Their Guardian

chapter 9

Yawning, I sit on one of the street lights on campus, holding an almost empty cup of ice cream in my hand. 

All the students are still in the dorms, probably eating dinner by now or preparing for class tomorrow. It's been a while since they've all seen each other as well, so maybe they're all socializing.

Why am I not with them?

...I don't really feel comfortable not guarding over them. 

Especially after the recent events with All for One.

Shigaraki will definitely be enraged. A man child's tantrums might mean raiding U.A, even if it's a completely risky plan, and I don't want to take any chances.

Either way, it doesn't feel right to suddenly interact with all of them after always watching them like a t.v show. It never really hit me that they're real people, but now here we are.

It feels...

weird.

The crickets chirp loudly, signaling the transition into summer. The weather is also getting pretty warm, making me wonder if I should change my usual tux into something else. 

For the most part, the campus is silent, only a few bursts of laughter coming from the class housings. A loud yelp sounds from the class 1b dorm, but I can tell it's probably just Monoma getting hit again by the class rep. Nothing out of the ordinary. 

The upperclassmen dorms are also close by. Currently, I'm positioned slightly in the middle of all of the dorms.

Oh, I'm pretty grateful that all the dorms are together, lined up within my sight. 

Makes it easier to get to them in case of emergency.

The breeze suddenly changes, and I glance to my right, seeing Aizawa approach the night light I'm resting on.

"(y/n)," he calls out. "Why aren't you in the dorm?"

Floating down to him, I take a glimpse at the sky and shrug.

"Can't watch over everyone inside a building."

"And I can't keep an eye on you if you're out of one."

Sighing, the man ruffles his hair and glares at me.

"Kid, I understand that you're some guardian. I've seen your strength in person now, and I don't doubt it. But, your identity is still foreign. No one knows who you are, and there's no proof that you're actually alive. God, are you even human?"

"Of course I'm a human. Do you, like, wanna touch my skin or something to confirm?"

"Fuc-." Groaning, Aizawa mentally curses and shakes his head. "No. No. Just go back to the dorms."

"But I can't watch over the other classes if I-"

"You're under my supervision from now on."

"I never agreed to be under anyone's supervision. It's just that I'm staying at the dorms now."

"..."

As Aizawa silently pierces daggers into my skull, I take another long glance at the sky.

"Stars are nice," I finally say, breaking the awkward silence.

"...yeah."

"You know," I say out loud, "I've never talked to anyone my age until today."

At this, the teacher widens his eyes, surprised at my sudden comment.

I continue.

"I've always watched the students from afar. None of them knew I existed until today, but I've always known everything about them. Their names, quirks, habits, morals. I even knew about you, since you're the teacher after all. Turns out you're harder to deal with in person."

"You-"

"I've always treated it like some game." I ignore Aizawa's glares. "Kind of like a 'make sure they survive!' game. Never really felt like any of you were real people 'till now. It's weird, suddenly talking to you guys. It's even worse when I've never really talked to anyone ever outside my family. I was always just some invisible person."

"Kid..."

"I wasn't saying that for any pity. Just a small observation," I interject impassively. I don't really care. I feel like my only purpose is to watch over them since that's what's been drilled into my mind since I was a kid.

While I continue to stare at the sky with the same, emotionless eyes, Aizawa wonders about my life. A child with such a strong, yet one-sided mentality, watching over U.A like some actual superior being without seeming to care at all. How long have I been watching over the students? How much longer will I stay? Why am I even watching over them?

Many questions swarm in the teacher's head. And, again, I wouldn't answer them unless he asked.

I, on the other hand, enjoy the night breeze, viewing the clouds as they pass by lazily. 

"Let's go inside," Aizawa mumbles.

"But I just sai-"

"We all know you exist now, don't we?"

I blink for a bit, taking in what he had said. Then I close my eyes, nodding my head and sighing.

"...I guess you're right."