They sipped their tea silently after that, Aoi did not wish to open her mouth and say something embarrassing nor did she wish to risk Izuku bringing up anything to do with paying her for her time and energy. At the same time she was pretty sure she could see the gears moving in the man's head as he sat across from her. He was thinking of something pretty hard, at times he even started to mumble softly to himself. She couldn't make it out but there was one thing she had noticed about the man after spending a few days with him. And that was that he mumbled a lot to himself when he was thinking about something. As well as the harder he was thinking the faster his mumbles were. So instead she kept her attention on her tea and not on the mumbling idiot who was stuck in his own head.
It was not till she stood up to put her empty cup into the sink to wash later that Izuku was pulled out of his own mind realizing he had finished his own tea as well. Quickly jumping to his feet he followed after her to slip her cup into the sink beside hers as she barely had time to step back away from him as he approached the sink.
"Sugahara are you sure," Izuku had started before the woman he was talking to shot him a rather intimidating glare. Who knew such honey coloured eyes could look so hard.
"If you're going to try and persuade me to take your money, then do not waste your breath," she said simply as she crossed her arms even as she watched the look of confusion cross the man's face. He really could not understand why she refused his offer. Even if she did deserve to be compensated, still Aoi could not bring herself to accept money from the hero. Money always came with strings attached even if it was rightfully owed. And she still did not understand the idiot standing in front of her. Why did he want to pay her so badly? People rarely push so hard for something good. Anyone else would have shrugged her off and been happy to not pay her and not see her again after they parted ways. Yet the hero standing in front of her was something else. Was this some hero complex? Did he pity her? Was she just some charity case? The more she pondered it the more irritated she found herself as she glared up at the man.
Izuku was forced to sigh as it became clear the woman standing before him with her arms crossed was not going to listen to him nor was she going to just roll over and let him pay her for her help. Well then he did not have much other choice. He could at least start with replacing the groceries he knew he ate. But doing so right this moment was not possible, later he will order some groceries to be delivered. Maybe she won't shoot the messenger that way and would be more inclined to accept his attempt to repay her. But for the time being Izuku was quickly reminded he was a guest in her home, be it he had not been invited originally but she also had not kicked him out yet either. So instead he slowly raised his hands as if to show her he gave up.
"Alright, Alright I will not bring it up again," He said, giving her a soft lopsided smile which seemed to do the job as he watched her stiff shoulders soften a little as she uncrossed her arms.
"Good. Now I'm gonna go for a shower. Be good and don't destroy anything especially yourself," She barked at him before walking out of her kitchen, though she did not even reach her bathroom before she realized she had just talked to the man like she had been the last few days. She should have helped him gather his things and sent him packing back to his own home. But instead she just left him in her kitchen to do as he pleased. Would it be weird now if she turned back and tossed his ass out? Yes, that would probably be weird and especially rude. So instead she grabbed some clean clothes to wear for the day and quickly slipped into the bathroom even as she could hear the man in her home walking into her living room.
He shower was quick and simple, just washing her hair and body before jumping out. She did not want to leave the poor idiot alone in her living room alone. So with her hair still dripping wet onto her t-shirt she gave it one last ruffle with the towel before grabbing her hair brushing and making her way out of the tiny bathroom to find the man sitting on her tiny couch watching tv just as he had been doing the day before. He still seemed rather comfortable and at home sitting among her small uncomfortable couch. And of course as soon as he caught movement from the corner of his eye the idiot looked over at her flashing her that wide innocent boyish grin that he always seemed to flash at people. No wonder people loved the young hero so much.
"Wow you've been able to go all morning without putting another hole in your body. How long can I expect this to last?" She asked, her tone completely teasing as she started to run her brush through her wet hair as she walked over to join him on her couch.
"Eh just wait till the end of my next patrol and try asking that again. Though I will have you know I have gotten much better at not always braking myself or getting hurt so badly. I used to be really bad back in highschool. The school nurse used to see me every time we had an exercise or anything really that was hands-on training," The man said, rubbing the back of his neck as he recalled all the times he used to see Recovery Girl. Or the fact that most of the injuries to his fingers and hands were from those training days more than villain attacks.
"You know that really does not surprise me any more. You strike me as a troublemaker," She said, happy to be able to tease the man after how she had snapped at him earlier. It seemed he did not take her rudeness to heart or he could have slipped out while she was showering. Of course at her words the man started to laugh which had her smiling even more for some odd reason.
"You're not wrong. My old teacher used to call me one of his problem children. If I was not hurting myself I was finding myself in trouble somehow," Izuku said between soft laughs at the memories of his highschool days and how much he and his friends must have annoyed Aizawa the most. Even Aoi found herself giggling softly at the idea of the idiot sitting beside her being some troublesome delinquent in a hero course.
"Well try to keep yourself in one solid piece if you can. I don't need you scaring me in the middle of the night again. It's not good for my heart to worry that much," She said with a light smile as she recalled the complete panic she had felt when he had first started her awake in the dark. Then of course the secondary panic had been when she thought he was going to die on the floor of her bedroom.
Of course Izuku apologized yet again for scaring her like he had so many times already. And of course she had once again brushed off his apology not seeing why he needed to keep apologizing every time she teased him about the event. But it was easy to change the subject ever so slightly when she asked him about his old school days. She happily teased him about being a troublemaker and of course he was more than happy to go into details about how he would get himself in trouble, how he snuck out of the dorms one night to duke it out with his best friend and the angry blonde she hated a lot. He was in a lot of trouble for that, and it seemed that was not the only time he had done such things. It was rather funny learning the big pro hero had been such a troublesome kid.
Chatting with the man was so easy to do, and before she knew it Aoi needed to be heading to work as she realized the time. She did not want to get dressed for work or have to part ways yet with the man. But she needed this job and the paycheque that came with working. She would be in trouble if she lost it. So quickly she got changed and more slowly started to drag her heels once it came to having to actually leave.
"Why don't I walk you to work?" Izuku asked as he followed her as she realized she could no longer put off having to leave. Aoi wanted to decline, she did not need an escort but at the same time it would buy her more time to chat with the man.
"Sure if you want to I will not stop you if you tag along," She said simply as she grabbed her float and prepared to slip her shoes on.
"Perfect, just give me two minutes to run to my place and grab some shoes," Izuku said as he realized he only had slippers and his combat boots at her place. So he quickly slipped his feet into his boots before slipping out of her front door after she gave him a simple okay reply.
Slipping on her own shoes she stood by her door with her ear pressed against it waiting to see if she could hear Izuku's door open. She contemplated stepping out and into the hallway but her paranoia said nope. Standing around the front door of her apartment could be dangerous or cause unwanted attention. That thought alone had her pulse racing. So instead she stood with her ear against the door waiting to head the door to her right to open and close. Once she heard the door close she quickly opened the door and poked her head out to spot the familiar frame of her neighbor.
Though now the man wore a simple dark blue jacket, a ball cap over his green curls, a surgical mask over his face and now he wore jeans. Huh he had gotten changed a lot faster than she expected, she just thought he was grabbing some shoes. The hat and mask were a good idea, though now she wondered if that was a regular way for him to go out in public? It would make sense, his face was everywhere, in magazines, on billboards, hell even on buses. Even she knew who the man was the second she saw him on her floor, she paid little attention to hero's. She could only imagine how easy it was for his fans to recognize him. Fans surely were pains in the asses wanting attention, autographs, photos and whatever else made people happy. So hiding his easily noticeable hair and freckles probably made it at least a little more difficult for people to recognize him.
"All ready to go?" He asked her, flashing her a smile even if she could not actually see the smile from under the mask he was wearing. Yet she still knew that he was smiling at her even if she could not see it.
"Yep. So then come along puppy," She teased as she quickly locked her door and started down the hall of their apartment with her new found puppy hot on her heels. Of course the look he gave her only made her laugh lightly.
"So first you're giving me sweet themed nicknames and now I'm some puppy?" He asked, laughing lightly himself. Her use of nicknames did not actually bother the man. After all, since he started training the only one who used nicknames with him was his mother and Bakugou. And after he graduated from highschool people did not often give him nicknames once he became a grown man, and one that was rather build after the years of training and saving people. He was no longer the awkward teen boy he once was. So it was oddly nice having the woman giving him nicknames, even if she was often teasing him. But still it was nice being treated like another human being and not the invisible symbol of peace he had become.
"I'm just calling it like I see it, cinnamon roll," She said as if to drive her point home that she was teasing him with the nickname. Which had the smile on her lips growing wider. It was a beautiful sight to see her looking so happy and carefree as they started to walk down the street side by side and step for step in sync.
Still once they reached the side walk even if her happy smile did not fade her shoulders did grow a little tense. It would have been easy for someone to miss but of course Izuku noticed the ever so slight shift in the woman's body language. It made sense why the woman would grow tense, whether she was aware of it or not. Her earlier warning to Eri reminded him that she herself was aware of how dangerous these streets were. And that she was at an even higher risk of being hurt or worse killed if she was to make even the slightest misstep in her every day walk to work. That thought did not sit well with the hero, but now was not the time to be worrying about such things. Instead Izuku turned to try to ask her simple questions to ease the tension as they walked. He asked her favorite colour, what her favorite food at the restaurant was, which in turn he learned she loved mochi as a snack.
The two had been talking about favorite deserts before the woman came to a stop. A simple glare over her shoulder at someone he had not even noticed caught him off guard. Her eye for noticing something happening was amazing. Izuku for a split second had not even noticed something was going on, and had Aoi not noticed he may not have noticed till it was too late. Then again the fact she was looking over her own shoulder at her own shadow was probably why he had not noticed it as fast as he should have.
"Nishikawa if you touch his wallet your friends are going to be helping you remove my shoe from your ass," Aoi growled looking down at her own shadow waiting for the black figure on the ground to shift and change before a lanky kid seemed to step out of the black shadow. There was no way the kid was more than sixteen, hair was short and greasy. His clothes baggy and holes in his jeans showed the age and wear. The kid was either homeless and dang near close to it. The sight instantly tugged at Izuku's heart even as the woman beside him had crossed her arms over her chest and was glaring at the kid. Though it was not exactly for the reason the man beside her was assuming it was for. She was angry at the kid, but not for trying to pickpocket Izuku. No, she was irritated with him because he should have known better than to try to pickpocket someone who looked like Izuku. Someone strong enough that even if they are not a hero they could still kick his ass was not a good idea. Never pick a fight you have no chance of winning is what she had always warned him. And someone like Izuku could beat the snot out of a lanky kid like Nishikawa.
"I see your eyes are as sharp as always, old lady and so what if I did try to take his wallet. Your friend here clearly looked like he could afford to lose a few yen," The kid said, apparently pouting as he tried to stare down the older woman. Clearly the two seemed familiar with one another, which had a whole new array of questions enter his mind but Izuku bit his tongue deciding to instead stand back and watch.
"Don't call me old you brat. And I have warned you if you're going to pick people's pockets from the shadows you need to make sure the people you pick on can not kick your ass. Do you really think you can pick a fight with someone like that idiot? I know you have more brains than that you moron," She said, scolding the kid as they started to bicker back and forth leaving Izuku to just stand there slightly unsure of exactly what was going on. Though as he listened more information became apparent. He had not noticed his wallet had almost not been his any more, but the woman standing beside him had apparently noticed the kid. He assumed it was due to the fact she seemed to actually know him on some sort of personal level. She knew his name and had apparently warned him before about being careful. It sounded like she had given the kid advice before. She even seemed to worry about him as she was scolding him because she was aware if he was not careful he would find himself in trouble. Which made him curious how this woman knew a kid roughly ten years younger than herself so well? Maybe she knew his family? Once again questions were circling his mind as he bit his tongue.
"Ugh I do not have time for this. You need to be more careful and try not to pick the pockets of one of your neighbors even if he is an idiot. Now go and try not to get your ass in trouble," She said, shooing the kid off once she felt she was done scolding him before she turned back and was about to start walking again before she noticed one of Izuku's eyebrows was raised in a silent question.
"Go on spit it out idiot," She said, with a soft sigh well aware she could not ignore the man walking beside her.
"So you know that kid?" Of course that would be the first reasonable question he would ask.
"Yeah he's one of the troublemakers who lives in the area. He does not have a family, he's often jumping from one place to another. He often picks pockets, though he usually hits more of your suit wearers than the neighbors. I warned him picking the wrong person's pocket would get him in trouble. I'm waiting for him to show up on my front door with the shit kicked out of him. But he's smart, the kids got a brain just wish he used it better some days," She said simply as she walked beside the hero, completely admitting the kid did illegal activities. But something told her Izuku was not going to do anything about it in that exact moment as she watched his eyebrows pull together some and was sure a deep frown was in place under his mask.
"That's sad," of course that was also the reply she had fully expected from him as well. It was a normal reply she got when talking about such subjects.
"It is nothing new when living in this area. Though talking about living in this area you should really get different shoes. Those nice sneakers you're wearing are a flashing sign that screams you have money. They make you an easy target in this neighborhood," She said after a quick glance over at him. The jacket was nice but it was not the end of the world, she could tell his jeans were some name brand which she should also warn about but not everyone looks that close to jeans especially male jeans. But his incredibly nice shoes were a different story. Someone's shoes often said a lot about them, new barely worn expensive shoes often said someone had some money on them. Shoes that were extremely well worn no matter the price tag often often meant someone could not easily afford replacing them. Her own well worn shoes were a testament to that. She only ever replaced her shoes when her toes became visible or if the soles on the bottom were falling off.
"Huh my shoes?" Izuku mumbled glancing down at the nice bright white pair of sneakers that he had grabbed and slipped on. It never even crossed his mind the nice pair of shoes he was wearing would make him a sudden target for those looking to steal from him.
"Yeah. Your shoes are a decent brand that probably cost a good deal to the average person. They do not even have a scuff, to be honest I'm curious if you have even worn them before now. Having such nice shoes in such a great shape also suggests you most likely own a number of different shoes. Which is another suggestion that you have money. Pair that with your nice clothes and you're a walking sign that says please rob me," She said as she used her right hand to indicate to all of him. In a neighborhood like theirs he was a walking beacon, and she could imagine that the kid was not the only one to notice the man walking down the street. The only thing keeping people from down right mugging him was the fact the man was tall, broad and fit. Someone would have to be an idiot to try and hold a knife to the hero and demand his money.
"I would suggest that you get yourself some less flashy clothes," she said as the two fell into step once again while Izuku was still looking down at his shoes a little surprised that the woman beside him was able to notice such things from his clothes to the fact someone had tried to pick his pocket. That had been more of a surprise to him, someone quirkless had been able to pick up when someone was using their quirk. Either her instincts were insane or the woman may have had some kind of quirk after all and that made Izuku all the more curious.
