Disclaimer: Surprising no one, I don't own My Hero Academia and everything related to it.

Fake It till You Make It

Chapter 1: A Trick to an Unfortunate Success!

Izuku held the paper tightly in his hands. He had no clue what to do with the information he just received.

A few weeks ago, after being made fun of for the hundredth time by his 'friend' Bakugou for wasting his time becoming a hero, Izuku did something quite. . . malicious.

On an anonymous forums called QPForums, an abbreviation of Quirkless' Paradise Forums, Izuku found a thread that suggested something quite interesting. A user by the name 'Muddly32' said he could find him a spot at a hero High-school for a decent sum.

Part of him understood the stupidity of paying a random stranger most of the money he had saved up throughout his life, but the desperation was hitting too hard in the last couples of weeks. Something had to change if he really wanted to become a hero.

So he took part in this obvious-to-be scam, knowing full well that there was next to none chance of it getting something out of it.

He was wrong. So so wrong.

Muddly32, apparently, took far too many liberties and sent Izuku's documents (without even asking, mind you) to UA. The deal was that Izuku would receive the documents and do with them as he wished, but some major miscommunication happened. Or the guy just wanted to get Izuku in prison; seeing the absurdity of the situation, Izuku guessed the former.

This wouldn't necessarily be a problem; Izuku wished to get to UA in the first place... not as a teacher though.

It was a sign, right? Making me a hero from the get-go, he thought. The fake document said he was a professional Hero in... Paraguay. Oh, and a mind reading quirk. Yup, that ought not to give him problems in the long run. At least Muddly32 had the foresight to make his race half-Japanese.

Oh, and it says that he's quite literally the smartest, most talented, and confident guy in the world. That sounds a realistic description of him, right?

"What's wrong, Izuku? You've been awfully quiet today?" His mother asked leaning through the opened door. Just a few criminal ones, mother, he almost said.

Now that Izuku thought about it, it was a mistake from the beginning; the teachers would've exposed him as quirkless from the get-go and probably would've removed him from the high-school. Now that the only possibility was being a teacher at UA makes it 10 times worse.

The green-haired boy leaped off the bed, and looked at his parent with a pleading smile. "W-well, I got myself a bit of a problem."

Midoriya Inko looked at him curiously. "What is it?"

Izuku almost caught himself spilling the truth before he thought it over. What would it change if he told her the truth now? His hero career would be done this instant if his panicked mother would call the police to plead for help. "Well. . . you see, there's, ummm, kind of a problem," lying wasn't his strong suit, "how d-did you used to dress before going on a job interview?"

"As if I'm letting you get a job!" Inko suddenly exclaimed. "You're still just a baby!"

Well, she isn't too far off — compared to all the teachers at U.A he might as well be a new-born. "I-its just a question! That's it, I just want to know how did it go for your first time, yeah!" he laughed nervously.

Inko gave him a long stare, before giving up. "fine, fine. Have your secrets then. But you do know that mother knows all, right?"

"It was a good decade ago," Inko began, "I bought the cheapest black, conservative business outfit. Then. . . it all just happened, really. I was asked a couple of questions, gave some information, and they said they'd call me."

Izuku wasn't too happy with the answer. "That's it?" he asked dispassionately.

"Just about it. My parents said confidence is the key for a key to anything in life, so. . . I just faked it," she explained simply. "Oh, and an expensive briefcase with papers and stuff. That's what I had! That sure made me look professional and reliable, I think."

A flashy briefcase, conservative business suit, confidence. Some easier to get than others; none were anywhere close to as problematic as the many questions that he would have to bullshit his way through. Lying wasn't Izuku's strong suit.

XxX

"Yup, I'm totally screwed," Izuku said to himself, gaping at the enormous building in front. U.A wasn't something to scoff at; it was Japan's go-to high school for teenagers who wanted to be more than an average hero. Luckily/unluckily, Izuku already skipped the first part and would be trying out as a teacher!

While it was barely a few hundred meters to the front door after he stepped foot through the massive gates that surrounded the school grounds, it felt like an eternity as he limped his way across.

As he was about to touch the handle of the door, the idea of running away struck him. Screw the money, I-I still have some dignity! He stuttered even in his own thoughts, not believing his words whatsoever.

"Yes, this way," a nasally voice came from down below, which Izuku turned to at lightning speed with a horrified expression, only to look around awkwardly.

"Am I hearing things?" he said aloud.

"Not quite. Welcome to U.A, Izumi Toga."

Right, I have a fake name, Izuku remembered. The job interview hasn't even started, yet he already messed up twice. Good job!

"S-sorry, I-I didn't notice you out here," he explained whilst laughing stressfully, and only then did he realize just who he was talking with. "I'm a big fan of yours! When 'Heart-Eater', a villain whose quirk made him a giant tiger attacked a shop, without anyone's support you thought quickly and lured him as using a realistic plushie heart you found on the ground. They say you remember each and every notable villain weakness in japan!"

"Then you commanded the security to cut off the electric cables and—"

"Yes yes, you flatter me, Izumi-san," Nezu, a white fur dog-like creature said, smiling. "I can already see you to be more knowledgeable than a few of our staff. Oh, that's a nice suit, where did you get it? Well, I guess we should talk about later, since we have to get this interview out of our way first."

Following the principal's lead, Izuku almost bit off his lip due to many reasons. He got himself a simple black suit, just as his mother recommended, a simple brown briefcase that looked a few centuries out of fashion; but these things hardly mattered, it seemed, as he was missing the most important piece.

Confidence. Could he even dig himself out of the hole he got himself into? First expressions matter the most.

Izuku quickly tried fixing it; he erected his posture, tried making a serious look on his face, one that he'd make whenever he talked to girls.

"This way, Izumi," Nezu motioned with his hands to the door, "As of late, we've had a shortage of anyone reliable in the science department. Our dear Quirk Theory teacher decided to step away in order to further his career as a hero. What could be more important than teaching heroes about the uses, appliances, and analysis of quirks?"

"Nothing," Izuku responded with a comically serious tone to which Nezu simply smiled.

"I'm glad we agree on that."

Principal's office was a lot simpler than Izuku would've imagined; after all, it was just a modest office room, not something you'd expect from the most infamous school in Japan.

"Don't be shy, sit down," Nezu offered a chair, "We have a lot to talk about today."

And they did; or more accurately, Nezu did.

The green-haired boy expected to be discovered as a fake in the first five minutes; Luckily, , the principal just wouldn't close his mouth not for a second. It was quite easy to remain calm and collected as Izuku just nodded as Nezu gave a speech about the importance of heroism, math, and biology, and so much more that Izuku had mostly blanked out.

"So, do you agree?" Nezu asked. "We know you don't have any experience in teaching, but depending on your answer I'll consider you despite the trouble it'd be to get you to work."

Izuku focused so much on looking like he took in the words, that he actually forgot to listen. If Nezu wasn't so talkative Izuku wondered whether he would've messed up a hundred, or a thousand times today.

The question only had two answers, yet... fear gripped the boy. Could he mess up right before he actually makes it?

He gripped the chair's fabric tightly, giving the principal an intense stare, "Yes, Nezu-sensei!" he proclaimed loud and clear.

"Sadly, that's an answer most wouldn't be willing to give," Nezu said with a sly smile, "But you're different, Izumi-san. Even if your quirk allows to read what I'm thinking, I can see in your emotion that you do mean it. Welcome aboard!"

That's it?! Almost escaped Izuku's mouth. Seriously... that was way too easy for how many nerves it cost him.

A tedious document signing later, Izuku was given a detailed plan on his attendance and what he's supposed to do as a Quirk instructor.

"Thank you for the opportunity!" said Izuku, and bowed lowly, not forgetting to keep his erect posture.

"You don't have to thank me at all; after all, you achieved this yourself! I don't think I've ever seen such a successful kid at your age in so many categories!" he said, smiling admiringly at what was supposed to be Izumi's resume. "I don't doubt you'll become as infamous here as you were in Paraguay!"

He's probably not wrong on that one; he'd definitely be infamous as a kid that fooled U.A.

Nezu gave Izuku one last look and smiled. "Oh, I appreciate your formality, but here in UA we allow teachers to dress as freely as they... wish." Last words came out a with a bit of distaste; Nezu had considered removing this rule because of a certain someone.

XxX

He had less than a week to try to prepare to teach all the students at U.A., not only the newcomers.

Does one celebrate when he gets the job by lying? Most would've said yes given the fact that almost everyone wrote something in.

As he was 'celebrating' by eating a pizza that had laid in the fridge for god knows how long, it actually settled in.

"I'm a teacher at U.A," Izuku blurted out aloud, making Inko raise an eyebrow.

"A what now?" His mother asked, confused.

". . . Yes," Izuku answered, trying out the same serious, toneless voice on his mother. He wondered whether it actually had an effect or would just make people laugh.

The former was right with his mother though.

"Honey, what are you doing?" Inko said with a laugh, "It's about time for sleep, isn't it? My baby needs tons of it—"

"How would you react if I dropped out of high school?" Izuku asked, dropping the news to his mother. Before she likely would've done something before Izuku would've done. . that. Now it was much too late, even she would know.

Inko's passionate eyes dropped at an instant; what was left was a glare that could pierce people. "It depends. . . unless that person has already a job that pays twice as mine, I'd consider. Otherwise, I'd do some necessary adjustments to his lifestyle," she practically threatened.

"Well, I'm g-glad to hear that because. . ."

For an outsider, it'd be comedy gold looking at Inko's bewildered expression as her eyes seemingly quadrupled in size, but for Izuku, it was horrifying. The 'truth' of his situation should probably stay in their family circles only, as Izuku didn't want to imagine how anyone else reacted to him doing something criminal.

"But. You. Are. Just. A. Baby." She couldn't believe it. Just couldn't.

She didn't scream, didn't say anything more, just went straight to bed. Likely Inko wanted to believe it was all a dream. Frankly, Izuku did too.

But he couldn't right now. Izuku won't deny to himself that what he did was scummy; but he still could somewhat salvage it all. What if I actually became a hero that the documents said I was?

So he began his work — that is, posting fake posts, talking with himself, and translating it all to Spanish forums about the hero called, ironically, 'Trickster.' He had to make his fake hero nickname known there.

With that came another major problem. His quirk. Muddly32 didn't put any effort into thinking of an appropriate fake quirk for a quirkless kid. Out of the so, so many fake quirks that would give Izuku tons of wiggle room, such as some bullshit 'Hyper-Analytical' or 'Enhanced speed' quirk that he could possibly achieve by either lying or training, he gave Izuku Mind reading.

It ought to be fun when someone asks him to read their mind.

XxX

The week ended in a heartbeat. He hadn't done anything close to a reasonable level. The book list he had to read was so unreasonably long that he had to multitask by doing push-ups and reading at the same time, while also listening to basic etiquette on teaching through his headphones. Teaching was already a pain in his ass, before it even began.

It was already the day, he kept repeating in his mind since the sun rose. His mother had interacted next to none with Izuku, mostly coming in, giving food, and exiting with a blank expression. Izuku hoped she'd get better. But now avoiding jail-time for fake documents by becoming an actual teacher was what matter, and Inko likely knew that too. That's why she let him work without asking too much of a bother.

He made sure to make fake fan art of. . . himself, the infamous Trickster of Paraguay. A part of him wanted to make himself look like All Might, but his heart couldn't let him associate his fake persona with the greatest man alive. So Izuku made something appropriate for a guy named Trickster. He didn't want to make a clown costume, but he sure felt as one. Instead, he gave himself a pair of black leather shoes, and dark green pinstripe pants, accompanied with an even darker green long sleeve jacket with a purple shirt underneath. Oh, and of course, he got himself metal black glasses, to make him look a tad bit smarter.

Most importantly, he'd change his hairstyle. Instead of the usual wavy hair, he used all that he found in his drawers to glue the front of his hair in an upwards and downwards, making it look like a wave. All the clothes, books, and other cost his mother a fortune, but she obliged without a second thought. Whenever he'd get paid, Izuku would return it tenfold.

Izuku took the bus to UA; he had hoped the trip would take forever to last, but he didn't even realize how quickly the few hours passed, and he was standing at the front gate yet again. He fixed his posture, laid his head high above, and made a calm expression as best as he could. It was another thing he tried to train while looking at the mirror. His mother would still laugh at him for sure even in her dozed off state.

He took confident steps, not looking in any direction but forward. He shared not but a glance at his surroundings. However, he spotted, regrettably, a familiar face walking with confidence Izuku could only wish for. It should've been me, not him! he thought as the explosively arrogant blond made his way, inflicting fear to his surroundings.

The only way his day could get any worse was if Bakugou spotted him, which luckily didn't happen as Izuku slowed down as not to catch up. God knows what would happen if Bakugou recognized him after all that Izuku made to make himself look different.

"That's not how you are supposed to be dressed, lad!" a strong voice scared Izuku who failed to keep up his appearances.

"Tenya Ida," he introduced himself, "I'm afraid I'll have to inform the staff for your improper clothing! All students here must look similar to unify students, and to avoid potential bullying!"

Focus, goddammit, Izuku practically screamed at himself mentally. He was looking like a total wimp.

"I guess you'd be right," Izuku started, faking a mischievous grin that was hiding his nervousness, "but the dressing code doesn't apply to the staff."

The tall boy was taken aback and at an instant started apologizing profusely, and bowed as low as one could. "Please forgive me!" he pleaded loudly.

"Y-yes, no, I mean," damn it brain, act in character for one second, "You shouldn't judge a book by its cover. It's not wise to do so in this world and age." As lame as the short advice was, Tenya took it to heart.

"You are a teacher?!" A short, brown-haired girl exclaimed from behind. It was getting tiresome for Izuku to fail at feeling anyone's presence close by.

"Yes... Yes, I am," Izuku said, sounding far more melodramatic than he intended. If anyone who knew him saw his act, they'd die out of laughter, but since no one knew him here he could get away with it. Plus, the dark colors of his jacket, and somewhat old-styled pants made him look a bit older than he was. If only they'd make him taller too.

"Woah, that's impressive!" a red-headed boy with wild hair added, and soon students all around him started flooding him with questions.

"May you tell what subject do you teach?" asked a curious girl with black hair.

"You must be insanely strong!" Said a man with gigantic lips, and massive in size.

Most boys would love to be worshipped and talked about as some sort of prodigy. Izuku, though, was sweating so much that he was surprised it wasn't leaking from his armpits.

"Sorry, but I have to hurry. Teacher work and all," Izuku stated and sped up a bit. The last thing he needed was attention.

But it seemed fate didn't like him all that much.

"What's your quirk?" a pink-skinned girl asked as she took footing right in front of him. No doubt, if Izuku was any bit older they wouldn't all be so bold in approaching him.

Making hasty plans and living in constant, near heart attack inducing, high blood pressure, but he couldn't answer that. "Mind reading, now excuse me..."

"Could you read mine? I'm Mina Ashida, and oh please, guess my hobby, please~" she pleaded.

Goddammit. The first thing he would need to do was tail and get all the information about them. Screw any dignity he had left!

"Fine, but you all will leave me alone after it, right?" he half-stated, half-asked. It wasn't exactly a display of confidence asking permission from his students to leave him alone, he realized after his words escaped.

From what Izuku found time to read, the main way he could fake being a psychic was by stating the most vague things, and doing what he had been doing ever since he stepped foot here; bullshitting his way through.

"Your hobby?" Izuku grinned, looking at her with one eye wide opened and the other squinted, since that's what he assumed a psychic would do. "It's something that you find a lot of joy in, and it requires a lot of physical work," he began, "You've been doing it for a long time, I see, but do you really wish to let other people know what's your hobby?"

Wait, if I can read minds, can't I tell whether she'd want to tell others around her? Izuku's mental voice screamed at his slip-up. Acting in character was harder than he thought.

"Yes, yes! I'm absolute best compared to all my friends at it," The girl beamed excitedly. Mina looked like a girl even Izuku could probably trick into thinking into psychic.

"Is it—" Izuku started, hoping that he still had an inch of good luck left in him, "... dance?"

"What a great quirk! Oh, could you—?"

"No," Izuku shot back at an instant. He wasn't going to test his luck.

The large crowd began talking with each other. "He's our age, and already achieved so much..."Ochaco mused. She thought Izuku was a bit odd, but he seemed nice enough not to scold them for practically jumping on a teacher. It was aspiring for her to find that even a kid their age could do so much!

XxX

Izuku was blessed/cursed with something. He didn't need psychic powers to tell that.

He was now sitting in a room filled with many of the greatest heroes of all time, all the while they made conversations about all sorts of things. Work, love life, money, past, and so much more adult-like stuff that Izuku wasn't too keen on talking about.

He was sitting awkwardly, all but alone besides Eraserhead. Eraserhead. The joy he'd get if he was a student and would be able to ask all sorts of questions!

But here he was, silent, trying to make a calm and collected expression while trying to get the idea of ever having a normal life out of his mind as he focused on his notepads that had tons of written material on quirks.

A tall, and infamously curvy and bold woman named Midnight approached him with a sinister grin. "What a day to be alive, isn't it, kid? So young, yet already a teacher at UA!"

What a day to be alive. Izuku nodded, trying to pretend as if he didn't care that much to talk with other heroes. The pain!

"Hmph," the woman wasn't too satisfied and wanted to advance the conversation, but Izuku turned to her, ice-cold eyes through his professional-no-bullshit glasses. "Ease yourself, kid, nobody likes a shut-in."

"I already like him more than you," Aizawa quipped. "It's his first time for him, he, unlike some unprofessional heroes, knows the importance of teaching."

"From now on," she exclaimed, pointing at Izuku and then Eraser Head, "This to be the corner of boredom. Not a single self-respecting happy person shall enter or leave this hell!"

"Good," Izuku accidentally exclaimed, making Aizawa grin. Izuku/Izumi still didn't know what sort of person he should be at this point. Quiet and reserved? Confident and bold? The first one was easier to fake, at the very least.

Suddenly, With a loud bang, a man above 2 meters entered the room, his muscles practically shining in their perfect form. "PLUS ULTRA!" All Might exclaimed with his iconic smile.

Fate was cruel. He could be a student of All Might for all it's worth, but now he'll be lying right in his favorite hero's face.

"Welcome, young Toga boy," right, fake identity, Izuku forgot for a moment before All Might pointed at him, "It's my pleasure to work with honest-down-to-earth heroes! Let's do our best!"

Yup, fate hated him.

"Likewise," Izuku said, barely managing to keep up his appearances and they shook hands. It was All Might's hands, for sure, he felt his bone practically snapping because of the force.

"Quirk theory and analysis, is it?" the muscular man stated, "I'm glad our dear principal didn't place me there!"

Well, it could always be worse, right? Quirk analysis seemed something he could actually do quite well; It was a subject he excelled in class.

"How about you read my mind? That's quite a useful quirk—" All Might said with sudden rush of panic as he realized that mind reading is dangerous. "... or, have you already done it?"

"We should have a talk later," All Might stated with a strong, and serious voice. Izuku really hoped that All Might wasn't panicking because of something. . . weird and gross.

Then, the Principal came in, making everyone focus on him. "Today we have many new faces for you," he started, "Let's do our absolute best, alright? Oh, and Izumi?"

"Yes, Nezu-sensei?" Izuku asked half-looking at the small creature, while the other eye was looking at the godly hero to his left. He couldn't help himself.

Nezu took on a serious expression that made him shiver. "We'll need to talk. About your quirk. Come to my office after work."

Thanks, fate. Just expose me already and be done with it!

XxX

The bell rang. Somehow, Izuku was keeping up his nerves. Maybe he reached a breaking point already, and his system adapted?

Here he was, sitting on a chair, a too-large wooden desk in front, with many papers that he laid out just to make himself look more reliable and professional than he truly was. Thank all the gods on this earth that only tomorrow will he have Bakugou attend his classes.

Class 3-A, for all he could surmise, was the calmest out of the bunch. None of the students looked particularly odd or obnoxious, none even commented about a youngling like him sitting on teacher's place.

Well, let's get this done with, Izuku thought and stood up, writing on the chalkboard his fake name. "Izumi Toga is the name I was given," by someone named Muddly32 goes unsaid, "But you can call me by my hero name," that was given by the same scumbag was also better left unsaid, "Trickster."

So far, so good. "I know that I might look a tad bit too young, but don't worry, I believe to be more than sufficient at Quirk theory, and can certainly teach you a thing or too and—" a girl raised her hand, and Izuku motioned his head in approval for her question.

The bubbly girl named Nejire Hado stood up and asked, "Izumi-sensei," the fair-skinned girl curiously eyed him, "What's your quirk?"

That was bound to happen. It happened in his school whenever a new teacher appeared.

He couldn't let the students ask him to prove his quirk to them. Not until he had every minute detail about each and every single one of them!

God and heavens help him for what he was about to do. "Great question!" Izuku exclaimed. "But will it matter to you? What does a quirk's name do, if you don't even know what a quirk truly is?"

"You definitely know, but do you really know? Quirk isn't just a power that makes you bloody powerful; no, it isn't even a mutation that happened 200 years ago. Humans, even before quirks had a sense of justice, and heroes in some shape or form already existed."

"So what's a quirk? It's a gift. Not to me, not to you, but to humanity as a whole," Izuku raised his hands dramatically up in the air, "a gift you ought to appreciate, learn from, and about it as best as you can. But not all gifts from heaven are appreciated; some people use it for wrongdoings, and it's your job to make sure to not let the gift go to waste!"

Whatever the hell he was doing, Izuku didn't really know. At least they weren't asking questions about him, and were listening intently to his absurd 'lecture.'

"You! Yes, you!" Izuku exclaimed, flailing his hand at a quiet student with black hair named Tamaki who panicked by looking around him for help. "Tell me, how would you begin fighting against a villain."

The young adult gulped loudly. If Izuku looked any more intimidating he would've exploded out of anxiety, "I'd... beat him?" Tamaki answered half-assedly.

Izuku crossed his arms in a dramatic way. Somehow, the more aggressively and outrageously he acted, Izuku began to lose the nervousness he always had. Maybe the insanity of it all was getting to him. "Wrong! Very very wrong!"

"You'd first analyze the situation! Make sure what his quirk is if possible, try to possibly calm him down if the opportunity arrives and turn himself in if he isn't dangerous enough. Only if he's unwilling to cooperate do you take action! Only then do you beat him, though, to beat him up you must first know how your quirk could beat him up."

"—and that's where I come in. I'll be teaching anything and everything about quirks; stuff you would never even thought about!" Izuku finished with a last breath he held.

Applause. Out of all bizarre things that were happening this was the most bizarre. This half-assed excuse of a lecture was met with applause and empowerment as they triumphantly raised their fists into the air.

Spewing nonsense is my quirk!

XxX

But how much nonsense could he tell the principal whose quirk makes him far more intelligent than any human alive? Nezu welcomed him and made him sit up near All Might. It hurt him more than anyone could imagine to sit right next to his hero and lie in everyone's face.

"We have important matters to discuss, as you could wager a guess," Nezu stated, and All Might nodded in agreement. "Your resume didn't quite pinpoint how exactly mind-reading works in your case," Nezu stated, curiously looking between All Might and Izuku.

Brain, do your work! "It's tough to explain," Izuku began with a sigh, "So much so that even now it can work in mysterious ways." Vague crap, but it gives him wiggle room.

"How so?" asked All Might.

"Well, despite it being Mind reading it has some... let's say issues," he had quite literally no idea what to tell them, "I can only read one's mind at a time; and it usually takes time," good, good, keep the nonsense up, "And sometimes I can't read one's mind if our minds don't correlate."

Nezu raised an eyebrow. "Correlate?" Izuku also has no clue what the hell does was it supposed to mean.

"Yes. There are people whose minds are fuzzy, and out of the many threads I might pick the wrong one; so I can technically read it, but I'd need to pick apart the wrong ones by asking them questions unrelated to something I wish to ask."

Nezu narrowed his eyes. Izuku practically died at that moment. "Can you see... All Might's mind?" asked Nezu, and Izuku turned to All Might.

"Well... sort of," how much can he get away with was an important question for Izuku as he needed some legitimacy for his fake quirk, "Because All Might... is All Might, it's a bit hard to enter his brain and see what's inside of it, but in time, It'll clear up, I believe."

Nezu and Toshinori sighed in unison. "Guess we'll have to tell you about One For All, there's no point in hiding it. It's better to hear from our mouths, then to later be shocked by it."

One For All would've been neat, Izuku mused. He'd certainly be depressed as the news of having a quirk from All Might sounded like a dream come true, but. . .

"Let's keep it a secret. It'd be a huge problem for the whole world if the information about it spread," Toshinori explained. "Right, friend?"

Maybe life wasn't so bad after all.

AN: This was inspired by Coeur Al'Aran's Professor Arc (RWBY fanfic). Highly recommend it. This won't be the most serious of fics; mostly comedy with some Romance/drama sprinkled in.

Any suggestions? Complaints? Review as much as you can.