The realization that she had a bit of a puppy love crush on Eraserhead came right after arriving home from networking night, and she found herself unable to look at the inky black pasta noodles she was making without seeing his dark ensemble; the way he'd stumbled after her with the glass she'd given him, half-empty; and, of course, how buttery his voice was, more delicious than any treat she could make.

It was a painful realization: she's got it bad. She shouldn't be falling head over heels for someone she'd just met. Actually, scratch that. Barely even met, she hardly interacted with him during networking night, and he was rude. But that didn't stop her from satiating her curiosity about him.

In a very stalker-like manner, she scoured the internet for everything she could find about Eraserhead. She knew instantly that he was one of those underground heroes because it was nearly impossible to find anything about him. But from what was officially released by the Hero Public Safety Commission and a few fan-recorded videos of him taking down villains, she realized that he was very good at his job as a pro hero. He had a 100% capture rate. This wouldn't be as shocking if he only handled a couple of incidents, but no, he averaged hundreds of resolved incidents per month, even when he worked full-time as a hero course teacher at UA. His numbers were good enough to rival the pros in the top fifty. The only thing that kept him much lower in the rankings was his abysmal public approval rate. Some had complained about his unkempt appearance, comparing him to what a homeless person might look like. On Reddit, she found complaints about his cynical and harsh personality as a teacher – judging how they were describing him, she figured the posts might've been from some past students he had.

It's good that she's realized it now. It's for the best, even if her heart yearned for something to fill her loneliness. Her situation was depressingly simple: she was alone in the world. No family, no close friends, not even a boyfriend. And pining after someone who she'd just met like she was sixteen years old wouldn't solve anything. Falling in love and getting her heart broken were the last two things she needed on her plate when she was this busy. Besides, she might not ever see him again.

She was still a bit on the fence about the whole working at UA thing.

Not because she didn't like the job. She did. She loved nerd-ing out about people's quirks, helping others understand quirks better, not just their own. Being given such a sought-after opportunity at UA with just her meager undergraduate degree in biology was unheard of. The position at UA had everything she wanted: a generous salary and benefits package, flexibility, accolades and prestige, access to state-of-the-art facilities, and much, much more. She shouldn't be hesitating, but she was. It wasn't because of the truckload of new anxieties and pressures she'd face working at UA. She was uncomfortable being around Principal Nezu for long periods of time with his mindreading skills and sadistic personality. She was also aware that her schedule was already bursting at the seams, adding another job might not be good for her health.

She was well aware of all those things, and yet none of them had any effect in worrying her. Eraserhead did though. If she accepted the job opportunity at UA, they'd be colleagues and forced to work together, and he already seemed very disinterested in her. Possibly hated her after the drink incident. Chise doubted she'd be able to function in any way that might be interpreted as normal if she was around him. Not after what happened.

In Chise's defense, Eraserhead got way too drunk from her tequila. He was a grown man. She did warn him. He should've known his limits.

He'd stumbled towards her just as she was finally released from Principal Nezu's clutches, looking betrayed, as if someone had poisoned him. She wasn't sure how long the silence lasted in the room after Principal Nezu had inquired about his drunken state - only that All Might was the one to break it. Eraserhead had ignored them and closed in on her, towering over her, ridiculously intimidating with dark, narrowed eyes and even darker hair, staring down at her five-foot-six frame as if ready to expel her but then realizing he couldn't.

Maybe it was the tiredness. Maybe it was because everyone's eyes were on her and Eraserhead. Maybe it was Eraserhead looking down at her with that pensive look, focused solely on her, and…all of a sudden, the entire situation was just too much.

She spun so quickly on her heels that she might've amazed All Might with her speed and ran away out of the venue.

No one stopped her, not when she ran down familiar hallways or when she zipped out of the guest parking lot. It wasn't until she'd made it into the safety of her apartment and slumped in her bed with her three-year-old hairless cat Dubu that she began to process exactly what had happened.

She was never going to step foot in UA again, not with Eraserhead there.

Chise figured that she'd be safe to take Dubu in for her annual veterinary visit in Musutafu the next morning, or she could live the rest of her life in fear of Eraserhead, looking over her shoulder for a very handsome pro hero turned villain, looking to exact his revenge for what went down during networking night. But she wasn't the meek, cowardly little high schooler anymore. She could handle things better if she saw him again, like an adult, like an actual pro hero, not that she needed to anytime soon.

Chise Sugawara was a first-year Ph.D. student in one of the best biology departments that focused on quirk development in Japan. Her university was housed in Minato Ward, within blocks of Might Tower, but otherwise far away from UA in Musutafu. Therefore, she reasoned that if she's never run into Eraserhead before in the supposed four years he's been in Musutafu teaching, then she wouldn't be running into him again soon, at least not for a few weeks until he had forgotten about her.

She'd never been more wrong in her life before, because here he was in front of her, towering over her and looking into her eyes coolly.

Chise tried to remain cordial and introduce herself as Cheshire, but he hardly let her get two words in.

"Yes, I'm aware of who you are and what your quirk is. Principal Nezu recommended you for the new quirk guidance counselor position. Many of us think you're far too inexperienced for the role, including me." He practically bit her hand off when she offered a handshake in an attempt to be cordial and introduce herself.

Chise knew overusing her quirk and her late-night habits of stress cooking was a toxic combo. The problem was that it always left her absolutely famished the next day, not to mention severely sleep-deprived. All of which led her to forgetting to set her alarm and now running very late for Dubu's appointment. And of course, the first cafe she stopped at before Dubu's appointment in search of a quick bite to eat was where she met Eraserhead again.

He seemed to have a deep love…perhaps obsession with coffee. The man downed his cup of extra-large black coffee like it was air. She had made him drop his first one (which was already half drunk out of) by bulldozing into him when he was trying to exit the cafe and she was trying to enter. Well, at least that's how she would've retold the scenario. What really happened was her libero reflexes kicking in from her volleyball days and she bounced the cup with the inside of her wrist so the hot coffee would spill away from them. So really, Chise had saved them both from getting burned when the coffee cup slipped out of his hands. Chise thought she did well for how sleep deprived she was.

Eraser was not impressed. Chise tried to put him in a better mood by giving him a muffin with his replacement coffee. He was still not impressed but took the muffin.

He studied her for what felt like too long, hissed in annoyance at her, then studied her some more while Chise twitched uncomfortably and pretended that she was very concerned about whether the hot coffee had splashed onto Dubu.

Crap. Crap. Crap.

"I have to run to Dubu's vet appointment now, so I'll be taking my leave. Sorry for bumping into you again."

Chise was beginning to think she was going to get off scot-free for this incident and last night's drink incident until his tone took a sharp turn and he regarded her with a bone-chilling glare.

"Is this what you do when you face a villain?"

"I'm sorry?"

Chise blinked up at him, confused.

"I'll be sure to tell Principal Nezu that UA has no use for a scatterbrained girl who can't control her quirk, runs away at the first sign of trouble because she's uncomfortable, and behaves more childishly than my first-year students."

"I-" Chise stumbled, trying to form something intelligent. "It's not– if you'd just let me explain myself."

She hated just how whiny and childish she sounded. She grimaced at herself and tried again.

"Then explain, you've got exactly five minutes."

"Look, it's not my fault that you can't hold your liquor."

"So, it's my fault."

"Yes."

He stared blankly at her for a moment, and then nodded. "Yes, of course." He must have finally understood where she was coming from, because his tone had lost some of its sharpness and back to being bored.

Chise exhaled in relief.

"She's quick to push the blame onto others, noted."

"I– What? That's not what's going on here. Ok, fine, maybe I am, but aren't you doing the same thing?"

A single raised eyebrow is the only movement that comes from his otherwise stoic face.

Chise blinked incredulously, unsure of how to proceed. She had a plan to be honest with him, and well, it wasn't going great. She frowned, frustrated.

Chise shut her eyes briefly. Their interaction was bordering on painful now. She didn't want to let the opportunity at UA go so easily, but she couldn't imagine a world where she could convince Eraserhead, much less get him to even like her.

"Ok fine," she huffed, throwing her hands up. "I'm sorry that I can't control Distillation yet. I'm sorry that you have all these grievances against me. Go ahead, tell Principal Nezu whatever you want."

It was better this way.

Maybe because she had a headache now and was on the verge of collapse because she'd been denied a chance to stuff her face with food from the café and she was shaking from low blood sugar as a result. Maybe because she realized that she would've hated to have Eraserhead as a teacher at UA. Or maybe she now knew for sure she'd never see him again because who'd approach her again after this? He was a butt just like Ben Ito, and she wanted him to know it. Because letting him off so easily felt like she was letting Ben Ito win, letting a big high school bully win, and she felt an odd sense of justice to protect the other Chise Sugawaras of the world, the ones who might, unfortunately, be Eraserhead's students.

"UA taught me a really hard lesson, took me about three years to master it – that it's a waste of time to try to convince someone who's refused to even give you a chance. Nice to know that UA still teaches that same lesson to their students."

There was no small amount of satisfaction that went through Chise when Eraserhead's expression soured. He was quick on the uptake that she was insulting him. She willed herself to leave, imagining that she looked very sure of herself like one of those female lead characters in a Korean drama.

"Ugh, you have the worst tastes in men, can't believe you fell for him, Chise. It's why you always get your heart broken." She berated herself as she dug her hand into Dubu's carrier to seek comfort from her cat, who gave a dissatisfied yowl when no treats were offered in exchange for pets.

What a disaster.

Chise tried to carry on with her day like she'd never met Eraserhead. But she knew, judging by how often she'd seen his face pop up behind her eyelids, she wouldn't be forgetting him without alcohol and a good snuggle session with Dubu later. And while she daydreamed about how things could've turned out differently, that in some universe she'd have a chance with Eraserhead, it never occurred to her that Eraserhead – aka Ben Ito 2.0 – might've heard her last comment.