Beneath the Hero's Mask
Chapter 11
Anticipation was brewing in the Class 1-A waiting room. The students had changed into their P.E. uniforms and now the only thing left to do was wait for the Sports Festival to begin.
Ren sat by the corner with Izuku and Tokoyami, the two of them engaged in conversation; about what, Ren wasn't sure. He was too distracted trying to inconspicuously steal glances at Yaoyorozu, who sat next to Jiro at the other side of the room.
She had been avoiding him since the USJ incident. Despite being hurt, he didn't blame her. Ren couldn't help but feel that he had been dishonest with her. He knew that if there was a chance to mend their friendship, she was going to need time; he should give her some space for now... And yet, despite his better judgement, he was standing up and walking over to talk to her.
"Uh, hey…" Once he was in front of them, his brain spontaneously decided to turn off its speech centre. Ren realised he should've put more thought into his plan. "I wanted to wish you good luck at the festival." He improvised.
Yaoyorozu regarded him for a moment. "Thank you." She responded curtly without making eye contact.
Notwithstanding the shortness in her reply, Ren was content with simply hearing her voice again after weeks.
Jiro quickly chimed in to prevent an awkward silence. "Thanks, Ren. I'd wish you good luck as well, but it's not like you need it. Am I right?"
"Amamiya."
They were interrupted by Todoroki, who was coming their way. His demeanour as stoic as ever.
Ren wondered what he could possibly want from him; it's not like Todoroki had been his biggest fan either since his secret identity was revealed.
"May I help you?" He asked.
"I just came to say goodbye."
"Are you going somewhere?"
"No." Todoroki said. " You are."
Ren was taken aback. He tried to make sense of his words, but Todoroki continued before he could ask any questions.
"You had your fun playing around and pretending to be a Hero, but it's time you know your place." He said. "As you know, the teachers have the power to transfer people in and out of the Hero course based on their performance at the Sports Festival. I will beat you in this competition, and I'll make sure to show everyone that you're nothing but a criminal who doesn't belong in U.A., but behind bars."
Todoroki didn't raise his voice, but his sharp tongue cut deeply. There was no anger his words; only the cold contempt that conveyed his statement was not a threat, but a promise.
"Mark my words, Amamiya–your days on the Hero course are numbered."
Todoroki's speech sucked all the air out of the room and replaced it with tension; one could hear a pin drop in the heavy silence. Everyone looked at Ren, expectant of his response. The boy in question looked around to assess his surroundings before drawing a deep breath. He recalled the words Eraserhead said to him on their last meeting, and with his message in mind, he finally spoke.
"I harbour no ill will towards you, Todoroki; I understand why you hate me so much, and in a way, I can sympathise with you. I wish I could've done some things differently, but it is impossible to change the past. You can keep on antagonising me this way if you feel it is what you need to do, but I won't be taking it sitting down any longer."
Ren took a step back and spoke up to address the room.
"This goes for everyone here." His eyes hovered over Ida, Ojiro, Asui... all the Joker denouncers in the classroom. "Many of you have made their opinion about me very clear. Let me make something clear as well–I have no intention of going anywhere. I came to this school to become a Hero, and that's what I'm going to do whether you like it or not."
He turned back to stand face to face with Todoroki.
"And as for your little declaration of war; I have only one thing to say… "
"Bring it on."
Eraserhead sat along with the other teachers at the U.A. faculty box in the Sports Festival Stadium. They were observing the festival's opening ceremony taking place. As the acting master of ceremonies, Midnight had introduced the first year stage of the Sports Festival and invited Bakugo–who had been appointed class speaker due to being first place at the entrance exam– to recite the student pledge. Instead, class 1-A's resident ruffian proclaimed with absolute certainty he would place first at the festival, taunting and provoking ire in the rest of the first year classes.
Eraserhead shook his head with disapproval. "That big mouth is going to get him into big trouble someday…"
"At least he's confident."
From the corner of his eye he saw Sae approaching.
"Miss Nijima, I didn't expect to see you here."
"It was not originally in my plans. Principal Nezu invited Tsukauchi and me. He couldn't make it, but he insisted I still came to represent the taskforce. Mind if I sit here?" She said while pointing to the empty seat next to him.
"By all means."
Down in the field, the first event of the festival was revealed to be an Obstacle Race around the circumference of the stadium; the first year students got in positions at the starting line. Eraserhead glanced at the at women on his side; their relationship wasn't exactly friendly, but if they were going to be sitting next to each other for potentially hours, the least he could do was try his best with some small talk.
"I didn't take you for a sports fan."
"I'm not, usually. But I always make an exception for the U.A. Sports Festival." She said.
Eraserhead nodded silently, a fuzzy memory started coming back to him. "Hey, didn't your sister win last year's sports festival?"
"She did."
"That was definitely one to remember." He said. "How is she, by the way?"
Sae shifted her face away from him, and was now looking straight down to the pitch. "I wouldn't know… we don't really talk much these days."
Aizawa noticed his comment hit a nerve. He was abruptly reminded of why he had adopted a quiet, brooding image in the first place; he had a tendency to put his foot in his mouth when left unchecked.
He tried to change the subject. "I'm pretty sure this year will deliver some memorable performances as well; the new batch of freshmen shows a lot of promise."
"Anyone in particular to look out for?"
"I may be biased, but I believe class 1-A has the most potential I've seen in years. There's the obvious favourites, Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, and Ida. They all come from prominent families and have been training their powerful Quirks since an early age. There's also a couple of possible dark horses. There aren't many people as driven as Bakugo, and the power of Tokoyami's Dark Shadow is formidable." The homeroom teacher contemplated the skills of his students. "But if I'm being honest, I have a feeling Amamiya has a good chance of coming out on top."
Sae let out a dry, mocking laugh. "Please, you are definitely biased. Amamiya is talented, there's no doubt about it, but he lacks discipline. The ability to beat up street thugs doesn't really translate to organised sport. If I had to hazard a prediction, the Todoroki kid seems like the most likely candidate to take the gold."
"Said the pot to the kettle… You should give the kid a chance. If you were willing to see past the first impression, I'm sure he'd surprise you."
"Would you be willing to put money on that?"
"Excuse me?"
"10 thousand yen says Amamiya will not even place top 4 this year."
"I'm not going to gamble on my students' performance."
"Come on, it's just a friendly bet between friends. Or are you scared your little pet project is not going to cut it?" She challenged him with an arched eyebrow and a grin.
Eraserhead huffed. On one hand, it didn't feel right to take the bet, but on the other hand, Sae's smug smile was successfully edging him on…
"You're on, Nijima."
They sealed the deal with a handshake. Present Mic chose that specific second to pop up behind them.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your moment, but I need to borrow Eraser for a minute. "
"What is it, Mic?"
"There is an emergency at the announcer's booth, your presence is required immediately."
Eraserhead shot up from his seat upon hearing those words.
"Emergency?! Did the Villains come back? Are there any students in danger?"
Present Mic dismissed his friend's questions. "There's no time to explain. Follow me, hurry!"
The pair of teachers rushed to the other side of the stadium. Eraserhead kicked the door to the announcer's booth open, only to find the room completely empty. He walked in to examine the scene; not a speck of dust out of place.
"Mic, what the hell is going on here? What's the emergency?"
The next thing Eraserhead heard was the sound of the door locking behind him.
"I can't believe you roped me into this."
"Esteemed ladies and gentlemen in the audience, this is the one and only Present Mic reporting from the announcer's booth to provide insightful commentary for the hottest ticket in town, the U.A. Sports Festival. Joining me here today is the Erasure Hero: Eraserhead. Let's kick this off, shall we?" The English teacher said into the microphone. He then turned towards his colleague. "Tell us, Eraser; what should we be paying attention to in the early stages of the race?"
"The doorway…"
The starting pistol sounded and all the first year students rushed through the stadium gates leading into the obstacle course. In the frenzy, Ren was separated from the rest of his class and found himself stuck in the crowd jam-packed within the corridor. Todoroki used his Quirk to summon a blizzard. He instantly froze the other competitors and escaped the congestion, taking the first place in the race.
Ren weighed his options. Despite the obstacles, the essence of a race was always the same; the winner is whoever crosses the finishing line first, so speed is paramount. He smiled to himself as a lightbulb went off in his head–If speed is what they wanted, then speed they would get. Using the person in front of him as a ladder, Ren hoisted himself upwards and carefully stepped on the heads and shoulders of his fellow students to get over the jam. He ran to the front of the rabble and leapt into the air.
"Johanna!"
Present Mic's voice blasted from the stadium's P.A. system.
"It appears many were able to dodge Todoroki's ice attack, he's gonna have to try harder if he wants to maintain the lead. Bakugo, Kirishima, and Yaoyorozu pull ahead of the rest. Amamiya managed to get through the crowd as well, he seems to be–Wait a second, do my eyes deceive me or did Amamiya just summon an actual motorcycle?!"
Ren did a front-flip to land mounted on top of the motorcycle-shaped persona. He twisted the right grip and took off at full throttle. The thermonuclear energy radiating from the engine melted the ice in its path. Ren rode past Todoroki, their eyes connected for a brief second, materialising sparks of rivalry.
Johanna's speed gave Ren a sizeable lead over the rest of the first-years. He breezed through the next couple hundred metres until he ran into the first obstacle of the race–a legion of gigantic combat robots. Three mechanical juggernauts charged at him. Ren mused they must have been the same type of robots form the entrance exam; they wouldn't be too much of a challenge. He twisted the throttle to accelerate, then he engaged the brakes and shifted gears to drift the motorcycle in between the robots.
"Mafreila!"
Upon command, Johanna fired a wave of atomic blasts, wiping out the machines in the blink of an eye.
"Hot damn! Apparently Amamiya's new set of wheels can do more than just run fast. He took down the robots without even breaking a sweat! The rest of the first years is still far behind him, but it looks like they're managing the robotic threat just fine. Todoroki freezes the Villain-Bots like popsicles. Kirishima and Tetsutetsu decide to punch their way through the Robo-Inferno; Bakugo, Sero, And Tokoyami opt to use their Quirks to fly over the robots." Present Mic announced.
Eraserhead added some colour commentary. "Amamiya has secured the lead so far thanks to his vehicle persona, but that strategy is not going to work for him on the next obstacle. Todoroki and Bakugo are nearly treading on his heels; He better have another trick up his sleeve."
Ren advanced on the course until he reached a point where the path ended. Ahead of him was a gargantuan chasm with no bottom in sight. Between the two sides of the abyss stood a multitude of stone pillars interlinked by tightropes. He stood up from Johanna and recalled the persona. He mentally went over his available personas, trying to come up with a plan to get over the rift in the quickest way possible. No matter how he looked at it, he saw no other option; he would have to rely on his acrobatic abilities and balance through the tightropes the old-fashioned way.
He eventually reached the other side, but it took him a lot longer than he thought. He looked over his shoulder and saw the other competitors were closer than he would've liked. He pressed onwards to the next obstacle.
"Amamiya's lead has shrunk considerably, and Classes A and B are now neck and neck. The last obstacle of the race will be the decisive one."
"The first years are finally approaching the explosive finale we've prepared for the obstacle race... a literal minefield!"
Ren arrived at the edge of the minefield. He activated his Third Eye to reveal the location of the multiple mines that infested the last stage of the Obstacle Race. The mines were too close together to manoeuvre the field mounted on Johanna; once more he would have to rely on his own two legs, but at least he had the advantage of his sixth sense to avoid the explosives.
He started running like a bat out of hell, but he hadn't progressed too far when an enormous wall of ice manifested in front of him out of the blue. Without any time to react, Ren collided with the frozen construct and landed on his butt.
From the ground, Ren saw Todoroki run past him, silently overtaking his first place. Their gazes locked again, overflowing with enmity. Todoroki then made and opening through the ice, walked past it, and sealed it back again.
Ren hurried back up and grunted. He was starting to get heated up.
"Carmen! Agidyne!"
Ren summoned the fire persona, which rapidly launched a fireball at the ice wall, melting a hole through the middle. Ren jumped through the wall and took up the chase after Todoroki. He was only a few metres ahead of him, he could still catch up.
Ren used Carmen to throw another fireball at his rival, but before it could connect, the projectile was blasted away by an explosion.
"Forgot about me, huh Tuxedo Mask? I will end you! You too, Icy-Hot!"
"What a development! Todoroki and Bakugo have caught up with Amamiya, and it looks like the former has managed to take the lead. The trio is taking part in a heated three-way brawl, but can they stay ahead while fighting each other?" Present Mic broadcasted. " Woah, there's a huge explosion at the back of the minefield– What is that? It's a bird, It's a plane, It's... Midoriya soaring trough the skies!"
Ren, Todoroki, and Bakugo stopped for a moment, their attention diverted to the unidentified flying object above them. Izuku had cleverly used the power of the landmines to propel himself into first place. The three of them briefly exchanged glances and promptly started running ahead, ignoring each other in favour of the finishing line.
"And Midoriya takes the lead, but the others the others still tailgating him! This is the last sprint, can he make it? This is looking to be a photo finish, folks. Eraser, your students are amazing! What are you teaching them?"
"This has nothing to do with me, each one of them is powered by their own drive to succeed."
"There you have it, Eraserhead is a terrible teacher!"
"What?!"
"What a race, ladies and gentleman. Who could've imagined; the surprises, the upsets! The students are nearing the end, and the winner is…"
"Izuku Midoriya is the first one to make it back to the stadium and the winner of the Obstacle Race! Todoroki is right behind him, Amamiya following and finally Bakugo in fourth place."
In the aftermath of the Obstacle Race, the top 42 students advanced to the next event, the Cavalry Battle. Points were allocated to each participant based on their finishing position in the race. Ren got 200 points for finishing third, 205 points for Todoroki in the second place, but Izuku earned the whopping score of 10,000,000 for first place. The freshmen now had fifteen minutes to form teams from 2 to 4 people.
Ren's first instinct was to team up with Izuku, but he knew that having the guy worth 10 million points and the infamous criminal student on the same team would just paint a massive target on their backs; that could not end well for them. He looked around to scout the best possible teammates, but he noticed people were avoiding him.
The clock was ticking down and he still hadn't found a team. Ren could use his Quirk both offensively and defensively, so he could cover the bases necessary. He didn't care much about the specific people; at this point he would take anyone willing to be on his team. He solicited everyone in the vicinity looking to join any team.
"Umm… no thanks."
"Get lost!"
"Piss off, Joker."
Each one of his attempts was met with rejection. Perhaps this was the universe's twisted plan. He would end up disqualified without a team before even having the chance to prove himself.
"Come on… I just need someone to give me a chance… "
"Hey, Ren."
His prayers were answered in the form of a fluffy haired angel.
"Haru! I'm so glad you made it."
Next to him stood his friend Haru, her positive smile ever-present but weaker than usual; she seemed worn down.
"Only barely…" She said. "I really underestimated how hard the Obstacle Race was going to be."
"What place did you finish in?"
"38th"
Ren looked at the scoreboard to check Haru's position.
38th Haru Okumura – 25 points
He read the name twice, it was the first time he saw Haru's full name. There was something strangely odd about it, but Ren couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"Haru Okumura?"
Okumura… the jigsaw slowly fell into place.
"Wait. Is it the same Okumura as…?" Ren trailed off.
"Yes..." Haru knew exactly what he meant without having to hear the words. "that Okumura."
Ren looked back and forth between Haru and the luxury boxes at the top of the stadium reserved for the support company representatives.
"Does that mean that…?"
"Yes. My father is Kunikazu Okumura, CEO of Okumura Corp."
"So you are…?"
"Yes. I'm the heiress to the largest support item company in Japan."
Ren finally understood Haru's situation fully. Not only was Okumura Corp an immensely powerful company, they were also infamous for the mistreatment of their employees and other dodgy dealings. It was no wonder she was also subjected to rumours and ostracisation from her peers. She was in the same boat as him; people judged her based on the prejudice of her name without even attempting to see the real person behind it. And on top of all that, her father–one of the most powerful men in the nation, was vehemently unsupportive of her dream. Ren remembered their conversation behind the library; he had forgotten that he wasn't the only with something to prove at the Sports Festival. It was his duty to help Haru.
"Haru, would you like to team up with me. I know your father is going to be watching; I promise you if we work together, we'll blow him away and change his mind."
"I would love to!"
"Nice" Ren said. "We should try to find other people as well. Do you know anyone we could ask?"
"Everyone else from my class has been eliminated, and I don't know anyone from the Hero course."
"Mmh… Let's see, who would be willing to join our team…"
Ren scouted the vicinity for potential recruits. Far away on the field, he spotted one of the few allies in his class.
"Tokoyami, there you are!" Ren ran towards his bird-headed friend. "Thank god I found you, would you join our team?"
Tokoyami looked away from him, seemingly in shame.
"I'm sorry Amamiya, but I'm afraid I must refuse your invitation."
Ren was at a loss for words; that was not the reaction he expected. He was one of his only friends. Had he done something to change Tokoyami's mind about him. "B-but… I thought..."
"Don't misunderstand me. I'm not doing this because of you, it's because of me." Tokoyami said. "You saved my life at the USJ, and after that you took the time to train me and help me improve. You've been behind me every step of the way, and while my gratitude to you is beyond words, I've come to the realisation that I cannot keep relying on you to be there to save me every time. That is why I'm not going to join your team. I'm going to use this festival as an opportunity to use everything you've taught me and show you just how far I've come, even if it means competing against you."
Ren's worry turned into pride; not only in himself, but in his pupil. He felt a lot better knowing that out of all the people gunning for him during the Cavalry Battle, at least one of them would be doing so out of respect rather than spite. Ren smiled and offered his hand to his friend.
"I admire your conviction, Tokoyami. I'll see you on the field, then."
He accepted the handshake and promptly excused himself to find a team of his own.
"Aww, how sweet!" Haru said. "We still need another teammate, though. Right?"
"What's up, Renren? Heard you were looking for a teammate." Jiro materialised from the crowd around them just in time to aid them. "Don't worry, Earphone Jack's got your back. I'll join your team."
"Jiro! You're a lifesaver." Ren said.
"Don't mention it." She said before turning to Haru with a curious look. "Who's your friend?"
"Oh, where are my manners? I'm Haru Okumura from class 1-J."
"Hey, I recognise you from somewhere. You're that super rich heiress from the Business course! How do you know Ren?"
"We're friends, he helped me out with some things."
"Sounds like him."
Ren interjected to continue the team making process. They only had a few minutes left. "Great, now we only need one more player. Technically just us 3 is enough, but we could really use the numbers advantage."
It was then that an unknown boy approached the group, he had messy, violet hair and heavy bags under his eyes.
"Excuse my intrusion, but I couldn't help but overhear… It appears as though you are still missing one player. Won't you let me join your team?"
"Really? Awesome, come on over!" Ren clapped and rubbed his hands together with enthusiasm. "Okay, we're now complete. Let's brainstorm strategies and–"
"Hold on second." The boy interrupted. His deadpan expression changed into sheer bewilderment. "Just like that? You don't feel a bit dazed or anything?"
"Not at all, I actually–" Ren started before the stranger cut him off again.
"Wait, wait... You mean… you want me on your team?!"
"Sure, why wouldn't we?"
"But you don't even know me.'"
"That's alright, I'm sure we can work out some synergies between our Quirks. You've made it this far, you probably have a strong one; why don't you tell us more about it." He said. " I'm Ren Amamiya, by the way."
"I know." The boy replied. "Shinso, Hitoshi Shinso."
"Welcome aboard Shinso."
The newly formed team huddled together to draft their action plan for the Cavalry Battle.
"Get ready, team… It's showtime."