Truth Quirk (Zashi)

 "Hey, what's wrong, Ches? Ya haven't checked in on us all morning." Present Mic waved as U.A's counselor stepped into the teacher's work area, flashing her a huge grin.

"Yeah, have you been avoiding us?" Kayama smirked. She steepled her hands and rested her chin on them, directing as much of an innocent look as she could manage at the cat woman.

"I have a problem I didn't want you to know about, Yamada." Elly answered him, then turned to Midnight. "Yes."

"Wait, you were?! What happened to you?"

"I was hit by a truth quirk last night," the counselor replied with a grimace. "Shit," she muttered, her ears flicking in annoyance.

"Oooh!" Midnight was thrilled. She lunged forward, dark eyes sparkling with mischief.

"When will it wear off?" Yagi asked quietly, his sunken eyes full of sympathy.

Such genuine concern for her coming from All Might caused her to smile. "I'm not really sure. Sometime later today."

"Is that your real hair color?" Midnight asked quickly.

"Uh..." Yamada scratched his neck, at the back of his feathered blond hair. "That's not cool, yo."

"Yes." Elly shrugged, knowing the other woman would ask more questions, increasingly personal ones, if she didn't leave. To her credit, she tried to walk calmly to the door but Kayama was faster, spitting out questions before she could leave.

"Do you have a boyfriend back in the States?"

"No."

"A boyfriend here?"

"No!" Her striped tail began slashing through the air as she grew more agitated.

"Let her go," Thirteen said quietly. "Come on."

"This isn't very sporting of you," Aizawa agreed. He'd been moved to speak upon seeing the discomfort in Elly's entire stance. She couldn't even try to leave as long as a question was asked, but she kept inching towards the door in between spoken breaks. Real panic was in her eyes, far paler than the deep violet they normally were. His own flashed red as he tried to cancel the effects of the quirk. "Is it gone now?"

"No," she groaned miserably.

"Who's your favorite teacher here?" Kayama asked with a grin.

"Mic," she answered promptly before blushing bright red.

Yamada looked surprisingly pleased. "Oh, hey," he crooned, preening slightly. "Girl's got good taste, what can I say?"

"Oooh! So, who's your fave Pro Hero?"

"Mic," she answered again and then clapped a hand over her mouth. "I - I need to go..."

"Kayama," Yagi scolded gently. "Leave the poor woman alone."

"Let her go." Thirteen repeated, her huge eyes expressing sympathy. The others more or less echoed the same sentiment.

"Yeah! Don't make me <i>yell</i>." Yamada looked furious. He glared at Midnight, but she was not about to let this drop.

"Hey, Ches!" Kayama called out just before her fingers brushed the doorknob. "Do you have a crush on Yamada?"

"<i>No!</i>"

He cleared his throat, looking even more uncomfortable. "Uh, okay. Happy? She's - she's upset. There's no consent, she's being forced to answer and she doesn't wanna."

"Awww. I was so sure. You really don't?"

"No. That word implies infatuation, which means it's frivolous." Elly's eyes filled with horror as the words tumbled out of her mouth.

Kayama pounced. "Then are you in love with him?"

"Yes."

A dead silence filled the room until Elly's tormentor broke it by screaming in glee. "Jackpot! <i>I knew it</i>!"

Yamada and a few of the others caught sight of a tear as it rolled down her cheek before the counselor's entire head vanished. Yagi shook his head, though there was a faint smile on his face. The others stared at her or Present Mic, awed by her vehement confession.

The loud blond man, however, was so furious he lost control of his quirk as he pointed at Kayama. Several laptops snapped shut and a can of pencils rolled off the long desk onto the floor as he spoke. "<i>That's it</i>! Yer takin' her work and Yagi's covering my classes for the rest of the day. We're leaving! Ya went too far this time - I won't let <i>anyone</i> make her cry!"

The room stayed silent in stunned amazement. Even Aizawa looked shocked, but Yamada's only concern was the counselor standing a few feet away. Even though her head was invisible, her humiliation was evident in her body posture, crumpled over with her once-proud tail drooping on the floor.

"Please <i>let me go</i>," she whimpered.

Yamada stared at her for a moment and then quickly scooped her up in his arms. She squeaked in shock, and he grinned. "Fastest way outta here, babe," he assured her as he strode out the door.

"I'm so sorry," she choked, trembling and still hiding her face in her unique way. "M - Mic, I never would have said anything..."

"I know." He grinned toothily down at where he guessed her face was. "That's one thing we have to thank Kayama for, at least."

He was pleased to see her again, blurring back to visibility as she frowned at him. "What?"

"I, uh, really dig you, too," he clarified, speaking in English.

Her ears slowly rose up out of her purple hair, twitching up at him in shock. She almost couldn't believe what she heard. "You - you do?"

"Yeah." His ears burning, he bumped the main doors open with his hip and continued on his way to the on-campus apartments the teachers lived in. "In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm like, madly in love with you."

She squeaked again and he laughed happily when he felt her hands tighten on his jacket.

"So, d'ya wanna crash at my place for awhile and just chill out until the quirk wears off?"

"I'd love to go to your place," Elly agreed. "For <i>any</i> reason."

"Oh?" He set her down at the door to his apartment, watching her closely with one eye squinted and the other wide. "Is that so? Can I ask you another question, babe?"

"Yes." She nodded, though she was extremely nervous about what he might ask. Yet she always told him the truth, so the quirk really didn't matter. It also wasn't in her to refuse him when he gave her his undivided attention like this. His green-gold eyes whirled with intensity as he looked down into her own, mesmerizing her and causing her heart to beat faster and faster.

"Maayyyybe we should go inside first." He opened the door and stepped back with a grand gesture for her to enter.

Elly walked in and took her paw boots off at the entrance, laying them neatly to one side so he could take his off as well. When she noticed him removing his directional speaker with a relieved sigh, she smiled and took hers off as well.

Yamada placed his boots beside hers and waved at the kitchen counter, where he'd deposited his speaker. "You can drop your stuff here, too."

"So..?"

"Oh! My question." He moved close, one hand absently rubbing the red mark on his throat where his gear pressed the hardest. Yamada grinned impishly at her, his eyes twinkling. "Can I kiss you?"

Her heart leaped in her chest. "<i>Yes</i>," she breathed, her hands reaching up to take hold of his massive leather collar and tug gently. "I want that more than anything."

"Enthusiasm like that," he hummed with a rich, slow smile, "is really hot, baby." He bent down and placed his lips on hers, sliding his arms around her waist. His mustache felt wonderfully soft on her skin as he nuzzled, pausing for acceptance once more before deepening the kiss. Elly held on to him, relishing everything in the moment. The smell of his leather jacket and sweet hair product, his gloved hands warm through her striped bodysuit added to the sensation of his gentle, probing tongue. He was an excellent kisser, not too rough or wet but just enough. Her only complaint was that it seemed far too short a time before it was over.

He was panting heavily, his mouth still open a little. "Wow - that was awesome."

"So good," she agreed, kissing each of his mustache points in turn.

"You'd better start callin' me Hizashi," he said, swallowing hard with a dazed expression. "I'm all yours now. Uh, if you want! I mean, do you? Want me, that is..?"

"Yeahhhhh," she said with a sly grin.

"<i>Awesome</i>," he repeated in English, already reaching for her again.