My Father's Son - Chapter 6

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When Izuku met the kids at the school gates, he expected Yuuto to be exhausted. The hours were already longer than his own kindergarten, with classes all day rather than coming home after lunch, not to mention it was a new group of people he hadn't met yet and schoolwork that was probably miles more demanding than the learn-through-play approach he was used to.

Instead, though, he saw a bright smile and shining eyes when they emerged from the building. They chatted with the classmates around them as they walked, voices bright and excitable, and Yuuto was surprisingly animated with his hands and expressions as he laughed with them.

He hated to admit it, but Yuuto had never looked like that after his own days at kindergarten.

“That sounds so fun!” Hiroki gasped, clapping his hands in his excitement. “I wish I could come!”

“It's okay, we'll do it on a Friday next time!” the little girl beside him promised, hugging Hiroki briefly. “Work hard, Hirokun! It was nice meeting you, Yuuchan!”

“It was nice meeting you too, Asachan!”

The group split off as people headed to their respective parents or walk-home groups, and Yuuto lit up when he saw Izuku waiting, jumping at him for a hug. Izuku scooped him up happily, smiling when Yuuto nuzzled into him, then bent down to ruffle Hiroki's hair fondly.

“How was kindy?” he asked, tearing up a little when Hiroki stepped in for a hug. “Have fun?”

“Super fun!” Hiroki grinned. “Yuuchan is really good at English!”

“Yeah, he's awesome,” Izuku agreed. “You know why?”

“Why?”

“We watch all the English hero cartoons together,” he laughed. “You ever seen them? They're a lot different to Japanese ones.”

“I haven't!” Hiroki gasped. “Can I watch too?!”

“Yeah! We'll watch some tonight, if you like.”

“Okay! I just gotta do the rest of my school first. I'd better go now, I'll be late.”

“Can I go to extra school too, Papa? I wanna go with Hirokun.”

Izuku had never thought he'd see the day a kid requested cram school, and the question threw him off for a moment, his jaw hanging open stupidly as he considered it.

“Um, y-yeah,” he nodded. “Why don't we all walk over together, and I'll see if you can join in today?”

“Yeah!”

“You know the way, Hiroki? Can you show us?”

“Uh-huh!”

Yuuto slid back down to the ground, reaching for Izuku's hand, and Izuku smiled when Hiroki reached out too. Yuuto accepted happily, holding one of them on each side, and in their little chain Hiroki led the way down the street.

Izuku had expected an unassuming little building like he'd always seen nearer to home, up a flight of stairs above a store, or tucked away down a little side street, but the building Hiroki took them to was big and modern, well maintained, with the front door wide open for the influx of arriving school children.

What was less surprising was the ages of the people walking in. Hiroki and Yuuto were the youngest by a good two or three years in most cases, but every child smiled and waved as they went by – Hiroki never seemed to be without a friend, no matter where he went.

“Hi!” he said brightly, standing on tiptoe to peek over the front desk. “I brought my best friend, can he join my class too?”

Izuku gave the receptionist an apologetic look, but she just smiled, leaning over so she could see the boys easier.

“You must be Yuuto!” she said brightly, waving to the nervous little blond, his hands still clinging to Izuku and Hiroki. “Welcome!”

“I'm Yuuto,” he agreed. “Hello.”

“Your Daddy already called me, Hirokun,” she smiled warmly. “Take him through with you, Sensei knows he's coming.”

“Yay! Thank you!”

Yuuto nervously dropped Izuku's hand, waving as Hiroki began to drag him off, and Izuku struggled to hold back his laugh,

“Hang on, what time do you finish?” he called. “When should I pick you up?”

“Six and a half! Daddy will do it, though, it's okay! We'll see you for dinner, Mr. Midoriya!”

“Okay! Um, have fun! Work hard!”

“We will!”

As they jogged away down the hall, Izuku just stood and stared, watching their backs. He heard Hiroki greet the teacher as they entered a little classroom, followed by a little “this is Yuuchan!” as the door swung closed behind him.

“Are the others so young, too?” he asked, when he found the receptionist still smiling at him. “This is our first time.”

“There are others their age,” she assured him. “We want them to have a good experience, so the teachers try to keep it fun until they get a bit older. Today is math class, so they'll be playing a lot of number games as well as doing exercises. Would you like to observe a class?”

“Oh, I shouldn't, but thank you. Yuuto is... Fiercely independent is the kind way of putting it,” he laughed. “He wouldn't be very happy with me, if I followed him in.”

“Oh, I fully understand, my own son is the same,” she nodded. “But we do have other classes, if you'd like?”

“R-Really? I could do that?”

“Of course! We have a reading class for their age going on at the moment, Hiroki will be back for that one tomorrow, and we have a math class for six and seven year olds too.”

“I-I mean... If it's really okay...”

“Of course! I'll show you around myself!”

She poked her head through a door behind the desk, mumbling something, and a younger woman came out to take her place, freeing her to walk out to Izuku's side.

“Let's go upstairs,” she suggested. “The older ones are up there.”

“Sure! Um, I'm Izuku by the way, Midoriya Izuku.”

“It's a pleasure to meet you! I'm Fusako, my youngest daughter goes to kindergarten with Hiroki.”

“Does she take cram school classes too?”

“Of course! She was accepted to the top three primary schools in the city, so it must have worked! She's been spending hours reading the school literature, choosing which one she wants to go to.”

“You're letting her choose?”

“Oh yes! She's finding out where her friends are going, and looking at the class lists and all the after-school clubs to decide what she thinks she'll like best. She's a dancer, so she wants to figure out which school has the best ballet club. Have you chosen a school for Yuuto yet?”

“Um, we actually- We kind of missed the entry dates for most of them,” he said awkwardly. “So we're finding out who will still let us interview. Hiroki is supposed to be going to some private academy that only takes forty kids a year?”

“Oh yes, we're all very proud of him for being accepted. Is Yuuto going to do a late interview with them?”

“We're trying, I'm not sure they'll let us, though. Katsuki is kind of in charge of all the educational stuff, and he's determined to get Yuuto in, so I guess it depends how strong his pull is with the school? I feel terrible about it, I would hate to take a spot away from someone else deserving, you know?”

“But doesn't Yuuto deserve it too?” she asked, completely genuine and straight-faced. “What if those other kids are taking his spot? The school are the ones who decide who gets in, after all, it's not your fault if someone misses out.”

“But they've already sent offers?”

“They don't make all their offers at once! Didn't you know?”

Izuku shook his head, and she smiled, stopping at a classroom door.

“They choose their top picks and they work their way down the list until the class is full. You pretty much have to decide right away to accept the spot, they won't hold it for you. Most people will accept, and then if they change their minds they pull out later and the school calls someone on the waiting list. Hiroki was in the first ten they called, and I believe they've gone up to around twenty so far, so the class won't be full just yet! And, well, let's be honest, Mr. Midoriya. When you have the number one hero asking for a favour, they're probably inclined to hold their calls until an interview can be arranged.”

“He's pretty special. And, uh, pretty demanding.”

“Sometimes that's not a bad thing,” she chuckled. “Alright, shall we take a look?”

“Yes! Thank you! Please!”

She pushed the door open, giving the teacher a quick apology, but not a single head raised from their desk to look. They were all absorbed in their worksheets, and Izuku was surprised to see rather than straight lines of individual desks, they were gathered in little clusters.

“They're having a bit of a competition,” the teacher explained, smiling apologetically. “How can I help you?”

“This is Mr. Midoriya, his son has just joined us for the first time and he's curious about the classes.”

“Welcome! These are our first-year primary school students, how old is your son?”

“He's about to turn six, so he starts school next year. I, um, I'm friends with someone whose son comes here, and he insisted Yuuto came to try it out and prepare for school as well.”

“Well, I'm sure he'll have a great time!” the man assured him. “This is what our group is working on right now.”

He handed over a spare worksheet, and Izuku was surprised to see it was covered in little cartoon pictures, not nearly the sterile learning environment he'd expected to find.

“We don't want them to burn out,” he explained, Izuku's surprise clearly written all over his face. “The kids should want to be here. They want to further their education, get help with subjects they struggle with, and see their friends from other schools! There's no point in giving them a thousand pages of dull exercises, any parent can print those off the internet and hand them to their child. Our job is to teach them in a way where it will stick, will set them up for a lifetime of good study habits.”

“Thank you, this was... Enlightening.”

“I'm glad we could help! Maybe I'll see you again soon, for your son's classes.”

“Yeah, maybe you will,” he smiled faintly. “Thank you.”

He handed the piece of paper over and followed Fusako back to the hallway, smiling faintly when she looked at him curiously.

“Okay, I get it,” he chuckled. “It's not as awful as I expected.”

“Mr. Bakugou went to many different cram schools to find the right one for his son,” she informed him. “He sat and observed three entire classes in each subject before he decided we were acceptable. He's a lovely man, deep down, but very much a perfectionist, as I'm sure you're aware.”

“Yeah, I've noticed,” he mumbled, following her down the hall to a smaller office rather than a classroom. “I always thought he was just, like, stubborn? Like everything had to go his own way. I'm starting to learn why, though. He's... a huge nerd.”

“That's one way to put it,” Fusako laughed. “He's very thorough.”

“Yeah, he'd like that word a lot better,” Izuku smiled wryly. “What's this room, then?”

“One of our private lessons. The group class runs for an hour, from four-thirty to five-thirty, then Hiroki and a few of his friends have a snack break before they have private tutors for around forty minutes.”

“That shouldn't surprise me.”

“He's a hard worker,” Fusako agreed. “He has been ever since he started here.”

“Which was when?”

“Almost two years ago, I suppose? He was one of the younger ones, but he settled in quickly.”

“He wants to make his Dad proud.”

“I'm sure he does.”

She knocked lightly on the door, and inside they found a boy sitting at a desk with a young teacher opposite him. She was probably fresh out of teaching school, from the look of her, and hopefully still enthusiastic about her job.

“This is Mr. Midoriya,” she said once again, smiling as she gestured toward him. “Shinokun, would you mind taking a break for just a moment? Mr. Midoriya would love to hear about your school, and maybe what you think of cram school too!”

“My school?” the boy asked, face lighting up. “Oh, does your kid go too?”

“He may do, next year,” Fusako nodded. “I know you love it there.”

“Yeah! It's the best!” he nodded, setting his pen down to turn around. “All the teachers are super smart, and very nice too! Just like here!”

“Oh yeah? I'm glad to hear it.”

“It was a bit weird at first, there are only two classes in each year so most of my friends from kindergarten didn't come with me, but we spent the first three days doing lots of fun stuff with our new classmates and making friends! And after each holidays we change classes so I ended up with friends in both!”

“You change classes? How come?”

“We do tests in the last week, and the people who do the best are in Class A the next term. Nobody gets kicked out of school for doing badly, I've heard some schools do that and that's sad, but the people in Class B just go a little slower sometimes than Class A does and get more help if they need it.”

“And you don't get stressed out about moving classes?”

“I did at first, but now they're all my friends, so it's okay! If they put me in another class it's just to help me more!”

“That's a very mature way to look at it, I'm very impressed.”

“We have lots of clubs, as well! Way more than the other schools!”

“Oh yeah? What kind of clubs do you like?”

“I do soccer and art club and hero club!”

“Hero club?”

“Uh-huh! We study hero fights and learn about different heroes, and sometimes we train to be heroes too!”

“That's very cool, I wish I'd had that at school too.”

“Yeah! I really wanted to go to this school because of it!”

“And you fit all of those in, and do cram school as well?”

“Uh-huh! I just do cram school two days a week, one with a group and one private like this. The other days I do club stuff!”

“What about time to play?”

“My clubs are playing,” he frowned slightly, confused. “What do you mean?”

“You don't want to just go play at a park, or go home and take a nap, or something?”

“Mm... Not really. I have more fun doing clubs,” he shrugged. “I guess if I wanted a nap I would just take a day off my club things? They wouldn't mind, other people take a day off sometimes too.”

“That's good to know,” Izuku smiled. “We should let you get back to work.”

“Okay! Come tell me if your kid comes to my school, I can show him around!”

“Thank you, I'm sure he'd like that.”

Izuku was finally feeling a little lighter in the chest, as they left the room. He'd had such a heavy weight sitting inside of him, worrying about school and exhaustion and studying and- just everything, really. Fusako really knew what she was doing, knew how to make him feel more comfortable with the concept.

“I think I'm okay, now,” he said softly, getting a wide smile in return. “Thank you, I really appreciate this.”

“It was my pleasure. Why don't we drop by a group of the little ones on our way out, just to make sure your mind is at ease?”

“Okay, thank you.”

He teared up a little when she pushed open a classroom door, finding a group of maybe ten kids sitting in a big circle. One of them held a picture book, showing it to the group as he carefully read the words on the page.

When he finished, everyone smiled and clapped, and he handed the book to the person next to him. They flipped the page, holding it up just like the first boy had done, and pointed at the words as they began to read.

“Sensei, what does this one say?” he asked, pointing at a character he couldn't decipher.

“Can anyone else read what it says?” the teacher asked, writing it on the chalkboard where everyone could see. “Has anyone seen this one before?”

Two little hands shot into the air, and their classmates watched in awe as they jumped up, writing out the pronunciation underneath it on the board. Everyone clapped again, and quickly they returned to their orderly circle.

“Good work! Can you see a picture of one on the page?”

“Over here!” a little girl said excitedly, leaning in close to point at it. “In the corner!”

“Very good! Everyone say it with me!”

The class chorused it back to her, and then they were back to the story like nothing ever happened, the boy proudly reading his new word.

“We encourage interaction,” Fusako explained. “They need to learn to function in a world with their peers, helping and supporting each other and sharing nicely, so it only makes sense that they learn and study together too.”

“I always pictured rows of individual desks and kids who aren't allowed to make a sound.”

“Maybe a long time ago, but not so much now, and certainly not us. I hope that brings you some comfort.”

“It really does.”

She took her place behind the desk again when they returned, handing Izuku a little pamphlet of all their class times and offerings, and with a last thank you he showed himself out.

It was only a ten minute walk back to the house, but the wind was starting to pick up, and he shivered inside his thin jacket. Every day it began to look and feel a little more like winter. He had managed to list all their old unwanted furniture for sale throughout the day, during his breaks from working – or searching for work, more to the point. Maybe when the pieces sold, he'd have enough money for a decent coat for once.

Then again, his mother and Yuuto needed them more than he did.

Maybe when the pieces sold, he'd have enough money for a decent coat for Yuuto, and one for his mother, and when their apartment lease expired at the end of the year, maybe he could buy himself one with the ex-rent money. It was only six weeks away, he could survive that long.

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