Beneath the Hero's Mask
Chapter 13
A deafening silence had inundated the interior of class A's waiting room. Ren could feel the weight of everyone's eyes on him; a circle of his classmates in chairs had formed around him, forcing those not fast enough to claim a chair to stand outside it. Notwithstanding, all of them were eagerly awaiting to hear the retelling of his backstory.
Ren had never been one to shy away from public speaking, but even he could feel the pressure of expectation. After a few seconds to mentally prepare himself, he cleared his throat and spoke up.
"Before anything else, there is something you need to know about my Quirk to fully understand my story." He said. "My power is… not what is seems."
"'Not what it seems'? What is that supposed to mean?" Kirishima asked.
"I'm sure you all must have noticed it at some point, how my Quirk feels… different."
"Now that you mention it, the thought has come to mind a couple times." Tokoyami said.
"Well, I've definitely never seen such a versatile quirk before… I mean, there's the personas, the weapons, the Third Eye…" Jiro said. "you even get a cool costume built-in!"
"That's true. Even Todoroki feels overloaded at times with just two abilities. But you? It's like you have a whole deck of cards up your sleeve." Mina said.
Ren chuckled. "Yeah, that seems like an appropriate description, but… it wasn't always like that."
"Huh?"
He smiled again as that seem to catch the attention of his audience.
"My Quirk first manifested a bit later than most; I was around 5 or 6 years old…"
Tokyo, 10 years ago
The hectic city life of Tokyo was not the most accommodating for those on the younger side of juvenescence, who often lack the taste, money, or even just the self-awareness to enjoy the pleasures of the big metropolis. However, in the residential neighbourhood of Yongen-Jaya it wasn't uncommon to see rambunctious packs of children roaming the streets and playing in the parks finding ways to keep themselves entertained.
It was a Sunday noon. The cerulean sky was cleared of any clouds, allowing the bright spring sun to shine unobstructed at its zenith. A young Ren Amamiya sat against the trunk of a magnolia tree to cool off under its shade. He was leafing through a mystery novel to kill the time until the arrival of his expected company. Ren and his two best friends had agreed the day prior to meet at the park to enjoy the good weather, as well as their last weekend before the beginning of the new school term.
After he finally reached the point of boredom with his reading material, he stood up to approach an elderly couple sitting at a nearby bench.
"Pardon me. Do you know what time it is, by any chance?"
"Of course…" The man said as he reached for the pocket of his coat hanging from the back of the bench. "I'm sorry, son. I seem to have misplaced my pocket watch."
The lady accompanying him chimed by checking her own wristwatch. "I've got it, dear. It is just about a quarter past twelve."
Ren thanked them and bowed slightly before moving towards the park's entrance. His friends were already fifteen minutes late, which wasn't entirely uncharacteristic of them, but they were all very excited for spending the afternoon together, leading him to surmise that some sort of mishap may have befallen them on their way to the agreed meeting place. He thought of following the route between the park and the train station in hopes of running into them, but he didn't have to walk far before hearing two familiar voices.
"Don't cry, Ann. It has to be around here somewhere; I'm sure we'll find it."
"I'm sorry, Shiho.*sniffles* It's just that I…"
Further down the street, Ren spotted his best friend–Shiho Suzui–consoling a crying Ann Takamaki–his other best friend.
"Shiho! Ann! What happened?!"
"Look, Ann. Ren's here!"
The boy ran towards directly the sobbing girl, fearing the worst. "What is it, Ann? Where those older kids bothering you again? I will fight them again if I have to."
"You mean you're gonna get beaten up by them until they get bored and leave us alone." Shiho said.
"Hey! It worked, didn't it?"
"I swear to god, Ren. You're too reckless for your own good…" The black haired girl said. "But no, it's nothing like that. Tell him what happened, Ann."
The blonde girl wiped her eyes and started nervously running her hands through one of her pigtails.
"You know how I really wanted a Jack Frost plushie? Well, after begging my parents for months, they finally got one for me yesterday. I was so excited I wanted to show it to you, so I was going to bring it with me today, but on the way here I put the plushie down for a second to tie my shoes here In front of the batting cages… and then when I looked back it was gone!"
In a typical child-like fashion, Ann recounted the tale of her lost toy as if it was the most despairful Greek tragedy.
Shiho put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "Don't worry, now that Ren is here we can all look for it and find it in no time!"
"But what if someone took it?"
"You would have noticed someone coming close to take it. You probably just forgot where you put it; you always forget stuff, Ann."
"I do not!"
Ren cut in with haste. "There's no time to argue. On television they always say that the first few hours after someone goes missing are the most important. We need to find Jack Frost ASAP. Operation Northern Star begins… now!"
"Why 'Northern star'?"
"I said now!"
The trio set off on a quest to locate and rescue Ann's stuffed doll. Yongen-Jaya's labyrinthine layout would have proved a challenge to explore, but being a local, Ren knew the network of narrow backstreets and culs-de-sac like the palm of his hand. They thoroughly swept the neighbourhood, leaving no stone unturned, but in the end their efforts bore no fruit even after searching for over an hour. The group circled the area all the way back to their starting point by the batting cages, where they finally gave up, demoralised by their failure.
"It's no use. We're never gonna find it; my dear Jack Frost is… gone forever…" Ann cried, her words oozing melodrama.
Ren's heart ached for Ann. It was no exaggeration when she said she had been begging her parents for months. At that time, there was no toy more coveted amongst children than a Jack Frost plushie. He wished nothing more than to be able to help her somehow.
"Come on! There has to be a clue around here. Think, Amamiya, think!" Ren said to himself as he closed his eyes. "I just need to…"
"Focus."
Ren opened his eyes, and everything went black. As if god had flipped a switch and turned off the sun, the world was sunk in darkness, with the exception of an intense neon-blue glow etched into the ground. He kneeled to inspect the ground closer, and he was able to discern a pattern of shimmering paw prints. He couldn't tell why, but Ren knew that at the end of this trail, he would find what he was looking for.
"Ren, what are you– Hey, where are you going?! Wait, Ren!" Shiho said as she saw Ren taking off in a sprint. "Ugh, that boy never learns… Let's go, Ann. We need to make sure he doesn't get in trouble." She huffed in exasperation at her male friend before dragging Ann along to go after him.
Meanwhile Ren was following along the blue tracks, which coincidentally led back to his original location–the park. The trail ended right by a thicket of bushes at the far end of the park. He darted towards the shrubbery and looked behind the leaves, where he found himself face to face with the perpetrator of the stuffed toy kidnapping; it was none other than a fur-coated, masked bandit.
"Hey there, little guy." Ren said to the raccoon, who was looking at him with beady eyes. He slowly extended his hand as peace offering, but the sneaky animal scurried away before making contact.
Ren was momentarily disappointed to see the cute creature to go, but his spirits quickly recovered when he was what it had left behind. In between the foliage laid a small and plump textile snowman, which Ren recognised as Ann's Jack Frost plushie. But that wasn't all: the raccoon's lair contained an entire stash of similarly stolen objects, including myriad of coins, a pair of sunglasses, a heart-shaped locket, and a small silver pocket watch.
Ann and Shiho caught up to Ren, but the impromptu race had left them without breath.
"Ren, you know you shouldn't run off like that without a warning!" Shiho said between huffs. "What've you got there?"
Ann's eyes lit up at the sight. "Wait a second, is that…? Jack Frost!"
"Ann, don't! It's all dirty!"
"I don't care, I love him anyways."
"It looks like a curious little raccoon was collecting trinkets." Ren said before taking the rest of the items. "Let's get these back to their rightful owners."
Ann, Shiho, and Ren delivered all the found items to the nearest police box, bar the pocket watch, which they returned to the gentleman who was fortunately still sitting in the park bench. The nice elderly couple insisted on treating them to ice cream as a thank you for their trouble, which the kids gladly accepted without reservations.
After saying their goodbyes to the couple, the three of them sat down in a circle in the grass of the park to enjoy their frozen treat.
"So, Ren…" Shiho started. "how did you find that raccoon?"
Ren shrugged. "Oh, right. I forgot to mention it–I think I just got my Quirk."
Both girls shared a look of disbelief before yelling simultaneously. "What?!"
"Yeah, it was pretty weird. I just closed my eyes, and when I opened them it was like—poof– I could just tell where I needed to go."
Ann got up and ran to hug her friend. "Ren, that's amazing! You finally got your Quirk! I was starting to fear you were gonna turn out Quirkless." She said without thinking how that sounded. "Not that there's anything wrong with that. We would've still liked you without a Quirk!"
"Nuh-uh, that would've put a wrench in my plans." Shiho said. "Now we can actually become the best pro Hero team ever; Your Quirk is totally ninja! You'll do the scouting and investigating with your third eye thingy, I'll be on offence with my Stasis and our catgirl over here will take care of all the stealthy, acrobatic stuff."
"I told you, I'm not a cat! I'm a panther!" Ann cried as she hugged her tail.
"A panther is just a big cat."
"No, it's not!"
Ann's cat-like features were often the target of Shiho's playful teasing. She was born with a mutant-type Quirk that gave her feline agility and reflexes… in addition to a second pair of ears atop her head that resembled those of a cat, as well as a matching tail. Her ears and tail were of a deep crimson colour, which provided a stark contrast with her platinum blonde hair and bright blue eyes.
Ren laughed at the bickering of his two friends, and finished eating his ice cream with Shiho's words on his mind.
"Third eye… I like the sound of that."
"Anyway. Now that Jack Frost is safe and sound, we can actually do what we came here to do and have some fun." Shiho said. "How about we play Heroes?"
Ann stood up to second the motion. "I'll be Pixie-Bob!"
"I'll be Edgeshot!" Ren said.
"And I'll be All-Might!"
"A girl can't be All-Might!" Ann protested.
"Try and stop me. I'll destroy you with my Detroit Smash!"
The group of friends played around until the incipient sunset commenced tinting the sky with an ethereal orange glow. Ren was too absorbed by their game to notice how much time had passed until he saw the already lit streetlights.
"Oh, shoot, I lost track of time. I have to be home before five." He stood up and headed towards the park's exit at an accelerated pace, and turned around without stopping to wave goodbye to Ann and Shiho. "Sorry, guys. Gotta run! Goodbye!"
"Bye, Ren. See ya at school"
"And thanks for finding my plushie!"
Throughout the decades since the emergence of Quirks, the battle against had indiscriminately claimed the lives of both Heroes and civilians in uncountable measure, leaving many parentless children behind. Although in recent years traditional orphanages had steadily fallen out of use in favour of more stable alternatives like foster housing. Nevertheless, a handful of orphanages scattered around Japan still remained operational; one of them being Kashiku Children's Home–a place that became Ren's home after his parents passed away in a tragic villain attack when he was just three years old. Soon after that, he was placed in care of the state along with many other children in similar circumstances.
Kashiku was often underfunded and understaffed, relying mostly on charitable donations and volunteer work to stay afloat, which meant Ren's life enjoyed few luxuries beyond the basic necessities, although that didn't really matter to him; his upbringing had taught him to find happiness in the small things.
"I'm home!" Ren shouted as he came through the door. He was in the process of taking off his shoes when the orphanage's matron came to greet him at the vestibule, bearing a displeased frown on her face.
"Ren Amamiya… What did we say about being late?"
Ren tensed at her stern tone and started rambling to excuse himself. "I'm sorry, Miss! It's just that I was waiting at the park for my friends, and then Ann lost Jack Frost so I had to help her, and then we went searching for it, and there was a raccoon, and– "
"Whoa, whoa; easy there, little buddy. It's okay, you barely made it in time. Just try to not cut it so close next time, alright?"
"I won't, I promise!"
Trying to help the boy ease up, the matron brought up a piece of news she knew he would be greatly interested in.
"Guess what? A new box of donations arrived today, and I hear it included a couple of books…"
He immediately perked up. "Really?! Which ones?! I need to go check!" He was going to bolt towards the precious new literature, but he was impeded by the matron grabbing him by the shirt.
"Not so fast, Mister. Dinner is almost ready; you can go read the new books after, but only if you eat all your vegetables, understood?"
He nodded frantically and followed the woman to the dining hall, where all the kids gathered for the evening meal. Ren hastily wolfed down every single thing in his plate–even the green peppers, which he abhorred with passion– and proceeded to excuse himself from the table, fetch one of the newly arrived volumes, and retire to the non-privacy of his shared bedroom. Luckily, he there were still a few hours before bedtime, so he had enough time to enjoy a leisurely read in silence.
Kashiku did have an old tube television in the common area, but having to share it with dozens of kids who couldn't agree on a program to watch made it hard to actually get any TV-watching done. That is why Ren had gravitated towards reading as his pastime of choice; it was something he could enjoy alone. Seeing how he kept mostly to himself, the staff at orphanage were afraid of him feeling isolated, so they tried to push him to participate in more social activities with the other kids, but Ren had no interest in that, for he did not feel lonely. His relationship with the other children was friendly enough, but it was never as close as it was his best friends–Shiho and Ann. He didn't feel the need for any more friends, and had already made his peace with the fact that his age made him very unlikely to ever be adopted, as most potential parents were only looking to adopt a baby. He knew that as long as he had Shiho and Ann, he would never feel alone.
U.A , Present day
"Aww, little Ren playing Hero must've been so cute!" Toru said.
Sero was scratching his head. "Wait… so you got the third eye normally, that much I get. What about your personas?"
"Those didn't come until much, much later." Ren clarified, although it didn't do much to rid his classmates of confusion.
Izuku shyly chimed in. "Ren… I didn't know you grew up as an orphan. I'm so sorry…"
"You don't have to be, really. I lived a relatively normal life. It wasn't perfect, but whose is?" He assured him. "In fact, after manifesting my Quirk I was very hopeful for the future. I knew it wasn't suited for combat, but I really did think I could become a supportive Hero. I definitely wasn't U.A. material, but there were other Hero schools. I was just content with having a dream–something to look forward to. Things were going well for a long time–"
"Yeah, yeah, heart-warming. I don't see what's that got to do with Joker though. What are you getting at?" Kaminari interrupted.
"Patience, Kaminari. It'll make sense, just… bear with me."
He wasn't fully satisfied by the vague answer, but he sat back down, arms crossed
"As I was saying, things were going well for a long time, as life has taught me multiple times, good things never last." Ren continued. "It all began when I reached middle school..."
Tokyo, 4 years ago
"Aoyama-Itchome, this is Aoyama-Itchome."
"Come on, guys. This is our stop!" Ann said as she skipped merrily out of the train, Shiho and Ren dragging their heels in tow towards the escalator leading outside the station.
"Ugh, I hate taking the train this early. There's too many people…"
"Totally. How can you be so excited, Ann?" Shiho asked.
"How can you not? It's our first day of middle school!" Ann exclaimed, while shaking her friend's shoulders. "We are not kids anymore, this is the real deal. There's all sorts of clubs, and we get to wear these super cool uniforms!" She said as she twirled to flaunt her new plaid skirt.
Ren ran a finger through the collar of his shirt to loosen it. "Not a fan of the turtleneck, but I guess the blazer is kinda cool."
They kept on walking until they found themselves facing the building that was to be their place of education for the next three years. Right in front of the school's threshold, Ren halted his step and stood for a moment to appraise the plaque next to the gate; 'Shujin Academy' read the inscription.
He blinked a couple times to take it all in; he still couldn't believe it was real. Shujin Academy was one of the most reputable educational institutions in Tokyo; its faculty was professed to be made up by the best trained pedagogical experts, its installations of the highest quality, and its tuition fee of equivalent stature. Both Ann and Shiho came from well-off families, but unlike them, Ren was but a mere orphan with only a couple Yen to his name. Someone like him could never afford to attend a private school like this under normal circumstances. And yet, fortune had deemed fit to grace him with an opportunity. That very same year, Shujin introduced a program offering full scholarships to underprivileged students, and thanks to his stellar grades, Ren managed to snatch one for himself.
Ren realised that Ann was right–this was the real deal. A diploma from such an elite academy would open a lot of doors for him in the future. He couldn't waste this chance.
His feline friend's overly enthused yelling pulled him out of his thoughts. "Hurry up, we're going to be late!"
"Coming!" Ren said, fully intending to make the best of his time at Shujin.
U.A , Present day
Ren's narration was interrupted by an appalled gasp coming from the back of the room, startling some of the students.
"What's wrong, Tsu?"
Everyone turned their eyes towards the amphibian girl, who was covering her mouth with both hands and had a look of sheer horror in her eyes. She slowly put her hands down and struggled briefly to find her voice.
"I… I recall Amamiya mentioning once that he went to Shujin Academy. The name sounded familiar, but I couldn't place where had I heard it, but now… I think hearing him talk about it made it come back to me." She said. "I finally remembered why I know of Shujin Academy."
She looked at Ren; he had downcast eyes, but gave her a subtle nod to indicate her to carry on.
"I saw it in a news report on television a couple years back. They were running a story about a volleyball coach that had been physically and sexually abusing his students for years. I don't remember many details, but one thing did stick with me… one of his victims ended up committing suicide."
When she finished her sentence, multiple gasps echoed in the room like aftershocks of Tsuyu's initial one.
Ren still had his eyes fixated on the ground. "It happened so gradually I didn't even see it, but… all the signs were there. I don't know how I didn't notice earlier–I should have noticed earlier. Ironic, isn't it? Even with an ultra-perceptive sixth sense I missed all the clues. If I hadn't, then maybe things could've been different. I wouldn't even be here, and you wouldn't have to worry about me." He said.
Had his classmates not been distracted by the distressing revelation, they would have seen the water gathering in Ren's eyes. "It didn't happen right away. When Shiho told us that she passed the try-outs for the volleyball team we were so excited for her, but shortly after something changed–with both Ann and Shiho. They seemed more distant and listless, and then… and then came the bruises… It kept escalating until it reached a boiling point in the autumn of my second year, but by the time I pieced it all together, it was already too late…"
Tokyo, 2 and a half years ago
Despite being in great shape, and consistently getting top grades, Ren never felt any inclination towards the sporting or academic clubs. But even so, he did not want to join the Going Home Club either, so he opted to join the Music Club instead, hoping to develop his creativity.
After that day's Music Club meeting, he and two other students were tasked with tidying up the music room. Ren was setting aside the chairs in the room to sweep the floors while the other boys stood by the side chatting with each other without showing any intent to help him.
"Hey, Amamiya."
"Yes, Takanashi?"
"You're friends with Takamaki, right?"
"What of it?"
"You spend so much time with her and you still haven't made a move, are you gay or something?"
Ren was no stranger to ridicule from others at school. Due to his poor upbringing and Ann's ethnic background, the two of them had been constant victims of ostracization from their peers for years; even Shiho was often a target as well simply by virtue of association. Ren refused to give the bully the satisfaction, so he ignored his comments and carried on with his cleaning duty, but Takanashi had no intention of dropping the subject.
"Maybe you're just intimidated… You know what they say about foreign women, they get around a lot. I've heard she was even making eyes at Kamoshida." The boy said in an attempt to taunt him. "Honestly, she's such a slut. I bet she'd even let me have a go if I ask nicely."
Before Takanashi had even finished his sentence, Ren had him by the collar up against a wall. "What did you just say?"
"I said–"
"Enough." Said a voice from the open door frame. It was Mr. Ushimaru, Ren's social studies teacher. "Takanashi, Sakoda, would you please excuse us? I need to have a word with Amamiya."
The two students left the room, leaving Ren alone with the teacher.
"Mr. Amamiya, I thought we had made ourselves clear last time. Any more fights and your scholarship will be rescinded."
"But they started it, they were saying–"
"I don't care what they were saying. You were given a special opportunity to attend this school, and as such you are held to a higher standard. Instead of going around picking fights, you should put your head down and be thankful for the generosity you were given."
"I…" Ren started, but realising it was futile, he bit his tongue instead. "I'm sorry, sir. It won't happen again."
"It better not, Amamiya. You are on thin ice. Now finish cleaning up and leave, you've got homework for tomorrow."
"Yes, sir."
Mr. Ushimaru left and Ren obeyed without protest. After he was done tidying the music room, he departed the practice to go the main building via the courtyard, where he ran into Ann and Shiho sitting at a bench by the vending machines.
"Hey guys, what's up?"
"Oh, Ren! I'm glad you're here; maybe you can help me talk some sense into Shiho."
"I told you, I'm fine; I just fell during practice. Besides, they finally made me a starter on the team. I can't slack off now."
"But Shiho, I don't like to see you getting hurt." Ann said. "Tell her, Ren."
Once he was closer to her, Ren finally saw what had Ann so upset. Shiho had a very large and dark bruise above her left eye. "Shiho, that doesn't look good. Are you ok? What happened?"
"It's just a regular old volleyball injury. There's no need to worry."
"Are you sure you're not overexerting yourself?"
"I'll be fine. Besides–no pain, no gain– am I right?" She said with weak smile. "I know you guys worry, and I appreciate it, but this is important to me, so I have to work extra hard for it… I've never seen my parents as proud as when I told them I made the team. I need to be better than ever to keep my starter position. Now if you'll excuse me, I have practice."
After she left, Ren took Shiho's stead in the bench.
"I can't help but worry about her…" Ann sighed.
"What about you, Ann? How are you holding up?"
"Me? I'm perfectly fine! Why do you ask?"
After all their years of friendship, if Ren had to say Ann's biggest weakness, it would definitely be her terrible acting. He could tell that Ann's smile was hollow, a deflection to keep him from worrying. He decided not to point out the irony.
"Ann, you know I'm here for you if you need, right? No matter what."
"Of course I know, silly–you're my best friend! What brought this on?"
Before Ren could answer, her phone buzzed, distracting her from the conversation. Ren detected a brief flash of anguish in Ann's eyes as she checked the message notification, but it vanished as fast as it came.
"Whoops, I have to go." She said with forced laughter, to which Ren responded with a frown. "Sorry to leave you hanging, Ren. Maybe you could come over tonight and help me with my Japanese homework? Miss Kawakami has been getting on my case since last exam." When she noticed Ren's lack of reaction, she decided to use her ultimate weapon of persuasion–the pout. "Pretty please?"
Ren sighed. Even though he had led her to believe the opposite, he wasn't affected by Ann's pout, he just felt sorry for her whenever she was desperate enough to attempt using it. "Sure. Can't have you falling behind and leaving me to go onto the third year by myself."
"You're the best, Ren. See you tonight!"
Once left alone with his thoughts, Ren began turning over the conversation in his head. I had just dawned on him just how often Shiho was showing up with injuries after volleyball practice. She also seemed to be extra exhausted lately… come to think of it… Mishima was on the volleyball team too, wasn't he? Ren couldn't recall the last time he had seen the boy without any bandages.
Finally having laid it all out in front of him, it didn't take him long to connect the dots. There was definitely something fishy going on in those volleyball trainings that needed to be addressed. Knowing it would probably be pointless to bring this directly to coach Kamoshida, Ren decided to share his concerns with the principal the next day.
Ren found himself outside the door of Mr. Kobayakawa's office first thing in the morning. There was still half an hour before classes started, but this was the only available time to meet with the principal without an appointment. A secretary walked him into the room, where the principal greeted him offered him a seat.
"Very well. What is it that you wanted to talk to me about, Mr. Amamiya?"
"Well, to be perfectly honest, I'm a bit concerned about Mr. Kamoshida's coaching style. You see, I have a couple friends in the volleyball team and I often see them covered in bruises. I wonder if perhaps he's working them a bit too hard."
"Well, a few bruises and scratches are not uncommon in a sport like volleyball, especially when playing at the level of an Olympian-calibre athlete like Mr. Kamoshida. He didn't take the national championship five times in a row by settling for anything less than the best performance."
"I understand, sir. I'm just saying that if left unchecked, too much pressure could have some negative consequences on the kids in the volleyball team. On top of that, it feels like it's actually been getting worse lately. If Mr. Kamoshida has the best interest of his students in mind he should–"
"Excuse me? Are you implying that Mr. Kamoshida has ulterior motives in his training methods?"
Something in Ren's sentence had seemingly set off a sudden shift in Mr. Kobayakawa's demeanour. The man's usual apathetic expression was now incredibly severe.
"What? No. I was just saying that–"
"Let me make something absolutely clear, Amamiya. Suguru Kamoshida is an upstanding pillar of the Shujin Academy community; he has done a lot of good for this institution. All the accusations against him are nothing but baseless and frivolous rumours."
Ren narrowed his eyes at the unexpected reaction of the principal. What the hell was he talking about?
"Accusations?"
The principal ignored Ren's questioned and instead signalled towards the door. "If that is all, I suggest you get going; the volleyball rally will be starting soon. Good day, Mr. Amamiya."
Accurately perceiving the empty pleasantries, Ren left the office without returning the farewell.
He would have been frustrated to come out of that meeting empty handed, but the principal had unwittingly given him a clue–there had been previous accusations of abuse against Mr. Kamoshida. That gave a lot more credit to what until now were merely vague suspicions. He needed to dig deeper to get to the bottom of the matter, and he had just the place to find answers.
It was the annual volleyball rally at Shujin academy, and the boys' team was engaged in an exhibition match against a teachers team lead by Kamoshida himself. As it was to be expected from a team of middle-schoolers, there was not much they could do against a former Olympian. Watching from the sidelines, Ren wondered why anyone would find any enjoyment in such a one-sided match, but if the cheers from the spectators were any indication, the volleyball coach's popularity was more than enough to keep them entertained.
Despite being ahead by a sizable lead, Kamoshida still treated each play as if it was the game point of a championship match. The opposite side served, he was passed the ball, and spiked it with all his strength, propelling it at astronomical speed right into Yuuki Mishima's face.
Mishima collapsed upon contact with the ball, and the rest of his team ran to check on him.
"Oops, my bad. Sorry, Mishima, are you alright? "
"He's bleeding, coach."
"He should be taken to the nurse's office–"
"I'll take him."
Ren stood up and went to help Mishima up, he then supported him on his shoulder and guided him to the nurse's office. When they arrived, the school nurse was nowhere to be found, so Ren improvised a method to reduce the swelling using a washcloth wrapped around a cold drink from the vending machine. He reached out with his hand to apply the makeshift cold compress, but the gesture unintentionally caused the meek boy to flinch.
"Sorry. Here, press this against the bump."
"Thanks, but I'm fine."
"Are you sure? That was a pretty bad hit."
"It's not a big deal, I'm used to it."
"You're used to getting hit?"
Mishima became visibly nervous. "W-well, you know… From training."
"Training, huh? How exactly is Mr. Kamoshida training you?"
"It's not what you think."
"Mishima, please–I know what abuse looks like; I've grown up in an Orphanage full of kids who were trying to get away from your exact situation."
"Abuse?! Certainly not!"
"Is he forcing you to keep quiet?"
"That's…"
"Ah, Mishima." Kamoshida said as he burst into the room. "Just wanted to check on you, but it seems like you're already back in shape. I'll be expecting you at team practice tonight as usual."
Ren put himself in between the coach and Mishima. "Are you seriously expecting him to practice right after you almost knock him out with a spike to the face?"
"huh? I don't remember asking you a goddamn thing."
"I'm sorry, coach. I'm not feeling very well, I don't know if I'll be able to make it to practice." Mishima responded.
"Come on, Mishima. How can you have any hopes of getting better if you are always giving up?"
"I'm not, I– "
"If I don't see you there, you're out of the team."
"Are you deaf? He said he's not feeling well." Ren said as he took a step towards the much taller teacher and tensed his fists.
"I suggest you keep your nose out of other people's business, Amamiya. One wrong move and you can say goodbye to your scholarship."
Ren was about to retort but Mishima chimed in to defuse the situation.
"It's alright, coach. I'll go…"
"Good, don't be late."
Kamoshida gave one last disdainful look at Ren before departing the nurse's office. Once the coach was out of earshot, Ren heard Mishima sigh.
"There's no point." Mishima said.
"What do you mean?" Ren asked confused.
"I know you're trying to help, Amamiya. But proving that he's physically abusing us is meaningless… because they already know." He said. "The principal, our parents… They all know about the abuse, and they don't care. They only care about the prestige Kamoshida's volleyball team brings to Shujin, and how they can use it to increase enrolment and tuition fees. Some former members of the volleyball team even tried taking it to the police, but the school used its influence to avoid any charges against Kamoshida."
Ren paused with his mouth agape in disbelief. Everyone knew and did nothing about it? Parents just stood idly by as their children suffered? No, that was just not possible. "You can't be serious."
"Amamiya, please. Try to understand my position. Let it go; you're just going to make it worse for everybody."
Without any further word, Mishima left to get ready for volleyball practice. Ren was still trying to wrap his head around the situation. The school had been enabling Kamoshida's abuse of the students for years; it had gotten to the point where Mishima had already lost all hope and resigned to a life of abuse under the volleyball coach. Even if Mishima had asked him to, Ren just couldn't leave things go on as they were; he had to do something to put a stop to it, there was no way things could get worse than they already were.
The next day, all the second year students at Shujin found themselves sitting on foldable chairs inside the gym that would on occasion serve as assembly hall, where they had been called for a 'surprise lecture' from an undisclosed special guest.
"A volleyball rally, a special lecture… are there ever any actual classes at this school?" Shiho asked.
"You won't hear me complaining, this surprise assembly saved me from a maths exam." Ann said.
Shiho shrugged. "Yeah, I guess it's better than the alternative."
"Who even is this 'special guest', anyway?"
"I hope it's not another one of those lame anti-smoking PSAs–they only make me want to pick up smoking out of spite."
"Shh! Be quiet you three!" Miss Kawakami said from the row behind them.
"I didn't even say anything!" Ren objected.
"Yeah, Ren. Be quiet." Shiho said, putting exaggerated emphasis on the name.
"Stop talking so much, Ren." Ann said, imitating her.
Ren crossed his arms and sunk into his seat. "I hate you both."
The two girls shared a giggle at the boy's expense before turning the attention at the master of ceremonies for this event, who had just taken the stage.
"Good morning, ladies and gentleman. You all know me, coach Kamoshida; I'm here to introduce a very special guest, and a personal friend of mine. It is none other than… the number two Hero: Endeavour!"
From the side of the stage emerged a colossally built man with flaming facial hair. Ren mused that if the fire wasn't a strong enough deterrent for potential villains, his intimidating scowl could certainly do the trick.
"Endeavour, so nice of you to join us today."
"You're welcome." The Hero replied curtly.
"Alright, why don't you start by telling us a bit about yourself?"
"My name is Endeavour, and I'm currently the number two Hero, but I will soon be the number one."
Kamoshida waited for a moment expecting the pro Hero to elaborate, but when he realised no more words were coming he awkwardly attempted to laugh it off. "Ah, classic Endeavour. I meant tell us something more personal; for example, what was your motivation to become a Hero?"
"To be the number one."
"Er, Okay…" He extended the word to try and come up with a better question to get Endeavour talking. "Do you have any advice for the kids? What can they do to help the Heroes support the community?"
"Stay out of the way and let us do our jobs."
Kamoshida facepalmed at the pro Hero's ineptitude for showmanship. The audience was so silent, the chirping of a cricket-Quirked boy filled the room.
"So… who wants to see Endeavour roar fire like a dragon?"
All the students cheered in unison and Kamoshida wiped the sweat off his forehead relieved to have salvaged that train wreck of a presentation.
After the lecture, Endeavour retreated to the back of the stage without even addressing the audience. Shiho and Ann lingered in their seats discussing the show.
"… not gonna lie, the fire powers are pretty cool, but there's just something off-putting about him."
"Yeah… It doesn't matter how hard he tries, he's just not as approachable as All-Might."
"What did you think, Ren?" Ann asked. "…Ren?" She turned to her side only to find Ren's seat was empty.
The dark-haired boy had furtively slipped backstage with an objective in mind. If what Mishima said was true, neither the school nor the police had any intention of putting an end to Kamoshida's abuse, but there was still one guild of individuals with the goal to protect the innocent. Pro Heroes worked via agencies; there was no way for a civilian to directly request help from a Hero. But now, Ren had the number two standing just a few minutes away from him. This could be his only chance to ask for help. He had to admit, Endeavour would not have been his first choice. He didn't seem very friendly, but at least he definitely seemed determined to do his job. It was now or never. He went through the side stage and found Endeavour having a heated conversation with a suited man.
"What did you expect when you hired a PR firm? I'm just doing my job."
"I definitely didn't expect to be treated like a circus monkey by a bunch of school children." Endeavour said.
"Listen, All Might would've gone out there and charmed the hell out of that audience without breaking a sweat." The man said. "Here's the deal, strength and Villain arrests are not the only metrics for the Hero Billboard Chart. If you want to surpass All Might, you're going to have to learn how to play the popularity game. Now suck it up and get ready, you are scheduled to make appearances in 5 other schools this week." He proceeded to put a finger to his Bluetooth earpiece. "Hello? Yes, of course he would love to be in your hot sauce commercial. How much are we talking about…"
The mean disappeared through the opposite end of the room, and Ren took the chance to make his move. He immediately regretted it when Endeavour reacted less than pleased with his presence. "Who the hell are you?"
"Off to a good start…" Ren thought. "Here goes nothing."
"My name is Ren Amamiya. I'm a student here at Shujin."
"And what are you doing here? Do you want an autograph?"
"Um, not really, no…I actually wanted to ask for your help."
The Hero raised an eyebrow. "Help? Help with what?"
"Mr. Endeavour. Are you really friends with Mr. Kamoshida?"
"I've never met your teacher before this morning, kid."
Ren thought that made sense. Of course someone like him would brag about something so obviously false.
"Oh, that's a relief… It's just that I… I have reason to believe that Mr. Kamoshida is physically abusing the volleyball team."
Endeavour didn't visibly react at his statement. "That's a serious accusation. Your teacher seems like a clown, but I don't know if he's the type to do that kind of thing. Do you have evidence?"
"Not at the moment, but I was hoping that–"
"Look, kid, it doesn't matter; even if it's true, I can't help you." He said with a dismissive wave of the hand. "Your situation sounds bad and all, but I don't have time for that kind of stuff. We Heroes have our hands already full with saving people like you from Villains and natural disasters–you know, real problems. If do you have any proof about your teacher's abuse, I suggest you go take it to the police; they'll take care of it."
"The police? B-but I–"
"I have to get going, kid. I hope you sort this mess out. By the way, stop by my merch table, go get yourself a t-shirt or something."
Endeavour left, but Ren remained in place trying to swallow his dejection. Was that really it? He couldn't be helped because his problems weren't real problems? Abused children were apparently not worth a Hero's time. He wanted to immediately get to devising a new plan of action against Kamoshida, but he needed to get back before someone noticed his absence.
Disappointed, he returned to the front of the gym to see Ann, Shiho, and Mishima talking together.
"There you are, Ren. Where did you go?"
"I, uh… went to the bathroom." He lied. "So what are you guys talking about?"
"Not much, we were just about to leave for volleyball practice. Good bye, guys."
Ren grabbed her hand to prevent her from leaving. "You don't have to, Shiho."
"You know I do. Volleyball is the only thing I'm good at." She slipped her hand out of his, and then she and Mishima took their leave without looking back.
Ren wanted to stop her and tell her how that wasn't true–how she had so much more value beyond volleyball–but he knew she wouldn't believe it. Kamoshida's influence and her parents' expectations had led Shiho to completely tie her sense of self-worth to volleyball. She had even abandoned her childhood dream of becoming a Hero.
He and Ann were left alone in silence, but it didn't last long before the buzzing of Ann's smartphone broke it. She glanced at the push notification–and for a fraction of a second–Ren saw her façade falter again, revealing dread in her eyes.
"I have to go… see ya tomorrow." She said.
"Ann, wait."
Ren's words fell on deaf ears; she moving towards the school gate. He couldn't leave her alone, so he followed behind her. He hopped on the train heading towards Shibuya Station, which was Ann's stop. The moment the train doors opened, he sprinted towards the escalators and maneuvered through the afternoon rush-hour crowd hoping to catch her. He exited the Teikyu building and from the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of platinum blonde pigtails standing out amongst the sea of commuters. She stood with her back to him and her mobile phone against her ear.
"Will you please give it a rest?! I told you, I'm not feeling well." Ann spoke into the device.
"Wait, what…?! But you promised…This has nothing to do with Shiho, leave her out of this!...Hello?!"
Ann hung up the phone and curled up with her head against her knees. Ren walked up to her.
"Ren? What are you doing here?"
"It was him, wasn't it?"
"It's not what you think–"
"I know."
"…"
"It's ok, Ann. I'm here, just… talk to me."
He put an arm behind her and guided her to a more secluded spot where they could hide from prying eyes–the Big Bang Burger in Central Street. Ren ordered a glass of water for Ann and they sat at opposite sides of a booth all the way in the back. Neither of them spoke for a long while. Ann kept fidgeting with the tip of her pigtail as she did whenever she was nervous. Ren did not want to pressure her, so he patiently waited until she felt ready to speak.
"You were right, that was Mr. Kamoshida on the other line…" She finally said. "It all started last year when I accompanied Shiho to volleyball practice one day. He tried to get closer to me after that… he would ask me lots of questions, and he started offering me rides to school… At first I tried humouring him; I thought he was just a normal guy trying to play the cool, friendly teacher, but then he started asking for more. He asked for my phone number, a selfie, he wanted to meet me outside of school, and that call just now… he told me to go to his place tonight–you know what it means. If I turn him down, he's going to kick Shiho off the team."
She grasped tightly at her knees in an attempt to keep her composure, but she couldn't hide the quiver in her voice.
"I told myself this was all for Shiho's sake. I know how much that starting position means to her. And she has done so much for me; I just want to help her, but… I can't take it anymore, I hate him so much!"
The overwhelming combination of anger and frustration manifested in the form of tears streaming down her face.
"I don't know what to do…"
"Don't go, Ann." Ren said. "You know Shiho wouldn't want you to do this. You're more important to her than a stupid starting position."
"I know, I just… I feel trapped…"
Ren moved to the other side of the booth to embrace his friend.
"Don't worry, you got me and Shiho. We'll get through this together. We'll talk with her tomorrow and sort this whole thing out, you'll see."
She rested her head on his shoulder until she had no more tears left to cry.
"Thank you, Ren. I feel a little better already."
"Do you want me to walk you home?"
She nodded silently. "Can we stop for crepes on the way?"
"Er…" Ren hesitated.
"My treat."
"Crepes sound delicious."
Volleyball practice had just ended, but Shiho remained at the school gym running drills to improve her form. Just as finished her tenth repetition, she was interrupted by Mishima.
"Suzui…"
"What is it?"
"Mr. Kamoshida is calling for you… he's at the PE faculty office."
"What did he say?"
"I-I don't know." He said. "I have to go. Please, excuse me..."
Mishima left, leaving her with a frightening feeling of foreboding; Kamoshida had never asked to see her alone before. She knew it would be bad, but it would only be worse if she refused to comply. She went to the office, where the coach was expecting her sitting at his desk.
"Sorry to call you in out of the blue like this, Suzui."
"Um… What did you need me for, coach?"
"You know, I couldn't help but notice that your performance has been dropping quite a lot lately." He said. "At this rate, I'll have to rethink my starter list for the next game."
"B-but coach…!"
"Don't panic. I'm going to give you the opportunity to keep your position… you just need to do a little something for me…"
Ann and Ren sat in Japanese class, unable to focus on the lesson of the day. He had a tinge of anxiety; Shiho didn't meet them that morning for the train ride to school–in fact, she hadn't answered to any of their text messages since yesterday. He began fearing the worse, but he tried to shake it out of his head; there were many possible innocuous explanations for her lack of response. He needed to stay positive. Things were going to get better; after talking things out with Ann yesterday, they were going to talk with Shiho openly, and hopefully convince her to quit the volleyball team.
Miss Kawakami was trying her best to deliver her lecture in spite of the lack of enthusiasm from her students.
"The Japanese word for 'nouveau riche' originates from a shogi term. It shares a kanji with the word 'gold' written on the back of the pawn–"
Out of the blue, one of the kids stood up and pointed at the window facing the courtyard. Ren looked in the direction and saw a figure standing at the brink of the school's rooftop.
"Oh my god, what is she doing up there?!"
"Is she going to jump?"
"Hey, isn't that…?"
"SHIHO!"
Ann and Ren rushed to the hallway window, where they saw Shiho take step forward, jumping off the edge. They instinctively looked away, but the sound of the impact of her body against the ground made their stomachs turn.
"No… Why…?"
Ann took off running towards the courtyard. Ren followed suit, pulling out his phone and calling an ambulance as he ran. When they arrived outside, a crowd had already gathered around a barely conscious Shiho. Instead of providing help, the onlookers were all gawking or filming with their phones. Ann pushed and shoved her way next to her friend and kneeled beside her.
"Shiho…"
"I'm sorry, I… I can't take this… anymore…" She said before closing her eyes.
"No, Shiho! Don't fall asleep, stay with me!"
A couple of paramedics arrive at the scene and loaded Shiho into a stretcher.
"We need someone to go with her. Are there any–"
"Me! I'll go!" Ann said immediately.
After the ambulance drove off, Kamoshida–who had been observing the whole thing without stepping in–began dispersing the crowd of students.
"Okay, show's over. Everyone back to class. Move!"
Once the initial commotion was over, Kamoshida rushed back to his office to prepare for damage control.
"That bitch actually jumped?!" He said to himself. "Ugh, this is going to be such a pain to smooth over…"
"So that's what this is to you, huh? A pain."
The teacher looked behind him to find Ren and Mishima standing in the room.
"Amamiya, Mishima." He said trying to play off his previous display of anger. "What do you want? Can't you see I'm busy?"
"What did you do to her?!" Ren asked.
"Hm? What in the world are you talking about?"
"Cut the bullshit, I know this is your fault!"
"I have no idea what you're implying–"
"He's right…" Mishima said. "You… you ordered me to call Suzui here… I can only imagine what you did to her…!"
For a few seconds, Kamoshida only glanced back and forth between the two boys, and then he started laughing manically. "You are such a rat, Mishima. Alright, I confess–it was me–so what? There's nothing you can do about it. You have no proof; it's your word against mine."
"You bastard!" Ren cocked his fist and ran towards the man.
"Ren, no!" Mishima said as he grabbed onto him to hold him back. He struggled a bit, but he successfully managed to calm Ren down.
"Oh, my… did you just threaten me, Amamiya?"
"What?"
"Yes… a young delinquent like you just tried to assault a trusted member of the faculty like me… I had no other choice but to defend myself."
"What the hell are you–argh!"
Suddenly, Ren felt the air escape his lungs as Kamoshida's fist connected with his gut and fell to his knees. He tried to stand back up, but another incoming punch hit him in the face, drawing blood from his nose and sending him back down. The volleyball coach bent down and grabbed ren by the collar of his uniform.
"Get this into your thick skull, Amamiya. I am the king of this castle, and I am free to do as I please. I will make you regret ever challenging me." Kamoshida said. "You two can consider yourselves expelled. I'm reporting you at the next board meeting."
"You don't have the authority to make a decision like that!" Mishima cried.
"I already told you, I can do whatever I want. I've got the principal by the balls. Besides, who would want to side with two problem students like you two?"
"No… you can't …"
"Quit acting like a victim, Mishima. You knew what I was doing and yet you still lead Suzui to my office. You are an accomplice in all of this."
"Let's get out of here." Ren recovered from the floor and pushed Mishima towards the exit. "You won't get away with this."
"I already did."
Mishima insisted on accompanying when he said he was going to the hospital to meet Ann and Shiho. The majority of their train ride was spent by Mishima begging Ren for forgiveness for his ancillary role in Kamoshida's misdeed, while Ren tried to reassure him that he did not blame him at all. Eventually, they arrived at the waiting area of emergency room Tokyo Metropolitan Hospital where Ann sat restless her seat. She ran up to Ren when she saw him coming in, but stopped in her tracks upon sighting the state of his bruised nose.
"What the hell happened to you?!"
"That's not important, how is Shiho?"
"I don't know. I called her parents on the way here; they're in her room talking with the doctor right now. They won't let me come in."
"Okay, you two sit down and stay calm. We can only wait for the doctors to do their thing." He said to Ann and Mishima "I'm going to get us something to drink."
Under the pretence of paying a visit to the vending machine, Ren sneaked away from the waiting area and into the hallways of the ER. He used the power of the Third Eye to find Shiho's room; once he did, he put his ear against the door to eavesdrop inside it with his enhanced hearing.
"…I'm very sorry to tell you this, Mr. And Mrs. Suzui. Shiho is in a coma; she has suffered severe physical trauma all over her body–there's multiple fractures across the lower limbs, as well as the thoracic and lumbar spine, which seems to have cause considerable neurological damage–"
"I'm sorry, doctor. That sounds bad, but I'm not quite sure what it means…"
"Essentially, it means that it is highly unlikely that she will ever regain consciousness. We can keep her on life support indefinitely, but the chances of seeing any significant changes in brain activity are slim to none. I know this is very hard, and you can take all the time that you need, but you must consider the possibility of withdrawing life support."
"No, there's no way… my baby…"
"Doctor, you must be mistaken. She's just a child, there has to be some way!"
Ren had to retract away from the door as the nausea rose through his body and stumbled after his legs as he attempted to go back to the waiting room. This couldn't be happening. This had to be a nightmare; soon enough he would wake up and everything would go back to normal.
Ann found him as he wandered aimlessly through the hospital floor
"Ren?" She asked.
"Sorry, I couldn't find the vending machine" He said. "It's just… I'm having some trouble processing all of this."
"I know what you mean. This is just so… unfair. Shiho didn't deserve any of this. She's such a good person… it should have been me instead."
"No, Ann. Don't say that."
"But it's true! This is all my fault… If I had just gone to meet Kamoshida yesterday she wouldn't have jumped. She would still be here." Ann
"Ann, stop it! None of this is your fault. There is only one person to blame, and you're not it."
He held her in her arms trying to comfort her. She finally let her emotions loose and broke down sobbing into his chest.
"I know… but it's easier to blame myself, because… I can't bear to think about how he's going to walk away from this scot-free."
"He won't, Ann. I promise."
"But how can you know?"
"I just do. Just like I know that Shiho will pull through, because she's strong." He said. "Remember how the other kids have always picked on us for being different? Shiho never cared about any of that; she still wanted to be our friend. And even after everyone started picking on her too for being close to us, she kept on standing up for us–She's always been strong for us, and now it's our turn to be strong for her."
Remembering all the moments the three of them had shared brought a smile to surface amongst the tears.
"You're right. She's going to make it. She's too stubborn to let something like this take her down." She said before they let go of each other.
"Visiting hours are almost over. My parents are coming to pick me up, do you want us to give you a lift back to Yongen?"
"Thanks, but I think I'm going to walk Mishima home. He seems to have taken this pretty hard too."
"You really are too nice." She stood up on her tiptoes to kiss him goodbye on the cheek. "I'll see you later then. Get home safe."
Just as he said, Ren accompanied Mishima in his train home, and then took a train of his own to head back to Kashiku. When he arrived, he made a beeline straight to his bed and got under the covers.
Now that he was alone, it was his time to feel guilty. He told Ann that everything would be alright in the end, but truthfully, he knew that wasn't true. He wondered if he should've told Ann about the conversation he overheard between the doctor and Shiho's parents. Whether he did or not wouldn't change the circumstances. Shiho was gone, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. There was no one to ask for help, and as much as he would like to care of Kamoshida with his own hands, that was simply not possible. Even in his Quirklessness, the physical strength of the volleyball coach was incomparably higher than a teenager like him. He had no recourse left whatsoever. He had never felt so powerless in his life.
That night, Ren cried himself to sleep.