Idol Hero | BNHA

Chapter 19

"Begin!"

Nearly every team instantly headed straight for Midoriya's team. And Noriko's team was no different. But before anyone could reach his team, they flew into the air using the support course student's gear. Not long after they landed, Midoriya's team ended up going back into the air. Bakugo used his quirk and propelled himself into the air after Midoriya's team, leaving Noriko, Sero, and Kirishima with smoke in their faces.  When the smoke cleared, Noriko saw Bakugo get blocked by Tokoyami's dark shadow.

"Bakugo's been separated from his team!" Present Mic exclaimed as Sero shot some tape out of his elbows and it wrapped around Bakugo's waist, pulling him back to the team. Noriko helped catch him. "Is that even allowed?!"

"He never touched the ground so technically it's ok," Midnight answered.

"You gotta warn us when you do that," Noriko growled as Bakugo repositioned himself.

"Shut up," Bakugo retorted.

"Now who wants to take a look at each team's point's so far? It's been several minutes, so let's get those rankings put on the screen." Present Mic said before the scores appeared on the screen and a gasp was heard from the audience. "Hold on. This is an unexpected turn of events. Other than Midoriya, class 1-A isn't doing too well."

Noriko glanced up at the scores, but her attention was quickly turned to Bakugo as another student pulled his headband off. Noriko turned to look at the person who stole the headband and saw a student from class 1-B.

"Even Bakugo is losing!" Present Mic yelled.

"Your class is too small-minded. Think bigger." The student, who Noriko heard was Monoma, said.

"No way!" Noriko exclaimed as Monoma put Bakugo's headband around his neck.

"What did you say!" Bakugo screamed. "Get back here!"

"Midnight said the obstacle course was just the first game, and we figured they wouldn't put that many of us out of the games right off the bat," Monoma said. "Assuming they'd keep at least 40 students for the next game, all we had to do was make sure we stayed in that group as we ran. From our spots in the middle, we could fully observe the quirks our rivals had and judge their abilities. Only a fool would obsess over winning the preliminary round, wouldn't you agree."

Noriko felt irritation fill her as she glared at Monoma and Bakugo asked, "You planned this as a class?"

"It wasn't totally unanimous, but I'd say it's playing out well. It's better than chasing after a temporary frontrunner like a horse with a carrot waving in his face." Monoma said. It was clear he was trying to taunt Bakugo, but Noriko knew that would end poorly for him. And maybe for her too. "Oh, while I have your attention, you're kinda famous, aren't you? For being attacked by that sludge villain. You'll have to tell me about it sometime. It must be strange to find yourself in the role of the victim."

Noriko glanced up at Bakugo, who looked like he was going to murder Monoma. That boy sure knew how to provoke someone.

"Change of plans," Bakugo growled, Sero and Kirishima looking up at Bakugo with fearful eyes. "Before we take down Deku, we're gonna kill every last one of these B-list idiots!"

Monoma's teammate said something to him and Noriko heard the last part of Monoma's reply, "...you know how these things work. Heroes are always being hounded by villains desperate for some kind of revenge."

At this point, Bakugo was shaking with rage. Noriko looked up at him, slightly worried. "Bakugo, you need to calm down. If you let him provoke you, you wouldn't think straight. That'll only make it harder for us to get our points back."