Disclaimer: Boku no Hero Academia characters and plot events belongs to Horikoshi Kohei.

To Be a Hero

the enemy of my enemy

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"What were you talking about with Todoroki-kun back there?" Uraraka asked with wide eyes as they made their way back towards where everyone else was gathered.

"I just congratulated him," Shiro said. It was the truth anyway, but it was just that the bicolor haired male didn't accept it. The girl nodded without further question as her face lit up.

"Ah! I need to congratulate you, too! You and Deku-kun were so awesome! I'm actually kinda mad at myself!"

Shiro patted the girl's back with encouragement as Midnight stepped up to the stage again with the results of the obstacle race. There was no doubt that the rosy cheeked girl made it in the top and would be going onto the next round; actually, she believed that her whole class did pretty well. As the R Rated hero listed off the names, her speculation proved to be true. She was bewildered to find that right after Bakugou, two people from class 1-B had managed to snag the top spots and quite a few of them made it to the top 42. That only confirmed that the other class shouldn't be taken lightly.

"The top 42 made it to the next round," Midnight congratulated. "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! The press cavalry'll be all over it!"

Cavalry? That's an odd way to put it...

"Aisaka-san," Ojiro whispered from behind the girl. He scratched his cheek meekly as she twisted her head back to look at him. "Even though you placed second, I heard you were really close to getting first... That's awesome! I managed to place 11th, but I feel like I was overshadowed by the flashier Quirks..."

"Ojiro-san," she stared at him. "You made it to the next round. That means you can improve."

He blinked at her matter-of-fact attitude. She wasn't wavering. "...You're right. Then I'll definitely show them my strength this time!" he answered with a light chuckle, and it prompted a small smile from the girl.

"Now then, here is the second game. I already know what it is, but what could it be? What could it be?" the hero taunted sadistically, making everyone gulp with the build-up of suspense. She then slapped her flogger down definitively, "I just said it, and now..."

The generator started to slow its roll, but Shiro already had an inkling of what it was going to be from the hero's hint. A cavalry battle, huh?

"...here it is!" The screen before them flashed, and Midnight pointed to the next game with a grin. It was indeed a cavalry battle. "Let me explain. 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... Based on the results of the last game, each person has been assigned a point value!"

A point-based system like the entrance exam? Shiro thought deeply as those around her started to chatter. Hmmm...

"That's easy to understand at least..."

"In other words, each team is worth different points depending on who's on the team!"

"Ah, I see what you mean!"

"Oi!" Midnight slapped her flogger down at the front row of students who started talking. "You guys don't hold back even though I'm talking, huh?!" she silenced them before going back to explaining. "But yes, that's right! The points assigned go up by five starting from the very bottom!"

Shiro realized that this was to make choosing a team that much harder, since you have to think about the amount of points you want to start off with versus the the type of people you want on your team—and the two might be on opposite ends of the spectrum. However, she already knows one person she wanted on her team regardless of the points.

"So the 42nd gets five points, the 41st gets 10 points! And the point value assigned to first place is... 10 million!"

10... MILLION?

At that staggering number, everyone's eyes suddenly zeroed in on the curly haired first place winner with plotting expressions. Shiro realized how close it was for that to be her... And she knew what everyone was thinking. If you take down the first player's team, it didn't matter how many points you start off with. You'll be guaranteed a win.

"That's right," Midnight licked her lips with an excited blush on her face. "It's survival of the fittest, with a chance for those at the bottom to overthrow the top!"

"Are you sure...?"

"Yes," Shiro nodded confidently despite the male's skeptical response. "There's no one else I'd rather partner with for this!"

At her bold declaration, Ojiro blushed deeply and nodded. "Alright. I will do my best!"

"Great!" she gave him a relieved smile before looking around the field. Midnight had given them 15 minutes to form their groups, and while the hero said a two-person group was fine, Shiro felt that having more people wouldn't hurt. But who else should we ask?

"Maybe we should split up and each find someone?"

"Sure. Let's meet back here in 5 minutes, then," he offered as she gave him a nod before taking off. With a grin on his face, he turned around to the other direction to only accidently bump into someone. "Oh, sorry..."

"Are you trying to find another member?"

"Yes, but—" Ojiro started to answer before he fell silent.

"Perfect. Put me on your team," Shinso said as the male nodded listlessly.

Looking around the field, Shiro can see that many people have already found their groups or are searching for one more person. Seeing a crowd of her classmates, she lightened up and walked towards them.

"Team up with me!" Sato said, pointing to himself confidently. Mina cut in with a pout.

"What? Bakugou, team up with me!"

"Don't you want to team up with me?" Aoyama said shakily. He hadn't quite recovered from using his Quirk too much during the obstacle course. Despite that, he was adamant that the other blonde would choose him.

Bakugou regarded them all with a pointed look of confusion. "I don't know what Quirks you all have! What?!" he barked honestly before his red eyes narrowed on the familiar girl who was walking up to see what the crowd was about. "Pigtails—!"

"I'm not interested in being on your team," she immediately rejected, shocking everyone around her.

"Ha?! Who the hell said anything about teaming up with you?!" Bakugou's eyes twitched irritably at her accusation. He was also quite offended that she'd reject him if he had intended to pick her. "I plan on coming for you after I get that shitty Deku's 10 million points!"

"Only if you can," she flashed him a challenging smirk, causing him to become even more irritated. "Anyway, I'm looking for another person to be on my team."

Those around the blonde suddenly turned to her with hopeful looks on their faces; if Bakugou didn't want to partner up, then Shiro was as good as anyone else. With her Quirk, she can decrease the chances of her headband being stolen while increase the chances of stealing other team's headbands. It was a double-whammy!

"Shiro-chan, pick me!"

"No way! If anything, I would be a better choice!"

Shiro knew that this round was a test of strategy and how well you can work with your team members, so rather than looking at points, she was only going to find those who will aid in her plan. Sato would be a good choice because of his strength, but she already had Ojiro. Hagakure, while useful because she was invisible, would only work if she was the rider. Mina's acid Quirk worked well on ice, so if she were to go up against Todoroki, she would be a strong alley. But if she considered all of her opponents, she needed someone with a Quirk that was long-ranged for safety measures or someone who could withstand a lot of attack.

"Hey!" Kirishima was running up to them. "Todoroki chose his team already!"

"Kirishima-san," she immediately walked up to him, finding that he was the perfect person that she described as a solid defense. "Will you be on my team?"

"Eh?!"

"Shiro-chan!"

The redhead, while flattered that the girl wanted him out of all people, could only rub his head sheepishly. "Sorry, Shiro-chan..." he apologized when she stared at him, nonplussed. "You inspired me to do better! With you taking second place so coolly like that... I can't do better than you if I'm on your team. I have to prove myself! And actually, I came to get Bakugou to team up with me!" he admitted. Both the blonde in question and Shiro looked completely offended.

"Hedgehog Hair..." he muttered with a twitch of his eye. "Are you fucking suggesting that I'm weaker than Pigtails?!"

"He chose... Prickhead over me...?" Shiro mumbled to herself, her legs buckling as she fell to the ground. She never thought she'd feel so betrayed and defeated by Kirishima of all people.

"I'm Kirishima! At least try to remember!" Kirishima yelled at Bakugou before turning to console the girl. However, Aoyama was already to it as he set a hand on Shiro's shoulder, his face showing less discomfort now that his stomachache subsided.

"Just pick me. I shine brighter than all of them."

"What kind of encouragement was that?!"

But curiously, the flamboyant male's words did make Shiro blink back her blow of pride. She stood back up with resolve.

"Aoyama-san... You're in."

The entire time that Shiro was walking back to meet up with Ojiro, Aoyama could not stop sparkling.

"With me on your team, the scouts will not be able to tear their eyes off!" he boasted, a hand coming up to support his head coolly. "Especially as a rider—I'll be the star shinning brightly on top!"

"Aoyama-san, for this team to work with the most effectiveness, I have to be the rider," Shiro laid it to the male straight. He could definitely tone it down with the self-praises, but she found him to be a strong alley because his Quirk had great firing power and it was long-ranged like she wanted. "But don't worry. You'll still be front and center."

"A very fitting role for someone like me who stands out!" he exaggerated, proving that it hadn't wavered his spirit or his overweening importance. "Ne, who else is on this dazzling team?"

"Ojiro-san..." she trailed off when she caught sight of the male standing at the exact same spot that they were to meet up at. She picked up her pace with Aoyama running behind her. "Ojiro-san! Did you find anyone?"

The blonde turned to face her and she grew confused why he had such a blank look in his eyes. However, he nodded at her question and a familiar male sporting a mess of purple hair stepped towards her.

"That would be me," he told her with his baggy eyes staring into her ruby orbs unwaveringly. "We meet again. I finally know your name this time, Aisaka Shiragiku."

"...Shinso-san!" she blinked with surprise. She hadn't expected Ojiro to recruit the guy who declared war on class 1-A, or the fact that the guy would want to join a team full of them. It's not necessarily a bad thing, though.

"Aren't you the guy who declared war on us? Ne, what's your motive?" Aoyama asked quite straightforwardly, though on his face still sported that good-natured grin.

I thought he was just an idiot, but he's actually observant, Shinso thought. Staring at the two before him with a bored look, he decided to quickly do what he needed so that he didn't have to deal with them anymore. He opened his mouth as his Quirk activated secretly.

"I don't know your reasoning..." Shiro accidentally cut him off before he could speak when she broke out of her own thoughts. "But, welcome to the team," she said and extended out her hand.

Shinso took it attentively as his Quirk deactivated again. She just trusted me like that...? If I had known, then I wouldn't have needed to use that on him. Oh well...

"We don't know him or his Quirk," Aoyama supplied again as he posed extravagantly. "How do you know if he will be compatible with us?"

"Why not? All Quirks are different," the girl answered simply. "However, they hold the same principle. No matter what the ability may be, there'll always be a way to use it beneficially as long as you can find that niche."

Shinso was completely stunned at her words. What she said brought him back to the day of the entrance exam when he first met her and had felt the same feeling of connection. It was here again today. Class 1-A aren't all full of arrogant people after all.

"Anyway, since you wanted to join us, do you have something in mind, Shinso-san?"

"Let's hear out your strategy first," he prompted.

"Sure," she shrugged, finalizing the plan as she faced her new team. "Here's the formation. As the rider, I'll be the eyes of the team and give out directions if we need to change courses. Ojiro-san will be the right wing, keeping the enemy away with his tail as defense and as well as jumping power when we need it. Aoyama-san will be in front—"

"As the star," the blonde interjected with a sparkle in his eye.

"—as the main source for speed boosting and attacking power," she continued without missing a beat. "Shinso-san, that means you'll be the left wing. I need to know your Quirk, though, so I can figure out what you can do."

"I know what I can do with my Quirk on my own," he merely stated, not giving a clue to what his Quirk was.

If he's that confident about it, then okay... Shiro thought before nodding. "As for what I was thinking... Midoriya-san will for sure be employing a flight response rather than staying to fight. Everyone will be targeting him, so we will need to get to him first. This is why Aoyama-san's navel laser will come in handy along with Ojiro-san's hit-and-run technique," she finalized as she turned to the purple haired male. "Do you have anything to add?"

She's quite intelligent, but... Shinso regarded her coolly. "In fact, yes. I have a better idea."

"All right! You've made your teams, right?! No? Well, I'm not asking if you're ready! Now let's go!"

Present Mic announced as the 15 minutes of planning were up, signaling that the cavalry game was soon starting. Everyone was done picking their teams and gathered around with their new accumulated points.

"Counting down the brutal battle royal! Three..."

With 450 points around her forehead, Shiro's team was currently placed fifth in terms of point placement.

"Two..."

"To aim for the top..." her ruby eyes locked with Midoriya's wide green ones. "Shinso-san, we'll go with what you suggested..."

"One!"

Midnight raised her flogger, "Start!"

Everyone immediately ran towards Team Midoriya as they zeroed in his 10 million-point headband. Curiously, Shiro's team lagged behind the rest.

"So what do you think, Mummy Man?" Present Mic addressed his companion, his voice projecting throughout the entire stadium as the teams below were in a frenzy of clusters around Midoriya for obvious reasons. "How are the teams doing so far?"

"You're the one doing the play-by-play," Aizawa stated offhandedly. Though, his eyes focused on Shiro's team. It looked like she started off not joining in on the fray, and he immediately saw through her first strategy with approval.

"Many teams are choosing to go for the biggest prize, but of course, 10 million isn't that easy to obtain when everyone is after it."

"Huh, so what could that mean, Mummy Man?!"

"It's obvious. While those teams are all butting heads..."

Aizawa smirked, though the Voice hero couldn't see it through the bandages. Below, Shiro's team was circling the teams that were too focused with gathering around Midoriya; like a wolf that had rounded up a herd of sheep, she was waiting.

"It opens up opportunity for the patient ones to strike."

Shiro reached over and ripped the 225-point headband off of Team Kodai, her right eye spinning. "Now!" she shouted.

Before their opponents could counterattack with a glue hardening Quirk, her team jumped away with the added strength from Ojiro and Aoyama used his navel laser to propel them away with ease. "Sparkle!" the blonde winked.

Securing the headband around her neck, she focused on another team to strike. So far, her team has managed to steal two headbands: 70 points from Team Tsunotori and the 225 points from Team Kodai.

"That makes 745 points!" she announced as Shinso nodded. He was the one who suggested that they should focus on the other teams for the first half because it was too hard to try and get Midoriya when everyone was targeting him. Shiro, originally wanting to be on full-offense mode, didnt agree at first. However, remembering that this was a team exercise and she wasn't in it alone, she finally adapted this strategy. After all, she also realized that it can simultaneously gain points and show off the multiple skills used on different teams for the scouts in the audience.

"Three minutes into the game and it's a free-for-all! Fights over headbands breaking out all over! Like Eraserhead said, ignoring the 10 million and going for second to fourth places isn't bad, either!"

"Looks like 10 million points is stuck," Shinso stated as they weaved around the other teams trying to get to Midoriya. Uaraka was somehow stuck to the ground by one of Mineta's extremely sticky spheres, rendering the team unable to move as people closed in.

"Aoyama-san," Shiro signaled amd they turned the opposite way while she stood and rotated back to face the target. This was a good chance; they needed to reach Midoriya before the other teams could. "Go!"

The blinding beam shot out from the male's navel and boosted their run towards their goal. With a hand reaching out to grab the headband, she was suddenly forced to recoil back as Tsuyu's pink tongue shot out from nowhere, grazing her arm slightly as it continued it's course towards Midoriya.

"I can't let you have it, Tsuyu-san!" Shiro shouted as her left eye spun to intercept the girl's tongue from landing on Midoriya. The tongue retracted back towards Shoji and she widened her eyes in surprise. She's completely protected by his tentacles!?

"I didn't expect any less from you, Shiro-chan," the girl peeked out from under Shoji's tentacle tent. Mineta also leered out the gap with an ominous chuckle.

"Attack!"

Immediately, there was an onslaught of purple spheres and Tsuyu's tongue coming towards both Shiro's team and Midoriya's team. Shiro's left eye worked to have her whole team dodge the attacks as she continued towards the 10 million headband. Seeing that he was both under attack and pursued, Midoriya also frantically dodged and grabbed ahold of the controller for the jet-pack before the force of the boost managed to break Uraraka's boot free.

Shiro gritted her teeth as she watched the boy soar through the air with his team. At that moment of distraction, one of Mineta's sphere landed on her shoulder and without thinking, her right hand grabbed it. "Shoot!" she widened her eyes as she heard Mineta laugh manically.

"It looks like Team Aisaka has been handicapped by Team Mineta's attack! What a sticky situation!" Present Mic howled with excitement overhead. "What will they do now that their rider is permanently stuck in that position until the sphere loses its stickiness voluntarily by its user?"

"I'm feeling great today, so it's going to stick for a while!" Mineta laughed as he pointed towards Shiro. "Shoji, charge! We got them now!"

"Aoyama-san, fend them off with your laser! Ojiro-san, Shinso-san, keep us moving while I do this," she ordered.

Shoji was forced to jump back and retreat when a beam of laser fired his way while Shinso and Ojiro worked to avoid Mineta's and Tsuyu's attacks. Curious about what Shiro was planning, the purple haired male glanced up briefly. His baggy eyes immediately widened.

"...What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" she replied almost irritably as she focused on her gym shirt with both of her eyes swirling. The fiber from the shirt was unwinding one by one, thus exposing her skin under the navy cloth.

"M-Mummy Man!" Present Mic's voice sounded frantic as the scene unfolded. Shiro was like a godchild to him; he couldn't just let the girl suddenly strip in front of millions of watching eyes. "What is she doing!"

"It's her reality rewrite," Aizawa explained calmly. "She's using it to get Mineta's sphere off of her."

"That's not the point I'm getting at!"

From under Shoji's tentacle tent, Mineta was positively dying from happiness. Who knew such a blessing would happen from his action?! "Tsuyu-chan, shoot me out with your tongue..." he stated with a determined blush on his face. "I'll grab her headbands while she's distracted!"

"Mineta-chan," Tsuyu deadpanned. "That's not what you're really aiming to grab, is it?"

"I-I'm doing this for the team!" he denied shamelessly. "Come on!"

The only drawback of her reality rewrite was that it took all of her concentration. But as soon as all the fibers came loose, she was able to morph it into what she wanted it to become. However, Mineta's pesky purple sphere somehow wouldn't rewrite into a handle like she wanted to, so she had no choice but to simply use that as the handle as the rest attached itself on top.

"Finished... Now," her ruby eyes glinted at Team Mineta as she pointed her newly formed whip at them. "Time for payback."

So her Quirk can do that too... Shinso thought. But still... To go topless...?! While she did have a red sports bra underneath, it still didn't stop the blush that dashed across his face as he moved with the team towards their target.

"YAHHHHH!" Mineta, with his body securely wrapped by Tsuyu's tongue, launched across the field with his short arm reached out intending to grab the headbands around Shiro's neck. "Take my Grab of Wrath—!"

As he was in midair, her whip swung out and grabbed Mineta's body. Shocked by both the capture and the fact that Shiro was wielding a whip of all things at him, he completely froze as his thoughts trailed off the perverted path. Shiro reeled him in against Tsuyu's pull and teared the 420-point headband off his head.

"Thanks for the delivery, Tsuyu-san!" she said before snapping her whip to launch the boy back into the air. "But you can have him back!"

"A completely justified steal made by Team Aisaka! Now, who's got a spare change of clothes?!"

The audience were all completely entranced as the teams fought each other for points. They were all in awe by the skills that kids these days had, and while one side was focused on Team Midoriya's escape through the air with Team Bakugou hot in pursuit for the 10 million points, the other half were completely won over by Team Aisaka's performance so far.

"That girl is so fast and unpredictable!"

"Did you see what she did earlier? You were right! Rare Quirks do have hidden powers!"

"I'm excited to see what else she can do! Class 1-A really is just full of surprises... There's this much difference just from their experience fighting villains?"

"Of course! Class 1-A is definitely leading with the points!"

"Let's take a look at each team's points, shall we?" Present Mic announced after hearing numerous inquires about the status of how well each team is doing. "It's been seven minutes! Here are the current rankings up on the screen as we reach the second half of the game!"

As the leaderboard popped up on the widescreen above the stadium, a cacophony of surprise echoed throughout the crowd.

"Huh?"

"That's kinda..."

"What? Other than Team Midoriya with his 10 million, the rest of class 1-A aren't doing so well...?" Present Mic furrowed his brows as he leaned forward with disbelief. "But wait a minute! Team Aisaka is still at second place with—huh?! When did she get down to sixth place?!"

Shiro was just about to take Team Rin's 125-point headband when she thought she felt a light touch at the end of one of her pigtails. "Ojir—" she couldn't even finish her call for defense when two headbands around her neck was ripped off.

"Team Aisaka is still at second place with—huh?! When did she get down to sixth place?!"

And just seconds later, the Voice hero announced another shocking development:

"Team Bakugou? 0 POINTS?!"

Everything around her started to spin in slow motion as she turned. Sandwiched between her team and Bakugou's team was Team Monoma, and around the blonde rider's fingers hung both 420 points and 225 points from her and 665 points from Bakugou.

"Class 1-A is too simple-minded," he smirked, and Shiro felt that he looked oddly familiar.

That face...

That smirk...

Her eyes suddenly narrowed in recognition.

"You're that haughty prick who bumped into me on the second day of school and couldn't even say sorry!"

"Ha? You talking shit about me, Pigtails?!" Bakugou shouted on the other side. Shiro rolled her eyes at his precision hearing and explosive accusation. To his defense, her allegation towards that male also described him to a tee.

"Not you, Prickhead!" she angrily pointed to the class 1-B male who had both of their headbands. "I'm talking about this prick who stole my headbands!"

"He stole mine too!" Bakugou suddenly realized and his face contorted into a threatening scowl. "Give that back! I'll kill you!"

"Since Midnight said it was the first game, it wouldn't make much sense for them to cut a ton of people in the qualifier, right?" Monoma spoke again calmly, but his voice was obviously laced with taunt. "Assuming they'd keep about forty people for the next stage, we just made sure we stayed within that number as we ran, observing from the back the Quirks and personalities of those who would be our rivals. There's no point in being obsessive over winning in the prelims, right?"

"You did this as a class?" Bakugou's voice muttered lowly.

Monoma tied the new headbands on his neck, adding onto the two he already had to make 2005 points. "Well, it wasn't a consensus, but it was a good idea, right? It's better than going after a temporary 'top' like a horse with a carrot waving in front of its face."

Shiro's eyes twitched. The way the male spoke was really starting to tick her off because he acts calm with a smile but the underlying attitude behind his words was just downright off-putting and unpleasant. At least when Bakugou is being insulting towards others, he doesn't hide it behind a deceiving face.

"Oh, while I'm at it, you're famous, aren't you? As the victim of the sludge incident!" he continued his taunt as he faced Bakugou in an obvious attempt to rile him up. It was working. "I wonder if the heroes that had to save class 1-A ever feel like just passing you to the villains? They must get so tired. You seem to attract villains every year."

That was the last straw.

"Kirishima... Change of plans..."

The redhead craned his head back just to see that the look on Bakugou's face was positively murderous as his entire person emitted a demonic aura. "Bakugou...?" However, looking across where another burning aura was emitting dangerously, he recoiled back at the even scarier expression that Shiro currently possessed. "S-Shiro-chan...?!"

"How dare you speak on the behalf of the heroes who risked their lives for us..." she growled. "As if you know anything?"

I got her, too? Monoma tilted his head with a smirk. This really is hitting two birds with one stone.

"Before we get Deku..."

Bakugou's eyes contained nothing but pure fury as Shiro pulled the whip between her hands tautly with a resounding snap to finish his thoughts.

"Let's get rid of these guys first!"

Wooooooooo! So some exciting news - I got my hair dyed dusty pink yesterday hehe. If I choose to maintain this until October, I may just dress up as an anime character for Halloween or something LOL. Anyway, I hope you guys all enjoyed this chapter! Leave a review c: