"I don't need help from that bastard!"

"Come on man." Kirishima groaned. "His quirk is crazy strong. We could use him."

"Kirishima's right." Ashido added. "Didn't you hear about what he did at the USJ? He totally kicked ass!"

"Plus, he could be useful for taking down Todoroki's team." Kirishima said.

"We already have racoon eyes to melt his ice. And I can take that icy hot bastard myself!"

"Yeah," Kirishima said, "but we could use a hard counter to Yaoyorozu. That'd be him."

As much as Bakugou hated to admit it, Kirishima had a solid point. Ponytail and her damn creation quirk could prove to be a problem. He gritted his teeth and yelled in frustration.

"Fine!" He finally shouted. "Hey, blindfold!"

In more or less words, that was how (L/N) found himself on Bakugou's team, his left hand locked with Kirishiam's while his right braced itself on the same man's shoulder, creating a step for Bakugou who wore a headband bearing the numbers 685.They positioned themselves at the southeastern corner of the arena, poised on the balls of their feet, ready to pounce as soon as the buzzer sounded.

"Listen up." Bakugou growled. "As soon as the match starts, we're headed straight for Deku. Our victory is going to be undisputable. Got that?!"

"Hey, ease up man." Kirishima said as Bakugou slammed his fist atop his skull. "You're not the only one here to win this thing."

"Listen up, blindfold." Bakugou continued. "If we lose because you trip over your own feet or something stupid..."

"Don't condescend to me." (L/N) said irritably. "Midorya's team is at our 2 o'clock. Todoroki is on our 10. You focus on what you need to do."

"Yeah." Ashido said. "Just worry about getting that headband and leave the rest to us."

"Alright then." Bakugou said with a sadistic grin, small firecrackers flickering in his palms. "Let's kill these losers!"

His words echoed alongside the sound of the buzzer that signaled the start of the match. Kirishima, Ashido, and (L/N) ran towards Team Midorya, and they weren't the only ones. It seemed everyone had their eyes set on the 10,000,000 tied around Midorya's head.

"Hey, on the right!" Kirishima warned.

Several teams had decided to take advantage of the frenzy and seized the opportunity to snag some of the other headbands in the mad race for first. Kirishima's warning was in regard to one of those teams, fast approaching on Ashido's side. (L/N) felt Bakugou turn to address the threat, but before they so much as got within blasting range of Katsuki's quirk, they ran into a shimmering wall of solid light.

"I've got this." (L/N) said. "Just focus on getting Midorya's headband."

It wasn't so much that (L/N) wanted to win but securing the 10,000,000 points was the fastest way to end this. Once Bakugou successfully snatched it they could simply play keep away and run down the clock. And with (L/N) on their team, there was no way anyone would ever take it from them. It was just the path that required the least amount of effort, that was all.

Unfortunately, Midroya and his team were doing a surprisingly good job at fending off their competition. Though (L/N) could have followed them to the skies, doing so while carrying three other people would greatly reduce his speed. Even if he did give chase, Midorya's team would easily outrun them. It seemed he had put a considerable amount of thought into his strategy. Uraraka's Zero Gravity combined with Hatsume's gear had given them a distinctive mobility advantage. That combined with Tokayami's ability to cover their blind spots meant they were in for a real fight.

Surrounded once more, Midorya's team took to the sky, only this time Bakugou made the decision to follow them. (L/N) turned his face from the heat of his explosion as he launched himself towards the 10,000,000 points. He would have succeeded too if it weren't for Tokayami's Dark Shadow getting in the way. (L/N) had half a mind to let Bakugou hit the ground so they'd be disqualified, but it didn't seem fair to Kirishima and Ashido. Plus, he didn't quite feel like having to deal with the inevitable backlash from Bakugou. With a frustrated groan and a hook like motion of his left hand, he brought Bakugou back so he landed in their arms.

"Whoah, nice catch."

"A little warning next time." (L/N) said irritably.

"Shut up and get after them!"

They had a lot of ground to cover. Midorya's most recent move had placed them on the opposite end of the arena, and practically every other team stood between their own and his. They would have to fight their way through the other competitors, and this would bring them face to face with Todoroki and his team. Shoto was a smart man. His focus may have been Midorya, but that didn't mean he was so tunnel visioned that he hadn't remembered to account for the others. For the most part the other teams hadn't posed much of an issue, but he would have been a fool to ignore the one glaringly obvious threat: Katsuki Bakugou. If there was any team that would threaten his chances of taking first place, it was his. So, he decided to forgo Midorya for the time being and address the situation.

"Out of my way you icy hot bastard!" Bakugou yelled as they drew closer.

"I'm afraid I can't do that." Todoroki responded coolly, erecting walls of ice to cut off their path. "You see, I'll be the one taking the 10,000,000 points. But that'll be a much easier task if I eliminate your team first."

"All right then." Bakugou grinned sadistically. "Let's do this."

"Iida! Yaoyorozu!"

"Blindfold!"

They were upon them in a heartbeat, propelled forward at incredibly high speeds thanks to Iida's Engine. In that brief amount of time, pink and blue particles had shimmered along Yaoyorozu's arm, equipping them with her weapon of choice. Had (L/N)'s reaction time been any slower Kirishima would have taken a metal staff to the side of the head. Bakugou went to grab at Todoroki's headband, but another pink and blue glow stopped his attack in the form of a shield.

"Dammit! Take care of her!" Bakugou shouted at (L/N). "Racoon eyes!"

Acid shot from Ashido's hands and ate through the shield giving Bakugou his opening. Todoroki dropped the destroyed item and raised his left arm to deflect Bakugou's attack while his right went unnoticed by most down towards Yaoyorozu who was nearing completion of another staff. But when she went to hand it off to Todoroki, she was met by yet another of (L/N)'s constructs which now separated her from the rest of the team.

Cut off from their most versatile member, Todoroki's team took to evading Bakugou who was attacking relentlessly as to not allow his opponent the chance to use his ice. Any support Kaminari would have offered was countered by Kirishima, whose hardened form acted as a grounding mechanism, preventing the electricity from traveling up to Bakugou, and a well-aimed shot from Ashido managed to clog Iida's mufflers with diluted acid.

"Dammit." Todoroki cursed, narrowly avoiding another of Bakugou's assaults. "Yaoyorozu."

"(L/N)'s still cutting me off." She replied.

"Then take him out."

Her brow furrowed as she tried to come up with a solution. A way to break through to her teammates. She would have tried reflecting his quirk again, but the events from their combat training told her it probably wasn't a smart move. If not that, then what? She had to think of something. Bakugou was bound to get through Todoroki's defenses sooner or later, and if she couldn't neutralize (L/N) soon, they'd lose. There was only one thing she could think of. She felt awful about it, but it was her only option.

"(L/N)," she said apologetically, "I'm really sorry about this."

For the fourth time her arm disappeared in a swarm of blue and pink and (L/N)'s barrier vanished at the sound of an air horn ringing through the stadium, his teeth gritted in pain as he hid his head in his arms.

"Now, Kaminari!"

"Indiscriminate Shock. 1.3 million volts!"

The surrounding teams jolted and jerked as their bodies coursed with electricity, all the while Yaoyorozu had protected her teammates with an insulated sheet and a grounding rod which she left still connected at her elbow. Todoroki's ice followed, freezing most teams to the ground. With that, he once again gave chase after Midorya's team.

Though he had been dazed by Yaoyorozu's assault on his ears, (L/N) had still managed to protect his teammates by using his quirk to hover them off the ground several inches. Having removed its path to ground, the electricity in their bodies harmlessly dissipated. Bakugou shouted for them to continue after Todoroki, who had made the mistake of assuming Kaminari's attack had taken them out of commission. Unfortunately, (L/N) still hadn't fully recovered, meaning their defensive line was compromised.

"Your class is too small minded." Someone said as they passed by. "Think bigger."

Taking advantage of (L/N)'s weakened state, another team who had managed to avoid the electricity and ice swiped the headband from around Bakugou's head.

"Oh, while I have your attention. You're kinda famous, aren't you? For being attacked by that sludge villain."

(L/N) didn't know who this other student was but clearly, he didn't know how bad of an idea it was to provoke Katsuki Bakugou. And he clearly didn't know when to stop. Taking Bakugou's headband was enough to make this person a target. Adding insult to that injury? Well, what came next was no surprise. If (L/N) had to say one thing about Bakugou it would be, well, honestly it would be that he was an arrogant and overconfident jackass. But his arrogance and overconfidence were not unfounded. His statement at opening ceremonies hadn't been some baseless claim. He wholeheartedly believed he would win, and he had the skill and power to do just that.

[My Hero Academia]

The cavalry battle had been a climactic spectacle right up until the end with what appeared would be a three-way struggle for first place between Midorya, Bakugou, and Todoroki. The latter in possession of the 10,000,000 points with the other two closing in, just moments away from what would surely be a power struggle for the ages; an epic conclusion that never came as the buzzer signaling the end of the match rang just mere milliseconds before either of the other two frontrunners could make their move.

Bakugou was furious with the outcome, Kirishima and Ashido relieved. (L/N) was simply happy it was finally over. There was an hour-long lunch break before the afternoon festivities. The spectators began making their way out of the bleachers while the contestants grouped up with their friends, lamenting at their losses and congratulating those that had made it through to the final rounds. Bakugou was still skulking, angrily hitting the ground while Kirishima tried to calm him down. (L/N) turned from them and began to make for the edge of the field where he'd deposited his cane earlier.

"Hey, (L/N)! Wait up!" Ashido called, running to catch up with him.

"What do you want?" (L/N) asked disinterestedly.

"Well, I just never got a chance to say thank you."

"Bakugou's the reason we won," (L/N) replied, "you should be thanking him."

"No, I'm not talking about that." Ashido said with a wave of her hand.

"Then what...?"

"I'm talking about the USJ, silly." Ashido giggled. "I would have been in serious trouble if it wasn't for you."

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"I spent all of the past three weeks trying to think of a way to thank you." Ashido said, ignoring (L/N). "I was going to get you flowers, but they're really expensive. And I didn't know if maybe you liked chocolate?"

"A-Ashido, really," (L/N) said uncomfortably, "you don't have to..."

"Hey, maybe you'd like to grab lunch sometime." She said happily. "I know this really cute café in the city, and they have new specials every Saturday."

To say he was overwhelmed would have been an understatement. His heart was still racing from the demands of the cavalry battle and the past few hours had flushed the drugs from his system. He'd never found Ashido particularly annoying or grating like he did Midorya, Bakugou, and Iida. She was hyperactive, sure, but it'd never been much of an issue before. Well, he'd never been the target of her hyperactivity. There were no pauses when she spoke. He felt smothered. His hands hadn't started glowing yet, thanks in large to the amount of control Aizawa and the others had helped him gain in the past half month, but he felt like he couldn't breathe. Air was coming to him in short, broken bursts.

"What has you so enthused, Mina?"

Ashido stopped talking and turned to address the new arrival. (L/N) breathed shakily, releasing one heavy gasp after another.

"Oh, you know." Ashido said cheerfully. "Just pumped to be moving onto the finals!"

"Yes, it is rather exciting, isn't it? Oh, (L/N), I grabbed your cane for you."

"Thank you." (L/N) said pointedly, taking the cane from Yaoyorozu.

Having understood, Yaoyorozu smiled and nodded. "Do you mind if I walk with the two of you?"

"Please." (L/N) said.

Ashido's face fell into a small pout as Yaoyorozu joined them on their trek across the field.

"I'm sorry about earlier." She told (L/N). "I hope it didn't do too much damage."

"I'm alright." (L/N) said. "It was just... startling."

"Well, I'm glad you're okay. Still, it was unkind of me, and rather underhanded."

"It was smart." (L/N) told her.

"Perhaps, yes." Yaoyorozu blushed.

They exited the stadium just a few moments later. Yaoyorozu and Ashido continued down the path towards UA, following the rest of the students, but (L/N) made to turn left towards the nearby forests.

"Hey, (L/N)? Where are you going?" Ashido asked.

"I didn't want to disrupt your time with your friends." He replied.

"You're our friend too, you should come with us."

"Yes, wouldn't you join us." Yaoyorozu nodded. "I'll treat you. After all, I do still owe you lunch."

Ashido glanced sideways at her friend while (L/N) shook his head.

"No, thank you." He said firmly, already walking away. "I'll see you two at the finals."