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It was a hot summer night in the end of June. With the worry of villains coming out to cause a ruckus because of the hot weather worried the city of Musutafu, especially after the things there were finally getting better after the events of the year before.
They wanted as many pro heroes in the streets as possible in the summer and for certain pro hero teachers, they were not exempt from participating in patrols.
“Thank you for taking extra patrols lately, Eraserhead,” said Hawks as he put his hands on his hips. “I would think you would leave it to your class, but I guess you wanted some of the action too, huh?”
“Teachers are not exempt from patrols; they never were even before the war. So, why wouldn’t I be here?” Aizawa said, giving Hawks his usual scowl.
“I’m just saying, Eraserhead, no need to get defensive,” Hawks said, putting his hands out in front of him. “I just thought you wouldn’t be interested in patrolling tonight because it’s your class’ last year and you’re on a tight schedule with them, that’s all.”
“I still have a duty as a pro hero, though,” Aizawa told him, continuing to scowl at him.
“I know, I know, no need for the face, Eraserhead,” Hawks nervously laughed.
“What face?” Aizawa asked, oblivious to his permeant scowl he gives almost everyone.
“Eh, never mind,” Hawks laughed nervously again, scratching the back of his head. “Anyways, we are partnering up tonight, in case anything happens. So far, it’s the hottest day of the year and you know that’s when trouble starts, so we thought it would be better to create pairs in case there are too many issues. We don’t want anyone alone right now.”
“Great,” Aizawa said sarcastically. “Who am I stuck with?”
“Give me a sec, let me check the list,” he said as he pulled out his phone and went into his emails. “Ah, you’re with Ms. Joke tonight! That’s gonna be fun.”
“Joke?” Aizawa groaned, his eye twitching. “Out of all people, you guys assign me with Joke?”
“Well, I heard you two use to work together a lot back in the days, so we figured why not?” Hawks shrugged. “Anyways, don’t you guys train your kids together or something?”
“Yeah, and I see her enough for training,” Aizawa grumbled.
“ERASER!” called out a familiar voice that made Aizawa shiver. He turned around and saw the seafoam green haired pro hero.
“Speaking of the hero herself,” Hawks said as he placed a hand on Aizawa’s shoulder. “I think you’ll be alright.”
Aizawa just grumbled and watch Ms. Joke skip her way to him and Hawks. She had her usual wide grin on her face and placed her hands behind her back, leaning towards Aizawa, who took as step back when she did.
“Eraser! We’re working together tonight! Just like old times!” she laughed. “We’re about to kick some serious villain butt! Team EraserJoke is back in action!”
“Wow, you have a duo name?” Hawks laughed, but then stopped when he was met with Aizawa’s scary glare.
“Yeah! I made it YEARS ago when I was just a little rookie,” she laughed. “The people loved it!”
“No, they didn’t,” Aizawa retorted.
“Oh, you know they did, Eraser!” she laughed, pointing finger guns at him.
Aizawa sighed loudly and turned back to Hawks, his shoulders slumped, “please give me someone else. I can’t do this for a whole night.”
“Oh, stop being a baby, Eraser!” Joke laughed as she hit him in the back, causing Aizawa’s eye to twitch again.
“No can do, Eraserhead. Everyone we have tonight are in their pairs already,” Hawks smirked.
Aizawa sighed again then turned back to Joke, who now had her hands on her hips and still wore a huge grin on her face. “Please don’t make me want to quit my job, Joke.”
Joke laughed loudly and held her stomach as she did. “Oh, Eraser! You’re such a jokester! HA! You know you like working with me!”
“No, I don’t,” he quickly retorted again, Emi laughing off the rejection.
“I promise to be on my best behavior, Eraser!” she told him, giving him a thumbs up. “You will enjoy my company so much that you would end up wanting to marry me!”
“No, I won’t” he quickly retorted again with Joke laughing away the pain.
“Alright, lovebirds, your shift is about to start. You might wanna get out there,” Hawks laughed.
“Shut up,” Aizawa told him.
“Aw, face it, Eraser, everyone thinks we’re good together,” she said to him. “You should just date me.”
“No,” he turned back to her, then sighed. “Let’s get this over with.”
“Aye, aye, captain,” Joke saluted.
Aizawa groaned, then put his hands into his pocket and walked past her. Joke, on the other hand waved goodbye to Hawks, then caught up with him, walking slightly behind him.
“I know you’re excited to work with me, Eraser, you can just tell me,” Emi said before she covered her mouth to laugh.
Aizawa groaned loudly and turned his head to glare at her. “No, I’m not.”
“Oh, come on! We always worked well together on patrols! We were unstoppable!” she told him.
Aizawa stopped in his tracks and turned his whole body to face Joke. Joke, bumped into his chest, not aware that he was going to turn to face her, and quickly pulled away from him, blushing profusely.
“Listen, Joke. Can you please cut it out with the jokes tonight? Okay?” he asked her, his face giving her a serious expression.
The blush on Joke’s face faded away as he spoke. She realized he was not in the mood, so she knew she had to stop. “O-Okay, I’ll stop…”
Aizawa sighed, “okay, good. Let’s do what we can and call it a shift.”
“Okay,” Joke nodded.
The two made their way into the streets of Musutafu and began their patrol. Joke realized how awkward it was to even speak to Aizawa since what he said before, so she stood shut for a while during their shift. She just followed him where he went and made sure the streets were safe during the summer night.
Though it was hot throughout the night, the temperature dropped a little, making it slightly less hotter than before, which Aizawa was thankful for, since he felt himself sweating a lot. He hated the summer more than anything, especially since he always wore clothes that were meant for the other seasons rather than summer.
Joke, however, did not mind the heat; she actually liked it. She enjoyed warm weather, since she was from southern Japan, where it usually was a little warmer throughout the year compared to Musutafu. It reminded her of home.
“Seems dead tonight,” Aizawa sighed. “They thought it would be crazier, but nothing had happened besides little petty stuff in the past three hours. It’s already midnight.”
“I think it’s because since there are more people are out tonight enjoying the weather, that would mean chaos will follow,” Joke said.
Joke looked around and saw that many people were still out late at night, enjoying the nightlife. It was not possible to do such a thing the year before because of what happened, but now, people were taking advantage. Groups of friends, coworkers, and couples roamed the streets, drinking or having fun that summer night. She kind of envied them, since because of her job as a pro hero, she had little time to do such things, but she still did not regret her career, especially since she made many friends and found someone she liked. However, when she did see the couples on the street, hand in hand and being affectionate towards each other, she wished she would be able to be in their shoes. But the person she wanted to do that with didn’t see her the same way. She internally sighed as she walked through the streets with Aizawa, envying the scenery.
Aizawa, on the other hand, hated the scenery. He cursed at how many people were out in the streets, knowing that things were not completely back to normal yet, and thought that those enjoying themselves were all selfish. Though he knew it came with the job, he thought that many heroes had been working so much overtime the past few months, barely catching a break, and he knew his students were burning out from going to school and working patrols to help out. He blamed the people for being reckless, but at the same time, he couldn’t blame them from enjoying themselves while they could, since nobody knew what the future held.
“Maybe just our area is dead,” Joke said to Aizawa. “I mean, I’m sure things are happening elsewhere.”
“Yeah, probably,” he sighed.
“Hey, look at it this way, hopefully it’s an easy night for everyone. We’ve been busting our asses. We could use an easy night for once,” she told him.
“We could.”
Joke's shoulders slumped. She wished he would talk more to her, since she enjoyed just hearing his voice, but they were halfway into their shift, and he barely spoke a word to her. She knew he was like that anyways, since he was the same in the past, but she couldn’t help but hope tonight would be different.
Aizawa took his phone out to check the time and it was already two in the morning, so the streets were becoming empty now that many were heading home. He put his phone back into his pocket and looked up to Joke, who was now walking slightly ahead of him, with her hands behind her back while she whistles softly.
“Hey, Joke,” he called out.
“Hm?” Joke hummed as she turned her body to face him. “What’s up?”
“Let’s take a higher ground. I think we can have a better view of our area that way,” he told her.
She nodded in response. “Okay.”
After a few minutes, the two were on the roof of one of the highest building in their patrol area.
“This should be good,” Aizawa said.
“Yeah, we can see so much from up here!” Joke softly laughed as she walked over to look over the edge of the building.
“Don’t get too close to the edge, Joke. I don’t need you falling over,” Aizawa sighed as he walked up beside her.
“I won’t. Besides, I have my zip-lines,” she told him as she patted her gear belt. “Or did you forget I started to carry those to keep up with your scarf back then?”
“I didn’t think you would still use them. You’re a better fighter grounded,” he said as he put his hands in his pockets. “Didn’t think you would have any use for them.”
“Yeah, well, I think they come in handy at any time. Never know when a villain and just fling you over a building or in the air,” she told him.
“Guess you’re right about that then,” he said.
“Of course, I am,” she softly smiled at him.
Joke looked away from Aizawa and faced the city streets again. Luckily, there was a nice breeze up on the roof, so she closed her eyes and enjoyed it.
“I’ll be back, stay here,” Aizawa said, turning to walk away from her.
“W-What? Where are you going?” she turned to see him walk away.
“Just stay there. Don’t worry about it.”
He left her alone on the building roof, causing her to sigh loudly before she sat on the edge of the roof. Her legs dangled off the edge, which most people would fear even trying such a thing, but that didn’t faze her.
After a few minutes, she began to wonder where Aizawa was. She knew he would not neglect his duties as a hero, so she figured he might have had to use the bathroom or something, so she just stayed where he told her to.
“Must have had a stomachache or something,” she said to herself. She sighed loudly and leaned back a little, putting her arms behind her to support her.
“Why are you worried about my stomach, Joke?” she heard a familiar voice behind her, causing her to jump in place. She turned her head and saw Aizawa walking towards her, holding a black plastic bag, and began to blush in embarrassment because he heard her. “E-Eraser! Y-You’re back!”
“I said I would be,” he sighed once he reached her. He opened the bag he held and stuck his hand into it to pull out a bottle of water. He then held it out towards her, shaking it a little in front of her to have her take it from him. “Here, you must be thirsty.”
Joke began to blush. It was such a small gesture, but she really appreciated it. “T-Thank you,” she said softly as she took the water bottle from him.
“You’re welcome,” he responded, as he took a seat on the edge, next to her. “I got us some buns, too. We walked a lot. You must be a little hungry.” He went into the bag again and pulled out a bun to hand to her. “Here.”
“Thank you,” she said again, blushing more. She put the water bottle to her side and took the bun from Aizawa. She then opened it up and took a bite into the sweet, fluffy bun, and couldn’t help but make a sound from how good it tasted. “Mmm! So good!” she said, her mouth stuffed.
“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” he told her before he took a bite of his bun.
Joke quickly swallowed her bite and laughed in embarrassment. “Hey! I couldn’t help it! I happen to love buns! They are so fluffy, sweet, and savory all at once!”
Aizawa swallowed his own bite and gave her a deadpanned look, causing her jump slightly. “You should know your manners though.”
“I do!” she pouted at him.
“Yeah, sure,” he said sarcastically, then went back to eating his bun.
“You know, Eraser, you’re kinda mean,” she told him as she poked his arm with her free hand.
Aizawa sucked his teeth as she did and rolled his eyes at her comment. “I don’t care.”
“You should care!” she told him. “What would happen if you wanted to find someone, but they won’t like that you’re kinda mean!?”
“Who said I’m looking for someone?” he asked, not looking at her and instead, taking another bite of his bun.
“You don’t want to settle down or something?” she asked.
“No,” he responded after swallowing. “Why would I?”
“Because we’re getting old, Eraser. Don’t you want to maybe pass your quirk down, too? I mean you have one of the most useful quirks against villains! We could use another like you!” she explained to him.
“You’re acting like Endeavor and all those other pros who do the same thing; have kids just for quirks,” he told her.
“But I don’t mean it like Endeavor, who did it to be selfish. I mean, another little Eraserhead running around can do good in our world when you retire,” she said.
“There are others with similar quirks to mine around the world. One less wouldn’t hurt,” he said, now turning to face her.
“You… don’t even want to fall in love?” she asked him. She felt herself become nervous when she asked him that, since she hoped he would at least say yes, but she figured out his answer just by the way he always was.
“It’s not something necessary,” he told her. “It just gets in the way of my job.”
Her heart sank. She knew he would answer that way, but it still hurt to hear that from him.
She looked away from him and took a bite of her bun, then quickly swallowed it once she chewed it enough. “As expected from you, I guess,” she said, looking out into the city. “The man, the myth, the legend, Eraserhead, the man who wants to be alone.”
“Shut up,” he groaned.
She took another bite into her bun, then looked back at him, chewing it, and swallowing again. “You know, I want to fall in love.”
“Good for you,” he said as he grabbed his water bottle to take a sip.
Joke pouted at his remark but continued to speak anyways. “But I guess I’m gonna be alone anyways,” she sighed.
“And why is that?” he asked kind of sarcastically.
“Because you don’t want to fall in love, so I guess I’m gonna be alone forever. I’ll try and move on, but it will probably be impossible,” she told him. She wanted to blush slightly, but at the same time, she was tired of making her feelings as a joke around him.
Aizawa scoffed and looked at her, “enough with the jokes, Joke.”
“It’s not a joke, Eraser,” she told him with a serious look to her face.
Aizawa realized she wasn’t kidding when he looked at her expression. “Joke, come on. Why are you doing this?”
“What? I can’t tell you how I feel about you? I’m thirty years old already; I don’t want to beat around the bush anymore,” she told him.
“Joke, I always been this way. You can’t blame me for you being alone,” he scoffed.
“I’m not blaming you. I blame myself if anything because I fell for you. It’s gonna be hard for me to move on by now,” she said, then looked away from him, looking down into the streets again. “You know, I always joked about it just because you obviously had no interest in anyone. But it was a way for me coping with the fact that I would never have the chance with you,” she laughed slightly. “I wish it wasn’t true, but obviously we are complete opposites, so probably it wouldn’t have worked out anyways.”
Aizawa was silent as she spoke, in shock at what she was saying to him. He never thought she was actually serious about him, so hearing that all these years with those so called ‘jokes’ about wanted to date and marry him was because she liked him, shocked the hell out of him.
Joke sighed, her shoulders slouching as she did. “I broke my own heart I guess,” she laughed. “You’re not to blame at all. I am for being stupid and thinking I had a chance with you anyways.” She paused and looked at him, giving him a soft smile as she did. “You’re a good guy, Eraser, for putting up with my stupid jokes. It was fun while it lasted, but I’ll move on from them, since I already basically confessed to you and at the same time, knew your response to it anyways.”
“Joke, I’m… I’m sorry,” he told her, looking down and away from her. He didn’t want to face her, since he felt kind of guilty about it.
“Don’t apologize,” she told him. “You were the one who was always clear about how you want to live your life. I just fantasized about the ‘what if.’ Stupid me…” she kicked her legs back and forth over the ledge, then let out a quick laugh. “I never thought that I would be confessing to you this way but here we are!”
“Joke, why… why are you laughing about getting your heart broken?” he asked her.
“Because it helps me cope,” she told him, looking at him again. “What? Do you want to see me cry? I’m an ugly crier you know. Snots come out and everything!” she laughed again. ‘People cope in different ways, Eraser.”
“Yeah… I guess you’re right,” he told her, looking away from her again. He took one last bite of his bun, then put the wrapper into the plastic bag. “Joke, I… I’m still sorry that you wasted your time on me. You shouldn’t have.
“It was fun teasing and making jokes towards you,” she smiled softly. “Don’t sweat it. It was fun while it lasted.”
“Are… are you gonna be alright?” he asked her.
“Yeah,” she nodded. “I’ll be alright. I might join Mic in those mixers he keeps inviting me to,” she laughed again. “By the way, did you make him invite me to those things to keep me off your back?”
“No,” Aizawa scoffed. “He literally finds any hero who is single and over thirty to join him. He asks me to go all the time and I tell him no every single time.”
Emi loudly laughed this time, holding her stomach while she did. “Oh man! What a laugh riot Mic is! I just can’t imagine you in one of those things!”
“Yeah, I would be miserable,” Aizawa huffed.
Emi’s laugh died down, and she softly smiled at Aizawa again, then poked him in the arm causing him to groan. “You know, you’re actually not alone anyways. Sorry for saying all that because I’m just a little salty. I mean, you have Mic, Eri and I know class A would definitely bother you after graduation. I mean, my kiddos still come by to see me. I had Yo take over for training last week because he begged me to allow him to show how strong he’s gotten now that he’s on his own. You would never be alone as much as you wish.”
“Yeah, I’m never really lonely,” Aizawa sighed. “And don’t apologize.”
“I have to. I was kinda being mean,” she said, scratching her cheek.
“No, you weren’t,” he told her.
“Aw, Eraser, don’t lie to me like that,” she said as she pushed his arm and laughed, causing him to groan.
“I take it back them,” he said, rubbing the arm she touched.
“What! Wait! Don’t! You barely say something nice about me! No take back!” she whined.
“Too late,” he told her, causing her to whine some more.
“Eraserrrrr!”
They patrolled for a few hours more, and even watched the sunrise as the morning came.
It was already 7 in the morning, so that meant their shift had ended. So, they made their way to clock out, and got ready to go their separate ways.
“Well, will I’ll see you at joint training before summer vacation?” Joke asked Aizawa.
“Yeah, make sure your students are ready for the tough training class A and I are gonna put them through,” he told her.
“Oh, cut them some slack! They still have yet to hatch out of their shells!” she said, then laughed.
“They can’t be slackers, Joke,” he grumbled.
“Okay, fine! You win, Eraser,” she said, laughing more. “Anyways, I’ll see you then, bye, Eraser.”
“Bye, Joke,” he nodded as he spoke.
Joke left first, waving goodbye before she began to walk the opposite way from him.
Aizawa couldn’t help but not leave yet, even though his body told him he needed rest and should leave. We watched her as she walked, thinking about their conversation from before when she confessed to him, and began to feel a change of heart.
Yeah, he did not want to really find love and be with someone, but at the same time, nobody has ever confessed their love for him, not even when he was in high school. He thought that maybe, he should give it a chance and see how it goes and for once, going against his beliefs.
“Joke!” he called out to her.
He saw that she jumped slightly, startled at his voice, and quickly turned around.
Aizawa sighed before he brought his hand out of his pocket and placed it around his mouth before he shouted again. “I’m hungry! Let’s grab some breakfast!”
Even though she was slightly far from him, he could still see that her eyes widened, and her face flustered under the sunrise, in which he let out a small laugh.
“A-Are you serious!” she shouted back at him.
“Yeah!” he told her, “I’m serious!”
He saw her smile now, her eyes closed, and her cheeks puffed up because of it.
He made his way towards her and saw that she began to walk to meet him halfway. They both stopped in front of each other, and Joke put her hands behind her back, giggling as she looked up at him.
“Are you treating?” she asked him, giggling some more.
“Yeah, my treat,” he scoffed.
“Well, my stomach is growling, so hurry up and lead the way, mister!” she told him.
“Yeah, yeah,” he groaned. “Let’s go.”
They made their way to the closest diner they could find and sat in a small booth at the far end of the diner, where people could barely see them. Emi felt her heart beat out of her chest in nervousness, but she told herself it was nothing more than just breakfast with Eraser, since she did not want to get her hopes up after their conversation a few hours prior.
“Hello! Welcome! Before you order, I just want to thank you two for keeping our streets safe, heroes” the waitress, who was an older woman, said to both Joke and Aizawa.
“Don’t thank us!” Emi said, laughing and blushing at the complement from the waitress. “It’s our duty to protect the great citizens of Musutafu!”
“Yeah, please don’t thank us,” Aizawa followed.
“Oh nonsense! I know how much the heroes are working now! We are very grateful! We have many come in after a night shift, which I’m assuming you two just came from one,” the woman laughed.
“Oh, yeah! We did!” Joke laughed.
“Well, you two must be starving! What can I get you two?” the woman asked them.
“Go ahead, Joke, order first,” Aizawa told her.
“O-Okay,” Joke said, blushing slightly, in which she covered her face with the menu. “I’ll have a coffee with three sugars and creamer, and some chocolate chip pancakes.”
“Great choice! And for you, sir?” the waitress than asked Aizawa.
“Black coffee and an omelette, please,” Aizawa said to the woman.
“Great!” the waitress responded as she took the menus from them. “I’ll get that order in for you two!”
“Thank you,” both pro heroes said at the same time.
After the woman walked away, Joke leaned on top of the table and placed her hand under her chin, letting out a mischievous laugh, which had Eraser raise his brow at her while he crossed his arms.
“What is it, Joke?” he sighed.
“You know, Eraser, I know you feel bad for me but to get me breakfast to make me feel better is super nice of you,” she laughed. “Who knew you were such a softy.”
“I only asked because we had a long shift and I was hungry, that’s all,” he groaned. “And I’m not a softy.”
“Yes, you are,” she laughed again. “But in all seriousness, thanks for the treat. I was ready to microwave some pancakes when I got home and knock out after. I could really use some fresh made ones instead.”
“You’re welcome,” he sighed. “But don’t tell anyone I did this for you, especially Mic. Then he’s gonna make me treat him for breakfast.”
“Oh, treat your best friend to some breakfast, Eraser! Stop being so cruel to Mic!” she laughed some more.
“No, he can get it himself,” Aizawa groaned again.
“Here is your coffee, you two,” the waitress sang, and she placed the two cups of coffee on their table. “Black coffee for you, sir, and light and sweet coffee for you, miss.”
“Thank you,” they both said at the same time again.
“You’re very welcome. Your food should be out in just a few minutes!” the woman said, before she walked away from the heroes again.
“I still don’t understand how you drink black coffee,” Joke giggled. “I mean, it’s so bitter!”
“Well, it’s better than that light and sweet stuff you get. It’s disgusting,” he told her before taking a sip of his black coffee.
“Pff! Yeah right! Light and sweet is the only way anyone should be drinking their coffee,” she laughed.
“No, it’s not,” he scoffed, placing his coffee mug down on to the table.
“Man, we definitely are opposites,” she softly laughed.
“Complete opposites,” he sighed.
After a few minutes, they finally got their food and enjoyed their breakfast, then, it was time to part ways again. Joke did not want their time together to end, but she knew it would be a bittersweet ending, so she still enjoyed her time with him.
“Thanks for the meal, Eraser, I appreciate it, really,” she told him outside of the diner. “I’ll see you around, okay?”
Aizawa didn’t respond quickly, which Emi took notice of.
“Eraser, what’s up? Are you okay? Did that black coffee go right through you already?” she asked.
“W-What? No!” he quickly responded to that.
“Then what’s wrong? You’re acting weird,” she told him, tilting her head, and eyeing him.
“Well, I… I was just thinking,” he said, as he pulled his hand out of his pocket and placed his hand on the back of his neck. “What… what if we try… try seeing each other…”
Joke’s heart skipped a beat. She thought she was hallucinating from the heat and lack of sleep, so she blinked several times and shook her head furiously, “E-Eraser, w-what are you saying?”
“I thought about it for the past few hours after our…talk and I thought… I thought that I should just try,” he said. “So… so are you willing to give it a shot? I know you probably won’t agree to it, since you said you want to get over me and I don’t want to break your heart, so-”
“Yes!” she interrupted him. “I-I’ll give you a shot!”
“R-Really? Are you sure?” he asked in disbelief. He thought she would say no, and even prepared himself for rejecting him.
“Yes,” she nodded furiously again. “Let’s test out the waters!”
“A-Are you sure?” he asked her again. “What if it doesn’t work out?”
“That’s okay! I still would get the opportunity to date you! We can see if it’s really meant to be!” she exclaimed.
“Joke, I… thank you, for giving me a chance. I know I don’t deserve it, but… thanks,” he began to say but was cut off by her again.
“No, no, no! Don’t thank me!” she nervously laughed. “I should be the one thanking you for giving ME a chance! I mean, after what I said before, I thought you thought I was crazy or something!”
Aizawa let out a slight laugh, causing Emi’s eyes to glisten when she heard him. “You’re still crazy, Emi, that’s nothing new.”
“Y-You remember my name,” she continued to blush.
“Why wouldn’t I?” he asked her.
“Because we never really called each other by our first names,” she told him.
“Yeah, well,” he said, putting his hands back into his pockets, “maybe we should start now.”
Emi was in pure shock, but she was happy. She grinned widely at him with her pink cheeks, and nodded, “Right! We should, Shouta.”
Aizawa smirked at her, happy to see that she was happy.
“So, how about next weekend. I’ll take you out somewhere,” he told her.
“Sounds good!” she nodded and grinned widely. “You have my number, just tell me the time and place, and I’ll be there!”
“Good,” he said. “Well, I’ll see you then, Emi.”
“Yeah, see you then, Shouta.”