Until I Wanted to Change

Chapter 16

Doomed to wait in the classroom for a while, Hitoshi took to leaning against the doorframe and Izuku took to half-sitting, half-leaning awkwardly against one of the front desks. Mr. Aizawa sat at his desk, ignoring them entirely in favor of grading Class 1-A's latest assignments.

It was better that way- Mr. Aizawa ignoring them, that is. Ever since Izuku had admitted to lying about having a therapist, there had been a tension between Mr. Aizawa and him, though whether the Pro felt it too was up for debate. He'd been upset, of course, but Izuku didn't sense that from him anymore. So he didn't think so. But he sure felt the awkwardness still.

Izuku should've admitted that he didn't have a therapist sooner. He could've been getting help for much longer than the few sessions he'd attended so far. Well, at least Hitoshi had managed to talk some sense into him.

Izuku kept his eyes mostly trained on the hallway outside, searching for Thirteen and Power Loader, though he honestly didn't know what Thirteen would look like. Hopefully they would arrive soon. Mr. Aizawa had said they'd both already informed their students that they wouldn't be available for after-school help that day, so it shouldn't take too much longer.

Before either Pro stepped into sight, Kyarano did. Her eyes met Izuku's, and after glancing both ways to ensure she wasn't about to crash into someone, she walked over. Leaning through the doorway, hand around the frame to keep herself from falling forward, she poked her head into the classroom. Hitoshi tilted his head down to glare at her, but he only managed to glare at the back of her head. She scanned the otherwise empty classroom and stopped when she saw Mr. Aizawa, saying, "Hey, Mr. Aizawa." He grunted but didn't look up from the paper he was frowning at. She turned back to Izuku. "Why're you two losers all dressed up?"

Hitoshi rolled his eyes and went back to leaning his head against the wall. He closed his eyes, stuffing his hands back into the pockets of his black leather jacket. On the left lapel of his jacket was an enamel pin of a cat with a knife in its mouth, which had made Izuku smile when he saw it for the first time.

"We're, um, going off campus, and we don't want anyone to recognize our uniforms, so we brought a change of clothes..."

"Why do you need to go off campus?"

"Well, I needed to pick some stuff up from the store, and I asked if Hitoshi wanted to come, and he said yes, so he's coming too."

"Can I come?" she asked. After shooting a glare at whoever had bumped into her in the hallway, she stepped inside. Then she smiled. "I've been needing to get some more jerky."

At the same time Hitoshi said, "No," Izuku said, "Oh, um... yeah, sure!" Izuku gave Hitoshi a look and continued, "I don't see why not. But you'll have to change, since we're trying to lay low..."

Hitoshi scowled, and she grinned.

She tilted her head, ears tilting too. "Because of the League?"

Izuku nodded. "That's why we're waiting for Thirteen and Power Loader, too. They're chaperoning, since I'm not allowed to leave campus by myself, since... well, you know."

"Ah, I see." She nodded, eyes closed. Opening them, she continued, "Then I guess I'll go get changed. Shouldn't take me too long to run back to the dorms. Meet you guys at the main gates?"

"Yeah, um, we should be there soon."

And so Kyarano took off, leaping through the window that had been open when Hitoshi and Izuku had arrived.

Not long after, a woman with short hair and bangs that seemed to spiral around her forehead walked through the door, her demeanor hesitant. This was Thirteen? She looked younger than he'd imagined, and he certainly hadn't imagined she'd have such strange eyes- her irises were encircled by a glowing golden ring. Did black holes have a ring around them? Izuku had no clue.