It was a wonder she made it on the plane, but she played the part of the weary traveler, hiding her tears until she was finally allowed to rest. Elly slumped in her seat holding her hand with the strip of capture weapon curled around it to her cheek. She was happy they had allowed it on the plane, because it was the only comfort she had right now.
At some point before takeoff a stewardess came by to ask if she needed anything, but she shook her head. The woman went away feeling quite sad for her. She wasn't sure what was going on, but it was clearly hurting her very badly.
The plane was hours in the sky when Present Mic got a text from his boss about what they had talked about earlier. He waited until Yagi had arrived to substitute his next class and headed out.
Hizashi pulled his orange-tinted sunglasses down, wiping the sweat from his brow with one hand. He stood in front of his friend's door to deliver a message. He knew Aizawa was not in a good mood and was not looking forward to trying to break through the man's defenses. He took a deep breath and knocked.
"Go away."
He groaned. <i>Oh, great. It was going that way already.</i> "Shota, I have really good news you're gonna want to hear about Ches."
The door swung open and he winced. The other man was dressed in a rumpled black shirt and sweatpants. His messier-than-usual black hair hung down around his face, accenting his skin so he looked even more pale and drawn.
"What."
"Uh, good news. About Ches."
His eyes glared balefully red as his hair swept upright. When he spoke, it was through his teeth, nearly snarling. "You said <i>what</i>? How could anything be good? She's <i>gone.</i>"
"No, wai - !" He cut off in mid-sentence and frowned at his friend, pointing at his throat.
"Shut up."
He mouthed the words in an exaggerated fashion anyway, signing as he did. Aizawa didn't remember much ASL, but he caught enough of it to drop his gaze. "What?!"
"Finally," the Voice Hero coughed. "Damn it, Sho, you know I hate it when you mute me."
"<i>What did you say?</i>"
"Chicken shit, all of 'em," he grumbled. "They made me tell you, even though it's good news." He held a hand out to ward him off as Aizawa clenched his fists. "Ches is accepted! All that crap about not makin' it was a test!"
He didn't even bother to dress formally before crashing into the principal's office for the second time that day.
"I apologize for the - ah, logical ruse," Nezu murmured, steepling his paws on the desk before him. Aizawa glanced at him sourly and he grinned.
"Since there was a contingency that believed Ms. Cheshire would be a liability due to her illness, I believed the best way to show how dependable she was would be to put her through one of the worst possible scenarios... and show them she was tougher than they thought."
The dark haired man collapsed into a chair. "Leaving me. All of this, a place she finally felt like she, at least partially, belonged."
"Indeed."
He rolled his head back, staring at the ceiling and rubbing his neck with one hand. "Does she know yet? Is she coming back soon?"
"She was informed at her first layover, which, by the way, was arranged for the possibly of bringing her back. We purchased all the tickets, including those back here. To her new home." He paused and took a sip of tea from the ever-present cup beside him. "I must say, I was not considering how attached you had become to her."
He snapped upright, quickly on guard. "I did nothing unbecoming of a UA staff member. I simply supported my ..." He blushed, but went on, "my loved one. But also, a very talented individual that I believe would be an asset."
Nezu waved a paw airily about. "Don't concern yourself about our little discussion. Your loyalty was never in question. If this hadn't been a clever ploy - if it had been real -- I would gladly have let you take the time off you asked to go to her."
"Thank you, Mr. Principal."
"I never thought I'd see the day you were so smitten with someone." He repeated and shrugged. "I think that's what pulled the larger half of the staff together on this. This woman has to be something special, other than her exemplary records so clearly show. And, like you, Aizawa - we make exceptions for those who are exceptional. You're allowed to sleep whenever you get the chance. We'll eventually work things out with Ms. Cheshire, as the kids call her, the same way."
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