"Ah, Shouto, good morning."
Todoroki smiles softly as he closes the door behind him, "Good morning mother."
His mother smiles at him from her spot by the window, the sunlight streaming in gives her a warm glow. Todoroki only started visiting his mother a few months ago and yet the sight is already familiar in a way that settles the countless worries in his mind. He's grateful that UA is lenient with these visits, as long as his grades stay up then he's allowed to visit her before school starts or during lunch, not just on the weekend.
In truth, his relationship with his mother is still far from perfect. Some days when he visits things still feel a tad too awkward, some days he can see her face painted with guilt anytime she looks at him, some days he can't bring himself to look her way.
Fortunately, those days seem to be getting less common as he continues to visit.
Today his mother has a set of paints and a small canvas out, his heart warms a little when he notices the second canvas sitting in front of his usual chair.
Without saying anything further Todoroki takes his place across from his mother and picks up a brush. He isn't sure what to paint, perhaps a portrait of his mother? Then again he isn't sure he could manage that, for all his talents drawing realistically isn't one of them.
The view from his mother's window might be a better choice, although he'll have to miss out the various people walking around outside to make it any good.
Todoroki glances up just as his mother smiles again, "Have you decided on what to paint?" She asks.
"Yes."
"That's good," She picks up one of her many paint brushes and, a moment later, the sound of a brush against canvas fills the room. This too has become a familiar sound, something he solely associates with his mother.
Todoroki picks up his own brush and dips it in the blue paint, he's grateful the sky is nice and clear today- it's easier to paint that way.
For a few minutes there is nothing but the soft sound of brushes against canvas, Todoroki doesn't mind the silence. When he first started visiting it had been a bit awkward, neither of them had really any idea of what to say, after so many years apart just jumping back into casual conversation wasn't possible. Even now, after the pair of them have gotten more used to it, they tend to fall into silence more often than not. It's nice though, just getting to be here with his mother is nice, the comfortable silence with her is far better than the tense arguments with his father anyway.
"How is school going?" His mother asks between brush strokes.
Todoroki contemplates his answer, his mother would not push him if he responded with something simple and short. Then again, perhaps it would be nice to get his thoughts out and hear what advice his mother may have to give him.
"I am unsure how to feel about my new classmates, Dazai and Nakahara," Todoroki says. In truth he feels less conflicted about Nakahara than he does Dazai, he at least seems rather straightforward.
His mother frowns slightly, "Those boys from Yokohama?" He nods, which prompts her to speak again, "What's making you unsure?"
"At first I did not like nor trust them due to what they did to Mt. Lady, and then during a spar Dazai intentionally provoked me by commenting on my Quirk, I thought disliking them both would be the obvious thing to do," Todoroki pauses to clean his brush before dipping it in a new colour, "As time goes on, however, I feel they are becoming more likeable… They feel more like my classmates than Villains."
Todoroki thinks for a moment before speaking more, "They are at UA in order to turn over a new leaf, I'm aware I should be kind and support them but I don't know if I can let go of my reservations to do so."
His mother hums, "Has Dazai apologised for provoking you?"
"In a way," it had not slipped Todoroki's notice that when Dazai said he wanted to apologise that was all he did, 'I want to apologise' is not the same as saying 'I'm sorry'. Then again, Todoroki hadn't lingered to hear what else he had to say, if he had then perhaps Dazai would have given a proper apology for his words.
His mother sets her brush down and gives him her full attention, "Of course, if they continue to be aggressive or rude then stand up for yourself but… I think you should give the two of them a chance, being taken to a new place filled with strangers can be scary at times, for children that had suffered like they have I'm not surprised Dazai was the first to be hostile."
Todoroki politely ignores the way his mother's voice wobbled when talking about coming to a new place and being scared. He can only imagine how she must have felt after his father sent her away, being in a new place all alone, knowing that her children were left alone with the man who hurt her, it must have been terrible. Now that years have past his mother seems quite at home here, but of course that doesn't mean she always was.
Is that how Dazai and Nakahara felt when they arrived at UA? In a new place surrounded by strangers, surrounded by what they must have seen as the enemy, both injured after their fight with the Pro Heroes. Had Dazai tried to get under his skin during that first fight as a way to test the waters, as a way to see who would get mad and possibly be a threat?
If that is the case, then do the pair of them feel safer as time goes on?
Todoroki feels the answer is yes, after all they do seem far more relaxed and kind these days. Although, there is something stopping him from being so confident.
Perhaps the two of them have gotten used to being at UA, perhaps they have begun to trust that no one in 1A will hurt them, but even if that is the case Todoroki does not think they truly trust anyone.
Why else would they be stuck to each other's sides constantly? Why else would Nakahara keep himself in Dazai's blindspot, why else would he place himself between Dazai and the rest of 1A? Why else would Todoroki feel the calculating eye of both of them whenever he got within striking distance?
Todoroki cleans his brush once again and begins working on the lush expanse of trees and grass visible from his mother's window.
Now that he thinks about it he can see a rather large issue with UA's methods of dealing with those two. In each practical heroics class so far there has been nothing to help unite Dazai and Nakahara with class 1A, only exercises to pit them against the class. Two large scale fights, and another with class 1B, along with the many times Dazai and Nakahara worked as a pair away from everyone else. Of course, there have been times where things were different, for example Yaoyorozu being on their team during the cops and robbers fight and when Nakahara went to help Uraraka with her Quirk. Still, more often than not those two are being positioned as the enemy, which means 1A is also being positioned as their enemy.
There are smaller things too that Todoroki has noticed, things he's sure both Dazai and Nakahara have also noticed. Sometimes his classmates seem to cringe away from the pair, almost like they have suddenly remembered who exactly they are talking to. Sometimes he has heard them talking about Dazai and Nakahara behind their backs, while never outright insulting they certainly aren't singing their praises.
Sometimes when conversation breaks out during class Todoroki notices how people rarely speak to either of them unless they start it.
It's to be expected that 1A wouldn't trust them all that much given the reason they're at UA but still, the whole point of them being at UA is to change them for the better. If Todoroki had to describe it then he would say there is a wall still set between Dazai and Nakahara and the rest of class 1A, neither side fully trusts the other and so the wall does not come down.
Todoroki doesn't quite forgive Dazai for the comment regarding his Quirk, mainly due to the fact he has never properly apologised, but he feels he can overlook that for now. Once he gets back to UA he'll have to inform his friends about his thoughts regarding that 'wall', showing Dazai and Nakahara that class 1A is trustworthy may be difficult but he has trust in his classmates. Especially in Midoriya who managed to break down Todoroki's own walls separating him from the class.
His mother quietly laughs which brings Todoroki's attention back to his painting. It seems that with his mind elsewhere his hand had taken the liberty to turn his trees into undefined green smudges, he sighs.
"It's alright Shouto," his mother comforts with an amused glint in her eyes, "We can say it's abstract."
-
"Hey, little listener, how are we feeling today?"
Chuuya huffs as he drops down onto his chair, across from him Yamada smiles. One good thing about this whole therapy thing is the fact he really lucked out with who he got, at first he was apprehensive given Yamada's… Well, everything, but he no longer feels like that anymore. Yamada is always quick to back off when Chuuya doesn't want to answer a question and keeps telling him he's free to take breaks whenever he wants, compare that to Dazai and Nedzu's little mind games and it's really clear who got the better deal.
Somehow Yamada is able to convey this through his smile, it's bright, welcoming, and reassuring all in one. Chuuya always feels more relaxed when he's in these sessions with Yamada, although he never lets his guard down completely. Despite how nice he is Chuuya doesn't quite trust him, can't trust him really. At the end of this mission they'll be proper enemies again, hell, Yamada might even be sent out to try and re-capture Chuuya.
Chuuya shrugs, "I'm fine." Ignoring how much he wishes he was back home right now then yea, he's fine.
"Heard you went up against the 1B kids yesterday," Yamada leans in with a grin, "Don't tell him this, but Erasurehead looked pretty proud when he told me about it." He whispers that last part but of course with it being him the volume is still much louder than what anyone else would consider a whisper. Chuuya can't tell if he's doing it on purpose or not.
Chuuya also doesn't know if he's telling the truth about that, Aizawa did seem in a better mood after the fights had ended but he had just assumed it was because 1B hadn't done any better than 1A had. The idea that Aizawa is specifically proud of them doing well and not just because 1b got beat is… Weird. Sure he's gotten praise from Ane-san and even the Boss for doing well on missions before but that's different, that's Ane-san and the Boss. Aizawa is the pro hero Eraserhead that probably shouldn't be so happy over two known criminals beating around a bunch of children.
Now that he's thinking about it, when he and Dazai got back to the dorms after the 1A kids had all been quite happy at the news too. Although he's pretty certain that was because they were happy to hear 1B lose, especially when they heard how quickly Monoma had gone down. Chuuya had actually been somewhat looking forward to fighting the kid, if he was able to copy Upon the Tainted Sorrow then they might have been able to have a decent fight. That didn't happen though, turns out his Ability is too complex to just pick up like that.
Nodding with slight disbelief, Chuuya responds, "Right… The fights weren't that hard, mostly just annoying." Which is the truth, a few of the fights would have been tricky had Dazai not been there but he was so things went fine.
"With an Ability like yours I'm not surprised," Yamada says. Chuuya hums a little, not quite sure what to say back.
Yamada lets the silence sit for a second before speaking, "Alright! What shall we talk about today?" When Chuuya just shrugs he continues, "Hmm, well, anything been on your mind lately?"
"I guess… I've been missing Yokohama." Understatement of the year honestly. Chuuya has only ever known Yokohama, even though he knows he'll be heading back eventually it's still weird to be away from the city like this. That's his home, all his memories take place in Yokohama, all his friends and those he considers family are in Yokohama. A few times the Boss had sent him on missions abroad but those never lasted longer than a week, this current mission has no deadline though. He can't just sit there and think 'Well, I'll be back in Yokohama in five days' because he might end up stuck here for months on end.
Yamada nods, "I'm not surprised, I bet it's all types of weird being so far from home." Chuuya doesn't say anything in response, mainly because he can't be bothered pointing out the fact it's the fault of pro heroes like Yamada that he's here. No wait, it's Dazai's fault for coming up with such a stupid plan. Damn, how could he forget who the true culprit is?
Yamada must interpret his silence as something other than what it is as he gives Chuuya an understanding look, "How about this, you can talk and I'll just listen."
Chuuya shoots him a confused glance, "What?"
Yamada makes a show of closing his notebook and tucking both it and his pen away, only after doing that does he lean back in his chair and smile encouragingly, "Legally, I'm not allowed to share anything about these sessions to anyone unless I believe you or someone else is in danger. So tell me all about Yokohama, tell me about what you miss. I won't ask any questions, I'll just be a listening ear, yea?"
Chuuya hesitates, he really shouldn't be sharing any information about Yokohama at all. In the grand scheme of things he really doubts something like patient confidentiality would stop Yamada from sharing information that could possibly get the pros into Yokohama, then again it's not like Chuuya knows that much about how to break in anyway. There are the tunnels of course, but those are made of metal that stops both Abilities and Quirks. They're probably rigged too, he wouldn't be surprised if there were explosives or something set to stop anyone opening them without permission. As long as he's careful with what he says then it shouldn't really be a problem… Alright, maybe he's biassed and the idea of talking about the city he loves so much is very appealing but whatever. It'll be fine, he might even be able to get some pity points or whatever.
"... There's this one building," One of the Port Mafia's five towers, "the doors to the top are insanely secure," because Dazai tried to jump off one too many times, "so basically no one goes up there. Sometimes I use my Ability to go up there, it's really quiet and you can see the whole city, it's even better at sunrise or sunset." Chuuya can imagine it now, rays of orange and yellow shining across Yokohama, the sound of birds, a light breeze there to ruffle his hair. Just thinking about it makes him feel calmer.
Yamada smiles encouragingly, after a moment of hesitation Chuuya continues, "And- and the arcade me and Dazai go to. It has a bunch of retro games, even if the place is a little run down compared to the newer arcades I love going there." He shifts in his seat a little as more words come to mind, "Me and Dazai are top of the leaderboards on, like, all of the games. No one knows it's us though, so we go there and listen to everyone talk about us like we're some sort of legends." One time he and Dazai played a quick round of some shooting game and ended up getting new highscores, a few minutes after they left the machine some kid came along and noticed the scores had changed. The kid had very quickly, and loudly, announced that which caused most of the arcade goers to start interrogating each other to see who the famous 'TinySlug' and 'DumbMackerel' were.
Another memory comes to mind at that, "The food there is terrible though, I think it's genuinely a health hazard. Everyone that goes there knows that so we all use it as punishment for losing games and bets, I've never seen anyone make it past like three bites of anything." A few times Dazai had used that food to torture people for information, funnily enough it had always worked.
Without realising Chuuya begins to smile as he continues, "Oh, right by the docks there's a teahouse I go to with my mentor sometimes, it's on top of a hill so you can see across the water when you sit outside. I swear the staff that work there have a tea that pairs perfectly with any food, if I didn't know any better I'd say one of them has an Ability that does just that."
Yamada laughs at that, "I feel like there's a story there."
"After the sixth time I got suspicious alright? I had to test it," Chuuya remembers how ridiculous that day had been and laughs, "Dazai offered to help but we ended up making such a mess, my mentor made us work there for like a month in apology to the workers. It didn't take long to figure out that the workers are just that good at their jobs." Of course, they were both still expected to do any Port Mafia missions assigned to them while working there. It was absolutely exhausting at times because of that but Chuuya also really, really enjoyed it.
"Well," Yamada starts, "I'm sure it has nothing on Yokohama but the view from UA's rooftop is fantastic. It's open to students too…." He trails off with an encouraging grin on his face.
Chuuya snaps back from his nostalgia with a confused sound, "You saying I could go up there?" He doesn't want to get his hopes up but the idea of getting some alone time on top of a building like he usually does is very appealing. He might not get to be truly alone if Dazai decides to tag along but that's fine, as long as the idiot stays quiet then Chuuya wouldn't mind him being there.
Yamada looks happy, excited almost, "Hell yea little listener! Just let a teacher know about it and I'm sure you'll be good to go." It's a little weird to see Yamada so happy for him, even more so when the man continues, "Now, I don't know about any arcades but there is a cafe just down the road from UA, the students all love the drinks there. Going there now probably isn't the best idea given your infamy but we could always order something here, actually, I might have a menu here somewhere…" Yamada begins rooting around the draws in his desk, completely oblivious to the stunned expression on Chuuya's face.
"What?"
Yamada glances over before continuing to dig around for the menu, "A cafe! I think it's called Blue Lotus or something like th-"
Chuuya cuts him off, not caring how rude it might be, "No, I heard what you said I just… I just don't get why you're telling me this."
Yamada seems confused for a second before his expression softens, he finally stops looking for that menu, "I want you to feel safe and comfortable here, that's why I'm telling you this. If ordering some tea or going on the roof will make you feel more at home then I'm all for it."
Huh. "Safe and comfortable?" Chuuya asks, just to be sure. When Yamada nods earnestly Chuuya eyes him with suspicion, "Have you forgotten the whole reason why I'm here?" He must have.
Yamada winces, "Of course not, but you're here to get better and change your ways, right? If you're happy and comfortable then there's a larger chance of that sticking."
Chuuya raises an eyebrow at that, sure, when the Boss wants someone to swap alliances for him then he does tend to butter them up a bit but that's usually only for people who haven't killed people important to the Port Mafia. For people who have, they get thrown in a cell with Dazai until they promise to be loyal. Chuuya doesn't know quite what goes on in those cells but he does know his partner so it can't be anything 'safe and comfortable'.
Dazai and Chuuya killed a pro hero, on livestream no less, if that had happened to a Port Mafia member then they certainly wouldn't be getting tea ordered in. When he got to UA he was expecting the angry, distrusting glares, he expected to hear people insult him both to his face and in whispers as he passed by. He, admittedly, was not expecting this. He had thought that, at most, the students and teachers would just sort of… Get used to them? They wouldn't trust or like either of them but would just stop caring about them being around so much.
Although, maybe he should have expected something like this given Dazai's insistence to create as much pity as possible.
Yamada must see some of his confusion and possibly even distrust as he continues, "Things must be different in the Port Mafia, but UA is a hero school remember? We strive to help those who need it and be heroic in every action we take."
Chuuya nods, it makes sense that UA would be tamer in comparison to the Port Mafia, that doesn't change how weird it feels though. He really had thought the pros would hate them more and for longer, and yet now when he thinks about it that doesn't seem to be the case. Well, not for the ones they interact with often. Aizawa sends them less suspicious glances as of late… Wait, does that mean what Yamada said about Aizawa being proud had some truth to it?
Thankfully Yamada doesn't push any further. Instead he returns to digging through his draws until a triumph grins spreads across his face, "Ah ha! Got it!"
Yamada leans forward and passes the menu over to Chuuya, he looks down at the blue swoopy words written across the top and decides to just go along with it. He's still a little confused by the whole thing but he's not about to turn down the chance to get some good tea, the shit in the dorms is just terrible.
-
Yaoyorozu smiles as her classmates begin filing into the common area, she really loves doing these homework sessions with everyone. At first it had started as a way to prepare for tests but now with everyone living in the dorms it's far easier to get together for simpler things like homework. Her favourite part of these sessions is when her classmates bring her homework they had handed in and got a good grade on, that always makes her happy to see. It makes her feel her efforts were not wasted.
"Yaomomo!" Mina wails as she drops to the floor by Yaoyorozu's feet, "I totally need your help!!"
Yaoyorozu can't help but laugh at that, "Well, that's what I'm here for."
Mina gives her a hopeful look as she pulls out some homework, "I have no clue what these questions mean!"
Yaoyorozu takes the paper from her and begins reading, ah, she understands the problem. This specific homework was set by Midnight, however, you would only be able to complete it if you did the required reading as all the questions were written in references. A sneaky trick to see which students did or did not bother with the reading. "You have to read pages twelve to eighteen in the textbook for the questions to make sense," Yaoyorozu easily explains.
Mina gains a look of understanding, "Ohhh, alright!"
Tsu sits down next to her, "I did the reading but that last question keeps tripping me up."
Yaoyorozu nods in understanding, "That is a tricky one, would you like some help?"
Before she can answer both Kaminari and Kirishima dramatically drop onto one of the sofas, Kaminari clutches his face in mock pain, "Arghhhh, that assignment Aizawa-sensei set is way too cruel! Are we sure he isn't a Villain in disguise?"
That earns a few scattered laughs, Yaoyorozu included. Aizawa-sensei does like to set harder homework to really make them think and do some research, what Kaminari perhaps doesn't know is that if he just went and spoke to Aizawa-sensei he would be glad to point him in the direction of resources with the answers. It had happened to Yaoyorozu once, no matter how hard she looked she just couldn't find anything pertaining to a certain question, Aizawa-sensei had been very understanding and told her exactly where to find the information she needed.
Kaminari isn't the type to ask teachers for help outside of lessons though so she is not surprised he's unaware of that fact. She's tried to tell her classmates about it a few times, but she has no clue if anyone else has actually tried asking Aizawa-sensei yet. Well, it's no matter. She's here to help when they need it.
Surprisingly, the next to speak isn't one of her classmates but is instead Dazai, "Tell me about it." He sighs from where he is sprawled across Chuuya, who like always looks resigned to his fate.
Kaminari drops his hands from his face, "You guys get homework too?"
Chuuya nods and leans down, as best he can with Dazai in the way, to grab a bag set just by his chair. He opens the bag and pulls out a large pile of papers, "Most of it is the same as yours, 'cept for the morality and ethics stuff."
Yaoyorozu's interest piques at that, now she's thinking about it, it would make sense to give those two homework that covers different things. While they are both incredibly smart there must be some sort of learning curve coming from Yokohama, especially given the life they were living before coming to UA. "May I see it?" she asks, if only to state her curiosity.
Chuuya shrugs and begins pulling a few sheets of paper out of the pile, "It's just like the introduction stuff to the topic, but sure." He hands the sheets to the nearest person so they can pass them along.
Tsu looks up from her work, "Shouldn't you be past that by now? Ribbit."
Chuuya sighs, "Yea, we should. Someone," he shoots a glare in Dazai's direction, "keeps writing the wrong answers though so we can't get new stuff yet."
The papers make their way into Yaoyorozu's hands, she nods absentmindedly as she looks down and begins to read.
Q: You hear on the news a notorious Villain is on the loose in your area, they have a Quirk that allows them to change their voice at will. Some time later you hear your neighbours calling for help, how do you handle the situation?
A: throw eggs out the window at them, if it's raining then I would dump a bag of flour!! They should know not to make loud noise when I could be sleeping ( ｡ •`ᴖ´• ｡)
Q: On your way home from work you come across a young child crying on the side of the road. The child explains that they are lost and need help getting home, what do you do?
A: if they have a good quirk then they'll be joining my gang :D i'm sure they wouldn't mind~
Q: One evening you are outside and see a group of Villains harassing a civilian. You are aware a Pro Hero patrols the area often, you are also aware of the police station a few roads over. What do you do?
A: beat the villains up myself (ง •̀_•́)ง !! why should I trust a pro to get the job done when I can do it myself!!
Q: While doing your weekly shop a Villain enters the store and begins robbing the place, they demand all workers and customers get on the floor and hand over their purses. The Villain has not yet seen you, what do you do?
A: take advantage of the chaos to take as much food as I can!
Yaoyorozu looks up intending to ask a question, a few actually, when Chuuya beats her to it. With another sigh he explains, "Those questions just want us to say we'd call a pro or something, I know that and so does Dazai. And yet that idiot refuses to just write it so we can get it done with."
Dazai sticks his tongue out but otherwise stays silent.
A few classmates who had shuffled around so they could see the papers seem to cringe away, perhaps at the nature of the answers. Mina, who had shifted so she could read the papers too, laughs a little, "Well, at least the answers are kinda funny."
"Don't encourage him," Chuuya scolds.
Yaoyorozu smiles at that before handing the papers along so they can be returned to Chuuya. From what she saw all of the questions are quite simple, the type you ask young children to make sure they grow up with the right morals. When she looks at it like that then she understands why Chuuya and Dazai got assigned to them, in a way UA is trying to rebuild their morals from the ground up.
Chuuya had said both he and Dazai know what the right answers would be so Yaoyorozu knows there isn't a need to offer her help, still, she finds herself wanting to anyway. Perhaps part of her wants to repay them for giving her the chance to work on her confidence during the cops vs robbers fight. Well, it can't hurt to ask, "Is there any homework you do need help with?"
Chuuya seems to think for a moment before shaking his head, "Nothing we can't figure out on our own." Yaoyorozu notices that isn't exactly a no but doesn't push it, if they have any troubles then they can come to her on their own accord.
The conversation comes to a natural end which allows Yaoyorozu to turn her attention to the homework her classmates need help with, as the minutes go by more and more of her class appears with work in hand.
While the main purpose of these homework sessions is to help those who don't understand a lot of the class tend to come to them just so they can hang out while working. Not only does this create a nice atmosphere but it also takes some pressure off Yaoyorozu when more than one person needs help. Midoriya and Iida are two students that almost always make an appearance at these sessions just for the sole purpose of being there to help out if needed.
Another thing she likes about these sessions is how they never work in silence, there's always at least one person talking about the work, or making jokes, or offering to go get everyone some drinks or snacks. When she was younger Yaoyorozu would do her homework the same day as she got it, usually quietly and by herself. Now that she knows what it feels like to be surrounded by her classmates while working she really can't imagine going back to how she used to do it.
Being so absorbed in helping her friends she completely misses the fact that Chuuya and Dazai aren't actively contributing to the chatty atmosphere.
Time passes like that for a while, during that time a lot of progress is made in tackling all the homework that needs finishing. It's only as they are reaching the hour and a half mark that Yaoyorozu notices her classmates starting to get distracted. At first it's just Kaminari zapping his pencil rather than finishing his equations, then it's Uraraka looking around the room more than at her work, then it's Jirou subtly moving her earphone jack towards her phone.
Yaoyorozu sighs, she really doesn't understand why they don't just ask for a break. "How about we take a break for ten minutes?"
Certain members of her class seem to light up at that, which naturally causes others to laugh.
Yaoyorozu leans down to pick her drink up from the low table in front of her when Mina catches her eye, Mina raises her eyebrows and jerks her head in the direction of Dazai and Chuuya. For a moment Yaoyorozu isn't sure what she means but then the realisation hits her.
Earlier today, just as lunch had started, Todoroki had pulled Yaoyorozu aside to ask a favour, in plain terms he had asked for her and the other girls to ask Chuuya and or Dazai to hang out later. When she had asked why he had simply said it was important to build good relationships with them both.
Yaoyorozu was a bit confused at the time but agreed with the sentiment, the other girls had to too when she brought it up with them.
Yaoyorozu nods in a way she hopes conveys 'You go ahead and ask', thankfully it seems Mina understands her.
"Soooo," Mina starts, "Chuuya… You got anything planned for later?"
Chuuya eyes her suspiciously, "Why?"
Mina, clearly not expected to be asked that just yet, falters. In the time it takes for her to come up with an answer Chuuya only seems to get more and more suspicious. This isn't good, if he thinks that something's going on then he'll be less likely to agree.
Uraraka, perhaps also seeing this, rushes to speak. "Well, we were wondering if you wanted to come hang out with us for a bit," Uraraka quickly asks, "Us girls are having a sleepover tonight and Mineta always tries to break in, so we were thinking you could like…. Stand guard for a bit?"
Chuuya doesn't respond which prompts Mina to jump in, "Mineta doesn't try anything after lights out so you don't have to stay the whole time! Just until then!"
Dazai laughs, although it sounds somewhat out of place, "Chuuya's just so popular, hmm?" Something about how he spoke rubs Yaoyorozu the wrong way but she can't quite place it, by all means he sounds just as teasing and mischievous as always and yet…
Well, there's no use dwelling on it now. Especially not since Chuuya sighs at his partner's antics before turning to Mina, "I taught you guys how to handle him though."
Mina sighs dramatically, "Well, yea, but it's different!"
Chuuya gives her a look that clearly says he doesn't believe her. He glances over at Dazai, who doesn't say anything, before sighing, "Yea alright, I'll stay for a bit."
Mina quite literally jumps for joy at that. Yaoyorozu bites back a laugh, she can understand why her friend is so excited.
"But," Chuuya starts, effectively cutting off Mina's celebrations, "Only if you finish the homework you need to do."
Yaoyorozu doesn't bother stopping her laughter this time, she only feels a little bad at the way Mina droops back to the ground and picks up her homework. She really does look miserable, then again Yaoyorozu is sure she would be ten times as miserable if Midnight scolded her for not doing her homework.
-
Chuuya wasn't really sure what to expect when Uraraka and Mina invited him to their sleepover. He'd had sleepovers before but those were… different. Even without the knowledge of what a 'normal' sleepover entailed he was sure the girls wouldn't be spending the night going over plans to wipe out various gangs, what he did on sleepovers with Dazai, or huddling together for warmth because the abandoned house they were in was drafty as fuck, something he did on sleepovers with the Sheep. Sure, he'd seen a couple films featuring sleepovers but he really doubted they showed a real portrayal, films tend to just go with stereotypes and call it a day. Case in point, the many many films set in Yokohama that show it as some apocalypse world.
That's all to say he entered Yaoyorozu's room, where the sleepover was set to take place, with almost no expectations.
The girls had all gone ahead of him so they were already sitting around the room, despite being invited they all seemed a little awkward for a few moments after he entered. Chuuya doesn't feel offended, "So, what exactly happens now?"
Mina is quick to answer, "You haven't been to a sleepover before?"
"I have, but this is a different situation," Chuuya explains.
"Well," Mina starts with a grin, "I'll have to teach you all about how UA does a sleepover! Or well, how us 1A girls do it! Naturally we do the standard stuff like doing our nails and hair but there's another, much more important, thing we have to do first!"
Just as Mina finishes explaining Jirou stands and makes her way over to Yaoyorozu's desk, once there she picks up a small radio that had previously been tucked against the wall. She grins as she turns it on, "This is Present Mic's radio station, there's a UA tradition of students calling in just to ask stupid questions, tell jokes, or complain about schoolwork."
Chuuya listens as the radio crackles to life, after a few moments of Jirou fiddling with it the static is replaced with an upbeat pop song. "He has a radio station?" Chuuya asks, although now that he's thinking about it he's not that surprised. Whenever there's a moment of silence during his therapy sessions Yamada is always quick to start humming or tapping out a beat on his desk, add in the fact his Quirk involves his voice and it's pretty obvious the man has a taste for music. Chuuya had actually been meaning to ask Yamada about which songs he likes best for a while now but he always ends up forgetting.
If it turns out Yamada has a decent taste in music then Chuuya might just see if his radio station is available in Yokohama.
Uraraka is the one who answers him, "Yep! It's called 'Put Your Hands Up!', it's really popular."
Jirou sits back down, "Present Mic should be taking calls soon."
As if on cue the music playing through the radio quietens down as a very familiar voice begins speaking, "You know what time it is listeners! Let's get to taking some calls!"
Before Chuuya can even realise it Hagakure, Uraraka, and Jirou have whipped their phones out and already started calling in to the station. Their faces are tense yet determined, if Chuuya didn't know any better he would guess they were off to battle not calling a radio station.
For a few tense seconds only the sound of three phones ringing can be heard, then-
"You've reached Put Your Hands Up! with Present Mic, what's your name, listener?"
There's a slight echo due to having the phone and radio on at the same time but none of the girls seem to care about that. Instead they grin and pass the phone over to Mina.
"How do you make a joke about the sea?"
Over the phone there's a pause before Present Mic responds, "Is-"
Before he can finish Mina leans in and nearly yells, "It's not as shrimp-le as you think!" Her laughs echo through the radio before the phone is quickly hung up.
Chuuya grins despite himself, it was a terrible joke and yet he can't help it. Over the radio Present Mic audibly sighs before making a comment about regretting being a teacher, Chuuya can hear the amusement in his voice that contradicts that statement.
Hagakure giggles one last time before turning to face Chuuya, that's what he assumes she does anyway, "We're gonna call in again later too, if you have any good jokes make sure to tell us before then!"
Chuuya nods but is otherwise not given the chance to respond when Mina begins rummaging through the bag she had brought. Using both hands she pulls out various combs, clips, and pins with a grin, "Alright, tonight's theme isssss traditional!"
Before Chuuya can get too confused Yaoyorozu turns to explain, "Pro Heroes often need to go undercover, to get better at disguising ourselves we like to set a theme and change ourselves to fit it." As she speaks she begins untying her hair, the other girls around her with long hair begin to do the same.
"Since I'm already a master of stealth I get to judge who does the best," Hagakure explains before Chuuya even has the time to wonder how she would get disguised.
Chuuya nods and watches as the girls begin applying makeup and tying their hair up in different styles. The sight reminds him of Ane-san, which certainly doesn't help with the homesickness he was talking about with Yamada. Admittedly, he did end up enjoying the tea Yamada ordered and he's made plans to go check out the school roof in the next few days but that hardly fixes his desire to go home. UA is a nice place and the people are alright but nothing will ever be able to top Yokohama, he really hopes this mission finishes up quickly so he doesn't have to stay here for longer than necessary.
Maybe it's the fact he's thinking of home, thinking of Ane-san, that pushes him to volunteer himself when Yaoyorozu sighs and nearly gives up on the hair style she was trying. He's seen Ane-san do her hair more times than he can count, he's helped a few times too when she also had to get her makeup done at the same time.
It is a bit funny how shocked Mina gets when he completes the style with minimal struggle.
"How- Wait, was it your mentor who taught you that?"
Chuuya nods, "Yep." With Yaoyorozu's hair safely pinned up he moves to retake his spot by the door.
"Ok, I just have to ask," Mina starts, "What does your mentor look like? She sounds so cool and I bet she looks it too!" Uraraka and Jirou, the other two he taught Ane-san's moves to, nod in agreement.
Chuuya thinks for a moment about what exactly he should say, he's already mentioned a few things about Ane-san but he's been careful not to mention anything that might help the Pros take her down. He knows better than to go blabbing about an Ability that's not his own, he also knows not to say anything that might reveal exactly how high up in rank Ane-san is. Talking about her appearance is risky, if the Pros ever manage to get into Yokohama then they'll be able to identify her quickly. Then again he's certain Golden Demon would be able to take down any Pro that tried anything anyway, well, except Aizawa but a gun would be enough to take him down.
Telling them about Ane-san might be a good bonding opportunity though, so he'll have to just keep his descriptions vague. He'll only talk about things that could easily be changed should the need arise. "Well, she has long hair… Always wears kimonos which match her makeup…" Chuuya belatedly realises it's rather hard to talk about someone while not actually saying anything important.
"Her hair is like mine then, that explains how you were able to do this style" Yaoyorozu says.
Chuuya scrunches his face in a way that says 'not really', "In length, yea, not in colour though." He's seen Ane-san wear a wig or two when completing undercover missions, mentioning her hair colour won't be a risk.
Jirou raises her eyebrows, which may just be because of the light makeup she is applying, "I was totally imagining her with black hair, what colour is it then?"
Before he can answer Mina jumps in, "Wait, let me guess, her hair matches yours right?"
Chuuya eyes her suspiciously, just how did she know that? "Why would you think that?"
"Because you call her 'Ane-san'! Siblings have the same hair colours most of the time." Mina grins as she speaks, Chuuya's suspicion must have told her that her guess was completely right.
"We're not actually related," Chuuya starts, "besides, not all siblings have matching hair colours."
Tsuyu, who had yet to speak all that much, chimes in, "My youngest sister has blue hair, ribbit." She looks over to Chuuya and seems to be thinking for a moment until she says, "I always like to say what I'm thinking, so, do you have any siblings?"
Ah, the blunt type. Honestly, Chuuya can respect her for that. He much prefers someone who just says what they think than someone who dances around the point, that's why Dazai's way of 'subtle manipulation' pisses him off sometimes. Chuuya feels like he should be honest back, "A brother, and no his hair doesn't match mine."
Mina seems to wilt at the proof her theory about siblings and hair is very much incorrect. Well she seems to, after a moment she looks back up with a spark of hope in her eyes, "Is he your brother in the same way your mentor is 'Ane-san'?"
Ah, he sees where she's going with this. If Verlaine is just another mentor and not blood related then she could argue her hair colour theory still works, at least for Yokohama people anyway. Unfortunately for her it's not so easy to define their relationship, "... Not technically," Chuuya admits. They aren't blood related but their unique shared circumstances certainly count for something.
While Mina seems let down by that answer, Uraraka simply nods, "What's he like?" She reaches across the floor to grab some of the nail polish Mina had brought along.
"He's… caring, in his own way," Chuuya grins a little, "Both him and Ane-san don't like Dazai much, which means I always hear double of the same complaints against him." It's actually hilarious to hear them both say the exact same things when complaining about Dazai. The first time it happened Chuuya was convinced the two of them planned it.
That gets a few laughs, especially from Hagakure who then asks, "I don't get how you two are still friends."
"We're partners not friends, that's different," Chuuya says simply.
Mina raises an eyebrow, "Like… romantic partners?" The expression on her face is mostly teasing, although part of it looks like she is genuinely interested.
Chuuya scrunches his face up at that, he ignores the way his heart beats a tad faster at the idea, "Absolutely not, why would I ever want to go out with that fish?" He'll admit the idea does sound somewhat appealing but then he remembers just what Dazai's personality is like. Chuuya gets sick of dealing with him enough as it is, if they got together then it would probably be ten times worse.
Across the room Uraraka begins waving one hand in an attempt to get her nail polish to dry faster, while doing so she asks, "So, what's the difference between being friends and being partners?"
That catches Chuuya somewhat off guard because, frankly, he had never put much thought behind it. Chuuya has had friends before so he knows that what he and Dazai have isn't friendship, or at least it isn't in the way Chuuya is familiar with. Despite knowing that he never bothered actually thinking about what the differences are.
Chuuya leans back a bit as he tries to sort through his thoughts, "I guess it's like… I trust my friends, course I do, but with Dazai it's more… Intense I guess? I don't need to hesitate to trust him with my life because I just know he's gonna be there y'know?" Despite asking a question Chuuya continues without giving the girls a chance to respond, "It's sort of like he can read my mind sometimes too, which is really freaky. That's why we work so well together, we know exactly how the other person thinks so we never need to talk about plans. Even though he's so fucking annoying I know he has my best interest at heart, that's why I can forgive him when his plans get fucked up and I get hurt or something."
Tsuyu tilts her head, "That happens?"
Chuuya grins, "Even he's not smart enough to get everything right." He can admit that he does get pissed off at Dazai during situations like that, especially when he intentionally puts Chuuya in harm's way for an advantage that they never get, but it's easy enough to read that bastard and see he didn't mean for that to happen. Usually, he gets his revenge and then calls it even.
Mina hums in a way that clearly shows she doesn't believe him, "Sounds to me like you're just really good friends, I trust my besties like that too."
Chuuya resists the urge to tell her he doubts that. The 1A kids have faced some life threatening trouble before and he's sure that some strong bonds were forged, but those bonds don't have anything on what he and Dazai have. With how many fights the two of them get in, with how many times Chuuya literally puts his life in his partner's palms when using Corruption, there is no way their bond is beaten by anything.
Mina must see his disagreement on his face though as she speaks again, "Explain in a better way! I'm really curious about what you mean!"
Chuuya rolls his eyes at that, if he could explain it so easily then he would have already, "Look, I've had friends before, I know what it's like to have them. Dazai's different, I don't know what else to say."
Mina sighs, "Ok, fine, but next time you'll have to give us more than that." Chuuya nods in agreement, if only to get her to stop pestering him about it.
All this talk of Dazai has made him aware of how long it's been since he got here, that idiot is probably sitting waiting for Chuuya to come back instead of trying to get some sleep. Not that Chuuya could criticise him given he would do the same thing, in fact he has done the same thing before.
Mina tries to convince him to stay longer when he begins to leave, unfortunately for her promises of annoying Present Mic and judging everyone's makeup skills isn't as convincing as she may think.
-
When the door shuts and Chuuya has left, Mina whips her head around to face her classmates, "You guys know what I'm thinking?"
They all share a look at that, one that clearly says they do know what she's thinking and do not approve of it. Uraraka sighs, "Yea, I'm just not sure meddling will end well…"
"It'll be fine!" Mina exclaims, "You heard what he said, a relationship that is 'different' and 'more intense' than friendship- he's so totally in love! And I bet Dazai is too! We just need to get them together, if we do that then they'll be too happy to get mad at us for meddling!" Mina knows she'll be trying to get those together regardless, if her friends want to help or not will not change that!
For a second there is silence, then Hagakure jumps up from her seat, "I agree with Mina! We just have to help them out!"
Mina grins at Hagakure, "I knew you'd have my back!" The other girls laugh at that, which is a great sign. Mina reckons they'll all be on her side by the end of the night, now all she has to do is start planning exactly how she'll get those two together.
-
Dazai sighs and somehow sinks lower into the mattress below him. He's tired but sleep isn't coming to him, which quite frankly isn't a surprise. Even on the best of days it can be a struggle to get his mind to shut up long enough for him to sleep, given the fact he's in what's basically enemy territory with no Chuuya by his side it only makes sense for him to be still laid awake.
The bed is cold, which is annoying.
He should be glad Chuuya is out forging bonds with 1A, it was Dazai's plan to do that after all, but a large part of him isn't. When he thinks about it Dazai actually hasn't done all that much compared to Chuuya, which makes sense given Chuuya is the dog in this relationship, but still. Chuuya is out there, making new friends, gaining the trust of the pro heroes, achieving the mission goals without any help from Dazai. It almost makes one wonder why Dazai is even on this mission when Chuuya could do it all himself.
Dazai tries not to sigh again because honestly, he's getting sick of doing it.