IF: One For All-Fiction

[Hey, what about me?!]

Turning their eyes towards the voice, Present Mic, the students, as well as a good number of the spectators, spotted a smiling Kumagawa leaning against the wall just beside the finish line.

[He gets the first place treatment when I've been here the whole time? How's that fair?!] he demanded with a pout.

"Err, wait... What?"

'What?' wondered Midoriya. 'Has he been there the entire time?'

Meanwhile up in the booth, Present Mic along with some technicians were going over the video recording of the race. What they saw surprised them. They had a recording of Kumagawa going across the starting line, exiting the narrow hall, but somewhere along the way he seemed to vanish. It was at that time that he entered through the other end of the stadium and crossed the finish line, without anyone noticing him.

Playing the recording on the screen for everyone else to see, Present Mic began fumbling over his words.

"Uhm, it seems that I made a mistake... It appears that first place actually goes to Kumagawa Misogi. So... Yay!" he tried to finish in an upbeat tone, but it only came off as awkward.

'He... He finished the race in less than a minute?! Just what is his Quirk?!' thought a flabbergasted Midoriya.

The smiling teen approached the evidently second place runner and put a hand on his shoulder. [You did good to get second place without using your Quirk!] the average looking teen said, trying to cheer up his friend. [But remember, you haven't lost yet. This is only the first round. I still have a ways to go before I win.]

Bakugou was giving an absolutely murderous glare directed at Kumagawa. If looks could kill, he'd be shot in the head, chopped up into fine pieces, thrown into an incinerator until not even ashes remained, and then have the incinerator tossed into an active volcano.

"SHITTY-SMILE!" the blonde teen roared.

[4165.]

"RAAGGHHH!"

One by one the rest of the contestants emerged from the tunnel, each more exhausted than the last. Once the final person to place in the first 42 arrived, the screen displayed everyones results.

"And so it's over! Looks like we got quite an interesting group of participants!"

and that was an accurate statement. Aside from Aoyama, everyone from Class 1A had passed the prelims, along with all of Class 1B, as well as two others. One from general ed., and one from support.

"The 42 at the top have earned the right to advance! I'm sorry for the kids who failed, but take heart! This festivals showstopper is still being prepared! And for that, we need to reduce the number of contestants some more! So now we begin the preliminaries final section! From here on out, even the press corps will teem in a white heat of excitement, so go all out!" cried Midnight. "Now then, on to todays heart-pounding second event! I already know what it will be, but the suspense is killing me!"

The students watched with baited breath as the screen began to clear.

"Human cavalry battle!" Midnight shouted as she cracked her whip. "Now, I know what you're thinking; 'How do you play a game that isn't meant for individual players?' Well, we've already sussed out the details! You all get to form 2 to 4 person teams and form a horse-back configuration! Other than that, it's the same rules as a regular human cavalry battle! Swipe the opponents headbands to win! Except for one little alteration. Everyone will receive points based on their performance in the last trial! Starting from last place at 5 points, each progressively higher contestant will increase by 5! The only exception is the first place contestant! Congratulations Kumagawa! You are now worth ten million points!"

All of a sudden, everyone's eyes snapped to the smiling teen. [Awe shucks, all this attention is making me blush.] he said as he rubbed the back of his head. [Especially from the girls~.]

Every female within a 2 mile radius instinctively took a step back.

"W-well, anyway! If I were you, I'd aim for the guy who placed first! This is a chance for the last place contestants to place first!" surmised Midnight. "Those who reach the top merely encounter fresh new hardsh.i.p.s! And the kids who have enrolled here will hear it countless times; Plus Ultra!"

Kumagawa watched in amus.e.m.e.nt as every student looked at him like he was their prey. [And just like that, all my friends are gone!]

"The time limit for the match will be ten minutes! The point value of each groups headband is the combined total of all its members! And the one to ride the headband will be the rider, so that's who you must target! Until time is up, you'll all be fighting and stealing as many of each others headbands as you can! The headband must be worn no lower than the neck! So as more and more headbands are taken, maintaining possession of them will become progressively harder! And the most important aspect of this cavalry game, is that even if you lose your headband or your formation crumbles, you're not out of the game just yet! Keep on fighting till the timer reaches zero!" Midnight explained. "Quirks are allowed, so let's see some mayhem! But remember; this is still just a game! So if you attack another group with malicious aim or the intent to break them up, you're out! You have 15 minutes to form your teams! START!"

It was no surprise to anyone that Kumagawa was avoided like the plague. No one wanted to risk being stuck with such a big target on their backs. To almost everyone, it seemed as if Kumagawa either had a speed or teleportation-type Quirk. Class 1A knew otherwise, but they saw no point in warning others.

[Ah, it seems like I will be stuck with whoever doesn't manage to form a team on their own. How unfortunate.] Kumagawa said as he smiled wistfully. [Yet another loss for me to tally.]

"Let's team up, mister first place!"