Chapter Text
As always, Mirio arrived to Sir Nighteye's agency with time to spare, though he'd wondered at his kohai's absence that morning. Normally, since she'd started working with him at the agency, they would meet early in the morning at school and then travel to their work study together. Oddly though, this morning he hadn't seen Izuku at their normal spot and he'd received a vague message that she'd just meet him at the agency. It made him worried and a touch anxious.
"Mirio-kun, have you seen Midoriya-kun? She's late. It's not like her," he ran across his mentor, who was frowning. "You two usually also arrive together most days."
"Not this morning, Sir," he told Nighteye, worry mounting. "Just a quick text that she'd meet me here."
Nighteye opened his mouth to reply, but it was at that moment where the elevator to their floor dinged and then opened, revealing said girl they'd been talking about.
She looked haggard. Her normally pretty, cutely wild hair was put into a messy bun, but still obviously limp and dull. Her own eyes were scarily deadened and weary, and her body was lacking energy and she looked too pale.
It made Mirio fret and want to take her somewhere to pamper and bundle up, protect her from the world or something. What had happened to her? Why was his sweet kohai looking like death warmed over?
Izuku came to them and bowed towards Nighteye, muttering, "I'm sorry for being late, Sir. It won't happen again."
Though Sir looked normal, Mirio had known him long enough to see him twitch and slightly hesitate, a glimpse of his fingers moving up from his side a bit before stopping and falling back to his side.
"…Very well. See that it won't. Now let's get started," he went back to business and led the way, though Mirio saw him glance back at Izuku with a furrowed look.
Monday, for any job, was never the best day. Coming off a weekend and then back to work was always a tiring and long-suffering transition for most, and if Mirai had been a real salaryman, it would no doubt reflect his attitude. That said, his youngest employee looked like she had come into work after a long weekend bender, and he was worried that she was suffering from an illness or had overworked herself over the weekend.
She didn't look well at all.
However, since he was not close to her and after the way their first meeting went and consequently the awkward and most times aggravated tension between them since, he didn't think he had the right to ask her about it. He could subtly prod, try to figure out how well she felt, but Mirio could do a better and faster job at getting answers from her. Even Bubble Girl or Centipeder could ask her, if only because they could act on their 'ignorance' on the 'situation' or through 'professional inquiry' as a friendly colleague or concerned superior.
Even if Mirai wanted to be the one to interrogate her and ask her what was wrong.
So far, as the time passed, she didn't falter in her work. She was able to continue on with her work efficiently as always…just more quietly than she was usually. She was more subdued too —she'd gotten to be more chatty and livelier there the longer she spent time there and with them, so this change back to her initial behavior (no, it was worse right then; at least she'd been willing to talk, even if she'd been timid and prone to stuttering sometimes) was alarming and suspicious. Midoriya had become comfortable there and with the others, even if she hadn't been with him.
Her shying away from everyone was not normal.
Mirio inwardly fretted over his underclassman. She was so quiet and way too dimmed; she kept mostly to herself and didn't stay near around the others as much as possible. It was unnerving because he knew that wasn't like she was, especially after she'd gotten comfortable and more open with them. Right now, she was this timid little thing that shied from everyone.
It was disconcerting and it made his protective instincts scream at him.
Even if she had tendencies to be timid, that didn't mean she was mute and scared of her own shadow. Or that she would look like death warmed over.
And now that it was lunchtime, he couldn't find any sign of her. It made his worry skyrocket and he debated bringing the others into it. He couldn't just let this go, especially if something was wrong. He had really come to care for his kohai and didn't want anything bothering her, if he could help it.
Mirio kept searching until, to his relief, he finally found her.
To even more of his relief, she was asleep and resting —as she should, given her mysterious condition. However, what did surprise him was how she was sleeping. Or rather what she had on as she slept.
In the break room, sleeping on the couch, she was encased and huddled inside of Sir's jacket.
It took Mirio aback, but she looked at ease finally and after how she had been all day, he couldn't be bothered or overly worry about it.
If it helped, it helped.
Mirio quietly backed out of the break room and let her continue to sleep in peace, especially since it seemed as if she had been suffering from a lack of it.
Mirai finished glancing over the agency's budget, adjusting a few numbers and deciding that he could take a break from that since he'd finally finished. He could check in on the others, see about the cases he'd assigned to his interns —
Hopefully, Midoriya had settled in and was doing better. It had been sometime since he'd seen her and perhaps she had just been feeling ill and had time to recover.
He absentmindedly stood up and reached for his jacket, realizing it wasn't behind him and hung on his chair. Remembering he'd left it in the break room earlier when he'd gotten coffee, he went to retrieve it before he met up with the others.
As he walked out, he immediately saw Mirio humming to himself as he sorted papers at his desk. Awata and Juzou were at their desks, either on their computer or on phone calls, probably with the police or with other Hero Agencies needing help. He frowned when he didn't see Midoriya though.
He quietly hmmed and moved quickly to the break room, ducking into it and intent on retrieving his jacket quietly before looking for the greenette.
Instead, he froze still as he saw said girl on the couch and wrapped up in his jacket, sleeping peacefully.
He debated on what to do next, but the sight made him even more intent on finding out what was the matter. She did not sleep on the job. Typically, Midoriya was meticulous and hardworking, but that day she had been completely off and not her usual self, despite fulfilling her duties and assignments as usual.
But this just proved that something was wrong and he wanted to get to the bottom of it.
Still, looking at her now, she finally looked at peace and was resting properly. He supposed leaving her be for now wouldn't hurt…
Mirai had nothing to say about her having taken his jacket and being wrapped up in it, even if some strange, unknown emotion gripped him and made his stomach clench oddly.
Started 8/22/22 — Completed 12/1/22 (1:28 am)