still counselor jasper's #1 fan

The waiting room was quiet, accentuating the muted sounds of rapid typing. Artificial light rained down from the ceiling, gleaming waves of white bouncing off the tiled floor. There wasn't much color to be found here save for the baby blue material of the seat cushions and the vibrant green leaves from a potted plant.

Rody sunk into his seat, tapping his finger against his upper arm. The staff had been kind enough to bring him a change of clothes: a t-shirt with some logo on it, a dark-colored jacket, and some pants. He would've hated to leave this place in the torn, bloodied hoodie he had before but maybe he would've preferred it if it meant letting him keep the battered DS and saving him from this shred of boredom. He sighed, glancing over at the magazine rack next to him before selecting one at random. A woman was on the cover, four purple claws covering the right side of her face. She wore a red dress, her piercing yellow eyes lit up for the camera. She was advertising something in a bottle. He couldn't tell what it was supposed to be.

With nothing better to do, Rody began absently thumbing through the pages.

The detective— his name was eluding him at the moment— had told him that he'd be here to pick him up. However, he hadn't specified when. A passing glance at the clock left him hoping that it'd be no later than noon. He didn't think he could handle another hour of waiting in this miserable place.

A few minutes of skimming through pictures had gone by when he heard the sound of the automatic doors sliding open.

"Ah, hello!" the detective greeted him with a warm smile and a wave. "Are you ready to go?"

Whaddya know, complaining works, Rody thought, straightening himself as he forced a smile back. "Ready as I'll ever be."

Excessive was the first word that popped into his Rody's mind upon seeing the school, giant towers of glinting blue shining like a beacon amidst a sea of trees. The detective— Tsukauchi, he remembered— had told him that this was a prestigious school, but actually seeing it in person was something else. All of this for the next generation of heroes… yeesh. He couldn't help but think of home, think of the newspaper articles sharing the sheer amount of funding hero schools got in comparison to regular schools.

Needless to say, Rody couldn't help but stare in disbelief at the welcoming committee: a disheveled-looking man dressed in black and… some kind of animal mascot?

"Hello!" the animal said. Rody definitely wasn't expecting the animal to talk. "My name is Nezu, the one who could be a dog or a mouse or a bear, but, more importantly, I am the principal of this school! Welcome!" Nezu held his paw out in greeting. "You must be Rody, correct?"

"Uh, yeah." Principal? Rody took his paw and Nezu gave his hand a firm shake. Not the most bizarre interaction he's had but it was definitely up there. "…Charmed."

The… principal looked up at him with a friendly-enough smile, black beady eyes shining in the light of the sun. He let go, then gesturing to the man next to him. "Accompanying me is one of our teachers."

If the teacher really was a hero, well, he certainly didn't look the part. The man had messy, black hair, greasy bangs falling limply over bloodshot eyes. It made him look as though he had just rolled out of bed. A scar cut underneath his right eye. He wore a baggy black suit with some kind of utility belt around his waist. A thin, silvery scarf was wrapped around his neck and shoulders. Unlike Nezu, the man simply gave him a half-hearted wave.

"I am Shota Aizawa," he said flatly. "Greetings."

Nezu gave a friendly nod in the teacher's direction before turning back towards Rody. "Our staff has been notified of your situation and are currently in the process of relaying that information to our students. Nothing too terribly detailed, of course," he quickly interjected, catching how Rody tensed, "just that you're recovering and are in need of privacy. With that in mind, we hope to make your stay here with us as comfortable as possible. Follow me, please! The dormitories are right this way." He snapped around, folding his arms behind his back before continuing down a path that lead behind the main building.

Rody remained in place, watching the distance increase between them. He tugged at his hairtie, focusing on the feeling of it being pulled taut against his wrist. One moment, he's in some underground lab, the next, in a hospital, and now he's supposed to be getting a dormitory tour? Give him a break. He could just turn around and leave. What was stopping him? …Stupid question. Tsukauchi and Aizawa were looking at him. The detective offered him a sympathetic smile. The teacher only stared.

With no other options available to him, Rody began to follow them. He doubted that he was going to be shown the full campus but it didn't stop him from taking a look around. The fact that it was huge shouldn't have come as a surprise. Of course a prestigious school would offer up a lot of space for a bunch of up-and-coming heroes to hone their skills. He couldn't help but wonder…

"So, uh, what's the deal? Am I supposed to stay cooped up in a building all day orrr…?" Rody trailed off.

Nezu hummed. "I'm sorry to say that we are still figuring that out ourselves. As you are a guest here, we unfortunately cannot allow you free rein of the campus. Should you find that you need anything, please do not hesitate to ask one of our staff members for assistance. They can escort you to wherever you need to be. If you have any concerns about your needs, I can assure you that we will do what we can to make sure that they are met. Food, clothing, enrichment, it will all be taken care of."

The use of the word enrichment made Rody raise a brow but he thought better than to directly question it. Regardless, the answer left him less than thrilled.

Aizawa cleared his throat. "What has been decided is that you are to see the school nurse for routine check-ins. She might need to do a physical the first time around, but I want to stress that the purpose of these is only to monitor how you're recovering."

"That's right," Nezu nodded. "It's your decision as to whether or not you want us to look into what happened with your quirk. Any actions to be taken will only be done with your explicit permission." His tone was soft yet firm. Rody got the impression that this meant a lot to him. "Ah! Here we are."

Looming before them was one of many near-identical buildings, each one circled by low hedge bushes that left an opening for a wide pathway. This one was labeled 'STAFF.' Rody had hardly finished gawking when he realized that the principal was already up the steps.

"Right this way, please!" Nezu gestured for them to follow.

Rody's initial thought of excessive still rang true. Unlike the tight spaces he was accustomed to, the common area was wide open. There were tables, couches, and tvs to either side of the room. The kitchen and accompanying dining area was to the left. He was told that both breakfast and dinner were delivered directly to the dorms and that he was welcome to anything in the cupboards. Laundry facilities were in the back in addition to shared bathrooms. Be respectful, keep things tidy, it was basically what he had been expecting for ground rules.

The tour brought them to a spare room on the second floor of the left wing. There wasn't really much for him to note about it. The curtains were drawn, revealing a small balcony behind sliding doors. A bed was pushed into the corner of the room. A dresser stood across from it. To its right was a wastebacket, to its left was a desk with a swivel chair neatly tucked into the leg space. When he turned to the right, he could see closet doors. Behind him, there was another door that connected to a personal bathroom.

It was… odd, knowing that he had this space to himself.

A pang of guilt thumped in Rody's chest. It wasn't fair for him to experience a luxury like this without his siblings. He should be bunked up in some cheap hotel, not staying in a place like this.

"It isn't much—" Ha. "—but we hope that you can find this arrangement suitable," Nezu chirped. "If you have any requests regarding changes to your room, please do not hesitate to ask."

"Noted." Rody shuffled awkwardly, tugging at his hairtie. "So… whhaat am I supposed to do? I mean, if I'm meant to stay in here all day, there's not really a whole lot to do asides from… sleep and watch TV, I guess."

Nezu rubbed his chin. "We do have an on-site library with a fair selection of books written in English but, for ease of access, we could install a bookshelf in your room if that's something that might interest you."

"…Sure."

Nezu smiled. "We'll bring one in later today, then. If you have a specific book you'd like to read and you find that it's not one we have on-site, then you can put in a request and we can have someone go out and get it for you."

Rody squinted. Something about the wording of that stood out to him. "…You're saying that like I can't come with. What, am I not allowed to leave the schoolgrounds or something?"

Tsukauchi scratched his cheek. "Well, when we were arranging for you to stay here, we had to set some rules. One of those rules was for you to remain on campus at all times."

Rody didn't even try to hide his disbelief. "Why?"

"It's for your own safety," Aizawa stated plainly. "According to the incident report we received, the involved villian wasn't exactly keen on your escape. Going out in public would immediately put a target on your back." He stopped, observing him carefully. It seemed like there was more that he wanted to say. Not that he needed to; the subtle edge to his gaze said it for him.

So… they don't fully trust me. Rody relaxed. That was something he was familiar with. He wasn't sure what they had to be wary about with him. What, did they expect him to make some sort of scene? To pull a fast one over the heroes? If that's what they were concerned about, then why'd they think they could even keep him safe? What, do they not trust their staff or something? Stupid heroes.

Nezu cleared his throat. "I understand that this may be frustrating to learn, but I hope you can understand why we're taking such precautionary measures."

"Yeah, I get it." Rody paused. "I bet the same goes for if I want new clothes, huh?"

The principal nodded, gesturing to the dresser. "We have provided you with an assortment of different clothes based on the information Detective Tsukauchi provided to us. I hope you find them to your liking."

Rody looked off to the side, recalling the conversation. So that's why he asked about my sizes. "I'm not picky."

There was an awkward pause.

Tsukauchi cleared his throat. "I know that this isn't an ideal arrangement for you, Rody, but it's currently the best we can do. I am sorry that you are unable to go home, but I promise you that your case is my top priority." Just as he opened his mouth to say more, his pocket vibrated with the unmistakable buzz of a phone. He sighed. "I wish I could offer you more reassurance than that."

Nezu nodded in agreement. "For now, all that we can ask is that you try to make yourself comfortable. Once more, please do not hesitate to reach out to one of our staff members if you need anything. Someone will always be available here for that purpose."

"Got it."

And just like that, they were gone. It almost didn't feel real. Here, let's spend 15-20 minutes showing this kid around and then leave without doing anything else. It's not like everything feels like a nightmare he can't wake up from or anything. He'll totally be fine.

Rody let out an exasperated sigh, burying his face in his hands. Who was he kidding. What else were they supposed to do? He definitely didn't have any better ideas asides from getting him a plane ticket home, but that was out of the question. He knew that. He guessed he just wished that the whole thing didn't feel so insignificant. That this was just a footnote in someone else's day. That how he felt mattered, dammit.

He dragged his hands down his face, thinking back to what the teacher had said a few minutes ago. Was that scientist creep really that persistent? He wasn't special. Why couldn't they go after some other kid? Why him?

Rody took a deep breath, deciding that he didn't want to be thinking about that right now. He took another look around the room. Nezu had made it clear that this was meant to be his space, but the knowledge didn't chase away the feeling of being in a stranger's home.

…Well, it wouldn't be the first time. Standing around wasn't helping him feel any better, either.

Rody walked over to the dresser and cracked open a drawer. Shirts. He picked one at random and unfurled it. It was a plain blue shirt. He was surprised to see that the school's logo wasn't printed anywhere on it; he half expected it from a place like this. He haphazardly refolded it, shoving it back in its place before closing the drawer. He put his hands on his hips, looking around again before landing on the bathroom door.

Right. Personal bathroom. Weird.

Rody poked his head inside, glancing around before stepping in. He crouched down, looking underneath the sink and taking stock of what was in the cabinet: a spare bottle of hand soap, shampoo, body wash, sealed cups, a tube of toothpaste, an unopened toothbrush, and a first aid kit. Should… he ask for pads? His period was always inconsistent and it'd suck to be unprepared for it. On the other hand, the thought of asking was making him feel queasy. Ugh. He'd just deal with it later. He let the doors slam closed before checking the tap. He ran the water over his hand, adjusting the temperature slowly and finding that the water heat up pretty quickly. That was nice, at least. The water temps back home were always inconsistent.

His heart wrenched at the thought. Focus. He shut off the tap and looked behind him. They had already left two towels on the rack for him to use. Rody dried his hand and stepped out, closing the door. Well. What now? He briefly considered leaving the room, taking another tour of the place on his own when, no, they were going to bring that bookshelf over, right? Should he be in the room for that? Probably. Did he care? No. But… did he really want to leave the room? Also no.

With nothing better to do, Rody decided to lay down, dropping onto the bed with a heavy sigh. He stared up at the ceiling. It stared back at him. He stretched his fingers, debating, before raising an arm and splaying his hand. Normal, if he ignored the talons. Slowly, he began tugging his sleeve down, stopping once he saw pink feathers peeking over the bunched fabric. He swallowed thickly, his mouth suddenly dry as his fingers hovered over them.

Yeah, no, not doing that. Rody yanked his sleeve back up with a scowl, crossing his arms over his stomach. An itching sensation prickled at his arms like a bed of nettles. He inhaled sharply, holding his breath for a few moments before breahing out slowly and mollifying the feeling. He didn't need to deal with that so soon. Though… what was caushing that, exactly? Stress? Wasn't he stressed right now? He supposed it was a muted feeling, but… bah, whatever.

It wasn't the first time Rody found himself unable to fall asleep.

The night his mom died, for example. The memory was spotty now, but he remembered laying in his parents' bed, Roro curled into his chest with stuttering, hiccuping breaths that gradually evened out. He remembered how long the night dragged on, watching the moonlight stretch across the ceiling while surrounded by the lingering smell of his mother. The night his father disappeared was similar. He remembered the dusty smell of the sheets, the way the bed creaked as he and his siblings settled in. He remembered waiting for his siblings to fall asleep, feeling wet splotches from where their tears soaked into his shirt as their sobs grew quieter and quieter.

Those weren't the only instances, either. He had nights that were broken up by his siblings waking him up because they needed something, nights where bad dreams left him drenched in sweat with ice trickling through his veins, nights where his mind couldn't stop racing and were then spent trying to quiet frantic wing beats around the room.

Tonight, Rody found a new cause for his reoccurring bouts of insomnia: boredom.

It had been almost two weeks since he arrived here at U.A. Two weeks of mucking around the dorm, trying to find something to occupy himself with and ultimately failing because nothing could ever go right for him, could it. Watching TV was a bust because he couldn't stand being in the common area. Reading books wasn't helping because he'd find himself reading the same sentence over and over. The only thing he had managed to do was refold all of the clothes the staff had given him but he could only do that so many times before wanting to pull the drawers out and fling them against the wall. He basically had nothing to do, and with so much time spent doing nothing, the idle nature of trying to sleep made his body itch for literally anything else.

So, after spending enough hours tossing and turning, Rody did the only sensible thing he could do and gave up on the idea of sleeping. He pushed himself up, holding his head in his hands before dragging them down his face with an exasperated sigh. He stared ahead, watching listlessly as static danced in the darkness until a shimmer of blue caught his attention. His eyes flicked over to the curtains, an open slit illuminated by the moon and practically beckoning him to walk over. Who was he to refuse?

He tossed the blanket aside before slowly getting out of bed, lightly pressing his feet against the floor in anticipation of a creaky floorboard. He knew there wouldn't be one, but knowing didn't put his heels on the ground.

Rody nudged the curtain aside as he leaned against the door, sliding it open to the warm night air. He stepped out, leaning against the balcony as he took in his surroundings. Something was chirping in the distance. Frogs, maybe. A passing breeze scraped against the leaves of the surrounding foliage, bringing a pleasant chill to his skin. It's nice out, he thought, propping his cheek against the back of his hand as he turned his gaze down. The campus was dark, illuminated by streetlights that dotted the pathways. He picked one at random, tracing it with his eyes until it disappeared into the horizon.

Rody glanced up at the sky. The moon shone brightly overhead, high enough to signify that the night was far from over. He tapped his fingers against the railing.

The thought had crossed his mind a few times before, but Rody wasn't usually one to go against what he was told. Not because he wanted to, but because he understood the importance of putting on a smile and nodding along. A small sacrifice to avoid a bigger headache.

But… the staff didn't need to know if he went on a walk. If he was quiet enough, he could probably sneak out, spend a good hour or two alone on campus, and then sneak back in. Should be a piece of cake with the place looking as deserted as it did.

Rody slipped back inside, throwing on a jacket, some socks, and a pair of sneakers. He cracked open the door, feeling like a mouse as he checked both ends of the hall before soundlessly closing the door behind him and hurrying across to the elevator. He pressed the button for the first floor, holding his breath as he watched the floor display tick down. When the doors opened, he wasted no time in cutting across the living area, pushing through the door and hopping down the stairs.

The door clicked shut behind him. Rody looked back, staring up at the shadowed building looming over him. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as the rapid sound of beating wings filled his ears. By the time he opened them again, the sound was gone. His head buzzed.

Rody shook his head. It didn't matter. He certainly wasn't going to spend his time outside dawdling. With that, he shoved his hands into his pockets and started walking in a direction. He didn't care to know which way. All that mattered was that he was doing it alone.

The moon had barely moved from its position in the sky when Rody found himself on a long straight road that led into the trees. Beams of white light guided him forward, surrounded with the flickering specks of insects. The frogs were louder here, too, creating a symphony of noise from just beyond the railing. Tall shadows blotted out the sky. It was weird. Rody could swear that they looked kinda like…

Buildings. They were buildings. He could hardly believe what he was seeing. It was as though someone had plucked a city block and dropped it right here on campus. Was he even still on campus? He had to be, right? There was some high tech security door at the entrance and he hadn't seen anything like it on his walk so far.

"Jeez… they really don't spare any expense when it comes to heroes, huh?" he said to no one. He walked over to one of the buildings, something that resembled a convenience store. He peered inside before trying the door. To his surprise, it was unlocked. Curiosity led him to poke inside and snoop around, finding barren shelves and empty coolers in the low light. He supposed that it made sense. Keeping the buildings in this place fully stocked seemed like excessive upkeep, especially with how empty it was. The more he thought about it, the more eerie it all was.

It made sense though, didn't it? Of course a school would go through all of this trouble to train the next generation of heroes. Of course they're going to need an on-model replica of a city, to learn the easiest way to navigate between the streets, to learn how accurately assess a situation in a life-like environment. Of course it was all so incredibly necessary. To have all of this training.

Rody couldn't stop his mind from drifting to thoughts of home. To the memory of the heroes he had asked for help so long ago. He couldn't stop himself from wondering if they had any resources like this. Wondering about what made them decide that someone was worthy enough to be saved.

Deku thought that he was. So did that group that found him on the streets. But… was he really worthy? Or was he just circumstance?

The room suddenly felt too small, the air turning hostile and choking out his lungs.

Rody stumbled out of the fake store, pressing his back against the door as he took a deep breath of fresh air. He looked up at the surrounding buildings. It made him feel claustrophobic. He needed to get out of here. Needed to get off the ground. Needed to clear his head. He looked around, fixing his attention on a short building across the street. He sprinted towards it without a second thought, jumping and grabbing hold of the ledge and then hoisting himself up with relative ease. From there, the neighboring rooftop was within his reach. He climbed up without a second thought.

Another breeze passed through as he reached the top, ruffling both his hair and exposed feathers. Rooftops of varying heights surrounded him, slabs of concrete shining white and blue under the moon. He looked up again, observing the stars that patterned the night sky. It was a stark contrast to the desolate city below his feet.

Rody tilted his head back, letting the sky swallow his vision whole until he felt that he could breathe again. Even then, the anxiety still lingered, swimming on the edges of his mind like a shark with blood in the water. He let his gaze fall, combing across the many buildings around him.

Well. Standing in place definitely wasn't going to make him feel any better.

Rody took a moment to stretch his legs. Then, he charged forward, leaping over an alleyway and onto a similarly-leveled platform, the momentum carrying him a few steps forward. He followed it with a dash, vaulting over a wall and landing with a roll onto the adjacent roof. The electric hum of adrenaline buzzed through his veins. The corner of his mouth twitched.

Rody pushed himself off the ground and launched forward, clearing the fourth building in a matter of seconds. The architecture was a bit different from what he was used to; they had similar structures back home but he wasn't seeing a lot of tiled rooftops in the immediate vicinity. Not that he really minded. His ankles certainly didn't.

That said, it left him with a strange feeling, something exacerbated by how loud his footsteps were in a place like this. Despite everything, it did remind him of home. Sure, it was a million years away from being defined as "close enough," but… it was something. He wasn't sure if that brought him any sort of peace, to find comfort in a fake city block.

Whatever. He was having fun.

Rody turned his mind elsewhere, to the feeling of concrete beneath his feet, to the way it pushed against each step, He focused on each jump, the brief feeling of weightlessness before gravity tugged him back down. The wind caught on his feathers and, for the first time, he fixated on the feeling of them. A laugh escaped him as he jumped again, flipping through the air and landing into a run.

He had lost track of the amount of buildings he had leapt to when a sudden glint caught his eye. Curiosity led him to the edge of the roof, peering into the alleyways until he saw it again. The familiar flare of a camera lens.

Ah. Crap.

"HEY, ERASERHEAD!"

Shota inhaled sharply, his fingers bending inwards over his keyboard as he craned his neck to glare at the intercom. "What." He immediately found himself brought back to the year prior, being notified of Midoriya and Bakugo's squall in Ground Beta. While All Might had been the one to put an end to the fight, Shota had been the one to discipline them. Hearing the same robotic tone over the pager, Shota had braced himself to hear that the two problem children were fighting again when he remembered that they were, simply put, not his problem this year.

So, what was—

"THE WARD IS AT GROUND BETA. YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE PRESENTLY AWAKE. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY. GO RETRIEVE HIM."

Oh.

Shota leaned back in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose. Truth be told, he had been expecting something like this to happen since day 1. He recalled the way the kid had looked when he was told about the restricting set of rules that he was to follow. The disbelief on his face. Shota couldn't blame him. The rules were irrational. While he didn't disagree with the idea of having Rody be supervised (considering the school's confidential security problem), he felt that something else needed to be done. This situation would, at the very least, provide him with the means to address it.

Ground Beta, huh… one hell of a coincidence.

Shota looked back at his computer. A brilliant bright wall of blank boxes stared back at him.

There was no doubt that the kid was getting something he needed but, irrational as they were, he was still breaking the rules. And, the longer he was out, the less time Shota would have to input all of these grades.

He heaved out a sigh. "I'll be right there."

Rody was like a deer in headlights.

A camera. Of course there'd be cameras here. How did he not consider that there'd be cameras in a place like this? Idiot.Someone was probably on their way here. What were they gonna do when they caught him? Were they going to punish him? Throw him out? What if they—

"HEY, YOU!" a sudden voice cried out, startling Rody out of his stupor.

"M-me?"

"WHO ELSE COULD I BE TALKING TO." …Right. Stupid question. But, where–? "GET DOWN FROM THERE!" Rody squinted at the camera. Once his eyes were able to focus, he saw that it wasn't just a camera, but a robot. The hell? They have robots here? "WHAT, DO YOU HAVE BOLTS FOR BRAINS?! QUIT STARING AT ME AND GET DOWN!!" He stared for a bit longer before turning around and walking away. "HEY!! DON'T IGNORE ME!!!"

Rody closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Okay… think. No matter what I do, I'm in trouble. But… maybe if they find me back in the dorm, then things won't be so bad. Sure, they'll get on my case for sneaking out, but they can't do anything else to me if I'm back, right? He exhaled slowly, opening his eyes to the gleaming rooftops around him. I can't retrace my steps here. I gotta find another way out.

He scanned the area. The last time he had been chased by a hero, he had home-field advantage. He knew the capital city's rooftops like the back of his hand, each tuck, turn, and leap burned into his muscles through years of runs. He didn't have that here. The heroes did. The odds were not in his favor. It made his legs feel like jello.

As he started into a dash, Rody couldn't help but wonder which staff member was on their way. He only had a vague idea of what their quirks were, but he knew enough to doubt that it was the loud radio guy, Present Mic. It probably wasn't Cementoss, either. Maybe. He had a hard time imagining uses for cement outside of construction purposes. The wrestler-looking one, maybe? No, wait, wasn't there was one that was kinda like a dog? It could've been him. Rody shuddered thinking about it.

At least there was one thing going for him: whoever it was had to catch up to him first.

Rody hopped atop a railing, steadying himself before crossing another gap. He was starting to near the edge of the perimeter now. From where he stood, he was able to see the surrounding barrier but… no door. He lifted himself up onto his toes, trying to get a better view but to no avail. This section of the city had some trees that were, unfortunately, blocking his sight. He'd need to get up higher.

He looked up, his eyes traveling along a pipe that wrapped around a building. It was thick enough for him to stand on, leading up with a gradual incline that'd almost certainly get him up to the next roof.

Rody stepped onto the pipe, bracing himself against the wall as he began the careful climb up. The metal groaned underneath him, making him take pause before scooting faster. He just needed to be able to reach the ledge. Once he was there, he could—

The pipe broke.

Rody didn't have a moment to think. His palms scraped against the concrete as he tumbled forwards, the ground rapidly approaching when he felt something tight wrap around his torso with a strong pull, binding his arms to his sides and suspending him in the air. The sound of the pipe clanging against the ground was drowned out by his heart hammering in his ears. Beads of sweat fell from his face as he found himself staring at the slab of sidewalk below, the pipe glinting as it rolled away. After a few seconds, he saw that the ground was approaching again, though slower this time. Rody twisted himself to get a look at the reason why, being met with the silvery sheen of Aizawa's scarf.

A feeling of nausea engulfed him. He wasn't sure if it was a result of the sudden vertigo or the overwhelming sense of dread. Could be either of the two.

Once he was on the ground, Rody remained limp. He closed his eyes, relishing in the feeling of the cold ground against his face. His lungs burned with each breath, the adrenaline finally wearing thin as he was forced to have a moment of rest.

He heard the teacher land somewhere nearby. Rody couldn't stop himself from shrinking in response. This is it, he thought. I'm dead.

But then the scarf went slack. And when Aizawa spoke, he didn't sound angry. Just… tired. "Can you stand?"

Rody didn't look at him. "I think so, yeah…" he mumbled, pushing himself up. A shadow appeared in his vision. His eyes flitted up, seeing that Aizawa was holding out a hand. He gingerly accepted it, wincing as the teacher helped him to his feet. He looked at his hands.

"We need to clean that," Aizawa said pointedly. Scrapes marked his palms, stinging fiercely and oozing blood. "Come on. Let's go."

All Rody could do was follow.

The walk back had been long, every passing second dragging on in complete silence save for the sounds from the nighttime orchestra. Once they had arrived back at the dorm, Aizawa immediately led him to the bathrooms, instructing him to wash his hands while he went to go get a first aid kit. Rody wordlessly did as he was told, rubbing soap into his palms and holding them under lukewarm water. He stared, watching the pink lather run down his hands and disappear down the drain.

When Aizawa returned, he set the kit down on the counter, popping it open and pulling out a tube of antibiotic cream. "Let me see your hands."

"I can do it." Aizawa handed him the tube. Rody could feel his eyes on him as he unscrewed the cap and applied just enough to cover his wounds with a thin layer. Once the cap was back on, the teacher handed him an assortment of bandages, his eyes continuing to bore holes in him. Rody loathed every second of it, every second of being watched as he dressed his own stupid wounds.

With his hands taken care of, they returned to the main room. It was Rody's turn to watch now, his eyes following Aizawa as he returned the kit to its designated spot. Dread pooled in his stomach, what-ifs hanging over his head like a weight about to drop. He braced himself as the teacher walked back over, only to be left bewildered by not even being spared a second glance as he walked towards the elevator.

Rody scoffed. "Seriously?"

"Huh." Aizawa stopped, his face annoyingly neutral as he studied him. Rody couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"You're seriously not going to say anything?"

"No. Not for right now."

"Wh– I broke the rules!" Rody couldn't keep from raising his voice, his feathers puffing out. "I snuck out and walked around without a babysitter. You're not gonna do anything about that?"

Aizawa leaned down, stooping to his level. "We are going to have a talk about your little excursion, so there's no need to worry about that."

"A talk," Rody echoed.

"A talk," he repeated. "We aren't here to make your life worse. The rules are in place for your safety." Aizawa glanced down at his bandaged hands. "If you're breaking them, then that falls on us for not meeting your needs. That is what we are going to talk about." Rody's shoulders fell alongside a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "I'm going to need to file an incident report for what happened tonight, but for now, you should focus on getting some sleep."

With that, Aizawa boarded the elevator, his fingers hovering over the buttons as he looked over at him. Rody remained in place for a few moments before stepping inside. As Aizawa punched in their respective floors, he repeated the conversation in his head. A talk. Not a reprimand, not a punishment. A talk. It felt like he was getting a slap on the wrist for murder. He couldn't fathom it.

The elevator doors opened to the same empty hall from before. Aizawa didn't say anything else to him as they closed. Rody didn't see any point in dwelling on it.