Midoriya let out a steadying sigh as he tried not to lean too much on any one. He hoped the soles of his shoes weren't too uncomfortable on Uraraka's shoulders.
Looking across the field he was certain he'd be able to feel the stares even if he was blind. They were all focusing on him, the ten million points in their sights. He tried not to laugh too much too himself over it.
"Moths to a flame…" Jirou muttered under her breathe as Midnight got ready to make them start. Any moment now. Midoriya grinned just a little.
From everything Midoriya had been witnessed doing and what he know about the people around him, plus the simple facts of his situation, most would have prepared for one or both of two possibilities.
He felt Uraraka hold his leg tight, pinky ready to touch him and start their plan at any moment. Jirou's earjacks he could see hovering at the ready and Dark Shadow was hidden among the massive shadow they casted with their formation.
Possibility ome: They run. They can't let anyone get the ten thousand points off of them, hence it would make sense to try to avoid confrontation. At least, that's what those who didn't know him would be expecting. With their combination of mostly long range quirks, it was the immediately obvious solution.
Midnight stepped forward to her microphone, ready to start the event. Midoriya clenched his marked hand and looked at its dim blue glow, excitement rising.
Possiblity two: They combine their powers for some complex attacks to deflect everyone. Likely that's what 1-A would expect, they probably figured out he used people's expectations against them by now. Which meant he just had to adapt as well.
"BEGIN!"
Midoriya gritted his teeth as the thundering steps of every other team rushed at them. Time slowed and Midoriya grin grew. 'That pretty much confirms it, definitely a reaction time power or something. Add that to the list of conversations to have with the outsider.'
"Deku!" Uraraka called out as he felt his weight disappear from him. He recalled the rules of the competition one more time, not that he had to, really. This was a barely legal maneuver but his plan needed it. 'If they expect us to run as a group or fight as a group….'
The floor turned to some kind of liquid, tape flew at them and everyone inched closer. His friends side stepped away from the floor and the rest quickly ceased to matter as Midoriya kicked off of Uraraka and Jirou's shoulders, hoping he didn't hit them too hard.
'…I PICK OPTION C!'
He floated up and a quick tap from Dark Shadow helped him pick up a bit of speed, before the shadow creature turned and blocked an incoming attack that seemed to come from Hatsume.
"DEKU!"
"Midoriya!"
"Is that even allowed?!"
He floated above the stadium and looked around, getting higher and higher, noting Bakugou looking ready to take chase. Only one thing held him back.
"I'LL ALLOW IT, NO RULES ARE BROKEN BY THIS AS LONG AS HE DOESN'T TOUCH THE GROUND!" Midnight's voice sounded and instantly an explosion went off, Bakugou making his way to him.
The greenette didn't try to escape. In fact, aa soon as the explosive teen was in audible range….
"STUPID MOVE DEKU!"
"You know there calling me a witch? The abbey?" He questioned non-chalantly, eyes more on the ground than his once friend. He tried not to look at the smoke the explosions he produced made, he didn't need to have an episode.
"I DON'T FUCKING CARE!" Bakugou screamed in his usual predictable way and it was all Midoriya could do not to laugh. He grabbed the blonde and swung him around with his regular Far Reach, keeping him just far enough away. 'I really hope Uraraka's all right, the plan will be straining her a lot….' "GIVE UP FUCKER, YOU JUST MADE YOURSELF AN EASY TARGET!
"You don't care but I do…..i think i'll embrace it, I certainly don't mind being considered magic." The greenette chuckled. 'Just a few more seconds….Make sure everyone is in a good position…' "Magician might be more accurate though…"
Suddenly his weight returned and he let out a quick proper laugh as the blonde's eyes widened. Midoriya looked back with his most shit eating grin. "After all, you keep falling for my misdirections!"
And with that he plummeted fast, twisting his body in the air and aiming his hand at the ground. He tried his best not to let the more panicked part of his brain take over. 'Lets hope I can pull this off, and my enhancements can make me survive this. Momentum don't fail me now….'
This was the stupid, risky part of his plan, but if it succeded…..No it would, he would make it succeed!
"NOW!"
His hand surged with energy and he ssht forth his new Far Lance, embedding it into the ground and immediately swinging his body around it upon impact. He lurched with the sudden stop and felt a slight tickle as he very very barely avoided the floor.
His body immediately started to complain but he ignored it, letting go and using the momentum to rocket forward towards his team. In between them was Hagakure's team, which had Hatsume, Satou and someone else he couldn't see helping. He reached out and….
"HAH! Sorry guys!" He said as he shot past, taking Satou's headband with him. He could only make it so far before his body started falling to the ground though…
'Come on, come on….'
And suddenly a large shadow loomed beneath him, quickly coming off the ground and catching him. From somewhere nearby Midoriya heard Tokoyami praising Dark Shadow but he couldn't take a break yet, he still needed to act quickly while he was in the right position.
He shot out Far Reach and it quickly exploded into a bunch of tendrils, all shooting off to the other groups. It was almost too perfect, 12 tendrils, 12 groups and all attention definitely on him, rushing to attack him without realizing he was at the centre of every one of the groups like he wanted.
Some tried to dodge but his tendrils moved faster than the tentacle which in itself was fast enough to be impossible to dodge without being prepared for it. The black and purple tendrils all grabbed onto the riders headbands and pulled back before they could be stopped, and they all ended up fluttering in the same spot above him.
He quickly grabbed them all and held onto Dark Shadow as he was pulled back to his team. Uraraka looked worn out already for which Midoriya felt guilty but she pushed on. The marked teenager sat atop them again and they took the moment to retreat to safer ground while the other teams were stunned by the maneuver.
"You're insane, man!" Jirou laughed as they rode off to the side of the field. "Still, when your plans work, they work!"
"I must concur." Tomoyami said in agreement and Midoriya smiled as he quickly wrapped all the bands around his head and neck, using the quick movements to hide his detachment of the ten million points which he then set in the middle of his neck. He hide all the point values as he did. "Smart choice. Even if we lose the ten million, we won't be out of the game. How many did you grab?"
"Nine. Bakugou was too high up to grab anything I think. Todoroki's isn't here either. We just gotta keep away and keep our defense up now." Midoriya said as took in his surroundings. He noticed a blonde boy from 1-B still had his headband on him, plus a few others around his neck. "Guess he's the third…."
He didn't even register he hadn't called Bakugou Kacchan.
"Incoming!" Uraraka suddenly shouted and Midoriya turned, seeing a barrage of purple balls flying at them. Midoriya reacted immediately, throwing out his tendrils and sending the balls back at Shoji, who seemed to be shielding Mineta with his arms. One landed beneath the multi-armed teens foot, sticking him in place. "Hah! Guess he forgot to consider that your tendrils just disappear."
"Lets move!" Midoriya instructed as he looked for any other potential threats.
They had lapped the field twice already without being caught out once, switching and dodging around the other teams. Dark Shadow and Far Reach worked in tandem, fending off stronger attacks together while Jirou incapacitated anyone who get too close and caught projectiles that slipped by.
A minute or two remained of the competition and the magic teen could sense their victory on the horizon, but of course, they couldn't obtain it that easily…
"You know, the pro's might not want to take you in for internships after that stunt you pulled Midoriya." The stoic and controlled voice of Todoroki cut through his musings, and his team turned to see the hetrochromatic teen's team standing just across from them. "They'll think you're a lunatic. Granted, a smart one but still…In a way, one has to respect that. It's a good trait for a hero to be willing to do everything they can…. But, it won't mean much here."
Midoriya looked on, his face a mask of worry. Inside however, he was repressing the urge to laugh. There was nothing particularly funny but his body seemed to want to betray his plan.
"Iida. Now!" Todoroki commanded and suddenly, barely a second seemed to pass and yet….The greenette slowly turned, noting the lack of weight on his head, and saw the team they had just been talking to behind them, headbands in hand.
In a second they had pulled off a move the marked boy's team simply couldn't block and yet Todoroki just looked bored.
Well until he looked at the headbands.
'Can't let Iida do that again!'
"Urachan, float me quick!" The marked boy instructed frantically, hoping she could handle it. "Now, do it please!"
"R-right!"
His weight disappeared again and he kicked away immediately as he saw the fire and Ice teen's face darken, his own grin finally spreading. He had hoped his lack of reaction would trick Todoroki into thinking he had hid the points in plain sight, knowing the teen was too smart to fall for a simple trick, especially if Midoriya acted in any way that would give him away. It had still been mostly random chance but he had done everything to tip the scales in his favor and it paid off. "Now run!"
He still had the ten million poi-
"DEKU YOU BASTARD!"
"Oh, of course you show up now!" Midoriya muttered as he looked to see Bakugou racing towards him again, explosion after explosion going off. He saw his own team retreating but keeping their eyes on him amd he saw Todoroki firing out a giant barrage of ice. 'It doesn't really matter whether I run or fight here, just gotta outlast these two- IDEA!'
Bakugou got closer and Midoriya used that to his advantage, faking his use of Far Reach. The blonde immediately went to dodge and Midoriya grinned as it gave him the opportunity to kick the blonde, sending him backwards and avoiding the ice. 'Just a few seconds….for my pride, if nothing else…'
The teen yelled down to Uraraka, requesting his release and a moment later gravity affected him once more, he used it to his advantage, grabbing onto the ice and swinging around until he was level with it. '3…3…1…'
"AHHH DEKU!"
Right on cue.
The ice exploded and Midoriya immediately launched forward his Far Reach, feet landing on the ice that remained and zooming past his childhood friend before he could be stopped. 'it isn't the stadium ground so if Midmight is allowing technicalities then this should be fine.'
Now he just had to hope for the best as he slid down the ice with his feet as if it was a skateboard of some kind, arm pointed at Todoroki. 'Can I do this? Well….one way to find out…''
The stoic teen prepared himself, raising his arm and for the first time that day, in fact for the first time as far as Midoriya knew him, the flames of his quirk finally appeared.
He jumped off the ice as Bakugou trailed behind, using his tentacle to put out the fire. He aimed again, ready to grab and time seemed to slow once more.
Bakugou was behind him, Todoroki in front and the three teens had howmyuch time to fight? To claim victory?
"TIMES UP!"
….
Oh.
None apparently. With that, Midoriya let himself fall and roll across the floor, standing up and brushing himself off. Bakugou didn't land as gracefully, simply planting into the ground.
"WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT SPORTS FANS? EVERYONE AGAINST THEM AND YET TEAM MIDORIYA DIDN'T LOSE THE TEN MILLION POINTS EVEN ONCE, THANKS TO THEIR AWESOME SKILLS AND WILY PLANS!"
"You really are nothing short of insane." Tokoyami's voice said and Midoriya turned, surprised to see his team had already made it back to him. "Yet, it seems it's a brand of insanity you and you alone wield. You are an odd fellow Midoriya but I must commend you."
"Or, if you don't want to sound all Edgar Allan Poe, your nuts but well done." Jirou commented with a grin. Uraraka remained silent as she took a seat to steady herself. Midoriya scratched the back of his head sheepishly as he went to help her.
"Sorry about making you float me again, I didn't want to risk Iida doing whatever he did again and catching us all off guard. Guess he couldn't though."
"It's called my Recipro Burst and you are correct…." Came the voice of their taller friend. Turning to face the speedster teen, the greenette noticed he seemed to be limping. "I apologize for not telling you sooner but I needee to save something for the sports festival. I'm sure you of all people can appreciate that, Midoriya."
"Yeah, I get it." The marked teen said as he helped Uraraka back onto her feet. The greenette looked up into the stands and saw his mentor smiling proudly once more. He smiled back briefly as he continued to scan the stadium.
He settled on Endeavour yet again and saw the other man from before walking away. His mark ached once more, even worse this time and Midoriya felt as though he was punched in the gut.
Maybe he wasn't as paranoid as he-
"Midoriya." Todoroki's voice cut off his thoughts and he turned to stoic boy. He was immediately overwhelmed by the rush of anger and disappointment the fire and ice teen projected despite his calm appearance. "We need to talk."
"Todoroki…" Midoriya tried to think of an excuse as he turned to the spot the man had been standing at before, only to see him gone. The greenette let out a sigh. 'Damn it.' "Yeah ok. Let's talk."