Chapter 7 - The Uniforms

Emiko hadn't ever considered fighting her classmates as an option to win the sports festival - though now, standing in the crowded underground halls of the stadium she wished she'd had. After the explosive results of the Cavalry Battle, she'd somehow landed amongst the top 16 students in the entire first year.

A part of her felt guilty, though. She knew that she likely wouldn't have made it this far if it wasn't for Shinso - it was his quirk that had allowed her to succeed. She'd worked her hardest - had run barefoot through an entire obstacle course, but when it came down to it, when it really mattered, her quirk hadn't been enough. Everyone knew it - each of her classmates had carefully avoided eye contact during the planning stage of the last round, diverting their gaze and moving into smaller clusters, leaving her out and alone.

Shinso had helped her, taken her under his wing. He'd controlled her using his quirk, and she hated that she had no idea what had happened during the fight. All she knew was that when she regained control, when her blurry vision finally cleared, was that the crowd was screaming. They were hysterical, the volume in the stadium rising to an octave she'd never experience before. Her quirk was slow to catch on, though the panic quickly infiltrated the few moments of peace that she'd been given. Her muscles ached from the strain of carrying Shinso around, her calves burning as if she'd just run 20 kilometres.

She'd evacuated the stadium quickly, hiding her flushed cheeks by turning her face down. Her blue eyes had filled with tears the instant she had shelter over her head, and she'd run to a secluded place as soon as possible. As much as she hated to admit it, she felt disappointed. It made her chest tighten when she thought about it too much - her inability to really take part in the festival. She'd let herself wallow in self pity for a moment, allowed the tears to fall freely down her cheeks, stopping only when Mina had come barrelling down her quiet hallway screeching something about getting changed.

She'd been tugged into the dressing room, plopped down onto the bench and been filled in on the situation.

"Kaminari and Mineta forgot to mention it earlier, but the girls were asked to do some cheering during the intermission!" Mina chirped, quickly stripping off her gym uniform and tossing on the orange and white outfit.

Momo nodded, setting a neatly folded pile of fabric onto Emiko's lap.

"Well, they reminded me. I seem to have missed an important piece of information from Aizawa."

She only sighed, obliging her friends. She was too tired to argue, too tired to try and point out the flawed rationale behind the skimpy uniforms.

She undressed, throwing the costume on and wincing at the amount of skin it exposed. She was rarely so bare in public, her lightly toned abs exposed to the glaring brightness of the fluorescent overhead bulbs.

She was embarrassed, she realized. Her cheeks flushed as she moved about the room, unused to the feeling of a breeze tickling so much of her skin.

"You look amazing in that, Miko!" Mina shouted, bounding over to her with her unique black eyes gleaming. Her arms wrapped around her shoulders, shaking her lithe frame slightly.

Ochaco beamed brightly from the corner of the room, zipping her skirt up. "Seriously, Miko. You look great!"

Her friends all chimed in, alleviating some of her stress. It made her feel a little more at ease knowing that she wasn't going out there alone, she knew that if she was embarrassed, she would be embarrassed beside people who cared enough to make sure she was comfortable.

For the first time in her life, Emiko realised that she had a group of people who cared - a band of misfits who all fit together. A cluster of people who saw through her brave face and who wanted to see her smile in spite of her own insecurities.

Her heart hammered in her chest, and all she could think about was avoiding that crowd at all costs. Just thinking about it made her chest tighten painfully, her throat feel tight. If she focused enough, she could feel them. Just beyond her reach, their emotions called for her. Excitement and joy and pride swelled out there, and she didn't know if she could face it.

A warm hand pressed against her shoulder, startling her out of her own panicked thoughts.

"You don't have to go out there, Miko. Really, it's okay."

Momo whispered into her ear, squeezing her shoulder reassuringly.

She turned, glancing at the other girls looking back at her. All of their eyes were alight, glittering with excitement. She swallowed past the lump in her throat and swiped her hands through her hair, adjusting the band around her head that Momo had made her earlier in the day.

"Let's go, girls."

Her friends cheered, wrapping their arms excitedly around her. They talked cheerfully, meandering through the hallways and out into the stadium. Yellow pom poms ruffled in the breeze, the volume growing even louder than she ever thought possible.

Breathe, Emiko. You're going to be fine. Just breathe.

She pushed the panic and fear down, stuffed it deep into a locked part of her mind. The emotions still hounded her, burned at her as she stood, faking a grin and ruffling the strips of yellow plastic in her hands.

The longer she stood there, though, the more the emotions shifted.

Happiness, joy, and excitement shifted, morphed into something ugly and vile. The smell of it burnt her nostrils, caused bile to rise in the back of her throat.

All around her swirled lust. Thick and heavy, it suffocated her and weighed her down. It caught in her hair, in the fabric of her skirt. Made her want to scream and gouge out the eyes of anyone who looked at her - didn't they realize she was just a child? That they were all just children?!

A snicker, a flash of movement and a wave of pure, unbridled desire caused her to turn.

Mineta. Kaminari.

Rage boiled in her gut, as the realization hit her.

They did this, those two bastards.

She snarled, stalking towards them. Both sets of eyes widened, each boy stumbling back at the pure rage sitting on her face. She grabbed them both by the shirt, moving quickly across the grounds, tugging them along behind her.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

Kaminari was shouting, protesting as she pulled him along. He fought against her grip, digging his feet into the soft soil.

"Shut. Up." She snarled from between her clenched teeth, speeding up her pace.

Kaminari gave in with a groan, allowing himself to be dragged along.

"What the hell is wrong with you both?!" She shouted, as soon as concrete had swallowed the sky. Faces turned, eyes wide in shock. Students, teachers, pro heroes. All swirled around her, staring as she folded her arms angrily over her chest.

"What are you doing?!" Iida called, skidding to a halt beside the small group. "Komatsu, you cannot yell at your classmates like that - least of all here of all places!"

She turned to him, fire burning in her deep blue gaze.

"What is even going on here?!"

She kept her gaze from him, still staring at the two boys in front of her. Mineta cowered from her, though lust and desire still washed around him.

"These two made a mistake. I'm going to tell them exactly what that mistake was."

Her voice was flat, lacking any of the anger that was bubbling in her chest.

"It's not heroic or proper to conduct yourself in such a way, Komatsu. Really, you should know better!"

His arms flailed about, nearly hitting passerby who scowled at him.

"Iida, if you don't shut up within the next 30 seconds-"

"Komatsu, really!" He chastised her again, turning to face her. His fingers waved across her field of vision and she sucked in a harsh breath. "I understand you are frustrated, Komatsu. I apologize for what happened - but now is not the time!"

"If you really believe what you're saying, Iida, then you aren't half the person I thought you were. If you really think that standing here, calling out bad behaviour isn't heroic, than you're even more stupid than these two. If you are going to stand there,"

She sucked in another breath, her chest heaving.

"If you're going to stand there and tell me not to stand up for the people I care about, I'll tear your head off of your shoulders here and now. I will always stand up for the people I care about. Always."

Iida was silent, confusion and awe wafting around him. He ducked his head, nodding slightly, as if he was allowing her to continue. She turned away from him, landing her gaze back upon the culprits.

"As for you two - how dare you?!"

Kaminari tried to speak, tried to interrupt her. She knew he would tell her a lie, knew he would tell her it wasn't like that.

"How dare you turn us all into nothing more than an object of your sexual fantasies?"

She jabbed a finger into Kaminari's chest, enjoying the hiss of a pained breath escaping his lips.

"Do you have any idea what you just did, you assholes?!"

She was raging now, her heart hammering in her chest. Her pulse roared, fueling the rage she felt. Both boys stared at her, panic welling in their eyes.

"Any idea at all what hell you just set us up for, all because you couldn't keep it in your fucking pants?!"

She wanted to punch them, to throw her fist into their idiotic faces. Wanted to flay them with her words, to make them feel any of the embarrassment they forced her to feel.

"You exploited us, you fucking bastards!" She screamed at them, pointing out at the sunlight streaming through the opening at the end of the tunnel. "You turned us all into EXACTLY what we have been trying to avoid - a pretty object for men to display on their big boy desks while they smoke cigars and drink whiskey in some stuffy fucking office."

She didn't realize it, but tears were pouring down her face. They left tracks in the dust coating her cheeks, burned her eyes.

"I'm… sorry." Kaminari whispered, dropping his gaze to the floor. "Emiko, I'm-"

"Don't apologize until you really think about what you did, Kaminari. I can't forgive you for this, not without allowing you time to process what I said."

She tried to soften her voice, tried to soften the edge of her words. Kaminari did seem remorseful, it was written clear as day across his face. Sadness and regret danced around him, mingling with Mineta's ever present lust.

She moved to turn away, "If either of you ever pull something like this ever again, I'll kill you myself."

A gasp, a sigh from behind her.

"It's bad enough to get ogled by you two - but to subject us all to being stared at and ogled by hundreds of thousands of people, by our friends, teachers, family? That's something unforgivable in my book. Be better people."

She spat out her last words, turning and moving quickly down the hall. She was exhausted, now, after her outpouring of emotions. And even though she didn't want to be, she was still angry.

Angry at Kaminari and Mineta, angry at the crowd for cheering as those girls were embarrassed and ogled. Angry at the girls for fallings for the scheme. At Iida, for not realizing and putting a stop to it.

Angry at herself for being angry.

"Ah!"

She screamed, slamming her back against a brick wall and sliding to the floor.

"Goddamnit!" Tears poured more freely down her cheeks, anger and sadness burning in her chest.

"All participants in the final round of battles, please make your way to the waiting area by the stadium entrance. All participants, please make your way to the waiting area by the stadium entrance."

She sighed, rubbing her eyes. She stood, making her way slowly back the way she came.

Time to fight. Time to make a name for yourself, Emiko. You've got this.