Idol Hero | BNHA

Chapter 18

"The first game is finally over, and what a game it was!" Midnight said from her spot on the stage. "Now, let's take a quick look at the standings, shall we?"

Noriko and the rest of the students made their way over to where Midnight was and a screen showed up behind her that had the top 42 rankings on it. Noriko scanned for her name and confirmed her thought that she had come in eighth place.

"Only the top 42 will advance to the next round. But don't be too let down if you didn't make the cut! We've prepared other opportunities for you to shine." Midnight announced. "Now, the real fun is about to begin. The chance to fully move into the limelight! Give it your best! Let's see what we have in store for you next." The screen behind Midnight started to flip between event names. "Will, you're wildest fantasies come to life? What could it be? The waiting is torture. Prepare yourselves, for this!"

Behind her, the screen changed to show the words 'cavalry battle'. Noriko narrowed her eyes at the words, a strange bad feeling overcoming her for a second before going away.

"Allow me to explain. The participants will form teams of two to four people as they see fit." Midnight explained. "In theory, it's basically the same as a regular playground game. But there's one difference. Each player has been assigned a point value based on the results from the obstacle course. The point assignments go up by increments of five, starting from the bottom. For example, 42nd place is worth five points, and 41st is worth ten. And the point values assigned to the contestant in first place is... ten million!"

Ten million? So whoever has Midoriya's points by the end of the game is guaranteed a win. Noriko thought as she looked at the terrified boy that was a little ways away from her.

"That's right. It's a survival of the fittest, with a chance for those on the bottom to overthrow the top!" Midnight exclaimed. "First years. These are the rules you'll abide by. The game itself will last 15 minutes. Individual point values will be added up to reach your team total. Everyone will know how much you're worth thanks to your headbands. Swipe as many headbands as you can to raise your team's score. Stolen headbands must be worn from the neck up. So the more you steal, the harder it'll be to manage them. And another thing, even if your headband gets stolen or your team falls down, you can keep playing until time's up. This is going to be rough. You may use your quirks as much as you like. But there are still rules! Make a team fall on purpose and I'll slap you with a red card. You'll be disqualified!"

Noriko saw Bakugo out of the corner of her eye and had the urge to say something to him, only for Midnight to continue, "Now, you've got 15 minutes to build your teams. I recommend you get started."

Noriko let out a sigh as she glanced around at the students around her. A lot of them crowded around Bakugo, much to her surprise. She didn't think that they'd want to join him with his personality, even if he was strong. But she was clearly wrong.

Noriko wandered through the students and glanced at the teams that were already forming. As expected, students were mostly sticking with people from their class. Noriko wanted to do the same, but couldn't find anyone to join.

"Hey, Ice Girl," Bakugo said, as she walked by his crowd, gaining Noriko's attention.

"Is that all you came up with?" Noriko questioned, giving him an annoyed glare.

Bakugo glared back but still asked, "You can destroy Icy-hot's ice, right?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"Good, then you'll be on my team," Bakugo declared.

"What?" Noriko questioned, with a confused look. Bakugo didn't reply to her and she sighed. She didn't really like Bakugo all that much, but being on his team gave her a higher chance of winning than not being on one at all. Noriko would've liked to join Todoroki's team, but she couldn't really think of a reason why he'd need her on his team. And she had also heard that he had already picked his team, so there was no point in even trying that. Bakugo was strong and Noriko knew that they'd probably end up making it to the next round. Being suddenly dragged into his team might've been more of a blessing than Noriko cared to admit.

Bakugo also had Sero and Kirishima join the team. Bakugo would be their rider, Kirishima would be the front horse, Sero on the back right, and Noriko on the back left. Bakugo had instructed Noriko to block any attacks from other teams and to shatter Todoroki's ice if he needed her to. His plan was to go after Midoriya and the ten million points, just as Noriko had expected, then to go after Todoroki.

It didn't take long for the 15 minutes of planning time to end and Midnight to start talking again, "Oh, good. It's time to get this party started."

"After 15 minutes to pick teams and talk strategy, 12 cavalry teams are preparing to go head to head!" Present Mic shouted. "Come on, everyone! Get your hands in the air! It's time for a UA battle royale! Let me hear ya scream!"

Noriko took a deep breath and closed her eyes to help calm her nerves. I can't mess this up. I can do this. Just focus. We'll win this battle.

-Author Note-

I hate the cavalry battle. I don't wanna do it. The only reason I don't think I'll hate this as much as I normally do is because I already kind of have it written. This is why I've been loving rewriting this story. Because it's a rewrite. It's great. You know, I've been kinda speedrunning this story. I wrote the first chapter on March 9th(2022) and it hasn't even been a full ten days since then(at the time I'm writing this author note). I'm thriving.

Well, I hope you have a good day and all. I'm gonna work through this cavalry battle.

-Starlight