Chapter 11: Alliances and Rivalries Part I [Behemoths & Tricksters] 

Ten minutes later

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For about ten minutes, as the plane continued to ascend, all Amaku could feel was a pressure weighing against his body similar to what he felt on the train. However, unlike the train, this feeling was pushing down on him rather than coming at him from the front. While this wasn’t necessarily a painful feeling, Amaku couldn’t necessarily say that it caused him any sort of relief. It was something he’d never really felt before as this was his first time on a plane. He was breathing somewhat heavily and he started to sweat slightly from the odd new pressure, he even briefly considered activating the device in the back of his head to try and ease his mind. However, before he could say the phrase, he suddenly felt the pressure release as the plane began to even out. Amaku’s breathing became much more gentle and controlled and the sweating ceased soon after. He then felt a hand on his left shoulder which brought him back to reality.

“<You alright?>” Kira asked. Amaku turned to look at her, a bit of sweat still running down his face. 

“I…yes, I’m fine, Kira,” he responded in a slightly shaky voice, wiping the sweat away.

“<You sure?>” Kira persisted. “<You looked a bit…off, for a sec there.>”

“It’s nothing, just…it’s my first time on a plane.”

“<Oh…so, how does it feel to fly?>” Kira gestured towards the window. Amaku looked out to see the vast blue waters below and the numerous clouds that they passed which were at eye level with him. 

“Honestly…as far as firsts go, this will definitely be one to remember,” he said, somewhat giddily. Kira chuckled lightly in response to his amusement. 

 

“Alrighty then, cadets,” the pilot's voice once again came in over the speakers. “We’ve now reached a nice cruise altitude of 30,000 feet. Please feel free to leave your seats and move about the hull. This’ll be a smooth two hour flight, so please, get on up, stretch those legs, do as you please, and most importantly, enjoy your flight!” 

Upon hearing this, many of the cadets did as the captain suggested and stood up from their seats, moving about the hull of the plane. Others remained in their seats, attempting to get some shut eye. Amaku himself remained in his seat, though he did take the time to unbuckle his seat belt. Kira meanwhile couldn’t have gotten out of her seat faster. She practically jumped out of it, stretching freely and showing off her flexibility. 

“<Aaahhhh…freedom,>” she said in a relieved tone. “<Welp, Imma go stretch my legs, wanna come with?>”

“Appreciated, but I think I’ll just stay in my seat for now,” Amaku replied.

“<Alright, your call,>” Kira shrugged, walking off towards the other cadets.

“Think I’m gonna follow her lead, try to meet some new faces," said Aizo, undoing his seat belt. Amaku nodded in acknowledgement as Aizo walked off. Meanwhile, Amaku himself simply remained in his seat, observing the others. Some were walking about the cargo bay, some were sleeping, some were talking amongst each other. However, what caught Amaku’s eye was the behemoth sitting alone at the far end of the cargo bay. He appeared to be placing his hands at the intervals of his pockets as if he was searching for something. However, as he continued to search, he grew more and more worried as he was frantically checking his pockets, his personal bag, under the seat, all to no avail. Then, as he observed this, Amaku then had a thought and took out the PMP3 that he’d found earlier. Upon further inspection, the ear plugs that were attached to the device were abnormally large, almost as if they were made for someone of a larger disposition. He hadn’t paid much mind to it earlier as he was more focussed on finding a seat. 

He soon realized what he had to do and made his way over to the behemoth, who was still panicking in search of his missing item. Once he was standing right in front of him, he extended his hand out to him, offering him the device. The Behemoth slowly brought himself together as he looked forward to see the device in Amaku’s hand. He then slowly looked up at Amaku, looking him in the eye with an expression of surprise on his face. 

“I believe you dropped this,” said Amaku. “It was at the top of the ramp when we were boarding.” 

The behemoth slowly reached out for the device with one of his monstrously large hands and took it from Amaku, looking at it with a mix of surprise and relief that it was not lost. Upon further observation, Amaku noted that the behemoth nearly matched Amaku’s standing height while he was still sitting. He then looked up at Amaku again with his intense blue eyes. 

“<…Thank…you…>” he said slowly in a deep, guttural voice. Oddly enough, when he spoke, Amaku felt the same sensation he felt whenever Kira spoke. 

“What is this feeling?” Amaku thought to himself. 

Meanwhile, the behemoth set the PMP3 on his lap and extended one of his monstrous hands out to Amaku. 

“...Jackson,” he said.

“Brokuma,” said Amaku, shaking Jackson’s hand. After a brief moment of silence between the two of them, Jackson scooted to the right while still remaining in his seat and patted one of his large hands in the empty space to his left. Amaku was slightly taken back by the gesture, standing in silence for a few short seconds, but eventually accepted the offer and sat down next to him. After doing a little bit of fiddling with the PMP3, Jackson selected a song and handed one of the ear pieces to Amaku. Amaku once again accepted the offering, taking the earpiece in hand. Although he had no other choice but to hold it in his ear it was slightly too big to fit in his ear. Once he did, Jackson hit play on the device and the next thing he knew, Amaku was listening to a smooth American style jazz song. 

The song itself started out very softly, a simple guitar and xylophone introduction with no lyrics. Then as it went on, it introduced more instruments, including a trumpet, violin, soft base, and a few others. Despite this, the song remained very soft and calming, much like the music that Amaku would listen to on longer rides to put his mind at ease. As he continued to listen, he would slowly move his head from side to side to the beat of the song, and so too did Jackson. While the music was soothing to the soul, Amaku felt more than just tranquility, he felt as though a harmonic story was being played for him, as if the music’s soft, delicate tune was fingers strumming the strings of his heart like a harp. He felt both peace and emotion surge through him as the song continued to play. Then, with a single long note from the trumpet, the song came to an end, leaving Amaku with simultaneous satisfaction and a desire to listen more, like a mother reading a child a story before bed, but the hour deemed that story time was over. 

 

Amaku slowly removed the earbud from his ear, still processing what he'd just listened to. 

“<...You…like…it…?>” Jackson asked. Amaku quickly turned to him, snapping out of his daze. 

“Yes…it was very nice,” said Amaku, still coming back to reality. “…Thank you, Jackson.” 

However, Jackson shook his head in response to this. 

“<…Thank… you,>” he said, gesturing to the PMP3. Amaku nodded in response to this, stood up from the seat, and bowed to him with a hand to his chest. Jackson replied with a simple nod. Amaku then walked away and left Jackson to his own devices. 

 

He made his way over to his seat, making his way through the other cadets. However, before he could make it through the crowd, he felt a hand on his shoulder which held him back. 

“<Neat trick there, slick,>” Amaku  heard a suave, pretentious voice say. He turned his head back to see a black-gloved hand on his shoulder. Attached to the hand was a rather lanky, skinny boy a little older than him who stood at about a foot shorter than Amaku. His hair was messy, black and short, his eyes were green and narrow, his nose was crooked with a scar across it, his jawline was angled, and there were stubs on his chin. Amaku turned his gaze to the left and next to this individual stood a much taller boy who looked to be around 17 or so. In terms of height, he was just about equal to Amaku.  Much like Amaku, he was clean shaven and well toned. His hair was black and neatly trimmed, but not quite as short as Amaku’s. He had a square jawline, a small straight nose, and yellow angular eyes. He stood next to his companion with his arms crossed, acting as if he were the smaller boy’s body guard. Upon further inspection, both boys appeared to be American, and yet he could understand the smaller boy perfectly. 

Amaku then turned his gaze back to the smaller boy. 

“What trick?” he asked. 

“<You think I don’t know your game?>” The boy said. “<You steal that outdated piece of junk he had, wait for him to start panicking, and you give it back to ‘im to get on his good side. Classic, ingenious even!!!>” 

Amaku then fully turned around to face him, taken back a bit by his words. But beyond that, there was something else. When the boy spoke, he felt the same sensation from when he was speaking with Kira and Jackson. Now that he was feeling it again, he was able to better understand it. The sensation felt as though he was recalling a long lost memory, one that had been lost to time and was only now coming back to him. He once again put these thoughts to the side to confront the boy in front of him. 

“Why would I steal it from him?” Amaku shrugged, the faintest hint of rising disgust in his voice. 

“<Ah, see, you shouldn’t be asking ‘why’,>” said the boy. “<You should be asking ‘why not’?>”  

The moment Amaku heard these words, he was frozen stiff. His eyes widened a bit as he did everything in his power to repress his reaction and the sudden feeling of anger he felt. 

“<It’s the obvious move,>” the shorter boy continued. “<Back at the airstrip, that sergeant Twat put you up on a pedestal, made you look like a threat. So, the obvious next step for you is to trick the biggest, toughest guy you see into being your friend and protecting you…>”

The boy continued to ramble and every word that came out of his mouth only caused Amaku’s anger and disdain to fester more and more until he couldn’t take it any longer.

 

“What…do you want?” Amaku interrupted, struggling to maintain a neutral tone of voice. The boy was silent for a bit, surprised by Amaku’s forwardness. The taller one unfolded his arms and drew a step closer

“<...Straight to the point then, are we?>” he said, trying to resume control over the conversation once more with a suave demeanor. “<Alright then! First, Introductions: name’s Stitch, and this here is my brother, Krush>,” he gestured to the tall boy with his thumb.

“<Yo,>” said Krush in a deep, tough voice, crossing his arms once again and cocking his head at Amaku. He gave no response to this and instead stared at Krush with a focused, determined look. 

“<Anyway,>” Stitch continued, regaining Amaku’s attention. “<Krush and I just so happen to be looking for someone to make our little duo into a trio. And after seeing how you fared against HAWKS HIMSELF, I’d say that you fit the bill quite perfectly. Not to mention that you just so happened to get the big dope over there on your side as well,>” Stitch gestured subtly over towards Jackson. “<Whatever they've got planned for us, it’s bound to be just as difficult if not more so than our initiations. And together, the three of us’ll be on our way to->”

“Three?” Amaku interrupted once again. “You said you wanted me because of my performance and my alliance with Jackson. So what three?”

“<Yes…but who said we’d need him to join our little group here? Three is fine, four is a crowd. If you join us, you can trick the big one into taking down some of the other cadets. Then, when it’s all said and done, we wait until his back is turned, and then, BAM!!! The three of us nail him and take our place in the program!>”

Once again, every word infuriated Amaku to the point where his fist was clenching behind his back from pure disdain towards Stitch. First he accused Amaku of a lowly deception, then he plots to abuse the gratitude of another and betray him at the earliest opportunity. Every word that came out of his mouth painted a clearer picture, one that with each vile detail drove Amaku to wretch. 

 

“<So, all that said, I know this ain’t a small decision to make, So I’ll give you some time to think->”

“No,” said Amaku abruptly and sternly. Once again, Stitch was stunned into silence for a short while. 

“<Uhm… pardon?>” he asked dumbfoundedly. 

“I’ve heard your… generous offer, and I decline,” said Amaku in a tone of disinterest. 

“<...Did you?>” said stitch, adorning a smile that almost looked like a crack on a mask. “<Because I feel like if you really heard me, you wouldn’t have just given me such an unbelievably stupid answer.>” 

“Spoken like someone who’s never been told no in his life,” said Amaku. “Welcome to reality.” He then turned sways and began to walk off, but before he even took a step, Stitch’s gloved hand grabbed him by the wrist. Amaku immediately turned to loom at him. 

“<Spoken like a guy who’s never made a friend in his life,>” said Stitch, frustration emanating from his voice. “<So let me educate you. When someone offers to be your ally when everyone else around you is ready to turn on you, you don’t just blow them off. Out there, without allies, you won’t last a day. You should be down and on yours knees, thanking me for making such a->“

“Wrong,” said Amaku, ripping his hand out of Stitch’s grip. “You should be on your knees thanking me for tolerating your venomous drivel for this long without breaking you in two.” 

Stitch’s face displayed a mixed expression of anger and shock. Krush once again dropped his arm cross and displayed a look of surprise as well, though not to the same degree as Stitch. 

“Let me assure you of one thing, you filthy snake,” Amaku seethed, getting closer into Stitch’s face. “Whatever trials await us at the end of this flight, if our paths cross again, it will not be a festive reunion.”

“<Are you threatening me?>” Stitch pushed back in a low, aggressive tone. 

“Well you’re supposedly a master at reading people, aren't you? So look into my eyes, little man,” said Amaku, his eyes igniting a burning crimson. “You…tell…me…”

In that moment, Krush stepped between the two of them, acting as a shield for stitch. Amaku looked up to meet his gaze, his height meeting that of his opposition. 

“And then there’s you,” said Amaku aggressively, refusing to back down to Krush’s challenge. “Do you have anything of substance to add here, or are you here to just stand around looking mean and then intervene when this idiot gets in over his head? Is that the sum of your ambitions…a meat shield?”

Krush let out a low, baritone growl, clenching his fist tightly in anger as he stared at Amaku, who still stood there staring at him with his glowing red eyes. 

 

“Alright, enough!” out of nowhere someone came in and broke up the two, holding Amaku back. Amaku looked down and was surprised to see that it was Aizo.

“The enthusiasm and energy is great ‘n all, gents, but save it for the trial…both of you,” said Aizo, sternly looking at Amaku in his glowing red eyes. Amaku looked down at him, his face displaying a hint of surprise. As Aizo’s words started to register for him, he looked back towards Krush, who was still refusing to back down. However, once again to Amaku’s surprise, Stitch actually stepped in between the two of them as well. 

“<Krush…stand down. It's not worth it,>” he said, putting a hand on Krush’s shoulder while looking at Amaku with restrained resentment. Krush looked down at his brother with cautious eyes. He then turned back to Amaku, staring him down for a short while one last time. After keeping his gaze locked for the entirety of that moment, Amaku finally backed down, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, they’d returned to their natural brown color. In response to this, Krush complied with his brother and stood down, backing away from Amaku. Stitch looked up to him and nodded to him one last time before looking back at Amaku. 

“<Let me make one thing clear, asshole,>” said Stitch. “<You’re gonna regret crossing us like this, you hear me?>” 

Amaku gently brushed Aizo’s hand off of his right shoulder. 

“The only regret I have is letting you run your filthy mouth for this long,” Amaku said coldly. “Now, while I still have some sense of reason… get out of my sight.” 

 

With that, the two groups then parted ways. Stitch and Krush disappeared amongst the other cadets while Amaku and Aizo returned to their seats. After making their way through the crowd, Stitch and Krush eventually found their own corner to speak privately.

“Well…that could’a gone better,” said Stitch in a slightly defeated tone. 

“No kiddin’,” said Krush, crossing his arms. “He’s gonna be a real problem, brother. So, how do we handle this?” 

Krush was in silent contemplation for a few moments with a finger and thumb to his chin. Eventually, after looking back towards Amaku, he came up with an answer. 

“He wants a war…then we’ll give ‘em one,” he said sternly. 

Out of surprise, Krush quickly shifted his gaze between both Amaku and stitch. 

“You’re serious?” he said, trying to contain his shock. “You saw what he can do, right? The guy’s quirk is busted!” 

“Maybe,” said Stitch. “But he’s not perfect. No one is. There's a crack in this one, just like the others. We’ll find it, and when we do, we’ll bring him crumbling down just like all the rest. You trust me, right, Krush?” 

“...Right…”

Despite the assurances from his brother, Krush’s expression remained concerned, looking down at the ground in uncertainty. Stitch looked to see the worry in his brother’s eyes. 

“Hey,” Stitch said, putting a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “He’s tough, but you're tougher. He’s smart, but I’m smarter. You and me, we’ll get through this the same way we always do…together. You hear me?” said Stitch, extending a fist bump to Krush. 

Krush looked down at his brother, seeing the hopeful shimmer in his eyes. Seeing this optimism and drive so too raised his spirits as he gave a confident smile and accepted the fist bump. 

 

Meanwhile, Amaku and Aizo sat together in their seats, silently keeping to themselves. After a while of silence, Aizo looked concerningly at Amaku, who was sitting upright with his arms crossed. 

“So…what’s with them?” Aizo questioned, referring to Stitch and Krush. 

“A couple of weasels looking to fix the competition,” Amaku said with a hint of anger in his voice, sitting upright with his arms crossed. 

“What do you mean?” asked Aizo, raising an eyebrow? 

Amaku then retold the events that unfolded leading up to Aizo’s arrival, including his newly formed alliance with Jackson. After he finished his retelling, Aizo sat in silence for a moment, looking down at the floor. As Amaku observed his expressions, he didn’t necessarily seem to be disturbed or shocked by the information, but rather it appeared as though the wheels were turning in his head. 

“...I see,” said Aizo, still looking down at the floor. He then turned to face Amaku. “Why not take the offer, Brokuma?”

Amaku slowly looked at Aizo with an expression of shock on his face. 

“Did you hear a word I just said?” asked Amaku in a borderline offended tone. 

“Loud and clear, and I still stand by what I said,” Aizo continued. “Just think about it: even an amateur would put together that they would turn on you at the first opportunity. So, you accept the offer, play along for a bit, and when you get the chance, you and the big guy take ‘em out. Or better yet, since the other cadets will probably be gunning for your spot, you do as they say and get the big guy to take out the other cadets while you deal with the brothers, you meet up, and then complete the trial together. And if need be, you take care of him too.”

Amaku stared at Aizo with a disturbed expression as he listened to his advice . 

“…Should I be concerned that you were able to come up with such an elaborate deception like it was nothing?” said Amaku. Aizo simply shrugged in response to this. 

“It’s what I would’ve done,” said Aizo. “Just saying, if you’d taken the deal, you would've had five people who weren’t gunning for you, including me and Kira. But now, you’ve got only three who don’t look at you and see an opportunity to prove themselves, and that’s assuming the big guy wasn’t just offering temporary kindness before we’re all going at each other's throats.” 

Amaku sat back in his seat in silence for a bit, his arms still crossed as he stared forward in contemplation. 

“…You’re right…it probably would've been smarter to play along,” said Amaku. Aizo then turned towards Amaku.

“So…why didn’t you?”

“...Because…because in my eyes, lying is the refuge of cowards,” said Amaku solemnly. “Liars create delusions and fantasies for not just others, but for themselves so they can run away from reality and never have to face the consequences of their actions. I…I’ve done things I’m not proud of, I’ll admit that, but I’m here because it’s my responsibility to make them right. I’m here because I’m done running away from who I am. From now on, if I am to run anywhere, it’ll be towards something.” 

Once again, silence fell upon the duo. Amaku’s gaze still remained forward and his arms remained crossed. He turned his gaze towards Aizo, who looked down at the ground in silence. 

“Look, you may not agree with my ways, but I won’t compromise who I am,” said Amaku. “And who I am is not a liar. It may sound quite naïve out loud, unfathomably stupid even, but-” 

“No…not at all,” Aizo interrupted. “I get it…really, I do.”

Amaku looked to Aizo, noticing the solemnness in his voice. 

“I mean…don’t get me wrong, it’s an overly wordy way of saying you’re shit at lying, but I get it.” he said with a witty tone. Amaku lightly chuckled from this attempt at humor, and Aizo displayed a small grin from seeing him.

 

Suddenly, the two of them heard a commotion at the other side of the cargo bay. They looked ahead to see a bunch of the cadets huddled around something, cheering and laughing, but they could not tell what they were gathering for.

“Well then,” said Azio with intrigue. “I think Imma go check that out. Wanna come?”

“If it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll just stay here before I cause any more trouble for myself,’ said Amaku jokingly. Aizo simply shrugged in response and went off to see what was happening with the other cadets. Meanwhile, Amaku went rifling through his bag and much like Jackson, he pulled out his phone and earbuds and started listening to some peaceful music. He set the music, laid back in his seat, and attempted to relax. Though he may have made some new rivals, he sat in peace knowing that he managed to make one new behemoth of an ally.