Bakugo couldn't help but be angry as he looked at the surrounding crowd. He normally wouldn't have thought much about it before, but now all the crowd's cheering couldn't help but anger him more. It reminded him of what the Midget had blabbed about, spouting the bullshit idea that Akatani was quirkless. He refused to believe that was true, and why would it be?
The strong beat the weak, that was the simple law of the land. Powerful quirks beat weak quirks. And no one could find a more powerful quirk than his. It's what his parents told him, it's what his teachers told him, hell it's what his classmates back in Middle school told him. So Akatani being quirkless? It wasn't possible. There was no way he was losing to some worthless nerd all this time!
Yet no matter how often Bakugo told himself that, he couldn't help feeling the doubt seep in. Never once had he seen Akatani display some kind of quirk. It could be a mental quirk Bakugo reasoned, but that didn't help his case. Bakugo was far more powerful than him, but he could never win no matter what he tried. So all Bakugo could do was quietly stew in his doubt and anger. With that Present Mic gave out his introduction for his class, causing another uproar of cheers from the crowd.
After that came the other first years' introductions, except for 1B's intro, which was oddly rushed. Bakugo didn't care though, the sooner the event got underway, the sooner he could win this thing. Quickly he and the rest of the first years had gotten into place, standing in the center of the stadium, in front of a small stage. Midnight stood up in front of everyone, to which she began rambling about some kind of speech.
Then to his surprise, she looked out at the crowd of first years, her eyes quickly falling on him.
"And for the student pledge, we have Bakugo Katsuki!" she yelled, with a few of Bakugo's classmates turning to face him. They all held worried expressions, though like with most things Bakugo didn't care. Instead, he was far more surprised his name was called. He didn't show it, but… oh, it's because he took first place in the entrance exam, Bakugo quietly realized.
Makes sense, he thought, before walking forward. At the same time, he couldn't help but hear the murmuring of his classmates, as some looked at him pleadingly.
"They chose him to do the pledge?" Pikachu asked surprised, watching worriedly as Bakugo headed toward the stage.
"Oh… we're doomed," the Midget muttered terrified.
"Come on, it won't be that bad… right?" Shitty Hair tried to reason, though none of his classmates seemed to agree with him. Even then Shitty Hair didn't seem to believe the words, more so saying them to keep up the mood. However, his class's worry contrasted with the rest of the first year's anger. Quite a few other students glared up at him, though Bakugo could only scoff at it. This was his competition? This was the best they had? When Bakugo arrived at the microphone, he stood there momentarily, looking at it uncaringly. What was even the point of giving a speech?
To try and inspire a bunch of unimportant extras? A waste of time is what that is. All they needed to hear was the damn truth.
"I just wanna say, I'm gonna win," he proclaimed into the mic. It took only seconds for the classes behind him to start booing. All were in an uproar, while the audience watched on somewhat awkwardly. Most of them were quiet at the bold proclamation, others shook their heads disapprovingly. A few looked at Bakugo interested though, mainly some heroes. But Bakugo couldn't care what any of them thought, instead walking away from the stage.
"W-well," Midnight began, somewhat surprised by the "speech" Bakugo had given, she turned back to face the rest of the audience. At the same time, Bakugo raised an eyebrow confused, as he spotted a pair of heroes now walking across the open field. Both were ultimately rather boring looking, but somewhat differing.
One of the heroes was a woman, who had an odd form-fitting gray spandex outfit. Detailing the costume was crisscrossing yellow lightning bolts, creating a kind of x that started from the shoulders and stopped at her ankles. She wore no mask and had long brown hair. Oddly enough her right hand didn't seem connected to her arm, instead having some kind of electricity where her wrist should have been.
The other hero meanwhile was a man, with roughly the same costume as the woman. Same lightning bolts, same color scheme, same everything. However, he also wore a few extra items, mainly a pair of thick-soled combat boots, and a bomber jacket. He also had brown hair, which was slicked back.
"With that out of the way, I would like to welcome Static and Whiplash to the stage, who would like to give everyone a few words," Midnight continued, while Bakugo simply rolled his eyes. The heroes quickly arrived at the stage, before looking at each other briefly. They both slowly nodded, seeming to know what the other was thinking, and took a slow breath together. The woman, who Bakugo assumed was Whiplash, then grabbed the microphone, before breathing out.
"Thank you Midnight. Now it's… hard to find the right words for this," Whiplash began, the woman running a hand through her hair, "We had a speech for this, but it… doesn't seem fitting."
With every word, the woman seemed to slowly break into tears. It earned a sympathetic gasp from the crowd. Bakugo even heard a few students around him muttering sympathetically. But Bakugo? Something about it seemed off to him. He couldn't explain why, but the entire act seemed… fake. He could see Whiplash was genuinely saddened by her son's death, whoever that was, but there was something fake about the speech she was trying to give.
"It's okay," Static told her, carefully taking the mic from her hand, before facing the audience, "Years ago, our son, Fudaki Shigai, would always tell us that when he was old enough, he was going to become a hero. That he would join us in the fight against villainy."
Static chuckled briefly, seemingly thinking of a distant memory, "And he was always so serious about it too. Occasionally I'd run into him on patrol, and spot him helping an old lady across the street, or helping a cat out of a tree. Then, once he was old enough, he told us he applied to UA."
"First week of school had gone and went, and he was so happy he got in. Went on and on about the faculty, and his classmates," Static continued, quickly going somber in his tone, "Then… we got a call, telling us the school had been attacked, and that our pride and joy was dead."
"Not even a few days later, the people responsible for our son's murder escaped, and this school's principal, allowing, hiring villains as security," Static stated, malice thick in his words. Bakugo couldn't see it, but dozens of people in the crowd turned to glare at soldiers standing guard. Most of the MSF just looked away, understanding what the people were thinking.
"Villains, like those that had killed our son, and have undoubtedly ended the lives of so many others," Static told them, the number of people glaring at the MSF increasing. A few in the audience even chucked some food at the soldiers, with Bakugo spotting one instance of a lady throwing a popcorn bucket at a random mutant soldier.
"This school is in a dark place, controlled by a corrupt principal, and occupied by monsters. But everything will get better. We heroes always fight to protect the people, ensuring their safety from villains. And we will continue to do so," Static proclaimed, the mood quickly shifting again from its somber tone. With every word Static seemingly became more confident, capturing the crowd's attention fully.
"We are here to let all villains know, that no matter who they are, no matter how many there are, we will not let evil fester! We say to those like our son's murderer and the MSF, that we shall not stand quiet! We say to the Principal, who brought these villains to our shore, that we will not stand down! For as the Symbol of Peace himself says, we are here! And we heroes, are here to stay!'' The moment Static finished talking, he was met with momentous applause.
The crowd had begun cheering now, with more food being thrown at the MSF personnel. So much so that a few were forced to leave certain areas, as Bakugo watched full squads of men back away from an onslaught of snacks and drinks. This only brought the crowd to cheer louder, even though most knew the MSF would be back once things had calmed down. With his speech over, Static handed the microphone back to Midnight, before walking off the stage with his wife.
Midnight meanwhile, was dead quiet. Blinking slowly as the surprise of the speech wore off.
"That was… unexpected," Midnight muttered, away from the microphone ensuring no one could hear her. After remaining quiet for another few seconds, Midnight soon cleared her throat and looked back at the students.
"Without further ado, it's time for us to get started!" she exclaimed, an oddly sadistic grin on her face, "This is where you begin feeling the pain! The first fateful game of the festival!"
A large holographic screen appeared behind her once she finished talking, a bar in the center quickly spinning at an unseen pace. It seemed like nothing but a blur, leaving everyone guessing as to what the first event would be. But eventually, it stopped abruptly, and Bakugo mentally laughed. A large smirk took hold of his face, as he found himself staring at the words Obstacle Race. If the extras weren't doomed before, they sure as hell were now.
Almost instantly Midnight began reading out the rules, but Bakugo already got the jist of it. It's a four-kilometer race, dodge obstacles, and don't blow anyone up. He was a bit peeved off at the last one, but hey, he could wait until the third event.
"Now then, take your places, contestants!" Midnight told them, as Bakugo spotted one part of the arena light up. An almost makeshift counter appeared above it, as everyone got into place. Almost instantly he noticed how narrow everything was. The door wasn't even opened but it already looked like a tight fit with all of these extras here. Silently he began concocting a plan, angling his open palms to the ground.
Seconds would pass, as Bakugo thought out his first move. All he could do was wait as seconds ticked by. That was, until Midnight shouted into the mic, "Go!"
The door shot open, and the crowd of students rushed in. As he thought, it became a cramped mess of people shoving past each other. Almost impossible for anyone to easily wade through normally. This only became worse when Icy-hot froze the floor, keeping hundreds of students stuck in place.
Bakugo only scoffed at it, before blowing up the ice that had stuck to him. Once he was free he blasted himself into the air, flying past everyone. Well, almost everyone, as Bakugo soon spotted a good chunk of 1A freeing themselves rather easily. Shitty Hair used brute force and Ponytail created a pole to vault over everything. Meanwhile, others like Round Cheeks weren't caught in Icy-hot's ice at all.
But that wasn't important, not now. All that mattered was catching up to Icy-hot, because if that extra thought a bit of ice was going to stop him, then he'd better think again!
Across Musutafu, was a scene like none other. Hundreds of people, who would normally have been out for work, were taking brief time off to enjoy the Festival. Cafes, bars, and restaurants were all filled to the brim with people, sitting chatting, eating, and most importantly, watching the Sports Festival. It was bad enough some streets were clogged full of people, standing outside an electronics store, just to watch the TVs on display.
Others with more common sense, hung around in parks, at home, or school, watching the Festival on whatever device they could get. Ultimately it provided something no one was expecting, a distraction. Because at any other time of day, Snake would stick out like a sore thumb. What with his face being on every news channel at least once, the anchors proclaiming him an unforgivable monster all the while.
But right now? Right now he was walking down the street, practically unnoticed. No one spared him even a glance, a few even assumed he was some odd hero with his sneaking suit. Of course, he still had to remain careful, so instead of his usual M7 slung over his shoulder, he carried a briefcase hiding an MP5 and his usual pistol loaded with tranq rounds. It was with this distraction though, that he quickly found himself at the coordinates Night Owl had sent him.
At first, he thought about sneaking around through the back, possibly seeing if there was a roof entrance he could use. But that thought was squashed when his Idroid received a message. So Snake pulled the device out, and its hologram lit up quickly. There he found a new message, from the same unknown contact Night Owl used before.
"Don't bother sneaking in, we know you're here," the message read, with Snake quietly grumbling.
"How ominous," he muttered sarcastically, before pocketing the Idroid. Still, better to do what the mad scientist says, rather than face the alternative. So ever careful, Snake found and walked through the warehouse's front door. Inside was mostly empty space, filled only with the occasional random clutter. After a bit of walking, Snake found a set of double doors inside the building. Surrounding the doors were at least seven large glowing arrows pointing directly at them.
With a deep breath, Snake stopped briefly to open up his briefcase. Ensuring everything was loaded and working, Snake holstered his pistol, pushed the briefcase into a nearby corner, and held his MP5 ready. Slowly he then pushed the door open. Or at least he tried to, the second his hand touched the door it shot open fast. Mere moments after it happened a hand shot out from around the door and grabbed him.
Pulling him just as fast, the hand threw him forward, causing Snake to land hard. Recovering quickly, he stood up readying his MP5 for any attack, only to find himself surrounded. Dozens of men with varying quirks all stood around him, each with the Ninth Circle's usual colors. Some had ballistic vests or masks, others had more basic hockey masks, balaclavas, or just plain face paint.
Some had JSDF camo, others had a whole mess of gray and purple civilian clothes. Random assortments of t-shirts, jackets, tank tops, or bare chests. It lacked uniformity of every kind except color. The only good news was that none of them seemed to have guns, though that mattered little as there had to be at least fifty of them. As if it couldn't get worse, something lit up behind him, as Night Owl's voice yelled out to him.
"Hello again, Snake!" Night Owl exclaimed, as Snake slowly turned around. There he found an elevated catwalk, most likely leading out to some kind of office. Floating above the catwalk was a large TV, dangling on a few chains. Displayed on its screen was the mad scientist himself, his smile ever present.
"I'm so glad you could arrive, right on time too," Night Owl continued, "Tell me, how was the commute? I heard traffic's been a bit of a bitch recently."
"What do you want?" Snake demanded, keeping his MP5 trained on the surrounded thugs. No one made a move, but they all seemed eager to jump him.
"What do I want? Well, a nice steak would be good," Night Owl replied, "That, and I want to get our little game underway. I know you've been dying for answers as to what I've been up to. And I'm willing to give them."
The statement shocked Snake for a second, as he looked at Night Owl's screen.
"...You're giving me answers?" Snake inquired suspiciously.
"But of course! For a price that is," Night Owl told him, "All you have to do is get through all of my associates here."
That seemed like it was going to be an issue, Snake thought. Even with his gun, there were fifty of them. He had the ammo but all it took was running out once for all of them to rush him. Still, there was at least a small chance.
"So, beat them, and you'll talk," Snake muttered, his eyes looking over the men surrounding him again.
"Well, not talk per se. I'm not there at the moment. But you will find the answers you seek in the foreman's office," Night Owl replied, much to Snake's annoyance. Of course, he wasn't even here. No matter, slowly Snake began to lift his MP5 only for Night Owl to speak up again.
"Nuh-uh, nope none of that. No guns Snake," Night Owl told him, before brandishing a device resembling that of a detonator. The second Snake saw it he lowered his weapon and glared at Night Owl.
"No guns?" Snake asked, shocked and angered, "Why?"
"Why? Because I'm here for dinner and a show Snake! I want to see Big Boss, the real Big Boss in action! I want the Legendary Soldier to show me why you earned the title all those years ago! So come on, entertain me Snake!" Night Owl proclaimed loudly, "Besides, you'll thank me later."
"You want entertainment? Fine then," Snake muttered, tossing his MP5 up onto the walkway. He'd rather it be up there, out of the Ninth Circle's reach, than down on the ground. Quickly Snake did the same with his pistol, before drawing his knife. He held it up ready, waiting for Night Owl to oppose it, but the scientist said nothing. Instead, the man laughed to himself while lounging back in a chair.
"Oh ho, this is going to be good! You! Get me some popcorn!" he yelled to someone off-screen. Snake didn't hear it but the man Night Owl ordered grumbled annoyed. It didn't matter though, as Snake was far more focused on the criminals surrounding him.
"Does the nonbeliever mock us?" one of the thugs asked, "I was expecting a real fight."
"I could kill this man myself," another in the crowd added. All the while Snake tried to figure out which of them would attack first.
"Who does he think he is? We are Reaper's finest, he is one man!" a third added, the others continuing the annoyed murmurs.
"Who even is he? I don't recognize this hero," a fourth stated, no one in the crowd moving yet. Seconds after the fourth man asked, laughter took hold of the room.
"Who cares who he is! He'll receive our mercy all the same!" a fifth man exclaimed, still laughing the entire time. He sounded damn near insane and didn't stop for breath no matter how much he laughed. Footsteps followed after the exclamation, as the man ran toward Snake carelessly. He had a wide sadistic grin and wore nothing but a pair of jeans. His hands held a large pipe, which he hoisted over his head.
"You're mine heretic!" the man shouted, still laughing the entire time. Just as he was about to swing though, Snake sidestepped him and punched him in the face with his free hand. It brought out a loud crack in the warehouse, and a tooth flew out of the man's mouth. The psycho then wobbled a bit, trying to raise the pipe again, only to collapse. By then though, the floodgates had been opened.
The other men charged toward Snake, who got ready as fast as possible. The first to arrive was a group of three women, all holding weapons of some kind. One had a crowbar, the other a knife, and the third a steel chain. Mentally Snake began to refer to them as their weapons. Chains quickly tried to whip Snake, but he jumped back to avoid it. Backing away, Snake grabbed the pipe the first man had wielded and threw it like a javelin at the woman.
It struck her in the face, breaking her nose as it quickly gushed blood. She flinched back in pain while the other women accompanying her ran at Snake. They attacked him at the same time, Knife trying to shank him, while Crowbar moved to bash his head in. Reacting fast, Snake grabbed the arm of the Knife, and twisted it, forcing the blade away from him. At the same time, he kicked Crowbar in the gut, stopping her assault briefly. With Crowbar stunned, Snake stabbed Knife in the throat and pushed the body away.
By this time Chains had recovered and tried to whip Snake again. He again dodged, ducking, and the chain instead hit the head of Crowbar. The thick heavy metal snapped her neck instantly, killing her quickly. Not wasting time Snake picked up her pipe as well and again chucked it Chains. This time the woman dodged to the side, but Snake expected this. It gave him a small amount of time to charge the woman.
Caught off guard, Chains tried to protect herself, only for Snake to body slam her. She hit the ground hard, and before she could react Snake plunged his knife into her head. He attempted to remove the blade then, but the other thugs wouldn't let him. A frail bat mutant ran into trying to punch him, only for Snake to grab his arm and uppercut him. The bat mutant stumbled back slightly and Snake didn't let him rest.
He grabbed the chain near him and spun it around briefly, before whipping it at the mutant. It hit the man in the chest, audibly breaking something. Snake then ran up to him, and through the chain over the mutant's head. Now behind the mutant's neck, Snake pulled the chain down, tripping the man and directing his head toward Snake's knee. The collision of the two broke the bat mutant's nose, staggering him as he writhed on the floor in pain.
Not done though, Snake tightened the chain around the mutant's throat, before turning and spotting two other thugs running over. Pulling the chain up, Snake spun the bat mutant around, before throwing him at his compatriots. He collided with them, causing them to fall back, while also knocking the bat mutant out. Here Snake dived down and finally removed his knife from Chains' head.
Shaking the blood off, Snake took a deep breath as he looked out at the warehouse. Five down, forty-five to go.
Victoria couldn't help but be a bit bored as things went on. Sure the Festival was somewhat interesting, but it would have been more interesting to participate. That, and the MSF had her going through hundreds of security cameras. Most of which just pointed down random empty hallways or the exterior of the stadium. So one tends to become bored after staring down the same plain white hallways for an hour.
Still, her job was a vital one, Victoria thought. Eventually, though, an intelligence officer walked up to the holo table. In the woman's hand was a rather large cup of coffee, which the officer set on the table.
"Victoria, anything yet?" the officer asked somewhat tiredly. It seemed she wasn't the only one bored out of her mind.
"Nope, everything's still clear," Victoria answered, as her avatar quickly appeared on the table. Slowly she began to walk across it, before turning around and sitting down.
"Seriously? Commander Ocelot made it seem like we'd be in deep shit," the officer muttered, to which Victoria quietly agreed. The previous day Ocelot had told everyone to be on the lookout for anything suspicious. As the HPSC was apparently up to something. However, while the Commission did control a few entrances, they did not control the cameras. Something the MSF was quick to exploit by having Victoria watch them.
But all of that kinda seemed pointless now. Granted, they were only at the beginning of the Festival, things would probably change.
"I'm sure the Commander was just messing with us, wanting to see us squirm," a different officer piped up, with another slightly chuckling at the notion.
"I mean he is a sadist. Having us freak out over nothing is probably the closest he can get to torture right now," a different officer added, as Victoria decided to focus on the cameras again. Nothing was found at most entrances, and the few things she did find were the audience throwing food or garbage at some soldiers. Which only made Victoria angry, but ultimately there was nothing she could do.
She was forced to watch as the men walked away humiliated. To calm herself Victoria switched to a different camera feed. It displayed one of the many entrances manned by heroes the HPSC recommended. Everything seemed fine at first, but then Victoria spotted something odd. Three people walked through the gate, without a single hero moving to stop them. They didn't do a security check or anything.
Even stranger, the people were actively trying to hide their faces. They wore no masks, but they had large jackets on with their hoods up and a baseball cap for all of them.
"Hey, think I've got something here," Victoria stated, getting the attention of the intel officer.
"What is it?" the officer asked, watching as Victoria brought the camera feed up onto the holo table. It floated next to her as a small screen, which the woman examined thoroughly.
"Heroes let in three unknown individuals," Victoria replied, the officer bringing a hand to her chin, "Didn't check for ID, tickets, anything."
"Where?" the officer asked, as Victoria instantly scoured through the camera's records.
"South Gate, number four. They're heading northwest," Victoria answered, bringing up a topographical map of the individual's location. At the moment Victoria was a tad bit worried by the three's presence, but it could be nothing. For all they knew the heroes were sneaking in relatives to see the Festival for free. Not unless they got conclusive evidence of some kind.
"Keep an eye on them. I'll tell the men to have a squad on standby-" the woman began to order before Victoria watched the three individuals do something she dreaded.
"They're splitting up," Victoria interrupted, dragging the officer's eyes back to the cameras. Sure enough, the three were breaking off into different directions. One was heading toward the stadium, another towards a small set of shops the business course had set up, and a final one was hanging out closer to the gate. It screamed suspicious, but there was nothing they could do.
"Great, they couldn't make this easy for us," the officer muttered annoyed, "Same order as before, keep tabs on them. They do anything I want to know."
"Crap!" Uraraka exclaimed, before ducking under the arm of a large robot. When she charged out of the gate following the other students, she had mostly assumed this would be a normal obstacle course. Of course, she forgot what school she was attending when that idea struck her mind. So after running as fast as possible, to try and catch up to those ahead of her, she found herself face to face with hundreds of massive robots.
Instantly she recognized them as the villain robots from the exam and quickly paled as she spotted the zero-pointers behind the frontline of one, two, and three-pointers. At the same time, Present Mic shouted "Enemies everywhere folks! Let's see what they do against this test of strength and cunning!"
What was she supposed to do against this!? It was hard enough for Uraraka to beat one zero-pointer!
"Exactly, what can a weak quirk like-" memory Fudaki attempted to mock, only for Uraraka to interrupt the thought.
"Oh shut up! You couldn't beat this either! I don't see your electric hair stopping the hundred-ton death machine!" Uraraka mentally screamed, to which memory Fudaki remained quiet. Which Uraraka was quietly grateful for, as she tried to think up a plan. This was difficult, however, as she had to dodge another swipe from the one-pointer trying to cave her head in. Before it could swipe at her again, Uraraka slapped its arm while using her quirk.
With the one-pointer now floating, she grabbed it and threw it at a pair of two-pointers heading her way. All robots crashed into each other, as Uraraka turned off her quirk. The noise was horribly loud as the robots crumpled into each other. With that out of the way, Uraraka again tried to think up her next move. That was until everything suddenly felt very cold. It took only seconds to find the source before Uraraka gasped.
Standing ahead of everyone was Todoroki, who with a single massive glacier, froze over a zero-pointer. The entire robot stood there incapacitated, the ice covering its exterior glistening in the light. With it taken out of action, Todoroki ran in between the robot's legs, slowly gaining a larger lead. Uraraka was almost tempted to chase after him but spotted the zero-pointer slowly wobbling.
It… no. Todoroki wouldn't, Uraraka tried to reason. But she was proven wrong as the ice holding the robot shattered, and the massive hunk of metal began to fall forward. Her eyes widened in terror, with Uraraka quickly running to the side hoping to avoid the slab of falling steel. She narrowly got out of the way, the zero-pointer hitting the ground loudly. It threw up dirt and dust into the air, while also forming a small crater in the ground.
Here Uraraka tried to catch her breath.
"Incredible! Todoroki Shoto from Class 1A is now in the lead!" Present Mic exclaimed over the speakers, causing Uraraka to frown. At the same time, she heard the crack of metal, finding the source to again be the zero-pointer. Quickly Kirishima busted out of the fallen robot's back.
"How could Todoroki pull something like this? Someone could have been killed!" Kirishima exclaimed, before trying to climb off the giant robot. Uraraka couldn't help but agree with the red-head. Looking back at the field in front of her, she again began thinking up a plan. Because of course, there was a new distraction every six seconds stopping her! No, calm down, you could do this, Uraraka thought.
So far most of the students were still in the back, held up by the main gate and the line of steel death in front of them. The keyword is most, as Uraraka spotted her classmates getting by with ease. Tokoyami had Dark Shadow pull and climb past the robots, Sero was practically swinging by them, Iida was sprinting by, and Bakugo simply flew over them. Not wanting to be left behind, Uraraka ran forward with a plan.
Ducking under another one-pointer's arm, she touched it briefly and used her quirk. The robot was now flying, and she grabbed it by the arm and continued running. Carrying it with her, Uraraka used the robot as both a shield, to block more attacks from other robots, and as a club. When her makeshift club was completely destroyed, she just floated another robot and kept running forward. On Uraraka went, blocking attacks, and smashing the heads of other robots in.
When she reached the zero-pointers, she elected just to avoid fighting them entirely. It's better to avoid than to try and fight. So she darted a distracted zero-pointer's legs and ditched what was left of her shield. There Uraraka found herself at the other side, and close to the next part of the obstacle course. She quietly celebrated this achievement, before avoiding some ice Todoroki left on the ground.
"For everyone thinking the first obstacle was too easy, let's see what you think about this one!" Present Mic then yelled, catching Uraraka off guard. What did he mean too easy? This next obstacle couldn't possibly be worse, Uraraka tried to reason as she ran. I mean what could be worse than giant… robots… oh… that's a deep pit, Uraraka thought as she quickly came to a stop. Because in front of her lay the mother of all sinkholes.
Dozens of artificial pillars littered the large pit, connected only by thin tight ropes. If one were to look at the pit from above, one would find a tryphobic's nightmare. What made it worse was that looking down the vast chasm, Uraraka couldn't see the bottom of the pit. This… was actually fine all things considered. Still, Uraraka couldn't help but mutter, "When did they even have time to build this?"
"Beats me," the voice of Ashido replied beside her, Uraraka turning to face the other.
"I'm more confused about how they expect us to get through this," Ashido muttered, to which Uraraka slowly turned away from her.
"Yeah…" Uraraka said, trailing off slightly. Better to not remind Ashido what her quirk was, Uraraka reasoned. At the same time though, she spotted Asui, stopping right next to her. The other girl crouched down, confusing Uraraka for a second. Before she could even ask, Asui suddenly jumped, exclaiming "ribbit" as the girl moved in the air. With an odd grace, Asui landed on one of the cables connecting the large platforms.
Very quickly she began climbing across the rope, reaching the first platform. Where Asui then repeated the process, crouching down, jumping up, and landing on a cable. Mentally Uraraka couldn't help but cheer her friend on, though that was before she reminded herself what was at stake. Of course, before she could even move, someone laughed behind her. A gust of wind then shot out, blowing past her.
It nearly knocked her off her feet and into the pit, but she managed to narrowly stop herself. Looking up she spotted a pink-haired girl covered head to toe in odd machines.
"Yes! Take note heroes one and all! These are the babies of the future!" the girl yelled, as she briefly soared over everyone. Around her waist was a set of cables constantly launching, and connecting into the pillars. It pulled her around quickly, and the girl easily climbed or grappled past every obstacle. Uraraka couldn't but be impressed, and a tad bit angry. Somehow she got to bring support equipment.
That said, it seemed like capable gear. Akatani did have a lot of equipment to cover up his flaws, maybe she should get some as well. Not guns obviously, heroes don't- wait no she was getting sidetracked! Quickly Uraraka shook her head, regaining her focus on the game. Dozens of people were already moving forward, and she couldn't allow herself to be left behind. So Uraraka ran forward and placed her hands together.
Jumping she activated her quirk and floated forward. She didn't move as fast as she wanted to, but it was at least faster than climbing the cables. Soon Uraraka neared her first platform, and she turned off her quick. Dropping to the ground, she landed carefully and began running toward the platform's edge. There she again jumped and floated over to the next platform.
So far, Grizzly could confidently say he hated guard duty. The first hour of the Festival involved him and Eagle getting pelted with food. The staff sergeant for his trouble had bits of cotton candy stuck in his helmet. Meanwhile Grizzly felt sticky everywhere, because of one kid who chucked a soda at him. But he had to live with it, as his patrol didn't end for another few hours. Seemed clean clothes would have to wait, Grizzly thought annoyed.
Eventually, the two decided to stop for a break, sitting down in a secluded corner of the stadium.
"You know, I'm starting to miss the frontline," Eagle muttered, the man taking his helmet off. He looked it over with disgust, before taking out his knife to try and scrap off bits of food stuck to it.
"Tell me about it," Grizzly agreed, as he pulled out his canteen, "At least back there I didn't have kids chucking stuff at me."
Opening the small container Grizzly then took off his helmet and set it off to the side. With it gone, he held the canteen over his head and poured some water. It splashed onto him removing some of the soda sticking to him, but not all. So Grizzly put the cap back on his canteen and lightly scrubbed his face. It worked somewhat, but the rest of his clothes still felt sticky.
"You know, starting to think Gecko was right about Japan," Grizzly muttered, while still scrubbing his face.
"What'd you expect, this is the commission's backyard after all," Eagle pointed out, as he looked at Grizzly with a raised brow. At the same time, he flicked a piece of cotton candy off his knife.
"Yeah, but I mean… well I at least expected some of the heroes to be different," Grizzly replied, the man moving to grab his helmet.
"Because of All Might?" Eagle inquired.
"You have a better reason?" Grizzly countered, only for Eagle to shake his head.
"Not really," Eagle replied, "Still, for all we know, he's like every other dirtbag hero out there. He's just more… boisterous."
"Eh, I don't think that's the case," Grizzly told him while strapping his helmet back on.
"How so?" Eagle asked, flicking another piece of food off his knife.
"I don't know. It's just… a gut feeling I guess," Grizzly answered. To which Eagle simply shrugged.
"If you say so… you see the announcer?" Eagle asked, a small smirk growing on his face.
"You mean Ms. Dominatrix? A bit hard to miss," Grizzly replied, chuckling slightly. Because hadn't that been a surprise? Gecko's description of the woman couldn't have been more fitting. Though he did leave a few details out, such as the fact her entire damn ass was sticking out. Oh boy, was that a shocking thing to see, though he wasn't exactly complaining. Did seem a bit inappropriate with a bunch of kids watching though.
"I'll say. Forgot this was a sporting event at first," Eagle agreed chuckling as well
"Makes me wonder why they made her the ref," Grizzly muttered, to which Eagle's smirk widened.
"Well, I can think of two big reasons," Eagle joked, and it earned a small chuckle from Grizzly, "In all honesty, who knows? Though I kinda think it's stupid they didn't give her decent pants or some shit."
"Right! I mean I saw a few middle schoolers in the crowd, and she's just strutting about with her ass out!" Grizzly exclaimed, "Her costume looks so skin tight I'm pretty sure it would tear with the slightest stretch."
"Think that's what she wears on duty?" Eagle asked, the man looking over his helmet a final time. Seemingly satisfied with its cleanliness he holstered his knife and moved to put it back on. Grizzly meanwhile thought the question over.
"I'd hope not. It'd be a miracle if it stayed intact for a single patrol," Grizzly answered, with Eagle nodding in agreement. Both men were quiet for a minute, as they looked back out at the stadium.
"I really don't want to go back out there," Grizzly muttered, with Eagle sighing in response.
"Neither do I, but orders are orders," Eagle told him, standing up quickly. Grizzly simply followed him quietly. As expected most of the patrol was the same as before. Most of the civilians glared at them, threw food at them, or backed away in fear. Yeah, Grizzly thought, he was beginning to miss the front more and more. They continued on though, patrolling their small section of the stadium.
Occasionally they ran into a different squad patrolling the same area. Every time they would simply nod or wave at the other and keep walking. At the very least, the small interaction with their compatriots was comforting. Even with every other person in the stadium against them, neither man was alone. Of course, as Grizzly reflected on this a voice suddenly piped up in front of them.
"[It truly is a shame what happened to that boy. I can't help but give both Static and Whiplash my condolences,]" the voice of a woman proclaimed. And something about the voice sounded oddly familiar to Grizzly.
"[As such, I believe it worthwhile to open up a new branch in my charity, to help assist grieving parents in their time of need,]" the voice continued, as Grizzly looked out to find the source. In front of them was a large horde of reporters, interviewing someone Grizzly couldn't see.
"[Awfuly humble of you,]" one reporter said, before shifting to the side. That single movement from the reporter gave Grizzly a perfect view of who they were interviewing. His eyes widened in shock before his face quickly turned into a frown.
"[It's the least I could do,]" Heart Star stated, trying her best to look as saddened as possible. At the same time, Grizzly began turning away.
"Aaah fuck," he muttered, with Eagle looking back at him confused.
"What?" Eagle asked. Grizzly only replied by throwing a thumb over his shoulder, pointing in the direction of the reporters.
"Oh… fuck," Eagle muttered, before beginning to follow Grizzly's lead. Better to avoid her as much as possible, Grizzly thought. Of course, the universe seemed to have other plans.
"[Excuse me! You two!]" a reporter called out in Japanese, "[Would you mind answering a few questions?]"
It caught the two at a crossroads because they understood none of what the reporter said. They slightly turned to face her, hoping she was addressing someone else. But instead, they found a brown-haired woman walking over to them with a microphone. Behind her trailed a cameraman, who was very quickly turning white the closer he got to Grizzly.
"[This is a bad idea,]" the cameraman muttered, only for the reporter to wave him off.
"[Oh come on! I can smell a story!]" the reporter countered, "[Besides, controversy brings ratings! And nothing brings controversy more than interviewing villains!]"
Grizzly could only watch the interaction confused before he turned to face Eagle. The staff sergeant just looked equally confused, as the two quietly took a step back. Of course, the reporter before them wasn't taking any of it. Every step back they took, she took three forward.
"[Tell me, what has working at UA been like? Surely villains like you have come into conflict with the staff once or twice,]" the reporter asked, now holding her microphone out in front of Eagle. He looked over at Grizzly for a second, but Grizzly just shrugged.
"Uh… no hablo Japanese," Eagle told her, while Grizzly looked at him incredulously. The reporter looked at the two confused though, unsure what was said.
"No… hablo… Japanese!?" Grizzly exclaimed, looking at Eagle dumbfounded.
"What!? It's the best idea I had," Eagle protested, only for Grizzly to facepalm.
"Look, mam, we're sorry but we don't know what you're saying," Grizzly said to the reporter while removing the hand from his face.
"Pretty sure she isn't gonna understand that either," Eagle muttered, with Grizzly waving him off.
"Yeah well it's better than using Spanish like you," Grizzly retorted. Of course, Eagle was still right, the reporter understood none of what was said and looked at the two with a raised brow.
"[Come on, one of you has to speak Japanese,]" the reporter stated, moving the microphone between the two.
"[I don't think they do,]" the cameraman told her, with the reporter groaning in defeat.
"[Fine then! We'll find another pair of villains that do!]" she exclaimed, now getting ready to walk away. Grizzly couldn't help but be grateful that the reporter seemed to figure out what was being said. With that, he began to walk away, with Eagle quietly doing the same-
"Roland?"
FUCK! Why!? Why now!? Slowly Grizzly turned to look at the source of the voice and spotted Heart Star looking at him surprised. With her, was still the large crowd of reporters looking at the two confused. But of course, Heart Star's surprise quickly turned to recognition. With a reluctant sigh, Grizzly looked over at Heart Star and realized there was no getting out of this.
"Hello Julie," he muttered, annoyed.
"It is you," Heart Star said, more to herself than to any person. Of course, the second the words left her mouth she looked at Grizzly suspiciously.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, a hidden malice laced in her voice.
"Well I would say I'm patrolling this area, but you seem to be blocking our path," Grizzly replied, an equal amount of malice in his tone as well. Though his wasn't as well hidden then hers.
"I mean… you disappeared years ago! Everyone has been so worried about you, and… and you appear here of all places?" she said, lining her voice full of fake concern. Concern the reporters quickly picked up on.
"[Heart Star, do you recognize this villain?]" a reporter inquired, watching as Heart Star brought herself to near tears. And Grizzly could already see where this was going.
"[I… I do,]" Heart Star replied, "[He's… Freezer Boy.]"
The single mention of his name sent reporters into a tizzy, and very quickly he was now swarmed with microphones. The reporters practically had him surrounded, even pushing Eagle out of the small group circle they had formed.
"[You mean your old love that disappeared five years ago?]" one reporter asked, constantly shifting their focus between Heart Star and Grizzly.
"[This is the same Freezer Boy?]" another asked, shoving a microphone into Grizzly's face, which he quickly pushed away.
"[Freezer Boy, what made you turn to a life of villainy!?]" a third reporter asked, again shoving another mic in his face.
"[Why did you betray all your fellow heroes? No, why did you betray your former lover?]" a fourth inquired, while the original reporter that had confronted Grizzly began shoving her way to the front.
"[Ha ha! I knew there was a story here!]" the original reporter exclaimed, before holding a mic out to Heart Star.
"Cut the crap bitch," Grizzly stated glaring at Heart Star.
"What!? How can you say that!? I was just so worried about-" Heart Star tried to protest with fake shock.
"No, nuh-uh. Shut the fuck up," Grizzly interrupted angrily, before pointing at the surrounding reporters, "I can't understand a damn word any of them are saying, but I know for a fact it's about that bullshit fake relationship you had the media prop up!"
Of course, this brought on Heart Star's fake tears, with Grizzly groaning annoyed.
"[What's he saying?]" a reporter asked concerned, with Heart Star quietly sniveling.
"[He's… he's saying our relationship was fake. That nothing between us ever mattered,]" Heart Star replied, tears slowly streaming down her face, "Did you never love me!?"
Again Grizzly groaned annoyed, and elected to ignore her question entirely. While she had the power to control the narrative currently, being the only one who spoke Japanese, the cameras made it difficult for her to do so permanently. She had to keep up her caring act in English or seem like a fraud. Grizzly would be hated temporarily, but once someone translated the broadcast, things would hopefully be different. Of course, he knew this was very unlikely to happen.
"Oh, you better not be lying to these people! We were never in a relationship and you know!" Grizzly exclaimed, getting a few glares from the reporters surrounding them. So he turned and looked at all of them while cupping his hands around his mouth.
"I know none of you can understand me, but you better translate this later! Because this bitch is a fraud! She has been scamming people out of their money for years! That charity of hers is nothing but a laundering scheme! Check her damn financials!" he told them loudly, but of course, only the cameras knew what he was saying. And they wouldn't be translated until later.
"[Now what is he saying?]" a different reporter asked, watching as Heart Star continued to break down into tears.
"[He's spouting lies! Saying my charity is stealing from people, but I… I would never!]" Heart Star replied, sniveling between words.
"[How can he say such a thing!]" one reporter angrily exclaimed, a few others agreeing with him.
"[She's not the one who became a villain asshole!]" a different reporter yelled.
"[You're a traitor to heroics and you have the gall to call her a villain!]" a third added, though Grizzly couldn't understand their words. He understood their anger though, but he didn't particularly care.
"I've had enough of this," Grizzly stated, now beginning to try and force his way through the crowd of supporters. At the same time, he looked Heart Star in the eye angrily.
"Fuck you, you're lying ass, and your damn media hounds," Grizzly told her, bringing a sad angry look to Heart Star's face.
"No, fuck you, Roland! Why did you have to go and become a villain!" she yelled in between cry-stricken coughs. It brought on pity from the surrounding reporters, as they glared at Grizzly angrily. And he returned that anger because he was sick of this.
"I'm not a damn villain! I've done more heroic deeds in the MSF, than I've done as a hero! I've gone out saving lives in third-world countries you couldn't give a shit about! I've trekked through the African Savannah protecting whole families from evil you couldn't comprehend! I've-" Grizzly yelled back only for Eagle to interrupt him, the staff sergeant now managing to force his way back into the crowd and create an opening. This was of course down, by visibly bringing his hand to his rifle's trigger in an attempt to scare the reporters back.
"Rookie!" he exclaimed, waving him over, "Come on, it isn't worth it."
Grizzly looked at him for a second, before letting out an annoyed sigh. Quickly he began walking over to Eagle while sparing Heart Star a final glance.
"You're right," Grizzly said agreeing with Eagle, but that said, "Fuck you, Julie."
With that, the two began walking off again, with Grizzly hoping he could find something to calm him down.