October 27, 2317

Melody stared in awe at the massive, colosseum-like stadium that had been erected seemingly overnight in the empty lot beside U.S.A.E.I's western border. They were led from their dorms by their history teacher, Ms. Whittaker — why she was taking them to the stadium and not Mr. Holl Melody didn't know — to a pair of metal doors around the backside of the stadium, each marked 'NO ENTRY'. Once she reached the doors, Elvira spun around to face them, her face full of excitement and her usual cheeriness. When she spoke, her voice was marred by a heavy southern accent. "Okay, students! Let's go over a bit of this here tournament. Y'all have about twenty-five minutes until the opening ceremonies. Use that time to get into costume and finalize any strategies you and yer partner may have. Once they call you, listen for yer team number and be on yer best behavior. This is bein' broadcast internationally, the whole world's watchin' for even the littlest screw-up. Y'all only got four chances to show yer stuff to the Pros. Screw up and you can start kissin' any ideas of being a Hero goodbye. Now, head to your lockers and dressin' rooms and suit up!"

"Very inspiring talk," Nathan whispered sarcastically to Melody, who suppressed a smile and shushed him. Contrary to the rest of the freshmen, who mostly looked too nervous or anxious to be enjoying themselves, Melody was doing just that. 'We've got a good chance to go far. Our strategy against Hazel and Benji is strong. Granted they've had just as much time to think of a counter as we have but I really think this plan is gonna work. Marcus and Eris will be a bit trickier but from what we've observed the two aren't exactly on equal terms. Thanks to Nathan's ineptitude we know next to nothing about the team from his class so we'll have to watch that match carefully. After that, it's anyone's game,' she thought with a grin as her eyes tried to adapt from the bright mid-morning sunlight to the dim lighting of the preparation room. Each pair of students had a set of lockers with their names emblazoned in different colors making a rainbow of contestants. Finding her own, she opened up the locker and took in the sight of her costume. Sapphire in color with armored pads bulging out from vulnerable spots and a few new additions she'd requested from the support company through Mr. Holl just one week prior.

"Alright! They got my upgrades!" Her friend cheered, pumping his fist in celebration. Melody's eyebrow raised and she glanced over his shoulder. For the entire week, the two of them had practiced in their normal sparring clothes as their costumes were away so this was her first real glimpse of his suit. It was bright red and minimalistic. There were no accessories, the fabric looked lightweight and it appeared as if Nathan intended to not wear shoes with the getup. 'It's built for speed. Makes sense when you think about it. His Quirk is a more streamlined version of his dad's, substituting power for speed. With his personality though, I was expecting something more… flashy.'

"Nice and simple. I like it," she told him, not noticing he was holding his breath waiting for her opinion, nor when he exhaled in relief.

"It's light and breathable. I'll have to make some alterations during the colder months but for now, this is perfect." Melody nodded thoughtfully before grabbing her own costume from its hook and retreating towards one of the changing rooms.

"Back in a minute!"

"Right," Nathan called back. Once she disappeared from sight he sighed and sat down on one of the benches dividing one wall of lockers from the other. He was so lost in his thoughts that when a voice behind him spoke, he nearly leapt out of his skin.

"Still haven't told her then?" A boy from his class asked, his blood-red eyes curious. Nathan glared at him and turned away.

"No, Zach. And I don't plan to. Mel's been my friend since we were kids. I'm not gonna risk that over some stupid crush," he hissed under his breath, trying to avoid the uproar from both his and Melody's friends that would follow his confession. Zachary Cross shrugged and he pulled on one of his boots.

"Don't think it's some childhood crush, my friend. During class, you're this arrogant, crass jock but the moment you get around her you seem to deflate or relax. Kinda like a blowfish, maybe? I believe Payton put it best when he said you turn from a leopard into a kitten when around her," the boy droned. Nathan growled and yanked his shirt over his head, clearly not caring that half the room could see his bare chest.

"I'll kill him for that. Damn Snowman." At that moment, Melody emerged fully decked out in her costume and Nathan's scowl immediately twisted into an easygoing grin. "Lookin' good, Mel. The blue really accentuates your eyes."

"Hush up, Furball," the redhead retorted, her eyes drifting to his classmate, who was looking at the blond with a knowing expression. Nathan narrowed his eyes at the boy and made a 'go away' gesture with his hand. Zachary shrugged but gave his classmate a look that said 'we'll talk about this later' before putting a metal contraption over the bottom half of his face and stalking off, presumably to find his teammate. "What was that about?"

"Ah, nothing. So, should we go over our strategy one last time?"

"Are you just asking that to change the subject?" Nathan waved a hand dismissively and shucked off his jeans. Melody politely turned her head away from her friend's lack of dignity but in the process caught quite a few of her classmates staring at the blond. Once he'd slipped into his costume, she turned back and frowned. "Anyway, I think our strategy is as good as it's gonna get. We're the third match so we've got quite a while until it's our go."

"So, after I left yesterday did you manage to perfect that special move?" In response to his question, Melody smacked his shoulder and placed a finger over her lips.

"Keep quiet. There's plenty of people here with advanced hearing and it's a secret. I thought cats were supposed to be smart." Nathan grinned and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. He opened his mouth to apologize but was cut off by an ear-splitting shout.

"I don't care if you're my teammate or what the fuck ever, stay outta my way unless you wanna get hurt!" Clara bellowed, standing menacingly over Sirius, who cowered under her anger. The magenta-haired girl gave him one last loathing look before spinning on her heel and stomping towards the exit to the stadium.

"Does she always do that?" Nathan inquired, seemingly fascinated by the angry girl's sudden departure. Melody, much more familiar with the girl's 'winning' personality, just shook her head and began walking over to the still stunned Sirius.

Purpose of a Hero

With fifteen minutes remaining before the opening ceremony, almost all of the sixty thousand seats in the arena – the special box seats not included – were filled. Despite having nothing to cheer about yet, there was a dull roar of excitement that reverberated through the entry tunnel. In the shadows, just out of view from the stadium, Clara stood cradling her bloodied fist from where it had connected with the cement wall, now cracked, just moments before. In truth, she knew he would be there before she saw him. Why wouldn't he be, with A perfect chance to watch and point out her faults? 'Fucker. Looking for your next unfortunate sidekick? Or do you just want to watch me fail? Son of a bitch! I will not let you turn me into your puppet… like mom.' The image of a brunette woman with hollow eyes flashed in her mind. Clara let out an animalistic cry of rage before punching the wall again and further ruptering it, her blood now oozing from the newly formed cracks "I… will… beat you."

"If you are speaking of Lyle and Lilia then yes, I believe you have around a seventy-five percent chance to win your bout. Though, that hand of yours does put a damper on things. Perhaps you should get it checked out by the medical staff?" Clara laughed bitterly and turned her head to glare at the newcomer.

"...Why is it always you?" Lyon flashed her his trademark grin and took a tentative step closer, like someone approaching a rabid animal.

"Why indeed? Well, I suppose the easiest explanation would be that I find you intriguing," he said evenly. Clara's anger briefly transitioned into confusion.

"Intriguing? You do know I've attempted to deafen and or break your bones like, five times right?"

"Six, actually. But yes, for that exact reason. You see, everyone else in our class is either rather pleasant or quite frankly bland. However, you are perhaps one of the most unique people I've met since coming here. Everyone else in class I can read reasonably well. For instance, Melody is still not quite over what happened in Yonkers if the growing shadows under her eyes are evidence of anything. Narruk is hesitant to get close to anyone besides Melody, even his friendship with Andrew and Lyle is more… superficial than what I'd imagine a normal friendship to look like. Speaking of Andrew, I believe he is hiding something rather important, as are a few others."

"Okay, you're starting to piss me off. Make your point and then leave." Lyon blinked, having been lost in his musings.

"Ah, well as you can see I'm relatively good at reading people. However, you are… odd. You have this incredibly angry demeanor and yet there is… sadness in your eyes. From what I've overheard I suspect it has something to do with your father, yes?" Clara's eyes snapped back onto him and her anger returned. She strode right up to the boy and glared daggers into his amber eyes.

"Say one more word. I dare you." For once, Lyon seemed to have no response to the girl's threats. He just simply stared right back at her with an inquisitive expression. A tense silence hung over the two for a moment before Clara growled. "Someone sent you, didn't they?"

"Lyle said it was, oh what was it? Gamesmanship? According to him, trying to get your opponent off of their game is part of the tournament, which I thought was odd. Nevertheless, I've decided to embrace this odd piece of culture and all it entails." The girl looked down at him and growled deep in her throat.

"I'm gonna kill him."

"You sound very sure of that. Not the most heroic thought." Despite the absolute hatred in her eyes, Lyon just continued smiling and didn't break eye contact. After a moment, Clara appeared to deflate a bit and stormed past the boy back towards the prep room. Once she was gone, the orange-haired boy's smile dropped and he sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "It seems I miscalculated and said too much. Thankfully, her anger seems mostly directed at Lyle. Gamesmanship, eh? What an odd concept."

Purpose of a Hero

Richard Ramirez hated crowds. Their mindless dribble and insignificant problems got on his nerves. It also didn't help that he had to wear a heavy metal mechanism over his mouth and throat that dampened his voice. Without it, just his voice would have burst the eardrums of every civilian within twenty meters so he could understand why he needed it. What he didn't quite understand was his support staff's determination to make is as uncomfortable as possible. The cool iron dug into his esophagus and made breathing deeply nearly impossible. Between it and the myriad of people, both citizens, and fellow Heroes, his mood was worsening by the second. Then, of course, there was the woman walking toward him. To anyone else, she'd have appeared quite beautiful but Richard knew just how ugly she could really be. "Well, well, if it isn't Seismos. It's a surprise to see you out here amongst the masses and not in a private box like most years. Special interest in the freshman this year?"

"You're bold, Vesuvius. What's to say I don't subdue and arrest you right now?" The Pro Hero asked, his voice a deep, metallic growl through his dampener. Miss Vesuvius smiled widely and took the empty seat beside him.

"Simple. You know me. Any attempt you could make with that voice box wouldn't be enough to stop me from killing dozens in an instant. Besides, you wouldn't arrest an old friend would you?" She purred, wrapping her arms around his much thicker bicep. Richard snarled and tried to extract himself but to no avail. The woman had a vice-like grip and as he tried to pull away her arms began to heat up – an early warning system to cut it out. "Now then, you never answered my question. Which student has caught your eye? Must be one you saw outside of school. Most Pros are kept away until their summer internships."

"..."

"The silent treatment? So rude!" She cried and smacked his chest, leaving his black suit steaming and slightly charred. Vesuvius smiled victoriously at him and crossed one of her slender legs over the other. When she spoke again, her normal purr was filled with an emotion Richard couldn't identify. "Hm, I would dare to say that it's a pair of students hold your interest, then? If my intel is correct, and it always is darling, then your daughter will be partaking. Oh? What's that face for?"

"Leave that brat out of this."

"Protective, aren't we?" Vesuvius said though she sounded slightly off-put by the venom in his voice. Seismos laughed harshly and shook his head.

"Hardly. It's bad enough I have to watch her in this tournament, I'd rather not hear about her from you." His female companion's brow furrowed at his words. 'My spies said the girl had a hatred for her father. I didn't expect it to go both ways. It seems we've lost some leverage.'

"Wow, I wasn't expecting you to talk about the poor girl with such distaste. What did she do? Date a boy you don't like? I know that's a sore spot for yo-"

"Tch, don't go there. Harmony and Clara are nothing alike. The only thing they have in common is that in the end, they are both disappointments. At least Harmony had redeeming factors. That little punk is no more than a burden," he stated.

"That seems a bit harsh. What did she do to disappoint you?" Richard froze and turned his head to glare down at her. Vesuvius had to admit, with his intense crimson eyes and the metal dampener, he was quite imposing.

"She's obsessed with surpassing me. Her entire childhood from the moment she manifested her Quirk to the moment she left for the Forge I tried to impress on her the importance of her Quirk and its heritage but she would rather rebel. Of course, that's not the first of her many flaws. The very reason I had a child with a Quirkless woman was to keep my own Quirk pure so it could be perfected by the next generation. Looking back, I suppose manifesting a mutated version of my Quirk was the first of her failures," he lamented, completely unaware of the disgusted look he was receiving from the Villainess. However, at that moment there was the loud, echoing sound of a microphone turning on and a voice both of them recognized reverberated through the arena.

"Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to this year's Halloween Festival!" The announcement was met with the thunderous cheer of nearly sixty-thousand people. Once it quieted a bit, Derrick Holl cleared his throat and continued. "Just a bit of housekeeping before we get to the main event. Please welcome my guest commentator, the second-ranked Hero Oddball."

"HIYA! It's an honor to be here!" This was met with an even more boisterous reaction from the crowd, which caused Richard to scowl.

"That's right, he's still one slot above you. Must've stung when they announced he was still superior despite his age," Vesuvius said, her voice sounding like a whisper within the roar of the crowd. Seismos, wisely, ignored the woman.

"Can't wait to see these kids tear one another apart!" Oddball cried. This statement was met with mostly cheers but there were quite a few nervous chuckles from those not used to hearing him speak.

"Ah… yes, anyway. If you look down at the field you'll see our freshman history teacher, Elvira Whittaker, who is going to explain the basic rules of this contest." The woman in question waved merrily at the crowd and gladly accepted her own microphone from a fellow staff member.

"Howdy! All right, let's get right down to the dirty details. As usual, this is a primarily fightin' tournament but every year we try and do somethin' new. So it's my pleasure to announce that this year's theme is... Subdue and Capture!" From within her buckskin crop top, she produced a small, thin roll of fabric. "This here is what our support staff call 'Smart Rope'. Not the best name but it fits. For this year's tournament, a student's team can win in two ways. Option one, completely knock out their opponents or option two, hogtie them with this here string. Once you're tied up you are out. The only way you can succeed in this tournament is to work together and watch each other's backs. Teamwork is the trademark of any Hero. Other than that, there are no rules. You can use any support equipment you bring in but beware, you cannot restock so use it wisely. That's all I got to say, thanks to everyone for turnin' up and let's give these kids a big round of applause!"

Purpose of a Hero

"Well… that might change our strategy a bit," Nathan deadpanned as he stared up at one of the half dozen fifty-inch television screens placed sporadically throughout the prep area. Beside him, Melody was fiddling with her new goggles – a modified version of her mother's old pair. The frame of the goggles was a bright shade of red while the lenses were tinted black. "What do those things do anyway?"

"The biggest thing is the infrared. Other than that, they're just advanced sunglasses. Eventually I'm gonna upgrade but this is all they could get done in a week," Melody explained, pulling them down over her head to cover her eyes. She was quiet for a moment as she looked down at her hands, though Nathan was too enamored with a fly buzzing around his head to notice the frown on her face. 'So it wasn't the goggles that made me see the blood. What was it then? So weird,' she thought.

"That'll help for night missions. Of course, I don't need infrared because… y'know cats have night vision or whatever." The redhead rolled her eyes and tapped a button on the side of the goggles, making her friend's image appear as a human-shaped red blob.

"So humble."

"Thanks! So… I've been meaning to ask you something," Nathan said, his voice somewhat shaky. Melody tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"What is it?"

"The final rounds. Y'know, we might have to fight each other. It sounds like something they'd do, yeah? Pit former teammates against one another?" Melody thought back on Mr. Holl's proclamation that only four students would pass the labyrinth test – a complete lie if her recent report card was anything to go off of – and had to admit her friend was right. Immediately, a pool of dread settled in her stomach. 'Former partners… friends turned against one another? Yeah… that is something they'd do. Especially if Mr. Holl has any say in it. He knew mom… what happened to her.'

"It would make sense," she muttered. Nathan shifted uncomfortably. He was about to speak again, but was cut off when Melody removed her glasses and looked at him determinedly. "Then if it does come to that, I'm not holding back. I swear to everything, if you do and I find out I'm gonna kick your butt! This is our best chance to show what we can actually do and I'll be royally peeved off if you go easy on me!"

"You got it, Mel," Nathan chuckled. If he were being honest with himself, he was hesitant about the idea of going all out against his best friend. 'I should've known she'd be all for the idea of kicking my ass. Actually, I'm a bit frightened of her recently. Whoever the hell has been helping her with her hand-to-hand skills can jump off a bridge, her punches really fucking hurt.' Just then, a robotic female voice came over the intercom system, cutting off all conversations in the room.

"Would the first contestants please make their way to the battlefield? Thank you.'' Melody's gaze turned towards Sirius and Clara, the former looking as if he'd seen a ghost – other than Epiphany – while the later grinned maniacally. On the other side of the room, Lyle and his teammate, a brunette girl with as cold a disposition as the poison Quirk user, nodded to one another and left down the tunnel above which a monitor flashed their team number.

As he walked down his team's tunnel, Sirius' breathing became more and more erratic. In his mind he could hear Epiphany's voice but it was almost as if she were speaking underwater. The muffled sound of her, his own short breaths, and the roar of the crowd were making him shake like a leaf. Once the pair made it to the end of the tunnel, Sirius had to put a hand over his eyes to shield them from the drastic lighting change. The only thing separating him and Clara from the battlefield was half a dozen shining iron bars. "Hey, shrimp."

"Eh?" To his shock, his teammate had actually turned from glaring out at the crowd to face him. The look on her face was neutral but her eyes were as cold as Epiphany.

"You're pathetic, you know that? I mean, fuck we haven't even gone out there yet and you're having a fucking hissy fit. Calm down, alright?" She ordered. Sirius was shocked. 'Did… did Clara just try and consol me?' he wondered. "If you keep that shit up we'll lose and if we lose, it's your ass."

"O-Okay," the boy squeaked.

"Why don't you just shut up and focus on the match?" A new voice said. Sirius groaned and prepared for the coming firestorm. Epiphany stood – or rather hovered – just behind his shoulder, glaring daggers at the larger girl. Clara gave her an appraising look, grinned, and marched over to be face to face with the girl, trapping Sirius in between them.

"Oh? Ghost girl's got a problem with my pep talk, does she? Now that I think more on it I shouldn't expect much from tiny here in the first place. He's never the one fighting, always hiding behind his little protector," she taunted, nearly nose to nose with a snarling Epiphany.

"Like you're any better. Hiding your weakness behind that shitty personality of yours. We're supposed to be a team here!" The redhead exclaimed. The two girls growled at one another, seemingly unaware of the third member of their team trapped between them.

"I don't need some weakling and his pet to win this match. Stay outta my way. Wouldn't wanna step on the runt, now would I?" Epiphany looked as if she was ready to attack Clara but the bigger girl stepped away and went back to looking at the battlefield outside. After another minute of silence, she sighed and shook her head. "Be on your guard. That poison bastard is weak physically but he's smart. He knows what'll get you riled up. Expect him to have a plan."

"Okay?" Sirius said, confused by her sudden change in tone. Before any of them could say more, their teacher's voice echoed through the arena.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first match of the freshman bracket. Our first competitors, whose real names will be withheld for their safety, are Elisnore and Clyde on the blue side, while the red side is Hemlock and Irusan. Remember, full use of Quirks and support equipment is allowed. The match will end when one side is either captured or rendered unable to battle. And now, to choose the field."

"Field?" Clara muttered and looked around at her team. Sirius and Epiphany both shrugged but before they could elaborate the ground began to shake. In the middle of the battlefield, a crack appeared and the field opened. At first, it appeared as if the 'field' Holl had talked about was going to be just an empty hole but then Sirius saw something green cresting the hole.

"Trees?"

"I see. They change up the battlefield before every match so no one has a concrete idea of what terrain they'll be fighting on. Heh, any strategies people came up with just got drastically fucked," Clara noted as the hundred-meter field became a section of woodland complete with a dirt floor and other plants like ferns and flowers dotting it.

"The forest field. Created by the Number One Hero Overgrown for just this occasion. At the beginning of each round, the terrain will change again. A Pro Hero must be able to adapt to anything as they'll never know when and where they will be called into action to save lives. The match will begin when our referee, Ms. Whittaker, give the signal." The woman in question grinned and glanced at either side of the stadium, though her view of the students was blocked by the foliage. She raised a whistle to her lips and blew hard, signaling the start of the match. The iron bars slid upwards and Clara grinned before charging into the forest, leaving Sirius and Epiphany calling after her.

"Clara wait!"

"We need a plan of attack!" Epiphany shouted.

"I have a plan… ATTACK!"

Purpose of a Hero

Sorry for no AN but I'm lazy. Thanks to Hiatus for beta-ing. Tomorrow is Prime Day so my company is gonna have at least 2k orders, god help us :(. Anyway here's the preview

Next Time on the Purpose of a Hero!

Chapter 28: Go Beyond!

It was gonna happen eventually, guys. No one will say it (the discord is still arguing over the school motto) but yeah, quickest title I could think of. Next time we'll see Clara/Sirius vs. Lyle/Lilia and maaaaybe some of Narruk's fight. Dunno I haven't really planned it out yet. Okay, see you guys later