Chapter Text
“Miss Umisachi.”
“Mr. Principal.”
“You must be wondering why I brought you here, after such a long time.”
“A little bit yes.”
“Well, I heard it from the grape vine-”
“-which means my mother.”
“...that you are unemployed right now.”
“Indeed I am.”
“Well, I would like to offer you a job.”
“...a job, huh? And what would that be?”
“As teacher of the general studies class.”
I sighed, checking my watch once again when I arrived at the school. I made sure not to be late, but my paranoia kept stressing over it nevertheless; being late at my first day of class on a job I had been invited to teach would have been pretty rude, even for me. I adjusted the skirt of my hero uniform —I hadn't worn it in a while, and it made me nervous—and gave myself one moment to stare at the large, intimidating building where I used to study before going inside.
Thankfully, Nezu seemed to realize I didn't need an escort to my own old class, seeming as no one tried to bother me as I made my way there. A few students and teachers stared at me as I went and I began feeling very self conscious about my costume. ‘ That's what happens when you use the same one your angsty teen self thought looked cool ’, I scolded myself.
Arriving at the classroom, I sat down at my desk and plopped my handbag up on the table, browsing my phone and pretending not to be checking every movement outside the door anxiously.
As the students began to pour in, I begrudgingly dropped my phone back into my backpack and tried to look very calm and collected. When they were all sat, I stood up and wrote my name on the blackboard, trying to ignore the tense silence in the classroom.
“Good morning, everyone,” I started after clearing my throat. “I am Kaoru Umisachi, also known as Siren Song, and I will be your teacher.” I could see the the clear look of confusion on the students’ faces as they whispered to each other. “I know what you're thinking. You've never heard of me before.” I smiled before continuing, “that's not surprising. I haven't actually worked as a hero in quite some time, but that's a story for another day. Now,” I proceeded, sitting back down, “I would like each of you to stand up and tell me your names starting from the left side. Don't tell me your quirks just yet, just your names please. We'll go more into that in the next class. ”
Though a bit shyly at first, each student began standing up and presenting themselves, and I tried to commit them all to memory. It can be very discouraging when the person who's teaching you doesn't even bother to get your name right.
After the worst part was over, my class ran smoothly; when I realized it, it was already lunch break. I watched them leave and took a deep breath before heading over to the teachers room.
There were many faces there, mostly unfamiliar ones; I had really lost touch with the hero community after leaving the field and working as a psychiatrist, so there wasn't much chance of finding someone I knew either way. As I made my way to an empty table to eat my meager sandwich, a loud—and i mean loud, voice called out to me.
“Hey! You there!” It said, and I turned my head to see a slightly familiar man with bright blonde hair fashioned in a very uncomfortable-looking hairstyle and some kind of rocker gettup. “You're Siren Song, aren't you? It's me, Present Mic!
“Oh!” I exclaimed, a tad embarrassed. “Wow, it's been a long time, huh?” I gave him a smile. Though we had attended U.A during the same years, I was never in the same class as him and we actually only truly met when I became a hero and quickly bonded over our similar quirks. We spoke a few times after that, but it had been quite a while since then.
“Hell yeah, it has! What are you doing here? Are you a teacher too?” He asked excitedly. I fiddled with my lace gloves.
“Yeah, I'm the homeroom teacher for the general studies class. Sorry, if I had known you were teaching here I'd have told you about it.” he waved his hand at me.
“Nah, don't worry about that. It's nice seeing you again though!”, He smiled brightly at me, and I smiled back.
“Yeah, it is.”
He suddenly furrowed his brows, seemingly looking around for someone.
“Where is that sleepyhead?” He muttered under his breath, though it was still loud enough to hear. I don't think that man can actually whisper. “Sorry, I have to go. It seems my buddy in the hero course fell asleep in the classroom again. If I don't wake him up he won't eat until noon!”
I raised my brows, wondering what kind of teacher manages to sleep in their own class, but tried not to judge too much.
“Catch you later then,” I waved, sitting back down, and he waved back, already running out of the room. Not much later, I had just bit into my sandwich when I heard an incredibly loud scream.
“HEEEEEY AIZAWA WAKE UUUUUUP~!” It was clearly him again, this time blaring his quirk in full, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor bastard who got woken up like that.
I was almost finishing my meal when he came back, accompanied by a clearly irritated man who dragged around… a sleeping bag? Wow . Present Mic motioned in my direction and I took the time to study them as they came.
The man had a head of unruly, wavy black locks and a stubble. His dark eyes were narrowed and red, and there were large bags under his eyes. Clearly this guy had some sleep issues or something. His sense of fashion was… not the best, honestly. Maybe it was fashionable to dress like a hobo nowadays. He wore a strange-looking scarf around his neck that I doubted was actually a scarf. He was clearly angry at Mic, or maybe that was just his face? As they came near, I managed to hear a part of their conversation.
“...like to introduce you to a friend of mine, she used to be a hero too, and her quirk is kinda like mine! I tried hitting on her too, but I guess she didn't fall for my charms.” I mentally facepalmed myself. ' Why would you tell anyone about that?’, I thought. His friend seemed to be of the same opinion, grimacing at him.
“Dear god, Yamada! Why the hell would I want to know that?”
I tried to pretend I didn't hear them as they came closer to me and instead stood up and smiled towards Mr Trash Hobo. He didn't seem very interested.
“Anyway, Aizawa, this is, ah, Siren Song! She will be teaching the general studies class. Siren, this is my best friend, Aizawa Shouta, though you might know him as Eraserhead! He's the homeroom teacher for Class 1-A!” I raised my eyebrows, suddenly realizing something.
“Oh hey, I know you!” I exclaimed, and he raised an eyebrow.
“You do?”
“Yeah. We fought once, during one of the sport festivals. I won!”, I stated proudly. His expression was unchanged.
“We did?” He scratched his head. “I don't remember you.”
I'll admit, that hurt a bit, but I quickly moved past it, clearing my throat.
“In any case, for your information, Mic, my name is Kaoru Umisachi.”
“Oh, right!”, He chuckled sheepishly. “and mine is Hizashi Yamada!”
Before anyone could add anything else, the bell rang.
“Whelp, time to go,” Eraserhead went, leaving without another word.
“See you some other time, Siren!” Mic waved, quickly following him. I waved at him, then took a deep breath.
Time to go.
When I arrived outside, I was happy to see my whole class was already there, happily chatting with each other. Once they spotted me, they quickly stopped. I huffed.
“Alright everyone. Time to get to know each other's quirks.” I smiled at the excitement in their faces. “How about I start?”
I moved a bit closer to them and cleared my throat. “My quirk is called 'Musical Manipulation’.” They seemed very uncertain and confused. Worried that I might spook them out too soon, I decided to start with something light. I closed my eyes for a second and took a deep breath, and as I opened them again, I began to sing.
I purposely chose something light and happy, trying to keep my thoughts the same way. I smiled, watching the unease in their eyes and postures wash away with the song. They smiled excitedly at each other, clearly much chirpier than usual. Even the shyest kids in the class looked a lot more comfortable. I finished the song and they clapped in awe.
“As you can see, I can manipulate emotions, and make you feel many things, depending on what type of song I sing.” I smirked at them. “Now it's your turn. Form a line, and one by one I want you to show off your quirk. Impress me!”
I watched with curiosity and fascination as each of them came forward and presented their quirks. They were all pretty amazing, but one of them stood out to me.
As the purple-haired boy came forward, I watched as the other students seemed to get uneasy. I watched his calm expression and searched my memory. Hitoshi Shinsou .
“May I start?” He asked politely.
“Go ahead,” I went, and he smiled.
I felt the hairs on my back stand up and a strange feeling of powerlessness run through my body. Before I had realized it, my legs moved on their own and carried me closer to him. When I was within reach, my arm raised and he raised his own hand back. Without me actually doing anything, I high fived him.
As soon as our hands met, I regained control of my body. I stepped back, resting my hands on my knees to stop the nausea, and released a breath I didn't even realize I was holding.
“That…” I started, still breathless. I turned my face up towards him, and saw that a strange look on his eyes, as if he expected to be punished. “...that was amazing.”
His eyes went wide, and his classmates started whispering behind his back again. I smiled at his expression.
“That's a very useful quirk you have there, Hitoshi. You could do great things with it.” He seemed conflicted, and I thought I saw tears forming in his eyes. He turned his face away, running a hand over them.
“Thank you, Miss Umisachi.”
When I arrived back home later that day, I quickly threw off my boots and removed the flower crown and lace mask I had been wearing, dropping on the couch and pinching my forehead. It didn't take long for a mass of white fur to drop on my lap.
“Hello Snowball,” I greeted my cat. He purred in response. “You know I can't let you sit in my lap in these clothes. You're gonna get white fur all over my uniform!” I carefully picked him up and dropped him by my side, and he glared at me. I chuckled and petted him before standing up and going to the bathroom, staring at myself in the mirror.
I had changed quite a lot since my first hero years. My long Auburn hair was much shorter, though I kept it in its usual bangs and waves. My skin was a little bit less pale than before, and I liked to think I also looked a little bit more mature. My blue eyes were exactly the same as my mother's, but I tried not to dwell on that. I put on a serious expression and huffed at my reflection.
“Here you go again, Kaoru,” I told myself. “Another fresh start.”