In the city of Musutafu, a woman with thick black hair and glasses was walking calmly through the streets, focused on her phone. This time she was in civilian clothes, moving as Nemuri Kayama and not as Midnight, the professional hero.
Her mind wandered to the latest events at U.A., where she witnessed firsthand the quality of the first-year students.
Due to the type of tests, many were unable to stand out as they should have, like that boy from General Studies. Along the same lines, the teachers and the principal had a discussion about everyone's performance.
The names of certain siblings stood out like a sore thumb for many reasons, some good, others questionable.
To begin with, everyone agreed that both of them helped and did not belittle their classmates during the one-on-one combat rounds.
Both Tetsumaru and Mei could have dominated their fights, especially Tetsumaru during the first two rounds. Even so, they allowed their classmates to demonstrate their abilities.
Then there was Terumi Mei's move of hiding her capabilities. From the entrance exam to the hero practicals, the girl relied on her great physical ability for everything.
It was discussed whether it was correct not to maintain better control over their students' Quirks, and there was even talk of monitoring both siblings for more varieties they might be hiding.
Finally, there was the matter of the bets. That discussion was awkward.
Nezu didn't inform everyone about who the perpetrators were, but it wasn't hard to guess. After all, it was Tetsumaru who had mysteriously disappeared a few times, one of them even right under Midnight's nose.
—Hmm? Speak of the devil...— Nemuri murmured as she saw the boy with black hair, black eyes, and a yellow pupil pass by on the opposite street, his expression as bored as ever, though with a different glow.
He casually entered a pharmacy, and curiosity piqued the woman. With a mischievous smile, Nemuri decided to follow him and take a look.
Upon entering, she found him waiting to be attended to by a worker. She positioned herself to one side, pretending to look for an item.
—How can I help you, handsome?— a flirty girl with tanned skin and blonde hair spoke as she appeared out of nowhere, clearly a worker at this place.
Nemuri paid attention to the boy's reaction to the girl's approach, who was not much older than him. To her disappointment, there were no visible changes.
Was he the tough and serious type?
—I need emergency contraception— he said calmly, which caused both Nemuri and the gyaru girl to stumble in surprise.
—Th-th-th-that's that?! Ah, uh, l-let me check!— the girl stammered with a reddened face and disappeared somewhere.
Tetsumaru started to walk towards the counter, but a hand strongly gripped his shoulder, pinning him in place.
The black-haired boy turned to see a Nemuri with trembling lips, flushed cheeks, and a harsh gaze. A sight that was otherwise strange, a true conflict of emotions on her face.
—Y-y-you, what are you doing?! — she questioned, unable to find the right words for this situation. Tetsumaru's flat expression didn't help with that.
For a few seconds, they remained in silence, until the shinobi broke it.
—I'm a minor, ma'am.
—Don't play dumb, I know you know it's me!!— she scolded him. A few moments after taking a deep breath to calm her emotions, she spoke again.
—Why are you buying that, Terumi Tetsumaru? Do you know what those are used for?
—Yes, Sensei. They are for emergencies, and I have an emergency— Tetsumaru nodded.
—W-what kind of emergency, brat!?
—The baby-making kind, Sensei.
—...
Nemuri was left speechless, unsure how to respond to that. She couldn't.
Tetsumaru said goodbye to her and paid the embarrassed gyaru for his contraceptives, leaving her mind blank for several minutes.
At some point, Nemuri Kayama left the pharmacy and went home, entered her room, and collapsed onto her bed, her expression blank with shock. She stared at her ceiling for an indefinite time, a feeling of defeat that she couldn't, or didn't want to, explain was hovering over her heart.
—My own student is getting more action than me?— she thought dejectedly.
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—Hey, it's Terumi Mei, the winner of the sports festival!
—I love you, Mei-Chan, please go out with me!
—Congratulations on your victory, young lady.
—Hmph, how conceited!
—Your performance was exemplary, young lady. Take my card, in case you are interested in sponsorship for your career, which I'm sure will be brilliant.
The crowd was in an uproar on the train that Tetsumaru and Mei took to go to school. The girl was almost surrounded by a sea of instantly smitten students, enthusiastic adults, jealous bitches, and other more suspicious types.
Fortunately, she was clinging to Tetsumaru's side, as neither of them needed to hold onto anything thanks to the chakra in their feet, allowing him to wrap his arms around her and make it clear that there were limits to contact.
Regardless of what there was between the two of them and Mei's new perspective, she still felt uncomfortable with the proximity of men. At the end of the day, humans are creatures of habit, and the habits of having been of the opposite sex cannot be eliminated so easily.
—Tch, damn rain. I would have preferred to travel on the roof— Mei complained to Tetsumaru.
Both knew that Mei's victory would garner too much attention, especially from many boys, as her beauty was truly something to behold. They had planned to cling with chakra to the roof, but they had to protect the lie about the Satetsu's weakness to water.
—It can't be helped. It's the price of fame and beauty— his other half teased, but instead of getting angry, Mei smiled foolishly at being called beautiful. A second later, she shook her head and kicked Tetsumaru.
Lately, she was more susceptible to falling into that state when he said flattering words to her. Was it a side effect from... That? In any case, she didn't find it funny to become so easily manipulated by Tetsumaru. Or did she?
With such reflections on feminine nature-an abyss into which Mei was sinking deeper and deeper as time passed, and which she was equally excited and terrified to explore-the duo continued their journey to U.A.
When they arrived, many meaningful glances were cast towards Mei. Some were of admiration, others of attraction, most were poisonous and conveyed a silent challenge.
She paid no attention to any of them and walked clinging to Tetsumaru's arm, her face smiling and more radiant than usual.
Tetsumaru, who noticed Mei's particular radiance after that day, smiled slightly.