The Okami Hero: Amaterasu
Arc 9: Academy of Heroes
Chapter 5: Trials of Teaching Part 1
[Monday 3rd April 2282]
[Cafeteria, U.A High School]
The remainder of the Move-In Day passed in a flurry of activity for the new students of Class 1-A, their shared ordeal of Aizawa-sensei's Quirk Assessment helping them bond through adversity. Much of the afternoon was spent setting up their rooms, while Izumi helped carry their things upstairs and then played with Eri in the Common Room. Once they were done, Ashido tried to rally the class into having a room showcase, but while they had started to bond, no one in class was comfortable enough to let everyone else see their private spaces, so that plan was put on the back burner for now.
Sato made them all a fancy Italian pasta dish for dinner, with Izumi, Eri, and Asui ("Call me Tsu!") assisting him as the only ones willing with any real kitchen experience. Eri helped by washing vegetables while she sang the praises of Izumi's cooking, making the Greenette blush. In truth, Izumi was only an average cook that was good at following recipes, and needed someone to taste test her food since her own wolf-like sense of taste made it hard to season for normal humans. Eri, having similar tastes thanks to her own wolfish tongue, didn't really understand that because all food she'd been fed before becoming Izumi's daughter had been bland convenience store fare.
The evening was then spent playing video games, watching movies, and just bonding in general, before they all had an early night to prepare for the first REAL day of school.
Monday began the start of a new routine for Izumi. She woke Eri and the two went for an early morning run, both for exercise and to burn off the excess energy that the Puppy Eri always awoke with, then returned to the Dorms for a shower and breakfast. Tsuyu handled Breakfast (french toast, a favourite of her siblings), and Izumi and Eri got to watch, bright eyed and bushy tailed, as a small horde of zombie-like teenagers devoured it all with about a gallon of coffee before they all perked up.
Eri got some excitement from the other girls, since she was dressed in a smaller, more kid-friendly version of the grey U.A girl's uniform, and the little girl handled it very well, having grown a bit more used to 1-A after Sunday night's gaming and movie event. She still struggled with Ashido and Toru trying to hug her randomly, but all it took was Izumi giving them the evil silver eye and they'd back down, so Eri was sure she was safe.
From there, the day progressed in a… disappointingly normal manner. Homeroom wasn't too different from Middle School, though it was interesting to see some of the accessibility features built into U.A to accommodate different quirks, such as the reinforced furniture and the giant doors. Having Eri with her for it was also different, but once Homeroom ended, Aizawa-sensei took Eri to Principal Nezu for her own lessons, with Ishiko accompanying her, and took most of the excitement with him.
Classes were… well, they were classes. Learning English isn't the most stimulated subject, even if Present Mic was the teacher. Having Pro-Heroes for teachers was really the only thing U.A's General Education had going for it, though Izumi did recognise that the pace was a lot faster than what she was used to, which was nice. Middle School classes felt like they moved along at a snail's pace. Since Izumi's seat was at the very back of the class and beside the window (in a row all on its own, since she was Seat 21), the Greenette could see the entire class and could tell that the others were getting bored too, along with a sense of anticipation that was building for their first Hero Classes after lunch.
Izumi hadn't had the heart to tell them that they'd be in theory lessons into All-Might's first class on Friday. Then again, All-Might's new teaching job hadn't been revealed yet either.
When it finally came time for Lunch and Eri was delivered back to Class 1-A just in time to join, the entire class rushed to the Cafeteria, eager for some of Lunch Rush's food.
"Hey Izumi! Let's all eat together!" Ochako said happily, looking far too cute in her uniform in Izumi's opinion.
"S-Sure! Um, there's us, Eri, Kacchan, Himiko, Tenya, Eijiro, and Hitoshi, so we need a table for eight?" Izumi replied with a light blush on her cheeks.
"Let's make it ten. Shark Tooth went off to find Mantis, and Sunny was betting on Invisible Girl joining us." Katsuki said, coming up behind Ochako with a tray of ultra-spicy curry.
"I'll find one! You guys gather everyone up and bring them over!" Ochako bobbed her head before happily disappearing into the busy lunch room crowd.
"Well someone's eager." Katsuki muttered with a raised eyebrow.
Izumi nodded with a smile, then noticed Shoto walking by with a tray of soba. "Oh! Shoto, do you want to come sit with us for lunch?"
The dual-coloured boy paused and looked at her with his usual emotionless gaze, only this time with a slight eyebrow raise; "Shoto?"
Izumi blushed; "O-Oh, sorry. I thought you'd prefer that over Todoroki, since… y'know, that's his name..."
Shoto's eyes widened ever so slightly, a nearly imperceptible change, "You know too much." he said, his monotone gaining a distinctly irritated edge.
"Sorry, Commission President's daughter and all that." Izumi said with a shrug, "I don't like the guy at all and I know you don't either. If you're not comfortable with it, I'll just use Todoroki."
The boy exhaled slowly through his nose; "Shoto is fine. I don't care either way, just keep that to yourself."
Izumi nodded; "Of course. Now, did you want to eat with us?"
"No. I'd rather eat alone." Shoto said, before turning to leave.
Izumi wasn't too shocked by that, but Eri and Katsuki weren't as accepting. Eri didn't understand why Shoto would want to eat on his own; being with others for meals was a lot better than being by yourself, even if it was in the noisy cafeteria (which she wasn't a fan of). Katsuki was just straight up pissed by the boy's brush off.
"Oi, Icy Hot! What, you think you're too good for us!?" he demanded.
Shoto glared at him coldly; "I'm not going to compare myself to a fully licensed Hero or a six year old girl. You, however… I prefer quiet meals."
"You son of a-!" Katsuki growled, stomping forward a few steps before he was caught by the back of the collar by Izumi.
"Not the time or place, Kacchan. Fair enough Shoto, but the offer is open. Come find us if you want company." Izumi smiled, before dragging Katsuki away. She was glad she hadn't gone to get her lunch yet; it would be hard to restrain Katsuki while holding Eri's hand AND a tray of food.
Shoto narrowed his eyes slightly, "I'm not here to make friends." he said.
"Neither am I, but making friends is a nice side-benefit." Izumi shot back, never losing her smile. "See you later, Shoto."
She dragged the struggling Katsuki away, Eri giggling at his antics as they disappeared into the crowd in search of the others. Shoto watched them go for a moment, his face settling into a frown before he turned on his heel and left in search of a quiet spot to eat.
A few minutes later, Izumi was sat at a table with Eri, Ishiko (sat on Izumi's shoulder), Himiko, Katsuki, Hitoshi, Ochako, and Tenya. Eijiro was off collecting his and Katsuki's mutual friend Kamakiri, and Toru had opted to eat lunch with Ashido, Kaminari, and Sero. With a table to sit at and a steaming bowl of Katsudon in front of both her and Eri, Izumi was in a much better mood.
Katsuki was still sulking over Shoto snubbing them. He didn't care about the boy even a little bit, but he didn't take insults lightly, intended or otherwise.
"Relax a little Kacchan, the guy has been living under Endeavor's thumb for his whole life. Can't expect him to have much in the way of social graces. I've met boars with more class that the Fiery Shit Heel." Himiko muttered so only Katsuki and Izumi could hear her.
"I'm not sure if I should be offended or not..." Bakugami said, before giving a mirthful chuckle that brought a smile to Izumi's lips.
"Tch, that Flaming Man-Whore hasn't done shit since Auntie Sakuya got on his ass with that investigation. You'd think Icy Hot would be grateful." Katsuki muttered back.
"He doesn't know, Kacchan. Other than the fact I'm related to the Commission President and hate Endeavor, Shoto has no reason to believe I'm involved. Give it time; this is only the second day we've known him. It takes time to thaw a frozen heart." Izumi whispered, "Now stop being rude; we're not alone here."
Izumi's siblings looked to Hitoshi, Ochako, and Tenya, who were watching them curiously. "Everything alright?" Tenya asked.
"It's fine Four Eyes. Where the hell is Shark Tooth? How long does it take to round up one guy?" Katsuki snapped before shovelling some of his smouldering curry into his mouth.
"Longer than you'd think!" came the cheery voice of Eijiro, making his way over with a disgruntled Kamakiri. The two boys sat at the table, Eijiro grinning at everyone; "Sorry, but he was with a ton of guys from 1-B, and they kept asking me questions about you and Eri." he said, looking to Izumi.
"Me and Eri? Has word gotten out that fast?" Izumi asked, eyebrow raised.
Kamakiri nodded; "Yeah, the Principal announced it at the Opening Ceremony yesterday. Y'know, the one 1-A skipped?" he smirked. "So you're Amaterasu? Good to meet ya, the name's Togaru Kamakiri."
"It's nice to meet you too. I'm Izumi Midoriya, and this is my daughter Eri." Izumi greeted politely, trying to hide how intrigued she was by Kamakiri's appearance. Eri was openly staring with wonder, fascinated by the boy's bug-like features and green mohawk. "You can call me Izumi outside of Hero Classes if you like."
The Mantis Boy grunted and took a bite out of his lunch; meat skewers, before answering; "Thanks. Call me Togaru. Hope I get a chance to fight you soon; Blasty tells me you sliced a Zero Pointer's arm off. Kind of want to see how I'd do against you. Your kid doesn't look like she's scared of me either, which is nice."
Eri nodded with a sparkling smile; "You look really cool! Like the fighting bugs that Kota showed me! And your hair is green like Mama's, but lighter."
"Ha! Real cute. Most kids run screaming when they see my mug, but I suppose I ain't too ugly looking if you're used to Blasty." Togaru teased, earning a smirk and a middle finger from Katsuki. "And so you know, Izumi, the Principal pretty much told us all about Eri too, and gave the whole school a warning about messing with her. He said that anyone hurting Eri would "find Expulsion to be the most delightfully appealing thing in the world after dealing with what Amaterasu would do".
The Greenette smirked; that explained why she and Eri were getting some weird looks, but no one had dared ask about her.
"So Mantis, how's life in the B-Class? Any strong guys, or are they all just stepping stones?" Katsuki asked.
"Bakugou! Don't refer to our classmates as stepping stones, no matter how weak or strong they are!" Tenya scolded, managing to get nothing but an annoyed look and a middle finger salute in return.
Togaru looked Tenya up and down for a moment, before looking back to Katsuki; "1-B is pretty good so far. Some real chummy people and a lot of weird quirks. I'm not the strangest looking guy in class either; we've got a dude with some kind of glue quirk whose skin is yellow and his head looks like a Jack-O-Lantern carved out of a tube of glue. Nice guy, but kind of quiet. Then there's someone with an honest to god speech bubble for a head, like he'd just pulled it out of a real comic book."
"That sounds so cool! I can't wait to meet them!" Izumi exclaimed, hands twitching for her notebooks.
"Yeah! They sound like a lot of fun! Is there anyone with a quirk like mine? Oh, I can make stuff float by removing the Gravity. And my name is Ochako Uraraka by the way." Ochako said, tacking on the last bit when she remembered she hadn't introduced herself yet.
"Actually, we sort of do. A girl, Reiko Yanagi, has a quirk called Poltergeist. It works like Telekinesis from what I can tell. We've also got a girl who can disassemble herself and make the pieces fly around." Togaru answered, idly picking some meat out from his pincers.
"Oh, that's Setsuna Tokage, right? One of the Recommendation Students. She was really strong from what I saw." Izumi said.
Himiko hummed in thought; "Oh yeah… you did mention that you saw some strong people at the Recommendation Exam. We got Shoto and Yaoyorozu, and 1-B got Tokage and..." she trailed off as she tried to remember the name.
"Juzo Honenuki. Another nice guy; likes massages." Togaru said, shrugging at the incredulous look he got from Katsuki and Hitoshi.
Tenya took that opportunity to introduce himself formally, and upon seeing Hitoshi wasn't interested in talking, the straight-laced boy introduced him too. Togaru was amused by this, and nodded in response. He reminded the group of a more relaxed Katsuki.
"So who's your Homeroom Teacher?" Eijiro asked, "We've got Eraserhead! He's an Underground Hero and pretty scary, but I think he's a nice guy underneath all that."
"We've got Vlad King. He's pretty great actually; kind of like your favourite responsible uncle. He spent the whole day getting to know us yesterday and even helped us drag our crap up to our rooms." Togaru grinned, before turning to Izumi.
"So, Blasty and Shark Tooth pretty much filled me in on a lot of your guys' stuff yesterday night when I called 'em, but I want to hear it from you, Amaterasu. When are we gonna get to slice shit up?"
Izumi winced with sympathy; "Sorry Togaru, but as far as I know Class 1-B isn't scheduled for a practical class until Saturday. The first years don't have more than one or two a week for the first month or so. Heck, no one has any practical lessons today from what I've heard."
The boy groaned and slumped over, hitting his forehead on the table (and getting his pincers stuck in the process), "That sucks! I have to wait a whole week for one crummy class!? I've been itching for a fight since the Zero Pointer! I don't suppose we're allowed to spar outside of class?"
"I'd have to ask. I know students can book the gyms and assessment fields, but I don't think sparring is allowed without a teacher." Izumi said.
The whole table, even Eri, gave Izumi a weird look. Togaru even yanked his face out of the table to look up at her with a raised eyebrow.
"What? Do I have rice on my face?" Izumi asked, rubbing her cheeks.
"Mama… you ARE a teacher." Eri reminded her.
Izumi froze, then slowly reddened as she processed. "Oh right… I forgot for a second..."
Ochako snorted, and that snort quickly gave way to giggles, and then full on belly laughter. That set of Himiko, who in turn set of Eri and Ishiko, which resulted in Eijiro joining in and so on until the entire table was laughing. Even Tenya was having a sensible chuckle at her expense, and Izumi blushed with embarrassment, before she too began to laugh.
The rest of lunch passed like that, with them all poking fun at one another good naturedly and laughing in response. Tenya didn't approve of the game, but his attempts to stop them just made them laugh harder, and their infectious joy would soon envelop him and he'd start laughing again. It all passed far too quickly, and before they knew it, they were all heading back to class for their first Theory Heroics Lessons while Izumi walked Eri back to the Principal's office for her own lessons.
With the students all in class, Izumi took a moment to change into her Hero Gear before going to the Staff Room to join All-Might in their first planning meeting as teachers. She knocked on the door before letting herself in, finding the room empty save for All-Might, sat at a computer in his civilian form while dressed in that signature yellow pinstripe suit of his. He looked frustrated with the machine in front of him, but quickly smiled when he saw who arrived.
"Ah! Izumi, or should I say, Amaterasu! You're right on time. Come over here; we have lessons to plan and I'm afraid I'm not great with computers." Toshinori smiled.
"Hehe, I'm not great with them either. Mom has been trying to convince me to switch to a tablet for all my note taking, but I'm old fashioned and enjoy ink on paper." Izumi chuckled, walking over to sit in second chair placed at All-Might's desk. "But what should I be calling you? I normally call you Uncle Toshi when you look like that, but I'm supposed to be working with All-Might."
"I want to keep my new job here a secret until my first class, so it'll be more exciting for the students! For now, just call me Toshinori; teachers here usually use each others given names or hero names from what I've seen." Toshi told her, "Now could you help me with this? I'm supposed to submit lesson plans and book facilities, but I don't know how we do that!"
The Wolf Girl smiled and nodded, getting to work helping him put the information he'd scribbled on paper into the computer. Between the two of them, Izumi and Toshi managed to get most of what they needed, but they still needed to outline what they'd be doing for each class's first lesson, and what facilities they'd need for them.
Once she'd filled in the last bit of data she had, Amaterasu turned to Toshinori; "So, what exactly were you thinking of doing? From what I can see here, you're planning some kind of team combat exercise."
Toshinori nodded, grinning in his signature fashion; "That's right! I felt that a good round of combat challenges would be just the thing to get the blood pumping at the beginning of the year! I excel at combat myself too, so it'll be something I can help a lot with. I've already come up with a basic plan for it too; I call it "The Hero VS Villain Bomb Defence Scenario!" he declared, handing Izumi some papers with a flourish and a twinkling smile.
The girl beamed, always loving to see All-Might's showy side from close up, even if he wasn't technically All-Might at the moment. She quickly read through the documents he'd handed her and was marginally surprised by how much effort he'd put into them. He was suggesting a kind of asymmetrical combat challenge in which the students were put into teams and then made to face off in defensive matches, with one team given the role of "Villains" and tasked with defending a bomb within a set location while the other team was given the role of "Heroes" and tasked with retrieving the bomb instead. There was a time limit and capture tape involved too, so either side could win by capturing the other, and the Villains could win by surviving the time limit while the Heroes could win by touching the bomb. The same exercise was planned for all three year groups, with only the size of the defence area and teams being different between them.
It was a decent plan, and considering the effort Toshinori clearly put into it, Amaterasu was loathe to criticise… but it was technically her job now, and she felt the plan was a bit flawed.
"Um, Toshinori?" she began, the name feeling weird in her mouth without the usual title, "This is pretty good, but can I offer some suggestions?"
Toshinori nodded eagerly; "Of course! You are my assistant and the analysis expert! I was specifically told by the Principal to get your approval before submitting a lesson plan, though I would have done that anyway." he said with a smile.
Amaterasu blushed; "O-Okay! Well, I think the core of the activity is good but there are two things I think we should change in it, to make it better. The first is terminology."
"Terminology?" Toshinori repeated, tilting his head questioningly.
"Yeah. Specifically calling it Heroes VS Villains. I think it sends the wrong message to have the students play at being villains, even for a class. It feels kind of demoralising, especially for the First Years who'll have this as their first practical exercise. Imagine if your first practical hero class had you being assigned the role of Villain by All-Might himself? It'll be especially bad if some of the students were stereotyped as Villains in the past because of their quirks." Amaterasu explained, thinking of Katsuki, Himiko, and Hitoshi.
She wasn't stupid; Amaterasu knew of Katsuki and Himiko's experiences first hand, but the way Hitoshi had been reluctant to reveal his quirk, and his surprise with the class's lack of reaction made it clear to her that he was used to being typecast as a future criminal because he could Brainwash people. It made her furious.
Unknown to her, it made Toshi quite upset too, especially since he'd almost thought the same of Izumi because she shared a quirk with his nemesis. He frowned and rubbed his chin; "I hadn't thought of that. Then should we rebrand it as Attackers VS Defenders?" he suggested.
"I feel that would be better, since Heroes have to both defend people and attack villain dens. Have both sides think of themselves as the Heroes and they'll feel better about it. Another downside of having one team act as the villains would be that they might not try as hard, since they wouldn't want the villains to win." the Wolf Girl reasoned, "But the change moves me onto my next problem; the Bomb. The scenario puts an advantage on the Heroes, or Attackers, and now that we've changed the naming, it doesn't make sense any more. Villains would defend a bomb, but why would Heroes?"
"Another fair point, but what advantage does the bomb give the Attackers?" Toshinori asked.
"Well, the victory conditions for the teams are either capture the enemy team, or run the timer out for the Defenders or touch the bomb for the Attackers. Running the timer out is a much harder objective than simply touching a stationary object, and gives the Defenders fewer options. The Attackers can take many different routes, but all the Defenders can really do is hide, set up fakes for distraction, move the bomb around, or make it impossible to reach. That's enough for First Years in their first lesson, but for the more advanced students in upper years, I don't think it's wise to limit their options so much." Amaterasu explained, idly pulling on her lip as her brain raced through alternatives.
Toshi gaped like a fish for a moment before composing himself with a chuckle; "That analysis of yours might be your scariest trait. I can see what you mean now, so how about this instead; we use mannequins representing VIPs instead of a Paper Mache Bomb. The Defenders are protecting them from kidnappers, while the Attackers view them as hostages they have to rescue. Whoever has the most mannequins in their control at the end of the timer wins. That way, the asymmetrical nature of the exercise is kept, and there are fair win conditions."
Amaterasu's eyes shone; "I like it! I think this'll work a lot better now. Do we have mannequins already?"
Toshinori nodded; "Thirteen has a huge supply of Rescue Mannequins for use in her classes, so I'll ask to borrow a few. Should we keep the number identical between the year groups?"
"I think so; we're already making the older students fight in bigger areas and bigger teams, so we shouldn't add too many extra layers or it'll become chaos. Speaking of, how big were you thinking?" the girl asked.
"All of Training Ground Alpha for the Third Years, working in full class teams. It'll be 3-A VS 3-B."
"Isn't that a bit too big?"
"There are only about ten students in each of their classes; many drop out or are expelled since the course here is so demanding. They're the best of the best, so a full Training Ground shouldn't be a problem for them." Toshinori reasoned. Amaterasu accepted that and motioned for him to continue; "For the second years, I was thinking teams of five and they have to defend an entire compound. Still fairly big, though not as much as the Third Years."
"Sounds good. So what about the First Years? I know Kacchan and his friend Togaru Kamakiri are really looking forward to this. They'll be ecstatic when they hear it's combat." the Wolf Girl smirked.
"I have no doubt! For the First Years, I believe we should keep it small and contained; teams of two in a single building."
Amaterasu nodded and began typing in the new information into Toshinori's computer, booking Training Ground Alpha for Tuesday and then Training Ground Beta for the rest of the week. She also had to file a requisition form for the Rescue Mannequins, but almost straight after pressing the enter key, an email from Thirteen popped up that contained the approval.
With that done, the Wolf Girl looked to the Blond Man; "So, are we deciding the teams ourselves, or do we let the students do that?"
"Neither. We'll make it random. It's more fun that way, and it'll give the students a chance to work with different types of people and quirks." Toshinori decided.
Amaterasu didn't have a problem with that, so she happily typed in the last few details and completed the lesson plan. The two heroes then sat back with a small smile of pride.
"Huh, our first completed lesson plan. I kind of feel like a proper teacher already!" the young Goddess smiled.
"Indeed! Let's hope that it all goes well! Of course, we need the Principal to sign off on it first..."
Before Toshinori finished the last syllable, another email came through, this time from Nezu.
It read:
All-Might and Amaterasu
I approve of your first week's lesson plan. I hope you work together in class as well as you did in planning. Good work you two.
Principal Nezu.
P.S. Eri says hello.
The two heroes stared at the message for a few seconds, before shuddering. Amaterasu hadn't actually submitted the lesson plan yet, so how had Nezu known? Toshinori looked around, trying to spot the cameras or hidden mics while Amaterasu tried to subtly sniff for the scent of electronics that weren't supposed to be there. Both were interrupted by the bleep that accompanied another email from Nezu.
Nervously, they looked over and read it.
All-Might and Amaterasu
Yes, I can see and hear you. Yes, everywhere but the bathrooms and private residences are bugged. Nothing happens in this school without my knowledge, especially after the Incident with the Entrance Exam.
No, you won't be able to see or smell them. The bugs are made from the same materials as their surroundings, making there scent indistinguishable, like trying to find a specific pine tree in a forest of the things. I know how to work around that nose of yours, Amaterasu.
The Overhaul Quirk was very helpful in this endeavour; you have my thanks once again.
:D
Principal Nezu.
P.S. Eri says hello once again.
Amaterasu sighed and yelled; "Hello to you too, Eri!" knowing full well that if her daughter wasn't listening to the bugs directly, then Nezu would pass on the message.
"He is the scariest Hero I've ever met." she muttered, finally submitting the lesson plan, even if it was just a formality at this point.
Toshinori nodded with a chuckle; "He is, especially after getting the Overhaul Quirk. I've heard horror stories of him using it to create staircases that lead to and from the vents, and Power Loader told me that the ventilation system sometimes changes, only to return to normal moments later. Worst still, apparently he can use it from his feet as well as his hands. Recovery Girl thinks its because he's an animal and the front and back paws are similar enough that the quirk activates from both."
Izumi felt a shiver go through her entire body; "Whoa… glad Chisaki couldn't do that. Still, between Eraser and the Principal, U.A has some seriously scary teachers!"
"Ha! You should have seen what it was like when I attended! My Homeroom Teacher put the fear of god into all his students, especially me. Gran Torino still terrifies me!" Toshinori said, a nostalgic smile on his face as he reached for a cup of coffee.
"Gran Torino? I don't think I've heard of that Hero… can you tell me more?" Izumi asked, her inner fan girl rearing its head.
Toshinori nodded; "Of course, Young Izumi. Gran Torino was, and presumably still is, one hell of a slave driver. His quirk made him faster than the wind, and he enjoyed beating the crap out of me in my training. He took a special interest in me, and was my teacher even outside of U.A, since he was a friend of Nana…" he trailed off.
Mentions of Nana Shimura, Toshinori's mentor and parental figure, were rather rare occurrences. The blond man simply felt too much pain and grief to go into much detail when speaking about her, though every mention made it clear how much Toshinori had loved her. Nana was to Toshi what Sakuya was to Izumi; someone who nurtured and trained him when he had no one else, a surrogate mother that eventually became the real thing, if only in the eyes of the two involved. All Toshinori had really said about her beyond the bare basics was that she was similar to Inko and Izumi in some ways, such as Inko's hairstyle and Izumi's love of helping people, and their softer natures that would became fierce when necessary. It was part of why Toshinori loved watching Izumi with Eri, and though he hadn't told Izumi, he also saw a parallel in the way Izumi had essentially "passed on" some of her power to Eri.
"D-Did you want to talk about her?" Izumi asked carefully.
Toshinori shook his head with a sad smile, then reached over to pat Izumi's head; "No thank you, my girl. We'll have time to listen to my stories when I'm old and retired. I've still got my health thanks to a certain little wolf, so I should use it well and get back to work!" he said, before his expression brightened a bit, "We finished planning a lot sooner than I thought, so how about we spend the rest of the afternoon's classes out on patrol? I don't believe All-Might and Amaterasu have officially worked together in the field since the Orochi incident!"
The Wolf Girl grinned and nodded excitedly; patrolling with All-Might would be a dream come true!
"Haha! Then let's go!" declared All-Might, now swollen into his Hero Form and shucking his yellow suit to reveal his hero costume underneath. The two heroes raced out of the building, barely remembering to use their pagers to inform the other teachers that they'd be heading out.
That afternoon, the already small criminal element in Musutafu collectively shuddered with terror as one hell of a tag team took to the streets. An arrested convenience store thief swore he'd never commit a crime again after seeing All-Might riding into battle on top of a wolf wielding a sword in its mouth!
When the next day's Hero Class came, All-Might already knew what he wanted for his entrance!
Next Chapter: Trials of Teaching Part 2
To be Released: December 9th 2021
And so ends the first day of school! Not the most exciting chapter, I know, but it was necessary for a few things. It showed the standard day at U.A, allowed for some more bonding and character interactions, how All-Might and Izumi work together to plan lessons, and revealed a few tidbits about Gran Torino, Nana Shimura, and Nezu's use of Overhaul. It also let me show how future classes will be different for the students, since Izumi is there to offer her own input.
Next chapter will have Izumi's first practical teaching experience, as well as reveal that not everyone is happy to have a teacher so young.