"You bastard." Bakugo clenched Sukuna's shirt tightly, glaring at him.
"Stop playing around damnit! You were clearly faster than all of us. Don't think I didn't see how you moved when you fought Nomu! So why the hell did you hold back?!" Bakugo yelled. Sukuna smirked.
"I just wanted to give you guys the illusion that you were winning. And why would I show everything to people who are taking notes?" His pettiness angered Bakugo, because from the blonde's perspective, If you have power and you don't unleash it, you're spitting on the stage.
But from Sukuna's perspective, revealing his full capability in a public tournament is strategically foolish. It'd give competitors(actually villains) data, agencies would have a fixed ceiling to measure and it flattens his mystique.
"I don't care about being mysterious right now you bastard! Do you want me to actually kill you?!" Bakugo yelled, explosions sparking off his sweaty hands.
"You told us to give it our all, but now you're being a dumb hypocrite! What's the point of us busting our asses off training if you won't even give your 100%?! Are you looking down on us?! Are we not worth your full power?!" He yelled, shaking Sukuna by the collar. He remained silent, staring into the blonde's red eyes.
"Do you think you're being unfair by going all out?! I want to know who's the real number one here! Even if you did go all out, I'd still find a way to beat your ass! If I see you holding back against me in the finals, I'll blast you to the moon!"
"Fine then. Let's see how much you can withstand! Don't regret it later when I embarrass you." Sukuna grinned back after seeing Bakugo's hunger and intensity, a demonic aura oozing off him.
"Oi Katsuki! Stop embarassing yourself you brat! Are you seriously getting into arguments in front of us?!" Mitsuki shouted with Masaru holding her back. If he didn't, she'd probably jump into the arena to give a smack to her son in the head. At least we know who Bakugo gets his personality from.
Instead of feeling threatened, Bakugo only grinned back, his motivation rising as they stared down each other.
"Let's head to the VAR fellow listeners!" Present Mic announced as a hologram popped up in the middle of the arena, showing a slow motion of the five students rushing towards the finish line.
"What the hell?!" All Might, watching from a private room, had his jaw dropped staring at the video. He grinned, before laughing like the average comic book superhero.
"That's one way to tell everyone that you're here, young Midoriya!"
"It's really a tie?!" Midnight was speechless staring at the hologram.
"You'd need to have a microscope to see who exactly won." Aizawa muttered, scratching his head. He was right, they really are all problem children.
The hologram showed all five of them reaching out at the exact same time, their fingers having crossing the finish line at the exact same moment. Coincidence? I think not!
"Man, they really ruined the game... How are we supposed to go ahead with the second event now?" Mic wondered, even he himself was shocked at the revelation.
"W-wow! Five winners! This is the first time that's ever happened in UA history! But who will get the advantage for the second round?!" Mic then announced as Midnight walked towards Momo, Todoroki, Bakugo, Izuku and Sukuna.
"Come with me." They followed Midnight who began the discussion immediately.
"You guys really messed things up for us, but no matter. It's really nice seeing you giving everything you've got. But the question is, who's going to get the 10 million point headband for the calvary battle?" Midnight smirked, holding up a dark red headband with the words '10 million' written on it in kanji.
"Huh? The hell is that?" Bakugo asked, not understanding her. Midnight stuck out her tongue.
"Oops, forgot to mention the rules. Hihi~" She laughed before clearing her throat and continuing. "Basically, the top 42 students each form a team of 2-4 for this event and earn points by grabbing headbands from the other teams. The number of points each student is worth is dependent on their placement in the Obstacle Race. And guess what? The number one gets 10 million points off the board. But there's five of you. So, who wants to set a target on his or her back?" Midnight asked, dangling the headband in front of them like a cat toy.
"Just give it to the shitty nerd, sensei." Bakugo immediately pointed at Izuku who looked at him in horror. Aside that he was mad at Sukuna, he was also mad at Izuku for being able to match him in power.
"Yes, give it to Midoriya." Todoroki nodded, giving it to him for obvious reasons, the beef was still ongoing whether Izuku liked it or not.
"W-wait! G-guys! W-we can talk about this!" Izuku looked at Momo and Sukuna with pleading eyes.
"As much as I'd like to have a head start, I'd rather not have the four of you chasing me down the whole time. So I'll be giving it to Izuku too." Izuku felt like fainting. Momo smiled at him.
"I'm sure you'll do fine. After all you do have the ability of having instant chemistry with other teammates." She assured him, though that did not make him feel better at all.
"S-sukuna?" Izuku stuttered, looking at his one last hope. Surely they'd listen to the class president right? Sadly, that was not the case.
"Heh. Have fun with your 10 million points, man." Sukuna waved at him, walking away without a care. Bakugo laughed loudly as he stomped away, with the others approaching their classmates. Midnight wasn't sure whether she should console Izuku, who was having the 'thousand yard stare'. She only patted his back awkwardly, hoping it'd help a little.
Why does everyone seem to be his enemy today?
...
"Congrats to the top 42 that made it through to the next round. Don't worry even if you didn't make it, kids! UA has prepared other chances for you to shine!" Midnight declared, gathering their attention with a crack of her whip.
"The second event is going to be.. A Calvary Battle!" Midnight declared as she started explaining the rules to them. The time for the Cavalry Battle is only 15 minutes and that the point value of each team will be the total accumulation of each of the headbands taken.
The one to wear the headband will only be the rider, being able to wear them around the head or the neck. If a team crumbles or loses a headband, that team is not out of the game as they can keep trying to earn points until the time runs out.
Obviously, Quirks could be used, but not for malicious aim.
"So if you're ranked 42nd, you'd only have 5 points, 10 if you're 41st, 15 if you're 40th and so on so forth. And the headband for the one ranked first would be worth 10 million! But due to the previous round having 5 winners, and afford having a much needed discussion, they decided to generously hand off the head start to... Izuku Midoriya!"
Izuku gulped, as practically everyone around him was staring holes at him. He could feel their bloodlust compiling on him. Midnight grinned, enjoying the scene.
"If I were you, I'd make him my main target. Fufufu~ "
Oh he's cooked.
To be continued.....