I don't own My Hero Academia or Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.

Please enjoy this story to your heart's content!


Chapter 15: Catwalk


Roaring cheers echoed off the stadium's walls as the enthusiastic rush from the first round had yet to truly die down. Only for a moment did it briefly subside, to allow Midnight to announce the next event, but it soon rose to nearly deafening heights. Everyone was eager to see what teams would form and who would come out on top in the second round of the Sports Festival.

Yet it was all a distant buzz for Johnny. Sweet rolled down the side of his cheek as he glared at the dozens of students staring not only him down, but also Midoriya. Their predatory eyes pinned them where they stood, almost like a pack of trained hounds cornering two foxes; one a newborn and the other lame.

Johnny cursed himself for his short sightedness. He should've have realized that those who reached the top ten in the first round would've been made targets. He'd been in enough races in the past to realize such an amateur mistake, even if he had reasonable cause to try to reach first. But the deed had been done and there was no time for regrets. All he could do now was push forward. Yet that was easier said than done as the pressure he felt from the first round had returned with a vengeance, gnawing a growing pit deep within his stomach.

"The match will last fifteen minutes," Midnight continued to explain the rules of the second event. "Each team's points are determined by its members. The rider will wear a headband displaying the total points. Until the match ends, you'll compete to grab each other's points and maintain the ones you have. Any headbands you grab must be worn around the neck or higher. But the more headbands you've got, the harder they'll be to manage! Most importantly, even if your headband is taken and even if your horse formation is broken, it's not over 'til it's over!"

"That means… with forty-six contestants, they'll be around thirteen to fourteen teams on the field the whole time…?" Yaoyorozu deduced, sliding a finger up her chin as a calculating aura glowed from her eyes. "Depending on the outcome of this round, that means four or five teams will allowed to make to it to the third event."

"How tiresome~," Aoyama sighed, clutching his stomach as he yet to recover from barely making it through the first round.

"So there's no need to panic if your points are temporarily stolen, yeah?" speculated Mina, flickering her fingers thoughtfully as she stared at the display board that showed everyone's current individual point value.

"But you can't really tell if you're not paying attention to the minute by minute point breakdown, Mina," Asui bluntly pointed out.

"In the end it's going to become another frenzy rush till the very end…" muttered Johnny, still warily eyeing the almost hungry looks his peers continued gave him.

"Quirks are allowed, so it'll be a brutal battle!" Midnight confirmed with a crack of her whip. "Same thing with the support and permitted gear! But, like I said before, Mr. Joestar's and Mr. Zeppeli's horses are out! So you'll have to dismount and find yourselves some new stallions to ride if you both want to win! Use what you can to secure victory! However… It's still a cavalry battle! Maliciously attacking another team with the intent of making them fall will get you a red card! And that means you're out of the game!" She then smiled menacingly before giving her whip another flick! "You got fifteen minutes! Time to form your teams! But be sure you choose the right partners for this event, otherwise you'll end up dead last!"

"Fifteen minutes?!" shouted Johnny. That was nowhere near enough time to form a proper team, let alone create a plan for the cavalry battle! He wasn't the only one who came to the same conclusion, as similar shouts from his classmates echoed after him. However, the cripple could already spy several students already moving about, trying to find the best people to partner with before they got stuck with someone who was incompatible with them.

Yet none of them headed in his direction.

He knew why, of course. It wasn't his disabilities that alienated him from the others this time—he didn't need his legs since it was obvious he would be the rider of any group he formed. Rather, no one would saddle themselves with just anyone unless they were assured victory, even if they had a higher amount of points. There was no guarantee that you would keep hold your points once the game started and having a higher count only made you an easier target. Hence why everyone was avoiding Midoriya since he was basically fresh blood in ravenous shark infested waters. The race to form the strongest team had begun and there was little time to waste.

Gritting his teeth, Johnny spun around on top of Slow Dancer till he spotted a familiar wide brim hat hiding a down casted face. Just as he was about to nudge his horse over to his friend, a slight tap on his hip halted him. Peering down, bright green eyes met his sky-blue as Midoriya gave him a nervous look.

"Johnny… I don't know if you have anyone in mind, but I have an idea on who would make a great team. I mean, I haven't asked them yet—you were the closest to me so I thought to ask you first!—but I'm sure they'll join! If you want, you can join us as a gunner or something! If we ask Midnight, I'm sure she'll allow us to have us to have a five man team!"

Blinking at this proposal, Johnny saw the earnest look burning within the green haired boy's eyes. There wasn't a hint of insincerity in them. Midoriya really wanted him as the first person his team. Holding his friend's gaze, Johnny considered the pros and cons of the offer. Saddling himself with the biggest target in the whole cavalry battle seemed stupid at first, but if they managed to stave off the second round's onslaught until the very end, they were guaranteed a position for the final round of the Sport's Festival. Although he had no idea who else Midoriya had in mind for the rest of his ideal team—though he a pretty good idea—the power of One For All was something that could be really useful in the coming battle. The problem was that the curly haired youth had yet to master it. Despite that, Midoriya's ability to strategize was second to none and his will to push onward rivaled Johnny's own determination. He would find a way to make it through the second round even by the slimmest of chances.

However… Johnny knew that it wasn't meant to be. Despite warming up to the idea, there was one little thing stopped him from fully embracing it.

"…Sorry, Midoriya…" he said bluntly. "But I don't think Midnight's going to allow a five man team. Especially one with two riders. I doubt that they'll let me have any more leeway with the Sport's Festival than they already have."

"O-Oh…" The fanboy deflated, breaking his gaze as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "You're right… Of course, you are! I-I just thought that we would've made a good team and—!"

"I don't doubt it. You've probably got a dozen of plans buzzing around in your head, I wouldn't be surprised if only half of them didn't include us managing to somehow come out of this completely unscathed." Which made it all the more annoying for Johnny that he was forced to choose someone else. Although he couldn't deny that he already had an idea who his ideal partner would be, even if it was only just him.

"Johnny…"

"Don't worry about me. You got a bigger target on your back than a deadweight like me. So go find your original team and try to stay ahead of these jackals, alright?"

Meeting his gaze once more, the deflated look on Midoriya's face vanished as reluctant understanding slowly morphed across his features. After a moment, he nodded before raising a hand to Johnny. "Good luck, Johnny. I'll see you in the finals!"

Staring at the appendage for a moment, the American allowed a small grin to grow on his lips as he reached forth to grab it. "Likewise, Midoriya." Encasing the hand with his own, he shook it firmly only once before parting the green haired heroic successor to go find a certain Italian.

Nudging Slow Dancer through the mingling crowd around him, Johnny noticed that many students stuck with their own class. The majority of Class B already had their teams formed, with a few stranglers running about or doing their own thing, and were moving on to making strategies for the coming battle. In contrast, a lot of his own classmates had yet to truly form a team. Instead they crowded around the two favorites of the Sports Festival: Bakugo and Todoroki. They begged and demanded that they join the boys' teams, arguing loudly over one another why they were better than anyone else to be one the best horses. Yet some quickly realized that they weren't going to be picked before moving on to form their own teams.

It was almost comical, especially when Bakugo admitted that he didn't remember any of his classmates' names or Quirks. Kirishima approached the explosive blonde, his beaming with an eager smile, while Todoroki already was talking to Yaoyorozu and Kaminari, both listening to what he had to say and nodding in agreement. It didn't take a genius to figure out that whoever those two ultimately chose would probably make the strongest teams in the entire cavalry battle.

Pulling his eyes away from the two powerhouses, Johnny ignored everyone else, at least for the moment, before pulling up alongside Gyro. The only indication that the Italian acknowledged his approach was the flickering of his eyes, hidden under the shade of his hat as he knuckled the bottom of his chin.

"Gyro, team up with me," said Johnny.

"Heh. Did anyone ever tell you that you sometimes have a remarkable lack of grace when asking someone for help, Johnny?" asked Gyro with a grin. "Besides, maybe I want to form my own team."

"If that was the case, you would've got at least two other guys to join you already. So stop messing around, Gyro. We got less than fifteen minutes left before the next round starts."

"Alright, alright, I was just kidding." The smile on the long haired blonde's face was quickly replaced by a stern frown. "That said, just the two of us isn't going to cut it. With Todoroki and Bakugo gathering up some of the best Quirks in our class, we need something equally strong to stay ahead of the game. First place will be ours this time!"

"I'm more focused on simply managing to get to the third event than first place. With everyone gunning for that ten million headband, it's best to stay out of the crossfire."

"You're thinking too small, Johnny." The American blinked before a flick from Gyro's finger against his nose jolted back in his saddle. "I swore that I would take first in every single event when the festival began. I've already broken that vow last round, so I'm not going settle for anything less than total victory this time. We're going to steal first place one way or another and show everyone here that we're the best, Johnny!"

Raising his brow, Johnny was a little surprised at the aggressiveness that laced his friend's voice. He knew that his friend had a competitive side, but this was something new. There was an intensity in his that burned within his green orbs, startling the cripple. It was unusual and Johnny didn't have the faintest clue what caused such a change within Gyro. Was losing first place really a big deal for him or was it something else entirely?

"Hey you two... let me be part of your team," a sudden voice called from behind Johnny, pulling him out of his thoughts as he, and Gyro, turned to see a familiar face. It was the crossdresser with the gold and back pointed hat. Now that he had a good look at her, he Johnny noticed that there were no bumps on her chest compared to the rest of the girls other gym uniforms. Wrapped around her waist looked like a gun holster with some kind of weird-looking spray bottle tucked inside of it. Despite briefly wondering what it was, or how she managed to hide her breasts, he pushed such thoughts aside as her words finally registered in his brain.

"What…?"

"I want to be part of your team," the crossdresser repeated. "Unless you have someone else in mind, it looks like you two need an extra hand. I'm offering to help you out."

That was unexpected. With everyone running around trying to find the best partner, Johnny figured that no one would actually want to be in his team unless he asked. Especially since he technically was the weakest out of the top five contestants from the last round. Not that he wasn't ungrateful for the offer, considering that he and Gyro direly needed another teammate at the moment. Despite that fact, he didn't know anything about her, let alone her Quirk. He didn't want to partner himself with someone who would ultimately weigh them down.

"What can you do?"

"Hold on, Johnny…" Gyro butted in, leaning out of his saddle to glare down at the pink haired girl. "Isn't it polite to introduce yourself first before making such an offer? Not to mention you're from Class B, right? Why aren't you teaming up with your own guys?"

"Gyro, we don't have time for this."

"Hmph! Both our classes are sticking together, so I find it a little odd why she would suddenly choose us over her own friends. For all we know this guy is just here to sabotage us!"

"That doesn't make any sense! Why would he damage his own chances in an event that demands cooperation?" Admittedly the thought of her messing with their chances of victory did cross Johnny's mind, but he dismissed it as soon as it appeared. With the teachers and staff watching everyone like a hawk, there was no way they would allow any kind of cheating for an international festival like this. Not to mention that any kind of troublemaking would damage any impression they had for the professional heroes attending.

At least Gyro's outburst proved one thing. He still hadn't realized that he was talking to a girl. Considering how oblivious he could be at times, Johnny wanted to see how long it would take for him to realize his error.

"You got a point… but I don't trust—!"

"My name is Makoto Shuzenji," the girl answered simply, cutting of the two foreigners as they turned their attentions back to her. "I'm in Class One-B, but I'm also a temporary assistant nurse to my grandmother, Recovery Girl. Although you both already know that bit considering our last encounter." Gyro growled at that, but Shuzenji ignored him. "As for what I can do… My Quirk is the same as my grandmother's Heal."

"Oh good, someone who can only—Wait… If you have your grandma's Quirk, why didn't you heal my wounds without the damn god damn alcohol?!" Gyro demanded, leaning out of his saddle to tower over the crossdresser.

"In case you forgotten my grandmother's orders, your wounds still needed to be disinfected before they could properly be healed."

Gyro flashed her a frown at her words, looking ready to lunge off Valkyrie, but reeled himself back in. "Tch…! Tell him to go eat shit, Johnny."

"Tell him yourself," Johnny said bluntly.

"… Eat shit, asshole! Fall off your high horse!" The Italian's comment startled some of the students, as well a few audience members that could hear him. Turning to stare incredulously at him for a moment before returning to whatever plans they were making with their companions. To Johnny's surprise, Shuzenji kept the same blank look on her face, which only infuriated the Italian even more.

"Look, aren't we all trying to obtain the same thing? To make it to the final round of the Sports Festival? Let's work together until then! Besides… I never said that healing is all I can do." That instantly cut off whatever heated retort that was about to escape the Italian's mouth shut as he, as well the American, gave her curious stares. "I have a Stand."

Johnny felt his body freeze up, staring dumbstruck at Shuzenji as he tried to process her words. "You have a Stand?!"

"No way…" uttered Gyro, his eyes looking ready to bulge out of their sockets. "When and how did you obtain one?!"

"That's not important right now," said Shuzenji, ignoring their pointed looks as she grabbed the weird bottle from its holster. "My Stand's name is called Cream Starter. It takes the form of this spray can and shoots out flesh, whether it be my own or another's." To demonstrate, she pushed down the on the can and instantly a creamy substance sprang out before hitting the floor. It quivered and twitched as it tried to settle down, but what caught Johnny's attention was Shuzenji's hand. It had shriveled up!

The crossdresser looked undisturbed by the state of her hand as she casually walked over to the now still pile of flesh, before placing her hand, along with her Stand, in it. Almost immediately the gooey substance was absorbed back into the can while its owner's hand returned back to a normal healthy shine.

"The sprayed flesh can fuse with another person's, healing wounds or molding limbs together till they become one. I can easily reverse the process if I so wish and I can also take the flesh of others to use as ammo for my spray can. Speaking of which, I can shoot off my limbs and flesh as whip-like projectiles and have control of over them to a degree. As a result, I'm quite versatile in long range combat, but also capable at close range if the need arises. There are some other skills that Cream Starter can do, but they'll be useless in the cavalry battle. I hope that proves I'm capable enough to be on your guys' team."

Johnny's pale orbs glued themselves to the crossdresser's spray can. He never thought that a Stand would take such a bizarre shape or equally strange ability, but he reminded himself that he fought long dead dinosaurs and the boogieman weeks before the festival. For all he knew, Stands could take the shape of an entire cargo ship or the power to control the weather. There was no telling how they would manifest with each person.

Yet what really surprised Johnny was how open she was about her ability. If he was in her shoes, he would've never spoke a word about his Stand. The less information known about it the better, especially since there was no telling whether they'll be facing one another in the final round. It was in that moment that Johnny realized that even though they didn't trust her, she was willing to trust them with her secrets.

Tearing his gaze away from the Stand, Johnny's light blue orbs met deep purple. No words escaped her lips, they were unnecessary. The shining determination, tempered by the calm mask that she wore, spoke louder than any word she could say. Something he was all too familiar with.

"…You're in."

"What?! The hell are you doing, Johnny?!"

"I don't think he's an enemy, Gyro. And besides, we don't have any other choice. We need two more horses and we can't be that picky with who we got left."

Gyro growled, but Johnny could already see the wheels turning in his eyes. He knew well that they couldn't afford to waste any more time arguing and they did need more teammates, even if it were people he didn't like. Giving his protégé a glare, he turned to Shuzenji.

"Just so we're clear, I don't trust you…"

"That's fine with me. As long as I can trust you both to get me to the third round, I'm content with our arrangement."

"The same goes to you, buddy…"

Johnny let out a sigh at his friend's grudge against Shuzenji, but at least he was being reasonable about their situation. "All we need now is a fourth member for our little gang…"

"Oh? Then maybe I can help fill that role!" exclaimed a voice. Snapping his head in the direction it came from, Johnny blinked in surprise when his eyes landed on the red haired cat boy from the obstacle course standing not too far away. A sharp clawed hand was placed on his hip as he gave them all a friendly smile while his tail flickered to and fro.

"How long have you been there?" demanded the cripple.

"Not too long," answered the youth as a red furred ear flickered lightly. "Sorry for butting in like that, but I couldn't help over hearing that you're having Hots Pants on your team. If you don't mind, I'd like join your group as well."

"Hot… Pants…?" Johnny turned around to raise a curious eyebrow at the pink haired crossdresser.

"A nickname, nothing more," answered Shuzenji, ignoring the mirthful grin Gyro had on his lips, desperately trying to hold back a laugh. "Something this guy made up when I first came to school. Not that I mind, but I have no idea why he would call me that."

"It's because you always have such an incredible fashion sense, Shuzenji. Besides, I think it fits you perfectly since you don't screw around with other people." He then turned to Johnny before giving him a wink. "Personally, I've think it's a great hero name! I can already see it now; Hot Pants ranked high among the top ten heroes in the country. You'll definitely going to be instantly recognizable with a name like that."

"And if I run out of ideas for my hero name, I'll be sure to take you up on that offer, Hotei." She then turned to Johnny and Gyro, her face an emotionless mask. "If you two wish to call me 'Hot Pants', I don't mind. It'll be easier to remember if nothing else."

"Hmph, if you insist, Hot Pants," Gyro said sardonically.

As the cat boy grinned happily at Shuzenji embracing his nickname for her, Johnny stared at him warily. "Who are you anyway?"

"Hmm? Oh, pardon me. I should've introduced myself at the beginning. I'm Hotei. Galileo Hotei of Class One-B."

"Galileo?" asked Gyro, his sullen look disappearing for the moment as he eyed the red haired boy. "What, are your parents fans of Italian philosophers?"

For a brief moment, something flashed between Hotei's eyes. If Johnny wasn't directly at him, he would've missed it. He wasn't sure what it was, but it felt… intense. Yet it quickly disappeared as a bright, happy glow replaced it.

"Heh, it's not too much of a mystery actually. My mother thought that if she named me after Galileo, then maybe I'll gain at least a bit of his wisdom. Especially considering that I'm half-Japanese and half-Italian."

"You're half-Italian?" That instantly peaked Gyro's interest, grinning as the cat boy gave him a nod. "Parli Italiano?"

"Io parlo Italiano," answered Hotei, though his accent was obviously thick compared to his Japanese. "Although I don't speak it often. Never had a real need to before, or anyone to really have a conversation with it."

The Italian flashed him his grills. "Well, I'll be happy to change that."

As the two boys grinned at each other, Johnny kept his eye on Hotei the whole time. The smug look that he first saw when they first met on the obstacle course was nowhere to be seen. Only friendliness oozed out of the cat boy, even if he was a little talkative, and he did seemed to care for his classmate despite teasing her. But then there was that other look that appeared in his eyes… Did he simply imagine seeing both of intense looks?

"Doesn't matter now," he silently concluded. "He can be a prima donna for all I care. All that matters is making it to the final round!" With that in mind, Johnny only had one more thing to confirm from the cat boy.

"So, what's your Quirk anyway?" he asked, pulling him out of whatever conversation he was getting into with Gyro.

"Hmm? Isn't it obvious?" he asked, his tail flickering teasingly at him. "All joking aside. My Quirk is called 'Catwalk'. It allows me not only have the features of a cat, but also their strengths. My leg muscles are incredibly powerful, retractable claws replace my fingernails and toenails, and my hearing is super good. My body is also really flexible. I can practically stretch into any angle I so choose and as quick as a flash. And of course, my tail is super quick and strong. Hell, I can practically use it as a whip!" He then grinned, flashing rows of sharp teeth as his tail snapped behind, flickering almost like a red blur as it cracked along the cold ground. "With my tail and flexibility, I can easily steal headbands no sweat. So don't worry about me. I know how to make myself useful!"

Cupping his chin, Johnny had to admit that Hotei's Quirk, while simple, had merit. He didn't have any type of range abilities, other than his tail, but his physical prowess could help defend their team if anyone got too close. Not to mention his hearing should give them a heads up if anyone was bee-lining for them. Combined with Gyro's Steel Ball, as well his stand, Shuzenji's—or Hot Pants, if she really was ok with such an embarrassing name—Cream Starter, and his own Tusk, they had a good chance of making it through the cavalry battle.

"Alright… you're in," he finally said, drawing an excited laugh from the cat boy.

"Nyehehe! I promise you won't regret this, Joestar! We'll definitely steal the thunder out from under every other team!"

"Yeah, well, we still have to make a plan first. Also, call me Johnny."

"Oh, right…" Hotei grinned sheepishly as he scratched his right fluffy ear. "Forgot about that part. And sure thing, Johnny."

"All we need to do is go after that ten million point headband," Gyro cut in. "If we have that, then there's no way we'll lose."

"Yeah, but then we'll become the biggest target in the cavalry battle," Johnny pointed out flatly. "Our own point count is probably already enough as it is to secure a place for the finale. Even if some of the heavier hitters, like Todoroki and Bakugo, simply go after Midoriya's headband, there's still plenty of other teams out there. I think the best strategy we can afford is a defensive one; we'll simply avoid everyone till time runs out."

"What?! That's a weak plan, Johnny!" exclaimed Gyro, giving his protégé an annoyed glare. "I already told you, I won't settle for anything less than first place! So we'll—!"

"I think Johnny has a good plan," Hot Pants cut in. "The teams we truly have to look out for are the teams with little to no points. Unless they're desperate, they'll more than likely go after teams like ours since barely anyone will be targeting us as much as Midoriya's. I know this for a fact since half of my class devised such a plan before hand."

"Oh right, Monoma's unbeatable plan for total victory for Class B," scoffed Hotei, wrapping his arms behind his head as turned to face the foreigners. "He convinced half of us to hold back our powers and not to show off in order to trick everyone into believing we're weak. He's been watching all of Class A since the start of the Sports Festival, looking for any weakness he could find and then sharing that info with the rest of our class before preparing to go on the offensive. Not a bad plan, but something I can't really get behind. At least for the start of the festival anyway, since, you know, there's hundreds of students desperately fighting for a spot in the cavalry battle. I didn't want to risk my chance for victory so early. Not to mention showing off for any hero who's watching me. Nyehehe!"

Johnny paused for a moment as he digested Hotei's words. Some of his classmates were holding back? And yet they all managed to make it to the second round? If they could manage such an endeavor, then the cavalry battle was going to be a lot more troublesome than he original figured.

"So it's settled then?" he asked, eyeing his teammates. "We'll stay on the defensive and win by war of attrition."

"Sounds good to me!" exclaimed Hotei, his flicking Johnny a thumbs up with his tail mimicking the movement.

"It's the safest bet we can take at the moment, so you'll get no complaints from me," agreed Hot Pants.

The only who hadn't answered was Gyro. A sullen took hold of his features as he refused to meet his protégé's penetrating gaze. It was like dealing with a six year old throwing a tantrum after being told he wasn't getting a brand new toy.

"Look, Gyro, you don't have to like it," said Johnny, "but if we ever want to make to the end of the Sport's Festival. We got to play this smart… And if we do lose our headband, we'll go after that ten million. Ok?"

"…Fine," grunted Gyro, letting out a sigh before turning towards Johnny. "Let's get this over with and win!"

Johnny gave him a solemn nod, just as he heard Midnight announcing that preparation time had ended.

The cavalry battle was about to begin…


"Hey, wake up, Eraser!" yelled Present Mic, startling his partner back into reality as the audience started to grow restless. "They've had their time to form their teams and strategize. And now all thirteen teams are lined up and ready to move!"

"Interesting…" yawned Aizawa. "The team combinations they've come up with."

"It's quite a spectacle, ain't it?" commented Mountain Tim. "There are some team ups I suspected to happen, but the rest caught me by surprise. But that'll just make what is going to happen next all the more unpredictable and interesting!"

"You got that right, cowboy!" agreed Present Mic, grinning excitedly as he watched each team got into their respective starting points. "Let's get a battle cry going! Here comes the starting signal! Blood begets blood in the U.A. grand match! But who will come out on top and who will be left in the dust?! Let's find out!"


Tension filled the air as the audience quieted to a near murmur, waiting with great anticipation for the second round of the sport's festival to. They weren't the only ones anxiously waiting, each team eyeing one another warily, licking their lips as they wondered who they would go after first or vice versa. Most of them landed on a certain green haired boy, whose eyes flickered nervously under their predatory gazes. Yet he didn't shrivel under them. Instead he tightened his headband as Uraraka, Tokoyami, and, surprisingly enough, the mad scientist girl from the support course, Mei Hatsume held him up as their rider.

They weren't what originally Johnny thought Midoriya would choose, aside from Uraraka, of course, but considering that Ida was on Todoroki's team, it made sense to take whoever he could get. Although considering Tokoyami's Quirk, Uraraka's gravity, and the support equipment Hatsume had, the fanboy had a rather balanced team. Though Johnny wasn't sure if it could stand up to Todoroki's and Bakugo's own strong team compositions. Thankfully for him, they seemed fixated on Midoriya at the moment—though he felt bad thinking such a callus thought of friend.

"Focus on the task at hand and worry about Midoriya later," he silently told himself, taking a deep breath to harden his resolve. Pulling his six hundred and fifty-five point headband over his forehead, right underneath the cold metal of his horseshoe ornament, Johnny readied himself as his teammates held him firmly from underneath. Smiling proudly as the front horse was Hotei, his tail flickering this way and that, tickling Johnny's sides as he grinned almost viciously at the other teams. Taking the position as the right horse was Shuzenji, a hand caressing the edge of her Stand before going back to holding the American. Finally Gyro took the left side, his grin mimicking Hotei's as his grills flashed in the sunlight. It felt odd to be riding on something that wasn't actually a horse, but it wasn't as bad as Johnny thought it would be. Still he had to make a few mental adjustments to make sure he didn't fall off by mistake.

All that was left for them to do was wait for the countdown to begin and endure the resulting madness that followed.

"Formed your teams?" demanded Present Mic. "Made your plans?! Too bad if you haven't! Here we go! The countdown to this brutal battle royale!

"Three! Two! ONE!"

"BEGIN!" concluded Midnight, her whip cracking loudly as each team immediately took off running!

As Johnny suspected, the majority ignored everyone else as they made a beeline for Midoriya. He only got one good glimpse of Midoriya's terrified face, and that of his team's, as the horde closed on them before he saw something flicker just at the edge of his vision. Turning around he saw Hiryu Rin, a tanned skinned boy with a low black haired braid, riding atop Jurota Shishida, a much furrier youth, who had glasses and wild, brown hair. Rin clung to the Shishida's back as the hairy boy trampled across the field like a beast, but instead of charging at Midoriya, they were gunning for the paraplegic.

"Here they come!" yelled Hotei, the muscles in his legs coiling tightly as his classmates got closer.

"Well that didn't take long!" exclaimed Gyro, slipping a hand to waist to grab his Steel Ball.

"What do we do, Johnny?" asked Hot Pants, eyes flickering between the charging pair and the American.

"It's obvious, ain't it?! We run away!" Raising a star-covered hand, Johnny fired off a few nail-bullets at the fur-clad youth as his team lunged to the side.

Bellowing a powerful roar, Shishida leaped around the nail-bullets sliced into the concrete floor, already resuming pounding across the battlefield. "Think that will intimidate us, Sir Joestar?!" he called out, an almost feral smile taking hold on his lips. "That we would cower back while our fellows strive for glory?! Hah! You'll have to try better than that!"

"Your headband is ours!" grinned Rin, the flesh on his arms transforming into bright green scales.

They sprang forth, closing the distance between their teams in a single bound. Shishida triumphantly roar as Rin's scaly hand reached to grab the headband… only to freeze up as a Steel Ball slammed into his arm. The Chinese boy yelped as the green sphere circled around before twisting him back with a powerful yank.

"The hell…?!" He tried to grab the Steel Ball with his free hand, only to grimace as the Spin took hold of both appendages now. His entire body started to pull back, threatening to fall off, but his fur clad mount quickly wrapped a hand around to steady him.

"I gotcha, Sir Rin!"

"Don't worry about me! Grab the headband!"

"As if I'll allow that," sneered Gyro, his eyes narrowing as an eyeball formed on the Steel Ball. Rin twitched as its gaze landed on his own before shifting to Shishida. With a spinning hop, it flung off before landing on the hairier boy's back. He stiffened in surprise for a moment before freezing entirely as his entire body arced back. Not enough to throw off his rider, but it did leave him in a rather awkward pose.

"Careful not to throw them off, Gyro," said Johnny, although he barely gave the pair another glance. Already keeping an eye for any more opportunistic teams.

"You know my control over the Spin is absolute, Johnny!" Catching his Steel Ball after a moment. "They'll simply stay like that for a while!"

"The Spin, huh?" Hotei perked up as he lead his team passed Mineta's team—which was basically just Shoji using his Quirk to hide the dwarf inside in a flesh fortress— who ignored them in favor of charging at Midoriya's group. "That doesn't sound like a Quirk—not that I'm complaining! Whatever helps out, I'm content!"

"Less talking, more running," huffed Hot Pants, before stiffening. "On our right!"

Snapping his head around, Johnny blinked at the sight of a giant hand swiping at his head. Letting out a curse in English, he tucked, narrowly missing the huge appendage as it sailed over him. Straightening back up, he spotted his newest attackers.

Pulling back her shrinking hand was Itsuka Kendo, a teal eyed girl with long ginger hair that was tied in a ponytail alongside the left of her head. Already a couple of extra headbands decorated around her neck like spoils of war. Leading her along as her head horse was Reiko Yanagi, a pale girl with equally pale, chin-length hair. On her right was Kinko Komori, whose honey brown hid her eyes as she carefully carried rider with both arms. Lastly was Setsuna Tokage, grinning confidently under dark green locks as she gazed with equally dusky green eyes at each member of Johnny's team; weighing each of them down before ultimately settling on the American's headband.

"Woah there, Kendo!" exclaimed Hotei, the slits of his eyes narrowing as he gazed at his class president warily. "That's not very presidential, you know? Going after your friends and constituents like that is grounds for impeachment!"

"Heh, sorry, Hotei, Shuzenji," apologized Kendo. "But we're in it to win it at this point. So you'll forgive us if we go all out!"

"That's right!"

"Nothing going to stop us!"

"We'll be taking that headband no matter what!"

Hearing their determination only made Hotei grin viciously while his tail flickered in between his legs.

As they continued to banter, Johnny had a finger already aimed at Kendo. He kept it trained at the loose ends of her headband as he scanned the rest of girls, looking for any sign of their Quirks. Determined glares met his own, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary as far as he could tell. Letting out a snort, his fingernail twitched eagerly as he prepared to fend off Kendo once more, her hands already resuming their enormous size… only to stiffen when he noticed that Tokage's entire jaw was missing.

"What…?!"

"Too late~!" a wily voice whispered over his shoulder followed by a light pressure creeping up the right side of his back.

Whipping around, Johnny gaped as his eyes landed on a mouth literally floating inches away from his face. She grinned victoriously as two globs of pale flesh slithered over his shoulder before pouncing right for his forehead where his headband resided. Barely having time to react, Johnny twisted a hand around to shoot them down, but they sailed passed each shot with ease. They closed in on the headband, now a mere centimeter away… only be slammed back by a small, pink body.

"Chumin~in!" chimed Tusk, watching as fleshy blobs flung back till they floated beside the disconnected maw.

"What the heck?!" Tokage yelled from her floating mouth, her eyes, and that of her team's, locked on the little pink elephant. They weren't the only ones as much of the audience cried in surprise as it clung to Johnny's head. "What is that?!"

"I thought his Quirk was shooting those nails!"

"It's kinda… cute…"

"Wait a moment… is that a Stand like the one that Shuzenji—!"

"Whether or not it's a Stand doesn't matter!" declared Kendo, cutting off her teammates as she eyed Tusk warily. "Our goal is still the same as before. We have to push on and keep on attacking till we win! Don't let up, Tokage!"

"Alright!" exclaimed the dark green eyed girl, her floating pieces of flesh once more shooting at their mark even. Tusk chimed determinedly, floating in between their path to protect its user.

Suddenly a gooey blob sprayed all over Tokage's floating bits, clinging them together before falling ungracefully to the floor with a splat. They struggled and twisted under the viscous flesh, but couldn't free.

"Nothing personal, Tokage," said Hot Pants, twirling Cream Starter in her hand. "Just looking out for myself, you understand. Don't worry though. I'll be sure to let them go… once we're far away from your team." She then shot off another stream of flesh at the dark green haired girl, forcing her to lunge to side along with her group. They escaped the majority of it, but a small chunk managed to land on her ankle.

Tokage wordlessly glared at her pink haired classmate, struggling to get the gooey flesh off her even as it started to fuse with her skin and pants.

Seeing this as a sign, Johnny didn't hesitate to shoot off a few nail-bullets at Yanagi. The girl blinked before jumping back with her team, though their step was a bit unsteady and Kendo had to cling to them least she fell off.

"Move!" roared Johnny, lurching back a bit as his team leaped around the girls. Ignoring their frustrated cries, Johnny steadied himself before quickly peeking at scoreboard. It had only been at least five minutes by now, but they were still within the top five, with Kendo's team right behind them. This soothed his worry for a moment, knowing that his plan was actually working, but he blinked when he saw what the other teams' scores were.

"Now wait just a second…!" Present Mic suddenly exclaimed, voicing the same thought that the majority of the audience had. "Besides Midoriya, Joestar, and Todoroki… Class A isn't looking so hot while Class B is on the rise! Even Bakugo just got his headband stolen! What is happening?!"

"Looks like Class B is tired of being left in the dust," noted Mountain Tim. "They're really going all out now, but can they keep this up or will the other teams make a comeback and steal that ten million headband?"

"Wow…" muttered Johnny, stunned that even Bakugo of all people got his headband taken. Just how the hell did that happen? And by whom? If he had to guess, then it was by the same guy who was second place—going by the name Monoma, presumably the same one that Hotei and Hot Pants warned about. Even then, he didn't want to make any rash conclusions. Tusk chimed softly, though whether it was in agreement or not, Johnny couldn't say even as it phased back into his body. "Just stay focused on the task at hand…"

"Heads up, Johnny!"

The cripple didn't bother to look at what was coming at him, instead immediately ducking into a semi-fetal position. A slurring whoosh sailed over his head before Johnny twisted his body in the direction it came from, whipping a hand forward before unloading his nail-bullets.

A loud yelp escaped a Kojiro Bondo's lips as he tried to maneuver his huge body around the small flying projectiles. Two nails scraped against his shoulders, tearing through his gym clothes, drawing thin red lines along his skin, and nearly nicking his uniquely shaped head. His rider, a black haired girl by the name of Yui Kodai, clung to his back as he danced around. From behind them, Manga Fukidashi tried to steady Kodai, but Bondo's fidgeting made it all the more troublesome, causing his word bubble-like head to form all kinds of frustrated phrases and curses. They weren't the only ones caught off guard by Johnny's counteract, as a loud girly shriek echoed from behind Team Kodai.

"Watch where you're shooting, Johnny!" fumed Hagakure, her team giving him irritated glares in place of the invisible girl before resuming their chase after Midoriya.

The American let out a gruff grunt, but that's all he could even utter before Team Kodai renewed their own offensive. Charging forward, Bondo shot another valley of grayish goop from his multi-eyed holes. Seeing this, Johnny shifted out of its trajectory while his team jumped to the side. Suddenly he jolted in his makeshift seat, nearly tumbling off as the big youth slammed into Gyro's side. As the Italian let out a grunt, his arms trembling under Johnny's weight, Kodai lunged forward, her hand that of a viper as she aimed to take headband.

Suddenly a red blur shot passed Johnny's face, wrapping around the girl's wrist before yanking it away to the side. Blinking at what just happened, Kodai looked down to see Hotei giving her a fanged grin. Before she, or the rest her team, could even twitch, the cat boy's leg sprang forth like a coiled trap. Slamming into Bondo's gut, causing him to wheeze and trembled as he tried to maintain his grip on his rider, Hotei immediately followed up with another swipe.

The bigger boy braced himself for second impact, but paused when it didn't came. He flinched as the clawed foot instead sailed over his head before latching onto Kodai's headband. With a sharp tug, the soft cloth was yanked off ungracefully, shocking the already stunned team.

"Nyehe! Thanks for this, guys!" grinned Hotei, retracting his foot before giving a sharp flick at Johnny. Seeing the headband coming his way, the paraplegic scrambled to catch it before carefully hooking it around his neck. "Well, it's been fun, but we really have to go!"

"Bondo!" yelled Kodai.

Bondo huffed as he still yet to recover from Hotei's assault, but never the less complied with his rider. Sticky cement immediately started to leak out of his eye holes… only for a Steel Ball to slam into his shoulder, forcibly twisting him to the side just as he let loose his cement.

"Let's get out of here!" suggested Gyro, catching his Steel Ball as Team Kodai tried to figure out what was wrong with their lead horseman.

Johnny agreed wholeheartedly, making sure their newly obtained prize was secure before gesturing to move as far away from their present foes before they could recover. Without hesitation, they ran as fast as they could, maneuvering around several stray blasts and debris being haphazardly thrown around. However they were forced to halt when several small horns suddenly bore down in front of them.

Blinking, Johnny whirled around before spotting the long, blonde haired girl with the lyre-like horns trampling towards his team on all fours. If he remembered correctly from the first event's scoreboard, her name was Pony Tsunotori and riding atop her was a boy called Togaru Kamakiri. He had lime green hair styled into a Mohawk and had two, insect-like pincers curling around his cheeks. A heated smile twisted his lips as long, sharp blades suddenly jutted out his arms, flashing menacing in the sunlight as if preparing a gruesome murder.

"…Nope!" Already had enough dealing with the other teams, Johnny was about to order his team back, but paused when he saw Kodai's group rushing up from behind. With the cavalry battle growing more intense by the second, Quirks were thrown almost at random, but never the less dangerous, cutting off any escape route Team Joestar had. As both teams from Class B advanced menacingly, there was no other option left but to fight. "…Oh this is going to suck!"


"They're really going at it," commented Snipe, sitting closely beside his fellow teachers and heroes. "Not that I'm surprised. With little less than half eight minutes left, they can't hold back now." He then turned to Vlad King before giving him a tip of his hat. "Though I have to say, your kids sure know how to show off. Holdin' back their true strength before givin' a one-sided beat down. Very clever."

Vlad raised his a prideful chin at Snipe's words. "They still got to learn, but right now, they truly shown that they all have a bright future ahead of them!"

All Might had to agree, Class B were proving to be just as good as Class A. Though the latter had students with overwhelming strength and power, most of the former's teams complimented with each other perfectly and didn't seem to have any issue when it came to cooperation. Not to say that Class A didn't have such qualities, rather theirs was was still a bit unrefined in comparison. And in this particular game, cooperation was paramount for the grand prize that was victory.

However, if he had to place a bet on who would come out on top… it would have to be Class A. Not because of their Quirks, strategy, or skill, but because of one simple thing. They were tenacious. While Class B proved be just as capable of such determination, nothing slowed down or discourage A. In fact, all the challenges they faced in the Sports Festivals, as well the hardships prior, emboldened them to push themselves harder than ever before. Smashing apart their already tested limits while thinking of new ways to strive to come out on top.

At the same, however, he felt more than a touch of worry. With everyone upping their game it only made it all the much harder for his protégé. Everyone knew what was on the line and Midoriya's team had yet to receive a single break from other the tenacious members of his own class. All Might had high hopes for him, and while much of his doubt had dissipated from the last event, he couldn't deny that his heart pounded every time he saw the young fanboy almost get his headband taken.

Tearing his eye off the fanboy's group, who barely escaped another perilous trap from his rivals, he spotted Team Joestar fighting valiantly against not one, but two teams, with the occasional swipe from other outsiders that scramble around the stadium. It was a brutal skirmish, but one, All Might noted, that brought a few rousing cheers from the crowd. While there was still plenty of visible doubt amongst them, more than few started to support Johnny and his team. Whether it was support for an underdog or growing admiration for his defiance against the odds, All Might couldn't say. But it did bring a smile to his skeletal lips.

However, there were a lot of shocked gasps amongst the cheers as many pointed at the little pink creature that hung alongside Johnny's head. Not that All Might was surprised by such a reaction. This was probably the first time that many of the audience have seen a Stand before, even among heroes. Even in a world filled with heroes and super powers, an oddity such as this would garner a lot of attention and much speculation. In turn this would help spread Johnny's notoriety, especially among the pro heroes that kept an eye on his skill. If he done well enough, then there would be no denying that he'll receive an offer for an internship in the future.

That is unless the talent hungry heroes could overlook the fact he was paraplegic.

Suddenly brilliant light flashed erratically from the battleground, forcing All Might to shield his eyes. As it quickly died down, a frigid chill rose from the center of the stadium. Clear blue ice soon sprang forth from the ground, freezing several teams in their tracks since they were the closest to its epicenter. Specifically around Team Todoroki as they confronted Team Midoriya.

All Might had no clue how this clash would end, but one thing for certain. This was the turning point of the cavalry battle and no matter what happened, it was going to be a spectacular climax.


"On your right!"

"More horns coming from the left side!"

"I got them! Focus on keeping Kodai back, Hotei!"

"I'm not having a picnic here, so cut me some slack, Hot Pants!"

Johnny bit back a bubbling curse in his throat as he fired off the remaining two fingernails in left hand, before switching to his recently replenished right. Tusk clung to his head, making small chimes as it swiped at anything that got to close to the headbands. Sweat dripped down his face, clinging to fresh tears in the blue fabric of his gym clothes as he fended off Kamakiri. Zipping through the air, his nail-bullets barely reached their target before colliding into huge, sharp blades. The mantis-like boy grunted at their impact, managing to block one while deflecting the other to the side, before rushing forward once more with an arm poised to take his prey's headband. Only for his horse, Pony, to jump to side as a red fur-covered kick was sent their way.

This had been the same cycle for what seemed like hours now, though really a few minutes, both teams of Class B relentlessly hounding Team Joestar while occasionally taking a swipe at each other. Each breath Johnny took grew heavier and heavier as the seconds dragged on, but he ignored it for the most part. He wasn't the only who showing signs of fatigue. His teammates panted with each attack they had to defend against while their clothes continued to get torn apart in the process.

Despite practically fighting like a wild man at this point, Johnny was more than little surprised they held out this long. With constant assault from Team Kodai and Team Tsunotori, as well some stray blasts that came from the battlefield—especially some sparkly glitter that appeared every now and then around them—more than likely Aoyama's doing—he thought that they would've at least one their headbands by now. Though whether it was by sheer dumb luck or pure skill, he wasn't complaining. He was content as long as they managed to survive this mosh pit of an event.

Suddenly the air around him grew cold before a massive layer of ice froze a huge chunk of the arena, freezing more than a few teams in their place. Thankfully Johnny's team was just a mere foot outside the ice, barely escaping it's frigid grasp. Team Kodai, on the other hand, were stopped in their tracks. They growled and shouted in frustration, trying desperately to claw their feet out of the cold sleet. Team Kamakiri, who also miraculously managed to escape the freezing attack, stood on the side and stared disbelieving at what just happened.

Seeing an opportunity, Johnny bellowed, "Move now!" His teammates didn't need a second prompting before they took off running along the outskirts of the ice.

"Whew… that was too close for comfort," Gyro breathed heavily, taking a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow.

"Oh really?" snarked Johnny. "I thought we were having a wonderful time getting double teamed like that. Much better than simply, I don't know, staying away from trouble altogether."

"Ouch… Laying it on a bit rough, aren't 'cha, Johnny?" asked Hotei, his ears folding back while his tail stiffened.

"Had to get the point across somehow…" The cripple shrugged before looking down at Gyro. "Now do you see why it's a bad idea to target the ten mil—!"

A sudden touch along the back of his head and a tug on his headbands cut him off, yanking him back as the white fabric was torn off his person. For a moment he stared in bewilderment at the missing soft cloth before the reality of the situation came crashing down on him. Frantically whirling around, his eyes bulged when they landed on the missing headbands… twirling between the fingers of a boy with slick blonde hair as he lead his team further and further away.

"He stole our headbands!" blurted Johnny. The rest of his team immediately turned around just as the blonde wrapped the headbands to growing pile around his neck.

"What's this!?" commented Present Mic. "It looks like Team Monoma has claimed yet another victim! Which is a shame since Team Joestar has been one of the front runners for this brutal free-for-all! However, the show has yet to reach its final curtain! Will they make a comeback or will they be left in the dust?!"

"Monoma! You jerk! Those are ours!" hissed Hotei, his ears pulled back as his tail stood on end. Right behind him, Hot Pants sent the blue eyed youth a scathing glare.

The newly named Monoma turned around, even as his team continued to run as fast as they could, smiling smugly as his ice-blue eyes flashed in the sunlight. "No hard feelings, Hotei," he said. "Same to you, Shuzenji. But that's what you get when you both decided to team up with those from Class A even after knowing about our plan. Ah well, I'm sure there's still some teams from Class A that have their headbands. Maybe you'll have enough time to steal them." He then turned to Johnny before giving him a nod. "I got to say, Johnny Joestar, you really surprised me during the obstacle course. Didn't think someone of your condition could make it to the very end, but then again, you wouldn't have made it into the hero course if you weren't qualified. For that you have my praise! However, I think the horses you're currently riding—well one of them anyway—isn't well suited for this kind of race. Not used to taking orders I take it. Or maybe it's fault of the rider. Otherwise you wouldn't be stuck in such an awful position. Ah well… It's been fun chatting with you, but we have go now. Maybe later you can tell me how you got into U.A."

Ignoring Monoma's friendly wave to him, Johnny felt the world grow still. The ferocious fighting for first place was a distant thing as his eyes never left the blonde's. Tusk hugged tightly to his head, shaking a bit as it chimed softly, but Johnny didn't hear it. All he could do was tremble as a blizzard of ice cold fury roared within his soul. How dare he?! How dare he look down upon him with such passive aggressive smugness?! Even if by some small chance he was sincere with his words—which he certainly doubted that was the case—his superior attitude struck an old, tender cord with Johnny. He hadn't felt this angry in such a long time. Stealing his headbands was one thing, but this was something he would not easily forgive.

"Johnny…" said Gyro, his voice so low that only his teammates could hear him. "I'm not going to that let that little shit look down upon us… I'm not going to settle for anything less than a total beat down for that asshole!"

"Damn right!" yelled Hotei. "Monoma isn't normally like this—mostly anyway—but I won't let him make fun of us like that!"

"Not to mention we have less than seven minutes left," Hot Pants pointed out, her eyes still piercing into the back of Monoma's head. "If we're going to do this, then we got to do it now!"

"…You're right," said Johnny, the dark flame in his eyes burned with an intensity that would've made anyone bulk. Tusk chimed loudly beside him, mimicking its user as it floated excitedly around his head. "Let's utterly crush him!"


"Hey, Monoma… don't you think went a bit far this time?" asked Kosei Tsuburaba, flickering his oval eyes between his rider and searching for any threats to his team. "I mean, I get it, Class A is a bunch of stuffed up jerks, but… picking on someone like Joestar was not cool."

"You definitely went overboard," agreed Sen Kaibara, shaking his head in disappointment. "Kendo's going to have a field day once she gets her hands on you after the festival."

"You dug a deeper hole of darkness within his soul," Shihai Kuroiro said solemnly.

Monoma shrugged as he tied the newly obtained headbands tightly around his neck. "Hmm, perhaps it was a bit much," he admitted. "But I couldn't resist. Class A has been looking down on us ever since they survived those villain attacks. I wanted to kick them off their high horses—no pun intended— otherwise they'll continue to lord over us with their achievements." He held back a snort before pausing. "Although, my praise was genuine. Honestly thought Joestar was going to fall short during the first event…"

Indeed, the cripple's actions thus far have nothing short than impressive, if not surprising. Especially considering the hurdles that he, as well Gyro Zeppeli, had to go through in order to make it to the top five spots. Yet as he observed him from afar, Monoma noticed that there was a standoffish attitude about him, similar to that of Bakugo's. Like he was better than everyone else. Combined with their horses, the foreigners had a huge advantage over everyone else. Something that Monoma wouldn't stand for.

"Ah, well. All that matters right now is winning the game and showing up Class A. Though who knows? Maybe I'll apologize after the Sports—."

"Hey jackass!" Monoma blinked, quickly turning his head around to see green metal spinning towards his head.

"Tsuburaba!"

"On it!" Taking a deep breath, the brown haired youth blew out a seamless wall of solid air. The Steel Ball impacted the see-through screen with a mighty crack, spinning hotly against it for a moment before following to the ground with a thud. "Heh! Is that the best you got?!"

Suddenly two holes drilled through the air screen, cracking the rest apart as nail-bullets shot towards Monoma's head. Not batting an eye at the follow up, the smooth haired blonde merely leaned aside, watching as one of the spinning nails took off the end of a headband. Smiling at the absurd attack, Monoma turned back around, a smile twisting along his lips. "Hey, hey! That's not very heroic-like, you know? You could've took off my head with that attack."

The cripple didn't utter a single syllable, instead raising up a star-covered hand as his eyes blazed hot with dark fire. Seeing such a malicious gaze made Monoma pause for a moment before seeing something flicker underneath Johnny. He felt the hair on his neck stand on end as Shuzenji held her spray can in one hand, glaring fiercely as she aimed it at Kaibara's feet.

"Large screen now, Tsuburaba!"

Oval shaped eyes widened for a moment, quickly realizing what his classmate intended to do, before creating the largest air wall he could muster. With a gooey smack, the flesh splattered all over the clear screen before sliding down into a gross pile. Feeling a bit of sweat roll down his cheek, Monoma breathed a sigh of relief. "Almost, Shuzenji," he said, "but you shouldn't waste your flesh when…" He paused when his eyes landed on the crossdresser's shriveled arm. Her hand was nowhere to be seen along with her Stand.

Ice shot up his spine as he quickly put two and two together. Snapping his head down, he breathed sharply through clenched teeth at the sight of a disembodied hand slowly crawling around the air wall with a spray can held tightly within his grasp. As if feeling his eyes, it quickly jolted upright, aiming the Stand right at Monoma's torso. The blonde didn't have time to raise up his arms in defense as that hand pressed down on the trigger.

A stream of flesh flew out of Cream Starter… only to get intercepted by Kaibara's hand. The dark, shaggy haired youth grimaced as the peach colored goo instantly clung to his fingers, spreading across his flesh at an alarming rate. Gritting his teeth, Kaibara activated his Quirk, watching intently as his entire right arm and hand spun intensely like a drill. Yet the Shuzenji's flesh refused to let go.

"No good, Monoma! She has a tight grip on me!"

"Then let's get out of here before things get—!"

"I got you now, losers!"

Monoma felt his brow rise to his scalp at the familiar raging voice, swiftly turning around just in the nick of time see Bakugo launching himself off his team like a cannon ball. Before he could reach his target, however, the angry boy slammed into an air wall just a mere feet away from them.

"This is getting out of hand, Monoma!" yelled Tsuburaba.

"I noticed…" muttered Monoma. "You just don't know when to give up, do—?"

Suddenly something whizzed pass his head before colliding with the upper portion of the air wall, drilling a small hole into it while narrowly avoiding Bakugo. Feeling cold sweet roll down the side of his forehead, Monoma had only a moment to flick his eyes to the side and see Joestar pointing a star-covered finger his way before furious heat erupted in front of him. A resounding crack resonated from the air wall followed by a roar as the volatile boy smashed his way through the wall, lunging forth to grab a few headbands around his prey's neck. Monoma could only jolt as Bakugo yanked them off his neck before he got pull back by his teammate's tape.

"Crap! He got half of them!" yelled Kaibara.

"These dark souls are persistent!" Kuroiro exasperated, glaring venomously as the explosive boy landed back onto his team.

"We're still in fourth," Tsuburaba pointed out, quickly turning around before leading his comrades away from the two teams. "It's fine! Kendo and Kodai have been frozen along with a lot of other teams! We just need to stay ahead and wait the time out now!"

"Yeah, if we defend these last two to the death, then we'll move forward…" Pulling the headbands over his mouth, Monoma glared balefully behind at both teams racing after him. Joestar's group was the closest, but Bakugo was quickly gaining speed. Yet that wasn't what concerned him.

It was the fact that the two teams were working together! At first he thought that Joestar missed his mark when he shot his nail-bullet, but he realized now that was a foolish assumption. He purposely aimed close to Monoma's head to hide his true intention by weakening the air wall. Even if it meant possibly losing all the headbands to Bakugo! It was unthinkable and yet the reality was staring at him in the face. Such overwhelming tenacity from the both of them… Monoma realized he made a grave error in judgement by underestimating them.

Something flashed in front of him, pulling out his thoughts as a sparkly line appeared directly in his path. Monoma's mouth went dry at the sight while he felt his teammates skipped a step. "This is…!"

Suddenly the air was knocked out his lungs by something slamming into his chest. Trembling as he tried to regain his breath, he peered down before spotting Zeppeli's Steel Ball spinning against his ribcage, tearing a small opening into his clothes as the blue fabric twisted along with the sphere. So shocked by what just happened, he barely noticed a strip of sticky tape narrowly missing his team. As the Steel Ball slowly twisted his muscles, it occurred to Monoma that he never seen it return to its owner after getting blocked by Tsuburaba.

Growling at himself for realizing too late how much he'd been played, he tried to smack the ball off him, but he only moved a few inches before coming to a halt. His heart pounded in his chest while he desperately tried to think of anything that might get him out of this situation. Suddenly he remembered he managed to touch Joestar before snatching his headbands. A grin split his lips as he used all the strength he could muster before pointing at the spinning steel. "What irony that Joestar's own Quirk would come back to haunt him!" he thought triumphantly as he activated his quirk… only to then blink when nothing happened. "What…? I know touched him. So why can't I use his Quirk?!" His eyes slowly widened as comprehension dawned upon him. "He doesn't have a Quirk… but that means…! He's just like—!"

"You were right," a cold voice muttered next to Monoma. "It takes a bad rider to lead his horse to defeat."

Feeling shivering cold crawl down his spine, Monoma could only manage to turn his head around slightly before witnessing Johnny, his eyes still blazing with a dark fury, lunging forth before hooking around one of the remaining headbands around his neck. With a sharp tug, it snapped of his neck, nearly throwing the smooth haired blonde off balance. As the American pulled away, Monoma glared balefully at him for a moment, but paused when a burst of heat brushed him from his blind spot. Defiance raged through every pore of his body, commanding his stiff body to move the slightest inch, but deep down, he knew that this was game over.

"Die, you loser!"


Johnny's allowed a small grin to twist his lips as Bakugo swiped the last headband off Monoma with an explosive flare. The smug prick looked completely dazed, smoke drifting off his body as his once smooth hair was frizzled at odd ends. It was a satisfying sight, as well a bit cathartic… if only because Monoma reminded Johnny of his own past ego. Something he wished he could wipe clean from his memory altogether…

"Both Team Bakugo and Team Joestar are unstoppable!" yelled Present Mic followed by thunderous cheers from the crowd. "Though what a point hog! Bakugo leaving Johnny with only one headband for his team! How greedy! But that was one heck of an explosion heard 'round the entire arena! Not to mention the utter combo set up by Johnny! Oh man, I can't wait to get back home and watch the replay!"

"Heh, that was an incredible display of teamwork, even though there were on opposite teams," chuckled Mountain Tim. "Though this is not entirely surprising since Class B has been loosely working together through the whole cavalry battle. But I have feeling that all bets are off once the final minute starts counting down. Speaking of which… that's your cue to hightail it, kiddos!"

"Hey, Horseshoe!" Johnny blinked, tuning out the crowd and the heroic commentary before turning to face Bakugo. A furious frown adorned his lips, glaring heatedly at the paraplegic while Kirishima, Mina and Sero all gave the two of them worried glances. "Don't go around stealing what's rightfully mine!"

"Hmph. A simple thank you would suffice for the all help we gave you." Johnny glanced down at the headband he managed to steal back, not even bothering to acknowledge the animalistic growl Bakugo sent his way. He knew that was a deeper blow to the arrogant boy's pride than simply playing along with his ego. As for the headband, it was the same six-hundred and fifty-five pointer when they first started. He breathed a sigh of relief at the sight, quickly tying it around his forehead once more but paused when he noticed that Bakugo had yet to charge at him. Looking up he blinked when Bakugo's team had took off running into the icy center of the arena.

"Don't have time to deal with your ass, Horse Shoe! With Icy-Hot and Deku nearby, I'm taking that ten-million headband! But once this is over, your ass is mine!"

"If I had any feeling in my legs, I would be trembling in my boots!" Bakugo flipped him the bird before charging his team into the heart of the ice, blowing apart its frozen walls in the process. As the ice crumbled to the ground, Johnny spotted Midoriya's team squaring off against Todoroki's group. And judging from the way former was aggressively attacking the latter, it was clear who now held the ten-million headband.

"…I'm going for it." Johnny blinked before looking down at Gyro, his Steel Ball once more returned to his grasp. His narrow gaze never leaving Todoroki or the headbands around his neck. "Sorry, Johnny… But this is the opportunity I've been waiting for."

Cocking an eyebrow at his friend, Johnny paused when the green sphere spun to life in his friend's hand. Within a split second, Gyro roared as he threw the Steel Ball before anyone could even protest. Clicking his teeth, Johnny watched as the spinning steel sailed across the arena towards his target, before turning back to Gyro, opening his mouth for a moment but stopped as soon as his eyes landed on Team Tsunotori rushing at them. More specifically, right at their now unprotected side which his mentor was meant to defend.

"Gyro, you ass!" Whipping both hands up, Johnny shot unloaded both hands at the pair. Carefully weaving her way around the nail-bullets, Tsunotori quickly started to close the gap between the two of them while Kamakiri readied himself on top of her.

"TEN SECONDS REMAIN!" announced Present Mic, though Johnny barely heard him. All his focus was directed at keeping Team Tsunotori away.

"I didn't go through all this crap just lose now!" Gritting his teeth, Johnny barely dodged a floating horn aimed for his headband as panic started to settle into him.

"SEVEN SECONDS!"

"HURRY THE HELL UP WITH THE GOD DAMN COUNT DOWN!"

Tsunotori jumped back a half step from another nail barrage before taking a great leap forward, now only a mere few feet away from Johnny. However before either she or her rider could do anything, a sharp clawed foot flicked their away from an impossible angle, forcing them back a few steps. Hotei grinned mischievously at the two of them as trails of sweat rolled down his forehead. From the corner of his eye, Johnny barely noted that Todoroki managed to halt Gyro's Steel Ball with a wall of ice before it could reach him.

"THREE… TWO… ONE… TIMES UP!"

A loud buzzer went off just as Kamakiri managed grab a fistful of Johnny's clothes, narrowly missing the headband. Feeling a weight lifted off his shoulders, Johnny didn't bother to acknowledge the insect-like boy letting go of him. Merely listening to Present Mic drown out the audience cheers as he announced the scores.

"In first place, Team Todoroki! In second, Team Bakugo! In third, Tetsu…. Wait… Huh?! Whoa! Team Shinso makes an unsuspected comeback! When did they come back from the dead?! Anyway! In fourth place, Team Joestar! And finally in fifth place… Team Midoriya! These five teams will proceed to the final to final event! We'll proceed to the afternoon portion after a one-hour lunch break! See you then! Hey Eraser, Tim! Wanna grab some food?"

"Whew… that was too close…" Hotei breathed, his shoulders loosening a bit as he shifted under Johnny. Turning his head upward, his tail waved back and forth as a fanged grin split his face. "I knew teaming up with you was the right call! Although I could do without those last few seconds… felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest if Tsunotori or Kamakiri stole our headband." Turning around to his classmates, he flashed them an even cheekier grin. "No hard feelings guys. But if it's any consolation, you both really made us work for our victory!"

"Dammit…!" muttered Kamakiri. "If only I was just a little quicker, we would've…" Whatever else he had to say was devolved into frustrated mutterings too low for anyone to hear.

"You guys did a great job," said Tsunotori, giving them a thumbs up as she graciously accepted her defeat. As she spoke, Johnny noticed a rather familiar accent in her tone.

"Hmph, nice job keeping us ahead in the game, Johnny," congratulated Hot Pants, allowing her blank mask to slip for a moment to allow a small smile to form.

While his teammates praised him, Johnny turned to side to see how the other winners were doing. Bakugo, of course, was absolutely furiously at not getting first yet again. Fuming wildly while Kirishima, Sero, and Mina all gave him resigned shrugs. As for Todoroki's group, they practically jumped for joy at their hard earned victory. Despite this, the snow white and flaming red haired boy didn't partake in their revelry. Instead he looked at his left hand, bewilderment muddling his handsome face.

"Huh… would've thought he would be the most overjoyed by this, especially after his declaration towards Midoriya…" The mere thought of the fanboy caused Johnny to peer across the war-torn battlefield before landing on a fluffy head of green. Midoriya's knelt against the floor, two craters cracking underneath his knees, letting out what could only be described as a joyful howl as relieved tears quite literally gushed like a fountain from his eyes. Uraraka patted his shoulders while both Tokoyami and Hatsume congratulated him in their own ways.

While he had no idea what his friend went through during the cavalry battle, though he could imagine quite a bit considering who had to face off against, Johnny was glad that Midoriya made it to the final event.

Tearing his gaze off the bawling fanboy, sky-blue eyes finally landed on Indigo hair. Shinso wore a satisfied smile as he walked away from his team, not giving them a second glance even as they looked around in confusion. Johnny narrowed his gaze as the dark haired youth passed him by, their eyes locking for a split second. Something flashed within Shinso's gaze, but Johnny couldn't tell what it was. Giving him a small nod, the baggy eyed boy continued on to the exit, presumably following the rest of the student body to get some lunch.

Letting out a snort, Johnny hardened his gaze as he turned to Gyro. The Italian frowned as he stared intently at Todoroki, baring his golden grills as if he were starving wolf. Or a tiger ready to pounce for the kill. Johnny could get being frustrated over losing the title for first place yet again, but this behavior was simply something else. He nearly ruined their chance to ascend to the final round just for a slim shot of obtaining the ten million headband. Infuriating didn't even begin to describe how Johnny felt about such behavior, but at the same time a question burned within him. What was driving his friend to such lengths? And considering that the last event wouldn't be ready until after lunch, there would be plenty of time for the both of them to have a long talk.


Author's Note: Hi everyone! Well, I did promise it would take me a while to make this one... and boy did it ever. Not because it was difficult to write, rather I kept getting distracted by things when I sit down to write. Like, I get ready to write, plan out my day for it, and when I do, sometimes I waste 6 hours distracting myself with Youtube! Like, I want to write, I really do, but for some reason, whenever I run into some trouble finding the right word for a sentence, I get frustrated and start screwing around. Not to mention I had to college homework and projects, which also kept me away from writing my chapter. THANKFULLY I've gotten better and was able to get on with the chapter. So yeah, sorry for that little rant there, but I will try to be better. However I had to cut a few things I planned for this chapter as the delays just kept racking up and I didn't want to make you guys wait forever. But I also didn't want to rush this either. If I'm going to write something, I'm going to make damn sure it's at least presentable for your reading pleasure!

So yeah, I sincerely apologize for the wait!

As for this chapter, I hope you guys liked it! I tried to focus on the characters that weren't nearly given a lot of screen time as much in the cavalry battle in canon. It was fun writing all the ways I could with each team and how Team Joestar managed to escape each of them.

Also I hope you guys like my original character, Galileo Hotei. He's been a character that I've created almost since the beginning of this story and, well, without getting into too much spoilers, you will get to see what's truly capable off in the TOURNAMENT! I already tried to give you a taste of what he has to offer, and a few other hints along the way, but you'll have to wait and see what I have in store for you all.

Speaking of which, the next chapter will be the start of the Tournament of the Sports Festival. Now I did say I wasn't going to do massive chapters ever since the the Stylo arc, but the next chapter will be pretty big. Why? Well, as I said before, I had to cut some content I was hoping to present in this chapter, but didn't have the time for it. I won't try to make it around 30k, but it's going to be pretty big. Though I will try to keep it reasonable paced. Also, some canon fights will be skipped from this story in favor to show off the newer material. I know that some people are going to be angry with this decision, but I don't think I can add too much to these fights, (except for a few which I WILL highlight), and will simply drag the chapter onward. Especially since I have to write Johnny's and Gyro's own match ups in the same chapter. I won't say how big they'll be either or who they'll be facing, but I will say that I'll try to make them as intense and excited as ever! So until, please look forward to that!

As for when the next chapter will be done. Probably not until late March or Late April due to the amount of College work I have to get done... Have to do a video project, a 4-5 page essay, and another 8 paged essay from three different classes respectfully. So yeah, it's going to be a ball ache to find the time to write. BUT I WILL TRY TO FIND THE TIME TO WRITE! And I'm sorry for another long wait if I go passed my deadline again. *Bows in advance*

Now for the theme behind the title: "Catwalk". This song is by the band SOUL'D OUT, a Japanese rap group and one of the FEW Japanese bands that Araki actually likes and referenced in Jojo. This song in particular also got a cover art done by Araki himself! Seeing this I knew I had to make a power that would reflect the song, which is basically how Hotei came into being. A double reference for Jojo and SOUL'D OUT in one go! So I hope you all enjoyed that little tidbit and actually guessed the name of the band when you saw the title! :3

As for review responses, I'm actually tired at the moment. I'm currently writing this at midnight at the moment and I want to finish this as soon as possible. So sorry everyone, no responses this time.

That said I will address a little thing regarding the three SPOILER CHARACTERS at the end of the last chapter. I won't say anything regarding spoilers, but I will say this: when they do show in the story, don't expect them to hijack the story from the main characters. What I mean is, they'll their time in the spot light-I won't say for how long since again that'll be spoilers or how big their roles will be-but they will get it long enough to interact with the cast. I just don't want them to overshadow the main cast since this story is focusing on the characters, themes, and settings of My Hero Academia and Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 7. I hope this made any sense and clarified a few things, if not, I apologize for all the confusion! *Bows again*

Lastly, before I end this note, I just want to say one thing... D.C. Douglas is the perfect English VA for Yoshikage Kira. Like, seriously... He's fucking spot on with his potrayal of Kira's quiet life murder mentality! It's perfection... and how do I say this... I got a boner! :P

Well I believe that wraps everything up. Thank you all for your time and I hope you all enjoyed my latest chapter! Until then, Have a nice day!

Sincerely, Count Chaos