Inside Your Mind

67 - Aizawa

I told you I would tell you everything you want to know

Aizawa sighed and tried to loosen the tie he had been forced to wear just a little, hoping no one would notice it. He had been feeling like he had a noose around his neck without the tie already, he didn't need an actual string tied around his neck. He also didn't like having his face exposed like that.

His hair was combed back and wasn't hiding half of his face, as usual. It felt weird. It made him feel somewhat vulnerable, even though he didn't like to admit it. He didn't mind the dress pants and the dress shirt, maybe even the tie was alright, but the jacket? Nezu had been insisting on it, but that thing was way too warm, especially when they would be in a room full of media people.

He glanced back at Kaori who was clearly uncomfortable in the tights she was wearing, because she kept pulling on them. She was wearing a knee-length black skirt, very simple and very conservative with a formal white blouse and a black blazer with the sleeves rolled up.

It was almost like they were all going to a funeral. Well, maybe they were. Who knew what would happen after this. Tsukauchi was busy with the raid that was happening tonight and this entire thing would probably determine the outcome of everything. Whether everyone would keep their jobs. Whether Bakugou lived or died.

Aizawa would have been much more worried about losing his job - both his jobs, actually, but he had already pretty much given up on keeping his teaching job - if it hadn't been for the fact that there was still no word from Bakugou or the League. No life signs. Nothing. Complete radio silence.

Kan's TA was freaking out. The conference was supposed to start any minute and he was losing it. This probably wasn't what he had signed up for when he wanted to become a TA for extra credit. He was getting a degree in Health Economics, for fuck's sake. He really shouldn't be here.

"Mr. Aizawa...?" he heard Kaori's voice behind him. He turned around to her. She had tried to cover up the dark circles under her eyes, but he could still see them through her several layers of makeup. Her face looked strange with that much makeup on, especially since all it did, was make her face look more artificial. It didn't really change any of her features at all, it just made them look... off.

"Nervous?" he asked her. She nodded and took a deep breath.

"How bad is it going to be?" she wanted to know. Aizawa shrugged. If only he knew. This could go extremely bad or not as bad as everyone was thinking. The media and the public were pretty fickle.

"I don't know. But it's going to be alright. And if it's not going to be alright, we'll go for some drinks after." he told her and forced a smile on his face. She laughed and shook her head lightly.

"As if that ever went well."

"They've closed the doors, let's get this over with, everyone!" someone shouted suddenly. Aizawa put his hand on Kaori's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, more to calm himself down than her.

And before he even knew what was going on he was in a room, flashlights everywhere. He could barely see where he was going, the room was completely silent, except for the noise of camera shutters.

Once everything quieted down a little they bowed and waited for Nezu to make the opening statement. Aizawa let his eyes wander over the crowds. The turnout had been higher than expected. Aizawa really didn't like to think of the fact that his face would be plastered all over the news soon.

"I regret to announce that our unpreparedness was responsible for the harm that came to 27 of our first-year students. Though U.A. is an institution mainly for future members of law enforcement and emergency services, we were nonetheless negligent in our defenses against terrorist groups, and we understand that this has made many of you uneasy." Nezu said. More flashlights, more shutters clicking.