Hey I hope yall enjoy the chapter and tell me what you think of the fight scene im please.
Chapter 45: red, white, and blue VS black
Class 1-A walked together across campus in a loose group, the morning air was humid during this time of year. Most of them were talking over each other, the usual mix of nerves and excitement filling the space between them. Mina was bouncing on her heels while she talked to Kirishima. Kaminari was complaining about how early it was while Jiro walked next to him. Bakugo walked near the front with his hands in his pockets, already looking irritated at the all the noise.
Near the back of the group, Cid walked with his usual unhurried pace. Momo was on his left, Izuku on his right.
"You've been gone these past few weeks," Momo said, glancing over at him. "I hope everything has been alright."
Cid gave a small shrug. "Yeah. Just training. Nezu set up a pretty strict schedule."
Before momo could reply Izuku's eyes lit up immediately. "Training with Principal Nezu?! What kind of training was it? Was it Quirk-focused? Physical conditioning? Both?What all did you do? (proceeds to start rambling on)" He was already half-reaching for his notebook before he caught himself and forced his hands back down. "Sorry. You don't have to answer all that if you don't want to."
"It's fine," Cid said. "It was both. But mostly control work while under pressure. A lot of it sucked."
Momo smiled faintly. "I'm glad you're pushing yourself. You've looked more focused lately."
Cid didn't answer verbally. He just gave a quiet hum of acknowledgment as they continued walking.
The group eventually reached a large open area near the edge of campus. The teachers were already waiting in a loose line. Aizawa stood with his arms crossed, looking as tired as ever. All Might was smiling brightly. Present Mic, Midnight, Cementoss, Ectoplasm, and the others were all present as well.
Cid's eyes swept over them once.
'Figures. Of course it's going to be something like this.'
Nezu stepped forward, paws clasped behind his back, that familiar cheerful smile on his face.
"Welcome, everyone. Today is your practical exam. As you can see, the teachers will be participating as well."
A few students blinked. Mina tilted her head. "Wait… participating how?"
Nezu's smile widened. "You will be fighting us."
The reaction was immediate.
"Fighting the teachers?!"
"Are you serious?!"
"There's no way—"
Nezu raised a paw. "Calm yourselves. The format is simple. You will be placed into teams and tasked with either capturing your assigned teacher or escaping the exam area within the time limit. The teachers will, of course, be doing their best to stop you."
He began listing the teams. When he finished, a few students were still processing the information, but most had shifted into focused determination.
(All teams are cannon beside aoyama honestly don't feel like writing these)
Cid, however, was still looking slightly confused. His name hadn't been called with any team.
Nezu noticed immediately.
"Ahh, don't worry, Mr. Kageno," he said lightly. "We have something special set up for you. I called in a few favors." he said with a smile.
As if on cue, a heavy impact shook the ground a short distance away. Dust kicked up around a newly formed crater next to All Might. When it cleared, a tall woman in a distinctive American hero costume stood there, cape settling behind her. Stars and Stripes straightened up with a confident grin, one hand on her hip.
The class went silent for half a second.
Then the reactions hit all at once.
"Is that—?!"
"Stars and Stripes?!"
"America's Number One?!"
"Why is she here?!"
Stars and Stripes looked over the group of students with open interest before her eyes landed on Cid. She pointed straight at him.
"You're Cid Kageno, right?" Her voice was loud, clear, and full of energy. "I'll be the one testing you today. Hope you're ready, because I'm not going easy on you."
Cid's usual half-lidded expression shifted. His eyes opened a little more, and a small, real grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. His posture straightened just slightly, the laid-back slouch fading into something more focused.
"…Alright, that's more like it." he said simply. There was clear interest in his voice.
Stars and Stripes grinned wider, clearly pleased by the response.
-later
Cid sat with his remaining students who would be watching after their fight one of the major fights of the day was about to start.
All Might vs Izuku and Bakugo.
Cid stood near the edge of the observation area with his hands in his pockets, watching as the three of them entered the exam field. The fight started and was a mess to say the least.
At some point during the middle of it, Stars and Stripes walked over and stopped beside him, arms crossed as she watched the fight with open interest.
"They're not holding back," she said after a moment. "Especially the explosive one. Kid's got fire."
Cid gave a small nod. "Yeah. That's just how he is,... well that and very angry."
Stars glanced at him sideways. "You don't seem surprised by any of this."
"I figured it would be something like this as well as the match ups," Cid replied. "Just didn't expect America's Number One to show up to fight me."
She let out a short laugh. "Fair enough." Then her expression turned a bit more serious, though the energy never left her. "I've got a proposition for you."
Cid looked over at her. "I'm listening."
"When we fight, if you win, I'll owe you a favor. Anything within reason." She held up a finger. "But if I win, you will intern under me during the next internship period. In America."
Cid blinked, clearly caught off guard. "…That's a pretty big bet."
Stars nodded. "I looked into you. Your history. Your Quirk. The way you handled yourself during the USJ, the Sports Festival, the Osaka incident… your past is rough. but I like your character. You've got the kind of potential that doesn't come around often, and I think you'd benefit a lot from training under me for a while. I also like your determination and perseverance. I think you would get along great with my bros." She grinned again. "So? What do you say?"
Cid was quiet for a second. Then he let out a soft laugh and rubbed the back of his neck.
"…Honestly, I don't really see a downside here." He dropped his hand and met her eyes. "Alright. You're on."
Stars and Stripes' grin widened. She reached over and gave his shoulder a solid pat.
"Excellent. Then prepare yourself, kid. You're coming to America sooner or later."
She turned her attention back to the ongoing fight between All Might, Izuku, and Bakugo, still smiling.
-later-
The fight between All Might, Izuku, and Bakugo eventually came to an end. The mock city was left in a mess of cracked pavement, collapsed walls, and lingering smoke. Once the three of them left the field the next match was ready to start.
Cid stepped into the zone alone.
He walked down the main road at an unhurried pace, hands in his pockets, the black coat shifting lightly behind him with each step. His eyes moved across the damaged buildings and broken streets, already thinking.
'I could just escape the area and pass the exam the easy way.'
The thought left a sour taste in his mouth.
He'd spent weeks under Nezu's training. He'd pushed himself until his body was a mess of bruises and exhaustion every single day. He'd done all of that just to turn around and run the moment a real fight was put before him?
'No.'
Cid's fingers slowly curled into a fist inside his pocket.
'I'm done running. And I'm done ending up in a hospital bed after every real fight.'
He was tired of it. Tired of waking up to the smell of antiseptic and the weight of another recovery, another set of doctors telling him to take it easy. This time, he was going to win cleanly. No near-death experiences. No bleeding out. Just a straight win and him being the one to walk out.
Stars stood further down the road, waiting. When she saw him slowly walking toward her head-on instead of trying to flank or escape, her grin grew wider.
"Oh?~" she called out, voice carrying easily across the distance. "You're approaching me?"
Cid didn't stop walking.
"I can't beat the shit out of you without getting closer." he said smoothly
Stars's grin turned sharp and delighted. "Oh-ho!~ Then come as close as you like!"
Cid came to a stop only an arms reach between them staring up at her straight in the eyes. As they stood there he focused, trying to use his Quirk on her directly.
Nothing happened.
His eye twitched slightly.
'…Of course. Why does everyone have a counter for the easy win nowadays?'
He clicked his tongue under his breath and shifted tactics. Instead of targeting her, he locked onto the rubble scattered near and behind her. With a sharp pull of space, the debris was violently dragged toward her at high speed. Mid-flight, he expanded every piece, turning the rubble into a barrage of full-sized boulders.
Stars moved.
Her physical ability was on the level of All Might, maybe not him in his prime, but still far beyond what any normal pro could hope for. She weaved through the incoming boulders with sharp movements letting the enlarged debris smash into the ground and buildings behind her.
The moment she cleared the attack, she touched the air in front of her and spoke.
"New Order: the air in front of me is solid."
The space in front of her hardened instantly and shot forward like a massive invisible battering ram.
Cid didn't move.
The solidified air slammed into him—
—and did nothing.
His clothes didn't even shift. It was as if the attack had just stopped right before touching him.
Stars' eyes widened slightly. In the observation room, several teachers leaned forward in surprise and the students gasped in shock.
Cid exhaled slowly through his nose and adjusted again. He expanded the space right in front of her stomach, rapidly launching her back and she crashed into a building. Then he compressed the space around Stars form trying to restrict her movement the way he'd practiced under Nezu, not enough to crush her, just enough to slow her down and try to restrain her.
For a moment it worked. Stars' next movement dragged, her speed noticeably dropping as she visibly looked like she was struggling.
But her focus didn't waver. She raised her hand, her fingers clawed through the air right in front of her face while she had a massive toothy smile.
"New Order: The space surrounding me will return to its natural state!"
The pressure around her shattered. She shot forward in a blur, closing the distance far faster than before. Cid barely had time to expand the space between them, stopping her punch right in front of him. Then he again rapidly expanded it even more, launching her back a few hundred feet with a sharp shockwave of displaced air.
This time Stars skidded to a stop, boots carving shallow lines into the pavement and remained standing. Her grin faded into something more focused now realizing cid was stronger then the reports nezu gave her.
"…Alright then."
Cid's expression hardened. The controlled approach wasn't going to be enough either.
He locked onto the damaged buildings around them, shrinking them entirely down before launching them at her like high-speed projectiles faster than the human eye could track normally. The moment they were close, he forced them to double their original size giving her nowhere to escape.
The resulting impact was violent. Stars destroyed the incoming structures with a combination of raw power and New Order, the backlash shook the entire mock city to its foundations. Dust and debris exploded outward in every direction.
In the observation room, the closest cameras suddenly cut to static.
Nezu's ears twitched. He clasped his paws together with a look of mild concern.
"Oh dear. It seems the cameras for the fight have been destroyed, I hope the others aren't affected."
Behind his back, out of view of the others, his small finger pressed down on a remote. The remaining nearby feeds went dark one after another.
"Oops I spoke too soon" he said sheepishly