Alright, everyone. Here it is, at long last, we reach the stereotypical Shonen tournament arc. Fair warning, due to technical issues my beta is having, we may have missed some grammatical errors. Therefore, ignore them or point them out to me via PM and I'll fix it right away. Okay, I don't wanna keep you guys long so here, as with the start of every new arc, is the opening and ending for the Halloween Festival arc.
Opening: Freak Show by Zebrahead
Ending: Fragments of Time by Daft Punk
That's it, hope you all enjoy!
Purpose of a Hero
October 22, 2317
Lyon wasn't quite sure what a 'Halloween Festival' was but judging from the almost visible anticipation from his classmates following their teacher's announcement, he assumed it was something he should know about. 'My, my… still so much to learn,' he mused, glancing around the room again to take in the looks of excitement on many of his classmate's faces. The only exceptions to this were Oliver, who always seemed to find a reason to complain about anything, and, to Lyon's amusement, Clara. The latter grinned maliciously and started her own scan of the room, perhaps imagining the ways in which she could disembowel her fellow students. It wasn't until those blood red eyes landed on him that her expression changed from enthusiasm to the cold rage she often reserved for when in his presence. 'It seems I haven't done a very proper job of winning her over yet, either. One day perhaps.' Gradually, the dull roar of conversations died down as the haggard looking Derrick Holl, from what Lyon understood he and his wife had been at odds over a recent training incident, called his class to attention. Seeing an opportunity to jump in, the orange-haired boy cleared his throat. "Excuse me… It appears as if I am the only one 'out of the loop' as they say. What exactly is this Halloween Festival?"
"Seriously? You don't know what the festival is, Lyon?" Andi asked in surprise. There was a snort from somewhere behind him, and Lyon suspected that a certain magenta-haired girl had some sort of mean comment cooked up for his supposed ignorance. To his chagrin, as he rather liked his arguments with the girl, Mr. Holl cut them off with a loud whistle.
"Settle down brats! I swear you kids have too much energy. Honoka must not be doing her job right," Holl grumbled before sighing and uncapping a marker. "Okay, so I know most of you, Lyon not included, know what this festival entails but I'm required by the Council to explain everything so here we go. Every Halloween or weekend preceding the holiday, U.S.A.E.I puts on a celebration for the anniversary of the Rhode Island Seven being granted official status as the first government-sponsored Heroes. At first, this was just a normal festival with games, food booths, rides and stuff like that. However, around a hundred and fifty-ish years ago some genius on the Council decided we should try and compete with U.A's Sports Festival. Therefore, the festival was made a commercial event with a tournament between the students. Every year the format changes slightly and this year is no different. You'll each be assigned a random partner that you'll have to work alongside for the first two rounds. After that, the remaining eight participants will be reseeded and the format will shift to a one versus one until we have a grand champion crowned. Simple enough, eh?"
"So, the tournament will take place this upcoming weekend, yes?" Holl nodded and seemed to be searching for something on his desk. After a bit he made a noise of triumph and pulled a thick packet, stamped with the insignia of the Hero Council, from one of the drawers.
"Let's see. Ah, there we go. As freshmen, your only obligation is to partake in the tournament. However, as you may have noticed, your upperclassmen have been working hard over the weekend to set up the actual festival for this year. Take note, you'll have to do this the next three years here so don't go around badmouthing the decor or anything. Uh, what else? Oh, the upperclassmen, with the help of the Friedman Brothers' Circus, have chosen 'Fantasy' as the theme for this year. Your partners for the tournament will be announced tonight, so you'll have the rest of this week off to train and strategize with your partner. Many of you will be paired up with students from class FH1 so you'll have the disadvantage of not knowing each others' strengths and weaknesses."
"How are the teams decided? Would it be by class ranking?" Melody asked, her brow furrowed in concentration.
"Randomizer! Sometimes Pros will have to work with whoever else is on the scene. They get a lot less prep time than you guys to figure out how to work together and overcome their obstacles. Anyway, there's a bit more to the tournament than first meets the eye but that'll all be explained on tournament day. Now, that's the end of my spiel, you've got until seven o'clock tonight to enjoy the festivities. Just make sure you're in the main plaza at that time. Otherwise, you'll miss the announcement. Class… dismissed!" Holl shouted dramatically before grabbing his teaching bag, a ratty, worn out old hiking backpack, and all but sprinting out of the room. The moment he left, the class exploded into frantic and excitement filled conversation.
"This is gonna be great! We finally get to show off how badass we are!" Kira cried, pumping her fist in the air.
"This is quite interesting. I look forward to fighting against you," Lyon said, offering his hand for Clara to shake. She glared at him, then his hand and then back up at him before snorting and smacking the offending limb away.
"Piss off." And with that, Clara followed their teachers lead and left the classroom, though… no one besides Lyon seemed to care much. Melody frowned, a heavy sense of anxiety settling in her gut. 'I'm not cut out for fights like this. I can still only use my Quirk for a little while before I start getting headaches and that would seriously hurt my chances in a fight. I think my ideal partner would be someone like Rylee or Lyon who has some ranged attacks.' Her inner monologue was cut off as her black-eyed friend slung an arm around her shoulder.
"Stop looking so down! Come on, what'dya say we go check out the carnival? If they brought in the Freidman Brothers than it's sure to be awesome!"
"Why does the name 'Friedman Brothers' sound familiar" She wondered aloud, receiving a disbelieving look from Kira.
"Only because they are the biggest and most acclaimed carnival in all of North America! They travel around and put on the biggest, most imaginative carnival ever! I went to one in Boston when I was little and it was outstanding!" The girl's enthusiasm brought a smile to Melody's face but the nagging feeling that the Freidman Brothers' was associated with something bad would not leave her. She tried her best to push it to the back of her mind as she gathered up her school supplies and stood to follow Kira out the door. However, she didn't make it more than two steps out when a blond blur slammed into her abdomen and wrapped small, pudgy arms around her midsection.
"MELLY!" Brian Larson cheered as he squeezed the air out of her. Melody got over her initial shock rather quickly and hugged the boy back with a laugh before glancing up at a sheepish Nathan standing a few feet away.
"Sorry 'bout that. Little bugger ran off on me. Oi, brat! What'd mom say?"
"I gotta stay with Melly because you're too dumb?" The five-year-old boy offered innocently. Nathan growled and took a step towards the boy but stopped when he hid behind Melody, who was glaring at him intensely.
"Uh, hey Mel. Howsit goin'?" He asked sheepishly.
"Good actually. Oh, Kira you already know Nathan. This is his little, and much cuter, brother Brian," She explained. The boy took one look at Kira and frowned before hiding behind Melody's legs. "Oh stop that. She won't bite. Besides, she falls over a lot and it's funny. You two would get along."
"I resent that!" Kira protested though she was ignored by the redhead. When Brian held out his arms, asking to be held, Melody quickly complied and lifted him so that he was sitting on her shoulders, his hands resting on the top of her head.
"So what's short round doing here?" She inquired, looking at Nathan with a raised eyebrow. When the blond boy looked away a bit too quickly, her eyes narrowed and she kicked him in the shin. "Let me guess, you only agreed to take him to the festival to pick up chicks."
"No! I would never do that!" Nathan declared.
"What about the time we went to the Hero Museum last year? Or the time we went to that diner in Staten Island? Or like two weeks ago when you brought him to central park when we were supposed to be training. Oh yeah, what about–"
"Alright, alright I get it," he grumbled, cutting her off. Melody grinned at her victory before tilting her head up to look at Brian, who was merrily glancing at all of her classmates with wide eyes.
"Never take after your older brother, short round. Now, What'd you say we get going to the festival?"
"YEAH!" Brian cheered.
Purpose of a Hero
Melody stared in awe at the area which had once been the school's front lawn. Rides, game booths, and food trucks filled the area and that wasn't even the most surprising thing. The first thing that the quartet saw when they emerged from the academic building was a massive, medieval castle's gate and walls stretching from the dorms to the academic building, a distance of around a two hundred yards. Complete with large, flowing banners inscribed with U.S.A.E.I's insignia and what looked to be real canons lining the top of the walls, the castle was like something out of a history book. "Wicked!" Nathan exclaimed.
"When the hell? This wasn't here this morning. Er, wait… was it?" Kira turned to Melody, who was struggling to keep a rambunctious Brian secured on her shoulders. The redhead shook her head and lowered the squirming child, settling for holding his hand tightly to keep him from running off.
"No. This is pretty impressive to put together a few hours. Someone with the carnival must have a Quirk to make this easier. Looks so realistic."
"I kinda wanna see if the cannons work," Nathan said dreamily. Melody saw his fingernails begin to extend into sharp claws… claws perfect for climbing. However, he could dash off to try and climb the stone walls, a voice unfamiliar to Melody called out to him.
"Hey, Nate!"
"Nate?" The redhead said, her tone bemused. Ever since they were children, Nathan had hated it when she, or anyone else for that matter, had referred to him as anything other than 'Nathan'. The blond waived off her question and the two turned to face the newcomer, a cheerful looking boy with short, wavy brown hair and dark green eyes. Despite the fact that it was October and the weather was still fairly warm, he wore an unzipped red and black sweatshirt with a white t-shirt embroidered with a leaf underneath.
"Payton, what's up?" Nathan high-fived the boy as he arrived. For a while he said nothing as he glanced between his friend and Melody. Then he grinned and elbowed the Leopard Quirk user in his gut.
"So this is the girl you've been sneaking off to see every Saturday, huh?"
"We train! You're as bad as Benji!"
"Woah, that's cruel. Anyway, I see you've already ponied off your brother on the poor girl," Payton said, noticing the child looking longingly at the castle. What he did not notice, or rather chose not to notice was, Nathan frantically waving his arms. Melody sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Every time, Nathan," she said, exasperated. The blond chuckled nervously and then proceeded to glare daggers at Payton, who ignored him. "I'm gonna have to start charging your parents a sitter's fee. I swear-"
"You never swear!" Nathan interjected.
"Again with this? What are we? Nine?"
"I take offense to that. It's funny!"
"Maybe the first fifty times…" It took a few moments for Kira and Payton to quell the argument between the childhood friends but eventually, with no small amount of tugging by Brian, the group made their way through the castle gates and were immediately assaulted by the sights, sounds, and smells of a carnival. "Wow."
"Yeah, the Friedman Brothers go hard. Bet our upperclassmen didn't have to do much of anything. Oh shit! Funnel cake!" Nathan exclaimed and grabbed Melody by her free hand. As he dragged her away, she gave one last pleading look toward Kira but the black-eyed girl seemed more preoccupied. Her face was pale and her eyes were narrowed on something deep in the crowd that Melody couldn't see. If he noticed, Payton said nothing and instead waved merrily at her. After a moment, they were lost in the crowd and the redhead resigned herself to her fate. 'I bet he forgot his wallet too,' she thought glumly. "Hey Mel, can you spot me ten bucks?"
"Fine." She handed the bill over to Nathan who cheered and ran to stand in line while she led Brian over to a deserted picnic table. Almost instantly, Brian began playing 'Hero Battle!', a card game based on popular Professional Heroes around the world, with a few other kids around his age at a neighboring table. Melody smiled and, keeping an eye on the boy out of the corner of her eye lest he try and steal one of the other kids' cards, began watching the seemingly endless crowd of people stream by. She saw a few of her upperclassmen walk by, including a peppy-looking Shaula and a rather annoyed Hector dressed in medieval clothing, as well as some rather interesting characters. There was a girl dressed as a clown carrying a far too big mallet talking to a man whose face appeared to constantly change as if he got easily bored with whatever face he wore and could shift his appearance at will. At one point, she saw her own face looking back at her and felt mildly spooked. She waved to Narruk, Andrew, and Lyle as they passed by, though they didn't seem to see her in the sea of faces. Finally, Nathan returned with three large funnel cakes stacked on top of one another. She guessed he'd already eaten one on his way back, judging from the white power at either end of his mouth.
"Try it, Mel! This stuff is great!" He said happily as he tore into another. For several long minutes, they sat at their table, enjoying their treats and commenting on the passersby. "Look at that dude! How the hell does he get inside anywhere?"
"I suspect he turns his head," Melody replied dryly as Nathan pointed towards a man with the head of a hammerhead shark. There was a gleeful, childish cry from the ground beside them and Brian held up a 'Hero Battle!' card triumphantly. "Oh no, who'd you steal that from?"
"Didn't steal!" The boy protested, hugging the card against his chest protectively. "Jeremy had a extra and I didn't have this one!"
"Oh yeah? Who'd you get?" Nathan asked, leaning back so he could see around Melody. Brian grinned and held up a card depicting a massive man with coppery brown hair and wearing an equally huge set of armor. Below the picture it read:
The Dauntless Hero: Crusader
Quirk: Unbreakable
Crusader is known for his courage, recklessness, and courtesy. As of April 2317, he is ranked fifth amongst the North American Hero Population Charts.
"Hey, that's great! Saw that guy during the Yonkers cleanup. He was helping clear the roads by running full speed and slamming into debris. Surprisingly effective when you're built like a damn tank," Nathan recalled before popping the last bit of funnel cake into his mouth. "Alright! Let's do some games and shit!"
"Language!"
Purpose of a Hero
"FUCK!"
"LANGUAGE!" Melody scolded, smacking Nathan on the back of his head as Brian laughed hysterically. The blond glared at her before turning his attention back to the single softball left in his hand. He'd been given three of the projectiles for his five dollars, which had come from her wallet, with the simple task of knocking down five bottles stacked atop one another. Of course, as she had expected, he'd chucked his first ball with reckless abandon, missing the balls and nearly taking the head off of the poor guy running the booth, a sophomore at U.S.A.E.I. His second shot had better as he knocked down all but one bottle. That was when he swore, loud enough to turn every head in a fifty-foot radius their way. "Just throw your ball. There are a ton more games you can try out."
"Shut up, Mel. I'm concentrating." Nathan drew back his arm he threw the ball, or at least he tried to. At the moment he would have released the ball, Melody stomped on his unguarded foot and caused his ball to go wide. Coincidently, it knocked over the very next set of bottles. "AHA! Yes! I win!"
"Uh… no, that's… that's not how this works," the sophomore, Melody was pretty sure his name was Taiga, said. Even he seemed somewhat surprised by the turn of events.
"Oh come on! That was the most impressive shot ever!" Before the blond could make even more of a scene, Melody grabbed his and his brother's arms and dragged them away. This did not, in fact, deter Nathan from loudly proclaiming his supposed victory. After the booth was completely out of sight, she turned on the boy and flicked him on the nose.
"You moron! Why do you have to cause a scene everywhere you go?"
"'Snot my fault, Mel. Guy was a jerk. Totally should've counted."
"Ugh, you're impossible," she proclaimed dramatically. Nathan narrowed his eyes at her for a second before turning his attention to her hand, which still had a death grip on his forearm.
"Can you let me go now?" He asked hopefully, though that quickly dried up when she glared at him.
"Are you just gonna run back and either attack or demand a prize from Taiga?" The redhead decided that his silence was answer enough and forged ahead, completely ignoring his cries of outrage. Brian took great pleasure in seeing his brother like this and spent the entire walk laughing and throwing pieces of his unfinished funnel cake at the back of his brother's head with surprising accuracy. Eventually, Melody dragged them into a small pavilion and stopped dead at the sight before her. Floating above the assembled crowd were at least two dozen Brian-sized, tan-colored bubbles. From below the display, a girl about her age with very vivid pink hair that was styled into loops stood with a microphone. When she spoke, her peppy voice echoed loudly in Melody's ears.
"Hello~ U.S.A.E.I! My name is Kari but you can just call me Bubbles. I've got a really killer idea for you all to try out. Wanna hear it?" Despite the complete lack of a response from the crowd, save for Nathan's 'whoop', the girl's smile didn't waver. "Okay! My challenge to everyone out there in the crowd is… defeat my Indestructa-Bubbles! Sounds easy, huh? Not so fast. Over the past year since I joined the Friedman family, I've done shows in fifty cities and not ONE person has been able to accomplish this. Therefore, I extend the challenge to you! Just retrieve the gold coin from inside any of my bubbles and you win! Full Quirk usage is allowed and I won't tell if you don't! Anyone interested please come to the front here!"
"Please, that's ridiculous. It's obviously a scam."
"Says the guy who just threw a tantrum because he lost one of these scams," Melody replied dryly. Nathan rolled his eyes at her and, despite his previous statement, was amongst the first ones in line. As she started looking around for a place to stand and watch her friend embarrass himself, Brian let out a squeaky shriek.
"THEY HAVE HERO BATTLE! CARDS!" He cried, pointing to the rack of prizes situated behind Kari the bubble girl. Melody knew what was going to happen next and simply let Brian lead her to a spot at the end of the line. Before long, it became clear that Kari's declaration was true. Her bubbles really were unbreakable. After the first few people failed, the ones that followed began taking the girl up on her offer of Quirk usage. The poor bubbles were burned, soaked in acid, blown up, frozen, and stabbed but still they held firm. Even Nathan's claws were no match for them, much to his chagrin. Once it became clear that he couldn't penetrate the sphere, he stalked over to Melody and Brain dejectedly. The line got shorter and shorter but by the time it was finally her turn, Melody was surprised no one had broken the bubbles. 'How the heck am I gonna do this? People with far stronger Quirks than mine haven't been ab… wait, she didn't say anything about actually popping the bubbles, did she? No, She just said we had to retrieve the coin. Hey, my Quirk is actually useful for once, look at that.'
"You got it, Mel!" Nathan cheered as she stepped up to the closest bubble. The redhead closed her eyes and almost immediately felt the cold sensation of her body changing. Then, something happened that she hadn't anticipated. Usually when she entered her Wraith form, she… well, it was hard for her to describe. All of her senses, except for sight of course, completely vanished. This time, though… it was as if someone had taken her normal senses and tripled them. She heard every intake of breath from every person in the crowd as they saw her ghostly figure, she smelled the rather appropriate bubblegum scented perfume from Kari, and she felt even the smallest disturbance in the wind around her. At first, it was rather off putting and she nearly lost control of herself. Reigning herself in and deciding to focus on this new development later, she reached forward, her hand easily phasing through the bubble and wrapped around the coin, which turned the same shade of icy blue as her skin. Once her arm had emerged and she returned to her normal state, feeling slightly disoriented after the experience, she dropped the coin into a shocked Kari's palm and grabbed the pack of Hero cards from the shelf. "Holy shit! That… was… awesome! I would have never thought to use your Quirk like that!"
"That's because you rarely think," Melody retorted as she handed the cards to Brian, who greedily tore away the foil wrapping. Nathan looked as if he were about to retort when his eyes widened and the hair on his tail stood straight up. Concerned, the redhead turned around and came face to face with a tall, smiling woman. Her hair was coal black and it looked as if she had red extensions interwoven into it, her eyes were whiskey colored, and she had an almost perfect figure.
"Very impressive, young lady," she said, her voice like silk. "You have such good control over your Quirk. I'm guessing you're a student here?"
"Uh, yeah. A freshman," Melody stammered back, still slightly concerned about Nathan's reaction. The woman tilted her head and her eyes ran up and down the redhead's body.
"Very interesting. You must be very talented to be enrolled here. Oh! Where are my manners? My name is Lydia."
"I'm Melody and this is Nathan and Brian," she replied. Brain waved absentmindedly at her, perhaps only reacting because he heard his name as he never took his attention away from his new cards. Nathan meanwhile just looked at the woman as if she were a giant cockroach. 'What's wrong with him?'
"Pleasure. Now, I assume you two will be taking part in the tournament this weekend?" When Melody nodded the woman's smile seemed to grow larger. Suddenly though, her phone began to ring with some pop song Melody had heard on the radio. The woman pulled it from her purse and pursed her lips at whatever she saw on the screen. "I must take this. I really look forward to seeing the two of you in action."
"That was odd," Melody stated plainly. She turned back to Nathan, expecting him to agree, but his eyes were still locked onto the back of the retreating woman, now talking animatedly with someone over the phone. "What's wrong?"
"Something about that woman was... off," he said vaguely, rubbing his cheek with one hand. "My instincts were screaming for me to take Brian and run. Normally it takes a Villain or rain to spark that kinda response. Weird."
"You're saying she's a Villain?" Melody asked seriously, turning her head to try and follow the woman but she was already lost in the crowd. Nathan frowned and shook his head as if trying to shake away his thoughts.
"Nah, probably just the funnel cake giving me a sugar high. Anyway, wanna try a few more games?"
"Are you gonna cry every time you lose?"
"No/Yes!" Nathan and Brain answered simultaneously, getting a genuine smile out of Melody. 'Larson men are all the same.'
Purpose of a Hero
As she walked away, 'Lydia' pressed the answer button on her phone and held it up to her ear. Immediately, the sound of a raspy, sickly voice greeted her. "Vesuvius. How's the carnival?"
"Master Plague, an honor as always. The carnival is as boring as always but the real fun starts soon. I assume you want me sticking around to watch the fights?" Vesuvius inquired, twirling a strand of her obsidian locks between her fingers. The voice on the other end made a grunt of confirmation and then there was a sound like rustling papers. "Late night at the office? Want me to come by… help you alleviate some stress?"
"No," Plague chuckled. The shuffling continued for another five or so seconds until the boss seemed to have found what he was looking for and began to speak. "Also, you're gonna meet up with your contact among the students. Get any info you can about private lives, hobbies, fears, the like. These students are a future problem and I'd like to be prepared for that day. Understood?"
"Yes, master. Oh, I forgot to ask earlier. How is that rabid mutt healing up? It'd be such a shame for him to die after you've put so much effort into his well being," Vesuvius purred.
"Spitfire's fine. Should be waking up any day now but Switch's been saying that for two weeks. Once he's awake, I'm gonna call together the Five Generals to go over our next course of action. Stay in contact," Plague said before hanging up. Vesuvius sighed and returned the phone to her purse before glancing over her shoulder. 'Melody Halloway. My, my… you certainly do have your mother's eyes. It was almost too much to bear.' The edges of Vesuvius' lips twitched slightly before her expression turned grim. 'It also seems that her powers are progressing faster than anticipated. She could soon be on par with the Reaper himself,' she mused, then scowled and turned off into a less crowded area of the carnival. 'So why, Vesuvius, did you not report her presence to Master Plague? To think you still have feelings for that traitor, how pathetic. After everything you've done to forget the past. Nevertheless, pray we never meet under more hostile circumstances, Melody Halloway. I won't make the same mistake twice.'
Purpose of a Hero
By the time Melody and Nathan had dropped off a tuckered out Brian with a cheery Veronica Larson and scrambled back to the main plaza, it was nearly seven o'clock. The area was completely clear of any civilians and a large television screen, displaying a black bracket with sixteen open spaces on it, hung above the amassed group of students. Once he saw them enter, Mr. Holl nodded and tapped his finger on the microphone in his hand. "Alright, now that everyone is present. Let me explain how this is gonna work. Fairly simple, one by one the teams will be announced up here on the board, as will your opponents for round one. You'll have the whole week off school work to prepare for these battles so I suggest you use it wisely. Also, pre-tournament sabotage is strictly looked down upon."
"But not forbidden," Nathan whispered to Melody, who elbowed him in response. She saw Holl's eyes flick over to them briefly but he never stopped his speech.
"Costumes and gadgets produced by the school are allowed, but any outside tech has to be cleared with me or Mr. Forrester. Yes, Miss Kazani this does mean you can take your costumes out for training. You kids have got to get used to the things and think of any improvements before you start your training. Now, let's get started!" Holl declared. On the video board, scrambles letters flashed over the first spot on the bracket. When the two names finally became clear, there was a roar of outrage.
Clara Ramirez-Sirius Wilsk
"Sirius!? He's fucking worthless!" Clara raged. On the other end of the stage, Sirius's head dropped and Epiphany glared daggers at their new teammate. 'I have a feeling that's gonna end poorly,' Melody mused as the second set of names, and the first battle appeared.
Lyle Wolfbane-Lilia Ayria
"Great. I have to deal with that headache," Lyle lamented. Lilia, a dark-haired girl with silver eyes, glanced at the boy, intrigued. And with that, the floodgates were opened and teams were announced one after the other.
Kenny Phillips-Narruk Mondronen
"Kenny?" Narruk called, causing a boy Melody recognized as her third teammate from the entrance exam to raise his hand. 'Huh, so he did make it in.'
"That's me. I look forward to working with you."
Jahaziah Cortes-Jake Schmiede
"Oh great," Jahaziah muttered to himself, while Jake just sat silently and watched the board intently.
Benjamin Wallaby-Hazel Aria
"Sweet!" Benji cried and pumped his fist, while Hazel took one look at the boy and sighed.
"Poor Hazel," Melody muttered. Nathan nodded his agreement and glanced over at the boy, who sidled up next to Hazel eagerly.
Melody Halloway-Nathan Larson
"Of course," Melody groaned, while Nathan jumped for joy. 'Why couldn't it be someone else?'
"We've got this in the bag!"
Marcus McPherson-Eris Blackwood
"Wait, who's Marcus again," Eris whispered to the boy sitting next to her, who rolled his eyes, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"I am."
Liam Heartsworth-Kindra Kingsly
"He's somewhat useful I suppose," Kindra said as she studied her partner, who didn't look very impressed.
"'Somewhat useful'?" The boy murmured to himself.
Damien Chase-Oliver Ferdinand
"Lucky him," Nathan whispered, pointing to a boy with very pale skin and an intense look in his eyes. The boy barely seemed fazed over his name appearing while Oliver studied the boy for several seconds before yawning and slumping into his chair with his eyes closed. "Strongest in our class."
"Unlucky him, Oliver is the biggest slacker in our class."
Rylee Ingram-Saroya Sawyer
"I'm not losing again. I don't know who Saroya is but we are winning this thing!" Rylee said under her breath. Beside her, Andi smiled sympathetically and patted her on the shoulder. Meanwhile, across the pavilion, Saroya merely shrugged.
Vivienne Ochoa-Zachary Cross
"Let's try our best I suppose," Zachary muttered to his teammate sitting beside him, who looked just as unenthused as Oliver.
Dominique Wufu-Ryūken Togake
"Cool, let's win this thing," Ryūken said with a grin. Meanwhile, Dominique frowned and began playing with the hem of her shirt, seemingly embarrassed to be directly addressed by her teammate.
Lyon MacAllister-Andi Ena
"Let's make a good team, yes?" Lyon asked, suddenly appearing Andi who jumped and held a hand to her chest.
"Yeah!" She said happily after recovering from her brief shock.
Andrew Abrams- Kira Kazani
"You can pick me up with your gravity when I fall!" Kira grinned, smacking her partner on the back. Andrew raised an eyebrow at her, bemused.
"Uh, sounds good?"
Alexander Blackwood-Payton Billé
"Don't hold me back," Alex growled to the cheerful Canadian walking up to him.
"Wouldn't count on it. Can I call you Alex?" Payton replied, clearly unphased by the boy's dismissive attitude.
"No."
Diana Suharto-Vanessa Monteur
"Géniale. We will win," Vanessa spoke confidently, though her thick French accent made it difficult for Diana's already poor hearing to make out.
"Uh, yeah!" Melody frowned as she stared up at the video screen. 'To get to the finals, we'll have to go through Hazel and Benji and potentially Marcus and Eris. I know the basics of their Quirks but nothing about the other two. Hopefully, Nathan has been paying attention in his classes… we're screwed.'
"That's the last of the teams. Study your matchups and be ready. Those of you paired up with students of the other class will have to rely on the information gathering skills of your partner for the enemies you know nothing about. Saturday, you fight for glory, for the school, and most importantly to get your name on the map. You get one chance every year. Waste it and you can kiss any notion you have of getting into a good agency goodbye. Do your best!"
Purpose of a Hero
Just like I have for every student v student event so far these teams were randomized. Anyway, if you can't figure them out from the list above, here are the first round matchups. Let me know who you think will win.
Match 1: Clara Ramirez-Sirius Wilsk vs. Lyle Wolfbane-Lilia Ayria
Match 2: Narruk Mondronen-Kenny Phillips vs. Jahaziah Cortes-Jake Schmiede
Match 3: Melody Halloway-Nathan Larson vs. Benjamin 'Benji' Wallaby-Hazel Aria
Match 4: Marcus McPherson-Eris Blackwood vs. Liam Heartsworth-Kindra Kingsly
Match 5: Damien Chase-Oliver Ferdinand vs. Rylee Ingram-Saroya Sawyer
Match 6: Vivienne Ochoa-Zachary Cross vs. Dominique 'Nikki' Wufu-Ryuken Togake
Match 7: Lyon MacAllister-Andi Ena vs. Andrew Abrams-Kira Kazani
Match 8: Alexander Blackwood-Payton Billé vs. Diana Suharto-Vanessa Monteur
For the second round, it breaks down like this:
Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2
Winner of Match 3 vs. Winner of Match 4
Winner of Match 5 vs. Winner of Match 6
Winner of Match 7 vs. Winner of Match 8
And then the teams will be split up and reseeded into a 1v1 style for the final 8. At the moment I am planning to completely write every fight. I want every character to get at least a moment in the spotlight. However, if there's little interest in seeing a fight between students we've never met, then I may write a fight or two short forms (and by that, I mean showing the final moments). Alright, that's it from me. Have a great weekend and Happy Birthday America!
EDIT 7/5/19: Damn, forgot to add a teaser. Here you go!
NEXT TIME ON THE PURPOSE OF A HERO
Chapter 27: The Sound Hero's Burden