Chapter 13: Learning New Things
Chapter Text
The UA Sports Festival, a yearly televised event that showcases UA's students. Civilians and pro heroes alike watch the three-day spectacle in awe as they see the best-of-the-best duke it out in a tournament style competition.
The event is held once a year, spanning three days to cover the three different years of the students attending. After the advent of quirks, tried as they did, the world could no longer hold the centuries-old Olympics like they used to. Quirks were an unknown and untested factor, and given that some quirks gave people boosts that increased their strength, speed, or stamina, it was deemed unfair to those who were unfortunate enough to develop quirks that gave none of those benefits.
Over the years, the Olympics lost its worldwide popularity, and people moved on. Now, at the very least, the citizens of Japan have flocked to watching the UA students beat each other up. For civilians, it was a great way to see the skill of the future heroes that graduated out of the school. They had security in knowing their future was safe and secured. For pro heroes, it was a great way to measure and gauge a student's potential, see if they're worth investing their time and efforts in to mold them into an even better hero. Of course, having the bragging rights of saying you helped mentor some of the newest rising stars is its own rewards.
To any child, adult, and even other pro heroes that didn't go to UA, competing in the Sports Festival would be a dream come true. It would be the absolute best time of their life.
Tenko Shimura was having the worst time of his life.
"I can't believe this!" Shimura wailed as he looked at the scoreboard. "After I talked up such a big game, I come in at thirty-fifth place!"
A few snickers could be heard from the people who finished near him. The blond from 1-B that was glaring the hardest at his class was laughing crazedly with his arms spread wide palms up, "So much for mister 'I placed first in the entrance exam'. Guess you're not as strong as you thought."
"Monoma-kun," a quiet girl spoke up. She had straight black, shoulder length hair in a bob-cut, her face showing a neutral look, "He placed ahead of you."
Unphased by the demure girl's comment, Monoma continued his cackles. Shimura sent him the hardest glare he could muster. Everyone that caught a glimpse of it felt a tinge of hostility and turned away, heckles caught in their throats. The classmates that caught it gave sympathetic smiles and waves, all eventually awkwardly looking away. He scratched at his neck before sulking away to the outskirts of the designated area.
He didn't want to stand around his friends despite their clear attempts at trying to wave him over. He ignored them in favor of wallowing in his own self-pity. That didn't stop them from trying to reach him.
"Shimura-kun!" Uraraka yelled, her hands cupped around her mouth, "Shimura-kun, over here!"
I could've easily come in the top fifteen if not for that rope bridge and pit. You try crossing that thing with only eight fingers, see how well you do. Only a monkey could do it that easily. Who the hell designed the course anyway?
Midnight gave the gathered students a few more moments to catch their breath before moving forward, "Only the top forty-two from this round gets to move on! If you didn't make it, don't worry! We have some things lined up for you to show off in that'll happen before the final event!
"But now, onto the next round!" Midnight raised her whip into the air and pointed to the jumbotron screen in the stadium, "Anyone have any guesses as to what it is? Anyone just dying in suspense?"
The screen displayed a colorful spinning wheel with all the possibilities. It was going just fast enough so that no one without enhanced perception could read, something that Shimura found annoying.
The wheel finally stopped spinning, and the screen was filled with 'CAVALRY BATTLE' spelled out proudly. Shimura couldn't stop the groan that came out of his mouth. The students around him couldn't help but chuckle at his obvious displeasure.
"A cavalry battle…" Kaminari trailed off.
"I wonder how this is gonna work," Sero commented, scratching at the back of his head.
Midnight was getting visibly irritated, pointing her whip at the two, "If you give me a little time, I'll explain it to you! Now shut up and don't interrupt me again, or else you'll be paying for it later."
Both boys immediately shut their mouths, nodding in understanding.
"The basic rules of this event are the same as what you're familiar with – you'll form teams of two to four, with three 'horses' and one 'rider'. This time, only the rider will be wearing a bandana, and if you lose it, you're not out. The big difference is that each of you have been assigned a point value, based on how you ranked in the first event!
"The points start at five at the bottom, so forty-second place is worth five points, forty-first is ten, and so on and so forth. You following? Pop quiz! What's first place is worth, then?"
One of the more scholarly students raised their hand, "Miss Midnight! I believe they're worth-"
"That's right!" Midnight talked over them. "First place is worth ten million points!"
Everybody's attention immediately turned towards the first-place winner. Those that were standing near them spread out, giving them a wide berth so they were standing all on their own. In the middle, a boy with red and white hair split right down the middle, stood. The white side sported a grey eye while the red side had a bright blue eye with a hideous burn surrounding it. His face sat expressionless, nothing betraying any emotions he may have felt.
Midnight's eyes shone with mischief, "As the son of a top pro, you're probably aware of your situation, but for those who aren't, listen up! Those at the top are surrounded by pressure on all sides, so we here at UA are doing what we can to prepare you for the future. You know our motto, right? The match will last fifteen minutes…"
Shimura drowned out the rest of Midnight's explanation, having heard enough to get the gist of the event.
These events are stacked against me. No chance to really showcase my skill, especially in a team-based setting like this. How the hell am I supposed to make it past this round?
"You have fifteen minutes to form your teams!" Midnight announced.
A portal swirled behind Kagero and Dabi at the bar. Dabi craned his head to see who came through, but Kagero kept his attention to the TV, already knowing who it was. Mustard walked through, no worse than when he left, but with noticeably red eyes, as if he were crying. Dabi looked him over again before smirking.
"Aww, did someone's feelings get hurt?" Dabi fake cooed. "What happened, little guy? Get separated from your mommy?"
Mustard quickly wiped at any residual tears that remained on his face, "Fuck you."
Dabi chuckled, "Woah, aren't you a little young for using such adult words?"
A balled-up napkin hit Dabi in the forehead, "That's enough, Dabi."
Kagero had muted the TV, the screen displaying a wide shot of everyone participating in the second round. He was now facing the new arrival, a lazy but sharp eye looking him over, "Why are you here and not with Toga?" Disappointment apparent on his voice.
Mustard balled his fists, trying to appear more sure of himself than he felt, "Toga sent me back, said that she wanted to finish the mission on her own. That she works better alone."
"Not bad for your first try. Not bad, but could use more work on sticking to it," Kagero slowly replied, his arms crossed, nodding his head.
Mustard stilled in confusion, "Thank… You? That's basically what Toga said, that's why I'm back here."
Dabi was leaned up against the counter, he snickered at Mustard's obliviousness.
"That's not what he's talking about, twerp."
Mustard looked between Dabi and Kagero, utterly confused. Kagero still looked like he was following exactly what Mustard was saying, but Dabi's snickers were slowly growing into a chuckle.
"What is it?" Dabi's laughs were getting on his nerves, and Kagero's silence wasn't helping. He was growing more frustrated the longer both went on. Mustard crossed his arms and was seconds away from stamping his foot before Kagero spoke again.
"How are you supposed to learn if you're given all the answers?" Kagero replied, already turning his attention back to the TV, "You've got until the end of the second event to figure it out."
Kagero unmuted the TV and swirled his glass before downing the rest.
"So… uh," Mustard started, "What should I do now?"
Both Kagero and Dabi gave a lazy wave, a clear dismissal as any. Mustard swallowed and awkwardly walked up to the counter so he too could watch the Sports Festival. He motioned to Kurogiri for a drink, his finger raised up as he was about to order, Kurogiri cut him off.
"Nothing alcoholic."
Mustard's finger dropped a little.
"I wasn't expecting to get one anyway," he grumbled, "I was going to ask for a smoothie."
Kurogiri hummed and started on the drink. Mustard turned his attention to the TV, the screen showing the competitors spread throughout the stadium. They were all bunched in groups of three or four, with someone clearly riding on top. The announcer, whom he identified as Midnight, stood on a platform.
"Ready? Begin!" her onscreen counterpart yelled. All but one team rushed forward, either to evade or to attack. The one that stood still had a boy with white and red hair sitting atop. The camera view switched to something a little closer, where Mustard saw the boy sweep his right arm in front of him, a thick layer of ice following its movement.
The Cavalry Battle has begun.
Mustard could've walked right through the gates since he was still a normal middle schooler, but Toga couldn't. Kagero warned her that because she was connected to the murder of a classmate, even though she was never caught by the police, they still had access to her face. So there they were, standing in the mouth of an alleyway, looking for a disguise for Toga to don.
They didn't have to wait long before they found someone who matched what they were looking for. They stalked the girl until she was in a more deserted area before they pounced. A few minutes of a struggle later, Toga was dressed in the girl's outfit, her features slowly changing to match the bound girl in front of her.
She was no longer Himiko Toga, but Sachiko Namba. A second-year student at some public school that was on her way to meet with her friends to watch the Sports Festival. Toga waved her ticket in the air in triumph before leaning down to lick the blood still dripping from where Toga cut her on the arm. Mustard used his gas on the girl to knock her out before heaving her into a dumpster.
Toga hummed happily as she skipped along the grounds, flanked on either side by food or game stalls. She jumped between them all, trying the wide variety of foods available and playing every game until she got bored.
Her head was on a swivel, taking note of every lamp post, every security camera posted on a building's corner, every person that was wearing a baggier shirt than the rest whose heads were also on a swivel.
Those guys were cops in plain clothes, not very good at hiding in plain sight. Toga made sure to keep a running tally in her head. The man in front of her was wearing jeans with a pastel green short sleeve button down, with a baseball cap that displayed the logo of a hero she didn't recognize. This guy was as easy to spot as the others because she could clearly see the holster that held his .38 caliber, double-action, five shot revolver on his hip under his shirt. This guy was number forty-two.
She was also on the lookout for heroes, but they were even easier to spot than the cops since they were all in costume. She giggled at some of the heroes with a sillier costume and moved on.
"Ready? Start!"
She heard Midnight's voice ring out over the stadium's speakers, signaling the start of the second round. She picked her pace up a little, trying to find a way into the stadium that had the least amount of coverage. After all, she had a special message to deliver.
Her answer came in the form of a loose panel that was partially hidden behind some bushes. The entrance was too good to be true, so Toga looped the area twice before deeming it safe to enter. She quickly dipped behind the bushes, struggling slightly as she pried the panel open further so she could slide through.
Once inside, she took extra care to cover her tracks. Moving swiftly and silently through the halls, she used a compact mirror she found in Namba's purse. She peeked the mirror portion around corners, screwing her eyes in concentration to see if there were any cameras that awaited her.
The halls of the stadium were a labyrinth, but not winding enough for her to lose her way back. She stalked along quietly, taking note of anything that looked important before she stumbled onto a staircase. Creeping up a few steps to the landing, she heard some voices talking.
"Next event's the one-on-ones, right? Who do you think will make it to the final round?" the first voice asked.
"That Todoroki kid for sure, and probably the one that has explosions. Did you see what they did?" the second voice asked, slightly more animated but definitely more masculine than the first. "Endeavor's kid literally skated his way to victory in the obstacle course, and the explosion kid's got the fire to win it all."
Toga heard the first voice hum before replying, "But what about the kid that did the pledge? Shimura? With how he performed, it's a wonder how he placed first in the entrance exam."
The other voice laughed as they continued their conversation. Toga waited until their voices slowly died out before reaching the next floor.
If there are people patrolling on this level, there's something worth guarding. Access to the student stands? Public area?
If there were heroes patrolling, and if it was a public area, Toga didn't want to take any chances. She's been lucky to stay undetected thus far. She shook her head before she went back downstairs to find a room to hide out in until the second event ended. She turned on her phone to the live broadcast of the Sports Festival so she knew what was going on. Once the third event started, part two of her mission came into play.
The screen of her phone showed the camera focusing on a particular student. The camera perfectly caught the intense look in his eyes as he chased down another student, his hand stretching out towards the other's headband. The other student's eyes grew wide as the hand encompassed their head before switching to a different student.
Toga giggled quietly in anticipation.