Shouto is in class when the pictures are leaked.
He doesnโt know it happened until after, when he walks out of class and is instantly met with stares and whispers. Heat prickles under his collar and his hand squeezes at the strap of his bag.
โWhatโs going on?โ Midoriya asks from behind him, eyes wide and confused.
From the crowd of people, Shinsou shoves his way forward and then turns to glare at them menacingly. โGet the fuck away. Thereโs nothing to see here.โ
The crowd stare shifts from between Shinsou to Shouto but they eventually disperse, whispers still floating in the air like toxic gas.
Shinsou grabs Shouto by the shoulder and drags him into an empty classroom, pushing him until heโs falling heavily into one of the desk seats.
โI need you to promise to keep calm,โ he says quietly, seriously, and Shouto nods. Shinsou hesitates for a second and then, โSome pictures were leaked from your internship.โ
The information is bare boned and barely describes what happened but Shouto knows.
He knows exactly which pictures, which incident.
He remembers the bruises left on his body and how angry his dad had been that the janitor had walked in on Endeavor shoving Shouto around in the bathroom.
Endeavor had growled threats at the man to keep him quiet and they both had thought he was too scared or cowardly to say anything and quickly dismissed him. That had been three months ago.
Itโs coming back to bite them both.
โThe media is going crazy,โ Shinsou grabs his hand and squeezes but Shouto barely feels it. The room is spinning and itโs like the floor fell out from underneath his feet. He canโt breathe-
โThereโs allegations of abuse but also denial- Shouto, just donโt go online, okay? Donโt say anything to anyone and donโt fucking step even fifty feet near your dad. Everything is going to be okay but you need to keep your head down, do you understand?โ
Shoutoโs breathing quickens and he squeezes at Shinsouโs hand so hard it hurts. He canโt get over the fact that everyone knows. They all know and now he canโt breathe-
โHey, hey, itโs okay,โ Shinsou is saying, and then thereโs a hand on his cheek, grounding him.
โItโll be fine. Youโre safe and youโre not going back to that bastard, alright?โ
The door bursts open and Aizawa steps inside, hair a mess and clothes rumpled. His shoulders slump in relief when he sees them and then heโs striding over and pulling Shouto into a rough hug.
โWeโre gonna take care of it, kid,โ he promises, โI swear to you, itโs going to be okay.โ
But if that was true, then why does Shouto still feel like his life is over?