~Iris' POV~

I stared dismally around my uncle's barren apartment. It was OCD level clean. It looked more like a showroom than an apartment, like one of those fake suffocating magazine rooms. Part of me wondered if he just opened one of those stupid home magazines spotted a page called 'boring bachelor pad' and called someone and said I want that. I stood awkwardly near the door clinging tightly to my single large duffel bag filled with things as if it were my only lifeline.

The only indication that this home belonged to my uncle was the single small picture frame sitting on the bookshelf filled with books that almost looked fake. It was a picture from the last time he'd been to visit us, it was Christmas a few years ago. My parents used to invite him every year but he got busy with hero stuff and teaching and stopped coming after that.

Uncle Sekijiro turned as he got halfway through the living room and realized I was still standing awkwardly by the door unsure of what to do or where to put my things. He cleared his throat to cover his awkwardness and walked back toward me. He took my bag before indicating a spot off to the side where I could take off my shoes.

"I'll show you to your room." He said somewhat stiffly. It was probably equally weird for him to have me here. It's not like we were all that close. He wasn't really close with either of my parents either. We all sorta just tolerated each other when we came to the city to visit him.

I trudged after him as he headed down a small hallway. The walls were lined with cliche motivational artwork and there was a small table against the wall that served absolutely no purpose as it just housed a single fake plant and an empty tray. We passed by a wide open door on the left that led to a full bathroom. From the quick glance I got, it too looked like it was just handpicked from some magazine. He stopped at the end of the small hall and opened the door to the right before stepping inside and flipping on the light switch. It was yet another room that belonged in a magazine. Nothing about his apartment looked lived in.

The bed was a queen sized bed with a boring beige colored bedspread. There were two nightstands on either side of the bed one with a fake plant the other with a bowl filled with decorative balls with zero purpose. There was a standing dresser beside a door that led to a modest sized closet. The closet door was open and I spotted a school uniform hanging within.

"I've already gotten you enrolled in school, you'll start tomorrow, I'll take you for your first few days." He spoke tensely.

I had a feeling he was only taking me to make sure I actually made it to school and didn't ditch. "...thanks..." I tried my best to be polite but it was hard to keep the annoyance out of my tone.

If he noticed the edge to my voice, he didn't react. "It's been a long day, probably best to head to bed. We have an early start tomorrow." He hesitated looking as if he weren't sure if he should give me a hug goodnight or not and settled on an awkward shoulder pat before he exited my room and disappeared in the bedroom across the hall. My gaze drifted to the decorative gold clock on the wall, it was hardly past 10:00pm.

I frowned and quietly closed the door to my stuffy bedroom. Grimacing, I dropped my bag atop a decorative chest at the foot of my bed and glanced around at the picturesque room. The room felt cold and empty. I dug through my bag for my phone and went to inspect the uniform hanging in my closet so I could try to find some information about the high school I was transferring into. It was a bit nerve wracking starting high school in the new city. I didn't know anyone here.

The school seemed normal enough for a city school. It wasn't overly fancy or anything. I was glad it wasn't the school my uncle taught at. It was a hard school to get into but I had a feeling my uncle could have pulled some strings if he really wanted to...which made me think he was embarrassed of me or worried I'd make him look bad. I relaxed a little as I realized the school I was attending seemed normal and dropped onto the top of my new bed. It was horribly stiff and uncomfortable compared to my bed back home, probably because it had never been touched before. I sighed and sent my parents a quick text to let them know I'd arrived safely. They responded quickly with a picture of the two of them on the couch, a popcorn bowl in my usual spot accompanied by a 'we miss you already'. We usually watched one of our favorite TV series late at night on Tuesdays.

I smiled faintly at seeing their faces while trying to ignore the pang of guilt and bitterness worming its way around my heart before setting my phone aside. Since it was far too early for me to even think about sleep, I attempted to fight with my hair, removing it from it's messy bun and searching my bag for a brush. After about fifteen minutes I got it to cooperate enough for a neat braid.

For another fifteen minutes, I tried and failed to find a comfortable spot on the stiff bed. I gave up with a sigh and dug a murder mystery book out of my bag and settled in for a sleepless night of reading.

A soft knock at the door caused a soft audible groan to escape me. I glanced at the door as it slowly slid open and frowned as I spotted my uncle, dressed in a boring pajama set in a dull gray. "It's getting late, light's out."

Did he really just say light's out? It took every ounce of willpower I had not to roll my eyes at him. "It's not even eleven." I noted.

"We have an early start tomorrow." He reminded me, his tone sounded strange as if he were waging an internal war with himself to find the right tone to speak to me with. He kept fluctuating from his hero tone, teacher tone and 'I'm trying to be a cool uncle but it's impossible because I'm such a square' tone.

I stared at him blankly.

"You have five minutes." He changed over to his stern tone.

I reached over and turned off the lamp on the nightstand. "There, it's out." I grabbed my phone off the nightstand, turned on the flashlight and continued reading.

My uncle let out a sigh, "Iris, please work with me a little."

"I have hyposomnia, I don't require as much sleep as most people, oversleeping is bad for me and can make me very sick, you'd know that if you were ever around." I retorted without looking up from my book.

He paused, weighing my words for a moment, "you're not trying to pull a fast one on me are you?"

I sighed and sent a quick text to my parents.

I: Can someone explain hyposomnia to Uncle VLAD and get him off my case?

A moment later Uncle Vlad's cell phone started to ring. He threw me a curious glance, "you obviously aren't going to believe me, so you can talk to my dad." I grumbled before continuing my reading.

He sighed and left the room. A few minutes later, he returned and flipped on the overhead light, "alright, you can keep the lights on, don't strain your eyes please...I'm going to sleep, we can talk rules in the morning. If you need me for anything, my room is across the hall." He hesitated.

Of course he had rules. I kept focusing on my book to avoid rolling my eyes or making a face. "Great." I tried to keep my tone as neutral as possible but it still dripped with sarcasm.

"Goodnight, Iris." He hesitated once more looking as if he wasn't sure if he needed to hug me or give me a handshake or something. After an awkward pause he turned and left the room.

Unable to contain myself anymore, I rolled my eyes and let out a sigh. "Ugh."

A/N: Toga will be in the next chapter I promise hahahaha