Sooner than I was ready for, Midnight spun her rolodex of torment. I raised an eyebrow, perplexed when I saw our next challenge finally flash on the screen.

"Your next challenge is...stepping stones!" She declared, cracking her nine-tail whip. "Here's how it works! There are thirty-two concrete pedestals, one for each of you. You must try to remain standing on one by the end of the game. Every minute, one concrete stone will be taken away, until there are only sixteen left. The round will last sixteen minutes. You may use your quirks to stay on your pedestal and knock your opponents off of theirs."

"So basically musical chairs and the floor-is-lava had a baby," I heard Jiro mutter.

Kaminari laughed. "YEAAAAH! This is gonna be a blast!" he exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air.

I cracked a smile. Finally. A challenge where my quirk could actually be useful.

"There's only one rule, sweethearts," Midnight murmured seductively into the mic. "Don't. Touch. The Ground." She snapped her fingers and suddenly the ground beneath us started to shake.

"Gah!" I cried out, kneeling to keep my balance. Within seconds, we were all elevated by ten feet on our own cement blocks. I looked over the edge of mine, swallowing nervously. It's a good thing I don't have a fear of heights, or I'd be toast.

I didn't have much time. Maybe seconds to form some kind of strategy. I took note of the people on the pedestals around me. Kaminari, Momo, Pony, Kojiro Bondo, and Ururaka.

It was both unsettling and a relief all at once that Bakugo wasn't in my general vicinity. If I wasted all my energy on counter-attacking his explosions I wouldn't be able to fight even if I did make it to the third stage. I wanted to save my strength. His words came back to me, unwelcome and unwanted.

Cotton Candy held her own against me last night when we brawled. She's crazy but she's not stupid.

I shook my head like his words were gnats flying around me. They were so weird coming from him. It almost sounded like...he'd been complimenting me.

You two got into a fight?

Yeah, and she kicked my ass!

He hadn't sounded annoyed when he said that, as if he were complaining. It felt like praise.

I snarled, clenching my eyes shut. Focus. Focus! FOCUS! Think about your immediate obstacles.

Ururaka didn't strike me as an aggressive player when she could help it. She'd probably make herself levitate for the duration of the game and float someone off a pedestal at the last minute. I couldn't remember what Bondo's quirk was, and other than Pony's equestrian looks, I wasn't sure what she'd be able to do from eight feet away. Her best bet was to stay on her pedestal as long as she could, and pray it wasn't one of the stones that were temporary.

That's right. Thirty-two stones. They were only taking sixteen of them, which meant there was a fifty-percent chance I was standing on one of the stones that weren't temporary. Was it set on some kind of timer or did Cementos choose at random?

It didn't matter. It was better to assume I was on a rock that, sometime in the next sixteen minutes, would be gone. I needed to increase my amount of stones to choose from. Which meant knocking off as many people as possible.

As far as I knew, no one was aware of my quirk, how it worked, or its limitations. I had nothing but advantages right now. I needed to stay optimistic.

That was all I had time to think before the buzzer sounded. Once again, I wasn't prepared for how fast everyone jumped into action. I blinked, and suddenly sharp, pointy dagger-like things were heading towards my face. I screamed and ducked, missing them only by a centimeter. I felt the wind of them passing over my back. When I looked up, Pony was facing me with a determined gaze.

WAIT WHAT?! SHE CAN USE HER HORNS AS PROJECTILES?!

I dodged another round of them, but just barely. One of them grazed my arm, cutting a slash across my skin. I hissed as blood dripped down my elbow. "Shit."

Focus, Hibiki. Breathe and focus. The next time she shot two of her horns, I was ready for them.

I stopped them before they hit my chest, and absorbed the kinetic force that projected them through the air. I pressed my fingers together as I doubled the energy in my body, then released it all in one fell swoop.

With a cry of surprise, I knocked Pony clean off her pedestal.

I didn't even have time to celebrate. Kaminari started throwing electrical shocks my way like he was pitching baseballs.

"Don't hate the player, baby, hate the game!" He called with a flirty smile.

I yelled in outrage, hating being stuck on the defensive. We just started and I'm already out of breath. Damn these upperclassmen! It just goes to show experience makes a big difference.

Suddenly, a set of simultaneous screams sliced through the air, making the six of us freeze.

"What's going on over there? Kaminari asked, confused.

"Ten of the stones are already shrinking!" Ururaka cried out. She was already floating almost a dozen feet above our heads, looking across the field of stepping stones.

"That's impossible!" I cried. "There's no way it's already been a minute, is there?!"

"Why would the stones be getting smaller? Wouldn't Cementos just sink the stones back into the ground?" Momo asked.

Think, I scolded myself. Think. It has to be somebody's quirk, but whose? No one in Class 1-A has the ability to alter the size of objects. Neither does Shinsou. It's gotta be someone from class 2-B.

I ran through the quirks I remembered. Reiko. Poltergeist. Pony. Shooting freakin' horns like they're damn missiles. Kendo. Big Fist. Tetsu Tetsu...basically Kirishima's.

"Who in class 2-B can manipulate the size of objects?!" I asked out loud.

Bondo gasped. "Of course! It has to be Kodai!"

"But I thought she can't shrink or enlarge objects unless she touches them!" Momo pointed out.

"She can't!" Bondo confirmed. "But if someone is flying her around, helping her touch the stones - "

That means people are working together, I thought. I gritted my teeth.

You still don't trust me. Good.

I was torn. Shinsou's words fell in line with my previous way of thinking. Not to trust anyone. I was the only person I could rely on. But then that girl in the maze…

She asked me to look out for you!

Shinsou.

I'll be doing everything I can to knock you out of the running.

Maze girl.

I'll be cheering for you, okay? We both will. So do your best!

Screw it. I can't do this without their help. "Let's form an alliance!" I called out.

"I don't wanna sound mean but this isn't exactly a team sport, Asuga-kun," Ururaka countered.

I sighed. "Look! There's a chance none of our rocks are going to sink on their own. But if we don't help each other when Kodai comes our way, we'll all end up on the ground!"

"I thought you weren't much of a team player."

I gasped and whirled around. Standing on my pedestal was...

"Midoriya-senpai!"

He smiled. "Kodai is touching the stones at random. She's even taken out people from her own class. TetsuTetsu, Kosei and Hiryu have already been knocked out of the game."

"Are you serious?!" Kaminari exclaimed.

"Thanks for the heads up, Deku!" Ururaka yelled down at him.

"Reiko used her poltergeist quirk on Kodai's clothes to fly her around. That's how she's getting to them so fast," Tokoyami interjected as he landed on Kaminari's.

"Crap it hasn't even been a minute," I groaned, ready to rip my hair out.

"FIFTEEN MINUTES REMAININNNNNGGG!" Present Mic called out into the stadium.

I stomped my foot. "MOTHERF - "

" - I accept your invitation, Asuga-kun!" Ururaka said. "I'll keep a lookout!"

"Me too!" Momo called. She materialized a shield and held it in front of herself, ready for action.

Kaminari grinned. "I'll shock anyone who tries to get close!" For emphasis, he tossed around a ball of electricity between both hands.

"I'll glue you all to your pedestals so you can't fall off!" Bondo added.

I flushed with surprise. They...they're actually...listening to me.

"HERE SHE COMES!" Ururaka cried. "GET READY!"

"I'LL HOLD HER OFF AS LONG AS I CAN!" It was Midoriya's last words before he kicked off from the edge of my pedestal and shot through the air like a bullet. Tokoyami followed after him, ready to defend us with dark shadow.

I was in awe. Midoriya already realized that we'd need to team up to survive this round. He figured out a way to move between the stones without touching the ground and didn't seem the least bit concerned about falling. The moment I suggested an alliance, the upperclassmen already formed a strategy for both attack and defense. Uraraka as the eyes and ears. Kaminari on the frontline. Bondo and Momo as reinforcement. All in the span of a few seconds. It would've taken me at least ten minutes to convince my classmates to team up, and that was without even forming a plan. These guys were in a whole other league. I understood that now. But I didn't have to be as good as them. Not yet. I just needed to make it another fourteen minutes.

I saw her approaching. She was coming fast.

And I had an idea. If I was wrong, it would be the end for us. But if I was right…

"Yaoyorozu!" I asked.

"Yes?!"

"On a scale of one to now, how soon can you make something?!"

"It depends how big it is and the complexity of its - "

" - A grenade launcher that shoots balloons!"

She gaped at me open-mouthed. "A WHAT?!"

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Bondo asked.

I stared in horror as Kodai zoomed in the air even closer. "YES, BUT I'M NOT STUPID!" I replied. Dammit. I didn't think I'd be quoting Katsuki Bakugo twice today.

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO M- "

" - JUST DO IT!"

~.~

Blasting people off rocks? Not only was this too easy, it was freakin' fun. Or it was until ghost girl and the quiet one decided to team up.

"KIRISHIMA!" I yelled.

His rock started shrinking beneath him. Soon it was too small for him to stand on, and he fell onto the grass beneath us. "Crap!" He cried.

"It's not supposed to be happening this fast," I growled. "The hell is going on?!"

The quiet one flew through the air, tapping each pedestal like she was playing tag. Todoroki tried blasting ice and fire at her but she was too quick. People from every class were falling left and right. Iida. Shoji. Koda. Mina. She even got the drop on Sero.

"Dammit!" There was nothing I wanted more than to propel myself through the air and blow ghost girl off her pedestal, but I didn't know where she was and it was too risky to leave mine when there were still so many people left in the game. All I could do was help Todoroki try to shoot her out of the sky.

"I'LL BLAST YOU TO HEEEELLL!" I exclaimed, shooting one explosion after another from my palms. "AP SHOT! AUTOCA - "

" - DON'T!" Mineta exclaimed. "IF YOU MISS YOU COULD HIT SOMEONE'S PEDESTAL!"

"ISN'T THAT THE POINT?!"

"WE CAN'T DESTROY ANY OF THE PEDESTALS BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHICH ONES ARE PERMANENT!"

I snarled. Dammit, he's right. Midnight said there was only one rule...but if you thought about it technically, there were two rules. If sixteen stones would be left by the end of the round, and one of them or more got destroyed, there'd be even less of them to stand on. I'd be screwing myself over, not just my opponents. Something like that is pretty obvious to most people, but still...why didn't she include that in her explanation of the game? There had to be a reason.

Unless…

You must try to remain standing on one of them by the end of the game.

That was a weird way to phrase it. Try to stand on one? Why did she say try? I grinned when I realized. Because it's not a requirement.

"There's only one rule. Don't. Touch. The ground."

"AP-SHOT….AUTO-CAAAANNOOONNN!" I blew up one of the cement blocks, grinning as it crumbled into a pile of rubble below us.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Mineta cried again.

"You just figured it out, didn't you?" Todoroki asked me across the space between us, shooting a knowing smile.

"Yeah," I answered. There really are no limits to this game, as long as you know how to win.

"I wonder if Midoriya knows," Todoroki asked as he shot more ice into the air.

I smirked as a green light hopped from one pedestal to another. "I'd bet he realized before the game even started. The damn nerd."

~.~

"I REALLY HOPE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!" Yaoyorozu yelled at me, like a worried mom.

I kneeled on my pedestal, loading the water balloons I'd filled with my support item into my grenade launcher. "Trust me," I muttered more to myself than anyone else. "I know."

"I don't get what water balloons are gonna do," Kaminari commented as he shot volts in Kodai's direction.

"Hopefully enough." I looked down the scope of it, steadying my hands and slowing my breathing. This is a gamble. If I'm wrong...I have a very long apology to make to Yaoyorozu. But if I'm right...

"What happens if you miss?!" asked.

I had her in my sights. She was finished. "I don't miss." I pulled the trigger.

Three water balloons made a direct hit to Kodai's back and drenched her with water.

I smiled, elated.

Slowly, Kodai was starting to fly lower and lower.

"Holy crap!" Kaminari exclaimed. "It's working!"

After a minute, she fell to the ground.

Ururaka did a flip in the air for joy. Kaminari started to do some kind of happy-dance. Momo wiped her brow, smiling with relief.

"Okay, you gotta tell me what that was all about," I suddenly heard a voice from behind me.

I squeaked and whirled around, almost falling, but an invisible force grabbed my arms and righted me again.

Wait...an invisible force…

"HAGAKURE?!" I exclaimed. "YOU'VE BEEN HERE THE WHOLE TIME?!"

She laughed. "Yeah! I left my shoes off so I could stay invisible and I guess Cementos thought it was me standing there. It's a good thing I happened to be so close to you, or I would've lost before we started."

I would've given her a stare of shock if I was able to see her.

"So what made you think of the water balloon thing?"

I laughed breathlessly. "Every quirk has limits, just like physical abilities. I happen to lift five times a week. My current max is my own body weight, about eighty kilograms. Reiki isn't exactly super ripped or anything so I figured she wouldn't be able to lift more than her own bodyweight, which couldn't be any more or less than mine. Wet clothes add another kilogram or two to a person's weight, which doesn't seem like much on paper but - "

" - It made Kodai too heavy for Reiki to carry! Asuga- kun, you're a genius!"

"Not really," I scoffed. "I took a huge risk and it paid off. While everything was happening so fast...it was all I could think of."

"You took her out in one shot!" Ururaka pointed out. "Your aim was perfect! Where did you learn how to shoot like that?!"

My gaze lowered down to my hand as the elation diffused from my chest. "My father taught me," I answered quietly.

A crumbling and groaning of cement drew my attention back to the present. "No!" I cried.

We were all glued to our stepping stones, unable to move. Before our eyes, Bondo's pedestal was sinking.

"BONDO!" Uraraka cried. She floated over to him, trying to pull him up and lighten him with her quirk, but his feet wouldn't budge.

"I'll break up your glue with my electrification!" Kaminari suggested.

"No, don't, you'll only shock him!" Momo warned.

He shot a smile up at us. "Thanks for trying, guys."

Ururaka hugged him while still floating, her eyes misty. "I'm so sorry," she wailed.

I shuddered when the blaring sound of a buzzer echoed in the arena.

"ROUND TWO IS OVER!"

"What? Already?" I wondered out loud. When we first started thirty seconds felt like forever. But now sixteen minutes wasn't long enough.

I put my face in my hands, trembling with frustration. Even when I do something right I still screw up. I forgot to account for the chance that our pedestals were temporary. Bondo kept us on our stones...but in the end, there was nothing we could do to help him.

I sank deeper into my despair with each passing second.

"Congratulations to our finalists!" Present Mic announced. "Itsuka Kendo! Hibiki Asuga! Hitoshi Shinsou! Ochako Ururaka! Tohru Hagakure! Reiko Yanagi! Manga Fukidashi! Mina Ashido! Shoto Todoroki! Kyoka Jiro! Denki Kaminari! Momo Yaoyarozu! Fumikage Tokoyami! Mashirao Ojiro! Izuku Midoriya! And KATSUKI BAKUGO!"

I expected to feel relieved he was still in the game. After all, he was the whole reason I asked to participate in the first place. Everything I'd put myself through would've been for nothing if I couldn't fight him in the duels. But the only thing that pooled in my stomach was dread.

No more fun and games. No more teamwork. No more alliances.

Now the real fight begins.