The holographic screen whirred and spun, finally settling on the second event of the U.A. Sports Festival.
"Calvary Battle!" Midnight declared with infectious enthusiasm, her voice echoing across the stadium.
Confusion flickered across some participants' faces until Midnight elaborated.
"You'll form teams of two to four members, adopting a horse-and-rider formation to snatch headbands from rival teams.
Each headband's point value corresponds to your rank from the previous event, combining with your teammates' points for a total score."
The students absorbed her words, their minds already racing to strategize and select teammates.
"And if you're wondering," Midnight continued, her tone rising with dramatic flair, "the first-place finisher from the last event is worth… TEN MILLION POINTS!"
Every pair of eyes classmates included, locked onto Kashimo Hajime with a predatory glint.
He met their gazes with a sly smirk, unfazed. This'll be fun, he thought, relishing the challenge.
"You have fifteen minutes to form your teams," Midnight announced, and the countdown began.
Students quickly gravitated toward familiar faces, mostly sticking with their own classes.
Kashimo, however, noticed a distinct lack of interest from his peers, even his Class 1-A comrades. His smirk widened. So they think they can take me on? Perfect.
"Mind being my teammate?" a voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Wh-" Kashimo began, but his body suddenly froze. His senses remained sharp he could see, hear, smell, but his limbs refused to obey. Then, a sharp jolt of pain coursed through him, snapping him back to control.
"Follow me," the voice said again.
Kashimo turned to face the speaker: a purple-haired boy with dark circles under his eyes, reminiscent of Aizawa's perpetual exhaustion.
The boy, Shinso Hitoshi, wore a mocking smile that vanished the moment Kashimo's eyes narrowed.
"Do that again, and I'll fry you to a crisp," Kashimo warned, his voice laced with venom. Shinso took an instinctive step back, fear flickering in his eyes.
Kashimo sighed, glancing at the timer. Only two minutes remained. Scanning the crowd, his gaze landed on a green-haired girl, Ibara Shiozaki from Class 1-B, who had placed in the top five of the obstacle race.
"Hey, you," he called to her. "Be my teammate."
"M-me?" Ibara stammered, pointing to herself, caught off guard.
"Yes," Kashimo replied coolly. "You'll be the rider; I'll be the horse. I saw how you used your quirk to carve a path through the narrow tunnel in the last event. We've got less than a minute now."
Ibara glanced at the countdown on the holographic screen, her hesitation melting into resolve.
She nodded, accepting his offer. Initially, she'd planned to team up with her Class 1-B peers, but with time running out, Kashimo was her only viable option.
…
"HUH?!" Present Mic's voice boomed through the arena. "WHAT'S THIS? KASHIMO HAJIME HAS TEAMED UP WITH IBARA SHIOZAKI FROM CLASS 1-B!"
The buzzer blared, signaling the start of the Calvary Battle. "THE SECOND EVENT OF THE SPORTS FESTIVAL… BEGINS NOW!"
Teams surged forward, most charging straight for Kashimo and Ibara, their ten-million-point headband a tantalizing prize.
Some teams clashed with each other in their pursuit, vying for additional points, while others fixated solely on the duo.
"I'd handle this alone if I could," Kashimo said, eyeing the approaching mob, "but this is a team event, so I'll need you to step up."
Ibara nodded, her vine-like hair already extending.
"Make a barricade around us, about six feet tall," Kashimo instructed. "Can you sense anything that touches your vines?"
With a swift nod, Ibara's quirk, Vines, sprang into action. Her hair burrowed into the ground, sprouting upward to form a dense, six-foot barrier around them. Kashimo followed suit, stomping lightly to unleash his quirk.
A spiderweb-like network of electric currents crackled across the ground within their fortified circle.
"Alert me if anyone touches the vines," he said.
"This web will deliver a mild shock to anyone who steps on it, nothing too severe, just enough to stun.
Normally, I'd take them all head-on, but we'll play it smart and hold this position for the full fifteen minutes."
And so they did.
For the entire duration, Kashimo and Ibara remained within their barricade, unshaken.
Approaching teams were met with electric shocks that stunned their "horses," leaving them vulnerable to other teams snatching their headbands.
Frustration grew among the competitors, who eventually abandoned their pursuit of the ten-million-point prize to focus on easier targets.
Even Bakugo, ever relentless, tried to outmaneuver them by propelling himself over the barricade with his explosions, avoiding the electrified ground. But Kashimo was ready.
A precise electric strike caught Bakugo mid-air, and before he could recover, Ibara's vines ensnared him, hurling him back beyond the barrier.
The event passed without further incident for the duo, their strategy airtight.
…
"TIME'S UP!" Present Mic's voice rang out. "THE CALVARY BATTLE IS OVER! INCREDIBLY, WITHOUT LOSING A SINGLE POINT, KASHIMO HAJIME AND IBARA SHIOZAKI SECURE FIRST PLACE! FOLLOWING THEM ARE TEAM TODOROKI IN SECOND, TEAM BAKUGO IN THIRD, AND TEAM SHINSO IN FOURTH!"
He continued, "FOR THE THIRD EVENT, A ONE-ON-ONE TOURNAMENT WILL PIT MEMBERS OF THESE TOP TEAMS AGAINST EACH OTHER! BUT, SINCE WE'RE SHORT ON COMPETITORS, WE'VE ADDED THE RUNNER-UP TEAM FOR FOURTH PLACE TO SPICE THINGS UP! BEFORE THAT, RECREATIONAL GAMES WILL ENTERTAIN THE CROWD WHILE OUR FIGHTERS PREPARE!"
…
In a quiet waiting room, Kashimo sat alone, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought. The door clicked open, and a wave of heat washed over the room.
"Endeavor," Kashimo said without looking, his tone calm but edged with steel.
"You're strong, boy," the flame hero began. "I've he-"
"Kashimo," he interrupted, his voice sharp.
"You said 'boy,' but I'm sure you know my name. Kashimo Hajime. Remember it."
With that, Kashimo rose and strode out, missing the faint smile that curled on Endeavor's lips.
Give my son a good fight, Endeavor thought. You're nothing but his stepping stone, Kashimo.
…
The stadium roared as Present Mic's voice thundered through the speakers. "FROM THE BLUE CORNER, REPRESENTING CLASS 1-A! HE DOMINATED HIS ENTRANCE EXAM, HELD HIS GROUND AGAINST VILLAINS ATTACKING HIS CLASS, AND TOOK FIRST IN BOTH THE OBSTACLE RACE AND CALVARY BATTLE! HIS ELECTRIFYING QUIRK AND CHARGED PERSONALITY-"
"Get on with it." The tired annoyed voice Aizawa interrupted
"AWW MAN!!! WHAT A BUZZ KILL, THIS GUY. ANYWAY, KASHIMO HAJIMEEEE!"
The crowd erupted as Kashimo's cyan hair caught the light, his presence commanding as he stepped onto the duel platform.
He stood poised, awaiting his opponent.
"AND HIS OPPONENT, ALSO FROM CLASS 1-A, KAMINARI DENKIIIIII!"
Kaminari strutted out, a confident smirk on his face, though it faltered slightly as he spoke. "Aww, man, why'd it have to be you first?" he groaned, then sighed. "Well, doesn't matter. I'll give it my all!"
"That's the spirit," Kashimo replied, a glint of amusement in his eyes.
"START!" Midnight's voice rang out.
"Kaminari, your quirk's a lot like mine," Kashimo said, his tone almost instructional.
"Here's a tip: instead of blasting your electricity everywhere, channel it through your body." Purple streaks of lightning crackled around him, emphasizing his point.
"Do that, and you can pull off moves…"
In a flash, Kashimo vanished, leaving Kaminari wide-eyed and scrambling.
"Like this," Kashimo's voice came from behind.
Kaminari spun, throwing a desperate punch, but Kashimo sidestepped effortlessly.
His fist connected with Kaminari's chin, a precise strike that rattled his opponent's senses, knocking him out cold.
But Kashimo wasn't done. A swift blow to Kaminari's liver jolted him awake, pain flashing across his face.
To seal the match, Kashimo spun, delivering a devastating spinning back kick that sent Kaminari crumpling to the ground, defeated.
"WOOOOO!!!"
The arena shook with the crowd's roars as Kaminari hit the ground, unconscious from the kick.
The duel platform was still crackling faintly with residual electricity, a testament to Kashimo's overwhelming dominance.
"AND THAT'S A WRAP!" Present Mic's voice exploded through the speakers, rattling the stadium. "KASHIMO HAJIME ELECTRIFIES THE COMPETITION, TAKING DOWN KAMINARI DENKI IN A BLITZ OF SPEED AND POWER! WHAT A SHOCKING DISPLAY, FOLKS! THIS GUY'S A LIVE WIRE!"
The crowd erupted, a mix of cheers and gasps echoing through the stands. In the audience, a group of U.A. students from the general studies course leaned forward, buzzing with excitement.
"Did you see that speed?" one student exclaimed, eyes wide. "He was there one second, then bam! Right behind Kaminari like it was nothing!"
"His quirk's insane," another added, shaking their head. "Poor Kaminari didn't stand a chance. That liver shot? Brutal."
Nearby, a couple of parents in the stands whispered to each other, visibly impressed. "That Kashimo kid's got control," the father said, rubbing his chin.
"He didn't just overpower Kaminari, he outsmarted him. That tip about channeling electricity? Savage."
His wife nodded, clutching her program. "He's strategic. You can tell he's not just throwing punches, he's thinking three steps ahead."
Back in the announcer's booth, Present Mic leaned into the mic, his enthusiasm unrelenting. "LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT FINISH, AIZAWA! KASHIMO'S SPINNING HEEL KICK WAS LIKE A BOLT FROM THE BLUE! WHAT'S YOUR TAKE, MR. GRUMPY?"
Aizawa sighed audibly, his tired voice cutting through the energy. "Kashimo's precise. He didn't waste a single move.
Kaminari's quirk has potential, but he's too reliant on raw output. Kashimo showed him how to refine it, then used that same technique to end the fight. Efficient, if a bit flashy."
"FLASHY? THAT'S AN UNDERSTATEMENT!" Present Mic bellowed.
"THIS GUY'S GOT THE CROWD ZAPPED AND READY FOR MORE! WHO'S NEXT TO FACE THE ELECTRIC EXECUTIONER, KASHIMO HAJIME?!"
In the stands, a young kid wearing a U.A. cap tugged at his older brother's sleeve. "Kashimo's gotta win the whole thing, right? He's unstoppable!"
The brother smirked, ruffling the kid's hair. "Maybe, but Todoroki and Bakugo are still in the bracket. It's gonna get wild."
As the crowd continued to buzz, Kashimo stood calmly on the platform, his cyan hair caught the sunlight, and his smirk remained, unfazed by the chaos around him.
The audience's excitement only fueled his confidence as he awaited the next challenge.