Because (BNHA x Male OC)

11: Keep It Together

Hawks stared at the boy in his doorway with a shocked expression. 

It wasn't the Chiharu he knew. The boy looked like a shell of the cheerful, hardworking Chiharu. The one who was always on time, the one who put 100% into everything. 

This Chiharu looked...listless. His eyes were sunken and surrounded by circles so dark they looked like bruises and his hair was unwashed and messy. 

The hero couldn't for the life of him figure out what had happened, or why Chiharu was stood in his doorway, back pack slung over his shoulder and Eraserhead at his side. 

But lets backtrack and get more of the story. 

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Aizawa knew something was wrong about a week after the USJ. At first he had thought that all of Iwamoto's awkwardness and exhaustion had come from the incident itself. That he was still grappling with everything that had happened. 

But then it went on. And on. And on until Aizawa realized that either this kid needed more than the mandatory trip to Hound Dog's office for some licensed mental health support or there was something else going on. 

He wasn't going to ask at first. Aizawa's plan was to observe the situation and report it to the guidance counsellor. Not to intervene. 

So why on earth was he still observing everything about the boy? And at lunch of all places. 

He seemed pretty listless on the outside, not really speaking to Midoriya or any of the other students at the table, but Aizawa noticed that past the façade he was eating really quickly. Iwamoto even had a hand across the table as if he was shielding the food from anyone else at the table. 

This was very new and very concerning behavior. People who had enough food at home didn't eat like that. He was a little bit worried when after the USJ incident he was unable to get ahold of the boy's parents. Everyone else's parents had called him asking for reassurance of U.A's safety and what measures they were planning on taking to protect the kids. 

Iwamoto's parents hadn't called nor had they answered the phone call and email Aizawa had sent them. The pro hero hadn't so much as seen a picture of them since Iwamoto had entered his class. He knew their names and had seen their signatures but that was about it. 

He questioned, midway through lunch, if the boy's parents even existed. It was possible that he was a runaway or maybe estranged from his parents and didn't live with them. Or that he was without a guardian and was faking having parents entirely. 

The teacher decided to get to the bottom of this himself. 

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"Do you have any idea why you're here with me instead of in hero training?" Mr. Aizawa asked. Chiharu shook his head. The pro hero raised an eyebrow as if to ask if he was sure, but the boy remained silent. 

"I've noticed you're tired. Are you sleeping properly?" He asked. Chiharu nodded, settling his gaze on the desk, refusing to look up at his teacher. "Alright, I think you haven't been eating properly either.". Chiharu froze up a little at that, his arms moving to circle around his torso in a protective move. 

"If you don't take care of yourself you can't be a hero. Especially for you. Your body is your weapon, it is your tool to protect others with. If you neglect it then you won't be able to do any of the activities associated with being a hero, hence why you're not at hero training." Aizawa explained. Chiharu nodded. 

"I want you to answer me honestly." The pro hero said, placing the pen he had been fiddling with down on the desk with a sigh. "Is everything alright at home?".