𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐄 ❖ MY HERO ACADEMIA

chapter 97 - adachihara

The courtyard was still a mess a day later.
And neither Shoto or Bakugo were quite the gardeners, but Komi wasn't about to go ahead and snitch on them to Mr. Aizawa about that, they were trying, and right now, that was enough.

Only two flower beds had been broken and the top-most rose of the sunflowers that had been burnt slightly by Bakugo's explosions. Most of the flowers were okay, and there was only one shattered pot that had to be restored.

"Oh, Bakugo, maybe just be slightly more careful, the baby's breath is pretty fragile." Komi offered some advice as the blond started to try and re-set the stems a little too forcefully.

If it was anyone else but Komi, Bakugo may have told them where to stick it... but instead he just grumbled and received a side eyed from Shoto.

After a few minutes of silent gardening, the sound of a door sliding open echoed across the courtyard. Komi paused in her work, and so did Shoto and Bakugo. They turned in unison, expecting to see one of their fellow classmates, but instead, they saw the figure of a woman stepping through the glass doors -her attire smart, elegant, and clearly expensive.

She was tall, with an air of authority that couldn't be ignored, but there was something unsettling about her presence. She was older, her features sharp, her expression unreadable. As she stepped into the courtyard, her gaze swept over the trio, pausing on Komi with an almost knowing look.
As her heels clicked on the pavements, Komi noticed how she didn't just enter the courtyard -she arrived. And her presences made Komi want to sit up straighter without even knowing why. Maybe it was the Chanel suit or her pearl necklace suited perfectly to herself.

Behind her, Principal Nezu and Mr. Aizawa followed. Nezu's usual cheerful demeanour was subdued today, a small furrow in his brow, and Aizawa seemed to be the quiet observer, his eyes scanning the situation carefully which now only made Komi follow his structure and she glanced back to the woman who kept her eyes downward.

"Todoroki, Bakugo," Nezu said, his voice calm but firm. "I need both of you to step out of the courtyard for now. Please return to the common room. An explanation will be provided to you at a later time."

Bakugo immediately squinted at him. "Why?"
Shoto folded his arms, standing protectively near Komi. "Who is she?"
Komi deadpanned as she glanced to the two of them, like this lady before them wasn't in her early sixties and clearly not a fighter.

"She's here to speak with Shizuki," Nezu replied evenly, stepping forward, his paws clasped behind his back. "Privately."

It was the word, Privately that made Komi blinked a few times.
There was some kind of sense to this woman that Komi has genuinely never seen nor met before, and stepping aside from her air of authority the woman carried, there was another air she embodied as she clutched her purse close to her body.

Shoto glanced at Bakugo, both of them slightly hesitant. There was an unfamiliar, tense energy in the air, and they both instinctively wanted to stay (gagged as i wrote that, btw). But the firm tone in Nezu's voice made it clear that it was not a suggestion.

Then something happened. Something so miniscule. Barely a single movement. Nothing that wasn't unnatural.
And yet it changed Komi's world forever.

Because this woman with her pearl necklace and birkin bag. The woman with the Chanel suit, tailored to her body, and hair styled so elegantly. Her 3 inch heels and the scent of Chanel No. 5 gracefully playing in the air around her.
This woman looked up.

That was it.

She just looked up.

And green was the colour of her eyes.
The kind of green that tell a thousand stories, and the kind of green that could never be defined. Her eyes were filled with shades of green, too many to count, and too many to even name. Like peering into a rich forest, filled with lush life and sparkling lights.