Katsuki Bakugo is many things, some good, some bad. But now as he darts across the ring to meet Round-Face head on and somehow loses the exchange since that minor blow she landed hurt like hell, the only thing he knows he is, for sure, right now is pissed.
Round-Face doesn't give him much time to breathe, since the minute he turns around, she is blitzing towards him with her eyes narrowed and glowing neon pink and pink sparks burning from her body.
She is annoyingly fuckin' fast, Katsuki notes as he raises his palms forward and begins to detonate a flurry of explosions to keep the girl at bay. She leaps to the side (he makes sure to keep one palm trained on her) but doesn't slow down. Katsuki panics somewhat, since he knows her win condition and opts to take to the sky.
He is there unbothered for a grand total of fifteen seconds.
He watches with wider eyes than normal as she stomps her foot into the concrete causing cracks and breaks to appear on impact, then without hesitation, Ochako picks up a few loose stones.
Normally, she felt it was unheroic to taunt her opponent, but she had just got off of the phone with her trainer R. Mika an hour ago, and then spoke All Might in the tunnel. Being bold will be her friend here. Time to show Bakugo - the world, that she was here.
"You need to work on your personality! For your fans!" She says smugly while tossing a rock up and down.
Bakugo roars in indignation before using his explosions to propel him forward. Ochako smirks and removes the gravity from the rock and throws it. Despite its speed, which was alarming , Bakugo manages to blow it up with a quick swipe of his hand and lands in a combat roll over Ochako's head, narrowly avoiding her reach. He corrects himself and primes an explosion.
The lightning around the girl suddenly grows more chaotic as she speeds up, nearly becoming a blur in his sights before trying, futilely, to dodge her grapple.
She grabs his arm just below the wrist and, with the skill and grace that R. Mika would be proud of, tossed Bakugo over her hip, removing his gravity on contact but then doubling it on impact.
The blonde student gasps as air is forced out of his lungs. It hurts and it's a struggle to get air back where it needs to be due to the increased force on his chest, but he makes it work long enough to press it palm directly against the girl's stomach and fire an explosion. Ochako winces and flies backward, giving Bakugo time to recuperate.
Ochako manages to remain upright and clenches her legs to grind to a halt. There's a bubbling against her skin as One For All melds with her personality, fueling her power further. Her lightning re-doubles as Bakugo still tries to gather himself under the intense wave of new gravity. Once at her new comfortable limit of 7% Ochako takes a deep breath then presses her fingers together. "Release."
Bakugo is shocked at this decision since admittedly, he had no idea how he would've gotten up otherwise. Then turns and gives the girl a dirty look. "Ehhh?! What do you think you're doing, Round-Face!? Are you looking down on me!?" He barks with veins popping from his neck.
"No," Ochako says smoothly. "I wanted to fight you seriously, Bakugo. I could've just left you there and won but I want to show the world that I am here. I didn't want to win like that."
As the girl explains, Bakugo gets to his feet more infuriated than ever. He was nothing more than a stepping stone to her? She could've dispatched him with ease, but only allowed him to continue to make herself look better? Being too angry to form words, Bakugo roars and blasts forward with renewed vigor.
Ochako waits this time. She is a bit taken aback when Bakugo's speed increases, swinging a big right downwards in front of her.
BOOM!
' Wow, is he just a slow starter or was he holding back this much?' She thinks as she narrowly jumps up and out of the way. Her leg is singed though, and before she knows it, Bakugo has already propelled himself forward again, this time leading with a left, glowing palm. Ochako ducks her head to the right and grabs Bakugo's wrist. Gravity is increased for a split second to drive his stomach directly into her knee.
He wheezes and hunches over, but uses his off hand to fire an explosion outward, shifting their momentum into a spin. Two more explosions, and an increase in rotations, Bakugo grabs the girl by her collar and launches her downward. She hits the arena with a loud thudding sound and kicks up a large dust cloud while doing so, and ignoring the pain for the moment, Bakugo dives downward after her.
"DIE!" He yells as he raises both hands above his head. The attack itself comes down with extreme prejudice and shakes half of the arena. The audience, students and teachers alike all gasp at the brutality, but before Midnight could do anything, she sees Ochako roll out of the smoke unharmed.
She takes this second to compose herself before picking up the loose debris, removing their gravity and tossing them in his general direction. Bakugo responds by rapidly pushing his arms forward in an alternating motion to keep as much debris away as possible. Some make it through and manage to nick his extremities, but it's a minor issue. The real pain is coming from his arms and shoulders after letting loose so many explosions in rapid succession.
"WHOA! Looks like the fight really could go both ways! Look at her go, Eraser!"
"Please keep your very irrational favoritism off the mic."
The stalemate goes on for a few moments longer before Ochako runs out of debris to throw. There's a flash of panic on her face as she and Bakugo come to the same realization at the same time and he dashes at her again. He rears back another big right hook that Ochako is ready for. 'It's a feint!' Ochako's eyes widened and before she could react, Bakugo displayed his agility and dexterity, raising a leg up to kick the shorter girl in the chin. Ochako's head and body snapped backward and she began to fall back.
Then her eyes snapped open and narrowed. She corrected her fall by tucking her chin into her chest and letting her shoulders take the brunt of it before continuing the backwards roll out of harm's way. Bakugo is relentless though, since he follows her with another string of explosive palms that hit her shoulder and ribs. Ochako curses to herself and in a desperate attempt to create separation, charges One For All higher than she ever has before, 20% in her right arm and punches him in the chest. Her face contorted in pain as deep purple bruises appear up the length of her arm.
The impact hits him like a sledgehammer, and he and a decent portion of the ring is sent flying in the opposite direction. His body rag-dolls unceremoniously to a stop, just shy of the boundary line. He writhes in pain and coughs up some saliva on the arena floor. He'd never been hit that hard, and it shows since he could barely maintain his rage. He tries to stand up, but it's very slow going since Uraraka hits so. Damn. Hard.
Ochako is just as worse for wear as her opponent is. Her jacket, or what remains of it, is burnt to hell and her body is covered in bruises and soot; her right arm is hanging limply to the side looking worse of all. It's throbbing so much that Ochako nearly cries and gives up. But instead, she grits her teeth and lets some loose tears fall. While Bakugo's struggle to get to his feet continued, Ochako thought of something. She looks at one of the large, loose stones dislodged from their battle, walks over to stand on it and then removes its gravity so she and it can freely float above.
"Thanks, Bakugo." She says quietly, so quiet that he can barely hear her. "Thanks for takin' me seriously…" She tears off what remains of her jacket and painfully raises both arms. "I was hoping to save this trick for Deku but…" Bakugo growls. "You're really strong." She then puts her right fist in her left palm and then clamps down on her fist, barely suppressing a wince.
Her pink lightning changes in a way that makes Bakugo narrow his eyes. It's less like lightning now and more like sparkles, like the stars themselves are caught in Ochako's orbit, twinkling on and off.
"Full Cowl: Heavy Point."
Bakugo grits his teeth. "You think more special effects would be enough to beat me!? You…! Saving that shitty power for Deku! Don't look down on me, damn it! I'll beat you and him!" He finally manages to stand up fully on shaky legs and Ochako jumps down from her perch. "I don't care about any stupid -"
Ochako lands.
BOOM!
The entire arena goes deathly quiet as Ochako's feet hit the floor like a bullet through a sheet of glass. It was as if All Might himself had just taken one mighty step. A dust explosion obscured her from view and despite not being seen, the stadium heard when she took another step forward. Bakugo felt the entire ring rattle when she did.
Without fanfare, Ochako dashes forward and straight at the blond teen, her eyes wide, unblinking and focused . It unnerved him. She looks at him like he's nothing more than prey.
As she gets within arms length, he raises a hand on reflex and detonates an explosion point blank, hoping to blow the girl away, but his eyes snap open when she continues forward, seemingly unaffected. She throws a downward punch and Bakugo narrowly manages to lean out of the way, causing her to punch the floor.
BANG!
"What the fuck!?" Is the only thing Bakugo can think to say as Ochako's fist makes a small crater on impact a full meter deep and wide. Her eyes snap up to his and he feels a chill run down his back. 'Shit, shit, shit.' Out of desperation, he jumps and attempts to propel himself skyward, but Ochako manages to grab his ankle. He is shocked to find out that neither of them take off despite the intensity of his explosions.
"Running from little old me, Bakugo!?" She shouts before fighting against, and then beating the propulsive force he generates. With a battle cry, Ochako throws him over his shoulder and slams him into the arena floor.
Bakugo's eyes rolled to the back of his skull and Ochako pivoted and threw him upward before leaping up after him. The blond is too dizzy to fully understand what's happening, but Ochako's in the zone . She makes sure to remove her gravity beforehand to ensure this move works as she planned.
While behind him, she starts off with a kick to his right leg that's delivered at just the right spot to move him over so she can continue. Ochako grabs the back of his jacket and pulls him down while using her lack of gravity to pivot, driving her elbow into his chest. Once fully facing him, Ochako allows herself to fully take in the moment.
There she is, a dozen or so meters above the ground with her leg held high and charged with One For All. The crowd sounds muted, drowned out by the winds and she and Bakugo fall closer to the earth. It's… humbling really. But she can't allow herself to bask in this moment longer. She made a promise to All Might, to her parents and to Deku.
A promise she very much intends to keep.
"Falling Star!"
She calls upon Heavy Point once more and her heel comes down into Bakugo's stomach and the two jettison downward. The impact when they both hit the stadium sends a large wave of dust and debris outward, making people cover their eyes and a very small shockwave radiates outwards, far enough that Midnight's hair is blown back.
Then silence. Thick, harrowing silence. No one dares say a word as the dust slowly begins to settle.
"THE TENSION HAS ME ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!"
It feels like it takes an eternity before the dust finally clears to see Ochako standing over Bakugo's unconscious body, partially driven into the concrete. She has her head down and her eyes are hidden by her hair, but the single right fist she holds up in triumph says it all.
"Bakugo is unable to continue. Uraraka wins!"
The crowd goes wild.
"YEAAAAHH -"
"Damn it, Hizashi!" There's the sound of scuffling taking place over the PA system that abruptly cuts off, and no one acknowledges.
"Seems like Pink Cheeks-san is quite the fighter." Ryoya says lazily. "I'm not sure what she did, but it seemed pretty effective. I'm up soon, so I better be off. Tell Pink Cheeks-san good job for me."
"Hell yeah, Anti-Grav!" Rumi cheers.
"Girl power!"
Izuku has… mixed feelings. On one hand, he is saddened that Bakugo lost in such a way. His pride will likely never recover from this, and Izuku's inner child weeps for his former friend. But on the other hand… Uraraka won! She did it! The thought nearly has him vibrating in his seat. He watches as the med-bots come to retrieve them both, and Uraraka waves them off. When she limps back to the tunnel, Izuku stands up and runs, hoping to meet her there.
Ochako, in hindsight, should've taken the med-bots. She was beyond excited at her victory and that, mixed with adrenaline flowing, she didn't realize the severity of her injuries until she got several steps in the tunnel. Now, panting heavily and leaning against the wall for support, Ochako curses herself from two minutes ago. Stupid girl.
She feels her eyelids getting heavy and knees getting weak. Then she collapses.
She lands onto something… warm and strong.
"Uraraka!" Izuku cried. "Are you okay!?" Her eyes slowly open, still half-lidded and unfocused. But she recognizes those freckles from anywhere. His arms feel nice.
She nods, not having the energy to speak. Izuku sees this and gives her some ki and it makes her feel better and gives her stomach butterflies. "I thought I was supposed to be the self-sacrificing one in this." He says lightly. She giggles and it's one of the most pleasant sounds Izuku has ever heard. "Come on, I'll take you to Recovery Girl." When he picks her up, he does so with such gentle hands that you'd think she was made of the finest glass and the slightest touch would cause her to shatter. "I'm so proud of you."
She makes no attempt to oppose him, instead accepting the bridal carry and dozing off into his chest as she does with a content smile on her face.
When she opens her eyes again, they're in Recovery Girl's office and Deku is at her bedside. He doesn't seem to notice that she's awake now, and she is fine with that, perfectly content to just watch him and count his freckles. He must've felt her looking at him, because then he turns to her slowly and with the most captivating smile she's ever see on him. It makes her heart clench.
"Hey." He says softly. "You won."
She can barely muster up the energy to nod. "I won." She says groggily. She raises up fist, but it's clear that she really could use the sleep.
Izuku returns her gesture. "See you in the finals?"
"Don't you dare lose, Deku."
Ryoya walks the halls of the arena with his conversation with Izuku replaying in his mind.
"That's horrible!" The green haired teen exclaims while Ryoya nods his head gravely.
"It's a terrible situation all around and I'm not sure what to do... or what I even can do."
"We have to help him, Ryoya!"
The taller teen sighs and runs his hand through his hair. "How, Izuku? Look, I already planned on how to deal with Todoroki about this but Endeavor is a different case altogether. I just -"
His mental musing is cut off when he walks into the man himself.
"Hey."
Ryoya is only somewhat surprised by the man's appearance, but his neutral expression gives nothing away. "Endeavor-san."
The man looms over him. Ryoya already figured himself to be a tall teen, but compared to Endeavor, he truly seemed like a child. "There you are. I saw what you did out there. In fact, I've been watching you since the Entrance Exam." Ryoya raises a brow at the analytical gaze Endeavor casts upon him. "Your quirk is nothing short of amazing, even by fire-user standards. Blue fire is certainly a rarity and you use yours with such destructive efficiency. In terms of power, it might even eclipse my own. "
"I appreciate the compliment, but I have to go." Ryoya says dryly and it's Endeavor's turn to raise a brow. As the teen turns to walk around the man, Endeavor speaks again.
"My boy, Shouto." Ryoya stops walking. "He has a duty to surpass All Might." There's a pause in which Endeavor allows the boy to absorb his words. His back is still to him, but he is sure the crackling of fire can reach his ears. "His match against you will prove to be the greatest test of his life. So give it your all. Don't hold back. I am confident that you will give Shouto a great fight."
Ryoya remains still, his back still towards the hero. Endeavor doesn't wait for him to speak. "That's all I have to say. Sorry for my bluntness." As he starts to walk away, Ryoya speaks.
"..why'd you do it, Grandpa?" It's low, so low that Enji barely hears it over his flames. He stops walking and gives the boy a nasty side-eye.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Ah, I'm sorry, that was rude of me." Ryoya says genuinely, finally turning around. Endeavor is somewhat taken aback by the melancholic expression. "You just reminded me of... someone else." He speaks to Endeavor in the flesh, but in the mind, someone else has taken his place. Someone who's piercing red gaze still leaves him lying awake at night sometimes. "Why'd you do it, Endeavor-san?"
Endeavor scowls. "What are you on about, boy? Why did I do -?"
"Todoroki told me everything."
Ryoya looks up at the man, taking in the cold fury. The flames roar, and scratch his face. The hallway is immediately pressurized, but to Ryoya, this pressure is nothing compared to what he's felt before.
"What do you mean?"
"You're a smarter man than that, Endeavor-san."
Endeavor glares. "He knows what he got himself into. He's just as dedicated to being -"
"Endeavor-san, please. Save the speech. I just... I'm not sure what to think if I'm being honest."
"That boy is destined for greatness, just as you are."
Ryoya blinks and for a split second, it's his grandfather speaking to him and not the number two hero. "No one's destined for anything. There's no fate, no future for you to try to read. People aren't tools, Endeavor-san."
Enji scoffs and his eyes narrow in fury. "And what place does a boy like you have to lecture me? Who are you to question my choices and how I choose to raise my family?" His fury breaks for the smallest of moments when he sees that the boy isn't looking at him, but into his very soul.
"Why'd you become a hero, Enji?" Ryoya tries again with a long-suffering sigh. "I just don't get it. You are among the greatest heroes in history. There are very few men who've walked this earth who can even hold a candle to the wildfire that you are. You have taken an element, the element of destruction, and molded it into something used to help people. You clearly want to save people. You have everything and you have what every man dreams of having; a family. So I'm just confused as to what can drive a man like you to do what you did."
Endeavor recoils in shock as though he'd be physically struck. They stand there in silence for longer than either realize, Endeavor's cold gaze softening an imperceivable amount. Ryoya can see it, the gears turning inn his head. The fire quells ever so slightly. Then he figures he's been there long enough. Then he sighs. "Well... you don't have to answer. I doubt you can even remember. No one ever seems to anyway. But I hope for your sake... it was worth it. But from experience," Ryoya's tone, airy and melancholic goes sharp. "It almost never is."
With that, the teen walks away.
"Boy."
Ryoya pauses and doesn't turn around.
"...I'll be sending you an internship offer. It would be in your best interest to accept it."
The only response the hero gets is a non-committal grunt.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen! Now that the ring has been repaired, it's time for our next battle of the day! The competitor who's been at the top of the list all day. The mean, green, fighting machine, Izuku Midoriya of the Hero Course!"
Izuku goes to the ring feeling lighter than air. His talk with Ochako ended very well and he feels like he can take on the world.
"Versus! The speedster who's always in a hurry! Tenya Iida also of the Hero Course!"
Iida approaches the ring trying to look serious, but the amused grin on his face gives away his intentions. "Ah, it'll be nice to finally do battle with you, Midoriya. May the better man win!" He says, giving Izuku a slight bow. Izuku returns the gesture.
"May the better man win."
"READY?! START!"
Tenya knew from how he envisioned this battle going from the beginning. Midoriya was strong, there was no way around that. And he also possessed a power that hard countered his own due to the metal bones in his legs. But he wouldn't let such disadvantages slow him down. He knows this fight will end in one move.
"I mustn't hesitate!" He says, dropping down into a sprinter's position with his hands on the floor. His engines flare.
Izuku calls fourth Denjin Renki and braces himself for the onslaught. He is aware of the metal in Iida's legs, but doesn't trust his skill to attract and manipulate something moving at such a speed, so he thinks of another plan. He starts rubbing his hands together.
"Okay! Exhaust Fumes!" Iida cries as thick, black smoke comes from his engines and blocks him from view. "Recipro Burst!" In an instant, Iida appears in front of Izuku with a kick primed. The green haired teen gasped.
'He's just as fast as Ken-sensei!' On reflex alone, Izuku raises his arms, palms outward, to block the kick. The impact was worse than he imagined.
The second the two forces collided, Iida felt an extreme pulse of electricity course through his veins and skeleton before he was violently thrown back by the electromagnetic push. Izuku on the other hand, feels his wrists and arms break under the incredible might of Iida's kick while also being thrown backwards. To crowd sees none of this, as it happens too quickly to comprehend. In a second, both Izuku and Iida are out of the ring.
"WHAT HAPPENED!? Let's go to the replays, folks!"
The crowd watches in awe at the play-by-play and the footage goes slow enough to show what actually happened.
Iida was the first one to be removed.
"Well... as anti-climactic as it was, that's the fight, ladies and gentlemen!"
"Tenya Iida was out of bounds first, Izuku Midoriya moves on!"
A/N:Bakugo vs Ochako was really fun, ngl. Now it's time for some good old Bakugo character development, but let's hope it goes one way and not the other.
Also Ryoya now appears in other fics! Endgame (Monsieur Otter) and Societas Requiem (Ripslash1) both on AO3 and FFN! Give them both some nice comments and leave a kudos. All three of us are in Jade's Discord. /pkmgFzUkBu
I also now have a TVTropes made by a friend of mine, Blueiscuteio! She writes a fun fic herself, so give her a shoutout and feel free to add to this yourself! /pmwiki / Fanfic/ StreetFightingHeroes
NinjaFang1331: Thanks!
Monster King: Thank you!
Ryuujin96: Momo vs Itsuka was funny enough, planned to be a win for Itsuka. But when I actually started writing, I realized there was no way in hell she wins that; Creation is just BS. Glad you enjoyed.
Acosta Perez Jose Ramiro: Thanks, it was a fun fight, and yep. Denki with the last minute shock. Mina is surprisingly athletic since she's a dancer and stuff, so no way he just wins that.
Solbandgus: Oh yeah, the villains are just piling up now. Gotta love big crossovers.