Chapter 2: Battle Bladers
(Hikaru POV)
This sucks. No, not being accepted into one of the most selective schools in the city, that's great! It's the boarding aspect. You see, the boys get one dorm, and the girls another. This would be fine, normally, but here's the thing.
I'm the only girl.
No, seriously. In my class, I'm the only one. There's supposedly a girl in the support class named Madoka, but I haven't seen her yet, so it's been pretty lonely for me. I'm pretty reserved overall, but I need some interaction, don't I? I'm actually excited for school. Not even the annoying uniforms, which force me to wear different clothes, and take off my fingerless gloves can dampen my mood. At least there are other people there.
Or at least that's what I thought until we actually attended teachers here are weird. In homeroom, we met Mr. Fireblaze. We fought him yesterday, but now we meet him up close. He's...weird. He's the Pro Hero, Phoenix, and he goes on these monologues. It's strange. I was sat next to this guy with bull horns, and this guy with facial hair, but neither of them was too interested in talking, so I had to listen in silence. Eventually we got let out to go to hero studies, taught by Mr. Daid. Daid was actually a former villain, who got captured by the father of one of my classmates. Small world. Eventually he turned his life around and became the pro-hero, Dark Wolf. This is where we would learn about the thing that would drive us throughout the year.
Mr. Daid took a sip of orange juice, and smirked. "In this point in their life, the one important thing pro-heroes need is something to strive for. Here at GanGan high, we have a special way of doing that. We have a points system!" I raised my eyebrow at this. What sort of house cup thing are they trying to pull?
My classmates were pretty iffy on it too. I think Tategami was the one who rolled his eyes at the whole thing. "What, are we gonna get gold stars if we get enough points? Give me a break!"

Mr. Daid only shrugged, and shook his head. "Not at all, kid. I have just the thing to hook all of you in. A tournament!" Everyone was paying attention now.
"We call it Battle Bladers."

"Ooh, cool name!" The blonde kid, I think Tendo said.

"For doing well in class, training exercises, tests, and various other things, you'll get points. The students with the sixteen most points will qualify. Everyone else? Tough. Survival of the fittest, students. But if it's too boring for you…." He trailed off, but I knew how this would go.
"I'll show that Gingka up for good!"
"You go, Kyoya! B-b-bull!"
"Nobody will see me coming, crab!"
"Pegasus can beat anyone!"
"It's a good way to make ourselves known…"
"You all can't handle my power!"

The chatter was disrupted by a loud whistle.
"Now that we know the stakes, know that me, Mr. Hokuto, Mr. Fireblaze, Dr. Ziggurat, Principal DJ, and all the other teachers will be watching you very closely. And hey, Mr. Tategami?"
"Mmm?"
"Minus ten points."

"Wha-"
Man, that guy needs to calm down.
We went back to Mr. Fireblaze's class for the next class, which was gym class.
"We're not ready for straight one on ones yet, so we're going to be doing a sport that gives you a lot of freedom. Co crazy with your quirks, kids. You can do it now. Who's ready for dodgeball?" Oh no. This'll go horribly. "Hagane, Tategami, you're the captains. Hagane gets first pick. Remember, 100 points for the winning team!"
"What? Why him?"
"...No reason. Pick your teammates, schoolyard style, s-I mean, Hagane." What was he about to say? Whatever it was, Hagane didn't notice. "Hyoma!" Horn kid, cool.

"Benkei, get over here, you big goof." "B-b-b-bull!" That's the guy who sits next to me in all my classes.
Aries, the ram kid is pretty calm and collected. He picks Oike, knowing how good he is at aiming. Decent choice.
Hanawa, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have a plan. "Eeny meeny miney moe, catch a bull by the toe, if he hollers let him go, eeny meeny miney moe. My mother told me to pick the very best one, and you are it!" He points straight at the Tendo kid. Very clever strategy.
"Good one, BenBen! You won't regret it."
"...BenBen?"
Without saying a word, Oike points at me. I shrug, and walk over.
"Ooh, ooh! Kenchi! You're with me!" So he's a nicknamer, great. I bet he has a silly one for me.
"Umm….Kumade?" He sits to my right, and I have no real plan for this. He's as good as anyone.

"...Akatsuki,. You seem eager." Not sure what his quirk is, actually, but he's good, so we'll have to look out for it.
"Ooh, pick me, crab! Pick me!" Kumade doesn't really want to do that. He looks at the Fukami kid, fanning himself. "You."
"Ah, as it was fated."
The Akatsuki kid wanted to push all our buttons, and pick the kid we hoped wouldn't be in the game. "ElDrago." At least he's on there team.
Fukami fans himself, before pointing at the Mizuchi kid. An elbow from Aries makes him change his mind, and go for someone else. "Scorpio." Wonder what that's about?
"I'll take Mizuchi, since you don't want him." First I've heard ElDrago talk all year.
Busujima goes through his options. Ignoring Watarigani, he looks at the twins, and Saotome. "...Sodo!"
"Yes! Take tha-"
"Dan Sodo." I can't tell them apart in the uniforms, but one of them gloats, and runs over.
"We'll take Reiki, thanksssss." The other twin sticks his tongue out. Mature.
Dan doesn't even think twice. "Saotome." A second later, Reiki says "Otori."
"What, crab?" Oh yeah, we have an uneven amount of players.
Mr. Fireblaze shakes his head. "No worries, Watarigani. To make up for Tategami going second, they get you on their team!"
"Yay!"
"Everyone, get in position…." He blows a whistle.
Remaining:

Team Pegasus: Gingka, Hyoma, Tobio, Hikaru, Kumasuke, Ryutaro, Busujima, Dan, Teru
Team Leone: Kyoya, Benkei, Yu, Kenta, Sora, Ryuga, Reiji, Reiki, Tsubasa, Tetsuya
There are five balls. Aries and Hinawa each grab one, and toss at each other, getting themselves out. They both shrug and sit on the bleachers.
Yumiya gets his bow ready, and shoots a dodgeball at me. I quickly shift into water and slide past it. My plan for this game was to slide around the arena, so I wouldn't get hit. That didn't work. Suddenly, I'm getting frozen in place. I'm….turning into ice? Oh god, it feels awful!
"Sorry, Dan! Your little bro's powers counter Hasama's! Nah nah!" And with that, he throws a ball at me. I'm out, sadly.

Remaining:

Team Pegasus: Gingka, Tobio, Kumasuke, Ryutaro, Busujima, Dan, Teru
Team Leone: Kyoya, Benkei, Yu, Kenta, Sora, Ryuga, Reiji, Reiki, Tsubasa, Tetsuya

I look at my team. I'm trying to see their strategies at work. Sodo and Sodo had the same idea, so Dan would turn Yumiya's fire arrows against him, and then throw a ball at him.
"You see, little bro? Anything you can do, I can do bett-eh?" A ball hit Dan in the back somehow. Weird. Reiki smirks, and Dan takes a seat next to me. I raise an eyebrow.
"Don't. Ask."
Meanwhile, Busujima slams into the bleachers hard. ElDrago smirks at us. We're getting pummeled.
Hagane is doing his best, he really is. He dodges a windy dodgeball from Tategami, and a copied shockwave from Akatsuki, but is stopped cold by Mizuchi, before being hit by a ball.

Remaining:

Team Pegasus: Tobio, Kumasuke, Ryutaro, Teru
Team Leone: Kyoya, Yu, Sora, Ryuga, Reiji, Reiki, Tsubasa, Tetsuya

"Ooh, we're winning, crab! Oh, best friend Kumade!"
Don't take the bait, Kumade.
"Over heeere!"
He takes the bait. He tosses it, and Watarigani catches it. Nearly pops it, too.
"Welcome back, Yumiya!"
We're doomed. Or are we? As soon as Yumiya gets back onto the field, he's hit by a ball.
"Well, that was fun." He turned around and sat down.
"Ow, my hip!" Watarigani's down, too.
It takes us a few seconds to figure out what's going on. And the same for them.
Tategami snarled. "Mizuchi! Lock Futami down! Now!"
"I can't get a good lock on him…" He's hit from behind by a dodgeball, and slithers off of the field.
Remaining:

Team Pegasus: Tobio, Ryutaro, Teru
Team Leone: Kyoya, Yu, Sora, Ryuga, Reiki, Tsubasa
Otori and Tendo were talking about something, but I'm not sure what. But suddenly, I saw Tendo stomp the ground, and send a shockwave out. Futami suddenly appears, stunned, and Tategami can hit him out. All that's left are Saotome and Oike. Oike looked at the wall and licked his lollipop. Odd. When a ball is sent his way by Sodo, Saotome twirls towards him, and catches it.
"Have to try harder than that to take us down!" He taunted. "Hasama, you're back in the game since that ice ice baby is out."
And they do. He twirls, dances, and sashays past the balls. I can slip past them easier myself. They're getting sloppy, I can tell.
Remaining:

Team Pegasus: Tobio, Teru, Hikaru
Team Leone: Kyoya, Yu, Sora, Ryuga, Tsubasa.

"Alright, you've had your fun, Tategami!"
"ElDrago, as captain-"
"I'm taking over!"
He's glowing. Oh god. Oh god oh man oh-
"Dragon Emperor Soaring Ball Throw!"
"Yugy!"
"ELDrago!"
"That's gonna hit us, Hasama!"
"What do we do?"
A spiritual dragon picks up all five balls, and hurls it at us. I start to shift into water, but get hit mid shift. Saotome can't even start to do the worm. We get knocked into the bleachers as the last ball goes for Oike. The room fills up with smoke.
"THE ENTRANCE EXAM WAS A FLUKE! i'LL SHOW YOU WHO THE BEST-"
Fireblaze held up a flag. "Team Pegasus wins! Good job, Mr. Oike!"
"What?" A ball hits the dirt. Tendo, Tategami, and the silent Otori all look on.
Tategami was the first to react. "What...happened?"
Oike smirked. "I used the confusion to catch ElDrago's ball, and tossed it at the four on your side, getting you all out."
There's silence, and then we all run up, lifting up Oike. Who knew a minor quirk such as enhanced sight could do so much?
Mr. Fireblaze smiled. "I'm impressed, Oike. That was very smart of you. 100 points for your team, but for you specifically? 101. Now, every room in the building will display scores on them. Check it out!"

1. Gingka, 120

2. Tobio, 106

, 100

3 Hikaru, 100

3. Kumasuke, 100

3. Ryutaro, 100

3. Busujima, 100

3 Dan, 100

3 Teru, 100
10. Kyoya 0

10 Benkei, 0

10. Yu, 0

10. Kenta, 0

10. Sora, 0

10. Ryuga, 0

10. Reiji, 0

10. Reiki, 0

10. Tsubasa, 0

10. Tetsuya, 0

"120? How's that possible? We just started.! I call bull!"
"Hm?"
"Not you, Benkei."
"Simple, Tategami. The top 3 scorers on the exam got extra points points. And those were Hagane, you, and Oike. Too bad you squandered it."
"How'd you know about tha-...fine, Mr. Fireblaze. But I'll be at the top of the charts in a week. And no teacher's pet will stop me! This lion has fangs! And to prove his point, he roared.
We're only halfway through the day and it feels like everything's happened.