U&U: US Preview (Chaps 1-3 Deleted Scenes)

This is a preview for Unnoticed and Underestimated: Unposted Scenes, which is a collection of scenes I end up cutting from the main story for one reason or another. This first chapter is the only one that I will post here as well as in the main collection.

I originally had a plan for Izuku to be injured before being transferred to another school. The opening scene was comparable to the one that I have in the story of Izuku being introduced to the class. There originally was no gym scene and Izuku was going to approach Shinsou during lunch.

An investigator looks at the school and sees evidence of Midoriya's mistreatment. Although willing to transfer Midoriya, the people don't want to bring up the legal issues and leave a list of things for the school to improve before the next inspection came around.

Izuku is transferred to another nearby school and doesn't have to deal with bullying as seriously. Quirk use at the school picks up while he attends, though. The school brags about not being a quirk restrictive institution. Izuku would be one of a handful of quirkless kids and they also allowed children with quirks that had a high propensity for villainy to attend, in hopes of keeping them on the right path.

Basically, a racist school thinking they're not being racist. Luckily, they do act against bullying though

It may not be likely that Izuku ends up at Shinsou's school but I couldn't bring Izuku to be completely by himself for his last year of school. His friend uptick happening a year early won't be the end of the world. Not everything is going to go right but that doesn't mean everything has to go wrong, either.

Izuku looked at the class as they focused on him, trying not to tremble at the sea of unfamiliar faces.

"Everyone, this is Izuku Midoriya," the teacher stated. "He will be with us for the rest of the school year." She pointed to a vacant seat to the left of a tall boy with purple hair that stick up from his head, and bags under his equally purple eyes. He noticed that all the other surrounding students seemed to move their desks as far away from him as possible without the teacher telling them to readjust their seats. The behavior immediately made how the rest of the class felt about him perfectly clear.

Izuku wondered if he was quirkless, too. He sat next to him and smiled only to flinch slightly when the other boy looked at him. The purple haired boy rolled his eyes and turned his attention back toward the board, clearly dismissing Izuku.

"Smart move," a voice whispered from his other side, causing him to almost jump out of his chair before settling down. He found himself looking at a fat kid with light, curly hair. "You need to be careful around Shinsou. If you talk to him, he might mind control you."

Rather than respond to the warning, Izuku sank further down into his seat, not much liking the tone with which the other boy spoke. It was the same type of disgusted one used when his classmates were discussing his quirklessness.

It was weird, especially without Kacchan around, but it was nice. After a few minutes, Izuku felt himself relaxing. There weren't any desks here that showed signs of being scratched or burned, so it meant that, hopefully, things wouldn't get that bad, here.

As lunch rolled around, Izuku got his tray and looked around the room. Different classes and groups had bunched together but he was used to sitting alone. He looked for a spot near the wall, preferably close to—but not at—an exit. Somewhere close enough that he wouldn't have to cross to the other side of the cafeteria full of potential bullies but far enough away that he could book it if trouble tried to sneak up on him from there.

As he looked around for the perfect spot, his eyes finally fell on one. It was already occupied by a familiar classmate, which said a lot about his circumstances here. Hitoshi Shinsou was using the same method of watching while pretending not to that Izuku did. Yeah, it might not be as bad in class but bullying was still a thing here. There was probably no escaping it.

Still, maybe this time, he wouldn't have to fight it alone.

"W-would you m-m-mind if I s-sat w-with you?"

Hitoshi looked up to see the new kid, standing there trembling with fear. He frowned and said, "Aren't you scared I'll mind control you?" Of course he was, why else would he be so terrified? He was probably just trying to look brave for their classmates or something like that.

The other boy seemed to look even smaller as he said, "I've had worse used on me."

That gave Hitoshi pause. Having someone attack you with their quirk was never a fun experience. The boy was scared, not just of him but everyone here. What type of quirk must he have that he was worried about everyone turning him on that?

Then the new boy continued. "Besides, if I had to be scared of you doing that," the kid added, glancing directly at the popular table, "you'd be one of the kids over there. Because that would mean you use it to control classmates for power and they'd like having you around to do it."

Shinsou looked back at the table the kid had gesture to, seeing it in a new light. He'd never thought of it that way but he realized that Midoriya was probably right. Suddenly, being the outcast for his power seemed a lot less terrible. Certainly, better than that alternative.

Finally, Hitoshi looked back at the new kid. "What's your name? I wasn't really paying attention earlier."

"Oh, I'm Midoriya…Izuku Midoriya."

"Hitoshi Shinsou," he replied. "You can sit here if you want."

And suddenly, Midoriya gave him a smile that seemed to light the whole room, as if he'd thrown the kid a party rather than just told him he could sit with him. "Thanks!"

Midoriya came around and sat next to him. It was obvious he'd first gravitated to this corner for the same reason Hitoshi did, to watch for trouble.

"So, what is your quirk, if you don't mind me asking?"

Izuku looked up at him, smile gone again. "I don't have one."

"Oh," Hitoshi replied. That explained a lot. In his first year here, there'd been a quirkless kid in the third-year class. He'd always used that girl's situation as a reminder that HE could have it much worse.

Hitoshi looked as Midoriya seemed to look smaller and frailer after the statement, probably waiting to be rejected.

Hitoshi tried to think of something to say when Midoriya suddenly stiffened. "Looks like we'll be getting company soon." Kids at the main tables for their class were glancing thei way. He frowned. "W-Which ones are most likely to use their quirks and what are they?"

Hitoshi glanced at him but started describing them, anyway. He was surprised to see the boy pull out a notebook from…somewhere…and start writing notes, one eye on the scene, waiting for events to unfold. He glanced at the cafeteria monitors. "Which ones will break up any fights if there's trouble?"

Hitoshi looked to the woman on the right. "She will, she has a repel quirk that forces objects apart, including people and she'll use it to break up fights. But she'll side with anyone else before me. I'll be in trouble for starting the fight, whether I did or not."

Izuku nodded. "She won't let anyone get beat up though?"

"Of course not."

He saw some of the tension leave Midoriya's shoulders. Had it really been that bad at his last school, that he couldn't expect even the staff to come to his aid if he were jumped?

Alternate write up of the scene where another student approaches the table

Despite having barely spent a few moments with the smaller boy, Hitoshi found that he already felt protective of him.

"Incoming," Midoriya warned.

Hitoshi frowned as he looked at the boy approaching him.

"Using your power on the new kid, Shinsou?"

"N-no, I chose to sit here," Izuku stated, startling the boy.

Although Hitoshi didn't like using his quirk, he had used it a couple of times to defend himself from his classmates, telling them to walk away from him. Everyone knew that his 'victims' were silent while he controlled them.

"Why would you sit next to him? He might decide to control you."

"So, c-could any of you with an activatable quirk with externalized effects. Even without one, you still have fists and feet. By those standards, I shouldn't sit near anybody."

Both Hitoshi and the boy across from them glanced at Midoriya oddly at the statement.

The kid frowned. "You're a wordy little nerd, aren't you?" He looked at Hitoshi and asked, "Is he your new minion now? You freaks'll go together well." He looked back at Midoriya and added, "I heard the cafeteria monitors say you're just a stupid, helpless quirkless anyway."

The kid got up and walked away, probably scared that if he talked too much longer, he might not find himself in control of his own body.

"Don't listen to him."

Izuku smiled sadly and said, "It's okay, I've heard worse. You're not upset that they're going to lump me in with you, are you?"

Out of context, Hitoshi might have taken it as some insult, like they didn't want to be associated with him. But with Midoriya, it was clear that the kid was used to being alone at the bottom and was trying to give Hitoshi an out. And judging from the expression on his face, he expected to be left hanging.

Well fuck that shit. Somehow, in two minutes, Midoriya had been nicer to him than the rest of his classmates had in over two years. He wasn't going to thank that by giving the cold shoulder like everyone else had done to him "Absolutely not. You can sit here for lunch tomorrow, too if you want."

"R-really?" Midoriya's face was so bright and hopeful.

"Really," Hitoshi replied.

He smiled and tears built up at the corners of his eyes. "Thank you!"

I originally wrote a different version of this chapter entirely from Izuku's perspective but, at the time, I was still in the habit of occasionally going through and deleting stuff I was sure that wasn't going to use, so that one no longer exists.

As a result, this is all that I have for this set of chapters.