Quiet || Shota Aizawa

6. The Symbol of Peace

A cup clattered softly as it was placed before you, its contents immediately flooding your senses soothingly, and you couldn't help but sigh in relief as the warmth radiating from the cup settled onto your touch. "Thank you, Aizawa, but you really didn't have to."

The man in question huffed, a weak attempt at covering the small smile that threatened to tug at his lips. Though his usual deadpan look remained crossed over his face, his gaze softened ever so slightly. "I still owed you from the other night," he shrugged, sitting across from you in the teacher's lounge, taking out the papers in need of grading. "I hope it's not too bitter for your taste."

It was after hours, most of the school faculty had already packed up for the day. You, however, thought it'd be better to stick around for a little longer, seeing as you worked better in quiet, organized spaces. Unfortunately, with so many files and reports, your apartment no longer met the criteria. The good thing about staying late at school, however, was that you wouldn't be completely alone.

Your shoulders dropped into a more relaxed posture as you took a sip from the cup of coffee, a smile curling your lips. Shota burned under the bright gaze that peeked from behind your dark lenses. "It's great, really," Tilting your head at him, you gave a full-fledged smile. "Remind me to bring you coffee tomorrow, okay?"

Aizawa spared you a glance. "That's unnecessary," Shielding his lips behind the safety of his scarf, he continued, "You don't owe me anything."

In a lack of a verbal response, you hummed. You slid your glasses further up your nose, effectively ridding the erasure hero of any glimpses he could steal of your eyes. "True. I don't owe you shit," you almost choked on a laugh, his subtly bewildered expression an amusing sight. "But I want to bring you coffee, Aizawa. I'm trying to earn more brownie points here."

He scoffed, shaking his head. You sure were persistent. "You're really set on that, aren't you?"

"On what, making friends with the notorious Eraserhead? Duh." You said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

All he could do was sigh. He never considered himself as the approachable type, but you seemed to have taken a liking to him. Heactually enjoyed it. Never would he say that, much less to you, of course; he was here to teach, not really set on making friends. The more he played with the idea, though, the more he seemed to allow for your smiles to take a hold of him. He felt stupid for allowing himself to enjoy such gentle things, but he refused to push them away.

"Just don't feel obligated to do it," he mumbled, fully aware that you could still hear him as clear as day. "Because again, you don't owe me anything."

You rolled your eyes, giving a short nod.

You pulled out your own set of papers, though they weren't class assignments in dire need of attention. Missing person reports were stacked one over the other, the pile nauseatingly thick. God, so much has happened without anyone realizing it. Carefully, you flipped through each report, reading whatever information there was available about the missing person and their last sightings.

Local street food seller, missing. Rising boxing sensation, missing. Respected lawyer, missing. Highschool boy, missing.

Nausea, thick and daunting, settled heavily in your stomach. That kid seemed the same age as Midoriya and his friends. You breathed shakily. It made no sense— how could so many people vanish without a trace?

How could no one have noticed?How could you not have noticed?

You didn't dare touch the reports on the missing corpses. Not tonight. You weren't sure if you could handle that at the moment.