Aizawa Shouta isn't really sure what he's looking at.
Well, that's not entirely true. He's pretty sure the witness he'd been asked to monitor on campus is in fact the same erratic monster set loose on them in the USJ by villains that nearly killed his students. Except now, instead of considering how to contain it, it's wearing a dress.
"Sir…"
He can feel the rising headache.
What the hell…
The animal principal doesn't even bat an eye, instead grinning widely with too-sharp teeth. It's really not a good sign.
"Ahh… Meet Miss Nomu!" Nezu says, perching lightly on the creature's shoulder like some sort of damn parrot. The principal throws out an arm, gesturing towards it like they hadn't already met, like it hadn't snapped his elbow clean just a day prior. "We're hoping she could stay with you, Aizawa-kun, as you're the most capable of successfully dealing with a surprise attack from a teleportation quirk and managing a quick extraction."
If not for the fact that his eyes are still feeling incredibly sensitive, he'd probably rub them.
He settles instead with a slow blink, expression blank.
Stay with it.
The mad dog of the villains that nearly killed his class?
That was the thing about teaching. Nobody ever mentions all the stupid, extra shit you end up saddled with.
"No, I'm not a sitter."
What happened to the jail cells? And a surprise attack? Were they expecting an attempted retrieval?
Really?
"Of course not! But she is the main reason neither you nor several of your students were maimed or killed in the attack," his boss reminds him perkily. It's a rather low blow, even for the rat, reminding him of his complete failure. His eyes narrow. "Besides, you'll have full access to the tracking chip in the collar as well as the shocking feature. There's really no one else I'd trust to handle this, Aizawa-kun."
He stares at the giant, well over 230 centimeters.
But why is it in a dress?
The thing, beak and all, exposes its teeth.
He thinks, maybe, it's meant to be a smile. It's terrifying and likely to haunt his nights for weeks, but... He turns back to his boss with a grimace. But, if it meant keeping this thing away from the villains… away from his students… Well, logically, he had no choice but to try.
"What exactly is this going to entail?"
.
.
.
Hero not like.
Maybe cause hurt? Big accident! Not try! Boy-many-hands say kill, body move! Stupid body. Stupid brain! All better now though!
Maybe better?
Hero stare, eyes dead…
No.
Definitely not better.
"Why are you staring at me?"
Wish Mouse-king send All Might… At least he nice.
.
.
.
Many problems live with hero.
He little. I very big.
Bathroom… problems. Very careful! Squat, not break, but miss little seat. Big mess. No bathroom in lab, only glass tube. Sleep lot, not know problem!
Hero not happy.
Try to help… too big.
Pans too small, pinch ends and break. Eat problems too. Sit in chair, loud crack, break! Sit on floor... Break little eating sticks too, no good. Want fork. Use hands instead. Very hard. Skin not feel. Everything break easy.
Want old face.
Want old body.
Give up.
Hide in corner, sit behind couch. Eyes all wrong. No cry. Want cry. No cry.
Stupid story world.
Want old everything.
.
.
.
That night, Mouse-king right.
Bad people come again.
Swirly-black there. Shhhhh shhhhh. Shadow man quiet, try be sneaky.
Hero sneakier.
Hero red eyes on. Hair up.
Shadow break. Hero kick open window, point outside shout.
"Go!"
Purple body listen. Purple body always move like told.
Hero swing out next, so little. Look like fly on string.
More heroes appear. Know them. Loud hair, wear leather, hair so big and pretty. Pretty woman too, need dress, make people sleep. Rock man, teach reading? Reading good. Miss books.
Shadow man must run away. I not sure, stay out, listen to loud-hair speak. Sometimes speak English. Like it. Miss it. Hero stay too, until gun-man return. All safe.
Good.
No go back. No be bad.
.
.
.
New home after that.
Feel guilty, make hero move.
Hero very smart, seem understand. Says fake home anyway, pat purple skin.
Feel little better then.
Go to school next day. Love school, very pretty. Mouse-king say I stay in fence, not leave, I safe. Mouse-king right. No shadow man. No swirly-black. So nice. Get lay in grass. Get walk big space. Take nap in sun.
Best day ever.
.
.
.
Nezu considers the mass of purple napping on the front lawn of the school.
"Are you sure having it here is wise?"
Of the many people to dispute his decisions, he finds himself… disappointed to count the Erasure hero among them.
"As opposed to what, a cell?" Nezu inquires, not bothering to turn as he observes the minute fluctuations in the Nomu's rhythmic breathing, especially when she realizes she's not alone. Asui Tsuyu, he recalls her file, candid if somewhat reticent when addressing others' faults—and also one of those directly protected in the USJ assault. He's curious. Her nervous, stilted gait combined with their guest's frozen form… "Surely you're not still convinced she's a plant?"
The hero behind him shifts, and even with his mask of indifference, Nezu can still see all of his tells—the guilty glance away, the minuscule twist of his wrist.
Nezu shifts as well, keeping the interaction below in sight while allowing a pleasant mask.
"… No."
The sullen response is amusing, if not informatory. Of course, he didn't. Aizawa was many things: rational, saturnine, stern, but he wasn't a fool. The fact that he could put aside his sentimentality, could analyze (if admittedly slowly), and furrow out many of his shorter plans… well, it made him an asset.
"However, that doesn't detract from the problems it's causing now."
Usually.
Nezu snorts, attention still caught on the frog girl below. She steps forward and bows, and their guest, abandoning all pretenses of sleep, twists and rolls over. Perhaps white was a less… felicitous color? Even at a distance, he can see the grass and dirt stains.
"Of course not. But whenever has change not been met with hostility and pushback?"
The Nomu wiggles below, her whole body squirming through the grass as she closes the space between herself and the teenager. In the space around them, several of the students stiffen in their hiding places. He sees one, the redhead with the hardening quirk, activate his, and the short girl with the gravity powers unveiling herself from the tree.
He tilts his head, waiting.
"Unless, of course, you're concerned about your own abilities?"
Aizawa bristles, as if it weren't his own fault for having such an open, purulent wound.
"I have questions about its efficacy, not my own," his subordinate scowls, tone frosting. "It's creating more problems than solutions. The media is already posted outside, harassing students and trying to get visuals. Iida informed me today that the press has already accosted two of my students on their way in, and were it not for Kirishima, there may have been an incident between Bakugou and the reporters yesterday evening. While I've addressed my student, it doesn't detract from the multiple parent complaints extending well beyond the heroics department. Half the 2nd year general curriculum class is out."
The class Aizawa had filled up himself after expelling his entire class? He carefully doesn't mention it. Instead observing as the large purple mass nuzzles the frog girl and wiggles away. The classmates visibly relax, the gravity girl even going so far as to hesitantly step forward.
Nezu steeples his fingers and nods.
"I understand," the principal responds, the beginnings of secondary and tertiary plans already taking form. "I had intended to speak to the press this afternoon, but perhaps noon will suffice?"
Aizawa crosses his arms and nods.
Sour with relief hidden beneath the tired, unshaven mess.
He smiles, exposing sharp, animalistic teeth.
"Excellent. Regarding the fears of our students and parents, there is little that can be done without exposure. Plan for our guest to be a… ahem, large part of the show. In order to prepare the students, we will begin having our guest mingle more inside the building. With her temperament, I expect the complaints to resolve themselves. However, you should be prepared to have her join you in several classes."
Aizawa's stare is one of deadpan horror.
"Join us?" the man repeats slowly.
"Of course," the principal allows, tone taking on a more jovial tune. "I expect we'll begin in a few days. I'll make the announcement at our next faculty meeting."
"Tomorrow," Aizawa glowers.
"Was there anything else we needed to discuss?"