Hina's feelings on the annual staff party had always been a bit...mixed. On one hand, she enjoyed the atmosphere and getting an opportunity to spend time with her fellow teachers in a non-work environment. Pros were very busy people and often didn't have time to spend hanging out or just relax. On the other...well, she really wasn't that great with socializing in large gatherings like this. Not that she was introverted or shy with crowds, but when the attendees were all capable pro heroes, most often sporting renowned reputations, she'd always felt very out of place among them. The stain of Daichi's villainy had always weighed on her shoulders.
Now, however, she strode into the banquet hall with much less trepidation than she recalled feeling the year previously. Her heeled feet carried her through the main entrance confidently, and the redhead gave a pleasant nod to the bouncer at the door. He tipped his hat cordially, turning his attention back to the sidewalk to wait for the next person to approach.
Inside, teachers from all over the district were in attendance, forgoing their hero costumes in favor of formal attire a little more appropriate the occasion. Hina felt a little plain in comparison to several of the ladies gathered near the entrance; many donned sparkling or shimmering gowns of floor and knee length. Visions of burnt orange and gold and purple, dotting the hall in between the suited men. The women certainly knew how to stand out from a crowd, that was for sure.
The simple black dress effectively made her blend in with a majority of the crowd, save for her trademark red hair, and so she stepped further inside the establishment without much fanfare or turning of heads. Well, that was alright. She wasn't looking for that sort of attention to herself.
On her way to one of the open tables to find a seat, she caught a glance of straw-colored hair. Changing direction, the telepath found the symbol of peace trying his best to extract himself from what appeared to be a lengthy conversation with another pro. The man in particular was fairly young in comparison to the other teachers here, and was enthusiastically asking a multitude of questions one right after the other.
"...learned everything I knew from you! It's what prompted me to become a teacher. Say, what made you want to be a hero in the first place? Were you saved by a pro like me? Or maybe you just grew up watching all the amazing things they did to help the public?" The man barely took a breath between sentences.
Acting as if she had just stumbled across the two of them, Hina approached the pair and placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Oh, Toshinori! I didn't expect to see you here."
"Eh?" Toshinori glanced over, noticing her for the first time as the other teacher paused in his questions. Recognition dawned in his eyes, and perhaps a hint of relief. "Oh, Scarlet Seer! I'm very happy to see you."
He gestured to the younger man, if only to be polite. "This is Gentleman Gray, a teacher at Ketsubutsu Academy. Gentleman Gray, this is Scarlet Seer, one of my colleagues."
"Very nice to meet you." Hina said with a smile and tilt of her head.
"Oh, you as well." Gray replied, not quite as enthusiastic as before, but still reasonably enough to pass as polite.
Hina turned back to All Might.
"I'm so sorry to intrude on your conversation here," she went on, gesturing between the two men, "but there were some things I didn't get to discuss with you last time we saw each other that are very important..."
She tried her best to look as apologetic as possible, wincing a little at the younger man, who smiled sheepishly and put out his hands in understanding.
"Sorry, I'll leave you two to talk. All Might, I'll be seeing you around hopefully!" He took a step back and weaved his way away through the crowd, leaving the two UA teachers alone.
Toshinori let out a deep sigh, eyes closing. "He's been talking my ear off for ten minutes now...He's nice enough and very passionate, but I didn't come here to sign autographs or anything."
She chuckled. "I noticed."
He turned to her. "Now was there something you wanted to ask me? You mentioned something important."
"Oh, no. I just needed to come up with an excuse to get him to leave." Hina replied flippantly with a wave of her hand.
"Hah!" Toshinori let out an amused bark, but he covered his mouth in time with a handkerchief before any of the blood accompanying it could get on her dress by accident. "A clever trick! Very clever. And much appreciated."
Now that the young man had left, Hina noticed Toshinori's suit was, for once, form-fitting. She'd gotten so used to seeing him in baggy clothing that could accommodate his large muscled form. It hadn't even occurred to her that since he no longer had the use of his quirk, he had no need to wear clothing too big for him.
Careful not to let her inner revelation show through, Hina smiled and regarded him happily. "How are you, Toshinori? It feels like forever since we've last talked."
"I'm just fine, though still getting used to being retired." He said with a shrug. "Somehow it didn't occur to me just how much free time I'd have after putting away the costume. I've started to jog and exercise a little just to pass the time between teaching."
"Sounds like you need to get yourself a hobby." She remarked, and he nodded his agreement.
"Yes, though I can't really see myself taking up anything in particular. I've never really thought about other interests besides hero work."
Hina tilted her head, peering at him thoughtfully.
"What is it?" He asks, noticing her change in demeanor. She only shakes her head.
"Just trying to figure out what hobby would suit you..." After a few seconds, she snapped her fingers and raised her eyebrows. "Painting! I think you'd make a great painter."
"Really?" He questioned, chuckling to himself. "I'm no artist. Any drawing of mine could attest to that."
"Oh, I'm sure it can't be that difficult to learn how." Hina said, glad he was beginning to relax. Hopefully his earlier discussion with his fan was beginning to fade and he was enjoying himself at the party. "There has to be some community-taught painting lessons around here somewhere. We can both sign up for a few, if it makes you feel better. Or we could even talk to Nemuri about it."
"Perhaps...I'll let you know if I'd like to sometime." He said, smiling but obviously not really keen on the idea. Hina didn't push the issue any further.
"Well, let me know what you eventually decide to do. And I'd best find Nemuri before she thinks I didn't show up."
"Are you meeting up?" He asked, and she winced.
"We didn't plan on it specifically, but she would probably have my head if I skipped this year. Anyway...Enjoy the party." She said, pushing off the wall.
"You do the same." He said. Then, always the gentleman, added. "You look very beautiful tonight, Scarlet Seer."
"Thank you." She responded, smiling widely at the compliment before stalking off to maybe find something to do or someone she knew to converse with.
The banquet hall was packed. There were many more teachers here than she expected, though her lack of any substantial reputation meant no one stopped her along the way to a table. Good, she didn't really fancy the idea of being caught up in possibly awkward conversations at every turn.
The tables were mostly occupied, very little remaining open seats, though she did spot one or two still open towards the bar. Making her way there, she decided that a drink sounded nice right about now.
Careful not to overdo it like she had her last trip to the bar, she ordered one glass of something not very strong and enjoyed the music as she waited for it to be prepared. It was something modern, but not too intrusive, with very few lyrics that could disrupt the conversations going on around the hall. She'd never heard it before, but found it was pleasant enough.
The bartender placed her drink in front of her, and she thanked him, before turning and watching the room while she sipped at it carefully.
Most of the occupants stood in groups of twos and threes, most likely speaking with people they worked with versus someone new. That was how most of these things went, but there was no helping it, really. She supposed that was why alcohol was always a main feature of these things. Some liquid courage probably helped along the mingling of different schools together to bond and get to know others from the district.
Most of those present she recognized, but some she hadn't ever seen before. Perhaps attending the event for the first time, or new teachers starting this year? Hina suddenly wondered if All Might being there had something to do with the higher-than-usual attendance overall. She supposed it made some sense.
Someone took up residence in the space beside her, and she gave a cursory glance if only to acknowledge their appearance. Unfortunately, she accidentally made eye contact with the man, who was clearly already very drunk. Either he'd pre-gamed before the conference began, or he'd been slamming drinks left and right for twenty minutes straight already.
Hina's eyes skated away, back towards the crowd as if trying to pretend they hadn't just locked eyes, but it was too late. Seeing interest that wasn't there, the man faced her and leaned against the counter of the bar. "If I'da known other school had teachers like you, I'd have transferred long ago...what's your name?"
Oh, god. She'd never really been in this position before, nor had she wanted to be. Hiding the sigh as best she could, Hina gave him a polite smile. "I'm Scarlet Seer. And you are?"
The man whose short, white hair color was clearly artificially dyed that way, tried his best to make some sort of smoldering expression, but failed miserably and just ended up narrowing his eyes at her strangely. "Oh, we're going with our hero names here? Ok, well...I'm the Hero of Courage: Valiant. Protector of the peace in the beautiful Esuha City."
"I see..." Was her awkward reply, not really sure what else to respond with.
"Pray tell, what academy is graced with your employment?" He asked. Hina wondered if he was trying his absolute hardest to sound chivalrous and charming. Unfortunately, it came off as very nonsensical and perhaps a bit forced.
Honestly, he probably wasn't a bad guy. He was just very drunk and in no good condition to be making very good decisions at the moment. Nor, apparently, portray himself in a very good light.
She didn't answer for a second, wondering how she could extract herself from the conversation, but saw no good excuse.
"I work at UA."
"UA? That's quite a place! The best of the best. You must be quiet a smarty to be working there." He smiled, trying to play up his charm and easy-going personality. Didn't quite stick like it should have, though.
"I suppose so." She replies with a shrug, glancing around at the crowd, but he gained her attention again and continued on, no doubt missing her desire to stop talking.
"You know, we really should get to know each other better." He pressed. "Why don't you tell me all about what it is that you teach at the illustrious UA?"
He reached a hand out and his fingers gently traced the end of her elbow, but she pulled it away before he could further trail them up her arm.
"I don't really think that's a good idea, Mr. Valiant..." She said lightly. "I'm sure you're a good person, but I'm not interested in getting to know you when you're this intoxicated."
"I'm not really that drunk...no reason to be like that...I'm a really interesting person, you know." He defended, looking a little hurt. Well, she supposed that was better than him getting angry.
Hina took one last sip from her drink and gave him a smile. "Of course, I'm not saying you aren't, but I'm only here for the teacher's conference. Enjoy your night, Mr. Valiant."
Pushing her now empty glass further into the bar's counter, Hina turned away and began wandering through the crowd. She felt no pursuit from behind her, thankfully, and it seemed that Valiant hadn't gotten any ideas of trying a second time. Putting the whole experience behind her, she simply let the gaps in the crowd dictate where she walked.
"Ladies, Gentleman, if you will please direct your attention this way." A person's voice on the loudspeaker requested, and Hina looked over towards the end of the hall, where a small stage was set up. The wiry man in a smart suit-recognizable to her even from her distance as the director of education in UA's district-stood with a microphone in his hand, waiting for all those present to do as he instructed.
The room took a moment to settle, and conversations died away until only the music was audible. Even then, it was lowered in volume by whoever was in charge of the audio, and he began to speak.
"Thank you all for coming out tonight, we appreciate your dedication to making these events enjoyable." He started off, bowing from the waist at a slight angle. Then straightened. "Given the turbulent climate of this school year, I am pleasantly surprised to see so many of you here."
Hina's eyebrow raised, wondering if that was perhaps only meant at UA specifically, but the neither the crowd nor him seemed to give any indication of acknowledging it that way.
He gestured to the crowd. "The public tends to underestimate just how much dedication it takes to work in this field, to teach the young and nurture them so they can achieve their dreams of becoming heroes. Tonight is a way for the district to give back to you and show our appreciation of all of your hard work. A round of applause for yourselves, please."
A soft thundering of hands clapping together echoed through the hall, and Hina joined in half-heartedly. She'd heard much the same speech the past few years in a row. It was a nice sentiment, but it felt a little stale after hearing it more than once.
The clapping began to die, and the director continued on. "We'll get to the district awards in a moment but, let me just say this. Take tonight to relax, unwind, and meet some new faces. This year we bring on many new faces into our fold, including the former number one hero and very esteemed All Might."
The clapping began anew, with the director gesturing over to the side of the room where the straw-haired man was standing. Hina raised up on the tips of her heels to see over the crowd, barely spotting her colleague in between the heads of people. He nodded, all the while trying to appear grateful for the recognition while being extremely uncomfortable with so much attention suddenly on him.
Perhaps he wasn't too keen on the accolade of 'former number one hero.' Technically, the rankings hadn't yet changed-deliberations and polls were still being conducted in order to accurately adjust the top ten-though it was entirely expected for All Might to no longer hold the top spot. Still, it was obviously a sore spot for the former hero.
"Another thank you to all of our teachers, new and veteran, for your contributions to raising the next generation." The director gave another short bow. "Now, how about we move on to the awards? I'm certainly curious to see who wins District-wide Top Educator this year..."
After a lengthy and mostly monotonous presentation of awards-none of which Hina won, predictably-the redhead looked around for either Nemuri or anyone else she could recognize. It came as a bit of a surprise that she hadn't yet bumped into Shouta at all, as they'd agreed to meet up at some point during the conference. It was their plan to go to dinner afterwards to unwind by themselves.
Grabbing her phone from the small clutch she'd brought with her, she pulled up his contact in her phone and typed out a quick message.
'Are you here? There's so many people, it's hard to find anyone I know.'
"Heeeey! Hinaaa!" A loud and boisterous voice proclaimed beside her, and she looked up just in time to see Hizashi wrap an arm around her shoulders good-naturedly. "I finally found you!"
"You were looking for me?" She asked curiously, putting her phone away and smiling at him.
"Yeah! Shouta couldn't find you and so I'm helping him out."
"Oh, so he's here?" She tried looking around, but didn't spot him anywhere. Hizashi shrugged.
"Yeah, but we split up to cover some ground. Come on, I think he's this way." He stepped back, then, gesturing at her with enthusiasm. "But wow, look at you! Classy and sexy, I like it."
"Thanks, and...are you hitting on me or something?" She questioned, raising a brow teasingly. He frantically waved his hands.
"No way! I think Shouta would seriously suffocate me if I ever even tried it. Plus, redheads aren't really my style, no offense." He replied with a smile, and Hina only laughed.
He lent his elbow to her and she took it, letting him lead her off to wherever her tired boyfriend happened to be.
Hina then noticed just how nicely Hizashi had dressed up for the event. Not to say that the guy didn't have style, but he usually just ended up wearing some variation of his casual radio host fashion. His slacks and buttoned-up dress shirt was not something she'd expected.
"Got a hot date tonight or something? You're pretty dressed up for something like this. I mean, for you, I guess." She asked suddenly, and the blonde man grinned excitedly.
"I guess you could say that..."
"Oh, so one of those 'not dates' you frequent?" She speculated, and he gave a shrug.
"Maybe? Not sure yet. We promised to meet up here and then leave the conference together." He admitted, eyes scanning the crowd as if to look for her. "I never really have expectations for these sorts of things."
"Who is she?" Her curiosity got the better of her.
"She teaches at Shiketsu." Hizashi answered, then paused. He stopped, forcing her to stop walking. "Shit, there she is..."
Hina followed his gaze and noticed a brunette woman wearing a fancy golden dress. She was stunning, just the sort of lady a famous hero and radio host like Hizashi could net with relative ease. Hina recognized her from previous conferences but didn't recall her name. She was speaking to another hero, oblivious to their staring.
Glancing up at her friend, his grin had vanished and he looked...worried. Perhaps this date was of a bit more importance than his usual string of short affairs? It would be something to behold, but a pleasant surprise if it turned out to be the case. Hina had hoped he'd learn to stop being so offhanded about relationships.
"It would probably look bad if she saw you and me together, right?" Hina guessed, knowing that Hizashi's playboy reputation preceded him within the pro community. Having another woman hanging off his arm while he approached his date for the night would probably kick things off to a bad start.
He winced, but nodded. "Sorry...Shouta was by the bar last I saw him if you wanna head that way."
"I'll find him, thanks for letting me know." She said, letting go of his elbow. Then, reaching up to straighten his tie and straighten the edges of his shirt collar, she gave it a pat and then smiled. "Go get 'er, Hizashi."
Looking uncharacteristically nervous for something he'd probably done a thousand times before with a plethora of faceless women, the voice hero nodded and left Hina's side, heading the woman's way.
The redhead weaved her way in the direction Hizashi had indicated, but after reaching the bar, she saw no sign of her elusive partner. She checked her phone but he hadn't responded or even seen the message she'd sent earlier. Chewing her bottom lip, she decided to keep looking, deciding that she had nothing better to do.
To an onlooker she probably appeared to be very lost within the large banquet hall, but she didn't mind, too preoccupied with trying to find Shouta. If only he'd answer his message, then maybe it would save her some time.
Along the way, she found Nezu observing the conference from on top of a table. He was much too small to comfortably fit in one of the seats the room had been furnished with, and opted instead to sit on the edge of the table to stay at a relatively average height to people there. Perhaps sitting on a table wasn't the most polite thing to do, but no one questioned the mouse-bear-dog at all.
Figuring that perhaps he'd seen Shouta somewhere here, she made her way over to him.
"Nezu, have you happened to see Shouta anywhere around here?" She questioned, garnering her employer's attention. "I'm trying to find him but haven't had any luck so far."
"Scarlet Seer, a good evening to you." He bid happily, then nodded. "Yes, I saw him walk that way several minutes ago." He pointed in the direction of the side of the room Hina had yet to search, and she smiled.
"Thank you." She turned away to leave, but his voice stopped her.
"Speaking of Eraserhead, I've been meaning to ask you both how the move into the dorms have been." He said. "I hope you are finding the staff suites comfortable?"
"Yes, they're lovely. It was actually an upgrade to my previous apartment." Hina explained. "I haven't heard any complaints from him either, so I imagine he feels the same."
"I'm very glad to hear it." Nezu intertwined his paws, smiling happily. "And are the two of you planning on submitting an employee fraternization form?"
It took a moment or two for Hina to register the question, her mouth opening to respond but caught up on the words. "I...I'm sorry?"
The principal only closed his eyes, smile never wavering. "I didn't think I'd have to keep reminding you all how observant I am. There've been bits of gossip and rumors around the staff I've picked up on. Your increased attention to each other really solidified my suspicions."
"Right..." She muttered, feeling rather foolish now to ever have thought the principal wasn't aware of her and Shouta's relationship. He was a genius after all, and it was painfully obvious that they all were terrible at remembering it. "I am sorry for not bringing it up sooner. We didn't want to jump the gun."
"It is quite alright. I only hope that should you both feel that your relationship is becoming a bit more permanent that the appropriate paperwork be filed with me." He said, reaching a paw out to set on her shoulder. "I am not against fraternization between the staff so long as it does not interfere with the students' learning."
"It will not." She promised, and he nodded, satisfied.
"Splendid. And you needn't worry about your private activities becoming known to the students in the dorms. Your staff suites were designed to be completely soundproof from the outside."
Hina blinked, the gears in her head coming to a halt. Nezu bid her a goodbye that she didn't register and hopped off the table to head somewhere else. Had he meant what she thought he did? She was left standing there, a mix of mortified, perplexed, and in total awe that the principal had thought that far ahead or had even acted with their relationship in mind.
Deciding that any of the mentioned implications was too much for her at the moment, she brushed herself off and shook her head, walking the direction Nezu had pointed her in.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
