UA's Immortal Teacher

Part 61

Izuku watched with amusement as swathes of his students were cut down by a single man. Togata looked like he was having the time of his life, flitting around the battlefield with a wide grin on his face. Maybe it was cruel to let this go on, even knowing they had already gotten the point that their three upperclassmen were making, but Izuku never claimed to be a good person.

Togata flashed them again, and Izuku was treated to the horrified screams of at least three people that were close to the traumatizing event. He couldn't help it, he just had to laugh.

Hado peered curiously at him from his side, her blue hair falling into her face. At some point in the battle, probably around the fifth person Togata had flung to the side, she had turned her attention away from the main event and onto him. He had pretended not to notice, avoiding glancing at the soon-to-be-hero, but he was aware of it nonetheless.

"How have you really stayed alive this long?" She asked abruptly. "'Cause I'm pretty sure that it would have to be some kind of quirk."

Izuku gave her a quick smile. "It is. My quirk is named Immortality, and it does much what the name suggests."

Hado stared at him for a second longer, then blurted out, "Why is Mirio so scared of you?"

That forced a laugh out of him. There was something to be said for Hado and her complete transparency while asking a question. It was honestly incredibly refreshing and Izuku wished he came across it more often.

"Oh, I'm sure he's not scared." That was just ridiculous. While Izuku was sure that Hado was a very observant person- you had to be when you were this curious- he was pretty sure she was wrong here. Sure, Togata might turn an alarming shade of white while he was around, but that was probably due to his sudden entrances. Everyone's surprised when you mysteriously show up behind them without the door opening.

Hint: He used the vents.

"Yeah, no, I'm pretty sure he is," Hado said cheerfully, "But Mirio can just be weird like that!"

Izuku shrugged, watching as another one of his students fell to the ground. Togata was holding himself back rather well. No one was permanently injured yet, and he hadn't even seen a hint of One For All since the lesson began. All the training had paid off.

Hado was silent for a moment, but Izuku was sure the storm of questions would come rushing in again once she was done watching Togata deal with the next little cohort of students. He couldn't blame her; it was amusing to watch them jump at shadows only for Togata to tap them on the shoulder.

"How does Mirio know you, anyways? 'Cause Tamaki and I had never even heard of you before today, but Mirio knew who you were right away."

Izuku smiled softly and didn't let up that anything was strange. He had assumed someone would ask this question at some point, and had coached Togata in how to answer after the first time they met. Their stories would match up, and it was true enough that Izuku wouldn't feel that bad about lying.

"Oh, I've been a teacher here for a long time. It's only recently that I haven't been teaching. When I arrived back in Japan, one of my former students- Nighteye- approached me about some advice with one of his work study students. I've worked with Mirio a few times since." Izuku lets his de facto smile turn fond as he thought of his former student. "You know, I'm only allowed to say this since it's been over four decades since I taught his class, but he was one of my favorites."

"I knew it," Nejire said. "Do you know how many times I've asked whether teachers have favorites and have been answered with a lie?"

Izuku shrugged. "I just give a non-answer that dissuades follow-ups."