IZUKU POV
"Alright kid welcome to your new home." Mr. Aizawa opened up the door and helped carry a bag into his house. "I know it may not look like much but I prefer functionality over looks."
I walked in the door and saw a living room that was fairly empty. It had two couches, a glass coffee table and a tv. The kitchen was connected directly with a marble island. The entire house seemed to use an open concept and it was hard to tell where one room ended and the other began. "If you say so but it all looks pretty high end to me." Everything seemed to be spotless and matched. I didn't know what I was expecting to walk into but I wouldn't have guessed something like this, but the more I thought about it the more it made sense.
"Set your bags down and follow me. I'll give you the tour." I nodded and set my bag down but kept my backpack with me.
As we walked around the house I slowly started to realize how organized this man was. Just based on his appearance one would have never guessed it. Everything had its place and each room served its own function. The only thing that seemed out of a place was a scratching post. "Sorry to interrupt, but what's that for?"
He glanced over at it before he continued on walking. "That's for Licorice."
I looked at him confused. "Licorice?"
"Yeah he's my cat. The little guy should be around somewhere. He's pretty shy around people at first so just give him sometime. Once he's used to you he won't leave your side." He motioned for me to keep following him.
I followed behind him. "Alright but why call him Licorice?"
"I didn't name him, a friend did. They thought it would be funny since licorice the candy can be bitter but he was sweet." We continued to make our way down the hall. "Anyways this will be your room."
I walked in and was shocked. The room was fully furnished. There was a full bed set that was bigger than my previous one. There was a desk that had a computer with two monitors and a walk in closet that had some clothes in it already. "Whose clothes are those?" I walked in the room and set my backpack on the chair in front of the desk. I looked on the desk and saw an envelope addressed to me.
"I got you some things. I wasn't sure what all you had and I figured we'd go through quite a bit during training. It never hurts to be over prepared for these things. Also you have your own shower and bathroom on this side of the house. My rooms on the other side so you don't have to worry about anything." He stood in the doorway and watched me look around the room stunned. "Come on there's a few more things to show you."
I followed him out of the room and he took us back to the living room. Towards the kitchen side of the living room there was a set of double doors. He opened them up to reveal an open room that looked like a training area. There was a punching bag, some weights, and the floor was completely padded. "I'm guessing we'll be spending a lot of time here?"
A smirk came over his face. "Yeah just try not to die." We made our way back out to the living room. "Alright let's talk about some house rules. Honestly I'll leave you to your own most of the time when we're not training. I won't try and be all in your business. Everyone deserves their privacy. As far as the kitchen goes if you cook something you clean your own dishes." I nodded in understanding. "If there is anything specific you need or want to be kept in the fridge just let me know but keep it within reason. Since you're staying here I expect you to help out with keeping the house clean and that you'll help with anything around the house that needs to be done. As far as a curfew goes I honestly doubt you'll have enough energy to go out after our training sessions. But if you do just keep me updated. Also please just keep the noise levels down. I quite enjoy the peace and so does Licorice. Other than that, make yourself at home. If you need anything just let me know. I'll let you get settled in and I'll call you when dinner's ready."
"Yes sir." I grabbed my other bags and made my way down to my new room. It was weird being in a new place with all new stuff. I set my bags on my bed and started to put away my things. I didn't really take much from home just my clothes, the bottle of whiskey I had just bought a few days ago, my laptop, and a few other things I thought I might like. I set an old photo of when I was a little kid on one of my desk shelves. Looking around the room I looked to try and find the best place to hide the bottle of whiskey. "It's gonna be a lot harder to get away with this now I guess." I set the bottle on the closet and hid it behind my empty bags in the corner. As I looked around my new room I realized something was missing. I started going through my closet and dresser hoping I had just misplaced it. "Shit how could I forget my favorite jacket?" I pulled out a black hoodie and threw it on. "Oh well it's not like I don't have others but that one was super comfy." I went and sat at the desk and looked around the room again. "Maybe I should have brought it with me. I mean I did just buy it." I looked in an empty corner of the room, I could picture my guitar sitting in the corner just begging to be played. I turned back to the desk and shook my head. "No I left that behind and I can't go back." I picked up the envelope and shrugged as I opened it.
"Hello Mr. Midoriya, I'm so happy you decided to give the hero course a shot. I know Mr. Aizawa will be keeping you busy with training but that doesn't mean we can let that mind of yours slip. I will be stopping by Monday afternoon to discuss lesson plans and how we can best work out a plan of education. One of our teachers will be accompanying me, I'm sure they will be a great help in furthering your education. Until then best of luck. Sincerely Principle Nezu."
I set the letter down and began to set up my work station as I let out a sigh. "Why do I have a feeling that his lessons are going to be worse than the training sessions?" Shaking the thought from my head I focused back onto my work station and started to work on fixing the EQ of the newest beat I had been working on.
Maybe I was having an off day or maybe it was the new environment, but nothing I seemed to do sounded right. I took off my headphones and leaned back in my chair as I contemplated what else I could do. "Getting lost in your thoughts can really dull your senses." I shot up in my chair to see Mr. Aizawa standing in the doorway. "Dinner is almost ready, mind giving me a hand?"
"Sure." I looked at the clock and noticed it was almost six. "I didn't realize that much time had passed." I made my way into the kitchen with him. "So what did you need help with?"
"Could you set the table? Everything is up there." He pointed to a cabinet and continued on with his cooking. As I made my way to the cabinets there were several knocks on the door. I looked over at him confused. "Just ignore it, they'll leave in a minute."
There were a few more what was now closer sounding like someone trying to break in rather than request entry. "Damnit Shota I know you're in there I can smell your cooking. You better have a good fucking reason for canceling our date last minute."
I looked over to the door before looking back at him. "You had a date tonight?"
"Yeah, I told her something came up." He looked back to the door. "I should have known she would come here looking for an answer."
"You didn't tell her why you canceled?" I looked at him even more confused. I quickly looked back at the door. "Like I'm one to talk about telling someone why I'm leaving."
"I apologize in advance for this." He made his way to the door. "She is… energetic to say the least." He let out a sigh as he started to open the door.
The door was suddenly swung wide open and a very angry woman was standing in the doorway. She had dark green eyes and seafoam green hair. "What the hell Shota why would you cancel. You know how hard it is for both of our schedules to…" she looked past him and saw me standing in the kitchen. Her face went from angry to confused as she looked back to him. "Why is there a child in your house?"
Mr. Aizawa let out a sigh as he stepped to the side. "Come on in Emi. I was hoping to have some time to figure out how to explain this but it looks like that plans out the windows."
As she made her way into the house she kept her eyes locked on me as she looked me up and down. "I thought you said you didn't have any kids?"
"I don't, we'll not at least biological ones." He closed the door behind her and made his way back to the kitchen. "Emi this is Izuku Midoriya, I guess you could say I adopted him. Midoriya, this is Emi Fukukado and she's my girlfriend."
"H.. hi nice to m.. meet you." I bowed at her before going to grab the plates.
"Ah we got a stutter box over here. No need to be nervous, I won't bite." She gave me a smile and laughed a little.
"That's a fucking lie and you know it." Mr. Aizawa glared at her.
She started to laugh more. "Oh come on Shota you know that was funny." She rested her arms on the counter before turning her attention back to me. "So tell me how exactly did you get scooped up by Mr. Grinch over here?" She gave me a smile.
I took a deep breath and shifted my gaze to the ground. "It.. it's kind of a lo.. long story. I… I um… I…"
Mr. Aizawa put a hand on my shoulder, cutting me off. "He wants to be a hero so I decided to take him in." He shifted his gaze toward her.
She matched his eyes before letting out a sigh. "Is that so?" She looked back at me before looking back at him. "Well since I'm already here I hope you made enough for me."
"I didn't." Mr. Aizawa went back to his cooking, finishing it off.
Emi suddenly burst out in laughter catching me off guard. "You're hilarious Shota."
I watched the two go back and forth at each other for a minute before speaking up. "We.. were you the one th.. that named Licorice?"
She looked back at me and smiled. "Yep it's a pretty funny name right, don't you think it fits him purrfectly?"
An audible shudder could be heard from Mr. Aizawa as I looked away from her. "I.. I don't know…I haven't se… seen him yet."
She put a hand to her chin and began to think. "That odd he usually only takes a day or so to warm up to people."
"Well I… I only just got he.. here this afternoon." I gripped one of my wrists with my other hand.
Her eyes went wide with shock. "Oh my God I'm so sorry I didn't realize. I'll see you later Shota."
She was starting to make her way to the door when Mr. Aizawa spoke up. "It's fine Emi this might be for the best. I don't mind you staying if Midoriya doesn't."
She looked over at me and I took a deep breath. "I d.. don't mind. I.. I just don't want to be in th.. the way of you two."
"Aww he's so considerate." She walked up and pulled me into a hug. "You must be quite the lady killer. I bet all the boys hate you for that.
I tightened up and I felt my arms shake a little. It wasn't just because of the sudden contact but the poor choice of words as well. I lowered my head as my voice went quiet. "You don't know the half of it."
She looked down at me confused. "Hmm what was that?"
"Emi cut it out. You've barely known him for five minutes, you can't do that." He turned around and leaned on the counter.
She quickly let go of me and pouted at him. "Oh come on what man wouldn't want to be embraced by a pretty young woman like myself." She batted her eyes flirtatiously at him.
"Anyone that wants to keep the last bit of sanity left in them." He went back to the stove as he grumbled to himself. "Alright everything's ready, let's eat."
Conversations started to die down as we ate. I didn't talk unless a question was directed towards me and I didn't go out of the way to start any conversations. I wasn't sure how I would fit into this dynamic. Everything seemed to be going smoothly.
"So Midoriya, Shota said you wanted to be a hero. You must have quite the impressive quirk." She looked towards me with a smile.
"Well ac.. actually I'm… I'm.. I'm…" I couldn't get the words out. I never had an issue with it before, but this time was different. "Shit what if she thinks he's crazy for wanting to train someone who's quirkless? This could put unnecessary strain on their relationship. I can't be causing problems on my first day here." I felt my breathing pick up and my vision start to tunnel and go fuzzy. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, not now." As my breathing continued to quicken I felt myself enveloped in an embrace. The smell of mint brought me back as my breathing started to slow.
"Shhh it's alright. Just calm down. Take nice and slow breaths." Ms. Fukukado was rubbing my back in slow circles as she tried to help slow my breathing."
As my vision started to return I could only see green and take in the smell of mint. I started to slowly feel at peace as a tear escaped my eye. This feeling reminded me of when I was a little kid that dreamed that his quirk would be a strong one. I would play all day with mom and she'd call for help and I'd save her. She would hold me tight and her hair always smelled like mint. I slowly put my arms around her and held onto her. "Mom please don't leave me."
She held onto me tighter and continued to try and calm me. "It's ok I'm not going anywhere."
Once I had calmed down Ms. Fukukado went back to her seat but kept looking at me concerned. No one spoke until Mr. Aizawa set two glasses on the table and poured a drink into them. He put one in front of her and he took the other with him. "You may need this by the end." She just nodded and took the glass in her hand.
The next hour was spent explaining to her my story. I told her about my quirk, my 'home' life, and everything that led to Mr. Aizawa taking me in. Of course we left out things that seemed irrelevant. After everything was said we sat in silence as she finished off her drink. She didn't say anything as she stared into her empty glass. "That's one hell of a hand you've been delt." She set her glass down before resting her elbows on the table.
"Yo.. you could say th.. that again." I kept my eyes glued to the table.
"Sorry to drop this all on you at once Emi, but I do have a favor to ask." Mr. Aizawa looked between her and I.
She matched his eyes before looking back at me. A small laugh escaped her lips. "Of course I'll help out. I mean that's what heroes do right?" She gave a smile before she stood up.
I raised my head and looked at her confused. "You.. you're a hero too?"
"That's right, you're looking at the one and only Ms. Joke." She says back down in her chair and looked back to Mr. Aizawa. "I'm guessing that's what you wanted to ask me."
He let out a sigh as he finished off his drink. "Yeah, I know you're busy with your own students and not to mention your own patrols but any help would be appreciated."
"There's no way I'm not helping out." A small smirk appeared on her face. "Especially since he's already called me mom."
"S.. sorry about that Ms. Fukukado… I… I don't know what came over me." I looked back down to the table.
"Oh hell no we've already crossed that line. I better never hear you call me that again." She shot a glance at me before smiling. "I'll accept Ms. Emi at the very least." I just nodded my head. "Alright well now with that settled how about we exchange numbers."
"I… I can't do that." I shifted my gaze to my lap.
"Oh come on it's not like I'm going to message you every other hour." She gave a sly smile to Mr. Aizawa.
"It's n… not that.. I just d… don't have a phone." I put my hands into my jacket pocket.
"What are you talking about? You literally had one this morning." Mr. Aizawa looked at me skeptically.
"I got rid of it." I let out a nervous laugh.
Mr. Aizawa let out a sigh. "Why would you do that?"
"W… well Auntie Mitsuki always would pay the bill. I… I didn't w.. want her to keep paying it af… after I left." I looked back at the table.
"Well that makes sense. We can go pick one up tomorrow." He rested his elbows on the table.
"I.. I have some savings bu… but I don't know how long I can p.. pay the service fee." I started twiddling my thumbs in my jacket.
"Don't worry about that, I'll take care of it." He took a deep breath. "It will have to be later though. I have a meeting in the afternoon."
"I can take him." Ms. Emi spoke up and smiled. "I have the day off and it sounds like fun."
Mr: Aizawa raised an eye towards her. "Are you sure? I don't want you to go out of your way."
"It's no problem at all, plus it gives me a chance to get to know Midoriya more." She beamed a smile at me.
"Th.. thank you Ms. Emi." I looked back up and tried to give her a smile.
She let out a little laugh as she stood up. "Well I should get going." She made her way to the door and Mr. Aizawa followed. "Thanks for dinner Shota it was nice meeting you Midoriya I'll see you tomorrow." She gave him a hug and kissed his cheek as she made her way out the door.
As the door closed I let out a deep breath and stood up. "She seems… nice." I took the leftover dishes to the kitchen.
"Yeah she is." He made his way back into the kitchen. "But she can sometimes have an issue with boundaries."
"Yeah… but I felt like she means well." I started to wash the dishes from dinner.
"She does." He began putting the leftovers in the fridge. "Tomorrow will be an interesting day for you that's for sure." He let out a small chuckle. "Try not to get overwhelmed alright."
"Yes sir." I finished up washing the dishes and made my way back to my room. I stared at my computer still opened to the song I was working on. Sitting down in the chair I let out a sigh as I put my headphones on. "Let's see if I can figure it out this time." The time continued to fly by and it was still missing something. The mix was right but it just sounded empty. I rested my head on my desk and looked at the time. "Maybe tomorrow I'll have better luck." Closing down my computer I walked in the closet and too a swig of whiskey before I climbed into bed. A small smile came on my face as I buried it into a pillow. "Did this man buy clouds?"
The next morning I woke up and felt great. "It's amazing the difference a good bed and pillow can do." As I stretched I felt a weight on my chest. I opened my eyes and was surprised when I saw a pair of bright yellow ones staring back at me. I blinked a few times in confusion. "So I'm guessing you're Licorice, that or I'm still asleep." The black cat let out a meow as it stared at me. "Well I guess he did say we couldn't leave your side once he gets used to you, but I didn't expect this." Licorice let out another meow and shook his bed ringing the bell that was around his neck. I reached out my hand to pet him but he jumped off of me and ran out of the room. I could hear the bell with every step he took. "If he has a bell on how did I not even hear him once yesterday?" Getting out of bed I made my way to the kitchen. There was a note on the counter with a key next to it.
"I had a few errands to run. I'll be back later. There is some breakfast in the fridge just remember to clean up when you're done. Also here's a spare house key. Whatever you do please for the love of God don't let Emi get it."
Opening up the fridge I saw some food on a plate that was wrapped. I took it out and started hating it up. As it cooked I looked around the living room. "Where the hell did that cat go?" Once it was done I set the plate on the counter and started to eat. "The man certainly can cook." I took another bite as I looked around the room more. As I scanned the room I found a familiar pair of yellow eyes looking at me. I laughed a little as I took another bite. "I can see you Licorice." The cat didn't do anything, he just kept looking at me. "I'm not gonna hurt you, I'm a good guy." He continued to stare at me but slowly started to walk towards me. I raised an eyebrow as I watched him move silently. "What happened to his bell? I know I heard it earlier, well that or I'm going crazy." A chuckle escaped my lips as I watched him slowly come closer. "Well I wouldn't be the first one."
Eventually Licorice jumped onto the counter and looked at me again. I cut off a small piece of my food and offered it to him. "Want some?" He walked up to it and sniffed it before letting his bell fall out of his mouth and replacing it with the food. I blinked confused at what I had just witnessed before whispering. "Stealth cat." Licorice meowed at me again before hoping of the counter and rubbing up against my leg. "Oh you like me once I feed you… I see how it is." He responded with another meow and walked back into the living room, his bell jingled with each step. "Clever little shit." I finished up eating and washed the dishes before going back to my room.
After showering and changing I found myself back at my desk stuck exactly where I was last night. I planned to work until Ms. Emi showed up, but that was quickly put to a stop when there was a knock on the front door. I let out a sigh as I made my way to see who it was. Opening the door I saw Ms. Emi standing in the doorway. I knew she was coming today, I just didn't expect her so early. "He.. hello."
"Hey kiddo you ready to head on out?" She stood with a smile on her face.
"Ye.. yeah I just didn't expect you this early." I looked at the clock on the wall and it wasn't even noon yet.
"Yeah I figured but hey it's more time for you me." She let out a laugh. "Well let's get going we have a long day ahead of us."
"Day?" I looked at her confused. "I thought w.. we were just going to get me a phone."
A smirk formed on her face. "Oh no. We're spending the day together. I have quite a few things planned."
I gulped down the lump in my throat as I locked the door and followed her out. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this."
As we drove through town the car was silent. Neither of us seemed to know how to fully interact with the other. Especially after the incident that happened last night. I could sense that this was weirder for her than it was for me. She didn't seem like the type that didn't know what to say. "So I… I met Licorice today."
She glanced over surprised that I started the conversation. "Oh really?"
"Yeah… I woke up an… and he was sleeping on me." I stared down at my feet.
She left out a chuckle before sighing. "That sounds about right. He's a cute little guy."
"He… he's sneaky." I looked out the window.
"He hid his bell and snuck around?" She looked over at me with an eyebrow raised.
"Yeah.. until I offered him so… some food." I crossed my arms.
Suddenly Ms. Emi burst out in laughter. The sudden outburst caught me off guard causing me to jump. "Oh God I'm sorry." She continued to laugh between words. "But that is funny. I still don't even know how he learned to do that."
I looked over at her and chuckled to myself a little. "Yeah I guess it is."
As we drove around we continued to make small talk. Slowly everything started to become easier and before long my stutter started to fade when I talked to her. Even though I was growing comfortable around her I still was confused about a few things. The first being how did she have the information to add me onto Mr. Aizawa's account and the second being why does she have a gas mask in her car that has smiling faces on the filters? Shaking the later question out of my head we finished getting a new phone for me.
Back in the car I finished setting everything up. We continued to drive around. "So how about we get some lunch, I know a good place around here."
"Sure." I put my phone into my pocket and watched as we drove past buildings. We continued to drive through town before stopping at a small building.
"I know it doesn't look like much but trust me the food is great. Plus I'm good friends with the owner." She smiled as we got out and made our way to the door.
She was right the place didn't look like anything special, just your run of the mill mom and pop place. As we walked in a man greeted us. "Ah welcome it's good to see you again Ms. Emi. Would you like your usual spot today?"
I looked over at her with a skeptical look. She just nodded to him. "Of course, you know me." She let out a little laugh.
He smiled back and motioned for us to follow him. Looking around the inside I had to resend my earlier thought. The place was actually nicer on further inspection. We continued to walk across the room until the man opened a door leading to a private room in the back. In the room was a table with four chairs set around it. We took our seats as he made his way back into the main room.
I looked around the room with a blank expression. "So why exactly are we back here?"
"Well I'm sure you've noticed now but I can tend to be loud and apparently other people don't like that when they eat." She started to laugh a little. "So when I go to certain places they have special rooms just for me so I don't annoy the other customers."
"Are you serious?" I looked at her dumbfounded.
"Nah I'm just messing with you…. well it may be a little true. But at this place I just know the owners so they consider me worthy to sit back here." She let out another laugh.
"Mhmm." I looked down at the menu and was surprised at the simplicity of the menu.
"I know it looks simple but trust me it's great. Even Shota approves of it." She let out another laugh. "It's hard to get him to say he likes anything."
I looked back up at her before glancing around the room again. "How exactly did you two get together? Honestly you two seem like complete opposites."
She put her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands. "You know most would people think that but we're actually pretty similar when you take a closer look. I mean sure I'm definitely a lively person and he's more of a quiet type but we work well together." She closed her eyes and sighed. "I can still remember the first time we met. Strong, tall, and confident. The light shined down on him perfectly. He was the ideal package and standing next to him was Shota." She sat back up as the waiter brought us some drinks. "Honestly he couldn't stand me at first and I couldn't stand him either. We butted heads constantly but we had to work together because the agencies we worked with were located next to each other. Then one day I just stopped seeing him. He had switched to an overnight patrol because it suited his style better." She took a sip of hers. "I actually had practically forgotten about him but one night some friends and I went out. As we were leaving some guy tried to stop us. He definitely wasn't looking for anything good. He kept getting closer and next thing I knew Shota was there taking the guy in." She stared off at some older pictures on the wall as she twirled her straw in her drink. "Honestly we didn't need the help but it was just such a cliche scenario that I couldn't help but laugh. After that we reconnected and once we actually got to know each other things just fell into place."
"Are you sure that's what really happened?" I looked at her skeptically. "I've heard better relationship stories on cable network originals."
"Yeah that's true but still sometimes things just happen for a reason." She took a sip of her drink. "So tell me, is there a special girl in your life?" She gave me a small smirk.
I started to nervously tap my foot on the ground. "Yeah..." I spun my straw around in my drink. "There is."
"Oh my, tell me about her." She leaned in intrigued.
"She's great." I felt a grin come over my face. "She's really sweet and cared about me. Anytime I thought about her I felt better. She by far was the best thing that had ever happened to me." My smile faded as I messed with my straw. "We.. We met in the park one day after school and it was a total coincidence." I let out a nervous laugh.
"Awww love at first sight." She pretended as if she was swooning.
"Haha, not even close." I leaned back in my chair. "Honestly the first time I saw her I was kind of upset because she was in my favorite spot."
"So did you say anything to her?" She took another sip of her drink.
"Nope. I sat on the ground against a tree." I nervously rubbed the back of my head.
Ms. Emi burst out in laughter after hearing that. "Seriously you chose to sit in the ground?"
"Yeah… obviously people skills aren't a string suit of mine." I let out a nervous laugh.
Her eyes lit up. "Oh don't worry I'll make sure I change that." A slightly spinster grin spread across her face before returning back to a normal smile. "So what happened after that?"
"We both sat in silence as if the other wasn't there. At some point she said I could sit on the bench cause there was plenty of room. I sat on the bench and then we started talking about music. Not too long after that I left." I stared off at some of the pictures on the wall."
She looked at me with a blank stare. "Seriously is that it? You didn't even try and get her number?"
"I didn't think much of it then. I thought she was just another face in the ocean of people I passed by everyday." I took a sip of my drink. "But apparently fate had something else planned because a few weeks later I ran into her again at a music store. We started talking and she was teaching me to play guitar. It was a lot of fun until her dad showed up and started yelling at me."
I looked up from my drink and saw Ms. Emi glaring. "Oh that bastard is gonna pay."
I leaned back a little as I felt the killing intent come off of her. "Oh no it's fine apparently his wife and daughter gave him a hard time." I let out a nervous chuckle. "He's actually a really nice guy. He's just super overprotective of his only daughter."
She let out a sigh and grumbled to herself. "I guess I can let it slide this once." She sat back up in her chair. "So what happened next."
"A couple months passed and we ran into each other at the music store again. She had to stop me from wanting to leave right away." I laughed remembering how nervous I was that day.
"Why would you want to leave?" She looked at me confused.
"You remember what we talked about last night… Mix all of that together and add in my head telling me that she was mad at me for two months and you'll think anything is your fault." I took another sip of my drink. "Plus I was probably a little hungover at that time." I felt a cold chill run down my spin as I realized what just slipped out of my mouth.
Ms. Emi stared me down with an eyebrow raised. "I'm sorry what was that about a hangover?"
"N.. n… nothing… I.. I said nothing about a ha.. ha.. hangover." I tried to give her a confident smile but it wasn't working.
"Mhmm we'll come back to that but for now I want to hear the rest of this story." She started to relax a little bit. "Continue."
I gulped down my terror as I continued the story. "Well she apologized for everything that had happened and she started reteaching me guitar. Her dad then popped up out of the blue and apologized as well and invited to come to a music night that Friday." I took another sip of my drink. "Her and I left after that and went to the park to talk some more. In all honesty she didn't leave me with much of a choice." I let out another laugh as I looked at Ms. Emi. "A few days later I was on my way to the music store and I got attacked and ended up in the hospital, but you knew that part already."
She nodded at me. "Yeah but you didn't mention that it happened on the way to a date."
"It wasn't a date. Or at least I don't think it was." I scratched my head. "But that's besides the point. Apparently she found Mr. Aizawa with me in the alley and rode to the hospital with me. When her dad picked her up he left me a note telling me to call them when I got up. After a few long talks I was discharged. I called them again letting them know I made it home safe and her dad gave me her number as well as inviting me over for dinner." I sat back in my chair. "That was an interesting night." I let out a chuckle. "I told them more about me than I ever thought I would. But they didn't treat me any differently… they accepted me." I wiped away a tear that formed in my eye. "After that we hung out a couple times and she helped me pick out a guitar and now I'm here. I think you would have liked her. She would always make the same joke about being all ears when I would ask her something." I looked up and saw her confused. "Her quirk made her hearing extremely sensitive."
She started to laugh after hearing that. "Aw man, that's a good one. So when am I going to meet this little minx?" She leaned in intently.
"You're not going to." I looked down towards the floor. "We ended whatever we had when I left."
"But why?" She looked at me confused. "I thought you said she was the best thing to happen to you?"
"She was… she still is, but it's not fair to her if I leave to focus on my dream knowing I wouldn't have time for her." I squeezed my hand into a fist in my pocket trying to stay calm. "Needless to say she didn't like it."
"I see… but still wouldn't it be worth a shot?" She leaned back in her chair.
"Maybe." I unclenched my fist in my jacket. "But hindsight is 20/20."
She just looked at me for a moment and took a deep breath. "Well how about we change topics then, so you play music that's pretty cool."
As I explained to her the situation of me not bringing the guitar I had bought the waiter came and took our order. She then proceeded to lecture me about how fiscally irresponsible it was. But after telling her how everytime I looked at it I thought of her, she understood why I left it. It was the same as someone throwing out gifts their ex had gotten them to help get over them quicker. The rest of the lunch conversation was uneventful just talking about music and potential plans for the future.
As we finished eating Ms. Emi pulled out her phone and looked at the time. She let out a small sigh as she put it away. "Well that took longer than I thought it would, but I think it was well worth it."
"Yeah… it was really good. Thank you." I finished off what was left of my drink.
"Well let's get going I'm sure Shota must be worried that I'm trying to corrupt you. She let out a small laugh.
"Corrupting me?" I looked at her confused.
"Yep he likes things more peaceful and I'm sure he's worried I'm going to turn you into someone like me." She stood up and we made our way out the door.
"I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing." I followed her out to the car. "I mean you seem like a really nice person and you care about people. Sure you can be a little over the top sometimes but I don't think that is inherently bad."
As we got in the car she wiped away a fake tear. "Gosh you're gonna make me feel like a proud mother when you say things like that."
I let out a nervous chuckle. "Is that a bad thing?"
"Nope not at all." She smiled as she drove us back to Mr. Aizawa's house. "So speaking of proud mom's, can I ask why exactly you called me that last night?"
"Oh… yeah… about that." I looked out the window so I wouldn't have to see her reaction. "Well it was just in the moment you reminded me of her back when I was little. Your hair smelt like hers and it felt safe. I guess I just got caught up in the moment."
We sat in silence for a moment before I heard a soft sniffle come from the other side of the car. "Damnit kid now you're making me all emotional, but that was just so sweet."
"Sorry about that." I nervously rubbed the back of my head. "I'll try not to make a habit of it."
"Oh hell no from now on I'm Mama Joke." She stared at me letting me know she was serious. "So no more Ms. Emi…. unless the situation calls for it."
I looked back at her confused. "What do you mean by that?"
"Well I am a pro hero as well as a teacher. Obviously if I'm on duty it's Ms. Joke but if we were around my students it's Ms. Fukukado." She let out a sigh. "It is a shame though, Mama Joke has a nice ring to it and it's a great set up for jokes."
I let out a small smile. "What if I called you Mrs. Aizawa?"
The car came to a sudden stop as she turned her head to stare at me. "Izuku I think we're going to get along perfectly."
As we started to drive I felt my heart start to beat again. "God that scared the shit out of me." I rested my head on the window. "I wonder how Mr. Aizawa would react to that?"
"Oh Shota is gonna hate it but I think it's worth it." A sinister smile came across her face. "Speaking of Shota I have a plan."
The rest of the drive back was spent with Mama Joke explaining to me the plan she had come up with. I'd be lying if I said it didn't sound funny but I was also worried about how this would all turn out.
Before I knew it we were standing at the front door. I felt a hand placed on my shoulder and saw Mama Joke giving me one of her trademark smiles. Taking a deep breath I opened the door and saw Mr. Aizawa sitting on the couch with Licorice. "Hey pops, how was the meeting."
He slowly turned his head towards me and his eyes were wide. I could hear Mama Joke trying to hold back her laughter but it wasn't working. "Emi… what did you do to him?"