Chapter Text
“THE EIGHTH AND FINAL MATCH OF THE FIRST ROUND!” Present Mic’s voice booms. Uraraka winces slightly at his volume. She exhales shakily. Her heart beats loudly in her chest. This is it. This is where I prove to everyone that I’m not some frail and dainty girl. I’m strong, and I’ll prove it by beating one of the top students in 1-A. I can do this.
“HE WAS KINDA FAMOUS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL, FROM THE HERO COURSE, IT’S-” Her opponent. Her classmate. Dare she say it, her tentative friend. “BAKUGOU KATSUKI!” Sorry, Bakugou-kun. Uraraka sucks in a confident breath. You’re not the one rising to the top today.
“VERSUS-” She raises her head up high, lifting her eyes to scan the crowd. if she looks closely, she can pick out her friends from the hero course, up high in the stands. “-this is the one I’m rooting for-” Urarakaa lets a small smile slip out at that. It was good to know that there was at least someone that believed in her. “-FROM THE HERO COURSE, IT’S URARAKA OCHACO!”
“FIGHT MATCH, START!”
She flies.
Uraraka goes running repidly at Bakugou, crouched low to the ground. “WITHDRAWING ISN’T AN OPTION!” She yells above the cheers of the crowd. His expression grows dark. Bakugou’s eyes follow her, wary. “Then die.” Explosions flicker from his open, outstretches palms, reaching towards the sky in a brillaint crescent in oranges and yellows. She’s bathed in wispy tendrils of warm gray smoke.
She shrugs off her jacket quietly, throwing it at him in a way that makes it look like her. Bakugou takes the bait. “DON’T UNDERESTIMATE ME!” He roars, pinning down the jacket with an extra explosion. Uraraka scoops up some of the rubble, floating it quickly. She jumps at him, aiming her hand for the back of his jacket. He responds with an explosion, blasting her and a lot of the surrounding arena backwards. Rubble flies everywhere.
Uraraka outstretches her arms, running close to the ground and tagging any pieces of rubble she could get her hands up. In the chaos, Bakugou doesn’t notice them shooting into the air. She smiles wildly. “TAKE THIS!” She flies at him again, and he responds with an explosion, again. They dance to the music of explosions and footsteps pattering against already-broken concrete, the arena giving way under their quirks and sheer willpower.
The rubble has formed almost a rocky ceiling above their battleground, so much so that she’s surprised he hasn’t seen the concrete suspended above the arena, just waiting for her to call it down. Uraraka stands up shakily, legs tired from running so much. Bakugou watches her like a hawk. She smiles softly. “Th..thanks, Bakugou-kun…” Uraraka wheezes, breathing heavily. She can see his shocked expression from here. “Huh?”
“F...for not letting yo..your guard d..down….”
Uraraka presses her fingers together, expression fierce and confident. I’m going to win. Bakugou’s head snaps up, eyes widening as he wakes him the rubble, but it’s already too late.
“RELEASE!”
The rubble falls down on them, like a rain of rocky death. His arm shoots up, palm flickering with sweat, and he explodes half of the rubble in one go. Uraraka sucks in a terrified breath. Half of it in one go?! Bakugou charges another explosion, but a stray piece of concrete manages to his his arm. He shields his head as he skids backwards, but he surges forward and she can only stand shocked as-
“BAKUGOU-KUN IS OUT OF BOUNDS! URARAKA-SAN ADVANCES TO THE SECOND ROUND!”
Bakugou’s eyes widen as he takes in the fact that he’s definately, absolutely not inside the perimiters that proclaim where the fight was contained. He’s lost. Uraraka’s chest heaves, and she can only take in the cheers of the crowd and the punding of her own heartbeat in her ears for a split second before she falls to her knees, faint from using her quirk.
But she’s won, she smiles. She won the fight. And that’s what matters…. Uraraka smiles as she collapses on the arena floor.
She’s won.