Denki was at the sports festival, and it was a bit of a mixed bag for him. He kind of liked it, maybe? But then again, who knows? Just another day, he guessed.

And then, well, there was this strange deal with a former classmate's hallucination. It was like hanging on the edge of his vision, almost messing with him, you know? But like, messing? Nah, not really. More like a helpful sidekick, if that even made sense. Like, it gave him this kinda wild plan that was basically a recipe for disaster, but then it somehow worked. Go figure. Results mattered, he supposed.

But then, whoa, things were taking a twist. A massive 10 million points were just chillin' over his head. Was it the Hallucination's master plan, or was it all on him? Man, it was like solving a riddle, except the riddle was his own brain. The whole hallucination deal? Yeah, that was like his own thoughts playing tricks on him. And it was a serious brain-bender to figure out how it all worked.

So here came the big question – was he like, way too hooked on this hallucination thing? But then again, it was just his own brain cooking up these ideas. I mean, let's be real, his regular thoughts couldn't whip up a plan involving launching off minefield bombs with some stolen metal plate from robots. That's some wild stuff, right? And it was all thanks to the hallucination, giving him pointers or whatever.

But then, looking at it from another angle, he guessed it was kinda on him too. He drew this comparison to Tokoyami and his whole deal with Dark Shadow's suggestions and strategies. Like, his brain was just trying to cope, maybe with some messed-up trauma or whatever. Therapy? Ugh, he so didn't wanna go there again. Seriously, therapist, take a hike.

And just as he was lost in his thoughts this high-pitched voice cut through, jolting him. Whoa, maybe not the prime moment to be spacing out, especially if he wanted to score some team points – that 10 million was, like, on the line.

Shifting his focus to where the noise came from, he saw this girl. Like, really attractive, even though she seemed kinda sweaty. And oh, there was the Midoriya Hallucination, just doing its ethereal floaty dance.

Man, floating like that would be, like, pretty cool.

"Hey?" Wait, did his mouth just decide to have a solo gig? Was he being controlled by some friendly ghost or something? He shot a suspicious glare at the hallucination.

Suddenly, the whole picture snapped into place. That hallucination thing? It was after his body or whatever. "Yo, Midoriya, no taking over my body, man," he just blurted out without warning.

The hallucination just looked confused, and now other people were looking too. Awkward.

"Not who you're thinking. Hatsume Mei! And you're the 10 million-point guy. What if we join forces? I got my little babies that could totally use your zap powers!" Mei brushed off his weirdness 'cause emotional stuff wasn't her vibe, you know?

Wait, what? "Babies?" Denki's words stumbled out unsure. Babies? Cute girl? Babies cute girl?

Was she some kinda teen parent who dragged her kids into, what was this again… a tournament?

"Yep!" the energetic girl chirped, and then she whipped out her gear – rocket boots, those goggles, and some extra jetpacks. She was totally showing them off to Denki, all happy and stuff.

Even though it was pretty cool, Denki wasn't totally feeling it. His brain was telling him to just, you know, team up with her to actually stand a chance. But nah, he was kinda... meh about it. "I dunno if you're a fit for this team, Mei..."

And then, out of nowhere, she's waving a gun around.

"You're in," he said, all quick. Just like that, man.

Was it a tiny bit unsettling that this 16-year-old girl was rocking a gun? Probably, but you know, he hadn't exactly thought this whole thing through. Also, did he mention she had a gun? So saying no? Tricky, because what if she got trigger-happy? He'd be back in the nurse's office, déjà vu.

Worst case? Therapy. Ugh, like, the worst kind. Picture this: him explaining why denying stuff when someone's packing heat wasn't, you know, the smartest play. Therapy? Nah, thanks.

Wait, what even was happening? His brain was spinning.

"Okay, so here's the thing. We could totally roll as a duo, just us. Show off my gadgets doing the heavy lifting. Showing how my babies could compensate for two meat sacks, *cough* humans." she explained.

…Did she just say "cough"?

"Uuh, yeah," he mumbled, and, whoa, his mouth had a mind of its own again. He gave Midoriya another glare. Super not cool, ghost guy.

Speaking of ghosts, the hallucination just shrugged.

Sassy ghost. Everything felt like a blurry dream he wasn't quite getting. Make it for worst why don't you.

"Yeah, no," Mei's voice echoed in his ears, her head shaking as she looked at him. Focus, right? Babies, breaking, next round, blah blah. She kept on talking, but Denki's brain was, like, "Nah, fam" after the first few words.

Everything around him felt fuzzy, but hey, teams, yeah? He started wandering in some random direction hoping the universe would take care of things if he just kept going.

"Hey!" Somebody shouted, and his attention snapped over. Oh, look, something was actually happening! He tried to give himself a mental high-five, but missed and ended up flopping and nose-diving into the ground, dying from some weird blood loss. Classic Denki.

This dude with the purple hair – skinnier than him and kinda frail-looking – was making his way over. Hair? Doing some odd thing, but Denki wasn't on hair patrol right now. The guy stopped, his face all frowny.

Oh, shit did he forget to shower?! Mei didn't seem like the person to care about... honestly anything judging from the fucking gun she carried around for some reason.

"I was going to brainwash you to be part of my team..." the dude was rambling on, but Denki's brain was in another universe. Oh yeah, teams. Go right ahead purple muppet. "But you kinda look like you actually gain IQ while under my brainwash, so uh, no thanks."

Did he got rejected from someone else's team just because he gave off the dumb vibe? He rushed back over to Mei, totally tripped at least once – probably got some looks, but who cared?

He was on a mission.

"Mei, do I look dumb?" he blurted out all worried.

"Yes," she responded without even bothering to glance up from whatever she was tinkering with.

Crap, that threw a wrench into things. Who'd wanna team up with a dodo? He glanced at Mei again, but she was in her own world. Time for the thinking pose. It was just his normal pose with slightly squintier eyes. Even the hallucination got in on the pose action.

Helpful, man.

And then something insanely weird happened. It was like electric fireworks were sparking in his brain. Brainception! Could he do that on purpose? Wait, focus! Crap, it was gone. Gone like a distant memory. Awesome, now he was just too lazy to think again.

So, what the heck was he supposed to do now?

"10 minutes remaining!" The announcement from Midnight totally did not help his situation at all. But then, out of the blue, a new voice chimed in. Denki, fully prepared (note: not at all), jumped in surprise yet again, turning towards the source.

It was some person he'd never laid eyes on before, but girly vibes? Was she a girl? "Affirmitive," she confirmed. Wait, did he accidentally say that out lowd? "Negative," she added. Bummer. But wait, how—

"Does the distinction in method carry import? I am here, unequivocally inclined to amalgamate with your endeavor. Does the manner by which I accessed the corridors of your cogitations genuinely bear significance?" She tried to change the subject or something. Denki almost wanted to believe her – you know, that it didn't really matter. Almost, until his brain delivered another vital piece of info.

He looked at Mei.

Sweaty.

Then, just for kicks, he pictured himself in a mirror.

Dumbass.

"Why would you wanna join my team?" he found himself asking.

The white-haired girl looked at him all puzzled, like he was the nutcase."You issued an invitation in this regard?" Wait, did he? Dang, he was nailing this whole team-building thing.

Okay, so two down. And, you know, him – that made more than two people. Only one more needed

"Yagani, what the hell are you doing?!" Another voice pierced the atmosphere. He looked over to the source – blonde dude hauling ass toward them.

"That wasn't part of the plan!" Yellow guy was totally peeved at the bewildered-looking girl.

"Pray, was such a course of action indeed discussed? I find myself enshrouded in a mire of perplexity. Didn't you suggest that I align myself with him?"?" Didn't she claim Denki was all like, "Yo, you should hitch a ride with me"? Or was this a hallucinogenic intermission?

He gazed back at Deadoriya – Hallucination #1. The dude delivered a thumbs up. Interpretation? No clue…

"What are you talking about? As if I would ever tell you to join Class A!" The other guy was getting a tad irritating. So, given Denki's circumstances, the solely logical move was to roll with: "You're also down for this wild ride?" It sorta just slipped out. Bot sure if it was him or his mouth taking the liberty.

He was beginning to embrace the concept that his mouth was in some state of mutiny or whatever. It was chill – he was cool with it. Everyone hit their breaking point at some point. Maybe his mouth had simply had enough of the utter nonsense he forced it to flow through.

"What?! Absolutely –" Abruptly, Deadoriya launched himself at the dude, "I would gladly join you!" he declared, the tone dramatically morphing to an uplifted timbre. Huh, reminded him a bit of Midoriya.

Alright, so like, the team was, you know, assembled and stuff. Mei – check. Yellow dude – check. Yanagi... um, whatever – check. And most importantly, him – mega check.

As soon as the signal for the match kicked off, with him being the designated rider or whatever, Deadoriya just zipped right at him.

And then... whoosh nothing.