Work Text:
As soon as the bell rings, Shouta walks into the classroom to see all the students up and about socializing.
“If you're just here to make friends then you can pack up your stuff now.”
As all the students scramble to their desks, he looks over the sea of students looking for his Problem Child, and upon seeing the empty desk, he squints suspiciously.
“Welcome to U.A. My name is Aizawa Shouta and I’ll be your homeroom teacher,” he deadpans as he throws gym clothes on one of the desks in the front.
“Meet me outside in 15 minutes. If you’re late, you’re expelled.”
Cue: panic. Turning a complete 180, Shouta leaves the classroom filled with panicked students and heads outside to the grounds where the Apprehension Test will be taking place. It only takes a few minutes for the first few kids to show up and stand nervously before the rest end up showing up in large groups. They fortunately-- or unfortunately --all show up before the fifteen minutes are up.
“What about orientation?” One of the female students asks.
“Unimportant, and a waste of time. U.A. gives their teachers a lot of flexibility in their teaching, and you will not be caught doing frivolous things under my watch. We will be doing a Physical Apprehension Test. As the number one scorer didn’t care to show up on time, can second place-- Bakugou Katsuki --please come into the circle.”
Bakugou walks into the circle with a scowl for being in second place.
Shouta does not care.
“Bakugou, how far was your ball throw without your quirk in Middle School?”
“67 meters.”
“Do it with your quirk.” Bakugou throws it and gets 705.2 meters and everyone awes.
Someone fortunately-- or unfortunately again --decides to say, “Wow this is going to be so fun!”
Shouta does not feel a single shred of guilt about telling them he would expel whoever came in last.
About halfway through the Physical Apprehension Test, the intercom goes off.
All they hear is about 4 and a half minutes of the Principal cackling. Shudders spread across the school.
Finally calm, he states, “As of 8 minutes ago, Midoriya Izuku of class 1-A falls under the guidelines stated by Section 9 Amendment 04872 Line 86278 in the School Rule Book. Any teachers unfamiliar with the rule may check their emails for how this may or may not affect them.” He immediately cuts off the intercom leaving mass confusion of what the announcement meant at all.
Bakugou blanches as soon as he heard the name. Shouta wonders .
“Sensei, who's that? And what does that mean?”
Shouta drinks a juice pouch like a shot. “He’ll be here soon, I’m sure. And nothing good.”
Right before the last activity begins, the class gets distracted by Problem Child casually walking to stand next to him while drinking a Starbucks coffee. They just stare at him. He either does not notice or does not care.
“Hey, want some?” He offers it to Shouta. Shouta just sighs and takes a drink before grimacing.
“Is that just straight black coffee? Why would you drink that? I was expecting sugar.”
Izuku blank-faced but with a slowly growing grin, conspiratively whispers, “Logical Ruse,” making Shouta snort, and everyone else looks in shock at this student who not only came late, but also casually offered their strict teacher a drink from their coffee and got them to snort of all things.
Shouta just makes them continue. Bakugou keeps shooting looks at his Problem Child. Problem child continues to either not notice, or not care, as he does something on his phone occasionally looking up to squint at certain students. This makes them vaguely nervous. They are unsure why.
They learn why very quickly.
As Shouta puts the scores on the leaderboard, everyone blinks. Midoriya Izuku is at the top with ‘like a gazillion’ points while Mineta Minoru is at the bottom with ‘0 >:(‘ points. Shouta slowly looks towards Izuku with an exasperated look.
He looks at Shouta with a grin while holding up his free hand (no longer holding his phone) in the shape of a ‘0’ while happily stating, “0 for zero potential!”
Shouta looks at him, squints, and then says, “Alright. Mineta you got last. Go to the principal’s office. you’re expelled.”
Mineta starts crying and yelling about how this isn’t fair, others look at Problem Child in suspicion or horror, the girls look mildly relieved, and Yaoyorozu just looks aghast as if she thought he wasn’t serious to begin with.
The coffee was enough of a Logical Ruse for today.
“Anyways,” as he ignores his no-longer-student’s tears and his other students' vague to extreme horror at the situation, “Go back to class. We have rules and schedules to look over.” Shouta steals the coffee from Izuku’s hand and starts walking back to class while loudly slurping. Izuku, rightfully affronted, takes a running start and jumps onto his back to not only steal his coffee back, but also to assumably get some mild affection since he knows full well Shouta wouldn’t be surprised nor would he stumble.
The other students go back to the locker rooms to change in a daze. Bakugou looks vaguely scared.
Shouta just keeps walking back to the classroom with a child on his back, getting the occasional sip of disgusting black coffee as Izuku leans it over to give him a sip.
“So anyways did I miss anything important?”
“No. Did you have fun with Nedzu?”
“Yes! Oh my god it was so fun! We talked about quirks, and hero society, and the inevitable destruction of our current government by my plans already in motion, and my college education, and quirk discrimination, and I beat him at chess!”
Shouta does not hesitate at any of these topics. He is well aware, and in support of, The Plan.
“Oh? I’m glad you had fun.”
“Yeah!” Izuku hands his coffee to Shouta before sitting straight up and speaking with his hands. Neither of them flinches at him only staying on Shouta’s back with just his legs, “So I’ve decided on my first project!”
“And what’s that?” Shouta tilts his head to show he’s listening and takes another sip of coffee as he ignores the random students and staff gawking at them in the hallway.
“Well I decided to start locally. I’m going to be gathering certain students-- only first years today --to the cafeteria during last period to go through some things!” he says excitedly.
“Do I get a hint on what ‘certain students’ denotes?” Shouta replies as he lets Izuku down on the teacher’s desk.
Izuku just scoffs with a soft smile, “It’ll be pretty obvious I think! But if not then I suppose I won’t reveal it until required.” Shouta just looks at him as he drinks the last of the coffee and throws it away.
Izuku just looks at him with disdain as Shouta barks out a laugh.
-------------------------------
When the rest of the students come in and Dadzawa starts talking about their schedules, basic rules, emergency drills, blah blah, other first day stuff that Izuku already knows about, Izuku starts his project.
Getting off the desk, he slowly starts walking down the different aisles and watches the reactions of his classmates. He had done a lot of research and while for some he needed verification, for others, he just wanted to make sure he didn’t miss anything.
More than one person tenses like they were going to be hurt.
One of them also just looked really familiar for some reason.
When he finishes his small little patrol he sits back down on his Dad’s desk and starts cross-referencing his findings with what he already suspected. They pretty much lined up except for one. Squinting, he writes a quick note for Dadzawa to read out.
In the middle of talking about fire drills and how just because you’re heroes doesn’t mean everyone needs to stay in the building to try to save everyone else- Shouta grabs the note being handed to him and reads it out loud without hesitation before going back to his spiel.
“‘Jirou Kyoka, please go outside for a few moments with Midoriya. You are not in trouble.’ Just because you are heroes in training doesn’t mean-”
Izuku smiles softly at a bored, but curious looking Jirou before leading her into the hallway right outside the classroom.
“Hi Jirou! Like I had Aizawa say you’re not in trouble in the least.”
He sits down criss-cross and welcomes Jirou to do the same.
“I’m going to make this very clear because beating around the bush never helps anyone. I’ve done extensive research on every single person in this school,” at this she tenses a little but forcefully relaxes right after. “I have special privileges at this school since not only do I have multiple degrees already--” Jirous eyes widen a little “--but also because I beat Nedzu at chess. Which funnily enough kind of counts for more. Anyways, I’m going to be doing my own special projects most of the time, and I would like to see if you’d be interested in helping me with one that I think you may be personally suited for. I will make it clear that it is totally fine to say no after you hear about it as long as you promise to keep it to yourself.”
Feeling comfortable about having all the information Jirou confidently says, “Sure.”
“I’m going to be going around to all of the first year classes and with my personal research done on every individual on top of what I notice about any personality or physical behaviors, my intentions are to identify every person currently or recently abused or bullied, and help them either be placed into a better situation, stay at School Dorms that will soon be made until such situations can be made, and/or get the help they need to properly recover,” Izuku smiled at her softening features as she starts to understand.
“I am well aware of your background and first hand knowledge of such experiences. I am also well aware that you’ve had many years to recover, grow, and get to a place where you show no physical reactions at all to what was done to you. You and I are both aware that anybody who hasn’t experienced such things can be very annoying when trying to help, so I was wondering if you were open to being one of the people I’ll be gathering to help those who need it?” Izuku asks with complete genuinity.
Jirou seems to think it over, which Izuku understands because doing this would also mean that she may be bringing up some bad memories, but eventually agrees. He gives her a big smile and gets one in return.
“Okay cool! You’ll get one of the passes that I’ll be giving out! There’ll be directions to follow when you’re there! But if you’re cool with it, I’d like it if you helped talk to the ones who recently got out of their situations, while I talk to the ones who I’m in the process of getting out.”
Jirou’s eyes widen in surprise before a big grin shows up, “Of course! Yeah I’d love to give them some inspiration on the road to recovery! You’re really gonna help some of them get out of there?”
“Hell yeah,” He grins giving her a soft nudge in the shoulder as they walk back in. Izuku scribbles another note for his Dad to read before gathering which colored passes he needs.
Again in the middle of spiel about how no we will not be using Kaminari to back up our generators- he flawlessly reads the note word for word before continuing his lesson plan. “Midoriya Izuku will be passing out notes to certain people. They will give you directions on where to go during last period. You are not in trouble. Do not mind the different colors because they will be explained during last period. Why would you even think we would use Kami- ”
There are only five notes but Izuku didn’t want anyone to think they were in trouble.
Izuku hands out a light blue note to Jirou Kyoka, light purple to Todoroki Shouto, and light red to Kaminari Denki, Kirishima Eijiro, and Hagakure Toru. They get some quick glances but after the announcement, everyone pretty much ignores them and stays focused on Aizawa. Izuku leaves the classroom with a wave and moves onto 1-B.
-------------------------------
Kan sighs when his teaching is interrupted by the boy, Midoriya. He was one of the teachers who had to look at their email to understand what the fuck that morning announcement meant and honestly he doesn’t even know if he should put in the effort to care.
Some give a look of mild interest to the stranger.
“Yes, Midoriya?” Some turned to everyone since they all heard the announcement even if they didn't know what it meant.
“Ignore me. I’ll hand you notes to say out loud if needed.” Izuku says blankly.
Everyone just stares at the kid. Kan looks to the ceiling as if there’d be answers there. There aren’t. He sighs and just goes back to talking about whatever he was talking about.
As he continues talking about their agenda for the semester and answering any questions, he watches the kid walk down the aisles seemingly randomly while writing in his notebook.
The kid pauses at one of his troublemakers, squints, looks at his phone for something, tilts his head in understanding and moves on.
Monoma just looks very confused and vaguely offended.
Eventually, after answering a question, Midoriya hands him a paper titled ‘Read Word for Word’.
Kan sighs. “Bondo Kojiro, please go outside for a few moments with Midoriya. You are not in trouble.”
The students look confused. So is Kan. He continues, regardless.
A few minutes later, they both come back in smiling.
Kan squints suspiciously as he reads off the next note, “Fukidashi Manga, please go outside for a few moments with Midoriya. You are not in trouble.
Again they both came back in with smiles. Or at least Izuku did. Fukidashi just looked like he'd be smiling if he decided to draw a smile.
He got a third note. “Midoriya Izuku will be passing out notes to certain people. They will give you directions on where to go during last period. You are not in trouble. Do not mind the different colors because they will be explained during last period.”
Kan asks, “Do I get to know what this is all about?”
Midoriya looks him up and down. “No.”
He then continues to pass out notes. Light blue to Bondo Kojiro and Fukidashi Manga. Light purple to Monoma Neito and Komori Kinoko, and light red to Honenuki Juzo.
They give Midoriya bewildered faces except for those given light blue.
Midoriya gives no response and walks out the door without a word.
When he leaves, Kan asks Bondo and Fukidashi if they care to share with the class. All they do is look at each other, and Bondo replies, “It’s for us to know and those with notes to find out.”
Kan simply sighs.
---------------------------------------
1-C, Izuku thinks, will be a little more fun. Is it because the pretty purple haired boy Shinsou is in there? Who’s to say?
Izuku slams the door open and yells happily to his Yamadad.
“Yamadad!” He gets an almost ear-splitting response of “My child!” as he grabs him into a hug and spins him around like they hadn’t seen each other two hours before.
“What’s up, kid!” Zashi grins widely at him.
“First project! Try to ignore me!” The teacher winks at him and goes back to explaining the project they’ll be beginning tomorrow. The rest of the class shudder at the way his face falls into a blank slate and starts walking past them all slowly.
At Shinsou, who was the last one he walked by, he smiles again. Shinsou sends an unsure and tired look back. “You got in and they didn’t let you in, yeah?” Izuku says nonplussed.
The purple haired boy’s eyes widen as Izuku just keeps going while doing something on his phone.
“That’s really stupid of them. Why would our lord and savior Prometheus--” everyone hears a loud snort from Mic at that “--fight against the Hero Commision’s quirk discrimination for one student and not another?” Izuku tsks before smiling at Shinsou. “Anyways. Really weird. The computer that I just looked at says you’re part of 1-A. Apparently you replaced some gross kid that had a bunch of accusations of perverse nature that were somehow cleansed from his record by a totally anonymous man who happens to be his father. I know nothing about that though, obviously, because that would be a breach of privacy or something.”
Shinsou looks at him with half doubt and half hope before looking at Mic to confirm, but after seeing his fond nod at Izuku’s actions, Shinsou lights up with a smile before packing his stuff up and after a quick pause he gives Izuku a quick hug before going on his way to leave with a smile.
With a huge blush and a dopey grin still on his face, Izuku pulls together enough brain cells to hand a light purple slip to him and say, “This is actually what I came to give you. You’re not in trouble or anything, just head over to the cafeteria for your last period,” and as Shinsou smiles at him again and leaves, Izuku just stands there with a face that turns redder and redder before he groans and puts his hands in his face.
When he finally looks up, he sees everyone looking at him strangely, except Zashi who looks at him part fondly, and part teasingly.
“Shut up! I didn’t just do that cause he’s cute!” He grumbles at him while some of the students giggle, “He got 32nd place, he deserved to be in Hero Course regardless of how much I may or may not want him to hug me again,” he trails off into a mumble.
Yamadad just laughs at him while he pouts.
He gives away three light red slips. And no others.
--------------------------------------------
1-D, General, had three blue slips, and one red.
The Business course had seven purple slips, four red slips, and two blue slips. Very concerning.
The Support course only had one purple slip, and one blue slip.
Izuku, while he had already done the research, is still not very happy with how many slips he had to give out, and he is even less happy with the thought that he had only gone through the first year students.
Luckily, he finishes just before lunchtime and heads over to the Teacher’s Lounge for his final identification. Walking in, the room is empty except a skinny, blonde man who looks up at him in confusion.
“Young man, you shouldn’t be here. It’s the Teacher’s Lounge.”
Izuku squints at him, looks at Nedzu’s camera like he’s in The Office, and then looks at his phone to double check something.
Yagi, who is a fool, mistakenly believes that his opinion is wanted and says, “Young man, are you okay? Do you need something? You really should be in class right now. I’m going to have to send you to the Principal’s Office if you’re ditching.”
Izuku finally looks up and says in a bored tone, “Yagi Toshinori. Alias: All Might. Part-time teacher. Teaches heroics for one hour every day to hero classes 1-A, 1-B, 2-B, 3-A, and 3-B, which gives you two hours every weekday to act in Hero Activities,” ignoring Yagi’s increasingly distressed face as he mistakenly believes that Izuku is some sort of intruder, he continues nonplussed, “Funny enough, I am more qualified to be a teacher than you since I have a few bachelors, as well as a few associates including an associates teaching degree which lets me be a teacher’s assistant. Your lack of qualification does not surprise me considering you haven’t opened the last 5 emails you’ve received this morning all titled ‘Please Read Immediately’. Especially since any of them would have explained who I am and why I’m here as allowed by Principal Nedzu,” Izuku finishes without flinching as Yagi freezes from where he was just about to drag him to the Principal’s office or to the police station or where ever his little pea brain thought was best.
“Honestly with how easy it was to discover your secret, I just can’t understand how more people don’t already know,” Izuku continues as the bell rings.
Yagi, still frozen from where he stood, watches as Izuku casually walks to the fridge and grabs a juice pack clearly labeled ‘Aizawa's: Touch and Die’ without a care and starts drinking it while sitting at Yamada’s desk.
Izuku ignores the man even when he starts moving again to go sit back on the couch and hopefully look at his damn emails . Eventually most of the teacher’s start trailing in and while most give Izuku spinning around a quick glance before minding their own business, eventually three of his favorite adults come in and Izuku’s blank look gives most of the staff some whiplash with how quickly it turns into a grin that brightens up the room.
“Green Bean!” Kayama cheers as she runs to dramatically catch Izuku and spin him around before placing him down and giving a huge kiss on the cheek while Yamadad ruffles his hair with a big smile.
Izuku just stares at Aizawa for a good 30 seconds before he signs rather dramatically and gives Izuku a pat on the head which Izuku leans into with a soft smile.
“Alright Kiddo what have you been up to?” Zashi asks loudly.
Izuku grins and stands up on Aizawa’s desk, kicking a few things off in the process while ignoring his groans and the other’s laughter.
“Good afternoon U.A. staff! As per the email sent this morning which I’m sure you all have read,” Nobody misses the glare he gives Yagi as he shrinks down into the couch, “You know about my privileges to do as I please as long as it benefits and does no intentional harm. My first project has already begun and will take place the next three days, and with that I have some assignments for some of you!” The teachers have varied reactions of interest, suspicion, excitement, and for some-- disinterest for whatever the boy has to say.
“Regardless of whether you are called upon: this is a reminder that should have been stated in the most recent email. If you are not explicitly invited: you are not welcome to be in or near the cafeteria during or after last period. Everyone with a first year class will most likely be missing a few students in your class, and emails will be given to each teacher to share which students will be absent. I am well aware this is the first day. Be aware that I don’t care. This is important and isn’t a game. This needs to go well or there may be repercussions for the mental health of our first years.” Some teachers look worried, some again disinterested, but all the teachers who know him? Well they look ready to help the best they can.
“There are three groups for this project! If you aren’t called then you aren’t involved. Stay out of it, and don’t ask questions. Group 1: Cementoss! I have a mission for you!” He smiles at the man who looks unsurely back at him.
“Throughout the next three days, I need you to build temporary dorms for students who will be staying on campus until otherwise relocated. Only 12 will be needed today, and ideally there should only be about 20 more needed including both tomorrow and the day after. I know it might be annoying to work during your prep, but I would really appreciate it if you finish the first 12 before the bell rings, if that sounds fine to you?” Cementoss nods.
“It shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll be sure to add a lounge room, kitchen, and the required bathrooms.”
Izuku gives him a smile, “I’m sure Nedzu will inform you of where is appropriate. Onto Group 2,” He smiles at Kayama and Ectoplasm.
“Kayama and Ectoplasm! I know you have preps right after this and I’d really appreciate it if you could spare the time and help me with something,” at their nods of excitement to help, Izuku’s smile gets bigger, “I need you two to do some decorating. I need 12 beds and desks ready for the temporary dorms as soon as Cementoss finishes up, and I need the cafeteria to be as cozy as it possibly can. I’m talking 35 bean bags, fuzzy blankets, snacks, and stuffed animals if you can grab them. Go wild with the comfort items and then make yourself scarce as soon as it's time.” He takes in their serious nods and puts his full confidence within them.
“Finally Group 3: Aizawa, Yamada, No.13, Snipe, Power Loader… and Nedzu. This is optional for you six. I will need to speak to each of you individually, since frankly, it isn’t anybody's business but your own unless you decide otherwise.” They all give him unsure looks but nod nonetheless.
“Okie dokie!” Izuku claps. “I’ll meet with all of you during your preps so you can decide if you want to participate. But right now I need to go talk to my main assistant, and I do believe she only has about half of lunch to work with me on this. So toodles I suppose!” he says leaving the staff in bewilderment.
------------------------------------
Entering the cafeteria, Izuku is hit with a noise that he hasn’t experienced since sixth grade.
He did not miss it in the least.
Looking around he quickly looks for Jirou before walking right towards her and asking for her to come with him to talk. She waves to her friends as she follows him out. He ignores the squinty eyed look from Kacchan.
“Okay so it looks like they’ll be around 10 student blue notes, including us. 4-5ish teacher blue notes,” And then quieter he explains what the red and purple notes mean before continuing. “There’ll be 9 red notes and 12 purple notes. I’ve got teachers making dorms and decorating the cafeteria. I’m going to have Nedzu call all Blue notes 5 minutes early to make sure everything and everyone is ready for the Reds and Purples. You ready? You have any questions? Because you’re my second in command and when I leave for the second half to talk to the Purples you’ll be in charge of the Reds. I’ll make sure the teacher Blue notes are very aware of that.”
Jirou nods and says, “Yeah I think I’ve got this. I can do this. Okay. We can do this. Just be the person I would have liked to hear.”
Izuku, well aware she’s hyping herself up, agrees enthusiastically, “Yes! We can do this!” making Jirou hype up even more.
They’ll be ready. This will go well. They will help the ones who need it.
------------------------------------
Guiding Thirteen to an empty room during their prep, Midoriya walks confidently before closing the door and asking Nedzu to turn off the camera.
When Nedzu does without hesitation, Thirteen’s interest is piqued.
The kid looks up at them with a soft look. Not pitying. Sympathetic.
“Thirteen. I’ll have to ask that everything we discuss and everything that may or may not be implied by this discussion stays between us if you do not accept. This is not a matter of life or death, but solely privacy and while I have my trust in you not to break that trust, I just want to make sure to have that confirmation before I continue.”
Thirteen raises an eyebrow but nods confidently. They would never break someone’s trust unless absolutely necessary .
Midoriya nods. “I believe you. I gave out three different colored notes to various students in first year. I will do the other two years within the next few days. If you are to accept, I welcome you to join the cafeteria during their turn as well,” at their nod he continues.
“Thirteen. I’ve done extensive research on every single person in this school. Students and staff alike. Purple notes will not be leaving for home today and will be staying at the new dorms because they are in need of homes that do not hurt them,” he pauses for a second as Thirteen stills at where this is going.
“Red notes need support because they have experienced abuse, extensive bullying, or extreme discrimination that has gone mentally untreated or is very recent, and while their homes may be livable now , they themselves are not living in a healthy mental state due to what happened before .”
Thirteen quickly realizes what makes a blue note and why they--specifically --are included.
“Blue notes are those who’ve experienced terrible things in the home, and have since worked towards recovery. This is why it is completely optional for Blue notes. Participating in this very well may bring up bad memories and I, nor anyone else, have any intention of putting you in a situation where you are not mentally prepared to talk about your experiences, especially to some of your own students. This will make you vulnerable. If you aren’t in a place to do this, that is completely acceptable especially since these students will have plenty of other Blue notes to help them. You are in no way impeding their growth by declining and while I would be happy to see you, this is no way an expectation. It is only an offer.”
------------------------------------
Thirteen accepts a Blue note. So does Power Loader, and his pseudo-dads.
Snipe hesitantly declines, and then declines more confidently when he doesn’t receive any negative remarks from Izuku.
People heal in different ways.
Some take longer to heal than others.
Nedzu, on the other hand, is a special case. Izuku walks into his office without knocking, well aware that the Principal is watching through the cameras.
“Would you like some tea, Midoriya?”
“Sure. I’d love some,” as Nedzu pours him a cup Izuku looks around the office.
“I’ll be honest. Such a hefty project on day one was somewhat unexpected, however I assume this will be a regular occurrence for you,” he says as he takes a sip.
Izuku smiles, “Yes. Stuff like this can have quite the time limit, and I’d rather get it done sooner rather than later. Less time for the bad ones to try and stop me.”
“Are you here to offer me a Blue note? I’ll be honest, I’m not sure I’m someone the hurt and abused students would be comfortable talking to due to my position.”
Izuku hesitates. Just barely, but enough for Nedzu to see it and tilt his twitch his whiskers in curiosity. This child has not hesitated even once since Nedzu has met him.
“I never expected you to come, though I hope for you to listen regardless-- whether that means by camera or in the vents is obviously up to you --but I wanted to offer it to you all the same.”
Standing up to leave, Izuku gives him a soft smile before pulling out a note and gently placing it on the Principal's desk and walking himself out.
Nedzu just sips his tea while staring at the Red note.
------------------------------------
“All students and staff who received a Blue note are to report to the cafeteria immediately. Red and Purple notes, please wait until the bell rings to make your way over.”
Jirou starts packing her stuff up to stand up while everyone stares at her in curiosity.
Sensei himself begins to gather his things before saying to the class, “There are five minutes until the bell rings. You may use the time as you please. Do not disappoint me,” before following Jirou out the door.
They give each other a knowing nod before they walk to the cafeteria in silence, slowly picking up more and more Blue notes as they all end up going to the same destination.
Jirou sees the cafeteria filled with bright colors, tables with comfort foods, bean bags, and stuffed animals.
It looks like a nice place to cry.
Izuku smiles and waves all the Blue notes in and encourages them to put their stuff on one of the back tables and sit on a bean bag. They all do so quickly even if No.13 and Powerloader seem a little amused at the idea of sitting in a bean bag at their age.
“Blues! I will make this quick! As of right now, everyone who knows about what this meeting will be for is in this room. Not counting two who respectfully declined, but are still sworn to secrecy,” the teachers give each other sympathetic looks. Izuku keeps going while handing out Blue name tags to everyone with their preferred names on them.
“Today you are not heroes. You are not students. You are those who have been hurt in the past that want to help those who are hurting in the present. Today is not a day to have an excuse to cry and talk about things for an hour, and then bottle it up. Today is a day to help the Purple and Reds with realizing that they have people to turn to. Today is a day to give them hope that they aren’t alone and will never be alone. I have received a spreadsheet of open times from Hound Dog for the next two weeks that I have printed out and placed near the snack table along with some pens. Even getting them to sign up for one appointment is a success not to be taken lightly,” They Blues have their game faces on.
“This is a reminder to the Staff,” as he sees the four of them look at him expectantly he looks at them with sadness, “These are not young children. Do not treat them as naive. They are here for a reason. Also remember that for many of them, there has never been an adult who has taken their side or has given them any sort of motivation. Do not betray their trust. Unless you are absolutely sure that doing so will not make it worse, do not approach them . Let them approach you .” They nod seriously.
“To everyone else, do not let someone stay isolated. If they need silence, give them silence, but be silent together . Peers are easier to talk to than adults, but remember that some have been attacked by their peers as well. I will make this very clear that you are not here to judge. And you are not here to make plans of escape or revenge. I’ve got it handled,” he gets wary looks for that one but keeps going, “--any discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated,” he gives them a stern look.
“There are students with quirks who were told they were villains, weak, useless, etc. This is not something they can control, and it’s your job to make it clear that you don’t see it that way, and that even though there are ups and downs, you and everyone else in this room are here to help them not just because you care but because you understand . You are not therapists, do not feel bad if you cannot help everyone, but you are a mirror image of their pain that can give them hope to seek help so they can one day be where you are.” While everyone’s nodding, the bells rings.
“After our initial talk, I’ll be pulling those with Purple Notes to the side to talk to them independently. Jirou-- please raise your hand,” Jirou raises her hand to wave to everyone with a smile, “--will be put in charge while I’m talking to Reds. I’ll trust her to lead the group into discussion, to close it when the final bell rings, and to deal with anything outside of a villain attack. That goes for Staff, too! She’s in charge!” He laughs at the amused huff from Aizawa, the grin from Jirou, and the giggles from the rest.
They’re interrupted when the first students start pouring in with curious and excited faces at seeing everything decorated.
“Everyone! Feel free to put your bags on the back table, pick up your color coded name tag, grab a snack or notebook if you so desire and grab a seat. We will begin when everyone has arrived.” Jirou watches as he repeats it a few times as more and more students come in. Some sit with classmates, some sit next to whatever Blue looks nicest to them, and some sit alone.
Seeing the Blues near them scoot closer to them makes Jirou hold back a snort as her 1-A classmates, Hagakure, Kirishima, and Kaminari drag Shinsou with them to sit down next to her excitedly. Shinsou looks happy to see Midoriya on the tiny stage but otherwise just looks tired. When she sees Todoroki looking around confused, Jirou makes sure to wave him over with a soft smile. He sits down close but not too close.
“Are we finally going to find out what all the secrecy is about???” Kaminari jitters excitedly in his bean bag.
“Yeah why were we picked out? Was there a lottery? Or is it like a secret mission? Or-”
Jirou laughs softly before speaking up, “No no it’s nothing like that. It’s… well it’s not bad per say, but an opportunity I suppose,” before she continues she sees Todoroki’s name tag and cuts herself off, “Oh! I’m so sorry. Do you prefer going by your given name?”
Shouto looks at her with a blank face, but at this point given where they are Jirou assumes there’s a reason behind it, looks down at his nametag saying ‘Shouto’ and says not unkindly, “I suppose.”
Jirou just smiles while the others look confused and replies, “Well it’s nice to meet you Shouto! My name is Jirou and I’m glad you’re here. Before Midoriya begins explaining why we’re all here I want to assure you that he never does anything without complete confidence that he knows he will succeed.”
Everyone, including Shouto, look at her warily but nod regardless.
“Attention everyone!” The green haired boy speaks into a soft mic that lets everyone hear, but isn’t too loud to grate on their ears.
“My name is Midoriya Izuku. You were all chosen for a reason-- by me --and we will get to that very soon. But first, I wanted to make some things very clear. I may be in first year, but I tested out of highschool in sixth grade and have since earned a few bachelor’s and associates in various subjects. Due to this, I was eligible to participate in Section 9 Amendment 04872 Line 86278 which allows me to play a game against Nedzu. If I won the game, then I’d earn the privilege of doing whatever I desire during school hours- within reason -as long as it suits the well being of the students and staff of this school. This is my first project. I am not doing this to make myself feel better, or to get attention from the school. In fact, I insist you don’t tell anybody since many things said in this cafeteria will be highly personal. Let me make this part extra clear: Nobody knows about what is happening right now except those with a Blue name tag that are in this room, along with two other people who have declined to participate but have been sworn to secrecy. Sharing this information to the wrong people means that it’ll be shut down too early and students may be in danger. Do you all agree to keep this information to the people in this room?”
Everyone nods, even if some are wary at why they are being told.
“Before I begin, are there any questions about the privacy situation? Do you trust that no one will hear what comes out of this room?”
He gets some unsure nods or shrugs, but nobody raises their hand.
“Okay. When I was a child I was abused by my father,” he pauses as a good amount of the students still, “He had a fire breathing quirk and he would hurt me when my mother wasn’t home. He would burn me, treat it, and then tell me it’s a game to keep it from my mother. As many of you are fully aware, it was not a game.” A few students had dawning faces showing they knew why they were here.
Izuku continued before they could freak out too badly, “When my mother found out, he disappeared under mysterious circumstances that I obviously definitely know nothing about,” he ignores the squinty eyes, “All I can say is I love my mother. Anyways- he did this because I was diagnosed as Quirkless at age 4.” There was a small murmur of people’s opinions on it but nothing too dramatic so he continued. “At school, my treatment got worse and worse. My belongings were stolen and/or destroyed, I was teased, I was name-called, and many other things. As I got older, it started getting physical,” he sees a few grimaces.
“They would ‘practice’ their quirks on me. The teachers did nothing. Some ignored it. Some joined it,” the disgusted faces at the teachers was nice to see, “But eventually it all accumulated to the first day of 6th grade. Someone left a vase of spider lilies on my desk.” A few people gasped.
“And this was all because of something I couldn’t control. I was hurt. Humiliated. Tortured. Ignored. Because of something that I had no say over. Nothing that happened to me was my fault. I did not choose my quirk or lack thereof. I did not choose my father. I did not choose my teachers. I did not choose my peers. Everything that happened to me was wrong.” He gets some awed faces from some people who understood where this was going, some confusion on why they’re there, and a few people with disbelief.
“That day I made a flower crown with those Spider Lilies and decided that they did not mean death to me, but rebirth,” he smiled at everyone in the cafeteria softly before it turned a little mischievous, “Did I also happen to do some research and gain shit and weaknesses on all those who hurt me and everyone they know just to put it in a nice folder to give it to them and make it clear that if they hurt another person they would sorely regret it?” He smirks at their incredulous looks, and then shrugs nonchalantly, “Then who’s truly to say.”
“But that brings me to my project,” He glances around the room to look everyone in the eyes. Some smiling, some nervous, some defensive.
“I don’t like bullies. I don’t like abusers. I did extensive research on every single person at this school,” he ignores the shivers that some of them receive.
“Everyone in this room has gone through abuse, or extreme bullying and discrimination to the point where it affects your mental and/or physical health. Blue tags, please raise your hands,” Izuku calls upon them as everyone else watches 9 students and 4 teachers raise their hands. “Blue tags are people who have gone through these things, and are on their path to recovery. I urge you to look at them. This is your future. They are what you will have the opportunity to become. Please do not push them away. They not only care, but they understand , and we are all very aware that that is hard to come by and precious to keep.” A few Reds look excitedly at the Blues. The Purples not so much.
“Red tags. I encourage you to talk to the Blues. You Reds are out of your situations and need that push to start the process of getting better no matter how long or short it takes. You will get there and I know because I’ve been there, as has every other Blue in this room.”
“Purple tags.” He stares a few of them in the eyes. Some have hope, but most are resigned. A few are stony. “I got out of my situation alone,” a few grimace at the idea, “You will not be doing the same. I have already begun cases for all of you. If you choose to accept as I urge you to do, you will be staying here as a Ward of U.A. until proper and approved relocation can occur. Whether that takes a few days, a few weeks, or until you graduate, I will not allow you to go back to broken homes that will only hurt you further. I will be talking to you all individually to discuss your specific cases and plans.”
Every Purple has at least a little hope in their eyes, and for that? Izuku already calls his project a success.
------------------------------------
Neito stares blankly ahead. He had already thought this whole thing was weird. Getting a colored note from another student of all things after the guy stared at him like an animal-- he didn’t do it to any of the others why did he do it to him? Why were some people called out and some people weren’t? Why couldn’t Vlad-sensei know? Why-
Walking into the cafeteria had made him suspicious. It looked too comfortable and he wondered what they were buttering them up for. He sat near his classmates-- they had Blue tags -- why did he only have his given name when the others had their full name? What do they kno-
Regardless he sat down with his usual bored tone.
And then Midoriya started talking.
He knew very quickly why they were all called there.
Sitting in silence isn’t usually his thing, but the Blues near him didn’t make him talk. They just stayed by him and talked about their own experiences and encouraged anyone who wanted to to talk about their own. In the corner of his eyes he saw a few kids talk to a few of the teachers about their options but-- w hy would you trust an adult? That doesn’t make sen-
“Neito.”
He’s snapped out of thought by a soft voice calling his name.
Midoriya.
He blankly walks to the other side of the room where Midoriya had just sent one of the Business kids back to the bean bags. He’s crying. But he looks relieved.
He sits down heavily in one of the two bean bags and gives a half-hearted glare but all he gets is a smile in return which makes him feel like a dick.
“Neito. Your case wasn’t hard to get evidence for. I’ve pretty much got everything covered and at this point, I think you’d be better off just staying as a Ward rather than look for another Foster Home… unless a situation comes up,” Neito grumbles a reluctant acceptance.
Midoriya then pulls out a picture.
Neito just stares at it for a while, before gently picking it up.
“You looked familiar. I had seen her before while doing things I’m not going to talk about. And so I did some quick research to see if my hunch was right.”
He gives Neito a moment to trace the outline of his sister’s face from a street camera.
Neito whispers with blank eyes as a few tears fall down his face, “I thought she was dead…”
“She thinks you're dead, too. From what I saw, some piece of shit social worker was too lazy to do their job and thought it was much easier to tell multiple different sets of siblings that their other siblings had died instead of trying to place them together or at the very least tell them they would be separated.”
Neito looks up, “Do… do you know where she is?”
“Toga Himiko is currently acting as a vigilante with presumed best friend Dabi. I do not have her current location right now, but my plan is to find her, get her absolved of her vigilantism crimes, and hopefully get her set up with a job so she can take guardianship over you since she’ll turn eighteen in a few months.”
Neito starts sobbing in relief that his sister is okay , and that she’s alive , and that he’ll see her again.
He barely comprehends when he’s wrapped up in a hug.
But he does feel it’s warmth.
------------------------------------
By the time the bells rings for the day to be over, he thanks Jirou with a hug-- her talk of her own experiences and her not-goodbye-but-see-you-soon speech was wonderful. He didn’t even think about making a group chat with everyone in it. He ended up the admin for the Purple Chat, but he encouraged Jirou to be the admin for the Red Chat, and the be co-admin for the General Notes Chat. He’s sure even more chats will branch off as people make friends, and that just makes him ecstatic since they’ll help each other grow and become friends and oh my god this is grea-
He cuts his inner monologue off and guides the Purples to their dorms.
Turning around and giving them jazz hands he grins tiredly and says, “Ta da! Newly made by Cementoss and decorated by Midnight and Ectoplasm! You each of course have your own rooms, and then a general lounge with a general kitchen!”
If he sneaks looks at purple haired Shinsou, then who could blame him?
He’s smiling brighter than the sun.
Izuku shows everyone the different whiteboards on their doors which they can decorate, and that their doors lock from the inside, and that there will always be food in the fridge and extra blankets and pillows in the closets.
They seemed much happier than before.
Izuku softly claps so as not to startle some of them, “I am in the group chat if you need me for any reason at all. Big or small, especially if you're not comfortable talking to one of the teachers about it yet. I’ll be honest the next few days I’ll be pretty busy since I’ll be doing this all over again with the second and third years, but I want you all the know that I will drop everything to make sure you receive anything you need, or I will in the very least, send a trusted Blue tag to help. If one of the school Blues isn't available, I want you to know that Hawks aka Takami Keigo is a Blue tag in spirit,” he gets some surprised but sympathetic looks. “He may or may not have been a Purple when I met him, and now he may or may not be practically my brother after I may or may not have blackmailed the Hero Commission. All inconclusive of course.” He waves off their varied looks of concern, apprehension, or awe.
“Other trusted adults on campus are Midnight, Snipe, Nedzu, Ectoplasm, and Cementoss.”
He gets a soft, “What about All Might?”
Izuku pauses for a moment to deliberate.
“I’m going to hesitantly go with no until stated otherwise. Same with the other staff. Being cautious is better than being sorry, and while we have a lot on our side, there’s no reason to give trust without reason.” He gets nods from everyone else and smiles.
“I am going to go take a nap. I’ll put a code in the General Notes Chat that if you say out loud or sign anywhere on campus, it will immediately get Nedzu’s attention and he will be able to help with whatever situation is making you uncomfortable. He will help . I trust him. Use the code if need be . Once it’s used, a new code will be sent to the group chat for the next day. Check it regularly! Bullying, discrimination, or adults being scary are all valid uses. Nod your head if you understand and raise your hand if you have a question.” He gets mostly nods but two raise their hands.
“What if we had a sibling in a grade above? And won’t some of our guardians try to file us missing? Should we block them?” A business student asks kind of frantically as xe works xemself up.
Izuku just smiles tiredly. “I wish I could have gotten to everybody in one day but I needed to prioritize my time. The two siblings in that situation were texted and informed that they should spend the night with a friend, or if they didn’t have any, to go to the office to get an arrangement made until dorms were made for them tomorrow or the day after. Both chose a friend. I’m sure your sister has texted you by now, and if not you can text her to confirm she’s safe. All adults involved were emailed about a last minute field trip to keep us students on our toes that will be keeping them for the week. Everything will be out by the end of the week. I wouldn’t block them, but muting them should be fine. In the email we said we confiscated phones to keep the students focused. You’re safe .” Xe visibly calms down and some others seem much calmer as well.
Shouto, however, deadpans, “What if we lose the court case?” Which made pretty much everyone else wince about the fact of who his father is and what that means.
But Izuku just looks him in the eyes, “Shouto, if your father somehow gets out of my million pounds of evidence, including the witness statements of you and all your siblings, then he will disappear under mysterious circumstances that may or may not involve actions committed by me.”
Everyone blinks at him.
He blinks back.
Shouto nods approvingly, “Okay. Thank you.”
He gives everyone a smile, a salute, and leaves the dorms to head to the teacher’s lounge, where he resolutely lets himself fall on his Dadzawa sleeping on the couch. The older man lets out a grunt. Izuku does not care.
He announces, “Day 1 has been completed. Thank you Blues for your assistance, and I hope to see you again tomorrow and the day after for the second and third years.” The Blue teachers let out emotionally tired hurrahs while the excluded teachers look on in bemusement and confusion.
He texts, If you say or sign this word on campus, a Blue Note will arrive to assist you. This applies to panic attacks, angry teachers, or literally any situation that makes you uncomfortable. Use it: Eleutheromania or ‘E’ and then ‘freedom’ in sign into the General Group Chat.
And then he decides that his Dadzawa is quite warm and takes a well-earned nap.
-----------------
BONUS:
“Sooooo,” Hitoshi drawls as he and all the other Purples sit around the common room.
“He’s totally going to kill your dad,” Neito disbelievingly blinks as he half-heartedly points at Shouto.
Shouto shrugs and slurps some soba he found in the fridge.
“It’ll probably be an ‘accident’ so technically not, I’m sure,” he deadpans.
Everyone looks around uneasily for a second before ultimately shrugging. He’s on their side after all.