AN: I just love the idea of a quirk that's overpowered but also impractical in a lot of ways. Hope you enjoy this story. This story is more slice of life and comical, but I'm thinking about inserting some more serious plot points as well…kind of just free writing and not getting too caught up on following a plot line.
Chise knew it was a mistake going back to UA as soon as her high school bully, Ben Ito, sauntered up to her with a wicked grin. The annual Alumni Networking Night was as special to those in the general, support, and business track as the UA Sports Festival was to those in the hero track. Chise had been one of those business students years ago, and she remembered the night fondly as the moment she discovered exactly what she wanted to do with her life. It had been this fond memory the UA High principal had used to guilt trip her into attending this year. Chise had planned to skip like she always did, but everyone who's ever had the pleasure of knowing Principal Nezu knew that refusing anything he asked was like signing a death wish.
"Chise, long time no see," said Ben with fake friendliness. He held out a perfectly manicured hand and his drink glass in the other. "How've you been?"
Ben Ito, Highschool Bully, Pompous Ass Prom King, Can't Do Shit Without His Sidekicks Pro Hero Harpy, she could continue listing the accolades but then she'd be stuck in his despicable presence for the rest of the night. He was not the brightest kid, nor did he exhibit any remarkable personality traits to warrant his admission into a hero track at a local university after high school. His pro hero activities were nothing to write home about but just maybe he'd make himself useful as an inspiration to this year's students. Perhaps that was why Principal Nezu had extended an invitation to him of all people: there were still opportunities to become a pro hero after graduation, even if you were dumb and had a very egotistical personality.
Chise didn't miss the way he eyed her up and down with his usual exaggerated sense of self-worth, that special brand of condescension that said, Yes, I am an important person, the Pro Hero Harpy, and you are a tiny worm whose purpose is to serve me and wither away at the sight of my remarkable presence. You should be thanking me that you're in my graceful presence even though you were the one who came up with my awesome Pro Hero name. In her opinion, he was just a B-rated copycat of the much more successful number twelve hero, Hawks.
"Fine," she said, trying to remain a picture of apathy. She didn't shake his hand.
"You know, I was just talking with our other classmates about how you never seem to come to these alumni gatherings. You have nothing to be embarrassed about, we all miss you," he said with a little cackle, placing a hand on her shoulder as if to comfort her.
It's true that she had nothing to be embarrassed about, but despite how he might've put it, he clearly thought differently. Chise didn't have a high-paying job at some fancy corporation, nor did she become a successful pro hero after graduation. Sure, she would've liked to earn a six-figure income, especially since she's buried in student debt, but she wasn't as discontented or embarrassed with how she turned out post-UA as Ben or her other classmates might have thought.
"You're so right, I've got nothing to be embarrassed about. I'm doing something to better society unlike some of us," she said, brushing his hand off her shoulder. "Excuse me, I'd like to get a drink."
He gave her a tight, prissy smile. His lack of success despite Mommy and Daddy's money was a clear sore spot for him. She could never understand how he had managed to secure a pro hero license, when he was so incompetent at being a decent human being.
Chise made her way over to the drinks and hor d'euvres table, carefully avoiding eye contact with excitable students and curious classmates she vaguely remembered from her time at UA. The light refreshments were being served, unsurprisingly, by the Cooking Hero Lunch Rush. Just like Principal Nezu, Lunch Rush was a staple at UA. Although she'd been mentally insulting Ben Ito for not being the smartest student or the most exceptional student, the truth was she hadn't been either. But Lunch Rush always had a soft spot for Chise since their quirks were similar, and she knew he'd recognized her as soon as she stepped up to get a drink.
"Chise! My protégé!" He laughed, jokingly.
She blushed a little at his teasing nickname. She had worked in the cafeteria sporadically during her third year at UA under Lunch Rush, just to practice her quirk, but she didn't think that she had made enough of an impression on him to be called his protégé.
"Hey Mr. Lunch Rush," Chise greeted, smiling shyly. She could deal with Ben Ito and his cronies and whiny children at the hospital, but when it came to old teachers she bucked up like a deer in headlights. Maybe under it all, she was a little embarrassed about how she turned out post-UA. What did all of her old high school teachers think of her? Did they approve of her career choices?
"Do you mind if I mix my own concoction? I think I need something stronger than what you're offering."
"Sure, go ahead, watch yourself though. Principal Nezu will throw a fit if he sees you misbehaving, and you know how he is." He laughed heartily, then handed her two glasses of different drinks. "Can't believe you're old enough to drink now. Time flies doesn't it?"
She gave him a convincing sound of agreement. Not fast enough. The event wasn't ending anytime soon, not for another two hours, but she'd keep that disagreement to herself. Chise grabbed the glasses and activated her quirk, encasing them in a sparkling, soft glow, and then pouring one glass into the other. At least she could have alcohol to keep her company for a long night of awkwardness.
"No quirks allowed." The new voice was deep, gravelly, and so very dreamy.
Chise whipped around, nearly spilling her now very full glass. The voice belonged to a taciturn man dressed in all black with a scarf that resembled white bandages. For a moment Chise wasn't sure how to respond and just stared at him. The strong, stubbled jaw. The deep-set, bloodshot eyes. The way the roughness of his face and demeanor came together into something very, very handsome, even if he seemed much older than she was.
He was obviously a pro hero with his getup. Was he an invited alum or a hired bodyguard? He was enforcing the no-quirks rule noted in the invitation, so perhaps the latter. She didn't think her quirk was harmful enough to warrant such a biting reaction.
She snapped out of her ogling and realized that he was staring back at her. She instantly became self-conscious. She knew exactly what he was seeing: the cheap, violet, sleeveless dress she'd bought last minute for tonight; the black, mid-back-length hair that she'd thrown up into a messy bun after her shift at the hospital; the splotchy attempt of covering up her dark circles with concealer from all the late nights of studying; and then, of course, the glass in her left hand that was now filled with a 40% ABV grape juice.
"It's harmless," Chise attempted to argue because she really wanted a strong drink and didn't want to be judged for it. Not by him. He had her feeling like a guilty student under his hard glare. "I won't be leaving this glass until it's empty so no students will be harmed if that's what you're more worried about."
She didn't get a response from him but the intensity of his glare shot up. Unfortunately, that was the straw that broke the camel's back.
"You know what, you can have this. It's tequila." She said to him, promptly handing the glass to him in a way that he was forced to take it to avoid spilling it all over himself. "Enjoy."
She needed an excuse to leave networking night and he gave her one. No amount of handsomeness could excuse rudeness to a stranger.
"Aww, leaving so soon?" Ben smirked, practically chasing after her just to get his last words in. He was a serious superiority complex nutcase. "Like I said, there's no need to be embarrassed. Stick around, network a little. There are a lot of pros here tonight. It's a good opportunity for that cute little business of yours, you know, getting more customers, actually making a profit. Maybe someone can even offer you a real job."
Chise stopped in her tracks. She didn't need more customers, or to make a profit, or to have someone offer her a real job. Her life wasn't perfect. Buried debt, underpaid, and overworked, but Chise wouldn't trade any of those things.
"Things don't really change with time do they?" Chise asked whimsically, staring past him at the standup banner with all the invited alumni names and careers. Her eyes landed on her profile: Chise Sugawara; Support Hero, Cheshire; Current Occupation: Ph.D. Candidate in Evolutionary Biology and Ecology & Owner of NutriCrate.
He looked like he wanted to say something else, but Chise didn't let him. She turned on my heels, trying to be dramatic about it, and stalked towards the exit.
"Leaving so soon, Cheshire? Without even saying hello to your dear old principal?" came a gentler, mousier voice.
Chise stiffened at what he was insinuating. And, of course, he was staring up at her from his little, but very menacing, stature, a devilish smile strewn across his otherwise cute mouse-like face. To be clear: she'd pretty much been a normal, modest student while at UA, never got into trouble, got slightly above average grades, and was generally likable by her classmates (save Ben Ito and his cronies). Other than becoming the vice-captain of the UA girls' varsity volleyball team her senior year – (which wasn't really all that big of a deal since the focus these days were on heroes and not athletes) – she'd never really stuck out. She was certainly nowhere near special enough to have stuck out for the principal to personally invite her to this year's Alumni Networking Night and then twisting her arm every other night until she said yes.
"Good to see you again, Mr. Principal, sir, and-" she bopped her head politely at the dog-bear-mouse thing, and then she leaned her head up and up...and up some more until she realized who the very famous, giant of a man, behind him was. "All Might!" How did she miss him?
"Yes, Cheshire meet All Might, he's a new faculty member at UA this year, and All Might meet Chise Sugawara, the Supplement Hero Cheshire," said Principal Nezu in an incredibly banal way as if he was introducing today's weather forecast. Without letting either of them get a word in, he continued directing his attention toward her, "You know, you were never really the smartest or the most passionate student while you were at UA. In fact, whenever your homeroom teacher Ectoplasm talked to me about your class, he'd always forget to mention you until the last minute. You were always so unmemorable."
Chise winced at his backhanded insults. Maybe she deserved all of this because she had been blowing off Alumni Networking Night for years, and she had been rude not to say hello to the principal before leaving. Or maybe he saw her using her quirk when he'd explicitly noted that no quirks were allowed tonight?
"But we were never worried about you because you were one of our most hardworking students. You embodied the UA spirit well, going Plus Ultra in anything you put your mind to, although they were few and far between. And you were always so special at rallying everyone together, getting people excited about things. Did you know that the record you and your class set for raising charity funds is still unbroken?"
"Uh, no?" She replied helplessly, not sure if she should be feeling insulted, embarrassed, or proud of how Principal Nezu was spilling her UA student life to Japan's Number One Hero All Might. Hopefully, since he was at one point a UA student too, All Might would understand how uncomfortable she felt while Principal Nezu went off on one of his infamous tangents. And maybe he'd save her?
She snuck a glance at All Might for any signs that he'd somehow come up with a bright idea to stop Principal Nezu from holding both captive. Nope, nada. He had a strained smile on his face, looking equally uncomfortable. Chise never imagined All Might, the Symbol of Peace and Justice, the Number One Pro Hero of All Time in Japan for twenty-seven years straight; was also under Principal Nezu's thumb. Was the iconic principal of UA actually much more powerful than everyone assumed he was? Sure being the principal of the top hero school in the country gave you a lot of influence with the government and the Hero Public Safety Commission, but being able to scare All Might into submission? That had to be impossible.
Chise shivered violently at her imaginary picture of a terrifying Principal Nezu holding an All Might puppet by its strings, making the number one hero do whatever he wanted, like taking over the country's dairy cheese industry, cackling darkly as he sipped his coffee. She'd only ever heard Principal Nezu's evil laugh once while she was a student, and it was horrific enough to still give her nightmares to this day.
"Chise Sugawara, how rude of you to not even listen to what I have to tell you," came the principal's dark tone.
"Hup!" She squeaked, which she thought she'd broken the habit of doing. "I'm listening now, sorry Mr. Principal, sir!"
"As I was saying," Principal Nezu hummed, seemingly very satisfied at having scared her, "Quirks these days are getting much more powerful and as a result, much harder to control compared to how they were decades ago. Students and teachers nowadays are feeling increased levels of stress because of these powerful and uncontrollable quirks. I fear that with these heightened levels of stress our students and staff will start affecting their sleep schedules-"
She bit her lip. She regretted giving away her spiked drink. Knowing the principal would be very angry if he caught her droning out a second time, she tried her best to hang onto every word he was telling her. He went on a tangent within a tangent, something about how stress led to poor sleep and appetite which no amount of ingestible nutrition could fix, and that she should already know these things because of what her quirk was and what she was working so hard to accomplish at Keio University. If she knew all of this then why was he lecturing her on it?
"-So the staff and I have discussed hiring a dedicated quirk guidance counselor to help on campus with our students who can also listen to our students' troubles," finished the principal, finally.
"That's great," she said awkwardly just to show she was listening the entire time.
"And that's why I'd like to hire you!" said the principal, excitedly.
For the second time tonight, Chise was taken by surprise. She knew she must've looked positively idiotic with her wide blinking eyes and opened jaw but she couldn't stop herself. Then, she watched in mild terror at how easily the little mouse principal convinced All Might to pick him up so he could be at eye level with her. He really did control All Might like a little puppet!
"This is filled with everything you'll need, including a list of your expected responsibilities and salary and benefits, to help you decide if you want to go through with the interview process. It also contains the necessary forms you'll need to fill out to process your interest in the position," the principal said, reverting to his previous gentle nature and holding out a manila envelope for me to take.
"Interview process?" She asked, confused.
"Why Chise, I don't want my staff and the public to think there's some nepotism going on. But Recovery Girl and I have already given the rest of the U.A. staff a glowing review in your favor. The others are still wavering on having you on board, so we decided to give them the chance to interview you however they wish. I don't think this would have been a problem if the name Cheshire was just a little more out there. You know you could've easily made NutriCrate a huge success as a hero support service, but it's very admirable that you operate at cost and keep things quiet just so other heroes can keep doing their jobs a little easier," the principal prattled on again.
Chise grimaced again at the not-so-well-hidden insults he threw at her. "I'm very selective with my clientele. I don't want pros to grow reliant on my quirk and then complacent with their hero-ing activities. Plus, if everyone knew what I could really do with my quirk Nutriment, I think it would be chaotic." She explained through a grimace, trying hard to resist the urge to give him her own version of a lecture on the value of brevity. She must've been out of her mind to think she would survive after talking back to The Principal Nezu.
"Hmm," hummed the principal, "very admirable indeed. Well Cheshire, if you want to leave, I won't be stopping you. I know you don't like to mingle in large crowds. You're very similar to one of our teachers, Mr. Eraserhead. Maybe your shared distaste for large crowds can be something of common ground to convince him to let you into UA."
Principal Nezu had already prevented her from leaving earlier, and they'd been talking for nearly thirty minutes because of the tangents, but she wasn't about to correct him, especially since he was finally leaving her alone and moving on to his next target.
"Eraserhead? Are you drunk?" came the principal's stern accusation from behind her.