Perhaps a Better Place [A Dadzawa Story]

Amends: Chapter 56

     I skip lunch entirely, heading straight for the rooftop after I finish talking with Aizawa.

     I am not waiting to have this conversation.

     When I open the door, Iida is sitting with a book in his hand, his other hand calmly using chopsticks to eat his bento box.

     He looks up when the door involuntarily slams shut behind me. I stand awkwardly, unsure of what to do.

     "Ah, (L/N)-San. Please, come sit with me."

     I take a couple slow steps, assessing the situation rationally.

     Iida jumps to conclusions and is close-minded. He's stubborn and rude, but he's not malicious. And he seems nervous, so this is either an interrogation or an apology.

     I sit in front of him, leaving a few feet of space between us.

     "Just cut to the chase," I tell him. "What do you want?"

     He nods, setting all of his stuff down and giving me his undivided attention. "As I said earlier, my behavior lately has been unbecoming of a hero. I've treated you with undeserved and blatant disrespect."

     I nod. "Yes, I know this already."

     He purses his lips. "And while you have not been entirely kind to me, your feelings are justified. You must... not like me very much."

     I nod a little more enthusiastically than I intend to.

     "I think you're a complete tool," I tell him.

     He chokes on air in surprise, but after calming down, he nods.

     "I suppose I have been."

     A few seconds pass, and he looks like he's not sure where to go with this.

     "So," I start, "this is an apology."

     "It is. I am incredibly sorry. I did not mean to make you feel unwelcome... I never wanted to separate you from all of us."

     I stare at him, and after several seconds, I sigh through my nose.

     "So why did you?"

     And if Iida notices the voice crack, he doesn't mention it.

     "Your demeanor has been off-putting since I first met you... You are the one person I struggle to understand. You... I am intimidated by you."

     I frown. "Is my RBF really that bad?"

     He waves his hands back and forth stiffly.

     "No, that is not what I mean! You're," he pauses, thinking, and settles on the word, "strange."

I blink. This conversation, if anything, is strange.

"I'm weird? So you called me a villain?"

"It was... it's more than that, but I am struggling to find the words. But please know that... I'm willing to try and fix this. As a class, I don't want us to be divided."

Oh.

"So, are you doing this purely because of your standing as class president?" I ask.

He shakes his head. "No. I'm doing this because you deserve better."

Oh.

"You... You're a weird fucking dude, you know that?"