This chapter was a pain to write. I hope you all enjoy it. Coincidently, this chapter is being posted on Devil's Night (more commonly called Mischief Night). Let's enjoy the chapter, and have a great Halloween!
"The points are assigned based on your placement in the obstacle course, in increments of 5. So 32nd place will be 5 points, 31st 10 points, and so on. But there is one key exception," Midnight licked her lips sadistically. "The point value assigned to first place is… TEN MILLION!"
Izuku suddenly turned ghost white, feeling glares from all around aimed at him. "Ten… million…?" He muttered in absolute terror, which only increased as he looked around and both saw and felt the gaze of everyone on him. They were practically looking at him in the same way that a predator would look at prey.
Midnight looked down at the scene with an almost pleased grin on her face. "That's right. It's survival of the fittest with a chance for those at the bottom to overthrow the top!"
'…I've made a horrible mistake.' Izuku gulped audibly as he now started to regret taking the first-place spot in the last game. If one looked closely, they could practically see Izuku's heart beating faster than it probably ever had before.
From the teacher's stands, All Might looked down at his successor with a serious look in his eye. 'Now you know the burden of being the best.' All Might mentally said as he clenched his bony fist a little bit. 'A massive target is placed on your back by both heroes and villains. Heroes hoping to take your spot for themselves, and villains wanting to take you down. It's tough no matter what side.'
"Before we get started, let me explain the rules of the cavalry battle," Midnight continued. "The match will last 15 minutes. Each team is worth the total of the members' points. The rider will wear a headband with the team's total points on it. The goal is to grab each other's points while maintaining your own until the round is over. Any headband you take must be worn from the neck up. This, of course, means the more you have the harder it'll be to manage. It's important to note that even if your headband is taken or your horse formation is broken up, you're not out. Quirk use is allowed, however, but it's still a cavalry battle so attacks meant to knock people down will result in disqualification."
'Damn.' Bakugo thought to himself.
"You have 15 minutes to build your teams. Get moving!" Midnight finished.
The competitors began to scramble to create teams. "Team up with me!" Kaminari shouted.
"What? Bakugo, team up with me!" Mina begged the explosive boy. She may be crushing on Izuku, but ever since she heard the points that had been assigned to her favorite cinnamon roll, she had been afraid of what might happen, so she had chosen to go after the next most likely to get a good score.
All the while Bakugo stared blankly at all the students that wanted to be in his team for the Cavalry Battle.
"Wait a minute! Remind me what all of your Quirks are! Oh, yeah, and your names too!" He barked.
"What the- What kind of question is that? We're your classmates, for crying out loud! This is ridiculous!" Mina whined. She had seen it many times already in the past month, but that comment marked her maximum level of annoyance at how self-absorbed Bakugo can be. But to not know even their names was absurd.
'His personality is really left to be desired, but he still came in fifth, so he has over a hundred points. Given the all-purpose use of his Quirk, he should be able to get enough people in his team,' All Might thought, observing the interactions between his students.
"Hey, Bakugo! I was gonna ask Todoroki, but he chose his team already! So, what do you say? Let's team up!" Kirishima shouted, walking up to the crowd surrounding the Explosion Quirk boy.
"Oh, hey, shitty hair," Bakugo replied, giving an expression of 'no fucks left to give', and Kirishima looked at him with a deadpan expression.
"MY NAME IS KIRISHIMA! Damn it, at least have enough decency to remember the name of your own classmates! We teamed up back at USJ, for heaven's sake! And my hair is not even that different from yours!" The redhead exclaimed, pointing at Bakugo's spiky hair.
"Least mine's natural and epic, unlike yours," Bakugo snarked.
Kirishima chose to ignore that. "You wanna be the rider, right? Then, who will be the front horse that can take your blasts?" He asked, activating his Hardening Quirk to prove his point.
"Someone with guts, I'd say," Bakugo replied, apparently bored.
"Not really, but yeah! Me with my Hardening! I will be the horse that never wavers! You want to get them too, right? Midoriya's ten million points?"
Bakugo blinked before giving a huge smirk.
"Izuku…" Rias whispered in worry. The fact he had such a big target on him made finding a team will be difficult.
"Do you think he'll be okay?" Ravel asked.
"I'm sure he'll be fine," Yuuto reassured.
Meanwhile, Izuku looked around… and saw himself completely isolated from everybody else, with the ten million point headband already on. They all knew what he was capable of. They knew he was strong. They knew he belonged there. They admired him for his courage and determination to be the best… and that was why everyone really wanted to beat him. He couldn't count on Momo, Kyoka, and Ochako either. Momo and Kyoka were talking with Todoroki, and Ochako was talking with Liana. As such he decided to approach the nearest of his classmates.
"Umm… Yura-san, do you want to work together?" Izuku asked hopefully.
"Sorry Green, as much as I want to, I'll have to decline," Tsubasa replied. "Don't take it personally, but you have way too many points, and I really want to reach the final round," she said before walking off to find another group.
Izuku sighed exasperatedly at yet another failure, but at least he could see that the teams that were being formed had a mix of Classes 1-A and 1-B.
'Well, at least our classmates are going to be mixed up between the classes instead of just going with the people in their classes. Pity that everyone's avoiding me now.'
"Mwehehehe! Just as I thought, this is great! You stand out really well!"
Izuku turned around to the sound of the unfamiliar voice behind him and found himself face to face with a pair of goggles that were way too close for his own good, completely invading his personal space.
"Team up with me, Ten Million!"
"WHA! Who are you?" Izuku exclaimed as he jumped back away from the speaker, who giggled as she pulled her goggles up, now allowing him to see her chewing gum pink hair and her eyes, which had unique yellow irises with what seemed to be a cross-hair embedded in them.
"Me? I'm Hatsume Mei, from the Support Course, and the one that's going to take you to victory!" The girl said, giving out a grin that made Izuku feel as if he were in front of some kind of land shark.
"O-kay…" Izuku whispered, still in shock. Then he realized something. "Wait, Hatsume? Support course? You're the one working on my costume?"
He could almost see the gears turning in the girl's head. "…Oh yeah, you're the one with the green jumpsuit. Anyway, besides that, I don't know you beyond those delicious ten million points you've got, but you've got to let me use your position!" Hatsume exclaimed.
"You seem to be very blunt about your reasons for wanting to team up with me…" Izuku muttered while blushing, as she once more decided to put her face right next to his, almost nose to nose. 'She's so close!'
Up in the stands, a dark aura had gathered around Rias and Ravel.
"Of course I do! If I didn't, then you'd have no reason to trust me! Plus, if I team up with you, then I'll inevitably become part of the team everyone's going to be watching the most, right?" she began to speak rapidly, leaving him dumbstruck.
"Uh, yeah…"
"Well, then, when that happens, all of my super cute babies will be seen by all the big Support companies, and that's free publicity for me and for what I can do, do you understand that?"
"Err, babies?" Izuku asked in confusion and embarrassment.
"Let me show you my babies!" Hatsume grinned as she crossed one of her arms over her body, her fingers grabbing the hem of her shirt before she began to lift up.
"Wait wait wait waitwaitwaitwait!" Izuku yelled, not wanting to make a scene.
Luckily, she had only lifted it up to her waist so she could grab a remote control before letting it fall down.
"Uh…" Izuku muttered in relief, not sure how to feel about being teased like that, unaware of a dark glare from behind.
Hatsume ignored him as she pressed the button on her remote. Seconds later, a chest fell right in front of her from somewhere, where she opened it up to reveal a lot of gadgets and tools.
"Support Course develops the equipment that helps you Heroes use your Quirks to the max, and I have tons of babies, so I'm sure there's something you're going to like! Oh, I see this one's got your eye, hmm?" She said as she picked what appeared to be a jetpack. "I made this baby based on some Hero's backpack, but I added my own original twist to it to make it work a lot better!"
"Wait, are you talking about the Buster Hero, Air Jet? I like him, too!"
"You do?"
"Yeah, his agency's close to my home, so I went on a tour a few years ago."
"Huh, nice. But this is not the only baby I have here. Any of them that you pick, you will also benefit from them!" Hatsume stated.
"Alright then, welcome to the team!" He replied, shaking her hand.
"I'm glad you're getting along with her, Izuku-san."
Izuku suddenly froze up. Turning around slowly, he saw Ibara standing there, her pleasant smile contrasting the dark aura that currently surrounded her.
"I-Ibara-san!" Izuku gaped.
"Who?" Hatsume asked.
"H-How long have you been there?" Izuku asked nervously.
Ibara ignored that question. Instead, she glared at the pink-haired girl next to him. "And you are…?" She asked Hatsume, who grinned.
"Hatsume Mei, Support Course! I just asked Izuku – it's Izuku, right? – if I could join his team, and when he saw my babies here he just couldn't resist!" Hatsume said, showing the vine-haired girl the box with her gadgets.
"Your… babies?" Ibara asked in confusion, raising an eyebrow.
"Yep! I create them, and they make me happy!" Hatsume replied.
"I see…" Ibara took a deep breath. "Izuku-san, can I join your team?"
"Huh? Really?! Are you sure, Ibara-san?" Izuku asked. "I mean everyone's going to be coming after me because of my ten million points! I don't want you to be thrown out of the games because of me!"
"It's fine. I want to help you, Izuku," Ibara beamed with an angelic smile, something that caused Izuku to blush.
"Alright, that's three!" Hatsume cheered. "Should we add someone else?"
"But who's left?" Ibara asked.
"Good question," With him, Ibara, and Hatsume looking around, they saw nearly everyone has teamed up already, so there weren't many options left. "It looks like everyone is on a team already. So who…?"
"Uh, if it's not too much trouble, can I join the team too?" The three turned around and saw a familiar meganekko.
"Takamaki-san?" Ibara said.
"Taka-who?" Hatsume asked.
"Are you sure, Takamaki-san?" Izuku asked.
"Yes. I wish to help you," Milia replied.
"We'd love to have you, Takamaki-san," Izuku replied. He then gave a smile to the three girls. "Alright, we have a team, and I think I have a good game plan. Listen carefully…"
"See, Buchou. Izuku now has… a… team…" Yuuto trailed off, seeing the dark look on not just Rias' face, but also Ravel's.
"Is this normal?" Xenovia asked.
"You could say that," Yuuto chuckled.
"Damn… How does he do it?" Saji muttered darkly.
Kudelia giggled a little. "Yes, how does he?" She smiled before whispering to Sona. "We better be careful, otherwise that ladykiller might get us as well."
Sona stuttered for a moment. "Really, Kudelia?" She asked in disbelief. Though Kudelia couldn't help but notice the faint blush that appeared on Sona's cheeks, causing her to smile trolly, something Sona noticed. "Shut up."
"Excuse me, Kozuki-san?" Liana and Ochako looked up to see Itsuka walking up to them. "Can we team up?"
Liana regarded her for a moment before nodding. "Very well. We'll need one more person, though."
"Is there anyone left?" Ochako asked.
"What about him?" Itsuka pointed to a boy with messy indigo-hair.
"Isn't he the one who declared war on our class a while back?" Ochako asked.
Liana nodded as she walked over to him. "Hey!"
The purple-haired boy turned around at Liana calling to him. "What do you want?"
Liana, with Ochako and Itsuka behind, asked. "You have a mind control Quirk, right?" The boy raised an eyebrow. "I saw that you were being carried by some students when the race started earlier. And, unless they did so willing, that tells me it was your Quirk at work," she added, to the surprise of Ochako and Itsuka.
"What of it?" He asked.
"I want you to join our team," she answered.
The boy regarded her for a moment before saying anything. "You're father's Zero, right?"
"Yes," she answered, rather proudly.
"I'll join the team, if… you can get me Zero's autograph," he whispered the last part, looking somewhat embarrassed.
But the girls did hear him. Ochako tried not to burst out into giggles while Itsuka tried to stop her. Liana simply smirked in amusement. "I'll see what I can do. What's your name?"
"…Shinso Hitoshi."
"So what's the plan, Kozuki?" Itsuka asked.
"Are we going to go after Midoriya?" Shinso asked.
"No. We won't." Liana answered.
"How come?" Ochako asked.
"Think about it. Almost everyone will surely be after Midoriya's ten million points so they can take first place. That forces Midoriya and his team to defense and evasion, and knowing him whatever defense he set up will be difficult to break through. Even if someone does take his headband, then that team will become the next target."
"Oh, I get it," Shinso piped in. "All we gotta do is collect other headbands and keep a low profile until the match is over."
"Right," Liana nodded. "This way we can safely move on."
The teams have officially formed but there was still time left on the clock. So many of them huddled away from each other so they can each come up with strategies.
"I chose the three of you because I believe we'll make the most stable formation possible."
Such teams include Todoroki's team.
"Jiro's our left-wing. She can use her Quirk to keep enemies at bay," truthfully Todoroki had wanted Kaminari, but Momo had insisted on letting Kyoka join. While Kaminari's Quirk would've been better at defense, Todoroki had already seen what her Earphone Jack Quirk could do, and that gave him many ideas of the advantages he could exploit from having her in his team.
"Yaoyorozu you'll take the right-wing. Focus on defense," he continued before addressing Iida. "Iida, you'll take the front. We'll rely on you for mobility and physical defense."
Iida nodded. "And you'll be attacking and creating diversions of ice and fire, correct?"
Todoroki shook his head and narrowed his eyes. "No. I will never use my fire in a fight," he glanced at the stands to see his father standing towards the back, gazing at him with a scowl. Todoroki growled as he turned his attention back to his team.
A buzzer went off, shutting up all conversations going around within the stadium.
"Time's up! The fifteen minutes to gather the teams are over! Now, let's get started!" Midnight announced to the students, doing some arm stretches to prepare herself for a long event of arbitrating several teams of teenagers ready to fight each other.
["Hey, hey, come on, wake up, Eraser! The second round is about to start!"] Present Mic said, shaking Aizawa so he would wake up from his nap. ["It's now fifteen minutes, and we have nine cavalry teams lined up on the field!"]
Aizawa took a few seconds to lazily look at the teams. ["Hmmm... there are some interesting teams out there,"] he commented
["Now, raise those battle cries! It is time for U.A.'s bloody battle!"] Present Mic cried out.
["Stop dragging it. I don't think there will be any bloodshed,"] Aizawa stated. Present Mic ignored him.
["Here are the teams!"]
Each team was formed in the stage and their numbers showed on the screen, which now went over each team, from the one with the lowest value to the highest, the rider giving their name to the overall team. First from the bottom were Rin and Jurota in a two-man team, going up point by point, until the list reached the top… where it was revealed that the team name was Team Takamaki.
"What?" Monoma exclaimed, now looking at the first-place team, as did everyone else.
They had all expected Izuku, as the winner of the first event, to become a rider, but Izuku had chosen to completely shatter their expectations, becoming instead front horseman, with Ibara covering the left, Hatsume to the right, and Milia as the rider.
Bakugo, upon seeing this, gritted his teeth: he had expected Izuku to be the rider so he could take him on, but instead, he would have to deal with Milia.
"Goddamn it, Deku! Running away?" he growled.
["ALL RIGHT! Every team is ready and hot to begin running! I'm not going to ask if you're ready or not!"] Present Mic yelled, the audience now on the edge of their seats as they eagerly anticipated the beginning of the Sports Festival's second round. ["Now, let's go! The countdown to the brutal bloody showdown begins!"]
["You're dragging it again,"] Aizawa pointed out, as the countdown began from fifteen-seconds.
As the clock ticked down, Izuku looked back to his teammates, confirming they were prepared. They each nodded, determination filling their faces, as Hatsume gave the last touches to the gadgets she had given to them.
"Are you still sure you don't want to be the rider?" Milia asked.
"I'm sure," Izuku replied. "I'm more useful as the front horseman in this situation. That and, uh… I'd feel really bad to make you girls carry me," he mumbled out.
"How come?" Hatsume asked.
"It would just feel wrong," Izuku admitted.
"That's so sweet, Izuku-san," Ibara said, smiling.
"Yes," Milia nodded, leaning down. "That's just like you, Midoriya-kun. That's why I like you so much."
Without warning, she leaned over and gave Izuku a quick kiss on his forehead, immediately standing back up with a small grin and a faint blush. While Izuku was left shocked, Ibara, Momo, Ochako, Tsubasa, Setsuna, and Mina on the field, and Rias, Ravel, and Hagakure in the stands all turned to glare at Milia.
["Three!"] Present Mic had begun the countdown.
Bakugo cracked his knuckles as he glared at Team Takamaki, "We're aiming for…"
["Two!"]
"One thing," said Todoroki as he observed the target.
["One!"]
Izuku smirked, seeing how Bakugo and Todoroki were staring at him.
"Start!" declared Midnight.
All the teams immediately rushed towards Team Takamaki, shouting their battle cries. All with the same goal in mind.
"It's basically a battle for the ten million points!" shouted Tetsutetsu as his group charged forward, "Don't take it personally Takamaki, but you're just a target now in this game!"
"Yeah. Nothing personal, Takamaki!" Scales formed on Rin's arm, rinding on top of Jurota in beast mode.
"Come on girls! Let's get those ten million points!" Celica cheered, her team yelling in agreement.
"Just like you said, Midoriya-kun. They're rushing over to us right away," Milia said.
"Guess that means there's only one thing left to do," Hatsume said, smirking.
"They want the headband? Then let's make them work for it!" Izuku declared, and Team Takamaki immediately turned around to begin to run away.
"Like hell! I won't let you!" Tetsutetsu shouted, and Juzo grunted in agreement as he activated his Quirk, softening the floor around Izuku expecting to trap them.
"Ibara!" Izuku shouted.
Ibara's vine hair quickly embedded themselves into the ground and before the other teams could reach them a wall of vines blocked their path.
With their assailants blocked, Milia activated Hatsume's jetpack to lift herself and the team off, with Izuku spreading his wings to help them move through the air. With Milia firmly held on Izuku's back, Ibara and Hatsume wearing special hover boots that gave them extra speed and mobility, and Izuku using his wings to help steer them, they managed to avert the first charges by getting away from the others.
"Where did they get a jetpack?! And how are they so fast and mobile!?" Tetsutetsu shouted as the target got further and further away.
"You won't get away!" Rin shouted, Jurota roaring in agreement as they went after Team Takamaki, unaware that their headband was gone.
"What do you think of my babies? Aren't they cute? Cuteness can be made, you know," Hatsume asked the others, as they ran across the battlefield.
"Excellent mobility! Your babies are awesome, Hatsume-san!" Izuku replied, now believing in the benefits that they got from her gadgets.
"Right?" She chirped, glad to meet someone that was capable of appreciating her babies.
"Wow, look at Midoriya go!" Setsuna smiled, both she and Yui watching the devil-dragon's team fly above the ring.
"You girls can drool about him later," Celica smiled. "We need to keep moving."
"Right!" Pony nodded.
"Okay, let's- Wait, Celica! Where's our headband!?" Setsuna shouted. Celica reached her hand to touch her forehead, only to notice that, indeed, their team's headband had gone missing.
"WHAT!? When did this happen?"
Nearby, Liana discreetly placed the stolen headband around her neck.
["It's been only two minutes, and this has turned into a free-for-all already! Teams are fighting for their headbands all over the grounds, some ignoring the ten million points, proving that the second to fourth places are not so bad, either! Sometimes, it is best to sneak up from behind to an unsuspecting opponent!"] Present Mic commented, the crowd thoroughly enjoying the first moments of the Cavalry Battle, particularly the students' display of their Quirks.
"This is not fighting, this is a one-sided pillage!" A strangely familiar voice shouted, and Team Takamaki looked to the source.
Izuku blinked in confusion as he saw Shoji running towards them, seemingly all alone. Given this, and the fact that Shoji kept his multiple arms hiding something on his back, he was naturally suspicious. Suddenly, he felt some pulling him down. "Hey! What the-?!" He exclaimed as he, dragging Team Takamaki, was pulled down to the ground.
"This is Reiko's Quirk!" Milia said, she and Ibara easily recognizing their classmate's Quirk.
"She's must be hiding inside Shoji's arms!" Ibara yelled.
Reiko's face, the headband wrapped around it, popped out from behind Shoji. "Apologies for this, Milia, Ibara, but I intend to win."
Yanagi Reiko, Quirk: Poltergeist. She can control things close by! But she can only control one person at a time.
"Is that even allowed?" Izuku asked aloud once they reached the ground, enough that Midnight could hear him.
"It is!" The R-Rated Hero replied.
Reiko hid back into the cover of Shoji's arms, and moments later Tsubasa lashed out from inside, being propelled by Reiko's Quirk, trying to snag Milia's headband. However, Ibara's vines quickly formed a barrier between them, stopping Tsubasa's assault, who soon returned to the refuge in Shoji's arms.
"Not bad, Shiozaki," Tsubasa complimented. The ghost girl proceeded to launch her teammate again at the team, this time making sure to avoid the wall of vines.
"You're dead, Deku!" Bakugo yelled out as his team charged towards them.
"Izuku-san! We need to get out of here!" Ibara warned.
"Punch it, Takamaki!" Izuku said, preparing his wings for another liftoff.
Milia quickly activated the jetpack. The blast proved enough to blow away Tsubasa, and soon Team Takamaki was flying several meters above the ground, keeping most of the teams away from them and, at least temporarily, putting them into safety.
"DEKU!"
Mostly. Bakugo was using his explosions to blast himself up towards Team Takamaki.
"What the- Kac- Bakugo? You're seriously trying to chase us all the way up here?" Izuku asked in shock. He did expect him to chase them around, but not that he would literally leave his entire team behind just to get them all by himself.
"Don't get carried away, you nerd!" Bakugo exclaimed, preparing a flaming hot explosion and aiming it at Milia.
"He's going to blow us up!" Milia screamed.
"More like blow me up. Ibara!" Izuku shouted as Bakugo was almost within arm's reach. Ibara's vines appeared and got in front of Bakugo as he unleashed his attack, taking on blast with ease.
Bakugo growled in rage as he started falling towards the ground. The crowd cheered at the action, eager for more fighting, as some wondered about the risky move.
"He's gotten separated from his horses!"
"What's with this guy?"
"Is that even allowed?"
Before he could begin to fall, a long tongue wrapped itself around Bakugo's stomach and pulled him back to his team, where Kirishima immediately secured his rider.
"Nice catch, Tsu!" The red-haired boy exclaimed as Midnight pondered.
"If Bakugo had touched the ground, his team would have been disqualified, but the rules say nothing about the rider leaving the team, as long as he stays in the air above the ground. Team Bakugo is still on the running!" Midnight ruled.
"Damnit! After them!" Bakugo commanded.
"Kero? When did you lose your headband?" Tsuyu asked.
"Huh?" Feeling his head, Bakugo came to the horrific realization that yes, he did lose his headband. "WHAT THE FUCK!?"
"You lost it?!" Mina exclaimed.
"How'd that happened?!" Kirishima asked.
"Looking for this?" Bakugo glared behind him and saw Monoma twirling the stolen headband in hand. "Your class is too small-minded," he taunted, placing the headband around his neck. "Try to think bigger than chasing after a temporary frontrunner like a horse with a carrot waving in his face."
Bakugo looked about to bust an artery.
"Monoma made a mistake," Reiko muttered.
"Yeah," Tsubasa agreed while Shoji nodded. They all knew that, with the way he was taunting Bakugo, the Class B blonde was a dead man walking now. "Let's get going. Can you pull Green back down again, Yana- Where's our headband?!"
Gasping, Reiko felt her head and discovered that their headband was missing. "Someone managed to steal it?!" She gapped.
"I didn't see anything," Shoji grumbled. "It must've happened when we were all focused on Team Takamaki."
"But who…"
Liana slyly placed the stollen headband over her head. "This should be good for now. Let's hang back and wait for time to run out."
"Right," her team nodded.
With the battle turning into a full free-for-all, Team Takamaki descended back to the ground. "Everyone okay?" Izuku asked.
"Yes."
"I'm fine."
"Me and my babies are okay!"
["We have reached the halfway point of the Cavalry Battle! Let's have a look at each team's points now!"] Present Mic yelled. ["In first place, Team Takamaki, who have managed to keep control over their headband even though everyone's gunning for them! In second place, Team Kozuki, having managed to sneak up the ranks! Next, there's Team Todoroki, followed by Team Monoma! But, this is not over yet, folks! Anything can still happen!"]
"We better keep moving," Milia suggested.
Before they could move, someone stopped in front of them: Team Todoroki. Glaring at him with his cold, mix-matched eyes was Todoroki, who was currently being held up by Iida, Momo, and Kyoka, the latter two giving apologetic glances toward them.
"I'll be taking that headband of yours, if you don't mind," Todoroki declared.
"There they are! Get them!" Tetsutetsu shouted, his and a couple of other teams charging at them.
"We'd like to see you try, Todoroki," Izuku challenged, with the girls nodding.
Todoroki narrowed his eyes. "Yaoyorozu, is it ready?"
"Almost done," Momo was using her Quirk to make a speaker-like device and some headphones, along with a black pole on her right arm.
"Iida, ready to charge!"
"On it!" The glasses-wearing teen replied as he activated his Engine Quirk.
"Jiro, you-"
"Got it!" Kyoka grinned as she plugs her earphone jacks into the device Momo created.
Izuku realized what Todoroki had planned. And they only had a few seconds. "Ibara, use your vines to shield us! Everyone hold on tight, all the other teams are coming for us!" Izuku ordered, having seen that many teams, apart from Todoroki's were trying to capitalize on the sudden turn of events. Ibara's vines quickly pierced the ground before coming back forming a shield around them. Just in time too.
Once the device was ready and her teammates put on the headphones, Kyoka aimed at the opposing teams. "Heartbeat Destruction!" She shouted as a deafening sound radiated throughout the field, striking all the teams in the surrounding area and stunning most of them. Team Takamaki had managed to avert it thanks to Ibara's quick action but still gritted in pain due to the attack, and Team Todoroki had avoided most of the damage thanks to behind the device and the headphones.
"We can't back down now," Todoroki said, his right hand producing frost again to then shoot it towards the ground, icing the floor and trapping all the teams that were arrayed around them, including Team Takamaki. "Sorry, but you will just have to bear it."
Up in the stands, Rias and the other devils, along with most of the audience near the stadium floor, had to cover their ears due to the noise. "What the hell was that?!" Ravel exclaimed.
"Yaoyorozu must've created an LRAD for Jiro to use," Sona hypothesized.
"A what?" Xenovia asked.
"Long Range Acoustic Device," Sona explained. "It's normally used to broadcast audible notifications and warnings over distance, but it's occasionally used as a weapon for crowd control."
"It does a good job from the looks of it," Kudelia muttered, seeing the stunned teams on the field. "Not sure I agree with it, though."
["Talk about making some noise! Team Todoroki exploits a great combination of powers to trap most of their opponents in an instant!"]
["Todoroki had Jiro stun them with a sonic attack before freezing them to the ground. It should be expected since he saw that a lot of people managed to avoid it in the Obstacle Course,"] Aizawa commented, easily seeing his student's strategy.
Present Mic gave a thumbs up. ["Wonderful commentary, partner!"]
Todoroki raises his arm up as he passes by the frozen team. "I might as well take this," in his hand was a team's headband. Team Tetsutetsu's headband.
"Hey, get back here!"
"Not cool, Todoroki!"
The dual-haired teen ignores them as large icicles burst out of the ground behind him.
Behind the wall of vines, Milia tried to fight off a headache as attempted to turn on the jetpack to create some heat that could melt the ice, but the device wasn't responding.
"Hatsume-san, the jetpack's not working!" She exclaimed.
"Baby!" Hatsume exclaimed in worry. "Momma doesn't have time now to repair you! Sorry!"
"Looks like it didn't get them," Kyoka pointed out.
"This is going to be a difficult battle," Iida noted. "They won't make it easy."
"Then we'll have to risk it," Todoroki said, narrowing his eyes again. "Let's go."
Team Takamaki began to back away from the rest of the teams and spent several minutes dodging and avoiding continuous attacks while those who had been trapped either lost their headbands or got themselves free. Finally, with only a few minutes remaining, Team Todoroki had managed to back Team Takamaki against the playing field's end. One step backwards and they'll be disqualified. For added insurance, Todoroki created an ice wall around them.
["Oh, snap! Team Takamaki has nowhere to go now!"]
"What do we do now?" Hatsume asked.
"Let's stay on Todoroki's left," Izuku said. "That way we can avoid his ice."
["ONE MINUTE LEFT!"] Present Mic announced. Those teams out of the top four started to go more desperately at trying to get enough points to reach the next round of the Festival, while those in the top four fought to either keep the others away or increase their lead.
"Only one more minute?" Todoroki asked before he glared back at Izuku. 'He's staying to my left side. From this position, if I try to freeze them, I'll hit Iida.' Izuku's trying to keep his team on his left side, the side he promised that he'd never use. 'Damn him.'
"Everyone!" Iida suddenly exclaimed, getting his team's attention. "We have less than 60 seconds. I'm going to do something that'll make me useless to you. But it's worth it."
Todoroki and his other two teammates looked at him in confusion. "What are you planning?" Kyoka asked.
Iida got into position to move, as the engines in his legs powered up. "Make sure you get that headband!" He told the bi-colored teen, as Todoroki grabbed onto his shoulder. "Brace yourself! And hold on tight!" His engines turned red hot as flames shot out of the exhaust pipes, before turning blue.
"Torque Over… RECIPRO BURST!"
With a speed nobody could have expected, Iida launched his team towards Team Takamaki. It was so quick, that Izuku did not even know what was happening.
With reflexes that Todoroki was sure he would not be able to replicate any time soon, he grabbed the headband on Milia's forehead before any of Team Takamaki could figure out what was happening.
["Wha…"] Present Mic stuttered out, as surprised as the audience due to the speed at which everything had taken place. ["What happened? So fast, SO FAST! Iida, if you could accelerate that fast, you should have shown us in the prelims!"]
"What… what in the world was that?" Todoroki asked in shock.
"By forcing the torque in my engines to increase, I can cause an explosion of power that boosts my speed to well above my maximum for ten-seconds," Iida explained. "Unfortunately, the engine stalls for some time, leaving me unable to move. I was keeping it secret, as you can imagine."
Izuku turned his head, looking at Iida in amazement. But then, surprisingly, he smirked.
"Wait, guys," Kyoka's eyes widened as she looked up. "If we grabbed the 10 million headband, then why are we in third place?"
"What?" Todoroki, Momo, and Iida all looked up at the scoreboard. There, their point total was 835, not over 10 million.
And in first place with 10,000,180 points, was Team Takamaki.
Eyes shaking, Todoroki flipped the headband they took from Milia over to take a closer look at it and gasped in shock. The headband was only worth a measly 100 points!
"This isn't the ten million points!"
"Yep!" Milia replied as she flipped the headband around her neck, revealing it was the ten million headband.
"How? How and when were you able to pull this off?" Todoroki asked, angry that this last resort move had failed.
"It started when the calvary battle began," Milia started.
"Izuku-san told me to grab a headband from an opposing team," Ibara explained.
"And then we just swapped it with our headband when we were in the air, then inverted both headbands to make sure no one could tell which was which!" Hatsume finished, grinning.
"You made a great effort, Iida-kun. I'm sorry to say, but it wasn't enough," Izuku said.
Todoroki and Iida were both left speechless.
["OH. MY. GOD! Team Takamaki comes ahead of a potential loss thanks to swapping headbands and putting them on backwards! Something that absolutely no one even considered!"] Present Mic screamed. ["Is that even allowed?"]
"The rules never said that the headbands had to be worn the right way," Midnight said, licking her lips. "So that's allowed!" She then made a mental note to give the adorable cinnamon roll a… 'disciplinary' course later for coming up with such a devious tactic.
Todoroki's shock gave way to fury.
'Midoriya… You dare make me look like a fool in front of everyone? In front of my shitty father? Don't you dare think this is over yet!'
Almost instinctively, Todoroki's left hand began to spark with fire. Flames started to get bigger on that side due to his fury. But as he began to swing his left hand, flames roaring in the palm as he aimed…
["TIME IS UP!"] Present Mic announced, disrupting Todoroki's train of thought. Awakened from his wrath, his eyes widened in shock as he realized what he had been about to do, and quickly extinguished the flames, covering his left side in ice to cool himself.
["That is the end of the Cavalry Battle!"] Present Mic announced as the crowd began to cheer, enjoying what had been a dynamic, quick, and surprising second round of the Sports Festival. ["Now, let us take a look at the top four teams right away, the ones whose members will participate in the last round!"]
The giant jumbotron on the other side of the stadium lit up, displaying the rankings of the students.
["In first place, with more than ten million points, managing the rarity of keeping the highest scored headband for the entire time, we have none other than Team Takamaki! Give it up for the team that got through the entire Battle even with the biggest target on their back!"]
The crowd cheered and clapped, many of them astonished that the same person had managed to win the first and second rounds.
"We did it!" Milia cheered as she, Ibara, and Izuku hugged each other and Hatsume.
"We're moving to the next round!" Izuku added.
Hatsume surprisingly stood quiet during this. She was feeling a little light-headed right now and wasn't quite able to function properly. She had never been held like this before. Was this… a hug? Izuku and the girls were hugging her. 'Is this marriage?' She thought, a faint blush appearing on her face.
"Hatsume-san? Are you okay?" Ibara asked as their group hug ended, noticing the blush on the inventor's face.
"Huh? Uh, yes! I'm fine! Me and my babies were on full display to the entire world!" Hatsume yelled, shaking off her blush. Her risky bet of teaming up with the most powerful student in the group had paid off, and she knew she was going to get a lot of attention. So why was her heart racing?
["Everyone had their targets set on him, and he still came out on top. It is nothing short of impressive. He'll definitely make it far when he goes Pro,"] Aizawa said, deciding he might as well commend Izuku for his feats.
["Oh, what's this? Have you taken a liking to one of your students, Eraserhead?"] Present Mic asked with a grin plastered on his face.
["Call it whatever you want,"] Aizawa answered with a shrug. ["I'm only stating the facts. Nothing more, nothing less."]
In the stands, All Might couldn't help but smile at his successor.
["Now, moving on. In second place, it's Team Kozuki!"]
"YEAH! I knew we would pull through! High five, everyone!" Itsuka said, she and Ochako exchanging high fives.
"Good work, everyone," Liana said before joining in on the high five.
"You're plan work, Kozuki-san!" Ochako cheered.
Shinso looked like he was in complete disbelief, but grinned excitedly at the board. Soon he will have his chance to shine.
["In third place, Team Todoroki!"]
Momo sighed in relief. Although they didn't claim victory they will be moving on. "We ended in third place, but it was too close for comfort."
Iida clenched his fist in shame. "I'm sorry. I let everyone down, didn't I?"
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Iida," Kyoka said.
Todoroki, meanwhile, was displeased at this. The bi-colored boy glared at Izuku, before turning to his left hand. 'I said I'd never use this to attack. I even made a point of it earlier… but as soon as I was overwhelmed, I broke my own promise.' He clenches his left fist, digging his nails into his palm. "At this rate… he'll win, and I'll end up exactly who he wants me to be…" He cannot allow that to pass, no matter what.
Present Mic finishes off the rankings. ["And finally bringing up the rear, it's Team Mono- wait, Team Bakugo? When did they come back from the brink?"]
"Man, that was too close," Mina complained, shaking her hands right to left.
"We didn't get first place, but I think we should be glad that we're moving on, kero," said Tsuyu.
Kirishima sweat-dropped as he looked at Bakugo, who was still on the ground. "I don't think our leader would agree with you. Like at all."
"I lost to Deku again…? I lost again…GAAAHHHHHH!" Bakugo yelled profusely in rage.
Behind them, Monoma, Kaibara, and Togaru were slump to the ground, small burn marks from acid and explosions covering their bodies. "I knew it was a bad idea for you to taunt them," Kaibara groaned.
["The first four teams will be moving onto the final event! Now that the second round is over, we'll be taking a one hour break for lunch to let those teams recharge, as well as give us all a chance to stretch our legs! The afternoon festivities will start right after lunch, so don't miss out! Hey, Shota, let's grab some food!"]
["I'm taking a nap,"] Aizawa replied as he curled up in his sleeping bag that he had brought over.
["Oh, fine, I'll bring something over for you to munch on later,"] Present Mic sighed as he left.
"Let's go get lunch," Milia offered, her teammates nodding, but before they could leave…
"Midoriya."
The green-haired devil and his team turned to face a cold faced Todoroki. And immediately all their feelings of joy and exhilaration were gone, replaced with a sense of dread. It's almost as if Todoroki is emulating the use of the cold-side of his Quirk to affect their own psyches.
"Wh…what's up, Todoroki?" Izuku muttered nervously.
He didn't respond right away, just continue to stare coldly at him. "Come with me. I need to speak with you."
AN:
FINALLY! I managed to finish this chapter before October ended!
Here's a list of the teams and how many points they had in total and the final results.
10,000,180: Midoriya Izuku (10,000,000), Milia Takamaki (45), Shiozaki Ibara (130), Hatsume Mei (5)
400: Bakugo Katsuki (135), Kirishima Eijiro (85), Ashido Mina (75), Asui Tsuyu (105)
400: Todoroki Shoto (140), Iida Tenya (115), Yaoyorozu Momo (125), Jiro Kyoka (20)
365: Liana Kozuki (145), Kendo Itsuka (90), Uraraka Ochako (100), Shinso Hitoshi (30)
335: Celica A. Mercury (150), Pony Tsunotori (50), Kodai Yui (25), Tokage Setsuna (110)
155: Kaibara Sen (15), Monoma Neito (80), Togaru Kamakiri (60)
315: Kaminari Denki (10), Tokoyami Fumikage (70), Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu (85), Honenuki Juzo (120)
190: Shoji Mezo (40), Yanagi Reiko (55), Yura Tsubasa (95)
100: Rin Hiryu (35), Jurota Shishida (65)
First Place: Team Takamaki-10,000,180
Second Place: Team Kozuki-365+190+335=890
Third Place: Team Todoroki-400+335+100=835
Fourth Place: Team Bakugo-400+155=555
Izuku managed to win again and the final round of the Sports Festival is approaching. Until then I hope you all stay safe and stay healthy. Go beyond, PlUS ULTRA! And happy Halloween!