The next day...
Haru and Katsuki had shown up to school only to find a large crowd of reporters and paparazzi swarming around the main gate harassing students and onlookers alike. They exchanged annoyed glances between themselves and decided to take the most pacifistic method they knew how.
They plowed in.
Most of the media backed off from the two brothers at first, sensing Katsuki's fiery bloodlust and Haru's icy irritation. In the end, even that didn't stem them off for long, at least not the less experienced ones.
"Hey, you! Can you tell us what it's like to work so closely with All Might!"
"Are you one of All Might's students? Tell us what All Might like in person?"
"Please answer our questions!"
A female report tried shoving a mic in their faces, "Excuse me, are you two in All Might's class?" she paused a moment recognizing them, "Hold on, aren't you those sludge villain kids?"
Haru patted Katsuki on the back, using a signal they had agreed on several months prior.
After the sludge incident, the media had tried to corner them several times for a story. It had caused them lots of untold annoyance. As a counter, they had created a plan that involved Haru distracting the press while having Katsuki move out of the crowd, then Katsuki would distract them so Haru could slide out.
The best part was that the media still hadn't caught on to their technique.
Now, Katsuki initiated the plan as Haru turned to face the reporter with a smile.
"Is this live?"
The reporter hesitated, "Uh, no?" the answer was mostly a question as she had been caught off guard.
Haru smiled, "Good," he took a deep breath and spoke in rapid English, "We'd be extremely happy if you'd leave us alone and stop messing with our personal lives. Where do you think you are, America? There are laws that forbid trespassing on private property and endangering the health of citizens. Buzz off!" he looked over their heads, still speaking in English, "Good enough, Kats?"
Katsuki's gruff voice sounded off from the other side of the gate, "Same as usual. They still haven't figured it out."
Everyone's eyes turned to look at the ash-blonde smirking at them as Haru vanished from their midst. When they looked back, he was gone.
"Wait, where'd he go? Why was he speaking in English?"
"Aw, man! I didn't get anything from him."
They looked back at Katsuki only to see Haru waving at them before he pressed his finger to his eye in a taunting akanbe sign. This caused several reporters to yell out in anger, especially the case when they realized that Haru's origami had kept their cameras and phones from recording him doing it.
Aizawa, who was standing nearby, had a self-satisfied smirk on his face upon seeing their annoyance. As an underground hero, he hated the media. The fact that one of his students could get away with openly teasing them like this completely made his day.
His enjoyment was cut short, however, when a shout revealed that several more students were trying to push their way through, causing the stampede to start all over again.
Haru sighed as he recognized several of his classmates being swarmed, unable to escape. What a drag...
He glanced over at Aizawa, "Sensei, permission to help them out?"
Aizawa gave him a deadpan look, "No damage to property or person," he ordered.
Haru cracked his knuckles, "Should be easy enough."
Katsuki and Aizawa watched him for a moment, waiting for something to happen.
A few seconds later, Katsuki got impatient, "What the hell are you doing?"
Haru looked up at the sky outside the gate, "Strange to see hummingbirds in Japan, don't you think?"
Aizawa looked up, "Hummingbirds?"
There was a sudden buzzing sound as a small dark cloud flew out of the sky. As it got closer, the sound of hundreds of peeping chirps made everyone within hearing range look up. Several people started to panic as the flock of tiny birds descended upon them.
A few seconds later, cameras, mics, notebooks, phones, any tool essential to a reporter, was quickly plucked up by several groups of the feathered fiends.
In a series of chittering, the hummingbirds took off with their loot, hauling it all down the sidewalk toa space away from the gate. The media, or what was left of it, ran after them, yelling for the tiny creatures to return their property and not to break it. While they were distracted, they failed to notice the sudden stream of UA's late arrivals (plus some of the more faint-hearted who had been in hiding nearby) make a break for the safety of the campus grounds.
After the last student had crossed the threshold, Haru sent Aizawa a mischievous smile, "Not a scratch, Sensei, not a scratch."
Aizawa just shook his head, not even bothering to answer.
One of the hummingbirds broke away from the rest of the flock and hovered over to Haru. As it got closer everyone noticed that it was intricately made of paper. It landed on Haru's outstretched finger
"Thanks, Filo," Haru said gratefully to the bird.
It cheeped cutely, rubbing its head against the boy's cheek.
"You're the only person who would think of creating the hummingbirds in Japan," Aizawa droned tiredly.
Haru gave him an innocent look, "They are absolutely too useful to not create! Not to mention they're cute," he stroked Filo's head. "You can return their things now."
With a rustle of its paper feathers, the tiny bird let out a shrill screech.
Less than a second later the equipment was quickly lowered to the ground, allowing the media to retrieve their property. Haru turned around and headed towards the main school building. He was picking up several negative vibes at this point and he wasn't planning of sticking around for it.
As he was about to enter the school, however, he felt something strange, as if someone was staring at him. He expanded his sensory out to check for anything out of the ordinary.
He was unable to find anything unusual at first thanks to the media milling about, but he suddenly picked up on something darker. Something familiar. Where have I felt that presence before?
"Something wrong?"
Haru snapped back to attention at the sound of Katsuki's voice, "Oh, yeah. Just felt something strange, nothing to worry about."
Katsuki looked at him hard before shrugging and walking through the door.
Haru looked back at the main gate, catching a glimpse of someone standing across the street.
Who are you?
***
Homeroom...
"Decent work on yesterday's combat training, you guys," everyone in Class 1A felt a happy chill at the unexpected praise from their teacher. Aizawa closed the results booklet he had been reading, "I saw the video feeds for each of your team's results," he looked over at Katsuki, "Bakugo you're talented, so don't go sulking about your loss, okay?"
Katsuki clicked his tongue as if he didn't care, "Tch. Yeah, whatever."
Aizawa looked over at Izuku, making the boy stiffen, "And Midoriya, I see that the only way you won the match is by messing up your arm again and a member of the opposite team stepping in for you. You need to work harder. Don't give me the excuse you have no control over your Quirk. That line's already getting old. You can't keep breaking your body while training. Your Quirk will be really useful when you get a handle on it. Show a little urgency, okay?"
Izuku brightened, "Right!"
Aizawa shifted his gaze at Haru, "Haruko, normally I would tell you that your actions were both insanely stupid and unstrategic. In this case, however, you were forced into those actions by a teacher's bad judgment. UA is all about being the best and strongest you can be, but it is the faculty's responsibility to place limitations on a student when necessary. My only suggestion is that next time you try to find a solution that doesn't involve breaking character to become a human shield."
Haru nodded mutely as Katsuki grimaced. There was an awkward silence in the room as Aizawa finished sorting the last of the paperwork.
Finally, the homeroom teacher looked up, "Let's get down to business. Our first task will decide your future."
Everyone in Class 1A tensed. Is it another Quirk test?
He gave a suspenseful pause, "You all need to pick a class representative."
Everyone sighed in relief. Oh good, just normal school stuff.
Kirishima raised both hands over his head, "Pick me, guys! I wanna be class rep!"
Kaminari raised his hand, "I'll take it!"
Jiro spoke up, "Yeah, you're gonna need me."
"Someone with style would be best!" Aoyama said, standing up from his desk, the air around him sparkling as usual.
Ashido waved her arms excitedly, "I'm totally the right pick!"
Mineta started to say something perverted, but he was suddenly gagged by Haru before he could finish saying it.
Even Katsuki was raising his hand yelling at the top of his lungs.
Haru was thinking hard as everyone screamed for attention. Normally this would just be a bunch of extra work. My grades are fine, so that's okay. This would also be a good chance to be noticed by different agencies and gain experience as a leader. No. I can get that without becoming class rep. Still... Might as well raise my hand, it's not like anyone would nominate me anyway.
Haru raised his hand midway.
Everyone else, excluding Izuku, Todoroki, Tokoyami, Yaoyorozu, and Koda, continued yelling or arguing over each other, each vying for the position. Haru waited patiently for about a minute before a vein popped on his forehead.
This is ridiculous.
Iida's voice rose above everyone else's, "SILENCE, EVERYONE! PLEASE!" Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked over at the dark-haired boy, "The class representative's duty is to lead others. It's not just something anyone could do. You must first have the trust of every student in the classroom. Therefore, the most logical way to fill this position is by doing it democratically. We will hold an election to choose our leader."
Everyone looked at each other uncertainly.
Kaminari didn't look convinced, "Is this really the best idea?"
Tsuyu agreed with him, "We've only known each other a few days! How do we know who we can trust?"
"Besides everyone will just vote for themselves," Kirishima pointed out.
Haru spoke up, "Exactly. While most people will, some won't. That means whoever gets the most votes will be the most suitable for the job. The process of elimination."
Iida confronted their teacher, who was standing bundled up in his sleeping bag, "That's the best way, right sir?"
The hero gave them a tired look, "Do what you want, just decide before my nap is over," with that, he fell over, passing out on the floor.
Haru sweatdropped. He needs to balance his schedule.
***
Haru eyed the blackboard with a deadpan expression on his face, "Three votes..."
Katsuki slammed his hands on his desk, "Okay, why didn't anyone vote for me?"
Sero gave Katsuki an unbelieving look, "Did you honestly think anyone would vote for you?"
Izuku was stunned by the fact that he had two votes, especially since he didn't vote for himself.
Yaoyorozu in contrast didn't show any reaction to her own two votes.
To say Iida was surprised would have been a gross understatement. Someone had given him their vote!
"O-one vote?" he clenched his fists, "But, who?"
Tsuyu looked at him curiously, "You didn't vote for yourself?"
Haru seemed unusually occupied with the blackboard.
"So Haru is the class rep," Kirishima stated, grinning, "I can get behind that."
Aoyama made a dramatic pose, "He has both style and power! Not to mention charisma only matchable by myself."
Haru stood up, "Everyone, as much as this honors me, there are people here who are better qualified for your sup–"
Katsuki sent him a deathly glare, "Don't. Finish. That. Sentence."
Izuku sat up in his seat, forgetting his own shock, "He's right, Haru-chan! You can do it!"
Haru's lowered his head, his hair overshadowing his eyes, "I'm not sure..."
Katsuki growled, "You're not doing this again."
Several of their classmates perked up at the final word, "Again?"
Haru flinched at the noise, "Guy's, it's no big deal."
Kaminari protested, "What are you talking about? You're the perfect candidate among us! You stay calm under stress, you're obviously very smart, you even memorized everything there is to know about the school! On top of that, you're one of the strongest in the class!"
"We shouldn't force him to take the position if he doesn't want to," Tokoyami pointed out, "If he really doesn't want to take the position, he should appoint someone he thinks is better qualified."
Jiro leaned back in her seat, "I'm cool with whoever he picks."
Kaminari chuckled, "Except for Bakugo."
"What was that, Pikachu?"
Haru grabbed Katsuki's collar before his older brother could attack the other blonde.
Iida stood up in his seat, "Haru, even though I may be disappointed in not being voted in myself, I think you should accept the will of the majority."
Still holding Katsuki's arms, Haru sighed, "Fine, I accept the nomination."
Kaminari and Ashido cheered.
Aizawa briefly sat up, "Alright, the class rep is Haruko. His deputy will be decided upon after lunch between Midoriya and Yaoyorozu. You will also choose your other class officers at that time.
***
Cafeteria during lunch...
Haru met up with Kaminari and Jiro after texting Monoma and Shiozaki that they would all be eating together for lunch. The latter two had yet to show up, but the other three were sure they'd arrive soon.
Haru sampled the Tonkatsu he had ordered. As usual, the hero cook, Lunch Ruch had outdone himself.
"Hey, Haru, what did Bakugo mean when he said again back in the classroom?" Jiro asked, taking a bite from her rice.
Haru paused.
Kaminari set his chopsticks down, "Yeah, I was wondering about that too?"
Haru swallowed his food before answering nonchalantly, "Back in my second year in junior high, the old school president asked me to replace him as the new school president. I turned him down."
Kaminari's jaw dropped, "Turned him down? Why?"
Haru picked up another vegetable with his chopsticks, "I needed to focus on other things. I couldn't guarantee to be unbiased against students who I didn't like. So, I didn't accept."
"What happened, happened," Jiro said reassuringly, "I sure you'll do a great job as class rep, Haru."
Monoma and Shiozaki walked up to them with their lunch trays.
Monoma had the beginnings of a real smile on his face, "So Haru got elected class rep? Looks like 1A will actually provide some competition for our own class, huh Shiozaki."
The vined haired girl gave everyone a friendly smile before going silent, closing her eyes as he clasped her hand together.
Not noticing, Kaminari tried talking to her, "So, Shiozaki, what's been happening?"
Haru shushed him, "Wait a moment, she praying."
Kaminari's mouth formed a silent O as everyone stopped talking a moment.
A few seconds later, Shiozaki raised her head, "Thank you, I always say grace before meals."
Jiro sent nodded, "Sure, no problem."
The five of them calmly continued their conversation.
"So, what's it like in 1B, you guys?" Haru asked.
Monoma snorted as if Haru had asked a stupid question, "Of course it great! It the class I am attending after all! Nothing like poor 1A."
Haru chuckled, "Yeah, we do have a couple of problem children."
Monoma gave him an annoyed look, "You aren't meant to agree with me so quickly."
Jiro couldn't resist a jab at the other blonde sitting at their table, "Why shouldn't we when Kaminari is part of 1A."
The electric blonde slammed his hand on the table, "Cut it out, Jiro!"
Shiozaki smiled, "I sure you have many redeeming qualities, Kaminari. You're the kind of person who brings laughter to the people around you."
Kaminari grinned, "Gee, thanks!"
Jiro and Monoma were about to start another round of teasing when Haru placed his finger to his lips, silently shaking his head. He almost laughed at their downcast faces as they obeyed.
So Haru, how does it feel to be class rep?" Monoma questioned, bringing the conversation around to its original subject.
Haru groaned, leaning back in his chair, "I tried to turn them down, but it was by vote. The majority, you know."
Monoma chuckled, "You seem more like the type who takes charge when your adrenaline is up. I wonder how long you will last."
Jiro smirked as she savored the green tea she had in her hand, "Anyone want to bet how long he'll last?"
Haru eyebrow twitched, "Why did you two vote for me?"
Jiro gave him a blank look but Kaminari was taken off guard.
"What? What do you mean?"
Jiro waved her hand dismissively, "You can't hide from him, Pikachu. He probably has some hidden skill that detects lying," Haru opened his mouth then shut it, causing the girl to nod knowingly, "That's what I thought."
Shiozaki gave Haru a curious look, "How did you know they voted for you?"
Haru grinned, "They told me just now."
The other four sweatdropped.
Monoma began counting off on his fingers, "You can create and control paper, you can sense your surroundings, you can detect lying, I can't even copy your Quirk, what other skills are you hiding? How many Quirks do you have?"
"He can heal too apparently," Kaminari piped in.
Jiro gave Haru a lazy look, "Is there anything that you can't do?"
Haru rubbed the back of his head nervously, "The normal answer to that is 'fly' but I can do that."
Kaminari looked at Monoma, "OP?"
Monoma nodded, "OP."
Haru glowered at them, "I'm not that strong."
Shiozaki shook her head, "I beg to differ, you are both blessed and have worked hard. I'm sure you will do amazing as 1A's class representative."
Haru groaned again at the thought, "I know this will look good on my record, but I already feel a headache coming."
"You'll live," Jiro snarked, "If not, walk it off."
Haru was about to answer when a shrill alarm pealed out across the school.
"WARNING! LEVEL THREE SECURITY BREACH. ALL STUDENTS PLEASE EVACUATE IN AN ORDERLY FASHION."
Jiro watched several students stand up and rush towards the hallways in panic, "What's a level three security breach?"
Haru stood up quickly, pushing his chair back in place, "Someone had managed to get past the school's barriers. Let's go."
The other four nodded, feeling their instinctive fears fading as they felt Haru's radiating calm.
They had barely made it to the hallway when they were all sucked into the massive crowd of screaming and struggling students. Haru struggled to remain standing, his light body at a disadvantage in mobility against the mob. For a moment he saw Kirishima trying to yell out over the crowd, but the redhead was soon buried by the onrush.
Haru suddenly felt himself get pushed against the window.
"Haru?"
Haru looked up to see a familiar face, "Iida!"
The dark-haired student frantically motioned at the window, "It the press! They triggered the alarm, but no one will listen to me!"
Haru looked outside and saw that it was true. A spark of anger flickered in his eyes for a moment, and he felt an intense urge to hurt someone.
"Haru!"
The sound of Jiro's voice made him look over to see her, Shiozaki, and Uraraka grouped together, fighting to make their way towards him and Iida.
They were run down by a large student who was in too much a state of panic to realize what he had done. Upon instinct, Haru activated his chakra.
"Harlequin!"
A dull growl caused several people to stop their panic as a large origami bear rose from the floor and placed itself as a shield over the fallen girls.
Iida looked on in awe, "Great work, class rep!"
Haru nodded briefly, stretching out his hand to another fallen student, summoning Filo and her flock to help him to his feet.
"I can't keep this up forever, we need to get everyone's attention and tell them what's going on!"
Iida pointed to the end of the hallway where the green exit sign pointed the way out, "There! You just need to fly yourself over there and get their attention!"
Haru grunted as he was shoved against the glass again, subconsciously helping another person from a similar fate, "Right!"
He started turning his body into paper. Butterflies are too slow with this many people around. I need to try something else. An idea hit him. I got it!"
Haru's figure collapsed as he transformed into a swarm of insects that had only existed in his mind before. The Kikaichu, the legendary symbiotic insects utilized by the Aburame Clan in his home dimension. Now in the forms of thousands of these tiny beetles, Haru swarmed up the wall and across the ceiling. He reached the exit sign without much difficulty and reformed his body to its original state.
He channels his chakra to his feet and balanced himself on top of the sign, his amber eyes flashing. Okay, get their attention, and make an impact.
"EVERYONE! EVERYTHING IS OKAY!" Haru's normally soft tone was replaced by a commanding one.
At the realization that there was someone taking charge, the panicking student instantly calmed as they turned their eyes up at the red-headed first year glaring down at them.
Having gotten their attention, Haru explained what Iida had learned, "ITS JUST THE MEDIA OUTSIDE! YOU DONT HAVE TO PANIC! YOU ARE IN NO DANGER!" his voice held a note of anger, "YOU'RE UA STUDENTS, ACT LIKE IT! YOU SHOULD AT LEAST BE ABLE TO HANDLE A MINOR SCHOOL CRISIS! SECOND YEARS, THIRD YEARS, SET EXAMPLE TO YOUR YOUNGER CLASSMEN! SHOW US THAT YOU ARE READY TO TAKE ON WORLD CHALLENGES."
There were several sighs of relief as the upperclassmen followed Haru's advice and helped usher the remaining students toward the evacuation area.
Haru looked outside and noticed that the police had arrived and were forcing the media off the school property.
Even then, although the situation seemed to have been resolved, Haru felt uneasy.
***
Later...
"Okay, Class Rep, let's get started."
Haru nodded, "Okay, we are now choosing our class officers," he looked down at the list he and Yaoyorozu had put together a few minutes before, "Due to Izuku dropping out, our vice representative shall be Momo Yaoyorozu. She and I have selected the officers according to ability only. If you have any complaints, please state them after we have finished announcing."
"Otherwise, hold your piece forever," Yaoyorozu finished.
Haru raised his voice slightly as he announced the choices, "The class secretary shall be Tenya Iida."
Iida coughed in surprise, "W-what?"
"The secretary takes class attendance and monitors times for the class. He is also in charge of the class funds for class activities," Yaoyorozu explained, "We both thought that Iida would be perfect for the position given his aptitude for following the rules and level-headedness under pressure."
"Personally, I think Iida would make a better class representative than myself," Haru revealed, "But everyone insisted I keep the position, so I will just have to make do with this," he looked at the shocked teen, "I will need your help quite a bit, Iida. I look forward to working with you."
Iida stared at Haru, "You were the one who voted for me?"
Haru smiled, "Sorry it didn't work out. Maybe in another universe, things would have been different."
Iida bowed his head, his voice trembling, "Thank you, I will do my best to fulfill my duties as secretary."
Yaoyorozu looked at the list, "Moving on, the class historian shall be Izuku Midoriya."
The green-haired teen completely freaked out, "Huh? H-historian? Me?"
Uraraka gave him a congratulatory wave, "Great job, Deku!"
Haru waited for everyone to quiet down, "Izu, your job is to keep a record of class events and activities. Your experience in notetaking will help you quite a bit. It ought to be a simple thing for you."
Izuku flushed a little as a resolute expression appeared on his face, "I'll try!"
Yaoyorozu tapped the paper against the desk, "And now, our class representative shall say a few words."
Haru was completely caught off guard, "Wait, what? I am?"
Jiro placed a hand to her mouth as she called out to him, "C'mon, Class Rep! If you were able to chew out the whole student body, you can at least say something that won't bore us to death."
Sero grinned, "Harsh."
Haru gave Jiro the stink eye before straightening up, allowing his golden orbs to sweep over everyone, "Okay then," he took a deep breath, to calm himself, "I would like you all to know that if anyone you have any problem, you can talk to me anytime. I will give out my number to the entire class in case of emergencies. Feel free to talk to me about anything and I'll try to help as best I can. Just know that I tend to interfere too much sometimes, so be sure to tell me when I am overstepping. Apart from that, I will fulfill my duties to the best of my abilities."
Kirishima gave him a thumbs up, "Okay, manly guy!"
"We know you won't let us down!" Kaminari called out.
***
*Akanbe is a Japanese facial gesture indicating sarcasm but also used as a taunt. It consists of someone pulling down one's lower eyelid to expose the red underside towards someone, often accompanied by the person sticking their tongue out.