The final match came to a close as the sun began to disappear over the horizon, taking cover in the mountains across the valley. Reminiscent of Iida and Asui, Sato and Shoji dominated Mineta and Koda and the match seemed like it had ended right as it had begun. All the students were overjoyed that the long day training and battling was getting near the end and the cruel hot sun was relenting it's scorching rays.

Aizawa and Present Mic gathered the exhausted students to begin addressing the winners and losers. Present Mic took the lead, "Winners, congratulations! You guys can take it easy tonight and you have tons of free time to kill while dinner is being prepared!"

"Losers," Aizawa cut in to the dismay of half the students, "And the teams that tied will be cooking dinner tonight for your classmates and yourselves."

"We have to help too?" Uraraka muttered. "Oh man…" Her imagination had been running rampant with ideas of getting a chance to bathe and rest before dinner, but those dreams had now been dashed.

"You all know what to do," Aizawa closed and left the students to their own devices.

"Well then," Yaoyorozu weakly pumped her fist, "I guess we should get cracking."

The four losing teams and the two tied teams glumly made their way to the mess hall to begin their arduous task of frying up the fish and dishing up sides.

"This totally sucks!" Kaminari groaned as he fileted the fish with his disgruntled former teammate.

Jiro huffed in exasperation, "Maybe we just aren't a good match."

Kaminari eyed the earphone jacked girl beside him with a confused look, "How'd ya mean? I thought we were great."

"Stop talking and filet!" Ashido cut in. "The longer we take to do this, the less time we get to relax."

Uraraka and Yaoyorozu gave their pink classmate raised eyebrows. Ashido wasn't normally stern with her classmates. Little did they know, she was just dying to get out of speaking range of Aoyama so she as busting through the tasks as quickly as she could.

"Argh! Damn it!" Bakugo's yells could be heard throughout the kitchen. "Why the fuck won't this damn rice just come out right?!"

Kirishima wandered over to see what Bakugo was doing and saw a pile of half-cooked rice. "Dude, do you not know how to cook rice?"

Bakugo cranked his neck to stare deafeningly at Kirishima, "Do I look like a damned idiot to you?! Of course I can cook rice! It's this damn rice that we have, it sucks ass!"

Kirishima backed off a little, "Yeah whatever man."

Uraraka paused her conversation with Yaoyorozu and Midoriya as she looked over at Bakugo and Kirishima's encounter. She paused from peeling potatoes as Bakugo sent Kirishima away and started another batch of rice, his eyes gleamed with deathly determination.

Uraraka flitted her eyes back to her task, trying to engage in the conversation again. A few minutes later she spotted Bakugo lifting the lid off the pan of rice to peer inside. She almost rolled her eyes as his idiocy and dropped her peeler. She smiled at Yaoyorozu and Midoriya, "I'll be right back, okay?"

Her two friends nodded briefly as their eyes followed Uraraka to Bakugo's station.

When she reached him, she offered him a friendly smile, "Hey Bakugo, I can see that the rice isn't coming out the way you want."

"Shut up." Bakugo bit back, his attention focused on the pan before him.

Uraraka caught his arm as he reached for the pan's lid again. "Not so fast."

Bakugo broke his demonic glare with the pan to offer the same glare toward her. "What the fuck do you want?!" He shook his arm out of her grasp, stunned at her boldness.

Uraraka only smiled back, unafraid of his eye's warnings. "I actually know how to cook, you know? Let me help."

Bakugo resented that statement but didn't open his mouth.

"Look," Uraraka pointed at the pile of soiled rice he had made earlier. "Rice needs lots of steam to cook, so every time you take the lid off, all the steam escapes. That's why you just have to leave it alone and let it cook."

Kirishima looked up from his place frying the fish to see Bakugo stand back and let Uraraka clamp the lid shut on the pot tight and set a timer for him. He spied more and saw Uraraka smile nonchalantly at Bakugo and craned ears to hear what they were saying.

"That's all there is to it," Uraraka started the timer.

Bakugo crossed his arms, his expression never wavering from annoyance. "Yeah whatever, beat it."

Uraraka wiggled her fingers at him as she walked back to peel veggies. "Let me know if you need anymore help!"

Bakugo was irked, declaring he didn't need any more help but he had to admit that the standing around and waiting made him feel useless.

"Yo man," Kirishima called to Bakugo. "Wanna come help me in the meantime? This is a lot of work for a single man!"

Mineta had been trying to help, but he was barely able to see over the counters so he was pretty helpless in the kitchen as a whole. He simply cleaned up after everyone as they went now.

Bakugo stared at the redhead for a moment, contemplating how generous he was feeling tonight. "Fine, rocks-for-brains. If you really need help that bad."

Kirishima ignored Bakugo's snide remark and offered the blonde a spatula. "I know you struggle cooking rice, so can I trust you with the fish?"

Bakugo's eyes widened with rage, "You're the one who asked for my help!" He moved to throw the spatula back at Kirishima, "You can cook this shit by yourself!"

Kirishima gave the spatula back to Bakugo, "Dude, I was just kidding. Relax, would ya?"

The pair started working together flipping the fish and cooking freshly filleted ones. The silence between the two friends was loud.

"So…" Kirishima started hesitantly. "You and Uraraka kicked ass today."

Bakugo opted not to react to this comment by Kirishima, focusing all of his anger and rage into flipping the fish. The only reaction he gave was clenching his jaw.

Kirishima twisted his mouth in disappointment, knowing the blonde was notoriously difficult to praise. "How'd things go with you and her?"

Bakugo finally handed Kirishima a dangerous look, "What the fuck are you getting at?"

Kirishima suddenly realized how his question sounded, "No, no! I mean, how was it working with her?"

Bakugo held his pissed-off glare for a few moments before answering, "Peachy. Now fuck off."

"Ahh, come on!" Kirishima elbowed Bakugo teasingly, "You can tell me."

"I said fuck off!" Bakugo spat in reply.

Kirishima shrugged, now unafraid of his hot-blooded classmate and friend. "Whatever, man. I just thought you and her were like, kind of friends now. "

Bakugo seethed, "You thought wrong, fuck-face." 'Like I'd be friends with any of these idiots, especially one of Deku's fangirls.'

…

A little while later, dinner was successfully served. The cooking was pretty sub-par and almost all the fish that Bakugo had cooked came out burnt, but everybody's bellies were filled by the end. The losers had dealt with a little heckling from the winners about their food quality, but Bakugo was quick to shut them down after threatening to kill them all.

Uraraka was surprised by how much food she had been able to put down and she happily replaced her tray. It was finally time for her to relax.

"Nothing sounds better than a bath, eh?" Yaoyorozu teased her bunkmate.

Uraraka nodded lazily, "I can't lie, that sounds amazing."

The girls skipped back to their cabin for their toiletries and their towels before making it beeline for the bath house. On their way, they waved down Jiro, Ashido, Asui, and Toru and opted to invite them to join. Ashido, Jiro, and Asui agreed, but Toru had bathed earlier so she declined.

The hot springs behind the bath house were separated by a tall wooden wall. Boys to one side and girls to the other. When Uraraka was finally able to sink down under the steaming water and lean her back against the warm rocks, she sighed contently. "I can't remember the last time I got a chance to use a hot spring."

Yaoyorozu settled in nearby with Ashido, "I have one at home that I clearly don't use enough."

Ashido shook her head astoundedly, "I really need to become your best friend, Yaoyorozu. That way, I can come over and use your hot spring every day."

The three girls laughed girlishly as Asui and Jiro came to join. The five of them settled in and chatted pointlessly about never leaving the springs.

"So," Ashido changed the subject suddenly, "How did you all like your partners today?"

Asui tapped her chin with a fat fingertip, "Iida and I worked well together. I guess our personalities just clicked or something -ribbit."

Jiro nodded in agreement, "You guys totally kicked our butts. Working with Kaminari is like working with a elementary school student. We definitely got along fine, but as soon as a butterfly or something would fly by, he'd be distracted."

"I think he probably just wanted to spend time with you," Ashido chimed in. "If you want to talk about distracted teammates, then don't get me started on Aoyama. Our personalities don't mix so well at all. He's all glamour and perfection! Somehow we managed to compromise, but we still lost."

Yaoyorozu decided now would be a good time to jump in, "Midoriya is a great partner. He's Mr. Strategy and he has a butt load of power. I'm just relieved that he managed to get a handle on his quirk after all this time. To say we worked well together is an understatement."

Uraraka clasped her face in her warm hands. "Ugh, don't rub it in guys!"

All the girls looked over at the chocolate-haired girl. "Oh yeah," Ashido started. "I bet working with Bakugo was not easy."

"You don't even want to know," Uraraka groaned. "I am just so glad that it's all over now."

Asui looked somewhat surprised, "Well it didn't show in your guys' match. You two were great, ribbit."

Yaoyorozu nodded in agreement, "Yeah, you guys gave Midoriya and I a run for our money. For a moment, even I thought we were going to lose to you and Bakugo!"

Uraraka shook her head wildly, "The entire thing was a total and complete mess."

"That's tough," Ashido swam over to the brunette to pat her on the head. "Did you guys do okay training for it all day?"

Uraraka laughed out loud, "No way! He was a rude, pessimistic jerk all day! I kept having to agree to fight him in order to get us back on track. He's like a freakin' bull in a china shop!"

Uraraka knew her words were harsh, but she just needed to vent. The girls all listened as she released more of her frustrations about the explosive blonde. She figured that getting it all off her chest would help her relax.

As Uraraka finished unloading her day's frustrations, Jiro decided to give her thoughts. "Well despite everything, I bet Bakugo definitely respects you now."

Yaoyorozu nodded in agreement, "Yeah, without your quirk, I bet Bakugo would have had a really hard time against Midoriya."

Ashido giggled for her brunette friend. "You definitely saved his butt and you tied the score. Bakugo just needs to remember that he's the one who let Midoriya take his flag. He can't blame the tie on you."

Uraraka shrugged, "I know that, but it still feels like I let him down somehow."

Ashido smiled cheerily at Uraraka, "Don't sweat it anymore, okay? You were awesome out there!" She pulled Uraraka's cheeks into a haphazard smile. "We just want our cute little Uraraka back."

…

Meanwhile on the other side of the wall, the boys were settling in for a bath themselves. Kaminari floated around lazily on his back while Kirishima swiped his damp and matted hair out of his eyes.

"Ahhh…" Sero sighed happily as he relaxed against a rock. "It just doesn't get any better than this."

Tokoyami, Todoroki, and Midoriya settled in together, talking about their day training and the results of their battles. Bakugo opted to soak by himself and ignore his male classmates. His typical angry aura no longer bothered anyone as they messed around and wound down after the long day.

"What I'm after is right on the other side of this here wall…" Mineta's tone was scandalous and determined. His hands were on his hips as he tried to organize his hormonal thoughts into a plan.

This caught the attention of everybody in the boys' hot spring. They all crooked their heads in horror as Mineta crushed his ear against the wooden wall.

"Ah yes," Mineta drooled. "They're really there! I can hear them talking!"

"Bad idea," Todoroki spoke calmly.

"Amazing idea!" Mineta beamed. "Oh man, they're talking about us!" If Mineta didn't have their complete attention before, he definitely had it now.

"No way," Kaminari shook his head and swam toward the wall. "I gotta hear this."

A note of curiosity began to settle over the hot spring while Kaminari joined Mineta. "Yeah, he's right. They're all talking about us."

It wasn't long before Kirishima had his ear pressed against the wall too. The first thing he heard made him bust up laughing. "Jiro is spot on!" Kirishima pointed an accusing finger at Kaminari. "You kinda are like an elementary student!"

Kaminari turned a profuse red, "Why would she say that?! I thought we worked super good together!" But then Kaminari heard Ashido's response about him wanting to spend time with Jiro and he froze up. "Okay, not true!"

"SHHH!" Mineta scolded them, "I can't hear them!"

The rest of the boys in the hot spring watched slack-jawed at the trio of eavesdroppers.

"Midoriya!" Kirishima noted. "Yaoyorozu says you're totally awesome. You're Mr. Strategy!"

Midoriya's eyes widened at the compliment, unsure how to respond or process it. "O-oh, okay!"

"Shut up!" Kaminari hissed. "I think Uraraka is talking about Bakugo now."

Now everyone in the boys' hot spring was dead silent, lending aid to the eavesdroppers. Bakugo clenched his fists under the warm water, but waited impatiently to hear what Kirishima and Kaminari relayed back.

"BURN!" Kirishima cackled. "She says you guys were a total mess, Bakugo!"

Fury lit up like a wildfire in Bakugo's gut. 'What the fuck?! A mess?!'

Kirishima and Kaminari met each other's amused gazes before relaying the next tidbit. "This is exactly what she said," Kirishima offered up, trying to mimic Uraraka's frustratedly girly tone. "He was a rude, pessimistic jerk all day! I kept having to agree to fight him in order to get us back on track. He's like a freakin' bull in a china shop!"

Bakugo slapped the water with an angry fist, opening his mouth in protest, but the entire occupation of the hot spring shushed him simultaneously.

Kirishima, Kaminari, and Mineta pressed their ears harder against the wood to listen.

"Oh man…" Kaminari muttered as Uraraka carried on her listless complaints against Bakugo to her friends on the other side of the wall.

"We're just going to skip telling Bakugo the majority of that," Kirishima whispered back.

It wasn't long until they heard Jiro reply to the brunette, saying that Bakugo probably respects her now and Yaoyorozu's compliment to her quirk.

Kirishima relayed the new bits back to the group of boys, specifically Bakugo. "They're saying you probably respect her now and they also said that you wouldn't have been able to fight Midoriya without Uraraka's quirk."

Kaminari chimed in after that. "They also said that it's your fault that you guys tied, but Uraraka still thinks she let you down."

Bakugo was fired up now, unable to restrict his fury anymore. "Shut the FUCK UP and stop eavesdropping, you perverts!" Bakugo splashed his way out of the hot spring and grabbed his towel angrily. As he left, he glared at the three boys that were still hovering beside the wall. 'That fuckin' gravity wench is going to pay in spades for this shit.'

Midoriya watched as the furious Bakugo stormed out, cursing the entire way. The complement he'd received from Yaoyorozu was refreshing, and he was certainly grateful. However, he couldn't help but be concerned about Bakugo. He was not the kind of guy that took negative feedback very well and Midoriya contemplated following the hot-blooded blonde but decided to let him work out his anger first. It'd be pointless trying to talk to him now.

Author's Note:

I promised an update today, so here you go!

Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think. :)

~NumberSixteen