Lifeless

Chapter 29 - Bellum Se Ipsum Alet

(Tw!) I think this chapter may give readers second hand embarrassment, but idk for sure. I tried to make this chapter frustrating, but I don't really thing I achieved that, 'cause I just came out of a really big writer's block. This chapter is going back before the school year started, because I don't feel like finding where it is supposed to be in the timeline :P I listened to Mia - bad girls, penelope scott, and sleepios while making this. (If you don't know who Sleepios is, you HAVE to check them out. Their voice is godly. Just look up sleepios on youtube).

Anyway, I was thinking, do you guys think that "bury me shallow" would be a better title? I'm gonna leave it up to y'all.

Bellum Se Ipsum Alet - war feeds itself

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Nezu sat at his desk silently, waiting for All Might to arrive. The man had wanted to be a teacher, a teacher! Nezu put his head in his hands, sighing out loudly. All Might wanted to be a teacher. The hero, who had no teaching experience, not a single qualification, no teacher's license, wanted to be a teacher. Nezu sighed again, if news of U.A. denying him got out to the public, it would hurt the school's reputation, and could possibly risk his student's safety. There was no good way to avoid hiring All Might, that wouldn't result in backlash towards his students and staff.

Nezu was dreading the moment the oversized man arrived. He would be forced to make an arrangement that weakened U.A's integrity, no matter the path he chose. The best option for Nezu was damage control.

Nezu could tell when All Might arrived by the loud stomping outside his door. When the noises stopped for a split second, Nezu could imagine All Might steeling his nerves, taking a deep breath, and preparing himself to face Nezu. Well, Nezu didn't actually have to imagine, instead, the security cameras that sat in the corner of his office gave a perfect picture of the scene happening outside. It was awkward for the bear, but he knew it would be even more so when All Might entered and saw the obvious camera screen. It only added onto Nezu's growing annoyance when All Might kept waiting, adding more and more time onto the pause. Nezu's patience was starting to grow thin, the fact that he was forced to hold this meeting in the first place an already huge annoyance.

"You may come in." Nezu didn't mean to let his voice sound so angry, but he was already holding back a large portion of the displeasure he wanted to show, so he considered it an achievement to only show as much as he did. All Might wouldn't have been able to tell the difference anyway.

As his words sunk in, All Might quickly scurried into the office. His limbs were tense and his face carried a nervousness that would never be portrayed over the news screens. It was always a fact that disturbed Nezu, that All Might wasn't portrayed as a human, but a god, but Nezu couldn't actually do anything to change that.

"I AM HERE!" As soon as those words were screamed, Nezu's eyes narrowed. It was so early in the morning, so why was this man screaming? Didn't he take notice of the utter lack of need for the obnoxious phrase?

Nezu glared at the man, his ears ringing loudly. "Please take a seat, All Might." The man did so slowly, barely managing to fit his oversized frame into the chair. Nezu never understood why All Might always remained in his stronger form, being that his time was limited and he was wasting it to pose for people who already knew his secret, but of course, it probably stemmed from his oversized ego.

Nezu sighed, knowing that this meeting would only take up more of his time than necessary, time that could be spent going over the stack of papers in the corner of his office or confronting Aizawa about his coffee addiction, anything to avoid this meeting.

"So! Nezu! I understand that you know the limits of my power and the inheritance aspect of it?" Nezu nodded slowly, he could almost take All Might's tone as threatening if not for the kind gleam in the man's eyes. It was obvious that All Might wouldn't take no for an answer, the dropping of tone throughout the sentence exaggerating that thought for Nezu. All Might wanted a teaching position, and wouldn't leave without one.

All Might continued suddenly, knowing that his voice carried a threat that he was too cowardly to voice by himself. "I need a successor, Nezu, and where better to look than the best hero school?!" Nezu nodded again, already knowing what the man wanted. It wasn't a choice of whether or not to allow the man in now, it was a dance of resistance, of showing All Might where his position lay in Nezu's school.

"Now, All Might. I understand that completely, but there are certain problems I just cannot overlook." Nezu placed his head in his paws, tilting his head slowly and letting his words of resistance sink in. "First off, you need a Teacher's License to be a teacher, not to mention that you need experience teaching to work here, and almost all of the positions here are filled, except the janitor's."

Nezu leveled his gaze with All Might's, intimidating the big man until he responded. "Well, I'd study, and you could fit me in as a combat teacher. After all, I only need to see the children fight." Nezu resisted pointing out all of the mistakes with All Might's thinking, knowing that it would get him absolutely nowhere. Instead, Nezu sighed loudly, trying to communicate his annoyance with All Might without directly stating it.

"Studying will not compensate for years of studying, and I find you lacking in every other aspect that could be minimally useful to the school." Nezu's words were completely true. All Might couldn't even work as security for the school because of the media constantly following his every move. All Might's involvement only gave Nezu headaches.

Nezu knew he was going to accept All Might in the end, but making the other man's life just as inconvenient as Nezu's was important to the principal.

"But I need a successor from here!" was All Might's only response, his voice growing in pitch and volume making Nezu's ears ache once again. Nezu opened his mouth again to retort, but was stopped by near soundless steps outside his door, and an equally quiet knock.

Leaning back in his seat, Nezu allowed Aizawa to enter, silently thanking the man for interrupting the large man child sitting across from him. "Do you need something urgent, Aizawa?" The tired man responded with nothing besides a short "No", walking across the room to Nezu's minifridge, grabbing what he needed, then leaving. Nezu would almost be happy for Aizawa's deliberately timed intervention if the man didn't take his favorite tea, though he supposed it was equal payment for the glimmer of relief from the draining conversation.

"As I was saying, All Might, the most I could do for you is give you a class to follow, and allow you to talk to a child of your choice from there, but you don't have any qualifications that would allow me to trust a whole class in your care!"

"No! I can't accept that! I need a class! Don't you want the next number one hero to come from your school? Just allow me to teach something so that I could talk to them!"

With the edge of his desk in his firm grip, Nezu sneered. "What do you want? An art class? I wouldn't even trust you with that! You've done nothing here but show me how absolutely childish and unfit you are for this role! I wouldn't give you a dog to train, let alone the future of our society!"

Nezu took a deep breath and sat back again, watching as All Might's face went through ten different colors in the matter of seconds. Now that the outburst was out of this system, Nezu felt better and in more control of his emotions.

All Might grumbled angrily, his mind turning over possibilities. "What if a teacher shadowed me? Please Nezu, I really wanna teach here!"

Nezu pretended to think over the option, already knowing the end result.

Aizawa would despise his decision, but he would compensate the grumpy man well for his extra work.