All Tangled Up

Chapter 2

Aiko was home now after her meeting with Principal Nezu and she was about to start packing. Oberon rubbed against her leg and purred, seeming to know that something was going to happen. They weren't going to move into their new apartment until Saturday, but Aiko wanted to get a head start because she would be busy with the head of her hero agency and her current landlord for the next two days. She had a meeting with Best Jeanist tomorrow and a meeting with her landlord on Friday, so she wanted to get her packing done on Wednesday. If everything went according to plan, she will have closed her contract with the agency, closed her lease with her landlord, and completely moved into her new apartment just in time for school to start on Monday. She would be slightly behind in learning where everything was on campus compared to the other teachers due to the date of her hire, but she was a quick learner. 

"Are you excited to move Obie?" Upon hearing this, Oberon turned away to go lie down, seemingly unhappy to learn that the big change was a new house. "Oh come on man! This place has huge windows for you to look out of- at least give it a chance." She sighed as Oberon made it clear that he wasn't coming back anytime soon. Fucking cat. She started to slowly move around the room, touching items of furniture and envisioning them becoming tiny white cubes. She had used her quirk to turn the majority of her furniture into these small figures, collecting them in a bag, before the thought of her earlier interaction with Eraserhead popped back into her head. She immediately got angry again, seething at his audacity and lack of social awareness. She looked forward to giving him a piece of her mind the next time she saw him. What was he even doing in her hallway anyway? Aiko had had enough of stupid men, especially since the new hero at her agency made her life hell these last few weeks. She was starting a new job now, thankfully one that employed other women, so she was not going to tolerate this shit any longer. Eraserhead was going to learn to respect her or he was going to watch as everything he owned turned into piles of dust. Aiko had no idea that the same man she was seething over was thinking about her too. This new teacher was incredibly hot when she was angry, he thought. 

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Best Jeanist looked at Aiko from across his desk. He breathed in deeply, not truly processing what she was saying. "You aren't renewing your contract with us? Why not?" He asked incredulously. She had an extremely powerful quirk and was a great asset to this agency. Letting her go would be extremely difficult. 

"As I just said, I was given an opportunity to work for another company. I start at UA High School on Monday. Because I only have ten days left of my contract here, I can still do missions and nightly patrols as long as they don't interfere with my teaching." She held her ground, not about to let this man make her feel bad for leaving. She would complete her contract and then be done with this agency for good. 

"I don't understand why you want to leave us. What does UA have that my agency doesn't?" He asked this question not really expecting an answer because his agency was the best. It was called the Genius Office, after all. "I thought you were dragging your feet to renew because you wanted to negotiate a new salary." He huffs dramatically and waves his hand dismissively, expecting her to apologize for considering other jobs after everything he has done for her. 

"Well for starters, they employ other women. I wouldn't be alone in an office full of smelly men anymore. Most importantly, Vlad King isn't there. I told you multiple times that he was acting inappropriately with me and had a misogynistic tendency to interrupt me and downplay my abilities as a pro hero. I also told him multiple times that I wasn't interested in him but he continued to pester me about going out with him. I started looking for other work the day you told me to take care of it myself and that this was "normal for offices that are predominately male". Aiko copied Best Jeanist's dramatic flare when using air quotes. 

"I know that you are a capable hero and I told you that so you would gain the confidence to put a stop to Vlad's shenanigans yourself. It wasn't-" This was where Aiko had to interrupt.

"This has nothing to do with my confidence. It is your responsibility as an employer to handle interoffice issues and you should have done your job the first time I filed a report about him with you, let alone the second or third time. I am leaving your agency because you let me down, plain and simple. If that is all, I will be leaving now. Call me if you need me for a night or weekend shift." Aiko stood up and fixed her skirt, preparing to leave as Best Jeanist's head hung low. He should feel bad for his lack of responsibility. Aiko couldn't believe he really expected her to fix this herself, especially because her idea of fixing the situation meant that she would turn Vlad King's stupid little fangs into sticks of dynamite. As she was leaving Best Jeanist's office, she met Vlad King and his stupid little cronies that liked to laugh at every stupid thing he said. Vlad was leaning against the office water machine and took his time looking her up and down. Aiko had never felt so exposed before. 

"Atoma, just the girl I wanted to see. When are you going to let me take you out? I promise that you won't be able to look back once you've been with me." He turns to his friend on his right and nudges his shoulder with his elbow. "Am I right or am I right? She's not ready to see what I have in store for her." Vlad's two sidekicks giggled creepily. Aiko turned on her heel, headed straight for the stairwell. If she wasn't careful she would lose control. She was already seeing red. Aiko could feel their eyes on her back as she walked away.

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Aiko made dinner when she got home using a simple noodle recipe. Oberon ate at the same time, lazily blinking over at her when he was done. "You aren't getting any more, Obie. You've had enough today, especially with all those treats I gave you." Oberon gave up, turning away from his bowl to go groom himself, having exhausted his begging option. She had just finished her meal when she heard her laptop ding with a notification. She got up from the table and went into her bedroom where her laptop sat open on her desk. She sat down when she saw that the notification was for an email from Recovery Girl. Aiko hadn't met Recovery Girl yet but according to her email, she liked to introduce herself to every new teacher regardless of their subject because she worked closely with everyone on campus. Recovery Girl was the main medical professional on the school grounds; every person who so much as carried a band aid worked through her. She realized that Aiko would be behind in learning the campus layout because of her hire date and she offered to show her around before school officially started. Aiko quickly typed out a greeting and added her availability- she was free all day Sunday- before sending it out and walking away. She was able to clean up the kitchen from her dinner mess before her laptop dinged again. It was set- she was taking a tour with Recovery Girl on Sunday!