…
-Sigh...-
After finishing the race and being announced as the winner of the first event, Suzaku heaved a long sigh filled with relief and exhaustion.
"… Maybe I should take things a bit more seriously I don't like how close that got to me losing" He turned around and squinted his eyes as Midoriya, Todoroki, and Bakugo reached the finish line just a few seconds after him.
Although he had taken first place, he might have also done so by a much larger margin if he had not bothered to pay attention to those behind him during the second obstacle.
'Hah, whatever...'
However, what was done was done.
He still won, so everything would be fine as long as he took things more seriously in the next event.
So, after shrugging his worries aside, Suzaku walked towards the border of the stadium and sat on the grass while leaning his back on a wall, from then on catching his breath as he watched the rest of the participants arrive.
The race went on for a while longer after that. Sometimes it would be one of Suzaku's classmates who would reach the finish line, and sometimes someone from 1-A. However, as the competition progressed, and its end neared, Suzaku noticed something in particular.
Very few students from other classes had reached the finish line, and when saying very few, he meant very few.
Of all the people who had crossed the finish line by the time the race was approaching its end, only three had been from other classes.
Good old Arata, who had managed to place 9th by the time he got to the end, looking mighty proud as he laughed loudly while his robotic arms flailed in the air in victory, and the pink-haired girl who had infatuated his friend, who scored 10th place and arrived just a few seconds after Arata.
Suzaku smiled faintly when he saw Arata getting such a nice position and celebrating his victory as if it were the most joyous moment in his life.
However, to say he hadn't expected it to a certain extent would be a lie. After all, with how careful in his preparations his friend was, he found it hard to believe he would flop on simply a race with a few tweaks here and there.
As for the girl, Suzaku didn't know her, but judging from how advanced her tools had looked when she had been crossing the second obstacle, Suzaku assumed she was another big-brained individual, much like his big-brained friend.
The third one, however, was one who stood out immediately the moment he saw him cross the finish line.
It was a guy with messy purple hair and a tired face that rivaled Suzaku's every morning when he realized that he had to go to school.
Although the guy had not scored an impressive place, only attaining the 26th place, what made Suzaku raise an eyebrow in confusion was when he saw him being carried by several other students as if he were a king, some of his carriers being even Suzaku's classmates.
'Did he coarse them or something?' Suzaku thought with a frown. After all, he didn't think this was an event where anyone could afford to offer such unnecessary charity work.
And even in the unlikely case where his classmates were friends with the guy, carrying him to the finish line was a bit too much for a simple friendship, wasn't it?
He also considered the fact that the guy might be invalid or something, and the four who were carrying him were supporting their friend to reach the end of the race in a beautiful act of empathy.
However, when he saw him walking nonchalantly after crossing the finish line, he dismissed that thought.
'... Well, who cares'
Eventually, though, Suzaku lost interest and shifted his focus back to the students who were finishing the race.
After all, whatever that guy had used to make them do his bidding, Suzaku didn't think it would be very useful in the next events, where everyone would have to start faring for themselves.
So, after shrugging the strange dude's matter aside, he continued watching from the sidelines as people kept appearing, cheering every now and then whenever it was one of his classmates that crossed the line.
In the end, when the 42nd student reached the finishing line, this being the invisible girl from 1-A, the rest of the competitors who had not yet reached the finishing line were disqualified and the race was put to an end for good.
'That took a while...' Suzaku thought as he gave the bunch from 1-A and some of his classmates a look.
The results showed that both classes had similar results, with none of the classes having more people occupying the first places than the other, everyone was spread pretty evenly.
Albeit, Suzaku took first place, so maybe that counted as a victory for class 1-B.
Sadly, both classes ended up with one of their members being disqualified, with Class A losing Aoyama, and Class B losing Fukidashi. (The manga-looking guy)
Fortunately, though, according to Midnight's announcement once the race ended, it seemed they weren't gonna just be shrugged off now that they had lost, as the school had prepared other activities for them to shine.
After making that clear, Midnight whipped the air and spoke a few words more before walking away.
"You have 5 minutes to rest, we will begin with the next event after that"
Words that made many students sigh in relief, and plummet to the ground in exhaustion immediately after, being exhausted after the whole race.
Of course, others couldn't care less about resting, like a certain explosive blond brat, who was looking like he would butcher anyone who dared to utter a single word near him.
'What a sore loser... reminds me of Arata somehow' When he caught sight of him brooding over having lost, Suzaku sneered.
His eyes then went to Todoroki, who was simply resting while still on his feet, taking deep breaths to recover as fast as possible.
"That guy, was he more relevant in the show than I thought…?" Suzaku raised an eyebrow as he muttered his thoughts under his breath.
Todoroki had put on a really good fight during the race, so Suzaku didn't think he was as side-character as his memory made him think at first.
Not to mention that he had that whole serious emo aura that some important characters tend to have.
'Yeah, like that guy in Avatar! Uh... What was his name again?' Suzaku scratched the back of his head with furrowed eyebrows for a moment, before squinting his eyes as he looked at Todoroki's face. 'He even has the scar and everything, there's no way he was some background-filling character in the show'
Then, Suzaku recalled Todoroki's actions during the race.
'He has ice powers... Honestly, it doesn't sound that powerful... But maybe I'm missing something here...'
As Suzaku was reevaluating Todoroki's danger level inside his head, a certain voice called out to him from his side.
"Suzaku, you got first place eh? You really went all out!"
Suzaku smiled as he turned his head, looking at Tetsutetsu who was approaching with a wide grin on his face.
"There was a bit of opposition, but nothing I couldn't handle"
Tetsutetsu nodded, looking all excited as he looked at Suzaku with sparkling eyes. "Man, you were running like a bullet when I saw you passing by my side! Just what kind of training did you go through to go that fast?!"
"Just a little training in this and that…" Suzaku replied vaguely, before pointing at his friend with a smirk on his face. "On the other hand, you looked like you were having a bad time on that tightrope"
Tetsutetsu's face irked instantly upon hearing Suzaku mention the second obstacle.
"Don't remind me of that… Because of that obstacle I almost ended up being left out like Fukidashi. Luckily I managed to make a comeback during the minefield obstacle, although I can't say I liked that one either, being careful and having patience is not my fort"
Suzaku sneered. "Can't say it's mine either"
"You didn't look like you were having a bad time with the third obstacle though. You even ended up getting to the end first"
Suddenly, a voice responded to Suzaku's claim from his side, making the redhead turn his head with a raised eyebrow, and see then Itsuka, who was approaching them with a smile on her face, although looking as exhausted as everyone else.
He let out a sigh at her comment and shook his head with a wry look. "That's because I completed it as fast as I could. However, it was certainly one hell of a task"
Upon hearing his words, both Itsuka and Tetsutetsu raised an eyebrow, making Suzaku smile faintly.
He then proceeded to touch his glasses, shaping them in a way so one of his eyes could become visible.
"Damn" Tetsutetsu squinted his eyes a bit at the sight.
Itsuka flinched faintly. "How did you end up like that?"
The eye behind the glass was very irritated, having a noticeable red tone on its borders, resembling the eyes of a certain hobo teacher who was said to have dry eyes.
After reverting the glass to its original shape of cool glasses, Suzaku smirked. "I didn't blink"
Then, it made sense for both of them.
"You didn't blink so you could react to all the mines as you ran?" Itsuka asked, just to make sure she wasn't misunderstanding, something that Suzaku responded with a simple nod of his head.
"Talk about good reflexes… No wonder you got first place" Tetsutetsu sweatdropped a bit in front of such information.
However, his eyes then turned to look at the other side of the stadium, where Bakugo, Todoroki, and Midoriya were.
"... Still, the other class wasn't so bad either. I was confident in myself, but they might be a tough nut to crack…"
Suzaku didn't say anything, he just gave the three stars from 1-A a small glance, before shaking his head.
He was fairly confident in taking them on.
Midoriya was still in his weak shonen protagonist stage, so his level of threat wouldn't be something to worry about, except for maybe that powerful punch Suzaku recalled the green-head had used against the 0-pointer.
Bakugo was an easily tauntable guy, and although his Quirk was something to consider as a potential danger, he was confident in playing with his mind and using that to stomp him when they had to clash.
As for Todoroki...
'Well, he shouldn't be so different from those two... Right?' Suzaku thought while scratching his cheek in faint worry.
As he was doing that, once again, a voice came from somewhere away, calling out to him.
Suzaku instantly recognized the crazed voice of its owner.
"Hahahaha! What's wrong Suzaku, why are you on the floor? Don't tell me you are already tired?! Oh, how disappointing, even though I didn't go all out in this event, you are already this spent? And here I thought you could pose a challenge, even if small…!"
Suzaku smiled wryly as he turned towards the owner of the voice. "It seems you managed somehow Monoma"
His classmate smiled slyly. "Of course! Unlike a certain someone who went for the first place like a horse with a carrot waving in front of his face, I stayed at the back, calmly observing my competitors and preserving my energy for later, ensuring my chances of victory eventually"
Suzaku smiled faintly. "Yeah… I don't know about that"
That seemed to trigger Monoma, who gritted his teeth as he struggled to keep a straight face. "You cocky bastard…!"
Before he continued with his provocations, however, Itsuka appeared beside him and delivered a karate chop that somehow sent Monoma unconscious.
'How does that even work...?' Suzaku wondered as he glanced at Monoma's limp body with a funny look.
-Schk, schk, schk-
It was then, that Suzaku heard someone's steps on the grass approaching.
Suzaku raised an eyebrow at having yet another person come to him.
'Who is it now? I know I am extremely charismatic, but come on—'
His thoughts, however, stopped when he turned to look at who was approaching.
It was Todoroki.
"...?"
Confused, Suzaku tilted his head slightly, frowning slightly at the arrival of one of his main opponents in this festival thingy.
Still, it wasn't like they were sworn enemies, so Suzaku just waited to see what the emo guy had to say.
"You…" After getting to where Suzaku and company were, and receiving everyone's save Monoma's gaze, Todoroki spoke for a moment before falling silent, seemingly thinking about what he was about to say next, before going on. "... Don't think things will go the same in the next events"
It was a simple and maybe even a bit ambiguous provocation. However, it did the job.
The moment Suzaku heard it, he raised both his eyebrows in surprise.
'... For being a character whom I can't remember, he sure is competitive. Yeah, there's no way he was a background character' Suzaku's eyes squinted as he glanced at the red and white teenager.
Now he was sure, this guy would surely be a problem later in the competition.
Problems were exactly what he was looking for though.
The harder it became, the sweeter victory was gonna be later on.
After a few seconds, he sneered and shot Todoroki a smirk. "We'll see about that"
"..." Todoroki merely squinted his eyes at that response.
-Whip!-
However, before he could say anything about it, the familiar sound of a whip striking the air interrupted him, gathering the attention of all of them, and making them turn to look at the stage at the center of the stadium, where Midnight was looking at them with a playful smile.
It seemed resting time was over.
Immediately after everyone realized that, Todoroki began walking back to his class, however, not without shooting Suzaku a challenging look first, which the redhead just shrugged off with a small smile.
As Todoroki left, Tetsutetsu scratched the back of his head confusedly. "What was he on about?"
Suzaku just shrugged with a clueless face. "I don't know, there's all sorts of weirdos"
Itsuka shot them a scolding look for being rude, before gesturing them to move with her head. "Let's go, everyone's is gathering"
All while carrying Monoma over her shoulder, of course.
After that, the two classes, plus Arata and the pink-haired girl, started to reunite in front of the stage to wait for Midnight's next instructions.
When everyone was finally gathered, she started with her speech.
"Now that the 42 of you have made it into the next round, the real competition is about to start. You all, have in mind that you are in the eye of the entire Japan right now, so give it your all!"
After delivering her words of motivation to the students and snapping her whip into the air once more, the screen behind her began displaying the animation of the roulette which held the so-dreaded name of the next event, causing many to gulp nervously.
Seeing their faces, Midnight grinned sadistically and she licked her lips.
"Now then, onto the next event. I'm sure you all are dying to know. As for me? I already know what it is… But what could it be? What could it be?"
In front of her teasing, the tension around the students spiked.
Fortunately, she didn't keep them waiting for long.
Not long after, the animation stopped, and the next game was revealed.
"The next event is… A Cavalry Battle!"
The moment those words left her mouth, the reactions of the students exploded.
Some were in low spirits, as the thought of carrying people didn't seem pleasing to them, others were curious about how that would work, as they didn't think UA would settle for something as simple as that.
Others… Were excited about having some skinship with the girls.
But we ignore those guys.
After the big revelation, Midnight nodded her head and proceeded to explain everything related to the new competition ahead.
First, participants had to form teams of two to four members, and the team leader would wear a headband that displayed the team's points. The points depended on how much each member had earned during the race.
The goal was to collect points by stealing other teams' headbands, while also protecting their own. Each time a headband was taken, the points went with it.
The event would last 15 minutes. To prevent the competition from turning into a fight, any team that attacked others to knock them out of their formation would get a red card, encouraging students to focus on taking headbands rather than attacking.
That was the gist of it.
By the time Midnight finished explaining, the students from both classes went into an uproar.
The competitiveness between classes and even between classmates that had built up during the first event and even from before was now being put to the test, in a competition where each of them would get to contend directly against one another.
It was no wonder they were all excited beyond recognition.
It was a chance to prove themselves beyond a simple race, where many were limited in the uses of their Quirks.
It was the time for those overshadowed so far to prove their worth!
"Oh right, one more thing!"
However, the students' rowdy chattering died down when Midnight let out the last piece of information that she had casually forgotten to mention during her entire explanation.
"I almost forgot to mention this..." Midnight slapped her forehead in a comedic manner before her eyes landed directly on Suzaku's nonchalant figure, who flinched faintly when he saw the teacher's attention fixated on him.
'What…?'
"We added a little something to make this competition more interesting. Those who stand at the top are bound to suffer more, this is something that you all will hear a lot from now on as you attend UA… This is what "Plus Ultra" means!" She then snapped her whip at the air and pointed it directly at Suzaku. "... So, in honor of this beautiful remark, Suzaku Suzuki, who placed 1st in the last event, will be worth 10 million points in this competition!!"
"..."
...
..
.
-Stares...-
The instant those words were dropped, every single one of the students gathered there, even Suzaku's very classmates, turned to look at him with a thirsty look in their eyes, and not in a sexy way.
'Damn…' Suzaku laughed wryly when he noticed the forty-something gazes land on him from one moment to another.
He knew that look. He had seen it many times throughout his life in the mirror.
It was greed.
'I know I said I wanted this to be hard... But this is a bit too much'
Before, although he had gained the dislike of many students with his speech, and even made some outright hostile against him, many of those present still had better things to do than try and mess with him.
They were in an event being watched by the entire Japan and those who would maybe one day be their bosses. As such, it was understandable that many were more worried about performing nicely in such an event rather than teaching him a lesson.
As a result, the opposition Suzaku ended up facing in the last event was pretty small, and it came mostly from those with no hopes of winning, and who simply wanted to screw with him before being eliminated. Trying to drag him down with them.
Now, however, it was a completely different situation.
Everyone was looking at Suzaku with eyes that clearly conveyed their desire to take him on... Or at least, his headband.
Suzaku was now the public enemy, even if for something as measly as his value in points.
However, the redhead wasn't someone to back out in front of a challenge... At least not in this case. If it came to fighting a world-destroying threat, he may back out a little.
'No matter, I'll manage somehow'
After shaking off his worries, Suzaku glanced back at Midnight, who was watching him with a satisfied smile as if she was enjoying his predicament.
In response, he returned to his usual nonchalant expression, which caused her to hug herself in a rather suspicious manner, muttering something about "youth", before she quickly covered it with a fake cough and started dismissing the students for the time being.
"Well then, with all that done, you have 10 minutes to build up your teams. Start!"
Immediately after she yelled that, everyone began getting busy talking with their classmates, trying to form strong teams that could assure them the victory.
Suzaku, however, simply turned to look in one direction.
'A team competition, huh? We did well in planning beforehand' He thought pleasantly, as his eyes landed on a certain big-brained kid.
The kid also seemed to be looking at him with a smile, probably thinking the same.
The instant both connected gazes, they walked to each other until they found themselves face to face, their confident smirks never leaving their faces as they did so.
"It seems our chance to team up has finally come," Suzaku said with a dramatic tone, before he retracted his hand, ready to dap up his friend.
The kid, however, did not move an inch and simply looked at him with a confused expression. "I don't know what you are talking about, who are you?"
...
"Cheeky little bastard" A vein sprouted on Suzaku's forehead.
Arata's gaze darted away from Suzaku. "Listen mister 10-million-target, I don't know what you are selling, but I ain't buying"
"You dare dip out the alliance?"
Arata shrugged. "What alliance are you talking about man? I think you are making things up"
"You—" Suzaku was about to say something, but suddenly, he felt a hand tap his shoulder.
"As expected, you are standing out a lot..."
Already irritated by the unexpected betrayal of his close friend, Suzaku turned around with an exasperated look. "Who the hell—?"
However, his words stopped when he saw who was there.
It was Arata's little crush.
"Team up with me, person in first place!" The girl jumped at him, her voice holding a persuasion similar to that of an annoyingly insistent salesperson.
Suzaku didn't know where that impression had come from, but he could vividly feel it as her words echoed in his head.
But leaving the matter of the impression the chick gave him, Suzaku had another bigger question in his head at the moment.
How come Arata's love was offering to team up with him?
Aside from knowing what she looked like, he had never met her before, much less talked to her.
So, it made literally zero sense for her to suddenly want to join his team. Even less with the 10-million target strapped to his head.
'Something is weird about this...' Suzaku couldn't help but think like that.
However, just when he was about to answer the girl, he felt another tap on his shoulder.
It was Arata.
"Suzaku, did you really think I was being serious? Of course I didn't forget our unbreakable alliance!"
Suzaku smiled amiably.
"Who are you again?"
...
-To be Continued...-
°
(A/N: The team composition is up! Since in the original Mei went to Midoriya because he was the one with the ten million points, I thought it wouldn't make sense for her to go at him again if it was Suzaku who had the points this time.
I also made a few changes with other teams, you'll see in the next chap)
->