After nearly a month of waiting, Chapter 17 is finally up! After Mob's stunning performance in the obstacle course, we're now going to see what kind of performance he's going to give during the cavalry battle, what kind of team the others are going to have to go up against!
The audience grew restless and excited when they heard Kageyama would be worth ten million, for they knew this would only make the Cavalry Battle more thrilling. There was still more that needed to be explained before the event officially started, however.
"Alright, here are the rules that all the teams will follow." The screen changed images to correlate with the rules that Midnight was about to describe. "The game itself will last fifteen minutes. The individual point values of each team member will be combined and printed on headbands which all the riders will wear. Try to swipe as many headbands as possible to ensure victory. Stolen headbands must be worn from the neck-up, meaning that the more you steal, the more difficult it will be to keep them all on. Also, an important thing to know is that even if you lose your headband or your team falls down, you are still allowed to keep playing until time runs out!"
Several of the students did a quick run-down of what they'd just heard and how it could possibly play out. "So that means it's anyones game then," said Yaoyorozu.
"And since there're forty two contestants, that means there'll be ten or twelve teams fighting at the same time," Sato remarked.
"So if you happen to lose your headband at the start, you'll get more time to come up with a plan," Ashido commented.
Tsu put her finger to her chin and glanced at Ashido with her brows slightly furrowed upward. "I'm not sure about that, Mina. Maybe it'd be better to see how the teams turn out before we start making strategies."
"This is going to be rough, so use your quirks as much as you please! However, there are still rules: make a team fall on purpose, and you'll be slapped with a red card and disqualification!" The monitor screen changed images to a countdown starting at fifteen minutes. "And now, you have fifteen minutes to create your teams, so get going!"
The countdown began to start, and the students all started talking amongst themselves, wondering how the best way to go about making teams would be. For this kind of event, they couldn't simply pick whoever they wanted. No, there needed to be some good, thought-out purpose behind the teams that were created, consisting of individuals who knew what each member was capable of and who could cooperate efficiently with one another, or simply consisting of individuals with extremely powerful quirks. In the case of the latter, almost all of the students in Class 1-A decided to rush towards Kageyama. But as all of the students began to swarm towards him, they realized that he already had his sights set on a teammate, and he was walking toward that teammate at that very moment.
Midoriya was busy in thought, wondering what the best team would consist of, but before he had the time to consider who would comprise this team, the green-haired teenager was approached by his bowl-haired friend.
"Midoriya, let's team up." As soon as he heard that they could choose their own teams, the esper instantly knew that his team would not be complete without his verdant-eyed friend, and made it his first objective to make him the first member. "I'm gonna need my friend beside me if I'm gonna make it through this cavalry battle."
The green-haired teenager's eyes lit up, for whole-heartedly agreed with Shigeo's statement. The two had done almost everything together for all those months of training, persevered through so much pain and surpassing every obstacle in their path. Here was the next obstacle, and Midoriya wouldn't want anyone else by his side to surpass it.
"Sure thing, Kageyama." The rest of the classmates decided to be respectful and wait for the two to finish their conversation, and now that the two of them had finished, they were all hounding the esper in an attempt to curry favor and convince him to let them join his team.
"Kageyama, pick me to be on your team!"
"No, I'm the one you want!"
"My quirk was made for this!"
There were more than twenty teenagers all trying to pitch themselves to the young esper, and some of them weren't even from Class 1-A. Quite frankly, Mob was overwhelmed. He wasn't quite sure what team would be the best for this second event, which classmates would ensure their victory. For this kind of strategizing, he would need Midoriya's advice.
"Midoriya and I need to talk first, so just hold on a sec." The classmates groaned in frustration but still respected Mob's wishes and waited for the two friends to form a strategy.
Mob's first line of thinking for choosing the teammates was which quirks would work best together to ensure they protect their ten million points. He still needed to advance to the next round to fulfill the expectations set by All Might, so forming the team with the most effective people was the best way to do that. "Well, Midoriya? Who do you think we should add to our team? Do you think we should choose based on our classmate's quirks?"
"To tell you the truth, I really don't think quirk compatibility matters." Mob looked at his friend as if he'd said something in another language. Of all people, Kageyama assumed that Izuku would be the one going through multiple analyzations of different team compositions, telling him some fancy plan while describing which teammates would play what part in that plan with their quirks.
"I've got a plan in mind that's so simple, it almost barely counts as a plan, and to make it work, it really doesn't matter what kind of quirks our teammates have."
"Really? What's the plan?"
"Keep defending." The fanboy had seen the esper's powers up-close, as well as the kind of unbelievable force his barriers could protect against. He was supremely confident that not a single person in this cavalry battle had the necessary strength to break through those barriers, giving them a very huge advantage.
"If you can maintain your barrier around us for fifteen minutes, then I'm positive that no one's gonna be able to take our headband." It wasn't like Midoriya to be so careless in his plan-making, but with Kageyama as a member, he couldn't help but feel their team was invulnerable, no matter what.
"Oh." Hearing this plan out-loud, Mob could see what Midoriya was talking about. His barriers could defend against a great deal of physical force and were only rarely broken by his enemies, and he was also sure that no one else was strong enough to break through them, not when he had more than two-thirds of his power coursing through him. "Yea, I see what you mean."
"I think that we should just choose our teammates based on how well we work with them, how well we can communicate with each other."
"If that's the case..." The bowl-haired teenager looked back at the group of students waiting impatiently for them to finish their strategizing, and noticed two students that he hadn't paid attention to before: Uraraka and Yaoyorozu. "How about we do a repeat of our teams during the battle trial?"
"Why not?" Uraraka was one of his closest friends, and Yaoyorozu, while he wasn't as close with her, was nevertheless a very impressive student who managed to get to this school through recommendations.
"Alright, we've made our decision." The two friends returned to the anxious teenagers, whose faces were all brightening up in the hopes that Kageyama had chosen them to be part of his team. "The other two members of our team are going to be Uraraka and Yaoyorozu."
Both girls beamed in delight, while the rest of the students began to sulk in disappointment. "Sorry, guys," said Kageyama, understanding how upsetting this must've been for them. However, many of the students quickly got over their depression and focused on their next best options. For a great number of the students, they decided to go convince Bakugo, while a few others went into small groups to converse among themselves, come up with strategies and decide who else would be on their team.
"Thanks for adding me onto your team, you two!" Uraraka said, "This is gonna go great! I'm teamed up with all the people I like!" All three of the other teammates couldn't help but feel their hearts inflate slightly at the affection and liveliness in Uraraka's voice.
"I'm also thankful that you decided to add me to your group," Yaoyorozu added with a smile on her face and her eyes on the esper.
"Y-yea, not a problem," Mob said, unable to keep a light blush off of his cheeks.
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Yaoyorozu also took note of the unique team composition. "It's rather ironic that this team is entirely comprised of teammates of the battle trial, but it does ensure for better cooperation."
"So what's the plan?" Uraraka said.
"Easy: Kageyama's gonna keep a barrier surrounding us for the entire cavalry battle while we keep running. Since his barriers are generated by his quirk, they'll definitely be strong enough to hold up against any enemy attacks. And since no one will be able to get our ten million points, we'll be the guaranteed winners. We could also use Uraraka's quirk to make ourselves lighter, and Yaoyorozu, you could use your quirk to make skates for us, giving us greater mobility. Kageyama's defense is still gonna be our main weapon, but this way, you two can still contribute something."
"I see..."
"Any thoughts? Objections?"
"None from me!" Uraraka exclaimed.
Yaoyorozu, on the other hand, while seeing the logic of the plan, was analyzing it for any potential weaknesses. "The plan appears very simple, yet effective to me. Kageyama, are you sure you can keep your barrier up for fifteen minutes?" The esper gave a firm nod of confirmation. "And what will we do if an enemy happens to immobilize us? What if Todoroki tries to use his ice to freeze us to the ground?"
"The only way they could immobilize us is if they could get through Kageyama's barrier. Todoroki's ice works by traveling across the ground: he can't summon it from underground, so the barrier will stop it. Besides, even if we are somehow immobilized, they still wouldn't be able to get through the barrier."
"I see..." Even after this explanation, the other three teammates could hear some doubt lingering in Momo's eyes. "Leaving almost everything in Kageyama's hands like this doesn't give us much chances to show off our quirks or prove our skills during this competition."
But as soon as it came, the brief moment of doubt vanished. "But this plan is still the best option we have at protecting the ten million points and ensuring our advancement to the third event, so I'll go along with it."
"Great! Then it's decided!" With their team and their plan now in-place, the four students of Class 1-A could do nothing but wait. As they were waiting, they couldn't help but take note of the many students who had decided to approach Bakugo. Midoriya could see why he'd be so swarmed: he'd proven his strength during the obstacle course, and his quirk was very versatile, so he'd make a great team member. The four could see each of the students trying to convince Bakugo just like they'd tried to convince Mob just moments ago, and they weren't quite sure how Bakugo would pick his teammates.
"Wait, remind me what your quirks are again? And your names?"
Upon hearing this, many of the students frowned at the hot-headed teenager, enraged that he hadn't even taken the effort to remember anything about them.
"Man, he doesn't even remember their names," Uraraka remarked, "They're our classmates."
"I know. It's upsetting to know how little he cares about his them," Shigeo replied
While Bakugo was deciding which team members would be the best fit for this challenge, Todoroki was still piecing together his own team. So far, he'd managed to convince both Iida and Kaminari to join his team. Iida's speed would give them a big boost, acting as the front wing, while Kaminari would serve as an offensive teammate who would use his quirk to keep enemies at bay. However, there was a fatal flaw in this plan that wasn't easy to remedy.
"So will you guys be able to handle my electricity?" asked Kaminari, "Cuz I can't really control the direction it goes. It just travels everywhere."
"Yes, I was wondering what kind of contingency you might've planned for that," inquired Iida.
Todoroki pinched his lips and held his arms across his chest in frustration. "I was planning on having Yaoyorozu join our team so she could use her quirk to create a layer of insulation that would protect us from your electricity. But she's already joined up with Kageyama and Midoriya, so that option's gone. Since there's no one else who can serve as insulation, that means we're just gonna have to suck up the pain."
"So be it. I'm willing to endure pain to ensure our victory. What's the saying? "No pain, no gain?""
"So who's gonna be our final member then?" Kaminari wondered.
The dual quirk-wielding teenager went over the possible options that would best serve as their fourth teammate. They were already set on the fronts of mobility and offense, which meant that their final member would have to be defensive. They would have to be someone who had quick reflexes to react to the enemies and create a powerful shield or defense on the spot. After a brief run-down of the possibilities, the young teenager decided the person best suited to take up this mantle, someone with a very powerful quirk that could serve as their shield.
"Tokoyami." The dual quirk-wielding teenager approached the avian student, who was standing quietly amongst another crowd of students, attempting to decide which team he should join. "I'd like to ask that you join our team. You'll be the final member whose quirk acts as our shield. Your Dark Shadow's power and versatility will be vital to the team."
"Come on Tokoyami!" The other two teammates appeared behind Todoroki, with Kaminari being as lively and energetic as always. "You'll be an awesome member! With the four of us, we're gonna kill this thing!"
The avian student saw no reason to object to Todoroki's proposal, and gave the cold teenager a nod of confirmation. "Very well. I accept your offer."
"Ok, since our team has finally finished, let me explain everybody's roles. Kaminari, you'll be the left wing, and you'll use your quirk to keep enemies at bay. Tokoyami, you'll be the right wing. Use your Dark Shadow to focus on defense. Iida, you'll take the front. We'll rely on you for mobility and physical defense."
"And you'll be attacking by creating diversions of ice and fire, correct?" Iida said.
"Not exactly." The cold teenager gazed up into the stands, where a man with a very large, imposing demeanor stood with flames spewing from his shoulders and most of his face. That man was Todoroki's father, the number two hero, Endeavor, for whom Todoroki held a deep animosity towards. "When I'm in battle, I never use my left side."
Slowly but surely, the other teams were beginning to form as well. One of those teams consisted of Mineta and Shoji: though Shoji had initially declined Mineta's offer to be partners, the short student's tactical strategy of keeping him covered with his huge tentacles to ensure nobody stole Mineta's headband had managed to convince Shoji to join forces. The two wondered if there was anyone else who could join their team, and realized the person with the next smallest build would likely serve them best, and in this case, that person was Tsu. After forming their team, the three of them were talking strategy for the cavalry battle.
"Going after Kageyama's going to be the most obvious yet most effective decision," said Shoji, "Since his team's going to be occupied with so many others, if we time it right, we can find an opening to exploit and steal his headband."
The large student was expecting both of his teammates to wholeheartedly agree with his plan, which was why he was surprised when both of them shook their heads in disapproval. "It's not worth the effort. Right, Tsu?"
"If Kageyama keeps his barrier up, there's no way we're gonna be able to break through it, no matter what we do. We should just try and focus on the others instead."
"Really? Just throwing away the ten million points like that seems rather reckless. Are you sure about this?" asked Shoji, wondering how they could've been so dismissive of taking the most obvious target.
"Trust us: we saw what those barriers could handle in-person," the frog-like girl replied, "It's a pointless effort." These two had a clear understanding of the unbeatable opponent Shigeo Kageyama was, the ridiculously high level that the esper was at in comparison to every other student in the area, and soon enough, all of the students were going to be aware of this.
The time seemed to pass by very quickly as the teams were being made, and before the contestants knew it, the fifteen minute time limit for creating the teams had finished.
"Alright! Now things can finally get started!" Midnight stretched her arms in anticipation. Up in the stands, the unkempt hero had fallen asleep out of both boredom and fatigue, and his fellow announcer had to wake him up to announce.
"Now that the students have had their fifteen minutes to strategize and form partnerships, there're now twelve teams standing in the ring. Now everyone, get your hands in the air! It's time for a blood-pumping battle royale! Let me hear you scream!" The crowd roared in excitement, all of them wondering how this would turn out, and more importantly, what kind of amazing performance Kageyama would show them. In the arena, all of the first-year students were standing at the edge of the arena, many of them eyeing the ten million points while Mob looked on with nominal unease.
"Alright, all you first years!," boomed Present Mic, "I hope you're happy with the teams you've chosen, cuz it's about to go down! Let's begin the final countdown! 3! 2! 1!"
The dominatrix hero swung her whip down, signaling the start of the cavalry battle. "Begin!"
As expected, all of the teams began a mad dash toward the ten million points. The number one team, however, remained calm and composed, for they had their main weapon that was almost unstoppable.
"Do it, Kageyama!" said Yaoyorozu.
"Right." The bowl-haired esper did his job and erected a barrier around the four of them. For those in the other classes, this was quite a shocking discovery. Having seen most of their powers up-close, many of them assumed that this was Midoriya's quirk, since he didn't use his power during the obstacle course. Many spectators also assumed this was Midoriya's doing, as well as a few of the teachers who hadn't seen Kageyama's abilities outside of the Entrance Exam.
"And a barrier is put up by..." Present Mic likewise momentarily struggled to figure out whether the barrier was put up by Kageyama or Midoriya, so Aizawa answered the question for the spectators and the other students.
"By Kageyama."
Upon hearing this, both the students and the crowd only grew more shocked, more restless at what this young teenager was capable of.
"His power lets him make barriers too?" said a spectator.
"As if he didn't already have enough going for him with his super speed and telekinesis."
In the battle arena, the teams who weren't part of Class 1-A were equally baffled by Eraserhead's proclamation, not expecting that the esper would have another facet to his abilities. For a great number of them, including those in Class 1-A, they were unsure of how they were going to get the headband, for none of them were sure how powerful his barrier was. This was what Kageyama's team was counting on to secure their victory. Alas, there was one team who actually had the means to do something about that barrier.
"Don't think your safe just cuz you're in a barrier!" yelled Tetsutetsu, "Honenuki! Do it!"
The members of Kageyama's team gave each other uneasy looks, unpleased by how relaxed Tetsutetsu's team was about the esper's protection. Suddenly, they began to feel themselves sink.
"What's happening?" said Uraraka.
"We're sinking!" said Midoriya, "It must be that guy's quirk!"
"It appears we underestimated the potency of our enemies' quirks, and it seems like one managed to bypass Kageyama's barrier," Yaoyorozu remarked.
"So what do we do?" the bob-haired girl asked.
"Don't worry, guys." Though this may have seemed like a big issue, with the four students slowly sinking into the ground like victims in quicksand, this was actually not a very large problem for the esper thanks to his telekinesis. "I can pull us all out of here no problem."
A light blue aura enveloped all four classmates, and as soon as it did, the barrier disappeared. The green-haired fanboy took note of this as they were pulled out of the quicksand. "Kageyama, keep the barrier. Don't give the others any openings."
"Sorry, I can't do that," replied the esper as they momentarily soared through the air. "I can't do two things simultaneously with my powers, so I can only focus on either offense or defense."
"Jiro, now!" One of the teams, which had Hagakure as the horse, attempted to use the opening while the team was momentarily flying in the air to have Jiro take the headband with her extendable earphones. Alas, their effort was in vain: upon seeing the earphones approaching them, Kageyama used his telekinesis to shove the earphones back to the user while the rest of the team gently returned to the ground and the barrier was once again put around them.
"Dang it!" yelled Jiro.
"GRAH!" Tetsutetsu yelled out in frustration at the esper's multifaceted quirk that allowed him to overcome Honenuki's quirk with relative ease. "No way we're giving up that easily! After them!"
"Great job, Kageyama," said Midoriya, "You managed to get us out of that pickle pretty easily."
"Still, that quirk was rather troubling," remarked Yaoyorozu, "Perhaps it would be better for us to remain in the air to ensure we don't remain trapped."
"No, I still think the ground's still our best bet. If we stay in the air, we leave ourselves too open to attack from multiple angles. If all the enemies strike at once from different directions, even Kageyama might not be able to stop all those attacks. It's a better bet to stay on the ground with his barrier while keeping our distance from that guy's quirk."
The other teams continued to persist, many of them chasing after the esper's team, determined to find a way to somehow penetrate the barrier and get the big prize. One of those determined teams was none other than Bakugo's team. The hot-headed teenager decided to make a move against Kageyama and propelled himself forward with his explosions.
"Your weak-ass barrier won't save you from me!" Bakugo's hand ignited and created an explosion which enveloped most of the barrier, but to the blonde teenager's frustration, the protection held. Luckily, one of Bakugo's teammates, Sero, used his tape quirk to grab Bakugo just before he touched the ground.
"Bakugo's been separated from his horses!" shouted Present Mic, "Is that even allowed?"
"He never touched the ground, so technically, it's okay!"
"Nice moves, Sero!" said Kirishima, one of the other members of the team, "But man, Kageyama's barrier is definitely strong. How're we gonna be able to get through it and take the ten million points?"
"Maybe we should just try and focus on gathering other headbands instead, get as many points from other teams as possible," Ashido, the final member of Bakugo's team, suggested.
"No way in hell we're doing that!" Bakugo would not settle for simply giving up and letting the esper and his team be. "We're gonna be the indisputable champions of this game!"
"Ok, then how do you plan on getting through those barriers?" the pink-colored teenager inquired. The hot-headed teenager grit his teeth in frustration, going over everything he'd seen from Kageyama and everything he knew about his quirk thus far. His quirk basically revolved around psychic energy which he could utilize and manipulate in a variety of ways, but there had to be some sort of limit, something he could use to his advantage. But what?
"We'll just keep hammering his team with attacks! There's no way bowl cut's gonna be able to keep that barrier up for fifteen minutes, and when he drops it, that's when we make our move!"
But Bakugo's team wasn't the only team that was about to make a move. While many of the teams of Class 1-A had initially been focusing their attention on Kageyama, there were a few teams that had other plans. One of those teams was comprised of students from Class 1-B, and their leader was a harsh cynic of Class 1-A. Detesting the spotlight that class had been thrown under and the way his class was being ignored as a result, this student, Neito Monoma, a blonde-haired teenager with periwinkle purple eyes, had decided to something to make a name for his class. This sports festival was their chance to shine and prove to the world that Class 1-B wasn't just a second-rate class, and though they hadn't performed exceptionally in the obstacle course, the cavalry battle was where they would prove their worth.
Taking the opportune moment to strike, Monoma's team quickly raced towards Bakugo's team, and with a smug look on his face, Monoma casually took the headband away from Bakugo. "Your class is too small minded. You should think bigger."
"He got our headband!"
"What did you say?" yelled Bakugo, "Come back here!"
Monoma's team momentarily stopped so that their rider could give a proper explanation of his big plan. "Midnight said the obstacle course was just the first test, and we figured they wouldn't cut too many of us out right off the bat. Assuming they'd keep at least forty contestants for the next event, all our class had to do was make sure was to stay within that group as we ran. From our spots in the middle, we had the chance to observe the quirks our rivals had and judge their capabilities. Well, everyone except..."
The blue-eyed teenager's smirk momentarily dropped when he took a look at Kageyama, who was listening in on the conversation along with the rest of his team. The esper was the sole exception to Monoma's plan, for he had travelled at such blinding speeds that left everyone else in the dust, so neither he or anyone else in Class 1-B had any real understanding of how Mob's powers worked. But Monoma's smirk quickly returned.
"Regardless, we still got a lot of useful information about most of our rivals. After all, only a fool would obsess over winning the preliminary rounds, wouldn't you agree?"
"So you and your class planned this whole thing from the beginning?" said Bakugo.
"Well, it wasn't a totally unanimous decision, but I'd say that things are playing out well. After all, it's better than chasing after a temporary front-runner like a horse having a carrot waved in front of it's face." The hot-headed teenager's blood began to boil and he took a large inhale through his nostrils. "And since I have your attention, you're pretty famous, aren't you? You were attacked by that sludge villain. You should really tell me about it some other time. It must be pretty odd to always find yourself in the role of the victim."
Monoma's intention of pushing Bakugo's buttons had worked: the explosive teenager's body was now surrounded by a red, murderous aura, his pupils flaming with anger and determination. "Kirishima, we've got a change of plans."
The red-haired teenager looked up and felt his skin shiver when he saw this murderous aura surrounding Bakugo. "Before we take down Deku, we're gonna murder every last one of these B-listers." Despite the overwhelming intent and determination the explosive student was emitting, Monoma was not fazed by his threats and continued smirking confidently at Bakugo.
"So Class 1-B had a long-term strategy that involved them throwing the qualifier," Midoriya remarked, "Guess that would help leave a bigger impression on the audience. Everyone does love an underdog."
"If that means the other teams are keeping their attention away from us, then I'm fine with it," Yaoyorozu said. She also observed how there were a few other teams that were duking it out against each other. "It appears that Shoji's team has also decided to ignore us and is focusing their attention on Monoma." The team turned their eyes toward Shoji and noticed that he appeared to have formed his arms as a sort of protection, a rudimentary version of Kageyama's barrier. If that was the case, then Shoji's teammates were likely being hidden inside to ensure no one could get their headbands, and the only ones who were small enough to fit inside were Mineta and Tsu. Their assumptions were proven correct when a flurry of balls shot out from the opening of Shoji's makeshift protection in an attempt to trap Monoma's team and take their headbands. Alas, they were surprised to find that there was another student who had the ability to erect a less powerful but still effective barrier by solidifying the air he exhaled, making the sticky balls simply slide down the barrier.
While this was happening, Bakugo's team rushed Monoma in an attempt to reclaim their stolen headband, with the hot-headed teenager preparing one of his explosions, but Monoma anticipated this, pushing Bakugo's arm to the side, and in a very surprising counter, struck back with an explosion of his own. The blue-eyed teenager's eyes widened in surprise at how powerful even a small explosion was. "Wow, I get why you like this quirk."
Monoma lightly touched Kirishima's hair for some unknown reason just before Bakugo retaliated with another fierce, more potent explosion. The angry teenager expected the attack to disorient his opponent, but he was in for another surprise when he saw Monoma's arm hardened just like Kirishima's skin.
"Monoma! We've still got incoming!" One of the teammates reminded their rider that Shoji's team was still rapidly approaching them, and even though the attacks were still being blocked by the solidified air, a forward attack could still potentially do damage. Fortunately for Monoma's team, one of their fellow Class 1-B teams saw Monoma's team was being surrounded and decided to act. The front horse was a mutant with a glue dispenser as a head and multiple holes, and as one would expect, his quirk was the ability to shoot a fast-drying glue from his head. He released the glue at a very fast rate, managing to trap both Shoji and tag Kirishima's leg before either of them could lay a hand on Monoma.
"Thanks for the assist, Bondo."
"Grah!" Both Class 1-A teams could feel their mobility hindered by the glue and grunted in frustration. Having taken the headbands from Bakugo and Hagakure, Monoma saw no further need to take the headband from the teammate inside Shoji's protection and ordered his team to leave the area.
"Oh, in case you were wondering, my power lets me copy other quirks, like I did with you two. Anyway, no hard feelings. I mean, after all, I heard you were the one who started this whole feud with the rest of the classes, so our class is just responding accordingly to your threat. Anyway, have fun being stuck in glue."
But the hot-headed teenager would not allow this to stand! He refused to simply allow this jerk to mock him and treat him like an idiot! Bakugo would be sure to get his headband back and prove to that asshole that he was the best student in the arena.
While all of this was happening, Kageyama's team continued to go on the evasive and attempted to keep their distance from the rest of the teams while Mob maintained his barrier, which had allowed them to avoid conflict for a few minutes. However, there were two teams rapidly approaching, both of them from Class 1-B. One of them consisted entirely of females, the rider being a ginger-haired girl with teal eyes named Itsuka Kendo. The other team only had two riders, the horse being a very large beast-like student with spectacles named Jurota Shishida, his large size being sufficient enough to carry his rider, a black-eyed student who wore his hair in a low braid whose name was Hiryu Rin. Both of these teams had their eyes set on the ten million points and were going to do what they could to get it.
The two-man team was the first to make a move. "Let's see if your barrier is strong enough to handle my projectiles!" Rin's arm began to transform, his smooth skin becoming rough and scaled. His quirk was Scales, which allowed Rin to sprout strong, reptilian scales, serving as not only a defense similar to Kirishima, but also as an offense, for his training allowed him to shoot off his scales at high speeds.
"Sprouting Scales!" A volley of high-speed scales were fired at the esper's team, but all of them merely bounced off of the barrier. The black-haired teenager frowned.
"Do not lose heart, Rin." His teammate attempted to console Rin. "Kageyama's defenses appear to be nigh-impervious, and in order to properly penetrate those defenses, a more direct and more potent approach must be taken."
"And do you have something in mind, Shishida?"
"Indeed I do. Maintain a strong grip on my shoulders." The crowd gasped in shock as they saw the hairy student began to enlarge. Kageyama and the rest of his team grew uneasy when they saw this student's body grow to monstrous sizes, ripping off his gym uniform in the process. His claws began to enlarge to the size of bananas, and he roared before jumping into the air. While this was happening, Kendo was beginning her own assault on Kageyama.
"Sorry, Kageyama, but I'm gonna break through your barrier and get that headband!"
The beast soared toward Kageyama with his claws primed while Kendo approached the edge of the esper's barrier, craning both of her fist backwards. Kageyama's team was confused about what Kendo was attempting to accomplish by simply punching. Did she really think regular punches could actually break through the barrier? They were about to find out that there was a very big impact about to come their way.
"Double Jumbo Fist!" Kendo's hands suddenly grew to gigantic sizes just before hitting the barrier. Her quirk allowed her to increase the size of her hands, giving her greater physical strength, and this move was a special move designed to activate her quirk at the last second to maximize damage.
"Roaring Rage!" Shishida threw a large swipe at Kageyama's barrier, the power increased exponentially thanks to his transformation. Both of these attacks struck Kageyama's barrier simultaneously, the combined impact creating several large gusts of wind and a powerful shockwave. The two teams were expecting these combined attacks to do some damage, and if not break the barrier, at the very least crack it so that an opening could be created. Unfortunately for them, their beliefs were proven to be sorely unfounded when not one crack formed.
"Less than six minutes remaining, and Kageyama's team is staying strong! Even the combined attack wasn't enough to break through his barrier!"
Aizawa wasn't surprised: whatever level of physical strength those students had was nothing in comparison to the Nomu, and even when he hadn't gotten angry, Kageyama's barrier had still managed to momentarily hold.
The crowd roared with excitement and amazement at the level of power Kageyama was displaying. It was becoming clear to everyone that the esper had basically every other student in the arena outmatched in strength and speed. Watching from the sidelines, even the number two hero was baffled by the level at which Kageyama was competing. If his son wanted to have any chance of defeating him, he would have to use his left side.
The two teams were left in a state of shock at the way their attacks were so easily handled while Kageyama's team continued sprinting, leaving the two teams behind in the dust. The esper's teammates were all amazed at the fact that their protection was still holding.
"Kageyama, that was incredible!" said Uraraka," I didn't think your barrier would've been able to hold against that."
"My power's at around 80%. If I was at less than a third of my power, those combined attacks might've been able to break my barrier. But for now, I'm pretty sure that no one else in the arena is strong enough to break through."
"What a relief," Yaoyorozu said.
The two teams left behind continued to be in a state of disbelief, and Shishida had transformed back into his regular state. They were so shocked at the way their strongest attacks had been handled that they were completely ignorant of the team that was rapidly approaching them, leaving themselves wide open. They were quickly made aware of this when their legs were all suddenly frozen. The teams turned around and saw Todoroki, whose body was crouched down and his hand touching the ground.
"Sorry, but you shouldn't have dropped your guards." The teenager swiftly reached his hand out and swiped the headbands of Rin's team while Tokoyami used his Dark Shadow to take the headbands from Kendo's team, and quickly made their way toward the ten million points.
Kendo's eyes bulged in shock before she screamed out in frustration. "COME BACK!"
"Would you look at that?" said Present Mic, "He stopped both those teams cold in their tracks!"
Aizawa took his friend's commentary even further. "He took advantage of the fact that the two teams were occupying themselves with Kageyama and froze them when their guards were down. During the obstacle course, he was surprised at how many people managed to avoid his ice attack, so he changed his tactics."
Present Mic gave Eraserhead a big thumbs up. "Nice commentary!"
Back in the cavalry arena, Mob's team was continuing to take evasive maneuvers and keeping their ten million points secured, and because of their increased mobility, were able to keep away from many opponents for a few more minutes, but then, out of nowhere, they were stopped by a giant wall of ice. They all knew that Todoroki's team had finally made a move. The team looked around to find that they were surrounded by a huge wall of ice, and the only other team in sight was Todoroki's. Finally, the two strongest teams of the cavalry battle were about to duke it out.
"How will Kageyama and Todoroki's team fare in these final few minutes! Will Kageyama's barrier continue to hold as it's been holding these past thirteen minutes, or will Todoroki's team manage to break through and steal the ten million points! Let's see!"
"Todoroki used his ice to create a make-shift cage to keep us in," Yaoyorozu remarked, "Though he's still going to have to find a way to break our cage first."
"Yea," continued Midoriya, "No need for us to try and fly away. That would only create an opening for them to exploit." The green-haired fanboy smiled and clenched his fists with determination. "They're not getting our points."
While the esper's team was filled with confidence, Todoroki and the rest of his team were completely stuck, as Mob's team was hoping they would be. The dual quirk-wielding teenager felt his nostrils begin to flare. "I keep underestimating Kageyama. Not only does he have strength and speed, but he has stamina too. He's been able to maintain that barrier for more than ten minutes and defend against the attacks of other enemies, and it looks like he hasn't broken a sweat."
"Quite true, unfortunately. Even when he was sinking from an enemy's quirk, he got himself and his team out using telekinesis. With such power and so many uses, it truly seems as though Kageyama's quirk is unstoppable," remarked Tokoyami.
Todoroki refused to accept that idea! Kageyama's quirk must have a limit, he must run out of stamina at some point! After ten minutes of maintaining that barrier, he must have started to weaken! All Todoroki's team would need to do is continue hammering away at the barrier until that limit was reached!
"Kaminari, use your electricity against Kageyama! Don't hold anything back!" Todoroki ordered.
"Are you sure about that?" the gold-haired teenager said, "My electricity's a big handful, especially at full power."
"You must, Kaminari," urged Iida, "We have to find a way to beat Kageyama and Midoriya, and your electricity just might do the trick."
"They're right, Kaminari. Let's finish this strong," finished Tokoyami.
The gold-haired student gave them all uneasy looks before reluctantly agreeing to the demands of his teammates. "If you say so. Get ready for a taste of 1.3 million volts!"
Kaminari unleashed the fullest extent of his electricity as asked of him, causing all three of his teammates to let out short yelps of anguish, though each of them held on worked through the pain. The electricity travelled in all directions and reached the esper's barrier. When the electricity reached the barrier, Kageyama remembered the last time he'd been on the receiving end of electricity against one of the Scars who'd tried to attack his house. Compared to his electric attack, Kaminari's electricity was practically nothing.
The electric attack sizzled out after only a few seconds, and sadly for Todoroki's team, the 1.3 million volts of electricity shot at Shigeo's team failed to do any damage to the barrier.
"God, am I glad we weren't electrocuted," said Uraraka, wiping her forehead with relief.
"Can't you see that your attacks are pointless?" Yaoyorozu said to the opposing team, "No matter what you do, none of your attacks are strong enough to get through Kageyama's barrier. He's maintained this defense for almost all of this battle against a multitude of attacks, and yet he's still unfazed. You clearly see that. The smartest move I have for your team is to just accept that the ten million points won't be yours and keep the four headbands that you've already gotten, which should be more than enough to keep you in the top four."
The members of Todoroki's team all scowled. All of them were at a loss for what else they could do. Every attack thrown at him was completely ineffective! So was Yaoyorozu's assessment correct? Was the only option for them to merely give up and accept the undeniable truth that the ten million points wouldn't be theirs?
No! Todoroki would not allow this to be the case! He would prove himself as the champion of the sports festival and beat Kageyama!With the feelings of anger and frustration boiling up inside him, Todoroki acted on impulse and unleashed a short burst of flames on the esper's team. The flames failed to do anything whatsoever, and as soon as he unleashed the attack, the teenager felt utter repulsion at what he had just done. He'd promised himself he wouldn't use his flames, and yet he'd just broken that promise when he felt cornered.
"Good effort, Todoroki, but I don't think flames are going to be enough to break through the barrier," Iida said, "Honestly, I'm at a loss for what to do. Kageyama is a very high hurdle to leap over."
At this point, Todoroki was just going for broke and using whatever method he could to get through the barrier. Despite it having failed before in their battle trial, Todoroki summoned another wave of ice against Kageyama in a fruitless effort. When he saw that fail, Todoroki simply tried to use something new against Shigeo, which in this case was Tokoyami.
"Tokoyami, use your Dark Shadow to try and break through Kageyama's barrier!"
The avian student saw there was nothing to lose at this point and summoned his creature of the night to attack the esper. The large bird hovered over the barrier and began swiping at it with its large claws. Dark Shadow howled in fury as it tried to reach the ten million points.
While this was happening, Bakugo's team remained on the offensive, with the hot-headed teenager refusing to let Monoma get the better of him. While Monoma's team attempted to flee, Bakugo jumped up and attempted to grab the headbands, but a wall of solidified air was put up to protect the team. However, this barrier was many times weaker than Kageyama's, and after only a few punches, Bakugo managed to get two of the headbands back. Monoma attempted to flee and keep the remaining headband they had, which was worth 665 points and would still leave them in fourth place, but Bakugo still wouldn't let it end there. Through his intense perseverance and unbelievable determination, the young hero managed to combine the quirks of his teammates to slide across the field with Ashido's acid while Sero unleashed a volley of tape to pull themselves forward while Bakugo unleashed blasts that propelled them. Thanks to this, Bakugo managed to get all of the points back from Monoma. And now that they'd gotten the best of Monoma, the team made their way toward Shigeo and Shoto's teams to get the ten million points.
Bakugo's team burst through the ice and found the esper's team standing still while Todoroki's team was at the edge of the arena, Dark Shadow desperately trying to grab the headband. The three teammates gasped when they saw the esper's barrier still holding strong, even after fifteen minutes.
"The game is almost over!" Present Mic boomed, "Time for a countdown!"
"You've gotta be kidding me!" said Sero.
"Even after all this, Kageyama's still holding the barrier up!"
"ATTACK!" The hot-headed teenager did not care at this point whether or not things hadn't gone to plan, if the barrier was still up or not. The only thing concerning him at that moment was breaking through the barrier through whatever means. necessary. Bakugo's team approached the barrier, where the hot-headed teenager set off another explosion while Kirishima punched the barrier with his hardened fist. The relentless bashing of Kageyama's barrier was now being done by multiple people, and had there been more time, their combined efforts may have actually been able to pierce the barrier and give them the chance to take the headband, but sadly for both teams, Present Mic put an end to whatever chance that remained.
"Time's up!"
Both teams felt their hopes wither away when the time was called. Despite their best efforts, no team had managed to get the ten million points.
"And with that, the second round is officially over!" Excitement spread throughout the crowd of spectators, many of them cheering with glee at the overwhelming victory Kageyama's team had gotten due to the esper's overwhelming power.
In the arena, Bakugo grabbed his hair, nearly ready to pull it out by the handful with how infuriated he was. His horses quickly decided to back off and put their rider on the ground, where he screamed with absolute indignation. Todoroki managed to contain his anger better, although it was clear by his cold eyes and colder scowl that he was absolutely unpleased with how things had turned out, and he silently cursed to himself.
Kageyama undid the barrier and floated himself onto the ground, looking at the gloomy and frustrated faces of his classmates with some gloom of his own. Even though he'd won, he still couldn't help but feel pity for how his classmates had tried so desperately to get the ten million points, hitting him with their strongest attacks to no avail. His teammates also had a similar feeling, which was why they were not cheering or congratulating each other for their victory.
81%
"Good battle, you guys," said Mob in a rather unsuccessful attempt to ease the frustration of his classmates. Some of them took his words to be sincere and attempted to reciprocate the kindness.
"Thanks, but man-o-man, your barrier was something else," Kirishima said, followed by a sigh, "Nothing we did could get through that thing."
"It's clear that I need to become much stronger in order to pose a real threat to you," said Iida, causing the esper to uncomfortably rub the back of his head.
While the teams exchanged words, the announcer's voice reverberated throughout the stadium. "And now, let's takes a look at who our top four teams our: in first place, Team Kageyama! In second place, Team Todoroki! In third place, Team Bakugo! And in fourth place, Team Tets-" Present Mic's voice cut off when he realized that Team Tetsutetsu's headband was in the hands of Team Shinso, who'd somehow managed to get the headbands without attracting attention.
"Wait, what? Team Shinso? When did they come back from the dead?" The purple-haired student smirked, and the rest of his teammates, comprised of Aoyama, Ojiro, and a student from Class 1-B, should have been smirking with him, but instead, they all appeared confused, as if none of them had any recollection of what had just happened, for they didn't.
"Thanks for all your help." Shinso spoke to his teammate in a snarky manner, causing Ojiro's eyes to furrow. The martial artist hadn't joined Shinso's team of his own free will: somehow, Shinso had done something to him and the other two that forced them to join his team, though how he did it, he didn't have a clear idea yet.
In the teacher's box, the symbol of peace was once again beaming with pride. As he'd hoped, Kageyama had given another fantastic performance, this time demonstrating his amazing stamina and the durability of his barrier. The audience was being shown more and more evidence of the limitless potential Mob had as a hero and why he was a force to be reckoned with. Not only that, but he got Midoriya to qualify to the third event, and even though he didn't get to show off any of his abilities during the cavalry battle, there would be plenty of opportunities in the third event, so All Might wasn't very worried.
"These four valiant teams will all advance to the final round! Now, with the cavalry battle over, all you hungry fans can take an hour lunch break before we kick off the third event!"
The other students took it as their cue to get a bite to eat, and Kageyama's team was the first to begin their march to the exit. As they walked together, the joy of their victory managed to resurface, and the two girls broke out in smiles. "That was an outstanding victory! Kageyama, you truly carried our team!" said Yaoyorozu.
"Not a single enemy was able to get past your super strong defenses!" added Uraraka while she pumped her fists.
"Our team definitely left an impression with the audiences, and even if we didn't do much, they still had their eyes on us the whole game." The green-haired fanboy was also relieved to have kept the ten million points like his other two teammates.
"I'm just glad I managed to get all four of us to the final round."
As the four teammates continued across the pathway, they eventually reached the clearing, and the four of them decided to stop at the entrance.
"I think here's where we'll split up," Yaoyorozu uttered, "I'm going to go to the cafeteria and eat lunch."
"Actually, I think I'll go with you," replied Uraraka, "I wanna get some food before the lines get too long."
"Sounds good. Kageyama and I are probably just gonna go hang around in one of the waiting areas before we get some food."
"Kay then. See you later, and great job again!" The two girls waved their teammates off before going off to eat, leaving the two male friends by themselves.
"Actually, Kageyama, I wanted for the two of us to go see All Might before we get some food. I wanna hear his opinion on our performances, see if there were any particular strengths I showed during the obstacle course and how well you did during the obstacle course as well."
"I totally get it. I hope both of us are doing what All Might's expecting of us."
"You? I have no doubt in my mind that everyone's already got a crazy good look at what you're capable of." The two friends were about to march through the arena to find the symbol of peace, but before they could, both of them heard the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching them. They turned to their right and saw Todoroki staring at both of them with his cold eyes and his hands balled into fists.
"It's Todoroki," muttered Mob, "And he looks pretty serious."
"You think he wants something with us?" The green-eyed teenager guessed correctly, for the dual quirk-wielding student stopped right in front of the two of them.
"I wanna talk to both of you, now."
The two teenagers exchanged uneasy looks with each other before staring back at Todoroki. "With us?"
"It's not gonna take long. We'll talk at the entrance to that hallway over there." Shigeo and Izuku were unsure of whether or not to accept this invitation. Given the cold and frustrated look in his eyes, whatever conversation they were about to have wasn't going to be friendly or sociable. But even so, both of them felt that the red and white-haired classmate had something important to say to both of them, and Kageyama, in particular, was a person who was perfectly fine with talking to others.
"Uh, sure. We can talk." Kageyama was the first to speak. Todoroki didn't even bother waiting for Midoriya to give his reply and began walking toward the adjacent hallway, with the two training partners tailing right behind him. As they suspected, Todoroki did have something important to say to them. He'd made his declaration of war to both of them earlier in the waiting lounge, but after facing both of them in the two events, the teenager felt as though he needed to dig deeper into why he started this feud with the two of them, what was really happening with Todoroki, and explain to both of them why he refrained from using his left side in battle, barring the moment of frustration that he'd allowed to get him carried away. Not only that, but he had a few questions for the two of them as well, and he was determined to get some answers.
As expected, Mob once again takes the spotlight in all his glory, proving to the other classes and the audience that his power is on an entirely different level in so many regards! For those wishing to see Hatsume, I couldn't find a way to fit her into this, so unfortunately, she's no longer a factor in the sports festival.
I made sure to remind you all that Kageyama still isn't as skilled in wielding multiple powers, and he still can't do two things at once. This has sometimes confused me, since during the battle with Dimple, he used his telekinesis to float all of the followers to the roof while fighting Dimple, but I think the reason for this is that when he's emitting high psychic energy, he subconsciously uses telekinesis to lift objects. In this case, he had to make a conscious effort to lift his teammates. At least, that's how I interpret it. At the very least, there's never really been any concrete evidence or statement that proves he can wield two powers simultaneously, and since Mob's already ridiculously overpowered, I think this very small weakness isn't really that big of a blow, if only a very slight nerf.
Now that the cavalry battle is over, that means that the big final battles are going to start, and we'll see just how Shigeo fares, how much he will dominate once again!
