Chapter 8
Stress and excitement were the two things Killua could feel in his surroundings at the moment. He was sitting at a table with Kirishima, Kaminari, and Bakugo in a waiting room, patiently waiting for the U.A. Sports Festival to begin. Bakugo refused to sit near Killua, so the two sat at opposite ends of the table and Bakugo looked away. The last week had flew by, with only one thing that was notable in his memory. His class got heckled by the students of other classes last week after school had finished for the day. A few of those Class B friends Gon has were in front of our class too. I remember seeing them. Everyone was asking which one of us killed the villain at U.S.J., but Bakugo shut them all up and redirected the mob by talking about the Sports Festival. That's probably the best thing he's done yet, to be honest, he thought while staring directly at Bakugo.
The explosive ash blond turned his eyes to peer at Killua without turning his head. They made eye contact for a split second, but Bakugo furrowed his eyebrows and looked away again.
"Killua," he heard a recognizable voice say from behind him. The silver haired teen twisted his body to find Todoroki standing behind his chair.
"What's up?" he asked the boy with dual-coloured hair.
Todoroki did not respond for a moment, and the rest of the class took notice of the suspense and focused their attention on two of the strongest in the class.
"I've technically lost twice to you so far," he replied in a low voice, his face being devoid of any emotion. "Once in the Quirk Apprehension Test, where you placed higher than me, and then again at the heroes vs villains exercise. I wasn't prepared for your Quirk that second time. I didn't think you would escape my initial attack. But now I won't underestimate you. It'll be different today. I'll beat you."
Killua blinked once, and then a second time, before thinking how to respond. I have to sound interested in this…although I do think it could be cool, fighting all these Quirks. I'm actually looking forward to it. Man, maybe Gon's excitement for this has me excited too. He smirked at Todoroki. "Try me. I can't hand you a win, so I'll make you work for it." Harder than you can, Killua thought.
Todoroki merely nodded in acknowledgement that he would need to work his way to a win. He walked off without another word.
"Woah, that's so cool! A rivalry between the two strongest in the class!" Kaminari exclaimed out.
I haven't even shown enough power for people to believe that… Killua thought with a small frown as he wondered if he slipped up somewhere.
What kind of bullshit statement was that?! Bakugo thought with fury over Kaminari's exclamation. "OY DUNCE FACE! Who are you calling the two strongest in the class? That's ME!" he roared at the blond haired teen who gawked in fear at Bakugo's nickname and rage.
"Bakugo, chill! You're in the top 3!" Kirishima tried consoling him, but he was met with a furious glare from the Explosion Quirk user. He was about to retort some murder threats, but Iida barged into the room and began yelling.
"IS EVERYONE READY?! We are about to head out to the stadium!" he bellowed without a clue as to what was previously happening.
His shout ended any rage and fear emotions that were caused by Todoroki's declaration to Killua and the subsequent statement Kaminari uttered. The students got up and followed Iida out into the hallway which lead to the center of the giant stadium.
They could all hear Present Mic hyping up the first years and getting the crowd even more excited. Then, they heard his introduction for their own class. "…Here is the class that just fought villains at such a young age and sent them packing! From U.A.'s hero course, it's CLASS 1-A!"
The crowd roared with excitement as the first Class A students entered the field with Iida leading. Killua stood in the middle of the pack next to Sero and Ashido and looked up and around at the huge crowd cheering them on.
"Sure is a lot of people, huh?" Ashido sweat dropped as she continued looking around, and Sero nodded in agreement. The boy with the Quirk: Tape was only facing ahead to not feel nervous by the sheer amount of people who would be spectating today.
"And the other class, which has not had as much coverage but just as much talent, it's hero course CLASS 1-B!" Present Mic yelled out and the crowd roared again, although noticeably less loud.
Class B emerged from another entrance, and Killua spotted Gon at the forefront along with Monoma, Tetsutetsu, and a ginger haired girl he had not met. He could see Shiozaki and her long vines-for-hair a bit behind.
The remaining classes were also introduced: the general studies course, the support course, and the business course. In total, U.A. had 11 first year classes, from Class A to Class K.
Gathered in a big mass, the students crowded in front of a stage where Midnight was standing as the referee for the first years' competition. She cracked her whip and got everyone's attention, as if she did not already have the attention of half the arena.
"Settle down! I am the pro hero Midnight, and also the referee for this year's first year Sports Festival stage. It's time for the player's pledge. Representing the students will be Gon Freecss of Class 1-B!"
A loud "Yeah!" was heard by all the students, and Killua recognized it as being the voice of Tetsutetsu. He's probably happy it's not someone from Class A. Or would that be a Monoma thing? he wondered as he thought back to the first time he met Gon's blond friend from Class B.
Gon ran up the stairs to the stage and nervously spoke into the microphone which faced the stadium audience rather than the students. "Uh, I pledge that I will try my best! I'm excited to be participating here, so I hope everyone else gives it their all as well!"
Well, Gon is definitely going to break his pledge, Killua thought with a sly smile. He can't try his best. That would be deadly and disastrous.
Gon's short pledge was acceptable to his audience, both the students and the crowd he was faced towards. He walked off the stage and gauged the reaction within the students, and he gave a friendly smile before rejoining his own class.
"Well then, let's get into the first round! Each year, this is where most people are knocked out. So let's see what the round has in store for us!" Midnight cracked her whip again and a giant holographic screen appeared behind her and appeared to be randomly selecting what the first competition will be. It stopped randomizing and chose an obstacle course race.
"Alright, it's an obstacle race! All 11 classes will participate, and the race will take place across the outer circumference of the stadium. That's approximately 4 kilometers. And, as long as you stay on the course, you are free to do as you like. Use your Quirks to help yourself however you want! The starting point is over there," Midnight pointed at a massive exit gate that was made distinct through its red colour. "Take your places and wait for the countdown to begin!"
Killua hurried off and spotted Gon walking along and chatting with Monoma. The blond teen's eyebrows scrunched up when he noticed the Class A student getting near. The scrunched eyebrows formed into a smug smile once Killua was next to his best friend.
"Ah, well if it isn't Killua, the Class A student! You're coming over to a Class B student? Gon came first on the entrance exam, you must admire his strength! Surely he'll beat everyone here!" Monoma taunted.
Killua raised an eyebrow at Monoma. He looked back at Gon. "Is he always like that? Or is it only around me?"
"Uhhhh, he's kind of like that against anyone in Class A…" Gon muttered off.
"Sorry about that, Monoma can be quite the jerk to you guys in Class A," a new voice entered the conversation from behind. Killua spun around and found the ginger haired girl he saw earlier. "My name is Itsuka Kendo by the way, please call me Kendo. I'm also in Class B like Gon and Monoma."
"Killua Zoldyck, just call me Killua," he greeted to her. He noticed the students in front of him had stopped moving, signalling to him that they were at the starting point.
She smiled at Killua, Gon, and Monoma. "Looks like we'll be starting soon. Good luck, everyone! Let's do our best!"
"Yeah, of course! I've been waiting for this!" Gon exclaimed. His best friend could see the burning fire inside Gon's big hazel brown eyes.
He's really not joking about this, Killua confirmed to himself as he looked up at the green lights at the top of the gate which would signal the start. By now, the mass of students was completely silent and they waited for the obstacle course race to begin. I really wonder how interesting this'll be…
The first green light faded away. This should be good, hope I get to see and fight a lot of cool powers! Gon thought excitedly.
The second light faded away, and more near the front, Midoriya thought, All Might is right, I need to show the world that I am here! He remembered his most recent conversation with the top ranked pro hero.
Todoroki glanced down at his right hand. I need to reject my dad. For that, I need a complete win using just my ice.
Bakugo grit his teeth in excited anticipation for the tournament. Crush everyone and come first. Show IcyHot he challenged the wrong person in the waiting room.
The third and final light faded as well. "START!" Midnight yelled out, and the crowd of students made a rush for the narrow tunnel. Immediately, the effects of the small tunnel were noticeable, as everyone shoved each other around to move forward through the course.
A chilling temperature could be felt in the air as more people began to make it out of the tunnel, and Killua instinctively jumped as he did the first time he had this feeling. He looked ahead and saw many students who were frozen to the ground, and there was a lot of cold smoke ahead, which could only mean one thing. Todoroki, he thought.
Gon was not lucky enough. He felt the temperature drop too, but his green boots got frozen to the ground like many other unlucky students. With a bit of Nen, he smashed out of it and ran ahead past the other frozen students. Killua jumped out of the tunnel as well and saw the ground ahead was covered in ice. He already saw some students he recognized and ones he did not recognize in front of him.
He looked to Gon, who was standing next to him. Gon looked back at him. "Aim for the top, but not a dominating win?" the silver haired teen asked. The green haired teen nodded in return. "Let's go."
Activating a bit of Nen in the form of electricity in his feet, Killua sprinted forward on the ice like it was nothing. Gon used some Nen in his feet as well, but unlike his friend, he felt bad for the people behind him and kicked into the ice below him. The ice shattered and spread behind and in front of him, which knocked the balance out of some people who were sliding along to move forward.
"Wow! Freecss of Class B destroys all the ice that Shoto Todoroki of Class A created! Why would Freecss help his competition? Does he not want to win?!" Present Mic yelled as he was one of the commentators.
Freecss of Class B? Todoroki thought as he ran and neared the first obstacle he had yet to face or even see. The guy who made the pledge. He came first in the general entrance exam from what I know, so he must be pretty strong and confident if he smashed the ice for everyone.
"You think a little ice is going to stop me, huh IcyHot?!" Todoroki heard Bakugo yell from behind. He spun his head and saw the teen blasting towards him, using explosions to propel himself through the air. Gazing further back, he noticed more students he did and did not recognize running forward. And off to the side, his eyes trailed to Killua, who was catching up much more quickly than the rest of the students.
More people got out of my attack than I thought would, even before Freecss broke it all. And a lot of them aren't even from Class A. He stopped running as he noticed large robots appear in front of him and block his path.
"Well, Todoroki is the first person to reach the first obstacle! These Robo Infernos will stand in your way and attack you, so make sure you get through them quickly!" Present Mic commentated.
"Tsk, it's the same trash we had to fight in the entrance exam," Bakugo grunted as he suddenly appeared beside Todoroki. The heterochromatic teen shot a quick glance at Bakugo and raised his right hand which began to freeze up in ice.
Right before he was about to attack the robot, two missiles – or rather, two human missiles – shot through the air on either side of Bakugo and Todoroki. On their left, they saw a silver haired boy covered in electricity. He raised a hand and flew right into a huge robot and smashed through it, causing a big explosion of black smoke with visible blue sparks of lightning every so often. At the same time, on the right side they saw a green haired boy aiming a punch at a massive robot. His punch tore through the hunk of metal and caused another explosion of black smoke.
Deku…? No, Bakugo immediately dismissed the thought. That was Freaks. Definitely him.
"WOAH!" Present Mic was shocked. "Freecss of Class B and Killua Zoldyck of Class A blasted through one giant robot each! They didn't even take a second to think about what they were doing!"
Eraser Head, although wrapped in bandages from his serious injuries after the U.S.J. Invasion, narrowed his eyes. "They must have incredible power and control over their Quirks to do something so devastating with so little time to think. I really hope they didn't injure themselves from their reckless attacks."
Without wasting any more time, Todoroki completed his attack and pressed his right hand to the ground. Simultaneously, next to him, Bakugo blasted off into the air with his Quirk to fly over the robot. Todoroki's huge ice attack exploded onto the robot as it prepared to attack. The ice froze it over, and the son of Endeavor ran through in the time he knew before the robot would collapse. Meanwhile, Bakugo successfully flew over a neighbouring robot and saw Sero and Tokoyami trailing behind him. They were using their respective Quirks to fly over as well.
"Several other students are beginning to get past the Robo Infernos as well! Bakugo and Todoroki of Class A are leading the rush, but there are other students close to them!" Present Mic continued giving a live commentary to the audience.
Gon and Killua cleared themselves from the smoke and started running to the next obstacle. Killua looked back and saw a massive ice explosion, and he also watched as Bakugo flew over top a large robot. "Huh, I thought Bakugo would be the type to destroy a robot instead of fly over it," he remarked to Gon.
The green haired teen glanced back at what Killua was talking about. "He seems pretty angry all the time. I would think he wants to blow them up too."
The two friends slowed down their running because they were quite ahead anyways. But before they even reached the second obstacle, they could hear Todoroki and Bakugo behind them. Sure enough, when they turned their heads around, Bakugo was in the air propelling himself and Todoroki was running on the ground. They were not even five meters back.
All four boys reached the second obstacle and had varying reactions to what they were expected to do. "We have our top group of four at the second obstacle. Cross the chasm and make it to the other side! If you fall you're out, but feel free to crawl along the ropes provided! It's called The Fall!"
Ropes were connected between large platforms of rock you could land on, and there was only one rope connecting any two rock areas. In theory, there were many different paths a person could take, but only one was necessary to get to the opposite end and complete the obstacle.
Bakugo landed for a brief moment before blasting off again and leaving the other three in the literal dust. Todoroki also wasted no time as he stepped onto a rope and pushed himself down with his ice to make it to each rocky platform where he could continue moving forward.
"Well, I know what I'm going to do!" Gon exclaimed to Killua. "I'll just jump from one rock to the next. It's pretty far, but I think I can make it with enough Nen."
Killua nodded, although he was thinking about something. "I wish I could do that. With the Quirk you told everyone you have, it seems reasonable that you could jump really far. Electricity doesn't really help with jumping."
"Maybe you could move back, and then sprint forward and jump with a burst of electricity?" Gon suggested.
"Yeah, that's what I'll do."
Killua backtracked several meters while Gon pooled a lot of Nen at his feet. The green haired boy bent his knees and got ready for his jump.
"What's this?! Zoldyck is running back, and Freecss is looking ready to make a jump?" Present Mic asked in a confused voice, looking to Eraser Head for suggestions or confirmations.
"It looks to me that both of them are going to jump from each rock to the next," Eraser Head commented. "If they miss, they'll be out. It's a high risk, high reward, but I'm not going to tell them not to try. Although, to have such capabilities, is certainly very impressive if they pull it off." I'm curious myself, to see if they'll make it.
Killua went back a distance he was comfortable with, and people were almost caught up to where he currently stood. He activated Godspeed for nothing more than display and sprinted before jumping from near the edge.
Right after Killua's jump, Gon shot up into the air like a rocket and left a large crack in the ground from where he jumped. Both boys landed on different rocks and repeated their strategy again, and again, until they eventually reached the other side with Bakugo and Todoroki right in front of them.
"Our top four have made it to the other side of The Fall! Both Freecss and Zoldyck simply jumped from one connecting platform to the next, and they made it across like that! Todoroki froze his rope and slid himself down while Bakugo flew across using his explosions! Now we see many other students crawling or sliding across the ropes and- oh, what's this?! A student from the support course is practically flying across the chasm with her support items!" Present Mic continued shouting out.
Far behind the top four, Midoriya was crawling across a rope to make it to the other side. He lugged with him a piece of armour from a robot that was destroyed earlier in the first stage. Don't think too much about the people ahead of me! They're all really capable, which is why they are ahead, but just keep going! There's a lot of people behind me as well. I can figure out how to come first after this obstacle, and this piece of metal might come in handy too. Who knows?
"And here we have the third and final obstacle, it's a minefield! Step in the wrong place, and the mine will blow up! It's not meant to hurt because they aren't that powerful, it's mostly just loud and creates flashy explosions. So don't worry too much about getting hurt! But like I said, it's still loud!" Present Mic explained how the minefield worked to Todoroki who was currently first and the only one there. However, Bakugo, Gon, and Killua were not very far behind him, and other students would catch up as well.
"Be careful with your footing! If you look closely, you can see where each mine is, so make good use of your eyes as well as your feet! It's the last obstacle, so it all comes down to this! There has been no announcement of what the cut-off will be for the next round, so try your best to finish as fast as you can!"
Todoroki grunted and began walking slowly across the minefield, careful not to step on any of them. If I use my ice here, it'll give a path to the people behind me. That's not a good option, although I'll use it if I have to, like if my first place might be taken over by someone else.
He heard Bakugo exploding his way from behind and far above him. He had no idea where Gon and Killua were, but he figured they must be close as well.
"I'm coming for you, half-and-half bastard!" Bakugo yelled out from behind. True to his words, he surged forward and tried to punch Todoroki, but the white and red haired teen dodged it. Regardless of Bakugo's miss, he overtook Todoroki and was in first place. Todoroki attempted to attack the new first place student as well, but Bakugo blasted himself to the side and then sped up to reach the finish line faster.
"Well, it might be time to use my ice," Todoroki muttered to himself. With the use of his right foot, he created a path of ice in front of him. Regardless of whether the people behind me have a path to walk on, I can't let myself lose!
Sliding forward on his path of ice, he heard several mines go off behind him every second. Both he and Bakugo spared a glance behind them and observed Gon running through the field with a look of determination written on his face. At the speed he was running, it would only be a few seconds before he passed both of them.
After stopping his sliding, Todoroki put up a wall of ice in Gon's path as an attempt to block him. Bakugo readied his arms for an explosion.
The wall shattered immediately as Gon ran into it with a flying punch. Trailing behind Gon was Killua, who was also running through the minefield at a speed that could match Iida.
The ash blond teen released his pent-up explosion at Gon, but the green haired teen phased through it without a scratch and passed the two Class A students who tried getting in his way.
Way behind the top four, at the start of the minefield, Midoriya was digging up several mines using his piece of metal and piling them up. He gathered 10 mines and landed on top of the pile with his metal sheet as protection. The resulting blast was incredibly powerful and created a mega explosion. The goal is to clear the whole field in one go, but now that I think about it, I didn't think about my landing! Midoriya was worried about how he would land now that he was high in the air and still gaining speed.
His descent had begun, and he was falling rapidly, but he was on track to pass Gon, Bakugo, and Todoroki, all of which were the current top three.
Gon noticed the other green haired teen flying in at hot pursuit, and soon threatening to take over his first place spot from right over his head. He slowed down and got ready to push Midoriya off his metal sheet, but the boy with curly hair grabbed the metal and slammed it down on Gon. The force put Gon off balance, and a mine exploded behind him where he accidentally placed a foot.
On the other hand, Midoriya landed on some more mines because of the large surface area the metal armour had. The mines exploded and catapulted him again in another big explosion, though not quite as big as the initial explosion he created. He flipped over in the air and hit the ground running, albeit with shaky legs.
The spiky green haired teen from Class B had sprinted out of his explosion as well, chasing Midoriya at a speed that was…much slower than what he could really run at.
"IZUKU MIDORIYA OF CLASS A TAKES THE LEAD BY USING A MASSIVE EXPLOSION TO CATAPULT HIMSELF THROUGH THE AIR!" Present Mic hysterically screamed into his microphone. "Freecss is in hot pursuit! Todoroki and Bakugo are not far behind, and Zoldyck is sprinting his way back to the top as well! Who will win this first round?!"
Midoriya made a huge dash to re-enter the stadium and finish in first place. He could hear the pounding of Gon's footsteps behind him, and Todoroki and Bakugo were running on the ground not far behind as well.
He was the first to enter the stadium, and all that was left was to enter the main field area before anyone else could overtake him. Almost there! Just keep running as fast as I can! Midoriya thought as he panted and regulated his breathing. He was out of breath from the running he had done so far. He had never run this fast for as long as he did right now.
Light was visible at the end of his entrance gate, and he passed through it not even a second before Gon did. Todoroki and Bakugo finished a couple seconds after Gon, and Killua came in a few seconds after them.
"IT'S SETTLED!" Present Mic's voice boomed again. "Midoriya of Class A places first, with Freecss, Todoroki, Bakugo, and Zoldyck all finishing after him in very close succession!"
Midoriya sucked in a huge breath of relief and felt tears come to his eyes. He vaguely heard Gon in the background talking to Killua, something like, "That was pretty fun, wasn't it?"
The curly green haired teen tilted his head to see Killua's reaction, and all he saw was a shrug and a rather neutral, maybe even unimpressed, face. He saw his lips move, but Midoriya could not make out what he said to Gon. Tilting his head in the opposite direction, he saw Todoroki with a look of defeat in his eyes, and Bakugo was gritting his teeth and fuming at both Midoriya and Gon.
A sense of fear settled into his stomach, but his childhood friend did not do anything rash; not on a national stage like the Sports Festival. More competitors began to pour in, and after several minutes of well-deserved rest, Midnight called the first part of the Sports Festival to an end.
"Now that the first event is over, here are the results!" A screen popped up behind her and showed the students who placed in the top 42. "Only the top 42 made it into the next round, so it is unfortunate if you missed that cut-off. Now then, what will the next event be?" The screen turned into the randomizer from earlier. "I know what the event is, but all of you need to find out!" The screen stopped on the words 'Cavalry Battle'.
"It's a cavalry battle! Let me explain how it works. You will form teams of two to four as you wish. The difference for this cavalry battle is that each person has been assigned a point value based on their ranking in the previous round. The points will be in five-point increments. 42nd place will be assigned 5 points, 41st will be 10, and so on. However, the person who finished in first is assigned 10,000,000 points!"
Midoriya felt his heart drop as he saw everyone around him look at him, and it is likely all of them had very similar thoughts. Ten million points…whoever has this at the end of the event, they win for sure! That's crazy, who would want to team with me if I'm everyone's target?!
Killua listened to the remaining rules closely as Midnight explained them. The team's value is the sum of the individual members' points. The rider wears a headband with the team's total written on it. Collect headbands and protect your own. We can use our powers however we want, but purposely making other teams fall will get us penalized. Man, that would've been a fun part of this round. Time limit is 15 minutes for the cavalry round, but right now we have 15 minutes to make our teams and prepare.
"Make your teams and prepare your strategies. Start!" Midnight gave the commencement signal to the students.
Bakugo was glaring at Gon and Killua with narrowed eyes as the people around him began scattering. Killer and Freaks didn't even look winded after that first round. Even I got a bit tired, so how did they look so…ready for anything? And Freaks went through my explosion like it was nothing. He really is a freak. He furrowed his eyebrows a bit, followed by a humph as he stomped away to build his team. I can't ask either of them to join my team. I need to crush them. Same with Deku and IcyHot. The thought of Midoriya made Bakugo frown. Damn nerd. Using that piece of metal to blast yourself into first. Of course you would find a way to use that shit.
"Killua, are we going to team up for this?" Gon asked with a blank face.
The silver haired teen shook his head. "I think it'd be more fun if we face each other. We've travelled and fought together enough times. We know our teamwork well. Besides," Killua grinned widely. "I want to see which of our teams will have the ten million points at the end!"
Gon chuckled at Killua's indirect challenge. "Sure, you've got a deal! Let's see which of us have more points at the end of this round. I think I'll go ask my Class B friends if they want to team with me."
With a nod, the two walked off in their own ways, Gon off to ask Monoma, Tetsutetsu, and Shiozaki, which left Killua to find his own team. Now, who do I ask… He darted his eyes around and noticed Todoroki was already building his team like he knew exactly what he needed to be successful. The boy with a hybrid Quirk did not even glance Killua's way. Well it's obvious he wouldn't ask me. He made that declaration that he would beat me, so he sees us as rivals. Can't say I feel the same way, but I'll let him think whatever he wants.
Similarly, Bakugo was not looking at Killua either. After more scanning, from the corner of his eye, Killua caught a glimpse of a fountain of tears coming out of Midoriya's eyes while Uraraka stood next to him, a little embarrassed and stunned. Maybe that'll do it.
He silently stalked over to the pair who had no idea he was coming from behind. "Midoriya," Killua called out when he was close enough. Uraraka jumped in surprise from being caught off guard, and Midoriya froze and turned his fountain off. "You want to team up?"
"Oh, isn't this great, Deku? Killua wants to join us too!" Uraraka's excitement pumped herself up as well as Midoriya.
Killua, wants to join me?! Midoriya was frozen in shock and forgot he had to give a response. He cleared his throat. "Uhhhh y-yeah! That would be aw-awesome if you want to!"
The silver haired teen nodded. "I don't know who else to ask, and I figured you'd have a plan of some sort."
Midoriya gave a small smile to Killua. "Your Quirk is great for your mobility, but you can also use it for offense and defense. Only problem is your electricity would hurt Uraraka and I as well…" He trailed off as he recognized a major problem.
Killua shook his head and waved the concern to the side. "Don't worry about that. I can control it well enough to focus it in a part of my body instead of my whole body. I can also use it as a ranged attack by shooting out bolts of electricity."
His classmate's green eyes glowed with excitement and relief over the solution for that problem. He started to nerd out over the situation. "That's so cool! It takes most people a really long time to use electricity with that level of control!" He paused and calmed himself down. "Okay, so assuming I'm the rider, Uraraka and Killua, both of you are really good for mobility. Uraraka can make everyone weightless which gives us a ton of mobility, and Killua can move quickly on the ground regardless. What we need now, to protect the ten million points, is some solid defense."
Both Uraraka and Killua nodded. Makes sense. He's got good planning skills. I wonder if he'll be able to pick the right person. He saw Midoriya browsing through the crowd for someone to pick. His eyes widened and settled on a particular person, and he walked over to a boy with the head of a black bird.
"Tokoyami," Midoriya whispered with a determined face as he placed a hand on the shorter boy's shoulder. "Would you like to join my team? I have a plan, and I think it'll work if you help us."
Tokoyami took a glance at Midoriya's team which currently consisted of Killua and Uraraka as well. Midoriya has shown he has good planning skills and combat sense. Uraraka has a very useful Quirk if their plan is to run away. And Killua… Tokoyami trailed off in his mind about his thoughts on the silver haired boy. I do not like what happened at U.S.J. But I cannot deny that he is the most impressive of the first two, and more impressive than myself. He thought it over once more before nodding his head. "What is your plan?"
Midoriya smiled and nodded before launching into his plan. "The general plan is to protect our headband and run away for as long as we can. I don't want to engage a team if we don't have to. Uraraka and Killua have incredible Quirks for mobility, and Killua can also help with our offense. You, Tokoyami, with Dark Shadow, can be really helpful for our defense at the midrange level, which is a little lacking right now. If I'm not wrong, I think your Quirk could also be a huge help to break things like Todoroki's ice if he tries trapping us in."
"How are we going to position ourselves?" Killua asked.
"I'll be the rider, because all of you have really important Quirks to use on the ground. I'm not sure whether to put you, Killua, or Tokoyami, in the middle. I think Killua's mobility could be really useful to be centered, but I could say the same about Tokoyami's Dark Shadow as a defensive tool."
"Uh, I can make everyone weightless and then keep myself grounded to guide us along," Uraraka chimed in to add something to their plan.
Both Killua and Midoriya went into thinking mode, but Midoriya beat his classmate to it. "Uraraka, if you make everyone except Killua weightless, he can use his speed to outmaneuver probably any team." His face became dejected. "But I'm not sure how long you can keep yourself weightless. I know you get nauseous after some time passes."
The only girl on their team rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, that happens. I can still manage for short periods of time, though."
Midoriya nodded. "It sounds like a plan. For now, I think you can make all of us weightless and move us yourself. If we need to go faster, then keep Killua as the weighted one and make yourself weightless."
"Who will be in the middle?" Tokoyami went back to the unanswered question.
"I think you should, Tokoyami," Killua responded. "Centered defense sounds a bit more important than centered mobility. Besides, if I'm going to be weightless for as long as we can afford it, then it makes sense for me to on the side."
The boy with the head of a bird nodded in understanding, and Midoriya and Uraraka nodded as well to show their support. "Then it's settled. I'll be the rider," Midoriya confirmed for the last time before their time ran out. "Uraraka will be on…let's say, my left side? She will help us with running away from other teams. Tokoyami will be in the center and will help us in our defense. Killua can help with mobility, but also offense and defense as necessary."
"Right!" Uraraka shouted, and Killua and Tokoyami nodded together.
Midoriya smiled at his team. I hope this will go well! I won't be of too much use because my Quirk is too powerful and will still break my bones. But I can be the planner behind this team!
Thanks for reading! The Sports Festival has begun, and the cavalry battle is up next. As a forewarning, I am not going to have Hatsume and Shinso play a big role in this story like they did in the manga/anime. It's already been done, and Killua has replaced Hatsume on Midoriya's team for the cavalry battle which completely changes the dynamic. They no longer have the crazy tech Hatsume made, so they will have to adapt without it.
I already have the bracket for the final round set, as well as the winner and all of that. Don't expect fan favourite fights like Midoriya vs Todoroki or Bakugo vs Uraraka. I've changed it completely, but hopefully you'll be able to read some other awesome fights instead!
Also, a late Merry Christmas to all who celebrated it! And happy New Year in advance as well! Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and thanks so much for all the support!
