𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐙𝐀𝐖𝐀

8

Shouta Aizawa was at a point in his life where he really didn't care what other people thought of him. He had always kind of been at that point, but in the last few years it had become worse and worse. Maybe he was depressed. Maybe he just didn't care. Shouta wasn't sure anymore, but he didn't really need to know. Everything worked out just fine for him.

Strangely enough the last few days it was getting worse. Not because he wasn't trying to look at least halfway decent, but just because he seemed to be in a much worse state in general. And he didn't really know what to make of that, especially since this time he was actually trying to make an effort to kind of gloss over his weird and odd behaviours lately. It was worth the try, right?

But no matter what he did, his hair just didn't seem to agree with him today. It was much messier than usual and Shouta thought it might be his consistently worsening mood that might be causing this somehow. He didn't know if that could be a thing, he wasn't a doctor or anything. But no matter how hard he tried in the morning, he just couldn't manage to get his hair under control and it was really annoying him. Especially because it was so cold in the bathroom.

The worst thing was that he would have to leave the apartment soon and it would be even colder outside. And he still looked like shit - more so than he had done in his entire life. It was infuriating. But there wasn't anything he could do. He'd just have to leave it at that and hope for the best. If he tried any longer to look somewhat decent or to feel somewhat comfortable he'd miss his train and then he'd be late and even though it was usually a non-issue, he'd prefer to be there on time. Leaving a class waiting was not a good idea, they'd wreck the place.

So Shouta tried to get over himself as well as he could and he grabbed his cup of coffee (which had gotten cold while he was getting ready) and made his way towards the train station, hoping that he would at least make it in time for his usual train and not the one later (that one was always way too full of people). Thankfully, at least that one thing worked out for him this morning.

The train was more crowded than usual, but it wasn't too bad, thankfully. Shouta could actually sit down somewhere and it was nice and warm inside. Which was weird, because usually Shouta really hated how stuffy and hot it was in the trains, which was one of the reasons he specifically avoided the later train (and because he just had a general distaste for people).

Much to his surprise, everything went well on his way to work - he didn't spill his coffee on the train, he didn't burn his tongue and the train wasn't stuck for some unnamed reason, making him late for his next train. Everything was going exceptionally well, which meant he still made it into U.A. on time, even though he looked as if he had just crawled out of bed. He felt like he had just crawled out of bed, too, which didn't exactly help lift his mood much at all. But it was what it was.

At least there weren't a lot of people around when he went into the teacher's lounge - only Hizashi and Cementoss, so that wasn't too bad. Cementoss usually didn't really care about whatever was going on around him, unless someone actively included him in conversation. And Hizashi - well, Hizashi was annoying as hell, but he was still Shouta's best friend and even though he was extremely taxing on Shouta's already strained nerves, he somehow usually managed to cheer him up.

Shouta kind of hoped that that would work again this time around, as he entered the staff room, heading straight for the coffee machine, without even stopping to leave some of his stuff at his desk. Shouta was glad that he didn't spill his coffee, but he was still kind of bummed out that his coffee had gotten cold while he was trying to fix his appearance. Not that he even cared that much, but his hair had gotten so messy over the last few days, it was actually bothering him a little.

"Morning, Shou Shou! How are you this fine morning?" he heard Hizashi's voice ringing out, as if it was right next to him. Of course he was probably yelling at him from across the room, but Hizashi had always been loud for no apparent reason. His Quirk was the obvious explanation, but somehow Shouta didn't buy that for even one second. Hizashi was just loud as a person. If his Quirk had been shutting up, he would still have been loud as hell, Shouta was certain.

"Peachy." Shouta just muttered, as he continued to make himself a coffee, mostly trying to ignore just how cheerful Hizashi was being. Honestly, him giving an answer was enough to make Hizashi think that he was in an actually good mood - better than most days anyway, as far as Shouta was concerned.

"Right, right. Don't you want to get rid of that winter coat? You must be roasting!" Hizashi commented, as he sauntered up to Shouta, giving him a laid back smile and leaning against the counter top where Shouta was trying to make his coffee. Shouta frowned a little at his suddenly restricted countertop space, but he didn't say anything. This was work and it was a communal space and that meant he couldn't be too peculiar about everything. He'd just let it go, just let it go...

"You're in my way." he said. He wanted to punch himself in the face. Why did he always have to be so antisocial? Why couldn't he just try and deal with other people being around him for once. It was infuriating. That's why he hated other people, it was always so frustrating having to act normal around them.

"Oh, sorry." Hizashi replied with a shrug and actually got out of the way. It made Shouta feel even worse, because it seemed like him being an asshole early in the morning (or any other time of day) was something that people didn't even notice anymore. Well, at least he had his space back now.

"And I'm pretty cold, to be honest. I don't know, maybe I'm getting sick or something, I've been unusually cold for a few days now." Shouta explained. Hizashi nodded slowly and raised his eyebrows.

"Are you sure you're not finally transforming into your true form or something?" he asked, completely serious.

"My true form? What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Shouta answered, realizing his mistake when he saw Hizashi grin, barely holding back a chuckle.

"We've all been suspecting for a while that you're actually a cat. Seems like you're finally growing up into one, Shou Shou." he said, snickering. Shouta rolled his eyes. Of course. Of course that was what it all was about. Nemuri and Hizashi had this joke going for years now and honestly, Shouta could see why. It was still annoying as hell. He wasn't turning into a cat, for fuck's sake.

"Oh, shut up. You're being ridiculous, Hizashi. I've just had a cold lately, alright? And I'm having a lot of bad days. And you're just making them even worse." Shouta retorted, pouring the coffee into his cup, making sure that he wasn't spilling even a single drop because he knew that he would completely lose it if that happened. Thankfully for everyone around him, everything went well.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Maybe you really should take a few days off. You seem really on edge lately, it's kind of concerning." Hizashi told him. If anyone else had said that to him, they would have regretted it for the rest of their lives. But Hizashi knew Shouta well and he was probably right, too.

"I'm fine. I don't need a day off, I need everyone to just get off my back and I need to get over whatever sickness it is I'm coming down with. That's all." Shouta muttered. Truth be told, he was starting to believe that he might need a day off. He was tired - so, so tired. But he was just way too busy to take time off. There were lots of things to do and barely any time to do them. And the thought of taking even more time for himself was making Shouta physically sick.

"Well, maybe you're going to be forced to take a day off soon. You might not wanna let it come to that." Hizashi told him with another shrug.

"When it comes to that, I'll take a day off, but not before that."