Phantom was not used to applause of such scale. An innocent denizen of Amity Park would have been surprised to hear this, but then they would come to remember how fleeting the ghost boy's presence was. Danny always remembered that with every ghost that made their presence known, terrorising the humans in a public spot, came an additional package in the form of trigger-happy hunters. And with the perpetrator captured inside a thermos, that left only one spectre in their sights. Thus, the halfa never stuck around for long, unable to often see the grateful adorers. That, coupled with him having to maintain a semblance of normal life, and the crowds' dislike of the ghost teenager, led to the situation he was in now.

His embarrassed self.

He enjoyed the fact that the attention was not fearful in anyway, perhaps even adoring in a way. But he still visibly shrunk and retreated into himself as he floated in spot, waiting until the rest of the contestants would show up. The best he could do was close his eyes, lie on a non-existent couch and wait until they were called out. Many in the audience mistook it for a sudden boost of confidence within the number one student, oxymoronic as it may sound. Danny still occasionally peeked at the rest of the contestants, with Todoroki, who arrived only fourth, leaning against the wall, Midoriya anxiously pacing around and Bakugo, who also paced around, but looked ready to explode at any moment. Danny also took note of the newest arrivals, glad to see that most of his class managed to push themselves through. Actually, the entirety of his classmates made it.

He probably should have given them a congratulatory speech as their class rep, but he didn't feel like it with so many extra people around. Not that any of them needed it much, being pretty happy themselves. Although Danny was soon approached by exhausted looking Yaoyorozu.

"Fenton-san, I need your help," she panted.

"What is it?" Danny blinked in confusion, assuming a sitting position.

The girl turned her back to him, revealing a nervous-looking Mineta, who had been riding on her back all that time. It was a miracle they even made it quick enough like this.

"Can you help me pry this idiot off?" asked Momo.

Danny cackled and grabbed the boy's collar, before his intangibility allowed to take Mineta and his sticky balls off.

"You know, girls might start looking your way if you don't behave like a creep," Danny told him.

Mineta gave a nervous laugh, before the halfa released him and dropped him on the ground.

"Can't help it."

"You are the worst!" Momo spat and looked at Danny. "Thank you, Fenton-san. You came in first, right?"

"Yep. It didn't go as smoothly as I'd hoped, though," he chuckled.

"I suspected as much," Momo sighed.

"You should take rest until the next round," Danny suggested. "I saw some water coolers out there," he pointed towards a small spot where some students were already enjoying the liquid of life.

"Thank you," the girl nodded curtly. "Do you need any?" She offered.

"I'll manage," Danny smirked, with his ghost form not needing any liquids to sustain himself.

Eventually all the contestants made their way back to the stadium. Some were taken to the infirmary, but there were no serious damages to speak of. The students that did remain, eligible to pass to the next round, slowly gathered near the stage again, where Midnight stood, ready to speak.

"The first game of the first-year stage is over," she declared, "Now let's take a look at the results!"

The screen showed the list of all the contestants that were the first to reach the destination, starting from Fenton and ending with Aoyama, who was the last one to arrive among the fortunate 42 that were making it to the second game.

"It's unfortunate that some of you didn't make it. But don't worry," Midnight reassured. "We have prepared other ways for you to shine," she said and lusciously licked her lips, "But the next proper competition starts now. The press cavalry will be all over it. Give it your all!"

She waved her hand, and the image on the screen began to roll like a slot machine once more.

"Now then, here's the second game. I already know what it is, but what could it be? What could it be? I just said and here it is!"

And the image read "cavalry battle".

Danny sweatdropped.

"Ehm... a what now?" He asked and scratched his temple.

"Oh, right, you are a foreigner, Fenton," Kirishima spoke by his side. "It's a Japanese game."

"Let me explain!" Midnight unknowingly came to the halfa's rescue. "The participants can form the teams from two to four as they wish."

As she said this, a rather comical image appeared of Thirteen and Present Mic struggling to carry All Might around.

"It's basically the same as the regular cavalry battle. But the one thing that's different is that everyone has been given points according to their place in the last game."

"In other words, each team has different amount of points depending on who's on the team," Uraraka mumbled.

"I see!" Mina exclaimed in excitement.

"You guys don't hold back even when I'm talking, huh?!" Shouted Midnight suddenly, before cooling down. "As you can see, the points go up by five points starting from the bottom. And the points assigned to the first place is..."

Everyone, including Danny, looked up at the top of the list, and their jaws dropped in disbelief. That couldn't be right.

"...ten million."

Phantom was suddenly feeling how all other contestants were looking at him. Hungrily, menacingly. Everyone knew what that difference in points entailed. Taking him down was enough to win that match. Even those who had been the bottom feeders up to that point, like Mineta, had a chance to triumph as long as they got the priceless headband in their hands. So it was basically him and his team against everyone, huh? Contrary to the expectations of those unaware of the boy's unwavering pride in his ghost powers, Phantom smirked. That was bound to get interesting.

"Now then, allow me to explain the rules in more details. Your time is fifteen minutes. Each team is worth the total of all their points. The riders will wear the headbands with that number on their foreheads. Your goal? To grab those from the enemy teams, as many as you can before the time runs out. Now, you have just as much time to think up of your team composition!"

Phantom was at the crossroads, and many were in two minds about coming up to the halfa. His classmates were most certainly aware of his power, and to them joining arms with the boy who had the biggest target on his forehead was a game with high risks and high rewards. Danny himself would have liked to have only one teammate, the bare minimum allowed for the competition. His closest friends were not opposed to the idea of joining him, but he had to think realistically about how well their Quirks and Ghost power synergised. They too, thought hard about it. Kirishima's Quirk made him a perfect tank, but it wasn't helpful in that round, especially since Danny could turn intangible and take the beating himself. Mina's acid could be theoretically used as a trap device, but there was no need to complicate what already was simple to him.

Thus, his companion had to be someone who, while not necessarily covered the shortcomings, but at least significantly increased the advantage.

He thought of Mei when he saw the pink-haired girl. At the very least, her gadgets made her just as unpredictable as he was. However, a short talk to her rid him of hopes of a team-up.

"Sorry, Fenton-san, but I don't want my babies to share a spotlight," she said, straight as ever.

And that's all she wrote. Figures she would go for Midoriya. A spot so close to the top, yet the one that won't let her be completely outshone. That could be interpreted as a compliment, but Danny was not feeling like it at all. Or maybe she didn't want to compete with his devices which he, admittedly, hadn't thought of bringing along. It was stupid. She really craved all that attention above all, didn't she? He was seeing how all other teams were already forming, leaving less and less room for him. The clock was ticking, and the thought of having to come to Midnight and beg for a teammate in front of so many terrified him beyond measure.

Suddenly, against all his expectations, a thin gust of air escaped his mouth.

"Excuse me," a quiet and timid voice sounded by his side.

Danny turned his stark-haired head to face the source. Near him stood a shorter girl with chin-length grey hair, combed in a way that it obscured the left part of her face. Under her blue eye Danny could see a small dark bag, naturally suspecting that the other one, hidden beneath the grey bangs, was the same. What made him curious was a strange way the girl carried herself. Her hands were held on the level of her elbows with her hands draped down.

"Can I help you?" Asked Danny with a cheerful smile.

"Yes. I was thinking if we could team up," she spoke just as quietly and emotionlessly.

Phantom blinked and scratched the back of his neck. "You are from class 1-B, aren't you? Is it alright?"

"I'm sure almost none of them will mind."

"Almost?"

"There are...certain individuals," she said and gave a particular glance towards a certain blonde from her class. "But my classmates have already banded together to the maximally allowed limit. I wasn't quick enough," the girl admitted and looked away.

"Well, aren't we kindred spirits? Get it, cause I'm a...nevermind," Danny mumbled, earning himself a confused look.

"You look like a ghost," she commented.

The halfa blinked. That was awfully observant of her. "Well, in a way. My Quirk is 'Ghost'. Any movie stuff ghosts can do, so can I. Yours?"

"Poltergeist," came a brief response. "I can move objects telekinetically."

Danny couldn't stop a grin from arising on his face. He knew he had sensed the slither of ectoplasm correctly. "Poltergeist and Phantom, eh? Doesn't sound half bad. Let's do this. What's your name?"

"Yanagi Reiko. You are Fenton-san, I know."

"No escaping the fame," Danny sighed dramatically, putting a hand over his heart. "Welcome aboard then, Yanagi-san. Since nobody else is coming along, I think we should talk strategy."

Yanagi nodded. "I don't think that I have the strength to carry you."

"Makes sense," Danny shrugged. "I can carry you, alright. Enemies would expect us to be on the defensive, since we are already in the lead. I think we should subvert this."

"By collecting their headbands we will only make them more eager to attack us," Yanagi argued, retaining her emotionless tone.

"True, and lesser targets they have, the more they are likely to come after us. But it will also increase our margin for error. We don't have to collect all, just a couple would be enough. And..." Danny gave a devious smirk. "It will make those remaining quite desperate. Once they realise that the highest prize is out of their reach, they will aim for the smaller fish than us. In turn, those remaining will be too busy repelling the attacks to care about us, too. In exchange for our leisure...we will have to accept the inevitable risk at the start. And prove to them all the futility of attacking us. You onboard?"

"This is awfully reckless...but I will trust you to decide."

Mere minutes afterwards, Yanagi was already situated on the boy's back. This hadn't gone unnoticed by some contestants, surprised by a very sudden team-up.

"Fenton, you bastard," Mineta cried quietly, seeing a lightly blushing girl's arms wrapped around Phantom's neck.

The latter remained oblivious to a curious position he was in, giving a piggyback ride to a girl, instead focused on the upcoming match. Even Yanagi opted not to look down, instead putting on a headband. As they went to assume the positions at their own corner of the field.

"I have a question," the girl spoke.

"Shoot," Danny tilted his head backwards, facing her.

"I saw that you are capable of flight. We could simply go out of their reach."

"Yeah, but we are here for a reason. It's to impress our dearest viewers and potential employers. Have to give my companion a chance to shine, too," he grinned sheepishly, before facing forward again. "And besides, I won't put it past them to pull something off. Let's save it for later."

"Do you have a plan on how we handle them?"

"Your Quirk limits?"

"The weight of what I can lift is about that of a human body," a quick response followed.

"Hm...wonder if we can change that..." Danny mumbled, confusing the girl. "We'll stick with what we have for now. We need just a couple of headbands, use your power to snatch them. I'll take care about our defence, you should concentrate on theirs. Just hold on tight, because it will be a very quick ride."

"Very well. But what did you mean by 'change'?"

As the halfa took his time explaining the details, surprising the girl with its strangeness, the time to begin was slowly approaching. Truth be told, Yanagi wasn't sure what to make of her impromptu teammate so far, with how eccentric he was and how outlandish his plans sounded. But what she had seen in the previous round, along with what Kendo had shared, made her confident that they could stand their ground for some time at the very least. And besides, she had already known what the boy's Quirk was called, and thus got somewhat curious.

"Alright, our teams seem to be ready!" Present Mic spoke. "Now, counting down to the battle royale! Three..."

Danny could see how everyone's hungry eyes were turned towards them.

"Two..."

There was no doubt in his mind about their own plans.

"One..."

Well, the small spectral team was gonna show them.

"Start!" Midnight declared and unleashed the contestants.

Like an open book, Danny thought as he saw every team make a beeline straight towards them. The quickest, or, rather, simply the closest team was comprised of class-B members, with Tetsutetsu, the loud guy Danny had already seen, being the rider.

"You aren't running away!" He shouted.

"That was never the intention," Phantom smirked, before pushing forward.

Even Yanagi was caught off guard by how quick her teammate was. She had barely maintained her hold over the halfa's shoulders. Much less pulled off what the teen had wanted. Only when the initial momentum died off and Phantom assumed a normal running speed could Yanagi turn towards her classmates and now competition. She raised her palm, and the headband around Tetsutetsu's forehead started to glow with purplish light. With a corner of his eye Danny saw it and smirked at the familiarity of the power, but so did their opponent.

"What the...I ain't giving it!" He shouted and used his free hand, unoccupied with keeping himself steady, to keep it in place.

Suddenly, the halfa felt resistance as he ran, as if he had stepped into sand. Looking down, he saw that the ground had turned mushy, like quicksand, and the trace of this changed area led towards one of team Tetsutetsu members. One with a rather off-putting lipless smile. Danny grinned and floated upwards and forward, before letting his eyes glow brighter. The next moment, a tiny streak of light escaped them, hitting the grey-haired rider's hand, burning it, and making him loosen the grip from the sudden pain. Yanagi pulled, and the headband flew right into her hand before the two landed a considerable distance away from their team, with Danny sliding across the ground and lifting a cloud of dust.

"Woah, would you look at that!" Present Mic shouted. "Looks like the lead team is not satisfied with their ten million! Leave some for others, kids!" He joked.

"Nah, not in the mood," Danny shrugged as best as he could with someone on his back. "Good job, Yanagi," he said and received an affirmative nod.

'They are limiting the others' options,' Aizawa thought in realisation. 'This will move the attention from them for a while. But if they play that game for too long...'

He could see that Fenton's choice of strategy and team was quite befitting him. Not only because of that stupid poltergeist joke. A single rider on his back was giving him enough mobility and did not obscure his sight in any way. Furthermore, it allowed him to easily take to the air without the whole team dangling behind.

And he could see the effectiveness of Phantom's aggressive strategy from the actions of Tetsutetsu team. Instead of going for the team of spectres, too far from them to risk it, they turned the attention towards the team nearest to them. Thus, two teams at the very least were off the leaders' back. And in general many seemed to have realised the futility of an endless goose chance against the man with teleportation power. Instead, it turned into a true battle of everyone versus everyone. Team Fenton remained unperturbed for only the briefest of moments, because very soon he saw Bakugo's team heading straight for them.

"Sheesh, come on, Kirishima, you and Mina are better than this," Danny mumbled with amusement.

He shouldn't have been surprised. Despite his character, Bakugo was a reliable powerhouse, thus his friends chose to flock to his side for the time being. And this time, it was better not to anger him just yet. Phantom's strategy was precisely about not letting many pursuers come after them. But Danny could see that Bakugo held on to his headband. He knew what they could pull off, but his offensive potential was suffering due to one hand - the only source of his explosions - being occupied. A pleasant, unintended advantage. Team Fenton turned to face the incoming threat.

"Give it to me, spook!" Bakugo demanded, charging an explosion.

When they got close enough, Phantom summoned an energy barrier between the two teams, and the explosion hit the shield and dispersed, right after the enemy's team stumbled. The force of the explosion made them take several steps backwards, as they almost dropped their rider. Danny stood where he was, albeit his own teammate instinctively moved backwards, fearing that the explosion might hit her.

"You can't break through without feeling the full force of what you do, Number two," Danny could not resist the temptation and spoke up. On his own Bakugo could manoeuvre, but not when he was a part of the team that tried to carry him around.

Before Bakugo could do anything else, the opposing team was already in the air.

"Jeez, that's unfair," Mina mumbled.

"Come back here!" Bakugo yelled, before doings something completely unexpected.

He himself took to the air, ignoring all protests and surprise of his teammates. The explosions propelled him forward and towards the floating target. He obviously aimed higher than halfa's head. Yanagi saw the opportunity to take the enemy's headband, and she went for it in spite of the threat to their own. Bakugo had no time to grab the piece of fabric when it slid off his head. He saw it fly towards the enemy team, but managed to grab the headband at the last second, while it still was within his reach. The burden too heavy, Yanagi had to let go, but not for a second had Bakugo slowed down in the process. He held onto the girl's small hand, but immediately felt something hit his stomach with tremendous force. The blonde was sent downwards, having let go of the intangible opponent.

His teammates barely managed to catch him, but Kirishima's hardened legs managed to prevent the whole team from collapsing under the improvised projectile. The crowd was elated by the brief, yet exciting clash.

"You really should calm down, Bakugo," Sero commented.

"Shut up, tape man!" The blonde spat and showed two headbands in his hand, his and Tetsutetsu's, which Yanagi had inconsiderately held in her hand. "Just do what I say!"

"That could have gone better," Danny commented, keeping a cool head. Their winning headband had not gone anywhere.

"You could have used your Quirk sooner," Yanagi pointed out.

Phantom smirked. "But should I?" He showed confidence in his untold plan. "Although, is it alright for him to go rogue like that?"

"Yes it is!" Midnight shouted cheerfully. "As long as his feet never touch the ground."

The halfa's grin turned devious, making Mina and Kirishima gulp. The last catch was merely a fluke. The next time he was bound to aim more precisely.

"Fenton!" Yanagi suddenly called and got the halfa's attention.

At the last second Fenton flew back and dodged a whi...no, it was the tongue of only one person in that arena. Danny's green eyes turned to the side, facing Shoji of all people running towards him. He wondered where Tsu's tongue had come from, but then he caught the sight of someone on his back, shielded from all sides by Shoji's gargantuan, webbed arms.

"Now that's something you don't see everyday," Danny mumbled.

"Are we going to do something?" Yanagi asked, before from the inside of their improvised tank formation flew Mineta's purple balls and Tsu's floppy tongue.

"Team Mineta makes use of their overwhelming difference in sizes!" Present Mic said excitedly. "They are like a tank!"

Phantom kept himself and his teammate in the air, displaying the wonders of agility, until he managed to grab Tsu's tongue and hold it.

"I am really sorry for that, Tsu!" Danny shouted, before his eyes turned blue.

To the surprise of the audience, a part of the girl's tongue was instantaneously covered in a layer of ice and dropped to the ground. Tsu was immobilised and probably down with a solid brain freeze. Mineta panicked, and Shoji had no long-range attacks, and thus the team was out of commission, or, at least, team Fenton was safe from them for the time being.

"Fenton disarms a whole team in just one blow!" Present Mic shouted. "Not so difficult when you have a whole arsenal of powers," he mumbled.

Danny shot a deadpan glance in direction of the announcer, before he felt the shaking on his back. Turning his head, the halfa noticed that Yanagi was not looking good and winced. He had forgotten about his rider. And that humans could get nauseous after such pirouettes.

"Sorry 'bout that, too," he mumbled. "I'll try to keep steady from now on."

Back with the audience, it was positively elated at seeing such a powerful contestant. The managers scribbled down yet another ability in the boy's possession. The viewers, be it the heroes, journalists or normal folks, had already been shocked by the few powers Fenton had already displayed. Flight, intangibility and portals, to name a few. And the number was growing in their eyes. And in the eyes of one particular fire-controlling pro, who couldn't help but be somewhat interested now.

The fight went on, and Fenton's bet had worked out in some aspects. Seeing team Mineta's weakness, other teams wanted to snatch their prize. That saved Danny some trouble at least.

"Alrighty then," Present Mic announced. "It's been seven minutes already! Let us take a look at the scoreboard!"

The screens showcased that right below team Fenton was Bakugo's, with their two high-valued headbands. But then, in a second, the image flicked, and suddenly the blonde's team plummeted to the sixth place.

"Huh?"

Bakugo felt how the headband slid off his forehead, and his first reaction was telekinesis. But no, there was someone else behind them.

"Class 1-A is too simple-minded," commented a blonde teen from the opposing class, twirling Bakugo's headband around his finger.

"He got us!" Mina exclaimed.

"Give that back bastard!" Bakugo yelled. "I'll kill you!"

"Midnight said it was the FIRST game," the boy responded collectedly, but not without smug. "It wouldn't make sense for them to cut a ton of people in the qualifier, right? Assuming they'd keep about forty people for the next stage, we just made sure we stayed in that number as we ran. Observing from the back the personalities and Quirks of our opponents. There's no point in obsessing over winning the prelims, right?"

Danny could hear it from above and didn't hide his surprise.

"Did you know about this?" He asked Yanagi.

"Not everyone agreed with Monoma," she commented. "I didn't join you for that, if you want to know," the girl was quick to reassure.

Danny laughed. "Well, you should have," he responded suddenly. "That's an excellent plan. Wish I could see it too."

Her teammate was a very odd person, Yanagi thought, before they flew their way. Phantom had a feeling Bakugo was not going to chase.

"This plan is better than chasing after a temporary top," Monoma continued. "Like a donkey going after a carrot dangling in front of its face. Oh, while I'm at it, you are famous, aren't you? The famed victim of the sludge villain. Tell me about it sometime, about how it feels to be attacked by a villain once a year."

Fenton was a living reminder to Bakugo that his anger was always used against him, Bakugo could see it and tried to hold back. And miserably failed.

"Kirishima..." he growled, growing a very menacing look. "Change of plans. Before we go after the Spook, we kill these guys first."

Danny grinned. That suited his interests just fine.

A question hung in many of the opponents' heads — how could they force team Fenton to get down. Not many had the range, and what flew his way was easily avoided by his power and Yanagi's telekinesis that kept projectiles away. But one such plan was hatched by Todoroki. He too, had observed the half-ghost. He had listened to everything he had said. And Todoroki could only assume that the boy's greatest fear of one sort of damage was there for a reason. Fenton also wasn't very imaginative whilst he remained in the lead, so the ice-wielder had his hopes that that would not change.

"Yaoyorozu, I need you to create something."

Phantom's intangibility protected his team from a barrage of horns shot by one of Yanagi's classmates. He could theoretically keep at it, but his teammate insisted that they did something else. She utilised her Quirk to send the horns backwards, forcing the enemies to defend themselves. It was going swell for the team Fenton, but suddenly he heard Todoroki's voice.

"Fire!" He shouted.

Danny spun around and saw how Todoroki's team had shot something. Before he could do anything else, the halfa managed to sidestep and grab the projectile. Just like he had done with Tsu's tongue.

"Is this a harpoon?!" He said in shock.

Todoroki couldn't have been trying to kill him, so why...

"Now, Kaminari!"

Danny froze. The harpoon had a rope made of iron.

"Indiscriminate shock, 1 million volts!" Exclaimed Kaminari and hugged the metal harpoon.

The next moment, the entirety of the bright lighting was directed up the rope, and the flying team screamed in pain. And Phantom was the loudest of them. And once the electricity zap, weaker than Kaminari's limit, allowing him to continue as always, stopped, the half ghost took a plummet to the ground.

"What a turn of events! Team Todoroki has shot down the lead contestant!" Present Mic voiced the shock of everyone viewing the competition.

The landing was rough, but slow enough to assume that it wasn't an instant injury. Both members of their team lied atop of each other, barely moving, but team Todoroki was quick to approach them, eager to snatch the so much desired headband from a fallen opponent. And then Kaminari, the one closest to the fallen opponents, reached out with his free hand.

"Well, looks like we have a change of a leader," shouted Present Mic as the screen showed the shift in numbers.

But then, before Kaminari could even retract his arm, Phantom's grabbed it. Before the boy could even react, he let out a scream of pain at the deadman's grip. And then he saw a terrifying pair of burning green eyes staring at him. Something was wrong, definitely wrong.

"That hurt, you dipshit," Phantom growled, as the headband was dropped by the boy with the electric Quirk.

In a split second Danny grabbed the headband and fell into a portal alongside Yanagi, reappearing some distance away.

"Try that again and Recovery Girl won't salvage what's left," the halfa threatened coldly as his hair started to float.

"Woah!" Present Mic exclaimed, rising from his seat and hitting the audio panel in front of him. "Fenton doesn't take kindly to being hit, eh?"

"Not at all," Aizawa interrupted his friend. "Even when the villains wounded him more gravely during the attack he didn't lose his head. Something else is at play."

No ghost took kindly to a reminder of their painful deaths. Their reactions were always violent, causing horrific alterations to appearance and the desire to kill or maim the source of said reminder. Fenton's human side numbed the effects, for he could observe electricity, see its use, but when he himself was hit, Danny's control slipped, and it took all his restraint not to rip Kaminari apart right there. But he craved vengeance still. Phantom saw with the corner of his eye that Midoriya was not far away, too. Looking to snatch the prize, no doubt. He hadn't seen much of him before, come to think of it. Furthermore, the rest were catching up, too. They sensed the weakness he had displayed. Before Todoroki's team could traverse the five meters between them, Danny picked Yanagi up and tried to take off once more.

And he knew Todoroki would not let him leave that vulnerable position. Using his right side, the scarred teen aimed slightly higher than where Phantom was. His calculation was on point, just like the glacier that managed to grasp the half ghost's arm. It didn't hold him for long, because Danny managed to break off a piece of ice the arm was encased in and finally get a breather in the sky.

Then, Danny felt Yanagi stir on his back.

"Good morning," he said with strained cheer.

"Wha...what happened?" She asked.

"Electric charge. My favourite," grumbled Danny. "And I'd say it's high time I gave you your gift. Whenever you are ready."

That snapped the silver-haired girl out of her drowsiness. Yanagi could hear from his tone that Fenton would in reality not take no for answer, she saw how pissed he looked with Todoroki's team, so she hesitantly nodded. Danny looked at his arm, which remained frozen but was still clutching the headband. Next second, his hand glowed green, and the ice turned to steam in an instant. Shaking off the droplets of water, Danny then tossed the headband to the rider and Yanagi quickly wrapped it around her forehead.

The sudden sound of a whirring engine snapped the two out of their very relative serenity. Turning towards the source, they were surprised to see Midoriya's team flying towards them. That was a high risk game the green-haired human decided to play. Tokoyami, the one in front of their 'horse', quickly let his avian shadow loose and sent it to face Phantom. With a bird-like screech it lunged, and not a moment too soon Phantom and Shadow grabbed each other's hands.

"You knew I can't go through this thing," Danny commented unenthusiastically.

"Ever since I saw how you reacted similarly to the fog villain I had my suspicions," responded Tokoyami.

Danny noticed Midoriya getting closer. Trying to get the headband while the two heavy-lifters were busy. Midoriya jumped on Tokoyami's shoulder and then on Shadow's neck. Yanagi couldn't see anything she could use, her strength was barely enough to hold onto Phantom, who so far had been carrying her around, much less put up a fight. Her telekinesis couldn't grasp anything around, could it? But Danny knew that he had neither the time nor mood for their games. Phantom's hands flared with energy, and the burning pain made the shadow loosen the grip. Next second Danny freed one of his hands, and a small ball of ectoplasm appeared in it.

"Yanagi, close your eyes!" He ordered and tossed the ball between two teams.

The next seconds it burst into immensely bright light, blinding those who didn't heed Phantom's warning. The one hit the most was Takoyami's shadow, which screeched from surprise and seriously shrunk in size, allowing the halfa to free himself. The reeling shadow made Midoriya lose his footing, and with a loud yelp he almost fell, but Uraraka managed to grab him. The again weightless teen assumed his previous position, looking at the smirking half ghost.

"How...how did you know the shadow's weakness?" Asked Midoriya, who had been told by Tokoyami that almost nobody had known that fact.

"His is not the first shadow I see," the halfa responded, before Yanagi noticed just what was keeping them in the air.

The girl raised her palm, now that Danny was helping her once more. With a swipe of her hand, one of the boots Uraraka was wearing slipped off her foot.

"Wha..."

Their team could fly with one boot also, being made weightless by Uraraka's Quirk. But one boot less plus the element of surprise equalled the loss of control over their position in the air. Danny grinned and fired a tiny blast from his finger, hitting the falling boot and blowing it to pieces. Then, he raised a hand for a high five. Yanagi lightly slapped it, before their eyes turned towards the opponents.

"No! My baby!" Mei exclaimed.

"It died with honour," responded Danny dramatically.

He was half-tempted to shoot down Midoriya's team, but he couldn't vouch for their later health, and thus decided to simply make distance once more. Especially since his new main target was currently running beneath, alongside the rest of the teams. A very wicked idea came up in his mind, as he turned towards Yanagi.

"Are you ready now? I need your full attention, you know?"

The girl nodded. "I hope what you weren't wrong."

Danny smirked and landed on the ground. "So do I."

The next second, they both were surrounded by green light, and everyone was left wondering what the two had had in mind since the start. But nonetheless, the most prized headband was still within reach, and so, while not forgetting about the closest competition, they still circled round them.

"Don't resist this feeling," Danny mumbled, seeing how said circle's radius was getting shorter. And his eyes were still focused on that ice-controlling bastard. "I'll keep the excess energy so you don't die on spot, you simply use your Quirk as you always do."

That didn't sound very reassuring.

The first to run forward was Tetsutetsu's team, still lacking their headband and craving revenge. The others soon followed suit. Todoroki opted to stay behind the clash, and Midoriya decided to do the same, as his team finally landed back on the ground. They clearly saw that Phantom was planning something. But then, Yanagi outstretched her hands, and released the power that she was feeling in her veins. It felt overwhelming, more than her body could handle, but Phantom hadn't lied about keeping everything in check. And then, surrounded by green light, all other teams froze in spot, unable to move.

The crowd once again received what they had desired and cheered. Each overturn was welcomed by their minds, so hungry for the show. Yanagi's eyes widened in shock. So far she hadn't been able to lift a single person, much less keep forty in place.

"What in the..." Kendo spoke, trying to break free just like all the rest. "How did you do that, Yanagi-san?" She asked loudly, since her jaw was still able to move.

"I have an answer," Danny grinned toothily and raised a finger, beginning to approach one particular team, without sparing Kendo a glance. "Why should Yanagi-san limit herself to random energies when I have enough for both, enough to empower Yanagi's Quirk tenfold if need be!?" He laughed.

"I think it's much more than ten times," quietly commented Yanagi, still concentrating on keeping everyone tied.

"Looks like the lead team is no longer playing around!" Present Mic shouted. "It will take some effort getting out of our resident spectres hold!"

Phantom was evidently making a beeline straight towards team Todoroki. On his way the halfa whistled a tune and picked a couple of random headbands from Monoma, the blonde copycat, for he was obviously holding onto too many. Their team watched the smirking half-ghost with fury, and Monoma appeared to be the angriest one.

"You'll pay for that," he hissed.

"Save it for the next round, would you? If you make it," Danny turned to leave, theatrically tossing the headbands in the middle of the arena, but still keeping the best one. And the numbers on the scoreboard turned much sadder. "Only our class gets to mock Number two. Remember it well," he said much quieter.

Meanwhile, everyone was trying their hardest to escape the dead grip Yanagi had on all of them. The girl was feeling increasingly fatigued, but she could still hold them. The longer- the better for their currently unchanged lead. But enough physical strength, or, rather, the opposing force, could allow to break out of the spectres' trap. And thus, each tried to do just that, each in a different manner. But nonetheless, the ghost team made it to Todoroki's.

"Just like I said the last time, pal," Phantom grinned, floated slightly upward and grabbed the headband. "This won't be enough."

Iida watched the scene with terror, for with so little time left, they would never get back to the previous spot. But...it also meant that they could go all in. He had to try the move he had been practicing. There would not be another time. Before Danny could pry the main, most prized headband off Todoroki's forehead, the engines on Iida's legs stirred, unburdened by the paralysis consuming the entire arena. And then, the pipes spurted the fire of reactive engine, and in a single explosion, he overturned the situation. Surprised by the sudden pressure of immense proportions, Yanagi could not hold them for long, and finally, the spell broke, all the momentum that had been building up was released in but a moment, and Todoroki's team burst forward, free and still in possession of their headband.

"Woah!" Present Mic exclaimed. "What...what happened?! So fast! So fast! Iida, if you could accelerate that fast, then show us in the prelims!"

Yanagi's broken concentration was enough to release hell, as her grip was broken, and the fatigue finally caught up with her. In the meantime, Todoroki's team came to a halt hundred meters away, still majorly shocked by what had just happened.

"What...was that?" Todoroki asked the panting speedster, as the fight broke out not so far away for the free headbands Phantom had dropped specifically for that purpose.

"By forcing the torque and rotations to increase, I created an explosive force. With the recoil, however, my engine will be useless until the end of the match," Iida responded and looked at the smoking pipes. "It's a secret move I haven't shown anyone yet."

Danny and Yanagi turned towards the team, also stunned by what Iida had managed to pull off and preserve their team's second place.

"You holding up, Yanagi-san?" The halfa asked, disgruntled by the loss of opportunity.

"I...I'm alright," she put a hand to her head. "But I won't be able to repeat what we did."

"That's...bad," Danny hissed, as the anger with Todoroki's group still lingered.

"There's also the next round, Fenton-san," the girl mumbled tiredly. "And we are still on top."

The halfa sighed. "Fine, I suppose you are right."

Yanagi obviously needed some rest, he couldn't push her to get revenge of such small scale. It was better to once more get to the sidelines and let others fight over the rest, lest her human body sustained something other than fatigue. That's why he preferred fighting alone. Nobody to think of, to concern oneself about — the only person in harm's way was potentially you alone.

However, his own reluctance did not mean that the rest was going to let him go easily like that. Certainly, most opted to try and scramble for the lesser headbands, but Monoma wanted to get back at the spectres for dropping him from second to sixth spot. And potentially stand at the top. He had a plan, and for that he needed to get closer. His team ran towards where the half-ghost stood, conversing with Yanagi, but the blonde soon heard a commanding voice behind them.

"Wait! I said wait!" Bakugo yelled.

"Jeez, so persistent," Monoma grumbled. That guy was more trouble than he was worth. "As a hero, this quality..."

An explosion interrupted his banter, as Bakugo flew in his direction.

"Tsuraba, guard!" Monoma commanded to his teammate.

The next second, the auburn-haired teen breathed out a gust of air, and in an instant it solidified, creating a lens-like obstacle Bakugo hit. Bakugo furiously rammed on the wall that appeared invisible to a naked eye, and Monoma's team turned away, about to pursue the spectres once more, but then, another powerful strike followed, Bakugo broke through the air wall and grabbed Monoma by the last headband hanging on his neck. A ripping motion later, and Bakugo came into possession of the piece of fabric, and would have fallen on the ground, but Sero was quick to grab the blonde and pull him back on his 'steed'.

"Team Bakugo seizes the last headband and jumps to the third place!" Present Mic announced.

The explosion wielder smirked triumphantly at seeing Monoma's team plummet to the bottom. But that left the rest of the adversaries he sought to trample. He saw how Midoriya ran towards where Fenton was, and that put two of his most hated people in one spot. Perfect.

"We are going after the spooks next," Bakugo declared.

"Eh?" Mina asked. "Are you sure we should risk it? We are still getting to the next round!"

"I am not letting that bastard get ahead of me!" The blonde barked. "So go!"

Knowing that the one holding all their headbands would simply go in by himself if they declined, the three other teammates obliged.

In the meantime, Danny saw how Midoriya was coming closer. Todoroki as well was aiming for the halfa and his teammate. It appeared that neither team was satisfied with being second, whilst Midoriya sought a shot at getting to the fourth place. And it should not have mattered who he was going to take the headband from.

"So, two on one it is, eh?" Phantom asked sarcastically.

For it wasn't just his victory on the line here, was it? Yanagi was there too. And if she trusted him to lead them to victory, he would do just that.

The first to lunge forward was Midoriya, with Tokoyami's shadow brandishing its claws once more. Phantom charged an ectoblast and jumped away, firing at the creature. He knew he could go wild on the ectoplasmic being, and it seemed to shrug off the initial blast, more fearful of the light it emitted. An own pet ghost, Tokoyami was lucky with his Quirk. The shadow lunged again, and Phantom summoned a shield in front of his palm to protect himself and push the creature backwards, before noticing another team approaching from his side.

A metal rod in Todoroki's hand, courtesy of Yaoyorozu and the conduit for his powers during the match, was once again covered in ice, before he hit the ground with it, letting a tsunami of ice towards the halfa. Phantom saw that, and his free hand released a ray of ectoenergy, enough to melt whatever emerged from the ground in an instant. At that moment, Shadow decided to play smart, and circumvented the shield, seemingly trying to bit the half ghost with its beak. Danny once again jumped backwards, and the shield dispersed.

"Uraraka!" Midoriya exclaimed. The girl followed his unspoken command and used the only boot on her leg to propel the entire team forward.

It was at that time Bakugo's team caught up with them, and the blond did not hesitate to jump towards the three.

"I'll get you, spook!"

Phantom prepared to meet another offensive, but then he heard the call he dreaded most.

"Kaminari!" Todoroki yelled when they got close enough.

"Don't you dare!" Phantom roared and prepared a devastating blast in his palm, enough to wipe all three teams at once.

And then...

"Time's up!" Came up the yell from Present Mic.

And that made the contestants first freeze in shock, and then they, and the team leaders in particular, were faced with a rush of emotions of different kinds. Bakugo dropped on the ground, his face kissing the ground. And started hitting the ground with anger. Midoriya turned fearful, not knowing if his team made a cut. Danny felt relieved that he was not going to experience another case of ghostly PTSD equivalent. Todoroki didn't show whatever was on his mind. The halfa turned towards his teammate, who luckily had the strength to get off his back and stand on her own.

"We made it, right?" She asked a bit groggily, and still feeling a headband on her, sighed in relief.

Danny grinned. "We sure did, with more than...wait..." he looked at his hands, belt, touched his neck. Where was Monoma's headband?

"Alright!" Present Mic shouted. "Let's see the results," he said as the scoreboard showed up. "First place belongs to team Fenton, which hasn't lost its prized headband for the whole match!"

"I just thought of it," Danny mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Isn't it technically team Yanagi?" He looked at the girl. "You were the rider, no?"

Yanagi didn't say anything initially. "It's nothing important."

"Second place — team Todoroki, ones that got close enough and managed to get the lead team!"

"I'm sorry, everyone," Iida forcefully said to his teammates. "I was too brash and acted without thinking."

"That's not true," Yaoyorozu reassured him. "Had it not been for you, we would have lost."

"Team Bakugo comes third!"

"Well, ain't too bad," Mina shrugged.

"Yeah, third place is neat, also," Sero agreed.

"Tell that to someone who is in the third place again," Kirishima deadpanned as he pointed at hysterical Bakugo.

"Coming fourth is team...wait, when did they...team Midoriya!"

The most surprised of all was perhaps the green-haired boy himself.

"Eh? What...how..."

Hearing a cough, everyone turned towards Tokoyami. And his shadow, which held the headband with the number 305 in its beak. Monoma's headband.

"Kaminari's upcoming attack seemed to greatly frighten Fenton. His whole attention was on Todoroki, so Shadow was able to snatch it. I tried to get the ten million, but I didn't have the time."

Danny would have paled if his ghost skin was capable of that. Had...had he really been so close to being a complete loser? He had underestimated Tokoyami greatly. He had thought he knew how his avian classmate's Quirk functioned. Turns out he was more inventive than Johnny, who would have thought. With a heavy sigh, Danny let himself turn back into his human form. Those were hectic fifteen minutes.

"Now we will take an hour's break for lunch and recreational activities!" Present Mic added. "Enjoy yourselves until then. Hey, Eraser, let's go grab some snack."

"I'm going to sleep," came a curt answer.

Before Danny could join his friends and leave the arena, he felt a hand stopping him. It was Yanagi.

"Fenton-san. I wanted to thank you. It seems...I'm the only one from my class that made it thanks to you."

"I..." Danny shifted in his spot. "Am not sure if you should thank me. We are also the ones that stopped your classmates from getting higher, too."

"I know. But I still appreciate your help. I was also meaning to ask. Is that power you gave me..."

"Permanent?" Danny suggested and hummed. "I know of cases when ectoplasm clung to a human body without harming it. Your Quirk might just make some of it stick. And maybe that's what made you feel so overwhelmed," he rambled. "So maybe some of it stayed and will allow you some greater control. Well, if so, go on and enjoy it," he grinned and turned to leave. "Thanks for your help, too."

A.N. Worry not, dearest readers. I urge you to not fret over the fate of one particular Shinso. Not all is lost, I assure you. I like him, I know you do, and he is also important for the plot. So he is participating.