The screen behind Midnight spun like a roulette wheel, slowing until it clicked into place.

  “Cavalry Battle!” she shouted, cracking her whip. “That’s right, folks! A fan favorite! You know the rules.. form teams of two to four students! One rider, and the rest as supporters. Points are based on your ranking from the obstacle course. And our front-runner? None other than Midoriya with a whopping ten million points!”

  The stadium gasped. Murmurs swept the stands. Midoriya stood there, stricken, his hands clenched at his sides. It was the same expression he’d worn during the obstacle course, like someone had handed him a live bomb and said “run.”

  Todoroki observed from the crowd of students, quietly analytical.

  Those at the top suffer the most.

  A few students took a full step away from Midoriya. Others whispered strategies. Some immediately turned their gaze to him. If Midoriya was the target, they needed to find a team strong enough to take him down. That meant looking at the second-highest scorers.

  That meant Todoroki.

  He wasted no time. He turned and approached Yaoyorozu first. She straightened up the moment she saw him coming.

  “Yaoyorozu, you’re versatile,” he said. “We’ll need that.”

  She blinked, then nodded quickly. “Of course. Yes.”

  Next was Iida. No hesitation.

  “We need your speed and frontline support. Join us.”

  Iida gave him a salute. “It would be my honor!”

  Todoroki turned slightly, only to see Robinn already approaching. She wore that smile she had during the obstacle course.

  “I was going to suggest the same thing,” she said, folding her arms. “Might as well pool our strengths.”

  He didn’t disagree, he was going to approach her but she beat him to it. Yaoyorozu offered rapid adaptation, Iida offered propulsion and speed, and Reibach... well, she was hard to categorize. Versatile, unpredictable. Her body weight wasn’t static, her form could vanish or change, and she didn’t seem affected by stress or nerves. Not visibly.

  They had the second-most points as a team. Midoriya’s headband aside, they were the ones to beat.

  As the other students scrambled to form teams, Todoroki gathered his squad.

  “I’ll ride,” he said, voice flat. “I have both offensive and defensive capabilities. Reibach, you’ll take the left. Yaoyorozu, right. Iida, you’re the base. You’ll manage our propulsion.”

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  “Hold on,” Robinn interrupted, raising her hand slightly like she was in class. “If Momo’s on your right, that means she’s in range of your ice, right?”

  Todoroki gave a small nod.

  “Well, then I should be there. If I’m transformed, you don’t have to worry about freezing me.”

  That stopped him for a beat. He had been considering how to hold back. Her point made that unnecessary. He could let loose.

  “Good idea,” he said simply.

  He looked over the team again. Left: Yaoyorozu, adaptable. Right: Reibach, partially intangible and fast. Front: Iida, full thrust. Himself on top, offensive pressure.

  It was an efficient machine. No wasted parts.

  Midoriya, meanwhile, was scanning the crowd. He approached Iida. Todoroki noticed, but said nothing. He watched Midoriya talk, hopeful, probably expecting their usual alliance.

  Iida bowed slightly. Then shook his head.

  Todoroki watched as Midoriya stood there, confused, before walking back to his own half-finished team.

  “Was that Midoriya?” Robinn asked, glancing back. “Trying to poach Iida?”

  “He didn’t realize I was already committed,” Iida replied firmly. “Besides, I want to challenge him. And I have faith in this team.”

  “Fair enough,” Robinn said with a shrug. “Good luck to him.”

  Then Iida posed a question. “So you’ll be using both fire and ice to pressure enemy teams?”

  Todoroki’s expression cooled. He glanced up toward the stands. Way up there he was. Blazing. Arms crossed. Watching.

  “No,” Todoroki said flatly. “When I’m in battle... I never use my right side.”

  Iida seemed puzzled. Momo looked conflicted. But Robinn stepped forward and followed Todoroki’s line of sight, hands on her hips.

  “Endeavor, huh?” she said casually. “Guess you’re not really a fan of your dad.”

  That caught him off guard.

  She didn’t say it with malice. It wasn’t taunting. Just an observation. Todoroki blinked, unsure how to respond. For a moment, the weight of his father’s shadow faded slightly.

  Robinn turned to the others. “So. What’s the plan? I mean, yeah, we’ve got a strong formation, and Midoriya’s the target. But it’s not like we’re the only ones going for him.”

  “We’re going for the ten million,” Todoroki confirmed. “But I expect interference.”

  “That’s kind of my point,” Robinn replied. “We’re in second place just by being in the top four. Technically, we don’t need to win. We just need to not lose our headband.”

  The others murmured in agreement. Todoroki folded his arms. He hated that he agreed. Hated that it made sense. He wanted to win. Needed to. It was the only way to prove he wasn’t his father’s shadow.

  “Let’s get first place,” he said curtly.

  Robinn raised an eyebrow. “Sure.”

  Iida gave a determined nod. “Yes!”

  Yaoyorozu smiled faintly. “We’ll do our best.”

  Robinn started stretching her legs and arms, casually cracking her neck. The stadium lights flared above them, the circle forming around the arena as all the teams assumed their formation.

  Todoroki hopped onto the linked arms of his team, perched carefully. Robinn’s grip on his right arm was surprisingly strong... no hesitation, no tremble. Her head turned, and before the buzzer even rang, she began shifting.

  Her entire body disappeared.. except for the visible arm that held him and her floating head. It was unsettling up close. Limbs gone, just a face and a single anchor keeping him steady.

  The buzzer rang.

  And chaos erupted.

  Author’s Note:By now, you’re probably wondering more about Robinn’s quirk. Don’t worry! I’ve got a whole chapter planned that’ll dive into how it works, plus some fun facts. (Maybe even some illustrations too, if I’m not lazy...) It won’t show up for a while, though. Can’t go spoiling her future quirk awakenings too early, now can I?

  I hope you’re enjoying the story so far! The Sports Festival arc will mostly keep the same pacing, but of course, things are going to play out a little differently. And stay tuned for the Hero Internships / Stain Arc, or, well... let’s just say we’ll be following a different criminal, and it’ll be longer.