ORDINARY DAY

The classes excitement came as a bit of a surprise but the task itself was done fast. Abe-sensei had quickly settled the hyperactive teenagers getting them focused on the task itself before things got too out of hand. Rather than asking who wanted to run, he asked who didn't. Maru was the only one who opted out. His classmates looked at him like his face had been painted on backwards. Youta even asked if he knew how significant such a post was.

He knew. Of course he knew. He may not be an expert on all things heroics but he had taken the time to look up UA a lot more thoroughly recently. A leadership position in a hero class was high praise for any hero hopeful. Turn that into the leading hero school in the country and it was priceless. Perfect for your resume and an excellent way to kickstart your hero career. And it wasn't limited to just that. It was like a long term investment that consistently reaped profits. It even helped when opening your own hero office. He doubted most of the students knew in detail just how lucrative the position truly was but they all had at least an idea. Even then, he wasn't interested. Being an over glorified herdsman just wasn't something he was interested in. Especially when it involved energetic pubescent teens. He wasn't looking down on his peers, he was one of them after all. He just saw no appeal in the position. Unlike most of the class, the reason he wanted to be a hero was due to his existing skillset and freedom of quirk use. Idly, he wondered how his classmates would react if they knew that.

The results of the vote to some degree were predictable. Youta came in first with Gumi and Dean tying for second. Youta got 6 votes to Gumi and Deans' two. More than half the class didn't just vote for themselves and that resulted in a look of appreciation from their sensei. Something that caused a few students to puff out their chest a bit. All three students seemed startled at the result. It would be interesting to have two VPs but it wouldn't be that shocking. Abe-sensei quickly disposed of that idea saying the position was limited to a single student. Rather than take a vote again or even share their on-the-spot manifestos, the choice would be settled in a game of rock-paper-scissors. Maru laughed at that.

Then Youta dropped out shocking the class even more than he did. A few asked why and Youta's answer ticked off quite a few of them. He could here Raion grit her teeth in annoyance at that. Well, that was one vote he knew for sure. 'To see where I stand in the eyes of my peers he said' Maru thought quietly to himself. He could see where he was coming from. Both of hem had been in the same boat since they started school so it resonated with him to some degree. Pity it would very obviously anger the class. It had already.

His sincere apology afterward dyed the class pink. Exhibit A sat beside him after all. He could even here a few people choke with second hand embarassment when he bowed to them in apology. It was heartfelt and grateful, everything a teen had trouble facing head on. The words were simple but pretty much shot an arrow straight through everybody's heart. Even Abe-sensei had squirmed a little. It made Maru think it was a pity Youta gave up the position, he would be a great class representative. He was curious about the 'prior responsibility' Youta mentioned in his apology though.

The game was still held to determine who would be the president between the two. Gumi won leaving Dean exasperated at the odd turn of events. He didn't seem to mind being the VP though. And that was that. A short speech later, class went on as per usual. During the day, he had been crowded a few times to answer a few questions but most of the students seemed satisfied after the first time he narrated how the battle went. Majority were more interested in who won the fight but he didn't have an answer for that one. Calling it a draw seemed like it would be sacrilege to the class so he opted to just stay mum about it. It helped that Youta sat to his right, filling in any extra info as the story unfolded from his lips for the entertainment of his peers. He was quite the story teller, contrary to his appearance. Something about the seriousness of the delivery made it seem more like a thriller than a documentary.

There had been a few students who kept digging for more but it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. This even included some from 1B. Shisu had even stopped by the class at lunch to ask if he was alright. Shisu ended up joining him and the others for lunch on the first floor. He did a wonderful impression of a dead fish when he realized just how large the UA cafeteria campus. Something he would probably deny but Maru had photographic evidence. There was still a lot he could learn from his father.

By the end of the day, Maru was exhausted. He probably used up his weekly word count with how much he talked. Jid laughed at how tired they both looked. Funny enough, he hadn't asked a thing so far, just listened in on what they told the others. He didn't seem as interested and Maru couldn't help but ask why.

"Ah, that's cause I asked Abe-sensei. Plus, you guys pretty much explained everything like a hundred times,"

A glance at Youta told him they thought the same thing. That wasn't quite it.

"Really?" Youta inquired. Jid's disinterest was unexpected. Welcome, but not quite in line with his usual mood.

"Yeah. No offense but I kinda started tuning it out after the 20th retelling," Jid replied with a low genuine laugh that had Maru and Youta sharing another look.

It probably stemmed from something else but neither of them would pry. They had kept the gore and severity of their injuries out of every conversation but everything else was as it happened. Now that it was just the three of them headed back, they did somewhat want to tell him the full truth but it could wait. When Jid wanted to talk, he would, and they'd be there.

At the moment, something else had a hold of Jid's attention and so far, he had danced around it with the delicacy of a rampaging elephant.

"SOOoooo…. This whole class president thing," Jid started with his eyes darting to and away from Youta repeatedly as he tried to figure out how to finish the sentence without exposing his interest in the matter. If Youta did talk about it he wouldn't mind, he was just helping him out by creating the opportunity for him.

Youta's lips stretched out into a lopsided grin. Even with all the story telling he and Maru had been doing, he had probably heard the word class president from Jid just as much. Context didn't matter. At lunch he had asked about 1Bs class president while looking right at him. Then on their way to their next heroics class, he had asked if the class president needed to lead the way to the locker room. His curiosity was so painfully obvious Youta had to stop himself at times from laughing out loud at his friend's lack of tact. He could see the curiosity in Maru's eyes as well and this was probably the only time during the entire day it had been only the three of them. He didn't mind satisfying their curiosity,

"You're wondering what responsibility would stop me from being class president right?" He said, interrupting Jid's newest attempt at 'discretely' putting the word 'class president' in a sentence.

"Yeah," Maru answered evenly as Jid pretended to focus on the path ahead.

"It's more of something I've been doing for a while now and I'm not willing to stop," he said.

That had both boys focusing on his words fully as they strolled futher and further away from UA.

"I grew up in an orphanage. Since I could help with some of the more difficult chores I have. There's actually quite a bit to be done in a day so I'd rather help out the matron and the kids while I can."

The two boys looked genuinely shocked at that. He could see questions flying through Maru's mind, probably getting answered just as fast in the process, as Jid stuttered in unbelief. He understood to some degree and asked the question he was sure they both wanted answered most.

"I don't look like a kid at an orphanage, do I? Or rather, I don't look like someone who'd be 'left behind' for lack of a better word, right?"

That had Jid look away shamefully but Maru just nodded slightly. It was more of a slight tilt of his head but that was a nod in Maru's case. He wasn't the type to tiptoe around a subject and seemed disinclined to paint reality with any color other than its original. Youta appreciated it.

"Don't worry about it, it's really not a big deal," he said to the slightly embarrassed Jid.

"As for why I'm not adopted, well, I didn't want to be. It's a pretty long story actually but I really like our matron. She's old. Really old now that I think about it but she has been very kind to me. Us. The amount of effort she's put in has always been above what is 'required' of her," Youta spoke, thinking back on his childhood briefly.

"Anyway, it never really clicked for me with the parents that came in to adopt. A few wanted me regardless but I can be quite the nuisance when I want to be," he said with a laugh, "But I was happy where I was so I stayed."

"We all do chores and meals but it's there's somethings that need a lot more work, like fixing windows and stuff, so I pitch in when I can at home. Work a bit when there's not much to do at home. Some of the adopted kids come to help out too. Especially those who are adults now. It's not as mysterious as you'd think really. They're my family and we do what we can for each other. I prefer to focus on just school when I'm in school. Abe-sensei's training is hard enough as is."

His words were met with silence. The comfortable kind.

"I'd like to visit," Maru said.

"Yeah. It sounds like an amazing place the way you talk about it," Jid added. That made Youta blush a bit.

"Sure. You guys are welcome to visit whenever," he replied.

They fell back into mundane topics as Jid caught them up on what they had missed while recovering.