Chapter 12: Issuing a Challenge
Shimura felt the crowd as soon as he and his class entered the tunnel. He could feel the soundwave of the crowd get funneled in and focused on the students waiting for their cue. If he placed his hand on one of the walls, he could feel it rumble from the spectators in the stands above him. He was in complete awe at the whole spectacle before him.
"Wow," Sero remarked, "It's like an earthquake in here. It's crazy to think how many people are probably standing right over us. It's pretty intimidating."
"Speak for yourself, man," Kirishima knocked his hardened fists together, "Hearing those screams out there is amping me up! I can't wait to start this thing!"
"Everyone!" Iida's voice cut through the conversations, "The Sports Festival is going to begin momentarily! Let us all prepare to exit and give our best performance for all!"
"Not the best rallying speech, Vice Pres," Kaminari chuckled, "But it's alright cause I'm ready to go!"
Shimura stood besides Uraraka and Bakugo, letting his classmates' excitement and nerves wash right over him. He was too busy trying to think about how he could stand out in the Festival.
Everyone's going to be trying their hardest today, but here I am, about to willingly handicap myself. How can I even bother to stand in the same stands as them if I won't try my hardest myself?
He felt a nudge on his arm, looking over he saw Uraraka giving him a concerned look, "Are you alright Shimura-kun? You're looking kinda…" she waved her hands above her head aimlessly, unable to find the word.
He gave her a shy smile, he brought his arms up and lightly rubbed on them, "I think I'm okay. I'm just getting a little nervous about this whole thing."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," she gave him a warm smile. "It's crazy to think we'd be doing this so early into the year, especially when we barely got any training done."
"That's intentional, Round Face," Bakugo cut in. "This is when we first get looked at by pros. If we show them how good we are with only a few weeks of training, they'll know we're the real deal and they'll want to work with us.
Uraraka brought a finger up to her chin, "Yeah, that makes sense! I hope I-"
She was cut off as Present Mic's voice sounded out over the speaker system, "YEAAAAHHHHH!! Swarm, mass media! Gather around, one and all! The UA Sports Festival is about to begin!"
"Guess it's time to go," Uraraka flashed Shimura a determined smile.
"Alright class!" Yaoyorozu's voice sounded out over a megaphone, trying to talk over Present Mic's introductions, "We're about to head out! Even though this is a competition, I'd still like for us all to work together if given the chance so that we can all make it to the finals! Good luck to everyone!"
A chorus of cheers came up from the gathered students. Shimura shook himself out, willing his nerves to calm down. He felt Bakugo slug him in his arm. The silent reminder that he had his friend next to him helped calm down all the way.
I got this.
"… you know who they are! The rising stars who faced down villains and came out stronger and brighter than ever! From the first-year's Hero Course, CLASS 1-A!"
The class exited the tunnel and nearly stumbled as they were met with the combined force of the bright sun and the intensity of the crowd's excitement. Every seat in the stadium was filled, the occupants yelling and cheering and shouting as they finally got to see the competitors.
"Wow, I guess what we felt in the tunnel wasn't exaggerated at all," Kaminari remarked, smiling and waving at everyone, playing up the crowd.
"Next up! They may not have gotten the attention, but that doesn't mean they're pushovers, introducing Hero Course, CLASS 1-B!" Present Mic continued his introductions as the other classes came out of their respective tunnels. The cheers were still deafening, but noticeably less than for their own entrance.
Class 1-B came out of the tunnel to their left, all of them in similar states of awe at the spectacle. Shimura glanced over to see the members of his sister class. He saw a wide variety of people, but what stood out the most was the number of stink-eyes he was getting. A fair amount of the students were glaring at both him and the rest of his class, most notably was from a boy with slicked blond hair and light blue eyes. Not knowing what to make of it, he returned the glares with a confused look of his own before turning away to look over the crowd again.
"Now, coming from our General Education track, Classes 1-C, D, and E! Don't take your eyes off these students, they're full of underdogs that can turn the tides!"
"Man, is there really any reason for us to be here?" he heard someone from the General Education voice, "We're only here to make the Hero Course look good."
"Well that may be true, but at least we aren't from Management," another replied, pointing a thumb behind them.
Shimura followed the thumb to what he assumed was the Management slash Business course. They were still waiting in their own tunnel, waiting for their cue, but Shimura saw their point. Every one of them looked utterly disinterested, choosing to stand in small groups, huddled together talking about whatever it is they're going over.
"Coming out of the tunnels looking like some crazy cyborgs, our Support Course students, Classes 1-F, G, and H! Last but not least, rounding out the classes, we have those from our Business and Management Course, Classes 1-I, J, and K!"
There wasn't much pomp for the last few groups, as it was clear the only reason they were there was because they were forced to be. With all eleven first-year classes out on the field, they gathered in front of the small stage set up in the middle.
From behind the stage, the students could see who the referee for this year's Festival would be. A smock of dark purple and spiky hair showed up behind the stage, followed by red domino shaped glasses. A few steps later, the R-Rated Hero: Midnight came to view in all of her sultry glory. With the referee properly introduced, the crowd's yells seemed to reach a second crescendo.
She took center stage, brandishing her cat-o-nine-tails whip and flicking it to the side, causing another round of 'whoops' to be heard.
"Welcome to this year's UA Sports Festival!" she opened, "Now that all the classes have gathered, a word from our student representative…" She paused for dramatic effect, the audience waiting with bated breath as she let it ride out, "Tenko Shimura!"
He heard his classmate's jaws drop on the floor. Shimura himself blanched in shock.
"Woah, Shimura. I didn't know you beat Bakugo in the entrance exam," the big-lipped student, Sato, commented.
"It would make sense that the student representative is the person who placed first," Iida commented.
"Shut it, Big Lips," Bakugo bit, "The nerd only beat me by a few points for some bullshit reason. But I scored more in Villain Points!"
Off to the side, another snide remark came from a girl from General Education, "First place in the entrance exam for the Hero Course, maybe."
"Tenko Shimura, come on up!" Midnight prompted again, completely ignoring his inner turmoil.
The people in front of him parted, making a path for him up to the stage. He anxiously scratched at his throat and stepped forward. When he finally made it to the stage, he stared out at the audience.
"Uhh," he tapped on the microphone, causing feedback to sound out through the speakers. He saw his classmates and teacher wince in response, "Uhh, to be completely honest, I had no idea I was doing this. So, here I go?" He took a deep breath, looking over at Midnight for reassurance. She smiled and gave him a nod.
He cleared his throat again, "Everyone standing before me earned their right to be here, whether in the Hero, Gen Ed, Support, or Business Course." He paused again, trying to gather his thoughts, taking in the audience's silence as he was searching for motivation. As if on cue, his hand flared up in pain again, immediately reminding him of what he bore witness to at the USJ.
"On the first day, my class was told that it's a hero's job is to correct the unfairness in the world. Then, on the fourth day of class, we saw just how unfair the world could be." He saw some of his classmates nod their heads solemnly, clearly remembering the USJ.
"It's unfair that some of the students in Gen Ed couldn't make it into the Hero Course when I'm sure they have amazing quirks for a hero." He heard gasps come from the General Education area, more than a few of the students' eyes were wide and had their jaws open.
"It's unfair to the students who are here competing today when they'd probably rather be tinkering," he gestured towards the Support Course, getting a few nods, "Or… whatever it is the Business students do."
One of the students in the back yelled out, "Fair enough!"
Shimura looked straight into one of the cameras he knew that was focused on him, "It's unfair that my class was attacked. But you know what? That's fine, because we're all still standing. We're putting ourselves out there to show that we. Are. Strong. We're all heroes, whether in name or ideals, and we will do anything and everything we can to make everything fair again.
"So this is a challenge for you. I'll be giving it my all today to win this, and I'll be giving it my all to make my dream come true. The same could be said about everybody here. We're all going to move forward, and nothing, nobody will stand in our way. We're all going to go beyond…" Shimura trailed off.
"PLUS ULTRA!"
The stadium and students alike erupted in unity at the school's motto.
Shimura stood stunned on the platform, both ashamed and proud of what he just said. He went completely off track with where he wanted to go with his speech. He didn't mean to say half of the things he did, and he certainly didn't mean to call out a certain villain that was no doubt watching this very moment, but he somehow turned it into a pretty inspiring speech. He lit a fire under everyone's seats, one that he's sure wasn't going to go out, no matter what was thrown at them. He felt pride in his classmates at their tenacity as he stepped down.
As he rejoined his class back on the field, he received more than a few back pats and words of thanks and encouragement. He was sure that his friends and classmates were praising him for his passionate speech, but he wasn't paying attention.
What the hell did I just do? That was so stupid! As if we needed another reason to have a target painted on our backs. My stupid mouth is gonna get me killed.
Midnight retook her place on the stage, "What a way to start off the Festival! What do you all think?" She was met with yells once again, flashing a smile before cracking her whip. "Now hush, Mommy's speaking. It's time for the first event!"
Kilometers away in the bar, Kagero, Dabi, and Kurogiri were watching the Sports Festival kick off. Kagero sat at his normal bar stool, nursing his gin and tonic, staring intently at the TV. He saw Shimura-chan step up to the stage, he leaned forward in interest, cranking the volume up so he could hear what he was saying.
"… and nothing, nobody will stand in our way. We're all going to go beyond…" the little Shimura-chan said on the TV. He was staring right into the camera, making it look as if he was staring right at Kagero.
"Oh? Is that a dare, little Shimura-chan?" a dark chuckle left his mouth, a puff of smoke soon after.
Dabi caught his comment, "So that's the brat you were talking about? He looks crustier than me. What's so special about him?"
"He's a wolf trying to live among sheep. I know it."
Dabi gave him an unimpressed stare, "Uh huh. Right. As much as I enjoy day drinking with my new illustrious leader, why keep me here when you've got the other two out?"
"You're way too noticeable. Even if you cover up, you'll look even more suspicious. Mustard's still a kid with a clean slate, and Toga's quirk lets her look like anyone. Why would I send someone that stands out so much to spy around a place crawling with heroes?"
"I'm not talking about why I'm not at the Festival. I'm not stupid enough to think I could sneak around there," Dabi drawled, swirling his own glass. "I'm talking about why keep me cooped up here when I could be doing literally anything else."
Kagero turned the volume back down on the TV, spinning in his stool so he faced Dabi, "Because you and I will pair together well. I wanted us to get a little closer."
"I don't swing that way," Dabi immediately shot out.
"I'm talking about quirks, idiot. I'm not gay either," Kagero rolled his eyes. He took another sip of his drink before pushing it away and rolled up a sleeve, conjuring a ball of fire just like Dabi did, "I'm a fire type as well, but I'm limited to white." Kagero's eyes focused a little as he willed the fire hotter, the color changing from orange to yellow to white, emphasizing his point.
"Kagero Shigaraki, please don't start fires in here. I don't want the alarms to go off again," Kurogiri admonished.
Kagero let a breath out, releasing the fire as well.
Dabi continued to look unimpressed, "So? I've seen plenty of fire quirks. Yours is nothing special."
"Maybe, but neither is yours." Kagero shrugged, swiveling so he's back to facing the bar. "You can produce blue, but based on your scarring, you can't maintain it too long else you'll burn up. I'll bet you learned that the hard way, right?"
Dabi tensed ever so slightly. Kagero smiled in amusement and kept talking, "Every fire user has the same basic weakness: we can't sustain the fire too long or we risk burning ourselves. Your threshold is probably a lot lower than most of ours."
"What's your point?" Dabi asked, still slightly on edge. "Unless you're saying you can somehow get rid of that problem, I'm no longer interested in this conversation."
Kagero gave an amused huff, "Lighten up a little. I'm just trying to figure out what makes you tick, but I am serious about me wanting to get to know you better. With your fire and my quirk, there really isn't too much that can stand in our way."
"What is your quirk?" Dabi inquired, "There's no way you're just a simple thrower. Your mask looks like a dragon and you release puffs of smoke from your mouth, but you just showed me a fireball."
"Misdirection," was all Kagero said, as he blew a small plume of smoke at Dabi.
Dabi's nose scrunched as he inhaled it. He waved at the smoke to dispel it, and when it cleared he tried to shoot back a response, but Kagero already turned the volume back up on the TV, his attention glued to the events, apparently finished with the conversation. Thrown off by the complete lack of a proper conversational flow Kagero follows, he shook his head and downed the rest of his drink, the liquid burning down his throat. That was a can of worms for future Dabi.
"Kurogiri, let me get another one."
Mustard walked around the stalls that littered UA's grounds, utterly disgusted by what he was seeing but doing his best to hide it. He dressed in his casual clothes with a simple white t-shirt with blue trim and matching blue shorts. Besides him strolled a teenaged girl with the mid-length hair, the same shade as his, wearing a light pink skirt with a hood under a biker-styled jacket with long brown boots. She was carrying a small peach colored purse, swinging it around as she walked with a skip in her step. To everyone else, it just looked like a sister taking her little brother out to the Festival.
"I don't get why we're here," Mustard lamented, "It's not like we're actually going to be watching the events go on."
The girl giggled and pat his head, "Aww, don't be so bummed out. Shi-kun wanted you to get more experience with this sorta stuff! So you get to hang with your favorite big sis all day long!"
Mustard groaned, "But what do we even do? All we've done so far is walk around looking at the stalls. I thought we'd be sneaking around the stadium or school."
He was immediately pulled to the side, away from the main crowd. In front of him, the face of the girl whom Toga was impersonating was right in front of him. He felt a knife lightly press itself into his shirt.
"First things first," Toga started, her voice taking a serious tone. "When out on a mission, a stealth and recon mission, you never talk about it. You don't know who could be listening in." She pressed the knife further.
"Second thing, whatever you think you know about sneaking around from movies or whatever, it's nothing like that. What did you notice when we were walking around just now?"
Mustard's eyes were filled with fear. He completely misread Toga when he met her a few days ago. He knew that she could be serious, but she's downright terrifying right now. It took a little while for him to realize that she asked him a question, but he was drawing a blank.
Toga seemed to pick up on that as well, heaving a large sigh before she withdrew her knife. She stepped back and took a calming breath, "If you want to survive, you need to take this seriously. The people here aren't your friends. Heroes haven't, aren't, and won't save you. You either live or you die in this world, and how you're acting, you're going to die. Go call Kurogiri, I'll do this myself."
Like a switch was flicked, Toga went back to the preppy girl that he met her as. A carefree and deceptively genuine smile plastered on her face as she skipped away to fade into the crowd.
Mustard watched her go as he released a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He stayed against the wall he was pushed against as he reined his heart rate in. Exactly what did he get himself into?