The sound of the television was the only thing that felt truly alive in that place.
The screen mounted high on the concrete wall flickered slightly, the broadcast of the U.A. Sports Festival contrasting in an almost obscene way with the decaying environment around it. The event was already well underway. Vivid colors, excited shouts, deafening applause.
Shigaraki was sitting now, his torso leaning forward with difficulty, his body still connected to tubes and sensors. Oxygen hissed steadily behind the mask, each breath sounding strained, irritating. His hand trembled slightly atop the rough bedsheet.
"AND THAT'S IT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" Present Mic's energetic voice echoed through the TV speakers. "THE TOP TWO FINISHERS IN THE OBSTACLE RACE HAVE JUST ARRIVED IN RECORD TIME! IN FIRST PLACE… DASH! AND RIGHT BEHIND HIM… RITO TAKEDA!"
The camera focused on Ryo. Green sparks still slithered across his body, sweat running down his face as he took deep breaths, standing tall, unscathed. Alive. Strong. And being applauded.
The world seemed to be laughing at Shigaraki now.
Shigaraki's hand began to shake for real, his fingers curling like claws against the hospital sheet. The machines beeped, reacting to the sudden change in his vital signs.
"…You…" His voice came out broken, hoarse, loaded with raw hatred. "That bastard…"
All five fingers pressed into the worn fabric of the sheet, beginning to disintegrate it.
"You… did this to me…"
His breathing turned irregular, aggressive. Each inhale felt like it was burning his chest from the inside. The memory of the impact—that single blow—cut through his mind like a dark green-black FLASH.
The screen showed the crowd cheering, smiling, applauding him.
Every sound was like glass being crushed inside Shigaraki's skull.
"I'M GOING TO KILL HIM."
The words came out low, but firm and tense.
It was a promise.
"I'm going to rip every little piece of you apart…" he breathed with difficulty, red eyes locked onto the screen. "Leave you unable to do anything. I'll make him beg and cry while I kill his family and friends. I'll make him wish he'd never been born."
On the television, Ryo smiled faintly, the crowd roaring behind him.
Shigaraki felt a deep stab on the side of his body—a phantom pain mixed with the memory of that single blow he had taken.
The broadcast went on, the festival progressing as if nothing had happened. As if villains didn't exist. As if he weren't there, rotting away.
With effort, Shigaraki raised one hand to his own head.
His fingers slowly brushed over the smooth surface, strangely sensitive beneath his touch.
He closed his eyes, grinding his teeth.
"…When I get out of here…" he murmured, his voice dripping with venom. "I will hunt you down, Rito Takeda… I promise I will turn your life into a complete hell."
----------------------------------------
The remaining participants began crossing the finish line little by little—some exhausted, others relieved, and a few clearly frustrated. Among them, Uraraka appeared, panting, resting her hands on her knees for a moment before lifting her head.
Her eyes found Midoriya almost immediately.
"Midoriya!" she called, breaking into a sincere smile as she approached. "That was amazing! Fourth place! I'm honestly a little jealous!"
Midoriya froze in place.
His face turned red in seconds.
"A-ah! I-it wasn't l-like that! I-I just… I mean…" he started babbling, gesturing awkwardly, unsure of what to do with his hands.
Uraraka let out a soft laugh, finding his reaction cute, but her gaze was soon drawn past Midoriya.
Iida stood a few steps away, staring intensely at his own hands, as if trying to understand something about them. After a few seconds, he lifted his gaze in the opposite direction—toward where Ryo and Dash were, surrounded by excited classmates, receiving comments, pats on the back, and laughter.
Iida took a deep breath.
"I still… have a long way to go," he murmured, more to himself than to anyone else, before walking away.
Uraraka tilted her head, confused.
"What happened to Iida?" she asked Midoriya.
"Well…"
He opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by the sharp crack of a whip echoing through the arena.
"ATTENTION, STUDENTS!"
Midnight's voice cut through the chatter, making everyone turn toward the center of the stadium.
"The results of the first 42 students who completed the obstacle course have been decided!" she announced with a sharp smile. "As you can see, the entire Hero Course has passed! Classes 1-A and 1-B remain intact!"
A new murmur spread through the arena.
"In addition," Midnight continued, "two students from other courses also managed to advance. Congratulations to them… because now"—her smile widened—"the real elimination round begins!"
The cameras moved quickly, focusing on the attentive faces of the students.
"The press is practically jumping out of their seats, so I expect you all to give it everything you've got in the next event!"
The giant screen above the stadium lit up once more. Words began spinning at high speed, flashing, overlapping, building anticipation.
Until they stopped.
CAVALRY BATTLE.
Ryo frowned instantly.
"Damn…"
Beside him, Dash blinked a few times.
"…Cavalry?" he asked, confused. "Are we riding horses now?"
Ryo slowly turned his face toward him.
"No."
"Oh… so it's like… mechanical horses?" Dash insisted.
"That's not it either."
Dash made a face.
"Then what is it?"
"People," Ryo replied, already visibly irritated. "People will be the horse."
The blond froze.
"That sounds kind of wrong, ngl…"
"The only thing wrong is your mind!" Ryo snapped, gritting his teeth.
He took a deep breath and explained:
"Teams can have two to four people. One to three form the base, the horse, and one stays on top, the rider. The goal is to steal the headbands from other teams."
Dash's eyes widened as he immediately made a pog face.
"Ohhh," he said, with the exact realization of someone who finally understands a computer problem after staring at the screen for hours. "Now it makes sense."
Midnight continued explaining the rules, pacing back and forth across the stage.
"Each student starts with five points, which increase according to their placement in the previous race. But… our dear first-place finisher starts with a value of…"
She paused dramatically.
"TEN MILLION!"
Everyone in the arena fell silent.
And in that very instant, dozens of gazes turned in the same direction.
Toward Dash.
The blond blinked a few times, completely lost. Since the entire explanation had been in Japanese, he hadn't understood absolutely anything.
"…Why is everyone looking at me?" he asked, uncomfortable.
Ryo stepped closer and whispered the whole context into the blond's ear.
Dash's eyes widened.
"…Ten million?"
"Yes…"
"TEN MILLION?!"
The shout echoed through the group.
Dash slowly looked around, noticing the calculating expressions, restrained smiles, and hungry stares directed at him.
For a moment, he had the distinct feeling of being surrounded by vultures, just waiting for the right moment to strike.
"…I have a really bad feeling about this," he muttered.
Midnight watched the tension rise; the competitive atmosphere among the students was almost palpable. Satisfied, she smiled slyly and cracked her whip, drawing everyone's attention once more.
"Those who reach the top only face new challenges!" she declared, her voice firm and excited. "But you've heard that countless times since you entered U.A., so you already know how this works… PLUS ULTRA!"
As soon as the speech ended, the arena plunged into chaos once again.
Voices overlapped, students ran back and forth, hands reached out, alliances formed and fell apart in seconds. It was a true race against time — whoever had the best team would survive.
Dash stood still in the middle, watching.
Kirishima was already with Bakugo, the two exchanging quick words. Midoriya was forming a group with Uraraka and another girl. Ryo… was surrounded by a crowd.
Students from their class and from Class B competed for his attention, all trying to convince him to join them.
And Dash?
He was being ignored and avoided as much as possible.
Some glanced at him uncertainly, as if they could see the absurd number of points hovering over his head… and immediately changed direction.
The blond felt the weight of it crush his shoulders.
"No way…" he muttered under his breath.
He took a few steps, tried to approach one group… and was ignored. Another group scattered the moment they noticed him.
In the end, Dash dropped to his knees on the arena floor, defeated.
"At this rate… no one's going to want to team up with me!" he said hopelessly.
That was when a shadow fell in front of him.
The sunlight reflected sharply, blinding him for a moment, until a hand extended before his eyes.
"Get up already," an impatient voice said. "We don't have all day."
Dash blinked… then his eyes widened.
"…Takeda?"
He grabbed his friend's hand and was pulled back to his feet.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, incredulous.
Ryo crossed his arms.
"Isn't it obvious?" he replied. "I'm teaming up with you."
Dash's eyes sparkled.
"Takeda… YOU'RE MY SAVIOR!" he exclaimed, wrapping him in a sudden, tight hug.
"Hey—! Let go of me!" Ryo complained, pushing him away. "Stop acting weird!"
As the two were on the verge of starting another argument, a timid voice interrupted them.
"E-excuse me…?"
The boys stopped and turned toward the source of the voice.
In front of them stood a short girl with a round, delicate face and a small, short "snout" that gave her a gentle, kind appearance. Her thick, wavy blonde hair fell to the middle of her back, with short bangs over her forehead. Large eyes of deep Prussian blue watched the two with contained curiosity.
Tall, lyre-shaped beige horns rose from her head. Her legs ended in brown hooves, and a small horse tail swayed discreetly behind her.
"I couldn't help but notice…" she said in fluent English, still hesitant. "You were speaking English. Are you foreigners…?"
Ryo tilted his head slightly.
"I'm not," he replied. "But he is."
Dash blinked, surprised, before quickly composing himself.
"Dash Parr. Nice to meet you!" he said, extending his hand.
The girl's eyes lit up.
"Oh!" She grabbed both of his hands enthusiastically. "I'm Tsunotori Pony! It's so nice to meet another foreigner like me!"
Dash was visibly flustered by the girl's cheerfully cute attitude, looking away.
"Y-yeah… the pleasure's mine too," he replied, scratching the back of his neck.
"Why are you blushing, man? You're the same as her as you are with me," Ryo thought to himself, raising an eyebrow.
Noticing the blond's discomfort, Pony released his hands and turned to Ryo.
"Your English is very good! What's your name?" she commented sincerely.
"Rito Takeda. My English isn't really that great," he said, waving it off. Then he turned serious. "But now's not the time for chatting. We need to find one more member."
"Oh!" Pony said, tilting her head. "That's what you were talking about?"
"More or less," Dash replied.
Ryo nodded.
"I've got a plan. But for it to work, we need one more person."
The three of them fell silent for a few seconds, thinking.
Then Pony raised her hand timidly.
"Uhm…" she smiled nervously. "What if… I join you guys?"
----------------------------------------
When the final fifteen minutes for team formation ran out, the organized chaos finally took shape. Groups were set, strategies whispered in haste, and sharp eyes analyzed allies and enemies alike.
In the stands, the Parr family watched everything closely.
"So he managed it…" Bob commented, arms crossed, a half-smile forming as he saw Dash on a team.
Helen let out a breath she hadn't even realized she was holding.
"Thank goodness. I was starting to genuinely worry about him not finding a decent team."
Violet tilted her head, watching her brother's group down in the arena.
"At least that Takeda guy teamed up with him…" she said thoughtfully. "That guy destroyed those giant robots in the obstacle race with a single punch."
Bob raised an eyebrow, impressed.
"That kid's punching power is no joke."
Meanwhile, at the center of the stadium, Present Mic grabbed the microphone, his grin wide and his energy at its peak. The sound of his voice blasted through the speakers.
"ARE YOU READY, MY BELOVED SPECTATORS?!"
The stadium answered with a deafening roar.
"GET READY FOR THE SECOND EVENT OF THE FESTIVAL!" he continued, gesturing enthusiastically. "A TRUE TEAM BATTLE! A CLASH FOR POWER, A TEST OF STRATEGY, ENDURANCE, AND PURE SURVIVAL INSTINCT!"
The crowd went wild.
Present Mic dramatically raised his arm, pointing toward the arena.
"KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN, BECAUSE THE CAVALRY BATTLE IS ABOUT TO BEGIN! COUNTDOWN!"
The giant screen lit up.
THREE!
The students took their positions. Sharp gazes crossed—some filled with ambition, others cautious, others excited.
TWO!
Dash's team organized themselves.
Ryo took the front, steady and firm in his stance. Dash positioned himself right behind him, supporting the weight with ease. Pony came last, settling on top of them as the rider, gripping the scoreband against her head tightly as she took a deep breath, nervous—but determined.
"Okay… stay focused," she murmured in English, breathing deeply.
ONE…
For a brief instant, the world seemed to hold its breath.
"STAAAAART!!!"
At the moment the starting signal sounded, almost all the teams rushed straight toward Dash's team. The blond's eyes widened, startled by how quickly the situation escalated.
"This… this really is a battle for the ten million!" Dash exclaimed, trying to get into position.
Ryo, keeping his calm, said:
"Calm down and take position. Pony, hold the point band tight."
The girl understood, gripping the band firmly and maintaining her knight-like posture.
Ryo activated the Inner Transition. His sclera turned black, with bright green irises. Small sparks and electrical discharges covered his body, tracing lines like energetic veins across his arms and legs. For an instant, his mind returned to the plan he had devised with the group just moments earlier.
"Our greatest advantage… and also our curse," he said, referring to himself and Dash. "We wouldn't be able to use our speed with any other team. We couldn't compete without overloading the others."
Dash looked at him in surprise.
"Wait… you mean if you were on another team… you'd be screwed?"
Ryo confirmed with a slight nod.
"Yeah. That's why I chose to team up with you. I'm the only one who can keep up with your speed. Together, we'll form the fastest horse in this event."
Dash's eyes lit up, a wide grin spreading across his face.
"Ma man!" he shouted, giving Ryo a heavenly dap.
Back in the present, amid the chaos of teams clashing, Todoroki's team advanced rapidly toward them, with Iida leading the charge at the front. Strategically, Momo created a staff for Todoroki to use as a conduit to the ground, launching a wave of ice toward Dash's team, giving the illusion that they had been hit.
But a greenish blur passed by them in slow motion. Ryo, without averting his eyes, said calmly:
"You're far too slow to catch us."
Time returned to normal. A wave of wind swept past Todoroki's team, leaving everyone stunned.
"What just happened?!" Kaminari exclaimed.
"They got away…" Todoroki replied, frowning.
"I knew this would happen the moment I saw Takeda and Dash team up," Momo commented, visibly irritated.
"And now what?" Kaminari asked, looking around. "Our plan was to take that ten-million-point band!"
Todoroki remained silent, biting his lip before turning his gaze to the other teams. His face was bitter and irritated as he said, almost in a whisper, full of frustration:
"Let's focus... on the other teams."
Meanwhile, Dash's team cut across the field at high speed, easily dodging every attempt at blocking and attacking that piled up against them. They found a relatively safe corner where they could slow down slightly without losing control of the race.
"These guys are incredibly persistent," Ryo commented, watching their pursuers fail to catch up.
Pony breathed deeply, clinging to her position, her face a little pale.
"Y-you guys are w-way faster than I expected…" she said, feeling a bit dizzy.
"We're going slow," Dash replied with a crooked smile. "Way slower than we actually can."
"Hang in there," Ryo added seriously. "These ten minutes are going to feel long. We're going to move around a lot."
Pony swallowed hard… but nodded with determination.
"I-I'll try to hold on…"
In the following minutes, Dash's team remained completely untouched.
The absurd speed and precise evasions caused several teams to give up one by one, redirecting their efforts toward more attainable targets. Chasing those three was like trying to grab the wind.
Meanwhile, Todoroki's team began focusing on other teams.
In a coordinated move, he advanced on Itsuka Kendo's team. Ice spread across the ground in an instant, trapping the legs of the teammates forming the "horse," and before they could react, the headband was snatched from Kendo's head.
"Damn it…!" Kendo ground her teeth, unable to do anything about it.
On the other side of the field, Bakugo's team was pure chaos.
Even after reclaiming the headband that Neito Monoma had stolen, Bakugo continued the chase, teeth clenched.
"I'M GONNA TAKE EVERYTHING FROM THOSE BASTARDS!" he shouted, slamming his palm hard against Kirishima's hardened head. "MOVE IT, HARDHEAD!"
"Huh?! But we alrea—!"
"NO 'BUTS'! I WANNA TAKE EVERY SINGLE PIECE, EVEN THEIR TEARS!"
Kirishima sighed, but picked up the pace alongside Mina and Sero.
Meanwhile, Ryo observed the field calmly as he ran, his eyes sharp and cold.
"Looks like they gave up hunting us," he commented.
From above, Pony confirmed, scanning the area with her privileged vantage point.
"Yeah… most of them changed targets."
Ryo slightly turned his head to hear her better.
"The rest seem to be focusing back on the other tea—"
The ground suddenly gave way.
In the blink of an eye, Ryo's and Dash's legs began sinking into something soft and unstable.
"W-What—?!" Dash's eyes widened.
A large area of the ground had become malleable, like mud.
"Finally caught them," a confident voice said.
It was Tetsutetsu's team, with Juzo Honenuki at the front.
"Sorry about this, Pony," Juzo added, glancing at his surprised classmate.
Dash tried to move on instinct, but only sank further.
"Hey—! That just makes it worse!"
"Stop!" Ryo ordered firmly. "If you move, we'll sink faster."
"Then what do we do?!" Dash asked tensely.
Ryo looked ahead and saw the opposing team approaching, step by step.
"Damn it! I didn't expect someone to have a quirk like this… What do we do?!"
Before he could think further, Pony leaned slightly forward.
"Don't worry!" she said in a determined tone. "I'll get us out of this!"
Her eyes gleamed, and she raised her hands to her head, curling her fingers to imitate a pair of horns.
"Horn… Cannon!"
With a sharp snap, her horns detached from her head and shot into the air, a second pair instantly growing in their place and doing the same. Pony controlled both pairs midair, making them dive into the softened ground and position themselves beneath Ryo's and Dash's feet.
Within seconds, the team was lifted out of the mud, floating far above Tetsutetsu's team's reach.
"H-HOLY—!" Dash looked down, pale, his body going rigid. "I-I'm in the air…!"
The blond swallowed hard. Heights were definitely not his strong suit.
Ryo, on the other hand, frowned, staring at the horns beneath his feet.
"…Wait."
He slowly turned his face back, looking at Pony.
"So… this whole time… we could've just… stayed floating above everyone?"
Pony froze.
"Ah… eto…"
She shyly taps her head with her hands, sticking her tongue out.
"Bleh~…"
Ryo turned his gaze forward again and let out a long, defeated sigh.
"…I guess it's also my fault for not asking what her quirk was."
The second event of the festival ended with Dash's team completely untouched!