Mr. Aizawa was still leering when counseling started, so I took the initiative.
"I practiced a bunch yesterday." I told him, "And managed to keep the cracker intact four times, but still not as quickly as I'd like."
"Then keep practicing and show me next week." He said, sitting at his desk for once, "Today, I'd like to talk." I felt a little deflated.
"Talk?" Here I'd braced myself for bruises. "Okay!" A change of pace was good, if a bit scary, given that intense look of his. He seemed serious, more than usual. A lot less dead behind the eyes.
"You have a younger brother who's living in the dorms with you, is that correct?"
"Yes, sir. His name is Moe. He's seven and very sweet."
"Am I to assume you've been in charge of the care of this child for the duration of your time here?" Ah, I had a feeling where this was going. I nodded. "Do you have separate rooms?" I shook my head. He ran his fingers through his hair. "Manderly, you're essentially parenting a young boy on top of your own studies, studies that are much more rigorous than any ordinary school. You don't see an issue with that?"
"I appreciate the concern." I told him honestly. No one had ever stopped to wonder if I was doing too much, "But Moe is never a source of stress for me. I enjoy all the time I spend with him."
"He was a source of stress today."
"I think everyone was stressed today."
"Now I'm sure you thought of this before, but can your parents or legal guardian at least share some of the responsibility you've put on your shoulders?"
"How much trouble will I be in if I say we don't have parents or guardians?" I asked tentatively, "See, it's a long story, but Moe and I grew up in an orphanage a few towns away. I guess that means we're not related by blood. The people there were fine, but they never took well to Moe, so I could never leave him behind. This is his dream school anyways."
He seemed at a loss for words, probably due to the legal mishap this all was. So I clarified.
"The school is perfectly aware of all this!" I was pretty sure that was true, "At first, I wasn't going to attend at all, but they managed to ensure Moe could come too, and they gave us financial aid." I gave a wry grin, "I'm all in, sir."
"That's precisely what concerns me." He scolded, "You're putting your and your brother's futures on your shoulders. It's not practical or healthy for either of you."
"Remember when you caught me trying to sneak out of the exam?" I asked, thinking to the first time I'd felt the now-familiar chill down my spine.
"I thought you were letting nerves get the best of you."
"Well, Moe had gone missing after the morning's villain attack, so I was looking everywhere for him. Even... sneaking into UA. Thanks to you, I ended up taking the test. If I'm honest, I think Moe planned the whole trip and crisis just to get me here. I had little interest in this at all. I found it loud and frightening and chaotic. Then he chewed me out for not determining and chasing my own dreams." I looked at my wringing hands, "...I was being a coward. So I relented, made it work. And this week has been the most demanding and fun of my life. So you'll notice my stress every now and then, but know that I haven't regretted my choices for a moment. Moe is very self-sufficient and Ms. Joke does all the heavy lifting nowadays. Both his and my futures are safe. That said, I should have told you about my unique situation from the start so you weren't caught off guard. I apologize."
"I appreciate the honesty." If he rubbed his temples any longer, he'd leave permanent valleys, "But I'll still be revising the exercise regimen I gave you. I can also get you out of vice representative."
"That's okay!" I said, "I've been able to keep up with the regimen so far; Moe even helps me practice my quirk! And the vice representative thing has helped me make friends. I enjoy it." It had been so flattering to be elected, I felt like I couldn't let my classmates down now.
"Alright, fine, I see I'm powerless here." The teacher met my eyes, tired and defeated, "At least introduce him to your classmates, they may be able to lighten your load every now and then."
"I'll do that tonight!"
"Alright, that's all I've got today."
"Can I try the cracker exercise a few times?"
"No. Clearly, I have to review your file." I tried puppy-dog eyes. "Out."
.
When I picked Moe up from Ms. Joke that afternoon, I apologized again for not trusting her. She took it in stride. I got an idea of how I could make it up to her.
"Oh, I also wanted to thank you for everything you've done for Moe. So…" I checked over my shoulder and she crept closer with an ear to ear grin.
"Not necessary but I think I like where this is going so... go on."
"Mr. Aizawa did chew me and Bakugo out when we were late, but I thought you'd like to know he spoke very highly of you." Her eyes looked like stars. It was really grounding, seeing her personality shine through. She had a crush, and she wasn't shy about it. It helped me feel like the whole world wasn't a terrible, terrifying place.
"He did not!"
"Yeah! He said I owed you more credit and that you're a pro hero and would give your life for these kids."
"Oh!" She squealed, "What a sweetheart!"
"And you know he means it." I confirmed. If she knew him at all, she knew he didn't just hand out praise, "What I thought was especially sweet is he clarified that you're a pro hero, a good one."
"A good one?" Her hand went over her heart, "I'm going to ask him out again."
"Um, I don't know if…" Moe took my hand then and shook his head. Right, it seemed there was no dissuading her once she made up her mind. We left her to her antics.
"Hey, Moe? How would you feel about meeting my classmates?" He didn't answer right away, just looking at me. "See, normally our schedule means we just never run into them, but I told them about you today and everyone was very excited to say hi. You absolutely don't have to if you don't want to."
A few comfortable moments of silence passed while we walked.
"…can I really?" I blinked.
"Of course you can!" I hadn't considered that he might think it would be fun. "Come on, let's meet them first and do quirk training later, okay?"
"Okay!" He actually ran, hand in mine, and I had to jog to keep up as we went to the dorm. His confidence evaporated at the door. I rolled my eyes when he hid behind me.
"No need for that." I opened the door and led us to the common room. Many of my peers were hanging out, doing homework or talking. Even I felt awkward just announcing my presence, but Asui spotted us.
"Oh hi, Juniper!" She greeted, hopping over, "Hm? Oh, is this you little brother?" Some heads turned. I smiled widely.
"Yes, this is Moe."
"Hi Moe." Asui held her hand out and he shook it. "I'm Asui, but call me Tsu. I'm a friend of your big sister." We moved over to one of the couches and I sat down. Moe stood with his back pressed against my knees. But the others were surprisingly great about giving him space.
"You're so cute!" Uraraka cried, kneeling beside him, "I'm Ochaco. You're Moe, right?" He nodded. Most everyone greeted him and introduced themselves. There were some high-fives, hair-ruffling, even candy gifts. I left him to his fifteen minutes of fame, pulling out my literature textbook.
I was reading when Moe climbed onto the couch beside me. Midorya was sitting in the chair closest to us, it seemed he'd been anxiously waiting his turn.
"I hear you have Ms. Joke as a teacher." Deku said to Moe, gentle, "She's one of the craziest heroes ever! It must be exciting." Moe gave a dubious look and nodded.
"What's all the fuss about?" Bakugo walked in from the kitchen and peered over the couch we were on. Moe looked right up at him. "Oh yeah."
"Oh, stop glaring at him like that!" Uraraka hit Bakugo until he backed off, "You'll scare him!"
"I'm not glaring!" He yelled, "And what do I care if a brat is scared of me?"
"That's Bakugo." I told Moe calmly, though he seemed more fascinated than intimidated, "He's been my partner a few times. He can be a little loud, but he helped me find you earlier today." The commotion only died down when they'd made Bakugo sit facing away from Moe, much to my amusement. Moe stood and I was surprised when he willingly left my side, wandering over curiously. He stood beside Bakugo, staring.
"What?" Bakugo snapped, getting half a dozen glares. He grumbled and toned it down, "I'd be offended if I were you, everyone calling you little. Grow a backbone: you're tall for a kid. Already look like your sister."
I snapped up to look at him at that and Moe's eyes widened. Bakugo noticed.
"What? What was wrong with that?"
"You shouldn't be allowed around children." Someone said.
But Moe broke into a smile. It was rare to see Moe smile. Bakugo was actually startled into silence. Moe turned to look at me to make sure I'd heard. I nodded. He turned back.
"Say it again."
"What?"
"Say it again."
"That you're tall? What kind of ego do you have?" Bakugo bustled away but Moe was still happy.