"Of course you can't take Moe." Now he was leading me to the cafeteria. "That was never an option."
"I know, I know. I'm embarrassed that I even asked. But we've never been apart, since we met, for longer than maybe a few hours. I'm not worried about me, it's part of the challenge. I'm worried about him. He's becoming more independent by the day, but I don't know if he's ready."
"He'll be okay. You have your pick of people to ask to look after him for the week. I'm assuming you meant to ask me?" His voice was dry.
"Yes, sir."
"Respectfully, wouldn't Ms. Joke be better suited? I'm sure she'd be happy to."
"Well, yes and no. Moe and Ms. Joke understand each other pretty well, but he likes you and anything I can do so he won't be upset... I'll have absolute peace of mind if he's under your wing. I know it's a hassle but please, please, please. I'll do extra credit, clean the classroom, double my therapy, whatever you want."
He gave a very long sigh and I braced for an awkward rejection.
"Of course I'll do it." He said finally, "You two are just about family at this point."
I felt very warm at those words, my bad mood evaporating. It took me a few seconds before I managed a soft,
"Thank you, sir."
"I'll still make you attend some extra therapy before and after the internship. And I want to see you do more laps today."
"Yes, sir." I agreed with a grimace. Figures. "However, in that case, I have to ask… are there any mirrors at your place?"
He told me later that it only occurred to him them that there were no mirrors in our room or in the dorm bathroom.
"Of course there are." He said, "In the bathroom, and on the back of the bedroom door."
"You'll need to cover those."
"What?"
"Moe absolutely cannot be around mirrors. Trust me, sir, it'll make your week a lot easier if you listen to me on this one."
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask why."
"It's his quirk. Moe doesn't have a reflection, which is something he does not like being reminded of. But more than that… he can enter mirrors, even accidentally."
"I see. So like, Hagakure, his quirk isn't something he can deactivate."
"That's right. That alone might be manageable, but… well, I don't know the whole story. Just that he got stuck once. And it took me a year to get him to show me his face, another after that before he showed his face in public. If I'm a pair of goggles with a crack… he's a shattered vase put together with superglue."
"I understand. Thank you for telling me. Now eat quickly, you have laps to finish."
"…yes, sir."
.
I passed out early that night, but during breakfast, I remembered to speak with Moe.
"Hey, honey, you know how I'm going to work with Hawks?" He nodded happily. "Well, it's in Fukuoka city." He blinked at me.
"I like trains." He offered dubiously.
"I know. But you can't come. You have school, and I'll be working the entire time." He put down his spoon, frowning. "But before you start pouting, you should know I saved you from Ms. Joke. You'll be having your own little internship with Eraser Head."
"All by myself?"
"No, with Mr. Aizawa. I'll video chat you as often as I can. And you know, he's my favorite hero. So you're the safest you could be."
"Will you be safe?"
"Of course, silly, I'll be with Hawks. Second best in my book."
He seemed very unsure. I shot Deku a pleading look, and my backup arrived.
"Wait, what?" Midoriya gasped, "You mean you'll spend the whole week with Eraser Head? Does that mean you'll see his house?" Moe turned to me for confirmation. I nodded, so he nodded too. "No way! He's one of the most secretive pros out there! I think no one has ever seen where he lives! I'm jealous."
"Why are we jealous?" Kirishima asked.
"Moe's staying with Mr. Aizawa during the internship week." I said pointedly. My classmates were thankfully pretty great with kids, because he said,
"Man, do you think he has a fake address, or uses a disguise to answer the door?"
"What's going on?" Bakugo asked, OJ in hand.
"We're talking about how lucky Moe is to spend a week with Eraser Head!" Deku said enthusiastically.
Bakugo laughed out loud.
"Please! It'll probably be boring as all hell. I'd die before having to spend my whole wee-" Kirishima stepped on him, hard. "OW!"
Moe gave a little laugh.
"I'll be okay." He promised brightly.
.
The next few days consisted of endurance training and packing and a bit of stress baking. I wasn't sure yet if I wanted to use the goggles on my costume, so I held off on taking them to Toru. Instead, I gave them a proper clean and set them on my beside table, pulling them around my neck whenever I needed a little extra courage.
They were firmly round my neck the day of my train.
.
Moe's bag was stuffed, but I shoved some tissues in. He had his favorite overcoat on and his Hawks plush in hand. My hands checked his hair, cheeks, arms, legs, so makes sure he was all accounted for.
He mimicked my action, then gave me one of his favorite lollipops for my bag.
Together, we brought our things downstairs. The moment we left our bags by the door, he wordlessly climbed up me like a tree and clung to me like a koala. In this death grip, I didn't even have to hold him. I made myself coffee, knowing he'd let his hot chocolate go cold. Some of the others wandered down.
"Morning." I greeted, "coffee?"
"Yes please." Kaminari yawned, "Hey, Moe." Moe didn't answer, face buried in my arm. "Um..."
"Ah, he's okay. Just a little clingy since we have to say goodbye for a few days."
"Man, that's an impressive grip! Kirishima, look at this."
"Whoa, his knuckles are white. Come on, dude, you'll cut off circulation at this rate." Kirishima gently tried to loosen Moe's fingers, but to no avail.
"I don't think All Might could pry this kid off me when he gets like this." I foolishly declared.
"Oh really?" Uraraka asked, "What about with… tickles!" Though he tensed a little, the tickling did nothing to loosen his grip, "Oh wow."
"Hey, wait, can I try again?" Kirishima asked. I glanced at Moe. He had a little bit of a mischievous smile on and nodded.
"Moe's game. Just no one spill their coffee."
Hugging round Moe's waist, Kirishima pulled for real. I stumbled, balancing my mug.
"That won't work," Kaminari said, "Manderly has to be braced. Here, switch places me."
Kirishima solidified his body and told me to hold onto his arm. I sighed and accepted. Kaminari pulled at Moe with all his might. The clutch didn't even slip slightly.
"Okay," I said, letting go, "I'm gonna drink my coffee."
"Wait, wait!" Asui dashed over, "I think I have an idea." She pulled out some sweets, "Wanna play with me for a while, Moe?" Moe shook his head. She deflated.
"Brutal, buddy." I commented, sipping while I could.
"Would you wimps quit acting?" Bakugo said, "He's just a kid." Never one to back down from a test of strength, he grabbed Moe's waist and tugged, nearly knocking me over.
"Hey, easy on the kid." I said before he could yell at me.
"Deku! Get you ass over here. You and you, grab the kid."
Bakugo hooked his arms under my armpits and had Deku pull at my waist. The other two boys were to pull at Moe.
"We need more help!" Kirishima called, getting more people involved.
It was no good, innocent though he seemed, Moe was the most stubborn person on the planet.
"What's all this commotion?"
My classmates collapsed, panting, and I straightened myself out. My shirt was wrinkled. Hm, maybe I'd change it on the train.
"Coffee time." I replied cheekily, holding out a fresh mug. Ignoring me, Mr. Aizawa stepped over my classmates a gently pulled Moe into his arms.
We all gaped. Moe seemed more surprised than anyone. Mr. Aizawa held him with one arm, taking the mug and a sip of coffee.
"Well, get yourselves together." He said, "First impressions are important. Moe? Where are your things? We can wait outside while everyone else finishes getting ready."
With that, he turned, grabbed Moe's backpack, and walked outside with him.
"Scary." Someone said.
"Absolutely terrifying."
.
I went to change into a fresh shirt and dismissed any apologies.
"Ah, it was fun really. Not to mention Moe got to show off for a minute there." We clambered out of the building, to find a treat for the eyes.
Mr. Aizawa, still holding Moe loosely with one arm, was on the phone. Moe, one hand on our teacher's shoulder for stability, had his other fingers in Bakugo's hair. Having just witnessed that grip strength, everyone gave a collective wince before we moved onto teasing.
"LET ME GO!" Nope, our classmate might as well have been a toy, head being pulled this way and that. Bakugo quieted at a glare from Mr. Aizawa, who was still trying to have a conversation on the phone, making us all dissolve into snickers.
Deciding to be merciful, I cleared my throat and walked over, getting Moe's attention at once.
"What did I say about pulling people's hair?" I asked patiently, getting a defiant pout, "If this is how you're gonna behave, I'll have to call Ms. Joke to take over. I have her Christmas present, you know."
He let go.
Bakugo nursed his neck, complaining loudly.
"Does Moe have some sort of strength or grabbing quirk?" Asui asked me with interest.
"No, he's just that stubborn." Before that line of questioning could continue, I said, "You okay, Bakugo?"
"I mean, he probably started it."
"DID NOT!"
.
There was a nip in the air that morning, but the feeling faded quickly after walking five blocks with luggage in tow. I only had a tiny rollable suitcase, not bigger than a backpack, but it took its toll around stairs.
In fact, this would have winded me completely if I hadn't been training. As it was, it just made the day seem a lot warmer than it was.
At the train station, we huddled while Mr. Aizawa checked his list of info.
"Uraraka, Kaminari, you're on platform one and two. Go together."
"Yes, sir!"
"Behave."
They dashed off, making semi-awkward conversation.
"Bakugo and Midoriya… never mind. Kirishima, you're in platform eight, but go with them to platform four to make sure they don't cause a scene."
"I can do that! My train is a bit later, so I should have more than enough time."
"Anyone who damages this train station will be doing remedial classes with me at midnight for a month." He threatened. Moe watched his scary face with fascination.
"Asui, seems you're on your own at platform twelve. Go ahead and I'll catch up to you after seeing Manderly off."
"Yes, sir!"
Soon, it was just us and Ida, who was with me at platform six.
"Looking forward to your week?" I asked Ida, to break the silence. He seemed distracted.
"Hm? Yes, of course I am."
"You okay? Feeling nervous?" I whispered, letting Mr. Aizawa go ahead so we wouldn't be heard. Ida locked eyes with me for a moment, surprised. He was most definitely not okay.
"Nonsense." He said severely, "I'd suggest you focus on yourself. However friendly you may be with Hawks, this will be very real and difficult work."
"Excuse me?" I sputtered, taken aback. He'd never been this rude before.
"Only about two thousand people saw the two of you chatting after your defeat at the sports festival." My face heated up and throat clogged. He noticed. "I… apologize. We'd agreed not to bring it up. I suppose I am nervous."
I knew what he was doing. I knew he was lashing out to make me back off. Which meant it was worse than nerves. That didn't mean I wasn't pissed.
"I'd thank you not to question my professionalism." I said coldly.
"…of course. Sorry, Manderly. I don't know what got into me." He really did seem sorry.
We were almost to the platform.
"Whatever stupid thing you're thinking about." I said quietly, "Bring one more person in on it. Maybe they'll knock some sense into you, maybe they'll at least make sure you're alright. Ask for help, Ida."
"… you're making no sense. Goodbye." He rushed ahead and was lost in the crowd. Mr. Aizawa raised an inquisitive eyebrow.
"Something's got him riled up." I said frankly, "We should probably check on him when he gets back."
"I'll make a note."
We stood in front of the train; it was much bigger than the one that went to my little hometown. I couldn't help but think of Moe reminding me that he liked trains.
"You're going to be okay." Caught, I grimaced at Mr. Aizawa, taking a shaky breath.
"I know. It'll be fun. Just feels scary to leave behind all the stability I've built here." My hand fell on the goggles, to try and suck up some strength.
"You're not leaving it behind." He reminded me, "We'll be right here. Right, Moe?" Moe gave me an ear to ear grin, which was honestly a little disconcerting. He nodded and said,
"I want a picture of Hawks and you."
"I was planning on getting one anyway." I booped his nose, "Be good."
"Love you." I gave him a big kiss on his head.
"Love you too, buddy. See you soon." I glanced at Mr. Aizawa, "Thanks again, professor."
"Have fun."
I boarded the train, sat down, and held the goggles with both my hands.
The unnatural smile slipped off Moe's face as soon as the train chugged away. He buried his face in Aizawa's shoulder.
"You did a good job."
Asui's heart squeezed when she saw the pair approach her.
"Is he okay? He must miss Juniper."
"He'll be fine. We'll get some ice cream after this. Whatever you do, don't tell Manderly he seemed upset, alright?"
"Of course. Bye, Moe!"
Back at UA, Mic looked up as Aizawa got some papers from his desk.
"Hey, the little Manderly!" He said. Then, "They got you babysitting?"
"I may be the worst person for the job." Eraser Head shuffled his papers, child still clung to his shoulder. "He's breathing, but he wouldn't take the ice cream."
"You thought ice cream would just automatically cheer him up?"
"He's a child, isn't he?"
"Yo, Little Manderly!" Mic said, "I've got an English essay your sister wrote about you. How about a dramatic reading? Aren't you curious what she has to say about you? Hmmm?"
Moe peeked over to look.
My Moe worries faded relatively quickly. He was in the best hands he could be. I instead worried about everyone watching me and Hawks during the sports festival. It wasn't as if we'd done anything wrong.
No, I'd just have to work doubly hard to prove my skill.