The next morning, Bakugo was the first to leave the cabin with a determined grimace. The first hints of light were peeking over the mountains and beginning to wipe the dewey chill from the air. Kirishima and Kaminari were always slow to get going in the morning, much to Bakugo's frustration, so he left them behind to track down a bubbly brunette.
He wandered into the main camp area and browsed for her. Her bunkmates were lounging around the bath house chatting about, what he assumed, annoying girl stuff. The idiot one with the long black hair laughed boisterously and waved her hand at the earphone-head girl. Bakugo rolled his eyes. Shouldn't round-face be with them?
He scanned the camp once more, his red eyes squinted with focus and his hands digging deeper in his pockets. His eyes caught hold of the brunette a few moments later. 'She's an early riser.' Bakugo smirked and began making his way toward her.
The mornings were Uraraka's favorite time of day. It was the alone time she needed in order to be ready for the day's activities. Back home, this was the only quiet time she'd get so she'd formed a habit of meditating each morning. It was the only way she knew how to gather her thoughts and mentally prepare for whatever hard work waits for her.
She gazed over the lake and let the breeze gently tousle her hair. She took a long and deep breath, satisfaction and peace settling over her. The sounds of nature were soothing and calming enough to create the most ideal meditation spot. Nothing could ruin this perfectly relaxed moment for her.
"Oy, round-face!"
Well, except that.
Uraraka was effectively startled, her arms flailing for a moment before she looked behind her to see a fuming blonde heading her way. She gulped and wrestled her body around to face him, maintaining her floating position. She re-crossed her legs and smiled at him, "Good morning, Bakugo! How did you sleep?"
Bakugo finished his approach and gave her a dead look, "We need to talk." He crossed his arms against his chest and stared harshly at the hovering girl.
Uraraka laughed awkwardly, pulling on the drawstring of her sleeveless hoodie. She hadn't readied herself for the day yet, so she simply donned yoga pants, a white tank top, and her hoodie. She felt dramatically underdressed, "What's up?"
Bakugo tilted his head judgmentally, "I'm tired of you fuckin' with me"
Uraraka's expression remained in the same surprised look. 'He's always straight to the point, isn't he?' She was silent for a moment, wondering what he was getting at. "What do you mean?"
Bakugo's demeanor didn't budge, "We aren't friends so quit trying."
Uraraka's face fell from surprise into amusement, "Okay, whatever you say, Bakugo."
He looked grim as he watched her be entertained. Was she not taking him seriously? "I'm serious round-face. This is the only warning you're going to get."
"Hmm…" Uraraka tapped her chin thoughtfully, still hovering above her claimed rock. "Did I do something to upset you?"
Bakugo blinked. His expression didn't change, but he was struck with shock over her arrogance. "Are you serious? Try everything you've said all week. I'm tired of your shit."
Uraraka was slightly taken aback, unsure how to respond. "Errr… Alright."
No, that answer isn't good enough. He wanted to hear her promise to leave him alone.
Bakugo growled and uncrossed his arms to shove his hands back into his pockets. "Leave me alone, round-face. You got that?!"
He was stonewalled immediately when she laughed at his intensity. Yes, she laughed. At his expense! Bafflement stirred behind his angry eyes. 'Who does she thinks he is?!'
She swiped a loose hair behind her ear and finished her girlish giggle, "Bakugo... You're so predictable sometimes."
Bakugo's fists clenched in his pockets, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"
She shrugged in response, a smile still hinted on her lips. "I didn't think it'd be easy to make friends with you, so I figured you'd eventually lash out like this."
Bakugo went rigid at her callousness, resisting the urge to pick a fight. "I don't want your friendship, fuckstick."
Uraraka smirked back at him, her lips twitching to smile. "Tell you what," She pointed up matter-of-factly. "Why don't we make this a friendly wager?"
Bakugo's brain told him to walk away but his competitive heart forced him to say. He could never turn down a competition. He narrowed his eyes in annoyance, but listened. 'This had better be good.'
She smiled at herself for playing with him like this. When it came to any sort of competition or game, Bakugo was an open book. "Whoever performs better during training today will win, deal?"
Bakugo's ears perked. She was making this too easy for him. "What's the catch?" His tone was low and begrudging, but his eyes were sparked with interest.
Uraraka grinned in response. "If you win, I will leave you alone like you want. But if I win? Well, you have to be my friend all day tomorrow. In other words," Uraraka settled her excited eyes on him, "You'll have to be nice to me."
Bakugo fought back a devilish grin. The stakes were high, but his cocky attitude overtook his logical thinking. "You have a deal, round-face."
His reasoning was simple; he was a natural in any training setting so he'd have no problem beating out Uraraka. If he wins... No, when he wins, she'll finally leave him the hell alone and things can go back to normal. What was one more day of minor distraction, anyway? It's a competition so there is motivation to work harder. He's going to be the best regardless, so what's the harm in betting on it? This little wager was already tipping in his favor.
Uraraka giggled and settled her hands into her lap. "Alright then! You're on, Bakugo!"
Bakugo smirked, letting his arrogance show in full display, "I'll crush you."
She watched his proud shoulders walk away and she giggled internally. He probably wouldn't have made that wager so quickly if he had known what they were doing in training today. She mentally patted herself on the back for asking Present Mic what they had planned for the students to do today. When she had run into the teacher this morning, he was more than happy to spill the beans to her. This little wager was now tipped in her favor.
…
"I AM HERE!" All-Might erupted as the class gathered around him and the other two teachers. Unfortunately, the number one hero had missed the last few days of camp to go serve the police in their search for the Villain Alliance. However, the overly buff hero was chuffed to be back with his students in time for their last two days of camp.
Bakugo caught Midoriya grinning happily and it made him sick. Sure, everyone looked up to All-Might and wanted to be like him, but something about Midoriya's relationship with the number one hero didn't sit right with Bakugo. He wouldn't even describe Midoriya as having a relationship with All-Might, it was more of an infatuation in the eyes of the blonde.
Uraraka was standing beside the dolt with the green hair, her hands clasped in front of her excitedly. Bakugo wondered briefly if she had some sort of plan that he was falling victim to. No, she wasn't bright enough to come up with something like that.
"Alright students!" All-Might broke Bakugo from his thoughts and he turned his attention back to the eccentric teacher. "You have all done remarkably well on your quirk extension training! However, the provisional license exam will not test you on strength alone, it will also test you on all of the other aspects of being a hero!"
The students looked at each other curiously, waiting for their teacher to elaborate.
All-Might rested his hands on his waist, his chest puffed out proudly. "So today we will be performing rescue operations. It is an essential part of being a hero and one that every hero is expected to do during any hero op. It is important that you not only defend the victim from further harm, but also escort them to safety. This will be your task today."
Uraraka resisted the urge to beam and clap excitedly. This is what he quirk was made for. She knew she would dominate today's training and win her little bet with Bakugo.
Aizawa cut in for All-Might, "We aim for authenticity at UA High, so you will be doing more than just retrieving one of your classmates. You will also be required to defend against a villian. You will be facing off against Present Mic or myself." He held up the same weights that the teachers had to wear for their final exams. The class observed. "Of course we will be leveling the playing field somewhat, but this will not be any kind of walk in the park."
Now Uraraka found herself gulping now. 'Maybe this won't be quite as easy as I thought it would be… Present Mic didn't say anything about this!'
All-Might took back the wheel from Aizawa to talk to the class, "You do have options. If you would like, you may work in pairs of two or you may work alone. Those who decide to work alone will not be given any kind of leniency, so choose wisely students!"
"We will begin in one hour, so make up your minds." Aizawa finished and dismissed the students.
Midoriya immediately turned to Uraraka, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Uraraka, we should definitely pair up!"
Uraraka grinned back at her friend, preparing herself to say yes. Before she could get the words out, she saw Bakugo in the background looking determined and standing idly. It dawned on her that he was planning on going it alone. If she didn't do the same, then he might dock her points in their hypothetical competition.
"Actually," Uraraka began to reply, refocusing her gaze on Midoriya. "I think I should probably try doing this by myself." Her smile had all but disappeared now.
He tilted his head back at her, his eyes curious and prodding. "Are you sure? It's going to be tough going up against our teachers all by yourself."
Uraraka waved her hands in front of her, "I'll be fine! I want to try and get stronger on my own, but next time we can definitely work together!" She forced the smile back on her face to hide her disappointment. It sure would be handy if she could count on Deku to take care of their teacher while she performed the rescue, but she just had to win this competition.
"Alright," Deku scratched the back of his head, confused by her obviously fake enthusiasm. "Let me know if you change your mind, okay?"
She gave him a thumbs up, "Deal! Just make sure you're cheering me on, okay?"
Midoriya laughed with her, insisting that he would certainly cheer her on. The normalcy of their friendship began to ease Uraraka's nerves and his praises brought back her confidence. Yeah, she could definitely win this!
…
"Begin!" All-Might shouted enthusiastically, smiling as always.
Iida and Ashido had paired up to save Yaoyorozu from Present Mic. The moment that All-Might marked the start, Iida was sprinting toward Yaoyorozu and Ashido was engaging their teacher. Her struggle against his sonic booms were was immediately apparent. Iida made his first move to go around the teacher, but was just as soon knocked down with a series of thunderous shouts in his direction.
"Nice try, Tenya!" Present Mic boomed at the sprinter.
The rest of the class spectated from atop one of the mountain's cliffs, covering their ears at the overwhelmingly loud insults that Present Mic was mocking their classmates with.
"Iida is so lucky!" Mineta complained, tears threatening his eyes. "I'd give my left arm to be saving Yaoyorozu and her luscious body. I can see it now..." Drool dripped from Mineta's chin as his eyes glazed over, clearly daydreaming about being her hero.
Most of the class had grown accustomed to Mineta's perverseness, but Bakugo still gave the grape-head a sourly disgusted look.
"This is going to be tough!" Kirishima blurted out, holding up fists and flexing his arms. His sharpened teeth broke into a grin. "But Kaminari and I are going to win, for sure!"
Kaminari cheered with this friend, lending toward Kirishima's pep talk. They began to pow-wow and hype themselves up for their operation.
Bakugo rolled his eyes irritably, trying to keep himself focused on winning. There was only one more match before he was up. If anybody was going to shine today, it was going to be him.
Ashido plugged her ears as she slicked her way toward their pretend villain opponent. She cringed as another vicious sound wave rolled over her again. Despite their original set-back, she was already making a comeback.
When she began closing in on Present Mic, Iida let her distraction make an opening to race toward Yaoyorozu. They didn't have to beat the teacher, they just had to save their victim in order to triumph.
Yaoyorozu sat in the dirt, her back leaning against a tree. She nonchalantly picked at her perfect fingernails and spoke unexcitedly as Iida approached. "Oh my, please save me…" Her tone was laced with sarcasm.
"Do not fret, young lady!" Iida urged her with an overly dramatic tone. "I shall save you!" Of course the class rep would take this far too seriously.
Yaoyorozu blinked, unamused with her rescuer. She stopped checking her nails and waited for Iida to act.
He scooped her up in his arms and winced a little. His back was still pretty messed up from the tustle with Tokoyami, but he trudged along anyway. He began his sprint back toward the action, waiting for an opening to carry Yaoyorozu through. Ashido was barely managing to hold their teacher back, but Iida was still wary of Present Mic.
"Oh, Iida!" Present Mic mocked, turning his attention toward Ashido's male counterpart. "You didn't think it was going to be this easy, did you?" The sonic wave began making it's way toward the hero and the victim.
"Cover your ears!" Iida urged Yaoyorozu as he began sprinting past Present Mic. He had no choice but to push through head-on. The sound pierced his ears as he dashed forward, gritting his teeth. Holding Yaoyorozu made it impossible to cover his ears.
Present Mic waited until Ashido was a few feet from him before blasting her with another boom, sending her tumbling to the ground. Boom after boom after boom, Present Mic flayed the pair's ears, but they didn't give up.
What felt like hours passed, but it was only minutes before Iida had successfully carried Yaoyorozu across the finish line.
The spectating class clapped and cheered for their classmates below, but they were tuned out by Iida and Ashido's horribly ringing ears.
"Well done!" All-Might congratulated his students, commending them for their tenacity.
Iida bowed at the number one hero and shouted in response, "THANK YOU, SIR! WE ARE SO THANKFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY!"
All-Might blinked at Iida's outburst before it dawned on him that the boy simply could not hear properly, hence his yelling. He patted the male student on the head and dismissed the two students to recover. Ashido and Iida accepted the dismissal and began walking away, loudly shouting congratulations to each other.
The class mingled for a few minutes before All-Might called the start of the next rescue operation. All eyes were down on the field below them as Todoroki took the stage against Aizawa. He was first in the class to try his hand at the rescue op alone.
Todoroki had faced Aizawa before, so his movements were calculated. From his first step, he knew that Aizawa had erased his quirk so he moved into the trees, hiding from Aizawa and slinking through the bushes. The teacher had to blink eventually and he'd know that he could strike when that happened.
The class watched excitedly as Todoroki quietly snuck through the trees and bushes, stopping every few feet to re-conceal himself. Aizawa listened intently as he stood at the edge of the trees, hoping that Todoroki would give himself away before he had to blink. However, his eyes were beginning to dry out and the urge to wet them was overwhelming.
Finally, the teacher blinked and Todoroki made his move. He cast a long and tall ice wall between himself and the teacher. The wall not only protected himself from Aizawa's quirk, but gave him a straight line to reach Toru Hagakure. After that, it was a sprint to get to the victim in need of saving first.
Of course, Todoroki had not quite thought of everything. As soon as he escaped the trees to capture Hagakure, Aizawa was ready and waiting. He had easily outrun the half-hot-half-cold quirk user to his destination. With the weights on the teacher, Todoroki was shocked to see Aizawa as he came up on Hagakure. He should have been here first, right?
Todoroki didn't waste a breath as he attempted to activate his left side and place an attack on the teacher. But Aizawa's quirk was much more suited to speed than Todoroki's. When the fire attack failed, Todoroki abandoned the idea of an attack and grabbed Hagakure, dragging her back to safety behind his wall of ice. He couldn't sneak her through the forest, so it was now an all-out sprint to the finish line.
Aizawa wasn't anyone to be taken lightly. He quickly skirted to the other side of the wall, his scarf acted quickly to entangle the rescuer and the rescued but Todoroki's calculations didn't go to waste yet. He anticipated the teacher's moves with ease and ducked both himself and Hagakure when the scarf attempted to catch hold of them.
Aizawa blinked again and Todoroki used the opportunity to throw up an enormous ice mountain, much like he did in the sports festival. Aizawa was fast enough not to let the ice capture him, but he was effectively cornered between the first icy wall and the new icy mountain. The kid was good, Aizawa mused to himself.
Todoroki made it back to the finish line without breaking a sweat and set Hagakure back onto her feet. He could hear her clapping and thanking him, but he couldn't see the action. "That was amazing Todoroki! You've gotten so strong!"
Everyone watching was stunned. Todoroki made the rescue operation look so easy and simple. How would they ever be able to top that?
Bakugo bristled at Endeavor's son. He would make Todoroki's accomplishment pale in comparison to his. Not only would he defeat Uraraka for the sake of their bet, but he'd pummel that stupid pretty boy while he was at it.
Now that his rescue op was over, Todoroki went to melt the ice he had scattered across the test area. It didn't take long for him to disintegrate it completely, opening the area up to the next rescue operation.
"Young Bakugo!" All-Might called to him, "You're up, my boy!"
Bakugo sneered with crossed arms and an even more cross attitude before making his way down the cliffs for his turn. Rescue operations weren't his specialty, but just for today, he'd make them his fuckin' forte for the sake of the competition.
Uraraka nervously bit down on one of her fingernails. Bakugo looked determined as he took his place at the start. He was facing Present Mic, but that didn't curb her nerves whatsoever. She knew he struggled with rescue ops, but as the thought of him saving her yesterday popped back up in her mind, she became increasingly worried. All he's done for the entire year was get stronger, smarter, and more intimidating. It hadn't really dawned on her that he might have increased his rescue capabilities until now. All she could hope for at this point was that she would perform better that he was about to.
"Begin!" All-Might burst out, allowing Bakugo to begin the operation.
In the blink of an eye, Bakugo was already bursting forward, his explosions setting him off with a great pace.
"Not so fast, Bakugo!" Present Mic amped up the volume, sending a thunderous roar in the blonde's direction.
If there was anything that Bakugo was good at, it was combat, so he timed his dodge properly and carefully. Using a bigger blast, he propelled himself upward at great speed, shooting above the sound waves.
Kirishima was balancing on a rock a decent distance behind Present Mic, "Oh, Bakugo! My hero!" He wailed sarcastically, dramatically resting the back of his wrist on his forehead. A boyish smile tugged on his lips. If Bakugo was going to be saving him, he'd at least make it worth his while.
"Shut the fuck up, Kirishima!" Bakugo snapped and sent a splintering blast in Present Mic's direction. The recoil of the blast disturbed the dust on the ground and elicited clouds of black smoke. Once he observed that Present Mic was engulfed in the blast's aftermath, he soared down from the air and rushed to Kirishima's side.
So far, the operation was going smoothly. Bakugo had managed to momentarily subdue the teacher, but now the hard work began.
"My hero!" Kirishima squealed as Bakugo ran up to him, tears of impending laughter pooling in the corners of his eyes. "Such a manly man!" He wiped at the tears, a smile threatening to to burst onto his face.
Bakugo was disturbed by Kirishima's inappropriate outbursts. "Shut the hell up or save your damn self!"
Kirishima almost couldn't hold back his laughter anymore, "Oh manly hero, I'm afraid I'm in need of saving! Please help me, a poor helpless girl!"
Bakugo felt a fury like no other raging in his gut, "Can it, asswipe! I don't want to hear that shit!" He clenched his fist menacingly and promised himself he'd beat the tar out of Kirishima as soon as they were finished.
He heaved Kirishima over his shoulder, "Damn it, Kirishima! What the hell did you eat today? A fuckin' bucket of bricks?!"
Kirishima covered his mouth and gasped girlishly, "Rude!"
Their squabble continued for another few seconds and both were unaware that Present Mic had emerged from the smoke and dust cloud.
"Oy, Bakugo!" The sonic boom washed over the boys before Bakugo even had time to react, knocking them both to the ground and nearly bursting their eardrums.
"Shit!" Bakugo cursed, dragging himself back up and re-securing Kirishima on his shoulder. Maybe rescue operations really weren't his thing.
Bakugo couldn't use his usual blast propellants with Kirishima weighing him down and he searched his brain for a plan. He noted that they're wide out in the open and vulnerable to another attack, but Bakugo didn't sweat under the pressure.
"I'm BORED!" Present Mic thundered at them, sending an entirely new shock wave in their direction.
There was only one option in Bakugo's mind. He dropped Kirishima off his back and pushed his palms out in front of him, facing Present Mic head-on. 'A stun grenade should be able to do it…'
Bakugo released a blast like he had yesterday morning, once again shaking the entire camp. The cliffs that the rest of the students spectated from shook and groaned with the pressure of Bakugo's blast colliding with Present Mic's. The repercussion was beyond words.
Trees fell flat all around them as the explosion met the sonic boom with raw and sheer force. Along with the tumbled trees, a massive dust cloud formed between the opponents, blocking each other from the other's sight.
Bakugo turned back to Kirishima, who was rubbing his behind sorely. The redhead squinted at the blonde, "A little warning goes a long way, Bakugo!"
"Would you shut the hell up already?!" Bakugo spat and grabbed Kirishima by the arm roughly and tossed him back over his shoulder. He sprinted toward the end, towing a much-too-heavy Kirishima and passing the finish line with a trickle of sweat on his brow.
The students above them applauded and All-Might judged his attempt at the operation with crossed arms. Bakugo dumped Kirishima in the dirt and immediately began chewing him out for his stupid antics. The redhead held his hands up defeated, laughing excessively at the blonde's over-reaction. It was much too easy to get under Bakugo's skin and Kirishima never missed an opportunity to poke the bear.
"Well done, Bakugo!" All-Might congratulated him with the same gusto as he had with Todoroki. "That was a smart move you pulled back there!"
Bakugo sneered without a thanks as he and Kirishima rejoined the class on the cliffs. He had done well, but he knew that he hadn't beaten Todoroki.
All-Might patted the blonde on the back encouragingly, "Next time, try not to be so awful to the person you're rescuing." The smiling face of All-Might undercut the insult of his comments. "Aside from that," The hero gave his student a mighty thumbs up, "Good job, indeed!"
Bakugo grimaced and ignored the number one hero. He felt like he had failed, but he covered it up with his signature pissed off frown. Becoming number one is a lot more work than he had anticipated.
Uraraka watched the exchange from a few yards away. After watching Bakugo work his hero magic, she was sincerely starting to doubt herself. Both Bakugo and Todoroki had some trouble trying to rescue their classmate, could she really do this all by herself?
Midoriya saw the unease on Uraraka's face and shook her from her weighty thoughts, "You're going to do great, Uraraka." Somehow, he knew why she was looking so worried. "Just remember that I'm cheering you on, yeah?"
She turned to meet his eyes and all her self-doubt washed away. "Thanks Deku," She beamed at him. "I'm going to kick some butt!"
Author's Note:
Yay! I'm finally able to update regularly again. If you're wondering, my test went wonderfully and I'm all caught up again :) To thank you all for being so patient over the weekend, I wrote an extra long chapter for you! Almost 1,000 more words!
Also, I know some of you are dying for some fluff and I can assure you, it will come very soon. I have a ton of ideas that I'm trying to put into order, but I want to make sure the story gets there naturally and I want it to feel authentic. That being said, I think the next few chapters will surprise you guys :)
I have said it before, but I'll say it again; please review! Thank you so much to Zangetsu50, Clarissa Kirishima, and H.C.K.L for your awesome responses!
Thanks for reading and I should have a new chapter up tomorrow.
~NumberSixteen