Chapter Text
Aizawa looked over his class of 20 kids. It was an odd feeling, to not have expelled anyone after last year’s fiasco of expelling literally everyone, but whatever. He could feel Vlad had a bone to pick with him this year, since they were on the same level of kids this time, and he was still gunning for that yearbook victory, not that he was ever going to get it.
Then again, he thought, eyeing Aoyama, Ashido, and really over half the class, this batch didn’t look like they knew much about subtlety.
Meh, they’d learn fast when their grades were on the line.
“Congratulations,” he said dryly, keeping with the script he had done for the past seven years (not counting last year), “you’ve made it to the second week of classes, which means I’m probably going to keep you. It also means that I can announce a year long project that is worth a significant portion of your grade.”
Ah, that always got the reaction he wanted. Kaminari and Ashido looked ready to pass out, and even Bakugo and Todoroki sat up a little straighter, narrowing their eyes. Mostly people looked terrified, though, which was his goal.
“Throughout the year, you will be given a message on the day that you are ‘it.’ When you are it, you are not to let anyone catch on, acting completely as normal. If anyone discovers you and reports back to me, you are considered compromised, all intelligence gathered on that day must be turned in to be destroyed, and you will be assigned a new day.”
“Aizawa-sensei, what is the nature of the intelligence we will be gathering!”
He raised an eyebrow at Iida. “As some of you may or may not be aware, I am an underground hero. I have training in stealth, undercover operations, intelligence gathering, and stealth takedowns. This assignment attempts to teach you some of those things so that one day, they will save your life.”
He looked at each of the 20 in turn, seeing a sea of wide eyes. Good.
“Your objective is to take photos of your classmates.”
God, yeah, this was his favorite assignment, they looked so confused.
“You seem to be wondering what this has to do with underground work. Pictures can be taken as hard evidence of crimes that would otherwise be swept under the rug. In addition, it’s rather difficult to take a picture of someone without them noticing. You will complete this assignment if you have every single one of your classmates in at least one picture. The diversity and quality of your evidence will merit you bonus points that can be applied to any test.”
He noticed them sit up a little straighter. The promise of extra credit always made them take this a bit more seriously, but it was time to lay down the final requirement.
“You know what happens if your classmates discover you, but there is one more rule. If any of the other teachers catch you, you will be expelled.”
They were a bit more vocal than some of his other classes, but that was to be expected, since he hadn’t actually made good on that threat quite yet. Oh well, either someone would slip up, or they wouldn’t.
“Anyway, you’ll get a message 24 hours before you’re ‘it.’ Moving on to other business…”
~~~~~
He honestly should have expected that one of the kids would let it slip to a teacher, but he had really hoped he could keep this up for longer. He had given them a break after the USJ attack, but in the end it was still an assignment and the clock was ticking, he needed good pictures to maintain his reputation.
It was Mineta, sadly (but also not).
“Yeah,” Hizashi said, “it was kind of weird? He was taking pictures of the girls when they weren’t looking. I think I’m the only one who noticed, though. He is a little creepy…”
He took Mineta aside.
“So. You were ‘it’ yesterday. Care to explain why Present Mic saw you taking pictures of the girls?”
He begged and pleaded, but of course, no, he had something to maintain. In addition, he had the perfectly good excuse that it was because he was a pervert (which now that he thought about it, was also probably true, the girls did look rather uncomfortable whenever he was near them).
“Class,” he droned, “you might notice Mineta is no longer with us. He was It yesterday and Mic saw him. He is now expelled.”
They looked rather shocked to see that this time, the threat of expulsion was not a logical ruse. Good, he was to be taken seriously, even in something as silly as this yearbook assignment. Sure, it was only really silly to him, but it was the principle of the matter.
Oh well, they had an open seat and the sports festival was coming up, maybe a go getter gen ed student would catch his eye.
~~~~~
Midoriya wasn’t even It, he wasn’t going to be for a while, so why was the problem child here asking him questions about the assignment? It wasn’t like the first times, he had slowly refined the process so it wasn’t just a free for all throughout the year, because that led to way too many pictures and he really didn’t like to have to sort through them all at once. Better to have a single day for each student and grade them within a week, much easier.
“Sensei, I was wondering about the assignment?”
Dammit, he was still here. “Midoriya, you aren’t It, nor are you going to be for a while. Why are you asking questions?”
“Oh, well,” the kid fidgeted, “I want to be prepared? For when I am It, I mean.”
Ugh, a go getter. Reminded him of Yamato, not that he’d admit that. She was fun.
“Fine, what are your questions?”
“Can classmates be bribed into keeping quiet if they catch you?”
Well hot damn he had underestimated this kid, he was not expecting a question like that.
Still, it was what he had done with Maijima, so there was really only one answer.
“Yes.”
“Oh, good. Next, have you done this in previous years?”
He raised an eyebrow. “I have.”
“And since you expelled your entire class last year, the graduates of two years ago would be the people who did this most recently, correct?”
Oh, now that was clever. He was gathering intel and strategies from people who had done this before, or at least, attempting to.
“Yes.”
“How many classes have you done this with?”
“Two, three now with you lot.”
Midoriya nodded, looking entirely too serious. “Ok, one last question.”
He gestured for the kid to go ahead.
“Can we take pictures on days we aren’t It?”
“Why would you want to do that, they won’t count for the assignment.”
“Practice and to throw people off for when I really am It.”
Sweet mother of god, this kid wanted to be aboveground? He had to keep an eye on this kid.
“Yeah, knock yourself out. If your classmates catch you, you can handle it how you wish, but if a teacher catches you…”
He let the sentence hang with the implications, but Midoriya just nodded and thanked him for his time before leaving.
He looked at his calendar for when he had assigned Midoriya to be It and saw it was next semester. Hmm, yeah, that was probably enough time for him to plan something crazy.
Aizawa grinned into his capture scarf, even with no one around to see.
Yeah, this would be a fun year.
~~~~~
“Class, this is Shinsou Hitoshi, transferring in from Gen Ed. Someone explain the year long project to him, I don’t care who, I’m going to nap now.”
He rolled up in his sleeping bag, keeping an eye on the class, just to see what they would tell the kid. Midoriya instantly latched onto him, very excited that he was not only getting someone to sit behind him, but also that it was his opponent from the sports festival. It had seemed like they became tentative friends, whether or not Shinsou was aware of that was another story.
He heard the green haired boy explain the assignment and carefully noted how he left out the loopholes and additional guidelines he had pried out of Aizawa, and he grinned to himself. Either he was just planning on keeping that information to himself, or he didn’t want to let the rest of the class know; either way, smart, and Aizawa approved.
~~~~~
Izuku was nervous as he sent the email to the underground hero Fuse, or graduate from five years ago, Aizawa’s first picture assignment class. According to the yearbooks, she was the class president, and therefore probably the most informed of all 12 kids, or at least someone who would know the most informed.
It wasn’t long before he got a response back. He hadn’t sent a lot, simply a “is this the class president of aizawa’s graduating class of xxxx?” but apparently that was still too sketchy, because the only line he got back was “who is this,” with no punctuation, signature, or capitals.
He hurried to reply back. “This is Midoriya Izuku, I’m currently in his class, and wanted to ask a few questions if that’s all right?”
That must have been good enough because she actually sent him a call through the email service. He eeped and picked up.
“Oh, you’re the green kid! Hey there, I’m Yamato, the class president of that year. Boy, it feels like it’s been so long! What can I do for you kiddo? Aizawa giving you a hard time? Tell me, how many people has he expelled thus far?”
He blinked and couldn’t help but stutter. “O-oh, um, none? Wait, no, he expelled someone after Yamada-sensei caught them taking pictures.”
She whistled. “Someone got caught? Oh boy, did Mic know why he was taking the pictures?”
“He thought he was just being creepy.”
“Thank goodness, Aizawa would probably expel the whole class on principle if his ruse was up, he’s been maintaining it for years now.”
He blinked. “Ruse?”
“Ah, right, you’re a baby first year, aren’t you? Well, I won’t say too much, but basically the teachers can’t find out, ya know? He’s been keeping this assignment secret since he started it with our class. Anyway, you said you had questions, right? What can an underground hero like me tell the bone breaking kid?”
He winced. “I’ve gotten around that, but I actually wanted to ask you questions about the photo assignment, if you don’t mind?”
There was a pause, before she giggled. “Of course, kouhai! I would be delighted to pass on my knowledge!”
“Ok, good, can you detail your strategies for taking the most discreet pictures?”
~~~~~
Two hours later and a another call to someone else in her class, the sidekick Fury Fighter (“just call him Takeda,” Yamato had said, “he was our class clown and his name is stupid. Be sure to tell him I said that”).
The tips from Yamato and Takeda had been different, of course. Yamato professed stealth, not letting people know you were even there, whereas Takeda claimed his strategy was distraction, much like a magician would do.
Izuku had one last lead to check. He had messaged the other class president, from the more recent class, but had been directed to the sidekick La, the Waterbending hero, instead of the class president themselves.
“Ah,” she said solemnly, but he could hear a grin, “I wish I had thought of talking to my older siblings in my own conquest, but I think my strategy was pretty good anyway, seeing as no one in my class ever figured it out.”
After making him promise he would never tell anyone this secret, especially not her eight classmates, she told him how she had used hidden cameras and other secret support gear to get the best pictures, and he thanked her profusely for her help. She waved him off, saying she was happy to help the next generation and wishing him luck.
From there, his strategy seemed clear. Already he had planned on throwing people off the scent by randomly taking pictures on days he wasn’t It. He also tried to catch as many people and tell them he wouldn’t rat them out to Aizawa if they did the same for him if they saw him. He made a point to figure out all the things his classmates liked. On one hand, he would be able to give them great birthday gifts, but on the other, he would also know how to bribe them into silence if he hadn’t been able to catch them or they were going to go after him.
Past that, with the knowledge of his predecessors, his plan added three elements. One, stealth around. He was already pretty good at avoiding people because of middle school, so that part just needed a bit of polishing and then he’d probably be good. Two, distract his classmates, or rely on distractions to snap good pictures when no one was going to be looking at him. That could be accomplished with some of his favors, someone riling up Bakugo for one, so he felt rather prepared for that one too. Three, get hidden cameras from support or perhaps the internet, or maybe…
Hmm, yes, he could solve a few problems at once.
“Yaoyorozu,” he called out, chasing her down before she could leave school grounds, “can I talk to you for a second?”
“Of course!” She said goodbye to Jirou, whom she had been walking with, and walked with him. “How can I help you, Midoriya?”
“Not here…”
She blinked at his whisper, but followed him to a more secluded part of school grounds.
“What requires being so secretive…?”
“From what I’ve seen, you haven’t been It yet, right?”
She shifted and blushed. “Ah, no, I haven’t.”
Izuku nodded. “I’ve been keeping track of who has and hasn’t been It, it seems like he picks someone every two weeks, or thereabouts, but that’s not the point, the point is, I have a strategy that I am willing to share with you if you can provide me with the resources to enact it.”
She blinked. “A strategy? For the assignment, you mean?”
He nodded again. “I have a plan that works perfectly for you, but I will only give it to you if you agree to my requirements.”
She folded her arms, but looked amicable to the offer. Good.
“One, you cannot share this with any other classmates, two, you can’t tell AIzawa you got it from me if he asks, three, I also get to use it, and four, if you see me when I’m It, look the other way. I would, of course, do the same for you.”
She tilted her head, considering. “And I don’t suppose you’ll give me any hints about the strategy before I agree?”
He smiled apologetically. “Sorry, Yaoyorozu, even the name tells you everything you need to know.”
“But you know this will work?”
“I have it from a credible source that used this method for three years and no one ever found out, so yes.”
She hesitated for another moment before extending her hand. “I look forward to working with you, Midoriya.”
He grinned and whipped out his notebook, flipping it open to a page with various designs. “Excellent! So, hidden cameras…”
~~~~~
Katsuki thought this whole assignment was incredibly stupid. Taking pictures of the random extras? Sure, it wouldn’t be hard, just pretend to be playing on his phone when really he’s taking pictures, not bad.
But then he noticed Deku taking pictures.
Of course the shitty Deku would be so bad at the stupid assignment that he would get caught in an instant, but when he went to go tell the hobo teacher, more than happy to snitch, the man simply raised an eyebrow.
“He isn’t It.”
Bullshit! Then why was the nerd taking pictures? For fucking fun? Yeah right, the nerd’s definition of fun was writing in his stalker notebooks. He was still doing that, even in UA, and Katsuki was honestly waiting for all his friends to realize and get icked out.
Hadn’t happened yet, but it was going to.
Then he heard him talking to Ponytail when he was walking by, a little later leaving school than usual, and found out the nerd was bending the rules and cheating. Just like Deku, to take a simple assignment and make it way more complicated than it needed to be. Apparently, him taking pictures when he wasn’t It was him practicing and throwing people off the scent.
Well, Katsuki wasn’t going to be fooled, and when it was that fucker’s turn to be It, Katsuki would find him out in a heartbeat and turn his rat ass in, making him fail the damn assignment. Maybe then hobo man would kick the nerd out of the place he clearly didn’t belong.
And then summer break hit, Katsuki got kidnapped, and all thoughts about that stupid assignment went out the window. They moved into dorms, which would make taking the stupid pictures both easier and harder (Katsuki had already been It, of course, and turned in his glorious pictures), but still, every time he thought he had caught Deku, he wasn’t even It.
It was infuriating.
By the third time Katsuki came to accuse Deku of being It, the hobo man had the audacity to tell Katsuki he needed “proof” and he “couldn’t just accuse Midoriya every day until one day he was right” which was, frankly, ridiculous. Katsuki would catch the damn nerd!
Until he actually caught him taking a picture, and he took a picture of that, went to the shitty teacher with evidence, and was told only one thing.
“Midoriya was It a month ago, Bakugo.”
He screamed.
~~~~~
Aizawa sat behind his desk letting Iida pass out the yearbooks, revelling once again in his victory. In the beginning, he hadn’t cared about the stupid “competition” for having the best class spread, but after seven years of victory, it would feel wrong to not have the best pictures, and this year was no exception. It was a matter of pride, at this point.
This year had been particularly interesting, with the problem child essentially running his own underground crime ring with the amount of strings he had attached to his classmates. He and Yaoyorozu had the most pictures, and he recognized Takikuma’s hidden camera strategy. No one in her year had managed to figure it out, so the idea that she was just telling her underclassmen was intriguing to say the least, but she had probably threatened him to keep her secret.
He also recognized Yamato and Takeda’s influence, in his sneaking around and the expert distractions he ran on the ground. Three of his best picture takers, influencing the next generations, he almost wanted to give them extra credit again, but they were long graduated, so he couldn’t do that.
Hmm, maybe just sending them a coded message, like Yamato’s class had done for him.
He watched the class realize that the spread was full of their pictures and Midoriya seemed to light up with the realization.
“Aizawa-sensei,” he called, “does that mean we’re going to do this every year?”
He grinned, all teeth, not hidden by his capture scarf at all, and watched in satisfaction as half the class shivered.
“Yes, we will be. You better up your strategies for next year, brats, or you’ll get caught quick.”
Midoriya was one of the only ones who visibly grinned back.
Yeah, this was the best assignment he had ever come up with, hands down.