Second Act
He began visiting her in her dreams. In the shower, when her mind wandered off and even her hero work couldn't keep her centered or even on the streets when someone was similar enough for her mind to trick her into turning.
When she figured it out, she began advancing. Visiting him on the pretense of helping her alma mater out when it had been breached by villains and needed to show how strong it was. She visited and found out he was a complete and utter idiot.
Her utter idiot.
He was so engrossed in his own world everything was tinted with the colors of his passion. Such deep hatred could only be found in the people who had seen how truly horrible mankind could be and her heart leaped with joy when she realized he saw things for what they were. And in spite of that... He kept on going forward in spite of that. Unmindful of a world so utterly devoid of reason, it deemed alright to broadcast things like what Stain almost did to her back when she was ambushed.
Almost. Because she had been saved. He had been there, minding everyone's business like an idiot infatuated with danger.
The flow his class had gave her leverage to flirt with him to her mind's content. She used her social media to stir the public a bit. It would be something to gossip about for as long as she kept the flames awake. People would ultimately get used to the idea of her adult self apparently taking an interest in a minor. Such was the advantage of being a hero. So long it was framed in the showsmaship side of the job, she could get away with commiting an actual, if minor, crime when he took the hint.
But god, was he dense. Fortunately, he still did things that could be left out for interpretation. Yukino-chan would try to intervene since the school was still her main source of time with him, and even their homeroom teacher left a warning as a throw away comment about it, but Haruno didn't mind.
Just seeing his face morph, trying to figure her out was enough to make her feel joyous. Many had taken time to appreciate her, many others to find a flaw they could exploit. No one had tried to understand. And even when he wasn't ready to do so, her heart still flutered.
She found out where he lives.
"Campestris-san." He only ever used her hero name. She didn't want to be known by him like that. He could choose to call her whatever he wanted yet chose to stick to that name. She didn't like it "I don't think this is a coincidence."
Figures he'd notice. He was smart like that when it was inconvenient.
Still, she knew a losing battle when she saw one. She back off, gave him the space he was demanding. Doing otherwise would only serve to push him away, as her parents could verify if they had a minuscule amount of self-awareness. She didn't want that. She want to take all of him, not matter if he wanted to, but she didn't want him to hate her for it.
Regardless, she left the invitation open. She would have to have a long talk with Shizuka to see just why he was so focused on working with her. Perhaps, if Haruno could pull him to her team, there would be more oportunities to see his real self come to life once more.