I felt my heart sink as the faces in front of me began to blur, my mind pounding in disbelief. I felt my legs shake and gave in, letting me fall back onto the chair behind me, my hands desperately clutching at the arms of the chair for support. "I know this is hard for you but please understand that this is what we think would be best for you." Principal Nezu spoke, his words barely making sense in my head as all I could focus on was my own state of panic. "Hero work is incredibly dangerous and with your quirk, it might be hard for you to keep up with that." his words trailed off, almost as if he understood exactly how that sounded like to me. It was unfair and he knew it. "So, you're telling me I wasted my life fighting to get into the hero course just to drop it on my last year?" I asked, my voice cracking with every word that escaped my lips. The people in the faculty refused to look at me but Nezu just nods. "We are very sorry."
"No! Sorry doesn't cut it! I spent years of blood and sweat trying to get where I am now and you can't just take that from me like it's nothing-" I yell, my emotions getting the best of me. "Raven." Mr. Aizawa tried to cut me off but I persisted. "No!" I barked loudly, my teeth gritted as I glared at the man I looked up to for so long. "I've listened enough, now you listen. People die every single fucking day and if I were to die being a hero, I'd take it. You all keep saying we can make a difference in this world by doing good but refuse to let the little ones try to make a step forward. The only change you bigshots make is making anyone feel weak for not having quirks like yours and it's disgusting." My voice was shaky but I was sure I was coherent to some degree. The room fell silent, them still refusing to make eye contact with me. I let out a sigh and stood up straight, my head raised high. "I'll show you. I'll make a difference with or without that title you're all so proud of."
"Raven, get your head in the game!" my employer barked, snapping me back to consciousness right on time for me to dodge the second punch my opponent threw at me. The first one was enough to make me lose my train of thought for a second, the next would've knocked me out completely. My opponent is large and quick to throw a punch right after the other. It's their quirk, I'm sure of it. "Rappa, finish it!" I heard someone in the stand yell. Analysing the situation, I can't win this fight by going head first. He's fast and has complete brute force but everyone has a limit to their quirk.
I made sure to focus my attention on the movement on his arms, dodging every blow he throws. I was smaller than he was, it made it easier for me to move around him even in this small cage we were in. "Hey, big guy! That all you got? I can't say I'm impressed!" I barked, my voice carrying the power of my quirk towards him. The angrier he is, the harder it will be for him to think. The more I spoke, the more he started becoming erratic, his punches slowly but surely becoming sloppy. A few minutes passed and he could barely move his arms, his body swayed from dizziness from how much he had to run and spin to catch me. I took a step back before jumping to reach his height, letting gravity pull me down to throw my weight into one kick to the side of his face. "Do me a favor and sleep, Rappa!" I yelled as my feet made contact with his face. His head jerked to the side violently, taking his entire body down with him onto the floor. The crowd was a mix of cheers and boos as Rappa was taken off the ring to be woken up. I watched as they just simply take him to another ring with a man dressed in a suit just a few minutes after Rappa woke up. That wasn't right. They usually wait for half an hour before putting us back into a fight. Who fights in a suit anyway?
My eyes widen as Rappa charged at the man only to be exploded with just one touch. The absolute brute that I just fought and had trouble with fighting was just killed there and then, his blood and staining the floors and the faces of those unfortunate enough to be near. The well dressed man walked back towards the mess, putting his hand on the puddle and soon enough, Rappa was back like he didn't just die in front of all of us. There was no one cheering, not a sound was made. All I could hear were the sounds of everyone holding their breath as the well dressed man left the ring and slowly walked towards where I was. My blood ran cold the closer he got. My ears tuned out any other noise besides his shoes tapping on the floor with each step he takes. The moment he entered my cage, I felt like a rat thrown into a viper's den. I took a defensive fighting stance, my hairs standing on edge knowing if he even gets to touch me, I'm dead. This is messed up. People die all the time in cage fights but this- This seems like a death sentence.
"Watching you fight earlier, I understand that you're smart. You analyse the situation and find the easiest way out for you." He spoke, his voice was low and a bit raspy. It sent shivers down my spine. He sounded like a man without hesitation. "So, tell me. What do you think of your situation right now?" he asked, letting his glove fall onto the floor. His golden eyes bore into mine and I knew there and then he wouldn't hesitate to kill me upon contact. I can't get a read on him. I can't tell what his emotions are or even think of any possible weakness. Angering him wouldn't work like it did with Rappa. I don't know how to use my quirk on him. "I won't win." I stated. I watched his eyes light up a bit in amusement. "Your employer said you were quirkless." He gestured for me to follow him off the ring and I followed. "But I don't believe that you are." he added on as he took a seat on a bench after wiping it clean with a handkerchief. He looked at the place with disgust. "I'm quirkless." I responded sternly. "But you see, Rappa said otherwise. He stated that hearing you made him angry to the point where your voice drowned everything else out." I stared at him blankly. "I was taunting him. That's a normal reaction."
"I don't like it when people are dishonest with me." he stated, his voice was cold and harsh. I froze and nodded. "You don't have to tell me what your quirk is now. I can have someone question you on it to make sure you're not lying. What I offer now is more of an employment." I raised a brow at employment, gesturing for him to keep talking. As much as cage fighting pays, he looks like he could definitely pay more. "Our organisation is definitely not by any means legal but our goal is just. You see how much these people care about quirks? How they descrimate others for having a lesser quirk? We want to erase that. Permanently."
"I accept." I blurted out. He looked up at me, almost confused. "I haven't even made the pitch yet." He stated with an amused tone. "You had me at permanently."
