Mortem ad Wrens

Chapter 9: It Begins in the Dark

Summary:

tw: bullying, ed behavior, body checking, feelings of worthlessness, ableism, implied child abuse, seizure mention

Notes:

'text' is JSL

Text is thoughts

All the first years gathered at the gates as the lights started going out, Present Mic shouting "Start!" as the gates opened. Allowing themself to be jostled by the crowd for a few seconds, Akira positioned themself to be elbowed and warped just above the ground on the other side of the gates. Feeling the drop in temperature, they jumped to the right as Todoroki skated past, soon joined by Bakugo and Yaoyorozu in the lead.

Akira settled into a jog, maintaining a solid 5th place as they watched a group of zero pointers storm up to the first barrier, as Present Mic called it. Akira charged forward, warping just as a hand would've crushed them and landing in a roll still within the dust cloud. Waiting for the tell-tale crackling of Todoroki's ice, they picked up second place as Todoroki shot them a frown.

Akira just grinned and waved, dodging to the left as Bakugo easily pulled ahead with Todoroki. It wouldn't do to stick too close anyway, the frigid air already causing their old injuries and joints to ache. They could hear Kirishima and Tetsutetsu from class B behind them as well as Sero and a familiar staticky voice.

Akira pulled up with Todoroki and Bakugo, scanning the pit with ropes and pillars for distances and weak points as the other students pulled up behind them. Akira was about to start warping when a pink-haired support course girl started showing off her inventions. Clever, I should see if she has ideas for my braces.

Shaking out of their thoughts, Akira took a running start before warping, much like in the quirk assessment the drop dispelling their clone as they landed at the closer edge of a cluster of platforms. Slipping into a familiar roof hopping rhythm, they practically glided across the pit, only falling a few places as support girl, Tsu, and Uraraka had passed them.

Right, this is where you want to be. High enough to be noticed, but not high enough to be remembered. Akira watched the first few mines go off and paused at the entrance, calculating the distance. Hitting a mine would be to their benefit since it would dispel the clone, and with a stretch, two 20-meter warps should do the trick. Shit, that means I need to just start moving and warp when three have passed.

Shaking their head, Akira lightly stepped between mines, keeping an eye on the finish line as Todoroki and Bakugo struggled neck and neck. From the back, Akira could just make out Midoriya muttering and digging but barely spared him a glance. As they reached the midway point, deftly avoiding vine girl's attempts to throw them off balance, a massive explosion sounded from the back. With a grin, Akira deliberately stepped on a mine and accidentally warped straight into another explosion, warping again in shock and landing just behind Midoriya. Shit.

As Present Mic hyped up Midoriya, Akira started jogging again, head spinning and ears ringing from the disorientation of two warps in a row. Bakugo and Todoroki quickly overtook them to Akira's relief, securing 4th place as they picked up pace. Vine girl finished shortly after, and Akira watched from the side for the rest of Mad Banquet to finish. Shinso placed the lowest of their group at 27th, but they could only rely so much on other's more physically suited quirks without his capture weapon.

As the cavalry battle was announced, Akira grinned at their group. 'With weight distribution, it probably makes the most sense for me or Raven to be the rider. Since I can warp, I can probably touch down on other teams as long as I'm not on the ground. Animal Whisper, are your birds ready?'