Ren's vision blurred as his headache spiked. The mental exhaustion was catching up to him fast, but his eyes locked onto the enemy rider trying to reach Inko's ten-million headband.
Just one last play. This better be worth it.
"Ochako!" he shouted. "Activate your Quirk!"
"What?!" Ochako whipped her head toward him. "But you said..."
"Please!"
She touched all four of them without hesitation. Gravity abandoned them again, and Ren felt every ounce of weight leave his body.
WHOOSH!
He channeled the last scrap of telekinesis he had left into a single forward push, launching himself and his team straight into the chaos at the center of the field. The wind slapped his face as they tore through the air at a speed that made Ochako shriek.
Here we go. This should work.
Ren activated the perception filter he'd learned back at the haunted house, with one target in mind. The ten-million headband on Tsuyu's forehead vanished from the rider's perception, going completely invisible to him and only him.
In that same instant, Ren unleashed a mental pulse of confusion that radiated forward.
The veins in his bald head swelled, pulsing visibly as blood rushed to compensate for the mental overload. His vision went fuzzy at the edges.
Agh! Shit, that hurt more than I thought!
Every rider within range stumbled mid-action. Bakugo's hand froze halfway to a headband while Todoroki's ice creation cracked apart. The enemy rider stalking Inko's team blinked rapidly, his eyes glazing over with disorientation.
Half a second. That was all Ren needed.
He focused his telekinesis on three headbands at once: Todoroki's, Bakugo's, and the random team rider's. The headbands jerked, but only the random team's flew toward Ren's outstretched hand; the other two stopped halfway as their owners snapped out of it.
"What the hell?!" the random rider yelped, his hand grabbing at the empty air where his headband had been.
His brain was still processing two impossible things at once: his headband vanishing and Inko's ten million disappearing right in front of his eyes. The confusion overloaded his balance completely.
"The ten million... it's gone... w-where did...?!"
His formation collapsed forward, and all four members tangled into a pile of limbs and panicked screams, crashing to the ground directly in the path of Bakugo and Todoroki.
"MOVE, YOU DAMN IDIOTS!" Bakugo roared.
His team tried to swerve, still shaking off Ren's mental pulse, and Kirishima's hardened feet caught on a stray leg from the pile, tilting the formation violently to the side.
Bakugo lunged for his headband mid-fall, snagged it out of the air with one hand, and his fingers closed around the fabric just as his face slammed into the ground.
THUD!
Todoroki's team reacted better. Iida's engines fired in reverse trying to brake while Todoroki grabbed his headband, though the momentum still carried them into the pile of bodies and Todoroki ate dirt right next to Bakugo.
Both lay sprawled in the dirt, headbands clenched in their fists, mouths full of grass.
Inko's formation was still coasting forward on the momentum from her last burst of One For All. Green sparks flickered weakly around her legs as exhaustion dragged at every muscle, and her vision narrowed from the pain ripping through her body.
I... I can't stop...
"RENNNNNNN!" Ochako, Toru, and Momo screamed in unison.
Ren saw Inko's wide eyes lock onto him, her pale face signaling that she'd just realized they were on a collision course with no time left to dodge.
Yeah, I see it. But stopping now would ruin the whole aesthetic.
He was way too wiped out to redirect with telekinesis, his brain felt like melted goo, and the plan had always been to crash anyway.
WHAM!
The two formations slammed head-on. The impact wasn't strong enough to knock anyone down since both teams were running on fumes, but the force still rattled everyone's bodies.
"Ow!"
Toru's forehead bonked against Tsuyu's.
But somehow, through the chaos of the collision and the tangle of exhausted limbs, Inko ended up exactly where Ren had subconsciously wanted her: cradled in his arms in a perfect princess carry, her face inches from his.
She was breathing hard, cheeks burning crimson as sweat dripped down her temple, and her green eyes locked onto Ren's with an expression of pure shock.
The sun hung at the perfect angle behind Ren's head, casting his face in a shadow that made his exhausted expression look almost heroic, Saitama style. The light created a halo effect around his bald head while his arms held Inko steady, despite the tremor running through his muscles.
At his feet, Bakugo and Todoroki lay face-down in the dirt, still clutching their recovered headbands.
Time seemed to freeze.
CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!
A thousand camera flashes exploded across the stadium at once, every photographer firing their shutter at the same time to capture the image: the fourth-place student holding the ten-million girl in his arms like something out of a fairy tale, while the second and third-place powerhouses ate dirt at his feet.
"OHHHHHHH MY GOOOOOOD!" Present Mic's voice shattered the moment. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, ARE YOU SEEING THIS?! THIS IS... THIS IS INSANE! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT JUST HAPPENED, BUT IT LOOKS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE! THAT POSE! THAT TIMING! SOMEBODY GET ME A POSTER OF THIS MOMENT RIGHT NOW!"
Up in the staff viewing area, All Might had just taken a sip of water, and his eyes went wide as saucers when the collision resolved into that perfect tableau down on the field.
PFFFFFFFFFFFFT!
The water shot out of his mouth in a pressurized stream that completely soaked the back of Endeavor's neck.
"WHAT THE..." Endeavor whirled around, flames bursting from his shoulders as every vein in his forehead swelled with instant rage. "ALL MIGHT! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!"
"M-MY DEEPEST APOLOGIES!" All Might raised both hands immediately, still coughing a bit on the water. "Young Midoriya and young Hayashi produced such an unexpected reaction that even I was caught by surprise!"
The brown-haired reporter from earlier, the one whose skirt Ren had accidentally flipped up, stood frozen at the press line with her cameraman still rolling. Her mouth hung open as her brain processed the goldmine that had just dropped into her lap.
"Are you getting this?!" she hissed at her cameraman.
"Every second!"
She turned to the camera with barely contained euphoria.
"HERE IT IS! THE STORY OF THE YEAR!" She thrust her microphone forward. "A U.A. STUDENT ADVANCES TO THE FINALS WHILE HOLDING THE FIRST-PLACE COMPETITOR IN A PRINCESS CARRY, WITH SECOND AND THIRD PLACE LITERALLY AT HIS FEET! THE IMAGERY IS SPECTACULAR! THIS IS EXACTLY THE KIND OF DRAMATIC MOMENT THAT DEFINES THE GREATEST HEROES OF ALL TIME!!"
Her eyes gleamed with vindication.
You... bald little brat who saw my panties... with this we're even. Thanks for the shot that's gonna define my career.
Down on the field, Ren's arms began to tremble from the strain of holding Inko. His headache pounded harder, and the world tilted slightly as exhaustion finally caught up to him.
Okay, maybe I should've thought about the "putting her down" part of this plan.
"Um," Inko whispered, her face going an even deeper shade of red. "Ren-kun... you can... you can put me down now..."
"Yeah," he managed, his voice rough. "Probably... should do that."
The cameras kept firing.
Midnight's voice purred through the speakers.
"Well, well, well... what a deliciously unexpected turn! I think we just witnessed the birth of a very... interesting partnership~"
BZZZZZZT!
"TIME'S UP! THE CAVALRY BATTLE IS OFFICIALLY OVER!"
Ren set Inko down carefully even as his arms protested, and her legs hit the ground trembling, taking two wobbly steps before she found her balance. The green sparks of One For All had already fizzled out completely, leaving her drained and drenched in sweat.
"Thanks," she murmured, unable to meet his eyes.
"No problem," Ren replied, massaging his temples with both hands while the headache hammered through his skull. "Though next time I plan something like that, somebody remind me to include an exit strategy."
Ochako landed next to him and released her Quirk; gravity hit them like a sledgehammer and her knees almost buckled from the dizziness.
"Ugh... I definitely pushed past my limit..."
Momo was already organizing the headbands they'd stolen, counting the points mentally while Toru bounced beside her with excitement.
"We did it! Ren, that was amazing! Did you see how everyone fell? It was so cool!"
A few meters away, Bakugo pushed himself up off the ground spitting dirt, his face red with fury as he gripped his recovered headband so tight his knuckles went white.
"Damn... goddamn bald bastard..."
Kirishima tried to help brush the dust off him, but Bakugo swatted him away.
"Don't touch me!"
"Hey, take it easy, man. At least you got your headband back."
"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THE HEADBAND!" Bakugo roared, jabbing an accusing finger at Ren. "You see what he did?! He humiliated all of us! And then he has the nerve to try and snatch our headbands while we're falling!"
Todoroki got up with more composure, mechanically brushing the dirt off himself while he watched Ren through narrowed eyes; he didn't say anything, but his expression made it clear he was analyzing exactly what had just happened.
Midnight strode to the center of the field with her whip in hand and a satisfied smile painted on her face, stopping on the raised platform to lift the microphone to her lips.
"Alright, my little warriors! What a wonderful show you've given us! Now, while our beloved tech team verifies the final results, why don't we take a little break so you can catch your breath?"
She paused theatrically, running her tongue across her lips.
"Trust me when I say you're going to need every ounce of energy for what comes next~"
Present Mic leapt out of his seat in the commentary booth.
"YOU HEARD HER, LISTENERS! FIFTEEN MINUTES OF REST BEFORE WE OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCE OUR QUALIFIERS FOR THE FINAL ROUNDS! USE THE TIME TO HYDRATE, STRETCH, AND PREPARE YOURSELVES MENTALLY BECAUSE THIS IS JUST GETTING STARTED!"
The students started dispersing across the field in small groups; some dropped straight onto the grass, too exhausted to move, while others desperately searched for water.
Ren took three steps toward the edge of the field before his legs decided they'd worked enough for one day.
I'm wiped.
His knees buckled and he dropped onto the grass with a dull thump, the headache still pounding through his skull like someone was playing drums directly against his brain.
"Ren-kun!" Ochako rushed over to him, with Momo and Toru close behind. "Are you okay?"
"Totally fine," he answered, propping his elbows on his knees. "Just need a second for my brain to stop feeling like it's melting."
Momo knelt beside him with a worried expression.
"You overused your telekinesis. Mental exhaustion isn't something to take lightly, Ren-kun. If you keep pushing yourself like this you could cause permanent damage."
"I'm fine, Yaoyorozu," Ren interrupted, lifting a hand. "Seriously, I just need water."
Toru plopped down beside him, and Ren felt the weight of her body leaning against his shoulder.
"Lies, lies, lies! You look terrible, seriously! Aaah, I wanna shake you until you admit you need help! Come on, admit it!"
"Thanks for the brutal honesty."
"You're welcome," she answered cheerfully. "But seriously, Ren-kun, what you did at the end was incredible. I don't know exactly what it was, but you snatched those headbands like it was nothing."
Ochako sat down on Ren's other side, pulling a water bottle out of nowhere and offering it to him.
"Here. Drink it slow."
Ren accepted the bottle and took a long sip. The cold water helped clear some of the fog in his head.
"Thanks, Uraraka."
"Hehe, that's what teammates are for, right?!" she said with a grin. "Plus, you worked harder than anyone to get us here... so now it's my turn. The least I can do is make sure you don't drop to the floor now that we're so close!"
Momo pulled a towel from her arm and offered it to Ren.
"Please, Ren-san, accept this. It's for the sweat. Honestly, your current physical state suggests you've performed an effort equivalent to a full marathon... and I'd be very worried if you neglected your recovery now."
"Welll, I just flew across a battlefield while stealing headbands and saving Inko," Ren pointed out, wiping his face with the towel. "That counts as a marathon in multiple ways."
The three girls laughed, and the light sound contrasted with the tense atmosphere still hanging over the field.
A few meters away, Inko's team had also collapsed onto the grass: Tsuyu lay back with her arms spread out, breathing deeply; Mina had pulled off her shoes and was massaging her feet with a pained expression, and Jiro had her headphones on though her closed eyes suggested she was closer to falling asleep than listening to music.
Inko sat cross-legged, still trembling slightly from the strain of using One For All at full power. Her green eyes drifted to Ren for a moment before darting away, the blush still visible on her cheeks.
Why did he help me? We were competing; he should've let me lose and locked in his own position. But instead...
The image flashed back into her head without permission: the weight of her body against his, the way he'd caught her right before she fell, the sun creating a halo around his bald head...
SLAP.
Inko smacked both her cheeks with her hands, trying to knock those thoughts out of her head.
"No, no, no! Stop thinking about that!"
"Ribbit. Inko-chan?" Tsuyu opened one eye, looking at her curiously. "You feeling okay?"
"Yeah! Totally fine! I'm just... I'm warming up my cheeks! For circulation!"
Mina lifted her head, a mischievous smile creeping across her face.
"You sure it has nothing to do with a certain bald student who princess-carried you in front of the whole stadium?"
Inko's face went so red it practically glowed.
"T-that was just... it was just an accident! A coincidence! It didn't mean anything!"
"Uh-huh." Mina sat up cross-legged, resting her chin on one hand. "That's why you guys looked so couple-y."
"I-it didn't mean anything!" Inko insisted, burying her face in her hands. "He just... helped me. That's all."
Jiro pulled out one earbud and looked at Inko with a raised eyebrow.
"He carried you like you were a bride leaving a wedding while Bakugo and Todoroki ate dirt at his feet. That's not just helping; that's romance movie leading-role stuff."
"It is not!"
"Ribbit. But you gotta admit it was pretty well-timed, Inko-chan," Tsuyu added, slowly sitting up. "If he hadn't stepped in when he did, we probably would've lost the ten million."
Inko lifted her face from her hands, looking over at where Ren was sitting surrounded by his own team.
"I know... and that's why I don't get why he did it."
Across the field, Todoroki had refused the water Iida was offering and stood with his arms crossed, watching Ren intently.
"What happened back there..." he said in a low voice. "Telekinesis shouldn't be able to affect people directly."
"You think Hayashi-kun has another ability besides telekinesis?"
"I don't know," Todoroki admitted. "But whatever it was, it gave him an unfair advantage at the last moment."
Kaminari, sitting on the grass with an energy drink in his hand, let out a nervous laugh.
"Hey, dude... you sound a little jealous, don't you think?"
Todoroki's eyes snapped to him with a look so cold Kaminari practically felt his body temperature drop ten degrees.
"I'm not jealous; I'm just analyzing our defeat."
"Sure, sure. 'Analysis.'" Kaminari rolled his eyes, smirking. "Definitely has nothing to do with Hayashi-san stealing the whole spotlight with that final move. Left you in the background, huh?"
Iida, who up to that point had been trying to keep his composure, cleared his throat loudly while chopping his arm up and down with a rigid gesture.
"Kaminari-kun!" he exclaimed in a scolding tone. "It is inappropriate to mock a classmate's introspection! Perhaps you should remain silent and..."
"I SAID I'M NOT JEALOUS!" Todoroki snapped, with a literal frost forming on his right shoulder. "I'm just saying his play was... was..."
"Too flashy? Worthy of the Weekly Hero cover?" Kaminari cut in, his teasing grin widening. "Admit it, Shoto, it stung that he was that 'cool.'"
Todoroki clenched his jaw and turned away, walking off from the group with stiff steps.
Iida let out a deep sigh, adjusting his glasses with one finger as he gave Kaminari a look of total disapproval.
"Kaminari-kun, was it truly necessary to provoke him like that? As representatives of U.A., we must prioritize camaraderie among ourselves."
"Oh, come on, Iida!" Kaminari shot back, taking another sip of his drink without a hint of remorse. "Someone's gotta knock him off his serious cloud once in a while. Besides..." he paused and let out a laugh, "you gotta admit his face when Ren wrapped up that play was priceless! Looked like he'd swallowed a frozen lemon!"
Bakugo, for his part, had his fists clenched at his sides, with tiny explosions crackling between his fingers.
Goddamn cocky bald freak, thinking he's so special over a cheap trick at the end. I don't give a shit about his hero moment; in the finals I'm gonna destroy him, blow him up so hard he won't even know his own name when I'm done with him.
His violent thoughts were interrupted by a female voice.
"Bakugo-kun."
He whipped his head around and found Momo standing a few steps away, her hands folded in front of her and a polite expression on her face.
"What do you want, Ponytail?"
"I only wanted to tell you that it was a good battle," she said in a courteous tone. "Your team showed a lot of aggression and coordination under pressure. You came close to taking the ten million several times."
Bakugo narrowed his eyes at her, searching for any trace of mockery or condescension. He found none; she was just being... polite, and that pissed him off even more.
"I don't need your damn pity."
"It isn't pity," Momo replied, unfazed. "It's recognition for what..."
"I don't care about your recognition either," he growled, looking away. "Get lost."
Momo sighed softly, nodding her head.
"As you wish. Good luck in the finals, Bakugo-kun."
She turned and walked back toward her team, leaving Bakugo alone with his furious thoughts.
Damn polite girl, who asked her to come over and talk to me like I needed someone telling me I did good? I know I did good. It's just that bald piece of shit did it better at the last second and now everyone's looking at him instead of me.
Midnight reappeared on the central platform, her whip coiled around her arm and a teasing smile on her lips.
"Alright, my little warriors! The break is almost over! Return to the center of the field for the official announcement of our qualifiers!"
The students began moving toward the center of the field with tired steps, and Ren walked alongside his team, still massaging his temples as he tried to ignore the lingering pain.
The stadium roared as all the participants gathered, the cameras zooming in on the different teams while Present Mic prepped his microphone.
"HERE WE GO, LISTENERS! THE MOMENT OF TRUTH! WHO ADVANCES TO THE FINAL ROUNDS AND WHO GETS LEFT BEHIND?! THE TENSION IS AT ITS PEAK!"
The giant screen began displaying the point totals for each team, calculated in real time by U.A.'s system.
Midnight raised her whip into the air.
"The results are in! And let me tell you, dears, some of these numbers are going to surprise you!"
CRACK!
"In first place, with a crushing victory of TEN MILLION POINTS...!"
The crowd held its breath.
"TEAM MIDORIYA!"
The stadium exploded in applause; Inko froze for a second before her teammates wrapped her in a group hug, with Tsuyu keeping her calm expression though her eyes sparkled with satisfaction, and Mina jumping for joy while Jiro smiled with visible relief.
"We did it!" Mina yelled, shaking Inko by the shoulders. "We kept the ten million all the way to the end!"
Inko looked over at Ren instinctively, and he returned a small smile while lifting a hand in a casual victory gesture.
Thanks. Thanks for not letting me lose.
Midnight continued:
"In second place, with EIGHT HUNDRED AND TWENTY POINTS... TEAM TODOROKI!"
Todoroki didn't show any particular emotion, simply giving a single nod while Iida effusively congratulated the team; Kaminari pulled off a celebratory jump that he cut short the moment he noticed Todoroki's serious expression.
"In third place, with SEVEN HUNDRED AND FIFTEEN POINTS... TEAM BAKUGO!"
Bakugo spat to the side, clearly dissatisfied with third place.
"Tch. I should've been first."
"But we made it to the finals, man!" Kirishima exclaimed, slapping him on the back. "That's what matters!"
"Don't touch me."
Midnight smiled with anticipation before announcing the next result.
"And in fourth place, with SIX HUNDRED AND NINETY-FIVE POINTS... TEAM REN!"
Ochako screamed with joy, jumping over and hugging Momo; Toru joined the invisible hug too, almost knocking Momo off balance, while Ren simply closed his eyes and let out a long sigh of relief.
We made it. Against all odds, we survived and got to the finals. Now comes the hard part.
"Congratulations to all our qualifiers!" Midnight purred into the microphone. "You've proven you have what it takes to make it this far. But now... now comes the part where things get truly interesting."
She paused dramatically, savoring the palpable anticipation in the air.
"THE FINAL PHASE WILL BE... A ONE-ON-ONE DIRECT ELIMINATION TOURNAMENT!"
The stadium burst into cheers as the cameras captured the expressions of the qualifiers: most of them showed excitement or nervousness, though Bakugo and Todoroki just looked ready to fight.
"Each of you will be on your own!" Midnight continued. "No more team strategies! No more hiding behind your teammates! Here all that counts is what each of you can bring against your opponent! So get ready, because the matches begin... AFTER A SHORT LUNCH BREAK!"
Present Mic rose from his seat with his arms thrown wide.
"THERE YOU HAVE IT, LISTENERS! AFTER LUNCH, WE'LL BE BACK FOR THE FINAL PHASE! THE ONE-ON-ONE TOURNAMENT WHERE WE'LL SEE WHO HAS WHAT IT TAKES TO BE THE CHAMPION OF THE U.A. SPORTS FESTIVAL! DON'T MOVE FROM YOUR SEATS BECAUSE THIS IS JUST GETTING STARTED!"
The students began to disperse as the stadium settled into break mode, and Ren walked with his team toward the designated rest areas, feeling the weight of stares following him.
So this is where everything changes. I can't rely on the team anymore, and from here on out, I'm on my own. And if I end up fighting Todoroki or Bakugo...
He glanced over at where they were both walking in opposite directions, each with a determined expression.
...this is gonna hurt.
*********
Power Stones are what keep this story alive — don't hold back, smash that button!
While everyone else is still waiting — Chapter 97 is already live on Patreon.
Over 3,000 words per chapter, cover art with every release, and no sitting on finished content just to hit a schedule date. When it's ready, it's up. Simple as that.
Don't wait for it to show up elsewhere. patreon.com/itszeroo