Chapter 2: All Might

*A few weeks later*

Maddie glanced around her new apartment, proud to have finally moved everything over from America to Japan. There were still plenty of boxes to unpack, and knickknacks to set up, but she would get to that later, right now she needed to prepare for her first day of work tomorrow. There would be no classes, but there was an official meeting with all of the teachers and other school business such as assigning classes and going over the new students admitted to the hero program.

She felt a mixture of nervousness and excitement about starting her new life here in Japan. She really had no idea what to expect. Her family and friends had sent her off with luck filled goodbyes, she was all moved in to her new home, and now all that was left was to see how she could handle it all. It was all happening so fast, and it was really a big leap into the unknown for someone like her, someone used to cushy and familiar surroundings. Someone always content to stand on sidelines while all the big pros did the work. Now she would be working directly with some of the top heroes in the world. She wondered who they were and if she had heard of any of them. She had met Present Mic, Eraserhead, Principal Nezu, and Vlad King, but she supposed she would just have to wait until tomorrow to find out.

A sharp bark sounded from behind her and she turned with a smile to pat her dog who had traveled all the way from America with her. He was a black and tan Shiba Inu named Jack, and he was indeed her best friend.

"What's up, Jackie? Want to eat? I'm hungry too," she said to the little dog, who promptly spun around in circles with excitement. Maddie laughed and went to grab the dog food. "At least I've got you to cheer me up, buddy."

She sat at her small little breakfast table and ate a sandwich along with a piece of her favorite dessert, chocolate. As she ate she looked around her tiny little apartment. It wasn't very much since, on a teaching salary, she wouldn't be the richest person in Japan, but she thought it was the perfect size for Jack and her. Plus, the smaller your home is the easier it was to clean, so there was always that!

"So how does it feel to be living in the land of your ancestors, Jack?" Maddie asked her little dog.

Jack looked up from his food bowl and snorted with a little headshake before continuing to eat. "Yeah, that's how I feel about it too," she replied.

The next morning, Maddie woke up to her phone alarm and started to get ready for her first day. After a modest breakfast and a short walk around her apartment complex with Jack, she grabbed her jacket and prepared to catch a train to work. Not many people had cars here due to the excellent public transportation and the compact city planning, so she figured she wouldn't need one either. At least not yet anyway. Sitting on the train, she tried to take several deep breaths to calm herself down and stop the annoying butterfly feelings fluttering around in her stomach. She always got nervous in these types of situations, and today was probably the worst she had ever felt. New country, new job, new apartment, new language and customs. It was a little overwhelming. At least she still had Jack, her one solid rock in this new ocean of possibilities. She crossed her fingers and prayed her first day would go alright. She would understand if it wasn't fantastic, she could settle with just alright. If she only made a fool of herself just slightly today, she would call it a success. Maybe she would find that one person who would be kind to her and understand what she was going through, then she might have the beginnings of a friendship, and that would make all the difference.

The train stopped at the station and she stepped off, walked down the block a-ways, around a few corners, and was soon standing in front of UA High. The school she had went to as a young girl, the greatest hero academy in the world. This time she would not be entering as a transfer student or an interviewee, this time she would be a member of the faculty and it would be her duty to help shape the young minds of the world's future heroes…with science! The thought comforted her slightly as she tried to swallow back more apprehension and anxiety. Despite all of her nervousness, she felt like something special was going to happen today as she approached the school gates. Maybe it would turn out to be fantastic day after all.

The clack of her short heels resonated through the empty halls of the school as she made her way to Principal Nezu's office. She wore business casual attire, a black skirt that came down to her knees and a nice blue blouse. She hadn't known if her hero costume would be appropriate to wear, so she decided to play it safe with her street clothes. She walked up to Nezu's office and knocked on the big wooden doors. The calm even tone of the principal's voice welcomed her in.

"Ah, Ms. McLaren, or Sapphire I should say, welcome," the little principal said as she entered the office. He escorted her towards his big wood desk asking, "How was the move? I assume everything is going smoothly?"

"Yes, sir, I am all moved into my apartment and the commute here is pleasant," she replied.

"Good, good, may I suggest the boardwalk area and Dagobah Municipal Beach Park as places to check out when you have free time. It's recently been cleaned up I hear, and I assume you enjoy spending time near water?"

"Uh, yes sir," Maddie smiled. "I will certainly look into that."

"Good, well here is your teacher ID badge and here is a copy of class schedules for the semester and a welcome packet from the school," Nezu said, handing her a stack of paper which she hurriedly took. "Though you only really need the schedule and your badge for now. You can leave the rest here and get it later. Are you ready to meet the staff?"

"Yes," she said, putting a large portion of the paper stack back on the desk.

"Alright, follow me to the teacher's lounge. They are all very excited to meet the new hire," Nezu said as he guided her out of the office. "Oh, and not that you don't look lovely, my dear, but you are more than welcomed to wear your hero costume to work. Most people do, it reminds the students of who we are and what this school is all about."

"Of course, sir," Maddie replied, already feeling self-conscious on her first day.

Nezu entered the teacher's lounge with Maddie walking behind him. She paused to take a deep breath in preparation, closing her eyes for a second, and then walked into the surprisingly comfortable looking room. There were couches and soft chairs everywhere with plenty of tables and nice coffee machines. On one table was a collection of breakfast sweets and foods. These teachers seemed to enjoy some comforts.

"Yes! Ms. Sapphire is finally here! I've been telling these guys about you, but I knew they had to see for themselves," the boisterous Present Mic announced as soon as she was visible. He bounced up from his place on a couch and approached to heartily shake her hand.

The rest of the people in the room looked her way, all eyes on her. Great. Most of them looked at her with friendly curiosity, though there were also many blank stares. The yellow caterpillar in the corner of the room on the floor with the long black hair spilling out didn't even move.

"Alright, alright, settle down," Nezu said, waving his hands and standing up on a table. "I suppose we had better start with introductions since Mic seems to have already started them for us." He motioned Maddie towards him next to the table and Mic sat back down on the sofa.

"This is our newest team member, Sapphire," Nezu introduced. "Her real name is Madelyn McLaren. She comes to us from a hero agency in America where she was working as a support hero, and she will be the new science teacher as well as assistant to Recovery Girl when needed. Her quirk has some minor healing abilities. Recovery Girl could you raise your hand so Sapphire will know you?"

A very small women with gray hair and wrinkles smiled and waved from a large chair, "Nice to meet you, Sapphire."

"Will you show her the nurses' office when we are done here?" Nezu asked.

"Yes, of course," Recovery Girl responded.

"Excellent, now for the rest of you," Nezu said, and named each remaining teacher and member of the staff while explaining their position at the school. They all waved, smiled, or nodded in acknowledgment when he named them. Maddie hoped she could keep them all straight. Cementoss, Ectoplasm, Snipe…they were all a sight to behold. Confident and strong with amazing quirks. She felt herself shrink a little with each one Nezu named. The best she could do was weakly smile and nod as they were introduced feeling their eyes taking her in and silently analyzing and judging her. Especially one of the only other female teachers in the room, Midnight. She gave Maddie a stare and a wink that made her quite uncomfortable…and that costume she wore…just wow.

"Now that we have all been properly introduced, would you all get out your schedules please and we can go over classes and the new students. Sapphire, grab a seat, and if you would like some coffee or snacks, please make yourself at home, you are part of the team now," Nezu indicated.

Maddie nodded and started to make her way to get a cup of coffee, when the door burst open like a hurricane and, with what seemed like a fanfare of triumphant music, the largest man in the most atrocious yellow pinstripe suit she had ever seen burst into the room, announcing in a booming voice,

"I AM HERE!"

The room froze in absolute silence until the yellow caterpillar on the floor, that happened to be Eraserhead in a sleeping bag, murmured, "About damn time," breaking the stunned silence.

"Ah, All Might, I'm glad you could join us. I knew we were missing someone," Nezu said.

Nobody else seemed all that impressed at the large man's dramatic entrance, but Maddie's eyes widened, her heart raced, and it felt like a stone had dropped in her stomach at the sight of him. That long strong jawline, those piercing blue eyes, the head of bright golden hair, that annoyingly wide grinning smile. Old memories stirred up in her head, ones she had tried to forget no matter how popular he had become and how much she had seen him in the news over the years. The number one hero, the symbol of peace, All Might…Toshinori Yagi. The real reason she hadn't become a pro hero.

His eyes locked onto hers, she could feel the intensity of his gaze as they raked up and down her frame. She stared right back, not daring to move. Maybe he wouldn't remember her? Maybe he had gotten so famous and met so many people he had forgotten? She was older now and she had changed some since high school, maybe he wouldn't even recognize her? She clenched her fists, praying his eyes would just move on.

"Bubbles…" he gasped quietly, jaw slowly gaping.

Shit.


Toshinori Yagi had been running late, true, but ever since he had come to Musutafu City, he had been swamped with hero work. It seemed villains were on the rise again, and even his presence wasn't enough to stop them. Training young Midoriya had also taken up much of his time, but he didn't mind, and he was sure Nezu would understand. So, when he finally sprinted up to the teachers' lounge and made his traditional big hero entrance, his already overloaded mind completely drew a blank and almost short circuited when he saw his old high school crush standing there next to Nezu. He recognized her right away, and all he could do was stare and just take in all she had become over the years since he had seen her last.

She still had the cute round face with those big blue eyes and soft blonde hair that he remembered, but she had certainly changed, and the sight of it was enough to make a guy like him weak in the knees. Her body was now mature and womanly, and she had all the right curves in all the right places from her chest to her hips and her gorgeous legs. The cute black skirt and blue blouse she wore really showed off everything going on, and he couldn't stop his eyes from moving between her butt and breasts. She had really grown into a beautiful woman, and he was slightly ashamed of himself for staring so much. After taking many detours, his eyes finally made it back to hers, which seemed to be staring at him in shock, and he was finally able to get out the one name that popped into his head, the name she had hated so much that he had called her.

"Bubbles…"

He saw her visibly cringe at his words, which hurt him a little, and he knew she knew who he was. How could she not? He was the number one hero in the world. Everyone knew his name. He had also spent quite a lot of time in America, one of his favorite countries, and he was sure she had seen him in the news many times.

"Muscles," she responded with what seemed like some relief mixed with disappointment in her voice. He didn't care though, he was immediately and absolutely ecstatic to hear her call him that nickname again.

Completely ignoring the eyes of everyone in the entire room locked onto their uneasy reunion, he strode confidently forward, beaming a bright smile and ignoring the scowl growing stronger on her face. She tried to avoid him when she saw the intent in his eyes, but he scooped her up into his arms before she could get away and gave her the biggest Plus Ultra hug he could manage…without squashing the life out of her of course.

"Bubbles! I cannot believe that you're here! It has been way to long my friend!" Toshinori laughed as he lifted her up into the hug.

"Woah, woah, ok alright, you can put me down now!" She shouted, somewhat panicked.

"Oh, how wonderful! You two know each other?" Nezu exclaimed, bringing his hands together.

Maddie gave him a death stare as she struggled in All Might's arms. She was beginning to suspect the principal knew damn well that they had known each other and had purposefully not told her he was working here too. They rest of the staff appeared to still be struggling with the connection and were still staring at the spectacle, though Present Mic seemed to be on the brink of laughter as she continued to struggle in All Might's giant muscled arms.

The big man finally put her down and she stumbled backwards a bit and tried to straighten her disheveled hair and clothing. "Well, good to see you again too, I suppose, Yagi," she said, smoothing her blouse. "And, the name is still Maddie. It was never Bubbles, as I've expressed to you before."

Maddie's face was beet red and she tried not to look into the eyes of anyone, much less All Might. She could not believe how horrible her first day had become. Would anyone respect her or take her seriously after this? Now they were all going to laugh and call her Bubbles, weren't they? Oh, universe, how could you be so cruel! Things had been going so well! Now All Might was here to mess everything up as per usual.

"Yes, that's, right," Toshinori beamed. "I forgot how much you used to hate it when I called you that."

"Wait, so, clear some stuff up for us. You guys know each other?" Present Mic asked, voicing the entire room's question.

"Yes, indeed! Maddie here went to UA back in high school. I met her there," Toshinori explained. "Little Maddie McLaren, or Bubbles as I called her, since she has a water quirk."

"Well it was only for one semester and we weren't in the same class," Maddie huffed.

"True, true, but that didn't matter too much. We saw each other a lot. She was always trying to get the best of me," the big man said.

"Wait, you went to UA? Why didn't you become a pro hero? You would have been a shoe in," the hero Snipe asked in his metallic voice.

"You're not a pro hero?" Toshinori said in confusion, looking at Maddie.

"Now, now, I think that's a discussion we can save for later," Nezu interjected as Maddie's face started to turn red again. "Remember, this is Sapphire's first day, we should make her feel welcomed and not bombard her with personal questions. That will all come in due time. All Might, Sapphire, please take a seat. We should get this meeting started."

Maddie averted her eyes to the carpet and quickly sat on the nearest couch, trying to distract herself with the schedules and avoid eye contact with anyone. Toshinori stood in place for a while, still slightly confused until he took up a place in the back, leaning against the wall. He'd have to catch her after the meeting, he had a few questions.

Maddie walked down the hall towards her new classroom alongside Recovery Girl once the meeting was over. She had ducked out of the room quickly, but forgot she was supposed to have a meeting with the school nurse and had to skulk back and find the woman. Recovery Girl waved her down and offered to show her where the science classroom was with a friendly smile.

"I'm sorry you haven't been having the best day. I thought you might appreciate some help getting away from all the inevitable questions they're going to bombard you with sooner or later," the small elderly woman said as they were walking.

"Oh, yes thank you," Maddie sighed. "But, how did you guess?"

"I know the face," Recovery Girl chuckled. "And the way you scurried out of there as soon as Principle Nezu was done, hehe! I knew you just wanted to be alone."

"Well you'd be right – though I don't mind your company at all!" Maddie hurriedly corrected, waving her hands in apology.

"It's alright, dear, I understand. I'm glad to help," the school nurse said. "I'm rather good at helping people with their problems, physical and emotional. You can always come to me for advice. I've been around the block a few times."

"Thank you," Maddie said, appreciative of the support and understanding from the woman. She felt comfortable with her, more comfortable than she had felt all day.

They approached a big door in the hallway with a sign on it that read "Science Class," and entered. Recovery girl flicked on the lights to reveal a good-sized classroom, a nice teacher's desk, and several student desks facing the front of the room. There were several long lab tables spaced out in the back, each with their own sink and set of drawers. Otherwise the room was rather bare, but Maddie had plans to spice it up with some science posters here and there.

"Now, you will have about twenty students at a time. Each group will be either a hero class, we have two of those for each year, a general studies class, a support class, or a business class. We already went over the schedules in the meeting. The hero classes train in hero studies on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so you won't have them then," Recovery Girl Explained. "Even though you teach science, always be ready to assist me if I should need you or to help in the training of the young heroes. Most of us pitch in any way we can. Though my work and the hero training courses usually go hand and hand so you will probably be helping quite often," she finished with a chuckle.

They left the science room and made their way to the nurses' office where Recovery Girl showed Maddie where everything was and how she usually handled day to day problems. "The hero class students often have major injuries, though I am authorized to heal them with my quirk and they don't have to go to the hospital if they are well enough to go home afterwards. I do actually have my medical degree, it was part of my own hero training."

Maddie smiled and listened to Recovery Girl explain everything. She knew the woman was trying to take her mind off of all of her current problems by filling it with knowledge and information, but Maddie couldn't keep the nagging feeling that she would have to deal with All Might and the rest of the teachers eventually. She really just wanted to go home and collapse on the couch with a bar of chocolate at this point.

"What is the extent of your healing abilities?" Recovery Girl asked.

"I can manipulate the water in a person's body cells to stimulate faster healing and hydrate the wound. It really only works on minor injuries, but a person's body is made up mostly of water, so I have found my quirk it to be a useful medical tool. I much prefer to help people heal than to fight villains head on."

"That's one of the reasons why you chose the support hero path, I assume," Recovery Girl stated.

"Yes."

"It's a good reason, you can tell the other teachers that when they ask. True, your quirk is very powerful and very versatile, but you have to do what makes you the happiest in the long run, and I think you have done plenty of good," she said, patting Maddie's hand.

Maddie had to stop the sudden swell up of grateful tears for the woman's words by biting her lower lip. "Thank you so much."

"Though I must tell you, I suspect there is more to it. I hope you can trust me enough one of these days to let me help you work through it. You are a bright young woman, you shouldn't let past experiences hold you back from doing what you want to do," Recovery Girl said, raising her eyebrows.

Maddie gaped, not sure what to say to that. Recovery Girl was indeed a wise woman. Before she could come up with a response, however, a mustard yellow mass of muscle abruptly arrived in the nurse's office and quickly dominated the conversation.

"There you are! Bubb – I mean, uh, Sapphire, may I speak with you? I thought we could go get some coff—" Toshinori started to ask but Maddie cut him off.

"No. I'm sorry but it's been a long, strange day, and I would like to go home now," she said shortly and walked briskly out of the office with a farewell nod to Recovery Girl.

Toshinori was taken aback by her rude interruption, but soon shook it off and started to follow her. Recovery Girl stopped him with a soft arm on his and a knowing look. "Do yourself a favor and take it slow with her, Toshinori. Let her get to know you before you push her too hard."

"Very well," he replied, slightly confused as to why she would say that, before speed walking after Maddie's retreating figure.

Maddie was out of the school building and almost to the gates when All Might caught up with her. She would have used her quirk to get away faster, but she wasn't wearing the right shoes to for water surfing, and finally just sighed and decided it was better to get this conversation over with sooner rather than later. She turned around to face All Might and slightly braced herself for what she knew was coming.

"All right, you obviously won't leave me alone until we do this thing, so let's do it. What do you want?" she snapped.

Toshinori recoiled at her abrupt words and was starting to get an idea of what Recovery Girl was talking about. Did she have a problem with him? He didn't understand, they hadn't seen each other in years. Surely, he hadn't done anything to deserve her wrath. "I just wanted to catch up and ask you about how things have been going in your life. I know a great place just down the street if you'd like to get some coffee. I noticed you didn't have any at the meeting."

"Look, maybe some other time, I've had a rough day and I would like to go home now. Is there anything I can tell you that would satisfy you for the time being?" she sighed. She was really not in the mood to sit with his pompous ass for a couple hours and be interrogated.

"Oh, very well, another time then!" he exclaimed. "Can I walk you to the station?"

"No, really I'm fine. Let's just get this done right here," she insisted.

"Alright, I supposed I'd just like to know if I've offended you somehow? You didn't seem all that happy to see me," Toshinori asked.

"I just wasn't expecting you. You kind of took me off guard, and then you embarrassed me in front of the entire staff. They're going to give me so much shit for this, you know," she said in slight exasperation.

"I guess they are," Toshinori chuckled in his deep heroic voice. "I'm really sorry, I was just so excited to see you again. It's…very good to see you, Maddie. You…uh…you look great," he stumbled a little over the right words to say but said them with a warm and genuine smile.

She was surprised by his sincerity, something she wouldn't have expected from the old Toshinori back in high school. She couldn't help but respond with a slight smile of her own at his words. Maybe it was kind of good to see him again too.

Toshinori's eyes lit up at her smile and his got even broader. "Aha! You are happy to see me too, if maybe just a little?"

A scowl immediately took over her features and she remembered how mad at him she was. She turned to walk off in a huff. Of course, he was still the same. People didn't change. He was still the same self-absorbed idol that couldn't function if even one person didn't like him. Well he was in for it with her. He'd have to work extra hard if he wanted to get on her good side. There was so much built up anger that she had never had the chance to let go of that she wondered sometimes what it had all been about in the first place. Was it really even his fault she hadn't become a hero…or was it maybe just hers. There was a reason everyone worshipped him, he really was a good person and a good hero…there was just something about that fact that irritated her.

She slowed her hurried walk and glanced back over her shoulder. He was standing in the same spot, hands on his hips, watching her walk away. That irritating smile was still plastered across his face and the mustard suit was only adding insult to injury. She was having a bad day…surely, she was allowed to take it out on him, right?

"Your suit is horrible," she said loud enough for him to hear her, and then she proceeded to walk to the station.

"Eh?!" he started, the corners of his smile turning down just slightly, as she flounced away with an amused grin on her face.


After a nice bath, a warm bowl of soup, some chocolate cake for dessert, and snuggling in bed with Jack, Maddie was back at school the next day, preparing for her first class. She had brought in a few science posters and put them up, though she knew she would need to buy a few more things to really make the room pop. She decided to grab a cup of coffee before class started and made her way to the teachers' lounge.

"Ah, Sapphire, nice to see you came back to work after all that excitement yesterday," a smooth voice said as soon as she entered the room. Maddie looked up to see the pro hero Midnight sitting on a couch with coffee and the news in hand.

"Ah yes, well, a hero never gives up right?" Maddie nervously chuckled, wondering why that sounded familiar as soon as she said it.

"True. Hey, come sit with me for a while," Midnight said. "It's so nice to have another girl around here to talk too."

"Oh, alright, let me just get some coffee," Maddie replied, not really sure where this was going. Midnight had made her feel strangely uncomfortable yesterday at the meeting.

Once she had sat down with Midnight, the seductive pro hero looked her up and down and licked her lips. "What a delicious snack you are, I'm sure we will be good friends."

"Uh…thank you," Maddie replied.

"My real name is Nemuri Kayama, feel free to call me that if you wish," Midnight said, taking a sip from her coffee. "So, are you ready for your first day?"

"Yes, I hope so. I've never officially taught in classroom before."

"The kids here are usually pretty well behaved, but if you have any problems with any of them just let one of us know. We'll rough 'em up for you," she said with a wink.

"Sure…" Maddie replied under her breath.

"Oh, don't be so reserved, we're friends now! Besides, Nezu showed us all your interview video, you're quite the little badass. I'd love to work with you sometime, it would be so much fun! I know you only work in support, but do you happen to have your hero license?" Midnight enthused.

"Yes, actually, just in case. I've never really had the need to use it."

"Well you can use it now! Just imagine, you and me fighting the dark streets of Musutafu! I'll knock them out and then you'll flush them out!" Midnight dreamed.

"Hey, hey, already getting our new hire involved eh, Midnight?" the voice of Present Mic came from the door as he walked into the lounge. "Sorry to tell you, but she already made plans with me to party!" The loud hero gave her a wink.

"I doubt that since she rushed out of here yesterday with All Might chasing her tail – oops! Sorry, Sapphire, I told myself I wasn't going to bring that up!" Midnight exclaimed, clamping her hands over her mouth.

"Oh yeah, hey what was that all about anyway?" Mic asked.

"You guys saw that?" Maddie blushed. "You know, we're old friends, but he kind of irritates me so I didn't really feel like talking to him."

"He irritates you! Haha! Someone who doesn't like All Might! I've got to tell Aizawa, you two would get along really well. All Might irritates him too!" Mic exclaimed with glee.

Maddie thought about the quiet sleeping caterpillar, Eraserhead, Shota Aizawa. If he didn't sing All Might's praises either, maybe she should ask him about it. It might make her feel better for knowing she was not the only one.

"Well, anyway, we should all totally hang out this weekend, show Sapphire the sights! What do you say?" Mic asked.

"Sounds great! Sapphire?" Midnight asked.

"Oh, sure, thank you very much," Maddie replied, starting to feel quite accepted…and no one had brought up the "Bubbles" thing yet!

"Cool, I'll let some of the other guys know. Anyways, got to go to class, good luck!" Mic said, getting up from the couch and heading out.

"See ya, Yamada," Midnight said to Present Mic. She grabbed Maddie's arm, "Hey I'll walk with you to your classroom, mine's not too far from there."

The two women walked through the school halls as bells started ringing and students started filling up all the empty spaces, chattering and asking each other how vacation and summer had been. Midnight slipped her arm into the crook of Maddie's elbow and drew her closer so that they were walking together like old gal pals.

"Love your costume by the way, it's so sexy," Midnight complimented.

"Oh, thank you. Though compared to yours I'd say its mild," Maddie remarked, then immediately hoped she hadn't gone too far by calling out Midnight's skin tight white body suit and handcuffs.

Midnight just laughed, "Very good! You've got some sass, I love it!" She suddenly pulled Maddie to the side and faced her, leaning in closer and speaking low so no one could hear them, "I didn't want to ask when Yamada was with us, but I noticed a bit more than "irritation" between you and All Might. I mean, he had eyes only for you the entire time, not something you would expect from two casual long lost friends reuniting. There seemed to be some tension between the two of you. Now, I don't want to pry, but if you need a girlfriend to talk to about anything, you let me know, ok?"

Maddie was taken aback by the sudden confession. Was everyone so starved for gossip around here, or was it just Midnight? Maybe she was just being genuine and wanted to help? Maddie couldn't help but be wary of pro heroes, however, and just nodded with a swallow in return, "Maybe we can talk more this weekend."

"Alright, I'll be looking forward to it," Midnight smiled and then sashayed away from Maddie, making sure to show off for some wide eyed first year students in the hallway.

Maddie shivered a little. That was going to take some getting used to, but there seemed to be a friendship possibility. It was weird, why was adult life so similar to being back in high school again?

"Sapphire! There you are!" she heard All Might shout right next to her. She nearly jumped out of her skin and glared at him. How did he just appear out of nowhere like that all the time?

"Good Morning, All Might," she said through gritted teeth and turned to start walking to her classroom again.

He kept pace beside her. "How's your day going so far?" the big man asked.

She glanced at him and shrugged. "Not too bad, though Midnight can be a little…forward."

"Ah yes! Just one wonderful aspect of her personality," the number one hero observed.

Maddie looked at him and shook her head. She saw that today he was wearing a red hero costume that fit him well. Very well, in fact, so well that she could see every bulging muscle on his body. The pinstripe suit yesterday had not been as revealing. How typical of him, what a show off, she thought, yet had to quickly look away in case he noticed how long she was staring.

"I saw your interview video this morning, seems like you've come a long way since school. It really is incredible the way you can manipulate your quirk," Toshinori continued. "Makes me wonder why you didn't go pro, haha!"

She could tell what he was trying to do. "Well that's my own business isn't it."

"Oh, yes I suppose."

"Good, now this is my classroom, I should really get going."

"Of course, but could I ask, since you seem rested up and all, if you'd like to go for that coffee today maybe? Or maybe this weekend? If that's a better idea?" Toshinori asked with a hopeful grin.

"I'm afraid I'll need this week to finish decorating my classroom and to prepare lessons, and I'm already going out with Midnight and Present Mic this weekend, so maybe another time," Maddie smiled sweetly while wishing with all her might he would leave already. Several students were already gathering in the hall to admire the number one hero.

"Oh, alright then, you kids have fun," he said with some disappointment. "I'll just be going, I've got to introduce myself to the new hero classes."

"Ok, bye now," she said, hand on the handle of her door.

"Yes, see you later," Toshinori replied with a two fingered salute. He turned and walked away, and Maddie got a full view of how well his suit showed off his well-endowed rear end. She felt her cheeks flushing again. That was quite an ass the symbol of peace had on him!

"Are you staring at All Might's butt?" a girlish voice said and Maddie looked down in surprise at a young student with pigtails snickering at her.

"What!? No, no, no, no! Well that would be inappropriate wouldn't it?" she nearly yelled waving her hands in front of her frantically.

"Sure," the girl shrugged with a giggle and then walked into the science classroom.

Wonderful.

Her first couple of classes went very well. Maddie was somewhat surprised how well behaved and respectful these Japanese students were, though she hadn't had any hero student classes yet, and from what she could remember when she was at school with them, they could be pretty full of themselves. It was a Tuesday, though, so she wouldn't get any until tomorrow. They were all being evaluated by their home room teachers today as part of their hero training.

As soon as her classes were over, she sat down at her desk to review her lessons. She had started out talking about water and its properties, showing off her quirk at points to make the lesson more engaging. The students seemed to like it and remained attentive through the class, taking notes and asking questions. They were all remarkably bright, but that's what it took to get into UA. As she was reviewing her lessons and trying to memorize student names, her office phone buzzed and she answered it.

"Sapphire, we've already got our first patient of the year in the nurse's office, would you care to come by?" Recovery Girl spoke on the other side of the phone.

"Of course, I'll be right there," Maddie said. She hung up and made her way to the nurse's office.

When she walked in, the room was relatively quiet and seemed empty, but then she noticed the young boy sitting on one of the recovery beds by a window. He had a mess of green hair and his face was spattered with freckles. His green eyes darted across a composition notebook that looked like it had seen better days. He must have been a first year, he looked very young, and she also assumed he was in the hero program since she hadn't seen him before. Maddie thought he was absolutely adorable.

He looked up from his notebook when he heard her enter the room and smiled shyly, "Oh hello, are you Ms. Sapphire? Recovery Girl said I had to wait for you before she could heal my finger." He held up a purple bruised pointer finger to show her.

"Yes, I'm Ms. Sapphire, I'm new here this semester, what's your name?" Maddie asked, sitting down in a chair across from the boy.

"I'm Izuku Midoriya, from hero class 1-A. Nice to meet you! If you don't mind me asking, you're not from here are you? I mean, I know about most of the teachers here at the school, but I didn't know who you were," Midoriya said with some nervousness. "Sorry, I don't mean to pry, I just really enjoy learning about different heroes and their quirks, and I had never heard of yours before."

"Well you would be correct, I'm from America, and I've mostly worked in hero support, so if you've only followed pro heroes you've probably never heard of me. My quirk is water manipulation, and I can use it to provide minor healing as well," Maddie explained while pulling water to her outstretched palm and swirling it around for Midoriya to see.

"Wow that is so cool!" Midoriya gasped with sparking eyes. "Mind if I take notes?"

"Of course not," Maddie giggled. So adorable!

"You know, I don't often meet support heroes, sometimes I forget they are just as cool and important as pros," Midoriya said as he started a new page in his notebook and tried to sketch her out, even with his messed-up finger. "Your costume is really awesome too!"

"Thank you. It was made from wetsuit materials and has the ability to keep my skin dry even if I get wet and can store water so I have resources to draw on if there is no water nearby. Plus, its extra comfy."

"That's incredible!" Midoriya exclaimed reaching out to touch her costume material.

"All right you two, that's enough making googly eyes at each other, it's time to heal that finger and send you on your way, Midoriya," Recover Girl announced, coming around the corner into the room.

Maddie laughed at her comment and Midoriya jumped and looked ashamed. "It's all right, Midoriya, I know you're just really curious about my quirk. I'm sure you'll have my class pretty soon, and I give you permission to ask me all you want about it," Maddie assured him.

"Thank you, I look forward to taking your class, ma'am," Midoriya said with a little head bow.

Recovery Girl walked up to the beside and grabbed Midoriya's hand. "Ok, now this won't hurt one bit," she said and puckered up her lips, stretching them out to kiss Midoriya's finger.

"Ahhhhh!" he shouted.

Maddie couldn't help but laugh. Recovery Girl was great! She soon has Midoriya's finger wrapped in a light bandage to help it finish healing and had sent him out the door. He waved goodbye and shouldered his backpack while storing his notebook carefully like it was his most prized possession.

"Such a sweet boy. I hope All Might doesn't get him into too much trouble," Recovery Girl said. "But I have a feeling we are going to be seeing much more of young Midoriya in here. He just can't control that quirk of his. This is the second time I've had to patch him up."

"All Might? What does he have to do with Midoriya? Why can't he control his quirk?" Maddie asked, confused.

"Um, let's just say All Might has taken the boy under his wing. He's helping him train. Midoriya's quirk is too powerful for his body right now so he usually breaks bones every time he uses it. All Might's been helping the boy train his body to better handle it."

It seemed like Recovery Girl was leaving something out, why would All Might be that invested in a random school boy? She decided to let it go for now though. She guessed every hero needed a protégé, especially since the symbol of peace didn't have any of his own children. She wondered why that was? More importantly she was annoyed that All Might seemed to be butting into every part of her life whether she liked it or not. Now he was involved in training the first student Maddie had really connected with, was there no escaping him?