Despite having already talked to Shoji, and him admitting that he was the one who was looking at you the whole day, you couldn't help but feel like you were still being watched.
At first, it was a very small, fleeting feeling. Like the person was far away.
But the more you began to walk faster in slight fear, the closer they got. You swore you even saw a silhouette flash behind you, once or twice.
But before you could even do anything, it was gone.
You had even turned yourself invisible but no matter what route you took, you could still feel the pair of eyes on you.
In a last minute effort, you began to sprint as fast as you could and then... You saw it.
Someone rushing behind you, and you almost let out a scream.
There weren't that many people around you, and if this guy ended up knocking you out or dragging you to an alley, you would have no way of escape.
You couldn't see their face or even their clothes, you were too busy maneuvering your way around the area to get in more crowded places.
Fuck, why are the streets so empty today?!
You turned around to see the person, hoping that maybe you had lost him or perhaps you were just hallucinating a guy stalking you, but you were horrified to find out that he was almost about to close in on you.
Based on reflex, a scream tore through your lips and your eyes screwed themselves shut when you felt your body collide with something from upfront.
Thinking it was one of his accomplice, you immediately jumped back and had tears welling up in your eyes.
But to your surprise, you were met with a young, confused girl. She seemed like she was the same age as you, looking at you with worry shining in her eyes.
"Are you okay, miss?" She started and seeing her, you immediately snapped your head back to see...
Nothing.
The guy following you was gone. So was the feeling of being watched.
"I-I... What?" Was all you could mutter as sweat dripped from your forehead. What the hell just happened?!
"You look like you just saw a ghost, are you okay?" She mentioned and that managed to snap you back to reality.
"Huh? Oh..." Not answering her, you shakily got up and walked up to the alleyway that was as far as he was from you when you were running.
You didn't find anything in there.
Nothing at all.
It didn't even look like he had ran away or any signs of him getting away.
Maybe he had a teleportation quirk? There's a good chance that maybe he did, "Miss?" The girl called out once more and you finally turned to her.
But just at the end, you saw something shining in the periphery of your vision; a shiny blue marble.
You ignored it as a discarded ramune marble and walked up to the girl, "Are you alright?"
You couldn't help the small fearful frown on your lips, "I think so... I think someone was stalking me..." She seemed very shocked at your revelation, "Shouldn't you report that?"
"I don't know, I didn't even see anything about them other than... their mask." You recalled the mask.
A white mask with black designs.
"Then... Do you want me to accompany you to where you're going?"
"Oh, no, no... It's fine... I wouldn't want to bother you, I'll just..." Maybe you should call one of your friends? Your brother or sister won't be able to leave early and you don't want to scare your father.
"Miss, I can walk you back. Two's better than one." She smiled widely at you, giving you a full view of her sharp canines before you lower your head softly, "If it... isn't a bother..."
"Of course not! You're too cute, I can't just leave a cute girl alone by herself, especially when creepy people are targeting her!" Your face burned at her compliment as she began to skip beside you.
"By the way, aren't you a UA student?" The girl mentioned as she took a good look at your uniform, and you couldn't help but feel embarrassed as she mentioned it.
"I-I am..."
"Really?! What course?!"
"Uh... the hero course." You were embarrassed that despite being a hero course student, you were scared of someone in the streets like this. If it were someone else from your class, like Bakugo, Todoroki or Midoriya, they would have faced them on like a hero...
But here you were, being accompanied by a high school girl because you're so scared, "Wow, that's so cool! You must have an amazing quirk, then!" She gushed and it really didn't help your predicament.
Judging by her question, you had confirmed that she hadn't watched the Sports Festival or else she would have known how 'amazing' your quirk was.
"Um... Thanks." Almost as if she was smiling in glee, she gave you a giggle before patting your back kindly, "Oh, don't be so moppy, miss! You should try reporting it to your hero teachers! Maybe they can help!"
Wait... That's actually a good idea!
"You're... You're right, I can just report it... to Aizawa-sensei! But... I wonder if he'll take me seriously..." Contemplating your decision, you just shook your head, "Never mind, I'll just start walking with my friends."
"Hmm, sure. Whatever floats your boat."
You heaved a sigh as you decided to put aside your self-pity for now and just focus on your surroundings. What if the guy was still following you?
"So... What's it like being a hero student? Must be fun!" The girl accompanying you started and you thanked her upbeat personality to distract you from your worries, "Oh, it's kinda exhausting... I mean, it's fun! But exhausting."
Humming at your response, the girl nodded as she continued, "Oh, makes sense! What about your classmates? Are they any fun?"
"Most of them, yes. My friends are really nice and helpful! And even people I don't know that well are really nice!" She listened intently to what you were telling her and as you began to ramble about how nice your classmates were in an attempt to ease yourself, you found yourself reaching the topic of Bakugo.
Somehow talking to this girl seemed so fun.
"Oh, and there's this kid in my class! He's so annoying, but his parents are really nice! He keeps on calling me a chameleon!"
"Eh?! That's so rude of him!!"
"I know, right? He says it's cause I keep changing my personalities to fit in with people, like a chameleon changes its colors to blend in with it's surroundings. He thinks like I'm the first person to do that! That idiot!"
For a minute, the girl stopped.
"What?" She said as she blinked at you in confusion and shock.
"What?" You said back, not getting why she suddenly stopped, "You just said that you keep on changing your personality to fit in with others..." You can't help but be confused at her words, "It's not like I actually think meanly about them behind their backs, I just... find it easier to talk to them if I'm on the same wavelength as them."
"No... I mean, it's surprising... I didn't expect that you would be someone so interesting..." She muttered to herself, almost psychotically and you couldn't help but be a little spooked out. But you immediately reprimanded yourself when you thought about how rude you were being. She was the same girl who had taken out time from her day to walk you back home, so what if she had a weird reaction?
You shook your head and gave her a kind smile, "I'm glad you think I'm interesting."
"Of course I do!! You're so cute, after all!" You blushed once again at her words as her grin had now grown in magnitude. It seemed like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
"Y-You're very cute too, miss!" She giggled at your compliment before giving you a tight side-hug. One thing you've noticed is that this girl is very touchy.
Maybe it's how she is, but not even your most touchiest friends like Mina, are this touchy. It's certainly very surprising.
"Hey, do you like blood?" The girl started out of nowhere and you were left confused as to where it came from, "Blood? As in... red blood that's running through our bodies right now?"
She giddily nodded and smiled, "Duh, what else?" You were taken aback but tried to think of how to answer, "I mean... I guess? I'm not the biggest fan of it outside the body, but I think it's nice as long as it's inside, where's it's supposed to be."
"Boohoo, that's too boring! Everything looks much prettier with blood!" You don't want to admit that you were being a little creeped out by the topic of your new conversation so you just nodded, "But... won't that mean that the person is injured?"
"Who cares? Blood is pretty!" Uh, you do? You very much care where the blood is found, "Will you let me drink your blood? I promise not to take too much, so you won't even feel dizzy!"
If she loves blood that much, you can only guess two things; either her quirk has something to do with it, or she's just got a blood fetish.
You're praying fervently that it's the first.
"Does your quirk have something to do with blood?" She lookee surprised but soon that surprise was taken over by glee, "Yup! I can turn into whoever's blood I drink!"
Oh... That explains so much... Is her blood fetish due to her quirk? Like Todoroki doesn't get cold because he's literally half fire? Or like Bakugo, who likes spicy stuff because of his quirk?
"Ah... Well, why would you want to turn into me?"
"Cause you're sooooo cute!!" Does she have any idea how hard you are struggling with keeping yourself calm and not turning into a tomato right here, right now?
Coughing to save your dignity, you lowered your head bashfully before giving her a side glance, "I-I... Thanks..."
"You're welcome! Now, can I have your blood?" She asked again and you were thinking of a way to dodge her question when you immediately said, "Wait a minute... Do you ask everyone for their blood like this?!" She looked confused at your sudden outburst but nodded anyways.
"Miss, doesn't that scare people? Do people bully you because of it?" Because if you're being this creeped out, you can only imagine that others must have it much worse.
"Not really! I don't let anyone bully me, of course!" You smile softly, somewhat glad that this kind girl isn't getting bullied. Even if she's a bit creepy, that doesn't warrant her to get bullied.
After all, nothing some quirk counseling can't fix.
"Well–"
"Oh, would you look at that? We've reached my neighborhood!! Thank you so much for walking me all the way here, miss!!" She looked dejected for a moment before another cheek-splitting grin overtook her features, "Oh... I guess I'll just drink your blood some other day! Take care, okay? See you later, [Name]-chan!"
You waved her off as you began to walk inside your neighborhood. Now that you're alone, you're kinda scared. Having her company was fun, even if it was a bit creepy.
Speaking of her, you never really got her name–
Wait...
"See you later, [Name]-chan!"
How... did she know your name... when she hadn't even watched the Sports Festival?
————
You came to school the next day, pretty freaked out.
And while you didn't tell Aizawa what happened, you're sure he could tell you weren't okay by the tired look on your face. Truthfully, you hadn't really slept that well after realising that the girl could have been an accomplice of the stalker's and you might have just led them to your own damn neighborhood, unknowingly.
Fuck...
Maybe you're overthinking it, but you're naturally a very pessimistic person. You always assume the worst and always remain paranoid over things. So until your stalker is caught, you will continue to be terrified.
Thankfully, you told Shoji that you guys would be studying at your house so you don't have to worry about being alone in your house for today, or going back home when it's late.
Both you and Shoji walked together to your house and on the way there, you made small talk with each other. But despite your efforts to play it cool, your multi-armed classmate could tell that you were freaked out for some reason.
"[Last Name]-san... Are you okay?" The masked boy finally started and you couldn't help but flinch at his voice. The fear along with worry really was making you jittery, "I-I guess..."
He gave you a serious look before you finally decided to spill the beans, "No... No, I'm not. Well, maybe? I'm not sure..."
"Is everything okay?" He asked and you shrugged nonchalantly, "Well... yesterday, I felt a pair of eyes on me... I thought that maybe after you told me it was you, it would stop but... I even had someone chase after me on my way back home..."
The more you confessed yesterday's fiasco, the more the big guy was worried, "What?! [Last Name]-san, shouldn't you report that to the police?"
"I'll tell my brother when he comes home today... But, I'm just spooked, I guess? Sorry for bombarding my problems on you, I'm sure this is the last thing you need to hear right now–"
"[Last Name]-san, that's not what you should be worried about right now..." He reassured you and you took a deep breath to calm yourself and nod.
You'll tell your brother first thing when he comes back so he can ask his teammates to look into it and hopefully start the search. Since the stalker didn't really do anything, you doubt the police would take it as seriously, but hopefully your brother's intervention might spook the stalker from doing anything else.
Finally, you and Shoji reached your home and you opened the door to reveal a pretty normal house. Since you knew he was coming today, you made sure to tidy everything last night so it wouldn't look like a mess.
He respectfully took off his shoes at the entrance and you gave him your brother's extra indoor slippers. And once you guys had finally reached your room, you both sat down on the floor, with your bags next to you.
"Well then, Shoji-san. Do you want some water or something to drink?" He shook his head, thanking your hospitality as you both took out your English books.
"If that's the case then let's start studying. You said you had some trouble with English, can you tell me what you struggle with the most?"
"Uh, I don't really understand sentence structures and what form of verb to use while writing a sentence...." You nodded along with his explanation and once he was done, you got up and reached into the bookshelf in your room to pull out an old English book that was all about sentence formation.
"I used this book a lot when I was young, so how about we start with this? It even has practice tests, so we can solve them along the way!" Nodding at your suggestion, the masked boy brought out a pencil and you brought one of your own.
"Alright, let's see..."
You guys started your tutoring session and it didn't even take that long for time to pass. Shoji was a quick-learner and he picked up things really easily, absorbing information like a sponge. You were surprised he didn't understand Present Mic if he was this fast of a learner, but then again... Present Mic wasn't the greatest teachers of English.
Since you had a pretty good foundation (English movies and games are a blessing) you never even paid any attention to what he would be explaining half of the time. But others like Uraraka and even Satou admitted that he didn't explain stuff that well.
"So, basically... In this, the third form of verb is used with the helper, or as Present Mic calls it, auxiliary verb like have, has, and had."
"Oh... Right, so then: 'I have ate at this restaurant' is wrong, and..." His eyes darted to you while you nodded encouragingly at him, "-I have eaten at this restaurant... is correct?"
"Yes! Good job, Shoji-san! You did great!" He seemed rather happy to have been praised as you took the book and opened up one of the practice tests, "Here, you solve this while I whip up something to eat, real fast!"
You glanced over at the clock and were surprised to see how long you both had been studying. You should probably make a more stomach-filling meal since it's dinner time now.
Quietly, he thanked you as you walked out and began to scan the kitchen... Hmm, what should you even make? Maybe you should just ask him, himself.
"Shoji-san, what would you like to eat?" You called out, making the boy speak back, "It's fine, [Last Name]-san. Please don't–"
"Ah, forget the formalities! Just tell me, do you have any preferences? Or any allergies I should be careful of?" You walked back to your room's doorway to see the guy looking somewhat embarrassed.
"Anything is fine, [Last Name]-san. I don't have any allergies or any specific dislikes." Smiling brightly at him, you nodded and walked away, "Got it! Now leave the rest to me!"
You looked around in the fridge and were pleased to see the leftover fresh gyoza you had made for your family yesterday night. Taking it out, you began to set to work while Shoji was busy solving the practice tests.
It didn't take you that long to fry them, about a few minutes to get the pan hot and a few more minutes to actually fry them.
In total, you made sure to fry a generous amount for your guest and yourself, deciding to bring it over to your room instead of eating out in the dining room because, why walk all the way to the dining room when you can just not?
"Are you done, Shoji-san?" You started as you entered the room, the scent of gyoza wafting in the room as you set the plate down, "I hope you like gyoza!"
He nodded respectfully as you smiled, moving the worksheets away so they wouldn't get dirty. Once the table was cleaned away, you placed the plates in the middle and said your prayers.
You watched how he grew a mouth from one of his Dupli-arms and began to eat from that new mouth. He saw how you stole glances at him, and couldn't help but feel a bit self-conscious.
Meanwhile, you were utterly fascinated while your brain was going a mile a minute with so many questions in regards to his quirk, "I..." He started, looking up at you, and you returned his gaze with a curious one of your own.
"I'm sorry... if it makes you uncomfortable, [Last Name]-san..."
What?
"Eh?! No, wait!! I'm not uncomfortable, I swear! I was just... I wanted to ask you some questions about your quirk, but... I didn't want to seem rude..." He looked at you curiously as you continued, "Well... I mean, if you make a new mouth and you can taste whatever you're eating... does that mean you can also control your taste buds? Like if... hypothetically, Bakugo gave you his lunch and we all know he eats way too much spice, will you be able to eat it if you alter your taste buds?"
The poor boy looked like he had just seen a ghost as you listed off what you had been thinking. Finally, he broke out of his thoughts and decided to answer, "I don't think so... I haven't really given it much thought."
"Oh, of course! You don't have to answer them all, I guess being around Midoriya-san made me pick up some habits, huh?" You didn't know if he smiled but you could tell that he no longer felt worried that you might be judging him.
"Man, I'm kinda worried for the practical part of our exams... What do you think they'll make us do, Shoji-san?" He shrugged his shoulder while eating, "I'm not sure, they might make us fight those robots again. At least, that's what I heard one of our senpais say during lunch."
"Really? But won't that be too easy? We all got in by fighting those robots, so it wouldn't be like UA to repeat an exam. They don't even repeat their entrance exams!" Shoji pondered over your statement, that did seem plausible.
"Hmm, you're right. What do you think they'll do?"
"We've been doing some rescue training lately so maybe they'll have us rescue faux civilians? Or they might do a scavenger hunt, who knows?"
"Seems plausible." You beamed at his agreement before turning your attention to the food, only to realise something, "Oh, by the way! Is the gyoza to your liking?"
"Yes... It's really good. Did you make it?" Nodding proudly at it, you placed a hand on your chest for the dramatic effect, "Yup! It's still nothing compared to my fried rice, but I think gyoza's my specialty too!"
Now that, seemed to elicit a small smile. You could tell because his mask moved a little and you could see the outline of his lips quipping up, "It certainly is, it's very good. Do you take care of all the cooking in your house?"
Taking a bite of your food, you swallowed it first before nodding, "Yeah, my dad and my brother can't cook for the life of them. My sister's good at it, really good. But she's usually away at her university." He noted how you didn't mention your mother in your sentence.
And judging by how many pictures you had of her in your room, there were only three options: either your parents were divorced, or your mother was in a different country... or she had passed away.
He fervently wished that it wasn't the last one.
"Forgive me for intruding but... your mother?" You blinked owlishly at him before a small awkward smile made way to your lips, "She passed away."
"Oh... I'm really sorry, [Last Name]-san..." Shoji couldn't help but lower his head in guilt. Why did he think asking you of your mother would be a good idea?! Obviously, if you left her out of your conversations, that must have meant something.
But you just waved him off with a small smile, "It's fine! I don't tell a lot of people because they always feel guilty afterwards, but don't worry about it Shoji-san! I don't get sad when someone mentions her or if I talk about it, so don't feel bad."
"Still... It was very insensitive of me..."
"If it was insensitive, I'd tell you. You don't have to be so guilty of a generally normal question."
Bowing his head once more, the masked boy finally gave in, "Alright..." After that, you continued to ramble on about other topics, somehow completely having forgotten about your previous fears of the stalker.
But regardless of that, Shoji was content and happy.
He could finally understand why everyone considered you the sweetest in the whole class, and why almost everybody was so fond of you.
'[Last Name]-san really is a kind person.'