Era

35

Era had the first match.

It hadn't really hit her before, when she'd been running a race outside of the stadium or caught up in forming strategies with her team, but... seeing them start to build that stage at the center of the arena really hammered it home.

No more hiding.

This was it. The damage was done, and there was no going back. Era was... not afraid, necessarily. Pensive? Nervous, even? Through the mindless games they put on between rounds, the food and the friendly conversation, the only thing that she could think about was standing alone on that stage for the whole world to see.

Did you really think you could escape me, little bird?

At least around the others she could ignore it, put it in a box and shove that box towards the back of her mind, but when it came time for her to head towards the staging area, to sit alone in a little room and wait for her name to be called...

Everything was tumbling out. She was made of run run run away and walls closing in and can't wash out won't wash out. Her stomach twisted with a need to prove herself, prove to herself that she could do this, could stand on her own, could win.

No weakness. Even here. She felt her jaw clench, mouth settling into a grim line as she slowly rose and made her way towards the arena. If she was going to expose herself like this then she'd better make it count. She'd prove that she was strong, too strong for petty threats and attempts at abduction.

Era blinked and she was at the arena, looking out from the side tunnel towards the roaring crowd and the flashing lights of countless cameras. Fuck, she'd never worked like this, she was for shadows and dark alleys and quiet hallways, not raucous crowds around a limelit stage.

No fear. No weakness. She pressed the mask tightly to her face and prayed that it would not splinter.

"AND NOW EVERYONE, IT'S THE MAIN EVENT! THE THING YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! LET ME HEAR IT FOR THE FINAL ROUND OF THE SPORTS FESTIVAL!"

Present Mic's booming voice echoed through the entrance tunnel, accompanied by an impossibly loud uproar throughout the stadium. Steeling herself, Era stepped out onto the grass.

"AAAAAALRIGHT FOLKS! FIRST UP, FROM CLASS 1-A, WE HAVE THE ELECTRIFYING SENSATION KAMINARI DENKI!"

Right. Kaminari. Era just barely recognized the blond-haired boy from the USJ incident, where apparently he'd managed to fry an entire field of villains. Did she... did she have a strategy here? Was she supposed to? Fuck, the crowd was so loud, a thousand eyes burning into her skin, find a mask and tie it tight, it was slipping, she needed to—

"VERSUS! YOU KNOW HER AS THE GIRL WITH A WICKED GUN AND EVEN WICKEDER AIM, IT'S SUZUKI ERA FROM GENERAL STUDIES!"

Oh, that was her. Era felt herself stepping up onto the stage, blinked and found herself standing at the center, about a foot from Kaminari, who was sporting a lopsided grin.

"Hey, no hard feelings, right?" he called, widening his stance into something that could generously be called fighting ready had he been a drunken toddler. What are they teaching these kids?

Era just snorted, shifting her own weight backwards. Her eyes narrowed, as did her focus, the world sharpening to a knifes edge of here and now, of the steady thrum of her heart and the twitch of her fingers. Walls closing in can't breathe can't...

Breathe. She did. It was just her, and her opponent. Nothing else mattered.

"BEGIN!"