Chapter Fifty-Six: Dinner for Four?

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(Reader's POV)

'Jesus, that was close. Way too close.' I thought to myself as I finished up my shower, 'Had I not overheard Present Mic at the door, I would've been done for.'

I turned off the faucet and wringed my hair out before grabbing a towel and stepping out of the shower.

As I began to dry myself off, I casually glanced at the mirror, only to do a double take in horror.
The bite mark Aizawa left on my neck earlier was very apparent and red. My fingers softly touched it and I winced, feeling a slight sting from the indents on my swollen skin.

"Fuck." I whispered to myself, becoming extremely worried about how noticeable it was. Were this any other instance, I'd be fine with being marked, but now couldn't have been a worse time to have this. If Nemuri or Hizashi saw it, I'd have nothing to say.
'Uhhhh, yeah. I got in a fight with a rabid pair of dentures!'
No, that's stupid.
'Oh, this? It's a new marketing strategy for whatever vampire series is popular here. Is Twilight a thing in this universe? Was it ever? Vampire Diaries? Hellsing Ultimate Abridged?'
NO, that's even more stupid!

Goddammit, what have I gotten myself into?

I quickly dried off the rest of myself and put the clothes on that Nemuri handed to me before trying to rub off the remained excess water in my hair with the other towel. Normally, I'd just wrap my hair up, but with the bite marks, that wasn't going to be an option. While I hated having damp hair, it was going to have to do in order to hide the evidence of what happened early this morning.
I checked myself in the mirror and carefully placed more hair around my neck, concealing it from view. I took a deep breath.

'Just act calm...' I thought to myself before opening the door.

"Hey hey!" shouted Hizashi from the living room, "Look who finally decided to join us!"

"Will you keep your voice down?" said Aizawa, who was in a chair, with Cloud sitting on his lap, next to the couch, "I do have neighbors, you know."

I smiled and walked more into the living room, where Nemuri patted on the cushion next to her, inviting me to sit.

"You can sit next to me, if you'd like!" she said cheerily.

"Oh, I'd like to stand for a bit if you don't mind. I've been laying down for so long, I wouldn't mind standing for awhile." I said gently. Though it was true, it wasn't the actual reason I wanted to stay standing. If I sat next to her, she might see the teeth marks on my neck. And she, of all people, would definitely see past any lie.

While visibly disappointed, Nemuri nodded.

"So how are you feeling?" she asked.

"Well," I said with a sigh, "I'm certainly better than how I was yesterday. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it, to be honest."

"What exactly happened?" asked Hizashi, "I mean, when you were in...ya know, there?"

I took a slow breath in. I knew I would need to fill everyone in as to what happened in my world, but revisiting it made me feel uneasy and anxious. I wish I could pretend it didn't happen, truth be told. Aizawa must've seen the discomfort on my face, because he began to speak before I could.

"I don't think we should-" he started to say, trying to defend me, but I lifted a hand up to stop him.

"It's fine." I interrupted, giving him a somewhat reassuring look, "I'll try my best to explain."

I described everything I could, from the moment my heart started to go haywire, to returning to the infirmary before passing out again, and then the machine learning algorithm test to prove I was still in there.
All of them sat and listened patiently as I told them everything I could remember.

"A lot of this explains what we saw at the infirmary while you were asleep. Honestly, I never imagined the test would go this badly. I thought we had everything worked out." said Nemuri as she thought outloud.

"I thought I was going to die..." I said, my voice cracking slightly as I tried not to cry.

Aizawa set Cloud down from his lap and stood up so he could be next to me. I felt his hand on my shoulder as I looked up at him, his hand lightly held onto me tighter as his face softened looking into my eyes. I knew he couldn't say it out loud, but I knew with that look he was glad I was still here.

"I don't think any of us knew how dire the situation could turn." I heard Nemuri say, "I'm sorry we put you through this ordeal." There was a look of guilt on her face that I hadn't seen before as she looked down to the ground. Silence fell upon the room for a moment before I saw a small smile form on her face, as though a lightbulb went off in her head, "How about we make it up to you?"

All of us looked at her.

"How so?" I asked, curious as to what she was suggesting.

She looked at Hizashi, who smiled along with her, before looking back at me.

"How about dinner?" she asked.

I blinked in surprise.

"I mean, sure. But...why?" I asked, wanting a little more of an explanation.

"It seems every time Hizashi and I around you, it's nothing but bad news." Nemuri said.

"You can say that again." I heard Aizawa mutter under his breath.

"I figured a casual night out with all of us together might help. Last thing any of us want is for you to be afraid of us." she added, "Besides, we owe it to you after what happened yesterday."

I looked at Aizawa, who seemed unamused and suspicious about the offer. I could tell it wasn't something he'd outright agree to, though with him being as introverted as he was, it didn't surprise me that he seemed unenthusiastic about going out. While I knew he was a homebody, a part of me was definitely curious about her offer. I wouldn't mind seeing what it was like to hang out with all of them together. The opportunity seemed too fun to turn down.

"Okay." I said looking back at them with a small smile, "I'll go."

"Hell yeeeaaah!!!" screamed Hizashi, making Aizawa and I both cringe and jump slightly, "This is gonna be such a blast! Ooh! Afterwards, we should totally hit up a karaoke bar and jam! It'll be lit!"

"For the love of God, keep your voice down!" shouted Aizawa.

"Fantastic! Well, now that that's settled," said Nemuri as she stood up and started to drag the overly excited Hizashi with her, "We'll meet up with you here around 7. Sound good? Oh, and make sure to wear something fancy."

"Uh, sounds great, but I don't have anything fancy." I said, now starting to become nervous. Why did she want us all to dress up? Where were we going?

After shoving Hizashi out of the apartment, to which I heard him yelp, she stopped by the door and gave me a mischievous smile.

"Don't worry. I'll have something sent to you." she said with a wink, "Catch you two later!"

She quickly shut the door behind her, leaving us alone again in the apartment. What was once a feeling of curiosity was now replaced with worry. She certainly seemed to be in a hurry to leave, and it was more than likely because Aizawa would find a way to argue out of it.

Aizawa let out a sigh.

"...What did I just sign up for?" I asked.

"I've learned a long time ago to never agree to anything those two want. Looks like you're going to find out the hard way why that is." he said, rubbing his tired eyes before walking into the kitchen to make himself some coffee.

*Time Skip*

Around 5 o'clock, there was a knock at the door. Aizawa answered and saw a delivery man with a pink, sleek package.

"I just need you to sign here." said the delivery man holding out an electronic pad.

Aizawa's brow raised as he cautiously signed it before being handed the box. He turned to me with it as he shut the door.

"I believe this is for you." he said, walking over to me on the couch.

I reached out and grabbed ahold of it as he sat down next to me. I looked at it as I sat it down on my lap. It was a pastel pink box, with a little black bow on the side. There was no indication as to the design or maker, but there was a little note attached to the box near the bow. I pulled it off and opened it, only to realize it was in Japanese.

"Great, I can't read this." I said, handing it to Aizawa to see.

He took one look at it before rolling his eyes and handing it back.

"It says: 'If you can read this, then keep out, Aizawa.' Clearly, this is for your eyes only." he said.

"Should I open it now?" I asked, wondering if he wanted to see.

He leaned back into the couch.

"We're in no rush. We aren't expecting them for another couple of hours. Besides, if it's what I think it is, I'll see it soon enough." he said as he yawned and folded his arms before closing his eyes.

"You're taking a nap?" I asked, "Don't we need to get ready soon?"

"If I'm going to be having a night out with those two, I'll need all the energy I can get. I'll still have plenty of time to get ready before that." he said, his tone sounded heavier as he spoke.

I shook my head as I let out a chuckle before kissing his forehead.

"Well, I'm still going to take a look. Want me to wake you?" I asked.

His eyes opened slightly as he smiled.

"I'll be fine but thank you." he said, pulling me in more and placing a tender kiss on my lips before letting me go. I felt my face flush with color, making him chuckle, "I do love getting that reaction out of you." he whispered as he caressed my cheek with his fingers.

I smiled.

"Just wait until you see me wearing whatever's inside this." I said as I backed away and sauntered off into the hallway and towards the bedroom.

I closed the door behind me and sat the package down on the bed. While I was dying to see what was inside, a part of me was terrified. Knowing it was Nemuri who got this for me, I had no idea whether this was going to make me look amazing or hyper sexualized. And to be blunt, I wasn't entirely ready for the latter.

'Only one way to find out.' I thought as I began to open the package.

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