Woo! That was quite a long break between chapters - sorry about that! I've been busy with school, trying to get some money until my first paycheck comes in, and also this crazy polar vortex we got going on! Here's the next chapter, though, and hopefully you all enjoy it. We finally get to see Mic interacting with 1-A!

Remember to check me out on tumblr at ibelieveinahappilyeverafter for updates on my writing, little bonus scenes for this story, and a whole lot more.

Enjoy!

"How difficult would it be to quit my position at U.A.?" Shota was asking the question as soon as he heard the tone on the other end of his phone that signaled his call had been answered. A moment of silence followed, Shota not bothering to fill it. Eventually, there was a long, tired sigh that echoed with static.

"What did your kids do this time?" It was with a vicious sort of spiteful pleasure that Shota realized Nemuri sounded as exhausted as he had been feeling over the last few weeks. "And no, you can't quit. Nezu would never allow you and you know it."

"They blew up a couch." Shota stared at where the small group of 1-A students were profusely apologizing to the store owner that was now minus a piece of furniture. "Bakugo and Todoroki both are still at the school."

"Then how… No, I don't want to know. Asking questions about your kids just gives me more headaches. You're almost done, aren't you? You know we have curfews, now."

"I'm well aware of the new safety measures, Nemuri." Shota didn't want to admit he was bitter about the ripple effects caused by 'the end of All Might,' but, well… Villains had come crawling out of the woodwork, his students had all been moved into dorms on campus, and he was now stuck on campus any moment he wasn't out on patrol. "We should be done and on our way back, soon."

"Good. I don't want to explain why you and a bunch of kids went missing when you went out to get a few rugs and towels. Honestly, Shota, you give in so easily to your kids." Nemuri's tone was warm and teasing and close to giggles. Shota did his best to ignore it.

"They're not my kids." With that, Shota hung up and slipped his phone back into one of his pouches, looking to where Kirishima, Midoriya, and Kaminari were bowing to the store owner with apologetic faces. He could only be grateful that not all of his problem children had come along.

"Would I get in trouble if I used my quirk to get them to shut up and behave?" At the tired drawl, Shota glanced to where Shinsou was staring at the students and looking as exhausted as Shota felt.

"Yes, but I might pretend I didn't notice anything depending on whether or not they can learn from their mistakes," Shota said simply, pleased to see that Tenya was scolding the other students and getting them back into a group while doing a headcount at the same time.

While it had been odd to become the homeroom teacher to the kid he had helped his friend babysit for the last fifteen years, it was nice to see that Tenya was respectful as always. It also helped that he never called him Shota-nii unless there were no other students around and they were safely out of school.

"So I'll end up brainwashing at least three of them by the end of the day, then." Patting at Shinsou's shoulder, Shota hid his smile in his capture weapon as the teen was soon dragged away by Kaminari and Midoriya. Shinsou wasn't a part of the heroics course, yet, but the rest of the class seemed to assume it was only a matter of time. It no doubt encouraged them when Shota didn't bother to deny any of their speculations.

Technically Shinsou should have stayed at the school since he had moved into the General Education dorms the second the opportunity had presented itself, but Shota already had a partial sort of custody over Shinsou due to their training. Besides, his homeroom teacher was Nemuri, which helped immensely when it came to dragging Shinsou away for training.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Shota pulled his phone out to glance at the time and mentally swore when he realized just how late it was getting. It didn't help matters when he glanced outside and saw just how far away from the school their shopping trip had taken them.

"Alright, enough." Shota interrupted whatever argument was going on now, a quick use of Erasure quieting the students down at once. "Go make your final purchases and meet outside at the front of the store in ten minutes. If you're not back by that time then you'll be on dorm cleaning duty for two weeks."

He barely finished before the kids were scrambling apart and running to different parts of the store, Tenya running after the ones most likely to make trouble while Shinsou yawned and stayed where he was.

"Why did you bother to come when you weren't going to buy anything?" In response, Shinsou held up a small bag that was stuffed with candy bars, energy drinks, and canned coffee. Shota could relate.

"How's everything with your vigilante?" At Shinsou's question, Shota slowly raised his eyebrows. The teenager looked utterly unmoved. "Present Mic, right?"

"He's fine, as far as I know." The real question, though, was why Shinsou was asking about Present Mic now of all times. "Why?"

"Curious," Shinsou shrugged, shuffling closer bit by bit so he was standing near Shota again. "He patrols around here, doesn't he?"

Hm. Shota should probably let Shinsou know that Mic wasn't actually a vigilante and the man had been telling the truth when claiming to be a villain. "He does. I figured going to a less know portion of town might give us more peace than if we were to go in the busier areas, though."

Shinsou nodded, silently trailing after him as he went to wait outside for the rest of the students to show up. Koda and Tsuyu, it seemed, were already there and waiting, Jiro strolling out a moment later. Now it was Tenya and the three problem children of the day that they were waiting on, it seemed.

"Hey, Sensei." Shinsou was hardly loud enough to hear, Shota glancing down to him as the other students chatted and compared purchases. "Next time you see him, could you pass on my thanks for last time?"

"Sure, kid." Shota wasn't sure what to feel at realizing Mic had somehow managed to charm Shinsou, but there was definitely some amusement there. Probably. "Might be a while, though. I haven't seen him in almost a month."

Between the League of Villains, All Might's defeat, Shinsou's after school training, the ruined summer training camp, and a dozen other things, it felt like Shota had barely managed to find enough time to breathe, let alone check in on Mic. He wasn't willing to admit how much the lack of talking to the 'villain' was getting to him, though.

Starting back to the school as soon as all his kids were in front of him, Shota didn't even get ten minutes of peace before a glass window was shattered as a body flew out of it. Shota was proud at how every single one of his students fell into a defensive stance, ready to run instead of fight. Maybe he was getting through to them.

"Looks like it won't be a while, after all." Frowning at Shinsou's words, Shota studied the body that had flown through the window of what seemed to be a bar and tried to resist the urge to groan or break out into a pleased smile at seeing just who it was. Ugh, that trope of absence making the heart fonder might have truth to it and Shota hated it.

"Oi, pay attention," Shota called back to his students, deciding this would make a good teaching moment. "Fighting without a pro hero license is illegal for many different reasons, but it also makes the job of other pros harder as they end up working with unknown quirks and personalities. Those fighting also don't have access to the proper training or supplies that pro heroes need now and days."

"Did you just make him into an example?" Shinsou muttered, Shota placing a hand on the teen's head and tilting his head down. He tried not to show how pleased he was by the snort of laughter - it had taken months for Shinsou to warm up enough to speak to him normally, let alone ask questions. It was harder to hide his smile when Mic realized who was talking, eyes getting wide before he was jumping up and beaming.

"Eraser!" Shota easily dodged the attempt at a hug, binding cloth snapping out to wrap around Mic and pin him in place as he gave him a glare. Mic's smile only got wider and it was a struggle to hide the urge to smile back. "Fancy seeing you around here, hero."

"Um, Sensei?" Glancing back to his students, he saw Tsuyu was looking curious, the others still on edge. "Who is this?"

"Aw, you have a bunch of little ducklings!" At the loud exclamation, Shota felt no shame in tightening the cloth until Mic gave him a squeaking cough and a betrayed look. It immediately vanished when he saw Shinsou. "Ah! Hey there, herolet!"

"That's still not a word," Shota grumbled, looking back to Tsuyu. "This is an idiot who you don't need to worry about. If we're lucky, he'll go away, and I won't have to worry about whatever trouble he's caused now."

"Is he a pro hero?" Kirishima asked, raising his hand as if afraid Shota would yell at him if he didn't. It was a good instinct.

"No." Mic was the one to answer, a complicated expression on his face even as he smiled. "I'm not a hero."

"Maybe he's a vigilante," Kaminari suggested, Shota letting Mic go and returning his weapon to its resting position.

"Close enough." The word villain would only set the kids into a frenzy, considering the last few weeks. "Oi, Mic." Waiting until he had the man's attention, Shota glanced back to the bar. "Is that something I have to worry about?"

"Ah, no, no, they were just being grumpy, was all. I'll take care of it later, if they're still causing a mess!" Mic's bright smile made Shota want to squint by reflex.

"Aizawa-sensei, shouldn't we be getting back to the school?" Looking to Tenya, Shota threw a glance at his phone and did his best to hide a wince.

"We should. Come on. If any of you try to run off then don't bother showing up for class anymore." Shota wasn't sure if he was proud or irritated when none of his students looked the least bit terrified as they trailed after him down the sidewalk.

They managed to get two blocks in before Shota noticed that Mic was trailing after them, the students looking like they weren't sure if they should talk to him or not. Shota decided to do it for them, "Mic. Why are you following my class?"

"I'm here as back-up!" Mic beamed, looking as if there wasn't anything wrong with a villain following a bunch of hero students. "What if you were attacked by a villain, after all? It's a very sensitive climate, right now, Aizawa-sensei." Never had Shota felt as great an urge to punch someone as he did in that moment.

"Oi, listen up." Waiting until every student was looking at him, Shota nodded. "If he irritates you, feel free to punch him or use your quirks. I don't care." Ignoring the sudden increase in loud and annoying voices, Shota turned back to lead them along, effectively blocking out whatever question was thrown at him.

He made sure to glance back every block or so, just to make sure none of them were doing anything stupid. Three blocks into their walk back to the school was all it took for Kirishima and Kaminari to question Mic about what it was like to be a hero that wasn't licensed. It was amusing to see Mic's panic as he tried to tell the truth without letting them know who he really was.

Four blocks in Jiro was looking as if she was trying to place who Mic was while Midoriya was rambling on about voice quirks - which was the only thing Mic had told them without giving any specifics. Shota made a mental note to get Midoriya more work revolving around quirk theory and study. The teen would have made a great quirk analyzer if he hadn't made it into the hero course.

Five blocks and Iida and Tsuyu had joined in on Midoriya's ramblings about voice quirks, Mic looking a mix of uncomfortable and intrigued at the rapid pace of information about the pros and cons of voice quirks. Shota resolved to stop the conversation the next time he glanced back, but instead he saw Mic and Koda using sign language at a quick pace, Koda looking absolutely delighted when Mic was able to keep up with him with ease.

Shota supposed it made sense for Mic to know sign language considering his quirk and his own hearing problems. He made a note to ask about when he had learned in case it ever came up in conversation.

They were almost out of the rougher parts of the area when Shota glanced back one last time to see Shinsou was talking to Mic quietly, rubbing at the back of his neck and awkwardly avoiding any possibility of eye contact. Shota couldn't hear what Mic said, but Shinsou looked a lot more relaxed when the man finished talking and gave him a reassuring smile. Somehow, Shota couldn't find himself to be surprised at the fact Mic was good with kids.

"Well, little listeners, it seems like you're in safe hands with Eraserhead watching over you!" There were quiet gasps from Midoriya and Jiro at Mic's loud words. Shota resolved to not worry about it unless it involved him. "Think you'll be alright getting back to the school, hero?"

"It'll probably be easier without you distracting my students every block," Shota snorted, hiding his face in his scarf as Mic strolled up to throw an arm over his shoulders.

"Aw, don't be like that, Eraser!" Before Shota could decide whether to throw Mic's arm off or throw him over his shoulder completely, there was something being pressed into his hands. "For you, hero. That last fight of yours was nasty enough to actually end up on camera, for once."

It took a moment, but Shota blinked at realizing he was holding a pair of yellow goggles that looked just like his old ones - his old ones which had been shattered in his last villain fight a few nights ago. The goggles were an exact replica of his old ones right down to the way the strap was reinforced with the same material as his binding cloth.

"I had a favor I was able to cash in," Mic explained softly, Shota glancing up to see the man giving him a small, genuine smile. The smile quickly turned sly as he gave Shota a wink, murmuring an almost inaudible, "Now you'll have something to remember me by on those nights we don't see each other."

A quick, cheerful goodbye to the students and Mic was gone as quick as he had arrived, Shota staring down at the goggles in his hands as if they would suddenly gain the ability to talk and explain why Shota felt like his heart was going to beat right out of his chest.

There was no way he actually… He didn't even know the man's name, yet he still… So much for getting over his thing when it came to Present Mic. No, if anything, it was now certainly more than just a few tangled feelings.

"Uh, sir?" Dragging his gaze away from the goggles, Shota looked to where Jiro had her hand half-raised into the air. "Wasn't that Present Mic? You know, the Voice Villain."

Fuck.