Here it is, the seventeenth full chapter of Miraculous Quirks released earlier than I expected as I have again underestimated my recent productivity and and gotten it done ahead of schedule. The Sports Festival has kicked into high gear now and the next stage is upon us, time to see how it will play out. That is all the administrative stuff to address here though and as there are no questions to respond to here and no guest reviews to answer, though keep the reviews coming as I enjoy hearing from y'all, so I will leave this note here which means that it is time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the 17th full chapter of Miraculous Quirks.

Disclaimer: I do not own either of these great works of fiction.

Chapter 17: Cavalry Battle

"Go get Aoyama." Marinette said to Adrien in French as soon as the timer to select teammates began. "I'll go talk to who I think should be our fourth."

"On it." Adrien said as he headed straight to where the blond, half-French guy in their class was.

As soon as the time to form teams began, the predictable results happened. Almost everyone moved away from Midoriya like he had the plague as they began to coalesce around the other two leaders of the Sports Festival so far. It was clear that the green haired boy would be the main target with in 10 million points and given the wounded pride of Bakugo and Todoroki's declaration before the Festival began, they would both be gunning for him from the beginning.

Adrien took a note of this as he approached Aoyama who was one of the many who'd flocked to Bakugo to try and get on the explosive boy's team. He looked around at the others talking to see what other teams were currently forming. Todoroki was showing his tactical skills by already approaching who he wanted while Bakugo was letting the others come to him and pitch why they should be on his team with a scowl on his face the entire time.

While this was happening, Adrien saw that none of Class 1-B were trying to approach his classmates. They were already gathering in their own area and sorting out teams amongst themselves. Some were already formed while others were listening to an unassuming and bland blond boy who seemed to be a little off to Adrien though he couldn't recall the kid's name. He noted them though as he had a feeling he knew what his lady would have in mind for this, they had been working together for years after all so he had a good sense for what Marinette's plan would be.

The only two who were not in discussions with others were the two non-Hero Course students who'd advanced. Though as Adrien looked he noticed that the pink haired Support girl, Hatsume, was muttering to herself and looking for someone it seemed.

Well, Midoriya was also alone but as Adrien went to Aoyama he noticed Uraraka heading over to Midoriya and smiled, she was clearly his best friend at the school and if Adrien had to guess the girl had a little soft spot for him that almost certainly would become much more than that. That could be interesting, but Adrien focused on his task as Marinette made her way to her own target.

"Aoyama." Adrien said softly as Bakugo began picking his team and was clearly not going to pick him and making sure that he was speaking French to the other boy. "Come join me and Marinette. We have a plan, and we need you for it."

Adrien knew that Aoyama would be able to understand him perfectly. They'd learned that the boy was indeed fluent in their language having grown up speaking both French and Japanese at home, so it wasn't just for show when he used French words randomly in a sentence.

"You want moi?" Aoyama responded looking at Adrien in surprise. "Really?"

"Yes and stick to French please." Adrien said to make it clear what language they were to speak. "We are the only francophones here, if we form a base we can move, strategize, and work together without anyone else knowing what we are doing."

"Ah c'est fantastique." Aoyama said with a nod as he switched to French as well. "I can get behind that. We can show what the French can do."

"Yes we can." Adrien said with a smile. "Now let's go and find Marinette, she will have found our last teammate for us."

Aoyama nodded as they headed off towards where Marinette was. She had indeed sought out who she felt should be their fourth team member. She'd done her homework while preparing for the Sports Festival and she knew who would be the best final choice the moment she'd realized what this event entailed.

That was why she'd gone straight to the purple haired kid from Class 1-C who'd made it through the first round. He'd been the one who'd challenged them two weeks ago and had made the claim he was coming for a hero spot that was theirs, until Marinette corrected him regarding that as there were two open spots for him to try for in 1-B. Regardless, his boldness had stuck with Marinette, and she had decided to do some research during the last two weeks to find out more about the kid.

Due to the nature of Quirks, they had to be in a public registry and the school roster had to have it as well. That meant that all Marinette had to do was look up the registries for the 3 General Studies classes, find his class picture, and read the information on him to see what he could do.

That's how she'd found out that his name was Hitoshi Shinso from class 1-C and had learned about his Quirk. It was a good and pretty strong one with a lot of great uses as a hero, but she could see how he wouldn't pass the entrance exam as he wouldn't have been able to use it during the exam given its nature.

However, it also made him potentially the strongest, Quirk wise, in General Studies and a good candidate to transfer to one of the two spots in 1-B should he show off enough. It was a hero quality Quirk but one that showed the flaws in the standard entrance exam that the school had. Now, Marinette was going to use it to her advantage as Shinso was the last person they needed the moment Marinette saw what the second round was and had a plan for it.

"Don't speak until I'm done." Marinette said forcefully as she reached Shinso who was looking around for teammates and basically planning on taking who he could find with his Quirk. "I know how your Quirk works and how I have to respond to something you saw for you to activate it. It's a powerful Quirk and one my team could use to advance to the next round. Work with us, I have a plan, and we can get you through to the final stage. You make top 16 and you're all but guaranteed to get a chance to show off doing so. That will secure you a transfer tryout."

Shinso looked at the black-haired girl with slightly oriental features and twin short ponytails, a small frown on his face. He recalled that she was the one who had told him about the two free spots due to her being one of the exchange students from France thus allowing for two spots in Class 1-B. That had given him the motivation to really work hard and aim for the available spots. He'd already been the only of his class to advance, there was only really one other General Studies kid with a Quirk that could handle the Hero Course and he'd come 45th so he knew that he had a chance to land a tryout.

His plan to advance and thus likely secure that tryout had been to just take 3 stragglers, brainwash them, and wait until the last minute to get what he needed. However, now the French chick was here with an offer to help him, and she knew about his Quirk showing that she'd done her research on him. That was a surprise and it impressed him though he didn't show it.

Shinso too had looked into her and the other exchange student since she'd confronted him and learned of her Quirk and how she was considered to be on par with a recommended student. Well, he could use that and if she knew what his Quirk was then he could ensure that he advanced. He didn't have to be friends with her, but he could use her to advance and further his dream of transferring into the Hero Course.

"Can I speak, I promise on my honor not to use my Quirk." Shinso asked and Marinette nodded at him. "It seems that you know about me, but you aren't the only one who knows that planning is key, something I think your classmates haven't done but you have and so have I. After you told me of how transfers will work this year I looked into both it and you myself to confirm it and I did. I know who you are Marinette Dupain-Cheng but tell me why I am who you need? I can just use my Quirk to form a team and go from there."

"You could but with me, Adrien, and Aoyama, who will be our final teammate, I can guarantee you that you will advance rather than you having to rely on possibly overusing your Quirk and/or losing control of your carriers." Marinette said. "As you have deduced, Midoriya is going to be the target but there is going to be a complication with that that even you may not have seen."

"What complication?" Shinso asked.

"Class 1-B." Adrien said as he and Aoyama reached them. "Hey, I'm Adrien Agreste, the other French exchange student and you can call me either Adrien or Agreste, whichever you're most comfortable with. This is Aoyama, our classmate and last teammate. He's also part French, that will be relevant."

"Don't think about it." Marinette warned. "We are going to be a team so play your part and be a team player Shinso. If you do transfer you will have to rely on your classmates and as a hero you will rely on other heroes as well so start now to show you are worthy of the title."

"Very well." Shinso said keeping his Quirk in check and understanding where Dupain-Cheng was coming from. "I'm Hitoshi Shinso, call me Shinso. Why is Class B a problem? They don't seem to be as big a deal as your class."

"They've been too quiet." Adrien said simply. "They didn't really show off in the obstacle race, only one of them spoke and he's clearly a loud one, and only a few of them were in the top half of the finishers which looks like it was planned. Now they are all teaming up for the Cavalry Battle. If we hadn't checked them out before we started at U.A. then we may not know their Quirks though the one who looks like their ringleader is one that I can't remember."

"They have a plan that most if not all are going to be part of thanks to Neito Monoma." Marinette said and as soon as she the boy's name Adrien remembered who he was and that he was the bland blonde guy who seemed to be leading Class B's plans. "I deduced that from how few placed in the top half of the obstacle race. The others were all clumped at the end as if they were a group while most of my class showed off."

"They're trying to take us down, Tetsutetsu has made that pretty clear a few times now." Adrien said with a grin. "And I for one want to bring it to them if for no other reason than to shut them up. They have something brewing but I don't know what."

"My guess is that some will target Midoriya but not all will, only those with fewer points." Marinette said as she looked out to the rapidly forming teams with only a few left to join one. "A few will go after Bakugo or Todoroki, whoever is more convenient and take them out as well. Add in that my class will have the most points and they just need a few to advance. It's a good strategy and Class B has shown that they're using brains in this competition so why don't we do so as well."

"I get that so what is your plan?" Shinso asked realizing that he was now likely stuck with these three.

"Why go for the big one when enough little ones add up." Marinette said simply. "There will be 12-14 teams and with Adrien and my scores we'll be pretty near the top to start so we won't need much to get into the top 4 teams which will be guaranteed spots in the next round based on the numbers. As such, we don't need Midoriya's, we just need enough to advance."

"And we can take them from Class B." Adrien said with a grin. "Two birds with one stone there. We advance and put them in their places at the same time."

"How?" Shinso asked though it was kinda the strategy he was thinking about anyway, wait till the end and get enough to advance but this way he didn't have to overuse his Quirk just as Dupain-Cheng had said. "How will we achieve that?"

"Simple, we wait and let the chaos ensue." Marinette said. "With you as our rider they won't pay attention to us because they'll be focused on the bigger fish. Add in that the other big teams will be after Midoriya or will focus on the rest of our class for small points and we'll fall back because no one will think of going after the Class C student's team. Then we just bide our time and strike whenever necessary. Look for openings to take what we need and then in the last 5 minutes I can make an item to help us that you can use. In order for all this to work though, you will be the focal point Shinso and use your Quirk to their headbands while standing out in the process."

"That is a smart plan." Shinso reluctantly admitted. "But tell me a bit about your Quirk, I don't understand it and what I read wasn't clear. What does Lucky Charm actually do?"

"It's a bit confusing but basically I can make a singular item that will allow me to complete a task I have in my mind." Marinette said. "It can only last 5 minutes though and after that I'll need to recharge with food. In this case I can make something that will help you get headbands that are well defended."

"I see, that is useful." Shinso said rubbing his chin before looking at the other guys on his team. "And you two, what can you do?"

"I can create a black energy that will destroy anything inorganic that I touch." Adrien said which explained to Shinso how the ice had been destroyed at the start of the obstacle course. "Not useful here except for defense, I'll be on the back."

"And I can shoot a laser from my naval." Aoyama said patting the belt he work around his waist. "It's beautiful just like moi."

"Again, Aoyama will be on the back with Adrien and more for defense or to get away while I take the front and guide us." Marinette said. "Now tell us what the limit of your Quirk is."

"I'd rather not but I will tell you this much." Shinso said knowing that he would reluctantly have to give away at least part of what his Quirk could do. "I can affect multiple people but only command one at a time to do something simple and yes, ordering them to give me their headband is a simple task someone I've affected can do."

"Very well, we can work with that." Marinette said as the time began to tick down. "There is one more advantage to working with us."

"And that is?" Shinso asked.

"We all speak French." Adrien said. "Well other than you so we will do plans during the battle in French and only relay to in Japanese when we need you. That way no one knows what we are doing, and you just sit there waiting to use your Quirk."

"That works for me." Shinso said, it was basically his plan only now they were willing to help him so he could use them to his advantage and preserve his Quirk for getting more points. "I'll agree to join you, but you had better get me through to the next round."

"We will." Marinette said as she looked out at the teams with the timer counting down to zero. "Let's show them what we can do."

The teams were now all but set and were forming up. It was clear that Todoroki had gone with a balanced team in Iida, Yaoyorozu and Kaminari so he had speed, brains, and shock power that could actually be used thanks to Yaoyorozu's Quirk. Bakugo meanwhile had gone with a mix of protection, destruction, and versatility with Kirishima, Sero and Ashido showing that he was just as balanced.

Those were the two main teams that would be going after Midoriya from the very start. However, the green haired boy had found a strong team himself Uraraka, Tokoyami as his front which provided a defense and offensive with Dark Shadow, and the Support girl who had a lot of items for them that no doubt Midoriya had a plan for.

The rest of the class was similarly prepared. Shoji was leaning forward with his arms over his head and extended to hide his teammates, but a glance showed that it was Tsu and Mineta in there as they weren't around and the only ones small enough to both be there.

Meanwhile it looked like Sato, Koda, Jiro and Hagakure were on a team, and it looked like Hagakure was going to go topless for the battle for some reason but as she was the rider it gave them an advantage as they'd only see her floating headband. That left only Ojiro on his own and he had ended up on a team with 3 class B kids who Marinette knew from her research prior to the Sports Festival, as well as before she started at U.A. as Jurota Shishida, Hiryu Rin, and Nirengeki Shoda.

The rest of the teams were all class 1-B with most being in teams of 4 except one team that had two, a girl on all fours with horns on her head that Marinette knew was the American exchange student Pony Tsunotori and a mantis looking guy called Togaru Kamakiri riding her for some reason. It was going to be a tough competition for sure.

They all formed up and into their groups with the headbands being handed out to the designated riders and the teams being named after them on the scoreboard making them Team Shinso with 490 points to start the event with. It was now or never as the Cavalry Battle was about to begin.

As the final countdown came, Marinette quickly looked up to the board to see the points. Team Midoriya had the most with 10,000,325 but surprisingly the team starting in second was Team Tetsutestu with 705 so all 4 of that team, which were all Class 1-B, had all placed in the top 15 with two in the top 6 which explained their score. After them it was Team Bakugo with 675 and Team Todoroki with 625 to round out the top 4 teams and thus the ones who'd advance as all 4 teams were teams of 4.

Team Shinso was currently 5th which Marinette realized was a good place to start off as the others would focus on the big points early and allow them to fade. Marinette quickly glanced at the rest in order to keep track of the points they might go after.

They were Team Mineta with 420, Team Hagakure with 390, Team Rin with 335, Team Monoma with 305, Team Kendo with 225, Team Kodai with 165, and lastly Team Kamakiri with 70. A good mix of points for them to go after when the opportunity came.

"It's time for the second round of the Sports Festival!" Present Mic roared into his speaker having just woken up Aizawa who himself was looking at the combinations with surprise as the students got ready. "So put your hands in the air for it!"

The crowd cheered as Midnight took her spot. Everyone had their headbands on, they had their formations, they were ready and rearing to go.

"Let's do one final countdown before it starts." Present Mic said loudly. "3.."

"Get him." Bakugo snarled glaring at Deku.

"2…"

"He's ours." Todoroki said seriously.

"1…"

"Prepare and hold back." Marinette muttered in French to her teammates.

"Begin!" Midnight said with a crack of her flail as Present Mic finished counting and the 30-minute timer began.

Almost at once all the teams charged at Midoriya aiming straight for his 10,000,000 points. That was to be expected as Marinette backed them up to wait near the edge of the area while the initial rush happened.

"It's basically one big free for all for 10,000,000 points." Tetsutetsu roared as the chaos began. "We're going to get them and show you what Class B can do!"

"I'm coming for you Midoriya." Hagakure added to the din with a laugh while Marinette just watched and realized something, Midoriya having the support girl on his team was an extremely good stroke of fortune for him as they had access to her gear.

"Run away!" Midoriya ordered showing his clear tactic for the battle was evasion, which in reality was the only viable tactic he could use.

"I don't think so." Tetsutetsu said. "Now Honenuki."

Marinette watched in amusement as the ground beneath Midoriya softened and he began to sink into it. That was a good use of a Quirk that had gotten the kid using it in on recommendations and would normally trap Midoriya where he was but that was not to be the case. He yelled something out and hit a button on a device in his hand and the backpack thing he was wearing flared to life and his whole team flew out of the ground and away from the chaos showing that Uraraka was using her Quirk in conjunction with the support gear, something only that combination could produce.

"Damn Support Course." Tetsutetsu yelled as his team turned around. "After him!"

"Jiro." Hagakure ordered. "Get that headband!"

"On it." Jiro said as she sent her earphone jacks at Midoriya, but Tokoyami's Dark Shadow intercepted them and began to look around their flight in a 360-degree view protecting their blind spots showing just how good a choice Midoriya had made in recruiting Tokoyami to the team.

"Damn, that's clever." Adrien said in French as they watched the chaos going on before them. "That team is surprisingly well balanced for one that few wanted to be on."

"Yeah Midoriya has formed a solid base around him and I'm not sure he actually chose most of his team, I think the girls chose him." Marinette said in the same language as she mused on the composition of Team Midoriya. "Uraraka provides them full mobility with her Zero Gravity, that support girl's items gives them control in the air and the ground while Tokoyami provides both offense and defense in the areas that Midoriya can't see. It's a formidable team."

"Are we still staying put?" Shinso asked them as he watched but keeping his voice low just in case.

"Yes, the devolution is about to begin as the rest of Class B springs their trap." Marinette said switching to Japanese as she watched. "Around about now."

As Marinette was speaking she saw the blond dude from class 1-B, who she was sure was Neito Monoma, grab Hagakure's headband from her head as he passed and begin moving away before she could notice. He instantly moved into third place with that grab as Team Hagakure didn't notice for a few more moments due to their quest to get Midoriya's headband before Sato noticed it.

"Oh, and already we are seeing some tactics as the first headband is taken." Present Mic said to the cheering crowd. "And Team Monoma is now in 3rd place. That's how it can be done, you don't need to focus on the full 10,000,000 if you go after the other chart toppers."

"Should we be concerned?" Shinso asked. "Present Mic has just exposed our strategy."

"Not yet." Marinette said as she watched Shoji bear down on Midoriya before Mineta's balls began flying out of the tented arms while Team Tetsutetsu approached them from the other side. "It's devolving pretty well but we still need to bide our time and wait for openings. Soon a top 4 will emerge and they will become the targets. We're in 6th so we can hold off for now. However, be ready to use your Quirk on any who try for us."

"Alright just let me know." Shinso said annoyed he had to put his trust in the French trio but doing so because he didn't have any other plan and knew that the girl at the front was right in her assessment of what was going on. "I'll do my part, make sure you do yours."

"Soon." Marinette said as she saw Uraraka get trapped by one of Mineta's balls effectively trapping them between the two charging teams. "Soon we will have a chance to make some points and secure out spots in the next round."

Marinette watched as Tsu sent her tongue out to try and get the headbands of both Midoriya and Tetsutetsu but missed as they dodged her attack. What followed was a series of balls and Tsu's tongue as they tried to secure Midoriya while Present Mic commentated on it enthusiastically. It looked like they would work until Midoriya activated his jetpack again and broke the boot on Uraraka's left foot much to the horror of Hatsume who for some reason yelled out about her baby.

Midoriya flew away to safety and Marinette watched in amusement as a green vine hair strand from the girl on Tetsutetsu's team, Ibara Shiozaki if Marinette recalled her name correctly, snaked out to take Mineta's headband as they passed behind Shoji. It was a clever tactic and a good job for their team and increasing their second-place score to a point that they were safe. All Marinette did was grin, that was a team that was likely to get complacent if they got more, just who they needed to target at the end.

"You're not getting away from me, Deku!" Bakugo yelled and Marinette looked up to see Bakugo flying at Team Midoriya with his explosions having leapt off his own team to get him. "You won't beat me again. This time I will crush you."

"Well, that was to be expected." Marinette said as Bakugo closed on Midoriya. "Wonder if that's allowed seeing as he's no longer on his carriers."

As they watched, Dark Shadow swung around to block Bakugo's attacked and send him falling back to the ground away from Midoriya and his team. As he was falling, Sero's tape shot up and grabbed him before he hit the ground, yanking him back to his teammates who caught him.

"Is that even legal?" Present Mic asked as Bakugo was caught but didn't touch the ground while his team tried to set him steady.

"Bakugo never touched the ground, so it's allowed." Midnight clarified in her usual fashion.

"Looks like that will cost Bakugo." Adrien said as Monoma came up alongside them and yanked off Bakugo's headband while he was being stabilized, touching Bakugo in the process which made it all click in Adrien's mind regarding Monoma. "And if I recall that guy's Quirk is a going to be a shock for him."

That happened a moment later as Monoma finished his successful grab of Bakugo's headband with a blast of Bakugo's own Quirk into his face before slapping Kirishima on the head as Bakugo recoiled. Bakugo responded violently as expected but now Monoma had used Kirishima's Quirk to protect himself. The boy had a Quirk called Copy that allowed him to copy other people's Quirk after touching them but only one at a time and only for a short period of time. It was damned useful.

"Looks like Bakugo has a new target, he won't let something like that slide." Adrien said in French as the short-tempered boy was blocked by one of Monoma's teammate's Quirks that allowed him to compress air into a solid when he expelled it from his lungs. "He'll be distracted for now as he tries to destroy Monoma."

"Good." Marinette replied sticking with their native tongue as she watched the other developments and began to consolidate her plan. "That means that we are ready to move soon. Bakugo will spend the rest of the time going after Monoma and will take his headbands before Midoriya which makes sense as Midoriya has his own issues now."

"What do you mean?" Adrien asked as he looked where Marinette was looking and saw what had happened. "Oh, yeah that will be an issue for him."

Midoriya had been able to avoid Bakugo but with a boot busted it appeared that he couldn't fly anymore which caused his team some issues with their strategy. In that time, Todoroki had made his move and boxed Midoriya and his team in with ice meaning that they were facing off with each other alone.

A glance at the scores also showed that Todoroki had been busy while they were waiting. He'd used the chaos to get some insurance as he'd begun in 4th and taken both Team Rin and Team Kamakiri's points to bolster his own total. However, it was clear that Todoroki was after Midoriya, and Adrien had a feeling he knew why and that it went beyond the declaration earlier. Regardless it gave them a good opening as the ice was so high that it kept the others away, so they didn't have to worry about those two teams for the rest of the battle.

There was one other advantage to the ice. Todoroki had been a bit indiscriminate with it and it had frozen two of the Class B teams, the two teams still holding onto their original points, along with Team Hagakure but they had no points so weren't a problem.

Teams Kendo and Kodai had been too close to Todoroki as they were going after Midoriya to get his points as well following his escape from Tetsutetsu and Mineta but had gotten caught up in Todoroki's attack. To add to it, only their team was near enough to act. Tetsutetsu's team had seen this and backed off knowing that they were safe while the other teams were nearer the Bakugo and Monoma drama and waiting for their moment to strike.

"This is our chance." Marinette said in French as she began to move forward and setting a quick pace but within what Aoyama could do. "We have two teams to take out now while the rest are distracted then we can get some insurance and take out the loudmouth of Class B."

"Where are we going?" Shinso asked as they headed off at last. "And what do I need to do? I'm trusting the French here so show me it's worth it."

"There are two frozen teams who can't move and who have points." Marinette said with a grin as they came down on Team Kendo which was nearer and a bigger threat, Team Kodai had been a bit further away having aided Monoma in his attack on Bakugo before heading towards Midoriya. "We're going for the girls first and you need to hit the short brunette as soon as you can, her Quirk is a ranged one and can be nasty from what I've read. Then get Kendo, the rider, as she has a strong defense if she's allowed to use her Quirk. The other two aren't a problem but after I have words with one of them hit her as well, so she can't follow us. The last one is no threat, don't waste your Quirk on her."

"Fine." Shinso said as he looked out to the group in front of them while the chaos continued around them but with the ice they couldn't see Midoriya and Todoroki's battle while Bakugo's thing was far away from them so not a concern to them. "Hey, brunette hero wannabe in Class B, fancy a date with me?"

"What?" Kinoko Komori asked looking over with the rest of her team at Shinso and his team closing in on them. "Why would…"

That was all she had to say before Shinso activated his Quirk and brainwashed her. She shut up and stood there in the ice in a stupor as he grinned. Now he was finally showing off just as he wanted to. It looked like the French girl was going to hold up her end of the bargain, so he'd better hold up his.

"Komori, what happened?" Kendo said to her teammate in shock at the sudden change before looking to Marinette and her approaching team. "Which of you did that?"

"Why do you want to know ginge." Shinso said taunting the rider into a response to get her to speak. "Maybe your friend just gave up."

"Because I…" Kendo began before Shinso brainwashed her, and Marinette pulled up next to the team having been careful with the ice they were walking on.

"Good, you heroes are too predictable at times." Shinso said with a smirk. "Now, hand over your headband."

Kendo just obeyed as she had no choice. She reached up and pulled her own headband off her head before passing it over to Shinso who grabbed it and made sure to not touch her lest he break his hold. Once he had it he tied it around his neck and their points total went up.

"Kendo what the hell?" The green haired girl on the team said in surprise.

"I'd be more worried about your own mistake in planning your team's positions then losing your team's headband." Marinette said to the girl who looked at her with confusion while the last girl on the team, the silver haired one, just looked emotionlessly at everything from the front position as she couldn't do anything right now. "You are Setsuna Tokage, right?"

"I am." Tokage said looking at the girl and noting her distinctly non-Japanese accented Japanese. "You're one of the French exchange students, aren't you? Dupain-Cheng I believe."

"Correct and like you I'm technically a recommended student." Marinette said with a grin. "I would expect someone like you to be smarter when it came to strategy. You're Quirk is obviously the best for the rider. Even if Kendo's is good as well it is only really good for defense while yours can be used for offense as well if done right, and with the rules, as seen with Bakugo, it may have been a good idea, but you messed up."

"If you know my Quirk then you know that the pieces die after a time." Tokage said. "And that I can't affect my clothes so I could end up naked, not that I have any shame on that front. We could have been disqualified if I used it. Kendo was the right choice."

"Still lost though." Shinso taunted as they turned.

"Yeah well we aren't…" Tokage started before Shinso brainwashed her as well as Marinette had suggested, and they left leaving only Reiko Yanagi to stand there in the ice confused at what the hell had just happened and not sure what she could have done to avoid it.

Marinette ignored it as they headed towards the other stuck team with points while the battles raged on around them. They still had 7 minutes left so it was nearing the time for them to get busy as they moved.

"Alright with the next lot, the one to look out for is the guy at the back." Marinette said as they approached the stuck and now panicking team as they'd seen what had just happened to their classmates. "I actually don't know how his Quirk works but I think it can be tricky and has range. The guy at the front has a Quirk that can stop us, but Adrien's can counter it if necessary so take him out second."

"Very well." Shinso said as they approached. "Hey, you in the back, why's your head like that?"

"Who me?" Manga Fukidashi asked turning to see the team bearing down on his. "Why do you…"

"I don't." Shinso said as he brainwashed the kid and his teammates turned to see the change. "Hey big guy at the front, what about you? What does your Quirk do?"

"Who are you…" Kojiro Bondo began before Shinso brainwashed him as well.

"Too easy." Shinso said with a grin at the 5th Hero Course student he'd just bested, there was no way that the teachers weren't seeing his skills now as he moved onto his 6th victim. "What about you honey, got anything to say to me?"

The third person on the team, the girl who had to be Kodai as she had the headband, just gave him a blank look as they approached and blinked at him. She wasn't saying anything just staring at him with a small frown on her face.

"Nothing?" Shinso asked trying to prompt her into speaking. "You don't have anything to say?"

The girl just kept staring and apparently not caring. This wasn't good. It seemed like she had either figured out his Quirk or was just not the talkative type and had the self-control to not rise to anything he was saying.

"Very well, I'll just take your headband." Shinso said as they neared, and they saw that she had to hold onto the guy in front of her with their formation.

Kodai tried to use her right hand to stop it but her position in this formation wasn't great. Their plan had been to help Monoma take Bakugo's headband before going after Midoriya and using Bondo's Quirk to stop him and everyone else who got in their way to get the points they needed.

That had somewhat succeeded with Monoma but when they'd tried to intercept Midoriya they'd been blocked by Todoroki and caught in his ice attack. Her Quirk was useless right now and for some reason her teammates were out of it thanks to this General Studies student who was clearly stronger than he seemed.

As such, she was unable to stop the purple haired boy being held up by the French lot from taking her headband and heading off with it as he tied it around his own neck. All she could do was sigh in defeat and wait for the clock to run out.

"Good we should have enough to advance." Marinette said as they left and began to sneak up on Tetsutetsu who was now playing it safe and waiting out the clock. "But class B challenged us, we need to show them what Class A is made of."

"Agreed." Adrien said as they headed over and the timer clicked down to 5 minutes left. "Now m'lady."

"Yup, let's get the Lucky Charm." Marinette said as she thought about getting something to grab the headbands without getting caught up in the ranged Quirks of their impending opponents. "Shinso, catch what appears before you."

Shinso just blinked in confusion before a flash of pink light appeared before his eyes. A second later an item materialized out of thin air before him, and he caught it. It was one of those long, extendable pincer things with a scissor lift like extension that caused it to shoot out and grab something.

"What's this for?" Shinso asked confused before he noticed the strangest thing about it. "And why is it in the colors of our PE kit?"

"Weird aspect of my Quirk that I haven't figured out yet, but for some reason the item is always in the pattern of the clothes that I am wearing at the time." Marinette said as her vison grayed before the plan came to her and she saw what to do. "Press the button to extend it when I tell you but first we need to deal with the team. The dude at the front is their main defense, he can soften anything he touches, and his feet work as well as his hands based on what we saw earlier. Get him first. Then go for Shiozaki as she's strong too and has range in the air. Lastly, Tetsutestu so that he can hold out the headbands he has, and then you can take them."

"You're putting a lot of faith in me." Shinso said surprised at how much of this plan was relying on him.

"If you want to transfer into the Hero Course then you will need to be able to pull this off." Marinette said. "So, show that you can, and Adrien and I will put in a good word for you."

"Very well." Shinso said as they neared the team that was hanging back and content to let the clock play out now that they were in a position to secure advancement. "Hey, softening guy, you are sure you're team has enough?"

Juzo Honenuki looked up to see a team approaching his as they waited back with Tetsutetsu doing his usual thing as they watched the chaos begin to increase with less than 5 minutes left and desperation began to kick in. It looked like there was one team coming for them that was near enough to be a threat.

It was no problem though; he'd sink them to their knees. He had heard about the French guy's Quirk and how it might be a problem if he let him use it, so he'd harden it out of his reach to secure them then they could get their points. It was simple really.

"We will once we…" Honenuki began before Shinso brainwashed him, he was using his Quirk more than usual and no doubt some of the others were free, but he didn't care so long as he got his points, showed off, and advanced.

"Honenuki, what's going on?" Tetsutetsu asked at the sudden change in his friend before looking up to see the approaching team and wasn't sure if they had more than him or not. "Hey, it's some of Class A, you won't win this time. Honenuki, stop them. Honenuki?"

"He won't listen to you loudmouth." Shinso said calmly to Tetsutetsu as his whole team looked on in confusion. "He's out of this battle."

"Hey, what have…" Tetsutetsu began before too was brainwashed.

"Good, now hand over those headbands." Shinso ordered.

"I will not let sinners like you get them." Shiozaki said angrily, her hair beginning to flair around her as Tetsutetsu took off the headbands he had and held them out in a closed fist. "You will feel the wrath of God for your trickery."

"You some religious nutcase or something?" Shinso asked the vine haired girl while Marinette and Adrien wondered what it would be like if someone like Shiozaki learned about the Guardians and decided that it was for the best that she never found out about them. "Who is that religious these days?"

"I am blessed by our lord and savior and…" Shiozaki began before she too was brainwashed.

"Well, it wasn't in the right order, but I got all three, those last two were too easy." Shinso said idly while the last member of the team looked on in shock and unable to do anything as his Quirk was not a ranged one. "What about the last one?"

"His Quirk, if I recall, requires his hands so he's not a threat." Marinette said looking at Yosetsu Awase who just looked down in resignation knowing that she was right, he was no threat to them in this situation. "Now use the device I created."

"Very well." Shinso said holding it up and pressing the button.

The claw shot out and then, at the end of it's reach snapped shut on the headbands that Tetsutetsu was holding out. It then retracted, still locked shut thanks to some internal mechanism and to Shinso. He was surprised it worked before he grabbed the headbands and the claw opened. As soon as he had it, Marinette dismissed the item and it vanished in a puff of pink light.

"Pretty handy, I'll give it to you." Shinso said putting the headbands around his neck as a massive explosion was heard on the other side of the field. "You really know how to use your Quirk."

"Years of practice with it but wouldn't have been able to get these points without you." Marinette said. "Now let's get to safety and run out the clock. There is no way that we haven't advanced."

Shinso just nodded as they hurried away while the chaos reached a fever pitch as time ticked towards the end of the event. The explosion had been Bakugo retreating from Monoma having grabbed two of his 3 headbands, including the one he'd lost, before he rocketed towards Deku while his team ran after him so that he didn't hit the ground and get them disqualified. With one headband left and no clue as to the scores, the remaining free teams, almost all being in Class B other than Ojiro, converged on Monoma going for his remaining 390 points.

Marinette just grinned as she saw the points, she hadn't been listening to the commentary as they'd been focused on their task at hand and saw what the scores were. It was a bit of a surprise but as the clock hit zero she knew who had advanced.

"And that is it." Present Mic said into the speaker as the crowd roared at the conclusion of the Cavalry Battle. "We have our top 4 teams who will advance."

With the time over, Shinso turned off his Quirk thus freeing his victims and looking up to the scoreboard. Dupain-Cheng's plan had worked better than he could have hoped for, he was going to surprise everyone as he showed his worth.

"In first place, it's Team Todoroki with 10,000,660 points." Present Mic said to the cheering crowd. "In second it's Team Shinso with 2,005. Wait, where'd they come from and how did they get that many points?"

"They used clever tactics to stay out of everyone's radar while the main bulk went for Midoriya and his large amount of points." Aizawa said calmly. "Dupain-Cheng was the leader there and waited for the right moment to use Shinso's Quirk to grab points from those who had been caught in Todoroki's ice or who were complacent at the end and let them get within range. She did her homework it seems and used that to her advantage just as a hero should. Each round she's showing her aptitude for this stuff."

"Cool." Present Mic said. "Well in third is Team Bakugo with 980 points. Lastly it's Team Midoriya with 695. Folks, those 16 students will advance to the final stage!"

Everyone looked around at the teams who had advanced with a lot of shock to the French lot with Shinso. Shinso just got off and thanked them before he went to return his headbands to Midnight. Meanwhile Midoriya was crying at his team's success when he failed thanks to Dark Shadow using the distraction to grab them enough points to advance, while Todoroki and his team looked ready and Bakugo fumed at coming third again as his team tried to congratulate him for advancing.

The second round was over, which meant that it was time for a break so that everyone could get lunch, after those trapped by Todoroki's ice were freed of course. The Sports Festival was moving on and no one knew what the precise details of the final stage was, but they geared up for it as the Sports Festival began its dramatic conclusion.

Well, there it is, the Cavalry Battle and a nice little twist there with the teams and points. I am sure many of you saw that Marinette would approach Shinso for it and how they could use each other to their advantage in this battle. This was mainly done to balance out the team and who advanced compared to the anime while keeping the rest of what went on roughly the same but showing how it would change with Marinette and Adrien around. Next up, well I am sure you can guess as we move into the top 16 of the Sports Festival on the way to crowning a winner but all in good time. That is all for this chapter, so I will leave it here. If you like it or have any questions please let me know in reviews or PMs, I will try to answer them as best I could and post any questions asked between uploads at the start of the next chapter and do follow and favorite this, so you are alerted to future uploads. Do keep the reviews coming as I like hearing from y'all as you enjoy my work, it motivates me to keep producing the best work I can for y'all to enjoy. Until next time.

Stringdog