[Season 1] Ep. 7 - It's Hero Time!
After a night's sleep somewhat agitated by my excitement and apprehension of meeting the greatest hero of all time, I was awake and ready to face this new day! I dressed quickly after taking a nice cool shower to wake up both my body and mind and then headed to the common room for breakfast.
I wasn't the first to get up on the right foot. On the couch, already ready and watching TV, was Sanki our energetic dragon, and Mitoshi whose jaded look hinted at stress or anxiety. I greeted them briefly as I headed into the kitchen to prepare my bowl of cereal milk. Quietly sitting at the table, having lunch in my thoughts, I was pulled out by a very tense Masako, who had come to sit down and have a nice bowl of warm milk as well.
- "Aren't you nervous about our first hero class?" she says to me, staring off into space.
- "It's true that there's cause for anxiety... Not only is this our first real superhero class, but on top of that, it's with Ultra Bright! The greatest superhero of all time! What are we going to look like with our second-rate quirks compared to him..." I replied, playing with my spoon.
Then Shōji arrived like a bomb behind us, overexcited and in great shape early in the morning.
- "Hey! Don't pull those faces! Guys, we're gonna meet THE superhero! If we don't get super-strong with him, then we'll have to worry. For the moment, let's go, we'll do our best and we'll see how we progress. Right?"
His remarks, although crude, were nevertheless full of common sense and managed to put a smile back on my face a little bit, but also on Masako's face.
- "That's right, you're absolutely right. We'll see after class," I said confidently before taking my dishes to the dishwasher and then walked to the door, put on my shoes, and walked out to the class.
When I arrived in our classroom, I was not the first. There was also Haruto, already sitting in his seat, his right leg waving frantically on the spot. Our eyes met for a few seconds, filling the room with an icy cold, so palpable was the young man's animosity towards me. Shōji and Masako arrived just behind me, saving me from this moment of great embarrassment, and we went to our seats, the class being about to begin.
The others had all arrived and we were all looking forward to the ringing of the bell that would herald the beginning of the course. It was time, and the school sounded with a loud "Driiing". The door opened gently, held by a powerful hand, and the imposing hero entered the room, filling it with his imposing charisma. The great and powerful hero with brown hair and impeccably coiffed backward and eyes of divine blue, turned to us, hands on hips, and graced us with his most beautiful smile.
- "So this is the new generation that will succeed me... So many people who look like future great heroes! Children, let me introduce myself: Ultra Bright, your Heroics Teacher. Pleased to meet you!"
All of my classmates and I let out a big smile for our warm new teacher. Warm, you could say he was from head to toe. First, his costume was a bright red and white honoring our beloved country from the rising sun, then a few touches of yellow to make it shine even brighter. Then there was his quirk: Sun Absorption. Allowing him to absorb the sunlight to release heat and also increase his physical capacities, his muscular body was a real heating in the room. And finally, his cape, red and flamboyant, was not only cosmetic and allowed him, according to interviews with its designer, to absorb sunlight 24 hours a day so that his quirk was always at full power. He then clapped his hands, attracting our attention, and said:
- "Okay kids, for every practical exercise in my class you will wear what will later make you recognizable heroes among a thousand: your hero costumes!" he then pressed a button on the teacher's desk and secret compartments opened in the back wall of the classroom with numbered suitcases. "In these suitcases are your costumes. Put them on and then join me at Ground Beta for today's trial."
No sooner had he left the classroom than we rushed to the suitcases and then to the changing rooms to change right away before going to the exercise site. We then arrived in front of two gigantic gates overlooking the reproduction of a district of a large city. Noting the realism and the immoderation of such a training ground, it is really at this precise moment that we all realized that we were finally in the big league.
Ultra Bright standing proudly in front of us, hands on hips and smiling up to his ears as he watches us approach him in our very first hero costume:
- "But what do I see? Real future professional heroes, no doubt about it," he declared like a father to his children. "Well, for your first practice of the day, you'll be participating in a training exercise to prepare for a terrorist attack. It's very simple, we're going to draw lots of groups of two who will face each other in one of the buildings behind me. One group will play the terrorists and the other group will play the heroes. The goal of the terrorists is to protect the bomb during the time limit or to neutralize all the heroes. The heroes will either have to neutralize all the terrorists or take possession of the bomb. This is certainly an exercise, but I am counting on you to act as in real conditions. Is that clear to everyone?"
- "Yes sensei!" shouted the class, in one voice.
Ultra Bright then took out balls with letters from A to J, all in duplicate, and put them in an opaque box with a hole big enough to put your hand in. We then drew one ball each to form the following peers:
Team A: Raiji Fugiri & Masako Nuriki
Team B: Yūto Shiori & Takashi Higemoto
Team C: Shōji Hibikiya & Yūji Medai
Team D: Haruto Shishiudo & Mitoshi Hashirai
Team E: Etsumi Mashō & Moe Hibara
Team F: Bokurō Hanesaka & Ino Yuima
Team G: Atsuyo Hatsui & Shigemi Mushiage
Team H: Naoto Honetani & Sanki Tatsuoka
Team I: Miyu Itonori & Aiba Chimoto
Team J: Ise Ibayashi & Shinsuke Akibo
As all the pairs went to meet each other, Masako approached me, smiling and cheerful:
- "That's great! I'm happy to be with someone I already know, it'll be easier to coordinate!"
- "Y-yes! I can't wait to work with you," I replied, confident in our duet.
While we were all getting to know our partner, Ultra Bright then drew the duos that would compete in that order:
- "The first team I will announce will play the heroes and the second will play the terrorists. So the teams that will be competing will be Team A versus Team D, Team B versus Team I, Team H versus Team J, Team E versus Team C, and Team F versus Team G. Team A and D, I'll let you get into position in one of the buildings marked with a red cross at the entrance. The villains will have 10 minutes to position themselves where they want with the bomb and get ready. The rest of you, follow me, we're going to a control tower to watch the game. When the buzzer sounds in 40 minutes, it will signal the end of the game. Let's go!" he said with a big hand gesture.
So, Masako, Haruto, Mitoshi and I walked to one of the buildings and, waiting for the "villains of the day" to set up, Masako and I worked out a strategy together:
- "So let's think... Your quirk allows us to launch powerful frontal attacks, ideal against Haruto, and should easily break Mitoshi's columns. But, as I understand it, your quirk makes you lose control, right? So there is a risk that you attack me in the melee?" I asked her quietly, out of pure mistrust in case one of our two opponents stayed nearby to spy on us.
- "That's right, kind of like you when you have blue hair and eyes... In that case, let's not use my quirk and yours at the same time. It would be better to split up and try to quickly grid the area and scatter them, what do you think?" she tells me, just as quiet and focused on the exercise.
- "Yes, I think that's a good idea. I'll use my quirk to sneak in from the outside while you go on the inside and try to work your way up to them. Finally, only activate your quirk if you are in a very bad position or if both are on you, it will serve as a signal to us, is that ok?" I retorted very quickly, as time was running out.
- "Okay, let's go like this." The first bell rings, announcing the start of the trial.
From the control tower where Ultra Bright and the others were located, 4 large screens centered on each of us were displayed in front of them, allowing them to scrutinize our every move. So on the screen, we could see that Mitoshi had used his quirk to erect dozens of stone columns in the room where the bomb was stored, while Haruto was roaming the corridors, probably trying to prevent us from advancing to our goal.
As Masako entered the building, I decided to use my quirk a little less conventionally to surprise the enemy. I then concentrated on my hands and feet to create zones of attraction and then put my hands on the outside wall and started climbing, my limbs being as if attracted to the wall by my quirk.
Disregarding my slight vertigo, I then began my slow climb of the outside wall, avoiding as best I could the many windows of the building while remaining extremely concentrated on my quirk so as not to fall. As for Masako, she was methodically and discreetly progressing in the maze of corridors that was the building.
As she was now sneaking through the corridors of the 4th floor of the 7 floors of the building, she heard heavy footsteps ahead of her, fast approaching in her direction. It was Haruto. She had to hurry to retrace her steps to the last fork in the road to, perhaps, lose him. Turning quickly towards the crossroads where she could flee, her head grazed the wall and, without paying attention, her horns scratched against it, emitting a shrill sound which attracted the attention of Haruto who, alerted by the noise, ran in her direction.
Taking cover in the corner of the corridor, she bent down at the hips of the "pseudo-villain" and tried to throw him off balance with a quick sweep. Surprised by this attack, Haruto's body tipped forward, dragged by his weight as Masako prepared to elbow him in the lower back. He rolled quickly to his left and dodged.
- "Nice try!" he let go, a sly little smile on his lips.
His right leg spits out the air he had stored during his fall, propelling him slightly forward, allowing Haruto to give him a vengeful kick in the ribs, propelling her body a few meters. But Masako was still ready to fight and rose quickly, her horns growing angry. She didn't wait for a second and rushed at him, hoping not to give him enough time to inflate his muscles with air. She then cocked her left fist and attempted a hook, which he easily dodged by taking a step backward before grabbing her arm. Haruto then gave her an arm wrench and slammed her violently against the wall.
- "Forget it, you lost!" he whispered in her ear.
- "Not yet!" she shouted, throwing her head backward, pushing her horns, which had become a little bigger, into her opponent's eyes.
She barely managed to poke his eyes out, but ripped off his eyebrow arch in a sheaf of blood and freed herself from his grip. Taking advantage of his dizziness to flee, Haruto, in a rage, concentrated to inflate all his muscles and went in pursuit.
Arriving then at the 5th floor where Masako had fled, I took advantage of crossing her eyes to ask her what the situation was like with a movement of the head. She then gave me her thumb, indicating, despite her posture, that everything was OK. Trusting my partner, I then continued my ascent to the top floor, speeding up the pace a little more.
There, I was discreetly sticking my head through a window, trying to get an idea of the place. But I couldn't. Mitoshi's columns had altered the entire floor, and I couldn't locate the bomb. Nevertheless, I took the risk of breaking one of the windows to enter the building.
Once I'm inside, it's hard to find my way around. Looking all around me, I was trying to determine if these columns followed any logical pattern or at least if there was a place with a greater concentration of columns. At the bend of another corridor, bingo: a whole wall made of Mitoshi columns prevented me from passing. While I was lost in my thoughts thinking of a way to get around them, a big boom, somewhere down below took me out of my thoughts.
- "Shit! Masako!" I thought aloud before rushing in the direction of the noise to help my friend.
Haruto slowly approached Masako who had probably been sent through a wall or two.
- "Sorry, but I told you I'd get you," he told her, confident of victory.
Masako was very injured and could hardly move, her body being covered with rubble from the walls she had destroyed with her body. Just before she was about to activate her quirk, I came down the stairs just behind Haruto and shouted:
- "Masako! I'll hold him off! The bomb's on the seventh floor, behind a wall that only your quirk can get through! Go!"
- "Oh no, she's not going anywhere!" Haruto said as he stepped forward to block her.
That's when I ran to him and activated my zone of attraction all over my body to draw him to me and block him against me.
- "Run Masako, it's time! " I shouted to her while increasing the power of my attraction zone to the maximum.
Neither one nor two, the girl used her last strength to get up staggeringly and ran as best she could to the top floor while I hindered her attacker. I then felt Haruto inflate all his muscles with air which, once at the maximum of their capacity, emptied of their air all at once, projecting us each to the opposite side of the room.
Knowing full well that my original quirk would be useless in combat, I decided to change to Nega, and, concentrating, my hair and eyes turned blue, giving way to my other personality.
- "Ready to take your beating, Muscleman?" said Nega, displaying a broad, provocative smile as he advanced towards Haruto.
- "Try to see!" he shouted, rushing towards Nega with the air expelled by the muscles of his legs.
Charging his fist with a zone of repulsion, Nega hit him with a powerful right jab reinforced by this zone which crashed against Haruto's fist which was sent back to the back of the room by the shock wave. Not losing a second, Nega jumped on Haruto with another punch of this kind, screaming at the top of her lungs:
- "Repulsion Punch!"
While the battle was in full swing, Masako finally managed to find the column wall I had told her about. Catching her breath and exhaling a great gust of air, she activated her quirk and her horns and eyes began to shine as her muscles only grew. Then, with a devastating punch, her reinforced, wool-lined gloves were pushed through the column wall, finally giving her access to the room containing the bomb.
The building was shaking under the blows of Masako and Nega who had driven his opponent into the back wall. Placing his elbow against his throat to subdue him, he approached his ear:
- "So, how does it feel to be overpowered by a so-called loser?"
- "Ugh... You... You tell me!" taking advantage of Nega's arrogance and inattention, he propelled his air-laden legs straight into his ribs, making him spit bile in the process.
As Nega spat out his lungs, Haruto pulled himself away from the wall, inflated his arms with air, and prepared a series of punches. A smile appeared on the lips of Nega who, just before impact, used a repulsion zone on his legs to propel himself into the air and then, turning forward, delivered a powerful hammer kick reinforced by his repulsion zone while screaming:
- "Gemini's Hammer!"
At the top of the building, Masako destroyed all the columns of Mitoshi without thinking like a rabid beast shouting again and again:
- "Aries Wrath!"
Mitoshi, terrorized by such power used his columns to propel himself across the room to create new ones and create a diversion without being seen by the raging ram. Unlucky for him, as Masako continued her joyous carnage, her eyes were drawn to the young man jumping from column to column and, animated by the rage of her quirk, rushed at him, destroying everything in her path.
Shattering all his columns and revealing the bomb hidden behind them, Masako hesitated between unleashing more fury on Mitoshi or playing with the new toy she had been given. Her horns having shrunk greatly, her lucidity returned just enough to make her rush to the bomb, leaving Mitoshi the choice of risking serious injury for the mission or hiding. Fearing the devastating power of his comrade, he kept his distance and tried in vain to distract her by throwing stones at her.
The moment she laid her hand on the bomb, the bell announcing Team A's victory rang out. Nega, with his foot on Haruto's throat, smiled broadly as he heard the liberating music:
- "Mwahaha! Looks like Mr. Winner lost to me! A comment perhaps?" he said sarcastically, crushing his rival's throat a little more, his face twisted with pain.
Ultra Bright, observing the catastrophic situation, didn't wait for another second in front of the screen and leaped powerfully into the building and, in the blink of an eye, neutralized Masako before taking care of Nega, stunning him just enough to give me back control, not without pain, and made my hair and eyes turn red again.
- "Ah, youth... Always so fiery. You'll have to learn restraint, young people. Come on, let's go to the infirmary and cure all this. And don't worry, from there you'll still have access to the broadcast of the next fights" he said to us while little robot nurses came to get us with stretchers.
In the surveillance room, our comrades were divided between fear and amazement at such a fight. Among the most emotional were, of course, Teams B and I, coming in second. And, as Masako, Haruto, and I went to the infirmary in the greatest silence, Yūto, Takashi, Miyu, and Aiba were preparing for their turn.