The two hours went by quick enough. After saying our goodbyes, and me promising once more to pay Kaminari as soon as possible, I found myself walking back toward U.A. through the darkening streets of Musutafu.
It had been a while. I couldn't even remember how long. But I had had fun.
To just let loose, to laugh with others, to hear Kirishima's raspy voice trying to reach the high notes of Disney princess song, especially had been a sight to behold today. It was a day like none I could remember.
After all, being a vigilante was rewarding. Being able to save everyone was my calling, but it wasn't fun to see the depths of humanity's despair and baser instincts. It wasn't fun to battle and have to hurt the villains that got loose. For six years, I'd been surrounded by crisis, by people at their lowest points, by the darkness that crept into the world when heroes weren't looking.
But today... today I'd seen something different.
I'd seen teenagers being teenagers.
As I thought all of this I had reached the U.A. dorms.
I walked into my room, my eyes meeting the black inside in it. I could see someone else hidden in the black, someone who made me smile.
I unsheathed Excalibur, her sacred glow lighting up the room like a gentle sunrise.
There on the seat of my desk was a very peculiar principal, sitting cross-legged with what appeared to be a cup of tea and a tea coaster balanced perfectly on his small lap.
"Nezu."
"Can I repeat how darn cool that sword is?" he said, his button eyes reflecting the holy light. "No matter how many times I see it, it never gets old. The craftsmanship is extraordinary, I've never seen anything quite like it. Someday you have to tell me how you got it."
I smiled, running my thumb along Excalibur's crossguard. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, yeah, what I was doing here. Well you see, remember our bet?" Nezu set down his teacup with a delicate clink on my desk.
"Yeah," I muttered as I nodded once more, though I was curious why he'd brought it up now, it was a small crossroad on our otherwise almost perfect friendship.
"I kind of got curious to see what specs exactly you'd make for your hero costume. Maybe enlarging fabric given that your muscles tend to bulge for a second for some reason while you fight, or I don't know, something with reinforced materials to handle your speed, maybe built-in communication devices, temperature regulation, there are so many possibilities for someone with your abilities. But what's this?"
He held up a paper which both of us were allowed to see what was on it thanks to Excalibur's light. His expression was a mixture of disbelief and something that might have been physical pain.
On the paper was a stick figurine, with shorts, a shirt and a scarf, that was it.
"What's wrong with it?" I asked, genuinely confused. It seemed perfectly functional to me.
"Look, I didn't expect you to draw a masterpiece, but this looks like something out of kindergarten finger-painting class, and even worse than that, why does it have shorts on? Not even long pants? Arthur, you're going to be a professional hero. You need protection, style, functionality. This is..." He gestured helplessly at the paper. "This is practically underwear with a scarf."
"I mean I don't really need fancy stuff, believe it or not." I shrugged, still not seeing the issue. Avalon kept me from getting hurt, and elaborate costumes seemed unnecessary when simple clothes worked just fine.
"I believe it, but my point is that you get to have fancy stuff. You're not a vigilante anymore, running around in whatever you can find. You're going to be a professional hero, when people look at you, what do you want to inspire in them, peace, protection, hope. Your costume is part of that."
"So?"
"So, just like that fashionable scarf you're wearing right now." He gestured to the blue silk around my neck that he'd given me months ago, "I decided to go back on my word and build your suit myself, your specs be damned. I already finished it."
"Well thank you..." I replied, trailing off. It was touching, really, how much thought he was putting into this.
"That's right, thank you. Either way, I came here to tell you this, your suit will be there tomorrow along with the others, it has your seat number on it, so you can't miss it. There'll be a clasp behind it with instructions, just follow them."
I grabbed the scarf that wasn't holding Excalibur, feeling the soft silk between my fingers. It had been one of the first gifts I'd received in years, and I'd worn it every day since. It hadn't torn even once, so it was a safe bet to say Nezu was good at making things.
"So now that I'm here," Nezu began once more, his tone shifting to something more conversational, "wanna tell me what you were doing so late? I noticed you weren't in your dorm when I arrived, which was... interesting."
"I was out."
"You were out?"
"With some friends."
"With some friends?"
"We went to a karaoke place."
"You went to a karaoke place?"
"Could you stop repeating everything I say?" I asked, though I was fighting back a smile.
"I'm not, I'm asking it as a question. There's a difference between repetition and incredulous inquiry."
"Huh, I really thought you were going to repeat that."
"I'm baffled, not stupid," he said deadpan. "Still, good job." He lifted up a thumbs up, and his whole demeanor seemed to brighten. "I knew you had it in you to have a balanced life. This is exactly what I was hoping for when I convinced you to come to U.A."
Nezu's voice slowly grew quieter, his button-like eyes focusing for a second as if something had just occurred to him.
"Wait... you didn't have money on you, did you? How'd you pay for it?"
I gripped Excalibur's hilt slightly harder, feeling a familiar knot of embarrassment in my stomach. "Kaminari paid it for me. I have to pay him back."
"Eesh, not a good way to start a friendship. How much do you owe him?" Nezu's expression had shifted to something between concern and calculation.
"3,200 yen."
"You owe someone you met for one day 3,200 yen? Why did he even pay it for you? Is he stupid?"
Was 3,200 yen a lot? I honestly had no frame of reference for money. Also stupid? I thought back to all my interactions with Kaminari. He'd been nothing but kind, funny, and genuine. "Nah, he's as smart as me at least, and I'm not stupid... am I?"
"Okay, don't worry about it," Nezu said, waving a paw dismissively. "I kind of expected this financial situation, I just hadn't expected you to be so social so quickly, given your circumstances. Still, I'm proud of you though. As for the money, I'll start giving you an allowance so don't worry about these situations in the future."
"Wait, allowance?" The word felt foreign in my mouth.
"Yeah, I'll make a new bank account in my name and hand the card to you, then I'll place around 20,000 yen in there every month. That should cover your social activities."
"Wait, stop. I don't want that, at least have me do something to pay it back." The idea of taking money for nothing felt wrong, somehow.
Nezu jumped down from my seat.
"Look Arthur, I want you to get it through that thick skull of yours, you're a teen. This is something teens get. You're more powerful than most teachers and that's only because All Might works here now, you are honorable beyond measure, you don't really need this school. In fact, when I was doing those eight months of work before you met the Hero Public Safety Commission, I tried my best to get you a provisional hero license directly. I couldn't, which is why I didn't tell you. The Hero Public Safety Commission wanted at least a little while for things around you to calm down."
He paused, seeming to gather his thoughts. "The point I'm trying to make, however, is that you go to extremes very easily. I don't know why, but you do. Just learn to live a balanced life. Putting people above yourself is important to being a hero, but you can't just ignore your own well-being. You understand?"
I nodded, a feeling of warmth spreading in my chest. Nezu cared about me in a way that went beyond teacher and student, beyond the practical arrangements we'd made. He genuinely wanted me to be happy, to experience the normal parts of being a teenager that I'd missed.
"Now that I told you what I needed to, expect your card to be slid under your door tomorrow morning along with the 3,200 yen," Nezu said as he began walking out of my dorm. "Sleep well, lad."
He opened my dorm door, and as he was about to close it, I replied back.
"You too, Nezu."
I awoke the next morning to exactly what Nezu had said, a wallet at the base of my door. It was small and blue, matching my scarf perfectly. I opened it to find a credit card with my name on it and 3,200 yen in crisp bills. There was also a small note in Nezu's precise handwriting: "For a balanced life. -N"
Then I got on with my student day. I had woken up a bit early, so I took a shower, fixed my bed, put on my uniform, and made my backpack.
I opened the door to my dorm and stepped out, and at that exact moment someone flew by at high speed.
Thankfully I was quick, so I made three steps in quick succession which allowed me to dodge them.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry," I immediately heard. I looked to where the voice came from.
A girl maybe two years older than me, with light royal blue eyes and white pupils in the center of her eyes. Her hair was periwinkle blue, reaching down to her knees, flowing behind her like silk ribbons. Oh, and she was floating about three feet off the ground, her body surrounded by a faint spiral of golden energy.
"Don't worry about it," I replied, genuinely meaning it.
While I said that, I saw her eyes widen as she looked at me, recognition dawning on her features. They then moved from me to Excalibur and Avalon at my side, and they widened even more if that was even possible.
She immediately flew toward me, a brilliant smile forming on her face that could have powered the entire dorm building.
"You're Arthur," she said as she held both of my hands, her grip warm and enthusiastic.
"Uhh, yeah, that's me."
"I knew you were here, I mean, who doesn't, but I didn't think you'd be living in the dorms part of U.A.! I'm such a big fan. Wait, wait." She dropped my hands as her own moved to her backpack, which she slung in front of her, then opened it up. Her hands fidgeted as she brought something out, a small notebook and pen.
"Can you give me your autograph! I'm a big fan! I still can't believe Mirio got to meet you first!"
Wait, Mirio? I remembered back to when I had met All Might. Mirio had been there, and in all honesty, he had given me the best impression of the three people in that room aside from Nezu and myself.
"You know Mirio?" I asked curiosity getting the better of me.
"Uh huh, he's my classmate! When he told me he got to meet you, I was so jealous. So... autograph?" She pushed the notebook and pen toward me with barely contained excitement.
"Uhm, yeah sure, why not."
I had never given an autograph before.
So I simply wrote down Arthur with a squiggly line stretching below the name from the last r.
It looked amateur, but she seemed thrilled.
"Awesome," she muttered as she looked with almost twinkling eyes at the autograph, holding it like it was made of gold. Then she looked at me, her face reddening for a moment. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Nejire Hado, third year. It's been great meeting you, but I have to go. Sorry!"
With that, she began to float away, calling over her shoulder, "See you around, Arthur!"
I looked down at Excalibur and Avalon.
"Girls, this is starting off as a weird day."
A/N: Ahh the father/son relationship between Nezu is so great to write, Nejire is also pretty fun to write, not as much as Mirio but still kind of fun. I don't have much to say except for the fact that I normally lurk in Bleap's server, here's the link if you wanna ask me stuff about the story.
https://discord.gg/DxmWbuZn
That's pretty much it for today. Sorry for being a little late. Thx for reading. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Author out.