19. Serving of Apprehension

                                    

                                          
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Edited 17.MARCH.2022
Edited 19.OCT.2024
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The next day, the class returned to their individual trainings.
Niwa had been banned from continuing her previous task, Aizawa-sensei's decision, and was assigned to join Midoriya and two Class B students under Tiger's watchful eye. It was meant to keep her from 'overexerting' herself, but it felt more like a punishment.
Her muscles still ached, tight and sore from the overuse of her Quirk, and a dull sleepiness lingered behind her eyes. But aside from that, the training itself was excruciatingly dull. Tiger barked orders nonstop, as if his booming voice alone could add any intensity to the training. By the end of the session, Niwa swore her ears were as tired as her muscles.
When they were finally dismissed, she all but bolted from Tiger's oppressive supervision, eager to leave the training field behind.
That evening, the class was once again responsible for cooking their own dinner and Niwa was more than glad to join in this time. 
At the cooking station, Niwa worked shoulder-to-shoulder with Kirishima. The steady sizzle of beef hitting the heated iron filled the air, accompanied by the rich, savory scent that made her stomach rumble. She gripped the spatula, spreading the meat across the hot pan until the edges seared to a perfect brown.
With a satisfied nod, she transferred the partially cooked beef into a bowl. "Todoroki!" she called over, waving him down. "Take this to the pot, would ya?"
Todoroki gave her a wordless nod and lifted the bowl with quiet intent, carrying it to the bubbling stew. Niwa wiped her hands on her apron and grabbed another portion of raw beef to toss onto the grill, the heat from the stove warming her face.
"Bakugou, you're really good at using a knife," Behind them, Uraraka's startled voice cut through the hum of conversation. "It's unexpected..."
Niwa looked over her shoulder just in time to catch Bakugou's sharp scowl. "Whaddya mean, unexpected?! How can someone suck at using a knife?!"
"There he is," Kaminari muttered as he slid another tray of meat onto the counter. "We haven't seen the capable version of him in a while."
Niwa snorted her amusement while poor Kirishima slumped with an annoyed frown and a strained sharp-toothed grin, "Everyone's too energetic..."
"Long night?" Niwa asked knowingly, her gaze flicking between the frying pan and her exhausted friend.
Kirishima groaned, slumping against the counter as if the weight of the extra meat was physically crushing him. "Extra classes went till two in the morning."
"Yikes." Niwa gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "Hang in there. Food's almost ready."
He gave a half-hearted thumbs up, his sharp-toothed grin lazy and tired. "Yeah."
Once the last batch of beef was finished, Niwa and Kirishima wandered over to the wooden picnic tables, leaving Todoroki and the others to finish assembling the stew. Kirishima dropped onto the bench with a heavy thud, folding his arms across the table and burying his face in them with a groan.
"Aren't you supposed to be tired too?" he mumbled, voice muffled by his arms. "You totally overdid it during training yesterday."
Niwa shrugged, swinging one leg over the bench to sit beside him. "Yeah, but I passed out right after dinner and slept like a rock. Even slept in a bit this morning. You should try it sometime."