IN THE CITY OF FOOLS, I WAS CAREFUL AND COOL

[attr="class","eire"]She wasn't sure how to respond. The clear enthusiasm from him was a welcome change of pace compared to many of the burnt-out second years, pulled through the wringer of U.A.'s support course and having their childish hopes and dreams crushed by five hundred tons of reality and machinery. Though maybe it was a bit cringey- not that she was to judge, honestly. Everyone was just a little bit cringe in their own way. "Well, usually the most eager are the first to get hurt. Don't want a professor to chew me out if something happens to you."

Yeah, usually these things were fine until something bad happened, and she didn't want to be the one to ruin things for others. As he began to scan over the assortment of gadgets and tools afforded to the support course, she was beginning to collect her own documents and research, storing them away in her own binder for later use. Perfect chance to dodge her responsibilities as a student, and instead lean on her responsibilities as a senpai! Man, they were great when they were convenient to her. Not so great every other time. She still shudders thinking about the orientation.

But shit. She really did strike a personal nerve there! She had shrugged off the possibility early but she didn't think she really did- ah, fuck. It wasn't some kind of heartbreaking story, at least, but she was bad at handling sappy moments. Far too much delicacy had to be put forth to keep things from turning awkward. So she clears her throat, trying to find the words to say, "Ehm, well... that's really commendable! I wish I had a noble reason like that. Turns out I was just... kind of okay at making things." She hopes sincerity is not lost in her own botched execution. This was exactly what she lacked skills for, damn it!

"So, a mechanic, huh?" Change the topic! The one she learned when it came to avoiding awkward situations; a change of pace often left the direction feeling anew. "You've worked with machinery like this before, then?" She notions to the high-grade equipment littering the lab. She knows it's a dumb question, he just said he didn't grow up in wealth. Fumbling all over the place. "What sort of things did you make? You didn't, uh, take me for someone who just repairs cars, I mean." That wasn't... half-bad?

Maybe she should've stuck to her procrastination. At least that wasn't a social nightmare.

IN THE CITY OF FOOLS, I WAS CAREFUL AND COOL

[attr="class","eire"]Aneko didn't understand. There was a clear showing of confusion that came across her face as he said it- was that not just the same thing? Things were difficult back then as opposed to just being easier now. Maybe there was some kind of difference between the two, something that only a veteran like himself would understand, but it wasn't something she exactly bothered to discuss further. "I suppose. I've heard some horror stories about heroes back then, though... though I guess you'd know more about the bad apples back then, huh?" It wasn't a dig at him. At least, not from her perspective.

She felt a wave of relief as he made it clear that he had no intentions of getting a complete overhaul, although it was quickly followed by the realization that he could've just gotten someone else to take on such a task, as opposed to a student like her. But still, getting her own hands dirty through this task was a good experience and a welcome break from the unproductive loop of starting and abandoning projects that hardly helped reinforce what she had learnt through her year of U.A.'s hard as shit support course.

"Well, not my place to get in between you and your sentiments. Not like it won't be effective with just the small touch-up and nothing else." The suit was pretty well-made. Not particularly timeless, per se, but definitely could still hold its own. An overhaul would pretty much just be reducing some of the systems to do the exact same thing, anyway. But he brought up a good concern, one that had her freeze for a moment, before she kicked herself back and let her chair skid across the ground as she stopped in front of a variety of materials, well organized, sifting through and picking a few of them out.

"Pssh, I wouldn't have offered to do it if I didn't have the time." A lie. She was swamped with coursework as is, but she couldn't bare another minute of trying to make progress on it. After she was satisfied with what she grabbed, she pushed herself back to the desk with the suit, took it out and placed it on the table and quickly got to work. "Besides, I'm at least seventy- no, fifty- percent sure that my professor would prefer we do things that are practical. You know?" She wasn't sure at all. But, hey, if she were to be chewed out- she could at least sic them on him should he agree, right?

She'd open up the suit to its components, following the instructions from the documents, and began to scan for anything corroded, damaged, or that has otherwise lost its lustre. Using her tools, she'd begin plucking out whatever was modular and required a change, choosing from the assortment she had taken from the lab's readily available, and far more effective, parts. "Anything else? I'll have it ready by... uh..." She glances over to the clock, unaware of the time. "... around this time tomorrow. Probably."

IN THE CITY OF FOOLS, I WAS CAREFUL AND COOL

[attr="class","eire"]Aneko is unaware of the storm brewing behind the hard-to-read Leonid. Maybe she could've been a little more knowledgeable when it came to the heroes of old, but, it's not like not knowing anything has had any repercussions thus far so... perhaps it wasn't so important. "Well, must've done something right if you're still around 'n kickin' after so long. Wasn't it like, super brutal all those years back?" She knew that things naturally took a while to settle after the development of quirks, but the specifics of it were lost on her. After all, she was born long after the end of the vigilante era, probably past when he was in his prime. She had no experience with it.

She nods along as he explains the functionality to her in layman's terms, coinciding with most of what she had seen so far through the documents, she had finally begun to grab the suit, lifting it and feeling around for its components. "Hmm... well, assuming you had it repaired before you stopped using it, I doubt it's anything to do with a broken component..." She mulls over it for a moment after, "Might be deterioration of the generators. This hasn't seen service for a while, right? The conductive metals could've corroded, the generator might have several parts that are clogging the system..."

Many of these things were not 'immediate' fixes. "If that is the case, it'd probably take a day of work or so to go through the entire thing. I'd just replace everything according to the blueprints, it shouldn't have anything that we don't have in the labs... but if you wanted to modernize the components and systems, it'd take longer." Two options presented, one she was confident she could do, the other... not so much. Trying to work with older systems was a pain, as newer ideas and systems were often incompatible with them. She couldn't take on the goal of recreating the suit in its entirety, so she just hoped he would be satisfied with a simple touch-up.

"It'd be the same suit, just with new parts. Without the explosions, promise."

IN THE CITY OF FOOLS, I WAS CAREFUL AND COOL

[attr="class","eire"]Aneko hated metalworking. Yeah, it was a necessity when it came to engineering gear that could theoretically be used in the field, where durability and effectiveness matter most, but... holy shit was it annoying. The room was always hot, you had to wear this clunky gear just for safety, and it always felt like your materials were actively working against you. All of that, however, would be fine- she could manage it- but the noise was the cherry on top that made it an unbearable workplace for her. She would once again admit defeat as she threw her tools back into their proper place (she at least kept public spaces orderly) and threw back the protective mask so she could breathe.

She needed a break. Away from the noise. Her frustrations had finally caught up to her and she was making an immediate exit, going straight for the door and swinging it open to find... a person! She hadn't become so annoyed that she was ignoring everything around her so, luckily, there was no crash. "Ehm..." She had carried so much energy during her exit that it actually felt kind of awkward now that she was stopped by such an obstacle. "Can I... help you?"

Maybe it was just another student who came here to use the facilities. After all, there were so many unfamiliar faces that she ran into every day, she was beginning to question if new people were being generated each day and placed into the university. Though, with how much she keeps to herself, it becomes pretty obvious why she doesn't even know the faces of some of the people she's in the same class as; it's not like lectures promote a whole lot of interaction amongst peers.

IN THE CITY OF FOOLS, I WAS CAREFUL AND COOL

[attr="class","eire"]Gah, Aneko hated these kinds of things. It made her so uneasy, even when she was standing off to the side and not the object of attention; she was separated from the majority, being the freshmen who've attended to hear from both professors and their seniors of the support department. After having survived her first year of the institution, that somehow included her, which meant that she could very well be subject to some of the questions many of these people have. Could she answer all of them? What if she freezes up? What if no one asks her a thing? Would that mean she didn't look dependable?

Her worries were practically contradicting each other. All of these combined with her frustration at the awkward air brought forth by someone being late. She genuinely thought that she must've been out of the loop after ten or so minutes of waiting in silence. Hell, she wouldn't have done this if it weren't at least beneficial for her. Procrastination plagued her studies, often leaving her panicking to finish things last moment, and this afforded her at least a few more days to do nothing until the last minute.

But, in the end, one of the department's professors did arrive- and chose not to sugarcoat anything! She knew the school was prestigious, but even that made her worry. But hey, she survived a year, maybe she was safe. Luckily, Aneko didn't have to speak publically at all, as wasn't exactly the "pride of the support department" or anyone particularly ahead of the curve; that had been a common theme in this school, really. Talents that were deemed spectacular by her previous schools were quickly matched and outclassed when she first walked through U.A.'s doors, and she learned how small of a fish she really was.

Next was a student in the same year, yet probably the clearest example of her own talents being swiftly outshone by others; Aneko didn't have much experience with them, though she certainly envied their ability. But, ignoring that, what the hell was that speech? First of all, ow, even if not a direct jab at her, she was part of that group Ana referred to her as her peers. Second of all, that was probably the most hostile way to follow up on the stern talk the professor gave just earlier! "Oh my god..." Aneko pinches the bridge of her nose, fearing whatever may come next.

At the very least, she wasn't going to stir this pot. She liked to mess with people but that only ever extended to bad-mouthing people one-on-one. She was going to stand to the side and be available for direct questioning like she was told to. Maybe like, a little farther to the side, away from any immediate swarm of students. Like, way farther. And god forbid she gets swept up in any storm that Ana starts.

IN THE CITY OF FOOLS, I WAS CAREFUL AND COOL

[attr="class","eire"]Aneko was deep in concentration as she fiddled with a screwdriver, twisting it and monitoring each change in the tightness of the wire that looped through a device built into a pair of gloves, haphazardly connected to a spool of wire to feed into, then ejected and planted into a surface to produce the necessary tension. Being her own bit of gear, it was one of the few things outside of assignments she's been able to see through to the end. While she wasn't a part of the hero department, that didn't mean she wanted only wanted to make the equipment that'd be used on the field; she wished to be fully capable of holding her own.

Twist, twist, check. As she saw the wire softly vibrate after each adjustment, she felt herself become more and more excited that she had gotten her estimates right. This process was pretty agonizing to iterate over, despite its necessity. After all, the wire was meant to run through her outfit- if she made some mistake with the mechanism, she could cut herself to bits. What a scary thought. Twist, twist, snap! She had pushed her luck too far, the wire snapping in two, likely originating within the glove itself.

She let out a long sigh as she slumped in her chair, rolling back away from her desk, and the failure that laid atop it. Well, that was a bust! If the wires couldn't hold with that much tension, then anyone with a bit of strength could destroy the entire mechanism with a tug. Throwing the screwdriver back onto the table without a care, she decides to soak in the failure and just sit there for a moment. Not only was she putting off work that was actually important, like her assignments, but she didn't even get it right! "This blows."

UETO ANEKO