Chapter 31: Class President Candidates
"I knew it… not a single vote for me…" Tenya Iida slumped forward in a dramatic pose of despair, tears streaming down his face.
"You're too serious all the time…" Izuku Midoriya scratched his cheek, surprised to see he'd tied with three votes. "I didn't expect to get the same number as Yaoyorozu…"
"I'm a bit reluctant to admit it, but the class president role is pretty clear-cut, right?" Momo Yaoyorozu tapped her chin. "As expected, Kira-kun's the class president."
"Well, I think Kira-kun seems pretty responsible! He's been doing great as the temporary class rep these past few days," Toru Hagakure whispered to Momo, eyeing Katsuki Bakugo's furious outburst up front.
"Damn it! I can live with that guy taking first, but Deku got three votes? Who the hell voted for him!?"
Like Winston from Overwatch in a primal rage, Bakugo stomped one foot on his chair, roaring. For the record, he only got one vote—his own.
"Voting for Midoriya's better than voting for you…" Hanta Sero muttered, only to freeze under Bakugo's "peaceful" death glare, quickly covering his mouth.
"Ahem. So, Kira's class president, and Yaoyorozu and Midoriya are vice-presidents," Shota Aizawa said, poking his head out of his sleeping bag. He glanced at the vote tally on the blackboard before retreating back inside. "The video's on the computer desktop. Kira, take it from here and explain."
"Kira as class president? Not bad," a classmate murmured.
"Midoriya's got that fired-up vibe, Yaoyorozu's super calm, and Kira's really responsible," another added.
Seeing no objections from the class—even Bakugo just shot him a glance, scoffed, and turned away—Yoshikage Kira stood and walked to the podium.
"I'm honored you all chose me as class president," Kira began with a polite nod, then continued, "So, I hope everyone turns in their homework on time from now on. No more last-minute cramming. We're Hero Course students, and while practical training is a big part of our grades, I don't want us falling behind on regular assignments…"
"Why'd we make him class president? He was already the class rep!"
Groans erupted from the class. Iida, handkerchief in hand, sobbed dramatically. "Choosing Kira-kun was the right call…"
Kira ignored the complaints, outlining a few more expectations before gesturing to Momo to lower the screen and Midoriya to dim the lights. He stepped aside.
"You might not have seen what your opponents did during the matches, so let's review the surveillance footage," Kira said.
The room darkened, and high-definition footage appeared on the screen, showing multiple camera angles of the entire building.
Kira frowned, wondering how everyone could catch the details with so many feeds. Suddenly, the screen shifted from 64 camera views to nine, then four, and finally just two: one tracking the hero team, one the villain team.
Did Aizawa-sensei stay up all night editing this? Kira glanced at him, surprised. I thought he was just a slacker, but he actually cares about us…
Midoriya stood by the door, chuckling at footage of himself and Ochaco Uraraka leaping through a window. I was too cautious back then, he thought. I didn't account for Bakugo's speed or how cramped the first floor was—definitely not an ambush spot.
As expected, Bakugo hadn't coordinated with Iida and charged straight at him. In hindsight, Iida would've been better suited for the attack. The footage showed Bakugo's blitz, Midoriya holding him off, and Uraraka splitting off.
The screen split into four views, one for each student.
Midoriya gaped as Uraraka's final move—a "Comet Home Run" with a support pillar—played out. I never thought such a gentle girl could pull off a move like that!
Kira paused the video and addressed the class. "I'd like everyone to comment on these four's performance."
"I'll go first!" Iida stood, back straight like he was giving a formal report. "Midoriya used strategy effectively to hold off Bakugo. Uraraka coordinated well, pulling off an unexpected move at the critical moment. Bakugo showcased skillful Quirk usage…"
He concluded about himself: "I didn't stay vigilant enough against Uraraka and failed to communicate with Bakugo…"
As Iida rambled on about his flaws, Momo interjected. "That's not true, Iida-kun. You performed the best out of everyone."
She continued, "This was a simulated rescue mission. While Midoriya and Uraraka did well, they got caught up in fighting and forgot it was a rescue. Uraraka's final strike was too reckless—did she consider the risk to the 'nuclear weapon'? But you, Iida-kun, stayed true to your role as a villain, acting exactly as one should."
"Someone actually understands what I did…" Iida burst into happy tears. "I knew someone would get it!"
Okay, calm down, man…
"Ahem, anyone else?" Kira asked.
Since Iida and Momo had covered the strengths and weaknesses, the class shook their heads in unison, out of comments.
Kira shrugged. "Alright, let's move to the next match."
…
At lunchtime, everyone lined up in the cafeteria.
"So many people…"
Denki Kaminari, standing in front of Kira, eyed the long line and turned to chat.
Kira, engrossed in his phone, didn't look up. "Well, Hero Course, Support Course, and Management Course students are all here. If you don't want to wait, go to the other line—it's empty."
"No way! Sure, the other cooks make good food, but how could I pass up a meal made by the Cooking Hero, Lunch Rush, himself? Besides, you're not switching lines either!" Kaminari shot back.
"Tch." Kira sighed, realizing he couldn't shave one noisy person from the line. "Don't you have anything to say about your embarrassing performance in yesterday's test?"
Kaminari and Kyoka Jiro had faced Momo and Minoru Mineta. Right at the start, Momo used her Quirk—Creation—to forge steel plates, sealing the stronghold's door.
Mineta used his Pop-Off Quirk to stick his sticky balls on the outer walls, climbing to another floor via the windows. He deployed remote-controlled cars with cameras, pinpointing Kaminari and Jiro's location.
Though Jiro's earphone jacks could sense vibrations, the overwhelming "enemies everywhere" sensation threw off her judgment, handing Momo the upper hand.
Then, somehow, Kaminari and Jiro got into an argument. Frustrated, Kaminari unleashed his Quirk, frying the remote cars' radios with an electric surge, cutting off Momo's control.
The tactic worked—Jiro located Momo's position—but then Kaminari short-circuited, turning into a giggling idiot, scooting sideways like a crab and flashing thumbs-ups at Jiro.
The outcome was predictable. Jiro couldn't hold the line alone, and they failed to breach the stronghold before time ran out.