Here's the chapter i hope yall enjoy
Also thank you everyone who gave me your support and kind words. I read all of your comments. It means alot.
chapter 43: The Night Before exams
Monday morning came too quickly.
Cid's body still ached slightly from the previous week, but he got up anyway, dressing and heading out early. The soreness was becoming familiar, almost like background noise now. After a quick check-in with Dr. Tanaka then headed straight to the training facility.
Nezu was already there, waiting near the edge of the painted circle with that same cheerful expression he always wore when discussing training.
"Good morning cid"
"Morning," Cid greeted, stopping in front of him. He hesitated for a second, then decided to just say what was on his mind. "Yesterday, while I was resting with Yui… we were watching anime. There was a character in the show Satoru Gojo. His abilities… the way he controls space, the barriers, the attraction and repulsion… it reminded me a lot of what I've been trying to do with my Quirk. The compression and expansion. I started thinking maybe I could use that as a reference. Like… shaping it more deliberately instead of just raw force."
Nezu's smile widened, his eyes gleaming with clear amusement.
"Ah, yes," he said lightly. "Your Quirk does have some rather strong similarities to Gojo's, doesn't it? The manipulation of space, the potential for both offensive and defensive applications… it's quite the parallel, but don't let it narrow your view, still it's a good starting point."
Cid blinked. He hadn't expected Nezu to immediately recognize the reference.
Nezu continued without missing a beat, his tone still cheerful. "I've been considering adjusting your regimen for a while now. Over the next 2 weeks, we'll shift the focus more heavily toward Quirk mastery and application. We'll keep the physical conditioning, of course, your body still needs to be able to handle the strain of what you're doing with your quirk. It hasn't caused you any major issues yet, but it's better to build that foundation now… rather than discovering your limits mid-fight when it could kill you."
The way he said it so brightly made Cid sweat-drop. For a second, he completely forgot that Nezu actually understood jokes and sarcasm. The cheerful delivery made the words land awkwardly.
Nezu didn't seem to notice (or pretended not to). "We'll introduce more dynamic drills. Combat application against moving targets will become a regular part of your sessions. Your control over compression and expansion needs to hold up under pressure, not just in controlled exercises."
Cid nodded slowly, still a little thrown by the tone but grateful for the shift. "Understood."
Over the next two weeks, the change was noticeable.
The physical side of training stayed consistent. But more time was spent on refining how he shaped and maintained the compressed space around him while in motion, even expanding it to block attacks. Nezu's automated robots began appearing in the sessions; they were small and programmed to attack from multiple angles to catch him off guard. At first, Cid struggled. His quirk use was still uneven and his reaction speed was a split second too slow. Bullets found their marks more often than he liked, and the robots would swarm him when his focus slipped.
But he kept pushing.
By the end of the second week, small improvements started showing. It was still rough and messy in places, requiring constant adjustments but it was progress. Real, tangible progress.
The robot sessions also stirred something else in the back of his mind. The chaotic way the small machines moved and attacked reminded him of an old idea he'd once tossed around when he first met Toru, Tiny Robot Fight Club. It had slipped his mind with everything that had happened, back then it had been half-joking, a way to just mess around and try to act normal for him. Now, watching the robots zip around him, he found himself thinking about it again. Not as a joke this time. Maybe something he could actually build on. As a way to blow off steam for him and his friends in class.
That night, Cid should have been dead on his feet, His body was sore and hurting all over despite Dr. Tanaka's work. But for some reason, the usual bone-deep exhaustion wasn't hitting him as hard tonight. Maybe it was the progress he'd been making, maybe it was him adapting to the training. Either way, he found himself heading back to the dorms with more energy than he expected.
When he opened the door to his room, Yui was already there. She had a small tray of food set out on the desk and the sound of running water coming from the bathroom. She looked up from where she was sitting on the bed on her phone and gave him a small, tired smile.
"You're later than usual," she said softly.
Cid stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Without a word, he crossed the room and pulled her into a hug, resting his chin on top of her head for a moment.
"Yeah sorry about that and Thanks," he murmured. "For the food… and the bath. You're spoiling me with all this." he added with a smirk.
Yui hugged him back. "You don't have to thank me every time and I don't mind spoiling you, you're mine after all. I'm just making sure you are too spoiled to escape."
She added the last part with a playful little grin, squeezing him tighter for emphasis.
Cid chuckled softly, lingering in the hug for another moment before he pulled back just enough to meet her eyes. "Guess I should return the favor then at some point. Give me a second before I forget this."
He walked over to his closet, opened the door, and reached up to the top shelf. He pulled down the old shoebox he'd stashed away weeks ago, setting it on the nightstand and lifting the lid to reveal the small, shrunk-down robots inside, the ones from the entrance exam he and Toru had talked about repurposing.
"Maybe the support course would like a side project," he thought, turning one of the tiny machines over in his hand. "That Hatsume girl from the sports festival would probably jump at the chance to improve them."
He left the box on the nightstand so he wouldn't forget about it later, then headed toward the bathroom. Yui followed him without a word, a small smirk tugging at her lips as she shut the door behind them firmly.
Three weeks later, the night before the practical exams…
Cid came down the stairs late at night with Yui beside him. It had been a while since he'd spent any real time in the common areas or with his friends for that matter. Between the brutal training schedule and the constant exhaustion, he'd become something of a ghost in the dorms.
The moment he stepped into the lounge, several heads turned.
"CID!"
Mina was the first to react, nearly spilling her drink as she jumped up. Kirishima, Kaminari, and several others followed right behind, faces lighting up with a mix of surprise and relief.
"Dude, you're alive!" Kaminari grinned. "We were starting to think you'd moved out or something!"
Momo stood up from the couch, a soft smile on her face. "It's good to see you. We've barely caught more than glimpses of you these past few weeks."
Izuku rubbed the back of his neck, looking both concerned and happy. "Yeah… everything okay? You must have been working really hard?" he finished with a look trailing off into deep thought.
Cid gave them a small, slightly sheepish smile and raised a hand. "Sorry for being a ghost. I had something important I needed to focus on. Training stuff."
"No worries, man," Kirishima said, clapping him on the shoulder. "We get it. Just glad you're here now."
Cid nodded, then walked over to the large table in the center of the lounge. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a small object, and set it down in the middle of the table. With a quiet focus, he activated his Quirk. The tiny device expanded rapidly until it filled a good portion of the table, a compact but detailed battle arena complete with miniature terrain, barriers, and several small but high tech looking robots, resembling the ones from the entrance exam, positioned around it. A handful of simple controllers sat beside the setup.
The class stared in surprise.
"What… is this?" Mina asked, leaning in with wide eyes.
Kaminari picked up one of the controllers. "Are these… fighting robots?"
Cid rubbed the back of his neck, his expression softening. "Yeah. It's something I came up with back during the entrance exam. Me and Toru… we were talking about doing something like this. Just a fun idea we had, but never got to it…." he said quietly trailing off at the end.
The mood in the room dipped slightly at the mention of Toru's name. A few people glanced down or shifted uncomfortably.
Cid noticed and clapped his hands once, loud enough to pull everyone's attention back.
"None of that," he said, his voice firm but warm. "She would've wanted us to have fun with this. So let's do that.yea?"
The tension eased almost immediately and the more excited of the bunch had their grins returned full force.
""Hell yeah! Let's do this!!!""
Soon the lounge was filled with the sounds of students forming teams, arguing over controllers, and laughing as the tiny robots clashed across the arena.
For the first time in a long while, Class 1-A wasn't thinking about villains, training, or the weight of everything they'd been through.
They were just being normal teenagers again loud, competitive, and having fun.