𝚂𝚖𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗 - 𝙸. 𝙼𝚒𝚍𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚢𝚊 𝚡 𝙾𝙲

8 - Shoot Your Shot

CHAPTER EIGHT

A pair of onyx eyes narrowed at Kayama as she quietly sat at the lunch table in UA's teacher's lounge, nodding along at the appropriate intervals as Yamada blabbered on about a new band neither she nor Aizawa could care less about. Though it wasn't unusual for Kayama to be uninterested in Yamada's chatter, it was clear to Aizawa by her mannerisms that something was wrong, but the question was: what?

Despite her outgoing personality, Kayama was surprisingly closed off when it came to her private life but Aizawa had mostly chalked it up to her lack of one. As they grew older, Kayama's party phase fizzled and though her sex kitten persona never did, it wasn't out of the norm for Aizawa and Yamada to be out of the loop as to how she was feeling. That didn't make it any less frustrating though, which is why Aizawa cleared his throat, interrupting Yamada's sixth straight minute of yammering to at least put the offer out there in case she, for once, wanted to confide in him. "What's wrong with you?"

Yamada tilted his head to the side. "What do you mean? Mustard Plug is totally a quintessential ska band of the '90s. If you think I'm wrong then you're horribly mistaken. Plus, si-"

"Not you, idiot," Aizawa sighed, nodding over to the woman seated beside the blond, across the table from him.

"Me?" Kayama chuckled, waving away his concern, slightly annoyed that Aizawa had picked up on how out-of-sorts she'd felt the past several days after finding out about Matsuda's feelings for another woman. "Nothing, just fading in and out of consciousness during Hiza's endless ramblings about brass instruments."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "I don't think that's it. Something is off with you this week, Nemuri."

"You've always known how to compliment a woman, Shota," she laughed, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"Laugh all you want, but you know I'm right," Aizawa pointed out before glancing at Yamada as if to cue him into the conversation.

Kayama rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest, feeling more defensive. "That's rich coming from you, Mr. Stay-out-of-my-business. Besides, it's fine," she ignored the sting in her chest at even the thought of what was eating her up. She didn't want to seek love and dating advice from her two eternally single best friends and if she was being honest with herself, she wasn't ready to admit her true feelings out loud. "Everything's just fine."

"You know, now that you mention it," Yamada scratched his cheek sheepishly, feeling a bit guilty for not noticing. "You do seem kinda quiet, Nemuri."

"You two are delusional, and not even in the good kind of way that ends up with hot roleplay," she sighed as she brushed off Yamada as well, trying desperately to change the conversation. "Why are we even talking about me when there's that foxy new librarian to gossip about? Have you seen her rack? Damn, I'd like to take her out for a nice dinner and let her be the dessert."

With a small scowl, Aizawa looked back down at his lunch. If she didn't want to talk, there wasn't much he could do about that because he knew that when Kayama set her mind to something, it was damn near impossible to change it. He just hoped that whatever it was that was bothering her wasn't major and wouldn't jeopardize her attention or focus during her patrols.

"Maybe we should all go for a drink tonight at that bar you like so much," Yamada offered with a small wave of his hand. "Take your mind off of whatever's bothering you for a bit."

It was at that moment that Kayama found herself stuck between a rock and a hard place. If she said no, it would only make them more suspicious, but if she said yes, they might pick up on something between herself and Matsuda. Figuring that it would likely be easier to pretend to be unaffected if they went as a group to the bar, seated far away from the bartender, she agreed. "Sure, Hiza. A few drinks with you dummies sounds good."