I wake up slowly, my head feeling like it's full of fluff. Which is weird, since the fluffiness is meant to be on my head, not inside of it!
I blink, aware that my mind isn't thinking clearly, but unable to tell exactly why. Deciding that opening my eyes would be a good first step, I'm put into a state of immediate regret due to the lights being too bright, making me groan in discomfort. And that seems to be some sort of signal, as a rush of voices surround me, making my head throb with pain. I curl into a ball with my hands covering my ears, but that just sets them clamoring louder. At least until a sharp voice cuts through the din and forces them to fall silent.
"Shush now! Can't you all see you're bothering her? Be quiet or get out! Actually, some of you need to get out anyways, it's too crowded in here!"
There's the sound of shuffling, followed by a few muffled protests as some people are presumably shuffled out of the room. Then there's the click of the door closing before silence once again thankfully blankets the room. It lasts for a few blessed moments before a soft clicking starts up, though it's not nearly as loud as the people were. Slowly, I uncover my ears as I crack my eyes open.
I'm in the infirmary, and as I peer at the people around me I identify my clanmates, as well as a couple people whose backs are facing me. Probably checking on someone else. But what happened…?
"Deary, can you take this? It'll help with the noise and the light." Recovery Girl's soft voice enters my ears just as she enters my vision, holding out a small cup of liquid. Grimacing, I stretch out my hand and take it, closing my eyes as I toss it down in one gulp. I breathe out a silent sigh of relief that it's tasteless as I hand the cup back, missing the confused/amused looks on everyone's faces. Though my nose still crinkles at the phantom sensation people tend to get no matter what the medicine is actually like.
I just can't stand the taste of medicine!
Eventually though, I do have to open my eyes, and when I do I'm pleased to see that the light isn't nearly as bright as it was before, and I can more clearly see who exactly is around me. Minya and Tormew are expected, and I'm also not overly surprised to see Purrny. A bit away surrounding a bed are a group of people I don't know, and between the gaps I can see Kitten sleeping. Next to me is Shinpo, who's awake, with Midorinya on the other side of his bed so he can see both of us.
I focus my attention on Recovery Girl as I ask what happened, to which her answer surprises me. "Quirk exhaustion. Apparently you strained your quirk, and it made you sick. Since you were using it on the other two as well, they also got some peripheral effects from it." She looks over at Kitten. "Though it seems as if she got the worst of it, being close to you in physiology but not having your familiarity with your quirk."
I blink. "...That make nyo sense. How does my quirk cause quirk exhaustion for them, nya!? I haven't even pelt like this before!"
Midorinya raises his pen, getting our attention. "I think I can explain." He opens the notebook he's holding and turns it to show us a page with a sketch of me. He's good, I can't help but note before focusing on his words. "See, you have an interior power source for your quirk, correct?"
I nod. "And you've always tied your cats to yourself, or by themselves, correct?" Another nod. "So then, what I think happened is that, when you put your cats around Shinso and Chaineko, you inadvertently tied your cats to them instead of yourself. And since they don't have your quirk, they lack the power source that allows you to summon them. So it must have drawn on some other aspect of their bodies! Most likely their stamina, or perhaps it put a strain on their minds. But since Chaineko's quirk is identical to the mutation your quirk gives you, it drew on her more heavily than it did to Shinso. But when it couldn't get the required energy from her, it rebounded on you with an increased cost. Which is why the both of you passed out but Shinso didn't!"
I'll admit, I kind of blanked out somewhere during…all of that. But I get the gist of it. Don't Cat Up other people. It won't end well for anyone. Unless it's a life-or-death situation or something. But since I have to maintain physical contact, my cats would be better suited just on myself or on their own in that case. But more to the point-
"I thought his name was Shinpo, nya?"
The boy in question lets his face fall into his hands. "I can't believe I put my faith in you to get us through the first event."
"I did get you through though, nya~!" It's not my fault my new and never before practiced technique took all of us out of commission after we got there. On the bright side, people will be less likely to associate me with my Masquerade identity now that they've seen that my technique has serious drawbacks! Hopefully they won't think too much about it when it doesn't have the same effect when applied to me alone.
"That you did, Miss Catia." Before anyone can refute me, a little white rat pops out of a vent in the ceiling, doing a flip before landing on my bed. "But unfortunately, we cannot delay anymore. We need to start the second event soon, so unless Miss Chaineko is fit to join, she will be forced to withdraw."
I look to Recovery Girl, as does Midorinya. The others in the room are still staring at Nezu with mouths hanging open. Sometimes I forget that not everyone knows about how eccentric the principal is. Midorinya is taught by him, and he's always stalking me while leaving cat stuff lying around to see how I'll react.
Whether or not I ever claim any of it for myself shall go unanswered.
Recovery Girl shakes her head. "It's not likely. She'll probably be out for the rest of the festival."
Nezu nods sadly while I ignore the glares of Kitten's friends. I held up my end of the deal. Unforeseen consequences are outside of my jurisdiction. "While unfortunate, as my cousin's ward's father said: the show must go on. I trust the two of you are well enough to return?"
Shinso and I nod, and Nezu smiles, instantly sending a shiver down my spine. That's the smile he had when he planted a bag of catnip in front of me but it was actually wasabi disguised as catnip!
"Before it begins, Miss Catia, I would like to speak with you privately. You're not in trouble of course, but it is in regards to your role during the second event."
That's definitely suspicious. But he probably won't do anything that will put me out of commission. Or is this actually related to the event, and first place gets special circumstances for it? Either way, after assuring the girls that I'm fine, I follow him, still weighing the odds of me getting somewhere with witnesses before it's too late.
`~`
"Unfortunately, Prin Chaineko is unable to return for the second event, but this just shows that anything can happen in this year's Sports Festival! Who could have guessed that not only do second and third place go to Gen Ed kids, but someone from the Support Department makes it into the second event too!?" Present Mic's words get the reaction he was hoping for, raucous cheers from the stands. Even if there are many who doubt that the two students would have made the cut without the hero course student helping them.
"Now, let's spin for the second event!" The crack of Midnight's whip is the signal for the slot to spin, choices once again flashing too fast for anyone to see. When it stops, she stares at it in surprise since it's not one that was on the list she'd been forced to memorize beforehand. "Um, it looks like the second event is called… Rat Maze?"
"I will handle the explanation for the event, Miss Midnight." Nezu's voice fills the stadium, causing them to echo Midnight's surprise. "In the meantime, please head to preparation room number two and put on the outfit you find within. This event will be requiring teacher assistance after all!"
The sadistic amusement in his voice is hidden just to the point where none of the civilians pick up on it. The heroes who do can't help but worry about what the event will actually be. Those familiar with Rat Satan can't help but pray for the participants.
After a sweating Midnight leaves, Nezu explains. "Now then, this event is deceptively simple. Students will gather in fourteen teams of three and each will be given two things. A piece of meat each, which the loss of will cause the individual to be removed from the game, and one of Ectoplasm's clones, which the loss of will eliminate your entire team."
He chuckles. "Now, you may be wondering why I told Miss Midnight that she will be participating? Well, that is because both her and Present Mic will be participating as well! Midnight will be being protected by the team whose members' hidden point value places them as performing best during the race. Present Mic will be protected by the team who placed worst, point-wise. Just in case someone decided to, oh, try and stay out of the spotlight to gather information on their competition. A valid strategy, but one that heroes should be careful of backfiring on them! Just something to keep in mind."
Among the students, a blond haired loudmouth curses to himself. The one in 1-B, not 1-A.
"The extra challenge for these two teams is that all the meat they are given will be placed on the two heroes, along with the outfits they shall be wearing, leading them to being much more tempting targets. Each team must escort their charge through a maze Cementos will be constructing on the field, and exit safely. What exactly will they be trying to escape from?"
His chuckle takes on a dark undertone, causing the crowd to shiver. "Well, I think I'll be holding that surprise in reserve until it officially starts."