Despite the complete disaster that was the end of my internship, seeing my classmates again is… nice. After Iida finishes fussing about respecting UA furniture, he pulls me forward in a sudden and intense hug. I splutter into his chest, my whole face burning when he finally let's go.

"W-What's that for?" I ask scrambling back and towards my desk. He follows, grinning.

"I… I was in a position during our internships, where I had quite a bit of time to reflect," he admits rubbing his neck. "I regretted not checking up on you after the Sports Festival."

"You told Aizawa-sensei," I say, lips quirking to the side and downward, falling into a frown.

I still don't know how I feel about that. He pinks but meets my gaze.

"I had to," he says, slapping one hand with the other. "As class rep—no, as classmates, it's my job to support you Hoki-chan! I… I didn't know what to do. Aizawa-sensei has always done his best to protect us. I knew he'd be able to help!"

I think about the internship, about Yamada-sensei's words.

He's actually the one that recommended I take you on.

I swallow.

"Thanks," I say quietly. He smiles and pats my arm.

"Always," he says.

Thankfully, the moment is broken up as our other classmates enter. I pull my book back out and stare at the words as I listen to the others make their way in. They gossip about the Hero Killer's capture, his passionate message, their internships, and more.

Sensei comes in then, interrupting Kaminari's rather strange infatuation with Hero Killer's message.

If I was worried Aizawa-sensei would be any different in class with me as his ward, his behavior this morning squashes them promptly. His eyes only linger on me for a second, no more than they ever do, and then he's back to fielding questions, answering students, and lecturing on behavior.

When the bell for English rings, I pack my things as I always would.

"Hoki, a word?"

Someone snickers and I stop, waiting for them all to exit, and turn to my homeroom teacher—my guardian.

That is so strange.

"Yes, Sensei?"

"I've alerted the other teachers to your situation," he says, voice droll. I nod, wondering if that's all and why he had me stay for that. "If you feel overwhelmed, you're to excuse yourself and return here. Do not abuse the privilege, understood?"

I blink again.

"Yes, sir."

His frown deepens but he says nothing as I walk away.

As it turns out, he really has nothing to worry about. I firmly squash away all of my feelings about the Last One, push back the images of dead children, and focus entirely and completely on the lessons. Unlike normal, I write down everything.

Yamada-Sensei notices but makes no mention of it as he flits about the classroom, instead putting extra energy into his ridiculous dances. He's so noisy. It's nothing like the time as his intern. Like he's amped everything up to 100%. My classmates are noisy. My thoughts too loud. Everything feels so much more. Like a familiar record playing just a tad too loud.

So I can't help but sigh with relief, finally, when it's time for lunch, and I can finally have some peace.

I grab my lunch and settle at my table, alone, slumping forward.

"Rough morning?" asks a familiar voice. I look up in surprise as Shinsou stands beside my table. He looks down with a smirk. "That seat taken?"

"No," I say quietly.

He frowns and takes the seat, setting his tray down with a small clatter.

"What's up with you?" He asks, grabbing a sandwich from his tray and taking a bite. He chews quietly and swallows. "Normally you're being all loud and grouchy. You okay?"

I scowl at him.

"Like that," he says, smirking pointedly. I glower and cross my arms.

"I-I'm not grouchy!"

"But you are loud," he says raising an eyebrow. I eat a bite of food before I'm tempted to sock him in his infuriating face. He notices and opens his mouth to say something but is interrupted by the sound of shouting across the cafeteria. We both look over. Explosive shouts and pounds the table. "Typical, arrogant hero student. Bleh."

I furrow my eyebrows.

"Really?" I deadpan.

"What?" Shinsou scoffs.

"If I'm so arrogant why are you sitting with me?" I ask darkly.

"Don't get all huffy. I wasn't talking about you. You don't exactly fit in with them," he says pointedly looking towards the other clusters of my classmates. My anger, so easily sparked, simmers and fades. I sigh and lean forward. "Besides, I wanted to ask you. Why'd you call me?"

I grimace and look down at the table.

"I… I wasn't looking at the phone. I just pressed a button."

His shoulders sink and my stomach churns.

"Oh."

Something scratches at my chest and I pull at my fingers, not looking his way.

"But… But I'm glad it was you," I say. I can see his head lift in my peripheral, I swallow past the lump in my throat and deliberately do not look in his direction. "They… They would have- They all would have- would have died if not for you." I trail off as my eyes burn. "I didn't even know I had your number."

"Oh… Uh, yeah, Sensei had me check to make sure your phone worked." He says and I finally look his way to notice his ears burning. "I just dialed my number… have you not used it since you got it?"

I shrink in my seat.

"No," I admit taking another bite. We sit in awkward silence as I chew. "I… Aizawa-sensei told me not to…"

"He said not to call him," Shinsou says dryly. "I'm pretty sure he didn't mean your friends."

"I don't have any," I mumble.

"What?"

I give the purple-haired boy a sour look, annoyed at the surprise flitting across his face.

"Nothing," I grumble. I finish the last of my food. Shinsou eats his own still giving me odd looks. I sigh when I finish, feeling exhausted at the prospect of getting up, of returning to class, of dealing with the day. I push the tray away and set my head down.

"Need a hug?" he asks quietly.

I glance towards him in surprise, chest tightening as my eyes water. Shyly, I nod.

He stands and moves. He drops beside me and wraps an arm around my shoulder. I swallow the lump in my throat.

"Thanks," I manage.

"Yeah sure," he says looking away. I'm thankful that he stays.

.

.

.

"Hoki-chan, so is it true?"

I look up in surprise as Mineta leans across the back of his desk as we settle back into our homerooms before dismissal. I frown at his sheer consternation.

"What?" I ask, curious in spite of the confusion. My mind runs through all of the things he could ask. Living with Aizawa-sensei, interning with Present Mic, the Last One, Asp…

"You got a boyfriend?"

My mind goes blank. My mouth drops open. I stare.

Boyfriend?

"What?" I ask, not even trying to disguise the confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"I saw you two at lunch," Mineta says crossing his arms. "You and baggy eyes. So you two a thing then? What about us? He's so pale and creepy, I could-"

"Stop," I say suddenly, forcefully. He freezes and several of the others turn to glance our way. I look down, face flushing in surprise.

"Hah! Tell 'em Hoki-chan!" Red shouts from the front, I feel my face burn even hotter. Mineta, still turned around, gives me a hurt look before crossing his arms and throwing his nose in the air.

"I was just asking! You two were all over each other!" the boy says roughly. "He's not even in the hero course-"

"He's every bit a hero," I snap.

Several more are turning to stare. I feel anger, my old friend, rising beneath my skin. I glare and the little boy gulps, smoke curling from my knuckles.

"Damn, who knew Hoki could be so scary," whispers Pink from the front.

I grimace and shrink back into the seat, crossing my arms to smother the flames ready to rise up.

"Mineta-kun," I mutter, not looking his direction. "Please, don't insult Shinsou-kun again."

The boy, still turned around, stares open-mouthed. Then, of course, the door slides open and Sensei enters, eyes immediately scanning the room. His lips thin as I'm sure he catches the small trails of smoke lingering around me.

"Mineta," interrupts Aizawa-sensei. He looks between us as the little grape-boy squeaks. "Sit down. Class has started. Everyone, tomorrow you have a test over…"

I'm thankful when Sensei finally finishes talking and the class packs their things to leave. I pack mine slowly and smile as Glasses—Iida waves me a particularly enthusiastic goodbye.

When they leave, I look to Sensei, uncertain. He raises an eyebrow before grabbing a stack of papers and sitting behind his desk.

"Start on your homework," he says without looking up.

I slump back in my desk and pull back out my work. Literature is the easiest. I enjoy reading so it's not hard to write about the material. The questions take only twenty minutes to complete before I'm finished and moving on to Art. I make quick work of that as well, looking through my notes and quizzing myself on the different artists and their histories. Even English isn't so bad, not after living a week with a man that's constantly speaking it. I translate, read, and answer all of the English passages without much problem.

Math, I save for last.

It isn't that math is hard so much as it's less about just memorizing and more about using skills. Lots of skills. I look at the work, at the mix of letters and decimals and fractions and sigh gloomily.

I try to do the ones I know.

It's not hard… it's just not easy either. I manage to complete about a third of the work before Sensei grunts and stands. I look up at the dark-haired man as he stretches. Then one arm scratches at the base of his neck and the other on his hip. He moves towards my seat and stares me down with his usual, bored face.

"What's wrong?" Sensei asks.

I flush and frown down at the sheet.

"Nothing," I mutter. He sighs and picks up the sheet on my desk.

"Math?" he asks looking through my calculations. "You skipped all of the ones with mixed fractions. Why?"

"I don't know how to do them," I say quietly. He frowns and hands the sheet back.

"Why didn't you ask?"

I look at him blankly. He raises an eyebrow.

"I don't know," I mumble looking away. He sighs and hands me back the sheet.

"We'll talk about it later. Come on, I'm finished and Hizashi mentioned bringing dinner."