After hours and hours of work, Hina was finally done. Well...nearly.
Slicing the box's tape apart with a box cutter, she set the tool aside and opened the flap of the final box from the broken-down mountain that currently sat in the living room of her new apartment. The small office extension, which connected to the back of the students' dorm building, was the only thing left to finish unpacking. Rather than leave it for later and possibly lose motivation entirely, Hina decided just to get it over with.
She'd saved the heaviest box for last, filled with her books and binders and journals that she'd kept from teaching the past few years. Inside the box was a mess, and she sighed, realizing that it had been jostled around in the move. Notes and lesson plans and other useful tools if she wanted to go back and look to see what she'd done before, all mixed together within. Had she downloaded it all onto a tablet or something, then she wouldn't have this mess. Maybe it was a bit of an outdated system, but she preferred the physical paper to a screen sometimes.
The tile floor was cold on her legs. Morning had come and gone, merging more into the afternoon now, but the room was still unpleasantly chilly for some reason. She'd have to get the thermostat working correctly so she wouldn't freeze when working in the new little office. She wondered if Shouta would be able to help her with that, as the one on the wall looked much more advanced than what had been available in her old apartment.
Finished putting her reading and reference materials away, she used the box cutter to break down the cardboard so it lay flat, then folded it in half so it took up less space. Sitting back to examine the results of her work, she sighed in relief. Now she was done. Finally.
Hina had yet to really acclimate herself to their new living arrangements. It still felt strange, the thought that Shouta was right down the hallway at any given time, rather than a 15 minute walk.
Both teachers had separate offices, allocated to the correct side of the building to be available to their assigned gender, though close enough to each other that should the girls need Shouta or the boys need Hina for anything, they were still relatively close by. Or, in the unfortunate circumstance in which they were both needed for protection, they could respond within seconds no matter where an attack was in the building.
Directly behind the offices were the staff apartments, connected via a door at the back that only they had the key to. It allowed for privacy and distance away from the students on their downtime, something Nezu had wanted to preserve as much as possible given the circumstances, while still keeping them close in case of emergency.
The only thing separating hers and Shouta's apartment was a single wall, thick in construction. Knock out one wall and they had practically moved in together. It was strange to think about.
Getting up from the floor, Hina gathered what boxes were left in the room and went to bring them to her living room. She dumped them on the already large pile, staring down at it tiredly. So much unpacking done in so short a time. She should feel proud, but she just felt exhausted, to be frank.
A knock on her door made her swing around, and she went to look through the peephole. She spotted a head of long blonde hair and her best friend, standing there waiting for her to open the door. They were both in casual clothing, glasses in place. Nemuri, sporting a shirt that was akin to taking vows and becoming a nun for the X-rated hero, even had her hair up in a loose bun which she normally never did unless on her days off. Hizashi had a beige cardigan on, comfortable and stylish, his hair let down to its full length.
Hina hung her head, not really up to a social visit at the moment but feeling bad that she'd put this off for so long already. They were probably wondering if she was ok, what with her lack of calling or texting. It truthfully just hadn't been on her mind to reach out to them. What a great friend she was.
Without really thinking much more on it, she turned the knob and swung the door open to greet them. "Hey." She says with a small smile. "How are-oof."
The wind was knocked out of her as Nemuri enveloped her in a tight hug. Nemuri's hugs were usually pretty light and friendly, but this time around it felt as if she thought letting go would mean Hina would slip away forever.
"Do you know how worried we've been about you? Did you forget we existed or something?" She said, then pulled back suddenly when she noticed Hina's squirming. "Oh, shit you're injured, I forgot! Shouta told me about that."
Hina held up her hands in a placating gesture. "It's fine, really...Most of it has healed and it's just a little sore now." She stretched over to give Hizashi a hug as well, seeing his hesitation now that Nemuri had mentioned an injury.
"I thought you would have reached out to us by now!" He said in mock outrage, and she sighed as she stepped back.
"I'm sorry, I really am. I've just been preoccupied and trying to work through everything, and now with the move I've been busy unpacking." She finished with a shrug, not sure what else to say. Hizashi crossed his arms and gave her a slanted smile.
"I get it but...don't forget you've got friends to lean on, too." His shoulder bumped into Nemuri, indicating her as well. "It's not like we wouldn't understand the stress of being a pro."
Hina nodded, realizing that she really should start opening up to her friends more about her troubles. They deserved better. She gave a small nod. "I know...I'm sorry."
Nemuri gave a little 'hmph.' "You'd better be. Make me food and I'll forgive you." She said, pushing past Hina into the still-cluttered apartment.
"What? I just got done unpacking! I'm tired!" Nemuri ignored this and looked around at the room. The redhead rolled her eyes but gestured for Hizashi to go in as well, since the sleep hero had already invited herself in. The voice hero smirked, then stepped inside followed by Hina.
"You're already done!?" Nemuri cried in outrage, gesturing at the neatly placed furniture in her living room. "How? I just started moving my stuff in, and the rest is still shipping over today!"
"I don't have a whole lot of stuff, I guess. My other apartment wasn't all that big." Hina shrugged. She allowed the two to wander through and see how she'd set herself up, leaning against the closed door with crossed arms.
"Yeah! Nice digs!" Hizashi complimented, nodding as he took in her decorations. The few pictures she did own weren't anything special, but she also didn't want to leave her walls completely bare. "These UA staff apartments aren't bad at all."
"What are you talking about? This is a downgrade compared to your bachelor pad near the studio." Nemuri pointed out with a raised brow from her spot on Hina's couch.
"I'm not saying they're better, just...not bad!"
Hina smiled, letting out a huffed laugh. "What are you doing over here anyway if you haven't even finished unpacking?" She asked, then narrowed her eyes at her friend. "Don't even think about asking me for help with your apartment. I already met my unpacking quota for the day, so no way am I helping."
Nemuri pouted, but shook her head. "That's why Hizashi is here anyway. I asked him for help. But I was tired of doing work and we hadn't seen you for awhile. It's been at least a month or two since we've had any quality time together! Just as long since we've done some shopping!"
"And Shouta said you were ok after the Hideout Raid but...I wanted to know for myself, ya know?" Hizashi admitted, splaying his fingers out in a pose and watching her carefully. Another example that his radio host personality never truly went away. "He did say you took it pretty hard."
She looked away, walking to the kitchen to get herself a drink. It was more just to have something to do if they were going to talk about this now. Something welled up in the very pit of her chest. "Yeah, I suppose..."
She heard Nemuri sigh from the couch. "I don't blame you. I was called down to the first aid station the past few days to help those who couldn't sleep. It only lasts for a few hours with my quirk, but I suppose just that small bit of rest is better than nothing. Everyone looked in terrible shape. I've never seen such a rescue operation of that scale before, either."
"Are they still finding survivors?" Hina asked while grabbing a glass from her cupboard, honestly having tried to keep a distance from it herself until it was confirmed to be over. Shouta had also suggested it, since the small amount she had witnessed had stuck with her so much. Nemuri shook her head.
"No, rescue efforts ended yesterday. All that's left now is corpses." Her gaze drifted away. "So many of them, too..."
Hizashi sat himself at the edge of her kitchen table, arms hugging his torso. "The radio station has been holding telethons and taking donations for the ones who need the help. Kamino Ward wasn't a very wealthy section of town, and hospital bills will probably be too much for those who survived. There's been a great amount of support from listeners, even more so than I would expect."
"It hit so close to home, and at such a large scale." Hina stated blandly, holding her glass up but not taking a drink as she leaned against her fridge. "I'm not all that surprised."
There was a small pause, a silence, before Hizashi looked at her. "What happened out there, anyway? On the Hideout Raid?"
"All Might is the only UA teacher that was there, and he isn't saying much." Nemuri added on, standing and joining Hizashi at her kitchen table. He scooted over to allow her room on the flat surface. "All we know is that Bakugou was rescued and All Might ended up fighting the leader of the League of Villains."
With a sigh, Hina went over the events as she remembered them, leaving the fact that she'd gone through Shigaraki's mind out of the story. It wasn't something she wanted to talk about, having creeped her out beyond measure. That, and anything connecting All Might to All For One on a deeper level, since she wasn't sure who was privy to that knowledge and if it was supposed to remain secret.
Her friends sat and listened intently, and for once they both kept their mouth shut the entire time she told her story. Normally they-and especially Hizashi-would interrupt and asking endless questions and comment on what she told them. This time, they just listened and took it all in.
They didn't look any happier once she finished retelling her version of events.
"They escaped, huh?" Nemuri muttered, then shook her head with a scowl. "I already knew it before, but just hearing it and saying it out loud...Damn it!"
Hizashi's eyes were narrowed. "It definitely leaves a bad taste in your mouth. After all that work, and they still slip away."
"Bakugou's rescue was the first priority. After he was out of the area, I probably should have tried to stop them, but all I could think about was getting out of there too." Hina admitted, thinking back on it in hindsight.
Nemuri shook her head, waving a head dismissively. "I'm sure you did all you could. Besides, you were injured! You gave all you had protecting Bakugou."
"I guess..."
"Makes you wonder how it all went wrong though, doesn't it?" Hizashi mumbled, rubbing the side of his face thoughtfully. "We had all the best people there, the top two heroes included. And they still barely scraped by a success."
"What are you trying to say?" The raven-haired beauty asked.
"Well, an inside man could have-"
Nemuri rolled her eyes. "Oh, not this again."
"What?" Hizashi questioned, spreading his hands. "Considering what happened, I'd say the chances of there being a traitor just increased tenfold."
"You do realize the only two UA staff members there were All Might and Hina." She explained pointedly. "So unless you're suggesting that the traitor is actually an outside source, then that doesn't make sense. You really think either of them would have conspired with the enemy?"
The voice hero sighed, seeing her point. "...no, but...I don't know, I just hate feeling like we have to constantly watch our backs with people we thought we could trust! I see way too many coincidences here to rule it out."
"We still need to be careful about assuming things. And there's no evidence that a traitor had anything to do with this mission anyway." Hina pointed out, setting her glass in the sink now that she'd finished it off. "Being there and seeing it all, I can see how it was our own fault that it turned out that way. We may just end up making things worse by thinking something or someone else was involved."
"Yeah..." Hizashi admitted, nodding his head and crossing his arms. "If there's one thing I do know for sure though, it's that I can trust you, Shouta, and Nemuri. I don't see how it would be possible that any of you are traitors."
Hina appreciated his confidence in her, but couldn't dwell on it longer as she watched Nemuri's lips curled into a predatory smirk, her eyes falling to half-lidded as she stared at the redhead intently. Oh no. She knew that look.
"Speaking of which...how's it feel being neighbors with your man?" She asked suggestively, eyebrows waggling a little. "Exciting, isn't it?"
Sometimes Hina wondered how the woman could go from a downer conversation to being lewd in the span of half a second, but perhaps she'd never know. Part of her knew, of course, that this was Nemuri's way of picking their spirits back up after the depressing subject at hand, to which she was a little thankful.
The redhead rolled her eyes rubbing at them as if she had a headache. "For the love of-"
"Come on, you're both dating. Now neighbors." Nemuri explained. "I know you for a fact haven't gotten laid in who knows how long. There's gotta be some nice steamy tension building between you two."
"Do you really have to announce that!?" She pressed, a little embarrassed since she really didn't want to discuss the finer details of her sex life to Hizashi. He was her friend, yeah, but not as close as Nemuri. Plus, he was a dude. It just felt a little weird.
"Oh, relax, it's just us." Her smile widened. "I wouldn't blame you if you loved having him so close by, so you can have those late night trysts no one knows about."
"Seriously, are you 16?" Hina retorted, shaking her head. Her face was probably very red at this point. "We don't have 'late night trysts.'" She air quoted.
"Ah, so afternoon trysts?" Hizashi added knowingly, which set his female companion to giggling.
"I'm this close to kicking you both out." She warned, narrowing her eyes and allowing them to flash blue. It wasn't like her quirk alone could make them leave, but at least it showed that she had had it with their teasing.
"Alright, alright!" He smiled but held up his hands. "But seriously, jokes aside. How are you two doing?"
Hina crossed her arms and dropped her quirk, looking away at the genuine hope in his eyes that they were doing ok. "We're...really good, actually. It's just the circumstances lately haven't left us much time to spend together."
"Hopefully that'll change with these new living arrangements." Nemuri said, finally dropping her teasing and being a supportive friend. Then she frowned when she heard her ringtone, fishing her phone out of her pockets. "One sec..."
She answered the call and held it up to her ear, hopping off the table and going away a few steps to gets some privacy. "Hello? Oh yes, hi..."
While she took her call, Hizashi turned back to Hina. "Shouta seems happier, ya know. The guy's subtle, but I can tell what he's thinking most of the time. He probably won't admit it or anything, but he needs you around."
"Well...same goes for me. I need him around." She said, thinking back to the way he'd taken care of her after returning from Kamino Ward. She didn't know what sort of mess she would have been if he hadn't been there to steady her. He was quickly becoming her pillar of strength.
Hizashi smiled. "That's good to hear."
She returned the gesture. "Now all we need is to get you together with someone."
"Heh. Who knows? Maybe seeing you two all happy and sappy will change my perspective on things." He said with a grin, as if not believing his own words.
Hina raised a brow. Hizashi was a known playboy slash man-whore within the hero world, though to the public, he was simply 'looking for The One.' That perspective helped his image a little more than 'can't commit to a relationship.' He was lucky he was so adored by so many undying fans.
"You know, attaching yourself to someone for more than a week does have it's perks." She said.
"Yeah, but at what cost?" His lips turned into a pout, arms crossed again. "What'll happen when I lose that spark of mystery and intrigue, ya know? The listeners come back for more because they're trying to figure me out! And listen to some poppin' hits."
"I'm sure you'll meet someone that makes you change your mind. One day." Hina predicted with a shrug, figuring her and Shouta alone wouldn't be enough to convince him to stop burning through the single women of the city at the rate he did.
"Hmm. We'll see." Was all he said.
Nemuri hung up the call and sighed. "They just delivered the rest of my furniture, but I have to be there to sign for it. Looks like our little pow-wow is being cut short."
"Well, you do still have unpacking to do. You should probably start up on that again." Hina suggested with a wry smile. "You know, instead of sitting here pestering me about my love life."
Nemuri's eyes narrowed behind her glasses. "Hey, you're not getting off scot free. The next time we hang out, I'm getting you wasted drunk so you spill all those sexy little secrets of yours. And you aren't backing out of it this time, date with Shouta or not."
Hina shook her head, saying nothing, deciding that it wasn't worth her effort to try denying her right now.
Nemuri grabbed Hizashi's hand and dragged him towards the door. "Come on, we've got a lot of unpacking to do."
"Yay..." He said, then turned to Hina and mouthed 'Help Me.'
The redhead only smiled and twiddled her fingers in farewell, making no move to help her stricken friend. He had agreed to help the woman in the first place, a mistake Hina knew better than to make. Nemuri was a compulsive shopper, both of clothes and things for her apartment. She had a lot of stuff, suffice to say.
"Bye guys, let me know if you are free the next few days and maybe we can plan a night in, yeah?" She called, receiving replies back and watching the door as it shut behind them. For a few moments she could still hear Nemuri groaning about having to go back to unpacking, but it faded as they got further from her door.
Later that afternoon, Hina hesitantly stepped inside of the Development Studio, hearing sounds from within but not immediately spotting anyone inside. Obviously there wouldn't be any students here on the weekend, but Power Loader should be around here somewhere...
Passing by tables piled high with various equipments in many different stages of being constructed, she eventually made her way to the back, where she spotted Power Loader's large metal mech-like helmet moving around as he worked. She wandered further in, wincing at the sound of metal scratching metal repeatedly.
"Power Loader?" She called, and the orange-haired man looked up.
"Oh, Scarlet Seer. Come on in." He gestured for her to approach, before going back to whatever he was doing. "I was just finishing up this piece for one of the students' costumes."
"Who's it for?" She inquired, trying to discern it for herself but unable to with the state the metal plate was in.
"One of the third years. They cracked their armor plate doing a patrol for Fourth Kind's agency. They asked it we had a stronger material to make it out of. Luckily I had a spare sheet of titanium lying around." He explained, rounding off the edge of the plate with a metal file.
"Ah, I see." She said, nodding along as she watched him work at it for a few more seconds.
Satisfied with the work, he set the file down and examined the end result. Tilting this way and that, brushing away at the edges to clear it of any metal shavings left over, then back around to the backside, before nodding and setting it on the table.
"You're here for your costumes, I presume."
"Mhmm. You said they were ready?" She asked, and he waved her to follow him towards a small door in the back of the studio, where the fabric materials were stored and worked on.
"Yes, I got them back from the support company last night. They still had your original specifications on file, so it made the process pretty quick." He said, leading them inside. There were several tables with sewing machines and needles and threads. It was much smaller than the front, metal-working section of the department, as Hina doubted they had too many request for fabric alterations versus mechanical ones.
Lining the back wall was a large closet, and Power Loader pulled the door aside. He looked through the cases before grabbing one marked with the number 15, her staff ID designation. "Thought you might want to take a look before we closed out the request, in case any alterations need to be made."
They went over to the closest table and he sat the case down, clicking it open to reveal her costume neatly folded on top. Lifting it from the collar, she stepped back and allowed it all to unfold.
"Oh, wow..." She muttered, eyeing the new design with satisfaction. The colors had remained the same; a primary silver, with accents of red and gold. However, whoever had taken up her request to redesign the pattern had done a wonderful job.
The top portion of her body suit was the still the signature silver, reaching all the way down to her knees before tapering off into a deep red that bespoke her namesake. The boots had been changed from black to the same cherry red as the costume, blending in together nicely. The Mandarin-style collar remained the same, but it was now the only gold left on the costume. Her accents were gone, but instead, the colors flowed seamlessly and had a modern look to it that her old costume had lacked.
"They used a new material for the suit. It's a polyester-spandex blend with temperature regulating qualities and maximized for comfort and stretch." He explained, and she rubbed the fabric between her fingers, noticing how comfortable it felt. "In hot temperatures, it should still be breathable, but retain your body heat when in colder environments."
He reached for the paper stuck on the inside and read through the specifics left by the manufacturer. "They also improved the soles of the boots, to provide better comfort and durability. Added on were the fingerless gloves you requested and a tactical belt attached via clip rather than built into the suit."
All of her requests and observations from the old design had been worked on and noted, as expected. They didn't leave a single thing out. As always, she was impressed with the support companies and how the littlest things could drastically effect the way she performed as a pro. Incredible.
"It looks great." She said in awe, flipping it around to see the back. She attempted to fold it somewhat back as it had been, then turned to Power Loader. He gestured to the corner, where a small curtain was tucked aside.
"If you'd like, you can try them on. Just to make sure the measurements are correct."
She nodded, taking the second costume he handed to her with a smile. Dragging the curtain aside to give herself privacy, she set the costumes on the small shelf provided and began taking off her clothing. She heard Power Loader leave the room, not wanting to make her uncomfortable by standing there and listening to her change. She appreciated the small gesture.
A few tugs and nitpicks here and there, and Hina was staring at the new Scarlet Seer in the mirror inside. She adjusted the gloves, getting used to the feeling of them. She wanted something to provide more grip when scaling buildings or fighting, and the ones they'd devised were perfect. The fingerless trait would allow her more mobility and fine motor usage of her hands.
Turning this way and that, she smoothed her hands over the fabric, reveling in how it didn't feel tight or uncomfortable in any given place. The measurements were just right. Everything felt lightweight and breathable. No movement was restricted. Perfect.
Clipping on the black belt and letting it settle on her waist, she stared at the complete picture, amazed at how...capable she appeared to be. Capable and strong. And what Hina realized was that a certain confidence had taken up residence in her expression that had never been there before. The last time she was fitted for a hero costume, she'd felt overwhelmed and unsure. But now...it felt right at home.
She quickly undressed and put on the second suit, which was completely different and a special request to the support company. At first she hadn't thought they'd fill it-she'd never heard of a hero having two different suits before-but her worries were unfounded and she smiled as she zipped up the second costume.
It was black where the silver would have been, and darker shades of gray replaced the deep red. Her red boots were also switched out for some black ones. This suit was designed for stealth, or missions that would benefit from blending into the darkness. Late night patrols would be much easier with this costume, rather than the bright silver that stood out in the light. She'd be lying if she said that Eraserhead hadn't been a major source of inspiration for most of the features.
Hina flipped up the small hood that was built into it, covering her very blatant red hair. She looked very different, but in a good way. The gloves and belt were clipped on and in the darkness, she'd blend in with almost anything. Villains would have a hard time spotting her now.
The redhead stared at her reflection, wondering to herself where she would have been if she'd never have gained her newfound confidence. Just putting on these new suits had an effect she hadn't thought possible. Something just seemed to click into place, that Hina was a pro hero. The proof was right in front of her, staring her in the face. She had always been a pro, despite losing sight of that for several years.
The woman in front of her would protect herself, and those she loved, with everything she had. This woman would face anything that came at her, dangerous or otherwise, without running away and expecting someone else to do it for her. The pathetic excuses for her weakness were long behind her. And from here forward, Hina knew that it was nigh time she fully step into the title and stopped feeling sorry for herself. Shouta was right. She'd always been a hero.
She was Scarlet Seer, the Mind Jack Pro Hero, and a teacher of UA Academy. And not even her brother could take that away.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
