"I trust that all of our competitors are ready for the next event," Midnight announced with a flourish. "And if they're not…well," she licked her lips and smiled sadistically, "that's just too bad for them, isn't it? Without further ado, let's get this show on the road!" Midnight pointed at one of the giant electronic displays on the walls of the stadium with her riding crop and pictures of different events began to whiz past in a blur, reminding Midoriya of slot machine.
'It makes for good drama, I suppose, but there's no way that these events are actually random,' Midoriya thought as he watched the display, 'there's just too much preparation put into these events for them to do things on the fly like that.'
(Staff room—five minutes earlier)
"Are you kidding me?" Midnight protested, "After all the preparation we put into these events? Principal Nedzu, this is absurd!"
"I agree with Midnight," a blocky man who resembled a slab of concrete chimed in. "We can't just do things on the fly like this!"
"Midnight, Cementoss," Nedzu calmly replied before taking a sip of his tea, "perhaps your argument would have held water for the obstacle course race, but your preparations for round two consisted of gathering eight headbands. Surely you agree that these circumstances merit changing things up a bit, yes?"
"The principal has a point," Aizawa chimed in, causing a smile to appear on the mouse-like creature's tiny face. "Midoriya has already rallied my class into a singular fighting force, for the most part. If we proceed with the cavalry battle as originally planned, I have no doubt that he'll bend the rules to his advantage in some way that's just short of cheating."
Vlad King grunted. "You mean like his little trick from the beginning of the race? I talked to a few of my students, they found some kind of device planted on them after they recovered from that coordinated attack. He would have had to set that up before the race even started."
All Might quietly coughed into his fist when he heard this, remembering his first class with Midoriya. Nedzu's ears perked up at the small sound and his eyes darted over to All Might's shrunken form. Unlike the rest of the teachers, he was aware of the true nature of All Might's relationship with Midoriya.
"All Might," Nedzu began, "you seem to have taken an interest in Midoriya Izuku. Do you have any insights on how to ensure he doesn't make this event as one-sided as the previous one?"
"Eh?" All Might said, surprised at being put on the spot, "Er…I suppose I could try, but I doubt I'd be able to come up with anything better than you could, sir."
Nedzu shook his head. "Oh, not at all. We only want to disrupt young Midoriya's ability to skew the odds in his favor. If I were to get involved, I'm afraid I couldn't help but derail his chances of advancing entirely." Following this ominous statement, the hyper-intelligent creature took a sip of his tea and let out a chuckle with a sinister gleam in his beady eyes.
"Er…yes." All Might agreed, thanking his lucky stars that the experiments Nedzu went through hadn't had a worse effect than giving him a mild sadistic streak. Adorable appearance aside, Nedzu would have been a terrifying villain if he had decided to turn his formidable mind against humanity. "Perhaps that would be for the best…young Midoriya has a knack for adapting to any situation, but I do have a few suggestions. The first thing we need to do is take team selection out of his hands the best we can."
XXX
Heroes Never Die
XXX
"Oh, how exciting!" Midnight exclaimed when the spinning display stopped on a picture of a crown. "Our next heart-pounding challenge will be a UA Sports festival favorite: Long Live the King! Cementoss, if you would?"
Cementoss nodded and manipulated a mass of concrete flowing out of a hose into a large chair in the middle of the arena.
"For this challenge," Midnight explained, "our competitors will be divided into six groups of seven. Your objective is simple." She pointed to the chair. "In order to score points, the "king" of each team must hold the throne for as long as they can."
"Long Live the King, huh?" Bakugo repeated with a grin. "This sounds like my kind of game."
Midnight continued, "Once they sit on the throne, the king is not allowed to move or defend themselves in any way." She held up a red-colored crown. "To 'kill' a king, you must remove their crown. If the king is killed, they must immediately vacate the throne and make way for the new king. The two teams with the longest cumulative reigns will go on to the finals, and the remaining two spots will be granted to the two students with the highest 'kill count' from the losing teams."
"Excuse me," Yaoyorozu asked, catching Midnight's attention. "What happens if only one team manages to hold the throne?"
Midnight smirked. "That would certainly be impressive, but I doubt that it will happen." She held up a colored strip of cloth. "Every member of the teams must wear one of these headbands. Much like the king's crown, this represents your 'life'. Once you 'die', you must collect your headband and return to your team's starting zone in their corner of the arena and wait there for thirty seconds before returning to the battlefield. Take note—the timer will not start until you are completely inside of your team's zone."
"I see," Iida said thoughtfully, "with those rules, the team holding the throne is at a significant disadvantage. It would be nearly impossible to hold onto the throne for any extended length of time."
Midnight waved a finger in the air and shot a sly glance in Midoriya's direction. "And if any of you are thinking of making it difficult for the enemy to retrieve their headbands, this is your only warning: once you remove a headband, you have exactly two seconds to relinquish it. If you fail to do so, you will be forced to return to your team's starting zone for a full sixty seconds. Also, your headbands and crowns must be removable, no using your quirks to hold it in place!"
Mental gears already turning, Midoriya met Midnight's gaze with a smile. 'She said that 'you' have two seconds to release your hold on an enemy headband…but that doesn't mean you can't pass it off to a teammate. Not that it would be practical, since it would be essentially trading two fighters for one, but theoretically, you could endlessly pass it back and forth between two people and keep someone permanently 'dead'. Still, depending on the team make-up, you could at least ensure that removed headbands end up as far away from their owner as possible.'
"Now that I've explained the rules, it's time to divide up the teams! Our kings will be our six top finishers in the obstacle course!" Midnight snapped her riding crop towards the screen, prompting four portraits to appear. "The Red King: Bakugo Katsuki! The White King: Todoroki Shoto! The Blue King: Iida Tenya! The Yellow King: Hanta Sero! The Black King: Tokoyami Fumikage! And last, but most certainly not least, the Green King: Asui Tsuyu! Please step forward! The rest of you, please line up in a row."
While the four named students walked to the front of the pack and collected their color-coordinated crowns to the sound of deafening applause, Midoriya lined up with the rest of the 36 remaining competitors with a growing sense of anxiety.
'Are the kings going to be picking the teams?' He glanced at Bakugo and Todoroki. 'No offense to the others, but it's hard to imagine those two not being the part of the team that moves on to the finals. Even if they can't fight while holding the throne, it's much harder to remove a crown than to grab a headband. It will be extremely difficult to stop them from taking the throne.' Midoriya frowned—he had been counting on cashing in on his goodwill for the team-based round, but this scenario almost seemed as if it had been orchestrated in order to minimize his ability to influence his classmates.
"King Bakugo," Midnight began. A huge grin appeared on Bakugo's face and he mouthed the words 'King Bakugo' with obvious relish. "As you finished first in the race, you will have the first choice of your subjects. Then King Todoroki will choose, followed by King Iida, King Sero, King Tokoyami, and finally Queen Asui before rotating back to King Bakugo once more. Make sure to choose wisely."
"I want Deku." Bakugo said without hesitation.
"Eh?" Midoriya choked on his saliva from sheer shock and began to cough. "I'm sorry, what?"
"How surprising." Iida muttered, feeling upset that he couldn't pick Midoriya for himself. "Given his animus towards him, I would have never expected Bakugo to pick Midoriya at all, let alone first."
"Don't misunderstand Deku," Bakugo growled once Midoriya managed to snap out of his daze and make his way over to Bakugo's side. "The only reason that I picked you is to ensure that we get our fight in the finals." Midoriya didn't say anything in response in favor of merely staring at Bakugo with an unreadable expression. "There's no way in hell that any of these other scrubs are going to beat Half-and-half," Bakugo continued to explain.
"Excuse you!" Iida exclaimed, offended at being entirely written off. "I can hear everything you're saying, you know!"
"I don't think he cares," Asui croaked. "But that is really annoying. Not to mention the fact that he still doesn't know our names. We've been in the same class for over a month, how self-absorbed can you be?"
"Half-and-half wasn't going to take you," Bakugo carried on as if Iida and Asui hadn't spoken. "And since Shitty Glasses is always riding your dick so hard—"
"Pardon me?" Iida snapped.
"—he would have picked you for sure," Bakugo said. "I had no choice. It's not like I wanted to pick you or anything."
"…I see." Midoriya finally said. 'Does he even realize that he just said the most stereotypical tsundere line ever?'
Midoriya had to turn his head and poorly disguise a bark of laughter as a cough when an image of Bakugo with twin tails popped unbidden into his mind. "Um," Midoriya began, forcibly schooling his features into their default tranquil state. "Do you nee—I mean, would you like some advice on team members?"
'That was close, I have to remember who I'm dealing with—I've got to play to his ego if I want him to listen to me at all.'
"…Do whatever you want," Bakugo grunted after a second, privately grateful that he had Midoriya's stalker brain in his corner. "I don't fucking care. Just don't say anything stupid or I'll kill you."
"I choose Yaoyorozu." Todoroki smoothly stated after a moment of thought.
'Darn it!' Iida thought, grinding his teeth in frustration—Yaoyorozu had been his second choice after Midoriya. "I pick Mezo Shoji!" Iida boomed.
"I'll take Ojiro." Sero called out.
"I'll take Kouda." Tokoyami said, knowing from first experience how strong his taciturn classmate was.
"I pick Jirou," Asui croaked.
"Huh?" Jirou looked around in surprise and pointed to herself. "I'm your first pick?"
"Yes," Asui flatly replied. "Come on over."
"Dang," Midoriya muttered. "I wanted Jirou. I knew Asui had a good head on her shoulders."
Bakugo shot Midoriya an incredulous glare. "You would have picked Dangle-ears next? You sure you aren't thinking with your dick, Deku?"
Midoriya sighed. "That quirk of hers is quick, accurate, and has around a 3-meter range. It's also small enough that unless they have reflexes like yours, it's pretty hard to see coming at you until it's too late. Her enhanced hearing also gives her omnidirectional awareness, so it's nearly impossible to take her by surprise. It's practically tailor-made for this event…so to answer your question: no, Kacchan. I'm not 'thinking with my dick.'"
Bakugo blinked. "You could have just said 'no', shithead."
"Would you have believed me?" Midoriya countered drily.
"…Shut the fuck up." Bakugo growled. He paused. "I want Stupid Hair."
"Kirishima," Midoriya corrected. "His name is Kirishima. Also, he isn't the optimal choice for this—"
"Hey Stupid Hair," Bakugo loudly repeated. "Get the fuck over here!" Midoriya shook his head with a sigh.
Elated, Kirishima slammed his fists together with a satisfying crack. "Aw hell yeah!" He said in a spirited tone before jogging over. "Am I part of a dream team or what?"
"I'll take Kaminari." Todoroki said after consulting with Yaoyorozu for a moment.
Midoriya narrowed his eyes at Todoroki. 'Damn it, he's taking advantage of Yaoyorozu's smarts. He might have an ego, but he's still self-aware enough to turn to others for their expertise. That will make things more difficult.'
"We'll have to be careful," Midoriya muttered to Bakugo. "It won't be as targeted as it was during the race, but Yaoyorozu is still capable of nullifying Kaminari's electricity, so his AOE attacks will be one-side in their favor. And we've already demonstrated how effective Todoroki and his powers are in combination."
"How about you try telling me something I don't know!" Bakugo barked.
"I didn't know that." Kirishima chimed in with a grin.
"Yeah," Bakugo growled, "and nobody fucking asked you, did they?"
"Dude," Kirishima replied, "why you always gotta be this way?"
"Er…what was his name again?" Iida muttered, "You there, the other recommended 1-B student…the one with the softening quirk."
"Honenuki Juzo," the skull-faced teen informed Iida when he got close enough.
"Yes, Juzo, of course," Iida said with a bow. "Forgive me."
"I wouldn't expect you to know my name," Juzo replied in an easy-going manner. "It's the first time we've actually met, after all."
"I'll take…uh…Aoyama, I guess." Sero said.
"You made an excellent choice, mon ami," Aoyama said, striking a pose and giving Sero an immediate case of buyer's remorse.
"I'll take Satou." Tokoyami said.
Midoriya gave Tokoyami a curious look. 'I wonder if he's just picking the people he's interacted with, because his decisions make no tactical sense. I mean, Kouda as a first pick, and then Satou?'
"Ochako." Asui said immediately.
Midoriya frowned. 'Damn it, Uraraka was my next pick. She's able to use her quirk on the headbands and float them out of reach.'
Midoriya leaned in and whispered a name to Bakugo.
"Who the fuck is Shiozaki?" Bakugo grunted.
"The girl with vines for hair," Midoriya answered, "she actually might be even more fitting than Jirou, plus, picking her early means that we'll have info on 1-B before anyone else."
Bakugo grunted in agreement, seeing merit in Midoriya's argument. "Shinosake! Get over here!" The students in the line all looked around in confusion, not recognizing the name.
"Shiozaki," Midoriya quietly corrected.
"Shirosame!" Bakugo called out again.
"Shiozaki," Midoriya repeated a little louder, making sure to enunciate each syllable.
"Shinosutra!" Bakugo yelled.
"Are you doing this on purpose?" Midoriya asked. "It's Shio—you know what? Just say 'vine girl'."
"Vine Girl!" Bakugo yelled. Shiozaki pointed to herself, and Midoriya nodded wearily, beckoning her over.
"Hello," Shiozaki greeted her teammates with a smile. "I can't say I expected to be picked so early. The Lord truly does work in mysterious ways."
"I guess I am pretty mysterious, aren't I?" Bakugo preened, and Kirishima started snickering.
"She's a Christian, Kacchan," Midoriya said, pointing to the cross around her neck. "She's not talking about you."
Bakugo scowled, "Then I don't care."
Shiozaki's face lit up at Midoriya's recognition of the religious symbol. "Oh, not many people know about my faith here in Japan! Are you a believer by any chance?"
"Oh, um…no, sorry," Midoriya replied. "I looked into it when I was younger, but it wasn't for me."
"The Lord God is for everyone," Shiozaki said with a smile, "but everyone has their own journey. I'll pray that you find your way to the Lord in the end."
"Uh…thanks? I guess," Midoriya said, not knowing what else to say in that situation.
"Ashido." Todoroki pointed at the pink girl and summoned her over to him. 'I don't want her acid countering me.'
"I'll take…Hagakure." Iida stated after a moment of hesitation. 'There are probably better picks here, but I don't know anything about the other members of class 1-B.'
"Uhhhh…you!" Sero pointed to a fit looking boy with white hair and sharp, shark-like teeth. 'He looks pretty strong.'
"Hell yeah!" Tetsutetsu pumped his fists and made his way over to Sero. "You got a good eye, man!"
Tokoyami crossed his arms and closed his eyes in thought before picking a boy with jet-black skin and white hair. "You there, the one wreathed in darkness, join my army. What is your name?"
"I am called Kuroiro Shihai," the boy answered, "you did well in choosing me. Have you been blessed with the black sight as well?"
"Hmph," Tokoyami replied with a smirk. "That goes without saying."
Asui conferred with her teammates for a few moments before arriving at an answer. "You there," she croaked, pointed at a large, rather strange looking boy with yellow skin, a wide mouth and what appeared to be seven eyes.
"…I'm Bondo," the boy said in a quiet, hesitant tone that was at odds with his imposing stature, "it's, n-nice to meet you."
"Likewise," Asui croaked.
"You can make cement, right?" Jirou asked. "I'm pretty sure that's what I overheard."
"U-um, y-yes," Bondo stammered. "I…well, it's m-more like glue but…um, yes…I make it."
"Relax," Asui croaked. "We're on a team now, so let's get along."
Midoriya turned to Shiozaki. "Shiozaki, are there any classmates that you recommend we get?"
"Tsuburaba Kosei," Shiozaki replied. "His quirk is Solid Air, so he can make invisible barriers—God willing, he would be useful in protecting the King. Itsuka Kendo would also be an excellent choice, she's very sharp, a strong fighter and her quirk, Big Fist, is useful both offensive and defensively."
"Hmm," Midoriya turned to Bakugo. "It's your decision in the end, but I'm leaning towards Kendo, personally. She's got more overall utility. What do you think, Kacchan?"
"I'm getting the barrier guy," Bakugo replied after a moment of thought. "Between you, me, and Stupid Hair, we've got enough offensive capability. We need to focus on being able to protect me once I take the throne. Vine Girl, call him over."
"Tsuburaba!" Shiozaki called out, "Could you come over here please?"
"All right!" Tsuburaba cheered, happy that he wasn't being picked as a leftover. "Things are looking up! Nice to meet you guys!"
"Likewise!" Kirishima bumped fists with Tsuburaba with a grin. "Let's kick some ass!"
"You, the girl with dark hair," Todoroki said, pointing at 1-B student with sharp teeth. 'I don't know anybody from 1-B, but I remember her from the exam for recommended students.'
"It's Tokage Setsuna," Tokage informed Todoroki. "I introduced myself during the recommendation exam, Todoroki."
"Sorry," Todoroki said, not sounding very apologetic. "I'm not the best with names, but I remember your quirk, if that counts."
"So after our shared hardship, I'm just a quirk to you?" Tokage said with indignation. "Gee, thanks."
"…Sorry?" Todoroki repeated, looking confused. 'What shared hardship? We just took a test.'
Tokage snickered, "I'm kidding, dude. I don't actually care."
Ashido smiled widely and draped an arm around the other girl's shoulder. "I have a feeling that the two of us are going to get along famously."
"Do you now?" Tokage asked with a mirroring grin.
"I do," Ashido said, "I really do."
"You there, the foreigner." Iida pointed at a blond girl with hooves and horns at Juzo's suggestion.
"Hi there!" The girl greeted in halting Japanese. "I'm gonna kick your ass!"
Iida blinked. "W-what?"
Juzo sighed, "Pony, did Monoma teach you that?"
Pony nodded and smiled. "He say it is special greeting for 1-A!"
"Yeah, don't listen to him when he talks about 1-A, okay?" Still smiling brightly, Pony nodded. Juzo turned to Iida, "Sorry, she doesn't mean it. She's still not quite fluent yet, and one of our classmates is kinda twisted. He likes to teach her stuff like this."
"I…see," Iida said with a confused look on his face. "Well, no harm done, I suppose."
Sero turned to Tetsutetsu, "You said to pick…Fukidashi Manga, right?"
Tetsutetsu grinned, "Yeah, he's super strong! Hey Manga!" He called out to a boy with a speech bubble for a head. "Get over here!"
An exclamation point appeared inside Manga's head, followed by a smiley face as he sauntered over to Sero's group.
"We'll take Yanagi Reiko," Tokoyami said after conferring with Kuroiro. "Her psychic abilities will prove quite useful."
"We'll take Monoma Neito," Asui croaked. "I don't like the look in his eyes, but his quirk should be good for this."
Monoma scoffed. "You must think that you're so much better than us, 1-A, since you're picking members of 1-B like they're leftovers!"
"No," Asui placed a finger to her chin, "some of your classmates got picked really early, so I think it's just you."
"Hey Fist girl!" Bakugo immediately called out, pointing at Kendo. "Yeah, I'm talking to you, Carrot-top! Get the fuck over here!"
Kendo's eye twitched at the nicknames, but made her way over nonetheless.
"Kacchan, I thought we didn't need any more offensive power?" Midoriya asked in a low tone, annoyed—but not really surprised—that Bakugo made yet another choice without consulting anyone.
"We don't," Bakugo snapped, "but I don't want anyone else to have her either. Plus, if she's got more utility than Barrier-boy like you said, then it isn't like she's a wasted pick."
Midoriya took a deep breath. "This isn't a situation where you just pick strong fighters and it works out! We have to consider how everybody's quirks interact! At least consult with your other teammates before making an impulsive decision! Don't you remember what Aizawa-sensei said about leadership?"
Bakugo bristled at the criticism. "Don't fucking lecture me, Deku," he growled. "I'm the king here, not you. Don't forget that!"
"Uh, hi," Kendo greeted her teammates with a wave and a hesitant smile. "Is everything alright here?"
"I'm glad we can work together like this, Kendo," Shiozaki greeted her classmate with a smile.
"Me too," Kendo replied. "It looks like we've got a pretty strong line-up here."
"Hey Kendo," Midoriya greeted his fellow class representative with a strained smile, "How are things on your end?"
Kendo frowned. "Well, I was doing better before the obstacle course, when my hair wasn't scorched by a sneak attack. Were you really the one responsible for orchestrating that attack at the beginning of the race?"
Midoriya stared at Kendo with an unreadable expression. "I don't know what you're talking about, I don't have electric powers."
"Mmhmm," Kendo hummed doubtfully. "Sure you don't. Do you need any help with picking teammates?"
"That would be great," Midoriya said, "I'd appreciate any input you have to offer."
"Don't go accepting offers on my behalf! I'm the king," Bakugo growled. "I make all final decisions!"
"Of course you do," Midoriya said in a placating tone. "But a little extra advice doesn't hurt."
"Don't fucking patronize me, Deku!"
Midoriya pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm not patronizing you, Kacchan. Calm down."
"Yes, you are! And don't tell me what to do, goddammit!"
Midoriya's eyebrow twitched. "Could you get over yourself for five minutes?" He said, frustration beginning to bleed into his voice. "That's all I ask, just don't be yourself for five minutes."
Shiozaki, Tsuburaba and Kendo turned to Kirishima in disbelief. "Are those two for real?" Tsuburaba asked, "They're fighting now of all times?"
"I've never seen Midoriya so agitated," Kendo said. "It might not be the most stressful setting, but in the student council meetings, he's always come off as exceptionally even-tempered."
Kirishima shrugged. "He is. Those two—mostly Bakugo, actually—have never gotten along for some reason. We've just learned to accept it."
XXX
Over the next several minutes, Midoriya and Bakugo continued to bicker to the astonishment of the outsiders and the resigned acceptance of those in the know as the leftovers were divided into their respective teams until finally, the roster was set.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Midnight announced, "Now that the teams have been decided, let's go over our roster!" On the electronic screen, seven faces appeared with a red border around their portraits. "On the red team we have King Bakugo Katsuki, Midoriya Izuku, Kirishima Eijiro, Kendo Itsuka, Shiozaki Ibara, Tsuburaba Kosei and Hatsume Mei!"
The enormous screen turned white, and then seven more portraits faded into view. Midnight continued to announce the line-up to the cheering audience. "On the white team, we have King Todoroki Shoto, Yaoyorozu Momo, Ashido Mina, Kaminari Denki, Tokage Setsuna, Kodai Yui, and Hitoshi Shinso."
"The blue team will consist of King Iida Tenya, Mezo Shoji, Hagakure Tooru, Tsunotori Pony, Honenuki Juzo, Komori Kinoko and Shoda Nirengeki."
"The yellow team will consist of King Hanta Sero, Ojiro Mashirao, Aoyama Yuuga, Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, Awase Yosetsu, Fukidashi Manga, and Rin Hiryu!"
"The black team will consist of King Tokoyami Fumikage, Kouda Koji, Rikido Satou, Kuroiro Shihai, Yanagi Reiko, Kaibara Sen and Kamakiri Togaru!"
"The green team will consist of Asui Tsuyu, Kyoka Jirou, Uraraka Ochako, Bondo Kojiro, Shishida Jurota, Monoma Neito, and Minoru Mineta.
From the crowd, All Might watched with a smile as the teams made their way to their designated corners. "I wasn't expecting Young Bakugo to select young Midoriya for his team, but this should be an interesting test for him. His ability to command isn't in question…but with Bakugo as the king, he'll have to show that he can follow the lead of someone hostile to him."
Midnight raised her whip. "Now that everybody is in their places let us begin! I hope you folks are ready for some carnage, because in the game of thrones, things can get a little messy!"
A countdown appeared on the giant screen and Midoriya took a deep breath, activating One for All and taking a moment to calm his nerves. 'This is where the real battle begins. I've done everything I can to prepare for this…now it's time to put it all into action.'