"Is anyone else wondering how many more villains we're going to get in our class?" Hagakure questions. "Because it's been less than a month and we already got a second one!"
I yawn and lean back in my chair, basking in the simple fact that I can do so without a hypocritically constipated half-robot yelling at me. Sitting on the desk behind me, Himi leans forward to play with my hair, and I let my eyes close in bliss at the familiar sensation. I don't bother opening them to answer the invisible girl. "Well, Shigi is twenty, so he's not eligible for the game. Kurogiri is older than him - though nobody knows his actual age, not even him - so he's out too. Which only leaves One and Skyfall, who are both around our age."
I hum in thought, frowning when Himi suddenly pulls her hands away before relaxing again when she brings them back. "I figure that Shigi will get annoyed by something or other in the next month or two and chuck Sky at something. I give it until summer break before she gets stuck in something and gets dragged here."
"…Your boss just… throws you guys?" I shrug at Kaminari's confusion.
"Only me and Sky, and neither of us really have a problem with it, usually. Though Sky does get annoyed when she doesn't get any warning."
"…Oooo-kay then…"
There's several moments of silence following my explanation, but I don't pay it any mind, more than content to just enjoy my hair being played with. Except that I'm pretty sure that it's not Himi playing with it anymore? She always drags her fingernails across my scalp when she gives my hair a small yank, but the hands currently buried in the mess atop my head are gentle, not really doing anything other than combing through my locks. Not that I dislike it, it's just different. Different, but still nice.
"This is so weird," I hear Ashido whisper before the sound of a camera goes off, and the hands abruptly stop their movement. "Crap!"
I open my eyes and am greeted to the sight of Shoko staring at the pink skinned girl with slightly narrowed eyes, causing her to shuffle nervously. Shoko slowly pulls one of her hands from my hair, the tension building due to how slowly she does it, and points at her, causing her to swallow. "Send that to me."
Ashido blinks, glancing down at her phone before looking back at my friend. "Uh, sure?" Shoko nods in satisfaction before looking down, her eyes meeting mine. I hum as we stare at each other.
"Heya, Shoko. Having fun?"
She hums herself before she starts playing with my hair again. "Yes. Very much, actually."
"That's good." I glance to the side where Himi is looking on, a smug grin pulling her lips back from her teeth. No idea what she's grinning about, but it's probably not something that I should be concerned about.
"So, what did I miss yesterday?"
"We have a new heroics teacher," Shoko reveals casually, causing me to blink and sit up to get a better look at her. I ignore the cute pout she directs at me.
"We do? So I'm not going to be forced to suffer the man's presence anymore?"
Jiro snorts. "You say that like you've even been in the same room as him since you got here."
"He was in the same building as me," I declare, "that's much too close for comfort." She just shrugs in response.
"Um…" Izumi, of all people, is the one to pick up the explanation, looking at me uncertainly, a complex myriad of emotions swirling in her eyes. "After… everything that was revealed on Saturday, he announced that he needed to 'figure things out' and would be withdrawing from his teaching position."
I hum thoughtfully, chewing on whether or not I want to acknowledge her. On one hand, it's Izumi. On the other hand, she did give me some incredibly valuable information in regards to One For All, and she has been making an effort to not be a bitch to anyone based on what I've managed to see… The fact that she very obviously doesn't like Inko is a big point in her favor…
Himi drapes herself across my shoulders, nipping at my neck and licking the blood that wells from the small bit of torn skin before whispering into my ear. "You can always torture her later. Being polite won't hurt anything now, and it might make it hurt even more when the time comes~."
I nod at my girlfriend's words, feeling something loosening in my chest. Which is strange, and I forcefully push what it might mean into the dark closet in my mind where I shove all the trauma. It's kind of overstuffed, but whatever. I'll deal with it when stuff starts falling out and I can't ignore it anymore.
"So who did they replace him with?" I ask my sister, holding back the urge to scowl as I look at her. She's clearly surprised that I've bothered replying, but answers eagerly all the same.
"Oh! Well, apparently we both have a godfather that Da- Toshinori never introduced us to?" I pointedly ignore the word she cut herself off from saying. Nope, not acknowledging its existence. "He was a retired pro hero, but, um, he-" She cuts off whatever she was about to say and frowns. "Well, I interned with him, so I met him, but we both… encountered him before? He… Well. How to say it…?"
While she's busy hemming and hawing over how to tell me who the new heroics teacher is, - making me wonder if I should have just asked someone I actually like, like Kaminari or Jiro - the door to the classroom opens, and in walks someone that I've only seen once before. I jerk to my feet, a few strands of hair coming loose when they catch on Shoko's fingernails, and jab a finger in the tall caped man's direction.
"The flasher has returned!" I shout, causing the majority of the female students to shout in turn and clamp their hands over their eyes in an instinctual response. It's a good thing that Eri isn't in the classroom again, this isn't the kind of thing she should be subjected to a first time, let alone a second! Thankfully Nezu made the intelligent decision to requisition Shoko's sister Fuyumi to teach her. Actually, he decided to extend the offer to her entire class as part of a process to expand UA into all levels of education. It just so happens that Fuyumi's class will be the 'trial run' to make sure it works.
Anyways; "Away with ye, public shower of genitals!" I intone formally, knife extended to point at him in lieu of my finger. "Or face the wrath of Midosagi!"
The man snorts and waves his hand. "Calm down brat, I'm going to keep my clothes on."
"Lies!" I declare, stepping toward him with a fancy flourish of my blade. Off to the side, Himi has successfully managed to badger Yaoyorozu into making her popcorn, which the two are sharing as they watch. "Thou are of the most debased of flashers, the accidental sort! It matters not of your intentions, you shall flash regardless!"
He throws his head back and cackles. "Ahahahaha! You're a fun kid, I'll give you that. Shame I couldn't get you for an internship," he shrugs, "but that's how it goes sometimes." He abruptly goes serious, the levity leaving his expression. "Calm down and put the knife away before I make you, brat."
I don't lower the knife, maintaining my stance as I maintain eye contact with him. Izumi is uneasily looking between us before she clears her throat. "Usagi, he's actually our new heroics teacher, and our godfather. Gran Torino."
I hum, my eyes narrowing as I take in the new information. And doesn't that just stir up old memories. "Gran Torino," I say slowly. "An exceptional pro hero who debuted several decades ago. Quirk: Air Jets. It allows him to shoot jets of air from his feet that he used for both movement and close-ranged combat techniques. Worked alongside the hero known as Maverick-" he visibly startles when I mention the dead woman's name, causing me to tilt my head curiously at him and file away the information. "-and worked as the heroics teacher at UA for two years after her death. At the time it was theorized that he was taking the time to grieve, though after All Might's meteoric rise in Japan's hero rankings, others became convinced that he saw Yagi's potential and wished to nurture it in place of his fallen mentor. After he graduated, Gran Torino retired from his position at UA and resumed regular hero work until he unofficially retired fifteen years ago."
I stare at the wide-eyed man for a moment of silence before sighing and letting my knife vanish back inside my sleeve. I let myself drop back into my seat where Himi climbs into my lap and gives me a peck on the lips, which I return before turning back to raise an eyebrow at the man. "I suppose that you can't be a worse teacher than Eraserhead, so feel free to take your shot."
The man who apparently is my godfather just stares at me for several minutes before finally shaking his head and approaching the podium at the front. "Damn, I can see why you're such a capable villain. If you've got that kind of information on an old man like me, I can only imagine what you have on the heroes who are actually active today."
I shrug as I feel Himi dig her fangs into my neck. "I blame the HPSC's need to portray heroes as celebrities. Everyone knows that celebrities don't have privacy, so it's really easy to get information on them. Especially with how hungry the media always is for a story."
Gran Torino nods sagely. "You're right about that," he agrees before smiling widely at the class. "Which is why today's lesson is going to be about how to handle the media's attention, both good and bad! You brats are definitely going to need that training sooner than the older kids."
"Because we got attacked?" Sero asks a glare in my direction. He really needs to change up his drugs, because what he has clearly isn't working to relax him.
"That's right," Gran Torino acknowledges easily. "But it's also because the Big Buffoon was your teacher before he ran off with his tail between his legs." I perk up at his disparagement of the number one hero even as others criticize the teacher's criticisms, which he waves off. "The man didn't know what was going on in his own house, then instead of properly dealing with it when he did finally figure it out, he chose to run away. Then he did it again with all of you! I knew the man before he became a Symbol, something that too many of you seem to forget he is."
The hero glares at the students, quieting them. "All Might may be the Symbol of Peace, but first and foremost, he is a mere mortal."
I feel a grin stretching across my face. I think I'm going to like this flasher.