MHA Universe, Earth, Japan, Musutafu.
"Damn, a student from the Hero Course actually missed the cut." Rumi said, her tone making it clear that this result was way outside of the norm. "That kid's future is in some real trouble."
"Yeah." Alfonzo replied with his eyes narrowed.
'That's Aoyama.' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'He's All for One's spy in U.A. Does this mean that the League of Villains' surveillance is going to be handicapped this early? No, that's impossible. There's no way All for One's schemes are so shallow. He's probably got something in place to make sure that Aoyama remains in Class 1-A... At least until he's no longer useful.'
"It's a real shame." A female voice said from behind Alfonzo and Rumi.
Turning back to look, Alfonzo and Rumi were met with the sight of a blonde woman of average height, standing at about 5'5", with her chin-length hair swept back and held in place with a hair band and long fringe that fell over her face, covering her right eye. Her eyes were thin, slanted, and yellow in color, and her teeth were noticeably sharper than normal.
Her Hero costume consisted of a dark red, sleeveless qipao with pale green, scale-patterned trim on her right shoulder, a slit exposing her left leg, yellow claw patterns on the hem and collar, a pair of calf-length, black boots, a strap around her exposed thigh, a headband with four claws attached that cover her right eye, and a pair of dragon wings extending from the back of her head.
"Oh, look who it is." Alfonzo said with a smile. "I heard you were going to be on security duty at this year's Sports Festival. But I didn't expect to actually see you. Then again, I'm not complaining."
"Please stop." The blonde woman said while rolling her eyes. "You're only happy to see me because it gives you another chance to make fun of me, Static."
"*Gasp* You wound me, Ryukyu." Alfonzo said dramatically while holding his hands over his heart. "To think you see me in such a way. I never make fun of you. I only point out the disparity I see with your [Quirk]. I mean, seriously, what kind of Dragon Hero can't even breathe fire?"
"Ugh... I don't know why I even came over here." The Dragon Hero: Ryukyu, also known as Tatsuma Ryuko, replied in long-suffering exasperation.
"Pfft!" Seeing the back and forth between Alfonzo and Ryuko, Rumi could not help snorting in laughter.
"And it's good to see you as well, Mirko." Ryuko added with a nod and a gentle smile. "Have you had any luck defeating Static since the last time we've seen each other."
"Hmph! Don't bring that up." Rumi said with another snort, this time in annoyance. She then jabbed an index finger in Alfonzo's direction before continuing in a huffy tone. "This bastard is just too slippery. It's almost impossible to land a solid hit on him. And don't even get me started about his cousin."
"His cousin?" Ryuko asked while tilting her head in confusion. "Isn't his cousin a Hero in training? Why would you be trying to hit him, a U.A. student?"
"Pfft!" This time it was Alfonzo's turn to snort with barely contained laughter.
However, before he could laugh for too long, Alfonzo shuddered as cold sweat began to form on his neck. He then whipped his head around. When he did, he saw Tatsuo, standing with Akatsuki and Sakura on the field, glaring at him with the promise of revenge glinting in his purple eyes.
'Shit! I forgot... He still hasn't let that go yet.' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'I still don't know when he's gonna spring his revenge on me. Damn it...'
"Yeah, he's the kid that just took first place in the Obstacle Race." Rumi replied huffily to Ryuko's question. "Sparred with him once. He has this weird intangibility power that makes hitting him impossible. I got so mad that I quit in the middle of the fight and left."
"And the next time she tried to fight him, she ended up in Okinawa." Alfonzo added before bursting into uncontrollable laughter.
"Huh?" Ryuko, completely confused by the direction the conversation was going, intoned in confusion while tilting her head to the other side. "How would she end up in Okinawa?"
From there, Alfonzo began to explain the course of events in reference to Rumi's unscheduled trip to Okinawa while Rumi crossed her arms and snorted in annoyance, leaving Ryuko completely dumbfounded at the distance Tatsuo could cover with only one [Blink].
Meanwhile, after giving the students who moved on to the next round of the Sports Festival a chance to rest, Nemuri once again raised her microphone to her full lips.
"Alright, now that we've thinned the numbers, I think it's about time to move on to the next event." Nemuri said in her uniquely sultry tone. "So, I ask that everyone look towards the screen for the next event."
*Cheer~~~~~~~~~~!*
Along with the crowd's cheers, the large screen once again began to cycle through the names of events. However, when it came to a stop, Tatsuo, Alfonzo, Akatsuki, and Sakura were left dumbfounded. And the reason for that was simple.
The second event of the Sports Festival was not the Calvary Battle like it was in the canon version of events. Instead, when the cycling event names came to a stop, the screen read:
"Capture the Flag/Fortress Defense"
"Well, this is different." Tatsuo muttered dumbfoundedly.
"Yeah, I wasn't expecting that." Akatsuki added.
"How does this game work?" Sakura asked curiously. "I mean, I know how normal capture the flag works. But this isn't anormal school."
"We'll just have to wait until Midnight-Sensei explains it, I guess." Tatsuo replied with a shrug.
Shortly afterwards, Nemuri began speaking again. At the same time, the rules for the Capture the Flag/Fortress Defense event were posted on the screen, as well.
"Alright, so here's how the next event will go." Nemuri said, her announcement bringing the chatter around the stadium down to a murmur. "The forty-two remaining students will form teams of two to four students for this event. And each student will be given a point value based on how they performed in the last event. You can see the point breakdown on the screen behind me. But for those who don't feel like reading, it will go like this."
As Nemuri reached that point, the screen changed, showing a picture of the forty-second place finisher, Hatsume Mei, and the point value of 5 points next to her portrait. Then, it shifted to the forty-first place finisher, Minetta Minoru, with a point value of 10 points next to the portrait, and so on, and so forth. All the while, Nemuri explained the point breakdown until it reached Sakura's portrait and point value of 205 points.
"But things get a little more... intense..." Nemuri continued her explanation, purring the word, "intense," very sultrily before returning to her normal tone. "... for the first place finisher. Because the incremental increase is completely different. Instead of the 210 points you all were expecting, he will be worth a value of..."
At that moment, the portrait changed from Sakura's to Tatsuo's and the point value next to his portrait was...
"10,000,000 points!" Nemuri shouted enthusiastically.
*Silence!*
The crowd fell silent with Nemuri's exclamation, causing the atmosphere in the stadium to thicken. AT the same time, most of the eyes of the remaining students snapped towards Tatsuo with greedy, hostile gazes.
"Ara, Ara..." Tatsuo said playfully as he raised his left hand and rested against his left cheek. "If you all look at me so fervently, I might get embarrassed. I'm really quite shy, you know?"
Tatsuo's playful words only made the students who already wanted to bring him down a peg bristle even harder. Meanwhile, the students who enjoyed chaos could not help but snort in laughter. And that laughter extended to quite a few of the people in the audience, as well. Because despite, what seemed like, Tatsuo's arrogance, no one watching could deny the fact that his antics were rather entertaining.
"Okay, I've still got more to explain." Nemuri said, palpable amusement in her tone. "Please do not start trying to put Soramoto-Kun in his place before the event starts. Otherwise, I'll be forced to disqualify you."
While Nemuri's tone was playful and amused, the weight behind the threat of disqualification made all the eager students calm down immediately. Nemuri then went on to explain the rest of the events rules.
All students will be given a set of building materials. With which, the students will have to build a base to house a flag with the team's combined point total printed on it from other teams who will try to steal it.
Each team will have fifteen minutes to find a base location, build the base, and strategize for the event. After that, the event will last forty-five minutes. And the teams with the highest point totals at the end of the event will move on to the third, and final, event of the Sports Festival.
"And those are the rules for the Capture the Flag/Fortress Defense event, any questions?" Nemuri asked. However, before even a single student could raise their hand to ask a question, she continued. "Good. Then, the time to form teams begins now. You have ten minutes."
The dumbfounded expressions on the faces of those students with questions made Nemuri's smile widen. In turn, the dumbfounded expressions on the male students' faces turned into infatuated expressions while the girls' expressions turned frustrated when they saw Nemuri's even brighter smile.
Meanwhile, Tatsuo turned to look at Akatsuki and Sakura with a smile on his face.
"So, are you two gonna team up with me or venture out on your own?" Tatsuo asked with genuine curiosity in his tone when he looked at Akatsuki. As for Sakura, the question was perfunctory because both he and Akatsuki already knew the answer to the question.
"Of course, I'll join your team, Tatsuo-Kun." Sakura said while smiling sweetly.
And that was the answer both Tatsuo and Akatsuki expected.
Meanwhile, Akatsuki glanced around the field to look at the other students, who were also starting to look for their own teammates. She then turned back to look at Tatsuo in the eyes as she tilted her head to one side.
"I guess I don't mind teaming up with you." Akatsuki said calmly. "But will the team only be the three of us? Or do you intend to add another person."
Hearing that, Tatsuo could only smile wryly. Because the answer to that question was already making her way over to the trio with intense momentum.
"Soramoto-Kun~~~~~~~~~!" Mei shouteed as she drew nearer to the trio. "We're going to make babies together! I'd rather make babies about space, though. But I guess this will do for now."
Hearing Mei's voice, Sakura's sweet smile immediately disappeared. At the same time, Akatsuki wore an expression that said, "as expected."
"Does it have to be her?" Sakura asked indignantly. "What about Yaomomo? She's a good fit for this kind of event, isn't she?"
"I agree." Tatsuo replied with a nod. "But look..."
Tatsuo pointed towards Momo as he reached that point.
"She's one of the ones who wants to defeat me, you know.?" Tatsuo continued. "Like Todoroki and Bakugo, she wants to prove herself, as well. Though, unlike those two, she doesn't want to defeat me to show me up. Instead, she wants to prove that she can perform well on her own. And she probably feels that teaming up with the three of us would somehow downplay her own efforts."
Seeing the determined expression on Momo's face, Sakura could not help but agree with Tatsuo's assessment. She then exhaled an exasperated sigh as she turned back to Tatsuo with a pout.
"Fine, I get it." Sakura said huffily. "But that doesn't mean I like it. Still, if you want to put her on our team, I'll play nice."
Hearing that, Tatsuo smiled brightly. He then reached up and stroked Sakura's purple hair, causing her pout to melt almost immediately.
"That's not fair..." Sakura whined as she leaned into Tatsuo's touch.
"Alright, Hatsume." Tatsuo said after snickering at Sakura's protest. "You can join the team. Just make sure that nothing explodes in the base building process."
"No promises~!" Mei replied energetically. "Sometimes babies explode. There's nothing I can do about that."
"*Sigh* If I didn't know what you were talking about, that would be a very disturbing mental image." Akatsuki muttered while shaking her head.
Meanwhile, Tatsuo could not help but laugh aloud. Even Sakura, despite herself, cracked a smile at Mei's choice of words.
"Anyway, I'll leave base layout to you, Hatsume." Tatsuo said as his tone turned serious. "We'll let you know what our [Quirks] are so you can incorporate that information into the design."
Mei nodded enthusiastically. And Tatsuo, Akatsuki, and Sakura explained their [Quirks] in turn. All the while, Mei's eyes lit up brighter and brighter with every explanation.
"I wanna make babies with all of you!" Mei exclaimed once the explanations were over. "After the Sports Festival, we have to make babies together!"
Mei's exclamation drew the attention of all the nearby students. And the confused and awkward looks on their faces were a sight to see.
Tatsuo once again laughed at the absurdity of the situation while Sakura's impression of Mei improved slightly thanks to her energy. Akatsuki, on the other hand, let out a short-suffering sigh as she rubbed her temples with her index and middle fingers.
"Is it too late to pick another team?" Akatsuki asked in a tired tone that sounded a lot like Shota's usual tone.
"Of course, it is ." Tatsuo replied cheerfully. "There's no getting off this ship once you board. So, just strap in and enjoy the ride."
Meanwhile, the remaining thirty-eight students also quickly formed their teams and started discussing base building and attack strategies with the remaining time before the base materials were distributed. All the while, the anticipation for the event was building in the stadium as time passed.