Arising from the Ashes

Chapter 18

After her warning, Ichika had been even more motivated to prove her teacher she was able to combine everything. As promised, she had tried to keep her latest assignment, an essay about differentiation, as minimal as possible. Following it to the letter as she wrote about it.
That didn't mean she didn't do more research about it, though. She just didn't write it down anymore.
Instead of watching the television, she just sat on the couch next to her family. A book in hand as she read about differentiation. And during her English class, Yamada sensei allowed her to use her time for extra study as well. Though of course neither of them would ever tell Inui sensei about it! As promised, the voice hero had lessened her amount of homework. Stating she didn't need it, as long as she was able to keep up during his classes.
'Well, hello my beautiful angel. How are you this fine morning?'
A giggle escaped her lips upon hearing the cheesy greeting of her boyfriend. He already sat in his seat, his body slightly turned, so he was able to look at her.
'Good morning to you too, handsome.'
She smiled at him, though it was quickly replaced by a frown as she noticed his black eye. Then her eyes skimmed over the rest of his face and visible skin. The scars on his hands were nothing new to her. He's had one when they first met and gained some more while training to get a better control over his quirk.
But what wasn't a common sight, was the redness of his skin where he had clearly scraped his hand. And a couple of more scratches on his face and neck.
'A rough weekend at Nighteye Agency,' she asked as she lifted her hand to touch the discoloured skin near his eye.
Mirio just laughed it off. Telling her it was nothing he couldn't handle.
'Besides,' he added with a wink, 'the bad guy was caught. So the streets are a bit saver now, my fair lady.'
'My hero.'
Though she was sarcastic, she couldn't help but feel pride built up in her chest. Because yes, Mirio was indeed a hero. And soon the world would know his name. She was sure of it.
Besides, Mirio deserved it. He had worked so hard to be where he was right now. And he was still working hard on improving himself. Always with that smile of his to brighten everyone's day. And with his tall posture and strong built, he was always ready to save the day. Yet always modest.
'Haha. Well, I try my best.'
She laughed along with Mirio as their homeroom teacher walked in. The rest of their day went as usual. An interesting art class from Midnight, which had resulted in Kenshin Okino being covered in paint. The puppeteer quirk user hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings and had promptly walked into the table with bottles of acrylic paint.
Then there was quite an interesting class of modern literature. One of the classes Ichika liked the most.
And heroics as their last subject. A class combined with class 3-A. And instead of having All Might as their teacher, they still had Snipe.
Come to think about it, it seemed only class 1A had the number one hero as their teacher. Probably because the man was still learning how to be a teacher. Ichika had witnessed firsthand that the man wasn't exactly the best teacher. An amazing hero, yes. But not really teacher material. It made her wonder why he decided to become a teacher at all.
Then again, she had noticed he had become less active as a pro. Not that she really kept track of the pros and their activities. Only Endeavor for obvious reasons. But also All Might. He was the number one after all.
Of course, there was Izuku as well. Her younger brother never missed a chance to see the strong hero in action. And also point out every now and then how amazing it was that he wasn't the symbol of peace for nothing. The man had held the title for before either of the Midoriya siblings were born. Becoming the number one hero of Japan when their mother was just a child. So perhaps he was thinking of retirement?
Ichika frowned as she buttoned up her white shirt. Not even knowing why she cared so much about which classes All Might had. And how many. She was just glad that she was chosen to stand beside him during those classes. To have the honour of standing next to the greatest hero they have ever had and help him get the hang of teaching. Even if she herself was far from a teacher.
But something about this whole situation kept nagging in the back of her head. Not at first, of course. She had just been too eager for this opportunity to even give it a single thought. And dare she admit, fangirling as well. Yet as time passed by, she had begun to notice something odd about this arrangement.
She was always one for logic, but something about this did not seem logical. Sure, it was logical that the man wouldn't start out taking over every class from Snipe. But the more she thought about it, the more she realised that it would have been much more logical if All Might would teach one of the upper classes. Whether it was class 3-A or 3-B. Those two were close to becoming pro's and disciplined enough for a newbie to start out with.
So why class 1-A?
And then there was the strange sudden departure right before or just after class ended. More often than not leaving things to Ichika to handle as the hero dashed of in an awkward way. It just didn't make any sense. Was the man hiding something?
'Hey hey, what's taking you so long?'
Ichika was snapped out of her thoughts by Nejire. The periwinkle haired girl sat at the bench, waiting for Ichika with a pout.
'Oh, nothing important. Let's go.'
'Finally.' The girl sighed as she sprung to her feet, making her way over to the door of the changing room. 'So, do you have anything planned for the summer break?'
'Nothing yet. I guess I have to work at Endeavor Agency. And other than that, we have nothing planned. What about you?'
Nejire shook her head, telling Ichika she hadn't had anything planned either. Then she suddenly smiled brightly as she waved at her classmate, Yuyu Haya, before facing Ichika again.
'Hey, I've got an idea!' She clapped her hands excitedly. 'How about you, me and Yuyu go shopping! There must be a day when all three of us can meet up.'
'Uh, yeah, sure.'
Truth be told, Ichika didn't like the idea of shopping that much. Not with Nejire, at least. While she loved her bubbly friend dearly, she was a pain in the butt when it came to shopping. Every time they went shopping, Ichika was dragged along to try out outfits she didn't even like. Even if she had to admit Nejire had been right about her looking cute in them. It just wasn't her style.
Turning a corner, the two of them made their way towards the exit, where Mirio and Tamaki
'Just let me know when the two of you are available and I'll see what I can do about my schedule with Endeavor. We all know that old man has a soft spot for me, even if he will never admit it.'
She winked at Nejire, who giggled at this. Then their attention was drawn to a voice comming from behind them.
'I'm afraid there'll be a slight change in plans concerning your summer break, Midoriya.'
Standing behind them, was the homeroom teacher of Izuku. His wild black hair even more disheveled than usual as he eyed the third years with tired eyes.
'Sir?'
'Hado, I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation.' Ichika noticed he did not look sorry at all. 'But I need to have a word with Midoriya. Midoriya, if you could follow me please.'
Not that she really had a choice. She knew little of Aizawa, other than that he was a strict man. He preferred getting straight to business, instead of beating around the bush and often kept to himself. So the fact that man wanted to have a word with her, meant that she had little say in the matter.
'Yes, of course, sir. Though let me message Izuku real quick. He's supposed to be waiting for me at the gate.'
She reached for her phone, but the monotonous voice of the teacher in front of her stopped her from doing so.
'Your brother is aware of your delay.'
'Oh, okay.' Ichika turned to look at Nejire with an apologetic smile. 'Well, I guess I'll see you next week then.'
Nejire, who was still stunned by the sudden appearance of the quirk erasing hero, just gave a curt wave and then left. Probably to find Mirio and Tamaki to tell them Ichika was being held up. While Ichika herself started to follow Aizawa to see what he wanted.
'Sit down.' Ichika did as told, as she sat down across Aizawa. Her taking a quick scan of his desk as she did so. 'I'm sure you are aware of the two tests the first years had to do.'
Ichika simply nodded. His desk was unusually messy today. She had not expected that from the usual organised man.
'And has your brother also told you about the summer camp?'
Once again, Ichika nodded as a reply. Of course he had told her about it. He was so excited! Two weeks of intense training under the guidance of pro heroes. It was a dream come true for him.
'I figured as much.' Aizawa was not impressed. Not in the slightest. Though it seemed he was relieved, judging by his sigh. 'That saves me time explaining a thing ot two, I guess. That means I can get straight to the point. I want you to come along and help me.'
Now that was a surprise! Why would the pro hero need her help? Wasn't the pro hero Vlad King joining him? He was the homeroom teacher of 1-B after all. Shouldn't he be joining his class?
'There'll be 40 students and only two teachers,' Aizawa explained her unspoken question. Though it probably wasn't that hard to guess what she was thinking. 'I've asked the help of the Wild, Wild Pussycats, but seeing as there are a handful of students who have failed the practical test, I need another hand to help out.'
'I'd love to help you out, sir,' she began after letting it all sink in. 'But I am far from being ready to teach. Besides, I am supposed to spend my break at Endeavor Agency.'
'Hound Dog has already taken care of that. You are dismissed for your shifts during the duration of the camp.'
He looked at her, watching her surprise turn into irritation. And he couldn't really blame her. They had gone behind her back and called her mentor. From what he's heard, Endeavor and the older Midoriya seemed pretty close. He'd even overheard Todoroki complain about his father having a closer bond with her, than he had with his own children.
Which is why Hound Dog had pressed on it being a great opportunity.
'It's still your choice to make,' he then added after a moment of silence. 'If you'd rather work for Endeavor during your break, that's fine by me. And you don't have to give me your answer straight away. Though I would like it by the end of next week.'