A/N: Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I only own my characters, Boku no Hero Academia does not belong to me.
Chapter 10
"Is this karma for taking first place from Midoriya?" Keruru sweat dropped as he was surrounded by people wanting to team up with him. While he knew that they were after a more certain win with his ten million points, he was by no means enjoying this attention.
"Would you be willing to be my teammate?" Asked a boy with messy purple hair after he denied the swarm of people.
Keruru blinked, "Oh, you came to see my class after the incident. What's your name?"
"Hitoshi Shinso, from the general department." Shinso seemed to be bitter at the fact that he was in the general department.
Keruru paused at the name. This morning his mother had mentioned him meeting and making a new friend with someone named "Hito-chan". "What's your quirk?"
"... Brainwashing. I can control someone as soon as they respond to me verbally."
"Yet you have fantastic control. You sound like you would make an amazing hero."
Shinso looked surprised, "Really?"
The crystal user nodded, "My team already has two members, and I'm willing to accept you."
"Hoshimi, you chose someone that's not in our class?" Todoroki asked while Iida shook his head.
"It's best to not to argue with him. He's stubborn to fault."
"What was that, Iida?"
Todoroki glanced between the two and the boy that Keruru decided to have join. If he'd been in control of the team mechanics, he would have chosen Kaminari to keep the opponents at a distance. "What do you have in mind, Hoshimi?"
"Todoroki, you should be the rider with the flag; I'd be far too heavy to get us very far and I doubt I would be able to swipe the flags easily. I'll be on your right side acting as the overall defense and support in anything necessary. Iida will be in the front with his speed to help get us around quickly. Shinso will be at the left with his Brainwashing can help hold the teams in place long enough to get the flags and creating time for our escape." Keruru explained. "We're the target everyone is after, so our priority is protecting our flag at all costs."
The three nodded and waited for the time to be up.
In the meanwhile, Uraraka and Midoriya had approached Iida to have him join their team.
Keruru blinked as Iida walked over to them and frowned as he looked away. "They're his friends... He'd probably rather work with them than with someone like me who barely will be on speaking terms with him. Besides, structurally, Iida and Uraraka's quirks combined would give their team a high amount of evasiveness along with Midoriya's smart tactics."
"I refuse." Those two words had the crystal user look up at his former childhood friend and he strained his ears to hear what was said next. "Ever since the entrance exam, I've been doing nothing but lose to you. You're an amazing friend, but it's precisely because of that that if I only ever follow you that I'll never grow myself. Bakugou and Todoroki aren't the only ones who see you as a rival, my friend."
Iida turned his back to Uraraka and Midoriya as he walked toward Keruru and his team. "So I'll be doing my best to challenge myself against you!"
Iida blinked when the crystal user stared at him with glistening eyes, "Uh... What has you happy, Hoshimi?"
Keruru looked away, "Just surprised that you can actually say something cool."
"Was that an insult or a compliment?"
"No comment." The crystal user replied as the time was up, "Let's protect our flag and take as many possible."
The four got into position as Todoroki tied on the headband worth 10,000,450 points onto his head.
As soon as the start of the cavalry battle was announced, two other teams were quick to charge at them, Tetsutetsu from class B, and Hagakure from class A.
"Shinso." Todoroki stated with the purple haired boy nodding as he spoke loud enough for the two teams to hear him.
"You shouldn't bite off more than you can chew, you know."
The two riders and Tetsutetsu's front horse responded and immediately froze in their tracks, much to the confusion of their team before they yelled in alarm as their legs, waists, and arms were encapsulated in crystal.
"Not again... Hoshimi!" Jiro, who had been in Hagakure's team, exclaimed in an exasperated manner.
"I intend on having my team win." Keruru stated as he formed crystal roller blades onto the soles of his, Iida, Shinso's shoes.
In a matter of seconds, Iida had their team speed past the two teams' flags as Todoroki took both.
"Hoshimi, can you continue holding all the teams that we steal flags from in place?" Todoroki asked once they had made decent distance in the chaos of the cavalry battle.
Iida was about to interrupt before the crystal user cut him off. "If it's just eleven teams, I'll be fine without any overexertion."
"Not even two minutes have elapsed and we already have a melee of tumultuous proportions on our hands!" Present Mic announced. "Anywhere you rest your eyes, there's two teams vying for and stealing each other's headbands! Teams are avoiding Team Todoroki after that warning display in favor of other headbands. After all, it's fine strategy to aim for 2nd or 4th place points than the big million!"
Keruru kept an eye out for any teams as he made sure they were at a safe distance, but he didn't realize that Tetsutetsu's team had devised a plan of escape until he felt a sharp cutting pain as a thorned vine was wrapped tightly around his leg.
"Argh!" Keruru yelled in pain, much to the alarm of his team as they looked over to see what was wrong as the crystal user wobbled slightly as it seemed the vine was trying to shake him.
"Hoshimi!" Iida cried in concern as he saw droplets of blood.
Todoroki was quick to freeze the offending vine as Shinso quickly deduced that it was connected to the vine haired girl. "It seems that they were trying to get Hoshimi to deactivate his quirk."
"It was a mistake to assume they wouldn't try to do something to get free." Todoroki stated, "Hoshimi, release your crystals holding them and create a wall around us."
Keruru panted as he nodded and did as told.
"Hoshimi, your leg!" Iida exclaimed in deep concern.
"I'm fine, Iida." Keruru panted as he tried to get his breathing back to normal, "The cuts have healed, I'm just a little dizzy."
"What is going on?" Todoroki asked.
Iida seemed to hesitate before he responded, "Hoshimi is anemic, and due to his lack of blood, he can't afford to lose any as his body is incapable of creating new blood."
"Iida." Keruru frowned as more was told than necessary.
Yes, another cost to his heart being crystallized at birth was that the rest of his body was also slowly following suit. He'd lost the ability to create new blood from a young age while his body had small bits of crystals that filtered and acted similar to the blood that his heart did not pump, and that was the most that Iida knew. There was no need for more.
"Hoshimi." Keruru turned to Todoroki. "Can you create a dome around us like you did in the obstacle course?"
"I can't. My crystals are air-tight, so there would only be so much air for you guys before you suffocate." The crystal user explained.
"Getting ourselves elevated won't work either." Shinso stated as the other three looked at where he was staring to see that Midoriya's team was in the air before Bakugou had launched into the air after them before Sero used his tape to bring him back.
"We must prioritize in defending our headbands while Todoroki gathers more." Iida commented, "Hoshimi, are you okay?"
The blue haired boy nodded as he lowered the wall that acted as their defense, "Thanks for the break. Todoroki, who are we going after?"
"Midoriya's." Todoroki stated resolutely. The green haired boy was his target, and he wouldn't fail in proving that he would no longer stand in his father's shadow.
The horses of his team nodded as they went towards Midoriya's team and stood before them.
"It seems that other teams are coming after us now that the time has reached the halfway mark." Shinso alerted.
"How many teams?" Todoroki asked.
"Four."
"Iida, advance."
"Got it!" The glasses wearing boy replied as he did as told.
"Hoshimi."
Keruru glanced over to Tokoyami, who was Midoriya's front horse. "Got it. I'll make it a blinding wave!"
"Rutile Wave!" The crystal user exclaimed as the blinding wave swept the four teams away, while it blinded them and Midoriya's team in the process from the refraction of the sun. It also weakened Tokoyami's Dark Shadow. "Now, Iida!"
"I'll be taking these." Todoroki said as he took the headbands as Iida quickly maneuvered them through the straighter portions of the crystals as it quickly took to trapping those teams.
Tokoyami seemed to recover as he tried to have Dark Shadow reach for a headband as Todoroki was adjusting them around his neck.
"Hoshimi!" The hetero chromatic boy exclaimed as Keruru immediately shielded and stopped the shadowy hand, much to Tokoyami's chagrin as Keruru smirked.
"Dammit! That damn "Crystal" quirk is something else!" Midoriya exclaimed as the two team were now at a stare down.
"There's only about a minute left! Todoroki has set the field and held onto the ten million for the entirety of the cavalry battle! He's come to swoop Midoriya's headband, but for the last five minutes, Midoriya's done well to keep away, even in this constricted space!" Present Mic emceed.
Keruru grunted in displeasure. "Midoriya knows that Todoroki can't use his ice from the left side otherwise it would hit Iida. Rutile Wave is still doing its job to weaken Tokoyami's Dark Shadow, but in all honesty, I'm starting to get dizzy again. I'm going to have to visit Recovery Girl for some blood before the next round. Shinso probably won't be able to get Midoriya's team to respond to him either. It's a deadlock."
"Guys." Iida called out to his team, "We have less than a minute... I'm afraid I'll be useless after this, so I'm counting on you."
"Iida?" The crystal user asked, "What are you planning?"
"Grasp tight. Take it, Todoroki!" Iida warned before he yelled as he jetted their team faster than he had ever shown everyone how fast he could go. "Torque over! Reciprocating Burst!"
In a matter of seconds, Todoroki took Midoriya's headband and created a considerable distance from their team.
"Iida! What was that just now?" The crystal user asked.
"I can forcibly rev up my torque to explosive proportions if need be. However as a drawback, I'll suffer from engine stall for a short while. That was the trick up my sleeve I had never told my classmates." Iida explained.
"Including me, huh? But impressive nevertheless." Keruru thought as he nodded and watched as his former childhood friend continued.
"I thought I told you, Midoriya. I'm challenging myself against you!"
"After them!" Midoriya exclaimed, frantic to regain at least one headband.
"They seem to be frantic now they've lost their headband." Shinso commented, "They'll likely charge out of sheer desparation."
"Re-arrange the headbands, Todoroki." Keruru notified as Midoriya's team did as Shinso suspected would happen.
Much to the crystal user's surprise, Todoroki had used his flame half to guard against Midoriya as he took one of the headbands at 70 points.
"You shouldn't think that we'd just leave these headbands in any order, Midoriya." Keruru stated as he heard a Bakugou flying in.
There was just six seconds left as Bakugou flew in, searching for the ten million point band.
Three seconds as Midoriya tried to reach for another headband.
Two seconds as Todoroki called for Keruru to form a dome as the crystals formed and rose from the ground.
"TIME UP!" Present Mic declared as Todoroki's and Midoriya's team stopped as Bakugou fell to the ground.
"Now let's see who our top four are!" Present Mic announced as Todoroki was let down as Keruru's eyes widened when he counted the headbands around his friend's neck.
"Todoroki..." The crystal user uttered.
"Shit." The heterochromatic boy muttered.
"In first place, Team Todoroki!"
Bakugou was by no means happy at the news that he didn't get first place.
"In second place, Team Bakugou!"
"Um..." Keruru turned around to see the thorn haired girl from Tetsutetsu's team. "I was able to hear that you were anemic, and I had made you bleed..."
She bowed deeply, "I am so very sorry!"
"Huh?" Keruru blinked, not used to this situation, and glanced over to his team for help. He immediately sent a glare when they all looked away while he could tell that Iida was trying to hide his laughter. "I-it's fine. There was no ill intent on either side."
"In third place, Team Tetsutetsu!"
"I let my guard down." Todoroki muttered once the green haired girl, Ibara Shiozaki, returned to her team.
"We can't do anything about it now, just..." Keruru sighed as he looked over Midoriya's team.
"And in fourth place...!"
"Beat him in the next round."
"Team Midoriya!"
A/N: Till next time
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