Samantha Pond sighed as she sat in the empty conference room. She was the first one to arrive. She had always been punctual. For school to her time in London as a heroine. Her motto was 'five minutes earlier was still late'. Twenty minutes early. That gave her time to collect herself and her satchel. It also gave her time to sip on and enjoy her coffee. Tea never took her fancy, coffee kept her alert except this American tea that had far more caffeine than coffee but she didn't have that.
She took this job with hesitant hands. It was a great opportunity but she had to move away from her home in England. She eventually accepted that teaching would be the next chapter in her life and took up the position. Sam was one of two teachers that were starting at U.A, this year. Her and All Might. The symbol of peace and justice. All Might and little ole Militia.
Militia is her hero name, she was popular in Europe and in the States but never saw the reason to set up shop in Japan. Especially when most of the top tier pro heroes have their agencies set up all about Japan. It seemed like a fools errand. Her quirk was unique. Weapons. She could create weapons and armor at will. Guns to swords. Daggers to claymores. Armor that could survive apocalyptic situations or armor that aided her endurance. Militia was the perfect hero name for her. London had once dubbed her; Militia, the one woman army. Sam was quite proud of that. She even had tea with the queen on most Sundays which was still a honored thing. The queen doesn't have tea with every aspiring hero. Still she was no match for All Might as the school's gossip, Sam was fine with that. He could have the spot light, she didn't want it.
The summer previous, she'd packed up her small apartment on the river and moved to Japan. Chemistry, Biology, Forensics, Physics and General Science were her subjects to teach at U.A. and she had a classroom and a adjoined laboratory at her disposal. That gave her the whole summer to set up her room. To add her own personal touches, familiarize herself the the schools' grounds and set up a teaching program for her classes. Sam thought that U.A. had way too much money that they blew on everything. It was almost ridiculous but all things considered, they were teaching the next generation of heroes.
"Oh! Hello, Sammy!" A chirpy voice yelled. She winced, so long quiet. Present Mic was a nice guy, extremely social but really loud. When Sam first met him, he didn't call her; Sam or Samantha or even Ms. Pond. Just Sammy, only Sammy. Hizashi Yamada or Yamada Hizashi was quite a character. Sam still wasn't used to the naming ways of Japan.
"Hello, Yamada." Sam smiled, pushing burgundy curls out of her face.
He frowned. "Hey, call me Hizashi! We are friends, now."
"Alright... Hizashi." Sam said, trying very hard not to mispronounce his name.
"Aww, Shouta! Hear how cute she says my name? I love your accent, Sammy my dear!" Hizashi laughed, throwing a arm around the baffled woman. Sam turned to spot the dark dressed man. A extremely long scarf was wrapped around his neck that doubled as his capture weapon. Shouta had long dark hair that was wavy and unkempt. Scruff framed a serious, pale mouth. He didn't seem like he was a pro hero. Burgundy eyes flew to the dark haired man for help. Sam blushed, a dark scarlet spreading across pale cheeks in shame.
"Did I say it wrong?" She mumbled, hating her fat tongue for it's inability to speak properly.
"No, no." Hizashi waved her off. "I like how you say it. It sounds foreign."
"No, it doesn't." Aizawa Shouta spoke up, interrupting his college form his unintentional harassment. Wavy dark hair framing, sleepless dark eyes. Showing pity for his new college. "You'll get used to it." He continued to Samantha, only slightly reassuring the woman.
"Yours is easier." Sam admitted. "Aizawa Shouta." She pronounced, it was a lot better than Hizashi. "My students are going to hate me and it's the very first day." She growled, miserably. The name sounded right in her head but speaking it, it didn't work out so well. It was a failure.
"Shouta is just fine." He said, Hizashi giggled as he took a seat next to Sam's. The two eyed the blonde. "They'll have to be patient with you. Plus, detention can fix that." Shouta took the seat next to hers, setting a cup of coffee down in front of him.
Sam laughed. "I can't use detention as a threat for butchering my students' names."
"You can." Hizashi said, "He does!"
"Are those bad boys bothering you, my darling." A silky voice cooed. Sam turned her chair to look at Kayama Nemuri but was met with a chest. A very big chest in her face. "Mama Nemuri can take care of those naughty men."
"Ah!" Sam cried out and spun back to the table. "Um, no thanks! No thank you, Nemuri!" Bring a cup to her lips, desperately trying to hide her burning face.
"The only one that's naughty here is you, Midnight." Shouta drawled, a smirk was tugging on his lips at her expense. She scowled at him.
She chuckled, leaning foreword to grab a donut from the center plate. Leaning over a still blushing Sam. A Sam that was growing redder and redder by the second. "Oh, how I do love sweet things." She grabbed a red iced donut, taking a sensual bite. A pink tongue flicking out to catch the stray icing left on her glossy lips. "Don't you, Samantha?"
"N-no." Sam sputtered, denying the truth even with a half eaten donut sitting in front of her on a paper plate. She prayed to be smited her to end her suffering.
"I like a little spice too." Nemuri purred in Sam's ear as she pulled away and sashayed over to the other side of the table to chat with Cementoss. Sam gagged on her coffee as it traveled down the wrong pipe.
"Shit." She cursed in English. Hizashi patted her back, still laughing at her expense. His laugh was loud and very noticeable. "She's more extreme than James." Sam coughed.
"Nemuri does that to everyone, she takes sadistic pleasure in making you uncomfortable." Shouta said, pouring more coffee into his cup. How many cups was that? Sam wondered, in only a short time! That had to be unhealthy! Samantha thought in awe. The woman shook herself and looked away. Toshinori waved at Sam, looking concerned. "It's her way of welcoming you to the staff."
Sam waved back, still trying to catch her breath. "Menace." She growled to a smiling Nemuri, she looked like the cat that ate the canary and the fish. She spotted a godawful mustard suit that was 15 sizes too big for man who wore it. He was tall and skinny, he had bright blonde hair. It was mostly unkempt and wild, he had two long blonde bangs that hung in his face. Shadows covered his eyes but you could still see the brilliant, electric blue irises that practically glowed. "Hello, Toshinori! Ah! I like your name, It's cute!" The skinny man in question turned bright red and started coughing up blood.
"Hey, Samantha." He choked, Sam's eyes widened in alarm. She still wasn't used to All Might to looking like this nor his habit of coughing up blood when embarrassed. "And... thank you?"
"Oh, sorry! I'm still working on my pronunciation." Sam smiled, a dazzling smile as she passed him a napkin from the pile next to the donuts. She liked Toshinori; him as All Might and as Yagi Toshinori. He was sweet and kind and a bit of a dork. A lot of a dork, but a very lovable dork. Sam would hate to admit but he melted her heart when she first met him. She could get a cavity from his unintentional sweetness.
"It was very good. I think you shouldn't have any issues." He said, recovering from his fit of coughs. Toshinori smiled, kindly at Sam. Her heart melted, some more.
Shouta and Hizashi traded looks. "You'll have issues, Sammy but don't fret! We are here." Shouta coughed up, a chuckle. He managed to hide it into the cup of coffee.
Sam smacked Hizashi's arm, getting ready to scold the vocal hero on his teasing but was interrupted by the principal. "Welcome to a new year, teachers!" Nezu called and the standing teachers took their seats and the room quietened. She watched as the large white mouse took the center of the large U shape conference table. Dress very nicely in a three piece suit. "We have been lucky to gain two new teachers to join our staff. All Might and Militia."
"Hello, everyone."
"I look forward to working with you all!" Sam smiled as she bowed her head to her new colleges.
"We have a busy year ahead us, so let's do our best! You all are dismissed to your classes. Don't forget about orientation at 9!" Sam blanched, that was it? That was kind of short and too the point.
"I think Nezu was talking about you, Shouta." Hizashi rolled his eyes.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Mic."
"Huh?" Sam blinked at Hizashi, only seeing her own reflection in his sunglasses.
"Aizawa Sensei here has expelled 154 students over the years. Most on the very first day!" Hizashi answered in the most posh tone he could muster. "I think it's a record!"
Sam's eyebrows rose as she turned to the standing Shouta, almost for confirmation. "Really?" She asked as he headed for the door.
"Yeah."
"Damn." Sam whistled.
"Oi, Aizawa! Drinks tonight." Nemuri called, Shouta made a noise of agreement. "All Might! Samantha! It's a tradition amongst the teachers to go out drinking at Capes at the beginning of the school year. Don't make me hunt you down." Nemuri shot a wink to a flustered All Might and Sam.
"Alright. You better be able to hold your liquor, Nemuri." Sam spoke with a light, teasing tone. She rebounded, quickly and parred Nemuri with a retort. She was really confident in her ability to drink. You had to be to live amongst London's finest heroes. She stood with finality, finishing her coffee. "I'll see you all at orientation." Samantha walked down to her class. Sam sighed, she turned to the white board. There she wrote out her name and her hero name in blue.
Sam had requested a white board when she first arrived, black board was too old fashioned for her tastes. She hated the feeling and noise of chalk writing on a black board. Nezu granted that request, it wasn't like the school didn't have the money for it. So, her request was granted, easily.
A sheet of paper rested on the desk. Her desk, she corrected. Sam quickly scanned the paper. It looked like she didn't have a homeroom, this period was her grace period. That was actually really nice, that could give her the extra time to grade papers if she hadn't bothered the night before.
"Not bad." A deep voice comment, Sam jumped a throwing knife materialize in her hand. Burgundy eyes recognized Shouta's slouched form at her door. He leaned against the metal framing with his hands shoved in his pockets. His dark eyes narrowed at the sight of her conjured blade but he didn't act on it. Sam banished the blade without a second thought, feeling shame creep on her. "You are going to have to get used too uninvited guests." He mused, still eyeing her open hand.
"Yeah, I am." Sam admitted, letting out a long sigh. The shame still growing. "How troublesome." She leaned back against her desk, holding the spare piece of paper in one and the other smoothing her black pencil skirt. She could've sworn she saw a piece of lent or a stray thread in need of plucking.
"Or you can scare some sense into them." He suggested, his dark gaze sweeping Sam's desk with an assortment of nick-nacks to her white board that already had several points written in a plethora of colors. She liked the colors, it always helped her while she was in school and hopefully her students as well. "Do most of us teachers a favor."
"I could do that too." Sam mused, her eyes twinkled in amusement. "Always say it's training."
A steady rhythm rang through the air and Sam sent an apologetic look to Shouta and she fished the offending phone out of her pocket. It was James. He could wait, she decided as she hit ignore. Sam placed it on her desk. "Aren't you apart of the hero course? Do you have a homeroom?" She inquired, red brows furrowing together.
"I do." He let out a sigh that sounded slightly dramatic. Who was more dramatic? Shouta or Hizashi? Hizashi was more dramatic by far but Shouta was stuble in his drama and didn't do it as often. So, when he was dramatic, it took everyone off guard. Sam giggled at the thought. "Good luck on your first day, Samantha. My new homeroom class will be your first class of the day."
"Sam." She corrected on muscle reflex. "Let me know how they are?" Sam asked, a smile tugging at her lips. She wasn't confident in the skeptical look Shouta sent her but that made it fun. He gave a half hearted wave and exited her class. "Well, now I have an hour to waste until orientation." Sam spoke to an empty room. She reached for her coffee, finishing it in one gulp and snatched her phone off her desk.
James could keep Sam occupied and keep her mind off the inevitable. Sam scrolled and hit his contact, she brought the phone to her ear. "I could've been dying." James said on the second ring.
Sam laughed, making her way out of her classroom. "No. You would've text me." She answered, wandering the halls of U.A. James Rogers was another British pro hero. His hero name was his real name. James never cared for alias. Wasn't much of a fighter either but he was brilliant. His quirk was deduction. It made it impossible to lie to him. James specialized in homicide and occasionally worked with the military with terrorist cells. He was a long time friend of hers, Sam's known him since she gained her pro hero license.
The other side of the line was silent. "Okay, you got me there, Sam." James relented. "Aren't you supposed to be teaching?"
"Grace period, you have me until orientation at 0900."
"So, an hour? With you? I'm swooning." James deciphered. "How are you feeling, love?"
"Good." She sighed, "Better than I have been in a while. How are you? And your hero work, James?"
"No deflecting, Sam." Sam could hear him tsk from the other line. Sometimes, she hated his quirk with a burning passion. She could never keep a secret from him that made surprise parties and presents, troublesome.
"I'm managing. It'll take time to get use to all of this." Sam admitted with a frown tugging her lips down. The burgundy haired woman made her way to the teachers' lounge where she begun to pace the room. "But this will be good for me in the long haul."
"Fantastic! Now, we can get down to the main event! So, get this-"
Sam spent the next fifty minutes chatting with a very chatty James. She wasn't sure if he was talking for her sake or his but it was more than welcomed. She was so absorbed in her conversation that she didn't notice the approaching figure. She laughed at a particularly corny joke and nearly jumped out of her skin the next when a large hand landed on her shoulder. She gasped, a curved blade materialized in her fist. Her index finger slotted itself in the hole at the hilt. The figure removed his hand and held it up in surrender.
"Hey, Samantha." Toshinori said in a soothing tone, his blue eyes watched her with concern. "You are safe here, no one will harm you. ."
"Damnit." Sam cussed, banishing that blade. She brought the hand to her chest to slow the rapid beating of her heart. "I know, I'm sorry." She whispered. Toshinori said that with finality like no one really would harm her if he could help it. She believed him. She tried to steel herself but her nerves wouldn't obey. Toshinori reached a large hand and placed it on her shoulder, grounding her. She was indeed safe.
"Sam! Samantha Elizabeth Pond!" The speaker shrieked. Sam frowned, she didn't have a middle name and did he have to be so loud? Present Mic would be jealous of the range of that man's voice.
Sam hit the speaker. "I'm fine, James. I keeping jumping at nothing, talk to you after work." She said, shortly and hung up as he started to retort. "I'm really sorry, Toshinori. It's just that I'm used to London."
He gave her a doubtful look and she hastily backpedaled. "I worked a security detail the last couple months I lived in London. A terrorist cell was targeting a member of the royal family. I kinda had to jump at shadows while on that mission." She answered, sheepishly. "Sorry."
"It's fine," he dismissed it, removing his hand. "I didn't know that you were one of few that guarded the queen?" He inquired, worry still lingered in his gaze.
Sam's eyes widened. "Yeah, I did. Most people don't have that knowledge. Of the threat to the royal family. My friend, James is still advising their security detail." The red eyed woman ran a hand through her dark red locks. He was the world's number one hero, so him having that information shouldn't have been surprising. "I suppose it's time for orientation?"
"Yeah, it is." Toshinori nodded, letting her jumpiness drop. "They're holding it in the auditorium." He stepped aside, allowing her to take the lead. Sam smiled and stepped out of the lounge. She stopped and turned to watch a puff of smoke billow out into the hall. She let out a snort as All Might stepped out and joined her. His mere presence calmed Sam and soothed her racked nerves.
There was only one word that she could use to describe All Might's hero form. Muscle. Muscle on muscle on muscle. It wasn't unattractive like some body builders could look. Too many steroids, too many veins or even too many muscles. His look was all natural and looked good.
Sam looked to All Might. "You first?" She asked, nervously. This was a first for both of them, Toshinori could have the spot light for both of them. Toshinori seemed to understand and smiled that wide, blinding smile.
"Alright!"