Chapter Text
Aizawa would've done this exercise earlier on in the term, however, with the villain attacks his hell-spawn had to face, focusing on their practical training was more important than this. Then again, it's not even a problem that it's only being discussed now.
Being able to lie without the other knowing and being able to tell what is the truth and what is a lie is something that will be focused more on in their second year. For now, this is supposed to be a short introduction into that. And Aizawa will do it with the exercise he does every year.
"Two truths and a lie? But... isn't that a children's game?", Asui asks when he announced it to the class. Aizawa sighs, he hadn't even gotten to explaining how this will work.
"yes, it is. Which is why there are alterations to how you may know it. Instead of telling two truths and a lie about yourself, you will tell two truths and a lie about something else- a case. Everyone will have the same general information, however, each and every one of you will have different cases. You will get a short list of different clues on your case, meaning you will have to choose which ones to use for the truths and the lie. The other students have to discern which one you lied about," he explains. Murmurs ring through the class.
Aizawa turns around and starts writing on the board. Once he's done he turns back to the class and addresses them once again. "This is the shared general information all cases have in common: it's a murder case, one that happened within one to five days ago. And before you ask- these cases were made up." Aizawa shuffles a few index cards and walks through the rows, placing one card on each desk, facing down. The cases had been prepared by Nezu and he hadn't looked at the cards himself.
He liked it this way, so he could test his own skills at separating truths and lies. The students probably aren't the best to test himself, but he could at least use this opportunity nonetheless.
Once each student had a card, he goes back to his podium and picks up a bag, going around again. He places down a small device on every desk, each one labelled with their name. "As you can see, these devices have three buttons, numbered one to three. This is for your answer on which statement was the lie." As he gives the last student their device, he goes back to the front and opens up a projection. "This will show how many students chose which statement. It will be anonymous- for the most part. I will be able to see which ones you chose for later review but for the general display, it won't show who picked what."
His gaze flickers over the students. "I don't think I need to tell you that you are not to share your thoughts and ideas with your classmates. Alright, you now have 20 minutes to look at your cards and decide. Do not leave your seats- you're not allowed to see what the cards of your classmates says."
At his words, the students turn around their cards and start reading through them. Aizawa would love to take a nap right about now, but he has to make sure they don't cheat. So, he seats himself at his podium and watches his students work. Some of them just mark the card they got and write down notes on it. Some students - notably Midoriya and Yaoyorozu- have another notebook open, writing on that instead.
Thankfully, the classroom is quiet other than the sound of pens scratching paper. 20 minutes later, he stands up, catching the attention of all students. "Alright, let's start. Who wants to go first?", Aizawa asks. Multiple hands fly up.
His gaze flickers across all students, before settling on Iida. "Iida, you'll start us off." In response, Iida stands up and reads off of his card, his usual hand chopping accompanying his words. "The first clue: the body was found deep within a forest. The second clue: the body was burned. The third clue: a lighter was found nearby."
Iida... is horrible at lying, as his body language gives him away. At least he tried to throw the others for a loop by the clues he used. The first two clues are true. At the last clue, Aizawa noticed that Iida's eye and hand twitched. It's a known fact that Iida hates lying, so looking out for some kind of annoyance would definitely give him away.
"Alright, the buttons are numbered. Which clue was the lie?" All of them don't think for long before pressing a button. Once all of them have chosen, Aizawa changes the projection and shows the results. Most of the students chose the first clue- the one that would seem the most likely to be false with how different it is from the other two clues. There's none for the second clue, and 6 who chose the last one.
"Iida, reveal the answer for your classmates," Aizawa says, looking back at him. "The correct answer is the third clue."
"HUH??"
Aizawa sighs, looking around. "Who of those who got it right wants to reveal what gave Iida away?" Midoriya's hand immediately shoots up. "Midoriya?"
The green haired boy straightens before answering, "Iida hates lying, so some kind of annoyance is to be expected when telling the lie. It's not necessarily that noticable, but when looking for it, Iida's eye and hand twitched at the last clue."
Aizawa nods. "Once body language can reveal whether or not someone is lying. Most have some kind of tell when they lie. Next one."
They go through each and every student, first telling the three chosen clues, then selecting which ones they thought was a lie and showing the results on the projection and then the right answer. Lastly, the question on how the one's who got it right, could tell that the clue was a lie. Every student had their own tells, and Aizawa had no problem discerning them.
Somehow, Midoriya was able to raise his hand every time (and later when he reviews the inputs of each individual student he finds out Midoriya had managed to get everything right).
Midoriya is also the last student to present his clues. "First clue: the body was found in an abandoned warehouse. Second clue: multiple bullet wounds were found on the body and bullet holes in the surrounding area. Third clue: a gun was found in a dumpster a few streets over."
Aizawa evaluated his student carefully. Going off of the clues themselves, the warehouse clue seemed different from the other two. However, Midoriya could be lying about the specifics, like for example, the gun could've been found in the warehouse itself or maybe there weren't any bullet holes in the surrounding area. The thing is, Aizawa can't seem to get a read on his problem child.
Midoriya, the student who flusters and stutters whenever he's put on the spot.
Midoriya, who seems to have his heart on his sleeve and is seemingly unable to lie.
Midoriya, who just seems to be surprising him over and over again.
The results are pretty unanimous. Everyone chose the first clue. Aizawa himself couldn't tell which one would be the lie, so he was at a loss. However, he was certain that the most obvious one is not the lie. He's proven right when Midoriya speaks.
"Actually, it's the second one. The body was shot once- in the heart, and there were no other bullet holes in the surrounding area," Midoriya reveals. "Lies... don't always have to be complete lies... sometimes, lies also hold a bit of the truth- like the victim having been shot. Most of the time, lies that are based on the truth are the most believable ones and also the easiest to hide."
Why... just why does Midoriya know so much about lies and tells? He got none of the others wrong and was able to hide his lie quite effectively. Aizawa himself had been trained by Nezu to see the tells of others, but Midoriya wasn't. No one just is born with the ability to read others that easily- this has to be something Midoriya learnt himself. Especially with how young he is... just what is it that got Midoriya to be able to be so good at this?