Thankfully, Lunch Rush was still serving by the time Percy got to the cafeteria. Todoroki had left to think over Percy's words, so Percy was content to eat his lunch in relative silence, as he got himself mentally prepared for the upcoming events. So far, nothing he had faced had challenged him much. Not that he was going to complain. He put his tray away, and meandered his way back towards the stadium.
All in all, he was feeling good about the way things were going. He'd made a strong showing, had showed that his injury had not slowed him down in the least. The opposite actually, he felt better than he had in months. In spite of his injury, he felt more like himself than he had since arriving to this time. He felt lighter, more confident, and beyond that. He felt happy. That raging guilt monster that had been festering in his heart was little more than a yipping pup these days. He no longer felt as though there was a knife twisting his insides, every time he felt content.
It was liberating.
He turned down the last hallway leading to the stadium exit, before he stopped.
"What in the-"
At the end of the hall, were all of the girls from the class, which was not an unusual sight. What was unusual, was that they were all wearing matching cheerleading uniforms. Low cut tops, short skirts, hair done up. They looked like they belonged on a football field rather than a hero course.
He saw Yaoyorozu, idly chatting with Uraraka, so he called out, "Yaoyorozu," She turned, smiling at him and giving a small wave,
"Percy," She greeted warmly, "We were just wondering about you. You, Todoroki, and Midoriya all just disappeared,"
"Yeah!" Uraraka agreed, "Where were you guys,"
"…Just having a small chat, nothing to worry about, what the hell are you all wearing?"
Yaoyorozu looked down, frowning slightly, "Apparently there's some kind of cheerleading competition this afternoon, all of the classes are involved."
Percy just looked at her skeptically, "Seriously? Who told you that?" He knew he didn't exactly pay the most attention during class or rep meetings, but he felt like he would have remembered hearing about something so ridiculous.
"Mineta and Kaminari." She replied easily, by that point, the rest of the girls had heard the conversation and walked over to listen in.
Percy stilled, and his eyes narrowed,
"…Yaoyorozu, I want you to back up, and say that again. And this time, I want you to really think about what you're saying."
She blinked in confusion, but complied, "Mineta and Kaminari told us that we needed to put on these cheerleading uniforms and-oh my god."
Jiro just groaned, throwing the pom poms on the ground, "Goddammit, why the fuck did we actually listen to them."
Yaoyorozu just sank to her knees, "I cannot believe that I fell for another one of that little pervert's schemes." she groaned,
Percy just pat her gently on the back, "Because you have good heart and genuinely believe when someone is trying to look out for you."
She squeaked, and averted her gaze, a red hue coloring her cheeks slightly. Percy just chuckled, and stood up. "Don't worry about it," He checked the time on his phone, "Ya'll still have some time, you should be able to change and make it back to the field in time." Standing up, Percy waved off the girls as they all took off at a dash to change.
Percy made a mental note to have a "chat" with Mineta and Kaminari. The boy's needed to learn a thing or two about how they treated the female members of their class. Mineta more than Kaminari if Percy were honest with himself. The rest of the students were grouping together in front of Midnight's podium. Percy silently walked up to behind Kaminari and Mineta, as they excitedly watched the entrance to the stadium.
It only took the girls a few minutes before they rejoined the rest of their classmates out on the practice field.
"What!" cried out the grape-headed boy, disbelief and anger in his voice, "They totally bought it, hook line and sinker." He turned a scathing glare at his taller, blonde companion, "Did you say something!" he accused, "I know you got the hots for flat-chest,"
"What!" Kaminari denied, waving his hands in front of himself defensively, "Nah man! Of course not, I don't know how-"
He stopped, as Percy placed two large hands on each of their shoulders. The boys froze, and shakily craned their necks around to peer up at their classmate. Percy smiled down at them, a feral, and intimidating thing. One he'd learned from watching Lupa.
"Afternoon boys," he said cheerily, tightening his grips on both of their shoulder's as he did so, "The three of us are going to have…a little discussion later. On your treatment of your classmates."
Percy was as much of a man as any. He had his urges, and his own desires. But the boys needed to not only learn to control their hormones. If for literally no other reason than they'd piss off the wrong woman one day, and it would end horrifically badly. More importantly, their classmates were learning to be heroes, and deserved the respect that came with it.
Actually, Mineta just needed to learn to respect women in general.
The boy's gulped, and nodded. Before, in an honestly impressive show of speed, they disappeared to the opposite end of the group.
Percy chuckled, as Shoji sidled up to him, "What was that all about?" he asked out of one of his tentacles.
Percy just waved it off as Midnight cleared her throat. "Alright you kids, listen up!" She announced with a crack of her whip. "Our final event is going to be a one-on-one tournament!" Her announcement came with a roar of approval from the crowd, "We will be randomly choosing name from the previous event's winning teams, to determine the battle order. Once the brackets have been decided, then we will recess for the interim recreational games for those who did not make it to the finals! Now why don't we start-yes?" Midnight asked suddenly, as Ojiro's hand raised shakily into the air,
"Im…I'm withdrawing my name." he announced, to the shock of the gathered onlookers. "I can barely remember anything from the second event, something about that guy's quirk," he said, referencing the purple haired boy, Ojiro clenched his fist tight, but his face was resolute, "I understand the opportunity I'm throwing away, but it's wrong for me to get into the finals unfairly. It would dishonor not only myself, but all of the others that worked so hard to get here."
"Um, I would also like to withdraw," came the voice of a teal-haired boy. Percy didn't recognize him, he was short, and on the pudgier side, but Percy did remember seeing him on Ojiro's team as well. "It goes against the spirit of the festival to win in such a manner, and I will not allow myself to be party to it."
"Such an unusual turn of events. Of course, the final decision rests with our umpire!" Mic announced.
"Hm," Midnight hummed, tapping her chin idly in thought. Then, she smirked, cracking her whip as she cried out, "I accept your withdrawals!" she then paused, and tapped at her chin, "This does pose a bit of a problem with the structure of the tournament however,"
"Not at all, dear Midnight," A familiar voice echoed through the stadium. Percy recognized the principal immediately.
"I'm not even surprised that you have a solution already sir." Midnight laughed,
"Quite so. We will simply have a preliminary bout. Our contestants will draw lots, and three of our students will have a free-for-all match against the current point leader."
Percy swore loudly,
"None of that now Mr. Jackson," Nezu chided, Percy petulantly waved a rather rude hand gesture in air, "Our world is often unfair, you said so yourself I believe, and heroes must be prepared for anything."
Percy just glowered. It wasn't that he wasn't confident that he would still be able to sweep through the fights, but he was getting a little tired of being singled out.
The large screen spun to life, before a tournament bracket was drawn up,
Preliminary Round four person free for all:
Jackson vs Ibara vs Aoyama vs Kaminari
Round One:
Winner of preliminary vs. Shinso
Tokoyami vs Awase
Uraraka vs. Bakugo
Iida vs Hatsume
Tetsutetsu vs. Kirishima
Ashido vs Honenuki
Midoriya vs. Yaoyorozu
Todoroki vs. Sero
In spite of the added fight, Percy couldn't help but grin. After the preliminary, he would be going up against Aizawa Jr. A grand chance to put the kid in his place following what had happened the other day at school. Percy didn't have a problem with a little trash talk, he enjoyed it himself. But there was a difference in hyping up a fight, and what the kid clearly thought. The kid had some kind of a chip on his shoulder, what that was, Percy didn't know, but from what he had said during his posturing, Percy guessed it had something to do with his quirk. Whether or not the guy had it rough because of his quirk, it didn't give him the right to discredit the students that had worked their tails off to get into the hero course. Or how hard they had worked since.
Percy was going to enjoy himself.
He caught the eye of Kaminari, who staring at him; eyes wide and terrified. Percy just gave him the meanest smile he could muster.
It appeared as though his little lesson on chivalry, was going to be coming sooner rather later.
BREAK
"Hey, where are you going?" Ragdoll asked, as Rumi stood up from her seat.
"I want to talk to the smartass," she replied. Pushing out the door before any of the others could stop her. Percy had left the field following the announcement of the start of the recreational games. Rumi had no desire to sit there and watch a bunch of kids play around for an hour.
There was more than that though. If asked about it, she would of course deny the accusation, but she had missed the not-so-little shit. They had run into each other a lot during his time on the run, and their dinner together had been enjoyable for a number of reasons. She had wanted to see him again for quite some time, but she never got his number, and to be fair, they'd both been rather busy.
She turned the corner and was beginning to go down the stairs, when her ears picked up the sound of another set of feet. Mandalay fell into step beside her, as they descended the steps.
"You aren't the only one who wants to talk to him," she said simply, seeing the questioning look on Rumi's face. "I want a word with him, about what the hell he was thinking, calling out the goddamn league of villains like he did." Her face was set in a firm scowl, the last words came out as a slight hiss. In spite of only having a minor feline mutation, all of the Cat's seemed to have the same mannerisms of their mascot animal.
"That," Mandalay said, shooting a sly look Rumi's direction, "And I thought you might need some help tracking him down."
Rumi's last foot stopped, half raised, on the final step. Her neck flushed and her ears drooped slightly. She hadn't really thought her plan through all the way, she'd more or less forgotten that she had no idea where Percy had gone, and had no way of getting in touch with him.
Mandalay laughed lightly, patting the shorter woman on the shoulder, "I already texted him, he's in waiting room two." Rumi just nodded, not willing to say anything to comment. Mandalay led the way through the minor maze of the stadium, taking them down several floors, until they were on sub-level. Given their pro-hero status, and Mandalay's own position as a faculty member, they faced no opposition in finding their destination.
Mandalay moved to knock on the door, but Rumi just rolled her eyes and pushed her way into the room, only to stop abruptly. Percy was hunched over one of the tables. His metal arm had been disconnected, and was lying atop the metal surface, next to a large jug of water. His one good hand was wrapped around the stump that had been his right arm, and he was grimacing in pain. Catching movement, out of the corner of her eye, Rumi watched in fascination, as water rose from the large jug, floating weightless in the air. The small bit of water travelled around the table, before wrapping itself around Percy's right shoulder.
There was an immediate change in demeanor, as Percy's face relaxed at whatever the water was doing. He took a few deep breaths, and seemed to come out of whatever daze he had been in. He looked up, and blinked in surprise at seeing her and Mandalay in the room.
"Oh, hey there," he said awkwardly, but Rumi wasn't listening. Her eyes were still glued to the malformed skin, scarred and wrinkled, around where his right arm should have been. It was different, seeing it like this. Initially, she had been surprised and horrified at seeing his replacement arm. But the sight of him having a fully functioning arm, had reduced the full impact of the scale of the injury. Rumi had almost forgotten it was a prosthetic, with how well it moved and worked with him, and how well he seemed to be able to use it out the gate.
On the television screen, she had been allowed to forget what had happened to him. But there, in that small room, staring at the warped and scarred little nub; Rumi felt sick to her stomach. For the first time, it really hit home how close it had been. How close she had been, to losing him. Her stomach lurched. It felt as though she had been entirely too close to missing out on something, she hadn't known she had wanted. They barely knew each other; Rumi didn't even think he knew her actual name. But there was a difference between knowing someone, and knowing someone. Rumi felt that she knew Percy Jackson. She'd fought him, seen him throw himself into dangerous situations in spite of everything that had been going on. In spite of the feelings of isolation, guilt, and sorrow that had to have been plaguing his existence. She knew him, because of his pledge to try and fix the damage to her life and career he had inadvertently caused.
She might not know his life story, or even his favorite color. But she knew Percy Jackson; and standing there, looking at his injury, knowing he could have very nearly been dead and buried, she realized that she wanted to know more. She wanted to know his favorite color. Wanted to know his likes, dislikes, where he came from, what made him tick.
She just wanted to know Percy.
She snapped out of it, shaking her head slightly, before glaring at him, "What was that all about," He looked uncomfortable for a moment, but Mandalay kindly answered for him,
"Phantom pains again?" she asked, moving softly into the room, and walking over to sit next to him, inspecting the water around his arm. Percy nodded.
"Yeah, it was bad this time, probably because I was using it so much."
"Alright assholes, want to clue me in here," Rumi asked, annoyed,
"Sorry," Percy said, smiling sheepishly at her, and damnit if she hadn't realized how much she seeing him smile.
"It's a bit of a side effect of losing a limb," he explained, "Nobody is all that sure why it happens, but the body gets confused sometimes, and forgets that there isn't a limb there anymore, or something like that. Anyway, sometimes I get this shooting pain, like my arm is still there, and someone is stabbing it with a knife. Nothing I can do about it since, ya know," he shrugged, "But it hurts like a bitch," Mandalay jabbed him hard in the ribs,
"Hey," he groused, rubbing the spot in annoyance,
"Oh please, like you even felt that," Mandalay answered with an eye roll, "Besides, I have a bone to pick with you,"
"What for?" he asked,
Rumi rolled her eyes, "For calling out the league," she said as she walked over and took a seat in the chair opposite Percy. She reached over and grabbed the metal limb, and began inspecting it.
"I figured you, of all people, would appreciate that," He shot back,
"Oh, believe me, I did." She answered with a sharp smirk, "Exactly what I wanted to see out of you. None of that pussyfooting around. Called em out by name too, I like that. But some of us, aren't so thrilled by that,"
She continued her inspection, running a hand down the cool metal, and feeling the rivulets that made up the frame.
"Ignore her, she's not sane," Mandalay said, to which Rumi shot the woman a glare, that Mandalay ignored, "Percy," Mandalay began again, "What the hell would possess you to do something like that,"
Percy crossed his own arms, or at least tried to mimic the gesture as best he could with only one arm, "I'm not going to sit idly by and wait for them to come after us again. Besides, I needed to make a statement. If they think that just because I'm down an arm, that I'm going to sit on my ass and not hit them back, then I want to show them what stupid idea that is." He then waved an arm around the room, "Besides, do you honestly believe that they're going to try anything again? After how badly things went for them last time? Nah, there's too much security now, too many heroes skulking about. They're going to crawl into their hole, lick their wounds, and hide; because, they're cowards."
"I just don't understand-"
"Were you not listening to me Shino?" Rumi looked up at that. The tone of his voice was worrying enough, but she hadn't realized that he was on a first name basis with her friends already.
"Those kids, The Cat's, Miruko. You're all that I have, the only people I got left. They tried to take those kids from me. Someone tried to take something I was only just realizing I had. I will not stand idly by while the people I care about, the last things I have to live for, are threatened!" He slammed his hand down on the metal table, denting it slightly.
Mandalay jumped, and Percy immediately looked apologetic, "Sorry Shino," He said softly, "It's just…it took losing my arm, and falling into that lake, thinking I'd left all of those kids to fend for themselves, that I realized how stupid I was being. That I was allowed to be happy. I almost died, and the last thought I had before everything went black, was that I had failed, AGAIN."
His fist clenched, his knuckles turning white, "I've already lost too much. I can't afford to lose anyone else. I've spent the last few weeks thinking about what I have left to lose, and how angry I was that someone tried to take from me, the small shred of happiness I had left." He turned a burning gaze in both of their directions, first at Mandalay, then at Rumi. His eyes seemed to glow, "I'm never letting something like that happen. Never again."
The room was silent for a few moments, before Mandalay put a paw on Percy's back, rubbing it softly, "Sorry, Percy. I didn't realize-"
"It's ok," he said quickly, turning his attention back to her, "You're right. It was stupid, calling them out. But I don't regret it, and I meant every word of it."
Rumi was having a hard time breathing. Her heart was hammering against her ribs, and stomach kept tightening. But she was in no way ready or willing to investigate what that was about, so she deflected, if also to get them off of the heavy topic, "Oftly presumptuous of you to add me to that little list of yours, we hardly know each other," She said, side eyeing him as she pretended to inspect the shoulder-joint.
Percy just snorted, "I think you and I both know that's not exactly true."
Then he smirked at her, the flutter in her chest not going away, "Besides, we'll have plenty of time to know each other when I intern for you,"
Rumi glared at him, putting the arm back on the table with a 'CLUNK', and pointed a finger at him, "You still have a lot to prove to me, before I even begin THINKING about giving you an offer," She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms, "So far, you've won a race and destroyed a building. Nothing that impressive. Even then, you're going to be fighting kids. If you don't win the whole thing without breaking a sweat, how can I trust you to watch my back in the field?"
Was she posturing? Perhaps a little bit; truth was, she had decided that she was going to offer him an internship regardless of the outcome of the tournament. She knew he would win, the other kids had potential but Percy was playing an entirely different sport, let alone the playing in the same league. Still, she wanted to try and goad him into giving her a show. She had made the effort of coming all the way out here. She wanted him to think there was still little chance of her taking him in. Get him to really want to prove to her that he was worth it. Worth semi-breaking her own moral code. Worth allowing herself to work with another person. Make him prove that he was worth it.
And even if he saw through the little power-play, well that was all part of the little game.
Percy just answered her with a smile, reaching out and attaching his arm as he did so. He glanced at the clock, "You might want to head back up, show's gonna start soon,"
He squeezed past the two of them, opening the door to the hallway,
Rumi shot upright, pulling in front of him before he could get out of the room. Mandalay sighed and Rumi ignored her. She looked up at him, poking one finger into his distractingly firm chest. She glared, "Remember, you're representing me out there. You might not be my intern-"
"Yet,"
Her glare sharpened, "But you still got away from me. Which means that you represent me. Your actions reflect mine. Don't you dare lose out there or-"
He cut her off again, this time with a laugh. The kind that did funny things to her stomach and darkened her cheeks.
He smirked down at her, rows of pearly white teeth and those deep sea-green eyes that shimmered with more life than she had ever remembered seeing before,
"Let me guess, you'll kick my ass?"
BREAK
There was something about him that called to her. She didn't understand it, it was instinctual. Not in the predatory way. Like when she was facing off against a superior opponent, but something different. Like she knew him, but at the same time, like he was a total stranger.
There was a familiarity, like seeing her father again. Just being as close as she was, she felt almost as though she were blanketed in the comforting arms of home.
There was something strange about Percy Jackson. Something that called to her, that made the inner horse in her want to stamp her feet and neigh, something she hadn't done since she was a child.
Percy Jackson felt like home.
Pony just didn't understand why.
BREAK
"Alright listeners! It's finally time for the main event, what you've all been waiting for! The battle tournament! And as if that isn't exciting enough, we'll be starting with a four-way battle! Rules are simple, either knock out your opponent, or knock them out of bounds. Now let's get ready to rumble!"
Present Mic's announcement drew the largest cheer from the crowd yet. Percy grinned, allowing their energy to feed his own. He shifted his weight as he stood, as he anxiously awaited the go from the umpire.
He'd never really fought in a tournament like this before, and he was getting excited. All of the fight's he'd had at camp, it had been fighting to submission. That type of fighting was simple, but brutal. Usually a drawn-out affair, with the contestants taking their time to feel one another out. This was something different, something new. The matter of ring-outs was a novel concept, and added a new dimension to the fighting.
He had to gauge his opponents differently, as well as utilize his own abilities to try and finish the fighting as quickly as possible. He grinned; the added dimension of ring outs was going to make this a lot more fun for him.
He stepped up onto the battlefield. The large concrete stage having been put in place by Cementoss during intermission. Percy walked over to his assigned corner. Across from him, was Kaminari. The poor guy looked like he was about to be sick, literally shaking in his sneakers as he looked at Percy. Aoyama was looking no better, though Percy was sure that was from overusing his quirk, rather than anything else. The only one who looked slightly composed, was the green haired girl who could create large vines from her hair.
Though she too was looking at Percy in some consternation. Except, the closer Percy looked at her, the more confused he got. She didn't look at him the same way Kaminari did. Kaminari looked at him like a guppy looking at a tiger-shark. The girl, Percy thought he remembered seeing that her name was Ibara, looked…puzzled. As though she were trying to figure out what he was. Something about the girl felt, oddly familiar, but he couldn't place what it was.
He put it out of his mind for the moment, there were more pressing matters for him to contend with. He did a quick scan of the area once more. Kaminari was directly across from him. Aoyama was in the opposite corner, with Ibara in the corner immediately adjacent to him.
Once the match began, he'd need to act fast, and he figured the same technique he used at the start of the race would work again. He knew he could get Aoyama and Kaminari in the first blast. The only unknown was Ibara. He didn't know exactly how her quirk worked, more importantly, he didn't know if her vines could act as an anchor. He needed to trust that his blast would knock out Kaminari and Aoyama, so he could move swiftly to either freeze out Ibara, or just hit her out of bounds. It was a rough plan, but it would work quick, and would conserve maximum energy. He wasn't overly concerned about exhaustion, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
"All four heroes are coming from the hero course today! From class 1-A, we have the human spark-plug: Kaminari! Also, from Class 1-A, the sparkling, twink-"
"Please don't call him that,"
"If it quakes like a duck Mummy Man! Welcome to the stage, Aoyama! From 1-B, the hero of holiness, Ibara! Finally, you know him, you love him, he's no longer a homeless hobo! From 1-A, Jackson!"
The crowd's roars of approval were starting to reach a fever pitch, anticipation for the start of the tournament.
"Combatants! Start!"
Percy moved immediately, extending his arms out to the sides of his body, palms facing outward. From his will, he summoned a gale, not unlike the winds he'd summoned previously. There was a minor explosion, as dirt, concrete, and grass were ripped from the ground. True to his prediction, Kaminari and Aoyama screamed, getting lifted off of their feet, before they were ejected from the battlefield, and both boys were carelessly tossed into the grass outside of the playing area.
As he'd suspected, Ibara had managed to anchor herself to the floor. Twin vines having extended from the ground and wrapping themselves around her ankles, anchoring her to the concrete. With a wave of his hand, Percy summoned water from the air, slicing through the vines around her ankles with a surgical precision.
Ibara yelped, finding herself suddenly being lifted off of her feet. She tried to summon two more sets of vines in order to ground herself again, but Percy was too fast in his follow up attack. Closing his right fist, he cocked his arm back. The water that had sliced through the vines around her ankles congealed, and gained more mass, before Percy thrust his arm forward. The water rushed forward, slamming into the chest of the struggling girl. The water hit her like a punch to the stomach, knocking the wind out of her, before carrying her out of the boundaries of the ring.
"Kaminari, Aoyama, and Ibara are out of the ring! Jackson moves on to the next round!" Midnight announced.
The stadium was silent for a moment, then exploded into cheers at the heavily one-sided victory
"What a display of overwhelming force! The preliminary is over! There will be a brief break, before Jackson comes back out to start the official tournament!" Mic exclaimed; Percy walked over to the soaking wet Ibara. He'd already seen Kaminari and Aoyama get up, and begin making their way out of the stadium.
He knelt down next to the water-logged girl, and placed his hand on her shoulder. She turned a curious stare at him, "Hang on a second," he said with a smile, as we pulled the moisture out of her. Evaporating the water that was clinging to her uniform before standing up and offering her a hand. She looked at it for a moment, then smiled serenely and gripped it softly, allowing him to pull her to her feet.
"What a display of sportsmanship from Jackson!" Mic exclaimed,
Percy ignored him, and focused on the girl, "You alright?" he asked, as he slowly led the way to the stadium exit, "There was a bit more force behind that than I intended,"
"I am unharmed," the girl confirmed with a slight nod of her head, "Thank you for your concern, and thank you for removing the water from me. I was not anticipating a second baptism today."
Percy raised a brow at the curious analogy, but shrugged it off, "Of course, my fault to begin with."
They walked in silence, the cheers of the crowd still ringing in their ears, until they were in the entrance tunnel to the arena. Them, curiously, the girl stopped. She turned to stare at him intently, her dark green eyes boring up at his,
"You are a curious Conundrum, Percy Jackson," she announced, oddly enough in English. Percy blinked, his native tongue sounding strange to him, after months of not hearing it,
"E-excuse me?" he asked, confused,
"You have the blessings of the heavens about you," she said, and immediately Percy stiffened, the hairs on his arm standing on end as he took an abrupt step back,
"W-what?" he asked, unsure if he had heard her properly,
"You are blessed, Percy Jackson, I can feel it. You hold the power of the divine in you. I can sense it in your heart. Though it is unlike anything I have ever felt before." She explained. Though it did nothing to ease his worries.
Percy's heart was hammering slightly in his chest. How in the hell could this girl feel his divine essence? Who was she, what was she?
"You are strange to me. I have felt his touch before. Felt his blessings, along with the Virgin Mary. I am familiar with the touch of the divine. You share their power, yet it is distinctly different. You are most curious." She titled her head, scrutinizing him, before turning and walking away, but not before giving him a parting shot over her shoulder, "I shall be watching you more closely Percy Jackson. I feel that where you are concerned, his teachings will prove useful." with that, she walked away, her footsteps echoing against the walls of the hallway.
What in the name of the gods, had that been? Him, the Virgin Mary, blessing of the heaven's; she had to be talking about the Abrahamic God, right? Percy had never seen or encountered any physical or mythological proof of the Abrahamic faith's, but he'd always been under the impression that if the others were real, he would be too.
That held some very disturbing implications. He had, perhaps foolishly, thought that if the Greek Pantheon had faded, that the others had disappeared as well. Thoughts of his talk with Annabeth resurfaced,
Having a cousin with an in with the Valkyries helps too.
He'd forgotten about Magnus, he'd only met the boy once, but if Annabeth's small admission was true, then the Northmen were still around.
His heart was beating painfully fast, what did that mean, did it actually mean anything? He was pretty far removed from the rest of the western pantheons, and thus far, he hadn't run into anyone from the Shinto pantheon. Were they gone too? Why didn't he look into that more thoroughly? Should he even bother at this point? Or would that just cause him more problems?
His head started to throb, and he found that he was having a difficult time breathing. He needed to calm down, there was no need to panic, he was fine, he was safe. No one had contacted him, no one had searched him out, and there was no reason to believe that anyone would.
The thought of drawing the attention of the few remaining gods that might still be alive, was making him incredibly anxious. It had been something he hadn't even consciously thought off until that very moment. However, for the first time since he'd been a child, he had gone for months without a single monster attack, demigod dream, or even a mythological encounter. Not having to contend with the struggles of the divine, had been enormously beneficial to his overall mental health, and he hadn't even realized it.
He leaned back, allowing the cool steel of the tunnel to soothe the pounding in his head, he waved a careless hand around his face, and wrapped his head in a bubble for a few moments. Allowing the cool moisture to alleviate the headache, and relax him. When his breathing was under control, and his head had stopped throbbing, he allowed himself to push the worry aside for the moment. There was no need to be concerned, not yet at least. They were just the words of a fifteen-year old, they could mean nothing, or they could mean something, but either way, he wasn't in danger. At least, not any more than usual.
He opened his eyes, and jumped slightly, seeing the tailed form of Ojiro, staring curiously at him, only a few feet away.
The bubble around his head disappeared with a small, 'POP'
"Di immortales Ojiro," Percy said, holding a hand over his heart, "You damn near scared the blue out of my jeans,"
"My apologies Percy, I didn't mean to startle you," Ojiro said, bowing slightly,
Percy just waved off the concern, "Not your fault, I was…not all here." Percy admitted, shaking his head slightly, happy for the distraction from his new set of worries, "So, what's going on? Something I can help out with?" Percy would admit, he was curious. Ojiro was quieter than even Tokoyami, an admirable feat if he were honest. And the two rarely conversed, Percy felt that whatever he had to say, was important.
"I had wanted to wait and see who would be the winner of the preliminary," the boy with the large tail admitted, flushing slightly and rubbing his neck, "Probably didn't need to wait, did I?" He asked with a small chuckle. One Percy shared,
"Nah I can respect it. I assume this has to do with that purple haired dude?"
Ojiro nodded emphatically, "It's his quirk, whatever you do, don't respond to him." He implored,
Percy frowned, "Mind control?" He asked, though he felt he already knew the answer, he had known the blank expressions on his classmates' faces was suspicious, but he had passed it aside to focus on his own test.
Ojiro just looked down, looking ashamed of himself, "I believe so, I remember him asking me something, me answering, and then the rest of it was all just a blank. The next thing I know, the event is over." He looked up and met Percy's eyes, "So whatever you do, don't talk to him!"
"Fighters report to the field. Repeat, fighter's report to the field," said an automated voice in the corridor.
Percy just smiled, holding a fist out to his quiet classmate. He was rather touched, he and Ojiro weren't on the best of terms, but it made him immeasurably happy that Ojiro was trying to look out for him.
Ojiro looked at it for a moment, then smiled, bumping his knuckles against Percy's, "Don't worry," Percy said, "I'll show him what happens when you fuck with 1-A"
Ojiro gave him another blazing smile, before nodding encouragingly at him, and running off to the student box seats. Percy spun around, striding confidently out of the tunnel.
Percy didn't like Shinso. The kid griped and complained about the unfairness of life, the unfairness of being born with a quirk that wasn't 'heroic' enough. Yet did he try and better himself? Did he fight for what he wanted? No, the kid was content to sit back, and let others do the heavy lifting for him.
It ground at Percy. It hit every nerve at once. He was a man that had to fight every single minute, of every single day, for as long as he could remember. Who was this pretender, to call him arrogant, who was he to complain about unfairness, after everything that Percy had been through? The kid needed to learn the hard way that he couldn't skate through life, and expect to win.
It was time for class, and Percy was ready to teach.
BREAK
"Woah, he looks serious," Kirishima murmured,
Percy strode into the stadium. His appearance was in stark contrast to his previous fight. Before, he had seemed loose, relaxed, with an eager and excited bounce in his steps. This time however, his shoulders were tight, back squared, and there was a vein in neck that throbbed in agitation.
"Y-yeah," Agreed Ashido, "What's gotten into him, he didn't even break a sweat during the last fight, and that Shinso guy doesn't look all that tough."
"He's pissed about something," Shoji commented, crossing his regular arms,
Tokoyami nodded, "Agreed. Something has him annoyed. I would guess that boy is the culprit."
"That's the guy who accosted us at school right? The one that tried to threaten us?" Tsu said, her tongue poking out of her lips,
"That's right!" Uraraka said with a snap of her fingers, "I know he was kind of rude, but still, Percy looks like he's about to snap. Did something happen during the last few events?"
"Do you not remember what he said that day?" Shoji asked, and at Uraraka's confused look, he explained, "He basically said that it was unfair that we were in the hero course. That we were simply lucky, born with quirks that made it easy for us to succeed."
"He spat in the face of everything we've had to do to get here. The amount of work and practice we've had to put in." Tokoyami added,
"Oh," Uraraka said softly, "Still, I don't see why Percy would take so much offense to that,"
Surprisingly, it was Bakugo who responded. He snorted derisively, "You don't have a fucking clue, do you Round-Face?"
"Round-Face?" Uraraka asked, confused, but shook it off, "What do you mean by that?"
Bakugo's face just contorted into a deeper scowl, "You need to start paying attention. I wasn't even there for it, but it pisses me off."
"Not saying all that much," Bakugo growled at Tsu for her comment, but it spoke to his own personal growth that he didn't lash out,
"This punk is bitching and moaning about how unfair life is, to Jackson. Saying that HE, of all people, has had it easy. You think that wouldn't piss him off?" Bakugo asked rhetorically. Nobody had anything to say to that for the moment. No one really needed to say anything.
"Midoriya, you have been unusually quiet, what do you think." Iida asked, turning to the green-haired boy.
Midoriya didn't respond immediately, he was too focused on watching Percy. The way he swayed in place, and how his fists were clenching and unclenching. His jaw tight and set, and a dark look in his eyes, that Midoriya hadn't seen since the USJ.
Long ago, Midoriya had made a habit of analyzing pro-heroes. Their strengths, weaknesses, quirks, and their mentalities and personalities. Since coming to U.A. he had adapted and began adding his classmates to the list. None were as interesting to him as Percy Jackson. The contradicting, multi-quirked powerhouse. The man from the time before quirks, who clearly carried more pain in his heart than he showed to his friends.
He liked to think that he knew how Percy Jackson thought, knew what he was likely to do. Which was why he knew exactly how the match was going to go.
"I think," Midoriya finally said, getting everyone's attention, "That this is going to be ugly. And drawn out."
"And Percy's going to enjoy it."
BREAK
Percy's teeth were clenched so hard he thought they might chip. There was something about the uncaring way that Shinso swaggered onto the arena that drove him up the wall. His hands were in his pockets, and the utterly apathetic look on his face was beyond aggravating.
If Midnight noticed the clear tension between the two, she didn't comment, instead she signaled for the match to start, with Mic's announcement barely registering in Percy's ears.
Neither party moved. Percy just stared at the boy, who glared back.
"Tch," Scoffed Shinso, running a hand through his purple hair. "Should have figured you'd be too much of a coward to actually fight." his voice echoed around the stadium, the mic's around the arena picking up the words with ease,
He's just trying to bait you, ignore it, let him come to you.
"I guess I shouldn't be too surprised though." Shinso continued, shrugging apathetically, "You talk pretty big, act like you're hot shit just because you got some fancy heroic quirk."
And here comes the posturing,
"…But at the end of the day, you don't deserve that power. Someone like you has probably never had to struggle for anything. Someone like you, would never understand what it's like to be looked down on, just because your quirk can be seen as villainous. You don't understand how it feels to be scorned, mocked, ridiculed. You've probably coasted through life, getting everything handed to you on a silver platter, all because you were lucky enough to be born with power, while people like me, have to scratch and claw their way for everything,"
Good, he's getting frustrated, come on now, just eat the bait little guppy,
Percy wanted to draw this out. Get the boy so frustrated that he struck at Percy. Percy needed to show this kid that without his quirk, he was nothing. He whined, and moaned about how unfair he'd been treated because of the nature of his abilities, but did he do anything to better himself? Of course not, Percy wanted to show him the error of his ways.
Shinso growled, growing more and more agitated at Percy's lack of a response. His quirk required that his target verbally respond to him, and his goading and mocking wasn't making any headway. He was getting desperate, and scared, he knew that Jackson could end this if he wanted to, but he just stood there, waiting. Seemingly mocking him, mocking his weakness, mocking his lack of a heroic quirk, mocking his struggles. Shinso grew incensed, his own strategy being turned against him, and he stopped thinking rationally; which was why he didn't exactly think his next verbal assault through as thoroughly as possible.
"I bet you even loved waking up in the future. A brand-new horde of people to fawn over you. Love you and praise you; you probably don't even care that everyone you knew IS DEAD!" He screamed the last few words, his own desperation and anxiety reaching a boiling point.
The moment the words left his mouth, he knew he shouldn't have said them.
The stadium was quiet.
Percy's eyes were wide, and his body seemed to shake slightly, a crack of thunder tore through the heavens overhead. The sound almost deafening in the still and silence of the arena.
Aizawa's soft sigh into the microphone, was audible to all.
"I know what you were trying to do Shinso, but you REALLY shouldn't have pressed that particular button."
That was his only warning, because when he looked back to Percy.
The man had already vanished.
BREAK
"He dead," Pixie-Bob deadpanned,
Mandalay was inclined to agree. Percy was nothing if not insanely loyal to the people he cared about. To even suggest the kinds of things Shinso was insinuating…
She almost pitied the kid.
"Hope he breaks one of his arms," She heard Ragdoll mutter, much to the surprise of the rest of the room. "What?" The green-haired woman asked in confusion, her large eyes blinking owlishly,
"Jesus girl," Rumi muttered, "Like same, but I didn't know you had it in ya,"
Ragdoll shrugged, "All you need is one conversation with him, to realize that everything he was saying about Percy is dead wrong."
"I'm more curious as to what he's going to do. More importantly, why he let things even escalate this far. Kid looks like a stiff breeze could knock him out, why didn't Percy just level him?"
Rumi's question had been directed at the room at large, but she'd been looking at Mandalay when she'd asked it. She shook her head, "No idea," she admitted, but Tiger seemed to know,
"He wanted to draw this out," The large man said, as he leaned forward to watch the screen more intently,
"No shit," Rumi snorted, "That's not the question, the question is why,"
"There is a history there, one we have not been made privy to. That is why Percy was so tense before the match. For whatever reason, Percy wanted to prove something to his opponent."
Rumi scoffed, "He should be focusing less on proving something to this kid, and more on proving something to me,"
"Hon," Mandalay sighed, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder, "Seriously, can it with the two-bit tsundere routine. It's getting old. Everyone here already knows that you made up your mind about it."
Rumi flushed, her ears pointing skyward, as she hastily averted her gaze. Mandalay just let out a quiet laugh, as a flash of movement caught her eye. To anyone without enhanced senses, they would have missed it, but her eyes were better than most.
There, flying at Shinso, was a thin trail of water vapor.
BREAK
Fear.
Numb fear.
That was all he felt. Shinso had known that the man he had been goading was powerful. He was easily the strongest in the festival. That wasn't even a question. He had been surprised, though pleased, when the man hadn't simply blasted him out of bounds. He hadn't understood why, but Shinso was not going to look a gift-horse in the mouth.
That was when he'd started talking, but the insufferable man hadn't even responded, he just sat there, glaring at him. Mocking him with his silence. He'd been mocking him, just like all the others. Mocking him for his villainous quirk. Mocking him for wanting to be a hero.
He'd been incensed. He'd lost control, and he'd said something foolish. Something he'd known would have drawn a reaction.
But the man had simply vanished from sight, and it was taking all of his willpower not to shake in his sneakers.
Shinso took an unsteady step forward, his eyes darting across the arena, looking for any sign of him, but he was nowhere to be found. He looked over to the umpire for help, but Midnight just shook her head. The look she gave him was enough,
You made this bed, now you get to lie in it.
Movement! Out of his peripheral, he tried to get out of the way, but it was too late. Percy Jackson rematerialized in front of him, seemingly appearing from nowhere. A large hand shot out, silencing the startled scream, as the calloused palm wrapped itself around his mouth.
Cold.
Unyielding cold.
The kind of bone-chilling cold associated with the most unforgiving of winter storms, erupted from the man's palm, covering his jawline.
He tried to swing, to punch, to flail, but nothing worked. His blows simply bounced off of the larger man like a toddler swinging at a wall.
He couldn't speak, couldn't feel his mouth, or teeth, or tongue. A block of ice had wrapped around the underside of his face, covering his mouth and keeping him from speaking. It had happened so fast, and the next instant, he was released from the man's grip.
"Your quirk, it requires me to answer you for it to work right?" Percy growled, but Shinso didn't respond, he was simply too frightened; terrified at the monster he'd unleashed.
"You've been doing an awful lot of talking lately kid." Percy continued, not bothered by the lack of a response, "So now, it's my turn. I know your type. You think the world's out to get you, that you drew a shit hand in life, well so fucking what."
Shinso tried to scoot backwards, but Percy just followed him, stomping his foot and creating a wall of water behind Shinso.
"You sit there, whining and moaning about how you weren't 'lucky enough' that you have a 'villainous' quirk. And maybe you do, maybe you were born with some obstacles in your way, maybe you were teased, and bullied, and belittled."
Percy stalked forward, creating another pair of walls on either side of Shinso, effectively blocking him off from escape. Percy's metal arm streaked out, faster than Shinso could see, and gripped him around the front of his jumpsuit, drawing him in close enough that his breath fogged up the ice around his mouth,
"Join the fucking club." Percy snarled, "Life ain't fair, you think I wanted to be torn away from everyone I've ever loved. You think I asked to be cursed with a power that caused me to be hunted, and attacked for the first seventeen years of my fucking life. You think I asked, to be made into a living weapon? No," Percy shook his head, releasing Shinso so he was on his feet, "No, I didn't. My life, has been the opposite, of sunshine and rainbows. But instead of wallowing in self-pity, instead of complaining about the unfairness of it all, you know I did?"
He didn't wait for a response, choosing instead, to level an elbow in Shinso's midsection. He doubled over, the wind knocked out him, the ice muffling his gasp of pain,
"I trained. I fought. I practiced. I made the most of what I had. We all did. Because we all had to. We either trained, or we died. Simply as that. Things weren't like how they are now. We didn't get to feel safe. We didn't get to feel protected. It was do or die, every day for us. So what do you do? How do you better yourself?"
Percy swept his leg, and Shinso would have fallen to the ground, if Percy hadn't caught him, before punching him in the kidney.
The pain was unbearable. Shinso couldn't think, and his eyes were starting to water as stars covered his vision.
"Instead of taking advantage of the resources at your disposal, you cry about how life is hard. Welcome to the real fucking world kid. Life is difficult, but you have the opportunity to make it better, and you choose to sit on your ass, and let other's do the heavy lifting. It wasn't because you had the wrong quirk for the job punk, it's because you didn't even try."
Percy pushed Shinso off, and he staggered back on unsteady feet.
He looked up at the large man, his vision hazy, and watched Percy's anger morphed into something else,
"Back in the day, there was this pretty famous quote. Old army captain that lost everything, and found himself stuck somewhere he couldn't understand with the entire country coming down on him. He said that when the mobs, the press and the whole damn world is telling you can't do it, and that you need to give up, to move on. It is your sacred duty to straighten your back, plant your feet, and root yourself like a godsdamn tree. You look at all the naysayers, all the doubters, and everyone who wronged you dead in the eye and you say no, you move."
Percy brought his hands up in a boxing gesture, "So what's it going to be kid, gonna continue blaming everyone else? Or are you going to take responsibility, take charge of your own life, and make something of yourself?"
Shinso didn't respond for a moment. He was having a sensory overload between the pain in his stomach, ribs, and face, it was hard to think. But it was harder to deny the claims. He'd always known he was weaker, hard not to when kids in his class could breathe fire, or jump hundreds of feet. But as he stood there, facing someone with true strength, the reality hit him harder than any blow.
He'd wanted for so long to be a hero, to prove that he wasn't weak, and his use of his quirk had gotten him far. He'd allowed himself to believe that simply applying his quirk the right way, would prove that he was a hero. That it would prove he was strong. He'd relied too much on his one skill, that he'd neglected to do anything else.
Professionals weren't like that. His idol, Eraserhead, wasn't like that. Eraserhead didn't have a quirk that made him strong or fast, or exceedingly intelligent, it just leveled the playing field. But he still had to train his body, train to fight, and overcome the odds. Because if he really wanted to be a pro, then someday he'd face something like Percy, something that could beat his quirk, and then what? What did he do then? Run? Like a coward?
He was no coward. In that moment, he might be weak. He might be hurt. He might be overwhelmed, but he was no coward. It was his dream to be a hero, and heroes fought, they fought with everything they had until they had nothing left to give, and then they went beyond. He would prove this man wrong; he would prove them all wrong. He wasn't a villain. He wasn't weak.
He stood up.
He straightened his back.
He planted his feet.
And he fought.
AN: Ok, so if it's not clear, I do not like the Shinso character. Felt like he could have been something, and Midoriya kind of taught him a lesson, but he didn't really learn anything, other than he could be a hero with his quirk. I wanted Percy to act as the impetus for real change in him, and I think I accomplished that. That's kind of the theme for this arc, Percy inspiring change in others. ALSO some teases about things to come. Maybe Percy isn't as alone in the mythical world as he thinks he is, maybe there's more out there than he realizes? Will that be a problem? Or is it just a cute couple of easter eggs? Who knows? I know bitches. Though you're going to have to wait to see what's what! Hope you enjoyed the heart to heart between Mandalay, Rumi and Percy! I love getting them together, they've got some fun dynamics and the more I write Rumi, the more I wish we had better stories with her in them. There's a few, but they're few and far between. Either way, hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know how you're enjoying things, and hope you all are staying safe and having some kind of fun. Love you all, thanks for all the support, and I'll see you tomorrow.
Love,
LilDB