Arena, Sports Festival Stadium.

Friday, 7th 2149.

I stepped out of the tunnel for the second time today, eyes on the grass beyond. Across from us, each of the other schools emerged from separate entrances, funnelling back to the assembly area we'd used during the introduction. The monitor above had returned to the first-year rankings, all forty-two competitors visible—only this time, there was a point total next to each entry that hadn't existed before.

Considering all of the research we'd done individually and as a class in preparation for this moment, my mind immediately began to eliminate all of the events that didn't require a point-based ranking system. It wasn't enough to deduce the exact event on its own, but in combination with the clearly marked boundary in the centre of the arena, it narrowed it down to roughly a dozen possibilities. The monitor changed again, rotating through a blur of events as Midnight began to speak.

"Welcome back, first-years; it's time for the real fun to begin," Midnight said, raising her arms up to the crowd. "The chance to fully move yourselves into the limelight. Give it your best because the second event is—you guessed it, Cavalry Battle."

The monitor stopped, showcasing the event in large yellow font, and a rumble of comments ran through the rest of the students around me—a team-based event that always had a minimum of two people per team. Unfortunately, the exact goal of the event had gone through several variations, so I couldn't immediately determine which it was.

"Allow me to explain, the participants will form teams of two-to-four people, and we won't be starting until everyone has a team—so don't even think about trying to trip me up by leaving someone on their own," Midnight said, waving her cat-o-nine tails at them in a warning. "You've likely noticed the point totals above; they will decide who gets to pass through to the final event of the day."

Midnight placed her hands on her hips for a moment, grinning.

"There are sixteen slots to fill this time, and only the teams with the highest combined point total will be proceeding," Midnight continued, "You'll be given a headband to represent your team starting points and the one you designate as the Rider will be responsible for holding on to them. They must be visible at all times, no stuffing them down into your underwear."

"If such a warning is required, has someone done such a thing before?" Tenya said, shocked. "How barbaric."

The screen above changed, showcasing a series of white headbands with different numbers stitched into them in red lettering.

"Your goal is to take the other team's headbands for yourself, and you can do this through any means necessary," Midnight said, "You will only have a few minutes to gather as many of them as you can, but don't worry if you fall over, get knocked down, or have your headband stolen—you can get up as many times as you like."

Midnight scanned their faces for a moment before smiling.

"However, there are a few caveats to keep things interesting; First, if any member of your team is forced outside of the boundary, your entire team will be disqualified. Second, at least one horse must have their feet on the ground at all times," Midnight said, ticking them off on her fingers. "Third, while the rider may jump, glide or otherwise temporarily detach themselves from their horses; they can only do so for a maximum time of six seconds, and they must not touch the ground at any point, or I'll slap you with a red card—that's a one-minute timeout, in which you're not allowed to take any action."

The lack of punishment for being knocked down would also work to encourage the use of Quirks against one another, something that would give specific teams a major advantage. A one-minute timeout would essentially be forfeiting their headbands to whichever team was closest, putting them behind for the rest of the round, or eliminating them entirely if the opponent chose to push them out of bounds while they couldn't react.

"This is a complicated, multifaceted event that will test your observation, organisation, strategising, teambuilding, and group combat skills all at once," Midnight said, spinning into a twirl on the stage that sent the crowd cheering. "But there's one more thing to consider—the student who is currently ranked first will be in possession of a very special headband, whose value is far beyond the others."

Ten million points were suddenly added to Inasa Yoarashi's score—something which set the boy laughing as everyone turned to look at him, evidently unintimidated by the sudden pressure.

"It's a first-class ticket straight to the finals, and its value cannot be understated, so make sure your team is the one who ends up on top," Midnight said, slashing her whip through the air like a conductor. "Now you have ten minutes to build your teams, and I suggest you use it wisely."

There were multiple strategies to work with here and even more team combinations available. Too many, in fact, to sort through them all effectively. I closed my eyes, considering the most important part of the event. Anyone could be a horse, but the teams who would excel here were the ones who could steal and defend headbands efficiently.

That meant I was looking for Quirks that facilitated accurate targeting of small objects at range and wielders who could do so quickly enough to bypass the other team's attempt to protect them. I was one of those, but considering the array of offensive Quirks that were present, there would be far more value in taking on a defensive role—I scanned the group one final time as people began to pair off and then made my choice.

"Toru, Tsuyu," I said, raising my voice loud enough to reach both. "If you haven't already found a team, I would like to form a team with you both."

"Okay," Tsuyu croaked, already in the process of approaching me. "That was easy."

Toru stepped up to join us, her uniform distorted slightly, leaving me the impression that she had her hands resting on her hips.

"Not that I'm complaining or anything, but why do you want me?" Toru asked, "I don't have the upper body strength to carry anyone for an extended period of time, and I can't exactly use stealth if I'm sitting on someone's shoulders with a headband around my head."

I nodded at the question but made no attempt to answer; instead, I directed them both to follow me away from the mass of students. Once we'd reached the far corner of the boundary, I moved until my back was to the rest of the students and lifted my hand up between us. A trio of figures rose up from my palm, miniature scale models of the three of us.

"How do you know—" Toru asked. "You checked on the rooftop; that's why all of your sand was in the air."

"I did," I agreed.

Tsuyu leaned down to stare at the figures, curious.

"Is that what you look like, Hagakure?" Tsuyu said, "You're very pretty."

"I—thank you," Toru managed, sounding a bit off. "Hisoka, why did you pick me?"

"Please be aware that both Kyoka and Mezo can hear us right now, and we still don't have complete knowledge of every Quirk that is present," I said, "Any discussion of strategy should be done through means other than voice-based communication."

I lifted my hand again, directing their attention to the models once more, and manipulating them into place—Toru in place as our Rider, while Tsuyu and I carried her between us. I added a trio of blank mannequins across from them before miming two types of scenarios. Once the general trend was obvious, I added a headband with a long string of numbers on it and then showcased a third strategy, completely different from the others. Once I was done, I let the sand vanish back into non-existence.

"This is why I picked you both," I asked. "Do you understand?"

"Yeah," Toru admitted. "Asui?"

"I understand," Tsuyu said, croaking. "Please feel free to use my name from now on."

"Tsuyu, you can—uh—hold me up?" Toru said, being deliberately vague. "I'm not exactly big, but neither are you."

"I'm much stronger than I look," Tsuyu said, croaking. "But perhaps I should apologise in advance if this ends up being weird."

"It'll be fine," Toru said.

It took me a moment to realise what they were actually talking about, and then I frowned as I realised the problem.

"I hadn't fully considered the position I was putting you both in," I said, shaking my head, "It's rather obvious in hindsight—if either of you is uncomfortable with it, I will redesign the third strategy."

"I could say that a good strategy is worth undergoing a bit of discomfort," Toru said, "But honestly, I just don't really care."

"I don't mind either," Tsuyu offered.

I decided to just accept their answers at face value before making a show of turning to look at the timer ticking down on the scoreboard. Once both of them had followed my gaze and saw just how little time we had left, I turned back to them.

"I will also be taking independent action throughout the event, but know that everything I do will be in pursuit of one of those three strategies," I said, glancing between them. "If at any point you notice an opportunity, a danger, or anything else noteworthy, please speak up."

"Got it," Toru said.

I turned to watch as Kashiko Sekigai, Habuko Mongoose, and Inasa Yoarashi formed a team on the other side of the field. The one person present who could immediately locate Toru while she was invisible—how unfortunate.

"The two students from Isamu Academy just joined up with Inasa Yoarashi, and Kashiko appears to be the Rider," I said, considering the situation. "By your own account, she has shown the ability to locate you."

Tsuyu turned to look at the teams that were forming up.

"That makes the margin for error smaller, but it's still doable," Toru said, shaking her head, "It's a matter of finding the right moment."

I nodded at the answer.

"Todoroki, Momo, Ida and Tokoyami." Tsuyu said, eyeing them. "That's a troublesome team."

"Tokoyami is defence, Todoroki is offence, Ida is mobility, and Momo is utility," Toru said, working through it. "What is Yaoyorozu making right now—are those wheels?"

"Rollerblades," I said, "Shoto appears to be the Rider, Tenya would be hindered by wheel-based footwear, so they likely plan to use him to pull the rest of the group around."

"We should probably avoid them," Tsuyu said, "There is another dangerous team—Bakugo, Kirishima, Mina and Hanta."

"Bakugo spent most of the obstacle course fighting Todoroki," Toru said, "Do you think he'll try going after his headband?"

"It's Bakugo," Tsuyu said, croaking. "He won't be satisfied until he has every single headband in the stadium—competitor or not."

"True," Toru said, amused.

"The four students from Seijin High have formed two teams of two," I said, trying to distinguish them based on what I'd heard earlier. "Ige Masato with the water quirk and Sama Takako with the mud quirk are the respective Riders. The Dachi brothers are the horses."

"They're working together?" Toru said, "Two teams will allow them to attack from multiple directions at once, but it makes them individually much weaker, and it splits their point totals—risky strategy."

"Looks like all of our teams are formed up and ready. Let's get those headbands out, my sweet gophers," Midnight said, having a bit too much fun with it all. "First-years form up on the outside of the marked area."

A man wearing the grey uniform I'd come to expect from the stadium staff stopped beside us, handing Toru a premarked head with '440' stitched into it with bright crimson thread. I kept my eyes on the other groups, making a note of all of the point totals as they were handed out.

"Riders, mount your faithful steads, and prepare for battle," Midnight said, pulling her whip taut between her hands.

"I'll need a screen," Toru said, "Something like that wall you made earlier would work."

I swung my arms back, locking them in place by using my Quirk, and adjusted my balance as Toru stepped up onto my hands. Tsuyu stepped forward behind us, hands placed underneath my own to help support the weight.

"I'll take care of it," I agreed, keeping my eyes forward. "Tsuyu, hard left, the team with Tetsutetsu is our first target, strategy one—I'm counting on you."

"One-hundred-and-ninety points," Tsuyu said, tightening her grip. "I'll get it."

"Ten seconds," Midnight said, counting it down, "Five, four, three, two, one—begin."

I stepped over the line, speeding up as I went, and Tsuyu kept up easily, her Quirk-enhanced body allowing her to reach a natural running speed that far outstripped my own. I curved our formation into a hard left, my sand already lashing out towards the three-man team ahead of us.

Kosei, riding on top of the others, breathed out, and a panel of hardened air appeared in the perfect spot to block my attack. The sand crashed into it head-on, washing over the sides and kept on going, crashing into the group. Tetsutetsu's skin turned silver as my sand washed over his legs, the entire formation collapsing as Sen lost his footing. The panel of hardened air shattered, and then Tsuyu's tongue lashed out, tearing the headband off Kosei's head as I dragged the entire team across the boundary.

"No way—" Tetsutetsu cried out.

"Disqualified; U.A, Team Tetsutetsu." Midnight announced, and then a moment later. "U.A, Team Tsunotori."

"Well done, Tsuyu," I said, continuing to spread my sand throughout the area.

"Thank you," Tsuyu said, handing the stolen headband off to Toru. "It looks like Todoroki is going after the ten million points."

"We'll avoid both teams for now," I said.

"I can see Ojiro, Jiro and the girl with all the support equipment," Toru said, "Three-hundred-and-fifty points."

I swerved away from the boundary line, angling us in the general direction of Team Mashirao. I caught sight of Katsuki's team halfway across the field, looking to intersect with an odd team made up of Ibara Shiozaki, Jurota Shishida and the purple-haired boy who'd declared war on our class the day before we had all left for Golden Week.

Katsuki opened his mouth and then sagged down onto Eijiro's shoulders, almost falling off in the process—a moment later, he ripped the headband off his head, threw himself off the top of his team and then began sprinting towards the edge of the field.

Hanta lashed out with his arm, tape bursting forward in an attempt to catch him, but Ibara's vines crashed down on top of it before it could make contact, shredding the tape in an instant—and then Katsuki crossed over the boundary line.

"Disqualified; U.A, Team Bakugo," Midnight called. "Seijin High; Team Ige. U.A, Team Setsuna."

"What?" Tsuyu said, twisting around to look behind her. "Bakugo lost?"

Ibara snatched the headband up off the grass, and the purple-haired boy tied it around his head, entirely unrushed. Somehow I'd missed the fact that there was a member of U.A present who I had absolutely no knowledge of and who obviously possessed a very dangerous Quirk. I wasn't the only one who'd decided he was a threat either because a wall of ice cut across the field, temporarily penning the purple-haired boy's team into the corner as Shoto continued his siege on Inasa's team.

"Disqualified; Seijin High, Team Sama," Midnight announced.

Team Mashirao spotted us moving in their direction and cut away from us, heading in the direction of the ice wall, apparently unaware of the threat. Team Mai, a three-woman team from Seiai Academy—

"Hisoka—" Toru said.

I raised a wall of sand in front of us, a series of glowing blue pellets smashing into it, each one sending a wave of electricity sparking away from the impact. Toru used the cover to make the change, ripping her tracksuit up over her head. I caught it out of mid-air, lining the interior with just enough sand to keep its shape; she handed off the pants a moment later.

Kaneshiro continued her attempt to hammer through my wall, and I sent twin streams of sand out to meet her assault, catching the next two pellets out of mid-air and letting them burst uselessly in the no-mans land between our two teams. Toru crouched down onto our linked hands, leaving space for the puppeteered uniform above her. The two headbands rose into place above it, flapping in the breeze, held aloft by sand I'd threaded inside the material.

Across from us, Minami Ren, acting as the front horse of their triad, took a deep breath and then blew it out in our direction—a wave of cold air passed over us. Tsuyu let out a startled noise of discomfort at the sudden and significant drop in local temperature.

"I'm in position," Toru said, unaware of what was happening on the other side of the wall. "We should start moving towards our goal—unless you want to hold. We are already in third place."

That was a practical answer and one that would get us into the finals, but my goals hadn't changed, and I couldn't count on uncle Sajin's tenuous connection to the Hawks Agency. I had to make them see me as the best choice, and that meant developing a strong enough reputation to draw the interest of the number three hero in Japan.

"Our prepared strategies have revealed some of what Tsuyu and I can do so far," I said, offering a line of reasoning that was more closely tied to her immediate goals. "The ruse is designed to fool the other teams, not the audience, and the third strategy is designed specifically with you in mind, Toru."

"Hisoka is right," Tsuyu said, shivering now. "I think we should try and win."

"Yeah?" Toru murmured. "Well, maybe I like the sound of first place after all."

I nodded at the decision, made sure she wasn't going to fall off when we started moving and then turned my full attention towards the team who'd made the mistake of placing themselves in our way.

"I'm engaging," I said.

I stopped playing defence, the sand that had been scattered about by the barrage of slingshot pellets reaching up out of the grass, catching Minami by the leg and dragging her out from under her teammates before she could register the threat.

Kaneshiro fell forward, suddenly without a horse in front of her, tucked herself into a roll, and then came up firing pellets even faster than before. Soda, the girl with the iron spikes peeking out of her skin, tore off across the grass in an attempt to catch Minami before I could send her over the boundary, but there was simply too much ground to cover.

"Disqualified; Seiai Academy, Team Kaneshiro," Midnight called out. "U.A, Team Mashirao."

"So unlucky," Kaneshiro sighed.

Kaneshiro pulled the headband off her head and tossed it in our general direction, looking glum. Tsuyu snatched it out of the air before it could touch the grass, and I took it from her, filling it with sand before tossing it upwards and adding it to the trio of floating headbands.

Belatedly I located our previous target, Team Mashirao and found their Rider, Kyoka, looking entirely confused by her sudden placement outside of the boundary—the boy with purple hair left them behind, no doubt responsible for a second elimination. Team Izuku turned away from us, angling to cut across the field rather than risk an unnecessary battle, and we let them go unaccosted.

The wind started to pick up as we cut past the end of the second ice wall, two teams coming into view. Tokoyami lashed out, Dark Shadow crashing into the incoming burst of air and barely managing to withstand the force. Shoto swung out wide with his hand, a wave of ice cutting past Momo's hip and shattering as Inasa sent another blast rocketing towards them.

Inasa's wind defence was down as I'd expected, either unable or unwilling to use it while he was carrying someone on his shoulders. Kashiko looked up from the holographic interface emerging from her wrist, locating us immediately. I directed us into a wide circle that kept the two opposing teams pinned inside the walled-off area.

Tenya's leg engines flared up, the sudden force sending grass and frost scattering away from him. Shoto bent forward, bracing himself, and then the group burst forward at a ludicrous speed, carving a line through the frost. Shoto stretched his hand out as they approached Inasa—before Tenya suddenly went limp, and the entire group collapsed, crashing into the ground at full speed. The accident clearly a result of Habuko managing to make eye contact with Ida at the last moment.

The timer hit the single digits, and our time to act was almost gone. Kashiko checked her hologram once last time before looking up at us and letting it wink out of existence—no other teams nearby, and the three of us in clear view.

"Toru," I said.

My hand dissolved beneath her, sand washing up over her body and lifting her up into the air above us. The torrent of sand arced forward, carrying her along the top of it. It began to spiral downwards on an obvious trajectory towards Inasa, and Toru stepped forward at the top of the arc, leaping out into the open air. Inasa's defensive wind blast crashed into the sand as it curved back towards him, and Toru passed over the top of the clashing attacks as it started to drill through my sand, scattering it everywhere in the process.

I split the stream, sending a second attack surging around at an angle before curving back inwards, and Inasa let go of Kashiko entirely, raising his other hand to defend against the second attack—and then Toru crashed down on top of him, heel first on his shoulders. Inasa gave a cry of surprise, his feet slipping out from under him at the sudden weight bearing down on him. Kashiko was knocked backwards from the collision, her support suddenly gone as Inasa collapsed, and I watched as one of her headbands was snatched up by some invisible force.

"Tsuyu," I said.

Tsuyu planted her foot on my hand, stepped up onto my shoulder, and then leapt directly upwards into the air. Her tongue lashed out, coiling around the invisible girl before she could hit the ground, and then Tsuyu twisted violently in the air, reeling Toru back towards us in an instant.

Uncontested by Inasa's wind, my sand washed over all three of them, working its way into their clothing and pinning them there. A platform of sand rose up directly behind me, catching Tsuyu before she could hit the ground.

"—that's the end of the Cavalry Battle," Midnight announced, "All teams stand down, and please form up at the stands for final deliberation."

"Excuse me," Tsuyu managed, placing Toru back down on the ground and unwinding her tongue. "I think I misjudged where you were."

"It's fine, Tsuyu—you still caught me," Toru said, holding up the ten-million point headband. "We totally got it."

I dropped her tracksuit top down over her head, and when she got her head through the neck, I handed her the bottom to deal with herself.

"Everything went as we planned," I said, nodding. "Well done, both of you."

"I think we should be saying that to you," Toru said, pulling the stack of stolen headbands down over her head. "That wind guy is no joke—did you see him destroy Todoroki's ice attack? That's crazy."

"It was hard to hear anything over all that wind." Tsuyu said, stepping down off the sand platform. "Did we actually make it before the match ended?"

"Toru had it in her hand, and you were pulling her back towards us before when Midnight called the match," I said, "I'd say the headband was well in our team's possession at that point."

"This was a lot more fun than I was expecting," Toru said, laughing. "Maybe I should let you guys carry me around more often."

"That's very generous of you, Toru," Tsuyu said, croaking.

The teams that had been eliminated early were already gone from the arena, hurried off the field and out of sight. Midnight ignored us all as we approached, checking the rankings on the monitor and talking into an earpiece to someone out of sight. Once she was finally done, she turned back to address us, arms spread wide.

"Well done, first-years. I'm sure you little horsies are all tuckered out now and in need of a nap, but the ride isn't quite over yet," Midnight said, "We have the final rankings, and it worked out so well that we don't even need to have any volunteer dropouts—how neat is that?"

Midnight, rather than wait for an answer, directed them to gaze up at the monitor.

"In the first place, we have Hisoka Higawara, Tsuyu Asui and Toru Hagakure, coming in with ten-million-seven-hundred-and-fifteen points." Midnight said, clapping along. "In the second place, Hitoshi Shinso, Joruta Shishida and Ibara Shiozaki with twelve-hundred-and-five points."

Midnight waited for the crowd to settle down a bit before continuing.

"In the third place, we have Shoto Todoroki, Momo Yaoyorozu, Tenya Ida and Tokoyami Fumikage with seven-hundred-and-twenty points." Midnight said, "In the fourth place, we have Inasa Yoarashi, Kashiko Sekigai and Habuko Mongoose with six-hundred-and-forty points."

"Habuko made it," Tsuyu said, "Do you think she's upset that we attacked her team?"

"They still made it through to the next round," Toru offered, "Can't really be upset at you for doing what you're supposed to, right?"

"That leaves us with three slots left to fill, and this was a close one—a mere twenty-five point difference," Midnight said, "In the fifth place, Izuku Midoriya, Ochaco Uraraka, and Mezo Shoji with four-hundred-and-twenty-five points."

Izuku just about collapsed in his relief, tears building at the corner of his eyes, and I nodded in agreement; we'd made it this far, just one more event to go.

#

Waiting Room, Sports Festival Stadium.

Friday, 7th 2149.

I considered the sixteen students who'd passed through to the final round. U.A made up the bulk of the finals, which by now had all but been confirmed to be a series of tournament-style elimination matches.

1-A had Shoto Todoroki, Tokoyami Fumikage, Mezo Shoji, Izuku Midoriya, Ochaco Uraraka, Tsuyu Asui, Toru Hagakure, Momo Yaoyorozu, and Tenya Ida. 1-B had Jurota Shishida and Ibara Shiozaki still remaining. 1-C had only Hitoshi Shinso—who I now knew to be the name of the purple-haired boy—but considering he'd somehow managed to convince Katsuki to get himself disqualified, he might well be the most dangerous person left in the entire tournament.

Shiketsu had a single student, Inasa Yoarashi, but the boy was a force of nature, and it was clear to me that none of the remaining competitors would be able to defeat him in singular combat—with the exception of Shoto and Hitoshi. Izuku may have been able to accomplish it, although he'd have to damage himself to manage it, and whether or not the wind force generated from his punches would work against someone whose entire power revolved around manipulating wind was debatable.

Tenya had already shown himself capable of incredible straight-line acceleration, and a single accurate charge might be enough to knock him out of bounds—but that was also something that Inasa had seen him do already, so if they did fight, he would be aware of it.

"I still can't believe Kacchan lost," Izuku said, swallowing. "How—was there anyone here who saw what happened?"

"The moment his team came within a few meters of Hitoshi Shinso's team, Bakugo broke formation and tried to leave the area," Momo said, biting down on the tip of her thumb. "I didn't see them touch each other in any way—I really don't know what happened."

The mental model I'd built up from months of interactions with Katsuki told me that surrendering was entirely outside of the range of expected responses. That left his actions as being Quirk-induced, and considering what I'd seen of the events, it seemed like a pretty clear case of mind-control.

"I heard them speak to each other before Midnight announced the disqualification," Mezo said, looking troubled. "Shinso told Bakugo that he'd been looking forward to beating down a weakling like him."

"That would have only made him angry," Izuku said, shaking his head. "What did Kacchan say?"

"He managed to say two words at most before he cut himself off," Mezo said, shaking his head. "Kirishima and Sero both called out to Bakugo, but he made no further response."

"That doesn't sound like Bakugo at all," Tsuyu said, croaking.

"Mezo," I said, speaking up. "Did Eijiro, Mina or Hanta ever say anything to Hitoshi during the exchange?"

"No, they only spoke to Bakugo," Mezo said, "Sero also said something along the lines of 'he's not listening to us.'"

I'd witnessed Eijiro, Mina and Hanta all attempting to stop Katsuki, meaning that only one person had been acting in an abnormal way. If Katsuki had been affected directly after he'd spoken to the other boy, it suggested a sound-based delivery mechanism. But only one of the four people present had been caught in the attack, and Mezo had indicated nothing about feeling any odd effects after hearing the sound of Hitoshi's voice.

"They beat Team Mashirao as well, didn't they?" Ochaco said, looking concerned. "Did anyone witness that?"

Nobody seemed to have seen it, but I'd seen the look of confusion on Kyoka's face the moment after she'd been disqualified. It was possible that Hitoshi could only target one person at a time or that the delivery mechanism was something unrelated to his voice entirely—eye contact, hand gesture, exotic energy manipulation or something else entirely. While I hadn't seen him make any overt gestures or do anything other than look at Team Bakugo from his place on Jurota's shoulders, I couldn't rule it out.

"Katsuki spoke with him directly and then was placed under some kind of hypnotic effect, which led to him surrendering. I observed Kyoka after she had already been disqualified as well, and she looked visibly confused," I said, speaking up, "Without knowing the details, I suggest minimising the types of categories in which you interact with him—voice, eye contact and hand gestures seems the most likely for a delivery mechanism, although maintaining distance is advisable if possible."

"That sounds like a difficult thing to accomplish for those of us who are primarily melee fighters," Tenya said, adjusting his glasses. "Nevertheless, it is sound advice—it is a shame we cannot request additional equipment at this point in time; earplugs would be very useful right now."

"Yaoyorozu," Shoto said, speaking up. "It's well within your ability to create those for us."

"I could create them for myself while inside the arena and within the bounds of the match," Momo said, shaking her head. "I cannot make anything outside of the events because anything we bring in with us that isn't already cleared with the administration will be seen as an unregistered support item—and that would get us all disqualified."

Shoto leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms, looking a bit disturbed. It was something I would have expected him to realise immediately, and the fact that he'd somehow missed it made me wonder about his current state of mind.

"Regardless, even though we were required to come together as a team in the most recent event, you've made your stance clear, Todoroki," Fumikage said idly. "You had no problem attempting to wipe us all out at the start of the first event; the fact that you would request aid during the direct competition portion of the Festival is rather galling."

Shoto looked away from them, eyes narrowed to slits and no longer willing to engage.

#