Guess who ain't dead?! It me! Sort of!
Sorry for the long silence, I was just completely stuck on what to write next, so decided to take a short break. Then a bout of depression hit, so that became a long break. Then I got over that depression by working (Read hyper-fixating) on a personal project. So yeah, I don't think I'm going to be updating as regularly as I was before (At least not for a while), but I will be updating again.
"W-who…who are you?" All Might asked, the cloaked man walking calmly past him, heading straight for the door to the building.
"As I said, I am a friend," the figure hummed, opening the door and waving All Might through it, "You may wish to release that form for now. It would be better that you save what little time you have left for your students."
"I have no idea what you're talking about!" All Might suddenly laughed, striking a pose, "This is the only form I have and-."
"I am aware of the nature of your quirk, All Might," the man said flatly, making the Pro falter, "Though I believe it is best we depart. If we make haste, we should still arrive in time for afternoon classes."
"H-how?" All Might asked, before blinking, "Wait, you said you were linked to my students…are you a teacher at UA? Did Nedzu tell you?"
"Yes and no," the man answered, the slight annoyance in his voice going over the Hero's head as he held the door open, "Nedzu was not the one to originally tell me of the nature of your quirk, that was another. He was the one to disclose your current condition, however. But that is a discussion for another time. As for whether I am in the employ of UA. Not as of yet, but soon."
"That sounds rather ominous," All Might muttered, before puffing out his chest as the two heard a sudden shout, "That being said, I think I'll continue to UA on my own, citizen! As soon as I've saved this person!"
Sire watched the No. 1 disappear over the edge of the skyscraper, shaking his head slightly.
"Hey Shota! What's wrong?" Present Mic grinned as he flopped on the couch in the teacher's room beside the cocooned man, "You look moodier than usual today!"
"You can tell?" Midnight chuckled, "I bet he's just grumpy that he won't be getting his lunch time nap because Nedzu scheduled a staff meeting."
"Shut up, Nemuri," Aizawa grumbled, "It's not that."
"Oh, let me guess!" Mic laughed, slapping the yellow sleeping bag on the back, "I bet it's one of your problem children, right? Which one? Endeavor's boy? The loud blonde?"
"Neither of them," Shota shook his head tiredly, "It's nothing to do with that."
"Oh, then I bet it's that Midoriya kid," Midnight hummed as she turned to the two of them, Shota's eye twitching at the mention of the name, "Got it in one, did I?"
"What's wrong with him?" Mic asked, "I mean, I heard about the whole incident in the first Battle Training. And there was the thing at the Entrance Exams, but you haven't expelled him yet."
"He…he doesn't have zero potential," Shota muttered, shifting deeper into his sleeping bag, "It's just…"
"Just what?"
"I don't know," the man sighed as he rubbed his eyes, "There's just…something."
"You haven't been treating him badly, have you Shota?" Mic furrowed his brow as he asked the question, "You may be harsh on your students, but you don't usually do that kind of thing."
"No!" Aizawa barked as he sat upright, a look of realisation passing over his face, "I just…I told the other students that his quirk was dangerous."
"So, you singled him out?" Midnight asked, "Why? You may expel kids at the drop of a hat but judging people unfairly doesn't sound like you."
"It's not like…" Shota trailed off as he stared at the floor.
Was he really singling out Midoriya? Since when? The Battle Trial? He'd seen the boy destroy his target with unnecessary violence, but then, Bakugo had acted in the same way. The Quirk Comprehension Test? Where he'd threatened to expel him for defending himself against Bakugo?
Shota had been the one to respond in the Entrance Exam, knocking the boy out before he could hurt anyone else. It had been an automatic response to threaten him with failure in the nurse's office after. Shota had even been angry when Nedzu had told him that the victim had consented.
Why?
Was it because his quirk was dangerous? But Hizashi was right, plenty of the kids in his class had dangerous quirks. So why was Shota so on edge whenever he was around Midoriya. It was like his gut was screaming at him to be on high alert. Like the teen was something else, something dangerous. But Shota had seen him around the others. He wasn't the most confident, but he always seemed to care.
He was a teacher for gods' sake! He was supposed to protect his students! Help them! He didn't hold back so they'd be prepared for anything that would be thrown at them in the future. But had he been doing that with Midoriya? Or had he really been singling him out? Who was he trying to protect? The boy? His class? From who?
"Shota, are you okay?" Mic's voice broke him out of his spiral of thoughts, the man just looking at his partner in shock.
"Shit," he muttered, "Hizashi, I think I fucked up."
Toshinori Yagi sighed.
He was sitting in one of the teacher's break rooms being scolded by his long-time friend.
"You used all of your time again this morning, didn't you?" the woman huffed, "What have I told you about doing that?"
"I didn't use all of it, Chiyo-san," Toshinori replied, looking at her with his sunken eyes, "I have about five minutes left."
"And you think five minutes is enough to teach those kids?" she shot right back, making the skinny man flinch, "That time isn't just for you anymore, Toshinori. Stop being selfish!"
"S-selfish?" the man balked, staring at her in shock, "Why is everyone saying that today? S-someone had to stop those Villains, after all!"
"And that person didn't have to be you!" the elderly nurse shouted, before letting out a loud sigh, "Sometimes you're just too helpful for your own good. You need to let the other Heroes handle the small time Villains."
"B-but if I can help, then why shouldn't I?" the man asked.
"You can't save everyone, Toshinori," Recovery Girl sighed again, walking over, and patting him on the knee, "And you don't have to."
"But I do!" he said loudly, steam starting to come off him as he began to inflate, "I am the Symbol of Peace! If people can't rely on me to save them, then who can they rely on?"
"The other Heroes, for one," a squeaky voice made them both jump as Nedzu entered the room, a small smile on his face, "Though it may be hard for you to accept that."
"N-Nedzu, sir!" Toshinori stammered slightly, deflating again, "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I just came here to remind Recovery Girl about the staff meeting that's about to start," the chimera hummed happily, "And it's good that you were here too, All Might! Though I would have preferred that you not cut it so close with being on time."
Toshinori choked slightly at the Principal's words, looking at the ground for a moment before nodding slowly.
"Well then, let us not tarry!" the chimera laughed, leading them out of the room, "I have some important news to share with everyone, after all!"
"Hello, everyone!" Nedzu chimed as he stood in his seat, waving his arms slightly to get the rest of the room's attention, "Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend today!"
"You scheduled this meeting yesterday," Vlad King sighed as he leaned back in his chair.
"How long will this take? Afternoon classes start in twenty minutes," Aizawa grumbled, wrapped up in his sleeping bag as he lay face down on the table.
"Oh, not long at all!" Nedzu chuckled, "I just wanted to share some news with all of you!"
"Couldn't this have just been done through an email, then?" Shota sighed, "We have better things to do than waste time here."
"Like figure out how to apologize to one of your students?" Midnight hummed, drawing a glare from Aizawa.
"Aizawa is going to apologize to someone?" Vlad King asked, "This I have to see."
"I'm not apologizing for anything," Shota growled, "I just…there's something I need to rectify."
"Well, that is a matter for another time!" Nedzu chirped, startling the other teachers slightly, "Back onto my news!"
The teachers glanced at one another, somewhat used to Nedzu's plans and theatrics, though always wary of them.
"Well? What is it?" Snipe asked from behind his mask.
"Maybe some improvements to the school?" Power Loader hummed.
"Something else I'll have to build, probably," Cementos muttered.
"All expenses paid trip to a spa. All expenses paid trip to a spa!" Midnight whispered under her breath; fingers crossed.
"I would like to introduce a new member of staff!"
"Huh?" the room went silent as they all looked at the widely grinning creature.
"What? You mean All Might?" Midnight sighed as she pointed to the skinny blond standing beside Nedzu's chair, "We already know about him."
"No, no!" Nedzu laughed, "This is someone else! Another new member of staff!"
"Another one? So soon?" Vlad King muttered.
"You wouldn't have called us here if they weren't important, that would be irrational," Aizawa sighed, "Who is it? The only people that would get you this excited were if another one of the Top Ten offered to teach."
"Oh no, Eraser-san," Nedzu almost giggled giddily, sending a shiver up the teachers' spines, "This person is so much better."
The room murmured as Nedzu grinned, wondering who could be better than another one of the Top Ten. Toshinori froze as the door slid open, the cloaked man from that morning entering silently as Nedzu introduced him.
"This is him! Please welcome the newest member of our teaching staff!" the rodent said happily, "He is a very well-travelled and experienced man. I hope you all will learn from him!"
"As I am sure I will learn from you all," the man said calmly, his cloak bobbing in a slight bow, "I may have some experience teaching, but I have not done so in many years. I hope to get along with you all."
"Wait, who is this?" Midnight asked, leaning over to Mic, who just shrugged, "I've never seen him before."
"Maybe a retired Pro?" Vlad King added, trying to investigate the hooded cloak.
"Nothing quite that, for lack of a better word, glamorous," the man chuckled, startling the teachers slightly, "I apologise but I do not wish to take up too much of your time. Nedzu, I believe we have one more important matter to discuss."
"Hold up a minute there, partner," Snipe hummed, "You haven't given us a name yet. So, what do we call yah?"
"Ah, of course, how rude of me," the cloaked figure hummed, reaching for his hood and pulling it back, revealing his handsome face, "I currently go by the moniker of Kuro Zundachi, but I would ask that you refer to me as Sire."
"Sire?" Midnight hummed, licking her lips, "That sounds like fun. Where are you from, Sire-san?"
"I would prefer to discuss that at a later date, Madam," Sire hummed, nodding to Nedzu.
"Of course!" Nedzu grinned in delight as he cut in, "Sire-san will be assisting the training of the Hero course students, as well as a special program that I think you'll appreciate, Eraser-san! And with that, the meeting is over! Best get back to your classes quickly! Oh, but All Might, if you would come with me!"
"Ah, but I need to accompany Aizawa-san-," Toshinori started, being quickly cut off.
"You're already almost out of time for today, All Might," the Principal grinned, Toshinori flinching under the glint in his eye, "You used it all up this morning, didn't you?"
"I…Yes, sir," the blond sighed dejectedly as he heard Aizawa mutter something about irrationality behind him.