Chapter Twelve: A Game of Strategy

"IIIIIIZUUUKUUU!" Inko was still crying in joy after realizing that her son had managed to get first place in the Obstacle Course race. She hadn't been able to tear her eyes from the screen the entire time.

Mitsuki snickered as she passed her friend another tissue. "That's gonna drive Katsuki nuts. He never takes losing very well."

"Does that mean Izu won?" Eri asked, fidgeting with nervous excitement.

"He won the first event," Mitsuki explained to her with a smile. "The U.A Sports Festival is split up into three different events. The first this year was the Obstacle Course race that Izuku won. The second event is going to be this Cavalry Battle thing. To win the tournament, someone has to make it through the first Obstacle Course and Cavalry Battle, then win the final event."

"Oh," she replied. She didn't fully understand that, but she understood that Izuku still had stuff to do. "What's he gotta do now?"

"Midnight is about to explain the rules, so…"

"Anyone home?"

Eri squeaked as the front door opened and was followed by an unfamiliar, male voice. She took cover behind Inko, who stopped crying just long enough to see who it was.

Mitsuki's husband, Masaru, walked into the living room with a box in his hand. "I brought pizza."

"Oh, good timing!" Mitsuki grinned. "They're about to explain the rules of the second game."

"How'd our boys do?" He asked.

Inko started crying in joy again. "IIIIZUUUKUUU!"

Masaru glanced from Inko to his wife. "Is that a good or a bad thing?"

"Good!" Mitsuki cackled. "Izuku took first place! Katsuki got in third!"

Masaru blinked in surprise. "Really? Wow, that's great!"

Eri was still hiding behind Inko as she stared at Masaru anxiously. While she'd met Mitsuki before, Masaru was unfamiliar to her. He was usually still at work the few times she came by the Bakugo residence.

Masaru took notice of Eri after a few moments when he started passing out the pizza on paper plates. "Hm?"

"Masaru, this is Eri. The one Katsuki and Izuku saved a few weeks ago from that villain, remember?" Mitsuki prompted.

"Oh!" Masaru exclaimed, scratching the back of his head in slight embarrassment. "That's right, I can't believe that slipped my mind. Well, hi there, Eri. I'm Masaru, Katsuki's father."

Eri tried to smile just a little, but she didn't come out from her hiding place behind Inko. She would probably have felt more comfortable if Izuku was around, but he wasn't and so she wasn't as open as she might have been.

Masaru glanced at Mitsuki again in question. The woman grinned in Eri's direction a little softly. "She's a bit shy, but she opens up more when Izuku is with her."

"I see," Masaru nodded, opting to pass a couple of plates to Inko, who was still crying tears of joy. She took them gratefully and gave one of the plates to Eri, which held upon it a piece of pizza.

"Alright, it's gonna start soon," Mitsuki said, gluing her eyes to the TV as she took a bite of pizza.


Midnight cracked her whip once more to get everyone's attention (mostly) away from Izuku and his ten million points. "Listen up, kiddies! The time limit of the game is fifteen minutes. As I said before, the point value of each team will be the total amount of everyone on the team, written down on a headband. The "rider" of each horse will be the one to wear it, like a flag-bearer. Your goal is to steal as many headbands as you can until the time is up!"

"You're restricted to wearing your headband on your neck or above, but no lower. Also, if you should lose your headband, you won't be out of the game. You can use your Quirks, but remember that this is still a human cavalry game. If you attack any other group with the intent of breaking them up, that's a red card and you'll be forced to sit out for the rest of the game."

"And starting now…" Midnight grinned. "You've got fifteen minutes to pick out the members of your team!"

Izuku had already been thinking about which people he wanted on his team from the moment the game was announced, so he immediately approached the first person he had in mind- Tenya.

He called to his friend to get his attention. "Tenya, can we team up? I've got a plan, but I'll need you and Ochako to pull it off. With the two of you, we'll have high mobility and I can manage defenses with my fire…"

"As expected of you, Izuku," Tenya praised him. "You clearly have a strategy planned for this event. However, I must decline."

"Eh?"

"The thing is…ever since the Entrance Exam, I've done nothing but lose to you. You're an amazing friend, but if I only follow you, I'll never grow myself. Katsuki and Shoto aren't your only rivals, you know. So I'll be doing my best to defeat you."

His decision surprised Izuku for a few moments, but it made sense. He was the one everyone was gunning for. He was the target. The mountain.

So this was what All Might felt.

"Deku!"

Izuku turned towards the familiar voice to see a huge smile he wasn't ready for. "Let's team up!"

"OCHAKO!" Izuku cried in joy, streams of tears literally pouring from his eyes. "Are you serious?! Everyone is gonna be after me because of my stupid ten million points!"

"Yeah, it's gonna be rough," she admitted, blinding him with her cheerful face. "But I'd rather team up with people I'm friends with!"

Izuku felt his heart thump painfully against his ribcage, causing his face to scrunch up.

"Um, are you okay?" Ochako asked with legitimate concern. "Your face got kinda…"

"It's nothing…you're just so bright I can't look at you directly."

Izuku recovered from his momentary loss of bodily function and grinned at her. "This rocks though, I was hoping we could team up! Now I just need someone who can match Tenya's mobility…"

He blinked as Izuku spotted the teen in question talking with Shoto, Momo, and Denki. His lips pursed tightly. That was going to be a strong team. But…he had a plan. And with the right crew, Izuku knew he could make it work.

He glanced at the clock. They still had just under fourteen minutes to pick partners and strategize. No sense in wasting more time.

"Mr. First place! I insist upon an alliance!"

Izuku yelped and spun around at the voice that was way too close for comfort, his eyes nearly bulging out upon seeing a pair of goggles right smack in his face. The owner of said goggles was an incredibly energetic and direct girl with pink hair.

Ochako stared at her in surprise. "You're that girl who flew across the pit with all that gear!"

"Right you are!" She confirmed. "I'm Mei Hatsume of the Support Course! I don't know you, but I'd like to use your position as first place to promote my super cute babies! I'm aiming to catch the notice of big companies, and what better way than to join up with the winner of the Obstacle Course?! All eyes are gonna be on you and I'd receive maximum attention! Or rather, my babies would!"

Izuku was, frankly, completely overwhelmed by just how…in your face the girl was. He could only stare and shrink back a bit as Mei got closer and closer to explain her reasons for apparently joining his team. It didn't seem like he was going to get a choice in the matter.

Ochako held her hands up in an attempt to slow the girl down. "H-hold on! Babies? Big companies? What are you…"

"The Support Course spends its time developing gear for heroes to use in the field! Gear that takes advantage of or enhances Quirks! I've got tons of babies, so there's definitely going to be one that suits you!"

Ochako tried not to feel too annoyed by the hyperactive girl's complete disregard of her. She's got no interest in me at all, huh?

Izuku suddenly recovered from his shock when Mei laid out several pieces of gear in front of him. "Wait, wait, hold up. Do you have anything that's flammable? Something that can help me increase the amount of fire I can use? My Quirk lets me create and control flame, but I can't make very much of it on my own."

"Is that so?!" Mei grinned eagerly and began to tinker with a few things. "I've got just the thing! It'll only take me a second to adjust. Anything in particular you're aiming for?"

His brain went into full strategist mode and suddenly he knew exactly what they were doing. Izuku's eyes swept over the remaining students still looking for a team to join and locked onto the one he wanted- thankfully, he had not been chosen yet. And as he went to approach him, he told Mei what he needed as simply as possible.

"I need a flamethrower."


In the hallways of the colosseum, All Might was walking back to the teacher's seats after getting a drink. The large grin on his face wasn't just for show- he was legitimately smiling uncontrollably. Izuku had done incredibly well in the first challenge and left a huge impact on the audience. He couldn't have been prouder of his successor.

Of course, this was just the first of many challenges, but All Might felt a lot more confident now that Izuku would be able to hold his own.

As he walked to the stairs that would lead him up to his seat, he caught of glimpse of another man walking down- a man cloaked in flame.

"Hey there!" All Might called to him, causing the man's backbone to stiffen. "It's been a while, Endeavor! Let's have tea!"

Endeavor glanced over his shoulder, scowling at the Symbol of Peace. "All Might."

"What's it been, ten years? I figured it'd be nice to catch up!"

"Take your tea somewhere else," Endeavor growled back as he started to walk down the stairs again. "I've got no interest in playing nice with you."

"Why so cold?" All Might appeared in front of the fiery hero in a flash of movement, forcing Endeavor to stop and glare at him. "I just wanted to ask you something."

Endeavor's glare was venomous. "Okay, but I get to ask something of you for reminding me of some questions I've got."

"Sure!" All Might agreed, surprised frankly that Endeavor had accepted so easily. "If I may, your son Shoto has made quite the showing only by using half of his power. He's really impressed me! You must have taught him extensively."

"What are you getting at?"

"I want to know how you trained him so well. I'm still new at this teaching thing and I'd like to learn anything you can tell me about raising the next generation!"

Endeavor was silent for a few moments. "Pick your students better."

"Sorry?"

"You heard me. U.A's standards have really fallen if they're accepting some of the trash I've seen today."

All Might tilted his head. "I'm not sure if what young Katsuki said upset you or not, but that's no reason to assume the others aren't…"

"I could care less about some wet behind the ears runt who thinks he can conquer the world," Endeavor huffed dismissively. "He'll learn his place sooner or later. No, I'm talking about that thing the school took in."

All Might was silent, but Endeavor wasn't buying it if his rage-contorted face said anything. "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. As the number two hero, I've got access to student profiles at U.A. My turn to ask the questions. How the hell did that creature come to exist?"

"You're a father, Endeavor, you know how babies are made."

"Why wasn't it terminated?"

All Might felt his rare temper start to fray. "Don't confuse the boy for his father. They're nothing alike."

"You know damn well what it was capable of and you're defending its spawn?" Endeavor spat. "It should be destroyed. People are going to say the same thing as soon as they realize what it really is. That bloodline should be dying in a cell, not participating in a tournament for aspiring heroes."

"That's enough. He's just a child and he wants to be a hero. I intend to help him become one."

"Then you're a hypocrite, Mr. Symbol of Peace. You were the one who threw Viper into a prison. You should be the first in line to make sure all traces of him are wiped away from the world."

"And you should remember who dragged you to safety when you started an unnecessary fight that nearly burned down an entire city."

Endeavor stiffened and glared at All Might viciously, but he didn't care. The fiery hero was really pushing it. All Might was losing his temper, but he also knew that this was not the time nor place to settle their differences. "I've lost interest in our talk. Sorry for bothering you. But let me make something as clear as I can; I will defend Izuku as if he were my own child. You threaten him at the risk of your health."

"Defending the world is one thing, O' Symbol of Peace," Endeavor snarled. "But fighting the world is a very different matter. I won't have to do anything. Sooner or later, someone will do what should have been done long ago."

"I pity that someone. Their rest of their life will be spent behind bars," All Might retorted before walking around Endeavor.

He only made it to the top of the stairs when Endeavor spoke suddenly.

"This is because of her, isn't it?"

All Might didn't stop walking. "This conversation is over."

Endeavor merely sneered as he heard the Symbol of Peace disappear upstairs. "Lovesick fool.


Aizawa was shaken from a brief nap by Present Mic, who was as eager as ever. "Wake up, buddy! The fifteen minutes dedicated to forming teams and making strategies are up! We got thirteen warhorses on the field!"

The mummified hero studied said warhorses carefully. "…looks like we've got quite the interesting lineup."

"Shout those war cries from the top of your lungs and fire the signal!" Mic declared. "The bloodbath of the Obstacle Race was just the start! It's time for things to get even more brutal! ARE YOU READY?!"

Izuku tightened the band on his head, displaying over ten million points for the other teams that all had eyes on them. "Get ready, guys! Just like we planned!"

"Roger!" Ochako replied.

"Fufufu…" Hatsume laughed confidently.

"Understood," Fumikage nodded.

"THREE!"

"TWO!"

"ONE!"

"START!"

Immediately, virtually every team went after Izuku's, seeking the ten million points for a surefire win. It seemed like an easy enough mark- after all, Izuku's team had chosen to start in the corner of the field.

"Here goes!" Izuku pointed Hatsume's device- which was basically a hose attached to a backpack- at the ground a few meters away and then shot a jet of clear, gel-like liquid in a half-circle in front of them. As soon as the line of gel was established, Izuku tossed a fireball at it and a curtain of emerald fire ten feet high roared to life.

"Shit!" Tetsutetsu of 1B snarled as his horse was forced to come to a stop. "Damn Support Course!"

"Is that napalm?!" Toru shrieked from atop her own horse.

"Fufufu! It's a fuel I developed to power some of my babies, but it can be used like napalm!" Mei cackled in glee. "See, you big companies?! Even my sources of energy are quite adaptable!"

"Oh, that's gotta burn! The ten million points is literally under fire! We're gonna need a few dozen buckets of ice water over here!" Mic exclaimed.

Izuku snapped as soon as the barrier was protecting them from the other students. "Fumikage! Onto phase two!"

Fumikage nodded. "Dark Shadow!"

"Aye!" The shadowy creature agreed as it extended, reaching around Izuku to fiddle with the backpack. Mei instructed Dark Shadow while Izuku continued to build up on their defensive plan.

"Ochako, make me float, but keep a grip on me!"

"You're the boss!" Ochako grinned, lightening the load on all of them by making Izuku weightless. The goal of that move was to give them an escape route in case someone did break through the barrier and also to help Ochako, Mei, and Fumikage conserve their strength.

While Izuku's team was busy operating behind the wall of flame, Katsuki eyed the barrier with annoyance. "Yeah, I figured Deku made some master plan. Bastard had too much time to plot."

"What do we do?" Hanta grumbled to his left. "The ten million points are out of reach! Can't you blast through the fire or something?"

"No point. He's gotta have a countermove in case I go after him," Katsuki retorted. "Icy hot's already taking the bait, see?"

Shoto's team was prowling along the edge of the flames, trying to find a way through, but Katsuki knew it wouldn't be so simple. This kind of strategic game was right up Izuku's alley and there was no way in hell he was going to settle for just one line of defense. No, he had to have a strategy that would stall.

Izuku had time on his side- the game was pretty short and he'd no doubt come up with ways to counter his enemies. Whoever went after him would be playing by his rules and they wouldn't have the time to win. Katsuki knew that if he'd had a bit more time, he probably could've outplayed Izuku and taken his points, but he wasn't willing to put all his eggs in that one basket.

"Forget Deku; if icy hot somehow gets the ten million, we'll hijack it from him, but I'm not wasting my time on that bullshit. Besides…" Katsuki grinned viciously. "There's plenty of goldmines around here that we can pillage."

"You know, looking at you it isn't obvious, but you're a pretty good strategist yourself, aint'cha?" Eijirou snickered in front of him.

"The hell does that mean hair-for-brains?!"


Mitsuki grinned at the television as they watched Izuku and Katsuki begin to execute their individual plans for the competition. "I had a feeling they'd go all strategy mode for this game. Look at 'em- they're acting like they own the place."

"I don't understand why they didn't team up," Inko frowned. "They didn't even talk to each other when they were picking teams."

"They both probably figured that their Quirks aren't compatible for a game like this," Masaru told her. "Both of them need their hands to make their Quirks work effectively and this game makes it so only one of them would have full use of their abilities."

Inko inclined her head slightly, though her frown remained. Mitsuki added on to her husband's reassurances. "You know how they are, Inko. Whenever they're playing those strategy games on their computers, they're always talking about how they're going adapt in different situations as the game goes on. They know each other well enough to understand when their skill sets are going to work well or clash, and they must have decided that for this game, they couldn't do their best by working together."

"I suppose so," Inko sighed.

Mitsuki glanced around Inko at the little girl watching the television. "What do you think, Eri?"

Eri, for the moment, was completely glued to the screen and didn't hear a word Mitsuki said, prompting a snigger from the Bakugo matriarch. "She's already picking up on their bad habits."


Izuku held his left hand out towards the curtain of flames between them and the other teams and carefully began to manipulate his power. He could see at least three or four teams waiting to ambush them, but they were going to be very disappointed if they thought the flames were his sole defense.

He slowly twisted his hand to the left, as though he were adjusting the temperature of an oven burner with one of the knobs. It took a lot of concentration because this was a new skill he'd been working on that had yet to be perfected. If he screwed this up, it would weaken their primary defense too much and leave them open to attack.

Fumikage glanced back up at him and spotted the motion. "What are you doing?"

"Lowering the temperature," Izuku replied shortly. "Colder flames become darker so they can absorb heat easier. If they get dark enough, Dark Shadow will get stronger and our defense will improve overall."

The falcon-headed teenager stared at his leader in complete surprise. He'd somewhat expected that Izuku would have an in-depth strategy to keep them going this game, but…he hadn't expected this.

I told him about Dark Shadow's weakness not twenty minutes ago and he's already developed a way to bolster it? Fumikage remembered their first training exercise at U.A, recalling how Katsuki had described Izuku's strategic thinking during his team fight. So this is what he meant.

"How are things going, Mei?" Izuku asked.

"The backup is done!" She responded. "We're good to go! What's the next step?"

"Get the flamethrower ready for Dark Shadow," Izuku grinned confidently, surprising the rest of his team (well, except Mei, who had only just met him). "We're going on the offensive."

"Wait, what?" Ochako squeaked in surprise. "I thought we were staying behind the fire?"

"Oh, we are," he confirmed. "But I want to discourage anyone from getting any ideas of breaching the wall. We'll poke them from under our fire. Mei, prep the flamethrower to repair any holes in our defense. I'm going to try and blast Shoto's team first."

"Roger that!"

Ochako stared up at Izuku while he continued their strategy. He was grinning wildly, his usually hidden confidence out in full-view. His eyes were alight and eager for battle. His hands were clenched, as though he couldn't wait to fight.

Frankly, he looked a lot like Katsuki.

Speaking of which…

"Katsuki Bakugo's team is on a rampage!" Present Mic howled excitedly. "Look at them go!"

"You're getting awfully biased there," Eraser Head retorted.

He had to admit though, Katsuki's strategy was working like a charm.

Katsuki Bakugo was known for being flashy if nothing else and in true Katsuki fashion, he had devised a plan as flashy as possible. For Katsuki had basically become an explosive human whip and he was absolutely destroying anything in his way.

The attack would begin like this: Katsuki would jump off of his horse and fly to the nearest team with his explosions. Before they even knew what was happening, he used his Stun Grenade technique in midair to completely disorient the entire team, and then proceeded to steal their headband.

Hanta would then reel his leader back in with his tape and return Katsuki to the horse. Eijirou would take most of Katsuki's weight and the impact of his return so that Mina could fire off streams of acid with one hand and block the path of any team trying to reclaim their headbands.

It was stupidly daring, completely ridiculous, and utterly infuriating for the enemy teams, and Katsuki was having the time of his fucking life.

"Hell yeah!" Katsuki cackled wildly as he returned to the horse with another headband. "Get wrecked, you noobs!"

Mina rolled her eyes, but she was still smirking. "You are such an ass."

"We're winning this, though," Eijirou told her. "Check it out! We already passed up Shoto's team! The only one ahead of us is Izuku!"

"Deku doesn't count," Katsuki sneered, cracking his knuckles. "We're in first place for all I care. All I want is to put icy-hot in his place on rock fucking bottom! Now, who's next?!"

Hanta glanced around. "What about- WHOA, LOOK OUT!"

Katsuki whipped his head up just in time to see a fireball go sailing over the curtain of flame blocking Izuku's team from the others. It was actually quite small, but that was made up for by the fact that nearly a dozen more fireballs followed after it and proceeded to rain down on the enemy teams trying to find a way through the flame shield. Said teams were forced to scramble away in order to avoid the shots, but they were meant to annoy them more than anything.

One of them came sailing towards Katsuki's team and he merely sneered and blew it away with an explosion. "Deku's getting too excited back there if he's starting to throw shots at the other teams. Hair-for-brains, keep an eye out for more of those missiles. If he gets ambitious, we'll jump the ten million points just for good measure."

Katsuki knew that was unlikely, though. Izuku certainly had a confident side, but he was really good at keeping it under control. If anything, he'd use his apparent overconfidence as a way to bait enemy teams and then crush them.

They had been playing strategy games together for a very long time. If Katsuki had learned one thing by now, it was this: Izuku would turn your world inside out if you played his game.

Katsuki would not make the mistake of getting too greedy by going after Izuku and triggering whatever freakish traps he had laid in wait for them.

The explosive teen took a brief glance at the clock. Less than five minutes remaining. This was going to be where the crazy plays started coming out.

"Raccoon eyes, keep up the defensive acid," Katsuki decided. "Hair-for-brains, same to you. Defend. Soy-sauce face, if someone gets ambitious, tape them so I can go in for the kill. We're waiting for someone else to poke the sleeping bear behind those flames before we make a move."

"My NAME is Mina!" The acidic teen retorted. "And wouldn't it be better if we just defended and waited for the game to end?"

"Yeah man, we've got this," Eijirou added, glancing up at his leader. "Why not just hold out until it's over?"

Katsuki bared his teeth aggressively. "It ain't gonna play out like that. Someone's gonna get desperate as the clock winds down and hit the beehive with a fuckin' baseball bat, then everything is gonna go to hell."


All Might was tapping his foot incessantly on the ground as he watched. Barely four minutes were left on the clock now. This was going to be where things got ugly.

Izuku had been playing defensively for most of this game and it had worked early on. He'd poked at the other teams on the other side with those little fireballs, discouraging them or irritating them to the point of giving up and looking for points elsewhere. It had worked so far. It was a good plan.

But now Shoto and his team were getting desperate and All Might knew a big move was coming from them. Izuku had effectively locked them out and the only way they were getting in was with a battering ram.

And Shoto had a battering ram on his right side.


"Shoto, are you sure about this?" Momo asked. She wanted the ten million points as badly as he did, but they were still guaranteed a spot in the top four with their current point value. Katsuki's team had pulled ahead, but the next best team was still several hundred points behind them. They still had a good margin of error in case they weren't able to get the ten million points.

Shoto was beyond frustrated by Izuku's successful defense and the way he had thwarted every attempt to break in. If he tried to freeze the ground and smother the flames, Izuku either fired more of that napalm stuff or he made the temperature rise until the fire was white hot and made his ice useless. That also tended to create a thick layer of hot steam that would further repel his advances. His own fire wouldn't do anything. Denki's electricity could do nothing. Tenya couldn't run through the flames; not only was it suicidal, but they were damn sure Izuku had something planned for them in case they did try it.

Momo had managed to temporarily stop a section of the flames by creating a fireproof tarp, but the moment the flames went down, Dark Shadow lunged through the gap and just threw the tarp away whilst throwing a sucker punch at Shoto. Fumikage's defenses, bolstered by Izuku and his temperature control to keep the flames and thus the area where Dark Shadow was dark, was a formidable tool.

It was ridiculous. Shoto had thought he'd be able to break through the wall in the first five minutes, but now there were just three minutes left and he was running out of ideas. Izuku seemed bound and determined to counter every single plan he came up with and deny all opportunities to steal his massive bounty.

Even more infuriating was that when Momo had temporarily broken through the wall, Shoto had gotten a good look at Izuku's face. He'd been smirking, as though he knew their attempt to break in was useless and wouldn't work.

The look on his face made Shoto's blood boil. Was he being taunted?

He'd thought the boy had been rattled by his challenge before the event began, but now he wasn't so sure. Izuku seemed more than happy to just figuratively throw a middle finger at him every time Shoto tried to get to the ten million points.

Every. Single. Time.

"I'm sure," he told Momo. "We're breaking in and taking those points. Tenya, are you ready?"

"I'm ready!"

"Denki?"

"Let's do this!"

Shoto hoisted the two cloaks Momo had created- one to block flame, the other to block lightning. They twisted their horse so that Shoto had a clear line of sight to use his ice.

"Now!"

Shoto unleashed a glacial assault upon the curtain of fire. It wasn't just a little this time, or enough to smother the flames. No. In an instant, he created a massive wall of ice that completely swallowed up the fires faster than they could burn, but he was careful to leave a single, small opening for them to get in. Of course, said opening was still on fire.

He threw the heat-retardant cloak over Tenya, and then used the electricity-blocking one to protect himself, Tenya, and Momo from the next stage of their plan.

Tenya blasted through the wall of flames, safe thanks to the heat-resistant properties of his cloak and getting his team to the other side before anyone could be burned. As soon as they were on the other side, Denki unloaded a huge burst of lightning, frying anything he could reach.

As soon as the shock was over- which only lasted a couple of seconds- Shoto threw the cloaks off and lunged towards Izuku's team. "Get them!"

"Shoto!" Momo shouted in alarm.

Shoto whipper his head up and froze for two reasons. One, because Izuku was floating about twenty feet in the air, surrounded by a ring of fire he'd somehow managed to save from his instantaneous freeze.

And two, because Dark Shadow was easily five times his original size now and was looming over them, having blocked Denki's electric assault with only mild difficulty.

Unbeknownst to Shoto's team, the huge wall of ice he created to smother Izuku's flames was a lot better at making shade than Izuku's dark fire. He had unwittingly empowered Dark Shadow and completely negated their attempt at a break in.

Now between Shoto and the ten million points was a much bigger and stronger Dark Shadow than he'd anticipated, Fumikage, Mei, Ochako, and a floating Izuku with plenty of fire for him to defend with.

Suddenly, they were trapped. A wall of ice and fire behind them, a huge, dark monster in front, and a floating pyromancer with an aptitude for outplaying every single move they made.

This had been a huge mistake. Izuku had completely outsmarted them. He had expected Shoto to do something big and break in and, by sheer luck, found a way to twist that to his own favor. He couldn't have known for certain that Dark Shadow would be empowered by the break-in attempt, after all.

But nobody ever said luck wasn't a part of victory.

Fumikage immediately went on the offensive. "Dark Shadow! Trap them against the wall!"

"Damn straight!" Dark Shadow shrieked in triumph, arrogant and eager now that he was really juiced from all the shade around them.

Shoto could see Izuku above them, getting his fire to spin rapidly as though he were planning something. He had no choice now; they were in such a bad spot that defense was the only option remaining.

He stabbed a spear of ice into the ground and as quickly as he could, created a shell around him and his team. It meant they were trapped in a cave of ice against the wall with no way out, but it kept them safe from losing their points.

Dark Shadow slammed his massive claws into the ice, but it was too thick to break through with his current strength, so the creature only leered at them through the glassy ice and hissed in frustration.

"Holy crap," Denki gulped. "That was almost really bad."

"Shoto…" Tenya glanced at him over his shoulder.

Shoto grit his teeth. "We were baited. He knew we would do this. Break in somehow. Damn him…"

Momo sighed. "We've got enough points on our own to get into the last round. We'll remain here until the game ends so that Dark Shadow can't reach us. If he breaks through the shell, Izuku will no doubt have a plan to steal our headband."

Shoto nodded, laying his forehead against the ice in frustration. Izuku was becoming more and more of a problem than he'd initially thought. His fists clenched and the look in his eyes darkened.

He'd have to shut him down during the fighting part of the tournament. Nothing less would satisfy him. If he defeated that flame, Endeavor would be completely shunned from his life.


Izuku let out a breath as he watched Shoto's team hide behind a shell of ice. He hadn't expected the trap to work out so well, nor for Dark Shadow to get so powerful from Shoto's own assault, but he'd take what luck he could get.

He glanced at the clock on the big screen. Less than a minute left now-

"LOOK OUT!" Ochako shrieked from below.

Izuku whipped back around in midair and blanched. Katsuki was flying down at him and nearly within striking range.

"WHOA! HEAD'S UP! KATSUKI'S GOING FOR THE TEN MILLION! THIS COULD BE IT!" Present Mic screamed. The colosseum started going wild and all eyes were on the two teenagers literally flying thirty feet in the air above the rest of the chaos.

"GIVE ME THAT!" Katsuki roared at Izuku from mere feet away.

Izuku wound his hand back, gathering his flames around his right arm, and struck at Katsuki in order to repel him. Katsuki countered by generating a huge explosion from his palms.

The blast drove them apart, but Katsuki fired off a couple of explosions to regain his aerial control before he lunged at Izuku again. Izuku, however, couldn't control his flight as well; he could push off with his flames, but he was only floating thanks to Ochako's Quirk.

Izuku shot a stream of fire towards his friend, but Katsuki only repelled himself with another blast around it and reached out. His fingers wrapped around the headband and he ripped it from Izuku's forehead.

"HE GOT IT! HE GOT IT!" Mic screeched.

Katsuki immediately began launching himself up to get back to his team, but he wasn't expecting the headband to be ripped from his grasp. He snapped his eyes towards Izuku and spotted a thin, transparent line, which had been tied around the headband itself, reeling in the stolen goods back to their original owner. That had been the backup plan in case they somehow lost the points- the retractable line was a feature of Mei's backpack and it instantly retrieved the team's lifeline to the final event.

"HE TOOK IT BACK!" Mic was losing his mind and Eraser Head was steadily losing his hearing. "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!"

Izuku snatched the headband out of the air with his hand and propelled himself with his fire back towards his team, never once taking his eyes off of Katsuki.

Katsuki wanted to lunge at Izuku again, but he got a brief glance at the clock. Thirteen seconds left.

It wasn't worth the risk, he decided. Izuku was almost back to his team and Dark Shadow was now aware of his presence.

"Fuck," he snarled, blasting himself back over the wall of ice before Izuku and Fumikage could take advantage of his vulnerability in the air, alone and without his team to back him up.

There was no point in getting frustrated over it, he knew, even if it still pissed him off a lot. In the first place, this had been only an optional assault in Katsuki's eyes. An opportunity he could take, but he'd still win regardless. He'd already secured a spot in the final round with the amount of points he'd hijacked from other teams. Icy-hot was trapped under Dark Shadow's threat and, as far as Katsuki was concerned, he'd won the game. With any luck, icy-hot wouldn't have enough points to make it through to the last round.

Wouldn't that just be the cherry on top?

Katsuki made it back to his team just as the siren sounded the end, sneering confidently. This had been HIS game. He had stomped on these noobs with his own strategic thinking and dammit, first place was his. Izuku didn't count right now- Katsuki had shown the crowd that he was the real monster in this tournament. The one to look out for.

Because he would obliterate anyone in his way, dammit.

"Times up!" Mic announced as the siren rang. "What a wild game! The anticipation! The action! The plays! The bar couldn't be higher for the final round of this tournament! Now, let's announce the four teams continuing into the finals!

"First place goes to Team Izuku! By some miracle and with some of the best defensive strategies we've seen here, they held onto the ten million points with ease!

"Second place to Team Katsuki! Their aggression and teamwork were all on-point! They were definitely the warlords of this game! The lead they have on the other teams is nuts!

"Third place goes to Team Tetsu- wait, what?! Third place is Team Hitoshi?! Where the heck did they come from?! For real, what?!

"And in fourth place is Team Shoto! They had some great firepower, but they lost their gamble to go after the ten million points while everyone else was duking it out! Luckily, their base point value is still enough to get them into the finals!

"We're gonna take an hour long break for lunch! Everyone give your hearts a chance to settle down! You're gonna need it! Hey, Eraser, let's go get food!"

Eraser only grumbled over the mic. "I'm taking a nap."


"YES!" Mitsuki jumped up and yelled at the top of her lungs. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Get wrecked, all of you! My boys RUN this joint! Git good or get out! Ahahahahaha!"

"IZZZUUUUKUUUUU!" Inko wailed joyfully, tears flying from her eyes at an accelerated rate.

Masaru took a few steps away from the shrieking women and sipped his coffee, smiling into the drink. Partly because of Katsuki and Izuku winning, partly because of Mitsuki and Inko losing their minds, but also for one other reason.

Eri was jumping up and down on the couch whilst uncontrollably squealing and it was the most adorably funny thing he'd seen in a long time.


"WE WON!" Ochako screamed and threw her arms around Izuku to spin him around. "WE WONT! DEKU, WE WON!"

"Uhhhuuhh?!" Izuku's brain was currently short-circuiting because a girl was hugging him and laughing and spinning him around and what in the actual seven levels of hell was going on right now wait what blue error screen-

Fumikage watched Ochako celebrate while Izuku's face went bright red and he basically fainted from their proximity with some amusement. Dark Shadow was growing more timid as Shoto melted the icy wall with his flame half, but he was quite proud of himself, as well. Mei was already busy working on the backpack she'd loaned to Izuku, tweaking the parts single-mindedly.

Shoto's team were released from their icy cavern after a few moments and, while relieved that they'd won a spot in the finals, were also somewhat disappointed by the result. Shoto especially was looking forlorn.

Shoto clenched his fist and stalked towards the lockers. That's the last time I play into your hands like this, Izuku. You won't be leaving this place in victory, I assure you.

Ochako placed Izuku down and starting waving at his face when he failed to respond; after all, his face was still bright red, steam was coming from his eyes, and he felt like his brain was telling him a million different things in multiple languages that he didn't understand.

"What the hell, did you break him?"

Katsuki and his team came over, all of them looking rather satisfied with themselves. Their leader, as cocky and arrogant as ever, slapped Izuku on the shoulder and caused him to yelp back into reality. The teen spun towards Katsuki, who smirked at him. "I see you survived."

"You made that kinda iffy at the end, y'know," Izuku muttered.

"I ain't your buddy in this tournament, I told you that," Katsuki retorted. "But whatever. Good job making icy-hot curl into a ball. That was really, really satisfying to see."

Izuku frowned. "I still think you're being too hard on him."

"Well, I don't," Katsuki waved him off, slung an arm around his shoulder, and led their teams back to the lockers. "C'mon, let's get some food. I'm starving, dammit."

They were making their way to the lunchroom, chatting with the rest of their class and some members of Class B about the final round. Most of the conversation was directed towards Izuku and Katsuki, the apparent strategic masterminds of the last game. A lot of the students were wondering just how in the hell they'd come up with such insane plays. Katsuki was soaking up the attention and answering with all the arrogance one would expect from him, while Izuku was, as usual, more humble and a lot more nervous about being the center of attention. He couldn't say he totally disliked it, though.

Unfortunately, the pleasantries had to take a backseat when the group of students turned the corner to the lunchroom and found a tall, intimidating figure blocking their path.

Endeavor.

Izuku's face went white, but Katsuki's eyes narrowed. "The hell do you want?"

The fiery hero locked onto Izuku and Katsuki like a wolf locked onto sheep and grunted at them. "Come with me for a moment, the both of you. I've got some things to say."


A/N: This is going to be quick because I just don't feel like writing a long author's note, so here's the deal. I had this huge chapter gift planned out for you guys before christmas. There were going to be like 6 or 7 chapters coming out for several of my stories. But two days before my birthday came around, my grandmother was taken to the hospital. While she is now okay, it's expected that she won't remain so for very long. It's really messed with me and frankly the huge chapter gift I had planned out isn't going to happen. I have half of Challenger's next chapter planned out, most of Serpentine's, some of Brothers by Dragons, and I really wanted to get another Dragonearth chapter out, but it's just not happening right now. I have to be with my family and well...my writing is probably going to suffer because of it. I mean, this chapter sucks. I left out so much that I had planned originally just because I couldn't find the will to write it. So please just...be patient with me. I'll get back into writing more often again, just not right now. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.