Chapter 5: The Grey Students
They moved through the plaza, a silent unit in the chaotic, joyful crowd. Banners fluttered from every lamppost, depicting the logos of famous hero agencies and the U.A. school crest. The closer they got, the louder the ambient roar from within the stadium became.
Wu, with a polite but firm "excuse me," approached a guard in a U.A. security uniform near a "Participants Only" gate. "Pardon me. My students are participating in the Support Course. We are... unfamiliar with the check-in procedure."
The guard, looking bored, checked a digital tablet. "Support Course? Yeah. Reception is just inside that entrance, to the left. Can't miss it."
Wu thanked him and led the team through. The area just inside was slightly calmer. They saw two lines. One was a massive, winding snake of people—spectators waiting to get through security checks. The other, at a small desk marked "Participant Reception," was blessedly short.
As they walked, Cole's eyes drifted. He saw a little girl in the spectator line, no older than seven, clutching her mother's hand. She was staring at him, her eyes wide with curiosity—he was tall, quiet, and carried himself differently from the bustling crowd. Cole, seeing her gaze, felt his own serious expression soften. He gave her a small, gentle smile and a quick wave. The girl's eyes widened, and she shyly ducked behind her mom's coat, peeking out with a tiny smile of her own.
At the reception desk, a young woman with a bright, professional smile looked up. "Hi! How can I help you?"
"My students," Wu said, indicating the four. "They are registered for the Support Course. They are uncertain where to go."
"No problem!" she chirped. "What are their names?"
Wu listed them: "Kai. Jay. Cole. Zane."
The woman's fingers flew across a keyboard. Click-clack-clack. A moment passed. Then, she smiled. "Oh, yes! The four transfer students. We have you right here. You are all assigned to Preparation Room 1-F. That's on the second floor, north wing. Just follow the signs."
Wu bowed his head. "Thank you."
"Oh, and one more thing!" she added. "Please make sure to wear the standard U.A. Sports Festival gym uniform. There's one in each of your designated lockers. Good luck!"
The four ninja exchanged glances. The relief was palpable. It was all going smoothly. Too smoothly, Kai thought, a small knot of suspicion in his gut.
They headed for the stairs marked "Participants: Floor 2." A different guard, this one larger and more severe, held up a hand, stopping Wu and Nya.
"Halt. Participants and authorized staff only beyond this point."
Wu nodded, unsurprised. He turned to the four. "It seems this is where we part ways. Nya and I will join the spectators." He looked at them, his old eyes serious. "The rest is on your shoulders."
Nya gave them a smile, though her eyes were worried. "Do your best. Find this threat... and please," she added, looking directly at Kai, "try not to get noticed."
Kai gave her his signature cocky smirk. "Of course. When am I ever noticed?"
"Leave it to me!" Jay chirped.
Zane corrected him, "To us, Jay."
"Right, right, 'us.' Got it."
With a final nod, the four turned and ascended the concrete stairwell.
Nya watched them go, her hands clasped. "They're gone."
Wu looked at the massive, winding spectator line, which seemed to have grown even longer. "And we," he said, stroking his beard, "must acquire tickets... before they are all gone."
The hallways of the second floor were sterile and gray. Signs pointed in multiple directions: "1-A," "1-B," "General Studies." Finally, Zane pointed. "There. 1-F."
They pushed the door open.
The room was quiet. Unlike the Hero Course rooms they had passed, which vibrated with loud, boastful voices, this one was subdued. A dozen or so students were scattered around, none of them familiar. They were tinkering with small gadgets, stretching nervously, or muttering to themselves. When the four walked in, all activity stopped. Every eye turned to them. They were outsiders. Unknowns.
"Okay," Kai whispered, not moving his lips. "Play it cool. Ignore any questions. Find the lockers."
They moved as one to the back wall, where they found four lockers clearly marked with their names.
The whispering started.
"...who are they?"
"...never seen them before."
"...transfers? On the day of the festival?"
The team ignored it. They opened the lockers and found the uniforms: simple, two-piece U.A. tracksuits in blue, white, and red. They changed quickly, folding their own clothes with practiced neatness. The uniforms felt plain, anonymous. They made them look like... everyone else. It was the perfect disguise.
Suddenly, a voice so loud it rattled the lockers blasted from an unseen speaker:
"ALRIGHT, LISTEN UP, FIRST-YEARS! IT'S TIME TO HIT THE FIELD! GET TO YOUR CLASS LINES IN THE ENTRANCE TUNNEL, STAT! HEEEEYEAH!"
The 1-F students jumped, startled. A collective groan went up. "There he is..." one of them muttered.
The students began to file out. The hallway was now a river of blue-and-white uniforms. The ninja merged with their 1-F classmates, just four more faces in the crowd, shuffling toward a massive, dark entrance tunnel that led out onto the field.
The roar of the crowd was a physical force, a wall of sound that hit them as they stepped into the light.
"WELCOME BAAAAACK TO THE U.A. SPORTS FESTIVAL!" the voice from the speaker screamed. "LET'S GIVE IT UP FOR THE ROOKIES WHO'VE ALREADY FACED DOWN DANGER! THE MIRACLE STUDENTS... CLAAAAASS 1-A!"
The stadium erupted. The four watched as another class walked onto the field, their expressions ranging from nervous to annoyed to supremely confident.
"Hmph," Kai muttered to Cole. "Looks like the Hero Course kids are the main event."
"That's good," Cole rumbled back. "Let them have the spotlight."
The rest of the classes were introduced, their 1-F class getting only a passing "And all the other courses!"
They stood in a massive crowd of students on the field. A woman in a... highly stylized... hero costume, "Midnight," made the opening remarks. Then, she called up a representative from 1-A to give the student pledge.
A boy with spiky ash-blond hair and a permanent scowl on his face slouched his way to the microphone. He looked out at the crowd, then at the other students, and spoke in a bored, gravelly voice.
"I just wanna say... I'm gonna win."
The entire stadium went silent. Then, it erupted in boos and angry shouts from the other students. "What's his deal?!" "He's representing all of us!" "So arrogant!"
Kai, however, felt a slow, appreciative grin spread across his face. He respected the sheer, unadulterated audacity.
"Heh," he chuckled under his breath. "This guy's got spark. I like him."
Zane, standing beside him, didn't turn. "Kai. The mission. Focus."
"I know, I know. Just... observing."
Midnight, looking thrilled by the drama, announced the first event: a 4-kilometer obstacle race around the entire stadium.
"ALL STUDENTS, TO THE STARTING GATE!"
The massive crowd of students turned and surged as one toward a single, narrow tunnel entrance. It was a bottleneck. The four, still adhering to their "blend in" mission, didn't push. They didn't shove.
As a result, they were immediately swamped, shoved to the very back of the pack, stuck in a sweaty, claustrophobic jam of bodies. The starting light flashed from red to green. A buzzer sounded.
The race had begun, and they were hopelessly, completely trapped.