Learning to Trust
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
—Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Chapter 2
By the time Toshinori reached the staff room, the meeting seemed to be in full session, at least that's how it sounded as he approached the closed door based on the volume inside the room. He mentally reviewed the staff names and quirks that he'd spent the past few days committing to memory. His lips twitched into a faint smile. Then again, Present Mic was now a UA faculty member, and with his quirk, he probably accounted for half of the noise all on his own…
Toshi tugged his cell phone from his pocket and checked the time.
7:35.
He shoved the phone back into his pocket. Thanks to that young man, he was only a few minutes late. "Fashionably late," as Dave used to say each time they'd sneak into the lecture hall during a professor's class back in college.
Wish he was here now. I could use Dave's support… Toshinori adjusted his tie and cleared his throat before knocking on the door.
The room fell to an awkward silence for a moment before heavy footsteps clumped toward the door and it forcefully swung open revealing a man who could only be described as having the appearance of a boxy concrete golem.
Cementoss. The analytical side of Toshi's mind kicked in automatically. Real name: Ishiyama Ken. Quirk: Cement. Teaches Modern Lit. Age: 28 years old. Inwardly Toshinori groaned. Practically a kid still . Though he was certainly a formidable hero, clearly strong enough to crush Toshinori in this form.
"Can I help you?" the concrete hero inquired politely in his gravelly voice.
Toshinori smiled faintly and offered a polite bow. "Yagi Toshinori. Principal Nezu requested my presence."
Before Cementoss could reply, a loud shout from the back of the room cut in, "Hey, man, the principal was delayed by a call. He'll be back soon!"
Toshinori peeked past Cementoss to see a leather-clad hero with long spiked blonde hair and a tiny mustache. Present Mic. Real name: Yamada Hizashi. Quirk: Voice. Teaches English. Age: 30.
Mic grinned at Toshinori and tugged down his shades to wink. "I think you've got your times mixed up though. We're about to start a staff meeting. Need me to text him and get your actual appointment time for you?" The blond didn't wait for an answer, but instead whipped his phone out, texting while he spoke. Before Toshi could even form words, he squawked, "Done!" and mic-dropped the phone onto the end table beside him.
Toshinori winced at the man's volume, using all of his self-control not to cover his ears. Note to self: Purchase ear plugs. He glanced at Cementoss who seemed uncertain if he should actually invite him in or not. "I don't-"
But an attractive woman seated in the chair beside Mic interrupted before Toshi could finish, purring, "Mic, remember to use your inside voice or I'm going to have to punish you again…"
"This is my inside voice," Mic practically shouted.
The scantily clad heroine just sighed. "Then for the last time, tone it down a little." She shifted into a more comfortable position, causing Toshi to immediately turn his gaze anywhere but toward her, instead studying a giant lump of blankets on the sofa against the far wall. Midnight. Real name: Kayama Nemuri. Quirk: Somnambulist. Teaches Art History. Age 31. He glanced back, eyeing the whip in her hand. Avoid her as much as possible as a general rule…
Cementoss cleared his voice awkwardly, breaking Toshinori from his thoughts and drawing his attention. "I apologize for this," he rumbled. "Would you like to wait out in the hallway for the principal? I can bring out a chair."
"Actually, I'm-"
This time he was interrupted by a pleasant voice from behind. "Yagi-san! Right on time. Please come in." The small principal slipped past the lanky hero and Cementoss, motioning for Toshi to follow him. "I'm very sorry to keep you all waiting. And I'm afraid Ectoplasm and Thirteen won't be joining us. I just got off the phone with the police, and apparently they are still helping authorities deal with the aftermath of that Floodgate villain who caused so much trouble last night. Eraserhead, would you be so kind as to get a copy of the meeting minutes to them."
"Sure. Whatever," came a muffled voice from the blanket pile on the sofa.
Toshinori started at this unexpected extra voice in the room, turning toward the sound. A pale man with dark circles under his eyes and a tangle of messy black hair was unwinding himself from the mass of blankets. Eraserhead. Real name: Aizawa Shouta. Quirk: Erasure. Homeroom teacher. Age: 30. Toshi sighed. Seriously? I already graduated from UA before most of the staff were even born… Toshi followed the principal into the room and turned shut the door behind them.
The exhausted looking hero in grey and black finished emerging from his blanket cocoon. He grabbed a notebook and pen from the floor next to the sofa, presumably where he'd deposited them before he'd taken his early morning nap, and, shoving the blankets to the side, made himself comfortable in a relatively upright position. "So, who is this guy again?" he asked in a bored voice, motioning vaguely at Toshi without even looking up. "I think Mic was shouting something about it…" Then he studied Toshinori's appearance, made a face as though he'd tasted something unpleasant and grumbled. "Please tell me that this isn't some media thing, now that you're adding All Might to the staff. We're busy enough without that man's nonsense as it is."
Toshinori stiffed and these words. "Yagi," he cut in before Eraserhead could say any more. "Yagi Toshinori. I'm not media. I promise. I work at Might Tower." He sank gratefully into a chair that Cementoss brought him, mouthing a silent thank you. The bulkier hero just smiled and brushed it off.
"You weren't far off after all, Eraser!" Mic chirped, giving Aizawa an energetic thumbs up.
Aizawa just rolled his eyes, but said nothing.
"That's right!" announced Nezu cheerfully, hopping onto the sofa beside Eraserhead, and snuggling into the discarded blankets. "Yagi-san will be spending a few weeks with us in order to get the lay of the land for All Might, so to speak."
Eraserhead's eyes narrowed, and he set the notebook down on the coffee table in front of him. "And why does one of All Might's pencil pushers-I assume that's what you are-need to know UA operations?" he asked suspiciously.
Toshi bristled at the other man's apparent disdain for him, unused to his cohorts having anything but kind words to say about Japan's #1 Hero. Then again, how often was he actually in contact with the other heroes in this form? "All Might's "pencil pusher" doesn't need to know anything, but All Might does. I'm here on his behalf. Don't worry," he added, raising his hands defensively as Eraserhead's expression became even more sour, if that was possible. "I won't get in the way. I promise. I'm just getting a feel for the operations here and reporting back, so All Might knows what he's walking into."
"Excuse me," Midnight's sultry voice interrupted. She leaned forward and adjusted her glasses, raising an eyebrow.
Toshi turned politely toward her and immediately flushed, coughing and averting his eyes. "Yes?" he managed to choke out, as he fumbled with his handkerchief.
She waited for him to bring his coughing down to a controlled wheeze before continuing. His eyes skipped up to hers, and he noticed the concerned look she gave him as he struggled to breathe. "I'm just wondering," she finally continued slowly, "why you are here. No offense… I'm sure you're a lovely person, but we were expecting All Might himself."
"There is a case his agency is closing in on. It seemed prudent for me to come in his place."
"I see…" she murmured. "And he does realize that he's going to have to limit his hero work a bit if he's going to teach here. This job isn't easy."
Toshi laughed uncomfortably, triggering another round of coughing from his raw throat. Tucking his handkerchief back into his pocket, he pulled out a lozenge and popped that into his mouth while waving his other hand dismissively. "Of course he knows that. He isn't taking this job lightly, I promise you."
Eraserhead didn't seem convinced. "Right," he muttered. "Whatever you say. That's why he's not here." Before Toshi could form an answer for that, Aizawa continued, "Anyway, can we just get on with the meeting? We've let All Might waste enough of our time already. I can't wait to see how productive we're going to be once he's actually here..."
Forty-five minutes passed of Toshinori quietly sitting in his chair, listening intently, and taking notes that he didn't understand at all, all the while processing the unpleasant realization that no one other than Principal Nezu seemed to be particularly pleased at his addition to the faculty. Sure, Aizawa was the only one openly antagonistic and Midnight truly had valid points, but not a single person had even had a single positive word to say on the topic. Not one defense. Nothing. And why would they? All Might wasn't there as far as they were concerned. He'd known it would be this way. Still, Toshinori couldn't help but feel raw and exposed. Nezu was right. This was not a way to build their trust.
On the other hand, how was Toshinori supposed to know how anyone really felt if All Might were actually in the room?
By the end of the meeting, after the rest of the staff had gone to their various rooms and buildings to start the day, a flustered Toshinori finally sat alone in the staff room with Principal Nezu.
"Tea?" the principal offered, pouring himself some, and reaching for a second cup for Toshi.
"No thank you, sir," Toshinori replied quietly.
The white rodent nodded and replaced the second cup. "I think that went fairly well." Nezu took a sip, fragrant steam curling around his face.
His lean companion slumped forward, burying his face in his hands. "They don't trust me at all. In either form," he groaned.
"Do you blame them? You're a virtual stranger who has no right to be here. And All Might didn't bother showing up at all. I told you this would happen."
Toshinori nodded, sighing. "I know you did, sir. I'd just hoped-" He rubbed his eyes, exhaustion making his frail form seem even more worn and fragile. "Never mind. It doesn't matter."
Nezu tutted quietly, studying the man with his dark, inscrutable eyes. "This isn't like you, All Might," Nezu remarked in his perpetually mild voice. "Something else is weighing on you."
The tall hero lifted his face from his hands without making eye contact. Slowly, he rose like an old man from his chair, a bit too low for a man of his height to sit comfortably in for any span of time, and stretched his back, wincing as he heard a few audible cracks emanate from his lumbar region and trying to ignore the painful way this motion pulled at the vicious scar that wrapped itself around the left side of his torso. His jaw visibly tightened, but he made no complaint. He carried his notebook with him as he walked over to the large picture window. Tugging the shades open, he was momentarily blinded by the dazzling sun, and blinked a few times to clear his vision.
Nezu waited patiently behind him, not pressing for an answer.
Silently, Toshi watched students and faculty scurry around on the sidewalks below, some moving purposefully while others played around and had fun in these last few minutes before classes began for the day. Finally he asked, "How many new hero students do you take on each year, sir? Still forty?" He didn't turn to look at Nezu, but heard the principal approach. From the corner of his eye, he could see Nezu set his tea on the table near the window to his right before hopping up to sit on the back of an armchair that provided a view from the window as well.
For a moment they watched the bustle of life below in companionable silence.
Nezu finally replied. "Yes. Forty new students each year with a total of one hundred twenty heroes in training at any given time."
"And I'll be teaching…" Toshinori leaned his elbow against the window frame, resting his forehead on one hand as he glanced down at the notebook he held. "...Foundational Hero Studies, Levels I, II, and III to both the A and B groups? Three times a week for each class?"
Yes, All Might. We have a small, but exemplary staff, as you well know. Each teacher holds down multiple levels. I know this will be pushing you close to your limit, but you'd mentioned that you can hold your form longer than three hours if you aren't fighting, isn't that right? This should fall well within the timeframe you provided. Plus, this will allow you to meet not only the students that I will recommend to you, but all other prospective heroes in the school as well."
"I see…"
"Is this a problem, All Might?"
Toshi sighed, turning his eyes back from the notebook to the students below. "Yes, sir. It is."
"Because it will hurt your hero work," concluded Nezu knowingly. It wasn't a question. "We've talked about this. I will allow you to carry your phone for emergency contacts from your agency, but otherwise you have to leave the hero work to the local professionals once classes start. There are plenty of agencies-"
"I'm not worried about that, sir." He could hear the strain in his own voice.
"Oh? Then what are you so concerned about?"
Toshi motioned to the window. "Look at them, sir. Every one of them came to UA because they want to be a hero. They want to be great, so they came here for UA's exceptional teachers and quality programs."
Nezu said nothing, allowing the man to gather his thoughts.
Suddenly Toshinori tossed his notebook on the table with a sharp crack in the near silence. "I don't understand any of the notes I took today, sir. I got lost on campus this morning and a student had to walk me here. When I was a student, I rarely gave any of the teachers my undivided attention except for Gran Torino…" He twitched a bit at that memory.
"Your point?"
Toshinori turned away from the window and began pacing the room. "I will not be an exceptional teacher. I'll be lucky if the students learn anything from me. We both know that. I have no idea what I'm doing, and my only people skills outside of actual hero work are public relations and media interviews." He was getting worked up, breathing too hard, and he could feel the telltale burn beginning in his tattered lungs. He stopped in the middle of the room, trying to calm his breathing before he threw himself into another coughing fit. Finally, when he trusted his voice again, he continued, more quietly. "When I asked for a position, I expected homeroom or maybe English. But you have me teaching Foundational Hero Studies? That's a core course. It's the course that teaches the students how to actually think like a hero."
"Yes, All Might. It is."
"I shouldn't be teaching it," he replied firmly.
Nezu cocked his head to the side as he took a small sip of tea. "Because you didn't understand notes from a single staff meeting?" He continued to drink his tea politely, but his eyes were laughing. "You'll be fine, All Might. It's one year. Hopefully by the end of that year, you'll have already found your successor and we can shift your schedule to allow you time for training instead."
"Sir!" Toshinori turned to Nezu. "It's also one year that an entire school of heroes won't properly learn the fundamentals. That one year could cost them their lives."
"What other option do you have? You've said yourself that your time is growing limited. You need a successor before your quirk is lost. The entire country, perhaps the whole world, is at stake if a new Symbol isn't found to replace you. Don't you think it's worth the risk?"
"No! They need a real teacher, sir. They could lose their lives if they don't learn what they need to know. Or their moral integrity. Or trigger any other number of horrors. They deserve better."
Principal Nezu's expression didn't change. "Have you heard of the statesman, Katsura Kogoro?"
"I almost failed history, sir. You know that. You taught it."
Nezu chuckled at that. "So you did. Let me remind you, then. He was a famous statesman centuries ago, before the emergence of quirks. He was credited with stating that it was worth sacrificing one life to save a million others." He leaned forward seriously. "Try to think of it like that. Likely no sacrifice will be made, but it's for the betterment of everyone. Don't you agree?"
Toshinori's passionate blue eyes finally flashed up to meet Nezu's. "Absolutely not," he boomed. In his rage at the very idea of this concept, he had involuntarily transformed into his muscle form. "Never. How can you even say that, sir? Those aren't the words of a hero, but a villain. Perhaps back in primitive times that was considered acceptable, but now?" He took a step toward the principal. "I will not sacrifice those who've entrusted their lives to me in the hopes that they can help others. A hero saves those he can. Everyone he can, even at the cost of his own life. And he keeps fighting until he saves them all or needs saving himself."
Nezu nodded. "And that," he stated calmly, "is exactly why I want you teaching Foundational Hero Studies, All Might. You can see through lies, no matter how passionate and noble they sound. You always could. If anyone can teach these students how to survive, it's you. Honestly, once you find your successor, if you're half the teacher I believe you are capable of being, I'd like to keep you on."
In his surprise and confusion, Toshi dropped his form, coughing weakly into his elbow as steam wisped off of his body. "What?"
"You'll learn how to be a teacher the same way you learned how to fight: through practice, hard work, and support. But you never had to be taught to think like a hero. There is no one I would rather have teaching the students what true heroism really means, because I have never seen anyone who has embodied it more than you have. You'll learn the skills, but you already have the heart. And that's what these students need. Teach them from the heart, All Might. The rest will come in time."
Author's Note: A big thanks to lolo popoki for her invaluable beta work! Also a huge thanks to you for reading. Please drop a comment and let me know what you think!
Sincerely,
Sirius:D
