History Fanfic / SleeperHitAU

Four years later, Class 1-A gathers to watch the announcement of the first Hero Rankings since their debut. Among those who made the list is Sleeper Hit, the first Quirkless Pro Hero, who gives an interview afterwards. When he reveals how he was expelled from U.A. on his first day, everyone is stunned to realize he's their former classmate... especially Ochako, who's determined to reconnect with the boy who saved her from the Zero Pointer.

* ForWantOfANail:
** Since the incident with the Sludge Villian never happened, Toshinori never approached Midoriya and offered him One For All. The Quirk instead eventually went to Kirishima instead.
** Kirishima's Quirk helped him avoid seriously breaking his body while training with One For All, as he reflexively hardened in response to the pain.
** Midoriya's expulsion reinforced Bakugou's beliefs that he was naturally superior to his Quirkless former friend, as well as the notion that he'd only gotten into U.A. by 'cheating'. Since his delusions were never seriously challenged or broken, he never grew out of them, and the discovery that Izuku ''didn't'' give up on going Pro hits him even harder, causing him to spiral completely out of control.
** Aizawa was already acquainted with Shinsou before holding that fateful test, which informed his decision to follow through on his threat of expulsion.
** Izuku's absence from Class 1-A led to several key events having worse outcomes. The League's assault on the USJ resulted in [[spoiler:two casualties]], and [[spoiler:Tenya's vengeful pursuit of Stain ended with him in a coma for four years]].
** The Sports Festival had a different top three roster: [[spoiler:Todoroki placed first, Shinsou second, and Bakugou third]].
** The Kamino Incident left [[spoiler:Toshinori fatally wounded, and he passed on his Quirk to Kirishima on his deathbed. But since One For All hadn't been passed on yet, Toshinori was in better shape going into that battle, apparently wounding All For One fatally in turn]].
** Without the influence of somebody like Izuku around, Shouto continued using his ice side exclusively and debuted as the Frostbite Hero Promise.
** Due to the surrounding circumstances, Ochako calling Izuku 'Deku' did ''not'' lead to him reclaiming it as his hero name, as she only reinforced the insult's painfulness.

** Bakugou named himself King Nitro, showing how little he's changed since childhood... that indeed, his ego burns as brightly as ever.

* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/25652947 Imposter]]'': Centers on Hagakure Tooru realizing the full implications of her teacher's actions and grappling with the insecurities and doubts that sparks.

** Aizawa justified his decision to expel Izuku by telling himself that Midoriya wouldn't be able to make it as a Pro Hero, and that he needed to ensure there was room in his class for Shinsou once he proved himself worthy of the Hero Course. Midoriya goes Pro anyway, though Aizawa's actions made him much more cynical and distrusting, while there's plenty of "extra room" by the time Shinsou's able to enter the Hero Course thanks to [[spoiler:Mineta and Asui getting murdered by the League]].

* BlandNameProduct: At one point, Izuku eats at a [=WcDonalds=], an obvious alteration of UsefulNotes/McDonalds. Later on he also mentions Quesadilla Bell, a riff on Taco Bell.
* BlatantLies: When expelling Izuku, Aizawa says "I’m holding you to the same standards as all my other students. And you’ve failed to meet them.” Almost immediately afterwards the scene switches to Aizawa's perspective, where it turns out he altered the results of the test to have an excuse to kick Izuku out, since he valued the Quirk of the student who performed worse more than Izuku.

** Of the [[invoked]] [[FandomSpecificPlot Dad Might and Dadzawa]] concepts. Without the incident with the Sludge Villain, Toshinori lacks any real ''investment'' in Izuku, and does nothing to help or encourage him beyond a single sympathetic glance after he's expelled. Aizawa, meanwhile, ''is'' invested -- in Shinsou, and sees nothing wrong with crushing Midoriya's dreams in order to make room for his protégé.

* EveryoneHasStandards: Shinsou may have wanted to move into the the Hero Course. However, when he realizes that Aizawa tampered with the scores to kick Izuku out to make room for him [[note]] And keep Hagakure, who had a Quirk while Izuku never got One For All [[/note]], he loses respect for his teacher, telling him by doing that, he took away another student’s chances.

* FusionFic: {{Downplayed}}. Midoriya wound up attending the Hamada Institute, a Support-centric school founded by [[WesternAnimation/BigHero6 the Neuronic Hero Macro Six, aka Hamada Hiro]]. Wasabi also puts in an appearance as the Slice-n-Dice Hero, who mentored Izuku and Mei during their second-year apprenticeships.

* HumiliationConga: Not only does Aizawa expel him on his very first day, but he also outs Izuku as Quirkless in a brief-but-brutal speech about refusing to give him any special treatment for it.

** Shinsou still started out in General Studies, and still used his powers to brainwash Ojirou into helping him.

** U.A. gets publicly crucified for their treatment of Izuku, and is forced to shape up their treatment of those with poor or no Quirks.

* MamaBear: As much as she worried about her son's chosen career path, Inko was ''furious'' when U.A. kicked him out, and threw all her support behind him as they searched for another school that would take him in.
* MeaningfulEcho: Shigaraki told Bakugou that he was more like a villain than a hero. After seeing firsthand the way he treats Midoriya, Kirishima repeats those words, adding that "He was right all along."

** Bakugou named himself King Nitro, showing how little he's changed since childhood... that indeed, his ego burns brightly as ever.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Ochako had a minor case of this after she tries to look up Izuku (or rather, Deku Midoriya) on the internet so she can thank him, only to find out what the word ‘Deku’ meant.

* OffendedByAnInferiorsSuccess: Bakugo is not happy to learn that a Quirkless hero is not only ranked higher than him, but is also Izuku, his former punching bag. Bakugo is so angry that he wishes that Izuku took his [[SuicideDare suggestion to jump off a building]] seriously.

** PlayedWith. While Nedzu freely admits the part he played in enabling the situation, and doesn't intend to throw Aizawa under the bus, Aizawa still resigns from U.A. and gives up his teaching license.

* WhatYouAreInTheDark: PlayedWith. After expelling Midoriya, Aizawa decided to secretly [[spoiler:endorse his bid to enter another school]]. As far as anyone who learns of this is concerned, it doesn't make up for his public actions. Instead, it just highlights Aizawa's hypocrisy in expelling a student for selfish reasons while secretly thinking that student ''was'' good enough for ''others'' to teach.

* BlatantLies: When expelling Izuku, Aizawa says "I’m holding you to the same standards as all my other students. And you’ve failed to meet them.” Almost immediately afterwards the scene switches to Aizawa's perspective, where it turns out he altered the results of the test to have an excuse to kick Izuku out, since he valued the Quirk of the student who preformed worse than Izuku more than Izuku.

* EveryoneHasStandards: Shinsou may have wanted to move into the the Hero Course. However, when he realizes that Aiwaza tampered with the scores to kick Izuku out to make room for him [[note]] And keep Hagakure, who had a Quirk while Izuku never got One For All [[/note]], he loses respect for his teacher, telling him by doing that, he took away another student’s chances.

** Aiwaza tries to justify his actions by claiming he only wanted to help Shinsou get into the hero course and that Izuku’s handicap would never allow him to be a hero. However, Shinsou reminds him that Izuku rightfully earned his spot by passing the entrance exam, and by sabotaging him, Aiwaza destroyed his future at U.A. simply because he thought he had no hope due to his Quirkless nature, also serving as a call-out for him massively favouring those with Quirks he deemed to be ‘useful’. And while Aiwaza did send a letter of recommendation to the Hamada Institute, Shinsou coldly counters with the fact that it ultimately shows that Aizawa always thought Izuku was good enough to be a hero student, Aizawa just didn't want Izuku to be his.

* NamesTheSame: [[invoked]] It's commonly assumed that the Hamada Institute was named for its founder, Hamada Hiro. However, he actually named it for his late brother, Hamada Tadashi. Tadashi contributed heavily to medical science, creating the microchip technology used in most modern medical robots, but has had his accomplishments downplayed and ignored due to his Quirklessness.

* WhatYouAreInTheDark: PlayedWith. After expelling Midoriya, Aizawa decided to secretly [[spoiler:endorse his bid to enter another school]]. As far as anyone who learns of this is concerned, it doesn't make up for his public actions. Instead, it just highlights Aizawa's hypocrisy in expelling a student for selfish reasons while secretly thinking that student ''was'' good enough to be a Pro-Hero.

** Aiwaza tries to justify his actions by claiming he only wanted to help Shinsou get into the hero course and that Izuku’s handicap would never allow him to be a hero. However, Shinsou reminds him that Izuku rightfully earned his spot by passing the entrance exam, and by sabotaging him, Aiwaza destroyed his future at U.A. simply because he thought he had no hope due to his Quirkless nature, also serving as a call-out for him massively favouring those with Quirks he deemed to be ‘useful’. And while Aiwaza did send a letter of recommendation to the Hamada Institute, Shinsou coldly counters with the fact that it ultimately shows that he always thought Izuku was good enough to go be someone else's Hero student, Aizawa just didn't want Izuku to be his.

** Aiwaza tries to justify his actions by claiming he only wanted to help Shinsou get into the hero course and that Izuku’s handicap would never allow him to be a hero. However, Shinsou reminds him that Izuku rightfully earned his spot by passing the entrance exam, and by sabotaging him, Aiwaza destroyed his future at U.A. simply because he thought he had no hope due to his Quirkless nature, also serving as a call-out for him massively favouring those with Quirks he deemed to be ‘useful’. And while Aiwaza did send a letter of recommendation to the Hamada Institute, Shinsou coldly counters with the fact that it ultimately shows that he thought Izuku was never good enough for U.A.

* WhatYouAreInTheDark: PlayedWith. After expelling Midoriya, Aizawa decided to secretly [[spoiler:endorse his bid to enter another school]]. As far as anyone who learns of this is concerned, it doesn't make up for his public actions. Instead, it just highlights Aizawa's hypocrisy in expelling a student for selfish reasons while pretending he wasn't good enough for UA.

** Aiwaza tries to justify his actions by claiming he only wanted to help Shinsou get into the hero course and that Izuku’s handicap would never allow him to be a hero. However, Shinsou reminds him that Izuku rightfully earned his spot by passing the entrance exam, and by sabotaging him, Aiwaza destroyed his future at U.A. simply because he thought he had no hope due to his Quirkless nature, also serving as a call-out for him massively favouring those with Quirks he deemed to be ‘useful’. And while Aiwaza did send a letter of recommendation to the Hamada Institute, Shinsou coldly counters with the fact that it ultimately shows that he never thought Izuku was good enough for U.A.

** Aiwaza tries to justify his actions by claiming he only wanted to help Shinsou get into the hero course and that Izuku’s handicap would never allow him to be a hero. However, Shinsou reminds him that Izuku rightfully earned his spot by passing the entrance exam, and by sabotaging him, Aiwaza destroyed his future at U.A. simply because he thought he had no hope due to his Quirkless nature, also serving as a call-out for him out massively favouring those with Quirks he deemed to be ‘useful’. [[spoiler: And while Aiwaza did send a letter of recommendation to the Hamada Institute, Shinsou coldly counters with the fact that it ultimately meant that he never thought Izuku was good enough for U.A.]]

* EveryoneHasStandards: Shinsou may have wanted to move into a Hero Class. However, when he realizes that Aiwaza tampered with Izuku’s score to kick him out to make room for him [[note]] And keep Hagakure, who had a Quirk while Izuku never got One For All [[/note]], he loses respect for his teacher, telling him by doing that, he took away another student’s chances.

** Aiwaza tries to justify his actions by claiming he only wanted to help Shinsou get into a hero class. However, Shinsou himself counters with the fact that Aiwaza had deliberately altered Hagakure’s score to ensure Izuku was in last place just because he thought her Quirk would be useful, thus ripping away another student’s chances.

** Being Quirkless didn't stop Midoriya from saving Ochako from the Zero Pointer.

* BlatantLies: When expelling Izuku, Aizawa says "I’m holding you to the same standards as all my other students. And you’ve failed to meet them.” Almost immediately after the scene switches to Aizawa's perspective, where it turns out he altered the results of the test to have an excuse to kick Izuku out, since he valued the Quirk of the student who preformed worse than Izuku more than Izuku.

* NotSoDifferent: Shigaraki repeatedly attempted to convince Bakugou that he wasn't all that different from the villains he supposedly stood against. Kirishima admits that Shigaraki was right after seeing how Bakugou treats Midoriya.

-->'''Bakugou:''' Of f***ing course I did! Because if I didn't break, if I'm weaker than Deku, then what does that make me?! Ever since Kamino, people have been looking down on me, pitying me, ''blaming me''... I have to be the strongest! And after all I've been through, ''Deku'' still came out on top!