The next day, Izuku woke up and had a little mini tiny freak out when he saw the lack of notebooks in his bookcase. That is until he remembered that Aizawa had come over to collect them yesterday. The gap his notebooks left behind felt weird in his room. For as long as Izuku could write, they had been a steady presence among his other books. Although he understood why they needed to be taken, the lack of his notebooks made his room feel…off.
Well, at least I still get to use them at school. Though I'm wondering how this whole 'checking out' thing is going to work. Maybe I should ask Aizawa-sensei?
Getting out of bed, he got ready for the day, ate breakfast with his mom, and gave her a hug before walking out the door. As he headed to school, Izuku texted Mei and Hitoshi that he needed to ask a teacher something and to not wait for him. On the train, he passed the time reading up on Hero News.
Seems that All Might's been busy this morning. Catching criminals on his morning commute? Wow…that is just so All Might. But shouldn't he be saving his time in his muscle form for teaching?
He made his way to UA and was able to enter the campus easier than yesterday. There were still a few reporters milling about but most of them had been scared off by the police showing up the day before.
Once he passed the gate, the teen headed towards the main building. It was early so students were still in the halls. Some were changing into their indoor shoes while others were talking with their friends as they went to their respective homerooms. The greenette weaved his way through the crowd to get to the teachers' room.
When he got there, he listened to hear if the teachers were in a meeting or not. Hearing normal chatter rather than announcements, he knocked on the door and slid the door open. Most of the teachers were at their desks and Izuku tried his best not to nerd-out over so many Heroes being in one room.
"Pardon for the intrusion," he announced. "I'm Midoriya Izuku, first year. I have a question for Aizawa-sensei."
"Come on in, little listener," Yamada called out, beckoning the student over. "You'll find the yellow caterpillar under his desk over here." He gestured toward the desk to the left of him.
Yellow caterpillar?
Confused, Izuku nodded and made his way around the rows of desks. Each was covered in textbooks, reference books, computers, various papers, etc. The teachers were either chatting with each other, drinking coffee or tea, or working on paperwork. Along the walls were bookcases, shelves, and cabinets filled with books, files, and extra school supplies.
Yamada's desk was next to the windows so Izuku walked over to the far row of desks. Sure enough, as he approached, he found what looked like a giant yellow caterpillar stuffed under the desk next to the Voice Hero. The student shot a questioning look at his English teacher who just shrugged with a smile and gestured for him to carry on.
"Um, Aizawa-sensei?" Izuku said as he cleared his throat. "S-sorry to disturb you. I wanted to ask a-about how to 'check out' one of m-my notebooks?"
The yellow mass shifted and Aizawa's face was revealed in all its scruffy glory. Now, that's not creepy. Not at all. Seeing just the man's face silhouetted by obnoxious yellow was a bit unnerving. The greenette wondered if the man's homeroom had been subjected to the sight. He made a mental note to ask his friends in 1-A later.
Looking up at the student, Aizawa let out a sigh and reluctantly unzipped his sleeping bag. He freed himself from under his desk and beckoned Izuku to follow him. "This way. We have them in the cabinet over there."
"Notebooks? What notebooks?" Yamada questioned as Izuku walked toward the tired man. The blonde also followed out of curiosity.
"Oh, I like to analyze Quirks," Izuku answered as they approached a locked cabinet. "I take notes on them and analyze how they work, what they could be used for, and how to improve any weaknesses. Most of them are on Heroes, but I also write about the Quirks around me. I already have notes on Class 1-A and 1-B along with my friends Mei-chan and Hitoshi-kun."
"Nezu and I thought that it would be safer to keep his notebooks here in UA since they could be dangerous in the wrong hands," Aizawa said as he pulled out a key and unlocked the cabinet door. Opening it, he showed Izuku a smaller safe within the cabinet that had a keypad and a fingerprint scanner.
After showing the teen the combination and adding his fingerprint to the scanner, he continued. "This is the combination for this safe. Memorize it and remember which finger you used. Your notebooks will be here along with some other sensitive documents. Don't go snooping around. Also, take this. So, you don't bother me every day about getting to your notes. Don't. Lose. It."
The tired man dropped a key into Izuku's hand before shuffling back to his desk to enjoy what was left of his nap before homeroom. The greenette and the blonde watched him go before turning back to the cabinet.
"Don't mind him," Yamada said, smirking at his husband's actions. "Shouta's just a grumpy cat when he's tired. Which is…well, always. Anyway, what makes your notes so dangerous?"
"Oh, um, I think it's the level of detail I write?" Izuku replied, recognizing and pulling out No. 13. Maijima-sensei must have finished inputting my notes to the student files and given it to Aizawa-sensei when he was done. "I never really thought that they could be dangerous before UA. No one had ever shown much interest in them except me. But maybe this will explain it?"
He grabbed a different notebook and flipped through the pages to the entry on Present Mic and then offered it to the Hero himself. Yamada took the notebook and read through the notes. As he looked over the sketch of himself in his Hero costume along with surprisingly accurate guesses on how his Quirk and Support Item worked, the blonde's eyes widened and his eyebrows rose more and more.
"Damn, these are really good," the man said after a few minutes, letting out an impressed whistle. "Can I borrow this? You've got some good ideas I'd like to try out. I'll make sure to return it to the safe, of course."
"S-sure!" Izuku managed to blurt out, cheeks turned pink from his praise. "Y-you really think m-my ideas are good?"
"You betcha, little listener!" Yamada replied, sporting finger guns. "What you got here is music to my ears! Or eyes, I guess. Anyway, now I understand why Nezu wants to train you."
"E-eh?" Izuku squeaked, blush growing a little darker.
"Nezu talked to me about him training you, Midoriya," Yamada explained upon noticing Izuku's confused look. "How he wanted to use your time in my English classes to work on your analysis. Makes sense since you're already fluent. You can work on your analysis during my class. However, I have something else I'd like to teach you."
"Oh? What's that, Yamada-sensei?" Izuku asked, tilting his head slightly.
"Normally we don't start teaching this until second year," the English teacher responded. "But since you are fluent in English for reading, writing, listening, and speaking, I'd like to teach you sign language."
"Sign language?" Izuku asked, green eyes widening in surprise.
"Yeah, I'd like to teach you Japanese Sign Language or JSL for short," Yamada replied, smiling down at his not-so-secretly-favorite student. "It's a useful skill for a Hero to have in case they come upon someone who can't or doesn't speak. I think we'll start with the alphabet and simple phrases then go on from there. How does that sound?"
"That sounds great, Yamada-sensei!" Izuku chirped, smiling brightly and obviously eager to learn something new.
"That's the enthusiasm I like to hear, little listener!" Yamada said, smiling just as brightly. "Now go on and get to class. We'll talk about it more in our next class together."
"Yes, sir!" the student said as he bowed slightly at the teacher. Izuku quickly closed the safe and locked the cabinet with his newly acquired key before walking toward the door. Once he reached it, he turned around and bowed to the room. "Pardon the intrusion." Closing the door, he made his way to Class 1-H.
...
After the student left, Hizashi returned to his desk. He nudged the yellow lump that was his husband with his foot to get his attention. "So, I'm guessing that's one of the kids you were talking about training for the Sports Festival?"
The lump shifted and Shouta's face once more came into view. "Yes, him and a purple one named Shinsou Hitoshi in 1-C."
"It's unusual for you to volunteer to train students outside your class, Shouta," Hizashi commented, smirking.
"They have potential," Shouta grumbled sleepily. "But they slipped through the cracks because of a biased system. Like I did. With helping them, I'm hoping to convince Nezu to finally fix the Hero Practical."
Hizashi laughed. "You and your schemes. Well, if you ever need any help, let me know!"
The yellow caterpillar simply hummed a reply and shifted to hide his face from the light. There were only a few minutes until homeroom but he would savor every second of his nap before having to deal with his problem class.
...
The first half of the school day passed by normally. During homeroom, Maijima filled Izuku in on where to meet Class 1-A for their Rescue Training, what he should bring with him, and a map of the training facility. He also cleared the student for bringing a few Support Items with him. Izuku didn't have many ready for the training so their teacher allowed Mei to lend him some…within reason.
The next few classes were also normal. The only change was during English class. While the other students were being taught the new grammar point, Yamada had given Izuku a separate assignment on the JSL alphabet and some simple phrases. Since Nezu hadn't come up with a code yet, the teen spent the class practicing finger spelling and the phrases quietly at his desk in the back. Periodically, Yamada would catch his eye during breaks in his lecture and sign something at him to practice reading signs as well.
Of course, this man who holds down three different jobs as a Hero, a teacher, and a radio host can teach two different language lessons at once.
Soon lunch came and the now regular group met up to eat. Izuku, Mei, and Hitoshi were joined by Uraraka and Iida. Kirishima was sitting with Katsuki again, but Izuku didn't mind. He would be seeing him during their training anyway. Which reminded him…
"Oh yeah, Uraraka-san, Iida-kun," he called out. "I'll be joining your training again today."
"You are? Yay!" Uraraka cheered, smiling brightly.
"We have training this afternoon? I was not aware," Iida commented, straightening his glasses. "What kind of training will we be doing?"
"Yeah, you are," Izuku confirmed. "Aizawa-sensei asked me to join you yesterday. But if he hasn't told you about it, I don't think I should say any more about it either. Maybe it's a surprise?"
Both Hero students hummed in acceptance and everyone returned to their food. Izuku remembered to ask about Aizawa's caterpillar impersonation. He was regaled with a dramatic retelling of their first day in 1-A. How Aizawa made his entrance by suddenly appearing outside the classroom door, encased in his yellow sleeping bag while sucking the life out of an energy drink pouch.
What a drama queen…
Izuku and Mei finished early to go to the Support studio to get the greenette ready for the training to come. Hitoshi also finished eating and said he wanted to take a nap at his desk for the rest of class. Though Izuku figured it was because he didn't know the other two students that well yet and was avoiding awkwardness.
The trio left the cafeteria together and then separated to their respective destinations. As he and Mei headed toward the Support studio, Izuku's mind began to wonder as his friend was brainstorming aloud about which babies he could bring with him.
Aizawa-sensei mentioned they would be doing Rescue Training. I wonder where it will be held. Probably somewhere farther from the main building since I was told to wait by the buses. Well, wherever they would be training, it should be fun.
Right?
...
(AN: Greetings, returning readers! Your author speaking. This fic was originally posted on AO3 and then I had decided to post it here as well. On AO3, I have additional notes and comments about the story and other things. I haven't added them here because I don't care for the formatting as much. But! I have created a tumblr for this fic with those notes and anything else I want to share. However, I can't directly link to it on here because this site won't allow it. So! I will provide the blog name and the notes url extension at the end of chapters from now on. Unless someone has another suggestion. Anyway, please read them if you would like! :D )
Blog name: ja0-s-blank-canvas-fic
Notes extension: post/626815500093161472/chapter-24-under-lock-and-key
UA's teachers' room possible layout: post/626815259539374080/ua-teachers-room-layout