The Symbol of Peace and Justice
Chapter 14 – The Battle for Bragging Rights
"Start!"
At the crack of Midnight's whip, eleven of the twelve cavalry teams charged into battle, their thundering footsteps not too dissimilar to the clopping of horse hooves. Among the rampaging heroes-in-training, Kirishima and a grey-haired boy from another team let out spirited war cries, much to the delight of the spectators in attendance, whose raucous roars seemed to spur the students on.
"They run as if the very whips of their masters are behind them," Sato observed.
Gohan's lip twitched, and he couldn't help the snort that slipped out. "This isn't the time for movie quotes, Sato," he chided.
Uhh, g-guys, there are three teams heading straight for us!" Midoriya interjected, a hint of panic in his tone. "Wh-what do we do?"
Gohan remained calm as he assessed the scene before them.
Running at them from the front was a team consisting of a boy whose face bore a striking resemblance to a human skull, a girl with thorny vines for hair, and another boy whose hair looked like a pineapple. Their standard bearer was the enthusiastic grey-haired student whose battle cry rang out mere moments ago.
Meanwhile, a pair of two-person teams charged Gohan's team from the sides, no doubt in an attempt to box them in.
The team on the left's most noteworthy member was a bespectacled boy who looked more beast than man, what with his bulky frame, brown fur and sharp teeth. He was acting as the cavalry for a decidedly more ordinary looking boy whose black hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and who wore a smug smirk on his face.
In keeping with the animal theme, the team on the right consisted of a blonde girl with protuberant teal eyes and actual horns, upon whom rode a startlingly tall boy with unnaturally pale skin and literal spikes jutting out from his cheeks. His already outlandish appearance was further complimented by a striking green mohawk.
Gohan nodded. He could work with that. "Alright. Charge right at that blonde girl with horns," he ordered. "Given the difference in bulk, she'll be forced to move out of the way unless she wants to be bowled over."
"Aww, I wanted to punch that werewolf guy in the face," Sato whined.
"Umm, I'm pretty sure that'd get you disqualified," Uraraka mused.
"Get on with it!" Gohan growled, a hint of steel in his voice. While his best friend's quirks and quips were mildly amusing more often than not, now wasn't the time and place to be lackadaisical.
"Tch. Fine," Sato grumbled, finally turning to face their target.
"Not so fast!" the skull-headed boy from the front suddenly called out.
Sato snorted. "Wait your turn, Ghost Kotsuzuka! We'll deal with you la- wait, what the hell?!"
Gohan's eyes widened in alarm when the surface beneath them turned wavy, then morphed into a kind of swirly mud that looked unnaturally sticky. The next thing he knew, his teammates' feet started sinking into the ground, as if they were standing on…
"Quicksand!" Midoriya and Uraraka called out at the same time.
"Son, you got any other plans in mind?" Sato inquired calmly. "This guy's Quirk is no joke."
Pursing his lips, Gohan ran through a few scenarios in his head. The first thing that came to mind was using a kiai wave to blow the quicksand away, but he immediately shot that down. Using any kind of destructive ki on an area containing his teammates' body parts could have potentially catastrophic consequences. Another option was to have his teammates grab hold of him, and then fly them out of the quicksand – a simple enough plan, but inconvenient in that he'd hoped to keep that part of his repertoire under wraps for as long as possible.
"Guess I have no choice," he grumbled. "Alright, grab on to my legs. I'll get us out of-"
"I th-think we should s-stand our ground!" Midoriya sputtered frantically, much to Gohan's surprise. "I-I know all we have to do to pass is avoid people, but I'm confident we're strong enough to defend ourselves! If we sink too far, then you can get us out of here! B-besides, because of the quicksand, those other two teams won't be able to get close to us!"
"Hell yeah! Let's stand and fight!" Sato declared.
"I agree!" Uraraka added.
Gohan opened his mouth to protest, but closed it before any words came out. His thoughts were bordering on selfishness. In wanting to take the path of least resistance, he was denying his teammates the opportunity to showcase their skills to the millions of people watching the sports festival. Just because their goals for the event didn't align with his, that didn't give him the right to disregard them.
A small grin spread across his lips. "Stay on your guard then. We don't know what these guys are capable of."
He felt Sato shift into a defensive stance, and caught Midoriya doing the same. Uraraka simply clenched her fists in a rudimentary boxing guard.
The grey-haired boy from the other team bared his teeth in a sharp-toothed smile, just as his skin took on a metallic tint. "So you're not going to run away? That's the spirit!" he boomed enthusiastically.
Gohan opened his left palm and positioned his hand in front of his chest. He then took a deep breath and waited for the grey-haired boy to get close enough to make a move. From the shine of his skin, the demi-Saiyan figured his Quirk turned his body into some kind of metal, most likely steel.
"Your headband is mine!" the grey-haired boy roared as he pulled his fist back.
However, this proved to be a feint; the real attack came from the vine-haired girl, whose hair extended on its own and spiralled towards Gohan like a mass of emerald tentacles. He readied himself to defend against it, but Sato was quick to act in his stead, throwing out a meaty hand and grabbing the thorny projectiles, stopping them before they reached their target.
The girl yelped in surprise, while Sato winced loudly and grit his teeth to stop from crying out, but didn't let go.
"I gotta hand it to ya, those are some impressive reflexes!" the grey-haired boy praised, a wide grin still etched on his face. "But you just left Son Gohan defenceless! Now gimme those five million points!"
The next thing Gohan saw was a steel-coated fist flying at his face in slow motion, the fingers gradually opening the closer they got to his headband. He waited patiently until the fist was just an inch from his forehead, then knocked the grey-haired boy's wrist aside with a flick of his palm and thrust his hand forward to yank off his opponent's headband – all in one swift motion.
The small bit of pressure applied to the grey-haired boy's arm made him topple over slightly, but he regained his composure quickly enough. However, the moment he saw his headband clutched firmly in Gohan's hand, his jaw dropped dramatically. "What the hell?! How'd you get that?!"
In a startled panic, the grey-haired boy threw his metallic body forward, arms outstretched in a desperate attempt at a counterattack.
Beneath him, his skull-headed teammate's knees buckled, a wince of obvious discomfort slipping from his skeletal mouth. "Tetsutetsu! Stop! You're off-"
With a show of speed that belied his bulky frame, Sato fashioned a makeshift lasso out of the clump of vines he had in his hand and wrapped it around Tetsutetsu's wrist, then gave it a quick tug, punctuating his manoeuvre with a taunting "Yee-haw!"
Like a tower of Jenga that had its most crucial block ripped away – with said block connected to its brethren by a simple string – Tetsutetsu's forward momentum sent his entire team tumbling over in a chaotic mix of tangled limbs, their discomfort accentuated by a chorus of angry shouts.
"Goddamn it all to hell!" Tetsutetsu screamed.
"How dare you use the Lord's name in vain, you blasphemous sinner?!" the vine-haired girl scolded.
"Shut the fuck up, both of you!" their pineapple-haired teammate interjected. "Shit! Shit! Shit! We're sinking! Honenuki, deactivate your Quirk!"
"I-I-I can't! I'm-"
"Floating?! What in the actual fuck?!"
Indeed, the skull-headed boy, now identifiable as Honenuki, found himself hovering in the air against his will, a look of pure despair on his gaunt features. His wide eyes darted anxiously from Gohan's team to his own, who were writing helplessly in a grotesque pool of sticky mud. Among them, only the green-haired girl managed to maintain some semblance of composure.
Meanwhile, Gohan was rendered speechless as he took in the absolute carnage that lay before him. In the space of around half a minute, he, Sato and Uraraka had combined their strength to completely dismantle an admittedly formidable opposing team, without even needing to communicate. Granted, they wouldn't have been able to pull it off were it not for Tetsutetsu's recklessness, but still.
"Son! Get us out of here!" Sato bellowed, the quicksand having reached his waist.
Gohan grinned, welcoming the sudden surge of pride he felt for his friends. "On it! Grab on tight!"
When he felt three separate kinds of pressure on his legs, he flared his ki ever so slightly and flew his teammates out of the marsh. Then, without breaking formation, he touched down on an unaltered patch of turf, doing his best to make the whole action seem like one giant leap instead of actual flight. Upon landing, Uraraka touched her fingertips together, resulting in a splash and subsequent yelp being heard from Honenuki's direction.
"Oh my goodness! Did you all get a load of that?!" Present Mic squealed over the loudspeaker, his booming voice being met with a cacophony of wild cheers from the crowd. "With a remarkable display of spontaneous ingenuity, one of our two front-running teams have managed to get themselves out of a rather sticky situation! Anything to add, Eraser Head?! They are your students after all!"
"Not really," Aizawa grumbled.
"Whoa! Talk about a rush! That was epic!" Sato exclaimed.
Midoriya let out a nervous chuckle. "I-it was definitely something."
"That it was," Gohan commented, beaming as he secured Tetsutetsu's headband around his neck. "Great work, guys. Seriously. Especially you, Uraraka."
The brown-haired girl's permanent blush became even more pronounced. "Heh, I was just following Deku's advice," she mumbled sheepishly.
"Oh?" Gohan queried, raising an eyebrow.
This time it was Midoriya's turn to blush. "Ahh, it was n-nothing!" he stammered. "I just noticed that Honenuki needed to be in direct contact with the ground to activate his Quirk, and assumed the same applied for deactivating it. B-but enough about that! Sato, where did you learn to use a lasso?"
"Shanghai Noon," Gohan and Sato answered at the same time, getting a giggle out of Uraraka.
"Oh. Is that a movie?" Midoriya asked innocently.
Sato went rigid, then let out a dejected sigh. "Midoriya my boy, you and I are going to have a long talk when this is over. I'll be damned if I let another poor soul continue living like a caveman."
Gohan chuckled at how red Midoriya's face had gotten, and Uraraka found it equally amusing. In any case, now that they had a brief moment of respite, he figured it would be wise to cast an eye across the battlefield and check on the current state of things. Besides, he was curious as to how his classmates were faring.
Unsurprisingly, Todoroki and Bakugo were engaged in a scrappy scuffle as their teams chased Shoji around the stadium, although the conflict was rather tame by their standards, and limited to a markedly mild exchange of sparks and ice shards. It was clear to see they were both holding back – something Gohan knew wouldn't last. The only question was: how long until the fireworks went off?
Also of note was the barrage of familiar purple balls being launched from within the protective cocoon formed by Shoji's Dupli-Arms, leaving a sticky trail that Todoroki and Bakugo's teams were doing their best to weave around. It was a sight strange enough to garner genuine surprise.
Had Shoji, Tsuyu and Tokoyami willingly agreed to let Mineta join their team, despite his less than stellar reputation and the giant target on his back? If so, that was quite the courageous move, and one worthy of praise. Then again, Gohan expected nothing less from that trio.
Elsewhere, Hagakure's team had gotten their headband swiped, and was furiously pursuing a team headed by a smirking blond boy, which seemed to be right on course to intercept Todoroki and Bakugo's groups. Whoever that guy was, he had guts; either that, or his smugness bordered on overconfidence.
Ojiro and Hatsume's team was just traipsing around the battlefield, not doing much. They didn't look to be garnering any attention, nor were they going on the offensive. The indigo-haired boy acting as their standard bearer bore a rather serious expression as he too surveyed the area. When his purple eyes happened to clash with Gohan's onyx ones they widened imperceptibly, and a nasty glare found its way to his face.
The demi-Saiyan recoiled slightly, but didn't back down from the challenge, and after a few seconds the indigo-haired boy averted his gaze. Gohan frowned. What brought that on? Was it another juvenile attempt at acting macho, or was this guy just a jerk?
Before he could dwell on this further, he caught a flurry of movement in the corner of his eye, accompanied by a frenzied smattering of footsteps. Steeling his features, he turned his attention to the more immediate threat and spotted four teams coming at him from all sides: two he recognised as the animal-esque pairs from before, one he partly recognised, and one he didn't recognise at all.
Of these new teams, one was another duo consisting of a straight-faced girl with shoulder-length black hair, who rode atop a massive boy with a bucket-like helmet for a head; the other was an all-female team headed by none other than Kendo Itsuka, who wore a confident smile that was by no means unpleasant. When she saw Gohan looking at her, she sent him a light wave.
"Son! We've got enemies incoming!" Sato called out.
"I see them," Gohan responded calmly. "We go with the same plan we had before: charge at the blonde girl with horns. Any objections?"
"None!" Midoriya and Uraraka stated simultaneously.
"Alright! Let's do this!" Sato roared, bending his knees and launching himself at their target, his two shorter teammates keeping pace.
If the blonde was caught off guard, she didn't show it. Instead, she tilted her head down and placed her clenched fists underneath her horns, the index fingers pointing forward.
Gohan braced himself for an attack, and was only mildly surprised to see the horns detach from the girl's head and fly at him like a pair of miniature rockets. However, he certainly wasn't expecting a second set of horns to sprout from the same spot and follow suit. What an interesting Quirk.
The four airborne horns rocketed towards him at an impressive speed, but he could still keep track of them perfectly fine, and as such was able to seamlessly dodge them all, which the blonde responded to with indifference. A few seconds later, what felt like four pebbles crashed into his back, but the impact was so miniscule it barely registered.
Now that got a reaction out of the girl, whose already wide eyes bulged emphatically. It was only fleeting though; she quickly composed herself and lowered her head even further, as if switching targets...
Brow furrowing, Gohan held out his left hand.
"Put that thing away, bro! I got this!" Sato exclaimed, adopting an orthodox guard with his arms.
"But-"
"Trust me!" Sato cut in before Gohan could voice a protest. "This way we can get in close, and you can snag their headband!"
"Fine!" Gohan acquiesced. "But be ready! She can change the flight path of her horns, so try to-"
Before he could finish, another pair of horns sped Sato's way, but he was cognisant enough to pluck them out of the air and crush them in his meaty hands. He braced himself to do the same for the second set of horns, but they swerved at the last second and struck him in the knees.
"Sato!" Midoriya cried out as the cavalry's momentum faltered.
"Like that's gonna stop me!" Sato bellowed, regaining his footing and pressing on.
"Thunder Horn!" the blonde called in a noticeably accented voice, spewing forth a vicious torrent of horns that flew at him like a wave of kunai.
Finally forced to screech to a halt, Sato dug his feet firmly into the ground and pulled back his arms, fists clenched. Then, with a spirited kiai, he unloaded a gatling gun-like barrage of punches at the onrushing projectiles. "ORAORAORAORAORA!"
Had this been any other time, Gohan would've facepalmed at the sheer lunacy of trying to defend against a bombardment of pointy projectiles by punching them, but to his credit, Sato was doing a decent job. A few horns managed to get past his guard and pepper his body, but the vast majority of them were obliterated by his whirlwind of fists; he must have guzzled down a couple cans of Red Bull back in the locker room, like he used to do before exams in junior high.
Before Gohan could bail out his best friend, his ears got wind of a strange clanging off to the side. Putting on a cool face despite the concern he felt for Sato, he tracked the noise to its source, only to see a volley of emerald bullets heading his way. Behind the bullets was the ponytailed boy who rode atop the hairy guy who looked like Beast from X-Men; he had a scaly green arm extended outwards, firing round after round of rapidly regenerating scales while his furry steed charged forward.
Eyes twitching in mild annoyance, Gohan imbued a small amount of ki in his index finger and used the digit to deflect the salvo of bullets, much like his father had done to parry Trunks' sword strikes what seemed like a lifetime ago. The ponytailed boy pursed his lips in response, but didn't let up on his assault.
"They've got us surrounded!" Uraraka shouted.
"Gah! Stay back! What are you- whoa!" Midoriya's cries of surprise were drowned out by a sickening squelching sound, as if someone had emptied an entire bottle of mustard onto the field.
Gritting his teeth, Gohan sent forth a small burst of invisible ki to knock the ponytailed boy and his furry companion back a few steps, then swivelled his head to see what got Midoriya so riled up. When his eyes landed on the grey, cement-like material coating his teammates' feet, he bit back a curse. 'Another one?!'
Sato's legs trembled from exertion, but he was unable to remove them from the suspicious adhesive. Due to his distracted state, his concentration dipped just enough for his horned adversary to land a few more clean hits. "Shit!"
To further compound the chaos, Gohan felt the two headbands around his forehead and neck slip off against his will. Stunned, he grabbed the pieces of Velcro before they could float away and bit down on them with his teeth.
"Sorry for ganging up on you like this, Son!" Kendo called out, her voice sounding genuinely apologetic. "I don't like doing things this way, but we have no choice!"
When Gohan met the orange-haired girl's teal gaze, his eyes were quickly drawn her green-haired teammate, who wore a decidedly devious grin. "If I were you, I'd consider it a compliment!" she teased, her arms outstretched and her… detached hands floating away from her body.
Controllable horn missiles, scale bullets, cement-like adhesive, telekinesis, and now limb detachment? Just how freakishly versatile were these guys' Quirks?
"We have quite a situation on our hands, folks!" Present Mic boomed enthusiastically – because that was exactly what Gohan wanted to hear. "Class 1-A's ace and his team have found themselves in a real pickle, having been trapped by Class 1-B's four-pronged assault! Will they find a way out of this predicament? Or will they fall prey to their opponents' exemplary teamwork? Stay tuned to find out!"
They were boxed in on all sides.
Sato was rendered immobile and slowly losing the strength to defend himself.
Midoriya's explosive firepower was unusable at long range.
Uraraka's gravity manipulation required physical touch to activate.
The trio's feet were encased in a rock-hard adhesive that seemingly required tremendous force to break.
Their opponents were quickly creeping closer like an intrusion of starving cockroaches; even the ponytailed boy who'd been blown back had recovered, and was priming his scaled arm for another ranged assault.
How they planned to divide his team's points among themselves, Gohan didn't have a clue.
All he knew was that the onus of saving his team was on him. Loath as he was to steal the spotlight from friends who actually wanted the attention, he was left with no other option.
So, with a sigh of resignation, he planted his left hand on Sato's broad back and lifted himself into a five-fingered handstand. Then, with a simple twist of the hand, he started spinning like a top; not fast enough to create a literal tornado, but with enough speed to generate a gust of wind strong enough to knock down all four of the encroaching teams.
Having taken no pleasure from such an act, he ignored the cries of shock from his felled opponents and flipped back to his previous position. This was U.A. It was naïve of him to think he could half-ass the cavalry battle just so his teammates would have a chance to shine. There was a fine line between being proactive and reactive, and he wasn't toeing it.
Now that they were finally free of danger, Sato let loose a booming battle cry and slammed his burly fist into the adhesive keeping them trapped, grinning savagely when the material shattered into hundreds of tiny shards. "Take that, you bastards!"
"Let's move out, guys… and let's keep moving this time," Gohan uttered in a level tone as he readjusted his team's headbands.
"You got it, boss," Sato replied enthusiastically, Midoriya and Uraraka nodding in affirmation.
And so, the group set off towards a more peaceful part of the battlefield. With any luck, opposing teams who thought they had a chance of taking them on would now reconsider, and hopefully avoid them entirely. That would be nice.
"He has done it, ladies and gentlemen! By God, he has done it!" Present Mic roared to thunderous applause. "Son Gohan has singlehandedly saved his team with a remarkable display of core strength, flexibility and raw, unfiltered POWER!"
"Stop screaming in my ear!" Aizawa shouted in a rare display of emotion.
"You're amazing, Son," Uraraka whispered in clear disbelief.
"Yep! And to think, I taught him all he knows!" Sato boasted.
"S-somehow I doubt that," Midoriya mumbled.
Gohan rolled his eyes. "And you'd be right. Sato couldn't teach a fish how to swim."
"No shit I couldn't! Because fish already know how to swim from the moment they're born!" Sato fired back.
Gohan opened his mouth to retort, but shut it when he realised his best friend was technically correct. "I'll give you that," he muttered.
Sato whooped in joy at his victory, while Midoriya and Uraraka chuckled at the sight. Gohan smiled despite his earlier grievances. Humour was a great way to take one's mind off negative thoughts, and he was glad his friends didn't seem shaken up after that close call.
As they ran around the battlefield, they found their progress unimpeded. Each time another combatant gave a greedy glance in their direction, a quick furrowing of Gohan's brow sent them reeling. It was enough to make him breathe out a sigh of relief. However, he sincerely doubted this tranquillity would last. He knew better than anyone that when people got desperate, all sense of reason flew out the window…
"Fifteen minutes have passed, folks! We're at the halfway point of the cavalry battle!" Present Mic announced. "We neglected to mention this before – because who doesn't love a bit of mystery – but only the four teams with the highest point totals will be going through to the third and final round! So if you're lagging behind on points, lather yourself in glue, slap on some feathers, and channel your inner Road Runner! Cause tiiiiiiime's a-wastin'!"
"Well, now that everyone's pissing themselves at the thought of challenging us, we can rest easy for the next fifteen minutes," Sato commented.
"Maybe… but I feel sorry for Tsuyu, Tokoyami and Shoji," Uraraka admitted. "Because they teamed up with that Mineta boy, now everyone's gunning for them."
Indeed, now that his own team was being avoided, Gohan could easily make out a whopping seven teams chasing after Shoji's group: five of them being the ones he and his friends had taken out, and the other two being Todoroki and Hagakure's teams. Hagakure was still missing her headband, while Tetsutetsu hadn't managed to acquire another one, and was looking positively enraged.
To their credit, Tsuyu, Tokoyami and Mineta were doing a fantastic job combining their Quirks to keep their pursuers at bay, while Shoji's formidable frame blitzed around the battlefield like a tank. On top of all that, the protective cocoon formed by his Dupli-Arms was proving a tough nut to crack. Literally.
"I think it would be smarter for those teams chasing after Mineta's points to go after each other instead," Gohan remarked. When his statement was met with three curious pairs of eyes, he proceeded to elaborate. "Tunnel vision is never a good thing. By only focusing on one target – Mineta's points – they not only have to contend with six other teams at once, they also run the risk of failing to steal Mineta's headband and wasting the next fifteen minutes."
"I get what you're saying, but since only four teams can go through, wouldn't it be better to go for the five million points and guarantee passage to the next round?" Uraraka asked. "Yeah, there's a risk that you'll fail miss out, but by going after the smaller targets, you also risk not getting enough points to pass."
"I guess it depends on how confident you are in your team's abilities," Gohan answered. "Shoji's no slouch, and Tsuyu and Tokoyami's Quirks are great for defence. Even Mineta shouldn't be underestimated, as much as it pains me to say it. Because I know how tough these guys are, I think it would be safer to leave them be and go after the smaller targets."
"Like that smug blond guy who's making Bakugo his bitch?" Sato queried with a chuckle.
Gohan followed his best friend's finger and saw a fuming, headband-less Bakugo busting his gut in an attempt to overwhelm the 'smug blond guy' who'd stolen his headband.
To the demi-Saiyan's astonishment, the smug blond blasted the volatile blond in the face with an explosion generated from his palm, then blocked the retaliatory blast by hardening the left side of his body. "Well how about that? Looks like that guy can copy other Quirks," he mused aloud.
"Whoa! Kacchan looks seriously ticked off!" Midoriya exclaimed. "Whatever that blond guy said must have really gotten under his skin."
"What doesn't get under Bakugo's skin?" Gohan grumbled, more to himself than anyone.
Midoriya put a finger to his chin. "Umm… w-well, ahh… he doesn't- no, that annoys him too. Ahh…" He scratched his curly hair and scrunched his face in thought, but after a few seconds of silent contemplation, shrugged his shoulders and let out a sigh of defeat. "I got nothing."
Sato snorted, while Gohan smiled grimly. Despite spending the past two weeks growing closer to Midoriya, he still couldn't wrap his head around why his green-haired friend was so willing to defend Bakugo. The bad-tempered blond was assholery personified, and a hypocrite to boot.
Still, as much as he disliked the guy, Gohan had to admit that Bakugo was quite a formidable fighter, and definitely one of the strongest first-years at U.A. That was why it was so surprising seeing him held to a stalemate by the smug blond who'd stolen his headband. Even if said smug blond had the advantage of being able to copy people's Quirks, the fact that he was able to use them so effectively on the fly was seriously impressive.
A sudden chorus of angry shouts drew Gohan's attention to the pack of competitors chasing after Shoji. They looked to have finally grown fed up with their inability to catch their target, and were now lashing out at each other. Of particular note was Kendo, who had enlarged one of her hands to gigantic proportions and was using it like a flyswat to smack aside anyone who came near her.
Another interesting observation was that despite all this added chaos, the chasing pack in its entirety never once strayed from Shoji's trail.
That all changed when a devastating wave of ice washed across the ground and trapped their feet in a frigid prison, coldly and cruelly halting their progress.
"Whoa! Feast your eyes on that, folks! Even in the heat of battle, Todoroki Shoto finds the time to treat us all to an advance screening of the new Ice Age flick!" Present Mic joked, much to the crowds' amusement.
"Well, that's Todoroki finally getting serious," Sato concluded. Just a few seconds later, an enormous explosion engulfed a portion of the field in thick black smoke. "And there goes Bakugo blowing his top. Huh. Things are both heating up and cooling down."
Gohan's breath chilled as a gust of icy wind blew past his team, earning a shiver out of Midoriya and Uraraka. Sato wasn't spared from the cold either if the goose bumps that grew along his skin were anything to go by; he just didn't express it like the other two, amusingly enough.
"I'm glad I'm not in the middle of that," Midoriya mused as he rubbed his bumpy arms.
"Those guys are boned," Sato remarked, referring to Todoroki's panicking victims. "They don't have a Son to unfreeze their asses. And good riddance. Annoying pricks."
Gohan furrowed his brow as he cast a curious gaze over the trapped combatants. "I'm not so sure about that. Those guys were pretty resourceful when they took us on."
"Tch. That was just a fluke," Sato grumbled.
"I'm with Son on this one. We shouldn't underestimate them," Midoriya added.
"You too, Midoriya? At least Uraraka agrees with me… right, Uraraka?" Sato half-asked, half-pleaded.
"Nope!" the girl chirped, accentuating the 'p'.
Sato huffed and crossed his arms. "You guys suck!"
"Whatever you say, bud," Gohan responded offhandedly as he continued surveying the chaotic scene.
Honenuki had just freed his team by turning the ice below them to mud, and immediately gave chase to Todoroki and Shoji. Not long after, Kendo managed to shatter the ice trapping her team by whacking it repeatedly with her comically huge hands. The other freeze victims hadn't pulled off the same feat, but they seemed to have gotten over their earlier panic and were diligently working to thaw themselves out.
Gohan was broken from his observations when Sato growled in frustration. "I get that we're badass and all, but standing around doing nothing is getting real boring," he whined.
"Deal with it," Gohan replied, craning his neck to check out the timer. "We only have around ten minutes left anyway."
"Don't be such a bore, Son. Let's spice things up and go round up some more headbands!" Sato suggested enthusiastically.
"Now that's something I can get behind!" Uraraka commented, her tone almost as eager.
"I-if Uraraka's okay with it, then I am too!" Midoriya stated, unsurprisingly.
Gohan chuckled in light-hearted exasperation. "Fine. Any suggestions on who to target?"
"That smug blond bastard who's scrapping with Bakugo!" Sato declared instantly, much to his teammates' surprise.
"Any particular reason?" Gohan inquired.
"You weren't paying attention earlier, but I memorised their faces. The blond guy, the brown-haired guy, and the guy with super black skin were the ones talking shit about you before the cavalry battle," Sato revealed, clenching his fist and grinning dangerously at the objects of his ire. "I know you don't care about any of that stuff, but I won't stand for anyone badmouthing my sidekick!"
"That's as good a reason as any," Uraraka remarked, smacking a fist into her palm. "I say we go for it!"
Gohan's heart swelled with gratitude, but he quickly reigned in his emotions. "You guys…" One deep exhalation later, an excited grin spread across his lips. His teammates' enthusiasm was infectious. "Alright! Let's move out!"
Like a racehorse finally set loose, the cavalry sprang into action and charged at the smug blond's team, which was still locked in conflict with Bakugo's team. When the two warring groups finally picked up on the furious patter of footsteps heading their way, they momentarily stopped fighting to see what it was. Upon spotting Gohan's group running towards them at full sprint, Bakugo's face twisted into a venomous snarl, while the smug blond's smirk slid off his face in an instant.
"Plan of attack?" Sato queried.
"Bulldoze through the middle of them," Gohan orderer, clenching his left fist and moving it in front of his body.
Sato cackled in a distinctly unheroic manner. "With pleasure…"
The two enemy teams backed off from each other and shifted their attention to Gohan's group, their standard bearers bracing for an attack. Bakugo's means of defence was to open his arms invitingly as small explosions danced across his palms; the smug blond's was to harden his arms with Kirishima's Quirk while adopting a cross-arm block to protect his neck, where his headbands were located. The latter also had support from his brown-haired teammate, who literally blew a transparent barrier of some sort into existence.
Even as he took all this in via his peripheral vision, Gohan continued facing forward in order to mask his intentions until the last possible moment. Despite that, he never once lost track of his true target: the headbands wrapped snugly around the smug blond's neck.
The very second his cavalry entered the required range – Bakugo's team on their right and the smug blond's on their left – Gohan put his plan in motion.
An open-palmed feint imbued with the most miniscule amount of ki was thrust into Bakugo's face, making the bad-tempered boy recoil in shock.
An elbow strike shattered the transparent barrier into innumerable tiny shards, drawing a stunned gasp from its creator.
Said elbow strike transitioned into a backfist aimed at the smug blond's face, but this too was a faint; unless a male fighter was exceptionally well trained, their limbs would instinctively move to defend their face and groin at the slightest sign of danger.
The smug blond did not fall under that category.
In flinching, he opened his guard just enough for Gohan to twist his wrist at the last moment and yank the three exposed headbands off with one swift swipe.
By the time Bakugo and the smug blond's teams had properly comprehended this series of events, Gohan's group had put a few metres between them, and that number was rapidly growing larger.
"Son? Son?! I'm going to fucking murder you, you unwanted, shit tier, parentless disgrace of a hero wannabe!" Bakugo screeched, the sheer amount of vitriol and loathing in his voice strong enough to cut Gohan deep, and cause something inside him to snap.
"Turn around," he ordered.
"On it!" Sato announced as he did just that, Midoriya and Uraraka following suit.
"Don't move," Gohan then added, watching with narrowed eyes as Bakugo's group rampaged towards him, the jerk's head so red it looked like it was about to burst. Behind him, the smug blond and his team were retreating in the opposite direction. 'Good.'
"Well, well, well, looks like little Bakugo's finally sprouted the balls to come take us on!" Sato taunted, flipping the blond the bird.
"I don't want to hear that from a shitty freeloader who coasts by on someone else's strength! Bakugo retorted hotly.
Sato barked out a laugh. "What would you know about strength? You're not even top five in the class!"
Bakugo went rigid, his face turning alarmingly ashen. "Top five? Top five?! I'll show you who's top five when I ram my- what the fuck is this?" he screeched, glaring at a headband that had just been thrown to him.
"Your headband. I got it back off that other blond jerk," Gohan explained shakily, his heart pounding in his chest.
"I don't want your stinking charity!" Bakugo roared, hurling the headband back to its sender.
"I don't care what you want," Gohan spat, throwing the headband back with trembling hands. "Ashido and Kirishima are my friends, and I want them to go through to the next round." His heartbeat relaxed just a tad at the thought.
Kirishima looked conflicted. "Son, you're my bro, and I appreciate the gesture… but I can't accept this. As much as I want to go through to the next round, I want it to be on my own merits, not because of a handout from my friend."
"See? Shitty Hair doesn't want your charity either! So fuck off!" Bakugo bellowed, disposing of the headband once more.
Gohan ignored the blond's diatribe and looked Kirishima right in his crimson eyes. He took a deep breath, remembering how on the day of the Quirk assessment test, he, Sato, Kirishima and Ashido spent the entire afternoon lazing about at the arcade. Even though he and Sato were literal strangers to Kirishima and Ashido, the colourful duo were still warm enough to suggest such an outing. It was a soothing memory – one he would always cherish.
"It's not charity," he declared firmly. "If it was charity, I'd give you all my headbands aside from the one worth five million points. It's just a friendly gesture, that's all. If those guys from the other class can look past the competition aspect to help each other out, why can't we do the same?"
"Unlike those wimps, I don't need the help!" Bakugo roared.
Kirishima grit his teeth and looked away. "Sorry, bro. I'm with Bakugo on this one."
"Oh, for heaven's sake! Will you dorks cut it out with the dick-measuring contest?" Ashido scolded.
"What? You wanna say that to my face, Raccoon Eyes?!" Bakugo screamed.
Ashido simply rolled her eyes. "Give that headband here, Son. Unlike these two dumbasses, I don't have a rock for a brain, and would appreciate the help."
"I'm with Ashido," Sero chimed in. "Wanting to do things on your own is fine and all, but we're kinda running out of time."
Gohan nodded in gratitude and handed the headband to Ashido, who accepted it with a warm smile. The sight was enough to set his heart fully at ease. "Thank you, Son," she said softly.
"Oi! What are you doing, Raccoon Eyes?! Throw that shit away!" Bakugo shrieked.
Ashido ignored him and thrust the headband into Kirishima's side, the redhead wincing at the rough treatment. "Hey! What was that for?" he whined.
"For being a dumbass," Ashido replied harshly. "Now get a move on, you two. We've got some headbands to steal."
"I'll kill you, Son!" Bakugo threatened coldly, his whole body shaking in barely restrained rage. "Next round, you're dead fucking meat! You too, Big Lips! And don't think I've forgotten about you either, Deku, you weaselly little shit! You're all dead! DEAD!"
He continued screaming even as his cavalry carried him away like some sort of mental patient – which might not have been too far from the truth, now that Gohan thought about it. When the volatile blond's vulgar yelling finally faded for good, he leaned back in his seat and sighed in relief. That could've gone a lot worse.
"That boy ain't right," Sato commented, a few beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.
"Th-tha-that was int-tense!" Midoriya stammered shakily.
"That was rude," Uraraka muttered.
Midoriya's eyes widened in panic. "D-don't pay too much attention to Kacchan! He's like that with everyone!"
"I don't care about that!" Uraraka clarified with a huff. "When he was threatening to kill you guys, he completely ignored me!"
Midoriya blinked. "You… want Kacchan to threaten you?" he enunciated, as though struggling to come to terms with the idea.
Uraraka shrugged. "It'd show he was taking me seriously."
"Ha! That's the spirit! You have a good head on your shoulders, Uraraka," Sato praised, drawing a blush from the girl.
"I agree," Gohan added with a smile. "If that jerk doesn't acknowledge you now, make him acknowledge you in the next round. I know you have it in you."
"Y-yeah! You're strong, Uraraka! S-so don't let anyone tell you otherwise!" Midoriya stuttered, his words causing her to shyly cover her face with her hands.
"Thanks, guys. It means a lot," she mumbled.
"We're just being honest," Gohan admitted, before his smile dimmed. "Anyway, I'm sorry for giving away that headband without asking if it was alright with you guys. It was a spur of the moment thing." He conveniently neglected to mention that had he not done what he did, he probably would've exploded then and there.
A wave of shame washed over him at the thought. Verbal abuse was something he'd always been able to shrug off with ease, but Bakugo… had a way of worming under his skin. Having his conviction and commitment questioned by some vile scumbag who didn't even deserve to be at U.A. stung hard. Still, that was no excuse for almost blowing his gasket. He needed to be better.
"I'm cool with it, man. It's not like we needed the extra points," Sato proclaimed, an excited grin breaking out across his face. "Besides, I want Kirishima to make it to the next round too. I owe him an ass whooping for beating me in All Might's battle trial. Thrashing him in an arm wrestle wasn't enough to satisfy me."
"Huh? I thought your arm wrestle ended in a draw when the desk broke?" Midoriya asked, making Sato's ears redden.
"Whaaaat? Nah, man! The desk only broke because I slammed Kirishima's hand on it too hard!" he protested.
"Right…" Midoriya replied. "Anyway, Son, I don't mind that you gave Kacchan's team their headband back. They needed it; we didn't."
"I was a bit annoyed at first, but like Deku and Sato said, we didn't need it," Uraraka added, having regained her composure. "Besides, it's nice that you're looking out for our classmates."
Gohan felt a surge of warmth bubble up from within. "I appreciate it, guys. Really."
"Five minutes left!" Present Mic boomed. "Thus far, not a single soul has managed to steal the five million points from either Son or Mineta! Can our two frontrunners hold onto their lead? Or will they finally fall prey to their hunters at the final hurdle? Strap in, strap on, and get ready, ladies and gentlemen! The cavalry battle's conclusion is coming right up!"
Now that the clock was running down, the competitors seemed to kick their efforts up a notch. Some teams picked up speed as they desperately rushed their opponents, their gritted teeth and sweat-drenched faces a testament to their hard work, even in the face of defeat. Others stopped fleeing and moved to engage in direct conflict with their pursuers, their stony expressions reflecting their grim determination.
However, the most showstopping endeavour was achieved by none other than Todoroki himself. Gohan didn't see exactly what happened, but the literal wall of jagged ice encircling the corner of the battlefield, as well as the distinct absence of both Todoroki and Shoji's teams, told him all he needed to know. He wasn't sure who he wanted to win that bout, nor did he have a clue who the favourite was, but he was certain it would go down to the wire. Neither group was in for an easy time.
"DIE! DIE! DIE!" a frustratingly familiar voice shrieked, quickly catching his attention.
Upon seeing Bakugo's team rampaging through the kerfuffle at the centre of the battlefield, their standard bearer screaming his head off like a lunatic, Gohan could only roll his eyes. Astoundingly enough, the volatile blond's vulgar attitude and reckless disregard for common decency looked to be intimidating a couple of his competitors, making their headbands easy targets for his team.
"G-guys! Enemies incoming!" Midoriya called out.
Gohan snapped to attention at his friend's warning, but relaxed when saw it was just the team whose headband they'd stolen just minutes prior heading their way. The smug blond who acted as their figurehead wore an arrogant smirk, but the demi-Saiyan had honed his observational skills enough that he could easily see past the mask.
He saw the way the lips quivered as they struggled to maintain a smile.
He picked up on the eye twitching out of sheer frustration.
He noticed the rivulets of sweat rolling down the forehead in droves, denoting an almost tangible nervousness.
The smug blond was worried.
Meanwhile, Sato was vocally expressing his displeasure at their opponent. "Why do we have to fight the wimpy blond guy again? I was hoping for another crack at the werewolf guy," he whined.
"What is it with you and werewolves?" Uraraka muttered.
"I have my reasons…" Sato trailed off ominously, his features hardening.
"O…kay," Uraraka replied, shooting Gohan a confused look.
"I'll explain later," he told her, receiving a nod in response.
"Don't let that blond guy touch you. That's how he steals Quirks," Midoriya warned.
Sato stroked his chin in thought. "So then what do we do? Run away or kick his ass?"
"Already thinking about running away? Just what I expected of the riff-raff from Class 1-A!" the smug blond taunted.
Sato snorted. "Are you retarded? You're the ones who ran away from us first!"
The smug blond's smirk faltered, while his brown-haired teammate chuckled. "They've already caught on to your schtick, Monoma," he remarked.
The smug blond now known as Monoma shook his head and readopted an arrogant grin. "It doesn't matter what you Class 1-A clowns think of me. All I need is one touch, and then both your powers and your points will be mine!"
Sato facepalmed in disbelief. "Who the hell monologues in real life? I think you've been watching too many movies, dude."
"Maybe he's just flustered?" Uraraka guessed.
"Whatever he is, I think he's suffered enough," Gohan suggested calmly. "Anyway, we should probably get a move on. We have no reason to fight, and I don't know about you guys, but I'd rather not get my Quirk stolen and used without my permission."
Midoriya paled at the thought, and Gohan could only imagine the kind of macabre images he was picturing. Fighting Monoma now just wasn't worth the risk, especially since they had literally nothing to gain from it.
Sato pursed his large lips. "Fair enough. Well, gang, let's move out!"
"Right!" Uraraka and Midoriya replied in tandem as the cavalry shifted into gear as took off in the opposite direction.
"Hey! Come back here, you cowards!" Monoma yelled at their retreating forms.
"Get another headband first! Then we'll talk!" Sato fired back.
As they ran further from the conflict, Gohan cast a glance at Monoma, and saw that the blond's team had turned around and charged back into the fracas at the centre of the battlefield. Another glance at the scoreboard showed that his own team was in the lead, with Team Mineta coming in second, and Team Bakugo the clear favourite for third – impressive, but unsurprising. Fourth place was far more hotly contested, and was alternating between Team Kendo and Team Shinso… whoever that was.
From here on out, it was a simple matter of running down the clock by trotting around the battlefield while Present Mic's colour commentary narrated the final moments of the cavalry battle. A couple of teams did entertain the thought of coming after them, but all it took to make them reconsider was Gohan flexing his hand in their direction. All in all, it was a rather anticlimactic way to end the event, but he sure as hell wasn't complaining.
"It's the final countdown!" Present Mic sang, the crowd enthusiastically following along. "Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! TIME'S UP!"
Gohan hopped off Sato's back as Midoriya huffed a sigh of relief. "You okay there, bro?" the demi-Saiyan asked, patting his green-haired friend on the back.
"I'm-I'm good," Midoriya stammered. "Just glad it's over, you know?"
"Not me! I could've kept going all day!" Sato boasted, thumbing his chest.
Uraraka rolled her eyes. "That's because you'd have Son doing most of the work," she grumbled.
"Damn right I would!"
Gohan let out a chuckle and turned his attention to his fellow competitors, many of whom had collapsed on the ground and were panting heavily. The sight spoke volumes about how much effort they'd exerted, and reaffirmed just how cruel it was that almost two-thirds of them would be getting eliminated. It almost made him feel bad that his team had such an easy ride in comparison.
"Alright, alright, alright! Let's take a look at our top four teams!" Present Mic called, pausing briefly for everyone to turn their attention to the holographic scoreboard. "In first place! Team Son! In second place, Team Mineta! In third place, Team Bakugo! In fourth place Team Shinso! Ladies and gentlemen, please give a r-"
"I believe a recount is in order!" a confident voice boomed across the battlefield.
Before anyone could voice their surprise at the sudden interruption, the circular wall of ice in the corner of the battlefield shattered as though smashed by a wrecking ball, revealing none other than a frowning Todoroki clutching a megaphone in one hand and something unidentifiable in the other. His team members were situated around him, grim expressions mirrored on each of their faces.
The crowd, the other competitors, and even Present Mic himself, let out a collective gasp – not at Todoroki's team, but at the grisly scene behind them.
Encased in thick ice right up to the waist was Shoji's hulking form, his Dupli-Arms frozen in place and looking like they had been pried apart by force. Tsuyu, Tokoyami and Mineta – their foreheads bare – were huddled together on his back, wide-eyed and unmoving save for their shivering bodies.
Todoroki held out his hand, revealing the five-million-point headband. "We pass."
AN: I would've liked to have had this posted yesterday, but I spent all day at a wedding and ended up drinking and eating way too much. I didn't get drunk or anything, but consuming three different kinds of wine, three different kinds of homemade fruit brandy, and two big ass cups of strong coffee throughout the day, in addition to some food I'm not used to eating, did not sit well with me, and the ensuing night was downright miserable. I'm still not feeling the best today, but fortunately it's not so bad as to prevent me from finishing off this chapter.
Anyway, I realised partway through writing this chapter just how ill-equipped Gohan's team is for the cavalry battle. Individually, Deku, Sato and Uraraka are all plenty strong, but their skillsets aren't versatile enough for an event like this. Deku and Sato are straightforward brawlers who fight at close range, while Uraraka's gravity manipulation isn't that effective here. In canon, Deku and Uraraka had Tokoyami for range and defence, and Mei for versatility and support, so they weren't entirely helpless. In this version of events, they had Gohan. Good thing the next round consists of a series of one-on-one fights, eh?
I also realised when reading/watching back the corresponding chapters/episodes just how rushed the canon cavalry battle was. Even if you assume a lot of it was left up to our interpretation, there were some really weird time jumps. The first 15 minutes went by at an okay pace (albeit with some weirdness) and covered Deku's altercations with Honenuki's team, Shoji's team and Bakugo. The next 14 minutes went by in what felt like an instant though, and seemed to imply that Bakugo spent all that time fighting Monoma, while Deku ran away from Todoroki. It was tough to wrap my head around, and made it harder to plan out the latter half of my cavalry battle. I had to try and make sure things didn't get repetitive, while also maintaining a realistic pace. In the end, I'm satisfied with how it turned out. If you have the time, please let me know what you thought.
Now, before I end this, I'd like to give a few shout outs. First, to Fox McCloude, who went ahead and made a TV Tropes page for this fic. You, sir, are a legend, and you have my utmost gratitude. If anyone would like to go and add to it, please feel free to do so. Second, to the guest reviewer known as cestlavie, who as I write is going through and leaving almost essay-length reviews of every single chapter. If you make it this far without getting bored, know that I wholeheartedly appreciate your support.
As for everyone whose who's left favourites, follows and reviews of their own, your support is also, as always, greatly appreciated.
Until next time!
