"I am so happy to be out of that ridiculous uniform!" Momo breathed gratefully as she relaxed into her seat. The girls of 1-A had quickly returned to their class's private booth, after changing back into their UA tracksuits, much to the disappointment of Denki and Mineta.
"Did you at least keep them?!" The pervy grapefruit demanded in outrage.
"No, we threw them into a trashcan, where Mina melted them down into nothing." Jiro spat back, enjoying the sight of the two pervs of 1-A falling to their knees and weeping.
"Are you feeling any better, Itsuka?" Ochako asked her redheaded friend by her side.
"I am...thanks, Ochako." The big sister of the class smiled thoughtfully at the rosy-cheeked girl.
"I can't believe that gloomy weirdo would say all those horrible things about you!" Toru, the invisible girl, fumed as she shook her ghostly hands in rage. "I mean, seriously! I know we're fighting each other and everything, but you don't have to go that far!"
From the highest spot in the bleachers, the resident hothead scoffed for all to hear. "Why am I not surprised that a bunch of extras like you are getting so bent out of shape over being called a few bad names? You're gonna need to grow some thicker skin if you wanna survive."
"Knock it off, Bakugo!" Mina, the pink-skinned acid girl, snapped back. "We're not in the mood for your attitude!"
For some odd reason, Bakugo took offence to that, as he did with almost everything that came out of the rest of his class's mouth. "Hey! It's not my fault you're all too soft to take some criticism! If you can't handle it now, how do you expect to take it when you become heroes in the future?!"
As much as the rest of the class didn't want to agree with the bomb boy, he had a point. Ridicule and badmouthing from the public were some of the few downsides to being a hero. But that didn't mean that it didn't have its effects.
It was a genuine surprise to hear some wisdom come out of the class hothead's mouth instead of an insult. Perhaps it was Bakugo's way of offering some support...
"Not that any of you losers are gonna be heroes, anyway! I'm gonna blow you all you extras away!"
The class stood corrected.
"Would Shoto Todoroki and Hanta Sero, please make their way to the arena." A robotic, feminine voice came over the comms of the booth.
"Welp! guess it's my time to shine!" Sero, the tape elbow boy, jokingly announced as he stood from his seat. The scarred boy did the same wordlessly, following his opponent out of the bleachers, toward the ring.
As the rest of the class watched them go and wished them luck, Ochako felt a pair of eyes on her. Looking up, she saw that Bakugo was staring right at her. A chill ran down her spine as the bomb boy bared his teeth in a feral grin.
The gravity girl paled under the malicious boy's gaze. she then quickly scrambled out of her seat and stood up straight, drawing everyone's attention. "I-I know! How's about I go get everybody some drinks?!"
The girl didn't give anyone any time to answer as she beelined for the way out. Bakugo chuckled to himself when it was his turn to feel someone glaring at him. He turned his attention to the redheaded big-hand girl, who was shooting the hothead the dirtiest look she could.
The bomb boy ignored her as he turned back to wait for the next upcoming match. Out of all the weaklings in his class, the rosy-cheeked round-faced girl was the easiest to throw a scare into. It reminded him of all the times he put that useless 'Deku' in his place.
Katsuki could only imagine where that simpering little crybaby had run off to. The bomb boy smirked to himself. He was more than likely getting beat down in an alley somewhere, for being the worthless little nobody he was...
Shinzo did not like the look the green hooded boy was giving him at the other end of the hall. The fact that he wasn't saying anything only made him more nervous. "So...is there something I can do for you?"
The stranger refused to say anything, his emerald eyes almost gleaming at the brainwasher in the secluded dark corridor. Shinzo had been in situations like these too many times to count, all account of his quirk. And like all those times before, the brainwasher knew that he was going to have to rely on underhanded methods to get out of this.
"I saw you with those 1-A girls just now... Guessing you must be close to one or two of them?" The purple-haired boy instigated as he leaned on the soda machine casually.
The stranger continued to stay silent as Shinzo cracked his can open and took a sip.
"You know, if you're here to defend their honour or something, I get it. What I said back there was pretty nasty." The purple-haired boy sloshed the can around in his hand before taking another swig.
The stranger kept quiet as Shinzo let out a satisfied sigh after his fizz, closing his eyes with comfortable content. "But then again..."
He then shot the stranger with a piercing glare and a confident sneer.
"She was practically asking for it. I mean, did you see what she was wearing?"
Nothing.
The green hooded boy showed no signs of reaction, let alone a verbal retort at Shinzo's insult.
The brainwasher felt his stomach drop. As much as the purple-haired boy hated his quirk, he could at least rely on it to help him get out of tight situations such as this. However, it wouldn't be of much use if the one he was trying to use it on didn't say anything.
There was a good chance that the monkey boy of 1-A he hypnotized in the cavalry battle told the rest of his class about how his quirk worked. If that happened, then one of the 1-A girls might have told this guy the same thing. It was starting to look that way for the brainwasher, and that meant he was in some serious trouble.
His worries were proven right when the green hooded boy started walking toward him.
"W-What are you doing?" Shinzo cursed the stutter in his voice as the boy approached him.
The stranger still refused to answer as stalked closer and closer to the petrified purple-haired child.
"D-Don't you have to get back to those 1-A hussies?!" The brainwasher attempted one last desperate goad, only for his words to fall again on deaf ears.
"S-Stay away from me!" Shinzo demanded fretfully as he threw his can at the assailant.
The green hooded boy swatted the can out of the air with ease, sending it clattering to the floor. As the can's fluids began to spill out, Shinzo found himself backing up till he hit the soda machine behind him.
Realizing he was now trapped, Shinzo looked back to see the green hooded boy inching ever closer to him. Paralyzed with fear, the purple-haired boy could do nothing but watch the intimidating dark figure approach him, and reach his hand out.
The brainwasher threw his hands up in desperate defence, shutting his eyes tight and letting out a small cry of panic as the attacker's hand inched toward him...
Only to hear a metallic click.
Shinzo cracked an eye open, seeing that the green hooded boy had placed a coin inside the soda machine and pressed a few buttons. A can fell into the waiting bin, and the boy reached down and took his newly acquired drink.
"What you said to that girl must have been pretty nasty," Deku detailed as he stepped back and cracked his can open. "But then again... it's probably the only way to get your quirk to work on others, right?"
Shinzo's fear was suddenly replaced with confusion about what the other was saying.
The green hooded boy took a sip before speaking once again. "No one wants to be the bad guy, even if the world wants them to."
The brainwasher was too weirded out by the stranger's attitude. And yet, the odd boy's words radiate with him a little.
"Usagi?"
The two boys looked to the other end of the hall, spotting the rosy-cheeked girl from before. Deku was silently grateful that the girl had changed out of that skimpy cheerleader outfit and into a UA tracksuit.
Ochako approached the two with a quizzical look. "What're you doing here?"
"Oh! I-I was just getting a drink, a-and I ran into him on the way here." The villain in disguise explained anxiously as he showed her his can, Shinzo surprised by the sudden change in the boy's demeanour.
The chestnut-haired girl then turned to face the brainwasher, a small scowl appearing on his face. Shinzo looked between the two before figuring it was best to get out of there. The purple-haired boy walked down the hallway. passing by Ochako and giving Deku one last cautious look before turning down the corner and left, having enough weirdness for one day.
"What the heck is his problem?" The chestnut-haired girl fumed with puffed up cheeks, making her look like a cute chipmunk in Deku's eyes.
"I-I guess he's just not good with people." The green hooded boy suspected. "I can relate to that."
Ochako was surprised to hear that from the brainwasher but was fearful of saying anything to him. She couldn't help the pit of guilt in her stomach that appeared when the boy immediately left, leaving her alone with the masked boy in the hall.
Silence fell between them until Ochako remembered what she was here for. "Oh! Um...I was gonna get my class some sodas. You want another one?"
Deku was surprised that a girl was offering to get him something. Izuku would have blushed up a storm and told the girl not to bother. But Deku wasn't about to let a kind gesture pass him by. "Uh, yeah. That'd be nice."
Ochako started sticking coin after coin into the soda machine. The young villain was surprised at how much money she was putting in. H decided to not let the girl waste her whole wallet and stepped in. "Let me pay for the rest."
"O-Oh, no! you don't have to!" The gravity girl was cut off when the boy produced a handful of notes from his pocket, sliding them into the machine one after another.
The rosy-cheeked girl was astonished to meet a boy with so much money and voiced it out loud. "Where did you get all that?"
"...Part-time jobs." The green hooded boy answered casually. It wasn't like he was lying.
A few seconds later, an avalanche of fizzy drinks came tumbling down the machine, falling into the open cabinet at the bottom. While Deku leaned down to start pulling out the cans, Ochako leaned on the wall behind her as she watched him.
She then realised that, once she got all those cans, she would have to lug them all back to the bleachers...where Bakugo was waiting. Not wanting to feel the blasting boy's hateful glare on her so soon, she decided to try and make conversation with the VIP. "So...you said you were here with your Aunt and Uncle, right?"
"Y-Yeah, that's right," Deku answered back, cursing his lack of interactions with the opposite sex. "T-They knew how much I loved the sports festival and got me a VIP pass. I owe them a lot for doing this."
He did, honestly. Gentle and La Brava were two of the only people to welcome him as, what he hoped, a friend. He was grateful to Razor and his pals, but the dynamic duo just seemed to light up his life with how bombastic and lively they were.
"That's nice..." Ochako smiled as she tried to find another subject to talk about, still not wanting to go back.
As silence came upon them again, Deku decided to try and spark a conversation himself. "So...are your parents here?"
"No." The gravity girl shook her head sadly. "My parents live outside of the city and don't have the money to make the trip."
"Oh...I'm sorry." The freckled boy sunk his head, feeling guilty for asking.
"That's okay. They're probably watching from back home, cheering me on and causing a ruckus for the neighbours." The rosy-cheeked girl giggled.
Deku became affected by her laughter as well. Never had he had such a positive experience with a girl before? All the girls at his old school either ignored him, called him names, or laughed along with the rest of the class as Bakugo laid into him.
If only he and this sweet, kind, beautiful girl could have gone to the same school together. Maybe things would have been different.
Maybe...if only...
"So, um...Ochako, right? If you don't me asking, what made you want to be a hero?" Deku inquired as he stood up and handed the girl a soda.
Ochako took it and pulled it open. "Well...I'm honestly doing it for the money."
"...Oh." Deku was not expecting an answer like that from the seemingly sweet girl. Many heroes only put on a cape and mask for the fame and fortune that came with it, with protecting the public and stopping crime coming second. It was hard to imagine such an innocent person like her becoming a hero for such selfish reasons.
"I know it sounds selfish, but it's mostly for my parents." The rosy-cheeked girl went on, making Deku second guess his thoughts on her.
"My Mom and Dad own a construction company, but...it's been pretty hard for them. They work so hard, and seeing them so tired all the time...it just..." She stopped for a moment as she gripped the can in her hands. "I wanna become a hero so that I can make enough money to give my parents the life they deserve. They helped me get into UA, so I have to do everything I can to help them!"
The gravity girl realised how passionate she'd become. She looked over to the boy, who was smiling at her and immediately blushed up a storm. "Sorry...I guess I got a little carried away."
"No, no, it's okay!" The young villain laughed as he put her at ease. "It's great that you're so passionate about being a hero. And I think it's great what you're trying to do for your parents." The Quirkless boy beamed brightly. "And I think you're gonna make an amazing hero. Consider me your first fan!"
It was so strange to Ururaka, how calming and enjoyable it was to talk to this complete and utter stranger. She hadn't felt this at ease in a long while, ever since she entered UA. The blush on her cheeks rose as she couldn't help the shy little smile on her face. "Thanks..."
As soon as she finished speaking, the entire stadium shook.
Ochako dropped her drink as she fell to the floor from the sudden quake. "W-What the heck was that?!"
Deku balanced himself on the wall to his side. "I don't know! I think it came from outside!"
The gravity girl picked herself up and followed the boy out toward a secluded space between the class's private booths. When they caught sight of the source of what caused the entire stadium to shake, it took their breath away.
An enormous glacier of ice, which took up a quarter of the whole arena, and threatened to spill over the skyline of the structure itself.
Deku and Ochako looked to the origin of the colossal iceberg. They saw Shoto Todoroki, with the left half of his body covered in jagged frost, and Hanta Sero, his unfortunate opponent, trapped in the frozen rock before him.
Midnight, who had also caught a little of the instantaneous attack, asked if Sero could move, to which the human tape-dispenser responded with a teeth-chattering no. The whole audience was in awe of the spectacle, as the R-Rated heroine declared Shoto the victor.
"Holy cow...!" Ochako exclaimed when she finally found her voice again.
Deku was too caught up in looking at Shoto to hear the gravity girl. His astonishment was elevated when he saw the ice wielder approached his trapped opponent, and begin melting his icy prison with his right hand.
As the steam rose into the air and the frozen rock began to melt, Deku was presented with an almost unbelievable realization.
Shoto Todoroki didn't possess one quirk...he had two.
"Daaaaaaannnnnnggggg!" Denki Kaminari, the blonde electric boy gaped at the giant glacier protruding out of the skyline of the stadium. "No wonder Shoto handled so many of those villains back then all by himself! Guy's a living blizzard!"
"More like an ice king." Kyoka Jiro, the punk rock ear jack girl, placed a finger on one of the jagged edges of the glacier and immediately recoiled at its freezing texture. "And I thought his cold shoulder was the most devastating thing about him."
Soon enough, the resident introvert stalked his way back into the 1-A booth. No one dared to say anything as the red-and-white haired boy took his seat, his eyes closed passively and his arms folded. Most of the students stared at him in awe, while Bakugo shot the scarred boy a scathing look.
"I say, that was quite the incredible feat, my 1-A adversary!"
All heads turned to see a cocky looking blonde boy hanging over the top of the dividing wall between the 1-A and 1-B class booths. Itsuka frowned at the sight of the boy, having a pretty good idea of what he was about to say next. "Go away, Monoma. No one's in the mood."
"Oh, Itsuka, you wound me!" The blonde boy mocked hurt with a smirk. "I just wanted to shower my praise upon the victor that he so rightfully deserves. That was a grand display of power, my friend. Your parents must be so proud!"
Shoto showed the barest of a reaction as he gripped his arm.
Monoma noticed his slight change in temper and decided to add more fuel to the fire. "However, it begs the question. If you are capable of such strength with your quirk, why weren't you able to use it to its highest potential when you came under attack at the USJ?"
All of class 1-A's faces dropped at the query. Shoto's eyes narrowed dangerously at the smug blonde, who showed his pride in his successful jab by erupting into forced, superior laughter.
"It's such a shame that you weren't able to stop all of those villains who came after you! You even let one of them get ahold of your precious classmate and hold him hostage so he could get away! But it's nothing to beat yourselves up over! The Green Rabbit can thwart even the most experienced of pro heroes! So, handling a bunch of privileged, barely trained students like you could be seen as mere child's play to the like of hi-!"
Monoma's psychotic rant was cut short when Itsuka flicked a giant finger in his face, launching off the wall and falling back into his seat. She gave a tired sigh as she turned back to her classmates. "Sorry about him. He has a crippling inferiority complex. It mostly revolves around his quirk."
"My quirk is astounding~!" The blonde boy declared dizzily as he shot his finger into the air, only for it to slump back down as he passed out.
"He does have a point, ribbit." Tsuyu, the frog girl, chimed in with a finger to her chin. "If Shoto's this good with his quirk, why didn't he use it back when he was fighting the Green Rabbit?"
Everyone turned back to the class introvert, who realised that no one was going to leave him alone unless he answered. "Because Bakugo and Kirishima kept getting in my way. I didn't want to freeze them by accident, so I held back, no thanks to them."
"SAY WHAT?!" Bakugo blasted as he slammed his hands on the arms of his seat. No one except for Itsuka noticed how Ochako flinched at the blast the came from the bomb boy's hands in his anger. "I had that stupid bunny right where I wanted him! It was you two losers who were in my way!"
The rest of the students could easily see the discomfort and shame on the two powerhouse's faces. It was clear that their clash with the infamous villain had struck at their pride deeply, part of the reason why winning at the sports festival meant so much to them.
"Hey, c'mon guys!" Kirishima, the hard-skinned redhead, cut in before things could get nasty. "We all had to work together to try and bring him down. You've all seen what he's capable of."
"Indeed." Ojiro, the tailed martial artist, nodded. "To take on three of our heaviest hitters all at once, and to come out on top at that. It's no wonder he's become such a handful for pro heroes out in the field."
"I know what you mean. There are so many rumours running around about what his quirk might be." Momo, the creation girl, spoke up. "How he has an intelligence quirk that allows him to figure out the weaknesses of other people's quirks and uses it against them."
"Or that it could be a body enhancement quirk that helps him fight heroes in close quarters." Sato, the sugar eating muscle man assumed.
"I've heard, that whoever this long-eared agent of darkness is...that he doesn't have a quirk at all." All eyes turned to the cryptic bird boy of the class, Fumikage Tokoyami. "That he is in fact Quirkless. And that all of his skill and intelligence is all based on him, and him alone."
All of class 1-A went dead silent at the theory. Such a thing was impossible to imagine in the society they lived in. The possibility of someone without a quirk being able to take down as many heroes as was thought to be impossible, even laughable.
Yet, the idea of the Green Rabbit having no quirk both amazed, and frightened the top class of UA.
But nothing could scare the class at that moment more, than Katsuki Bakugo breaking out into roaring laughter.
"Please!" The bomb boy suddenly cut his howling off, snarling at the rest of the petrified class."There is no way a Quirkless loser could ever get the best of me! No one gets the best of me!"
The class decided to drop the subject, fearing that the boy could go off at any minute. But Bakugo's reaction had earned them some newfound information regarding the explosion user. They were all aware that the bomb boy looked down on just about everyone who he deemed weak and inferior. Not to mention, his pride was severely wounded when the Rabbit had him held at his own quirk's point.
But wasn't referring to his Quirklessness in such a manner going a little too far?
"Whew...this is taking a lot longer than I thought." Cementoss wiped his rocky brow as he jammed a giant stalagmite into the glacier made by the son of Endeavour, breaking it down into smaller pieces for the UA stadium staff to pick up and take away. "Hope he doesn't pull this stunt in all of his matches!"
One of the workers, wearing a beige onesie and cap, grabbed a chunk of ice and lifted it with a groan. "Ahhh...Keep up the good work, Cementoss, sir! You're doing splendidly!"
"Thanks...!" The earth manipulator smiled as he continued to chip away at the glacier. "Say...are you new? I don't think I've seen you around before."
The staff hand flinched at the stone hero's words, clearing his throat as he ducked his head down to hide his grey handlebar moustache. "U-Um, yes! Yes, I... started recently..."
LMMMM MMMM GGMMMM!" A man reduced to his vest and boxers wailed through the thick cloth over his mouth at the one who attacked him and stripped him of his uniform.
"Sorry, my good man, but I'm afraid I need your uniform to help my pupil in his first grand scheme!" Gentle reasoned as he pulled the captured staff hand's cap over his head. "But at least you can take pride in how you came into contact with the legendary villain; Gentle Criminal!"
The flamboyant thief struck a pose before the tied p man in the closet, who only quirked a confused eyebrow at him. "Hhmmoo?"
The elasticity man frowned at his captive's lack of knowledge. He shut the closet door on him without a second thought and stomped off.
"Philistine..." Gentle grumbled as he marched away. The elasticity man was astounded with how no one still didn't recognize him, after all of his daring feats of villainy. His videos were practically barren with views, especially when compared to all the clips of his most recent student, Deku.
Don't get him wrong, the flamboyant thief was more than proud of how much publicity the boy was getting in his criminal crusades. He just wished that some of that fame would trickle his way. Perhaps helping his young ward with his independent crime would help, as the kids say, 'boost his street cred'.
As he carried the hunk of ice across the grounds around the stadium, he made sure to try and walk as close to the arena as possible without anyone taking notice.
"Time to set the stage..." The flamboyant thief remarked with a smirk.
Once the iceberg was finally broken down, the tournament was back on. Deku whipped out his notebook and pen, eager to start examining the fights, as he awaited the next phase of his plan. The next match squared up the electric boy, Denki, verses the vine haired saint of class 1-B, Ibara Shiozaki.
While Denki's electric powers were impressive, they came with numerous drawbacks, especially when up against Ibara. It seemed that the more power the electric boy released, his thought process starts to break down, leaving him quite literally burned out after a discharge.
It also didn't matter how much power he used against his opponent either. Ibara's coils of vine hair proved to be thick enough to cancel out the boy's electricity. Once the blonde's mind was fried, the girl wrapped him in her vines, earning her the win.
"That was amazing...!" Deku announced in awe as the match came to an end, with Ibara taking the win. He pulled out his notebook and started taking down notes in an instant. "It looked to me that she could only control the vines of her hair. But I didn't know she could plant them in the ground and control them willingly! That could come in handy for setting traps for escaping villains, or giving her an edge in close combat..."
"Uh...Usagi?"
The green hooded boy flinched. He was so caught up in the fight and his habit of researching quirks, that he completely forgot that he wasn't alone. He turned back to a confused Ochako, staring at him with a pair of curious eyes. "What're you doing?"
Deku contemplated hiding his notebook and pretending it was nothing. But he decided that it was too late to do so. Hopefully, she wouldn't figure out who he was on account of his notes. Worst-case scenario, she starts to think he's creepy and leaves him alone.
It's happened before, why would now be any different?
"I-It's kind of a hobby of mine." He opened his book out and showed its insides to the gravity girl. "Whenever I see someone's quirk, I like to study it and see what it can do. I also like to come up with ideas on how it could be used! ...And what kind of weaknesses it may have."
"Hmmm..." Ochako looked closely at his notes, making a focused expression which Deku found incredibly cute on the rosy-cheeked girl's face. He figured he'd enjoy it while it last, as it would only be a matter of time until this kind, caring angel would realise how much of a freak he was and-
"This is so cool!" Ochako declared with astonishment.
Deku must have been crazier than he thought because there was no way someone as kind and pretty as her could compliment his research. "Wha-...Huh?!"
"Oh! And you even made a little stat chart for her, too! That's incredible!" The gravity girl continued to look the pages over in awe.
Deku was struck dumb. No one, apart from hardened criminals, had ever complimented his research before. If this was any other time, any other place, any other moment in Izuku's life, he would have been reduced to a weeping mess on his knees before this beautiful, kind-hearted angel.
"So, is this you're quirk?" The gravity girl asked innocently. "Some kind of super-intelligent power in your brain or something?"
Just as Deku had been riding the high of having someone praise his work that wasn't a felon from the law, his spirits swooped back down at the mention of what he's wished for most of his life. "W-Well...actually..."
Before he could confess his deepest insecurity, the crowd then cheered, catching the two's attention as they looked to the arena.
"Oh, hey! It's Iida's match!" Ochako rushed to the edge, waving her arm in the air. "Good luck, Iida!"
Deku mentally sighed, glad to have the bane of his existence kept secret. He then drew his attention back to the ring, eager to see what Mei, the gadget girl's, support gear could do in a one-on-one fight against someone with an incredibly powerful Quirk such as Iida's.
Imagine his surprise, along with the rest of the audience's, when Mei turned her match against the super-strict speedster, into a public demonstration of her gadgets...or 'babies' as she disturbingly liked to call them.
While Iida was tricked into showing off Hatsume's gear, Ochako couldn't help but laugh all the way through. Deku stopped taking his notes for a moment as he listened to the pure girl giggle sweetly. The boy couldn't help but join her in her laughter, as Mei handed Iida the match by stepping out of the ring, finished with her demonstration.
The sound of humming hard drives, blinking lights, and the munching on potato chips filled the circuit room. La Brava laid on her side with a bag of salty snacks next to her, as she stared at her computer screen with a bored expression.
After successfully hacking into the school's mainframe, the pig-tailed girl found herself with a plethora of spare time. So, she figured the best way to wait until Deku's plan would be put into action, was to hack into the stadium's security cameras and watch the festival to pass the time.
The fight between some pink-skinned girl who could make acid and a pretty boy who could shoot a laser out of his belly button had just finished, with the acid girl taking the win. However, as she was watching, something else caught her eye. "What the heck?"
Sitting up, she typed into her laptop and enlarged a window of one of the security cameras. It showed Deku, standing in his assigned location, but he wasn't alone. A rosy-cheeked brunette was there with him, and he didn't seem to have a problem with it.
"What the heck is he doing?!" La Brava gripped at her precious device in panic. "Is he trying to get himself caught?!"
The more she looked at the green hooded boy laugh and smile along with the brunette to his side, the more she found it uncomfortable to look at.
"Huh?" She then raised a hand to her chest, a hurt yet confused look on her small face. "I don't understand...Why does my heart ache so much?"
Next up was the creation girl, Momo Yaoyorozu, and the living shadow wielder, Fumikage Tokoyami. However, it was over in a matter of minutes. Fumikage, with the help of his living shadow, pushed Momo back far enough to get her out of the ring before she could realise what was going on.
As the crowd cheered for the bird boy's victory, the villain in disguise looked to the dejected figure of the ponytailed girl. Momo trudged back toward the entrance with her eyes cast down, her arm wrapped half-heartedly around herself.
"Oh, no...Poor Momo..." Ochako looked down at her dejected friend as she trudged back inside, wanting to get out of the audience's sight as fast as possible. Deku could relate to how the girl was most likely feeling at the moment.
Her body language spoke volumes of the humiliation and defeat she was feeling at this moment. Deku could relate to the pain she was most likely feeling at this moment, as he had faced it many a day before he ran away from his old life.
The pain of being defeated, before you can even try.
"It won't be the end of her." The boy suddenly stated. The gravity girl looked over to him as he continued to speak. "With a quirk like hers, she still has a chance to turn things around for herself later down the line, as long as she doesn't give up."
"...more of a chance than I ever did."
"Huh?" The rosy-cheeked girl wondered what Usagi meant by that.
"Ochako!"
Before the gravity girl could ask, she and Deku turned to see Itsuka and Tsuyu, the frog girl, coming out onto the balcony. "Oh! Hey, guys!"
The villain in disguise grew nervous, as more and more of the students he nearly helped get killed kept showing up. He tried to hide his face with his mask, only to remember that it was torn off in his scuffle with Shinzo. He tried to pull his hood deeper over his head as the three other students arrived.
"Your match is up next and you've been gone for a while. Are you okay?" The big-fist girl asked with concern.
Ochako flinched at the reminder of her upcoming bout with the class hothead and felt her forgotten fear come crashing back to her. She looked back to the ring to see that the second to last match of the first line-up of the tournament had indeed begun. Kirishima, the redheaded hard-skinned boy, took on his steel skinned clone, in the form of Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, in a vicious, no-holds-barred brawl.
Deku was surprised to hear that Ochako was in the tournament. He was too busy getting ahold of his VIP pass to see who was taking part. He saw the terrified look on her face and wondered who she could be fighting that would cause such a reaction from her.
"O-Oh, yeah! I'm fine!"
"I was just hanging out with Usagi! The guy we met in the hall." Ochako tried to change the subject, as futile as it may have been, as she gestured to the shy boy beside her.
"U-Um...hi...?" Deku greeted bashfully beneath his hood. Curse his social anxiety... And curse Bakugo for giving it to him in the first place!
The big sis of 1-A blushed at the sight of the shy freckled boy. Mina wasn't kidding, he was adorable!
"Are you sure you still wanna fight, Ochako?" Tsuyu asked in her signature blunt fashion. "No one will think less of you if you forfeit."
The gravity girl cast her eyes downward, giving the frog girl's words some deep thought. The villain in disguise saw this and wondered who could make such a sweet, bubbly person feel so nervous and afraid?
The answer he came to made a pit open up in his stomach.
"...N-...No," Ochako answered after a few seconds of reflecting. "I'm not going to back down. I can't let him get to me any longer! I got into UA so that I could become a hero, and this is my chance to show everyone what I can do! I'm not going to let Bakugo push me around anymore! If he wants to win that bad, he's gotta get through me first!"
A cold sweat enveloped the green hooded boy when he heard the name of his old tormentor. He couldn't believe that this sweet, kind, gentle spirit of a girl, was about to face off with the abusive piece of garbage that used Izuku for target practice, just for fun!
"Well...okay, then." Itsuka didn't like it, but it looked like her friend wasn't going to budge. "If you're sure."
"I am!" The gravity girl gave a hearty nod and turned to face Deku once again. "Sorry, Usagi, but I gotta go get ready. Maybe we can hang out more after my match!"
"T-That sounds nice!" The villain in disguise faltered. "But, I think I should be getting back to my aunt and uncle. They're probably wondering where I am now, too. B-But good luck, Ochako!"
"O-Oh! Okay...Thanks!" The gravity girl attempted a reassuring smile, but Deku could see the traces of fear on her face. The boy didn't want to see her get blasted by Bakugo, but he couldn't risk ruining his plan by doing so. There had to be something he could do to help her.
He then had an idea, but it would require him mustering as much courage as he possibly could.
The girls grew confused as the boy opened his arms out and cast his gaze in any other direction than at them, his face growing red as a stoplight. "U-Umm...G-Good Luck Hug?"
Of all the things to hear from the socially shy boy they recently met, that was the last thing they'd thought to hear from him. "Huh?!"
Usagi kept his reddening face turned away as much as possible, his eyes now shut tight in utter embarrassment.
Ochako, getting over her shock, gave a small smile and decided to take his offer. "Sure. I think I'll need it."
The gravity girl stepped up and wrapped her arms around the boy, whose dark green hoodie proved to be much softer than she thought. Usagi then brought his arms down and returned the hug, while bringing his mouth close to her ear.
"Watch out for his right hook."
"Eh?"
Usagi then immediately let go of Ochako and stepped back. "O-Okay! I-I better be getting back now! Good luck in your fight, Ochako!"
The boy then headed straight for the inside, while the rosy-cheeked girl struggled to get over her stupor. "W-Wait!"
She was too late. By the time she snapped out of it, the green hooded boy was gone. Ochako wondered what he meant by those words when a loud crash drew her and her friend's attention to the arena. Kirishima and Tetsutetsu had just finished their bout, with the two of them knocking each other out in a cross counter punch to the face.
The crowd roared to life, mostly because the long, dragged out fight was finally over. However, that only meant one thing to the nervous Ochako.
It was time to face the fire...and too bad for her...Bakugo had plenty of it.