Absence

Six - The Nutty Professor

A/N: Apologies for such a long wait! After all the finals and midterms college has thrown my way, it's safe to say I'll be updating more often. As always, comments are much appreciated - they let me know that this story isn't just being chucked into the void that is the Internet, and I'm always so happy to read them!

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The raven haired, blue-eyed professor led Todoroki inside her cramped office, which had her own bookshelf of books, most of which were on the floor.

"Sorry about the mess! I don't usually get visitors." She picked up a stack of books and placed it on the floor, which created a mini dust storm.

"Do you work here?"

"I'm a professor at Otsuma University. I teach literature and mythology - whoops!" The professor bumped into a tower of books and sent them tumbling down like Jenga blocks. Todoroki's fast reflexes saved a few thick textbooks on Roman plays. "You're quite fast," the sunken-eyed professor pushed her glasses up to her face with a grin. "Training to be a hero, huh?"

"Yes, I'm a classmate of Yaoyorozu." Professor Chieko's face visibly changed. Her face grew clouded, and behind it was a set of complex emotions Todoroki couldn't quite interpret. She began picking up the scattered texts, and Todoroki bent down to help. "I'm looking for any clues to find her."

"I suppose you're the type that won't sit back and let the police do the looking. A true hero," Professor Chieko sat on the edge of her desk as Todoroki placed the books on the sparse empty spots on the dusty shelves.

"The place where Yaoyorozu was held had a collection of Greek mythology books."

"I see, that's why you came to me."

"Yes."

"Well," she clasped her hands together to make a sharp clap, "I can honestly say I have no idea why whoever had her owned all those books. But..." she waved her finger around, glancing at the stack of books Todoroki had just placed on the shelves, "maybe there's something to it. Do you remember the titles of any of the books?"

Todoroki tried to picture the basement of the hideout. Amongst the clutter and dust collecting on the bookshelf, he could make out a few titles. "There were some about the most famous Greek myths... the dichotomy between humans and gods, Persephone and Hades, and the origins of Zeus. That's all I remember."

Professor Chieko's finger trembled as she closed her eyes, as if sorting through a collection of images in her head. She walked absentmindedly around the office, narrowly avoiding the bookshelf and stacks of books still on the floor as if following an interpretive dance choreography. "That's not right, wait a second," she muttered. After "dancing" around her office for some time, Todoroki's patience began to grow thin.

"What are you doing?"

Professor's eyes shot open and she grabbed her laptop and clacked loudly on the keys. Her eyes were razor sharp. She turned her head to Todoroki, keeping her eyes peeled on the screen. "In case you think I'm crazy (which he was), I'm not. I have a quirk similar to eidetic memory, which means I can recall anything I've ever read, ever learned, ever saw."

"Did you find something?" Todoroki sat on the edge of his seat, eyes glued to the professor's sunken but wide eyes.

"I teach a class on Greek tragedies, covering Persephone and Hades' story, as well as Zeus's origins in depth. Do you know either of these stories?"

Todoroki barely shook his head, knowing full well he was about to get a long lecture.

"Well, Zeus's siblings were eaten by their father, save for Zeus. He saved his siblings by feeding his father a combination of wine and mustard, and the war between the Titans and the Gods began. As for Persephone, she was one of Zeus's daughters, and was kidnapped by hHades for her beauty. Hades fed her pomegranates so that Persephone would be forced to return to the Underworld 6 months out of the year. When she was gone, her mother's grief would make the Earth desolate and cold. When she returned, her mother would allow the Earth to blossom again."