Here we are, back at it again! Here comes the sports festival! Hope y'all are as excited about this as I am!
No delays! Act now! HERE WE GO!
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Kytheon felt his eyebrow twitch as he looked out of the door to the 1-A classroom. A huge crowd stood there, all of them peering in. He glanced at his fellow classmates before stepping forwards. As class representative, he supposed he should handle this. He stepped in front of Ochako and folded his arms, staring at the crowd.
"Why are you all gathered here? Aren't there better things to do with your time?" He asked, bluntly and right to the point. He heard Katsuki stepping up behind him.
"Scouting out the competition, Golden Boy. We made it out of the Villain attack. They probably want to check us out before the sports festival." The explosive teen stalked by him, causing him to sigh and shake his head. He looked at the crowd as Katsuki strode towards them.
"You all should get out of his way. Besides, it's not like we are doing quirk demonstrations here, so you all should move along."
"I came to see what the famous Class 1-A was like… I'm not too impressed." Kytheon's attention was drawn by a very tired looking boy with purple hair.
'Gods, is he related to Aizawa?'
"Are all of the students in the hero course like him?"
Kytheon couldn't help but laugh. "I should hope not." "Oi! What does that mean, golden boy!?" "I can't imagine the stress this school would go through." Kytheon strode forward, offering a hand to the stranger. "You have a name?"
The teen seemed to be caught a bit off guard, but ultimately shook his hand. "Hitoshi Shinso… You must be Kytheon Iora, the one nobody can stop talking about."
"I see my reputation precedes me." Kytheon said with a polite smile and a sigh.
"I'm grateful that there's someone like you, at least. I was almost disillusioned by the idea of being a hero. There are quite a few people who enrolled in general studies or other courses because they didn't make it into the hero course. You did know that, right?"
Kytheon nodded. "Despite getting the best score, the way the practical test was handled still doesn't fully sit right with me. Worthy candidates likely got pushed aside due to not standing out…" He glanced at Katsuki, who was silently fuming. "...for better or for worse. I imagine you are one such case?"
"Yes. The school has left those of us a chance. Depending on the results of the sports festival, they'll consider our transfer into the hero course."
"Which of course means transferring people out." Kytheon finished, to which Hitoshi nodded.
"Scouting out the enemy? I, at least, came to say that even if you are in the hero course, if you get too carried away, I'll sweep your feet out from under you."
Kytheon grinned. "A declaration of war? Then I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors. While I wish to see my friends here succeed, I'm not against seeing someone worthy rise to the occasion."
Once again, Hitoshi was caught off guard by this tall teen. He had expected to meet more people like the blond who seemed to be literally boiling at having been shouldered off so easily by the bronze skinned teen. He couldn't stop the small smirk from creeping onto his normally stoic face.
"OI OI! I'm from class 1-B next door!"
Kytheon turned to face the newcomer, a silver haired teen with sharp teeth not unlike Eijiro and weird detailings around his eyes. He blinked.
"I heard you fought against villains, so I came to hear about it! Don't get so full of yourself! If you bark too-" At this point, Kytheon tuned him out and stretched, glancing back into the room. Nobody had moved an inch aside from him and Katsuki, causing him to sigh. He turned back to the crowd even as Katsuki started moving through the crowd.
"OI! Are you ignoring me?!" The silver teen declared loudly, causing Kytheon to look back over at him.
"Look, man. We understand that we are the targets. We sit at the top, and you guys want to be there as well. To that I say this." He stood as straight and tall as he could, fixing the crowd with his most army-commanding stare, causing many of the students to instinctively snap to attention. "Train! Grow strong! Challenge us! While you toil and fight to try and beat us, we will not be sitting idle, waiting for you to come! We will be training ourselves so we can remain at the top!" He turned his glare up a few notches. "I want to see you all doing your best at the Festival, and may Iroas bless the worthy!" He declared, shouldering his bag and turning. He smiled as he heard the "Yes sir!" That came from the crowd and even some of his classmates.
Yep, he still had it.
He motioned for his friends to follow him as the crowd parted easily to let them pass. Izuku stared at him with no small degree of awe, and he noticed Eijiro wiping a tear from his eye. Hopefully he inspired enough of his opponents to have them put forth a good show, while also reminding his friends what was at stake here. He wanted everyone to win somewhat. People deserved the chance.
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Sure enough, everybody was training hard for the two weeks leading up to the festival. Kytheon held himself to his word, forcing himself to train even harder than ever before. He would wake up much earlier than normal to go for a run on the beach, often passing Izuku with a cheery wave. He would utilize the gym, often times doing his own workout while helping to guide some others through theirs. He had to admit, Toru was doing a pretty respectable job of trying to train herself. She was excitable for sure. The support teachers had extracted and repaired his gear he lost in the shipwreck zone during the USJ, which allowed him to get some training in with his sural. The weapon was one of the most difficult to master, and required constant training to be able to use it most effectively. While there was no guarantee he would be able to use it during the festival, he didn't want to get too rusty and forget how to entirely. In the late evenings, he would go out to the woods and practice his Hieromancy.
He always made sure to do it in solitude where no one could spy on him. He would practice his concentration, attempting to hold up his aura while simultaneously restraining an object. Then, once balance was reached, he began to move. Slowly at first, he went through some basic combat motions, before slowly speeding up the motions, and making them more complex. He closed his eyes, allowing images of the eternals to fill his head. He moved with the fluidity of a dancer, flowing from one form to the next, while directing his aura to block imaginary blows with more precision. Eventually though, the images grew too intense, too many of the blue plated zombies pressing against him, and his concentration broke, sending him to his knees and clutching his chest, lungs heaving for air. He checked the phone that Nemuri had gotten him to see the time, and smiled. Longer than before! Content with the night's work, he returned to the apartment so he could eat, do his homework, treat himself with his new hobby, and get to bed.
This easy rhythm carried him along, and within the blink of an eye, the festival was upon him.
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It was one thing to be hiding in a crowd to watch a festival such as this.
Kytheon determined it was far and beyond something else to be in it.
He found himself striding forward at the head of his classmates down the tunnel towards the bright sunlit field. He spared a glance over his shoulder at the people who were with them, and offered them a bright smile.
"First step of our futures right here! Do your best!" He declared with a grin, glad to hear the resounding cheer. He turned back around and strode out onto the field.
However, he couldn't help but frown slightly as he heard the echoing voice of Present Mic singing 1-A's praises. This wasn't just his class, this was supposed to be everybody in his grade. All of the first years were competing here, and their efforts deserved to be recognized as well.
Soon they were all gathered in front of a podium, and Kytheon felt a bit of second hand embarrassment at the sight of Midnight on the podium. Sure they weren't related, but she had become a motherly figure he never really had, and what teen wants to see their mom wearing something so… improper. Kytheon winced as he heard many of the students whispering about the outfit, and was grateful for Midnight quickly calling order.
"Representing the students is Kytheon Iora, from Class 1-A!"
Kytheon blinked, but began striding forth. He should have honestly expected that, having gotten first in the practical exam for the hero course after all. He got up to the podium, and he could feel the held breath that the stadium collectively held. He ignored the cheeky wink from Nemuri as she stepped aside, allowing him access to the microphone. He stared at it to gather his thoughts.
'Alright Kytheon. It's just like addressing the armies. Be loud. Be clear. Be concise.'
He pulled the Microphone out of the stand and turned.
"Fellow students!" The crowd hushed even further as the other first years all turned their expectant gazes towards him.
"We have all gathered here today with one purpose! To put our best foot forwards and stake our claim in the pages of history. Here is where we take the first step towards the ever-glowing dream of being a hero! I believe that every one of you has the potential to become the next All-Might. As I once came from nothing to stand before you now, there is no excuse you can bring as to why you can't be a hero. So give it your all, and go beyond your limits! Push through any obstacle in your path, and rise to ascend beyond the ordinary! And to our wonderful audience, I implore you to respect every competitor great and small! It is no easy feat to get to where we stand, and everyone has put forth tremendous effort to reach this point! And finally… To the villains out there."
There was much confused muttering at these words, everyone looking around. Kytheon smirked as he saw his face displayed on the big screen.
"To the villains out there watching this program… behold the strength of your foes. If you hide in the grass, we will cut it short and expose you. If you hide in the shadows, we will bring a light to blind you. If you face us on a battlefield, no matter the numbers, no matter the odds, we will fight, and we will win! This! This is the glorious future of Japan! We are the ones who will bring justice to the world!"
After that final declaration, there was a stunned silence that swept through the arena. Kytheon never let his confident smile waver as he put the microphone back onto the stand and began descending the stairs from the podium. Then like the cracking of thunder, the entire stadium erupted into applause. Cheers and whistles rang out from every seat, and even many of the students outside of class 1-A found themselves applauding at the rousing speech. Kytheon heaved a sigh of relief as he rejoined his classmates, Tenya crying bravo while Izuku and Eijiro clapped him on the back. He received a stoic nod from Shoto even and even Katsuki seemed to have a modicum of respect in his eyes. All of which, Kytheon counted as a win.
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"Now then! Let's get everything started right away! The first game is what you would call a 'Qualifier'! Every year, many drink their tears here!"
Kytheon winced at the declaration. "So cutthroat…"
"This year, it's…" A giant display appeared behind her, scrolling too fast to see through options until with a sudden noise it stopped on… "The Obstacle Race!"
Kytheon sighed. A race, huh? This could prove to be difficult. He wasn't exactly the fastest, but the fact that there are obstacles make it much more likely that he would be able to do well.
"...The course will be the outer circumference of this stadium- about four kilometers! Our school's selling point is freedom! As long as you stay on the course, it doesn't matter what you do!"
Kytheon sighed. He was gonna have to keep his aura up and ready for anything huh. He had a feeling that something big would happen at the bottleneck for the start of the race, so he had to make sure he would get out fast and first. As everyone began moving to their starting location, he rubbed his hands together, reaching in for the familiar feel of white mana. He strode out towards the front of the pack, students instinctively moving out of his way before rapidly trying to push in behind him to get closer to the front right off the bat. He found himself on the front line in no time and cracked his neck.
One light went out. He got down into a better starting stance.
A second went out. He began subconsciously glowing, dimly aware of the people around him.
A third light and the loud yell of Midnight rang out across the crowd.
"START!"
He plunged forward, grateful of his ability to get to the front before the race started. The entrance was far too narrow for everyone to fit through, and with everyone in such highly competitive spirits, the largest portion of the group formed an Amorphous blob.
However, Kytheon was soon aware of a cold breeze coming along and looked around. In these close quarters? Was Shoto insane? He glanced over at the teen running alongside of him, and when he saw the twitch of movement, he leapt into the air, calling the chains from the ceiling. He grabbed them and pulled with all his strength, catapulting him forwards even as Shoto used the ice to skate even faster. Unfortunately, most of his opponents were not as quick to react, and therefore a large quantity had their feet frozen to the was also aware of Momo flying along using a metal pole to keep herself off the ground, Katsuki exploding forwards with his quirk, Yuga propelling himself upwards (despite how short-lived that flight would be), and… Eijiro? Leaping through the air, Kytheon assumed, seeing as his quirk wasn't really built for mobility, but ah well.
A quick glance behind him saw that many others managed to avoid being caught by the ice, but he couldn't remain focused on that for too long. He grinned. This was a competition, right? He thrust his hand out, causing glowing chains to erupt from the ground at Shoto's feet, halting him in his tracks immediately.
"There! That should halt that for the moment!" He declared, sprinting forwards, only releasing the chains when he passed the half and half teen. But something blared a warning in his skull, and the time spent fighting on Zendikar was the only thing that allowed him to get a hasty guard set up to block the incoming blow. He was sent rolling sideways from the impact, rolling to his feet and continuing to sprint.
"Robots again? Are you serious!" He growled. And the Zero Pointers, no less. He certainly remembered how it felt to get smashed by one of those before. While most of the other racers stopped and stared, he kept running with a smirk. How fortunate for him then. He knew he could handle getting hit by these, but his opponents were clearly more hesitant.
Kytheon kept running, dodging the footsteps of the massive robots when he felt yet another cold breeze at his legs.
"Dammit Shoto, again already?" He muttered to himself. When he heard the rushing sound of the ice from the frosty hero, he leapt into the air once again, wrapping his chains around the arms of the robots. He began jumping from chain to chain, making sure to stay off of the ground as the ice coated the robots and the floor. No doubt about it, if he was still on the ground he would have been frozen as well. He heard some of the robots beginning to fall over so he dismissed the chains and hopped out of the crowd of gearhulks. He kept sprinting as fast as he could manage, though he glanced back and saw a very nonplussed looking Shoto charging after him. He could hear the cheers and bellows from within the stadium of the audience and the loudmouthed blonde teacher. However, it seemed that the recommended student was the only other one through yet. But knowing his classmates, that will change very quickly. Already he could hear explosions behind him and he grinned. He couldn't help it. Katsuki couldn't be subtle if he tried.
He saw the second obstacle coming up and sighed. Tightropes and stony pillars, huh? Man… A part of him wished Munda was here. The ambush leader of the kor troops on Zendikar was a master of using these types of environments as a blitz strategy for fighting the eldrazi. While he wasn't an expert at those tactics, and while they weren't his cup of tea, working with Munda had meant that he had to learn at least the basics.
While he wasn't proud of what his next actions would cause, he had to do it. This wasn't a war where everyone needed to make it to the end. This was a competition, like the Iroan games. And he would be doing the centaur god a disservice if he didn't do everything in his power to try and win. There were four ropes starting across the massive chasm, with hundreds of other pillars available, and a veritable maze of cables. He made a beeline for the longest he could find, diving forward and smashing a glowing fist into the ground. Then he grabbed the cable as it was pulled loose from the anchor point, and held on tight as it began a pendulum-like swing. He grimaced as the wind whipped his hair back as he thought back to all the lessons Munda gave him. While he never could get the calculations right, Munda had been impressed by Kytheon's gutsiness to do maneuvers that most sane soldiers would never try. As he came to the end of the swing, he let go of the cable, sending him flying. However, he was unable to fully right himself in the air, and started coming down at a weird angle. Reaching for his mana once more, he called out a much longer chain than usual to connect two of the pillars, landing roughly on it and jumping. He flinched.
"That was unnecessary… I am not trying that again. However…" As he began running across one of the cables as fast as he could manage without falling, he glanced back to see some of the students wholly unimpeded by his removal of a quarter of the paths. That was to be expected, but there was a much larger number slowed down by yet another bottleneck. However, he was losing ground rapidly. Sure his abilities were versatile enough to not really be hampered by the obstacles, but that didn't change the fact that he wasn't exactly the fastest of the students in the hero course, and already he was no longer at the head of the pack. He could see Katsuki above him and Shoto in front of him. Though he was heaving for air, he stumbled onto solid ground and kept running. He pushed all thoughts of exhaustion and losing from his head. He's been more exhausted than this and kept fighting. No matter what happened next, he would push through!
He rounded a corner and saw Shoto stopped. Wondering what could have stopped the Icy teen, he glanced around until he saw the massive signs. A minefield? He almost laughed. Here was his true chance to shine.
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Inside the stadium, everybody was watching with rapt attention at the screens. Some were discussing Shoto's prowess as the son of Endeavor, but many were also talking about Kytheon.
"Isn't that the teen that showed up out of nowhere several months back and took down a villain?"
"Yeah, and apparently he scored the highest on the entrance exam too! Where is he from?"
"I dunno, but look at that bod! What a man!"
"And what is his quirk? Those glowing chains are really cool!"
Present Mic had not stopped his eager coverage of the round, keeping everyone hyped and invested. "And now we have quickly arrived at the final barrier! The reality here is… that it's a minefield! It's set up so that you can tell where the mines are if you look carefully! So you have to exploit your eyes and legs! By the way, these landmines are for games, so they're not that powerful, but they're loud and flashy enough to make you wet your pants!"
"Depending on the person." Aizawa chimed in.
"But what's this? While Todoroki has slowed down, Iora has not stopped! And he seems to be glowing! What do you think, Aizawa?"
"Kytheon is one of the strongest students in the hero course without a doubt. His quirk is insanely versatile and even he hasn't explored his full potential yet. There is no doubt that he barely views this as an obstacle, as you will likely soon see."
The audience watched with bated breath as Kytheon charged straight into the minefield without hesitation, planting his foot squarely on a mine. He heard the click and the ensuing explosion, his aura flaring with brilliant light as he angled his body just so, causing the explosion to send him flying forwards. As he came down, he angled his body again, planting his foot right in the middle of another mine, detonating it and sending him flying forward.
"WOW! Iora has turned an obstacle into an advantage! He's now rocketing into first place, using the very things that are slowing everyone else down! What a powerful quirk that's allowing him to do this! What can't it do? But can he keep himself far enough in the lead?!"
The crowd was bellowing with approval, but Kytheon couldn't hear anything. The explosions were deafening, so all he could do was focus on the sound of his beating heart and the pumping of adrenaline in his veins. He was dimly aware of the sound of a massive explosion behind him, but that didn't matter. With one more strongly planted foot, he flung himself out of the minefield and a short ways down the track. He landed but tripped, tumbling through a somersault. Determined to not make a fool of himself, he rolled to his feet and quickly began running again.
'It's only a matter of time before the others clear the field, so I need to build up as much of a lead as possible…. I'm practically tapped out of energy from this sprinting, but I can not stop now! Iroas, I know you aren't here, but bless me with your strength to keep going and win this in your name!'
He knew that he wasn't alone on this final sprint. He could feel the presence of several others around him, slowly pulling forward. He pushed as much of his energy as he could into his legs, trying his hardest to keep going. The world was fading away around him once more, his pulse pounding in his ears as the thrill of competition flowed through every muscle. He had never had the time or the ability to relax and compete before. He always had somewhere to be, something to do, another galactic level threat to take care of. But now… now he could understand the emotions of those competitors in the games he used to watch as a kid. He wanted to win. He loved the sensations throughout his body. He could not stop the laughter that was bubbling in his chest even as he dimly saw the others around him pulling ahead by inches. Sure he wouldn't come in first for this race. He didn't expect to. But by the gods was he having the time of his life.
"IT'S NECK AND NECK! WHO WILL BE THE FIRST ONE ACROSS THE LINE AT THE CONCLUSION OF THIS INTENSE RACE? EVERYONE IS ON THE EDGE OF THEIR SEATS! AND THE FIRST ONE BACK IS… IZUKU MIDORIYA! WHAT AN UPSET! DESPITE KYTHEON IORA AND SHOTO TODOROKI HOLDING THE LEAD FOR MUCH OF THE RACE, IT'S MIDORIYA WHO CROSSES THE FINISH LINE FIRST!"
Kytheon stumbled across the lines and put hi hands on his knees, breathing fast and hard before pushing himself upright. He stumbled forward and clapped a heavy hand on Izuku's shoulder.
"Holy crap man, where did you come from? That was impressive! And not to mention your body is intact! Good show, good show!" He said, laughing as Izuku turned and smiled at him with tears in his eyes.
"I… I did it!"
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"Now, let's take a look at the results!"
Kytheon stood tall with his hands behind his head, taking deep breaths to recuperate his body as fast as possible as he turned to look at the scoreboard. He smirked to himself. Boy was it neck and neck, with both him and Katsuki tying for third, just coming behind Shoto and Izuku.
"Only the top 42 will be making it into the next round! It's unfortunate, but don't worry even if you didn't make it! We've prepared other chances for you to shine. The real competition begins next!"
Kytheon snorted quietly to himself. "That wasn't real competition? What were you watching Nemuri?"
The wheel was spinning, and Kytheon ignored his guardian's… odd antics as he became used to them a while back. "Cavalry battle, huh?"
"The participants can form teams of two to four people as they wish. It's basically the same as a regular cavalry battle, but the one thing that's different is that based on the results of the last game, each person has been assigned a point value. The points assigned go up by five, starting from the bottom. And the point value assigned to first place is… Ten Million!"
Kytheon nearly burst out in laughter. He clapped a hand on Izuku's shoulder. "I don't envy you the headache you're gonna have…" He said with a smirk and a shake of his head.
"In other words, if you take down the first place player's team, you can stand at the top no matter what place you're in! It's survival of the fittest, with a chance for those at the bottom to overthrow the top!"
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Kytheon wasn't sure how he got roped into the current squad, but he had a pretty good feeling as to why. He glanced between his three other teammates and smiled.
"Look at this team. We are gonna do great." He said confidently. "Granted, we will have the second most cumulative points by nature, but everyone is going for the same target, right?"
Shoto, Momo, and Tenya all nodded at the broad-shouldered teen. Kytheon smiled. "Then, thinking logically, If we were to gather enough headbands, we would be guaranteed to pass to the next round, though not necessarily in first. I know you all want to get Izuku's band and guarantee our passage into the next round, but if you think about it, everybody will be trying to get his as well, and we would be right in the middle of a lot of people who want our headband as well. So what we should do is lurk around the outside and gather as many headbands as possible. As long as we have the most headbands along with our own, then it should be no issue of getting to the next challenge, right?"
"I suppose that makes sense…" Momo said, while Tenya nodded. Shoto tilted his head. Kytheon turned to him.
"Shoto… I heard you in the locker room. I know you have declared war on Izuku. But in this fight, it is a battle of teamwork. I know him, he is a strategist at heart, and has doubtlessly come up with one hell of a plan to defend his title. One on one, I agree you are stronger than him. But with preparation, anyone can overcome a vast power gap. I know this very very well. Please, just listen to me this one time, alright?"
"On one condition… If we get the chance, we take his headband."
Kytheon smiled. "Oh of course. If we get the opportunity of course we will take it. I'm not an idiot. That many points are way too much to give up. But as soon as we do, we switch into defense mode immediately. Understood?"
"Right."
"Now here's my plan for how we will be arranged. Rather than one person in front and two in back supporting, we will go with a more unconventional two in front and one at the back. Momo, you will be the rider. Can you make a light framework for you to sit on and for the three of us to connect?"
"Yeah, but why are we going to be organized like this?"
"We will have Tenya at the back. The frame will make it so that when people come at us from behind, he can activate his quirk and get us out of danger. Understood Tenya?"
"Right!"
"Then Shoto, you and I will be at the front. It is our job to be the most powerful shield. While we are unable to do any attacks that will guarantee to make the enemy teams fall down, they said nothing about complete restrainment. With your ice and my chains, we can lock down a whole team on either side, and Momo can make something to steal the headbands. Not to mention no one will be able to approach from the front seeing the two of us on the front line. So that leaves their only feasible option to be an assault from the rear, but that is why Tenya is at the back. Does everything make sense?"
His team nodded. Kytheon grinned. "Alright, let's give Momo some cover so she can get to work, then we need to brace ourselves. We can't delude ourselves into thinking this will be too easy."
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Kytheon shifted under the frame that Momo had managed to assemble in record time. She was an absolute savant with her quirk, and they were all prepared to win. Everybody had their roles memorized, and Kytheon was already looking around at the other teams. It seemed Izuku had managed to rope some unfortunate saps in to help him out, with Kytheon did not envy. He shared a glance with the other members of his squadron.
"Alright. Remember, communication is key. If you see something, call it out. We can not afford to have our party split."
With 720 points on their headband, they were certainly the second highest target. And as Present Mic counted down, Kytheon gritted his teeth. This was a unique challenge, that was for sure. And it was completely necessary to pass this to get to the tournament next.
The challenge started, and with a thunderous roar, nearly everyone charged straight at Izuku's team. However, Kytheon saw that they were not the only team not charging directly in towards Izuku. Another party with some blond guy were running around, and he saw the guy snatch Toru's headband away with an expert grab.
"Right side!" He heard called out from Tenya, and Kytheon turned to look as a team ran towards the now flying Izuku. Kytheon grinned and threw his free hand out, a large mass of glowing chains rising up and wrapping around them. Completely immobilized, the team could only watch in horror as Momo created a pole with a hook on the end, looping it through the headband and pulling it back, adding a new number of points to their total.
"Alright! We've got this!" He declared, even as a call from Shoto and a wave of cold signified the stopping of another team, and the triumphant cry from Momo signified another headband received.
They continued along this path, Kytheon noticing that the blond guy was getting a lot more headbands in the process, and hearing from the press box, he knew that he was not the only one with the same strategy. Looking around, he saw that less people were going after Izuku and more focused on getting each other's headbands back to try and assemble some points with only half the time left on the timer. He turned to Todoroki, who nodded.
"Momo, get ready. We're fishing for the big one now." He said. "But we need to keep an eye out for any of the class B kids. They want us torn down a peg, and we can't allow that. Let's go!" He said, him and Shoto charging at Izuku.
"Tenya! Boost! Shoto and Momo! You guys go on the offensive. We have company approaching from my side, I'll fend them off while you guys focus on getting the headband!" Kytheon declared, stepping into the role of commander once more. He glanced over at Tsuyu, Mezo, and Denki, who were all coming in from the left. They were actually a rather large threat to their team, what with the frame they were using being metal and Tsu's incredible reach. That's why he had to act fast. He channeled his power into his team, causing all four members to glow brightly as they blasted towards Izuku at high speeds. Meanwhile, he waited until the other team got close, in fact there were a lot of teams closing in on all sides.
"Wait! Change of plans, the situation has shifted! Shoto! Switch with me!" He yelled, lifting the frame up. Even as they ran, they shifted around so Shoto was now on the right and Kytheon on the left. "I can't stop all of those teams with my quirk, you'll have to do it with yours! I'll lock down Izuku's squad! Get ready!" He declared as they all began to close in.
"NOW!"
Shoto twisted to get his left side closer to the other teams and with a huge wave of cold, a massive sheet of ice formed, freezing their opponents to the ground. Shoto's eyes widened, however, as he didn't feel the usual plummet in temperature on his left side. Was this that weird glowing aura Kytheon was using on him? Despite intending to keep the ice just along the ground, The ice he produced was waist high all the way across, catching several who tried to jump over it! He spared a quick glance towards the bronze skinned teammate. What on earth was his power? He can erase or enhance quirks, not to mention his apparent indestructibility? Something was not right here…
Kytheon had no time to think about that. While the enemies were frozen, Momo acted quickly and swung her staff out, looping it around several headbands and pulling them in towards herself. "Thank you guys!" She called out cheerfully.
Kytheon smiled as he saw Dark shadow rise up in front of him. Thanks to Tenya, they were catching up, and something seemed to be going wrong with whatever they were using to fly with before. Maybe Uraraka reaching her limit? Who knows, but dark shadow was in the way of this.
"Sorry Izuku! We can't let you have this victory!" He called out, reaching out a hand. Glowing chains rose from the ground, causing Dark shadow to screech and shrink back, hiding in Tokoyami before they could wrap around him. He could see Fumikage flinch as well and he seemed to be conversing with Izuku. That gave Kytheon an idea. "Momo! When you go for the headband, I'll channel my power through you at the last second. Fumikage's power seems to react horribly to it, so when they rely on him for defense, my power will catch them off guard and give us the chance to snatch it away! Understood?"
"Got it!" She said, starting to generate a longer pole from her shoulder as Shoto created an alleyway to prevent Izuku's team from running. A push on his shoulder from the frame told him that Tenya was pushing himself even faster towards their target.
"We only have a minute left guys! You won't really have me after this, so make sure you get it!" Tenya declared, as Kytheon felt the push grow even stronger as he heard a whirring from behind him. A quick shared glance at Shoto and soon the floor was completely coated in a very thin layer of ice to remove the friction so they wouldn't trip and stop Tenya.
"Hold on tight!"
With a sudden blast of speed and a shout of "RECIPRO BURST!" they were sent rocketing, faster than they could think. It was only just barely that Momo was able to reach out and grab the headband from Izuku at the last possible second, Tenya twisting so that the team wouldn't shoot out the side of the course. They came to a stop and the whole team froze, Shoto and Kytheon sharing a wide-eyed stare of 'the hell was that?'
"By forcing the torque and rotations to increase, I created an explosive power…" Tenya panted. "But with the recoil, my engine stalls after a while. It's a move I kept secret from the class."
"Very well. Defensive mode now!" Kytheon bellowed, twisting around, forcing Tenya behind him and Shota. "We need to focus now on protecting our headbands from them…. Wait! What is that?" He asked, pointing. Momo gasped.
"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! When we blew past them, I think he managed to take one of the other headbands around our neck by sheer luck!" Momo yelled, sounding almost close to tears.
"Doesn't matter Momo! We got the most important one, all the rest are redundant at this point! Even amassing every other headband wouldn't equate to this number! Now brace yourself, they're coming!"
He saw them charging forward, and with nowhere left to run, They had to make a final stand. But Kytheon's eyes widened when he saw Izuku's arm starting to glow with energy. "Oh no…. I can't let you!" He bellowed, His body flashing with bright light and an enormous bundle of chains erupted from the ground around the enemies' feet. He heard the harsh scream of Dark shadow as the chains easily tore through his body, sending him reeling back into Tokoyami, who slammed into the immovable chains. The bundle slammed inwards, causing the entire opposing pile of students to stumble as if they were carrying a metric ton of weight, and Kytheon saw the energy leave Izuku's arm. With all four quirks erased, they staggered to a halt. But Kytheon's head whirled at the sound of an angry explosion, and his eyes widened as he saw a flying Katsuki Bakugo come flying after them. Everything seemed to slow. Everyone hung still for a moment before a loud bellow set Kytheon's heart at ease.
"TIME'S UP!"
He let out a breath he had been holding, looking over at his teammates, who were all smiling.
"We did it!"
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Wow, that was an interesting struggle for me to try and write. Whenever you introduce an entirely new character and replace an old character, especially two vastly different ones like Mineta and Kytheon, things are bound to change in the canon. Which then makes it very hard to use the canon as a resource, especially with characters I am not the best at writing. As a result, I wanted to skip the cavalry battle, but with the changes I had made, that just wouldn't make much sense. I feel like this chapter could have been written vastly better by someone who knows the MHA cast much better than I do, but alas, I am the one writing this story. I hope it lived up to expectations! I'm not sure how many chapters I am going to make the tournament last for, but we shall see as we go.
And now to reviews!
On the latest chapter, I have noticed even more of you asking for other MTG characters to show up in the story, while giving me some ideas for who. Now, the only ones I can really think of that Kytheon himself has met is Dack and Domri, so I may consider putting them in during a later chapter, but the other I was thinking of would be Xenagos. While Kytheon never met Xenagos, the satyr did manage to become a Therosian god for a short while. So there could be some interesting parallels there to explore. Long story short, I'm considering it, more than I was before.
And to the Communist Banana, don't worry, you're not an asshole. I can understand why you would be under the impression of Kytheon not getting injured. However, in my research of his character, I came across a very interesting bit of information. As it turns out, his indestructibility is not a permanent coating of his body, nor does it lie in his skin. Instead, it is more virtual invulnerability. He can, to a certain extent, predict his opponents' attacks, and anything he can't dodge or block with his shield, he moves his aura to block. He expressly states that that's the reason he hates fighting the eldrazi so much: They're unpredictable. He can't read their moves nearly as clearly, and as a result he has gotten injured by some spawn from time to time. Not to mention that at one point in Ravnica, Krenko of all people shivved him in the leg twice. So the surgery is not out of the question. If a goblin can cut him while he is awake, a surgeon could certainly cut him when he's asleep. And while he has taken hits from larger things like an Ulamog tentacle, It struck him in the chest, pushing him back against a floating rock that he was braced against. Blows to the head are actually something that Kytheon really doesn't deal with in any story, surprisingly enough. And to claim that he is immune to physics would be a bit much. If your head whips around, your brain will move around. It is suspended in liquid after all.
So while I appreciate the calm and polite way you approached the issue, I respectfully disagree with your claim. But thank you for leaving such a concern in the comments!
Anyways! To everyone, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I got this one out much quicker than the last, so I hope that it means I'll have an uptick in productivity! See y'all in the next chapter!