Deception || Aizawa x OC Fanfic

Ch. 2 - No Sleep

The doors to my new life stood before me. I was 10 minutes early and staring at my reflection in the mirrored glass. Beyond those doors I wasn't Keiko Ketsueki anymore. I was Zero. The Quirkless Hero.

The previous night I couldn't sleep. I spent my night feeling disgusting and crying. On top of that, the anxiety of my new job overwhelmed me and I did more prep work than I should have. Shaved, ironed my hero uniform, exfoliated my skin, painted my nails, everything you can think of, I did instead of sleep. 

When it came time to get ready I had already done some dark makeup on my eyes and all that was left to do was out in my Hero Uniform. The paperwork said there was a locker room I could change in, but the idea of showing my scars to my coworkers made me anxious. So I changed at home. 

My Hero Uniform consisted of a strapless corset bodysuit, black skinny jeans, knee high lace up boots and a hooded cloak to hide myself with if needed. I had protective gear such as knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards and gloves with metal plates on my knuckles to make up for my quirkless-ness. I also wore a utility belt around my waist and I had a few weapons and support items tucked up my sleeve.

On my way here I had a cup of tea, a cup of coffee, two red bulls and a monster to compensate for my lack of sleep, but as I stood outside the door, I jittered with anxiety. 

I held my breath as I walked into the empty lobby. There was but a lone person sitting on the counter of the reception desk. He wore grey sweats and a black hoodie. His black hair was in a low, messy bun and he had glasses on his face as he thumbed through a stack of papers. 

His eyes raised and stared at me as I stood awkwardly in the entrance. "Are you the new hire?" He asked in a drab tone. 

I nodded. "Keiko Ketsuki. Or uh- Zero."

He raised an eyebrow at me before looking me up and down. "Right… the quirkless Hero. You came in your uniform?"

"Yeah. It's uh- laundry day, these were my only clean clothes."I lied. 

"Right…" He didn't seem to believe my lie but didn't press the issue. "You do realize that you're over an hour early… right?"

I looked at my clock. 7:55. I was still 5 minutes early. "It's only 5 minutes before 8…"

He tilted his head towards the clock on the wall. It read 6:55. "Sure about that?"

I felt my face heat up in embarrassment.

He dropped his papers on the counter beside him. "I suppose I can show you around." He spoke as he hopped off the counter. 

We spent the next half an hour roaming the building as he showed me where everything was. It was a quick tour as most of the building was compiled of office space. He showed me the gym, the conference room, breakroom, everything. 

Finally he showed me the locker room. "And this will conclude the tour." He mumbled. "We'll do paperwork in a bit, you should probably find a free locker to put your backpack in." 

He led the way into the locker room and I followed but he paused in the doorway and stared at me, a cross of confusion and annoyance on his face. 

"Can I help you with something?" He asked. 

I furrowed my brow. Did he not remember what he just told me? "I'm going to find a locker like you told me to…"

He sucked his teeth for a moment before pointing to the other side of the hall at a sign that said 'Women'. "The women's locker room is over there and this is the men's locker room- unless I'm missing something I've been disrespecting your pronouns this whole time." I could tell he was double checking pronouns out of politeness, but he definitely was certain he was right and I was just an idiot.