Who's Your Rival?

by Ulquiorra9000

"Deku! Hey! Deku!"

Midoriya looked up and put on a friendly face when Bakugo cornered him after class that afternoon. Bakugo towered over him, teeth bared in typical anger.

"What did you score on the quiz?" Bakugo grated.

Midoriya blinked. "My score?"

"That's what I said!" Bakugo snapped.

"How come you want to know?"

"C'mon!" Bakugo seized Midoriya's uniform collar. "I got 6 out of 10 on it. What about you?"

"Kacchan, what's the big deal? I got 9 out of 10. Why -"

"Dammit! Not again!" Bakugo half-shoved Midoriya back against the wall and let him go, ignoring the funny looks the other students were giving him on their way out of the classroom. "Deku, how d'you keep getting better scores? And I know the prof likes you more than me, with you always puttin' up your hand and answering the questions right..."

Midoriya shrugged. "I just know my stuff, Kacchan." A bright idea popped into his head and he grinned. "Oh, wait. You want me to tutor you, right? I'm free at 5:00 today -"

"What? No!" Bakugo went red. "I don't need stupid tutoring! I just gotta - uh..."

"Huh?"

Bakugo made an irritated noise. "The way you stand there lookin' like a dumbass, I can't believe you outscored me again."

"W-well, what are rivals for, am I right?"

Bakugo narrowed his eyes. "Rivals?"

Midoriya tried not to panic at the sight of Bakugo's expression. "I-I mean, you keep competing with me, watching if I outdo you at exercises, sizing me up as a student and all that... I get that you're competitive, but it's all just fun and games right? After all, it's cool to have someone to test yourself with, but there's no need to keep bullying me like this because it isn't -"

"Damn, you never stop blabberin'," Bakugo cut in. "One day that tongue of yours is gonna fall out, loser."

"Kacchan -"

"Boys, is there a problem here?"

Midoriya expected to see Yaoyorozu, but it was actually Ochaco, and she looked just as stern as Bakugo, with her hands planted on her hips and her feet set apart and a scowl on her face.

Just in time, Midoriya thought with relief. What a save!

"Ugh. Whatever," Bakugo muttered. He shoved his hands into his pockets and sauntered off. "Better get into the dorms quick tonight, Deku, or you might get your sorry self locked out, and I ain't lettin' you in." He shoved his way past an indignant Iida on his way out the door.

Midoriya felt himself go red as Ochaco looked at him curiously. He tapped his index finger tips together and glanced down. "Thanks, Ochaco. He keeps cornering me like that."

"He's not threatening you, is he?"

"Huh? N-no way! Kacchan would never do that!" Midoriya waved a hand hastily with an awkward smile. "He's not the type to... uh..."

"Well, I think he should cool it," Ochaco said sternly. She met Midoriya's eyes and giggled. "But we know that's not gonna happen."

"Yeah, true enough!" Midoriya laughed too and wondered why he had to be so awkward at a time like this. Just once, couldn't he be cool and suave like Todoroki or someone?!

"Come on, everyone else already left," Ochaco said as she gently took hold of Midoriya's shoulders and steered him to the door. "Class is out! Go relax and kick back, Deku. Have some quality time."

Midoriya felt himself freaking out (in a kind of good way) as he felt Ochaco's hands holding him, noticing how close she was, how her hair tickled his cheek. "Yeah, why not?" he said, hardly paying attention to what he was doing. "I gotta get classchan - I mean, Dek... uh, Kacchan and class off my mind. I've had a long day."

"Didn't we all," Ochaco said sympathetically as they joined the students in the busy hallway. "I swear, Aizawa is pushing us like crazy! Can you believe the homework he gave us?"

"I-I know. I dunno if I can do it all!"

"Really? Maybe I should tutor you."

Midoriya nearly choked. "You'd do that?"

"If you need it." Ochaco let his shoulders go and smiled as she clasped her hands behind her back. "I mean, I'm not smart like Yaoyorozu is, but I like to think I can help out a classmate if I can. Just a little!"

Man, she's the best. Midoriya was amazed Ochaco couldn't hear his heart racing as he opened his mouth. "I'll think about it. I Promise!"

"Okay. See you around, Deku," Ochaco said with a friendly wave, and she melted into the crowd. Midoriya just stood there, waving half-heartedly as he watched her go.

*o*o*o*o*

"Where've you been?" Denki said as he lounged on one of the couches in the dorm lobby with some of the other boys, his feet up on the table (totally not allowed), sharing a few sodas with the other guys.

"What d'you mean? I went straight here," Midoriya said.

"It's almost closing time," Sero commented. "Got lost?"

"N-no."

Midoriya hesitated, then sat down with the other guys. "I gotta admit something."

"Oh, this should be good," Denki said with a sly grin.

"No, it's serious," Midoriya told him. He leaned forward, arms rested on his thighs. "Look, it's about Kacchan -"

"Oh yeah, he hates your guts, doesn't he?" Mineta teased. "Did you avoid him on the way here? I bet you did!"

"It's not that," Midoriya said, his gut squirming. Darn it, how should he say this? Did he have to tell it to doofuses like these? He took a breath. "Ochaco had to step in so Kacchan would leave me alone. But I can't keep relying on her. I have to deal with my rivalry with Kacchan on my own. Right?"

Denki shrugged. "Hey, as long as he doesn't blow your head clean off, I think you'll be just fine, pal." He caught the other guys' eyes and they all broke out laughing.

Midoriya shook his head. "You guys are no help..."

"Look," Sero said. "I guess you gotta look at it constructively. Bakugo brings out the best in you, and challenges you to, well, be the best hero you can be."

Mineta cracked a wide grin. "Unless Bakugo really does blow his head off."

"Don't say things like that!" Midoriya cried.

Denki made an amused noise and opened another soda can. "Just follow your gut," he said. "Works for me. Challenge him to a fight, report him to the principal, frame him and get him expelled... whatever you gotta do."

Midoriya nearly hit the roof. "What! I'm not going to get him expelled! That's cruel!"

Mineta elbowed him. "Might be your last chance before he turns you into a Midoriya-shaped burn mark on the wall."

"Hey, that's possible, too," Sero commented.

"He's your rival, man," Denki reminded Midoriya. "There's no rules, no playing fair. Fight to win!"

Midoriya hung his head. "Now I just feel worse."

"Or just have Ochaco bail you out," Denki added. "In case those other options don't pan out."

Midoriya flinched. "H-hey, leave her out of this! She's too nice to get wrapped up in all that."

"Oh. I got it!" Denki added, pounding a fist on his open palm. "Do arm wrestling, thumb wrestling, and rock-paper-scissors with Bakugo to see who's on top. Beat him, and all your troubles are over!"

Midoriya got up and stalked over to his room. "No wonder you're last in the class."

"Not cool, man!" Denki cried.

Midoriya winced. "Sorry."

"Nah, I was kinda asking for it." Denki raised his drink. "To victory."

"Yeah. I'm a real winner." Midoriya dejectedly waved goodnight and shut the door.

What would Ochaco say about all this...? Midoriya thought about going up and asking her, but he could picture her settling in for the evening, quiet but happy... he felt the crazy urge to go see her, but he held himself back at the last second. He'd see her tomorrow. And tomorrow, too. He'd figure something out.

Right?

*o*o*o*o*

Ochaco had a point; Aizawa really was pushing the class hard, and Midoriya had totally forgotten to study for the next quiz, a 20-point monster. And almost everyone in the class groaned when Aizawa handed back their graded papers. Even Todoroki only landed 15 points, and meanwhile, Denki and Mina scored zilch on theirs. Midoriya's hands trembled as he beheld the 4 written in red on his paper.

"I expect better in the future," Aizawa said in his usual mumble at his podium. "If you all expect to make it into your second year, that is."

Meanwhile, Midoriya spotted Bakugo leaning over, trying to see his score, the other boy's vicious eyes narrowed in concentration. Crap! Midoriya tried to hide his paper, but he knew that Bakugo's eyes spied that shameful 4.

And amazingly, Bakugo showed Midoriya his own score: 5!

Better step it up, Deku, Bakugo wrote in a note he passed to Midoriya. I thought you were some smarty pants.

Midoriya hastily hid the paper before Aizawa would spot it. He sat there in a nervous sweat, barely hearing what Aizawa was saying. Crud, what was he supposed to do now? He was still in a panicked trance when the bell rang, and he jumped when someone walked up to him and tapped his shoulder. "What the...!"

"Guess what this means," Denki said with a teasing grin. "You've lost to Bakugo!"

"I can see that," Midoriya grumbled.

"You'll just have to beat him next time," Denki pressed on, "unless you wanna be his sidekick when we graduate and become real heroes!"

Midoriya rolled his eyes. "Very funny. This isn't about Kacchan. It's..."

"Time to hit the books?"

"Speak for yourself, pal." Midoriya gave Denki a gentle shove on the shoulder. "Anyway, maybe you and Mina should have a cozy study session somewhere quiet and secluded all night long."

Denki went red at once. "Wh-what the...! N-no, I don't need..."

Now it was Midoriya's turn to give a sly smile. "I know you and Mina are close. Just ask her to be your study partner! I bet she'd be really happy to say yes."

Denki bashfully scuffed the floor with his shoe. "You make it sound like a date."

"Hey, if that's what you want."

"No, come on! This is totally embarrassing!" Denki almost had steam shooting out of his ears. "Deku...!"

"See you around, okay?" Midoriya slipped on his backpack and headed for the door, until Denki grabbed his shoulder.

Denki had finally calmed down a bit, and his usual doofus grin was back in place. "Look... thanks, man. I think I should ask her."

Midoriya nodded. "Have a good time."

"Yeah. But what about you?"

"M-me?"

"Yeah. It's hilarious watching you and Kacchan butt heads all the time. But if you're gonna beat him, get yourself a partner."

"A study partner?"

"I think you know which one I mean. Heh heh heh..."

"Denki...!"

But Denki had a point; that evening, Midoriya found himself going up to a certain door at the student dorms. He took a deep breath, and knocked.

"Mina, I'm not sharing any more of my cookies! Oh... hey there," Ochaco said when she swung open the door. She giggled and scratched the back of her head. "Sorry. Mina's been bugging me all night."

"S-sure." Midoriya felt himself go red again and he tried not to fidget bashfully like that dummy Denki had. "Hey, Ochaco..."

"What's up?"

"Uh..." Midoriya braced himself. "Studdiwime?"

"Huh?"

Midoriya shook his head rapidly to clear his thoughts. "I mean... can I be your study partner?"

"Oh. Of course you can!" Ochaco went pink as she smiled. "My offer totally still stands. Come in."

It turned that Ochaco had only scored 6 o the quiz, but darn it, spending two hours going over the tough material with her made it all seem easier, and Midoriya could hardly believe it when it was 10:00 and Ochaco wanted to retire for the night.

"Mmmmmm. I think we covered a lot of ground," Ochaco said proudly, closing her last notebook. She stretched. "Thanks for coming by, Deku."

"I should thank you," Midoriya said as he scooped up his books. "I told Denki to study with Mina and help each other out, since they're such good friends, but I think you're probably the better tutor."

"Me? Naw. I just grind away at the material until my stubborn brain finally gets it," Ochaco said with another giggle. She toyed with a strand of her chestnut brown hair. "Did it work for you, too?"

"Yup."

"I'm glad. Jiro wanted a few pointers, too. I might help her tomorrow," Ochaco said, half to herself. "She's really nice once you get to know her."

Midoriya was more used to seeing Jiro mauling people's eardrums with strategically inserted earphone jacks, but he decided to trust Ochaco on this one. "O-okay. Uh... see you tomorrow?" He could hardly look her in the eye, and he was definitely fidgeting again.

"Sure thing. Good night!"

*o*o*o*o*

The next few days were just like that, and Midoriya's test scores slowly crept up, and so did Ochaco's, Denki's, and Mina's. In fact, Denki's last quiz score was a whopping 2! He vowed to get ice cream to celebrate, and Midoriya urged him to bring Mina along and buy her a cone, too. Then, when Shoji's backpack strap broke, Midoriya bought him a whole new backpack (Shoji gave him a big thumbs up as thanks) and Jiro was happily saying how Ochaco's tutoring netted her a 11 on her latest quiz. Bakugo, meanwhile, kept giving Midoriya looks of challenge in class, the hallways, the cafeteria, and pretty much everywhere else, which Midoriya responded to with shrugs, which usually infuriated the other boy. But finally, in the next week, Midoriya felt a thrill when he got a quiz back and scored 14 out of 20!

"What was your last score?" Bakugo demanded when class let out. Midoriya told him.

Bakugo made a wicked smile. "I'll be damned. Me, too! Better not let me down, Deku. Tomorrow we have that race outside, and you'd better keep up with me! I'll look like an idiot if my all-time rival is a weakling."

"Look, I'll run as fast as I'll run," Midoriya said evasively. He had something else on his mind, something way more interesting. He found Ochaco in the crowds of students in the hallways and passed her a note with a time and location to meet him. She read it and gave him a quizzical look, but Midoriya simply nodded and went the other way.

Midoriya could hardly wait for 5:00, and at last, just as the sun was setting, he went up to the tallest, most gorgeous blossom tree on campus, one that grew on the dorm's front lawn. Ochaco was already waiting for him, still in her classroom uniform. She turned and smiled when he approached. "Hey there, Deku."

"Hey yourself." Midoriya kept his hands behind his back, and his heart raced as he approached. Darn it all, Ochaco looked so radiant in the evening light under that tree...!

"So how come we're under this tree?" Ochaco asked. "I mean, it's really pretty, but we have some studying to catch up on. This isn't an elite school for nothing..."

"I know. This will take just a minute." Midoriya stood right before Ochaco, and he drew up the courage to finally present his gift to her. "H-here. These are for you."

Ochaco's mouth dropped in surprise and she went pink. "D-Deku... these are for me?"

"Y-yeah." Midoriya extended the bouquet of light purple hydrangeas. "Do you like them?"

"This is so sweet of you." Ochaco still looked thunderstruck as she accepted the bouquet and gave them a tender sniff. "Are these hydrangeas?"

"That's right. The flower of gratitude. Yaoyorozu told me." Midoriya shoved his hands in his pockets so they wouldn't tremble nervously so much.

"Oh. For all the study sessions, right? I totally get it. I mean, I've done so much for you, so this is a great gift, I mean, they're some of my favorite flowers..." Ochaco babbled as she went red. "Thank you."

"Look, uh..." Midoriya swallowed. "I thought about it... the other guys said how Kacchan is like my rival as a hero, and he brings out the hero in me. But I just thought that, uh..."

The words got stuck in his throat as Ochaco watched him, flowers held to her chest.

Midoriya summed up all his courage. "Ochaco, you're my rival too, 'cause you challenge me to be best person I can be, and it's why we're heroes in the first place, to protect a society where people are kind to each other. You make me someone worth being a hero." He sighed with relief when he finally got the words out. "I mean... you see what I'm getting at, right?" he added.

Ochaco kept staring at him, then burst out laughing. "That was so cheesy!" she cried. "I had no idea... Deku, you're like a romantic. Even more than Mina!"

Midoriya drew out his hands and motioned at her in a panic. "N-no! I'm being serious here!"

Ochaco giggled again. "I've never heard anyone say something like that before, that's all."

"You're not mad, are you?"

"Me, angry?" Ochaco stepped forward and, while holding the bouquet in one hand, kissed Midoriya's cheek. "No way. I'm glad you feel that way about me. And you know what? I sometimes think the same way about you, Deku."

"You do? For real?" Midoriya couldn't help making a thrilled smile.

"Yeah, I do." Ochaco smiled back.

"I... thanks, Ochaco. I'll do my best to be your rival. I won't let you down."

They stood there in awkward silence for a few seconds before Ochaco suddenly stomped a foot and looked indignant. "You'd better not tell anyone else about all this! Because it was still ultra cheesy! Don't tell anyone, Deku!"

"O-okay, I promise! I swear!"

Ochaco calmed back down. "Thank you. Now, we, uh..." She bashfully looked over her shoulder at the dorm building. "Hey, we ought to get into the dorm before we get locked out, right? I mean, that would be really awkward..."

"Right. Good point." Midoriya beamed and walked to the dorm's front doors with his good friend, and he couldn't think of anything else to say, and nor could she, but heck, Midoriya was sure he said everything he needed to.

For once, he knew when to shut up!

The End