Did I make another BNHA fic when I still have other stories I'm working on? Yes, yes I did. Do regret it? Not at all.
I can not be stopped. Feel the pent up frustration of a teacher in this collapsing nation that wants someone else to suffer in the same way. I give you-
Hawks. As a teacher.
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How hard can it be?
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"What?" Hawks asked.
'What' was something he didn't usually ask. His hearing was considered inhumanely good even without his feathers. Ever since he was a kid he knew exactly what was being said around him, even if it wasn't being said to him. Even if it was something no one wanted him hearing.
He was also pretty smart, if he did say so himself, so explanations were something he could figure out on his own with a little thought and context clues. He never needed to say 'what' when he was given a mission outside his usual patrols because he knew everything there was to know about his city (as well as the neighboring ones) so any incident they wanted him to look into he knew about beforehand.
He never needed to say 'what' when Rumi told him to meet her somewhere because he knew her and judging on the time of day he could figure out pretty easily if it was a 'this fight is fucking hilarious, come laugh at these losers with me' kind of thing or an 'I want to get wasted and you're along for the ride' kind of thing.
He didn't even need to say 'what' whenever a hero he'd never met made some side comment about his 'behavior' after a first-ever team-up (which happened more often than not but hey, it was part of the job at this point) because he knew exactly how he appeared to others in the profession and if it wasn't grinning laughter (usually the younger heroes) or professional respect (the older ones) then it was pathetically veiled contempt and irritation. Not that it mattered what other heroes thought of him, when the public found his laidback attitude so comforting.
No, Hawks didn't really ask 'what'. Not anymore.
"The paperwork has already gone through and permission has been granted from the school," the president continued as if she hadn't even heard him which was rather rude. She knew exactly how rare his confusion was, the least she could do was acknowledge it. "They have a few forms of their own for you to sign and then you can start right away."
Maybe she hadn't heard him. The Commission members closest to him obviously had, they'd actually looked up when he spoke, but the man sitting next to the President hadn't even twitched.
"What." He said again, louder. A little stiff too, his brain trying to fit together pieces of five different puzzles that were never meant to match.
This time she glanced at him, eyes narrowing just enough to let him know she wasn't done talking. Which meant she had heard him the first time and was consciously choosing to ignore it.
Great.
"You will still continue with your regular patrols," she tapped a long, manicured finger against the desk and Hawks made sure not to tense his jaw at the annoying sound. The echoes in this room were always such a pain. "The only change will be moving your afternoon shift to later in the evening. You will, of course, be on call should anything happen but the majority of your time will be at the school making sure to maintain a higher standard of security. You will only be required to teach one class but with several different groups of students. Principal Nezu will explain more to you when you show up tomorrow."
"I'm afraid I don't understand," he made his 'what' longer, to really drive home the point that he had no idea what was being said to him.
The frown on the President's face was always a bad sign but he held his ground this time. Hawks had never had to question a mission before. Even if some of them were a pain in the ass and he wanted to just pull his bones straight from his body so that one part of him could rest while the other did all the work (he had never fully decided on which part of that equation would be doing the work) the orders had made sense. Extra patrols, saving more people. Information gathering, saving more people. Interviews and photo shoots were always the worst but he got it. Building public awareness, keeping up an image so that when someone needed help they would know him immediately and be more willing to accept the hand he gave them (the woman had flinched away from him when he first started out, the second of hesitation dooming her when the ceiling caved in all the way). He didn't like a lot of it, he'd prefer to relax at some point in his life, but logically it all made sense.
This didn't make sense.
"What is the problem, Hawks?" she steepled her fingers, one finely sculpted eyebrow-raising. She wasn't a woman who really expressed like most people did, so the fact that her face was moving at all was telling.
"I don't see how involving myself with UA would be beneficial," Hawks cupped his chin, overexaggerating his thinking face. None of them were fooled, they were the ones that taught him to use it strategically, but there was no harm in pressing in the fact that he had taken everything they had ever given him and knew how to utilize it effectively. To make sure they understood how useless this assignment was. "The incident at their USJ facility is big, and I can see why doubts about the security of the whole school might pop up, but I doubt something like this will happen again now that they know how it happened in the first place. The attack was so detailed because it had to be to work. One thing goes wrong and their whole operation is shut down, like that student getting out. I'm sure the school has put measures in place now, and they have All Might." Hawk stressed that part in particular. What good was the number 3 hero when the Symbol of Peace was there? "People might feel a little better with me around, just because having two top heroes in one place is a pretty strong deterrent, but there's a reason top heroes aren't together that often. It's a waste of resources."
It would be like giving a stick to a man that could punch through an entire building with just his pinky finger. The stick was more of a physical comfort than any actual use against a threat.
The President nodded, leaning back in her chair. She waved her hands at the ever-present guards that stood by the door (more sticks in a building surrounded by heroes).
Hawks felt the feathers closest to his spine sharpen when the door closed behind them.
"The attack was targeted towards All Might," the President watched him cooly. The men around her were shifting but she was immobile in all but her lips. "Every villain with a brain will realize that the students at UA are prime targets right now. They will never be able to get to the Symbol of Peace, but they can get to the things he protects."
"Yeah, I get that," Hawks placed his hands on his hips now, subtly stretching his wings with the movement so he could flutter out his base feathers to relax them. "Some extra backup never hurts. I just don't get why it has to be me. I have no experience in teaching, and even less in talking to kids outside of emergencies and autographs. With my speed and evacuation skills, it totally makes sense why I would be a good standby option but that doesn't explain why I have to actually be a teacher. I could always just add UA into my patrol, swing by a few times throughout the day. Interacting with the students and staff on such a personal level seems a little overkill, don't you think?"
She looked at him without blinking for a long time. He'd timed how long it took her to blink numerous times over the years (20 seconds being the longest) and she'd never gotten so much as a watery eye.
"The attack at USJ brought up some very… particular concerns."
Finally. She wasn't usually one to beat around the bush.
"The attack required extensive prior knowledge to work. The schedule as well as what teachers would be with which students where. They knew All Might would be there."
Hawks had already assumed there might be a spy at UA. That or the villains had someone with a quirk so specifically tuned to espionage it was a little ridiculous to think about.
"We believe a student may have supplied the knowledge."
Makes sense. The villains didn't know the kid's quirks apparently, so if the spy was a teacher then they were a pretty shitty spy. Student records were kept close to the chest but any staff member could look it up easily. A student wouldn't know their fellow classmate's quirks that well, especially at the start of the year.
Although, from what Hawks had dug up, the class that had been at USJ at the time hadn't known about the trip for very long beforehand. Not long enough to set up a trap so carefully put together. It wasn't hard information to get if the teachers hadn't suspected any foul play, but it was still something to keep in mind.
"I could get close to the students to weed out who it might have been, if there is a spy," Hawks agreed. "But so could any other hero. So could their current teachers. I'm not seeing how I'm the best candidate for this."
He had no experience mentoring anyone. No interest in it either. The closest he ever came was his own sidekicks but they were so self-sufficient that he rarely needed to do anything outside of praising their quick wits and dedication. Hell, he was barely older than the kids at UA, wouldn't a more experienced hero be better for this?
The President pushed the file that had been resting in front of her the entire time across the table. Hawks had to do the awkward walk down the open path between the tables (which he always hated doing, she knew that) to pick it up.
"This isn't public knowledge," she said in the way that meant his lips were better off sealed.
Hawks flipped it open.
He blinked, iris' narrowing. The President made a disapproving sound but didn't mention the way his eyes went eerily wide as he cocked his head to the side. The Commission hated it when he stared. Apparently it made people feel like he was hunting them. It's one of the reasons why his hero costume had a visor.
All Might had been injured in the fight. Pretty badly, apparently. Hawks didn't know where they had gotten this information, UA always seemed pretty uptight about sharing, but he didn't doubt the authenticity. The thing the villains had brought with them, the hulking creature with its brain exposed, had actually done some damage. Enough damage that in another situation Hawks could see it being successful. He could see it potentially killing All Might.
"I understand," he closed the file and handed it back. This changed everything. This wasn't just protecting the school, this was about making sure the pillar that held everything up for the last decade didn't fall. He smiled, wide and charming. "Just one class right?"
How hard could it be.
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Hawks will feel my pain, even if only because he's one of my favorite characters. Any other teachers out there, I believe in you my friends! Stay strong!
I have an obscene amount of the AU written out. Like, a lot. I just need to tie events together with those silly little things called continuity. Chapters are gonna come quick until my frustration starts to fizzle (haha, that's totally gonna happen right?) Enjoy stressed teacher Hawks who doesn't want the job but tries his best anyway.