Chapter 3
While their experiences had quickly instilled in them the knowledge that they could easily die, class 1-A hadn't expected for tragedy to strike so soon and unexpectedly. It had simply been a trip to the mall, everyone had been so excited for the school trip.
Instead, they received a grim reminder of their own fleeting mortality.
After his announcement, Aizawa quickly leaves the classroom to attend a faculty meeting—no doubt about the death of a student and the subsequent necessary security measures. Despite the teacher's absence, however, silence reigns throughout the classroom. No one can bring themselves to speak.
The uneasy quiet is broken as the door to the classroom slides open. All eyes are trained on the door when Monoma waltzes in, a smug grin on his face. Kendo is hot on his heels, concern clearly written on her face.
"So much for class 1-A being the cream of the crop!" Monoma crows. "Just because you've faced villains a few times, one of you got too uppity and ended up dead. And now the school tripe is cancelled because of his silly blunder!"
"Monoma, stop! How could you?!" Kendo warns him.
Her pleas fall on deaf ears.
"1-A is too full of themselves, it's good that they're being taken down a peg! At least it was some no-name who—!"
Monoma's antagonizing is finally answered when Bakugo suddenly grabs Monoma launches him back through the doorway with a violent explosion.
Monoma, looking no worse for wear, for smirks up at Bakugo as the smoke clears.
"Good thing I touched Testutestu earlier! Class 1-A is just full of victims and would-be villains! Both, in your case!"
"You're out of line." Todoroki's eerily calm voice somehow cuts through the chaos.
Either oblivious to the dangerously tense atmosphere or lost in his own delusions, Monoma refuses to back down.
"Oh, and to top it all off, we've got daddy issues, too!"
"We're leaving!" Kendo tries to pull Monoma away with her, but is forced back by an explosion.
"Stay out of this," Bakugo growls. "He wants to start something, then he's going to finish it."
As she thinks back on the sudden revelations from her conversation with All Might and the fact that Izuku had been keeping such secrets for so long, Ochako is finally startled out of her reverie when she bumps into a large crowd surrounding classroom 1-A.
"Hey, what's going on?" she asks a nearby student as she attempts to peer over the sea of people.
"Seems like someone from 1-B went to 1-A looking to pick a fight over the recent incident."
Ochako knows immediately who it is. She quickly pushes her way through the wall of students as Bakugo's agitated shouting grows louder.
"Why do you even care so much?" Monoma suddenly asks. "Wasn't Midoriya just some, what was it? 'Damn nerd?' To you?"
She's pretty sure it's an auditory hallucination, but Ochako swears she can hear Bakugo's teeth grinding themselves to dust.
"Do not speak of Midoriya as if you know him," Todoroki says.
"Oh, but I do! I know he was some 1-A fool who thought he was better than he really was."
Ochako's had enough. As she marches toward Monoma, she can feel the raw power coursing through her veins, empowering her body. She harshly grabs Monoma's shoulder with too much force, but to Monoma's credit he merely winces.
"You're leaving. Now," she commands.
"Says who? Oh, you were his girlfriend. Or something."
"Get out." The pure energy crackling around her is finally enough to dissuade Monoma. But even as he retreats, he can't resist having the last word.
"We'll see if the rest of you survive the school year!"
"He was mine!" Bakugo roars.
"And what were you going to do? You're already going to be in trouble for blasting him, even if you were provoked," Todorki replies.
"Dammit!" Bakugo stomps away angrily, shoving his way through the remaining onlookers.
". . .Why do you even care so much?" Todorki asks the now-empty space.
"Uraraka. . ." Yaoyorozu speaks up as the commotion finally dies down. "That power. . .it's—"
"It's Midoriya's." Tenya finishes. "What is the meaning of this?"
"I. . .Uh. . ."
Put on the spot and with few options, Ochako turns tail and flees.
For the second time today, Ochako finds herself panicking as she runs through the school. And for the second time today, her flight is suddenly interrupted—this time she's roughly pulled into an empty classroom.
She immediately knows who accosted her as her back slams into a wall.
"What do you want, Bakugo?" she guardedly asks.
"Cut the shit, Uraraka. You know exactly why I want to talk to you." He looks her square in the eye, his gaze filled with rage. "Somehow, you have Deku's quirk now."
Despite her best efforts to delay any confrontation in regards to this issue, she's already forced to face it head on. Unable to come up with any plausible excuse, Ochako decides that she should just tell the truth.
"Yes, I do," she admits.
"Tell me everything." Bakugo's sudden shift from anger to calm is unnerving. Ochako realizes this might be the first time she's heard Bakugo not yell.
"Do you remember the day Deku tried to save you?"
"Please, don't tell anyone what I've told you today," Ochako pleads after she finishes recounting both Izuku and All Might's stories.
Bakugo, lost in thought, doesn't seem to hear her. "So the world's greatest hero thought Deku was worthy. . .but why? He had no quirk, he was just another weakling. . ."
"It's because he tried to save you, even if he was powerless. All of those bystanders and heroes, even All Might himself, could only watch." Ochako's voice grows stronger and full of emotion. "Perhaps All Might first thought he would pass One for All on to an already powerful student, but Izu made him realize that power and strength weren't what he should have been looking for. He needed to find someone who was selfless. Someone who, no matter what, would put others before himself."
"I. . .I see."
"So even though you—wait, what?" She's taken aback by how easily Bakugo accepts her explanation.
"For me, it was always about being number one, about being stronger than everyone else. But I only wanted to be strong for the sake of strength. . .Deku wanted to be strong for the sake of others. What it means to be a hero. . ." Bakugo laughs, a harsh, barking sound. "Seems like Hero Killer Stain was right. We've lost sight of the meaning of the word 'hero.'"
Ochako feels something strange well up in her chest. . .pride? At Bakugo's epiphany? If only Izuku could have seen this. But perhaps it's his absence that finally shook Bakugo to his core.
"I won't apologize for anything I've done, though. To be a part of this world, strength is important. If you're not strong, you can't save anyone." Bakugo slides open the classroom door with an uncharacteristic lack of force. "For what it's worth, though—I think Izuku made the right decision to pass One for All to you, even if you were the only option."
In an empty hallway, Monoma clutches his still aching shoulder.
"Uraraka. . .just what was that strength? Your quirk is the manipulation of gravity. That strength is beyond what one could achieve through hard work. . ."
He clenches his fist and tries to channel that same power, but to no avail.
"How curious. . .I can't copy your power. Things really are getting interesting!"
Notes: I don't like Monoma, could you tell?