"And now, onto the second game!" Midnight announced, gesturing with the… it's not a whip, but I don't know what it is. "I know what it is already, but what could it be, what could it be?" Alright, we get it, dragging it out for tension. "I just said it, and now here it is!" And the screen eventually settled on-
CAVALRY BATTLE!
… I'd swear but Midnight would call me out on it. I already have trouble just working by myself at school, they want me to do a cavalry battle?! I mean, yes, I can go Blood Stalk, but that last test just showed using it for long periods – or just taking too much damage or whatever caused it – will make it explode off! Yes, most of the time it's not enough to make someone go Smash, but I REALLY don't want to risk that. Ah mou-
"And the point value for the one in first place is… ten million!"
… right. Now it's coming back to me. Iida will go against Izuku to challenge him, big ice walls, Bakugou's explosive temper… I flash Izuku an apologetic grin at that. Admittedly the other reason I hadn't told any of them the events aside from my spotty memory and lack of details on some pages is because I didn't want to give the class an unfair advantage… and frankly Class 1-A, Mei, Kendo, and Neito were about all the ones I wanted to be stuck explaining it too.
"Now you have fifteen minutes to build your team! Start!"
And immediately shouts of "Team up with me!" "No, me!" And the like started as the crowd descended into full-on chaos. Immediately I looked to my right… and spotted that Neito had already moved off and looked for others. Clearly, he didn't want an easy ride as friends – or felt other Quirks might be more useful which is fair. I'm not even going to try for Mei, I don't need refreshed memories to know she'll head straight for the top. But who to go with-
"Hey, you used that weird transformation to run through the minefield at the end, right?" A dry sounding voice asked. I opened my mouth to reply on instinct… and then stopped. I snapped my head around and standing there… is Shinso. He just smiled a little wider at seeing my open mouth.
"Vaporise." I almost snarled in unison with surrounding myself with Nebula Gas. Even as the transformation happens, I feel my body start to freeze up and my vision almost seems to go tunnelled-
Win. Fight. Be at the top!
-but before Shinso can say anything I feel my body twitch and then start to move, the arms shooting up and grabbing him by the collar, the other hand pulling back for a punch! I don't want that, I don't want that, I reach out to grab the punch like I would a Smash. And as I do… my arm briefly goes limp. The tunnel vision fades, I can see Midnight reaching for her costume. And I shake my head and let go of Shinso's collar.
"Good freaking grief," I muttered out… before I held out a hand. "Sorry about that. Guess the gas pushes me a bit harder if you hijack my mind. Shinso, from the general course, right?"
Shinso looked up at me for a moment, wide-eyed… before his mouth settled into a more neutral expression and he takes my hand into his, letting me pull him up. "You'll excuse me if I'm a bit sceptical. You did transform intentionally." He deadpanned.
"I know how your Quirk works, I'm the only one in this round who does. I thought the gas would disrupt your control." I remarked, rolling my arm as I did. "I think you doing that just… pissed me off"
Shinso raised an eyebrow. "Why?" He asked. I simply tilted my head down to let the light of the sun create a deadpan expression to him. Shinso chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm not doing it a second time, it was close enough before. But if everyone gets to the final round, what's the problem?"
"I'd roll my eyes right now if I could. You're forcing people to team up with you. You take away the choice." I countered. "… and besides which, that's a bad example of the sort of hero you can be with those powers."
Shinso's expression darkened. "That gas must be messing with my hearing. I'm not in the hero course, remember?" Shinso noted venomously.
"Not yet," I responded. "Consider it this way… no exam is perfect, so if a student like Eraserhead fell through the cracks, do you think the Principal hasn't set up anything?"
Shinso blinked… and then frowned. "But why do you think I have value as a hero? My Quirk-"
"Doesn't define who you are. No more than mine does." I interrupted. At that I let the Nebula Gas disperse away from me, before absorbing it back into my body through my open hands. "What I'm saying is, don't brainwash people to be your teammates. You'll either cheat them out of this or find unexpected side effects like mine. I mean our team should have a better reputation than the explosive chihuahua."
"Go fuck yourself Gas Suit!" Bakugou shouted from halfway across the pitch. Shinso just chuckled at that… before stopping.
"You still want to team up with me?" Shinso asked, dumbfounded.
"… bad first impression aside? Yeah." I remarked. "You're clearly aiming to keep up with the best of the Hero Course, you're as good a candidate as any for rider that I know." Outside of Hagakure but I was not comfortable having someone sit on me while naked thank you. "And I can think of a couple of others who could make us be a… sneaky team."
Shinso's mouth curled into a smirk. "Sneaky team huh?"
"I'm not good with names, so sue me," I remarked… even as I looked around the field. It would make sense connections wise to look for others in 1-A, but with Mina, Kirishima, Sato and others trying to team up with Bakugou – not a bad idea honestly if you can stand him for that long, but Kirishima outdoes me as a tough front horse – but my eyes are driven to those who people in my class wouldn't expect. That means that between Class 1-A and 1-B, the only one who will know all my tricks is Neito… and I know all HIS tricks so it's a fair trade. But I'll need to strike fast and – ah, there. I quickly gesture to Shinso to follow me as we make our way through and around the different groups, with me only getting the occasional wave.
"Hey, Andros!" Kendo remarked as we approached her. "Sorry, I've kinda been… recruited into my own team already." The rub on the back of her head and the guilty grin is admittedly cute, but that's not why I'm here.
"You'd be good on our team, but I get it," I remarked, ignoring Shinso giving me an incredulous look. Yes, I know I gave up too easily, cut me some slack. "But I wanted to ask Tokage-san as well."
Most of the 1-B students, Setsuna included, blinked at that… before Kendo just chuckled. "Shoulda figured. That's why Neito and Mei aren't on your team, right?"
"Mei started to move the moment the one million points were announced." I deadpanned. "And Neito… is making his own team."
Setsuna cleared her throat. "Ahem. Sorry but… what makes you think I want to team up with you guys over my own classmates?" She questioned.
Shinso I can see that smirk on your face. "Simply put… I have a cunning plan that you'd really help with. That, and I don't plan on missing out on the finals." I added, pushing my fist into the palm of my hand. Kendo simply smirked and copied the motion.
"You'll be tasting my team's dust before then." Kendo insisted.
Setsuna shook her head… and giggled. "Ok, ok, both of you stop. Kendo, much as I'd love to team up with you… you've got plenty of people asking already and now I'm a bit curious." She admitted with a sharp-toothed grin, before turning to us and starting to walk off. "Alright boys, what's the plan?"
"Don't ask me, he tore my old plan to shreds," Shinso remarked.
I wagged my finger at that. "My plan is of the utmost cunning." I insisted… before slapping myself. "Damnit the rest of that joke only makes sense in English."
Setsuna and Shinso sighed in unison at that. "Think it's too late to back to Kendo?" Setsuna asked.
"You already made your choice." Shinso countered.
Even so, I looked around…. And grinned. Perfect. There's one student I don't really remember at all… but I paid attention when Neito talked about his class on occasion. "Excuse me, Shoda-san, right?" I called out.
"Shoda?" Setsuna repeated, before cupping her chin. "Actually, I think I see what he's getting at… with my Lizard Tail Splitter, Shoda's Twin Impact…"
"I take it that's not so obvious?" Shinso questioned.
Shoda, who had been mostly looking around before he turned his head at my calling, frowned. "Not too obvious, no. Why?" Shoda inquired.
I grinned wide. "Shoda… how'd you like to join plan Sneaky?" I offered.
Shinso just groaned at the plan name… while Setsuna grinned a little wider.
This was not one of Hagakure's best plans. Even she had to admit that simply removing her top, exposing more of her invisible body, was an extremely simple tactic, and left Rikido and Aoyama blushing – it seemed even the flashy laser-shooting boy had his limits. But with them at either side – Rikido for a close-up strike, Aoyama for some range without overusing his Navel Laser – and Jiro at the front with her earphone jacks, they should be able to deal with whatever came their way, even if their collective score was on the lower end.
Not from lack of trying, mind you. Poor Aoyama was still miles ahead of the others who had come in after him, having apparently been racing against other support students who focused on moving over power. While Class 1-A had only trained harder after the League of Villains attack and all that revealed, something had lit the fire under Class 1-B and the Support class too… and Hagakure was willing to name names there. It just left her feeling nervous as the countdown for the Cavalry Battle ticked down.
And yet the focus was all on one thing…
"START!"
As the three beneath her moved as one, Hagakure could see several other teams charge out towards the same target as her – the ten million points! They could get at it right-
But before they could even get that far she heard heavy footfalls, as suddenly Andros team, complete with him being the only student she knew about, charged forward, with both the rear horses shaking their heads, clearly having not expected a sudden shift in speed.
"Going after the ten million, are you?" The purple-haired boy on the top of the group asked.
"Of course, we-" Hagakure started, and then for a moment it seemed like the world became more distant. When things came back into focus, they were just… gone. "Wha-? What happened?"
"That guy just took your headband off you!" Rikido pointed out. "Didn't you notice? None of you?"
"Non, I was too busy answering his question~ " Aoyama admitted.
Jiro just blushed, not willing to admit she got caught in the same issue. "We can go after them-" She started before taking a step forward… and letting out a yelp as her foot goes down further than expected, two large foot sized craters in the ground. "What the… when did these get here?"
Hagakure scowled. She was willing to bet she knew. "ANDROS!"
I winced as I heard Hagakure's bellow of rage. "I think we should've picked another team to start with," I confessed.
"Our self-proclaimed tank isn't scared, is he?" Setsuna teased.
"I wouldn't want to anger someone who could turn invisible" Shoda remarked. "Tactically, it's a nightmare. Seems they found my Twin Impact trap though." I could practically HEAR the Present Mic-style blurb at that.
Nirengeki Shoda! Quirk: Twin Impact. Wherever Shoda makes an impact with something, he can decide to remotely make a second impact whenever he wants, with the power increased! This can make for tricky pitfalls or projectiles changing directions.
Shinso simply let out a chuckle… before he widened his eyes and ducked down. A burst of wind smacked into us as the oversized grasping hand of Kendo missed the headband it had aimed for. I grinned and simply lashed out with a kick to knock the oversized hand away, forcing the others to lean back and continue to hold onto Shinso in the process.
"Seems like someone else thought to strike while the iron was hot," I remarked.
Kendo simply grinned. "All's fair in love and war!" She insisted… before leaning back. "You can stick around too!" And at that a man who looked like a mutant hybrid of a glue tube, a watering can and a man let loose a spray of glue! That's Bondo from 1-B, I remember his glue!
"Jump!" Shinso ordered. As the twin pipes on my suit let out a set of pops, pushing us just barely up into the air for a short hop forward with all the extra weight, I looked back and saw Shoda's own feet barely skim where the glue landed, but just avoid it, while Setsuna seemed to have avoided it all together in another way – she'd outright let her feet float into the air alongside her!
Setsuna Tokage! Quirk: Lizard Tail Splitter. She can split her body up into individual floating pieces and thus float herself telekinetically! Each of these parts can work just as they would if attached to her body, but they can only stay away for so long!
"Bondo's glue! That's downright dirty." Setsuna noted with a twisted grin on her face.
"Where'd you get the idea for that then?" Shinso asked… only for Kendo to tilt her head and then widen her eyes before frowning at us. Shinso clicked his tongue. "She's smart too."
"Then we need an exit plan," I added.
"You think you're going to get one?" Kendo asked even as her team rushed towards us.
Shoda leaned forward as I looked at the rushing team. "Pull to your left. Trust me." He half-whispered, half barked out like an order, a shockingly commanding move from him, but with a quick look up at Shinso and a nod in reply, I simply planted my feet and started to turn. The ingenious part of this is that with Setsuna on Shinso's right, and Shoda on the left, it's actually surprisingly easy for me to move the entire horse around at a moment's notice so long as they hold on tight enough – my increased strength lets me drag them around, even as I hear the scraping of Shoda's feet against the ground.
"Go!" Shoda suddenly declared, and at that I PUSHED forward, a short burst of speed letting us make up for lost momentum and perform a sudden change in direction.
"You're fast alone, but you can't just drag your team around." Komori Kinko challenged.
"Then it's a good thing we don't need to," Shoda muttered. "Fire." As he announced that last word, the entire curved area which his feet had scraped along rumbled before digging in a sizable trench along the line as if a section of the stage had just been carved out right in front of team Kendo. In an instant I could see exactly what Shoda had aimed for – if it was an individual match such a line would be easy, but even with them stopping in time, the precision and time it'd take to cross a gap like that without tripping would stop them getting too close.
Kendo made a clicking sound with her tongue as they likely had to come to a halt – there wasn't enough humidity for that mushroom Quirk to help them out – before I heard her let out a cry of "What!?" If I could, I'd have smirked. I never remember seeing it get used until later, but Neito had told me about some of his classmate's Quirks when training his own. So that meant when I'd planned out some of the tactics here… I'd done them explicitly with Setsuna in mind. Shoda I just picked due to a vague feeling, but while he could stop people, Setsuna could do like she was now, and grab headbands off of other teams while they were distracted!
Her right hand, not the one lifting Shinso at the moment, flew over to him as Shinso grabbed the headband from it, putting it around his neck. "Gotta say, smooth move there," Shinso remarked.
"Neito likes to talk about Quirks he copies," I commented. "He's always said that it's really hard to be so precise with a hand when it's out of sight."
Setsuna just spread her jagged toothed grin at that, her hand reconnecting to her arm as she landed back on her feet. "I like the flattery, but let's foc-"
The sound of an explosion forced my feet to a halt and had my head whip back around to look in front of me. To the left of us, closer to the boundary but still fine, was Neito Monoma on his team, having just fired off an explosion into Bakugou's face to distract him and piss him off. Even so, Kirishima had his arms raised in front of Bakugou, shielding him from the blast while Bakugou's legs rested on his shoulders, a spark soon turning into a return explosion from Bakugou. The smoke hanging in the air around them made it clear that this wasn't even the first time the two had clashed, and there was a somewhat feral look in Bakugou's eyes.
"Shiiit." I slowly cursed. "Really Neito? I warned you not to piss him off!"
Both blonds' attention shifted at that – I could also feel the stare from the rest of my team at my outcry. "It was just too easy to get his headband off of him," Neito admitted sheepishly. "For someone who got number 1 in the entrance exams."
"Wanna say that again Photocopier?" Bakugou quipped angrily. "But let's see… you took my headband. You've pissed me off. We can take you both on!"
"Oi, what?" Sero asked, "The horse team doesn't agree to that."
Kirishima smirked, even as he hardened his arms. "I dunno, it might make for a manly clash," Kirishima exclaimed.
"Let's not stick around and find out," Shinso commented. "Now!"
"Right!"/"On it!" Setsuna and I exclaimed, Shoda merely nodding as we turned and started to make a run for the right… only for us to stumble in place as another explosion sounded off, louder this time. On a gut feeling, I looked up… and felt my stomach drop.
"Tokage, anti-air!" I called out. Anti-Air had been a quick plan we'd made just in case anyone tried using their quirks to attack from above – Bakugou's explosions, Iida making use of an ice ramp, Izuku's team, Shiozaki's vines – and was fairly crude in how it worked. Setsuna's right arm detached and flew towards Shoda, who took a hold of it in his left even as Setsuna balled her hand into a fist. As Bakugou fired off another explosion to race towards us, Shoda tossed the arm straight up, upon which it took on a life of its own and started to race towards Bakugou, but he's coming in fast, it would usually not get there in time. If it had just been Setsuna using her Quirk with Shoda's aiming.
"Fire!" Shoda declared, and suddenly the arm gained a burst of speed, burying itself hard into Bakugou's stomach with enough force to knock him off course and start to fall towards the course. Sero's tape stuck itself to Bakugou and, with a hasty explosion by the man himself, managed to just reel him in before he would've otherwise hit the ground.
The move was not without its shortcomings though. Setsuna winced even as she reattached her arm to her body, flexing her fingers as she did – not surprising, the amount of force they went through to hit Bakugou like that probably bruised them, at least if Shoda's Quirk is any indication.
Shinso tapped me on the head. "The other team." He growled.
I winced, even as I wheeled around, Setsuna and Shoda following my lead as quick as they could. There was no way we could do anything but match Neito's pace, and they had a running start now, so there was realistically nothing we could do but knuckle down and take them on face to face. To the right I can see that Todoroki's formed a rather large ice wall – must be going after the ten million – and behind Neito I can see Bakugou shaking his head and grinding his teeth.
Neito grinned and thrust an arm forward, his hair turning into thorny vines as he did, wrapping around his hand in a cone shape. They seem to stiffen before threatening to fall limp, only for Neito to grab them with his other hand, maintaining the shape for just a moment… seemingly all he needed. "Copy Cannon" Neito declared, a burst of light and smoke firing off before us as I let go of the hands of the others, who maintain holding up Shinso who rests his hands on my shoulders, and brought my arms up to block the blast from hitting Shinso… only to feel something sticky to punch into the smoke and wrap around my hands, even as Neito burst through with his other hand outstretched.
And then I felt a tug. A hard pull that I just planted my feet and pulled back on. If I could my eyes would have widened as I realized that the sticky couldn't be Neito – he's copied Bakugou, Kirishima and Shiozaki! It has to be Sero's tape! I force a couple of steps back and felt Shinso's weight ease up on me – shit, the others aren't moving, he could fall-
And before I can even finish that thought, Bakugou's team race between the gap, Bakugou's hand outstretched in both directions but having grabbed most of the headbands from Neito and missed Shinso only just because I'd backed up. I ripped my wrists free from the tape reached back to reform the impromptu horse and started to turn. "Screw this, we need cover from Hurricane Bakugou!" I called out with more than a little fear in my voice – just how quickly had Bakugou spotted the attack and planned for it?
"We don't have long, just a minute." Shinso deadpanned.
"Wait, how long?" I asked incredulously. "I could swear it was five." Although I do remember My Hero being fairly good at time stuff so maybe.
"Get back here Gas-Suit!" Bakugou yelled, and I just started to pull the team along a little faster to try and get out of aerial attack range, or at least to put other targets in his sight – Izuku and Todoroki should be fighting for the points over in the ice, so I was pushing towards there, although not as fast as I could as neither Shoda nor Setsuna were really prepared for me to go full speed. I could hear the explosions, I could hear Bakugou yelling, and I could feel a brief wave of heat come from up ahead.
As I had hoped, Izuku's team was going for Todoroki's headbands, and they didn't have any more than one of their own. "Faster! Todoroki has the ten million!" I called out.
"Right!" Setsuna said, even as her feet floated into the air, disconnecting from her legs, and Shoda stepped onto the ice.
"If we're trying for that-" Shoda started… before Bakugou's voice sounded off, far too close to comfort.
"GAS-SUIT! DEKU! HALF AND HALF!"
"Oh fun, all his least favourite people here." I head Shinso mutter.
Shoda shook his head at that and stopped down on the ice in front of him. "Never mind the odds, FIRE!" He shouted, a sound like a sonic boom going off firing from the ground and propelling us forward as Shoda used the amplified force of SOMETHING to propel us forward.
As we raced forward and the air whipped past, another explosion sounded off. I pushed my legs, reaching in deep into the amount of speed I could pull off. I might not be Iida levels, but with a boosted start like this, I can see just what it's like to be him as we rushed closer and closer just reaching and passing the teams-
"TIME UP!"
-before time is called and I slam my feet down, trying to stop us. Later on, I'd look back on that moment and ask myself if I had taken stupid pills or was just letting myself get lost in the rush of the moment, as the weight of Shinso on my shoulders and Shoda soon colliding into my back sent us flying forward…. And lead me sprawled out in a heap on the ground, while Shoda and Shinso got the less damaging impact of landing on me.
"Ow…" I moaned out. "Did it work? Did we get any of them?" I kept the voice going though, because frankly if you have a brand you stick to it. Still, thankfully Shoda and Shinso pull off quickly and I roll onto my back… and simply drop the transformation then and there, panting as my body reabsorbs it. Holding the transformation for 15 minutes isn't as much of a strain if I'm not going all out at the time, but the training with everyone else helped, I think.
"Time was called before I could grab them," Shoda noted sadly.
Shinso, on the other hand, flashed a stoic smirk as he lifted one up… 125 points. "I was fast, but that turning inside out trick of theirs was smart… dunno if they had one worth less in the group." He admitted with a sigh.
Ok… so 125, add on Kendo's headband, and the headband from Hagakure… "We might not be passing." I groaned. "We didn't exactly get the ones strongest of teams."
"I wouldn't be so sure!~" Setsuna remarked… as a hand of hers floated over from outside the ice ring. Holding one last headband. "Your classmates might have grabbed most of the headbands… but I wasn't about to let them have all the fun."
"In fourth place! Team Shinso!"
Wait what? I sat up at that. Izuku had more points than us? I look over and… yeah, that's three headbands. "How?" I asked, loud enough for the other teams to hear.
Izuku blinked. "Oh, uh… Tokoyami sent Dark Shadow out –" He started
"Before that, what other points did you get?"
"Um… a small amount from Todoroki and the headband from the one who looks like Kirishima," Izuku noted, heedless of Kirishima's outcry of despair at that remark.
And I'd say my jaw dropped… except Setsuna beat me to the punch by doing it literally before reattaching it. "Tetsutetsu? You managed to grab it off him?" She questioned.
"Deku's really fast when he gets that new move of his going." Uraraka insisted, pumping both arms. "Tetsutetsu brought his arms up to block the first grab but didn't see the second one coming as we passed.
Mei idly giggled with a sinister tone in her voice. "Thanks to my Babies, of course, ~" She remarked, idly fiddling with the damaged gear. "Finals and all you lovely people watching, here we come!"
I just sighed and rested my head back against the ground.
As soon as the announcement was made that the finals would be done in a tournament bracket style – something that drew no surprise from me given that even years later I can distinctly remember Izuku going up against Todoroki. Honestly, I'd left the tournament so open because… I had no idea what the teams were originally. I remember three people were in the matches, and those are the three most likely to make their own teams. But what I hadn't expected as lunch was called… was the onslaught of media that rushed to the walls, calling out to us, asking for interviews or the like, before being pulled back by the heroes maintaining security.
And it wasn't just them. I looked up at the crowd and swallowed hard as I matched faces to names, properly getting a look at the heroes who had gathered in person instead of staying at home. Ms. Joke with her trademark orange and green, Slidin' Go with his perpetual grin and big chin, Miruko, and so many others that I simply didn't recognize… and I could hear Izuku starting to mutter about as we headed towards the cafeteria…
… wait. Shit. The next round's brackets could be anything, but if they're truly random both now and when I saw it, that means there's as likely a chance as any that some of the same matchups could happen. And I don't know if what I said really got through to Shinso about his Quirk not being who he is. And if I tell Izuku he has an unfair advantage, which is literally all Shinso has against him as he is now.
And what about Uraraka? Should I tell her anything to get a leg up if she ends up taking on Todoroki, or BAKUGOU at some point? What-
I felt a light chop at the back of my neck from two directions, as Neito and Mina grinned, they and Sato, Hagakure and Mei having gathered around me and – huh, when did I get into the corridor. "You almost ran into a wall there, you ok?" Mina asked.
I paused for a moment. "Guys, if I knew things about the opponents you're about to fi-"
"Don't even think about telling me." Mina insisted. "The fights are gonna be awesome, and I want to be able to show off my moves!"
"That, and the rest of them didn't pass." Mei idly noted to a chorus of depressed groans.
Sato shook his head. "But yeah, dude, don't worry about it. People will be fine; you don't need to put the fate of EVERYONE on your shoulders all the time." Sato pointed out. "Now c'mon. I hear Lunch Rush is the one cooking for us."
"And Karage might be on the menu~" Hagakure teased.
"Karaaage!" I called out.
"Karage!" The others joined in before we burst into a series of laughs as Setsuna, Komori, and Kendo passed, Kendo laughing just as hard as the rest of us while Setsuna and Komori looked back and forth between her and us.