ATOMIC STRUGGLE

3「cavalry battle」1

"Let's see what we have in store for you next~" Midnight cracked her whip thingy as the lottery machine screen appeared. "Will your wildest fantasies come to life? What could it be, the waiting is torture!" She pushed her fake glasses up. "Prepare yourselves, for this!" The screen displayed what the next challenge would be: a calvary battle.

"Calvary battle?" Kaminari grimaced. "I'm terrible at those!"

"It's not an idividual event, I wonder how they'll split us up?" Asui asked aloud as Mineta floundered near her from nerves.

"Good luck man," Izak told Midoriya.

"Oh, thanks," He smiled in return.

"Allow me to explain," Midnight turned so she was looking at the screen, which displayed Thirteen, All Might and Present Mic as a team with All Might as the rider. "The participants will form teams of two to four people as they see fit. In theory," She glanced behind her, "It's basically the same as a regular playground game. But there is one difference~ each player has been assigned a point value based on the results from the obstacle course."

"Oh I get it," Sato mumbled. "A point based system like in the entrance exam.. That seems pretty simple," He surmised, though Izak felt there was more at play than the simple sum-up the sugar maniac came up with. Not that he cared, since he wasn't going to be participating.

"So that means," Uraraka went off of that. "Each team will have a different point value based on which students are on it."

"Uh-huh!" Ashido did finger guns at the girl, only for Midnight to blow up on them from the stage.

"Maybe you should shut up and let me explain things to you!" She jeered before regaining her composure. "Now then, 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 value assigned to the first place contestant issss TEN MILLION!" Midnight announced.

Izak sweatdropped as the greenette beside him squeaked the number out.

"That's right," The R-rated hero smirked, the whip thing thrown over her shoulder leisurely. "It's survival of the fittest where those at the bottom can overthrow the top! First years! These are the rules you will abide by. The game itself will last fifteen minutes," Midnight explained, pointing to the screen as a photo of Thirteen, Snipe, and Present Mic appeared, carrying All Might. "Individual point values will be added together to reach your team total. Everyone will know how much you're worth thanks to your headbands."

An image of All Might showed up, wearing a fifty point headband. "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 will be to manage them," The screen showed All Might's face almost covered in stolen headbands, making him look very uncomfortable.

"And another thing," Midnight continued, "Even if your headband is stolen and your team falls down, you can keep playing until time's up!" Her smirk returned.

"It's anyone's game then," Yaoyorozu surmised.

"Yeah and since there are 42 contestants, there'll be ten or twelve teams fighting on the field the entire time," Sato added, and Aoyama's face turned slightly blue.

"Sounds hard," He grimaced.

"So if you lose your headband at the beginning," Ashido started, "You have more time to make up a plan."

"I dunno Mina," Asui tilted her head thoughtfully. "Maybe we should wait and see how the teams turn out before we start strategizing.."

"This is going to be rough, you may use your quirks as much as you'd like," Midnight spoke back up. "But, there are still rules. Make a team fall on purpose and I'll slap you with a red card, you'll be disqualified!" A timer appeared on the screen as the hero went on. "Now, you've got fifteen minutes to build your teams, I reccomend you get started!"

"Extra good luck, you're gonna need it," Izak patted Midoriya on the shoulder, causing him to nod shakily.

"Y-yeah." With that, the maroonette sauntered away, no longer needed since he wasn't in the top forty two contestants. Making his way up to the stands in the student section, he found Mihoko running towards him with Ectoplasm and Small Might on her tail.

"YOU IDIOT!" The little girl screamed as she jumped at him, beating his chest with her fists once he caught her. "WHY DIDN'T YOU AT LEAST TRY TO WIN, HUH?! IT WOULD'VE BEEN SO COOL IF YOU GOT A METAL, I COULD HAVE BRAGGED TO EVERYBODY!" She yelled.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to get this done and over with so I could hang out with you longer," Izak explained, which instantly stopped her tantrum. But then she went from touched to cynical, huffing and crossing her arms.

"Fine, I guess that's okay."

"Glad you approve," He replied dryly, then nodded to the two teachers. "Thank you for looking after her, I'll take it from here."

"Of course," Ectoplasm returned the gesture. "Have fun, you two."

"Yes, good job out there young Morgan," Small Might gave Izak a thumbs up before turning and leaving with the other faculty member.

"So, how were the teachers for you?" Izak questioned as he moved down to the sitting area reserved for class 1A, though no one else was there since they had all made it to the second round.

"They were really nice, and the scary looking ones weren't as bad as I thought," Mihoko expressed happily. "Thirteen was so cool, her suit was so cushy!"

"I'm sure it was," He hummed, setting her down so she could choose where to sit on her own. Choosing the bottom row, Mihoko patted the spot next to her, so Izak seated himself beside her. With their seating situation done and over with, the two allowed the arena to take their full attention.

The cavalry battle had just started, and Midoriya and his team just landed after escaping from the horde of teams that had been running at them. "Waaoow, barely ten minutes have passed since we started, and it's already a total free for all!" Present Mic howled. "Yeah! Better watch those headbands! You can even ignore the ten million points and go after the other chart toppers~"

"Whoa, everybody's either being carried or carrying someone!" Mihoko said, her mouth open as her eyes sparkled. "How cool is that!"

"Yeah, takes a lot of effort," Izak added as he slung one leg over the other, only to pause and raise an eyebrow as his kid glanced back at him with a scowl.

"Too bad you didn't use any effort." She scoffed, making the maroonette deadpan slightly. Yeah, his kid was definitely a fickle one.