The Life Skills teacher was exceptionally grateful when lunchtime finally came around, and headed for the break room quickly, looking forward to the idea of taking a nap on the couch for the entirety of her lunch. With no students in the hallways, as they were all currently in the cafeteria having their own food, she trudged her way towards the teacher's lounge, hoping no one else was in there at the moment.
The long hours spent grading papers the night before had sorely affected her sleep once she actually got home, leaving her groggy and less-than-pleased to be back at work early the next morning. She had never really been a morning person, but she tried her best to hide it from her students, as she didn't want to concern them with her sleep schedule.
"Hina! Yo!" Present Mic exclaimed when the redhead entered the teacher's lounge, striking a dramatic and energetic pose as he stood from his spot on the couch. His orange sunglasses glinted off the light from the window. "You arrived at a perfect time. We were just discussing the first year students!"
A little disappointed that she wouldn't get the chance to sleep for 20 minutes at the very least, Hina perked up her expression so as not to be rude. She quirked an amused smile, also spotting Toshinori on the couch across from Hizashi, turning his head to regard her. "Oh? What about them?" She asked, figuring she may as well make herself a cup of tea while she was there. She was rather thirsty, now that she thought about it.
"Present Mic was saying that he thought Todoroki was a good contender for winning the sports festival, even though it's still a ways away." Toshinori explained, wincing at his fellow compatriot's loud volume.
"That Todoroki is definitely one of the top students when it comes to straight power! But...well,I guess there are so many high-potential heroes in the making for sure!" Hizashi continued, finally sitting back in his seat, hands and arms moving rapidly with every sentence. "Even the students not in the hero course seem like great candidates to shine and possibly transfer over, if Eraser ends up expelling one of the hero students after all. So cool!"
"Well, if he hasn't expelled any of them by now, I doubt he will. I think deep down he likes the class he has this year." She mused aloud, setting out a small cup to pour her tea into.
"Quite an unusual thing, yes. But, Eraser's secretly very caring, you know." He mused, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "Anyway, which student do you have an eye on? Any that just scream 'Plus Ultra' to you?"
"Hmm..." She hummed, walking over and taking her seat beside Toshinori. "It's hard to say. I meet with so many students every day, it's hard for me to gauge any one of them over the others."
"Oh, come on! You've got to have a favorite or two!" Hizashi pressed expectantly, leaning forward in his seat.
"Well..." Hina didn't like playing favorite when it came to students and actively tried her best to treat them all equally, but...some she did prefer the company of more than others. "Of class 1-A, Asui are Shoji are very mild mannered and work very hard. I think if they can utilize their quirks in creative ways and prove their ingenuity, they will rise very far. And though he isn't in the hero course, Shinso is also a very diligent student."
Toshinori nodded slowly in agreement, smiling at her words, but Hizashi seemed to remember that he was indeed in the room with them and swung to point both of his fingers at him.
"Toshinori! Who stands out most to you?"
"A-ah..." He stuttered, not thinking he'd be put on the spot so suddenly. "Let's see...I expect to see a lot of growth from Young Midoriya in particular."
"Oh! The boy that keep injuring himself." Present Mic recalled, scratching at his temple.
Toshinori's nervous smile turned genuine, and his gaunt face lit up just a little. "He shows a truly passionate spirit that many do not possess. I believe he will become a great hero once he discovers a way to handle his own power."
"Midoriya, huh?" Hina mused, sipping at her tea patiently. "He's a very bright student, but from what Aizawa tells me, he can't control his quirk yet. He's said that he's had to visit with Recovery Girl several times already. What makes you put your faith in him?"
The number one hero seemed to catch himself, eyes widening for a brief moment, before scratching the back of his head sheepishly with a small smile. "He...reminds me of myself in many ways." Was his response, and they both accepted that answer.
Just then, the door to the lounge opened, and Aizawa entered quietly. Hina smiled, about to greet him, but the announcer hero beat her to it, standing once more and shouting his name in glee. The erasure hero gave a half-hearted response before grabbing his lunch from the communal fridge, walking over to sit beside his friend.
"Aizawa, we were discussing which students we feel would have the best chance to win the sports festival. What do you think? Which of them do you feel has the most potential?"
He calmly ate his his bento box, eyeing her evenly. "They're all just as lacking as the previous students I've taught. I think it's pointless to speculate right now."
Hizashi was unconvinced, placing his hands on his hips. "Ah, you can't really mean that! You wouldn't have kept them all around this long if that was the case."
He only shrugged. "Their preliminary test scores weren't anything special. It really just all comes down to how hard each of them are willing to work to become the heroes they look up to. Until I see which ones can handle the hard work ahead of them, I can't say for sure."
Hina shook her head, smiling a little behind her cup of tea. Such a pessimist...but she sort of found it cute. He could be too logical sometimes. Present Mic began talking about another subject with Toshinori, but Hina ignored it for a moment, her gaze fixed on the man across from her.
"I know you care about them, Aizawa. No amount of keeping up your apathetic attitude will convince me otherwise."
He glanced at her briefly, but returned to his meal without responding in any way.
"Hina, you look exhausted!" Nemuri exclaimed, walking beside her through the crowded mall. "When I asked you to come shopping with me, I didn't realize you were practically a zombie. You could have said no and gone home already, you know."
"No, no. I wanted to come along. It's been awhile since we got to spend some time together outside of work." Hina said, holding back another yawn with effort. She didn't want to admit that she'd certainly thought about telling her no, but that she had needed a few pairs of sweatpants for some time now. And, she did miss her friend as well. Even working at the same school left little time to interact with each other socially. There was always so much to do as a teacher, much more than you'd ever expect.
Kiyashi was less busy than usual, though the night time crowd still drew in a large number of people. They walked towards one of their favorite department stores. The telepath could feel stares in their direction, but knew that Nemuri was the one they were centered on. Even out of costume, she was someone easily recognizable by her long, flowing midnight blue hair.
Even her casual clothing was a little on the risqué side, as her skin-tight halter top and shorts weren't a far cry from her hero costume. Hina felt practically like a nun next to her, sporting pants and a regular t-shirt that she'd dug out from the back of her closet.
"It has been awhile since we've gone shopping together, hasn't it?" Nemuri mused aloud, going inside the store to see the season's newest selection. Her eye caught a colorful-yet-sexy top on the mannequin and she made a beeline for that rack, eyes practically shining like stars. "Ooh, hello gorgeous."
"Yes," Hina grinned, pointing towards the shirt, "and I'm pretty sure you bought a shirt just like that the last time we came here. Are you sure you don't already have that one?"
"Hmm..." Nemuri looked it over, frowning slightly, before tugging her size off the rack and grinned. "Hell, what's the harm in having two of the same thing? It's cute, so I don't mind."
"Alright..." Hina laughed, looking around but not seeing anything that stood out to her quite yet. She found the sweatpant rack and rifled through a few, not finding her size yet.
"E-excuse me, but...are you the pro hero Midnight?" A male voice asked timidly, and Hina looked over to see a few teenage boys staring up in awe at her female companion.
"Why, yes I am!" She grinned wickedly, tossing her hair for dramatic effect. It was obvious that she loved the attention. "Would you like a picture with me?"
The telepath only rolled her eyes and kept shopping as the men exclaimed their eager agreement. She had a feeling this would be the first of many similar encounters that night.
"That'd be awesome!" The teen said, hurrying to grab his phone from his pocket. He and his friend stood closer to Midnight, but then he tapped Hina on the shoulder. "Could you maybe take our picture for us?"
"Sure thing." She said through her teeth, keeping the annoyance out of her voice. Even if she wasn't all that well known, she was still a pro hero and a teacher for UA, and should act like it. That meant not becoming irritated when fans ask for Midnight's picture.
The two teens stood close to her, smiling brightly, while Midnight posed in the middle of them, winking into the camera. Hina snapped a few pics just to make sure they got a good one, before giving the phone back to the one it belonged to.
"Thanks again!" He called, waving goodbye to Midnight as they left.
"Bye!" Midnight said, twiddling her fingers by way of a wave, then turned to her friend who had gone back to looking through the racks aimlessly. "Well, they were sure sweet. And sort of cute too...think they're of legal age?" Her eyebrows waggled, a playful smirk on her face.
"Nemuri, please..." Hina gave her a long suffering look, which caused the older woman to laugh.
"Ha! You're too easy to tease, Hina. Lighten up a little, won't you? We're out to have fun!" She picked a separate rack to look through, pulling a few interesting articles and inspecting them closer, running her fingers over the fabric.
"I wouldn't call taking pictures of you and strangers very fun..." She muttered. "I was hoping for a night spending time with my friend, not an evening of fielding off your horny fanboys."
Nemuri smiled, amused by her words, but tossed her head to the side. "Oh, I'm sure they're just a few brave souls. I'm out of costume, so I shouldn't be recognized nearly as much."
"Hmm." Hina highly doubted that, the incredulous look on her face plainly evident.
Nemuri glanced over to see if her friend had found anything yet. She frowned, spotting the item she was holding. "Hina! You're not seriously just going to buy a pair of sweatpants, are you?"
She froze like a deer in headlights, holding the pair she'd been eyeing to her chest. "What's wrong with that?"
"This is a shopping outing! You need to find something fancy or flirty, not the same thing you buy every time you go out! Something special! Something you normally wouldn't wear!" She circled behind Hina and pushed her towards the racks she'd been eyeing, pointing at them forcefully. "We're not leaving until you find something in here that you like."
Hina raised a brow, regarding the satiny blouses and low necklines with a mild amount of trepidation. It wasn't that she didn't like dressing up fancy on occasion, but she just wasn't used to Midnight's taste in fashion. She picked one at random, a strappy tank top with barely any coverage up front. "Can this even be considered a top?"
"Of course!" Midnight grabbed it, holding it up to Hina's body to see if it would fit. "Stuff like this isn't meant to be worn for very long anyway, if you know what I mean."
She accompanied her statement with a sexy wink, and Hina rolled her eyes, shoving the tank top back in her direction. "No thanks."
"Aw, come on. It goes well with your hair!" She pressed, her smile widening.
"Nemuri-"
"I was being serious. We're not leaving unless you find something." She said, gesturing again towards the rack.
Hina glared at the clothing, before walking off towards the dresses. "I'm not ever gonna wear any of those shirts. They look ridiculous. And if I'm already spending the money, I may as well go all out with a dress, right?"
She could practically feel Nemuri purr behind her. "That's the spirit! Let's go see what they've got."
After an intense 20-minute argument about the lack of cleavage that the little black dress Hina chose displayed, she finally convinced Nemuri that for her it was downright scandlous, as everyone else's standard was much different than hers. After taking that as a compliment, the pro hero eventually let the redhead purchase it before they left the store. In the time Hina had tried on the dress and decided on it, Nemuri had found a dozen or so other articles of clothing that she wanted to buy. As usual.
Bags in hand, they left the store and headed towards the entrance of the mall complex. Surprisingly, true to Nemuri's word, no one else seemed to recognize her, and they made their way without incident. Of which Hina was extremely thankful.
"So, last year you accomplished your goal for the school year." Nemuri suddenly said, turning to her friend. "Have anything in particular in mind for this year's goal?"
"I haven't really thought about it." Hina said, looking up at the dark sky as she thought about the answer to herself. She'd been so focused on getting to know her new students it hadn't even crossed her mind.
"I'm hoping to convince the principal to open a small art gallery on the first floor of the school. You know that big storage area that has sat empty for awhile?" Hina nodded, and Nemuri smiled eagerly. "If I can set it up to be a gallery, it would make my lesson much easier, and would help the students engage with the subject. Plus, we could even hold small art festivals with the students that are artistically inclined as well, maybe feature their works in the gallery."
"Wow, you've got it all planned out, don't you?"
"Mhmm, I've been meaning to talk to Nezu about it, but just haven't found the right time. Maybe this year will be the one."
They passed the entrance of the mall and stopped beside the road, waiting for a taxi to arrive. It was a clear night tonight, and the distant noise of the city was a soft background to their conversation.
Nemuri looked intently at Hina again. "Well? Got an idea for your goal yet?"
The redhead sighed, looking to the side. There was one thing that came to mind, but she was still debating saying it out loud or not. She didn't want this to backfire and get around by accident. Well, maybe Nemuri would understand and actually keep this to herself for once.
"I want to become friends with Aizawa."
Nemuri's face instantly perked up, then smiled mischievously, elbowing her in the shoulder a few times. "Eh? Is that so? Just friends?"
"Yes. Just friends." Hina emphasized, knowing exactly where her friend's mind was going. She looked down the road. "We've worked together for three years now, and I still feel like we're just acquaintances. I'm close with everyone else except him. It feels strange having just one person who I just can't connect with at work, you know? He keeps himself at such a distant to everyone. I can't help but feel like I want to bridge that gap."
Nemuri was giggling to herself, not sounding too convinced that her interest was purely platonic. "Sure, sure...but getting close to Aizawa isn't an easy task. He hasn't changed much since we went to high school, honestly. Don't you worry though, I'm sure that dress you bought will help keep his eyes on you at the very least."
Hina wasn't normally one to become embarrassed about too many things. She wasn't a shrinking violet, nor was she a teenager any longer. But the implications Nemuri was suggesting was a little too much for her, and she felt her cheeks heat up.
"That's not what I bought it for!" She looked down at her bag, checking the neckline again just to be sure. "It's simple enough that I can wear it to the annual teacher's meeting or something without being thrown out for being inappropriate. I'll probably wear it there."
Midnight couldn't resist one last jab. "Hnn, but you'll make sure Aizawa's nearby, won't you?"
"Tch." Hina scoffed, spotting a taxi approach and slow to a stop in front of them. Finally. Saved by the taxi. "Come on, let's get out of here now."
"Suit yourself, but you're not running away from this. I'll get you to confess the truth eventually."
They both entered the taxi and told the driver where to take them. Hina was almost tired enough to fall asleep in the taxi, but luckily made it to her apartments and inside the building before collapsing onto her soft bed. Not even bothering to hang up her new dress, or undress herself from her clothing, she simply passed out as soon as she hit the pillow.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
