Nathan takes a deep breath and checks over his suit once more before entering UA High School. Double checking he has the entry card, Nathan watches a few groups of wandering students as he makes his way to Nezu's office, taking special note of a particular trio. Two males and a girl; one boy has blonde hair and a sunny disposition, while the other boy has dark hair and a shy demeanor, and the girl has really long, light blue hair with a bouncy personality. The girl especially grabs his attention, as she holds a massive storage of energy within her, just as bubbly and excitable as she seems to be.
Smiling, Nathan nods at the group as they walk by him, amused at the interaction between the group of friends. His smile grows as he senses the attraction between the two boys, as well as the depth of understanding between them. Ah, young love. He hopes they can make it work in their perilous line of work. Still, he needs to focus on his job interview. He's worked with Nezu a few times, but it was still surprising to receive the job offer just a month after he retired from his previous line of work. Now to see if he can read this map correctly.
Frowning at the map he was given, and sensing Nezu's increasing amusement, Nathan concludes that the map is intentionally leading him astray, a light hearted prank by the ever mischievous principle. Nathan can't help the slight smile even as he sighs and looks up and down the hallway he's in.
"Have you had enough fun, Nezu?" A speaker crackles to life with some soft cackles.
"Oh, never. But I will take mercy and send a staff member to show you to my office."
"Thank you, Nezu." After a few minutes a beautiful woman with long black hair and sparkling blue eyes comes walking down the hallway. A red mask frames her face, and Masato makes a great effort to not stare at the woman's nearly see-through costume, though he does notice that her heels give her a few inches of height over him. He also notices her seductive smile, and intentionally swaying hips, but the feelings of mischief and playfulness emanating from her calm him down greatly. He holds out a hand and introduces himself. "Hello, ma'am. I'm Nathaniel Jackson. Are you the staff member Nezu sent to guide me?" The woman looks a little put off, but shakes his hand, squeezing it slightly.
"I'm Midnight. And yes, I am. Though I must admit, I wasn't expecting such delectable eye candy." Ah, she's still going with the ruse. Maybe Nezu put her up to it? A sliver of truth rings with her words, so maybe she does find him slightly attractive? Nathan merely raises an eyebrow and gives her an amused smile as he keeps his gaze at her eyes.
"It's lovely to meet you, Midnight. I wasn't expecting such a beautiful guide either. Shall we go?" Midnight nods and starts leading Nathan. He misses the small frown of disappointment on her face, even as her cheeks turn slightly red. A little confused by the sliver of disappointment, Nathan decides she's upset because the prank on him didn't work. Midnight attempts to fluster Nathan a few times, never breaking character, but each time, Nathan responds calmly, the amused smile never leaving his face. While Midnight does find it a little disheartening, she welcomes the challenge. His stoicism will make it all the more delicious when he finally breaks.
By the time they reach Nezu's office, Midnight has decided to break Nathan's stoic mask at all costs and asks for his number so they can keep in touch. Nathan's honest surprise almost throws her for a loop, but she puts it in the back of her mind. The bell rings and she bids Nathan goodbye, needing to hurry and make it to her class. Nathan watches her for a few seconds before turning to look at Nezu's door, sensing the amusement from within, on top of confusion and irritation. Interesting, as the confusion and irritation are not coming from Nezu, but another man inside with him.
"Welcome, Nathan. Did you have fun with Midnight?" The door opens just before Nathan knocks, and the spike of amusement reveals it to be intentional. Shrugging, Nathan walks inside and sits in the free chair.
"She seemed a little disappointed that her prank didn't work, but never gave up. It was a little refreshing to see such freedom of emotion compared to my old workplace. And of course, the little bursts of happiness and embarrassment whenever I complimented her were adorable." Nezu cackles as Nathan glances at the other occupant in the room.
Male, thin but fit. Unkempt hair and slight stubble. Dark eyes with deep shadows, but clearly alert and watching Nathan. His clothes give him the appearance of a homeless man, but Nathan knows better.
"Excellent. Also, you already have the job. This meeting is merely a formality on your part. I'm aware of both your powers and personality already, thanks to the few times we've worked together." The man's eyes shoot to Nezu, then back to Nathan and narrow. "In all honesty, I only asked you here because I wanted Aizawa to meet his assistant before the first day of classes." Oh, cool.
"Assistant? Why?" Aizawa finally speaks up.
"I'm glad you asked." Nezu's eyes take on a dangerous glint. "Over the years that you've been employed, you have produced only a few heroes. While all of these heroes have been remarkably self-sufficient, they are abysmal in terms of teamwork and skill with their quirks. In addition, many of them do not know how to seek help after experiencing trauma, causing many of them to retire early, or worse." Aizawa flinches and looks down. "I know you care for your students, Aizawa. And I know that you are trying to keep them from dying in their first year on the job. But you're looking at the short term, not the long term. And I'm afraid last year was the final straw. When you expelled your entire class, I had to scramble to ensure other hero schools would be willing to take them in. Not to mention the backlash we received from the HPSC." Nezu sighs, suddenly looking exhausted. Nathan keeps quiet, waiting for when he becomes relevant again. "Again, I know that you're coming from a place of care, Aizawa. Which is the only reason I haven't fired you, despite the HPSC's complaints. However, things need to change. I'm still working on trying to make the entrance exam more inclusive, rather than cater to flashy quirks, but I need you to meet me halfway."
"Very well." That's all Aizawa says, but Nathan can sense a deep guilt radiating from the man. Nezu nods his head before turning to Nathan.
"This is where Nathan comes in. His quirk, among other things, grants him limited empathy and telepathy. I've personally witnessed him interact with others, and I can vouch for his skills. I'm assigning him to you because I believe he will compliment your teaching style." Aizawa nods and turns to look at Nathan.
"I'm Aizawa Shota. Also called Eraserhead."
"Nathaniel Jackson. My codename is Headsman." Aizawa narrows his eyes but doesn't say anything as they shake hands. "I look forward to working with you." Aizawa just nods.
"Excellent. Now, Aizawa, if you could lead Nathan to the lounge? It would be remiss to not meet the rest of his colleagues. Quickly now, I have a guest waiting for his own meeting." Aizawa seems to age before Nathan's eyes, but he nods and turns to walk out of the office, gesturing for Nathan to follow. He complies, pausing only slightly when he sees that tall, skeletal man waiting outside Nezu's office.
"Ah, hello there." Some blood leaks out of the man's mouth, which is quickly wiped up. Nathan and Aizawa both greet the man as they pass. Nathan's eyes are wide, however, as he senses the amount of energy held within the man's thin body. Energy that can only be described as an ocean of lightning. Energy that only one man has ever held, in Nathan's experience. Of course, Nathan continues to follow Aizawa, even as his mind goes through countless possibilities before settling on the fact that the thin man he just saw is All Might. And injured. If this gets out, it could cause an untold amount of damage and chaos, so Nathan simply ignores it for a later date.
The rest of the walk is quiet, as Aizawa doesn't speak, and Nathan is content to observe the various emotions coming from the students, basking in the positive emotions freely flowing throughout UA. Aizawa eventually stops in front of a door labeled 'Teacher's Lounge' and walks inside. Nathan follows.
"This is our new coworker." Is all Aizawa says before slinking over to a corner and pulling a yellow sleeping bag out of nowhere, quickly crawling into it and closing his eyes.
"Ignore him. He's always like this." Nathan turns from Aizawa to Midnight, who is walking closer with a seductive grin. "So, a new coworker, huh? What's your position?" She's still radiating playfulness, but there's a layer of determination underneath that now.
"I'm Aizawa's teaching assistant."
"Hah! Finally get in trouble, Aizawa?" A man with a cowboy hat and mask drawls out in a Texas accent.. Aizawa merely grunts and rolls so his back is facing everyone else. The man turns to Nathan. "Name's Snipe. Nice to meet you." Slightly puzzled by Midnight circling him with a shark like grin, Nathan nods in greeting.
"Nathaniel Jackson." Snipe nods before checking the clock.
"I'd love to stay and chat, but I have an appointment that I can't afford to miss. See you around."
"Later." Nathan glances at Midnight with an eyebrow raised before the others start introducing themselves. The rest of the day goes relatively peacefully, though Nathan is continually confused by Midnight's actions, such as pressing up against him, or making perverted commentary, which is only enhanced by everyone laughing at his lackluster reactions to the beautiful woman. Though, now that he's paying attention, he can detect some very powerful feelings of love and trust between Midnight, Aizawa, and Present Mic.
Out of all the staff he meets, however, he's most drawn to Anan Kurose, or Thirteen. Now that introductions are over, he's sitting over in one of the chairs, happy to watch his coworkers interact with one another, basking in the free emotions and positive feelings. Thirteen sits on the couch near him, and draws his attention.
"Hello, Jackson. I noticed that during the introduction, you didn't offer your hero name, or quirk. Would it be rude if I asked about them?" His gaze lingers on her eyes, which remind him of the planet Saturn, before he answers.
"I don't mind sharing, but I didn't have a hero name, per say. It was closer to a title given to me by the American government." She tilts her head, which is adorable. Nathan can also sense that his other coworkers are listening. "Back in America, we have heroes, who act as a police force for villains. And for the most part, they are enough. But throughout the country, you sometimes get villains that are too smart, or too dangerous to be captured. The government ended up making a division exclusively for those villains. The name is ridiculously on the nose, 'Villain Hunters'." Nathan pauses to open the fridge across the room, and pull one of the cold water bottles over to his waiting hand. "Villain Hunters don't get to choose their names. They are given their title based on their attributes and effectiveness. Due to my quirk, I was exceptional at my job, and earned the name 'Headsman', since none of my targets managed to escape me." Oh joy, negative feelings are starting to filter out of a few of his coworkers, but not Aizawa or Kurose, thankfully.
"I wasn't very happy with my work, but I thought I was doing the best I could to make sure civilians weren't hurt anymore. It only took four years before I realized the darker parts of my quirk were starting to consume me, so I retired. I think they only accepted it because they were afraid of starting a conflict with me. From there, I received the offer from Nezu, and a week later, here I am." Kurose nods, looking a little worried, but stars are in her eyes from when Nathan retrieved the water bottle.
"You still haven't explained your quirk." She accuses, but he can sense the honest curiosity.
"My quirk is confusing as hell. Have you ever watched those old Star Wars movies?" She nods. "My quirk basically allows me to do the same things that the Jedi and Sith can do. Limited empathy, telekinesis, physical enhancement, energy manipulation, slight precognition, and, if I have a close enough bond with someone, telepathy." Kurose's eyes get comically large, and Nathan can sense the stunned disbelief from the rest of his coworkers.
"How the hell is that even fair!? Present Mic screams, causing Nathan to wince a little.
"Hey, I don't make the rules, man. And I'm not the only one with a broken quirk. All Might can change the weather with a single punch. And Stars and Stripes basically rewrites the laws of reality." The others seem a little mollified by that.
"Ah, true. That's fair, I suppose."
"What do you mean by limited empathy?" Nathan turns back to Kurose.
"I can sense the emotions in other people, or broadcast my own. But I'm unable to change or manipulate how people feel. For example, if someone was sad, I can't make them happy, but I can broadcast feelings of joy to them." Kurose nods in understanding.
"Wait, is that why you're not bothered by Midnight?"
"Well, I can tell that she's just playing around, and doesn't mean anything serious by it, so I don't really have a reason to get nervous or flustered. Not to mention, she's in a relationship, so why would I ever make a move in the first place?" In the blink of an eye, Nathan realizes three things. One; Midnight, Aizawa, and Yamada have not gone public with their relationship. Two; all three of them are attempting to be subtle in their hints to shut up. Three; his other coworkers have jumped on that piece of information like starving dogs and are trying to convince him to reveal who Midnight is in a relationship with. Thankfully, it seems like they want to get back at Midnight for all the teasing she does, rather than anything mean-spirited. "I'm not going to reveal who she's in a relationship with, since it's a huge breach of privacy."
"I guess that's true. Besides, school hours are over, so some of us need to go on patrol." Cementoss speaks up as he checks the clock. The others sigh in disappointment, but start preparing to go out on patrol. Nathan sits awkwardly as everyone files out, except for Kurose.
"Don't you have a patrol, Kurose?"
"Hmm?" She looks up from her phone. "No, not today. I just got back from a pretty bad disaster yesterday, so I'm supposed to rest a few days before resuming my duties."
"I see. Well, I hope your rest period is peaceful then. I'll be heading on home. See you later." Nathan stands up, but Kurose stands up as well.
"Why not grab dinner with me? I'd love to hear more about how your quirk functions." Nathan looks surprised, but smiles and gives her a nod.
"Sure. I don't know where any restaurants are though."
"Don't worry about it. I'll show you one of my favorite spots. There's even a space museum nearby!" Kurose's excitement is infectious, especially with Nathan's empathic abilities, so he agrees with a smile. She grabs his hand and pulls him along.
Nezu smiles widely as he watches the pair leave UA, ideas already running rampant through his mind. How would their quirks interact? How powerful would their offspring be? Calming himself, Nezu decides to have a bit more fun with the young man. After all, considering his life, Nathan could use a bit more happiness. And, if that happiness happened to coincide with satisfying his curiosity, all the better.
Nodding to himself, Nezu begins searching for possible heroines with personalities and quirks that could be compatible with Nathan. One of his results makes him pause and lose some of his excitement. That heroine is currently in Tartarus, for actions that Nezu wholeheartedly agrees with her taking. Deciding that he's willing to cause a thorn in the HPSC's side, he picks up the phone and starts cashing in various favors.
After all, not many people could relate to being a government assassin, unless it's another government assassin. Nezu almost begins cackling as he stares at the woman with purple and pink hair.