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Midoriya Izuku, the ninth user of One For All, the defender of Shigaraki in the Final War Arc, had many regrets in his life. Particularly, the decisions he made during the war that he knows hurt a lot of people, but now, he tries his best to see the positives, rather than the negatives. That being said, he can't help but miss One For All and the ghosts of past users now that the embers had all but dried up these seven years.
Even so, he became a teacher to better educate students of tomorrow to become the best heroes they want to be.
Aizawa-sensei did the same for them when they were 15.
All Might, too.
Midoriya had always thought he appreciated his teachers beyond anyone except his mum; after all, as Todoroki Shoto once said, "Mama Midoriya is the world", and that is something that Class 1-A and the faculty of U.A. High School live by.
Why do they say this?
Well, after the final war ended, a lot of the kids were injured and n the hospital for a long time. However, Inko Midoriya made sure to visit each of her son's classmates and teachers every day, to spend time with them, wishing them well and giving them small, sweet treats in hopes that their recovery would go smoothly. Now, for most students, yes, their parents visited, but overall, many people had to help restore Japan after all the damage.
Uraraka's parents, who owned a construction company, used their talents to help pros and civilians get the equipment needed to repair properties and the cities damaged during the war.
Bakugou's parents, well-known fashion designers, used their wealth to help rebuild Japanese society. At the same time, they had their teams help make all kinds of clothing for anyone who's house had been obliterated and were left with barely anything to their names and several more of their parents joined in the efforts as well, meaning that they couldn't always see their children in person during their hospital stay, so they too, were grateful for Inko's support.
But, once again, Midoriya Izuku had always believed that he had respected and appreciated all his teachers did, and still do, for him.
However, one Thursday changed his entire perspective on what it meant to be a teacher… and now he feels he needs to give each and every teacher a large gift basket in forgiveness.
~<>~
Midoriya woke up bright and early one Thursday morning, raring and ready to go for the day. He had only been a teacher for a few months now, and things were definitely more difficult than the hero work he used to train for.
But at the same time, he enjoyed it.
Watching the students engage with the curriculum and each other, challenging themselves to become stronger and better themselves for hero work one day, was such a delight for the greenette to witness. Those days were the days he didn't feel as much regret about the loss of his quirk and inability to become the hero he always wanted to be.
However, for some reason, Midoriya couldn't help the shiver running through his body, almost as if the day wasn't going to be a peaceful one. He shook it off, because even if his children were rowdy, at least it wouldn't be like his first year at U.A. After all, his old Class 1-A made sure to do what All Might once did and keep crime rates down at an all-time low.
It was one of the topics he, All Might and Aizawa-sen-… Aizawa were proud of them for.
Even so, when Midoriya entered his classroom, it was empty. Not uncommon; he usually arrived half an hour before the students anyways. But he smiled softly, memories of the time he was a first year student in this exact room filled the room, the chaos, the laughter, the sadness, all of it was fresh in his mind whenever he steps foot in the room; after all, their first year of U.A. was more chaotic than anyone else's in the entirety of U.A. history.
Not like he, nor many others, would have changed anything. Sure, it was frightening for most of them during the villain attacks, but as a result, they all became a close-knit group bound by their shared trauma, and it was a bond none of them wished to lose.
~<>~
Before long, time had passed, and students began filling the room. He greeted the children warmly as they entered the classroom, before watching as they quietly broke off to chat in small groups.
He spotted Katsuma and Kota together, which didn't surprise him all that much anymore. They bonded over being among the few people he had saved all those years ago, along with Eri, whom they met whenever she visited to further train her quirk with Aizawa and Katsuma's sister, Mahoro.
His gaze turned away from the two as he caught the two of them talking about his past actions during the time he still had his quirk, causing his cheeks to turn a little red in embarrassment. He was grateful to hear that he still inspired childlike wonder in the two, but that didn't mean it wasn't embarrassing to listen to the hero worship.
Midoriya wondered if this was how All Might and his coworkers felt whenever he asked them for their autographs and fanboyed over them during his high school years. If it were, he might have to apologise to them.
And so, his gaze shifted over to another group of students: Taniguchi Chiharu, Go Fumiko, Ishihara Iwao, Morimoto Naoki and Matsubara Ryuu. They were the group that reminded him of several former classmates; they were loud, chaotic and yet still an overall delight to have as students, but they reminded him of his class's Bakusquad when it came to the out-of-pocket things they do as a group.
Soon enough, the bell rang, signalling the start of a new peaceful day.
~<>~
Peaceful…
That was what he hoped for at least; instead, he got a room full of absolute chaos.
You see, they were learning about the new laws that Hawks, the new head of the Hero Public Safety Commission, had put in place, and were discussing how they differed from the laws of the previous HPSC leadership.
When he broached the subject in class, he expected a simple debate on the pros and cons of each new and old law and on how the change would benefit future heroes. However, this broke out into a three-way classroom division full of chaos and shouting.
On one side of the class, Kota, Katsuma, Jun, Yuichi, Akira, Yoshiyuki, Akemi, Keiji, Chieko and Mari were on the side that agreed with the new amendments of the laws that made for hero life to be far more relaxed as it allowed heroes to integrate more within their communities, building and maintaining trust of civilians in a healthy way that no longer led to civilians placing heroes on a metaphorical pedestal like gods.
Whereas, Ryuu, Osamu, Iwao, Naoki, Seiichi and Masanori were on the opposite side that stated heroes should be worshipped for the work that they do to save everyone from the villains and the fact they risk their lives and ask for nothing in return from the civilians they save, and that basic community work was beneath the heroes who trained to fight villains.
Chiharu, Fumiko, Kimiko and Emiko were the only students who believed in the balance of both old and new laws, where heroes should be held to a higher standing than most civilians, but that it was a good thing that heroes were trying to make common ground with the civilians, so that it could allow for trust to blossom between the different experiences.
Midoriya felt a headache forming as Iwao yelled, "Why should we have to lower ourselves as heroes just to do simple community acts of service when civilians are the ones who should be cleaning up after themselves? If they throw rubbish around, then it should be down to them to clean it up. Not heroes who already fight tooth and nail to protect them."
Yoshiyuki argued, "YEAH? Guess what? In case you forgot, those laws led civilians to lose faith in the heroes during the war. Did you forget how many people refused to listen to the heroes when it came down to the evacuations, and as a result, people died when the villains attacked? That was because of those laws. The heroes still fought for the civilians, and they ridiculed and hated them while doing so!"
"But that doesn't exactly mean we should just bend to the whims of civilians either, Yoshi." Emiko sighed.
"A-alright, class, please sit down…" Midoriya tried to de-escalate the situation.
Mari countered, "These new laws aren't about bending ourselves to the whims of civilians; it's about integrating ourselves into the lives of the civilians, forming trust between us and fostering good relations to better our communities. Together."
Ryuu scoffed, "And how is doing as civilians telling us, bettering the community?"
"You're such a moron, Ryuu." Kota hissed, "If you can't think about the benefits of working with the civilians, you'll fail at being a decent hero."
"Why you-!" Ryuu's dragon features begin showing, causing Kota to begin conjuring water to counterattack.
Before anyone could continue, Midoriya whistled and yelled. "ENOUGH!"
Not used to Midoriya-sensei yelling, they calmed down and looked away, ashamed.
Midoriya was channelling his inner Aizawa-sensei; "I proposed the question, merely to calmly DEBATE the PROS and CONS of the laws and how we can further BETTER them for everyone. Not once did I say for you actively attempt to use your quirks to win your own petty arguments." His face was stern and disappointed.
It was silent for a few seconds before the class let out a soft, "Sorry, Midoriya-sensei."
Midoriya sighed, rubbing his throbbing head, "Now, I am going to end this conflict by saying that the old laws were abolished for a reason." He said, watching as the students returned to their seats and listened to his lecture.
"As many of you already know, I participated in the war where heroes weren't looked upon in the best of lights by the civilians. They were scared, rightfully so, and they blamed Hero Society for letting things get so bad. And in a way, they weren't wrong. Hero society was hugely corrupt." His words shocked most of them, they weren't old enough to understand the repercussions of the war at their ages after all, "We lost many heroes during the war, and I'm not talking about the heroes who died and fought for their causes until the end, I'm talking about heroes who were arrested due to being on the side of villains, or simply the fact that many adult pros willingly chose to put their capes up and quit after the first paranormal liberation war against the villains. Back when I was your age, many heroes joined hero work for the money they got, and so when things got tough, they quit because they couldn't understand what it truly meant to be a hero."
Midoriya's eyes darkened, remembering how so many heroes up and left, and so he, his class and many underage hero students from different schools were forced to replace them. He didn't regret his role in the war, but it would have saved more lives if those who quit had remained fighting until the end.
People like Midnight-sensei… who would have made it out alive if there were enough heroes for backup. Then Ashido, Kirishima, Yaoyorozu, and Sato wouldn't have been saddled with the guilt of finding their teacher's body, something they still struggle with to this day.
Midoriya sighed before continuing, "The previous laws only held in place because of All Might. Because of his presence and the fact that the previous leadership of the HPSC used All Might's ability to instil fear into the hearts of villains, these were the only reasons those laws still stood for so long. That much became apparent when All Might retired after the Kamino incident, and civilians became more afraid of the uprising villains." He watched his students' faces, making sure they understood what he was talking about.
"I love All Might, he has always and will forever be my favourite hero. But even I cannot deny that heroes grew lax under his care as the number one. People began relying far too much on him, and it backfired once he retired. Civilians blamed All Might too, during the war, which I admit I had a few strong words to say about that; it wasn't and will never be All Might's fault for wanting to step up and be a symbol of peace so everyone can remain happy, it falls on to the heroes who followed in his footsteps for thinking All Might was going to be around forever. People forgot that All Might was a human being, a human being who made mistakes, who aged just like the rest of us; they treated him more like a God than the amazing man that he is." Midoriya's lip trembles as he remembers the talk he had with his mentor post-war, how the man hated feeling so worthless and so took the gamble to fight All For One again while quirkless. "That is why the new laws were brought into place.. You must never forget that you are human and you are going to make mistakes, that is in your nature, but you must also remember that you are not above anyone else simply because you risk your life to protect others. You are going to become heroes, and it is my job and U.A.'s job to guide you along that path but never forget that those heroes who use their powers to belittle people weaker than them are no different than the villains they swore to fight."
His words left everyone speechless. They knew deep down that his words were valid, and they used the rest of the class to contemplate what type of hero they desired to become.
~<>~
After class had ended, Midoriya walked back to the staff room, sighing and collapsing into his seat. Amused, All Might and Aizawa glanced at the greenette before smirking at each other.
"Rough day, my boy?" All Might asked, and instead of responding verbally, he groaned into his stack of paperwork on the desk.
Aizawa rolled his uncovered eye, softly. "What happened?"
Midoriya sat up, knowing they wouldn't let things go without a proper explanation, "I taught my class about the old and new hero laws in place…" He mumbled.
"Aaaand?" They goaded him to continue.
"It was utterly chaos."
Both seasoned teachers could barely hide their grins as Aizawa asked, "What did they do?"
"There was a three-way split between the class on whether or not the laws needed changing at all, one group saying the new laws are the way to go, another group saying the laws shouldn't have been changed at all and the final group whose thoughts were in the middle. I didn't really have much problem with them expressing their thoughts, but then I had to intervene before Kota and Ryuu used their quirks on one another." Midoriya groaned.
The room was silent.
Unnervingly so.
Midoriya glanced up at his coworkers, along with the few who hadn't been involved in the conversation, like Present Mic and Cementoss, who seemed to stare at him with irony.
"What?" Midoriya asked, head tilting.
His genuine confusion caused the other pros to chuckle and laugh at the green-haired man's expense.
Feeling slighted, Midoriya pouted, "What? Did I say something wrong?"
Aizawa smirked, "Oh, not really."
All Might snorted, and Midoriya shot him a look of total betrayal.
"Seriously, I don't know what's happening right now…"
Aizawa smirked and huffed out a laugh, "Maybe because it's a little ironic that you're here complaining about the chaos your class is making when in actuality, when you were their age under our guidance, you and your classmates were exactly the same, hell, probably a hundred times worse whenever it came down to you and Bakugou."
Midoriya gaped and tried to argue, "W-well, we had the chaos of villains attacking us basically every month."
His words made several of his former teachers grimace at the memory.
All Might sighed, "My boy, be that as it may, what Aizawa was referring to was mostly outside of the villain attacks. You alone caused several of us to have heart attacks by the thought of you leaving campus without an escort after the dorms were built." He gave Midoriya a sympathetic smile.
"Give it to the kid straight, All Might." Aizawa huffed out a laugh, "Ignoring the villains who actively tried to maim you on their own accord, we cannot forget the chaos of the villains you put yourself in danger with, either. Like Stain, for example, with Todoroki and Iida."
"Or the whole shindig at Kamino when they were told to leave it to the adults and did so anyway." Mic chimed in, and Aizawa "You're forgetting the unauthorised fight between him and Bakugou after that, too, Mic."
"Or the time during the school festival where he left the school grounds and duked it out with Gentle and La Brava," Cementoss added.
With each incident, Midoriya blushes in embarrassment at being called out for his reckless behaviour.
"Or the time-"
"Alright! I get it! We were menaces." Midoriya whined.
"I think you mean, you still are menaces," Aizawa smirked, making Midoriya pout again.
"Look, my boy, just think of it this way, at least you can have the hope that your class aren't going to be running off to their villain attacks without hero licenses." All Might tried to phrase it reassuringly, but the snort of laughter that followed told Midoriya that he, too, was teasing him.
"All Might!"
His childish whining prompted the faculty to erupt in laughter.
~<>~
After the teasing had ended, Midoriya sighed. "I feel like I should apologise to you all." Confused, his coworkers turned to him.
"What do you mean, my boy?"
Midoriya shrugged, "I mean, you said it… We weren't an easy class on you all, and I guess I just realised that none of us even thanked you all properly for everything you did for us."
With gentle smiles, Midoriya's former teachers spoke gently.
"Believe me, kiddo, the only thing we would have changed would be the amount of time you were in danger, so don't worry." Mic laughed.
"Chaotic or not, you were a delight to teach." Cementoss nodded in appreciation.
Aizawa sighed, "You were a pain in the ass, twenty-four-seven, don't get me wrong, but we are proud of the people… and heroes that you have all become." Aizawa smiled at him.
All Might gentle squeezed the greenette's hands, "Believe me, my boy, there is no one more prouder of you and your class than us teachers in this room. You were placed in unfortunate circumstances as a result of our negligence, but you all rose to the task and tackled it head-on. For that bravery and defiance to never back down, you saved the world, and we will forever be proud of the young men and women you have become."
Midoriya choked back tears as he smiled at his former teachers, "Thank you, everyone!"