Red and White, Black and Blue

Chapter 9: Sports Festival, Cavalry Battle

"The top forty-two from this qualifying round will move on. But for those who placed lower, don't worry - we've prepared other opportunities for you to show your stuff!" Midnight pauses and licks her lips. "And now the real fun is about to begin! The press corp's going to be jumping out of their seats, so give it all you've got! Now, on to the second event! I already know what it is, of course... dying in suspense? Will your wildest fantasies come to life? What could it be? The waiting is torture..." At her cue, the screen cycles as before...

"Prepare yourselves... for this!" The screen stops on cavalry battle as she gestures toward it.

Kaminari gives a concerned whine. "Cavalry battle! I'm terrible at those."

Tsu rests a finger on her chin. "Huh. It's not an individual event. So we're teaming up, but I wonder how exactly?"

"Allow me to explain! Participants will, on their own, form teams of two to four members each and get into a horse-and-rider formation!" Behind Midnight, the screens change to show diagrams explaining the game. "The rules are fundamentally the same as those of the ordinary playground game - snag your opponents' headbands while guarding your own - but with one exception: each of you has been assigned a point value based on your ranking in the last event!"

Sato nods, arms folded. "I get it. A point-based system like in the entrance exam? Sounds simple."

"So the point value of each team depends on its members!" Ochaco notes, looking at the diagram on the screen.

"Uh huh!" Ashido agrees, pointing a pair of finger guns at the other girl.

Up on the stage, Midnight cracks her whip. "I'm about to explain it, so just shut up already!" She takes a breath and calms. "Anyway, yes! The individual point values start at five, at the bottom. So, the student who took forty-second place is worth five points, forty-first is worth ten... get it? But our first-place participant is worth... ten million points!"

Midoriya looks so horrified that it almost seems he could drop dead on the spot. "Ten million?"

The tall blue haired boy from general studies gets an intrigued smile on his face. "Really...?"

"In other words, if you take down his team..." The pink haired support course student adds, adjusting her goggles and grinning hungrily.

Midnight shares the evil smile that is spreading on many faces in the crowd, delighting in the glares all focused on the top finisher. "The higher-ranked students are the ones to aim for. This survival battle is a chance for a comeback, it's anyone's game!"

She holds for a moment, hands on her hips. "There's more suffering ahead for those at the top. As you must have heard countless times since enrolling at UA, and will continue to hear over and over... this is... Plus Ultra! Show us what it means!" Midnight flicks her whip toward Midoriya, singling him out from the crowd. "Izuku Midoriya, after taking first place in the qualifiers... he'll be worth ten million points!"

All eyes in the group turn to stare at Midoriya, their faces looking like vicious demons. He shrinks back, even though he's surrounded, panicked but with a hint of determination.

"First years! These are the rules you'll abide by: the match itself will last fifteen minutes. Individual point values will be added together to reach your team total. Everyone will know how much you're worth thanks to your headband, which will be worn by your rider. Swipe as many headbands as you can to raise your team's score. Until the match ends, you'll all compete to grab each other's points and maintain the ones you have." Midnight explains, posing with one arm overhead, running the fingers of her other hand through the tendrils of her whip. She watches as glances and nods are exchanged between the students, the beginnings of alliances and plans.