Hello again! Thanks for joining in for another chapter of Altruism. Also, I apologize for the delay. College hit like a bus this last week with lessons being moved up and several tests happening. Before we get into the story, I just wanted to address a few concerns some of you have put forth. Yes, the story so far has been close to canon, but that's intentional. Like I said in my first Author's Note, it will start off pretty similarly to canon, but will have small changes (the scene on the roof, mentions of his research, his nightmare, etc…) Those small changes will gradually branch off and change the story quite a bit as time goes on. My aim for this story is for it to be detailed and have a nice depth to it (especially in regards to character development). This is another reason why I decided to fully write out the beginning rather than give the bullet notes of all of it told in time skips. I hope that helps to explain why I did it the way I did. I should have been clearer on that sooner, so my apologies! Now, this note has gone on long enough. I hope you all enjoy the new chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia or any of the characters.

He was crying again.

Sitting at the desk next to his bed, surrounded by shelves that were loaded with his Quirk Analysis notebooks and research materials, Izuku Midoriya's tears silently fell onto the wooden surface.

He'd failed to destroy even a single point-yielding Faux Villain last week. He had caused horrible damage to his legs and right arm, damage that the legendary Recovery Girl then had to heal. He hadn't even managed to leave the testing site under his own power, having to be carried out on a stretcher after he'd passed out from exhaustion.

Pathetic. His performance was pathetic. A complete failure, except…

Except he had protected that girl. Regardless of anything else, that was the one thing Izuku hadn't been able to bring himself to regret. He had done what he thought was right, even if it meant failing. Apparently, however, he wasn't the only one who saw his decision as being the right one. According to the now deactivated projection device that was on his desk, the teachers of U.A. (which now included All Might among their ranks, as Izuku had just learned from the projection of the man himself) had been grading them in another way, one they hadn't mentioned during Present Mic's ceremony.

Rescue Points.

When he'd saved that girl, Izuku had been scored quite highly by the teachers of U.A. Because of that, he was now crying with a smile on his face. Because of that…

He had passed. Starting in the spring, Izuku Midoriya would be a student of U.A.'s Hero Course.

Wiping the tears from his eyes, Izuku leaned back in his chair and let his eyes wander around his room. His gaze rested on the single life-size All Might replica he had within his room (all of his other All Might merchandise was kept in their apartment's spare room, due to his multiple shelves of research taking up most of his space) and couldn't help but feel a rush of gratitude for his idol…for his mentor. The man that had made all of this possible. All Might had saved Izuku's life all those months ago, had given him hope, watched over him during those months of training, and had even entrusted him with One For All…

Izuku felt his smile slip and turn into a slight frown at the thought of the Quirk that had been granted to him. It was an amazing Quirk, there was no doubt about that. With it, All Might became the No.1 Hero in the world and was considered to be unbeatable. It was extremely powerful…

Too powerful, in fact, for Izuku to wield. When he had tried to do so during the entrance exam at U.A., it had quite literally destroyed his own body. The flesh on his right arm and legs had burst open in various places, and his bones had suffered multiple breaks and fractures. All Might had put Izuku through that hellish training because his body had been too weak to withstand One For All, and now…he could still only barely use it. Even if he continued to train his body, it could take months or even years before his body would be able to withstand his Quirk at its fullest potential.

Izuku grimaced at the idea of constantly destroying his body until he was able to fully withstand One For All. The problem was that he had no clue on how he could avoid it. He had nothing to reference for this, nothing he could –

Izuku went very still, slowly looking at the room around him. More specifically, at the shelves that were overflowing with research on Quirks. Tons of reference material for his research, and 53 notebooks serving as the final results. 53 thick notebooks, each one having a few hundred pages each…completely packed with information on Quirks. He knew that he didn't have anything in them that would solve his problem entirely, but he also knew that his Quirk wasn't the only one that had repercussions (even if it did have the most severe repercussions of any he'd ever come across). If he could analyze those Quirks in particular, try and figure out what the users of those Quirks did to lessen or nullify the repercussions…he might just be able to at least get a hint on how to withstand using One For All without it destroying his body.

Izuku felt a huge grin form on his face as he grabbed Quirk Analysis #1 off of a nearby shelf. He'd always thought that he would eventually be able to use his research to help others, to support Heroes. Never did it occur to him that one day he would actually be able to use it for himself.

He had a lot of information to go through, a lot of research to do on his findings, and only a little under two months until he started at U.A. Add in the fact that he also had to attend school, continue training his body, and do anything he needed to do to prepare for U.A.'s Hero Course…Izuku let out a small sigh of resignation.

He had really been hoping to start getting a bit more sleep now that his extreme training regimen was over. Maybe even relax a bit around the house…read a book, eat some katsudon, watch some television with his mother, and eat more katsudon. Not gonna have time for that now, Izuku thought in slight disappointment.

Well, maybe the katsudon.

"I'm…I'm lost, aren't I?" Izuku's voice rang out, almost seeming to echo in the enormous hallway. He couldn't believe it. He was finally here, walking the halls of U.A. just as he had always dreamed of doing.

…except in his dreams, he wasn't wandering the halls with absolutely no idea where he was.

He really should have known that something would happen, considering that things had been going far too well for him for the last few weeks. He'd finished designing his Hero costume, a new restaurant opened near his apartment that served amazing katsudon, and his research had finally –

"Yo! You lost?" came a voice from Izuku's left. Feeling a rush of relief that there was someone who could point him in the right direction, he turned his head to the left.

Izuku's body froze, his mind slowing to a crawl. The wall…had a face. And a shirtless torso. There were no arms attached, just…a shirtless torso and a smiling face, with blond hair that stuck up in a cowlick. Was this…?

"Are you a new student?" Yeah, definitely the voice that called out to him moments before. Izuku gave a hesitant nod. "Welcome! Since you're walking around here, I'm guessing you're in the Hero Course, right? What class are you in? 1-A?" Another nod, slightly more confident. "Awesome! In that case, take the stairs up to the next floor and take a left. Big door with '1-A' written right on it!" the face finished, still smiling.

"Ah…uh th-thank you," Izuku replied, his mind finally starting to function properly. "Who –"

Before he could finish his question, the torso and face were suddenly pulled into the wall (or through it, he really couldn't tell), a slight look of surprise on the face. Izuku stared at the space it had just been, the wall seemingly without a single blemish as if there had never been a face and torso sticking out of it. Shaking his head to snap himself out of his stupor, Izuku hurried towards the stairs just as the face had advised him. Reaching the next floor and turning left, he saw that there was indeed an enormous door with '1-A' on it in large letters. Knowing that the bell would be ringing in only a few minutes, Izuku opened the door and hurried inside.

"…foot from that desk! What you are doing is an insult to those who came here before us and to the craftsmen who made the desk!"

"Like I care. Get out of my face, you nameless extra!"

This day…really wasn't going as Izuku had dreamed it would.

Sitting inside the room, with his feet propped upon his desk and looking like he owned the place, was Kacchan. To make things worse, the boy that was currently scolding Kacchan was someone Izuku hadn't really wanted to meet again.

"N-nameless extra?! How rude! My name is Iida Tenya, formerly of Somei Private Academy," the glasses wearing boy responded.

"So you're some stuck-up elitist? Big deal! I'll still blow you to bits," came Kacchan's reply, seeming completely unimpressed with Iida. Deciding that it'd be best to get to his seat before either of them noticed him, Izuku slowly made his way to an open seat he saw that was away from the two boys.

"Blow me to…?! How awful! You –" Iida's response was cut short as he noticed Izuku making his way past him. Turning towards the green-haired boy, Iida marched right up to him. "I'm Iida Tenya –"

"I heard you earlier!" Izuku blurted out, cutting the boy off. "I, ah, I'm Midoriya Izuku. Pleased to meet you, Iida." Just please don't start scolding me like at the entrance exam, Izuku thought. Oh who am I kidding, he's definitely gonna start berating me again!

"Midoriya…I misjudged you! For that, you have my apologies!"

There it is! He's…not…he's apologizing?!

"You were superior to me, that day!" Iida continued, grinding his teeth together and gesturing to Izuku with his hands. "You figured out the true nature of the entrance exam, while I failed to do so! To think that you were able to discern that rescuing people would also –"

"I didn't!" Izuku said abruptly, once again interrupting the boy in front of him. He didn't want to take credit for something he didn't do, to make the other boy believe that Izuku was more than he really was. "I didn't…know anything about the Rescue Points. I'm not someone that impressive…I just, just saw that girl needed help and I…" he trailed off, noticing that most of the class was watching him by this point. He could feel his face heating up in what must have been an impressive blush, but before he could do or say anything he was distracted by the sound of the classroom door sliding open behind him.

"Ah! That curly hair from the entrance exam!"

Standing in the doorway was the kind girl he'd met at the entrance exam. Izuku's blush grew a bit when he saw how nice she looked in the U.A. school uniform.

"You got in! I went to talk to Present Mic, and he said you'd get in! I'm so glad we both got in!" the cheerful girl said enthusiastically, an incredibly bright smile lighting up her face.

That's right, Izuku thought as he remembered what he'd seen on the projection device. I nearly forgot that she went to Present Mic on my behalf and tried to give me some of her points! Such a kind girl!

"Thank you for speaking to Present Mic about me…and even going so far as to offer me some of your points…I really don't deserve such kindness…" Izuku said, rubbing his neck in slight embarrassment.

"How do you know –?"

"If you're just here to make friends, then get out," came a voice from the doorway.

Looking for the source of the voice, Izuku saw…a face, down at the floor. It took him a moment to realize that the rest of the person was completely wrapped up inside of a yellow sleeping bag.

…at least this one isn't sticking out of a wall. Or an armless torso with no shirt, Izuku thought emotionlessly. Honestly, his first class hadn't even started yet and he was already tired and ready for this day to end.

His first day at U.A. really, really wasn't going the way he'd thought it would.

Suddenly, the man somehow stood up in one fluid motion without even leaving his sleeping bag. Slowly, the sleeping bag was unzipped and revealed an incredibly worn-out looking man. He had a rather slender build and looked like he'd just rolled out of bed, his black eyes only half-opened and his black hair going to his shoulders in a messy fashion. Even his clothes, a black long-sleeved shirt and matching pants, just looked so…ragged. Really, the only distinctive parts of his outfit were the utility belt the man wore and a long grey scarf that pooled around the man's neck and onto his shoulders.

"You're all wasting time just staring at me. Time is a very precious resource, wasting it is irrational…you lot aren't very rational, are you?" the unkempt man asked with a sigh. "I'm your homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shota. Pleased to meet you."

Somehow…I don't think that he's actually pleased to meet us at all, Izuku thought blandly. Though if he's our teacher…then he's a Pro Hero…? I don't recognize him!

Aizawa began rummaging around in his sleeping bag, pulling something out of it and shoving it towards Izuku. Taking it into his hands and looking at it, he saw that it was a uniform with 'U.A.' written on it in large letters.

"Stop wasting time and change into your gym clothes, then we'll be heading out to the grounds." Aizawa said as he handed out the rest of the uniforms.

"DIE!" Kacchan shouted, letting off a fairly large explosion as he threw the ball Aizawa had given him. The result was…impressive, to say the least. Aizawa turned the beeping device he was holding so that the entire class could see it, showing them the results of Kacchan's throw.

"705.2 meters?!"

"Seriously?!"

"This is awesome! We can finally use our Quirks for real…the Hero Course really is something else!"

This…can I pull it off? Izuku thought worriedly. When they had gotten out to the field, Aizawa had told them that they would be tested on their Quirks. To do so, they were going to be doing some of the same tests that they used to do in middle school. The only difference was that this time, they were allowed to use their Quirks for the tests. Sure, Izuku had finally made some progress with training One For All in the last two weeks, but only barely! Using it even partially was incredibly difficult, took too much time, had no immediate uses, and still carried a lot of risk. The slightest screw up would be enough to cause him to lose control and destroy his body. He –

"Awesome…is that how you feel about this?" came Aizawa's voice, drawing attention from everyone. "This is U.A., the school hailed as the best there is…do you really think it'll be so easy that your three years here will be all fun and games?" Even the more cheerful students began to lose their grins at this point, all of them having a sinking feeling in their guts after hearing their teacher's words. "Then how about this…the one of you that has the lowest score across all events…will be expelled immediately."

"Expelled?!" blurted out a blond-haired boy to Izuku's left.

"You can't be serious!" another boy shouted, this one having spiky red hair.

"This…that's completely unfair!" added the girl Izuku had met in the entrance exam. "It's only the first day! Even if it wasn't, to expel someone just because of a single test is…"

"A Hero's life is filled with unfair things," Aizawa said loudly, instantly quieting his students. "Natural disasters aren't fair. Rampaging Villains aren't fair. Heroes are the ones who correct that unfairness. If things were fair, there wouldn't be a need for Heroes at all. But life isn't fair, and therefore Heroes are needed. So if you were hoping to spend your evenings hanging out with your friends at the movies, then I'm sorry to tell you…that won't be happening. Make no mistake, for the next three years…U.A. will put you through the wringer. Because those Heroes that are needed? In a few years…that'll mean you. Until then…U.A. will push you beyond your limits. That's Plus Ultra."

For a moment none of the students made a sound, not even moving a muscle after hearing their teacher's speech. Then that moment passed, a fiery determination seeming to grip all of them. A single glance at any one of them was enough for Aizawa to see that they would all be doing everything they could to succeed, even if it meant the failure of one of the others…

All except for one of them, Aizawa noted.

Clenching his fists and staring at the ground, Izuku felt torn. Like his classmates, their teacher's speech had the green-haired boy filled with a sense of determination. He wanted, more than anything else, to be a Hero. Not only that, but All Might had put his faith in Izuku, making him the successor to One For All in the hopes that one day Izuku would become the next top Hero – the next Symbol of Peace. He knew that because of this, he had a duty to pass this test and become a Hero. But…

Could he do it if it meant crushing someone else's dreams of becoming a Hero?

Izuku knew what it was like to have that dream crushed, to have someone tell you that you can't become a Hero. He knew it very well, was intimately familiar with all the pain it could cause. To be part of inflicting that pain onto someone else…he didn't think he could do it.

But he also couldn't fail and never become a Hero.

So how could he keep anyone, including himself, from failing the test and being expelled?

Wait…failing? Izuku thought, his mind starting to work quickly. Similar to how he got when he was going through his research, Izuku ignored everything else and began analyzing everything he could about his teacher's actions so far and his words earlier. Rational…across all events…lowest score…lowest?...rational…wasting resources…irrational…?

Slowly, a plan began to form in Izuku's mind. It was risky, but if his observations about his new teacher were right…

"Aizawa-sensei!" Izuku called out, drawing everyone's attention. "Just to be sure…you said that the one of us who has the lowest final score will be expelled right?"

"…yes, that is indeed what I said," Aizawa replied slowly, raising an eyebrow in slight confusion. He obviously heard me clearly the first time, so why would this kid…?

"And the scoring…how will that be decided?"

Curious about what the boy was getting at, Aizawa decided to play along for now and answered, "To keep it simple, I'll be giving up to ten points for each event."

Nodding his head as if he'd been expecting the answer, the green-haired boy decided to ask one more question. "After we are each scored for an event…could you tell us what our score is for that event? Please?"

While normally Aizawa would decline such a request…this time, Aizawa nodded. He was curious what the boy was up to, and the only way to find out would be to continue playing along…at least until it was no longer interesting.

Letting out a shaky breath, Izuku smiled and clenched his fist. He had a plan…now he just had to pull it off, somehow.

"Mineta Minoru…ten points."

Ten points?! Izuku thought worriedly. Not good! That puts him nine points ahead of me! If he scores anything more than a one in the final event…I'll be guaranteed last place and be expelled!

Up until this point, Izuku's plan had been going nearly perfectly. Overall, he was currently in last place, with the small boy known as Mineta being in second to last place. Izuku had done his very best to try and achieve his goal in the last seven events, and had only been behind the other boy by a single point. He had been fortunate in that the other boy's Quirk hadn't been very useful in the events they had been tested on up until now, but once they got to the side-stepping event he went and scored a ten, while Izuku had only scored a two! As it stood, Izuku was a whole nine points behind. If the grape-haired boy scored more than a one or Izuku scored less than a ten in the final event…

Had he made an error? Were his good intentions going to cause him to be expelled…?

No…no, I still have a chance! Izuku thought, doing his best to squash his rising panic. The last event is the throwing event, right? But to score a ten on that, I'd have to use One For All! I still can't control it well enough to use it for such a sudden movement! For now, the method I came up with from my research is useless for anything beyond training…I'll have to use it the same way as I did in the entrance exam! Izuku nodded to himself in determination, accepting the fact that he'd have to grit his teeth and brace himself for the pain to come.

Regaining his composure and focus, Izuku looked up to see that the final event was already underway and that several of his classmates had already completed it. He watched as his multi-armed classmate, whom Aizawa had called Shoji earlier, made an impressive throw and quietly walk back to the group of students. It took a moment for Izuku to realize something…

Aizawa wasn't announcing their scores any more.

Why did he stop? Izuku wondered in slight worry.

He had no way to know that Aizawa had stopped intentionally, hoping to get some sort of reaction out of Izuku. The boy's performance in the entrance exam and in the test up until now made Aizawa want to write him off as someone who could never be a Hero, but…

Those questions he asked and the look on his face…the boy has a plan, but what is it? Aizawa wondered, idly scoring students as they came up to throw the ball for the final event. Despite having done so poorly in the exam thus far, he seemed almost…satisfied with how things were going. The only time he seemed worried was when that Mineta kid scored well in the last event. But he'd been fine with being in last place until then, so what changed? His half-lidded eyes focused on the green-haired boy in question as he made his way forward to take his turn. Just what are you up to?

As Izuku made his way to the designated spot for his throw, ball already in hand, he let out a shaky breath. For whatever reason, Aizawa still wasn't announcing their scores for this event. That meant that he would have no way of knowing whether or not his gamble had worked, not until the test was completely over and their final scores given. Steeling his resolve and bracing himself for the pain he would soon be feeling, Izuku channeled One For All to his right arm and threw the ball as hard as he could.

…only for it to fall way, way short. Not only that, but his arm was fine too!

"Why…I know I was using it…" Izuku muttered, completely baffled. He had used it! He'd felt the immense energy coursing through his arm, so why…?

"I've 'erased' your Quirk for the moment," Aizawa said, causing Izuku to look at his teacher. The man no longer looked like he was half-asleep, instead he seemed highly irritated and almost…disappointed? In the back of his mind, Izuku finally recognized who his teacher was after witnessing the man's Quirk. The Hero who nullifies Quirks by looking at them…Eraser Head. A Hero who wasn't as well-known as some others because of his extreme dislike of media appearances, which explained why Izuku hadn't recognized him at first.

His hair…is raised up? But there isn't any wind…Izuku thought idly, his curiosity momentarily distracting him from the seriousness of the situation.

"I was interested in what you'd do because I thought you had some kind of plan," Aizawa continued, drawing Izuku's attention back to the matter at hand. "But you…you were about to do the same thing that you did in the entrance exam. I saw it…you can't control your Quirk, even now. You're just as reckless as another guy I know…but that guy can back that recklessness up and not let it get in the way. You…you would be incapacitated after using your power just once, something that would inconvenience others. As you are…there is no chance of you becoming a Hero." Aizawa deactivated his Quirk, his hair falling back into place. "You've got your Quirk back…throw the ball and let's get this over with."

How disappointing, the Erasure Hero thought, slightly irritated at how things had turned out. I thought the kid might actually have some kind of plan. Did he really think he could pass just by using his Quirk in the final event? Completely irrational.

Standing there with another ball in hand, Izuku's mind worked feverishly to try and figure out what he should do. From his teacher's words, Izuku knew that if he used his Quirk and became incapacitated…he'd fail, regardless of points. At the same time, the only way for him to score the ten points he needed was for him to use his Quirk! He couldn't regulate his power yet, meaning he'd receive the full repercussions for using it…

Izuku froze as an idea began to form in his mind. It wasn't that he couldn't have any repercussions…only that he wasn't incapacitated. Knowing that he had no alternatives, Izuku took a throwing stance. He wasn't sure if he could pull off what he'd just thought of, but he had to try! Activating One For All again, Izuku felt power surge and he threw the ball with everything he had. This time, the ball shot through the sky like a rocket and quickly left his sight. Gritting his teeth at the pain that he was feeling, the green-haired boy made a fist and turned towards his teacher to show the man the results of Izuku using his Quirk. There, displayed for all to see…

Was a single, horribly swollen finger.

"I'm not…incapacitated, Aizawa-sensei!" Izuku said proudly. And it was true. While his finger was certainly badly broken, it wasn't nearly enough to incapacitate him.

For the first time that day, Izuku and the other students saw something besides irritation or boredom on their teacher's face.

This kid…he focused his Quirk on his finger instead of his entire arm, reducing the backlash from using it. He might just have the potential to become a Hero after all, Aizawa thought, a large grin plastered on his face.

Before anyone could say anything more, they all heard several explosions and saw a certain boy with spiky blond hair rapidly making his way towards where Izuku was standing. The look of sheer rage on his face surprised most of them. He'd shown himself to be quick to anger throughout the day, but this…

"DEKU! What the hell was that?! Explain yourself, you bastard!" came the roar from Katsuki Bakugou.

Izuku blanched as he saw the look on Kacchan's face. Izuku hadn't seen him this mad since that day with the Sludge Villain! The green-haired boy raised his arms in a hasty defense and closed his eyes, bracing himself for the explosion that was surely going to be coming his way. It wouldn't be enough to seriously injure him, but he was certain to suffer a few burns.

He should know. He'd been the main target of Kacchan's bullying for years.

Surprised when the heat and pain didn't come, Izuku slowly opened his eyes and lowered his arms. Kacchan was no longer charging towards him, instead…

"What the…this cloth…why is it so stiff?!" the blond-haired boy yelled, a familiar grey cloth wrapped around his torso and face, restraining the enraged boy. Following the cloth, Izuku saw their teacher standing a few feet away with the cloth gripped tightly in his hands. He also noticed a pair of golden goggles around the man's neck, something that had been concealed beneath the scarf until now.

His hair is raised up again…but there's still no wind, Izuku noted. Kacchan isn't using his Quirk. Is Aizawa-sensei erasing it? Does that mean that his hair raising up is a result of using his Quirk? Maybe I can ask him about it after the test is over…if I'm not expelled, he thought, his curiosity for Quirks clashing with his worry of the test.

"It's what is commonly referred to as a 'Capture Weapon', a tool made of carbon fibers and a special alloy wire," Aizawa stated, answering his student's question. "Now stop using your Quirk already…I'm getting dry eye." The cloth went slack and the Erasure Hero began draping the 'scarf' over his shoulders once more. A second later, he blinked and his hair dropped back into its usual messy appearance. Aizawa then took out a small bottle from his pocket and squeezed a few drops from it onto his eyes. "Now both of you keep quiet and step aside. There are still a couple more who need to throw the ball before the test can be over."

Both boys did as they were instructed, one of them filled with anger and the other with relief. Izuku let out a small sigh and went to stand next to the kind girl with brown hair, while a seething Kacchan went to the opposite end of the group, as far away from Izuku as he could get.

"Is your finger alright? It looks really swollen!" the girl asked in concern once he'd reached her.

"Oh…uh, y-yeah…just a bit sore, really. No big deal!" Izuku answered, giving her a small smile. It definitely wasn't just sore, but he didn't want to worry the girl too much. Izuku then gained a slight frown as he realized something. He still didn't know her name! He'd listened in on everyone's scores after each event today for his plan, so he'd learned nearly all of their names, but…somehow, he hadn't heard what hers was! Intending to rectify this mistake, Izuku cleared his throat and nervously said, "I'm sorry! I just realized that I –"

"Alright, the test is done," Aizawa's voice interrupted. "Time for the results. As there were eight events, there were 80 points possible. With the exception of the last event, you all know your own scores if you kept up with them. This list will be your final score and rankings." The man then pulled a small device from his pocket and tossed it on the ground. Everyone there recognized it as one of the projection devices that had been sent to them to confirm their acceptance into U.A. Their teacher then pulled out another device from his other pocket, similar to a smartphone. He tapped on it a few times, but then seemed to go very still and stared at the device for a moment.

This…the questions he asked earlier…this was his plan the whole time? Aizawa thought in surprise, lifting his head up to stare at the boy in question.

Izuku felt a sense of dread wash over him when his teacher turned to stare at him, the man's face giving nothing away. He had been going crazy with worry, unsure if his gamble had paid off. He had a sinking feeling that he knew the answer to that now, with his teacher singling Izuku out with his gaze.

He had failed.

He would be expelled.

He wouldn't become a Hero.

He wouldn't –

"You…" Aizawa said slowly, drawing everyone's attention to Izuku. Most were curious as to why their teacher was calling on the green-haired boy, while the others wondered if he was about to be expelled. Slowly, their teacher walked closer to them until he stopped directly in front of Izuku. "This…" Aizawa said, turning the device in his hand towards Izuku. "This was your plan the entire time, wasn't it? Asking those questions…requesting that I announce the scores for each event…"

Instead of answering his teacher, Izuku just continued to stare at the screen the man was showing him, a look of slight disbelief shown on his face.

"Aizawa-sensei! Midoriya! What's going on?" came the voice of Iida to Izuku's right.

Neither Izuku nor Aizawa turned to look at the boy for a moment. Then Aizawa pulled the device back towards himself and turned to point it at the projection device that still laid where he had tossed it to the ground moments earlier. "What's going on…is this," the man said, tapping once on the device he held in his hand. Suddenly, the projection device turned on and a display came up above it, displaying everyone's scores. A moment of silence, and then…

"Wait…what?!"

"So if that's the case, then who…?"

"You've gotta be joking! Does this mean that both of them will…?"

There, displayed for all to see, was something none of them had expected. Of the twenty students in their class, Izuku Midoriya was placed 19th with a total of 31 points…and below that, was Mineta Minoru with a total of 31 points, also ranked at 19th.

Suddenly a girl with long black hair tied up in a spiky ponytail, who Izuku recognized as Yaoyorozu Momo, stepped forward. "Aizawa-sensei! Earlier, you asked Midoriya if 'this' was his plan," the girl stated, crossing her arms under her rather well-endowed chest. "Are you saying that he intended to tie for last place?" Aizawa nodded, confirming what the girl said. "Then why –"

"Because I said that the one of you who received the lowest score would be expelled," Aizawa cut in, turning his head to look at Izuku for confirmation. "Isn't that right, Midoriya?"

Izuku nodded, not trusting himself to speak. The immense relief he felt at his plan working outweighed any of the discomfort he was currently feeling at being the center of attention.

Seeing that many of the students were still confused, Aizawa decided to explain things in more detail. "Earlier when I threatened to expel whichever one of you that received the lowest score, do you all remember what Midoriya asked?" Seeing most of them nod, the Erasure Hero continued, "He wasn't just asking those things randomly. He was looking for clarification that the one of you that received the lowest score would be expelled. Then he asked about the scoring, and requested that I announce your points at the end of each event. He wasn't asking for this without reason…he wanted to keep track of the points that were given. All of them," Aizawa explained, seeing several of his students gain looks of realization and surprise. "As some of you have realized by now…Midoriya tied in last place on purpose, closely monitoring all of your scores and trying to match his own with whoever had the lowest score. As such, there was no 'one' who had the lowest score…meaning that, for now, no one is going to be expelled."

By this point every student was staring at Izuku (who was starting to blush fiercely from all the attention he was getting), all of them left speechless after hearing Aizawa's explanation of the green-haired boy's actions.

Aizawa turned off the projection device and walked over to it, placing it back in his pocket. "We're done here," Aizawa called out, regaining the attention of his students. "All of you return to the classroom, your documents about the curriculum and such are there for you to pick up. After that you're free to leave. Except for you, Midoriya. You're coming with me to see Recovery Girl. She'll fix your finger."

With that, Aizawa began walking towards the U.A. building without even waiting for Izuku. Slightly surprised that his teacher would be accompanying him to see the school's nurse, the green-haired boy hurried to catch up the man.

Maybe he could question the Erasure Hero about his Quirk as they walked?

Alright, so there was a glimpse of the Izuku of this story rather than the one from canon. He shows his analytical traits to be a bit more prominent than in canon due to him spending so much time analyzing/researching for his notebooks. Also, the roof scene and his nightmares from a while ago play a role with the plan he made to make sure nobody was expelled, for those who picked up that detail. More explanation from him on that detail later. Next chapter will be his talk with Aizawa, his costume (altered from canon, at least somewhat), and the Heroes vs Villains simulation/test. Also, imaginary cookies to those of you who have read the manga and recognized the person who gave Izuku directions.