Ok so I was kinda getting bored of the sports festival so I sped it up alot I hope yall dont mind. And sorry for not posting yesterday.
Chapter 24: end of the sports festival
"AND NOW WE MOVE INTO THE QUARTERFINALS! FIRST MATCH OF THE ROUND — CID KAGENO VERSUS YUI KODAI!"
The crowd erupted. Whispers rippled through the stands as the hero course students stepped onto the stage from opposite sides. Cid walked with his usual lazy posture, hands in his pockets. Yui moved with quiet determination, but the small smile he gave her as they met in the center of the arena said everything.
They had talked about this match the night before. Yui had been very clear.
"Don't hold back," she had told him. "If you let me win just because we're together, it would feel more insulting than losing. I want you to take this seriously."
Cid had simply nodded. "Alright. No holding back." but in his head he thought 'even if you said don hold back you didn't say anything about actually fighting you' he thought with a smirk.
Now, standing across from each other under the bright lights, they exchanged one last look. Yui gave him a small, resolute nod. Cid's expression softened for half a second before it settled back into calm focus.
The starting bell rang.
Yui dropped to one knee instantly, palms slapping the arena floor to shrink the stage beneath them.
But Cid was faster.
He took one casual step and the distance between them vanished. In the blink of an eye he was behind her. His arms wrapped around her waist in a gentle but unbreakable hug, pulling her back firmly against his chest. He rested his chin lightly on top of her head, completely restraining her without any real force.
Yui froze, and didn't try to struggle. She already knew she had no chance once he was this close.
Cid's voice was low, warm, and just loud enough for the microphones to pick up.
"You want to surrender?"
Yui let out a soft huff, cheeks flushing. She crossed her arms over his forearms, still pouting even as she stayed comfortably in his hold.
"…Yeah," she muttered, voice carrying clearly through the arena. "I surrender."
Midnight blew her whistle almost immediately.
"Match over! Winner — Cid Kageno!"
The stadium fell silent for a heartbeat, then exploded into a mix of cheers, wolf whistles, and surprised chatter.
"Look at them! Are they dating?!"
"They're so cute together!"
"That's the most wholesome way to lose I've ever seen!"
Midnight's voice purred over the speakers, clearly amused. "Oh my~ How adorable! Those two really are quite the pair, aren't they? Kyaaaaa, My heart can't take it!"
Cid didn't let go right away. He gave Yui one last gentle squeeze, then released her and took her hand instead. They walked off the stage together, fingers laced. Yui was still pouting, cheeks pink with a mix of embarrassment and lingering warmth, but there was no real anger in her expression, just quiet acceptance. She knew exactly how that fight would end before they walked out here, she just didn't expect to do something like that so publicly, still…..progress is progress. She was happy he was showing some more forwardness in their relationship now.
As they passed the stands, the crowd's cheers grew louder, many people openly cooing at the sight of them holding hands.
Cid and Yui rejoined the group. Yui leaned her head against Cid's shoulder, she was still pouting. Cid simply rested his hand on her thigh with his thumb brushing slow circles along it.
Match 6: Fumikage Tokoyami vs. Katsuki Bakugo
Bakugo didn't give him a chance to breathe. He unleashed a relentless barrage of explosions, each blast flashing brilliant white light that forced Dark Shadow to recoil and shrink back into Tokoyami's body. The light burned away the shadow's strength with every pop.
"STAY DOWN, BIRD BRAIN!" Bakugo roared, launching himself forward in a point-blank blast that sent Tokoyami skidding across the stage. Before the shadow could recover, Bakugo was on him, pinning him down and popping constant bright explosions right over his head, the light overwhelming Dark Shadow completely.
"Match over! Winner — Katsuki Bakugo!"
Match 7: Shoto Todoroki vs. Neito Monoma
Monoma stepped forward with his usual smug grin, he already copied Juzo's Quirk in preparation for the fight.
The bell rang.
Todoroki didn't even let him take a single step. A massive wall of ice erupted from the ground the instant the match started, completely encasing Monoma in a towering glacier before he could react.
"Match over! Winner — Shoto Todoroki!"
Monoma's muffled cursing could be heard from inside the ice.
Match 4: Izuku Midoriya vs. Hitoshi Shinso
Izuku stepped onto the stage, his fists clenched and looking. Shinso stood opposite him, hands in his pockets, expression calm and calculating.
The bell rang.
Shinso wasted no time. "You're pretty close with that floating girl, aren't you? Uraraka, right? Must be tough with how both of you embarrassed yourselves in that…well I hesitate to even call it a fight."
Izuku's eyes widened. "Don't talk about Uraraka like—"
His body locked up mid-sentence. Shinso's Brainwashing took hold instantly.
"Walk out of the ring," Shinso ordered calmly.
Izuku's legs moved against his will, stiffly carrying him toward the boundary line. The crowd gasped.
But at the very edge, Izuku's fingers twitched. A desperate surge of One For All flooded his finger. Then a shock wave went out as his finger broke waking him from the brainwashing.
Izuku then rushed Shinso, throwing him clean out of the ring.
"Match over! Winner — Izuku Midoriya!"
Izuku stood panting, fists still clenched, while Shinso sat up on the ground with a tired sigh. "damm, Almost had you."
The quarterfinals were complete.
The final four were set:
- Cid Kageno
- Katsuki Bakugo
- Shoto Todoroki
- Izuku Midoriya
**Semifinals**
The arena lights pulsed as the next bracket appeared on the screens.
Present Mic's voice boomed. "AND NOW THE SEMIFINALS! FIRST MATCH — KATSUKI BAKUGO VERSUS CID KAGENO!"
Bakugo exploded out of the tunnel like a living bomb, palms sparking, a feral grin on his face. "Finally! I've been waiting for this, you damn extra!"
Cid walked out casually, hands in his pockets, looking mildly bored.
The bell rang.
Bakugo launched forward with a massive explosion, roaring as he closed the distance in a heartbeat.
But the moment the bell sounded, Cid acted.
Bakugo suddenly found himself standing outside the ring, still mid-leap and slammed into the side of the ring.
Cid stood in the center of the stage, hands still in his pockets, already looking toward Midnight with a small shrug.
Midnight raised her whip without hesitation. "Match over! Winner — Cid Kageno!"
The stadium went dead silent for half a second.
Bakugo blinked, then his face twisted in pure rage. "THE HELL?! THAT WASN'T EVEN—!"
He launched himself back toward the stage with a deafening explosion, palms blazing.
Midnight pulled at her costume causing pinkish mist to flow out and engulfed Bakugo mid-air. His eyes rolled back and he dropped like a sack of bricks, snoring loudly before he even hit the ground.
Cid simply stepped off the stage and walked toward the tunnel, hands still in his pockets, as if the entire match had lasted three seconds.
Present mic announced the next match
(Im not gonna write this match, nothing has changed so it goes exactly like it would in cannon)
-AND THE WINNER IS SHOTO TODOROKI!!!!!
The arena fell into a hushed anticipation as the screens updated one final time.
Present Mic's voice echoed across the stadium, laced with disbelief and excitement.
"AND HERE WE ARE — THE GRAND FINAL OF THE FIRST-YEAR TOURNAMENT! CID KAGENO VERSUS SHOTO TODOROKI!"
The crowd roared. Cameras zoomed in on the two students stepping onto the stage from opposite sides. Cid walked with his usual hands-in-pockets slouch, looking mildly bored. Todoroki moved with cold precision, half his face hidden behind his hair.
RINGGGGG
The bell hadn't even finished ringing when Todoroki acted. The moment the referee raised his hand, a massive wide-arc wave of ice exploded forward from his right side, racing across the stage to completely block Cid's view and freeze him in place.
Cid sighed.
The ice shrank instantly — every spike, every sheet collapsing down to harmless frost dust that scattered harmlessly across the floor.
At the same moment, the distance between Cid and Todoroki vanished.
Todoroki suddenly found himself standing outside the ring, feet planted on the grass beyond the boundary line, still mid-attack.
The referee's whistle blew before the ice dust even settled.
"Match over! Winner — Cid Kageno!"
The stadium exploded.
Present Mic screamed, "HE DID IT AGAIN! CID KAGENO ENDS THE FINAL IN ONE MOVE! NO SECOND GIVE, NO FIGHT, JUST INSTANT DOMINATION!"
Todoroki stood frozen outside the ring, staring at the empty stage where he had been only a heartbeat earlier. His expression didn't change, but his left side flickered with faint flames for a second before he turned and walked off without a word.
Cid simply stepped off the stage, hands still in his pockets, and headed toward the tunnel like the entire tournament had been nothing more than a mild inconvenience.
The crowd was still cheering wildly as the stage was cleared for the medal ceremony.