The 9 Millimeter Kiss - Chapter 21: Chapter 21

"The first game of the first-year stage is finally over. Now, take a look at the results!"
Yuki somehow managed to land himself in 6th place to which he was pleasantly surprised.
"The top 42 made it through to the next round. It's unfortunate, but don't worry even if you didn't make it. We've prepared other chances for you to shine. The real competition begins next! The press cavalry'll be all over it! Give it your all!" Midnight swung her whip around.
"Now then, here is the second game. I already know what it is,"
Then why is there a randomizer!?
"But what could it be? What could it be?"
Yuki crossed his arms in slight annoyance. "They should just say it out if they've already chosen it."
"I just said it, and now here it is... "
"A Cavalry battle?"
"...Oh! Press Cavalry! A play on words i guess." Yuki nodded now understanding Midnight a bit more.
"It's not an individual event,"
"How do you think it'll work?"
"Let me explain." Midnight began. "The participants can form teams of two to four as they wish." a picture of Thirteen, Present Mic supporting All Might appeared on the screen.
"It's basically the same as a regular cavalry battle, but the one thing that's different is..." she paused for dramatic affect.
"Based on the results of the last game each person has been assigned a point value."
"Point-based system huh?" Yuki wondered, bringing a hand up to his lips in a thinking manner.
"In other words, each team is worth different points depending on who's on the team!" Uraraka exclaimed understandingly.
"You guys don't hold back even though I'm talking, huh?!" Midnight whipped her arm causing the whip in her hand to snap and Yuki to flinch, eyes beginning to sting.
"Yes, that's right! And the points assigned go up by five starting from the bottom. So 42nd place gets five points, and 41st gets ten points!"
Yuki immediately cringed at the number he saw for first place.
"And the point value assigned to first place is... ten million!"
"T-Ten million?!" A small cry from Yuki's dear friend who only minutes ago was trying to kill.
If you somehow manage to take down the first place player's team... you can stand at the top no matter what place you're in!
"That's right. It's survival of the fittest, with a chance for those at the bottom to overthrow the top!"
Welp! It was nice knowing you Midoriya Izuku.
"Now then, I'll explain the rules of the cavalry battle. The time limit is fifteen minutes. Each team is worth the total of its members' points, and the riders will wear a headband with that number on their foreheads. Teams will try to grab each other's headbands until time runs out, and try to keep as many points as they can. Stolen headbands must be worked from the neck up. So the more you steal the harder it'll be to manage them. And the most important thing is that even if your headband gets stolen, or if your team falls, you're not out!"
"Which means since there are 42 people, there will be ten to twelve teams on the field?" Yuki's eyebrow raised.
"That's tough." Aoyama piped in.
"One strategy could be to let someone take your points first so you'll be more free." Mina added.
"It's hard to say without seeing how all the points end up getting split up, Mina." Tsuyu replied.
"During the game, it'll be a cruel fight where you can use your quirks. But it is still a cavalry battle. You'll get a red card for attacks that are trying to make people fall on purpose! You'll be removed immediately!"
"Damn." Yuki sighed.
A timer then appeared on the hologram. "Now, you have fifteen minutes to build your teams. Start!"
I'm not much of a lifter and I'm pretty lightweight, being the rider would be easier....
Yuki looked around.
But I probably won't put much of a fight if I wear it. Quirk usage is allowed and the chances of getting hurt are very lik--
"Excuse me?"
Yuki turned around, "Yes--"
"In first place, Team Todoroki!
Huh?
"In second place, Team Bakugo!"
What happened...?
"In third place, Tetsu-- Huh? What, it's Team Shinso?!"
I-It's over...?!
"When did you come from behind?!"
"Thanks for your hard work." Yuki turned to the purple haired boy.
"W-what?"
Yuki turned to Aoyama who was hunched over.
"Yuki-kun. Do you know what just happened?"
It was Ojiro. Yuki only frowned and shook his head. He felt as though he was going to be sick. He didn't recall anything, apparently his team placed third...?
"No I have no idea." a cold chill ran down his spine.
"In fourth place, Team Midoriya!"
Yuki heard an all too familiar cry in the distan-- What in the world happened?! He asked himself as he laid eyes on the huge land of ice.
"These four teams will advance to the final round!"
"Now we will take an hour break for lunch before we start the afternoon festivities!" Mic announced.
"Yuki..." Aoyama groaned, still clutching onto his stomach. "Do you by any chance have pain killers?"
Yuki sweatdropped. "Let's take you to the nurses office."
The entire time Yuki was deeply confused as to what happened as he helped Aoyama with his stomach ache which seemed worse than usual, hinting, he'd push past his limit more than usual.
However, like Ojiro, Aoyama also had no idea what happened.
Yuki made sure to grab something light to eat. He wasn't drained but his right shoulder did hurt a little.
I was probably the horse on his left side, Ojiro on his right and Aoyama used as defence. That would explain the severe stomach ache he's having. Recovery girl won't allow him to continue...
Surprisingly, he hadn't run into anyone from his class yet. He was just sitting on a bench in an empty hallway looking up at the ceiling, waiting.
"Now that lunch is over, it's finally time to reveal the last game! But before that, there's good news for all of you who didn't make it to the finals!"
"Yuki-kun where have you been?" Uraraka asked as soon as she spotted him.
"I was with Aoyama at the nurses office. His stomach ache was pretty bad. Recovery isn't letting him continue the last game." Yuki smiled.
"Oh, that's too bad."
"Why are you wearing that...?"
"Well... you see...."
"Uraraka-san!"
"Coming!"
"This is just a sports festival! So we've prepared recreational games that everyone can participate in, too! We even brought real cheerleaders from America to liven things up!"
"What are they doing?"
"What's the matter, Class A? What kind of fan service is that?!"
"Mineta! Kaminari! You tricked us didn't you?!" Yaoyorozu shouted.
Yuki sent a cold glare to the two who were all too proud of the stunt they pulled off.
"Why am i always caught up in Mineta's schemes?" she sighed, falling to her knees in embarrassment. "I even used Creation to make the outfits...
"Those guys are so dumb!" Jiro blushed throwing her pom poms to the floor.
"Well, there's still time before the finals, and it'll be a pain if things got tense."
Yuki being nearest to them offered a comforting smile, "You girls still look pretty good, though. Don't worry too much about those two."
All the girls looked over to Yuki. "It's fine! Let's do it!" Hagakure cheered.
"EH?!" Jiro was now red.
"All right, everyone! Let's have fun competing in the recreational games!"
The screens popped up and judging from the type of chart that was showing. It would be a one-on-one match.
"When that's over, the sixteen from the four teams that made it to the final round will duke it out tournament style, one-on-one!"
Yuki felt he was recovering from the sudden time leap it seemed he'd make. He had no idea what the boy, Shinso, did to him but whatever it was, it was the effect of not having any recollection of it was what scared him the most. Last time he felt that was...
So long ago.
"I'm gonna stand on the stage that I watch every year on TV!" Yuki broke out of his thoughts and turned to the red headed a little to his left.
"Was it a tournament last year?" Mina asked.
"It's different every year, but there's a one-on-one competition every year." Sero elaborated. "Last year, it was a sports chanbara match."
"Now, let's draw lots to determine the bracket." Midnight announce holding up a yellow box.
"Once the bracket is determined we'll have the recreational games and then start! The sixteen finalists can choose whether or not they want to participate in the recreational games. I'm sure some of you want to rest or save your strength. Now, from the first place team--"
"Um...! Excuse me." Yuki turned back to see Ojiro's hands raised. "I'm withdrawing."
Yuki tensed up.
"Ojiro, why?"
"This is a rare chase for pros to see you!" Iida reminded him.
"I barely remember anything from the cavalry battle until almost the end. I think it was that guy's quirk." Yuki's eyes subconsciously searched for the purple haired boy.
"I know that this is a great chance and that it's foolish to waste it...but everyone here competed by giving their all!"
Yuki wrapped an arm around his stomach.
Should I also drop? It's not like it really matters...
"I can't... I can't be up there with everyone without knowing what really happened."
"You're worrying too much about it!" Hagakure tried to cheer him up. "You should just make sure you produce results in the finals."
"If you're gonna say that, I didn't do anything either." Mina comforted.
No. It's different from that.
"That's not it..." Ojiro went to cover his face in an attempt to hide his humiliation. "I'm talking about my pride here... I can't...."
Yuki sighed. He understood. And no matter how much he'd say he could just opt out, he was also a competitive person.
"Also..." Ojiro continued. "Why are you guys wearing cheerleader outfits."
Yuki let out another sigh. This time heavier.
"Youthful talk like that is something I LIKE!! OJIRO! I accept your withdrawal!"
She decided based on her taste...
Just as she was about to continue she brought her hand up to her ear piece.
"What is that? Oh! That's too bad..." Midnight sighed. "Unfortunately Aoyama from class 1-A is also unable to continue due to medical reasons!"
Yuki slowly made his way towards Ojiro placing a hand on his shoulder. "Yuki?"
"I'm sorry, Ojiro. I'm too competitive to drop out but I understand why you're doing it." Yuki bluntly told him.
"It's alright." Ojiro nervously smiled at Yuki's closed eyed smile.
"In that case, we'll have to move up two people from the fifth place cavalry battle team." Midnight thought out.
"If that's what's going to happen, then rather than us, who barely did anything during the cavalry battle it should be them, right?" an orange haired girl spoke up turning to a silver headed boy.
"Team Tetsutetsu, right?"
"Y-You guys--!" a cry of happiness came from him.
"And so Tetsutetsu and Shiozaki have moved up to make sixteen! This is the bracket based on the results of the drawing!"
Shinso v. Midoriya
Todoroki v. Sero
Kaminari v. Shiozaki
Hatsume v. Iida
Ashido v. Satori
Tokoyami v. Yaoyorozu
Tetsutetsu v. Kirishima
Bakugo v. Uraraka
"I won't go easy on you, Yuki-kun!" Mina grinned.
"Eh~ Same goes here, Mina-chan!" Yuki taunted.
"Huh? Uraraka?"
A not so silent screech came from the burnette.
"All right! Let's leave the tournament aside for a momentary interlude! Let's have fun with the recreation!"
"Are you going to join, Yuki-kun?" Uraraka asked, catching him before he left.
"No, it's not my cup of tea. Enjoy yourself though. You look great by the way."
Uraraka blushed at how calmly and charming Yuki managed to make that last sentence to the point she could only hide half of her face in the pom poms and nod.
Yuki had some brainstorming to do before his match.