6

Chapter 6: The Representative ConundrumNotes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Third day.

Third day meant journalists.

Goddamn, how he hated these noisy crowds first thing in the morning.

Or at all, really.

Since these people just wouldn't let any prey get through their nets, he couldn't avoid getting a microphone pushed up to his face.

- Rude. -

"Hey kid, what kind of lessons does All Might teach?"

Izuku sighed, kind of hating how he didn't have the leisure to spout whatever bullshit came to mind. He's had his fun like that already. Again, he had never particularly liked reporters.

"Mighty ones," he deadpanned, keeping his feet moving.

"Come on," the guy pressured, trying again to get a publishable answer out of him, "can't you give me something more?"

"Oh, yeah, of course." Izuku stopped, slowly raising a finger up as he took a step back. "Mind your hands."

The infamous U.A. Barrier came down in an instant as the reporter tried to take one step farther into the premises. The door was so heavy and thick that he could barely hear the man's complaints.

Izuku turned, speeding up towards his class while mumbling.

"'Mighty ones'... I've got to stop improvising, that was terrible."

Izuku remained seated in silence as the same spiels that followed Aizawa's announcement of having to choose their class representatives filled the room with noise. Ninety percent of the class had immediately jumped up to offer themselves as the perfect choice, just to be shut down by Ida and his functional request to hold a voting session.

He was careful about taking all the necessary steps to ensure the results he wanted and to cover his ass from nosy question before leaving the strip of paper in the ballot box.

He sighed while looking at the board from the bottom to the top.

Aoyama Yuga: 1

Sato Rikido: 1

Tokoyami Fumikage: 1

Sero Hanta: 1

Shoji Mezo: 1

Mineta Minoru: 1

Bakugo Katsuki: 1

Ojiro Mashirao: 1

Yaoyorozu Momo: 2

Midoriya Izuku: 10

A little more and it could have been unanimous among the students he's met this loop... Not that it would ever happen; Kacchan would never back down.

It was a consequence of showing off and training his classmates, of course. How long had it been since he'd gone over three votes? There just wasn't any way he could lose this vote.

Not unless he purposely try to make an ass out of himself by acting like a goddamn bastard for two days straight. But that had also gotten him expelled once, and it hadn't even been that much fun. Moreover, playing the bad guy gave him an almost null chance to get in his friends' good graces later, so that idea had to be scrapped.

He wasn't proud of that time he'd spent in his risky phase, but he couldn't bury the memories any deeper than this.

And he really had no need to make such a mess. It would be boring either way.

Lately he had needed to be careful about voting for Momo himself, since apparently if she trained with him, she'd also give him her vote. And that would mean leaving the decision in his hands as the first representative, as Ida always pushed for that and most would agree. Since he didn't want to show favoritism, he could only join Shoto in voting for the heiress.

Yeah, Shoto would always vote for her. It was a high-class-childhood-friends (or barely-acquaintances) thing. When asked about it, he had stated that he had written the only surname he remembered. Eh, pre-tournament Todoroki was usually an ass.

He stepped up, ignoring the ruckus made by Bakugo's yells and everybody's chatter, and thanked the class for their support.

He had to wait until their break to return part of the favor.

"Hi, Ida," he said as he approached his friend's desk. "You looked a bit disappointed back there."

The blue-haired boy shook his head with his eyes closed. "I'm fine. Thank you for checking up on me, Midoriya."

He clicked his tongue. He didn't need his prior knowledge to see through that. "Yeah... Look, do you want to talk about it during lunch? I'll be sitting with Uraraka and a couple others, if you want to join us."

Tenya nodded with a small smile. "Thank you, I'll be sure to do that."

Seeing how filled the Grand Mess Hall was, Tenya couldn't help but admire Lunch Rush and his fellow cooks for their valiant effort in filling the students' bellies with a buffet worth of a first-rate restaurant.

Finding a free table was also surprisingly easy! U.A.'s staff really did think of everything.

Though, the bluenette's eyes now fell on something else.

"This is a bit more than 'a couple others,' Midoriya," Tenya exclaimed as he sat by his side.

"Sorry, Ida," the greenette rubbed the back of his head. "The word got around faster than I thought it would. I hope it's not a bother."

"Think nothing of it! The more, the merrier," he replied, digging into his beef stew and rice.

He hadn't expected for half of the class to be there. Had Midoriya gathered most of their classmates in two short days? Repositioning his glasses, the tall boy somehow regretted going home early the day before, but when chores called an Ida could only answer "Yes!"

- I thought he was only asking to be polite, but it seems that many have accepted his training offer. I wonder how it went. -

Meanwhile, the conversation had already started.

Jiro looked up from her plate of curry. "Nervous about the new job, mister representative?"

Izuku shrugged, not showing a hint of anxiety. "Not really. I think I'll do just fine."

"You're so calm that it's not even fun to tease you, ribbit." Asui replied, sticking her tongue out.

"Of course he's chill! Man, you totally destroyed the competition back there!" Kaminari exclaimed before taking a bite of his hamburger.

"Truly a landslide victory," Yaoyorozu nodded in between mouthfuls of an oversized bowl of rice and vegetables. "I didn't expect to end up in a role too, though we could say that I barely managed to make the cut."

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Yaomomo," Ashido smiled as she mixed her natto less than carefully, having adopted the cute nickname the previous evening.

"Yeah!" The invisible girl added as her meal disappeared piece by piece. "You can't compare yourself to this vote-hogger."

"Hagakure, that's uncalled for!" Tenya interjected, taking back some of his determination. "Midoriya has shown confidence and good judgment, and he deserved the position. I voted for him because I am confident he will lead our class well."

"Wow, that's way more thought out than my reason," Kirishima admitted, leaving his steak for a second.

"What was your reason?" Uraraka asked as she worked on her rice.

"He was very manly yesterday!" the guy responded with a grin, flexing his arm.

"That's always enough for you," the pinkette smirked, giving him a friendly nudge with her elbow.

"Ribbit, did we all vote for him?" Asui questioned while looking around, receiving a number of affirmative responses. Even Koda nodded, taking a break from his vegetarian meal and pocketing some seed to use as feed later.

Uraraka made a quick count, confused. "Wait, there's eleven of us here. Who didn't vote for-?"

"I didn't vote for myself," Izuku calmly said, not looking up from his meal.

"You didn't?!" Kaminari and Ashido exclaimed at the same time.

"And he won anyway, wow," Hagakure exclaimed.

"Didn't you want the job?" Tenya asked, worried. "If so, I'm sorry for having placed this burden upon you, Midoriya."

Midoriya was quick to shake his head. "Oh no, don't worry, I did raise my hand back there. I just thought that it would be more honest of me to vote for somebody else. I mean, I may not be the best suited for the job."

That got some raised eyebrows.

"Ah! He's humble too!" the red-haired boy grinned, taking his words as a joke.

The frog girl looked thoughtful. "Nobody else seemed like a better choice though, ribbit."

"I-I also think it was for the best," Koda offered, surprising the others so much that he stalled the conversation for a moment.

To fill the silence, Kaminari swallowed and asked, "So, who'd you vote for then?"

"Yeah, who?" Hagakure added, looking at the boy directly.

"It's pretty obvious if you think about it," Jiro smirked, raising one of her jacks towards a certain ponytailed girl. "Who's the only one here with more than one vote?"

All eyes moved towards Yaoyorozu, the girl blinking at turning towards the greenette. "Midoriya, you voted for me? Why?"

"You seemed like a good choice," he offered, nicely. "I was undecided between you and Ida, as you both seem to be cool-headed and diligent people. In the end I flipped a coin."

"Eeeeh?" Ashido gaped. "You decided by coin toss?"

"You'd be surprised by how much it works," the boy chuckled.

Asui tilted her head to the side. "Your Quirk isn't luck-related, is it, ribbit?"

Midoriya deadpanned, "No. Definitely not." Unsurprisingly, that put an end to that line of questioning.

"Anyway, I'm surprised by your choice, Midoriya. That is not what I expected at all," Tenya pointed out, his feelings uncertain.

The representative simply raised his eyes to meet his own. "I had to make a choice between the two best candidates, and Mr. Aizawa was pressing for time. It would have been illogical to wait."

"God, you sound just like teach," Jiro barely stifled a laugh, "that was a good imi-"

She never finished her sentence, as she had to cover her ears because of the blaring alarm that had suddenly begun ringing in the whole school. People started running like mindless animals, a violent mass heading towards the exit.

Tenya whipped around to ask what was going on to the closest third years, getting pushed towards the glass window by the crowd and receiving an eyeful of what was happening outside.

"Isn't that just the press?!" he said, loud enough to be heard by his classmates. He turned to see Midoriya in the midst of giving orders left and right. 

"Yaoyorozu! Make some earplugs for Jiro and a megaphone! Ashido, Kaminari, Kirishima! Help me contain the mass! Koda! Let Toru on your shoulders so she doesn't get squashed! Uraraka, Tsu, Ida! We've got to reach the space over the exit and tell them it's a false alarm!"

Tenya eyed the spot the greenette was talking about; it was perfect to catch everybody's attention.

Uraraka nodded and moved towards Midoriya. "Ok, I'll-"

"Not me, Ida! Tsu, push him up! Ida," Tenya met Midoriya's eyes, seeing the resolve and trust he was placing in him. The class representative threw the newly made instrument in his hands, shouting, "GO!"

He didn't waste another second hesitating, the plan going off without a hitch.

Izuku would admit that he had felt bad about stealing Ida's plan. A long time ago, but he had.

At first, taking the representative position had been a test of his own skills. It let him add precious leadership and management expertise to his ever-growing list of abilities.

But whatever he gained, Tenya would lose.

The role had meant a lot to the youngest Ida, and Izuku had seen how some things could make a turn for the worse if the teen wasn't steeled by the discipline required to hold the position. Insecurities and lack of the responsibility could make the smart teen become very, very dumb at times. More than "let's go take revenge on Stain" dumb. And that wasn't acceptable.

Yet, Izuku couldn't lie to himself: he was, in fact, the best person for the position. Not through talent and dedication, but simply because nobody could beat him in preparation and free time (not having to spend time studying was an unimaginable windfall). The position wouldn't take up the hours he needed for his own purposes, either.

He also couldn't nudge the votes and take the vice representative position from Momo, either to take it for himself or give it to Tenya. She would have faced the same problem.

So, Izuku has spent a lot of time finding this solution.

"All right, representative, start us off." Momo, standing by his side in front of the class, begun.

Izuku nodded. "Before we start the ceremony, I'd like to make a proposal."

All eyes fell on him as silence filled the classroom. He took a step forward, smiling.

"I believe that this position is important and, as I am grateful to have been elected, I'll do my best to keep up with your expectations. But the experience of handling this responsibility is also very important. Leadership, patience, and diligence are all skills that can help us be the best heroes we can be."

He raised a piece of paper he'd left on the teacher's desk before starting.

"For this reason, I ask whoever wants to learn from this kind of position to give us their aid. I'll take the names of those who want to help out, but nobody will be forced to. Even if there's too many of us, we'll share our tasks equally and I'll be in charge of keeping things balanced and fair. I just ask think about it carefully, because this is a responsibility—both a pleasure and a burden—and not something to do just for the fun of it."

Just adding that last part would make the offer taste quite different.

The class appeared stunned for a moment as they exchanged looks, thinking over the proposal.

Aizawa cleared his throat, slowly raising himself as a sleeping bag worm, to catch his attention. "Nice words, Midoriya, but there aren't any more positions to give out."

"There are no rules stating that I, being class representative, can't create more positions or just hand down some tasks from time to time." He answered confidently, knowing full well that the teacher would see the logic behind the proposal and accept, since he wasn't breaking any rule.

The man sighed and nodded, going back to his jelly drink. "Whatever, just get on with it already. We're not getting any younger here."

"Thank you, professor," he said, passing the sheet to Aoyama, "I'll be waiting for anyone who wants to give us a hand. Now, where were we?"

As he kept going with the ceremony, he could already see Ida's eyes following the sheet as it passed from hand to hand.

By the time it ended up on the bluenette's desk, Tenya already had his pen out. A name and a satisfied hum later, he passed it over to Ochaco, looking more confident than ever.

Izuku's smile grew a bit.

- Oh, Ida. Never change. -

The lessons gave way to a cool late-spring afternoon, when the newly elected duo would have a first meeting with their counterparts from the other first-year classes.

"Have you memorized the floor plans of the whole building, Midoriya?" Momo asked as she followed him, easily keeping up with his relaxed gait.

"It wasn't that hard. U.A. is pretty symmetric, as you might expect. The Student Council meeting room is just on the opposite side from the teacher's lounge," he answered, giving a tiny bit of his encyclopedic knowledge about the school and its halls.

Telling the girl how he knew every nook and cranny—up to the cameras' placements, Nezu's secret passages and all of those impossible-to-find hiding places—would have been overkill. Though, to be fair, he'd been sure about having nothing more to discover thrice already, and the chimera had proved him wrong every time. Perhaps his knowledge of the school grounds' secrets hadn't reached the peak yet. Improbable, but the mystery was still fun.

She nodded, making a mental note to look at the map more closely. "I see. I admire your diligence, Midoriya. I've had no problems myself, but I've seen a fair share of people getting lost in the halls during our first days."

"Yeah," he giggled, "seeing our classmates run around looking for the changing rooms was a spectacle."

He appreciated these few moments of relaxation between lessons and training, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't appreciate Momo's company. What would he do without his trusted second-in-command?

Turning one last corner, the council room came into view, as did another couple of familiar students the greenette acknowledged with a smile.

"Hi, are you here for the representatives meeting too?" He greeted, offering a hand in a friendly manner. "I'm Midoriya Izuku from 1-A."

"Yaoyorozu Momo," the girl added, standing by his side, "pleasure."

The duo, consisting of an orange-haired girl with well-toned muscles and a round-faced ice-blue-haired boy, turned to meet them.

"Hi! I'm Kendo Itsuka from 1-B, and this is my vice," the first replied, shaking his hand with a strong grip.

The other moved forward to copy her movement with a polite look. "Shoda Nirengeki. Nice to meet you. I've heard great things about you, Midoriya."

"Only good things, I hope," he smiled weakly, rubbing the back of his neck. They'd both appreciate some good-natured humility.

The teen nodded. "Your feat in the practical entrance exam got people talking. Nobody had come so close to the standing record in years."

"Oh! You're the 110% guy!" Itsuka realized, snapping her fingers.

Momo raised an eyebrow, barely holding back her curiosity and the grin forming on her face. "Is that a real nickname?"

"Sure is," the orangette nodded with a grin, "I heard it from the Business Department a couple of days ago."

"You're probably a case study already," Nirengeki laughed amicably.

"Geez," he sighed and shrugged his shoulders, "nothing I can do about that, I guess. I'll just be happy if they are."

- And that goes on the list with Green Devil, Small Might and 1-A's Resident Crazy. I wonder how long I'll have to wait for those. -

"Well said," Itsuka gave him a thumbs up. "Anyway, I hope our classes can get along. There seems to be a lot of rivalry between the A and B sections, but it doesn't have to turn sour."

Izuku nodded. "Yes, rivalry is fine as long as we all get to improve. But I'm saying sorry in advance for anything a certain Bakugo might say. He's not the friendliest of the bunch."

Itsuka took it with a laugh of her own. "Ditto about our Monoma. He's got a good head, but he's really going on about thrashing you guys in the Sports Festival."

"Is he now?" Momo asked, amused, her proud side rising up to the challenge.

"We'll be sure to let him meet his match then," Izuku ended. Bakugo would be delighted to give him an encore anytime. "Well, let's start our collaboration by heading inside. Better not to let others wait on us."

The rest of the group nodded, following him inside.

Neito would always plan a coup for the festival, but the basic structure of the event didn't let most of the students shine as they should have. Which was a shame Izuku would have to remedy in his own way.

He took a side look over at Itsuka, still with all four of her limbs, and Nirengeki, still up and breathing.

- You'll see where we all stand, 1-B, and then we'll talk about making you the Pros you deserve to be. There's much to do. -

Just because they weren't in his first family doesn't mean that they aren't an important part of it.

It was late. Very late.

Izuku inhaled and exhaled, slowly. His face was screwed up into a pained grimace that would no doubt make his mother cry out in worry, but his door was locked and the lights had been turned off two hours before.

He was aching everywhere, but the discomfort in his body was nothing compared to the pain searing his head. It would have been overwhelming for many teens his age, but he had learned to compartmentalize a lot. Too much, even.

Usually most of his nights were spent increasing his limit in the most productive, least destructive way possible.

Not this night.

- Come on, you old bastards, answer the door! - he cursed in his mind as loudly as possible.

Notes:

And Izuku becomes class representative, who would have guessed?

But I'm not going to leave Ida out to dry either, he's too good for that.

And 1-B is here too! A fraction, but it's a start!

Do I see the U.S.J. there? I wonder what's happening there.

Leave a kudo or a comment if you like!

Thank you for reading! 'till next time!