Chapter 26

"Aaah! M-Monster!!"

Currently, Neito Momona the vice representative of class 1B, was screaming as he scrambled backward, pointing frantically at the empty air right above my head.

To understand how I ended up in this situation, let's go back a couple of minutes, to just after we were allowed to choose our teammates.

….

I approached Yaoyorozu while she was talking with Ida, who was currently trying to convince her to join his team.

"Hey, Yaoyorozu, want to team up with me?"

She turns around, surprised.

"Me? Why?"

"Your creation quirk is perfect for this kind of event. And we'd work well together. Don't you think so too?" I answer simply before briefly focusing my gaze on Ida.

She thinks for a moment before nodding. "Alright. I'm sorry, Ida seems like I'll be going with Arata for this one."

"You don't have to worry about it, I can understand why you chose him, after all. Since you've already made your decision, I won't bother you anymore. I wish you two good luck." Ida said before starting to walk away.

I slightly lowered my head while apologizing to him.

"I'm Sorry for stealing your teammate, Ida. Hope you find a new one soon. Good luck to you too."

"Arata, now that we're teammates, can we agree on a strategy before we start, or do you prefer we gather all our teammates before deciding?" Yaoyorozu asked me. Even though she is acting confident, I could see from her body language that she was still unsure of some things.

"While I'm not against making a plan in advance, it would be better if we have everyone present before making a definitive plan. After all, if someone that we chose decides not to join, we would have wasted time trying to think of a new one based on the new member's quirk, so I think it would be better to do it at the end."

" Ah, I see you're right."

"Don't worry about it!"

"So who did you choose next? Is it one of our classmates?"

"Sorry, but no, I was thinking about Shinso from the general studies; his quirk is brainwashing. He can control anyone who answers his question. I think he would be a good addition as our rider. What do you think?" I answered while starting to search for Shinso.

Seeing my confidence, Yaoyorozu started relaxing some of her tension as she followed me.

"Really? If that's true, then he would be an excellent trump card!"

"Right."

I continued, looking for Shinso. I find him a little off to the side, hands in his pockets, watching the others form their groups without much enthusiasm.

"Shinso!"

He looks up at me, wary. "It's you. What do you want?"

"I want you to join my team."

"Why me? You do realize that my goal is to defeat your 1A class, right?"

"You know what they say: Instead of trying to beat us, shouldn't you join us instead? And your quirk is useful here, and no one expects a General Studies student to be dangerous. That works in our favor."

At the mention of his quirk, Shinso narrowed his eyes while glaring at me.

"How do-"

Before he could finish speaking, Shinso suddenly felt something covering his mouth.

"Now, now, Shinso, that's not nice. Trying to use your quirk on us even though we have no Ill intent against you. Now I'm going to release you. You can decide whether you want to follow us or not." I said while making the black ghost let go of him.

How did I know he was going to use his quirk? I didn't; I just took a gamble, but if I'm right, he is more likely to join us.

He stares at me for a few seconds, as if searching for a trick before sighing. "...Fine. But if you betray me, you'll regret it."

"Noted."

He follows us without another word.

Shinso stood slightly behind us, trying his best to look detached, though his tense shoulders gave him away. We were sitting on the million-point target, and everyone knew it.

"We need one more member in our team," Yaoyorozu said, keeping her voice low.

"Someone who can handle crowd control or buy us a quick opening."

"I already have someone in mind; stay here, you two. I'll go invite him." I said, not waiting for their reply, before walking away.

I casually waltzed over to a group of Class 1-B students. Monoma was standing near some of his classmates, smirking, arrogance practically radiating off him as he delivered a speech about Class 1-A's imminent downfall.

"Hey, Monoma," I called out, stopping a few feet away.

He paused mid-sentence before turning toward me with a mocking grin.

"Well, well, well! Look who comes crawling over! The great vice-representative of Class 1-A! What's the matter, Arata? Realizing that holding a million points makes you too big a target? You can't hold the pressure and come to hand it over?"

"Not really," I replied, my tone dry and unbothered.

"I actually came to offer you a spot on my team. I heard of your quirk, Copy. I think we could use a wildcard like you on the left flank."

Monoma's eyes widened slightly in disbelief before melting into pure condescension. "You want me to carry Class 1-A's burden? How pathetic! You think you can just march over here and—"

"It's a simple offer," I interrupted, stepping closer and extending my hand toward him.

"Take it or leave it. But if you want to guarantee a pass to the final round, shaking my hand is the fastest way there."

Monoma sneered, stepping forward to slap his palm against mine. "Fine!"

' Do you really think I'll accept your offer, you idiot? I'll copy your precious Quirk and use it to defeat you. I'll show everyone how mundane Class 1-A really is—' Monoma thought while shaking my hand.

However, the moment his skin touched mine, Monoma's arrogant laugh died instantly in his throat.

His eyes dilated as his face drained of every drop of color. Above my left shoulder, invisible to every student, teacher, and hero in the stadium, the towering, shadowy shape of the Black Ghost leaned down, its sharp, clawed jaw hovering inches from Monoma's face.

Monoma couldn't control himself the moment he saw it,

"Ah—aah..." he started stammering as his knees buckled under him. He scrambled backward while pointing frantically at the empty air right above my head.

"Monoma? What's wrong with you?!" his classmates, who were beside him, rushed forward in confusion.

"M-Monster!! Get away! Get away from me!!" Monoma shrieked as he backed further into the grass, tears springing to the corners of his eyes.

Seeing his reaction, his classmate turned to me but didn't see anything.

"Momona, are you alright? There's nothing there."

"It's right there! It's right behind him!! It's watching me!!"

The surrounding Class 1-B students stared in utter silence, baffled by his reaction. To them, Monoma had simply shaken my hand, lost his mind, and fallen to the ground, pointing at empty air.

I pulled my hand back casually, looking down at him.

' So it seems like he can't manifest it.' I noted silently. My objective has never been to have Momona join my team. No, that couldn't have been further from the truth.

As All For One said, all quirks possess the instinct of their user. And each time Momona copies someone's quirk, he also gets that instinct of how he can use the quirk as soon as he copies it, without needing any training.

I knew that as soon as he got the opportunity, he couldn't resist copying my quirk; I wanted to see if someone could copy my quirk and become an Ajin like me or summon a black ghost.

Normally, with the instinct he would have gotten from me and his reaction to the black ghost he should have, even if unconsciously summoned his own to protect himself, the fact that he didn't is proof that he didn't gain that ability; perhaps he can't even heal after death.

' Good to know, Good to know!'

"Looks like he's a little too overwhelmed by the pressure," I said calmly to his classmates.

"I think it would be better if I go since it seems like he's not reacting very well to my presence. I. Hope he'll be alright. Good luck in the match."

I turned around and walked back to my team, leaving Monoma babbling on the grass. The commotion had attracted the attention of some Others. I could see Midoriya staring at me from across the field.

I was walking back to our spot, leaving 1-B in total disarray behind me. Some of them were trying to calm down Monoma, while the rest of his classmates stared at me as I'd just placed a curse on him.

Midoriya, standing twenty feet away with Ochaco and Ida, was practically vibrating.  His eyes were darting rapidly between the screaming Monoma and me.

"Arata!" Midoriya called out to me while running over, his face a storm of panic.

"What just happened?!"