#SCRAP PIPES://KENDOU IC

[quirkthieves]

@valkyrrhic liked this for a Kendou starter!

"I'm not stupid, you know." Kendou pauses in cleanup of the public gym, still holding one of the foam mats that had been in use. All of the kids were gone, with the exception of her two little brothers, who had been instructed to wait outside so Kendou could take them home. She was the assistant instructor (a volunteer, not side work, so she could justify it, even with her workload-- hours were requested, not required), but something had been bugging her for a long time about the main teacher.

"I know who you are. It's Suzaku, right?" A vigilante, although not one that was as well-known after she went inactive for a few years, if Kendou recalled correctly. Vigilantes had always been a hot topic among middle schoolers aiming for U.A; the subject of lunchroom debates and heated text exchanges.

"You're pretty far from home. Okinawa and Kyushu are way down south, aren't they?" Itsuka keeps her tone light, conversational, even going so far as to turn her back on the other while putting the mat in the closet. I'm not an immediate threat to you, even in this confrontation.

"I don't know why you came up to Aichi, and it's really none of my business... but Katashi and Kentaro like you a lot. Not a lot of places will take on quirkless kids, even if they don't say it outright." A shuffling of shelves, a quiet hum. "It'd really be a shame if you did anything to ruin it, is all. I'm no snitch, though. At least, not if you're just trying to keep your nose clean."

[quirkthieves]

@dynmghts from here

For a brief moment, Kendou feels her finger twitch at the unrepentant audacity, almost understanding of why Monoma had singled this guy out-- but for the sake of being a reasonable person with a brain, she buries it.

"Right, okay." It was another joint training day-- but thankfully, it was just casual practice in pairs, and Kirishima was keeping Monoma too busy with sparring for him to sidle over and be a little dickhead, so she could focus solely on the dickhead at hand.

"Let me make this really fast, then. Your form is dogshit. I'm not-- I'm not saying that to be mean, okay? No disrespect, or whatever... but I think if you try to attack me with that I'm going to knock your shoulder out of place. Not even with my quirk. Your explosions are tearing your muscles up and I can see it-- do you not like, feel pain, or something?"

[quirkthieves]

And with that... Kendou starter call?

[quirkthieves]

"I overslept this morning and came downstairs to the boys seeing how many marshmallows Monoma can fit in his mouth."

"...It's 50, by the way."

"That's a world record. I knew he had a big mouth, but damn!"

[quirkthieves]

everything is fucked. everybody sucks. / kendou <3

Kendou Itsuka is stunned for a minute, which isn't really something that happens much to her anymore; but U.A. finds ways to go above and beyond with surprising her, she supposes.

She stares for a moment, watching the sweat that beads up around his hairline, the furrow in his brow, the tightness of the tendons in his hands as he adjusts his glasses and tries to fix his hair. Iida Tenya, it seems, was completely and utterly frustrated.

Well, it felt nice knowing she wasn't the only one that got that way, especially when it came to dealing with their classmates.

"Well, sure." She responds, shrugging a bit. Kendou hops up on the desk, pushing aside papers and looking down on him with a smile.

"But hey, if everyone sucks, and everything's fucked, that means none of this really matters, right?" She picks up one pile, and lightly whaps him on the head with it.

"And if it doesn't matter, it means we don't gotta worry about it. And that means that if it's not fun and it's not working, we don't gotta do it. And you, clearly, are not having fun." Just to demonstrate, she takes one of the sheets and starts folding it as she talks, before placing the resulting crane on top of his head.

"I say we take lunch. I'll even show you my favorite spot to eat, if you want."

[quirkthieves]

She can hear Tokage laughing a few rooms over... should she be worried?

[quirkthieves]

"Can you tell Vlad King we're gonna be a little late to class? We have a-- There's a category five glue incident in the dorm. It's gonna be a minute."

[quirkthieves]

"You know... Monoma, I get. Tetsutetsu, I get. Bakugou, too. But Midoriya? That kid scares the hell out of me. I have no idea what's going on with him."

[quirkthieves]

Kendou's hand doesn't linger particularly long, but she doesn't yank it away when Takehiko jumps, either. It's not like she's not used to dealing with jumpy people, after all. There were plenty of odd ducks in the hero course.

"I'd take you up on that, if I could."

"I'm staying in the dorms at school now, so I have even fewer hours to be around... I don't know if I'd be able to take more time than I already do." For a moment, Kendou almost considers asking her to be a sitter; but quickly dismisses the idea-- this woman most certainly had a warrant out for her arrest, and if not that, she really didn't want that vigilante attitude leading to conflict if the boys spoke too much about their old man.

"It's Kentaro. The little one. I thought he was just a late bloomer, but he's got the joint and all... doesn't stop him from talking about being a hero one day, but I guess kids are just like that, huh?" She didn't have the heart to crush those dreams. And who knows... maybe one day, somehow, it'd be possible.

"Katashi's quirk lets him make his muscles denser. I've already told him not to use it while in practice, though. I really don't want some kid hurting their hand in a sparring match because of it. But it can be hard to tell when he does."

"Oh, how noble of you." If Takehiko was astute, she may pick up on the sardonic undertone in Kendou's voice, almost cynical, even. But not necessarily targeted at her.

She just sighs, though, and her face softens into a smile. She won't allow herself to stew on those sorts of things; it's best to keep faith everything will be okay, right?

Her hand rests on the instructor's shoulder.

"The kids'll be sad when you go, you know. Just don't make me have to tell them you're in prison instead of going home, okay?"

[quirkthieves]

"Oh, how noble of you." If Takehiko was astute, she may pick up on the sardonic undertone in Kendou's voice, almost cynical, even. But not necessarily targeted at her.

She just sighs, though, and her face softens into a smile. She won't allow herself to stew on those sorts of things; it's best to keep faith everything will be okay, right?

Her hand rests on the instructor's shoulder.

"The kids'll be sad when you go, you know. Just don't make me have to tell them you're in prison instead of going home, okay?"

"No, not really." Kendou then begins to move dummies back into place, carefully walking them so it doesn't scrape the floors up.

"At least, it was never in your m.o. to hurt kids, as far as I remember." Which puts you ahead of some civilians, she wants to say, but she refrains.

"I figure you don't like heroes much, but that's fine. There are plenty of jobs I don't like. Everyone's entitled to their opinion." After a particularly stubborn dummy almost topples over, Kendou just huffs and enlarges her hand enough to pick it up and place it over where it belongs.

"...It's like I said. I'm just looking after my little brothers. And sometimes that means going a little further in making sure things are clear. You don't have anything to worry about if you don't give me anything to worry about."

[quirkthieves]

"No, not really." Kendou then begins to move dummies back into place, carefully walking them so it doesn't scrape the floors up.

"At least, it was never in your m.o. to hurt kids, as far as I remember." Which puts you ahead of some civilians, she wants to say, but she refrains.

"I figure you don't like heroes much, but that's fine. There are plenty of jobs I don't like. Everyone's entitled to their opinion." After a particularly stubborn dummy almost topples over, Kendou just huffs and enlarges her hand enough to pick it up and place it over where it belongs.

"...It's like I said. I'm just looking after my little brothers. And sometimes that means going a little further in making sure things are clear. You don't have anything to worry about if you don't give me anything to worry about."

"This just isn't really a neighborhood where people ask a lot of questions."

She would know more than anyone, because plenty of jobs came with payment in cash and without requesting an ID.

Itsuka just listens for a bit, and closes the closet. When Takehiko asks her last question, though, she just laughs.

"Oh, nah. I don't think Kentaro even knows what the word vigilante means. And there's no point in telling 'em." Why bring them into the complicated world of hero politics before they could understand it?

"...You know, I just gotta look after them. Not that I'm accusing you of anything. But that's where things stand."

[quirkthieves]

"This just isn't really a neighborhood where people ask a lot of questions."

She would know more than anyone, because plenty of jobs came with payment in cash and without requesting an ID.

Itsuka just listens for a bit, and closes the closet. When Takehiko asks her last question, though, she just laughs.

"Oh, nah. I don't think Kentaro even knows what the word vigilante means. And there's no point in telling 'em." Why bring them into the complicated world of hero politics before they could understand it?

"...You know, I just gotta look after them. Not that I'm accusing you of anything. But that's where things stand."

@valkyrrhic liked this for a Kendou starter!

"I'm not stupid, you know." Kendou pauses in cleanup of the public gym, still holding one of the foam mats that had been in use. All of the kids were gone, with the exception of her two little brothers, who had been instructed to wait outside so Kendou could take them home. She was the assistant instructor (a volunteer, not side work, so she could justify it, even with her workload-- hours were requested, not required), but something had been bugging her for a long time about the main teacher.

"I know who you are. It's Suzaku, right?" A vigilante, although not one that was as well-known after she went inactive for a few years, if Kendou recalled correctly. Vigilantes had always been a hot topic among middle schoolers aiming for U.A; the subject of lunchroom debates and heated text exchanges.

"You're pretty far from home. Okinawa and Kyushu are way down south, aren't they?" Itsuka keeps her tone light, conversational, even going so far as to turn her back on the other while putting the mat in the closet. I'm not an immediate threat to you, even in this confrontation.

"I don't know why you came up to Aichi, and it's really none of my business... but Katashi and Kentaro like you a lot. Not a lot of places will take on quirkless kids, even if they don't say it outright." A shuffling of shelves, a quiet hum. "It'd really be a shame if you did anything to ruin it, is all. I'm no snitch, though. At least, not if you're just trying to keep your nose clean."