Insomnia [Shota Aizawa x Reader] (Rewritten Version)

Chapter 25

"Work." Aiko threw you a sarcastic accusatory glare at you. "I got this money from work."

"Well, good for you," you said awkwardly. You stood by as she flipped through the clothing. "Just wondering."

She laughed lightheartedly. "I know, I know. I understand why you'd think I'd steal it. But Ethan helped me out in getting a different job and it pays alright."

"Hm." You caught the denim jacket she tossed at you. "Have I mentioned how much I hate shopping?"

"Nope."

"Well, I do." Maybe you haven't mentioned it before because you never did do shopping, much less with someone. "Can't you just... settle with the first thing that looks good?"

"Girl, what if there's better design or quality than the first?" Aiko shot you a look. "Or the same design or quality, but cheaper?"

"You wouldn't know if you didn't look."

She rolled her eyes. "The point of a shopping day is that we have time to do this."

You never had a shopping day, so you wouldn't know, but you took Aiko's word for it half-heartedly. You had already decided and bought your choice of just a new shirt and pants at least 5 shops different ago. You didn't really care for the brand that much as long as it wasn't a knock-off or shady.

"C'mon, help me decide, which looks better?" She held up another denim jacket and pointed to the one you held.

"You're asking the wrong person for fashion advice." You glanced between the two jackets. "I seriously can not tell the difference between these two besides the pocket location."

"Exactly! Which positions are better?"

"They're fake pockets," you added, seeing as the button on them didn't even unbutton.

"It's design!"

You shook your head, sighing. "I don't know, that one?" You pointed at the one she was holding.

She looked down at herself, holding the jacket to her body. "Hm, maybe the one you're holding looks better."

"Why did you even... ask...." You trailed off, seeing as she was looking through the jackets again. You'll never understand shopping.

A few minutes later, or what felt like hours to you, Aiko finished. You had gone out and stood outside the shop, listening to music as you waited.

"Here." She handed you a large bag with the shop's logo printed on it.

"What's this?" You peered in, looking for the answer yourself. A few colorful clothes and a few bland ones, you could see.

"Gifts of apology. For keeping you here for so long." She laughed. "And... the other stuff. I don't know what you'd really like these days but clothes won't hurt, right?" She smiled at you. "Not sure if the measurements are right though, sorry."

You shook your head. "Clothes are so expensive here!"

She shrugged and gave you a smile. "Anyway, dinner where? If I remember correctly you used to like Chinese takeout a lot."

"And my taste hasn't changed." You held the bags in your other hand, which thankfully weren't heavy. You wondered how Aiko was able to carry all of hers, which looked a whole lot heavier. "We can drop by your place if you want to set those down?"

"Good idea." She shifted the bags in her hands uncomfortably.

The two of you started walking, you following her as you didn't know where she lived. Your eyes spotted a building with decorative plants around it and paused. "That's Manual's place, right?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"A student is interning here," you said simply. Perhaps you'll have a look around to see if Iida's anywhere.

"Worried about them?"

"Yeah," you admitted. "His choice is concerning. I really do hope those students made the right choices."

"The students are growing on you, huh?"

"Yeah...." You hadn't expected to like the students as much as you did. Maybe you were looking forward to seeing how their futures played out with you being a factor in their lives.

"And about that guy you were talking about," Aiko added, shooting you a mischievous grin. "Is he someone from the school?"

"Hush you, Cupid," you said jokingly. "These people are different from what I'm used to is all."

Aiko smiled a bit. She could tell that you were being truthful, even without her quirk working against you, you supposed.

"Are you going to continue teaching there as a full-time job eventually?"

A sudden scream interrupted you before you could reply that you weren't sure.

"[L/N]!" Aiko shoved you, pushing you down. The shopping bags dropped to the ground.

You felt a strong wind rushing down on you and heard flaps from above. Looking up, you saw wings instead of the sky. They belonged to a large greenish body that flew past above you and you caught a glimpse of the head.

"Is that a Nomu? What is it doing here?" you asked Aiko, who quickly flipped herself off of you and stumbled to get back up. She looked as confused as you were.

"This is what he wanted Nomu for?" Aiko cursed under her breath, then offered a hand to you. "Let's get out of here."

You pulled yourself up with her hand, almost forgetting the bags in a rush to get away from the commotion not too far away from where the Nomu had landed nearby. She paid good money for those clothes.

The two of you ran not too far, as Aiko's apartment was only a block away.

"Oh God—" Aiko suddenly stopped in front of you. A head had emerged from a black hole on the side of the wall next to the door. "Miki, you scared the shit out of me. Was that Nomu Shigaraki's doing?"

"Yeah." The black-haired man climbed out from the portal on the wall. "Hey, [L/N]." He nodded once at you as a greeting before awkwardly turning away to Aiko. "Katsumi called for you."

Aiko grumbled something under her breath. She held up the bags in her hands. "Let me drop these off." She turned to you with another smile. "I guess this is where we'll part. It was nice hanging out with you again." She paused. "There's good Chinese takeout a block away from here to your right."

"Oh, thanks." You laughed, helping her open the door. "See you, I guess."

As Aiko headed in, Miki paused before following her. You looked at him curiously before he looked back at you and nervously scratched at his cheek. "Sorry, [L/N], about the whole drugging you incident. And not getting to know you better."

He headed in quickly before you could reply. You stood there for a moment, baffled. That was new.

You didn't hold anything against them, for one. And Miki was the one you talked to the least. Did he even consider you a friend in the first place? You had talked to him before and he was an alright guy but... maybe you were thinking too much on this.

You left the other way and headed off for your train back home, shaking it off. Perhaps you'll check on the commotion with the Nomu first, on second thought. What they said about Tomura worried you.