Chapter Text
A short grunt of a cough awoke Toshinori as his eyes focused on the ceiling above him.
Letting out a groan the retired hero pressed his head further into the pillow, glancing to his left to see the taunting sight of his clock, a few hours away from his destined wake up time.
"3:25 in the damn morning..." he rasped out, raking back long locks of blonde from his face before turning away from the illuminated clock in an attempt to fall back asleep.
Waking up suddenly in the night like this was unfortunately normal for the retired hero and UA instructor.
After essentially obliterating most of his organs and losing half his lung, not to mention a stomach, Toshinori found he would often wake himself up from harsh coughing fits. On good occasions, they would maybe last about five or ten minutes before he could slip back into slumber. Other times it could take the entire morning, and even then he would still be choking back the urge to cough. These fits would commonly radiate to his sensitive side where his life changing wound rested.
Sometimes it would feel like burning, or a throb after the convulsions of his abdomen muscle irritated the long scarred tissue of his injury.
As a man with many medical issues, he had medications to combat the pain as well as ointments and cream. A person viewing his medicine cabinet would assume it belonged to a wrinkled senior citizen and not a middle-aged blonde man.
After the coughing subsided Toshinori finally regained a sort of proper breath. Shutting his cerulean orbs and focusing on maintaining his breathing, he found himself again in dreamland in no time, dreading when his clock would scream at him once more.
Then there was sand.
Sand.
He felt a warm gritty mass under him with the calming sound of crashing waves nearby his person. Toshinori realized he was unable to open his eyes, but couldn't help but smile softly as he gently slipped his calloused fingers into the fine-grained floor he laid on. He realized too his feet were bare as he was able to slip those under a thick blanket of sand as well.
He felt calm here. Free.
The sun shined brightly above him, warming his sunken cheeks and light skin. Breathing in through his nose, Toshinori found the wonderful and familiar salt water scent he had always loved.
Sometimes he jokingly wondered if he was born with a quirk it probably would've had something to do with water and the sea.
His mind began to wander in the safety of his dreams. He thought of his job and his coworkers, his students, his successor young Midoriya. Lastly, he thought of his own mentor Nana Shimura. Always thinking of her left him feeling bitter sweet. Having wanting more for the hero he looked up to, he was thankful for the moments he had with her while she was alive.
Too short in his opinion.
He could hear the waves grow louder but his eyes continued to stay shut. When a long wave reached so far to touch his toes the man sucked back a surprised breath, unconsciously pulling his legs back. Everything in this dream felt so real to him.
The smell, the sounds, the feeling.
All he needed next was to see this paradise. Clamping his jaw shut, the retired hero attempted to peel his eyes open. It was difficult and confusing at first for him, but slowly Toshinori began to feel his lashes flutter.
His heart thrummed happily in his chest, excited to see what his mind had fabricated for him.
When his eyes finally shot open all he saw was his dull ceiling, mixed with the blaring sound of his alarm clock. Letting out a dissatisfied sigh, the man threw his legs over the side of the bed to stand tall and stretch, beginning his day. Turning off the alarm Toshinori rubbed the sleep from his eyes and yawned, letting his eyes slip shut while he stood.
It was then he realized something that stood out to him.
He hadn't remembered the last time he ever dreamt of anything.
Even if he wanted to remember what it entailed, his brain began to tear away what he felt and heard in the dream, making him nearly forget all of it. Toshinori hoped silently it would come back to him later in the day.
The retired hero ventured into his closet after his morning tea to search for the days outfit. Making a hasty decision of clothing Toshinori found himself gazing in the mirror at himself. Wearing his medallion colored striped suit, he was heavily discouraged over the way the clothes hung off of him like sheets. If he had moved the wrong way he was certain the sleeves would hide his large hands as they were already past his thin wrists. Letting out a soft grumble he forced himself to wear the clothing, knowing well he could spend hours trying to find something to wear that he still wouldn't like on himself. The man however refused to be late to work over something as simple as clothes.
Taking a silent train to his work which wasn't very far from his apartment, Toshinori began to look forward to teaching the heroes of tomorrow.
On his way past the gates of the school, the man found that to his left another person was matching stride with him some feet away. Glancing toward that direction he found his fellow coworker, art teacher (Y/N)(L/N) who was busy looking down at her binder of notes.
"G-Good morning, (L/N)-san." Toshinori grunted out, mildly amused as (Y/N) poked her nose out from the binder she was reading. Realizing it was him, the fellow teacher smiled brightly at him, giving him a gentle wave with her free hand. (Y/N) was a younger teacher at the UA, being in her mid thirties making Toshinori a little more than ten years her senior. Hailing from America, the hero had only been in Japan and in the city of Musutafu near Tokyo for about two or so years. She had been studying Japanese and it's culture since high school however, so she was pretty fluent in the language as Toshinori was to English when he was also overseas. (Y/N) had rich (e/c) eyes under long and pretty lashes, and her hair was healthy looking and was shiny under its (h/c) hue.
Toshinori admired silently the youth that was still evident in her while being past thirty and how she carried herself with ever step she took. It reminded him of Nana for a moment, how strong willed she was and how kind she had been to him when he was younger. (Y/N) was kind and gentle like that, and it was a character trait that Toshinori immediately found himself drawn to.
"And a good morning it is, Yagi-san." she replied respectfully, moving a little closer to his person so they can have some conversation before classes begun. He felt his smile grow wider, never getting tired of the heavy American accent that was still evident in her voice when she spoke his native tongue.
After some lighthearted talk and friendly banter, the woman found that Toshinori had walked with her directly to her classroom. Stopping at her door, (Y/N) thanked the retired hero happily, nodding her head toward him in thanks. Toshinori nodded in return, turning a heel to make his leave when he heard her call out to him. Before he could even turn fully he could feel her small hand on his forearm, tugging the fabric of his suit toward her. The man stopped in his tracks, watching the art teacher with curious orbs of cerulean.
"Y-Yes?" he asked her, watching her lower her gaze to the floor.
"I'm sorry, this is so rude of me," (Y/N) apologized warmly and let go of his sleeve, embarrassed as her actions were purely out of reflex. Swallowing some amount of courage to finally meet his stare the female offered him a weak smile.
"I just wanted to see if you were alright." she said, which made Toshinori slightly confused.
"I'm okay...did I do something to make it seem like I wasn't?" he replied, fretting silently to himself that he may have slipped something he wanted to keep to himself. Maybe it was something he didn't fully realize, but he didn't want her to waste her time. His coworker shook her head adamantly, her (e/c) eyes almost glowing with tender care.
"It's just that...you're battle with All For One wasn't terribly long ago. I wasn't sure anyone checked in to see if you were fairing well." she whispered to the ground, waiting silently to see how the retired hero would reply.
(Y/N) was so very thankful for all Toshinori had done as All Might and was happy he was still regarded with respect even after his secret was revealed. Working closely with the hero before the battle she was already aware of his two forms and was sworn to secrecy. (Y/N) held a lot of respect and gratitude toward the blonde, knowing well in her heart he deserved it. It made her also wonder if people checked up on him from time to time, to see if he was okay both physically and mentally. Toshinori was shocked to silence for a moment after being asked this question. Pressing on a facade of a smile the tall man let out a soft laugh.
"I'm doing alright (L/N)-san. Recovery Girl has—" Toshinori began.
"I meant with your mind. Are you mentally okay?" she clarified, and he felt his throat dry.
It was clear he was much better physically after the battle, but in terms of his mental state...
His silence told her much more she had hoped to gain. Looking back up at him she could see the pain he was trying to hide behind his eyes, making her slightly regret asking that question. She realized now it may have been a bit too personal of a question.
Reaching out timidly, (Y/N) placed her warm hand on his bicep, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"It's okay, Yagi-san. You don't have to tell me...I just want you to know that I'm here for you as your coworker." she said, and Toshinori could almost literally feel the air around him lighten.
"Thank you." he told her quietly, thankful she chose not to push further. (Y/N) nodded, moving her person into the classroom while she held the door with her hand. Very embarrassed and shy, the art teacher was about to slide the door completely shut when she saw a hand firmly keep it open. Toshinori was still there, but instead of the pain in his eyes she saw before, she could now see a glint of firmness.
"Y-Yagi-san..?" (Y/N) asked as she looked up at him, seeing his adam's apple clearly move when he swallowed.
"Let me walk you home today after work. Please." he suggested. He didn't know why he wanted to do this, nor did he realize his body and mouth were moving before his mind could register. Watching her (e/c) orbs he continued.
"Let me walk you home...to make up for not answering your question." he explained, his ears picking up the sound of students slowly starting to enter the building. Beyond their loud laughter and talking, Toshinori couldn't help but wonder why he felt overjoyed when the art teacher and UA replied.
"Okay, Yagi-san. I would like that a lot." (Y/N) smiled up at him and he matched that grin, pulling away from the door as students began to pass through and down the halls.
"Then I'll meet you at the front of the school after work." he stated simply.
True to his word, Toshinori walked (Y/N) home after work. He noticed not many words were exchanged but he didn't mind the slightest. It was nice having another soul with him to pass the time like this. No worries, no hardship. Just basking in simplicity. It also was nice helping someone after feeling like he couldn't help anybody anymore.
After bidding her goodnight and returning to his own home, Toshinori couldn't help but find (Y/N) slip into his mind every once and a while as he prepared to rest.