23 MHA : Evolving : Chapter 23

' Shoto Todoroki '

Eyes flitting about, Shoto considered the upcoming second task. A Calvary Battle with first place form the first round being worth Ten Million points. Bakugo had unfortunately gotten through to this round and, more unfortunately, so had Mineta after Bakugo's explosions in the beginning had blasted the little purple pervert free.

Spotting the teams forming, an idea formed in his head as he walked over to the closest of the teammates he wanted. "It's Shinso yes?" he approached the non-perverted purple student who looked confused at being approached.

"Yes…why?" Shinso frowned puzzled.

"I want you on my team." Shoto gestured for the boy to follow.

"You don't want one of your precious Class A buddies?" Shinso sounded bitter but followed regardless.

"One of my classmates needs to be removed from the Hero Course so I'm helping you prove you can take his place." Shoto answered, not even bothering to look at Shinso as he continued trying to find his second partner, finally spotting her along with the last teammate he wanted.

"…Come again?" Shinso asked before letting out a yelp as Shoto tugged him over to Yayorozu and Kendo.

"Yayorozu, Kendo, I want you on my team." Shoto spoke up as the rep and vice rep turned towards him in surprise but certainly weren't complaining at having his quirk for this.

"And is he our fourth teammate?" Kendo nodded to Shinso.

"He…said he wanted me to replace one of your classmates." Shinso still looked lost.

"Mineta?" the girls asked in tandem as they looked towards him, completely unsurprised when he nodded.

"Am I missing something?" Shinso looked between the three of them. While the girls explained the Mineta situation, Shoto examined the other forming teams. Well, this should be interesting.

...

' Izuku '

"You ready for this?!" Kirishima was bouncing in place alongside Tetsutetsu, the two of them having joined Izuku's team along with Yanagi.

"Question is, are you ready Kiri?" Mina stuck out her tongue teasingly as she stood with her teammates, Hagakure, Ururaka, and Tokage.

"BORN ready!" Kirishima and Tetsutetsu shared a hardened fist bump "We got our manliness, we've got our teamwork, and we've got Midori-bro's plan!"

"Indeed." Yanagi nodded happily, "Midoriya's plan is most impressive in it's simplicity to take advantage of the minimalistic amount of rules and the inherent nature of the event in question.

Even so, due to our group being the only ones to, as of yet, demonstrate any teamwork on which this task is crucial I believe I can confidently give the statement thus.

As Kirishima and Tetsutetsu would say," Yanagi gave a cute little clearing of her throat before she lowered her voice as deep as it would go " 'we got this'."

"So, Midori, how come you didn't use your quirk in the first event?" Mina asked as the last few teams got decided "…And why is that girl glaring at you?" the second question being about another girl with pink hair and yellow eyes, this one covered in support gear as she stood next to Mineta, apparently being on the same team.

"I actually did use some of my quirk in that first event." Izuku answered proudly, "I've been getting better at doing partial transformations. I haven't managed to go from a partial to a full yet though, I have to turn off the partial transformation and then transform fully still.

Given I wasn't sure if any other obstacles would have the size of my full transformation be a hindrance like that first gate, so I decided to just save it for here."

"Told you it wasn't him wanting to be dramatic for round two." Hagakure let out a smug 'hah' as she apparently pointed at Mina and Tokage who grumbled but handed over some Yen.

Ignoring the blatant gambling his friends were doing over him, Izuku continued to answer "As for her…" he trailed off with a wince "She's from the support course and is one of the ones Aizawa Sensei warned us about who take their craft very seriously.

She doesn't apparently think about the quirks of who she makes gear for all the time though, but of just making stuff and getting her name out. There was another…costume incident she hadn't forgiven me for." And he wasn't saying anything else on the matter.

"Alright everyone, to your places!" Midnight called out before his friends could press for details at the incident which he'd rather not remember.

"Game time girls." Izuku worked to psych himself up.

"Uh…Bro?" Kirishima and Tetsutetsu gestured to themselves confused.

"I know what I said." Izuku responded as the two gaped indignantly while Mina and Tokage cackled happily at the shade being thrown to their best friends.

Heling Yanagi up onto his shoulders, Izuku observed the other teams, ignoring the glares from Bakugo and the other blond on Bakugo's team, he could see all the eyes on the headband Yanagi was wearing.

"Are you ready!?" Midnight called out, cracking her whip as Izuku saw everyone tensing, "On your mark…get set…go!"

"Yanagi!" Izuku shouted out as the silver haired telekinetic pulled every headband but her own, Tokage's, Todoroki's, and the one being worn by a girl from 1-B with vines for hair at Yanagi's request.

"What a sudden upset!" Midnight called out as the score board updated itself to show every team but four at zero points, "But I guess if you already have a target that big on your back, no reason not to make it bigger if it gets you an edge."

"Mina, if you would." Izuku turned towards the pinkette who generated a massive blob of acid as Yanagi dropped in the captured headbands, the ribbons sizzling away as the charging teams slid to a confused halt and even the crowd quieted down.

"Um…is that allowed?" a boy from 1-B with a headband asked confused.

"She never said it wasn't." Izuku gave a wide grin "And now there are only four headbands, and four teams worth of spots into the final round. Now, anyone having a headband is a target.

So, the question is…" Izuku transformed as he spoke, Yanagi happily riding on his shoulders as he turned into his massive grey form, those from Class B not on his team gaping at the change, his massive hands grabbing the hardening Kirishima and Tetsutetsu like they were escrema sticks "can you take them?!"

...

' Aizawa '

"…Is he…" Aizawa blinked as he worked to process the utterly bizarre team formation.

"Using two of his teammates as clubs? Yes, yes he is." Present Mic was likewise gaping.

"Calling it now, that's going to become a meme before the round ends." Kan ran a hand down his face, "Strategy for the headbands is good though. Before everyone was going to go after him because of that point total, but now you need a headband just to get to the next round, the points not even mattering anymore."

"…Why does Monoma look like he's manipulating Bakugo?" Present Mic noted the two blond boys of 1B, the copy quirk whispering something rapidly towards Bakugo who seemed to be, reluctantly, listening.

"Because he probably is." Kan's eye twitched as they flipped a switch, the arena filled with microphones so they could listen in on the competitors and make sure there was no untoward behavior being revealed to be addressed later.

"That useless fuck doesn't have a quirk like that!" Bakugo was snarling "He's using trigger, has to be!"

"Kid really needs to get those complexes in check." Aizawa frowned, fully aware of Bakugo's superiority and inferiority complexes, a combination that Monoma shared in his own way and a fusion that none of the teachers had been able to nip in the bud as of yet.

"I get it Bakugo, I get it." Monoma's tone was deliberately understanding and not argumentative as he manipulated the explosion quirk student "But if you beat him here then a lot of people will just say that you only got it because it was a team event. Let him get through to the third round, that's always one on one fights.

Then nobody can say you didn't beat him on anything but your own power."

"…Fine!" Bakugo snarled, charging towards Shiozaki to forcibly take her headband. Todoroki had gone over to Midoriya and made a large ice wall to cut the other three headbanded teams away from the rest of the competition leaving it just a race for Shiozaki's points.

"Think anyone will try to-" Aizawa began to ask if any of the teams would try to get over or through the ice when Hatsume, with Mineta on her shoulders, rocketed up with her boots to try and go over the ice "That answers that question."

"Think it'll wor-" Mic began only for Midoriya to swing Kirishima and Tetsutetsu to smash apart the hover boots she was riding in on, Mineta's sticky balls caught by Yanagi's telekinesis and sent to further gum up Hatsume's support gear engines. To wrap it all up, Todoroki froze them in place once the duo was on the ground.

"Never mind."

"And now Bakugo took Shiozaki's headband." Kan nodded, noting how Monoma copied Tsubaraba's quirk as the two worked to make air walls to prevent anyone else from getting close to their points.

"The fights of the last round are going to be intense."

...

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