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Ochako frantically packed whatever she could find of hers in Bakugou's apartment. She needed to be gone before he got home. If Ochako saw him, she didn't know if she would be able to go through with this.
The hero ranks had come out for the third time since they'd started dating and Bakugou's spot continued to drop. He went from number four to now not even placing in the top ten. It was because of Ochako. He ignored agency calls & took less hours to spend time with her. Even with his public approval rating going up, it wasn't enough to combat the decrease in resolved incidents.
Ochako had stayed roughly at the same rank. She'd do fine without him. She would have to. Maybe Ochako would finally take up Deku's offer to work in America with him.
The duffle bag was bursting at the seams when Ochako stuffed the last bit of clothing inside. She struggled to zip up the bag, tugging on the sides to help the zipper along.
"Where are you going?"
Ochako gasped in fright at the voice and the fact that she'd been caught.
"Bakugou! I thought-" Ochako turned to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. "I thought you were covering a shift?"
"I made someone else do it. Where-are-you-going?" Bakugou repeated, his voice a strange combination of intimidating and uneasy.
Ochako gulped.
"I'm leaving."
Bakugou scowled at the half-open duffle bag.
"You usually pack light," he commented.
"Well," Ochako answered shakily. She turned to hide a pained expression and resumed fighting the zipper. "I'm not coming back."
"What changed?" Bakugou asked. He wasn't angry. Not yet.
"I was offered more money-," Ochako lied, finally succeeding in closing her bag. "-to work in America."
"Don't fucking lie to me," Bakugou snapped. "I deserve the truth."
Ochako knew he'd say that. She couldn't tell him the truth. He'd argue that he was better off with her.
But he wasn't. He was unwittingly giving up his dream of being number one for her. And if it was intentional...that was almost worse. Ochako couldn't bear to see him give up that part of himself so she made the decision to thoroughly break his heart.
"The truth is..." Ochako whispered. "There's someone else."
It was his greatest insecurity and though there wasn't actually someone else, Ochako knew Bakugou would only let her go if he thought Ochako would be happier.
"You...cheated on me?" Bakugou asked slowly, in disbelief.
"No." Ochako couldn't bring herself to lie that much. "But I realized I can't keep pretending I wouldn't be better off with them."
She applied her quirk to her bag and slung it over her shoulder.
"I can't do it anymore," she choked, barely containing her sobs.
"Ochako, wait," Bakugou commanded. He kept his eyes on her, seemingly refusing to blink in case she disappeared.
"No, Bakugou," Ochako argued, ignoring the pang in her chest at him using her given name. She should've known he'd fight back. Fight to keep her there and chip away at the wall she built overnight.
And Ochako was losing her will to keep it up. Was there really a problem with Bakugou never getting to the top? They were in love. They could have a good life. But, every time Bakugou's rank dropped, Ochako saw the tinge of disappointment in his smile or the darkness in his eye. Ochako couldn't let Bakugou waste his life or forget his dream.
"It's over," Ochako said, unable to meet his gaze. She slid past him and sped to the door. Bakugou ran after her.
"Don't be an idiot! You've always said I'm the best for you. Tell me who could be better than me."
He caught her arm and gently pulled her toward him. It was a desperate act of intimacy that almost broke her. Ochako couldn't answer yet. The grief of her future loss filled her throat with despair. She needed to devastate him. Her final words needed to be just that: final.
"You know who," she breathed. Bakugou slowly released his grip on her. It was the perfect way to force the separation. He'd come to his own conclusions and no one other than them would suffer. Ochako threw open the door then slammed it behind her. This breakup would be permanent.
It was for his own good. Ochako had saved Bakugou.
She kept telling herself that until she could be alone to scream.
Ochako ended up going to America the next week. It was the only way to make sure she wouldn't run back to Bakugou. The work was decent but difficult. English didn't come easy to her so she spent the majority of her time talking with Deku until she got a handle on it.
Even after settling into English, Ochako never settled in California. She had no real friends or relationships other than Deku. U.A. alumni reached out sometimes but they didn't have much to talk about as Ochako avoided all Japanese news or jobs in case anything involved Bakugou.
The only time she couldn't was when Deku gushed about the Japanese hero rankings. Ochako tried to tune him out but her curiosity always won. The first year, Bakugou didn't break back into the top ten. According to Deku, he'd taken a leave of absence after Ochako left.
The second year, he was number two even with his abysmally low public approval rate. Deku had shrieked in pride and showed Ochako the lineup which she quickly pushed away. Deku's mumbled 'sorry' didn't suppress the horrible dreams that seeing Bakugou's face had brought.
By the third year, Dynamight had even surpassed becoming number one in Japan.
"Kacchan made number one in all of Asia!" Deku shouted when he saw the news while taking lunch with Ochako. He watched her reaction, knowing she didn't like to talk about Bakugou.
Ochako kept her expression in check. There weren't any tears left to cry for him. Her body couldn't do it anymore. Deku continued when Ochako didn't stop him.
"Of course I had no doubts he could do it," he rambled. "And I know we don't talk, but still--I'm so proud of him."
Ochako pulled on Deku's phone to see the article. Bakugou looked good. He was actually smirking in the photo. Ochako knew then that she'd made the right choice. He looked happy, fulfilled, and was finally number one.
"Yeah," she said with a weak smile. "Me too."