Tick Tock

The battle began with a fury that shook the very ground beneath our feet. Todoroki's ice surged towards us, a crackling, jagged wave that threatened to engulf our team whole.

"Brace yourselves!" I yelled, my voice nearly lost in the roar of the oncoming glacier.

Tokoyami reacted instantly, Dark Shadow bursting forth to meet the assault head-on. The sentient quirk collided with the ice in a deafening crash, shards of frozen shrapnel exploding outwards from the point of impact.

But Todoroki wasn't finished. Even as Dark Shadow grappled with the first wave, a second was already forming, then a third, a relentless barrage that kept us on the defensive, always reacting, never able to seize the initiative.

"He's trying to box us in!" Momo shouted over the din of shattering ice. "Limit our mobility!"

She was right. Each wave was a little closer, a little more precise, corralling us into an ever-tightening corner of the battlefield.

I gritted my teeth, my mind racing. We needed to break this pattern, needed to find a way to counter Todoroki's onslaught.

Suddenly, Kaminari moved, electricity crackling around his body. "I'll give us an opening!" he yelled, thrusting his hands forward. A bolt of lightning arced towards us, the air sizzling with the smell of ozone.

"Momo, staff!" I barked.

She reacted instantly, a metal staff materializing from her exposed skin. I snatched it from her hands, already moving. Grunting, I drove the staff into the ground, directly in the path of Kaminari's attack.

The electricity hit the staff with a deafening crack, the metal absorbing the brunt of the discharge. Residual energy danced along the ground, but Dark Shadow was there, shielding us from the worst of it.

Todoroki's team, seeing an opportunity in our momentary distraction, surged forward. Iida's engines roared as he propelled them towards us, frost gathering at Todoroki's fingertips.

But I was ready for them. As Todoroki reached for our headbands, I countered, slapping his hand away and moving my own to grasp at the strips of cloth around his neck.

Todoroki's eyes widened. In a reflexive motion, he brought his left arm up to block.

But it wasn't ice that burst from his skin. It was fire, a rush of flames that seared the air between us.

I jerked back, the sudden heat warming my face. But even as I retreated, I felt a grin tugging at the corners of my mouth.

"Oh?" I said, my voice light. "Now what was that?"

Todoroki's face was a mask of shock, his eyes fixed on his own hand as if it had betrayed him. I could see the gears turning behind his gaze, the realization of what he had just done sinking in.

I didn't give him time to process. "Booster pads, now!" I yelled, already moving.

Hatsume responded instantly, the devices on our feet roaring to life. We shot forward, putting distance between ourselves and Todoroki's team in a single, dizzying burst of speed.

As we raced away, I looked back over my shoulder. Todoroki was still standing there, his arm outstretched, the last wisps of flame curling from his fingers. His expression was unreadable, a complex mix of emotions that I couldn't even begin to decipher.

But one thing was clear. Whatever mental block had been holding Todoroki back, whatever fear or reservation had kept him from using his left side…

I had just forced him to confront it. And in doing so, I might have just changed the course of this entire festival.

"Tokoyami, tha- GAH!"

My thanks turned into a yelp of surprise and pain as something hard and metallic crashed into my back, sending me sprawling across Tokoyami's shoulders. I twisted around, expecting to see Todoroki's team having broken through.

But instead, I found myself face to face with a sheepish-looking Hatsume, her goggles askew and a tangle of sparking, smoking wires protruding from her backpack.

"Heh, sorry about that, boss," she grinned, not sounding sorry at all. "Looks like one of my babies needs a little fine-tuning."

I bit back a groan, the taste of smoke thick on my tongue. But I couldn't dwell on it now.

Todoroki wasn't a recommendation student for no reason and I saw his right arm outstretched, frost crackling along his skin as he prepared another icy barrage. But something about his stance, about the way his team was positioned, struck a sudden chord in my mind.

"That's it," I whispered, my eyes widening with realization. "His ice... it only comes from his right side!"

It was a detail I had noticed before, but never really considered the implications of. Todoroki's quirk, powerful as it was, had a very specific directionality to it. And that meant...

"Guys," I called out, my voice low and urgent. "We need to stay to Todoroki's left. It looks like he's not going to use his fire. If we can keep ourselves positioned there, he won't be able to use his ice without risk of friendly fire."

Momo's eyes lit up, catching on immediately. "Iida's too close, and too central to their formation. Todoroki would be just as likely to freeze him as he would us."

Tokoyami nodded, Dark Shadow retracting slightly as he prepared to maneuver. "A clever strategy. It limits his options significantly."

Hatsume just grinned, already fiddling with another of her gadgets. "Heh, leave it to boss to find the loophole. Alright, let's do this!"

We began to move, Tokoyami and Hatsume adjusting their stances to keep us always oriented to Todoroki's left. It wasn't easy, especially with the limited space of the battlefield and the constant threat of the other teams. But slowly, gradually, we started to gain ground, forcing Todoroki's team to pivot and realign to keep us in their sights.

I could see the frustration mounting in Todoroki's eyes, the tightness in his jaw as he realized what we were doing. He sent a few probing blasts of ice our way, but they were hesitant, restrained. He couldn't commit fully, not without risking Iida in the process.

"It's working!" I exulted, a fierce grin spreading across my face. "We've got him on the defensive!"

But even as the words left my mouth, I noticed a sudden glow emanating from Iida's legs. His engines were revving up, the exhaust pipes starting to emit a bright, bluish light.

"Hatsume! Get me in the air, now!"

Hatsume, startled by my sudden shout, fumbled with her controls. "On it, boss! Engaging Booster Pads!"

But instead of the sudden surge of propulsive force, the only thing that emerged from the pads was a choking cloud of black smoke. Hatsume coughed, waving her hand in front of her face. "Damn it! Not now, you finicky little..."

"Recipro Burst!" Iida's shout cut through the air like a thunderclap.

I tapped into the Drishti and time seemed to slow to a crawl. I could see every detail with crystalline clarity - the determined set of Iida's jaw, the frost gathering at Todoroki's fingertips, the headbands fluttering at my neck.

Iida was a blur, a human missile rocketing towards me with all the inevitability of a freight train. And Todoroki, his hand outstretched, reaching for my headbands...

I knew I couldn't dodge entirely. Even with the enhanced perception granted by the Tandava, my body simply couldn't move fast enough to evade their coordinated assault.

So I did the only thing I could. I leaned, twisting my body to the left, putting as much distance as possible between Todoroki's grasping fingers and the ten million point headband.

I felt the brush of his hand against my neck, felt the tug as he snagged one of my lesser headbands. But the ten million, my most precious cargo, remained safe.

And then, as suddenly as it had started, it was over. Time snapped back into its normal flow, the world rushing back in with a dizzying lurch.

Pain lanced through my skull, a searing agony that felt like a white-hot poker being driven into my eye sockets. I gasped, my vision blurring, my balance wavering as the backlash from my overuse of the Drishti hit me.

I dimly heard Momo's concerned shout, felt Tokoyami's stance shift to compensate for my sudden unsteadiness. But it was all distant, muted, drowned out by the pounding of my own heartbeat in my ears.

I forced myself to breathe, to focus on the steady in-and-out of air in my lungs. Gradually, the world started to come back into focus, the pain in my head receding to a dull, pulsing throb.

Just in time to hear a new voice cut through the clamor of the battlefield. A voice I knew all too well.

"Well, well, well. Looks like IcyHot and Deku are having a real heart-to-heart out here."

I turned to see Bakugo's team standing at the edge of the battlefield. His face was split by a feral grin, his palms crackling with barely-restrained explosions. Fuck.

"But if you think you're the only ones who get to have a little fun..." He snarled, his eyes locking onto mine with laser-like intensity.

"Then you've got another thing coming."

"HALF A MINUTE REMAINING!" Present Mic's voice boomed over the loudspeakers, almost deafening in its intensity. "YOU HEAR THAT, FOLKS? THIRTY SECONDS LEFT ON THE CLOCK! IT'S NOW OR NEVER FOR OUR COMPETITORS!"

I straightened up, ignoring the lingering ache in my skull. I met Bakugo's gaze, my own eyes narrowing in challenge.

Thirty Seconds.

It would have to be enough.

But before I could even begin to formulate a plan, Bakugo was moving. He launched himself forward with a deafening explosion, the shockwave rippling through the air like a physical thing.

I barely had time to register the danger before he was on me, his hand outstretched, reaching for the gleaming 10,000,000 emblazoned on my forehead.

"Tokoyami!" I yelled, desperation sharpening my voice.

Dark Shadow surged forward, a living barrier of inky darkness. But Bakugo was ready for it. He twisted in midair, his free hand slamming into the shadowy quirk with a blast that sent it reeling back, wisps of smoke curling from its form.

And then, with a speed that bordered on the inhuman, Bakugo's other hand shot out, his fingers closing around the ten million point headband.

I felt the tug, felt the fabric slip from my brow. Time seemed to slow, each heartbeat an eternity as I watched Bakugo pull away, the headband clutched in his fist like a trophy.

"No!" I lunged, my own hand outstretched, grasping for anything, everything. My fingers brushed against fabric, and I clenched, feeling the headbands come away in my grip.

But it wasn't enough. Even as I pulled back, even as I felt the thin cloth strips in my hand, I knew it wasn't the ten million. Bakugo had taken it in a single, devastatingly quick maneuver.

"KACCHAN!" I roared. "GET BACK HERE!"

But Bakugo was already retreating, Sero's tape wrapping around him and yanking him back towards his team. I could see the savage grin on his face, the wild, triumphant gleam in his eyes.

"Too slow, Deku!" He crowed, his voice riding the edge of laughter. "You really thought you could keep the top spot from me? You should know better by now!"

The buzzer sounded, a shrill, piercing note that cut through the chaos of the battlefield. "TIME'S UP!" Present Mic's voice boomed, echoing across the stadium. "THAT'S IT, FOLKS! THE CAVALRY BATTLE IS OFFICIALLY OVER!"

I stood there, my chest heaving, my heart pounding a furious rhythm against my ribs. The headbands in my hand felt like lead weights, a bitter reminder of how close I had come, how much I had lost in those final, crucial seconds.

Around me, the other teams were regrouping, their expressions ranging from elation to despair as they tallied their points. I saw Todoroki, his face an unreadable mask, a faint wisp of steam still curling from his left side. Momo, Hatsume and Tokoyami flanked me, their stances tense, their gazes darting from team to team as they assessed the final standings.

And there, at the center of it all, was Bakugo. His team stood around him like a conquering army, their grins wide and fierce. Bakugo himself held the ten million point headband aloft, the fabric fluttering in the breeze like a victory banner.

"TEAM BAKUGO CLAIMS FIRST PLACE WITH A STAGGERING TEN MILLION POINTS!" Present Mic announced, his voice barely audible over the roar of the crowd. "AN INCREDIBLE UPSET IN THE FINAL SECONDS OF THE BATTLE!"

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and turned to see Momo, her eyes glinting with a fierce, determined light. "We fought well, Izuku," she said, her voice steady despite the disappointment that lurked behind her words. "The points we captured earlier were enough. We're not out of this yet."

She was right. As the scores flashed across the giant screen, I felt a flicker of hope reignite in my chest. There, in second place, was my team's name. Team Midoriya, with a total score that would have been impressive in any other context.

"TEAM MIDORIYA SECURES SECOND PLACE!" Present Mic confirmed, his excitement palpable. "A VALIANT EFFORT FROM OUR EARLY LEADERS!"

Todoroki's team took third, their score a testament to their incredible display of power and strategy. But it was the fourth place team that drew a gasp from the crowd, a ripple of shock and disbelief that spread like wildfire.

"IN A STUNNING TWIST, TEAM SHINSO FROM GENERAL STUDIES TAKES THE FINAL SPOT!" Present Mic's voice was almost drowned out by the clamor of the crowd. "A DARK HORSE RISES FROM THE SHADOWS!"

I turned, my eyes widening as I took in the sight of Team Shinso. At their center stood the purple-haired general studies student, the one who confronted our class a few days ago, his face split by a sly, knowing grin. Around him, his teammates looked dazed, almost confused, as if they were just waking from a deep sleep.

As for the other teams, their faces told a story of missed opportunities and shattered dreams. Monoma's team, in particular, looked crestfallen, their earlier bravado nowhere to be seen. I could see the wheels turning in their heads, the second-guessing, the what-ifs and should-haves.

But there was no time for regrets, no room for dwelling on what might have been. Because as the dust settled and the adrenaline began to fade, one thing became crystal clear.

The real battle was only just beginning. And if I wanted to claim the top spot, to prove myself worthy of the title of number one...

I would have to go beyond.