=VI=

[U.A. High Staff Lounge, April 10th, 2243]

The first day of U.A's year was always shorter, allowing students to learn the school's layout, meet their homeroom teachers and classmates, and attend orientation. Now that classes had ended for the day the hero faculty began to trickle into the lounge.
"What a wild day." Present Mic flopped down on the sofa, arms on top of the cushions. "I don't think any of us were expecting that."
"Indeed." Ectoplasm nodded, pouring a cup of coffee into his mouth and swallowing most of it in a single gulp.
Midnight shared a cursory glance with Hound Dog, who had recognized two of the new teachers. The same foreigners that Nezu brought in for medical care along with a powerful villain over a year ago. For now, they would keep quiet according to the NDA that Nezu made them sign.
"How do you feel about having a co-teacher this year, Sekijiro?" Thirteen asked.
The Blood Hero looked up from his lunch. "Considering the larger class size this year, the help will be appreciated, though I wish that Nezu had informed me beforehand. I'll have to adjust my lesson plans now." He grumbled. Lotus looked like a professional from the way she carried herself. He'd never heard of those two before, and judging by their appearance and accent they were foreigners.
"Aizawa won't be pleased," Stingray noted, playing with the dangly bits on his mask. "He likes to teach his class without outside influence." And he did a decent job at it, having taught three years' worth of the Erasure hero's students. The third years this year were especially strong, not just those taught by Aizawa.
"Sho will just have to deal with it, yo!" Mic said, posing with his hands like a DJ. "Hopefully he doesn't ask Nezu to transfer too many kids this year, it'd be pretty awkward to have two teachers for only two students again for the first few months.
The door slid open, and Power Loader staggered in, helmetless and covered in soot. The support course students usually skipped orientation as well and went straight into inventing, so he'd missed the whole thing. The Excavation Hero stumbled over to the fridge, grabbed a bottle of whiskey, and chugged the entire thing before curling up into a fetal position on the floor, pulling out what appeared to be a stress ball or something.
"Tough day, Majima?" Nemuri cast a worried glance at the man.
The ginger-haired man looked up at her. "This year's class is insane. Furasu's the only normal one." Higari rocked back and forth on the floor, holding what could now be seen as a plushie of a girl with little antennae on her head. "She is precious, and must be protected."

"Is-Maijima, is that a plushie of one of your students?" Snipe asked, highly concerned.

Anan sighed. "We told you to stop doing that, it's weird." The fact that this was a yearly occurrence was a worrying image of the man's mental stability.
"My sanity is a fortress held together by duct tape and cardboard." Higari rocked back and forth, squeezing the plushie hard enough that it's eyes were bulging out.
"What happened? It couldn't possibly be worse than Kenranzaki's first day." Dreamweaver inquired, remembering how Kenranzaki Bibimi had tried to build a beauty parlor in her wing of the support department, making the whole place smell of perfume for months.
"Hatsume blew up her workstation twice, and the German kids…"

=VI=

A few hours earlier…

"Precision German engineering." A blonde boy with a yellow star-shaped birthmark on his neck nodded in approval, small metallic golems running around his chemistry station.

※ Albedo Kreideprinz, first-year support recommendation student from Favonius Hero Academy. His quirk is called Animation, which allows him to turn a 1x1x1 meter object into a small golem that will obey his commands. It will return to it's original form after a certain amount of time has passed or if it is damaged. Albedo was recommended to U.A.'s support track by Varka Gunnhildr, the school's headmaster, also known as the former #1 Hero of Germany: Titan. ※

"Kreideprinz, please contain your work to your station," Higari yelled over the noise of drilling and hammering from his students. "And you better have proper ventilation if you are working with dangerous chemicals!"
Instead of replying, the boy pulled out an easel and started assembling it, the golems moving to set up his paints.
"What is he doing?" Hakozaki Haruki, one of the second years asked.
"H-h-he likes to paint before he gets started working." A skittish girl with mint-green hair and droopy yet fluffy ears barely hidden by her hair stammered, clutching her notebook in an iron grip and clearly nervous about meeting all the new people.

※ Sucrose Ampulla, the second of the German recommendation students accepted into U.A. High's hero and support courses. Sucrose's quirk, Mutation Spark, allows her to temporarily bestow minor mutations to living organisms at the cost of her stamina. Currently, she is dating Albedo. She also likes to collect animal bones to analyze as a hobby, creepy!※
Higari shrugged. Each person had their own process, he guessed. It was certainly better than a certain pink-dreadlocked girl was doing right now.
"Baby #14! Done!" Mei cackled, tossing a newly finished gadget into the pile. They'd only been in class for an hour and she'd already built over a dozen new inventions.
"Hatsume!" shouted Furasu Maina, the sole voice of reason in this class, apparently. "You can't just toss your inventions around willy-nilly! And another thing, you aren't even testing them!"
Hatsume predictably ignored her, grabbing something off the nearby shelf.
"Hatsume!" Higari yelled, walking over to her workshop. "Hastume!""Wha?" The pink-haired gremlin whirled around, nearly smacking Furasu with the wrench in her hand.
"What in god's name are you building?" Higari looked over the device.
"A jetpack baby!" Hatsume grinned. "Check it out teach!" She spun back around before he could respond to finish the device.
"Does she have fuel in that while she's welding…" Hakozaki's eyes widened, and he made the smart decision to grab Furasu and Ampula, leaping over the counter and into an oversized cardboard box.

KABOOM!

=VI=

"She blew up the lab three times, just today." Higari said mournfully, locking eyes with Anan. "Kurose, this class is going to kill me, I swear."
"But you say that every year." The Space Hero noted.
"Well, this year it's true!" He declared, springing to his feet in a slightly drunken haze. "So uh, why do you all look half as shaken as me?"
"Nezu hired three people besides All Might, including Yagi," Snipe said, throwing a chip into the air and using his quirk to guide it into his mouth.
"So he hired Yagi and three others?" Higari asked.
Nemuri groaned, flopping down next to Hizashi. "No, Yagi was one of the three besides All Might."
"I mean, that's smart. Keeps him from having to use all his time." He nodded.
"I don't believe you understand." Cementoss coughed. "She means that during the assembly, Yagi and All Might walked onto stage together.
Higari looked down at the empty bottle in his hand, then to the plushie in the other. "What?"
"There are two Yagis." Nemuri groaned tiredly.
"What?" Higari repeated, blinking slowly.
"Exactly our sentiments." Cementoss nodded.
"I honestly can't tell if you guys are messing with me, or if I just had too much to drink." The ginger-haired man set down the whiskey bottle and ran his hand through his spiked hair.

"I swear on the Second Amendment that we ain't." Snipe drawled, as Higari struggled to remember what Snipe, who wasn't even American, was referring to.

"Oh…" He walked out of the room into the staff bathroom toward the showers without another word, presumably to wash the black explosion residue off. A few minutes later, he walked back in, hair still somewhat wet and looking slightly rejuvenated. "So who are the other two then?"
"Some foreigners I think. Underground heroes from the looks of it." Sekijiro said. "One of them is co-teaching my class, the other is doing the same with Aizawa's."
"He's not going to like that." Higari realized.

"No shit." Nemuri rolled her eyes. "Ishiyama, is Nezu ready to see us yet?" She looked back at Higari to explain. "He told us 'all will be revealed later' when we asked him in the group chat." The R-Rated Hero rolled her eyes.
"I believe so. He just sent me a picture of Aizawa and he looked angry." Ken replied.
All the teachers stood up and made their way over to Nezu's office.

=VI=

"God, that was so embarrassing." Haylee groaned to Izuku as they walked out of school, backpacks slung over their shoulders. "And in front of everyone too… of course he had to teach my class. Why couldn't it be Natah." She huffed.
"Well, it can't be that bad, right?" Izuku reassured.
"Izuku, imagine how mortified you would be if your mom showed up to help teach here," Haylee replied with a deadpan expression.
"That is… a good point." Izuku relented. They continued onward in silence for a bit. "So, uh, what did you think of our new classmates?" Izuku asked, trying to break the ice.
"They seem pretty chill, barring a few… exceptions," Haylee replied. "That Hashibira guy seems pretty strong too. He managed to sneak up on me, so he has to be good."
"Really?" Izuku felt there was something familiar about the strange boar-masked boy, but he couldn't place it.
"Excuse me!" Tenya shouted, walking toward them at a brisk pace. "Do you mind if I join you walking back to the station?"
"Sure!" Izuku replied before Haylee could say anything.
She sighed. "Yeah, as long as you won't fucking lecture us."
"Dear heavens, do you have no sense of tact?" Tenya balked.
"I lost it in the war," Haylee replied sarcastically, to which Izuku sputtered, as knowing Haylee she meant that literally.
"She uh, likes to speak her mind." Izuku apologized.
"I suppose it can't be helped." Tenya sighed.
"Iida, right?" Haylee asked.
Tenya nodded. "Indeed. I wanted to make a proper introduction since I failed to make a good impression before class started."
"S'fine I guess." Haylee shrugged. "You did pretty well on the Quirk Assessment Test."
"As did you! I heard that you scored first on the practical exam as well." Tenya nodded. "I scored eleventh on the entrance exam. If you don't mind me asking, what did you score Midoriya?"
Izuku looked anxious at being asked such a thing. "Uhm, second?"
Tenya's eyes widened. "So the two of you were the top two highest scorers? Impressive. I must say, when I heard your father was teaching the class I was a bit worried about the potential for nepotism-"
"He's not my dad." Haylee interrupted. "Ordan is… well, he lives with us and is legally one of my guardians."

"Ah, I apologize if I brought up a sensitive subject then." Tenya bowed formally.
"And I doubt he had anything to do with the scoring, seeing as he renewed his hero license after the exam." Haylee sighed, shrugging off the taller boy's apology. "I didn't even know that he was working here until now."
"Hey! You three!" The brown-haired girl, Uraraka shouted, running toward them. "You're going to the station, right? Mind if I join ya?" Her accent slipped a bit at the end.
Behind her, Haylee and Izuku saw Lumine approaching as well.

"Hiya guys!" Lumine sprinted up, Ochaco right on her tail. "I nearly missed you. Haylee, your mom wanted me to hand this off to you." She pulled a small box out of her bag and gave it to Haylee, then looked around awkwardly. "Oh, sorry, were you in the middle of a conversation?"
"No, we were just about to head out," Haylee responded. "Oh, by the way Lumine, these are our classmates, Iida and Uraraka." She pointed to each of them.
"Eikyō Lumine, Class 1-B. Nice to meet you all!" She bowed quickly. "I'm Haylee and Izuku's friend."
Haylee opened up the box from Natah while her classmates introduce themselves to Lumine. Inside was a small Lotus emblem pin and a note from Hunhow of all people. She skimmed it quickly, but it was nothing more than a small congratulations about her first day in the most passive aggressive tone a note could be.
"- I thought your name was Midoriya Deku." She heard Uraraka laugh.
Already in a sour mood because of the note, Haylee glared at her. "That's not his fucking name." She snapped.
Ochaco took a step back. "Oh… I'm sorry."
Haylee relaxed, realizing she may have overreacted. "It's fine. I just don't like it when people call him that."
"I-it means useless." Izuku said sadly.
"Oh." Ochaco frowned. "I didn't realize. I heard Bakugo talking about you and thought he knew you."
"He does… we went to Junior High together." Izuku clarified.
The five of them continued to walk and talk, Iida spoke about how he respected Aizawa as a teacher but disliked the fact that he lied to them. Eventually the conversation turned back to Haylee, Izuku, and Lumine.
"So did you guys know each other before the exam?" Ochaco asked the three.
"Yep! I met them a few months before. Quite literally ran into Haylee." Lumine replied. "We've been training together and hanging out. I'd say it paid off since I got third in the practical." She puffed her chest up, looking a bit smug.
"You got third?" Ochaco gasped. "No way, I got forth. Tenno, you got first, right?"
"Yep, and Izuku got second." Haylee nodded.
"It was mostly the rescue points though, I only got nineteen villain points." Izuku scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"Those are still important!" Tenya chopped his arm. "Something that I should've realized. Heroism isn't all fighting, you need to be able to save people too!"

"I honestly don't think I would've passed if I didn't catch you after you destroyed the zero-pointer," Ochaco said wistfullly, perking back up almost immediately. "You were awesome! You just jumped up there and punched it in the face like some guardian angel!" She punched the air rapidly.
"God, I was so pissed at him after that." Haylee lightly punched Izuku in the shoulder. "But now he's got his quirk under control, so hopefully he won't break his bones again. Then you can be like me and destroy those bots without hurting yourself." Haylee teased.
"Oh, so you're one of the three who destroyed the zero-pointers?" Tenya asked, impressed. "I overheard some students saying that three of them were destroyed during the practical."
"I wonder who destroyed the third one?" Haylee wondered.
Across the city, another student sneezed.

=VI=

[Nezu's Office]

Shota slammed his hands on the table. "Nezu, I don't need a co-teacher. I'm perfectly capable of teaching my class as-is. You could've just made a third hero class."
"I'm afraid that wasn't an option, considering that both Mr. Karris and Ms. Tau both renewed their hero licenses after the entrance exams had already been finalized." Nezu informed him. "Think of this as a trial run for them. Also, they will have their own duties outside of your class."
"I refuse to teach with him. He's a clown." Shota pointed to Ordan, who was currently balancing a dagger on his hand. "Karris doesn't match my teaching style at all."
"Heroes often are forced to work with people they don't like." Nezu replied.
"Don't use my own words against me, damn rat." Shota hissed.
The man and creature of indeterminate species continued to argue, meanwhile Natah sat on one of the couches watching with the other teachers.
"About time we got another female teacher here." Nemuri said. "Though we did get three more men, so I guess the ratio is almost the same."
"No, It's just Yagi and Ordan." Natah corrected.
"What do you mean?" Ken asked.
"I was disguised as All Might while we were on stage." she explained. "My quirk allows me to change my shape to anyone or anything that I have touched, though I struggle with those larger than me. All Might is probably the biggest I can get without straining myself. I am a bit denser than I appear though."
To demonstrate, her form rippled like sand and suddenly the person sitting next to Nemuri and Hizashi was the top scorer of the entrance exam, Haylee.
"Woah, trippy." Hizashi whistled.

"That's how we were planning to give Yagi more time to teach here without overexerting himself." Natah explained in Haylee's voice.
"That's smart." Higari nodded. "Was that your idea?"
"No," Natah shook her head. "It was Ordan's."
Everyone glanced over at the masked man as he walked over to Nezu's desk.
"- and he's Tenno's legal guardian. Yagi is bad enough already having Midoriya in my class, but this is two of them!" Shota finished.
"That just means that I can tell if she's not putting in her all, you know." Ordan butted in. "I'm not going to coddle her, not that she'd let me either." He crossed his arms.
"Be that as it may, I don't believe that you are a good fit for my class." Shota glared at him. "You don't treat this seriously, I don't know your skillset, and you seem unstable."
"I treat it plenty serious." Ordan retorted.
"Ordan may be…. odd." Natah chose to speak up in his defense. "But he is highly capable and experienced fighter. Not to mention incredibly intelligent. His sanity is another matter notwithstanding."
Sanity though, was relative. Everyone who taught at U.A. was a bit odd even by pro-hero standards.
"I agree with Ms. Tau." Nezu smiled. "In fact, part of why I hired them is due to their intelligence. It's so hard to find people who are your intellectual equals."
Everyone's eyes widened, darting between Natah and Ordan. Nezu was already insanely smart, but if he considered these two near or on his level that carried a lot of weight.
"I have a suggestion." Ordan offered. "You and me duel. If I win, we teach together. If you win, I'll ask Nezu to find another role for me outside of what we planned. How does that sound?"
"That is acceptable." Nezu nodded. "Aizawa?"

"Fine by me."

=VI=

The rest of the faculty assembled on the bleachers to watch the match, Shota and Ordan each readying up on opposite ends of the gym.
"Shota's going all in on this one. I can tell." Hizashi noted, able to tell based on his best friend's body language.
Natah walked past Ordan as she approached the bleachers. "Ordan, please don't hurt him too much." She cautioned.
"Ah, don't worry. All I need to do is win." Ordan reassured her.
Natah sat down next to Nemuri and took a sip from her thermos of tea.
"So, do you think Karris will be able to beat him?" Snipe asked.
"I'm not sure. Is Aizawa a fairly strong hero?" Natah replied.
"He's one of Japan's best undergrounders based on arrests. They don't rank them though." Snipe said. "Though he is one of U.A's best combat teachers."
"Then it might be close." Natah shrugged. "Though this is a one on one fight, and the last one he did was two on two for his license renewal."
"Two-on-one for a license renewal?" Sekijiro raised an eyebrow. "Aren't those supposed to be one-on-one matches?"
"Ours were a special case," Natah said, taking another sip. "Ordan fought Manpower and Yoroi Musha."
The room grew quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Manpower was one of the HPSC's strongest heroes physically, and Musha was the current number nine hero in Japan, a veteran who had been in heroics longer than even All Might.
"What?" Natah asked innocently.
"Did he lose?" Snipe asked slowly.
"No, he won."

=VI=

Shota eyed Karris from across the room. The man was seemingly off guard, hopping around like a hyperactive teenager.
"Are the both of you ready?" Ken yelled to the two.
"Yeah, -get ready to throw hands you little bi- let's get this started." Ordan shouted.
Shota grunted, eyebrow quirking in irritation at the man's antics. Nezu wasn't an idiot, but he couldn't think of a reason as to why the rat had hired this hooligan. Tau he could get, because she seemed rational and put on a professional front, but Karris didn't fit at all.
Out of all the Teachers at U.A, Shota could beat everyone but Snipe, Hound Dog, and Dreamweaver. The former two due to marksmanship and raw muscular power, and Dreamweaver because he was a stand user.
There was a common misconception that Shota "fought quirkless" because he could disable his opponent's quirks. The people who thought that, in Shota's opinion, were idiots. If they wanted a hero who fought quirkless they should be looking to Sir Nighteye. While his quirk wasn't common knowledge, All Might's former sidekick saved his quirk for the investigation. He only knew events related to the person he touched, everything outside of that he handled through his own skills and training.

Karris had all the markings of some overly confidant hero who relied solely on his quirk. He didn't even have a weapon like Shota. Once he erased the man's quirk, whatever it was, it would be over. He'd made sure to verify as well that Nezu wasn't tricking him into a fight with a stand user beforehand, just in case.
"You may begin!" Cementoss dropped the two small walls.
Immediately, Karris's whole demeanor changed. He took up a fighting stance and charged toward Shota without hesitation.
'Too easy.' Was what Shota would've thought that if he was an amateur, but he wasn't one to underestimate someone he'd never met. That was how you got killed. Instead, he stayed on guard, slipped on his goggles and activated Erasure.
'Bone Arsenal: Dark Split-Sword!' Ordan prepared to create a weapon, but to his shock his quirk didn't activate. 'What?! My quirk isn't working.' He didn't take his eyes off Aizawa, continuing his charge. Aizawa… or Eraserhead as Nezu had called him. His quirk must erase other quirks. The man's hair and scarf were floating around him, a faint red glow coming from his obscured eyes. Clever…
Shota had no idea what Karris's quirk was, only the name of the hero: Bone Beast. To his surprise, the man had no visible reaction to his quirk being erased. Had he not tried to use it yet? Either way, he wasn't about to let Karris get in close before he deactivated Erasure. With the flick of his arm, his capture scarf shot out toward Ordan.
※ The capture scarf used by Shota Aizawa is made using a mixture of carbon fiber and a special metallic alloy. In addition, a special DNA-infused material using his hair fibers has been woven into the support gear, which allows him slight telekinetic control of the scarves as a secondary characteristic of Erasure. ※
However, before the wraps of his scarf could reach Ordan, the man snatched them out of the air and allowed them to wrap around his hand and wrist. "Gotcha!" With a single motion of his arm, Shota was pulled through the air across the entire gym.

"What?" Erasure was still active! Shota had been braced against the floor and yet Karris had still been able to uproot him immediately. Did that mean he was that strong even without his quirk?
'I've only had my quirk for a little under a year.' Ordan mused. 'But I've been fighting longer than this guy's grandpa has been alive. I don't need my quirk to beat you.'
As Shota approached, he threw several caltrops out toward Ordan, who was forced to release his capture weapon to dodge. Shota landed with a slide and jumped to his feet.
"Damn!" Nemuri's eyes widened. "Shota is using his quirk, right?" She asked Hizashi.
The Voice hero nodded.
Nemuri looked back to Natah for an explanation. "How is he doing that without his quirk?"
"Forgive me, I'm unfamiliar with Aizawa's quirk." Natah said.
"Oh!" Hizashi perked up. "I've got this! Aizawa Shota: His quirk- Erasure! He can cancel out the quirk of anyone he looks at. The effect ends when he blinks!" He shot finger guns toward Natah, who blinked blankly.
"I see. Ordan's quirk is called Calcification, which allows him to form bone structures from his body using his calcium reserves. His bones are incredibly dense, so his muscles are naturally stronger to compensate for the added weight." Natah explained.
Sekijiro hunched over, resting his chin on his hands. "So it's similar to my Blood Control quirk, without requiring support gear to extract it I presume."
Natah nodded. "Correct, he can extrude it from his skin, though it does dry it out after continued use."
Behind her, Lunch Rush, who had been silent until this point, snorted. "That's fitting, seeing as how Eraser gets dry eye from overusing his quirk.
"Do you know just how strong he is?" Snipe asked.
"His punches can shatter concrete if that's what you meant. As for Ordan's quirk, when he makes a weapon it can match most swords in terms of durability with the added benefit of instant repair and the option to change shape." Natah continued. "I believe the HPSC classified him as S-ranked equivalent."
Snipe whistled. "That sounds 'bout right. Aizawa's a bit of a special case though."
※As a whole, U.A. would be classified as an SSS-ranked Villain organization due to their faculty. Most of their staff are incredibly powerful heroes ranked at least S or above due to their potential threat, although there are some exceptions and special cases.
SSS: (Can challange armed forces)
– All Might, by virtue of being the strongest hero on the planet.

– Lotus, for her destructive capability, intelligence, and damage adaptation. Her ability to perfectly mimic and imitate those she comes in contact with is also a security concern.

SS: (City Destroyers)
– Nezu, due to his financial wealth, access to advanced weaponry, and most importantly his intelligence. If he were in a higher position than a hero school Principal, his rating would most likely be SSS given the resources he would have access to.
–Thirteen, her quirk, Black Hole, was measured as having the potential to annihilate an entire city if used offensively at maximum power.
– Cementoss is one of the special cases mentioned, only being ranked SS when inside cities or towns. Otherwise, he is delegated to B-ranked status.
S: (Matches several pro heroes)
– Ectoplasm, able to perfectly coordinate at least 30 clones with to act as a unit, effectively turning him into an entire self-replenishing squad of fighters.
– Present Mic, due to possessing a powerful and highly destructive sonic attack.
– Snipe, due to actions in [Redacted, and is a powerful combatant.
– Dreamweaver, as U.A's sole stand user, possessing the powerful ability to manifest people's fears as semi-stable constructs.

– Midnight, her quirk is able to cover a quarter of a city block unassisted as well as her combat skills.
– Vlad King, due to combat power.
– Eraserhead, the second special case, is technically able to cancel out even the powers of SSS-threats but is unable to compensate against natural mutations and is also at risk during large scale fights.
– Bone Beast, due to battle experience and high intelligence.

– Hound Dog, a powerful dog heteromorph.

A: (Average Veteran Pro Hero):
– Lunch Rush, a support hero specializing in disaster relief. WARNING: [Redacted] work for JSDF special forces unit.
– Stingray, an underground hero specializing in stealth and cyber crimes.
– Power Loader, special case #3. Elevated to SS if given access to a Metal Gear.
B: (General Pro Hero):
– Recovery Girl, U.A's sole healer, noncombatant. Underwent basic training as a shrine maiden before becoming a pro hero and is thus trained with basic healing spells. ※
"So on paper, they are basically evenly matched. I take you know how strong he is from experience." Nemuri guessed.
"Oh, Ordan hasn't ever beaten me in a fight," Natah replied absently.
"I was under the impression you specialized in investigation work." Sekijiro commented.
"I do. That is what I put on my HPSC application. I was under the impression that role did not have a large combat portion, but they made me fight Hawks and Thunderbolt, unfortunately." She sighed, watching as Ordan and Aizawa began to circle each other. Noticing the silence, she turned to see the rest of the faculty staring at her with wide eyes and mouths agape.
Nezu, who had been directing his attention to the fight, turned to address his staff. "I suppose I should've clarified, but Ms. Tau is Japan's third SSS-ranked hero."
The bleachers exploded into frenzied shouting.

=VI=

All the others had left for different trains, leaving only Ochaco and Haylee awkwardly sitting across from each other as they waited for their stop.
"So uh, Uraraka. Do you live around here?" Haylee asked, trying to at least get to know her new classmate a bit better. Uraraka seemed nice once Haylee realized the misunderstanding about Izuku's name, and Izukus seemed to like her a lot as well. If she was going to be seeing this girl every day she might as well attempt to be on good terms with her.
"Oh, I live in Mie Prefecture actually. I'm just rentin' an apartment out here. It's a good six to eight-hour train ride here on a good day, and it would be inconvenient for my parents to drive me every day." Ochaco chose not to mention her family's financial problems.
"That makes sense." Haylee nodded. "I live about five blocks east of the station in the residential area."
"Really? That's near where my apartment is!" Ochaco replied.
"Is it that complex down by the river?" Haylee guessed.
"Yeah, that one." The brown-haired girl nodded back.
"Oh, that's close by. That means we can walk home together." Haylee offered, trying not to sound too imposing. It wasn't like she was asking to come over or anything.
"Sure, we can get to know each other better!" Ochaco pumped her fist.

=VI=

Shota ignored the noise coming from the sides of the gym, focusing entirely on Karris's movements. The two circled each other, looking for an opening to strike. The other man's face was unreadable under the mask, giving Shota no clues on where he was looking. Then, he had to blink.

Ordan had constantly been trying to activate his quirk, waiting for the feeling of dryness that came upon use. Suddenly, a large spiked barrier erupted at his feet, rushing toward Eraserhead. This wasn't the result of Ordan's quirk being suddenly released after continuous use, but a deliberate choice to give him breathing room.
'Bone Arsenal: Despair, Cerata, Armored Plating!'
That barrier gave him the time he needed, because seconds later Eraserhead leapt over the spiky barricade, severing several of the pointed quills with his knife. Ordan could hear a low resonant hum from the dagger, the signature tell of a HF-blade.
"If that's the best you've got, you should give up now," Shota warned, reversing the grip on his knife.
"You know, I kinda dig the whole 'ruggedly handsome' thing you got going." Ordan flirted.
"I've known Midnight for years. If you are trying to throw me off my game it's not going to work." Shota deadpanned. "And I don't swing that way."
"Worth a shot." Ordan shrugged, and in the same motion threw his glaive.
Shota easily dodged it with a quick sidestep, only for Karris to reappear in front of him with his fist primed. 'So fast! He was holding back while gauging my strength. Clever.' Shota realized, quickly activating Erasure again and unleashing a flurry of slashes toward the Calcified Hero.
Ordan pulled a Despair kunai from his belt and blocked the strike, though the high-frequency blade noticeably chipped the facsimile of the Stalker's signature throwing knives. That was fine, because this was a distraction. His real attack was the glaive that Eraserhead had dodged earlier.
Because glaives, when thrown correctly like a boomerang, come back.
Shota noticed the whistling in the air a split second before the glaive would've hit him, but it still flew past his cheek leaving a small cut and slicing a lock of his unkempt hair. He remained unflinching even as the glaive slammed right into Karris's right pec, causing the man to grunt. "You crazy bastard, you just took your own attack!"
Ordan chuckled, lightly winded. "I was trying to reabsorb it. Good thing I prepared for the possibility your nifty little quirk would be active." He pried the serrated glaive from his chest, cracked bone fragments falling from the shattered improvised armor he'd prepared earlier. In his other hand he prepared his other kunai to throw.
Shota eyed the man warily, then relaxed. "Alright, I've seen enough. I concede. It would be illogical to continue tiring ourselves out." He wrapped his capture scarf back around his neck. "There is a high probability that you would've won should we continue, and I'm not egotistical enough to risk injuring myself on day one." Shota crossed his arms.
That was probably the biggest compliment that Ordan was going to get out of the man. He walked over to the bone barricade and reabsorbed it back into his body. "That was a good fight Aizawa."

"You performed above my expectations," Shota admitted. "Just to make myself clear, I still don't like you, but I respect your skill."

"Well, good thing I have all year to get you to warm up to me." Ordan pulled off his mask, allowing Shota to get his first good look at him. "Deal?" He held out his hand.
"Deal."
They shook on it.

=VI=

"What do you mean she's triple S?" Shota gaped, showing more emotion than he had the entire day.

Ordan sat down next to Natah. "Yep! She's super strong. Never beaten her in a fight before."
"So you're on the same level as Endeavor and All Might, but you chose to be an investigation-focused hero?" Anan asked. "Why is that?"
"Combat was never my specialty. My… my quirk was always more suited toward infiltration." Natah explained the past few hours had allowed her to grow more comfortable around her new co-workers. Thankfully they were more shocked about her power due to how rare the SSS-designation was, rather than actually being afraid of her.
"So you just got slapped with the label due to luck of the draw then." Snipe nodded. "I think there was that one girl in Deika, Geten's sister, that got slapped with an SSS-ranking but she didn't even want to be a hero."

"Our government classifies its citizens based on potential destructive power out of necessity." Nezu took a small sip from his drink. "And that extends to heroes. Plus, there is a social pressure on those with strong quirks to become heroes, because they are afraid of what would happen if they didn't."

"Because treating everyone as a ticking time bomb is clearly the logical choice" Shota snorted.
"So, I heard that your daughter is enrolled in Aizawa's class," Nemuri said in an attempt to steer the conversation away from politics. She looked to Nezu, who nodded in approval, having discussed whether she was allowed to speak on their arrival earlier in the year. "She seems a lot happier than when I first saw her."
"Adopted, and yes." Natah agreed.
"You know them, Nemuri?" Shota raised an eyebrow.
"Remember when Nezu went on high alert last year?" Nemuri reminded him. "They were why. Nezu brought them to the MEC."
"I'm assuming that was the thing that 'didn't require my concern' then?" Shota inquired, staring directly at Nezu.
"I'm surprised you remember that far back, but yes. There was no need to worry you at that time." Nezu replied. "They were in need of medical treatment, and we had to hold Ms. Tau's father in custody for a while."
Shota's eyes raised eyebrow indicated he wanted more information.
"My father was a highly-rated former villain," Natah said, frowning. "Due to circumstances outside our control, we arrived in Japan in need of medical treatment, and he was… confused."
"Yagi punched his lights out," Ordan smirked.
"The rest, I'm afraid, was sealed by the WHA." Nezu chimed in. "But needless to say, they were in need of a place to live and I obliged, and after seeing their skill invited them to teach here once they were licensed in Japan!" He was taking heavy liberties with their cover story, but he knew as curious as his staff may be, they couldn't do much unless the WHA gave permission for them to share that information.
Shota narrowed his eyes but did nothing to call out the barebones story.
"I don't want to presume, but since you both share legal custody of Tenno, are you two an item?" Nemuri inquired.
"Nah, Natah's -the only bitch I trust- my boss." Ordan clarified.
Natah sighed. "He was my subordinate and caretaker for Haylee before we arrived in Japan. He currently lives with us since they are so close, though he is essentially a father in every way that matters to her." However, Haylee found it awkward to express it verbally to Ordan.
"And because you can't cook." Ordan joked, earning a sharp glare.
Natah chose to ignore that and moved on. "Anyway, we've been renewing licenses and refreshing our training in preparation for the school year. We only finished the HPSC's exam a short while ago, hence our delayed announcement of employment."
"And because I thought it would be amusing to see all of your reactions," Nezu smirked.
"Of course…" Shota resisted the urge to facepalm.
"I do think, however, that they are perhaps some of the most qualified teachers here." Nezu went on. "And should be able to fill in for most classes if a substitute is needed."
"We spent a lot of time making sure our prior certifications were in order." Ordan explained, also known as 'The government gave us free certifications for stuff we already knew to save time'. "I got a support gear manufacturing license, and I have a degree in programming as well. Most of my experience is in combat, however."
"While most of mine was on the educational side," Natah added.
"You did all that within a year?" Nemuri's eyes widened.
"Well, most of it was just renewing certifications, but yeah," Ordan replied, completely full of shit. Those certifications had been fabricated by institutions owned by WHA shell companies and never existed beforehand in the first place.
"Damn, now you're making me feel like my performance isn't enough." Hizashi shrunk back.
"A common occurrence as you get older." Nemuri and Ordan said simultaneously. They stared at each other for a moment before high-fiving.
"Oh god, there's two of them." Natah and Shota muttered, eyes meeting. They immediately recognized the kindred spirit of someone who had to deal with a friend's constant jokes and puns.
"Oh, that reminds me!" Nemuri perked up. "We need to add you to the staff Group Chat and get your nicknames set up."
"Nicknames?" Ordan questioned. To his side, Natah was giving Nemuri a silent plea to shut up.
"Group chat admins can set nicknames for participants. This year is my turn to choose them!" Nemuri smirked, much to Shotas visible annoyance.
"Nobody told me you could do that!" Ordan said giddily.
"Why did you have to mention that…" Natah sighed.
"Wait, you knew!" Ordan swiveled around with a look of betrayal on his face.
"We didn't mention it because this was precisely how you would react." Natah said, not regretting a thing.

"Well, now I have to abuse the hell out of this." Ordan grinned. "I have so many ideas."
Both their phones pinged with invitations.

[You were invited to the Group Chat - U.A. Faculty: Rat King's Crew!]
Karris O. Joined the chat.
Tau N. Joined the chat.

NightyNight changed Karris O.'s nickname to BoneDaddy.

Ordan chuckled, then leaned over to whisper in Nemuri's ear.

NightyNight changed Tau N.'s name to MissionControl.

BoneDaddy: Hello!

Spacemom: Hiya!

Anan waved shyly from the couch. "That's me by the way."
Natah noted Kurose's username and the feeling that something was wrong in the universe washed over her for a split second before she shrugged it off.
They continued to chat for a few minutes until Ordan's phone suddenly rang. "Oh, it's Haylee." He stood up and answered. "Hey kiddo, what's up." His expression changed from casual to serious. "What? We'll be right there." He hung up the call.
"Natah, family emergency. We need to get home."

=VI=

Haylee and Ochaco stood behind a line of flashing lights, feeling the growing heat as the firefighters fought the growing blaze.
Ochaco fell to her knees with a distraught expression. "No…"
The apartment complex housing everything she brought from home was wreathed in bright blue flames.

=VI=

Think fast chucklenuts! New plot twists!