There was a crowd of reporters outside UA as Len, Hagakure, and Sero arrived that morning. The three of them had to jostle their way to the gate in order to scan their ID's to be let in. "Excuse us, excuse us," Sero repeated, leading the way.
"Hey, students!"
"Oi! Kid!"
A reporter stopped Len as he attempted to follow the others. "Excuse me, what is it like to be taught by All Might?!"
Len blinked at her. "I don't know. I'm in general studies."
"Oh." The reporter made a sour face and left him alone, allowing him to get through the gate.
Safely on the other side, Hagakure wagged an invisible finger at him. "Kagamine-kun, you can't just lie to reporters like that!"
"Oh, they lie to us."
Mina was waiting further up the steps. "Morning, Lenny, Toru-chan. Oh, and… Sero too?"
The tape quirk user gave Mina a relaxed wave. "I take the same train as these two."
"Oh? That's great! Man, I wish I shared a train with someone!" Mina stretched and turned to look up the steps. "Let's get going!"
"Aren't we excited for class today," Len commented, raising an eyebrow.
"Can you blame me? That class with All Might was awesome! I mean, sure, it may not have gone well for everyone, but…"
"Half the class was statistically destined to lose," Sero pointed out. "It's no big deal, though. We will have three years worth of chances to prove ourselves."
"Provided we don't die of exhaustion," Toru supplied, yawning.
"Yeah…" Len became lost in thought as the four of them entered the school. Mina and Sero were both pretty mid tier in the assessment, so they want to climb the ranks and show off a bit. I understand that, but…
They'd all gotten a perfectly acceptable passing grade just for participating in the battle trial, regardless of the outcome of their match. As long as he got the education he needed to become a hero and save people with his power, did it really matter if he was the best hero ever? Why was it a competition in the first place?
Len hadn't enjoyed the atmosphere of resentment that had slightly intruded into the class during the battle trial, especially from people like Bakugo and even Midoriya. In a quest to be the best, you sacrifice… he looked up at Mina and Toru and Sero, who were having a light discussion a few paces ahead. They all seemed to be enjoying themselves for now.
Maybe I'm just paranoid. Maybe it's easier for everyone else to be super competitive and still be friends. That does seem spot on for Mina, in fact. Len shook his head, dismissing the troubled thoughts, and moved to catch up to the others.
***
When homeroom began, Aizawa looked out at the class and said, "Today we're picking a class representative. And by we I mean you. I can't be bothered." Then he sat back down.
The room erupted.
"MEEE, PICK ME!" Mina declared happily, doing a little jig.
"I'm the best for the job, clearly," said Kaminari.
"You're all too extra for this!" Bakugo snapped, his eyes filled with killing intent as if he was about to release an explosion.
Len squirmed uncomfortably. This is exactly what I was afraid of. Suddenly, he made eye contact with Aizawa by complete accident.
The homeroom teacher raised his eyebrows, as if he was surprised by something. But he made no effort to quell the chaos in the room.
That fell to Iida.
"CLASS! CLASS!" The bespectacled boy got up in front of the room, waving his arms. "Instead of nominating someone directly, we should hold a vote."
Jiro rolled her eyes. "Everyone will just vote for themselves."
"Then whoever receives more than one vote will surely be meant for the job, no?"
"… I guess."
Iida looked to Aizawa for approval. The teacher sighed and pinched his eyes between his fingers. "Alright, sure, whatever. Just make it snappy."
"Alright. Everyone writes your votes on a slip of paper and passes it forward."
Len sighed in despair, staring at the blank piece of paper in front of him, then the pen. It's just class rep, it doesn't matter. But it, like everything else at this damn school, had been turned into a contest.
He ended up voting for Tsuyu and passing it forward. When I don't get a vote, people will realise that it was me who did the right thing.
The results were written on the chalkboard.
Yaoyorozu Momo: 3
Midoriya Izuku: 2
Kagamine Len: 2
Kaminari Denki: 1
Ashido Mina: 1
Asui Tsuyu: 1
Iida Tenya: 1
Sato Rikido: 1
Todoroki Shoto: 1
Hagakure Toru: 1
Kirishima Eijiro: 1
Aoyama Yuga: 1
Uraraka Ochaco: 1
Sero Hanta: 1
Bakugo Katsuki: 1
Ojiro Mashirao: 1
Len's jaw dropped. He'd gotten not one, but two votes? Who from? Who in the fuck…
"Okay, Yaoyorozu will be the class president, and…" Aizawa glanced at the two names on the board. "… Kagamine will be vice president. Any objections?"
Len raised his hand. "I object. I didn't vote for myself and don't know who voted for me. I would make an awful class rep. Let Midoriya do it."
Aizawa blinked at him. "Alright. Whatever."
Midoriya was now going up to the front of the room while stuttering under his breath and trembling. Standing next to the taller Yaoyorozu, he didn't look any more like class rep material than Len did, but still.
Len scanned the room. The class was muttering; a few were giving pointed glances his way. Did people vote for me as a prank? Am I some big joke to them? Maybe they'd voted for both him AND Midoriya as a prank… Midoriya didn't seem like the type to vote for himself. Quickly, Len scanned the list for the people without votes at all. Jiro was one; was she the type to do that? Tokoyami, Koda, and Shoji all had no votes as well… it was hard to tell anything. Those are three of the quietest students in the class, but I'm pretty sure Shoji is my friend, right?
"Lenny," Mina whispered from behind him. "What's the matter with you? Why did you turn it down?"
Len raised an eyebrow at her. "What's the big deal?"
"Class reps at UA get noticed by pros and stuff. They have actual duties and it goes on their record. It's a lot better than being a rep at a normal school."
"Oh. I didn't know that."
Mina rolled her eyes, grinning. "Honestly, sometimes you just… I don't even know. It's a wonder two people voted for you."
"Huh? You weren't one of them?" Len made a show of pouting.
"Hell nah. I voted for me, myself, and I." She pointed her thumbs at herself, eyes closed. "Didn't really work out, though."
In any case, Len was determined to get to the bottom of this. I know I made a piss-poor showing in the battle trial but was this really necessary? He was certain that someone was pulling a prank on him. It was perfectly plausible that some people had gotten one vote from someone else, so it didn't necessarily have to have been one of the four who got zero votes.