Ten Stories Up

1 - Aizawa

Aizawa's feet dragged along the ground. He was so tired. His class this year was useless. They were powerful, no doubt, but they didn't have the stupid it-factor. They didn't have the drive to become especially good at manipulating their quirk. Never mind becoming heroes. Being a teacher and a pro at the same time was difficult. Especially if you refused to join an agency.

The burdens he had were self-made. It was him who had chosen to become a teacher. It was him that had wanted to keep patrolling. It was his damn fault he was this tired. He glanced down at the watch he kept in his pocket. It was just after seven-thirty pm. If he skipped a few minutes early, he would be home by eight-fifteen. With the amount of grading he had left, he would be done around eleven. That in turn, would let him have a solid seven hours sleep before he had to get up and get to school.

He sighed.

Of course, he wouldn't go early. The next batch of heroes patrolling this area would like an update. On the off chance something happened in the next hour, would feel responsible if he wasn't there.

He grumbled a few profanities before continuing down the street. He did the usury glance over the rooftops. In the poorer parts of the city, it wasn't uncommon for villains to stake out on roofs to target possible victims. That rarely happened here though.

Street after the street he went, counting every minute down until eight twenty. That is when his patrol duty was done. Fresh heroes stalked these roads at night. His eyes swept aimlessly over the tall rooftops. That is when he saw the girl.

She wasn't a villain. You could tell that by the quickest glance. From this far down, you could only make out her big, blue scarf wrapped around her neck. That and the feeling around her.

Even from ten stories down, Aizawa could feel it. The sickening sense of peace around a person who is going to do something very, very stupid.

Aizawa went through multiple strategies quickly in his mind.

Calling the police seemed stupid. That would just spook her. He could just wait for her to fall. That would mean catching her and that could be potentially harmful to them both. He couldn't go up as a hero either. That would be worse than the police.

Okay, so the plan was:

Talk to her.

Watch her from the roof.

Catch her if she fell.

Great.

His plan was ready. Now all he had to do was get to her before.... Before...

Aizawa sprinted into the building, luckily finding the staircase that went up to the roof on his first try. He pushed open the door more forcefully than intended. It banged against the wall forcefully. The girl started. He tensed.

Bad start. Now what?

Talk. That was the first point of his plan. "Oh... Didn't realize there was anyone up here."

The girl swept her e/c eyes over him once before exhaling sharply. "Jesus... Don't scare a girl like that."

She was talking. That was good. Keep it going. "Sorry. Didn't realize someone had found my favorite brooding spot."

That was a lie. He had never stepped foot in this building before. Luckily, she didn't deem his sentence important enough to respond to.

Step two; watch her from the roof.

He sank next to her, making her startle.

"Excuse me?"

"I said this is my favorite brooding spot and you are sitting in the best spot." 

"Oh." She scooted away, seeming increasingly uncomfortable.

"So, what are you doing up here." Best to get her talking.

"Brooding."

That startled a laugh out of him. He glanced over at her, noting a sparkle in her previously dull eyes. I got commutable before asking;

"Mind if I joined you?"

"Didn't you know brooding is a solo activity?"

He smiled at that.

"Well, I'll brood alone then." He fixed his eyes on the horizon. The sunset was spectacular, even though it was almost gone. She had found the prettiest spot in the city. She startled me with a question.

"Weren't you going to go brood alone.?"

"I am. There just happens to be someone else on my brooding roof."

"Oh." She started to move. He quickly added:

"Guess we'll have to brood alone next to each other." He had to fulfill step two; watch her on the roof.

"Yea, okay." There was something like hope in her otherwise reluctant voice.

She was lost in thought for a little while before looking me over once again. The action seemed to deflate her. It killed the sparkle in her eyes. Between one moment and the next, the frail peace was destroyed.

"So. What is a pro hero doing on a roof at dusk?" ... shit. She had figured him out. Wait a minute, had she said dusk?

Huh. Aizawa realized his shift was over. That didn't change his answer. Technically, he didn't even have to lie. "I'm on my break."

He silently added 'until tomorrow'  to his sentence.

"Alright." Her voice made it very clear she didn't believe him.

He had decided to stay until she left. Even if he had to sit there all night, He was not leaving first – students be damned

Sleep be damned

So, they waited.

And waited.

And waited

And waited

.

After three hours, she was still sitting there. All he could think of was that God, he was cold. The girl had her eyes fixed on the horizon, right at the point where the sun had disappeared. Suddenly, after three hours, she moved.

She fell.

He didn't think, he just reacted. It wasn't until his arms were around her that he realized that she had been testing him. She had fallen backwards onto the roof. She had figured him out for sure now. At least he'd fulfilled the last point on his plan.

Catch her.

She smiled a fake smile. "Woah there. "

He set her down. "Sorry"

"No worries. I was just getting home. I've done enough brooding for now."

"Oh." She looked cold.

"I hope your break was nice."

"It was." She looked cold, small, and lonely.

"You want to go get some coffee. You look cold."

"Naw, I'm good." 

"Oh, ok." Please let me make sure you're okay.

"I guess I'll see you." With those words, she booked it to the stairs. Aizawa didn't follow. She didn't want him two. He sighed and noted the placement of the building both physically and on his phone. He guessed this was going to become his favorite brooding spot for a while.

Then he went home to grade some papers.