Compulsion

Chapter 13: Popping a Cork

Kaminari Denki wasn't the smartest guy in any room – he'd be the first to admit it and the first to be offended by such an admission. Though, no one needed to be at all intelligent to notice the... electricity in the air. It all started from a bout of small talk between Tokage and Okuma. Most of it wasn't heard, but the last bit was, "The Sports Festival is in TWO days...!?" Denki never thought of referring to silence as loud before, but today seemed to be the day. Who knows what caused the lapse of memory? All that was known was that everyone was suffering for it. However, you wouldn't quite know. There was a surprising steadiness to the rush. Sure, a shaky hand caused a tool or another to hit the ground. A rushed step nearly turned into a tumbling fall, but they actually seemed to be handling it – a professional panic.

Denki couldn't even imagine how badly it was getting to them. Just because the bottle was capped doesn't mean it stopped leaking. Hero Course students had it relatively easy. They already had training in their costumes; the new additions weren't too much to handle. The tournament was certainly stressful, but it was also exciting as a test for their skills. Even if the embarrassment from utter failure loomed over them. All of this doubled for Second Years.

However, they did have to worry that the Sports Festival would be attended by both families and their futures. For you see, internships were a near week after the Sports Festival and certain Heroes who qualified for Shiketsu's Internship Program would be in attendance, to have their pick of the litter. It was certainly stressful, but distantly stressful. Two days was a leisurely stroll – the Support Course students did not have two days; in fact, they had one. Their projects needed to be finished and submitted for approval a full day before the festival. The last day to test all projects was tomorrow...

Midori had it rough as well. The Lightning Gauntlet wasn't finished even though it was the only thing left to do. Camie-Senpai's costume had been updated as had Denki's. The Glamour Item was finished and even tucked into perfume like bottles to match Camie-Senpai's stylish aesthetic. Then, there was a recent kick to the get. Mr. Abraham had pulled Midori to the side...

"About your Requisition Order..." coughed Mr. Abraham.

"Yes, Mr. Abraham?"

He seemed to hold back a sigh, "Due to the volatility of the device and... your record... it has been deemed to deny your Requisition Order."

"Denied? Now?" echoed Midori.

Mr. Abraham explained, "It had arrived, and a meeting between teachers was called." He shook his head, "I was shocked by it, too... It seemed so random." He said, "But a case was made that a high-powered laser was too dangerous to be left in the hands of a novice. I voted against it, of course. As had Mr. Haimawari and even Principal Ikoma. We were outvoted."

Midori blinked, "W-Wait, what do you mean by record?" A moment of silence followed by a peak of realization, "That...?"

"It seemed to have... made the rounds, so to speak."

"I..." Midori lowered his head, shaking it, "I need to come up with something else..." He turned, "If you'll excuse me, Mr. Abraham..."

"Of course, please, if you need any advice. Don't refrain from asking."

After that, Midori's station became a smorgasbord of papers and notes with a few cans of coffee for decoration. He was ruffling through what was in front of him and murmuring at nothing. It was impossible to even recognize the string of whispers as coherent thought. A dark cloud of floating kanji seemed to surround him – it was kinda scary. He was almost glad Camie-Senpai couldn't see him like this. Their burnt cinnamon roll was turning sour...

"Where the hell is this line of thought going...?" His fist landed upon his palm, "Right, Midori's in a funk..." Denki moved up, tapping him on the shoulder, "Hey, Midori, what's the plan?"