Ch. 17

.o0o.

I walked into the office, Dad and Nezu in the room. Dad was standing up and Nezu was at his desk. I thought there would be at least one other person there, but it turns out that I was incorrect.

Nezu waved at me. "Come in, Sami-Chan!"

I walked in cautiously. "Am I in trouble for something?"

"Why would you be in trouble?" Dad asked me. "Unless there's something I don't know about."

"No, I didn't do anything, so that's why I was curious," I stated with a sly grin.

Dad merely squinted at me. "Hm."

"Well, Sami-Chan, since you're wondering why you're here, why don't you tell her, Eraser?"

Dad sighed and took a seat in front of the desk, and gestured for me to do the same.

"Sami," he started gently, "Your aunt Aila called me yesterday."

I gasped softly. Why in the heck would she call Dad for?

I frankly had no idea as to the real reason why, so I contemplated it. Since Dad didn't say anything, the most obvious reason hit me like a freight train.

"Did Na-Chan finally kick the bucket?" I said carelessly.

"Samiko!"

"Aila never calls!" I defended, "That's the only logical reason."

Dad sighed. "No, your grandmother is still alive," he said harshly.

I tried to hide my disappointment in a subdued huff.

"Samiko, that isn't a very kind thing to say, no matter who the person is," Nezu scolded.

I sighed, kind of hunching over in my chair.

"So…" I said after a moment, "Why did Aila-Chan call?

"Aila-Chan has been kicked out of Noraki-San's home. She has nowhere else to stay, so, if the school and police clear it, she will be staying with us."

"Which is why I am here," Nezu said kindly. "I have reached out to the police and will be getting an answer shortly."

"But," I said, "What if the police don't let her in?"

"Aila will get a background check and have to stay on site if she stays with us…" Dad ran a hand through his hair. "If the process doesn't come through, we'll provide her with some place to stay while she gets back on her feet. Like, help her pay for her hotel or apartment while she finds a job."

"Wait, so she was kicked out, kicked out?" I asked. No job, no resources, no money, no nothing?

"Yep."

"Why?"

He went quiet for a second. "You're going to have to ask her about that herself. It's not my place to say."

I wasn't sure what to think about that. On one hand, I understood the sentiment. On the other, why couldn't he tell me why Aila left? Knowing her, she wouldn't tell me anything, thinking that I was too young or that she was being selfish in doing so.

Yeah. Another reason why I really don't like my grandmother. She was really mean to Aila-Chan, especially after Mom died. And Aila definitely took it to heart. I never did take anything Na-Chan said to heart, and always told myself she was lying, which is how I lasted so long with them, but Aila-Chan? No. She loved her mother too much, so she listened to her mother's emotional abuse.

Did Uncle Milo do anything in her defense? Of course not. In fact, he was a momma's boy, and, frankly, agreed with everything she was coming at. He was almost for sure bipolar.

Some older brother.

Some uncle.

He ain't no Iroh, that's for sure.

"Either way, we're going to pick her up at the airport on Friday. She thought that she would be coming Sunday, but she moved it up to Friday afternoon this morning."

That was in two days.

Nezu's phone started ringing. We both fell silent.

"Nezu speaking...Yes….yes...Of course! I will let them know right away. Of course...Of--oh. I see...I will discuss that with her… Of course….Well, thank you for your efforts! We will be in touch soon. Thank you. Farewell!"

He hung up.

"It seems that they have given Noraki-Chan permission to live on-site according to our guidelines for the time being."

My heart basically leapt with joy. I would get to see Aila-Chan again!

"Do we have a time limit?" Dad asked.

"Not as of right now, but I doubt that Noraki-Chan would want to live here for an extended amount of time anyways…"

"We will discuss it later with her, Nezu-San."

"Perfect! Well, now that that's settled and everyone's informed, I suppose you both can go back to...doing whatever it was you were doing!"

The lunch bell rang. Just in time. We walked into the hallway and towards the staff room.

"Try to give her some space if you can, but I know you aren't really pushy like that." Dad advised after a moment.

I nodded. "Why didn't you tell me last night?" I inquired curiously in front of the door of the staffroom.

We walked in and he sighed as he took a seat.

"I wanted to get through today. If I told you, it would have been stressful for you since I know how you are about social interaction, and you didn't need to know right away, at least at first. Now that she's coming sooner, I figured I'd tell you now. And now that we have a definite answer, I think it's best you know now."

I sat quietly. Logical enough.

"The kids are going for their internships on Thursday...How do you feel?" He asked.

"About them?" I inquired.

He nodded as he stole another grape of mine. But now that the hero names session was over, it was fine.

"I mean...I think they'll do okay. I'm worried about Iida-San, though. Where's he interning at?"

Dad thought for a quick second and I saw his expression change. It was incredibly contemplative. Like he just realized something.

"He's interning with Manual...Over at Hosu."

That's when my gears started turning. "Hosu was where Ingenium was attacked...right?" I asked slowly.

"Yeah. That's where Hero Killer Stain has been lately...you know, the guy that got Ingenium."

"Yeah…"

We looked at eachother, both thinking the same thing.

"I have a suspicion that this may not end well, Dad," I told him lowly as people started filing in.

He nodded. "I'll keep an ear out for him."

I nodded in return a tight smile on my face.

I picked at my soba with my chopsticks, my lip twitching as anxiety pooled in my stomach.

Iida wasn't dumb, but right now, he was very out of it, from what I'd heard from Dad and other students. When you're in such an emotional state, there's no telling what people might do.

People like Iida-San who were loyal to a fault. I saw where this was going.

Dad, however, wasn't so sure.

He shook his head slightly. "I know what you're thinking...but Iida is a smart kid. I don't think he's going to get ahead of himself like you might think he is."

This made me doubt myself. Slightly. I know I didn't know Iida the way my Dad knew him, since I came to school after the Sports Festival and the incident. Perhaps I was missing some information.

But something told me that we both could be wrong. It was a 50/50 either way. Something didn't add up on either side.

I nodded, though. This would be something that I would be thinking about for a little bit.

"I'll still keep an eye on him," Dad said finally.

I ate my soba and finished my (surprisingly still warm) tea for today in silence. My mind was all over the place at the moment. From Aila to Iida to that nauseating feeling that Mineta left after looking at me… All the way back to when I was sent to Na-Chan's for half a year.

My life has been quite exciting, won't you agree?

"Are you ready for tomorrow?"

I looked up at Dad who broke my train of thought. (A/N: Who else has mugen train flashbacks?)

"What about tomorrow?" I asked.

"Your training starts," he said plainly.

I blinked.

"Oh."

"Are you ready?"

I shrugged. "I mean...sure. I'm not sore anymore, if that's what you're asking."

He nodded. "Good. Aila-Chan coming or no, you're training anyway."

I nodded. Of course.

"And I'm glad you're feeling better," he said, suddenly very sweet. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye, the classic Aizawa Family Smile playing on his lips.

"Because you're going to be worked to the bone."

I tried to hide the fear in my eyes as I swallowed. He meant it.

He stood up and I followed wordlessly back to his classroom. Just as he opened the door, he turned to me again.

"With discretion, of course."

I am in for it.

.o0o.

A/N: I know, I'm late. But, two chapters in two days in a row, how nice! I plan on being a little more regular with my updates now, but you know how it is.

Thanks for all your love and support!

Stay Strong!