Ch. 34: Cavalry Battle

"Now, then. The point assignments go up by increments of five, starting from the bottom. For example, 51st place is worth five points and 50th is worth ten," Midnight explained before internally grinning at this next tidbit of info which she was rather eager to share. "And the point value assigned to the first-place contestant is… TEN MILLION!"

Izuku suddenly turned ghost white, feeling glares from all around aimed at him. "Ten… million…?" It felt as if everyone around him were glaring at him with red glowing eyes like a predator hunting prey.

"That's right. It's survival of the fittest with a chance for those at the bottom to overthrow the top!" Midnight confirmed.

From the teachers' stands, Toshinori looked down at his successor with a serious look in his eyes. 'Now you know the burden of being the best.' Toshinori mentally said as he clenched his bony fist a little bit.

Back with Izuku, the pounding in his heart grew in anticipation. Yet, despite the overwhelming dread building up inside him, he couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement. 'So, what they say is true. It's hard being at the top. Right, All Might?'

"First-years!" Midnight called out to get everyone's attention, pointing toward the giant screen. "These are the rules that you will abide by! The game itself will last 15 minutes. Individual point values will be added together to reach your team total. Everyone will know how much you're worth thanks to your headbands. Swipe as many headbands as you can to raise your team score. Stolen headbands must be worn from the neck up. So the more you steal, the harder it'll be to manage them. And another thing, even if your headband gets stolen or your team falls down, you can keep playing until time's up!"

"It's anyone's game, then," Momo noted.

"And since there's 51 contestants, there will be thirteen or fourteen teams fighting on the field the entire time," Rikido added.

"Sounds hard," Yuga interjected worriedly.

"So if you lose your headband in the beginning, you have more time to make up a plan," Mina theorized.

"I don't know, Mina. Maybe we should wait and see how the teams turn out before we start strategizing," Tsuyu argued.

"This is going to be rough, you may use your Quirks as much as you'd like. But, there are still rules. Make a team fall on purpose and I'll slap you with a red card! You'll be disqualified!" Midnight warned.

Katsuki scoffed in the background. So much for his main strategy.

Then, the screen changed into a timer counting down from fifteen minutes.

"Now, you've got fifteen minutes to build your teams. I recommend you get started."

"You should team with me!" Rikido pointed to himself.

"No, you definitely want me by your side!" Mina argued.

"I don't wanna beg, but please," Yuga pleaded while clenching his stomach.

Katsuki was getting a lot of offers and pleas from his classmates to be on his team.

"Wait, remind me what your Quirks are again, and your names," Katsuki responded.

"You're kidding! We're your classmates!" Mina said in indignation.

"Can you really be that self-centered?" Rikido asked.

"He's a hothead but he came in third and he has 245 points. And considering how versatile his Quirk is, I'm not surprised people are trying to join up with him," Toshinori noted as he watched the exchange.

"Bakugo!" Eijiro called out as he made his way past Toru and Rikido. "I was gonna try Todoroki, but he already picked a group. So, hey! We should team up."

"Hey, Dumb Hair," Katsuki greeted in a bored tone.

"MY NAME IS KIRISHIMA!" Eijiro snapped. "Also, my hair's not that different from yours. C'mon, you wanna be the rider, right? So you're gonna need a strong front horse who won't be hurt by your blasts." Eijiro hardened up his arm to demonstrate. "That'd be me."

"I need someone with guts," Katsuki said.

"My Quirk was made for this! I got you covered, man! Let's go charging into battle together. Ten Million. Bring it."

Katsuki's expression changed into a ferocious grin at the thought of taking down Deku.

Mezo Shoji was looking around for teammates when he heard a voice calling out for him.

"Shoji! Shoji! None of the girls wanna team up with me! PLEASE BE MY PARTNER!"

Mezo looked down and saw Mineta crying and begging before walking away from his diminutive classmate to look for partners elsewhere.

"I'm super tiny so I can't be a horse! But for some reason no one wants me to climb on top of them so I can be a rider!" Mineta pretty much just answered his own question. "With your huge body and those tentacles, you could cover me completely so no one'll take my headband!" This got Mezo to stop and reconsider; it WAS a good strategy. "Right?! Please?!"

Mezo grew out a grinning mouth from one of his extra limbs. "Good idea. Let's go."

Meanwhile, Izuku was looking around for potential teammates… Except pretty much everyone was trying to keep their distance from him or had already found themselves a full team. 'Everyone's totally avoiding me since I'm worth so much!'

Trying not to get disheartened, he nervously approached one of his classmates. "Oh, hey. What's up, Ojiro?"

"Sorry…" Ojiro muttered in apology before walking away, leaving behind a distraught Izuku.

'That makes sense. No one's worried about keeping their own headbands the whole game. It's a better strategy to steal as many points as you can.'

"Izuku…" Rias whispered in worry. The fact he had such a big target on him made finding a team difficult.

"Admittedly, it's a smart move on the school's part. They're doing it like this so the first place won't become complacent. Midoriya will have to work for it if he wants to succeed," Sona analyzed.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Ravel asked.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Yumi reassured.

"Izuku?"

The boy in question turned to see Asia.

"Would you like to team up?" The blonde Devil offered.

"ASIA! ARE YOU SURE!? EVERYONE WILL BE AFTER ME AND MY TEN MILLION STUPID POINTS! TELL ME YOU'RE NOT KIDDING!" Izuku pleaded while spraying Asia with a deluge of tears that would put a leaking fire hydrant to shame.

"It's fine. I want to help you win," Asia smiled. "Besides, it's better to team up with people you like."

Izuku felt his heart thumping at her angelic smile and did his best to stop another tear flood from leaking out. "You're right. For a game that requires so much teamwork, it's smart to find people you communicate smoothly with," Izuku said, to which Asia nodded. "In fact, if we add your Quirk and one other person… You know what, I think I might have a solid plan!" He turned to look around and found the person he was looking for. "Iida!"

After getting Tenya's attention, Izuku explained his idea to the Engine Quirked teen. Now, he awaited Tenya's response.

"A good strategy, but I'm sorry. I'm afraid I must refuse your offer," Tenya apologized. "Since this all started, I've been losing to you. Please don't take this as an insult, you're a great friend. But if I continue to follow you, I'll never get stronger. Bakugo and Todoroki have challenged you already. They aren't the only ones who see you as a rival." He then turned and walked back to Shoto's side, who had Momo and Denki with him. "Midoriya, I'll try my best to defeat you."

As much as Iida's rejection hurt, Izuku still held a determined expression, refusing to give up.

"Hehehe. Oh, perfect. You're still alone. And you're the star."

At the sound of machine whirring and the new voice, Izuku and Asia turned to see a girl with pink hair in dreadlocks, equipped with all sorts of hi-tech gear.

"TEAM UP WITH ME, PERSON IN FIRST PLACE!" Mei Hatsume shouted, getting right in Izuku's face.

"AH! SO CLOSE! WHO ARE YOU?!"

"I'm a student in the Support Course. Name's Mei Hatsume," she introduced herself after backing up, lifting her goggles to reveal her yellow eyes with crosshairs in the iris.

"Oh, I saw you in the Obstacle Course!" Asia said.

"We haven't met, but I'd like to use your current fame to my personal advantage," Mei bluntly revealed.

'That's straightforward!' Izuku thought.

Mei then started getting right up in Izuku's face again. "If I team up with you, then I'll be in the spotlight as part of the team that everyone is keeping their eyes on! That means my super-cute little babies will inevitably be seen by the big company CEOs who are tuning in to see the Sports Festival! And following that line of reasoning, this is the best way for me and my marvelous gadgets to get recruited!"

"C-Could you slow down a minute? D-Did you bring babies here, or-"

Mei paid Asia no mind as she continued to try and convince Izuku to team up with her, leaving Asia annoyed at not only being ignored but also because the new girl was invading Izuku's personal space.

"The Support Course specializes in creating equipment that helps Heroes deal with their Quirks and enhance their skills! I packed a ton of powerful babies to bring with me. So I'm sure you'll find something you like floating around my arsenal!" Mei advertised before noticing him looking at one of her "babies." "Oh, I see one's caught your eye!" She held up one that appeared to be a jetpack. "I based this on a certain Hero's backpack. Of course, I added my own twist."

"I recognize that! Air Jet, the Buster Hero has one of those!" Izuku noted. "I love that guy!"

"Isn't he awesome?!" Mei asked, to which Izuku nodded.

Meanwhile, Asia could only watch their interaction in silence, totally ignored. 'They sure get along well.'

Then suddenly, Izuku's expression became serious again. 'Not being able to team up with Iida was a definite blow. I've got Hatsume and Asia now. But, I still need one more…'

"Hey, guys. Room for one more?" The three turned to see a familiar rabbit girl.

"Chacha? You sure?" Izuku asked.

"Of course. I wanna help you."

"In that case, welcome to the team," Izuku said.

"So, President. Izuku now has… a… team…" Yumi trailed off, seeing the dark look on not just Rias's face, but also Akeno and Ravel's.

"Is this normal for you guys?" Saji asked.

"You could say that," Yumi said.

"Damn… How does he do it?" Saji muttered.

Hitoshi Shinso was checking out the crowd for potential teammates. He then noticed the tailed blond from Class 1-A, and from the way he moved in the Obstacle Race, he seemed pretty athletic, which could be useful as a horse. And lucky for Hitoshi, he had a special way of convincing people.

He was about to go snag the 1-A youth for his team when he felt a chubby hand on his shoulder.

"Hey."

Hitoshi turned around to see Hilda smiling at him. "Oh, hey."

"Got a team yet? If not, how about we team up? I would be a good front horse, don'tcha think?" Hilda said.

"I thought you preferred being the rider?"

"Well, that was back when I was skinny. I mean, unless you wanna carry my big butt?" Hilda joked.

"Point taken," Hitoshi said. He would be squashed on the ground if he tried that. "But you think your sister wouldn't mind us teaming up?"

"Pssh! You know Rosa's not the jealous type," Hilda brushed away his concerns. "Besides, you and Rosa both know I'm solely lesbian, so nothing's gonna happen."

"Yeah, I get it."

"Also, no need to use your 'special' way of persuasion for other teammates, I brought along some friends with me," Hilda motioned to the side, where Rebecca and Ochaco were.

"Hello," Rebecca greeted.

"Hi," Ochaco greeted. "Hilda vouched for you and I figured if she trusts you, then so can we." She initially wanted to team up with Deku, but she saw that he already had a full team, to her slight jealousy, and that was when Hilda offered her to team up.

Although Hitoshi didn't show it, he was internally smiling that people were willing to team up with him rather than him having to make them join him.

"I chose the three of you because I believe we'll make for the most stable formation possible…"

Shoto's team remained silent as he addressed them.

"Kaminari's our left wing. He can use his Quirk to keep enemies at bay." Shoto turned to his next teammate. "Hanakai, you'll take the right wing. Focus on insulation and defense." And finally, he turned to the last member. "Iida, you'll take the front. We'll rely on you for mobility and physical defense."

"And you'll be attacking and creating diversions of ice and fire, is that right?" Tenya asked.

"Not quite," Shoto replied, looking up at a certain back part of the stands with a scowl. "When I'm in battle, I never use my left side."

Soon, the fifteen minutes ran out and an alarm went off to let everyone know it was time for the Cavalry Battle to begin.

"Oh, goody. It's time to get this party started," Midnight remarked as she stretched her arms.

"Hey! Hey! Look alive!" Present Mic tapped the sleeping Eraserhead on his shoulder to wake him up.

["After fifteen minutes to pick teammates and think strategy, fourteen cavalry teams are prepared to go head-to-head!"]

["I see some unexpected student combinations,"] Aizawa noted.

["Come on! Everyone get your hands in the air! It's time for an arena-thumping battle royale! LET ME HEAR YA SCREAM!"] Present Mic announced, getting the crowd pumped.

And then, the teams were displayed one by one starting from lowest score to highest.

Team Rin- Hiryu Rin, Jurota Shishida: 135

Team Kodai- Yui Kodai, Kojiro Bondo, Manga Fukidashi: 180

Team Kamakiri- Togaru Kamakiri, Rikido Sato, Nirengeki Shoda: 240

Team Kendo- Itsuka Kendo, Setsuna Tokage, Asuka Koukawa, Pony Tsunotori: 315

Team Mineta- Minoru Mineta, Mezo Shoji, Tsuyu Asui: 320

Team Monoma- Neito Monoma, Kosei Tsuburaba, Sen Kaibara, Shihai Kuroiro: 325

Team Komori- Kinoko Komori, Kyoka Jiro, Koji Koda, Reiko Yanagi: 380

Team Hagakure- Toru Hagakure, Dani Fenton, Tomoe Meguri, Yuga Aoyama: 515

Team Shinso- Hitoshi Shinso, Hilda Shirakabe, Rebecca Riku, Ochaco Uraraka: 575

Team Tetsutetsu- Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, Juzo Honenuki, Yosetsu Awase, Orihime Yamasaki: 685

Team Ginzan- Ethel Ginzan, Xenovia Quarta, Mashirao Ojiro, Fumikage Tokoyami: 745

Team Bakugo- Katsuki Bakugo, Eijiro Kirishima, Hanta Sero, Mina Ashido: 750

Team Todoroki- Shoto Todoroki, Tenya Iida, Denki Kaminari, Momo Hanakai: 765

Team Argento- Asia Argento, Izuku Midoriya, Chacha Akaninjin, Mei Hatsume: 10,000,445

"WHAT?!" Katsuki exclaimed, surprised by the top team's formation.

Indeed, the rider of the ten-million-point team was Asia, not Izuku, who was actually the front horse, with Chacha and Mei covering the left and the right respectively.

Asia was being supported by Mei and Chacha, who held up the upper part of her tail with their arms, and she had the end of her tail coiled around Izuku's waist for extra security.

"Goddamn it, Deku! Running away?" Katsuki growled with gritted teeth. He was planning on taking down Izuku in the battle, but now, he had to deal with Asia instead.

["Okay, all you first-years! I hope you're happy with your chosen teams!"] The boisterous commentator shouted.

"You ready, Asia?" Izuku asked as he looked up.

"Yeah!" Asia responded.

"Hatsume?"

Mei chuckled in response.

"Chacha?"

"I'm good!" Chacha responded.

"Let's do this!" Izuku declared as he faced ahead.

["Let's get this party started!"] Present Mic declared. ["One final countdown before the game starts!"]

Every single team readied themselves, and nearly each one of them had their eyes trailed on the same target.

["Three!"]

"Get 'em." Katsuki cracked his knuckles from atop his team.

["Two!"]

"He's ours," Shoto stated from atop his team.

["One!"]

"BEGIN!" Midnight announced, starting the Cavalry Battle.

The majority of the teams immediately started rushing toward Team Argento, much to their surprise.

"IT'S BASICALLY ONE BIG BATTLE FOR TEN MILLION POINTS!" Tetsutetsu shouted as his team charged forward. "SORRY, ARGENTO AND AKANINJIN, BUT RIGHT NOW, WE'RE ENEMIES!"

"Yeah. Nothing personal, you guys!" Scales formed on Hiryu's arm as he rode on top of beast mode Jurota.

"Hahahahaha! I'll be taking that headband, Argento!" The topless Toru cackled as her teammates carried her forward.

"They're not giving us a chance," Chacha noted.

Even with enemies inbound, Mei was still smiling. "Here they come."

"Izuku…" Asia said.

"Only one thing to do… WE'RE RUNNING AWAY!" Izuku declared.

"Don't think so!" Tetsutetsu retorted.

"Yeah!" Juzo activated his Quirk, softening the ground around Team Argento to try and stop them.

Orihime sent a wave of ice toward their targets but Izuku acted fast and fired a Dragon Shot to shatter the ice.

"Asia!" Izuku shouted.

"Right!" Asia activated Mei's jetpack to lift themselves into the air, with Izuku using his wings to help them steer while Mei and Chacha wore the former's Hover Soles for extra speed and mobility, allowing the team to escape the horde of opposing teams.

"They flew?! Damn Support Course!" Tetsutetsu shouted in irritation. "AFTER THEM!"

"You won't get away!" Hiryu shouted, Jurota roaring in agreement as they went after Team Argento, unaware that their headband was gone.

"Jiro, now!" Kinoko shouted.

"I know!" Kyoka extended her earphone jacks into the sky toward Team Argento.

Chacha's ears perked up at the sound of Kyoka's jacks heading toward them, and she quickly transformed into her were-form to block them with a swipe of her arm.

"Stupid bunny!" Kyoka cursed at her attack being foiled.

"Nice reaction time, Chacha! You're amazing!" Izuku said.

"Oh, it was no biggie," Chacha said, happy to receive a compliment from her crush. "We're landing!"

Then, the team landed back on the ground and ran to avoid the other teams.

"What do you think of my babies? Aren't they just precious? Cuteness can be manufactured, you know!" Mei asked the others.

"Excellent mobility! Your babies are amazing, Hatsume!" Izuku replied.

"Thanks!" Mei chirped, happy to hear others appreciating her babies.

["Wo-ow! Barely two minutes have passed since we started, and it's already a total free-for-all!"] Present Mic cheered. ["YEAH! Watch those headbands! You can even ignore the ten million points and go after the other chart toppers!"]

Suddenly, Mineta's maddening cackle rang out. "Hahaha! Hahaha! This is too easy! It's not a fight! It's more like a massacre!"

Team Argento turned in the direction, where they saw Mezo seemingly running by himself with his arms up behind him acting as a tent for his back. Mineta was probably inside.

"Hey, we gotta get moving!" Mei pointed out, spotting Team Tetsutetsu headed their way as well.

Team Argento was about to run again when Chacha noticed that she had stepped on something, preventing her from lifting her left foot.

"Is something wrong?" Asia asked.

"Yeah, I'm stuck!" Chacha said, under her foot, there was a familiar purple sphere.

"That's Mineta's ball!" Izuku said as he turned in Mezo's direction.

"Hi, Midoriya," Mineta peeked out from the tent before retreating into it as a long tongue shot out toward Asia.

Asia barely managed to dodge the tongue as it continued to stretch out, almost hitting Tetsutetsu.

The tongue was then reeled back and its owner peeked out. "Not bad, Argento," Tsuyu complimented.

"Oh, man. You've got Asui in there, too?" Izuku asked.

"I told you to call me Tsu," Tsuyu responded before retreating into the shelter and lashing out with her tongue again alongside a volley of Mineta's sticky balls.

"Punch it, Asia!" Izuku said, preparing his wings for takeoff again.

Asia activated the jetpack, and they soared into the air again, but unfortunately, Chacha's left Hover Sole was destroyed during takeoff due to Mineta's sticky ball.

"My baby's ruined!" Mei cried out in distress as she noticed the damage.

"Sorry, but at least we got away from them!" Izuku said.

Then, as if on cue, Katsuki was about to prove him wrong as he set off his explosions to launch himself into the sky after Team Argento.

"Kacchan!" Izuku said in shock.

"Don't think for a second you're safe!" Katsuki exclaimed as he caught up to his targets, readying an explosion and aiming it at Asia. "I've got you!"

"Asia!" Izuku shouted.

"Right!" Asia sent out a wall of hair vines to act as a barrier, blocking Katsuki's explosion.

The crowd cheered at the action, eager for more fighting, as some wondered about the risky move.

["WHAAAAA?! Bakugo has been separated from his horses!"] Present Mic commented. As he said this, Katsuki was pulled back to his team by Hanta's tape. ["Is that even allowed?"]

"He never touched the ground, so technically, it's okay!" Midnight ruled.

Meanwhile, Team Argento made landing once more, even if it was somewhat shaky.

"It's hard to control where we're going with just one foot," Chacha said.

"I understand," Izuku responded. 'We can't risk taking to the sky again. That means we'll have to do what we can down here to survive.'

"Dammit! After them!" Katsuki commanded as he saw Team Argento land on the ground. But before he knew it, his headband was snatched off his head.

The culprit was Monoma, who held the headband in his hand.

"He got us!" Mina exclaimed.

"What the HELL do you think you're doing?!" Katsuki shouted.

"Taking points. What else?" Monoma said matter-of-factly. "Were you so focused on the ten million team that you forgot there are others in this game? There are other, sometimes smarter, ways to win, you know." Then, Team Monoma started running away with their points.

"I'll show you, wise guy!" Katsuki growled before turning to his team. "Kirishima, we have a slight change of plans. Them first! Then we take down Deku!"

["Now who wants to take a look at each team's points so far? It's been seven minutes so let's get those rankings sorted on the screen!"] Present Mic yelled. ["In first place, Team Argento, who has managed to keep control over their headband even though everyone's gunning for them! In second place, Team Monoma, having managed to sneak up the ranks! Next, there's Team Todoroki in third, followed by Team Ginzan in fourth! But, this is far from being absolute, folks! Who knows what'll happen next?!"]

"We better keep moving," Asia suggested.

Before they could move, someone stopped in front of them: Team Todoroki. Glaring at him with his cold, mixed-matched eyes was Shoto, who was currently being held up by Tenya, Momo, and Denki, the former two with serious, determined eyes, and the latter had a confident grin.

"I thought we had it made. Guess I was wrong," Izuku said as he looked up to face Shoto.

"I'll be taking that now," Shoto declared, eyeing the ten-million-headband around Asia's head.

Meanwhile, inside Mezo's arm tent, Mineta was devastated to realize that his headband had been stolen despite his clever plan.

"Normally, I wouldn't have teamed up with you, but this was a good plan. Though I'm not sure how you lost your headband," Tsuyu said.

"WHERE DID IT GO?!" Mineta cried.

Nearby, Rebecca reeled back her arm, which was in the form of a squid tentacle, holding the stolen Team Mineta headband before passing it to Hitoshi.

"Wow, that was a neat trick," Ochaco said.

"And that brings us to 895 points!" Hilda said from the front. "No need to worry about the ten million, let's just focus on holding onto what we have now."

"Right," Hitoshi nodded. And they had a pretty good chance at that, too. Ochaco used her Quirk on everyone's clothes to remove some weight from them, Hilda in front was a great tank, Rebecca's animal transformations offered versatility, and Hitoshi himself had his way of stopping the other teams from coming after them.

"Guess I should've expected this sooner or later," Izuku noted as he faced Shoto's team.

"He seems to have it out for you, Izuku," Chacha said.

"The game's only halfway over. We can't stop now!" Izuku said as he got ready for anything Shoto might try.

"Now, Iida! Forward!" Shoto commanded.

"Right!" Tenya fired up his engines and sped toward Team Argento.

"Hanakai, be ready to protect us."

"On it!" Momo started creating a rod from her right arm, and a blanket from her bare stomach.

"Kaminari!"

Denki knew what Shoto was going to say. "Oh, I know what I gotta do."

"We're surrounded! Everyone's after us!" Asia shouted as she looked around to see not just Team Todoroki, but several other teams gunning for hers as well.

Denki started giving off sparks as they raced towards the ten million points. "I hope you made something strong, Hanakai!"

Shoto grabbed the blanket from Momo, and the girl stabbed the rod into the ground, while they were still in motion.

Izuku quickly realized what Team Todoroki was about to do, and they had little time to act. "Asia, quick! We need a vine barrier!"

Asia's hair vines quickly pierced the ground before coming back, forming a shield around them. Just in time too.

"Indiscriminate Shock: 1.3 MILLION VOLTS!" Denki discharged his stored electricity; the bright burning energy danced and flooded the surrounding area.

All the other teams that came charging in, from Classes 1-A and 1-B, were treated to a special kind of shock treatment, making them howl in pain as their bodies froze up from the powerful jolts.

"KAMINARI!" Kyoka shouted between all the pain.

The moment that Denki turned off the charge, Shoto quickly ditched the insulated sheet and his right hand began to freeze up. "Less than six minutes left. It's time to make a move!" Using the rod that Momo had created, he directed his ice toward the ground where it spread and encased all the other teams' feet in ice.

"Sorry, but there's no other way."

The teams struggled to pry themselves out of the ice, but it was just too strong.

Present Mic was just as surprised by the move as they were. ["Will you look at that! He's stopped all those teams cold in their tracks!"]

Aizawa had something to add about that. ["But only after Kaminari had immobilized the students using his electricity."] He recalled how Todoroki froze many of the students at the beginning of the last event. ["In the Obstacle Course, he was surprised by how many people avoided his attack. He's adapting his strategy."]

Present Mic gave his friend a thumbs up. "Nice commentary."

Back down on the field, Shoto raised his arm up as he passed by the last frozen team. "I might as well take this." In his hand was Team Kamakiri's headband. As he passed by, large icicles rose from the ground, blocking off the path for the other teams.

Team Argento backpedaled as Team Todoroki charged right for them. Izuku got ready to unfurl his wings. Even with the risks taking to the sky again, right now, they needed to get away fast! "Asia! We need to fly!"

"On it!" Asia tried to fire off the jetpack, but it only gave off a weak puff before it broke down.

"The jetpack's malfunctioning!" Asia said.

Mei was devastated by the news. "Baby! Guess it needs some upgrades…"

"They're too fast!" Chacha said as Team Todoroki drew closer. "We can't get away!"

Asia shot out her hair vines in an attempt to slow down Team Todoroki, however, she unknowingly aimed for his right side.

"No, wait!"

Izuku's warning came late as Shoto reached out with his right hand, sending ice rushing up the vines.

No time to lose, Izuku quickly summoned his Boosted Gear and fired a Dragon Shot to cut through the vines before the ice could spread any further. Also, as a lucky break, the frozen vines ended up weighing down Shoto and forced his team to slow down.

"That was close. Now if-"

Team Argento suddenly came to a stop as they got dangerously close to the edge of the playing field.

["Team Midoriya has nowhere left to run!"] Present Mic announced.

"What do we do now?" Mei asked.

"Let's stay on Todoroki's left," Izuku said. "That way we can avoid his ice."

Back with the teams frozen by Shoto, some had gotten free while others remained trapped.

Team Hagakure managed to get free thanks to Dani and Yuga's Ghost Ray and Navel Laser breaking the ice. Team Ginzan was able to escape thanks to Ethel summoning a metal staff for Xenovia to absorb, allowing her to smash the ice with her metal fists. Team Kendo got free after Asuka used her energy blades to slice the ice apart.

["Look at that, folks! Looks like Teams Hagakure, Ginzan, and Kendo managed to escape the ice trap and are back in the game!]

"Seems Todoroki is set on taking down Midoriya himself," Ethel noted. "It would be best for us to fight here and not get in his way."

Ethel's teammates all nodded, and it seemed the two other free teams were thinking the same thing as they ran to get back into the game, leaving the other frozen teams behind.

"Hey, what about us?!" Mineta shouted.

"Sorry, but we are technically competing against each other," Dani said.

"Nothing personal, you guys," Setsuna said. "Especially you, Kinoko."

The mushroom girl wondered what she meant until she felt her head and realized her headband was gone. It was being carried away by Setsuna's detached hand.

"HEY!" Kinoko shouted in indignation.

"Get after them, Kirishima!" Katsuki ordered as he grinned maniacally at the retreating Team Monoma.

"Please don't make us regret this," Eijiro pleaded as he, Mina, and Hanta followed Katsuki's order.

"You think you're tough?! DIE!" Katsuki primed an explosion and threw his hand out at Monoma, who simply moved his head out of the way to dodge while brushing his palm against the Explosion Quirk user's arm.

As Katsuki turned around to attack again, he was caught by surprise when a small explosion was set off in his face, courtesy of Monoma.

As Katsuki reeled back from the explosion, Monoma proceeded to brush his fingers against Eijiro's hair.

"Whoa, weird! That guy has your Quirk!" Eijiro shouted.

"DAMMIT!" Katsuki cursed as he aimed another explosion at Monoma, this time hitting his mark.

However, there were no sounds of pain or anything to indicate Monoma was hurt by the attack. When the smoke cleared, it was revealed that Monoma had protected himself using Eijiro's copied Quirk.

As Team Bakugo stared in shock, it allowed Monoma's team to put some distance between them.

"Huh? What? Mine, too?" Eijiro questioned.

"Hey, didn't Midoriya mention that he worked with a guy who had a Copy Quirk back in the USJ?" Mina asked.

"Yeah, that's me," Monoma confirmed. "Nice guy, that Midoriya."

Right as Katsuki was about to attack again, Team Kodai appeared and Kojiro sprayed out a stream of his glue between Teams Bakugo and Monoma.

"Nice one. Thanks for the backup, Bondo," Monoma said.

"Monoma! If we keep those headbands, we're good. As long as no one gets near us, we'll make our class proud," Sen said, and Team Monoma resumed running from Team Bakugo.

Katsuki scowled as Monoma ran away from their fight. "Stop 'em!"

"It's too sticky! Crap! I can't move!" Looking down, they noticed that Eijiro's leg was trapped in Kojiro's glue.

"No prob! I'll melt through this gunk with my Quirk!" Mina pressed her feet against the glue and sprayed acid from her soles to dissolve the adhesive.

"Well, hurry! We're sitting at zero points now!" Hanta exclaimed as he saw how far Team Monoma had already gotten.

"Second place. We've done pretty well for ourselves. Now we can let the time run out," Monoma said as he took a look at the points chart.

"Losers! Get back here!"

Hearing Katsuki's voice, Monoma turned around only to see Katsuki using his explosions to launch himself off his team towards Team Monoma.

"HEY! DON'T JUST FLY OFF ON YOUR OWN!" Eijiro chided.

"Tsuburaba!" Monoma called out to his front horse. "Stop him!"

Kosei took a deep breath and breathed out a wall of solidified air in front of him, stopping Katsuki in midair.

"Alright!" Kosei grinned. As Katsuki struggled to punch through the air wall, Kosei couldn't help but chuckle. "Hehe. You look pretty stupid fighting with air!"

He should have kept his mouth shut as, at that moment, Katsuki managed to break through and snatch one of their headbands, specifically, his team's headband.

"Crap, he snatched one!"

Before Katsuki could hit the ground, he was reeled upward by a roll of tape.

["Team Bakugo nabs a headband and moves into fourth place! The final moments of the game have been full of shakeups! Oh, to be young again!"]

"Monoma! We've fallen out of the running! What now?!" Shihai asked.

"We can still come back from this!" Monoma reassured. "We just have to defend this one and snatch another one high enough! If we do that, we'll move forward!"

Meanwhile, Hanta managed to reel his team's rider back to them. "I told you to warn us before we jumped!"

"Whatever, this means we're advancing," Eijiro said.

"We're not done!" The mad bomber argued.

"Huh?" Hanta questioned.

"We're gonna be the indisputable champions of the game!"

["Now look at this,"] Aizawa observed. ["Class 1-B's strategy was a reasonable one. But there's one thing they never bothered to consider."]

"I couldn't brace myself when I jumped earlier. Get closer!" Katsuki commanded. "We'll take down this idiot, then go for the big one!"

Hearing this, Katsuki's team couldn't help but grin at their leader's determination.

"Do it!' Hanta encouraged.

"Elbow Guy. Tape 'em!"

"My name's Sero!" Hanta said before shooting a roll of tape in Team Monoma's direction, though it didn't hit them.

"Raccoon Eyes! Lay down some acid in the direction we're going!"

"It's Mina Ashido!" Mina shouted before spraying a puddle of slippery acid in front of them.

'Young Bakugo. You understand something crucial, a truth no one had to teach you…' Toshinori observed. 'That there's a difference between those who aim for the top. And those who will settle.' Katsuki ignited explosions from his hands to blast his team forward with greater speed. 'And that difference matters.'

Aizawa finished his thought at the same time. ["Class 1-B didn't take into account Bakugo's overwhelming tenacity."]

Kosei put up one of the biggest Solid Air shields that he could muster, but it was nothing compared to Katsuki's own willpower and rage.

The mad bomber threw his hand out, unleashing a fiery destructive force that completely obliterated the pathetic excuse for a shield, snagging the points right off the bastard's neck.

Present Mic and the entire stadium cheered. ["Bakugo is a merciless force! What a point hog! That was a shield break heard 'round that arena! And I can't wait to watch the replay!"]

"Now! We're going after Deku and Todoroki!" Katsuki declared as he turned in the direction of Shoto's ice blockade, where his targets were on the other side.

Meanwhile, Team Argento continued to stay on Shoto's left side, with neither side making a move, waiting to see wha the other team would do.

["Only one minute left! Todoroki has cornered the ten-million-point team and is poised to seize the ultimate prize! At least, that's what I would have predicted five minutes ago!"] Present Mic announced. ["Unbelievably, Team Argento's been able to keep away from the ice master for the last half of the game."]

'Midoriya is keeping his distance and staying on my left side. That's his strategy. From this position, if I try to freeze them, I'll hit Iida. If he keeps moving like this… There's no way I can get a clear shot at his team.' Shoto glared at Izuku. 'Plus, Argento can defend against Kaminari's electricity. There's not much time left. The bastard!'

"Everyone, we have less than 60 seconds," Tenya spoke up. "I'm gonna do something that'll make me worthless to you."

However, Chacha could hear what Tenya was saying as clear as day, and it was enough to make her gut do a flip. 'Oh no…' She whispered to her crush. "Izuku, Iida's about to do something. Should we initiate the backup plan?"

Izuku bit his lip, knowing he'd feel bad about doing this. But at that moment, it was do or die. Whatever Tenya had up his sleeve, he had a feeling it was going to be something major.

He turned up to Asia. "Asia, be ready." Asia nodded in response.

"What are you gonna do?" Shoto questioned as Tenya took a knee, getting in a ready position.

"Make sure you get that headband! Brace yourselves! Hold on tight!" With the sounds of his engines starting, Tenya fired them up hard, to the point where the afterburn color went from orange to bright blue. "Torque Over—" ZOOM! In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, Team Todoroki went flying, zooming over to Izuku's team at the speed of a Formula One racer. "RECIPRO BURST!"

Shoto almost lost his train of thought at the sheer speed they were going, the wind whipping past his eyes making it hard to see. But kept his focus, reaching out and feeling the headband reach his left hand. He gave a good yank to loosen it and took it right with them, the quartet rushing past Team Argento and pulling to a complete stop within half a second.

The stadium went into an uproar at what had just occurred, including Present Mic. ["WHA-HO-HO! WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! That was one big blur! Holy smokes, folks! Why didn't he show that move off in the preliminaries?!"]

Denki looked like he had been thrown for a loop, while Momo's reaction was a bit more subdued, though it was clear she was also stunned, speechless. That speed Iida had moved at just now was comparable to a Knight.

"Iida. What was that?" Shoto asked.

"Hah… hah… Forced my torque and RPM into overdrive, which gave me explosive power!" Tenya explained, trying to catch his breath. His legs, however, were literally smoking hot after the move. "Unfortunately, the recoil stalls my engines for a while. It's a secret move I've been saving. No one in the class knew about it." He craned his head over to the green-haired boy and gave him a knowing smile. "I told you, Midoriya… that I'd do my best to beat you."

Izuku didn't respond right away; instead, he looked up at his rider, who had her head leaned down, and the other headband that Shoto didn't take. And that was enough for him to let out a small chuckle. "Hm, yeah, you did! I gotta say, Iida, I'm stunned and impressed. That move was really great, and I wanna talk to you more about it, for sure." His happy tone took Team Todoroki by surprise, almost as if he hadn't just lost something important. "But winning this game is about much more than big moves, it's also about planning ahead with several strategies. That being said… You might wanna take a second look at that headband." Asia lifted her head up… revealing she still had the ten-million-point headband around her head.

To say that Team Todoroki was left shell-shocked was an understatement. …Well, most of them were. Denki was still out of his gourd from his electrical blast and had no clue what was going on. Momo, however, was slack-jawed and speechless. Tenya's jaw had practically hit the ground, the young man trembling as small noises escaped his throat. Shoto himself slowly glanced down at the headband in his left hand.

It was only worth 135 points.

"H-How…" Shoto clenched his hand around the fabric, his frustration growing. He had to remind himself to keep control otherwise the headband would catch fire. "How did you—"

"There's a reason we took Team Rin's headband!" Chacha piped up. "We figured everyone would be coming after us, so we planned that escape strategy, but we also figured that might not last long, so we decided to try this trick with a fake-out headband from someone else."

"B-But Argento had it around her neck!" Momo pointed out. "Todoroki's hand clearly went for her head!"

"Well, I sort of lifted the decoy headband up to where Todoroki could accidentally grab it," Asia said, revealing some shorter hair vines to demonstrate.

Tenya was appalled to hear that. "YOU LIFTED THE HEADBAND?! That is—"

"Not against the rules!" Midnight announced, having overheard the whole thing. She pointed up to the screen which displayed a slowed-down replay of the events, which indeed showed Asia using the smaller vines to lift the headband up, but it never left her neck until Shoto ripped it off. "The headband never left Argento's neck while she was lifting it, and it wasn't removed until the other team acquired it, so I'll allow it!"

["INCONCEIVABLE!"] Present Mic hollered as the crowd once again erupted into collective cheers. ["Team Argento has played Team Todoroki like fiddles and fooled them effectively! What a deceiving move!"]

Up in the stands, the ORC cheered on Team Argento for that strategy.

"Yeah! That's my Izuku and Asia!" Rias cheered.

"Don't forget, Chacha's there too," Latia said.

"Y-You guys tricked us?!" Momo exclaimed.

"Not 'tricked,' necessarily," Izuku said, glancing up toward the commentary booth where Aizawa was watching. "Think of it more as… a rational deception. After all, if you wanna BEAT Villains, sometimes, you gotta THINK like Villains." He couldn't see it, but Eraserhead was smirking slightly beneath his bandages.

Todoroki's shock gave way to fury.

'Midoriya… You dare make me look like a fool in front of everyone? In front of my bastard father?! This is not over yet!'

Almost instinctively, Shoto'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 roared in the palm as he aimed…

*BOOOOOM!*

Just then, one of the ice walls exploded in a brilliant display, the fiery blast making the ice crystals shimmer. However, the person making the explosion was far LESS brilliant. "DEKU!" Katsuki and his team had finally returned. The ashen blond jumped off of Mina, Eijiro, and Hanta to get to his REAL prize. "GIVE ME THAT TEN-MILLION-HEADBAND!"

Izuku quickly summoned his Boosted Gear and activated a Boost before getting ready to charge up another Dragon Shot.

It seemed like a three-way showdown for the top spot might occur, when suddenly…

["TIME'S UP!"]

Katsuki unceremoniously fell flat on his face with an almost comical PLOP, Izuku dismissed his Boosted Gear and let out a sigh of relief, while Shoto noticed the fire on his left arm blazing, his eyes widening in legit horror as he fearfully shook them off.

["And with that, the second round is officially over!"] Present Mic announced as the audience cheered and roared with excitement.

"Bakugo!" Hanta said as he and his teammates ran up to check on their team leader.

"Are you okay, man?" Eijiro asked.

The only response they got was muffled grunting as Katsuki slammed his fist on the ground repeatedly.

Meanwhile, Shoto got off his team with a melancholic look on his face. "Damn it."

[Now, let's take a look at who our top eight teams are!] Present Mic announced. [In first place, Team Argento!]

"YEAH!" Izuku, Asia, and Chacha high-fived each other and then raised their arms in victory. "YEAH!"

Mei, on the other hand, was more interested in fixing the damaged jetpack.

["In second place, Team Todoroki!"]

"I must admit, it seemed like things were about to get dicey, but second place isn't so bad," Momo sighed.

"I'm sorry. I let everyone down, didn't I?" Tenya apologized.

"That's not true. Don't be too hard on yourself, Iida," Momo comforted him. "That special move of yours was very impressive."

During this, Denki wandered around in the background with his stupefied expression, holding two thumbs up.

["In third place, Team Bakugo!"]

"Ugh. I thought we had a good shot at getting first place," Mina complained.

"Meh, sure. But we're moving on, so it's all good," Hanta reassured.

"I don't think our leader would agree with you. Like, at all," Eijiro noted, glancing at said leader.

"DAMMIT!" Katsuki cursed. He lost! He lost to Deku and Icy-Hot again!

["In fourth place is Team Shinso!"]

"Thanks for all your help," Hitoshi said to Hilda, Rebecca, and Ochaco.

"Hey, figured I'd give a helping hand to my sister's boyfriend," Hilda smiled.

[In fifth place is Team Ginzan!]

"Everyone, we did it," Ethel said to her teammates.

"I'm thankful I was able to truly prove myself," Mashirao said as he clenched his fist.

[In sixth place, we have Team Tetsutetsu!]

"We made it!" Tetsutetsu shouted triumphantly with manly tears in his eyes as his teammates also celebrated their accomplishments.

[In seventh place is Team Kendo!]

"It kinda feels like we didn't do that much, but hey, a win is a win," Itsuka shrugged.

[And lastly, we have Team Hagakure in eighth place!]

"Whew, we just barely made it," Toru sighed in relief.

["These eight valiant teams will advance on to the final round!"]

Meanwhile, Shoto gazed down at his left arm. 'I said I'd never use this to attack. But as soon as I was overwhelmed, I broke my own promise.' He clenched 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."

Up in the stadium, the crowd dispersed for snacks, restrooms, and other needs.

["Now, let's take an hour lunch break before we start the afternoon festivities! See ya soon!"] Present Mic turned to his co-host, forgetting to shut off his mic. ["Hey, Eraserhead. Let's grab some food."]

["I'm taking a nap."]

["Phew,"] Present Mic huffed.

Tsuyu fumed as she walked away from the catatonic Mineta. "How disappointing." She then walked up to Mina. "Mina. Congrats."

"Thanks, but Bakugo only asked me to join because I could melt Todoroki's ice," Mina said. "It's not, like you know, I really helped that much."

"Iida, you were holding out on us! I had no idea you could do that! Wish I had gotten to see it in person instead of on playback!" Ochaco said, jogging in place as she and the others went to get something to eat.

"Rest assured, it wasn't my intention to deceive you, I was just being strategic," The Engine Quirk user stated. "I merely wanted to show that I could compete with Midoriya… but in the end, it did not matter."

"You're always trying to one-up each other," Ochaco said. "Oh, speaking of which, where did he go? Has anyone seen Deku?"

"Well, Todoroki just came up to him and asked if they could speak in private a while ago," Asia answered.

"Really? What does Todoroki want with Deku?" Ochaco asked, hoping nothing bad had happened between them.

"I don't know."

At a nearby side entrance marked Staff Only, there were Izuku and Shoto, the latter drilling a hole into the former with his icy glare.

"You brought me here. Now what?" Izuku asked.

And that's it. The Cavalry Battle is over, and unlike canon, eight teams made it to the final round for a total of 32 competitors!

Also unlike canon, Izuku's team managed to keep the ten-million-point headband throughout the game, and the trick they pulled was based on the scene from Transformers MHA, Arc 2: Earthrise.

Here are the final results:

Team Argento: 10,000,445

Team Todoroki: 765 + 240 + 135 = 1,140

Team Bakugo: 750 + 325 = 1,075

Team Shinso: 575 + 320 = 895

Team Ginzan: 745

Team Tetsutetsu: 685

Team Kendo: 245 + 380 = 625

Team Hagakure: 515

Team Kodai: 180

Team Monoma: 0

Team Komori: 0

Team Kamakiri: 0

Team Mineta: 0

Team Rin: 0

See you next time. Go beyond! Plus Ultra!