Mina
If you were to ask Kaoruko Awata, formally known as Pro Heroine Bubble Girl, what she would define as the most important part of teaching was to her, you might expect it to be relate to higher education or perhaps to a specific goal in her career regarding why she was a teacher at all.
This wasn't the case though, there was one thing and one thing alone that sat at the top of her list of issues, something she had been fighting against since her first day at U.A., in many forms.
Bullying.
It was the whole reason she left Nighteye's agency (and she shuddered just thinking about that name and the memories it held), and moved on was because of a friend showing her just how troublesome the treatment she received there truly was.
She didn't want to let anyone be bullied like she was, whether they realized they were being bullied or not, it was why she'd jumped on to take over class 1-A as soon as she heard WHY Shota Aizawa had been fired from his position as a homeroom teacher.
And as for U.A…
It didn't matter how a school liked to tout its policy for bullying, it could never see it all and relied too much on fallible humans to make judgement calls about what is and isn't bullying, which was a problem that needed to be addressed in of itself… but Kaoruko saw past that to the even deeper issues.
The kinds of bullies people didn't want to acknowledge. The ones hidden behind excuses of traditions, of beliefs, of authority and weak lines such as 'it was just some harmless teasing', which it just so happened was what the most recent incident she found herself dealing with would fall under.
An issue she was uniquely qualified to deal with in this particular case. She hadn't even been listening out for any cases of bullying or harassment this time, she had just so happened to stumble across it when she'd been doing a small errand run for Lunch Rush and collecting an ingredient list the man had left with Nezu.
On her way to the office she'd heard the laughter and then she'd heard a familiar voice, belonging to one Mina Ashido. "It's not that funny…"
"Oh come on!" One of the two boys, a short and stocky brown haired boy with a squashed nose who was laughing, said with a smirk on his face, getting way too far into the normally extroverted girl's personal space in the process. She seemed more tense than Kaoruko knew her to be and was refusing to meet their eyes but was giving them a strained smile. "You must think it's hilarious too, considering you didn't change it! Hey, but at least 'Pinky' isn't going to get you in trouble, eh?"
"I know, right?!" The other boy, a long-haired blond with freckles all over his arms and face, laughed as Mina flinched ever so slightly and Kaoruko felt her breath hitch. Then, a fire lit up in her eyes, silently marching up behind the boys. She had seen this far too many times in her own life, been on the receiving end several times as well. The kind of harassment that was so small you knew you couldn't' justify starting a fight to anyone who didn't understand, yet that dug deep in you anyways at a personal level. "Imagine if that one shadow dude in 1-B started going by 'Blackface' or something, now that would get him in trouble!"
"Just like you're both about to be in very severe trouble with the principal." Kaoruko spoke icily, making both students jump in shock with wide eyes as they whipped around, Mina's own eyes filling with relief at the sight of her teacher. "That is, if you were talking about the colour of my student's skin."
"They were." Mina quickly nodded and silently, internally, Kauroko sighed in in relief knowing Mina was smart enough to know not what was happening from her or scared of telling her.
"H-Hey! We were just fooling around!" The blond quickly tried to defend, the brunette nodding in agreement. "She never said anything so we didn't think she had an issue with it!"
"That doesn't matter." Kaoruko said, looking between the two of them with a slight hint of anger and an overwhelming wave of disappointment exuding from her. "Continuously commenting on anyone's mutations when they are visibly not comfortable can already be qualified as harassment, but that blackface comment has solidified a trip to see Nezu. You may not technically have broken the zero bullying rule yet, but I can promise you Nezu will not take kindly to this when he finds out. So, go to the principal's office, wait for me and don't ever let me catch you making my students uncomfortable again after this. Understood?"
"Yes ma'am." "Yes, miss Awata."
Both boys nodded, defeat clear in their eyes as they slumped and followed her as she pointed in the direction of Nezu's office. Once they were out of sight, Kaoruko sighed then turned to Mina with a softer gaze, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright, Ashido?"
"Yeah, that was just… really uncomfortable." She seemed to shudder slightly as she said it and the teacher nodded in understanding. "I don't want to be overly sensitive about it but… I mean it's not like I was even the one who chose Pinky as a name, it was Midnight! I don't want people to just think of me as 'the pink one'!"
"I get it, I've had people talk about my skin before a lot. I know it can get weird." She soothed gently, then hummed in quiet thought. "And your hero name… Do you not like it? Be honest, please."
"…It's not bad but it's not the name I wanted for myself." She admitted with a sigh and a slight frown as she rubbed her arm with her hand. "Midnight said the name I wanted was going to creep people out too much."
Kauroko frowned more deeply at that, having a feeling this was going to lead to a much bigger issue she'd need to deal with but for now she had a student to cheer up. Doing her best to push her worries to the side for a moment she gave Mina a small smile as she stood up taller then. "Well, the principal could benefit from your side of the story anyways and I'm sure we can get your name changed if you really want."
"Wait, I can?" She asked in surprise with eyes widening before pausing. "Oh yeah, I think they said something about people trying to change their names during the name picking class but a lot of people become recognized by their first names."
"That they do." Kaoruko nodded with a hum as they both began making their way towards the principal's office. "But there are ways to ensure a new name is at least as well known and a firm stance against your old name can often make most reasonable people switch. With something as innocuous as Pinky, no one will have any reason to cause any issue with you changing your name."
"And… do you think I should change it?" Mina asked with a clear note of hesitance in her voice. Kauroko paused for a moment, considering her answer carefully before smiling softly.
"I think… It's important you like your name before anyone else. There's important things to consider about public perceptions, yes, but no amount of public pandering is ever going to bring back enough of a reward to be worth hating one of the biggest parts of your hero identity."
"…I originally wanted to call myself Alien Queen." Mina admitted with a hum and Karuko nodded in thought. It wasn't what she'd consider a go to hero name, but neither did she consider it to be a go to villain name. Some may associate with a certain movie franchise, but just as many would have no reason to think of it at all and it gave a strong sense of identity.
"Well then, if that's the name you're sure you want, I'll make sure to put my foot down if Midnight has any problems with it."
The blinding smile she got in return from Mina at the excitement of getting the name she originally wanted was well worth the brewing headache she could already feel forming from dealing with the potential issue of now knowing her students might not actually care for their hero names.
She'd have to address that in another class later.
Ojiro
The second time she had to stand up for one of her students was another instance where she had to deal with another student harassing them. Unfortunately, unlike with Mina, the student was not a business course student she could send to the principal and wash her hands of so long as Nezu dealt with the situation appropriately (and he had, dishing out three-day long detentions for both boys for their comments.)
No, this student was someone who would need a much closer hand as a fellow hero course student. It had been luck, more or less, that Kaoruko had overheard this particular issue as she had decided to go down to the dorms first before going to the teachers lounge to check up on Ochako and make sure she wasn't skipping meals again.
The girl had gotten into an unhealthy habit of avoiding food outside of certain times when she was living on a budget and sometimes fell back into doing so, something the blue-skinned teacher was doing her best to keep from happening for the girl's health.
That decision to check up on Ochako instead of going to the teachers lounge meant she ended up walking in the opposite direction she usually would when she left the hallway and after turning a hallway or two, she would be hard pressed to not hear the voice of one Monoma Neito.
"Ahaha! Well, if it isn't the king of disappointment from 1-A! I'm sure you feel so superior with that fancy tail of yours, yet you can't even stand out amongst the rest of your arrogant classmates! I'd almost say you'd belong with us in 1-B if we weren't clearly much better than-"
"That's quite enough. Mr. Monoma." Kaoruko spoke up with a heavy sigh as she turned to the corner, seeing Ojiro had been in the midst of walking away much to her relief, seeing he knew to ignore the boy. Unfortunately, what wasn't so good is she could see the clear slight shaking of his shoulders, which meant it was getting to him more than he wanted to show. "That kind of language is not appropriate for anyone to throw at their fellow hero students."
"Ah… I was just… They perpetuate the rivalry and-" Whatever argument was on Monoma's tongue quickly withered under the unimpressed look aimed his way by the bubble making teacher, her hands on her hips before a deep sigh escaped her.
"Both of you, follow me." She said, leaving no room for arguments as she led them back to her classroom. A moment later she had them standing in front of her desk, Ojiro clearly confused and concerned while Monoma seemed nervous but doing his best to act aloof.
"Now, first things first, Monoma. There is no rivalry between the classes." She said sternly and when he opened his mouth to protest she held up a hand, continuing on with a firm tone. "I know Vlad-King likes to talk about 'beating 1-A' and pulling ahead, and frankly? I'm very much planning to soap out his mouth if that behaviour continues. Especially if it leads to things like this. I do not condone or encourage the 'rivalry' between the classes, certainly not if this is how its treated. You are all trying to be heroes, you are all meant to be learning how to work together and help others in future, not try to tear each other down. That is going to create a toxic environment in a profession that needs to work at its best at all times. Now, tell me honestly, have you done this before?"
"…Yes." He nodded with gritted teeth as he looked away and Ojiro snorted ever so slightly.
"It's really common when he meets most of us in 1-A." He admitted, prompting a glare from Monoma and a sigh from Bubble Girl. A moment later she had a pen in hand and was writing something down before holding it to Monoma.
"What is this?" He asked with a confused brow, as it clearly wasn't a detention slip. Taking it in hand, he paused as he saw it was a memo.
"It's a recommendation to Hound Dog to provide counseling for you." She said simply with a stern gaze for the boy, something that made Ojiro shiver a little. He wasn't used to seeing the usually calm and somewhat playful woman with such a serious look in the classroom. "The specific way you choose to phrase some of your rant concerned me, so for your own sake I really recommend looking into it. If you don't, I'll have to simply give you a detention instead. I will be checking, so you know."
"…Well, I suppose it is better than serving a detention." Monoma conceded with a sigh, making Kaoruko nod and motion for him to leave.
"In that case, you can go for now." She said and watched as the blond left, before turning to Ojiro and letting her expression melt into something a little softer. "Now, are you okay?"
"I'm fine." He said, though the slight clip in his voice betrayed that it wasn't quite so true. "I'm used to it."
"Being used to something doesn't make it anymore right." She assured him softly as tilted her head slightly. "I'm especially aware of that. If you want to say something, this is a safe space right now."
"…Am I useless?" he asked suddenly, catching her off-guard and making her frown deeply at the question coming from one of her own students. "Compared to the rest of my class, with how bland and simple my quirk is…"
"Mashirao." She spoke softly, using his first name for emphasis to make sure he understood how serious what she was saying now was. "The last thing you are is useless. You ranked eighth in your midterms, you're intelligent, you're kind, you're honourable to a fault and a hard worker. Those are words that can describe you. Useless is not one of them."
"But… everyone thinks of me as plain and my Tail is so weak compared to Sato or Kirishima's quirks, nevermind Midoriya's…"
"Power is far from the only thing important in a fight, which I KNOW you know as a martial artist." Kauroko assured gently, standing up and walking around to address him more properly. "Your tail is capable of denting steel, your reflexes let you go toe to toe with Iida without a speed quirk of your own, and your fighting skills without using your quirk are some of the best in the class. If I were to pit you against the rest of your teammates, even without your tail, I have faith you would take at least several people down with you. You're impressive to me and to your classmates, I promise."
"…Thank you." He said, looking a little better and still doubtful, which she understood. With a hum, she grabbed her notepad again and began writing, before giving him a sheet of paper. "H-Huh, what's this?"
She smiled softly. "Another note for Hound-Dog. He has confidence building classes. I'm planning to send Midoriya to them eventually but I think you'd also benefit from them. It's up to you."
"…I'll consider it." He nodded after a moment, then gave her a much more calm smile that set her at ease. "Thank you, Miss Awata."
"Of course." She nodded, as she watched him make his way out of her classroom. A few days later, she'd be happy to hear that both boys had gone to see Hound Dog and were both starting to set up more regular sessions to improve themselves.
She was still going to drown Vlad King with bubbles though for the whole incident.
Momo
Ever since the 'hero names' incident, Kaoruko had found herself digging even deeper into more specifics of her classes' past. She'd always been a little worried to and mostly overseen more general changes in registries and such.
At the time when she first joined it was the best course of action to prepare, as she simply wouldn't have had the time to do in-depth research on them all while trying to fix the damage at the same time their previous teacher had managed.
Now that she had time though, she found herself regretting not double-checking everything from the start, as there were far more issues that needed to be addressed in her findings than there should have been ever, both big and small.
She wasn't even sure what she considered the worst, though the absolute lack of oversight on internships was undoubtedly near the top of her list. Jirou's file mentioned concerning moments of field work far too early into the year and Midoriya had gone to someone who didn't even have an active hero license.
There may be a note indicating he was a friend of All Might's, but she was not comfortable with her student's education resting on random acts of nepotism and trusting people without licenses, whether they used to be or not.
That wasn't even touching on the travesty that was Iida's internship being accepted, that was such a gross oversight that she would be having words with Nezu about at length to avoid ever happening again. (Though god forbid they'd ever have another instance of dealing with someone like the hero killer… but sadly she knew it was not only possible but likely.)
And while it was not as severe as the other incident, the final big concern was more relevant to the issue she found herself faced with today. Uwabami's 'internship' with Yaoyoruzu was nothing short of a joke.
Internships at a stage as early as this were for their students to learn about hero agencies from the inside, see how more lowkey work was done, maybe on RARE occasion there would be incidents with villains but they were meant to be as it was with Asui's file, unexpected and not intended for students to get involved beyond observing and getting reinforcements.
Her students were not meant to be cheap and easy labour, nor 'pretty faces' for cameras and the mere fact that other heroes thought they could get away treating her students like that… well, the ink stains on her desk from the pen that she broke when she first found out was a testament to how she felt about it and it was something she would be sure to address.
Making several well-known heroes learn to quail in fear of her when her students were wronged would have to wait though, because as mentioned there was an issue with Yaoyoruzu today. It had been the raven-haired teen's turn to collect groceries for the school alongside Satou, and the two had split up at the final stretch.
Satou had come in first with most of the supplies and informed Kaoruko that Yaoyoruzu would be coming back herself in about five minutes but had needed to stop and go back to grab her bag as she'd accidentally left it in the last store they were in.
The teacher had just nodded and decided to go down to the gate to meet the girl and make sure everything was okay but when she got there she found something that she wasn't expecting to see. A blonde, frizzy haired reporter in a red blazer and pencil skirt with a wild look in her eyes shoving a microphone under the clearly uncomfortable student's mouth.
"Please, I don't think I'm qualified or permitted to comment on how much more secure U.A. feels and I am not really comfortable giving an interview right now?" She heard her student's slightly nervous but diplomatic voice, clearly doing her best to be civil.
Unfortunately, the reporter didn't seem to be a reasonable one, not that it was a big surprise seeing as they thought it was okay to try and ambush a student outside U.A., shoving their microphone further into Yaoyorozu's face making her flinch slightly. "So U.A. is forcing your silence about how it is trying to protect you? An interesting decision to censor you."
"T-That isn- I did not say anything of the sort!" Yaoyorozu objected with a more scandalized look on her face, clearly unimpressed and unhappy. "Please, as I said I am busy and am not interested in being in the public eye yet."
"Oh, you don't have to lie to me." The reporter brushed right past, ignoring her request as if it wasn't important at all. "I've seen your commercial, you're more than okay showing off for the public so I know you're just protecting yourself from U.A. but you'll be completely anonymous-"
"I'd say that's quite enough now." Kaoruko interrupted with anger lacing her tone as she walked out the gate. The reporter jumped before a slightly annoyed look crossed their face, as Yaoyorozu noticeably sagged in relief. "She clearly stated she doesn't want to give an interview. When someone tells you that, it means you leave them alone."
"Ah, but of course you would try to chase me off." The reporter huffed with a glare, pointing a finger at the heroine accusingly. "You U.A. types want to keep everything away from the media when the public has a right to know how you're protecting our children."
"A sentiment which would entirely invalidate how we protect them, in part, by not giving away our defenses." Kaoruko shot right back, walking up to the woman with a fiery look in her eyes. "And let me set one thing straight. These children's parents, they have a right to ask. These children's families, they have a right to ask. Some random reporters who don't know them? You do not have a right to ask because it is not your business, nor should you be making it such."
"Oh, so you high and mighty heroes can pretend you have everything under control again until something else goes wrong?" The reporter challenged with a clenched fist, gritting their teeth. "The media DOES have a right to make sure you all keep yourselves in line!"
"And wow, what a spectacular job you do with that with some of the people you idolize. Who was the last corrupt hero you all exposed again? I can't seem to remember." The sarcastic response escaped her before she could even stop it, as she gently guided Yaoyorozu back into the school on put a hand on the button to close the security gate manually. "Now, I recommend you leave. I remind you there are laws to protect minors from being publicly broadcast against your will, and if I have any reason to believe you did share anything she said without her permission, I promise U.A.'s legal team will come down on you, along with myself to personally apprehend you."
With that said, the gate slammed upwards and Kaoruko pointedly ignored the banging on the other side as she turned to her student, face softening. "Are you okay, Yaoyorozu?"
"…I…" She took a deep breath and nodded, though the perturbed look on her face spoke to the contrary. "I am fine. I am just wondering if that commercial was more of a mistake than I first realized."
Kaoruko sighed at that and put her hands on the girl's shoulders, giving her a soft encouraging smile. "Hey now, don't worry about that commercial. I'll do what I can to look into how it could be taken down if you want, but even if you did commercials everyday and got more popular than All Might himself, you would still be entitled to turn down interviews whenever you want. Your life belongs to you and other people do not have a right to know anything about it that you don't want them to, no matter how popular you are."
"…Did you really mean what you said about getting the commercial taken down?" Yaoyorozu asked after a moment with a hopefulness in her voice as the two began walking towards the school. With a gentle hum, Kaoruko managed a smile as she nodded.
"Yes, just say the word and I will not stop until Uwabami pulls all traces of that video. Trust me, bubbles in someone's mouth is a very effective way to make someone eager to agree with you."
Shoji
Kaoruko counted the coins in her hand as she stepped into the back of the line at a local café in downtown Musutafu, humming quietly to herself as she inspected the menu. 'I wonder if I should get something more sweet or more savoury…'
She was so lost in her own thoughts she almost didn't notice the tall hulking figure near the front of the line. Almost.
But then she took them in properly and brightened up in delighted surprise as she saw it was a familiar face. Well, masked face given that it was Shoji but still. She was going to wait until he was done ordering then say hello once she had her own order set in.
That plan quickly fell apart though as he began talking with the cashier. "Hi, could I get a grilled salmon salad, please? The one that's a thousand yen?"
The cashier, a somewhat older gentleman with a pencil moustache and messy hair looked Shoji up and down when he asked for that and Kaoruko unconsciously straightened up immediately upon seeing that discerning, clearly disgusted look in his eye.
"Three thousand yen from now on." He announced suddenly with a shake of his head. "A fee for risking scaring my customers off."
"…Right." Shoji muttered with pure dejection in his voice and Kaoruko felt her heart break a little as she realized that he was likely used to this, before a fire burned in her heart and eyes as she stepped out of the line and marched up to the front. "I'll pay-"
"You won't." Kaoruko said, making the tall teen jump slightly, clearly having not realized she was there until that moment as she looked the cashier in the eyes. "Because that rule makes no sense! We're not paying that just because we look different!"
"You're mutants!" The owner muttered with a clear undercurrent of disgust in his tone as he glared at them. "You're bad for business! Unsightly! You pay extra or you stay out of my café! You don't get to say no to the mutant fee."
The entire room went quiet at that for a moment before Kaoruko smiled a smile the public almost never saw from Bubble Girl, though class 1-A were slowly finding out Kaoruko Awata used often for the ones she cared about.
"Well, I'm quite glad you said that out loud." She said as she reached into her pocket, before slamming down her license in front of the cashier who quickly paled upon realizing what it was. "Since I can arrest you right here and right now for breaking the law over equal rights. So, how much was that grill salmon again?"
"….One thousand yen." The cashier muttered uneasily as he backed off and Kaoruko nodded as she turned to Shoji with a grin.
"One thousand yen." She repeated with a soft smile as she patted him on the arm.
"You didn't have to do that." He muttered with a blush that just barely crept past his mask, making her chuckle gently.
"Oh but I did. I have to arrest him still too, but looking different isn't an excuse for people to treat you differently, ever." Kaoruko assured him gently, before turning back to the cashier. "So enjoy your meal, while I deal with the blatant mutantism that just happened."
While she got to work on that, she failed to notice a certain blonde, frizzy-haired reporter sitting at one of the desks, recording on her phone with a dangerous grin on her face.
Todoroki
There were a lot of things that had shown up on Kaoruko's 'to-do' list for her students at this point as her time at U.A. continued. She never could have imagined just how truly massive the list of things she'd have to challenge would be, it was honestly a little maddening and more than a little concerning that the other teachers hadn't noticed the issues up until now.
Then again, a lot of them were at the centre of some of these problems. They were nowhere near as bad as Aizawa had been from the horror stories she had heard about the man, but still, failure to call off hero lessons, lack of safety lessons, Midnight's surprisingly biased and interfering attitude when it came to picking the names of hero persona's…
And that was just scraping the top of the barrel for U.A. issues. Not even digging into the real meaty issues under the surface. There was one she'd been eying for a long time though and there was no getting away from tackling it now.
Shoto Todoroki was a mystery wrapped inside an enigma, as the phrase went. Except, unlike most mysteries, there was a very blatant key to his on his very face. His burn mark, with patterning consistent with water splashes, had always unsettled Awata slightly when combined with his attitude, quiet nature and some of his actions.
It was all little things that painted a disturbing bigger picture that she hoped was wrong but that she had to keep a close eye on.
And now today was every teacher's dreaded day, good or bad: Parent-Teacher meetings. The bad feared the righteous fury of parents who wouldn't stand for their actions and the good worried about helicopter parents.
But all Kaoruko could focus on was how much Endeavour looked like he'd rather be anywhere else when he walked into her classroom with Shoto in tow and sat down. She'd always been a bit wary of Endeavour and the role he might play in Shoto's life, having heard concerning tidbits about just how long Shoto had been training for but she'd never heard anything concrete.
She didn't want to jump to any conclusions, nor scare Todoroki off, but the implication he'd been dodging fire since he was a little boy had always worried her, and she hoped it would be disproven here.
"Let's just get this over with." The man grunted and the blue-skinned bubble heroine frowned but nodded as she pulled out a sheet with Todoroki's grades.
"In that case, starting with your son's performance in academics…" She went on to explain his high standing grades, his generally improving attitude to teamwork, and the genuine progress he'd made on social interaction. She felt a little bad for the boy that he had to be present for it knowing it must be embarrassing to hear it all discussed, not sure why Endeavour had him come along in the first place.
But then something happened that Kaoruko never could have prepared for, as she got onto his results in hero training. "His dodging is getting a bit slow, but that may just be his body icing over somewhat from not using his fire side as often."
"You're still trying to rebel against my flames?" Endeavour asked with a mix of a groan and a disbelieving huff in his voice only for Shoto's eyes to flash with anger for a moment as he glared at the man.
"It's MY flames, they've never tried to burn me like yours used to." He snapped and Kaoruko froze before her eyes narrowed, while Shoto's own eyes widened in clear shock at his own words.
"Excuse me?" She asked with a low, dangerous voice as she turned to look Endeavour with a mixture of appal and anger. "You used your quirk on him before U.A.?"
"It was for training!" Endeavour quickly defended before cursing quietly as he turned to Todoroki. "And…. I know you still don't want to accept my apology yet but I am trying, please just give me more of a chance. I've learned my lessons since you were younger!"
"…" Todoroki looked away, but Kaoruko felt her anger spike further.
"Give you a chance?!" She asked as she stood up from her desk and glared at the man with all the fury she could muster, which after everything was frankly a lot at this point, heart feeling like it was burning hotter than his flaming visage ever could. "He isn't obligated to give you anything!"
"Don't speak about things you don't know anything about!" Endeavour growled as he turned around and stood up to his full height, trying to look as imposing as possible as he towered over the blue-skinned heroine. "I am earning my redemption, and I don't need a lower ranked teacher to tell me what I deserve!"
"You're right, I can't tell you what you deserve." Kaoruko didn't back down as she let a few bubbles pop off her body, a subtle reminder to the man that he wasn't the only trained pro hero in the room and that his flames didn't scare her like it would scare a civilian. "But I can tell you what Todoroki deserves. Not to be forced into thinking he has to accept you just because you 'got better'. You shouldn't have had to get better in the first place! It's his choice but being a better person in the present doesn't stop you from being a monster in the past. Keep your distance from the dorms, Endeavour, because until I know what's going on, you just became a threat in my eyes to my student."
Seemingly in sync with Kaoruko's anger reaching its crescendo as she stood up straight and gestured for him to leave, her bubbles all popped at once, punctuating her final message.
"And you don't want to fight me when it's over the safety of my students."
Endeavour huffed, before turning and storming off with a clear rage boiling under his skin as Kaoruko sighed before slumping back in her chair. Shoto blinked at her, before sitting down again.
"Why'd you do that?" He asked with quiet confusion after a moment. "Everyone else has said he's been making good progress on getting better and we shouldn't antagonise him."
Kaoruko couldn't help but scoff at that for a moment before sighing as she leaned back and met Shoto's eyes with a soft frown. "Because I know what it's like to be abused by someone. Not in the way I'm worried you do, but still, I know how much it can feel like you have no choice when everyone takes their side. When everyone knows them and not you, so they take their side. They're popular and your not, so they get their second chances and you just have to accept it, regardless of how you feel."
She hummed then managed a soft, if humorless smile to Todoroki. "But that's not how it works. I'm all for reform, but reform is pointless if there's no punishment as well. That's what some people forget, I think. Anyone can become a good person, but being a good person doesn't make the damage you might have caused as a bad person go away."
Shoto looked away at that, clearly uncertain of what to say as he frowned and held onto his chair a bit tighter. "…If I tell you what he did…"
"…" Kaoruko gave him a soft, disarming smile as she tried to make herself as non-threatening looking as possible. "Whatever your choice, I'll support you, but just remember… Just because someone is 'redeeming themselves' doesn't mean it's bad to want justice still."
Shoto nodded, before turning to her with a small but noticeable glint in his eyes. "…Have you heard of quirk marriages?"
'…Maybe I should invest in a punching bag…'
Bubble Girl
Being the homeroom teacher of 1-A, Kaoruko had learned to be ready for anything when she woke up in the mornings. Blackouts due to Denki's quirk, melted couches from Mina making the mistake of watching horror movies at midnight, Iida strapping Izuku down in a chair and forcing him to watch an hour long powerpoint on 'the necessity of bones in the human body' with overly graphic slides.
That last one was burned into her memory for different reasons from the other stuff, really.
The point was, she knew to be prepared for anything when she came down to greet her class in the mornings and she STILL wasn't prepared for what she found.
Twenty angry, almost feral looking students glaring down a hoard of reporters who all were shouting questions until they paused upon seeing Kaoruko approaching, before one let out a cry of "There she is!"
"Bubble Girl! Is it true you're teaching your class to be entitled?!"
"Ma'am! Did you really force an honorable vendor to lower their prices for you because you're a hero?!"
"We have it on authority from Endeavour himself that you think you should have more say in your students' lives than your parents! Don't you think it's monstrous that you think that?!"
"I- That isn't-"
"HEY!"
"LEAVE OUR TEACHER ALONE!"
It was Denki and Mina, the latter of whom glared fearlessly into one of the camera's with clear frustration on her face.
"Our teacher is nothing but nice and kind to us! Stop being so mean to her!" She demanded angrily as she looked amongst them all, only for the reporters to continue shouting about how they had 'insider' knowledge.
"Endeavour told us-"
"Who cares what my old man told you?" Todoroki scoffed as he looked practically ready to fight the reporters who were crowding them all. "Endeavour is a terrible person who's angry that I actually like an authority figure who isn't a cruel tyrant."
"Yeah, and that 'vendor' was a mutanist." Shoji spoke up with frustration as he crossed six of his arms at once, cutting an intimidating figure that managed to get several of them to back up. "So I'd think more carefully about the story you're trying to spread."
"Especially since you are trespassing yet again on U.A. grounds." Momo spoke up with a hint of genuine quiet fury in her tone, clearly well beyond her limit with the vultures that called themselves the press. "Even if U.A. does not sue you, I have half a mind to contact my own familial lawyer. The case would be far too easy. I'm sure half your stations couldn't survive."
That seemed to be a sobering claim for many, who paled and backed up, only those with the biggest stations daring to stand their ground at all as others prepared to retreat. One brave, or perhaps rather stupid, blonde and frizzy-haired familiar face spoke up.
"But isn't it true she's trying to silence you all along with U.A.? Do you really actually think you're safe with someone like her? Don't you think you deserve better than that-"
"ENOUGH!"
The reporter quickly went quiet, as did 1-A, their own eyes widening in shock as many eyes turned to see one Izuku Midoriya of all people glaring with almost glowing toxic green eyes, burning with genuine anger as he stepped forward.
"Miss Awata is the single best teacher I've ever had in my life. People like you act like teachers are all about finding good quirks and abandoning everyone else, or just being some kind of enforcer of society's rules, but Miss Awata actually cares about us!" He ranted with passion and frustration in his voice as he stepped forward, his presence making even the frizzy-haired reporter step back with wide eyes. They'd hit a subject the entire class was passionate about and he seemed to be exemplifying all their fury. "She looks after us, teaches us properly, makes sure we're happy, safe and healthy and goes above and beyond even that! She's the single best teacher I've ever had, one of the safest people I've ever met, and I don't want to ever hear ANYONE imply she's any worse, especially for reasons like you were going to ever again!"
"Izuku…" Kaoruko muttered, a warm feeling blooming in her chest… and on her face which was turning more purple by the moment from the impassioned defence her student gave, which was followed up by many affirming cries and agreements from the rest of her class who quickly closed ranks around her.
Then, spotting the approaching staff in the distance who did not look pleased at all finally arriving to deal with the staff, the reporters finally realized they were defeated, turning tail and running away and to try another day, not that they'd succeed.
Kaoruko meanwhile felt a soft sniffle escape her, making her students eyes widen, Izuku quickly dropping down near her concern. "M-Miss Awata? Are you okay? They didn't hurt you somehow, did they?"
"N-No, they didn't." She shook her head then smiled at him with her eyes shining with warmth and affection for them all. "I'm not sad. I just… God, I love my class."
The others blinked, before blushing sheepishly but smiling with pride at the same time as a moment later a pink pair of arms wrapped around her, then an invisible pair, then six…. And soon, it quickly became a massive group hug as she heard Izuku speak up one last time for the class, with a sentiment that would keep her smiling for weeks to come.
"We love you too as our teacher, Miss Awata. You're t-the best we could ask for."