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Ochako sat on the dorm steps. She was back from patrol, but hadn’t yet mustered the motivation to walk inside and upstairs, change her clothes and shower.
The view from here was different than it used to be. Nezu had set up more new buildings for the evacuated citizens, raised the barrier so it towered down on them all.
Behind her, the dorm door clicked open. Someone walked up and sat down beside her.
“Hey,” Kaminari said, “You doing alright?”
Ochako smiled—not the reassuring kind.
“I mean, I guess nobody is really,” Kaminari continued, tapping his fingers on the stair, “But I mean—you’re pretty close with Midoriya, right?”
Ochako nodded. She didn’t say, I thought so.
“I don’t really know where I’m going with this,” Kaminari said, “I just—I hope you’re doing alright.”
“Thanks,” Ochako said. She meant it. But until Nezu got Endeavor here to meet with them, there wasn’t anything to be done.
“We’ll get him back,” Kaminari said. It sounded like he was trying to convince himself.
Ochako turned to look fully at him, searching his face. “Hey—are you doing okay? Is something going on?”
Kaminari grimaced. "Yeah, there is."
Ochako went up to her room and changed into workout clothes. She didn’t shower—there wasn’t time. Then she followed Kaminari up to one of the boys’ floors.
“Good luck,” Kaminari said, voice low.
Uraraka marched up and banged her fist against Bakugo’s door.
“What!” Bakugou shouted.
“Open the door!” Ochako shouted back.
“Make me!”
“I can and I will!” Ochako shouted. She had no idea how she was going to do that.
“You’re just scared to fight her!” Kaminari added.
Ochako turned to stare at him.
Kaminari’s eyes went wide. Then he mouthed, “Not a fight?”
The door opened. “Who says I can’t still take you?” Bakugou said.
They went down to the common room. Kaminari started moving furniture out of the way, and Sero and Mina joined him—they hadn’t quite realized what was going on.
“We’d better be quick,” Bakugou said, striking his fist against his open palm. Smoke drifted from his hand. “Somebody’s bound to hear us—the teachers will come and break it up.”
“If the smoke alarms don’t go off first,” Kaminari said, leaning back against the relocated couch.
“They’ll only hear us if we use quirks,” Ochako said. She was starting to think of a plan.
Bakugou raised an eyebrow. “You want to go without?”
“Deku managed for fifteen years,” Ochako said, striking her own fist against her hand, “I think we can survive a few minutes.”
“Alright,” Bakugou said, crouching a little. He spread his hands out.
Ochako settled into a stance, trying to think through all the variables at play here. Bakugou was maybe the best fighter in the class, but he relied heavily on his quirk. She had more martial arts training than him.
“Kaminari,” Bakugou said, “Count us off.”
Bakugou was eager to fight—he hadn’t been allowed to spar or patrol on account of his injuries. He might leave easy openings. He might get himself hurt.
Kaminari stepped forward and held his arm up. Around him, their classmates had started to realize what was happening. Most of them found a safe place to watch from—a few sort of sighed and went upstairs.
Nobody tried to break it up. It didn’t seem like anyone had the energy.
“Go!” Kaminari shouted, throwing his arm down.
The first phase was over faster than Ochako thought possible. Bakugou darted forward to strike her face. Ochako barely dodged, stepped to the side and grabbed his arm, used the momentum to push him forward. Suddenly she had him pinned to the ground, her hands holding his arm behind him, her knee over his back.
Bakugou set his free hand flat on the floor, and Ochako saw the moment of hesitation, the moment he realized the rules kept him from blasting himself back up. To his credit, he still tried to push away, twisting to release her grasp. But he couldn’t get the leverage. His free arm was the injured one.
Ochako leaned her face down next to his ear. “I know what you did to Deku,” she whispered.
Instantly, Bakugou stopped struggling. “Kirishima told you?” he said, a little louder than she had.
“No,” Ochako said, “Deku did.”
He had told her, way back on orientation day, that Bakugou bullied him. It was a passing comment, just to explain his nickname. He’d never brought it up again. Ochako hadn’t forgotten though. It was too easy to see, if you knew what you were looking at.
Bakugou still hadn’t moved.
“I’ve wanted to beat you up for so long,” Ochako confessed, “At first I thought I couldn’t do it. And then later I thought—I shouldn’t.”
“That’s dumb,” Bakugou said. He turned his head a little, and she could just make out his eye. His nose was pressed into the carpet.
“Deku wouldn’t like it,” Ochako said, “Not the way I was thinking of. I didn’t have the right. You don’t either.”
Bakugou’s forehead creased. “Huh?”
“Kaminari says he can’t get you to sleep on time,” Ochako said, “That you’ve been skipping meals, not changing your bandages enough.”
Bakugou twisted his arm again, and Ochako let go. He fell back onto his side.
“What, are you despondent or something?” Ochako demanded, standing up, “About Deku? You don’t have the right. Pull yourself together.”
For a second Bakugou just sat there, blinking up at her. Then he stood and walked over to the kitchen, started pulling ingredients out of a cabinet.
Ochako stood outside Bakgou’s door again. This time when she knocked, it was softer.
“Just come in,” Bakugou said.
Ochako turned the handle slowly, padded softly inside. Bakugou was sitting at his desk, reading something on his computer, eating some kind of noodle dish. There was an All Might poster on the wall above him.
“I’m sorry,” Ochako said.
“Hah?” Bakugou blurted, turning to stare at her. “Oh—I thought you were Kaminari.”
“Should I go?”
Bakugou shrugged. “It’s fine.” He turned back to his food.
“I don't want to hate you,” Ochako said, “I think you’re a good hero. And Deku likes you—he wants to be your friend. I wish I could get over it.”
Bakugou set his chopsticks down, pushed his chair back to get a better view of her. “Look,” he said, “Deku never thinks about himself. He’s physically incapable of holding on to this kind of thing. It’s abnormal.”
“So?” Ochako said. It wasn’t anything she hadn't noticed.
“So,” Bakugou said, “Somebody else has got to do it for him.”
Ochako nodded. Then she stepped forward, held her hand out. "I can do that without keeping a grudge. It's not mine to keep. Bakugou—let's be friends."
Bakugou snorted, but the edge of his mouth moved, almost a smile. He took her hand.