Chapter 14: Leaving a Message
Chapter Text
The timer on the screen displayed three minutes left in the round, and the cameras were catching every intense expression on the competitors' faces.
Shimura's team, consisting of the bird-headed Tokoyami, Uraraka, and a girl with pink dreadlocks who boisterously demanded she be called Mei because, "saying Hatsume-chan takes too long," started off with a meager 365 points and struggled to get more to add to their pool.
Their team had a decent composition, but it was focused more on defense and maneuverability than offense, something that Shimura found grating, but accepted it. Shimura himself was the rider since that position didn't run the risk of accidentally disintegrating his teammates, with Tokoyami as the head horse, Uraraka his left, and Mei his right.
With them doing a variety hit-and-run tactics, they were able to snag a few more headbands, bringing their overall total to somewhere near one thousand points. Shimura glanced up at the board, ahead of them was Todoroki with his imposing 10,000,410 points, and Bakugo sitting in second with a respectable 1360 points. Shimura's team was firmly in third place, with the silver-haired boy Tetsutetsu following in fourth.
Torn away from his musing, Shimura was jerked to the side to avoid the swipe of another team.
"Shimura-kun!" Uraraka yelled from below him, "Are you alright? You're zoning off and we can't keep running forever."
Shimura shook his head out as he took in his surroundings. Todoroki had managed to create an ice wall all around them, leaving them with one way out: through Todoroki's team. To his right and left were other teams who got caught in Todoroki's attack, leaving them frozen in place. Further behind Todoroki, he could see Bakugo's team running up to gather any last-second points.
Shimura's gaze fell to Todoroki's glare, "So I guess standing still and letting the clock run out isn't an option?"
Todoroki's glare hardened, "It never was. Iida."
Through the frosty haze that sat on the tournament grounds, Shimura could see Iida crouching down, his exhaust pipes glowing with heat. Over the roar of the crowd, he could make out the sound of an engine revving, much like drag racers do before immediately taking off down the strip.
"Recipro…" Iida started, the exhausts in his legs turning a cherry red as the flames in his legs started to burn hotter.
Shimura's eyes widened, realizing what was about to happen, "Uraraka-chan! Mei! We need to get airborne. Now!"
Ice flew out from Todoroki, creeping up his teammates' legs, keeping them grounded, "You're not going anywhere, Shimura."
"Uraraka-chan! Make me float, hurry!"
"But we'll be disqualified if you touch the ground!"
"Then catch me after, I don't care, just get me up!" Desperation was starting to leak into Shimura's voice as the chances of moving on grew slimmer the longer they hesitated.
"Uraraka!" he looked down at Uraraka, pleading with all his might. She met his gaze, her eyes still showing hesitation, "Please! You need to do this now!"
She paused for a moment longer before she nodded resolutely. She slapped his calf and gave him a boost in the air.
"Burst!"
Iida shot forward faster than any of them could register. Uraraka blinked and Todoroki's team was no longer in front of her. She twisted around to where she figured they stopped. In his hand raised high, Todoroki held a headband.
A pit formed in her stomach. She was too slow.
Breaking her out of her self-deprecation, she noticed that Shimura was no longer right above them. Iida's slipstream caught him and was now slowly but surely hurtling him towards the boundaries of the field, screaming the whole while.
"Tokoyami-kun!" she yelled, "We have to catch Shimura before he goes out!"
Tokoyami, having been frozen facing forward acted immediately, "Dark Shadow!"
A dark mass emerged from his stomach, taking the shape of a bird with arms, "On it!" The shadow twisted behind them, stretching impossibly far to grab their ride before he got too far, bringing him back towards the safety of his team.
Dark Shadow situated Shimura back on top before retreating closer to Tokoyami while Uraraka released her hold on him. The group grunted as they came under his weight again.
"Thanks guys," Shimura breathed a sigh of relief.
"AND THAT'S TIME! With a nice rider recovery to end it all!" Present Mic shouted over the speakers, enticing the crowd to roar in applause. "Everyone please turn your attention to the screen to see the final results of this round!"
The screen blinked before showing the results.
"In first place, the team that couldn't be stopped! Team Todoroki, who were able to keep the ten million points the whole time, and then some! In second place, Team Bakugo! In third place, Team Shimura! And finally, in fourth place, Team Mon- I mean Team Shinso!? What a last-second upset!"
Todoroki's team stayed at the top with a total of 10,000,480 points. In second place, Bakugo's team had 1485 points, their score having increased from grabbing more points from the frozen teams. In third came Shimura and his team with 975 points. Ending in fourth place was Shinso's team with 730 points.
Present Mic's commentary faded into the background as the mentioned teams all digested the results. They all made it to the next round, a fact that hit Uraraka like a truck. She turned towards Todoroki's team, "Wait! What headband did you grab!? I thought for sure you got our big points!"
Yaoyorozu held the headband up so she could see, "Iida-kun was faster than any of us were prepared for. It seems Todoroki-kun missed and ended up grabbing the seventy-point headband by mistake."
Shimura stared at the screen in shock, "Holy shit. I actually made it to the final round. You guys!" He turned to face the rest of his teammates, "I couldn't have done it without you! Thank you thank you thank you!"
Tokoyami had his arms crossed, but nodded in acknowledgment, Dark Shadow appearing briefly to give a thumbs up and what looked like a smile. Mei just waved her hand lazily, preferring to tinker with her support items that got damaged. Uraraka gave him a full-faced smile.
"With the end of the second round, we'll be having a one-hour lunch break! Make sure to check out the stalls if you haven't already! We'll catch you afterwards for our recreational activities for those who couldn't make it further! See you there!" Present Mic finished making his announcements and immediately dropped to a more conversational tone, still mic'd up, "Yo Eraser, you wanna get some food?"
Toga put her phone back into her borrowed purse as the stream changed to highlights of the first and second rounds, once again leaving her in the darkness of the room she hid in. Her eyes adjusted to the dark slower than usual, something that she didn't miss, but quickly dismissed it as she wasn't exactly herself at the moment.
With the second round over, and at least two hours before the final round started, it was time to start phase two.
She hopped off the chair she was sat on and quietly opened the door, peaking through the slimmest of cracks. Once again, she was met with nothing. Quietly opening the door wide enough to enter, she slipped back into the hall, stalking through it as she hopped from cover to cover, pillar to pillar.
She made her way back to the staircase she was on before and noticed it was significantly louder than it was before the second round started.
Guess this is a public area.
She crept up to the landing and paused, keeping her ear open for anything that sounded out of the ordinary. Hearing the constant chattering of people, she quickly ascended the steps, seamlessly weaving herself into the crowds. She easily matched the excitement the crowd was feeling, talking about the rounds with everybody and nobody at once.
Having ingratiated herself with another group of girls that looked the same age, she brought up the next topic, "OH my god, do you think if we're lucky we'll get to eat lunch with the competitors?"
The girls all squealed in excitement.
One of them, a girl with light blue skin and hair puffy like clouds spoke up, "I never thought about that! I hope so. Maybe if I'm lucky I'll get that Todoroki boy's number."
"Todoroki? No, it's all about that loud blond with explosions," her friend replied, her black and red hair in twin pig tails swishing side to side as she shook her head, "Nothing beats a bad boy with the skills to back it up."
She swooned and pretended to faint. Her friends all laughed at her antics.
"What about you, Namba-chan?" the first girl asked, "Who do you have eyes for?"
Toga easily came back to the conversation, having been distracted by looking for access to the student stands, "Hmm? Oh no, you'd make fun of me." She puffed her cheeks in a fake pout.
"Aww, come on don't be like that! There's nothing to be shy about," the pig tailed girl whined, "Unless you're talking about him?"
Toga picked up on her tone, "Him?"
"Oh, you know. Mister blue hair whines-a-lot."
"Him?" Toga looked away, twirling her hair, a light blush dusting her cheeks, "I don't know what you're talking about."
The girls she was with all gasped over dramatically, giggling at Toga's "obvious" crush, "It is him! You're something else, girlie."
They continued like this until they eventually made their way to the cafeteria, a lot slower than Toga would've liked. When they finally arrived, Toga's eyes never stopped moving. Her head was a radar that looked back and forth, scanning for either of her targets. Eventually she found what she was looking for, the students wearing the bright blue athletic uniforms, their backs turned as they were already on their way out. She scanned the group of students until they landed on target.
A side profile showed Shimura, caught up in conversation with Uraraka, Iida, and Bakugo, laughing at an unheard joke. The quartet nearly out of sight behind the crowd.
The smile that would've been natural on her normal face looked skewed on Namba's, just a hair too wide, something that her "friends" were quick to point out.
"Hey Namba-chan, are you alr…" the cloud-haired girl started but trailed off as she followed her gaze. "Oooh, gonna make your move already? How bold."
She pushed Toga forward a few steps, who stumbled but ultimately started walking that way. She turned back and stuck her tongue out to the girls, who stuck theirs out in turn, "You guys get food. I'll catch up!"
As soon as her back was fully turned, her smile dropped. She deftly weaved through the crowd, picking up her pace so she didn't lose sight of Shimura.
Ten meters… seven… four…
Shimura called out to his friends, smiling as he turned back towards the cafeteria. Toga could see his eyes pass over her, locking on for a second longer than normal, before being dismissed. She smiled inwardly.
Way too easy.
Shimura was ecstatic.
He might not have placed the best in the first round and eked out enough points to come in third in the second, but he still made it to the finals! He was way more successful than he thought he'd be.
After the second round, he was quick to get some food, wanting to get in line before they got too long. He all but ran straight to the cafeteria as soon as they were dismissed. Bakugo, Iida, and Uraraka eventually found him carefully eating chicken wings.
As they all finished their food and were heading back to the field for the recreational events, Shimura decided to hang back. Something felt off, like they were being watched. All things considered, it's not surprising, they were in the middle of a competition, and all four of them made it to the final round, but it didn't feel like the normal "enjoying from afar."
Turning around he scanned the room, scouring to find the source of his discomfort. Nothing stood out. A brown-haired girl was looking at him too, but he dismissed her as one of the "enjoyers".
He lingered a little longer on her though, she was quite cute.
The moment was too short. Someone walked in front, hiding her from view, and she was gone. Shrugging, he turned back, but as he did so, something else caught his eye. At the edge of his vision, he swore he caught a glimpse of toxic green.
He paused. He looked around the cafeteria, confirming what cameras he could see. If he saw him, then the cameras did too. Right? He hardened his resolve and planted a foot forward to confirm his suspicions. He took a step forward before he was shoved into one of the many rooms that lined the hallway.
The room was pitch black and the door slammed shut behind them, a click sounded a second later, indicating the door was locked. Shimura quickly recovered, moving himself further into the room to create distance. Through the darkness he thought he could make out some desks, a stack of chairs piled up on the side, a few shelves set up across from them. A storage room in all intents and purposes. He cautioned a look behind him and wasn't surprised to find a blank wall facing him. He was trapped.
He could barely make out a figure still facing the door, their back towards him, hand still on the handle. They slowly turned around. It was difficult, but he was certain that it was a girl. She looked a few centimeters shorter than him with a slender build. Shimura shut his eyes in a quick prayer.
Please let this be like one of those mangas where this is where I become a man.
As he slowly opened his eyes, the girl's presence was gone. He immediately took a defensive stance, backing himself up against the wall. With the wall behind him, he only had to worry about what came from in front and to the sides, three avenues of attack instead of four.
He forced his breathing to slow, calming himself. He strained his senses, willing his hearing and sight to increase in effectiveness. All sense of time vanished as he waited.
"You've got decent enough battle sense, Shimura-chan," the girl's voice whispered in his right ear.
He immediately swung his left arm across his body, hoping to get a solid hit, but contacted nothing.
From behind him the voice spoke out again, "A little slow on your feet, though."
He aimed a back kick with his right leg at the voice, again contacting with nothing. He growled in frustration.
"Show yourself, you damn coward!" he yelled to the empty room.
The lights turned on, momentarily blinding him. He took a kick to the gut, his back slamming against the wall. He weakly swung out an arm, but it was caught. He felt it be rotated and swung upward. His fingers pointed down and his palm facing forward, his arm locked in a painful position.
His attacker leveraged his arm, pain coursing through it as he felt his elbow bending further in the wrong direction.
Blinking as his eyes finally adjusted to the light, he came face to face with Toga, still disguised as Namba.
"Is that really how you treat a girl that's coming on to you?" she asked, her voice almost purring.
Shimura swung his free hand at her face, but she leaned back, catching it in his other. Toga kneed Shimura in the stomach again, grabbing both of Shimura's wrists, pinning them above his head. Shimura felt a knife get pressed on his throat.
"If you keep going like this, you're gonna make me wanna make you bleed even more," she giggled. He felt the pressure of the knife increase before she withdrew it. She let him go and stepped back a few steps.
Shimura clutched at his stomach, already feeling bruises forming underneath his shirt. He stayed leaned up against the wall, eyeing Toga carefully.
"What do you want?"
Toga smiled, her mouth growing a little wider as she let the disguise drop a smidge, "Shi-kun wanted me to tell you something."
Despite the circumstances, Shimura scoffed, "Shi-kun? Who the hell are you talking about? Who are you?"
"Shi-kun! You know, green hair, dreamy green eyes? All…" Toga's demeanor immediately changed, her eyes taking on the toxic green he'd grown afraid of, looking him up and down. Before long she returned to normal, her arms spread open as if she finished the best performance of a lifetime, "Shi-kun!"
Shimura stilled, having figured out exactly who she was talking about. Shimura felt his hands raise as he scratched at his throat, trying to use that to ground him, but all it did was make him more anxious.
"What do you want?" Shimura gasped out, his scratching intensifying, "Are you here to kill me? To finish the job?"
The girl giggled, her left hand brought up to hide her laugh, "Of course not, silly! Shi-kun just wanted me to say that he's rooting for you. And should you ever feel… dissatisfied, that he'd be willing to lend an ear."
Shimura felt his fingers dig a little deeper. He pulled his hands away, seeing the tips dyed in blood. Quicker than he could react, Toga was on him, her tongue lapping up some of the blood before retreating. He recoiled at the feeling.
She swooned at the taste, "Oooh, you're sweet. Kinda like Shi-kun, but he's sweet like fruit. You're sweet like candy."
Shimura was too shocked to respond, "You've been gone too long, people might get suspicious. I can't wait to see you again, Shimura-chan!"
Even though Shimura was staring right at her, it was as if she disappeared into thin air. No portals swallowed her up, the door didn't open and close, it was as if she never existed. She was there one moment and gone the next.
Coming to his senses, he plowed out of the room, running straight to the announcer's box where he prayed Present Mic and Eraserhead were. People scurried to get out of his way, sounds of surprise following him.
Finding the door locked, he pressed all five fingers on the handle, reducing it and the locking mechanism to dust. Kicking the door open he found it as he expected the box to look like, save for a lone sheet of paper on the table. Before he could read what it said, he heard a voice behind him.
"Shimura-kun? What are you doing here, Little Listener? What's wrong?" Present Mic questioned.
Shimura breathed a sigh of relief, but wordlessly raised the paper up so his teacher could read it. On it was a single sentence, signed with a lip sticked kiss, "Kagero Shigaraki says good luck to the finalists."
"The League was here," was all Shimura could say before promptly fainting.