Bakugo stood frozen.
His hands trembled—not from exhaustion, but from pure, incandescent fury.
"So that's it," he said, voice dangerously low. "You're just... done."
"Pretty much." Yuta shrugged.
"YOU—!"
BOOM!
Bakugo fired at the earth barrier, blasting a chunk away.
"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY!" He stormed around the damaged wall, eyes blazing. "THIS ISN'T ENDING UNTIL ONE OF US FALLS!"
Yuta sighed.
"That's not how this works."
"YES IT IS!" Bakugo closed the distance, sparks flying from his clenched fists. "You can still fight, can't you?!"
"I can."
Bakugo's expression twisted into something between relief and rage.
"THEN—!"
"But I won't."
The words hit like a physical blow.
Bakugo stopped dead.
"...What?"
"I've seen what I wanted to see," Yuta rolled his eyes. Like hell he was admitting he couldn't fight anymore. "Whether I win or lose from here is frankly not worth the effort." He glanced at his bleeding hand. "After all, it's not even half power anyway."
This was Yuta's way of losing. If he wasn't going to win, then he sure as hell was going to lose in style.
For a moment, Bakugo didn't move. 'It's not even half power anyway ..'
The words played, reminding him once again. He had fought and enemy, at half strength, only to win like this? Whatever calm previously holding him together evaporated.
"YOU—!"
"Bakugo Katsuki."
Midnight's voice cut through the tension like a whip crack.
She had come onto the arena at some point, expression stern.
"The match is over. Student Akutami has forfeited. Continuing to threaten or attack him is grounds for immediate disqualification."
"I DON'T CARE!"
Bakugo's palms ignited.
"HE CAN STILL FIGHT! THE MATCH ISN'T—!"
"The match," Midnight interrupted, "is what I say it is. And I say it's over."
"THAT'S NOT FAIR!"
"Fair?" Her eyebrow arched. "You won. First place. Exactly what you came here for. How is that unfair?"
"BECAUSE I DIDN'T EARN IT!"
He let out through gritted teeth.
For a moment, he looked like a kid who'd been cheated out of something precious.
Midnight's expression softened fractionally.
"Bakugo," she said, voice gentler now. "You cannot force someone to continue a match they've surrendered. That's not how this works."
"IT SHOULD BE!"
"But it's not." She stepped closer. "Now stand down. Accept your victory. And let the medical staff do their jobs."
"NO!"
His palms flared. Midnight's hand moved to her costume.
"Last warning."
Bakugo's eyes widened, recognizing the motion.
"DON'T YOU—!"
She tore the fabric.
Pink gas erupted instantly.
"DAMN IT!"
Bakugo tried to blast away, but the gas effect was stronger than he thought. Worse still, he was already exhausted.
"This isn't..." His voice slurred. "...over..."
His knees buckled, and he collapsed face-first onto the concrete.
Midnight raised her hand.
"YUTA AKUTAMI FORFEITS. KATSUKI BAKUGO WINS."
Silence.
The crowd didn't know whether to cheer or not.
Present Mic's voice was uncertain.
"Well... folks... that's... the end of the match, I guess?"
"A fitting conclusion," Aizawa uttered. "Though I suspect we'll be dealing with the fallout for a while."
"Well, All The ACTIVITIES HAVE BEEN COMPLETED. THE WINNER OF THIS YEAR'S U.A FIRST YEAR SPORTS FESTIVAL IS ... KATSUKI BAKUGO!"
The crowd finally began cheering. Regardless of the weird turn of events, the winner was still the winner.
Yuta stood as the gas cloud slowly dissipated.
'Is that ... Lavender?'
The thought barely formed before the effect hit.
A wave of drowsiness washed over him like a warm blanket. His vision blurred slightly at the edges.
His muscles relaxed involuntarily.
'Ah. Right.'
Midnight's quirk.
He'd forgotten he was standing in range.
But unlike Bakugo, Yuta had perfect control over every function of his body.
He felt the sedative entering his system—detected the chemical trying to bind to his neural receptors—and simply... rejected it.
He accelerated his metabolism. Flooded his bloodstream with counteracting hormones. Manually stimulated his nervous system to stay alert.
The drowsiness faded almost as quickly as it came.
Midnight blinked.
Once.
Then again.
"…Oh?"
Yuta exhaled softly through his nose, shaking his head once as if clearing water from his ears.
"Wow," he muttered. "That's… stronger than I expected."
Then looked up to find Midnight watching him with a peculiar smile.
"Like what you smell?"
Yuta blinked again, caught off guard.
"...Lavender's nice, I guess?"
Her smile widened.
"Most people don't get the chance to comment on the scent after inhaling my quirk." She tilted her head slightly, studying him with open curiosity. "You're still standing. That's... impressive."
"Is it?"
"Very." She crossed her arms, whip coiling at her side. "My Somnambulist affects everyone within range. It works even better on males, yet you're completely unaffected."
Yuta shrugged, trying to play it casual despite his exhaustion.
"I have good control over my body. Comes with the quirk."
"That good? What an interesting quirk you have" Midnight's expression shifted from amused to genuinely intrigued.
Yuta forced a smile. He looked down at the unconscious Bakugo. Then back at Midnight.
"...Is he going to be okay?"
"He'll wake up for the medal ceremony," Midnight assured him. "Though I suspect he won't be happy about it."
"Yeah." Yuta exhaled slowly. "I figured."
Medical staff rushed onto the field—some heading for Bakugo, others approaching Yuta.
"I'm fine," Yuta said automatically.
"You're going to the medical wing," one of them said firmly. "Non-negotiable."
Yuta opened his mouth to argue, then felt his legs wobble.
'Okay, maybe not fine.'
"...Alright."
As they helped him off the field, he glanced back one last time.
Bakugo was being loaded onto a stretcher, still unconscious, expression twisted even in sleep.
'Sorry, Bakugo.'
Yuta thought, though he wasn't sure if he meant it.
'But hey, you got first place. That helps, right?'
He thought as he was taken to back to the medical wing.
Recovery Girl was not pleased.
"Complete exhaustion! Multiple contusions! Second-degree burns across your arms! What were you thinking?!"
"That I wanted to make it to the finals?" Yuta offered weakly from the hospital bed.
"You forfeited the finals!"
"I made it there first, though."
She whacked him with her cane.
"Two weeks of mandatory rest. Minimum. No training. No quirk usage beyond basic bodily functions. And if I catch you pushing yourself before then ..."
Another whack.
"... it becomes four weeks."
"...Yes, ma'am."
His phone buzzed on the side table.
Recovery Girl handed it to him with a disapproving glare.
Mom: Saw the whole thing. What did I tell you about participating if you knew you weren't at your best?
Eri: Are you ok? The TV said you lost! (Mom: I am writing for Eri)
Yuta: I'm fine. Just tired. Recovery Girl's taking care of me.
Mom: Good. Because you're grounded when you get home.
Yuta: WHAT? WHY?
Mom: You know exactly why.
Yuta: No I don't. That's how you grounded me last time.
Mom: For making Eri cry for you.
Yuta: 'Hold on, who's the original child here?'
Yuta really wanted to ask
But arguing with his mother via text while injured seemed like a losing battle.
Yuta: ...Understood.
Recovery Girl watched this exchange with a knowing look.
"Your mother has good sense."
"She really does," Yuta muttered.
"Unlike her son."
Yuta: ???
__
With the activities over,
"ALL FIRST YEAR ACTIVITIES HAVE BEEN COMPLETED." Midnight said with a smile drawing cheers from the crowd.
Before her stood the participants of this year's sports festival.
"AND NOW WE BEGIN THE AWARD CEREMONY!"
Fireworks shot to the skies as a Trophy image appeared on every screen in the stadium. Behind Midnight, smoke and party streamers erupted. Following which, different podiums rose from the ground.
"My god."
"What the heck?"
Yuta stood on the second-place podium, wearing a borrowed U.A. tracksuit since his original uniform had been destroyed.
His hands were bandaged but fine all thanks to recovery girl.
'Despite everything, I still didn't attract the most attention.' Yuta looked around and sighed.
Because to his right, on the first-place podium, Bakugo stood with his arms restrained.
Not by Midnight.
But by chains.
Actual metal chains.
He was conscious now. Recovery Girl had seen to that, but he'd apparently tried to attack Yuta the moment he woke up.
So.
Chains.
"I'LL END YOU AKUTAMI. I SWEAR I'LL END YOU!" Was what Yuta could make from the muffled snarling. 'They surely made the right choice.'
Yuta stood expressionless as he listened to the comments from class 1A.
"He's been going nuts since he woke up."
"You can't really blame him though, can you?"
"I can. Come on, get a grip Bakugo."
"LET ME GO!" Bakugo snarled, thrashing against the restraints. "THIS ISN'T A REAL WIN!"
Tokoyami standing beside Todoroki in the third place podium school his head.
"He's acting like a feral animal."
"AND NOW TO DELIVER THE MEDALS TO THIS YEAR'S WINNERS, WE HAVE ..."
"I AM HERE WITH THE MEDALS!"
__
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