so he had switched out the jacket and his directional speaker in favor of a red silky button down he wore with the top three buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The fingerless gloves, leather pants and boots, and low slung belt stayed, however. Nemuri always joked that it was his “sexy rockstar interview” outfit, to which Hizashi argued that he always looked like a sexy rockstar.
With a clap of her jewelry encrusted hands, Aika began the segment. “Present Mic, welcome! I have to say, it’s quite the honor to have such a busy man make the time to come on my show.”
Crossing one leg over the other, Hizashi clasped his hands around his knee. “Thank you, but to be honest I’m honored to have been invited on the show. I’ve been a fan for years, and I always enjoy how you bring attention to new musical artists across the country.”
“You often do the same on Put Your Hands Up Radio, don’t you?”
He smiled. “Ah, yes. It can be so difficult to gain traction in the cutthroat music world, so I take every chance I can to share the work of talented artists who are lesser known with my audience.”
Aika seemed to perk up slightly, leaning forward in her seat. “Speaking of Put Your Hands Up Radio, your recent interview with the elusive Eraserhead has been quite the topic of discussion lately. I think many people listening in ended up with more questions than they started with.
Hizashi laughed and something fluttered in Shouta’s chest, though if you asked him if it was affection or anxiety he wouldn’t have been able tell you. “Yeah, Eraser isn’t much of an extrovert, so he’ll share what he wants to and that’s all you’re getting. Getting him to speak more than five sentences a day in high school was quite the feat, yo!” He held up his left hand, fingers splayed to emphasize his statement. Around Shouta his students snickered, glancing at him to see if he was paying attention.
Smiling, Aika spoke again. “Yes, you mentioned during the interview that you had been friends since your time as students in UA, and it seems that you’re still close, especially considering Eraserhead mentioned that you were a member of his wedding party. Plenty of curious people have noticed that while he told the audience that your fellow pro hero Midnight was the maid of honor, he didn’t say your role.”
Shouta slowly took a breath as Hizashi shifted in his chair so that his ankle rested across top of his knee, leaning back into an open and inviting position. He could see the mischievous sparkle in his eye behind his sunglasses as a small “cat that got the canary” smirk stretched across his face. “Well, the groom is part of the wedding party, isn’t he?”
Everyone froze. The studio audience was silent, Aika stilling in her chair with wide eyes. Shouta’s students had ceased all movement, he was pretty sure a few of them had even stopped breathing for a second. They all slowly turned to look at him, but before any of them could speak up Aika managed to recover from her shock. “Are you saying that-“
Hizashi cut her off, smirk morphing into a genuine smile. “Eraserhead and I are married?” He questioned. “Yes, that is what I’m saying.” The audience went wild, the show quickly cutting to a commercial break while the showrunners probably scrambled to maintain order. Shouta’s kids took this as their chance to pounce.
“You’re married to Present Mic?” Hagakure shouted. She was kneeling on the couch next to him, presumably waving her hands furiously through the air, given the small breeze next to his ear. And the way the Aoyama seemed to have just been smacked in the face by nothing.
Scanning the room slowly, Shouta allowed his lips to twitch up slightly. “Yes, you heard him correctly. As I told you before, we have been married for six years. I told you we were discussing how to address the picture that was circulating. We decided that it was time for us to come out.” Midoriya was scribbling furiously in one of his notebooks, Tokoyami, Kaminari, Sero, and Todoroki were staring at him from their abandoned card game, Kirishima looked seconds from tears, and despite his indifferent appearance Bakugou was still clearly paying attention from where he was slouched next to him.
To his left he saw a hand raise. “Yes, Asui?’
She placed her index finger on her chin, brows furrowed. “You’ve said multiple times now that you were friends in school. Did you start dating at UA, ribbit?”
“No. We didn’t start dating until after we had both debuted as pros.” Glancing at the TV he quickly ushered the students to sit back down. “The interview is about to continue. Mic will likely answer some of your questions.”
On screen Hizashi was taking a sip of water as Aika addressed the audience, looking significantly less flustered than before the commercial break. “Welcome back to Evenings with Aika. If you missed the beginning of our interview with Present Mic, he just revealed that he and Eraserhead are married. Mic, that is quite the bombshell to drop on us, that you are Eraserhead’s mysterious spouse. Care to share why you two have suddenly decided to come out about your relationship?”
“It’s just that, coming out. Of course, before that picture started going around a couple of weeks ago only a select handful of people knew because, as my husband mentioned on my show, it can be dangerous to be a pro with a public relationship. When we found out about all of the articles circulating that picture, we were quite upset. It was a massive blow to our privacy, and while I’m at least somewhat used to that as a pretty public figure, Eraser isn’t.” Hizashi fiddled with one of his gloves before looking back up at Aika. “Honestly, though, we talked about it and decided that despite the dangers and the likelihood of backlash, we wanted to be open about our marriage. Keeping a secret that big is exhausting. Plus, knowing that we could be proof to kids and young adults, hell even other adults, that you can be a successful pro hero while also being openly queer, that really influenced us. There are few openly LGBT+ heroes around the world, and few of them are in Japan. Knowing that we could help even one kid feel that they can achieve their goals while being comfortable in their identity, that’s more important than all of petitions I’m expecting to call for our removal from our jobs.”
Aika’s voice trembled slightly as she dabbed at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief. “Wow. Well I for one am honored that you and Eraserhead have chosen to share this with us and will be rooting for the two of you to continue doing good, despite whatever protests may arise. I know a handful of kids who will be ecstatic to see this news.” Tucking her handkerchief back into her suit pocket, the host clasped her hands in her lap. “In between your husband’s interview and yours there has been plenty of talk about kids, and it is obvious you both care deeply about the younger generation, yet you haven’t mentioned any children of your own.”
“We have our hands full enough between Eraser’s homeroom and all of the other students we teach and mentor at UA. Add in the fact that between the two of us we have five jobs, we don’t even have time for a cat, as much as my husband would love for us to have one.”
“So you’re saying that we won’t have a mini Present Mic running around anytime soon?” Aika giggled.
Steepling his fingers, Hizashi shook his head. “No, you won’t,” He paused to finger gun towards his host, “you may see a mini Eraserhead sometime in the future, though.”
Aika blinked a few times before shaking her head, large gold earrings jingling in response. “As much as I’d love to ask you what you meant by that, we’ll just have to wait and find out, as our time is up. Thank you for joining me tonight, Mic, and I wish you and Eraserhead the best.”
Shouta left the TV running as he shoved his papers and pen back into his bag, standing and cracking his neck before freezing as arms wrapped around his ribs. Looking down he saw Kirishima’s spiky hair, the boy quietly sniffling into his shirt. Softly placing a hand on the boy’s back, he looked up at the rest of the class. A few shuffled in place before collectively deciding to smother him, rushing forward to surround him in a group hug. After a few seconds they peeled off one by one, moving back to where they had originally been sitting or standing. Once Kirishima had also stepped back, wiping at his red eyes, he cracked a soft smile, speaking just loud enough that the entire common room could hear him. “Thank you.”
He stooped to pick up his bag, slinging the strap over his shoulder before surveying the room one more time. These kids would all be just fine. “No. Thank you.”
He walked to the doorway and pulled his shoes back on as the kids began to chat again, some dispersing back to their rooms. Deciding to cause just a little more chaos for the evening, Shouta turned as he was halfway out the door. “Oh, by the way.” He made direct eye contact with Tenya, who seemed to catch on to what was about to happen after a second, given the way his eyes widened behind his glasses. “Iida was the ring bearer at the wedding.” Ignoring the shouts behind him he stepped onto the porch and began the walk back to the apartment.
-
The night had been exhausting, but definitely worth every nerve-wracking minute. He had immediately been attacked by Shouta when he walked into the apartment kitchen after the interview, where he had kissed him so enthusiastically that when they parted his sunglasses were askew and Shouta’s bun was falling out from when he had buried his fingers in the dark strands. After a quick shower they had cuddled on the couch as Shouta told him about class 1-A’s reactions, and in return Hizashi told him about the havoc he had caused in the studio when they went on their commercial break.
Now, laying in bed, Hizashi chuckled at an image Shinsou had sent Shouta. A picture of him in full Present Mic gear had been edited to replace himself in the picture where Shouta was Spider-Man kissing him under the lamppost, which had then been edited on top of the gay pride flag. The kid had followed up the image with a text saying that he was ordering a bulk pack of the stickers and would be distributing them around campus accordingly. Shouta had threatened to make him run laps again, but after a minute had texted his mentee that he would rather him deal stickers than drugs and requested he drop off some in the teachers lounge.
Setting his glasses on his bedside table Hizashi rolled over, placing his head on Shouta’s chest and twining their legs together under the sheets. Shouta ran his hands through his hair, freshly cleaned of any gel and hairspray, massaging his scalp until he was teetering on the edge of sleep before whispering into the dark, “I’m proud of you.”
Wiggling to look into his husband’s dark eyes, Hizashi nuzzled closer. “I’m proud of us.”
Shouta leaned down to close the gap between them, a languid kiss swapped between them before they parted, still only a few inches apart. Shouta sighed, eyes soft in the dim light of their bedroom, “I love you so much, Zashi.”
Wrapping his arms tighter around Shouta’s chest, Hizashi closed his eyes, fully relaxing in his hold. “I love you more, Sho. Now sleep.” As his husband hummed in agreement he began to drift off, the immense adoration he had for this man the only thought running through his mind. He wouldn’t give this up for the world.