Chapter 18
"It was a good plan," Tsuyu said, "so I joined the team, even though it was you."
Both her and Mineta were in the safety of Shoji's arms but with one problem. They had lost their points to an opposing team. The grape boy was almost crying out of worry for the fact that he and his team wouldn't advance to the final round.
"How did you lose your headband?"
"I don't know!" Mineta exclaimed, getting over his tears, "But now, there's nothing left to lose! Shoji, full attack mode!"
Shoji then removed his arms, losing the cocoon and looking like he had two nets.
"We're going to steal the points from those two teams with everything we've got!"
Teams Midoriya and Todoroki continued to stare each other down, daring for one or the other to move.
"I thought we would not have a confrontation until later in this contest." Tokoyami said, "He seems to think highly of you, Midoriya."
"Only half the time is left!" Izuku replied, "Don't stop moving."
"Iida, forward!" Todoroki said.
"Right!" Iida replied and lead the charge.
"Yaoyorozu, prepare to guard us and conduct electricity!"
"Right!" Momo replied and started to use her quirk, part from her are and the other from her stomach.
"Kaminari, you- "
"I know what I have to do!" Denki interrupted with a smile.
"Watch our surroundings." Izuku told his team as multiple teams charged at them, "It's not just one group coming for us!"
"Make sure you guard well…" Kaminari said as he charged up electricity. Two teams to notice this were Teams Watanabe and Yaoyorozu. Seeing Denki charge up his quirk, Momo having a rod plant in the ground and Shoto covering his team with some sort of sheet brought the same conclusion of what his plan was.
"That's not good." Haru stated, "Adrian!"
"Way ahead of you!" Adrian replied activating Golden Knight and planting his shield into the ground, creating a sphere. The other two teammates, Pony Tsunotori and Togaru Kamakiri, looked on in amazement.
"What is this?" Togaru asked.
"Some kind of bubble of protection?" Pony added.
"Exactly!" Adrian answered, "My Stand's special ability is to change the power of its defense at my command. So, I could contribute part of it to speed, precision or power output."
"What happens if you decided to contribute all of it to go on the attack?" Pony asked.
"You'll find out in the finals."
On another part of the arena, Jonasan looked to his teammates, Hiryu Rin and Jurota Shishida, giving a simple command.
"JUMP!" he exclaimed. They didn't understand but complied. They then felt like they landed on something but not the ground. Looking they say Crimson Omega holding them up, before he leapt into the air with them, causing them to scream.
"What are you doing?!" Hiryu shouted.
"We'll break our legs when we fall back down!" Jurota added.
"No, we won't!" Jonasan replied, "My Stand with land for us! Just look down below and see why we're up in the air!"
"Indiscriminate Shock…" Denki said and then shouted, "1.3 MILLION VOLTS!"
Dark Shadow immediately got in front of Team Midoriya saving them from getting zapped. The other teams…weren't so lucky, besides Teams Watanabe and Yaoyorozu. They stopped mid charge from having their bodies electrocuted.
"Kaminari…!" Jiro said through her teeth in both pain and anger.
"Less than six minutes left." Todoroki stated while discarding the sheet. He then grabbed the rod Momo made with his right hand and channeled ice on it. "We can't back down now."
The result was every other team having their feet frozen to the arena.
"Sorry, but you'll just have to bear it." Shoto said to them as he and his team dashed towards Team Midoriya.
"What? What'd he do?!" Present Mic exclaimed, "Todoroki took care of that crowd of teams in an instant! Well, except Teams Watanabe and Yaoyorozu."
"He froze them after Kaminari's shock stopped them…" Aizawa explained, "I guess it should be expected, but he took into account how a lot of people avoided it in the obstacle course."
"Nice commentary!"
"Chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga, CHOO, CHOO!" came the voice of Adrian as Team Watanabe zoomed past the frozen teams with train like speed, grabbing their headbands in the process.
"Nothing personal," Haru said, "but we don't want to be disqualified."
The points were now…
1st. Team Midoriya-10,000,310
2nd. Team Monoma-1,300
3rd. Team Watanabe-1,215
4th. Team Yaoyorozu-1,000
5th. Team Todoroki-595
6th. Team Tetsutetsu-0
7th. Team Bakugo-0
8th. Team Mineta-0
9th. Team Hagakure-0
10th. Team Shinso-0
11th. Team Kendo-0
12th. Team Yui-0
Before Team Watanabe could join the fray for wanting to try and get Team Midoriya's points, Todoroki blocked off anyone else from joining with an ice wall. Izuku tried to use the backpack for flying over but it short-circuited and stopped working.
"The backpack's acting up?" he said.
"Baby! There's room for improvement!" Mei exclaimed with excitement.
"Oh no, it's too strong!" Ochaco said as Team Todoroki started gaining on them, "We can't get away!"
"I'll restrain them!" Tokoyami stated and sent Dark Shadow at them.
"Yaoyorozu!" Shoto shouted. Momo responded by creating a lengthy shield out of her arm, stopping Dark Shadow in its tracks. Tokoyami gave a look of frustration while pulling Dark Shadow back and Momo smirked in victory.
"Yaoyorozu's Creation is too hard to deal with!" Izuku said.
"No…" Tokoyami replied, "Kaminari is worse. With that level of armor, if it had been sunlight, Dark Shadow would have been ripped apart."
That caused a look of shock to appear on Izuku's face as he remembered their conversation before the match.
(Flashback)
"Right!" Izuku said as Tokoyami agreed to join their team, "In any case, I want you to devote yourself to defense. You don't have to attack. So…"
"Interesting." Tokoyami commented causing his team to look at him, "My quirk's offensive abilities increase the darker it is, but it becomes fierce and difficult to control. On the other hand, under sunlight, it becomes possible to control, but its offense becomes below average. To tell me I didn't have to attack with my quirk without knowing that…it's a very unique choice, under the circumstances. Very well, try using me. I leave it to you, Midoriya."
(Flashback End)
"I see…" Izuku said, "Kaminari's lighting…"
"As long as he keeps discharging electricity," Tokoyami explained, "attacking will be difficult. Dark Shadow will become timid."
"I'm against violence." Dark Shadow said out of the blue, surprising the team. They stopped mid-step though when they almost went out of bounds.
"Team Midoriya has nowhere left to go!" Present Mic screamed.
"Decreased offense…" Izuku said to Tokoyami, "They don't know that, do they?"
"I don't believe so." Tokoyami replied, "The only person I've told about this weakness is Koda, at USJ, and he is a man of few words."
Izuku then gave a determined look at seeing the charging team, remembering something that Jotaro said to him during a training session.
A cornered animal, or person, can still fight.
"If they don't know about it," he said, "then we can use it to hold them back. It's fine. No matter what, we will hang on to the ten million!"
"Monoma, don't provoke him!" One of Monoma's teammates said, "You'll be the same as him!"
No, you'd just be resigning yourself to an early grave. Adrian thought as he heard what was going on.
"That's right." Monoma replied, "It wouldn't become a hero. Besides, don't you often hear about heroes who get done in by villains who want revenge?"
Stop making the fuse move faster. Haru thought for Monoma with a tinge of worry.
"Bakugo, calm down!" Kirishima exclaimed to the near erupting Katsuki, "If you don't calm down, we won't be able to get the points back!"
Bakugo created a small explosion from his hands and then finally spoke.
"Forward, Kirishima!" he commanded with a predatory smirk, "Right now, I'm totally calm!"
The look on your face says otherwise. Jonasan thought as he and his team dodged others trying to take their points.
"We're seriously counting on you!" Kirishima said and then the whole team charged.
"GO!" Katsuki shouted while readying an explosion, "DIE!"
As he threw his hand forward to the smug face of Monoma, he was shocked to see that his hand was pivoted away by that very person. He turned to face him but was met with an explosion to the face.
"Wow, what a nice quirk!" Monoma said like a child who got a new toy. Then very quickly, he slapped some of Kirishima's hair.
"That's my- "Bakugo didn't get to finish when Kirishima interrupted him.
"Bakugo, someone has the same quirk as you, too?"
"Dang it!" Bakugo exclaimed with anger before throwing another explosion at Monoma, this time connecting.
"Really, such nice quirks." Monoma's voice rang out from the smoke. It cleared to reveal that the left side of his face and left arm had hardened, taking the brunt of Katsuki's explosion with no damage. "Mine's better, though."
Both Bakugo and Kirishima looked shocked at what they saw.
"Wha…? Mine?" Eijiro questioned, "The same again?"
"No." Katsuki answered, "This guy copied them."
"That's right." Monoma answered while being a safe distance away, "Well, even an idiot can figure it out, huh?"
Stop pushing his buttons! Both Adrian and Haru shouted in their minds. They may not like Katsuki Bakugo, but they knew better than to antagonize him. The boy had a temper that could match the explosion of an atomic war head. Would anyone, in their right mind, ever want to be on the receiving end of that? Before the incredibly angry Bakugo could do anything, a white substance shot between them.
"Bondo! Picking a fight huh?" Monoma asked with a smile on his face.
"Monoma, we just have to keep from getting caught now." One of the horseman said, "With this many points, we'll definitely make it into the top four!"
Team Monoma then turned and started to run.
"After them!" Katsuki shouted.
"It's solidifying!" Kirishima exclaimed. True to his word, the white substance was starting to harden like cement. "Wow! I can't move!"
"Wait a sec!" Mina exclaimed while spewing out acid onto the substance, "I'll melt it with my quirk!"
"Hurry!" Sero shouted, "We've got zero points right now! Hurry!"
"Oh, don't get mad at me." Monoma said while he and his team ran, "You're the one not taking this seriously. Don't you remember what Midoriya said at the pledge? If you don't…it's your loss. Too bad."
Katsuki was getting angrier by the minute at hearing this boy talk. In truth, he did remember what Izuku had said, every word. It was the begging part that stood out to him though.
"I pledge to give my all during the festival…and so should you, all of you."
I intended to give it my all. Katsuki thought through his anger, I will not be beaten by anybody, least of all a Lemon Headed Copycat. I will be number one…and I will beat Deku!
Near the ice barrier, Team Yaoyorozu stood only a few feet away from it.
"Are you planning on getting inside?" Jurota asked.
"Yes, I am." Jonasan replied.
"How?" Hiryu added.
Jonasan simply replied by summoning Crimson Omega and the Stand cracked its knuckles in anticipation.
"One minute left!" Present Mic screamed, both Teams Midoriya and Todoroki hearing from inside the ice barrier, "Todoroki made it so he'd have the ten million himself to seize in an instant! At least, that's what I thought five minutes ago! But unbelievably, Midoriya has been able to keep away in that cramped space for five minutes!"
"Hold!" Izuku shouted as his team moved to his right, staying on Todoroki's left.
"You're doing great!" Toshinori said with a smile from the VIP stands.
"He can see right through you." Said a man from the stands. He was a tall, sturdily-built man with a very muscular physique. He had short crimson hair which he wore spiked up around his head and sharp turquoise eyes. His beard and mustache were made entirely out of fire. His costume was a tight, navy turquoise bodysuit with lines of flames streaming across his chest, upper torso, arms, and most prominently his shoulders. He was also using those flames as a makeshift mask around his eyes. His boots appeared to be either made of fire themselves or constantly left alight, as only their soles and lacer are visible around the flames. He sported white bracers on his lower arms, styled in a cage pattern, and a blue bel with a pouch attached on either side. His height was 6'4 ¾", making him almost as tall as All Might. This was the Number Two Pro Hero, Endeavor, father of Shoto Todoroki. "Think up a different strategy. Try and outsmart him."
He's keeping his distance, Shoto thought to himself, staying on my left side. At this rate, if I want to freeze them over the shortest distance, I'll get Iida. And if he keeps moving like this…I'll do myself in if I freeze indiscriminately. And Tokoyami can defend against Kaminari's electricity. Thankfully, Midoriya had yet to pull out his Stand. One more minute. He's smarter than I gave him credit for.
"I'm not…done yet…" Kaminari said but the look on his face said otherwise.
"Everyone," Iida said getting the team's attention, "there's less than a minute left. You won't be able to use me after this. I'm counting on you!"
"Iida?" Todoroki asked with concern in his voice.
"Hang on tight. Make sure you get it, Todoroki!"
The roaring of engines could be heard, and blue flames exited out of Iida's exhausts. During that though, no one noticed a small section of the wall staring to crack and fall apart.
"Torque Over…Reciproburst!" Iida shouted and the whole team dashed forward like a racecar. This action caught Team Midoriya off guard and in that instant, Team Todoroki now had the ten million points. Team Todoroki then ended up some feet away from Team Midoriya.
"What happened?!" Present Mic exclaimed, "So fast! So fast! Iida, if you could accelerate that fast, then show us in the prelims!"
"What was that?" Shoto asked, still in shock.
"By forcing the torque and rotations to increase," Iida explained, "I created an explosive power. With the recoil, my engines stall for a while though. It's a secret move I hadn't told anyone in class yet."
Izuku looked at his with both surprise and excitement on his face.
"I told you didn't I, Midoriya?" Iida said to the boy while smiling, "That I'd challenge you."
"The tables are turned!" Present Mic screamed, "Offense and defense right at the edge! Reigning that in, Todoroki gets the ten million points, and Midoriya is suddenly left with zero points!"
"I'm sorry, who has the ten million points?!" shouted the unmistakable voice of Jonasan. Everyone looked to see his team steading some feet away from the other two teams, spinning something in his hands. That's when Shoto noticed the hole in his ice wall. Jonasan must have used his Stand as a jackhammer and punched his way through. The said boy then stopped to show what was in his hands, the ten million headband. "Missing something, Todoroki?"
Shoto looked at his hand and around his neck to see that the ten million points were actually missing and in Jonasan's possession.
"What?! JoJo now has the points?!" Present Mic asked in shock, "How did he- "
He didn't get to finish as a rock hit the window, cracking it a bit. Both him and Eraserhead looked to see that Jonasan was the one who threw it, and he was not happy.
"ONLY MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY GET TO CALL ME JOJO!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, "JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE A PRO HERO AND TEACHER DOESN'T MEAN THAT- "
Jonasan stopped midsentence when he felt the headband being pulled from his hands. He immediately stopped it by getting a tight grip with his left. He looked to see Izuku with his team on the other end, the rider himself pulling with his right hand.
He capitalized on me losing my temper! Jonasan thought to himself, Clever.
"Midoriya and Mr. Yaoyorozu are fighting for the ten million headband!" Present Mic screamed, "This went from a Calvary Battle to a Tug of War!"
I can't let either one of them hold onto the headband. Shoto thought then turned to his teammates. "Everyone, we'll grab the headband while both of them are occupied with each other."
"Right!" they said together then charged towards them. Todoroki, on instinct without knowing it, was activating his flames on his left arm. The minute his team got within arm's reach of the headband though…
"AGILE EMERALD/CRIMSON OMEGA!" both students of Jotaro shouted and their Stands manifested then charged at each other.
"SMASH/ORA!" they shouted as Agile Emerald's right fist connected with Crimson Omega's left fist, both punches hitting each other. This created a shockwave so powerful that it not only pushed back Team Todoroki to the edge of the arena, it also completely destroyed the ice wall the son of Endeavor had created.
"WHOA! I knew both boys were strong since I know who they were trained by," Present Mic screamed, "but this is on a whole different level!"
"Both of them know that holding back isn't going to help them win a place in the Sports Festival." Eraserhead stated, "Neither one of them is pulling their punches to try and get the headband in their possession for first place. It seems that Jotaro made it very clear that in battle, you play for keeps."
This point was proven when both Stands started to continuously throw punches and kicks at each other at speeds that rivaled All Might's.
"SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA, SMASH/ORA!"
The resulting, slightly weaker, shockwaves acted like a barrier, keeping anyone else from getting too close. Todoroki could only stare in shock at what he was witnessing.
Midoriya…just…how are strong are you? He thought to himself then looked at Momo who had a look of shock mirroring his own. "I'm guessing you've never seen your brother spar with his Stand before."
"Only on brick walls and punching bags." Momo said without looking away, "To see him facing someone with another Stand and having trouble gaining the upper hand…is new to me."
"With less than a minute left," Present Mic stated, "Team Monoma is now in the lead! The ten million headband is right now in the middle of a Tug of War between Teams Midoriya and Yaoyorozu! Will these four teams be the ones to come out on top or will a fifth appear out of the blue?!"
The points were now…
1st. Team Monoma-1,300
2nd. Team Watanabe-1,215
3rd. Team Yaoyorozu-1,000
4th. Team Todoroki-595
5th. Team Midoriya-0
6th. Team Tetsutetsu-0
7th. Team Bakugo-0
8th. Team Mineta-0
9th. Team Hagakure-0
10th. Team Shinso-0
11th. Team Kendo-0
12th. Team Yui-0
"First place, huh?" Monoma said with a grin on his face, "It seems that the two titans are facing off with the ten million headband. Let us keep that place until the match ends."
"We're not going for the headband?" one of the horsemen asked.
"You saw what happened to that ice wall, right? And that was from the shockwave, only. I'd rather not test the limits of our skill and luck. That would be disaster waiting to happen."
"Wait!" shouted the voice of Katsuki Bakugo, "I said, wait!"
"Jeez, so persistent. As a hero, not to mention as a person, that persistence will- "he didn't finish as he looked behind him to see Katsuki flying towards him, using his explosions as thrusters.
"Don't act on your own, Bakugo!" Kirishima shouted.
"Tsuburaba, guard!" Monoma shouted with urgency. The said horseman, Tsuburaba, took in a lung full of air and then blew out, creating a circular shield made of air, stopping Bakugo in his tracks.
"Yes!" he shouted with victory, "You can't see this wall! Serves you right!"
If only you knew who you were dealing with. Adrian thought to himself as Team Watanabe saw the who thing, As my friends and I like to say about Bakugo…
You play with a stick of dynamite, Haru continued the thought, you're going to get blown up.
True to those words, as Team Monoma turned to leave, Bakugo punched straight through the wall made of air and grabbed two of Monoma's headbands.
He took two! Monoma thought to himself in shock. He then saw the said boy get caught by some tape and then pulled back to his team. The points had changed once again to…
1st. Team Watanabe-1,215
2nd. Team Bakugo-1,015
3rd. Team Yaoyorozu-1,000
4th. Team Todoroki-595
5th. Team Monoma-285
6th. Team Midoriya-0
7th. Team Tetsutetsu-0
8th. Team Mineta-0
9th. Team Hagakure-0
10th. Team Shinso-0
11th. Team Kendo-0
12th. Team Yui-0
"Team Bakugo seizes two headbands to move to second place!" Present Mic shouted, "The rankings keep changing in the final stages! It's the passion of youth!"
"Dang it!" Monoma cursed as he and his teammates avoided the other teams.
"It's fine!" Tsuburaba said, "We're in fifth, so we still advance to the next round! Kendo's been frozen and can't move."
"Yeah…" Monoma replied with uncertainty, "As long as we defend this one to the death, we'll definitely…"
"I told you to say something if you're going to jump!" Sero said to Bakugo as they stayed on Team Monoma's tail.
"But this means we'll definitely get through to the next round- "Kirishima said before he was interrupted by Katsuki repeatedly hitting his head.
"Not yet!" he shouted.
"What?!" Sero asked.
"We're gonna get an indisputable first place!"
Monoma… Aizawa thought as he watched everything, Class B's strategy was certainly reasonable and good. But there is just one thing that is unfortunate…
"I couldn't brace myself enough earlier on my own!" Katsuki said, "Go! We'll take their points as payback for taking ours, and then go for the ten million!"
Kirishima, Mina, and Sero could only grin and hearing Bakugo. Even though he can be a bit problematic, they couldn't fault his conviction.
"Jeez…" Sero said with a smile.
"Flat Face! Tape!"
"It's Sero!" The said boy then shot some tape from his left arm that reached the other end of the arena, passing Team Monoma.
"You missed!" Monoma shouted.
"Racoon Eyes!" Katsuki addressed Mina, "Lay down a weak dissolving solution in the direction we're going!"
"My name's Mina Ashido!" she replied and sprayed some of her acid in front of them.
Young Bakugo, All Might thought at seeing what he was doing, you understand very well, without being told, don't you? Those who are always aiming for the top, and those who aren't. Their difference…
You didn't take the difference in tenacity into consideration, did you? Aizawa unknowingly finished the thought. At that moment Team Bakugo rocketed towards Team Monoma, breaking through their air shield and stealing their headband.
The points changed once again.
1st. Team Bakugo-1,300
2nd. Team Watanabe-1,215
3rd. Team Yaoyorozu-1,000
4th. Team Todoroki-595
5th. Team Monoma-0
6th. Team Midoriya-0
7th. Team Tetsutetsu-0
8th. Team Mineta-0
9th. Team Hagakure-0
10th. Team Shinso-0
11th. Team Kendo-0
12th. Team Yui-0
"Bakugo is merciless!" Present Mic screamed as the crowd cheered, "If he's gonna do it, he's gonna be thorough! He's, you know, a perfectionist! Now, there are only seconds left!"
"Time to snatch the ten million from Deku and JoJo!" Katsuki shouted as he and his team charged toward the Tug of War, "Oi, Flat Face! Tape that headband and pull it over! We'll grab it while they're distracted!"
"Got it!" Sero answered and shot tape from his left arm towards the headband. What none of them expected thought was for Jonasan to grab the tape with his right arm and pull it away from the headband, forcefully. This resulted in a cracking sound, coming from Sero who let out a shout of pain.
"Sero, are you okay?!" Kirishima shouted in concern.
"No!" Sero replied painfully, "I think my shoulder is dislocated!"
The next second, Crimson Omega threw a powerful punch that created a shockwave, pushing Team Bakugo a few feet back. Agile Emerald retaliated in kind with a kick that created another shockwave, just as powerful as the last one, knocking the team back even further. Sero had immediately detached the tape from his arm, not wanting anymore pain than what he was already going through. Bakugo looked at both Izuku and Jonasan with anger, but it quickly turned to shock. The glasses were showing the stats of both Stands and what he saw was not something he was expecting.
Name: Agile Emerald
Stand User: Izuku Midoriya
Strength: B
Speed: B
Range: B
Defense: B
Precision: B
Potential: B
Name: Crimson Omega
Stand User: Jonasan Jouichirou Yaoyorozu
Strength: A
Speed: A
Range: C
Defense: A
Precision: A
Potential: A
"Are you guys seeing this?" Kirishima asked in shock.
"Seeing, having trouble believing." Mina replied.
"Seeing what?" Sero asked.
"The stats, Flat Face!" Katsuki answered, "JoJo's Stand surpasses Deku's in everything but range! His Stand is stronger, faster, tougher, and yet…"
He couldn't bring himself to say it because he didn't want to. He didn't want to admit that Izuku was probably stronger than him. He refused to do so. Sero, though, finally understood and said what he was thinking.
"Midoriya's Stand is matching Yaoyorozu's Stand attacks, blow for blow!"
Indeed, he was correct in what he said. Somehow, Izuku's weaker Stand was fighting Jonasan's on equal terms. Katsuki could see that both boys had bruises on their arms, legs and faces from the attacks. Yet, neither one of them had let go of the headband. The blond boy could only grit his teeth in frustration at seeing that Izuku was holding his own against someone who was clearly stronger than him.
How is Deku so strong?! Katsuki thought to himself in anger. The team was so occupied at seeing what was happening that they did not notice Team Watanabe dash past them until a split second later.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?!" Pony asked with concern.
"You saw what those blows are capable of!" Togaru added, "You could get seriously hurt!"
"It's the only chance we've got at getting first place!" Haru answered, "Do it, Adrian!"
"Okay!" Adrian replied, "HEAVE HO!"
Transferring a bit of his Stand's strength directly to its arm, Golden Knight threw Haru straight towards the two warring Stands. The plan was to simply, by some miracle, grab the headband without getting caught in the crossfire. As you could guess, both Pony and Togaru were not really into the idea, though they really didn't have a say in the matter. As Haru flew towards the fight, he closed his eyes and listened for the sounds of the punches and kicks being thrown by the two alpha Stands. He finally found the sounds and listened carefully for the pattern.
Punch. Punch. Kick. Punch. Punch. Kick. Punch. Punch. Kick. Punch. Punch. Kick. Punch. Punch. Kick. Punch. Punch. Kick. Punch. Punch. Kick. Punch. Punch. Kick. Punch. Punch. Kick. Punch. Punch. Kick. Punch. Punch. Kick. Punch. Punch. Kick. Punch. Punch. Kick. Punch. Punch. Kick. Punch. Punch. Kick. Punch. Punch. Kick.
The next few seconds, that would be the end of the Calvary Battle, happened in slow motion. Finding the pattern, he opened his eyes, reached out his hand and grabbed the headband when the kick had just finished. The minute his hand enclosed around the target, both Agile Emerald and Crimson Omega immediately froze before they could throw their next punches. Izuku and Jonasan looked at Haru in shock at seeing him grab the headband.
"Yoink." Haru said with a triumphant smile and was pulled back to his team by Violet Captor's whip, the ten million headband in his hand. The minute he landed in his teammates hands…
"Time's up!" Present Mic shouted, "That's the end of the second round, the Calvary Battle! Now let's take a look at the top five teams! In first place, with a stunning last second victory, Team Watanabe!"
"Talk about a close call." Adrian said then looked to Haru, who was shaking like a leaf. "You okay?"
"I so close to being sent to the pearly gates." Haru said with a scared smile in a shaky voice.
"In second place," Present Mic continued, "Team Bakugo!"
"Ah, we were so close!" Mina complained.
"Well, second place isn't so bad." Sero said while massaging his injured arm, "I mean, with my injured arm, we've could've lost all our points to someone else. So, all's well that ends well."
"Do you really think that's how he feels?" Kirishima asked, making his teammates look at a very upset Katsuki Bakugo. You think said boy would be thrilled that he had beaten Izuku, but that wasn't the case.
"I lost to Goldilocks and Short Stuff." He said in anger, "Short Stuff, of all people!"
"In third place," Present Mic continued, "with a stunning comeback to the top five that no one expected in the last few seconds, Team Midoriya!"
Haru and Adrian looked in surprise at said team and saw a bruised and somewhat bloody Izuku with his team smiling. He then looked at Haru, still smiling.
"Missing something?" he asked and Dark Shadow appeared behind him with a number of headbands in its mouth. Haru, with a shocked face, looked down and felt around his forehead, noticing that his teams original and obtained headbands were gone. He realized that during his dive for the ten million headband, Dark Shadow had grabbed them without him being the wiser.
"Smart." Haru simply said with a smile.
(VIP Stands)
"BIG BROTHER MADE IT!" the Higashikata twins shouted with happiness, jumping around in the process.
"Talk about a close call." Jouji commented, "Izuku and his team came very close to losing."
"You forgot about his strategic mind little brother." Jolyne added, "He obviously had a backup plan if something went wrong."
"He may not have gotten first place," Hope said, "but he made sure he didn't get fourth."
"I'm so glad he is able to advance to the third event." Hanabi said with a smile.
"You must be very proud of him." Yagi commented.
"I am."
(Waiting Room)
That…was nerve wracking. Katsumi thought to himself, I actually thought he wasn't going to advance to the third event.
"In fourth place, Team Yaoyorozu!"
"Looks like you beat me again, Izuku." Jonasan said, "Hopefully, I can change that in the final event."
"And finally in fifth place, Team Todoroki!"
"I'm sorry everyone." Iida apologized, "I gave us trouble in the end."
"That's not true." Momo replied, "We just never anticipated my brother showing up and throwing a wrench in your plan."
"Speaking of your brother," Shoto intervened, "you should check on him. He looks like he just got out of a bar fight."
"You're right." Momo agreed and ran off to check on Jonasan. Shoto looked down at his left hand.
I won't use this power. He thought to himself as he clenched his fist, That's what I had decided, but I panicked…I can't…At this rate…
"Jotaro trained those boys well." Endeavor said to himself as he walked off.
"Now, we'll take an hour's break for lunch before we start the afternoon festivities!" Present Mic stated, "See ya! Hey, Eraser Head, let's go grab food."
"I'm going to sleep." Aizawa replied.
"How disappointing…" Tsuyu said as she walked away from Mineta. Her sour mood lightened up when she walked up to Mina. "Mina congratulations."
"Well, Bakugo just let me join to use against Todoroki's ice," Mina said with a hint of disappointment, "so I don't know if it reflects my abilities."
"Iida, I didn't know you had a special move like that!" Ochaco said while mimicking his running movements, "No fair!"
"It has nothing to do with fairness." Iida replied, "I just wasn't using it as intended."
"Wheeeeeeeeeee." Was all Kaminari could say after using so much electricity and frying his brain, which translated to, 'That was fun.'
"I wanted to do something to compete with Midoriya. In the end, though, that plan backfired when Jonasan Jouichirou Yaoyorozu made his appearance."
"It's that manly thing, huh?" Ochaco asked before looking around, "Speaking of which, where is that Midoriya? Where's Deku?"
"Don't worry, I'm sure he's fine." Adrian said but was then grabbed by the back of his shirt by Haru.
"We'll go find him." Haru said while walking away with Adrian in tow, "He probably went to see Recovery Girl."
"Are you alright, JoJo?" Momo asked her brother who was limping out of the stadium.
"Yeah." He replied, "Just bruised and a little bloodied. No broken bones, though. Not yet anyway. Why are you asking? You usually never did when I came home after training."
"Because…I'm just so used to seeing you as the winner. Getting a clean victory against any of your opponents. To see you struggle against Midoriya…I got worried. I thought you wouldn't have such a hard time winning."
"Momo, out of all the people I've faced in the past, whether it was in spars or board games, Izuku is the only one who can make me work for my victories. He's the only one who can give me a challenge. You have no idea how happy that makes me."
Momo could hear the truth in his voice, which was backed up by the smile on his face. Unknown to both Yaoyorozu's, they had walked past someone who watched the interaction, with a cat on his shoulder. He then looked towards where Haru and Adrian had walked off to.
"Go on and reintroduce yourself." The man said to the cat, and the feline jumped off and stalked into the said direction.
Speaking of Izuku, he was pulled off to the side by Shoto Todoroki, who wished to speak to him in private. Shoto looked at the beaten form of Izuku that stood in front of him. The fact that he could go toe to toe with someone like Jonasan Junichiro Yaoyorozu made a lot of questions run through his head. The biggest question of them all was…
How strong are you, Izuku Midoriya?
"What did you want to talk about?" Izuku broke the silence with a question.
AN: Hey everyone, sorry for the loooooooooooooooong wait. Work has been a real pain so had redecorating my living space. Thankfully, things have calmed down now. I hope this chapter was worth the wait for everybody following this story. Thank you for your continued support and patience. Sentinel Prime, out!