"What are you wearing?" Aizawa's eyes were narrowed on the loose-fitting men's clothes that Nozomi was wearing. They clearly belonged to Hawks, who was standing behind her with a frown.

"Heh. Better question is: what are you wearing? Where'd you even find sweatpants in neon pink?" Nozomi half-grinned and ran a hand through her tangled, golden hair in an attempt to make it look acceptable. "Were all your black sweatpants in the wash?" she teased, leaning toward him.

The hero's expression remained unchanged as he looked to Hawks. "You can go now."

He sounds like he's dismissing a student, she thought with amusement. He even looks like he's talking to a student. First he used that commanding voice and now this. To her surprise, she felt her heart beating a bit faster and a hint of warmth bloomed in her cheeks. It's…pretty hot when he acts like this. He's usually so low-energy, it's surprising when he gets passionate.

Hawks rubbed the back of his neck, looking from Aizawa to Nozomi. He was obviously still opposed to leaving her there overnight. "I'll be back in the morning. Five o'clock, okay? Be ready."

"That's too early." The argument came from Aizawa, who was taking a step closer to put himself between the two. "Eight."

"Six."

"Seven-thirty." The dark-haired hero glared down at the winged hero for a long moment, challenging him to argue again.

When Hawks had gone, Nozomi followed Aizawa into the dorms. She walked behind him, keeping a distance. It reminded her of something. A day that felt like a lifetime ago. After the USJ incident, a certain friend of hers had recommended that she work as Aizawa's assistant while he healed. Her first day working at UA with him, she had followed his every move at a distance just like this.

It was nostalgic and pushed her thoughts back to a simpler time. That was the first time in her life that someone believed she was capable of more than just being a villain. Her friend had faith in her ability to help Aizawa heal. Thinking about it made her eyes tear up a bit.

Nozomi pushed up her glasses as she remembered that friend. The last time she saw him, it was on television as he fought All for One. He survived, but is he really okay? She toyed with the braid hanging beside her face, biting the inside of her cheek as she became lost in thought.

"Who's your friend, Aizawa-sensei?" The chipper female voice pierced the otherwise quiet hallway and made the ex-villain freeze in place.

Ahead of her, Aizawa turned around to look at the female students down the corridor from them. He maintained his usual grumpy, tired expression and started toward the group. "Tsukihara. She's a mangaka." His gaze slid from the girls to Nozomi. "Tsukihara, these are some of my students."

Her heart was beating wildly in her chest as she turned to look at them. These were girls she had helped teach. Girls she had advised. It felt like years since the last time she saw any of them and now she felt her throat tightening. "Hey there," she greeted them.

Nozomi had a very easily recognizable voice. She had, sadly, inherited her father's rough, kind of hoarse voice so it was unlike most women's and it was hard for her to try to sound different. There was always that growly sort of edge, no matter what volume she spoke at. She could just hope that they were either dumb enough to not notice or that they had forgotten what their old backup teacher Hiyori sounded like.

They were staring. Whether it was due to the fact that she had a feather braided into her hair or because they recognized her, she was unsure. Pushing her hands into her pockets, she decided to feign confidence. "You kids like manga?"

"Are you really a mangaka? That's so cool!" Ashido exclaimed.

"That's a neat job," Asui chimed in. "What kind of manga is it?"

Smiling genuinely now, she was convinced they had no idea who she really was. Damn. Hawks was right about this disguise; I'm really like a whole new person on the outside. She rubbed the back of her neck and tightened her tails around her waist, beneath the loose-fitting shirt and jacket. "It's a shoujo manga called "Twirling Little Heart". I just submitted the first volume for review so I'm hoping to get it published pretty soon."

"That's awesome! You'll have to a sign a copy for me!" Ashido beamed and looked past Nozomi to their teacher. "I'd never picture you with a mangaka, Aizawa-sensei."

"We need to go," the man interrupted. Without another word, he turned and started walking again.

"I'll sign some copies for you," Nozomi promised. She jogged to catch up to Aizawa, feeling almost giddy from the residual nervousness and the adrenaline from actually passing herself off as someone else. If I can fake it that well with other people, can I convince myself that I'm someone else?

The answer came when she entered the lounge area. It was secluded from where the students lived so it was more like part of his and Eri's living area. The little girl was nowhere to be seen and as soon as the door was closed, Nozomi found herself backed up against the wall. "Heh. Shouta? What is it?"

He braced an arm against the smooth surface above her head and leaned down, stopping short of getting within a foot of her. The man stared down at the ex-villain with his bloodshot, fatigued eyes half-closed; studying Nozomi closely. "What's your relationship with Hawks?"

She wanted to laugh, but the amusement was quickly overshadowed by the anxiety of having a man so close to her. Any time Hawks hovered over her like this, she was always reminded of Overhaul and the life-scarring things he had put her through. This was no different. She felt herself beginning to tremble, sweat. Her vision blurred a little and she found herself scratching at her left wrist.

"W-we're just…roommates," she stammered. "He's…trying to help me get better-"

"In what way?" he persisted.

Nozomi bit the inside of her cheek so hard that she tasted blood. She turned her head to the side so she could at least look away from Aizawa. "He got me into making manga…and he helped me with this disguise. He's helping me restart my life. But we're just roommates. It's not like…I'm into birds."

Truthfully, she had no idea what her type was anymore. She had been into guys with dark hair and piercings, but between what happened with Overhaul and her various interactions with Dabi, that sort of guy was ruined for her. All she knew was that she stilled loved Aizawa.

Shift P.O.V

It was obvious from the second he saw her. She was wearing a pair of baggy men's pants and a loose-fitting t-shirt with a jacket that could only belong to Hawks. All of it belonged to Hawks. Even the red feather woven into her hair.

He could see it in the way she stood next to the winged hero when he arrived. The two were comfortable around each other. She let her guard down around Hawks the same way she had let her guard down around him when they first got together. It frustrated him a little.

She looked so afraid of him right now. Cowering against the wall. Fidgeting and biting the inside of her cheek. When he realized that she was scratching frantically at her left wrist, he gently gripped it and pinned it above her head. "Don't do that."

Nozomi's face turned bright red as she continued to tremble. "I can't…handle this. Shouta, please. You have to let go. Just move back. Please." There was a begging tone to her words, a whimpering quality to her voice.

"He isn't helping you heal," he stated firmly. "What is he doing to help you get over your fear?"

"He's…it isn't…" She was unable to answer him and released a shuddering sigh as a tear rolled down her cheek. Her body shook with silent sobs as he moved closer. "Sh-Shouta, please! I can't…handle this...not right now…please just move…please!"

"Let me help you," he argued. This was something that only Aizawa could do. He knew it. Whatever Hawks saw her as, he was not going to push her the same way that Aizawa could. If Nozomi ever wanted to get over her trauma, or at least make it so she was less affected by it, she needed to be pushed. She needed to be healed. She needed to know that everything was alright and she was safe, that this was a good thing.

"Shouta-!" Her tails fell from around her waist and swiftly wrapped around his leg as he closed the distance between them.

He felt the tip of a stinger press at the back of his knee, but he maintained his hold. Aizawa's right arm was wrapped around her waist, pressing her against his chest as his left hand pushed her glasses up to the top of her head. With them out of her way now, he wove his fingers her long, golden hair. The ex-villain's hands lifted and tentatively gripped the back of his shirt.

"I'm not letting go," the hero growled. "I'm going to heal you." Tears soaked into the front of his shirt. Her hands pressed against his back now as she embraced him. "Nozomi."

"You're…warm." Her voice was soft, but there was a sadness there. Fear. Pain. Whatever was going through her head, she hated it and she was trying to push past it, but it was obviously difficult. She held onto him tighter, crying into his chest. "Shouta…I just…I don't even know what to say…I-I'm scared. I'm really scared just from you holding me, but I want to get better! I don't like feeling this way! I hate it! I hate myself! I just-!"

"Stop." He tightened his hold and felt her tense up. "I'm going to heal you, but it's going to take time. This isn't something you'll get past easily. I understand that. You need to cooperate for this to work, though. Will you let me do this?"

She was silent for a few minutes and simply clung to him with her face buried in his chest. The front of his shirt was getting wetter with her tears. Finally, she drew her face away from him and looked up. Her amber eyes were shining with tears, but they narrowed. "You know it's…really hard to take you seriously when you're wearing neon pink sweatpants," she joked, cracking a smile.

The young woman released his shirt and she wiped at her eyes, embarrassed to be crying in front of him. "If you think you can fix me…I'm willing to try anything."

He frowned and ran a thumb along her cheekbone, wiping away a tear. "You're not broken," he argued. "I'm not fixing anything; I'm just-"

"I…feel broken though. It's rare for me to feel like my old self. Heh. But I guess that's a good thing, right? "Hiyori" and "Yori" are supposed to be dead. I'm Nozomi now. I'm a new person. So…why can't I just push past this? Why is this so difficult? I'm safe now, but I just…even right now…I'm so scared that I feel like I might throw up," she confessed.

Aizawa knew it was going to be a lengthy process to get her anywhere near feeling like her old self. It might not even be possible, but he at least wanted her to feel comfortable around him. Leaning his head against the wall behind her, he sighed and held her to his chest again. "We'll get through this."

Shift P.O.V

"What is this?" Hawks stared at the weird item that Dabi had just handed him. It was bizarre timing for Dabi to call him to meet so soon after he dropped Nozomi off at the dorms, but Hawks knew that refusing would raise suspicion. Now he was standing in a dark alley, holding this strange object and wondering if Dabi was subtly coming onto him.

"You don't know what it is?" the scarred villain taunted. "It's called a panda."

"I know what a panda is. I just don't get why you're giving me this. Sorry, but I'm not into cutesy stuff." Hawks tried to hand the stuffed animal back to him, a cold sweat breaking out beneath his clothes. This isn't for me, he quickly realized as he met Dabi's gaze. This is for her. He knows.

It was difficult to maintain his cheerful demeanor, but he managed to keep up the façade as he waved the stuffed animal at the villain. "Seriously. You know what people would say if they saw me carrying something like this? I've got a reputation to maintain," he joked.

"Thought you were done for the day. Just take it home." Dabi's intense blue eyes narrowed and he tilted his head. "Or is there a problem?"

"What am I supposed to do with it though? This isn't really my style."

"So just give it to a girl. I don't care."

There it is. Hawks had to try very hard to not show any sort of reaction to the insinuation. At least, nothing that would give away that he had a girl living with him. Nothing to show that he knew exactly what girl Dabi had in mind. "I guess if I run into a cute fan, it'd make a nice gift." He grinned and tucked it under his arm.

A quick discussion took place concerning the activities of the League of Villains and then Dabi excused himself. It only further convinced Hawks that the purpose of this meeting was to give him the stuffed animal. Dabi knew where Grayscale was. Now Hawks had to figure out how he would keep her safe.