"Those who reach th top merely encounter fresh new hardships. And the kids who have enrolled here will hear it countless times. Plus ultra. The time limit is 15 minutes. The point value of each group's headband is worth the total point accompiuation of each of the horse's members. The one to wear the headband will be the rider. Think of them as a standard bearer. Until time is up, you'll all be fighting and stealing as many of each others' headbands as you can. You may not equip your headband on any area besides above your neck. As more and more headbands are taken, maintaining control of the situation will become more and more demanding. And the most important aspect of the game is that even if you should lose your headband or break configuration, you're still not out of the game."
"in other words," I said to Tsu, "there's no need to get antsy if your headband is taken once, right?"
"But if you don't have your eyes on the breakup of the points everyone's gaining and losing, you won't be able to judge properly, Mina," said Tsu.
"Quirks are of course allowed," continued Midnight, "so I want to see some fine brutality out there! That being said, this is still just a human cavalry game! If you attack any other group to break them up on purpose, that's a read card and you'll be forced to sit out the rest of the game. All right, you now have 15 minutes. Start your teamups!"
I knew right away who I wanted to team up with. He was quickly surrounded by a lot of there people begging the same thing.
"Hey Bakugou, do you mind teaming up with me?" I asked, but my voice was nearly drowned out by the other requests. He was barely even looking at us. He said back "What are you quirks again?"
"Forget Class B, he doesn't even know ours!" I cried. "Are you really that self-absorbed?"
"Todoroki's already got himself a full team," called out Eiji, approaching us and smiling. "Bakugou, let's team up!"
"Weird Hair," Bakugou said, not even remembering Eiji's name.
"It's Kirishima! Remember it!" Eiji fired back. Good to see him looking confident. "Whammy say, wanna player rider? Who here's the one who can withstand your explosions?"
Bakugou seemed to be appraising him and wasn't terribly impressed. "I need someone with guts."
"Yeah, sure! Me with my hardening!" said Eiji, jamming his thumb at his chest. "I'll be a horse that can't crumple, and we'll definitely get those points, won't we?" He grinned and said the magic words. "Midoriya's ten million."
Bakugou smirked; Eiji had him. Really just took saying Midoriya's name. Thanks to Eiji, Bakugou let me in on his team, and we were joined by Sero, the boy with the tape arms, to be a team of four, with Bakugo as the rider, Eiji as the front and me and Sero as horses.
"NOW TIME'S UP! RAISE YOUR WAR-CRIES AND FIRE HTE SIGNAL" Boomed Mic's voice. "LET'S START THE COUNTDOWN! 3!"
Our team was ready. 665 points in toal, my own being 120. "We've all got just one target," said Bakugo, eyes as ever trained on the same place.
"2…1!"
And with that we were off, every team on the field, towards that one destination. Team Midoriya. Midoriya riding, Uraraka and the Support Course girl in back, and Tokoyami as the front. Time for the 10 million. Before anyone could grab them, Midoriya blasted off with a jet pack and floated through the sky, levitated by Uraraka's float quirk.
"HAVE AL OOK, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! NOT EVEN TWO MINUTES HAVE ELASPED AND ALREADY WE HAVE A MELEE OF TUMULTUOUS PROPORTIONS ON OUR HADNS! ANYWHERE YOU REST YOUR EYES, THERE'S TWO TEAMS VYING FOR AND STEALING EACH OTHER'S HEADBANDS! AFTER ALL, IT'S A FINE STRATEGY TO AIM FOR 2ND TO 4TH PLACE INSTEAD OF THE BIG 10, MILLION!"
Bakugo launched off of the top of us and headed straight for Midoriya's team - but he was blocked by Tokoyami's Dark Shadow. Sero caught hi with his tape and pulled him back down.
"WHAT DO WE SE HEERE?!" CalleD Mic. "THE RIDER CAN DETACH FROM THE HORSE, THAT'S ALLOWED?"
"it's only a technical, so it's ok! The riders just not allowed to plant their feet on the ground," said Midnight.
Eiji said "Nice catch, bro" to Sero as Bakugou landed on our team's shoulders.
"THAT'S RIGHT, WHETHER IT'S THE FIRST PLACE WHO'S BEING CHASED, RO THE REST OF CLASS A, NOW DOING THE CHASING THIS HERE'S A VERITABLE CONGREGATION OF TOP DOGS! LET'S BRIEFLY CONFIRM THAT BY CHECKING THIER POINT VALUES!"
There was a gasp. "WHOA, DAMN! JUST ONE GASH SECOND! YOU MEAN CLASS A AREN'T TAKING IT BY A MILE? WELL, APART FRMO MIDORWYA, AND BAKUGO U - WHAT HAPPENED?"
Our headband was gone. Snatched from Bakugou's head by a team from Class 1B!
"We've been had!" I cried.
"Like taking candy from a baby, class A," said the rider.
"WHAT THE FUCK, FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT, GIVE IT BACK!" Shouted Bakugou. "I'LL KILL YOU!"
The blond rider looked awfully smug. "The minute Midnight called a first event the preliminaries, don't you think it would have been strange to assume they'd thin the herd drastically? obviously there would be more events. Think about what would have been the rough number of places they'd advance to the next round, in that race here nobody could let themselves fall below the passing line? It had to have been around 40 or so for this to be a festival. The whole event was just a chance to observe the quirks and personalities of one's rivals from the rear. Anybody with a brain would've aimed not for first place, but for a more measured excellence, don't you agree?"
"The whole class is surrounding us!" cried out Eiji.
"Well, it's not as though we were all in total agreement or anything, but it's a fairly good plan nonetheless, wouldn't you say?" said the blond boy. "Instead of say, scrambling for some dumb strictly temporary point summit like dangling carrots over horses. AH, come to think of it, you're already somewhat famous yourself aren't you? You're the victim of the sludge incident! Tell me all about it next time. How it must feel to be attacked by villain every year."
From that we knew what was coming. Like a bomb on our shoulders prepared to go off. "KIRISHIMA, CHANGE OF PLANS. BEFORE DEKU, LET'S SEND THESE GODDAMN SHISTANS TO SOME EARLY GRAVES!"
Right above us was a whirling column of pure rage.
"Quit getting them so riled up, Monoma!" called a girl from Class 1B. "We're all sharing the same arena here!"
"Ah, you're absolutely right," said the blond. "How unlike a hero of me. I'll heed your words. You always hear about those heroes who spark grudges in villains and get attacked in reprisal."
We could feel the explosion prepping on top of our team.
"Get it together, Bakugou!" cried Eiji. "If you don't calm down, we'll never be able to take those points back!"
He slammed his fists together. "Push forward, Kirishima. Right now I'm mad fucking calm."
"Please, dude, we gotta do this right!" Eiji pleaded, like arguing with a brick wall.
We moved forward towards his team and suddenly the blond jerk tossed one of Bakugou's explosions at us.
"Wow, amazing!" he cried. "This really is an ice quirk!"
"My quirk?" cried Bakugou.
"Bakugou, they're pasting your power!" cried Eiji. Bakugou swiped another explosion at the blond, but this time the blond blocked it using - hardening?!
"Though my quirk is better," he said. Smirking.
"Huh? My quirk too!?" cried Eiji. "They're taking everything!"
"That ain't it," snarled Bakugou. This guy has a fucking copy power."
"Correct," smirked the blond. "Well, I suppose even an idiot would get it right away."
Another kid from class B vomited up some kinda glue onto the ground beneath our feet, in between us and the blond.
"Bondo!" he cried. "So you've come to fight?"
"Monoma," said one of the blond's horses, "all we need to do now is keep away! With this score, we'll be within the top 4 for sure!"
THe glue hard hardened around Eiji's left foot.
"It hardened crazy quick! I can't move!" he cried.
"Hold on, I can dissolve it!" I assured him, getting right on that.
"Quirk, we're at 0 points!" cried Sero.
"Don't get mad," said Monoma as he rode away. "You're the one who fanned the flames, remember? What was it you said at commencement again? That embarrassing line? Ah well, no worries. Take a nice rest."
"I'll be the #1," hissed Bakugou. "And it won't be just any first place. I'm gonna be #1 by annihilating everyone!"
The announcer said there was only a minute left, and that Midoriya still had the 10 million - or then that Todoroki did.
"Wait, I said wait!" Eiji called as Bakugou jumped from our team s straight at Monoma.
"My, you lot are something else," said Monoma. "Forget heroics, that persistence is unbecoming as pe- "
But then Bakugou came at him.
"Wait, Bakugou, don't fly off the handle!" cried SEEiji as I started to freak out, wondering if our…leader had lost it.
"Tsuburaba, guard!" cried Monoma, and his left horse spat up some kinda air shield. Bakugou landed on it and started punching it. Then shattered it and -
Grabbed our headbands back right off that annoying Monoma kid's neck!
"He took 2 of em!" cried Monoma
"AND WITH THOSE 2 HEADBANDS TEAM BAKUGOU HAS SHOT BACK UP TO 3RD PLACE! EVEN IN THIS FINAL STRETCH THE SCOREBOARD'S IN A LIVELY FLUX! AH, TO BE YOUNG AGAIN!
Sero pulled Bakugou back to our team. "WE told you to warn us when you jump!" he reprimanded. "But at least now we'll definitely place high enough," reasoned Eiji.
"IT'S NOT ENOUGH!" screamed Bakugou. "I'm gonna be #1 and leave a bound of bodies in my wake!" If I go it alone like just now it won't be enough! Now go! We're gonna get our points back too! And then it's on to the 10 million!"
it was so strange - he was such a pain in the butt, but even so, his words were kinda inspiring.
"Yo, soy sauce face, tape!" he barked at Sero.
"It's zero!" said Sero, throwing tape forward as if comprehending Bakugou's plan in an instant.
"Raccoon eyes! Cut off their way forward with your acid!"
"Mina Ashido!" I reminded him. Sliding on my acid, we went flying towards that horse in no time. And Bakugou grabbed every single headband from that Monoma jerk's head!
All of em! Putting us in 2nd place!
"Next! Deku and Todoroki!" He cried as we turned towards the other end of the field, an ice array surrounding the other two teams.
Bakugou blasted through it as we ran all out, 6 seconds left. Team Midoriya and Todoroki were facing off, and it was impossible to tell who had the 10 million.
"4! 3! 2! 1! TIME UP!"
Bakugou landed on the floor with a dull thud.
"NOW WE SHALL SEE WHO OUR TOP 4 ARE! IN 1ST PLACE, TEAM TODOROKI! IN 2ND, TEAM BAKUGOU!"
Ah!" I cried out, real disappointed as me, Eiji and Sero all separated.
"IN 3RD PLACE TEAM TE - HEY, IT'S TEAM SHINSO! AND IN 4TH PLACE, TEAM MIDORIYA!"
Asui came up to me. She looked disappointed, but still told me. "It sucks to lose, but congratulations, Mina."
"I was only added as an answer to Todoroki's ice," I admitted to her. "I don't know if I actually match up with their strength."