°• Sleepy Sports Festival •°

Tired. Yasu was extremely tired. No— exhausted. She hadn't slept in over 36 hours and still the female found herself in a roaring stadium. Every time her eyes would drift shut some of Hizashi's ear-splitting remarks would jolt her awake. The Sports Festival has yet to begin and she already wished it was over. Sure, it was a huge deal, but at the same time, why? It was a bunch or hormonal kids with quirks duking it out in front of a camera— you could probably see the same thing in a random alleyway just minus the U.A. uniform. It was important for the kids so they could catch some good internships, but why did they need some therapist for hype them up or something? Yes she had done her internship and practice to be licensed, but never once did she think she'd use some washed up degree for a sports festival.

The students were in their respective waiting rooms and Yasu had already given a 'good luck and do your best' speech to the other classes and the only one that was left was 1-A. They say save the best for last but with the attitudes some of them had she was beginning to doubt that quote.

Stepping in the room she found that it was oddly quiet. All the other classes had some sort of friendly competition (from what she could tell) or conversation going on before she'd arrived, but apparently friendly was not a word this class could use. The tension was almost malleable and the dirty look Bakugou was practically piercing into his classmates heads coupled with the icey face the Todoroki boy had directed at a few students was only the first indicator that nothing ever seemed to go right with this class.

"Did I come at the wrong time?"

All eyes were on her, with varying emotions present. Confidence, fear, anxiousness, loathing, they were all present and aimed at her. How lovely. The best part was that nobody answered her question.

"Alright well since you shit-faces cant seem to get your vocal chords to work I guess I'll give this hype speech quickly." She clasped her hands in front of her skirt, leaning against the door she'd closed behind her. Seeing that the angry blond was about to go off after being called a 'shit-face' she spoke up before his temper did the talking for her. "I'll be honest with you guys and admit that at the moment you have the advantage. Experience with real villains and being in the top hero course is already a leg up that others don't have, which I'm sure is something you've heard or at least thought about. Don't let that get to your head, though, or you'll be caught off guard and it will make whatever battle you're trying to win harder than it needs to be, and can result in a loss. I believe in you guys, I do. I don't think I've seen a class with so much potential and talent but don't let it just be that. Prove that you're more than a natural and a chance. If you want good opportunities you need to show that you're a hard worker and have a drive to be the best, don't expect to put in the bare minimum today and come out on top." Taking a deep breath she pushed herself off the door and leaning on her crutch. "I know each one of you can come out on top today if you don't let yourself get caught off guard. That's all. If you need help or whatever between matches I'll roam around so just look for me or something, I guess."

Prying her eyes open after an unusually long blink, the murmurs that circulated around the room were drowned out by the petite gravity girl that had made her way over to the teacher.

"I promise I'll make you proud, Miss Suzukaze!" Uraraka's contagious grin brought a natural smile to Yasu's face and her heart warmed at the quick hug that the girl gave her. Nudging the girl off, unwilling to allow herself to go soft for some student she wouldn't have a connection with, Yasu sighed. "I know you will..." Ruffling her hair and leaving before anyone else could start unnecessary small talk with her while they should be preparing for the festival, she still heard Bakugou's angry voice directed at Uraraka.

"WHY THE HELL DID SHE ACKNOWLEDGE YOU?!"

Rolling her eyes, she chose to continue forward, eventually meeting up with her hero-friends in the talk box. Nemuri has already wandered off to get ready for her grand entrance, whatever that meant, and Yasu really didn't want to be in the stadium during the events. What was Nezu going to do? Outsmart her? Probably— but that's not exactly going to make her do anything in this situation.

Sitting behind the two men providing commentary for one of the worlds largest televised events, she found her lips curving down. Someone could have assumed it was because she remembered her first sports festival, but it was really because the butterflies she felt whilst being near Aizawa were strong as ever, but she couldn't bring herself to move closer to him. Although Hizashi's booming voice wasn't enough to keep Yasu awake, the woman found herself unable to rest. Gravity seemed ten times more powerful than normal, her eyelids feeing like bricks, but after yesterday there didn't seem to be a way for Yasu to relax around the tired man.

It was late. Dinner had been consumed a while ago and both adults were ready for bed, still they both remained atop the couch, with some strange show based around people called Kardashians. We're they some special species? Yasu wouldn't know because she had spent the whole time sneaking glances at the man beside her, tuning out the sound from the TV.

"Is something wrong?"

She didn't expect him to speak up, and assuming he was referring to her strange behavior, she couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed.

"I- uh no? Sorry..." Her eyes slid across the room to avoid looking at him again, and her hands remained on her knees, stuff fingers opposing any sort of movement after his remark.

"You were staring at me, so I'll ask again. Is something wrong?" He wasn't really sure what he hoped to accomplish from trying to pry an answer out of her, but maybe I'd he could get her to admit that she didn't think of him as anything more than a friend that he could wash away the thoughts that plagued his mind. This whole situation was the opposite of what he stood for: rationality and logic.

"Yeah... I was. Just... you know, uh." She hadn't thought of an excuse beforehand. "Just strange to not have seen you out of those casts in such a long time. Just wondering if you look any more depressed in there is all." Her chortle spread a tingling sensation through his chest, although he'd never admit it. He knew she was lying but it would be a bigger waste of time to fight her on it.

"Well you'll be the first to see when I leave since you'll be there too."

She had totally forgot that the cast on her leg was being removed on the same day.

"Aha! I guess you're right..."

An heavy silence followed them, both heroes holding each other's unwavering stare, studying each other and praying that unsaid things did not shine through their eyes. How long had it been?

"I- ahem, I'm... I'm going to go to bed, are you coming?"

"Of course."

Was it her or was it hot in here? Maybe a little bit of both.

Focusing on the festival events, she watched as broccoli boy launched himself into a shaky first place. He worked hard, she knew that, and he deserves to win especially after getting creative with his means of survival, but Yasu could only hope that he wasn't completely devoured by the other students in the next round.

She planned to go down and mingle or pat kids on the back or something after this second round, but her train of thought was cut short as she noticed some students who had made it to the second 'round' dropping out. She didn't hear why but Hizashi would probably announce something later that would give it away. To be fair, she also hadn't been paying attention to the obstacle course but ah well, things always work themselves out.

Brushing her curly strands away from her line of sight, she refrained from putting her hand on Aizawa's back instead of her lap. This was no time for such inappropriate thoughts. She caught her blond friend grinning in her direction, and Yasu couldn't fight the heat that rose to her face. He didn't say anything, probably knowing that he would find a way to broadcast it to the whole stadium, but that didn't stop him from sending an exaggerated wink at her while Aizawa was studying the teams down below. Sometimes she hated her friends.

A dull ache nestled itself within her skull, making every sound around her almost painful— but this had become an almost routine occurrence since the USJ attack. At first she thought the doctors had miscalculated her injuries, but apparently not. Maybe she just needed water.

While the human horseback game (at least that's what she referred to it as, cavalry is too boring) raged on below, Yasu made her way to a vending machine, fumbling as she searched for her phone before she located it and used it to pay for a bottle of water. The stadium halls were relatively empty as everyone wanted to burn holes into the skulls of children from how hard they were scrutinizing them, but she wasn't going to complain. Gotta take the good things life throws your way even if they're small.

She chugged down the water, almost choking once, but was back to the polar opposite boys in no time. Even though her headache wasn't any better, the didn't mean the entertainment had filled down. These kids were wild. Some were playing it slick, sticking to the outskirts and building up their points by preying on the weakest links while other teams went straight for the gold. It was interesting watching all the strategies, but even so it was over all too soon.

With lunch break approaching quickly, Yasu couldn't help but sneak a quick glance over at Aizawa. Would he want to eat lunch with her?

'Why does it matter anyways... I'm an adult I don't need someone to eat lunch with...'

Internalizing a sigh of despair, the woman rose from her seat, watching the children run off to whatever it was they chose to do before she turned to leave. What she hadn't been counting on was for a voice to stop her.

"You're really going to leave me with Hizashi, then?"

She was confused, looking between both men. "Uh... I figured you guys had lunch plans so I was just..." The lack of response from both of them made her cut the sentence short. "Why are you guys just staring at me?"

Hizashi laughed, though it wasn't as booming as it was before. Thank god. A smirk found its way onto the loud man's lips, and he leaned forward— probably for some dramatic effect. "I'm not eating lunch with Shota, Yasu. Nemuri said she texted you earlier telling you that she and I were going to go off together."

Opening her phone and going into her messages, sure enough he was right. She probably missed it because her phone had been silenced all night. That and the fact that she was so tired any buzzing noise was probably registered as her brain begging for rest instead of a notification.

"Oh... uh, sorry-"

Hizashi had already gotten up and made his was to the door, placing an exaggerated hand over Yasu's shoulder. "Don't apologize! Now if you'll excuse me, I do need to eat VERY quickly so...." With a blinding smile accompanied by two thumbs up, the man was gone. She honestly had no idea how he could balance so much responsibility and work after already having three jobs. That man was a machine.

There were only so many places Yasu's eyes could go and eventually they fell on her high school friend. No words were needed as they made their way to get lunch, and although he probably was just going to pull out some sort of liquidated fruit packet, it was still nice to have him around for company. She saw multiple students on the way and made sure to congratulate them all, even giving consolidating words to those who hadn't managed to pass. Strangely enough, she had yet to come across any of the 1-A girls. Maybe they had already eaten before she got here?

Picking up a hearty meal of 'turkey sandwich + cookie,' she sat at a nearby table, the seat across her scratching against the floor as a body fell into it. This was nice, and don't get her wrong she would never complain about having time alone with the man before her— but it was a bit strange that the duo didn't decide to have lunch with them. Had she offended them without knowing and this was their way of getting away from her? What if Nemuri thought she was being annoying, texting her about her problems, and that's why she decided to eat with Hizashi. Speaking of, he rarely passed up the chance to be with his friends, so was she not his friend anymore? He seemed friendly earlier.

Seeing creases appear between her eyebrows and a tension enter her shoulders, Aizawa wanted to reach out a hand to brush away the stiffness her body had acquired. That wasn't possible, even if it was she might not appreciate it. He figured it had something to do with their friends choosing each other for lunch, but he had failed to tell her the key reason why.

"Yasu, are you alright?" His stagnant voice drifted into her mind, reminding her that no, she wasn't okay, and no, nobody else could fix that but her.

Lies never flew under Shota's radar, especially after years of knowing him. Yasu was too exhausted to argue with the man and settled for voicing her worries.

"I'm just wondering why they didn't want to eat with us... they would never pass that up so I guess I'm wondering if it was something I did." The sleep deprivation left her body cold despite the two pieces she wore over her shirt to keep her warm, and her insulated pants were doing little to help when she felt cold from the inside out.

She heard a sigh from the man in front of her, and quirked her brow in response.

"What is it?"

He seemed hesitant to answer, something she found a bit odd since he never held back. Groaning before speaking up, he debated on whether or not this was a good thing to tell her. How would she feel? Would she dislike him for taking time away from her other friends? Was he being irrational and overthinking this? He'd wasted enough time mulling over the options and had made up his mind.

"Last night I talked to Hizashi and asked if he could have lunch with Nemuri so I could spend time with you..." Saying it out loud, he felt stupid. This was a bad choice, he hadn't even asked if she wanted to have lunch with him anyway— and he wouldn't blame her if she didn't. "I should've asked if you wanted this before, sorry."

'What exactly is... 'this'? Lunch together? I mean yeah I want to have lunch with him. I know he doesn't mean it as anything more than that but.... maybe one day 'this' can be something more'

She refused to trick herself into thinking he meant anything more than a friendship, anything more than a friendly lunch, and he refused to accept the words that just came out of his mouth.

'What if she thinks I meant a date? I mean I wouldn't mind... no that's stupid. Is she going to leave? Oh god her face is getting red what if she's mad...'

Even though she knew they wouldn't ever be more than high school friends, Yasu took advantage of the short time they had together to talk about new ideas she had for her quirk, and he took the opportunity to ask her how she was doing.

She felt a faint panic settle into her bones, her heart rate increasing. He never made small talk. Was he upset with her? Was he trying to politely get away from the conversation? Did this mean he regretted his choice to have lunch with her? She didn't want to call him by his first name if that was the case, especially if it would make him feel like he had to stick around. "H-huh? I— aha, Aizawa you never make small talk is everything okay?"

He was, in a way, startled. She never called him by his last name. Well, not unless she was upset or thinking about something else. Though he'd never acknowledge the feeling, he couldn't deny that it hurt to think that she didn't want to talk to him about the way she felt. He did care, even if the tone of his words said otherwise, and he could only hope that she didn't think he was asking out of pity or obligation.

"It's not small talk if you actually care about the answer the person is giving you, is it?" Was that too bold? Ah, this whole conversation veered away from anything rational, why was he wasting his time on this again?

Yasu, checked the time on her phone, a crooked smile taunting her lips, but nervous eyes betraying her persona. "Well, looks like I've got to go! Gotta uh, get those kids pumped up or whatever— you know, uh," her eyes landed everywhere except on his figure. "Well... bye!" She practically snatched her crutch from beside her before hobbling away, unable to stop the rush of blood that made its way to her face.

On her way to the waiting rooms for the third round, she found Shinsou looking a little glum while standing off the the side of the hall. She was supposed to cheer him up, right? Well there's no harm in trying... mostly.

"Hey, why do you look down? You've done amazing so far! The only kid in 1-C to make it to the third round, that's a big deal, man." She leaned on the wall next to him, shrugging.

He mulled over her words, arms still crossed over his chest. Shinsou knew that he could win as long as he caught his opponent off guard, but what would the heroes watching think of him? What would Suzukaze think of him? She had been a nice teacher to him so far, but would that change? She was supposed to be their class' guidance counselor or something of that sort. "I guess... I'm just worried about what people will think of me. You already saw those kids drop out because of me."

She scoffed, holding back a laugh. That would probably be rude if she laughed when he was confiding in her, yeah. "Please! Those kids chose to miss a great opportunity— it's not your fault. Sometimes you gotta put up with stuff you don't like or agree with to get to where you want to be, you know? What's your quirk anyway? Sorry I didn't look into it before." She scratched her neck, giving a brief closed eye smile to the boy. Hopefully he didn't think she was judging him.

His eyes were downcast, accentuating the dark circles under his eyes. Had she overstepped?

"I can brainwash anyone who responds to my questions." He huffed, preparing himself for the backlash he would get, but it never came.

"Really? That's pretty cool! I can see how you wouldn't have done well on the entrance exam but if you do well in this round... I could put in a good word with someone I know. I think you deserve the chance— I can see you're determined to make it as a hero if you bothered to join the sports festival." She saw hope shimmer in his eyes, his jaw almost hanging slack before he caught himself and wore his stoic expression once again.

"You could do that? You would do that? What about the heroes watching? Wouldn't they think... that I just have a villain quirk?" After all these years, all his hope that he'd been told was misplaced... there was a chance for him. A chance to prove to himself and everyone who doubted him that he was worth more than a few insults.

"A-a-ah! Only if you do well and wipe off the depressing look off your face. Okay?" She watched as a coy smirk form across his lips and a newfound determination ignited.

"Yeah, I'll make sure I don't disappoint Miss Suzukaze! Just you watch, I'll win and then I'll be the best hero to come from this school." He stalked off, probably to stretch before his match, but the woman only prayed he won or his little soul might just be crushed by disappointment.

Feeling satisfied with her work, she ended up knocking a few 1-B kids down from their mighty ego's and reminding them that anything could happen. Just because they weren't in the first class didn't make them any less powerful, but she couldn't let them get sidetracked by their resentment towards the other class.

When speaking to the girls of 1-A it warmed her heart to see that they took her words to heart.

"Uraraka? You're extremely powerful, I expect you to give it your all, right? You have great potential and skill, but you have to prove to the people out there that you're more than potential. Yaoyorozu, get creative. Don't let your opponent predict what you'll make. You have great intelligence and I hope you don't let me down. Quite literally, pull something useful out of your sleeve. Got it, girls?" She had managed to find the two together just briefly, and pulled them over to talk before finding some of their other classmates.

She then found out about the whole 'cheerleading' thing that went down and promised that she would sort something out.

Unfortunately she was unable to find the cursed trio of 1-A boys, but saint Iida was nearby so she gave a few words to him too.

"Alrighty turbo legs, I'm not really sure what I can tell you." He was already a disciplined and motivated student. She felt pretty useless giving him advice but it would be unfair if she didn't tell him anything. "Lightning McQueen, don't let your opponents exhaust you. You're ahead of the curb with your mindset, but like I've told other people, don't let that distract you." She watched, slightly uncomfortable as he gave a stiff bow and cry of determination, but soon enough she was on her way.

Yasu didn't return to the talk box for the final rounds, for too anxious at the thought of seeing Aizawa to do her any good. Watching the matches from the stands, she was disappointed. Not completely— she knew that students tried their best, but... Yaoyorozu, a brilliant girl... made a pole? Honestly, it was anticlimactic and disappointing.

Her headache definitely distracted her from some parts of the fights, and her exhaustion, now more prevalent after the adrenaline stemming from her fear of failure  had worn off, was almost crippling.

At one point during the medal ceremony she'd actually fallen asleep, but the roaring of the crowd brought her back in no time.

Thank god the day was already coming to a close, she wasn't sure how much more of this screaming she could take.

Yasu found herself sitting at her small dining table in the evening, Aizawa nowhere to be found. She hadn't asked Nemuri or Hizashi if he was with them, but that was most likely the case. She didn't blame him for not wanting to come here— he probably took his chance after lunch to get away from her. She really did want to be around him, but maybe it was better if he stayed away.