[To be honest... Shouto's had one glimpse of Aizawa in his memories, but he seemed to be a teacher anyway. Also if Aizawa hasn't been having weird memories then it might be even weirder for him.
So he figured it was better to keep it to himself.]
Is the grocery store in half an hour ok?
[If he has to deal with this even more... then he's getting himself ice-cream or something.]
[Well then!! Apparently an obligation to let people know when you have them randomly in your memories is not mutual, but Aizawa's going to spill the beans first anyway because HE'S A POLITE PERSON LIKE THAT AT LEAST]
Sounds fine to me. I'll see you in a bit.
[And in half an hour Aizawa will be there--he arrived a bit early, honestly--dressed down and sitting on a bench outside the store proper, browsing through something on his phone as he waits. But Shouto's distinctive hair is very difficult to miss, so it's not long before he's looking up from his phone at Shouto's approach.]
...Did you want to buy anything beforehand? You can get that out of the way now, if you want. [He's assuming Shouto had a reason for wanting to meet up at the grocery store, anyway...tell him your ice cream plans Shouto.]
Also wow no not lying!! But most people don't like...openly admit ice cream makes them feel better about upsetting situations....not so immediately and bluntly, anyway. Aizawa is still getting used to Shouto's bluntness in general, even if he got a pretty good gist of it from the deadpan delivery of that prank before.
The question seems to catch Aizawa a little off-guard too, and he's about to decline almost automatically, but pausing to peer up at the sun still beating down from the sky at the moment.......no, you know what. Popsicles are basically just frozen juice. He could actually really use some juice right now. That would probably help this whole...awkward process....]
...Actually, now that you mention it--sure, why not. [Aizawa shifts to reach for his wallet, intent on pulling out a couple of dollars.] It's still pretty hot. If there's any that's watermelon flavored you can get me one of those, I guess.
He's already gotten his protectiveness for Izuku back, even without having everything that explains it. Maybe there's hope for him yet.
If more people were blunt and honest Shouto wouldn't have such a headache with them. Also, he's turned himself off of pranks forever after the... disaster that was his first and last attempt. Let's not get memories like that again. Ever.]
Watermelon... Got it.
[And then he leaves before Aizawa actually takes out any dollars and disappears into the store. Apparently, the wallet didn't signal anything to him.
[--Wait, he's already leaving? He's already leaving. Shouto is leaving pretty much immediately now, and Aizawa hasn't even gotten his wallet open yet--which leaves him staring incredulously at Shouto's back, as he wanders off into the store without further ado.
Geez, this kid...well. He'll just have to retroactively pay him when he comes back, then. Aizawa determinedly takes out the dollars anyway!! And waits....]
[No, Shouto won't be the only difficult student soon enough...between Izuku's hero complex and Cutter getting his weird teeth later this month, Aizawa's student struggle is only going to intensify from here. At least Shouto is a fairly calm introduction to the times ahead...
Aizawa accepts the watermelon popsicle, but moves to trade it for the two dollars in his hand at the same time, which he holds out to Shouto with a deadpan expression now.]
Thanks. Let me actually give you the payment for mine before you go off and buy it next time though, will you? ...I don't know how much these are, but if this covers both of them that's fine. Consider it on me anyway, for bringing you out here.
[Shouto is perhaps... the least difficult of Aizawa's difficult students in Recolle. He just walks off without expecting payment and comes back with the thing they both wanted. And sometimes he sets himself on fire, but he's working on it.
He looks at the money for a second before he realizes that it's supposed to be for the popsicle. So he'll take it and just sort of hold it along with his own popsicle. His less fiery hand. He's working on his fire, he doesn't have it completely under control yet.
He looks a bit skeptically at the money. He doesn't doubt it's real, but he also doesn't think he needed to be paid for it.]
I was the one who asked to talk about it in person.
[He's still a problem child but like...a small problem one. For now. Fire thing aside.
Aizawa nonchalantly sits back and starts peeling open his popsicle once the money's off his hands, shrugging at the reply.]
And I was the one who asked to talk about it at all. But we could spend quite awhile arguing semantics, I'm sure. [JUST ACCEPT THE TWO DOLLARS SHOUTO...ACCEPT THEM INTO YOUR HEART....he gestures with a free hand at the open space on the bench beside him.] Either way, I thought you'd have wanted to know, so here we are now. With popsicles. ...Take a seat if you want.
[There we go. Aizawa settles back a bit as Shouto takes a seat, oblivious to the latter's painstaking efforts to keep his popsicle from a premature melting. What a heartwarming sight they must make on this bench to passerby...a dad and his kid having popsicles together outside the grocery store on a summer day......
Too bad it's over such a weird topic. Aizawa samples his popsicle--which is satisfactorily watermelon-flavored, at least--but after that he doesn't waste much time in cutting straight to the chase.]
So. I'm telling you about this because I think you ought to know. I have no idea how...real or not any of this memory business is supposed to be. But since you're an actual person that I know and technically have authority over, I think you have a right to be aware of your image being used like this without your knowledge. Whatever the reason might actually be.
[The words are flat and even. Aizawa takes a bite off the end of his popsicle, chews it up, and sighs.]
I'm absolutely certain I've never seen you set yourself on fire before...that time a few days ago. But shortly after that, I remembered you setting yourself on fire another time. It was some kind of...I don't know. Tournament set-up?
[Shouto would much prefer a teacher he barely knows to his actual father. That's just a testament to how terrible his father is and how incredibly low the bar for being better than him is.
He does get briefly distracted- who bites their popsicles like that? Isn't he expecting a brain-freeze? Something? Truly Aizawa should be feared.
He takes a small lick of his own popsicle and considers it.]
I... Can't tell if they're real or not either. [But they felt real. Stomach churningly awful.] But I had a memory kind of like that once. I was fighting Izuku and I used my fire... On accident, I think. The... me in the visions, or the memories, whatever they are. He doesn't like his fire.
[Brain-freeze what brain-freeze....he's just. Casually taking another bite off his as Shouto speaks, like it's some kind of fruit and not actually a very cold popsicle?? He's just like this, Shouto...one day you'll understand....
More to the point, though. He blinks at what Shouto's saying, and abruptly stops chewing as it sinks in, because that's...]
You were fighting Midoriya, really? I don't remember if--
[Wait. Or doesn't he? Aizawa trails off briefly, frowning heavily at the street in front of them without really looking at it as the out-of-place memory turns over in his mind's eye. Thinking too hard on these memories had felt...strange, so he hadn't been in the habit trying too much before now. If Izuku's actually involved too, though--
--Was he? Shouto had certainly been fighting somebody. The opponent had been...huh. For some reason there's a very brief and very odd sort of sympathy ache in his arms, and Aizawa automatically folds one of them across himself. ...Weird. But--]
...Actually, I'm not sure. It was from a high vantage point, what I was seeing. It's not clear, so...but you're sure it was Midoriya?
[Why is Izuku involved in this?? That makes even less sense. What's the connection supposed to be here?]
The fire was--surprising, I suppose. At the time. If it was your first time doing it on accident then, I suppose that might correlate...
He was right in front of me. I think he was trying to get bandanas around my neck...? But it was definitely him, the green eyes, messy hair and freckles. It couldn't be anyone else.
I... [It's always weird to talk about this, especially since they both have the same name. "Double" is the best he can come up with.] My double. He was surprised he was using his fire. It was like he had his back against the wall and it was his last option left.
[Ah...wait....and now Aizawa refocuses his full attention on Shouto, frown still in place but taking a more perplexed slant.]
Bandannas? I don't... [Hmm. There's an odd feeling itching at the back of his head, sort of--Aizawa is almost beginning to recognize it, and has decided he doesn't like it. A nagging, like he's forgetting something, and he's usually not a very forgetful person at all. The last month or so has been very uncomfortable for a lot of these sorts of reasons.
Outright...denying Shouto's account doesn't feel right. For some reason? But...]
I don't think you were wearing any bandannas at all, from what I remember. You weren't very close to a wall either. You were just fighting one other person... [So that sounds. Off.
Are they...talking about two different occasions of Shouto being on fire, here...?]
There was a giant ice wall...? Like we were closed off from anybody else. And I think we were in teams.
[Wait, are they talking about different things? Why is he fighting Izuku twice? His memory sounds like a particularly intense game, but Aizawa's sounds like an actual fight.]
[Does he...does he? It's a long pause on Aizawa's part; long enough that he's taken a couple more bites off his popsicle in the process of reviewing the memory some more. The clearest part of it is Shouto setting himself on fire, for sure, but it surely hadn't been just that. He wasn't on fire in a vacuum. There were other things around, beyond the hazy border of the memory, a whole scene and setup. So then...?]
...I was sitting next to someone. A loud person. He was... [--What's this odd pang? There's an extremely vague sense of fondness, but it's displaced, and there's nowhere to put it, and there's a faint sense of loss about that. Aizawa frowns heavily at nothing in particular, but quickly shoves past it--focus.] ...I don't know who he was, but he was very surprised too. ...Because your opponent was being very reckless, I think.
[That's. ...Not a very reassuring notion, honestly, if...]
You're sure you were squaring off against Midoriya? ...It doesn't sound wrong to me, but it doesn't make sense. Why would you be fighting twice? Why are you fighting at all?
[He really doesn't like the sound of any of that, really, which is probably evident enough in Aizawa's tone here. He shifts where he's seated, chewing up another bit of popsicle. That mention of a giant ice wall...now that he thinks on it....]
...An ice wall and bandannas. [The itch finally resolves itself into a single phrase, suddenly, like a puzzle piece slipping into place.] A "cavalry battle", is that what you're remembering?
[Shouto's just stuck his popsicle in his mouth and considers the memory he has. It was definitely, definitely Izuku, there's nobody else it would've been. Those big green eyes and the determination shining on his face- it's Izuku.
It's absolutely Izuku.]
Reckless... Hm. [That's not the first word he'd associate with Izuku, but the longer and longer he thinks about it... it seems right.]
I'm sure it was him. But I don't know why were we fighting.
[In contrast to Shouto's vagueness on the topic, Aizawa's nodding in certainty at that last bit--because he can see that in his mind's eye too, now. Another scene he's never seen in his life....it's probably. Another memory. But..]
Yes--that's what a cavalry battle entails, apparently. And the bandannas were worth points, hence the demand to steal them. ...I'm remembering it now.
[It's half a grumble, followed by a beat for Aizawa to finish off the last of his popsicle in an absentminded crunch or two. Slowly tucking the stick into the wrapper...]
Midoriya was definitely there, I remember that too. Though I'm not clear on what the outcome of that...contest was. [Aizawa sits back with a sigh.] ...This is strange all around. I couldn't start to tell you what it might mean, if anything. I certainly don't much like this.
...But that's all I know, at the moment. And now you know too.
[He doesn't quite have all these memories back, but he definitely remembers the bandanas around his neck. It's almost as clear as the fire on his left side.]
I don't know if it means anything. They're just... visions. Of another version of our lives, maybe. But there's not much meaning in them.
... I think.
[He hopes.
Once again, his free hand comes up to touch his left cheek. However real or not real that memory was, the ghost of pain settles itself over him every once in a while. Whenever he thinks about that day too much.]
'Another version', like a past life? Hmm. If one were inclined towards believing in that sort of thing, I guess...
But otherwise it's all just random bits and pieces of scenes. That may or may not be real. ...I'd just like to know why they're even necessary.
[Or how it's done, and how to make it quit--but nobody seems to have any leads on that, it seems. ...It's so ridiculous. Aizawa watches the people milling about the storefront, the streets up ahead, the buildings beyond that, and it's all so painfully and utterly normal...as if this conversation shouldn't even be taking place here. It's a sense of disconnect that's been plaguing him for the last month, and Aizawa doesn't know how to reconcile it, and it bothers him.
But every now and then the disconnect does go away, and reality sets in a little bit harder--sometimes in the normal direction, sometimes in the abnormal one. Like it did a few days ago, in the classroom...
He looks back over to Shouto just in time to see his touching his left cheek, incidentally. The pause is brief, but then Aizawa's shifting, speaking again even as he moves to drop the popsicle stick and wrapper in the trash can at one end of the bench.]
I don't know what else to make of them. I don't know why Izuku's in them either.
[But those memories aren't the ones that hurt.
Reality seems like a far off memory, which is just ridiculous. He's sitting on a park bench eating popsicles with his teacher.
On second thought, that's a little weird, but not 'set himself on fire' weird.
The question comes and he hesitates. He's not sure.]
... Better than that day.
[That's the lowest possible bar, he's pretty sure. But he's definitely doing better than that. He hopes that day is obvious enough he doesn't have to admit to igniting himself in public.]
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no subject
So he figured it was better to keep it to himself.]
Is the grocery store in half an hour ok?
[If he has to deal with this even more... then he's getting himself ice-cream or something.]
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Sounds fine to me. I'll see you in a bit.
[And in half an hour Aizawa will be there--he arrived a bit early, honestly--dressed down and sitting on a bench outside the store proper, browsing through something on his phone as he waits. But Shouto's distinctive hair is very difficult to miss, so it's not long before he's looking up from his phone at Shouto's approach.]
...Did you want to buy anything beforehand? You can get that out of the way now, if you want. [He's assuming Shouto had a reason for wanting to meet up at the grocery store, anyway...tell him your ice cream plans Shouto.]
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Shouto is there on time. At least he doesn't break appointments.]
I was going to get a popsicle. Ice-cream is good for everything that might be upsetting.
... Also it's just good for hot days.
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Timeliness is a good start. Aizawa blinks slowly at this...surprisingly open disclosure, but hey. That's...sensible.]
...Yeah, I've heard of something like that. If you think so then by all means, go ahead. I'm not going anywhere.
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Did... Aizawa expect him to lie about ice-cream? Who lies about ice-cream. Only a monster.]
Do you want one?
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Also wow no not lying!! But most people don't like...openly admit ice cream makes them feel better about upsetting situations....not so immediately and bluntly, anyway. Aizawa is still getting used to Shouto's bluntness in general, even if he got a pretty good gist of it from the deadpan delivery of that prank before.
The question seems to catch Aizawa a little off-guard too, and he's about to decline almost automatically, but pausing to peer up at the sun still beating down from the sky at the moment.......no, you know what. Popsicles are basically just frozen juice. He could actually really use some juice right now. That would probably help this whole...awkward process....]
...Actually, now that you mention it--sure, why not. [Aizawa shifts to reach for his wallet, intent on pulling out a couple of dollars.] It's still pretty hot. If there's any that's watermelon flavored you can get me one of those, I guess.
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He's already gotten his protectiveness for Izuku back, even without having everything that explains it. Maybe there's hope for him yet.
If more people were blunt and honest Shouto wouldn't have such a headache with them. Also, he's turned himself off of pranks forever after the... disaster that was his first and last attempt. Let's not get memories like that again. Ever.]
Watermelon... Got it.
[And then he leaves before Aizawa actually takes out any dollars and disappears into the store. Apparently, the wallet didn't signal anything to him.
Amazing.]
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Geez, this kid...well. He'll just have to retroactively pay him when he comes back, then. Aizawa determinedly takes out the dollars anyway!! And waits....]
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He comes back in five minutes with two popsicles. He did manage to find watermelon for Aizawa, and strawberry for himself.
He'll hold out the watermelon for Aizawa to take.]
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Aizawa accepts the watermelon popsicle, but moves to trade it for the two dollars in his hand at the same time, which he holds out to Shouto with a deadpan expression now.]
Thanks. Let me actually give you the payment for mine before you go off and buy it next time though, will you? ...I don't know how much these are, but if this covers both of them that's fine. Consider it on me anyway, for bringing you out here.
no subject
He looks at the money for a second before he realizes that it's supposed to be for the popsicle. So he'll take it and just sort of hold it along with his own popsicle. His less fiery hand. He's working on his fire, he doesn't have it completely under control yet.
He looks a bit skeptically at the money. He doesn't doubt it's real, but he also doesn't think he needed to be paid for it.]
I was the one who asked to talk about it in person.
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Aizawa nonchalantly sits back and starts peeling open his popsicle once the money's off his hands, shrugging at the reply.]
And I was the one who asked to talk about it at all. But we could spend quite awhile arguing semantics, I'm sure. [JUST ACCEPT THE TWO DOLLARS SHOUTO...ACCEPT THEM INTO YOUR HEART....he gestures with a free hand at the open space on the bench beside him.] Either way, I thought you'd have wanted to know, so here we are now. With popsicles. ...Take a seat if you want.
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He still keeps it in his right hand. He wants to eat it, he doesn't want it to melt.]
... Okay.
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Too bad it's over such a weird topic. Aizawa samples his popsicle--which is satisfactorily watermelon-flavored, at least--but after that he doesn't waste much time in cutting straight to the chase.]
So. I'm telling you about this because I think you ought to know. I have no idea how...real or not any of this memory business is supposed to be. But since you're an actual person that I know and technically have authority over, I think you have a right to be aware of your image being used like this without your knowledge. Whatever the reason might actually be.
[The words are flat and even. Aizawa takes a bite off the end of his popsicle, chews it up, and sighs.]
I'm absolutely certain I've never seen you set yourself on fire before...that time a few days ago. But shortly after that, I remembered you setting yourself on fire another time. It was some kind of...I don't know. Tournament set-up?
no subject
He does get briefly distracted- who bites their popsicles like that? Isn't he expecting a brain-freeze? Something? Truly Aizawa should be feared.
He takes a small lick of his own popsicle and considers it.]
I... Can't tell if they're real or not either. [But they felt real. Stomach churningly awful.] But I had a memory kind of like that once. I was fighting Izuku and I used my fire... On accident, I think. The... me in the visions, or the memories, whatever they are. He doesn't like his fire.
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More to the point, though. He blinks at what Shouto's saying, and abruptly stops chewing as it sinks in, because that's...]
You were fighting Midoriya, really? I don't remember if--
[Wait. Or doesn't he? Aizawa trails off briefly, frowning heavily at the street in front of them without really looking at it as the out-of-place memory turns over in his mind's eye. Thinking too hard on these memories had felt...strange, so he hadn't been in the habit trying too much before now. If Izuku's actually involved too, though--
--Was he? Shouto had certainly been fighting somebody. The opponent had been...huh. For some reason there's a very brief and very odd sort of sympathy ache in his arms, and Aizawa automatically folds one of them across himself. ...Weird. But--]
...Actually, I'm not sure. It was from a high vantage point, what I was seeing. It's not clear, so...but you're sure it was Midoriya?
[Why is Izuku involved in this?? That makes even less sense. What's the connection supposed to be here?]
The fire was--surprising, I suppose. At the time. If it was your first time doing it on accident then, I suppose that might correlate...
no subject
He was right in front of me. I think he was trying to get bandanas around my neck...? But it was definitely him, the green eyes, messy hair and freckles. It couldn't be anyone else.
I... [It's always weird to talk about this, especially since they both have the same name. "Double" is the best he can come up with.] My double. He was surprised he was using his fire. It was like he had his back against the wall and it was his last option left.
I guess he really wanted to win...?
no subject
Bandannas? I don't... [Hmm. There's an odd feeling itching at the back of his head, sort of--Aizawa is almost beginning to recognize it, and has decided he doesn't like it. A nagging, like he's forgetting something, and he's usually not a very forgetful person at all. The last month or so has been very uncomfortable for a lot of these sorts of reasons.
Outright...denying Shouto's account doesn't feel right. For some reason? But...]
I don't think you were wearing any bandannas at all, from what I remember. You weren't very close to a wall either. You were just fighting one other person... [So that sounds. Off.
Are they...talking about two different occasions of Shouto being on fire, here...?]
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[Wait, are they talking about different things? Why is he fighting Izuku twice? His memory sounds like a particularly intense game, but Aizawa's sounds like an actual fight.]
... Do you remember anything else about it?
returns a million years later w/regain oops
...I was sitting next to someone. A loud person. He was... [--What's this odd pang? There's an extremely vague sense of fondness, but it's displaced, and there's nowhere to put it, and there's a faint sense of loss about that. Aizawa frowns heavily at nothing in particular, but quickly shoves past it--focus.] ...I don't know who he was, but he was very surprised too. ...Because your opponent was being very reckless, I think.
[That's. ...Not a very reassuring notion, honestly, if...]
You're sure you were squaring off against Midoriya? ...It doesn't sound wrong to me, but it doesn't make sense. Why would you be fighting twice? Why are you fighting at all?
[He really doesn't like the sound of any of that, really, which is probably evident enough in Aizawa's tone here. He shifts where he's seated, chewing up another bit of popsicle. That mention of a giant ice wall...now that he thinks on it....]
...An ice wall and bandannas. [The itch finally resolves itself into a single phrase, suddenly, like a puzzle piece slipping into place.] A "cavalry battle", is that what you're remembering?
no subject
It's absolutely Izuku.]
Reckless... Hm. [That's not the first word he'd associate with Izuku, but the longer and longer he thinks about it... it seems right.]
I'm sure it was him. But I don't know why were we fighting.
[He hums softly.]
... I guess I was on top of some other people.
no subject
Yes--that's what a cavalry battle entails, apparently. And the bandannas were worth points, hence the demand to steal them. ...I'm remembering it now.
[It's half a grumble, followed by a beat for Aizawa to finish off the last of his popsicle in an absentminded crunch or two. Slowly tucking the stick into the wrapper...]
Midoriya was definitely there, I remember that too. Though I'm not clear on what the outcome of that...contest was. [Aizawa sits back with a sigh.] ...This is strange all around. I couldn't start to tell you what it might mean, if anything. I certainly don't much like this.
...But that's all I know, at the moment. And now you know too.
no subject
I don't know if it means anything. They're just... visions. Of another version of our lives, maybe. But there's not much meaning in them.
... I think.
[He hopes.
Once again, his free hand comes up to touch his left cheek. However real or not real that memory was, the ghost of pain settles itself over him every once in a while. Whenever he thinks about that day too much.]
no subject
But otherwise it's all just random bits and pieces of scenes. That may or may not be real. ...I'd just like to know why they're even necessary.
[Or how it's done, and how to make it quit--but nobody seems to have any leads on that, it seems. ...It's so ridiculous. Aizawa watches the people milling about the storefront, the streets up ahead, the buildings beyond that, and it's all so painfully and utterly normal...as if this conversation shouldn't even be taking place here. It's a sense of disconnect that's been plaguing him for the last month, and Aizawa doesn't know how to reconcile it, and it bothers him.
But every now and then the disconnect does go away, and reality sets in a little bit harder--sometimes in the normal direction, sometimes in the abnormal one. Like it did a few days ago, in the classroom...
He looks back over to Shouto just in time to see his touching his left cheek, incidentally. The pause is brief, but then Aizawa's shifting, speaking again even as he moves to drop the popsicle stick and wrapper in the trash can at one end of the bench.]
...How've you been holding up? Recently.
no subject
[But those memories aren't the ones that hurt.
Reality seems like a far off memory, which is just ridiculous. He's sitting on a park bench eating popsicles with his teacher.
On second thought, that's a little weird, but not 'set himself on fire' weird.
The question comes and he hesitates. He's not sure.]
... Better than that day.
[That's the lowest possible bar, he's pretty sure. But he's definitely doing better than that. He hopes that day is obvious enough he doesn't have to admit to igniting himself in public.]
(no subject)