Aizawa got out of his sleeping bag and handed us a list with our recommendations, then returned to the teacher's desk.
I raised my gaze from the paper to the teacher.
Surprisingly, the list was very well organized and sorted by hero ranking, even with some side notes from Aizawa himself about each hero.
I expected something completely messy, considering how much our sensei looks like a slacker.
As if sensing something, Aizawa lifted his gaze and stared directly at me, narrowing his eyes.
I casually looked back down at the list.
"..." He stopped staring at me and went back to his business.
"Sigh"
'How does he do that???'
─── ◆ ───
Himiko decided to do her internship together with Uraraka under the hero Gunhead, wanting to gain more experience in hand-to-hand combat.
That was because she didn't have many better options, the others on her list were heroines who were more like models than actual heroes.
I myself wasn't sure yet. There weren't many heroes focused on infiltration, and I didn't receive offers from the few that existed.
And in truth, I was more focused on improving my hand-to-hand combat as well.
During vigilantism, I took down my targets easily by catching them off guard, so I didn't become very skilled in actual fights.
Besides that, I needed to learn to hold back better, I don't want to accidentally kill someone.
I ended up choosing among the higher-ranked options.
There was no way I was going to Best Jeanist, even if he's number four, something tells me that's not a good idea.
Now the next one…
Yeah, maybe this one.
Despite Aizawa's note saying her record is a bit chaotic and that she's never had an intern before, so it would probably be a pretty messy internship and he didn't recommend it much.
'At least she's known as a great hand-to-hand fighter, so maybe I'll learn something useful.'
─── ◆ ───
The whole class gathered in the cafeteria when lunchtime arrived, but interestingly, the class split into two groups at two different tables, one for boys and one for girls.
It happened naturally.
The girls were already chatting among themselves and sat together.
And we were talking separately in small groups, but eventually gathered and pulled in those who weren't in any specific group.
The conversation at our table was almost entirely about which heroes they were going to intern with. When they asked me, I said I wasn't very sure yet.
We finished eating, and the table fell into a comfortable silence, until:
"Kaneki… I need to ask you something." Kaminari leaned over the table, touching his fingertips together and speaking with a seriousness that was strange coming from him.
"..." The others noticed Kaminari's tone and paid attention.
"Yes?"
"How did you get a girlfriend?"
"Well…"
"I've been wanting to ask that for a while too!" Sero got excited.
"You're the only one who's not single in the class, give us some tips, man."
"... Okay."
At the same time, all the boys at the table leaned forward. Even Bakugo pulled his chair closer, even though he tried to look uninterested.
Only Todoroki seemed a bit distracted, but he was listening.
Notably, Midoriya and Kaminari pulled out a notebook and pen from who-knows-where and got ready to take notes.
"It's simple, actually…"
Everyone seemed to hold their breath.
"Just be yourself."
Their expressions dropped, but I already expected that.
"That's so cliché, man," Kirishima started to complain, but I spoke again.
"Don't pretend to be something you're not. It's one thing to change over time, but putting on a mask just to please someone will only hurt you, and in the end, it'll make the relationship fall apart."
"..." My words made them thoughtful.
"What if the person doesn't like who we are?" Sero asked, breaking the silence.
"Then they're not the right person."
"Trust me, if even I found someone, you will too."
Another moment of reflective silence, and I saw Midoriya and Kaminari taking notes.
To my surprise, Tokoyami was the next to lean forward to ask something.
"What should we do if—"
─── ◆ ───
POV: Girls' Table
"What's it like dating Kaneki-kun, Himiko-chan?" Mina asked.
"He doesn't show many emotions, right? Even though you can tell he's very affectionate with you," Jiro added.
"He doesn't show any emotions at all, kero."
"Meanwhile, Himiko-chan is basically an emotional cannon, it's almost like you two are…" Toru spread her invisible arms, trying to emphasize her next words.
"Polar opposites…"
"..."
"That came out of nowhere, Toru-chan," Uraraka placed a hand on her friend's shoulders.
"Teehee."
"Hmm… Actually, Kaneki is quite expressive, he just can't show it when there are a lot of people around that he's not very familiar with."
"But he's already getting more comfortable with everyone in the class, so it shouldn't take long for him to open up to everyone."
"Oh, so when you're alone he's normal?" Tsuyu, as always, said what she thought, but quickly realized it didn't sound great.
"Ah, sorry, I didn't mean it like that, Himiko-chan…"
"It's fine, and the answer is yes." Himiko waved her hand for her not to worry about it.
"Even when there are a lot of people around, he's quite expressive, but he shows it through micro changes."
"What do you mean by micro changes?"
"Like, look at him right now." Himiko subtly pointed toward the boys' table.
They were silent, listening attentively to something Kaneki was saying, as if they were absorbing some ancient, wise knowledge, the atmosphere felt unnecessarily serious.
"Boys are weird…"
"Yeah…"
They shrugged and looked back at Himiko, who started explaining.
"He's happy, and look at how relaxed his shoulders are, he's very comfortable." Himiko leaned on the table, looking at Kaneki with a dreamy expression.
The girls looked at Kaneki. He looked… the same, with that same neutral expression as always.
He noticed Himiko's and the others' gaze and subtly waved at Himiko before going back to talking with the boys.
The girls looked at each other and smiled.
"You two really like each other, huh."
"Hehe." Himiko gave a triumphant smile.
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