Chapter 16

This time. This time for sure. I am going to get first place and destroy that pale bastard.

Bakugo's crimson eyes looked over to where the holder of the ten million points was standing. The white/silver-haired boy was thinking. With his eyes narrowed and hand under his chin, he seemed to be thinking up a strategy. That boy had managed to push every single button in Bakugo, which lead him to lose his temper. The ash-blond turned his gaze away. He had to focus on finding a team for the cavalry battle. Or rather, they were coming to him.

"Hey, Bakugo!" His attention fell on the one calling his name. He saw red spikey hair approaching him with a smile and a wave. The short-tempered boy scoffed. Of course, it would be him.

"What the hell do you want, weird hair?" He asked in a harsh tone.

"Well, you need a team. Don't you?" Kirishima stated. "A hoard is swarming Killua and Todoroki, asking to be on their team. It seems like they are the favorites to win this thing."

Now, the fact that it was true, only made Bakugo's blood boil more. His talents were not recognized by his peers yet. He had been overshadowed by those two, the alleged favorites to win the entire competition. He felt irritated and enraged. It only made his desire for first place even stronger.

"So what? You're asking to be on my team then?"

The red-head nodded. "You want to be the rider, right? You'll need someone who can tank those explosions. And that would be me!" He said and gestured at himself. "The ten million points. That's the goal, isn't it?" He asked to confirm.

Just then, a competitive grin appeared on Bakugo's face. Agreeing to have Kirishima on his team, it was time to find the other two members. The ash-blond didn't have any specific people in mind. To be honest, he had kind of forgotten what the other extra's Quirks were. There was no point in remembering details about some irrelevant wannabes he didn't have any interest in.

"Ashido!" Kirishima shouted and gave a high wave. Bakugo looked to where his teammate had his attention and saw the pink girl with raccoon-like eyes from his class.

The girl in question had a wide smile while she jogged up to the red-head. "Hey, Kirishima! What's up?" She asked with her hands at her sides.

"Hey, guys!" Another male voice called out to them. The ash-blond saw from the corner of his eye, another person from his class approaching them.

"You guys find a team yet?"

"No, not yet, Sero."

"You guys can be on me and Bakugo's team! Then, we'll have the right amount of players!"

Three pairs of eyes then fell on Bakugo, who was standing silently, observing their interaction. It seemed like they were seeking confirmation from Bakugo to join the team. Which he simply replied with a "sure", and followed up with:

"What are your Quirks again?"

"Come on man, we're in the same class!"

"Don't tell me you forgot about us!"

To which Bakugo only replied with a click of his tongue as it was time to assemble into the formation. Bakugo was the rider, Kirishima was in front, Ashido on his right, and Sero on his left. While waiting for the other teams to set up, the ash-blond took this opportunity to get a look at the other teams.

From what he could see, Todoroki seemed to have a solid team. Consisting of Iida, Momo, and Kaminari. If their abilities were used right, then they would be quite troublesome. They had good offense and defense. It would be tricky to get their headband if anyone tried.

A different team that caught Bakugo's eyes was Midoriya's team. It was a bit of a weird combo to say the least. He had a few ideas of what that nerd, Tokoyami, Uraraka, and Hatsume would do to advance to the next event. But it was like they were going for the element of surprise and unpredictability.

What surprised him was that Killua wasn't on their team. He would have thought that since he and Midoriya were friends, that they would be on the same team. But this certainly made things more interesting.

"Everyone ready?" Midnight asked over the speakers. Every team got into a solid stance and eyeing the competition. While some people may go for gathering lots of the individual team's points, Bakugo knew that there was one headband that would secure them the victory.

"The cavalry battle starts... now!"

Given the green light, the twelve teams set off in a sprint towards their target. Most of the teams, including Bakugo's, were going for the ten million points, as it was the most logical. However, other teams settled for gathering points from other teams to gain a large number of points. With that in mind, the number of headbands would be hard to hold onto all the headbands, seen as someone could take a handful of bands from them. That's why going for the ten million would be the easiest.

That is what Bakugo thought. But since it was Killua as the rider, getting the ten million points would prove to be more difficult than he and the other teams thought. With his amazing reflexes and strategies, Killua's team had successfully held onto the ten million points since the start of the battle.

"Fire off a laser diagonally at their legs!" The white/silver-haired boy commanded.

A sparkly, blue, laser beam got shot at a team's legs in the direction which was commanded. The targeted team luckily dodged the beam by jumping over it, but it also caused them to be off-balance which another team took advantage of and grabbed their headband.

"Hey! Remember that it's not allowed to make a team fall on purpose."

"I know, tinman. It's part of the strategy. There was no way that they were going to fall."

Bakugo observed another team trying to get up close and take Killua's headband. It didn't seem like the white/silver-haired boy was focused on them. He was leaving that problem to the one on his right side.

"Hey, losers. I dare you to come any closer."

The team approaching Killua's got aggravated and became more aggressive.

"Hah?! What did you say?" They shouted in unison.

What then happened before Bakugo's eyes, was shocking. The approaching team suddenly stopped in their tracks, almost as if they were forced to stop. It was hypnotizing. The guy with the purple hair and tired eyes, then had a smirk on his face. His attention was then directed towards hot-headed blond's team, which was coming in hot pursuit.

"Take Bakugo's headband."

"Hah?!" The team then began to move abnormally. Their eyes were blank and empty. Their movements weren't slow, but not fast either. They would be easy to dodge, but they were interfering in the straight path Bakugo had to Killua's team. The hot-head clicked his tongue. It was like they were brainwashed or something.

Bakugo looked that the purple-haired student. He didn't seem like much. Not much muscle and strength. Lean, a bit scrawny to Bakugo. It seemed like all he had going for him was his Quirk.

The blond clenched his teeth. Damn it.

"Killua! You need to have moi on your team! It will be extravagant!"

The white/silver-haired boy looked unfazed. But still, a bit weirded out. He looked at the boy with the head of golden blond hair. This was a surprise that Killua didn't expect.

"Uhm, sure, Aoyama," The former assassin said and but his hands behind his head. "but, why exactly?" He asked and tilted his head to the side.

Aoyama then proceeded to do a twirl, while sparkling and put his hands in the air like a ballet dancer.

"Because you see, my friend Killua. Right now, you are the one that is twinkling the strongest right now. With me on your team, the two of us will surely be the ones to twinkle like there is no tomorrow!" He exclaimed with his signature sparkle and a pose.

Killua sweatdropped and looked at his possible teammate from head to toe. From what he could remember, Aoyama's Quirk was Navel Laser, a powerful laser beam that shoots out of his navel. He also needed a support item, a belt to help compensate his Quirk. From what Killua has picked up from the previous Hero classes, the golden blond boy mostly wanted to or worked alone. He wanted to be the spotlight of everything. It was a bit weird that he was the one that came to Killua. If there was an option to complete the event individually, Killua was sure that Aoyama would do that. He was a bit interesting.

"Sure man," was what Killua replied. The sparkly boy thanked the white/silver-haired boy and stuck to Killua's side until he found at least two more people to recruit. He put his hand under his chin while he searched the crowd. Most people had already found their teams.

At first, he looked at Midoriya, who already had Uraraka by his side. They were approaching Iida, seemingly to have him on their team. So the option to have the green-head on Killua's team was non-existent. Almost everyone in his class had already formed their teams.

Part of him predicted to be surrounded by students wanting to be on his team. From the amount of skill and ability Killua showed at the obstacle course, it was to be expected. But when he thought about it, all he showed was him jumping around, running fast, and some strength. He wasn't showing his true potential.

What would be the best and most beneficial to have? He asked himself. Someone with a lot of defense and endurance would be great. Kirishima was the first person that popped to mind, but he was already secured on Bakugo's team. Then he remembered another person with a Quirk similar to the red-head.

Killua's eyes quickly searched the group of students who were not on a team yet. His blue orbs set on the person he remembered from the highlight reel from the obstacle course. A Quirk that turns its user's skin to steel.

"Hey, you!" The former assassin called out. Black eyes met Killua's blue and the person scowled and narrowed his eyes.

"What the hell do you want, ten million?" He asked in a harsh tone.

"I want you on my team, what else?"

The silver-haired boy scoffed. "Like I'd want to be on the team of the class my one rivals." He said and crossed his arms.

The class you rival? Oh, he must be from class B. If he had to be honest, Killua would say that he did not care about any other classes other than his own. Maybe he should look into what kind of Quirks class B has after the Sports Festival. That would be smart. But in the past, he had not cared to spare them any thought at all. To say it bluntly, they weren't critically relevant.

The former assassin sighed. "Look, you want to advance to the next event, right?" Killua took the silver-haired boy's silence as a yes. "A way to guarantee that is to be on my team." He said with a tad of persuasion.

The teammate-to-be raised an eyebrow. "And how do you know that, huh?"

"Because no one stands a chance against me."

"What was that?"

"Uh, nothing." Killua quickly replied. "Listen, I have a plan that will most certainly secure my team a spot in the final event. And having you on my team will make the success rate of my plan absolute. It's a win-win situation!" The boy smirked. "I know you can't deny it."

The silver-haired boy shivered. He looked around to see if there were any other options. His black orbs saw people from in class in teams of two. Maybe he could join them? But would that be enough to go through to the next event? He turned back to the shorter boy. Man, he didn't quite have a choice, did he?

He puffed up his chest and reluctantly agreed to be on Killua's team. "Great," before the white/silver-haired boy could move on to find another member, there was one important question he had to ask. "What's your name, by the way?"

The new teammate furrowed his eyebrows and clenched his teeth. "It's Tetsutetsu." He said, holding in a bit of annoyance while closing his hand into a fist.

"Hey! You called me ten million, implying that you probably don't know my name either! So you don't get to be annoyed!" Killua exclaimed and looked Tetsutestu in the eyes. And thus, a small rivalry began between the two of them.

A cough beside him pulled Killua out of the staring contest with the taller teammate. "Excuse moi, Killua. But what about that person over there as the final member of our team?" Aoyama asked and gestured to where a guy with dark purple hair and tired eyes.

He reminds me a bit of Aizawa. Killua thought. "Anyone know anything about him?" He asked his teammates.

"Hm, I remember that during the obstacle course, he was being carried by about three people until he reached The Fall. I don't know what happened after that, but he probably hitched a ride over the obstacle as well."

The former assassin took in the information Tetsutestu had provided. With the way he worded his sentences, there could be a possibility that those people weren't doing it willingly. No one would do that, especially in a competition.

Could it be that he somehow took control over them?

Without a second thought, Killua approached the dark-purple-haired guy with his incomplete team. He put a hand on his shoulder which caused him to meet tired eyes.

"Join my team." He said with confidence in his tone and his other hand in his pocket.

"Heh, and why would I do that?" An important question indeed. One that Killua didn't plan on answering.

From the information that he had gathered, it could be that this guy's Quirk functioned verbally, and not activated through physical contact. Or maybe it worked through eye contact and Killua was being controlled right now. But that wasn't the case. If his Quirk worked through any physical means, then he would have a full team with the ideal people a long time ago. Whether it was by touch or a punch, he wouldn't be standing alone right now.

If it was through words, perhaps persuasion, then that would make it a bit more difficult to make a team. Of course, he could just walk around and ask, 'want to be on my team?' But that wasn't the case. Students were actively avoiding him. Could it be that they already knew how his Quirk worked? They could have gotten a clue from what they witnessed from him during the obstacle course.

Anyhow, hopefully, Killua's plan would work, and this guy wouldn't see through his bluff. He would make this dark-purple-haired fellow join his team through his determined expression.

A couple of minutes passed with absolute silence between them. The former assassin was not going to lose this fight. A person with a Quirk that lets them control other people could be extremely powerful.

The dark-purple-haired boy sighed and turned fully towards Killua and the two people behind him. "I'll join. My name's Shinso. Want to know what my Quirk is?

"Only a couple more minutes!" Killua informed.

It was all going according to plan. They had managed to hold onto the ten million point headband, evade attempts at snatching it, and taken a few headbands for fun. Even if they did lose the ten million, the extra points they had gathered would be enough to make them advance to the final event of the Sports Festival.

"We can't lower our guard! People will make a last-ditch effort to take the ten million points from us."

"Two minutes left!" Midnight announced over the speakers.

It was at that moment, that Killua could see from his line of sight, that the three teams he dreaded the most, coming in hot simultaneously from close to the sidelines.

Killua smirked. He almost wanted to laugh. He lifted his head, pulled his hands up beside his body, and clenched them into fists in excitement.

"We're really getting into the climax now!"

A/N: NEXT CHAPTER IS ESTIMATED TO COME OUT JULY 10TH, 2020.

My way of explaining how Shinso's quirk works from Killua's perspective is absolutely not what I think is accurate. I just needed something, okay? It was a bit confusing writing that part with a ton of rewrites, and this was the one I settled with. Hope you found this chapter enjoyable!

Alostdonkey: I'm happy that you love how I wrote Killua in the story! :D

X3runner: I like writing him this way too! He may be a bit OOC, but I find it fun, and I'm glad you do too!

Guest: I'm glad that you find it entertaining! I do have an update schedule. I write it in the summary and usually at the end of the chapter. But sometimes I forget... it's good to assume that a new chapter will come once a month.