Inspired by Gentrychild's post on her original plans for Ascendant involving Izuku being expelled then sneaking back into UA and hiding whenever Aizawa was in sight.
Please leave reviews if you enjoyed!
"You're expelled"
The words played in Izuku's head over and over again. After Aizawa-sensei, Eraserhead, said that to him, Izuku went back to the changing room and got back into his school uniform (he had nothing else to change into). Once in the hall he just stood there until the bell rang. When it did, students flooded the hallway, destroying his privacy. Izuku went to his classroom and sat through class on autopilot. He'd done it plenty of times before UA. He did the same for the next class, and the next. Which brought him to where he currently was.
He glanced up and saw yet another of his teachers giving him a strange look. Was he muttering again? Nobody said anything! Sure, the teachers and other students had been giving him weird looks, but nobody had ever stayed quiet before! Besides, they were probably staring because he was the one student who managed to get expelled on his first da-
Wait
…
He had gotten expelled.
And he was still here.
In class.
WHAT?
Why hadn't anyone told him?! I mean sure he shouldn't need to be told that he'd been expelled after Eraserhead said it to his face, but still! Why hadn't the teachers said anything?! Had they not known? It couldn't be since they kept giving him strange looks! Now what? This wasn't his last period and it wasn't like he could just keep attending his classes…as…long…as…Eraserhead didn't…catch him. Could he?
Could he?
None of his classmates had said anything, even Kacchan…
None of his teachers had said anything…
He couldn't just avoid his homeroom teacher all year! He wasn't even enrolled anymore! But…it would take a while to get a new school and UA had one of the best curriculums in the country. Maybe he could just get a head start while looking for a new school?
But what about Mom? What would she think?
Maybe he shouldn't tell Mom just yet. Not until he'd found another school. After all, she'd be less worried if he already had a solution lined up, right?
He showed up at school the next day just after homeroom.
He hadn't been sure if his pass still worked, so he snuck his way in. No security confronted him. His teachers each gave him a confused look, but shrugged and kept teaching. His classmates only occasionally threw him confused glances. By lunch nobody had directly questioned him about it. Maybe this could work after all…
(Teacher's Lounge)
"So, Shota, how does it feel to have only what? Nineteen students now?" Yamada asked.
"A massive headache. They're loud, rambunctious, and irrational."
"So, teenagers?" Hizashi said.
"Whatever."
"Hey Shota," Nemuri said, "You going to have one of your power naps in your office? Or would you like to have lunch with me and Hizashi and talk about everything that's happened since last school year ended?"
Shota had a brief look of fear before quickly grabbing his sleeping bag and juice box. "I'm going to my office. Feel free to leave me alone."
Hizashi watched him leave, waited, then checked outside to make sure he wasn't coming back. He glanced back at Nemuri who seemed to be checking if Shota left anything behind. She nodded at Hizashi.
"Ok, are we gonna talk about the green haired kid?" he said.
Across the room all the other teachers (sans All Might who was absent) nodded.
"He showed up again today."
"Does Shota seriously not know what he's doing?"
"What should we do?"
"I say let him stay. I like his spirit!"
"But we can't just let him wander campus unchecked," Cementoss said.
"He's not 'wandering', he's staying in class," said Snipe.
"But we still can't grade him," said Cementoss.
"I say we keep quiet. I want to see if Shota ever finds out." Nemuri said with a grin.
"If Shota reenrolls him, it will be like it never happened," said Ectoplasm.
"Not if Shota catches him first…" Hizashi shuddered.
"Now now everyone. I think there is an easy solution." Nezu said as he walked up and stood on the table.
"What is it?" Hound Dog asked.
"A prank! Let's see how long Midoriya can last without Shota finding out he's here!"
"Has Shota tried to reenroll him?" said Power Loader.
"Not that I'm aware of. But he only would have expelled Midoriya if he felt Midoriya had no potential as a hero. If Midoriya lasts long enough, Shota will have to see that he has potential and let him in, especially if he does well in his classes. Or Kan will take him."
Kan nodded.
"Even if for some reason that couldn't work, this would be excellent grounds for a very glowing recommendation to one of the many hero schools who wait to snatch Shota's expellees the moment they start applying. Something about stealth skills and dedication?" Nezu said.
"Sounds fun!" one teacher said.
"Can we make bets on how long the kid will last?" another said.
"Will any of you try to sabotage Midoriya for the sake of winning the bet?" Nezu said looking around. They all shook their heads.
"The kid's too nice to do that to him."
"Helping him first, winning the bet later."
Nezu nodded. "Good. Then betting will be allowed. And if for some reason you're tempted to cheat, remember!" He smiled at them, "I will find out and I will enjoy my vengeance on you. Greatly."
Hizashi gulped at whatever Nezu had in mind. Nobody would dare try to sabotage Midoriya now.
After a long silence Snipe said, "I bet a hundred he'll last two more days."
"Snipe, I'll raise you to three days for two hundred!"
"Seven hundred! I bet the whole week!"
"What about the USJ? Eraser will be there so he couldn't hide, but if he misses it he'll be missing out on an important part of his hero education," asked Thirteen.
"Simple! I'll delay the USJ to the end of the week. First weeks are often chaotic and prone to unexpected issues after all! We will see if he can last until then. If he doesn't last that long then whoever guessed right gets the pot. If he makes it until the end, I'll be giving you all a big bonus check! Either way Midoriya will be formally reenrolled," said Nezu.
"Can we help him?"
"Of course!" said Nezu.
The teachers all nodded at that.
"What if Shota asks to have him reenrolled?"
"Then what else could I do but reenroll him?" Nezu said.
"Will we be telling the boy your plans to get him reenrolled by the end of the week even if he's caught? If we don't he'll be constantly worried about getting thrown out." asked Thirteen.
"No," Nezu said, "I want him to do his best so we'll see how long he can last. After it's over I'll give him extra credit to compensate for any undue worry. It'll be called an "extended stealth assignment". Besides, he's the one who decided to keep going to a hero school after being expelled. So," his beady eyes suddenly looked very intimidating, "None of you will tell. Is that understood?"
After a long moment, everyone nodded.
"Excellent! I will warn All Might not to tell Shota of Midoriya's continued presence here, the rest of you spread the word to any of our other teachers not here besides Shota! Well, time to see how long we can keep this up!" And with that Nezu walked out the door.
Nezu did remember to tell All Might to keep knowledge of Midoriya's attendance from Shota. He just forgot to mention that it was going to be part of an elaborate prank. Or that Midoriya would be reenrolled within the week. One forgets such minor details when dealing with the stresses of running a school after all…
(Meanwhile at the school lunch room)
"So, uh Deku, what are you doing here today?" Uraraka asked, "Weren't you expelled?"
"Obviously, he's been reenrolled once UA realized its mistake!" said Iida, "After all he couldn't stay here without permission! That would be a violation of countless school protocols and be completely inappropriate both for a student and an upcoming hero! It's just unfortunate he was forced to miss homeroom."
"Um, w-well…" Should he tell the truth, or go along with Iida's idea? That would be lying, he can't lie to his friends! But if he tells the truth they might report him! But by homeroom tomorrow it would be obvious that he was still expelled and trying to avoid- OH NO ERASERHEAD'S HERE!
Izuku dove under the table as Eraserhead walked into the cafeteria. He stayed there until Eraserhead had passed their table. Then kept staring at Eraserhead as a prey animal watches a predator until he left the room. He turned back to Iida and Uraraka.
They were staring, jaws dropped. Uh oh.
"You…did…not." Uraraka said. "You snuck in."
Izuku looked away feeling his cheeks warming up, "Maybe…"
Iida said "B-but you can't- that's not- Midoriya I insist you cease this behavior at once! It's inappropriate for a stude- for a former student to conduct themselves in this way!"
Uraraka said "What's even your plan?"
Izuku told them.
Iida was…honest. "This plan could not possibly work! If you're caught you will have an even darker mark on your record than the expulsion! They could send you to jail! And it forces us into the dilemma of reporting you or being complicit in your transgression!"
"Maybe not," Uraraka said, looking up thoughtfully. "I mean, he's been in class right in front of the teachers and none of them had a problem with it. Even the principle said hi to him, by name, in the hall on the way here so he must be fine with it too. And Deku's only doing it to keep from falling behind before moving to a different school," she solemnly turned to Iida, "Shouldn't we respect our teachers' decision and let our friend keep from following behind in his education?"
"I-! But he-! But we-! Very well. I shall respect our teachers' wishes. Good luck continuing with your education Midoriya!"
Izuku smiled, "Thanks guys it really means a lot to m-." Then Eraserhead came back forcing him to hide under the table again, while his friends froze in what they seemed to think were normal poses (not that he was one to judge).
For the next few days Izuku would get up, go to UA, attend his classes, talk to his classmates, and avoid Eraserhead like his life depended on it (which it might). It hadn't always been easy. Fortunately, Eraserhead didn't seem to walk through the halls often and his all black costume stood out in the sea of beige. Also, fortunately, Izuku's teachers seemed to be on his side.
"Now," All Might said, "We will begin our first battle! Young Midoriya, I'll need you to, uh, go warn Recovery Girl of the possible incoming patients! I will have your team go once without you, then again with you at the end!"
"Y-yes sir All Might!" Izuku said before running off.
After the battle trial was ended All Might expressed hope that he wouldn't "accidentally" give Eraserhead the recording without Izuku. Which he apparently did. What a shame.
Something similar happened the next day in English.
Jirou whispered something to Present Mic while pointing at Izuku. Then Present Mic turned to Izuku and said, "Midoriya, could you go to the supply closet and search for, um extra books please?"
"What sort of extra-"
"You'llknowthemwhenyouseethem. Go.
Izuku grabbed his notebook and hurried in. He'd just closed the door when he heard Eraserhead's voice. He stayed absolutely quiet and said nothing, and just hoped that he didn't suspect anything.
"Why are you acting weirder than usual?"
He suspected something!
"Whatever, I'll be back in my office napping. If you need anything please hesitate to ask."
That was clo-
"Oh right, I need to grab some supplies from the closet."
"You can't do that!"
"Why not?"
"Because…we're undersupplied?"
"Mic, I was in there yesterday. We are not. And you didn't even ask what I wanted."
"W-well uh…"
Izuku realized he needed a place to hide. He looked around and saw a place.
He heard footsteps. He hurried into his hiding place. The door opened. Eraserhead walked in.
Izuku really hoped Eraserhead wouldn't look up. Otherwise he'd see a former UA student awkwardly wedging himself between the walls just above the door.
Eraserhead grabbed some supplies, and began walking out, his head facing the ground. Keep looking down. Keep looking down. He stopped, right in front of the notebook that Izuku just realized he'd dropped. STOP LOOKING DOWN! Eraserhead bent over and grabbed the notebook. He picked it up, walked out the door, and…
"A student left this in there. I'll let you handle it." Izuku heard him walk out the door.
After a few minutes Izuku walked back into the room where Mic gave the book back with a light chastisement about keeping track of his things.
And that was the most eventful part of the day. Well aside from the full-blown panic when the alarms went off, but frankly getting trampled by a stampede was probably a more pleasant death than being caught by Eraserhead.
Another time:
"Ah, Midoriya, what a pleasure to see you!" said Principle Nezu, walking up to him. He glanced at the bathroom right next to them. "You know, I find it fascinating how patterns persist throughout the years. Like students all using the bathroom just after classes get out. Which you should do." He glanced at the corner behind him. "Right now."
Taking the hint, Izuku dashed inside. Just as the door closed he heard Nezu say "Shota! What a pleasure to see you!"
Even students were on his side. Like when he was walking down the hall before a group of students suddenly surrounded him and squeezed him between them, blocking him from seeing anything.
"Hello Aizawa-Sensei!" said one on the opposite side of the hall, "Wonderful day isn't it?"
Shota replied to Fuwa's question with a grunt. On the other side of the hallway a large group of his former second years were clumped tightly together, giving him very wide, very fake smiles.
He stared at them. They stared at him.
Whatever. I'll let their class' teacher handle whatever they're up to. I'm busy dealing with the USJ trip being delayed and Nezu's sudden lapse in competence regarding Midoriya's paperwork. Whatever this is has absolutely nothing to do with that.
He walked away.
The group released Izuku. "You're the kid Aizawa expelled who kept coming to class right?" one of them said.
Izuku nodded. They all stared at him with…awe? He even heard one whisper "The boy of legend"
"But who are you?" Izuku asked them.
"Class 2-A."
"Really?"
The one who'd spoken with Aizawa, a girl with heavy eyeliner and round fluffy earrings spoke, "He expelled all of us last year. Then had us reenrolled. It wasn't pleasant but in the end, it did help us grow.
"Still pisses me off though," one of the boys said.
"Has he tried to reenroll you yet?" the girl asked.
Izuku shook his head, "Not that I know of."
The girl frowned, "That's weird. Your classmates all seem to think that you're hero material… No matter, we're all rooting for you." She smiled along with her classmates.
"Anything to help a fellow expellee." said one.
"And it lets us screw with sir-expels-a-lot! We hit two birds for the price of one!" said one of the boys.
"It's ' hit two birds with one stone'." One of the other girls said.
"Like I said!"
She turned to Izuku, "And that is why he was expelled."
"Hey!"
Izuku smiled. "Thank you! All of you!"
And that was how it was for the next few days. Unfortunately, he had not found any alternate schools to go to. Not that he'd really looked. He just hadn't had the time. Really. He certainly wasn't dragging his feet or anything. That'd be reckless and irresponsible.
Tomorrow was the class trip, where avoiding his former homeroom teacher would be impossible. He walked down the hall to lunch with Iida and Uraraka, considering his options. He could just skip that day? Or maybe be at school to see if Eraserhead was there for the trip, and skip if he was? Maybe he should ask for advice from class 2-
Uraraka nudged him. He looked up. Eraserhead was listing down the hall! Izuku quickly moved to the other side of Uraraka while she and Iida tried to block him with their bodies. Would it be enough?
Shota's mind couldn't help but dwell on how frustrating the last few days had been. First of all, Nezu had delayed Midoriya being reenrolled almost an entire week (if he didn't do it today Shota would just go to Midoriya himself), All Might attracting those vultures, All Might being inexperienced as a teacher, all of his friends and coworkers acting crazier than normal, and possible villains breaking in when the press entered. If one more thing goes wrong…
Iida and Uraraka walked by. He glanced over to give them a greeting grunt. That's when he noticed the green curls sticking out behind their backs, like some sort of wild bush. He stopped. They froze. He walked around them to see a very sheepish boy with curly green hair looking down, apparently under the impression others couldn't see him if he couldn't see them. It was funny, he could have sworn he'd expelled that same kid almost a week ago, spent the rest of the week trying to bring him back and now the weeks' problems were suddenly making a lotmore sense…
"Iida, Uraraka, get to class."
"B-but sensei-"
"Now."
He didn't wait to see what they did. He grabbed Midoriya and dragged him off.
Hizashi entered the room with the other teachers. Shota had called them there right after classes ended for the day saying it was important. He looked around to see if any of them had any idea of what was going on. None of them seemed to. All Might was in his buff form though. He hoped it didn't have to do with Midoriya. After all the little listener had done so well and he didn't want anything to go wrong now. The door slammed open, revealing Shota and OH SHIT WHAT THE HELL HAD HE DONE?!
Behind Shota, wrapped in his capture weapon, was Izuku Midoriya, seemingly beaten within an inch of his life. His clothes were scuffed, torn in several places, and his face had a massive bruise over one eye with two more on his cheek and forehead. He limped into the room behind Shota.
"I found our infiltrator," Shota said.
"WHAT THE HELL SHOTA?!" Nemuri said.
"Have you lost your mind?!" said Ectoplasm.
"What do you mean he's the infiltrator?" asked All Might, his face grave and serious.
"This boy here was a student on the first day of school, until that is I expelled him. You were all notified of his expulsion immediately and would have prevented him from attending your classes while the UA barrier would keep him from returning to UA. For him to be here should be impossible. However, villains broke into the school several days ago. We never found out what they had been doing. The answer is obvious. Midoriya is a spy and they used the break in to give him access to the school again. There is no other rational explanation. Unfortunately, he refused to confess when I interrogated him."
"The little listener wasn't a spy!" Hizashi said, "He's been in class since before the-eep!" Hizashi realized what he just said.
Shota looked at him, his face expressionless, "That's impossible. He was expelled. You wouldn't let a student keep attending classes after they were expelled, would you?"
The teachers all began finding any place to look at but Shota.
"What? You all knew? Then why didn't you tell me so I wouldn't have to keep pestering Nezu to reinstate him?"
They all turned toward Nezu to glare at him.
Nezu gave them a small grin.
All Might looked at the teachers, "While helping to educate Young Midoriya and trying to get him back in was noble, hiding your plans from him like this was unacceptable. We're just lucky it isn't even worse."
"Indeed. I only overlooked one detail. Shota," Shota put his hands behind his back while Nezu continued, "I never imagined you would take such drastic, irrational, and downright illegal actions."
"I apologize for my actions sir. I'm just glad that, as All Might said, it didn't become-"
The door slammed open again. "WHERE'S MY BABY?"
A stout woman with shoulder length green hair tied back in a bun who was obviously Midoriya's mother burst into the room. She ran to her son and hugged him. "Poor baby, what did they do to you?" she wailed.
Then she looked at the staffers and glared at them. "How dare you?! I will sue you for all that you have! And tell everyone! And the media!" she yelled angrily.
The staff shuddered.
Great Shota. Just great. You manage to almost kill a student, successfully kill your teaching career, and kill the school on the same day. What's next?
"By the way I didn't actually attack Midoriya," Shota said.
W-what?
Sure enough, Midoriya wiped the bruises right off his face with a wet handkerchief while sporting a broad grin, which was shared by his mother.
All Might leapt out in front of them. "SURPRISE!"
Shota glared and pushed him to the side.
"Anyway, as I was saying," he flashed them his wide creepy grin, "This was a logical ruse to teach you all the value of honesty and not messing with my teaching duties."
"B-but how?" said Nemuri.
"Simple," Shota said, "I caught Midoriya in the hall today with Iida and Uraraka. I knew he hadn't applied to or been sent to General Studies through my efforts to reenroll him, so I took him aside and he spilled everything. Since you've all been having so much fun letting him stay in your classes without telling me, I decided to have a little fun of my own. And I had Midoriya call his mother to help."
At this Mrs. Midoriya smiled at them. "He asked if I knew how to apply make-up to fake bruises. Luckily I did."
"But how did you get him to agree?!" Hizashi said, "The little listener is such a shy sweet-"
"That's where I come in," All Might said, "Young Iida and Uraraka expressed their concern to me, so I went after Aizawa. Even when I agreed to his plan, Young Midoriya was still unsure. So, we offered him a deal." At this he signed a t-shirt Mrs. Midoriya held out to him while Shota signed a notebook and (reluctantly) the T-shirt.
"YOU SOLD US OUT FOR A COUPLE OF AUTOGRAPHS?!"
The little traitor turned to them with a massive grin on his face, "Not just any autographs, All Might's and Eraserhead's on one of my collectible t-shirts and Eraserhead's on his page in my notebook! I never thought I could even get Eraserhead's!"
"THAT WAS ALL IT TOOK TO BETRAY US?!"
Midoriya eagerly nodded.
"Now," Mrs. Midoriya turned to Nezu, "You will reenroll my son immediately and never try this sort of thing again."
She wasn't even glaring at Hizashi, and he still felt it. Honestly, he preferred the idea of fighting villains to…this. He was somehow even more relieved Shota hadn't really injured Midoriya. If he had…they'd all be doomed.
"O-of course!" Nezu said, "R-right away!" He began typing into his phone, his paws noticeably shaking.
"Thank you!" Mrs. Midoriya said, her demeanor innocent and sweet again. "I will be coming tomorrow to discuss this with you further!"
That was jarring. Still, better not be here when she comes.
"Not that this hasn't been an entertaining meeting, but I'm taking a nap," Shota said as he closed Midoriya's notebook and handed it back to him. As Midoriya and his mother walked to the door Shota said, "I'll have that extra credit imputed into your grades, as well as whatever the other teachers planned to give you."
"Thank you sensei!" Midoriya said. He and his mother left.
Shota walked out too saying, "After all this excitement, I hope the USJ trip tomorrow goes without any unexpected difficulties. This was more than enough excitement for one week."
He closed the door.
Ectoplasm turned to the other teachers and said, "I don't suppose this is a bad time to ask you all to pay up?"
Author's notes: Hope you enjoyed!
During the editing process of this I learned an important lesson about diminishing returns: You can keep improving the story forever, but it will never be perfect. If you want it done you'll have to just bite the bullet. (That being said, some of my later edits DID yield changes I'm glad I made, but still)