The sound of Aizawa's whistle rang through Bakugo's ears and he took off onto the track. He didn't bother looking back, he knew this race was in the bag. A quarter into his run he noticed something in his peripherals, something white. It happened almost in slow motion. Bakugo looked to the side, directly into two amber orbs that happened to be watching him as well. Minamoto was not only keeping up, she was about to pass him.

At this Bakugo pushed his body to run faster but Minamoto kept up, never fully passing him. "Heh, this chick is fast, but not as fast as me." He thought to himself. She kept his pace, almost as if insulting him. Bakugo felt a pinch in his pride causing him to curse and force his muscle into overdrive. His speed increased as hers did too. Bakugo's thighs burned as he pushed harder, running as fast as he possibly could, but she still kept up. The final blow came when he heard his opponent speak. "That's it? What happened to eating your damn dust?!" She shouted with a smile, just barely passing him.

Bakugo lost all control. His pride had taken over. A smirk grew on his face as he began to blow small explosions to boost his step, quickly passing Minamoto. "You asked for it!" He shouted while looking back to watch the dismay on his challenger's face but he wasn't given that satisfaction.

Her pupils dilated as a smile rested upon Minamoto's face, she had finally found a worthy opponent. Her stance quickly started to change. She ran, crouching lower to the ground. Her arms began to assist as she ran on all fours, her speed quickly increased. Before Bakugo could blink she had not only caught up but had taken first place.

"What the hell is this girl?!" He angrily thought to himself as he increased the size of his explosions, making sure to keep his feet on the ground. With the finish line rapidly approaching, Bakugo let out one final blast, allowing him to barely tie with his new foe.

The two didn't miss a moment, they kept the same speed as they advanced to the second trial. Grabbing onto the pullup bars both Bakugo and Minamoto counted, voices filled with fire. "One, two, three…" Sweat could be seen dripping from both of their faces. Bakugo glanced over and could see the muscles in her arm flexing with each rep. "This girl isn't just toned, she's fucking strong!" He thought to himself, almost feeling excited. It had been a long time since he had such a challenging opponent.

"Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen…" Each was just as determined as the other to be victorious. "Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty!" The entire class erupted with excitement and cheers as they watched their egotistical top student practically fall victim to the new underdog. Bakugo and Minamoto hit the ground running, practically sliding into the third trial, the army crawl.

The path was narrow, only a three foot gap granted passage between the cold, wet mud and sharp barbed wire. To Bakugo's amusement, the thought of getting dirty didn't stop Minamoto, not for a moment. He could see her, white hair stained brown and face filled with sweat, as she strategically crawled through the mud. For the most part, they continued to keep pace with one another but towards the end Minamoto pushed her way into first. Bakugo wanted to push but he was tired. His lack of sleep was taking full effect on his body.

Only a few feet away from the exit, Bakugo heard Minamoto take in a sharp breath and curse. He looked over to see her wincing in pain with her ankle tightly wrapped in barbed wire. Seeing this was an opportunity to take the lead, he continued forward with a bit more force. Afterall, all is fair in love and war.

Bakugo locked eyes with Minamoto as he passed her, wearing a smug face. This was it, he was going to win. He was going to win and rub it in her face, proving he was still the number one student. Minamoto's eyes widened at this, her fire now raging out of control. Bakugo watched her pained face change into one full of anger, surprisingly, resembling many he had made in the past.

She kept eye contact with him, she wanted him to see who he was dealing with. Without skipping a beat Minamoto quickly kicked off her shoe and rammed her leg up, freeing her foot from the sharp wire. She screamed out in pain. Bakugo watched as the barbs which had dug into her ankle and were ripped out, blood trickling down her foot. She grit her teeth and panted, feeling the pain pulse through her.

Bakugo was in so much shock that he had actually stopped crawling for a moment. His body was frozen, unable to move, but Minamoto's wasn't. Nails buried deep in mud, she continued to claw her way through, ignoring the intense pain in her foot. She felt the open wounds, she felt the dirt seeping into her cuts, but she didn't care. Victory was too close for her to not take it.

Her amber eyes laid passionately on Bakugo who was still frozen. She snarled at him, showing off her sharp, intimidating teeth. "MOVE, DAMMIT!" She shouted to Bakugo, almost commanding him. Minamoto wasn't about to let her rival give up so easily. Hearing this threw Bakugo's body back into motion and he quickly picked up his pace. Grunts and heavy breathing could be heard as the two continued their way to the end. Both emerging at the same time, scrambling to their feet to dash for the bell.

It was close, so close that neither one of them knew who had grabbed the rope first. So focused on winning, they practically fell on top of each other to get a firm grip. With the last of their strength, the two pulled down as hard as they could, almost tearing the rope clean off. The bell rang loudly through their ears, signaling their completion. The two stood there, panting, both still gripping the rope with all their might.

Bakugo could barely stand, dripping with sweat. Minamoto stood beside him, both hands on the rope to help support her ankle. Burnt sugar mixed heavily with the scent of jasmine and amber. Minamoto stood there, breathing heavy, mud splashed across her uniform and blood dripping from her foot. The two were exhausted, neither one of them moved for a while.

Minamoto was the first to break the silence. A weak laugh escaped her lips in between deep breaths. She looked up into Bakugo's crimson eyes, a fierce smirk on her face. His face was angry, angry but also happy. He had just experienced a grueling battle, one he had not had in a very long time.

"I win." She breathed, feeling the thrill of victory wash over her. Bakugo's eyes widened, overflowing with anger as he shouted. "You win?! Sorry to tell you but I-" but Bakugo was cut off by a feeling in his hand. The feeling of something moving. He looked over to the rope to realize that he had not caught the rope at all, he actually gripped onto Minamoto's, now wiggling, hand instead. This, technically meaning that he didn't actually ring the bell at all, Minamoto did.

Three years. Three whole years of training, anger, and claiming to be number one and it had finally happened. Bakugo finally lost.

I hope you are enjoying the story! Chapter 4 is coming soon! Thank you!