(Momo POV – Field Gamma)
We were given thirty minutes to plan our strategy before the exercise officially begins.
Five of those minutes have passed in complete silence.
Not a single solid idea on how to deal with what we're up against.
'How can we even beat Kata?' I wonder, going over every scenario, tactic, and possibility I can think of… and coming up short every time.
Finally, someone speaks.
"Yeah, I got nothin'." Kaminari groans, ruffling his hair in frustration. "Like seriously—where the hell do we even start?"
I wish I had an answer for him. I really do.
"Class Prez is really strong, ribbit." Tsuyu adds, her tone calm but honest. "I don't really think we stand a chance against him."
I don't want to admit it, but… she's right.
"Hey, come on!" Mina pipes up, trying to inject some energy into the room. "Let's not just roll over. No one's unbeatable! We've gotta have something we can do, even if it's not much!"
For a moment, there's a flicker of hope. But of course, Bakugo snuffs it out like a kicked lantern.
"Tch. Pathetic." He folds his arms, glaring at all of us. "You extras scared already? I'll just take him down myself. You can all just sit back and watch."
We all stare at him, somewhere between disbelief and exasperation.
"Uh… dude?" Kirishima finally says, cautious. "You remember what happened last time, right?"
Bakugo shoots him a vicious glare.
Kirishima throws up his hands in surrender. "Hey, I'm just saying! If you charge at him like that again, you probably won't even reach him before he knocks you out."
Bakugo clicks his tongue, but doesn't argue. He knows it's true.
And once again, the air grows heavy.
I squeeze my fists at my sides, racking my brain.
'What can we do? What are we missing…?'
Then the answer hits me.
Even if it's not a solution, exactly.
"…We can't win." I say softly.
The words hang in the air, ringing with finality.
But I don't let the silence take root.
"But that doesn't mean we'll lose right away."
Everyone looks at me in confusion and doubt.
"Kata can just… one-hit all of us, right?" Mina asks.
"Or hit us all at once with that crazy pressure thing he did to me." Kaminari adds with a wince.
"Or bombard us with energy constructs." Midoriya chimes in nervously, tapping his fingers together.
"Or turn the terrain against us." Tsuyu adds.
It becomes a chain reaction. One by one, we start listing all the ways Kata could end this before we can even make a move.
And then Todoroki speaks, his voice as calm as ever.
"In Hosu, he lifted every Nomu into the air… all at once. From across the city." He begins slowly. "Then vaporized them. He didn't even need to see them. And Field Gamma is much smaller than Hosu. We can't even hide or approach without getting caught."
Several people visibly shiver.
From the moment this starts… we could lose instantly without warning, and with no chance to react.
But then—
'Wait…' Something clicks. 'If he could end things immediately… why doesn't he?'
Not just now. Every match he's been in—from class exercises to the Sports Festival—he always holds back. Lets people do something before shutting them down.
"He won't beat us immediately…" I whisper, but my words ring loudly in everyone's ears And they immediately turn to look at me.
"What do you mean?" Todoroki asks.
"Haven't you all noticed? He almost always lets his opponents attack, use their Quirks or strategies, and show what they're made of… before ending it."
Mina raises a hand to her head, thinking. "You know… yeah. He did that at the Festival too."
"That cocky bastard's just toying with us." Bakugo snarls.
"No." I say firmly. "He's not mocking us. He's giving us a chance. Because we're not being graded on whether we win or lose—but on how we act. How we strategize and cooperate. How we carry ourselves as heroes."
***************
"So… he'll let us attack before beating us?" Jiro asks, doubt lining her voice.
I nod slowly. "That's what it looks like."
"So we're just going to show off, and not even trying to win?" Tsuyu tilts her head, speaking with blunt honest.
And… she's not wrong.
"That's weak." Bakugo's voice cuts through the air.
He steps forward, his boots crunching against the gravel with purpose, and jabs his thumb into his chest.
"Do whatever the hell you want, extras!" He growls, scanning us with a scowl that burns with scorn and fury. "But I'm not here to play games. I'm here to win. I'll crush that snow-globe bastard, or go down trying!"
He turns, practically vibrating with intensity. "And if you aren't—stay the hell outta my way."
For a moment, no one says a word.
We just stare.
Some are stunned, some nervous… but everyone's a little electrified by the fire in his voice.
Then—
"Hell yeah!" Kirishima yells, slamming his hardened fists together with a loud crack that echoes through the yard like thunder. "Go big or go home! That's how heroes roll!"
Just like that, the heavy fog that had settled over us starts to lift.
"Who cares how strong he is?" Mina grins, bouncing on her toes, her energy infectious. "We're strong too!"
"Yeah!" Kaminari flashes a crooked grin. "Alone we're pretty awesome. But together? Even Kata'll have to take us seriously."
Even Todoroki… smiles. Just a small curl of his lips, but he's definitely affected. "We're not helpless. We've trained for this."
I blink.
Just a minute ago, everyone was drowning in doubt, and now they're all fired up. Ready to fight what was an unbeatable foe.
I glance at Bakugo again—the spark that lit this fire—and he just huffs, looking away like he couldn't care less.
But something about the timing makes me wonder…
'Did he do that on purpose? Did he provoke us just to get us fired up?'
Or was that just… him being him?
I chuckle softly to myself. In the end, I suppose it doesn't really matter.
"So, how're we doing this?" Kaminari asks, looking around at the group.
Most eyes shift… to me.
Just as mine instinctively shift… to Todoroki.
We lock eyes. He nods at me, and I instantly grasp his intention.
That's when I realize something.
There are things I can't do.
I'm good at planning and thinking ahead, but…
I'm not as calm as Todoroki, who can stay cool under pressure.
I'm not a source of energy like Mina, or explosive drive like Bakugo and Kirishima.
I can't raise the mood like Kaminari can, or be bluntly honest and fearless like Tsuyu.
But—
I can help in the way I know best.
Tactics, strategy, and structure.
I nod back at Todoroki and step forward, straightening my back.
"We've got fifteen minutes left." I say clearly. "If you're all okay with it, I'd like to share my strategy. Please jump in if you have suggestions. Let's do this together."
The group nods in unison, without fear or hesitation.
And just like that, we begin.
Not a strategy built on hoping Kata goes easy on us, nor made to drag out time.
But one where we go in giving everything we've got.
A real plan, to give a real fight, and a real rescue.
'Kata… we're coming for you.'
(Kata POV – Field Gamma)
'It's almost time.' I think as the final minute ticks down.
I wait patiently, glancing at the sky and letting the silence stretch on peacefully.
Of course, that peace doesn't last.
"Come on, Kata~." Midnight purrs beside me, bound to a support beam. "Do it harder…"
I inhale slowly through my nose.
There's exasperation, irritation, and a lot of patience.
"…Fine." I say flatly, tightening the ropes around her.
"Oooh~ yes." She coos, utterly unbothered by my lack of enthusiasm. "That's perfectly snug. You've got experience, don't you?" She teases, even winking at me.
I remind myself, for the tenth time, that I can't hit a teacher. Not unless it's part of the exercise.
She wriggles slightly against the bindings, sighing theatrically. "You're so cold. Did that little stay-at-home date we had mean nothing to you?" She asks in a hurt tone that would sounds believable… if you didn't know her or the full story.
I stare at her blankly.
"Don't act like you don't enjoy this~" She smiles at me sweetly.
'Should I just gag her?' I wonder.
It might help my sanity, but… I feel like she'd enjoy it too much.
Before I can decide, a loud horn blares across the field, as the exercise begins.
'It's too late to gag her now.'
My mind switches gears immediately, reaching out to sense the layout of the field, identifying everyone hidden behind corners, walls, and pipes.
'What's their plan?' I think idly.
I'm curious to see what it could be, but if they stall too long, I'll just end it.
Then—they move.
Figures emerge from behind buildings, hurling canisters my way.
'Smoke bombs?'
I catch them midair with a flick of my fingers, halting them in place, and before I can hurl them back, a Momo, hidden from afar, presses a button and detonates them remotely.
A hiss floods the area as thick white smoke fills the air, obscuring vision.
I watch calmly as I sense them slipping on infrared goggles and starting to move in.
'Is that it?' I think in slight disappointment.
Then—
BOOM!
"Hell yeah!!" A voice yells from my right.
Kirishima comes flying at me—launched at insane speed from some kind of reinforced cannon—his body fully hardened as he roars with adrenaline.
I raise my hand slightly.
The ground in front of him rises in layers of reinforced concrete, and Kirishima blasts through two of them before losing momentum.
He crashes into the third, and I pretty much bury him in the floor, cement coiling around him and leaving him trapped.
Then comes a scream.
"DIIIIE!!"
Bakugo rockets in from above, explosions crackling in both palms, a gleeful snarl on his face.
I respond with a rising pillar of Telekinetic Energy. He angles off to the side, releasing his blast mid-maneuver, trying to arc around the attack…
It doesn't work.
The pillar changes forms on command, splitting as one segment forms a protective barrier and nullifies the blast, while the other whips out like a fist, smashing into his gut and flinging him backwards.
He recovers mid-air, of course, but not without having to land while wheezing from the force.
'Wave tactics, then?'
Groups now come at me from different directions.
The slower members—Ojiro, Shoji, Sato—charge straight down the street. I restrain them with rebar and concrete, the ground swallowing their feet before they're even close.
The faster ones—Sero, Tsuyu, Kaminari, even Deku—use the pipes and building, zipping around, trying to find an opening. Given their speed, Uraraka likely made them lighter, and hence, more agile.
They make feints, hurl objects, and retreat, using the earpieces Momo must have crafted to coordinate.
It's clever… but not enough.
'I've seen enough.' I decide, raising my hand to end it—
"Now!!" Momo's voice cuts sharply through their channel.
Numerous birds dive overhead, directed by Koda most likely, dropping clusters of metallic spheres.
Flashbangs.
They detonate all at once, sound and light erupting across the area.
I filter the light and sound with a barrier immediately, shielding both myself and Midnight from the effect.
Then—
A massive sheet of jagged ice slams forward towards us, at insane speeds.
It's aimed at the small gap in distance between Midnight and I.
'They're trying to separate me from Midnight.'
I flick a pulse of energy, shattering the wall into icy shrapnel that rains through the field.
But behind it—thin, almost invisible wires glint in the light. Strands of metal looping and tightening, drawn inward from every angle.
Like a cage closing in.
'So this is why Deku and Bakugo have been zipping about… to trap me.''
They built the whole plan around this. Flashbang cover, momentum shift, coordination through the smoke… all to create this one trap.
The wires close in, having been planned to strategically avoid Midnight.
From a rooftop, Kaminari throws his arms forward, eyes crackling with power.
"Indiscriminate Shock: 1.3 Million Volts!!"
The lightning surges across the wires, rushing straight for me.
It's clever move.
I even watch, noting how the stray bolts arc toward Midnight… only to get absorbed and redirected by the still airborne ice fragments from Todoroki's attack.
Even her safety was accounted for.
The trap is pretty much unavoidable at this point, and I can already feel the electricity prickling at my skin.
Then I exhale.
"It was a good plan." I admit, a small smile of appreciation finding its way to my face. "Now it's my turn."
**********
Hello Again Everyone 🤣. So yeah, this is the chapter. If you've enjoyed the chapter and book thus far, please consider leaving me some comments, reviews, or powerstones. It really helps the book out.
Ngl, didn't realise how big of a boost in productivity coffee is. It's honestly amazing in a way, but anyway...
This was the planning I had. Honestly kinda hard to make a good plan against an unbeatable enemy. I ain't Batman, but Momo tried her best🥹. And I'll admit, it was a good plan, IMO, given what they know so far. Almost everyone was utilised, and they did manage to put on a show, so they'll probably get good grades for their attempt...
And next chapter (no matter how tragic), will be someone's POV as Kata gets serious. I feel sorry for them already. This who've already been taken out, like Kirishima, won't have to suffer more🤣. So wish them luck.
You can also read 10 chapters ahead and support me at [email protected]/AMV_WEAKLY
But outside of that, I wish you all a wonderful night (or day).