Chương 44: Chapter 44: King of The Hill I
Peter ran his fingers through the mask in his hands, looking at it for a moment before sighing.
Today's the day, huh?
The festival.
Right now, his class was getting ready for the upcoming preliminary event in the male changing room which for some reason Nejire was still allowed in.
But seriously, why was she still allowed in here?
It was weird!
He himself had already gotten changed, wearing the regular UA gym uniform with his MK.2 web-shooters around each wrist, the old belt he used to wear back when he was a vigilante under his shirt.
But right now? He was also in the middle of making a bit of a choice.
Mask or no mask.
Now, Peter knew that the public was already aware that Spider-Man was a UA 1st year, but they didn't know it was him.
Going out there shooting webs and crawling on walls unmasked would certainly mean people would figure out he was Spider-Man.
And Peter wasn't if he was totally okay with that.
His name? Sure, that part he didn't care about but his face? That was a whole different story for some reason.
It just… didn't feel right, you know?
Showcasing his abilities in front of millions of people without a mask as a barrier just made him uncomfortable.
But then again, if he was to be a pro hero when he graduates he'd need to show his face to the public.
They'd need to know what Spider-Man looked like.
Right now he just…
He just didn't know what to do.
"Whatcha doing?" A voice asked, scaring him out of his thoughts.
"Ah!" Peter jumped, nearly sticking to the ceiling on instinct before stopping himself when seeing it was just Nejire, the girl simply floating next to him with a curious expression.
Where was his spider-sense right there? It never told him when she was close!
"Nejire? What's uh, what's up?" He asked, fidgeting with the mask in his hands, running his fingers through the cloth.
"We're supposed to go out in like, 5 minutes! You've been sitting there all broody and stuff just looking at that mask for a long time so we got curious." Behind her, Amajiki and Togata nodded.
Wait, they needed to be out in 5 minutes?
Crap.
"I've just been… thinking a bit, you know? I don't know if I should put on a mask or not when I'm out there."
Togata raised an eyebrow at that, walking over and sitting on the bench in front of Peter.
"Why would you wear a mask? I thought the whole point of the festival was to be known and all, right?" He said, Amajiki sitting down next to him while Nejire sat next to Peter.
"I… I don't know, man. It's just people only know that Spider-Man is at UA, but when they see me using my quirk they'll figure out it's me, you know? Just the idea of being out there while people can see my face just… doesn't feel right." He said, playing with the mask in his hand unconsciously.
He stayed silent for a moment, continuing to fidget with the cloth before continuing what he was saying.
"Like, I'm alright with them knowing my name and stuff but knowing what I look like? I just don't like the idea of that. It'll have to happen eventually and all but I just… I don't think I'm ready to not have a barrier between my face and other people right now."
You know, he was actually surprised he was able to put it into words! He's almost never good on the spot, so it was nice for this to be an exception.
Surprisingly, Amajiki was the one to voice his thoughts next, the boy letting out a small hum that made everyone in the room turn to him.
"I get what you're saying w-with people not knowing your face, I'm k-kinda like that too. But I also think that it has to do with y-you hiding your identity for so long, so it's understandable you don't want to s-show it off freely yet." He said, making Peter widen his eyes.
Man.
The guy was pretty smart when he wasn't struggling to socialize! And he was getting better with the stuttering, too!
Peter looked back down at the mask and held it a bit tighter, a conflicted expression on his face as Togata placed a hand on Amajiki's shoulder.
"You're getting good with your stutter!"
They both smiled, looking at each other's eyes for what felt like too long until Nejire cleared her throat and brought them back on track.
"Well, if you're uncomfortable without it, then wear it! I think it'll help you feel better when we're out there and all, you know? It's a pretty big event and all."
"Yeah… I guess you're right." Peter said, smiling at his friends for a moment before putting the mark in his pocket where his goggles were.
He'd put it on during the first event so he didn't get picked out in the crowd during the speech.
Man, he was glad he wasn't doing that!
As if reading his mind, Nejire tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention.
"Wait, how are you gonna do the speech thingy with a mask on? Are you even doing the speech?" She asked, about to ask something else before Peter stopped her.
"Nah, I had a talk with Midnight about that and we decided to let the… wait." Peter paused, holding out his hand and counting on his fingers for a second before continuing. "Uh, 5th placer in the exam do the speech since everyone before that got expelled."
"Oh, right! I forgot about that! It's still kinda wei-"
"All 1st year, please report to the stadium! All 1st years, please report to the stadium!"
...
Showtime, huh?
Guess it was about time.
Togata looked between the three of them for a moment, smiling softly before sticking out his fist.
"Let's do our best! Pretty big day, huh?" He said, with Amajiki immediately connecting their fists while Nejire and Peter followed suit.
Peter smiled at the four-way fist bump, his other hand feeling the cloth of the mask in his pocket before speaking.
"Yeah, let's put on a hell of a show."
...
"Let's give our 1st representative a round of applause, everybody!" Midnight announced into the mic, making the crowd explode into applause as the 1-B girl, who Peter wasn't sure the name of, walked off stage.
Gotta say, she did a pretty good job doing the speech! Although Peter had to admit he wasn't paying too much attention to it, but she didn't need to know that.
Even as he stood amidst the crowd of students while waiting for Midnight to announce the preliminary event, the boy hadn't stopped playing with the mask in his pocket.
Was it a weird sense of expectation? Nervousness? Maybe even excitement? Peter couldn't even tell you what he was feeling right now.
He wouldn't call it being overwhelmed or underwhelmed by the whole thing, he was just… he didn't even have the words.
Right now he just wanted to get out there and do his best, prove to himself that he deserved to be there.
To himself and to Ben, but he probably already knew the answer.
"Alright, are you excited?!" Midnight asked into the mic, getting a thunderous confirmation from everyone in the stadium. "That's what I like to hear! Now, let's see what today's first event will be!"
With that, the giant screen in the stadium that had been displaying a Stark Industries ad changed to a giant roulette wheel with several different game names.
Taking a dramatic pause to hype up the crowd, the wheel on the screen began to spin rapidly for what felt like an eternity before starting to slow down.
As it slowed, Peter got to make out possible events like laser tag, capture the flag, cavalry battle, and even a battle royale before it finally stopped spinning, with the result being proudly displayed on the screen.
"Looks like it'll be some good old king of the hill!" The crowd roared in excitement at the result, with Midnight grinning big before cracking her whip. "Now, let's set up the playing field!"
Just like that, the stage slid back toward the back wall of the stadium and the ground began to shake and tremor wildly.
As the crowd continued to roar, a giant chasm opened up on the ground before a series of dozens of hexagonal pillars of various heights rose from the earth, towering above the students standing there while the ground they stood on became a soft-looking material.
Woah.
They really weren't holding back on this one, huh?
At this point, Peter thought that UA only hosted this event to brag about how rich they were.
"Let's explain the rules, shall we?" Midnight started, Peter's hand got ready to pull out the mask and goggles in his pocket at a moment's notice. "Here we have 42 pillars, some easier to get to than others, and your job is to reach one of these and defend them from others for a whole 3 minutes and be the only one standing on it!"
The students all voiced their excitement at the rules, making Midnight's grin widen to a point where it looked predatory.
"You may use your quirks freely and do anything in your power as long as you don't seriously harm others! We will go into overtime if there is more than one person on a pillar until only one person is left! Am I understood?"
She cracked her whip, prompting the crowd of students to confirm that they understood the rules.
Hearing this, Midnight put her whip back on her belt before licking her lips in a way that made Peter shiver.
"Wonderful~"
...
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