So, when did Thirteen get a name officially? I swear, the name Kurose Anan was not always on the MHA wiki, right? I'm horrifically behind on the manga, unfortunately, so I actually do not know when that happened lol. I am a little sad that my Headcanon isn't canon about how they look, but hey it's close enough, so I'm keeping it!
Enjoy!
Chapter 12: Space Invader
Aizawa was sipping his coffee, enjoying it thoroughly, when Bakugou waltzed through the front door. Or, rather, he shoulder checked it open. As far as Aizawa knew, today was still grocery day, so Bakugou and Kirishima had left with Shoji to get the list sorted at the shop. Ishiyama had chaperoned them until they'd gotten back to campus, per Aizawa's request. Aizawa backed up to the wall, letting them pass him with the abundance of bags. Ishiyama paused beside him, slipping the expense card back into his hand.
"I have reconstruction work in the city," he says. "I'll be gone all day."
"That's fine. Kurose-sensei is coming by tonight," Aizawa assured them.
Todoroki turned his head enough to watch the two from the couch. A hand clasped his shoulder, turning him back to the video game at hand.
"Todo, you have to focus," Jirou says. "Kami is gonna pass you a dozen times if you don't."
"Ishiyama-sensei isn't staying tonight," Todoroki says, splitting his focus between that and the game.
"Jerk. Dodging my like that," Ashido grumbled. She was painting Asui and Uraraka's nails at the coffee table, scowling.
"Stop being so sore about it," Jirou teased.
"Bullshit answer."
"I'm surprised you got as far as you had," Asui admitted. "He could have just done what Snipe-sensei had."
"If he'd locked up on me, we were going to have words," Ashido declared. She capped the polish, looking over the little stickies that she could decorate with. She picked up a sheet, scrutinizing it until she found a small frog and a small planet.
"To be fair, he did actually answer you. Kind of," Uraraka says.
"He said none of them were single," Todoroki clarified. "So, they're dating someone."
"He wouldn't answer who!" Ashido whispered angrily.
She glanced up to see Aizawa was alone again, sipping his coffee, and probably wondering just what he was meant to do for the day. She plucked the frog and planet off the sheet, carefully sticking them on each girl's pointer finger. Asui held up the little planet to examine. Uraraka smiled down at hers. Both poke the other's finger-tip, Uraraka giggling.
"It's so cute!"
"You're matching, now!" Ashido declared. She held her phone up, setting their hands on the table to take a photo. "Another one for the board~."
"Do mine next," Jirou says. She jolted from the couch with a holler as she won the race.
"What do you want?" Ashido asks, holding up the sheet. Todoroki looked it over as well, leaning forward when Jirou pulled it down to look closer.
"Music note, obviously."
"Can I have the ice cube?" Todoroki asks.
"Sure! Pick your colors, girls, and I'll get to it!" Ashido slammed her carrying case on the table, the sheer multitude of colors looking like a rainbow had taken up residence. Jirou looked over the caps, where Ashido had painted the tops with the colors held within the polish bottle, picking out a nice blue. Todoroki grabbed a glittery black.
"Glittery?" Uraraka questioned.
"Like the ice."
"Pfft! YES! I love it!" Ashido laughed. She immediately got to work, popping open the bottle. "Hey, Kami, want in on this?"
Kaminari looked at his nails, humming. "Yeah, I want a new color."
"Oh, can I join?" Aoyama asks. Ashido nodded eagerly, ushering him over.
"…Ashido?" Todoroki asks. Ashido hummed, already at his other hand. "Can you do Thirteen's hands tonight?"
"Ahaha, what?"
"Paint their nails," Todoroki clarified. "They're the teacher staying tonight."
"Well, if they want me to," Ashido says. Uraraka sighed, rubbing her forehead so as not to ruin the nail job. Ashido blew on his hands, pulling the ice cube off and sticking it on his pointer finger.
"Todo, why do you want Kurose-sensei to get their nails done?" she asks.
"Don't act like you knew their name," Uraraka whispered.
"They need to get out of their suit to get them done," Todoroki says plainly, holding up his hand.
"Oh, good Kami."
"Is that the only reason?!" Ashido laughed. Aoyama 'tsk'ed at her, tapping his finger on the table.
"Don't tease, mi amor," he says.
"Which of us is the 'amor' there?" Ashido asks, wiggling her eyebrow. Aoyama smirked, resting his head on his hand.
"Why not both, hm?"
"Sly dog."
"Fox."
"Same thing!" Ashido says. She moved to Kaminari's hand. "Pick a pastie, mon bébé."
"That's not what the stickers are called," Asui says.
"Whatever, you know what I mean!"
"Hey, nerds what do you want for… what are you doing?" Bakugou asks. Kaminari jumped in his seat. Ashido whacked his hand.
"No! Don't ruin my work! Bakubabe, do you want a color and a pastie?" Ashido asks, smiling wide. Bakugou looked at the display. He reached over the couch, right over Todoroki, forcing him to bend forward, and pointed out a small gold ring off the sticker sheet. "Ooo~. I like it, I like it. Now a color."
"What do you nerds want for dinner?" Bakugou asks, plucking out a random color. Ashido snorted, holding up the pink polish for him to see. Bakugou immediately tried to snatch it back.
"Up-up-up! No take-backsies!" she declared. Bakugou growled at her, but leaned back, finally releasing Todoroki. The bi-color-haired boy looked up at him with an unimpressed look.
"What?" Bakugou spat.
"Did you have to do that?" he asks.
"Like you didn't enjoy it," Ashido teased. "I see that blush."
"Shut it, Pinky," Bakugou snapped. "Answer my damn question."
"I don't know. Stroganoff?" Ashido offered. She finished off Kaminari's hand, sticking a small lightning bolt on. She started on Aoyama next.
"Chicken confit!"
"Burgers!"
"Rice bowls?"
"Hey, do you think we can get Dad to let you do his nails?" Uraraka whispers. Ashido immediately sat straighter, looking right at Aizawa.
"I'm not touching that," Bakugou declared, heading for the stairs.
"You'd better be back!" Ashido shouted after him.
"Yeah, yeah!"
Ashido turned her attention back to Aizawa. He'd migrated to one of the tables, where a few students were actually doing homework they hadn't finished yet. She hummed, before taking the time to finish out Aoyama's fingers. He picked out a rose for his sticker. Ashido stuck it on and clapped her hands. Jirou was next, holding her hands up proudly when Ashido was done. Once she'd finished, she stood up, case in hand, determined.
"Sensei!"
Aizawa lifted his head up, in her direction. "Hm?"
Ashido quickly made her way to the table. "Can I paint your nails?"
Midoriya, who'd been going over homework with Iida, looked up at her. Iida looked at Aizawa. Kirishima, who was still in the kitchen, prepping meat for their dinner, stopped and stared with a wide smile. Ashido smiled confidently as Aizawa "stared" at her.
"Pardon?" Aizawa asks.
"Can I paint your nails?" Ashido asks. "With a sticker on one. Going for a theme."
Aizawa took a long moment to answer. Ashido started to shift her weight on her heels, nervously tapping her kit as she waited. Finally, he held his hand out, setting his palm flat on the table. Ashido squealed, ripping the case open.
"I'll doing something easy like black!" she says.
"What the fuck?" Bakugou mumbled from the kitchen.
"Do you want a sticker?" Ashido asks eagerly.
"Sure."
"Do you care what?"
"Surprise me."
Ashido looked over the sheet. She smiled wide, uncapping the polish and getting to work. Midoriya gaped at her and she sent him a wink. Once she had finished, she stuck the sticker onto his pointer finger with a giggle.
"Dare I ask what you used?" Aizawa asks. Iida looked over, smiling.
"A cat," he says.
"A tabby cat!" Ashido clarified. Aizawa smirked, shaking his head.
"Thank you, Ashido."
"No problem! Don't smudge it before it dries. Midoriya, Iida, do you want a nail job?" she asks.
"Are you doing everyone?" Midoriya asks.
"Planned on it," Ashido said proudly. "I even got Bakubabe to agree."
"I have complaints," Bakugou spat. Ashido stuck her tongue out at him.
True to her word, she did get to everyone in the dorms. She'd tried to paint Shoji's nails on all his hands, but they didn't keep the polish when he morphed them away and back. Ashido had finished his real hands solemnly after that revelation. She'd managed to give Kouda a nice pale blue, as well, with the promise (and delivery) that it was genuine sky blue. Ashido had taken the responsibility of picking colors for those who had no preference with a vigor, color matching several before settling on one. When it came to doing Bakugou's nails, there had been some issue.
"Touch me with that pink polish and I'll blow up the whole fucking case," Bakugou growled. Ashido stood in the entryway of the kitchen, polish in hand, with a glint in her eyes.
"It matches my skin tone, thank you very much, I think it's beautiful!"
"Like hell am I getting pink nails!"
"IT'S FOR ONE NIGHT!"
"FUCK OFF!"
Ashido set the polish down, cracking her neck and knuckles. Bakugou set the ladle down in the pot, squaring her up. Kirishima stood warily to the side, massive plate of meat in hand, with matching red nails. Glittery, of course.
Ashido pounced. Bakugou managed to catch her at the thigh and arm, holding her over him.
"You're the one that picked it!" Ashido shouted, trying to kick him, but her leg wasn't able to connect at the angle he held her.
"FUCK YOU, I'M GETTING ANOTHER ONE!"
"We'd be matching!"
"DIE!"
"Uh, what if I got mine repainted the same color?" Kirishima offered. Ashido halted her struggles, tilting her head towards him.
"Really?" she asks. Kirishima nodded enthusiastically and she looked down at Bakugou. "Bakubabe?"
Bakugou's eyebrow twitched. He set her roughly on the ground. "Fine."
"YAY!"
She'd tacked a plume of fire onto Bakugou's nail, and a small mountain on Kirishima's. Once everyone was done, she stood proudly at the dining table. She caught Todoroki's eye and smiled deviously.
"She's smiling like she does when she's got a plan," Todoroki says. Uraraka looked up, sighing, feeling sweat at her brow.
"Never good," she sighed.
The door popped open, then, with Kurose teetering into the room. "Hello, students!"
"Thirteen!" Ashido shouted immediately, over the chorus of the rest of the class. Aizawa raised his hand, grunting his greeting, before turning back to trying to help Jirou with math.
"Hello, Ashido."
"Can I paint your nails?" Ashido asks. Some of the heads of the class swiveled at her question.
"My nails?"
"Toes or fingers, I'll do both if you want! I've done everyone in the dorm! Even Aizawa-sensei!" Ashido announced proudly. "Can I paint yours, too? Make it complete?"
Kurose looked to where Aizawa sat. He'd held his hand up, letting them see the nail job alongside the cat sticker Ashido had stuck on. Kurose held back a snicker. They turned back to Ashido, caught slightly off guard at how intensely eager Ashido was looking at them. They glanced around the room, several students holding up their already decked out nails. All of them with a sticker on at least one finger. Aoyama had a sticker on every digit.
"Perhaps later, Ashido?" they offered.
Ashido gave a slightly disappointed hum. Aizawa cleared his throat, garnering their attention, and held up his hand slightly closer. Kurose stared at what was now clearly glitter infused black polish. They turned to Ashido.
"I would like to match Aizawa," they say. Ashido squealed, jumping up and down. "But perhaps after dinner."
"Sure!"
Midoriya sat back from his homework with a sigh. He had to admit, he hadn't thought Ashido would go to the length of painting everyone's nails (even Dark Shadow's claws) to rope Kurose into it. But, more importantly, he was realizing that Aizawa was right about the pain. Perhaps he would go to Recovery Girl for those metal bars he'd told him about. He stretched, popping his back, and twisting. His eyes landed on Todoroki, who hadn't taken his eyes off Kurose since they'd entered the dorm. Midoriya exchanged a concerned glance with Yaoyorozu, who was stuck sighing at Todoroki.
"Um… Shouto… are you okay?" Midoriya asks tentatively. Todoroki nodded, noting something in his phone. Midoriya chanced a glance at the screen. It was his conspiracies folder. Oh, no. "What'cha got there?"
"They have to eat at dinner," Todoroki says.
"….yes…?"
"They'll have to remove their helmet, Izu."
"Todoroki, no…" Ojiro mumbled. He turned around to him, looking tired already. "Shou..."
"One of my theories is about to be confirmed and none of you care."
"Shou, we'd care more if you weren't so hellbent on them," Uraraka says. Todoroki shoots her a blank stare. She patted his shoulder. "No, but seriously, we're getting a little concerned. I mean… you thought Midnight-sensei was a vampire for weeks."
"There's no evidence she isn't—"
"There's no evidence she is, Shou!" Uraraka shouts. She slapped her hand to her face with a sigh. She held her other hand up before Todoroki could even begin. "Don't get started on Kan-sensei. Just don't. I can't do it. I don't have the mental energy."
Todoroki clicked his tongue at her, turning back around to where Kurose was starting to help Kaminari set out the placemats at the table. "I can cross at least one theory off the board tonight, either way."
"Unless they decide to eat upstairs," Midoriya says. Todoroki's face was still stoic, but the look of utter devastation in his eyes had Midoriya frantically waving his hands. "No, Shou, I'm kidding! I'm kidding!"
"Don't tease him like that, he can't handle it," Uraraka says.
Todoroki did not cease to watch Kurose the entire night. Kurose took up the seat beside Aizawa once it was free, and as they waited for dinner, Kurose turned to him, looking again at his nails. The glittery effect wasn't exactly apparent until they glinted just right in the light. Otherwise, it looked like regular black polish. Kurose sighed. They really wanted to hold his hands. But they could feel Todoroki's eyes on them.
Even when they tried to mill about, checking on students, helping with homework, and even doing a short, impromptu interview with Midoriya, Todoroki wasn't far behind. He was like a duckling, in that way. Kurose didn't mind it, entirely, it was just a slight bit unsettling. Aizawa had not mentioned that kind of behavior before. Was this from Aizawa's blindness? Stress? Did Todoroki need to up his visits to Inui? Kurose made a mental note to ask about that. It wasn't until they had turned around to assist setting up the wii for after dinner that they finally felt Todoroki's eyes leave them. And purely because Bakugou had yanked the boy into the dining area, arms around his waist and hoisting him into the air so he couldn't escape.
"Would you stop stalking them, it's fucking creepy," Bakugou spat. He dropped Todoroki back on his feet harshly. Kirishima set a hand on Todoroki's shoulder, giving him a few pats.
"It's a little extra, buddy. Not very manly," Kirishima said solemnly. Todoroki shot them both a blank expression.
"I don't want to miss it—"
"Stop being a child!" Bakugou roared. Kurose glanced at them from the common room. They turned back to the group of girls they'd drifted over to, all huddled in the corner, painting their toes now.
"Is that typical?" Kurose asks, jerking their thumb in the direction of the three boys. Uraraka and Yaoyorozu both looked up. Yaoyorozu started to nod and Uraraka shook her head fondly.
"Pretty much," she sighed. Her eyes glanced back up when Todoroki rushed to the stairs, with Bakugou screaming after him.
"DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE, HALF AND HALF!"
"What is he doing?" Ojiro asks, leaning around the couch. Bakugou didn't answer, instead returning to making dinner.
"I'm not watching this train wreck," he says.
"Isn't the whole thing about those that you can't look away?" Kaminari calls over to them.
"Don't look in the first place, Dunce Hat," Bakugou says.
There was a distinctive sound of wheels on wood, clunking with each step, and slowly more and more eyes started to turn towards the staircase. Some horrified, some fascinated, and some laughing. Mostly the Bakusquad. Todoroki emerged from the stairs, a giant white board following him clumsily down the stairs.
"Why didn't you take the elevator?" Midoriya asks, sounding more concerned than confused.
"It didn't cross my mind," Todoroki admitted flatly.
"What is this?" Kurose asks, coming around to see.
"Sensei, no!" Uraraka shouted after them, hobbling along, unwilling to risk smudging her toes while rushing over.
Kurose halted when they'd turned the corner of the board. On the mobile white board was photo and drawing after photo and drawing, possibly an entire ball of string—more, as there were several colors—and notes. Notes pertaining to something. Kurose took a closer look, finding that they were theories, organized by color. Kurose snorted. Aizawa looked up from his spot at the table, feeling jealous he couldn't actually see what Kurose found to be so amusing.
"Oh, what is this…?" they ask.
"Sensei, do you swear to tell the truth and nothing else? Swear on this Book of Law if you do," Todoroki says, settling his hand on the board, over a photo so as to avoid the writing. Kurose turned to the room at large.
"Aizawa?" they call.
"Is someone dead?" Aizawa asks flatly.
"Wh—no?"
"Did someone break a bone, and or lose a finger or toe?"
"No."
"Did something break?"
"..No."
"Is there a fire, or acid melting something?"
"Hey! Rude!"
"No!"
"Then leave me be," Aizawa says, letting his head hang back again.
"Shou!" Kurose shouted, almost laughing at him. Aizawa grumbled, but slowly sat up in his seat. He came towards them with a scowl, knocking his cane on his surroundings in a manner that screamed irritation.
"What?"
"Is it alright that I swear nothing but the truth to the Theory Board?" Kurose asks innocently.
"…the what?"
Ashido burst out laughing, with Kaminari and Jirou following soon after. Aizawa whipped the cane in an arc, smacking the side of the board. Sero had come up to it, and barely managed to duck in time. The 'whack' that followed the connection was then met with a beat of silence. Aizawa turned towards Todoroki. Kurose took a step back, unsure how Aizawa knew where Todoroki was, or if he was just making a guess based on the fact he had hadn't hit him instead of the board.
"Explain."
"Um…"
"Todoroki, explain what this is still doing here, right now," Aizawa ordered, gesturing to the board.
Kurose ignored the snickering of the class and took a step forward. They gently guided Aizawa and Todoroki away from the board. They knew Aizawa wouldn't have to worry about Todoroki trying to slip away. Todoroki wouldn't even dare look away from Aizawa, despite knowing he couldn't actually see him. The kid had too much respect for his teacher to do that.
Kurose instead busied themself with examining the board. They were casually scanning the various theories until they felt someone trying to tug on their sleeve. They looked to the side briefly to see Uraraka and Iida trying to gently pull them away. They both looked a little flustered. Kurose held back a chuckle.
"Something wrong?" they whispered.
"It's uh… just," Uraraka glanced at Todoroki and Aizawa. Aizawa had his head in one of his hands like he was nursing a headache. "UUHH…"
Kurose turned their attention back to the board. They really doubted that any of them, perhaps aside from Bakugou, would actually attempt to yank them away. Even if they were whispering pleas ("Sensei, please, I must ask you stop" "It's embarrassing!"), Kurose was invested at this point, and they had a borderline obsessive level of focus when it came to finishing something they'd invested in. Most of the class was either content ignoring the entire display (aside from idly watching and snickering), were teasing Todoroki for the current interrogation he was undergoing, or were on Kurose's other side, whispering pleas equal to Uraraka and Iida.
Uraraka stopped trying to tug on Kurose's arm. She slumped a little, looking at the ground, and kind of panicking. She was racing through her brain trying to come up with something else to say. She wasn't even one of the ones dating Todoroki, but she and he were definitely more than just friends, and some of them were kind of dating him. So, really, this was just helping out her partners. And she was failing, apparently. Iida wasn't fairing much better, his only ideas boiling down to just begging Kurose to step away before—
Kurose snorted. Snorted. They pointed to one of the theories. And Uraraka felt her stomach drop.
"Aha… hmm. "Kan-sensei is a vampire", hm?" they ask. Uraraka buried her face in her hands. "Oh, and of course, "Kayama-sensei is a vampire—" slash "—a succubus"? Are these for Halloween?"
"N-no…" Uraraka mumbled into her palms. On so many levels.
"Ah. Well, I must say, the theory that Aizawa is a, oh what was it… ah, yes, "creature of the void", is a very interesting one, as well. Though, I would say I can't quite disagree with Nedzu being on that list too," Kurose says.
Oh, god, they were teasing them.
"S-sensei, please," Iida whispered.
"Well, for me, he got three right—"
"HE DID?!"
"Ashido, please!"
"What three?" Todoroki immediately asks. Aizawa sighed, turning to set a hand on Kurose's shoulder.
"Just spare us," he says, "And have dinner without the suit."
"Well, that would answer two of the three."
"Only two?" Todoroki asks.
"Be grateful you were right about any of them, Half n Half!" Bakugou shouts.
"Just. You can wear civies during dinner. You're not on duty," Aizawa reasons.
"And if you don't bodily harm may actually happen," Sero says, flicking his eyes towards Bakugou.
Kurose, however, turned to Todoroki. "You wouldn't actually harm anyone trying to figure these out, would you?"
"Not intentionally."
"…Right, I'll go without the suit."
"Thank you, sensei," Uraraka sighed.
Kurose nodded and looked back at the board. Theories about almost everyone on staff was there, somewhere, and even some about the class. Ones that they could see some humor in—like that Toshinori wasn't human, or that Aizawa had a secondary Quirk, or as they expected to see—that Midoriya was some "secret love child". They'd caught sight of Shinsou's name, and a string connected him to Aizawa, before Todoroki was wheeling the board back upstairs. Kurose linked their and Aizawa's arms, guiding him to the stairs.
"You should change out of your uniform, as well," they say.
"Bold to assume I own anything else," Aizawa says. Ashido snorted from the common room. Kurose lightly smacked Aizawa's arm, pulling him up the stairs.
"You know I know you do," they say, once out of earshot. Aizawa smirked.
"I knew they'd find it amusing," Aizawa admitted. "I don't get why, but they like it when I backtalk."
"It's calling sassing someone, and you're actually quite good at it," Kurose says, poking him in the side. "Is that normal behavior from Todoroki?"
Aizawa sighed, pinching his brow. "He has "theories" about everyone. I wasn't aware of the board, though. I don't know where he's been stashing that thing."
Once they'd gotten to the apartment, Aizawa pulled open one of the dresser drawers and threw a top at Kurose helmet. It was a mess of tie-dye. With bedazzled lettering that clinked onto the glass of their helmet. Kurose let it fall off to the floor, giving Aizawa a deadpan stare.
"I'd rather raid your clothes," they say.
"Hizashi's a closer size to you," Aizawa says.
He threw another shirt at them. Kurose caught this one, examining it. It wasn't nearly as loud—and they knew Hizashi had even louder things in his drawer—since it was simply a vibrant pink, with the color's name bedazzled on the front. They could work with this, at least. Why Hizashi had so many bedazzled tops was beyond them, though. Aizawa held out a pair of sweats as well. Kurose snatched them up, dropping them over the back of the couch. Kurose started to discard the suit, unclipping the sleeves/glove combo and letting them drop and deflate onto the cushions. Rather than try and unzip the suit, Kurose simply shucked it off and threw it to the couch as well.
"Just make a mess why don't you?" Aizawa teased. He could hear every time each piece of the suit was chucked away.
"Hush. Like you're not just throwing your clothes every….where," Kurose sighed. Aizawa had already thrown all of his uniform on the floor at the foot of the bed. No doubt there wasn't a pile purely because everyone else was throwing them into the laundry. They picked up the clothes and threw them at the back of Aizawa's head.
"Wh—hey."
"I know you know where the laundry basket is," Kurose chastised. They waited until Aizawa had donned his own pajamas before wrapping their arm around his waist with a sigh. Aizawa rested his arm over their shoulders.
"Have you spoken to Chiyo recently?" they ask.
"Not really, but there's not been a change, so I haven't bothered," Aizawa admitted.
"You've been checking?" Kurose asks, sounding just a little surprised.
Aizawa shrugged. He hadn't been checking every single morning. He didn't need to start off each day with a headache, after all. In truth, he was becoming disturbingly accustomed to being blind. The Quirk user was lucky he hadn't had the chance to go back to precinct to ask for his name. If he did now, it'd look concerning. Thinking back on it, he had been a little rough with the guy, but he wasn't sure he wouldn't have done the same thing if the effect was half as long.
His eyes were his entire Quirk, and while he was far from defenseless, he was also far from okay with it. Was this what it was like when he stripped people of their Quirks? He wasn't going to stop, of course. A good portion of his fighting style depended on his Quirk working just so he could more evenly level the playing field. He was stuck thinking about that when his mind wandered a little. Could he… use his Quirk still? His eyes still glowed in the darkness, and he could see in total darkness. He didn't, contrary to what he had figured out was common belief, work in complete darkness.
He worked with streetlamps and low light and the moon, most often. He hadn't really had a reason to test if he could use Erasure in utter darkness. He was pretty certain he couldn't, though, if he couldn't actually see anyone. He thought of asking Kurose to help him test it, but that thought was kicked down almost immediately. He was not opening up a black hole at the dorms, in the very tiny bathroom, which was the best place he could still think of for getting utter darkness if they just put a towel down at the door.
He patted Kurose on the back. "Put on a shirt."
Kurose's face flushed and they let him go with a sigh. Once they'd dressed, Aizawa opened the door and started down the hall.
"I almost wish someone was here to capture this on video," he says.
"Hm? Why?"
"I have a feeling you'll get a good reaction from them," Aizawa admits.
Aizawa was first down the stairs, stepping to the side and leaning against the wall. Most of the heads in the room turned in their direction. Todoroki had been setting some food dishes around the table and paused to watch. Midoriya, who had been placing the portion cutlery as he followed Todoroki around the table, bumped into him. He looked up and followed Todoroki's gaze, resting on the staircase, Thirteen's voice filtering down, commenting on the smell of the food. He immediately dropped all the cutlery to the table, scrambling to snatch a spare notebook off the bookshelf. He was so grateful that he kept a pen stuck in the spirals.
Thirteen's initial statement to Aizawa cut off and their footfalls came pounding down the stairs. They turned the corner quickly, looking to the dining room where the loud clatter of metal had occurred.
"Are you al—"
"SENSEI, YOU'RE SO CUTE!" Hagakure squealed.
Kurose jumped and turned away from Todoroki a moment. The final dish he'd been holding dropped from his grip. Midoriya shot his hand out and caught it, sloppily setting it on the table. Most of his focus was on hurriedly writing down the fact Kurose's skin was normal from her head to about her collar bone, and then started to fade to black. By the time it reached their elbows it was so black it looked as if their limbs were being cropped out of existence. They had on pajama shorts, so Midoriya couldn't tell when their actual body finished the 'fade' but it was already the complete blackness by the time it reached their mid-thigh.
Kurose smiled warmly as a few of the students scrambled over to them. Ashido was looking their arm over, starry eyed. She mentioned something about how the glittery black was going to look like stars when she put it on. Kurose had been planning on it. Most other colors popped far too obviously, and regular black was kind of useless, so once they'd seen Aizawa's nails, they were just grateful that Ashido had a glittery black in her arsenal.
"And your eyes!" Uraraka breathed. Kurose flushed lightly.
"Told you," Aizawa quipped, tapping his cane over to the dining table. Kurose's flush deepened and they rounded on him.
"I still disagree!" they called after him. They turned back to the class, most of whom had made a loose crowd by now.
"Sensei, tes yeux sont magnifiques!" Aoyama gushed. "Like the sea!"
"They're so vibrant," Uraraka says. "Gosh, they're brighter than Todoroki's eye."
Todoroki leaned around, glancing at the eyes. Kurose sighed. Aizawa was seated at the table already, smirking. They ran their hand through their hair, chuckling.
"I get them from my mother," they say. Todoroki leaned away, giving them a once over. He nodded.
"I did get two right," he muses.
"What two?" Aoyama asks.
"One, Thirteen-sensei's body is like a normal person's in silhouette—"
"That's oddly specific," Uraraka cut in.
"And two, their body is black like space," Todoroki finished off. He looked back up at their eyes. "I didn't expect the eyes, though."
"Stop focusing on my eyes, they're not that great.." Kurose mumbled.
"They're better than Toshinori's," Aizawa slipped in. Kurose spun on them. "Best on staff."
"They are not!"
"Just accept it, Kuro."
"You accept it, you're the one with the rubies in your head," Kurose says, walking up to him and poking him in the side of the head. Aizawa softly swatted their hand away. They'd been picking up more of Nemuri's mannerisms, it seemed, the more the two spent time together.
"Wh—oh, the glowing," Kaminari laughed nervously.
"Is this a real debate among the teachers?" Midoriya asks. Midoriya paused, his brow furrowed, and he turned to Kaminari slowly. "Wait what."
"What?"
"Glowing?" Midoriya asks. A few gazes turned to Kaminari curiously. Aizawa actually huffed out a short laugh, getting a few more to whip around to him.
"That was my mistake, Kaminari," he says.
"What?" Kurose questioned.
"He came downstairs for a drink and caught me in there instead," Aizawa says. Kurose sighed, pinching their brow.
"You didn't have the lights on."
"I did not."
"Yeah, it was freaky!" Kaminari says loudly, jumping up from the couch. "I thought a vampire had broken in or something, they were just so red in the dark!"
"Your eyes glow?"
"Since when?!"
"Sensei, what the fuck."
"Bakugou, language," Kurose chastised. They took their seat next to Aizawa, turning to him with a deadpan face. "I can't believe you didn't tell them about that."
"Didn't seem relevant."
"I almost fainted!" Kaminari shouted. Aizawa was silent.
"Sensei?"
"In hindsight, it does seem relevant."
Kurose snorted, laying their head down on the table. "You never cease to surprise me," they sighed.
Kurose had been looking forward to dinner; if they were honest. This was a premium way to get Bakugou's cooking without owing the boy a favor. They'd been wracking their brain for a way to get this food ever since Aizawa had raved about it. Was it opportunistic? Maybe, but they didn't really care. The overall amount of food made it feel more like a feast. They were a group of about twenty, though, so that made sense.
Kurose took their first bite and froze. They turned to Aizawa, cursing the world that they couldn't see their face right now, because they were pretty certain they were going to cry. This was by far the best ramen they'd ever had. And that included their hometown's local restaurant. Their mother would be so insulted if they said that. But by god, it was so true. They turned to the end of the table, where Bakugou was currently fending off Kaminari for trying to take a portion of food from his plate instead of the serving dishes.
"Bakugou, this is the best ramen I've ever had," Kurose says.
"Fuck off, Kami! You're damn right it is," Bakugou snapped, kicking Kaminari's chair away. Well, at least he was well aware, Kurose supposed.
And now they were already thinking of ways to get more of Bakugou's cooking, aside from siphoning leftovers from Aizawa. With food this good, they doubted that leftovers were actually common. They took another mouthful and sighed. Satou paused in their eating and gaped at them.
"Sensei… that's the spicy ramen…" they said. Bakugou whipped his head around, confirming that Kurose had indeed taken the spicy ramen. He barked a laugh.
"I knew you extras were just weak," he said.
"I think it's rather well spiced," Kurose says.
"I burnt my tongue on it…" Satou mumbled.
"I burnt my whole existence," Jirou says. Ashido snorted, laughing even as Bakugou threw curses at them. Kurose shrugged.
"I think it's great! It's just the right amount of spice," they say.
"I forgot you don't have any feeling on your tongue. It's impressive, really," Aizawa teased. Kurose knocked her knee on Aizawa's.
Once dinner was done, Kurose had intended to help clear the table. Instead, they were pulled away, literally, by Asui's tongue around their waist. The froggy student lifted them up just enough off the ground that they couldn't get a footing and dragged them to the living room. After Kurose's first confused yelp, once they had settled on the couch, they were left with all the girls (and Aoyama) in a huddle around them. Dark Shadow snatched the pile of plates they'd had out of their hands. Ashido took their hand in hers and held up the nail polish brush.
"You promised~," Ashido sang.
Kurose smiled, nodding. "Yes, yes I did."
"Now, you'll match Aizawa-sensei!" Ashido says, quickly painting. "Ocha, can you grab a sticker for me? Something space themed."
"Match…?" Aizawa muttered from the dining area. Hadn't there been a comment on the polish looking like stars—oh, of course she had. "Ashido."
"Hm?"
"You used glitter polish," Aizawa says. Ashido was silent, smiling wide, as she continued to work on Kurose's nails. Kurose had to hold back their snickering when Aizawa simply sighed.
"We'll match!" Kurose offered instead. They got a grunt in return. But, it had sounded like a pleased grunt more than an annoyed one. They looked over the sticker sheet as Ashido started on their other hand. "Oh, Uraraka, can I have that cat instead, actually?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah. It'll kind of blend in a bit, though," Uraraka says, peeling off a black cat head. Kurose smiled.
"I know. But the eyes won't."
Ashido giggled. She blew on Kurose's first hand before gingerly taking the cat sticker and plopping it right on Kurose's middle finger. They would have to be careful showing off the paint job, then.
"Perfect!" Ashido declared.
Translation: Sensei, tes yeux sont magnifiques! = Sensei, your eyes are beautiful!