Chapter 34 Why am I on Fire? by Yojimbra

It wasn't until I saw Touya walk in with his hair dyed black that it really hit me. Touya was Dabi. Or, at least looked close enough to what I remember him looking like that I had to do a double take and slap myself in shock. Also the whole deal about his fire being blue was probably a bigger giveaway, but I could make blue fire if I wanted. I just thought it was an aesthetic choice.

"You're not walking me to school today." Touya placed a hard, boney finger on my chest, and the tanktop I had worn to bed provided little protection. "I'm in highschool now, and it's on the other side of the city from Fuyumi and Shoko's school, so I better not see you there."

I let out a long yawn and paused in the doorway, glanced at my son's crisp-looking school uniform, then scratched my belly. "No promises, I like to have lunch with Nezu sometimes. And so does your mother."

Rei stumbled beside me and let out a long sleepy yawn that was pure heartwarming fluff to me, and just made me want to hug her and kiss her. Which honestly was pretty much what I always wanted to do all the time. She scratched her stomach and exposed a bit of her belly, which was all I needed to officially wake up and call this a good morning. "You look good honey, minus the hair. You had such pretty red hair before, now all the girls are going to think you're edgy, instead of the sweety you are."

"Mom!" Touya blushed and turned into a candle.

I pinched his flame out and gave a light laugh, for more reasons than one. "Your mother means well Touya, but, try to keep your head cool today. Who knows what can happen at U.A."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just saying that the principal is a talking hamster."

Touya opened his mouth to respond, but ultimately just stared at me for a few seconds before he sighed. "Okay, you have a point. At least I won't have to worry about you two embarrassing me."

"You worry too much!" Fuyumi jumped up in her middle school outfit, beaming with pride. "Mom and Papa are awesome! And really Touya, you should be more worried about Rumi or Moe making you cry."

Shoko jumped up in her elementary school uniform; both she and Fuyumi had their hair in messy ponytails that started at the base of their neck. "Again!"

"You know, if I turn into a villain, I'm blaming all of you." With a huff, our easily embarrassed teenage son headed for the front door. "And don't follow me! We go to different schools!"

"For now!" Fuyumi shouted, chasing after him. "Bye Mom! Bye Papa!"

"For now!" Shoto shouted and chased after her siblings for a few moments, then turned around and hugged both of us. "Love you. Bye."

Rei and I watched them leave and we smacked our lips. The first day of the new year. Right. We were teachers.

"Wanna shower together to save time?" I grabbed her by the waist.

She snorted, rolled her eyes, and swatted my chest in one move that she had done countless times against me. "When has that ever saved us time? Besides, I don't think I need a super clean chest, ass, or stomach."

She had a good point.

"Okay, fine, separate showers, but I get to pinch your butt once today at work?"

"Are you trying to get us fired?"

"Will a pun get me smacked here?"

"You bet. Now come on, we actually do need to get ready." She grabbed my arm and pulled me to the shower.

"I thought you said we didn't save time like this."

"We don't, but I didn't say no~"

My wife was irresistible and keeping my hands off of her at work might be easier said than done.

XXXX

The fact that I had kept my recent occupation a secret from my kids was purely for my own satisfaction. It wasn't even that hard; Touya was busy with clubs and friends, Fuyumi had her own activities, and even if she did find out, she was easy to bribe as an agent of chaos, and I'm pretty sure that Shoko wouldn't even register that something different was going on.

I hadn't even announced to the press that I was going to be a teacher at U.A. yet, which, given how I was kind of the number two pro, I probably should actually announce something soonish. Honestly, the fact that I never got much closer to All Might didn't bother me as much as the fact that I never dropped from rank two.

Apparently, not being an asshole went like, really far in terms of public opinion. My stats also improved whenever someone took a picture of me and my family. I'm pretty sure a picture of me carrying a baby Shoko strapped to my chest, Fuyumi riding on my shoulders, and Touya being held like a sack of potatoes had been on multiple magazine covers. I was even the number one DILF in certain magazines, a title that Rei enjoyed a great deal.

Though, perhaps the biggest spike came from a kidless vacation to Hawaii, where Rei and I were walking on the beach, holding hands in our swimsuits. We weren't even doing anything special, just walking. It made me realize that people were perverts.

Maybe me and All Might should do a calendar? For charity.

And for wife.

Was I allowed to do that as a teacher?

I'd have to ask Nezu.

I relaxed into my desk, one of a dozen in the teachers' lounge. Rei's desk was right next to mine, either by oversight or on purpose, I couldn't say. A few students recognized me on the way in, and a few of the staff greeted me with knowing looks.

"Nervous?" Rei asked. In terms of professional attire, she was leagues above most of our new coworkers. And she looked fantastic in it.

"Not especially." I crossed my arms and frowned at the way my dress shirt moved over my hero suit. Compared to Rei, I looked comical. A white dress shirt that was a tailored fit covered most of my hero costume, but a few bits stuck out from the collar and cuffs. "They're just teenagers. Most of whom want to do good. Though, if anything, I'm regretting my fashion choices."

"Well I think you look refined." She reached up and fiddled with my black flame tie. "Besides, if you do end up using your quirk, it's better than burning through your clothes."

I made a gagging noise as she adjusted the tie a bit too tight.

"What about you?" I asked, grabbing her hand. "Are you nervous?"

"Terrified, actually. But I'm not the one actually teaching today."

"If anyone bullies you, let Touya know. And I'll set them up against him." I offered a wink.

Rei laughed and slapped my chest. "Dork. Now you need to get prepping, right? I need to go see Nezu."

I watched Rei leave for a bit too long before I started to actually prep for my first time teaching a class in over a decade.

Fortunately it was just algebra for now.

XXXX

Class 1-A spent half their time being star struck and the other half agonizing over algebra. Most of the kids I knew nothing about, and I struggled to learn their names. But one stood out to me.

Ryuko Tatsuma, a perky blonde-haired girl that answered every question I put up. I know as a teacher I'm not supposed to pick favorites, but she was mine.

Plus she could turn into a dragon.

It hit me that she was yet another pro hero from that Manga about halfway into the class.

1-B was probably designed to give me a headache.

It was filled to the brim with hot heads.

Quite literally in some cases.

Moe Kamiji sat in the front row, her face and hair lighting up when she saw me enter, and Rumi Usagiyama's ears perked up from the back row before she stood up on her desk to get a good look at me. But, the real hot head was the punk in the middle of the class with dyed hair that stood up and called me out.

"Dad!" Touya shouted, pointing at me with a wide open mouth. "What. What are you doing here?"

"Despite what you might think, I'm not here to make your highschool life a living hell." I smiled and winked at the class. A blue flame appeared on Touya's head as he quickly began to blush up a storm. "No, I'm actually here to teach math and heroics. You may call me Endeavour-sensei, well, I guess I can let you call me dad-sensei, Touya. Before we begin, any questions?"

Touya shot his hand up.

"I teach for 1-A too."

Touya's hand sank down.

"Any other questions?"

They were going to be curious no matter what I did, so answering a few questions would help.

"Why are you wearing a shirt and tie over your suit?" One student asked.

"Because my wife thinks I look cute, plus, I'm a teacher. I'm supposed to be professional or something." I shrugged and turned towards the board. It was blank. Touya distracted me so I couldn't write my name in flames. Dammit son! "Now then, before you ask why you need to know math if you're going to be a hero, the answer is simple. Stupid heroes are bad heroes. Making sure that your education is well rounded is of vital importance; not only that, but many of you have quirks that can benefit from knowing algebra."

"How?" I heard one student speak up.

I turned and pointed my finger at them.

"Good question! I'll go over a few examples in class today, and if you think that math can help your quirk, come see me after class."