Chapter 9
Let the Games Begin

Nishikawi Residence, Living Room, Morning.

"Today is the day." Darby told himself in the mirror. He was already dressed in his PE uniform, due to Aizawa-sensei recommending them to come already dressed for the occasion. He felt nervous. And how couldn't he? So much was at stake, at least for him. He felt the strong need to prove himself and his class to class 1-B and poured his soul into every obstacle he will face.

"We want you to know, we're so proud of you, Darby." His mother and father stood behind him."A moment that makes a mother proud. Now all I'm missing is seeing you in your hero costume, ready to take on the villains once you're older."

"Your mother is right." His dad put a supporting hand on his shoulder."Today is a very important day. Your first Sports Festival. Give it your all, son. Show them the results of your training and bring that girl home for dinner!"

"Dad!" Darby's cheeks turned pink. He quickly grabbed his backpack and headed for the door."I don't know if I'll make it far, but I'll do my best!"

"Please be careful!" Rachel waved at her son."We'll be watching you from here! We love you!"

"I love you guys too!" Darby said as he closed the door, leaving his parents in silence.

"Do you think...this is a good idea? It's just..." Rachel trailed off, grabbing a picture of Darby when he was younger.

"He'll be fine. Besides, security is stronger than ever now." Ren went over to his wife and engulfed her in a hug.

"Gosh, I hope you're right...this is my baby's day..." She felt a small tear run down her cheek."And as his parents, we must be by his side. Even if we can't make it to the stadium. I know my baby boy will win."


Sports Festival Stadium, Class 1-A Waiting Room, Morning

"Man, I'm nervous as hell!" Darby heard Mineta whined before he grasped his hands maliciously."But there will be tons of really hot girls from all over the school! This is what I call a fishing day!"

"At least someone has their priorities straight." Darby rolled his eyes He was sitting with Mineta, for reasons unknown. Originally, Darby was going to take a seat with Midoriya, Uraraka and the others, but he was pulled in by the small pervert from their class. As always, he tried convincing Darby to hook him up with someone from class 1-B, in which again, he told him that his participation was so he could prove himself to them.

"What about you?" He pointed accusingly."You don't have anything to worry about because you have a fine babe waiting for you after this! Well, make no mistake! My balls are better than yours!" He said, pulling a ball from his head.

"Hell no!" Darby said, manifesting a Black Sphere in his hand."My balls are better than bigger than yours!"

"Yeah? Well my balls are sticky! They can stick to whatever I want!" He countered with a proud grin on his face.

"Yeah? Well, I can control my balls without having to touch them! I can hit whatever I want!" Darby shot back. By now, most of their classmates were giving them glares, especially the girls.

"What's this about their balls?" Jiro deadpanned, tempted to going up to them and smack them.

"I think they're talking about their Quirks." Momo pointed out, much to the punk girl's relief.

"At least I can make as many balls as I want!" Mineta shouted at the top of his lungs, silencing the whole crowd. Darby stood there, mouth agape.

"Ouch. Even I felt that." Kachidoki mocked a cry in pain, earning a chop on the head by Ashido.

Without a warning, Darby's face began to quiver, and tears began streaming down his face like waterfalls. Midoriya looked in awe, surprised to see someone that could rival him in tears. Darby hid his face with his arms and remained quiet.

"Jeez, Mineta, we're trying to hype each other up, not shut each other down like this." Kaminari shook his head.

"That's not manly at all." Kirishima looked at him in disapproval."You know how insecure he is about how many of his spheres he can make."

"H-hey! He started it!" Mineta cried out, his words left ignored by his classmates.

"Honestly, I don't know why he even cares about how many he can make." Kachidoki went over and sat on their table."No offense to you, Mineta, but compared to him, his Quirk is more combat-friendly. I'd rather have his ass on my team than yours."

"Speaking of that...Kachidoki, sorry if I ask you this but...have you gained a little weight?" Uraraka asked carefully.

Kachidoki simply shrugged."Maybe?"

"Dude, we've been training for like two weeks. Aren't you supposed to be losing weight instead of gaining?' Asked Sero, addressing a question that seemed to tick off Kachidoki."Besides, you didn't look that chunky back when we had our paintball training.

"Actually, you can gain weight by muscle mass." He answered, putting a foot on top of the table."Regardless, you guys shouldn't be so concerned about me putting a few pounds. I am here to win, and that's all there is to it."

"Oh yeah?!" Bakugo seemed annoyed."And what the hell makes you think you'll be victorious?!"

"You'll find out soon enough. After all, I've got a lot to prove in this thing. So I might as well put a little effort."

"It sounds like you're quite confident, Kachidoki." Momo said with an amused expression. Out of all the students in their class, she was the closest to him next to Nishikawi. She assumed he had something under his sleeve. After all, he was a prodigy known to everyone around the school. If anyone has a high chance of winning it's him.

"I am. Nevertheless..." He stopped midsentence as someone opened the door.

"Is everyone ready?! We will be entering very soon!" Iida announced, a cue for the rest of the students to finish preparing. Darby dried his tears and stood up, walking over to Tsuyu and Uraraka who welcomed him with a friendly pat on the back.

"Midoriya." Kachidoki immediately turned to the familiar voice. Todoroki was face to face with Midoriya. Something quite peculiar, due to them not having a conversation prior to today.

"Todoroki, what is it?" Midoriya asked, not surprisingly taken back by this interaction.

"Looking at things objectively, I am clearly stronger than you are. For some reason that I won't pry about, All Might has his eyes on you. But I will beat you." Ouch. Darby winced at those words. Being told down by someone like Todoroki must be tough. Sure, Bakugo and Kachidoki would talk down on others as well, but it was different. Bakugo did it based on actions and threats. Kachidoki based on humiliation and sarcasm. But there was something different about Todoroki. This didn't seem like a threat. More like a warning.

"A declaration of war from the best in the class? Man, these declarations of war just keep on coming, don't they?" Kaminari joked, trying to lighten up the mood.

"Like hell he's the best!" Both Kachidoki and Bakugo yelled in unison, nearly deafening the electric boy.

"Hey, dude, why pick a fight now? This really isn't the best time." Kirishima walked up to the pair of students, hoping to defuse the situation, however, his hand was swatted away by Todoroki.

"I am not here to pretend to be anyone's friend. So what does it matter?" He turned on his heel and began walking away."And Nishikawi. I have no intention of involving myself in whatever affairs you might have with class 1-B. So count me out of it."

"I think you picked the wrong enemy here, Todoroki." Kachidoki stood up from his chair, nearly knocking it down."I think you know what's truly at stake here, don't you? You and I are the main events of this game. And I don't plan to lose to you."

"We'll see about that." Todorodoki didn't even bother to glare at him and continued his way. Just before he disappeared through the door, Midoriya spoke up.

"Todoroki, I don't know what you're thinking when you say you'll beat me, but of course you're better than me." Those words seemed to get interest out of the icy boy, who was now looking over his shoulder."I think you're more capable than most people. Looking at it objectively, as you said. But everyone from the other classes are aiming at the top too! I can't...afford to fall behind. I'll be going with everything I have too."

"Amen to that." Darby rose up to the challenge as well."Truth is, we all have our reasons to being here. Just know that it's not going to be as easy as you think. Got that?! Same goes for you, Kachidoki."

"Oh?" Kachidoki rose a brow, not exactly expecting Darby out of all people to say something like that."Then we'll have to see this whole thing through the end, won't we?"


Sports Festival Stadium, Morning

"Well, this doesn't suck at all," Darby muttered to himself as he glanced around his surroundings. There were so many people as far as the eye could see."This whole place is crowded!"

"Obviously." Jiro rolled her eyes at her friend's remark."What were you expecting?" Class 1-A walked in the middle of the stadium, receiving cheers from the countless people that had come to see them.

"Exactly." Ojiro chimed into the conversation."It's not so bad. Right Midoriya?" He asked the nearby dark green haired student.

"W-w-w-w-whaaa?" Midoriya was a stuttering mess as well. Darby noticed this and made a mental note to talk to Jiro and Ojiro and tell them that cheering people up wasn't their forte later. Present Mic announced the arrival of the other classes. Darby's nervousness left his body and turned to see class 1-B coming in.

"This is it," Darby said solemnly. He spotted Yui, who noticed him staring at them and simply looked away. Monoma got in front of her with a smug smile on his face.

"Nice of you to join us, Nishikawi." Monoma called out to him."I was thinking that maybe you wouldn't show up, but here you are. Unfortunately for you, Kodai, as well as the rest of us, are out for the kill. We are taking you big shots down."

"Monoma...I'm going to change your opinions of me and show you my feelings. Let's both do our best."

"If you say so." Monoma gave him his back, focusing on Kodai."I am sure you have our class's best intentions in your mind, right? Then you know that you must show him no mercy."

"I understand." She said quietly, fidgeting in place."But this is wrong...he is my friend, Monoma."

"And our rival as well." Monoma placed his hands on his hips."If you hesitate even for a second, it might cost us our victory. I am counting on you to give it your all in this."

"Hey, leave her alone already, Monoma." Kendo got in between them."You can't be manipulating her feelings like that. Neither can you choose who she's friends with or not."

"I thought we had discussed this, prez. Feeling affection towards the other class will hindrance our performance in this. We had all agreed."

"Yes, but I didn't." She reminded him, poking his chest with her finger.

"Actually, you did. You said you wouldn't talk to Kachidoki as much. But have you kept that promise?" His eyes opened up slightly, ready to dodge any incoming attack she might do.

"I...I li-sheez! What does it matter to you?!" She grabbed Yui's hand and dragged her away."Don't worry, Yui. You don't have to listen to what Monoma tells you to do. After this is over, you can talk to him if you want."

"Okay." She nodded, feeling a bit relieved that Itsuka was supporting her.

"Monoma is up to his shenanigans again," Hoshi observed carefully. Him, Yasukage, Yosetsu Awase, and Hiryu Rin had gathered up as soon as they were out on the field.

"He is...very crafty...to say the least..." Yasukage shrugged. Unlike some others, he did not really care whether Monoma had taken the reigns of their class or not.

"Whatever, he does have a point." Rin said, stretching."We must focus on performing better than them so we don't keep getting outshined by them."

"By the way...can I ask you guys something?" Hoshi inquired in a rather suspicious tone."Would you guys hit that?"

"Huh?" Awase cocked his head to the side, not understanding what he meant.

"What...do you mean...?" Yasukage lazily walked up to his friend and shook him a bit.

"I mean...would you hit THAT." He said again, not daring to take his eyes off whatever he was looking at. The three followed his gaze carefully until they finally found out that he was looking at the vine-hair girl of their class. However, she was facing the other way, and after taking that fact into consideration, they shot him disgusted glares at him.

"Dude, that's messed up." Awase stared at him in repugnance.

"She's totally going to murder you, I hope you know." Rin nodded.

"You are...disgusting..." Now it was Yasukage's turn.

"It's not like that!" He exploded in embarrassment."I mean, would you date her? Jeez, what did you guys think I meant? But seriously, would you guys go out with her?"

"I mean, she is cute." Awase agreed, shivering slightly."But she is very scary when you get in a conversation with her. She's very religious too, so I doubt you'll have a chance."

"Yeah, considering you were looking at her butt just now." Rin said nonchalantly."If she finds out, you'll be crucified and be left for dead."

"Why do you...need our opinion...if you really like her...just go talk...to her."

"I have. But I just need an opinion to feel safe, you know? I go based on statistics and stuff like that."

Rin shook his head disapprovingly."Dude, you need to stop having to rely on other people's opinions. Be your own man and-"

"Oh, it's starting!" Awase cut them off.

"Time for the player pledge!" Midnight, the R-Rated hero announced as she waved a whip around. Immediately, all of the male students looked wide-eyed at the mature hero in front of them. Even if they saw her during classes, seeing her was always a welcome opportunity.

"Quiet down!" She commanded, prompting everyone to obediently shut their mouths."The student representative from class 1-A, Bakugo Katsuki, please come on down!"

"Aw, shit." Darby tensed up."This is bad."

"Hell yeah, it is." Kachidoki voiced his opinion."I know he scored first in the entrance exam, but why can't they recognize real talent?"

"I thought you didn't care about things like that." Darby rose a brow in confusion."You are acting out of character today."

"The pressure, Nishikawi, the pressure." He replied without thinking. They watched in silence as Bakugo got on stage and got close to the microphone.

"I pledge..." He began slowly. The tension was clearly in the air now of all times."..that I'll be number 1."

Not even a second later, everyone was boing and showing how offended they were by Bakugo's remark. However, Darby sighed in relief, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

"To be honest, it could have been a lot worse." He muttered to himself.'I had expected Bakugo to do some crazy stunt or insult the whole crowd, but he only said he'll be number one. All things considered, it could have gone a lot worse. But still...' He coughed awkwardly once he felt the many stares his group were getting when Bakugo went back to his spot.'...we're still kind of fucked.'

"Now, let's get this started right away!" Midnight resumed the event, despite what had just happened. After a few words, a screen appeared behind her and began spinning through the various possible games the students would participate in."The first encounter of this year...is this!" She stated once the screen stopped flashing."The Obstacle Race Course! All 11 classes will participate in this race! The course will be the outer circumference of the stadium...about 4 kilometers!"

"Our school's selling point is freedom! As long as you stay on the course, it doesn't matter what you do. Now, get going!" With those words, the crowd erupted in cheers as the students took their positions in front of a gate.

"It's in your best interest not to get last, Nishikawi." Monoma mocked the Black Spheres user."It'd be a real shame if you can't back up your own words and all that bravado."

"I won't give up. You can rest assured!" Darby proclaimed, more to himself than to his new enemy.

"Start!" Midnight announced once the lights were all green. It was a bit crowded, but Darby found the right amount of speed he needed to neither be crushed to death by the people behind him, or make the person in front of him trip over. But that only lasted for short while, because now no one could get through the narrow passage. Darby received elbows and kicks from everywhere around.

"Damn it...!" He said once he got his head out of the way."Even if I use my Quirk, it won't help me any!"

"Giving up so soon, Nishikawi?" Kachidoki said as he activated his neon mantle and ran up the walls, safely getting out of the way of the ice that Todoroki had left behind. Soon enough, Yaoyorozu, Kirishima, Bakugo and even Aoyama had managed to get out of the crowd.

"I'm not!" Darby manifested his Black Spheres and grabbed one, then another, and another. Now he was above the other students, handing from his sphere."I'm sorry, everyone! Darby let himself fall, landing on top of the head of a student. Before he could lose his balance, he stepped on another head and began running. He kept apologizing as he used the heads, shoulders and whatever he could find to make footing. Once he made it through the tunnel, he jumped down and nearly tripped over with the ice."Sorry! Shit, now what the hell do I do?" He pondered, watching the other students struggle to walk on the ice."Maybe..." He manifested his Black SPheres once more and lowered them up to his kneecaps."I must time my steps perfectly, otherwise, I'll fall on my ass!"

He sent a black sphere a few steps away and jumped on top of it. He sent the other three lined up at a considerable distance so he could jump on top of them but at the same time giving him enough time to move the first ones over to the front so he wouldn't run out of room."It works!" He exclaimed, nearly losing focus and tripping down. He had to time his steps carefully. If he stepped on a Black Sphere the wrong way, his foot would twist and cause him to fall and possibly twist his ankle in the process.

"OBSTACLES HAVE SHOWN UP SUDDENLY!" Present Mic narrated away."Starting with Robo Inferno!"

These words caused Darby to stop in place, calling his Black Spheres to float behind his back again."Those are the same robots from the entrance exam I took in America!" And they were big as he remembered. Even Todoroki had stopped at the sight of them.

"Shit!" Darby cursed aloud."But this time is different. I have gotten stronger than I was back then! I'll take them on! Bring them all to me!" With a battle cry, Darby charged forward the zero-point villains.

"Tch! This is a waste of time!" Kachidoki clicked his tongue in annoyance. Much to his surprise, Torodoki took the initiative and froze the robot up ahead with a huge wave of ice. After his deed, he continued running up ahead without looking back.

"Don't bother going between their legs as I did." He called out to the rest of his peers."I froze them when they were unbalanced."

"As expected of the great, Todoroki!" Kachidoki praised from above. He was running up the head of the robots as they were falling down and jumped once they were getting too low to the ground. He was now a few feet behind Todoroki, who created a wall of ice behind him as a countermeasure.

"Like that would work on me!" Kachidoki began spamming his neon attacks to destroy the ice that was forming around him as they ran.

"OH?! KACHIDOKI IS FACING OFF AGAINST TODOROKI! THAT NEON KID IS SURE EAGER TO FIGHT THE COLD-LEVEL-HEADED TODOROKI! WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR STUDENTS ALREADY GOING AT EACH OTHER'S THROATS, MUMMY MAN?"

"Kachidoki has been eager to fight head-on against the likes of Todoroki." Aizawa narrowed his eyes."But he's overconfident. If he doesn't watch it, he will end up regretting his decisions."

Meanwhile, back in the course, Kachidoki was about to catch up to Todoroki until he looked over his shoulder."Are you sure it's wise for you to be using so much of your neon? I know that you tend to run out if you exceed your usage. You'll end up running out of energy soon enough at this rate."

"Before that happens, I'll make sure you die from hypothermia." He responded with a grin."I see your damn breathing!" He bit his lower lip. He hated that Todoroki was right. And without his special belt, he didn't know how much Neon he had at the moment. He recounted the times he had used his Quirk and sighed in relief after noting that he had only used small blasts that took low energy levels. However, he knew that he had no chance of running the entire course with his Neon mantle, so he turned it off. However, this caused the gap between him and Todoroki to get wider slowly but steady.

"No way...! He can't be faster than me!" Kachidoki tried his hardest but was running low on steam. It seemed that Todoroki had a considerable amount of stamina and endurance, at least higher than him. Just then, a cloud of dust engulfed both students momentarily."So they did fall over! Sheez, and here I thought I was flashy."

In the back of the line, the students were just figuring out their ways to bypass the Inferno Robots. With Tetsutetsu, Bakugo, and Kirishima taking the initiative, Rin suggested to temporarily team up to at least have a chance. Darby used his Black Spheres to try and punch the smaller robots, but his regular attacks weren't very effective.

"Dude, are they harder than the ones back at home? Alright, how about this!" He ran up to one, placing his hand against its body and made a Black Sphere passed through his palm and shaping into an umbrella-like object, completely destroying a considerable part of the robot."At least that trick still works." His victory was short-lived after an even bigger robot arrived.

"Nishikawi-san! Raise your hand!" A voice called out to him. Darby posed no questions and did as he was told. In mere moments, he was now flying up in the air, passing above the remaining robots.

"What the hell is going on?!" He glanced up to meet his savior."Iwari?!"

"Sup!" Said the pinkette with a toothy grin."I finished my most recent project! The Steel Man!" He had an iron chest plate with what it looked like to be an energy reactor in the middle. On his back was a turbine and he was also wearing metallic gloves."Well, not really finish, but you get the point!"

"But why are you helping me?"

"You are in the hero course, I am not! The point is that I am here just to show off my equipment and advertise myself to the sponsors! So this little stunt we're pulling is attracting a lot of eyes, considering how high we are!"

"HEY! Iwari, what do you think you're doing, showing off more than me?! A loud thud was heard and they began struggling to keep up in the air.

"We're hit! We're hit!" Iwari said as he glanced over to his jetpack."Hatsume! Why did you have to hit it right in the middle! Now I have to fix it!"

"Hatsume?" Darby wondered but his questions were soon answered. A girl with pink hair wearing goggles was using the cable she had connected to pull herself over to them along with her shoes propelling her in the air. On her hack though, was someone Darby hadn't expected."Monoma?!"

"You honestly didn't think you had a chance of winning this that easily, did you?" They reached the pair, Monoma making contact with Iwari and Hatsume using her boots to put them face to face.

"W-WHAT THE HELL?! USING THE SUPPORT STUDENTS, MONOMA AND NISHIKAWI ARE NOW FACE TO FACE!"

"So, it's starting." Kendo grimaced as she saw the two students up in the air.

"Let's get this over with!" Darby swung over to Monoma in the air and held bakc a fist. Once he aimed for Monoma's face, he easily evaded it and the momentum caused Darby to miss them completely and was now falling.

"What was that?!" Darby was trying to register what just happened.

"That's my Quirk!" Iwari cried out.

Name: Goro Iwari

Birthday: December 22

Age: 15

Height: 5'7 ft

Blood Type: AB+

Quirk Type: Transformation

Quirk Name: Origami Art

"I noticed you using your Quirk on the ground earlier." Monoma began explaining as Hatsume began descending back to the ground using the cable."So, you can turn any part of your body into literal paper. Pretty useful to dodge hits like the one Nishikawi tried to land on me. But overall, an alright Quirk."

"Nishikawi-san! Grab onto me! We're having to collide!" Darby did as he was told, and both of them yelled in desperation as they got closer and closer to the ground. Darby passed all his Black Spheres through his hand, combining them and shifting them into a kind of slope that helped them avoid major damage. Both of them landed on the floor, rolling around until they crashed against each other.

"AN IMPRESSIVE FEAT SHOWN TO US BY NISHIKAWI! THIS DAMN KID IS INSANE BUT WITH LACK OF FEAR! IF ONLY HE WERE LIKE THIS DURING MY CLASS!"

"Oh, shut up." Darby groaned as he sat up, retrieving his black spheres back."Iwari-san...you alive?"

"Barely..." Iwari grumbled before gasping. He took out some tools from his utility belt and began working on his damaged jetpack."Aw, man! It's busted!"

"Can't you fix it?"

"I can, but it'll take some time. Not to mention I don't really have the equipment on me to make it functional 100 % again." He said as his shoulders slumped."Don't wait around for me, though. You have a race to win, yeah?"

"But what about you?" Darby asked, refusing to leave him behind."Forget about the jetpack. Let's go!"

"The jetpack is the only thing I was planning on showcasing. That and my laser gloves." He said as he fired a laser up in the sky from his palms."But now that I did it, I'm satisfied. I'm sure some sponsors saw my performance and will consider going on my favor. You, on the other hand, have to make it to the end to get scouted by Pro Heroes. Now go, you're wasting time! And good luck!"

"Shit!" He clenched his fists tightly, running without looking back."Thank you for your help, Iwari-san! I'll win in your honor!"

"Sheez, I'm not dead, you know?" The emerald eye pinkette mutter to himself."Damn it, Hatsume. Did you really have to team up with that boy and destroy my precious project?"

Further ahead, The majority of the students had reached a new obstacle and a new challenge to take on.

"If you thought that the first obstacle was a walk in the park, you're in for a rude awakening! If you fall, you're out! Literally! The Fall!"

And a fall it was. Some platforms here and there but well spaced out. Where there were no platforms, were ropes, and were there no ropes, was nothing but the void.

"Now this is a problem." Darby bit his lower lip."It's going to take me a literal while to use the rope to get to the other side. And even if I use my Black Spheres to simply rude on them like in the last obstacle, I'll be risking myself in loosing balance and falling to the void."

"Damn it, that half-and-half bastard is taking the lead again!" Bakugo screamed as he watched Todoroki slid on the now frozen rope he was on.

"Hey, Bakugo!" Darby called out to his loud-mouth peer.

"What the hell do you want?!" Bakugo asked impatiently.

Darby swallowed the lump in his throat and prepared to risk it all."You sure are slow as hell!" He carefully walked forward, putting himself in front of Bakugo and activated his Black Spheres."I mean, really. You're trying so hard to beat Torodoki and Kachidoki but we all know how lame you are! I think even Modirya is doing a better job!"

"YOU...BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU!" Bakugo prepared his palm and with rage dashed forward Darby

"Got you!" Darby stepped forward, leaving a Black Sphere to receive the attack instead of himself, sending it flying high in the sky."Bye-bye!" Darby was pulled by the force of the Black Sphere and was now flying in the air.

"That asshole used me!" Bakugo was now fuming in anger."I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU, YOU HEAR ME?!"

Up ahead, Kachidoki was running on the rope with the neon mantle. Darby was now beginning to doubt Kachidoki's Quirk and thought it was gravity-related."What?! Nishikawi is flying?!"

"Now, how do I land?!" Darby tried to think of a plan but was growing anxious. Just then, a wall of ice was created and used to stop him from hitting the ground. Darby slid on his stomach on the ice, crashing against the stairs."Thanks..."

"No problem," Todoroki said quickly as he ran by. Bakugo yelled some profanity as he followed along and Kachidoki simply hissed.

"I can't relax now..." Darby forced his now batter body to stand up and began running."Falling twice from high altitude consecutively can't be good for me." Even though he could still run, his body was hurting him, especially his chest. He was about to pass out but he couldn't. He wouldn't let himself lose this opportunity. He didn't dare look to see if Monoma was right behind him. He also didn't look back to see if Yui was keeping up. So many thoughts were going on in his head, that he didn't notice the moment he tripped down and fell face-first on the floor.

"And now, we've quickly arrived at the final barrier! Welcome to the minefield!" Present Mic Announced."But don't worry, it's set up so you can tell where the mines are if you look carefully! So you must exploit your eyes and legs! By the way, these land mines don't have much power in them but they're loud enough to make anyone wet their pants!"

"We'll see about that" Kachidoki spat on the floor once he arrived at the new barrier. He smirked once he saw Bakugo and Todoroki up ahead, duking it out."You guys keep distracting each other while I take the easy way." He began running, firing multiple neon blasts in front of him, triggering the mines well before he even got close to them. He kept blasting and blasting, but there were times where he would miss a mine and break his concentration.

Izuku Midoriya was going at a decent pace. Even though he was carrying a chunk of metal, he had managed to keep up most of the time. However, now he was almost at last and was running out of choices. He noticed Darby laying on the floor and quickly rush to his aid.

"Nishikawi-san! Are you okay?!" Asked the new One-for-All user, helping his classmate up.

"Yeah..." He grumbled, coughing a bit."I just fell a bit too much constantly. Anyways, what's up with you? Why are you carrying that?"

"I have an idea to get across the minefield! I'm going to gather as many mines as I can and use them all to cause an explosion big enough to send me flying over!"

Darby's eyes widened at his idea. It seemed risky, but it gave him an idea of his own."I'll help you out! I have something in mind!" Both of them shared a quick nod a got to work. Darby carefully manipulated his Black Spheres so they could dig up the mines and pile them up where Izuku had requested

"You crazy son of a bitch." Darby shook his head."Only you would come up with something like this and make it actually believable. See you on the other side."

"Yeah! Thank you, Nishikawi-san!" Midoriya said, tightening the cable on his arm.

"Here goes nothing." Darby went jogged far from Izuku and passed two spheres in each arm, creating a bigger black sphere umbrella than he usually did in each hand. He jumped as high as he could and turned his body so his umbrella could be facing the floor. Once he made contact with it, the explosion sent him spinning up in the air."It worked! My Black Spheres can withstand the explosion!" He felt to the floor again, creating another explosion and sending him up in the sky once more. Just then a humungous explosion went off behind him. Midoriya passed him like a missile, just as planned.

Kachidoki was again in another cloud of dust, coughing loudly."Nishikawi! And Midoriya?! They're getting ahead! I've had enough of this!" Kachidoki stepped back, only to be engulfed in another explosion. However, a loud crashing noise echoed as he propelled himself in the air by firing neon from his hands like a rocket.'I didn't want to use this and copy my dad, but...!' Now that he was in the air, he turned around and gave his back to the finishing line, positioning his hands in front of him."FULL POWER: X CANON!" His hands created two dark purple balls of neon that began forming electricity. With a battle cry, he fired his attack that combined to form a giant stream of neon that sent him flying backward.

"CLASS A'S MIDORIYA IS NOW IN FIRST PLACE! FOLLOWED BY BAKUGO AND TODOROKI! BUT WHAT IS THIS?! WE HAVE TWO MORE COMPETITORS COMING IN! AND THEY'RE COMING COMPLETELY BLIND WITHOUT LOOKING WHAT'S IN FRONT OF THEM! KIDS, YOU'RE GOING TO CRASH!"

In effect, Kachidoki crashed against Darby in the air, causing the latter to cry out in pain."Fire that thing! Keep going!" He hissed out as he held back the need to scream in agony as Kachidoki's head dug deeper into his back.

Kachidoki wasted no time and fired his attack once more, sending both students flying in the air towards the finish line.

"Midoriya swiftly cleared the minefield in an instant and blocked those two behind! And behind them are Kachidoki and Nishikawi flying in the air! These kids are insane?! What the hell are you teaching your class, Eraser Head?!"

"I didn't do anything. These kids fired each other on their own."

Kachidoki began changing the trajectory of his technique slightly higher, changing their destination underneath the tunnel that leads back to the stadium. However, due to his inability to see ahead, they ended up crashing to the ground instead of flying in the middle. As they rolled around, they began losing speed and Bakugo and Todoroki passed them.

"Can you get up and around after we're done biting the dust?!" Kachidoki asked his friend, receiving a pained noise, indicating that he couldn't. He clicked his tongue and kicked the floor to get himself up in the air, bending his body and managing to stand up. He fired a potent neon ball that connected against Nishikawi, sending him flying towards the finishing line. Bitting his lower lip after he heard footsteps rapidly approaching, he engulfed himself in the neon mantle and rushed over to the finishing line, not caring how much neon he was wasting. Both of them reached the finished line and rolled around some more before finally stopping.

"You...alive over there?" Kachidoki groaned loudly, doing his best to sit up.

Darby muffled something and simply rose a thumb up. He flipped his body, now laying on his back."Fuck...too many falls for one day...and the day isn't even over yet. Nice...team...work...we can do anything by working with each other-"

"Just shut the fuck up, Nishikawi." Kachidoki grimaced, looking at the three students ahead of him."But still...not the result I was looking for."

"That was a very impressive strategy you two pulled off." Ibara Shiozaki had just arrived at the finish line, panting."But you nearly hit me on your way to the ground."

"Sorry for that, miss." Kachidoki apologized, offering a small bow."You see, my friend here was having a hard time so I offered some help. Though it didn't end up that well, as you can see."

"Nonsense. You two landed in fourth and fifth respectively." She walked up to Nishikawi and helped him sit up gently."How are you doing, Nishikawi-san?"

"Shiozaki-san...thanks...How is Yui? Did she make it?"

Shiozaki nodded with a small smile."Indeed. Last time I saw her was just a bit ago. If she hurries up, she'll make it in either the top 20 or top 30. I am surprised you are so concerned of her, however, due to the recent events."

"I know...but I can't let things end that way-graagh! Fuck, Kachidoki! Don't grab me." He screamed once he felt Kachidoki grab him to help him up."But I did promise to do my best...because I want to prove to you guys there's more to our class than simply us surviving a villain attack."

"I know. You see, I'm one of the few people who have not succumbed to Monoma's words of war." She began greeting a few classmates that were arriving. Some of them gave her an odd stare for being next to their enemies, while others looked impassive."Class 1-B, or at least some of us, have become afraid of being forgotten and tossed aside for being inferior to your class. That's when Monoma took the reigns. Even though Kendo is our class president, her words were ignored because, and I quote, "she lacked the right attitude for the job"."

"Sounds like this Monoma is a real piece of work." Kachidoko trailed off, watching the final batch of students arriving."Guess is that blonde giving Nishikawi a death stare."

"Yui..." Nishikawi made a move to go to her but was held back by Kachidoki.

"Not now." He looked over to where Yui was and noticed Itsuka was with her. Both of them shared a quick nod. Itsuka took Yui away before she could glance over to Nishikawi's direction."It's too early for you to make a move. Let's go, the next round is about to start."

"It is just as he says." Monoma passed by them, not even bothering looking at them."You might have been impressive in the past event, but trust me when I say that you won't make it past this one."

"Yeah, what makes you say that?" Kachidoki taunted, adopting a smirk of his own.

Before he could answer, Midnight began congratulating the remaining students as they gathered around her direction.

"Now! Let's go on to the second event! I already know what's coming ahead, but you must be anxious to know what grueling task awaits for you now!" Once more, the screen began flashing the numerous other events they had to offer. Darby found this a bit unnecessary since Midnight already knew what was on the menu, why bother doing this?

"Calvary Battle! Participants can form teams of two to four people as they wish! Basically, the same as regular cavalry battle, but there's one thing that makes it all the more exciting. Based on the results of the last game, each person has been assigned a point value. Starting from the last place, the amount goes up to by 5 points!"

'So I'll have 195 points?' Darby noted this information.

"The first place has a little bit more value than the others...let's say, ten million points."

Everyone lost their shit after that statement. Midoriya seemed like he was ready to vanish from existence after all eyes were beginning to set on him slowly

"It's survival of the fittest! With a chance for those at the bottom to overthrow the top!"

'Now it's where the real fun begins.' Monoma glanced over to Darby.'I wonder...would you stop me from going after your friend? Or will you go and betray his trust yourself? Class 1-A surely has a lot to fight for in this match. And as they fight amongst themselves, we of class 1-B will wait for our chance to take the glory right from under them. Just you watch.'


And finally, chapter is done. Midterms are a pain in the ass and not to mention writer's block has been hitting me pretty hard ever since I finished writing another chapter for my yugioh story. Many could be asking, "what's going on with Kachidoki?". Arrogance is a pretty big obstacle to overcome and if one does not deal with it soon, it will drag him to the bottom. Iwari's artillery was a prototype of something else I'm planning for future chapters ahead, but of course, Monoma tricked his way over to Mei and took them down before they could easily win the competition. Also, I included the little confrontation between Monoma and Nishikawi to get a taste of what's to come over these two and their fight for beliefs. Stick around to find out what will happen for the calvary battle!

Darby's stats.

Power: 2/6 - with Black Spheres 3/5 D

Speed: 2/5 D

Technique: 4/6 B

Intelligence: 3/6 C

Risky Ideas: 6/6 S

Satoshi's stats

Power: 4/6 B

Speed: 5/6 A+

Technique: 5/6 A+

Intelligence: 5/6 A+

Ego: 6/6 A - Temper Tantrum: 6/6 A