Chapter Text
“Thank you Bakugou. For taking me seriously,” Round Face’s voice was steady despite the pain and exhaustion he could clearly see weighing her limbs down like lead.
She tapped her fingers together, bringing down the massive rain of rubble that Bakugou had provided for her.
Bakugou shifted his stance, heart rate increasing. Shit.
Was she nuts? The attack was falling mainly above his head, but she could just as easily get taken out.
He made his decision.
Widening his stance, gritting his teeth, he unleashed the biggest blast he ever had without using one of his gauntlets. The backlash was brutal, kicking down his arm and shoulder.
Bakugou heard his opponent get blown away, impacting the ground for the dozenth time.
That was close. His arm was shaking, he couldn’t even make a fist without shooting pains radiating down his forearm.
Still, he was beginning to get excited. Bakugou didn’t think Round Face would last even a minute, let alone push him this far. Who knew what other tricks she had up her sleeve?
Round Face, no-what was her name again? Uraraka’s face was pale, eyes wide with disbelief that all her efforts, her almost suicidal rush had been wiped away with one attack.
“Must have been all that hanging out with Deku, huh? I knew you had some kind of plan.”
And what a shitty plan it was. Bakugou swore he’d give Deku hell after this match. And after that, he would start to pay attention to his other classmates’ quirks. If Bakugou was going to be the top hero, he’d have to contend with all kinds of villains with all different types of quirks.
He hadn’t noticed her setting up her attack at all, and that had nearly been his undoing.
Never again. Bakugou swore he would never lose, not to anyone. He’d train himself to analyse his opponents’ quirks and come up with counters to them on the fly.
“In one attack,” Uraraka wavered. She staggered to her feet, still not finished even after the beating he’d given her.
“What an explosion! Uraraka’s secret plan just went up in smoke!” Present Mic didn’t bother to hide his disappointment. Fricking loud, but whatever. Bakugou put all his focus on the girl who had managed to earn his respect.
“Right. Time to get serious, Uraraka,” he grinned, relishing the rush of adrenaline that enhanced his senses and made him aware of his own capabilities. He had to stay sharp, Uraraka’s eyes were lit up with not only determination but also desperation now.
Uraraka dashed forward, the same move she’d been repeating over and over the entire match. Her hands were balled into fists, momentarily confusing him.
Bakugou had been pretty sure those pad things on her fingers were how she activated her quirk, but maybe not.
Well if it was a fist fight she wanted, then he’d been more than happy to meet the challenge and crush her utterly.
Still, he kept his guard up. His right arm wouldn’t be able to handle any more large scale explosions, but he still had his left arm.
Don’t let her touch you. Complete and total victory was the only one he would accept.
Uraraka lunged forward, ten meters, then five, then close enough that he could blast her. She whipped her arm forward.
What?
Something struck him on the head, hard. The pain made him wince, just for a split second.
She closed in on him, slapping him on the chest. Bakugou felt the weird sensation of his body becoming weightless, his feet left the ground and his guts rose nauseatingly.
Before he could let off an explosion or counter, she pushed him and he floated backwards.
Over the boundary line.
Silence.
Bakugou floated midair like an idiot, hand outstretched, ready to unleash an attack.
Uraraka fell on her butt, arms shaking as she tried to support her weight.
His mind couldn’t accept what his eyes had just seen. What had happened.
She threw a rock at his face?
And he’d let her just push him out of the ring?
Denial rose like a rush of superheated steam, burning in his throat.
No. No fucking way.
There was no way he’d been defeated by someone who hadn’t landed a single hit on him.
“Bakugou…is out of bounds. Uraraka moves on to the second round!” Midnight’s eyes were concerned as she went over to Uraraka, who looked like she was about to pass out.
“Dad.” She fell over, completely knocked out. Bakugou fell to the ground, the impact jarring him. He stood frozen.
He’d lost. To this round faced girl that could just float things.
After he’d sworn not to lose. After he’d broken past his own limits, blasting away every single piece of rubble so it wouldn’t take him out. Or her.
Bitter disappointment choked him like that sludge villain forcing himself down his throat.
He was going to murder Deku. And then when Uraraka recovered, he was going to murder her too. Properly this time.
—
Deku’s eyes were shining with tears of excitement.
“You won! That was amazing!”
Ochako beamed, but she felt dazed. Not only from exhaustion, but pure shock. It didn’t feel real.
“Guess I did.”
She couldn’t stop spacing out. Deku’s brows furrowed, he looked worried now.
“Are you ok?”
“Eh? Yeah, I’m all healed up! It’s mostly just little scrapes,” Ochako shook her fog away and smiled more genuinely.
“Kacchan confronted me on my way here,” Deku confided.
“He thought I was the one who came up with that strategy.”
Just when Ochako thought the day couldn’t get more shocking, Bakugou blew her assumption right out of the water.
“Bakugou was really strong. I feel like I just got lucky,” Ochako numbly confessed. Deku snapped to attention, shaking his head furiously from side to side.
“No way. Kacchan didn’t hold back at all against you. Luck isn’t enough to defeat someone like him. You beat him fair and square.”
Deku’s words rung in her mind like a gong. She beat Bakugou? She did, didn’t she?
“Thanks Deku, it was all because you inspired me to try my best,” Ochako spoke without thinking. Deku blushed and fidgeted shyly.
“Ahhh, oh! Kirishima or Tetsutetsu? Who’s going to move on?!” Present Mic’s voice blared from the speaker, just the wake up call she needed.
That’s right. The tournament wasn’t over yet. She was in the second round and Deku’s match with Todoroki was next.
“After their draw earlier, Kirishima has won! We now have our full matchup for the second round. With that said…Let’s get right to it!” Present Mic yowled.
“Already,” Deku glanced nervously toward the stadium. He gave her a shaky smile as he prepared to leave.
“Ack, sorry! You wasted all your prep time talking to me!”
Deku assured her that that wasn’t the case, but Ochako could tell he was nervous.
Who wouldn’t be? Todoroki hadn’t even shown off his full power yet, and after the way he beat Sero, Ochako wouldn’t blame Deku if he called it quits from the start.
Not that he would ever.
“Good luck out there. I’m rooting for ya,” Ochako smiled softly. Deku nodded, eyes filled with determination. Ochako admired him so much.
Deku didn’t back down from any challenge, no matter how big or scary.
Maybe she would face off against him later? It wasn’t likely, with how the matches were set up, but it was still a possibility.
Ochako both desperately wanted to fight him, and desperately wished she wouldn’t have to.
He was her rival, but he was also the first friend she’d made at U.A. and seeing him break his fingers made her stomach turn more than overusing her quirk did.
Well, she couldn’t worry about that right now. Her next match was against Kirishima, and she had to start planning if she was going to win. But first…
Ochako’s hands shook from excitement and adrenaline as she called up her dad.
“Hey, Dad. Sorry I missed your call earlier.” Ochako nearly dropped her phone at the jubilant shouts from her parents. She could hear Mom cheering in the background.
Her eyes started to water up. It was starting to sink in. She did it. She won, just like Deku. All her training had paid off.
“Congratulations, Ochako! Mom and I saw the whole thing on TV. You were great out there, honey!”
“Thanks Dad. It was really close, and at the end I kind of panicked. I gotta do better in my next match to get scouted.”
“That right? I don’t know about all that technical stuff, but I’m sure you got what it takes to impress them.”
“I can’t just kick back and relax after winning a single match, though. They’re looking for someone who can deal with all types of opponents.”
“Ochako, what’s the matter? You won, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, but for you and Mom…” Dad sighed fondly.
“You don’t gotta go crazy over us. Win or lose, I know my kind little Ochako is gonna be a great hero someday.”
The dam broke and her tears rushed out. Her parents believed in her one hundred percent.
Ochako wished she could be worthy of that trust. The horrible truth was, the second she’d unleashed her meteor shower, she’d been planning to cancel her gravity and rush at Bakugou like an idiot.
Her fingers had slipped, and that extra bit of weight had prevented her from being blown back completely. She grabbed the rock out of sheer desperation and somehow managed to push him out before he blasted her again.
A fluke. Bakugou was stronger. He’d come within inches, no, centimetres of dominating her completely.
Ochako vowed to do better. To get stronger. For her parents sake, but also for her sake.
She never wanted to win because of a mistake ever again.