Momo stared at the screen in disbelief. "She… she did it." Her heart swelled with pride as she saw Ochako's fist hanging in the air.
Then Ochako passed out, collapsing back onto the concrete.
"Oh…" Mina sighed, worry in her voice. "Did you see her win, Mi-"
Both women turned to the man in the bed between them. No sooner had All Might declared Ochako the winner than had Zu finally fallen asleep.
Mina sighed again, although this time was more affectionate than worried. "It'll be him versus Ochako for the finals… and they're both unconscious. Bakugou and Todoroki barely look worse for wear in comparison." She nodded at the screen, where the blonde man was hurrying back onto the stage to help pick up his opponent. He looked more shaken than actually hurt.
Momo nodded. "They both had to fight so hard to win. I don't know if they'll have anything left for their fight."
Ryukyu laughed dryly; she had shown up just after the match had started along with Zu's parents. "Whatever he does have left, he'll be sure to give it. There's no quit in that boy… for better or for worse.
Inko, as she insisted on them calling her, was sitting next to Mina, rubbing Zu's head affectionately. "He doesn't know when to stop himself sometimes."
"The boy does what he feels is right," Stormclaw added. "That's all he's ever wanted to do. Sometimes we disagree on what 'right' means, but he's got a big heart."
Mina looked up at the man at the foot of the bed. "What do you mean, disagree?"
Stormclaw sighed, looking at his son. "Ryuko and I overheard what he was saying to the Todoroki boy. Izuku was trying to get him to use his fire the entire time. It nearly cost him the match and might cost him the finals, but he got through to him." He shook his head. "He could have won quite easily, but decided to try and save Todoroki instead. In his shoes, I probably would have just won and dealt with the other stuff later."
Momo furrowed her brow. "Perhaps he thought that the fight would be the best opportunity to get through to him. You said it yourself, he wanted to 'save' him. How can that not be the right thing?"
Stormclaw laughed knowingly. "Now you're getting it. That's exactly what Izuku was thinking, I'd wager. And notice, I only said we disagreed, I never said he was wrong. Whenever he and I butt horns about stuff like this, he usually wins. Always has, ever since he was a little boy. He's a smart kid and he's always been able to read people better than me."
"That's very true," Inko agreed, "but it has also made him very stubborn. When he gets an idea in his head, it's almost impossible to get him to change his mind. If there's something that he feels is right, he's going to do it, or…" She looked down and rubbed her fingers through her unconscious son's hair, trailing off.
Something about the conversation stirred an old memory in Momo's mind. One she often tried to ignore, just because it made her feel such confusing emotions. She couldn't remember it exactly, not after so many years, but the feelings it elicited… those were still there.
Momo was only about seven, but she had already seen her fair share of fancy dinner parties; her parents hosted them monthly, for one reason or another. She knew the drill by now: be quiet and smile, then run off and be quiet somewhere else. It was always a dreadfully boring time, but she wasn't one to misbehave. She had gotten used to being ignored by now, anyway.
But something was different this time. Momo saw something she had never seen before, at least not at one of these gatherings: a child. One her age, no less. He was dressed in a black suit, wearing a small, emerald-green tie. It looked a little loose on him, which made sense; he was still a growing boy.
He was standing next to a tall man with light bronze hair and a shorter woman with dark green hair. The man had a pair of black horns sticking out from his hair and as he smiled and shook her father's hand, she could see the fangs in his mouth. The boy's hair was green as well, but a bit lighter than his mother's. He too had a pair of horns, but instead of starting at the top of his head, behind his hairline like his father, they were above his eyes, near his hairline. Instead of swooping backwards, the green, ridged protrusions swept more outward. His big, green eyes were filled with wonder and his excited smile showed Momo he had small fangs as well.
The two of them spent most of the party together. At first, Momo was certain it was out of necessity, rather than anything else, as she was the only person other than him younger than 30 in the entire ballroom. However, as the night went on, she found herself genuinely enjoying his company more and more.
Momo caught herself time and time again doing something she rarely did, which, looking back, was kind of sad.
She was smiling.
Momo's face was graced with a wide, genuine smile as she spent time with her new friend Izuku. He had bitten his tongue trying to pronounce 'Yaoyorozu', so she offered 'Momo' as an easier alternative. He agreed, but only on the condition that she called him 'Izuku'.
She was taught to always be so prim and proper, to be reserved and refined, but Izuku didn't seem very interested in that at the time. He wanted to talk about her quirk, about her favorite heroes, her parents, her school, her friends, and anything else he could think about. His genuine interest and excitement was infectious.
For the first time she could remember, she understood how to be a kid.
She regretted when he had to go, although her parents weren't too pleased with him, as the two of them had knocked over a waiter when he had riled her up enough to chase after him in an impromptu game of tag. His father, the hero Stormclaw, was laughing too hard to apologize at the time, but his mother was nothing if not gracious and embarrassed.
Her parents tried to be mad at the two of them, but after seeing the smile beaming across her face, they relented. She didn't think they had ever seen her that happy.
Momo felt the warmth he put in her start to fade as soon as he left the house, like the sun setting after a long day on the beach. She returned to her room to turn in for the night and made a bold decision; a decision that would later make her want to suppress the memory out of embarrassment.
Her prowess with her quirk was still limited, but she could make simple things fairly well. Most of the stuffed animals in her room were her own creations, so she had practice.
And so, after a few botched attempts, she held up her creation in front of her proudly: a small stuffed Izuku.
Momo blushed as the memory faded from her mind again. Her Zu plushy had become faded and worn over the years, but she still knew where it was. It had been years since she had held it in her hands physically, but it still held a special place in her heart. When she was younger and feeling sad or lonely, she would sometimes pull it out of where she kept it and play with it a little. It made her feel better.
In the grand scheme of things, they never spent very much time together- they only met at parties, so only a few times a year on average- but the time they did share was always something she enjoyed immensely. However, it didn't last. At one party back when they were 12, Zu told her that they wouldn't be seeing each other anymore. He promised to see her at UA when they both got in, but his father was taking a step back from the limelight while he recovered from his injury, so they wouldn't be attending any other parties for the foreseeable future.
They had made some attempts to stay in contact with texting and such, but as the months passed, they messaged each other less and less... until one day they stopped. The loss of her friend had hit Momo relatively hard, but she was a refined, mature young woman and she got over it. She had locked those emotions away for years and thrown away the key as she focused herself on her studies and her training.
That diligence paid off, of course. She had excelled at the recommendation exam, beating out multiple other exceptional students for the spot in 1-A.
But there was still that nagging in the back of her mind. She had hoped that her former friend had decided to go to Shiketsu, or perhaps a school in a different country. At the very least, she hoped he would have been placed in 1-B.
But no, Zu was put in 1-A with her. When he had greeted her that fateful Saturday, she felt the beast that was her confused emotions begin to struggle against its chains. Over all the years of their friendship, she had kept her feelings under wraps. He never knew how much she enjoyed his visits, he never knew that he was one of her only friends, and he never knew that she made a stuffed toy in his likeness.
It would have been much simpler if he had left her alone, if he had let the past stay in the past; that's why she tried so hard to distance herself from him.
But dammit, despite her best efforts, he had wormed his way back into her heart.
After she saved him at the USJ, she felt compelled to check on him at the hospital, where she got caught up in the plan to spend the entire week there. Then he shared one of his deepest secrets with her and… and…
Everything had happened so fast.
In the end, her feelings for him were back and stronger than ever. He made her feel wanted, he made her feel comfortable, he made her feel strong and capable, just like he always had.
Now the only question was… did he feel the same way about her?
Momo shook her head, dispelling the thought.
Even if by some miracle he did, it's not like she deserved it.
The next thing Ochako knew, she was waking up in Recovery Girl's infirmary in the stadium.
She groaned slightly as a dull ache filled her body, causing Mina to gasp. "Ochako! You're awake!"
Ochako blinked, sitting up slowly in her bed. Mina was sitting at her right, smiling gently at her, while Momo was on her left. She smiled weakly at them both, causing Mina to giggle and Momo to blush slightly.
Ochako's cheeks lit up a little as well. This was the first time since their training together that they had been this close, and it looked like neither of them had completely recovered from what had happened that day.
She looked around, hoping to put the embarrassing memory out of her mind. To her right was another bed, where she saw a familiar green mop of hair. Sitting around Deku was Stormclaw, Inko, Ryukyu and Bakugou. Recovery Girl and All Might were on the far side of the room, watching and waiting.
"What happened?" was her first question.
"Well after you won, you kinda passed out," Mina explained. "Bakugou helped to pick you up and then All Might carried you here. That was an hour ago."
"An hour?!" Ochako exclaimed, waking up fully. "But the finals!"
All Might began to walk over to her bed. "That's why I stuck around, Young Uraraka. I'm here to see if the two of you are okay to compete. This is an athletic competition, we don't want anybody to suffer any permanent damage." He looked her over with a concerned expression. "Recovery Girl says you're fine physically, but how do you feel?"
Ochako sighed, rolling her neck a little. How did she feel?
Well, her quirk felt like it was all but spent. She had maybe a few more uses out of it, but that would depend on what she touched. The rest of her body was in better shape. After resting, she was still exhausted, but she didn't feel like she was about to collapse again.
Ochako took a deep breath. "I'm not here to give up. I'll fight."
She saw a proud smile grow on All Might's face. "Very good. All that remains now is…" He trailed off as he gestured over to Deku.
"How is he?" Ochako asked quietly.
Recovery Girl sighed. "He's not very wounded- his scales protected him from most of the damage- but he's utterly exhausted. There's no way to know if he's up to continue until he wakes up. And no, I don't know when that will be."
Ryukyu stroked her chin a couple times then glanced over at Mina with a raised eyebrow. She beckoned the pink girl over and whispered something in her ear, causing Mina's eyes to widen slightly, then narrow as she grew a small smirk.
Mina nodded and moved over to the head of Deku's bed. She leaned in and touched his face gently before whispering something into his ear and planting a small kiss on his cheek.
There was a pregnant pause in the room, each pair of eyes looking expectantly at the unconscious man and his girlfriend.
After several seconds, a low noise escaped Deku's throat and his head shifted a little on his pillow. He groaned much like Ochako had earlier as he opened his eyes.
He looked around, locking eyes with Mina above him. A small smile grew on his face, but Ochako noticed the absence of the barely-perceptible glow that was always there when he talked to Mina or her. Was his quirk that tired?
"Hey, everyone," he said finally. "How long was I out?"
"An hour," his mother answered.
He leaned back and closed his eyes again. "Crap…" His eyes opened back up. "Have I been disqualified?"
Stormclaw chuckled. "No," he said simply.
Deku exhaled. "Alright, good." He sat up in bed and kicked his legs over the side. "Let's get to it, then."
"Woah, woah, there," Ryukyu shot back, placing a hand on his chest. "You just woke up, slow down."
Inko leaned closer. "Izuku… how are you feeling?"
"I'm fine," Deku answered.
"Don't lie to your mother," Inko deadpanned, causing Deku to flinch.
"Okay, maybe I'm a little tired," he muttered, averting his gaze.
"Make a claw."
Deku looked up to Bakugou, who was glaring at him. "What?"
"Make. A claw," Bakugou repeated.
Deku looked down at his hand and furrowed his brow. Ochako saw a few scales form on his wrist and hand, but he quickly hissed softly and released his quirk. "Yeah, okay no, that's not happening. Feels like I'm straining a pulled muscle."
"Call it," Bakugou snapped, turning to All Might. "He's in no condition to fight."
"That's not your decision!" Deku cried out. "I'm not going to give up." He turned and looked straight at Ochako. "I want to fight."
The determination in his eyes reminded her of why she fell for him. She nodded. "I want to fight, too."
Mina looked back and forth between the two of them with a worried expression on her face. "Are you sure, you two?"
Ochako and Deku nodded simultaneously, staring at each other with fire in their eyes.
All Might laughed boisterously. "How can I refuse?! I'll let Present Mic know that we'll get started in twenty minutes." He saluted with two fingers and left the room, ducking slightly to get through the door.
Inko leaned over and hugged her son. "If you're sure…"
"I am," Deku affirmed.
Stormclaw stood up with an affectionate, fatherly smile on his face as he ruffled Deku's hair. "I can't say I approve, but I can't say I'm surprised, either. We'll leave you to get ready. Make us proud, Son."
Deku nodded slowly. "I will."
The three other adults filtered out, leaving just the five students and Recovery Girl. Deku finally stood up, wobbling slightly at Bakugou moved to steady him. He got his footing and rolled his neck before flexing his arms and legs, stretching himself. "I'm alright, I'm alright."
Bakugou shook his head as he backed up. "Come on, we'll get you stretched out properly in the waiting room."
Deku nodded, turning and following his friend out of the room. At the door, he turned around and stared straight at Ochako. He didn't say anything, but his passionate expression told her everything. If she wanted to win, she would have to take it from him.
She felt the fire within her burn a little brighter. She clenched her fist and glared back at him, nodding to tell him that she understood.
Deku thanked Recovery Girl and left, the door closing behind him.
Ochako swung her legs over the bed and stood up herself, looking at Mina and Momo, silently asking them to accompany her to her own waiting room. They nodded and followed her out as she too thanked Recovery Girl for taking care of her.
The three women were silent as they walked through the tunnels of the stadium. Present Mic's voice echoed around them, hyping the crowd up for the grand finals.
Ochako hoped she wouldn't disappoint them, but she wasn't sure what she could do. She was exhausted and wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight, even if she could squeeze her quirk for more today. She hoped Deku was more exhausted than she was: that was her only real hope.
Or was it? Her fight with Bakugou… it had proved some things to her. Nobody would have picked her to beat him, but she had done it anyway. Sure, she had gotten lucky in some ways, but in others… that was all her.
For the first time in her life, she was grateful that she had grown so tall. If Ochako had been even an inch shorter, she wouldn't have been able to reach him with her final, desperate gambit.
So, maybe she could beat Deku. Maybe if she tried hard enough, she could beat him in her ragged state. She would have to come up with something… or maybe just think on her feet. If it came down to a brawl, she would be in the same situation as she was in against Bakugou; there was just no way she could win in a straight up fight with a man who had a decade of formal training on her.
No… she would need to think of something.
Whatever happened, she would give her all. Anything else would disrespect not only herself, but also her loved ones; that included Deku.
Izuku was exhausted. There was no getting around that.
His quirk was dormant, sleeping in the back of his mind. He felt a little annoyed that his quirk got to nap while he had a fight ahead of him. A large part of him wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep for approximately a decade, but the part of him that was in the pilot's seat was determined to press on.
"Hey," Izuku began, "you're not upset you lost, are you?"
Katsuki huffed. "Nah. Of course I wanted to win, but I gave it my all and I came up short. Simple as that. Your girlfriend is no joke."
"Yeah, she is, isn't she?" Izuku agreed, sighing happily.
"Besides, it would be boring if I was already the best one here," Katsuki said flatly. "I lost, but that just means I have more to learn, more to improve on. We're here for four years and we've barely begun." He pounded his fist into his palm, letting off a small puff of smoke. "Next year will be a different story."
"That's a good way to look at it," Izuku noted approvingly. "Who knows what you'll be capable of next year. Also, they probably only put us up against each other in a simple one-versus-one fight because we're first years. We aren't familiar with all of our classmates' quirks yet. Who knows what they'll have us do next year."
Katsuki nodded. "Remember that foam sword fight they had?"
Izuku laughed, although less so than he normally would have, due to his exhausted state. "Yeah…"
They walked in silence the rest of the way to the waiting room. Once there, Katsuki helped Izuku stretch out, like he had thousands of times before. Afterwards, he still felt stiff and slow, due to overexertion of his quirk in the previous match; quirks were physical abilities at the end of the day, of which Katsuki was quick to remind him. He may not be injured, but he was beat to hell in other ways.
"So," Katsuki began, breaking the silence, "what's your plan?"
Izuku looked down. "I'm not sure."
"Bullshit, you always have a plan."
"You know that's not true," Izuku countered. "I fly by the seat of my pants more often than not."
"Yeah," Katsuki admitted. "You move before your brain does sometimes. But you know what I meant. When you know something's coming, you always have a plan."
Izuku nodded. "I guess I'm just gonna go out there and fight her while avoiding her hands. I have to assume she can still use her quirk and I'm too beat to use mine."
He wasn't lying. He really didn't have a better plan than that. Perhaps it was because he was almost too tired to think, or maybe he just didn't see any options other than 'don't let her touch you'. His quirk being asleep wasn't doing him any favors. One thing was certain, however: whatever happened, he would give his all. Anything else would disrespect not only himself, but also her loved ones; that included Ochako.
"You wouldn't be in this state if you hadn't gone overboard against Icyhot," Katsuki growled.
"I know, but I had to," Izuku explained weakly. "I had to get through to him. And once I did, how could I hold back if he wasn't?"
Katsuki glared at him for a few moments and then suddenly swung his fist at him, stopping an inch in front of his face. Izuku lurched back, much too slowly to actually avoid it if Katsuki had meant to hit him.
"You're slow," he observed. "You're a dumbass for trying to fight when you're in this state."
"Like you'd do anything different," Izuku responded, heading for the door as the signal was given for him to enter the stadium.
Katsuki smirked. "I didn't say that I didn't approve, Deku."
Izuku smiled back and chuckled as he closed the door and headed into the stadium. As he walked, he looked down at his hand and formed a single green scale.
'You know what? I think I finally know what to call you.'
Izuku stared at Ochako from across the arena. Both were already panting slightly, a mixture of adrenaline combined with the strain both of them were undertaking to keep pushing forward. He felt like he did after one of Hadou's endurance training courses, but normally, he got to rest when he felt this beat up.
Ochako looked like she was handling it better, but no matter how you looked at it, this wasn't going to be a graceful display by either combatant.
Izuku didn't even hear All Might declare the beginning of the round, he just saw Ochako start to move towards him.
Unlike the previous rounds, neither of them ran. They both walked slowly and cautiously towards the other, each very aware how dangerous the other was. In one touch, she could potentially end this, while if he got a good hit in, he could knock her out. No way around it, he was physically stronger than Ochako thanks to his years of training.
They moved closer until they were about six feet away from each other, then they began to pace slowly. Both of them had passion burning in their eyes, even as their bodies groaned in protest.
Izuku would normally be content to let Ochako make the first move, but he didn't know if he could play the long game. He could probably counter her, but Katsuki was right, he was slow right now.
He stepped forward and took a swing. It was small and controlled, allowing him to pull it back when he saw her lunge for his arm with her open hand. She missed by a mile, but he got confirmation that yes, she could still use her quirk.
Unless it was a bluff, of course. However, he couldn't afford to take that chance.
He jabbed again, causing Ochako to swing at his arm again. This time, as he pulled his arm back nearly instantly and swung with his other, catching her in her exposed ribs.
He let out a sigh of relief as he felt solid contact. Hopefully, she would fall over and they would be done with it.
She stumbled back, away from the hit, but kept her balance. He raised an eyebrow as she settled back in, ready to continue the fight. Maybe she wasn't as exhausted as he thought she was.
He stepped forward, ready to strike again. As he swung, he saw her weight shift.
She was going for a kick.
He moved to block, but his damned body was too sluggish. Her right leg slammed into his left side, causing him to stumble back like she had. The contact was much more solid than he expected.
In the back of his mind, he felt his quirk stir the smallest amount. Damn, she made him proud.
He panted as he resumed his slow, circling dance with Ochako. "That was a good kick," he observed. "When did you learn how to do that?"
She smirked weakly. "Iida taught me. Gave me some pointers when we got paired up last week."
Izuku narrowed his eyes slightly; Hell Week had done more to improve her than it had him. Then again, it's a lot easier to improve when you're a novice. She had a lot to learn and had done her best to absorb what she could. While he had done the same, it wasn't to the degree that she had.
He stepped forward again, more cautiously this time. Her leg swung forward again, but this time he was ready. He blocked it, albeit with greater difficulty than he normally would have, and drove his fist into her thigh, knocking her off balance and causing her to collapse to her knees.
Izuku dashed forward to press his advantage, but jumped back as she swiped at him with her left hand. It was frustrating; he had the advantage of strength and training, but with her quirk, he couldn't leverage it very well at all. It didn't help that she had learned how to use the superior reach her longer legs gave her, even if it was still relatively rudimentary.
Ochako pulled herself back to her feet, grimacing at the bruise he had likely put on her leg. Izuku glared at her, trying to think.
He just had to keep trying. Eventually, she would give him an opening. She couldn't keep up her defense forever.
She seemed to have the same thought, as she suddenly went on the offensive. She stepped forward this time, kicking with her left leg. As Izuku blocked it, she pulled back and put her back into a lunge with her right hand.
He barely dodged out of the way; Ochako was able to put three of her fingers on him due to his slowed reflexes before he pulled away. His sloppy, sluggish footwork meant that he didn't have the footing to dodge a second time when she turned her momentum into another kick. She drove her heel into his gut, knocking him down to the ground.
She moved in to continue her assault, but he wasn't about to let that happen. As soon as she stepped into range, he slammed his shin into her ankles, locking her up and tripping her.
Ochako hit the ground hard as Izuku rolled away and slowly scrambled to his feet.
"Stay down," he ordered as he caught his breath while she groaned on the ground.
She glared at him as she managed to stand back up. "Not until I've won."
Izuku bared one of his fangs in a snarl and dashed forward- or at least as fast as he could will his legs to move at present- as she steadied herself yet again. She lunged her right hand toward him, but he shot under her grip and grabbed her wrist with his left hand. He reached out and did the same with his right, holding both of her arms out wide and keeping her fingers away from him.
They stared at each other for a moment before he pulled hard on his quirk, willing the energy to pool inside his chest. Izuku inhaled deeply, causing Ochako's eyes to widen.
He exhaled, but only a small puff of faint green gas came out before he sputtered and began to cough. His quirk screeched in protest in his mind as the rest of his body felt like it had caught on fire.
Ochako coughed once as the gas hit her in the face, but as Izuku recovered from his botched attempt at using his quirk, she did something that surprised him.
She threw her head back and slammed it forward, driving her forehead into his face.
Izuku stumbled backwards, his hands automatically moving to his face to try and hold in the pain.
The two of them stood still for a few moments, each of them recovering from their attack, as Ochako herself was rubbing her forehead.
Izuku pulled his hands away slowly, feeling the green blood dripping down his face from his nose. It wasn't broken, but that had really hurt.
If the crowd was cheering, Izuku didn't hear it. Nothing existed outside of him and Ochako. Whoever stayed standing was going to be the champion and he… he really wanted that prize.
He moved towards her as they both dropped into their battle stances again.
She tried to feint a kick again, but Izuku blocked it and caught her in the stomach with a low punch, hitting her hard enough and retreating quickly enough to avoid her clumsy swipes.
Ochako's eyes widened as she leaned over slightly and heaved, but she managed to keep her stomach's contents where they belonged for now. She spat to the side as she leveled her glare at him again.
Izuku was watching her fingers closely when a thought crossed his mind.
He ran through his experience with her quirk. The way she held the ball at the quirk assessment test, the way she always ate her meals with one pinky extended out- an adorable habit, if you asked him- and the way she wore mittens to bed…
Her quirk activation was involuntary. That gave him an idea.
Izuku could take her trump card out of the game if he forced her to touch something with all five fingers.
He stepped forward, faking a punch so she swiped at him again, trying to find contact. Instead of avoiding it entirely, he went under it, grabbing her by the wrist again and pulling it across her body.
Izuku twisted her around and drove his right hand into her side, causing her to cry out in pain. He followed up with a food to the back of her leg, driving her to the ground as her knees gave out.
The combination of attacks caused his vision to unfocus for a moment from the strain, but he kept at it.
Izuku reached forward and grabbed her right hand while he stepped on her left wrist. He pushed down, forcing her fingers to splay as he pressed them into the ground.
Ochako screamed in pain as her quirk activated, pulling mass out of the ground.
He let his guard down for a moment as his willpower temporarily failed.
Which in hindsight, was a mistake.
Even through her pain, she twisted her hips and kicked her leg back, catching him in the shin with her right foot.
He jerked back as fast as he could, but it wasn't fast enough. Ochako screamed again through grit teeth as he felt his body growing heavier for the second before he could break contact.
Izuku stepped backward, away from the woman on the ground as he tried to cope with the new mass in his body. It wasn't much, but he could definitely feel it. He was sluggish before, he hated to think how hard it would be to move now.
Ochako dragged herself to her feet again, tears leaking from her eyes from the pain he had put her through. She touched her arm with her hand, renewing her anguish as she pushed the weight he had forced her to gain out of her body.
"They're… really going at it," Kaminari muttered.
Sero rubbed his chin. "They're both almost quirkless right now, huh? They're just beating the hell out of each other."
"It's kinda hard to watch," Mineta added. "They're not holding back at all."
Eiko stood up, putting a hand to her chest. "Of course not!" she declared. "They're both giving it their all! Anything less would be an insult to their opponent! That, my fellow classmates, is chivalry! No regrets!"
"How… are you still standing?" Deku asked, gasping for breath.
"You can thank… Eiko. That girl knows how to endure pain." Ochako was standing, yes, but she didn't know how much longer that was going to be the case. She didn't know what was keeping her going, but she hoped it stuck around.
She didn't think she could feel her legs right now. Maybe she just didn't have the mental bandwidth at the moment.
"I won't lose," he shot back, spitting green blood out of his mouth.
Ochako grimaced, taking a deep breath. "I won't give you a choice."
She saw a smallest of smiles creep onto his face and she realized she was smiling a little as well.
Deku moved forward, slower than he had before. She had only managed to put a little bit of weight into him, but anything would give her a better chance than nothing.
Ochako stepped back as he swung his fist at her, but she didn't attack back. Even if she could touch him, the thought of enduring that pain again so soon was something she wasn't prepared for. She needed a breather.
But sometimes you don't get those sorts of luxuries.
Deku swung again, missing wide once more, but closer than before. A third swing came even closer as he pursued her slowly across the arena. They continued their clumsy, graceless dance for what felt like an eternity, but was likely closer to 20 or 30 seconds. Each attack he tried was closer to the mark, and each time she attacked back, he dodged a little easier.
She swiped her right leg at him again, but he blocked it and gave her another bruise on her thigh, sending her to her knees again.
Ochako struggled, but she managed to pull herself up again… somehow. What was keeping her going?
She glared at Deku… and then realized what it was.
"I told you…" she began, causing him to pause. "That I'm going to be the one standing between you and danger next time…" She put all her willpower behind one final stand, one final push. "Which means I have to beat you, Deku. I have to win this if I'm going to be the person who saves you!"
His eyes widened ever-so-slightly.
"So what's keeping me going, you ask?" She grit her teeth. "You are. I'm standing for you, Izuku."
Deku's eyes widened a little further as the smile grew wider on his face. A small spark ignited in his eyes for a moment, that faint, green glow that was so familiar to her.
He moved forward again, rearing his fist back to strike at her.
A thought crossed Ochako's mind as she felt her body scream in pain with every motion.
Deku had gotten used to the weight.
His fist flew forward.
Ochako slammed her fingers together.
The weight that Deku had gotten used to vanished.
He lurched forward, caught off balance.
She lunged to intercept.
She grabbed his right arm with both of her hands, screaming in agony as she pulled on her quirk one more time.
She hadn't felt pain like this since the entrance exam.
The weight drained from him, or at least as much as she could manage without passing out.
But it was enough. The damage was done.
He wasn't as light as she had made Bakugou, but he was close.
Deku was stunned, his face slowly moving up to hers. In his eyes, she expected to see several emotions… surprise, anger, anguish, perhaps even betrayal…
But instead, she only saw affection and a strange, unfamiliar hunger deep within.
The moment between them seemed to last for an eternity.
Deku opened his mouth slowly. "I love you."
The look in his eyes made something in the deep part of her brain burn to life. A surge of confidence poured into her, causing her to smile down on him.
"I know."
Ochako pulled her leg back and drove it into his stomach, sending him soaring out of the arena. She saw him struggle, perhaps trying to form a wing on his back, but he couldn't do it. Deku fell onto the grass, his landing relatively gentle thanks to his lesser mass.
Ochako clapped her fingers together, returning his weight to him as tears of agony poured down her face. That was it. Her quirk was done. If she could use it tomorrow, she would be surprised.
"Ochako Uraraka is your champion!"
With the fight over and her adrenaline crashing out of her system, she suddenly became aware of the rest of the world again. The cheers were deafening, but as she flinched, realization washed over her.
She had done it. She had won.
But she didn't have time to bask in her victory; there was something more important she had to take care of right now.
Every step was agony; all the hits that Deku had landed on her were becoming more and more painful with every breath she took. That didn't stop her as she hurried down to the steps and over to wear Deku was pulling himself up off the ground.
She kneeled down and put a hand on his shoulder, startling him slightly. "I love you too," she whispered.
"I'm…" He looked up at her, tears flowing slowly from his face. "...So proud of you. I knew you could do it."
There wasn't a doubt in her heart that he had given it his all, just like she knew that she herself had given it her all. But even so…
"I feel like I've cheated," she admitted softly. "If you could use your quirk… there's no way I could have won. I had no right to wi-"
"Shhh…" he muttered. "You didn't make me go overboard against Shouto. Remember the first day of class? Today… it was an endurance test, too. I flew through the first and second event, used a transformation I wasn't taught how to use in the second event, then overexerted myself against Shinsou, even if it wasn't my intention. And then after all that, I used my full transformation again. None of that is your fault."
Deku looked up at her, his face wet with tears. "I pushed myself too hard today and I paid the price. You paced yourself better and beat me, fair and square. I have no regrets."
She felt her heart clench as new tears formed in her eyes as well. "Me neither." Ochako pulled him up to his feet, both of them leaning on each other for support as the crowd's cheers renewed, apparently inspired by her act of sportsmanship.
The two of them limped out of the arena together, arms over each other's shoulders.
They walked down the hallway together, Ochako enjoying the contact and the feeling of deep satisfaction slowly growing inside of her, warming her like a cup of hot chocolate.
Something sweet sounded nice right about now.
As the echoes of the crowd faded as they trudged deeper into the stadium, something else was dominating Ochako's mind.
That feeling she had just felt.
"Deku…" she muttered, causing him to look up at her. "That look you gave me when I… when I grabbed you."
The faintest trace of green entered his face. "Oh, u-uh, w-what about it? I'm sorry if it-"
"No." She cut him off.
The two stared at each other for a second as Ochako felt the fire inside return slowly. She felt the desire to do something… but she didn't know if she had the courage.
No, if she wanted to be a hero, she had to be able to act. 'Come on, Ochako, just like you've seen on TV.'
Ochako turned to face him squarely and reached over, grabbing both of his wrists in her hands, making sure to keep her pinkies clear to avoid any further pain.
She lifted his arms up and pushed them back, pressing his back against the wall as she pinned his wrists above his head. His face was growing greener by the second.
"No, Deku," she whispered, her voice deeper and huskier than she knew it could ever be. "I want you to look at me like that more… a lot more. I don't know why… but I do."
He stared at her, his eyes wide as the tiny sparks of his quirk burned like a dying flame before vanishing again.
She felt her mouth dry up slightly; a sensation she was more familiar with.
Ochako leaned in to kiss him… but he moved his head away.
She furrowed her brow, concern filling her mind.
His eyes had that look again. That hungry, desperate look that made her whole body feel like it was heating up, especially in her-
"If you want me to do that…" he whispered. "Then you'll have to make me."
The heat grew stronger.
She moved her face towards his once more, but he pulled away again, evading her even as his back and shoulders remained pinned to the wall. If he wanted to, he could have easily escaped her grip, but he didn't.
Again Ochako tried, but again Deku turned aside, avoiding her lips.
Incensed, she released on of his hands and grabbed his jaw firmly, holding him still as her lips finally found their target.
Lighting shot through her body as he melted into her. She slowly moved her hand from his face, returning it to his wrist to keep him pressed up against the wall. Ochako shifted forward, pushing her body fully against his as she drove her tongue into his mouth.
This was unlike anything she had ever experienced. The pain her body felt was utterly overwhelmed by the absolute ecstasy that was flooding every corner of her mind. Deku pushed back softly, trying to eliminate any space that still remained between them as he fought her for every inch her tongue tried to take in his mouth.
The power she held over him was intoxicating. His tongue resisted her advances, his arms struggled weakly in her grips, his body tried to push hers away slightly, but at the same time, his lips were locked with hers as tightly as he could manage. He wasn't trying to resist, he wasn't trying to stop her… he was just reminding her that she was in control right now. She felt one of his legs was wrap around one of hers to pull her closer, and heard a primal, needy noise rumble up from his throat.
Those noises were because of her. She was causing him to feel that way.
Even if it wasn't intentional, he was doing everything he could to rile her up… and oh, it was working.
After a good thirty seconds, she pulled back, both of them panting as saliva continued to connect their mouths through thin strands. A part of her didn't want to stop there; it urged her to continue, demanded it, but she pushed it down. She had already been far more bold than she had ever imagined herself to be.
"Ochako…" was all Deku could say, his voice full of that same desire she saw in his eyes. His face was greener than she had seen in a long time.
"Izuku," she responded. Ochako was positive her own face was red enough to compete with Eiko's hair.
They stared into each other's eyes for what felt like years. She saw emotion after emotion race through his mind before he finally settled on just staring at her like she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Such was the affection looking up at her that an unbidden thought crossed her mind.
'Is this how he'll look at me on our wedding day?'
She screamed internally as she tried to wrangle her disobedient mind, but before her face could turn any redder, a sudden hiss from a nearby pipe broke their enraptured trance.
"We… we should go to Recovery Girl," he muttered as she quickly let go of his hands and stepped away from him, both of them averting their gaze.
"R-right." Her face felt like it was about to catch on fire.
Toshinori waved and laughed as the crowd cheered loudly, ready for the award ceremony to start. The other contestants were gathered around in a group as the podium began to rise from underground amidst fanfares and cheers.
Standing on the third place podium were Young Todoroki and Young Bakugou. Toshinori had known those two were going to finish well, but he wasn't expecting for neither of them to make it to the grand finals. It just went to show you how much potential 1-A had this year.
On the second place podium, Young Midoriya stood, covered in white bandages now that he didn't need to fight any longer.
Between the three students was the first place podium, where Young Uraraka stood tall above the rest. She too was covered in bandages, but they didn't dull her smile.
He chuckled to himself; Toshinori recognized those exceptionally tight wrappings as the product of a very irritated Recovery Girl. He had been on the other end of her aggravated speeches to guess the riot act she had read to the two young students.
"Without further ado, let's get to it!" he yelled, taking a bronze medal from Midnight, who was standing near him.
He approached Young Todoroki first. "You used your fire," he observed.
The young man nodded slowly. "Some things I thought were true turned out to be anything but," he explained. "I have a lot to think about." He looked down, avoiding Toshinori's gaze.
He leaned down, placing the medal around his neck and then giving the student a large hug. "Do what you need to do. Congratulations."
He took a second medal and turned to Young Bakugou. "You showed impressive drive, young man. I'll admit I thought I had you pegged pretty well, but you surprised me several times today." He leaned down and placed the medal on his neck. "Congratulations."
Young Bakugou clicked his tongue and looked away, doing a relatively poor job at hiding his smile. "Yeah, whatever. Thanks, I guess," he muttered as Toshinori wrapped him in a hug as well.
He stepped to the far podium and retrieved the silver medal from Midnight. "Young Midoriya," he began with a chuckle. "Your father scolded me severely for not stopping you in your fight against Young Todoroki."
The boy's eyes went wide. "Oh! Uh, I'm sorry, I just-"
Toshinori laughed loudly. "No need to apologize! I understand." He placed the medal on his neck and leaned in for a hug. "Congratulations."
He held the hug a little longer as he whispered. "You have done a remarkable job with your family 'gift', young man. I knew you could do it."
Toshinori pulled back as Young Midoriya stared at him with tears beginning to leak from his eyes. "Oh, and don't worry. Your father's chastisement was mostly the worries of a father. It lacked much real bite."
He moved to the center podium as his heart swelled with even more pride. He took the gold medal and looked into Young Uraraka's big, joy-filled eyes. "You did it," he said simply.
She nodded as some tears welled in her eyes. "I did it."
He smiled widely at her. "When you talked to me in that hospital, you spoke to me as someone with conviction… and today you proved that your heart could back up those words." He placed the gold medal around her neck and leaned in for a hug. "I'm so proud of you. Keep true to what you believe in and you'll do great things one day. We can teach you a lot here at UA, but you are born with your heart."
He stepped back and looked between the four of them. "You'll all make great heroes one day." He turned to the students behind him, gesturing widely. "All of you will! I'd like to thank you all for an absolutely fantastic festival! Your performances ensured that today will go down as one of the all-time great Sports Festivals! Let's give it up one more time for not only our finalists, but all of our contestants here today! Say it with me, folks!"
"PLUS ULTRA!"
After the award ceremony, Midori invited Ochako and Mina to have dinner with his family, which he said included Bakugou by default. He invited Momo too, but she politely declined.
Mina asked where Bakugou's parents were, and was informed that they were overseas on a business trip. 'Didn't stop the old hag from screaming my ear off between matches over the phone,' he had remarked. Mina could tell by the way his face softened slightly that his hostility towards his parents was just an act.
Stormclaw took them out to a fairly nice place and, of course, insisted on paying for everything. Ochako barely had the energy to attempt any sort of refusal, so instead she just accepted his generosity gratefully.
Mina sat between Ochako and Midori on the car ride to and from the restaurant, while Bakugou rode in the front; both ways, they both fell asleep on her, each with a head resting on her shoulder. It was nice how something so simple made her feel so wanted.
When Stormclaw dropped the four of them off at the dorms, Bakugou and Mina had to basically carry the other two inside. They rode the elevator to the second floor and dropped Midori off at his room, then rode up to the fourth where the rest of them lived. After grabbing their shower supplies and a change of clothes, they each returned to the ground floor and enjoyed a nice, warm, relaxing, well-deserved shower.
Their showers were silent, nobody really having the energy to speak, but Mina smiled at the look of slight disbelief that was stuck on Ochako's face. She gave Ochako a big hug as they left the showers, letting the poor woman lean on her slightly to help keep her on her feet for as long as possible.
All four of them took the elevator to the fourth floor again and, after saying goodnight to Bakugou, the three of them headed for Ochako's room, at Mina's insistence. Neither Ochako or Midori were in much of a state to argue. She pulled Ochako's plain green covers back and wordlessly nudged the brunette into her bed, then hopped over her, nuzzling herself into Ochako's left while Midori collapsed onto Ochako's right.
"Goodnight," Mina whispered as she pulled the covers up. "I love you both."
The other two mumbled back a rough approximation of 'love you too' before both of their eyes closed. Even asleep, Midori seemed to instinctually snuggle up onto Ochako, nuzzling himself into her neck.
Mina's eyes closed not long after.
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Smut has arrived. Continue at your own risk.
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
A/N: Except... no it hasn't. If you want to read the following scene, or any lewd scene in the future, you're going to have to do it on AO3.
This website has a rule against posting explicit scenes and, after being forced to take down my first and most popular work, I'm not keen to break any other rules.
'But Titus, they don't enforce those rules!'
I know.
'But Titus, there are plenty of other explicit works on this site!'
I know.
I am aware nothing would likely happen, but I'm still not going to do it. Please don't waste your energy in the comments complaining or yelling at me. You're not going to change my mind. If you want to read it that badly, go read it on AO3.
That being said, the story is still entirely coherent without any of the lewds, so don't worry about it too much if using a different fanfiction site is outside the realm of what you're willing to do.
I hope you enjoyed the rest of the chapter.