"The first game for the first years is finally over, and what a game it was!" Midnight announced. "Now let's take a quick look at the standings, shall we?" As everyone turned to the monitors that displayed the rankings, Pan's jaw dropped. As they already knew, Midoriya came in first place, with Todoroki at second, herself at third, Bulla at fourth, and Bakugo at fifth.
However, to Pan's surprise, a couple of her classmates had fallen behind. "What happened to Tetsutetsu and Shiozaki?!"
"The small one from Class 1A had entrapped us with those sticky orbs of his." Shiozaki explained.
"Yeah, the runt had us stuck at the first obstacle for the longest! We barely managed to catch up." Tetsutetsu yelled as Mineta snickered to himself, overhearing the commotion from his own class formation. "I'm squash him like a bug when I get my hands on him!"
"Only the top 42 will advance to the next round, but don't be too let down if you didn't make the cut! We've prepared other opportunities for you to shine." Midnight explained as she licked her lips. "Now the real fun is about to begin. The chance to fully move yourselves into the limelight. Give it your best!" With the crack of her whip, the image displayed on the screen behind her began to spin once again. "Let's see what we have in store for you next! Will your wildest fantasies come to life? What could it be? The waiting is torture!" As she adjusted his mask, she reached her hand out to screen, almost as if gesturing for it to halt. "Prepare yourselves...for this!"
"Cavalry battle?" Bulla said. "What is that?"
"Allow me to explain. The participants will form teams of two-to-four people as they see fit. In theory, it's basically the same as a regular playground game. But there is one difference. Each player has been assigned a point value based on the results from the obstacle course. Because of this, each team will have a different point value based on which students are on it. The points assigned go up by increments of five, starting from the bottom. However, the number of points assigned to first place will be..." With a crack of her whip once again, all eyes widened. "Ten million!"
"Ten..." Bulla said to herself.
"Million..." Pan followed as every pair of eyes from Classes 1A and 1B were now fixated on Izuku Midoriya.
"That's right. It's survival of the fittest, with a chance for those at the bottom to overthrow the top! Now then, first years! These are the rules that you'll abide by: The game itself will last 15 minutes. Individual point values will be added together to reach your team total. Everyone will know how much you're worth thanks to your headbands." She explained as the visual aid featured All Might, Present Mic, and Thirteen. "Swipe as many headbands as you can to raise your team's score. Stolen headbands must be worn from the neck up. So the more you steal, the harder it'll be to manage them. And another thing, even if your headband gets stolen or your team falls down, you can keep playing until time's up! This is going to be tough, but you may use your Quirks as much as you'd like! However, there are still rules! Make a team fall on purpose and I'll slap you with a red card. You'll be disqualified!" As the image on the screen switched to a timer, Midnight finished her explanation. "Now, you've got fifteen minutes to build your teams. I recommend you get started!"
The class formations dispersed, and the 42 contestants that were still in the game began to bundle around specific people: Son, Bakugo, and Brief. "Hey, you need me on your team!" Hagakure suddenly said.
"I think I'd be able to help, Class Rep!" Mineta followed.
"Some muscle will probably do you some good!" Sato continued, holding a hand on his flexed bicep.
"I'm sorry, guys, but I'm pretty set on who I want." She told them as she began to look around. Setting her eyes on one of the three people she wanted, she ran through the crowd and made sure to catch up with him. "Aoyama! I could really use you for my team!" She said to him, pulling him from the crowd around Bakugo.
"B-But- Mademoiselle!?" He said in shock.
"Hey, Bulla!" She heard from behind as she turned with a smile.
"As if on cue!" Bulla raised her hand, and without even taking a second to think, Pan raised hers and high-fived her friend before looking at Aoyama, who was bent over and clutching his stomach.
"This guy? Really?" Pan asked, putting her hands on her hips.
"Hey, trust me. Besides, it won't be the craziest idea I've had. After all, I know who I want our front-runner to be." She told Pan with a nervous smile. "But first, what do you say, Aoyama? Will you be the right wing of Team Son?"
"Oui, it'd be an honor, Mademoiselles!" He said as he took a moment to recover, making his best effort to endure his stomach ache.
"You'll be alright for the cavalry battle, won't you?" Pan asked him.
With a nod, he held a thumbs up. "These fifteen minutes are exactly what I need. Très magnifique."
Without wasting much time, Bulla grabbed Pan and Aoyama's wrists and dragged them over to her final choice, much to Pan's surprise. "Him?!"
"Shinso, right?!" Bulla said with a wide smile.
"What do you want?" The boy with tired eyes asked her as he turned around from his fish-eyed friend.
"I want you to join our team!" She said with excitement.
"Bulla, hold on!" Pan told her as she turned her by her shoulder. "We don't even know what his Quirk is, and he's from General Studies, remember?!"
"Exactly! He's the only one from General Studies! Doesn't that sound a little suspicious? Like 'I'm actually super powerful' kind of suspicious?" She explained, hoping to convince her close friend.
Looking over Bulla's shoulder, Pan allowed their eyes to meet once again. "And you're sure about this? About them?"
"I am! I'll treat you to some crepes if things don't go well, alright?" Bulla told her, pressing her hands on both her shoulders.
With a moment of silence, followed by a long sigh, Pan finally made her verdict. "Fine."
"Yes! Thank you, Pan, you won't be disappointed!" Bulla wrapped her arms around her friend and turned back to Shinso.
"What was it you were saying? You want me on your team?" He clarified.
"That's right! With my and Aoyama's lasers on the left and right wings respectively, and your sturdy figure on the front, I think we can brute force our way through any attacks!" She explained with the happiest expression.
"Well, I don't have much reason to deny an offer from two of the top five, especially when one of the two is the Class Representative who stood against a villain that was boasted to be as strong as All Might, but I have to say that I'm a little worried about defense." Shinso reminded them, raising his hand and clenching it into a fist.
"Pan's Quirk is Flight, as long as she doesn't fall, maneuvers in the air should be fair game. If not, I can fire pinpoint attacks to keep oncoming opponents at a distance!" She continued as Shinso closed his eyes.
With a slight smile, he opened his eyes and looked towards his team. "Well, I'm sold. I'll join your team as the front horse."
"That's awesome!" Bulla said as the team assembled, preparing for the countdown to end.
"Oh, goody. It's time to get this party started." Midnight announced as she stretched her arms.
"After fifteen minutes to pick teammates and talk strategy, twelve cavalry teams are preparing to go head-to-head!"
"I some unexpected student combinations." Aizawa said following Present Mic's commentary.
"Come on! Everyone get your hands in the air! It's time for an arena-thumping UA battle-royale! Let me hear ya scream!" Present Mic called out as the crowd began to roar and the monitors in the stadium read 'Ready'. "Alright all you first years! I hope you're happy with your chosen teams!"
The headband around Pan's forehead read '475,' the combined total for their team. Although it wasn't the highest, it certainly wasn't the lowest, remaining in the top half of the team scores. "With this and one or two other headbands, we might be able to stay safe from the get-go!" Pan told them with a confident smile."
"Let's get this party started! One final countdown before the game starts!" Present Mic announced as Pan and Bulla rolled their eyes, both girls growing tired of the constant countdowns.
"Three!" Looking around, the Pan tried to take into account who was near them, as well as who was the most likely targets. Team Tetsutetsu, Team Kamakiri, Team Bakugo, Team Todoroki, and Team Hagakure we all focused on Team Midoriya, glaring daggers towards them .
"Two!"
"I can see several teams that'll start by going for Team Midoriya. They're on the other side of the field, but if they stay narrow-minded, we might be able to pass by and swipe their headbands if we cross paths!" Pan told her team.
"One!"
"Alright, Shinso, Aoyama, let's do this! I chose the two of you for a reason!" Bulla told her team encouragingly.
"I hear you." Shinso said with a smile.
"Oui, you can count on me, Brief. My sparkle will blind our enemies and illuminate our victory!" Aoyama followed.
"Now's not the time to be making me laugh, Aoyama!" Bulla told him with a wide smile.
"Begin!"