"If both students are ready… Begin!"
With a crack of Midnight's whip, the match started.
His lenses narrowed in concentration at the support student across the arena from him, watching him nervously fidget with his remaining gear from the last match.
Should he wait for him to make the first move? He already knew what his support gear was capable of from the first match, so maybe not.
Screw it, he wasn't gonna have a repeat from this guy's first match.
This was gonna be quick, he wasn't going to give him time to begin jumping around.
With a deep breath, Peter's foot hit the ground as he began to sprint at his opponent. He was going to get him out of bounds, it wasn't worth wasting webs right now so a-
"I give up!"
Peter froze in his tracks, sticking to the ground by his feet to kill his momentum and watching as the support student braced for an impact that was nowhere near him.
What?
Did he just… give up?
The match had just started!
The stadium was completely silent except for the confused mumbles of the audience trying to wrap their heads around what just happened.
"Are you serious?! I had a plan and everything, man! What do you mean you give up?!" Peter yelled across the arena, throwing his hands in the air while the audience yelled in agreement.
Almost every single match before this had been super action-packed! His, Nejire's, Amajiki's, Togata's, basically all of them!
Well, Togata's match kinda fell apart at the end, but you get what he's saying.
And this guy just gives up?
The boy awkwardly stood by for a second, gathering his gear and running out of the arena and back into the stadium.
Oh, c'mon!
"… Alright, then? Mochizuki Katsuo has forfeited so… Peter Parker is the winner!" Midnight cracked her whip unenthusiastically, sending Peter a sympathetic look as scattered applause came from the crowd.
Peter groaned, simply turning around and walking offstage while the people for the next match were called down.
Whatever! It wasn't like he wanted to actually do his match, anyway!
Man, talk about a let-down.
...
"Hey. is it just me or does the girl Nejire is fighting seem really out of it right now?" Peter asked the two boys next to him, the three of them looking down at the stadium below
It was the third match now, with Nejire being the next one up after his… could he even call what happened a match? Whatever, the blue-haired girl was currently flying all around the arena while shooting her quirk at a support student with dyed hair and piercings who was narrowly avoiding her attacks by using her gear.
Looking closer, Peter could swear the support student was… blushing, for some reason.
Either way, Peter was just glad that this fight was way more entertaining than his.
"Yeah, she seems s-super flustered," Amajiki commented from next to Togata, Peter could see the boy had a few bandaids depicting different heroes on his arms due to his fight with the spike girl last round.
Apparently, Recovery Girl didn't want to use her quirk on him when his injuries were so minor or something like that.
Peter hadn't been paying too much attention to his explanation, given how he was still freaking out over the whole S.H.I.E.L.D stuff that happened with Tony Stark earlier in the festival.
Well, that was until he came up with the incredible plan that was to… simply ignore it until he could freak out about it at his house, once the festival had finished.
It wasn't the best idea, but it was the best he had right now.
Silently while his friends talked, Peter let out an exhausted sigh before rubbing his increasingly tired eyes as he hung his head low for a moment.
Why did this all have to happen to him, man? And why today of all days was it when Ironman decided to screw him over?
God, today was such a mess for him.
Lifting his head back up, Peter finally let the sound of the conversation next to him reach his ears as he watched how Nejire had begun to corner the support student closer and closer to the edge of the ring.
Even then, the girl looked as if she was somewhere else entirely.
"What do you guys think got her so distracted?" Togata asked, leaning forward in his seat to watch the match more closely. "Maybe she's got stage fright like Tamaki!"
Next to him, Amajki sank in his seat for a moment.
Peter still thought it was impressive how Amajiki managed to win his match against spike girl while overcoming his anxiety on the spot last round.
"To be honest? I got nothing. I mean, she seems more embarrassed right now than you were when you lost last round after your pants fell off." The brunette commented, letting out a small chuckle when Togata gained a small blush across his face.
At least he had the dignity to look kinda embarrassed at that whole thing.
Just you wait until Peter shows him how naked pics of him have been trending on Twitter for the last half hour, it's gonna be hilarious!
Speaking of, Peter had decided to stay away from everything Spider-Man related that was trending for the rest of the day.
Why you may ask?
Well, it was basically how since his last match, discussion had devolved into either arguments on if he belonged at UA or not and people sharing pics of his abs they took while he lifted his shirt to reach into his belt.
All in all, Peter felt… pretty grossed out and uncomfortable by that.
The abs part, he was already used to people thinking he was a criminal and all.
It's a mystery how pro heroes deal with that kinda stuff on a daily basis, all the more reason for him to stay away from the media once he gets his license.
Just as Peter was about to say something about the current match, Nejire shot out a giant blast of energy that launched the girl through the air and onto the grass outside the arena.
"Huh, kinda forget how much of a punch her quirk packs," Peter muttered, watching as Nejire flew down to the ground to help the girl back onto her feet, the girl freezing for a good few seconds before actually taking Nejire's hand.
Down inside the stadium, Midnight cracked her whip as the crowd cheered and clapped at the good sportsmanship shown.
"Yuyu Haya is out of bounds, Nejire Hado moves onto the next round!" She announced, Nejire bouncing up and down on the grass while waving at everyone around her, the girl now known as Haya awkwardly standing next to her.
A small smile grazed Peter's face at seeing Nejire so happy down in the field, even if he didn't notice it at first.
"Alright, may the next combatants please come down!" The woman cracked her whip, prompting Amajiki to quickly stand up and begin making his way down to the stadium.
Or that was what he'd be doing if Togata hadn't immediately wrapped the guy up in a bear hug.
"You got this, Tamaki!" He reassured, hugging the boy tighter before letting go at about when Amajiki was seeming to run out of air.
The indigo-haired teen stood there for a moment, a wild blush on his face before he gave a shaky nod and began to make his way down to the field.
A few moments after he left, the viewing birth was silent as Peter stared at Togata while he smiled as if nothing happened.
They were so frustrating to watch, you know?
"Dude." Peter broke the silence, making his friend turn to face him.
"Yeah?" Togata asked, still smiling.
Jesus Christ, he was playing dumb!
Peter stared for a few more moments, watching as Togata began to shift in his seat.
"Dude." He tried again.
"Uh, y-yeah?" The blonde gave an awkward laugh.
"Why can't you ask him out already, man?"
A few moments of silence passed, the two staring at each other before Togata groaned and held his head in his hands.
"I… I know."
...
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