Chapter 17
"Either find a way to succeed or make one."
– Suzie Hoyt
Musutafu, Japan - April 2197
The moment Midnight had dismissed the 32 students for a 15-minute intermission, Midoriya immediately snuck away from his friends. He keenly scanned the arena for a specific individual, and it didn't take him long before his well-trained eyes spotted his target walking toward one of the tunnels away from everyone else. Granted, it was hard to miss her long pick dreadlocks and assortment of gadgets strapped on her.
He stared at her momentarily, inwardly debating if he should go talk to her. She couldn't possibly share any relation with Teruko's family, right? A short moment later, the war veteran came to a decision.
'I have to know…' Midoriya thought resolutely, stepping through the crowd of students towards her.
As he quietly approached the Support Department student, he got a better look at her. At 160 centimeters (five-foot-three), she was on the shorter side, but he could admit the young woman had quite a mature build as he tried not to stare. Her salmon-pink hair was shoulder-length and styled into thick dreadlocks, tied up in a short ponytail with two longer dreadlocks swept to her right side and shorter one on the left. She wore UA's track suit like everyone else in addition to a pair of steampunk-like goggles, a utility belt holding various tools, oversized boots, and an advanced gunmetal grey armored plating covering her shoulders, back, and chest.
With her back turned to him, Midoriya stopped only a few steps away.
"Ah…" Hatsume Mei let out a satisfied sigh as she knelt down to unbuckle her feet from her boot-thrusters. "All of you babies performed exceptionally well! Momma's so proud of you!"
Midoriya blinked, confused. 'Babies?'
After stepping out of her oversized boots, Hatsume pulled on a small hidden lever in the side of her chest plate, causing it to split in half from the top and allowing her to easily pull it off.
"But!" She carefully placed the chest plate on the ground, and reached into her utility belt for a set of advanced tools that Midoriya wouldn't even try to decipher their function. "If we're gonna make it to the Final Round, momma needs to make some last-minute tweaks!"
Midoriya watched her, feeling a bit conflicted. 'What should I say? Should I just…introduce myself like normal?' Well, he supposed that option made sense.
He cleared his throat to get her attention.
Hatsume didn't respond as she tended to her oversized boots, happily humming a tune to herself.
'Did she not hear me?' He cleared his throat again, this time a bit louder.
…
…
She didn't hear him as she continued to hum. Or…maybe she was just ignoring him?
'Okay… Time for Plan B.' Midoriya inhaled deeply.
"Uh, hey there…" He called out. 'Really, soldier? C'mon, you've rushed into war zones without feeling this nervous!' He berated himself.
"Hmm?" Hearing him, Hatsume glanced over her shoulder–still wearing her goggles. "Are you the one who's coughing?"
"Uh, yeah…" He replied timidly.
"You should probably go see a doctor then…and get away from me." Hatsume bluntly said, still smiling, before returning her attention back to her boots. "Can't have yah getting me sick."
"Actually, I'm not sick. I was trying to introduce myself. Although," he rubbed his shoulder, smiling sheepishly, "I guess I was just kind of nervous for a moment there."
"Ah huh."
"Anyways, I'm Midoriya Izuku from Class 101-A."
"Ah huh." Hatsume continued to tinker with her boots' inner components, paying him no mind.
"Your name is…Hatsume Mei, right? You're in the Support Department?"
"Ah huh." She finished tinkering with one boot and moved onto the other one.
"Well…I was wondering," he paused momentarily, "have you ever heard of someone named Hatsume Teruko?"
"Ah huh."
"Wait, really?!" Midoriya perked up.
"Huh…?" Hatsume looked up from her boots, glancing over her shoulder at him. "Oh, did you say something?"
Midoriya sweat-dropped. 'Did she hear anything I was saying? Was she ignoring me the whole time?'
"Um…yeah. Have you ever heard of someone named Hatsume Teruko?" He asked hopefully.
"Never heard of her! Anyways, uh…First Place, right? Please, step aside." She shooed him away. "I need to concentrate on making some last-minute adjustments to my super-cute babies. No distractions!"
"R-right…" He deflated. 'I shouldn't be surprised. I mean… I don't even know who my ancestors are either. Besides, the chances that Mei is related to Teruko's family have to be slim to none, right?'
"Well, I'm sorry to bother you then–" Midoriya stopped when he noticed something. The glowing blue circle on Hatsume's oversized chest plate. He studied it closely and gasped in shocked recognition. He never thought he'd see something like this again! "No way… Is that an Arc Reactor!?"
Hatsume immediately perked up. "Oh!?" She swiftly turned back to him, pushing up her goggles. The super-soldier was then taken aback when Hatsume suddenly got very close to him, her face somehow centimeters away from his. "You know about my favorite baby?!" She asked excitedly, straining her head to look up at him.
Midoriya's breath hitched in his throat the second he saw her eyes up close. Wide and sloped upward, her irises were a greenish-yellow with a cross in the center that somewhat resemble scope lenses. They were eerily familiar.
"...Over time, Yoichi helped me see that my ability wasn't anything to be ashamed of. So, I stopped wearing the glasses that obscured my eyes." Teruko pointed to her smaller frames, showing off her emerald and yellow-ringed irises. "I just wear these smaller ones out of habit honestly… and for appearances. I look cool with them, right?"
'Her eyes…' Midoriya struggled to prevent himself from tearing up.
"HEY! First Place!" Hatsume's loud voice snapped him back to reality. "Did you hear me!? You know about my super baby?!"
"Uh…y-yeah, I have." He stammered, flustered by the fact she was leaning so close to him… and that her large bust was pressing against him too. That didn't make things any better for the verdette.
"Where?!" She pressed further into him.
Unbeknownst to the pair, Uraraka and Yaoyorozu were discreetly watching them from afar and were taken aback by how close Hatsume was getting to him. Yaoyorozu was dumbfounded while Uraraka slowly started to grind her teeth, right eye twitching madly.
'What is she doing?!' Both girls internally screamed.
Midoriya, meanwhile, placed his hands on her shoulders to quickly separate them. "A-at a convention in San Francisco!" He yelled, his blush turning darker. "I-it was much bigger than the one you have though!"
"How big was it? How much energy was it able to produce? What were they using as the energy core?" Hatsume excitedly bombarded him with questions. "Please, I have to know!"
Midoriya quickly recalled his experience from the Innovation Expo in 2042; specifically, the Arc Reactor exhibit showcased by Howard Shield. "Let's see… It was about 2 meters (6 feet) in diameter. It produced roughly 500 Joules of energy for a time before it unexpectedly shut down. As for the energy core, I'm actually not sure…"
"Hmm…I see." Hatsume settled down, still grinning widely. "Based on those specs, it was likely a replica based on Howard Shield's prototype designs then. As for the energy core, the people who built it were likely using a palladium core." She stated matter-of-factly.
"Maybe." Midoriya shrugged, unsure. Sadly, he never really had much of a chance to discuss the specifics of the Arc Reactor with Howard. His gaze was redrawn to the glowing circle on the chest plate armor.
He couldn't help but kneel down to get a closer look at it. The parts inside were very small and intricate, and he wouldn't dream of deciphering their functionality. Around the rim was a glowing white ring that put off a low hum with a bluish-white light shining from the center. Midoriya could practically feel the energy radiating off of it.
Hatsume sat on her knees across from him, smirking proudly. "Impressed, are we?"
"This is…incredible." Midoriya breathed out. "How…How did you shrink it down?"
"Heh, very carefully." The pink-haired inventor winked. "I've been working on the design for this baby ever since I was young–when I first read about Shield's designs in some old engineering books. I studied his blueprints carefully and worked on adding my own little twists." She then rubbed the back of her head, sticking her tongue out. "Of course I…may have blown up some things along the way too. Heh-heh-heh!" She cackled impishly. "But that's just part of innovation!"
The verdette wasn't sure if he wanted to inquire about that. Another thought then crossed his mind. "How much power does it produce?"
"By my estimates, it's putting out roughly one gigajoule per second." Hatsume said nonchalantly. "Nothing spectacular or anything, but this baby is my first working prototype. We have to start somewhere!"
'One gigajoule a second?!' He went slack jawed. 'Hold on… Is she implying it could make more?! That's amazing!'
Midoriya glanced back at the circular power-unit as something suddenly occurred to him. "...Howard Shield designed this over 150 years ago. How come no one else has thought to improve upon it?"
"Pft! 'Cause all these so-called engineers say it's impossible. That the Arc Reactor is 'more fiction than science'." Hatsume rolled her eyes, annoyed. "Well, not me! Mr. Howard Shield may never have gotten a chance to prove his doubters wrong, but I'll make his dream a reality!" She confidently declared.
"...I was forced to put the Arc Reactor project on hold after the expo. Investors just aren't really interested in energy these days." Howard's words echoed in his mind.
A grin crossed Midoriya's freckled face. "I'm sure you will."
Hatsume pulled her goggles back on and reached over for her tools, opened a cover near the Arc Reactor, and began to tinker with its mechanics. "'Course there is one little issue… the palladium for the core is pretty expensive. Even with all of my life savings, I could only afford enough for a couple test runs."
Midoriya blinked twice. Did he hear that correctly? "You…You spent ALL of your life savings on palladium?"
"Yep! But it'll be totally worth it once all the Support Companies see my super-cute babies in action!" Hatsume declared enthusiastically.
'Whoa… She…She's betting everything on her performance today…' Midoriya considered her response before it finally clicked. He had been curious as to why a student from the Support Department was participating in an event that was primarily geared towards those in the Hero Department, but the pieces now fell into place.
"I see. So, you're not here to get scouted by Hero Agencies, but get noticed by Support Companies." He stated rather than questioned.
"Bingo!" She grinned widely. "I'll have investors lining up around the block for my services! That means more money for making more babies AND for improving on this jewel!" She pointed to the Arc Reactor before continuing the tinker with its inner workings.
"Hmm…" Midoriya hummed thoughtfully, staring at the glowing circle. 'I wonder… Would Melissa be interested in something like this? It seems like it'd be up her alley. I'll have to ask her when I see her again.' He'd address that idea later after the Games. For now…
"Out of curiosity, are these the only gadgets you have on you?" He inquired.
"No way!" Hatsume shook her head. "I've got a whole arsenal of super-cute babies ready to whip out when needed! 'Course I can't give you any sneak peaks. Don't wanna spoil anything, yah know."
Midoriya nodded in understanding as she didn't want to reveal all of her cards to a fellow competitor. "I get it."
He paused as another more serious thought crossed his mind. "Hey, Hatsume-san," Midoriya realized how surreal it felt to say that name again. "...have you…ever thought of becoming a Hero?"
"Eh?" She looked up, pushing her goggles to her forehead. "Me, a Hero?" She waved him off dismissively. "Nah, I can't be a Hero."
'Can't? She didn't deny that she wanted to be one…' Midoriya titled his head curiously. "Why do you say that?"
"Duh! My Quirk isn't suited for heroics."
"Your Quirk?"
Hatsume pointed to her eyes. "My Quirk is Zoom. I can zoom in on objects up to 5 kilometers away." She shrugged nonchalantly. "I mostly just use it to zoom in on circuit boards and stuff though. Not really useful for stopping Villains, yah know."
The verdette subtly flinched at that. Mei's Quirk was eerily similar to Teruko's. Coincidence? No, he knew in his heart it couldn't be…and it took all of his self-control to prevent himself from tearing up again.
He then glanced over at the Arc Reactor–noting the tiny complex array of mechanisms inside of it. 'Guess her Quirk really came in handy putting all that together…'
"But… Why should that matter?" He questioned.
Hatsume looked confused. "You're not making sense, First Place."
"What I'm saying is a person's Quirk doesn't make someone a Hero." Midoriya motioned to her gear. "With your inventions AND the Arc Reactor to power it all, I think you could make a great Hero, Hatsume-san." He sincerely proclaimed.
"Hmm…?" Hatsume raised an eyebrow and looked away to seemingly mull over Midoriya's words. After a brief moment, she then looked back to him with a small grin. "You're weird, First Place."
The super-soldier deflated from her blunt statement.
Hatsume then continued. "But…I think I get what you're saying. Still," she shrugged, "there's no way any Hero Agency would give someone from the Support Course the time of day. Besides, I love making super-cute babies for other Heroes! I'm happy just doing that!"
Pushing aside how her statement could be misinterpreted, Midoriya momentarily ruminated on her response before a small smile crossed his face. "Maybe you'll get your chance sooner than you think." He murmured.
"Hmm? What'd you say?" Hatsume asked, her attention still focused on the Arc Reactor.
"Oh, nothing." Midoriya glanced over his shoulder, noticing Yaoyorozu and Uraraka were not-so subtly spying on him from the crowd. When they saw him look in their direction, they swiftly looked away feigning nonchalance.
He shook his head and smiled. 'I guess I should head back.'
"Good luck to you in the next round, Hatsume-san." He stood up and bowed slightly.
"Wait!" The eccentric inventor called out to him. "First Place, I just remembered… I heard one of the Hero students owns a shield that is supposedly indestructible. Is that true?"
Initially taken off guard, he quickly recovered and nodded. "Yeah, it's true."
"Really?" She immediately perked up. "Hey, I know you don't owe me anything, but…you think you could refer them to me? I'd be thrilled to talk with 'em about it! If you do, I'll upgrade your Support Gear. Ooh! No, I'll make you even better babies!"
Midoriya chuckled a bit and nodded. "Yeah… I'll let them know, Hatsume-san."
Later, the remaining students in the arena were huddled in groups off to the side, waiting on the field for the unknown game to be set up. First, UA's robots used white chalk and turf paint on the grass to section the circular field into 3 colored areas marked as blue, red, and green. Strangely though, the sections were not equally sized. The biggest section marked in blue took up half the arena, the second largest marked in green was over a quarter of the field, and the third marked in red was smaller than both areas.
Scaffolding, wood, and other pieces of building materials and large rocky debris were then hauled in and spaced out. This made sections of the arena that were flat and some that were rugged and full of obstacles. In a short time, playground-like forts were built in the 3 colored territories flying flags that matched the color area they were in. However, the fort at the far end of the blue section was built as a towering, multi-storied structure unlike what was in the other areas. It closely resembled a medieval castle with four towers connected by walls with flagpoles flying blue-colored flags on each tower.
Then, after opening several crates, oil barrel-sized silver cylinders with distinct colored lights were seemingly placed randomly across the arena. Upon being set up, the barrel's lights changed to match the area they were planted in.
Meanwhile, the students watched the robots set up the field at an astonishing pace with varying degrees of intrigued confusion.
"Okay…I give up." Sero said, scratching his head. "What are we looking at here?"
"Beats me." Jiro shrugged and turned to Midoriya and Yaoyorozu. "You two eggheads figure it out yet?"
"Well…" Yaoyorozu held her chin thoughtfully. "Obviously there will be three separate teams given the three distinct colored areas. The cylinders will play a part somehow too. Although I can't decipher what the game itself will be."
"The blue area has a castle." Uraraka pointed out. "How come the other two areas don't have one?"
Yaoyorozu shrugged, clueless. "I am afraid I can't say."
Midoriya looked at the field with an analytical eye. 'Could it have something to do with placement in the Obstacle Race?'
A robot then rolled over to Midnight. "Objective complete!" It announced in an emotionless voice.
"Wonderful!" Midnight nodded in satisfaction before making sure her microphone was turned back on. "Thank all of you for your patience! The stage is finally set and now it's time for the grand reveal of the UA's All-Star Games newest event! What could it be, I wonder? Present Mic, drumroll, if you please!"
The sounds of beating drums played through the stadium speakers. Using her whip, the raven-haired vixen then pointed up to the giant holographic screen behind her, which displayed the spinning slot machine graphic from before.
"It is…" She trailed off.
Everyone was on the edge of their seats (literally, if you were sitting in the stands or watching from home), eagerly anticipating what the surprise game would be. However, a certain ash-blonde student wasn't too thrilled about the suspense.
"C'mon! Just get on with it already!" Bakugo angrily exclaimed, his voice a higher octave than normal.
As if on cue, the spinning list of options finally stopped on…
RISK TRIFECTA
Tokage arched an eyebrow, bewildered. "Okay… I'm stumped."
"Join the club…" Jiro commented. "What is this?"
Thankfully, Midnight was there to elaborate as she directed everyone's attention to the screen, which now displayed a graphic of the area's circular layout split into blue, green, and red portions. "The field is separated into 3 territories that will represent 3 teams. In each teams' territory there are silver cylinders referred to as Nodes scattered throughout. Each one of these Nodes is worth 10 points with the exception of one. More on that later!"
White dots appeared on the graphic, representing the Nodes. The blue-marked area had the most with 13, followed by the green area with 8, and 4 in the red area. A scoreboard split into three columns for 'B', 'G', and 'R' appeared with the following scores displayed for those teams' respectively: 120, 80, and 40.
"Hmm… It appears that the Blue Team will start off with the most points then." Tokoyami duly noted.
"At 120!?" Dark Shadow added, shocked. "Why are the points so spread out?"
"I'm sure she'll elaborate." Shoji assured his edgy friend's sentient Quirk.
Midoriya's eyes narrowed. 'I count 13 Nodes in the blue area, but it's only accounting for 12. Is that exception Midnight is referring to?' He wondered.
"As you can see, the territories are not equally sized, and the points are spread out. This is to reflect the placements from the Obstacle Race. The top three players–who will be referred to as Generals–will be assigned to one a piece, with first place getting the biggest territory and the most points while third place gets the smallest territory and least points starting off."
On the holo-screen, to the right of the field graphic, appeared three columns with the words Blue Team, Green Team, and Red Team in bold colored letters. In the first slot underneath each team were the Generals.
Team Blue: Midoriya Izuku
Team Green: Tokage Setsuna
Team Red: Yaoyorozu Momo
Tokage narrowed her gaze. 'So Greenie, Yaomomo, and I will be rivals in this event.' She smirked roguishly. 'Bring it on!' They may be friends and all, but this was still a competition and the body-splitter greenette was determined to win!
Yaomomo frowned worriedly. 'My team is starting off with so few points. We'll be playing catch up the whole time…'
Midoriya nodded understandingly. 'I thought as much.' He then glanced over at the Blue Team's large territory. 'With so many points starting off, there's definitely going to be a downside though…' His gaze shifted to the castle. 'Does that thing have a part to play in it?'
Midnight called out over the crowd. "Before we set the rest of the rosters, I'll go over the rules!" She then cracked her whip. "So listen up, because I'm only going to explain them once!"
"There are THREE methods for teams to score in this game. The first method is defending your territory by protecting your Nodes! If you successfully defend your Nodes to the end of the event, then those points will be tallied to your team's score. The second method is by going on the offensive and destroying other teams' Nodes. If a Node is destroyed, the attacking team gains those 10 points while the defending team loses those same 10 points."
The screens then updated to display the rules as Midnight called them out.
"So we have to defend our Nodes to keep the points we already have and can earn more points by destroying the other sides' Nodes." Sero summarized.
"Huh… That seems pretty straightforward." Ashido remarked.
"What's the third way though?" Tsunotori wondered.
Midnight briefly paused as 6 orbs were displayed on the large graphic with two appearing right next to each territory. The orbs were colored in the opposite team's color. Meaning that the Blue Team had two orbs in green and red, the Green Team had blue and red orbs, and the Red Team had blue and green orbs.
"The third and final method for team scoring is delivering the High Valued Items, or HVIs for short, to designated safe zones." On the graphic, a black-outlined square colored in the teams' colors appeared at the rim of each area. "Each team will be assigned two HVIs represented by two colored orbs. The goal is to deliver the orbs to their designated zones marked in their color. Doing so will earn your team 15 points for each orb successfully delivered! You are also allowed to steal another team's orbs and get them to their zones yourself, stealing those points for your team. However, if an orb is destroyed, the individual who destroyed it will lose 15 points for their team. So… be gentle holding those balls. Kay?" She winked cutely, sticking out her tongue.
Tokoyami groaned louder in exasperation. "Not appropriate!"
Midoriya's brows scrunched up. 'High-Valued Items, huh? It's like High-Valued Individuals in the military. Same set of rules too. HVIs need to be protected and dispatched to safe zones. No way that's just a coincidence.'
"Again, like with the First Round, anything goes but using lethal force is a no-no! Doing so will result in disqualification!" Midnight narrowed her gaze. "Beware, Cementoss and I will be watching you closely! If a fight goes too far, we will break it up and slap you with a red card!"
"Tsk!" Bakugo clicked his tongue, annoyed.
Yaoyorozu hummed thoughtfully. 'Three teams. Three different ways to score points. I suppose in this context this is what the 'tri' in Trifecta refers to. But still what about–'
'What about the Risk part?' Midoriya was of the same mind as his ravenette friend. 'Surely it means something. Hold on…' He perked up when he realized something. '...she said those were the three ways for teams to score. Could that mean…?'
A hand suddenly shot up. Literally as it was floating in the air.
Midnight pointed to the hand's owner. "Yes, Tokage?"
The hand reattached to the greenette. "You said those were the three ways for teams to score. Does that mean individuals can score too?" She questioned.
Tokage had unknowingly voiced Midoriya's and Yaoyorozu's observations.
Midnight grinned at this. "Quite astute of you, Miss Tokage. Correct! It's not just team scores that are being tracked, but individual scores as well!"
"Huh?" More than a few people were dumbfounded by this revelation.
"Indeed! Individuals will be scored by a panel of judges based on overall performance throughout the event!" Midnight revealed.
"Team and individual scores?" Uraraka murmured, bemused. "But why?"
"Doesn't that just complicate things?" Kaminari added, equally confused.
The busty referee went on. "There will be a 15-minute time limit for contestants to muster up as many points for both their teams and themselves. If a team loses ALL of their Nodes, then they are eliminated from the game! The first team to score 200 points will be declared the winner. However, if the time limit expires and no team has scored 200, then the team with the highest score will secure victory."
"The winning team will automatically move onto the Final Round. After that, the remaining slots in the Top 16 will be filled by those with the highest individual scores." Midnight explained.
Another hand shot up. "Yes, Asui?" Midnight called out.
"This is supposed to be a team event." Asui pointed out. "Won't the individual scores make it harder for us to work together, kero?"
"I concur!" Iida chopped his right arm, showing how displeased he was. "How do you expect us to trust each other if we have to worry about our own scores as well?"
A fair number of students began to voice similar concerns and complaints.
Midoriya, meanwhile, hummed contemplatively. 'I think I understand why the game is called Risk Trifecta now. Really clever…'
"~Now, now, darlings~" Midnight cooed, finger to her lips. "We haven't even reached the foreplay yet, so…be a little patient, ~pretty please~" She winked.
This earned quite a bit of 'oohs' and 'ahs' from the stadium.
'She just can't help herself, can she?' Midoriya internally sighed, a tint of pink rising on his cheeks.
Kaminari was definitely enjoying Midnight's antics, but with Tsunotori and Jiro standing close by him, tried not to react, lest both girls punish him; particularly, Jiro. Sero, however, smiled dumbly and gave a thumbs-up. Iida was trembling, his expression aghast. Yaoyorozu covered her face in exasperation while Tokage grinned widely, and Uraraka's face flushed bright red.
Tokoyami remained unamused, groaning in frustration.
"But yes, my students, this is where the Risk in Risk Trifecta comes into play." Midnight further elaborated. "You may risk being a team player and having too low an individual score if your team loses OR go off as a lone wolf…and try to build up your own score–even if it means letting your team fail. The choice is yours, but just know there are potential consequences for each one!"
Some of the students looked at each other uneasily. There really wasn't a safe option; especially in the scenario where the team was down near the end and points were sorely needed.
The black-haired woman then sighed after finishing her explanation, wiping her brow. "Now that was a mouthful. Quite... a mouthful." She cooed, giggling seductively and biting her lip.
This earned more fanatic cheers and catcalls from the men and a few women in the audience, and many deadpanned expressions from the students.
"GRAGH!" Tokoyami yelled, closing his eyes and covering both ears with his hands.
"Okay… That was hot." Kaminari dumbly said. "OOF!" This, however, earned him an elbow to the side and an earphone jack in the head from Jiro. 'Worth it…' He painfully winced.
Midoriya's enhanced mind processed the rules and layout of the game. 'Gotta hand it to whoever designed this event. Honestly, this feels a lot like a military strategy game.' His gaze focused on the different sized territories on the jumbotron's field graphic. 'I wonder though…'
"Now, with the rules set, let's move onto setting the team rosters!" Midnight announced. "Of course, with 32 not being evenly divisible by 3, there will be an added wrinkle with the team sizes. Blue will have the smallest team at 6, Green will have 12, while Red will have the largest team at 14." On the holo-screen, empty slots correlating to the revealed sizes then appeared under the team columns.
This revelation of the team size disparity took many watching off guard.
"Hold on… So, the Blue Team has the largest territory but the smallest team?" Ashido questioned, surprised.
"Meanwhile, it's the opposite for the Red Team." Shoji added. "So, it evens out."
"Seems like the Blue Team is at a huge disadvantage, huh?" Tsunotori pointed out, sympathetically looking at Midoriya.
"Mhmm." After settling down, Tokoyami nodded and closed his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. "The downside of being on top."
Todoroki narrowed his heterochromatic gaze. 'Even though Midoriya's team has the most points, with so few team members it'll be almost impossible for him to keep those points.' He coldly glared at the verdette soldier. 'He's at a grave disadvantage.'
Bakugo's lips curled into a sneer, glaring at Midoriya and Todoroki out of the corner of his eye. 'Please, just let me be on a team where I can crush them both!' He internally pleaded.
Tokage subtly glanced over at Midoriya and Yaoyorozu. 'Greenie has the most points starting off while Yaomomo has the most teammates. Meanwhile, my team is sitting in the middle for both categories. Yeah, we can definitely work with this.' She nodded.
Yaoyorozu frowned, shakily clenching a hand to her chest. 'The Red Team will certainly be fighting an uphill battle in terms of points. We'll be forced into going on the offensive…and the others know that. We also have to defend our 4 Nodes too. But with 14 members, myself included, we'll have options on how we can delegate tasks.' She focused her gaze on the screen, specifically, the 13 open slots on the Red Team's column. 'However…'
'Whoever's on which team may decide who has the real advantage here.' Yaoyorozu and Tokage thought simultaneously.
Midoriya remained outwardly stoic as he glanced over to the Blue Team's territory, studying its layout keenly. His enhanced brain was currently processing information over a million miles an hour.
"As an extra caveat," Midnight went on, "we're going to give our three Generals the opportunity to draft a set number of competitors for their team before randomly assigning the rest of their members."
This made everyone perk up, Midoriya included. A draft?
On the large screen, several open slots in the team columns were highlighted in yellow. "Since Midoriya came in first, he'll have the most draft choices at 4, Tokage will have 2 picks, and Yaoyorozu will have only 1 pick. Choose your teammates very carefully, Generals!" She grinned wryly.
'Only one pick?' At that moment, Yaoyorozu was feeling a tad worse about coming in Third Place.
'So I have my choice of two people who aren't already picked, huh?' Tokage looked around at her fellow competitors. 'Actually, I have few people in mind. Hopefully Greenie and Yaomomo aren't thinking of the same people.'
Midoriya's brows furrowed. 'Four choices with one random slot, huh?'
"Midoriya!" Midnight pointed her whip-baton directly at him. "You pick first!" Another smaller holo-screen suddenly appeared behind the beautiful referee listing all of the 29 other contestants. "Who is your top choice from your fellow competitors?"
All of the cameras turned to focus on the super-soldier. Put on the spot in front of a global audience, Midoriya wasn't left with much time to think. However, after already taking into account his team's size limit AND the layout of the Blue Team's territory beforehand, the super-soldier had already decided on his top three choices.
"Midnight-sensei," Midoriya spoke up, "for my first pick, I select–"
Moments earlier…
Up in a private box suite, Yagi and Dean Nezu listened attentively as Midnight explained the rules for Risk Trifecta. The graphics and bullet points provided on the screens were quite helpful.
"So, the Blue Team will have the most points and the smallest team, huh?" Yagi thought aloud. "Yeah…this outcome does make sense."
'With the target Cap has put on his back by winning the Preliminary Event, it's no wonder that his team is smaller.' Yagi internally noted. 'Most Heroes will be gunning for the Number One spot, rather than supporting whoever's already there.'
"Indeed." Nezu took a sip of tea. "Credit to Aizawa for suggesting the basic premise for this game. However," he grinned smugly, "I added the extra caveats for the HVI scoring and the team draft to help round things out."
"Team draft?" Yagi cocked a brow.
"Midnight will get to that part in a moment. But essentially," Nezu explained, "the three Generals will be given the opportunity to select a set number of players for their teams, with Blue receiving the most at 4 and Red receiving the least at 1. The rest of the teams' rosters will be decided at random."
Yagi briefly pondered on that before his eyes widened slightly in realization. "Right… Higher-ranked Heroes have more options for choosing Sidekicks, and more resources in general."
"It also forces those not in the top 3 to think about how they present themselves and show that they deserve the open spots in question." Nezu further elaborated. "To show the drive to try to take control of their own lives, even when their options are limited."
Yagi nodded, smirking a little. "You really thought this through."
Nezu chuckled to himself, his beady eyes focused on the field; specifically, on one competitor. "Quite. I'm curious how your potential Successor will handle the circumstances he's placed in." He grinned madly. "I can't wait to find out! Ha-ha-ha-ha!"
Yagi sweat-dropped from Nezu's reaction, but he had to admit he was intrigued as well. 'Given everything Cap has gone through, I'm sure an event like this will be right up his alley.' The Number One Hero thought confidently.
Outside the stadium grounds, one of the security groups that consisted of Death Arms, Kamui Woods, and Mt. Lady patrolled the area. The trio spotted no signs of danger or anything suspicious, but remained vigilant of their surroundings. During their trek, they stopped to watch the second event's reveal on one of the many monitors set up outside.
"Huh?" Mt. Lady tilted her head. "This game seems pretty advanced. Don'tcha think?"
"Maybe so, but…" Kamui Woods held his chin contemplatively, "...I believe I can see what they're going for in this event."
"Oh?" The busty blonde turned to her arbored partner. "Mind filling me in then?"
"It's meant to emulate the main jobs of Hero work." Kamui answered. "Fighting, guarding or escorting, and patrolling."
Mt. Lady momentarily mulled over that before it finally clicked. "Right… Those Nodes are like citizens to protect or Villains to defeat depending on who's guarding or attacking. Meanwhile, those orbs represent getting people to safety even during a full-on disaster. To do all that, teamwork will be crucial."
Death Arms, who was smoking a cigarette, added in, "That, and it still acknowledges the competitive nature of the Hero business with those individual points. They really are preparing those kids for the real world." He took in another puff before exhaling. "UA never ceases to amaze."
The broadcast then moved on to introducing the draft system the three Generals would have.
"First place gets more choices, huh?" Death Arm nodded. "Yeah… That lines up with the business too."
"Even so, Blue Team is really put at a disadvantage with the small team size." Kamui mentioned. "I'm curious if Midoriya will be able to overcome it."
"Guess it all depends on who Hot Stuff picks for his team, right?" Mt Lady said. "Think he'll choose Endeavor's kid?"
"Even though he somehow didn't place in the First Round's Top 5, it'd make the most logical sense." Death Arms commented offhandedly. "With his Quirk, Blue Team has a better chance of holding off the other teams."
The trio then paused as the cameras panned on the verdette, who was about to reveal his top pick.
"Midnight-sensei," Midoriya spoke up, "for my first pick, I select Hatsume Mei."
The onscreen roster under Blue Team's column updated.
Team Blue: Midoriya Izuku, Hatsume Mei
There were many murmurs from the students and in the stands, surprised by Midoriya's selection.
"Huh?" Hatsume, who was tinkering with one of her gadgets, looked up. "Did someone call my name?" She looked up to see her name under the Blue team column. "Oh hey… I'm on First Place's team." She grinned widely. 'Perfect! I'll get plenty of the spotlight being on his team!'
Uraraka stared at Izuku, shocked. 'He picked her?!' Recalling how chummy the pair were when she and Yaoyorozu watched them talk to each other earlier, the brunette felt a pit form in her stomach. 'What am I missing? Who is she to him?!'
'I didn't foresee this.' Yaoyorozu's gaze narrowed suspiciously at the verdette. 'Izuku clearly has a connection with this Hatsume girl. As to what that connection is… I can only speculate for now.' Based on their interactions during the intermission, it was obvious they were acquainted somehow; especially given how close Hatsume had leaned into Midoriya. Why did that displease her so much?
As the heiress glanced over to the eccentric Support Department student, she felt conflicted. 'I don't like this feeling, but…' She shook her head to refocus. 'I have to ignore it for now! My team is counting on me!'
Tokage, meanwhile, was baffled. 'Okay… Wasn't expecting that pick…' She thought in bemusement. 'Greenie is smart, so if he's picking the Support Girl, he's gotta be up to something…right?' Suddenly, the greenette was beginning to second guess her initial pick.
Midoriya remained straight-faced. 'I probably could've waited to select her with my second or third picks, but given that the others were spying on me and Mei earlier… I couldn't risk them snatching her up.' He then smirked a little. 'Plus, by taking Mei…that'll likely make Setsuna and Momo reconsider their options.'
"Tokage!" Midnight called out, pointing her whip at the greenette. "Your turn! Who's your first pick?"
"Oh, um…" She briefly froze up, realizing the cameras were focused on her now. 'I'm…I'm gonna need power!'
"...I choose Todoroki Shoto, ma'am."
The screens then updated.
Team Green: Tokage Setsuna, Todoroki Shoto
Todoroki nodded in satisfaction. The Green Team's starting position was optimal with 80 points, second only to the Blue Team. Plus, with him on their team, the chances of gaining more points from Red and Blue (especially) were practically guaranteed.
'This time, I'll be on top.' Todoroki thought determinedly, clenching his fists tightly.
Tokage's visage became serious. 'With Todoroki on my side, we'll be more flexible on offense and defense. Sorry Greenie and Yaomomo, but I won't come in second this time.'
Midoriya's smirk grew a little, however.
"Yaoyorozu!" Midnight and the cameras' attention shifted to the ravenette. "You only have one choice. Who will it be?"
Yaoyorozu adopted a thoughtful expression. 'The odds would suggest I'll have a well-rounded team with 14 people, even if randomly selected. But…if I could have one person to have on my side…'
"Midnight-sensei, I choose Iida Tenya!"
The Red Team's roster was updated.
Team Red: Yaoyorozu Momo, Iida Tenya
Iida adjusted his glasses. 'I'm honored that Yaomomo would select me as her only pick. Still,' his bespeckled gaze focused on the field graphic; specifically, the part displaying the Red Team's smaller territory. 'We'll have our work cut out for us if we wish to move on. But even so, a real Hero doesn't give up in the face of adversity!'
Uraraka sighed heavily, a bit saddened that she had been passed up by her three close friends. 'Guess this is what I get for coming in 12th, huh?'
"Yaoyorozu has made her first and only selection. Now, we switch back to Midoriya!" Midnight announced, pointing her whip at the verdette. "Who is your second pick?"
"For my second pick, I choose Tsunotori Pony." Midoriya replied.
The onscreen roster updated.
Team Blue: Midoriya Izuku, Hatsume Mei, Tsunotori Pony
Tsunotori smiled as her tail swished happily. 'Alright! I get to be on Izuku's team! We'll win for sure!' She thought confidently.
Uraraka furrowed her brows, frowning. 'And now he's picking Pony over me?' As if it weren't bad enough that he picked the mystery girl from the Support Course.
Then, as if a switch was flipped, she quickly shook away those lamenting thoughts. 'No! Stop it! I can't take it personally!' Uraraka chided herself. 'This is a competition! Izuku is already at a disadvantage, and has to pick his teammates carefully.' Even though the gravity-girl understood that fact, it still didn't completely wash away her hurt. The fact that Midoriya thought the Support Girl and Tsunotori were more valuable than her stung.
Yaoyorozu nodded understandingly. 'Pony is a sound choice. She's a good teammate, and her Quirk gives their team a lot of maneuverability and power.'
Tokage scrunched her eyebrows, feeling peeved. 'Pony was going to be my first choice. Wait…' Her eyes widened as she glanced over to Midoriya, who wasn't paying her any mind. '...Did he… Did he play me?' Okay, now she was starting to feel a bit flustered.
"Tokage, what is your second and final selection?" Midnight inquired.
"I… I choose Tokoyami Fumikage." Tokage responded.
The roster column was updated again.
Team Green: Tokage Setsuna, Todoroki Shoto, Tokoyami Fumikage
Tokoyami nodded, closing his eyes. "I'm honored. I'll do my best to bring victory to our team." He said sincerely.
"Hell yeah!" Dark Shadow fist-pumped, grinning. "Green all the way, baby!"
"Ugh…" A certain blonde young man from Class 101-B rolled his eyes. "This is becoming the Class 101-A show. How riveting…"
"And finally, Midoriya, who are your third and final choices?" Midnight called out.
"For my final two picks, I choose Uraraka Ochako and Kaminari Denki!"
The onscreen roster updated again.
Team Blue: Midoriya Izuku, Hatsume Mei, Tsunotori Pony, Uraraka Ochako, Kaminari Denki
Uraraka blinked twice before beaming happily, feeling her previous dejection instantly vanish. 'Okay, I forgive you, Izuku-kun!'
'Not gonna lie, being on the team with the biggest target is a little nerve-wracking.' Kaminari mused nervously, but quickly shook away those thoughts and mustered up his courage. 'But if I'm on Midoriya's team, we still have a pretty good shot of winning! Also…' He glanced over to the blonde pony-girl. '…having Pony on the team is a nice bonus.' The corner of his lip curled upward.
Yaoyorozu gazed at the Blue Team's roster with an analytical eye. It didn't take the genius long to determine a single fact. 'Even taking into account the sixth random spot, Izuku has built a solid team. I should expect nothing less.' She smiled wryly.
'Ochako and Kaminari, huh?' Tokage thought over Midoriya's selections. 'Support Girl is a wildcard–no telling what she can do. Pony's got offensive capabilities and maneuverability. Kaminari, even without his Costume, can still take out a crowd. And Ochako can float all the debris that's scattered around their territory…' Her green eyes shot open. 'Holy crap… He's got a good team! And there's still one more slot open for him…' The body-splitter was beginning to feel a bit unsettled, despite the fact her team would be twice the size of Midoriya's.
Bakugo huffed haughtily, sneering. 'None of these losers picked me? Their loss.'
Midnight spoke back into her mic. "With the draft complete, we'll randomly set the rest of the rosters!"
On the large screens, the empty slots under each team's column began to fill out.
Team Blue: Midoriya Izuku, Hatsume Mei, Tsunotori Pony, Uraraka Ochako, Kaminari Denki, Shinso Hitoshi
Team Green: Tokage Setsuna, Todoroki Shoto, Tokoyami Fumikage, Kirishima Eijiro, Asui Tsuyu, Ashido Mina, Sero Hanta, Shishida Jurota, Shoji Mezo, Yanagi Reiko, Kodai Yui, Monoma Neito
Team Red: Yaoyorozu Momo, Iida Tenya, Bakugo Katsuki, Jiro Kyoka, Ojiro Mashirao, Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, Honenuki Juzo, Kendo Itsuka, Sato Rikido, Awase Yōsetsu, Kamakiri Togaru, Kuroiro Shihai, Kaibara Sen, Shiozaki Ibara
Midoriya's eyes widened slightly, recognizing one of his other teammates. 'Shinso, huh?' He smiled a little at that. After his declaration of war, the verdette was curious to see what he was capable of.
"Now that the teams are set, does everyone see that castle in the blue area?" With her whip-baton, she pointed directly toward the four-towered structure. "The castle is a Node itself, but unlike the other Nodes, it will have its own special rules!"
Neither Midoriya nor the rest of his teammates liked how Midnight had said, special.
"For one, the Castle Node does not count to the Blue Team's final total."
Students looked at each other in bewilderment at the sudden reveal.
"But…if it doesn't count, why is it there?" Uraraka asked, bewildered.
"The Castle Node does nothing for the Blue Team as they are already starting off with more points and the largest territory. However," Midnight's grin became dangerous, making the Blue Team feel uncomfortable. "If the Red or Green team are able to claim the Castle Node, 30 points will be added to their team score!"
There were some murmurs as the students discussed amongst themselves.
"Only 30 points? I was kind of expecting it to be worth like 10 million or something." Sero commented.
"Kero. Like from the Cavalry Battle last year." Asui mentioned. "An automatic victory sort of deal."
"It may not sound like much, but 30 points could be the deciding factor in this kind of contest." Tokoyami pointed out.
"Don't forget," Dark Shadow extended out from Tokoyami's back, "if anyone gets as far to claim the Castle Node, they'll likely have destroyed some of Blue Team's other Nodes too."
"Right." Kirishima nodded in understanding. "'Cause it's on the other side of the field and all. There's a lot of ground to cover just to get to it."
"Oh!" Midnight snapped her fingers, recalling something. "There's one other thing! Whichever student destroys the Castle Node, will automatically move onto the Final Round, regardless of whether their team loses or not!"
There was a pause as everyone let that sink in.
Then, the air around the competitors instantly shifted. Before it was competitive, and a little sympathy mixed in for the Blue Team's unlucky circumstances. But this new information had changed all that. An intense desire to crush the Blue Team and secure an automatic slot in the Final Round overcame everyone; especially Bakugo and Todoroki.
Uraraka gulped nervously as the eyes from all other teams were squared in on them. 'So… Guess this is what it's like on top, huh? How do you do it, Izuku…?' Sad to admit, but she almost wanted to duck and run for cover.
Then, she felt a firm hand on her shoulder. Glancing to her right, Midoriya stood by her, glaring back at everyone else. Then, Tsunotori came up and adopted a serious expression, or at least the most serious one she could muster. Kaminari grinned roguishly as he smacked a fist into his open palm, sending small bolts of electricity out. Shinso casually had his hands in his pants pockets and, with half-lidded eyes, glowered at everyone else. Only Hatsume didn't seem to read the atmosphere as she tinkered with one of her gadgets, not paying the others any mind whatsoever.
Uraraka looked around and smiled confidently. Right. She wasn't alone. They were a team! Steadying her nerves, the brunette took a breath and stared back at their opponents–ready for whatever was thrown at them.
Midnight's blue eyes sparkled. "Excellent! I can feel your energy from here! I love it! Once more, here are the game's rules for your viewing pleasure!" She pointed to the screen where a section popped up with bullet points generalizing the scoring methods and rules that Midnight had laid out.
RISK TRIFECTA
15-Minute Time Limit
Nodes = 10 Points
HVIs (Orbs) = 15 Points
Team Scoring:
– Defend Your Team's Nodes
– Destroy Opposing Teams' Nodes
– Place HVIs in designated safe zones
– Castle Node counts as 30 Points for the Red and Green teams, AND it grants a student automatic Final Round entry
Individual Scoring:
– Overall Performance
First team to 200 points wins!
Team(s) that lose all of their Nodes are eliminated.
Winning Team and remaining highest scoring individuals will round out the Top 16.
"Now, all three teams make your way to your territories! You'll have 10 minutes to prepare yourselves before the timer starts!" Midnight concluded.
"Good luck, students!" Present Mic announced. "We'll be right back with the kickoff of the Second Round!"
With that, the groups began to split up and quickly head to their respective territories. Midoriya, Tokage, and Yaoyorozu momentarily looked at each other, each sporting serious expressions. Midoriya and his group of friends had already acknowledged the fact they'd have to compete against each other at some point and promised to give it their all regardless. Even if they didn't like it.
The trio gave each other silent respectful nods before splitting up to quickly strategize and get familiar with their teammates.
The dozen members of the Green Team gathered in front of their base. A two-floor open fortress with a flagpole on top flying a triangular green flag. There, Tokage picked up their team's two softball sized HVIs; one was colored blue while the other was red.
"Alright, so… What's our strategy, Tokage?" Kirishima asked eagerly.
"Kero. We're getting a little ahead of ourselves there, Kirishima." Asui mentioned. "We should get acquainted with each other first."
"Right." Tokage nodded in agreement, still holding the orbs. "Remember, we're not a team composed of classmates." She turned to the four students who weren't in 101-A. "You already know, but I'm Tokage Setsuna from 101-A. I hope we can all work together. So, who are you guys and what can you do?"
"Hmph." Monoma Neito, a student from 101-B, pushed some stray strands of hair out of his face. He was a young man at an average height of 172 centimeters (five-foot-eight) with slick blond hair and a bang hanging over his right eye. His eyes were slanted downwards to the far sides of his face, usually half-closed, and his irises were a periwinkle blue. He wore a seemingly permanent smirk on his face and titled his head which combined to give him a contemptuous look.
"Oh? And why should we give the enemy any kind of help? Don't think that because we're teamed up with you 101-A losers, it doesn't mean that we'll lower ourselves to your level." Monoma responded, his voice practically dripping with haughtiness.
Before anyone could comment on Monoma's peculiar response, a young beastly-looking man from 101-B gripped Monoma's shoulder–making the blonde temporarily flinch. "Sir Monoma, remember that I gave Lady Kendo my word that I wouldn't tolerate you embarrassing our class. I also will not hesitate to inform her exactly what you just said after the match. Do you want to be punished by her again?"
Monoma blinked and froze in place as the beastman walked past him. "Apologies for Sir Monoma. He has an inferiority complex when it comes to 101-A. But he does work hard. Anyways," he bowed politely, "pleasure to meet you. I'm Shishida Jurota." He stood at 175 centimeters (five-foot-nine) and was covered with shaggy brown hair. He had sharp teeth and a large jaw that stuck out a little bit, with two lower canines poking out from his lips. To compliment his beastly look, he wore a pair of small rectangular, black-lensed glasses. "As for my Quirk, it's called Beast. I'm capable of transforming into a beast form that augments my strength, speed, durability, and senses…though it does cause me to become more aggressive. Don't be afraid though, I'm a gentleman at heart."
'Sounds just like Yuto's Quirk.' Tokage mused absentmindedly.
Stepping beside Shishida was a young woman standing at 165 centimeters (five-foot-five) with pale-skin and chin-length pale-gray hair parted on her right, obscuring most of the left side of her face. She had bright blue eyes with dark bags underneath and a small mouth with full lips. Strangely, her hands were held up as high as her elbows with her hands draping down, somewhat connotative of a ghost.
"I'm Yanagi Reiko." She bowed forward. "And my Quirk is Poltergeist."
"So…" Kirishima scratched his head, quirking a brow. "...you can summon ghosts?"
Ashido failed to suppress a snicker at her boyfriend's question.
Yanagi shook her head, unphased. "No. I can move objects telepathically."
"Huh…" Tokage grinned a little. "Sounds like that could be very useful."
Then, another young woman standing at 162 centimeters (five-foot-four) stepped forward. She had black shoulder-length, bob-shaped hair swept to her right with shorter strands having above her cerulean eyes. Overall, she had an athletic build with fair skin, and had a neutral visage.
"Kodai Yui. My Quirk is Size." She said in a quiet, emotionless voice. "I can alter the size of any inanimate objects I touch and return them to their original size by pressing my fingers together."
"Kero." Asui tapped her chin. "Kinda like Ochako's Quirk."
Kodai continued, gesturing towards Monoma. "As for Monoma-san, he can–"
"My Quirk is Copy. I can temporarily copy a person's Quirk." Monoma cut in quickly, ignoring the questioning looks from his three classmates.
Tokage arched an eyebrow skeptically. The brief pause indicated that there was perhaps more to Monoma's Quirk, but he wanted it withheld. Well, the greenette couldn't hold it against him. If, or rather when, they moved onto the Final Round they'd be facing each other, so it made perfect sense to hold back some details of his Quirk.
"And you guys have already seen what we can do, right?" Tokage asked, earning nods from Shishida, Yanagi, and Kodai.
Monoma, meanwhile, huffed and grumbled, "Kind of hard not to notice when your class is constantly drawing attention to itself." Monoma grumbled.
Ignoring the blonde, Tokage hummed contemplatively as she mulled over her team's abilities. "Okay… Here's what I'm thinking. We have 80 points right now. Not bad, but we're obviously gonna need more. Though we also need to protect the Nodes we already have. So, we'll split into two groups: offense and defense."
This earned several nods of agreement from her teammates.