Chapter 13: Ren Kimura
Ren had not been on the campus of UA in over 5 years. It was the first day for teachers to return to UA and they would have a week to prepare before students would return. She had missed the entrance exams due to only being hired a couple of weeks ago due to Ectoplasm deciding to take a sudden sabbatical. She had signed a one year contract and Ren thought that was a good place to start. She had taught briefly at the school for a few months before leaving and was nervous to return. She arrived early so that Principal Nezu could give her a tour and show her around. The small, furry principal hadn't changed since she last saw him years before. He was very jovial as they walked together down the halls of the main school building where most the classrooms were located. She saw the classroom she would be teaching in, the same one she had before. As he led her towards one of the meeting rooms where they would be having a faculty gathering shortly, she saw other teachers visiting in front of some refreshments. Principal Nezu excused himself to take care of a few things before the meeting and left Ren.
She was walking towards the coffee machine when she suddenly heard a loud booming voice from behind her that caused her to jump. "Tortura?!" She spun around and saw a man with very tall spiky blonde hair and a neatly trimmed small moustache. It took her a few seconds but she recognized him. "Yamada? Or I guess I should say 'Present Mic.'" She reached her hand out to shake his but he stepped towards her and wrapped her in an aggressive hug.
"Please call me Kimura," Ren said with a smile. Yamada grinned good naturedly at her. He had been a pro hero for two years at Golden Time Agency. She had been working on her teaching degree at the time but they had met on several occasions. "Hey Aizawa, look who it is?" Yamada bellowed. Walking towards them was a tall, lean man with sparse stubble covering his face and long, wavy black hair. Ren wouldn't have recognized him without Yamada calling his name. Whereas Yamada had matured but his features had stayed the same, Aizawa looked very different from the young man she remembered almost a decade before. He looked much older than his age. His choice of grooming sense didn't help with that situation either due to the stubble and long, unkempt hair. His eyes were bloodshot and tired.
"Well, if you read any of your emails, Mic, you would have known about Kimura being hired last week. Like the rest of the staff." He stood next to Yamada and nodded his head towards her. "Welcome Kimura. Hope you're ready for a busy year at UA," Aizawa said in an even tone. As he looked at her, his face impassive, she finally saw the resemblance to that young man from years before. It was the deep set, dark brown eyes curtained by heavy lids. When he was a youth those eyes had always made him seem much older, they were intelligent and pensive. She supposed now they still did the same thing to his overall aesthetic. She smiled and nodded back at him.
The beginning of the year faculty meeting was typical from what she remembered. Very long and not filled with enough information to make her feel prepared for the next week. She wondered what All Might was doing. It was because of him, she was back. She wanted to thank him, but didn't know how. He had been very illusive since their last meeting which wasn't like him. Anytime she had tried to contact him in the past it was never more than a few hours when he answered back. She had not heard back from him in a week. He had promised he would come by to check on things once she started and he was good at keeping his word. She would be patient.