Todoroki Shoto slid to a stop in front of the final stretch. Ahead was the re-entry tunnel back into the arena, and the finish line… but between here and there was a minefield.
"The final obstacle!" Present Mic's voice rang. "A field of land mines! Not powerful enough to hurt anyone, but one wrong step and they'll send you flying and make you wet your pants!
"That heavily depends on the person," Aizawa complained.
Shoto made his way carefully forward, avoiding the darker patches of dirt. I understand that this is a televised event, and they want to make it entertaining. This obstacle is designed to put pressure on those in the lead. Indeed, he was unable to use his powers to go faster over this, at the risk of setting a mine off. Behind him, he could hear many of them beginning to blow. People are catching up to me.
"Bastard!" A shout. Shoto turned… and saw Bakugo rushing at him like a bullet, explosions keeping him afloat above the ground.
"This shit doesn't affect me!" Bakugo growled. "Don't declare war to the wrong person next time!"
He knocked Shoto out of the way, kicking up a mine explosion, and kept blowing ahead, taking the lead.
"Oh no! Katsuki Bakugo breaks into first! Are you watching, mass media? You guys love this kind of stuff!"
𖦹𖦹𖦹
Len had been forced to slow, both in this obstacle and the previous one. The gaps between the platforms had been wide enough to where he'd strained himself a little trying to warp across. Maybe I should have taken a rope or two, gone the normal way. He was tired now, and being forced to take more slow warps across the minefield, having to scope out and carefully pick places to flash to, avoiding the dark patches. There were so many of them, and densely packed.
People had begun to push ahead of him, people with Quirks more suited to this slow, deliberate progress. Even worse, a bunch of idiots were setting off the mines at all times, and getting other people caught in the explosions. One guy went racing past with some kind of battlecry, letting off a chain of explosions, and Len warped sideways to avoid him… into an explosion himself.
The thing sent him flying into the air, but he managed to land on a clear spot. Shaking himself off, he looked back up… and at least a dozen people had pushed ahead. Ugh! Screw this part of the race!
Surely others were getting tired, too? He'd been warping most of the way, which snapped his energy in its own manner, but the others had all been running, or utilising their Quirks somehow. Surely they were getting exhausted.
Wait, am I getting competitive?
He focused all the yellow within, like the last of a dying fire. It was coughing, sputtering, urging him to quit. He'd never had to use his Quirk for so long before, and in such an intense setting. USJ had been shorter spurts. The battle trial he'd barely used it at all. The Quirk assessment had been pretty low-stakes. But this?
Next order of business is to work on my stamina, I think . But Len gathered the rest of his power, and set to warping forward. Picking safe spots came more quickly, as he narrowed his eyes, sharpening his focus. Each warp came faster and faster. There. Now, there. Over there. He passed one person. Then two more. He wasn't even stopping to see if he knew them, if they were among his close friends. No time for that, no energy to spare.
As the arena tunnel filled his vision, he took notice of Bakugo and Todoroki, grappling with each other near the end of the minefield. The leaders. There they are. They were still far away, and still making progress… but slower than he was.
Should I try and catch up to them, or save my energy? I'm close enough to them to where I know I'll make it into the next round, and I may need strength for that… I guess I won't try it.
He ignored the two of them, and just focused on getting himself across. Steady.
BOOOOOOOM!
"What! There's a huge explosion at the back! What was THAT!" Present Mic sputtered.
Len turned, shocked. What the fu…
Emerging from the pink smoke was a green-haired figure, flying through the air on a piece of scrap metal.
"IT'S CLASS A'S MIDORIYA IZUKU!"
Holy. Shit. Len watched as the boy sailed over his head, and further on… past Bakugo and Todoroki.
"HE'S TAKEN THE LEAD!"
The two former leaders were now chasing Midoriya, sending up explosions and leaving a path of ice. A half dozen students came up behind them, the closest followers. Len was among them, near the back. Todoroki was carving them a path. Behind, many stood watching in awe at the display, or following slowly.
This is it.
Midoriya flipped in midair as Bakugo and Todoroki came up under him, slamming the shield into the ground and setting off the last line of land mines in their faces. The two were only briefly stopped before pursuing him, on foot through the tunnel. Others came up behind. Len made his last warp over the minefield, breathing hard. His chest rattled. I'm running the rest of the way.
He chased the others into the tunnel.
"THE THREE FRONTRUNNERS ARE GRAPPLING FOR THE LEAD! Eraser Head, your class is insane! What on Earth are you teaching them?"
"Nothing," Aizawa answered, with perhaps a hint of pride. "They fired each other up all by themselves."
"And the first person back into the stadium is… MIDORIYA IZUKU!"
As Len ran through the tunnel, he heard the crowd erupt into cheers, with Bakugo's angry shouting topping it all off. Midoriya took my advice… or he took SOMEONE's advice, at least. Behind him, he could hear pounding feet, people catching up. He never used his Quirk. He didn't break a bone. He got to the top with creativity, and ingenuity, and… perseverance!
The light at the end of the tunnel filled Len's blue eyes. What am I doing? I have all these natural talents, yet I've been wasting them… Midoriya beat everyone with skills that he LEARNED!
"AND HERE COMES THE REST OF THEM! FINISHING ONE BY ONE!"
With a last great cry of effort, Len used one more warp to get him across the finish line and back into the arena, just as a group of people nearly caught up to him.
He let out a burst of an exhale, in relief and exhaustion. He keeled over in the green, hands on his knees. The cheering of the crowd washed over him. I… did it. I made it through.
… But I could have done better.
The warp-energy was swirling around lazily, as if it was sleepy. Every bone in his body ached. His weight felt like iron.
Midoriya, you're more than I gave you credit for. There were a lot of complicated emotions inside Len right then, but one thing emerged above all else: I don't want to look defeated.
He raised his head, and smiled at the crowd, waving, turning in circles. He could hear cheering and screaming, maybe not directed at him necessarily, but there nonetheless. He also saw the other students finishing as they came through the tunnel. Standing on the green were Todoroki and Bakugo, both appearing upset. Midoriya was off to the side, looking down at his fist.
Mina appeared next to him, gasping for breath. "Len, you…" she coughed, bending over. When she stood back up, there was a glow in her eye and in her smiling teeth. "You did it! You beat me and Tsu and Shoji, at least. I don't know where Toru is, but…" she got up into his face and threw her arms around his neck. "You actually tried and didn't throw! We kind of all expected you to."
"Ha… yeah… I'm still a bit confused about it all…" Len slowly returned her hug, and he could swear he heard some whistles break through the cheering crowd, directed at the two of them.
"It's fine. We're into the next round, and that's what matters!" she released him from the hug, her smile curling playfully. "That's the first time you haven't pulled away from my touch. Getting a bit too used to me, hmm?"
"I'm too tired to move." That felt like the honest truth.
"Well done, Lenny, Mina-chan. Ribbit." Tsu and Shoji had appeared, both looking a bit worse for wear. Len looked around for Sero, and saw that he was talking to… Kirishima and them. Oh.
"Everyone who will be advancing to the next round has finished!" Present Mic announced. "Here are the results!"
1st: Midoriya Izuku
2nd: Todoroki Shoto
3rd: Bakugo Katsuki
4th: Shiozaki Ibara
5th: Honenuki Juzo
6th: Iida Tenya
7th: Tokoyami Fukimage
8th: Sero Hanta
9th: Kirishima Eijiro
10th: Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu
11th: Kagamine Len
12th: Ojiro Mashirao
13th: Awase Yosetsu
14th: Ashido Mina
15th: Asui Tsuyu
16th: Shoji Mezo
17th: Sato Rikido
18th: Uraraka Ochaco
19th: Yaoyorozu Momo
20th: Koda Koji
21st: Jiro Kyoka
From there it was a lot of 1-B students, as well as Kaminari in 24th. The purple-haired boy from general studies had managed to get 30th. Len wondered what his Quirk was. Hagakure was in 38th. "I knew it," she told the four of them sadly. "My powers just aren't suited for this sort of thing."
Aoyama had come in 42nd, the very last to qualify. He was still smiling somehow, although he was pale and trembling, holding himself in fear.
"Forty-two people," Len commented, looking around. "All twenty from our class, and all twenty from class B… plus two more?"
"The boy who's challenged us, from general studies," said Shoji. "Shinso Hitoshi."
"And that crazy support girl!" Mina added. "Hatsume Mei. Look, she's 41st. Grrr, she almost didn't make it. I wish she hadn't. She made me and Uraraka look bad!"
"You still managed to pass me in the end, ribbit," said Tsuyu. "I was honestly shocked, until I realised you were just trying to catch up with Lenny."
"Huh?" Len turned to the girls, confused.
"Hehe…" Mina rubbed her hair in an uncharacteristically sheepish gesture. "I don't know about that, necessarily… I just wanted to win!"
Len blinked. She's blushing a bit. I see the purple on her cheeks. That's the color she blushes. He remembered that from the entrance exam. Could… she share my feelings?
There was no time to consider further, because Midnight was back up on the platform with a snap of her feathery tool. "The top 42 shall advance to the second round!" she announced, licking her lips. "The real competition begins now! The second game is… well, I already know it, but what could it be?" The prompter began to light up and spin once again. "It's this!" The prompter read "cavalry battle."
Murmurs of shock and confusion rang across the crowd of forty-two. "What's a cavalry battle?" Len asked. Was this some childhood game he'd never been privy to?
Tsuyu glanced at him. "It's…"
"I shall explain!" Midnight declared. "The rules are simple. You will form teams of two to four at your discretion. Each competitor has been assigned a point value based on where they finished in the race!"
"Oh…" Mina nodded. "Basically, the teams are worth different points depending on who's on them."
"Yeah, but what exactly are we doing in these tea…"
Midnight's voice interrupted him again. "It's a free for all battle where Quirks are allowed! Each team will carry bandanas that represent the point values of each team member. The team with the bandanas that add up to the most points by the end will be the winner!"
The scoreboard that showed the students' race placements changed. Len's eyes widened. Each person now had a point value next to their name. And next to Midoriya's name… the number 10,000,000.
"That's right! First place is worth ten million points!" Midnight announced.
All eyes fell silently upon Midoriya. Len felt the air change to hostility.
"Ten million, huh?"
"That means…"
"If you take the first place team's bandana…"
"You win, no matter what."
The whispers surged in volume, and suddenly evil glares were being shot Midoriya's way.
Len blinked, confused. This isn't fair at all, is it?
"It's survival of the fittest," Midnight drawled sadistically, "with a chance for those at the bottom to overthrow the top!"
Len glanced at Mina. She, too, was looking toward Midoriya with killing intent. Even Tsu and Shoji's demeanors had changed. It was hard to know what Hagakure looked like. "Hey, stop that," he mumbled. "He deserves better than that…"
Mina gave him a look. "Are you kidding? Ten million points? Midoriya could be the hottest guy I've ever laid eyes upon and I'd crack his skull for a chance like that."
"But who's to say the third event won't have a similar switch-up. If you go into first now, it may be you getting targeted next time." Len was confused, worried. He didn't know if he really believed anything he was saying, but… Midoriya's gonna have trouble finding teammates. I feel bad.
Mina smirked. "I don't see getting all high-horsey and going over to join his team."
"Well… no, but…"
Midnight was explaining some more of the rules, regarding how the headbands were supposed to be worn. The rider of the cavalry group would wear them on their heads. You weren't out if you got your points stolen; you could just steal some more back before the fifteen minutes were up. More strategies began to circulate in Len's head with each new nugget of info. Wait, what am I doing? I've never been a strategist before… and why am I getting so into it?
Within him, the energy seemed to growl. Apparently his Quirk was back up and running, having recovered from the race. Are you… are you the one who's doing this to my mind? Since when was his Quirk separate from him, anyway? It was HIS.
Maybe it's my subconscious. He swallowed nervously.
"You have fifteen minutes to decide your teams!" said Midnight, "starting now!"
"We should form a team!" Hagakure declared, looking around at the other four.
Len nodded. "Between all of us the point values aren't as much as the top three. We could go relatively untargeted for a while."
"Umm, actually…" Tsuyu and Shoji exchanged a glance. "We, um, the two of us… ribbit." Tsu coughed.
Shoji put out an apologetic hand. "Asui and I have created a strategy… for the two of us, and one other person. But none of you would, umm… be suitable."
"… Oh." Hagakure was put off.
"We had to split up anyway, ribbit. Only teams of four are allowed, and there's five of us."
Len clenched his fists. Tsu and Shoji? Seriously? Of all people? I wanted to support them, to help them do well… but here they go on their own. All they care about is making it to the top.
"Sure, whatever, makes sense to me." Mina flashed a grin and gave them a thumbs-up.
"Alright… just… making sure." Tsu shot Len a worried glance, and then the two of them began to walk away. "C'mon, Shoji-chan. There was a 1B guy I saw that looked suitable."
"Short?"
"Yep. Tiny."
Their conversation faded as they went into the crowd. The other students had all broken up and begun to chat, trying to form teams.
"Alright, guess it's the three of us then." Mina looked from Hagakure to Len. "Hey, Len, are you okay?"
He sighed and forced himself to relax. "Yeah, I'm fine." Once again, I'm the only one who seems to be getting mad at this. They're all acting like abandoning your friends to gain an advantage is perfectly normal. Did that MAKE it normal? Was he just weird?
"We should try and find Sero," said Hagakure. "That would make four."
"Good idea," said Mina. "Let's look around."
Len followed the two girls, with another glance at his point value on the scoreboard. 160. Below him was Mina, worth 145. Hagakure's value was a mere 25. 330 altogether. But Sero is worth even more than me. If we add him, we could have a good base point value to start with and still avoid getting targeted too much… maybe.
There he went strategising again. Another gulp, and he kept following the girls.
They found Sero talking to Bakugo and Kirishima. "Sero-kun!" Mina sang with a wave. "Want to be on a team with u… oh."
Sero glanced at the other two boys he was with. Kirishima was grinning, and Bakugo was scowling. Both looked incredibly intimidating. Len's eye twitched.
"Umm, sorry guys," Sero told them, rubbing his elbow with his other hand apologetically. "I'm already… taken."
"Yo, Mina!" Kirishima exclaimed. "You want to go with us? We need one more!"
"Huh?" Mina's face seemed to slack with surprise.
"Yeah, it'll be just like old times!" he grinned at her.
"I could use you, Pink," Bakugo murmured in a frightening manner. "You'd complete our strategy."
"Uh, yeah…" Sero trailed off. "Me and Kirishima kinda told him about you, and how you'd fit, so… we were actually about to look for you."
"But…" Mina glanced at Hagakure, only to find her missing. "Huh? Where'd Toru go?"
She looked around at Len, whose face was… neutral. Mina blinked. The warping boy had his hands in his pockets, looking straight forward at the boys. His blue eyes revealed nothing.
When he saw Mina looking at him, he turned to her in almost a bored kind of way. "If you want to go with them, you should," he said plainly. "Kirishima's your old friend, right? You guys should work well together. And you've got Sero as well."
"But…" Mina didn't understand. He was just upset about Tsu and Shoji! Why are boys so stupid?! "You'll be all alone…"
"I'll be okay. Maybe I'll team with Midoriya." His blue eyes flashed with a hint of spiteful anger, and then he walked off.
"Len…" Mina held up a hand, watching him go.
"Don't worry about the crackhead," said Bakugo, stepping up next to her. "He's not worth it. He's an extra without the resolve to go for the top."
"C'mon, Pinky, it's fine." Kirishima gave her a friendly hand on the shoulder. "Let us tell you our strategy."
Reluctantly, Mina turned toward her new team.
𖦹𖦹𖦹
Len was incredibly frustrated. Frustrated at Tsu and Shoji for going off and making their own team, frustrated at Sero for not even considering them, frustrated at Hagakure for disappearing, frustrated at the UA staff for concocting all this drama for the entertainment of the masses, and mostly he was frustrated with himself.
He hadn't missed Tsu's worried glance. He knew now that his friends were being held back by him. They felt like they had to compensate for his different ideals. But he didn't want to be a burden, especially to Mina. Len hated being pitied.
She'd do fine on that team. He didn't even want to let her make the choice. In the end, she'd have either picked them and hurt his feelings, or picked him and hurt her own feelings. So he removed those potential futures. And now… he was all alone.
Seriously, WHERE had Hagakure gone? He saw that Ojiro, Aoyoma, and Kaminari were talking to the purple-haired guy from general studies, Shinso. Where were the rest of his classmates? Surely Midoriya hadn't found three others yet. If he could find him, he'd at least have a team, even if it meant running away for the whole eve…
Hand on his shoulder. "Kagamine," said a cool voice.
Len turned. Looking at him were the three elites, the richest, most refined people in class. Yaoyorozu on the right. Iida on the left. And in the front, touching him, was Shoto Todoroki.
Len's lip curled. "Yes?" What do you want, son of Endeavor?
"You'll complete our strategy. Join my team."
Len glanced at Iida and Yaoyorozu. He'd barely talked to either of them, let alone Todoroki. They all had serious expressions on their faces. They meant to win.
Fuck it.
Len clenched one hand into a fist, and brushed Todoroki off his shoulder with the other. "Sure. I'll join your team."