Izuku and Kyouka's laughter finally began to die down as they realized that they were in each other's arms before they both immediately backed away with their faces being completely red.
"G-Guess we got caught up in the moment, huh?" Izuku asked as he rubbed the back of his neck, looking away.
"Y-Yeah… But nothing wrong with a celebratory hug between two friends, right?" Kyouka asked as she brushed her hair behind her ear.
Izuku nodded and smiled while the purple haired girl looked towards the audience as her face only became redder, starting to grab onto her head. 'We just hugged in front of thousands of people and millions of people are probably watching from their TVs… Shit, did my parents see that? And they're having a party with all of the neighbors and they saw all of that!'
A few seconds later, Todoroki and Bakugo emerged from the doorway with the former arriving first.
Bakugo started to shake in anger as he grabbed onto his arm and clenched his teeth while Todoroki just looked at Izuku for a few moments before turning away.
"The contestants are pouring in one after the other! Let's hear some applause for all our competitors as we prepare the results!"
"Dekiru! Jirou! That was amazing!" Ochako shouted as she ran towards the two friends, looking very worn out. "I can't believe the two of you got first place! I'm jealous!"
Meanwhile, Iida seemed to be mumbling to himself as a gloomy aura surrounded him, disappointed at his own performance.
"Thanks, but I can't take all the credit." Izuku said before looking at his best friend. "Kyouka helped out a bunch and she's the reason I managed to take the lead from Todoroki and Kacchan."
The red on Kyouka's face that had started to leave came back as she began to rub her arm. "Hey, it was nothing… I wouldn't even be there if you hadn't carried me on your back. You literally carried us."
Ochako giggled as she put her hand over her mouth. "The two of you really are the best of friends, huh?"
Soon enough the rest of the students finally finished the obstacle race, the first round officially being over now.
All of the students were now gathered in front of the stage again before Midnight began to speak. "The first game for the first years is finally over, and what a game it was! Now let's take a quick look at the standings, shall we?"
Everyone's placements in the race were shown on the big screen with Izuku and Kyouka both having 1st place, Todoroki having 3rd place, Bakugo having 4th place, and finally a sick looking Aoyama having 42nd place.
"Only the top 42 will advance to the next round. But don't be too let down if you didn't make the cut. We've prepared other opportunities for you to shine." Midnight said before kicking her lips. "Now the real fun is about to begin. The chance to fully move yourselves into the limelight! Give it your best!" She then raised her whip before the holographic screen appeared behind as it started spinning through the options. "Let's see what we have in store for you next. Will your wildest fantasies come to life? What could it be? The waiting is torture. Prepare yourselves… for this!"
Soon the screen stopped on the words 'Cavalry Battle' as Kyouka raised an eyebrow. "How's that going to work?"
"Allow me to explain. The participants will form teams of two to four people as they see fit." Midnight explained with an image of All Might riding Thirteen's, Present Mic's, and Snipe's backs appeared on the screen. "In theory, it's basically the same as a regular playground game. But there is one difference. Each player has been assigned a point value based on the results from the obstacle race."
"I get it, a point-based system like the entrance exams. That seems pretty simple." Sato said to himself.
"So that means each team will have a different point value based on which students are on it." Ochako said before being agreed with by Mina.
"Maybe you should shut up and let me explain things to you!" Midnight scolded as she cracked her whip. "Now, then. The point assignments go up by increments of five, starting from the bottom. For example, 42nd place is worth 5 points, and 41st is worth 10. And the point value assigned to the 1st place contestant is… 10 million! But since we have two 1st place winners, I'll give the 10 million points to… Izuku Midoriya!"
"10 million points are on my head…?" Izuku asked as all color left his face, feeling almost every student looking at him as a target.
'10 million?! That can't be right! Everyone's going to go after him if that's the case!' Kyouka thought to herself as she instinctively moved closer to her hero to preemptively protect him from anyone.
Midnight smirked as she looked down at the students. "That's right. It's survival of the fittest, with a chance for those at the bottom to overthrow the top!"
"What the hell's with that?! We both got first place! Why are you just giving it to him?! Can't you split our points in half?!" The purple haired girl asked as she pointed at the Pro Hero.
"It's no fun if there are two main targets. A singular target is much more… exciting." Midnight said with a smirk as she winked. "And I so love seeing a helpless young boy being the prey. Sights like those really make me tingle."
Kyouka glared at the Pro Hero as she kept herself from shouting anymore, knowing there would be no use. 'Well, I won't let him be anyone's prey, you bitch.'
Midnight continued to explain as she pointed her whip at the screen. "First years! These are the rules that you'll abide by. The game itself will last 15 minutes. Individual point values will be added together to reach your team total. Everyone will know how much you're worth thanks to your headbands. Swipe as many headbands as you can to raise your team's score. Stolen headbands must be worn from the neck up. So the more you steal, the harder it'll be to manage them. And another thing. Even if your headband gets stolen or your team falls down, you can keep playing until time's up."
"It's anyone's game then." Momo said as she cupped her chin
Sato looked at Momo and nodded. "And since there are 42 contestants, there'll be 10 or 12 teams fighting on the field the entire time."
"Sounds hard." Aoyama commented, looking uncomfortable with the situation.
"So, if you lose your headband at the beginning, you have more time to make up a plan." Mina stated as she moved her fingers around.
"I dunno, Mina. Maybe we should wait and see how the teams turn out before we start strategizing." Tsuyu said with her finger on her chin.
"This is going to be rough. You may use your quirks as much as you like. But there are still rules. Make a team fall on purpose and I'll slap with a red card. You'll be disqualified!" Midnight said before a timer appeared on the screen. "Now you've got 15 minutes to build your teams! I recommend you get started!"
Most of the students started to build their teams right away with Bakugo already getting a lot of offers to join his team and Todoroki approaching a few people.
Unfortunately, Izuku was left all alone as he looked around. "D-Does my point value really scare people off that much? I thought showing off my quirk would earn me some merit... Maybe it's because my quirk is just enhanced physical abilities and nothing flashy like Todoroki or Kacchan."
What he didn't notice was a certain girl behind him as she yawned. "So, who do you think will join us?"
The green haired boy widened his eyes before turning around to see his best friend. "K-Kyouka?! What are you doing here?!"
"What? You didn't think I would leave all you alone, did you?" Kyouka asked as she crossed her arms.
Izuku looked taken aback by the question before rubbing the back of his neck. "W-Well, I wouldn't blame you if you did. You'd have a better chance at winning if we're not in the same team since I'm worth so much points. Also, Todoroki and Kacchan will probably be targeting me during the game. If you're with me, you'll be a target as well and-"
He was cut off as Kyouka gently punched his chest, smirking at him. "And why the hell should I care about that? Look, I'm joining your team whether you accept me or not. You're stuck with me."
Izuku seemed to be at a loss for words as he stared at his best friend, not believing how committed she is to be on his team, and was about to say something before being interrupted.
"Count me in too!" Ochako shouted as she raised her fist. "We'll all team up!"
Izuku jumped at the shouting before turning around to look at the other girl. "You too, Uraraka?! Are you sure?!"
The brown haired girl nodded as she gave a wide grin. "Yeah, if we run away the whole time then we'll win, right?"
The green haired boy's expression went from shocked to confused as he tilted his head. "You're either overestimating me or underestimating everyone else here."
"Phooey! Anyway, it's better to team up with people you like!" Ochako exclaimed as a ray of sunshine surrounded the girl, causing Izuku's face to go a little red.
Kyouka glared at an oblivious Ochako as she clenched her fists. 'With people you like, huh? If you think this is a way to get even closer to him right under my nose then you have another thing coming… But I know we have no choice but to take just about anyone since no one else would be willing to join. I just wish it didn't have to be you. Dammit. I won't let you outshine me.'
Sure, Ochako's quirk would be extremely useful in this game, but Ochako keeps getting way too close to Izuku and always tries to butt into her and Izuku's conversations at school.
Yaoyorozu and Tsyuyu tend to get close to Izuku as well from time to time and have their own conversations, but it's nowhere near to the extent of Ochako.
It always feels like Ochako is trying to steal Izuku away from her. It's a feeling that makes her heart burn and blood boil every time she sees the two of them talk. She just can't get rid of it.
But right now she has to bear with it for the sake of having a better chance at winning this game.
It would be torture, but hopefully be worth it.
The red had now left Izuku's face before he smiled at Ochako. "Actually, I wanted to team up with you too. You're right. For a game that requires so much teamwork, it's smart to find people you can communicate smoothly. It makes me thankful that Kyouka joined as well." He looked at both girls as he nodded. "In fact, with both of your quirks and one other person… You know what, I think I might have a solid plan."
The three teens then approached Iida as he turned to them before they smiled at him, huddling up with him.
"The three of you can be horses, with Iida on the front. Using Uraraka's quirk, Iida and Kyouka would be way lighter, so you'd be able to maneuver around really easily. And Kyouka could use her earphone jacks to fend away anyone who tries to get a flank on us. It'll work for some great offense and defense. No one will catch us." Izuku explained as he looked at his friends.
Ochako nodded as she smiled. "Good idea!"
Kyouka nodded as well as she placed her hand on her hip. "Wow, great strategy in so little time."
The green haired boy smiled at the compliments before continuing to explain. "And I can be the rider. With Full Cowling, I can use my strength and speed to hopefully fend off anyone who gets too close. I know it's not much, but it's the only evasive plan I could think of this fast."
"A good strategy, but I'm sorry. I'm afraid I must refuse your offer." Iida said as he looked at his Izuku. "Since this all started, I've been losing to you. Please don't take this as an insult. You're a great friend, but if I continue to follow you, I'll never get stronger. Bakugo and Todoroki have challenged you already, but they aren't the only ones who see you as a rival." He then began to walk towards Todoroki, facing away from his friends. "Midoriya, I'll try my best to defeat you."
"Whoa, Iida…" The brown haired girl said as she started to look a little worried.
"That's pretty intense..." The purple haired girl said as she sighed. "What are we going to do now?"
"Um, maybe we can ask Yaoyo-" Izuku started to say before cutting himself off as he noticed that Momo was already on Todoroki's team with Iida. "Okay then… There goes that plan…"
"Todoroki really took two potential teammates from us, didn't he?" Kyouka asked as she facepalmed.
"Perfect. It looks like there's an open spot now. And you're the star." A voice said from behind the three teens before they turned around to see the pink haired girl from earlier getting close to Izuku. "Team up with me, person in first place!"
"So close! Who ar- Wait, it's you!" Izuku shouted as he backed away from the girl, but she just got closer.
"You're here too?!" Kyouka shouted before noticing how close she was to her hero. "Don't be so close to him! And who even are you?!"
The mysterious girl chuckled as she backed up and removed her goggles. "I'm a student in the support course. Name's Mei Hatsume!"
"Oh! You're that weirdo from the obstacle course." Ochako said as she remembered Mei jumping off the cliff.
"And you tried to use us as a free pass to the lead." The purple haired girl accused as she pointed at Mei.
"I did? Well, doesn't matter anymore." Mei said before focusing her attention back on Izuku. "I'd like to use your current fame to my personal advantage."
'You're saying that way too casually!' Kyouka thought to herself before noticing Mei getting super close to the three of them. 'What is wrong with this girl?!'
The three teens backed before Mei got closer in an instant. "If I team up with you, then I'll be in the spotlight! Part of the team that everyone is keeping their eyes on! That means my super cute little babies will inevitably be seen by the big company CEOs whore tuning in to the Sports Festival! And following that line of reasoning, this is the best way for me and my marvelous gadgets to get recruited!"
Ochako raised her hands as she tilted her head. "Could you slow down a minute? Did you bring babies here, or… I mean…"
"You're still getting too close, you know... You ever heard of personal space?" The purple haired girl asked, but both girls were ignored by Mei who had her attention on Izuku.
"Is she ignoring us…?" Ochako asked as she watched Mei keep getting closer to Izuku.
Kyouka had to resist grinding her teeth as she nodded. "Yeah… And it's starting to annoy me a little."
Mei then took out a briefcase and opened it, revealing a bunch of gadgets. "The support course specializes in creating equipment that helps heroes deal with their quirks and enhance their skills. I packed a ton of powerful babies to bring with me, so I'm sure you'll find something you'll like floating around my arsenal. Oh, I see one's caught your eye!" She then pulled out a jetpack to show it off to Izuku. I based this on a certain hero's backpack. Though, of course, I added my own twist."
Izuku pointed at the jetpack as his eyes sparkled a little. "Wait, I recognize that! Air Jet, the Buster Hero, has one of those! I love that guy!"
"Isn't he awesome?!" Mei asked as both she and Izuku held onto the jetpack.
Both girls didn't seem very excited about having Mei on the team, but one particular girl was definitely hating these circumstances.
The purple haired girl watched as Izuku and Mei continued to geek out about the hero as she felt her nails start to dig into her hands from her fists. 'I don't like this one bit. It was bad enough having Uraraka on our team, but now I have to deal with this crazy girl who's getting a little too buddy-buddy with Izuku. But if I'm lucky, this will be the first and last time the two of them talk to each other. So I guess I can bear with it for now… But it doesn't mean I'll let it fully slide."
Kyouka walked in between the two of them as she cleared her throat. "Izuku, we don't have much time to waste looking at her gadgets."
Izuku widened his eyes as he realized what he was doing before letting go of the jetpack. "O-Oh yeah, my bad."
"We should be using this time to come up with a strategy since we don't have Iida. Come on." The purple haired girl lightly scolded Izuku to get his attention away from Mei as the other girl stared at her for a bit.
"So what do these do?" Mei asked out of nowhere as she pointed at Kyouka's earphone jacks.
Kyouka gave her a weird look for a moment before glancing at her earphone jacks. 'Does she want to know what my quirk does? I guess it couldn't hurt since we'll be on the same team.'
"Um, they allow me to hear at far distances and I can listen across many meters when I plug them into a wall or floor. And I can channel my heartbeat into them, creating a vibration." The purple haired girl explained as she twirled around her earphone jack.
Without warning, Mei began to touch Kyouka's earphone jacks, running her fingers across them before pinching the tip of them. "Ah, I see! They're the exact size of a regular headphone jack! Beautiful!"
"H-Hey, stop that!" Kyouka exclaimed as she immediately took a few steps back and glared at Mei. "What did you even do that for?"
Mei ignored the question as she pulled out some tools before turning her back towards everybody, starting to tinker around with some kind of device while cackling to herself.
"Um, what is she doing?" Ochako asked as she looked at the crazy inventor.
Izuku tilted his head as he crossed his arms. "I don't know, but at least we have a full team now."
Kyouka held onto her earphone jacks as if to defend them from Mei's prodding before nodding. "Yeah… Better than nothing I suppose…"
The timer ended with a loud buzz as Midnight stretched. "Oh, goody. It's time to get this party started."
"After 15 minutes to pick teammates and talk strategy, 12 cavalry teams are preparing to go head to head!"
"I see some unexpected student combinations."
"Come on, everyone get your hands in the air! It's time for an arena-thumping U.A battle royale! Let me hear ya scream!"
Kyouka found herself riding Izuku, Ochako, and Mei as she gulped and put on her headband that had the number '10,000,345'.
She was currently wearing the jet pack that Mei showed off to Izuku earlier while Mei and Ochako were wearing boots that allow them to hover.
She wasn't a big fan of relying on those two for this round, but to win this she has no choice. She won't let her personal feelings be the reason Izuku loses this round.
She's going to make sure he has the best chance of winning possible no matter what. Even if she had to team up with someone like Bakugo for example.
Kyouka tightened her headband before looking down at her teammates. "Hope you guys are ready."
Izuku nodded as he looked at the other teams. "Yeah, I think so."
"Let's win this!" Ochako shouted as she had her game face on.
Mei simply cackled, excited to show off her babies.
"Okay, all your first years! I hope you're ready with your chosen teams! Let's get this party started! One final countdown before the game starts! 3! 2! 1!"
"Begin!" Midnight shouted as she raised her whip.
All of the teams immediately began to run towards Kyouka's team as she felt her heart start to race. "They're really not hesitating to go for us, huh?"
"Let's run away then!" Izuku shouted as green electricity surrounded his body.
"Don't think so!" Tetsutetsu shouted as his group ran towards them.
"Yeah!" A boy with a wide set of teeth exclaimed before using his quirk on the ground.
The ground beneath them softened, feeling like quicksand as they began to sink as Kyouka looked down. "What's wrong, you guys?!"
"Something's wrong with the ground!" Ochako shouted as she felt herself sink into the ground.
Izuku tried to jump away, but it was no use as he looked at the guy in front of him. "It must be that guy's quirk!"
"Guess it's time to use it. Watch your faces!" Kyouka shouted before pulling out a button and pressing it, activating the jetpack and flying away with the rest of her teammates. "Wow, this thing packs a punch!"
Tokoyami's Dark Shadow charged at them from below before Izuku gave it a good punch to the face, sending him back a little. "Sorry, Dark Shadow! Hope there's no hard feelings!"
"Ow!" Dark Shadow exclaimed as he held onto his nose before returning back to Tokoyami.
"Great job, Dekiru! Good thing you can throw a mean punch!" Ochako complimented with a smile before looking at the ground. "We're landing!"
They all slowly began to land onto the ground before starting to run away.
"So what'd you think of my babies? Aren't they just precious?" Mei asked as she looked at Izuku. "Cuteness can be manufactured, you know."
"Excellent mobility! Your babies are amazing, Hatsume! Makes me wish I was wearing one of them!" Izuku praised as he smiled at Mei, causing the girl's face to go a little red.
"I'm the one who's making us float." Ochako grumbled as she pouted.
Kyouka was the only person to have heard that as she gave Ochako a quick glance. 'And why do you care so much? You don't actually… No, I shouldn't think about that right now. I have to focus on the game.'
"Wow! Barely two minutes have passed since we started, and it's already a total free for all! Yeah! Watch those headbands! You can even ignore the 10 million points and go after the other chart toppers."
"Midoriya! How dare you create a harem right in front of my eyes! You'll pay!" A voice shouted from the direction of Shoji who was running at them with his arms covering his back.
"W-Wait, is that Mineta?! And what are you talking about?!" Izuku asked with a red face as he looked around for Mineta before shaking his head. "Not important. We have to go, now!"
Ochako tried to run, but her foot wouldn't move at all before looking down to see her boot stuck on a purple ball. "Oh, no!"
"What's happening now?" Kyouka asked as she looked down to see a familiar looking purple ball. "Of course it's him!"
Mineta revealed himself to be covered by Shoji's arms as he held two of his sticky balls while blood streamed from his eyes. "I told you that I'd make you pay, Midoriya!"
"That shouldn't be allowed!" Kyouka shouted before dodging a long tongue.
"The judges say yes!" Midnight allowed as she pointed her whip forward.
"Sorry about this, Kyouka." Tsuyu said before she and Mineta hid again under Shoji's arms.
They started to be barraged by Mineta's sticky balls and Tsuyu's tongue, doing their best to dodge them.
"We're going up!" Kyouka shouted as she pressed the button, activating the jetpack, but facing some resistance before flying up.
Unfortunately, the bottom of one of Ochako's boots got torn off, causing Mei to scream in horror. "My baby's ruined!"
"Cry about your babies another time! Now's the time to focus!" Kyouka scolded Mei before hearing an explosion from below. "Huh?
Bakugo was seen using his explosions to propel himself towards them. "Don't think for a second you're safe!"
"Quickly! Stick your ear thingy in this little baby!" Mei shouted before pulling out a mechanical-looking ball that had a headphone jack on top.
The ball was thrown at Kyouka before she caught it and she looked at it. "Okay… Here goes nothing!"
She then stuck her earphone jack into the ball before channeling her heartbeat into it, suddenly releasing a screeching soundwave.
Bakugo was right in front of them and prepared to fire an explosion before being stunned by the soundwave and placing his hands over his ears. "D-Damn you, Earlobes!"
"Whoa! Bakugo has been separated from his horses! Is that even allowed?!"
"He never touched the ground, so technically it's okay." Midnight confirmed with a thumbs up.
Bakugo began to fall before immediately having his torso wrapped in tape and pulled back towards his teammates.
"W-What is that sound?!" Ochako asked as she closed her eyes, doing her best to withstand the sound.
"G-Gotta make it stop!" Kyouka shouted as covered her ears and unplugged her earphone jack from the ball, stopping the soundwave. "You couldn't have warned me it would do that?!"
"A-At least it got Kacchan off our backs..." Izuku said as his head rattled from the sound.
Mei just gave a wide smile as she seemed to be immune to the sound. "My baby is finally perfected! I couldn't get the soundwave to a frequency to propely stun! It usually only causes temporary deafness!"
Everyone's ears, with the exception of Mei's, were still ringing from the soundwave as Izuku turned to her. "Who did you test this on?!"
"Myself, of course!" Mei said with zero hesitation as her smile stayed plastered on her face.
Kyouka sweatdropped as she lowered her head. "You have serious issues." She then saw the ball was smoking and threw it away. "Won't be needing this anymore."
"Don't throw my baby like that! It's so cruel!" Mei cried out as tears streamed from her eyes.
"You're lucky we have Recovery Girl at school." Ochako said before they all began to land a little roughly. "It's hard to control where we're going with just one foot."
"I guess using the jetpack isn't going to be the best option anymore, huh?" Kyouka asked as she sighed.
"No, but we do have one other alternative if we can't use the jetpack." Izuku said as electricity surrounded his body once again before giving a small smile. "Me."
Izuku began to run at about half of his full speed, making sure to avoid large groups of teams as Ochako raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't you do this from the start, Dekiru? And can't you go faster than this?"
Izuku looked at his friend as he continued to run, getting a little distracted. "Well, I thought Hatsume's gadgets would be enough to get us by this round, and going full speed the whole time might be too much for you guys. You might not all be able to focus and we could lose our points."
Meanwhile, horns were shot at them from their side before Kyouka used her earphone jacks to deflect them. 'She's so lucky I'm focusing on the game. Think of this as your pass, Uraraka.'
Kyouka then noticed a big hand right in front of them as if it was a blockade as she widened her eyes. "Hand!"
"Huh? What are you talking ab-" Izuku said before being cut off as he ran face first into the hand.
Right in front of them were some of the girls from Class 1-B with their rider being the owner of the big hand and having orange hair.
"I have nothing against you, Class 1-A, but I'll be taking that headband." The orange haired girl said as she quickly reached for Kyouka's headband.
Kyouka barely ducked down in time before sending her earphone jacks towards the orange haired girl and jamming them into her ears, channeling her heartbeat into them. "Don't think so."
"W-What the heck is this?!" The orange haired girl asked as she felt her entire body rattle from the vibrations while her hand shrank back down to a normal size.
"Now we've got an opening! Keep going, Izuku!" Kyouka shouted as she pointed forward.
"Right! I'll try not to get distracted again." Izuku said before starting to run past the other team.
"Might as well take this." Kyouka stated as she quickly snatched two of the orange haired girl's headbands and wrapped them around her neck. "Couldn't hurt to have extras."
"Nice on, Jirou!" Ochako shouted as she looked at the taken headband.
"As expected, everyone's after the first place team, giving them no time to catch their breath! What a show this is! Now who wants to take a look at each team's points so far?! It's been 7 minutes, so let's get those rankings thrown up on the screen!"
'Those headbands only bumped our score to 10,000,805, huh? At least that's some insurance if we end up losing the 10 million point headband.' Kyouka thought to herself before seeing a certain team's score as she put her hand over her mouth to hold in a laugh. 'Now that's beautiful.'
"Hold on here. This is an unexpected turn. Other than Midoriya, Class 1-A's not doing so hot! Even Bakugo is losing!"
Izuku looked over to see some blonde guy from Class 1-B talking to Bakugo. "Smart strategy from Class 1-B. This strategy could benefit us if they keep up with it."
Kyouka internally smirked as she looked at the lack of a headband on Bakugo's head. 'If I'm lucky, this will take him out of the game entirely. It would be a shame if he were to lose the festival in the second round after how much crap he talked.'
Suddenly, the screeching of wheels were heard before Todoroki and his team appeared right in front of them as they stopped running.
"And now we've reached the halfway point of the game!"
"Now this is one of the matchups I wasn't looking forward to." Kyouka said as she glared at Todoroki.
"Guess this was inevitable, wasn't it?" Izuku asked as he sighed.
"As the cavalry battle enters its second half, it's anyone's game! Class 1-B has made an unexpected showing, but who will wear the 10 million points in the end?! That's the real question, sports fans!"
Todoroki narrowed his eyes at Kyouka, looking very focused. "I'll be taking that now."
"Oh jeez. I don't like the look in his eyes." Ochako said as she shivered a little before seeing Kaminari on the other team. "Guys, I might have some info that can help. Kaminari's quirk only surrounds his body in electricity. If he tries to shoot it out then it'll just go everywhere. He'll end up hitting his teammates in the process, so I think we're safe from that."
"Oh yeah, I forgot you were his partner during combat training. Thanks, Uraraka." Izuku said as he smiled at his friend before suddenly remembering something. "Wait a minute, Yaoyorozu is on his team. She could probably create something to shield herself and her teammates from Kaminari's electricity."
"Damn, Todoroki really has everything covered, doesn't he?" Kyouka groaned as she rolled her eyes.
Ochako gulped and nodded. "Well, we have to make sure to stay away from them."
"Now, Iida. Forward!" Todoroki demanded as he leaned forward.
"Right!" Iida exclaimed before activating his quirk and running forward.
Todoroki looked at Momo. "Yaoyorozu. Be ready to protect us."
Momo nodded as she began to create a blanket from her belly. "On it!"
"Kaminari." Todoroki called out.
"Oh, I know what I gotta do." Kaminari said with a smirk.
"Looks like you were right about Kaminari and Yaoyorozu." Kyouka said before seeing a bunch of teams coming after them. "Shit! We're in a bit of a bind here!"
"Give me back my headbands!" The orange haired girl from earlier shouted as her hand grew and formed a fist.
"I think I have an idea. Uraraka, make Kyouka float." Izuku ordered before looking up at his best friend. "And Kyouka, when I give you a signal, use your jetpack to fly up high in the air. Then send your earphone jack towards me when I give another signal."
Ochako nodded before touching Kyouka's leg, making her weightless. "Done!"
"Izuku, what are you planning?" Kyouka asked as she held the button, waiting for the signal. "Is this really a good idea?"
Izuku looked up at her and nodded. "I think so, but there's no time to explain. Just trust me on this."
Kyouka stared at her hero for a few seconds before nodding as well. "Okay. I'll trust you."
"Hope you made something strong Yaoyorozu." Kaminari commented as Todoroki wraps a created blanket around his teammates and Yaoyorozu creates a staff to touch the ground.
"Kyouka, now!" Izuku shouted, knowing what's about to happen.
Kyouka immediately pressed the button, activating the jetpack and flying high into the air, now floating. 'Please stay safe down there, Izuku.'
"Indiscriminate shock. 1.3 million volts!" Kaminari shouted before releasing a large amount of electricity everywhere, shocking everyone in the area.
"Jirou seems to have gone airborne all by herself to avoid all that electricity! Clever move!"
Izuku screamed in pain as he felt electricity course through his body before cracking a smile. 'At least Kyouka and our points are safe.'
Mei had a wide smile on her face as she looked up at Kyouka. "At least my baby's safe!"
Kyouka winced as she watched her hero get hurt from the electricity, causing her to clench her fists. "Kaminari, you bastard. I swear, I'll get you for this one day."
"Less than 6 minutes left." Todoroki stated before grabbing onto the staff, freezing the ground behind him and freezing a lot of teams in place before noticing that Kyouka was still in the air. "Damn. That's going to be a problem."
"Will you look at that! He's stopped all those teams cold in their tracks!"
"But only after Kaminari had immobilized the students using his electricity. In the obstacle course, he was surprised by how many people avoided his attack. He's adapting his strategy."
"Nice commentary!"
Ochako started to feel sick as she placed her hand over her mouth. "I-I don't know how much longer I can hold her up there… I feel like I'm gonna hurl..."
Izuku gave his friend a worried look for a second before giving a wide smile. "Come on, Uraraka! You can do it! We need Kyouka to stay floating a little longer!"
Ochako nodded as she did her best to keep the contents of her stomach inside before giving a thumbs up. 'Right! I won't fail you, Dekiru!'
Todoroki took some other team's headbands as he continued to run forward before creating an ice wall behind them, separating his team and Kyouka's team from the others before his team stopped in front of them. "Guess we'll have to wait for Jirou to come down. None of us have any ranged attacks to use."
Kaminari seemed to be twitching a little from his earlier attack as he looked at Todoroki. "U-Um, w-what about your fir-"
"No." Todoroki cut off Kaminari in an instant as he gave a serious look. "Not that."
Izuku gave a nervous smile as he looked at Todoroki. "You said you wanted to beat me. Isn't that right, Todoroki?"
"Just what are you getting at, Midoriya?" Todoroki asked as he clenched his fist. "Our interest isn't you right now. It's Jirou."
"What are you doing?" Ochako asked before widening her eyes, slowly reaching her limit.
Izuku ignored the question of his friend before activating Full Cowling. "We can settle it right here if you want. Kyouka is safe up there, so we have nothing to lose."
Meanwhile, Kyouka was still floating as she looked down at them all and could barely hear them. "It isn't like Izuku to be picking a fight. Is this another plan of his?"
Kyouka then had an idea as she remembered how Todoroki had some of his headbands hiding their point value before starting to rearrange her own headbands. 'I guess I should do something while I'm up here.'
"Get over here, Todoroki!" Izuku shouted as he and his teammates began running forward, now being on the offensive.
"Whoa! Looks like Midoriya just separated from his teammates as well! Are the horses allowed to do that?!"
"I'll allow it!" Midnight shouted as she cracked her whip.
"He's trying to take our points!" Momo shouted as she created a stone shield in front of them before Izuku punched it, destroying it.
"We can't run away. That ice wall is blocking us." Iida stated as he looked behind himself, seeing the giant ice wall.
Izuku then separated from his teammates and jumped forward with an intense expression on his face before reaching for Todoroki's headbands as Todoroki grabbed his arm, freezing it. "Do you really think it'll be that easy, Midoriya?"
"I don't know, but I'll have to try!" Izuku shouted before using his other arm to reach for the headbands, causing Todoroki to widen his eyes as flames suddenly started to emerge from his left arm.
Izuku widened his eyes as well as he saw the flames before pulling both of his arms back and returning to his teammates. "That was a close one. But I think I stalled enough to come up with a small plan." He then looked up at Kyouka and gave a thumbs up. "Now for her to come back."
Kyouka sighed in relief as she saw Izuku avoid the flames before sending her earphone jack down to him. "For once, can he not make me worry about him?"
Izuku grabbed the earphone jack and began to pull her down. "I'm sorry I made you hold it for so long, Uraraka."
Ochako was throwing up rainbows all over the ground as she gave a shaky thumbs up.
Kyouka was now reunited with her teammates as she gave Izuku a gentle bonk to the head. "It was a good plan to have me avoid the electricity, but did you really have to pick a fight with Todoroki? Was it just for those headbands?"
"Well, the headbands would've been a bonus and I didn't expect him to use flames against me." Izuku said as he looked at his partially frozen arm. "But I won't be able to throw any more punches this game."
Meanwhile, Todoroki looked shaken up as he stared at his left arm and grabbed onto it, not believing what he did.
"Todoroki. Better watch yourself. That was too close!" Iida stated as he looked at Todoroki.
Todoroki recomposed himself before letting go of his left arm and nodding. "Yeah. We still have to take that headband from Jirou."
"What are we going to do now? We're pretty much cornered with that wall Todoroki made." Kyouka said as her team and Todoroki's team kept their distance from each other, staying on their left side.
"Only 1 minute left! Todoroki has cornered the 10 million point team and is poised to seize the ultimate prize! At least that's what I would've predicted 5 minutes ago! Unbelievably, Team Jirou's been able to keep away from the ice master for the last half of the game!"
Ochako seemed to recover from her sickness as she wiped her mouth. "Just a minute left, but we don't know what could happen in a minute."
"You're right. Since we can't use the jetpack with one of Uraraka's boots broken, I came up with a plan to get us out of this corner." Izuku said as he looked at the ice wall, now facing it as he looked ready to run. "Shield your faces, guys."
"What's he planning?" Todoroki asked himself as he looked at Izuku's stance. "There's nowhere for them to run, and it would just put his team at risk."
"It looks like they'll be running past us, so let's take that chance to grab Jirou's headband." Momo suggested before getting a nod from Todoroki.
The girls shielded their faces from the ice wall as Izuku began to run forward at full speed with his arms crossed in front of his face. "Smash!"
Izuku then smashed through the ice wall with his arms, creating a large hole in the wall as Ochako gave a wide smile. "Whoa, Dekiru! You're like a bulldozer!"
Kyouka moved her arms away from her face before pumping her fist. "Hell yeah! Bet they didn't expect that!"
Izuku looked at his best friend and was about to respond before noticing something. "K-Kyouka, your headband! Where did it go?!"
"Uh-oh! Looks like Jirou's headband was taken by Todoroki during that mad dash! What a twist!"
"Huh?" Kyouka asked before touching her forehead and feeling nothing there. "Oh shit!" She then began to laugh as she looked back at the hole Izuku made. "At least, that's what I would say if they got the 10 million point headband. Consider this game won."
"What do you mean by that?" Izuku asked before starting to understand what she meant. "Wait, did you do what I think you did?"
Meanwhile, Todoroki held a headband in his hand before looking at it and seeing it's only worth 295 points as he tightened his grip on it. "Dammit, she mixed the 10 million point headband with the one around her neck. We're running out of time and we're left alone in this corner."
"Shouldn't we stay here? We're in a safe second place and I don't think anyone's interested in us right now." Kaminari suggested as he looked pretty nervous.
Iida ignored Kaminari's suggestion as he looked at the hole with Kyouka's team in sight. "Everyone. We have less than 30 seconds. I'm gonna do something that'll make me useless to you. But it's worth it."
Todoroki looked down at Iida with a confused expression as he wrapped the extra headband around his neck. "What are you gonna do?"
"We have a chance of getting that 10 million point headband, so don't miss Todoroki. Brace yourselves. Hold on tight! Torque Over!" Iida shouted while the flames from his engines turned blue before running forward at a lightning speed as Todoroki snatched one of the headbands around Kyouka's neck as they passed her. "Reciproburst!"
Kyouka gasped as she looked down to see one of her headbands around her neck gone, not knowing if Todoroki took the 10 million point headband or not. "After them! Get the headband from Todoroki!"
"I'm on it!" Izuku shouted as he ran towards Todoroki's team, seeing the headband still hanging from his hand.
"What just happened?! That was one big blur! Holy smokes, folks! Why didn't he show off that super speed in the preliminaries?! With less than 10 seconds left in the game, this sudden move from Team Todoroki is causing a major roar from the audience!"
Bakugo also came into the mix, using his explosions to propel himself towards the two teams. "Deku! Icy Hot! Who's got the points?!"
Izuku and Bakugo were both reaching for the headband as Todoroki grabbed a staff created by Yaoyorozu to defend himself.
"Times up!"
All the teams suddenly stopped as Bakugo plopped onto the ground face first.
"And with that, the second round is officially over!"
Izuku clenched his fist as he looked down. "I'm sorry, guys... I shouldn't have gotten us out of that and let one of Kyouka's bait headbands be taken. We would've been safe if we stayed in that corner."
"It's okay, Dekiru. You didn't know what would happen." Ochako comforted her friend as she gave a small smile.
Kyouka got off of her teammates as her bangs covered her eyes and took off her last remaining headband to look at the points before she gasped. "S-Seriously?"
"Now let's take a look at who our top four teams are! In first place, Team Jirou! In second place, Team Todoroki! In third place, Team Bakugo! In fourth place is team Tetsute- Wait, what?! It's Team Shinso! When did they come back from the dead?!"
"Yeah! We did it!" Ochako shouted as she raised her fist.
"Wait… first place?" Izuku asked as he teared up a little and turned to his best friend who was still looking at the headband.
Mei took the jetpack off of Kyouka's back and began to tinker with it before pointing at the headband.
Kyouka felt herself tearing up a little as well as she showed her hero the point of value of the headband, revealing it was the 10 million point headband before giving a wide smile. "Yeah… First place."
"Now, let's take an hour lunch break before we start the afternoon festivities! See ya soon! Hey, Eraser Head. Let's grab some food."
"I'm taking a nap."
A/N
Ahem. First off I want to say… HOLY SHIT 1K FAVORITES?! I'm just absolutely blown away by how much people actually give a damn about this story. I never thought I would reach 1k in my wildest dreams and I feel like I don't deserve this for having such a subpar story and an inconsistent update schedule. When I started this story, it was only meant to last around 10 chapters with 1-2k words each chapter. And here I am planning 100+ chapters and not wanting to go below 4-5k each chapter. It's mainly because of your guy's support that I have the motivation to make this story more than it originally was supposed to be. Now I see this story as one of the best uses of my free time. I want to thank all you guys from the bottom of my heart and I hope you will continue to enjoy this story from here on out.
And that's it for chapter 38! Wow this chapter really did take a month… More actually... Fuck! It didn't help that I didn't start working on this chapter until after thanksgiving and getting the rona. Also, this chapter was a lot shorter than I expected it to be, considering the cavalry battle is 2 episodes in the anime. I guess a good portion of it is used on Bakugo's team as well so I guess it makes a little sense.
But I will guarantee that the next chapter will be up in a week at the very latest! It also helps that I'm done with finals and school won't begin until late January so hopefully that means a more consistent update schedule.
I wanted to take a lot of more risks and do the cavalry battle a lot differently in this chapter, but the cavalry battle was always a little messy to me and having to manage so many characters is something I want to save until way later. I know for a fact I'll take more risks in future chapters though.
I really wanted to make Izuku the rider so he could have a better confrontation with Todoroki and Bakugo, but it just wouldn't work in a strategic sense since his Full Cowling is great for a front horse and he would be pretty limited as a rider.
And I don't know the full rules of the cavalry battle so Izuku jumping and separating from his team was something I was a little hesitant in adding in. I also wasn't sure if Kyouka was allowed to move her 10 million point headband or not.
I did want to add in more Kyouka jealous moments, but I didn't want to have it be overdone and sometimes they felt forced to me into the scene and messed with the pacing a lot. Plus, there'll be much more jealous moments in the future. Hell I have this one filler chapter I'm excited to write which is pretty much a stalking chapter with humor.
I was also originally going to make Izuku and Kyouka have 5 million points each which actually would've made more sense, but I wanted to have Kyouka have her little outburst towards Midnight and her showing off how loyal she is to Izuku.
And here's one rule I'm following from now on, during action scenes like fights and events like these, I'll be using only their names instead of hair color as well. Makes it a little easier for me
Now onto the reviews!
Chuck Winanaki: Yeah, I couldn't personally think of too many ways to make the chapter more tense and I don't think this chapter is much better honestly.
AngelicWisdom: Maybe I'll have her find out one day in the far future. Also, can I get paid? I'll take it. Kidding of course. Or am I?
Naoto Koizumi: You know that image of them hanging together is really funny, but sadly I don't think it would've worked in my story though. Funny idea though.
Lockheart25: Thank you, at least it was a month well spent.
Capito Celcior: Well, I mostly added that scene here since I personally don't think the race was too serious and they were near the lead anyways, so it didn't seem like a big deal to me.
That One Fuzzie Guy: I guess you have a point there, but I do really want to have Izuku end up getting his scars and not win the tournament in the end. I know who I'll win the tournament just for a little mini arc.
RPGuy777: Thanks, the one on one matches with Kyouka are the ones that'll be fun to write. The Izuku vs. Todoroki fight will be fun to write as well.
DarkestLight234: Yeah, I think people forget that Izuku went up against Stain after like a day or two of Full Cowling training. Now that's a conflict that'll surely happen in the future.
Earl John Diawatan: Well at this point, Shinso isn't really on good terms with anyone and that would be pretty OP.
Guest: Thank you! I look forward to you reading more!
crazydimondfan01: Yeah, that'll definitely be a scene in the future when these two get closer.
Ability King KK: You know, I feel like it would've been more interesting to have them both have 10 million, but I felt like it wasn't too necessary. And Kyoutoko will definitely remember this moment.
Guest: Made it so much easier, but maybe a little too easy. Made me feel a bit lazy.
Guest: I would say it was fun. Could've been worse I think.
silverjack20: Oh, she's not going to want him to have it, but he'll get it one way or another.
Mrmagnet71: Of course I will.
Dragon storm: Don't worry, I added the crazy girl to the team.
PonchoFirewalker01: I hope this was soon enough for you and thank you for enjoying the story!
Ben: Now that's going to be a very fun scene.
That's it for the reviews!
Well, that's the end of this chapter! Please feel free to leave a review!
