Chapter 1: New Beginnings

Chapter Text

Shouta "Eraserhead" Aizawa

March 24th, 2078

10:05 am

UA Campas

"So hopefully they won't scare you off," Shouta said in an even tone. The school tour he was giving the newly hired faculty member had gone well. She seemed excited to begin teaching at UA.

"Oh, no, I bet they're a sweet group of kids," Ayumu Ahane replied with what seemed to be genuine enthusiasm. She was a few inches shorter than Shouta even in heeled leather boots. She was wearing casual clothes, the tightly coiled curls of her brown hair were clipped back on both sides of her head which gave her a very modern style, like a Mohawk, since her hair was a thick, medium-length afro and it stuck out due to its texture. Her skin was a similar color to her hair, a chestnut brown. She smiled frequently and fell into easy conversation he noticed when she had met other faculty members along the way.

They were leaving the empty dorm that had been home to his hero course students the two previous years. They were "his" students because even though he had not been their homeroom teacher since first year, he had continued to be their residential advisor for their dorm and would still hold that title the next school year. They were his kids. His problem child, his explosive child, his overly organized child. All 20 of them. He was in the dorm with them every evening and tended to any dorm affairs that arose. In a few days, they would return from their break and would begin their third year. The quiet, lifeless rooms would be replaced with their voices, eager to be back, some too loud, but what could he do about it at this point? They would breathe life back into the now empty school with their camaraderie, their passion, and their desire to be the best heroes they could be. Shouta was surprised at how sentimental he was getting in his own head.

He was about to embark on his second year of being UA's Combat Course Coordinator. He taught all 6 hero courses twice a week. That along with administration duties kept him quite busy. One of those duties was hiring new teachers and the vacant Hero course A third-year position he had been quite particular about. Not that they were his favorites or anything, but he knew them well enough to know they needed someone enthusiastic, hard-working, and caring, but wouldn't be intimidated by them. Ahane had ticked off all the boxes.

"Many of these kids I have been reading about in the news for several months now. They have already accomplished so much at such a young age. They could probably teach me a thing or two," Ahane said as they walked towards the main school building.

"Well, they are still young even with the experiences they have had. I think in some ways they have a lot more to learn about life, relationships, and balancing things in their own lives for their own sanity. That will be the challenge with this group," Shouta said in a low monotone. They walked in silence until they arrived at the south end of the main school building.

Shouta gave Ahane a tour of the cafeteria, teacher's lounge, the auditorium, the administration building, and the classrooms. As the tour progressed, he couldn't help but notice how distracted Ahane became. Whenever he had interviewed her weeks before she seemed very focused and full of energy, eager with new ideas. She had been the same way at the beginning of their tour but now she seemed much more subdued. She was perhaps just tired.

They ended the tour with the faculty dorms and he showed her the room she would be living in while she taught at UA. "Thank you for the tour, Eraserhead. This school is amazing, I can't wait until the term starts." She gave him a small smile. He nodded at her curtly and left.

Ayumu "Echo" Ahane

March 28th 2078

4:54 pm

Faculty Dorm

Ayumu kept noticing the little girl poking her head into her room every few minutes while she unpacked. When she would turn toward her to try and meet her gaze the little girl would pull away from the doorway and scamper off. Ayumu finally turned around, overdramatically making her movement very big and deliberate, and said, "Ha! I see you this time!" as her eyes fell on the little girl's face. The little girl blinked, taken aback for a second, and then smiled.

"I didn't know the school allowed unicorns on campus. That's really cool. I like this place." Ayumu said. The little girl brought her small hand up to the horn on her forehead and grinned.

"My name's Ahane," Ayumu said.

"Nice to meet you Ahane-sensei." She bowed towards Ayumu.

Ahane bowed toward the small girl. "Nice to meet you as well. What's your name?"

"I'm not supposed to tell strangers my name," she replied very matter-of-factly.

"I see… well your dad or mum has taught you well."

The little girl nodded at Ayumu. "My dad teaches here at the school and he's a hero, too."

"Ah, I see. And who is he?"

"I probably shouldn't tell you since you're a stranger."

"You're probably right. What if I guess though? Then you wouldn't be telling me."

The little girl's eyes shot upward at the ceiling as if she was giving the question a thorough mulling over. She offered a little smile to Ahane and then nodded.

Ayumu quit unpacking her box of shoes and now gave the little girl her undivided attention. She noticed the little girl was quite unique as far as her appearance. She had large, inquisitive red eyes and very pale skin. Her hair was thick and white and was expertly braided in a double French braid tied at the ends with purple ribbons that matched her ruffled pants. She had a small horn on the upper left side of her forehead at the hairline. The horn, which was white in color, almost blended in with her pale skin and hair. She tried to think which faculty member she resembled. She had met several over the course of the very long day.

"I got it. Your King Vlad's daughter. You have his red eyes and your hair is quite pale like his."

The little girl giggled and shook her head with a broad grin.

"Well then," Ayumu said as she looked up at the ceiling and tapped her chin with her index finger putting on a show for the girl like she was thinking very hard. The little girl giggled again. Ayumu thought of the hero Present Mic, who taught English at the school, trying to remember if his eyes were red. Or were they yellowish-green?

"Present Mic?" Ayumu asked. The little girl grinned and now gave a loud, sweet laugh.

"No. He's not my dad, but he's my uncle."

Ayumu tried to think who on campus could be Present Mic's sibling. She had no idea so she thought she would just be silly about it since the girl was so relaxed now and seemed to be enjoying the mock interrogation.

"Well Present Mic is a blond and All Might is a blond so…. is your dad All Might?" The little girl let out peals of laughter.

"No! He's my other uncle, though." Now Ayumu was thoroughly confused. If All Might and Present Mic were brothers, surely she would have heard about that seeing as All Might was the number one hero not long ago. Unless they were a couple? Hence both being her uncle? That DEFINITELY would have made the news. She was very curious now.

"How many uncles do you have?"

"Just two. Uncle Mic and Uncle Yagi. I have a brother though."

"Let me guess. Is it Principal Nezu?" The little girl giggled loudly again.

"No! His name is Hitoshi."
One of Ahane's students was named Hitoshi, she was very familiar with the class roster. She wondered if it was the same "Hitoshi," who she was speaking of. "I see. Does he have a horn, too?" Ahane asked.

"No. He's a student here. A third year in the hero class." So it was the same Hitoshi.

So her dad had to be old enough to have a son around 17 years old. That narrowed it down a bit. Eraserhead suddenly appeared in the doorway behind the little girl.

"Eri. I've been looking for you. Come out of Ahane-sensei's room. She's busy unpacking," Eraserhead said evenly in low tones. The little girl grabbed him by the hand and pulled him into the room.

"Eraserhead, it's fine. We were just chatting about all of Eri's uncles. And her brother."

Eraserhead looked at Eri with an amused expression. It did something completely different to his face thought Ahane. She had only seen one expression from him in the short time she had known him and it was blank passivity. "Brother and uncles, huh?" he asked Eri.

"I didn't tell Ahane-sensei my name since she is a stranger. But I thought it was okay if she tried to guess who my dad was."

"And did she guess correctly?"

"No," Eri giggled.

"So are you uncle number three?" Ayumu asked thoroughly confused but enjoying the humor. Eraserhead was too young to have a 17-year-old son but he was obviously close to Eri. The fact the little girl wasn't intimidated by him in the slightest showed she had to be close to him. He had to be very intimidating to his students and definitely small children with his stand-offish, serious demeanor.

"No! He's my dad!" Eri blurted out, no longer able to contain the secret. Ayumu was so confused, but she was sure at some point she would get the details. Maybe Eraserhead was married and they had a blended family. Eri looked nothing like Eraserhead.

"Well, nice to meet you Eri. And Eri's dad," Ayumu replied with a grin.

"Wait! How do you know my name?" Eri asked.

"Your dad called you by your name. You may need to teach him how he should be more careful talking to strangers."

"Dad! You have to be more careful," Eri grinned widely as she looked up at Eraserhead.

"Time for dinner, Eri. Let's head to 3A dorm," he said.

"Ahane-sensei. Will you come with us for dinner?" Eri asked as Eraserhead took her by her hand.

"Oh, thanks for the invite sweetie, but I have a lot of things to unpack and lesson plans to finish. But maybe another time. I will be teaching 3A this year so I am sure I'll be over at their dorm to visit at some point."

Eri's jaw dropped. "You're teaching 3A? My brother Hitoshi is in that class!"

"Well, I hope he is as sweet as you are," Ahane said.

"He is very sweet, but he's kinda quiet, he reminds me a lot of Dad." Ahane's eyes shot up to Eraserhead briefly. She was so confused, maybe he was an adopted relative of Eraserhead if they were blood-related and had similarities. "Midoriya is in 3A, too!"

"Is he your cousin?" Ayumu asked with a grin. She knew who Izuku Midoriya was. Everyone in Japan knew who he was.

Eri laughed. "No! He's my friend!"

"It's time to go, Eri. Say goodbye," Eraserhead said.

"Bye Ahane-sensei. I'll see you tomorrow!"

Ayumu waved at her.

Shouta

March 28th 2078

5:04 pm

UA Campas

Eri was perched on Shouta's shoulders as they walked to Class 3A dorm. She was growing so much, he knew soon she wouldn't be able to ride on his shoulders. Time was going by way too fast. Today was moving-in day so now that it was dinner time the students hopefully were all moved in and were in the midst of unpacking. He had helped earlier in the day with lugging boxes to the different floors of the dorm. His mind drifted back to Eri's conversation with Ahane.

"So Hitoshi is your brother?" he asked Eri. He had been taken aback by Eri's conversation with Ahane. She normally didn't fall into easy conversation with people she didn't know well. He had been surprised Eri had perceived family members for herself other than just him. It made him very happy she had found a family for herself, that these individuals were important to her. They were also important to him, too, so it made sense.

"Yes," Eri said. He could tell she was smiling the way she said it. "He usually sits with us if we have dinner at 3A dorms. And when we have dinner at home, he sometimes eats with us there. He spends a lot of his time with us and he's a lot like you. He even looks like you. I was thinking…" Eri's voice lowered and her tone was serious now" … maybe he is your son but it's a secret?"

Shouta could see where she was coming from. "I've been mentoring Shinsou for two years, so we have grown close. But, he has parents in Nakatsugawa, Eri."

"Yes, but… his mom isn't very nice… and his dad is gone a lot," Eri said in a small voice. Shouta was amazed at what she had picked up from conversations he and Shinsou had had in their home when they thought Eri was asleep in her room.

Shouta sighed. "It is unfortunate. Please keep that information to yourself, Eri. It's private."

"I know. I will," she said quietly under her breath.

"Shinsou is lucky to have you as his sister, then. And to have so many friends at school now in his third year." Shouta said evenly.

"And to have you as his dad!" Eri laughed.

Shouta made a slight noise of annoyance. Eri continued to giggle.

Ayumu

April 2nd, 2078

7:45 am

Hero Class 3A Homeroom

Ayumu was a little nervous. As much as she was excited at this new position, she was also a bit out of her element. This was her first foray into teaching. She was quite surprised she had gotten the position, especially considering she was a Shiketsu graduate. She had gotten her teaching degree over the years while she had worked for various hero agencies with the idea it would be a great way to "retire" as she got older. Not that "33" was old, but it was time for her to start thinking of slowing things down. She had enjoyed traveling abroad the last decade as a pro-hero but the pull of settling down and returning back to Japan and her family had been on her mind recently.

Working as a teacher at UA had been a pipe dream and the applicants had been many from what she had heard. She was a quick learner though with a strong quirk, excellent work ethic, and could think outside of the box at a moment's notice. Important traits for a pro-hero or a teacher to have.

She stood in the room of her new class, Hero Class 3A, and went over her notes and the piles of paper her class would need to fill out because paperwork and copious amounts of it were inevitable in the pro-hero world. Suddenly a student walked into the room and Ayumu smiled at him and said, "Good morning," brightly. He didn't return the smile or reply to her. He sat down at one of the desks on the farthest row from the door and pulled a planner out of his backpack. She recognized him immediately. Katsuki Bakugou. He had been in the news so frequently the last two years. She wasn't surprised by his cool demeanor since his reputation preceded him, but she was surprised at how tall and how much older he was in real life. She had to remind herself these "kids" would all be turning 18 this year. They weren't really "kids," in a way.

The next student she heard before she saw him. "….. really don't mind serving another year. I'm glad you decided you will be class rep vice-president again this year Momo, hopefully, we'll…" In walked Tenya Iida followed by Shouto Todoroki and Momo Yaoyorozu.

"Good morning," Ayumu said brightly. Iida's eyes went wide, he quieted himself and immediately bowed as did the other two. As he straightened back up, Iida didn't hesitate. "Ahane-sensei! I am pleased to meet you! I am Tenya Iida. I will be serving as the 3A Class Rep President along with Yaoyorozu. We both look forward to working with you!" Yaoyorozu smiled at her sweetly. Ayumu heard a light snicker sound from Bakugou. "We both have been Class Reps the last two years so we have a lot of experience. Please let us know how we can help you in any way. We meet once a week with the other -"

Todoroki locked elbows with Iida and pulled him away. Ahane was pretty sure he had a lot more to say, she had been warned about his garrulousness by Eraserhead. "Yes, thank you, Iida. I appreciate it."

More students began to file in. She greeted them warmly and was surprised most of them were quite punctual, getting to class quite early. "Oh, wow! The Pro-Hero Echo! I read all about you a few years ago when you were working in South America during the Bogata Raids!" Izuku Midoriya said excitedly as he entered the classroom followed by Ochaco Uraraka. She had felt like she had seen this child grow up the last two years. He was tall and lean, but broad-shouldered. He didn't look anything like the young boy that had defeated AFO several months before. His jaw was angular, having lost his baby fat, but his face was freckled, and his green hair was still a wild mess of waves. He still exuded an enthusiastic youthfulness. "Your quirk is amazing! Being able to copy others' quirks if they are near you and then wield them, that has to be one of the most useful quirks out there!"

"Ever since Aizawa-sensei told us who they hired this weekend as the new 3A Hero course instructor, Izuku has been talking about you non-stop," Uraraka said with a grin. She was holding his hand.

Ahane grinned back. "Well, a lot of what the media said about the Bogata Raids was a bit overblown. If I told you what really happened you might not be as impressed."

"I'd love to ask you questions about it sometime!" Midoriya said.

"Definitely," Ahane replied.

A few minutes later, the bell rang.

"Welcome class 3A. I am so excited to start this new experience with you all. I am-" In barrelled two students, both bumping into each other as they tried their best to squeeze in through the doorway at the same time. The blond, being much more slight than the redhead ended up getting shot across the entryway and landed in a heap on the floor. Laughter sounded from a couple of the students.

"I woke you up over an hour ago!" Bakugou bellowed from his seat.

"Sorry, man! I accidentally went back to sleep," Eijirou Kirishima said. His eyes shot to Ayumu and he looked terrified. He stood in the doorway and waited. It took Ayumu a second to realize why someone as big, muscled, and physically intimidating as Kirishima could look petrified. Although being petrified could be a natural state for Kirishima when considering his quirk, Ayumu thought the bad punny joke to herself. Denki Kaminari now kneeled from his prone position and looked at her as if he was waiting for execution. She remembered what she had heard about the second-year Class A hero course teacher. Gushiken. He had been a stickler for punctuality and doled out many strict punishments for tardiness.

"It's okay, Kirishima and Kaminari. I don't mind if you're late sometimes, just don't make a habit out of it. You'll miss out on important information."

"My apologies, sensei," Kirishima bowed to her and immediately sat in his seat. He had a sheepish grin on his face. Kaminari also bowed to her and quickly made it to his seat.

Toru Hagakure was turned towards Shoji who sat next to her as she spoke. "I'm surprised those two were late on the first day of school! And Shinsou isn't even here yet."

"I'm here," a low voice sounded from in front of her which caused her to turn towards them and jump.

"When did you get here?" Hagakure asked with a squeak. Hitoshi Shinsou gave her a wry smile. Ahane realized she had never seen him enter. She needed to get out of her head and get through her opening announcements; they had a lot to cover. 21 faces looked up at her. 21 students that would be Pros in a year. Ayumu could feel their eagerness, their potential as if it was something palpable. She knew this was the very place she needed to be at that very moment. She would work her hardest to help them reach their goals.