我田引水

gaden insui

pulling water to my own rice paddy/ doing or speaking about things in a way to benefit yourself.

"IT'S TIME FOR OUR LAST MATCH BEFORE THE FINAL!" Present Mic announced. Taking that as my que, I started out of the tunnel, and the crowd erupted to into cheers. I scanned the audience as I climbed the stairs, searching for my friends. My eyes widened as I spotted Todoroki sitting next to Izuku in the Class A box - in my seat. He met my stare evenly. I huffed irritably, turning my gaze firmly back to the stage. "Half n' Half Bastard" indeed. Even more fitting would be "Chair Thief."

Bakugo stared me down from across the stage, looking oddly calm. He was determined to beat me, I realized. That wasn't irrational anger speaking, that was solid resolve. I set my jaw, clenching my fists. I would give him the fight he wanted.

"After the last match, it might be a little hard to measure up, but Kurosaki has been doing a great job surprising us so far!" Present Mic commented, and the crowd cheered. "Now, it's KATSUKI BAKUGO VERSUS ICHIGO KUROSAKI! Are you all ready?! 'Cause I'm on the edge of my seat!" The roar of the crowd grew louder. I raised my chin, meeting Bakugo's stare with my own challenge. I saw his eyes spark in response. "Well then, STAAART!"

Bakugo flew across the stage immediately, propelled by his explosions. I dropped to the floor as he shot overhead, but Bakugo quickly changed directions, attempting to pull the same move he used on Izuku during the Battle Trials: blind me with his first attack, then land an explosion on my back. Recognizing the pattern, I rolled forward blindly, dodging the secondary attack. I spun as I did so, and Bakugo landed in the spot I'd originally been standing.

I narrowed my eyes. This wasn't good, because Bakugo was controlling the pace of the battle. If I wanted to have even a chance at winning, I need to control the speed and movements of the fight - which would be difficult, because in an open area like this Bakugo had much more mobility than I did. I needed to put pressure on him, I needed to do something he wouldn't expect, I needed… I grinned, and slid my foot back, changing my battle stance.

I needed to change my fighting style.

Bakugo catapulted himself forward again, this time lower to the ground. He didn't want to give me room to dodge, and that was fine. Because instead of rolled backwards, I sidestepped and sucker-punched Bakugo in the face.

"FUCK!" Bakugo cussed, barely managed to right himself. I grinned savagely, ignoring the icky feeling of blood slipping between my fingers. Bakugo straightened, glaring at me hatefully as he wiped the blood from his broken nose.

I copied my stance again, low to the ground, legs spread for stability, and hands up. This was a boxing stance, very different from my usually mobile style. I couldn't move faster than Bakugo, so there was no point in trying. Instead, I'd allow him to fly around, and defend myself where I was standing, slipping into any openings he allowed. I could see in Bakugo's eyes that he understood the situation - if he tried to fly around like he usually did, I'd match him with my reflexes, wearing him down slowly. With my quirk, the longer the fight lasted, the better my chances.

"KUROSAKI HAS DRAWN FIRST BLOOD!" Present Mic screamed. "SHE'S FALLEN BACK ON GOOD 'OL FASHIONED STREET FIGHTING!"

Bakugo lowered his hand. "So that's how it's gonna be, huh?" He said. "I'll try a trick, and you'll fuck it up?"

"As b-best I can," I retorted cheekily, grinning at him brightly.

He narrowed his eyes, unamused. "Fine then," he growled. "No tricks." My eyes widened as he ran in close, hands open and raised. He got into arms reach, and extended his arm in a mock-punch, trying to set a bomb off in my face. Slipping to the outside of his punch, I swatted it upwards and away, the explosion sparking between his fingers ruffling my hair. I aimed a hook for his side, but he stepped away, dodging and aiming another weaponized punch towards my head.

Our fight tranformed into a fist fight, both of us throwing punches and kicks as we circled eachother, staying in close and allowing no chances to escape. We both landed several hits, Bakugo managing to burn my side with an explosive punch, while I bruised his ribs with a kick. We moved back and forth across the battle area, and at some point I realized I was smiling for real. Just like my fight with Kirishima, I was having fun. And Bakugo didn't look near as grumpy as usual either.

I was hit with a sudden epiphany: I liked fighting.

I was so startled by this realization, that Bakugo managed to land an uppercut to my jaw, sending me tumbling backwards. The crowd cheered, and I extended my hands, ignoring the stars in my eyes and falling into a back-handspring. My feet landed on the boundary line, and I almost sighed in relief I hadn't landed an inch more back.

Bakugo was out of breath as well. "Don't get distracted, Ichimi," he snarked. "Scared I'm going to pull on your damn pigtails too fucking hard, princess?"

I giggled in surprise at my newest nickname. "P-princess?" I repeated. "And y-you'd h-have to actually g-get close enough t-to p-pull my 'pigtails'." I returned to my fighting stance, waiting for Bakugo to attack again.

He took the invitation, charging forwards, and I changed the battle all over again. Bakugo had been expecting another fist fight, so I switched to my first, more agile style, dropping down and sweeping Bakugo's feet out from under him. He jumped over my leg, so I popped up, using his arm to throw him over my shoulder and past the boundary line. I let go of his arm as he flew towards the ground.

Bakugo stopped himself from hitting the ground outside the boundary with an explosion. Hovering over the line, he turned himself midair, aiming a kick towards my head. I could see his eyes widen as he realized his mistake. I raised my arms, ready to take his kick and use it to send him spinning over the line, when I stopped. I had entered this fight knowing I didn't want to battle Todoroki. If I beat Bakugo now, I would be guaranteeing Todoroki's victory, and setting myself up for a world of futile pain. If I dropped out during the final round, the agency would get pissed. Meaning my only option here… was to lose.

I let Bakugo's kick hit me. I caught air, and I could almost hear my ribs creak as I landed over the boundary. Bakugo landed, red eyes wide in disbelief, as the crowd cheered it's approval.

"... Bakugo wins..." Present Mic muttered over the intercom, sounding disappointed. There was a loud smacking sound shortly thereafter.

I climbed to my feet unsteadily, activating my quirk and just as quickly deactivating it, inhaling sharply as my ribs snapped back into place. My entire body ached, my joints popped with every movement, and my ears felt like they were stuffed with cottonballs. I had finally overloaded my nervous system, it seemed. I teetered off stage, missing Bakugo's heated stare entirely, or how Recovery Girl walked up behind him, fixing his nose.

I shuffled through the tunnel, mind already mapping the way to hospital within the arena. I single-mindedly plodded over to the nurses office, limping down the halls until I spotted the door with a red cross over it. Opening the door, I slammed it shut behind me, tottering towards the medicene cabinet. Scrambling through the pills bottles, I clutched the painkillers I'd been looking for desperately, twisting the bottle open with shaking hands and popping four pills. I tossed the bottle back in the cabinet, barely coherent enough to half-way cover my tracks, and then fell back onto one of the empty hospital beds.

I was just starting to feel my muscles loosen as the odd, unpleasant numbness set in, when the door was slammed open. It crashed against the wall, as Bakugo stormed into the room with sparking fists. "I TOLD YOU NOT TO THROW THE FUCKING FIGHT!" He screamed.

"I didn't," I groaned from the bed, not bothering to open my eyes. I was too tired and high on pain meds to feel nervous or stutter.

"You didn't?" Bakugo repeated disbelievingly, growing angrier. "You let me fucking kick you, damnit!"

I sighed tiredly. "Bakugo, I need you to understand something," I forced myself to sit up, leaning against the wall behind the bed. My head sagged to the side anyways. "My quirk doesn't block pain." The blonde froze, seeming to realize what I was insinuating. "After the past few fights, I overloaded my nervous system. I can't fight anyone right now without doing permanant damage to my body," I continued, eyes closing. "Out of the both of us, you had the best chance of beating Todoroki, and if I'd dropped out of the final match, I'd risk losing my scholarship. It was a strategic decision," I grinned tiredly, opening my eyes. "Fighting you was pretty fun, actually. You're the best hand-to-hand fighter I've seen in the class."

Bakugo didn't look my in the eyes, turning his head away from me. "That's fucking bullshit," he started, and I started to slump in disappointment. "I expect another damn fight after this whole thing is over, got it?" I inhaled sharply, and Bakugo glared at me. "Got it?" He repeated.

I smiled again. "Got it," I agreed.

"I'm going to go beat Todoroki, get the damn gold medal, and then I'm going to fight you again," he continued. "And I'm going to win for real, and if you throw that fucking fight too, I'll send you straight into the fucking afterlife." I huffed out a quiet giggle, already starting to fall asleep, and Bakugo seemed to realize I wasn't going to talk anymore. Bakugo turned around, stalking back out the door. "And you didn't fucking suck either," he finished. My eyes opened halfway, watching him leave. I barely managed to smile, because that almost sounded like a compliment again.

Closing my eyes again, I decided to take a nap. No one knew where I was, anyways, and I didn't want to get woken up any time soon. My last thought, was that I hoped Mister Aizawa wouldn't be disappointed by my decision. I was relatively sure he'd understand anyways, we both knew that I wasn't going to beat Todoroki today.

I sat at the tiny dining table Grandmother had set up against the wall, quietly eating dinner. Grandmother always made American food, she said it made her feel closer to home. I pushed my peas around my plate with my fork, avoiding looking up at the old woman across the table.

"Anmatsu, is something wrong?" Grandmother asked kindly. "You normally eat more."

I bit my lip, placing my fork on the table, and hid my shaking hands in my lap. "N-no, mama." I lied nervously.

Grandmother clicked her tongue. "Don't try and fib with me, Anmatsu," she scolded, putting her own fork down. "What's going on that has you so upset?"

I squirmed in my seat, wondering if I could even get an answer for this. "I-If I ever h-had k-kids, would you love them?" I whispered, staring at my clenched fists under the table.

Grandmother's eyes widened, and she gave a startled laugh. "Already considering grandkids, Anmatsu? You're a little ahead of the game," when I didn't raise my head, she sighed. "Of course I would. They would be my precious grandbabies, how could I not adore them?"

"Th-then," I looked up at her desperately, eyes watering. "Why d-don't y-you love m-me?" I begged.

Grandmother gasped. "I do love you!" She got up from her chair, quickly making her way around the table and hugging me tightly. "I love you so much, Anmatsu. Don't even doubt it for a second." She said fiercely. I only cried harder, sobbing into her arms, desperate for reassurance I couldn't find.