"Gah, how did time pass by this quickly?" Izuku berated himself for not keeping track of time when this was his first day as a teacher for an elementary school.
This was wildly unbecoming of someone who was supposed to do everything in their power to raise the next generation and help them become upstanding members of society.
Instead, he was teaching his students, who were expecting him, to be late. Everyone's first impression of him would be flawed, leaving an unpleasant flavor in their mouths.
Izuku passed through the gates as he showed his I.D. to the young security officer positioned outside the gate, but he didn't go any further as the guard stopped him.
"Hey, aren't you the All Might enthusiast that was shown on TV a few years ago? I thought your interview was hilarious! But to think you're working here now!" The guard clapped his hands together in mirth as he laughed out loud.
Izuku stared off into the distance in embarrassment. Why did people still have to remember that? He didn't ask to be made fun of the moment he arrived on his first official day at the job. With wide eyes, Izuku looked down at his watch and sprinted inside.
This was seriously not a good look for him. And there was a high chance he was going to be fired at this rate.
Izuku looked down at his phone and checked the room he was supposed to teach in before he finally arrived outside the door of the classroom.
Izuku slipped his phone inside his pocket, fixed his tie, and wiped the sweat away from his brow. He wore a smile and stepped inside the room, only for his heart to sink when his eyes met the principal standing next to the blackboard.
"Uh, good morning, class!" Izuku said as he placed his briefcase down on the podium in front of the classroom.
"Good morning!" They responded in a chorus of voices.
"I'm terribly sorry I'm late, but there's a lesson to be learned here! If it happens again, then there's a problem that I have to strive to fix! You see, life is always about mistakes and corrections! No matter how many mistakes you make, it won't change the fact that you can always learn from it and become a better person than you were before!"
Now he was just grasping at straws at this point. Sure, it felt like a good transition from why he was late to his first day on the job, but that didn't excuse his tardiness.
The principal walked over to Izuku while adjusting the cuffs of his suit. "That was quite smooth, but meet me after today in my office. We're going to have a nice, long talk. But have fun introducing yourself to our wonderful students for the rest of the day!"
Izuku groaned inwardly. How was he supposed to have fun after hearing that?
Izuku stood awkwardly in the office, where the principal was sitting down in his chair with a tense, fake smile. "Izuku, please take a seat. I'm sure teaching all those students today was quite the chore!"
"Ah, yes... They were a handful, but nothing I can't manage."
"Just like how you can't manage your time on your first day of work? Actually..." The principal waved his insult away as if it would remove the burn he inflicted on Izuku, though Izuku didn't mind since it was his fault. "Sorry... I shouldn't be pushing rigorous time management on the first day of work. It's expected since this is your first official job after graduating."
"I'm sincerely sorry! I promise it won't happen again! Even though I was here early for the lesson planning for the year, I'm sorry for the inconveniences I've burdened you with!"
"It pains me to do this because I was sure you were a great fit to teach our third-graders, but I have to give you a strike and if we go up to three strikes, we'll renegotiate our contract. Actually... That's still not really fair, is it...?" The principal groaned as he dragged his hands down his face to reconsider what to say next.
If there was anything Izuku learned from being with the principal one-on-one for the past few weeks to fit into the school was how indecisive he was about being lenient with his employees. It was ironically funny. On one hand, he needed to punish unacceptable behavior, but at the same time, he wanted to express his kindness.
"Er... If it's okay with you, I would be fine with whatever punishment you're going to give me." Izuku offered to go home quicker. After a hectic first day, he didn't care what happened because it would never happen again.
"But you're a hero! Do you know what I'm talking about? You graduated from the prestigious U.A. high school and you came to us to work for an elementary school instead of going off to be a hero that does such monumental work!"
"Don't worry, I'm still doing hero work after work, but I just want to take some time to raise the next generation. That feels equally important as saving lives like a hero and I have 100% trust that the classmates I graduated with are apprehending villains and criminals without my assistance."
"Now you're just making me feel bad for you..." The principal chuckled as he put a hand on his head and sighed. "It's nice to see you take full responsibility, so I feel that's enough for you to learn your lesson. I won't be giving you a strike, so you can go home and enjoy the rest of your day. But I want to see some effort from you to make it here on time." He finished with a wink.
Just as Izuku was about to thank him, a woman walked in through the doors with a clipboard in her hands and an expression of concern written all over her face.
Izuku didn't know what was wrong with him, but he froze up. He remembered seeing her during his introduction to the other teachers on his first day as he got integrated with the school, but he never really took the time to consider her, well, beauty. She was the esteemed daughter of Enji Todoroki, better known as Endeavor, the former number one pro hero.
She had red streaks running down the waterfall of white hair and a pair of glasses falling down her nose before she pushed it back up. "Sorry for the interruption..." Fuyumi trailed off as she noticed Izuku sitting in the chair.
"Uh... Hello, Fuyumi." Izuku greeted as he meekly held his hand up and waved it for a second before putting it back down on his lap.
"Oh, hi. I didn't notice you there, but it's nice to see you got the job." Fuyumi said as she returned his greeting with a smile. Next, she gave her clipboard to the principal. "It seems we just got our delivery of books this morning."
"Those rascals always do things last minute, but I appreciate your efforts." The principal looked over the clipboard and counted everything while he waved them away. "You guys are free to go home. Have a wonderful day!"
Izuku and Fuyumi returned the farewell and left the office. Izuku walked beside Fuyumi with butterflies flopping around nervously in his stomach. She was his senior and seeing how capable she was made him feel incompetent compared to her.
Izuku didn't dare break the silence unless he was spoken to. His nervous nature demanded he keeps quiet until he got to the bus station and bid her farewell, but it seemed like she was the opposite.
"So... How was your first day of teaching at school?" Fuyumi asked, shattering the once quiet atmosphere.
It took a second for Izuku to register that Fuyumi was talking to him. "Oh, um... It was quite challenging, to say the least. I'm new to this teaching profession, so you could guess what happened the entire day as I tried to calm down the class multiple times because of my lack of confidence, but I think I can manage it."
Fuyumi laughed softly as her imagination ran wild with the information Izuku provided her. "Yeah, the kids are a bit rowdy, but that's expected since they are young and energetic goofballs."
"Isn't that the truth." Izuku agreed.
"But even though they are rowdy, they are nice. You just have to know when to put your foot down and get serious with them. I'm sure you can do it, hero!" Fuyumi cheered him on with her arm lifted and a cheerful smile planted on her face.
"Oh, thanks." Izuku chuckled nervously. For a moment, he had forgotten he was a hero. Tonight, he would have to go around and save civilians like his mentors, All Might and Endeavor taught him during U.A. high school.
"But I have to ask, what brought you here to this small elementary school? It just doesn't feel like somewhere a hero would come to randomly." Fuyumi pondered as they walked to her car.
"Um... It's a bit personal, but I want to raise the next generation since they are going to be the ones that make or break society. At least, in my opinion." Izuku carefully thought about what to say next. "I want to be a shining beacon of hope while inspiring them to be the same. There are a lot of misguided people in this world and I want to show my students that this is what heroes should be. That's why I went to college right after I graduated from U.A. and graduated early by taking on summer and winter classes along with extra classes in the fall and spring to accrue credit. And I... Ah, sorry... Am I talking too much?"
"No, no! It's completely fine! I asked a question about why you decided to teach, so I was expecting a lot of words! But it's nice to see you so inspired to nurture the younger generation!"
"It's just a goal of mine, but that means a lot!" Izuku responded to her compliment with a smile.
A sudden silence came back to their conversation as they thought about what to say next, but none of them could come up with anything. The only saving grace was when they reached Fuyumi's car.
"Well, it was nice talking to you, Izuku. I hope I get to see you around and become friends with you! Have a good day!" Fuyumi unlocked the car and stepped inside to start the engine.
"Yeah, it was nice talking to you more personally, since we had little time during our initial introduction."
Fuyumi smiled and waved her hand at him before she left the parking grounds of the school. Izuku watched her car disappear and entertained a few thoughts of his.
It's been a while since he talked to someone one-on-one. Usually, he was so busy he never had time to interact with anyone new other than his classmates, but even then it was rare because of all the hero work they had to tend to. And she wasn't really new, but he didn't know her at all because Shoto barely mentioned her.
"Ah, the bus!" Izuku reminded himself as he ran over to the street corner, only to see the bus pulling away from the curb.
Izuku had to run to catch up to the bus and when he successfully stopped it, he received several dirty looks from impatient passengers as he boarded it. Only the kids looked at him with admiration because they instantly recognized him as one of the heroes who trained under All Might and graduated from U.A. high school.
Izuku sat down on one of the seats with a meek expression and stared out the window as he fiddled around with his fingers. To say the bus ride home was awkward was an understatement. At least the kids coming up to get autographs from him were nice.
Author's Note: And thus begins the story of Izuku X Fuyumi! This is the first installment in the series I have planned out for the next few months, depending on my posting schedule! But I hope you guys enjoy this because I put some serious work into making this idea a reality!
I wanted to write a story between the two of them since December 2020, when the first idea of my Setsuna X Izuku story was also born and posted the following year! And with this one being put into place, it feels like I'm finally reaching all my goals!
Also, this is an alternate universe where Izuku inherits his dad's quirk, so that means he breathes fire out of his mouth! I hope I can explain some confusing stuff while the story progresses! But for now, enjoy it!
By the way, happy early Independence Day!
With love from your favorite writer, Out4Lunch!