Compulsion

Chapter 15: What Adversity Wrought

Shinso Hitoshi set his Hero Costume Case on the nearby bench; the clamps hissed before they slid open. Underneath the lid, of course, was his Hero Costume: an asymmetrical jacket, carbon-fiber gloves, cargo pants, and combat boots. There was also a utility belt, his Support Items, and a shoulder holster. The colors of his costume were a mute violet, black, and accented with an off-white. It lacked any and all individuality that was usually integrated in a Hero Costume. Though, almost everyone's costumes suffered that fate due to Shiketsu's restrictive policies, but those people usually found ways to sneak in their own flare. Not Hitoshi, however, as his costume was purely practical and lacked flare by design.

The only things that had such a draw were his Support Items. The Third Year Item looked very much like a normal gas mask but was a device capable of voice modulation: Playback. Its function and design were a lot more complicated than Hitoshi had expected. It had its own CPU and hard drive. It was capable of recording and saving those – limited to three slots. "It lights up too... In violet..." Though, he could've done without that feature as it didn't really mesh with his overall design. Then, there was the First Year Item/Items: electrified Escrima sticks. Believe it or not, it was very easy to understand in function and design. "Sticks go zap..." he thought as he activated them both. They extended and their ends crackled – an arc of electricity leapt between the two. A basic display on the 'pommel' of both showed their battery life at one hundred percent.

"Whacking my classmates with taser sticks seems pretty harsh..." he considered as he holstered them onto his back, "Then again, Midoriya's got that 'War-Hammer'..."

"Shinso Hitoshi!" shouted Shishikura in the enclosed space that was the locker room – making it even louder.

"Ugh," muttered Hitoshi. "Yes, Paisen?"

Shishikura's permanent scowl deepened, "Enough of the slang, Shinso. You should speak properly when you wear that costume!"

Hitoshi fought the urge to argue, moving to leave the locker room, "Right." He stopped when Shishikura stepped in front of him. Their eyes met before Shishikura raised a brow. Hitoshi gritted his teeth, 'properly' pushing out, "I concur."

Shishikura huffed, stepped back, and turned around, "Better." He beckoned his underclassman, "Come, we must get to the buses." He shouted once more, "Fujimori Atsushi!"

"Y-Yes, s-sir!?"

"Hurry up! We must make our departure quickly!"

Hitoshi felt the stares of his, Fujimori's and Shishikura's classmates bearing into them, "God, I just don't understand this guy..." He pulled Playback onto his face, "He's taking himself way too seriously..." He tucked his hands into his pockets, "I can't wait for all of this to be over with..."

-XXX-

Jirou Kyoka pulled at the helm of her vest. The new addition by her Support Course teammate, Uemura, made the once pure fabric top a mixture of wires, fibers, and metals. It was well integrated, though. Her overall look was rock with a little bit of punk and a dosage of formality. Her top was a military parade jacket turned sleeveless. Her pants were durable in material and fitting in nature. Her belt held a plaid slit skirt, colored in salmon. Combat boots, long gloves in white and fingerless, finished off the look.

Her Support Item was the thin, speaker system that laid on her chest. It was her main method of attack – her jacks would plug in and blast her heartbeat. She could adjust frequency and volume to pop eardrums and rattle bones. Though, a well-pointed out oversight in her attack was the fact that it was made from her boots. She may just be average height - short even, but that was still a long journey for her jacks to make. Uemura's redesign was quick and easily done. Not only was there a new system on her chest, but there was a wireless function. An adjustment of her jacks allowed her to roar from her boots singularly or in tandem with her chest.