NEW CHAPTER GUYS. LET THE POWERSTONES START ROLLING IN.
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The hour break passed faster than anyone expected.
One moment the cafeteria buzzed with leftover adrenaline, gossip, and half-finished meals—
and the next, Present Mic's voice thundered across every speaker in the stadium.
"HELLLOOOO EVERYONE!!"
The crowd erupted as the giant screens lit up, cameras panning across the arena.
"HOPE YOU'RE DONE DIGESTING, BECAUSE LUNCH IS OOOOOVER!! AND YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS—IT'S TIME TO REVEAL THE FINAL GAME OF THE U.A. SPORTS FESTIVAL!"
Students poured out of their respective tunnels, the echo of footsteps mixing with the roar of the audience.
From the General Studies tunnel, Yuta stepped into the light with his hands casually in his pockets, and a satisfied smile.
Up in one of the mid-level seating blocks, Hana leaned forward against the railing.
"…He seems to be in a good mood."
Back on the field, everyone else began to appear.
Class 1-A and 1-B filtered out, some energized, some pale with nerves.
Bakugo in particular, stomped forward like the arena owed him money.
Todoroki walked with his usual ice-cold indifference.
Iida marched in as serious as ever.
And then—
Two figures stumbled out from the Class 1-A tunnel.
Kaminari and Mineta.
Both looked like they'd been through a blender.
Kaminari's hair was more disheveled than usual, and a faint red handprint was visible on his cheek. Mineta had a black eye forming.
They glared at Yuta from across the field.
Pure, unfiltered resentment.
Yuta didn't even glance their way.
Several students noticed.
"What happened to them?" Sero whispered.
Kirishima squinted. "They look like they got jumped."
Jiro smirked knowingly. "They did."
Mina giggled. "By us."
"…What?"
"Long story," Jiro said, cracking her knuckles with a satisfied grin. "Let's just say they tried to pull something stupid, and someone tipped us off."
Hagakure's invisible form practically radiated smugness. "Best lunch break ever."
Across the field, Mineta muttered under his breath, eyes locked on Yuta.
"Snitch…"
Kaminari groaned. "Dude, let it go. We're alive. Barely."
"I'm not letting it go," Mineta hissed. "That guy—"
"ALRIGHT, LISTENERS!!" Present Mic's voice boomed again, cutting through the chatter. "LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!"
The students assembled in the center of the field.
Midnight stood at the front, whip coiled in one hand, microphone in the other. Her grin was sharp and theatrical.
"Welcome back, everyone~"
The crowd roared.
She let the noise build for a moment, then raised a hand. Silence fell almost immediately.
"Now then," she purred, "I'm sure you're all eager to know what's next. The elimination tournament! One-on-one battles! Winner advances, loser goes home!"
Cheers exploded from the stands.
"But—" Midnight's voice cut through the noise like a blade. "—before we get to that, we have a little… announcement."
The tone shift was immediate.
Students stiffened.
The crowd leaned forward.
"As you all know," Midnight continued, "the top four teams from the Cavalry Battle were supposed to advance to the finals. Sixteen people total."
She paused.
"However."
The word hung in the air.
"One team—Team Akutami—only had two members."
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
On the field, students who hadn't made it through the Cavalry Battle suddenly perked up.
Shinso's eyes narrowed.
Tetsutetsu straightened.
Hagakure's gloves clenched.
"That's right!" Present Mic's voice exploded from the speakers. "THAT MEANS THERE ARE TWO OPEN SLOTS IN THE FINALS BRACKET!!"
The students who'd been eliminated erupted.
"Wait—seriously?!"
"We still have a chance?!"
"No way—!"
Midnight cracked her whip, and silence returned.
"Now, now," she said, grinning. "Don't get too excited just yet. We're not just giving away spots."
Her eyes gleamed.
"You're going to earn them."
The giant screen behind her flickered to life.
RECREATIONAL GAMES — TOP 2 ADVANCE
"For the next ten minutes, all students who did not qualify from the Cavalry Battle will participate in a series of recreational challenges!"
She gestured grandly.
"Obstacle sprints! Target accuracy! Endurance tests! Each game event awards points based on placement. At the end—the top two scorers advance to the finals!"
The non-qualifiers exploded with renewed energy.
"Hell yeah!"
"I'm not out yet!"
"Let's go!!"
Even Shinso, normally stoic, allowed himself a faint smirk.
'A second chance.'
Midnight turned toward the students who had already qualified.
"As for the rest of you," she said, "you're welcome to participate in the recreational games if you wish. However—"
She paused for effect.
"—your scores will not count toward advancement. You're already in. This is purely for fun."
A few students exchanged glances.
Bakugo snorted. "Tch. Waste of time."
Todoroki's expression didn't change, but he stepped back slightly. Clearly opting out.
Midoriya looked torn, glancing at Iida and Uraraka.
"Should we…?"
"I think I'll sit this one out," Iida said, adjusting his glasses. "Best to conserve energy for the finals."
Uraraka nodded. "Yeah. Same."
"I guess. What about ... Huh?"
Across the field, Yuta had already walked to the sidelines.
He leaned against the wall near the tunnel entrance, arms crossed, watching.
'Not worth it.'
His legs carried a faint ache from this morning. The last thing he needed was to waste energy on games that didn't matter.
Hatsume appeared beside him, grinning.
"Not participating?"
"Nope."
"Smart! Me neither. Gotta save energy for marketing opportunities later!"
Yuta sighed. "Right. That."
She didn't seem to notice his tone. "Oh! By the way—thanks for the assist earlier. First place looks great on a resume!"
"…You're welcome."
Midnight raised her whip.
"ALRIGHT! NON-QUALIFIERS—LINE UP!!"
Twenty-six students scrambled.
Shinso. Tetsutetsu. Shiozaki. Asui. Shoji. Mineta. Hagakure. Ojiro. Aoyama. Koda. Monoma. And more from Class 1-B.
"FIRST EVENT—SCAVENGER HUNT!!"
"GO!"
[TEN MINUTES LATER]
The recreational games blurred together in a frenzy of movement, quirks, and desperation.
First was the scavenger hunt, then giant darts, endurance tests, ball bouncing races,
By the third event, patterns emerged.
Certain students kept appearing at the top of each leaderboard.
Shiozaki. Mineta. Asui. Shoji, Tetsutetsu.
The crowd was loving it.
"GO! GO! GO!"
"COME ON, YOU CAN DO IT!"
"DON'T GIVE UP!!"
From the sidelines, Yuta watched with narrowed eyes and a brewing suspicion.
'Mineta's doing better than I expected.
"FINAL EVENT—QUIRK RELAY!!" Present Mic announced. "USE YOUR QUIRK TO COMPLETE THE COURSE! FASTEST TEN GET POINTS!"
Eventually, the buzzer sounded.
The games ended.
The scoreboard flickered.
FINAL RECREATIONAL SCORES
1. IBARA SHIOZAKI — 48 POINTS
2. MINORU MINETA — 44 POINTS
3. ITSUYA KENDO — 39 POINTS
4. TSUYU ASUI — 37 POINTS
5. TETSUTETSU TETSUTETSU — 35 POINTS
The stadium screens froze for a moment as the numbers finalized.
A second later, Present Mic's voice boomed:
"AND THE TWO STUDENTS ADVANCING TO THE FINAL BRACKET ARE—IBARA SHIOZAKI AND MINORU MINETA!! GIVE 'EM A HAND!"
The audience weren't stingy with their applause.
On the field, Shiozaki bowed gracefully, hands clasped in prayer.
"Thank you, Lord, for this opportunity."
Meanwhile, Mineta collapsed to his knees, gasping for air.
"I… I made it…"
Then he looked up.
At the scoreboard.
2ND PLACE.
He'd earned his spot in the finals.
A grin spread across his face.
"HELL YEAH!! TAKE THAT YOU GUYS. I'M BETTER THAN ALL OF YOU."
Beside him, Tetsutetsu stared at the scoreboard.
"Bruh."
Kendo scratched her cheek with a baffled smile. "…I mean, he worked for it."
Tsuyu tilted her head. "Ribbit… he really did do pretty well."
Sero slowly lowered his drink. "You sure the scoreboard isn't broken?"
Bakugo scoffed, arms crossed. "Tch. Those stupid side-games probably just fit his sticky grape crap."
Hagakure tapped her gloves together nervously. "I mean… he is motivated sometimes. It's just usually for all the wrong reasons."
The disbelief didn't spread further than that.
Class 1-B barely reacted — they didn't know Mineta's "track record."
The crowd simply applauded the finalists.
Only the people who had survived Mineta's presence on a daily basis were trying to understand what timeline they had just entered.
From the sidelines, Yuta's eye twitched
He replayed the events mentally.
Scavenger Hunt — Mineta was fast, slippery, and opportunistic.
Giant Darts — his sticky balls actually worked as weighted anchors.
Quirk Relay — he cheated the mobility test by ricocheting between walls like a purple rubber bullet.
Objectively?
He earned those points.
Subjectively?
Yuta exhaled through his nose.
"CONGRATULATIONS TO IBARA SHIOZAKI AND MINORU MINETA!! YOU'VE EARNED YOUR PLACE IN THE FINALS!!"
The crowd roared.
The two students—exhausted, battered, but victorious—stood at the center of the arena.
Midnight's grin widened.
"Now then—let's reveal the TOURNAMENT BRACKET!!"
The giant screen flickered.
Names appeared.
Shuffling.
Randomizing.
And then—
MATCH 1: YUTA AKUTAMI vs. MINORU MINETA
MATCH 2: DENKI KAMINARI vs. IBARA SHIOZAKI
MATCH 3: SHOTO TODOROKI vs. HANTA SERO
MATCH 4: TENYA IIDA vs. MEI HATSUME
MATCH 5: FUMIKAGE TOKOYAMI vs. MINA ASHIDO
MATCH 6: MOMO YAOYOROZU vs. RIKIDO SATO
MATCH 7: KATSUKI BAKUGO vs. IZUKU MIDORIYA
MATCH 8: EJIRO KIRISHIMA vs. OCHACO URARAKA
The crowd exploded.
"YUTA VS. MINETA?! FIRST MATCH?!"
"THIS IS GONNA BE GOOD!!"
"POOR MINETA!!"
On the field, Mineta's face went pale.
He stared at the bracket. At his name. At Yuta's name. Right next to each other.
Match 1.
His legs trembled.
"…No."
Across the field, Yuta's faint smile widened.
'You know what? Nevermind.'
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