[Hojirozame Mako]

Mako was in trouble.

She fell asleep during a math test, again. And the teacher was not in a forgiving mood. This was a repeat offence, after all. There was an argument. A loud one. The shark girl had a brash temper. She said a few words she should not have. It ended with her being forced out of class. A talk with a principal later. All very pointless, very embarrassing. And a colossal waste of time. Which was why she ended up in front of this door.

It said 'Student Counseling'. 

The tall girl, wearing the almost undersized academy uniform, comically hanging off of her wiry frame, frowned. 'Tch. This is pointless. There's nothing wrong with me. Just... tired, that's all.' 

She yawned. A few kids that passed her by snickered. She caught a few words, something about being a 'nutcase'. Lucky for them, Mako wasn't going to storm after them down the hallway. That would bring her to more trouble than she already was in. Instead, she took a deep breath, and shrugged. Scratched her bandaged forearm, too. The bite wounds from the beach monster encounter healed slowly, and it itched every day. Grating on the girl's nerves. 

'Eh, how bad can it be. I heard there's a couch.'

Mako opened the door, and walked inside. There was supposed to be a Ms. Gotoh inside. So the plaque said. Instinctively, she started looking around for one. The room was small and gave comfy vibes. Surely the counselor wouldn't be too difficult to find.

"Hey." - the tall girl waved, half-heartedly. "I was told to come here... Here I am."  

Let the counseling begin!

[Sadako Gotoh]

For once, she was glad that the student she was seeing today wasn't being called in because of anything terrible. Sure, she kept falling asleep during class, talked back to her teacher and probably didn't listen to them either... But! At least it wasn't because she had gotten into a super-powered fight with someone, or gone through trauma in a villain attack. At least not as far as Sadako was aware. Mako was a curious case, classic delinquent on paper, but she hoped to find some underlying reasons as to why she was acting the way she was.

''Hello, Hojirozame Mako I presume?'' She smiled warmly from the window. ''Please, have a seat. I'm Gotoh Sadako, the school counselor. Would you like anything to drink? I can make tea, coffee, or get you a glass of water.'' Small as she was, especially compared to Mako, she always wanted to come across as friendly and nonthreatening. This was a counseling session after all. Technically, Sadako wasn't one of the teachers, she just worked closely with them, but it allowed her to take a different approach with the students. ''I want to start by asking, how are you feeling?'' If Mako wanted something to drink she was going to get her a drink and put it next to the little table by the couch she could sit or lie down on. Even if Mako didn't respond or want anything, Sadako grabbed a cup of black coffee for herself. ''You've been called to this meeting because you've been falling asleep during class.'' She wanted to reconfirm the events with Mako. The fact that Mako had said a few unprofessional things to a teacher, to her that was the lesser problem, Sadako was much more interested in the fact that she fell asleep during class. ''In your own words, could you describe your quirk to me?''

Hojirozame Mako

[Hojirozame Mako]

'She's tiny...'

And non-threatening. As counselors probably should be. But... it also made it harder for Mako to take ms. Gotoh seriously. She did not believe much in the whole psychoanalysis mumbo-jumbo. In her family personal problems were one's own burdens, and she wasn't gonna share them. Not that she believed she had anything worth sharing anyway. As she was offered to seat in the chair, her eyes scanned the room instead. She spotted the couch. Walking right past the lady, she beelined towards it, and flopped on top. 

"I feel like I've been told to waste time here once every week, for a month."

Pulling one of her study books from the old backpack, which looked as though it belonged to her grandmother, she put it over her head, to cover herself up from the light.


"Listen, lady..." - Mako decided to cut through all the bullshit beat-around-the-bush questions, and get straight to the chase. Her tone wasn't hostile, but forceful in a way. Like she was telling the councilor what was gonna happen, no ifs or buts. "I've no quarrel with you. Since we're stuck together for a while, I'm gonna use this time to sleep. At the end of this thing I'll write you a stellar review on how you changed my life and whatever... Everyone's happy. Deal?"

Mako yawned widely, showing her rows of sharp, triangular teeth. And if that wasn't enough about what kind of quirk she had...

"You can... mrr... read my student profile in the meanwhile... It has answers to... questions..."

She was dozing off already.

[Sadako Gotoh]

Problem students were nothing new to her. Heck, how could they be? She had been at this job for years now and there were bound to be troublemakers at school. Whether it was high school or university, didn't change a thing in the grand scheme of things. ''That's right, although I would much prefer it didn't become a waste of time for you. I'm sure you want to gain something from our meetings as well?'' Maybe she saw it as a waste of time now, but if she had some issues they could work through together, then maybe in time Mako would come around. ''Hm?'' She smiled, listening patiently for what the student was going to say next.

In all her years of counseling... Was she trying to take a nap on the couch?? She narrowed her eyes at Mako as she stood up and walked around her desk, stopping at the food of the couch with her hands behind her back. ''Hojirozame Mako. These meetings are not for you to sleep through. First and foremost, they have been organized for your sake, for your benefit. Your ability to study and by extension, become a pro hero is being called into question. The school could have grounds to expel you with enough transgressions and disrespect. I'm here to stop that. I don't want that for you. I believe in your potential, but I need you to work with me to show the administration that you have what it takes. Unfortunately for you, that means we're going to have to talk for a little while.'' She shrugged. ''You're free to hate me, or give me a bad review. I just care about helping you.''

She left room for the student to respond, before asking her another question, getting to the heart of the issue. ''Why are you falling asleep during class?''

Hojirozame Mako

[Hojirozame Mako]

Was that... a threat?

Mako slowly moved the book off of her face, and made eye contact with her diminutive councilor. There was no mistake in her gaze. It was one step away from hostile. The look of a person sizing another one for a fight. It did not last long. The girl made an effort to suppress it, and when that did not work, she just hid her face under the book again. A few long moments passed, and her breathing returned to normal. One could even assume she went to sleep. But then, the shark spoke.

"Nah... I don't think so." 

She sounded pretty calm for someone seemingly hostile a moment ago. "School's a mess as it is. Superpowered fights and all. I've been staying out of that. If the violent assholes are still around, doubt I'll go before they do."

Mako shrugged. 

"Besides..." - she trailed off. "Not many aquatic students around. Someone needs to save people from drowning. And fight mutated crab-shark things." - the girl waved one of her hands, letting the sleeve slip down. Showing scars of several violent bites on her forearm, likely caused by triangular, serrated teeth. "I think I'm here because the math teacher has a grudge. I didn't ask for any help. Been managing my problems just fine..."

She yawned, and stretched on the sofa. Pondering that last question. The bottom half of her face wasn't hidden by the book. So Sadako could see a frown forming. Like a reaction to something she didn't want to discuss.

"I'm falling asleep because I'm tired. If you let me sleep in peace, I won't be sleeping in class."

[Sadako Gotoh]

''You clearly haven't been, sleeping through your obligations is hardly managing just fine. Heroes don't just get to sleep on the job.'' She was being a bit harsh, but she felt like with Mako she had to be. She didn't want to mince words or dance around the issue, sometimes being direct was the solution and the shark girl clearly wasn't as receptive to help as she had hoped. ''I understand what you are trying to say, your quirk type is uncommon, but make no mistake, you're replaceable. We all are. If you can't keep up they'll find someone else.'' She was a little somber at that last part. She had seen it all too many times, even back when she was a student herself.

Mako's frown wasn't lost on her either. It was faint, but she noticed there was something, a problem? Frustrations? ''However...'' She continued, her tone remaining calm. ''No one expects perfection from you either. Despite how it looks no one can do this alone, taking this career path. UAU is demanding, but it's only to prepare you for what hero life is like.'' She put her hands behind her back and smiled softly. ''You have to learn to rely on others. Your peers, your future colleagues, or me, for now. Everything we talk about is confidential and oftentimes it's easier to talk with a stranger. It may not be something you're learning about in your classes, or read about in your textbooks...'' She pulled up a chair and sat down while keeping a respectful distance from Mako to give her space. ''But this is a hero lesson all on its own.'' Would she be able to make any progress with this student? She couldn't exactly help her if she didn't want it.

''I'm curious, why do you want to become a hero?''

Hojirozame Mako

[Hojirozame Mako]

Mako barely listened to the lecture about her being a bad student, being replaceable, and yada yada. It was ... sort of lulling her to sleep. She yawned and closed her eyes under the book again, and started to doze off. She was woken up again only when she heard the scraping oif the chair against the floor, followed by a question about why she wanted to become a hero. She looked at the lady from under the book, with one lazy eye. 'She really wouldn't just let me be, would she?'

The girl sighed. 

"Heard it pays well..." - she shrugged. "Figured I'd be paid for being one... And do lifeguard duty at the local beach. Same work, twice the pay. It's all my quirk would be good for..." - she trailed off. Remembering how out of place it was in her school, how it drove people away and made them afraid. The shark didn't like it back then... or now. But it was a weakness this lady didn't need to know about. "Besides, aren't you forbidden from using it if you don't have your hero badge?"

Mako snarled at that last one. She didn't like that law. Had it not been the case, she'd be a lifeguard full-time already. Instead, she was stuck here... And having to split her day in half, to attend more schooling she felt she didn't need. 

"Didn't imagine it like this though... I thought I'd be practicing swimming, fighting, maybe emergency medicine. Yknow, stuff that keeps people alive? Two thirds of what I'm doing is highschool all over again. With extra steps."

__________

Sadako Gotoh

[Sadako Gotoh]

''Your quirk? Well...'' She paused, both taking in Mako's response while also wanting to answer her question. ''Broadly speaking, it depends on how you use it.'' She added with a smile. ''It is true that quirks are tightly regulated, but we can't exactly control someone with a muscle mutation wanting to work in construction. Their quirk is technically always active, so they are technically using it, but not in any unlawful or reckless ways. It's a gray area in that case.'' She couldn't help but think about a thousand things as Mako brought up money as being her primary motivator. ''Similarly, I imagine you have a much bigger advantage over some others on a lifeguard job, due to your quirk and your set of skills.'' There were multiple options. Either Mako was lying and just saying it was because of the money because that was easier, or it really was a money thing. In which case, was she okay? How was her home situation? Life before hero school? She wanted to ask a million questions, but Mako had already been skeptical to this meeting so she couldn't just start going down the list.

''Of course, that doesn't mean a provisional license is entirely useless either. Much like any academic achievements it not only shows that you know your quirk well, but you can be a reliable worker. When it comes down to the applications you very well might get picked for jobs just because you have shown you have an interest in heroics, compared to someone with no credentials.'' But now she was just going on about semantics.

What she said next was interesting and not at all surprising. Sadako herself remembered sitting in a chair, opposite her guidance counselor at the time venting about how she wasn't learning enough about civilian rescue and fighting villains... How the turn tables. ''The written portion, or rather the academic portion of the school, you find it takes up too many of your lessons as opposed to the more practical lessons?'' Perhaps she could solve this by talking to Mako's teachers and getting a better understanding of who she was as a student. Was she getting too little stimulus? Her quirk could easily be classified as one of the more physically active, perhaps her balance of exercise vs book work was way off? She scribbled down multiple names. Shirayuki Mai, Mark Browning, Iphigenia Pavlina. All faculty she was going to reach out to later. ''Anything you say here is confidential, even if you need to vent about school or specific teachers.''

Hojirozame Mako