Work Text:
When she enters UA ground, she sees him outside leaning back against the wall right beside the main door entrance. His eyes are closed, like always. She’s starting to think he is taking micro-sleep every time he closes his eyes to make up the lost time.
Does he even sleep? Other than his constant naps in his horrendous yellow cocoon and his possibly micro-sleeps, she doesn’t think he ever has any proper sleeps. The huge bags under his eyes already prove his deprivation.
“You’re a little late today than usual,” he suddenly speaks up when she is close enough with his eyes yet to open. Her lips curl into a small smile. So he had memorized her schedule.
“What's this? You're assigned to greet guests now? Well things would have been a lot better if you greet me every time I come by. It would make my day brighter.”
“Principal Nedzu wants you to come to his office,” he says instead, completely ignoring her jabbing remark. She gives him a raised eyebrow even though he won’t see it because his eyes are still closed.
“Why?” she asks. Eraser finally opens his eyes and looks at her with tired eyes. He makes a quiet noise at the back of his throat with a light shrug. Then he pushes himself off the wall and makes his way inside.
“Whatever it is, I don't like it,” he comments with a grumble just as she comes to his side. “And since he wants you there now of all times is already striking a headache on my part,” he says more to himself than informing her, face pinches into a grimace.
“What's bad about meeting him now?” She doesn't get an answer as Eraser continues to grumble unhappily under his breath. Well, she’ll get her answer when she gets there. In the meantime, she has a few questions to ask. “You seem pretty close with cockatoo Present Mic.”
She meant to ask that a while ago but it slipped her mind because teasing him was so much fun. And he was surrounded by his friends and kids that she had to stand back to watch and see the pure chaos that had happened before her.
And the last two days was a no-go because sensitive reason.
“I tried to leave him in a cardboard box at the side of a road but he wouldn’t give me a moment of peace.”
She snorts.
“And Midnight?”
“She’s even worse.”
Despite his harsh words, she could tell that he doesn’t mean it. That and what had happened that day.
“So you know All Might for a while now, huh?”
“Who?” She gives him a look, somewhat in disbelief at his questions. Is he being serious?
“The fuck you mean who? The Symbol of Peace, dipshit.”
“Oh you mean the big excuse of a buffoon.” She gives him another look for the nickname. “I only see his face the start of the year.”
The start of the year, huh? She had interacted with All Might in his non-muscular form a few times but it is enough to tell her that it takes very little efforts to make him splutter. She could see that some of Eraser’s words struck the former number one Hero. This could mean that they’re only become friends very recently, where All Might is still getting to know him.
With people like Mic, Midnight, Might and also Ms. Joke, she could finally understand why he is so done with his friends and colleagues.
Eraser is leading her to one giant door to which she thinks is the principal’s office. As they approach it, she is suddenly reminded of her time in high school in her youth. She had lost count how many times she got sent to the principal’s office due to the buttfuck amount of hijinks and bullshit she had done. When they are arrived to the door she expects Eraser to knock on it and wait for the permission to come in.
She did not expect him to barge in with zero care.
It surprised her so much that she stands frozen by the door for a little too long. The principal may be an animal but he has high respect within the Hero community. The rat is pretty notorious. So seeing Eraser showing little respect is… baffling.
But then again, Ryuukyuu did say he made All Might fearful for his life, so there’s that.
“Ah, Eraser! Miruko! Come in, come in!” she hears the principal as she enters after the invitation. “Sit, please. I had prepared tea for the two of you.” The principal is not by his desk at the far back. He is currently sitting on a red sofa in front of a table where three steaming cups and saucers are placed. Right opposite of Principal Nedzu is a similar sofa, where two of the three cups are placed closer.
“Is there something you need from me, Principal?” she couldn't help but ask as she and Eraser sit at the offered sits. She's a lot more respectful in her posture as Eraser pretty much slumps forward with his elbows on his knees. She raises her eyebrows at him.
Maybe Principal Nedzu is a lot more lenient than she thinks.
“Nothing too special, you do not have to worry a lot,” Nedzu reassures her with a wave of a paw before he grabs his tea. “Please, have some tea. They are my special blend.” Shrugging to herself, she grabs the beverage and takes a sip.
Before she could tell him that the tea is good, the office suddenly lapses into absolute silence. She looks up in surprise. Principal Nedzu is simply holds the cup and saucer while looking intently at Eraser, as if expecting something. She looks at both of them with silent confusion. Eraser's eye twitches before he releases a long deep sigh.
“It's fine, she's fine,” he mutters as he leans back against the sofa and slumps into it, disregarding any lingering formality out the window. She frowns at him, wondering what does he means by that.
“Well that would make things easier, doesn't it?” the principal asks with a tone that is quite… casual, carefree, a total far cry than what she had heard from him since she entered.
“Just… don't say anything that is too embarrassing. I already don't like it that she is here.”
“Now, now, Shouta.”
‘Shouta?’
“None of that. It wouldn't hurt to have an extra company, don't you think?” the principal asks, giving the teacher a teasing smile.
“The reason we have this weekly tea is so we don’t have an extra company. You said it yourself,” Eraser points out, even giving the animal his usual glare.
“I don't remember saying such statement,” Principal Nedzu brushes it off very easily. Eraser narrows his eyes as the principal smiles innocently.
“Why are you like this, Nedzu?”
“What? Can’t I have a little bit more fun?”
“Then don’t include me.”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
“I’m the epitome of no fun.”
“That makes it much more fun!” the principal chirps, looking very bright. Eraser grimaces with a groan.
She lowers her cup onto the table as she watches this whole ordeal with wide shocked eyes, feeling utterly in disbelief. A very informal conversation between a gruff man and an infamous creature? What had she gotten herself into?
But then, the more she watches, the more she notices something. The certain glitter in the principal's eyes, the exchange back and forth between him and Eraser, and the tiny almost unnoticeable curl on the lips… they all look familiar. Then she stares at Eraser for a second too long before...
Oh.
The way Principal Nedzu treating Eraser right now… is very identical to the way Eraser treats his kids.
Eraser and the principal have a history.
“Now then, I have a small talk with Miruko here.” She stiffens with Nedzu mentions her name. “So if you don't mind, Shouta?”
“Yeah, yeah. I'm leaving,” Eraser grumbles as he gets up and makes his way to the door. “Don't tell her any embarrassing.”
“We'll see!”
Eraser groans loudly as he exits, closing the door behind him. Suddenly, she feels very aware now that she is in the middle of Nedzu's attention after witnessing a personal interaction. He takes a sip of his tea, which she realizes it’s the first time he is doing so. He didn’t put the cup near his lips during his little talk with Eraser.
“You had been around Shouta more lately I see,” he starts after pulling the tea from his lips. “May I know why?” She knows that he is asking one question, but somehow she feels there are multiple layers behind it.
“Well…” she starts hesitantly. She feels a little intimidated by Principal Nedzu’s presence. To think Eraser has an intimidating presence. “It's not bad hanging around him. He's fun more than what he seems.” She also feels a little embarrassed to admit to someone that she is interested in Eraser; to his employer nonetheless.
She feels like she is in a sitcom situation.
“I see.” He pauses to take another sip. “Shouta does seem to attract attentions from, what he would call, the loud ones.”
Her mind flashes back to Might, Mic, Midnight and Ms. Joke and she couldn't help but snorts in agreement. She could say she is clump in that group.
Not to mention his class too.
“But you don't just seem to simply “hang around” him, isn't it?”
She stiffens. The principal lowers his mug onto the saucer in his other hand. His black beads of eyes stare into hers emotionlessly that makes her skin crawls.
“It is something more than just a simple attraction.”
She feels like she got caught red handed.
“As an employer of my hardest working employee, I ask you to not distract him from his work, at the very least keep it to the bare minimum.”
Yeah, she can see now why he is feared in the Hero Community.
“But…” he suddenly starts in a softer tone than before. The intensity behind his eyes lessens significantly. “…As a person who deeply cares for him, please look after him and take care of him to the best of your abilities.”
She blinks at him in surprise but not saying any words.
“It is unethical of me to take advantage of your attraction to Shouta, but he tends to disregard his own health for the sake of his students. I hope you are willing to take up the offer. Look after him, is what I am trying to say.”
When he takes a sip, it feels like she has no choice but forced to agree to it.
“Oh, just a tip for you, Miruko.” He puts down his mug and he has a cheeky smile on his lips. “Pay more attention to his kids. You will get closer to him much faster that way.”
She blinks multiple times, feeling in utter disbelief. She can't believe it.
The fucking principal is playing matchmaking.
Well, she doesn't like it that she is being played like a chess piece, but… she wouldn't oppose because her partner is… yeah.
She does have a crush on him anyway.
“You seem pretty close with Eraser,” she bravely asks when the wave of intimidation finally passed.
“Yes, I did intentionally show you this side of ours. I was his homeroom teacher when he was in General Education class fifteen years ago.”
“He was in Gen Ed?” she asks, her voice pitching up in surprise. The principal straightens and a proud smile blooms on his face.
“That’s correct! He was the first non-Heroic student to be transferred to the Heroics course. I could never be more proud at his incredible accomplishment. I still hold dearly the time where he burst through the office just so he could tell me he won the Sports Festival even though I had watched the whole ordeal. He alone had set the door open for other classes to achieve such greatness.”
As far as she knows, transferred students to the Heroics course are very rare in UA; there is a reason for the existence of the Entrance Exam. UA had been quite lenient though, by giving students “chance” to transfer if they show favorable results. Winning the Sports Festival is probably the biggest course of action for the transfer.
It’s in quotation because the requirements for transfer are very high.
“Of course, don’t tell Shouta that. He would make a fuss about it, saying that it was nothing more than just a simple transfer.”
“Humble?”
“No, simply illogical. It is not something to celebrate, as he would say. And he had made his point as well. As soon after the Sports Festival, he disappeared from the papers to the point that being the first student transfer was almost forgotten.”
“What was he like, back then?”
Principal Nedzu doesn’t answer immediately. His posture loses its rigidness as he simply stares down at the tea in his hands. There is a glitter in his eyes that she could not put a finger on. She could be wrong, but it could be sadness.
“What he was fifteen years ago was not who he is today. It is not my place to say; you just have to ask him. It is a sensitive subject, so I ask you to be cautious.”
“Shirakumo?”
He doesn’t answer immediately. That is already enough for an answer.
“It would be wise for you to refrain from saying the name, Miruko.”
She looks at her phone, at the email that contains footages of the whole USJ ordeal a while ago. It’s not released to the public, only within the Hero community for analysis and investigation. She could’ve downloaded the video there but Principal Nedzu was kind enough to send her footages not found in the Hero community.
He did so with a mischievous smile on his lips.
The first video she plays is of Eraser jumping off from the top of the stairs and straight into the dozens and dozens of villains that poured out from the purplish black void. She frowns. Didn’t Eraser tell her that he is not fit very well with crowds?
Still…
Her lips part as she watches the next video. The elegance, the grace of Eraser’s movements during battle, and not to mention the mastery control of his scarf and his techniques…
He even weaponized his shoulder when his elbow got disintegrated by the handsy bitch.
And then, the Nomu came in.
She jumps slightly when the monster crushed Eraser underneath it and jolts every time she hears his bones snapped. She had heard that one of the Heroes there suffered major injuries.
She didn’t realize it was Eraser this entire time.
Then the crusty handsy bitch reached out for the frog girl. She could feel the hair on the back of her neck rises. Obviously the girl survived, but how? Thirteen was nowhere to be found and Eraser was pinned down. Did All Might come at the last minute?
“You really are so cool… Eraserhead.”
No fucking way.
It was Eraser. He was still pinned down by the Nomu, arms broken and snapped and face smashed to the ground, but he still erased crusty’s Quirk.
Holy shit that’s pretty badass.
Fuck she is falling hard for this one gruff man.
She watches as Eraser got carried away by his kids. Then, she remembers what Principal Nedzu told her earlier afternoon.
‘Well, I guess I better start learning their names.’