Corridors
Momo eventually came to a stop and took a deep breath to calm herself. Normally, she had little difficulty keeping composed, but Goku had been making that rather hard. She wasn't even just talking today. It was small, but the past month she knew she'd been off kilter due to him.
The thing is, she didn't dislike him for causing this. It was the complete opposite and even made her want to spend more time with him. Now, she knew why… sort of. She's never experienced anything like this before; however, Momo felt like this might be a crush.
She didn't even really know, but it seemed like Goku had feelings for her to. What really made this hard to figure out was the fact that Goku seemed even more clueless than she was. How was she supposed to figure this out if he had no idea himself?
"There you are." Melissa stated drawing Yaoyorozu's attention. "I knew it was a long shot, but I was hoping I'd be able to find you."
"Melissa?" Momo worked to compose herself. "Why are you looking for me?"
"Well, I've noticed some strange things going on between you and my brother." Melissa had decided to be blunt. "You've been awfully flustered around him these past few hours."
"Yeah, I suppose." Momo admitted.
"Look, do you have feelings for my brother?" Melissa asked.
"What?" Momo frantically waved her hand while blushing slightly. "I don't, so you have…"
"Momo, I'm not the type of sister whose overly protective of their little brother." Melissa smiled. "If it helps, I think you might have caught Goku's eye to."
"I have." Momo stated happy yet unsure. "How can you tell because I can't tell anything about him."
"I'm not surprised." Melissa giggled. "Goku is an open book about a lot; however, romantic relationships were always hard for him to grasp. After he hit his growth spurt, he attracted a lot of attention leading to father and I having to speak with him about it.
Even after that, he didn't fully grasp the concept and nothing in how he saw anyone around him seemed to change. He didn't treat any girl or guy differently from how he had been. Then, there's you. A small hint was one month ago when I came to see him and met all of you.
He put you as close to him as the three friends I'd heard about the day prior. Over the last month, he's spoken more of you than his friends. Then today, he brought you into those games rather than looking for his friends, and he held back against you.
Goku's not the type to hold back anyone because he views it as disrespectful. Sure, he won't outright use his energy Quirk, but that's more to do with not wanting to hurt someone. For you, he made an exception and was confused about it. Confused about his feelings."
"Even if Goku does like me, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about him." Momo stated. "I'm no stranger to people liking me, but I've never really had feelings for any of them. Maybe the fact that I haven't acted like this before speaks volumes. Maybe it does mean something."
"I think a lot of people who experience these feelings for the first time are just as confused if not more than you two." Melissa assured. "Look, the simple fact is that I'm not telling you to figure out you're feeling now. That would be too much to ask of myself when I was in your shoes.
What I am saying is that you should figure out how you feel sooner rather than later. By all accounts, Goku could experience what he is now with another girl, and they might not be as unsure as you are. Before you know it, he'll have slipped through your fingers."
"I see." Momo looked down before looking at Melissa in confusion. "Why did you come to me with all of this?"
"Like I said, I was once in your shoes, and I ultimately concluded that I personally wasn't interested in the guy." Melissa replied. "I'm simply trying to encourage you to discover where you lean. If you happen to decide you do like my brother, then something happens.
Either you two ends up dating for a while before breaking up, or you two end up staying together for the long haul. Either way, if you do conclude you like my brother, you'll have to make the first move because he's truly dense."
Momo sighed as she looked at the ground and rubbed her hands together. "Just to help me decide, do you honestly think Goku has feelings for me?"
"In my opinion, he does." Melissa stated drawing her attention. "I've already pointed out the things he's done in relation to you. Trust me, he's never acted as he had with you. I think, in his own, confused way, he is trying to show you his feelings.
Don't let my opinion on this sway you because how you feel about my brother should be your decision. While I'm not overly protective, hurting him like that, no matter how strong you are, would make me feel quite protective. I'd immediately come looking for you, understand?"
Melissa was currently giving Momo a look that the Hero student didn't think was possible for someone like her. Even though she's faced villains at the USJ, this did scare her a little.
"Right." Momo nodded a bit frantically. "I'll make sure I genuinely do have feelings for your brother before ever deciding to try anything with him."
"Good to hear." Melissa smiled and walked away. "Just remember, while you might be on a time limit, decisions of heart and mind can take time. While you should conclude how you feel quickly, don't rush it to the point that you'd regret the choice you made."
With that, Melissa walked back to her seat while Momo sighed now having a lot to think over. Honestly, she knew no decision would be reached today on how she was really feeling about Goku. Ultimately, regardless of her choice, she did know one thing for certain.
"No matter how I truly feel about you Goku, I know I'd still want you in my life." Momo thought.
Arena
Goku returned to his class' bleacher with some dumplings and didn't see Momo. The guy decided to shrug it off and take his seat to see the next match take place.
"Let's charge right into the fifth match!" Present Mic announced. "Let's hope that shiny belt serves a purpose. It's Yuga Aoyama from the Hero Course!" Yuga just struck a pose for the crowd. "Verses, is there some kind of purpose for those things sticking out of her head? From the same class, Mina Ashido!"
Mina looked at her opponent confident that she'll win. The two exchanged a taunt before they each got ready.
"Come on Mina." Tsuyu cheered. "You can do it!"
"A match between Aoyama and Ashido." Midoriya mumbled. "Let's see, considering what their powers are, Aoyama will probably keep his distance and try to attack with his laser from far away.
So, it'll all depend on whether Ashido can dodge his attacks and manage to use her powers against him in close combat. Problem is, there's nothing much for her to use as cover in this ring, so she's at a slight disadvantage."
"Let's get started!" Mic announced. "Fifth match, BEGIN!"
Yuga fired a laser immediately, but Mina jumped over it.
She started making acid from her shoes to skate on the floor. "We were on the same team during Combat Training, so I know all about your Quirk, Aoyama."
"I can say the same thing about you." Yuga remarked while continuing to fire in fast succession.
"Sure, but there's a big difference." Ashido retorted while sliding under one laser attack, twirling over the next, and spinning past the next one. "I remember something you said. I know your weakness."
Knowing someone's weakness was only half the battle, but given what he has seen of Mina, it was likely she could fulfill the other half which was taking full advantage of it. Aoyama wasn't going to go down without a fight. He started leading his shots a bit closer.
He was beginning to falter, so he took a gamble. "H-Here's a…big one!"
Yuga made a larger beam that he shot out for about three seconds. Mina was ready for it and managed to avoid it by a hair while making a beeline towards her target. The gamble didn't pay off for the French boy as his stomach began to ache.
"Here's my shot!" The acidic girl called out as she flung her acid onto his belt.
This caused it to melt a bit which made the wearer freak out. "Oh no no no no no! Not my precious belt!" Then, the acid got to his pants, and they started to fall, "Ah!"
He grabbed his pants before they could fall, and while he was distracted with that, his opponent moved in for the win.
She slid right in front of him, stopping herself, and clenching her fist. "For my finishing move…" Ashido rose her fist up with all her strength and landed a direct hit on Yuga's chin knocking him out. "An uppercut!"
He fell to the ground, somehow looking a bit graceful when doing so, even though his pants were down.
"Aoyama has fainted." Midnight announced. "The winner of this match is Ashido!"
The crowd cheered for her victory as Mic commented, "Dang, Aoyama went down hard! That's an indisputable victory if I've ever seen one, sports fans!"
"Wow, Mina's amazing." Tsu remarked.
"I know." Goku smiled as he crossed his arms. "After seeing that, I want to fight her myself."
He felt it would be a fun battle, and while there were others the younger Shield was already interested in fighting, he wouldn't mind taking her on.
"The match unfolded like I thought it would." Izuku noted figuratively and literally. "Though, I definitely underestimated Ashido which is my mistake given what I saw of her during the USJ."
While Yuga was being wheeled away, Mina realized how much she embarrassed him and felt kind of sorry for him. After small break to get the acid off the arena, the next contenders were making their way to the ring.
"Now, let's not let this hot streak cool!" Mic announced. "Time to move onto the sixth match!"
"Offence and Defense in one." Mic commented. "The Dark Samurai and his Darker Shadow, from the Hero Course, Fumikage Tokoyami!" The bird boy didn't move a muscle and only focused his sight on his opponent. "Verses, he's got skills at the expense of some creepy looking elbows, it's Hanta Sero from the Hero Course!"
Sero was stretching. "Well, that was uncalled for."
"How do you think this one will end?" Mashairao asked Izuku. "Any clue?"
"Timing is going to be the key." Midoriya explained.
"Oh, how so?" Ojiro wondered.
"It's all going to depend on who's faster." Izuku informed. "If Sero eclipses Tokoyami, he's out. If it's the reverse, Tokoyami will pressure him out. If they end up even in that department, then Tokoyami's will overwhelm his opponent meaning he would still win the match."
"SIXTH MATCH, BEGIN!" Mic announced.
Fumikage instantly called out Dark Shadow while Sero sent out his tap at almost the exact same time. The problem with this was the fact that Dark Shadow tore through the coming tap before slamming into Hanta. Before Sero even knew it, he was out of the ring.
"Sero loses by ring out." Midnight called out. "This match goes to Tokoyami!"
Fumikage retracted Dark Shadow and respectfully bowed to Hanta, who was utterly shocked, before walking away.
"Yikes! Another overwhelming victory! Is it possible that Tokoyami's Sark Shadow is the greatest Quirk ever? I think so!"
Midoriya now noticed Ochaco was gone. "Hey, where's Uraraka?"
Goku didn't know that was something to question. Sure, she hadn't been here when he arrived, but he assumed someone had known she'd left.
"I don't know." Ojiro answered. "She left after the match with Goku and Momo. I think Tenya went to look for her though."
"Since her match comes after this next one, she might be in the waiting room." Goku informed.
"I'm going to go see her, okay?" Izuku asked.
"Alright." Goku replied. "I'll tell you what happens in the next match if it starts before you get back."
"Thanks." Midoriya responded before heading out to look for his female friend.
After a few minutes, Momo finally returned which drew Goku's attention. They made eye contact before she ended up looking away and going to sit with the girls. That made the class rep sigh. She probably wanted space from him, and he'd respect it. Didn't mean he liked it though."
"I just wish I knew why I didn't like it." Goku thought.
"Okay!" Present Mic announced. "Let's see who we got for ya next! The seventh match will be between two completely redundant Quirks! First, a passionate, manly fighter made of steel. The Hero Course's Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu!"
The 1-B fighter yelled from the top of his lungs. "Verses, a passionate, manly fighter made of rock. The Hero Course's Eijiro Kirishima!" The 1-A fighter was mad that his intro was almost the exact same as his opponents.
"Make us proud Tetsutetsu!" Itsuka cheered. "You're the only one of us left now!"
"Can't wait to see how this ends!" Mic declared. "BEGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!"
They activated their Quirks and charged full force at each other with a war cry. When the pair met face to face, they clashed fists making sparks from the impact. The two of them struggled but neither budged. They were both equal in power.
Kirishima reared back his other fist and went for another punch with Tetsutetsu doing the same resulting in them clashing once more. They did this again and again until Eijiro grabbed the steel fist he was about to clash with and pulled his opponent in for a solid punch to the gut.
The attack was slightly effective, but Tetsutetsu then used his free hand to punch Kirishima in the ribs making the red head let go before pushing him away. The steel fighter didn't back down and went for another punch; however, it was blocked by Eijiro.
He then went for a punch of his own only for that to be blocked as well. Each strike had a large amount of force behind it, and some people could feel how hard the attacks were being thrown. Even though this could be seen as a mirror match, it was a good one.
Tetsutetsu dodged an attack from Kirishima and countered with a solid punch to the cheek. Kirishima didn't budge from this and slid his face across his opponent's arm to get close before punching the ironclad boy in his forehead.
This hurt him a bit, but not enough to take him out. He used his strength to push the fist off him. The two kept at it clashing, striking, countering, and retaliating. Neither of them were backing down and were going full force no matter what.
"Come on Eijiro!" Goku cheered. "I've seen what you can do! Keep at it!"
He heard those words of encouragement, and it gave him enough of a morale boost to land a solid strike on Tetsutetsu's face making him reel back a bit. The steel-clad fighter caught himself and retaliated.
"I thought you were supposed to be STRONG!" He taunted while landing a direct hit on Kirishima's face.
He caught himself and came back. "That's funny, I heard the same lie about YOU!"
Tetsutetsu caught his fist and tightened his grip. "You calling my friends liars!?"
He roared as he used his free hand to go for another punch only for it to be caught by Eijiro. "Tough talk, but you haven't impressed me Tin Skin!"
The two continued to struggle with neither moving from their current position. They both reared their heads back and slammed them into each other causing sparks to fly as they grinded on each other's foreheads. The struggle was broken when Eijiro pushed his metal counterpart back.
He then went for a punch. Tetsutetsu guarded his face, but the red head went under his guard to land an uppercut to the chin. The ironclad student forced his head back down and went for a counter. Kirishima guarded his left, but Tetsutetsu managed to get around it.
He landed a vicious hook to his cheek. The thick-skinned fighter forced his head back into place as he then slammed his fist down forcing Tetsutetsu to flinch. It didn't last for long since the steel student countered with another hook to Eijiro's right cheek.
They were both looking to finish this with their next attack, so they both charged forgetting about defense. They slammed their fists into each other's jaws before reeling back and falling to the ground. Both of their Quirks deactivated, and they were unconscious.
"Wow, that hurt me, and all I'm doing is watching these guys!" Present Mic commentated. "Is it over? The hard heads look like they're K.O.'d, but who is the winner?"
Midnight walked over and inspected the two downed fighters. "They're both down! It's a draw! When the contestants recover from this battle, the winner will be determined in a simple contest. Perhaps arm wrestling."
"While we wait for Tetsutetsu and Kirishima to recover, we'll move onto the next battle!" Present Mic announced.
The screen showed the final match of the first bracket.
"Ribbit. This might be the most disturbing matchup." Asui commented.
"I know." Kyoka agreed. "I almost don't want to watch it."
"For as much as I don't like Bakugo, I can't agree." Goku stated getting everyone's attention. "For everything Katsuki does wrong, he has that drive to win. The will to not go easy. In his position, I wouldn't hold back either."
He looked to his class. "If there's anything we should have learned from the USJ, it's that the Villains aren't going to take it easy on us. Especially if we're unprepared for them. Bakugo is ready for this, so it's up to Ochaco to match that; not for him to match her."
The other members of Class 1-A didn't say anything, but they began reasoning through what their class rep said.
"This is the eighth and final battle in the first round of matches!" Present Mic started. "He was, kind of a hot shot in middle school, and just look at that determined face. From the Hero Course, Katsuki Bakugo!"
The crowd cheered a bit, but Bakugo looked annoyed. "Verses, who I'm personally rooting for. Also, from class 1-A, Ochaco Uraraka!" There was a large cheer for her, and she took a deep breath readying herself for the fight to come.
"You're the one who screws around with gravity." Katsuki remembered. "Right, Pink Cheeks?"
"Pink Cheeks!?" Ochaco repeated.
"Well, if you're going to give up, do it now." Bakugo told her. "'Cause I'm not going to hold anything back."
The slight amount of intimidation Katsuki was showing from his words, though effective, weren't enough to make Uraraka back down. She put on a serious face and showed that she means business. Bakugo's expression didn't change, showing that he meant what he said.
"Midoriya." Tenya spoke up. "I'm curious. What was that strategy you came up with that would give Uraraka an advantage against Bakugo?"
"Wait, strategy?" Goku questioned. "Did you give Ochaco a plan to beat Katsuki?"
"I offered her a strategy, but she declined." Midoriya replied. "Honestly, it wasn't really much of a plan."
"Well, that's good to know." Goku commented making the two of them wonder what he meant. "Since this is a tournament, I wouldn't think it'd be fair for fighters to help each other out by exchanging strategies. Especially when the finals are about showing what you can do alone."
"Wait, didn't you tell me to do that should we fight?" Iida questioned.
"I said to gather intel on me and make your own plan." Goku explained. "Not ask for advice on how to beat me. You didn't do that, did you?"
"At first, I tried." The class rep answered. "But no one, not even Midoriya, had an idea how to beat you. After that, I just gathered whatever intel I could from them, and have been formulating a plan of my own."
"Ochaco probably did the same thing." Goku retorted. "We just have to see what it is."
"It won't be easy though." Izuku stated. "Kacchan's strong. When it comes to close combat, he almost never has any openings, and the more he moves, the more he sweats which just makes his Quirk more powerful.
He's gotten good at using his explosions to move around in the air, but if Uraraka can touch him, she can use her Quirk to make him float. She could send him out of bounds. That's why it's obvious as to what Uraraka needs to do to get the upper hand."
"The only question is how." Goku remarked. "I guess we'll find out soon enough."
"Let the eighth match, begin!" Mic announced.
Ochaco ran forward keeping her body to the ground and her hands open. "Giving up isn't an option for me!"
"Whoa, look at her go." Midoriya remarked. "That's a good start, and all she has to do is touch him one time."
"But it won't be easy." Tenya reminded him. "You know Bakugo is not going to let her get too close."
"Which is why he won't dodge." Izuku retorted. "He'll focus his energy on counterattacking."
Katsuki raised his right palm. "And now you die."
He was rearing his right arm back which reminded Goku that Izuku said he always started a fight like that. Uraraka noticed this too and was getting ready to telegraph the attack. Bakugo changed to a forward strike and managing to land a close range explosion on her.
"Uraraka!" Iida and Midoriya shouted in unison.
"He blasted her." Yamcha commented.
"Looks like Bakugo really isn't going to show her any mercy." Asui commented.
"He changed his starting attack." Goku looked to Izuku. "He knows you and her are friends, so he's thinking that she'll use a strategy you came up with. Guess that means her denying your plan was a good idea in hindsight."
"Yeah, I guess so." Midoriya agreed. "Still, Kacchan will be more on guard because of that."
The smoke was starting to clear a bit, and Bakugo got his palms up. "You should have dropped out of the match." He could see movement through the smoke and Ochaco's jacket was coming into view. "There's no way you can beat me!"
He let loose another explosion, and the force cleared out some of the smoke showing that he pinned the jacket down; however, Uraraka wasn't there. Bakugo was surprised and worried because he couldn't see her. Then, from behind, Ochaco came out of the smoke.
"Woah!" Mic commentated. "She threw her jacket as a decoy! What incredibly quick thinking!"
She was inches away from his back, but Bakugo saw the attack coming before blasting her away. She flew back a bit but was able to recover quickly before hiding in the smoke
"Look at that reaction time." Hanta pointed out.
"Seriously, the dude is insane." Denki commented. "You can't get the drop on him, and since Uraraka can't use her Quirk unless she touches him, his lightning-fast reflexes put her at a huge disadvantage."
Katsuki cleared the smoke away not allowing his opponent to escape his sight again. She ran forward, but Bakugo dragged his hand on the ground making an arched explosion attack.
"Too slow!" He yelled out as the attack was sent out.
It once again hit his target and sent rubble flying up. Goku was beginning to wonder what Ochaco's strategy really was. These attacks weren't working, and she isn't trying any kind of fake outs. Bakugo wasn't even using much energy, so she can't outlast him like this.
She tried another flank but gave away her position when she yelled out, "I've got you!"
Bakugo was getting tired of this and made an even larger explosion that she couldn't dodge. Class 1-A was very worried about Uraraka. Even Goku was worried despite his feelings about this match.
"Is she okay?" Tsu worriedly asked.
"I can't watch this." Jiro stated with her hands covering her eyes.
Goku knew Ochaco had to have a method to her strategy. Another failed attempt to get in resulted in her getting swatted away, but she kept going.
"This isn't over yet!" She screamed before taking another explosion.
Smoke was almost everywhere except where Katsuki was, and he was looking around for her. He managed to spot her coming in for yet another rush, but he blasted her back once more. This time it was starting to take a toll on her.
"Looks like she's not resting between attacks despite being exploded." Mic quietly commented. "The poor girl."
She went one more time and got blasted away again. Goku noticed how the crowd was trying to analyze the situation and concluded she was just desperate. Finally, he was given a hint from an unexpected source.
"You idiots." Neito remarked.
Goku began observing the situation, but he wasn't seeing anything.
"Hey, shouldn't one of the teachers step in?"
"Yeah, this is too much."
Another explosion happened and the smoke behind Bakugo was blasted away showing how much he's destroyed the arena. Goku then realized something. The area around Katsuki had been blown to pieces, but there wasn't any debris.
He then looked closely at the next rush Ochaco executed. When the explosion went off, she seemed to be guarding her body by keeping her hands open. Then, the smoke covered her after that, but he also noticed that some of the rubble was flying towards her during that time.
"This is shameful! Listen kid, you really want to be a Hero? Then, stop acting like a bully. If you're so good, send her out of bounds!"
Another explosion signaled that Bakugo either didn't care about that Hero's opinion, or that he was too focused on his opponent to listen. Goku knew this could be seen as Katsuki playing with his food, but he knew couldn't be the case.
Not only that, but he noticed something else about Bakugo. He was constantly keeping his eye on his opponent which meant he wasn't paying much attention around him. She's going for frontal assaults and whenever she flanks him, she announces her attack.
So, Uraraka is forcing him as well as the audience to only pay attention to her. Goku decided to look away from the fight and eventually spotted his friend's plan above. Just like that, everything fell into place as the younger Shield moved to hide his expression.
"Stop toying with the girl and end this match!"
"Yeah, you heard the guy!"
The audience started to boo Katsuki.
"The crowd is now booing Bakugo!" Mic announced. "Honestly, I kind of agree with what they're…GAH!" Goku could only guess that Aizawa just hit Mic in the face. "HEY WHOA! WHAT THE CRAP!?"
"Where's the man who started this uproar?" Aizawa spoke up. "Are you a pro? Because if you're being serious, you can go home and hang up your cape. I'd suggest looking into another career."
That made the audience shut up fast.
"You know what he's talking about?" Izuku wondered.
That shocked Goku since he did know what Aizawa meant in relation to Bakugo. The younger Shield wasn't ignorant to his capabilities in reading people, but he'd say Momo and Izuku trumped him. The fact that neither of them, especially Izuku, had figured this out was surprising.
"Bakugo's fierceness is an acknowledgement of his opponent's strength." Aizawa explained. "He knows she deserves to have made it this far, so he's making sure he does whatever it takes to keep her at bay. To come out on top."
"That's what I've been trying to get across to all of you from the beginning." Goku crossed his arms. "Bakugo is a warrior whose pride won't let him settle with winning by technicality. He won't throw her out of the ring because he wants to take her down himself."
Ochaco was still standing, and Bakugo was keeping his eyes on her.
Then, she said something. "I think…it's about time. Thank you, Bakugo for keeping your eyes focused on me."
Katsuki was confused, but Goku knew what was coming. Monama was silently berating the Pros for not noticing the strategy that was happening from the stands. He then explained the things that both he and Goku managed to catch. The debris being missing from a shredded arena.
The relentless assault to both keep the boy distracted while also giving the girl more ammo to use. Now, the crowd looked up. Hundreds of pieces of debris and rubble were floating above the arena waiting to be dropped.
Everyone was stunned, except for Goku, Neito, and Aizawa, as they managed to catch onto it before anyone else. Ochaco then let out a battle cry as she released her Quirk. The debris began falling and since there was so much of it, the attack was going to cover everywhere.
"A meteor shower!" Mic commentated sounding shocked.
"Now you notice." Aizawa berate.
"Hey, she had a plan all along!" Izuku exclaimed.
As the rubble was falling, Bakugo was focusing solely on the falling rocks coming his way. While he did that, Ochaco sprinted at him. Multiple attacks coming from different directions. It doesn't matter what he does, he'll be open.
If he wants to blast away the attack, he must focus on that. Likewise, if he goes for Ochaco, he'll undoubtedly get pummeled by the debris falling towards him. Since there's so much, he'd either get buried or taken out. It was a masterfully done plan, but Goku knew Bakugo had one way out.
It seemed like the boy was more than willing to try as he raised his hand and braced himself. Ochaco was mere inches from him when Katsuki's forearm flared up. Then, one of the most powerful explosions Bakugo could produce went off.
It destroyed the debris while making a massive shockwave that could be felt from the stands and blasted his opponent away. He completely overpowered her attack. When the smoke cleared, Ochaco was struggling to get up and looking in the smoke terrified at the power displayed.
Bakugo then spoke up. "I figured you'd have some sort of stupid plan to beat me. You are friends with that damn nerd and spiky haired bastard, after all."
"Bakugo bangs out a huge demonstration of power!" Present Mic announced. "He blasted apart Uraraka's finishing move and remains untouched!"
Ochaco forced herself on her feet.
Katsuki smiled. "Alright, time for us to get serious, Uraraka!"
He began running towards his prey, and she turned around to do the same. Despite everything that happened, no matter how hopeless the situation was for her, she still had some fight left. Her heart was in it, her mind was in it, but her body wasn't.
She stumbled back down to the ground causing Bakugo to cease his charge and prompting Mic to speak up. "Uraraka is down!"
She was still struggling. Trying to force herself back onto her feet. Not wanting to give up and show the world that she had what it takes.
"This is too much." Iida said.
"Yeah." Midoriya agreed. "She's way past her limit."
She wanted to make her family proud. To make people see her as Pro material. Her legs wouldn't let her stand, so she used her arms to start crawling. Trying to inch her way over to her opponent and continue the fight.
The girl struggled to speak. "I can…do this…I can…still fight…I can."
She wanted to prove that she was strong like her friends. Just like Deku and Goku. She then stopped moving. Midnight was in the arena checking to see if Ochaco was alright. She was unconscious.
"Uraraka is K.O'd!" Midnight informed the crowd. "Bakugo advances to the second round!"
As soon as that was said, Goku flew into the arena startling everyone. A few of them were worried about what Goku was going to do. Ochaco was his friend after all, and he didn't like Katsuki. Goku simply picked up Uraraka's gym top, placed it on her, and gently lifted the girl before starting to carry her away.
He turned his head to look back at Katsuki. "Don't lose until the finals Katsuki." He turned back to the exit out and walked away. "I'll meet you there, and we'll both go all out."
The crowd ended up applauding Goku's generosity, but he wasn't paying attention to any of it. Izuku and Tenya left their seats to go to the nurse's office to see their friends. When Goku was out of sight from the crowd, he ran to said office.
Corridors
He knocked on the door, and when the Healing Hero answered, Goku walked in. He laid his friend on the bed but didn't leave the room until she decided to wake up. After a few minutes, and a healing kiss from the nurse, Ochaco opened her eyes. She didn't know where she was and tried to get up only to trip from the lack of energy.
"Easy." Luckily for her, Goku was there to catch her. "You were more hurt than you thought."
She was at first glad that Goku was there to catch her, but then she realized where she was and only pushed herself off him to sit on the bed again. "So, I guess I lost?"
"You did, but you put up one heck of a fight." Goku assured getting her to look at him to see that he was grinning. "Seriously, that plan of yours took a while for me to catch onto, and you came up with it all on your own too. That's cool."
"He thought I was cool even though I lost?" Uraraka was taken aback by Goku's words. "Well maybe… I still lost though, so I have to train even harder if I want to show the world what I can do."
"You've already done that." Goku placed a hand on her shoulder. "You showed the world that you're willing to fight against an opponent with insane power. You showed the world that you won't ever give up and fight to the end. You showed the world that behind that cheery, bubbly smile of yours is a tough, strong girl who's not afraid of anything."
Ochaco knew her friend was honest which only made what he said feel overwhelming. Goku was arguably the best student in the Hero Course after all.
"You're right Goku." She put a smile on her face. "Even though I lost the fight, I showed the world what I can do. Now, I just need to train to show the world that I can do even better."
That answer earned a thumbs up from her friend making her do the same thing back to him. After a few more minutes, Uraraka was able to stand on her own, so Goku helped her over to the waiting room. She wanted to get her stuff and as a new gym top that wasn't covered in burns.
Goku left her to her business and ran into Tenya and Izuku who were wondering if Ochaco was okay. HE told them the news, as well as where she was, and the two of them headed over to the waiting room while Goku went back to the bleachers.
Arena
Before he entered the bleachers, he heard his classmates talking. It sounded like Katsuki got there just before he did.
"Hey Bakugo." Hanta teased. "Playing the Villain huh? Must have been tough."
"Even if it was just because of who you were up against, you did make a pretty convincing bad guy." Tsu commented.
"Shut up idiots!" Katsuki ordered. "Or else!"
"For real dude." Denki voiced his opinion. "I don't know how you were able to aim a powerful blast at a frail girl like that."
"I definitely wouldn't call that girl frail." Bakugo commented calmly.
Goku wasn't expecting that. If what he just said is how he feels about his match, then he just acknowledged her strength. This didn't make Goku's bad blood for Bakugo go away, but it made him give more respect to the kid. He walked out before telling everyone that Ochaco was fine.
After a few minutes of waiting, Goku and the class noticed Eijiro and Tetsutetsu walking to the arena with Cementoss and Midnight following. Cementoss made a cement cube from the ground and the two boys got on each side. They activated their Quirks and locking arms.
"WAHOOOOO!" Present Mic yelled out as the two boys arm wrestled with all their strength, cracking the cement cube they were competing on. "We are finally about to learn who the true winner is from the seventh match! Kirishima or Tetsutetsu! Whoever prevails in this arm-wrestling match will advance to the second round! Let's GOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Right at the end of Mic's commentary, Goku noticed Tetsutetsu's hand crack from the pressure, and he started to falter. Right when this happened, Eijiro noticed and used all his strength. He let out a battle cry as he slammed the steel arm to the cube breaking both the steel and the cube.
"Kirishima is the winner." Midnight announced. "Add him to the bracket."
Eijiro yelled at the top of his lungs "YEAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
He then looked down at his opponent.
"Ah, damn my metal deficiency." Tetsutetsu cursed. "Should have eaten more iron this morning."
He then looked up at his opponent.
Kirishima had extended his hand to the steel student. "Hey man, you put up a good fight."
Tetsutetsu had accepted the manly token of sportsmanship letting Eijiro pull him up which made Midnight look like a girl fawning over a crush. With that settled, the second round of the tournament could begin.
The important thing to mention here is the fact that Bakugo didn't show any signs of his hands trembling after facing Ochaco. That was not a mistake as having Goku to beat, even more so than Todoroki, pushed him to up his own training in preparation. At the same time, I do feel that this wouldn't prevent Bakugo from kind of praising Ochaco's strength like he did in canon.
Monster King: Thanks.
ArguableReader: Yeah, her confidence was shaken in canon. While I can still see that being a point here, it'd be lessened and competing with other feeling concerning the entire day. I also have an idea how to bring up her confidence during the Internships. I'd say the Brief's and Bulma do exist in this world; however, they simply haven't been introduced yet. Japan is awesome, but other parts of the world need cool stuff to.
No, in all seriousness, I'll say they're in America with their capsule technology just coming into mainstream as a revolutionary breakthrough. Especially for a certain, Retired Hero. This retired Hero isn't Gran Torino; however, I assure you he still exists. No, I'm talking a retired Hero Canon Goku would know quite well, and this story's Goku will meet then.