The weather had turned downright vicious. Normally, a little storm wouldn’t have slowed anything - classes went on, training continued, students grumbled but adapted. But this one was different. Nezu had declared it unsafe for anyone to step outside, and when it came to reading danger, Nezu’s calls were rarely wrong.

Sekijiro didn’t argue. Neither did anyone else. Three full days had passed, and Class 1-B hadn’t so much as cracked the front doors of their Heights Alliance dorm.

He’d spent most of that time here instead of the staff dorms, partly to keep an eye on his rowdy bunch, partly because he wasn’t about to slog through a storm just to check in. Cameras existed, sure - but if something happened, he’d have to come running anyway. Better to stay close. Better to claim one of the common room couches and make it his base.

Now, stretched across the cushions, he woke from another short nap. Evening, probably. The building was quiet, most of the students holed up in their rooms, for once not bouncing off the walls. Outside, rain hammered the windows in a steady, punishing rhythm. Thunder rolled low and heavy across the sky, and each flash of lightning washed the common room in pale, momentary light - a reminder of the storm still holding them all hostage.