The weekend has passed.

It's the second week of school.

It means I get to talk to Hanada-chan again.

While today's training lasted the usual two hours, training with Endeavor during the weekend lasted longer than two hours. Things were just as tense between us. We continued with my Wall of Flames. I made small progress: the flames were half a meter taller than before. But obviously, Endeavor wasn't satisfied. We would have kept going had Endeavor not received a call from his sidekick Burnin who requested his help at a site where people were trapped under a fallen building. While he was gone, I put his advice to use by enlarging my Heaven-Piercing Ice Wall, or as Endeavor so kindly put it, "ice wall." The height of my new Wall surpassed my average from before.

I head to the train station, and to my surprise, Hanada-chan's already there. Schoolbag and cane clutched tightly in her arms, she's dozing on the end of a bench on the platform. This time, her chignon is decorated with red carnations. I sit by her by the bench and watch her resting figure. Did she have another series of arthritis attacks last night? Assuming that she did, I choose not to wake her up, at least until it's time to board. Just five minutes before the metro arrives, I gently nudge her. "Hey, Hanada-chan. The train's almost here. Wake up." Her eyes pop open, and she brings her cane just above her head, ready to smash it onto mine. Instinctively, I push away from her all the way to the other end of the bench, my eyes just as wide, alternating between her and the cane. We stay like this for a few seconds, just waiting for that dragon head of the cane to come swinging down like a hammer. Soon, she realizes how terrifying she looks and slowly brings her cane to rest beside her leg. She looks away, cheeks furiously red from embarrassment. "I'm sorry," she mumbles behind her covered mouth.

Thinking I'm safe from an imminent concussion now, I move back toward her. "What was that? I just wanted to wake you up, and you raised your cane like it was the blade of the guillotine."

Her cheeks redden further if that were possible. "You caught me off guard. I was dreaming, so when you woke me up, I was in the twilight state. I saw a cross between a spider and a human."

I snort with laughter. "You wake up and see me as a homoarachnoid cryptid. I'm honored. I'm trying to become a Pro-Hero, but my friend here thinks I'm a spider demon. There goes my career and ambitions down the toilet drain because that's where dead spiders go."

She protests, "I said I'm sorry. I won't raise my cane to smash it on your skull again. Even if I'm seeing a homoarachnoid cryptid." She mumbles the last part.

I don't stop laughing until the train comes. By then, Hanada-chan gives up trying to stop me and gives me the side-eye. I rise and offer her my hand. I see her shoulders fall in resignation as she takes my hand. We board the train. Her eyes start drooping, but she keeps glancing at me, forcing herself to stay awake.

"If you're that sleepy, you should rest. I'm fully awake, so I'll wake you up when we have to get off."

"But that would be rude to you. You asked me to ride the train so that we could talk to each other more. My sleeping is only going to hinder that."

I take in her exhausted figure. "Your eyelids keep shutting and your movements are slow. Even if you stay awake to talk, it's no good because we'll both be bored. Just rest."

She looks at me for a long moment before she finally nods her head. She leans back and closes her eyes.

"Good night, and don't let the homoarachnoid cryptids bite!"

She shoves at my chest.