Chapter 31: The Pariah and the Ten-Million-Point Target
The roar of the crowd was a distant, fading echo by the time the students of Class 1-A had filed back into their designated waiting room. The electric high of the race had given way to a tense, analytical quiet. The results had shattered their expectations, leaving a complex aftermath of bruised egos, newfound rivalries, and a profound, shared sense of shock.
Lunch was a subdued affair. The students sat at the long tables in their section of the cafeteria, the air thick with unspoken thoughts. The usual boisterous energy was gone, replaced by a more serious, focused atmosphere. They were sizing each other up, re-evaluating their peers, their minds already churning with strategies for the next event.
Gaara, once again, was an island. He collected his meal and found his customary empty table in the corner, the invisible quarantine zone forming around him as naturally as his own sand. But this time, the nature of the stares he received had subtly changed. The pure, simple fear and disdain were still present, but they were now mixed with a new, unsettling ingredient: calculation. He was no longer just the monster from the USJ. He was the second-place finisher. He was a threat. A powerful, unpredictable piece on the game board that now had to be accounted for.
Across the room, Izuku Midoriya was experiencing a different, but equally potent, form of isolation. He was surrounded by his friends, Iida and Uraraka, but he was acutely aware that every student in the massive dining hall was stealing glances at him. He wasn't just Midoriya anymore. He was the boy who had come from behind to snatch first place. He was the new, primary obstacle on everyone's path to victory. He felt less like a winner and more like a target, and the food on his tray tasted like ash in his mouth.
After the break, the remaining forty-two competitors gathered back on the field, the tension a palpable, electric hum in the air. Midnight stood on the stage, a wide, predatory smile on her face.
"Now that you've all had a chance to catch your breath," she announced, her voice echoing across the stadium, "it's time to reveal the second event!" The giant screen behind her lit up. "And I hope you're all good at working in teams, because this is… A CAVALRY BATTLE!"
A murmur of excitement and anxiety went through the students.
"The rules are simple," Midnight explained, as the screen displayed the details. "You will form teams of two to four. Each participant has been assigned a point value based on their results in the obstacle race, starting with five points for 42nd place, ten for 41st, and so on. Your team's total point value will be displayed on a headband worn by your team's 'rider'. Your goal is to snatch the headbands of other teams while protecting your own! The game will last for fifteen minutes, and at the end, the top four teams will advance to the final round!"
She paused, letting the information sink in before delivering the final, crucial blow.
"And the point value for our first-place finisher…" she purred, cracking her whip for dramatic effect. "Is… TEN MILLION POINTS!"
The world seemed to tilt on its axis. Every single student on the field—from Class 1-A to 1-B, from the General Course to the Support Course—snapped their heads in a single, unified motion to stare directly at Izuku Midoriya.
Midoriya felt the weight of those hundred-plus gazes like a physical blow. The air was sucked from his lungs. For the first time, he truly understood what it meant to be number one. It did not mean you were the strongest. It meant you were the most hunted.
"You have fifteen minutes to form your teams!" Midnight declared. "Your time… starts… NOW!"
Chaos erupted. The field became a frantic marketplace of alliances. Students rushed to their friends, to those with powerful Quirks, trying to assemble the strongest possible teams. Todoroki, with his overwhelming power, was instantly a nexus of activity, coldly and efficiently selecting Iida, Yaoyorozu, and Kaminari to form a perfectly balanced team of power, strategy, and utility. Bakugo, meanwhile, was having more trouble, his explosive personality making potential teammates wary, before he finally browbeat Kirishima, Sero, and Ashido into a reluctant but powerful alliance.
And in this swirling sea of frantic negotiation, two figures stood utterly, completely alone.
In the center of the field, Izuku Midoriya stood paralyzed as student after student actively avoided him, their eyes full of a predatory hunger mixed with a pragmatic fear of the target he represented. To team up with him was to declare war on the entire competition.
And in his now-familiar spot at the very edge of the field, Gaara stood perfectly still. He did not move. He did not seek anyone out. He simply watched, a silent pariah, the one piece that no one, under any circumstances, would ever choose. He had expected nothing less.
Midoriya's panic was beginning to set in when a cheerful voice broke through his despair.
"Deku-kun! Let's team up!"
Uraraka Ochako stood before him, her face beaming with a bright, determined smile.
"Uraraka-san?" Midoriya stammered, his eyes wide. "But… if you team with me, you'll be a target for everyone…"
"Then we just have to run away and not lose!" she replied with unshakable optimism. "Besides," she added, her voice a little softer, "I like teaming up with my friends. And it's always better to aim for the top, right?"
Her simple, heartfelt loyalty was a balm to Midoriya's frayed nerves. A moment later, they found their second partner. They needed a Quirk that was strong in both offense and defense. Their eyes landed on Fumikage Tokoyami.
Midoriya approached him nervously. "Tokoyami-kun…"
Tokoyami turned, his crimson eyes assessing them. "You wish to team up?" His voice was a low, serious rumble. "A bold, if not reckless, choice."
"We need your power, Tokoyami-kun!" Midoriya pleaded. "Dark Shadow…"
"Is best suited for defense and surprise attacks, yes," Tokoyami finished, a thoughtful look on his face. "The more they hunt you, the less they will be able to predict my movements. It is a high-risk, high-reward situation." He gave a curt nod. "The logic is sound. I will join you."
They had their rider. They had their close-range support. They had their defense. They needed one more person. One more pillar of strength. Their eyes scanned the few remaining students who hadn't yet found a team.
And all three of them landed on the same, solitary figure. The silent, red-haired boy who stood at the edge of the world, watching them all with his empty, unreadable eyes.
A new, different kind of fear filled Midoriya's gut. But it was overshadowed by a strange, illogical sense of resolve. He looked at Uraraka and Tokoyami. They understood. Together, the three of them began to walk across the field, their path creating a wake of silence in the surrounding chaos as other students stopped to watch the unbelievable scene unfold.
They stopped a few feet from Gaara. He looked at them, his face a perfect mask of placidity, but a flicker of profound, disbelieving confusion sparked in the depths of his teal eyes.
"Gaara-kun," Midoriya began, his voice trembling slightly but full of a sincerity that could not be faked. "We… we were wondering… if you would join our team."
Gaara stared at them. He looked at the nervous but determined boy, the girl with the kind, unwavering smile, and the dark, pragmatic swordsman of shadow. They were the first of his peers to ever approach him with an offer instead of a threat. He thought of the cheers. He thought of the whispers. He thought of the cold shoulders.
"Is it alright," he asked, his voice a quiet, sandy rasp, "to trust me? You know… who I was with."
It was the first time he had ever shown such vulnerability to them, a raw, honest question that hung in the air like a fragile glass sculpture.
Tokoyami was the first to answer, his response as pragmatic and unvarnished as he was. "Trust is not a factor yet," he rumbled, as Dark Shadow peeked over his shoulder with a curious squawk. "I am not ready to trust you. But your power is undeniable. In a battle like this, overwhelming utility outweighs sentiment. It is a logical risk to take."
"We saw what you did in the race!" Uraraka added, her smile unwavering. "You were amazing! Anyone with that much control can't be all bad. We'd be happy to have you!"
Finally, Midoriya clenched his fists, his own resolve hardening. "I know we don't know each other," he said, his voice growing stronger. "And I know what everyone else is thinking. But I saw you in the race. And I saw you in that hallway a few days ago. I don't think you're the same person from that day at the USJ." He looked Gaara directly in the eye. "Please, lend us your strength."
Gaara was silent for a long, heavy moment. He looked at their faces, a trio of outcasts and hopefuls, led by the most hunted boy in the entire school. They were not offering him friendship, not yet. They were offering him a chance. A single, insane, illogical chance to be a part of something.
He gave a single, decisive nod.
"TIME'S UP!" Midnight's voice declared.
The teams were set. Across the field stood Team Todoroki, the powerhouse of prodigies. Team Bakugo, a force of explosive fury. And in the center of it all, Team Midoriya, the ten-million-point target. An unlikely, ragtag alliance of a hunted boy, a gravity-defying girl, a creature of shadow, and a silent, lonely monster of sand.
They were the outcasts. They were the underdogs. And they were ready for battle.