I saw the tiniest hint of a smile before he looked away and walked out the door, closing it behind him.

I looked back at Nezu, who had a small vile of clear liquid, as well as an assortment of food, and a chart.

"If you would be so kind and drink this when the timer goes off, that would be wonderful." he said as he handed the vile to me.

I looked at it and examined it. Nothing out of the ordinary as far as I could tell.

Nezu took notice of my hesitation.

"It's nothing to be afraid of, I assure you." he said as he wrote on his chart, "It's still water. The only difference is that it contains a larger than normal amount of the hydrogen isotope deuterium. In other words, it's a form of heavy water. It won't taste any different than something you would normally drink."

"What's the food for?" I asked, motioning to the tiny bit of fruits, veggies and nuts he brought in.

"That will be given to you after we've measured your resting energy expenditure. It's a low protein meal that will give us information on how much thermic energy you use after eating it. After some time has passed for you to digest it, I will have you perform a 30 minute round of exercises while hooked up to the VO2 Max machine."

Suddenly, a timer went off on Nezu's watch, which signaled him to help lift the mask off of my face.

He continued, "In about 4-7 hours, we'll have you give the urine sample for the DLW test, and then have you consume a high protein meal, before doing one last round of exercises for another 30 minutes."

Once the mask was off of my face, I let out a sigh.

"Principal Nezu, I appreciate you be so thorough and explaining everything, but could you maybe ease up a little? It's becoming a bit overwhelming." I said, trying to be patient as my head felt like it was going to explode.

Nezu paused, but then nodded.

"Very well. My apologies for overloading you with too much information. It's not my intention to make you feel uncomfortable." he said, setting the mask down as I drank the liquid.

'He was right. It does taste like regular water.' I thought, as I handed him the empty vile back.

"My sensitivities to situations like this will often leave me to overcompensate." he said as he took the vile and handed the food to me before walking to the screen next to the treadmill to jot down the remaining information on his chart.

'Sensitivities?' I thought, 'What's he referring to?'

And then it dawned on me.

Nezu was experimented on and abused by humans, possibly resulting in his high-spec quirk. I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts and feelings that I forgot to imagine how tough this must be for him having the roles reversed.

I felt a lump in my throat form as I tried to come up with something to say.

"I'm...so sorry. I didn't realize..." I tried to say, but failed to form a cohesive sentence.

Nezu turned around confused until he saw the regretful look spread on my face.

"Oh! No, no, don't worry, my dear!" he said, putting his paws up defensively, "I'm by no means offended. I have a habit of going overboard with objectives and information when in a position like this."

He fumbled with his paws for a moment before continuing, his voice softer than before.

"It would pain me to see another go through what I did and have little to no explanation. Even a human. Because of that, I wish to extend that courtesy to others, even if no one did so for me."

I looked down as my heart wrenched hearing what he said. I couldn't imagine going through what he must have. I don't know how he could remain so calm and seemingly content, despite his past.

"I really appreciate your help. Honestly, I do." I said, "I've never been through anything like this before, so this is all kinda scary. That being said, I'm grateful that you're the one putting this all together."

Nezu smiled at me as his demeanor shifted to something more hopeful.

"I'm happy to be of assistance! Now," he said as he pushed a button the machine, causing it to beep loudly before the lights around it dimmed, "I have your results listed for REE, so you can go ahead and eat. I'm going to get some work done in my office. Aizawa can be here to give you company, should you want it." I smiled widely, making Nezu nod, "I'll take that reaction as a 'yes'. I'll send him in. I should be back in about an hour."

Nezu then proceeded to walk out of the room, and signaled Aizawa to go ahead and meet with me inside before walking away down the hall.

"Need company?" asked Aizawa as he walked towards me.

"Wouldn't mind it." I said with a smile, as I picked up some fruit, "I only have an hour or so with you, so I'll take what I can get."

He sat against the wall next to me and closed his eyes.

"I take it you haven't slept yet?" I asked as I popped a strawberry into my mouth.

"Not yet." he said, as he folded his arms, rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes, "I was hoping to get a little while we're both in here, seeing as you're in no immediate danger."

I swallowed my food.

"How do you know?" I asked with a smirk, "What if someone bursts in while you sleep?"

He opened his eyes and looked at me.

"Does the timeline suggest such a scenario?" he asked, to which I shook my head and he closed his eyes again, "Then we have nothing to worry about."

I was honestly surprised he could sleep anywhere at any time. I have to at least toss and turn 20 times before I can even get remotely comfortable to sleep. Being in Aizawa's bed was probably the quickest I've ever fallen asleep since I've been here.

Which got me thinking.

"Aizawa?" I asked.

"Hmm?" he hummed, not moving or opening his eyes.

"Why didn't you sleep with me last night?" I asked, quietly. I wasn't sure if anyone could hear us, but just on the off chance that someone could listen in, I kept my volume at a hushed level.

His tired eyes opened a bit, and looked at me as he leaned forward slightly. I could tell he was scanning the worried look on my face as I waited for his answer.

"Don't take it personally. Even though I had the night off from patrol, I still had work to do for my students. I figured I'd use that time and get things done early so I didn't have much waiting for me after I finish patrol tonight." he said, his voice also low.

"Oh." I said, looking down, feeling a bit embarrassed, "I'm sorry. I thought it was something I said or did, or-"

"Not at all." he interrupted, "I don't sleep like most people, as I'm sure you already know."

I toyed with my food for a bit as I mumbled.

"I wouldn't mind sleeping next to you..."

I kept my eyes down, not thinking he could hear me.

"All you have to do is ask." he responded, making me look up and to him. A soft smile appeared on his face before he closed his eyes and leaned back again, "You should go ahead and eat. If you need anything, just wake me."

I hummed and went to turn back in my seat to eat what Nezu had planned out for me.

"And Doe," he said, causing me to turn and look at him once more,"call me Shota."