Our Teacher is a Devil (Youjo Senki x BNHA)

[Morte_Perpetua]

(Credit to "Glas" from spacebattles. Although the thread is gone, their awesome work still lives on!)

Our Teacher is a Devil


Chapter 1

Izuku was feeling anxious. His first week in high school had been far more chaotic and nerve-wracking than he ever could have imagined. First his teacher had threatened him with expulsion on the first day, then Kacchan had nearly killed him during the battle trial and then a few days ago his whole class had been attacked by villains! Real villains!
Not to mention the other countless moments which had turned his life upside down lately. Like the fact that he had actual friends now or that he talked with a girl on a daily basis! His mother had been so proud. And All Might had given him his quirk! The best and most awesome quirk there was! Honestly, he often asked himself what he had done to deserve all this luck. All Might had told him that he earned his new power through his own effort, but still...

Was he really worthy?

He shook his head. Enough of those gloomy thoughts! Even if he was not worthy now, he would give his best and slowly over time prove to his mother and his friends that he deserved to be a hero! Izuku would save everyone he could with a smile on his lips, just like his mentor.

"I am here!" he whispered to himself and grinned.

The smile on his face froze when he looked at his watch and realized that he would need to hurry if he wanted to be punctual for the start of class. Aizawa didn´t tolerate tardiness in the slightest and he had no desire to be expelled in his second week here at UA high school! Thank you very much!

Izuku sprinted through the mostly empty school corridors (which would probably displease Iida) and hastily ripped open the monstrous door to his class room. His eyes scanned the room for his teacher's signature sleeping bag.
"Huh... He isn't here yet." he breathed out relieved.

"Midoriya! Are you alright?" asked Iida. Many others followed suit, most notably Uraraka who even hugged him! A girl had voluntarily hugged him! What should he do? What should he-

Mina snickered as she saw his completely flushed face.

Eventually he relaxed into the hug, although he was not brave enough to reciprocate it. It was nice to have friends who cared about his well-being.
His blissful mood was shattered by the sound of someone clearing their throat behind him.

Instinctively he turned around and looked up only to find nothing. Slowly his gaze travelled lower until came face to face with a person even smaller than himself. That was not something that happened often, considering he was already rather diminutive, but the little, blond girl in front of him was half a head shorter than him!

"Would you all please move out of the way and get to your seats? Class is about to begin."

Nervously he scurried over to his desk and sat down along with the rest of his classmates. Well, all except for one...

"What the fuck is a little girl doing here? Has one of those stupid teachers lost their kid or what?" sneered Bakugou.

"No, Mr. Bakugou. This is not the case and I would advise you to show more respect to your superiors in the future. Now sit."

As she spoke the last part a silvery shimmer appeared to envelop the boy before he was slammed down into his seat. Hard.

Izuku perked up. He knew that twinkling energy field! The blond girl was a pro hero! She was...

"Greetings class A-1. I am Tanya von Degurechaff also known under the hero alias Argent."

"The Eleventh Goddess!" he loudly proclaimed. Too loud maybe as the hero in question shot him an annoyed look, but he was so excited that he just couldn't control himself.

Even though she was not in his top five hero list, she had quickly earned her place as the number seven in his heart after her flawless debut and comet-like ascend up the rating board. There wasn't much public information about her personal life as she was very secretive in her interviews, but he knew that she was barely twenty years old. Despite her young age that should have allowed her next to null practical experience she was one of the most effective heroes on the field!

Of course her monthly capture rates paled in comparison to All Might or even Endeavour, but she had a near hundred percent success rate. An incredible feat that was an unachievable dream for most professionals in the industry. Furthermore, in contrast to Endeavour or other "high capacity" heroes with powerful quirks she could claim to possess a very low property damage and injury register. All her missions were executed flawlessly and with the utmost professionalism and speed. A model hero in Izuku´s opinion!

This impressive work ethic awarded her the spot of place eleven on the national leader boards merely one year after her debut in Tokyo. A record that even eclipsed that of Hawks who had achieved the spot of number three after two years of hard work.

Only two months ago an anonymous user on social media had posted a picture which showed Degurechaff carrying multiple injured civilians out of a burning building on her silver barriers. The backdrop of the low evening sun had given her the illusion of a halo while the eponymous argent shields had appeared like shining wings. (Izuku had immediately saved the picture in his folder "coolest hero pics of all time", because it was so epic.)

Another user had jokingly commented: "Looks like a goddess descending from the heavens lol. Our Number eleven is awesome <3"

Since then the term "Eleventh Goddess" had become an affectionate nickname in the online community for the cute and devastatingly powerful heroine.

"I knew it!" he heard Uraraka say.

That she was interested in Ms. Degurechaff came as no surprise to Izuku. She was a rescue hero enthusiast of similar calibre to him after all. Now that he thought about it the gravity quirk user could probably learn much from Argent...
"You are most likely asking yourself what I am doing here right now instead of your home room teacher Mr. Aizawa. The answer is that I will take over his lessons as well as Mr. All Might´s lessons in Foundational Heroics for the foreseeable future. Both of them have been wounded to various degrees and need to take care of other business at the moment so the Hero Commission has assigned me as a temporary replacement."

"Yay! I am saved!" cried Mineta. He probably believed that without Eraserhead present he would be unlikelier to be expelled.

"I do not know how Mr. Aizawa has handled your education so far, but let me assure you that I take my new position very seriously. I will not tolerate misbehaviour or disobedience of any kind. When I ask you a question I expect it to be answered immediately. Furthermore you may only address me as 'Ms. Degurechaff' or if German is too difficult to pronounce for you 'Ms. Argent'. Is that understood?"

"Yes Ms. Argent?" mumbled half the class. Most sounded so unsure that it seemed more like a question.

"I asked if I was understood." she said more forcefully this time, her eyes blazing blue.

"YES MS. ARGENT!" shouted everyone more energetically.

"Hmph... We will need to work on that."

Izuku let out a small sigh of relief when the cerulean light in her eyes dimmed. The small woman had for a moment appeared even scarier than Aizawa. How was that possible?

"Now, before we begin, do you have any questions for me?"

Izuku slowly raised his hand while looking around to make sure he did inconvenience anybody else who wanted to ask her something. His other hand wandered to his notebook to immediately jot down her answers.

"Yes Midoriya?"

"Would you rather call yourself a rescue focused hero or a combat focused hero?"

"I meant questions of administrative nature, but I guess I was unclear on that."

What a shame. He would have loved to interview her more about her quirk! It was so interesting!

"I would call myself neither, for I see both these aspects as intrinsic to my job as a pro hero. You cannot save somebody without neutralizing potentially harmful elements first and you cannot fight someone without saving the mission objective or else you will have failed. I do what I can wherever I am available to the best of my abilities as should every pro hero with a versatile skill set. Does that answer your question?"

He nodded.

"So manly..." whispered Kirishima somewhere in the background.

What an interesting person. Izuku idly wondered how someone so young could already possess so much maturity and experience. How could Argent have grown up to become the way she was today?

~[#҈#]~
​

Nedzu was intrigued. That did not happen often when he possessed such startling intelligence that he could predict
entire conversations before somebody even opened their mouth.

Tanya von Degurechaff however was a mystery with many confusing solutions...

The hero Commission had obviously tried to gain a foothold in his school by sending one of their most loyal agents here. Their sheer ruthlessness and determination to gain more influence over his domain was as astounding as it was pathetic. Normally, he would have suppressed such attempts with his far-reaching influence, but this time they had used the USJ incident to cry out for more safety measures and everybody believed them. Like the wretched fools they were, supplied the part of his brain that still had not forgiven humanity for what they did to him.

Although, if he was honest with himself he was kind of glad that they succeeded with their ploy. For as much as the Hero Commission could learn about him through Tanya, he could learn as much about them as well.

And maybe even gain insight into the mind of the Argent Hero, or the mystery girl as he privately called her.

Because Nedzu had known the little blond girl before the Hero Commission had sunk their claws into her. Before her immigrant parents had died under suspicious circumstances and she had been transferred to the public orphanage for a single night. Before all that.

They had met only a single time, but he would never forget the look of cold apathy as she watched a man getting torn in half. He thought himself a good judge of character, (humans were predictable animals after all) and yet he was unsure if the tiredness he perceived from the small child back then had been real or just his imagination.

It had been a weariness resulting not from a lack of sleep or rest which would have been normal for a child her age, but one of purely psychological origin. The kind of fatigue he saw sometimes when he looked in the mirror or the one many pro-heroes had late in their career. An expression only those were familiar with who had seen the world burn far too many times to cry anymore for the innocents that got swallowed up in its flames. When you had accepted deep down that there was no hope for things to ever truly change, because the cycles of history, big and small, would repeat themselves forever.

That resigned hopelessness was not something a child should understand.

But young Tanya had.

And he couldn't figure out how.

 

[Morte_Perpetua]

Chapter 2

"So now that I know what I will have to work with, I think it's time to inform you about what we are going to do in the next two weeks."

Although everybody's head felt like it was about to explode from the mind-numbing amount of questions they had just weathered class 1-A collectively perked up. Miss Degurechaff had bombarded them with inquiries about their work-out routine, their diet plans, their quirk training, their combat experience and much more over the course of the last hour with a ferocity that had even exhausted Izuku.

They all had to write their answers down as fast as she asked for them. Apparently that had been part of an exercise, but she wouldn't elaborate for what exact purpose. Afterwards a silvery shimmer had surrounded each piece of paper and lifted them up through the air, collecting them on the teacher's desk. (A sight that had Izuku frantically scrambling for his notebook.)

"You might have survived against common street thugs and a few high-level villains, but in comparison to what you are about to face you are totally underprepared. A match against those vastly weaker or stronger than you can teach only so much, but against those of similar skill... That is where you will need to truly push yourself and overcome your weaknesses."

The whole class was hanging at Argent's lips.

What would she say?

What could be worse than actual villains?

"I am talking of course about the annual sports festival."

Chaos broke out.

"Really?" "Oh man, I thought she was gonna say we have to fight All Might or something!" "Ridiculous!" "This can't be…" "Is she for real?"

Until suddenly Degurechaff's voice cut through the noise like butter:
"SILENCE!"

Most instantly quieted down and the rest lowered their voices to a whisper to finish their thoughts.

"There is no need to scream like monkeys. You are heroes in training. Act like it!"

Iida sheepishly looked down at his desk.

"If you have questions, raise your hand and ask. Like I said, the sports festival will be held in two weeks."

"B-but shouldn't the school postpone the event?"

"Yeah, what if the villains attack again?" asked Kaminari.

Many shivered at the mere thought.

"The principal made the decision and I am not here to question his orders. Regardless if you agree with Nedzu's judgement or not you will have to attend if you do not wish for a one week long detention with me."

Her tone was so flat and her glare so icy that it instantly shut them up.

"Besides, the principal is probably the most intelligent being on this planet. I doubt he would carelessly expose you all to danger. Whatever his reasons are, they are most likely very good."

Momo thoughtfully nodded at that.

"The lesson is almost over, but let me tell you this: I am going to assist with your training and offer advice where necessary, but you will be the ones that have to put in the effort. If you require upgraded support equipment go to the support course! If you want to get stronger go to the gym! I am not here to hold your hand. As future heroes you are expected to take care of yourself. Do you understand?"

"YES MS. ARGENT!"

"We will go over some training routines for you next time. Any more questions for today?"

Nobody dared to make a sound.

"Dismissed." she said with a wave of her hand right before the bell signalled the end of class. How she had timed that so perfectly was anyone's guess.

~[#҈#]~​

"Midoriya, a word please."

Oh no. Was he in trouble? Had he said something wrong? Did she think that he had written too much information on his sheet? Was he too annoying? Would he get detention? Would he-

"Relax. Nothing of the sort is true."

While that was a relief his cheeks started colouring from embarrassment. He had been mumbling again.

"Yes, you are mumbling. A nervous tick that you should get under control sooner rather than later. I know that you are an intelligent kid judging from your ninety-six percent in the entrance exam.
So giving away your potentially insightful thoughts to your enemies might backfire at the worst possible moment. Understood?"

"Y-yes, Miss Degurechaff."

"Good. What I want to talk with you about is why you are by far the most injured student in this institution only one week after school has started. I read your file and you have been treated by Recovery Girl three times already, not counting the one time after the USJ incident. Why is that?"

"Um... Eh... My... M-my quirk is... ah... tricky to control. I end up hurting m-myself if I use it..."

"Is that an innate feature of your quirk? Do you need to get hurt to get stronger?"

"N-no, Ms. Degurechaff! It's just... I... It came in really late. I mean my quirk. I don't have much experience... using it..."

"So what you are saying is that with more practice you could reach a point where you do not cripple yourself accidentally?"

Ouch. If she put it like that it sounded so brutal. Well, it kind of was actually...

"Yes?" he whispered.

Argent just nodded as if she had heard that story a thousand times already.

"Good."

"W-what?"

"That means you can improve. Do you go to quirk therapy or quirk counseling?"

"No?"

"You know that this school has trained professionals to do that job? Have you not been sent to UA's quirk counselor yet?"

"T-they have a counsellor?" he asked in puzzlement.

"But Eraserhead – I mean Mr. Aizawa knew about your... condition?"

"Yeah. I-I told him."

Ms. Degurechaff groaned and muttered something unintelligible under her breath. Izuku could only make out: "... X... punish... again."

Finally she bit her teeth together and hissed out: "And pray tell, what did he say in response to your problem?"

"Um... Mr. Aizawa told me that I need to figure out how to use my quirk without injuring myself."

"Really? That's it?"

"Y-yeah?"

He shrunk in on himself under the sheer, ice-cold fury of her glare. Argent was smoldering with fury! Objectively Izuku knew that his teacher was a pro hero who wouldn't hurt him, but that didn't change the fact that he suddenly felt very afraid for his physical well-being. Whatever he had messed up... He would surely be expelled for it now!

"I-I'm s-s-sorry M-ms. D-degurechaff! It w-won't happen a-again!" he pleaded while bowing as deep as he could.

"What? Midoriya stand up."

Hesitantly he straightened his back, but could not bring himself to meet her gaze. Thankfully she did not force him to. He did not want her to see the tears beginning to form in his eyes.

"Why would you believe that you are at fault here?" she asked softer this time.

"I… Am I n-not?"

"Of course not. You should never apologize for being ignored or mistreated. Everybody deserves help and those that deny them that are either monsterously incompetent or villains."

Despite his shame he could not stop himself from gawking at her in shock.

"Let us continue this conversation another time. A hallway is hardly fitting, no? Today after school, go to Hound Dog's office and tell him that I sent you there with a Code Blue-35. He will know what that means. Understood?"

"Y-yeah. B-but…my mom… she might worry..."

"Ah, then better text her now and maybe ask Hound Dog for a letter that explains your absence."

"Good. And tomorrow afternoon you are going to come to the teachers' lounge and wait for me there. Together we will test your abilities a bit before I hand you over to the specialists. Most likely this remedial quirk training will commence every second weekday for the next few months until this lapse in your education has been corrected and you are on a comparable level with your classmates. Can you do that Midoriya or do you have appointments that might come in the way?"

He shook his head quickly.

"N-no. I should be f-fine. I'll have to ask my mom, but I'm s-sure she'll be okay with it."

"Then go, Midoriya. You don't want to be late for history class. Meanwhile I will have to talk with the principal about this debacle."

Izuku, filled with new panic, turned around and ran.

 

[Morte_Perpetua]

Chapter 3

The next day was filled with excitement for (depending on the individual) either the favourite or least liked lesson of the curriculum. Although Argent was a lot less popular than All Might (he was THE Symbol of Peace after all) she was still the number eleven ranked hero.

"Welcome to Foundational Hero Studies. I already told you that you would need to train on your own for the sports festival, but that does not mean that I am going to let your education in similar fields suffer. From what I heard All Might simulated a bomb threat scenario with varying success last week, but because he decided not to write anything of value down and the video tapes were deleted for privacy reasons, I am left with nothing."

"Oh no... Do we have to repeat that now?" asked Denki. He had no desire to repeat his less than stellar performance from last time and embarrass himself again.
She fixed him with a glare:

"To answer your question, Kaminari, yes and no. This time you will be dealing with a hostage situation."

"Oui! I shall save the damsel in distress and be the shining knight this world desires!" proclaimed Yuga, earning himself the confused stares of the whole class.

Ignoring him the diminutive hero continued:
"Two of you will be the villains and two of you will be the heroes."

"So far so good." mumbled Izuku nervously. He too did not wish to re-experience the slightly traumatic events of the first exercise. Although compared to actual villains trying to kill his friends, Kacchan trying to hurt him was nothing new.

"And one will be the hostage."

"Darn it."

Tenya raised his hand and butted in:
"Ms. Argent, will we be randomly chosen again? And why are we playing the hostages? We are heroes in training, not civilians!"

Izuku couldn't contain himself. Wasn't it obvious?

"That is because we can't always predict what's going to happen to us. Even with our powers we could be caught unaware and held hostage. For example if a villain took your partner captive then what do you do? It will happen to at least one of us at some point and this exercise is designed to prepare us for that! We need to also know how to behave as hostages safely so that we don't endanger other when they are trying to rescue us."

"Very good Midoriya. And no, you will not be randomly chosen. That would be counterproductive to a controlled test of your abilities."

"Um, didn't All Might say-"

"Don't interrupt me again if you don't want detention."

Absolute silence suffocated the classroom.

"The rules are as follows: The two villains will attempt to move from one end of the training area to the other with their captive. If they touch the yellow line on the eastern wall they win. To do this they may use any means necessary to a reasonable degree. Quirks are allowed, but please refrain from action that may seriously harm or debilitate your classmates. Is that understood?"

"YES MS. DEGURECHAFF!" intoned the crowd of nervous students.

"The heroes naturally start on the opposite side of the field and will try to... Bakugou are you listening? What do you think real pro heroes should do in this kind of situation?"

With a look that practically screamed 'Are you shitting me?' he huffed:
"Stop the bastards obviously."

"Incorrect. Does anyone care to explain why?"

Momo instantly held her hand up which earned her a nod from Argent.

"The top priority of a hero should be to save the hostage and then apprehend the criminals. The whole mission would be a failure if the victim gets abducted or worse – killed."

"Completely right. You should always prioritize saving people over beating the villains as a general rule. Of course there are exceptions, but you will likely cover those next year. You have a question, Uraraka?"

"Ehm... Are the hostages allowed to fight back? I mean... ehm... how realistic is this going to be?"

"An excellent question. Yes they will be able to fight back, but not in the way you think. First, their hands are going to be tied together with capture tape behind their back and you are not allowed to break it! Only the hero team or the villain team may unbind them if they so choose. Secondly, if the villains feel threatened enough by either the heroes or their prisoners then they will be able to kill you."

Shocked gasps rang out.

"Not really of course. What are you thinking? If they can immobilize their target on the ground for longer than five seconds then that counts as a kill. In that case the heroes are going to automatically lose, but the villains also give up their leverage and will be mercilessly hunted down. If they cannot reach the border during the next minute they will be announced as captured."

"That sounds kinda cool actually..." whispered somebody.

"Dude, didn't you learn anything from the first day? You jinxed it!"

Fortunately Argent seemed to ignore the remark and instead sent the student to the locker rooms to change into their costumes.

~[#҈#]~
​

Many liked to think that while Nedzu was incredibly intelligent he obviously couldn't know everything that happened in his school. That was true to a certain extent, but those people also forgot that he had access to some of the most advanced design and production facilities in the world together with a sheer unending stream of fresh and innovative minds that could build him whatever gadgets he desired. It was funny really, he mused, that a species which would have died out long ago if they had not embraced progress, so often forgot about what technology could do for them.
Individual humans were weak.

Although the age of quirks had somewhat remedied that fact, it still held true for the majority of the population. To bridge the gap and become more powerful they could either join a collective and search for protection in a group or they could use science to achieve the impossible. From experience he could tell that only the second option worked reliably. Too bad then that technological progress has been brought to a near standstill with the rise of superhuman powers. The humans had romanticized their organic skills while forgetting that the most awe-inspiring thing, nature itself, left them with so many unused possibilities.

Intellect and understanding reigned supreme, even against super-strength or speed. It always had and it always would. For those who knew how to play the strings of the universe were the ones in control over those that blindly followed them. It was the 'Mind over Body' principle and Nedzu had proved it to be correct an uncountable number of times. (Well, actually he could count them, but that was not the point.)

In its most basic application that meant that even a small, powerless rodent like himself could kill All Might if he wanted. All it would take would be an untraceable amount of poison in his tea or a
direct bullet to the head or a room full of Fluor gas. It would be ridiculously easy really and that terrified him.

Not because he feared himself, that would be pathetic.
But because anyone not blinded by the propaganda of the Hero Public Safety Commission and similar organizations could easily see through the great lie that quirks were the most powerful thing
a person could possess. That it was what gave them value and identity.

In reality that could not be further from the truth. Did having hands give you an advantage over someone with no hands? Of course. But if that person lost their hands in an accident? Then they were just as useless as the other one. And more importantly, what if the handless person learned to work with their feet? As silly as this metaphor was, it still applied to the world of quirks.
Nedzu didn't need a surveillance quirk or one that let him look through walls or turn invisible. He had an army of robots and cameras and bugging devices tirelessly reporting everything of importance in his domain to the comfortable safety of his office.

He had wandered off topic again, hadn't he?

Nedzu chuckled to himself. Sometimes hyper-intelligence also had its downsides.

Anyways, at the moment he was watching the live feed of Degurechaff's first exercise with class 1-A. Tiny spider-bots, barely visible to the naked eye were recording her body language and heat signature while cleverly hidden cameras all over the campus were tracking her facial expressions down to the most minute twitch. Long-range directional microphones captured her every word, although that was not really necessary as his lip-reading software already automatically translated whatever she said.

He could do that with every person who set foot on school grounds (and even most people in the world when he hacked himself into the traffic camera network). While not legal, he was careful to never leave a trace that would point these 'cyber-attacks' to him. (Which also was redundant considering that nobody had ever noticed him breaking into the system at all.)
Perhaps he should send an anonymous tip to improve digital security to the government...

Oh, he was getting sidetracked again.

Silently he sipped at his lukewarm tea as he watched with rapt attention how Degurechaff treated her students. She was efficient, professional if not a bit too reserved sometimes. Her unwavering focus on her pupils brought him joy. To think that she would take her job so seriously and become so comfortable in her role already...

The HPSC had sent her résumé four days ago. It had included a provisional teaching licence which he strongly suspected to be a fake pretext to infiltrate his school. When would the girl have had the same time to learn pedagogy after all? All the signs pointed to the reality that she had spent most of her short life getting stronger to quickly climb the public hero rankings. If his hunch was correct then that meant the girl had been drilled on how to properly treat school children in only three days. Impressive.

In such a short amount of time she seemed to have integrated better than Toshinori did during his three month crash-course.

Was she a trapped genius like him? Had she been forced into the life of a marionette for the HPSC despite a mind that understood too much and learned too fast?

The pain in her eyes had disappeared, Nedzu noted with interest.

Had he deluded himself about the memory of that fateful day?

Maybe she had found peace and slipped back under the blessed veil of obliviousness?

Or had she just learned to hide it from this cruel world that sought to exploit one's every weakness?

~[#҈#]~
​

Izuku excitedly scribbled into his notebook. This lesson was so interesting! He got to learn so much about the character of his classmates! While he would have rather discovered more about their quirks instead he knew that a psychological evaluation was also important to determine their optimal strategies as heroes.

For example Kouda had hesitated to 'kill' his hostage Sero despite the game not being real and as a result had ended up tangled up in the tape he produced. A potential weakness that was endearing, but could cost his life if not corrected.

Bakugou had been as angry as always and had blasted off without listening to his teammate. Unsurprisingly his aggressive strategy had gifted him the win, although Ms. Argent seemed pretty displeased with it.

He himself had been picked as a hero together with Yaoyorozu which he guessed had something to do with the fact that he couldn't really use All Might's quirk at the moment. Yaoyorozu could basically create anything she knew the atomic makeup of, so he could fight with access to support items. Indeed her flash-grenades had been the key to victory for them both against Hagakure and Mina. (He was calling another girl by her first name! How cool! His mom would be proud if he had the courage to tell her about it.)

Suddenly someone shook his shoulder and he instinctively flinched.

"Deku, lesson is over. We have to go."

"Y-yes, Ochako."

He could feel his cheeks flushing red.

~[#҈#]~
​

"You wanted to talk to me after class, Miss Degurechaff?

"Yes, I want you to explain a few things to me. Specifically, the fire aspect of your quirk."

Shoto's fist clenched at his side and his voice involuntarily grew tight as he asked:

"What about it?"

"Does it only allow you to create small flames?"

"... No."

"Then why do you only use it to free your opponents caught in your ice during training exercises?"

"Why is it any of your business how I use my quirk?"

"Because I'm your teacher, which you should keep in mind when you are talking to me. Now answer the question."

"Tch. It's because I can become Japan's top hero without using my father's flames. My ice will be enough alone."

"I see, so you openly admit that you haven't been performing to the best of your abilities this entire time, and your reasoning for doing so is nonsensical."
Shoto grinds his teeth and grits out, "If that's all you needed to say, am I free to go?"

"You are not until I dismiss you, which depending on the rest of this conversation, might be on a permanent basis."

"What are you saying?"

"That you are very close to being expelled from this school, Todoroki Shoto."

"What? You can't do that!"

"Actually, as I can file a formal complaint to the principal about your behaviour within five minutes, it would be rather easy. Seeing as Mr. Aizawa has expelled entire classes for less, I think it would be approved immediately."

"But you wouldn't. I'm the top student of my year and son of the number two hero in the country. UA wouldn't risk the public backlash."

"Any negative press generated from your expulsion would pale in comparison to that brought about by having a lazy and careless hero associated with this school. Especially when, not if, but when you inevitably let someone die because you didn't utilize your quirk to its fullest. UA has a reputation of producing the finest heroes in Japan, and having someone as arrogant as yourself become an alumnus would tarnish that reputation."

"Then I'd just go to another school. Any hero school in the country would take me."
Tanya shrugged behind her desk and leaned her elbows on it, fingers crossed in front of her.

"Perhaps, but expulsion is a black mark on your record, and when the reason behind it is revealed, it will form a powerful stigma around you. It's cost versus benefit at that point. Do they risk dealing with such a troublesome, albeit prestigious student who may very well become a subpar hero? The potential negative association you'd bring them might very well be enough to dissuade any from accepting you."

Shoto was practically shaking with cold fury by now, but managed to ask:
"What do you want?"

"It's quite simple, actually. You are going to go speak to the counsellor, Hound Dog about whatever your issues with the fire aspect of your quirk are, while also utilizing said fire during training exercises from now on. If I feel you aren't giving your all during these exercises, I won't hesitate to expel you, understand?"
The young man did not answer as he glared at the diminutive woman, but she simply quirked a brow and repeated herself.

"I asked if you understand, Todoroki."

"... I understand. I'll use his fire during exercises," he says, voice low. "Once I graduate and become a pro-hero, I can prove to you and everyone else that my ice is enough."
Tanya hummed and leaned back in her seat, picking up a paper on her desk and reading it, no longer focusing on the boy.

"We'll see," she said simply. "You are dismissed."

Shoto held his glare for a few seconds longer before he turned around and stiffly walked out of the classroom.

Tanya would wait a few weeks to see what her colleague, Hound Dog, had to say about the issue and how much the boy began to improve before she decided whether to follow through with her threat. Should worst come to worst she would need to bring the issue before the principal and convince him to expel him for his dangerous arrogance. Since she had no authority to do so without his approval the whole affair could potentially get quite tedious, so she rather wanted to avoid that. Nonetheless, even if it meant more work for her, she would give her best and make the most rational decisions. She worked HR in a previous life after all, and was no stranger to firing underperforming employees.

... Hopefully this one wouldn't try to kill her for it this time, though.

 

[Aleh]

(Credit to "Glas" from spacebattles. Although the tread is gone, their awesome work still lives on!)

Click to shrink...

What "tread"? Also, the first chapter (the post I'm quoting) isn't threadmarked.

 

[Morte_Perpetua]

Chapter 4

Hound Dog groaned while he sifted through the pile of papers on his desk. So much extra work at the beginning of the school year was unprecedented! It would cut much into his free time to suitably analyze these notes, but in a strange way he was kind of thankful for that.

After all, it meant that the kids were getting proper help for their problems instead of bottling them up internally until they broke. He sadly reminisced about the few cases he had the displeasure of handling in the past. Especially in a stressful job like theirs, burnout, psychosis, trauma and emotional detachment were far too common. Hopefully he could assist them in healing old mental
wounds and give them the tools to guard against new ones.

He would be even more satisfied if Nedzu had accepted his proposal to send all students of class 1-A into therapy, but alas... The animal must have had a reason, although he would not tell him.
The newcomer to the faculty, Argent, or as her fans called her online the "Eleventh Goddess" seemed more reasonable and had already sent multiple people to his office. There was something strange about the young woman, but he would not pry as long as she continued to take her role as teacher seriously. More seriously than Eraserhead certainly. After he spoke with the stuttering, mumbling mess that was Midoriya and the ice-cold, closed off Todoroki he could not understand how that man had not immediately set them up for a psychological evaluation. Well, he could guess the answer. It started with "Lazi" and ended with "ness".

As good as Aizawa was with combat and strategic thinking, his pedagogic skills left much to be desired. He cared for his students that much was obvious, but he had problems showing that and putting it into practice beyond throwing himself between them and danger. The USJ incident had shown that.

While the Erasure Hero had not thought twice about risking his own life for the wellbeing of his pupils, he had not accepted any of the presents or visitors to his hospital bed. It was concerning that he kept everybody (including the other teachers) who cared about him at a distance, barely participating in any other activities outside of work.

Oh well... It was one of the hard truths Ryo had to learn early on in his career that you simply could not help everybody. He could only dearly hope that Aizawa would come to him when it all became too much for him to bear alone.

On another note, Argent displayed some noteworthy characteristics as well. To have risen so high in the national hero rankings at such a young age was not the product of luck, but of talent honed by years of brutal training. Hound Dog could not imagine what the young woman must have gone through on her path to adulthood to already have that much experience. Whatever it had been, it could not have been healthy for a developing mind.

Children needed time to grow and discover themselves. Too much training and not enough freedom could lead to all sorts of abnormalities in the human psyche. Ryo had noticed the alarming absence of close friends or family on her contact information sheet. Instead only the hotline of the Hero Public Safety Commission was listed as the closest confidante. Either she was an orphan or had no contact to her family on top of being socially isolated.

Perhaps he was interpreting too much into those signs, but it was always good to keep small details like this in the back of your mind. So far she had shown herself (during their two meetings) as a confident, will-strong individual with a focused and objective outlook on life. Nothing to officially worry about.

Personally though... he was not sure about what hid behind those sharp, radiating eyes of hers.

~[#҈#]~​

Tanya was drinking a cup of coffee at one of her favourite outdoor cafes when she suddenly spoke up, seemingly at random towards the crowd.

"I hope the blood you used for that disguise was ethically sourced through the HPSC and not stolen, Himiko."

A plain looking girl who had been walking absently in Tanya's direction suddenly froze, a frown forming on her lip as she groaned.

"Senpai! How do you always know it's me?"
Not looking up from the papers she was grading, Tanya gestured to the seat across from her as she answered:

"I'd recognize the smell of blood no matter how faint. I take it your last mission was a success?"
The girl plopped down into the cushioned seat, smiling far too widely for the thin face she was wearing.

"Yep!" she chirped. "I've made contact with the League and convinced them that I want to join! They bought the story that I was ostracized for my quirk and now want to destroy society because of it without a second thought." She snickered as she added: "What a bunch of rubes."
Tanya finally lifted her eyes from the stack of papers to give the shapeshifter a dry look.

"Weren't you initially ostracized for the blood requirements of your quirk and nearly driven insane as a result?"
Himiko rolled her eyes.

"Well yeah, but that was before I met you, Senpai, and you saved me and vouched for me to the HPSC." She sighed wistfully in remembrance. "You were like my own knight in shining armour."
Tanya quirked a brow.

"I restrained you when you ambushed me in an alleyway, then dragged you to the police."

"Yes, but then you visited me while I was in custody and told me my quirk could help people."

"I was merely pointing out the obvious undercover hero work your quirk could be utilized for. Anyone could see the value in being able to perfectly mimic others."
Himiko's expression became serious.

"Anyone could, but it took eight years after I discovered my quirk for you to be the first to tell me that it wasn't evil." She looked down at the table and mumbled: "Sometimes I still wonder how terrible things would have been had I chosen anyone else to be my first victim that day..."

"It's pointless to worry about what-ifs," Tanya lectured as she put away her graded papers and sat back to enjoy the rest of her coffee.
Himiko grinned once more.

"I guess you're right, especially because I never could have chosen anyone other than the cutest, most adorable girl in the whole world that day. The way you were pouting was just the sweetest thing ever! Yeah, just like that! So adorable!"

Tanya brushed the finger pointing at her face aside and did her best to smooth out her annoyed expression.

"Need I remind you that I am both three years your senior and your superior?"

"Nope! You're the boss, Chibi-senpai!"

Tanya resisted the urge to growl at the infuriating nickname and reminded herself that Himiko Toga, codenamed Carmilla, was a valuable asset to the HPSC. A natural prodigy who was not only able to meet all scholastic requirements in order to finish highschool at the age of fourteen, but had also managed to earn her special-operations hero license in only one additional year of training. Even Tanya herself was impressed, though she would never actually tell the girl to what extent. Himiko was already incorrigible without her knowing how much Tanya respected the younger women's skills and keen, albeit odd intellect.

"How much longer will that disguise you're wearing last?" Tanya asked to change the subject, causing Himiko to put a finger to her lower lip in thought.

"Hm, maybe one or two more minutes? Why?"

The barely contained smile turned into a full-blown grin as Tanya slammed her empty cup down, tossed some bills on the table, stood up and grabbed Himiko's wrist to drag her to the nearest alleyway away from public view where a (literally) melting girl would no doubt cause panic.

"Oh~ Senpai, what are we going to do in here?" Himiko asked in a sensual tone, wagging her eyebrows suggestively.

Tanya chose to ignore the cackling gremlin's attempts at flustering her by looking away and gesturing in an impatient fashion.

"You're no fun hehe..." giggled the younger girl whose form began to promptly slough off to reveal a naked blonde girl with cat-like features underneath.
Sometimes she didn't know which is crazier.

This quirked-up world she's found herself in, or the people in it.

 

[Morte_Perpetua]

What "tread"? Also, the first chapter (the post I'm quoting) isn't threadmarked.

Click to shrink...

The thread (typo) got taken down due to a issue with the mods. Also, thanks for reminding me with the threadmark!

 

[SixthRanger]

Glad to see this story here!
Welcome and don't mind the horny at the door!

 

[Morte_Perpetua]

Glad to see this story here!
Welcome and don't mind the horny at the door!

Click to shrink...

Thank you! Hopefully I have more luck here than on spacebattles.

 

[SixthRanger]

Thank you! Hopefully I have more luck here than on spacebattles.

Click to shrink...

Don't worry about prudes around here...
...
...
Most of us here are people of Culture.

Although I think your story was pulled in SB because of Toga's monolgue, as I think it counts as 'glorifying violence' or soem stuff.

Never mind that, hope you are receptive of omakes?

Cause i had an idea for one or two in SB but the thread got pulled before I thought about it and realized they could have also gotten you the boot from there.

Hm. Wonder if anyone in your story ever got Tanya scolding All Might and thought 'don't they look like a married couple?'
And the gossip mill took over...

 

[Morte_Perpetua]

Never mind that, hope you are receptive of omakes?

Cause i had an idea for one or two in SB but the thread got pulled before I thought about it and realized they could have also gotten you the boot from there.

Click to shrink...

Definitely! I would love that!
Nothing brings me greater joy than other people being invested in my work!
(I reposted all the omakes on AO3 if you want to check them out.)

Also my fic got pulled because they thought it was "child porn". Yes, I am not making that up. How stupid can you be? But whatever I guess...

 

[Aleh]

The thread (typo) got taken down due to a issue with the mods. Also, thanks for reminding me with the threadmark!

Click to shrink...

Well, now they're ordered "Chapter 2, Chapter 1, Chapter 3, Chapter 4."

 

[Morte_Perpetua]

Well, now they're ordered "Chapter 2, Chapter 1, Chapter 3, Chapter 4."

Click to shrink...

I deleted all of them and made them again. I hope that works

 

[Felius]

What chapter had it been in SB before it got nuked anyway? Just so I don't get lost when trying to find where I was in the fic.

 

[Morte_Perpetua]

What chapter had it been in SB before it got nuked anyway? Just so I don't get lost when trying to find where I was in the fic.

Click to shrink...

Chapter 14 I believe. I released the first chapter since than today on AO3 and in celebration decided to finally try out QQ as well.

 

[krahe]

Nice to see this, was weird when I come back to your story on SB and it was outright deleted. Why, btw?

 

[Morte_Perpetua]

Why, btw?

Click to shrink...

Because the mods suck ass and twisted even the slightest hints into accusations of pedophilia just to get me off the platform. (For the record: THERE IS NO PORN IN THIS FIC!) I complained and got punished for that as well. Someone asked what was happpening and I explained the situation to them and got punished for that as well.

Spacebattles is bad.

 

[Vanbers]

Huh. I had wondered where this went, it was one I really liked.

Welcome to the pit of degeneracy, we're all lewd here.

 

[SixthRanger]

Huh. I had wondered where this went, it was one I really liked.

Welcome to the pit of degeneracy, we're all lewd here.

Click to shrink...

Not lewd, just Horny People of Culture

Because the mods suck ass and twisted even the slightest hints into accusations of pedophilia just to get me off the platform. (For the record: THERE IS NO PORN IN THIS FIC!) I complained and got punished for that as well. Someone asked what was happpening and I explained the situation to them and got punished for that as well.

Spacebattles is bad.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, they tend to do that. Even the slightest 'hint' of CP is enough to boot anyone... and those are all subjective. They are very high up their own behinds.

But anyways!
Wonder if Tanya could sway Twice to her little faction? He's a little fucke up, but a loyal guy that can turn into a small army is useful in a lot of situations.

 

[Morte_Perpetua]

Wonder if Tanya could sway Twice to her little faction? He's a little fucke up, but a loyal guy that can turn into a small army is useful in a lot of situations.

Click to shrink...

Oh, I never thought of that! I am still unsure about the "endgame" of this fic so depending on which direction I take it could happen

 

[Morte_Perpetua]

Chapter 5

Administrator Moujin, called "M" by most, looked over the reports for today. He was the handler of both agent Argent and agent Carmilla, two of their most exceptional assets. Normally only one subject would be assigned per supervisor, but due to the unusual nature of their relationship it was deemed more appropriate for their cases to be processed together.

Of course while that was simply a way of saving additional budget for the higher-ups, it only meant more work for him. Especially considering that they were often used apart from each other in different operations. The sheer amount of paperwork that went over his desk each day was madness inducing! Next year he would plead for a reassignment at Central Management if he hadn't suffered a burnout by then.

He forcefully calmed himself down with the help of his quirk "Clear Head" that let him slow the brainwaves of any individual within a certain radius. A handy quirk, but thankfully not powerful enough that the higher-ups had deemed him "operationally applicable". He did not want to be thrown in the meat grinder that was the Special Operations Unit, no thank you. Moujin valued his life very much, regardless of how shitty his job could be at times.

At least he had the potential for promotion now that he was basically spearheading the newest brainchild of the Modern Tactics Department. Even if the paperwork was absurd, he had the satisfaction of knowing that his efforts were being watched by those above. The elusive committee had many careful eyes trained on his charges.

While agents Argent and Carmilla may act independently at the moment it would not be long until Protocol 21749-b triggered and they would be deployed together again. The "Mirror-Image-Initiative" had been declared a success four months ago after all and the Modern Tactics Department was filling binders upon binders with new theoretical applications for the two-man team. Or should he call it a "two-woman team"? Irrelevant.

Since the moment Argent had been given responsibility for subject Carmilla (who back then had been simply registered as Vampire) they had trained together. Argent was the committee's favourite agent produced by the Legacy Program. Sometimes Moujin wondered why the ones above not simply acquired more children to mould into perfect heroes when Argent and Hawks had been such perfect achievements. Subtly creating more orphans was well within their capabilities and more candidates would lead to an increase in production.

Oh well, it wasn't his job to think about such things.

Absentmindedly he stamped another report describing the internal workings of UA highschool by Argent. Why even bother reading it when all the information was unimportant anyway? Who cared what kind of coffee they drank or which students had problems with algebra? A pure waste of time.

Carmilla on the other hand...

Damn, that girl was on a killing spree! Two crime lords in one week! As opposed as some of the eggheads in Central Management had been to her recruitment it was clear the investment had paid off! Her quirk "Transformation" was simply an amazing skill for infiltration and intelligence gathering. Not to mention her superhuman speed and agility that made her the deadliest knife-wielder in the whole Association. If he hadn't seen the videos himself then he would not have believed what that girl could do with a blade. An amazing tool that was as effective as it was versatile. Those numbers she achieved were bound to gather favour from the higher-ups. He could already smell that promotion...

~[#҈#]~
​

Tanya sat down at a rare abandoned table in a corner of UA cafeteria's for lunch. Normally, she would eat from a bento box in the teachers' lounge while working on some paperwork, but dealing with a villain attack near her apartment complex in the early morning led to her running late and forgetting her lunch. However, when she smelled the meal Lunch Rush prepared for her, she began to think that perhaps that was not such a bad thing. Especially as she eyed the large piece of chocolate cake that the man had packed on the upper right corner of her tray.

A few minutes into enjoying her lunch, a pair of shadows fell over the ruins of her feast and she looked up to see two of her students. Asui Tsuyu and Uraraka Ochako, the former had her hand on the latter's shoulder, who looked quite flustered and ready to flee, not unlike a frightened rabbit.

"Hello, Ms. Degurechaff, may we sit with you? Ribbit."

Tanya quirked a brow, but politely answered: "Of course, please take a seat."

Once the girls settled down with their own trays, she continued: "Is there something you'd like to discuss with me? Concerns? Schoolwork?"

"Nothing like that. Ochako-chan is just a really big fan of yours and wanted to ask for your autograph. Ribbit" Asui explained bluntly.

At the revelation, Uraraka's face grew even redder and she whined: "Tsu! You're embarrassing me in front of our teacher!"

Asui blinked at her friend. "There's no reason to be embarrassed, I'm also a fan. Ribbit."

"I... see," Tanya said evenly, prompting Uraraka to hurriedly explain herself.

"I-it's just, I know you said you don't think of yourself exclusively as a rescue hero, but you're still one of the best in that regard, and I'm aiming to be a rescue hero myself. Honestly, you and Thirteen are some of my biggest inspirations."

"You are an inspiration to all of us girls who want to become heroes. Ribbit," Asui added. "You're strong, intelligent and hardworking. Everything a good hero should be. Ribbit."

Tanya's lip twitched upwards and she sighed: "I suppose I can sign something, if you have-"

Before she could even finish, Uraraka thrust her notebook forward. Idly, she noted that the cover had been extensively decorated, featuring a menagerie of female heroes such as Mirko, Ryukyu, Midnight, and even Tanya herself, surprisingly.

Tanya blinked, but accepted the notebook and proffered pen, deciding to sign the inside cover. As she did so, she remarked: "A rescue hero, hm? I suppose I can see the rationale behind that considering your quirk."

Uraraka nodded enthusiastically at that.

"Yeah, with Zero Gravity, I can easily lift fallen debris, no matter how heavy, to find civilians caught in disaster zones."

Tanya closed the cover and slid it back to her student.

"Yes, and it also lends itself well utilizing a wide array of support gear to aid in that endeavour."

Uraraka stared at her uncomprehendingly.

"Um, what do you mean?"

Tanya tilted her head, thumb and forefinger on her chin as she thought it over and explained: "A camera, for instance, perhaps designed like those tumbler dolls young children play with. That is to say, one that's designed to orientate itself directly downwards. With your quirk, you could float it high above the site of a disaster to get a bird's eye view of the area. Since your quirk provides the lift, it could be quite compact, and with added thermal imaging, it would make identifying civilians in need of rescue significantly easier instead of merely using your quirk to lift every large piece of debris randomly in search of them. After all, in our line of work time is always of the essence and every second you save in rescuing someone is another moment medical professionals have to stabilize their condition."

Another idea suddenly came to her mind and she snapped her fingers in annoyance that she hadn't thought of it immediately.

"Also you should seriously consider a jetpack or grappling hook of some sort. Maybe even both, why not? I saw in the footage of the battle trial that you can briefly remove gravity from yourself as well, so you should seriously consider upping your air mobility to properly take advantage of that. Just short bursts of your quirk should be enough to get you from street level to a nearby roof in seconds if you can maneuver more than just flying in a straight line."

When Tanya returned her attention to her bubbly student, she found her writing furiously in her newly signed notebook as she nodded emphatically, eyes sparkling like a certain green-haired boy when he was taking notes about other people's quirks.

"Those are all great ideas! Thank you, Sensei! Are there any other support items you think would work well with my quirk?"

Tanya contemplated the question for a moment then brought her hands up as if pulling back the string of an invisible bow.

"Projectiles. Specifically manually loaded and powered ones, like a bow and arrow... No, a slingshot would be more compact and easier to carry on patrols. By using your quirk on the projectile itself before firing, you would no longer have to account for drop off while aiming, making it easier and more accurate. As I said during my first class, rescue or combat heroes shouldn't expect not to have to be competent in both fields, and you will have to fight villains during your career. A good weapon will be useful in such a situation."

"Yes, Sensei," Uraraka declared more seriously as she wrote that down. "And thank you for the advice."

Tanya simply nodded and was about to return to her meal (that chocolate cake was practically calling her name) when she suddenly remembered that there was more than one student at her table. Looking over, she saw Asui staring at her, finger on her lip and head slightly tilted.

"Is there something you'd like to ask, as well, Asui?"

"Ribbit... Is there any support equipment I should add to my kit, or advice on better ways to use my quirk?"

Tanya held back the sigh that threatened to escape her and gazed sadly at her dessert that was growing staler by the second. Alas, she is a teacher, and she would be remiss in her duties not to advise one of her students when requested.

"You can cling to most surfaces, yes? Would that perhaps include skin and clothing?" Tanya asked.

Asui blinked, turned to her friend and poked the other girl's hand. After a moment, she tugged, and pulled Uraraka's arm with her slightly, who just stared at the point of contact with confusion. Then Asui moved her finger to instead touch the sleeve of her shirt and repeated the process.

"I can cling to both, but not as well to the fabric. Ribbit."

"I figured as much, still, that will contribute greatly to grip strength, which in turn will lend itself well to maintaining holds on opponents, such as limb locks and the like. I suggest looking into a grappling-based martial art, such as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. With your quirk aided grip, even a technically sloppy hold will be significantly harder for an opponent to break out of, and will help in nonlethal captures. I also know you have exceptionally powerful legs, which beyond your impressive jump height and distance, means you should be able to kick like a truck. Perhaps you should think about incorporating those into your fighting style, as well."

Once she was done speaking Tanya carefully observed the young girl's face and although her expression was the same as always, Tanya could
practically see Asui's eyes sparkling as she said: "Thank you, Sensei. I'll take your advice into consideration."

"I'm glad I could help," Tanya replied evenly, quickly eating a mouthful of food to hopefully stave off any more questions. Lunch Rush's meal was far more delicious than what she would normally bring to school, but perhaps she should take it to the teachers' lounge next time in order to enjoy it in peace.

She was all for helping her new students out whenever possible, but even her patience has limits, and letting perfectly good desserts grow cold and stale comes dangerously close to pushing them. They could take her freedom, but never her culinary enjoyment! Hopefully she would not be transferred to a new case any time soon.

 

[Morte_Perpetua]

Chapter 6

Foundational Heroics was ridiculously simple to teach. So simple in fact that Tanya was unsure if she had perhaps misinterpreted the curriculum and was conducting the class wrong. Just sharing a few pieces of wisdom from her experience as a pro hero with the eagerly listening students and then showing them hand-to-hand combat techniques couldn't be all that was required of her, right? Luckily All Might was coming back next week so he could show her how it was done.

A pro of his calibre was bound to be bursting with wisdom and useful strategies for the newbies to absorb. What else did she have to teach, besides basic melee, a few tactics and common sense? Tanya was certain that she was doing far worse than her precursor in that position.
Still, she gave her best.

"Midoriya, raise your arm higher! Feet further apart and deep breaths! Understood?"

"Y-yes Ms. Argent!"

"Remember, only when you achieve control of your body can you achieve control over 'Superpower'. Pure strength alone isn't going to cut it when you want to master utilizing your quirk."

"Yes!"

"Good. Yaoyorozu, nice work. I think it would be beneficial if you could show Kirishima the grapple again. He hasn't quite gotten that move down yet."

"Of course, Sensei!"

"Bakugou, it is good to see that you take this exercise seriously, but please go over to a different station now. Any more strain on your legs and you could hurt yourself."

He only grunted in reply, but did stop from trying to kick the moving punching bag any further. Although his demeanour was lacklustre and his attitude tolerable at best, he did have potential. Should his behaviour become more pronounced then Tanya would not hesitate to send him to Hound Dog as well. The explosive teen could do great harm if that nasty temper got the better of him.

A problem child of the different kind was sitting at the edge of the gym, badly pretending to perform stretches. Instead he was ogling Ashido's and Ochako's shapely behinds, which were even more pronounced due to their skin tight costumes.

"Mineta! This is the third time I have to warn you to take this seriously! Any further harassment of your classmates will result in detention!"

"B-but Ms. Argent, I was j-just doing stretches-"

"Do not lie to me boy! Deception is part of hero work, but it has no place in school. For that poor attempt of a lie I want three pages on the practical applications of lying until tomorrow!"

"W-what, but I-"

"Do not complete that sentence if you don't want to add another page to your essay. Also you should really show more effort in your training. It is disgraceful how far behind your classmates you are. Show some of that 'Plus Ultra' spirit UA is known for or you are going to find yourself expelled faster than I can say 'pervert'."

"Did she really just call him a pervert?" asked Kaminari incredulously.

"Yeah, but he is one though. No shame in saying the truth." added Jirou from behind him.

"I guess..."

Meanwhile Tanya was busy with convincing Kouda to punch Tokoyami harder than a slap. It was truly a miracle that the pacifistic boy had made it through the entrance exam. Perhaps teaching normal children was not as simple as she had at first presumed.

~[#҈#]~
​

The next day Tanya sat in the quiet teachers' lounge and ate the meal Lunch Rush had graciously allowed her to take from his cafeteria. She was glad that most of the faculty chose to eat in the large meeting room instead of here to have discussions over their lunch. Really, she probably should be doing the same, if for no other reason than to gather more intel for the HPSC, but with all the craziness she had to put up with in this madhouse of a school on a near daily basis, she thought she deserved this momentary respite.

'... Or not,' she thought bitterly as a shadow once more fell over her and her meal. Already she can sense her chocolate éclair becoming soggier by the second as the tasty cream seeps into the buttery pastry.

"Yo! Tanya-chan! Whatcha doing down here all by yourself again? Don't you know all the cool cats are upstairs?"

Putting her utensils down with forced calm, she looked up at her fellow teacher and hero, Yamada Hizashi, and spoke coolly:
"I think you meant Tanya-san, Mr. Yamada, and yes, I am aware the rest of the faculty is currently upstairs. I chose to eat down here willingly."

The man faltered a moment under her icy gaze, but recovered quickly as he leaned a forearm onto the table and placed his other hand on his hip.
"My mistake, Tanya-san, but I still gotta know why. Isn't it boring eating all by yourself? You'd be more than welcome with us." He snapped his fingers as if coming to a revelation. "You're not intimidated by the thought of sitting with so many senpais, are you? I know we're a bunch of experienced pros, but we're all very humble, you know."

Tanya quirked a brow.

"Yes, so humble. Still, you're mistaken, if only taking into account the fact that, other than All Might, I'm currently the highest ranked hero in the faculty, and thus, technically your senpai, not that I put much stock into such things."

Hizashi's eyebrow twitched and a frown pulled at his lips, but Tanya continued. "Regardless, my choice to eat here instead of in the meeting room simply stems from my wish for some peace and quiet before returning to class. So, that being said, if there's nothing else you need..."

Not taking the hint for what it was, Hizashi instead sighed and pulled up a seat to plop down. "Okay, asking you to eat with the rest of us isn't the only reason I wanted to talk to you," the man explained, demeanour more serious now. "It's because of Shota."

At the mention of that name, it was Tanya's turn to frown as she asked, "What about him? He's still recovering, yes? Have there been any complications? If so, then rest assured that I'm willing to stay enrolled as a teacher for as long as necessary."

Hizashi chuckled. "Nah, his recovery is coming along just fine. Heck, if he had it his way, he'd already be back and tormenting his students with logical ruses and sleeping in his sleeping bag under the desk, but Principal Nedzu won't let him."

"He sleeps under his desk?" Tanya asked incredulously, her already low opinion of the man dropping even further.

While her first life had made her familiar with the concept of inemuri, that is, sleeping in the office being common and socially accepted as it was seen as a sign of diligence, she had never personally partook in any life. To her, it wasn't a sign that a person was so dedicated to their job that they worked themselves to exhaustion, but instead a display of one's mismanagement of personal resources. Bad diet and sleeping habits lead to running out of energy before your job was properly finished.

Hizashi didn't share her opinion apparently as he just barked out a quick laugh. "Yeah, it's a pretty funny sight, seeing Shota slink around like an inchworm. The students always love it when they discover that he uses the vent tunnels for a short nap during the breaks."
"I'm sure." Tanya mumbled, clearly unamused.

Sensing this, the Voice Hero cleared his throat and barrelled on. "Anyway, what I mean is that Shota has been hounding me about his students. He wants to know how they're doing in your class and all that, so I told him I'd talk to you about it."

"I see." Tanya said flatly, leaning back in her seat and folding her hands on the table. "If that is the case, you can tell Mr. Aizawa that all is going well with MY students."

Hizashi blinked behind his yellow-tinted shades. "Er, your students?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I've been making great strides in correcting the mistakes of Mr. Aizawa's frankly atrocious teaching methods," she explained almost acidly before reigning herself back in.

Frowning, Hizashi began to say, "Mistakes? I know Shota's teaching methods can be a bit unorthodox, but-"

"Unorthodox? Is that what we're calling sheer laziness, now?" Tanya interrupted. "Please, enlighten me if you can, the unorthodox nature in letting a student, who until only recently and only rectified because of my intervention, was crippling himself with every activation of his quirk, or how another's obvious traumas were preventing him from utilizing half of his power? And yet Mr. Aizawa was content to merely sit back and watch these errors unfold in the hopes that they would work themselves out without any effort on his part. If he hoped they would at all."

She snorted derisively and added: "The fact that he cannot even show enough respect to his students and co-workers to take care of his appearance or sleep the appropriate amount at home, shows me how much he is invested in the education of the next generation of heroes. No wonder his expulsion rates are astronomical if he only accepts naturally gifted students that he doesn't have to personally train. If not for his actions at the USJ, one could almost believe he was actively hoping his students would get themselves killed out in the field."

"Hey! That's going too far," snapped Hizashi, slamming a fist down on the table. "Shota might not be perfect, but if there's one thing he cares about, it's ensuring his students live long lives as heroes."

"Actions speak louder than words, Mr. Yamada," Tanya replied, voice frigid. "And Mr. Aizawa's actions speak of gross negligence at best, and disdain for his job at worst. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to finish my meal while it's still at least somewhat warm. You can tell your friend that the students of Class 1-A are in good hands, better ones, and that their education and training are coming along smoothly."

When Hizashi opened his mouth to argue, Tanya simply tacked on a firm: "Goodbye, Mr. Yamada." while returning her attention to her food and picking up her utensils. The man stood up abruptly, and his shadow lingered above her for nearly a whole minute, until finally receding when he turned around with a huff of indignation and stomped out of the room.

Once she heard the door slam shut, Tanya released a breath that sounded more like a growl and clenched a fist around her fork. Was this going to be a new routine now? Was she going to be interrupted at every lunch? Idly, she wondered if it would be considered rude to maintain a barrier over the door in the future to discourage people from bothering her.

~[#҈#]~
​

"Yes Mr. Principal, you wanted to speak with me?"

"Ah Ms. Degurechaff... You are as punctual as your reputation claims. It is always good to work with people who respect your time."

"Indeed."

Their gazes locked momentarily and the world seemed to freeze for a heartbeat.

"Would you like some tea?" the white creature of unidentified origin suddenly asked with a charming smile that instantly broke the tension.

"No, thank you."

Although he would never poison her so unsubtly her paranoia was on an all time high.

"A shame. It was a new brand I ordered from the Philippines just yesterday. It is supposed to be extremely relaxing. I thought you could use some
after your first intense few days at our lovely school and that exhilarating battle before class today."

"Oh, it was nothing. I needed to withdraw some money and he chose that time to rob the exact same bank. I would say that that was simply bad luck on both our parts."

"Is that so?" Nedzu asked with a twinkle in his beady eyes, his paws busy with preparing the beverage.

Tanya just shrugged and hummed noncommittally.

"Nonetheless, it was a fairly intimidating villain you fought today. A quirk that turned his whole body into a super-hard and durable chainsaw blade is no easy thing to work around. The press are already calling him the monster of the week."

"A very insulting term in my opinion."

"Pray tell."

That infuriating "conversation" with Present Mic in the teachers' lounge had obviously put her more off balance than she believed, if she fell so
easily for Nedzu's traps. Although perhaps she could use this opportunity in her favour...

"Well, I only got sent a preliminary summary of the case file an hour ago, so I am no expert, but from what he was yelling, young Irukaka was probably a victim of mutant quirk discrimination throughout his whole life. His résumé shows that he graduated from highschool with above average grades and attempted to find a job, but no business was willing to employ him. If that was caused by either bigoted beliefs or an inability to house his abnormally large frame is unclear at the moment, but at least he seemed to believe that it was the fault of his – admittedly grotesque – appearance."

"So you think that he attacked the bank out of desperation?"

"Yes. I am by no means condoning his actions that put innocent people at risk, but I can empathize with his desire to escape the downward spiral he found himself in. Social programs failed him, because he is technically still living with his family, but his father has gone missing for several years and his mother is severely disabled. The money their insurance provides is apparently not enough to sustain her treatment and pay the rent for their apartment. Add unemployment and an absent father into the mix and I believe it becomes pretty clear why he resorted to robbery in the end."

"Impressive. You managed to glean all that from the few scraps of information the police released. How marvellous." he grinned, making it clear that he had known the whole story already.

"Humans are normally not too complex if you abstract their behaviour a bit. The motivations for crime stay the same throughout history. Greed, fear, desperation and a lust for vengeance are in my experience the most common causes for people to turn a weapon against their neighbours. From an analytical standpoint Irukaka made a somewhat logical decision when he went against the law. He believed that society had failed him after all, so he tried a different approach. The definition of insanity is to try the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result. Subsequently he went for the only other option his young and inexperienced brain knew from watching the daily news."

"Mmm... So you partly blame the media for promoting villainy? A bold claim that I am sure would make for an excellent research paper. Turning a normal, young man into a violent criminal... Yes, yes that would create quite the stir in the public perception of news coverage. Humans are truly scariest when they suppress their emotions in favour of calculated goals."

"No."

Damn it! She hadn't meant to say that out loud. Now Nedzu looked like a hungry shark which had smelled blood in the water. Tanya would need to indulge his curiosity or else he would probably not let this topic drop easily.

"Oh you disagree?"

"Yes. Humans are then at their most dangerous and depraved when they forgo logical reasoning and premeditated ideals. It is their inability to ignore their misguided feelings that has led to so much misery and senseless violence over the course of history."

"Mmh oh yes. Naturally, not thinking things properly through is the mother of most problems, but it is also that trait which enables much good in our society. A hero rushing towards a victim to save them even at the cost of their own health or life is – while not strictly objective – an admirable action."

He was doing this to test her; she knew that. By not keeping her mouth shut when she really should, Tanya had opened a can of worms that would sooner or later explode in her face. Whatever he wanted to verify about her character could be crucial to the continuation of her mission.

"And yet, by throwing their life away too hastily the hero may doom many more innocents when they are unable to come to their rescue. Prioritizing one's overall ability to keep working over the well-being of others is the most reasonable reaction from an evolutionary standpoint."

"An evolutionary standpoint you say? How interesting. What a remarkable opinion for a professional hero to have."

It sounded serious, but she immediately realized that he was mocking her! Or was this another test?

"I am fully aware that it may sound cold to civilian ears, but you and I both know that the world is more complicated than the rose-tinted version the government is trying to show us. Sacrifices for the overall prosperity of the system have to be made all the time. The needs of the many outweigh that of the few. Even All Might cannot save everyone. If what the report says is true then he only showed up late to the USJ disaster because he was preoccupied with stopping muggings and rescuing cats from trees on the way. Had he arrived just a few seconds later a student or teacher could have paid with their lives for that mistake."

"I quite agree. It was reckless of him to neglect his duties as a teacher like that. He is still very much stuck in his 'Symbol of Peace' mindset."

Hurriedly she used his admission to change the topic. Tanya knew that he would detect her diversion right away, Administrator M had warned her of his superhuman intelligence multiple times, so she decided to be blunt about it.

"As gripping as this discussion is, you hardly made me come here for idle banter, did you Mr. Principal?"

"True enough, my dear Ms. Degurechaff. Say... How have you settled in at this fine institution?"

"Well enough. I admit it can be challenging to take care of so many children at once, but it is nothing I cannot handle. Teaching is certainly a very gratifying profession if one is able to watch young heroes learn and develop over time."

"Fascinating."

He smiled at her serenely, but she could see the glint of steel in his eyes.

"And the other teachers are treating you well I hope?"

Ah... So that was what this meeting was about. She wanted to slap herself for not figuring it out sooner.

"They are nice enough. We didn't have much time to get to know each other yet. Seeing as Eraserhead is allegedly insisting on resuming his scholastic duties as soon as possible I will sadly not get the chance to do so either."

Tanya would miss the food very much. And lecturing or overseeing a bunch of kids was also far safer and cushier than going out in the streets to fight crime.

"Well it seems that your opinion of Aizawa is not very high. Rumours are already spreading that you would try to permanently replace him."
Oh, she could imagine who was behind this smear campaign.

"Whoever is spreading such nonsense should wash their ears and learn to think before opening their mouth. I never expressed such a thing, nor did I ever think of it. I merely expressed my displeasure about some of his educational failings."

The tea had long since finished brewing and the white rodent finally settled behind his desk, holding his cup with both paws like a sacred treasure.

"I see... Mhhh... You are really missing out on this excellent flavour. I am afraid that next time I will have to insist that you partake in at least a mouthful. I would deeply regret it if you missed out on the opportunity to enjoy this blend."

"Of course."

Was this a threat? Some cryptic message? What kind of game was Nedzu playing here?

"But alas... Maybe my taste is just different from humans? Perhaps what I find pleasant about this tea is totally lost on your kind? Or are you noticing other sensations that I cannot experience? A human brain is more complex than an animal brain after all."
Appealing to his ego with the truth would hopefully ease the strain on their barely formed work relationship.

"Humans are for the most part like any other animal: Impulse-driven, reliant largely on instinct and pattern recognition and without true thought or comprehension of the world around them. To claim that they are something special in the universe is one of the greatest lies ever invented."

"Hahahahaha... Wonderful! Why do we fight for them then? What are we hoping to accomplish by helping out these animals – as you described them?"

"That is the question." she answered diplomatically.

"That is the question." he repeated quietly, sipping his tea and nodding at her.

Wordlessly she bowed and left his office, not knowing if she had failed or passed his evaluation.

 

[KinKrow]

"That is the question." she answered diplomatically.

"That is the question." he repeated quietly, sipping his tea and nodding at her.

Click to shrink...

Because money. Also that warm cozy feeling evolution instilled in you to save your own kind, but the money sure as shit doesn't hurt.

Although the thread is gone, their awesome work still lives on

Click to shrink...

Why is the thread gone?

 

[Morte_Perpetua]

Why is the thread gone?

Click to shrink...

I already explained it above, but basically the stupid mods thought it was NSFW even though it was clearly not and I was unwilling to compromise my artistic vision for this project for the sake of their pride.

Because money.

Click to shrink...

While I would normally agree, this is not the case here imo. Nedzu doesn't do it for the money (he could quickly make billions on the stock market or through inventions or similar stuff) and Tanya wants peace and quiet (which she would not get with the HPSC hunting her down).
Those two could easily become rich, but choose to do hero work instead for the sake of their happiness.

 

[Akuma-Heika]

Not lewd, just Horny People of Culture

Click to shrink...

We have handholding written in some fics and quests; we are undoubtedly lewd

 

[KinKrow]

While I would normally agree, this is not the case here imo. Nedzu doesn't do it for the money (he could quickly make billions on the stock market or through inventions or similar stuff) and Tanya wants peace and quiet (which she would not get with the HPSC hunting her down).

Those two could easily become rich, but choose to do hero work instead for the sake of their happiness.

Click to shrink...

I know, I meant it as a joke.

We see heroes that do it for the money in canon, and they don't match the attitude or actions of Nedzu and Tanya.

 

[Morte_Perpetua]

Chapter 7

The end of the week came quicker than expected. So much had happened between her acting as a pro hero on the streets and as a teacher in school, that time seemed to fly by like a bullet. Even though she had met the members of 1-A only a few days ago, most of the kids had already grown on her in some weird way. Midoriya´s enthusiasm for learning and improving, Yaoyorozu´s surprisingly insightful commentary, Uraraka´s cheery optimism that reminded her of Himiko...

They would make for excellent heroes, as stupid as the whole profession was. Not all of them, naturally, but those that were willing to work on themselves and become stronger and better for it. If they were lucky they would only be active for five or so years and then become popular marketing figures who barely stepped into actual danger zones anymore. At least she hoped that would happen to her, if the government let her...

On the weekend she only had to teach one hour in the morning and then could go back home to do the paperwork that had accumulated over the course of the week. Being a solo pro hero without an agency proved to be a hassle sometimes, but the flexibility and control over her life was something she treasured. The HPSC didn't care what she did as long as she satisfied the minimum amount of heroic actions to keep her spot in the rankings and stay visible in the media.

Well, that and she had to accomplish special missions of course, like spying on UA or luring a couple of disgraced heroes into spots where they could be conveniently ambushed by 'criminals'. Normal stuff.

Sunday she went out in her 'civilian getup' which was not a common occurrence. Sadly, if it didn't somewhat hide her features then there was bound to be at least one fan who recognized her on the street only to then pester her with demands for autographs or photos. That could be useful for publicity, and she sometimes let herself be discovered 'accidentally', but it was also very annoying. Although some stores would give her products for free if she posted a photo of their business on her social media account, so that was a plus...

But if she really wanted some privacy then she would let her hair down, wear a pair of glasses and a medical face mask and she would become practically invisible in public spaces. The citizens only knew her in a hero costume with a specific appearance, so nobody recognized the young blonde sitting on a park bench.

Not to mention that she wasn't the only blonde in the park.

"Hi Himiko." she greeted offhandedly.

"Hello Tanya." Replied the girl in the same serious tone before bursting out laughing.

"Ha, ha, very funny."

"You are always funny, Senpai!"

"Do you want me to schedule an emergency drill again? I had planned to take you to that new ice cream shop and then go to the zoo, but I guess a bit of extra training couldn´t hurt, right?"

"Oh no please! You are so mean Senpai! Please, I'll never call you funny again!"

"Thought so. Now let's get going. I heard that they have a flavour with three different types of chocolate all at once."

"That sounds awesome! But I want raspberry sorbet though."

"It's just because the colour reminds you of blood."

"No it doesn't! I just like the taste!"

"Sure, sure..."

~[#҈#]~
​

"Did you enjoy our day together, Himiko?" Tanya asked while looking at the setting sun over the ocean. Dagobah beach had been mysteriously cleared about a month ago of all the trash that had once ruined the place, so she thought it would be a wonderful location to end their 'team-building-day' before it got popular once again.

"Mmh!" hummed her partner affirmatively. "It was awesome! The baby seals were so cute! Thanks Senpai."

Himiko´s smile turned serious and she hugged Tanya around the side, bringing her mouth close to her ear.

"You are the best, I really appreciate it. I don't know what I would do without you Tanya."

"You´re welcome."

Tanya allowed a rare true smile to flash across her features. Being valued so highly by your subordinate was a nice feeling. The sun appeared to nearly touch the shimmering surface of the endless ocean, filling the sky with countless shades of scarlet and orange. Together with Himiko´s warm body at her side and the rhythmic breaking of the waves at the shore, it created an extraordinarily peaceful moment.

She slightly turned her head to look at her fellow blonde only to find her licking her lips in that specific way that indicated that she was thirsty. It was one of Himiko´s many mannerisms that she had picked up during their countless hours of joint training.

"Did you take your dose today already?" she asked, concerned.

"Well, I was so excited for what you had planned that I kinda... forgot?"

The vampiric girl could be so neglectful at times! Any other day Tanya would have admonished her for forgetting something so simple, but today was different. Tanya honestly didn't want to make a scene and ruin the serene atmosphere.

"Then do it now. You need to be well-rested and fed before tomorrow."

"W-what?" the normally confident girl uncharacteristically stuttered.

"Come on. You can drink from me. It's ok."

Tanya held out her arm and pushed up the sleeve of her shirt to expose the pale flesh underneath.

"B-but..."

"I don't have any diseases if you are afraid of that. And I just showered this morning so I am clean."

Himiko looked at her with big, vulnerable eyes and whispered: "Are you really ok with this?"

"Yes. We have been partners for a while now. We killed for each other and we lied for each other. What is a little blood when compared to that?"

Hesitantly, the younger girl reached out and took her arm before slowly raising it to her mouth, keeping eye contact the whole time. Unconsciously, Tanya´s heart rate quickened when she felt the warm breath wash over her delicate skin. Then two small pricks of pain radiated from her outstretched limb as Himiko´s small fangs sunk into her flesh and she began to suck at her wrist almost tenderly.

The poor girl must have gotten quite cold from the sea breeze, because she clung harder to her and began to shiver. Not wanting to let her closest confidant get sick she huddled closer to her and erected a silver, heat insulating barrier around them to keep her warm. Rubbing soothing circles on her back Tanya let her co-worker feed off her blood for a while longer before she finally pulled away, seemingly satisfied.

"I hope it didn't taste too bad. We ate a little too much ice cream today."

"No! It was excellent." mumbled Himiko who appeared to be intoxicated to some extent, judging from the faraway look in her lidded eyes and the manic grin on her red-painted lips. She looked so out of it that Tanya took pity on her and carefully cleaned her blood-stained mouth with a napkin. It wouldn't do for a random civilian to spot her with blood on her face. That would devolve into a PR-nightmare!

"Let's go home. You can sleep on my couch if you don't want to go back to the hideout. I´ll text your location to Administrator M so you won't be in trouble."

"M´kay." she muttered and fell headfirst into Tanya´s chest, having already fallen asleep.

With a bemused sigh Argent created a barrier beneath them both and lifted them straight into the air until she reached a full kilometre in altitude and then began to push it through the sky at breakneck speeds.

~[#҈#]~
​

It was Monday morning and Tanya was once again inconvenienced due to an ill-timed villain attack. This time it had been late at night right near the end of her patrol, and resulted in a torn sleeve on her uniform. Much to Tanya's shame, she had suffered a momentary bout of laxity upon flying in through the window of her apartment, and simply tossed the ruined garment into her closet while she took a shower.

Looking after Himiko, who had used her temporary absence to crawl into her bed, had been her priority at the time. How do you throw someone out of your resting place without being rude? In the end she had simply taken the couch, only to find out later in the morning that the annoyingly snugly girl had somehow ended up there too. It spoke of Himiko´s impeccable skill as an infiltrator that she had managed to sneak under the sheets and cuddle up to her senpai without waking her, despite Tanya´s finely honed senses.

Anyone would understand how under such distracting circumstances the condition of her uniform had been forgotten. By the time she remembered and looked down to notice the damage, she was already halfway to UA and didn't have the time to turn back and switch out the jacket for a spare.

And now here she was, currently rushing towards Kayama Nemuri's classroom in hopes of procuring some materials to make a quick repair before anyone else caught her in such an unprofessional state. The R-Rated hero taught Modern Art History, better known as the 'Costume Design' class, so it stood to reason that she probably had at least a needle and thread somewhere in there. Luckily, Tanya arrived early as usual and so the other heroine would most likely not be in just yet.

"Oh my! Is the elusive Argent gracing my classroom with her presence?" a sultry voice said from down the hallway as Tanya had just opened the door to the room. "Whatever could you want with me?"

Tanya glanced up to send a silent curse to Being X before she turned to the older woman and pasted on a smile.
"Ah, hello, Ms. Kayama. I am sorry to intrude on you this fine morning, but I had an issue with my uniform and-"

There was a gasp as the other woman quickened her step, a wide smile pulling at her lips.

"Don't tell me... You're here to change your hero costume, aren't you? I just knew a cutie like you wouldn't want to stick with such a drab outfit. Those so-called designers at the HPSC probably thought it was the height of gap moe to dress a cute little girl like she was in the military, but it just doesn't work."

"Ah, I'm afraid you're mistake- hey!" Before Tanya could explain herself, Nemuri had already dragged her into the classroom and begun riffling through a wardrobe near the back.

"Now, we obviously don't have time to go into detailed plans, but I know I have a few accessories to improve your image right away, things that will really up your cuteness. Like these," Nemuri said as she whirled around and held out a headband adorned with cat ears, which made Tanya recoil.
Seemingly not caring, the woman aligned the headband with one open eye with Tanya's head, then frowned. "Hm, cute but not quite your style. Oh! Your fans call you the Eleventh Goddess enough, so why not lean into it?"

Once again rummaging through the wardrobe, Nemuri rushed over and plopped something atop Tanya's head. Tanya was confused until Midnight held up a mirror. Seeing the halo now bobbing over her blonde hair, held aloft by a thin but rigid wire, Nearly made Tanya send the horrible thing flying with a scream, but she managed to control herself enough to gingerly take it off and hold it far away from her person.

"I don't think so." she said. "And really, while I appreciate the effort, I came here to-"

"Go the magical girl route, of course ." Nemuri finished wrongly as she hammered a fist into her palm. "It's so obvious now. The majokko hero, Argent. I can picture it now. A short, puffed out skirt, a skin tight leotard, frills everywhere , and a tiara. You'll look adorable and sexy!"

Her expression turned into something that Tanya thought would be more appropriate on an old, lecherous man than a heroine as she mumbled: "After all, nothing is hotter than the corruption of the pure and innocent. I can see the fan art already..."

Tanya formed a blade-shaped barrier behind her back and moved to create some distance between her and the deranged pervert before clearing her throat.

"Ms. Kayama, while I appreciate your... enthusiasm in trying to help me update my image, that's not what I came here for."

Nemuri blinked free from her lewd stupor to look down at the smaller woman.

"You didn't?"

"No, I didn't. I simply came in search of supplies to fix the sleeve of my jacket before school started." Tanya explained, holding up her arm for emphasis.

The R-rated Heroine sagged a little.

"Really? That's all? You want me to repair your jacket?"

"I can perform the repairs myself. I just need a needle and some thread."

Midnight shook her head and held out a hand.

"Nonsense, I will gladly do it. It's the least I can do after wasting so much of your time as it is."

"It's really not necessary. I know how."

"But classes start in only a few minutes. Do you really think you can do it in time?"

Tanya opened her mouth, but looked at the clock on the wall and closed it, lips forming a thin line while Nemuri's stretched out into a broad smile.
"Thought so," said the older woman. "I'm a master with a needle and thread, though, and can have it done in no time at all. Please, I insist."

Tanya sighed, but pulled the jacket off and dropped it into Nemuri's waiting claws, leaving her in only her thin undershirt which made her feel surprisingly vulnerable. She certainly did not appreciate the other woman taking an unnecessary moment to eye her chest, and so quickly crossed her arms over it. There was hardly anything there to even look at anyway! True to her word, though, the immodestly dressed woman really did finish repairing in only a couple minutes, doing such a good job that Tanya could hardly even tell there had been a rip in the sleeve at all.
Smiling, Tanya put the jacket back on and said: "Thank you. I appreciate your help."

Midnight waved her off.

"It's fine." she began, before her expression suddenly took on a scheming air. "Though, if you really want to thank me, there is one thing you could do..."
Blade reformed, Tanya hesitantly asked: "And that would be...?"

She was left blinking as the other woman ran back to the closet, only to quickly return, hands outstretched.

"You have to wear this all day! You'll look adorable!"

Tanya was about to refuse, but one look into that eager expression, and a sudden reminder of a certain blonde pain who also had a penchant for calling Tanya things such as cute and adorable, and the girl caved.

It was hardly that bad, and it would ingratiate her with a fellow staff member and heroine. Networking often required the sacrifice of some dignity, after all.

Later, her students would find themselves staring at their teacher like she had grown another head instead of simply wearing a bright blue ribbon in her hair.

 

[Morte_Perpetua]

Chapter 8

"So what have you learned today? Whoever answers the best gets extra credit."

"Ehm... We learned that proper communication is important?"

"Why does that sound like a question Hagakure? Are you unsure?"

"Ehm... No, Ms. Argent. I just..."

"Yes. And that is the perfect example why verbal discipline on the field is so important. Facts have to be stated short, precise and clearly phrased as statements, not unknowns. The sooner you internalize that, the better. What else have you learned?"

"You told us that requesting clarification when we don´t understand something is crucial, rather than being polite and staying oblivious."

"Exactly, Yaoyorozu. Next."

"Uh... We now know that information itself is worth nothing if you cannot use it."

"Precisely, Jirou. Next."

"Leaving one´s foe entombed in a surplus of light may blind him to the darkness encroaching on them trough their own shadow."

"And could someone please repeat that without trying to act out a Shakespeare play?"

"I think Tokoyami means that bombarding your opponent with too much or false information can distract them from your real plans. Uh. Right?"

"Very good, Ojiro. In the future make it a habit to speak like you actually live in the twenty-fourth century, Tokoyami. That comes right back to our first point from Hagakure. People need to understand you or they won´t be able to help you. Next."

"Ms. Argent, you taught us today that being well-informed is the cornerstone of becoming a successful hero. We all need to learn the ins and outs of our gear, our surroundings, our teammates and if possible our enemies before engaging. Without sufficient preparation we could risk endangering ourselves – or worse – the civilians we are sworn to protect. In fact it would be the greatest dishonour to fail them by not adequately learning the details that the hero profession thrives upon. If we want to live up to the expectations placed on us by others then it is imperative that we absorb as much useful knowledge as possible."

"Correct, Iida. Although you should aim to be more brief in your explanations. I did not ask you for your morals, but only for the strategies I told you today. No, don´t apologize. Next."

"Uh... L-letting others k-know of your position regularly is essential f-for protecting yourself against ambushes."

"I only mentioned that offhandedly, so it is nice that you caught that, Midoriya. Anyways, what do- Oh. We don´t have time for that anymore. As homework I want you to scream the phrase: 'Help! Request backup immediately! I need help!' as loud as you can and as long as you can. Make sure to find a spot where you don´t disturb the peace too much and don´t hurt your vocal cords. Also write on a piece of paper why you think this exercise is important and bring it tomorrow for me to collect. Dismissed."

~[#҈#]~
​

Tanya stepped through the door of her apartment and tossed her jacket on the nearby coat hanger before heading towards the bathroom for a quick rinse-off shower. As she walked by the entrance to her kitchen however, her heightened sense for danger suddenly flared and she quickly somersaulted away, throwing up her barriers and readying herself for a fight. However instead of a villain or assassin sent to take her out, there was only Himiko. She was standing rigidly in the kitchen near the table and was facing her, but she had her head down and her fists were clenched into the front of her skirt.

Tanya blinked and straightened from her combat stance, dismissing her silver barriers.

"Himiko? Is something wrong? Has something happened?"

"You tell me, Senpai." Toga spat, not lifting her gaze.

More confused and chest tightening for some reason, Tanya took a hesitant step forward.

"Himiko...? Please tell me what's wrong."

"I saw."

"Saw what?"

"The pictures. They're all over social media." Himiko said as if that explained anything.

Tanya was now close enough to reach out, though she hesitated, hand hovering as she didn't know what she was supposed to do.
"I still don't understand-"

"You don't understand this?!" Himiko suddenly screamed, hand reaching into her pocket to whip out her smartphone, the screen lighting up to reveal a picture of Tanya in profile as she lectured in class. And judging by the bright blue ribbon in her hair that was now currently in her pocket, it was from today.

Now Tanya was confused, and angry that one of her students had taken their phone out during class. "What? I'm just teaching. Why would that make you upset?"

"There's a dozen of them!" Himiko wailed with tears in her eyes as she swiped through the pictures.

Some of her in hallways, some in the lunchroom, and a few more from the classroom from different angles, meaning she had more than one student to punish tomorrow. But right now, she had a very distraught girl to calm down, and that required her to first understand why these images made her so upset to begin with. Something that couldn't happen as long as the younger girl was a blubbering mess.

Reaching out, Tanya grabbed her wrist, causing the phone to clatter to the ground, and pulled. Himiko resisted, but not as much as she could have, considering Tanya managed to move the physically stronger girl without use of her quirk. She wrapped her arms tightly around her middle and held Himiko's head to her chest while she rubbed soothing circles into her back. Those lessons on how to pacify distraught children during a crisis response were really coming in handy right now.

"Shh, shh..." Tanya whispered. "Calm down, Himiko. It's alright, everything's going to be alright."

"N-no it's not," was the whimpered response as Himiko's legs gave out, bringing both of their knees to the hardwood floor. "You've fallen in love, a-and now you're going to spend all of your time with them, a-and you aren't going to want to be around me because I'm weird and not cute, and I'd scare them off, and- and-"

"Wait? Fallen in love? Me?" Tanya asked, pulling back to search the girl's tear-stained face. "Who said that? And how would any of those pictures prove it?"

Himiko rolled her eyes and sneered at her, which made Tanya's chest clench again with how unusual the expression was on her subordinate's face.

"I'm not stupid, Tanya! I can see the ribbon, same as everyone else, and I know what that means. I know that you would never, ever wear something so adorable because it's too girly. Not unless someone really special gave it to you. Obviously it's a gift from someone you love. Why else would you wear it, and in public, no less?! I can barely get you to wear the 'kiss-the-cutie' apron I got you when we cook together, and that's only when it's just the two of us!"

Tanya stared gobsmacked for several seconds at the panting girl in front of her, then started to chuckle heartily.
"Toga Himiko, you are a very amusing young woman, you know that?"

In response, Himiko sputtered and leaned back. "Amusing? I'm not joking, Tanya!"

"Yes, amusing, because you got all worked up over this." Tanya went on to explain, pulling the offending ribbon from her pocket. "It's not even a gift. At least not one accepted happily. It's from Kayama Nemuri."

Himiko's eyes narrowed as she repeated in a harsh whisper, "Kayama Nemuri... so that's the name of the one taking my senpai away."

"Himiko, no!" Tanya said sternly. "You will not try to attack a fellow heroine, especially when she's not even guilty of what you're accusing her of. It was merely me paying back a favour for her helping me this morning. My jacket had been torn last night during a fight, and she repaired it for me before classes started. In return, however, she asked me to wear this ribbon for the school day, and it would have been rude of me to refuse. That's all that happened."

It was silent for a few seconds before Himiko asked in a surprisingly fragile voice: "... Really?"

"Yes, really." Tanya assured with a lopsided smile, causing the other girl to lunge forward to hug her, once more crying onto her shoulder.

"Really, Himiko..." Tanya whispered as she resumed rubbing up and down the girl's back. "I can't believe you'd think I'd abandon my kohai so easily."

"I'm sorry, Senpai." the distraught girl whimpered with a little hiccup. "I just saw the pictures, and got so... so jealous. It was like my heart melted and burned down into my stomach. I thought someone was taking away the only good thing in my life."

"Come on now, there's no need for dramatics. I'm sure I am not the only good thing."

Tanya felt the head in the crook of her neck shake. "You are."

"Hm, well what about raspberry sorbet?"

There was a snort and giggle, then a reply of: "Not funny."

"That's right." Tanya agreed with a nod, "I am not funny, and don't you forget it. Now come on, stand up and let's go make ourselves presentable. We both look utterly unprofessional right now."

"Alright... Were you about to take a shower?"

"I was, yes."

"Can I join you?"

"No, Himiko. That would be indecent."

"But we showered together at the HPSC gym!"

"Three times, and you failed to keep your hands to yourself those three times, and so now we shower separately. Also, we are in a private setting so it is generally less socially acceptable." she lectured.

Honestly, Himiko was lucky that she had Tanya as her partner, because other people would be far less willing to ignore being groped while washing themselves. They could even get the impression that Toga had tried to initiate something sexual! Which was frankly ridiculous if you knew the over-excited girl any better. Tanya was sure that it was all fun and games to her due to her uncaring nature concerning any social boundaries. It would be a surprise to Argent if her young ward even really knew what love was beyond the dictionary definition.

"But what if I promise to keep my hands to myself this time?"

"In a shower that has barely more than a hundred centimetres squared in floor space? I find that unlikely."

"But you're super small! We can fit in easily!"

"... I'm going to pretend you didn't say that, and the answer is still no."

"Ahh..."

"...But you can have your turn first so you won't have to worry about running out of hot water. It'll give me time to make us something to eat, anyway."

"You're too good to me, Senpai."

"I'm starting to believe so, yes. Now hurry up and go."

"... Senpai?"

"Hm?"

"Tomorrow morning, before you go to your teaching job, can... can you let me do your makeup?"
"I don't wear makeup."

"Please! I promise I won't make you even more super adorable and cute than you already are! It'll be professional! I've learned a bunch about makeup to accentuate my disguises! The HPSC even hired real makeup artists to give me lessons, so I can make you look mature and serious and even more appealing all at once!"

"I don't know..."

"Pleeease! Please! Please! Pleeease!" whined the girl, pouting in a way that made it impossible for Tanya to resist. Why did she have to look like a fluffy kitten at times?

"Alright, fine! I'll wear the makeup."

Damn it! She was becoming soft.

"Yes! I'll show that Nemuri lady how to really make Tanya-sama pretty!"
"What was that, Himiko?"

"Nothing, Senpai~. I'm hopping into the shower now!"

Tanya stared with narrowed eyes in the direction her subordinate had skipped off before shaking her head and returning her attention to the near-barren fridge. Looks like they would be having stir-fried vegetables and glasses of milk for dinner tonight.

Maybe they could head down to the bakery a couple blocks away for dessert. For Himiko's sake of course, since the girl did have a stressful day and could use it. Tanya was certainly glad that her third puberty had all but run its course so she didn't have to deal with things like mood swings and hormones trying to make her irrational.

She was a paragon of rationality and emotional control, she thought as she put on the 'kiss-the-cutie' apron and tied it behind her back. After all, making her partner happy was one of the most important and satisfying activities in her new life.

 

[BigBnana]

As always, anything well written with tanya is an absolute delight to read. well written being the obvious difficulty. One that you've far surpassed.

This honestly might be one of the best youjo senki works already, even as short as it currently stands

 

[Morte_Perpetua]

This honestly might be one of the best youjo senki works already, even as short as it currently stands

Click to shrink...

Wow thank you! That is very nice to hear hehe (although you give me perhaps too much credit)
Don't worry, it will not remain short for long!

 

[soulreaper22]

HPSC hunting her down

Click to shrink...

Was this mentioned in the story yet, how did HPSC discover Tanya or why didn't she live a normal life?
Is this Tanya the one who died once or twice?