Chapter 25: BACK 2 SCHOOL
All sorts of costumes paraded themselves across the cozy UA staffroom. A blend of odd color combinations and hairstyles that somehow worked despite the sharp contrasts. Someone like Abe-sensei would have stood out like a sore thumb with his borderline ordinary salaryman attire, but he was not in the room as the other teachers continued to prepare for the start of the new week. Monday morning was always a bit busier, with the heroes briefly sharing their weekend with one colleague or another in passing. You'd think they hadn't seen each other for weeks but the hero career was known to be incredibly eventful, particularly over weekends. It was part of the reason that careers related to heroics were popular with the masses compared to a typical nine to five.
At one end of the room, two boys sat stiffly with their backs ramrod straight and their eyes lowered. Their heads bobbled backwards and forward at every hero that passed by them making a few smile. Maru was completely overwhelmed. Being in the same room with so many heroes was a first for him. He wasn't sure how to describe just how out of depth he felt. Maybe something like being surrounded by the cast of your favourite movie while watching said movie in the cinema would be similar. His mind was pretty scrambled while his heart happily took of in another direction, jumping to some off beat heavy metal track he knew he had never heard.
His week of rest had already passed and he was back in class. A day after his discharge from the hospital, Abe-sensei had visited his home to talk about what happened. At the time, he was pretty panicked and just sat there blankly waiting to be convicted. It obviously showed considering the first thing his teacher said was that he wasn't in trouble. Well, he blue screened at that and it was good Abe-sensei started by talking to his parents cause it took a moment for him to come back to himself. All he managed to hear from the adults' conversation was the tail end of the recap on what had happened during the battle simulation training. By the time he was directly addressed by the man, he could at least listen to what he said. It was a lengthy conversation on both him and Youta as well as what they went through but he had a hard time digesting the contents. It lifted a weight off his shoulders, one he had opted to carry, yet processing his words and truly accepting them would take a bit more time.
Some time after Abe-sensei had left, he had formed a simple snow globe, the practice exercise he had been doing since he got his hero map. The ice felt a lot cleaner than it had since that day. The cold more like an embrace than the constricting feeling he had been having since he woke up in the hospital. It had kept him from even trying to use his quirk, something he knew would have to be addressed but hadn't thought could be so easily handled by a few words from his teacher.
As Abe-sensei articulately put it, "Your quirk's influence on your behavior is no different from the place you grew up in. Even less so considering how frequently you use it compared to how much time you spend with your family. It can affect how you perceive things but it has never defined you as an individual. You can opt to lean into it or not.
Usually, quirks are treated almost like a muscle but yours is one whose scale and power is influenced by your state of mind so it's important to put it in its right place. It's not a quirk that chooses to act but its wielder."
Abe-sensei probably knew it would be difficult for him to move forward in his current state of mind at the time. He didn't really say much during the conversation but he was grateful. His visit had gotten rid of the tension in his shoulder and he was able to peacefully rest since. It hit different when someone that's known you for a few weeks says something almost identical to what your own parents had.
Youta definitely had a visit from Abe-sensei as well. Abe-sensei had requested they meet him when they arrive in the morning before they headed for class back then and so that's what he did. He had left five minutes after Youta arrived, a call from the principal taking him away. So here they sat.
For the first time in a very long time, Maru felt remarkably ordinary in the midst of the vivid hero staff. The numbers were slowly dwindling as they headed out to their classes but the air around Youta and Maru remained painfully still.
Maru really couldn't help letting out occasionally louder than normal deep breaths and soft coughs. Something had to punctuate this awkward silence or he might start hyperventilating. He could feel Youta's gaze pass him occasionally but like two magnets with matching poles their eyes just couldn't seem to meet. When he finally looks, Youta's eyes were focused elsewhere. When Youta looked, the teal highlights on his UA blazer suddenly seemed so incredibly artistic it stole all of his focus.
This went on, back and forth as the bubbling UA staffroom slowly settled into silence. It took a moment for Maru to notice they were the only ones left in the staffroom and a few more to steel his resolve. This felt dumb. If he let this go on, the uncomfortable air around them would only continue and the rest of the day would be just as awkward considering he frequently spoke to a grand total of three of his classmates. Youta included. Silently, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath in an attempt to steady himself. It didn't work but he'd already decided.
Standing up, he stood straight at attention for a moment and heard Youta scramble to his feet in response. Why though? The thought didn't even linger. Performing a standard military right turn he faced him, barely holding eye contact before performing a perfect ninety-degree bow.
"I'M SORRY"
"I'm sorry"
.....
"…eh?"
"EEH?"
Well, he didn't expect Youta to be that shocked at his apology. Granted he didn't expect an apology from him in the first place but that kinda hurt his feelings(not at all). Did he seem that cold? Lifting his head to face him he found Youta waving his hands about in a way that reminded him of a toddler. It looked so wrong on the herculean boy yet oddly endearing. Before Youta could say anything, Abe-sensei walked in and he dropped his hands to his sides as they turned to face their teacher. Maru still noticed the pink tint to his friend's face making the corner of his lips briefly tick upwards. His heart light and reassured. Yes, his friend. Well, Abe-sensei's arrival had somehow finalized what could possibly have been the most disgusting heart wrenching conversation ever. His timing was just perfect…Coincidence? I think not.
It was a brief chat informing them of what their classmates had seen and how 1A had reacted as well as what the teacher had told them. Summarized, no details were given, simply that they had both been injured and needed some time to recover. The faint scar on Maru's otherwise flawless face was evidence enough, though the fact that it took less than a week to get back to class probably deceived the majority of the class as to the severity of their injuries. There was a request not to share too much on just how extensive UAs medical coverage was. After all, the school didn't encourage students to loose their common sense or intend to dull their basic self-preservation instincts. A hero school apparently had a few students with a couple of screws loose that may pull something a bit too drastic if they knew they'd be A-OK in a day or two. They apparently weren't even the first ones this year to require such serious medical attention. As for talking honestly about their fight, it was left up to them if they wanted to share.
The entire talk was brief, less than five minutes and Abe-sensei rushed them to head back to class as he collected what he needed for homeroom. Youta and Maru headed back to class in companiable silence with a sprinkling of chatter here and there. Eye-contact no longer the greatest challenge of the day. The moment Youta opened the classroom door, the rumbunctious class instantly zeroed in on them as all sound almost instantly disappeared. It was only for a second though, before Jid yelled a greeting in excitement as he headed their way. He didn't make it. Like a dam whose barrier had shattered, the entire class flooded towards them.
"You're back!"
"Your fight was SUPER COOL!"
"How the heck are you that strong!"
"Is that a SCAR!! You already have your first battle scar. That's freaken AMAZING!"
A jumble of words, or shouts, rained on them as they were compressed like a can of sardines by their classmates back towards the door. Maru had no idea who said what, it all sort of got mixed together creating a different kind of noise he wasn't quite used to. It was too much.
"The bell's about ring,"
Abe-sensei's voice came in from behind them and calmed the waters instantly. The students quickly rushed back to their sits and their two victims could finally breath. Three, considering Jid was taking several deep breaths as he stumbled slowly to his desk. The bell rang shortly after and homeroom started. Maru and Youta quickly settled down as Abe-sensei called the attention of the class to him.
"Today, we'll be voting for the class president and vice president."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
RujiroTaicho
RujiroTaicho Tying up the hero training battle arc if i could call it that. Hope you enjoyed the chap. As always, reviews and comments on your thoughts are welcome. Thanks for reading!
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