A/N: Hey all here is chapter 2 where we see our 1Z students get to the rules of their exam and then things start to get interesting as their exam begins! Enjoy!

CHAPTER 2: Rules of Engagement

Word count: 31,332


A young girl leaned casually against the large window that sat behind Hound Dog's desk, arms loosely crossed as she regarded her companion who was stretched out on the plush therapeutic couch that was pushed to the right side of the room, an arm slung over his eyes. "It's all my fault If I hadn't-" Shirai Harada started, dropping her gaze to the wooden floor, as her nails dug into the skin of her palm as her free hand curled into a fist.

"Don't go there!" Junishi Norou hissed in warning, as she found him peeking through the gap in his arm at her. His vicious purple eyes glared at her.

"That asshole had it coming!" he cut her off harshly, as he removed his arm from his face, sat up, and swung his legs down to the floor. "If you hadn't intervened when you did and teleported his tray on his head, things would have been much worse! He would be in the infirmary had I gotten my hands on him!" he growled as he ran his fingers back through his hair in frustration. "If anything that punk should be kissing the ground you walk on," he teased.

When Junishi got no response, not even a slight upturn of her lips. He knew he had to hammer this home and soon or else she'd go into a downward spiral of guilt and self-blame if she wasn't already. He knew the signs better than anyone. If she started twisting her strawberry blonde hair around her fingers and pulling too tightly, willingly messing up those pigtails by her own hand rather than someone else's. It was serious, simply because to Shirai, those pigtails held more sentimental value than anyone knew, other than him, their parents, and Hound Dog. They had to see the school guidance counselor once or twice a month, if not more than that if their teachers thought they needed it, and on occasion, they'd go see the dog-man themselves on their own violation. "We paid our price for it yesterday and are still paying for it..."

He bit his lip, her gaze still directed at the floor. He didn't even need to see those glazed pink eyes to know that she was lost within her own darkness. Which meant the only way to snap her out of it was through force. Letting her come out if it on her own would take too long. He was on his feet and in front of her before he even knew he had moved. The blue-haired teen pinned her hand against the window behind her with his other hand gripping her chin forcing her to look at him. He opened his mouth to speak but he couldn't say anything because the door to the guidance counselor's office slammed open as someone strolled through them.

A familiar growl reached only one pair of ears. "Am I interrupting something?"

Junishi's cheeks reddened as he snapped his head toward the hulking figure. "It's not what you think!" he defended.

"What am I supposed to think, Norou?" Hound Dog asked his voice a low growl. The growlier his voice the more amused he was. They both had plenty of time to get to know the difference between the hero's growls while being in his company.

Junishi's eyes flashed in annoyance, as he turned his head away. "I don't know - That I'm trying to take advantage of her or something?!" Junishi snapped as he released his grip on the shorter girl, and stepped back, letting Shirai stand on her own power but remaining close by just in case her strength gave out.

"I know better." the hero growled, red eyes blazing as he came to the same conclusion that Junishi had come to. If anyone else had come through those doors, Junishi's reputation would be washed down the drain by the accusations that didn't have the slightest bit of merit to them. Taking two strides toward the much shorter teenager, Hound Dog raised his other hand and poked him square in the chest with a claw, with enough force to force Norou back a step. "I know you better." Ryo snarled, his baring fangs visible behind his black muzzle.

"Not as well as I do, Inui-Sensei." Shirai retaliated as she leaned more fully against the window's sill, her hands gripping the wood for support.

Ryo gave the girl a glance, looking her over in that short moment, and grinned viciously. "Welcome back to the present, Harada." he greeted.

Her head bowed and her bangs shadowed her eyes. "How long?" she asked as she fixed the pigtail she had been pulling on earlier.

"Not long. A few minutes." Junishi was quick to minimize the damage and he was being truthful. It had only been a few minutes.

"Hmm." Shirai hummed as she raised her head to glare at her friend. "Really?" Skepticism colored her tone.

"Really." The boy responded, voice soft and sincere.

Shirai continued to glare at him before it softened like it always did. "Okay." She straightened up and stepped away from the window to stand on her own power rather than continue to lean against the window sill.

Junishi took a step closer to her, hands reflexively reaching out wanting to… wanting to what? Help her? Hold her? Shield her from her inner demons? His mind hissed at the thoughts. You can't even help yourself! The blue-haired boy dropped his arms back to his sides and stepped back, giving her more space. She didn't always appreciate his hovering. It was a gamble with her, she could accept his help or she could reject it.

Shirai frowned at his reaction knowing why he was hesitating, battling his own demons, just as she had been battling hers, and he was unsure if she wanted his help or not. She shook her head and offered her hand to him. Letting him take it, pull her close so that he could take her weight more easily and lead her over to the couch. She didn't want to reject his help today. She has a feeling she'd need both her strength and her wits today. Why else would they be told not to go to classes today?

Junishi let go of her and let her settle on the couch on her own and sat down beside her but only after he saw that she was all settled. He lifted his arm behind the couch where she was sitting and gave Ryo a look as though daring him to challenge him. It wasn't exactly a secret that he had feelings for her, but it wasn't something either of them had talked about. It was just sort of one of those things that were there. They had also been friends for a very long time, longer than most and their history bound them together in ways that very few would ever fully understand.

Ryo tried not to be too exasperated at their antics. If he had been less controlled he would have slapped his palm over his eyes and dragged it down his snout watching the two dance around each was cute and all but it got old after a while and they'd been doing this same song and dance for the last term, probably even longer if he had to hazard a guess.

"If you two are finished?" Came the rumble from the guidance counselor who stared hard at the two of them. At their nods, he continued. "Good. There is a reason I came to get you, and why you were instructed to not go to your classes today."

"So we aren't under house arrest anymore?" Junishi arched an eyebrow up and he crossed his arms, a deep frown on his features. When he'd been told about this, he hadn't been surprised by it given what happened in the cafeteria yesterday, he had expected something like this to happen to them.

"We are holding another entrance exam into the Hero Course. If you pass you will be accepted into the hero course."

"So it's like the Entrance Exam?" Shirai inquired more alert than she had been before.

"Yes and no. It's different from what you did at the entrance exam."

"If we pass, we get to go into the Hero Course. No questions, no holds barred and it's effective immediately?" Junishi followed Shirai's lead.

"Yes." Hound Dog growled, as his red eyes glared at the clock ticking away on the wall above their heads. They were running out of time. It was going to start soon.

At their teacher's admittance, the teens shared a look and nodded. "We're in." the way they could be in unison wasn't surprising. They wanted this more than anyone, and in a way, they deserved this second chance more than anyone else.

The Hound Hero eyed the pair, watching as Junishi's lips twisted into their natural feral grin, his purple slitted eyes gleaming in the sunlight that streamed in through the window. Shirai's lips were set in a grim line, with determination filling her gaze. "You better get going. It's in the auditorium."

"The auditorium? How many students from UA are going to be there?" Shirai asked.

"You know I can't tell you that." The growl was a warning.

"Are there other students from other schools competing in this exam too?" Junishi asked.

"Stop fishing for answers and get moving! You're already late!" That got the two first years moving. The pair walked past Ryo. "We'll pass," Shirai promised as Junishi nodded in agreement. "I know you will." If anyone could pass this exam it'd be them. They wouldn't let this chance slip through their fingers again.

The pair were stopped before they could step into the hallway when they felt a large hand on their heads. "Before you go. Grab the silver cases that are outside the door, you'll need them."

"What is it?" Shirai asked as the large paws dropped from their heads and she watched the man cross his arms over his chest. "You'll see when it's time. Now get going, you don't want to be any later than you already are."

The blue-haired boy grinned as he bent down and picked up the cases in one hand, swinging them onto his back as he held them. "Thanks, Sensei." With that said Shirai and Junishi booked it for the auditorium.


"WELCOME LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!"

A voice suddenly boomed from the front of the room. Hizashi Yamada was all too used to running these exams with more people in them. Perhaps he was just a little too excited to get this show on the road. As his gaze traveled over the assorted number of students, he was silently counting in his head, frowning he realized a few were missing, but it was the scene at the back that caused him to blurt out what he was thinking before he could consider an alternative, he'd always been rather impulsive.

"HEY, YOU IN THE BACK YOU SHOULDN'T BE SLEEPING!"

With a groan, Kieran didn't move from his spot and cracked open a single violet eye to regard the blonde male with sunglasses on and with one of the most obnoxious voices he'd heard so far. 'Just fucking great.' The man up front looked to be rather put out by this if the look on his face was anything to go by. If that wasn't worse enough it seemed that many had turned to look at him too.

'Now I've got to deal with this?!'

Kieran was pissed and it was clear given the look on his face, but he didn't raise from his position as far as he was concerned this loudmouth maybe his instructor at the moment, that didn't mean that he would be kicked out merely for getting a little shut-eye. What he didn't like was how everyone was sizing him up already and he could handle this one of two ways. He wasn't about to pretend to be upset about this, because he wasn't. Stammering or even apologizing wasn't a look he wanted to go with, any weakness would only make him a target. He knew exactly how he needed to handle this and he leaned back in his chair and spoke up. "By all means let's get started then Professor Loudmouth!" The room had already been silent, but there was a level of tension now. "We've all been waiting long enough." he added motioning to the others gathered.


"Professor Loudmouth?" Aizawa questioned with a raise of an eyebrow as he leaned against the chair she was sitting in to stop her from continuing to spin in a lazy circle with her foot. They had already discussed the finer details of what this exam would really entail, it was a far cry from what she remembered as a student, but the point was clear if it was to teach a different breed of heroes, she couldn't say that it wasn't highly possible to be one of the most effective methods so far. No other school was attempting to go this route if this did work it could change the game they played. She would also be sizing up everyone to better flush out any weaknesses and her own ideas for their personal training regimen. The groan she let out as she covered her eyes was new, the young girl he used to know would have laughed. It was hard to believe she'd ever been that thorn in his side almost a decade ago.

"I can't believe he said that to his face!" Alexis had never dared to call Present Mic anything other than his name, it was a running joke between her classmates years ago, but they had never let him know about it. She had only told Kieran the funnier stories about her time at UA. She brushed back her long hair and sighed deeply. "Well it can't get any worse right?" she questioned letting the question hang between them.

At his soft chuckle, she turned to regard him with a frosty look. "This isn't funny!" she countered out of habit, reaching out to smack his arm as he danced back a step. "It wouldn't have hurt that bad," she teased at his actions. Aizawa continued his conversation as if nothing had happened. "But it is, he's acting just like someone else I remember." The subtle twitch of his lips matched the small smile that widened her own. "Does he now, well maybe that will play in his favor," she muttered as she leaned back in her chair and began to spin in a lazy circle again. Her gaze shot back to the monitors as more sounds from the auditorium came through and the large monitor picked up more movement. Her foot dragging along the ground to stop her from spinning. Aizawa had moved to pay attention as well. "Let's see how they react," came his casual reply.


The howl of laughter from another boy who had his chair tilted back and his feet raised on the table in front of him as his arms encircled his middle, drawing attention to the black suit he was wearing, he certainly looked to be someone important. Yasei Haruki was on the other side of the room and hadn't noticed the attention of the class was now on him. Or maybe he had but didn't care. It was hard to tell with him sometimes. His grin only widened as the laughter died down.

"Oh man, he got you good earwick! That was hilarious!" he called out as he set down his chair and turned his brown eyes to regard Kieran from across the room. "I needed that laugh. You've got balls," he told him with a wider grin than exposed his sharp teeth. As the two teens had some sort of silent communication going on where they only resorted to a nod and a grin. Some sort of male code had just been passed between them. He shot a very brief glance at the girl next to him before he began to drum his fingers against the desk in front of him. Everyone was all too ready to get this show on the road.

Airi slumped further in her seat as her new friend, no more like an acquaintance if you will, drew the attention of the other contenders toward them. She buried her face into her arms with a soft sigh of exhaustion. Not only had the exam not started yet. She was starving too. It wasn't a new feeling for her, so she was able to ignore it and push it down. The best way to do that was to give yourself something else to focus on. The sooner this started the sooner it would be over. Maybe she could eat after. No sooner had that thought crossed her mind, did she remember that she was out of money because she'd given it to Ms. Alverez. She didn't regret it, but things were going to get complicated.

She closed her eyes deciding it was best to ignore everyone. As curious as she may be about the kid who had spoken, she wasn't about to gawk with the rest of the idiots. Her nails dug into her palms as she silently counted backward from three hundred, by threes, it wouldn't do much but it would help distract her while she waited for the exam to begin. As her stomach growled her nails only bit harder into her palms. It wasn't loud enough to be noticed, but it was enough of one to be annoying. After a moment of silence, Present Mic was clearly waiting to see if anyone else was going to butt into the conversation. It would seem that would be. The sound of the door being thrown open was another distraction and one that perhaps he'd been waiting for as well. She opened her eyes to see what was going on from behind her arms and her long hair that she had purposely kept in front of her face, the scene was certainly interesting, as two stragglers came in. This should be good. She thought as she waited like everyone else to see what would happen now and how the teacher would react.


It had only taken ten minutes to get from their dormitory to the school building. Getting to the auditorium was easy, especially since they'd been there before and while they had expected a few students, they hadn't expected to see so many. It was certainly much less than the entrance exam but there were still many students to get through. Junishi hissed softly at the sight, eyes darting to and fro silently counting the teenagers they'd have to beat to win. Immediately he saw 28 kids and tagged them all as enemies and obstacles to overcome in order to pass this exam. All of those who had arrived on time or earlier were now sizing them up.

Junishi glared at the students already knowing that this exam wasn't going to be easy. The students gathered were from other schools, probably other hero courses, and didn't that just put them both at a disadvantage? How could he tell? Well, just the air many of them carried with them. Zion was one he knew and that was simply because he'd seen the kid before and he was the only one who looked much less confident than everyone else in the room. He glanced at Shirai and found her looking much less confident than he was and he knew exactly how to fix that.

"We'll crush anyone who dares to get in our way," Junishi muttered, breath tickling her ear as he leaned down to whisper into her ear. "Yeah." She agreed with a giggle, before getting into the mindset where everyone except Junishi was an enemy until this exam was over. If anyone deserved to pass it was them.

With that 28 examinees became 30 as Junishi Norou and Shirai Harada entered the room with more confidence than they actually felt because showing weakness to these privileged assholes was out of the question, especially when it would only tag themselves as ones that were easy to beat. Shirai was quick to apologize for being late as they found their seats. "Please continue Professor Mic," the girl with light pink hair told him with a sweet smile.


The sound of something breaking had him twisting around, his eyes wide as he regarded the way Alexis was standing in the middle of a landmine that had been the chair she'd been sitting in earlier. Her hands were fisted at her sides and her chest was heaving as though she couldn't quite catch her breath. Her eyes were glued to the computer screen as the last two contenders entered the room, there was no mistaking who they were related to. Aizawa closed his eyes for a moment, his fingers curling along to pinch the bridge of his nose. He'd meant to warn her, he'd meant to do a lot of things, but it was a subject he hadn't been sure how to breach for obvious reasons. He hadn't been able to ask her how she was doing with the High Rise Attack after all this time, it hadn't been the right time to tell her who else would be attending this exam, it was a last-minute request from Ryo Inui, which the principle had honored, given how they had been excelling in their classes and he felt they deserved this second change of sorts that was being offered.

He should know those wounds never healed, even with time. The dark-haired male didn't approach her as she took a step back away from the large screen that was showing them the auditorium attendants from several different angles. "I meant to tell you," he said softly, and even as he said those words he knew they were a lie. He should have ripped the bandage off and let her know like the adult she was now, but he'd personally chosen not to rock the boat, to not open the gaping wound that still had not healed. It was part of the other reason he hadn't told her who else he'd spoken with today either.

"Don't lie to me!" she snarled out the words, her anger was as rapid as he remembered, there were some things that hadn't changed. Her eyes were bright with too much emotion. "You weren't going to say anything about them," she told him, her voice surprisingly lower in volume and that made it so much worse. "You didn't think I could handle it. I know you Sensei," came her next words, as she headed for the exit.

"Can you?" he countered as he went after her, his fingers curling roughly around her wrist to halt her exit. His voice was low and his eyes narrowed at her retreating form. "Running again Alexis, I thought you were better than that!" came his harsh words, but she needed to hear them. "You refused to go to their funerals, to face their families, to face the decision you made. You showed you were only a scared little girl who didn't want to admit that they were gone! Is that all you are even now?" he demanded angrily.

That wasn't the only place this anger was coming from he realized it was part of it, but underneath that was something else. "I recommended you for this position because I thought it would be good for you. Give you a chance to show what you are made of, how much you've grown. Clearly, that was a mistake. Maybe UA isn't the place for you." Shota couldn't take back the words as they left his mouth and hung there between them. He didn't mean it exactly, he was more than aware of her career in the States. She was more than qualified, but that didn't mean she didn't have anything else to work on.

Her elbow slammed into his chest and she wrenched her wrist out of his hold and spun to face him. "You think their deaths were my fault!" she shouted back at him. "It wasn't my fault! Where the fuck were you?! Where was UA when that attack happened?!" She continued as she advanced toward him, her hands clenched so tightly into fists. "I didn't have a choice! I couldn't get a hold of you! I have to live with giving that order! They died and those who lived will never be heroes again! How could I look them in the eye?!" She snarled out the words, her fingers reaching out to curl into the front of his shirt, there was no denying the fury behind her words..

"Tell me Eraser! Knowing I wasn't hurt as badly as them?! I didn't lose everything?! I was fine! I was still able to live my dream but theirs had died!" She continued to explode on him, unloading some of the emotion she'd never let go of, the guilt was there held deep inside. She abruptly let go of him and stepped back, her powers fluctuating because as she'd let him go the motion had sent him back several steps.

"It should have been me! I should have died! I should have never sent them to the garage! I was there and I couldn't get to any of them!"

As an angry tear slipped down her cheek and she hastily wiped it away. Her eyes widened and she began to flee once more. "I need some air," she muttered as she headed for the door, upset with herself for letting him see her cry at all. None of that should have been said. Lock it down. "Just because you recommended me, doesn't mean I don't belong here. It wasn't your choice to make. I'll be back in a few minutes." She told him harshly holding on to her anger, it was the emotion that helped get her through the harder days. She left the Security Room aware he wouldn't follow her, someone had to be the responsible adult and it clearly wasn't about to be her.

He could only stand there frozen in place for a moment as he listened to her. His heart rate pounding behind his rib cage as she told him the secret he'd been expecting for a while now. He watched her leave, unable to help the panic that gripped him. She hadn't moved forward at all, not really. Her survivor's guilt was eating her alive if that display was anything to go by. He didn't blame her for the attack, but that was where she immediately went when he'd brought it up. What she had also said had his hands curling at his side as he tried to tell himself it was normal. He'd been right where she had been when it had first happened, but it wasn't the same. She was right; he hadn't been there, not till it was too late. He'd had help though to pull himself out of the depression. She on the other hand had gone back home to the states but hadn't realized how little being around her family would help. He'd assumed she'd have help, but it left him to wonder more about her parents.

He was still not sure all that she had been up to since she'd left. She never told him, still being evasive, but then again he'd never really asked either. He was worried more so than before, he'd only been trying to get his point across and it had escalated in a direction he hadn't been prepared for. It wasn't one that he could say surprised him though when he really thought about it. But the question remained what would he do now?

Nemuri had been heading over after directing Zion Sawada to the Auditorium, she couldn't say that she felt bad about throwing him into the fryer so to speak, she was confident he would be able to handle himself once he got over his initial shock of course. Humming a tune under her breath as she made her way over to the security room, it wasn't the best place for all the teachers to be crammed into one place but it would do for the exam and everyone was curious to see how those they had recommended and how they were going to do.

As the shouting reached her ears she frowned, it wasn't enough to be made out completely, but it was enough that she slowed and debated on going in or not. As she came closer, she slowed her decision not yet made; she was thankful that she didn't have to as Alexis left looking angry. Well, when one was dealing with Aizawa, she couldn't say that was surprising.

With a sigh, Midnight opened the door and had the decency to look embarrassed as she regarded him. "I-ah.." she frowned as her blue eyes assessed him, surprised to see the look on his face before it was gone when he heard her. "What was that about?" She finally decided being straight to the point would be better as she jerked her finger toward the door. The black-haired woman hadn't heard everything, she'd come in around the tail end, and Alexis had left in a hurry.

"Drop it." He warned her sharply, his tone colder than usual. Eraser had been waging an internal war with himself for the last few minutes. He cast a glance at the screen of students watching as Present Mic began to get back on track. "Keep an eye on them, " he told her, moving past her to the door and leaving even as she protested.

"Wha-" she started before he cut her off. "Hey! Wait! I didn't agree to babysit!" she called after him as the door shut behind him. Frowning she turned her attention to the screen to keep an eye on how things would progress. "Well, things are definitely never boring around here, " she muttered as she rubbed at her eyes behind her glasses.


Somehow this is Lexi's fault. Hizashi thought to himself as he frowned at the kid in the back of the room who'd started this whole mess that he had to deal with. The students were looking at him clearly waiting for him to do something about this. He knew he needed to take back control of this little meeting before things could go any further. That's the kid she recommended. Of course, he'd cause a scene. As he was about to tell these kids to listen up, the door was opened with a bang and his gaze rounded on the late students who walked in. He frowned recognizing them from the fact that they attended the school already. It would also explain the fact that some seats were empty when he'd done his original headcount when he'd begun to walk onto the stage. He waved his hand at them. "Just take your seats," he told them with a sigh as he ran his fingers through his long hair. He didn't want to get into it again. He'd let it go this one time and it helped they were better mannered than the snot-nosed kid in the back.

To be fair though, he was impressed from what he could see so far, some of these kids seemed to know each other so he was wondering how they would do in the real test. How long would those friendships last when one of them passed and one of them didn't. Would they let jealousy rule over their emotions or would they be able to gracefully lose, it was something he always liked to see at these events, it was a great testament to someone's character.


Alexis took the nearest exit to one of the small courtyards that had been constructed about five and a half years ago. This one was special because it held a statue, honoring six names that most didn't know. Taking a deep breath she held it as she walked, getting herself back under control. She couldn't slip up like that again. As she passed the trees she let her attention travel to the stone. They did a nice job...even if it was just to pat themselves on the back.

She sank down in front of an obsidian memorial with white writing of the names of the lives lost six years ago and the names of those who paid the ultimate price, hurt in ways that didn't allow them to be heroes again. Her hand pressed against the heavy stone. I thought I'd moved past the self-hatred...I guess I was just burying it a little further. I can't slip up like that again. "She looks so much like you, you know. For a moment I thought it was you Ruiko. I didn't handle it very well guess that makes me a horrible person doesn't it?" she let that question hang in the air, not expecting a reply from anyone as the sun descended leaving darkness in its wake.

"It doesn't,"

Her hand fisted against the stone and she rose to her feet, her back to who had found her as she let her hand drop to her side. Her long hair hiding her face from view as she knew she couldn't turn around to face him. She knew she would say something she would regret, she truly hadn't changed all that much from the mouthy teen she'd been all those years ago.

"Don't get up on my account, Miss Knight. I should have mentioned the new candidates to the course earlier in the day. This had to be quite a shock for you, given your history and for not bringing it up to you that was my fault. I hope you will forgive me, but as the Principle of UA, we can't hinder our students. Many of them hold more potential than they can reach in their current studies program. This is their chance to show us what they can do. We have been hindered in our view of what makes a hero for the last few years as we had All Might to fill the shoes of our Symbol of Peace. It is something we must rectify as our world twists into areas we are not prepared for. These students will have much to live up to, but it is something I believe many will rise to the challenge to do just that. Wouldn't you agree?" he questioned from the small semicircle of the trees, his gaze sliding only briefly to the man in black who was hovering at the edge as well. His mouth kicked up in a small smile at the sight. So there really is more going on, he thought to himself.

It was a question that was very much a trap, there was no way she could respond in any other way but the one that he wished for her to answer. He wasn't wrong and this was something the children would need to make the decision on if they had what it took to pass the trials coming their way. She had no right to let her own personal feelings on the matter stand in their way. She had understood what they were going to do when she'd taken the job. "Of course Principle Nezu," she answered, keeping her voice level and even as she ran slightly shaking fingers through her long hair.

"Wonderful, I will be monitoring how this exam goes as well. I hope to see good things," he told her as he walked away heading deeper into the school no doubt to watch the footage with some of the others. Lexi ignored him and thus didn't see when he stopped to speak quietly with someone else. "I'll call Mr. Chinen tomorrow, it seems we may just need to expand our Support Department after all," he said with a chuckle as he walked away from his subordinate.

"How long were you being a stalker Eraser?" she questioned as she finally turned to face him as he had entered the clearing from a grove of trees, watching as he came closer. This was eerily similar to a few years ago and she wasn't about to have a repeat. He'd made things pretty clear that she still had a lot to prove even now and he wasn't wrong.

The scowl he made told her all that she needed to know. "Long enough," she answered for him, watching him approach his hands stuffed in the pockets of his black pants. "Why'd you bother to come out here?" she questioned her hands itched to curl into fists, but she ignored it. Picking fights was what she did best. Still, he was silent and that only made her angrier. "Did you think you hurt my feelings? I'm touched you think I've got a heart," she told him with a wide grin as her hand touched her heart in exaggeration.

"Are you done?" he finally cut in as he stopped a few steps from her, the anger from earlier beginning to seep back in, she was acting like nothing had happened! The curl of her lip and the way her eyes flashed as she regarded him was telling enough. "No, I wasn't actually." she countered as she brushed back her dark pink locks and tucked a few behind her ear. " If you've come to apologize you can save it." These words were still twinged with anger, but there was something else there as well. "What you said earlier wasn't wrong. I've got to prove I belong here. So don't worry about it." she said evenly with a slight tilt of her lips. Trying to politely tell him to let it go, that she was fine. "Oh! We should get back!" She told him as she clapped her hands before continuing. "I want to see their reactions to the Engagement!" she said excitedly with a laugh at her own little joke as she moved past him, not about to entertain a real conversation as it was clear the wall was firmly in place.

Aizawa for a moment could only clench his hands into fists as his eye began to twitch in his own annoyance as he watched her. Could no one see it? Did everyone take her at face value and not see what she'd been holding onto for so long? He sighed all the anger falling away, leaving a heavy emotion in his chest he couldn't explain. I see you. He watched her walk past him. "What am I doing?" he muttered to himself as he cast one final look at the memorial before he followed after her.

As she hit the pathway that would take them back to the school, the closer she got the safer she felt in hoping that Aizawa would just let what happened earlier go. His fingers snagged her wrist and she wrenched it free before he could get a proper hold. She kept walking further but didn't ignore him. "We need to talk-" he started to say when he'd first tried to talk with her. "No, we don't! Just forget what you saw earlier!" came her sharp retort, her gaze staring straight ahead and her lips pressed together in displeasure. "You're the last one to talk to me about honesty. So let's be civil at least," she said, sounding tired now. Lexi knew she couldn't run around with a chip on her shoulder, not around him or anyone else.

"We have to work together, but our past is water under the bridge," she told him hands fisted at her side and continued on their intended path. Eraser frowned at her, not about to give up that easily. That attitude might work for everyone else, but not for him. "You can't just erase it like it never happened. You don't need to hide from me." As his fingers ran down her arm this time she didn't pull away from him as his larger hand encircled her wrist, to keep her from running off. "I know, " she whispered as she stopped walking but didn't turn to face him. "We'll talk about it another time, let's just get through tonight. You can't say this is easy for you either" she said gently, her head bowed.

He hummed a reply as his fingers briefly laced with her own, before he withdrew giving her the space she needed to get through the rest of the evening. "So how do you think Yamada is fairing?" she questioned as she laced her fingers behind her head as they rounded the corner of one of the external hallways before they'd hit the entryway door into the halls that would take them to the security room.

Shota stuffed his hands in his pockets as they continued forward even though his gaze never quite left her as they walked. He could have pressed the subject, but that wouldn't really get him anywhere. There was little he didn't truly know about Alexis, he'd watched her grow up when she'd attended UA and he was aware of who she'd been before things had changed. It wasn't fair of him to try and push a conversation merely because he felt guilty, as though he owed her something for years long passed. "I'm sure he's got it covered," he said with a low chuckle as he ran his fingers through his hair as they entered the school and then walked the short distance to the Security Room, where they joined the other teachers who were already gathered. Everyone was just as eager to see how their nominee would do.

They stayed for a few more minutes but as things began to wind down, they and the teachers who would be monitoring the exam on a closer scale headed toward Ground Beta. Most getting out of the area before the students had even left the Auditorium, they slipped past the gates and got into their positions. For the most part, they wouldn't interfere unless it was necessary. This was their show.


A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter thanks for reading!

~Aj Aviary