Once Again From Better Days

Katsuki tries to stay annoyed at Izuku even as All Might congratulates them for their performance on the test. But it's difficult when his eyes glow with pride, and his stupid smile is contangious. All Might gives him a pat on the shoulder, too, congratulating him for quick thinking at the end. Katsuki feels his cheeks flush slightly and shrugs it off.

The next day is the last day of term. The ordeal of final exams is over, which means that despite the heat, the classroom is abuzz with energy. Summer break is whispered from every corner. Katsuki glances around in irritation. They're all so goddamn carefree. Even Izuku is laughing along easily to something someone said. The only other person who looks truly disinterested is half-and-half. Even after facing Izuku during the Sport's Festival, he remained aloof.

According to the clock on the wall, class should have started a minute ago, but there's still no sign of a teacher. Katsuki drums his fingers against the surface of his desk. Ever since the worry about the exams left him, he's felt antsy. The training camp is coming up, and he wants to believe that it will somehow go differently, but he has no reason to believe it will. Most of all, he wants it over with. Since there's no way for him to stop it or stop Izuku from going, unless he does something drastic or borderline illegal.

Finally, at five past, the door shifts open. The chattering around the room slowly settles into silence as one by one the students turn to face the doorway. 

It's Aizawa.

There are a couple of gasps of surprise, a shout or two, and a sudden resurgence of noise, which dies away again as Aizawa takes his position at the front of the classroom. With the floppy clothes he wears it's hard to tell, but a few of the bandages stick out from under his sleeves and wrap around his wrists and hands. As he shifts, one of his sleeves catches on the corner of the teacher's desk and pulls it up. The bandages extend past his wrists and over his forearms and maybe higher. As their teacher readjusts his sleeves, Katsuki is reminded of Eri's bandaged arms and legs, but quickly brushes the thought aside.

Kirishima is the one brave enough to ask Aizawa where he was and why he's back. For a moment, all he gets for an answer is a glare. But then Aizawa sighs and lets some of the tension in his shoulders relax.

"It's nothing important," he says in a bored voice. 

But in contrast to what he says, Katsuki gets the feeling that it was, indeed, important. However, that doesn't help him guess what happened. Aizawa getting kidnapped is a new development, and there are no obvious causes. The only thing he can think of is his quirk that erases other quirks. Could it have anything to do with the anti-quirk business and Eri? It seems unlikely. Aizawa by himself is a UA teacher and a decent fighter. In his time as a hero, he must have made enemies, and as the homeroom teacher of 1-A, which certain villains have already shown some interest in, there are a myriad of reasons why someone may want to target him.

There's a noise of indignation at Aizawa's lackl.u.s.ter answer, but he silences any follow-ups.

"I heard Midnight promised you a training camp."

Someone whoops enthusiastically.

Aizawa glares. "So, unfortunately, you'll be getting one in a couple weeks. It's technically summer break after today, but if you want to survive camp, don't slack on your training. And for those of you who failed your finals–" he gives a stern look at a few students, "–you can go, but you'll have supplementary lessons in the evening when everyone else gets to relax in the hot springs."

"Hot springs?!" Several of the students ask at once.

Their teacher looks regretful. "The camp will be a joint exercise with Class 1-B."

Katsuki wrinkles his nose. No doubt, catshit will be there along with the rest of the hooligans from the other hero class.

"And there will be one more student to even out the numbers," Aizawa concludes.

The rest of the day passes easily. There's now as much talk about where Aizawa could have been as there is about summer break. Katsuki nerves remain on edge. So much so that he almost doesn't hear it when Aizawa announces the list of students who passed their exams and the list of people who need remedial lessons. He tune in when he hears his name and then Izuku's. Unsurprisingly, both of them passed.