Note: Yep. You're looking at the chapter that confirmed I was falling deeper down the My Hero Academia hole. All thanks to a certain LovingEmpress on Tumblr who gave me enough commentary on the previous chapters, therefore giving me the inspiration to do all this.

And for once, Kei doesn't even show up or get mentioned in this fic! I feel like that's an achievement, if Lang's observations of my recent writing are any indication. Somehow. Please don't ask me why I'm shaking while writing this note.

First time writing the famous Eraserhead here, based heavily off my own Vietnamese Batman of a dad. And a little bit of EraserMic if you're looking hard enough.

Please listen to Virtual Anime Orchestra's rendition of This Game from No Game No Life on YouTube. while reading. I'd like to think it as Tomoko's theme when she gets to know someone well.

So, here we go!

Chapter 5: Lightning in a Bottle

Aizawa Shouta stares down at his newest problem student.

Although fidgeting, Hoshino Tomoko raises her head to stare back, bangs framing her face almost defiantly. If Aizawa didn't know any better, it felt like he was looking down at Uraraka or Yaoyorozu. "Um," she says, timidly but still audible, "C-Can I help you, Aizawa-sensei?"

Nearby, Shinsō is looking caught between laughing and staring himself. "S-Sensei," he says around the hand covering his mouth, "What are you doing?"

Aizawa looks away. "Nothing much," he says to Shinsō, and then walks past Hoshino while lightly bumping her shoulder with his hand. Not enough to be rude, but at least to get her attention without startling her. "You came here to watch Shinsō train?"

"Y-Yes," she stammers, but Hoshino hardens her posture at the questioning. "My friends used to train him before you, Sensei, uh, no offense intended," she waves her hands a bit, "and I just wanted to come by and see if he was okay."

"And did you get Recovery Girl's permission to do that?" After all, the so-called "Chocolate Fairy" was assigned to Recovery Girl for a reason. Stuck in General Studies or not, the health benefits that came with chocolate, as strange as the conclusion was to come to, couldn't be ignored, especially with trouble students. Chocolate could calm people down. Aizawa couldn't deny that.

Hoshino, though… This isn't like her to be without the School Nurse.

At the question, Hoshino jolts before hunching in on herself, completely reversing whatever image she had at her previous answer. "Well… no," she admits, quieter. She could've been a mouse from how small her voice went. Still, Aizawa could hear her. "I wanted to come here by myself. Hitoshi-kun is my friend."

Shinsō stops whatever snickering he was doing to stare at her in amazement. "Tomoko—"

"I… I just wanted to see how he was doing, Sensei, that's all. I lo— I care for him, a lot." Hoshino raises her head to look at Aizawa again, and it immediately strikes Aizawa on how, for the first time this year, her blue eyes actually reflect the flames of a hero. There's no mistaking the light blush on Shinsō's cheeks at the girl's answer either. There was history here. "I can leave if it troubles you."

Aizawa stares at her. The flames are still there in her eyes even when Hoshino starts shaking from apprehension. Then he sighs. Yep. There's no convincing her otherwise and man, he really is getting too soft. "You don't have to leave."

"Eh?" And just like that, the shy schoolgirl was back, and this time, Shinsō doesn't even hesitate to run over to Hoshino's side, his hands very close to taking a hold of hers for the sake of comfort. Hoshino looks towards him and smiles weakly, reaching over to pat Shinsō's nearest forearm. I'm okay, she seems to mouth towards him, and Shinsō gives her a single look before gripping her hand anyways.

Both teenagers blush, but smile at each other.

Yep. Even if Aizawa wasn't involved in the situation at this point, he could clearly see it now, USJ injuries or not. When Aizawa wasn't looking, Shinsō had changed, and it was all because of this schoolgirl who was standing up and looking back at him.

He sighs. "As long as you stay somewhere safe, you can watch." Aizawa rubs the back of his neck through his capture weapon. "It looks like there's more to your reasons than just that, Hoshino, but I won't stop you. Watch as much as you want, considering you're going to need self-defense at one point."

"…Oh." There's a pause. "Thank you? I-I mean," Hoshino's voice gets a bit louder, and she sounds confused. How easy was this girl to read? "I do have chocolate approved by Recovery Girl for you and Hitoshi-kun if you need it too, Sensei! And some…" she shrinks again, clutching her bag, and Shinsō gently pats her shoulder. "Bentos. For lunch. Yeah." Her voice cracks. "They're homemade and have cat-shaped onigiri if you like those…?"

Aizawa stops pacing. And it was not because of the cats. "…What kind of chocolate?"

"D-Dark chocolate! With some low-calorie almonds and peanuts to help give protein and fiber after a workout. I-I made sure to lower the sugar content too so it won't clash with any energy drinks you two take." Hoshino fidgets again, but there's confidence in her reply now. "I'm sure of it since I taste-tested it this morning before coming."

"Really, Tomoko?" Shinsō sounds amused, and Aizawa spares a glance to see him resting a hand atop Hoshino's hair. Was Shinsō this gentle with other people before? "You didn't pass out in bed after cooking again, did you?"

Hoshino's puffing her cheeks at Shinsō, but it's definitely not in any ill intent as she weakly attempts to bat his hand away. "I-I didn't! I made sure to get to sleep early last night! I wanted to see you!"

Aizawa does not miss how his student's cheeks flush a little. Shinsō tugs at his own capture scarf to hide it before Hoshino could notice, saying, "Not that I'm not happy about that, but what time did you go to bed?"

Hoshino doesn't falter in her answer, still trying to bat at her friend's hand. And yep, she doesn't notice Shinsō blushing either. Wow. "10 pm!"

Shinsō rolls his eyes while moving his hand down to wrap around Hoshino's shoulders in a side hug, promptly stopping any further hand-batting. "That's better than me."

A pause, and then there's a smile on Hoshino's face. It does not take long for her to lean into his side and the hug, but her expression quickly drops as a realization dawns in her eyes. "I… woke up at 5 too?" Hoshino adds timidly. And honestly.

Aizawa pinches the bridge of his nose to try avoiding the incoming headache. The second it took for Hoshino to answer his student's question already proved her having a rare sense of honesty that could only lead to trouble in the future. This was starting to sound like a mix of Uraraka and Midoriya, and Midoriya was a problem child already. And not to mention, this girl looked like she had been sheltered. And from how she had full-heartedly trusted both him and Shinsō, it's been going on for far too long for his liking. How has she survived? Hell, how did she make it into UA High like this?

Then again, he couldn't talk considering he was still teaching Bakugo.

It does not take long for Shinsō to put his forehead into the palm of his free hand. "How are you human, Tomoko. I woke up at 7. Why did you put yourself through that."

Hoshino giggles in a way that convinces no one. "…Cafe work?" she says sheepishly.

If anything, her weak attempt at amending any anger only deepens the eyebags on Shinsō's face. "When you're out here with me and Sensei already? Tomoko." Shinsō sounds reprimanding at this point as he taps the back of her head again with his free hand, a bit harder this time. She squeaks a "Fwah" of protest, but it does not stop Shinsō from pulling her in and hugging her a bit more anyways. Huh. "You are a massive dork. The hell that goes through your mind, I swear."

Hoshino pouts, but leans back into him anyway, reaching over with one arm to hug him back. "I missed you too, Hitoshi-kun. Thankie for being here."

Yep. Shinsō is blushing now.

Aizawa holds back a sigh. They were already looking like teenage lovebirds. If Mic saw this, he wouldn't hear the end of it. And Mic already gushed more than enough about Hoshino being cute in his off-time because of one time he caught her singing. "Shinsō. Enough with the scene. Let's get to work."

Hoshino jolts first and Shinsō slowly pulls out of the hug, but not before sending her a crooked smirk. "Sure thing, teach," he says dryly to Aizawa before turning back to Hoshino. "You better keep those chocolates safe, Tomoko." There's no missing the honest spark in his student's eye, directed only towards that girl.

Hoshino blushes, but smiles back. "Aye aye, Cap'n Hitoshi," she says, saluting him happily while taking a few steps back to lean against a nearby tree. "I'll be waiting."

"Sure," he says coolly, but by the time he runs over to Aizawa, the pro hero doesn't miss the slight bit of matching pink still on his face. "Let's get to practicing, Sensei."

"Alright," Aizawa sighs before glancing past his student. If there was going to be a guest here, he might as well ask since she offered. "Hoshino."

Hoshino startles, but looks at him with wide blue eyes. "Y-Yes, Sensei?"

Aizawa ignores Shinsō's incredulous look and raises a hand anyways. "Throw one of those chocolates over here, will you? I'm hungry."

Might as well make a student feel more comfortable and less like a stone statue.

"What the hell, Sensei—"

Hoshino blinks, glances at the bag in her hands, then shuffles through it to pull out a small container of tupperware packed full of chocolate bars. She fumbles with the lid for a single second before choosing one medium-sized square and, shutting her eyes, throws the small thing as hard as she can.

"Tomoko, that's a waste of food—"

"I-I'm sorry, I tried!"

Aizawa catches the square with his capture scarf before bringing it down to his hand. The sweet didn't even melt in the entire trip through the air and it smelled nice. He popped it into his mouth before chewing slowly. "Hm," he muttered. "Crunchy." He could easily taste the almonds and the bitterness that came with dark chocolate. The energy boost that ran through his blood afterwards was almost like a blessing. Aizawa can't help but nod in Hoshino's direction, smirking. "It tastes good, Hoshino. Thanks."

And for the first time that day, Aizawa sees Hoshino's signature bright smile directed towards him. "No problem, Sensei!" she chirps.

All he can think of in that moment is that she's too bright.

He can definitely understand why Shinsō likes her now. Hoshino reminds him of Mic. Just quieter and shier. The light was all still the same.

Hoshino glances towards his student anyways and asks in the same happy high-pitched voice, "Hitoshi-kun, do you want one too?"

Shinsō had just put on his mask, but still turns without skipping a beat to say, in a gentler voice too, "I'm fine, Tomoko."

Hoshino pouts. "Okay."

Eraserhead sighs, closing his eyes. He needed to see Mic later, or so help him with teenagers. "You might need one when I'm done with you, Shinsō."

"You always say that, Sensei."

Aizawa charged first.

"Eh — Hoshino-chan! I didn't know you were here with Eraserhead!"

"Um," Hoshino turns a bit red because having Present Mic in your face does that to some people, "Yes? I mean, I wanted to visit Hitoshi-kun, and Aizawa-sensei let me watch, so…" she raises her hand in a weak fist-pump, "I'm here?"

"That," Shinsō says dryly from her right side, "is the worst All Might impression I've ever seen."

"I-I tried!" Hoshino squeaks.

"YEAAAAAAAH, SHE TRIED, SHINSŌ!" Hoshino flinches in time with Mic's shout, Shinsō laughs, but Aizawa is far too sleepy to move as soon as Mic gets close again to grin. "SOOOOO, HOSHINO-CHAN! ARE THERE CHOCOLATES FOR MEEEE?"

"Ummmmm. About that…" Hoshino is turning redder by the second. Shinsō being caught between more laughter and poking Hoshino's cheeks doesn't help anything. "A-Aizawa-sensei," she says very weakly, glancing past Mic's spiky shoulder pads in clear panic. "Help please?"

Huh. She squeaks too. Maybe Aizawa should tell her to invest in a cat cafe job to avoid Mic.

Instead, he gets up from his sleeping bag with a groan. Not the greatest idea, but he was still a teacher. "Mic, lower the volume. You're scaring Hoshino. And last I checked, she only brought enough chocolates for Shinsō."

"WHAAAAT? NO."

"If you want to scout her for your radio show, you need to do it more discreetly."

The grateful look in those blue eyes is something Aizawa doesn't think he'll be forgetting any time soon.

Hoshino wasn't going to be a Hero, but as a teacher, he'd be damned if he left her alone to the mercy of Mic. His special other could be outlandish as hell anyways.