Chapter 38: Sports Festival Arc (3)
~Third POV~
[UA High School, Stadium, Japan]
Everyone stared greedily at Ren for his 10,000,000 pts as Midnight continued explaining the rules in a neutral tone, "The match will last 15 min. Its members determine each team's points. The rider will wear a headband displaying the total number of points! Until the match ends, you'll all compete to grab each other's points and maintain the one's you have. Any headband you grab must be worn around the neck or higher. But the more headbands you've got, the harder they'll be to manage! Most importantly, even if your headband is taken… and even if your horse formation is broken… it's not over 'till it's over!"
Hearing that, Momo mutters, understanding the rules, "That means…"
This was followed by Itsuka having the same train of thought in a serious tone, "With 42 contestants, there'll be 10 to 12 teams on the field the whole time..."
Kinoko muttered in a shy tone of the situation, "How scary…"
Mina points her fingers to the side talking to Tsuyu asking in a curious tone with her classmate, "So there's no need to panic if your points are temporarily stolen, yeah?"
Tsuyu nods her head but points out a fact in a blunt tone pointing a finger to her face, "But you can't tell if you're not paying attention to the minute-by-minute point breakdown, Mina."
*FWOOM*
Twirling her whip around, Midnight soon gave the go-ahead to form teams in an excited tone, "Quirks are allowed, so it'll be a brutal battle! However, it's still a cavalry battle!! Maliciously attacking another team with the intent of making them fall will get you a red card! And that means you're out of the game! You've got 15 minutes! Time to form your teams!"
"15 minutes?!"
Everyone soon began to get frantic, searching for possible team members to choose from, given the situation. Ren soon found himself alone with everyone picking their teams to take him down as he began to pick out his teammates in a determined tone, "Seeing everyone is out to pick their teammates, I already have the girls in mind."
Heading forward to collect his teammates, he found 2 of the people he was looking for all near Bakugo asking them to team up with him.
"Team up with me!!"
"Hey Bakugo, pick me!!"
"He's picking me, of course!"
In Bakugo fashion, being so egotistical to himself, he spoke out loud, realizing he didn't know everyone in the class, in an aggressive tone, "I don't even know what your stinking Quirks are!!"
Everyone near him was flabbergasted as Mina responded stunned by his reaction, "Forget about class B he's too self-absorbed to even notice us!!"
But soon approaching them, Bakugo's eyes narrowed as Ren asked the two people he needed in a determined tone, "Yo! Toru! Kinoko! Want to team up!"
This caused the duo to pause as they pointed to each other, with Kinoko asking in a confused tone, "Huh? Y-You want us to be part of your team?"
Ren, with his arms crossed, had a smug expression on his face, nodding and explaining himself in a determined tone, "Yup! You and I are the horse, with Toru being the rider. I already have a third person in mind that she'll happily agree. You gals in?"
They looked at each other, unsure, but Ren sweetened the deal, causing them to stiffen at his words in a sweet tone, "Join me, and I'll cook you both your favorite dishes and massages if we win or lose."
To the class's surprise, the two immediately froze, switching to his side with excited expressions with fire ignited in their eyes showing their determination, "Aye, aye, fearless leader!!"
They were left dumbfounded as Kamanari bluntly stated the obvious mouth agape, "Did our Class representative just offer food and massages to two girls in our class and win them over…"
Sero, tapping his shoulder, nodded, tilting his head in a confused tone, "How the heck does our fearless leader do it?"
Yui, seeing this, had a cold expression as she muttered coldly, "Pervert…"
Not before too long, Ren headed toward Mei as their eyes met with the inventor grinning in a knowing tone and said, "Oh ho? Ren-san, you come to approach me. I'm guessing you're here to ask little old me to join your team?"
Ren nods his head with his arms crossed with a smug grin on his face, asking in a knowing tone, "Yup! You need to show off your babies in the spotlight for the industry's big shots. And I need you because you got the support gear made. You did get the gear I asked for before the Sports Festival…?"
Mei grinned as she got closer to his face, showcasing a pair of gun-like spray bottles and a belt with built-in lights in a smug tone, responding, "Yup! These babies were custom-made by your request. I swear, with the principal's Quirk [High Spec] predicting this outcome by choosing the right teammates, I would say you are one damn cheater! But if I get to showcase my baby's effectiveness, who am I to complain!!"
Kinoko and Toru were confused as Mei handed them the belt and gun-like spray bottles, confusing the two. But to Ren, these were the right items for choosing his teammates when Mei explained to them. He used his [Observe] skill to see the item's effectiveness.
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Item: Shroom-Shooter (Prototype)
Rarity Item: C+
Type: Pair Gun
Description: The Prototype Shroom-Shooter is a pair of gun-like spray bottles. They're used to raise the humidity in the surroundings to help mushroom spores spread more efficiently. As well as fungi-disinfect.
Item: Flash Belt (Prototype)
Rarity Item: C+
Type: Belt
Description: The Prototype Flash Belt is a belt with built-in flashlights. When used, they produce a flash of light in the direction it's being pointed towards.
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Kinoko and Toru respectfully had their eyes widened, with Toru asking in a stunned tone, her invisible expression mouth agape, "Wait a second here! Did you already know how things would play out, and when did you get the principal's Quirk!"
Sharing a cheeky grin away from the other people, he responded in a confident tone pointing to his head, "Sort of. I reviewed the previous Sports Festival to plan which events would likely happen. And learning of Mei in the Support Class Course and her talents as an inventor, I simply bet she'll be able to make it further to this stage with her babies. If not, I had contingency plans placed if different events occurred. At least with [High Specs] it was within reason of course."
Kinoko and Toru were both surprised by this development. However, seeing that their Class Representative planned this far ahead, both silently agreed to place their trust going forward into the next stage.
Meanwhile, with Shinso, he looked around to see if there were any people he could team up with in a stoic tone, "Hmm… I wonder which teams I should align myself with – "
Before he could conclude his choice, Toga appeared with Ochaco and Izuku in a determined tone, "Yo! Shinso, we need you for this team-up! You're Quirk is gonna be really handy here!"
Shinso blinked, seeing Ochcao and Izuku. However, noticing people becoming less, he decided to see Toga's group asking in a curious tone, "Alright, Vampire, what's the plan going ahead here? The name's Hitoshi Shinso, green-haired boy."
Izuku rubbed the back of his head as he introduced himself, showing the support gear he crafted along with his utility belt in a nervous tone, "Nice to meet you. I'm Izuku Midoriya from the Support Course. We're planning to go after the other student's headbands, and we need someone like you to be our rider."
Raising an eyebrow, Shinso noticed all of them wearing hover shoes as he asked in a curious tone, eyeing Ren's group, "Hmm… got any fancy support gear that would be helpful? Seems like our fearless leader already has his plan in the works."
Izuku smirked showing a voice modifier of some kind causing him to frown as he spoke in a disappointed tone, "Sorry but I can't do electrical voice chords. It doesn't work well with my Quirk you see – "
However, he was soon interrupted and surprised as Izuku explained in a confident tone, knowing his Quirk, "I know. I heard all about it from Toga. It would be difficult for you to use your Quirk if everyone knew, so I was hoping if the event we teamed up in the sports festival have this at the ready. My version of Artificial Vocal Cords."
Izuku soon showed a special voice-altering mask used to compliment Hitoshi's [Brainwashing Quirk] as he explained in a proud tone, "I heard this from Ren. This device uses several plates to transform and resonate with your voice, mimicking the voice of another person, then directly emits it into your surroundings."
Shinso's eyes widened as he gazed at Izuku, He asked in a surprised tone, "I guess you were serious about wanting me on your team, huh…?"
Izuku rubs the back of his head as he humbly responds with an embarrassed expression, saying, "It's what I want to do. Even if I can't be a hero on the front, I'll show everyone that even someone Quirkless like me can still help people. It's human brains that make the hero, and I'll use my brain to invent stuff... it's how the support course does heroics. Even with a Quirk like yours Shinso, you can become a great hero one day."
Shinso was stunned hearing this eyes widening. No one trusted other than his classmates that his Quirk was nothing but a future villain's greatest tool.
Hearing that someone believed in him despite his [Brainwashing] Quirk seemingly looked villainous Izuku believed him to use his power for good. He blushed lightly, feeling embarrassed accepting the artificial vocal cords, "Tch. With the way your yapping, it's a damn shame you aren't in the hero course. But… if you're placing your trust in me, then I'll gladly return the favor in full, Izuku Midoriya."
Trusting him, Shinso joined Toga's group, jabbing her shoulder at him in a smug tone, along with Ochaco smiling at their group's comradery, "Aww… Shinso, you're acting a bit like a tsundere! How adorable~"
Shinso's face flushed, turned away, denying such a claim harshly, responding, "No, I'm not, you bloodsucker!"
Toga merely stuck her tongue out as Ochaco laughed at the situation, trying to calm down their team while she curiously asked, "Now, you guys, let's calm down and start making some plans. Although I do have to ask, how come you two don't want to go after the 10,000,000 pts on Ren's group head?"
Toga and Izuku both responded, shaking their heads in a knowing tone, "No way. It's impossible with his lineup."
This caused Ochaco and Shinso to blink, surprised. From Izuku and Toga's experience being friends with Ren the longest, they both knowingly know what he's capable of, hence wanting to go after other students rather than provoking him.
Shinso asked curiously enough with a raised eyebrow, their reasoning, "Really? Like not even gonna attempt so?"
Toga nodded her head as she explained bluntly, with Izuku providing a protection headgear set with her arms crossed, "Yup! Unless you have something that can block his [Attraction] with his [Attract and Repel] Quirk grabbing our headbands or teleporting near us with his [Wormhole] Quirk, then I'm all ears. FYI, he empowered his Quirk collection."
Shinso's mouth opened before finally finding no answer, admitting in a surprised tone, "I… okay, I got nothing there. Just stir clear out of his way, then?"
Izuku nodded his head sadly, admitting to the fact they couldn't do much against Ren with his Quirks in a defeated tone, "Yeah, sorry, Shinso. His Quirks would massacre us in a cavalry battle like this. It's best not to provoke the beast and focus on collecting the other student's headbands instead. They'll certainly be too busy antagonizing after him."
Ochaco blinks, considering their plan, and with her having the most points, they would already have enough to pass combined in a calm tone, "True… it's best we go after the other targets instead. What's the plan here?"
They all began to discuss their plans of attack as everyone else soon formed their teams…