Muse

Chapter 5

The incident with Power-Socket and other smaller altercations that happened days ago were short, but the amount of paperwork timed with police reports Izuku had to fill out sure made it feel like they were an hour long brawls. It kept getting pushed back by the press conferences and interviews that he was tasked with attending, since a full-on blackout in a subway was unheard of and, because Deku was an up-and-coming pro-hero and a UA darling, it kept getting cycled through the news. At least all the press gave the agency the attention and credit it deserved.

"Midoriya, the rat showed up again," Denki Kaminari mentioned with a groan, throwing out a chewed through box of crackers that was hidden in the office kitchen cabinets, the doors of which were also chewed through.

"Again? We just refilled the traps," Izuku asked incredulously.

"Well, the cheese is gone, and he's not falling for Aoyama's bait of camembert, so yeah."

"Clearly, that rodent has no sense of taste," the Japanese-Frenchman huffed dramatically, picking up a smelly piece of cheese from a lunch platter he had stored in the refrigerator and popping it into his own mouth. It was the ongoing theory in the office that the rat had a Quirk, which gave Izuku all the more incentive to catch it so that he could add its Quirk to his ongoing personal study of heroes and analysis of their battle applications for strategy before releasing it in a rural area. Maybe he was a cousin of Principal Nezu's? That was certainly a dark thought. All the more reason to catch the creature and relocate it where it won't be threatened by humans... or continue decimating his office.

"I'll rub down the kitchen with some more peppermint oil," Izuku exhaled and leaned back in his office chair and cracked his neck in a satisfying pop while mentally adding another thing to do on his checklist. His hands did an unconscious motion of writing something on his palm with his other hand, a nervous tick he had developed over the years. "In the meantime, please tell everyone to keep their food in sealed tupperware or in the refrigerator. I think it's only one rat, but we don't want to attract more."

"Let Kira-Kira do that, mon amie. You're busy enough as it is," Aoyama said, his face expressing what the closest thing to a frown he could manage. Izuku glanced over his coworker's shoulder towards the teenager with mild trepidation. Kira Kobayashi stood juxtaposed next to the sparkling hero, only resembling Aoyama with a single highlight of blonde hair and a flashy sense of fashion involving a black cocktail dress that hung much too low on a high school girl's shoulders. She wore a disaffected scowl while she concentrated on filing her nails, resembling one of those stereotypical mean girls in movies that always stabbed the main character in the back. She would have probably done it with her emery board.

"It's alright. I needed a tea break anyways. Plus, any job worth doing is one you do yourself." He then began spraying down the counter with a mixture of peppermint oil, water, and vinegar and rubbing it down with a roll of paper towels. When he was done with that task, he used a vial of All-Mighty Mint essential oil he had on-hand and added multiple droplets to cotton balls that he had placed inside the cabinets. He had gotten the idea from his mother, who had been a bit of a genius when it came to running a clean household. She always used peppermint oil as a bit of a panacea of sorts, whether it was for cleaning or a cure to rid a cold, so as her son and only heir, it was only natural that he would follow her lead and carry on the family tradition.

Satisfied with his work, Izuku yawned and took the opportunity to reward himself by pouring a cup of green tea from the kettle sitting on the stove. He took a sip from his Ingenium thermos and nearly spat it back out, thinking he had accidentally burned himself from how cold the drink was. Not only that, it had a stagnate, concentrated flavor like a tea bag that had been left to steep too long in a forgotten mug. How long had this kettle been sitting out? Wasn't Ms. Momozone in charge of making fresh tea for everyone in the morning? He glanced at the older woman in question who had been converting data into the computer, looking like a lost child at the grocery store.