G H O S T [Shota Aizawa x OC]

F O U R

Shota avoided Sumire for the rest of the day, knowing he had embarrassed himself for the sake of his students and the hero that was new to them. He had hesitated to answer her questions because he didn't really understand why he had let her win their spar. He just felt like he should.

She made him feel weird, and he didn't like feeling uncertain about himself. It wasn't an uncomfortable weird, it was just... weird, as if she kept him on his toes though he knew there was no reason to be so alert with her around.

As he fiddled with his keys to enter his apartment when he felt a gentle tugging at the hem of his pants. An irritable vein pulsed in his forehead but vanished as soon as he looked down. A small black-furred cat with a fluffy tail and big, dark blue eyes gazed up at him, stroking her paw on his ankle to get his attention.

Shota melted. His frown became less stern and his brows knitted together in a relatively kind expression; at least, as kind as he could appear. He knelt down and began to pet the cat's head, which fit in the palm of his hand as she pressed her nose into in his large fingers. She erupted in loud purrs as she rubbed herself against his hand and leg warmly.

Sumire suddenly appeared before them. If it weren't for the dark-haired man's notoriously laid-back personality, he would have jumped. The cat didn't move, merely purring in bliss under his touch.

"Ah, I'm sorry." She said in a soft voice as she kneeled down. "Come here, Echo." She called the cat, and she turned and came bouncing up to the woman and leapt into her arms. She nuzzled up to her neck, still purring happily.

He responded with a hum and scratched the scruff on his cheek, slightly embarrassed by how much pleasure he took in petting the cat, but not daring to show the tiniest hint of that emotion on his stoic face.

Still, he couldn't help himself and reached out, rubbing the soft black fur of Sumire's pet. "Are you a cat person?" She asked as the cat - Echo - nudged into his hand.

"I guess." He grumbled, mesmerized by the cat's warm face.

"She really likes you." She smiled. "She's very adamant about people she doesn't like, so I guess that's a good thing." She chuckled lightly, and when he didn't respond, she said, "You know, you're welcome to play with her whenever. It seems to me that you like her more than you like people."

Shota finally looked up and met the girl's charcoal gaze as she looked at him with a kind confusion.

"What, do I have to say 'nya' and paw at you to get your attention?" She gestured with her hand like a cat or dog's paw and wore a playful pout.

He clicked his tongue and averted his small black irises, straightening his back and shoving his hands in his pockets. "Don't be stupid."

"You're the one who's enthralled by my cat." She teased with a short laugh.

"Whatever." He grumbled and turned back to his door.

"Principal Nezu wants me to join you in his stead at the Provisional Hero License Exam."

"I figured as much."

"Does that bother you?"

He simply responded with a shrug and muttered, "It could be worse."

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The morning of the highly anticipated exam the students of class 1-A had filled a U.A. bus and now excitedly trickled out from it. Sumire had claimed a seat beside Shota, trapping him in a corner and earning a bitter scowl. It wasn't her place to explain the threats that U.A. faced against the other schools, but she felt worried for them having grown particularly attached to this class; seen as she didn't have much else to do in between semesters but observe them.