Exploited Weakness

Shota/Els
_

"You have a weakness to be exploited, Mr. Aizawa," the teenager said confidently. "I'm one of the lucky first to test it out."

The older man lifted his chin, pulling his goggles down slightly to grin wickedly at his student. "You had better be certain. And quit talking so much - " His capture scarves whipped out, snapping taut as they wrapped around his target. "It's an old trick. You're leaving yourself open to surprise attacks."

"Worked, though," he panted, glancing over to another area of the arena from the ground where he had fallen. A loud hiss of surprise caused Aizawa to spin around in concern. Elly had been on the sidelines, sitting with the rest of the class. His eyes narrowed dangerously when he saw she had fallen over and was rolled into a tight ball of pain. That brief moment of concern enabled a counterattack from the teen's partner, and he was suddenly in the air, his target's bonds loosened. The pair got to the safety line as he stared in consternation at them, choosing instead to rush to the cat woman's side.

The look on his face.

The students cringed back as his eyes flashed red and his hair swept upright once more. There was more than anger in those worn features and that startled them; they believed they had seen the man pushed to his limits before. This, however, was a new Eraserhead. His jaw clenched as he grasped her in his arms.

"Stay here!" He snapped, turning his back and rushing out towards the nurse's office.

The teenagers were torn between enjoying a victory and seeing the raging agony in their teacher's eyes.

"It wasn't in the rules!" Midoriya was torn. He was happy Uraraka had managed to pull one over on the gruff teacher, but the look on the man's face when he had seen Ms. Sketchit collapse had been agonized.

"We were right, by the way. He does like her."

"Like?! That showed more than like."

"They're totally doing it," a creepy voice husked from the center of the group. Froppy absently slapped the grape-headed lech with her tongue. "What?! They are!"

"No one wants to hear that," she told him.

"He does this kind of thing to us all the time, remember?" Iida pointed out all the moments the man had tricked them. "He keeps telling us to be ready for anything."

"He wasn't ready for that," Midoriya whispered.

Elly woke in Recovery Girl's office not too long after. "What happened?" She groaned, rubbing her head.

"My students decided to test my resolve," Aizawa said grimly. "They hurt you to distract me."

"Ohhh." She winced. "Ow. I don't think that one knows how strong he is."

"You're tired today." His face burned as he admitted that, knowing it was his fault.

"Yeah, and I should have been paying attention. We both learned a lesson, huh?"

He clenched his fists. Damn it, he was proud in a fucked up sort of way for his class. That attack showed they were actively learning about their opponents and not afraid to use the information they gathered. But to hurt the woman he loved - it stung that he didn't see this coming. Worse, this was indeed a new weakness and real villains could exploit it. She might get injured next time, not just stunned in school in a training session. He had only just begun to realize how illogical his actions around her were. There was so much more at stake than what he originally thought.

"I think we did. Perhaps we shouldn't be together."

"Sh - Shota?" Her ears drooped so low they blended into her hair.

"You had better call me Aizawa again," he told her curtly, turning his back so she couldn't see his expression. "We are on school grounds. That, or Eraserhead." He was fairly certain he was deadpan - he had good practice at it -- but he wanted to make sure. He didn't feel stoic. His throat was closing up and his eyes were burning in a strange new way, not dry, but with the threat of tears.

"Shota," she said stubbornly. "I'm the counselor here, remember? I know why you're doing this."

He walked off.

Elly struggled to remain calm as she hurried after him. Chiyo was in another room getting supplies, so she didn't realize her patient was wandering away.

"You're worried I'll get hurt because we're together," she continued, trying to rush up to get a look at his face. "Don't be that way! This is more than just your decision!"

He reached the teacher's lounge and placed a hand on the door, head bowed. She gently touched the back of his head, stroking his long, dark hair. "Please," she husked, and he had to bite his tongue to keep from answering. It was obvious that she had started to cry. Her breathing was erratic, her voice ragged. "This is so f - fucking soap opera stupid, don't leave me. Not now."

Aizawa closed his eyes, tightening his resolve, drawing it around him like a shield. He said nothing but opened the door and walked inside. It was quiet and calmer here, but there was a commotion almost instantly outside the door where he had left her. After a couple of minutes Mic banged in after him, awkwardly carried a sobbing Elly inside and looking around for any help.

"It'll be okay, I dunno what happened, but uh, Midnight!" He hissed this last in a desperate attempt to peel her off him. The darker-haired woman shook her head and pointed to Aizawa, who was radiating an aura of pitch-dark depression. He slumped in his bag in the corner, facing the wall so no one could see him. "Wait... did you guys fight?"

"I think he broke up with me," Elly whimpered, giving up on standing entirely as the weight of the statement struck her. Mic swore loudly and grabbed her before she hit the ground.

"Eraser, you asshole!" The voice hero wasted no time striding over to his friend. "Els just told me what you did. Idiot!" He kicked the sleeping bag, hard.

Aizawa snarled, whipping his head around. The kick had enraged him so much he forgot why he had been hiding. Elly was in tears in Hizashi's arms, and Shota was doing the same on the floor. His hair was in a permanent state of flux, rising and falling as if a wind was blowing in the very still room. His pale face was streaked with wet trails down his cheeks.

"Idiot," Mic repeated, then dumped Elly on top of him. Aizawa swore loudly, whipping himself around like a strange caterpillar to catch her with his body. He wriggled his hands free, clutching her to him so tightly she gasped.

"You are an idiot," she wept.

"I need to protect you," he groaned. "What if being with me is too dangerous?"

She wrenched away from him and stood wobbling on unsteady legs. Her tears had dried for the time being, and he saw nothing but fury in her eyes now. "So you break up with me? The day you learn I'm pregnant?!"

Every single one of the people in the room froze. Mic's jaw dropped and he stumbled into a chair as Midnight clapped her hands over her mouth. Yagi had been standing in a far corner and he spat blood farther than usual in a sudden coughing fit. Cementoss was so still he looked like a statue with clothing, caught holding a coffee cup mid-sip.

"Cheshire..." He reached for her but she hissed at him and spun around, tail whipping through the air. She stormed out the door with one hand unconsciously held on her belly. No one spoke for a very long time, and all that could be heard was Yagi's labored breathing as he struggled to regain composure.

Mic broke the silence. "You... fucking... idiot!" He yelled, slapping the table so hard he snatched his hand back, shaking it in pain. "Dammit," he muttered.

"We heard she got injured in the training session," Midnight said softly. "That doesn't mean she'll always get hurt, Eraser."

Coffee dribbled out of Cementoss' mouth as he remained frozen with shock.

"She's - she said she was..." Yagi wiped the blood off his chin and wobbled as fast as he could out the door after her. "I'll bring her back," he promised, walking quickly out into the deserted hall.

"Elly!" He spoke in her native language and used her first name, cupping his hands around his mouth to reach farther. "We want you safe. Come out."

"Safe." He jumped; she had been invisible, standing close behind him. "That's what started this is the first place."

"Aizawa's just doing what he thought was right. Granted, he ah, didn't think things through this time. But he loves you. I've known the guy since he was young and he's never lost his composure like that."

"What if he doesn't really love me, Toshi?" She wiped her eyes as they started to tear again.

"We'll figure everything out." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You won't be alone."

"I'm so scared."

There was really nothing he could say to that. He just nodded and opened the door, ushering her back in.

"Tell her the truth, Aizawa," he told the Erasure Hero sternly, leading her to the depressed looking man's side.

"I didn't like the fact that I wasn't in control," he admitted softly. Elly sat and sniffled, trying to hold back more tears. Mic was standing nearby and he placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, shaking him a little to get his attention. When Aizawa looked up, blinking, he pantomimed holding someone in his arms, stroking their hair. The other man's eyes narrowed and he shooed him out. He did, however, scoot his chair beside hers and reach for her.

"I'm sorry. I was wrong to suggest something so terrible. I hurt you." She bit her lip, flinching when he touched her cheek. He wanted more than anything to wipe the pain off her tightly drawn features right now, and he tried again. "Look..." He sighed. "I wasn't going to do this yet, but you need it now."

He took her hand in his and reached into a pocket on his suit. She watched quietly, eyes bleary with unshed tears, as he produced a very small, very plain, very unmistakable box.

"Shota?"

He said nothing, just opened it and took the ring out, slipping it on her finger. She sat staring at in disbelief. It was white gold, set with a flat series of small diamonds.

"Did you get this..."

"I've had it," he sighed, "for a month now." He nodded at her expression. "Yes, before I knew." He paused, the added, "Eri helped pick it out."

"You - but you just..."

He sighed one more time, his eyes meeting hers as he held her hand. "I made a mistake. I was nervous. This," he indicated the ring, raising her hand to his lips, and kissed it without breaking eye contact. "This is not a mistake. I love you, and the little one inside you."

This time her tears were happy as she sobbed, flinging her arms around his neck. "You scared me so much!"

"I know," he grinned feverishly. "I'm an idiot."