Chapter Summary: Toshinori finally meets his class.

A/N: And now... here we are. The moment of truth. The time has finally come.

Considering Izuku was only partway through his second day at U.A., he wasn't sure if it was fair for him to say that his new school was already shaping up to be a much better experience than his middle school years. The sting of fumbling during the assessment had been all but forgotten when he was approached by Iida after class was dismissed and he asked him how he was recovering, the once scary student far more kind and compassionate than Izuku thought him capable of. If he had gotten hurt back at Aldera, no one would have even spared him so much as a second thought and would have likely given him a jab for added injury. Uraraka joined shortly after, and for the first time, Izuku heard the name Deku spoken not with malice or disdain, but with a smile that was pure and genuine. He almost didn't have the heart to correct her and tell her that Kacchan called him that as an insult.

"Well, that's unsportsmanlike," Iida had said, further surprising him. Izuku was sure that was the first time anyone had ever called something that Kacchan did anything less of the standard to aspire to.

Then, Uraraka took him completely off-guard and told him that she actually liked the name for him.

"It sounds like 'you can do it!'" she told him, pumping her fist into the air. "Plus, I think it's kinda cute! It'd make for a great hero name!'

Hearing that had been nothing short of an entire paradigm shift for him. Were it not for her bright smile and enthusiasm, he likely would have assumed that it was just another ploy to insult him. However, hearing her say those words made his heart soar above the pain and discontent that his first day had brought him. He returned home with heavy limbs, but his heart light as a feather with the memory of their conversation on the way down to the train station.

Izuku still rode that high throughout the rest of his second day. When he came into his homeroom class, Uraraka and Iida both greeted him with bright smiles, which was such a world of difference from the way his old classmates would snicker and jeer or outright ignore him. He didn't even mind it when Kacchan scoffed and rolled his eyes from his seat because his chest just felt so light in comparison to how things were back at Aldera. No one sent him dirty looks or tossed spitballs at him during class so he'd duck his head down like a good little punching bag; he was just another classmate and peer. He even had people who wanted to sit with him at lunch and talk to him about how cool it was that they had a Pro Hero like Lunch Rush to make their lunches in the cafeteria.

'If someone told me that this was what was waiting for me all these years, I wouldn't have believed them,' he thought as he walked with Uraraka and Iida back to their classroom. He smiled when Uraraka laughed at how Iida scolded a classmate for running in the halls and brought his hand down in a vicious chop. 'It's crazy how so much can change within a year.'

The trio returned just a couple of minutes before their next class was set to start and as soon as they passed the threshold, Iida zeroed in on Kacchan, who had his feet propped up on his desk again. While he stormed over to lecture him on treating school property with respect, Uraraka flashed Izuku a knowing smile and Izuku returned it. There was something unspoken between them, a conversation shared with their eyes that made Izuku's heart soar. The only person he had been able to do that with was his mother.

'Is this how friends are supposed to act?' Izuku wondered as he sat down in his seat. His eyes trailed over to Kacchan, who finally relented and set his feet down on the floor. 'I guess Kacchan is just harder to read.'

He settled into his desk and pulled his pencil case out. He wasn't quite sure what the Hero Basics and Public Relations class was going to entail, considering that it was a new part of the curriculum. His extensive research on online chat rooms about school life at U.A. hadn't mentioned the class before and the rumor was they had hired a new faculty member to teach it. Whatever came next, he just hoped that he was prepared for it.

'It sounds like a class for paperwork,' he mused while he grabbed one of his All Might pencils, 'I wonder what Pro they hired to teach us.'

Then, the door to the classroom slid open and Izuku turned in time to meet the gaze of his mentor. He clutched the pencil in his hand so tightly that it almost snapped, his eyes widening as All Might entered, not as the Number One Hero and Symbol of Peace, but the skeleton of a man that he had been reduced to. His skinny frame was swallowed by his suit and made him look like a teenager dressed in his father's clothes, his blond hair wild and messy. He coughed into his fist as he entered and just like that, the entire room was reduced to silence as they all turned to regard him.

"Hello, class," All Might greeted, his voice raspy, "I see you've all made it to your seats." He stepped up to the desk and set his briefcase down. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Mr. Yagi. I'll be teaching your Hero Basics and Public Relations class this year."

Izuku suddenly felt like he couldn't breathe. All Might was going to be teaching at U.A.? Why hadn't he said anything? Did he not want Izuku to know in case everyone else thought it was strange that he seemed to know before they all did? And why wasn't he teaching as All Might?

"Welcome," All Might continued, straightening up a bit, "this class will be covering a litany of subjects related to heroics, as I'm sure you've guessed." He held up an index finger. "But some of you may be wondering about the Public Relations part, aren't you? Well, to sum it up, this class won't just be covering how to act like a hero; it will be teaching you how to act like a Pro ." His eyes scanned the silent classroom. "Now, can anyone guess what I mean by that?"

Almost instantly, Yaoyorozu's hand shot up into the air. "May I, Sensei?"

All Might blinked but then nodded. "Yes, young lady, you may."

"Pro Heroes have a litany of duties outside of heroics," Yaoyorozu replied, her voice crisp and clear, "because their actions are so deeply entrenched in society as we know it, they have to be regulated and organized. As a result, many Pro Heroes have hero agencies where they have a team of sidekicks and organizers that handle what jobs they take and their relationship with the public they serve."

"Very good," All Might answered, clearly impressed, "and you guessed correctly, young lady. This class will also be covering what kind of work Pros do when working at an agency."

The class broke out into murmurs, some excited, some quizzical. Izuku's eyes trailed over towards the rest of his classmates and he saw Kaminari lean over to whisper something to Kirishima behind him that made him light up. A scoff from Kacchan brought Izuku's attention back to the front of the room, where All Might stood. His teacher and mentor watched the class with an unreadable expression on his face, his piercing blue eyes scanning the whispering students.

Then, Iida's hand shot up. "But sir, doesn't the school offer internships and work studies as a way for students to understand how agencies work firsthand?"

All Might nodded. "That they do. However, there is a lot more to working at or even running an agency than what students might learn during these excursions. While experience is good, having book smarts to fall back on will serve you in the future."

"Are we going to do any special projects?" blurted out Kirishima. "Like, are we going to do any exercises for agency work?"

"Yeah!" Kaminari exclaimed. "Are we gonna come up with cool names for agencies?"

A small chuckle huffed out of All Might's nose. "We will be doing some simulations and projects that cover things akin to that, yes."

"Cool!" Sero gushed. "I wonder what kinda names we'll all come up with!"

"Mine will be tres magnifique! " Aoyama proclaimed. "Just like moi! "

"Now, now, settle down," All Might said, though a smile ghosted across his lips, "there will be time to discuss those projects later as they come up on the syllabus." He clapped his hands together. "As for today, however, we will be running a different sort of simulation."

He held up a card in his hand that had the word "BATTLE" etched across it in bold lettering. Izuku could practically feel Kacchan's energy change upon spotting it and he almost sank back into his seat.

"Fight training," Kacchan growled, his smirk apparent in his voice.

Izuku stared with wide eyes. " Real combat?"

"That's right," All Might affirmed, his eyes practically sparkling as he watched all the students perk up with excitement, "but you won't be going into it in your gym uniforms."

As soon as he said that, slots began to slide out of the walls, revealing the glass cases that contained boxes with numbers on them. With each new slot that slid out, Izuku very quickly realized that the numbers correlated to the class seating chart.

"These contain the costumes that were designed based on your Quirk registration form and your personal requests before school started," All Might told them, causing each of the students to gasp aloud and cheer with delight.

"Costumes," Izuku murmured, unable to stop himself from smiling. His eyes threatened to sting as he recalled the costume his mother handmade for him after she saw his sketches. After she surprised him with it, she spent the last couple of days before school making sure it was a perfect fit for him. He didn't care that it wasn't flashy as much as he did that she cared enough to make him something so thoughtful.

"We're in this together, Izuku," she told him, "and I promise, I'll support you with everything I've got!"

"Get yourselves suited up," All Might said, breaking him out of his thoughts, "and then meet me at Ground—"

Then, he doubled over with a heavy cough, causing everyone in the class to stare at him. After a moment, he straightened up, his hand still over his mouth.

"Sorry," he wheezed, "I just got something stuck in my—"

Blood spilled from his lips and everyone in class let out startled gasps and exclamations of shock.

"Mon Dieu!" Aoyama breathed, his hand rushing to clutch his chest in an instant.

Uraraka's hands went to her mouth. "Oh, goodness, is he okay? "

Iida shot out of his chair. " Everyone , remain calm! "

He practically sprinted over to All Might and rushed to his side. Iida grabbed a tissue from the desk and held it up to his mouth, his brows furrowed with worry.

"Are you alright, sir?" Iida questioned. "Are you feeling faint? Do you need to go to Recovery Girl—"

All Might held up a hand with another small cough. "I'm quite fine, young man…" He took the tissue from him and dabbed at his lips. "I appreciate your concern, but I assure you, it's nothing to worry about."

Iida didn't seem convinced. "But, sir, you're our teacher! It's natural for us to worry about your well-being!"

"Debatable," Kacchan muttered to himself, chuckling a bit, "but have at it, teacher's pet."

Izuku clutched his backpack to his chest. None of them had any clue of just how serious All Might's condition was or how long he had been living with it. The twisted scar that marred his side was a grave reminder that even the strongest of humanity could fall prey to mortality, no matter how much no one wanted to believe it.

"I'm quite fine," All Might assured Iida once again, "it's just a health condition. It's nothing I'm not used to."

Iida's eyes softened. "I see… I apologize for fretting, sir." He straightened up and cleared his throat. "But is there anything you need?"

All Might clutched the tissue in his hand tightly. "No… Thank you, young man."

"You're more than welcome, sir," Iida replied. He turned back to the class and held up his hand. "False alarm! It's nothing to worry about!"

The class broke out into whispers and Izuku wanted to shrink. He couldn't imagine that was the impression that All Might wanted to leave with the class.

"Right…" All Might drawled, his voice lacking the conviction it had before. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Get dressed, everyone… We'll be meeting back up at Ground Beta for the exercise."

He patted Iida on the shoulder before he grabbed his suitcase and made his way to the classroom door, his hand still gripping his tissue tightly. All Might's lips were drawn into a thin line and he seemed to slouch a bit more than before, his eyes lost in thought. As soon as the door closed behind him, everyone in the class collectively turned to look at one another.

"Man," Kacchan said, "where'd they get that guy?"

Iida's eyes were sharp when he landed on Kacchan. "That's our teacher, you delinquent! Don't be disrespectful!"

Kacchan scoffed. "Hey, I'm just saying what we're all thinking, Glasses."

"Is he a retired Pro?" Asui asked. She placed a finger on her chin. "I don't think I've ever seen him before…"

Ojiro shrugged. "Maybe he was an underground hero?"

"He doesn't look like a Pro," Jirou observed, "he seems a bit too frail for that."

"Maybe he got injured," Kirishima guessed, and Izuku's knuckles turned white from how tightly he clutched his bag, "could explain why he was hacking up blood."

Iida slammed his hand down on the desk up front. "Alright, that's enough! No more gossiping! We need to get dressed so we can meet up with Sensei Yagi at Ground Beta!"

"Quit your whining, Glasses," Kacchan groused as he stood up, "we're getting a move on."

Even as Izuku's classmates all started to get up and gather their things, he couldn't stop staring down at his desk. Of all the ways he was expecting for his day to go, this was not one of them.

'Poor All Might,' Izuku thought, finally gathering the strength to stand up and head down to the changing room, 'hopefully things go a bit more smoothly once we get to the battle exercise…'

Toshinori was incredibly thankful that he didn't have to face young Midoriya's class by himself once they got to Ground Beta. As he read over his script for the simulation over and over again, Nedzu stood at his side with a teacup in hand, his eyes lost in quiet contemplation. His associate had been kind enough to offer to oversee the exercise alongside him, and while the more prideful part of him felt wounded, Toshinori was grateful nonetheless.

'Anything to take some of the attention off of me,' he thought, trying not to grimace. The way that all of young Midoriya's peers stared at him back in the classroom stuck to the forefront of his mind like a paper caught in the windshield. He couldn't stop thinking about how all of them regarded him with equal parts worry and pity as he tried to regain his composure, their collective gaze causing him to want to crawl into a hole where no one could find him. He knew how he looked to others and just how weak he was now, but it didn't make it any easier for him to see it up close and personal, especially when they were students he was trying to guide.

"Are you nervous?" Nedzu asked suddenly. When Toshinori turned towards him with a blink, his associate smiled softly. "It's alright if you are."

Toshinori frowned. "I can't be nervous if I want to teach them…" He looked down at his script again. "Then they won't take me seriously."

Nedzu let out a hum of thought. "I think you're being a bit too hard on yourself. Sure, your introduction may not have been perfect , but it was still a start."

"I coughed up blood in front of them," Toshinori said flatly, his eyes flitting back to Nedzu briefly, "I think one of the students was on the verge of fainting because of it."

"Well, they're going to need to have a stronger stomach if they want to go into hero work," Nedzu replied simply, "it's not for the faint of heart."

Toshinori snorted. "Still not a great way to make an impression on a bunch of teenagers."

"Oh, hush ," Nedzu chided playfully, "the day isn't over yet. You've still got a whole class to teach, Sensei."

Sensei . It still felt strange to hear others call him that, even after all those months of hearing young Midoriya refer to him as such.

'That's gonna take some getting used to,' he mused, 'hopefully I'll be able to live up to the title.'

A gentle tap at his side caused him to look up from the script. "Look alive. It appears your students have arrived."

Toshinori folded his script up in time to watch as the first couple of students stepped out of the dark hallway and into the light of the sun. As each one of their costumes came into focus, he couldn't help the smile that spread across his lips. It had been one thing to see them back in the classroom, but to see them all dressed in suits of their own design felt like he had gained an inside glimpse into each of his students' minds. Whether they stuck to the design or would change it later on as their school careers continued, Toshinori could see the heroic quality shine through in every single one of them.

"There's a saying that the clothes make the Pros," Nedzu commented as each of the students drew closer, "and you, ladies and gentleman, are the proof."

Oh, they looked even more amazing up close. He could see the effort of the costume department from where he stood and it made his heart soar. A wide range of colors spanned across the crowd of students, showing each of their preferences and stylistic choices. Some were more daring with their designs while some paid tribute to classic Pros that Toshinori had worked with personally over the years, and others took on stylistic choices that Toshinori hadn't seen before. It just went to show that no two students were the same and that while they were all inspired to become heroes, everyone had their own inspirations that brought them to where they were now.

"Take this to heart," Nedzu told them, his eyes scanning across the group of teens, "from now on, you've officially become heroes in training."

Toshinori had so much he wanted to say. When he first walked into U.A. in his first-ever hero costume, the feeling had been indescribable. Now, as he stood on the other side of it, he finally understood how it must have felt for his own teachers to see him. Gran Torino may have been tough at times, but the words that his homeroom teacher offered to Toshinori on his first day had been one of the driving forces that kept him going through his school career. He wanted to give his students the same level of assurance and motivation that he had gotten all those years ago.

Instead, he found himself saying, "You all look so cool! "

Silence greeted him for a long moment. Then, a small snicker broke out amongst the crowd and Toshinori realized what he said. He straightened up, trying to ignore the heat in his cheeks while the rest of the class tried to hush their giggles. By God, why did he just say that?

"Ahem," he continued, clearing his throat, "now, uh, shall we get started?"

Nedzu let out a traitorous chuckle beside him. "Is that everyone? Are we all ready to begin?"

Then, as if to answer him, Toshinori spotted one last silhouette within the darkness of the tunnel. He didn't have to guess that it was young Midoriya, as his costume matched the color of his tracksuit from when they had been training on the beach together. He brought a hand to cover his mouth when he noted the long ears and smiling mask that was just a bit too familiar for his liking.

'You're so obvious,' Toshinori mused, though the corner of his lips threatened to tug upwards in a smile.

"Now that you're all ready," Nedzu announced, gaining everyone's attention, "it's time for combat training." He raised his hand up with a smile. "For those who do not know, I am Principal Nedzu. I will be overseeing today's exercise with Sensei Yagi." His hands clapped together. "I always enjoy getting to see what our class of first-years can do!"

Then, one of the students dressed in armor raised their hand. "Sir! This is the fake city from our entrance exam. Does that mean that we'll be conducting urban battles again?"

'So that's young Iida under there,' Toshinori realized. He had been the young man that rushed to his aid and offered him a tissue back in the classroom. He seemed kind and polite, though Toshinori should have expected that from a member of Ingenium's family. He had met him a couple of times and always had a delightful time talking to him. 'Looks like he's taking after the rest of his family with his suit design.'

" Excellent question," Nedzu replied, "but no, we won't be doing urban battles during this exercise. We're going to be taking things to the next level." His eyes trailed over to Toshinori. "Care to explain, Sensei?"

With a swallow, Toshinori nodded. "As Principal Nedzu said, we'll be doing things differently from what you experienced during the entrance exam. While I'm sure most of you are used to seeing villain fights on the news take place outside, statistically speaking, that's only a fraction of where most incidents occur." He held up his index finger. "Some of the most dangerous crimes take place indoors ."

He knew that very well from experience. Toshinori hated to think about all the crimes that took place that he and his associates simply didn't know about because they had no way of being made aware of it. Had he not been chasing after the sludge villain all those months back, he likely never would have found young Midoriya within its clutches.

"Think about it," Toshinori continued, raising his finger up to tap his temple, "backroom deals, home invasions, secret underground lairs. Intelligent villains will often hide in the shadows." Then, he smiled. "And it's a Pro's job to make sure that what is made in the darkness is brought into the light."

Nedzu nodded. "It's true. So, in this exercise, you'll be getting a taste of what a battle taking place indoors may be like."

"But you won't be fighting robots like you did at the exam," Toshinori clarified, and he couldn't help his smile from spreading when he saw his students blink with surprise, "you'll be fighting against each other ."

One of his students— young Bakugou, he realized — grinned like a predator. "Oh, hell yeah."

Rather than chide him for his crass language, Toshinori cleared his throat. "You'll be splitting into teams of heroes and villains, then will fight two-on-two while indoors."

Asui tilted her head. "This seems a little advanced…"

"The best training is often with experience," Nedzu chimed in, "it will allow for you to test your decision-making skills and your strength."

"You'll also have to test how you do against actual people," Toshinori added, "which is very different from fighting against automated robots like in the exam."

Yaoyarozu raised her hand. "Sir, will you be deciding which team wins?"

"How much can we hurt the other team?" Bakugou interjected before Toshinori had a chance to reply.

"Do we need to worry about the losers getting expelled like yesterday?" Uraraka questioned meekly.

Iida's hand shot up. "Will you split our teams up by chance or by comparative skill based on our results from the Quirk apprehension test?"

"Isn't this cape tres chic?" Aoyama blurted out, holding out his shiny cape with a beaming smile.

Toshinori cleared his throat. " Ahem . I still have to go over the rest of the simulation."

As soon as the chatter died down, he exhaled sharply through his nose. Then, he paused. Crap, what came next? The kids knocked him off-script. With a sigh, he reached into his pocket and withdrew the sheet of paper.

"The situation is this," he continued, ignoring the way they all stared at him. Toshinori just didn't have it in him to care at that point; he had already made a fool out of himself a couple of times already. What was another time to add to the pile? "The villains have hidden a nuclear missile somewhere in the hideout and the heroes are tasked with trying to foil their plans." His eyes lifted up to fall back onto the crowd. "In order to do that, you must either capture the villains or recover the weapon."

Nedzu nodded. "Likewise, the villains win the exercise if they protect their payload until time runs out or capture the heroes."

"Time is limited," Toshinori affirmed, "and we'll be choosing teams by drawing lots." He gestured to the boxes behind him. "We have one for villains and heroes."

Iida tilted his head. "Isn't there a better way?"

"Think about it," Midoriya replied, and it made Toshinori's heart swell when he saw how enthusiastic he looked, "Pros often have to team up with other agencies on the spot. Maybe that's why we're doing it here!"

'God, you're so quick, kiddo,' Toshinori thought, 'I just know you're gonna have a ball with this.'

Then, Nedzu hopped up and landed on top of one of the boxes with a flourish. "Precisely! Besides, I personally think it makes this whole exercise a bit fun!"

Iida nodded. "I see… Life is a random series of events." He bowed his head. "My apologies, I didn't mean to question your thought process, Sensei."

"It's not a problem," Toshinori replied quickly, his neck growing hot. Man, this was still gonna take some getting used to. "Now, ahem , how about we get to drawing?"

"Oh, let me draw, too!" Nedzu said, clearly giddy. "You draw first, and then I will! It'll be so fun! "

Toshinori tried not to chuckle. "Sounds like a plan."

A hushed murmur fell over the class as Toshinori and Nedzu both took turns drawing up lots from the boxes, forming each of the ten teams as they went along. By the time they finished, each of the teams had started to settle next to their teammates, allowing for Toshinori to get a good look at what the lineup would be.

'This will certainly make for an interesting match,' he thought as he looked them all over. His gaze lingered on Iida and Bakugou, who seemed to barely tolerate the other's presence. 'I hope that they'll be able to get along during this exercise, at least.'

"Now," Nedzu said, breaking him out of his thoughts, "let's get a look at who our first battle will be!" He ran to the "Villain" box with a gleam in his eye. "You ready, Sensei?"

Toshinori nodded and placed his hand over the "Hero" box. "Whenever you are."

Both of them dipped their hands into the box and withdrew a ball. The black ball in Nedzu's hand read "D," and the white ball in Toshinori's read "A."

"Team A will be the heroes," Toshinori stated, his eyes flitting over to Midoriya and Uraraka.

Nedzu smiled. "And Team D will be the villains! My, how exciting!"

Midoriya's eyes widened and he turned to look at the opposing team. Much to Toshinori's surprise, Bakugou rebuked him with a harsh stare, his gaze practically murderous. Hm, what was that about?

"Everyone else can head down to the monitoring room to watch the match," Nedzu explained, breaking him out of his stare, "let's get a move on, rookies!"

"Yes, sir!" the class replied in unison.

As the group started to move forward, Toshinori's eyes trailed back to young Midoriya. He hung back for a moment alongside Bakugou, whose stare had yet to relent. As soon as their eyes met again, Midoriya looked away from him, his gaze dipping down to the pavement. Were his hands shaking?

Then, after a moment, Midoriya's hands clenched and he looked up. His eyes held a fire that nearly gave Toshinori pause and for Bakugou to flinch upon meeting his gaze. With a growl, Bakugou turned away from him and stomped to catch up to the others. As soon as his back was turned, Midoriya's shoulders slumped and he closed his eyes with a sigh.

'That seemed… personal,' Toshinori concluded silently. Still, now wasn't the time to ask Midoriya about it, not when the others could potentially hear. He'd have to ask him about it when he got the chance. 'Hopefully, it's nothing to worry about.'

A/N: Oh, Toshinori... You have no idea how deep that rabbit hole goes. But you'll learn soon enough~