Chapter 20: ——~(18)~——

"We think too much,

and feel too little.

More than machinery,

We need humanity.

More than cleverness,

We need kindness and gentleness."

-Charlie Chaplin

---

"I apologize, but I was not a victim of the villain attack. Do you want to speak with Principal Nezu, instead..?"

'Let's see how he deals with this...'

"No, I'd rather speak with you. Do you feel unsafe? Do you feel vulnerable? If they've done it once, it's not that hard to do it again, right?"

Her face twisted into an abomination of a smile. If it was up to him, he would have been more detailed with the definition of a smile. It was true that she had her lips turned in an upward curved arc, but that was all it was. It was like an amalgamation of humanities' worst traits expressed in one, single, misleading crescent. Greed, ambition, envy, disdain, and selfishness danced within that curved line.

It was straight out a violation of what a smile was supposed to stand for. And it was disgusting.

"It might be your class next time. You never know, right?"

Instead of doing what should have been the most plausible and frankly best option, this lady seemed set on getting an answer out of him. She was a tiny and petite thing, someone that even one of the grunts could have dealt with easily. Yet, he was forced to keep appearances because he was on the good side now. He just wished he could fry her alive-

'...Something's not right. This lady doesn't have the ability to irritate me, nor do I wish to kill her. I have seen many much, much more terrible people out there compared to her. She is nothing compared to murderers. Compared to me. Then why did that thought pop up in my mind? I know for certain that I don't think that way. Do I have a split personality disorder now or something? It doesn't feel like it.'

He focused his gaze on her, eyes as cold as ice. Mouth still bent up in a reenactment of a smile. Anyone who didn't receive the focus of his eyes could still be led on to believe that he was still the perfect picture of civility. She felt a shiver run down her spine like that of a skier flying down a mountain slope. This... this kid was dangerous. Then his eyes warmed, and the scene was returned to springtime.

'Something seems to be... influencing me. Is it my subconscious? I don't know, but it needs to stop. If that was directed at Nezu...'

The reporter was thrown into a state of disorder from the difference. Why did a kid feel like he was the iciest winter at one moment and then the warmest summer imaginable the next? Her instinct as a reporter told her to dig deeper, but her instinct to stay alive proved stronger in the end. The memory was buried deep inside of the psyche in order to prevent herself from provoking the predator once more.

'D-Did I just imagine that? Maybe I haven't been getting enough rest lately... That must be it! Go get 'em, Aiko! This is your chance for promotion, don't screw it up. I just need this kid to admit that he's emotionally scarred and I'll have the scoop of the century. You need to focus on the students in times like this, yep! Teachers already know how to deal with the press, and everyone's been focusing on them!'

'Those fools~! If I can just get this before anyone else thinks of it... Hehehehe~'

"Ms. Reporter, I'm sorry but I'm an exchange student. From America. You'll have to talk to someone else about this issue."

And then his tone of presence turned into something that could only be described as how a mama bear protects her cubs.

"But, you should take into account the students' mental state, Ms. Reporter. I don't believe that the students should have to talk about it - if they don't want to that is. It would be a bad reflection of journalism if, in the pursuit of the truth, the primary source became traumatized..."

He lightly paused just as the reporter grew a shade whiter.

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"Don't you agree, Ms. Reporter?"

'I've been thinking about what personality 'Allen' should have the entire time. In truth, I don't think that I could pull off a happy facade for a very long time. One thing that goes to my favor is that the pro heroes have only interacted with my true personality for a measly 10 minutes or less. I remained mostly silent for the whole thing. So as long as I add some good traits like loyalty or protectiveness...'

'I've got a whole new persona. It also minimizes the risk of me screwing up.'

"Ms. Aiko, correct? I've just been standing here for the whole time, but I would appreciate you not harassing our students, as Allen-kun has stated. The other students have already gone home, so I suggest you put this idea of yours to rest."

Like a chameleon, Aiko the Reporter turned a rather striking shade of green and red. It was the first time in her life she had ever been this humiliated. No-one had dared to humiliate her when she had been growing up, thanks to her rather lofty status as a successful businessman's daughter. If a classmate dared to upset her, one word from her father left the child's mother or father (or both) jobless.

Even in her current workplace, none of her co-workers dared to antagonize her, and it was also the reason as to why she got her hands on the latest scoop of the last century. If she blotched this up, the upper brass wouldn't forgive her though. Because they just so happened to be on a similar level as her father. It was also the reason as to why her father required that she enter that business if she wanted to do journalism of all things.

'You want to do journalism?! How do you expect to make money with that in this day in age?!'

But still, despite it all, she was her father's daughter. A rather spoiled one in fact.

But just as she was going to shout and scream, her eye was hit by the sunlight of a reflecting windowpane. It wasn't quite a slap in the face, but it served the same purpose as one. She... She was dealing with the Yuuei, and she was just about to yell at the Principal of that very same school. An entity that could make her lose her job in a heartbeat. Make her father lose his business into a heartbeat. Cold sweat fell down her face, as the cold swamp of ohmygodwhatdidIjustthinkofdoing?! hit her.

For if there was one thing she feared most in this world, it was her greatest support and source of love. 

(Or was he a dispenser of horror and oppression instead? In truth, it depended on his mood. Grief is a powerful modifier, whether it be good or bad depends on the individual. Sometimes... he just looked at her and saw her mother instead. And as they say, having hope and then falling into despair regardless is the worst form of human suffering. It breaks you more than a sea of apathy ever could.)

So despite the coals in the pit of her throat or the seemingly insurmountable challenge of prying open her mouth, she said:

"P-Please f-forgive me for the i-intrusion. I-I'll take my l-leave now!"

And then she was gone.

'Well, that was interesting. I thought that she would have run off all while threatening to expose this on the paper. I suppose this proves once more that you can't underestimate anyone. Even the tiger needs to do its' best to catch a rabbit. But what happens when a tiger faces another tiger? I'm sure this situation will get even more interesting with time. Regardless, I can also use this to my advantage as well.'

"...I'm sorry, Mr. Principal. I've gone and provoked her, and she's most likely going to just spew a bunch of lies then call it an article. I'm sure that your current state was fragile enough as it was... I should have just walked away from her the moment I saw her."

The Principal then climbed up his back like a rock wall, and it took every last drop of his restraint not to tense up. Or kill him the moment he got into his blind spot. The creature seemed to have come to a conclusion halfway up his spine, nodding to himself with a 'humu, humu'.

"You're a good kid, Allen. It was partly my fault for not intercepting her from the start. I was curious as to how you - What are you waiting for? Start walking! - would react. Ah, turn left just up ahead. Anyway, I doubt she's stupid enough to print an article purely full of personal opinions. Or that her superiors are stupid enough to do so. The consumers of today have a very good ability to detect bias. It's that building right there, by the way. Speaking of which, Allen, we don't have your amenities stocked yet. Would you mind drinking tea with me, instead?"

'...Of course not, you're the Principal. Ha. Ha. Ha. I'm also your personal mule. Well, it seems that I've passed a test so it's not that bad.'

"It would be my pleasure, Sir."

AN: Sorry guys, I couldn't resist developing a minor character in the middle of that whole thing, lol. Well, since I've given her both a name and a backstory, so look forward to seeing her again. I honestly love character development and writing character development, but I haven't (noticeably) done it in such a long time that it unconsciously slipped through, hahaha. I mean, it's gonna eventually happen with Deku, but it's gonna take awhile. It's kinda hard to develop a character that's essentially dead inside.

This chapter was much more fun to write compared to the last one because my dad was actually home as well. He proceeded to unscrew the steering wheel, so it was much much much nicer.

Anyway, please continue to hit those hearts and comment! Thanks for reading!

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