Nezu looked up when Khan knocked and stepped in without waiting.
"Khan," Nezu said. "You look better."
"That's a low bar," Khan replied, polite smile in place. "Got a minute."
Nezu gestured to the chair across from his desk. Khan sat.
They shared a quiet beat. Nezu watched him the way a chess player watched a board after a risky move.
Khan put the paper on Nezu's desk, sitting back in the chair, hands folded loose in his lap.
Nezu's eyes moved fast. He slowed down near the end, thumb resting on a paragraph, eyes narrowing.
"This is…" Nezu started, then stopped.
Khan nodded.
Nezu set the paper down carefully. He leaned back in his chair and looked at Khan.
"You're asking to pull your summer leave," Nezu said.
"Yes," Khan replied. "Early August."
Nezu tilted his head. "Why?"
"I know it's summer break," Khan answered, "Most students will be home. With their families. I get that."
He shifted in the chair.
"But some won't be far from the school," Khan said. "Some don't want to be alone with their thoughts."
Nezu's gaze sharpened.
"I want to be here," Khan said. "For whoever knocks. Or doesn't. I won't ask for extra pay. This is volunteer time."
Nezu folded his hands. "You're not scheduled for on-campus duties during that period."
"I know," Khan replied. "That's why I'm asking."
Nezu tapped the paper with one finger. "You believe they're still bleeding."
Khan didn't hesitate. "They are."
Nezu studied him. "You spoke to them yesterday."
"I did."
"And?"
Khan leaned forward a bit, elbows resting on his knees. "They're functional. They're showing up. That's not the same as healing."
Nezu smiled thinly. "You're asking for proximity."
"I'm asking for availability," Khan corrected. "There's a difference."
Nezu rose from his chair and walked around the desk, then stopped by the window. He looked out over campus. Students crossed the quad below.
Nezu's ears twitched. "You're volunteering."
"Yes."
"For emotional labor."
"Yes."
"After taking a visible hit from the Iida incident."
Khan's mouth tightened for half a second. Then he relaxed it.
"I'm functional," he said. "And I won't pretend that wasn't rough. That's part of why I want to stay. Students notice these things. If the adults vanish after something ugly, it teaches the wrong lesson."
Nezu nodded slowly. "Which lesson."
"That grief is a private failure," Khan said. "That you hide it or it becomes a liability."
Nezu's gaze softened.
"You don't believe that," Nezu said.
"No," Khan replied. "But a lot of kids do."
Nezu walked back to his chair and sat. He set the paper down again, this time closer to him.
Nezu folded his hands. "You're aware that we have plans for summer."
Khan didn't bite.
"I assumed as much," he said. "Students usually train in that period. I don't know where they were sent in previous years, but I figured it stayed close enough to campus that students could come by if they wanted. If not, forget I asked. I get why those details aren't shared around."
"Historically," Nezu said, "we keep it contained. Remote. Controlled. The aim is focus, not visitors."
"Sounds reasonable," Khan replied. "Focus keeps kids alive."
Nezu tapped the desk. "You're angling for presence without asking for access."
Khan looked up then. "I'm angling for availability. If a kid spirals and needs a door that opens, I want that door to exist."
Nezu studied him again. Longer this time.
"You've been through this before," Nezu said. "Loss on campus. Fallouts."
"Yeah," Khan answered. "And I've seen what happens when adults disappear right after. The room fills with noise and the wrong people start answering questions."
Nezu leaned back. "You think that will happen again."
"I think it already started," Khan said. "You can hear it in the halls. Kids trying to out-tough grief. Others turning quiet and mean. A few trying to turn Iida into a rulebook they can hide behind."
Nezu's ears twitched.
"Midoriya's transfer didn't help," Khan added.
"No," Nezu said. "It didn't."
They sat with that for a second.
Nezu broke the quiet. "Our summer plan isn't close."
Khan's eyes flicked up, then settled again. "I figured."
"It's off campus," Nezu went on. "And not somewhere we want drop-ins."
Khan nodded. "Fair."
Nezu let out a slow breath and leaned back in his chair. "The camp isn't close," he said. "And there's no reason for you to remain on standby for it."
Khan nodded. He didn't argue. He dipped his head in a polite bow. "Understood. Thank you for hearing me out."
He pushed his chair back and started to rise.
"Khan," Nezu said.
Khan paused and looked back.
"What were you planning for the summer," Nezu asked.
Khan looked up, then smiled. Not the careful one. A smaller thing that showed teeth. "Honestly. I wanted to visit that beach that got cleaned up recently.I've heard it's very nice now. Quiet. I could do that anytime, though."
Nezu hummed and folded his hands, eyes drifting to the window again. He didn't answer right away. He stared out at the campus, then back at Khan.
"What if," Nezu said, "you joined the students and staff for the summer training period."
Khan lit up before he could stop it. His shoulders eased, his face opening. "Of course. I'd be happy to."
The words came out fast. Too fast.
Then he shook his head, the smile slipping into something tighter. "No. Sorry. That's a bad idea."
Nezu raised a brow.
"I'm weak," Khan said. "And Quirkless. I don't have field training. If someone follows me, that's a problem. I don't want to be the reason someone tests the perimeter."
Nezu listened without interrupting.
"And I don't have the training," Khan added. "Someone could place a tracker on me, or follow with a Quirk."
Nezu nodded. "Those are valid concerns."
Khan sighed, relieved he hadn't been brushed off. "I don't want to add risk where you've already tightened things."
Nezu tapped a finger against the desk. "Aizawa could check you."
Khan frowned. "Check me."
"For trackers," Nezu said. "For anything you shouldn't be carrying. He's thorough."
Khan let out a short laugh. "That's one word for it."
"You would not be placed with the students during exercises," Nezu went on. "You would remain with staff. Observation only. Counseling availability. No heroics."
Khan considered it. He didn't rush to answer. He rubbed a thumb against his knuckle and looked down at the floor.
Khan looked up again. His eyes were sharp now, weighing. Then he bowed. Deeper than before.
"Thank you," he said. "For the opportunity. And for hearing the risks."
Nezu raised his head. "Think on it."
Khan straightened. "I don't need long."
Nezu smiled faintly. "You rarely do."
Khan bowed again, gratitude plain on his face. "If Aizawa clears me and you still want me there, I'll do my part and stay out of the way."
Nezu nodded. "That's all I'd ask."
Khan turned toward the door, then paused. "For what it's worth," he said, glancing back, "the beach can wait."
Nezu watched him leave, eyes thoughtful as the door clicked shut.
**-**
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