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It's Culture Festival Time!

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The morning of the culture festival dawned overcast and dry. As Saturday was a school day at U.A., Aizawa got up with his usual routine and off to work. Hayate would get to enjoy sleeping in before coming to meet him.

There wasn't much for Aizawa to do once he got to the school. Everybody knew what day it was, of course, and all of the students were more eager to chitchat than ever. Even the teachers were behaving more lax than usual, taking advantage of what amounted to an easy day for most of them.

Never one to embrace the celebratory spirit, Aizawa insistently continued chipping away at whatever little productive thing he could do until the festival officially started while the other teachers kicked back and chatted once their class preparations were set.

He watched the clock, and when the time was ready, he caught Yamada's eye to give him a nod then stealthed out of the room while Kayama was looking the other way.

The details of the plan they had devised in the week prior were simple. Both of them would go around the school in a clockwise direction as much as possible and start at different spots to decrease the odds of crossing paths. Each time either of them left one area, they would inform the other of where they were headed next via text. Any deviation from this simple plot such as a change of direction or staying in one area for a longer period of time such as for food would also be passed along. Streamlined and logical, Aizawa was confident it would work.

He was personally more concerned about the other teachers. None of them had as much reason to be nosy as Kayama, but that didn't mean they wouldn't mention in passing to her that he was here with a woman. He decided to address that on a case-by-case basis if the matter arose.

Hayate was waiting for him near the front gate of the school, now opened to the public and decorated with colorful balloons, paper stars, and bouquets. He saw that she had covered up for this highly-public event with a long sleeve jacket, thick scarf, and knit beret tucking away of her hair except for the bang strands that framed her face. She approached him eagerly, already looking ahead to the school grounds.

"This campus is so high tech right from the gate!"

"Mmhm." He grunted an affirmative as she hooked her arm through his and tapped away on his phone to Yamada, letting the game officially begin.

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"Where did Aizawa go off to?" Kayama scanned the whole staff room.

Yamada threw his hands up. "Who cares?! He's a stick in the mud when it comes to these things!"

"I figured we'd check things out together." She looked at him earnestly. "It's his first year as a teacher. He should engage, look around, and support the students."

Yamada just waved her off. "I'm sure we'll see him around. Look, he's obviously not sleeping." He pointed out Aizawa's sleeping bag still tucked under his desk.

"True…" She considered the fabric.

Yamada finger-gunned the air beside her. "Come on! Let's get started! We can catch up with him, later." He motioned for her to follow him. "Hey, let's announce together, yeah? Bring on that youthful enthusiasm and leave his dreary mophead behind!"

Kayama conceded with a smile and a hand to her cheek. "Together? Oh, well, I suppose that would be appropriate for such a youthful event..."

She followed Yamada's lead out of the room, his phone in hand.

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"GOOD MORNIN' EVERYBODY!"

A loud voice echoed across campus from every speaker, and all the students and attendees perked up.

"Ah, yeah! I hope you're all ready, because—"

"It's time to put all of your youthful energy on full display!" A female voice echoed the male one.

"Today's the day when class year and department don't matter!"

"We're all just here to cut loose and revel in youth!"

"Let the U.A.—"

"School Festival—"

"BEEEEGGGINNN!" The dual announcers concluded in unison, and students hooted and clapped excitedly.

"That sounded like Nemi. And Yamada, obviously," Hayate noted.

"Yeah." Just as planned. Aizawa focused on the path ahead of them and nudged her along. "Anyway…"

His class's play wouldn't be starting right away, so there was time to show her around beforehand. The decorated kiosks in the central plaza of the campus were an obviously bustling attraction, especially first thing in the morning. He guided them around to the other side of campus to avoid the crowd until it had dispersed more. The student clubs were smaller and more numerous than the large displays of the full classes front and center at the festival, so it was something of a sampling platter of various skills. Most of them were located inside rooms in the main school building.

Hayate got sucked in by the writing club without any hesitation. The students had written a short novel together, each member writing a different chapter of the whole story in cooperation with each other. Seizing the opportunity for a collaboration, the art club had illustrated key story scenes to decorate the room. They all seemed downright delighted and even bashful at her intent interest and questions of the plot, characters, and writing process. Aizawa waited patiently at her side at first, though grew increasingly anxious as the minutes drew on and Yamada with Kayama were on the move.

"Just one more question," Hayate insisted and held his tap on her shoulder at bay. One turned into two, then three, and so on until he finally resigned himself to a loud "thank you, well done," and extracted her from the literary analysis at the most feasible opportunity. She was disappointed, but only briefly.

The art club was the next big hit with Hayate, showcasing all the work so far of the students that year in the art classroom. For the festival specifically, they had created a life-size collage of different teachers with each colorful piece in a different style of art.

"Kind of reminds me of Ganriki Neko," she commented to Aizawa, noting the many colors the students had chosen for the collage of Principal Nezu. A mouse? What hero is this supposed to be?

"Kinda," he agreed, thinking about the principal. "Though I've never seen him wear anything in colors like that."

"Who?" She frowned.

"Uh, the collage. It's of the principal," he explained. "Principal Nezu."

She did a full stop and sharp double-take of the collage behind them, having not recognized just who it was, then turned to him with a shocked look.

"Hold on. Nezu?"

"Uh, yeah." He gave an odd look at her reaction. "He's an animal with a Quirk. It makes him—"

"Oh there isn't a vet alive who doesn't know that name," she interrupted, still looking amazed.

He paused. "... What do you mean?"

"He's gotta be a textbook example of an animalia Quirk in every veterinary curriculum by now. He's that big of a deal as far as the literature goes," she elaborated seriously. "And he works here?"

Aizawa felt his blood run a little cooler at that revelation. He spoke slowly and seriously. "Uh… yeah. And you should definitely not mention any of that to him, assuming we see him. He… well, let's just say he's unpredictable." He did not want to find out what Nezu would say or do along that particular avenue of discussion with her as a veterinarian. Didn't trust the rodent.

"Yeah, I'm well-aware of his history," she nodded with a somber look in her eyes. "I'll be considerate of that."

They left the multi-colored Nezu art piece behind.

Compared to the unknown terrors the rodent had the capacity for devising, the haunted house one of the general studies classes made was practically domestic by Aizawa's assessment. Hayate played along with them, though, giggling and "ahhhing" as they used props and their Quirks to devise numerous tricks and surprises in dark narrow spaces. They had an ace up their sleeve, however.

A feline screech amplified by speakers rang out right in their ears as a fanged student with a Cheshire grin pounced down out of the ceiling as the final gimmick of the room. Hayate felt his arm flinch in hers, and giggled while remaining completely unfazed. They exited into the hallway, and she looked at him with a smirk.

"That last one got you."

"Hm." He didn't admit it.

"I've heard even worse cats than that," she continued with the air of an expert.

He snorted. "Now that's terrifying."

A few groups had devised food items that didn't need cooking and arranged themselves next to each other so that paper bowls or napkins could be saved between rooms.

One room had handmade candies of colors and flavors for different heroes that worked at the school, and they dyed the tongues of whoever ate them for a while.

"The black ones don't seem very popular," she commented, noting that the Eraser Head candies seemed almost untouched.

"They're the 'gag' challenge for a prize. We used squid ink to color them, so they taste fishy," a student commented cheerfully while looking at the hero in question. "But since they smell like cat food, it's still kind of an appropriate homage, yeah?"

Aizawa didn't exactly seem amused, while Hayate hid her mouth with a hand as she cracked up.

"...Did you consider licorice?" He asked dryly.

"Ohhhh! That would have been good, too!"

The student beamed and Hayate gave up on holding back her laughter, so Aizawa sighed and dragged her to a different one.

"Mic's flavor is lemon."

Peach. Hayate read Midnight's with a raised brow. Paying homage, huh? Yeaaaah… I know my emojis.

A few other smaller displays passed by with games and trinkets before they were working their way around to the Support Department. Aizawa sent Yamada a quick text. It had been smooth sailing up to this, but they were about to encounter their first test.

"Safe? Of course it's safe!"

The declaration came from a short, shirtless man wearing a large yellow helmet resembling an excavator claw and was addressed to a somewhat concerned-looking set of parents. His huge gloved hands were gestured up at a display of various support armaments, some of them looking fairly lethal.

"Everything you see here, the students made themselves! With adult supervision, of course. My policy in this workshop is that excellence and safety go hand-in-hand." He laced the fingers of his huge mitts. "An effective design is only as reliable as its highest failure rate. Equipment failures can be the death of a Pro!"

"Right, right, of course…!" The parents cut into his passionate proclamation. "Thank you for taking safety so seriously for our children." They bowed and hurried along. The man watched them go, then looked Hayate and Aizawa's way, taking notice of the latter.

"Hm? Hey, Eraser. Fancy seeing you here." The short man said it rather dryly. About ten years overdue with that old-fashioned gear.

"Hey, Power Loader," Aizawa replied, stepping up beside him with Hayate glancing around curiously at the various electronic and mechanical items on display.

It took the older man only a moment to notice her arm hooked through Aizawa's, and he quickly sputtered a flabbergasted noise.

"Wha—I didn't know you had a romantic partner!"

"Well, it would be a bit hard for you to know when I never told you; or just about anyone else for that matter," Aizawa answered with matter-of-fact dryness.

"Cheh! The lip on this guy." Power Loader looked at Hayate and put a hand on his chest. "Majima Higari, or Power Loader if you'd rather." He thumbed towards Aizawa. "So, to whom do we owe the pleasure of putting up with this guy?"

"Hayate Aika, nice to meet you," she smiled back with a polite bow. Her eyes flicked over to Aizawa. "... And putting up with him is more sarcasm than pleasure at times."

Majima cackled while Aizawa lifted his eyes to the ceiling. "So that's the dynamic you've got going, huh? I can dig it."

He turned and swept his hand about the room. "Well, take a look around at everything the students have accomplished. They're an impressive lot!" He pointed out a few specific students. "Be sure to see the third-years' year-long project, too. Those are top-notch portfolio pieces right there. If you have any questions, the kids can't get enough of them. Seriously: they'll talk your ear off about their projects. You've been warned."

"I appreciate it, though I'm sure they've got some interesting things to say." Hayate started heading for the starry-eyed first years with Aizawa in tow.

She did all the talking while he waited, watched, and let his eyes drift around the room satisfied that she was enjoying herself. It came to his attention in doing this that Majima was still watching them pointedly. He looked back at the other hero a few times, but he didn't speak. As they edged around the room, Power Loader seemed to find reasons to subtly shift with them, but never addressed them again directly.

Aizawa got the strong sense that Majima wanted to say something to him, though whatever it was he didn't seem to want Hayate in earshot. He carefully slipped his arm out from hers as she delved into the scientific details on various support instruments with a positively gushing third-year student wearing googly-eyed glasses.

He sidled up beside Majima with his hands in his pockets and pretended to be engrossed with the motherboard on display before him. Majima stood with his arms crossed and smiled at him, Hayate, and then back to him again with a quiet voice.

"So that's your type, huh? Always thought of you as married to your work more than anything, same as me."

"Hm."

"How long have you been seeing each other?"

"A bit."

"She seems like a sharp one." Majima looked on approvingly as she talked with the students.

"Hm."

Majima, seeing no reaction from the other Hero, fell silent briefly. One of his crossed arms shifted up to his chin as he studied Hayate and the girl beside her, comparing them.

"Hmmm…" He sounded thoughtful.

"..." Aizawa's eyes were glazing over on the motherboard.

"One hundred and sixtyyyy… five, maybe?"

Aizawa's brows furrowed. "... What?"

"Centimeters. Above average for a woman, though I prefer even taller."

Aizawa's eyes focused and flicked down at Majima with a stiff tone.

"I better not hear any more measurements from you."

Majima lifted his hands up. "Ahhhh, I'm just pulling your leg. You're rather peculiar subject material." He settled his hands on his hips. "Though based on the surprise factor, I'd say this is getting filed under 'need to know' basis."

"Thanks."

"Mm-hmph." Majima turned. "Whelp. Enjoy the festival."

He walked one way, and Aizawa walked the other in unison without another word. Aizawa rejoined Hayate, relinking his arm with hers. She glanced over acknowledging his return.

"You're back. Did he have a question or something?"

"Mmhm."

Aizawa was quiet for a moment, then he squinted.

"Hey… how tall are you?"

"Hm? That's random. A hundred and sixty-five point five."

"... Hm."

"Why? How tall are you?"

"No reason… A hundred eighty-three."

They made their way around the workshop displays. Occasionally, he would check his phone to keep an eye on the time, and when it was getting close to the start of 1-A's play, he informed her and they moved along. He led them to the theater room that was gathering a significant crowd, and they hung back a little for the people ahead to file in. They were standing in line when something caught Aizawa's eyes that made his heart leap.

Coming down the hall towards them, a blond swoosh of hair poked up above the heads of throngs of people. For a moment, Aizawa tried to rationalize it away, but he knew that hair anywhere. And if it was here, then that meant—

He looked around, searching quickly for some sort of escape route to take, but there wouldn't be enough time. He looked at the people directly ahead of them, noting they were taller than Hayate.

"Move over," he suddenly urged her with a hand on her back into a gap between them. "And keep your head down. I just saw Yamada."

Her eyes widened as she shrunk into the gap. "What?" But then Nemi is…!

Aizawa stood behind her and faced away from her, acting as if they didn't even know each other while the other people partially hid her, and watched the approaching yellow hair tensely. Yamada's face soon appeared peering over the tops of shorter heads, his eyes scanning, and when he spotted Aizawa, they locked on. He made a beeline straight for him, lifting his hands up.

"Kayama's not here!" He said first, hoping to ease Aizawa's hard stare.

"What are you doing here?" Aizawa's look didn't budge.

"I can explain!"

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"Hmmm… Still no sign of Aizawa anywhere." Kayama scanned the throngs of people around them again as she left another room with Yamada.

"Honestly, where'd he slink off to? Maybe he's skulking in the library." Kayama pulled out her phone to text him for his whereabouts.

Yamada nodded. "Yeah, we could check it out! But you know they hate having me in there." She sure is being persistent!

"Why aren't you more concerned?" She looked up at him with a frown.

"Eh?"

"It's his first year teaching! This is a big deal. His class is starting their play soon, and he should watch it to support them."

He observed her earnest expression and thought about how to navigate it. "Well, who says he isn't? Just going solo? He does things his own way all the time."

"We should go and watch it just in case," she declared. "We'll need to tell him all about it when we scold him if he doesn't come."

Oh boy. "But what about 1-B's dance?" He tried.

"What about it?"

"What do you mean 'what about it'?! Haven't you peeked in on any of their practices? It's gonna be hot stuff!"

"Well, that does sound like it's brimming with youthful spirit…" Kayama mused. "But we can just watch both."

"They overlap on the schedule," he pointed out on the event guide.

"Oh darn. Well then, I'd have to pick the play."

Ah, shoot! He paused, quickly racking his brain. "... Why not both?"

She wrinkled her nose. "Hm? You want to leave in the middle of one to see the other?"

"Nah! I mean, we'll split up and each watch one, that way we can give a recap on each," he suggested.

"Hmm, that's an idea." She didn't look opposed. "Then I'll watch the play and you'll watch the dance?"

"No!" He hoped he didn't sound too desperate as he swooshed his fingers in a circling motion. "The other way around!"

"But I thought you just said you wanted to see the dance?"

"He's my best pal! If it's anyone's duty to give him the dramatic reenactment on his own class's success, it's mine!" Yamada poured all the fire enthusiasm he could muster into his declaration, hoping it would win her over.

"Oooh, what a heartfelt statement!" She held her hands to her cheek with a chuckle. "Sounding rather youthful yourself. Alright, I agree."

Yamada breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't making this easy! I'm gonna splurge on your bill after this, Aizawa!

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"And so she went there and I came here!"

Yamada concluded a rapid outpouring of explanation on a single, massive breath and sucked in a gulp of air, watching Aizawa a little nervously.

He didn't look any more or less happy, which is to say that he still looked unhappy. Hayate listened along, too, peeking over Aizawa's shoulder upon hearing that Kayama wasn't around.

"I don't like this, Mic," he said finally in a grumbly tone.

"I did what I had to do, alright? It'll work out," Yamada assured. "Now let's go check out your class together and forget about stressing out for a bit, yeah?"

Aizawa looked at him for a long moment more, then sighed and turned. "What's done is done."

Yamada relaxed at that and joined them in line with Aizawa standing in the middle. Hayate peered around him to look at Yamada.

"So, how is it going with her?"

"Kayama? She keeps asking about him." He looked at Aizawa pointedly. "It'd be kind of sweet how much she's trying to look out for you if it wasn't such a pain for us!"

Aizawa grunted and offered nothing more in reply. Yamada peered around him to Hayate.

"And you? Enjoying it, yeah?"

"Oh it's wonderful! The kids here are all so creative."

"Have you checked out my class, yet?"

"Which one is that—?"

The two of them chatted happily with a stone-faced Aizawa in the middle until they were seated. The lights dimmed in the auditorium, and then the curtain pulled back for the show to begin.

After the hellfire that had been Aizawa-sensei's summer training camp among other rough bumps in the year, the students had unanimously decided that their festival project should be something not the slightest bit serious. With much deliberation, they had agreed upon a whimsical, parody crossover of the Harry Potter story merged with comical inserts of various aspects from U.A. student life, light-hearted roasts of the teachers, and blatant fourth-wall breaks.

The plot began loose and wild with magic and Quirks gone awry resulting in this bizarre match-up in an alternate universe where Hero teachers were magical professors at H.W. High School of Herocraft and Magicry; the "H.W." stood for "homework". A student from their own universe fallen into this realm served as their guide, teaming up with Harry Potter and friends.

"Professor Dumblezu" invited the student to stay at their wonderful school until they got the whole universe-crossover figured out, the character played by the smallest student in a mouse-ish costume and a long white beard.

"Professor Mcgonanight" served as the head of the hosting Gryffindor house in a black robe that had an alluring slit down the side, showing off her leg as she strutted about with a disciplinary crop in hand and a stuffed tabby cat on her shoulder with a "Sushi" nametag. ("For Midnight," the fourth-wall-breaking narrator cheerfully explained, "because she owns a cat and their names both start with 'M'.")

Other teachers made appearances as well as they went through daily school life, each caricatured with costumes somewhere between each universe's counterpart.

"Vlagrid" stood literal heads above the rest on stilts with a droopy paper mache hound at his side. ("Because Vlad King has a dog and loves all of his students affectionately.")

"Fluff Dog" snarled and howled and made such a fuss his two paper heads nearly came right off; though Vlagrid insisted he was completely harmless. ("No one gets Hound Dog better than Vlad King!")

"Madam Roundupa Snoop" was appropriately played by a flying girl on a broomstick with a cartoony horsehead and spoke only in a southern drawwwwl. ("Quidditch is all about accuracy like Snipe, and Madam Rolanda Hooch just seemed cool.")

"Professor Flitter Wickloader" bewitched all manner of mechanical machinations with bizarre magical charms. ("Flitwick's charms require precision and technical prowess. Also, Power Loader-sensei is short." This explanation earned a low "oooooh" and snickering from many of the students, and Aizawa and Yamada both winced at the mention of Hajima's height complex.)

"Professor Cementsprout" stood short and stout in block-ish grey cutout blocks for a costume, guiding students in a friendly voice on the proper technique for planting squealing mandrakes in urban development projects. He stood only, for the costume restricted him to a clumsy waddle. ("Pomona Sprout and Cementoss are both all about environmental manipulation. Also, Cementoss-sensei just seems like a Hufflepuff." Many of the students in the audience seemed to agree.)

"Professor QuiMic" fidgeted fretfully about the stage in a turban, overly-large sunglasses, and a long, black, leather coat in contrast to the other professors' cloth cloaks.

("Q-Mike?" Their in-story student guide questioned.

"It's a bit of a stretch to combine Quirrell and Present Mic, but 'Q-codes' are three-letter radio codes and 'MIC' is a three-letter word," explained the narrator. "The backwards personalities seem appropriate for an alternate universe, too. Also, he has the loudest line in the production." The narrator plugged his ears with pointed fingers, and Professor Quimic sucked in a deep breath as the play resumed.

"TROLL IN THE DUNGEON!"

Yamada chuckled a bit sheepishly as the room laughed at his expense. "Heh, those kids did their research.")

The kids seemed to save the best of the teachers for last, and introduced their very own right after.

"Silence!"

QuiMic cowered as "Professor Aizawa" of potions class snapped, awakening from a nap beneath a table. Aside from being dressed in a black robe, he looked… normal.

("Huh? You weren't very creative with this one. He has the same name," the guide student pointed out.

"Because it's the same character," the narrator supplied with a comical poster board popping up in the hands of a set student listing all of the similarities between him and Snape.

"Oh! I see!"

Ron Weasely piped up. "He never shaves, but his stubble never seems to get any longer. Legend has it he discovered a potion recipe for erasing magic by mistake while trying to develop beard growth."

Professor Aizawa smacked both of their heads. "Mere rumors, only. Ten points from Gryffindor for believing such nonsense, from each of you. And detention for wasting twenty-two seconds of stage time."

"They're totally spot on!" Yamada guffawed. Aizawa seemed to scrunch further into his seat with one leg folded over the other, arms tightly crossed, and just his unamused eyes peering out from above his coils.

Hayate giggled and patted his leg. They sure do make him out to be a hardass!)

It was hard to say what manner of storyline followed with a convoluted timeline involving juggling time turners and Quirk-spellcasting interference as an explanation. There was no point in trying to rationalize any of it, so the audience didn't and just went along with the nonsensical fun.

"We need to take Professor QuiMic with us into the forbidden forest."

"Why?"

"So when we find the spiders and they drag us into their nest to eat us, everyone will know where to find our bodies by just following his screams."

("Also accurate," Yamada admitted.)

"Dementoplasms?! Quick, cast a patronus!"

(A dozen students in cloned costumes swooped about.)

"Why are all they standing around that manky old boot?"

They circled a puffy grey space boot like it was some kind of ancient artifact.

"Grab on, everyone! Through the black hole!"

In short, the continuity was a beautiful mess. But it eventually wound its way back through time and space, much like the unwinding of the turban from Professor QuiMic's head by an irritated Professor Aizawa who realized the fabric was his stolen enchanted erasure cloth.

"HAGEEEEE!" QuiMic wailed as his baldness was revealed along with the final villain, and his defeat marked the final key of restoring their interdimensional path home. ("In reference to the name of his headphones, 'HAGE', synonymous with 'baldness', the narrator helpfully supplied.

The audience howled in laughter, but Yamada swiped the air vehemently. "Okay! Not accurate! I am not sensitive about going bald! I have a great hairline!" He pointed his fingers down at his own scalp as evidence.)

All of the students gathered on stage for a final bow, many of them wearing pieces of multiple costumes from having switched about between sets, and they got a standing ovation. Well, from most of the room, anyway. Aizawa had fallen asleep, and it was only the noise of the show ending that roused him. Hayate looked down at him with an incredulous eyebrow.

"You really can fall asleep under any circumstances."

He shrugged. "It's a talent of mine."

The audience started to leave the auditorium, and they stood up and slowly shuffled out of their row. Before they could leave the room, however, a few of the students waved at them frantically.

"Aizawa-senseiii!"

He looked at them and walked over at their insistence with Yamada and Hayate in tow.

"You came, sensei!"

"Todai-kun bet you wouldn't come! He thought you'd go sleep in the library."

"Looks like he was wrong."

"Glad to see you, sensei!"

"What did you think?"

"We know it wasn't serious at all, but we gave it our all, right?"

Their beaming faces looking for his approval left him taken aback. He stared from one face to the next, scratched the back of his head with a furrowed brow, and in his own brand of brutal honesty said:

"To be honest, I didn't understand any of it. I never read the books or watched the movies."

The light in their eyes flicked off, heads dropping.

"Too mainstream, huh? Figures."

"I guess that's not really surprising, considering who we're talking about here."

Aizawa read the gloomy mood that he had created. "... Errrr, but, good job. Whatever you did, everybody else seemed to enjoy it."

Their eyes picked up again.

"Thanks, sensei!"

"Ummmmm, one thing, though." Yamada piped up, looking a bit perturbed. He jutted his chin forward as he scanned the students. "Whose idea was it to make me bald?!"

They looked startled and wide-eyed. "U-Uh… sorry, Yamada-sensei." They lifted their hands together in pleading smiles. "Please don't give us detention."

Aizawa scoffed. "Oh come on, Mic. It would be missing the point of a parody to take it seriously, no?"

The students blinked in surprise at this defense.

"Hmmmm… I suppose," Yamada begrudgingly conceded, and the students looked relieved.

"Anyway," Aizawa continued, giving him a firm look. "Isn't it time you got back to Kayama?"

"Allllright, alright! Peace out, kids! You killed it out there!" Yamada spun away with dramatic flair.

Aizawa was about to say goodbye himself when one of the girls piped up with an excited sound looking at his arm wrapped through Hayate's.

"You have a girlfriend, Sensei?! Or—are you married?"

He made a face and glanced quickly over at Hayate. "Girlfriend." Slow down there, kid.

They all made more excited sounds at that and looked intensely interested, which frankly he didn't understand.

"You never told us!"

"I didn't know he was the type."

"Sensei got a girlfriend dressing like that?"

"You're too pretty for him, miss!"

His brow twitched a little at that commentary, but Hayate was covering her mouth and barely holding in a laugh.

"Thank you, that's kind of you…" She cast a curious brow at Aizawa. "You didn't tell your class about me?"

"Why would they need to know?" He answered bluntly.

The teenagers protested.

"Because it's sweeeet!"

"You're so cold all the time, Sensei!"

"I didn't even think he could be romantic."

"It's like a whole new side to him!"

Good grief. He scratched the back of his head, starting to look flustered. He didn't come here expecting to be pestered by his own class.

"Yes, anyway. Goodbye, enjoy the rest of the day."

He started to tug Hayate along, though she resisted curiously. "You don't want to talk with them any more?"

"Nope."

Hayate conceded albeit a little reluctantly and exited the auditorium with Aizawa. At his lead, they peeled off from the crowd down a less busy hallway. She unhooked her arm from his to wrap it around his back, slowing them down and drawing his attention.

"Your students are really something else." She looked into his eyes intently.

He looked back at her for a moment then away. "... They work hard. They have drive, and can improve." All facts.

"And it seems they have an excellent teacher." Her tone was warm and complementary.

His was somber and reserved. "... If I do my job right, they should be able to take mine like I was never here at all… I'm not sure about that, yet."

She gave his side a squeeze. "I'm saying you've done a great job so far. Surely it's alright to enjoy reflecting on progress made?"

He looked at the floor for a while, then pulled his eyes back to her attentive gaze. His eyes softened. He looked forward again, lips pulling back faintly.

"... Maybe for a moment."

She smiled and leaned into him, tilting her head onto his shoulder. He tilted his head to match, touching hers for a long pause of acknowledgment before straightening.

"... It's about lunch time. Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, let's go check out what they're cooking outside."

Aizawa sent a text and they were on their way.

Outside, the clouds had parted a bit letting some blue sky through. People had dispersed more, putting Hayate at ease as they headed for the main area with multiple lanes of kiosks and different food smells swirling about.

"Does that sign say taiyaki?" Hayate squinted at a stand on the end of a row, perfectly-placed to get traffic from both directions.

"I think so."

They followed the warm, sweet smell of baking batter that was drawing in a lunchtime line already. The sign above the stand read Hero Taiyaki. Curious and snackish, Hayate examined the colorful signs advertising taiyaki in different hero shapes and two flavor options.

"Do you want one?" He asked.

Hayate was about to reply when a bear came around the corner.

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"Yo, yo, how does it go?"

"Shhh." Kayama dragged Yamada's butt down into the chair beside her by the back of his belt.

"Woah, hands!"

"You're too tall and pipe down," she shushed him again, pointing at the poor shorter woman behind them now craning her neck to the side around his hairdo. Kayama's eyes didn't leave the stage as she murmured to him. "You're right, this show is damn good! They're practically dripping in youthful energy…!"

"Pretty sure that's called sweat," Yamada muttered smartly. She elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow."

In a rare move, Yamada wisely chose to be silent. She might just decide to knock him out otherwise, and then he wouldn't be able to watch the show. And what a fabulous show it was!

1-B couldn't settle for anything but being the finest competition for their rivals in 1-A. They used Quirks, music, acrobatics, lights, and costumes altogether across multiple styles in a thematic love story without words. It was art in motion! A true Cirque du Soleil! It had both Kayama and Yamada raving like proud mothers for their kindergartners' graduation when it finished; despite him catching only the last few minutes of the finale. The only ones louder were the class father and his best mate in the front row, Vlad King letting out a high whistle and Hound Dog literally howling.

"My goosebumps have goosebumps!" Kayama rubbed her arms in an alluring manner, gushing with praise. "Oh, if only you had been here to see the whole thing! I think you picked the wrong show to watch, Yamada."

"Hey, hold on, now! 1-A was great, but in a totally different way! It's not even apples and oranges—it's pickles and bananas, you get what I'm saying?" Yamada vouched for his best bud's class.

"Not in the slightest!" A loud, gruff male voice answered instead of hers, and they both whipped around to see Vlad and Hound Dog there. "Pickles and bananas are the perfect pairing for restoring electrolyte balances after intense workouts!" Vlad continued, still obviously impassioned. "1-A and 1-B are clashing rivals! Like ice cream and cheese!"

"Uhhhh, sure…?" Now that was truly random. "Or maybe ice cream and pickles?" Yamada suggested.

"Chocolate and mayonnaise—ruff!" Hound Dog gave a disgusted bark.

"Pizza and mustard," Vlad shot back.

Yamada thought and snapped his fingers together. "Peanut butter and bologna!"

"Nutella and sauerkraut!" Hound Dog one-upped them with a gag.

"Are you guys hungry?" Kayama interjected.

They all paused and looked at her.

"Now that you mention it—yeah, I'm starving," Vlad admitted.

"All this excitement's worked up an appetite!" Hound Dog nodded sharply.

"Yeah, me three," Yamada patted his belly.

"Great, how about we eat some real food combos that actually taste good?" She suggested bluntly with a roll of her eyes and started walking. "Come along, boys."

They frowned a bit at being reduced to "boys" but followed anyway as the idea was agreeable.

Yamada pulled out his phone to inform Aizawa as they walked and noticed the text from him indicating their intended destination. His brow furrowed with focus as he tried to plan where to go next as they were both aiming for food. Okayyy, so they're over that way, then we should goooo…?

Kayama checked her phone as well but with a disappointed frown. Still no answer from Aizawa. She sent a furtive glance to Yamada, noting that he had his phone in his hands yet again.

"You sure are texting a lot, today."

He looked up quickly. "Ah, am I? Didn't realize, heheh!" The phone disappeared into his pocket, but her frown remained.

"Who are you texting with? You two sure seem to have a lot to talk about."

"Oh, it's no one important." He tried to brush it away with a wave of his hand and indifferent air, but Kayama wasn't buying it.

"If it's no one important, then why not say?" Vlad pointed out.

"'Cuz it's none of your business!"

"Fair," Hound Dog nodded sharply.

But it only sucked Kayama right in, focusing on him even more. She leaned in towards his face with a squint.

"You're hiding something, aren't you?"

He leaned back. "Am not! You're making stuff up!"

She grabbed him by the collar of his jacket. "Then who are you texting?"

He held up his hands and sighed. "Okay, okay, fine… ya got me." He smiled slyly. "...You know that gal I was talking about?" He held up his phone with one hand and dramatically pushed his glasses up with the other.

"Got her number, yeah!"

It was the ace up his sleeve for distracting Kayama if she started getting suspicious. There was no way she could resist this!

True to form, she let out a squeal in delight. Vlad and Hound Dog gave him his dues, too.

"Nice."

"Don't blow it!"

Yamada continued on cheerfully. "We've been talking for a while, now. She's got the day off today, so I figured we'd do a little chitchat."

Kayama bought it hook, line, and sinker with her eyes gleaming. "Ohhhhh, made your move, huh?" She suddenly looked more critical. "But chitchat? Is that all? How boring." She grinned seductively. "She's going to lose interest unless you try something a bit more naughty."

"Ehhh, I may have thrown in a little flirting here and there."

"What kind of kinks does she have?"

"We're not that close, Kayama!"

"Not yet, hehehehe!" She licked her sumptuous lip. "Oh, I can think of a few recommendations." Kayama reached for his phone, but Yamada swiftly pulled it out of reach.

"No way! I'm not letting your advice anywhere near her!"

"Oh come onnnn!"

"No—!"

Vlad King and Hound Dog watched them squabble finding it rather entertaining. Just then, the breeze that had been pushing along the clouds shifted. Hound's head whipped up, nostrils flaring. He turned his snout in the upstream direction of the scent, his eyes sharp. He put a paw on Vlad's shoulder, catching his attention. Vlad saw the look and knew without words that he had picked up a scent trail that caught his interest, and no hound could resist following a trail.

Vlad looked over at the other two. "... Hey, we'll see you two around."

"Hm?" Yamada and Kayama paused mid-scramble, arms still extended in the fuss over the phone.

"I've got something on my nose," Hound tapped his snout.

"Oh, sure."

"Have fun."

Hound headed off with Vlad at his heel.

Yamada and Kayama carried on, though he used the distraction to tuck his phone away. "Anyway! Let's go get yakisoba! It's closest."

"Hmmm, maybe…"

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And then a bear came around the corner.

Well, okay, not a literal bear, but a man the size of a bear that looked like one, too. Hayate seized up, her grip around Aizawa's arm pulling tight. He must have been nearly fifteen centimeters taller than Aizawa, with arms thick as trees striped black, wildly-spiked blonde hair, and a jacket lined prominently with brown fur. His rectangular, intimidating eyes snapped to her as soon as he turned the corner, and he stopped directly in front of her. She could hear his nose twitching beneath a black muzzle that she didn't think boded well for his temperament as he scrutinized her with a narrow gaze that made her shoulders start to shift back subconsciously.

The man beside him wasn't much better; nearly as tall with small red eyes and fangs protruding up from a stern underbite. He was absolutely jacked, just like the bear. Both of them stood overpowering and intimidating, looming over her.

"Oh, hey Hound Dog." Aizawa's tone was unusually bright and friendly. "Vlad King."

His words caught her ears, though she didn't look away from the bear. He knows their names?

The red-eyed one spoke, eyes flicking between them curiously and noticing their linked arms. "Hey, Aizawa."

Aizawa's arm shifted in hers, hand pulling out of his pocket and resting loosely on the small of her back. His calm reaction made her muscles relax, slightly.

"How's it going?" Aizawa asked, still sounding uncommonly interested.

The bear—no, Hound Dog? A dog the size of a bear—noticed his unusual tone, too, and his eyes flicked away from her.

"Hmph!" Vlad King, she presumed, suddenly took on a more aggressive tone with his arms crossing. "We just finished watching my class put on the best performance of the whole day!" He leaned in towards Aizawa, which did nothing to set her at ease.

"1-A's little comedy sketch isn't even in the same league!"

Instead of frowning or passively arguing the point as he usually did, Aizawa smiled slightly with a light chuckle.

"Heheh, I see you're as overconfident as usual. In a good mood, I take it?"

"I'm in the best of moods!" Vlad nodded sharply, voice rising fiercely.

"Take it easy, pal. You're going to have aneurism." Aizawa joked in a light tone and looked beside him to Hayate. She looked guarded and not smiling. "Anyway… you're getting ahead of yourself, Vlad. Introductions are in order."

Vlad and Hound both looked at her, too, and Hayate forced a smile. "... Hello. I'm Hayate Aika."

Vlad's mind clicked and he pointed between them. "Hey… are you on a date, Aizawa?"

"Yes."

A broad smile filled out Vlad's face as he laughed. "What the heck?! You're the dating type? Now that's surprising news!"

His posture relaxed back with his hands settling on his hips.

"Vlad King's the name, or Kan Sekijiro if we're going by real ones." He glanced beside him expectantly.

"... Hound Dog. Inui Ryo." His voice sounded quiet and tight with a stare pinned on Hayate that she watched warily.

Kan noted it as odd but didn't comment, finding her just as interesting a subject. "So, I take it you're here to enjoy the festival with him?"

"Yeah…"

"A shame you didn't get to see my class! It was a fantastic dance! Serious in all the right ways, unlike that pop culture cash grab 1-A served up." He looked smugly at Aizawa, but Hayate just looked uncertain.

"U-Uh…"

It seemed to dawn on Kan after a moment and he looked back at her with a quickly lifted hand. "Ah, but, I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, sorry." He gestured his hand between himself and Aizawa. "We teach the rival hero class, 1-A and 1-B."

"We're not rivals. That's just in your head." Aizawa interjected, but Kan ignored him.

"I must have sounded a bit harsh," he rubbed his neck sheepishly. "It gets heated sometimes, if you notice, but we don't mean anything by it."

"Oh, I see now… well, rivalries can be a healthy thing to have," she offered tactfully.

"Yeah!" He agreed wholeheartedly. His eyes shifted to the taiyaki stand behind them. "So, what are you two up to?"

"Going to go get food," Aizawa answered, his foot shifting.

"In that case, want to eat together?" Kan suggested. "We were looking for some grub, ourselves."

"Uh..." Aizawa looked to Hayate.

She looked torn, eyes darting between all of them and the taiyaki stand. On the one hand, their dialogue and relationship with Aizawa had allowed a hesitant curiosity to get to know someone who worked with him. On the other hand, they both still commanded a rather intimidating presence, and she felt an instinctive nagging to decline with one look at the unbreakable stare the silent Inui was still giving her. She took in a breath.

"... Sure. That sounds interesting."

The four of them got into line for taiyaki with Hayate on one end, Aizawa beside her, Kan beside him, and Inui on the other end orienting his nose in a direction opposite of her. There was a cutesy sign board beside the line for visitors to read while they waited. It informed them that this was the activity for the Management Depart class 1-K and explained how they had decided to sell taiyaki since its handheld ease would mean increased sales.

No ordinary taiyaki would do for such a grand opportunity, however. The taiyaki were shaped like various Pro Heroes at the school in impressively griddled detail. The management students had commissioned the art club for the designs and the support classes for the physical molds to make the taiyaki, representing the true collaborative spirit of the business class at work.

"They've got your face, Hound!" Kan pointed out.

"Hm-hm." Inui glanced forward at the caricatured options on the menu then away again, far from Hayate.

She looked over the menu options, too, seeing Present Mic, Nezu, Ectoplasm, Hound Dog, Midnight, and Thirteen. No sign of Eraser Head, but she supposed that he didn't make for a very popular shape, which wasn't ideal for the effort involved in making the metal mold. Hayate picked Thirteen and Aizawa would be loath to pick any shape other than Mic while Kan picked Hound's and Inui, Nezu. The available flavors were a standard sweet red bean paste and soft cheese. Hayate and Aizawa both picked the former, while Kan and Inui picked the latter.

Taiyaki in hand, they carried on down the lane to get some takoyaki that would be more filling to accompany the soft pastries, talking as they went and got their orders.

"So, how long have you two been together?" Kan asked as they proceeded.

"Officially? This would be the third month, though we were friendly for a few months before that," Hayate explained, and he looked down at her over Aizawa's head in raised-brow surprise.

"That long? You sure are tight-lipped, Aizawa!"

"Yeah, so keep it that way," Aizawa shot back.

"You're always so private about everything. Honestly, how do you ever expect to engage with anyone?" Kan retorted.

"I'm not expecting anything like that."

"Well, why not?! That's a happy sort of thing to share."

Aizawa took a long breath. "Because… you lot tend to be a pestering sort."

"Hmph!" Kan scowled. "Only someone as cross as you would consider trying to be friendly as an irritant." He looked back at Hayate. "How'd this get started, anyway? He hardly seems the type to ask you out."

"Uh, well, there were these kittens."

A laugh sputtered out of his mouth before she could keep going. "Of course! There's nothing else he likes, I should have guessed!"

Aizawa frowned deeper. "I like other things, too."

"Yeah, like what?"

"None of your business."

"Then why say something like that?!"

Aizawa took a very long and slow bite, pretending not to hear him. Kan growled and Hayate watched them bicker with an uncertain look. He didn't seem to have the same kind of dynamic with Aizawa as Yamada did; more antagonistic. Kan had said they were rivals, though Aizawa seemed indifferent about that statement.

"So, where'd these kittens come, anyway?" Kan asked, looking back at her.

"A stray mother cat got hit by a car, so a neighbor brought me the kittens. I'm a vet, by the way," she added in explanation.

"A veterinarian?" His eyes perked up. "Oh, that's a nice profession! You must see so many dogs."

"Yeah, and cats, too. Exotic pets as well."

"Meh, not a cat person in the slightest," he dismissed. "But I love dogs! Heh, that should be obvious given my company." He patted Inui on the back affectionately. Inui didn't respond, keeping his eyes glued far to the side. It made Kan study him questioningly for a moment, but his curiosity with Hayate won out and he turned his attention to her again with a spark in his eyes.

"Hey! Do you ever see any bulldogs?"

"Oh yeah, I see them," she nodded.

"I love bulldogs!" He seemed to go to a happy place, bringing a hand to his chin in self-reflection. "You know, it's been on my mind lately to get one. I've always liked them! My career is secure, I've got the savings for it, the place I've got allows dogs, too. It finally feels like the right time."

As a shelter veterinarian, he suddenly had Hayate's full attention, her so far wary expression opening right up with interest at an unskippable opportunity. "Really? I work at Musutafu Animal Shelter. I know we have some bulldogs and bulldog-mixes right now."

His eyes widened and he looked at her quickly. "Really?!"

"Yeah, you should come by and check them out! Or look on our website, we post pictures of them," she explained happily.

"Oh, that would be great!" His hands holding food got animated, starting to lean into Aizawa's space as he talked to her. "I was doing a bit of looking around online, you know? I wasn't seeing what I was looking for, and there aren't many breeders, but they're expensive, and I like the idea of adopting one, anyway."

"Definitely," she nodded in complete agreement, leaning in on Aizawa's other side and pulling her own hands with food up as she talked. "Save that money for vet bills. You always want to have a bit to fall back on. And there are plenty of dogs who need homes already…"

Aizawa walked with his arms pressed against his sides with a guarded grip on his items, his humorless eyes lifted to the sky as they caught him in the middle of their canine conversation. Ugh. Dog people.

"Can we… find a table, or something?" He interjected loudly.

"Oh, sure."

As soon as their orders were done, they took their food and conversation to the nearest available picnic table. Hayate and Kan sat across from each other with Aizawa across from Inui on her left.

"So, what's this website?" Kan asked, taking out his phone eagerly between takoyaki bites.

"It's—" Hayate shifted forward in her seat to instruct him.

Kan pulled up the site and started looking at the dog pictures eagerly, but as he went along, his smile turned into a frown. Something seemed to dawn on him. "Oh no."

"What is it?"

"I just realized, I didn't clarify," he looked up, his underbite pouted sadly. "I meant English bulldogs."

"Ohhhh," Hayate realized the problem, her enthusiasm falling as well. "Oh dear, my mind went right to Frenchies. The French bulldogs are fairly common," she explained apologetically. "It's uncommon to see the English sort."

"Ahhhh, that was the problem I was having online before, too," he sighed, scratching a hand through his hair.

Hayate looked bummed too, then picked herself up with a smile. "You know what? I promise you, I'll keep an eye out for one. I'll let this guy know to pass it along." She gave a stiff-looking Aizawa a nudge with her elbow.

"For real? Thank you!"

"It's no problem at all." She smirked and leaned forward a little, setting her hands flat on the table.

"English bulldogs, though, huh?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

"Is this your first time having a dog, too?"

"Uh, yeah."

"I've got some thoughts on that," she cautioned. "I've never met a bulldog I didn't like, but you'd better have your wallet ready."

"O-Okay?" He looked a little nervous, but listening.

"I'm serious. When you take that bulldog to the vet for the first time, they're going to be very happy to see you. People love bulldogs, and no people love them more than a vet. You're going to walk in, and they're going to be thinking, 'we're paying our rent today'."

"Ah, I see, yeah, I've read about the health issues," he nodded, taking on a more serious look. "Any advice for me?"

She smiled a little. Buckle in. "Well, surprises don't usually end well when it comes to veterinary expenses. As a veterinarian, I'm obligated to make sure you're fully educated," she continued on, taking on a professional tone.

He leaned in with intent focus and she took in a deep breath, lifting her hands to count off on fingers the unenviable list of maladies that commonly plagued the breed. Kan listened with rapt attention and asked questions along the way, too, more than happy to receive some sound advice from a reputable source. Truly an enthusiastic student. When she concluded and at his insistence, they moved right along to other canine topics, too, like dog food diets, and dog exercise regimens, and dog training, and dog, dog, dog...

By any canine measure, they were getting along fabulously.

Beside her, Aizawa had finished eating and was slumped onto his crossed arms with his eyelids low, head turned slightly their way with a glazed expression at such an unbearable topic. There were only two reasons he was still awake. The first was that he needed to stay alert for any update on Yamada and Kayama's movements. And the second was Inui.

His heavily-lidded eyes shifted over to the canin hero again, keeping a silent watch on him. It's not that he was doing anything, exactly. Rather, it was how he wasn't doing much of anything that caught Aizawa's attention. Inui hadn't even said a single word the entire time; normally he would be feeding off of Kan's energy, especially for a topic of such interest to both of them as this.

Usually rather animated and gruff, Inui was sitting peculiarly still. At first, when there had still been food in front of him, Aizawa had noticed he kept holding it very close to his nose at all times. As soon as the food was gone, he sat with squared shoulders and his eyes pinned intensely to some unseen point in the distance as if the rest of the group didn't exist. At one point, he had raised a hand to his nose, pinching his nostrils shut and starting to breath through his mouth, though still refusing to look at any of them.

Aizawa's level of awareness only increased when Inui moved again, crossing his arms on the table with fingers still pinching his nose as his head turned straight in her direction. Hayate and Kan were still enthusiastically chatting about other dog breeds now. She didn't notice the unblinking stare down his snout that he was giving her.

Aizawa did, and it made him sit up a little. He wasn't… concerned about Inui, exactly. He had a very strict and upstanding demeanor, loyal and caring to a fault just like a dog. But Aizawa wasn't sure what Hayate's Quirk was doing to him right now. He seemed very stoic at the moment, but Inui had a tendency to snap rather suddenly into that incoherently gruff aspect of his. The logically cautious side of him urged him to end this before "nothing" turned into "something".

"Well, it's been such a great conversation with you," Aizawa cut-in with a lazy drawl. "We should get moving, though."

Kan looked at him with a stiff lip. "You're welcome to fall asleep at the table."

"Fall asleep while on a date? That seems like bad etiquette, though you've provided me with such high-quality napping material, really," Aizawa quipped back.

Kan was already opening his mouth when Hayate held up her hand with a smile.

"Alright, alright, we'll go. We've been holding him hostage with canine delights for long enough, I think. He's a cat person, after all."

He settled back down, looking a little disappointed to end their discussion. "I suppose… It was great talking with you, Hayate-san! Stick around with this guy, and we'll do this again, sometime!"

"For sure, and I'll keep an eye out for a bulldog. Promise. Also…" She paused for a moment, focusing on him. If you see the Pro Hero Midnight around, please don't mention you saw us."

"Hm? Why's that?"

"Well… she's liable to bother us today about it. She's my cousin."

"Wha—? Related to her?!" He looked very surprised, scrutinizing her appearance more closely. "Huh! I wouldn't think it at first glance, but I guess you look a little similar. It's the eyes, mostly." Kan had a thought and looked to the Pro beside him. "Hey, could you smell it? It's different for scent, right?"

Their eyes all shifted to Inui. The ease Hayate had gained talking with Kan disappeared as she realized Inui had been staring her down. He had removed the black muzzle covering his face to eat and hadn't put it back on again in order to keep his nose pinched. The corner of his mouth was open to breathe, and she could see canine premolars and the drool building in his jowls. Her body went completely still, then she smiled in a controlled manner with a few soft blinks.

"Inui-san?"

Inui didn't respond. Aizawa shifted over ever so slightly, resting his elbow in front of Hayate's. Inui's eyes snapped to Aizawa's calm and alert stare. Hayate recognized the hard look in Inui's eyes immediately as one to be wary of in a dog, and Aizawa seemed to read it, too.

Kan, however, just frowned puzzledly and seemed to miss some of the intensity, having no notion of a reason for this bizarre behavior. In his familiarity with Inui, he thought nothing of speaking up and reaching over to give him a nudge.

"Hey, you're spacing out—"

Inui whipped around at the physical contact with his teeth flashing and a growl in his throat.

"I can't smell genealogies! Maybe if they were siblings I could tell, but they aren't that close!"

Kan pulled his hand back quickly in surprise at the spit flying. "Wha—? O-kay—?"

Inui's nose whipped back down and he snapped up his food wrappers. "Give me your trash!"

"W-What—?"

"GIVE ME YOUR TRASH!"

Inui stood up abruptly. Hayate flinched at his suddenly looming form reaching across the table and Aizawa raised an arm in front of her, but Inui only snatched up their wrappers without waiting for them to pass them over. Then he spun away. "Grrrr-rahaye said rahaye'm throwin'way your'rawuuff'en trash!"

They stared as he stalked past the nearest trash can and kept right on going, presumably to a more ideal can very far away.

It was over just as suddenly as it had begun. Everyone at the table was frozen for a moment. Then Kan, sitting slack-jawed and completely baffled, said. "... What the hell was that about?"

Aizawa's eyes shifted to Hayate. She looked upset, obviously, sitting smaller with arms hugging herself and her lips drawn small and tight. She mustered a quiet voice.

"... My Quirk. Sorry about that."

Kan looked back at her perplexedly. "It's a scent like Midnight's. Only instead of putting guys to sleep, it's an aphrodisiac, and he's got a really good nose, so…" She trailed off with her lips tucking.

He thought about it with his jaw closing. "O-Oh… that, makes sense then… Uh…" He seemed at a loss for what to do about the closed-off look on her face.

Aizawa set a hand on her back.

"We should probably get going, before he gets back."

"Yeah," she agreed faintly. "It would just be… awkward." She stood up abruptly and stepped away from the table, looking at Kan. "Can you, uh, let him know he did fine, later, like, when I'm not around? That could have gone a lot worse, and he did good with it, great job, thanks, so… yeah. Just let him know that."

He didn't look like he entirely understood what she meant by that, but he nodded. "Yeah... I'll do that." Kan brought a smile onto his face, hoping it was at least a little reassuring. "It was really nice talking with you. Enjoy the rest of the day, alright?"

She smiled back at him and tipped her head in farewell. "Thank you."

Hayate turned and started walking quickly with her arms still folded, and Aizawa kept in-step with long strides. Neither the fast pace she set nor the upset look on her face changed for a number of heavy seconds, and he watched her all the while trying to think of something to say. She suddenly broke the silence, her voice harsh and quiet.

"I knew I should have said 'no'. I knew it, I had that gut feeling, and I did it anyway, and I got so focused I didn't watch him. I just wanted to get to know them better. How's that for illogical?"

Hayate scoffed at herself, and Aizawa raised a hand to the back of his head. "Uh…" It seemed like a heated rhetorical question, and he wasn't sure she was after an actual reply as she didn't look at him. She kept going without waiting for a reply.

"Did you know that a dog has an olfactory lobe forty times bigger relatively than a human's, and fifty times the number of olfactory receptors?"

This time she looked at him pointedly, so he figured it was an actual question. "Uh… no. I did not."

"It's pretty amazing. Makes for an interesting topic of conversation with someone who has a Quirk like that. Well, unless they happen to be a man…" She let out a huff of air and fell silent again.

Aizawa waited awkwardly for a bit then tentatively spoke up, putting a hand on her back again.

"Can I… help?"

Her eyes softened a little, though her mouth shifted in a doubtful pursing of her lips. "Aside from listening to me vent...? No… it just happens, sometimes."

He said nothing though kept his hand on her back. In the ensuing silence, Hayate reflected on the events again, and recalled him lifting that same hand between herself and Inui. It relaxed her thoughts a little, and her hands came down to her sides. She looked at him again, and her tone sounded calmer.

"... Thank you, though. And I saw you move between us, back there…" She lifted her hand to his arm, stopping them both, and turned to him. She paused to meet his eyes. "... Well. We shouldn't let one moment mess up the whole day."

Hayate leaned up and kissed him, then stepped away letting out a breath that relaxed her shoulders.

"Alright, movin' on…" She took out the festival guide she'd picked up when coming in at the front gate and flipped through pages. "Hmmm… Beauty pageants have never been my thing, but these athletic events might be interesting. A Quirk relay sounds fun to watch…"

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"Hurry up, Yamada. I'm not going to miss one second of the beauty pageant!"

"Okay, okay, I'm coming!" Yamada texted Aizawa with one hand, the other arm being dragged along by Kayama a step ahead of him.

They claimed their spots up close to the T-shaped stage.

"Sheesh, Kayama!" Yamada looked around at all the empty seats. "This place is more of a ghost town than the haunted house!"

"Oh, trust me, it fills up fast," Kayama replied with an air of wisdom.

"Innnn…" He checked the schedule. "Fifteen minutes?"

"Trust me. It will fill up, soon." She leaned over to him with a sly look. "In the meantime, we can catch up on this lady-friend of yours."

"Ahhh-heheh, I suppose we can," Yamada rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. "Or we can reminiscence about all your beauty pageant experiences?"

"Hmmm, that is tempting…" She weighed the issue for a moment with a distantly happy look, folding her arms underneath her bosom. "But no! We already know how that goes; I've always been a crowd favorite!" Her hands clapped up decisively. "So let's hear it, Yamada." She looked at him attentively.

Yamada leaned back a little, his hand staying on the back of his neck. "Well, I mean, we could hear a lot of things…"

"Yeah…?"

"... Mmmm, how about you pick."

"What's her style?"

"Hmmm… it's pretty unique… there's a word for it… Bohemian?"

Kayama swept her hand up to the stage. "What kind of show would she put on?"

"Hmmm… let me think about it."

She proceeded to strangle answers out of him for the next several minutes. Every reluctant reply seemed to get her more worked up until she was pouting and steaming about this and that. She threw her hands up.

"Honestly, Yamada! You're being as bad as Aizawa!"

"I am not!"

"You are! Just what's got you so tight-lipped all of a sudden?" She leaned over in her seat to rest her arm on his shoulder with a sympathetic look. "Feeling insecure about something, hm?"

"Do I strike you as an insecure person?" He retorted, lifting his other hand high.

"Everyone has something about themselves they aren't so confident about," she continued soothingly. "Could it be…" Her gaze slid up to the stage. "Performance anxiety?"

"No."

She waited, but he said nothing.

"Not that… there's plenty of valid reasons to be insecure though. Perhaps some unequal relationship experience…? Maybe emotional baggage…? Maybe it's the lifestyle, afraid it won't work out…? Maybe she's the insecure one, hm…?"

Kayama kept poking with questions and gauged his reactions, trying to get some kind of rise out of him. Normally, a response came rather easily; subtly certainly wasn't in his nature. But this time, he looked straight ahead with his hands loosely draped in his lap, completely unresponsive. She'd say his expression looked wistful, not at all like his usual radio presenter persona. She dropped the teasing note from her voice.

"Hey, for real, are you okay? Now that's a glum look."

He blinked and looked back at her, suddenly reanimated. "Glum and insecure? Come on! That's Aizawa's schtick! You'll have me dressing in rags and mussing up my hair next!"

She looked skeptical at his dodging the topic, but didn't push it any further. "Hm, and boring. I wouldn't recommend picking up that trait of his." She looked up happily. "But at least he actually came and saw his class! We don't have to chew him out, now."

Yamada nodded, quietly satisfied. It had been a strategic ploy to tell her that he'd seen Aizawa in the audience at the play. Now she'd finally be content and hopefully stop trying to look for him.

They passed the rest of the time shooting the breeze. Just as Kayama had said, the audience space rather suddenly started filling up ten minutes before the show began. He saw some students from Aizawa's class come up near them, and for a moment, a flash of worry crossed his mind: they'd seen Hayate. He considered it for a moment then brushed it away. There was no reason for them to say anything about it or for Kayama to even talk to them.

"I bet you were in the beauty pageant back in school, huh, Kayama-sensei?"

Shoot.

"Oh yes, indeed! Every year, and every year I won, too." She struck a sultry pose that had more than one set of eyes glued to her, Aizawa's students among them.

"Tell us about your high school pageants."

"Yeah! What did you dress in?"

"Fuhhuhuhu, a better question is how little did I dress in…" She took great delight in retelling the highlight moments of her youth on display. Yamada side-eyed the teens, alert to every word.

"I bet you still win beauty competitions, huh?"

"Well, I am always ranked highly on the loveliest hero board," she gloated, raising her hands to her cheeks in faux bashfulness.

"Aizawa-sensei's girlfriend was pretty, too. I wish they'd stuck around longer."

"Yeah! I wanted to ask her some questions."

Yamada's heart stopped.

Kayama froze up immediately.

"What? Girlfriend?"

And then it started again, pumping furiously as Yamada pushed forward ahead of her towards the kids, hiding his face from Kayama's sight. Nononono—!

"Eh?! You kids are making no sense! A girlfriend?! Who told you that?! Someone must be pulling your leg!"

He peered down to glare at them hopefully into cooperation over the top of his glasses. Unfortunately, the kids just looked confused.

"What are you talking about, Yamada-sensei? You were there, too."

Shit! You stupidly honest kids can't read between the lines!

Yamada felt a hand grab his shoulder from behind.

"Yeahhh, what are you talking about, Yamada-sensei?"

He gulped. He knew what that foreboding tone meant, and he was prepared to have none of it!

He spun around, pulling loose from Kayama's hand. He was going to put some distance between them, but Kayama's whip was off her hip faster than he could move. It zipped around the metal speaker on his neck in a loop and she caught the thin end to pull him in tight from both sides.

"Going somewhere?" She pressed her face close to his.

He resisted stiffly, his neck recoiled back as far as it would go.

"Now what's this about a girlfriend?"

He zipped his lips shut. Nuh-uh! Not a peep out of me!

She saw the stubbornness in his eyes and only seemed more enthused, letting out a dark laugh. "Go ahead, resist. It will only make it more fun to squeeze every word out of you."

His lip irked back. Okay, maybe some words were in order—

"No, no!"

He grabbed the whip on each end right in front of her hands. Not expecting such firm resistance from him, she stared in surprise as he yanked it from her hands. A few jerks of his arm had it off from around his neck. He raised it out to the side, his arm straight and high.

"This is exactly why we didn't tell you!"

She followed his hand to the many looks they were getting from the people in the crowd around them; some of them seemed hopeful about getting a live demonstration of Midnight's sultry techniques.

"You always make a spectacle out of things!"

Kayama looked at the crowd then back at him, her face still stunned by his uncharacteristic response.

Yamada lowered his arm and looked at her for a moment, finding the rare sight of her being without any comment or comeback. He wound up the whip neatly then stepped closer and held it out for her to take, his eyes on hers and his voice much quieter and level.

"If I tell you anything, it's not gonna be here."

She studied his eyes, calm, assertive, and so very unlike his usual self. The only appropriate thing she could think to do was nod and take the whip. Yamada turned away and started walking with the crowd shifting a little for him and Kayama behind him.

Yamada took advantage of the walk to put his brain into overdrive. He and Aizawa hadn't exactly discussed what to do or say if Kayama did find out, but one thing he was certain of was that Hayate's name was an absolute no. He'd leave that up to the two of them.

He picked a spot around a corner against the back of one of the school buildings. He turned to face her and leaned back against the wall with his arms crossed. She stopped in front of him with her hands on her hips, clearly over her shock by the look on her face.

She didn't try for her raunchy persona again, cutting straight to the chase. "Alright, Yamada. Spill it. That wasn't like you at all."

"Yeah, Aizawa's got a girlfriend," he shot back immediately. He saw her blink in surprise. "Hey, no point denying it, now. He's been spending the whole day with her. I've been keeping tabs on you to make sure you didn't cross paths, which is why you haven't seen a hair of him anywhere."

"Why?" She demanded.

"Because he didn't want you crashing their date. He figured you'd make a big fuss out of it like you usually do about this kind of thing. He just wanted a nice uninterrupted day with his gal."

Kayama's brow scrunched, and a sound part exasperated, part offended passed her lips. "Do you guys honestly think so little of me?! I—yes, alright, I tease, fine. But I'm not going to maliciously sabotage a date like that! It's poor form."

"Hey, it's not about what I think here. He asked me to do this for him, and I'm not going to turn down my best bud like that."

His loyalty seemed to pacify her slightly. She thought about it for a while with a frown.

"What else?"

"That's all I'm saying! Now just enjoy the rest of the day and leave it be! You'll be meeting her soon enough."

She did not seem to enjoy that instruction.

"Where are they now?"

Yamada straightened up. "I said drop it, Kayama!"

"I'm not going to go bothering them." She gave him a cross look. "That would only be proving your point. But I'm still irritated with you two for not telling me and making this scheme! I want a quick peek at this lady friend of his."

"No way!" Yamada swiped his hands dramatically and stepped away from the wall. "You can wait just like I did to meet her!"

Yamada realized that he might have just made a mistake by the indignity that sprung onto her face. "You've already met her?"

"Er, yes."

Her hands flipped up. "Seriously, you guys! We all go just as far back with each other! You should know I care! This is actually nice news!"

"Look—" He struggled with words for a moment with his hands raised up. Then he paused, sighed, and his hands dropped.

"You're right. And you and I are the only ones who've been with him that long, because everyone else he's stayed away from. Ever since… Shirakumo."

Her hands came back down at that, going still. Yamada stepped up to her, talking with his hands earnestly moving in wide motions.

"When I met her, we hardly had a thing in common. Man, and we were trying! But it's okay, ya know, because Aizawa never picked you and me to follow him around, but he picked her! And that's good enough for me, so just let it be good enough for you!"

He fixed her with a determined look and waited, still tense as he waited for her reaction. She held his gaze for a long time as she thought, then her eyes dropped from his with a sigh as she folded arms.

"Geez, going all the way back to that, are we…?" That's how she knew he was serious. "... Alright, I'll leave it be for now." She looked back at him sharply. "But I'm still not happy about getting cut out of the loop like this! I'd better get to meet her soon."

His tense shoulders and brows relaxed in relief. "Heh, don't look at me, she ain't my gal! Take it up with Aizawa."

A nearby cheer rose up, and they both turned their heads in the direction of the beauty pageant crowd.

"Ah, sounds like it's starting." Yamada stepped forward with a look at her. "Guess we ended up late after all."

"It's alright. I'd say this was just as attention-grabbing."

They started walking back to the crowd. Kayama suddenly made a scoffing noise and looked at him in amusement.

"I can't believe you, making up all that stuff about a girl. Your acting's always been terrible, but I actually believed you. Are you taking lessons lately, or something?"

"No."

"Huh! Had me fooled."

"None of that was a lie."

She looked at him quickly in surprise, but he didn't elaborate, his eyes straight ahead on the stage.

"Oh, that's a pretty light show!"

Her eyes lingered on him for a moment before joining his gaze on the stage. "Yeah, she's got a nice stage presence…"

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On the other side of the campus sports field, the Quirk relay turned out to be highly entertaining. It seemed to put Hayate right back into a good mood, putting the incident with Inui behind them.

The students, arranged in groups, proceeded through various relay courses displaying teamwork and Quirk skill. Spectators could bet on which teams would win based on the initial team introductions, and any winners would get a small prize; in addition to the winning team getting a reward.

"Is it really alright to encourage betting like this?" Hayate wondered aloud.

"I kind of wonder that myself," Aizawa concurred with an uncertain expression.

Regardless, the kids were exciting go-getters. Aizawa had advised her pick of one particular group, and his intuition proved correct as they took first. The prizes were handmade sweets with plenty of decorative detail.

"Oh! This is really good." Hayate approved whole-heartedly of one of the miniature cheesecakes the class had made with pretty tops, and passed the remaining half to him to try.

"Mm-hm."

"The kids around here are so physically talented," she commented as they walked about, watching them play various games. "I suppose it makes sense for a hero school. I never really did sports. I was on the cross-country team, though."

"Really? You like all that running?"

"I think it was kind of relaxing. You kind of go into a zone, especially if it's out somewhere with nice scenery." Her eyes dropped to the side a little. Not to mention, the best defense is a four-minute mile… She looked back at him. "But anyway, what about you?"

"What about me? Sports? Never did any."

"But you went to school here," she insisted. "There's lots of interesting kids here! And you have so many hero skills. Oh! I bet the Capture Weapon translates well into ribbon twirling."

He gave her a peculiar look as he tried to imagine what she was seeing him doing, exactly. "Errrr… I wasn't known for anything particularly athletic… unless we're counting power naps."

She chuckled. "I'm sure you'd come in first in that event."

"Yeah," his lip twitched back wryly. The question lingered in his mind for a while, perhaps held there by their interest and all the events going on around them. He remembered something, and his eyelids perked up. "Ah… there was that."

"What?" She looked up at him curiously.

"I wouldn't call it a talent, exactly, but there is one thing that earned a lot of looks. I don't know that they were positive looks, but… well. They were looks."

That only drew her right in. "What is it?"

Aizawa saw the keen interest in her eyes and glanced around, taking note of all the people around them. "Uh… maybe not here…" He didn't need to draw any looks their way.

His arm hooked through hers gave a slight tug, and she followed him out of the busy lanes, finding a quiet spot around a corner.

"Okay…"

Hayate unhooked her arm allowing him to step away and turn to face her. He kept his hands in his pockets but spaced his feet out slightly.

"It's not much to see," He cautioned, hoping her curiosity wouldn't be too disappointed. "But… here it is." His feet sprung life with the rest of him remaining motionless.

Tappa-ta-tappity-tap-tap

Aizawa tap danced.

For about two seconds, then stopped abruptly with a deadpan gaze.

"That's all."

Hayate stared at him in complete surprise, then her hand rushed to cover her mouth as she burst out laughing. He blinked in surprise himself, not expecting her to even find it noteworthy let alone so amusing. Certainly never got a response like that before.

"Oh my gosh," she hugged her side and wiped a tear from her eye, cheeks flushed. "You can tap dance? That's got to be one of the funniest, most unexpected things coming from you!"

He scratched the back of his neck. "Eh, I wouldn't really say it's dancing… that would suggest it's actually good. No one else ever seemed to think so."

"Why not?!"

"Uh… it might have had something to do with me doing it during physical evaluations."

"Where would you need to tap dance in that?"

"Side-stepping and agility ladders."

He said it with such a matter-of-fact air that it made her laugh again at the sheer unexpected ridiculousness of it.

"How do you do it?"

"Uh, I don't know… I just move my feet fast and—" he demonstrated with a few rapid taps "—that."

"Okay, do it again." Hayate got into a ready position beside him concentrating on his feet.

He did as she requested, and she attempted to copy what she heard, though didn't come close.

"How?"

"Your feet are just too slow, I guess."

"Agh! Well, slow down a little! I can't see what your feet are doing!"

A smile started to tug at his lips, watching her brow furrow as she tried to figure out his slowed-down footwork one foot at a time. He hadn't thought much of it, but she seemed to find it curiously entertaining.

"I mean, I can get the rhythm, but just not that tempo."

"What? You mean this tempo?" Aizawa showed off a bit, tapping as quickly as he could all the while with his hands in his pockets, not even close to breaking a sweat.

She pouted and pointed her hands at his feet. "You make that look soooo easy!"

"Well.. that's because it is."

The smug note in his voice didn't escape her ears. "How are you a natural at this? You're the one who told me you have no musical ability."

"Is this considered musical?"

"I'd say so."

"Hm… guess I misspoke. Honestly, I didn't consider this a talent."

Hayate tried in vain to copy and follow along, and he humored her by slowing down and placing his foot alongside hers. She could follow along with the rhythm until he started accelerating where she completely fell behind.

"Ugh. Okay, I'm looking up how to do this." She took out her phone.

He peered over her shoulder as she looked up an instructional video and started getting into it.

"Uh, are we ever gonna… get back to the festival?"

She frowned and paused the video. "Ugh… Okayyyy…" She put her phone away and faced him, pressing up close against his body. "Fine, Twinkletoes. But we're coming back to this!"

Aizawa smirked. "Heheh, if you say so."

She put her arm around his waist and leaned into him as they walked back.

"Any other hidden talents you want to tell me about?"

"Heh… I'll let you know if I remember any."

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The culture festival wrapped up in the evening at 5 p.m. Hayate parted ways with him at the front gate looking extremely satisfied.

"This was so much fun! Be sure to let me know about any other events."

"Yeah, sure."

He stood and watched her leave for a little bit before heading back on the campus. He took out his phone as he walked.

Aizawa: Alright, she's gone.

Yamada: OK! Come find me on the roof K?

Knowing which roof he referred to, of course, Aizawa headed inside the main building. He took the stairs up to the top and found Yamada waiting for him by the railing. His arms were crossed and he was shifting his feet, looking a bit jumpy. It made Aizawa suspicious immediately.

"Hey!" Yamada started loudly. "Okay… so I've got bad news, and I've got good news." He sucked in a breath. "Kayama knows."

Aizawa looked at him sharply.

"What?"

"That you have a girlfriend, and that you were here with her on a date," Yamada continued without delay. "But! Good news: she doesn't know who you're dating."

Aizawa's expression plainly told that he didn't appreciate Yamada's light tone.

"What the hell, Mic?"

Yamada raised his hands up in front of him. "Hey! Don't give me that look! It was your students that saw you two and ratted us out! Next time, get them in on it if you want lips sealed."

Aizawa thought back to his students after the play. He'd been so quick in trying to get away from their questions that he hadn't considered they'd talk. But they were teenagers. Of course they talked. Damn. "Where is Kayama now?"

"She went to check-in on her homeroom class."

"What did you tell her?"

"Not much! Pretty much what I just said. Oh, but she's peeved about this whole scheme. I got her to swear on leaving it alone for today, but you'd better make their introductions soon—or, I suppose it's reintroductions."

Aizawa considered that silently for a bit, still looking quite displeased, though Yamada did seem to have wrapped everything up for him. "... You actually convinced her to leave it be?"

Yamada's chest puffed up. "Heh! Give me credit where credit's due! I'm a charismatic dude! Oh, but I bet she'll be a nag about it tomorrow."

"Right…" Aizawa slumped a little with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "What's done is done, I suppose… I'll get that meetup figured out."

He started to take out his phone to text Hayate with an update on the situation, but stopped short. "... I'll let Hayate know tomorrow," he decided aloud, returning the phone. "I'd rather not bother her with it today."

"She had a good time, I take it?"

"Yeah…"

"Bet you did, too!"

"Mm… about as well as I can at these kinds of things."

"Pshh! You're practically grinning ear-to-ear!"

"I am not."

"I can read between the lines!"

"What lines?"

"The lines on your face!"

Aizawa just buried his face deeper into his Capturing Weapon. "Those are frown lines, Yamada."

Yamada just laughed at him as they headed back down the stairs together.

"I'll give you a reason to be a grump! Get ready to pay for my dinner!"

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A/N: I haven't thought this hard in writing a chapter of Meow for a while. So many moving parts! I took inspiration from the writing style of the MHA school briefs, which is fast-paced, light-hearted, and jumps around a lot. Hopefully, it's a nice change of pace from the more serious recent chapters.

-I consider it an important announcement to state that it is a canonical fact that Aizawa can tapdance—albeit lazily, per Vigilantes as my source. A mysterious man of many talents.

-Midnight is a challenge; it's the opposite of being in Hayate's head. "I'm sexy and I know it" doesn't exactly lend a lot of depth to work with, so I'll try to bring out the caring friend and teacher sides of her more.

-I've gotten this question multiple times now from different people in PMs, so I'm just going to go ahead and restate it for everybody. We are currently in a pre-canon timeline that will eventually merge seamlessly into the canon timeline. Aizawa just turned 28 as of last chapter. When canon begins, he is 30. Hope that clarifies where we are for everyone!