Chapter 2

Hizashi Yamada had been minding his own business, relaxing in the teachers' lounge before returning to his classroom to finish setting up for the new year when his phone began to ring. He pulled his phone out of his pocket to glance at the caller ID. If it wasn't anyone important, he would let it go to voicemail. Shota had promised to make him regret it if he didn't finish setting up his classroom by the end of the day and he knew the man meant it. Yet as his eyes took in the name blinking up at him, he could only swallow thickly.

Kagome Higurashi.

He hadn't seen that name on his caller ID in years, in fact the last time he had seen it was the day of her wedding. After that she became Kagome Midoriya, it still left a foul taste in his mouth. Hence why he had never changed her contact in his phone.

So why was she calling him now? The last time he had seen her was at her wedding. He had to drag a sulking Shota to the event and had to get the drunken man home after he drank himself silly during the reception. Shota had been over the moon for her, yet held himself back due to wanting to keep things professional between them. He was scared of ruining their friendship, and so he had friend zoned himself.

He himself had very similar feelings for the young woman, and while he held no such reserves about wanting to stay professional. He knew if he acted on his feelings, it would only hurt Shota and end their friendship. Thus, he had never said a word about his feelings for their mutual female friend.

In keeping quiet and staying just friends they had allowed another man to snatch her up and run off with her. She had even retired from being a hero during her prime in order to become the businessman's wife. To this day he disliked the other man, he was so plain...so normal...but he also respected Kagome's choice no matter how much it hurt him.

Unlocking the screen, he pressed the answer button and held the phone to his ear. His heart was racing in his chest as he held his breath.

"Maah Yamada-kun long time no talk!" Her voice was light and happy, with a hint of nervousness buried deep in it.

He sat back in his chair, his body relaxing at hearing her voice. He hadn't known how much he missed it until right now. Licking his lips, he opened his mouth to reply, a light chuckle escaping his lips.

"Long time no talk indeed, to what do I owe the honor?" His voice was smooth, his radio host voice taking over as he leaned back further in his chair to rest his feet on his desk. He could just tell from the small tired sigh she released at his words that this was going to be a long conversation.

"Well...I was hoping we could catch up. How are you? We haven't talked in years." Her voice was light, he could hear the hint of guilt in her voice and it made him wrinkle his nose in distance. He used to think he would enjoy hearing it, to know that she felt bad about running off to get married. Leaving her career as well as their friendship behind to start anew. Yet it only made him feel like an ass to actually hear it, it would seem that even after all this time he couldn't stay mad at her. So, he gave another laugh, his voice light and happy as he began to fill her in on everything she had missed.

Kagome could only laugh as she laid on her couch, her body relaxed as she held the phone to her ear. She hadn't realized how much she missed this, just calling up Yamada to chat for hours. They had done this almost nightly when in high school and well into their budding careers as heroes.

Yet once she had met her now ex-husband she had begun to distance herself from him and Shota at his request. He was always so nervous that she would leave him for one of them or any hero she worked with. They were pro heroes just like her and he was a businessman with a mediocre quirk. So, to soothe his worries she had pulled away from them, stopped hanging out and calling. She had even given up her career to become a housewife.

It wasn't that she regretted it, because if she hadn't, she wouldn't have had her son. What she did regret was letting someone else's insecurities dictate her actions. It was something she vowed to never do again, no this was her life and while she would always take into account the way her decisions would affect her son, she was more than ready to reclaim her identity as Kagome.

Not just an ex-wife and a mother.

"No way! You and Shota are teachers now?" She couldn't help the giggles that escaped her. It wasn't that she doubted his words, it was just...trying to picture them as teachers...interacting with children...it was a strange thing to wrap her mind around.

Yamada shared a few laughs with her, fully understanding her disbelief and amusement. "Yeah, yeah...I teach English and Shota is a home room teacher. What about you? What have you been up to?" He knew it was rude to not ask about her husband but he would never like the guy so he really didn't care what the pencil pusher was up to.

Kagome sighed, her mood darkening. "Well, I haven't done much since I retired to be honest." She paused, wondering if she should mention her divorce or not but she knew that she would have to if she wanted to get his advice about what to do now. "I did go through a rather messy divorce and now find myself with way too much time on my hands." It was true once her husband had left, she focused on helping her son achieve his goals and now that he was on the fast track to achieving them, she was going to have way too much idle time on her hands.

Yamada had almost fallen over in shock, Kagome was divorced? He quickly righted himself, his feet once again on the floor as he leaned heavily on his desk. "Divorced?" The word came out like a breathy whisper and he was quick to clear his throat. "Ah, I'm sorry things didn't work out." Like hell he was, sure he was sad Kagome had been hurt but he was also glad that she was no longer being held back by her now ex husband.

He listened as she let out a shaky breath, no doubt playing with the ends of her raven hair in her nervousness. "Yeah, we just weren't as well suited for each other as I had hoped. He only cared about his career and keeping up appearances." Their child being quirkless was an embarrassment to him...and he hadn't even tried to hide it.

To see the light in her son's eyes dim as his father paid less and less attention to him...the last straw had been when her poor baby asked her if it was his fault dad never wanted to come home. After that she had decided that no, this marriage was not worth trying to save. She had kicked his ass out and told him to not come back unless he could accept and love their son.

They hadn't seen him since.

"So, what are your plans now?" Yamada's voice pulled her out of her thoughts, her fingers letting her hair fall from their grasp. "Well, that's kind of why I called. I need your advice oh great and mighty Present Mic." She giggled as she heard him grunt at the usage of his hero name along with the added words, guess she still remembered how he referred to himself in high school. God, he used to be so cringe. Shoving the memories down he instead focused on the conversion at hand.

"Well, what do you want to do? Do you want to be a hero again? Or would you rather do something less in the spotlight?" She furrowed her eyebrows, no doubt if she tried to come out of retirement she would be under a microscope, she was after all almost thirty years old now as well as the ex-partner of some rather important people that were still very much in the spotlight.

She was out of practice and would no doubt have to reapply to be a hero again...plus after she had her son, she was unable to fully get rid of her pregnancy weight. It wasn't that she was completely out of shape, just that she couldn't get rid of the extra weight on her hips and butt. Plus her breasts had never gone back down to what they used to be, they were now a full C, and made her back ache with just her housework. Trying to imagine fighting and running around with them...it made her shiver in fear.

Yet at the same time she didn't want to sit around at home while Izuku was off at school giving it his all to achieve his dream, she wanted to be a productive member of society. She wanted to make a difference once again, sure a part-time job at the local store would help keep her entertained but it wasn't enough...

"I-I'm not sure...I want to help people again but I think my hero days are behind me. I guess I could get a part time job somewhere but I doubt it'll be enough for me to fully feel like I'm making a difference." She leaned her head back on the armrest of the couch, her eyebrows furrowing as she tried to weigh her options.

Yamada frowned as her tone changed, deepening with her negative emotions. She no doubt felt useless, she had always been hard on herself expecting more of herself despite the fact that she pushed herself to the brink and then some. His eyes glanced around the room as he weighed his options, he blinked as they landed on Recovery Girl's desk...said woman had voiced wanting to retire soon...

A shit eating grin split across his face as he leaned back in his chair once more, his mind already planning and plotting. "Hey, how do you feel about kids..."