"ALLLLLLRIGHT, here's the play-by-play!" Present Mic boomed, leaning forward in the booth. He turned to Shota. "Come on, Mummy Man! Aren't you going to help me commentate?"
"You forced me to come."
"Well, what should we pay attention to in the early stages?"
"This part right now."
...
The first years of UA crushed together in a great mass, fighting to push forward through the crowded tunnel. People were getting stuck, trampled.
"Already, the first culling has begun," Shoto Todoroki said calmly, behind all of them.
Then, he stomped his foot down.
A great hill of ice surged out through the tunnel and beyond, creeping up the walls of the arena. Shoto slid forward on it, going up and over everyone, placing more ice behind him as he emerged at the front.
"What the hell? It's freezing!"
"Hey, I'm stuck!"
He ignored their pleas. Just keep going.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE TRYING TO PULL, ICY HOT?" Bakugo shouted, using explosions to fly over the ice.
"Naive, Todoroki-san!" declared Yaoyorozu, vaulting over with a metal pole.
"Wink!" Aoyama declared, winking and shooting out over the ice, propelling himself with his laser.
Tokoyami was using Dark Shadow to propel himself. Ashido was sliding along the ice on her acid shoes, slipping for a moment before finding her footing and cracking a smile. "It's gonna take more than that to count me out!" she shouted.
Shoto had expected some of his fellow classmates to avoid it, having been in a villain attack and all. But many from other classes had dodged as well, more than he'd expected. "At least I'm still in fir..." Huh?
"GRRR, ICY HOT!" Bakugo was yelling. "AFTER I BEAT YOU, I'M GONNA OBLITERATE THAT CRACKHEAD!"
Shoto turned, not understanding who he was talking about. Then...his eyes widened.
Katayama was flashing forward around the first turn, a few meters at a time. Each time he would warp back into existence would be like a running step, then he would leap and flash forward again. He had a regular rhythm going, continuing to get further and further ahead of everyone else. And he had a determined expression on his face. Of course, thought Todoroki. I haven't really paid attention to him, but his Quirk is made for doing well in events like this.
I may have to adjust my strategy.
...
"OHHHH!" Present Mic was shouting. "SHOTO TODOROKI MADE A BIG OPENING STATEMENT AT THE TUNNEL, BUT DOKO KATAYAMA IS ALREADY PULLING AHEAD OF HIM!"
Doko blinked, confused. He was going around the first turn when he realised that he didn't see anyone ahead or around him. I knew I was fast, but...
He looked back and saw a great ice structure covering the first section of the course. At the front of it, Todoroki was sliding towards him. Bakugo and other Class 1A members were not far behind. Everyone...got caught in the tunnel. But I flashed ahead and avoided the crowd, as well as Todoroki's attack...I'm...in FIRST?
He couldn't believe it. Shaking his head hard, he continued to make his forward warps to finish out the first turn. JUST DON'T THINK ABOUT IT! JUST KEEP GOING! JUST KEEP GO...
Something hard swiped him in the side of the head, and his rhythm was shattered. Doko went flying into the dirt, his head pounding. He sat up, confused. Wha...
The entrance exam robots loomed down over him, blocking the way to the rest of the course and victory. Their metallic green bodies clashed with the glow of their red eyes. Beyond, the rest of the race's frontrunners were arriving at the scene.
"Targets found," said a robot. "LOTS of targets!"
"The first barrier!" Present Mic exclaimed. "A robo-rampage!"
Doko's eyes became saucers as the shadow of a robot leg grew in size over him. He half-flashed, half-rolled out of the way, trying to regain his footing.
Todoroki came running forward and brought his right hand low to the ground, creating two ice pillars at once...that expanded into a great ice wall. The freeze travelled up the legs and sides of the robots, halting them where they stood. The one swiping at Doko stopped, as Doko warped backward away from it.
"He froze them!" a student shouted as Todoroki went running off past the bots. "We can go under the legs!"
"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" the ice user's voice called back. "They're unbalanced in that position...and they'll fall."
Sure enough, the robots began to collapse in a great wave of dust and smoke. Doko warped out of the way of one falling, and the dust cloud blinded him. I have to know which way is forward! He'd gotten disoriented by Todoroki's attack, distracted. And now...
"SHOTO TODOROKI TAKES THE LEAD! ATTACK AND DEFENSE IN ONE ELEGANT MOVE! AMAZING! It's practically unfair, honestly."
"He made use of strategy." Aizawa's voice. "Despite being a recommended student, meaning he'd never seen the entrance exam robots before, he was able to analyse the situation and make the best of it."
"WOW!" Present Mic rumbled.
Doko coughed, trying to see which way to go through the dust. There goes my lead, I guess. One thing became clear in his vision. Well, multiple things. Huge dark things. The robots, having formed a wall. As the dust cleared, Doko saw that he was on the wrong side.
One of the robots began to rumble. "Huh? Someone's in there!"
"WHAAAT? Can people die during this competition?"
Kirishima burst out of the robot angrily, his body hardened. "LIKE I'D DIE!" he roared.
"EIJIRO KIRISHIMA FROM CLASS 1A WAS UNDERNEATH! THAT'S CRAZY!"
Another boy burst out next to him, also angrily...and shiny metal. "THAT CLASS A BASTARD DID THIS!" he roared. "IF IT HADN'T BEEN ME, SOMEONE MIGHT HAVE DIED!"
"TETSUTETSU TETSUTETSU OF CLASS 1B WAS ALSO UNDERNEATH! THAT'S...CRAZY!"
"Wow, you can do better than that, right?" Aizawa's bored voice chimed in.
Someone from Class B began to speak. "We should work together to clear a pa..."
"As if I'd wait around for someone to get ahead of me!" Bakugo snarled, using explosions to propel himself upward over the robot barrier.
"Come on, Katayama!" Doko whirled. It was Sero. "Don't stand around!" His black-haired friend was using his tape to swing up onto the top. Tokoyami was following, using Dark Shadow as a hitch.
"Hurry up, Doko!" Mina slid forward and began trying to burn a hole through the robot rubble with her acid. "Ribbit!" Tsuyu was leaping past as well, using different flat parts of the fallen robots as platforms to leap up and over in steps. She hopped from surface to surface, using her tongue to swing up onto the top.
...
"As expected, most of the ones pushing ahead are in Class A," said Snipe.
All Might, in his shrunken form, grimaced. "It's not like the other classes are bad, but..." When you've been attacked by villains, you know there's no time to waste by standing around. Well...
All Might's eyes fell onto one Doko Katayama, who seemed to be standing there in a daze.
Go, Young Katayama. All Might had felt nothing but guilt for how they'd confronted the boy about maybe being a villain. He may very well become one without proper guidance. He is just a boy with a troubled past that I can't comprehend, much like Midoriya...and he's got some things to work through.
But he also has so much potential. Go, young Katayama! Use your strength!
...
Go, the purple energy snarled, and Doko found his focus again. My friends are getting through and going forward, so let me match them, maybe even help them if I can! He followed Tsu's example, warping up onto the same surfaces she jumped onto, one at a time. In seven flashes he was up and over the wall of scrap metal that had once been the robots. One flash to the top would have been too much, but he could keep up his rhythm from before.
The hyperactive energy I have makes me fast and instinctive, but also easily distracted. Anything like the swipe that robot gave me can throw me off for too long. His head still felt fuzzy, but he was getting over it. I don't care about regaining the lead; I don't want that responsibility. But I do...want to make it to the next round!
More robots, including massive zero pointers, were alive behind the barrier. Doko flashed in a bob-and-weave manner, avoiding the shadows of their attacks and making progress all the time. Iida burst forward with his engines and kicked a small robot. Jiro took out another with a direct sonic wave via an earplug. Kaminari electrocuted two more. Ojiro crushed one with his tail. Uraraka floated up three one-pointers and then had them fall and explode. Midoriya sliced one's arm off with a piece of scrap metal, and then ran forward, keeping the metal on him. The line of zero pointers loomed, but a series of explosions took them out in succession. Doko glanced around in confusion. Didn't Bakugo go on ahead?
It was Yaoyorozu firing a cannon.
Doko grinned. Our class is pushing ahead! All of us! He was happy to be surrounded by them, to move forward as a group. With the path clear, the rest of the students were coming too, but they were behind. Iida was pushing ahead of him now, but Doko laughed, feeling free. His warps came more and more easily, as natural as if he were just running through portals. He'd never used his powers so much, but it didn't feel exhausting. This was the first time he'd ever gotten to show them off to the world!
...
"WELL, THE FIRST BARRIER IS CLEARED! BUT WHAT ABOUT THE SECOND?"
Shota wished he could rub his ears. "Do you have to shout everything at the top of your lungs? The mic is doing your work just fine, you know."
"Shoto Todoroki is already across, having frozen the ropes!"
Shota looked. Indeed, the second barrier was a wide pit, with spires that led up to platforms, connected by tightropes. Todoroki had already made it across, although Bakugo was not far behind. Neither were Kirishima or Sero or Tokoyami. Iida began to cross next, using his engines to balance himself precariously.
"That's so uncool!" Mic declared.
Meanwhile, in the crowd, all the buzz was about Todoroki.
"That guy's insanely powerful!"
"He's the son of Endeavor, I heard."
"Real shit? The number two hero? Only second to All Might?"
"Oh man. Every agency's gonna be fighting over him."
"Whatever happened to the other guy in the lead, the teleporter?"
"Oh look, here he comes now."
Shota watched as Katayama warped from platform to platform carefully, taking a short break inbetween. His face was patient, focused. Many of the platforms were ten or more meters apart, meaning each warp he was doing took all his effort. As a result, his pace was slow, although still faster than many of the others. He was still in the top ten, although Shota knew that if the boy really pushed himself he could have been done with the course already.
I still have yet to truly get his gears turning. I will need to work on that. What Katayama needed was a real challenge.
...
Mina Ashido stopped short in front of the pit, Uraraka and Tsu next to her. Several of their classmates had gone on ahead, including Doko, who was now about halfway across the pit.
"Dang, how do we get past this!" Mina exclaimed.
"When did they even have time to build this..." Uraraka wondered aloud.
"Ribbit." Tsu hopped onto the first tightrope and began to crawl her way across.
Mina's jaw dropped. "Hey, wait up Tsu!" I can't let ALL my friends do better than me! I promised I would try for the top, and challenge Todoroki and them! This isn't going to cut it!
Before she could get moving, though, a girl with pink hair leapt out into the pit, firing some kind of cable that swung her across. "Listen up all you support companies!" the girl sang. "I, Mei Hatsume, am here for you. This is my time to shine! Bask in the glory of all my wonderful babies!" She swung out of sight, laughing maniacally.
"WHAT! The support students can use their gadgets?" Uraraka asked in disbelief.
"Well, yeah." The purple-haired boy Shinso came sauntering up, scratching his neck. "You hero students have your combat training that gives you an advantage, right? Those gadgets are the support students' equivalent of that."
Mina's lip curled. This guy again. Who does he think he is? "Tsk. That's misplaced equality, if you ask me!" She jumped onto the tightrope, using her acid to slide across. Thanks to years of dancing, her balance was great. It was like snowboarding! "Ha HA!"
"Mina, wait up!" Uraraka cried.
"Bite my dust, gravity girl! First place, here I come!"
...
Shoto Todoroki slid to a stop in front of the final stretch. Ahead was the re-entry tunnel back into the arena, and the finish line...but between here and there was a minefield.
"The final obstacle!" Present Mic's voice rang. "A field of land mines! Not powerful enough to hurt anyone, but one wrong step and they'll send you flying and make you wet your pants!
"That heavily depends on the person," Aizawa complained.
Shoto made his way carefully forward, avoiding the darker patches of dirt. I understand that this is a televised event, and they want to make it entertaining. This obstacle is designed to put pressure on those in the lead. Indeed, he was unable to use his powers to go faster over this, at the risk of setting a mine off. Behind him, he could hear many of them beginning to blow. People are catching up to me.
"Bastard!" A shout. Shoto turned...and saw Bakugo rushing at him like a bullet, explosions keeping him afloat above the ground.
"This shit doesn't affect me!" Bakugo growled. "Don't declare war to the wrong person next time!"
He knocked Shoto out of the way, kicking up a mine explosion, and kept blowing ahead, taking the lead.
"Oh no! Katsuki Bakugo breaks into first! Are you watching, mass media? You guys love this kind of stuff!"
...
Doko had been forced to slow, both in this obstacle and the previous one. The gaps between the platforms had been wide enough to where he'd strained himself a little trying to warp across. Maybe I should have taken a rope or two, gone the normal way. He was tired now, and being forced to take more slow warps across the minefield, having to scope out and carefully pick places to flash to, avoiding the dark patches. There were so many of them, and densely packed.
People had begun to push ahead of him, people with Quirks more suited to this slow, deliberate progress. Even worse, a bunch of idiots were setting off the mines at all times, and getting other people caught in the explosions. One guy went racing past with some kind of battlecry, letting off a chain of explosions, and Doko warped sideways to avoid him...into an explosion himself.
The thing sent him flying into the air, but he managed to land on a clear spot. Shaking himself off, he looked back up...and at least a dozen people had pushed ahead. Ugh! Screw this part of the race!
Surely others were getting tired, too? He'd been warping most of the way, which snapped his energy in its own manner, but the others had all been running, or utilising their Quirks somehow. Surely they were getting exhausted.
Wait, am I getting competitive?
He focused all the violet within, like the last of a dying fire. It was coughing, sputtering, urging him to quit. He'd never had to use his Quirk for so long before, and in such an intense setting. USJ had been shorter spurts. The battle trial he'd barely used it at all. The Quirk assessment had been pretty low-stakes. But this?
Next order of business is to work on my stamina, I think. But Doko gathered the rest of his power, and set to warping forward. Picking safe spots came more quickly, as he narrowed his eyes, sharpening his focus. Each warp came faster and faster. There. Now, there. Over there. He passed one person. Then two more. He wasn't even stopping to see if he knew them, if they were among his close friends. No time for that, no energy to spare.
As the arena tunnel filled his vision, he took notice of Bakugo and Todoroki, grappling with each other near the end of the minefield. The leaders. There they are. They were still far away, and still making progress...but slower than he was.
Should I try and catch up to them, or save my energy? I'm close enough to them to where I know I'll make it into the next round, and I may need strength for that...I guess I won't try it.
He ignored the two of them, and just focused on getting himself across. Steady.
BOOOOOOOM!
"What! There's a huge explosion at the back! What was THAT!" Present Mic sputtered.
Doko turned, shocked. What the fu...
Emerging from the pink smoke was a green-haired figure, flying through the air on a piece of scrap metal.
"IT'S CLASS A'S IZUKU MIDORIYA!"
Holy. Shit. Doko watched as the boy sailed over his head, and further on...past Bakugo and Todoroki.
"HE'S TAKEN THE LEAD!"
The two former leaders were now chasing Midoriya, sending up explosions and leaving a path of ice. A half dozen students came up behind them, the closest followers. Doko was among them, near the back. Todoroki was carving them a path. Behind, many stood watching in awe at the display, or following slowly.
This is it.
Midoriya flipped in midair as Bakugo and Todoroki came up under him, slamming the shield into the ground and setting off the last line of land mines in their faces. The two were only briefly stopped before pursuing him, on foot through the tunnel. Others came up behind. Doko made his last warp over the minefield, breathing hard. His chest rattled. I'm running the rest of the way.
He chased the others into the tunnel.
"THE THREE FRONTRUNNERS ARE GRAPPLING FOR THE LEAD! Eraser Head, your class is insane! What on Earth are you teaching them?"
"Nothing," Aizawa answered, with perhaps a hint of pride. "They fired each other up all by themselves."
"And the first person back into the stadium is...IZUKU MIDORIYA!"
As Doko ran through the tunnel, he heard the crowd erupt into cheers, with Bakugo's angry shouting topping it all off. Midoriya took my advice...or he took SOMEONE's advice, at least. Behind him, he could hear pounding feet, people catching up. He never used his Quirk. He didn't break a bone. He got to the top with creativity, and ingenuity, and...perseverance!
The light at the end of the tunnel filled Doko's violet eyes. What am I doing? I have all these natural talents, yet I've been wasting them...Midoriya beat everyone with skills that he LEARNED!
"AND HERE COMES THE REST OF THEM! FINISHING ONE BY ONE!"
With a last great cry of effort, Doko used one more warp to get him across the finish line and back into the arena, just as a group of people nearly caught up to him.
He let out a burst of an exhale, in relief and exhaustion. He keeled over in the green, hands on his knees. The cheering of the crowd washed over him. I...did it. I made it through.
...but I could have done better.
The warp-energy was swirling around lazily, as if it was sleepy. Every bone in his body ached. His weight felt like iron.
Midoriya, you're more than I gave you credit for. There were a lot of complicated emotions inside Doko right then, but one thing emerged above all else: I don't want to look defeated.
He raised his head, and smiled at the crowd, waving, turning in circles. He could hear cheering and screaming, maybe not directed at him necessarily, but there nonetheless. He also saw the other students finishing as they came through the tunnel. Standing on the green were Todoroki and Bakugo, both appearing upset. Midoriya was off to the side, looking down at his fist.
Mina appeared next to him, gasping for breath. "Doko, you..." she coughed, bending over. When she stood back up, there was a glow in her eye and in her smiling teeth. "You did it! You beat me and Tsu and Shoji, at least. I don't know where Toru is, but..." she got up into his face and threw her arms around his neck. "You actually tried and didn't throw! We kind of all expected you to."
"Ha...yeah...I'm still a bit confused about it all..." Doko slowly returned her hug, and he could swear he heard some whistles break through the cheering crowd, directed at the two of them.
"It's fine. We're into the next round, and that's what matters!" she released him from the hug, her smile curling playfully. "That's the first time you haven't pulled away from my touch. Getting a bit too used to me, hmm?"
"I'm too tired to move." That felt like the honest truth.
"Well done, Dokkun, Mina-chan. Ribbit." Tsu and Shoji had appeared, both looking a bit worse for wear. Doko looked around for Sero, and saw that he was talking to...Kirishima and them. Oh.
"Everyone who will be advancing to the next round has finished!" Present Mic announced. "Here are the results!"
1st: Izuku Midoriya
2nd: Shoto Todoroki
3rd: Katsuki Bakugo
4th: Ibara Shiozaki
5th: Juzo Honenuki
6th: Tenya Iida
7th: Fukimage Tokoyami
8th: Hanta Sero
9th: Eijiro Kirishima
10th: Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu
11th: Doko Katayama
12th: Mashirao Ojiro
13th: Yosetsu Awase
14th: Mina Ashido
15th: Tsuyu Asui
16th: Mezo Shoji
17th: Rikido Sato
18th: Ochaco Uraraka
19th: Momo Yaoyorozu
20th: Koji Koda
21st: Kyoka Jiro
From there it was a lot of 1-B students, as well as Kaminari in 24th. The purple-haired boy from general studies had managed to get 30th. Doko wondered what his Quirk was. Hagakure was in 38th. "I knew it," she told the four of them sadly. "My powers just aren't suited for this sort of thing."
Aoyama had come in 42nd, the very last to qualify. He was still smiling somehow, although he was pale and trembling, holding himself in fear.
"Forty-two people," Doko commented, looking around. "All twenty from our class, and all twenty from class B...plus two more?"
"The boy who's challenged us, from general studies," said Shoji. "Hitoshi Shinso."
"And that crazy support girl!" Mina added. "Mei Hatsume. Look, she's 41st. Grrr, she almost didn't make it. I wish she hadn't. She made me and Uraraka look bad!"
"You still managed to pass me in the end, ribbit," said Tsuyu. "I was honestly shocked, until I realised you were just trying to catch up with Dokkun."
"Huh?" Doko turned to the girls, confused.
"Hehe..." Mina rubbed her hair in an uncharacteristically sheepish gesture. "I don't know about that, necessarily...I just wanted to win!"
Doko blinked. She's blushing a bit. I see the purple on her cheeks. That's the color she blushes. He remembered that from the entrance exam. Could...she share my feelings?
There was no time to consider further, because Midnight was back up on the platform with a snap of her feathery tool. "The top 42 shall advance to the second round!" she announced, licking her lips. "The real competition begins now! The second game is...well, I already know it, but what could it be?" The prompter began to light up and spin once again. "It's this!" The prompter read "cavalry battle."
Murmurs of shock and confusion rang across the crowd of forty-two. "What's a cavalry battle?" Doko asked. Was this some childhood game he'd never been privy to?
Tsuyu glanced at him. "It's..."
"I shall explain!" Midnight declared. "The rules are simple. You will form teams of two to four at your discretion. Each competitor has been assigned a point value based on where they finished in the race!"
"Oh..." Mina nodded. "Basically, the teams are worth different points depending on who's on them."
"Yeah, but what exactly are we doing in these tea..."
Midnight's voice interrupted him again. "It's a free for all battle where Quirks are allowed! Each team will carry bandanas that represent the point values of each team member. The team with the bandanas that add up to the most points by the end will be the winner!"
The scoreboard that showed the students' race placements changed. Doko's eyes widened. Each person now had a point value next to their name. And next to Midoriya's name...the number 10,000,000.
"That's right! First place is worth ten million points!" Midnight announced.
All eyes fell silently upon Midoriya. Doko felt the air change to hostility.
"Ten million, huh?"
"That means..."
"If you take the first place team's bandana..."
"You win, no matter what."
The whispers surged in volume, and suddenly evil glares were being shot Midoriya's way.
Doko blinked, confused. This isn't fair at all, is it?
"It's survival of the fittest," Midnight drawled sadistically, "with a chance for those at the bottom to overthrow the top!"
Doko glanced at Mina. She, too, was looking toward Midoriya with killing intent. Even Tsu and Shoji's demeanors had changed. It was hard to know what Hagakure looked like. "Hey, stop that," he mumbled. "He deserves better than that..."
Mina gave him a look. "Are you kidding? Ten million points? Midoriya could be the hottest guy I've ever laid eyes upon and I'd crack his skull for a chance like that."
"But who's to say the third event won't have a similar switch-up. If you go into first now, it may be you getting targeted next time." Doko was confused, worried. He didn't know if he really believed anything he was saying, but...Midoriya's gonna have trouble finding teammates. I feel bad.
Mina smirked. "I don't see getting all high-horsey and going over to join his team."
"Well...no, but..."
Midnight was explaining some more of the rules, regarding how the headbands were supposed to be worn. The rider of the cavalry group would wear them on their heads. You weren't out if you got your points stolen; you could just steal some more back before the fifteen minutes were up. More strategies began to circulate in Doko's head with each new nugget of info. Wait, what am I doing? I've never been a strategist before...and why am I getting so into it?
Within him, the energy seemed to growl. Apparently his Quirk was back up and running, having recovered from the race. Are you...are you the one who's doing this to my mind? Since when was his Quirk separate from him, anyway? It was HIS.
Maybe it's my subconscious. He swallowed nervously.
"You have fifteen minutes to decide your teams!" said Midnight, "starting now!"
"We should form a team!" Hagakure declared, looking around at the other four.
Doko nodded. "Between all of us the point values aren't as much as the top three. We could go relatively untargeted for a while."
"Umm, actually..." Tsuyu and Shoji exchanged a glance. "We, um, the two of us...ribbit." Tsu coughed.
Shoji put out an apologetic hand. "Asui and I have created a strategy...for the two of us, and one other person. But none of you would, umm...be suitable."
"...Oh." Hagakure was put off.
"We had to split up anyway, ribbit. Only teams of four are allowed, and there's five of us."
Doko clenched his fists. Tsu and Shoji? Seriously? Of all people? I wanted to support them, to help them do well...but here they go on their own. All they care about is making it to the top.
"Sure, whatever, makes sense to me." Mina flashed a grin and gave them a thumbs-up.
"Alright...just...making sure." Tsu shot Doko a worried glance, and then the two of them began to walk away. "C'mon, Shoji-chan. There was a 1B guy I saw that looked suitable."
"Short?"
"Yep. Tiny."
Their conversation faded as they went into the crowd. The other students had all broken up and begun to chat, trying to form teams.
"Alright, guess it's the three of us then." Mina looked from Hagakure to Doko. "Hey, Doko, are you okay?"
He sighed and forced himself to relax. "Yeah, I'm fine." Once again, I'm the only one who seems to be getting mad at this. They're all acting like abandoning your friends to gain an advantage is perfectly normal. Did that MAKE it normal? Was he just weird?
"We should try and find Sero," said Hagakure. "That would make four."
"Good idea," said Mina. "Let's look around."
Doko followed the two girls, with another glance at his point value on the scoreboard. 160. Below him was Mina, worth 145. Hagakure's value was a mere 25. 330 altogether. But Sero is worth even more than me. If we add him, we could have a good base point value to start with and still avoid getting targeted too much...maybe.
There he went strategising again. Another gulp, and he kept following the girls.
They found Sero talking to Bakugo and Kirishima. "Sero-kun!" Mina sang with a wave. Want to be on a team with u...oh."
Sero glanced at the other two boys he was with. Kirishima was grinning, and Bakugo was scowling. Both looked incredibly intimidating. Doko's eye twitched.
"Umm, sorry guys," Sero told them, rubbing his elbow with his other hand apologetically. "I'm already...taken."
"Yo, Mina!" Kirishima exclaimed. "You want to go with us? We need one more!"
"Huh?" Mina's face seemed to slack with surprise.
"Yeah, it'll be just like old times!" he grinned at her.
"I could use you, Pink," Bakugo murmured in a frightening manner. "You'd complete our strategy."
"Uh, yeah..." Sero trailed off. "Me and Kirishima kinda told him about you, and how you'd fit, so...we were actually about to look for you."
"But..." Mina glanced at Hagakure, only to find her missing. "Huh? Where'd Toru go?"
She looked around at Doko, whose face was...neutral. Mina blinked. The warping boy had his hands in his pockets, looking straight forward at the boys. His violet eyes revealed nothing.
When he saw Mina looking at him, he turned to her in almost a bored kind of way. "If you want to go with them, you should," he said plainly. "Kirishima's your old friend, right? You guys should work well together. And you've got Sero as well."
"But..." Mina didn't understand. He was just upset about Tsu and Shoji! Why are boys so stupid?! "You'll be all alone..."
"I'll be okay. Maybe I'll team with Midoriya." His purple eyes flashed with a hint of spiteful anger, and then he walked off.
"Doko..." Mina held up a hand, watching him go.
"Don't worry about the crackhead," said Bakugo, stepping up next to her. "He's not worth it. He's an extra without the resolve to go for the top."
"C'mon, Pinky, it's fine." Kirishima gave her a friendly hand on the shoulder. "Let us tell you our strategy."
Reluctantly, Mina turned toward her new team.
...
Doko was incredibly frustrated. Frustrated at Tsu and Shoji for going off and making their own team, frustrated at Sero for not even considering them, frustrated at Hagakure for disappearing, frustrated at the UA staff for concocting all this drama for the entertainment of the masses, and mostly he was frustrated with himself.
He hadn't missed Tsu's worried glance. He knew now that his friends were being held back by him. They felt like they had to compensate for his different ideals. But he didn't want to be a burden, especially to Mina. Doko hated being pitied.
She'd do fine on that team. He didn't even want to let her make the choice. In the end, she'd have either picked them and hurt his feelings, or picked him and hurt her own feelings. So he removed those potential futures. And now...he was all alone.
Seriously, WHERE had Hagakure gone? He saw that Ojiro, Aoyoma, and Kaminari were talking to the purple-haired guy from general studies, Shinso. Where were the rest of his classmates? Surely Midoriya hadn't found three others yet. If he could find him, he'd at least have a team, even if it meant running away for the whole eve...
Hand on his shoulder. "Katayama," said a cool voice.
Doko turned. Looking at him were the three elites, the richest, most refined people in class. Yaoyorozu on the right. Iida on the left. And in the front, touching him, was Shoto Todoroki.
Doko's lip curled. "Yes?" What do you want, son of Endeavor?
"You'll complete our strategy. Join my team."
Doko glanced at Iida and Yaoyorozu. He'd barely talked to either of them, let alone Todoroki. They all had serious expressions on their faces. They meant to win.
Fuck it.
Doko clenched one hand into a fist, and brushed Todoroki off his shoulder with the other. "Sure. I'll join your team."
That's chapter 12 done! Next time is obviously the cavalry battle. I didn't want to change the teams around too much, and it turned out that positioning people so they ended up mostly on the same teams as canon provided a great chance for tension. The friend group of six could have easily made two teams, but I didn't really want that. Now they've split up to pursue their own goals in the competition, just like how Iida split up from Izuku and Ochaco. And Doko is on Todoroki's team! What does this mean...find out soon.
Regarding the cavalry battle and Doko's powers, there are a number of things to consider. Maybe the staff would have taken his Quirk into account and decided to change the event, since he can potentially teleport people's headbands off, and that's really overpowered...but I really couldn't be bothered to come up with a whole new event. Reiko Yanagi in Class 1B canonically has a Quirk that should allow her to pull headbands to her, but her team doesn't end up winning or doing well in canon...so basically it doesn't really matter. More about how Doko's Quirk works and its limitations will be revealed next chapter, as the team discusses strategy.
Thanks for all the feedback thus far. I'll see you all soon.