CHAPTER 20: CAVALRY COMBAT CLASH

Todoroki POV (Earlier…)

I have a plan for the cavalry battle. Since I came in third, I need to gather a team of- wait, what?

I watched as Bakugo walked towards two other girls with Yaoyorozu in tow. He already convinced her? She's highly intelligent, so to convince her, he must have a foolproof plan.

Damn. Well, that changes things. Some of the others had tried to get me to choose them, but I refused. Now that Yaoyorozu is off the table, my initial strategy is a bust.

"Todoroki! You're going to want me." I turned to see Iida standing before me. I raised an eyebrow.

"Iida. I choose you." I then began to scan the crowd as he responded.

"Wonderful! With my speed, I will make a valuable asset to your team!"

I looked around before locating her. She was actually walking up to me, a huge smile plastered on her pastel pink face. "Todoroki! You're gonna want me on your team!"

"I was just coming to find you, Ashido. Now, we just need one more person, someone who can steer us at high speed."

A couple of ideas sorted through my head before settling on one. I watched the crowd before my gaze landed on him. Sero was looking around, unsure of where to go. I walked up to him.

"Sero."

The tape armed boy turned at the sound of his name. He looked behind me at my team. "Hey Todoroki. You want me on your team?"

I nodded. He grinned and nodded back. "Bakugo's gonna be tough, but is he gonna be our first target?"

My eyes narrowed. "No. After we've claimed some of the lesser headbands, we're going to go for Midoriya."

Speaking of him, I wonder… if his best friend has refused him, what's his strategy going to be? Regardless…

"Iida, you'll be the front horse. Your speed will be best utilized in the front. Ashido, you'll be the left wing, using your acid as an oil slick and to roughen the field. Sero, you'll be the right wing. Your tape will grant me a line to the ground as well as immobilizing the other teams."

Iida nodded as he thought. "And you'll be riding atop, providing storms of ice and fire, correct?"

"No."

I glared up to the stands. A man with burning shoulder pads and a flaming mask stood there. Endeavor. "I never use my left side in combat."

Deku POV (Meanwhile…)

After Kacchan walked away, I began to panic slightly. When he left, several others from my class came over to me. I held up my hands in an attempt for quiet as several voices spoke up at once. I was thinking of strategies as I considered who was in front of me.

"Pick me!"

"No, you're definitely going to want me."

"I'm the one you want!"

"You're going to want someone with flair!" Et tu, Aoyama?

Uraraka walked up and observed the small crowd that had gathered with me. "Hey Deku. I was gonna ask if you wanted me to join your team, but it looks like you have your hands full."

I began to think for a few moments before replying. "Actually Uraraka, I think you'd be great on my team! I have a plan, and you would give us the mobility advantage we would need."

Kirishima walked up, a jagged smile on his face. "Yo Midoriya!"

I didn't even hesitate. He was the next person I needed. "Kirishima, I was just coming to look for you. You'll be able to stand up to Kacchan, and you'll be a solid frontal defense."

Now we just need one more person, and I know just who to ask!

"Tokoyami!" He was standing off in the middle of the crowd elsewhere. I turned and walked directly over to him. "Join me."

He thought for a moment. "What would you have me do, should I join your team?"

I had thought about practical uses of his Quirk, and thought I had come up with a reasonable solution. "If Uraraka levitates all of us and Kirishima acts as a frontal shield, you can use your Quirk to propel us if we need to move fast. Otherwise, you would act as an omni-directional defense. If all goes well, you won't need to attack at all."

He closed his eyes with a grin before looking into mine. "Interesting. My Quirk is weaker in sunlight, yet more powerful in darkness. You couldn't have known this, and yet you placed me in the ideal position and role. Very well, I'll follow you in this."

My POV (Now)

You know, I thought it would be harder for me to find a team. But now, perched in the cupped palm of Kendo as Yaoyorozu and Yanagi held onto her left and right shoulder, I began to hold an inkling of confidence.

"Okay girls, are you ready for this?"

I began grinning as Yaoyorozu steeled her nerves. "Yes. Yes, I'm ready, against my better judgement."

Kendo smiled and pumped her other fist. "I'm ready. Let's do this!"

"Yanagi?" The tired-looking girl glanced up at me and nodded, before turning to face the others.

The other teams had been built. Deku looked ready, standing atop Uraraka, Tokoyami, and he had Kirishima in the front. Makes sense.

I looked over at the other big competitor. Todoroki had Iida like before, but he also had… Ashido and Sero? Wait, then who-

I looked over at Deku's team. Kirishima was upfront, with Uraraka and Tokoyami in back. I see.

I flexed my fingers before they tensed into claws. I watched as the other teams assumed their positions. The mounts would probably command everything. "Kendo, I'll be trusting you and Yanagi in regards to Class B's abilities. Who do I need to watch out for?"

Kendo didn't even hesitate. She must really get competitive, pointing to each student as she said their name. No matter how fair she was, she wanted a fighting chance. "Tokage can split herself up and fly, Bondo and Honenuki can stick us in place, and Monoma clearly has something up his sleeve."

I nodded. "Got it. And since you were so kind, I'll point out the threats from my class. Kaminari can stun us, Sero and Todoroki can immobilize us, and Tokoyami has a long reach with his Quirk. Yaoyorozu and I also know their weaknesses, so we can assist there."

The 1B girls nodded while Yaoyorozu sighed. "I still say the plan has several ways it can go wrong."

Flashback (a few minutes ago…)

"While Yanagi runs interference at close and mid range, Kendo acts as a frontal barrier with her hands as Yaoyorozu uses her Quirk to conjure up whatever we need. With Yaoyorozu's help, I can also coat you all in my Sword Skill energy field for a couple minutes."

"That's your plan? I thought you would have something more ironclad." Yaoyorozu appeared somewhat incredulous and disbelieving, while Kendo and Yanagi seemed to be thinking it over.

Funnily enough, it was Yanagi who spoke up first. "What kind of interference?"

I glanced her way. "Manipulating hands and other appendages that reach for the headband. If you like, you can also potentially manipulate traps laid by other teams or make them chase after their headbands if they get too close."

She nodded. "Given my limits and the situation, that makes the most sense for my Quirk.

Kendo spoke up. "With my limited range, I guess I'd be better suited for defense. My main question is whether can you keep up Sword Skill for that long before taking a nap?"

"As long as I can hold onto something. That will provide me with a focal point for my power, so I can maintain it easier."

"Well, as long as this plan goes as expected, but we can't fully account for everyone." Yaoyorozu was critical, seemingly running through every possible outcome in her head.

"Which is why I have a backup plan in case we get stuck. You see..⁰."

(Flashback end)

I cracked my knuckles as Present Mic began to tell everyone to get set up. "Yaoyorozu. Start making some wristbands that all link with velcro to each other. That will give me a link between everybody. And please add a handle to the central one. The way my Quirk works, I'll cover you as long as you are connected to my hand."

She nodded, understanding my plan. Kendo enlarged a hand and I stepped on. Yaoyorozu attached the wristbands to our left wrists, the objects orange and cyan in colour with cords of fabric and velcro clasps linking them with a reasonable amount of slack. In my hand was a handlebar, like a bicycle.

"BEGIN!" Crap, already? Darn you, Mic.

Every team began to run towards us. "Turn tail and run! We'll move to Plan B when the time calls for it. Defense Formation!"

Yaoyorozu and Yanagi grabbed hold of Kendo's shoulders and stayed alert, watching our flanks while the brawler carried me.

"A RATHER UNUSUAL FORMATION BY TEAM BAKUGO AS THEY FLEE FROM THE COMPETITION! HOW LONG CAN THEY KEEP IT UP?"

"Not helping!" I shouted at the box from the safety of Kendo's hand. Shoji was coming at us from the front, and I knew who he had hiding in there. I brought my hands together and prepared to activate my power as the sticky balls flew from within the cocoon of flesh.

"Yanagi, ahead of us!" Kendo shouted, glancing towards the quiet girl. Her gaze hardened as she nodded, holding out her hand. The violet orbs halted in midair, a pink glow surrounding them before they sailed off into the crowd. The sticky balls landed on the ground in front of the crowd of teams.

"Nice going, Yanagi!" Kendo smiled at her classmate as I gave her a thumbs up. Telekinesis was a handy power to have.

A few blobs of something flew in my direction. I looked to see they were made of some sort of reptilian skin. Kendo shouted from below. "It's Setsuna! Be careful!"

The segments tried to clutch at my headband, but she had no idea who she was messing with.

"WRRRYYYYAAAA!" With a Dio roar, I fired off a big blast, torching the segments to a crisp.

For a moment, I missed one as it stuck to my face. but luckily, Yanagi was there to save the day. With a wave of her hand, the blob was sent flying all the way back to sender.

"Yanagi, I could kiss you. Thank you so much!" The silver-haired girl flushed a little bit at my dramatic remark, while Kendo and Yaoyorozu just shot me a look.

I then noticed something small out of the corner of my eye and reflexively grabbed at it. A closer look revealed a pair of audio jacks. Jiro. I wonder, do they grow back?

I kept a firm grip as the heteromorph tried to reel in the wires. Hmm… lightbulb.

I tightly gripped the cords in my hand before letting off a few crackling bursts from my palm, not to harm but to be excessively loud to her. A shout of pain could be heard from a few meters away. I released them, and they retracted back to their owner. Jiro glared at me as she nursed her sore ears.

Different teams began to make their way towards us with varying degrees of intensity. Others had begun to turn on each other, but there was one team I was sure to keep a watchful eye for. Here he comes…

I clapped my hands together and began to chant. "For it is in passing we achieve immortality. To become a paragon of virtue to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death. I release thy soul, and by my shoulder…"

RWBY chant for the win! I thrust my hands forth, gripping the handlebar and sparking Sword Skill in my left hand. "...Protect thee!"

A cyan glow crept rapidly over the forms of my teammates. Yaoyorozu gained a look of surprise as the translucent cyan energy encased her. Kendo and Yanagi smiled in wonder as it crept over their bodies. My classmate was the first to say anything.

"It doesn't hurt. It just feels… warm." I nodded in agreement. The energy seemed thinner, easily seen through due to covering a larger area than it ever had previously. Good, that means it won't be lethal.

The energy crept over me too, and not a moment too soon. It fully encased me a split second before someone tried to grab the headband.

*HSSS* "OUCH!" My head whipped around to the source of the noise. It was none other than Neito Monoma, nursing his right hand. I squinted at the hand. The index and middle fingers as well as the thumb were burned, angry red skin visible from here.

He's a stealthy bugger with that team of his. Didn't even hear him coming.

Kendo elbowed me with her other arm, the energy sparking itself out, but the impact still felt. "You could have done without the theatrics. A second later and he would have snagged the headband."

"Thanks Captain Obvious, I couldn't tell."

Yaoyorozu sprouted a pole from her hand, keeping a death grip on it. "Stop the attitude, she's right- WATCH OUT!"

My eyes snapped up as Monoma charged, riding Tsubaraba and… shoot, he has Honenuki and Kaibara. This was going to be difficult. The former could soften the ground while the latter could stop the girls if he wanted to.

What a drag.

Deku POV (Meanwhile…)

As the signal was given to begin, my team moved quickly, snagging headbands wherever we could. My logic was that if we stuck to the fringes of the crowd or the smaller teams that were fighting amongst themselves, we should be okay.

I took charge as everyone began to chase after Kacchan. "All right everyone, just like we discussed. Uraraka, float us. Kirishima, harden up. Tokoyami, start propelling us with Dark Shadow. Time to start taking some headbands!"

My team nodded and began to initiate the plan. The sensation of weightlessness was very strange, but it did allow Dark Shadow to dig into the ground with his claws and propel us forward.

A familiar freezing sound could be heard. I looked over to see Todoroki holding one of Sero's tape lines as ice covered the ground. He can do that?! No, stop it. You need to stay focused. I returned my attention to those in front of me as other teams were frozen in place behind me.

Kirishima hardened up and got ready in case we ran into another team. With this speed, we shot around the arena, plucking headbands as quickly as we could. We would zip by and rip the headbands from their foreheads and add them to our collection. We racked up 436 points so far, so that's still decent on top of our 385.

Kirishima grinned from the front. "This cavalry battle has been a piece of cake! Can you imagine what would have happened if you got first place?"

Tokoyami spoke up. "It would be considerably more difficult."

Uraraka looked up with a smile. "We're doing great, guys! We might have to stop soon though, I don't know for sure how long I can keep this up."

"Midoriya! I'll be taking your headband." A familiar shout was heard from several meters off the left side. Todoroki was charging forth on a team of Iida, Ashido, and Sero. He had a few headbands on him from the teams he froze a few seconds ago.

This was going to be considerably more difficult, but now isn't the time to slow down. "We need to get out of here! Stay on his left side!"

Uraraka activated her power as we got ready to run. I noticed that Todoroki hadn't used his flames, so it's time to exploit that. For some reason, he doesn't want to use that, so if we keep to his left, he won't be able to use his ice without hitting Iida.

I looked ahead to see Mineta's balls littering the ground. We're also moving too fast to stop. Shoot.

"Uraraka, Tokoyami, Kirishima, time to moon jump." The pair nodded before the former braced herself. Kirishima armoured up while the other two prepared to take to the sky. Tokoyami let Dark Shadow out and pushed us skyward while under the influence of Zero Gravity.

"You know, I wish we had thought of teamup moves sooner. This is cool!" The redhead grinned like a madman as he sailed through the air.

A pained croak sounded from my left. Uraraka was looking a little green as we began to descend. "(Urk) I'm glad you think so, because I'm not feeling so good."

With a silent nod, Dark Shadow reached for the ground and swiftly reeled us to a safe spot. Todoroki's team halted on the other side of the hairball patch, the leader glaring holes in me. Ashido reached her arm forward and fired a glob of acid, melting a ball or two.

Sero launched one of his tape lines at me, hoping to snag the headband before a shadowy claw intervened.

I spared a glance around. Everyone was at each other's throats trying to get headbands.

Why was Todoroki so obsessed with trying to take me down? I get he thought All Might was helping me, but that was hardly a reason to want to beat me.

Sero quickly lent Todoroki a tape line, which the boy then unleashed his power through. Before we could react, massive icy walls erupted, blocking any escape. All there was now was my team and Todoroki's, staring each other down from opposite sides of a trap.

"ONE MINUTE REMAINING!"

My POV

"Fastball Special: Catapult!" Kendo seemed to get the message and hurled me into the air in an upward arc. The look on Monoma's face was priceless as I blasted through the air.

I watched as Yaoyorozu and Yanagi raced past Tsubaraba and reassembled with the redhead. I landed in her open palm and quickly reattached the cuffs, sparking my energy field again.

I glanced back at the recent chaser. "What's wrong, blondie? Too fast for ya?"

"You think you're better than me? Please, all you 1A students are spotlight hogging brats! I can take you no problem! Honenuki!"

That pretentious, egotistical, self-righteous little-! No, not now. He's trying to get to me. The pale looking lad grinned before starting to crouch, moving slow to not lose his passenger. He must use his power through his hands like Uraraka. "You're going down, punk!"

"I've heard that before. Let's go, hard right!" Yanagi pivoted as the other two began to run alongside.

It was at that point that the effects of Sword Skill began to kick in. The effect dissipated as I leaned forward, holding Kendo's shoulder as I rattled my head.

Yaoyorozu raised a brow. "Did you overuse your Quirk already? I'm impressed that you covered us for that long, but still, you need to pace yourself."

I grinned. "Aww, I didn't know you cared."

The black-haired beauty sputtered for a moment before Kendo shook me. "Now isn't the time! They're hot on our tails and we're running out of room!"

A glance ahead revealed that the boundary was fast approaching. Crud. "All right, go left!"

"ONE MINUTE REMAINING!"

Okay, cool. The problem still remains, but we don't have long left.

Knuckleduster POV (Meanwhile…)

I barely dodged a slash from the assassin before clapping his sword between my hands. He was faster and stronger, but he still had some of his old habits. That was the only thing that kept that blade from hitting me. "So this is what you've become, eh Stendhal? Just some delusional punk? Not much of an upgrade!"

"Stop calling me that. My name is Stain, and I will cull that fake hero you're trying to protect!" The noseless man yanked his sword free before attempting to run at Gentle. The guy may look like a pansy, but he's no joke. With a flick of the wrist, he created an elastic shield that was too soft for the sword to cut.

The formally dressed entertainer smiled cordially. "You're quite the skilled combatant, my good man. However, we're not here to fight you. We're here on behalf of our team leader with an offer."

That got Stain's attention. "What kind of Hero makes an offer to someone like me?"

I rolled my eyes. "We're not Heroes. We're working with a guy who's seen the future, and wants to save as many lives as possible. He managed to convince Fancypants, but I'm a bit skeptical."

Gentle chose to interject. "He described myself and my past rather well, saying that a future fight was what revealed it all to him. Regarding you he said, and I shall recite it from memory, 'Today is an important day. You must stop Stain from killing Ingenium in Hosu city. I'll tell Stain what he wants to know when I meet him face to face, just grant me the opportunity to speak with him without harming any heroes or civilians.'

Stain looked pretty confused, as if almost entertaining this idea. "It's as if he wants to revive the old ways of heroism… not harming innocents, keeping people out of harms way, like All Might. Those fakes corrupt the very title of 'hero'. Yet he wants to save those beyond saving too? How did he even know in the first place?"

Gentle shrugged. "He calls himself Oracle. He claims to have seen the future and wants to stop the League of Villains while saving as many people as possible. I presume you've heard of these ne'er-do-wells?"

That name made the man's expression as hard as flint. "Those insolent fools who thought they could kill All Might. Yes, I've heard."

He relaxed his stance for a moment. "Where is this 'Oracle'?"

I frowned. "We don't know. He usually meets us in an abandoned warehouse in Mustafu."

Stain was mulling this over. He didn't fully buy it, but it was just enough to get him intrigued.

He put his sword away. "Fine. I will speak with him. Five minutes, no more. And since he sounds like he lines up with my ideals somewhat, as a token of good faith, I won't kill that fake Hero. But know this; next time you get in my way, you'll both taste death."

He turned and leapt to the roof. I was tempted to follow him, but I underestimated him. I talked big, but since his Stendhal days, he's clearly gotten better. Shit.

"La Brava, did you get all of that?" Gentle was using the earpiece again. Her voice came through the other side.

"Yeah, I did. This guy sounds crazy. Does Oracle really want to recruit him?" I had to admit, she has a point. Why the hell would a reasonable sounding guy want a maniac on his team?

"And to think he was just some punk with no real determination working for a gang. I took him out fairly easy, and he ran off. He wasn't important enough to look into, I figured he had just quit."

Clicking of a keyboard was heard over the comm followed by a slightly testy voice. "He killed 39 Heroes, according to the news. He never quit."

I rolled my eyes, irritated. "Yeah yeah, I think that's pretty obvious."

Gentle cut in before tempers could flare. "It should be noted that we completed our mission. Stain is willing to speak with Oracle, and we spared Ingenium. What effect this will have, we do not know. So for now, let us depart this place and move to a more secure location before Ingenium regains consciousness."

I glanced back across the way. The armoured man was still slumped over. "Yeah. Let's move."

Toga POV

I stared as Katsuki and his team wheeled around and took off in another direction. His Quirk really did tire him out in long stretches like that, huh?

I haven't seen him exert himself like that around me before. Was he playing nice with me, or was he just slow to power up? If he was really holding back, then I don't stand a chance against him if he fought me for real.

That just begged the question of how he perceived my strength. Yeah, we had been on even footing last time, but only because of my trap. Does he take me seriously? If he was holding back this much, I don't know.

"Katsuki…" I watched as he placed his hands on the shoulders of the redhead and took a breath. He rattled his head and turned to look at the team that was chasing him.

He doesn't strike me as the dishonest type. So for now, I guess I'll just wait and watch.

Cut! The Cavalry Battle is in its final stretch! The results this time are way different, and the tournament portion is gonna be wicked. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

On another note, I admit, I was unsure about how to write Stain. He's portrayed as reasonable, if obsessive, but if someone fits his ideals, he'll give them the time of day. I hope I got him about right.

Please review and PM, I always enjoy hearing from you. See you next time