A/N: Many thanks to HaleyKim, TheSilverHunt3r, and NinjaofFire7 for the beta and support! This was a lot of fun to write!

For TheSilverHunt3r as a (late) Christmas gift.

You do not need to know how to play paintball or Capture the Flag in order to read this!

The title, "Dead Man Walking," is paintball terminology for a player that has been eliminated and has to walk to the "deadbox" (or just off-field, in this fic's case) where they have to wait for the game to end. However, no paintball terminology will be used in this fic without explanation.

Thank you for reading!

Red covered every visible surface. It was splattered across tree trunks on every side of him- a dark reminder of where his teammates had met their end.

Midoriya raced through the forest on enemy territory, shots firing all around him. They whizzed angrily by, just missing his head gear.

I need to hide, and fast! He thought, heart pounding. But they're onto me. If I stop moving, they'll just pin me down. He jumped over a fallen log and almost tripped in the hidden patch of mud behind it. With One for All at five percent, full cowling, he could outrun and out-maneuver most of their opponents. It was the only way he hadn't been eliminated yet.

He glanced around for the familiar colors of blue and white training uniforms. Only the green and dark browns of the forest blurred by as he ran. Either the rest of the offense was skilled in camouflage and evasive maneuvers, or Midoriya was the last one standing.

Not good.

Especially since he pretty much had no idea what was going on.

And where did Kacchan run off to? Maybe it'd be better to try to find him instead of looking for the objective. He was too deep into enemy territory to attempt a return to friendly ground. He needed backup. He needed to find his team- or what was left of them, at least.

Kacchan would be the easiest to find, probably. His manic yells of death and bright explosions of terror were easy enough to notice from a distance. It was a good idea to start there.

They had to succeed. Termination would not only bring pain, but humiliation to Class 1-A. As one of the few left standing, he had the weight of success on his shoulders.

He couldn't let his team down.

0o0o0

Ten minutes earlier.

"The rules are simple," Mr. Aizawa was saying. "One: your Quirks are allowed, but a player must suffer a direct hit with a paintball before they're out of the game. Using your Quirks to fight and simply beat another player into submission is thus technically allowed, but not favorable since it won't eliminate anyone. The game is only fifteen minutes long, so use that time wisely."

"But Mr. Aizawa," Iida's hand shot up in protest, "that does not sound very heroic. Should beating another player into submission be allowed?"

"Try thinking of it this way. Most villains don't go down with a single shot, even if it is a direct hit. Sometimes a hero has to wear down a villain before he's able to win. If we could put the villains into custody without fighting, Pros like me would be out of a job, and you wouldn't be here." Aizawa shrugged, bored. "These aren't my rules. Just follow them or we'll dock your points."

Iida bowed, his back perfectly straight. "You have made an excellent point, sir! My sincerest apologies for the interruption. I should not have doubted the training ideology of UA. Once again, they live up to their prestigious reputation!"

Aizawa let out a long-suffering sigh. "...Right. Anyway, the second rule is, if you're hit while holding the flag, you have to drop it and walk off-field. It's an elimination game, so no capturing opponents or trying to get tagged back into the game. If you haven't been eliminated yet, stay inside the white boundary lines around the field, or you'll be disqualified. That includes if someone pushes you out, like in the Sports Festival."

Bakugo grinned, a malicious, terrifying glint in his red eyes. "Got it."

Midoriya thought he was way too excited about that.

"The third rule is also your overall objective. In order to win the game, your team has to capture the opposing team's flag and bring it across the yellow line- the one that separates your side of the field from your opponents'. Present Mic will be refereeing the game through cameras and a microphone at an observation building off-field." Aizawa buried his hands in his pockets. "Any questions?"

Ojiro opened his mouth, but Aizawa had already turned away from them.

"Good," Aizawa said, beginning to walk past the class toward the boundary field line. Ojiro unhappily closed his mouth in silence. "Then I'm going to take a nap. Try not to die or anything. Midoriya, that especially goes for you. Todoroki, no devastating ice attacks or setting the forest on fire. And Bakugo, don't kill anyone, got it? Recovery Girl isn't here to heal any injuries, so treat this like a real battle where your life's on the line." He turned briefly to cast a wide, bleary-eyed grin over his shoulder. "Have fun."

A shiver ran down Midoriya's spine as Mr. Aizawa's slouched form grew smaller in the distance.

Kirishima grimaced. "I love paintball, don't get me wrong, but his grin freaks me out."

"Yeah." Ashido rubbed her upper arms with a grimace. "The last time he smiled like that, it was when he told us- the ones who had failed the practical exam- that we were going to camp after all..."

Sato, Kirishima, Kaminari, Ashido, and Sero collectively shuddered.

"This definitely can't be good," Sero agreed.

"Oh come on, you bunch of spineless wimps!" Bakugo barked at them. "I can't believe you're this weak!"

"Lay off, dude," Kaminari said, crossing his arms. "You didn't fail the exam and have to suffer through those extra lectures every day like we did. It was torture!"

"Yeah, I didn't have to 'cause I wasn't pathetic!"

Kirishima whistled. "C'mon, Bakugo, you know we're trying to study harder."

"It's summer, Weird Hair! You're not working; you're getting flabby!"

"Um, Kacchan?" Midoriya cut in. "We barely passed the practical ourselves..."

"Shut up! Somebody has to toughen up these losers if they're going to even have a chance at fighting me!"

Present Mic's voice racketed through the loudspeakers across the playing field. "You have fourrrrr minutes to plan and organize your teams before the game begins! Pick your leaders and hurry, hurry, hurry!"

"Have any of us actually played this game before?" Todoroki asked, thankfully changing the subject. "We should choose leaders based on experience level."

"Good idea, Todoroki!" Midoriya turned to the rest of Class 1-A. "Raise your hand if you've played Capture the Flag before!"

About half of the class raised their hands.

"Oh." Midoriya rubbed his neck. "That... didn't work out quite like I'd thought."

Iida dropped his hand. "I've played before, but it was a long time ago. In elementary school, I believe. I doubt that means I'm qualified to lead."

"Same here," Uraraka piped up. "I mean, I've played Capture the Flag a lot, but honestly? I'm not that good at it." Her face flushed a little. Several similar statements were made by the other students.

Jiro stepped forward. "There's a difference between regular Capture the Flag and the paintball version, you know." She turned to address the group as a whole. "Who's played paintball before?" She raised her own hand, and Kaminari, Iida, Bakugo, Midoriya, Sato, Kirishima, and Sero also lifted their hands.

"Now, which of you play paintball at least twice a year?" Jiro asked, keeping her hand in the air. Several of the others' hands dropped, but Kirishima, Sero, and Bakugo were left. Jiro looked satisfied. "There we go. We have our four leaders for two teams of two squads." When some of the other students looked confused by this, she added, "Each team wants at least two squads- one offensive, and one defensive- so they can guard their own flag and try to take the other team's flag at the same time."

"I didn't know you played paintball, Jiro!" Kaminari said, excited. "That is so cool!"

Jiro rolled her eyes.

Present Mic's voice resonated throughout the playing field again. "Two minutes remaining! Time to make any final adjustments to your plans and then get to your stations!"

"I don't need a team," Bakugo growled. "I'll beat all of you by myself."

"It's... kind of a team game, Bakugo," Sero said, confused. "I thought you said you'd played before?"

"Fine," he huffed, scrunching up his shoulders like a hissing cat. "Offense squad's with me!" It was almost a threat.

Immediately, Kirishima clapped him on the shoulder with a grin. "All right! Then I'll lead your defense!"

Bakugo didn't shrug him off. "Whatever," he huffed, only half-annoyed, before announcing his first victim. "Hey, Four Eyes! You're with me!"

Iida's pointed brows shot up above his glasses. "Me?"

"You got a problem with that?"

"Oh, n-no, not at all! I am just highly surpri-"

But Bakugo was already threatening three other students to join his squad.

"Well, then," Iida said to himself, resigned to his fate. Midoriya watched as he quickly trailed after the human time-bomb.

"Hey, Midoriya! Over here!" Kirishima waved at him. Tsu and Koda smiled at him as he approached. Kirishima gestured to his companions. "Wanna join us?"

Koda smiled at him. Tsu let out a soft, inviting, "Ribbet?"

Midoriya nodded. "Count me in!"

"Great! Now we just need one more person. Let's see... Tokoyami and Iida are already with Bakugo..." Kirishima trailed off in thought. Midoriya glanced at Sero and Jiro nearby, who were the other two most experienced players besides Bakugo and Kirishima. I wonder who they'll pick?

Sero turned to Jiro. "Guess that means we're leading the other team. You want offense or defense? I normally hang back and guard the flag, but I'm good either way."

Jiro smirked, holding up her paintball gun with a practiced hold. "I was practically shooting paintballs before I could talk," she chuckled confidently. "If you can take defense, then leave the offense squad to me."

Sero grinned. "I kinda like this side of you! Let's get 'em!"

One minute later, the horn blared, and Midoriya's heart pounded in his chest.

The game had begun.

0o0o0

Class 1-A was split into two teams that would compete against each other in the paintball game of capture the flag. They were decided as follows.

Team JS = Jiro's Squad + Sero's Squad. Color: Red.

Team BK = Bakugo's Squad + Kirishima's Squad. Color: Blue.

Team JS consisted of:

Jiro's Squad (Offense):

1. Kyoka Jiro
2. Rikido Sato
3. Shoto Todoroki
4. Ochaco Uraraka
5. Toru Hagakure

Sero's Squad (Defense):

1. Hanta Sero
2. Denki Kaminari
3. Mezo Shoji
4. Momo Yaoyorozu
5. Yuga Aoyama

Team BK consisted of:

Bakugo's Squad (Offense):

1. Katsuki "Kacchan" Bakugo
2. Tenya Iida
3. Mashirao Ojiro
4. Fumikage Tokoyami
5. Mina Ashido

Kirishima's Squad (Defense):

1. Eijiro Kirishima
2. Izuku "Deku" Midoriya
3. Tsuyu "Tsu" Asui
4. Koji Koda
5. Minoru Mineta

Whoever manages to capture the other team's flag and carry it across the team line wins.

If no one is successful, the game will last 15 minutes. Then, whichever team has the most remaining players wins.

0o0o0

Midoriya - Kirishima's Squad (Team BK, Defense)

Jiro's squad came out of nowhere. One minute, Midoriya was standing guard a few feet away from their team's flag, and the next, red paintballs were flying everywhere. Kirishima yelled for everyone to take cover, but by then it was already too late. Their squad was wiped out.

Midoriya had activated All for One and jumped behind a tree as soon as he realized what was happening. But now, the clearing was quiet, and Kirishima was gone. Mineta and Koda had been eliminated, Tsu had disappeared, and there was red everywhere. It made him feel sick. It looked like blood.

Wait, did they-

He looked, and the pole at the center of the opening was stripped bare. Their flag was gone.

Midoriya jumped from his hiding spot. Had Tsu and Kirishima been hit too? Surely he wasn't the only one left, as inexperienced as he was at paintball. He hadn't even heard the other team coming.

"Guys?" Midoriya called out, voice wavering with uncertainty as he walked through the clearing, looking for any sign of his comrades.

A red blur jumped out of the shadows at him. The blur rammed him into the ground before he could think to move, and for a moment, he wondered if he'd just been pushed out of the game.

"Shh! Dude, be quiet! They're still close," said Kirishima, who quickly helped him up. They remained in a crouch behind a large hedge. After a moment, when no one had attacked them, he said quietly, "Sorry about that. I was afraid they'd see you."

Midoriya's delight was unabated. "I'm just glad you weren't eliminated! I was afraid I was the only one left!" We're still in the game! "Have you seen Tsu?"

Kirishima scanned the woods with the scope of his paintball gun, looking for the enemy. "No idea. I don't see her. She went to scout ahead just before the attack and hasn't returned." He adjusted the knob on top of the scope and peered through it again. "Our defense squad took a hard blow. As far as I know, we're the only two left." Kirishima stood up, beckoning him to follow. "Come on. I bet if we hurry, we can catch up and stop Jiro's squad before they cross the yellow line!"

A moment later, Midoriya and Kirishima were running through the woods as fast as they could manage without tripping over the roots and forest underbrush.

Midoriya decided to voice his earlier question. "Why would they use an attack like that this early in the battle? I mean, the game?"

"To get the jump on us, I guess," Kirishima said, dodging around a wild hedge. "Jiro's good, I can tell you that much. Her squad must have skirted Bakugo's entirely and come straight for us. We didn't even have time to get ready." He shook his head, clearly impressed. "That's pure strategy right there. If Sero's that good at defense, we might have a hard time winning this thing even with you and Bakugo on our side."

0o0o0

Todoroki - Jiro's Squad (Team JS, Offense)

"Hagakure, keep an eye on our flank," Jiro called from the point of their squad. Sato was running right behind her, and Uraraka carried the flag in the middle with Todoroki and Hagakure bringing up the rear.

"Sure thing," the invisible girl replied and slowed down a little so that she fell in just behind Todoroki.

"Um, am I holding this correctly?" Uraraka asked nervously, sweat beading at her forehead. The flag trailed behind her in the wind as she jogged behind Sato. "You said I couldn't hold it out of sight, right? Does this work?"

"Yup," Sato answered for Jiro. "Just like that. You're doing great."

"Should we be running like this?" Todoroki asked, watching the trees flash by them as they rushed toward the yellow territory marker. "We have their flag, but we're throwing caution to the wind. Shouldn't we be more careful?"

Jiro tossed a smile over her shoulder. "Normally, yes. But knowing Bakugo, he's doing the exact same thing right now. Brawl over brains, y'know? So our priority isn't as much avoiding getting shot as it is beating Bakugo's squad to the finish line- in other words, that yellow marker."

"Makes sense to me!" Uraraka chirped.

"Still, Todoroki is right," Jiro continued. "Don't let your guard down. We don't want to lose just because we got overconfident." She pointed forward. "There's the field. Get ready." She motioned for them to stop at the edge of the trees.

The field was about about a hundred yards across. The trees on the other side were large and bodeful. The wooden post in the middle marked the border between the teams' territories, a taller visual representation of the yellow border line on the ground.

"Just fifty yards to go, and we win," Sato said with an eager grin. He stepped forward, his boot catching the sunlight beyond the shadow of the trees.

"Wait," Todoroki said, and the whole team paused. Sato withdrew his foot.

"It's too quiet," Todoroki said softly, bringing up his paintball gun to peer through the scope. He adjusted the scope's power with the focus knob on top, and the view of the field came in sharp detail. There was no movement other than the tall grass dancing lightly in the breeze. "Something isn't right." It was too simple. Too easy. His instincts insisted this was a trap.

"What happened to all the birds?" Uraraka asked. "They were all singing when we came through here on the way in."

Jiro suddenly crouched low. "Get down," she whispered harshly. "It's an ambush!"

Something whipped past them in a blur, and the wind from it blinded them for an instant. It was Iida, no doubt.

Thwat.

"Ow!" Uraraka grabbed her arm, dropping the flag. Yellow paint dripped from the crook of her elbow. She winced at them. "Sorry, guys," she said in earnest apology, raising her hands in surrender.

"Don't worry about it," Sato said with a thumbs-up before scanning their surroundings for more of Bakugo's squad. Iida was gone.

"Win this for me!" Uraraka smiled, a perpetually good sport, and turned to walk off the field.

"Will do," Jiro said with a firm nod. "Everyone else, stay alert."

There was a tense moment of still, somber silence, where the only sound was Uraraka's steps crunching old leaves as she gained distance from them.

As if on some kind of cue, as soon as Uraraka was clear, a barrage of paintballs flew through the air. The squad dropped, and the shots battered the trees like little bursts of thunder- but only on one side, Todoroki noticed. Thinking quickly, he palmed the ground and raised a wall of ice between them and the field. The shots hit, making the ice look dark. But it was too late.

They were pinned.

"Great," Sato huffed. "First Uraraka, now this! We can't get to the line, Iida took the flag, and Kirishima's squad'll be here any minute!"

Paintballs barraged into the ice wall at their backs. Jiro and Sato leaned out and gave bursts of return fire.

"We're wasting ammo," Jiro said. "And time. Bakugo no doubt has his squad moving to surround us from every angle. Did anyone see which direction Iida went?"

"We could try to steal the flag back from him," Hagakure offered. "I think he ran to the left?"

"It doesn't matter," Todoroki said. "Iida's smart enough to vary his direction so that we couldn't follow him. We'd have to track him by footprint, and chances are he's already gone. Catching up to him is out of the question."

"Good point," Sato said. He bit his lower lip in nervous thought. "What do we do? We're stuck."

"We need to get out of this corner." Jiro loaded another magazine into her paintball gun. "Let's head back to Sero's defense squad and regroup with another strategy. Todoroki, how are we on time?"

He glanced at the game timer on the stock of his gun. "We have ten minutes left. There isn't enough time to go, make a plan, then come back and put it into action. We're on our own."

Sato sent another round of paint towards the field. "He's right. We've gotta make do with just us."

Todoroki peeked around the edge of the ice. Shots flew everywhere. The field was wide, and the trees on the other side were too far to shoot from. Finally, Todoroki spotted it. Pale blond hair stuck up from the tall grass about ten yards out, reminding him of a huge, angry dandelion.

Bakugo was responsible for the field shots. But where were his teammates?

Todoroki applied his mind to the game, taking stock of their situation.

When Uraraka dropped the flag, it landed on the ground between Todoroki's ice and Bakugo's position in the field. Bakugo was fending off any attempt to retrieve it, or to escape across the field and get back into Jiro's squad's territory. Bakugo was the only one in the field itself, as far as Todoroki could tell; he was shooting while lying prone in the grass. Iida had made his presence known with that shot at Uraraka, but his current position was unknown. The rest of Team BK was either absent, eliminated, or in hiding.

On Team JS' side of things, Uraraka was out, but as far as Todoroki knew, that was it. But they had no way to contact Sero's squad from here, so he couldn't know for sure how they were holding up. If Bakugo had tricked them and not even gone after their flag at all, instead waiting at the boundary marker to ambush Jiro's squad, then Sero and his squad could be perfectly fine. Oblivious, even. On the other hand, Bakugo did have Iida on his side. It was possible that they had stolen Team JS' flag and still beat Jiro's squad to the boundary marker. But if they had done that, then why hadn't they already crossed the border and won?

No, there was no logical reason for that. Todoroki had to assume that they didn't have the red JS flag- at least, not at the moment. Which meant that, for some wild reason, Bakugo's ambush was actually defense.

Perhaps they could use that to their advantage.

Todoroki shifted his weight, using his Quirk to apply more ice to strengthen the wall protecting them from Bakugo's shots. Jiro and Sato were on either side of him, shooting intermittently to try to hit Bakugo or create an opening to move. Todoroki wasn't sure where Hagakure was at the moment- she had taken off her protective gear, earlier, so she could use her invisibility to help with capturing Team BK's flag- but she must have been close.

"Hagakure?" Todoroki whispered to the trees around them.

"Right here," came her light voice right by his left ear. "What is it, Todoroki?" He almost jerked in surprise.

Quickly recomposing, he said, "Can you avoid Bakugo's shots long enough to retrieve the flag?"

"What?!" her voice jumped two whole octaves.

"Shh, keep it down," Jiro said, pausing long enough to check the amount of shots she had left before firing off another few rounds around the edge of the wall.

Hagakure's voice lowered to a frantic whisper. "Are you crazy?! You want me to go out there- in front of an armed Bakugo- in the middle of a gunfight- without any gear- and not only try to reach the flag, but to bring it back here without letting him hit me?!" By this point, she sounded almost hysterical. "You're insane! I've never played paintball before so I can't say I've been hit with one, but this is not the time for first experiences! And I don't have any protective gear on, either- do you know how much that would hurt? I don't want to bleed to death!"

"You won't bleed to death, Hagakure," Sato chuckled. "Sure, getting hit hurts, especially when it's an unprotected area, but you won't die from it. Just leaves a small welt, nothing some painkiller won't fix."

Todoroki was keeping an eye on the woods behind them while Hagakure finished her rant. Jiro and Sato were busy with Bakugo. Where's the rest of Bakugo's squad? He wondered. Are they waiting for us to run out of ammo so they can make their move? His eyes widened. Or did he send Iida with Tokoyami, Ashido, and Ojiro so they could steal our flag from Sero's squad while Bakugo kept us occupied?

Hagakure whimpered a little. Judging by her voice, it sounded like she had joined Sato near the side of the ice wall, probably peeking around the corner. "But still... I'd be walking straight into the crossfire... And you'd better not think that Bakugo won't notice when I pick up the flag. I can't turn things invisible, y'know. He'd see it move!"

Todoroki slung his gun over his shoulder so that it hung across his back. "I have that covered." Then he held up his right hand, allowing just enough of his Quirk to frost the air around his hand, creating a mesmerizing effect. "I'll distract him once you have the flag. As soon as you see that I have his attention, make a run for the yellow line. Jiro and Sato will back you up."

Hagakure went quiet.

"You know, as the leader, I'm the one supposed to be making the plans...," Jiro smirked, "...but I'm mature enough to spot a good plan when I see it. Sato?"

He nodded eagerly. "I'm all for it. We'll offer cover fire from here in case things get rough-" he paused. "Scratch that, we'll cover you when things get rough-y'know, considering who we're up against."

"Let's do it, then," Jiro agreed. "Hagakure, where'd you stash your equipment? I'm almost out of ammo."

"I-guys, wait! I never said yes!"

"C'mon, Hagakure, woman-up. You'll be fine," Jiro said, turning back to make sure Bakugo wasn't trying to advance while they weren't looking. "Now, if you aren't going to use your ammo, then can I?"

"Yeah, sure," she said, but there was the slightest bit of reluctance and disappointment in her tone. "It's back into the woods a little. I'll go get it."

Todoroki dug out a few paintball cartridges from his belt and set them at Jiro's feet since her hands were full. Then he propped his gun up against the ice beside her. "I'll leave these here for you. I have no use for them," he said, and Jiro spared him a glance and a grateful nod.

"We'll cease fire until you've got the flag, Hagakure," Sato offered.

"Will you do it?" Todoroki asked her. "We don't have time for hesitation. If you can't do this, say so now."

Hagakure made an anxious noise. "But... what if..."

"There isn't time," Todoroki said again, firmly. "Are you in?"