11 April, 22XX – Second day of school
08:19 at U.A. High School – Classroom 1A
The second day of school started with a positive surprise, as the new acquaintances/friends/"less extra-y extras than the other extras" they'd made among their classmates had gathered around their tables the second the two of them had taken their seats. Katsuki sat at the second row next to the window, with Izuku to his right. Therefore, Hagakure had seated herself in front of Katsuki (as she was the only one he couldn't snarl at for blocking his view), Kirishima behind him and Tokoyami next to Izuku. Apparently it was possible to change seats in the first week, since the students were to take a little time to acquaint themselves with each other.
(Not that Katsuki would have known that; as soon as he realized that Tokoyami and Hagakure weren't seated around them, he'd simply told Sato and Mineta to "fuck off from where the cool people seat".)
(Izuku had reached new heights in apologizing for his friend after that.)
Sato had laughed it off and said that he was okay with a friend group wanting to sit together, quipping that a "please" would probably have been too much to ask for. Mineta seemed sore, however, but had offered little resistance (which could be seen as common sense if confronted with Bakugo) and instead claimed the now vacant seat of Tokoyami – to the great displeasure of Yaoyorozu and Uraraka, who were now seated to his sides.
Izuku made a mental note to talk to Mineta later on. He'd seen the boy at training yesterday, as well as his obvious "approval" of his team partner before he'd gotten a hold on himself, and frankly, Izuku was fully unsympathetic to actions like that.
He realized he'd started frowning, so he decided to put the Mineta topic aside for now and tried to ease up a bit, still a bit jumpy after the media assault outside. All those reporters' prying and inquiring had done little to ease his nerves, though Katsuki and his imaginative use of the Japanese language certainly had gotten them past the barrage eventually.
Izuku's attention returned to the heated discussion between his surrounding classmates about the best morning beverage. Katsuki had (oddly enough) a preference for iced mint tea, while Kirishima and Hagakure shared a fondness when it came to hot chocolate. Tokoyami claimed that "the only suitable elixir to raise the spirit of a soul is and shall be jet-black coffee". Since Dark Shadow backed him up, they had a draw, and now demanded a tiebreaker from Izuku, who was impressed how… sociable Tokoyami seemed. Granted, Kirishima and Hagakure still seemed to have trouble to understand his elaborate speech pattern, but he did put forth an effort (though not without reemphasizing that he was "lowering his sights" for them).
It definitely helped that the two were numbered among the more accessible students in their class, really.
Speaking of which…
"Helloo? You gotta take energy drinks in the morning! How else would you survive with three hours of sleep if there's school next day?"
… over the course of the seating rearrangement, the clear winner for the spot of the greatest extrovert in class had taken her seat next to Hagakure and in front of Midoriya, and had instantly chimed in in their conversation: The pink-skinned Ashido Mina, whose borderline unrealistic energy and cheerfulness were much easier to understand after taking her sleeping and dietary habits into consideration.
Aaaand now everyone was debating. Kaminari had agreed with Ashido's energy drink suggestion (which increased Izuku's apprehension that at least one of the two was bound to be suffering severe sleep deprivation), Koda was in the hot chocolate camp. Shoji and Sero both supported coffee, though the latter stated he preferred it sugared. Yaoyorozu surprised and frightened everyone with her knowledge about tea brands. And so on and so forth.
"Quiet, now. I've already stood here for fourteen seconds. It seems like you didn't learn anything about rationality so far. Or, if you did, All Might did a good job on purging you of it."
Everyone startled slightly (and started scrambling to their respective desks) as Aizawa, who stood behind the teacher's desk in his caterpillar-like sleeping bag, "greeted" them.
"I can still expel every one of you lot," he said over the general pattering, "so take today's lesson seriously. You'll get your evaluations from yesterday's battle training in a second, but beforehand… we have another point on our list." The students, most of whom having finally succeeded in taking their seats, looked at him nervously. What sort of hellish training awaited them now?
"Today you'll pick a Class President and some other charges."
"So normal!"
Not even a second later the room was abuzz with excitement as around three quarters of the class laid claim to the position of Class Rep.
"Forgive my impertinence," Iida then interrupted, "but how is it a good time to elect such important tenures if we barely started to get to know each other? Surely assigning such a vital position after such a short period of time will increase the likelihood of an unsuitable person getting elected, sir!"
Aizawa sighed. "In all honesty, I don't care. We have to do it because the first student council meeting is due in a few days. Just pick one and get over with it. How you do it is up to you."
Then he slumped over, eyes closed and dead for the world.
It reminded Izuku a lot of their old grade school teacher.
"Seldom have I encountered a person who so perfectly embodied the spirit of the words 'not helpful'," Tokoyami said as quietly as possible without being drowned out by the general chaos.
"To my shame, I must admit that I agree with you," Iida said in disappointment. "Well then. Everyone! Quiet down!" he announced in a booming voice. "We all aspire to be heroes worthy of leadership, but this behavior is unbecoming for students of a school as prestigious as U.A.! To find a suitable candidate for a sacred office such as Class President, I propose that all of us give a brief introduction of themselves! After that, we shall conduct a democratic election!"
After a brief discussion Iida's suggestion was accepted and the students started to introduce themselves, with name, Quirk and a "special fact" about them. Izuku listened with rapt attention, furiously scribbling in his notebook – a chance like this didn't present itself often.
"My name is Aoyama Yuga✩. My Quirk is Navel Laser, enabling me to shoot a beam of ✩sparkling ✩light. Another éblouissant fact about me is that I am un connoisseur in the field of cheese."
"… er… okay… I'm Ashido Mina! My Quirk is Acid, and, well, it does exactly what it says. I can secrete acids of all sorts out of my body. Now the fact about me… I'm really good at breakdancing!"
"I am Asui Tsuyu, ribbit. Though you can all call me Tsuyu-chan. My Quirk is Frog Form, and it gives me the abilities of a frog, such as extending my tongue, sticking to walls, jumping great distances and so on. I always speak what is on my mind."
"My name is Iida Tenya! My Quirk goes by the name 'Engine', manifesting in biomechanical engines in my calves that support me in terms of mobility and leg strength. I come from a family of heroes and aspire to follow in the steps of my older brother!"
"Ingenium?!" Izuku asked in realization. "Your brother… your brother, he's the Turbo Hero, Ingenium! That's what your costume reminded me of! One of your family members is such a well-known hero! Incredible!"
Tenya tried his best to appear modest, but still relished in the admiration of his classmates.
"I'm Uraraka Ochaco! My Quirk is Zero Gravity! If I touch something with all five fingers, it becomes weightless! I like mochi!"
"My name is Ojiro Mashirao. My Quirk is Tail, and… well, I have a tail. I am practiced in martial arts." The boy seemed absurdly average compared to his predecessors, and it was obvious he was aware of it; Izuku could hear him sighing "So normal. Again" under his breath.
"Name's Kaminari Denki! My Quirk is Electrification, I can discharge electricity from my body! Neat, right? Ah, yeah, a fact about me… I'm pretty yeet at painting! I mean, well, I like modern art better than classic, but I'm good at both."
"Are you sure you can just adjectivize 'yeet' like that?" Sero joked.
"Alright, next is me! I'm Kirishima Eijiro, and my Quirk is Hardening! I can harden my body." He rubbed the back of his head, seeming a bit self-conscious. "Kinda plain, I know. A fact about me… The Hero Crimson Riot is my role model! He's so manly!"
Izuku was sure he heard Hagakure giggle in front of him, but proof was hard to get at with her.
I am Koda Koji. My Quirk is Anivoice. I like animals. The timid boy had just very quickly given his introduction in sign language, leading to Yaoyorozu translating it for the rest of the class.
Such an innocent cinnamon roll.
"I'm Sato Rikido. My Quirk is Sugar Rush; I gain a strength boost when I eat sugar. I regularly compete in baking contests and have already won quite a few." This led to many interested looks especially from the girls (out of whom Ashido seemed to be the most enthusiastic), as well as an envious glare from Mineta.
"My name is Mezo Shoji. My Quirk, Dupli-Arms, allows me to replicate any part of my body at my additional arms. As for the fact… one might call me a minimalist, though personally I'd just say that material possessions aren't that important for me."
"Kyoka Jiro. My Quirk's Earphone Jack; you've already seen it at work, and there isn't much more to it. It's basically sound attacks and reconnaissance. I, er, play nine different instruments." Jiro looked a bit embarrassed at the last notion, though it led to some acknowledging nods in the class.
"I'm Sero Hanta. I can use my Tape Quirk to shoot tape out of my elbows, which is good for moving around and incapacitating opponents. I like gardening."
"You do?" Ojiro asked in surprise. "I thought you'd limited yourself to succulents because you don't have a way with plants."
"That was five years ago," Sero said, sulking. "You could really stop plaguing me just because of that one violet."
"You two know each other?" Kaminari asked with interest.
"Kind of, yeah. We were in the same middle school," Sero explained. "We weren't particularly close, though. Acquaintances at best. Still, apparently close enough for him to pester me about a flower I had some problems with," he added sullenly.
"You tried to feed it coffee!" Ojiro said accusingly.
"I just wanted it properly nourished!" Sero defended himself.
"Would it be acceptable to postpone this conversation in favor of the introduction round?" Iida interrupted politely. "I am sure everyone here wishes to receive their battle analysis today."
"Well spoken forsooth. I shall proceed. I go by the name of Tokoyami Fumikage, and wield the Quirk Dark Shadow, a sentient beast of darkness connected to my very soul. Beyond that I find myself to be quite fond of apples."
That statement had the class puzzled for a second before their looks settled on Todoroki in anticipation.
The student with the split hair regarded them with a chilly look, before brusquely stating, "Todoroki Shoto. My Quirk is Half-Cold Half-Hot, and I have no intention of making friends."
"… you know, dude, not my business, but that's not how an introduction's supposed to go…" Kaminari fell silent when Todoroki's gaze pierced him.
"Er, alright, so I'll go next," Hagakure quickly stepped in, hoping to lift the spirits. "I'm Hagakure Tooru. My Quirk is Light Refraction! It makes me invisible and gives me some light-bending abilities! I like everything sweet and fluffy!"
Chuckles in the class. Then… "I'm Bakugo Katsuki. I'll climb the top!"
Silence.
"THAT'S NOT HOW YOU DO THIS!"
"Kacchan… please?"
"Tsk, fine. My Quirk's Explosion, and you've all seen what it does. I'm good at anything."
Izuku put his face on his desk and wished to just cease to exist. Here and now.
"Er… Midoriya? Midoriya! It is your turn!"
Instantly, Izuku startled up. "W-what? Me? Er, alright, so, my name is Midoriya Izuku! My Quirk is O-" Katsuki kicked his shin with enough force to bring tears to his eyes. "I-I mean, M-matter Adaptation! If I touch something, I can adapt its molecular makeup, a-and gain a strength boost! A fact about me, er… I have the limited edition silver age All Might memorabilia suit V34 in the original form!"
Katsuki put his face on his desk.
"Wait, you have that one?" Kaminari asked in excitement. "Isn't that like, super rare? That's totally neat! How did you get that?"
"Er, well, one night in front of the store, I guess?"
"Awesome, dude! Can you bring it one day?"
"Everyone is being so noisy…" Tokoyami sighed.
"Thanks, Midoriya," Iida stated vociferously. "Mineta, would you please proceed?"
"Phew. These were definitely the ten worst seconds of my life," Izuku sighed after the attention had disbanded.
"They could've been the last ten seconds, dumbass!" Katsuki hissed. "How dare you fuck around like that, sprouting stuff about… you-know-what?!"
Izuku apologized as quietly as possible. Admittedly, he himself was anything but content with his near slip-up. Luckily, the class seemed to have overlooked it, though he couldn't be sure with the quieter, more observant students.
Then he made the mistake to listen to what Mineta had to say.
"I am Mineta Minoru. My Quirk is Pop Off – the balls on my head are extremely sticky for everything except me; I bounce off of them instead. A fact about me… well, one day I sneaked into [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] in order to [REDACTED]. It was great!"
After Mineta's introduction everyone felt suitably ill for a while, and they had to pause the introduction in order to bar Bakugo from assaulting the boy (reluctantly).
"Well… my name is… Yaoyorozu Momo… my Quirk is C-Creation… I can create anything from my body…" Yaoyorozu sighed, her complexion looking slightly greenish. "I speak five languages."
"Well, after we were properly – and luridly, in some cases – introduced to each other, shall we proceed with the election?"
The paper snippets were quickly distributed. While Izuku was aware of how valuable the experience in leadership was that came with the position of Class Rep, he gave his vote to Iida. His diligence and rigor made him a far more suitable candidate in his opinion.
Iida and Kirishima then started tallying the votes.
"Well…" Iida said in surprise after finishing the chart on the board. "This is certainly… unexpected."
The results were as following:
Aoyama Yuga – I
Iida Tenya – III
Kaminari Denki – I
Tokoyami Fumikage - III
Bakugo Katsuki – II
Midoriya Izuku – IV
Mineta Minoru – -II
Yaoyorozu Momo – III
Silence.
"I GOT FOUR VOTES? WHO DID THAT? WHY DID YOU DO THAT?" Midoriya asked in astonishment. Really, four? Four votes? That couldn't be happening! There was just no way he…
"Well, duh. Isn't that obvious?" Kaminari asked. "I mean, you totally kicked ass yesterday. Plus you're, like, super-smart and a pretty great strategist. Right?"
Consensual nods. Izuku looked at his surroundings incredulously.
"I am also pleased at the utmost to see that most of our class gave their votes to someone else!" Iida exclaimed. "This shows respect for the democratic traditions of our country!"
"Regarding that… how on earth did Mineta get a negative amount of votes?" Sero asked amusedly.
"Well…" Iida explained ruefully, "three of the ballots submitted were of the tenor of 'anyone but Mineta'. I chose to depicture it like this."
"Well…" Sato said, ignoring the protesting Mineta, "but we have a draw now between the candidates for vice President."
"Then we shall proceed with a second vote!" Iida replied. "The contestants are Yaoyorozu, Tokoyami and myself!"
"I recede," Tokoyami said calmly. "I have no ambitions to fill the charge of Vice President."
That led to some turmoil in the class.
"Huh?" Izuku asked in surprise. "But why? Don't you think it's a good opportunity?"
Tokoyami sighed. "I would find myself profoundly pleased if I was permitted to withdraw without having to justify my reasons."
"Well… is everyone okay with that?" Kirishima asked hesitantly. Most of the class agreed, though nearly everyone wondered why Tokoyami had refused to contest (Izuku's personal theory was that he wanted to appear mysterious).
"Then let's do a runoff!"
Shortly after, Yaoyorozu was elected for vice-President with eleven ballots (bizarrely enough one ballot again voted against Mineta).
As soon as the two of them stood in front of the class, Izuku was hyper-nervous. Curse to the four who voted for me! Who are you? Don't give me that look, Kacchan!
"Well then, are you done?" Aizawa drawled (and saved Izuku from having to say something). "If so, here are your reports."
"But, sir, we're still in need of a Treasurer, a Representative and a Secretary," Yaoyorozu objected.
Aizawa nodded. "Yes, but homeroom is almost up, so you're going to do it in the afternoon instead."
True. It definitely hadn't felt like it, but when Izuku looked at the clock, it stated without a doubt that they had only five minutes left before their next classes. He on his part breathed a sigh of relief over the mercy that he wouldn't need to deal with the duties of Class President immediately.
12:38 p.m. at the cafeteria (lunch break)
Izuku sat at a table together with Katsuki, Hagakure, Kirishima, Tokoyami and Yaoyorozu. The latter had joined them because she wanted to talk about how they'd proceed when it came to choosing the other student council members, since it apparently wasn't necessary for them to be elected like the Class President. So she had proposed to think about possible candidates first, as a position like Treasurer was likely to be less coveted than that of President anyway.
"For the Secretary's office, you should search for someone who can write fast and legible," Kirishima suggested. "Iida would probably be a fit."
"Do you think he writes in Arial?" Hagakure quipped.
Yaoyorozu chuckled politely and explained, "The most important decision we have to make now is who to appoint as Class Representative, since whoever gets appointed as such will be responsible for all representative tasks, which for example includes the opening speech for the Sports Festival."
"Not Bakugo," Hagakure, Kirishima and the bypassing Jiro and Shoji chorused.
"THE FUCK? WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE SAYING, DUMBASSES?"
"I shall bring to your attention that your cacophonous roars prove the skeptics correct," Tokoyami commented drily.
"And not Tokoyami," the four of them added.
"So, how about-" Kirishima started, when suddenly a horrible screech pierced through the cafeteria. A repeated UUUURRIIIEEEEEEEE that reminded Shoji uncomfortably of Jiro's sound attacks.
"SECURITY LEVEL THREE HAS BEEN BROKEN. ALL STUDENTS, PLEASE EVACUATE IN AN ORDERLY FASHION."
Instantly, a panic started inside the cafeteria when every student in there tried to get out as fast as possible, showcasing the exact antithesis of 'an orderly fashion'.
Izuku could do little but watch as Jiro and Shoji were carried off in the tide of running students, shortly before the same fate befell Hagakure.
Kirishima grabbed a running student by the arm and asked, "Hey, man, sorry to interrupt, but what exactly is 'level three'?"
"It means that someone's infiltrated the building!" the student answered agitatedly. "Hasn't happened in my three years here! Now hurry up and get outta here!"
Kirishima tried to ask something else, but another student with brick-like skin ran up on them, forcing the redhead to dodge and disappear in the chaos. Izuku looked around frantically when Katsuki called out to him.
"Oi, Deku! Get over here!"
Izuku turned around to see Dark Shadow, who held Yaoyorozu and a pissed-off Katsuki in its claws while Tokoyami laboriously cut his way through the panicking students. Izuku was quick to follow him as the bird-headed teen started heading for the large floor-to-ceiling windows. As they reached them, though, Izuku noticed something weird.
"Is that… is that a press corps?" he asked in confusion. "If it's just the press, how comes everyone is pani-cking!" An older student had knocked him over in his rush, and Izuku was only able to avoid getting trampled by instinctively latching onto the floor's material.
"Gotcha!" Dark Shadow exclaimed and plucked him from the floor again. As the four got pressed against the pane by the increasingly distraught student mass, Katsuki grunted in annoyance. "Damn morons. It's just the fucking ink-slingers, we ain't in danger!"
"To the contrary, we are," Yaoyorozu corrected. "This panic poses a very real threat. Midoriya at least was lucky enough to have a Quirk that protected him, but the next student who trips may be less lucky."
Suddenly, Izuku had an idea. "Yaoyorozu, could you maybe make a megaphone for me?" As soon as the slightly confused girl had met his request, he had Dark Shadow pull him up to the one point everyone was focused at.
The emergency exit.
"Students of U.A. High School!" Izuku exclaimed through the megaphone. His whole body was now the bright signal red of his shoes, thereby drawing even more attention on himself (even if that part was unintentional).
So many people were looking at him… no! This was something every hero had to go through on a daily basis; if he didn't say something right now, the chaos would break out again.
"Everything is all right! There is no danger and no attack; it's only the press corps! Let's stay calm and evacuate orderly to prevent people getting hurt!"
Meanwhile…
The staff room had been left unguarded, and the intruder was quick to find the teaching schedules. They didn't know what those people needed them for, but in the end, it didn't matter.
They sighed, leaning against a wall and letting the mask slip for a moment. Deep breaths, in and out, to center themselves just a little bit. They weren't about cry or anything like that; that'd be their ruin, but… they needed a moment to get hold of their emotions. To let everything lose at least a tiny part of its impact, as futile of a try as it may be, having known that their dreams were receding further and further with every step they'd taken on their way to the staff room.
Maybe, if they'd made a different decision…
Whatever. It didn't matter, now. Not anymore.
They had to get started. The commotion their… employers had caused wouldn't last forever, and they really didn't want to get caught in here.
They swiftly produced the burner phone they'd been given for the mission, took pictures of the schedules and sent them to "Sensei". As they carefully checked the corridors and put on the mask again they prayed that after this, they'd finally be free.
A/N: I'm back! Apologies for the delay; you can probably guess the reason. 2020 has shaped up to be a pretty crazy year; I hope you all are doing okay right now. Stay safe and remember to wash your hands :-)
Next time in Matter Adaptation: The other positions in the student council are announced! Who do you think was appointed? Also, The Squad being friends and enjoying some peace, quiet and bonding time (just kidding, it's more like Katsuki is given too much power and others suffer as a result).
And, as usual, constructive criticism is welcome, flames aren't!
Remember to go beyond…
PLUS ULTRA!
Ramses, over and out.