Chapter 71: Reward and OFA
Cid was laying in bed with the lights turned down low watching a movie. He had on a pair of basketball shorts and nothing else. While Yui was tucked against his side, only wearing one of his shirts, the hem riding up just high enough that most of her upper thighs were exposed. Her head rested on his chest, one thigh draped over his, and she was half-sprawled across him while she scrolled on her phone with her free hand.
Cid was slowly running his fingers through her hair in gentle repetitive motion for a while. Then his hand slowly drifted lower, sliding down the back of her neck, along her spine, and over the curve of her lower back until his palm settled on her bare ass. He gave it a slow squeeze then repeated it for a bit enjoying the feel.
After a minute Yui's eyes flicked up at him. She smirked once, then reached back and lightly smacked his hand. "No. Not yet. You still need a little more time to heal."
Cid let out a short, annoyed breath. "That's so unfair. You're dressed like that and it's been a whole month." His hand stayed where it was. "Come on. I'm fine now. You're literally lying half on top of me and nothing's wrong, Plus you're wearing almost nothing. That's really unfair."
She listened without answering right away. Her head tilted a little to one side, then the other, like she was actually thinking about it. Before she could say anything, his phone buzzed on the nightstand.
Cid turned his head toward it with clear irritation. Yui shifted up just enough to look at his phone with him. The message was from All Might.
All might: [Come to Training Ground Beta as soon as you can. There's something I need to speak with you about. Midoriya and Bakugo are already here.]
Cid dropped his head back against the pillow and groaned. "I don't want to go."
"It's All Might," Yui said. "You kind of have to." Cid still looked reluctant to move.
She was quiet for a second, then her mouth curved into a smirk. She shifted closer and started dragging one finger slowly across his chest, down toward the waistband of his shorts. Her voice dropped as she leaned in near his ear.
"If you go and get back quickly… there might be a reward waiting for you when you get back." Her finger traced just above the line of his shorts. "You're right, It has been a month. You don't think you're the only one who's been wanting it, do you?"
Cid's eyes locked on her. "You're serious? Like actually serious?"
"Yes." She smiled and kissed him slowly deepening it, then she pulled back. "Go do whatever he wants and come back fast."
He stared at her for half a second longer, then moved. He rolled out of bed, grabbed the first clothes he could reach and rushed for the door without looking back. Yui watched him go, smiling at how excited he was and settled back against the pillows as the door closed behind him.
When Cid got down stairs he took one of the golf carts from the dorm parking lot and cut across campus without slowing for the usual speed limit. By the time he entered Ground Beta the road ahead was already showing clear signs of recent damage. Cracks ran through the pavement. Chunks of concrete and broken debris sat in the middle of the street. He shrank the larger pieces out of his path as he drove, clearing just enough space to keep moving.
He found the three of them near the center of one of the ruined streets. All Might stood in his skinny form standing over the two. While Izuku and Bakugo were both sitting in the rubble, breathing hard, clothes scuffed and faces already bruised from their fight. Cid pulled the cart up beside them and looked between the three of them, expression flat.
"This better be good, You called at a really bad time."
All Might straightened slightly. Izuku glanced up, still catching his breath. Bakugo just scowled at the ground. None of them answered right away.
Izuku spoke first, voice rough. "We… got into a fight. Over something stupid."
All Might cut in before he could go further. "That's part of why I called you here, young Kageno. I believed you deserved to know something, a secret that has been kept just between Young Midoriya and I." He looked between Cid and Bakugo. "We already told young Bakugo and I wanted you present as well. I think you should know the truth as well, and I want young Midoriya to have people he can rely on who understand what he's carrying."
They explained One For All, its connection to All For One. The fact that Izuku had inherited it directly from All Might and the dangers associated.
Cid stayed quiet while they talked. His eyes stayed on All Might for most of it, then shifted to Izuku. The pieces lined up in his head without much effort. All For One wanting One For All made sense. The reason he had been targeted fit into the same picture of All For One wanting his quirk.
"That tracks," he said. "Explains why you've been getting weaker lately, too. As well as why you have always shown so much interest in izuku"
"I have a question, though. Why are you controlling who Izuku is allowed to tell this to?"
All Might blinked, Izuku looked stunned that he had even questioned All Might. Even Bakugo stopped scowling long enough to look over.
"What do you mean, young Kageno?" All Might asked. "I'm only trying to protect young Midoriya."
"No," Cid said, cutting him off. "You're being controlling. You had your own support structure when you were doing this didn't you. People who helped you and kept you from doing something reckless. Am I right?"
All Might went quiet. After a second he gave a small, sheepish nod.
"Then he needs the same things, he needs people to help him and keep him grounded." cid says with certainty
All might looked frustrated but also like he understood what he was getting
"Young Kageno, you have to realize how dangerous this secret is. You don't know the kind of damage it could cause. The bodies All For One left behind—"
Then he froze, the wind picked up slightly and caught Cid's empty sleeve making it flow in the air. It made him look at it and instantly close his mouth riddled with guilt over what he said. He looked at and realized that was because of how things had been handled until now.
Cid watched him go quiet, so he then looked to Izuku.
"And you." He pointed at him. "I can't count how many times you've broken yourself trying to live up to his ideals. Don't say that's not what happened.They've probably already told you that you're going to permanently injure yourself if you keep going like that. You need to listen to them. If you don't, this is what's going to happen to you."
He pointed at his shoulder and eye to emphasize the point he was trying to make. "This happened because I pushed past what I should have with my Quirk and It cost me."
Izuku looked down at his own scar covered hands and couldn't help but grimace at the thought of losing them. Bakugo's jaw tightened as was reminded of the fact that he had been there and still couldn't do anything in a battle like that.
Cid looked between the three of them.
"I'm not trying to lecture you. But you need to realize the era of the Symbol of Peace is coming to an end." He nodded toward All Might. "He's the only thing still holding this era of peace up, and he won't be able to for much longer."
Bakugo and Izuku both shifted slightly uncomfortable, but the look on their faces said they already knew he was right.
"If you're going to be top heroes, you need to stop fighting each other like children and start working together. Shigaraki is still out there, he isn't going to sit still and wait for us to graduate.The second there's an opening, he's going to try to flip the board, and everything is going to come down. We need to be ready for that. I can't stop it and save everyone by myself, especially with only one arm, and neither can either of you."
They stood there for a moment, none of them speaking. Cid glanced around, then turned toward the golf cart.
"That's what I think, anyway. Whether you agree or not is up to you." He paused, and the corner of his mouth lifted. "I'm going back to my room. I have a very important person waiting for me."