Chapter 9 – Class Representative

There was some woman out in front of the gate this morning, with a microphone in hand and a camera crew by her side.

"Excuse me, you four! Are you all All Might's students? What is the number one hero like as a teacher?"

"Heh, he's pretty good. Of course, once I graduate, I'll be even bette-"

"Oh hush Joshu, we all know that's not true."

"Y-Yasuho, why'd you have to say that…"

"He's interesting so far, but it's not like we've had enough classes with him to be able to form any real opinions, right?" She continued, like she hadn't heard him.

Josuke hummed. "He's very… loud. And big."

"And what about you, young lady?" The reporter turned to the last member of the Morioh group. "Your classmates have shared their thoughts, don't be shy!"

"Get out of my way or I'll freeze you solid."

Aizawa strode into class 1-A just as the bell for homeroom rang, not a moment too soon. He walked up to the podium, face serious. An air of intensity swirled around him, and even Kyo was nervous.

"Let's get down to business. I'm sorry to have to tell you on such short notice, but..." Everyone tensed. "Today you'll be picking a class representative."

"That's so normal!" Shouted Ashido.

"Oh guys, I'd be the best! I've totally got this!" Kirishima, this time.

"Huh?! What are you talking about, it should be me, obviously! The rest of you don't even come close!" Bakugou shouted right back at him.

"No, guys, I'm from a hero family, I'd definitely be the best for this!" Said Higashikata.

"You're kidding right? After that 2v2 yesterday? Who the hell would vote for you?" Kaminari asked.

"Everyone calm down!" Iida rose from his seat, hands waving wildy. Kyo wasn't able to track those motions at all. "It's obvious what we should do. We need to put this to a vote!"

"Come on dude, everyone'll just vote for themselves."

"Which is why it's perfect. Anyone who gets multiple votes must therefore be respected by their classmates!"

"I don't care how you decide, just get it done." Said Aizawa, climbing into his sleeping bag.

As everyone made the case for themselves, Kyo considered her options. She was a realist at heart, and expected none of the others would be voting for her. Should she vote for herself anyway, on the off chance one of her classmates would choose her? Should she vote for someone else, and try to pick someone she likes to be class rep? Did she really like anyone enough to vote for them? But it's not like she really wanted the added responsibility anyway...

She closed her eyes. Raising her hand and moving it around in slow, meandering motions, she counted out ten seconds. She extended a finger and opened her eyes. Apparently her method had landed her on Hirose. Well, whatever.

"Hey, Kira, you can't be serious... You're just going to choose at random?" Her unique solution had not gone unnoticed, it would seem. Kyo turned to regard the person who'd spoken- the wide mouthed tape slinging boy, Sero.

"Why not? I don't really think I need any of you to represent me. If I have to choose from a bunch of boring people, I may as well make it interesting in my own way." She said in a cold monotone, before turning away from boy who now had his mouth even wider, stunned at the way she'd spoken.

When the ballot box came around, she put the Hirose's name in.

Iida went up to the board, ballot box in hand, and started pulling out names. Nearly everyone just had one vote as he went along. Oh, wait, there was a second vote for Yaoyorozu, giving her the lead. Kyo didn't really get it- what was really so interesting about her? Just because she had a good analysis of the other students after the 2v2, and an incredibly versatile Quirk? Okay, now that she thought about it for a moment, she was starting to understand.

"And here we have a vote for… Kujo Josuke!"

"Meeeee? But I voted for… someone else."

Kyo tuned them out for a moment. She wasn't that interested, and she really didn't want to have to listen to… him. When she finally returned her attention to the board, Yaoyorozu lead with three votes, and everyone else except for Kyo, Hirose and Iida.

"Last two votes. First one is for… Hirose. She now has one." Iida said, dutifully writing 'Hirose' on the board and placing a tally next to it.

"Huh, but I didn't vote for myself either. Odd." That one must have been Kyo's vote then. Ugh, and here she thought she'd have broken the tie for vice rep. Now they would have to repeat this for that position.

"And the final vote… Hirose again!" Huh, maybe it had worked out. Well, if it kept them from having this drag on too long, she was for it.

"The class representative is Yaoyorozu Momo, and the Vice Representative is Hirose Yasuho!" Iida declared, gritting his teeth in a failed attempt to keep his disappointment off of his face.

"Aizawa would say you let him off too easy." Principal Nedzu said.

Toshinori tapped his chin in thought. "Well, he was able to put her back together easy enough, and Recovery Girl healed her the rest of the way. I was pretty shocked when it happened, but ultimately, I just don't think it was quite severe enough to warrant a full expulsion."

"I say you've got the right of it, honestly. I like Shouta, but he can be a bit too stuffy, y'know? It's a combat situation, so students are bound to get a little roughed up. That's what Recovery Girl is here for, right?" Present Mic said.

"What punishment would you have given?"

Present Mic just shrugged. "Eh, probably not much. She healed right? No harm no foul. Although it skeeves me out a little, that he just went for it like that. All those Stand users kinda worry me though. We don't have a single teacher here with a Stand, so what'll we do if one of them starts acting up?"

"Hmm." The principal looked deep in thought. "I can't help but feel concerned. The last time we had Stand using students, aside from the occasional Higashikata family member, was over twenty years ago. And that was also the only time we've ever had more than one in a single year… up until now."

Toshinori frowned, and contemplated his hands, fingers steepled in front of him. "Yes… I recall."

"Woah, you two seem serious… what's up? Did something happen?"

"Well, it was after I'd already become a hero, so I didn't know them personally, but the Stand users he's referring to are Hierophant Green and Star Platinum. Two of the heroes who fought the villain DIO and his organization across Asia and Egypt. The only so-called Stand War known to have involved Japanese users. Like every Stand War, it resulted in a number of deaths, and widespread damage." Said Toshinori.

"Sure, but it's not like that was the students fault. They were just taking down a villain, so it's not any worse than what heroes have to do all the time." Said Yamada.

"An old friend of mine once told me that Stand users attract other Stand users. Get enough of them together and you'll have an absurd amount of battles. Battles that use strange powers ordinary people can't so much as perceive. This is what the hero community has nicknamed a Stand War." Nedzu explained. "The Steel Ball Run, DIO's attempts to conquer the world, and the Passione gang war in Italy… all confirm the theory. Whenever too many Stand users congregate, it means something dangerous is on the horizon. Stand using villains will come after Stand using heroes. So that raises the question: If there are four Stand users in our school, and a family of them in the north… where will the villains attack?"

"I understand your trepidation principal, but you don't need to worry about any of the students. I am here!" Toshinori stood, his massive muscled frame towering over the other two. He made to leave the teacher's breakroom, but was stopped by the principal calling after him.

"All Might, do wait a while, we have so much time to catch up with one another. Yamada, you have a class soon don't you? I would hate for you to miss it."

"Uh, right… I'll get right on that. Thanks, principal." Present Mic had to squeeze past Toshinori, as the number one hero took up much of space by the doorway, even though he tried to give his co-worker some room. Well, it's not as though he had any way of making himself smaller. Truthfully, it was the nature of One for All that made him so huge, though Toshinori liked to think it was how healthy he kept himself for a man in his fifties.

Once the other teacher had left, Nedzu turned to regard Toshinori.

"All Might… you do remember Sir Nighteye and Hermit Purple's predictions, don't you? Have you thought about my suggestion any?"

"Of course I have! And I think it's a good idea… I'll be needing to find a successor eventually anyway, prediction or no. But, Principal Nedzu… I don't really see the likelihood that Sir Nighteye's vision shall come to pass. And we barely even understood what Hermit Purple was showing us, it was far too vague. If All for One wasn't able to kill me, what villain could hope to?"

"Perhaps one with a Stand. I've heard some concerning rumours. You recall Star Platinum."

"Of course, we were just talking about him. Are you referring to his daughter? I'd… heard she broke out of prison."

"Yes, it's quite concerning to the hero community, but we're trying to keep it quiet so the public doesn't panic. Kujo Jotaro was the rank three hero in the world for a while, after yourself and Captain Celebrity. The fact that his daughter has not only turned to villainy, but amassed a bit of a following..."

"Principal, is there something you're not telling me?"

"Hmm. Astute. Jolyne Kujo, the villain known as Stone Free… has vanished. Her last recorded whereabouts were somewhere along the American west coast, but no one has seen her in several months. And a few days before Kujo Josuke was discovered, there was some sort of disturbance in Morioh. Locks melted off in a museum, and cargo destroyed and scattered all over a ship. The parties responsible are still unknown to us, but I have my suspicions. The timing is just too convenient."

"You're absolutely certain? This is way too high profile, if we do this, we'll become Japan's Most Wanted overnight." Jolyne said, staring at the elderly man hunching over their plans.

"Yes, yes, I'm quite sure. Do you have any alternate interpretation?"

"Yeah, maybe you're just trying to trick us." Annasui growled. "How can we be sure you are who you say you are, old man?"

"Annasui, calm down. He's telling the truth, I've already done a check. Plus, we saw how he got this information, so it's not as though it could be a forgery. Sure, it's not the best location, but choosing the location isn't up to us. So long as we have Weather with us, we'll be fine."

"Emporio, what do you mean 'with us'? You aren't coming. You aren't a combatant."

"Wait, Jolyne, I can fight. My Stand isn't that aggressive, but I can still-"

"No. You're a kid, and besides that, you're more important coordinating our efforts and handling information. You'll stay here. Keep the old guy company."

"That false alarm was pretty crazy, right?" Ochako laughed "Can you believe how Iida calmed everyone down?"

"That was a very interesting technique, ribbit."

"Yeah, he looked so goofy! I can't believe it was the media though… that reporter lady is really committed, huh?"

"That's one word for it. Another would be 'deranged'."

"Wow, you really don't hold back huh?"

"I believe honesty is the best policy."

"Okay everyone, just gone on and settle down. I know we had a big old ruckus out there earlier, but it's time to focus, alright?" Snipe said, taking his place at the front of the class. He was still wearing his hero outfit. Ochako had to wonder if he ever took his mask off.

"Since it's the beginning of the school year, I'm not gonna cram pre-Hero history down your throat just yet. Too much to cover. These first months are gonna be about more modern History. What all happened with the advent of Quirks. We're gonna be focusing on well known Hero families to start with." Ochako wasn't sure, but she thought she saw Todoroki grimace. Why, did he not like history or something? She could sympathize, it always seemed kind of boring to her.

"First up, and this one a few of you should really already know… who here can tell me the founder of the Joestar hero lineage?"

Kira raised her hand immediately, but Snipe didn't call on her right away. "Come on, can anyone who isn't related to the guy tell me? No? Alright, go ahead Kira."

"My great great grandfather, Jonathan Joestar, known by his hero name Tusk. He won the Steel Ball Run race, defeated the Villain President Funny Valentine, and used his Stand to trap his adopted brother Diego Brando, also known as the villain DIO, in a state of permanent rotation for almost a century."

"Yep. Right on all counts. Tusk was also the first hero to start a tradition that most Stand using heroes- and villains- use today, wherein they take the name of their Stand as their hero name. You'll notice that his contemporaries, such as the aforementioned Funny Valentine and Diego Brando, just used their real names, or some derivation of 'em, despite having Stands of their own. It's 'cause no one had done it 'til old Johnny Joestar."

"Now, what about the next Joestar hero? Anyone?"

This time, Yaoyorozu raised her hand, and Snipe called on her without hesitation. "That would be Joseph Joestar, known as Hermit Purple, would it not? He defeated the villain Kars, who made an army of 'vampires' with his Quirk. I believe Hermit Purple was the number one hero in the world about fifty years ago." She turned to Kira. "Would he happen to be your… let me see… great grandfather?"

"Drop the great. He's my mother's father, though I don't see him too often. He lives in America, and his Japanese isn't great. And my English is even worse."

"Well, I'm sure Yamada will beat that out of you. Alright, third and last heroic member of the family, uh, 'til now." Snipe looked towards Kira and, for some reason, Kujo with that last line. "And I expect more of you to know this one, alright? He's the one that beat DIO."

Ochako put her own hand up this time. "Um, isn't it Star Platinum? But didn't Kira say that 'Tusk' did… something to DIO?"

"Yep. He used to his Stand, also named Tusk, to make every cell in DIO's body spin for a century, trapping him in a single spot. Y'see, most people, like Funny Valentine, for instance, would've starved to death long before the century ended. But despite having been born Quirkless, which was much common in those days, DIO had received a vampiric Quirk from Kars, the villain overlord who was later slain by Hermit Purple. So, DIO survived long enough for the rotation to end, which no one had really known was possible."

"Wait, why did all these villains die? I know heroes are sometimes forgiven for using lethal force, but I was kind of under the impression that it was an absolute last resort." Ochako said.

"They were Stand users, for the most part." Snipe said. "Stands are incredibly dangerous, and while using either a Stand or a Quirk without a hero license is illegal, Stands cannot be policed. Stand users, by and large, cannot be detained, as we have no way of disabling their ability. This means many Stand using villains face summary execution at the hands of Stand using heroes, unless they cooperate peacefully. As such, Stand using heroes must get a special license beyond the usual hero license in order to use their Stands, as well as lethal force."

"Um, couldn't you make a prison with Stand using guards?"

"They tried that, fairly recently, in fact. A prison in Florida- one of the American states for any you who don't know your geography- hired a head guard with a Stand, one that could wipe people's memories or something like that. Almost a year ago, they had maybe five or six Stand using prisoners escape. One of those prisoners wouldn't be out of place in today's lesson, in fact... but never mind that. Suffice to say, relying on one or two guards isn't a great method of keeping villains in check, and that's about the most Stand users a prison could ever manage to hire."

"Moving on now. We just touched on Kujo Jotaro- that is to say, Kira's older half-brother. Don't give me that look, I know you were dying to brag. But does anyone know the name of the families the Joestar lineage has ties to?"

Wait. He'd said Star Platinum's real name was Kujo Jotaro… and earlier he'd glanced at Kujo when he was talking about the lineage. Ochako raised her hand again.

"Someone else this time, please… Really, no one? Fine, Uraraka?"

"Well, the Kujos? And the Kiras."

"Yep, those are two. Anyone know the other one? Anyone at all? Higashikata, tell me the name of the other family."

"Wha- me? I dunno… the, uh… Aizawas?"

"You… you think Aizawa is a Stand user?"

"Well, it wouldn't surprise me. He's kinda scary."

Snipe hid his face- or rather, his mask- behind his palm. It looked kinda ridiculous to Ochako.

"No. The other hero family with ties to the Joestars are the Higashikatas. Tusk married one of your ancestors. Higashikata Rina. Honestly, what is your father teaching you?

"Alright, last question on this subject. What makes it easy to distinguish the members of this lineage?"

"Stands!" Shouted Ashido, eager to get a question right.

"What else?"

"Uh… they… all have names with 'Jo' in them?" Everyone else in the class started giggling.

"Well, at least you were paying attention. Kira, care to handle this?"

"We all share a Quirk. Called 'Ripple', it allows to flesh. We can use it to heal, or warp people's bodies. Like I did to Kirishima in the 2v2 matches. The trade off is that we have to maintain a certain breathing pattern to use it."

No one had voted for him. He'd expected it, but it still stung, if he was being honest. He'd expected Yaoyorozu to win, but Hirose getting second place was a surprise. Just like him, she'd voted for someone else, but evidently she'd managed to make more of an impact on a few of the other students. It was clear to Tenya that he had a lot of catching up to do, but he just wasn't quite sure how. Did he need to train his mind? Improve upon his charisma? Or grow stronger with his Quirk?

"Hey, I know you! You're Ingenium's brother right? He's a good hero, nice to see you following in his footsteps."

Behind him was a man with odd, swirly green hair. Tenya hadn't even seen him, he was so lost in thought.

"Hello there! IT's wonderful to meet a fan of my brother's!" What was concerning was how the fan could recognise Ingenium's family. That was a disturbing violation of privacy. Tenya would have to find out how this man came to possess such sensitive information. In the wrong hands, that could be used to threaten a hero, or strike out at them.

The man laughed. "Yeah, I guess you wouldn't recognise me. I'm Higashikata Jobin, the hero known as Speed King. I've worked with your brother in the past."

That was a relief. A coworker would have much reason to know about a hero's family. Maybe Tensei bragged about him? The thought made him want to swell with pride. He'd live up to his brother's expectations. He just wasn't sure how. Wait, did that man say Higasahikata?

"Are you related to Higashikata Joshu, by any chance?"

"Yeah! He's my own little brother. Are you in the same class?"

"Yes, we are. Your brother is a very capable combatant." Privately, Tenya held other, less favourable opinions of the boy, but there was no need to say that to his brother's face. And it was quite true that Joshu was a dangerous fighter- he'd seen as much during the 2v2. Tenya doubted he would be able to beat the himself, especially since... "His Stand is quite versatile, and not something I would want to face."

"Yeah, that's true of almost all Stands. The only way to protect yourself from one is have your own." Higashikata hummed. "Have you thought about getting one?"

"Getting... one? Pardon me, I thought people were born with Stands."

"Huh? Well, yeah, that's one way. But there's a group that sells them here in Mustafu. Supposedly they have a Stand granting weapon or some such, and they'll give you one for a price. Well, I can't imagine that's very legal, so the government must be getting involved soon." The man hummed again, scratching at his chin. "Actually, now that I say that, maybe it's better not to get involved with that kind of stuff. Forget I said anything, alright?"

"Of course. I would never seek out illicit services." Even if it seemed like exactly what he was hoping for. He still had his pride as an Iida.

"You're a good kid. Make my sure brother keeps to straight and narrow too, alright? Lord knows I've spent enough time worrying about that crazy kid. Anyways, I've spent enough your time, I'll let you go. Maybe I'll see ya around."

AN

Hopefully the history scene explained in what ways the JoJo universes and the MHA one are merged. And don't worry, you're not meant to understand the Jolyne scene in this chapter... yet.

Lastly, I'll be taking a brief hiatus next week. So chapter ten will come out the week after that. Also, my computer is on its last legs and could break at any time. If (when) that happens, I'll upload what I already have written, and then the fic will be on indefinite hiatus until I get a new one.