Chapter Text
It all started with an innocent comment, just one small, thoughtless question breathed through lips with a small laugh between friends. Someone’s ears perked up with a small twitch as he overheard two passing students with his cameras. He watched the students intently as they continued on their way, laughing as they walked to their next class. His tail began to swish with increasing speed as his synapses fired at speeds that only they could. Thoughts and plans formed at rapid speeds as he made incredible leaps of logic to tie it all together. The principal’s eyes continued to follow the students as they stepped into their classroom, oblivious to the chaos their simple conversation would cause. Because Nedzu?
Well. Nedzu began to smile .
1-01110110
Aizawa was too tired for this. Nedzu had woken him up at too darn early in the morning with a call saying that he needed him to visit his office before school started that Monday. He was not looking forward to whatever his boss had to tell him. He sounded far too excited for it to be about anything good. Just as he was rounding the corner, he hesitated a step when he all but ran into Vlad. Vlad seemed to be just as confused to see him on his way to the principal’s office (it was the only thing of significance on this floor) and seemed to mentally sigh as he realized whatever this last-minute meeting was for, Nedzu had needed the both of them for it.
Great, Aizawa thought dryly. You get to suffer with me. It was too early in the morning, and he was too tired to be civil, so he stayed silent and slipped past the other heroics teacher. He continued on his way, and after a moment of hesitation, Vlad followed after him. Once they reached Nedzu’s office, he raised his fist to knock. And as was custom for his boss, the door swung open before his knuckles ever touched the wood. He gave Nezu a deadpan glare, but the principal only smiled.
“Come in!” the rat chirped from behind his oak desk. Aizawa grumbled under his breath, Nedzu was being far too energetic. He and Vlad tentatively sat down on the plush couch in front of the principal. Even if Vlad’s senses weren’t as fine-tuned as his own, he too had picked up on the excited and slightly menacing aura the rat was emanating. Aizawa slouched against the couch, rolling his shoulders forward, and looking for all intents and purposes, tired and bedraggled. His uncombed hair, eye bags, rumbled hero costume, and five o’clock shadow certainly didn’t hurt his ‘I couldn’t care less about anything that isn’t napping’ appearance. However, Aizawa has had years of practice hiding his emotions behind carefully layered walls around his body language and heart.
He once again noted that Vlad did not have this same ability as the tension across his shoulder grew with each passing silent moment as Nedzu was delicately preparing tea for the three of them. Once the principal had spun around and laid the cups in front of them; he sat back behind his desk. Aizawa scrutinized his face (as best he could with Nedzu being an animal) for any micro expressions as the rat laid one paw atop of the other after taking a sip of his tea. “Do either of you have an idea as to why I have called you both here today?” he asked.
Aizawa just blinked slowly at him like a cat as Vlad startled, clearly not expecting the sound of his voice, as non-threatening as it was (that was a lie, the principal could sound like the devil himself when he so wished, there was a reason everyone when along with his crazy plans after all). After a moment of silence, the principal started again. “No? Very well then! You see, there is a very distinct reason some people are put in one class over the other. You both have very unique teaching styles after all!” he said with a smile.
“But it has come to my attention that we perhaps leaned too far into this dichotomy style of teaching.” A small frown was on his face as he scrolled through something on a tablet, before turning it around for the teachers to view. It was the student files, slowly scrolling to show the students in class 1-A and 1-B. “It appears that 1-A, no matter how good they are, have been overworking themselves.”
Aizawa glared at the principal. He doesn’t know my kids like I do, he mentally grumbled. I know their limits, and they haven’t hit them yet. He started to tell Nedzu such, “Sir, they are pushing themselves bu-”
But he was cut off before he could finish. “They need to learn to take breaks and have someone who won’t push them as hard for at least a little while. And as for 1-B,” this the rat directed at Vlad. “They are lacking knowledge of underground heroics and, quite frankly, still have too narrow a world view. Now,” he said, cutting off Vlad before he could say anything in protest, “That is far from their fault, but they need to have less of a black and white view of the world. They have yet to see the righteous villains and darker side of heroics as 1-A has.”
“Once again, he chirped, far too happily for this situation in Aizawa’s opinion, “This is not their fault, but they need to be taught. Which is why,” he said, grin growing wider (dangerously wide) “I’ve decided to switch the heroics teachers!”
What .
“What.” Apparently Vlad had the same thought. He was staring at the principal, eyes wide in disbelief. Aizawa then noticed that he had also dropped his nonchalant appearance. He was sitting ramrod straight in his seat, and his eyes were narrowed slightly, layers of apathy ripped away to show the analytical gleam as his eyes pinned down his boss, trying to piece together where exactly this was going.
“You two will have a trial period of two weeks to test out this system, starting today!” He said, his smile just as wide as ever, but it was noticeably more primordial than before.
“But sir, -” Vlad started to protest.
“This decision is final.” The rat said. This time his voice had finally lost the perpetual peppy tone, and Aizawa felt a shiver go down his spine. There was a reason that bear was listed as one of his possible species. He was undeniably a predator. Vlad backed down.
“Now then,” he said cheerfully once more, “You’d best be off to class, you wouldn’t want to miss your first new homeroom with a new class!” He said with a wave of his paw as the door swung open. The two men stood, one with footsteps heavy and flat-footed in shock, the other cat-like and silent but no less shaken. As the two walked towards their new classes, the door swung shut behind them. As they rounded the corner, they could faintly hear cackling from the room that they had just left.