Chapter Text
Jirou prided herself in her school work, she really did. She knew that in order to become an efficient hero she needed to do exceptionally well in her academics. But there were some days that schoolwork was the last thing she could bring herself to focus on. Days like today. Currently they were having a lecture on proper English grammar taught by Present Mic and honestly she couldn’t understand anything that was happening. Everything he was saying was going in one ear and out the other, she knew she’d probably have to ask Yaoyorozu for her notes after class and maybe stick around for a study session or two because this was just ridiculous. Every time she’d look at the clock and think that it’s almost time for break, she’d realise that only three minutes had passed by. She needed a distraction, now.
Turning her head, she set her sights on a certain electric blond sitting right next to her. He seemed to be doodling in his notebook, tongue out as he drew out the finishing touches on what looked like a drawing of Recovery Girl. She’s not surprised that Kaminari of all people wouldn’t be paying attention in English since, as far as she knows, he tends to get his notes from Bakugou after class anyways. In all her staring she nearly missed her homeroom teacher, Eraserhead, coming in through the door to whisper something in Present Mic’s ear.
“Uh, Kaminari.” The blond startled, and looked up to see Present Mic staring at him along with the rest of the class.
“The principal wants to see you.” Jirou’s brain thought of the worst possible outcome after hearing this. Usually when people are sent to the principal office it could only mean one thing: expulsion. She knew Kaminari’s grades were nothing to brag about compared to the rest of the class but there’s no way Nedzu would actually expel him right? He got into the UA Hero Course for God’s sake so he definitely has potential to become a great hero. But there’s no other reason he’d be asked to see the principal if it was anything other than expulsion. She bit the eraser on her pencil as Kaminari got up out of his seat, following Aizawa out of the door. She just really hopes he’ll come back before class is over.
Kaminari knew why Nedzu called him. After all, his job was finished over a week ago. For a while he had been waiting and anticipating Nedzu calling to confirm that they got the right person. They finally caught the UA traitor and no longer needed his services. A part of him is glad that it is over. Posing as a high school student was much harder than he thought it was going to be, especially when he had to stay with nineteen hero students. But a small part of him is going to miss this. Although he was only here for a mission, he loved hanging out with each and everyone of them. And he loved seeing the potential that these new first years had, especially from the likes of Midoriya, Bakugou, and Todoroki. They would make great heroes, he just knows it.
They had finally reached Nedzu’s office, he noticed. Aizawa stepped in front of him, opening the door. Kaminari took a deep breath, preparing himself for what was coming. He knew this day would come even since he was first offered this job, but he can’t help himself from feeling something akin to emptiness knowing that it’s finally over.
When he walked into the office he expected to see the traitor there or at least some of the other UA teachers but there was only Nedzu who was clearly swamped with paperwork. The bear?, mouse?, rat?, looked up at his expected visitors, an expression of joy over thinly veiled stress plastered over his features.
“Ah Kaminari. I’m guessing you know why you’re here.” Nedzu got up from his chair and walked over to Kaminari holding out a hand for him to shake, which he took. “You’ve done this school a great service with your presence. The traitor is officially in police custody and your job here is nearly done.”
“Nearly?” Kaminari asked. He looked over to Aizawa for some answers but the man just shrugged, clearly as in the dark as he was.
“Oh yes. You still must inform your former classmates on who you actually are before you leave. I predict that they would most likely be able to take the news better if it was coming from you instead of me. You agree, don’t you?”
Kaminari tensed as dread filled his stomach. He knew that his “classmates” would figure out eventually but he didn’t think that he would be the one to tell them. He didn't want to be the one to tell them. He was hoping to be out of UA by the time they found out, back in the dingy old apartment the Hero Public Safety Commission set him up with, awaiting his next mission. However, Nedzu’s words did make sense. He knew 1-A would be devastated to hear this news from someone else, learning that the person they once knew as their classmate, their friend, has lied to them for months and would most likely never be seen by them again.
Steeling himself, he nodded.
Nedzu clapped his hands together, a smile present on his face. “Excellent, just follow me Kaminari. Also, before you ask, do not worry about all of your material possessions. Everything that was inside of your old dorm room is already inside of a moving truck that is awaiting your arrival outside of the premises.”
Kaminari really did not want to follow the principal. He wanted to just leave and never be seen again but he knew he had to do this. If not for himself then for the friends he’s about to leave behind. So he follows Nedzu out of the office with Aizawa. He follows him down the halls of UA that he would never walk again. He follows him right up to the Class 1-A door where he isn’t prepared to meet what’s on the other side.
Nedzu walked into the classroom first, readying the class for the news. As he was waiting patiently outside, trying to calm himself, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see Aizawa’s concerned face which was really worrying for Kaminari seeing as the man rarely showed his emotions, if ever.
“Hey, you good kid? I know I’m not actually your teacher but if you would like to leave you can. It wouldn’t be logical to make you stay here against your will regardless of what Nedzu says.”
For a moment, Kaminari believed he had misheard. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen his “teacher” this worried outside of the constant attacks on 1-A. It almost makes him want to hug the man and never let go. Almost. Undercover agent or not, he’s still a hero and a hero can’t show any emotion lest the enemy uses that to their advantage. At least, that’s what he was always told.
“I’m fine Eraserhead, let’s just get this over with.” He could see hesitance in Aizawa’s eyes, like he wanted to keep prying but he didn't say anything and just nodded. It was at the moment that the door to the classroom opened. Nedzu lets them both walk in.
When Jirou saw the principal walk into their classroom, her only thought was of the whereabouts of Kaminari. She knew he had just got sent down to his office just a few short minutes ago, so where was he? Before she could delve further into the topic Nedzu began to speak. He told them about surprising news they were about to receive which he was not at liberty to deliver which just confused not only her but all of her classmates judging from the looks on their faces.
Jirou knew it. Kaminari was getting expelled and they were going to make him tell everyone which was just very fucked up in her opinion. Why would they expel someone like Kaminari? He wasn’t even that bad of a student and he actually did well when it came time for hero class and quirk practices despite his obvious drawback of short circuiting when he went over his limit. His grades weren’t even bad enough to resort to expulsion of all things especially without any warning. She felt her jacks twitch in irritation as Nedzu kept going on and on about how they should stay calm until all the facts were stated and that they shouldn’t immediately jump to conclusions even though it was already painfully obvious what the news was.
Finally, finally, after the principal finished his speech, Kaminari and Aizawa walked in the room. Throughout the year, she’s known Kaminari to be a pretty upbeat person. Always finding something to laugh or smile about. Wore his heart on his sleeves and couldn’t hide his emotions for the life of him. So why does he look so… so empty as he walks into the classroom. Expressionless eyes blankly passing over all of them with no clear emotion to detect. What the hell was going on?
Aizawa cleared his throat, getting the attention of the entire class before speaking. “As I’m pretty sure Nedzu has told you, Kaminari has some news he would like to share. I expect you all to stay quiet throughout this announcement until it is finished. Those who interrupt will face extra training with me after school for the next week. Am I understood?” Jirou could only nod at Aizawa’s statement, unwilling to even make the smallest sound and be faced with punishment. Looking around it seemed like everyone else shared the same sentiment, even Bakugou who doesn't seem like he’d care if he got punished with extra training.`
“Good. Kaminari, the floor is all yours.”
Jirou could see Kaminari taking a deep breath before speaking. She really wished the teachers didn’t make him tell everyone about his expulsion but she knew there was nothing she could do about it except for listening to what he had to say.
“Right. I feel like it’s fair to start this out with a proper introduction. My name is Kaminari Denki, also known as The Electroshock Hero, Static. I was tasked by the Hero Public Safety Commission to infiltrate UA as a student in order to find the rumored traitor. My task is now complete which means I will no longer be attending UA. That is all.”
The classroom was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. No one was willing to say anything and neither was she. There was just so much that she couldn’t even begin to process what she was even thinking. A dry chuckle escaped her throat as she stared at the blond in front of her. Eyebrows scrunched up as she tried her hardest to understand the situation. Because there’s no way any of the shit he just spewed was true. He wasn't some “undercover hero” he was just Kaminari. The dork that short circuited every time he went over his limit. The moron who played guitar with her at the Cultural Festival. The idiot who hit on anything and everything that wore a skirt. No, he wasn’t just a pro hero playing pretend. This was just some elaborate joke, it had to be.
She doesn't know how long the silence in the classroom stayed. It could’ve been minutes or it could've been hours. All she knew was that it was long enough for Bakugou to get out of his chair and approach Kaminari who was now standing awkwardly in the front of the classroom, most likely trying to gauge their reactions.
For a moment all Bakugou did was just stand there. A blank expression on his face that began to slowly slip away into something akin to poorly concealed rage. Everyone watched as he grabbed Kaminari’s collar, bringing him closer to his face. The electric blond didn't even seem to bat an eye at this which only served to piss off Bakugou even more.
“Tell me you're lying.”
“...”
“I said tell me you're fucking lying!” Tears pricked the side of Bakugou’s eyes as he let loose a small explosion right next to Kaminari’s face. The electric blond looked as neutral as ever as he looked Bakugou in the eyes.
“No, I’m not lying.”
Bakugou let Kaminari down, taking a step back. He quietly returned to his seat, seething as he furiously wiped at any tears that threatened to spill over and glaring at anyone that even tried to talk to him.
“W-what that's it?” Ah, Kirishima was talking now. “You’re just going to leave and that’s it?”
Upon hearing the sheer amount of desperation in Kirishima’s voice, something inside of Jirou broke. Just something about him in such a calm but anguished state made her feel so torn up inside.
“I feel as if it is important to mention that Kaminari would like his time in this classroom to be kept a secret and that you no longer have any contact with him”, Nedzu began, carefully looking over the classroom as he chose his words wisely. “Under no circumstance may you speak of this to anyone outside of this room. To the general public it will seem as if Kaminari was expelled from this institution and we expect you all to act accordingly. Are there any questions?”
Jirou expected a slew of questions to ensue. She expected screaming matches to start, everyone wanting to know the truth because there is absolutely no way this is happening. This is just too unreal to be true. She expected Ashido to get up and try to knock some sense into Kaminari, for Ojiro to demand to know what the truth is, for Bakugou to yell until he was blue in the face. But there was none of that. There was only the deafening silence.
Nedzu pointed to the back of the room. Turning around she saw that Yaoyorozu had tentatively held up her hand, seeming hesitant to even say anything in the first place.
“So, who was the traitor?”
“A kid from the general studies course. They are currently being detained at a nearby police station.” Kaminari answered swiftly while looking back at the rest of the class. “Any other questions?”
This time it was Midoryia who raised his hand, seemingly making an effort to not make eye contact with his fellow peers. “You said you were a pro working under the Commission right?”
Kaminari nodded in confirmation.
“So how long have you been a hero?”
“That’s classified. Anything else?”
Jirou wanted to raise her hand. To tell him that this isn’t a funny joke. To scream and get mad at him so he makes those stupid attempts to make her feel better. To jab him with her jacks until he confesses that this is an elaborate prank. But she did none of those things, she didn’t raise her hand, and neither did anyone else.
“Alright, I’ll take my leave now. You guys are going to become great heroes, I just know it. Plus Ultra.” Usually after this statement came a slew of students screaming the familiar phrase with excitement and enthusiasm, excited to go beyond their limits. But now all that phrase did was leave an empty hole in their hearts as Kaminari stepped out of the room followed by Nedzu and Aizawa.
She wishes he got expelled instead.