Controlee

32. Gen Ed

Warning: Very, very, very brief incident of transphobia and then mentions of past incidents. I haven't put a warning around them because the incident is a single word on a single line and the mentions are immediately countered (I don't know how else to explain that). I also haven't done a chapter summary because there's a really important character introduction in this chapter and I don't know how to introduce this character without this chapter. However if this is triggering to you and you'd like more details, please don't be afraid to ask, I will give you any information you desire.

It's very important to me that you all take care of yourselves. Please, show yourselves kindness.

Rule 1: Ignore cruel words.

Otsuka was expecting anger after saying she almost burnt down the kitchen, but Aizawa and Yamada seemed more worried than anything else. She spent a very long time apologising to them, promising there was no damage which of course there wasn't because it never happened but they really didn't seem to care. She no longer had the option of staying at the apartment, sure, but she had a feeling that was more for her than the safety of their home— strange as the idea was.

If anything, it only made her feel worse about lying to them.

But life continued, as it did, and Otsuka chose to spend the next day with general studies. It had been an interesting conversation, trying to get across to Aizawa and Yamada that she was really hoping to be in Shinsou's class but not willing to outright ask for it in case it was an inconvenience and they might feel bad about refusing her.

Was she overthinking again? Probably. Anyway, when they figured it out, she'd said at least fifteen times it was absolutely fine if they couldn't, she didn't want to cause any trouble. They'd assured her at least sixteen times it was no trouble at all.

The next morning she was sitting on a spare chair at the back of one of the general studies classrooms. It looked the same as any other classroom in the school— except the support course ones— with an old-style blackboard at the front, a podium in the centre there and a desk for the teacher laid to one side while rows of desks paired with chairs were spread out over the rest of the room. Five rows of four for twenty children, or twenty-one today with her desk squished in the back to make an awkward row of five.

With her guardians arriving early for teaching, Otsuka had had a good chance to explore corridors of UA she'd never seen before as she managed to take every wrong turn possible before finding 1-C. Even with the 'exploration', she'd managed to be the first person into the classroom by far.

She twiddled her thumbs for a while, brushing back an annoying curl of her hair that had decided it didn't want to be part of her plait today. The only way to entertain herself was by tapping rhythms on the table and staring out at the rain and poor weather that had snapped on them all of a sudden. She also double and triple checked that she was definitely in the right room, more than once, before telling herself to relax because she was definitely fine and the 1-C written in large across the door could not be clearer. So she kept tapping against the wood of her desk, letting a tune she half-remembered flow through her mind. She even texted Matsui, just a simple: 'Good morning! Looking forward to tomorrow!' but it made her pretty excited. It would be great to see him and Mags again, she had so much she wanted to tell them, so many stories to share. She doubted they'd believe the insanity that was 1-A.

Her head whipped round, a smile rising to her face at the sight of a student joining her. She waved politely from her place as they frowned at her, probably surprised by a stranger in their classroom.

They wore a female uniform and had cropped blue hair, with a black spike lined with bright purple clipped into it similar to the pieces Bakugou had either side of his head on his hero costume, only smaller. Otsuka guessed they were shorter than her in height but they were built more strongly, broader shoulders and muscled arms that would do well in hero training. But honestly, any kind of sense of intimidation from them was a little stifled by the awesome rainbow laces on their shoes.