-Chapter 5: The Calm before The Calamity-
Today was pretty hectic. Even starting in the morning, there was a cholesterol blockage that was the press wanting the newest piece of hot media of All Might becoming UA's teacher.
"Hey, you! What do you have to say about All Might teaching at UA?" "Do you believe All Might is not being the best Teacher by being late?" "Is it debatable that All Might is now a worse Hero because he took to teaching?"
Of course, a few, like the pretty boy Yuga, had to be dramatic for the cameras. Others, like Izuku, simply wanted to go through without being pestered by too many questions. And a few, like Katsuki, threatened the press and scared some of them off, only to them to come back like buzzards in the hot sands. Goku, personally, fits between Izuku and Katsuki here. He's annoyed by them, but he's not going to play their game, instead opting to just leap over them. Aizawa was barely civil about them, but for the best of his students, he'll turn a blind eye to their persistence. Attacking the press, no matter how much of an annoying mouth breather they are, isn't exactly the best thing to do unless you're in a dictatorship.
"Never mind the press, students. Once they realize they're wasting their time out there, they'll leave us be. Focus, talk among yourselves, and elect your President and Vice President. I will be taking a nap outside while you deliberate. Before you ask, Iida, I don't care how you elect your officials," Aizawa said, bundled in his sleeping bag as he rolls out of the classroom, Iida looking a bit hurt by the comment. The chatter grew in volume without their scary teacher's influence. Everyone accepted to do their election in a direct democracy style.
"I should be president!" "The weak should fear the strong!" "I don't really care about being a President." "I will do my best if I am President!"
After a voting round, the votes come back. The President is Son Goku, with 4 votes, followed by Vice President Izuku Midoriya at 3 votes, Momo Yaoyorozu at 2 votes, and the rest with one or zero votes. Goku and Izuku stand up front as Aizawa looks on, most of the crowd cheering them on as they stood there. They looked especially awkward, but they can't exactly reject their new positions.
At lunchtime, while Goku has a load of lunch, he looks kinda dull when he seats himself with Izuku, Ochako, and Tenya.
"Eh, I'm glad people think I'm Presidential material, but I dunno... I'm not that good, at least not yet!" Goku muses. He eats a lot, and while his friends are a bit put off at the garbage disposal that is Goku's legendary appetite, they shrugged it off, with Izuku remembering a Pro whose entire MO is eating for his Quirk.
"Nonsense, Son-kun! I am certain you will do well in your new post!" Tenya said.
"You talk pretty formally, Iida! Like you're familiar with how it all works," Uraraka mentioned.
"I come from a prestigious family of Heroes! To continue the lineage, I became a hero to follow in the footsteps of my brother, Tensei Iida!"
"As in Ingenium, the Engine Pro Hero?!" Izuku said in surprise. Goku recognized the name from Gohan's stories of patrolling the streets.
"The very same! What about you two?" the enthusiastic Engine Hero aspirant asked, eyeballing Ochako first. Izuku's motives were already well known to the other three.
"I'm in it because it pays well." Ochako said plainly, before hiding her face in shame, almost as if she couldn't believe what she had said. "I-it sounds selfish, but I want to help my parents in construction so they don't have to do it by themselves!"
"What are you talking about, that's perfectly selfless, Uraraka-kun!" Tenya said. Goku and Izuku nodded in agreement, before the three turned to Goku, looking internally conflicted as their eyes rested on him.
"What about you, Goku-kun?" Uraraka asked.
"I am doing it partially because I owe it to my father and mother, alongside another Hero..." Goku said, deep within his memory, as he remembered their first encounter, but shudders when he imagines the Great Ape Incident.
"What's wrong?" The three had asked, worried on how this happy go-lucky teen rumbled in sadness, pain, and regret.
"...I almost killed them, nearly eight years ago. It was a lovely night, and the full moon shined bright. However, the moment I saw it, I turned into a horrible beast...! A giant ape that wanted to destroy everything around it!" Tenya and Ochako looked on with shock and sadness at the story, while Izuku realized what Goku meant, looking solemn.
"I think I know what you're talking about..." Izuku replied. "There was a story around that time, Yokoi Musha took on a fire-breathing giant ape and cut its tail off, ending its rampage before it could kill anything..." As he finished, Goku was crying a slight bit.
"I... almost killed... my family... Ever since then, I kinda idolized Yokoi Musha, almost as much as I had All Might... And I wanna be a Hero to make it right, for them... and for him." Goku calmed down from his tears, the trio of aspirants helping him calm down further, whether it's just small words of encouragement or even the back pat. Suddenly...
"Level Three Intruder: A non-authorized person(s) is on the premises. Please evacuate the school immediately."
Then the sirens sounds, and chaos goes into the kitchen! And everyone within the area are trying to rush outside!
"Holy shit, a Villain got in!" "We gotta get out of here!" "I'm too young to die!"
With the disorder, the doorway's blocked and the jam is threatening to trample several students, one of them being Ochako. Upon Tenya's instruction, she used Zero Gravity to help Tenya get on top of the sign even as she was threatened by being trampled. On the opposite side, Momo's facing a similar problem and Goku helps her up, saving Tsuyu from also being trampled as he tries to protect her from the stampede. While Tenya shouted with his voice, Momo elected to create a megaphone.
"Students, please calm down! The intruders are simply members of the press! Form a line and get out in an orderly fashion!" the two 1A students yelled at unison, stopping the stampede.
Upon looking outside and seeing that they are indeed just people from the press, mania had died down as the student body done as they were told. To line up and calmly exit. Aizawa, who looked more pissed off than usual, was helping the stronger Heroes throw out the press. Those reckless idiots not only didn't respect their boundaries, but they outright threatened the lives of many students, but especially his students, as Ochako, Tsuyu, among others from General to Business, sustained minor injuries from the trampling some of them had endured. If he were a Vigilante who had no restraint, he'd make sure those press members would be in full body casts for the next month at the bare minimum.
Afterwards, class returned in session, to some complaints, but Aizawa was too tired to glare, simply opting to stare at them. The first (and last) order of business from President Goku and Vice President Midoriya? A well-earned promotion for proving their mettle in the face of crisis.
"Effective immediately, Momo Yaoyorozu shall take my place as President! It was with her quick thinking, working in conjunction with Tenya Iida, that they've prevented severe injuries from happening on the student body!" Goku announced, to the shock of Momo and everyone else.
"And I will do the same, but with Tenya Iida as Vice President, for the reasons Son Goku had presented!" Izuku also announced, shocking Tenya. They both bowed to their new superiors before they took their seats.
"That settles it, then. Momo Yaoyorozu is your President and Tenya Iida is your Vice President, now let's get back to work," Aizawa said dryly.
"Thank you, Son Goku...!" Momo said, still in much shock.
"I will not fail you, Midoriya-kun!" Tenya spoke. And afterwards, classes continued on. Though, having finally opened that nutshell he had hidden away eight years ago, Goku's mind was in a bit of a free-fall, unable to truly focus like he had yesterday.
After school, Goku came back to Son Gohan and Son Mikai a bit more sorrowful than normal.
"Hey, Goku, are you okay?" Mikai asked, worrying on seeing her son this glum.
"N... no." he replied, his face holding back tears.
"What happened at school today?" Gohan questioned. "Did someone hurt you?"
"I... I got a flashback to the incident." he answered. The two look at each other, before they hugged him, trying to help him alleviate his troubles.
"Oh, Goku... You know you were not at fault for what happened that night." Mikai cooed, her voice helping soothe his wounds.
"B-but... if I would have had... killed you...!" Goku broke down, the tears flowing from his face.
"Shh sh sh... You didn't. Otherwise we wouldn't be here." Gohan replied. "Even when you transformed, you avoided us, like you knew we were right there. In addition, you were able to control your form enough you could at least speak with me. Do not allow it to go to waste because of the past, you're a good kid."
"I... I know..." the teen said softly, his tears still streaming down his cheeks. "Some friends... helped me by hearing me out." The two parents smiled.
"They are good friends, then. We'll get some special dinner prepared, okay Goku?" Goku nods in response, sniffling as he stops crying.
The dinner, which consisted of beef and broccoli, sitting upon a grand pile of orange-scented rice. Despite sounding like it'd be disgusting, eating this rice helps calm Goku further. Sadness melts to calmness and neutrality, giving way to enjoyment as his stomach filled up with the delicious food. Indeed, the fact that his friends were there to hear him out instead of calling him a beast? That had warmed the cockles of his heart. Family may have always been his core, but it's another thing entirely to have friends, especially friends his age, give him the additional courage to help him tell his story.
The next day started as normal, until around 12:50, when Aizawa made an announcement.
"All Might is running late, so I will take over for him. As irresponsible as it is, because for today's exercise in Foundation of Heroics is the Trial of the Rescue. It will be held at the Unforseen Simulation Joint. You are to bring your Hero Costumes, except for Izuku Midoriya, as your outfit is in ruins from your fight. You are to bring your gym outfit instead." Aizawa said.
The kids are ready to dress up in their Hero costumes, except for Izuku. The bus waits outside UA, as the drive up to the USJ Building is long enough to require one. As the students pile in, Goku found himself sitting next to an unfamiliar face, wearing a white gi as his Hero costume. Funny, the two guys who had gis as Hero Costumes sitting close to one another.
"Hey, that's a cool tail! I'm Son Goku, what's your name?" Goku asked.
"Oh, hey Son, I am Mashirao Ojiro," the large-tail kid replied. "Do you have one?" Mashirao asked.
"Actually, I still do! I just keep it behind my gi belt because I'd rather not have anyone grab it." Goku then allowed his tail to wiggle out from under the belt, it slowly swayed. "So, what about your tail? Anything cool about it?"
"It's a normal tail. Though I would say that it helps me in close quarters combat. I'm perfectly content with not being super flashy myself, but that's me being me," Mashirao went on.
"I've trained in Karate, Kung-Fu, practically got to the point I was kicked out for being too good!" he responded.
"Yeah, that's definitely no exaggeration. I'd like to think we're kindred martial artist spirits!" he replies.
"Hah, sure! Kindred martial artists!" the black-haired kid cried out with glee.
"So, out of all of us, what'd you guys think would be some of the best Heroes out of all of us?" Eijiro, who had suspenders and black pants as his Hero Costume, piped up. It'd make for an interesting conversation piece, at least!
"I am inclined to say either Midoriya or Goku, ribbit. The former definitely has more to improve upon, but I can easily see him be a natural leader under stress. The latter, he's got more skills and he just feels... easy to be around. Regardless, I know Bakugou would not be that great of a Hero, he's too shouty and makes so many threats, they feel meaningless," Asui said, as blunt as a hammer. Izuku felt pale, as he felt a familiar pair of red eyes gaze down upon the two.
"Care to say that again, you amphibian piece of shit?!" Katsuki yelled in a threatening gesture. The frog girl barely even recognizes his threat, simply pointing him out.
"That just proves my point, ribbit," she replies, stoic in the face of the threat.
"Ladies, gentlemen, please keep tensions to the minimum," Momo spoke out, stern in her warning.
"Please heed the president's words!" Tenya loudly parroted. "And please accept my apologies for speaking out of turn, President!"
"Man, only about four days, is it? And we already know your personality is as pleasant as rat shit in the sewers of Tokyo!" Denki laughed at Katsuki, whose scowled deepened. Of course, this flagellant revocation of authority simply made Momo put her fingers on her forehead, trying to relieve the stress of these idiots going at each other.
"Okay, Mr. Vocabulary! It's on, you bootleg ass, Pikachu wig-wearing-!" He was ready to blow up that annoying Electric kid straight to Hell, but his palms stop crackling.
"It's clear I made a mistake leaving some of you in this class," Aizawa ominously spoke with venom, a glare falling on them yet again. "Besides, we're now at our destination. You'll learn there's more to being Heroes than just battling Villains."
The students piled out of the bus, and their eyes laid upon a massive domed structure. The Unforeseen Simulation Joint was right in front of them.
AN: Apologies for this chapter in particular for being exceptionally short. Had to take a chunk of Chapter 6 to make it consistent with the other, earlier chapters without it being overbearingly long. Even then, it's a dwarf chapter compared to the last one, since this has no real action scenes or montages and it's mostly around the school life.