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Chapter 18: Class Reps Meet
🕑 Added 2024-03-08 15:09:44 +0000 UTCThe good news is that I had a lot of fun writing this, also catching up on other stories I'm a fan of, which I fell back on, or watching anime, which, again, I fell off from for a little bit. The bad news is that I have two assignments due in the next couple of weeks, so I might need to use that early warning about late uploads sooner than I would like. The alternative is to put one or 2 stories on hiatus, but I'm still deciding.
Chapter 18: Class Reps Meet.
After the emotionally, if not liberating, conversation with Monoma, Midoriya had returned him fresh and eager for the next day. But in that excitement of having a fresh start and seeing that he was making friends he could trust, he had forgotten a key detail of his situation. In hindsight, he would reckon that most students hadn't realised it till it happened, and that was the implication of the symbol of Peace and number one hero, All Might, being a teacher.
Midoriya wasn't nearly as stoked over it as others. However, All Might was still a celebrity, one of the most beloved of their time, which was why U.A. had kept it under wraps that All Might had even offered a job, never mind accepting it. But that could only last so long as soon as the first day started and students learned about it. They got to talk about it with friends and family on and off campus. So, it was merely a matter of time before someone in the media caught wind of it. Regardless of whether it was true, it was still a juicy story, leading to the media descending on the school like flies to honey in the dozens.
The students were painfully aware that they saw a crowd of reporters, cameras, and microphones blocking them as they approached the front gates.
“Hey, you!” In a business casual suit, if there was such a thing, one of the reporters shoved her microphone in Midoriya's face when he tried to sneak on through, the boy regretting not just masking himself. “How are All Might’s classes?”
Midoriya paused before turning to address them as quickly and politely as possible. "I'm not the right person to ask. The circumstance prevented All Might from being able to handle my class yesterday; now, please step out of the way; I wouldn't want to be late for homeroom." He didn't stick around to answer any follow-ups. He kept moving even when the reporter tried to get his attention again. Tokage was the next person after him, but she didn't even bother talking to them, merely pointing in a direction and saying All Might was there if they wanted to ask him.
When they all turned and saw that he wasn't, she was gone, having broken into pieces and floated over their heads onto campus. She waved at them over her shoulder as they yelled that she had tricked them. Kamakiri was the third green-haired student to approach the boy on his phone with earbuds.
Starting to get a little weary of how uncooperative these students were, the reporter didn't come on as strongly as she had before. "Hold on, can you tell us about it?" Kamakiri didn't let her finish as he flipped the bird at her.
"Fuck off, I got to get to class," Kamakiri told her as he entered campus.
“Rude.” If Kamakiri heard them, he didn’t respond as he walked inside, with the 4th student being Shiozaki and by this point, the reporters were slightly intimidated by their 4thgreen-haired student, one that carried herself with poise and strength, her eyes making it clear that if she didn't want to speak, she wouldn't talk. So with wobbly hands, the reporter approached her, Shiozaki mercifully stopping for them, a good sign if they ever saw one.
"E-excuse me, but could you tell us about All Might and his teaching style?"
"I'm afraid that I can't help you, Miss. My class didn't have the fortune of having him as a teacher yet, but I'm sure you'll see someone who can help you." With a smile and a beam of light shining down from…somewhere, Shiozaki walked past them. The crowd parted for her like the Red Sea as it was still nothing, but they didn't feel as burned as before.
That warm feeling died with the next student.
"Hell, am I supposed to know? He doesn't teach general studies." Togeike Chikuchi, a first-year in Shinso's class, was as blunt and unamused with her response, wilting any contentment she had previously gained from Shiozaki. Shinso would have spoken up, but he found the sight too funny, and he only chuckled as he followed his friend onto campus.
"Please, if we could only have a couple of minutes." They had been reduced to begging for anything to write about, as this was big news. All Might becoming a teacher would make front-page news for anyone who got something juicy. It could even land them a promotion if they secured the best details. Still, not a single student had given anything worth writing about!
“No time for that! I got babies to pump out!" A pink-haired girl who loudly announced herself as Hatsume Mei, the future founder and owner of Hatsume Industries, bulldozed her way through, her size deceiving with how strong she was. After that statement, most froze as they interpreted it.
"What the hell? Since when does the U.A. allow student pregnancies?!" The reporter felt like pulling her hair out as the girl didn't even respond to their questions about what she meant by that statement. Frankly, when it came time for a sleep-deprived-looking hobo because, of course, a school as weird as the U.A. had that to tell them to leave, they didn't even fight it. They went without a fuss, which surprised the hobo that most were willing to pack up and leave. Still, he had other things to do, so he turned and returned inside.
None picked up on the figure watching them from a distance, their features hidden by a blue and white hoodie as they watched them.
Line Break
"Dang, it was hard to get in today," Kinoko said, as she had a hard time getting in today, with Yanagi agreeing with her.
“The press was relentless, even when I said I didn't know anything," Yanagi added, as it was like an unending horde till she just floated over them and the walls.
"You could have told them to fuck off, you know," Kamakiri suggested before he got smacked over the head by Shiozaki, who frowned at him.
“Language.” The vine-haired girl scolded him.
"What, it's true!" Shishida spoke up as he defended himself, with Awase agreeing with him.
"To be frank, we should have expected something like this would happen. All Might is the top hero; his actions always attract attention like bees to flowers." The news broke the previous night and has been one of the most talked about since. Even when he checked the news every morning, he saw at least three separate headlines about it.
"But we're students; we should have some privacy.” Kinoko pointed out as she'd seen enough gossip to know that the press could be brutal with what they presented.
"She's right. The last thing I need is someone getting a picture of me scratching my ass or fixing my bra." Tokage added, which for her some looks of humourless judgement which rolled off her back like water.
"Maybe we could have told them something to get off our backs if we were actually taught by him," Monoma added his two cents as Tsunotori shook her head with a frown.
"Like that would have stopped them. They probably would have just got more rabid." Honenuki shot that idea down
"Let's just hope they clear up before we go home because I don't want to miss my train because of them," Kaibara added as he wondered how pros handled the press like that every time they stepped out of their houses. Lord knows he'll grow pissed after a week of that, and that didn't even factor into usual stuff like shopping or dating. He doesn't need a camera in his face if he's out to get milk.
Midoriya, who had been mainly silent along with Shiozaki, Kodai and Kuroiro, shook his head. “I have a feeling we’ll need to get used to them. Either that, or we were disguises when we go out.”
"It's Easy for you. You're plain," Kodai replied, turning to her, his 'ear' standing to attention.
"No, I'm not." When she didn't change her facial expression, he was okay with that, as she rarely did, but the fact that the others looked away from him was concerning. “Right?”
“Well…you aren’t ugly,” Shiozaki, bless her soul, tried to lessen the blow, but it was still a blow as he narrowed his eyes.
“Answer the question, am I plain?" Before anyone could confirm or deny this, the door slid open, ending all conversations as Vlad entered.
“Settle down, students.” At his command, the students on their feet quickly took their seats and faced him as the many started to speak. “Before anything else, I want to say you all performed well during yesterday’s combat training.”
"Of course, as a first-year student, I also saw a lot of wasted energy and unrefined techniques. To improve on this, I've already written down those points for each of you to read through, which I expect you'll do." Vlad held up some papers to emphasise his point as he passed them to the first person in each row to send down the aisles.
When Midoriya got him, he read that his performance was essentially what they expected, if to a higher level, but that he shouldn't drag on matches like that as, regardless of fairness to Monoma, it wasn't a habit he should form.
Still, once they had their forms, he stopped as he trusted they'd read over his observations and suggestions and put them into practice.
"Now, with that done, we have another issue to address. That being who will serve as our class representative and vice representative." Just as Vlad expected, his announcement of such a mundane school activity caused chaos as the students started yelling, waving their hands to try and gain his attention. Kamakiri seemed to be the loudest, followed by Tetsutetsu, with even the passive Shiozaki throwing her hat into the race along with Komori, all having different ideas and yelling them like politicians.
All this just made the man sigh as Izuku was with him on that point. It was somewhat disorderly. That being said, his hand was raised, and being a class rep wasn't just extra work; for students like them, it was a great way to learn how to manage others, both out in the field and during quiet moments.
This was an essential skill for anyone who wishes to go pro and open their own agency one day. Such an agency could employ sidekicks, analysts, in-house support engineers, PR and management, and all employees.
Especially since of all active pros in Japan, over 70% of them were still sidekicks themselves, most would remain as such for entire careers for one reason or another. Of that 30% that didn’t, only around 60% kept more than 2 sidekicks for more than 2 years, with the curve being a weird one as most kept less so little; then you have the massive leap to pros that had at least a dozen sidekicks. All that meant was that only 18% of pros had their own agencies with long-term sidekicks or, like Mirko's most well-known example, were solo and freelance.
Eventually, Vlad got sick of the noise and called his hands together to silence them, which did the trick before he started. "I should have seen that coming a mile away, screaming like idiots will get you nowhere fast, nor does it make me any confident in your abilities to make smart decisions for yourself and your classmates. Besides, I'm not the one who picks."
At that, Midoriya raised his hand and waited for Vlad to address him. “Yes, Midoriya?”
“Sir, if I may ask, but if not you, then who will decide?” The pro shook his head as he held up a box from beneath his stand at the front.
"It will be a vote between you all. You write your choice on paper and put it into this box. Whoever gets the most will be named class rep, with the runner-up being their vice." He explained as the quiet Shoda next to him raised his hand.
"But, is that the best idea? We don't know each other well; what if people vote for themselves?" The boy asked.
"That's the one rule: do not write your own name," Vlad replied, clearing up most confusion even as Honenuki eyed the clock hanging on the wall and saw the time.
"Will there be enough time in homeroom for that?" He asked, as they had 5 minutes left in the homeroom and little time to handle this after they reviewed their first hero class results.
"It's an extended one, as all the classes will be picking today, even the second and third years, as it's not a permanent position. Not only can you step down or be stripped of it by us teachers, but classes host an election at the beginning of each year." Vlad started, happy he didn’t have to deal with the older students who had achievements and steady support, as their class elections really felt like the real thing.
The students pulled pages from their notebooks and wrote their picks on them before folding them and putting them in the box as Vlad walked in. Once the last slip was placed in, he returned to the front of the class, where he counted them at his desk for a few minutes. After double-checking to ensure he didn't have a Steve Harvey moment, Vlad nodded and inputted the results into the green board.
As expected, most got no votes, with a tie for fourthplace among six people: Kaibara, Bondo, Rin, Tsuburaba, Fukisdashi, and Kamakiri. They had all managed to score just a single vote each. Coming in thirdwith a massive increase in support was Honenuki, who had 4 votes. Tokage was runner-up with 5, but first place was upsetting as Midoriya took it with 6 votes.
"Well, there you have it. Our class rep will be Midoriya, and his vice rep will be Tokage." He called both to the front. Midoriya was surprised that he got first. Who voted for him? Looking around, he saw that Monoma gave him a subtle nob, while Kodai was more blatant in hers. There was Shiozaki and Kuroiro, but that still left 2 people he couldn't identify. Stepping up, he was a little more unsure of himself, and in contrast, Tokage acted like she belonged in the spotlight.
Line Break
With the rest of their homeroom set to finish things up, the day went by normally, even as Midoriya found himself with something new on his mind. Which came to be the topic of his table came lunch. The cafeteria around them was a buzz of activity as it appeared that everyone had shown up to get their hands on something to eat, which made sense as there was only one cafeteria for the students.
Taking bites of his vegetables and fish, Midoriya's table consisted of himself, Kodai, Kuroiro, Shiozaki, and the newly added Monoma. There were others, but they were second years, so they didn't interact and did the polite thing by ignoring the other's conversations.
“Confident in your win, class rep?” Monoma asked as Midoriya took another bite and swallowed, placing his chopsticks down.
"Not really. I wanted the position, but I didn't think I'd win it. I'm not even sure I'm the most qualified, as I've never held a position in student government." He knew the importance of his role, having read extensively about it. Still, he assumed he would be lucky to be a choice, never mind winning the top spot.
"I wouldn't worry about that too much, Midoriya. U.A. is a chance for new beginnings." Monoma replied, recalling their earlier talk and connecting the dots but keeping that to himself. "Besides, you wouldn't have gained that many votes if we didn't see something worth voting for in you."
"While I wished for the role, I'm fully confident that we continue to pursue a righteous path under your tenure." Shiozaki nodded before continuing to eat her modest meal of water and bread, which Midoriya still had issues with as it wasn't nutritious enough for optimal growth.
“You proved that you can be a sneaky little cat more than once already; I'm sure that with you at the helm, we'll continue to think outside the box and outwit any issues we have." Kuroiro was a little more descriptive, but they had come to accept that he and Shiozaki had different approaches to life.
"You'll do fine," Kodai said. Our battle trial was enough proof for me." Scratching at his head, Midoriya couldn't deny them now, not when they all had such faith in him.
"If I have such support, then it would be shameful to not at least try. No, I will succeed, and I'll be the best damn class rep you've ever had."
"That's the spirit. We're going to need it to ensure that class B becomes and remains the superior hero class," Monoma said as he leaned in and placed an arm around Midoriya's shoulders.
Midoriya seemed as eager as his new friend as the rest rolled their eyes at this. "Oh, I'll see to that personally. It'll take me time to draw up stuff for everyone, though."
"Draw up what?" Monoma asked as Midoriya smiled at him, making him feel like a mouse that caught the house cat's attention.
"Diet and exercise programs, of course. Being a hero doesn't just burn many calories, but it is exhausting work. To be the best, you must train your bodies to the absolute limits and over them." Midoriya replied, a smile that spelt dread for them all on his face, especially the two boys who had seen what he looked like from whatever hell he called training.
"I'll pass on that; I don't want anything to do with whatever you did to get into that shape." Kuroiro shook his head with a smile, but his stomach sank when Midoriya's grin grew wider enough that he and the rest could see his pearly whites, his canines looking more like fangs.
"Too late, I'm class rep, and I'll make it mandatory if necessary. I'm sure Vlad-sensei wouldn't mind if we borrowed the gym and track on Saturdays." Suddenly, they felt like they shouldn’t have given him those words of encouragement.
"What have we created," Monoma muttered, wondering if he could find a way out of this.
"He's not wrong; the lord praises hard work and kind hearts. It would be irresponsible to carry a hero's badge without giving it our all." Contrary to the rest, Shiozaki was all for it. The girl already did something similar to Midoriya in terms of lifestyle, if only to a far lesser extent.
"You see, she understands it. Regarding your workout regimen, I wanted to ask,” Before Midoriya could finish the question, the alarms blared across the school, shutting down any conversations as students looked up and around in confusion and concern.
“There has been a Level 3 security breach. All students are to evacuate outdoors immediately.”
“What’s a level 3 security breach?” Midoriya asked the upperclassmen seated next to them as the student was about to run off.
"It means someone is trespassing on school grounds; this has never happened before! So, you better get running!” He didn't stick around for a follow-up question; none of the cafeterias did as it descended into chaos as students rushed for the exits, clogging the typically wide path by their sheer number. Before they could act, Midoriya's group was forced from their table by a mob of people.
“Dammit!” Monoma cursed as he got his foot stomped, the boy holding onto Kodai while Midoriya was with Shiozaki and Kuroiro nearby. However, with so many panicking students, they needed help getting together.
Using force would only worsen things, as people already thought it was a villain. If even one of them saw a quirk, they'd respond in kind, and none wanted to see what it looked like when over 600 students fired off their quirks in panic and self-defence.
“Guys, you still there?” Shiozaki yelled just to be heard over the rest.
“Barely!” Midoriya cursed as he got elbowed in the side, shielding his classmate with his form, the same as his shadowy friend. “Dammit, who the hell just elbowed me?”
“This is how U.A. reacts in a crisis? It’s like they’re all headless chickens!” Monoma yelled in frustration as they couldn't move. The crowd was jammed by how many people were trying to squeeze through the exit.
But they couldn't stay like this forever as while his ears were hurting from how loud and chaotic things were, Izuku could hear the fear and pained yelps. People were getting hurt, and he was getting reminders of the fire and how this could have easily been like what happened in that building.
Midoriya would be damned if he ever let something like that happen as he tapped Kuroiro's shoulder, pointing towards the window once he saw he had his attention. “Kuroiro, get to the windows, find out what is happening, and report back!" He ordered, the shadow jumper looking over and seeing a mass of people between him and there, but he could easily navigate it.
“On it.” Without another word, he sunk into his shadow, which was joined by hundreds of others, allowing him to pass under the crowd without opposition. Once he got to the windows, he exited the shadows. Still, he had to fight the final stretch before he was pushed into them, which was annoying but gave him a prime view of the source of this disturbance.
“That’s it? How they even…” Outside, he saw that it was a bunch of reporters. He saw Present Mic and some other guy, who looked like a hobo, busy handling them, but the press didn't seem like they were going anyway.
“Parasites, the lot of them.” He muttered in anger at how this entire affair, all this madness, resulted from a few people who couldn't take no for an answer? Diving back into his shoulder, he returned to his classmates. “It’s just the press. They got onto campus somehow.” Midoriya and Shiozaki shared his irritation at that, but Midoriya could focus on that later; right now, he had a panicked crowd to deal with before someone got hurt. But that couldn't be done from his current position, but he saw a spot above the entrance that could serve his purposes.
“Then the rest need to hear that before someone is trampled! Shiozaki, can your life with your vines?” He asked her.
“Shouldn’t be an issue.” Shiozaki nodded as she willed her vines into action, grabbing onto Midoriya’s midsection and lifting him up over the crowd, both knowing they didn’t have long to do this.
“Throw me towards the exit, I’ll handle the rest!” Midoriya towards her, the girl looking shocked that he would ask such a thing of her.
“But,”
"Trust me, I'm class rep; this is what I'm for!" He cut her off, her eyes leaving nothing to question. She was as rigid and unmoving as a mountain as Shiozaki could only relent to it.
“Alright.” She agreed, and with as much gentleness as one could put into a throw, she tossed him towards the entrance. Midoriya, now a human projectile, covered the distance with a pretty quirk. Still, as he went over their heads, he locked eyes with an orange-haired girl helping a purple-haired boy who looked like he had taken too many hits. There were no words between them; they didn't even know the other's name, but they could tell so much about the other in those few moments of eye contact.
There was a strength to that girl, only strengthened by an inherent sense of kindness and patience. There was also a spark to her; he couldn't put his finger on it at the moment, but she was probably one of the strongest people he'd ever met, and, at that moment, that power was being used to protect and aid someone in need. He didn't know what she saw in him; he didn't have the luxury for that. The moment came and went, and he continued to fly towards the wall.
He braced for impact. Upon contact, he used his tenet to stick to the wall rather than fall off, which he knew would have looked weird to anyone. Still, he had to focus on the big picture. He saw that some had seen him and were now looking toward him, but the majority hadn't even noticed him.
Knowing he'd pay for this later, he gathered tenet in his throat and lungs, increasing their power far beyond what was possible for humans. With a deep breath, he yelled out, “SILENCE!!”
His yell, akin to a tiger’s roar fused with a man’s bellow, cut through all the noise and shouting, stunning people into compliance, if only briefly.
While that one word left his throat feeling like he swallowed glass and salt, he kept going. "Calm down, it's not a threat! I repeat, it is not a threat! It's only some reporters! So, for heaven's sake, calm your asses down and stop acting like animals!" He yelled at them, pointing to the windows where those closest could confirm it for themselves, but while the students started to calm down, he wasn't done with them.
“This is U.A.; you should be ashamed of yourselves for acting in such a manner! What does it take for an alarm to make you forget that? Is that enough for you to risk hurting your fellow schoolmates? Look around at what has happened and answer me, is it?" He continued to berate them. Once terrified, the students looked around and saw people developing bruises, uniforms messed up, buttons torn, etc.
Some caught the sight of the girl from before, holding the much smaller student to her chest, his head bloody from what must have been a knock thanks to his diminutive size putting him in the way of an accidental knee. She looked just as angry as Midoriya did at that moment, at how they had descended into chaos at the proverbial drop of a hat which only made them all feel worse, some seemingly moving to speak but with his throat and voice box already in severe pain, Izuku didn't want any contest to their fuck-up.
"I don't need your excuses, and I don't want to hear them! Just help those hurt in the stampede, get them to the nurses' office, and have the rest head outside and wait for instructions!" He finished, the students silently following his commands, either out of shame, fear or agreement with them now that things had calmed down.
Seeing this, Izuku jumped from the wall and took a breath before immediately regretting it as he started coughing; with every breath, the air felt like sandpaper going down his throat. He was quickly joined by his friends, who were naturally worried about him.
"Dude, I didn't think you could scream that loud," Kuroiro noted as Midoriya continued to rub at his thoroughly sore throat.
"Raw voice hurts to speak." His voice came out rough and gaggled.
“I would imagine.” The group turned to the newcomer, who approached with an appreciative, friendly smile. "Thanks for that. Things were far out of hand, and if not for Mineta, I would have stepped in sooner," she stated as Midoriya rubbed.
“Lives come first.” He kept his response short, wishing he had a bottle of water right about now.
“I agree,” The girl nodded, extending her hand for him to shake. “Kendo Itsuka, class rep for 1A.” He grasped it, noting that she had a firm grip, even for someone who clearly put in their time at the gym.
He didn't speak, however, leaving Monoma to cover for him. “He’s Midoriya Izuku, class rep of our class, 1B.” The girl let out a huff of amusement, tinged with some lingering annoyance.
"I figured it would be someone from the hero course who got things under control. But I have to get going. I must ensure my classmate gets to Recovery Girl before something else happens." She gestured to the side, where a taller boy with glasses was holding their classmate.
“I’ll join you, hurts like a bitch.” Midoriya gestured towards the exit as the four left, Izuku waving off his friends and trusting that they'd tell Tokage where he was.
I admit that that ending wasn't the cleanest one. I wanted to add more detail and clean it up, but academics came first. I, however, did put a little too much time into writing the opening with students just making the lives of the press hell by either not having anything, making them feel stupid, or just blowing their minds away. When I realised I could introduce Hatsume here, I couldn't resist.
Regardless, I hope you liked this chapter. If you did, please like it, favourite it, and leave a comment, as feedback is essential
