Welcome, trick or treaters! A New Pencil returns to the desk!
Underline is for English this time!
Italics is either thoughts, a flashback, or a song/poem.
I do not own Kingdom Hearts, My Hero Academia, OMORI, Final Fantasy, or any of its characters. They all belong to their respective companies.
Chapter 20: Sports Festival: Call the Calvary!
(Play: KH DDD OST - The Nightmare)
Meanwhile, in a bar far away, Tomura Shigaraki simply stared at the TV screen, watching as a very familiar boy was being cheered on by the crowd at the stadium.
"It's that brat…" Tomura muttered, scratching his neck. Both his hands were wrapped in bandages, minus his fingers, and bandages were also wrapped around his midsection.
"Holding… a grudge, I see?" a warped, distorted voice asked behind him. Shigaraki turned to stare back at the source, which was a figure covered in immense dark mists.
"Of course. Got a problem?"
"None… at all…" the figure replied, voice still distorted, "I also… have a score… to settle…" it walked over to glance at the TV, "Why… are you watching… something… like this?"
Shigaraki replied, "I am scouting my foes, and watching how the U.A. brats use their Quirks helps with that."
"Mere observation… does not guarantee… victory." the figure paused, making Tomura annoyed. The figure always had a hard time speaking, so it paused every now and then to ensure it could speak at all.
A disembodied voice coming from another screen called out, "Our target right now is the Symbol of Peace. It would be wise to know about who he is teaching and what they are capable of, should the possibility of combating them arise for either of you. But you should know this, correct?"
The figure said nothing, eyeing a spiky brown-haired kid that now took up the screen.
"The prodigy." Shigaraki snarled.
"He got a low place for someone with so much power. Holding back, isn't he?" the voice wondered amused.
Tomura looked to the dark misty figure, "Is this the brat you have a bone to pick with?"
The figure merely nodded, "He is not… one to be underestimated…"
The voice hummed, before saying, "You have a history with him. Do you wish to get it off your chest?"
"Irrelevant." the figure responded, "My secrets… are my own."
"Fair enough. As long as we share a common enemy, you are more than welcome to come and go from here as you please. Though our first meeting after that little ruckus you were responsible for really surprised me." the voice replied, "Though I assume you won't be hanging around much longer?"
"I will stay… until this ends…" the figure said, "The mask… has cracked. Soon… it will break… and all will be revealed… That will be when I take my leave."
Shigaraki grumbled, "Does he have to stay?"
"Tomura." the voice said sternly, "Remember what you've been told. He is a guest, so be polite. Do not try to kill him. Is that clear?"
Tomura sighed, "As you wish, Master."
With that, Shigaraki resumed staring at the screen, the figure following his gaze.
Soon…
(Silence)
Meanwhile, back in the stadium hosting the Sports Festival, Midnight was speaking to the gathered students, "Only the top 42 will advance to the next round! But don't worry if you didn't make the cut. There's a lot more we've prepared to show what you can do,"
She licked her lips as she continued, "Now the real fun begins. The chance to truly move yourself in the limelight! Give it your best, students." She then turned her attention to the wheel, which began to spin once again, "Now… let's see what happens next. Will your wildest fantasies come true? Oh, the wait is so~ painful. Now… prepare yourselves… for this!"
The wheel stopped at "Calvary Battle." Many wondered how it would work, but Midnight was quick to explain.
"The participants will team up in groups of three to four as they see fit. In theory, it's like an old playground game. But with one difference. Each person is awarded points depending on their position during the obstacle course!"
"I get it." Rikido perked up, "A point scale, like with the Entrance Exam."
"So that means each team receives a point value based on which students are on it!" Ochaco concluded, and Mina nodded in approval.
"Maybe you should shut up and let me explain things to you!" Midnight shouted, looking rather annoyed by the students' interruption. Once she had calmed down, she continued, "Now… the point values will be increments of five, starting from the bottom. For example, 42nd place is worth five points, 41st makes ten. And the point value assigned here is… TEN MILLION!"
Wait… what?!
Sora looked over to where Izuku was, and boy, was his friend terrified. Though he had tried to make sure Midoriya came out first to prove he could stand with the best, he hadn't expected to make him a high-value target. Now nearly everybody participating had eyes of killing intent on Izuku, minus Ochaco and Sora.
Now he knew exactly who he had to partner with.
(Play: MHA OST - U.A. Corridors)
Midnight then further explained the rules, declaring that the points would be symbolized through headbands that could be worn from the neck up. The more you had, the harder it was to manage. The team that lost all their headbands would be eliminated, and it would continue until time runs out.
"It's anybody's game, then." Momo concluded, taking off Sora's gym top and making her own with her Quirk.
"Yeah." Sato agreed, "Since there are 42 contestants, there will be at least 10 or 12 teams fighting at the same time."
"Sounds difficult." Yuga said.
"So if you lose your headband at the beginning, you'll have more time to make a plan, then." Ashido deduced.
"I dunno, Mina-chan." Tsuyu said, "Maybe we should wait until teams are decided before strategizing, kero."
"This is gonna be rough," Midnight concluded, "You may use your Quirks, but there are still rules. Anybody who deliberately tries to make a team fall gets a red card and is disqualified," She then pointed to the screen, displaying a timer, "You have fifteen minutes to decide your teams. I suggest you start now."
(Play: FF7 Remake OST - Avalanche's Theme)
Meanwhile, in the bleachers, Cloud and Tifa were watching the students move about, the Buster Sword absent from the swordsman's back.
"What do you think?" Tifa asked, "Any students that catch your eye yet other than Sora?"
Cloud grunted.
"That's not an answer, you know."
"That other girl that placed 4th. The one with the long pigtails" Cloud stated, "There's more to her than what we've seen so far. She hasn't shown off everything."
"Oh?"
"Just look at what she's been doing." Cloud told his friend, "Her actions during the race were different from most people, avoiding and dodging rather than acting offensively, and nobody paid attention to her until the very last minute when she overtook that vine-haired girl."
Tifa hummed, "Is she holding back?"
Cloud shrugged, "Who knows. She's agile and quick, that's for sure. Whatever the case, I'd keep a close eye on her."
"Fair enough." Tifa nodded, "And you're sure there's nobody else that piques your interest?"
"It's not that they don't interest me. If I make too many choices now, it'll be more difficult to deal with once I line them all up." Cloud clarified, "They're all good, especially that Todoroki kid, but I'm planning to wait until we reach the finals to see what they are, inside and out." he looked to Tifa, "Speaking of the Todoroki kid, word on the street is that he's the Number Two's son."
"Endeavor's? The one who looks partially on fire?"
"Yep." Cloud looked at the screen, which now focused on Todoroki, looking uninterested in anything. "Doesn't seem too happy about it though."
Meanwhile, at a nearby high school, Sunny, Kel, Aubrey, and Basil were talking amongst themselves. "That was pretty wild, wouldn't you say?" Kel grinned.
Sunny hummed in agreement.
"Who'd have thought Midoriya would be able to get first after falling so far behind, though?" Aubrey pointed out, "And Sora actually gave up his position to make sure Midoriya stayed in first."
"That's a bro move," Kel noted, staring at the screen as a replay of Sora holding back Todoroki and Bakugo while Midoriya pulled through and got first was shown.
"Surprised nobody's talking about it," Basil looked around, as their classmates were speaking about other things about the race, "They're more focused on the other two that were tied with Midoriya for first."
"Probably because their Quirks are flashy." Aubrey sighed, "I guess that's making us root for the underdog then."
"Good for us!" Kel grinned, "I like these odds."
Sunny looked down in thought. Now that he thought about it, Sora seemed to be holding back a lot in the first event. Seeing how fast and skilled he was 4 months before, he should've breezed through the entire race. But he could understand why his friend was holding back.
"I wonder how Hero and Mari are doing?" Basil wondered.
"Aren't they with Ms. Nakajima?" Aubrey asked.
"Yeah." he nodded, "They're watching it too, right?"
Sure enough, in the hospital room where Shimizu was resting, they were still watching the festival from the TV screen.
"Everyone did such a good job." Shimizu smiled, "Especially Izuku. I'm sure Inko must be happy for her son. The stress of this round was a bit much."
"He's quite the wild card," Hero nodded, "It looked like his power was flowing around his body during the last stretch of the race. I wonder if he took my advice."
"I'm sure he did, Hero." Mari said, "Your advice is always helpful."
Hero couldn't hold back the little grin that reached his face, "Thanks Mari." He then turned to Sora's mother, "How are you feeling?"
"For now, I'm fine. Not too tired just yet." she reassured him, "Thanks for staying here, by the way."
"Of course. Your son's our friend, and he's competing at the festival too," Mari told her, "I'm sure you'd want to watch it with other people. And it's the least we can do with all your son's done for us."
"I guess so." Shimizu sighed, resting her head on the pillow, "I just wish I was out there in the bleachers supporting him."
"We don't have to." Hero smiled, "We're with him in spirit. And soon, you'll be able to walk out of the hospital to congratulate Sora once the festival is done."
Shimizu looked down for a bit, before smiling, "You're right. Thank you, Hero."
"Always happy to help." he nodded, "Just let me know if you're in need of anything."
She nodded, looking back up to the screen.
Back in the field of the stadium, Sora tried going to Midoriya, until another voice stopped him.
"Nakajima-san." Sora turned to the source of the voice, revealed to be Tokoyami with arms crossed.
"Fumikage." Sora nodded, "What is it?"
"I wish to form a team with you." came the reply.
Sora looked at him surprised, considering that most of his classmates were asking Bakugo of all people to join their team. "Strange. I thought you'd be going for the ones that have more points."
The bird-faced boy nodded, "It is tempting, but even with their high point value, you are the most compatible person to work with out of everyone here. Not to mention your own strength rivals that of Todoroki and Bakugo. It maybe even surpasses them, considering you were trained under Strife-san, who is fast, strong, and tactical based on his mock trial weeks before. A team with you is pretty much untouchable. For me, being on a team with you is more preferable than being on a team against you."
Sora realized what he was saying, and sighed, "I see. No beating around the bush, huh?"
"Meaning?"
"You want me on the team because you see me as a force to be reckoned with." Sora clarified, "Is that right?"
"Am I wrong?"
"No… it's just I was hoping that wasn't the main reason." Sora admitted, before extending his hand, "But you're more than welcome to team up with me Fumikage."
Tokoyami shook it, before the two began to walk, with Sora in front and Tokoyami behind. The two were suddenly stopped by Momo.
"Sora-san, I believe this is your-" she started, before she stopped abruptly.
(Play: KH Re:CoM OST - The 13th Floor)
She had forgotten Sora didn't have a shirt on, as he had given his top to her. Without his shirt, she could see that his body was toned and refined, very close to that of a top-class swimmer in the Olympics of the past. That wasn't the main reason, though.
What had made her pause was what decorated Sora's body.
Damage. A lot of battle damage. Claw marks mainly on his midsection and his right shoulder blade, and most likely continuing to his back. A jagged scar that ran down his left shoulder blade to the top of his left arm, most likely from a sword. Another shallow scar went across his torso, starting from the left shoulder to the bottom right of his chest, not like the slash his mentor had given him weeks before. Several burns across his body, though they varied in size and shape. One was near his right arm, likely from the U.S.J. incident, but there were others, which looked like they were burned by super-heated rods, that were displayed on his left rib cage, along his neck, and one trailing down to his collarbone and stopping near the top of his chest.
But what made her more shaken up was the visible scar on his chest. Based on its shape, it was definitely a stab wound, but the mark it had left was larger than what a normal knife would leave. Who on earth would have the audacity and the hatred for someone like Sora to stab him there?
Then she remembered. Sora had said to her, Uraraka, and Iida that he had stabbed himself with the weapon Ansem tried to use on him to free Kairi's heart from his body in order to give it back to her. After seeing the scar firsthand now… it started to make horrifying sense.
If Momo hadn't believed Sora's history with the Heartless back then, she definitely believed it now, after seeing all of… that.
She managed to regain her composure and lifted her classmate's shirt up to him while looking away respectfully, "Um… your gym top."
"Oh. Thanks, Momo." Sora smiled, unaware of the situation and taking his gym top back, "Are you asking to join up with my team, too?"
"Oh. No, I've already partnered up with Todoroki-san," Yaoyorozu said as she faced him once more.
"I see. He's pretty good to work with." Sora nodded, having gotten his shirt back on, "I'm confident you'll make it to the finals,"
"I appreciate the encouragement." she responded, "Even though we will be against each other, I hope you'll make it to the finals too, Sora-san."
The two waved one another off, and as Yaoyorozu walked back to her partner, she noticed he was staring at Sora's back with an odd look.
"Is something the matter, Todoroki-san?" she asked, making him blink twice before he looked back to her.
"No… it's nothing," Shoto replied.
But there was something bothering him. Shoto had also noticed Sora's battle damage. More specifically, the burns decorating his body. Is he…? he wondered, before shaking his head, wanting to focus on the task at hand.
No… I'll find out later. Right now I need to focus on winning. he thought.
Meanwhile, Sora and Fumikage continued their walk, before Sora broke the silence, "I wonder what happened back there…"
"Huh?" Tokoyami asked.
"Momo paused when she was going to give me back my top." Sora explained, "She isn't normally like that. What made her stop?"
Fumikage looked at him incredulously, "You mean you don't know?"
Sora shook his head.
"You've got scars all over your body, Nakajima." Fumikage explained, "Just one look would make anybody wonder what happened to you. Especially since you weren't that injured during the U.S.J. incident."
"Oh…" Sora remembered the times when the boys in the locker room had glanced at him before looking away when he changed. Now he remembered: they were respecting his privacy, the same way they did when they saw Shoto's own scar, "I understand. Thanks for being considerate of my feelings, Fumikage,"
Said teammate only grunted as they approached Midoriya and Ochaco, the former of whom looked really nervous.
(Play: KH 2.5 Remix OST - Gearing Up)
"Hey, Izuku, Ochaco," Sora waved, "You wanna join groups?
"Hey! I already called dibs on him!" a voice called out, causing Sora to look over.
"When was that, Mei?" Sora asked.
"Do you know this girl, Sora-kun?" Ochaco asked.
"I do. She's in the Development Studio with my friend Mogway." Sora explained, "I think she and him have some sort of rivalry, if how she called me Mogway's 'test monkey' was any indication."
"That's not bad… right?" Izuku asked.
"Well… if you call explosions and screaming not bad…" Sora shrugged, "There's gotta be a way to stop the rivalry before they start sabotaging each other."
"Would they do something like that?" Ochaco wondered.
"I'd rather not figure out." The Keyblade Wielder shook his head. He didn't know much about Moogles, but from what he saw, many of them were pretty passive, and rarely were they aggressive against others. Mogway seemed to be a slight exception.
Mei ignored them and began hammering Izuku with her gadgets and what they did, trying to bring him over to her team.
(Silence)
"You see, all of this can be yours… so long as my rival's test monkey isn't on your team." Hatsume pointed to Sora.
"Huh?" Sora gawked.
"How come he can't be on my team?" Izuku asked.
"Can't you tell he's wearing a support item on as we speak?" she asked.
"What are you talking about?" Sora cocked his head.
"Haven't you noticed how comfortable that outfit is, or how durable it is?" Hatsume explained, "Not to mention that outfit changed colors when you applied power with your Quirk!"
Sora thought back to the match, where he had been in Second Form for a while after blasting his way out of the Zero Pointer, and looking at his top now, it didn't even suffer any damage whatsoever.
But it did smell a bit nicer than it did before he took it off. Did Momo do something to it before she gave it back to him?
"Now you're catching on." Mei grinned, "My rival's got a Support Item on you, made specifically for your purposes. but he did the paperwork before the Festival and it counts as a school uniform, so you were still allowed to use it! Since he's my rival, I won't associate my babies with his!"
(Play: KH 3 OST - Hearts of Courage)
"...You're kidding." Sora sighed, before looking up, "That's it. This rivalry's gotta go. For all I know, I've only been using the abilities I have, and NOT the uniform at all, and you still won't work with me because of my connection with Mogway? You're throwing your victory away at this rate."
"Coming from a guy who didn't make top ten?" Mei scoffed.
"Placements don't define everything, Mei."
"Tell you what." she challenged, "Your team gets first in the Cavalry Battle, and maybe I'll consider cutting off the rivalry with your friend."
"Mogway." Sora corrected, "The one you call your rival."
"And I'll only accept this if you beat the competition by a landslide." Mei ignored him, "Which means you don't lose that special headband when the time runs out."
"Fine." Sora nodded, "I accept your challenge. After Izuku and I get first place, you and Mogway stop your rivalry, and I'll even test some of your gadgets for you, and it doesn't matter what Mogway says."
"Okay, now you've got yourself a deal," Hatsume grinned at the thought of having her own test monkey. With that, she wandered off to find other teammates, leaving the other four to become a team.
The four of them began to talk on strategy, and Tokoyami filled them in on what his Quirk: Dark Shadow is and how it worked, so they decided on using Dark Shadow as a basis for their defensive strategy.
Sora also noted that Izuku had green lightning all over his body earlier during the race, and that surprised the latter.
"Seriously?" Midoriya said, "I did that?"
"Yeah. It was like your power was all over your body for a split second there," Sora said, "Did you take Hero's advice there, earlier?"
"H-Honestly… I didn't." Midoriya admitted, "I didn't even realize that was happening to me earlier. But thanks for pointing it out. It might help me further develop One fo- I-I mean, Super Power."
Sora nodded. So it looked like Izuku had scratched the surface, if only for a mere moment at that last leg of the race, but he still had no idea how he did it. Even so, it was a first step, if only a small one.
With their plan of defense ready to go, the teams were now set, and Team Midoriya, being the one with the most points, was very likely to get attacked by every team. The fact that the leaders of Team Todoroki and Team Bakugo were eyeing Midoriya intensely wasn't making the situation better. Sora grit his teeth, ready for a fight.
"Alright, first-years! I hope you're happy with your chosen teams!" Mic announced, "Now let's get this party started!"
(Play: KH 3 OST - Go For It! - Into the Clouds)
"THREE!"
"TWO!"
"ONE!"
"BEGIN!"
At once, four teams began sprinting towards Team Midoriya.
"It's a big battle for ten million points!" Tetsutetsu roared.
"Ha Ha! I'll be taking that band of yours, Midoriya-kun!" Toru laughed.
"Not even giving us a chance to breathe?" Fumikage mused, "Such is the fate of the pursued."
"Alright, Izuku." Sora told his leader, "What's the plan?"
"Obvious!" Izuku told him, "We run away!"
"Oh, no you don't!" Hanabi called out from Team Tetsutetsu, as Honenuki began to use his Quirk to soften the ground, "We're coming for you, 1-A!" Tetsutetsu shouted.
"This isn't good! I can't move!" Ochaco grunted.
"I'll take care of this!" Sora told them. Concentrating, he let his Flowmotion flow through himself, then to the rest of his teammates. In a flash of blue, Team Midoriya managed to leap out of the softened floor and over Team Tetsutetsu, who was forced to change course.
Toru's front horse, being Kyoka, tried using her jacks on Fumikage, but Dark Shadow managed to block her attack, allowing Team Midoriya to get away quickly. "Stupid bird." she muttered under her breath.
"Good work," Fumikage complimented his sentient Quirk, "Please continue to watch our blind spots, Dark Shadow."
"Got it!" came his Quirk's reply.
"This is seriously cool," Midoriya grinned, "Your Dark Shadow and Sora-kun's skills with his Quirk make a great offense and defense combined. Sora-kun's abilities can get us out of any terrain-changing attacks, and Dark Shadow can manage omnidirectional mid-ranged defenses. Combined, both of you are amazing!"
"I did say Nakajima-san's abilities would help make any team untouchable," Tokoyami remarked.
"Don't count yourself out, Fumikage. You too, Izuku and Ochaco." Sora told his teammates, "So long as we work together, we can do anything."
The team nodded, invigorated by his words.
"We're landing," Ochaco looked down. Using her Quirk, she managed to make Team Midoriya's landing easier. Sora turned around to see if there were any people on their tail. Several other teams were engaged in their own dogfights, as Mic began commentating again, "Wow! Already 2 minutes in and we're already seeing action! It's a total free-for-all!" Mic slammed the table where he was at as he continued, "YEAH! Watch those headbands! You can even ignore the ten million points and start going for the other chart toppers!"
Based on that comment, Team Midoriya thought they were safe. That is, until Mezo came charging at them decked out in support gear. Within the cocoon Mezo had formed with his limbs, Hatsume's voice called out, "Why would I do that, commentator, when the best way to show my babies off is to take the top spot away from them!"
"I'm here with you as well, you know." Tsuyu's voice followed, "It's a team effort, kero."
"Hatsume-san's got Shoji-san as a horse?!" Izuku said surprised.
"Izuku, Tetsutetsu's team's coming in hot." Sora notified his leader.
"What we need is breathing room," Tokoyami offered, "We can't risk getting caught between two opponents."
"Then let's-" Ochaco started, before looking behind her and gasping, "Deku-kun, duck!"
Midoriya heard her, following her instruction as Tsuyu's tongue missed him and nailed Tetsutetsu. Retracting her tongue, she commented, "Impressive moves as usual."
"We need room. Hold on!" Sora said as he activated Flowmotion yet again, taking his team to the air. Unfortunately, Mezo used Hatsume's support gear to chase after them. From within the cocoon, Mei's Wire arrows and Tsuyu's tongue came at Team Midoriya in a frontal assault. Even nets came at them, all of which Sora and Tokoyami pushed back with their powers as best they could.
"And it looks like Team Hatsume's still coming at them like a tank!" Mic announced, "They are sure making great use of the gear their leader brings to the table!"
"Ochaco, keep us afloat!" Sora declared, his right hand becoming encased in water, "We need to throw them off our tail!"
"Got it!" she replied, using her Quirk while Sora readied his spell. However, he noticed Katsuki flying his way towards them without his team, making him pause.
"Don't even think you're safe from me, bastards!" Bakugo roared, "I've got you!"
"Tokoyami-san!" Midoriya called out, and Dark Shadow instantly rose to intercept Bakugo and stop his attack. Now with him out of the picture, Sora could focus his magic on Mezo.
"Stream!" he shouted, launching a sphere of water that hit Mezo dead-on, and while not doing any significant damage, the gear he wore suddenly short-circuited as the water made contact, grounding Team Hatsume. And when Bakugo landed on the ground with his team catching him, Team Midoriya followed suit and kept running away.
"Nice going, Uraraka-san," Midoriya complimented her.
"Thanks, but I can't use it forever." Ochaco reminded her, looking a bit sick, "Try not to overuse it, okay?"
"Got it," Izuku nodded, knowing that Sora couldn't carry the burden of taking the leap and the landing by himself. For now, it had to be a balance between his three teammates' Quirk usage, or they would lose their chance to fight in the final.
"As expected, everybody's after Team Midoriya, and it isn't surprising! What a show this is!" Mic commentated, as the crowd screamed for Class 1-A's success. "Now who wants to look at those rankings? I know I do!" Present Mic grinned, "It's been 7 minutes, so let's get those point values on screen!"
As the rankings were displayed, even Present Mic was shocked, "Hold the phone right now, folks! This is quite the unexpected turn! Other than Midoriya, the rest of Class A isn't looking so hot! Even Bakugo is losing ground!"
He wasn't wrong. Other than Team Midoriya and Team Todoroki, Class A's other teams had little to no points in their possession, as the rest had been taken by the teams of Class B, and Team Shinso, as well.
"Looks like everyone's got it out for Class A. 'Specially Class B," Sora noted, "I'm starting to wonder if what I said to those guys who were crowding our class that day had any effect at all..."
"Even if that's the case, they'll target Todoroki-kun next, and save me for last." Izuku concluded, "As long as we keep our distance we sho-"
Before he could finish, he stopped, seeing that right now, Team Todoroki was standing face to face against them.
"I'll be taking that headband, now." Shoto told Izuku, an unusual glare in his eyes.
"I didn't think this confrontation would happen until much later." Tokoyami mused, "He seems to have it out for you, Midoriya,"
"He does seem a little more… aggressive… than normal." Sora noted upon seeing Todoroki's glare, "Did you do something, Izuku?"
"No. But you probably missed it," Izuku explained to his friend, "Before the Festival, Todoroki-kun declared war on me before you made it into the waiting room."
"Oh, that's just fun…" Sora sighed, "Well, we should focus on that after this. Just 6 minutes left, so let's make them count."
"Right, now Iida." Shoto began, "Forward,"
"Right." Iida nodded, using his speed to dash their way forward towards Team Midoriya.
"Yaoyorozu," Shoto told her, "Be ready to protect us."
"Hai." She replied, creating multiple objects as a defensive measure.
"Kaminari,"
"Oh, I know what I've gotta do." he nodded, preparing himself for his part.
"Keep an eye out! It's not just Todoroki-san's team," Izuku noted, "Everyone's after us!"
Sure enough, alongside Team Todoroki were Teams Kendo, Hagakure, Rin, and Hatsume, trying to aim for the top spot.
Sora, however, was focused on Denki as he began to spark. His eyes widened as he processed what was about to happen.
"Alright, Yaoyorozu, hope ya made something strong for this!" Kaminari declared, "Indiscriminate Shock: 1.3 Million Volts!"
Immediately, bolts of lightning came out of him as he electrocuted everyone except for his team, which was protected by the insulation sheet Yaoyorozu had made for them. Team Midoriya was able to withstand it thanks to Dark Shadow blocking it with his body.
"Now we have less than six minutes left," Shoto mused, "It's time to make a move." Quickly, he grabbed the rod Momo created with her Quirk, planting it on the ground while using his own Quirk to freeze the rod, and the ground, completely. By doing that, the ice spread to the other teams, leaving them stuck and Todoroki as the only one gunning for the headband. "Sorry, but there is no other way."
"Look at that!" Mic commented, amazed, "He's managed to stop all those teams right in their tracks!"
"But he only did that after Kaminari immobilized them with his electricity," Shota explained, "He noticed that many students avoided his attack in the obstacle course, so he's adapting his strategy."
"Nice commentary," Mic replied.
"I'll be taking these too, I guess," Todoroki said, taking several headbands from the other frozen teams. That really ticked them off as Todoroki froze the area surrounding them, trapping Team Midoriya. Sora could briefly hear Kendo scream, "COME ON!"
This was bad. Now it was just them and Team Todoroki face to face. They couldn't get out of the icy boundary unless they wanted Ochaco to puke.
"Here they come!" Sora shouted as Team Todoroki charged in towards them.
"Take care of them, Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami commanded.
"Yaoyorozu!" Todoroki replied. Immediately, Dark Shadow's attack was blocked by a steel plate Momo crafted just in time. Fumikage scowled in frustration while Yaoyorozu smirked with pride.
Sora and Ochaco began to move their team back, as Izuku thought aloud, "She's too good with her Creation Quirk. We have to be careful around her."
"No," Tokoyami corrected, "Kaminari is the one to fear. Any more sunlight, and his attack from earlier would've completely destroyed Dark Shadow."
"Oh, I get it." Izuku recalled Tokoyami telling Team Midoriya of Dark Shadow's weakness earlier when they were talking strategy, "His lightning's the biggest problem."
"So long as he can use his Quirk, it'll be very difficult for me to put up a fight." Fumikage said, "Dark Shadow is too timid in the light."
"Leave Denki to me, then." Sora declared as they sprinted away, "I've got a perfect counter for him. If I can time the attack right, he won't be able to use his Quirk on us for the rest of the match."
Now they were at the border, cornered with nowhere to run. Only a few more minutes until time ran out. They just needed to hold onto the headband a little longer.
"Tokoyami-san." Izuku asked as they turned to face Team Todoroki, "Does anybody else know Dark Shadow's weakness?"
"I don't think so." was the reply, "The only other person I've mentioned this weakness to is Koda, back in the U.S.J., and he is one of very few words."
"Good." Izuku nodded, then turned to Sora, "Sora-kun, save your counter for later. I have an idea."
"Aye, aye, captain," Sora saluted with his free arm in English in a mock pirate accent, making Ochaco and Tokoyami look at him in confusion.
"Don't worry about it," Izuku told them, and they shrugged in response.
(Play: MHA OST - My Hero Academia)
Meanwhile, Shoto was pondering what to do next, until suddenly, Tenya spoke up, "Everyone. There's only less than a minute. I'm going to do something that will make me useless to you all, but it is worth it."
"What are you planning to do?" Shoto asked him.
"Just get ready to grab that headband. And hold on tight, all of you." Iida replied, readying himself. "TORQUE OVER!"
Sora gasped in shock as Tenya let all the speed in his engines loose. "RECIPRO BURST!". One moment, they were facing Midoriya's team; the next, Shoto had snagged all of Izuku's headbands, including the ten million point headband, as they blitzed past the opponent in a burst of speed. All of that happened in only a matter of seconds.
Sora was surprised. Tenya's new move was remarkably fast. It could give Flowmotion a run for its money in terms of speed, and he could barely react to it. Even if he hadn't been caught by surprise, this Special Move was impressive.
"What did you do?" Shoto asked, slightly surprised himself.
"Forced my Quirk and RPM into overdrive." Iida explained while panting, "It's a Special Move that gives me explosive power. But in doing so, it causes my engines to stall from the recoil for a bit. Nobody else in the class knows it." he glanced over at Midoriya, "I told you, Midoriya-kun, I'd do my best to beat you!"
"So Iida had that up his sleeve?" Sora mused, before glancing to Ochaco, "Ochaco, on my mark, get ready to make us float."
"I can't do it for long," she reminded him.
"Just for the last ten seconds."
"Okay," Izuku growled, "Don't lose them!"
"Kaminari is still a problem." Fumikage reminded him.
(Play: POTC OST - He's a Pirate OR Play: KH 2.5 Remix OST - He's a Pirate)
"Leave Denki to me, Fumikage," Sora told him, "Just go!"
At that, Team Midoriya began to chase after Team Todoroki. "We'll get those points back, Deku-kun! I know it!" Ochaco encouraged her team leader. Izuku looked back at her astonished, before nodding firmly, while Sora kept a close eye on all members of the opposing team.
As they came closer, Midoriya got his arm up, red veins enveloping it as he prepared his counterattack. Shoto reacted, but what he did was something Sora didn't expect: he started conjuring fire from his left side. Midoriya didn't seem to care, as he swiped and forced Shoto's arm away, which made the recommended student freeze as he saw flames on his left side. Taking advantage of Shoto's guard being down, Izuku snatched a headband on him before they split off.
"Yes!" Izuku grinned, "I… I did it!"
"Wow! And just like that, with eleven seconds left, Team Midoriya is back in the game!" Mic said as the crowd cheered.
Izuku looked down to check, only to find out the headband he had wasn't the ten million pointer. "No! He tricked us?!"
"We swapped the headbands up," Momo declared, "There's no way we'd leave the prize at the top. You underestimate us,"
"Well then, it's a good thing I didn't!"
Sora's confident voice made everybody present turn to him, seeing that the ten million point headband was dangling on the teeth of his Kingdom Key.
Team Todoroki was shocked. How did Sora manage to find that? Nobody had noticed him summon his weapon, not even his own team.
"Good trick, guys. Almost had us there. I'm sorry about this, Tenya, but now it's our turn to shine!" Sora grinned, pointing the Kingdom Key up as electricity crackled at its tip, "Strike hard, Thunder!"
Upon the call, a bolt of lighting came from the sky, blasting Denki and causing him to short-circuit before Team Todoroki could react.
"Ochaco, now!" Sora called upon the Flowmotion energy, encasing his teammates as well as himself.
"Right!" She nodded, activating her Quirk once again, taking them to the skies and away from Team Todoroki. While she focused on that, Izuku took the ten million point headband from the teeth of Sora's Keyblade and placed it back on his forehead.
"How did you know they switched it?" Izuku asked his friend.
"A guy I knew did the same thing to me a lot when we first met." Sora explained, "It took me some time, but I was able to figure out how to beat him at his own game."
"GODDAMMIT DEKU!" Bakugo roared, leaping off his horse and blasting his way up to Team Midoriya. Dark Shadow moved to intercept, but Katsuki blasted over Tokoyami's Quirk, his eyes focused on the headband on Izuku's forehead.
Bad move.
"No you don't, Katsuki! Water!" Sora called out, launching another blast of water that drenched the explosive teen completely. Katsuki tried to retaliate, only to find his sweat was gone, no thanks to the water Sora launched at him. He was forced to the ground, where Sero caught him.
"TIIIIIME'S UUUP!" Mic declared as the buzzer blared, "And with that spectacular display, the second round is finally over!"
(Play: KH3 OST - Olympus Coliseum - The Shining Summit)
Once Team Midoriya landed on the ground, Ochaco had to walk away a few feet to puke, and Sora was polite enough not to watch. Once she was finished, Sora gave her and the rest of Team Midoriya a thumbs up. They noticed that both Katsuki and Shoto were on the ground, the former looking defeated, the other shocked.
"Sora-kun, that was amazing!" Ochaco grinned, clearing her throat while she recovered from throwing up, "You saved our necks back there!"
"I told you all that Nakajima would make any team untouchable." Tokoyami nodded.
"You're giving me too much credit, Fumikage," Sora shook his head, "We lost that ten million point headband back there."
"Only for several seconds," Ochaco reminded him, "We never truly lost it."
"Whatever you say," Sora sighed with a smile. Then, he and Ochaco began to jump joyfully at their victory, while Tokoyami simply crossed his arms. Midoriya looked like he was gonna burst into tears trying to process what had just happened.
"Alright, folks! Let's see who our top four teams are!" Mic declared.
"In first place, is Team Midoriya!" Upon hearing that, the dam that was Izuku finally burst, as his tears escaped from him like geysers. Sora gave him a comforting hand on the shoulder while he waved to the cheering crowd. Uraraka patted Dark Shadow while Tokoyami remained in the same position.
"In second place, Team Bakugo!" Mina, Eijiro, and Hanta smiled at one another, content with their position. Katsuki, however, was mad as hell and throwing a fit on the floor, as he didn't get first place, and lost to Deku and Spiky of all people.
"In third place, we have Team Todoroki!" Shoto continued to stare at his left arm, while Denki remained in dumb mode no thanks to Sora's Thunder spell. Tenya was looking down ashamed, as his Special Move was rendered useless, while Momo tried her best to cheer him up, telling him that they didn't predict Sora having other moves as well.
"In fourth place is Team Te-" Mic paused, looking at the points, "No wait! It's Team Shinso?! When did they come back from the dead?!" Sora noticed that the horses of the team looked confused, minus Mashirao, who looked oddly outraged. Shinso merely smirked and thanked his team for assisting him. Sora cocked his head in confusion.
"These four valiant teams will now advance to the final round!" Mic declared, "Now, we're starting the hour-long lunch break before Afternoon Festivities! See ya soon!" He turned to his colleague, "Let's grab some food, Eraser Head."
"Go by yourself. I'm taking a nap." grumbled Aizawa.
Meanwhile, Kel was jumping with joy back in his high school class, "Ha-HA! Take that, Team Todoroki!"
"That was amazing." Basil praised, "Who'd have thought Sora would be that quick to realize they swapped the headbands."
"He was eyeing each member of Team Todoroki before they launched their counteroffensive." Aubrey told him, "He must have noticed them swap while they were advancing."
"Makes sense. He's clearly faster than we thought," Sunny nodded, as other classmates groaned as the teams they were rooting for didn't get the top spot.
"Man, I can't wait to see what the finals are gonna be like." Kel smiled.
Meanwhile, Inko was staring at the results, seeing that her son's team was at the top, she ended up bursting into tears just like Izuku currently was.
"Izuku, my baby!" she wailed, "I'm so proud of you! You worked so hard for this!"
While in a hospital close by, Shimizu smiled as Mari and Hero were talking about how well Team Midoriya did. "Good job, Sora. And you too, Izuku. Your team did a good job out there."
Indeed, it was a magnificent performance, and with that wonderful ending, comes the end of the morning festivities.
(Play: KH 2.5 Remix OST - This is Halloween)
And there we have it! Another day, another new chapter finished! The Calvary Battle's been fought and won, and lo and behold, Team Midoriya came first this time around! And yeah, I added additional dialogue for those that are spectating the Sports Festival, like the OMORI gang, Cloud, Tifa, and Shimizu! Expect more like it in the upcoming chapters!
And for those of you wondering why the heck I used PoTC music at the end there, it's because I found it interesting and epic to do. Not to mention the Calvary teams working together act sort of like the crew of any ship, however loosely connected that is. I'm sorry if you have gripes with the music.
Onto Reviews, folks!
Jaded671: I'm glad you liked that interaction, Jade!
Breeden22: Indeed! I'm happy you are enjoying the story!
blueassassin996: Only time will tell, blue. And depending on what happens later, you could be right. Who knows.
Gamelover41592: Do... what exactly? I'm sorry, but you're not being specific Gamelover. Regardless, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter.
MK: I see... I'll think about it in the future. The more I muse on KH's concept of darkness, the more information I get. Yours, Wolf's, and everyone else's reviews will definitely help me in the times to come when writing this. I thank you for that.
Guest: Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm glad you don't have gripes about it, though I do know it's not the perfect story. Either way, I'd be glad to hear more about what you think about it as we continue Sora's journey through MHA. Stay safe, Guest!
keybladelight: I did specify in Chapter 7 that he did buy an outfit from the Super Groupies Company. Perhaps I wasn't clear enough about it. And I'll keep it secret on whether or not this piggybanks off to Kingdom Hearts 4.
Shadow Tiger24: Oh ho! Someone's perceptive. You might be onto something regarding that little gesture. And yeah, I didn't expect that little skit of Sora taking off his clothes to be that funny, but I'm glad you liked it, ShadowTiger.
Cubone262005: Thanks! Hopefully it isn't just Cloud that steals the spotlight in this fanfic.
Guest: Hmm... perhaps someone in the reviews has the answer already...
The OC Maniac: Yeah, I see 1-B having quite a lot of potential, which is why I added Hanabi to 1-B. I can't guarantee they'll be more moments regarding 1-B though. I do appreciate how you saw those good moments with the minor characters. Can't sideline them all the time. And just you wait regarding Hanabi's identity. Depending on how you read the story, you could arrive at the answer sooner than expected!
What did you think of this chapter? If you enjoyed it, I'm really happy that you did. If not, I apologize for not meeting expectations.
And now the pencil drops, and it's time to leave the desk!
Thanks for reading my story, and until our paths cross again!
Oh, and one more thing.
Happy Halloween! Keep a good lookout for the Pumpkin King, or any other spooky happenings tonight!
(Silence)
