Inside Your Mind

41 - Aizawa

I can't tell if I am living or just holding on

There were bigger crowds of reporters than even Shouta Aizawa would have expected. And he was usually pessimistic about these sorts of things. But apparently the video of Stain's arrest that had been circulating had made bigger waves than anyone anticipated. This wasn't good at all.

He had decided to wait in the nearby park, because even though he had warned Kaori about this, well... he hadn't warned her about this. It was her first day and this was definitely an overkill. She had seemed much more relaxed yesterday, but it still hadn't been long since the exams.

"Gonna be late, gonna be late, gonna be late, might make it..." he heard someone passing him say. He quickly turned around and saw Kaori standing there taking a few deep breaths. Her face looked flushed. Had she been running all the way here? She looked down on herself and quickly straightened out her clothes and then tied her hair again. She took another deep breath and looked at the building.

"Holy shit." she mumbled, seeing the entrance crowded with reporters. Aizawa got up from the bench he was sitting on.

"Don't worry, it looks worse than it is." he said, approaching her. She turned around quickly, relieved to see Aizawa and not some random weirdo who was sitting in a park at this ungodly time.

"You gave me a fright, Mr. Aizawa." she replied, still panting.

"Have you been running all the way here?" he wanted to know. She nodded, trying to keep her breathing under control.

"I didn't sleep all night, but once I started getting ready I fell asleep on the kitchen table and when I woke up I had missed my train, so I had to take one later and make a run for it." she explained.

"Come on, let's go then, we're kinda cutting it close." Aizawa said, walking towards the building ahead of her. The best way to deal with those reporters was to just keep your head down and not react to anything. He wasn't sure if Kaori could do that. She had gotten lost when all the reporters had come to the university. And this thing was so much bigger. Plus, the information they were after was much more confidential.

"Those are... a lot of reporters, Mr. Aizawa. Isn't there a side door or something?" Kaori asked as they got closer to the main entrance. Aizawa waited until she had caught up with him, looking at him nervously.

"It'll be fine. Just keep your head down, walk quickly and whatever you do, don't answer any questions. And don't get angry, they'll have no qualms dragging your name through the mud." he said to her.

"Okay. I'll do my best." she answered and nodded.

"Just stick close to me, Kaori." he said as they quickly made their way towards the crowd. They had started to take notice of them now and started walking towards them. Aizawa flinched as he heard the shutters click and saw flashes. He kept his eyes to the ground, so he wouldn't be blinded.

People were shouting all over the place, they were asking questions over each other. Why couldn't they just give people a break and let them work in peace? The fact that this was a high profile case should indicate that everyone was already under a lot of stress and pressure.

"Miss, can you tell us anything about the agenda of today's meeting?" Aizawa heard someone say. He quickly looked behind him and saw Kaori getting cornered by a bunch of reporters. Damn it.

"I... I..." she started, looking around nervously. Aizawa pushed his way through to her and grabbed her arm.

"Don't say anything to them. Come on, this way." he said to her, pulling her towards himself and putting his arm around her shoulder. She'd probably get lost again if he didn't. She looked up at him, almost looking a little scared. He gently squeezed her shoulder, before maneuvering them to the main entrance.