The arena was silent.
For a moment, the entire stadium just watched as Dante slowly rose to his feet, the last wisps of sludge curling off his arms like smoke off a dying fire. His uniform was ripped and damp with sweat, some of it was even scorched somehow. Hiryu stood behind him with his arm raised, looking like he was the one who had carried that whole challenge.
Then—
BOOM!
The crowd erupted into cheers.
Cheers, gasps and even many laughs from those who had finally let go of the breath they'd been holding in. A storm of awe spread through the audience like wildfire.
"That was crazy!"
"He didn't even move once!"
"What even was that?!"
Up in the stands, pros and just civilians alike buzzed with commentary.
Present Mic nudged Aizawa in the commentary room. "Hey, eraser! Your kid just pulled a horrifying performance! You seeing this?"
Aizawa, watching through narrowed eyes, muttered, "He rationed his energy well. Maintained a defensive perimeter. Controlled fear as his weapon… Very good."
The other students that were participating all just stood there in stunned silence.
"He really is crazy, can't believe he was just an underground fighter…" Iida sighed.
Bakugo crossed his arms and spat on the ground. "Tch. Show off."
Todoroki just scowled in Dante's direction.
In the convenience store, Kazuya leaned forward in his seat, grinning ear to ear.
The old boss crossed his arms. "Not sure where he learnt how to do that, did you teach him that?"
Kazuya chuckled. "You kidding? That's all him."
Back on the field, Midnight twirled the mic in her fingers and struck a pose as confetti burst out above her.
"THAT WAS INTENSE!" She shouted into the mic, causing Dante to flinch. "AND WITH THAT, THE CAVALRY BATTLE IS OVER!"
Holographic panels flickered to life above the stadium, revealing the top 16 students that would move on to the next event.
1stPlace.
Dante Graves & Hiryu Rin - 10,000,055 points.
2nd Place.
Shoto Todoroki, Momo Yaoyorozu, Denki Kaminari & Tenya Iida.
3rd Place.
Izuku Midoriya, Mei Hatsume, Ochako Uraraka & Fumikage Tokoyami.
4th Place.
Katsuki Bakugo, Eijiro Kirishima, Hanta Sero & Mina Ashido.
+ Hitoshi Shinso & Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu.
16/16
As Dante glanced up at the rankings, a smirk tugged at the edge of his lips.
He had now come first in both.
Just like he said he would.
He loved how much everyone hated how he was first.
He could feel their stares.
They were starting to understand.
Dante wasn't here to play fair, or even to play the hero.
He was here to win, nothing more, nothing less.
"LUUUUUUUNNNNCHHHHH TIMEEEE!!!!!" Present Mic's voice suddenly boomed out as the first half of the festival wrapped up.
Cheers rang out again, but no one cheered louder than Dante Graves, whose body felt like it had been through hell and back. He suddenly got many weird looks, but boy was he hungry.
"Come on, man," Hiryu said, slipping an arm under Dante's and slinging it over his shoulders. "Let me help you…"
"Yeah, thank you." Dante mumbled, letting himself be hauled like half a corpse. "I just… I need food. I need a LOT of food."
"I see… your quirk take up fat? Or calories?"
"Calories."
As they limped toward the lunch area, Dante's eyes briefly caught something. Off to the side, near the stadiums shaded corridor, Todoroki was leading Izuku somewhere away.
"Drama," Dante muttered with a lazy smirk. "Not my business."
"Probably some kinda main character monologue going on over there," Hiryu offered, but Dante just shrugged and kept heading to food.
When they got there, several heads turned in their direction.
"There he is again…"
"That's the guy that was showing off right?"
"Whats with him? He looks like a ghost…"
Iida, ever the friendly class rep, rushed over with a worried expression. "Dante! I must say, your performance was… highly unorthodox, but undeniably effective! Are you alright?"
Dante raised a hand halfheartedly. "I'm alive. I'm very hungry."
Ochako trotted up behind Iida. "You really scared me out there, you know… I thought there was something seriously wrong with your body!"
"I mean… it kinda was," Dante said, eyeing the long food line with a near murderous aura emanating from him.
Then a loud voice boomed from behind.
"BRO!!!!!"
Dante turned just in time to be pulled into a bear hug from Tetsutetsu.
"You killed it out there! Scared the hell outta me! I was watching and I was like 'whoa, that's Kazuya's influence right there!'"
Dante actually let out a weak laugh. "You think that was Kazuya?!"
"Dude. That level of combat knowledge? It's gotta be Kazuya! And uh… my bad for ignoring you…"
…
Eventually, Dante got his food.
No. He ACQUIRED IT.
Five trays lined with rice, meat, eggs, dumplings, noodles, curry bread and a ridiculous stack of calorie dense desserts. Hiryu sat infront of him, quietly snacking on something normal while watching Dante go feral.
It was even scarier than the eldritch horror he became in the stadium.
Trays were emptied in seconds. Steam was rising subtly from Dante's shoulders as the heat built up in his body. This wasn't food to Dante, it was purely fuel. Every bite repaired the micro tears in Dante's muscles, replenishing his energy, rebuilding his form inside out.
By the time he was done, several nearby students were staring.
The steam curled from his skin like vapour off lava, faint but visible. His arm, clearly broken from the strain, cracked, the skin flaking off like tried sludge. His arm slowly cracked back into place, fully healed.
Ochaco blinked from the table next to him, "are you… healing?"
"Yeah." Dante said between gulps of his protein shakes. "My body, sludge, i dunno, weird to explain, I just heal when I eat."
Iida raised an eyebrow, but he couldn't ask anything as Dante just went straight back to chugging drinks.
"Yup!" Dante wiped his mouth and grinned. "Good as new! Ready to win."
As lunch started to wind down, the excitement from the morning was replaced with tension. Dante stood, cracking his neck with a low sigh as Hiryu matched his pace.
"Right back to it, huh?" Hiryu asked, tossing his empty tray in the bin.
"Yup. Let's go see what's next."
"I probably wouldn't be this far without you, thank you." Hiryu sighed.
Dante smiled, "I wouldn't have a partner without you, so I wouldn't be here either."
They exited the cafeteria along with the other students, slowly migrating back toward the stadiums waiting area. Conversations buzzed around them, mostly speculations about what kind of 1 on 1 battle will be taking place, matchups and who's the toughest here. Dante caught a few glances thrown his way.
He didn't really blame them.
He was guy that stole first place twice in a row after all.
Back in the stadium, Midnight stood center stage, dramatically twirling her whip.
"Congratulations to everyone who made it this far! Now it's time to move on to the final event of the Sports Festival, a One on One tournament battle!"
The crowd roared.
Midnight continued, "You'll each draw lots to see who you're facing first. But remember, there's no backing out. Once your names on the bracket… it's on."
Dante's arms were folded as he stared at the screen, eyes narrowed with anticipation. One by one, students approached the console to draw their numbers.
Eventually, the bracket was set.
First Round Matchups :
1. Dante Graves VS Hitoshi Shinso
2. Izuku Midoriya VS Shoto Todoroki
3. Denki Kaminari VS Hanta Sero
4. Mei Hatsume VS Tenya Iida
5. Hiryu Rin VS Mina Ashido
6. Momo Yaoyorozu VS Fumikage Tokoyami
7. Eijiro Kirishima VS Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu
8. Katsuki Bakugo VS Ochaco Uraraka
…
The interactions were immediate.
Dante's brows lifted slightly as he stared at Shinso's name.
"Huh? I dunno that guy."
"Be careful," Hiryu muttered. "I think he's shady, I didn't see him at all in the race. He's from general studies and he somehow got this far…"
Shinso, standing off to the side, met Dante's gaze with a blank expression. "See you soon."
Dante gave a slow nod. "Okay?"
Izuku visibly gulped at the reveal of Todoroki as his opponent. "Oh no…"
Todoroki didn't even blink, but it was clear that he was happy about this.
Hiryu stared at Mina from a distance, offering a courteous nod. "Let's… have a clean match."
Mina grinned and gave him a thumbs up. "Oh, we're gonna dance!"
Bakugo just picked his ear, "Ura… Uraraka? Who is that?"
Ochaco just looked dejected in the corner.
Dante leaned back against the wall, watching it all unfold with quiet amusement.
Little Dante made his first appearance in a while, "This will be the most fun. Let me know if you need my assistance."
Hiryu looked at Dante. "You worried?"
Dante burst out laughing. "No, if anything I'm pumped. He's real mysterious, I'm excited."
Hiryu just smiled at Dante.
Then everyone walked off to their respective areas.
…
A/N : Idgaf about those side games before the tournament, sorry but I'm not doing that 😭😭(I also do kinda wanna just get to the fighting)