Text"Aizawa-sensei!"
Midoriya, ever the extrovert, is the one to call out to Aizawa-sensei in the end.
The remainder of lunch and practical heroics had gone by in the blink of an eye, something Todoroki was sure his classmates appreciated. Of course, that's assuming they, too, felt time slip by instead of drag.
Once practical heroics ended, Todoroki and the others, who were aware of just what happened yesterday, finished changing faster than ever in an attempt to catch Aizawa-sensei before he left to do… Whatever he does in the afternoons.
Todoroki, despite wanting to speak to Aizawa-sensei quite urgently, made sure to linger at the back of the group. He knows Aizawa-sensei is a good man, nothing like his own father, but it doesn't hurt to be cautious. Letting Midoriya and the others take the lead will give Todoroki some time to assess and decide if he wants to speak with Aizawa-sensei after all.
Todoroki has decided he wants to help Dazai and Nakahara. If Aizawa-sensei is still biassed due to the live stream, then he'll have to find some other way to help them.
Aizawa-sensei pauses mid-step before turning, "Ah, good. I was hoping to talk to you all."
That could be a good sign, or it could be very bad. It's hard to tell so far.
Uraraka clasps her hands together, a nervous habit Todoroki picked up on some time ago, "Sensei… How is Dazai doing?"
Aizawa-sensei gives Uraraka his full attention. "He's fine. Recovery girl just wants to make sure there aren't any lasting effects." He turns to look around the group. "How are you all doing?"
No one answers that for a few moments, perhaps uncertain on how to verbalise their emotions. Aizawa-sensei doesn't try to rush them, which Todoroki appreciates.
Eventually, Kirishima rubbed his neck awkwardly, "To be honest, Sensei, we could be better…"
"I understand, even if you didn't quite see what happened," Todoroki doesn't miss how Aizawa-sensei glances right at him, "It can be traumatising knowing something like that happened. I recommend paying a visit to Hound Dog to talk things over, even if you think you haven't been greatly affected."
Aizawa-sensei pauses for a moment before continuing, "I do want to say now that none of you should feel guilty, alright? You didn't know what was going to happen, and you did the right thing calling for help when you realised."
"Thanks, Sensei," Kirishima nods while he speaks. A moment later, he continues, "Actually, we were wondering if you could pass something along to Dazai and Chuuya?"
Aizawa-sensei seems to consider this for a second before agreeing, "As long as it's appropriate."
Yaoyorozu steps forward, a book clutched in her hands. "We figured they might be getting bored in Recovery Girl's office, so I made this. It's a customised crossword book." She passes the book over to Aizawa-sensei; the man nods and gives it a brief glance. Todoroki hopes Nakahara and Dazai enjoy the book. Yaoyorozu and a few others had worked hard to put it together so last minute.
Uraraka holds out a container for Aizawa-sensei to take, "Oh, and we spoke to Lunch Rush; he gave us extra cookies to pass along to them."
Next is Kaminari, who holds out a small handheld gaming system decorated with lightning bolts, "I don't know if Dazai's phone made it out of that al… I want to give him my handheld, at least for now. That way, his shooter skills don't get rusty."
"I'm sure they'll both appreciate these," Aizawa takes each gift and carefully tucks them under his arm. Only once they are secure does he continue, "Todoroki, I need to speak to you in private if that's alright."
Todoroki nods, once at Aizawa-sensei and then again at his classmates. A few seem like they want to say something, perhaps to ask if Todoroki wants them to stay, but they stay silent.
Only after his classmates have left earshot does Todoroki speak up, "Sensei?"
Just like before, Aizawa-sensei places his full attention on Todoroki as he speaks, "You were the one who discovered Dazai that day; how are you holding up?"
Usually, Todoroki would take the time to think through his words so he could say exactly what he meant. He doesn't need to do that this time, though, mainly because he's been thinking it through for the past few days. He had started just after the visit to his mother, after Dazai's attempt, his thoughts only became more intense.
"I feel conflicted," Todoroki begins, "I noticed a few days ago that we, as a class, weren't treating Dazai and Nakahara as we perhaps should be. I was going to bring it up to everyone, but things kept getting in the way. I understand that even if I had brought it up, it is likely nothing would have changed. Still, I can't help but feel I messed up in that sense."
Aizawa-sensei levels him with a serious look, "Kid, you were the only one who followed Dazai after that argument. It was because of you keeping an eye on the situation that things turned out as well as they did; don't feel guilty over that. Besides, there's no time limit on when you can bring those ideas up. You can speak to the class after school, and if you want to talk to me, I'm always listening."
Well, there is no time like the present. "Sensei, during practical heroics, can we have more exercises where Dazai and Nakahara are on our side?"
Aizawa-sensei nods, "Of course, any other ideas?"
Todoroki thinks for a moment, "Not yet, but I will come to you if I have any."
"And you'll go speak with Hound Dog about all this?"
Todoroki nods. He'll have to ask Midoriya if he knows how to get in contact with Hound Dog.
Aizawa-sensei smiles slightly, "Good, now get going."
-
When Aizawa goes to drop off the gifts from 1A, he finds things haven't changed all that much since he was last here. Nakahara is still sitting by Dazai's bedside, and Dazai is still tucked away under the blankets asleep. Aizawa briefly wonders if the kid has even woken up at all yet.
Aizawa feels a pang of worry at that; he should bring it up to Recovery Girl before he leaves.
Nakahara seems somewhat grateful, if a little confused, for the gifts, which Aizawa is sure will please the 1A kids to hear. Hopefully, once Dazai wakes up, he'll get some enjoyment out of them, too.
-
Chuuya hadn't been expecting Aizawa, or anyone for that matter, to bring any gifts along. Get-well cards and teddy bears aren't the usual reactions to one of Dazai's attempts, after all, although Chuuya supposes he can give it to 1A for picking more personalised gifts.
The crossword book must have been put together by Yaoyorozu, or at the very least made by her if the little logo in the corner is anything to go by. (Does Yaoyorozu stamp her name onto everything she makes? It would make sense; Chuuya doubts she would want anyone stealing her creations.) Chuuya can admit he finds the drawings and crossword themes amusing, mainly because it's so obvious that Yaoyorozu, or whoever made them, had tried so hard to make it relevant to him and Dazai.
Unfortunately for them, neither Chuuya nor Dazai has been very forthcoming about what they like. Some of the crosswords have clear inspirations, such as the crab themed one, while others tend to be more of a reach.
Not that Chuuya minds; in fact, he's enjoying filling the book out. There's only so long he can look at pointless shit on his phone or try and prod a conversation out of Dazai; having something else to do is refreshing.
Dazai seemed rather pleased to get his hands on something to do, something that didn't require speaking to anyone. For the past few hours he'd been lying facing away from Chuuya playing some sort of shooter game on the handheld Aizawa brought. The little device looked oddly familiar when Chuuya had managed a glimpse of it, his only guess is it must belong to one of the 1A kids. Kaminari perhaps.
The cookies were a nice touch, tasty, too.
The sounds of Dazai's game cut off abruptly, although the room doesn't stay silent for long. "Hey, Chuuya?" Dazai's tone sounds much closer to his usual self, although it still sounds just a little bit too flat. It's like Dazai doesn't have the energy to use any sort of teasing tone.
"Hm?" Chuuya responds with only half his attention; the crossword puzzle he's currently working on is one of the harder ones. So far, he's managed about half of it without asking Dazai for help, and he hopes to get it all done by himself. The theme is one of those loosely associated ones, which is to say, it's spaced themed. Chuuya can see how the 1A kids got to that theme, Upon the Tainted Sorrow, gravity, space.
Beside him, Dazai shuffles backwards a little. He's now fully touching Chuuya's side. "What you said the other day… Was it really the truth?"
Chuuya, admittedly, still isn't paying much attention to his partner. He probably should be, all things considered, but he's so close to figuring out twelve down. "Yea, course," Chuuya answers. He doesn't make it a habit to lie to people, especially to those like Dazai that see through everything.
"I…" Dazai starts but quickly trails off. The uncertain tone in his voice flags Chuuya's attention; he glances over at Dazai just in time to see him turn over, snatch the crossword book and pen from Chuuya's hands, and then bury himself under the blankets.
"Hey! I wasn't done with that!" Chuuya protests, although he keeps his voice low in case there is some Pro or another outside the door. Chuuya tries tugging on the blankets so he can get under there and get his crossword book back, but nothing happens. It seems Dazai has created an impenetrable wrap around himself.
Chuuya finds himself huffing, although it's mostly performative. An interesting fact about Dazai is that he has mastered the art of talking without actually saying anything; some days, he can just go on and on and on, and not a single thing he says is worth the attention. He's good at doing stuff like that. It makes sense then that Dazai sucks at talking about serious or emotional things; well, that's not quite right. Dazai sucks at talking about serious things about himself, specifically his ever so mysterious past before the Port Mafia and his suicidal tendencies.
Dazai was trying to say something earlier, so he either took the book as a distraction or to write whatever he wanted to say down. Chuuya is personally leaning towards it being so he can write something down. If he wanted a distraction then he could have just grabbed the handheld Aizawa had brought them and challenged Chuuya to a game.
Low and behold, five minutes later, the crossword book slides out from under the blankets. Chuuya rolls his eyes when he notices that the crossword he was actively working on has been fully finished. That's such a Dazai thing to do.
Chuuya doesn't call him out on it though. Instead he just glances over to the formerly blank page next to the crossword he was working on to see what Dazai had written down.
Chuuya could easily do this mission all by himself; it would hardly matter if I was alive here or not. Chuuya has bonded with the hero kids and is smart strong enough to beat the villains without me. But Chibi would get mad if I hurt myself here, so I really trie didn't.
That agent thought something similar. She asked questions about the Port Mafia and Mt.Lady, and somehow she made everything about Chuuya. "A useful Ability." "It seems he does all the work." "Nakahara is far more versatile." She was very certain Chuuya would leave me and join the HPSC. She said I was "inferior" and so the HPSC won't "waste time" with me. I understa
Chuuya's loyalty is his best quality, but I still got upset when was bothered when the 1A kids were acting so close to him.
Dazai still hasn't emerged from his blanket casing, which gives Chuuya time to get his emotions under control before facing him. Fuck, he's so mad. He was expecting something like this, but that doesn't soften the blow any.
A large part of him feels offended that the HPSC assumes he would just turn his back on Dazai, the Port Mafia, and his home. What could they even be thinking of offering him to make that worth it? Money? Hah, please. No amount could make Chuuya turn tail like that. No, if Chuuya was going to leave the Port Mafia, it would be on his own terms and, most likely, with Dazai in tow.
A larger part of him feels so much anger on Dazai's behalf. Who is this woman to say that Dazai is inferior? That's the stupidest thing Chuuya has ever fucking heard. Dazai "The Demon Prodigy" Osamu being inferior? The same guy who could probably take down the Port Mafia in a week if he wanted to? Fuck off.
Yea, Chuuya does the heavy lifting, but that doesn't mean Dazai is just sitting around doing nothing. Even when it looks like that idiot is being lazy, Chuuya can guarantee there is more to it, be it keeping an eye on variables that might ruin the mission or coming up with twenty-odd backup plans. Dazai's brain never truly rests, or at least it seems that way to Chuuya.
Chuuya takes a steadying breath; he wants nothing more than to get the hell out of here and go pay a visit to the HPSC. Usually, he wouldn't be so offended by this sort of thing, but considering this time it ended with Dazai trying to kill himself, he thinks his reaction is justified.
(He knows that it was just one hell of a coincidence; the fact that Dazai happened to be off his game when these interviews happened meant that he was more susceptible to what he usually would brush off. That doesn't stop him from blaming the HPSC agent.)
Chuuya goes to speak, not quite sure what to say but with the intent of comforting Dazai when he stops himself. No, that won't get the reaction he would hope for. Like he said before, Dazai's speciality is avoiding conversations he doesn't want to be a part of. The fact he even wrote this down for Chuuya instead of blowing him off is significant, although perhaps he realised he'd have to tell someone eventually. Better Chuuya than some pro hero, right?
Anyway, Chuuya can't address things head-on. While there is the possibility that Dazai will respond… Well, not positively, but not negatively, Chuuya doesn't want to risk it. What if Dazai has somehow forgotten about his aversion to talking about his emotions and will be reminded about it the moment Chuuya tries to be direct with him?
Chuuya needs to approach this in a way that won't scare Dazai off… The best way to do that would be to follow Dazai's lead.
A moment later, Chuuya slides the crossword book back under the covers, this time with a new addition to the pages.
You said I'm your dog for life, right? I could never leave, even if I wanted to.
Now, you up for some planning? I have a few ideas…
-
If the atmosphere in class was bad yesterday, it's about ten times worse now that everyone is aware of what happened.
During homeroom, Aizawa-sensei had given a brief explanation of what happened, along with a few other things, but Uraraka honestly wasn't listening.
Aizawa-sensei said yesterday that no one should feel guilty over what happened, and Uraraka logically knows that he's right. She didn't know what was going to happen, and there wasn't anything she could have done in that situation. Once Uraraka was aware of what was happening, Chuuya and Aizawa-sensei were already there helping. If she tried to get involved she would only surely get in the way.
She wouldn't know how to help, which is the thing that she is actually hung up on.
Uraraka wants to be a rescue Hero, and her Quirk is great for it; that's something she's known for years. Collapsed buildings will be a breeze to move; she'll also be able to remove people from car crashes without jostling them too much, which she knows is vital for preventing any injuries from getting worse.
But what about someone who is choking? Someone who is bleeding out? A drowning victim? Her Quirk wouldn't be able to help there, she'd need to know traditional first aid.
That's why, when class 1A arrives at practical heroics class that afternoon, she changes faster than ever before. Uraraka isn't sure what All Might has planned for today's lesson, but maybe if she can speak to him before class begins, then he'll agree to her idea.
A few of the girls shoot her confused looks when she rushes out of the changing room but Uraraka pays it no mind.
Fortunately, it looks like getting changed so quickly paid off.
All Might, with his ever-present grin on face, nods in her direction. "Ah, young Uraraka! You certainly finished changing fast!"
Uraraka nods as she continues walking further into the room, "I have a request for today's lesson if that's allowed." Honestly, she still sometimes gets intimidated by talking to All Might; he is the number one Pro Hero, after all. Usually, she might stutter or hesitate a bit but not this time. This time she cares more about learning what she needs to.
"Of course!"
Uraraka lets out a relieved sigh before speaking, "I want to learn CPR and maybe some other first aid stuff?"
For a second, Uraraka worries All Might will reject the idea, which would hurt, but she'd understand. If need be, she can always go speak with Recovery Girl to learn that stuff.
All Might's smile seems to soften a bit, "That's a great idea! I'm sure your classmates will appreciate this."
Uraraka can't help but feel beyond happy at that. Learning CPR will be the next step towards her dream of being a Pro Hero. After this lesson, she'll be able to help more people, Dazai and Chuuya included.
-
The dorms are quiet that afternoon when 1A returns from classes, the typical friendly chatter lost in favour of sad and tense glances. Usually, once arriving back at the dorms, everyone would split off to do their own things. A decent amount of people would sit around in the common area or the kitchen; some would go back to their rooms while others went to get more training in. For the first time since- Ha, since the live killing of Mt. Lady, the entirety of class 1A are sitting around the common area. Say what you want about Dazai and Nakahara but, they certainly know how to get people together.
Shinsou is very glad none of his classmates have a mind reading Quirk. If anyone heard how he uses humour to cope then it probably wouldn't end well for him.
The silence is almost unnerving. Shinsou, never one for conversation, would usually be beyond appreciative of it. A chance to sit in the common area and just relax, no yelling or obnoxious chatter to be found, would be amazing on any other day.
But, like many of his classmates, Shinsou is too deep in internal conflict to enjoy the lack of conversation.
On the one hand, two kids from Yokohama who killed a Pro and were also a dick about Shinsou's Quirk; he hasn't forgotten about that; on the other hand, a suicidal kid and his friend that had to be the one to do CPR.
Two kids that seemingly have no remorse for any of the crimes they have committed, but also two kids that might have been manipulated into the Mafia at a young age.
Shinsou has spent a majority of his life being pushed aside and alienated for his Quirk, for being 'Villainous' despite having never committed a crime before. He understands what it's like for people to look at him and never see anything past what they want to see.
In that regard, he can't help but feel bad when his mind constantly reminds him, 'Hey, these guys killed a Pro and don't regret it' any time Shinsou starts to feel pity for them. Which, if Shinsou was just feeling bad for them because of some petty reason, he wouldn't really care much about it. Sort of like, 'Yea, they might be homesick, but that's not my problem.'
Shinsou can now see the error in that way of thinking, even if he still catches himself going down that route.
Around him, the class still sits in tense silence, something that doesn't help keep Shinsou from getting too in his head.
But, like he said, those two killed someone and don't regret it. Shinsou was an outcast because of what he might do and what others thought he would do, but it's different for Nakahara and Dazai. They have actually committed those crimes; the stigma around them is completely deserved.
It doesn't help that his first interaction with the pair was so terrible; Shinsou has never taken nicely to people who ignore him due to his Quirk.
He really should look past that terrible first impression… Although, it's not like Dazai or Nakahara have been all that nice to him. After that first night when Dazai just straight ignored him, Shinsou made it a point to avoid talking to those two. While he would have loved to prove that he wouldn't just use his Quirk without warning, it had been easier, in the end, to just not bother. He had thought, 'Well, they likely won't believe me anyway' and left it at that.
Which is probably still the truth. Honestly, not much has changed when it comes to the relationship between Dazai, Nakahara, and Shinsou. They don't want to talk to him, he doesn't want to talk to them, if it's mutual then it'll be fine if he continues to mind his own business, right?
Shinsou resists the urge to sigh; even without saying it aloud, he knows that's stupid. A Pro Hero shouldn't give up so easily, not when it comes to gaining someone's trust. That's what Aizawa-sensei would say anyway.
If Shinsou can get past his reservations about those two, if he's able to build some trust even, then things would be way better for everyone involved. Dazai and Nakahara won't ignore him because of his Quirk, which, in turn, will prevent Shinsou from getting annoyed at them.
Without warning, Hagakure breaks the silence that had settled over the class for so long. She sighs, "What are we meant to do now?"
"What?"
Hagakure huffs, "You know what I mean." For a second, it seems like she won't say anything more; after what might have been a deep breath, she continues, "Dazai… Dazai tried to kill himself. We can't just pretend nothing happened, right?"
Yaoyorozu nods, "She's right, we should—should… Do something." It's clear that despite putting on her best 'vice president' voice Yaoyorozu is just as clueless as to what should happen next as the rest of them.
Shinsou isn't all that surprised when Bakugou loudly scoffs. Out of everyone in class 1A, he is the one who hesitates the least. "Why waste the effort?"
Maybe he should hesitate more if that's what he comes up with.
Predictably, no one seems happy with Bakugou's question.
"That's not cool!"
"Don't be like that!"
"Bakugou! You can't jus-"
Bakugou rolls his eyes, "Oh, come off it! It's like I said yesterday at lunch, neither of those fuckers trust anyone here; there isn't anything you can do." Despite his rough tone, Bakugou does have a point; trying to push into Dazai's business right now probably wouldn't end well, even if it was out of worry.
The sleeves on Hagakure's shirt move around wildly, and Shinsou guesses she must be waving her arms around. "But we have to do something!"
Kaminari nods, "Yea! Besides, we may not have been super friendly to them, but we haven't been rude!"
"Chuuya seemed pretty open when we had that sleepover, ribbit." Tsu turns to a couple of the girls, "And he helped you guys with your Quirks, right?"
The girls nod, which causes a domino of agreement throughout the class.
Once again, Bakugou rolls his eyes, "Yea, because being friendly equals trusting someone."
Shinsou mentally prepares himself to yell simply because the class has once again descended into verbal chaos due to Bakugou. Shinsou actually agrees with what he's saying, though, so he'd like to get the rest of the class to quiet down a bit for a proper discussion.
In the end, Shinsou doesn't need to speak up after all. Despite not raising his voice at all, the moment Todoroki speaks, the class falls into silence (Shinsou is almost a little jealous; if he tried that, his voice would simply be swallowed by the noise), "He's right."
Everyone seems caught off guard by that, minus Bakugou, who puffs his chest out and smirks, "Damn fucking right."
Todoroki pays him no mind, "I intended to bring this up to you all sooner, but it seems I allowed myself to delay for too long. I realised recently that there is still a 'wall,' so to speak, between us and them, a mentality where we are enemies to one another."
Some people seem to be taking their time to understand what Todoroki just said, while others jump at the chance to defend themself. Mina, in particular huffs, "I don't see them as enemies!"
Shinsou sees this as the perfect opportunity to chime in with his earlier ideas, "But you don't see them as allies either." The class seems to pause at that, with the exception of the more observant students. Shinsou continues, "I bet most of you are still hung up on Mt. Lady's death; you resent them for it."
Ojirou crosses his arms, "Well, it's not like we can just forget about something like that."
"Obviously not, but at the same time, it certainly isn't helping to break this 'wall,' as Todoroki put it." Shinsou moves his fingers in the air, quote way around the word 'wall'. As someone who had once joined 1A and said, 'I'm not here to make friends,' Shinsou understands what he means about that wall.
Even though Shinsou worked hard to get transferred into 1A at the sports festival, it still felt weird being in a new class all of a sudden. For a day or so, it had felt like he was an outsider. It was only due to Midoriya that he managed to feel more comfortable with the class.
A memory pops into Shinsou's mind, one that prompts him to continue speaking, "On their first night here, they both ignored me due to my Quirk. I told them I only use it on Villains and Dazai said something like 'We are Villains according to your standards, why should we trust you?"
"They aren't Villains!" Kaminari is quick to defend before pausing, "... Are they?"
That seems to add a whole new level of conflict to this mess; Shinsou almost feels bad for bringing it up.
"Well, they don't really act like Villains, right?" Uraraka asks, clearly uncertain.
Ojirou shrugs, "They certainly don't act like Heroes; I mean, just look at Nakahara's temper."
Good point, but also…
"Bakugou's is worse," Jirou chimes in. "Plus, neither Chuuya nor Dazai have threatened to kill any of us."
Bakugou starts yelling, but Shinsou ignores him. Instead, he focuses on keeping his mouth shut. He doesn't think saying, 'No, Dazai has just threatened his own life' would be appropriate.
"Jirou makes a good point," Midoriya starts, only to be cut off by Bakugou.
"The hell does that mean, Deku!?"
Midoriya flinches back and rapidly shakes his head. "Nothing bad, Kacchan! I just meant that despite your temper, we all know you're going to be a great Pro, so it's kinda unfair if we use that to judge Chuuya…"
Bakugou still doesn't look all that pleased, but fortunately, he doesn't continue yelling.
"Not that I don't agree with you," Kirishima starts. "But like, we can't just ignore that they have been mean and stuff."
Shinsou groans slightly, which, due to how quiet the room is, gains more attention than he thought it would. Well, he may as well use this, "Those two are neither good nor bad; to me, it seems like they're a mix of the two."
"Well, sure, but what do we do?" Mina sounds frustrated, which is understandable. This whole situation is way above what they should be dealing with- which, now that Shinsou thinks about it is a recurring theme for class 1A.
Unfortunately, Shinsou is not the one she should be asking. He shrugs, "Don't look at me." Midoriya is way better at this type of thing.
Mina seems at a loss for words at that, and Shinsou resists the urge to shrug again.
Iida, with his robotic arm movements, drags both Shinsou and Mina's attention over to him. "Even if what Bakugou and Shinsou said is true," Shinsou ignores Bakugou's attempt at interrupting. "I still can't help but feel conflicted… We were all right there, including Nakahara. If Dazai was feeling like this, then he should have told someone."
Shinsou feels a bit dumbfounded at that. Did Iida miss the bit where Bakugou said Dazai clearly doesn't trust anyone in 1A? And also what Shinsou said about them not trusting 1A? Also, being completely real, someone who is suicidal isn't going to alert everyone when they try to off themself. That sort of defeats the purpose.
Midoriya nods in an awkward way, he must be thinking something similar to Shinsou. "Well, he did get into that argument with Chuuya. I doubt he wanted to talk to him much, and besides, it's not like we…" When Midoriya trails off it doesn't sound like he's at a loss for words, rather it sounds like he realised something in the middle of speaking. His expression only backs that up.
When Midoriya doesn't speak for a good few seconds, it becomes a cause for concern. Beside him, Uraraka nudges him, "Deku?"
Midoriya looks at her, then to the rest of the class, "We wouldn't have believed him."
Which, wow, isn't that an accusation? Not that Shinsou disagrees—he wants to hear Midoriya out first before making any decision, but saying that while the wound is still raw likely isn't the best idea.
Around him, the class breaks into rushed objections.
"Of course, we would have!"
"Suicide isn't something to joke about!"
Midoriya waves his hands and quickly nods, clearly realising he should have explained more, "That's just it! Suicide isn't something to joke about, but Dazai does! He makes jokes about killing himself so no one reacts when he says 'I want to die' and really means it!" The class quiets down at that, which allows Midoriya to continue without any interruptions, "A-and, remember when he first made a joke like that… We felt awkward and even doubted if he was being serious."
Shinsou does remember that; he also remembers the subsequent suicide jokes that got similar reactions. There's something familiar about what Midoriya just said, though… Ah, "The boy who cried wolf."
"Exactly." Midoriya responds, his tone serious, "It's kind of smart, in a morbid way."
"Ok, but that still brings us back to my question from before. What do we do now?" Hagakure asks.
Todoroki looks at her, "We need to break the 'wall.'' Todoroki is sporting his usual look of indifference, or well, it looks that way to Shinsou. In truth, he can't really read Todoroki well enough to see the differences in his expressions.
Kaminari looks over to him, "How do we do that?"
Todoroki wastes no time in responding, which makes Shinsou think he really has been thinking about this for a few days, "Include them in more group activities during down time, be on their side during practical heroics class, and get to know them better without ulterior motives."
Yaoyorozu gasps in realisation, "Oh! Is that why you asked that we invite Chuuya to the sleepover?"
Todoroki nods, "Mn."
Huh, it seems Todoroki has been working away at his plan even if he didn't properly bring it up to anyone.
There is a slight lull in conversation, one that Shinsou intends to take advantage of. "We need to get past the resentment of Mt. Lady's death. Those two are here for rehabilitation; that can't happen if we never give them a proper chance to change."
A few people look sceptical at that, to which Shinsou continues, "I'm not saying to forget it happened or whatever… Just try and stop thinking of them as murderers first and foremost. If they commit another crime we can be suspicious then, but for now we need to give them the benefit of the doubt. "
Thankfully, Midoriya nods, "I agree, oh, and from now on, we should take Dazai more seriously when he makes suicide jokes. We'll prove to him and Chuuya that we can be trusted!"
Quite a few kids nod at that, a few pumping their fists with determined faces. Slowly, people start chatting more like they usually would be. The major difference is that currently, they're talking about different ways they can include Dazai and Nakahara and not random memes they've seen on the internet.
It's almost funny how, despite being the reason behind this conversation being productive, Bakugou is the first to groan and leave, "God, you're giving me a fucking headache."
-
Harue has never been one to sit still in one place. When she was a child, before the incident occurred, her favourite place was the garden owned by her parents. Such a large, open space allowed her to move and explore to her heart's content. The bushes of flowers and large trees provided shade during the hotter months, along with giving her places to hide when playing games. Sometimes, in her dreams, she finds herself going back to that garden to run and play once more.
It's ironic, then, that her favourite place in that mystical garden was a hollowed-out tree trunk, the tight enclosed space contrasted her desires to run free. Although, if Harue thought about it deeper she could likely put together the reason why.
A young girl the same age as her, with red hair, cat ears, and tail, and a love for small places.
Harue does not like to think about it deeper; she does not like to get trapped in the confusion and grief of those days.
When she turned eighteen, she was once again granted that freedom, but this time beyond the garden. She was free to roam anywhere she wanted, and yet she spent years lingering in her hometown.
In the end, it was thanks to her mentor that Harue left that place, thanks to her mentor that, she got a job working for the HPSC.
Sometimes, Harue feels stifled by the HPSC; the rules and regulations make her feel trapped. Other times, Harue relishes in the freedom she has here. The HPSC pays for her to travel for missions, she's allowed to use her Quirk whenever she wants, and no one ever tells her she must stay confined to one place.
Oh, and of course, Koharu.
On good days, Koharu reminds her of the freedom she now has. Even before the incident, someone like her wouldn't be allowed to be Harue's friend, not that Koharu is her friend, of course. They're partners work colleagues—another reminder of her freedom in having a job.
On bad days, Koharu reminds her of those lonely, lonely years she spent inside.
(Sometimes, Harue still seeks Koharu out on the bad days. As much as her chest tightens and her head spins on those days she can't help it. Koharu's coldness is just as painful as it is comforting.)
Currently, Harue is in Fukuoka, delivering sensitive information to Hawks. Harue suspects the information isn't all that important; if it was, then Hawks would go to headquarters himself to get it. No, Harue believes this is simply a task to keep her busy until the next mission.
That fact doesn't upset her, not when the alternative is sitting around and waiting like Koharu must be.