Team Effort

Minutes after he passed the finish line, the troublesome trio passed as well, Midoriya earning second place by the stretch of his fingers. He could see -figuratively- the dark clouds forming above Shoto's and Katsuki's heads, they were defeated by someone who didn't even use his quirk, someone, who couldn't control it, someone with a quirk that a flicker of a finger caused immense destruction and left the user vulnerable.

For all the declaration of war Shoto made to Midoriya, he still had his pride, pride that was put to the test. As for Katsuki, it was obvious that his own pride was starting to crumble, he was raised to believe that his quirk would make him number one, which fed his ego and created an egomaniac teenager who saw everyone else as extras, well almost everyone, the people he recognized as stronger than him, used them as a goal to be reached. In the end, under all this pride, it was painfully obvious that both of them spent years preparing to become heroes, they trained, and it was obvious to how Shoto used his quirk, his familiarity with it, and how Katsuki moved. Shoto was superior when it came to quirk usage and Katsuki was superior in close combat. In the end, both of them were superior to Midoriya at least when it came to fighting because Midoriya still beat them, he utilized his greatest aspect, his brain. 

Midoriya trained in hand-to-hand, he saw it when he fought Katsuki on their second day but he was still a novice when it came down to it, more importantly, he spent years watching and analyzing Katsuki, and even as a novice fighter he defeated him because he knew his moves before he even made them, Midoriya even copied him. Midoriya knew Katsuki's pattern, and now he was analyzing everyone in their class, which is why Killua blended his fighting style, finding new and innovative ways to use his nen, how to heal himself, and how to make himself stronger and even faster. Anything to keep those analyzing eyes from completely 'cracking his code', anything to make him unpredictable, because if Midoriya could do that then who was to say a villain couldn't? Especially with the threat of All for One looming over their heads. 

He moved towards his friend who was sulking a few ways from him. Shoto was nothing like Gon and yet he felt almost an instant connection with him, to be honest, he was more similar to Killua himself which made it all the more surprising. Still, there was one major difference between them, Killua smiled, even after all the torturous training he went through, he hadn't allowed his family to break him, to turn him into another Illumi, heartless and cold. So as retaliation, he smiled, back then, before Gon, it was the only way he could rebel, the only way he could defend himself from the cruelty of his family. Shoto lost his smile, he wasn't cold, but he wasn't nice, not because he didn't want to but because he didn't know how to, he didn't know how to communicate with his peers, but he was learning and Killua was helping him. Today he even talked to Ashido, that was a step forward, he couldn't help but feel proud of his friend.

"You're sulking," he said with a teasing tone, a grin forming on his face when the sulking turned to pouting.

"I'm not" Shoto protested.

"Then I must be hallucinating, should I withdraw from the competition?"

"If you want Aizawa-Sensei to have your head"

"You're right, it wouldn't be worth his nagging... seriously though it's not so bad, sure, you're not first place but that's only because of my awesomeness and you only lost to Midoriya by mere millimeters"

"You don't get it" Shoto murmured "I don't mind losing to you, I've seen what you're capable of, or at least a portion of it. Even now you only used your quirk on the robots, you won purely by skill. But Midoriya..." he trailed off.

"I get it, you've been training your quirk for years and now someone who can't even control it, who didn't even use it beat you"

"It's frustrating"

"I know, but sulking about it won't fix things. Learn from it. Why did Midoriya beat you?" Shoto looked at him with puzzled eyes.

"What do you mean? he was faster" Killua made a noise similar to a buzzer.

"He beat you because he used his head. He didn't rely on his quirk knowing what it would do to him, so he improvised and used the terrain to his advantage while you and Katsuki fought each other, keeping one another from moving forward and allowing him to pass you. You both are in a better physical condition than Midoriya, you're both faster. He was just smarter" Kullua told him, while Shoto looked at him wide-eyed, before sighing.

"You're right" He said eventually.

"Aren't I always?"

"And way too smug"

"It's a part of my charm"

"What charm?" Shoto questioned.

"You know, there's a reason why I'm class representative" At that Shoto grumbled something incoherent, though his trained hearing caught something that sounded suspiciously like 'smartass'. Shoto side-eyed him. 

"Did you really had to provoke the other classes?" He eventually asked.

"It wouldn't be fun otherwise" Killua answered with a nonchalant voice. 

"Being hated and targeted by everyone isn't my definition of fun" Shoto grumbled. 

"No offense Sho, but you don't know the meaning of fun" 

"How is that not offending?" Shoto's voice became defensive. Honestly, Shoto Todoroki had a lot of good points, but fun wasn't one of them. 

"Because it's the truth" Killua grinned at his friend, while Shoto looked at him with a deadpan expression.

"Fuck off" Shoto flipped him off. 

They sat in silence after that, watching students as they passed the finish line, now and then they would try to guess their quirks based on their appearances. Then Momo passed and Killua noticed Mineta stuck on her back, a perverted look on his face. Becoming annoyed he stalked toward the two, Shoto following close behind as he too noticed his classmate's actions and grew frustrated. 

"Fucking pervert, reminds me of my freaky brother" Killua grumbled. Shoto decided to save the information for later. "Get the fuck off of her Pipsqueak, before I make you," Killua told Mineta in a threatening voice that earned him a terrified look from said Pipsqueak. 

"Press I only did it in order to pass" he defended "You understand right?" Killua caught Mineta by his shirt collar and lifted him so they could make eye contact. 

"What I understand is that you're harassing your classmate, you could catch a ride with anyone, meaning guys too, and yet you decided to hitch a ride with the girl you've been ogling the most. Do keep in mind you're on live TV with the whole of Japan watching, you are one of the U.A.'s hero representatives and with your actions, you're dragging the school's already damaged reputation down. I'm warning you, if someone in our class is going to transfer then that someone would be you, whether it's because of your performance or if it's because of your actions " he put him down and Mineta with nothing to say scrabbled away like a ferocious beast was hunting him. Momo smiled softly at Killua and whispered her thanks.

"Are you okay?" Shoto asked her, he wasn't very good with emotions but thought the expression Momo had right now, was one of distress.

"Yeah" she murmured, but at Killua's raised eyebrow and Shoto's puzzled face, she relented. "You guys know that my costume is made in a way that can benefit my quirk right?" At their nodding, she continued "Like you said Killua, Mineta has been ogling me, sometimes I feel like... like he... he..." She struggled to find the right words.

"Undresses you with his gaze?" Kyoko put it, having heard the commotion and making her way to them along with Denki, Eijiro(Kirishima), and even Katsuki. 

"Yeah, that" She gave a small smile to her friend.

"That's because he does," Katsuki said with a deadpan expression "I don't even know why that extra is in our class" Killua hummed in agreement.

"As class press, I should defend him, but honestly I can't, that guy looks at all the girls in our class like they are a bag of meat or something."

"And unfortunately Yaomomo gets the worst of it" Kyoko chimed in again.

"I can't help the fact that my quirk demands showcasing skin," Momo said harshly, before softening a little bit. "Apologies, I shouldn't have snapped. It's just if Mineta a Hero in training and Classmate treats me like that... Then what about the public? even villains?" 

"I think you should talk to Midnight-Sensei," Eijiro told her, his voice soft. "I think as an R-rated hero, she would have some advice for you."

"That's a good idea," Killua said, "and look, if you have any problems like that again you can come to me. We're friends after all"

"That and it's your responsibility to care for the class Speedy" Katsuki growled at him, though it lacked the usual heat.

"Mhhh, jealous much?" Killua taunted him.

"Hardly"

"Hey" Denki's voice was hesitant and he was averting eye contact with everyone. He took a deep breath before looking at the girls, with determination, Killua though detected a little bit of guilt in his expression. "I'm sorry if I ever made you uncomfortable. While I know I'm not as bad as Mineta I still ogle all of you... so... sorry" He finished hesitantly he was fidgeting a lot making it obvious he was uncomfortable with the quiet.

"The fact that you're acknowledging it makes you way better than that scum" Kyoko finally said. "Apology accepted" As she said that Momo nodded her head, then she turned at the guys with an expected raised eyebrow "Your turn"

"Sorry," Shoto said, though he was pretty sure he hadn't stared at the girls the same way Mineta and Denki did.

"Actually, none of you, with Kaminari's exception, have ever made me feel uncomfortable," Momo said

"That's because we have some fucking decency," Katsuki said as he looked straight at her.

"That and we know how to be discreet" Killua followed, then turned and looked at Eijiro "You could use some help with that" Eijiro flushed, his face turning bright red.

"Was I that obvious?" He asked Killua, apparently the only other person who understood their exchange was Katsuki.

"I'm surprised no one else realized yet"

"Sorry, did I make you uncomfortable?"

"No, it's fine" Then he turned to Katsuki, raising an eyebrow at him, probing him. He mumbled to himself, probably insulting Killua, before relenting.

"No, you're cool," He told Eijiro.

"Wait I'm confused," Denki said, he looked at the others "Do you guys know what's going on?"

"Not sure," Kyoko said puzzled, while Shoto was looking at them with a little bit of clarity, he thought he understood but he wasn't sure.

"Hey, how come you're not sulking?" Killua asked Katsuki successfully pulling attention to the two of them and away from Eijiro, Katsuki just yelled and insulted him, understanding his intentions he made it all the more melodramatic. In all honesty, even if his ego more or less blinded him, Katsuki was a great guy to have at your side, he was someone you could rely on. The others laughed at them, Eijiro looking grateful and Shoto trying to hide his small smile.

As the 42nd contestant passed the finish line, metal gates fell and blocked everyone else from entering. The bantering between Killua and Katsuki died down as their group turned toward Midnight as she started talking.

"The second round of the U.A. sports festival first-stage is… a cavalry battle with the top 42 from the qualifier! Those at the top will suffer more. You'll hear this many times as you attend U.A. This is what "Plus Ultra" means!" The crowd went wild at her words. Every year the sports festival became all the more interesting as new and innovative challenges took place, and the school would test the students not only as individuals but as teams as well. "Now then, I will explain the rules of the cavalry battle. The points start at 5 for the 42nd contestant and every time go up by 5 which means the 41st place is worth 10 points, the 40th place 15 points, and so on. But here is the trap the first place is different" She paused for dramatic effect, everyone in the stadium had their eyes on her, and not because of her costume "Killua Zoldyck, who placed first in the qualifier, is worth ten million points!" She bellowed. Killua could feel hundreds of eyes on him now. Staring hungrily, taking his headband away was a sure win. He was all too aware that his friends wouldn't work with him, after all this was still a competition, but that was fine, he would figure it out. "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 others' headbands until time runs out and try to keep as many points as they can. Stolen headbands must be worn 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! Now you have 15 minutes to make your teams." And then the stage was in chaos, students looking to form teams.

Killua felt a familiar aura behind him, before the boy even touched him he had already turned to face him.

"I'm surprised you would want to work with me," He told the purple-haired teenager "You do realize everyone will be coming after me, right?"

"I saw you at the entrance exam, you took down the robot with one lightning attack and you did the same now. You're arrogant but you can back it up. Shinso Hitoshi by the way, of course, I already know your name. So how about it partners?" he asked extending his hand for Killua to shake and after a few seconds of contemplation he did.

"Sure" The moment he spoke, his mind became fuzzy, he knew what was happening, he had felt it before. 

He hated people taking control of his mind, and with a jolt of electricity in his brain, he broke free.

A fire burned in his eyes, his pupils were slits and without realizing his nails grew to claws. He was beyond furious, this guy just tried to control him, tried to take his free will away, Illumi had done that. Suddenly memories of his eldest brother drown his mind, memories of being a puppet. 

Bloodlust sipped away from him, everyone froze, the crowd quieted down and growing scared, teachers were on edge ready to restrain him, and the students stared at him unable to move. 

He took a couple of deep breaths and stopped the flow of his bloodlust, he retracted his claws and then looked up at the purple-haired student. Hitoshi's eyes were wide and filled with fear, realizing that he had awoken a beast. His classmates saw him like this only once before. The day of the USJ attack, the day when he killed Nomu, was the only time they saw the unrivaled fury burning in his eyes and it terrified them, ever since then they thought Killua as a viper, deadly and patient waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

He took a step forward getting close to Hitoshi, if the mind-bending teen was thinking clearly he would have taken a step back, but he wasn't, and so he remained rooted at his spot. Killua grabbed him from his shirt and lifted him, showcasing his strength. 

"Don't ever try that again" Killua's voice was low and dangerous, it was like he growled his words out. Hitoshi nodded, and then his legs touched the ground, his legs trembled as he lost strength and finally fell down to his knees. "Come on, I want to find someone for our team" 

Hitoshi's head snapped up to look at Killua bewildered "Our team?" He asked his voice trembling and small.

"I agreed before you pulled that shit off, I don't make a habit of going back to my word, at least not when I'm honest about it"

"I thought that after that you wouldn't want to" 

"I hate your quirk," Killua said bluntly, he saw as Hitoshi flinched, he understood how this black-and-white world worked, powerful quirks were meant for heroes, quirkless people were trash, and people with 'scary' quirks were meant to be villains. He had heard a couple of kids from general education call his quirk villainous and even question his reasons for being at UA, he didn't like him but he understood him, he understood how he felt so he could sympathize "Don't take me wrong, it's just past experiences" he grabbed his hand and pulled him up "now come one" he turned around fully expecting him to follow. 

As he walked people parted for him, finding his target he smiled, and just like that life returned to the stadium, and everyone could breathe again. 

Up at the commentator's booth, Aizawa let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"Hey pigtails" Killua greeted the short bluenette. Her eyes were wide and staring at him.

"Ahm, hi Killua," She said hesitantly, she shot a glance at the other boy behind him who was still trembling "Would you like help? I'm a healer," she told him going into 'healer's mode'.

"No, I'm good thanks." she nodded before turning her attention back to the silver-haired boy.

"That was some power display"

"Sorry, I kind of snapped back there. He did something that triggered bad memories to resurface" Wendy frowned at him, then moved closer so he would be the only one to hear her. He was still a whole head taller than her, sure he wasn't the tallest guy in his class, but he most definitely wasn't the shortest, he was average at 5'7 feet (1,70 cm), while in this world he had hit a small growth spurt, but if he was anything like his father or eldest brother, he would soon grow to be one of the classe's tallest. She lifted herself on her toes and leaned to his ear.

"PTSD is no laughing matter" She murmured to him. She caught on way too fast, he genuinely believed that Wendy was going to become one hell of a healer. He smiled at her, his handsome features softening up, even more, he was still tensed from what happened with Hitoshi but was slowly relaxing.

"Don't worry, I've got it under control" he told her, voice as low as hers, she slightly blushed at his warm breath against her ear. Noticing it he grinned, causing her to blush even more, he moved back taking mercy on her "Anyway" he said in a louder voice "Want to join our team?" she raised a skeptical brow and looked between them.

"Are you sure you guys can work together?" Hitoshi looked at the ground.

"It's not like he knew..." Killua drawled before turning to face Hitoshi "I'm cool with it if you are" Hitoshi sighed, then breathed in and out lifted his head, and nodded to the two. "Cool, how about you"Wendy?

"I don't think my quirk will benefit your team Killua... maybe you should ask someone else, my classmate Kendo-chan..."

"I asked you, Wendy. Do you want to join our team" Killua interrupted her, his voice steady and confident. Wendy looked him in the eyes, she knew he was strong he had seen just how much at the entrance exam. She just didn't want to drag him down.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive" He answered without hesitation.

"Okay then" She looked up at him with a soft smile, before turning to their third member "Wendy Marvell by the way"

"Shinso Hitoshi, do you have anyone else in mind"

"No, we three are more than enough," Killua said, a mischievous grin slowly spreading on his face, the other two suddenly felt very bad for everyone else, they shivered as their teammate's grin stretched. 

****************************************************************************************

They had in total 10.000.095 points, 80 points from Hitoshi and 15 from Wendy (she replaces Manga from class 1-B), the other teams had their eyes on them, trying to assess them. Unfortunately even with class 1-A knowing Killua's 'quirk', he was still an unpredictable player, other than lightning he also had strength and speed.

Another major problem was his teammates. The blue-haired girl and the purple-haired boy were mysteries for class 1-A, while for class 1-B the mystery was the two boys, well that's not quite true, they knew that the silver-haired teen's quirk had to do with lightning, unfortunately, they were blissfully unaware about his other capabilities.

They had decided for Wendy to be the rider, mostly because they were afraid of crushing her. In a way, her weight on his shoulder was comforting, though admittedly it was weird having her propped between his and Hitoshi's shoulders, at least in the beginning.

"We need to stay focused and stick to our plan," Killua reminded his teammates, his sharp gaze narrowing as he watched the other teams. "How long could you enhance me for?"

"About 1o-12 minutes if it is just you, it's half the time for both. Also, enhance works for all your body and quirk, unfortunately, I can't control it and have only one aspect enhanced."

"That's okay, I want you to enhance me the moment the buzzer goes off"

"Are you sure? while starting like that we have a dynamic beginning the chances of getting tired sooner are bigger"

"We will be sitting ducks in the beginning. Everyone will come and focus their attacks on us, so having a dynamic start will allow us to escape" Hitoshi told her.

"Exactly, also Hitoshi, hold back on your quirk unless it's absolutely necessary." At that, he received a sharp nod from the mind-bending teen.

The buzzer went off and chaos ensued in the stadium. Wendy's hands were glowing green as she enhanced Killua, and as she did that he felt a strong surge of power, it wrapped around his body making it stronger, but it went even further than just that. The power surge spread to his nen, his eyes were a storming glowing blue, the only indication of overwhelming power. Hitoshi could feel the electricity around him, it was like a constant buzz, it tingled his skin and made his hair stand up, then it suddenly stopped as Killua utilized his nen around the three of them as a barrier from his own electricity.

The ground beneath their feet started to soften up, and Killua's keen instincts immediately detected the subtle shift in the terrain. The electrical current surged from his feet and extended around them he successfully kept it from reaching the other teams, as it rushed through the softened ground. The intense heat generated by the lightning rapidly evaporated any moisture present in the softened ground, as it started crackling and smoldering beneath their feet, leaving behind a series of scorch marks and fissures in its wake. Where once the ground was soft and pliable, it was now starting to harden and solidify almost instantaneously, but it went even further than that, Wendy's enhancement on his nen was a lot more powerful than what they expected and while he was successful in keeping his power on a smaller scale the power output was that much stronger.

A transformation started to occur as the ground began to overheat, the high temperature and the chill air around them, causing the silica content to melt and fuse together to form a glass-like structure, a fulgurite, that they were now standing on.

Everyone stopped and stared. 

"Well, this is new," Killua said as he looked down at the glass surrounding them.

"Just how much did you power him up?" Hitoshi asked, voice an octave higher.

"Honestly, I'm not sure, I thought I could power someone up to 30% but now I'm not so sure about it," Wendy answered her voice mirroring Hitoshi's high levels. "But honestly, based on what I saw from him on the entrance exam it could be just him"

"What can I say? I'm awesome like that" Killua gloated. If Hitoshi wasn't both awestruck and terrified of him, he would have hit him on the head. Wendy didn't have his reservations as she did just that. 

Some of the teams decided that they stared long enough and that he was too much trouble to deal with, so they turned around and started attacking the rest of the teams. And just like that, the spell was broken, the audience went crazy, and Present Mic became even louder. 

Dark Shadow rushed at them, Midoriya's team not far behind. Without a warning, Killua grabbed Hitoshi and tightened his hold on Wendy. He jumped back avoiding Dark Shadow's sharp claws. Bright lightning surrounded the three of them, bright enough to hurt Dark Shadow. Unfortunately upon their landing, they failed to see the purple sticky balls that were spread around them.

"What the hell?" Hitoshi exclaimed as his leg was stuck, Team Midoriya had taken to the sky and were rapidly approaching them. Killua focused his nen back on the ground, specifically on the purple balls, the immense heat melting them. 

They shivered as a cold breeze reached them and with it, ice. They dodged back and the ice now separated them from team Midoriya. 

"Did Shoto just try to replace me with Denki?" Killua asked offended, as he watched team Todoroki closing in on them.

"Focus" Hitoshi yelled at him.

"I'm focused and annoyed... I just got betrayed by my own best friend" Killua cried crocodile tears. "He replaced me with a cheap knock-off" he heard Denki's indignant 'Hey', Shoto just looked at him as if asking him if he was suffering from brain damage, before shooting more ice and effectively trapping him. Killua was offended.

Lound boom noises echo from behind him, he could recognize that yelling, Katsuki sure liked insulting him, when was he even coming up with those names? They were now boxed, ice from both of their sides, Shoto from the front, Katsuki from behind, and Midoriya was back in the game and above them. His teammates were yelling ideas or saying they were screwed and he... he just smirked.

"Hold on" He said to the other two, Wendy immediately tightened her grip on them with Hitoshi following her lead. Killua lifted his leg and kicked one of the ice walls, no lightning, just pure strength, and in turn the wall came crumbling down, forcing the other teams to retreat, while Killua formed a Lightning Ring around them evaporating the ice.

Shoto glared at him and send another torrent of ice in his smug face. His grin stretched even further as the ice evaporated in the middle as it reached them, while simultaneously pushing all the other teams away.

"Sorry man, but nothing can pass my lightning field," he said loud enough to be heard by other teams close to them. Shoto glared even more, before whispering to his team and turning the other way to get some other headbands, he saw Bakugo chasing some blonde from class 1-B, and Midoriya... Midoriya was coming straight to them, apparently, he took full advantage of the aerial attacks that were available to him now. He looked up as They started to descend on them, Midoriya's eyes widening, they were too close, Midoriya's hand was millimeters away from Wendy's headband. 

Unfortunately, Midoriya seemed to have forgotten Killua's speed. One second his hand was millimeters away from the fabric and the next they were trying to avoid crushing.

Killua had managed to keep their headband safe, Hitoshi used his quirk only once on a girl who could chop herself and told her -with an evil grin- to spray her body parts and keep them separated until the end. 

They won, and they couldn't stop the smugness from showing on their faces.