Chapter 10
Cavalry Battle
"Wait, did I hear that right?" Darby blinked a couple of times, hitting his ear gently."Did you just say you want ME in your team?"
"Did I stutter, Yankee? I said I want you on my team!" Bakugo got closer to Darby's face."Did you hear me now?!"
"Y-yes! Jeez, I was just wondering why?"
"That's exactly what I want to know too." Said Kachidoki as he walked up to the pair."I understand Kirishima, but why would you want us on your team. Especially me. I did say I was going to win this whole thing, didn't I?"
"Like I'm worried about that." Bakugo snorted before facing Darby."I've noticed that you are hell-bent in beating those extras in class 1-B. Believe it or not, I respect that. So I decided to get you on my team so we can kill those assholes. Two birds with one stone."
"I don't know about the killing part, but sure, I'm down."
"And what about me? Why am I here?"
"Stop asking questions, Neon Freak! Anyways, let's do this shit! You better not disappoint!"
"Aye, aye, captain." Kirishima replied cheerfully."So, how are we going to be positioned?"
"I think Kirishima should go in the front." Darby observed."His hardening would come really handy because he'd make an unbreakable barrier for you, Bakugo."
"Ah, that's just what I was thinking!" Kirishima seemed pleased with Darby's opinion.
"Whether I'm on the left or right, it doesn't really matter." Kachidoki said, creating a ball of neon in his hand."Nishikawi and I would make a fantastic offense and defense from the sides. Say, Nishikawi, are you a lefty or a righty?"
"Righty."
"So there you have it, Bakugo. I'll be the left horse. We're definitely getting those points from Midoriya. Deku, am I right?"
"Your attempt at sweet-talking me is stupid, but you do have a point." Bakugo's face changed to what it looked like...excitement? Anger? It was hard to tell at times."Let's blow them up to pieces!"
All teams assembled in their respective positions and waited for the timer to start. Naturally, many would try to get for Midoriya and his ten million points. While Darby thought that it was a bit impractically, he knew that there was no convincing Bakugo.
"You nervous?" Kachidoki asked over to his partner on the right.
"A little. This is where we'll actually face each other." Darby admitted with a frown.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Bakugo demanded, earning a roll of eyes from Kachidoki.
"None of your business. Now look ahead and watch out we don't get our points taken. And Nishikawi? Just do your best, alright? Worst comes to pass, I'll have to do the deed, not you. You promised to give it your all, right? That means you'd have to face her. It was just a matter of time."
"START!"
"Just keep those words in mind! Let's roll!" Kachidoki roared as they began running over to Midoriya's team which consisted of himself, Mei, Uraraka, and Tokoyami.
"Shitty hair, slow down!" Bakugo ordered once he saw the ground around Midoriya's team becoming something like quick-sand."It must be that guy's Quirk! The one from the extras in class 1-B!"
"Behind us!" Kachidoki quickly fired a neon blast towards a floating hand.
"You asshole!" Setsuna Tokage yelled. Team Kendo was getting dangerously close to them."Now I have to regenerate that back!"
The ground underneath them began shaking before they were elevated high into the air."What is this?!"
"Good job, Komori!" Kendo praised to the mushroom-head girl.
"T-t-thank you...!" She lowered her head, clearly flustered by the praise.
"Dude, we're on top of a mushroom!" Kirishima cried out once he saw under their feet."Wait, look up there!" Their team glanced over to Team Modoriya flying up in the sky.
"I'm going for Shitty Deku! Catch me when I come flying down!" Bakugo used his explosive hands to fly up to their direction.
"Let's get down from here in the meantime!" Kachidoki said. They jumped down from the mushroom and used Kachidoki's neon to shot a stream of neon energy to ease down their fall.
"Hey, you doing alright, man?" Kirishima asked the brown-haired teenager."You don't look so good."
"I'm running out of Neon, most likely." He said, taking a deep breath."I used a lot in the obstacle race, so I'm probably almost out."
"You dropped your gua-Huh? Where's your flag?!" Kendo's giant fist connected against Darby's black sphere, causing no harm.
"Uh..." Kachidoki glanced over to the sky, seeing Bakugo coming down to them."He's coming down, sweat heart. Don't worry about him."
"S-s-s-s-sweat heart?" Kendo flushed in embarrassment, covering her face with her hands."Y-you i-i-idiot! Don't say such embarrassing things here in the open!"
"But we all know you two like each other." Reiko Yanagi pointed out. Team Bakugo created a human net with their arms to catch Bakugo while the girls were distracted. Kirishima scowled when he noticed Bakugo had failed in getting the flag from headband from Midoriya.
"Damn that bird-face cut me off before I could even reach Deku!" Bakugo gritted his teeth."The hell are you idiots doing?! Why haven't you taken these extras' flags yet!"
"We're trying!" Darby snapped, pushing Itsuka's fist back."Man, she's strong as hell!"
"Well, yeah. She's the toughest girl I know." Kachidoki quipped.
"Flattery won't get you anywhere, boys!" Tokage winked with a toothy grin.
"Too slow." A new voice said from behind them. Bakugo gasped, feeling his headband being ripped from his forehead.
"You!" Kendo grimaced at the new foe."Monoma!"
"Class A is too simple-minded, Kendo." Monoma casually said as he completely removed the headband off Katsuki."But you and Kodai are emotionally struggling."
"What did you say, you bastard?!" Bakugo was fuming now."Give that back! I'll kill you!"
"We prepared this as a class, you see. Keeping in mind what Midnight said, it wouldn't make sense if they cut a ton of people for the qualifier, right? Assuming they'd keep about forty people for the next stage, all we had to do was stay within that range. As we stayed in the back, we observed the Quirks and personalities of those who would become our rivals. But Nishikawi here must have told you about us. After all, he did spy on us."
"Huh? What is he talking about, Nishikawi?" Kirishima asked, oblivious to the whole situation.
"He didn't tell you? He became friends with us just to give himself information about us. A smart decision, but also low." Monoma rambled on."Because so many of us had opened up to him, and for what? Just for him to betray that trust and increase his chances of winning?"
"That's wrong!" Darby shouted, feeling his anger beginning to rise."I did not such thing! I genuinely care about you guys! I didn't even know about the Sports Festival two weeks ago! I couldn't have done what you're saying! Not to mention...I never thought of using my friends just to secure a place in this tournament..."
"Yankee, shut the hell up." Bakugo chimed in."Stop apologizing to the enemy. I don't care whether you guys were friends or whatnot, but right now we're enemies. So if you want to prove this asshole wrong, then put some damn effort, you hear?!"
"Ah, I almost forgot about you. You are quite famous, aren't you? As the victim of the sludge incident!" Monoma mocked, signing his death sentence."Tell me about how it feels to be attacked by a villain once a year."
"Kirishima..." Bakugo started as a murderous aura surrounded him, Kachidoki and Nishikawi."...change of plan... Before we get Deku, let's kill these guys!"
"Yes!" Both Kachidoki and Nishikawi yelled in unison, fixed their eyes on Monoma's team like predators on prey.
"You just HAD to piss them off, huh?" Hoshi gulped down in fear from the left side of Monoma.
"They're coming!" Kachidoki reminded them, prompting the whole team to turn around.
"Oh, please no..." Darby muttered in disbelief. Team Kodai was closing in on them and fast."Yui! Don't come over here!"
"And so here comes the rest, huh? We'll start with you first!" Bakugo created small explosions in his hand, waiting to strike. Darby was forced to move along, following Kirishima leading them over to Team Kodai."NOW!"
"Bakugo, stop!"
"Everyone, move!" Kachidoki cried out as he and Kirishima began moving the group in circles while the neon user began firing neon blasts around each team that was surrounding them.
"Go on then! Scram! Stay the hell away from us!" Takashi roared, firing another neon blast near Setsuna's foot.
"Watch it! If it's attached to me, it's going to hurt!" She turned to Monoma."So, what's your brilliant idea now? Do we just keep them boxed in like this?"
"Nah, it's not very efficient." Monoma trailed off, glancing over to team Midoriya."You guys go and try to take down that group over there. They have the highest points after all. After they're down, the rest of them should be easy enough. Kodai, Bondo, Fukidashi, you guys know what to do, right? Make it seem natural."
"I sure hope you know what you're doing, Monoma." Kendo muttered, gesturing her team to leave the area. Kodai spared Darby a glance, who just nodded in return. There were so many things she wanted to say to him but couldn't. She patted Bondo and the giant student changed course.
"You're overconfident sending your friends elsewhere, asshole." Bakugo snarled."But that just makes this all the more easy!" Once again, Bakugo propelled himself with his explosions over to their team.
"Hoshi." Monoma called out with a smirk. Matsuda Hoshi rose his hand, creating a green barrier of energy before creating 3 more in front of it. Bakugo broke his way into the first 3 but was stopped by the last one.
"What the hell?! Why won't it break?!"
"That'd be my Quirk, Dead Barrier," Hoshi said with confident
Matsuda Hoshi
Birthday: January 16th
Age: 15
Height: 5'7 ft
Blood Type: B-negative
Quirk Type: Emitter
Quirk Name: Dead Barrier
"And for the final touch, Yasukage!" Monoma commanded once more. Yasukage sighed before touching the ground. His arm began changing drastically and became stone-like. With a powerful punch to the gut, Bakugo was sent flying back to his team.
"We did...warn you...after all..." Yasukage drawled as his hand reverted back to normal.
Nagito Yasukage
Birthday: November 4th
Age: 15
Height: 5'5 ft
Blood Type: A+
Quirk Type: Transformation
Quirk Name: Midas Touch
Kuroiro, who had remained silent up to now, spoke for the first time."The name of your Quirk is poorly made. No offense to you, my friend."
"I should...consider changing...the name of my Quirk...it's too unfitting..."
"Yeah, that's what I've been trying to tell you for the last few weeks!" Hoshi cried out as his voice died down once more after Monoma resumed his monologue.
"Is this all the mighty class 1-A has to offer? Dumb attacks like that aren't going to get passed us. We have two incredible shields on our side."
"Tch!" Kachidoki clicked his tongue."Yeah, right!" He took aim and fired a few neon blasts that were immediately blocked by two green barriers."How about this! This is going to break right through!"
'But it's weird...' Darby pondered in his mind.'The shape and exact position of those barriers are always alternating depending on where we're attacking. Huh...?'
Team Monoma took a few steps forward, unimpressed at the power Kachidoki had accumulated in his hand."Eager to lose, huh?! Well, don't let me stop you!"
"You fucking idiot, don't!" Bakugo's screams were drowned by Kachidoki's as he yelled in pure agony. The attack was fired indeed. But a barrier around his hand was created in the shape of a sphere. Even though it broken to pieces, it left great damage to his hand. Blood was dripping down his hand, and his palm was now red and the back of it was burnt a little bit around the knuckles.
"I can create barriers! But they aren't exclusive to me, you see! As long as you're in within range, I can create barriers around any part of your body!"
"You're kidding me!" Kirishima said in disbelief."Dude...we just lost our long-range fighter! And those barriers can just spawn in wherever he feels like it?! Come on, that's stupidly broken!"
"No, it isn't," Darby responded, almost too calmly.
"So, you figured it out, Yankee?" Bakugo asked with a savage grin."All we have to do is create an opening. Those spheres of yours are going to come in handy. Although we still don't know what that black one can do. Alright, let's get moving!"
The team began moving again, although a bit slower due to Kachidoki still recuperating from the pain in his arm.
"Best that you don't use your Quirk in this one, Kuroiro." Monoma looked over to his white-haired teammate."If you do, I'll lose balance and fall, leaving me a bit too exposed for comfort."
"I doubt my ability will be needed for this."
"Here they come!" Hoshi hollered."Now! Barriers!" A barrier was created in front of them, followed by the other 5 that stood in their way.
"Kirishima!"
"I got it!" Kirishima used his hardening and literally ran his way through the barriers."Now, Nishikawi!" Darby manifested a Black Sphere behind his hand and touched the barrier in front of them, passing the sphere through his palm and creating an umbrella-like object that destroyed the barrier into pieces.
"No way! They made it this close!" Hoshi said in horror. Yasukage touched the ground and absorbed the properties of it, making his arms turned into rocks.
"That's not going to stop me!" Kirishima and Yasukage threw a punch, clashing with each other."I've had enough of people having similar Quirks to mind! You're going down!" With a loud battle cry, he won the arm struggled and got the group close enough to Monoma.
"Now, Bakugo!" Darby said with desperation."Get the damn headbands!"
"DIE!" Bakugo screamed as he readied his palm to make contact and explode in Monoma's face. However, Monoma proved to be a worthy foe and easily moved Bakugo's arm out of the way like it was nothing. Before the team would realize what just happened, Bakugo was met with a hand to the face before an explosion was released from it.
"Not a bad Quirk at all!" Monoma said in amusement, checking out his hand."I can see why you have that attitude of yours. Anyone can go mad with power over something like this."
"He has...your Quirk...?" Kachidoki said slowly, almost hoping that this wasn't true.
"You really didn't tell them about my Quirk?" Monoma rose his brows in confusion."Or maybe you're all this good at pretending?"
"The fuck is he talking about?!" Bakugo looked down at the foreign student.
"He can Copy Quirks. I just didn't' know until what point he was able to." He confessed, feeling guilty he hadn't shared such information.
"Come on, don't let up now." Monoma motioned them to come at him."In fact, Hoshi won't even need to put up a barrier. I'm all that's needed to take you guys out."
"You cocky little shit!" Bakugo snarled."You losers, move! Now!" Same as before, Team Bakugo rushed over to action, this time not being met by barriers or any incoming attacks. Monoma was either underestimating them or actually had a plan of his own. Bakugo swung his arm, creating an explosion and leaving them covered in a cloud of dust.
"Really, such nice Quirks." Monoma began as the dust dissipated, revealing a hardened Monoma holding Bakugo's arm."Mine's better, though."
"He copied Kirishima's Quirk?!" Asked Kachidoki, flabbergasted at the ability being displayed in front of his eyes.
"Just how many Quirks can he copy? And how does he even trigger them in the first place?!" Darby bit his lower lip. Even though he had the most knowledge about Monoma, he was still as a blind as a bat against him.
"Of course. Naturally, I'd be careful to show you exactly how my Quirk works." Monoma wagged a cocky finger around."I'm happy to see that my strategy work."
"We're going again!" Bakugo commanded. As they took a step forward, Team Kodai intercepted their steps. Bondo threw some kind of liquid in the middle of the ground.
"You guys are right on schedule." Monoma shot Yui a grin."Anyways, I believe it's time to get going. Don't you gentlemen agree?"
"About...time..." Yasukage huffed in relief.
"Wait, come back her- What the?!" Kirishima's foot was stuck to the ground by the liquid."It's solidifying!"
"Shit! Kirishima, stay still! I'll have to use my good hand to break this thing!" Takashi said sharply as he slowly accommodated himself to be in a good position to keep Bakugo in place and for him to use his good arm.
"Darby." Yui said as her giant classmate slow down his pace."I'm going to give it my all. I expect you to do the same. This shouldn't be able to stop you."
With that, their group proceeded in chasing down Monoma. Darby could swear he read Manga's text saying "Sucks to be you!".
"Man, your girlfriend is really intense," Kachidoki said in between laughs, firing multiple small neon blasts and cracking the solidified liquid.
"We're not dating."
"Yet." Kirishima added with a carefree smile.
"Shut up and more breaking this shit down!" Bakugo bellowed."They're getting away!"
"Kirishima, try to harden your leg!" Darby yelled as he manifested two Black Spheres. The two balls began pounding consecutively against the solid ground, breaking it faster thanks to the neon barrage."I got it!" Kirishima roared as he kicked the air, freeing his leg.
"Nice! Now we can hunt Monoma down and take those headbands!" Kachidoki adjusted himself back to his position, groaning in pain once he began supporting Bakugo with his two hands.
"You're going to be okay?" Darby asked in concern, earning a shrug from his friend.
"Probably. He used that barrier to conceal my hand. So when I fired my blast, my hand got caught up in the explosion. Lucky for me, my move was strong enough to break through it, otherwise, my hand would be looking like Aizawa sensei's elbow after the USJ attack. That aside, they gave us their backs. I have a plan that might just let us win. Bakugo, can you carry someone on your back while flying around with your explosions."
"Huh? I never really tried that, but it shouldn't be a problem for me. Why?"
"Watch." He responded with a sly smile on his face. Up ahead, Monoma was rejoicing at the moment. His team was on the leaderboards and they had a great number of points accumulated.
"It's almost time. We will take class 1-B to glory." He glanced over to Kendo's team, watching them struggle to break free from the ice."It's too bad we couldn't all make it as originally planned, but this is enough."
"You sure know how to handle situations, I'll give you that." Said Hoshi begrudgingly."But damn, did you really have to piss them off that much? What if the plan didn't work and we were just on our way to be smashed like potatoes!"
"You worry too much." Monoma dismissed.
"Hey, asshole! Look alive!"
Before Monoma could make a snarky reply, he realized that Bakugo had cut their distance in no time."Hoshi!"
"On it!" Hoshi created a barrier in front of them, stopping Bakugo in his tracks. He began pounding against the barrier, even going as far as trying to explode it to no avail."Try all you want, you alone can't break through my barrier.
"Yeah, you might be right..." His scowl turned into a savage grin."Or maybe you're already fucked, to begin with!" Bakugo used the barrier as support and began creating explosions in his palms to propel himself in the air. As soon as he moved, a purple sphere crashed against the barrier, leaving a hole in its way and almost hitting Monoma in the head.
"What was that?!"
"The distraction!" Darby screamed as he was pulled in towards the direction of the Black Sphere. Darby used his legs to break around the area where the attack had broken through and passed through it, grabbing two headbands from Monoma's neck and flying past him. Darby grabbed a hole of Bakugo's shirt before he could crash against the floor."FLY FLY FLY FLY FLY!"
"Shut up! I can't go that high if you're fucking chocking me" Bakugo snapped, increasing the power of his explosions to elevate them higher in the air.
"That was a nice plan, Kachidoki." Kirishima complimented his remaining teammate.
Kachidoki simply nodded."Nishikawi had told me he used Bakugo to pass The Fall Obstacle back in the race. Once one of his Black Spheres goes out of range, he starts being pulled back to it. Bakugo, as much as he would dislike me saying this, was just a distraction. Thanks to him going ape shit against the barrier, we managed to weaken it. Maybe. To be honest, I don't even know. But just in case, I but my remaining Neon in Nishikawi's Black SPhere and shot it like a regular ball. And surprisingly, it did breakthrough."
"So, when that sphere was thrown, it was pulling him too?" Kirishima inquired, earning a nod from a tired-looking Kachidoki."That's awesome! He used that momentum to take their headbands! Oh, here they come!"
"Monoma! I think we should just get the hell out of here!" Hoshi said in a hurry."There's barely any time left and we only have one headband left! We're still in fourth place!"
"Yeah...as long as we defend this one to the death...we will definitely..." Monoma gulped down, hiding his face behind the headband.'Damn you...Nishikawi...to think you would outsmart me like this. But as long as I have this headband, I will definitely take you down!'
"They're...still chasing us..." Yasukage looked over his shoulder."And...fast..."
"Bakugo...this is your final chance!" Kirishima said in between breaths."Either you can grab that flag, or you can't!"
"I don't need you to tell me twice!" Bakugo jumped in the air but low enough for his right foot to be able to be touched by Kachidoki's hand and his left one by Darby's Black Sphere.
"GO! BAKUGO!" Kachidoki fired a powerful blast while Darby threw the Black SPhere as hard as he could. Both Quirks along with his own allowed Bakugo to be sent flying towards Monoma's team at an incredible speed like a bullet.
"Hosh-" Monoma barely had time to react as the last headband he had was taken away from his grasp.
"Let's not waste any time and head over to where Todoroki and Deku are!" Bakugo said as he was caught by his team.
"How long are you on neon, Kachidoki?" Darby asked as he retrieved his Black SPheres.
"Pretty low. I've been using high percentage attacks during this whole thing." Takashi grimaced."Not to mention that they didn't allow us to take a breather after the obstacle course race so I couldn't recharge. But still..." He eyed over to a particular place in the audience."It wasn't a bad show. Our way."
"We're fucked..." Monoma muttered under his breath.
"How did this happen? Why did you not activate your Quirk?" Kuroiro asked with an impassive expression.
Hoshi was now looking pale and panting heavily."You fucking kidding me...I can't spam them the whole day, dickhead! I'm at my limit here!"
"It would explain...why your barriers were...pathetic lately..." Yasukage bluntly stated.
"Shut up!"
A few seconds remaining, and the top teams were now gathered up around where Todoroki's ice was.
"Shit..." Darby said, scowling."They're already fighting it out."
"We won't make it in time." Kirisihima said, closing his eyes."Damn...! Isn't there anything we can do?"
"You're gonna have to go alone, Bakugo!" Kachidoki patted Bakugo's back urgently."Hurry the hell up and get the headband!"
Bakugo said nothing. Instead, he propelled himself in the air with his explosions. What followed next was the very definition of anticlimactic. Before anyone could even make contact with each other, Present Mic announced the ending of the Cavalry Battle. Kirishima, Darby, and Kachidoki walked over to Bakugo, who was now hitting the floor like a spoiled brat.
"Well...finally we can...rest a bit." Darby fell on his back, exhaling rather loudly.
"Not first place, but we didn't come off to bad." Kachidoki crossed his arms."Although we can't say the same for our team leader over there."
"It's Bakugo. What were you expecting?" Kirishima said as he slapped his back playfully."But we managed to come to the top from our previous losing end."
"Congratulations, bud." Kachidoki walked over to where Darby was and squatted down."You successfully beat Monoma."
"Yeah...but...was that enough?" Darby rolled over on his belly, watching Monoma and his team from afar. Monoma looked back at him and spat on the floor. No cocky smile or arrogant smirk. He was defeated but something felt off. His thoughts were interrupted when someone sat down beside him.
"Yui...!" Darby's eyes glitter before stopping, looking away."I'm sorry...I know you wanted to win too. Gosh, I'm such an idiot." He hid his eyes behind his hands."I don't know why I even thought that this was a good idea. What would beating your class achieve for us? It would just make us look like jerks even more. Maybe...maybe there's nothing I can do to ease the hate between our classes..."
"Don't say that." Yui flicked him in the forehead nonchalantly."Listen...I'm sorry. For being too selfish." Before he could protest, she put a hand against his mouth."Let me say it. It felt wrong. And while I was thinking of the bigger picture, I was jeopardizing our friendship. Even though I...rejected you like that you still fought hard and gave it your all to not lose to Monoma. And after this?" She glanced over to Monoma who was currently banging his head against a wall."I think we can call this a victory."
"Yeah...I think so too." They both smiled at each other, just enjoying each other's presence.
"Man, I could really go for a drink right about now." Kachidoki muttered to himself as he walked over to Kendo's team. He used whatever neon he had left to destroy the ice around their feet carefully.
"Oh?" He said once just smoke came out of his hand. He fired again but to no avail."Looks like I'm completely dry."
"I'll say." Setsuna's eye twitched in irritation. She was the last one with a frozen foot."Whatever, it'll grow back."
"You can't be saying that every time you can't get unstuck from a situation." Reigu pointed out. Takashi rose a brow at the girl's posture but chose to not question it.
"Yeah, well I can't help it when jerks like him are blasting my limbs every two seconds!" Setsuna walked over to Takashi and poked him in the chest."Seriously! That attacked you launched at me hurt like hell!"
Takashi took a step back but she was relentless, jumping on her foot to continue poking him.
"Now, now." Kendo got in between them and gently pushed them apart."I'm sure Takashi didn't mean it. Right, Takashi?"
"Yeah, sorry Tokage." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly."I did it on pure instinct when I felt something sneaking up to us. Do you need me to carry you to Recovery Girl's office?"
"With that hand?" Setsuna said, placing a hand on her hip."Doesn't it hurt?"
"OH MY GOSH!" Itsuka yelped, carefully grabbing Takashi's damaged hand."What happened?!"
"Uh, one of Hoshi's barrier covered my hand while I was throwing a neon blast, so it exploded in my hand."
"I'm taking YOU to Recovery Girl's office!" Itsuka stated as she began dragging him along."No buts!"
"But I was hung-"
"I SAID NO BUTS!"
"Okay, okay!" Takashi gave up, allowing her to drag him forcefully out of the arena."By the way, I guess everything worked out in the end."
"Somehow." She smiled at the sight of Yui and Darby sitting on the floor, talking."Though Monoma is probably not convinced at all by this. His ego is just as great as his charisma, as much as I hate to say it."
"I saw that. His Quirk is no joke either. He got Bakugo on checkmate at one point, but his overconfidence was his own undoing." He sighed. For some reason, that sentence was resonating in his head.
"Are your parents watching?" Itsuka wondered, her cheeks turning pink."I-I-I mean, we're holding hands, after all..."
"Who cares? My dad is over there in the audience. Even if they do see us holding hands, so what?" He said with a cheeky grin."Maybe he would get the wrong idea."
"You mean...like we're dating?"
"Sure." He shrugged, laughing once he saw her turning around in a heartbeat."What? You nervous?"
"Of course, you idiot!" She squeezed his hand, even more, causing him to wince."I have never dated before! I don't know how to respond!"
"Neither have I, honestly. Let's just wait until I win this tournament so we can decide what to do, yeah?"
Itsuka let out a weary sigh."You are just so full of yourself. You are making Monoma sound right."
In the crowd, Noboru observed down at his son with a satisfied grin. He was wearing his hero costume, which consisted of a crimson jumpsuit with black outlines going down the side of his arms and legs. There were tubes of some sort going from his belt, which was similar to the one Takashi had, that connected to his metallic gauntlets and boots. He had the letters 'VR' printed in the middle of his suit and wore a brown leather jacket that reached down to his knees.
"A mighty son you have there, Vermillion."
Vermillion Ray looked over his shoulder to meet the figure of Endeavor standing behind him."Ah, Enji, how are you doing? Why thank you. I rose him well. I can say the same thing from your son as well. It is a pity we didn't get to see his potent fire, inherited from his father."
"Shoto is in his rebellious state, is all. But I caught a glimpse of it." Endeavor said with a cocky smirk."He was finally going to use it against that other brat."
"Izuku Midoriya." Vermillion folded his arms in thought."He hasn't used his Quirk yet. But if your son felt the need to bring out his fire, then this kid is probably the real deal."
"That aside, our sons will most likely face each other in the coming events. I am looking forward to seeing what Takashi is capable of doing."
"Stop giving me that, Endeavor. We both know you're confident in your son winning this. I can't see your face right now, but I can feel your smirk. You trained him pretty good from what I saw."
"I created him with the sole purpose of surpassing All Might, after all." Noburo nodded at that, satisfied he had gotten Endeavor to say his desires."Of course, that means he will surpass you and your son."
"Nonsense. Unlike you, I didn't have a son to make up for my lack of power in competing against All Might. I trained him to be a good representative for our family so I can pass the torch to him, ensuring our family's wellbeing through the future generations. In a way, he is the last hope of our family."
"I know all about that." Endeavor turned around and began walking away."You might think you're better than me, but you couldn't be wrong. You are using your child for a purpose that you want, just like I am. We will see which of them is the strongest. It will be a fine spectacle if I say so myself."
"Tch." He clicked his tongue, processing the conversation he had taken part in."Takashi is my perfect son. Nothing will be able to stop him from winning and proving himself to the Takashi family. That is what my father would wish for..."
Sports Festival Stadium, Cafeteria, Noon
"Man, this sandwich is really good." Darby gasped, finding himself unable to take another bite fro the sandwich.
"Darby, where are your manners." Yui scolded him. They were sitting together in lunch by themselves. Although a handful of class 1-B, such as Tetsutetsu or Monoma would give Darby death glares, everyone else seemed to be okay with it."But, they are good."
"Of course they are!" Fujiwara suddenly appeared out of nowhere rushing with a cart full of plates."We followed your advice, Aniki! The audience loved them and as I can see, everyone else does! Ah, I knew you were a keeper. And literally too."
"I don't know what that last part means but it's okay. Really, it's not a big deal." He then pointed at Yui."This is Yui Kodai. She's a friend of mine from class 1-B. She's the one who came up with the cheesecake idea."
"You have my thanks, Kodai-sama." Fujiwara bowed dramatically.
"Kodai...sama?" She quirked a brow, her stoic expression breaking into confusion.
"Well, you are Darby-Aniki's girlfriend, so we should treat you with the utmost respect." He said with evident pride. Yui was turning redder and redder as he continued."I never knew Darby-Aniki had a girlfriend! When he makes it pro, I'll be his manager and make him go big. Hell, I'll help you both be hero couples!"
"I appreciate the thought, Fujiwara. But...we're not dating."
"Oh?" His shoulder immediately slumped."But you guys are sitting so cutely together! It reminds me of when my sister had her first crush. It all starts during the cafeteria, talking to each other, having a nice meal, mind you," He winked." and well, it all goes up from there."
"Are you some kind of love expert now?"
"Not at all, good sir. But an entrepreneur has to be able to handle and read any scenario possible. That aside, is there something I can do for you now? Maybe some cheesecake?"
"I would like extra tomatoes for my sandwich, please," Kodai said, earning a nod from the boy. Fujiwara said goodbye and went back to the kitchen where Lunch Rush was.
"You like tomatoes?" Darby chuckled at that. He wasn't really fond of vegetables. And someone asking for extra veggies was always odd to him.
"I do. I like the sweetness yet sour flavor that they have." She said with a smile."They're my favorite food. And yes, I mean that literally. Ever since I was little, I would ask my dad to cut some tomatoes for me and serve them in slices on a plate for me."
"That sounds nice. Goes to show that you're really healthy. I mean, those muscles are proof of that." Darby said as he poked her arm playfully.
"You are one to talk. I noticed you thinned down a little bit and your arms look a bit bigger too." She said as she did her own poking around."You must have trained really hard these past 2 weeks. Mostly cardio to improve my stamina and a bit of Quirk control."
"Quirk control?"
"Yeah. My dad helped me get better at coordinating my moves in my blindspots." Darby began explaining."For instance, let's pretend that Ojiro behind us is sneaking up on me. If he makes a sound and I hear him, I can manifest a Black Sphere and send it after him. Before, I would have to completely turn around on my feet to get a direct hit. Too much-wasted movement, my dad said. I could be killed as I turn around and that's definitely not good. Still though...I'm not as strong as I was hoping to be."
"Me neither." She sighed, thanking Fujiwara quietly as he delivered her chicken sandwich."I was mostly doing nothing during the obstacle course. I used my QUirk to make the robots smaller, but not much besides that. I had to rely on my endurance to run through. During the cavalry, Bondo was doing most of the work by keeping us at a safe distance. Didn't work out in the end though."
"I hear ya." Darby drank some of his juice, already feeling refreshed after the great workout."To be honest, I don't think we are the problem. We did the very best we could. It's just that we have a huge competition such as people like Kachidoki, Bakugo, Todoroki, etc. If I wasn't in Bakugo's team, I don't think I would have done better. I'm glad at least I faced Monoma on but...it feels weird."
"What does?" She cocked her head.
"It's just...it doesn't feel like a victory at all. It's so anticlimactic. I was expecting Monoma and me to have this one final crazy fight where one of us would prove who stands higher with their beliefs. And honestly, I wanted to be his friend."
"You watch too much anime." Yui shook her head."Not everything has to end up in an epic fight, you know? Even if Monoma still doesn't respect you, it'll be okay. At least we can talk to each other now."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. I missed you."
"I missed you too." Yui trailed off, lowering her gaze."I'm sorry if I acted selfishly."
"You did what was in your best interest, I don't hold it against you. Besides, it would have been more awkward, don't you think?"
She giggled at his comment."You're so considerate. I was afraid you wouldn't want to talk to me anymore, but I am happy you still do." She noticed people were starting to get up and going out of the cafeteria."I think it's time for us to go. Are you feeling okay?"
"Yeah. I should be alright for the rest of the competition. Not that I expect to win anymore. I mean, considering who is left. Maybe Aoyama, but I don't know how potent his Naval Laser is." He chuckled as they walked outside.
"Just do your best, okay?" She looked at him sternly."Don't just throw the towel because you feel like you can't win. Promise?"
"I mean, I honestly don't feel like getting beat up and lose regardless, so-"
"Promise me." Yui grabbed his hand and squeezed tight.
Darby winced in pain as her grip grew stronger and stronger."Uncle! Uncle!"
"That's not what I want to hear," Yui said nonchalantly.
"Okay! I promise!" Darby was on his knees. Yui smiled, satisfied by this and patted his head."Jeez...you're a lot stronger than I thought."
"You needed that. Just because we're back to being friends again doesn't mean you can slack off on this event. It's too important."
Darby shook his head."I guess you're right. And I did tell you that as long as I had your support, I would never lose again. I'll give it my all and lose trying."
Yui fought the urge to roll her eyes at his half-assed proposal."I think that's good enough for now. I'll be cheering for you."
Sports Festival Stadium, Noon.
"You know, when they said they had recreational games going on, I wasn't expecting this." Darby couldn't help but stare at his female classmates dressed up as cheerleaders.
"Tell me about it," Kachidoki muttered. He tensed up once he felt Kendo staring daggers at him from afar."I-I mean, yeah sure, whatever." He stuttered, going back to check on his bandaged arm.
"Whose idea was this?" Darby asked to Kaminari, who immediately gave him a shit-eating grin."Oh. So you."
"And me!" Mineta rose up his hand.
"Why am I not surprised." Darby grimaced."What size did you even get them? It looks too tight around them."
"That's the magic of cheerleaders, Nishikawi." Kaminari rested his elbow on Darby's shoulder."You must know all about that. I heard there are pretty cute national cheerleaders in America. Like those girls over there."
"Nishikawi-san! Stop staring so much at us!" Momo yelled at him along with Jiro, who was giving him a disappointing stare.
"Sorry!" Darby quickly adverted his gaze."You guys are real schemers. I bet you'd make good con artists."
"Hey man, that's cold." Kaminari feigned being hurt. Present Mic explained what was coming up for the students next. Apparently, the remaining 16 students would be fighting it out on one-on-one fights. Darby cursed his luck. He had expected something like that but wished it wouldn't become a reality. Midnight explained that they were free to partake in the recreational events or not, but it was preferable they didn't just to rest and save some strength. What came as another surprise was the fact that Ojiro along with another student from 1-B, were withdrawing from the competition. Their sense of righteousness led them to their decisions after making it to the finals without any recollection of the events that had happened.
'Something is up.' Darby gazed over yo Aoyama, who was conveniently in their team but had not said anything. He then glanced at the student from the General Courses, who was simply looking elsewhere.
"They're really something." He heard Kachidoki talk to himself. He had a disinterested look, but his voice had a tint of respect in it. Midnight decided to move up people from the Cavalry Battle to take their spots instead.
"If that's what's going to happe..." Kendo spoke up."...then rather than us, who barely did anything in the cavalry battle, it should be them." She shared a nod with her teammates."Team Tets-"
"Hold on a second." Monoma boomed, his hair covering his eyes while a sinister smirk form on his lips."I agree with what you were about to say, however, I believe I should be the second choice out of the two."
"What?!" Setsuna gritted her teeth, marching up to Monoma."What gives you any right to come here asking for demands like that! Your team lost because you guys were too overconfident! You don't deserve that spot."
"She's right." Kendo narrowed her eyes."We should give this opportunity to them, who deserve it more than us."
"And I'm not saying they don't. But right now, there's basically no one from 1-B who made it to the finals, now that Shoda resigned. I hate to say it, but we were bested yet again by class 1-A. But this is our opportunity to take that back and fix our problems. Choose me as the backup contestant and I will take our class to victory. I will thoroughly defeat class 1-A by myself if I must."
"I'm with him." Tetsutetsu nodded in agreement."Those jerks are taking the lead and we have to stop that. Monoma might be an extremist, but I see sense in his ideas."
"Tetsutetsu!" Kendo exclaimed, hands on her hips.
"Kachidoki is poisoning your mind, Kendo!" He snapped, taking the ginger by surprise."He's playing you! Guys like him don't give a fuck about anything but themselves! You defending him through the whole Sports Festival is the clear evidence that he has corrupted your mind! I'll stop him and show you the truth!"
"To be fair, you have been talking to Kachidoki a lot lately, even though they told Kodai not to talk to Darby." Awase pointed out."It's not really fair, is it?"
"Which means that without a doubt, class 1-A has been a bad influence on you," Monoma concluded, folding his arms.
"I...have to agree..." Yasukage begrudgingly said.
"Me too!" Hoshi joined in. A few hands rose in agreement to support Monoma.
"See, class rep? This is what the people desire. Choose Tetsutetsu and me to go finish class 1-A off. Rest easy and watch how it's done."
Before Setsuna could retord back, Kendo placed a hand on her shoulder."Alright, Monoma. You and Tetsutetsu are going to substitute Ojrio and Shoda. Is that reasonable, Midnight?"
"This sense of class rivalry...I like it! I see no problems with this!" Midnight said, giving a thumbs up. Monoma eyed Darby with a smug on his face. Before, it was only mockery and petty insults, but now, he could feel the murderous intent coming off of him, challenging even Bakugo himself.
"And now, these are the results of the drawing!" The screen displayed the brackets of the fights that would occur.
Midoriya vs. Shinso
Todoroki vs. Aoyama
Kaminari vs. Nishikawi
Monoma vs. Kirishima
Kachidoki vs. Tetsutetsu
Bakugo vs. Uraraka
Iida vs. Hatsume
Tokoyami vs. Yaoyorozu
"HELL YEAH!" Tetsutetsu cheered loudly."I get to beat that stuck-up Kachidoki guy!"
"I'm going with the brain dead, it seems." Kachidoki shrugged."Oh well."
Darby swallowed the lump in his throat, feeling a cold sweat going down the back of his neck.'If I beat Kaminari and Monoma beats Kirishima, I would have to face him after all. But I doubt Monoma even stands a chance against someone like Kirishima. Unless I put his Quirk into consideration...'
"And so, Plan: Eradication of Class 1-A begins." Monoma said to himself with a cocky grin."I can hardly wait."
Finally, done with this chapter. Sorry it took a bit of time, but college has been keeping me pretty busy, not to mention that I had to be careful considering the details involving this tournament. I modified the last contestants for the final round but I left some the same for obvious reasons. I haven't written down how this will all go down, but I'll think about it as I write another chapter for my YuGiOh story.
Hope you all have a wonderful day.
