Things are picking up at home, so they are probably going to be slowing down for chapter production. So, longer periods between chapters is not a sign of burn out or anything like that.

Caught Off Guard

When the dorms were opened and the staff were expected to live on site with the students, they found themselves taking on a new set of responsibilities.

There were, of course, the staff members who would live in the dorms with the students. With the exception of the first-year hero classes, where both homeroom teachers had refused to cycle out, staff were expected to change out on a biweekly basis. When they lived at the student dorms, they were expected to be there from the start of curfew to the time they would go into work the next morning.

When staff members were not in the student dorms, they had other duties. One of these responsibilities consisted of patrolling the area surrounding the dorms in shifts. As it turned out, concern was expressed at the idea of UA's AI system being allowed to operate beyond the school's walls, even if they would still be on school property. Still, Nezu made it clear that even if this hadn't been the case, he probably would have had staff members on watch, too.

This particular task was one specifically entrusted to members of staff who were also experienced heroes.

Toshinori had actually been forced to argue for his eligibility to share this responsibility. His coworkers had wanted to set him up for an 'on call availability' duty, so that the students could contact him if they needed a staff member during this time. It basically involved sitting in a room for several hours and entertaining himself unless he was called. Then, more likely than not, he would then be expected to reach out to whomever was on patrol duty to take care of the situation.

In other words, it was safe work that was perfectly suitable for a Quirkless man.

Not that the rest of the staff phrased it that way. They weren't about to do that to the man who—until about a month ago—had been the Number One Hero.

No.

Of course not.

Instead, they brought up other aspects of his physical condition.

It was, in part, the other staff members' arguments about his current physical health that had helped spur him to start his morning and evening runs. Of course, he knew that wasn't the real reason. He just wanted to take away one of their excuses.

Whenever he tried to remember back to the days before Nana gave him One for All, he didn't ever recall people treating him like he was made of glass. Of course, at that point, Japan's Quirkless population had been what the international average is now. About twenty percent… Well if he was honest, it was a little lower even then. But still, almost one in five people lacked a Quirk of any kind, even if most of them were on the older side.

At that point, it had been common enough that no one really thought twice about it. In a given classroom, you'd have at least two, three or maybe even four kids without any powers to speak of and although they weren't usually the most popular kids in the room, they were still held to the same basic standards as everyone else.

Although, he recalled that during his last year of middle school, there had been talk among the staff of setting up separate homerooms for the Quirkless and 'Aversely Quirked' students and the rest of their classmates. It was a practice that would become commonplace until it was outlawed just over a decade ago.

The banning of this practice was arguably one of the most progressive quirk-related laws in generations, or so Toshinori had been told.

Still, by and large, he didn't remember things being too bad for him compared to most people.

Now, despite Nezu stating that Toshinori needn't worry about being removed from UA, he wasn't shy about reminding All Might that requests were still pouring in. And while he was still a member of staff, he found himself being treated differently, compared to everyone else. Even to how he had been at the beginning of the year. Almost babied.

It was frustrating.

Of course, he knew that he wasn't exactly powerful anymore. He recalled how Midoriya had to save him from falling rubble, for goodness sake. A month and a half ago, he was still the most powerful hero in Japan. Now…

But today, Toshinori had been wondering if Nezu should really be sticking his neck out for him. Not because of his Quirk status, but his ability (or lack thereof) as a teacher, which Aizawa had pointed out last night. Should he even really be teaching at all? He'd already done so much damage.

Right now though, working his hours patrolling the area around the dorms was lifting Toshinori's mood a little. Even if he had to carry a two-way radio with him so that he could call in a more 'able bodied' staff member if something actually happened.

There was something about patrolling that made Toshinori feel a little bit closer to how he used to be, even if it was just walking around a set of dorms rather than racing through a series of neighborhoods as he used to do.

Just yesterday, All for One had said that Toshinori would be forced to watch, helpless to do anything to stop everything he built from crumbling around him. It wasn't much but surely even small acts like this, watching for the safety of UA's students, proved the villainous monster wrong. Even if only in a small way.

Unbeknownst to the villain, Toshinori had survived the fight that he expected to bring his prophesied doom. Any achievement from here took him further than he ever expected to go. Every improvement he made one more than there would've been, otherwise. So, each one was a victory.

That was enough for him. He just had to keep telling himself that.

Maybe one day, he'd even believe it.

Until then, he'd just smile and pretend that he already did.

Toshinori had just looped back around from behind the dorm buildings and was passing the stretch of road between them and the school's wall when he spotted young Midoriya.

Midoriya had yet to notice him, though. The boy was focused on the ground, his backpack resting between his shoulders. He was trudging toward the main gate, clearly lost in thought as he mumbled to himself in classic Midoriya fashion.

Toshinori felt his remaining insides twist, recalling how Aizawa had pointed out how he had been so unsupportive of Midoriya. Even with the observation he had just made, he'd been thinking it was funny to watch. Looking down on how the boy acted, he realized guiltily. He would need to work on that.

Before Toshinori could follow that train of thought any further, Midoriya noticed him. A huge smile broke across the boy's face as he waved.

Toshinori waved back and made his way over to Midoriya. He made a mental note to tell Aizawa about this conversation, later. He didn't want to find out what the boy's homeroom teacher might do if he ignored the rules that the man laid out for him. "Good afternoon, my boy."

Midoriya instantly perked up even further at his voice. "All Might! How did your talk with Mr. Aizawa go last night?"

"About as well as could be expected," Toshinori replied to his student. "Where are you off to?"

"The Principal's Office," Midoriya admitted awkwardly. "Last night, Mr. Aizawa found out about my notebooks and I guess he told Principal Nezu about them." Izuku bit his lip before continuing, "They're going to keep them in the school, somewhere."

"I'm sure they'll be well cared for," Toshinori assured him.

"I know, it's just— I've never been without them before, and now this is happening." He looked at his phone, probably checking the time before asking, "Are we alright to walk while we talk? I don't want to be late."

Toshinori nodded, trying to think of something lighter to talk about before the obvious option came to him. "I never got to congratulate you on earning your Hero License in person! That picture was the best part of my day."

Midoriya looked up, clearly surprised before he gave Toshinori an even brighter smile. "Really?"

"Of course!" All Might replied instantly. "I don't suppose you have it on you, do you?"

"Right here," Midoriya exclaimed proudly, seeming to pull it out of thin air, waving it excitedly before passing it to Toshinori. "I haven't left my room without it!" He was absolutely beaming as the man took the card, feeling the slight texture of the laminated plastic between his fingers.

Toshinori studied it, feeling a wave of pride for his [student,] student. "A legally licensed hero."

Midoriya nodded vigorously, beaming as he declared, "I did it, All Might! I really did it!"

"So," Toshinori said, taking out his phone, "just as a reminder…" He pulled up the picture of the boy trying to pull a fridge on his first day of training and held it next to the license, allowing for a side by side comparison of the two images.

Despite Midoriya's face turning beet red as his smile took on an air of embarrassed self-consciousness, Toshinori couldn't find it in him to regret showing the picture. It was one of his most treasured ones. That of his student at the beginning of his journey. It was only rivalled in importance by the few pictures he had of himself and Nana, from so many years ago.

After a few seconds, Midoriya finally chuckled awkwardly and said, "I can't believe this wasn't even a year and a half ago."

"You've come so far since then. I'm very proud of you."

"Thanks, All Might."

Suddenly, they heard a familiar sound off in the distance and turned their heads in that direction.

"That was Kacchan!" Midoriya exclaimed. "He wouldn't use his Quirk right now unless he's in trouble!" He was already bracing himself; One for All was already coursing through his body in a red and green light show.

Toshinori found himself instinctively reaching for his own power as he stood beside the boy. His body took up a familiar shape as they both looked back toward the explosion.

Then, in a wave of steam, Toshinori immediately returned to his natural, emaciated form. His body acted up, causing a coughing fit as his injured side twinged and his mouth filled with an equally familiar—but far less welcome—taste of blood.

Izuku shot him a worried glance but before he could express his concern, a much larger blast echoed in the distance.

"Go," All Might said, even as he also started running toward the explosion, ignoring how his side throbbed in rebellion as he simultaneously reached for his radio. "I'll call for backup."

Midoriya gave a single nod before taking off down the street in the direction from which he'd come, leaving a few cracks in the pavement in the spot that he'd launched from.

A Couple Minutes Earlier...

Since Deku was busy getting called to the principal's office, Katsuki was stuck carrying the trash out.

At least U.A. didn't skimp on the bags. He didn't know what he'd do if one of these things busted open while he was lugging them all out to the dumpsters. Still, he hated how plastic bags made his hands sweat so much. He had a small container of neutralizer in his pocket but he hated the idea of using it on garbage bags. Of course, it was either that or leaving explosive residue in the garbage for whoever came to dispose of it.

Usually, he'd be more pissed off about the whole situation, both the extra work and the cleanup he'd have to do after the…cleanup? That sounded so stupid. Frustratingly so. But due to the reason, he was willing to tolerate it. He imagined whatever Deku was being called up for, it was fairly important.

Principal Rat Face didn't seem to have much to do with students directly, leaving matters like that to teachers like Mr. Aizawa. So, there had to be something beyond whatever passed as normal at UA to distract him from talking about his fur long enough to schedule an appointment with Deku.

The nerd had clearly wanted to tell him more about it but wasn't comfortable bringing it up with Shitty Hair in the room with them. It had been annoying, but considering the conversation they had just had, it was understandable.

Katsuki was glad that Kirishima wasn't abandoning him after realizing that he was a bully. After Katsuki had outright spelled it out for him.

Suddenly, Katsuki saw something out of the corner of his eye, instantly snapping him out of his thoughts. He glanced over to see a face with solid blue eyes, as in no whites or pupils, poking out of the wall and smiling at him. "Trash, right?"

Katsuki most certainly didn't scream.

It was a roar of fury at how this asshole would dare try to sneak up on him…No one could prove otherwise!

Of course. at the same time as not screaming, he spun and launched the bag of trash directly at the face, which vanished as quickly as it appeared.

The bags basically exploded before even leaving his hands, which was hardly surprising, considering that they had become so slick with nitroglycerin laden sweat at this point that he'd had to squeeze tight just to keep them from slipping out from between his fingers.

As the contents were launched into the wall, the projectile rubbish was sent flying in every direction. Some of it splattered across the wall but most bounced, splattered, stuck or fell all over the sidewalk and Katsuki.

But Katsuki had larger concerns because further away, that face poked out of the pavement, now with a full head of blond hair. The fucker was completely unscathed. No signs of being blasted. Untouched by garbage.

The only thing that hinted that the other was bothered at all was his wide-eyed expression as he looked back at Katsuki.

Katsuki didn't stick around to find out what the guy wanted. He'd had enough fuck ups facing villains to know that's how he'd get caught. Instead, he pointed his hands directly beneath himself.

Now that Katsuki had already used explosion, his pores were really pumping sweat and he was easily able to create an explosion large enough for lift off, sending up a wave of broken cement chunks as he did so. Hopefully, some of it might actually hit this fucker and give him a few more moments.

Katsuki didn't know who the hell this guy was, but as many villains as he'd encountered when his class was supposed to be safe, he sure as hell wasn't taking any fucking chances by himself behind the dorms.

But he wasn't just running away either. He had a plan in mind.

Seeing Bakugou Katsuki point his hands toward the ground, Togata activated his Quirk to avoid being on the receiving end of the explosion that he knew was coming.

He plummeted into a now familiar dark void and began his usual fall into the void for a few seconds, before he released his permeability, certain that the explosion would be finished by the time he popped back out of earth. Which it was.

Togata made a perfect landing on the uneven surface of the elongated crater left behind by the blast, a result of years of practice. He looked up at Bakugou, who was propelling himself away. The older boy felt a twist of guilt in his gut as he recalled the younger's reaction before propelling the trash toward him only moments ago.

The moment Togata had heard the other's scream, he knew that he'd messed up.

Bakugou Katsuki had been terrified.

When he thought of poking out of the wall earlier, it seemed like it would be a funny joke, for both himself at the time and for the 1-A kid to recall later.

Of course, it was only now that the short section they'd covered on trauma victims at the beginning of the year, came to his mind. After he'd startled not just a member of the class best known for being attacked by villains, but the one most infamously known for being caught and tormented by villains.

In little more than a second, he took in the aftermath. A smoking hole in the asphalt, surrounded by the scattered trash of about twenty people spewed everywhere, as if exploded out of their trash bags. Which might be because that's exactly what happened.

Thinking about it in that moment, Togata suddenly wished he'd run his plan past Amijaki. He had a feeling that his best friend would've instantly known just how bad an idea this was.

Togata decided that he should probably chase after the other boy before he got too far away. Not only did he need to apologize, but he also knew that if he wasn't there to explain when the teachers finally responded, the other boy might get in trouble for using his Quirk. It wouldn't be right, considering that it was his fault that the other boy had been scared so badly that he reacted that way.

As he activated permeability again, he was thankful that his parents had gotten him a voucher for a couple sets of civilian clothes to be infused with his hair for his birthday. Due to how expensive it was to have that done, his parents hadn't been able to afford to replace them as he grew up and now he'd been hesitant to get them for himself. After sending a hair in with the voucher, he'd gotten his clothes just before the Summer ended.

This was actually the second set he'd had, as the first time, his parents had somehow gotten the needed hair soon enough after the sports festival that they had the actual clothes ready for him. They seemed surprised that UA hadn't provided him with a set of gym clothes or a uniform with the ability to handle his quirk, like they had for his costume. It didn't really seem worth the effort to explain that it wasn't UA but a support company that they were partnered with that supplied the costume.

Since he'd been planning to use his Quirk here anyway, he'd decided to throw them on and give them a try. Luckily, they seemed to be working. He doubted the other boy would appreciate being chased across the school grounds by a naked guy.

So, originally, there wasn't going to be more than Bakugou and Mirio involved. Since then, these chapters have undergone a lot of changes and there is going to be quite a few deleted scenes.

I would also like to thank one of my beta readers, Sairey13, for helping me come up with ideas about how both All Might and Izuku might feel about that photo from Izuku's first day of training and for asking why UA didn't provide Mirio with either a uniform or gym suit that works with his quirk.

Doing the math, in each year, assuming the number of classes remain the same as what is available for this one, there are classes A-H, eight in total, but only A and B are Heroics classes. There are three years. That means that there have to be 24 home room teachers, much more than the set of heroes that we are introduced to in the series. And U.A. is a big school, so that's completely possible (which also throws into question whether or not all the students get educated by heroes, which makes me a little sad). On top of that, we have noneducational staff, of which we've seen Lunch Rush and Recovery Girl. Even with those robots, I'd imagine that there are still tasks that only a human could do well (although U.A. has let the ball drop on lots of things, so who knows). Each staff member probably has some breaks in their days and each teacher seems to specialize in specific courses. So, there should be more staff members than there are Classes of students (an idea which All Might being a teacher supports).

Edit for Above Paragraph: Thanks for pointing out my mistakes both on ff and AO3. There are actually three more classes per year, I-K, so 33 homerooms. Also, to clarify, I was using All Might as an example of teachers without homerooms and I was only specifying that there are just 2 Heroics classes, not 2 of each type of class. Still, these numbers make the situation even worse.

You know, thinking about it now, if each class gets their own dorm, plus the teachers, that's a lot of ground to cover in order to make sure everyone is safe. I can't help but think it would have been more efficient if they had made the dorm buildings bigger and at least double classes up.

Considering all that 1-A has been through, I think Izuku's reaction to Mirio's first appearance was very mild. These kids have been assaulted by villains during times when they were supposed to be safe under UA's protection. After being captured or kidnapped by villains multiple times, I think this seemed like a reasonable reaction for Bakugou when a random guy poked his head out of a wall, school property or not (especially considering UA's track record in relation to student safety so far).

I was originally going to make the last part of this chapter the first part of the next but changed my mind, feeling that it made a good wrap up point. Plus, I'm trying to encourage myself to make chapters a little longer, in general.

While considering Mirio, I've developed some questions and headcanons for his quirk. Thinking about Permeability for too long can be headache inducing. What would the medical implications of using a quirk like that be? Also, the human body has many natural bacterial living within them that they depend on for survival. Mirio obviously does not lose them when he uses his quirk. He also doesn't drop anything he ate. Does this mean he has the ability to spread his permeability to other organisms and items? Does he just protect anything internalized? Can the ability be externalized? Is Mirio's Permeability is actually the ability to phase through things or does he has something interdimensional going on, his body acting as its own internally maintained dimension/state of existence? His body doesn't fall apart when he phases specific parts of it, so it maintains cohesion with itself somehow.

Am I overthinking a power from a fantasy universe? Without a doubt, for the better part of a year. Will continue to do so? Absolutely!

Edit in relation to above two Paragraphs and a scene in the chapter: I had it pointed out to me that the fact Mirio can talk coming out of the wall suggests that he can hold air in his lungs, so, the collapsing lungs part was removed from the chapter. It does support the 'internally maintained state' idea.

Okay, moving on from that topic. So, with general support companies like Detnerat and the hair imbued clothes for people with certain quirks, I have (just developed in the process of writing the above scene) a headcanon that the option to reinforce clothes this way is available to the general public but because it's a process involving the direct use of quirks, its extremely expensive.

And the argument for Mirio still not having it for his fight with class 1-A: 1) For whatever reason, UA is clearly not providing it, 2) The clothes are expensive and his decision to fight them was a spur of the moment thing, so he didn't know he would need them, beforehand.

I hope that you enjoyed my intro for Mirio into this story. It was fun to write him. If he is inexperienced enough to think that his prank was okay, I also think he'd make the mistake of pursuing the student he terrified to apologize before they had an opportunity to calm down, possibly scaring them even more in the process.