A bit later, the Directors who have shown up sit together in a dim room in silence. It appears to be a sort of lounge area. Taiju looks particularly serious about something, thinking intensely as their foot bounces. Axe sits in a chair away from the others as he looks at them from the side before exhaling in frustration.
"Taiju, would you stop? You're choking the energy in here." He says with a huff before taking a swig of the drink in his glass. Taiju hears him and stops, trying to let loose.
"Sorry. I'm just worried." Taiju says. Floppy looks at them with a worried look too.
"Callutang is the most punctual person I know. And it's not like the others to push a summons to the side, especially from Southpaw himself." Floppy says.
"To be fair, the summons was sent out by Teach." Komori says.
"Yeah, on Southpaw's behalf." Floppy responds.
"What are they even doing? Do you know?" Taiju asks Averi, who cleans his glasses as he responds.
"I know Nacho was working on getting Districts 14 and 15 to sign allegiance to the ASA and join the coalition, but other than that, I have no idea." Averi explains.
"Guys, you need to relax. Are they not Directors too?" Axe asks, a bit frustrated. They look at him but don't answer.
"I suppose you're right. Considering the severity of the situation, it is within reason to think the others are already handling things they figured out themselves, where they can, how they can. This kind of event doesn't just happen overnight." Averi says as he pours himself a drink.
"You really think so?" Komori asks as Averi leans on the counter.
"I certainly hope so…" he says under his breath. Taiju sighs and stands up, stretching a bit.
"You're right. They'll get here when they get here. I'll probably give Ozai a call and see what he says. He should be out in District 7 still, right?" Taiju asks Komori and she nods.
"I guess in the meantime, we'll just handle our assignments." Floppy says, getting up as well.
"Yes, that would probably be for the best." Teach says as he steps from the shadows of the room. The other Directors' faces light up as they see him.
"Teach! We've been waiting all day to see you!" Komori shouts as she and Floppy approach him happily.
"Yeah, sorry. Class ran a little long today." He says with a smile as Taiju smirks at him.
"I hope that teacher life hasn't made you go soft. Why don't we arm wrestle to see if it has?" Taiju offers up their arm as Teach sweats a bit.
"I don't think we need reminding who's stronger here." He says with his hands up.
"True, we all know Taiju's the strongest hehe!" Komori giggles.
"Now, if you wanted to test skill, that's a different story." Axe says from his seat.
"Averi would best us all if he decided to get serious for once." Floppy says with a glare at him as Averi nervously adjusts his glasses.
"I-I, you know how I feel about violence. I'll stick to information gathering, thanks." Averi says. Axe then gets up and pours another cup before offering it to Teach.
"Come on. Take a rest with your old friends for a while, yeah?" Axe says. Teach smiles and takes the glass.
"Thank you. But unfortunately, we still have to discuss some things, so resting will have to wait." Teach says as he sits at the table. Everyone pulls up chairs and gathers around.
"Is this about the assignment South has us on?" Taiju asks.
"Somewhat related. You all know your mission, as do I. This is a serious matter. You must accomplish your goals at all costs." Teach says with a serious look as the others nod.
"Should be easy enough. Not unlike anything else we've ever done." Axe says, leaning back in his chair casually. Teach sweats a bit with a slightly awkward look.
"Yeahhh, well there's one other thing. Southpaw has decided to assign each of you your own set of students to help train." Teach explains as they all stare at him blankly. Taiju then gets up with an anxious look.
"Woah woah woah. Hang on. We have to train the new 1st Tiers??" Taiju asks. Floppy sweats a bit.
"Why would we do that? Is this your doing??" Floppy asks, leaning on the table towards Teach, who leans back in defense.
"No! Southpaw just thought it'd be a good idea to increase their training. I don't want them anywhere near these missions, but it's his direct orders, I swear!" Teach says as Floppy leans back with a huff. Komori sweats a bit as she looks a bit nervous.
"I'm all for training the new kids, but is this really the time to be doing it?" Komori asks softly. Teach looks down with a conflicted look before answering softly.
"I don't know… I want my kids to be safe, but they're also training to be great heroes. There's no reason they shouldn't be allowed out on these missions, even if I feel it might be unsafe…" Teach admits. The others look at each other in silence for a moment.
"They are just kids…" Komori says as Floppy nods.
"If South believes they're ready for this, then they are." Axe interjects. "We can handle it. Accomplish our missions, train the 1st Tiers. Simple enough. Besides, it's not like he's actually risen yet. What's out there we couldn't handle?" Axe asks the others in an attempt to calm them down. Feeling his sentiment, they all feel determined.
"True. Even if Teach is the best teacher of us, we all have valuable skills they could use." Averi says. Axe smirks and wraps his arm around his neck playfully.
"That's why you're my best bud." Axe says. As they smile, they then hear a knock at the door before a soft voice speaks through it.
"E-excuse me? Directors? It's Mia." She says timidly as Floppy opens the door to see, or not really see, Mia standing there in a janitor jumpsuit with a small cart of cleaning supplies. "I'm so sorry. It's just, this is my last room and I have plans later-" Mia explains as Komori suddenly hugs her tightly.
"I missed you! It's been so long!" Komori says happily as Mia giggles awkwardly.
"Don't worry, we'll get out of your hair." Taiju says with a smile as the Directors all leave the room and Mia goes inside to clean.
Outside, the Directors walk down a hall together discussing business.
"So we'll figure out what 1st Tiers were paired up with tomorrow?" Floppy asks.
"Yeah, for now, focus on any prep work that needs to be done before your…" Teach says but he trails off as they hear a loud ruckus coming their way.
Around the corner comes the pack led by Wolf as they rush over to Teach's location loudly. Teach sees this and droops a bit as the others look on in confusion.
"These are the ones?.." Taiju asks.
"Yep…" Teach mumbles.
"So lively." Komori says with a smile as Averi looks nervous. In that moment, the pack tumbles down in front of Teach and looks up at him with shining eyes.
"Moshiro told us your secret!" Wolf shouts.
"Can you really play the guitar??" Phoenix asks.
"You have to play for us, please!" Saika begs as the others beg too. Behind them come Cole, Tadashi and Moshiro walking casually, not as enthusiastic.
"Not a big music guy?" Tadashi asks Cole, who shakes his head. Alston looks back at them with a pouty face.
"You guys have to beg too or this won't work." She says as Moshiro shrugs.
"I've already seen him play before." She says.
"I'm not interested in his music." Cole responds.
"I don't beg." Tadashi says as he pushes up his glasses.
"I bet I could change that." Wolf teases with a blush and a smirk as Phoenix blushes and slams her head down.
"Wolfy!" She shouts. Teach sighs as he gathers their attention.
"Alright, alright. I understand. I'll play for you just this once, but you have to promise to be on your best behavior with the Directors here when you go on your missions."
Teach says as he motions towards the others. In an instant, the pack's attention is focused on the Directors standing before them. They examine and look in awe as the Directors smile back.
"Hey." Taiju smiles.
"You lowsy 1st Tiers. So noisy." Floppy grunts.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all!" Komori says happily. They stare for a moment before gasping.
"No way. Director Taiju and Director Floppy! You guys are my idols." Alston says excitedly, getting up and shaking Taiju's hand.
"Are you really Directors? The greatest heroes in the world??" Killian asks excitedly as he looks at Axe, Komori and Averi.
"That's what they say." Axe responds casually.
"I am so honored to meet you. I look forward to learning from you!" Phoenix says enthusiastically, trying to compose herself, as she bows to them. As she does, Yoko looks at Wolf and whispers.
"Are they really the strongest heroes?" They ask as Wolf crosses her arms.
"That's what they say. Who knows, though?" Wolf says openly as Axe looks at her.
"Hey." He calls out. They look at him as he approaches them a bit. He stares at Wolf for a moment before speaking.
"You're one ugly girl." He says as Wolf looks shocked.
"Am not!" She shouts before stopping and noticing something. She looks at him and notices his eyes. Like his hair, his eyes are purple too, though they seem odd, they're purple nonetheless. "Your eyes… they're… like mine…" Wolf says softly as Komori comes up and grabs Axe's cheeks.
"Don't mind him, cutie. He's just a socially awkward goose man." Komori says while shaking his face a bit.
"Axe, Komori. This is Wolf and Yoko with their partners Phoenix and Moshiro. They are the 1st Tier students assigned to your care." Teach says as he steps next to them. "Wolf is particularly difficult, so have fun." He pats Axe on the back and walks away to the others.
As he walks away, Axe turns and looks at him with a slightly upset look. As he does, Wolf continues to stare at Axe with wide eyes. Noticing her staring, Axe looks at her and lifts an eyebrow.
"Is there something wrong with my eyes?" He asks. Wolf shakes her head slightly before answering.
"No, they're… perfectly normal…" Wolf says softly, smiling to herself.
"Alright, alright. That's enough of that. You kids shouldn't be running around these halls like that, chasing after staff here." Teach says as he looks over to see Taiju holding Killian by the face off the ground. Killian gives a thumbs up as Saika smiles awkwardly and Tadashi just shakes his head. "Or I guess the staff could be more unprofessional.." Teach says with a droop.
"Good. I'm gonna be spending more time than I'd like with you, so leave us alone while we still have our freedom." Floppy says while marching off. Alston sees this and chases after her.
"Wait! But we're assigned to you, I still have so many questions!" She says as they trail off. Cole follows with his arms crossed. Slowly, the group starts to disperse as the pack goes home and the Directors leave as well. Teach watches as Moshiro stands next to him.
"I thought you didn't care for my guitar playing?" He asks her with a smirk, not looking at her. She smiles back.
"I don't." Moshiro says as Teach smiles at her.
"Is that why you told them about it?" He asks as Moshiro just shrugs. He then pats her head before walking off. "Come on. I'll get you a milkshake from Takahashi." Teach offers as Moshiro follows next to him. She looks timid and a little embarrassed as she speaks.
"With the extra whipped cream and caramel drizzle?.." Moshiro asks softly as Teach smiles with his eyes closed and looks up.
"I know how you like it." He says as Moshiro smiles a bit and pumps her fist subtly as they walk off together.