Chapter Text
To say Sigma was nervous would be a gross understatement. He was a better fighter than any of the students, he had more experience than any of these kids. But he also usually had weapons, and considering the fact he might go against a student who was practically a live bomb, he wasn’t looking forward to the competition.
Him being there at all felt like bringing a butter knife to a machine gun. Sigma wouldn’t lie, he was tempted to feign sick, but if he was caught then that would place suspicion on him. After all, what kid wouldn’t want to Participate in the UA sports festival?
A voice cut through Sigma’s worries.
“Midoriya.” Todoroki started, “In raw strength, I am stronger than you, however, you managed to catch the eyes of All Might. And that… that makes us rivals.” silence spread at the declaration, and Midoriya stood still in shock. “I am going to beat you.”
“I don’t know what you hope to achieve by saying that,” Midoriya replied, looking down at his hand. “I think you're better than almost everyone in raw strength. But it’s not just me, or just this class that is gunning for the top spot so I can’t let myself lag behind.” Midoriya stared Todoroki in the eye. “So I’m going to fight with all my might, and I hope that you do too.”
Todoroki stared for a few moments, then nodded.
Sigma, quite frankly had no clue what just happened, it was one of the most awkward exchanges he had ever bore witness to and Fyodor’s memories held a lot of those. He decided he wouldn’t question why it happened, it didn’t concern him.
Just as whatever that was had finished the speakers in the room alerted the students that it was their turn to go out onto the field.
The halls were claustrophobic, teeming with students clamouring to get to the outside, loud with quiet whispers as students muttered and murmured about the sports festival.
Soon everyone fell silent as they walked onto the field and stood amongst their class.
The loud voice of Present Mic echoed through out the stadium, announcing the class’s presence. Other classes started to whisper amongst themselves, staring at 1-A as if it were a disgusting yet rare creature. More than that, however, there were also the audience members who were leering at the next generation of their protectors, as well as searching for the mistakes in their new entertainment.
The hushed voices of students picked up again.
Sigma wasn’t necessarily upset by the fact he was being watched, he had grown used to it. He was always being observed by The Decay of Angels and they made no secret of that, he was also always being observed at the Casino as its only celebrity. There was just something that made the sports festival different, perhaps because no one knew who he was, after all, he was just one part of the bigger whole that was class 1-A.
It was almost funny, had he been any other person it would have been the opposite. To think that the anonymity was what was bothering him and not the lack of it. Sigma wondered, in the back of his mind, if the Agency would be watching him. Would they cheer for him or would they judge him, neither? Dazai would do both, Sigma knew that for certain.
The crack of a whip caused all students to go quiet. Sigma cringed, he meant no insult to Midnight’s teaching abilities but her entire thing was being not for kids, who decided that she would be a great person to teach?
“Now let’s hear it for the first years!” cheers and screams were heard in response. “Now we’ll hear from the first-year rep, Katsuki Bakugo!”
Sigma looked at Bakugo with nervous anticipation. Bakugo was definitely going to say something stupid.
“I’m going to win.” that spiked immediate uproar from the other classes and Sigma was jeering right along with them. “You’ll all be good stepping stones to my victory.” Even more members of 1-A joined Sigma in his boos, and the other classes took notice that none of class 1-A looked happy.
“Alright!” Midnight quickly spoke up, covering her nervousness with a laugh, “Let’s head on to the first competition. I want everyone to grab the devices here then spread out, avoid the middle.” Sigma followed the order, it was a sort of chest plate with a sensor on it along with a fingerless pair of gloves.
He walked closer to a corner and could see Hitoshi and Neito in his peripherals on opposite sides. Neito held a lazy, yet smug, smirk on his face, giving an air not too dissimilar to the one he had when they first met. Hitoshi stared blankly, a sort of bored expression on his face. Denki was near the side of the plane with a nervous look hidden by a smile, Denki looked closest to how Sigma felt.
It was clear that even though people could stand wherever they wanted, it would be easy to section into their classes, everyone choosing to stand with those familiar to them. Denki was closest to Sigma, followed by Neito, followed by Hitoshi.
The only exceptions that Sigma could note were Bakugo and Todoroki who were further towards the center and avoiding the eyes of other students.
It didn’t surprise Sigma, he would say it was in character really. Two students who thought they were better than everyone else, perhaps they were too good for the peasants in their class, perhaps they were a little awkward with people who could pose a challenge for once, perhaps it was something else. It didn’t matter to Sigma, it shouldn’t.
He wasn’t curious, he could handle not knowing why they were like that, it wasn’t his job.
Sigma took a breath.
He looked at Midnight, awaiting her next move.
A few moments later the Hero cracked her whip.
“Everyone ready?”
Many variations of agreement were shouted out, Neito spoke a yes, Hitoshi didn’t speak at all and Denki screamed enthusiastically. Midnight grinned and cracked her whip.
Walls sprouted and grew from the ground, rising high in strange patterns. The first task was a maze it seemed, likely one that would periodically move judging by the fact it seemed no student was accidentally standing on a wall.
The sensor on the chest plate began to glow.
“Listen up one and all!” Present Mic’s voice rang out from seemingly nowhere, “This dark labyrinth is the first event, students will have to navigate to the middle while they try to eliminate EACH OTHER! By touching the gloves to the sensors on the breastplate that student will be ELIMENATED!”
“But be warned,” Present Mic’s voice sounded almost teasing, “The walls move.”
“BEGIN!”
Sigma didn’t start moving immediately, instead listening to the stampede of steps. He doubted the centre was even reachable, there were students standing near the centre, after all and it’d be unfair otherwise. While Aizawa may not care about fair, this was a televised event and he was certain that the public would care.
Only when the steps started to quiet down did Sigma start moving, he didn’t want to waste time by looking for his friends, not when he was sure that they had all been shuffled around, so his memory of where they last were was unreliable.
There was a trick where he could put his hand to the wall but that could take a lot of time, and if he fought he’d get all turned around.
Sigma took a breath, he should avoid fighting if he could, which meant avoiding people. If only he had Tanizaki’s ability, it would be great in an event like this, he’d be a better spy than he was or again maybe Tachihara could.
But this wasn’t the time to be doubting himself.
The halls were dark, barely illuminated enough by the sensor for him not to be constantly running into walls, so he mostly had to rely on his other senses; hearing and touch mostly.
At times it was almost eerily silent, nothing but his own steps as he walked. If he walked forward for too long he started to become unsure that he was even walking at all. Other times Sigma could hear yelling and screaming as a fight broke out somewhere near him; they always sounded like they were fighting for their lives.
It was his hearing that alerted him that someone was rounding the corner. He pressed himself to the wall as the shadow approached. The person was loud, and likely didn’t realise Sigma was there. But Sigma could just barely make out a silhouette, a girl with short hair and small horns.
“Ashido?”
The girl screamed, definitely Ashido.
“Fukuzawa! What the fuck? You scared me!” She was shaking slightly.
“Ah… sorry Ashido.” The girl should be more aware, otherwise someone could sneak up on her and get her out. Perhaps he could…
“I’m glad to find someone I know though, if I had to fight anyone or spend even more time alone, I might’ve screamed.” Ashido laughed, it seemed that no one was going with a particularly sneaky route, not against Ashido at least. “Anyway, we should work together!”
“Work together?” Sigma repeated, by all means the two of them should be fighting, not discussing.
“Yeah, the two of us will probably work together when we’re heroes anyway, right? And this way we can help each other.” Sigma could feel that the girl was beaming, proud of her idea. “Besides, you don’t have the most physical quirk and no weapons to help you, that puts you at a huge disadvantage.”
That was true, and the thin corridors would make fighting hand to hand difficult. What confused Sigma was what Ashido got out of it, sure she got company but was that all she wanted?
“Okay,” Sigma offered his hand, “Call me Sigma by the way, I prefer it over by surname.”
“You got it Sigma!” Ashido put her own gloved hand in his.
It was clear that Ashido intended to rush it, he understood why, the sooner they found the center the better but she was going to get them found that way.
“Ashido!” Sigma hissed, “The walls have ears, walk quietly.”
“Huh?”
“How do you think I’ve been avoiding fights? By being quiet and listening.”
Ashido made an ‘O’ face and then nodded, she was significantly quieter after that.
“Hey, Fukuzawa?” Ashido whispered.
“Hm?”
“Why do you want to be a hero?”
Sigma turned back to face the girl who had an uncharacteristically serious look on her face, “Why do you ask?”
“I’ve just been thinking… I mean there are people like Bakugo, Todoroki and Yaoyorozu who look like they’ve got it all figured out, you know? But they’re all kinda intimidating, less so Yaoyorozu, but I wonder why they want to be heroes when they don’t really act like them.”
Why did Sigma want to be a hero? He didn’t, simple as that, but it wasn’t like he could say that.
Sigma faced forwards.
“I’ve seen a lot of people do bad in my life, I was surrounded by bad people before I was taken in by Fukuzawa, and I know that some of those bad people don’t want to be bad.” Sigma took a breath giving himself time to think about where this was going to go, “I guess what I mean to say is that I want to become a hero so I can give an opportunity of redemption, hope, for bad people who never really had a choice. People with the potential for good.”
Ashido stayed silent for a moment and Sigma worried that his answer wasn’t satisfactory enough.
“That’s really noble of you Fukuzawa.” There was a slight laugh in her voice. “You know at first I thought you were kinda cold and mean, like Todoroki but it’s clear that can’t be. I mean you always hung out with those guys from 1-B and 1-C and in class you were always with Yaoyorozu but once I saw you with Kami, I knew you couldn’t be that mean.”
“Thank you?”
“Also what did you mean by being taken in by Fukuzawa?”
“I’m adopted?” Sigma breathed out a laugh, “Fukuzawa isn’t my birth surname, I’m not even Japanese.”
“You’re not? Your Japanese is really good!”
“…Thank you.”
He had a feeling that Midoriya’s and Ashido’s reaction would become increasingly common.
“Where are you from then?”
Sigma held in a shrug, his usual answer to the question. Except, he knew now, didn’t he? It was odd, knowing where he was from. For years Sigma just had to deal with not knowing anything more than the fact he was European.
“I’m British, from the United Kingdom.”
“Oh like Big Ben and the Queen!”
Sigma nodded and silence descended upon the two.
“Why do you want to be a hero, Ashido?”
“I want to save people.” Ashido stated, “My reasoning isn’t as profound as yours but does it need to be?”
Sigma hesitated. “I guess not.” He supposed that he overdid it then, but it was too late to back out.
The two continued to walk, occasionally striking conversation about various miscellaneous things. Ashido’s favourite colour was green, her favourite number was four, her favourite flowers were narcissus flowers and her favourite genre was thriller but she was a sucker for a good romance.
Hearing the steps of other competitors got increasingly sparse which meant a lot of people were being eliminated. It couldn’t be that a lot of people had passed, there were a limited amount of spots.
Sigma was honestly starting to believe that UA intended to drive him and the rest of the students mad.
The sensory deprivation was extreme, no sight, decreasing sound, no different things to touch or smell. Sigma and Ashido had frightened themselves and each other over something that didn’t exist more than once.
“At this point I’m starting to think there is no centre!” Ashido whined.
In theory Sigma understood that Ashido likely didn’t mean that but he couldn’t help but consider it. Trap the students with nowhere to run in a torturous area, give them a way to escape and watch them tear each other apart in an attempt to reach the escape. Honestly they could have just said defeat each other whilst trapped in a maze and it likely would have achieved the same effect, but whatever.
“How about we take a break for ten minutes?” Sigma offered, considering his own broken sense of time, he had no faith that Ashido’s was any better. They were going to wait until everyone else eliminated one another.
“Sure!”