Chapter 176: The Red Oni won't Weep (1)
~Third POV~
[Early February – Setsubun, UA Highschool, Ground Omega, Japan]
The work-study program for hero hopefuls had started up again at the government's request, leading the students of the Hero Course to spend another chunk of time at hero agencies where they could hone their skills and improve their teamwork.
Meanwhile, it came to light that Hawks had already infiltrated the Paranormal Liberation Front to suss out the location where Tomura Shigaraki was in the process of having his Quirks powered up.
Behind the scenes, the plans for a massive mobilization effort were coming together—one that would ideally take out the entire Paranormal Liberation Front in one fell swoop and which would involve both professional heroes and the Hero Course students of U.A. High School.
Winter's icy bite was still a bit too fierce for the cherry blossoms to bloom, but early February brought with it the Japanese holiday of Setsubun, marking the last day of winter according to the old calendar.
The exact customs for the holiday differ from region to region, but the one nearly universal practice involves driving away oni (horned Japanese ogres) by throwing roasted soybeans and shouting, "Oni, begone! Good fortune, come in!" Oni have been a familiar concept within the Japanese collective consciousness for ages, between this bean-scattering practice, the game of onigokko (known in the West as tag), appearances in fairy tales, and any number of oni-related sayings and idioms.
In modern times, there's even an app for receiving phone calls from oni. Surely, though, one reason for the deep-rooted position of oni in Japanese culture is the tale of Momotaro.
As the story goes, Momotaro, a boy born from a giant peach, enlists the aid of a dog, a monkey, and a pheasant to defeat an island's worth of wicked oni. In that sense, Momotaro is synonymous with the concept of oni slaying.
Explaining Momotaro's story, Shouta Aizawa explained to his class in a stoic tone, "… Which is why you'll be splitting up into a 'Team Oni' and a 'Team Momotaro' for this face-off."
An excited gasp rose from the members of class 1-A, all lined up in their gym uniforms. A lesson at school had to be taken seriously, but Aizawa's use of the word face-off suggested a game, and games meant fun.
The location of the lesson also played a role in the kids' excitement; a hill rose in the center of the space, surrounded by a modest forest of Ground Omega. Boulders dotted the area, providing plenty of hiding spots and vantages from which to launch sneak attacks.
Before the students could get too worked up, Aizawa unveiled a box and said, "You'll draw lots to determine which team you're on. Make it quick, now."
As the class gathered around their teacher, only Katsuki Bakugo looked less than thrilled as Aizawa called out, "Bakugo. No need for you to pick. You're on Team Oni."
Bakugo grunted, clearly taken aback at being singled out, "Huh?"
Denki Kaminari, with a snort, said cheekily, "You were born to play an oni, man!"
Bakugo spats back angrily at Denki, "Say that again, sparky!"
It was when Aizawa turned his attention to Bakugo and said bluntly, "I'll explain why later."
Even Bakugo, in all his discontent, was no match for the homeroom teacher of class A, so he backed down while his classmates drew lots. Assigned to Team Momotaro were Izuku Midoriya, Ochaco Uraraka, Tsuyu Asui, Hitoshi Shinso, Denki Kaminari, Kyoka Jiro, Hanta Sero, Mina Ashido, Itsuka Kendo, Toru Hagakure, Yui Kodai, and Ren Yuki.
Meanwhile, Bakugo, Shoto Todoroki, Fumikage Tokoyami, Tenya Ida, Kinoko Komori, Eijiro Kirishima, Momo Yaoyorozu, and Himiko Toga find themselves on Team Oni. Ida yelped, one hand shooting into the air, asking in a confused tone, "Sensei! There seems to be a discrepancy in the number of members per team!"
Aizawa turned his attention to both teams as he distributed three bean-sized balls to each member of Team Momotaro and a single cudgel to each newly minted oni, explaining to them in a stoic tone, "Because Team Momotaro is at an overwhelming disadvantage, as I was about to explain. If a Momotaro gets whacked by a cudgel, they're out. And an oni is out if they gets hit by three beans, which can be collected and reused after being thrown. Team Oni's goal is to wipe out every member of Team Momotaro, while Team Momotaro can only win by rescuing the 'hostage' held by Team Oni's goal is to wipe out every member of Team Momotaro, while Team Momotaro can only win by rescuing the 'hostage' held by Team Oni."
Ren blinked as he muttered confused, "Did you say hostage?"
Aizawa turned away from the confused students as he continued explaining, "Playing the part of the hostage is none other than Eri. She's sitting in the hut at the top of the hill as we speak. Both teams must treat her as if she were an actual hostage. Understand what that means?"
They did not understand what that meant as Aizawa's gaze drifted back to the kids and landed on Bakugo, who scowled as he said calmly, "Bakugo—you have a special assignment. Throughout this exercise, you're going to become friends with Eri."
"Huhh?"
Ren froze, hearing that, obviously stunned. It took a moment for Aizawa's words to sink in, but then Bakugo's eyes bulged wide in shock. The rest of class A was just as dumbfounded as Aizawa explained bluntly, "You may be on the villain team this time, but someday you might find yourself needing to rescue young children. When the time comes, the mission's success may ride on your ability to win over a child."
Bakugo, obviously not happy with this assignment, asked in a confused tone, "The hell? What's wrong with just grabbing the kid and calling it a day?"
Hearing his response, Aizawa gazed at Bakugo with a steeling stare as he explained in a stern tone, "Imagine it from the hostage's point of view. Say you sneak past the villain and try to drag the child away by force. You'd be no different than the villain in their eyes. Say they start crying, alerting the villain to your presence. Suddenly, you're thrown into combat while trying to protect the hostage. Any decent hero prioritizes the victim's well-being. Understood?"
Aizawa's steely stare left no room for argument, and the thorough explanation cowed Bakugo into silence as he continued explaining, prompting the teams to split up and march off, "Anyway, Team Oni will start from the hut, and Team Momotaro will start from the edge of the forest. To your places, now. The face-off begins in ten minutes."
Still pissed and doing little to hide his bad attitude, Bakugo stomped his way up the hill. His friend Kirishima, running up to his friend, said optimistically, "Bakugo, dude! That's one crazy assignment you're stuck with, huh? But hey, I'm here to help! You'll be besties with Eri before this is done!"
Ida, who led the rest of the charge, added, "We will all contribute to the cause!"
Momo rested her hand against her chin as she pondered the uphill task and muttered, "But how on earth will Bakugo befriend Eri?"
Tokoyami nodded his head with his arm crossed, muttering, thinking the same as Momo curiously said to himself, "Bakugo must befriend a youngling… An ogre of a challenge, to be sure."
Toga, walking with them, muttered in agreement, "I have to agree there."
The group struggled to imagine how Bakugo might pull this off, but Kinoko, at the back of the pack, spoke up, suggesting out loud, "How about making a smile? Much like Ren's? That seems to make Eri happy."
Todoroki paused, considering the idea, trying to recall as he said stoically, "Right. Yuki made friends with the girl. Try following his example?"
However, Bakugo fiercely spat back, listening to that suggestion as he roared back, "Did your brain spring a leak? That thief follows my lead 'til he dies trying, but it'll be a cold day in hell when I take a cue from him!"
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[UA Highschool, Ground Omega – Momotaro Team, Japan]
Meanwhile, as Team Momotaro moved to the far edge of the forest, they, too, were feeling anxious about Bakugo's special task as Midoriya muttered, "Kacchan and Eri? Let's hope for the best."
Ochaco was just as worried about Eri as she muttered out loud, "Step one: not yelling at Eri… the way he does with everyone else. That'd be a good start."
Asui, placing a single finger on her chin, muttered out loud her opinion of how Bakugo and Eri's interaction would go, "I doubt he would scream in Eri's face, but what if she sees him raging at the rest of us? That could be enough to scare her."
Denki, who already saw it as a lost cause, said in a stunned tone, "Him? Make friends with a kid? No way!"
Shinso added at Bakugo's assignment in a curious tone with his arms crossed, "Sensei really cooked up a cruel assignment this time…"
Jiro, already at her wit's end with the boys worrying, said to remind her team of their objective, "I get being worried about Bakugo and his problems, but remember—our job is to actually rescue Eri."
Team Momotaro's mood suddenly grew tense. Midoriya, with a nod, agreed as he said in a determined tone, "Right. So, what's our plan of attack?"
/////
[UA Highschool, Ground Omega – Oni Team, Japan]
The Oni Team all managed to arrive at the hut that Aizawa mentioned, with Eri waiting nervously as she introduced herself shyly, "H-hello. I'm Eri, the hostage. I hope to be a good hostage."
The girl was all nervous, but she managed to introduce herself to Team Oni once they made it up the hill and found her waiting in the hut. Kirishima grinned, being helpful, as he said to Eri excitedly, "Hiya! Don't you worry, you're the best hostage we could ask for!"
Momo smiled, kneeling and greeting Eri happily. Momo said to her in a kind tone, "We're so very glad to have you join us."
She, Uraraka, and the other girls had visited Eri in the teachers' dorm many times, so they had a bit of history. The remaining members of Team Oni were acquainted with Eri and knew her story, but they had never really interacted.
Todoroki and Toga, who famously lived in their worlds, weren't fazed by the nervous girl with her trembling and her balled fists, but for Ida, Tokoyami, and Kinoko, her discomfort was infectious.
In the meantime, Eri spotted the scowling Bakugo at the back of the pack, and she jolted in shock when his gaze turned to her as he clicked his tongue, "Tch."
He clucked his tongue out of frustration over the task he'd been saddled with, but Eri had no way of knowing that it wasn't personally directed at her. Ida scolded Bakugo for his actions in a stern tone, "Bakugo. You mustn't make such aggressive noises in front of the girl."
Bakugo shot back, though his retort to Ida's chiding lacked some of the usual explosive punch, "Oh, cram it."
Since Eri had started living with the faculty in their dorm building, they'd been sure to mind their language around her, so Bakugo's prickly demeanor was unfamiliar and instilled some fear in the girl.
The rest of Team Oni stared at each other, united by their discomfort, but the tension was interrupted by a buzzer that signaled the start of the showdown. Kirishima said to Bakugo, barely concealing the concern in his voice, "You're on guard duty, dude. Watch over Eri!"
Bakugo uttered, "Huhh?"
Eri said, "Oh."