Chapter 06
Tsuyu Asui

The place is crowded, and by all things holy he is very uncomfortable. The people here are mostly parents whose children attend UA, mingling with the heroes that work here. The students are here as well, accompanying their parents.

Him? He is staying far away from the crowd as far as possible but close enough to keep an eye out for his ki- students.

Nedzu thought it was a good idea for the parents to go to the school and meet the heroes who they entrusted with their children. It will make them see what their children had dealt with here at UA. Personally, he doesn't agree to such idea; it leaves UA vulnerable, opened for a potential villain attack, and unnecessary. They already know who and what they are dealing with.

But he cannot argue with the mouse's (bear? Cat? Whatever) logic. This is important to keep a good image for UA while simultaneously gaining the parents' trust. But... this is for the students, the children, his child- students too. They may be hero in training, but they are still children, still young, still have a long road ahead of them.

Let them be kids.

The hall had been heavily decorated for today's arrangement. Rows of food are placed on the long tables he and some others had arranged just last night (He had already lost enough sleep). Soft easy-to-the-ear music is played in the background courtesy of Present Mic. Soft lights are calmly dancing as the hall is filled with chatters and laughs.

It is a last minute arrangement. The heroes had just over a week to arrange everything according to the plan handed to them. Due to this, not all parents can come for a short notice. He knew this would happen, and it is further proven when the parents of his ki- students came to meet him.

He made sure to have the conversation done quickly and straight to the point. He is already uncomfortable enough in this situation. Thankfully, they understand and content with going to the other heroes (and his students had help as well, he is so very thankful of them that he almost postpone the test tomorrow. Almost).

He scans the crowd from the sideline, keeping a very close eye on his students, his ki- his students. He takes notice the smile on their faces as they are surrounded by their family, faces he is familiar with. They look content, safe. And he is content himself seeing them as such. All of his kids are- his students are there.

Except for one.

He narrows his eyes and scans the crowd one more time, taking note of the missing student. His heartbeat starts increasing and feels a pit at the bottom of his stomach start to open. His thought runs a thousand mile per second and starts tracking back his memories from when he saw his kid- students first today. He's hoping his memory still serve him well.

He remembers seeing her entered through the gate and into the hall. She was with Uraraka and Hagakure those times. So she had come since this event started.

Did something happened between here and then? Had something happened to her? Is she sick? Did she fell down and had been called for help and no one heard? Had she passed out somewhere? Had she been kidnapped under his watchful eyes without him noticing?

He takes in a deep breath to calm his heart.

Maybe he's overreacting. Maybe she is fine after all. Maybe she's gone to the toilet and will be back shortly. Maybe she truly is okay.

Maybe.

He worries.

He starts slinking away from the edge of the crowd and into the shadows, searching for her. He squashes down the deep worry inside him but quickens his silent steps nonetheless.

Thankfully, he doesn't have to go far. He finds her standing in a lonely corner far away from the crowd, from everyone. But he does not relax.

She had been ecstatic for today when he informed his class last week. She wears a green dress that he finds perfectly suit her. She even asked him to teach her how to style her hair, just for today. She had told him personally how much she missed her parents and her siblings, so far telling him their favorite foods and such (And he stayed and listened). She had not stopped beaming since the announcement.

None of them could attend.

Her parents are among the unfortunates who are unable to come to the event due to it being a last minute thing. They could not clear their schedule for today; they had to sit this one out.

And now, here she is, alone in a corner with no one by her side. Her hands, usually have a single finger at her lips, are now bunching her dress into fists, crumpling it after taken so much effort to make them clean of any wrinkle. Her hair, tied intricately after he taught her how to style it, is now looking gloomy due to her hung head as her eyes glue to the floor.

Never had he seen such a gloom look on a face before. His chest tightens so painfully his hand reaches up to grip the shirt.

He did not hesitate. He comes out from the shadows and silently walks over to her. She hasn't noticed his presence yet until he leans back against the wall when her head snaps up to him.

He doesn't know what to say to her, so he opts to stay quiet instead. Thankfully, Asui understands. He watches the crowd before him but his attention is fully on his… student beside him. She attempts to improve her posture, no longer gazing at the floor anymore but her head still dips slightly.

He hates this event Nedzu had put up, but he hates it even more when his students are not themselves. Seeing Asui like this makes his chest tightens painfully. While he doesn't pick favorites (definitely not because all of them are his favorites) this is not the Asui he holds so closely.

Just before he could reach out the atmosphere completely changes. The lights change hue and a new song is played. Then, all the female students start dragging their father to the cleared area. He internally winces as they start to slow dance in circle.

Another thing he quite disapproves of: a show of bonding between a father and daughter. Really, there is no need but damn it he cannot argue thanks to his softened heart. And the students have a soft smile on their face. He silently sighs. He guesses it is okay.

Asui bows her head even more. Her hands bunch her dress even tighter. Her body slightly shaking it is almost unnoticeable. This dance is a very bad timing for her.

And when he hears her sniffles his heart cracks in many places. His hands tremble in his pockets, fighting hard to resist the urge to grip his pained chest.

He looks back at the crowd, watching as the father and daughter having their moment. Some are timid and shy. Some are lost in their own little world. Then he makes his decision.

Silently but never hesitant, he holds out his hand towards her. It gains her attention and she looks at it in confusion. Then her head snaps up to him so fast he is mildly concern she'll might get a whiplash. Her already wide eyes are staring at him, even wider than before. They are brimming with unshed tears. He can't tell if it is from earlier or right now.

He catches her glancing at the crowd for a split second before returning back to him. He catches the implication and then glances at their feet before up at her eyes and then lightly shrugs. She slowly sucks in her breath, catching his implication.

Slowly, one of her hands releases her dress and reaches for his. She hesitates for a second, pulling back slightly before gently grasping it. Then, they turn towards each other. His other hand is on her waist while hers reaches up to his shoulder but low enough to be comfortable for her. Their other hands are grasping each other's.

Then, they start to sway to the music. Not used to dance, even as simple as a small sway, he is consciously try to keep his feet away from stepping onto hers. Asui, on the other hand, is a lot more elegant and graceful than him.

She hasn't stopped staring at him, eyes still wider than usual. Her lips are also slightly parted. She is still in shock.

He is very well aware what he had done, the implication of decision to ask her for this slow dance. Just seeing the other students dancing with their father is already enough of a hint. And he doesn't regret his decision. He will not hesitate to ask again in the future.

So here they are, in their corner away from everyone, away from the lights, dancing a slow dance. Neither once had said a single word. They ignore the world around them, left alone in their own with each other.

It's amazing how they can communicate without even using words, and he is thankful of it. He's pretty bad with words. Luckily his students know him well enough to see beyond his words, that they can read between the lines. And out of everyone, Asui is probably the one in his class who knows him the most.

Then, slowly, Asui pulls her hands back before wrapping her arms around his torso. Then she squeezes. He responds by wrapping an arm around her in protective comfort, while his other hand reaches up and places on her head, keeping mind of the hairstyle.

He hears her sniffles into his costume and her arms tighten. He hugs her closer and gently rubs her head in a comforting manner.

They had stopped dancing, he realizes. They still continue to hold each other, still refuse to let go of each other. He continues to rub her head. He feels her breathing in his embrace. Her arms loosen and they lower down to his waist before tightening.

He stops rubbing her head and lowers his hand to clasp it with his other on her back, but then he feels a tug on the back on his shirt. The hand returns back to her head, his thumb gently rubbing in circle on her hair. The tugging subdues. He releases a silent snort.

The light suddenly brightens. The students and their father dispersed from the clearance. He watches as the students stay close to their father as hush murmurs fill the hall. Then he looks down at Asui in his arms. She still holds onto him, still refuses to let him go.

For her, he gladly stays.

Then, he feels her arms loosen but not release him yet. He knows the implication. He can finally releases her if he wants but she doesn't mind if this goes on longer. He takes a glance at her face.

No, he won't release her just yet.

Nedzu finally climbs up the stage and he lets out a sigh of relief. This means the event is coming to an end soon. The principal's voice echoes throughout the hall through the PA but he barely listens to the words. He focuses all his attention on the girl in his arms, thumb still rubbing in circle.

Asui shifts her head, closer to the left side of his chest and presses her ear over it. He hopes his heart is calm enough to sooth hers. It must have hit her quite bad for her to still be affected by it, still seeking comfort. His heart stutters. He hopes Asui doesn't hear that.

The crowd suddenly applauses. He looks up to see Nedzu walks off the stage and the crowd starts to disperse. He releases another sigh of relief. Finally the event ends, he can finally get away from it all. And thankfully he is not assigned in the cleaning duty. And even if he was, he will probably not attend it since he has a bigger matter at hand. Or in this case, in his arms.

He takes a glance at her face once more and he sees something that makes him calm down in relief and internally melt.

There on her face is the Asui smile he comes to love, and swears to protect.

Now, he can finally pulls away seeing his kid- his student is better now to smile her smile. She gives the said smile up at him once they are apart but still has one hand grabbing his sleeve; she still wants him close. He gives her one final pat on the head and he feels her leaning into his hand.

Then he starts leading her out the hall. He doesn't have any other choice anyway; she has not let go of him yet. And he doesn't mind it a single bit. Outside, he watches as the students interact with their parents. Seeing this, he glances at Asui from the corner of his eyes.

She doesn't give any visible reaction, but she did stare at them intently. He leads her away from where everyone is going.

They are the only ones heading to the dorms. The other students will be busy with their parents, and they won't be returning for a while. It will be him and Asui in the dorms. He stops at the door entrance and looks at Asui, a silent question if she wants to be here or with her friends instead.

Her hand on his sleeve tightens. That is enough of an answer and he opens the door and enters.

Once they are in the common room he places a hand on her back as a silent gesture. She looks up at him, staring at him with silent gaze. Her hand on his sleeve is still holding on tightly.

He gets the message, and gives her a softer and reassured look. She relaxes but hesitantly releases his sleeve. Once she does, he watches her quickly makes her way to her room, almost jogging. It makes his heart stutters seeing that she is still not quite recovered just yet and still wants him close. To distract himself he heads over to the kitchen and decides to make some tea.

He hears her rapid footsteps long before he could see her. She appears at the doorway in her casual wear, just as he requested. What makes him concern is how frantic she looks and how wide her eyes are. Once her eyes land on him she visibly relaxes and her eyes less wide.

His heart stutters again. She must've run from her room to the common room and panicked when he wasn't there. She must've think that he had abandoned her.

No, he would never.

Her hair is still tied from earlier; she has not taken it out yet. He beckons her over with a hand and she is instantly by his side. He turns her around with one gently hand, and she does not resist a single bit. He undid her hair, letting it flow down to her knees before combing it with his fingers.

He takes a glance of her face. Her eyes are closed and her lips are curled into a smile. The amount of trust she puts into him. It makes his chest warm.

Once he is sure her hair is straight he starts to tie the knot she usually has (This time she was the one who taught him how to do it). Then, he gives her head a pat before pulling away. She turns and gives him a wide smile, and he could feel his own lips start to curl.

The kettle whistles off just in time. He quickly makes tea for both of them. Asui stands close to him but far enough to not intrusive. He hands her the mug before they make their way to the common room. They sit in the middle of the couch, close enough that their thighs almost touch. He grabs the remote and turns on the television but keeps the volume down.

He quickly finishes his tea while Asui takes a little longer with hers as they watch the show displayed. He barely listens to it; his attention is mostly on the girl beside him. She sits quietly with her mug in both of her hands. She looks content, if the smile on her lips is any indication, and that is what important to him. She finishes her tea before sets it on the coffee table in front of them.

When Asui returns to her seat she presses herself to his side, half turns towards him. He releases a hand and places it on her head, pulling it to rest on his shoulder. He feels her slumps in relax under his palm, almost molding to his side. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the smile gotten wider, happier.

And so does his heart.

Soon enough, she falls asleep there.

He quiet sighs, letting his eyes close before leaning his head on top of hers. He feels himself starting to doze off as well. He doesn't mind; it's comfortable here.

He feels her shifts under his palm, curling closer to him as if seeking for his warmth. He lets her. She needs it. And he is willing to give.

He'll be there for his students. No force in this world will stop him.