Looks like she found a team after all ...
I watch Hanada-chan walk with the boy who was the start of the declarations of war chain.
While I was searching for suitable teammates, I had been keeping an eye on her. I wanted to remain faithful to our mutual declaration, so I intentionally did not seek her out, but seeing how no one had approached her as each minute went by worried me. It was understandable why no one was asking her to join, but at the same time, I wanted to shake each and every one of them and shout how much of an asset she was. Of all people, those of you from Class 1-A should have known that! As for the others, if only they had seen during training, they wouldn't demean her like this.
And she understood that, too. She had two choices, but both would have yielded low success rates. Either she could talk to the others and humiliate herself, or she could wait and pretend to be haughty. Given her prideful personality, she chose the latter. And I don't even blame her. If I were in her position, I would have done the same.
But now that she has a team, I turn to address mine.
"The reason I chose all of you is that I think this is the battle formation with the best balance," I say as I stare at each one of them. They're listening intently. Good. That's exactly what I need. "Kaminari, you're on the left. You'll send out some sparks to make sure the enemy never gets too close. Yaoyorozou, you're on the right. You'll be making us an insulator sheet, plus whatever defense and mobility you can provide. Iida, you're at the front with your engine power. You'll be our physical defense as well. Everyone got that?" They nod.
I look at the spectators, searching for a loathsome face, just as Iida comments, "And Todoroki, you can feint your attacks using either ice or heat, right?"
Found it. "No. While in combat, I'll never, ever, use my heat side." He came all dressed up today, face flames included. Though if his frown is anything to go by, he heard what I said, just as I wanted him to.
I know that earlier I didn't want to see him. I was too emotional at that time, and I didn't want to erupt in case I did see him. But now the fires of anger have died down, and all I feel are the fires of challenge and audacity. And I want him to feel the brunt of them. Here's what I think of your given gift, Dad dearest. You can shove it up where it hurts most for all I care.
Seconds before the cavalry battle begins, we take our positions, and I wrap the headband around my forehead. I don't need to explain who our target is. Everyone is facing him.
The bell rings.
The battle has begun.
My team and everyone else's teams swarm toward Midoriya, entrapping him in a circle that grows smaller and smaller by the second. But one student liquefies the dirt ground, trapping them to their knees. Iida, Kaminari, Yayorozou, and I push through, but at the last moment, Midoriya and his team break through the mud and launch themselves into the air. Tokoyami's Dark Shadow is out, blocking and fending attacks from all angles. I wait for them to land, but another team has got its sights on us.
We maneuver and combat them. It's certainly not an easy fight. The opponent is a team of four girls, the rider a girl with long, vivid orange hair. It's a series of attacks, blocks, and the occasional parry. The rider has some hand enlargement quirk, which she waves at my team like she's swapping flies.
With this behavior, both of us can protect our headbands, but neither of us can grab the other. We're at a deadlock. Without some change in our strategies, we cannot break it.
I give the thought a bit more consideration. We don't need to. I blast ice, which makes them stagger back, immediately enlarging the distance between us. "Come on, guys!" I encourage my team. "There are bigger fish in the sea!"
We turn around. Bakugou's already made his attempt at Midoriya. Just as Midoriya is floating in midair, Bakugou launches himself, almost blasting Midoriya's face and sweeping the ten million headband from his head. But Dark Shadow comes to the defense and takes the brunt of the explosion. Bakugou's expression of shock is unforgettable, and the way Sero releases his tape and pulls Bakugou back to earth is amusing. Under different circumstances, I might have chuckled at the sight.
But now is our opening!
With other teams too busy snatching from each other, my and my team's eyes are on the big fish now. All alone, all vulnerable.
I hear Midoriya sigh in relief. "Evasion should be pretty easy now."
Not so fast. "The time has come. I'm taking it," I proclaim as we stand face-to-face, holding each other's gazes.
We stay like this for a while, like a shark circling its prey, sizing its victim. But I'm the shark, and Midoriya is the sardine who will be my dinner tonight.
Tokoyami states, "I did suppose we'd have to face them near enough to the final phase of the battle, but they're determined, aren't they, Midoriya?"
Midoriya returns the question with vigor. "We still have half the match left! Keep moving! The ones coming after us aren't just a single team!"
I won't give them a chance! This fish is mine and mine alone. "Yaoyorozou!" I shout, "Prepare our guard and conductor! Kaminari!"
"Yeah, buddy, I know! Hang tight!" Kaminari yells enthusiastically.
Just as Yaoyorozou throws the insulator blanket over me, Iida, and herself and has constructed the metal rod, Kaminari releases an electrical surge of 1.3 million bolts. Everyone behind me screams as they are electrified in place. I take the rod from Yaoyorozou and tell my teammates, "There are less than six minutes left on the clock. There's no going back." My next words are addressed to my currently fried competitors. "Sorry about this. Just endure it for a sec." And I slam the rod to the ground, unleashing an avalanche that freezes their legs in place. It's a modification of my tactic from the obstacle course. This time, they won't break out the ice; Kaminari's electricity made sure of that.
Just for purposes of the battle and having the last word, I snatch all their headbands. Finally! No more distractions. Our attention is back on Midoriya.
Dark Shadow extends his talons, but thankfully Yaoyorozu summons a shield strong enough to block his attack. The force causes Midoriya's team to stumble back. From the movement of Tokoyami's and Midoriya's lips, I can tell they are discussing something. Probably analyzing.
It doesn't make a difference. I've cornered both of us in my ring of ice. I am going to make good on my declaration.
But it does make a difference. I notice something. As we circle each other, Midoriya always veers to my left. As if he knows I won't use my flames. Even more problematic, he's got my teammates figured out. If I launch another blast of ice, this time on a shorter distance, Iida will get caught in the impact, and I'll ruin my chances. Kaminari's lightning, too, can be fended off by Tokoyami.
Damn you, Midoriya!
With the countdown almost over, I rack my brain for ways to overcome this conundrum. But Iida breaks my train of thoughts. "Guys, we have less than a minute. I'm afraid I'll be useless after this. So I'm counting on you." I'm confused by his words. But he shouts, "TAKE IT, TODOROKI! TORQUE OVER!" Now there's no confusion about what "it" is. I'll trust you, for now, Iida.
He dashes at breakneck speed toward Midoriya, and I snatch the headband right away. He and his team look onward, dumbfounded.
We stop a safe distance from them and catch our breaths. "Iida! What was that just now?" I pant out.
"I can forcibly rev up my torque to explosive proportions if need be. However, as a kickback, I'll suffer from engine stall in short order. That was the trick up my sleeve I had never told my classmates," he answers.
I have nothing to say in response. I should have known that my classmates would have their customized arsenal of moves, but I'm still surprised. Even after everything I've seen, I underestimated them ... Not just Iida, but all of them. Kaminari is a little dumb at times, but even he thinks and acts best under situations that hype him up. Yaoyorozou is time-efficient and creative. Midoriya is more than just a walking-tacking package of recklessness and rambling words. Even Bakugou, who's so temperamental, is a strategist who knows when and how to strike when his opponent is defenseless. He's an expert at taking advantage of the element of surprise. Was this what Bakugou meant when he said I gave my declaration to the wrong rival? I need to give all of them more credit than I do.
I'm so caught up in my thoughts that it's only when Midoriya is a few meters away do I realize that he's charging straight for me. Subconsciously, I raise my left arm, and flames billow from it. His hand is just centimeters from my face by the time I use my arm as a barrier between us.
But Midoriya flings my arm away with wind pressure, and I finally come to my senses. My left side ... What am I doing?!
He charges again, this time for the headbands tied around my neck. I had tied them so that the numbers would face inward, and no one would know which was the ten million points one. He grabs the one at the top, thinking it's the ten million one. However, when he looks at the point value and rages in frustration, I can assume he got the seventy points one I snagged from a team who was caught in my freeze attack.
But those realizations are remote. I'm still cradling my left arm.
Distantly, I hear Iida scolding me for how dangerous my hesitation was and Yaoyorozou scolding Midoriya for his naïveté because we had intentionally shuffled the order of the headbands for something like that.
It's the sound of the countdown that snaps me out of my reverie. Only ten seconds left!
In the last attempt, Midoriya rushes at us, and out of nowhere, Bakugou comes flying in, attention switching me and Midoriya, figuring out who to attack first. I brace myself from an offense from either.
Three!
Two!
One!
"TIME UP!" Midnight-sensei calls out.
The three of us don't move for a second before accepting our outcomes. Rather, trying to accept our outcomes. Midoriya bends over the ground, fist and facial muscles clenched in frustration and defeat; Bakugou, who fell face-flat once the countdown hit zero, sits and screeches in fury; and I crouch down, having nothing clever to say except, "Shit."
Sensei announces the winners. My team ranks first, Bakugou's second, the guy that Hanada-chan teamed with - Shinsou, I learn, is his name - ranks third, and astonishingly Midoriya's team places fourth. I hear Tokoyami say how he seized the headband tied to my head when I wasn't noticing.
I should feel glad that I placed first. But I can't. The memory of flames won't let me. I said I'd never use it to attack, I think as I stare at my left hand. I made that promise to myself. But when I was driven into a corner ...
My fist clenches. I ... I can't let it go on like this. This is exactly what Dad always said.
I glance at Midoriya, who's bawling geysers of tears, having not been disqualified.
My suspicions of him rise.
This can't go on.
I need to talk to him.
He needs to know what he's done.
And he needs to know why.
Note: I have copied some dialogue from one of the English-translated versions of the manga. The link to the chapters are here: .online/manga/boku-no-hero-academia-chapter-28/
.online/manga/boku-no-hero-academia-chapter-29/
.online/manga/boku-no-hero-academia-chapter-30/