Heroism

"The students who passed to the next round are as follows!"

1- Midoriya Izuku. 2- Todoroki Shouto. 3- Bakugou Katsuki. 4- Shiozaki Ibara. 5- Honenuki Juzo. 6- Iida Tenya. 7- Tokoyami Fumikage. 8- Sero Hanta. 9- Kirishima Eijirou. 10- Akabane Karma. 11- Tatsumi Nagisa. 12- Nakamura Rio. 13- Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu. 14- Ojirou Mashirao. 15- Awase Yosetsu. 16- Asano Gakushuu. 17- Asui Tsuyu. 18- Shoji Mezo. 19- Tsuburaba Kosei. 20- Yaoyorozu Momo. 21- Uraraka Ochako. 22- Jirou Kyoka. 23- Satou Rikidou. 24- Koda Koji. 25- Kuroiro Koji. 26- Shishida Jurota. 27- Ashido Mina. 28- Kendou Itsuka. 29- Shinsou Hitoshi. 30- Togeike Chikuchi. 31- Yanagi Reiko. 32- Kaminari Denki. 33- Kodai Yui. 34- Rin Hiryu. 35- Komori Kinoko. 36- Shoda Nirengeki. 37- Kamakiri Togaru. 38- Hagakure Tooru. 39- Tsunotori Pony. 40- Fuwafuwa Fuwafuwa. 41- Hatsume Mei. 42- Aoyama Yuuga.

—

Izuku had taken his time recovering emotionally from winning first place (still a shock… wow), but now came the crashing realization that that was just the first obstacle & there were more to come. He was lucky he didn't break any bones in that last match… 

Midnight had the stage again, announcing the students who passed to the next match—the cavalry battle… she explained the rules & furthermore, who placed first & was worth the most?

Oh, of course it was Izuku! Hardy har har, universe! You're so funny. 

Suffice to say, the boy was panicking inside, feeling the sinister stares of everyone around him—nearly suffocating him. He felt like a trapped animal again, but this time there was no one he could hide behind…. A thick swallow. His insides crawled anxiously, feeling a shadowy cloud overcome him but he had to remind himself—things were different now. And yet… the pressure was real!

Midnight went on to explain the rules of the cavalry battle. Fifteen minutes with more than two members, the 'head' wearing a bandanna marking their group points. After the explanation, Midnight released them to form teams—fifteen to figure this mess out, okay. In Izuku's case, he wouldn't need people will a lot of points, then. His brain began combing through the quirks he had seen, the quirks he'd known from his class & others—

A hand landed on his shoulder, jolting the boy out of his mumbling stutter-storm. He turned to see Karma & Nagisa beside him, smiling knowingly. 

"So, what's the plan, One Punch Boy?" Karma gestured with his chin.

Izuku blinked in confusion. "Oh- my- uh- huh?" 

Nagisa leaned his head in. "We're on your team, right?"

Another bewildered blink & the boy shook his head clear before beaming. "Uh! Ruh- right! Um… okay, le- let's see, um…" Right, so with Horns & Medusa's Smile, that already builds up a good defense. But that would also leave them as the main targets since Nagisa and Karma also came in the top fifteen, amping up their points quite a bit on top of Izuku's Ten Mil. So their defense has to be top shape—and taking in Karma's strengths and Nagisa's skills, they'd have to construct the horse to be in such a way, maybe Nagisa could be the rider—but then they'd need someone in the back—

"Are you going to let us in that plan of yours or, like, what?" Karma huffed, his arms now crossed.

Izuku jolted once more. Ah, right. Again. "Er… Yuh- yeah, sorry! I- er, he-here…" He got his phone out and began typing.

—

Hitoshi gave a huff, searching the crowd for possible students to brainwash. The few he had nabbed during the first obstacle course had been good for getting him through the top forty-one, but now he needed quirks that could give him a good defense while sneaking in & grabbing just enough bandannas to pass this round. Stay under the radar just enough . Maybe that guy with the tail… 

Suddenly someone poked his back, and a loud "hey!" had him spinning around in surprise. He gave a somewhat confused expression when he saw—that blonde girl from last year? What was her name? Hitoshi didn't catch it, he doesn't think. Behind her were the brunette from Class 1-A and a girl with pink dreadlocks, peering at him curiously.

The brunette leaned in to whisper, "are you sure about this one?"

The blonde nodded, not removing her eyes from him. "Yep! So, hey, you're Shinsou, right? Nagisa's buddy?"

"Uh, we're not—"

She waved him off, drawing closer. She spoke quickly and with a purpose. "Sure, sure. Anyway you want some neat quirks to work with? Your quirk is 'Brainwash' right? Nagisa mentioned it before. My name's Nakamura Rio, and my quirk's called Fiber Craft. I can manipulate fibers and threads by just touching it and if the threads I'm using touch it too, which is why I haaaave, ta-da! " The girl—Nakamura—pulled out a bundle of yarn, much larger than what he knew normal bundles sold for in stores. Don't ask him how he knows that. "This makes me good with long-range attacks." 

The pink-haired girl jumped in then, a lot more energetic than the Nakamura girl and quickly advancing closer to the purple-haired teen, almost pushing him to the wall of the stadium. "Anyway, this is Uraraka, she can manipulate gravity of people she touches! And I'm Hatsume Mei! My quirk is called 'Zoom'—I can zoom my eyes in super far like binoculars, you know?! But I'm here with my sweet babies— "

"—Her support equipment—" Nakamura piped in quickly.

Hatsume took the reigns again, "—We're here to win this thing, so are you in?"

Hitoshi felt so cornered and thrown out of his comfort zone, like a fish out of water. No one really ever expresses the d.e.s.i.r.e to work with him—actually, it's never happened before. So why…? 

The girls leaned back after his lack of response, his eyes blown wide with bewilderment, seeming as though he didn't even know how to react. This has never happened before! What do normal people usually do in these circ.u.mstances? 

Uraraka sighed, breaking the pressure as she stood straight and backed up a bit. "Let's not pressure him like this, guys," she began.

Nakamura placed her hand on her hip, jutting her lip out in a semi-pout. "I guess so. Hey," she turned to Hitoshi again. "Sorry to have sprung that on you—"

"No," he interrupted her, straightening himself. "You said you're here to win? So am I. I'm not here to make friends or anything either, so our goals line up." Besides, using his quirk like how he had in the first round felt somewhat dirty—but that's what happens when you grow up the way he did… So it would be… refreshing. Something new. The tired boy smirked, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his gym uniform then c.o.c.ked his head to the side. "Fine then. What's the plan?"

Nakamura grinned mischievously. "Okay, so here's the plan…"

—

"Thank you for considering me, Midoriya, but I refuse."

"Huh?!" Izuku felt his heart in his throat at the words, looking at Iida with confusion and hurt in his expression as his smile fell gracelessly. Iida readjusted his glasses, looking away. 

"I apologize, but ever since the Entrance Exam, all I've ever done was fall behind you," Iida explained with a hint of shame. He raised his eyes then, beginning to walk past the three. "Because you're such a wonderful friend is precisely why I cannot join you. All three of you."

Iida approached Todoroki, Kaminari, and Yaoyorozu. "Bakugou and Todoroki aren't the only ones who see you as a rival."

Karma scoffed with a loud laugh, raising a brow from Iida at the reaction. The horned teen placed his hand on his hip. "Hear that, Izukun? Sounds like a challenge."

The three teens shared a look with each other, bordering menacing with their smirks and dark expressions. It sent shivers down Iida's spine—

"You're not the only ones who have rivals among your friends," Nagisa cooly replied. 

"We've had thuh- this rivalry ss-since las' year, y'know?" Izuku chuckled, bringing his hand up to cover his mouth.

Karma let his arm rest on Izuku's shoulder. "But I guess that means we can't work together, then, huh? Sucks."

"But we know what this is, in the end," Nagisa continued. "A declaration of war on all sides."

Iida appeared to swallow with Todoroki's sharp gaze striking the boys who smiled at this new challenge. Kaminari seemed unnerved on the side while Yaoyorozu simply watched. Izuku brought his thumb out before pointing it down.

"It's on, Iida-kun," Izuku smiled sweetly. "Can't w-wait!"

So it had begun… the turning of allies, the beginning of the small wars between friends, the start of enemies. 

—

"Now what?" Nagisa turned to Izuku, a questioning gaze. They could just go with the three of them, right? But that didn't seem smart, considering they'd need all the fire power they could just for a decent defense—after all, everyone would be going after them for their points. None of them had the right defensive quirks…

Izuku hummed, his hand raising to rub at his chin and tug his lip. His gaze scanned the body of students. Everyone had a team, bundled up and obviously separated. It would be hard to find anyone who hasn't already teamed up with someone. They'd need someone who can cover their back too… 

Ah—there.

He turned to his friends, brows furrowed with determination with a nod before he began to step toward the student. 

—

"Your fifteen minutes is up, students!" Midnight called as she gave a stretch on the stage. "Time to get started!"

Everyone started working on their 'horses.' Izuku's team had Nagisa at the head, Karma on front, Izuku on the side, and Tokoyami in the rear. Rio took up head in her team, Uraraka on the side, Hatsume taking up the rear, lead by Shinsou in the front.

"Everyone's so focused on Class 1-A," a girl with black pig-tails muttered. She took the head of her horse, three boys from her class—class 1-B?—lifting her up. She slowly grew a smile on her face, bitter and snarky. "They're comin' in all c.o.c.ky like they are. What makes them so special? Just 'cause they got attacked by villains, huh? Well, fellas, let's teach 'em a lesson—Class 1-B will shine today, boys!"