Chapter 19 - Start of Something New
When I woke I knew immediately something was different. For one thing I was not on a couch anymore. I was on a futon with the sheets pulled up over me while my shoes were mysteriously absent from my feet. And for another, the room I was in was incredibly dark. I got to my feet groggily, my legs giving a weak protest as I shuffled blindly in the dark until I found a wall. Following it led me to a door, and with a twist of the handle I stepped out into the hallway beyond. Blinking through my weariness I looked about the dimly lit space and recognized it as Aizawa's house. I had somehow been transported back to my bed without me knowing about it. Though, honestly, I doubt anything would have woken me up after I had collapsed like that. I was lucky that I was only out for a few hours and not an entire day. It was the same day, right? Looking down the stairs to the front door told me that the day had come to an end without me to witness it. Nighttime had fallen.
I heard noises coming from the first floor, and I let my vision flash briefly. A familiar gray-blue soul was the only thing that met my gaze. Aizawa was alone. This was his house after all. Who else would be here other than him? But still…. After my conversation with All Might I wasn't ready to face Aizawa just yet. I didn't know just how far I had fallen in his eyes, or what he would think of me now after he had seen me run away like the scaredy cat I was. I was on unsure grounds again, and I didn't know what to do or even what to say at this point. How does a person begin to unpack the shame they felt for their actions?
My stomach wasn't waiting around for me to figure out an answer to that question. Lunch was a far off memory, and I was simply starving. I couldn't return to my room and feign ever having woken in order to postpone my encounter with him till tomorrow when I would have a more solid answer. I would never be able to sleep with the way my hunger was turning over inside of me. Cursing my ravenous need to eat something, I slowly made my way down the stairs and shuffled into the entrance of the kitchen. I stood quietly in the passageway as I watched Aizawa tend to a boiling pot in front of the stove. His hero costume was gone again and in its place a long sleeve shirt clung to his torso while comfortable looking dark gray sweatpants hung about his waist. He had tied up his hair in a half bun at the back of his head to keep it out of his eyes while he stirred the food. I was reminded just how normal he could appear when he wasn't in hero mode - how less intimidating he could be. Admittedly, I liked this side of him far better.
"You're finally awake."
I stopped my observations on his appearance, dropping my eyes to the ground at his feet when I heard his voice. Numbly, I nodded in reply as I didn't trust my mouth to form words yet. I could feel his eyes as they slowly washed over me, taking in my withdrawn form standing in the threshold to the kitchen, not quite entering it, but also not moving away.
"Are you feeling better?" He asked.
I nodded my head again, still unwilling to meet his eyes.
"Hmm." There was concern in that voice, no doubt in response to seeing the dramatic change come over me. I felt the eyes leave me as Aizawa turned away.
"You scared All Might quite a bit when we couldn't wake you up." He began, returning to the contents on the stove. "He rushed you over to Recovery Girl when he thought you had gone into a coma considering nothing we did had any effect. But the old lady confirmed that you were just sleeping and would wake up when you were ready. So I brought you back here once school ended. Thought that would be better than letting you wake up in the nurse's office with everyone gone."
I guess Aizawa hadn't either clued All Might in on this particular drawback of my quirk or didn't have time to before All Might whisked me away. Had my body given me more time I would have told him myself before I went under, and perhaps spared them all the fuss and concern over something that I had to deal with frequently. Very briefly I pondered just what measures they had tried to wake me with. Finding an unresponsive body would alarm anyone into trying something drastic to see if they could wake up the sleeper. Judging by that all I felt was the stiffness in my legs from the exercise earlier that day, whatever they had attempted they hadn't resorted to any lasting extremes. That just left the problem of how I got back here to Aizawa's house. I wasn't too sure how I felt about the thought of being carried in Aizawa's arms, especially after today. True, I was partly grateful that Aizawa had taken the trouble to bring me back here so that I wouldn't wake up in a strange place, but on the other hand being lugged around brought back feelings of renewed shame like I was a dead weight that needed to be looked after. I knew I was becoming a burden to him - just an extra stack of problems and hassle to his growing plate. He had better things to do than to look after my sorry ass.
"I'm sorry." I murmured sincerely, raising my face to Aizawa's turned frame. My eyes fled back to the floor as Aizawa tilted his gaze towards me when I had finally said something.
I heard him sigh when I refused to look at him. "You must be hungry. Dinner will be ready in a moment. I'm afraid no special pizza arrived for you today, so you'll have put up with my cooking skills for tonight."
His tone offered nothing more.
Was that it? Were we not going to talk about my actions from earlier that day? Was I not going to receive a lecture about running away from my fears? I hadn't had a chance to explain myself or apologize yet for everything that had happened, and I felt like Aizawa at least deserved to hear it after he had shown me the courtesy of bringing my body back here. If I didn't do it now, then I wasn't going to do it ever, and that would leave me with my shame to slowly eat me away until I was hollow and utterly useless. No, I had to do it now if I wanted to move forward. My head snapped up and Aizawa was waiting for me there as our eyes connected. He saw the surprise and confusion etched behind my eyes as my mouth opened, allowing a tumble of words to unceremoniously fall out.
"I - you - I'm -" I started and stopped, struggling to find the right words to begin. I cleared my breath, taking a deep sigh. "About earlier today - "
"I want to apologize if we - if I - frightened you." Aizawa spoke up before I could go on. "That was never my intention. All Might explained to me the reasonings behind your actions, and gave me some insight to how you view the world around you. For someone so reckless, he is surprisingly observant."
I took a step forward into the kitchen, stunned. "Why are you apologizing to me? I know you and Midnight didn't mean to do...that. I'm the one who ended up running away. I'm the one who couldn't keep it together. I'm the one who's a complete mess. I acted like a coward when I'm supposed to be here helping those kids become heroes. How can I help them with that if I can't at least act like one?" My voice was steadily rising as I balled my fists at my sides in show of my frustration.
Without breaking eye contact, Aizawa left the stove behind and walked forwards to stand in front of me, his hand stretching out hesitantly towards me. He stopped before he could touch me as his expression searched mine for any hint of fear. I didn't move away this time and he took it as my permission before gently touching my shoulder. The weight of his hand there grounded me, temporarily silencing the demons in my head.
"You are not the one at fault here. That firmly lies with Midnight and I, and I should have never let her take it that far. My failure in stopping her ultimately ended up hurting you in the process. I see that now."
I let my gaze fall to the floor as my doubts began to rise again. "But -"
He continued before I could refute further. "You are here because you can offer a different perspective to those students - one that will help them grow to be far better heroes than us. Those kids need to hear a voice from someone who does not embody the typical vision of what a hero is - someone who fights against their own personal demons and actual villains. The mental scars you carry do not make you a coward. They make you perfect for this job as you will be able to empathize with those kids when the rest of us cannot. You are fine just the way you are, so stop trying to apologize for it."
All my weaknesses, all my insecurities and self doubts were fine? They made me the perfect person to teach those kids? Aizawa's words repeated inside my head until it was all I could hear. But even more important than those was hearing Aizawa say that I was fine just the way I was. To hear those words spoken by another person, to be validated in the eyes of a hero - this particular hero - sent my inner voices scattering to the far corners of my mind.
"When did I suddenly care about what he thought of me?" The single question resonated through me, startling me slightly. But I did care. Searching through my thoughts and emotions I found this to be true. In our short time together I had come to respect this man before me enough for his opinion to carry such a weight, and for his words to have such an effect on me.
I lifted my face up to those piercing orbs, seeing the genuineness within their dark depths, and I felt the tension leave my fists as they unfurled at my sides. I could feel my soul connect with his, and all my inhibitions I had chained myself in simply fell away. Cautiously, I raised my hands to surround Aizawa's torso as I stepped forward, drawing myself into his chest. I felt his body tighten in my sudden embrace, but he also didn't try to push me away. My fingers fisted the back of his shirt as I buried my face into his chest, breathing in his scent deeply. I didn't remember the last time I had touched someone like this. In my long years of reclusivity I didn't realize I had also become physically starved from the comfort of another physical being. Humans are not meant to be alone - a fact that I had long been running from. So confident I was that I already had all I needed to survive in my isolation. But I was wrong. I needed this. My soul and body needed this.
A moment passed and I felt Aizawa's muscles relax against me before feeling his strong arms wrap around my frame, pulling me closer and encasing me against the protection of his body. For the first time in a long time a sense of serenity washed over me and I could feel all my fears subside. Within those arms, standing there against him, I had finally found my safety. It wasn't a place I had found to hide myself in, but a person who I could stand beside and face whatever life threw my way.
Time disappeared between us, and I didn't know how long we stood there together before the smell of something burning caught my attention. My inhibitions came flooding back to me, making me realize exactly what I was doing and who I was doing it with. I quickly withdrew my arms from Aizawa, taking a step back to recreate the distance between us.
"Sorry." I murmured quietly in apology, slightly now embarrassed that I had forced myself upon him.
When he didn't say anything back in reply, I turned my face upwards, desperately hoping that I hadn't offended him. But instead what I found there made me reconsider all previous notions I ever had about him. There was no scowl there, no smirk, or his usual annoyed exhausted expression either. This was something entirely new. He was looking down at me with such a forlorn expression, his eyes half hooded and framed by tendrils of black locks that had escaped from being tied. He looked like he wanted to say something, to release the hidden thought that was trapped behind those unblinking eyes, but the increasing smell of singed food drew both of our attentions back to the stove top to find the pot contents beginning to smoke there.
The melancholy expression transformed into irritation on Aizawa's face as he saw his work rapidly being destroyed. Hastily he crossed back to the stove, taking the pot off the burner and waving his hand above it to disperse the haze that now lingered in the kitchen before it could trip the smoke alarm. The air began to clear slowly and he glared down at the contents of the pot as if they had insulted him deeply. Releasing a defeated sigh, he turned back to me.
"Any chance you could have your mystery accomplice send us another pizza?" He asked.
I seriously doubted I could get into contact with Ivan without him reaching out to me first, but there again he had known where I had ended up staying last night so maybe my stalker was keeping closer tabs on me than I realized. But looking back at Aizawa, I found that I didn't want to try to reach out to Ivan as a solution to this problem. I could fix this on my own, and perhaps redeem a bit of myself in the process. Even if it was doing something simple like cooking.
I stepped forward, my eyes leaving Aizawa's as I focused in on the task before me. "Let me take a look at it. I might be able to save it."
He moved aside as I took stock of the burnt food. A mixture of chicken and rice laid inside the metal container. The top of it still looked edible, and sticking a spoon into the contents I confirmed that it was - a little bland as there were no seasonings in it. That was good though. I could make this work.
"I can save it." I murmured in confirmation, speaking more to myself than to Aizawa. I tapped the spoon thoughtfully to my lips as my mind drew up everything that I would need to salvage the meal. "Do you have some vegetables, eggs, and a frying pan I could use?" I turned back to the hero as he studied me.
He rubbed his hand over his eyes, thinking. "I might have those things. Check the fridge and I'll fetch the pan."
We each separated to our own missions as I headed to the fridge, and Aizawa to the lower cupboards of the kitchen. Opening the fridge I did my best to hide the look on my face as I saw just how empty it was. Like the state of his living room, just the bare essentials were in the refrigerator. A few eggs, some milk, a stray onion, a few carrots, but more than a few packs of beer. Did this man not eat actual food or something? I gathered the eggs, rescued the onion and carrots, and stepped back to put those onto the counter before diving into the freezer. At least this portion was a little more occupied. Tons of ice packs, frozen vegetable mixtures, and microwaveable meals lay inside. That answered that question as to what Aizawa ate typically. Convenience and ease was clearly to the forefront of his mind. But not tonight. Tonight I would give him a home cooked meal.
I withdrew a bag of peas from the frozen depths, and, armed with everything I needed, I headed back to the stove. Aizawa leaned back against the countertop, arms folded and eyes inspecting the ingredients in my arms as I approached. He had managed to find a frying pan and it now rested on the stove next to the pot.
"Stir fry sound good to you?" I asked, laying out the food beside the stove.
He made a grunt in approval and I quickly got to work cleaning and dicing the vegetables into the pan. My stomach was quick to remind me of its displeasure, and my hands expertly flew as I cooked speedily to pacify it. With the vegetables sizzling to one side of the pan, I added in the eggs, tossing and scrambling them until they formed small chunks. Off to my side, Aizawa silently observed me, a hint of contentment on his face as I flipped the contents in the pan before scraping in the edible remains of his chicken and rice. I drizzled the entire thing in soy sauce, adding in garlic, and small amounts of sesame oil to let it all combine.
I heard the sound of a drawer opening and closing, and before I had a chance to turn to see what Aizawa was up to, a spoon dove into the pan in front of me. It made a swift retreat back before I could say anything as he brought it to his lips and tasted the mixture. His eyes went wide, and for a moment I thought with horror that I had messed up one of the cooking steps or had made it too salty.
"It's good." He murmured in slight awe, his tongue rolling around the food in his mouth before swallowing.
I breathed a sigh of relief at his confirmation. We didn't have any more food for a redo if this didn't work out.
The drawer opened again and Aizawa fished out another spoon, digging into the pan once more and holding it up to my mouth expectantly. I looked down at the offered food in my face and back up into those eyes. I was being spoon fed, and had I been in a different state of mind I might have taken the spoon from his hands like a normal person. But my hunger, in seeing the offered food served up so enticingly before me, took control of my senses and facilities, and so I opened my mouth and took the spoon within it. The smile in Aizawa's eyes faltered slightly, momentary shock replacing it before the smile was back shining a bit brighter than it had been before.
I turned away, swallowing as a blush came to my cheeks when my actions caught up to me in my mind. "I think it's ready now." I said hurriedly, fixing my gaze back onto the pan and turning the stove off.
"Hmm." Aizawa pushed off the counter, twisting to the upper cabinet behind him and scooping out two bowls for me to ladle the food into. He placed our separate spoons in the respective bowls and walked them both to the small table that sat in the center of the kitchen. I trailed after him like a dog after a treat, my stomach leading the way after it had a taste of what was to come. He placed my meal down on the table as he took a seat opposite of it. Hastily, I dragged out my chair, sitting down and eagerly digging in before my butt could hit the seat. God, was I hungry. I didn't slow down, though I did try to mind my manners as Aizawa watched me with some amusement in my frenzy eating. If I hadn't been starving at that point, I would have noticed that it was the first time I was sharing a meal I had made with another person. It was nice. I liked this feeling of sitting down to a meal and not having to eat alone. Tonight was turning out to be a lot of firsts for me.
Aizawa began to dig into his own food, leaning forward to rest his arms on the table as he ate. The motion caused his shirt to wrinkle slightly down the front and I caught a glimpse of the Nezu sticker behind the dark fabric.
"You've still got the sticker." I observed quietly, my eyes fixed to the spot under his shirt.
"Hmm?" He glanced at me before looking down at where I was looking. Aizawa gave a scowl as he saw it too, a hand digging past his collar and peeling the sticker off.
"Thanks." He murmured to me, crumpling the sticker and chucking it into his pants pocket. He stared down at his unfinished food, pausing before speaking firmly. "If Midnight makes you uncomfortable again, come tell me. I'll handle her. I want you to feel safe here." He snapped his eyes up to mine and I froze from the intensity of his stare with my spoon halfway in-between my lips. His gaze was sincere though, and I gave a nod in understanding. A warmth spread through me and I wasn't sure if it was just from the food hitting my stomach.
The electronic ding of a text message sounded through the kitchen, emanating below the table from Aizawa's pocket. Digging into the side of his pants, Aizawa's hand withdrew his phone as he glanced down at the screen, an annoyed tick crossing his face. He gave a sigh, and shoved the phone back into his pocket.
"Midnight will be stopping by in a few minutes." He said, picking up his spoon once more to shovel it through his food with haphazard intention. "She wants to drop off some clothes for you. Something about not allowing you to wear the same thing three days in a row."
Right. Midnight had said that morning that she wanted to "dress me up". That fated hour had finally arrived. This drew up feelings of anxiousness within me as the image of the buxom heroine came to mind, but I silenced those emotions with the memory of what I had found within Aizawa's arms. I remembered the strength I had found there, and now I also had the promise of Aizawa's support in case things went too far. I could feel my confidence slowly renewing within me, and I knew I could face her and whatever she had in store for me - as long as she didn't throw a curveball at me. And, given what I knew about her personality, that was a likely possibility.
"Ok."
"If she tries anything, just call and I'll come." He pinned me with a steady gaze in a show of his commitment.
I answered with a small smile. "I think I can handle her now, but I'll call you if something happens."
The corners of his lips turned upwards in a grin when he saw the revived spirit in my eyes before he turned back to his meal. "I didn't know you could cook this well." He spoke down to his food, switching topics.
"If you want, I can cook us something again tomorrow." I offered, taking another mouthful from the bowl in front of me and swallowing. "It'll make me feel like I'm actually doing something here, and it's only fair if I help out after all the extra work I've caused for you."
"You're being irrational." Aizawa said back quickly, not sparing me a look. "You're not creating any more work for me that I can't handle." He paused as he reconsidered the food in front of him. "But, if you feel like you want to be of use, I can assign cooking duties over to you. Tell me what you'll need beforehand and I'll go purchase them since you're not permitted to leave school grounds."
I nodded my head, my eyes now alight that he taken me up on my offer to be of help. Plus, I had an ulterior motive. After seeing what was currently in his fridge and freezer, I had serious doubts about my future dinner meals if I left the cooking in his hands. Not to brag, but I was a pretty decent chef. I had developed the skill over the years in my avoidance to go out and visit restaurants or depart with my money to pay for take-aways that would only last for a meal or two. But I still wanted delicious food to stuff my face with, and so I had learned how to cook meals on my own.
Aizawa had seen the spark in my eyes, and quickly added on in cautious warning. "Nothing fancy, or expensive. Keep it simple. I'm not hauling bags of groceries back here every night."
"Sure thing." I grinned at him, his words not dampening my spirit - or plans - in the least. Already, I was planning out the week's meals in my head, trying to decide what I would create first. Fettuccine Alfredo was a strong contender. Simple to make, but oh so delicious. And I was dying for something Italian.
The doorbell rang out, splitting the pleasant atmosphere that had come over the kitchen. Midnight had arrived.
"Remember what I said from before." He reminded me as he stood up, crossing into the hallway and opening the front door. I followed after him, lingering in the threshold as I peered around the corner to see Midnight standing on the doorstep. She was out of her hero costume too and was wearing a sweater dress that reached to her mid-thigh, though she still kept her signature red-rimmed glasses. She looked deceivingly demure, normal even, with that attire. A single finger twirled around a strand of dark hair as she entered and stood aside to allow a train of robots to glide past laden down with boxes and shopping bags.
"Up the stairs, boys! It's the first door on the right." She directed to her posse.
"Human female has arms. Human female can carry her own items." The robots grumbled bitterly, rolling past me in a single file into the entryway and up the stairs to my room. They returned quickly with empty hands, speedily disappearing back out into the night before Midnight could give them another command.
"Did you bring your whole closet with you?" Aizawa questioned in a huff as he shut the door behind them.
"Ha! Not even close! I just brought the things that I thought Eve would need. Speaking of which...has she woken up yet?" Midnight's eyes found me then and she scrambled forward, gathering my hands into hers. "You're awake! You had us all worried!"
"Sorry about that." I said, my eyes dropping a little. "But I'm better now. I kinda went overboard today and my body shut down in a spectacular fashion as usual."
"Does your body always do that?" She frowned slightly, looking me over. "It would have been nice to have had a heads up, you know. But you should have seen how half the faculty was running around in a tizzy. Aizawa here was particularly worried about you." She smirked back at the hero, and he returned it with a scowl.
My blood ran cold in my veins as I remembered all the trouble I had ended up causing for everyone. When Aizawa had mentioned it to me earlier, he had made it sound like it was just him and All Might who had found me - not half the staff. That was even worse. Way worse. Tomorrow was going to be interesting for sure when I had to show my face again.
Wait a moment. Back up. Midnight had also said that I had worried Aizawa in particular, which implied that he had been worried more than the rest - more than even All Might. Sneakily, I flashed my eyes over to the glowering figure, having no idea that he had cared so much. He hadn't given any indication to his feelings earlier when I had woken up initially. Though, I was getting the sneaky suspicion then that it was he who I had actually scared, not All Might like he had told me. That left with me some interesting questions to dissect through later.
I turned my attention back to Midnight to answer her before Aizawa could catch me staring at him. "Not always. Just when my energy levels are particularly drained." I explained to her.
"You didn't have to wear her out so much." Midnight said over her shoulder to Aizawa, a sly grin in her expression. His eyes widened at the double meaning before his gaze darkened considerably.
"I believe I mentioned to you earlier that you owe Eve an apology for what happened today." He growled coldly.
"Right!" She spun back to me, clasping her hands tightly in front of her as she turned remorseful. "Please forgive me! I got carried away in my plans, and I ended up putting you on the spot making you uncomfortable. I promise to try to control myself in the future. I hope you'll forgive me." There was no trace of the vixen from before. Nothing but penance was in her eyes as she waited for me to reply.
"I'm sorry too." I breathed out, nodding back. "I shouldn't have run away like that. I'll try to be better in the future as well."
Midnight let out a squeal at my forgiveness, and before I had time to react I was jerked into her chest as she rubbed her cheek lovingly against my head. "And I'll help you with that too! Just leave everything to me. I'll give you so many reasons to be confident with yourself that Mr. Gloomy over there won't know what to do with you...or to you."
"Nemuri…" I heard the warning in Aizawa's voice.
"Let's get started, shall we?" She grabbed my hand and launched herself up the stairs, pulling me behind. "Let me show you what I've brought for you."
I didn't want to go, but there was no getting away or denying Midnight. Tentatively, I looked back at Aizawa as I was dragged up the stairs.
He stared back as he passed through into the living room. "Call me when you need me." He said before disappearing out of sight.
I couldn't say anything back as I was pulled into my room, the door slamming behind me before Midnight released her hold on my hand. Several stacks of boxes now occupied the space in my bedroom, and I regarded them hesitantly, wondering what exactly Midnight had brought me. Visions of corsets, tights, and mini skirts danced in my brain, and I gave a shudder at the thought.
"You can go through the boxes later if you want." Midnight spoke up, kneeling down in front of a large shopping bag. "I've gathered a wide variety of clothes for you so you would have a good selection to choose from. Nothing too flashy since I didn't think you would go for that kinda thing, but at least you'll have more than one outfit to wear now. Keep or toss back to me anything you don't want or isn't your style. I have closets filled with more clothes than I know what to do with, so you don't need to worry about putting me out." She turned back to me on her knees with a pink bag in her hands, excitedly waiting to show me what was inside it.
Stealing myself for whatever she had for me, I crossed the room and sat in front of her.
She continued as I sat down. "Now, I figured that you wouldn't want to wear another woman's intimates, so I went and got these for you." She reached into the pink bag and withdrew a black lacy pair of underwear for me to inspect. I took it from her hands, my fingers feeling over the silky fabric. The color black was fine, one of my favorite colors in fact - as long as it wasn't a soul's color. The lace part, however, not so much. But no one was going to see me in it, so I let it slide. It'll be fine. It was better than wearing the same one over and over again and having to wash it each night. But feeling the fabric again, I gave a frown. I could tell that they were expensive.
"Thank you, Midnight." I looked back up at her with slight apprehension in my face. "But I can't pay you back for them right now. The police still have all my money frozen."
"Don't worry about it." She waved away my concern. "Mic paid for everything anyways."
I felt myself grow still. "Why would he do something like that?"
"Well, he didn't exactly buy these, per se." She explained. "I used the money from our bet at your match against Aizawa. Should teach him a lesson to not bet against my innate intuition."
"I guess that's okay then." I mumbled, feeling a bit more at ease knowing that Mic was at least not aware of what his money was being spent on.
"There are some more pairs in there for you - one for each day of the week, plus a few more for more interesting situations - should they come up." She pushed the pink bag into my hands, and went to retrieve another bag. I didn't question her on the 'interesting situations' part. I was starting to get a clearer picture of what she was implying, but I didn't understand when or even why she thought I would be in need of something like that. Dating wasn't exactly on my mind at the moment. Let's be honest - it was never on my mind - and after all it takes two to tango, and there was no one but me. Those particular undergarments would be doomed to the back of the drawer, fated to be forgotten and unused.
Midnight returned with the next bag in her hands, quickly verifying the contents within and speaking. "In this bag there is some makeup, toothbrushes and toothpaste, body soap, deodorant, and hair products that I thought you might need or use. If I know Aizawa, and I do, then I know that he puts minimal effort into maintaining his hair. But with hair like yours, you'll need more than what he has. And men's 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner isn't going to cut it." Midnight pressed this bag into my hands before withdrawing another.
"And this one I've put together for you deals with your more womanly needs. There's pads, tampons, pain relievers, and shaving equipment. I know Aizawa hasn't supplied you with these. Men are so obtuse sometimes when it comes to women and what they have to deal with." She sighed in exasperation. She added this on top of the growing mound in my hands.
I mumbled out a sincere thank you at her thoughtfulness. I hadn't come to need those things just yet, but I was getting close. Midnight nodded her head at my thanks and brought forth the last bag. It was silky black, and if bags could have personalities, then this one was exuding seductive sinfulness. I eyed it warily, but my hands were currently full to accept the addition so I turned to deposit the bags onto the futon for me to dig through and disperse into the shared bathroom later. With my back turned to Midnight I caught a sudden change in the air and a shiver went up my spine as if I was being stalked by a predator. Before I could turn back, Midnight's hands snaked their way under my shirt, traveling up to cup my breasts over my bra as she pressed herself tightly against my back. I panicked at the foreign touch on my body, scrambling to get away from her reach, but Midnight was latched on like a viper and in the process we both tumbled to the floor in a heap. I squirmed under her, trying to pull myself out, but I couldn't with her weight pressing on top of me. It was time to call in for backup.
"AIZAWA!" I cried out in earnest as I felt those hands give a firm squeeze.
"Oh, hush now." Midnight chided. "I'm just seeing if the bras I bought for you will be a good fit. Breast size is sometimes so hard to judge. There's so many factors involved."
"AIZAWA!" I cried out again, a bit louder this time. "I'M NOT FEELING COMFORTABLE!" I pounded my fist against the floorboards for extra measure. My room was right above the living room so I knew he could hear me from below.
No more than two seconds passed before the door to my room banged open against the wall with Eraserhead glowering down at the two of us. He caught the sight of our jumble of limbs and legs, and his expression fell blank.
"What exactly is going on here?" He spoke carefully, keeping his voice even.
"Oh, hi, Aizawa!" Midnight greeted him cheerfully, her hands still under my shirt as I continued to writhe in an attempt to get away. "Have you come to see the new lingerie I got for Eve?"
"Definitely not." He growled, stepping forward. "It's time for you to go home, Nemuri. It's late and you're being too loud. You both are distracting me from my work."
"Oh? What kind of distraction?" Midnight's face lit up wickedly at the thought as he picked her up off of me and pushed her towards the door.
"The distracting kind." Aizawa grumbled sharply.
"Aw, you're no fun." She pouted at him, bracing herself in the doorway to prevent Aizawa from dragging her further out. "But I suppose you're right. A woman needs plenty of sleep to maintain her beauty." She let go suddenly and Aizawa was able to march her back down the stairs.
"See you tomorrow, Eve!" She called out over her shoulder at me. "Let me know how the underwear and bras work for you. I expect a detailed report tomorrow!"
I heard a small noise from the stairs as if someone had missed a step down. Midnight let out a snicker followed immediately by the slamming of the front door before all was quiet once more. I sat back up and repositioned my now wrinkled shirt back over my stomach, the ghost touch of Midnight's groping hands still lingering over my breasts.
Footsteps drew up the stairs and Aizawa appeared again in the entrance to my bedroom. "Are you okay?" He asked, looking down at me.
"Yah, I'm fine. Thank you for coming to my rescue. Midnight's grip is something else." I breathed, rising to my feet and hastily picking up the scattered pink and black bags before Aizawa could see their contents. I tossed them into the lone dresser for me to sort through later.
He watched me carefully as I slammed the drawer tightly shut. "What was she doing to you?"
"Something that does not bear repeating or remembering." I gave an instinctive shiver, digging my hands into my armpits and crossing my arms over my chest protectively as I felt those squeezing hands again.
"Hmm. I think I might have something to distract you then, if that's the case. Come downstairs." He beckoned me.
Curious, I followed him out and down to the living room below. Aizawa's laptop sat on the coffee table while a notebook was tossed haphazardly onto the couch from when he had left in a sudden hurry moments ago. The TV was on and currently paused, and I recognized Bakugo's face frozen in mid frame with murderous rage in his eyes. Aizawa picked up the notebook and pen, resuming his position on the couch as I sat on the opposite end.
"I'm going over the video feeds from the students' combat training session with All Might. They should prove to be an interesting distraction for us both. Take a look."
He resumed the recording and I felt my jaw drop as I watched Bakugo release a pin from the grenade bracers around his forearms, sending a rampaging storm of flames and explosions down a hallway straight at Midoriya. Midoriya braced himself against the attack, but was thrown violently backwards out of frame. Smoke and crumbling debris obscured the camera and I wondered if I had just watched someone die. Aizawa paused the screen, turning his head towards me.
"Thoughts?" He inquired towards me. There was no concern in there to what we had just witnessed.
"Is - is Midoriya still alive?" I asked tentatively, slowly ripping my gaze from the TV to stare back at Aizawa with horror. The death of a student was not something you conveniently forget to mention to someone.
"He's fine." Aizawa assured me. "A bit banged up, but he'll live to wreck his body another day."
"That's a relief." I breathed out. "Not the wrecking part, but the fact that he's alive. What about Bakugo?"
"He's fine too. The rest of the students didn't have any serious injuries either. Midoriya was the only exception. One of his arms was broken due to his quirk, and the other was badly burned. Recovery Girl was able to fix his injuries up to a certain point, but he'll have to visit her again tomorrow to be completely healed. He's going to need to get a handle on his quirk fast if he has any chance succeeding here."
My eyes twitched in disbelief. "That's not what I meant."
Aizawa tilted his head as he watched my face. "All Might gave Bakugo a stern lecture about causing reckless damage to the building. He seemed to take it to heart so I see no need to further punish him."
I dropped my head into my hands. Aizawa wasn't getting it so I would have to explain it to him. I drew a finger at the TV. "Didn't you see what Bakugo just did?! He clearly has it out for Midoriya! I'm sensing some childhood grudge or even some trauma between the two. Someone needs to knock some sense into Scowl Boy before he seriously hurts someone else, or attacks Midoriya again!"
"Scowl Boy?" Aizawa quirked an eyebrow at the nickname, and I slammed my mouth shut in slight embarrassment that I had let my moniker for Bakugo slip out. He sighed and turned back to TV. "Someone does need to knock some sense into him, but it won't be you or I. Watch." He clicked the button on the remote and the recording started up again.
From my position on the couch I watched as Midoriya stood up before engaging Bakugo in hand to hand combat. Though, it looked more like he was being used as a punching bag for Bakugo's explosions. When it became clear a fist fight wasn't going to be the answer, Midoriya scrambled away towards the blasted out windows while Bakugo stalked after him. The video recording was also able to pick up on the conversation between the teens, and my suspicions were confirmed about a childhood jealousy existing between the two. But there was such a fierce determination behind Midoriya's eyes that I was second guessing my need to stand up to protect him from the overzealous blonde. In that moment he did not look powerless standing there facing down his opponent with his teal hero costume torn and tattered. There was a fire within him to win this despite the overwhelming force before him. In an instant the pair launched towards the other, and I wanted to flinch but continued to watch as Midoriya shot a powerful air wave above both of their heads. The ceiling of the building crumbled under the pressure as a hole was blasted through all the upper floor levels.
I blinked, seeing the incredible display of raw power from someone so young. Teens these days.
The camera angle switched over to a different section of the building where Uraraka and Iida were facing off against each other. I was quickly catching on that the student battles were being done in sets of teams. It made sense considering heroes often didn't work alone - a fact that had been a royal pain my backside in the past. But who was Midoriya partnered with? Was it Iida or Uraraka? I watched carefully as Uraraka used her quirk on a support column to launch the onslaught of resulting debris towards Iida, effectively blinding him to her next move as she jumped onto the warhead prop. With the way Iida was demanding Uraraka to stop in the "name of villainy", I assumed he had been given the part of a villain to play. That would certainly align with Bakugo's destructive actions if they were partnered together, but that could also be just how Bakugo was. I wouldn't put it past him given his temperament.
"I've got it!" Uraraka cried out in relief as she hugged the weapon tightly, ending the match.
So Uraraka and Midoriya were working together, and Midoriya had planned that earlier attack with Uraraka which meant that he was thinking two steps ahead of his opponent. I could see that now. The young teen was proving to be full of surprises. The video switched back to Midoriya, and I could clearly see the damage that had been done to him like Aizawa had described. His right arm was a gruesome purple shade, held high in the air above his head while his left was painfully charred from when he had positioned it defensively in front of his face to take the full force of Bakugo's blast. His expression told me that he was in severe pain, but he still wasn't backing down. He was badly hurt, but he wasn't out. Bakugo's eyes flew open in fear and realization of the damage he had inflicted, and the opponent he had clearly underestimated.
"As you can see," Aizawa spoke up on my right, "someone has already stepped up to contend with Bakugo. You and I don't need to do anything, but guide those two to become better, stronger heroes. I think each of them will be the push that the other needs for them both to improve. Competition and the desire to win is a powerful motivation." He gave me a pointed look as if to say that he talking about me as well. My mind raced back to my quirk assessment earlier that day and the urge to win that had filled me then, pushing me to succeed against my opponent even when my body was taken hostage. But I hadn't resorted to maiming Aizawa in order to win like Bakugo had done to Midoriya.
"I suppose…" I trailed off, still not completely convinced. Bakugo wasn't the kind of person who would give up so easily on his explosive anger for Midoriya. Those feelings ran deep, and I knew he would try something again. The question was when exactly. Teenagers were tenacious creatures.
"Let's move onto the rest." Aizawa clicked the fast forward button, zooming through the setup of the next student battle until the players were set into position. "We've got a lot of video to review before tomorrow morning." He reluctantly released a yawn, and his eyes drooped heavily down. He leaned back against the couch, notebook in his lap as he firmly settled in to watch all of his students' mock battles through to the end.
I gave a small nod, doing the same and curling up on my side. Together we watched the students' matches, and I got a firm handle on each of their quirks and individual natures. Every now and again I would throw out an observation or comment - some of which Aizawa would jot down on the pad in his hands, while others he would explain the students' actions to me so that I could understand their reasoning. He had a surprisingly keen eye when it came to those kids and their inner workings.
The hours drew long into the night, and after a while I could see that Aizawa was fighting to stay awake with each passing minute. He had been out late the night before and had no chance to recover like I had done - albeit unwillingly - during the day. When the fourth match came to a close and the screen menu popped up to continue onto the next battle, I peered over at Aizawa when he made no move towards the remote. I felt a smile twist at the corner of my mouth when I saw the peaceful scene that had occurred in my distraction. Aizawa had fallen soundly asleep with his head resting in his hand. His hair had completely fallen out of its constraints to hang loosely about his face as steady breaths from his lips made the individual strands dance back and forth. The notebook lay forgotten in his lap and the writing pen went slack between his fingers. I surveyed him, remembering the last time I had caught him sleeping. It had been back at the HPSC not too long ago, though it felt like another lifetime by now.
"How quickly my life had changed since then."
My eyes dropped to the notebook in his lap, an idea coming to mind. Silently and carefully I eased the paper and pen out of his hand, and settled back to my end of the couch. A small smile graced my lips again while I watched Aizawa's tranquil face for a moment more. I turned back to the TV screen, notebook in hand, and clicked the remote to start the next match. I silenced the TV so I wouldn't wake the sleeping hero. Lord knows that he needed the rest more than me right now. Coffee and caffeine can only do so much before in the end sleep was what the body desperately needed. In this area at least I could make myself useful. Taking up the pen between my fingers, I added my notes alongside his as I reviewed the next mock battle while Aizawa continued to sleep peacefully beside me. I could sense that this night was the start of something new between us. What that something was exactly, or where it was going to lead, I wasn't sure on quite yet, but I knew whatever it was we were going to be all right.
I honestly didn't expect this chapter to end up the way it did. The characters took on a life of their own and before I knew it this *gestures broadly* happened. Happy accident, I guess. And I also figured that we're about 78,000 words in, and perhaps it was about time for some feel good comfort and beginnings of feelings. Yeah? Actual romance may be a ways off yet, but now we have a foundation for the pair to build on and to move forward with. Thank you Midnight and her not so subtle plans.
I would like to send out a sincere thank you to my first reviewer! Seeing your review put a smile on my face when I saw it come in. I'm glad that you're enjoying the story so far and are looking forward to what I have in-store. In the upcoming chapters things are going to get kicked up a notch, and it's about damn time too. I've been wanting to get to these parts since the beginning of writing this story. They're the first scenes that jumped into my head weeks ago, and now they're right around the corner. Hallelujah.