Monsters and Tea

Estelle dropped into Class 1A's training to speak with Mr Aizawa. When she fought the dark spirits from her world, Estelle couldn't help but long for her katana back home. Knowing that her personal one would be impossible to get, Estelle hoped she would be able to settle for a katana in general.

The class was training as usual. Mr Aizawa and All Might stood next to each other as they conversed about their students. Walking into their view, Mr Aizawa was the first to notice she had appeared.

"What can I do for you, Estelle?"

"I was wondering if I would be able to request equipment? I would like a katana."

"A katana?" Mr Aizawa asked whilst he looked down at Estelle with surprise.

"Yes, it was something I frequently used in my own world when dealing with the creatures."

"Ah, the monsters. Of course, I'll take you to the support lab."

"Thank you."

To the trio's wonder, a teacher arrived with his students at the entrance of the gym.

"That's enough class A; class B is scheduled to use this training room every afternoon." The teacher stated. Turning to Mr Aizawa, he grumbled, "Eraser, get your kids out of our way."

"You're not trying to kick us out early when we have ten whole minutes, are you?" Mr Aizawa retorted.

Before the teacher could answer, one of his students spoke up instead. Estelle could faintly remember the blonde hair.

"Hey, did you hear? The licensing exam had a fifty per cent pass rate. That means your entire class might fail.

"Who is he again?" Estelle asked curiously.

The blonde turned to the girl with a dismayed look, clearly unhappy with her asking.

"I'm Monoma! From class 1B."

Estelle scanned him before shaking her head. "Never heard of you, plus there's a second hero class? How disappointing," Estelle stated out loud as she thought about Shinsou. He should've been there rather than the reject stood in front of her laughing maniacally.

'Patience, he'll make it', Estelle reminded herself. Ignoring the class's further conversation, the time for class 1A training session had ended since the ten minutes had passed with mindless chatter. Turning towards Mr Aizawa, Estelle trailed him out of the door to head to the support gear room.

"How are you holding up?" Mr Aizawa enquired as they both snail-paced their way across the corridors.

"As good as I can be."

"Understandable. So this katana of yours, I'm guessing you're fully trained on how to use it?"

"Yeah, it was my main weapon back home."

"What about your abilities? I would've assumed that would be your main defence?"

"It depends on the situation. Dark spirits all have different weak points like the heart or their skull. Exploiting those weaknesses are easier with an actual weapon. There's a lot more control."

"That makes sense; it sounds like you know what you're doing."

"I've had to fight them my whole life. I know more than most."

"That you did; it sounds like a lot of work. It must have been strange coming to a place that is tranquil compared to that."

"It was actually nice to have a bit of a breather", Estelle admitted, slightly abashed and turned her head away. "It's why I enjoyed working with Nona so much. Doing something mundane after a lifetime of adventure was peaceful."

"I understand, but if you enjoyed the quiet life so much, then why did you enlist into the hero course?"

"I figured that was the best way to find my way back home. As much as I enjoyed it with Nona, it wasn't my life."

Mr Aizawa stopped his pace at that and inquired, "What do you mean?"

"I don't belong here. Plus, fighting is all I know. It's all I've been trained to do. Anything else just seems wrong."

Understanding dawned on her teacher. Nodding, he continued walking with Estelle by his side. To him, it was a pleasant surprise to find her answering his questions. On the other hand, he could still tell she was holding back. He felt for the girl.

Things were starting to make sense for Aizawa. The way she moved in the entrance exam was actually because she knew the battlefield like the back of her hand. She didn't seem to have had a childhood. It explained how she acted and how she talked. Nobody should grow up to fight. It sounded like she was groomed to be some sort of soldier. Aizawa's heart ached slightly at the revelation. This was probably the most normal she had ever experienced within her life.

Gazing down at the girl, Aizawa resolutely decided that he would help her continue that normal as much as possible.

The duo reached the support gear room, and Mr Aizawa stuck around with Estelle to ensure the request for her weapon was accepted. Due to the metal types having different names, Estelle relied on his suggestions and ended with sharp steel for the blade. Once everything had been completed, Estelle and Mr Aizawa went their separate ways.

Estelle had some monsters to deal with.

Estelle walked through the doors of the heights alliance with hunched shoulders. She was exhausted from the fighting she had to do today. There were over triple the amount of dark spirits roaming around Japan. Luckily for Estelle, they tend to head to isolated spots like the woods because the landscape is similar to the spirit lands.

It was near daybreak; Estelle had been fighting all night. Estelle once again appreciated her classmates for leaving a meal under some tinfoil. Too tired to reheat the plate, Estelle took the container to the sofa and immediately dug in.

Her stomach finally relaxed at the food, and Estelle laid back on the couch. She continued to eat her food.

The sofa was comfortable.

Estelle fell asleep with the plate still on her lap.

Tokoyami was one of the first of his class to wake up. Getting ready for the day, he headed down to the dining room for breakfast. To his wonder, he found Estelle passed out on the couch, dead to the world.

Tokoyami took the plate off her lap and placed it onto the table before heading to a small cupboard. He found what he was looking for when he located a small blanket and threw it over Estelle lightly. He knew that she would have a crooked neck from sleeping in her position, but he didn't want to wake her up. He could tell she was exhausted.

Leaving her be, Tokoyami headed to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. It was early since the class were due to go to training. The students slowly trickled into the kitchen for the day; they had all noticed Estelle sleeping but left her be. She didn't have training like the rest of them.

Shoto was the one to mention her when the class were beginning to get louder the more they woke up from their sleepy states. "Estelle is sleeping; stay quiet."

"What time did she get in last night? She must have been tired if she never made it to her dorm room."

"She ate the food we left out for her, though!"

"Tch, of course, she did. My cooking is the best" Bakugo butted in with a grumble.

The class chuckled at that before continuing with their meals. Placing all their plates into the dishwater, Class 1A headed back to their dorms to finish getting ready for school. They all stopped near Estelle's couch. They all weren't too sure why they did until Tokoyami pointed it out.

"She's shaking."

The class turned their heads to face the sleeping girl who was curled up on the couch. Her body was indeed shivering, the light tremors evident through the blanket. They all shared glances of concern, causing Izuku to take a step towards the couch.

Gazing down at her, he noticed that she was sweating slightly too but made no outward mention of it.

"Don't worry, guys, I'll wake her up. Go on ahead," Izuku assured. Most of the class nodded in assent but didn't budge. They were clearly interested in the actions of the unconscious girl.

Taking another step, Izuku raised his hand towards her shoulder to give a light shake in hopes of waking her up. To everyone's shock, his hand was stopped before he could even reach her.

Estelle gripped his arm with wide, unseeing eyes with her hand. Pulling him forward, Izuku jerked with a yelp whilst Estelle whipped out a Kunai from her utility belt with her other hand. Before a blink of an eye, Estelle had the Kunai to Izuku's neck whilst she held him in place.

The confusion was evident on everyone's face. Bakugo was the only one to recognise the look Estelle had. It was all too apparent from the sports festival and the practical exam. He reared his arm to stop the others from interfering, causing them to gaze at him in puzzlement. Bakugo just shook his head and didn't say a word.

Estelle made no move to actually harm the worried Izuku.

"Hey, um, Estelle. It's just me, Izuku. I was just trying to wake you up; I think you were having a nightmare."

Estelle froze and blinked a few times like she was just waking up. She immediately relaxed when she saw the calming face of Izuku looking down at her reassuringly. Dropping her arm that held the kunai, Estelle outwardly sighed in relief.

"Sorry about that, Izuku. I get jumpy when I'm sleeping."

"It's okay!" Izuku reassured quickly, raising his arms in a waving motion to emphasise his truthfulness.

"What time is it?"

"It's half eight; we were getting ready for class."

"Oh, crap. I forgot to update Mr Aizawa. Thanks for waking me up. I didn't say anything, did I?"

"No, you didn't, and it's no problem! Can I ask..."

"Yeah?"

"When did you get back last night?"

"It was around five in the morning."

"Huh?" The class yelled out. Estelle turned to face them in surprise. She hadn't realised they were there due to her sleepiness.

"It was a busy night." Estelle explained before continuing, "My apologies again Izuku, I'll try to get to my bed, so I don't freak you all out. Thanks for the meal, It was good."

"No problem." The class yelled out happily. The demeanour within Estelle was much looser. They didn't know if it was just because she was tired, but she didn't seem as cold as she usually was.

"Tch, of course, you did. I'm the best cook!" Bakugo yelled out again. Estelle raised a brow in surprise.

"You should cook more often, Ruby. I enjoyed it."

"Tch", Bakugo responded, a red hue dusting his cheeks. The class brightened up at the slight change within Estelle. Little do they know - Estelle just wanted them to forget the scene they just witnessed.

Estelle stood up from the couch, the blanket dropping to the floor with her action. Her hero outfit was still on due to her falling asleep before she could get changed. Staring at the blanket curiously, Estelle asked, "Where did that come from?"

"That was me; you looked cold", Tokoyami answered.

"Thank you", Estelle muttered back appreciatively before folding up the cloth. Tokoyami nodded back at her in acceptance as Bakugo narrowed his eyes at the bird boy.

The class disappeared shortly after, and Estelle went to her dorm room to switch into her second hero costume. She had requested a second one when she got her license so she wouldn't be without one when the other was cleaned. Updating her map, Estelle realised that it would take a while to get a solid location of the bridge.

Arriving downstairs, the class all headed to the gym for another training session for the exam in the next week. Estelle only really tagged along to speak to Mr Aizawa. To her surprise, on the way to gym Gamma, Estelle saw Shinsou from the corner of her eye. Estelle hadn't really had the chance to speak to him in person since the training camp. They had managed to share some sparse text messages, but Estelle had been so busy she had neglected his training. Estelle felt guilt grip her as she split from her class and headed towards him.

Noticing her walk away, the class watched curiously as Estelle made her way to Shinsou in the distance, only to be met with a soul-crushing hug. They chucked slightly when Estelle tried to break out of his hold before giving up and letting the boy be.

The class kept walking onwards since they figured she was going to be a while. A few students gazed at the pair with a frown.

'They look closer than ever.'

Estelle was stunned at the floofy male's reaction to her. It was unexpected since Estelle had the train of thought that Shinsou would be furious at Estelle. When he finally let go, Shinsou kept his hands on her shoulder whilst he gazed down at her.

"You scared me at Kamino Ward. I watched the whole thing, and I'm so glad you're okay," he rushed out.

"Yeah, sorry I haven't been able to train you."

"Pft, forget about that. I'm just glad you're here. Alive. When I saw you bleeding and passed out - I didn't know what to think."

"I'm sorry. I'm okay."

"Sit with me", Shinsou ordered whilst he took a seat by the trees. Estelle followed soon after. The pair sat in silence for a while before Shinsou spoke up once again.

"So, another world?"

"Yeah."

"That's unbelievable."

"Well, believe it."

"How do you feel knowing that everyone knows who you are?"

"It's odd. I was used to the fact that nobody knew. They don't really know me though, they just know the simple fact that I'm not from here."

"That's true. What's going to happen then? Are you going to go back home?" Shinsou asked. Internally, he was worried that she would just disappear and leave. Shinsou didn't want that; Estelle was the first to befriend him. She didn't care about his quirk, she cared about his goals, what drove him, and she helped him when most people just branded him as a potential villain. Shinsou didn't want that to disappear.

"Well, right now, there's a bridge between my world and this one. It's allowing beings from my world to appear. I've been given a partial hero license to handle it. When that's been dealt with, and the bridge has been found. I most likely will return home before I close it for good."

Shinsou sat in astonishment at the information Estelle revealed to him. She was going to leave him, just not yet. Shinsou slumped against the tree because he had no idea what to call the emotions he was feeling. He almost wished there was no bridge and she was stuck here. But that was selfish, and he couldn't be greedy when she had been so kind to him by training him to be what he always wanted to be. A hero.

"I see; I'll support whatever decision you make."

"Thank you Shinsou, I hope I get to see you join the hero course before I go."

"Yeah, it would have been better if it was with you, though."

"Hey, we don't know how long this will take. Don't think like that," Estelle lightly scolded whilst bumping her shoulder against his.

"You're right. Are you still going to be able to train me?"

"Of course, my schedule is hectic due to the breach, but I'll make time. It might be less frequent, though," Estelle explained.

"That's fine, I understand. Thank you."

"Tch, don't get all mushy on me."

"Says the one who likes stroking my hair", Shinsou taunted back with a smirk.

"Shut up!"

Shinsou laughed.

Estelle's eyes glinted, a ghost of a smile.

It was not long after that when Shinsou and Estelle split up. She headed to her original destination, the training room where Class 1A and their teachers resided. Once she reached the entrance, she heard Mr Aizawa speak up from ahead.

"It's about time, Estelle."

"Apologies, Mr Aizawa. I was held up last night."

"It's fine; what do you have to report."

"There was a large increase of spirit activity last night. Luckily, they like to be in places that resemble their home. So they don't tend to be near people. I dealt with all of them, but I haven't gotten any closer to finding the bridge. It's going to take a while."

"That's fine Estelle, we already knew that this was not going to be quick. Since the spirits aren't wreaking havoc now, the commission is happy to let you deal with it. They sent out a notice to all the heroes to get in touch with you if they come across anything of suspicion."

"Makes my job easier that way, so I'm not complaining."

Estelle was greeted with the whole of Class 1A relaxing in the common rooms. She had just finished hunting for the day. They hadn't noticed she had entered, so she took the opportunity to quickly update Mr Aizawa on her findings before coming back for food. The process was brief since Mr Aizawa was happy to shuffle her out of the door as soon as she was done. Estelle was okay with that; she's had to talk more than ever before. She needed a breather.

Heading straight into the kitchen, Estelle found her meal laying under foil once again. She figured this was going to be a repeat occurrence since she was always late back. Though she probably wouldn't show it, Estelle was grateful that they took the time to put something at the side for her. At that, Estelle felt a glimpse of longing for Nona and her excellent cooking.

'I should visit her soon.'

Estelle took a seat and dug into the food laid out for her. From the first bite, Estelle could tell that it was Bakugo's cooking again just from the sheer amount of spices he added to his food. She enjoyed it but wondered how he was placed on the rota for two days in a row. Her thoughts were interrupted when she was nearing the end of the plate by Sato. The male rushed past her and into the kitchen only to come out with a few dishes a minute later.

"Oh, hey Estelle! I didn't realise you were back. Mind helping me take a few plates into the living room?"

Not wanting to be rude to the seemingly soft male holding a bunch of treats, Estelle went into the kitchen with her own plate to put away and followed after Sato with trays of sweets. Before she could question him why he had made a mountain of sugar, they arrived at the living room crowded with students.

"Sugar Time!" Sato yelled out happily.

Estelle was only more bewildered.

Following Sato's movements, Estelle placed the trays onto the table, which were immediately surrounded by her classmates. Jumping out of the fray, Estelle watched as they ate ravenously.

'Why are they acting like it's going to disappear? it's only sweets?' Estelle questioned silently. After noticing Estelle was back, the class immediately jumped to grumbled greetings since their mouths were occupied. Ignoring them, Estelle turned to leave and head to her room.

Walking towards the door, Estelle bumped into a figure that dived in her way. Looking up, Estelle found Sato staring down at her timidly and holding up a small tray of sweets.

"Sugartime is for everyone. Come on."

Estelle felt a little uncomfortable but didn't have the heart to decline. From what she was aware of the male, was that he was kind and gentle. She always saw an overgrown teddy bear whenever she looked at him, primarily when he used his quirk. With that, Estelle followed behind him and accepted his plate of sweets when they were back with the class.

He stared down at her earnestly and nodded for her to try. Estelle exhibited a scratching sensation at the back of her neck from the situation but followed his lead nevertheless and took a bite.

'Oh, that's why they were acting like that', Estelle finally understood. Estelle found that his cooking was fucking delicious. Her mouth watered before taking another bite, clearly anticipating the next wave of overjoyed taste buds.

Sato grinned down at Estelle with a wide smile. He was nervous himself when he walked up to the female, frightened that he would've been shut down immediately. He watched her eyes light up slightly when she had a taste and was reminded of why he loved cooking so much.

The class secretly eyed the interaction with a smile; they had all seen that Estelle had warmed up to the large male slightly just by his food. They wondered if cooking was the way to her heart.

Estelle was caught off guard when Yaoyorozu arrived at the duo holding two cups of tea. Estelle fought off the instinct of immediately grabbing the drink from her. It would be her beverage of choice for life.

"Thank you, Yaoyorozu", Estelle muttered when the girl finally handed the cup over. Taking a sip, Estelle closed her eyes to the taste of tea. Yaoyrozu could undoubtedly make good tea. It made Estelle miss the cafe even more. Yaoyorzu watched as Estelle visibly relaxed from the beverage she made and smiled softly.

The look on Estelle's face made her want to pat her head like a child. She reminded herself that Estelle would probably bite her hand off if she attempted that. Nevertheless, the action warmed her to the cold female quickly.

"Call me Momo, Estelle. I never realised how much you enjoyed tea like myself!"

Estelle gave a shy smile and responded, "Why do you think I worked at Nona's cafe? All the free tea I could have? Sign me up."

Momo laughed at her answer and shook her head. "I probably would have done the same. I have my own personal stash I like to dig into when I'm here."

Estelle almost hit herself for not thinking of that earlier. What better way to counteract the longing she had for Nona and the cafe. Looking down at her half-empty cup, Estelle pondered, "I probably should have thought of that; I'll grab some from Nona when I next see her."

"Oh no! You don't need to do that! I have enough for the two of us to last a whole year! Just let me know when you want a cup, and I'll whip one up for you."

Estelle's eyebrows furrowed as her fingers twitched at the kind offer. "I can't do that. It's fine. Really."

"Shush, if I see tea that isn't one of mine, I'll be extremely offended. Let. me. know."

Taken aback at the severe tone of voice, Estelle slowly nodded. The fight in her disappeared with Momo's honest rebuttal. "Thank you, Momo."

"Hey, Estelle! Look at you making friends with us! I feel like a proud mama!" Ashido yelled out, practically crashing into Estelle as she said the words. Estelle ignored her briefly to protect her drink before scowling at the female.

"Yeah, no. No friends here."

"B-b-but!?"

"No."

"Aw, come on!"

Momo just shook her head at the antics of Ashido. Estelle only just realised that Sato had disappeared in the wake of her conversation with Momo whilst the class sweatdropped at the pink female.

'If you remind Estelle of friendships every time we are near her, you'll make her run for the hills!' The class simultaneously thought. They had figured out Estelle hated the word, shut it down at every opportunity and closed her off even more. They were trying to make progress, not drive her away.

"It's official. Suger time is happening every week!" Sato announced happily, causing the class minus Estelle to cheer. Estelle inwardly groaned in her head. She wanted to be around the students as least as possible, but how was she supposed to do that if Sato makes delicious treats every week.

She wondered if this was his plan all along. To get her hooked so she kept coming back for more, and in turn, had to spend time with the rest of the class. Resigning herself to her weekly fate, Estelle took another treat from the tray to eat her feelings.

'I may be alone forever, but at least these sweets are good.'