Chapter 9. Vote of Confidence.
The only thing I could have thought when I got into class today is the fact that I stood up against Dad. Like, really had the guts to do it. I sit down and I don't bother to really pay attention to what I do. Momo sitting next to me normally enough.
All I could think about is the fact that I snubbed Dad so hard and had me feeling like I was at one hundred percent again. Momo seemed to be avoiding my gaze, my heart sinking. He scared her away, I tried to help her but now I ruined it. I should just focus on myself and my training. After all, I'm the perfect one. Why would I worry over some feelings I had? If I have children I'll only be adding more fuel to the dumpster fire. Besides, Momo should get the hell away from me. I watch her, her eyes closed and thinking.
I wonder what she's thinking. Her eyes open and she looks over at me with a smile.
"Morning, Shoto." she says.
"Yeah, Morning." I answer, "You doing okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine." she says and I finally settle down.
"Momo, are you sure? I mean, you met my dad." I continue, "I'm just making sure you're okay considering me your friend." she tilts her head at that and I whirl back around and shut my eyes tight, mentally kicking myself.
"Why wouldn't I consider you my friend, Shoto?" she wonders.
"Oh, I dunno, maybe my Dad?" I blurt. "Ah, I mean… s-sorry!" I blush and she chuckles.
"Shoto, you don't have to apologize. We can still be friends." she says, grinning that same million jigawatt smile, I feel something weird in my chest. My cheeks flare into an even hotter blush and I force myself to look away.
'Why in the HELL do I have a crush on her?!' I think, 'Oh no… oh no… don't tell me I'm gonna have to fumble the bag.' I cringe at the closest shots I had painfully reminded myself of that I had to reject back in the old life.
Mr. Aizawa wakes up and rises from his yellow sleeping bag like the world's most tired butterfly, his dark eyes scanning the room, "Good, everyone is here. Today is something extremely important that will change the course of this school year forever." We all tense, aside from me and Momo. We kinda have a sixth sense for the whole 'Logical Ruse' thing. It's really funny when we think about it too much but at the rapt attention of our classmates, he continues.
"You're going to elect your class representatives today. Choose wisely from among yourselves, I'll be taking a nap so try not to get too loud." He zips his sleeping bag back up and there's nothing less than a clamor getting everyone on the board.
"Everyone! Please sit down!" Tenya Iida, another rich kid from a private academy, crows. "We must do this with paper ballots! Please write a name down on it and pass it forward!" his blue eyes tense and his serious tone making everyone sort of ignore him.
I just stay seated and quiet, voting for Momo and that's really it. She seems like she's got a good head on her shoulders and seemingly a better understanding of leadership than anyone else other than Iida. She'd be a good counterbalance to him at the very least. Everyone casts their ballots and soon enough they're all in.
I notice Tenya's eyes getting wider and more surprised by the second, almost as though he's seeing a ghost. The counting goes by and he coughs to himself. His eyes falling right onto…
Me.
"The winner for the Representative of Class 1-A is Todoroki." he says. I blink and everyone seems really happy. But I didn't even go up there to get myself on the board! Oh god now everyone is going to expect even more from me and Dad won't let me hear the end of it!
"Recount!" I blurt, "There's no way I won!" I grab my desk nervously but he recounts. His hands moving quickly, his eyes scanning the ballots.
"No. I'm afraid you're our representative," he answers, "It's pretty clear considering it all." My heart sinks and my palms become sprinklers and I close my eyes and sigh. Reluctantly accepting that role.
I get up and stand at the front with Momo. She was just a few points behind me but I wasn't going to fight her on that anyway. She smiles slightly as I stand straight. Looking over the seas of my classmates. Izuku seemed to be relieved, Bakugo wanted to blow my head off, and everyone else was very happy with the results.
I guess they heard about my Dad and saw my quirk in action and thought I'd be a great leader. Which isn't a bad thing but still pretty nerve wracking. I knew it'd probably translate to field work if it ever came to us going out as heroes to do anything.
"It's an honor." I say, bowing, "I hope I represent us well," Everyone cheers and a hand lays on my shoulder, squeezing reassuringly. It's Momo. Of course she would try to find a brighter side. A version of this pings through my mind. Where it's Izuku instead.
How do I know that? Still, the weird feelings of Deja Vu never seem to go away. It's almost scary how much I remember from somewhere. As the years went on I remembered more and more about what is almost happening around me with scary levels of accuracy.
As the classes wear on, I sort of go into autopilot. Thinking about my new responsibilities. Filling out my notes and journal at the same time. Lunchtime comes and I mostly keep to myself as usual.
Until Momo comes up and parks herself right next to me, stirring me from my writing.
"What exactly do you write in that?" she asks. A furious heat comes over me as I kind of crumple in on myself. My voice stumbles a bit.
"I-It's nothing important. I'll just write, that's all!" I squeak as she leans over to see.
"There's no need to be so secretive. You're my fellow representative and friend after all." she says, "Also your father isn't around, is he?"
"No... of course not." I replied "He won't be around trying to matchmake us into a quirk marriage and all." I mutter the second part.
"Did you say something, Shoto?" She asks and I deflect with my next question. A master of deflection, I am.
"Oh nothing, it's just... did he scare you?"
Momo shakes her head, "I've been through far weirder, Shoto." she smiles, "One time I was proposed to on the first meeting with a son of an American business mogul!"
I sputter a little, my cold soba threatening to make a reappearance, "Whuh?" I say.
"Yes! It is rather silly, right?" she smiles that same bright smile and I blush even more, choking down my soba with a vengeance.
"Oh! Are you-"
"It's not silly at all!" I object, "People would be so lucky to marry a sweet girl like you, Momo, but it's only up to you on who you wanna marry. No one should say otherwise or be forced into a marriage that will leave you unhappy and unsatisfied!" I rant a little, my voice tense.
Momo blinks, "I'm sorry." she says, "I should've spoken more carefully."
"No. It's just… my parents weren't happy." I say, remembering all the times Dad beat me up and that one time where I heard Mom crying about how she can't look at me without seeing him, "It'd be unfair to see you go through the same thing my parents did."
I clench my hands around my bowl and sticks, "I just want you to know that if it was me, I'd treat it just like a normal relationship. As trashy of a boyfriend I would be." I look up and see her looking at me with a shocked expression, red dusting her cheeks and dark eyes shining.
"Shoto," she says.
"What?" I growl, "Now you know why I've kind of avoided you."
She bunches her hands into fists, "How do you know you'd be trash at being a boyfriend if you haven't tried?" she asks, looking away, "I know we're just friends, but if you were my boyfriend… I'd want to…"
She trails off, covering her face with her hands. But before she could get that out, something that sounded like the tornado sirens back in the old life went absolutely wild. The cafeteria descends into a madness filled battleground.
"Alright!" I yell, "Everyone form a line! Grab each other's hands or wrists or whatever!" The class all links up, "Okay, Uraraka! Try to get a vantage on what's going on!" The weight of Momo's hand on my own. I barely have time to dwell on it mostly because I need to know what's going on. Uraraka tries to float upward to see but I can tell she's not doing too hot. I watch as she comes back down and stops herself. That's when I think fast and let go of Momo's hand. I summon an ice pillar below me and look out above the crowd as the rest of my class runs on through.
Momo thinks quickly and tosses me a bullhorn. I flick it on and come on, "Alright! Looks like the teachers are handling what looks like the media!" I say, "Just calm down and head back to your classes in an orderly fashion!" I yell.
I use my heat to melt the ice down, getting off and heading back to class as the janitor bots weave in to sop it all up. Something gives me pause however when I glance out of the window towards the front gate. It was once a thick metal gate tough enough to withstand even my Dad's fire.
Believe me, he was there to test it, barely made a dent. So this was something that set off alarm bells in everyone. Every person in the school wouldn't shut up about what happened, and even though I knew because again the Deja Vu sense was tingling.
I head back to class and get to the front, "It was the media. But someone broke the gate."
"Who?" Tenya asks, "Who broke the gate?"
"I dunno. Someone who needed something and was strong enough or had a quirk strong enough to destroy a gate that even my dad couldn't make a dent into. Whatever they were after they got." I say that as Mr. Aizawa is coming back.
"Todoroki, Iida, go sit down," he says, going to the front as we both go back to our seats. I sit there, the odd feeling of dread filling my stomach. It's cold and gnawing at me. A harsh feeling that sits in there for the rest of the day.
I do my work, take my notes, and leave.
I hang onto the train pole with my mind drifting off to La La Land about the gate. It feels more familiar than any of the other things. Someone had a quirk that could disintegrate things. Sometimes I remember some people.
It wasn't the guy with the mask. He'd explode it. It's not Dabi, I'd doubt he would be able to melt it. Then I remember that flaky guy. Boom. That's gotta be it. But whatever. I can't do anything about it right now. I poke at my food, Fuyumi humming in concern.
"Uuh, Shoto?" she asks, "You barely touched your food."
"Oh yeah, I haven't." I blurt, "My internal monologue distracted me," she chuckles just a little and I start eating, "Hwe hrad heletions today hrin hrass." I state with my mouth full.
"Swallow." she says.
I do so and smile, "Yeah, long story short we had elections for class rep and it turns out I got it. I didn't think I was on the ballot."
Fuyumi squeals, "Oh my gosh! That's amazing, Shoto!" I look up at the light above us and sigh with contempt in my tone.
"I don't feel like I could be a good leader…" I sigh, "Dad's a taskmaster."
Fuyumi smiles and puts her cool hand on my arm, squeezing it gently, "Shoto, you don't have to worry so much. You're gonna learn as you go, honest,"
"Well... it's hard not to when you're the class rep and Momo is the vice rep," I huff and she chokes a little on her food before spitting it back out.
"W-Well! Uhh… That's great! That means you two get to spend a lot more time together!" She recovers quickly and smiles brightly.
"Yeah, that's good and all but maybe keep your voice down before-" and suddenly my voice dies as a blast of heat comes into the house. Heavy footsteps come up behind us and Dad looms over me.
"So you decided to pursue Yaoyorozu after all?" he rumbles, "Masterfully fudging the results of the election to do it?" I just glare at him and get up.
"I'm done. Enjoy the rest of your meal." I state as I walk off towards my room.
Why does he always have to assume I have some master plan to get into Momo's panties? That's the last thing I want. What I want is to figure out why I'm here. Why am I the one being railroaded into being a main character? Why am I catching feelings for Momo? All these questions buzz around in my head as I lay in my futon, staring up at the moonlight dappled wall and holding my journal. Maybe I'm here because I need to learn some lessons? Or maybe I'm just here 'cause some deity thought I needed another go?
I close my eyes, hearing the talking of my sister and father. Mostly about normal things but the gate does come up.
"It seemed rusted. The school determined it was a villain. From what I heard from All Might what they took was a roster and some other documents, using the media as a distraction." he says. My eyes snap open.
"Oh son of a bitch!" I hiss.