AN: Hey guys! I know I said that it would be two big chapters, but currently getting over a cold but wanted to keep my promise to update today. But rest assured the next part will come out this Sunday!

Thank you guys again for reading! Let me know what you think!

X

"ALRIGHT! NOW THAT WE'RE READY! LET'S GET THIS BALL ROLLING!" Present Mic shouted making the audience cheer in excitement.

"Is this always necessary." Mr. Aizawa yawned.

"DO YOU WANT TO DO THE COMMENTARY?" Present Mic asked, moving the microphone closer to his friend.

"Sure. Alright everyone listens up, your objective is to find the rest of your teammates that are going to be scattered all around the huge hedge maze. Keep in mind that the only tools available to you will be of course your quirks, a small adjustable headlamp and ear coms nothing else. This will be a timed exercise meaning every member needs to be accounted for and make it out of the maze alive."

"Alive?" Deku gulped at that, making their teacher smile.

"There will be certain…surprises waiting for you. Once you arrive at the center point of the maze with your teams make sure to grab your colored belts that are assigned to every team. That being said, remember you will start as soon as we give you the go ahead going from whoever finished last to first during your last event." Giving the microphone back to a twitching Present mic, Mr. Aizawa just grinned back. "There."

Taking a shaky breath Uraraka could hear Bakugo swearing under his breath a little further away and tried her hardest not to laugh ass she looked at her teammates which now consisted of Mina, Tokoyami, Hagakure, and herself. 'No need to panic, we got this.'

One by one students were taken away by the floating robots into the maze while everyone patiently waited their turn.

"Hey Deku and Todoroki!" she grinned walking over to them since they were also waiting. "Excited about this next event?"

"You bet." Deku grinned fist bumping her. "Iida just went in. So, I'm excited to find out what's in store for us. How about you?"

Feeling the awkward tension since Todoroki was avoiding his eyes the moment she arrived and instead just stared to where she guessed Iida was just transported over to. She kept the smile on her face despite that, adjusting her headpiece. "I have to admit it's a little nerve wracking given the vague information we got. But I'm sure we'll do fine."

"You're right." Deku nodded rubbing his chin and looking deep in thought no doubt going over every possible scenario.

"How about you Tod-" now turning to the stoic boy she couldn't help but frown as he walked off before she could even finish her sentence and felt hurt by his recent behavior.

"Well, that was odd." Deku said letting his eyes drift over to where Uraraka was staring. "He's been quieter than usual. I wonder if he's ok."

"I hope so." she quietly said.

Once it was her turn and she was lifted up, she could see the lights fading from the arena as she entered the huge hedge maze. It was so dark she couldn't even see her hand in front of her face until she turned on her light and then that's all she could see. "Well, that's great." She mumbled to herself as she looked up to see a large glowing purple cloud covering the dark sky above the tall hedges.

Squinting her eyes to try and see through the pitch black all around her and feeling the eerie silence and the sound of her own breathing pick up, she started to feel the panic rise inside her. She wasn't one to be scared of the dark, but this was a bit much, especially when she suddenly heard a loud screaming coming from somewhere within the large maze. As if on instinct she started taking a step forward only to hear a buzzing sound in her ear. 'Crap I have to wait for them to give the purple team the go ahead before I move.'

Chewing on her button lip she tried to ignore the continues howling and screeching sounds coming from every direction followed by ear piercing screams that must've been the sounds of the other teams who had already started.

"Purple team go!" she heard Power Loader say into her ear piece.

"Yes!" Immediately tapping on her earpiece, she tried to reach her team as she set off to find the others through the cold dark maze with no other light other than her headpiece, no guide, no map, but with her eyes wide open. "Can anyone hear me?!"

"Here!" Tokoyami said sounding strained and scared.

Stopping abruptly, her eyes widened even more at the sudden realization of their situation. Why didn't she think about this before! "Tokoyami? Are you ok?!"

Not getting any responds she tried again. "Tokoyami?!"

"Ochaco?"

"Mina!" Uraraka breath out a sigh of relief.

"I'm here too!"

"Hagakure!"

"Any word from Tokoyami?" Mina asked.

Shaking her head even though she knew they couldn't see her she let her eyes wander around. "He didn't sound too good…"

"Not in this environment that's for sure." Mina said.

Continuing her fast pace Uraraka let her hands graze the damp hedge wall to help guide her. "We need to find him quick! Where are you guys?!"

"Well, I'm in what appears to be a giant maze Ochaco." Hagakure said.

"Me too!" Mina said, breathlessly.

"Uhm ok…" shaking her head Uraraka tried to come up with a way for them to pinpoint exactly where everyone was. "Come on Tokoyami where are you…?"

"By the way you see those clouds!" Hagakure said.

"What about them?" Mina asked.

"Don't let them get too close to you, so I wouldn't recommend flying. And whatever you do, don't breathe…"

"Wait what do you mean don't breathe?!" Mina said sounding freaked. "Hagakure?!"

"This doesn't look good." Uraraka said, feeling that every way she turned there was no way out.

BOOM!

Covering her head, she could see the bright lights of an explosion somewhere followed by maniacal laughter.

"Well, we know who that is." Mina laughed followed by Uraraka. "Never one to be subtle."

"We need to hurry!"

"I would but-AARGH!"

"Mina! What happened?!"

"There's-there's no way!"

"What?!"

"The freaking wall just moved!"

"I guess that's one of the surprises."

"Guys! I'm back!" Hagakure said panting.

"What happened?" Mina asked.

"Got caught up by the purple cloud and some students from other classes who were battling it out."

"What do you mean by the cloud?"

"It moves! Every so often-"

"Nevermind!" Uraraka cut her off widening her eyes as she saw the cloud like smoke decent. "It's here!"

"Don't breathe it in!"

Feeling her eyes become watery and sleepy, Uraraka dropped to the ground covering her mouth and nose hearing the screams in the background while feeling something tug on her leg the next second.

"Eh?!" Turning her head, she saw the wall grabbing a hold of her leg slowly trying to pull her in. "Crap!"

"Ochaco are you ok?!" she heard Mina and Hagakure shout through her ear.

Kicking her legs as hard as she could, she suddenly saw a vine-like creature emerge from the hedges making her scream and jolt up accidentally breathing in some of the purple smoke in panic as she ran. "When all else fails run like heck!" she screamed, turning to see the creature following close behind.

The creature didn't seem to slow down, in fact it was gaining speed. Not realizing where she was going until she turned to face the front and came crashing face first into a hard wall slightly bouncing off before someone grabbed her arms before she hit the ground. "Oof!"

Lifting his palm, he aimed an explosion right as the creature neared them. "What the hell round-face?!"

Rubbing her nose and looking up she saw Bakugo scowling at her from what she could tell by the flashlight. 'Oh, so that wasn't a wall.'

"Your clumsy ass should really watch where you're going."

Huffing, she steadied herself. "Well, no one told you to be so big..." She mumbled, turning her back towards him 'And muscular.' She thought to herself.

"Ochaco?!" Hagakure shouted through the earpiece.

"Here! I'm here!" she said pressing on the earpiece.

"Oh, thank god you're ok!" Mina said.

"Is that fuckin raccoon eyes?"

"Is that Bakugo?!" Mina screeched. "What are you doing talking to the enemy?!"

"Huh?" Uraraka looked at him over her shoulder and was surprised to see him that close, therefore she turned to face him instead, taking a slight step back.

"Tell her to go fuck off."

"I heard that!"

Snickering Bakugo leaned forward keeping his eyes on her while leaning his ear next to hers.

"Yeah, I'm with Mina on this one! No fraternizing with the enemy right Bakugo!" Hagakure said.

"Why don't you both just go to hell and tell me if you've seen your idiot boyfriend?"

"We will not share information with the likes of you! Tell him Ochaco!"

Giving her a small smirk Bakugo saw her avoiding her eyes as she stepped to the side stubbornly lifting her chin. "And I won't."

"Wh-" cutting himself off as one of the vine creatures emerged from the maze quickly running towards them. He quickly threw them to the ground keeping his hand on her shoulder and hearing her yelp before throwing another explosion, watching it disappear. "That's what you were running from? They're all over this damn place."

Keeping his eyes out to see if anything else was going to pop out at them, he felt her stiffening underneath him as he continued to hold her.

"B-Bakugo…."

"What now?!" he rolled his eyes.

"Your hand!"

"What about it?"

"Move it!" she yelled.

"Hah?! What are you so damn worked up over?! I just saved you!" he squinted his eyes in annoyance turning to see her gawking at him. Why the hell was she staring at him like that? He just saved her even though he didn't have to! After all they were still competing against each other and in Bakugos book this was against the rules. Raccoon eyes was right, we don't help our enemies! But why the hell did she feel softer than usual? He could've sworn that was her shoulder…

The moment he gave it a light squeeze he immediately froze in place.

"Bakugo!"

As realization dawned on him, he slowly let his head glance down from her flustered face and down to her chest where his hand rested. "Holy shit!"

Jumping a few feet and scrambling backwards until his back hit the wall, he just continued to stare wide eyed between her and his hand feeling his whole face heat up. Thankfully it was too dark, but he was pretty sure hers was too. "I-I didn't…"

Feeling her heart beating hard against her chest she quickly got up looking around and thankful there were no floating cameras at this moment, covering her flushed face. "I can't believe you!"

Opening and closing his mouth repeatedly he honestly didn't know what to say, keeping his eyes on his hand. Why the hell did his hand feel hotter now than even when using his quirk?! And without meaning to the memories of being stuck in that room with her during the last attack came rushing back. 'Not now…'

"Bakugo!"

"It was an accident!" he blurts out lifting himself up making sure to look the other way. "Shit."

'Great now she probably things I'm a fuckin pervert!'

Still covering her face, she tried to calm her breathing.

"Ochaco what happened?!" Mina shouted in her ear.

"Did Bakugo attack you?! If he did tell us and we'll get our revenge!" Hagakure gave an evil laugh.

"What?! Where are you?"

"We actually managed to find each other while you were being attacked by Bakubro."

"The fuck! I didn't attack her!"

"Debatable." She mumbled making him scowl.

"Well, I hope I'm not interrupting? But you're in my way."

Swinging her head in another direction, she saw one of the other students turn the corner and approach them.

"Sora." Bakugo growled.

"Not you." Sora rolled his eyes until they landed on her. "But this one's quite the cutie."

Widening her eyes, Uraraka saw the purple cloud decent once more just as she and Bakugo dropped down covering their mouth and nose while Sora turned a second too late before being covered in it completely and dropping face first into a deep sleep.

Feeling her eyes burning Uraraka tried to keep herself covered while Bakugo did the same just as more vine creatures emerged.

Once the smoke cleared, they quickly got to their feet feeling the walls move behind them.

"Damn it shitty hair about time!"

She heard Bakugo shouting in his earpiece before his crimson eyes met hers and they went off in different directions.

"Any word on Tokoyami?!"

"None." Hagakure responded. "Where are you?"

Looking up she could see other students' various quirks at work as the light reflected off the clouds. "I'm not sure but I'm going to try and head for the center. Try and meet me there!"

Panting, she leaned on her knees. They were really pulling out all the stops this year and from what she could tell with all the shouting going on everywhere. The others thought so too.

"I'm…"

"Tokoyami!" Uraraka was happy to finally hear from him along with Mina and Hagakure. "Where are you!"

Not getting any other reply she got up ready to keep going and ignoring the constant screams until she spotted a dark figure running across from her but recognizing the small flame in their hand, so she went to follow.

"Todoroki!"

Watching him stop and turn at her voice he squinted his eyes to see her. "Uraraka?"

Smiling, she ran up to him. "Hey!"

Pressing his lips together he nodded in greeting before resuming his pace.

"Wait Todoroki! Have you seen Tokoyami?"

"Tokoyami?" Taking a moment to think he shook his head. "I haven't but…"

"What?"

"Heard a lot of noises coming from there." Turning, he looked in another direction. "Make sure he's ok."

"Thanks, I will." Frowning at the fact that he wouldn't look at her again she took a small step forward. "But… are you mad at me?"

"I've got to go." He snapped with a frown of his own before running off.

Letting off a small, frustrated growl she quickly turned the other way. "Can't worry about that right now I have to find Tokoyami, while trying not to kill Bakugo and not worry about Todoroki and trying not to die…great!"

"HEY!"

Relived suddenly washed over her after running for a while as she saw both Hagakure and Mina running towards her and to the center of the maze. "Oh, so glad to see you guys!

"Same here!" Mina sighs.

"Let's get these stupid belts on and find Tokoyami!" Hagakure said waving at some of their classmates that were doing the same. "We don't have a lot of time."

"Agreed." Uraraka said as they quickly went to pick up their purple belts.

"Hey guys!" Kaminari waved at them finishing up with his red belt.

"Come on dumbass hurry it up!"

"Coming!" Kaminari shouted back.

"Kaminari, have you seen Tokoyami by any chance?" Uraraka asked.

"Oh man." Kirishima covered his mouth giving Mina a quick hug. "Hope he's alright."

"Damnit! of course bird boy isn't alright." Bakugo grits his teeth gesturing around them. "Not with this shit!"

"AND WE HAVE THE FIRST TEAM MAKING IT OUT!" Hearing present Mics voice booming through the microphone their eyes widened.

"Come on, I think he could be this way!" Uraraka yelled.

"Man, we've got to go and find our way out!" Kirishima shouted.

"Shit!" Bakugo growled as Uraraka, Mina and Hagakure ran off in another direction to find Tokoyami.

X

Running through the dark maze every turn felt like the last one to a point where they thought they were just going in circles.

"Tokoyami, can you hear us?!"

"I c-can…"

"Ok. You need to tell us where you are…Tokoyami?"

"What do we do now?" Mina said panting. "If we tell him to give us some sign, the moment he does dark shadow might not be able to be controlled!"

BOOM!

Flinching at the sound they looked up to see a single explosion before the previous shouting from other students started up again.

"H-here…"

"Tokoyami!" Mina shouted into her earpiece in alarm at hearing the strained voice of their missing teammate.

"Wait was that…?"

"We go that way." Uraraka said following where the explosion had come from.

"You really think that they-" Hagakure started but cut herself off following the two girls.

Once they made it to where they thought they saw the explosion come from they were startled to see a huddled-up Tokoyami panting and sweating profusely.

"Tokoyami?" Uraraka gently said carefully walking over to him while he avoided his eyes turning his back on them.

"Don't come any closer please…I can't-I can't hold him for much longer!"

"Hagakure?"

"My light refraction won't work in this maze." Hagakure said motioning towards all the darkness.

"AND WHAT DO YOU KNOW! THE SECOND TEAM JUST FINISHED!" Present Mic shouted over the microphone. "BETTER HURRY CONTSTANTS THE SPOTS ARE FILLING UP FAST!"

"You better go." Tokoyami growled. "The sooner you leave the sooner this will all be finished."

"Tokoyami-"

"We're not leaving you."

"No way."

Turning his head to look over his shoulder Tokoyami saw the determined look on their faces. It still amazed him of all the wonderful friends he had made ever since coming to UA. Having grown up looking different from the rest of the kids in his neighborhood he always felt like an outsider. Someone the other kids would make fun of because of the way he looked.

At first, he didn't understand why. Growing up he was always taught by his parents that what mattered most was the character of a person's heart- not what quirks they had or how they looked.

That didn't change the fact that he didn't have the easiest childhood. You would think that in a world made out of mostly people with quirks that it shouldn't have been a problem. But it came to light that it did during their big battle and with what happened with Spinner.

"WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT THE THIRD TEAM JUST MADE IT OUT!"

"Come on. We're a team and we're not leaving without you." Uraraka said offering her hand.

"But…I would just slow you guys down! And dark shadow-"

"Dark shadow is exactly what we need to make it out Tokoyami."

Grinning Mina stared at Uraraka realizing what she meant before her, and Hagakure nodded.

X

"Come on! Come on!" Deku grits his teeth keeping his eyes on the Maze's exit. After hearing from the guys that Urarakas group was searching for Tokoyami it immediately send a wave of panic to the students already waiting. "What's taken them so long?"

"Relax. They'll be here."

"Huh?" Turning to stare at the blond Deku was surprised. "You seem awfully calm about this Kacchan." Seeing him snap his head in Dekus direction the One for All user could clearly see by the hostile look in Bakugos eyes that he most definitely was not calm. "Or maybe not…"

Returning his glare to the exit Bakugo folded his arms over his chest impatiently tapping his finger. "They'll be fine…"

"I hope so." Deku said right before an ear-piercing scream could be heard coming from within the maze. "Oh no!"

They couldn't really make out what exactly was going on since whatever it was, was causing all the cameras inside to suddenly cut off and the tall hedges to bend in unnatural ways almost like something was forcing them too.

Hearing a loud roar everyone suddenly took a few steps back recognizing what it was.

"Don't tell me…" Kaminaris eyes widened in horror.

"Watch out!" Hagakure screamed hurling through the air with Mina and Uraraka.

"Incoming!" Bakugo shouted just as Deku and himself jumped out of the way when a giant fist came crashing down followed by another roar.

"Just a little more!" Uraraka said looking back to see the moment that Dark shadow came out of the maze blinded by the natural light of the arena and he immediately withdrew into Tokoyami who slumped down on his knees clutching his chest.

"You guys alright?!" Kirishima asked running up to them with some of the others.

"Yeah we-" unable to keep them up anymore from exhaustion Uraraka released her quirk allowing Kirishima to catch Mina while Todoroki quickly made a slide out of ice for Hagakure to slide down on.

"Thanks that was fun!"

"Uraraka!" Deku gasped quickly catching her and ignoring the low growl coming from behind him. "You ok?"

"Yeah, just gotta catch my breath." She tiredly smiled. "Thanks Deku."

"What was that?!" Sero asked.

"Funny story." Mina grinned leaning against Kirishima. "We figured that since there was no other way for us to get Tokoyami out of there without awakening Dark Shadow, then we might as well use that to our advantage and get rid of some of the competition while we were at it."

"Seriously?" Kaminari grinned. "Looks like it worked."

"Thanks to Tokoyami." Uraraka said seeing the same boy with his head down.

"Alright Deku!" Bakugo snapped feeling his eye twitch at the sight of Deku still unaware that he was holding her. "AND STOP FLYING AHEAD OF ME!"

"Oh." Placing her down Deku made sure she was good enough to stand before gulping down and giving Bakugo a nervous grin. "It's a reflex."

"Yeah, well better fix that damn reflex…" Bakugo grumbled before giving her a stern look. "And you-" widening his eyes and without thinking automatically hovered his hand over her forehead. "The hell is that?!"

"Uraraka you're bleeding!"

"Huh?" Lifting her hand to her forehead she saw that she was indeed bleeding. "Oh, that's fine. It's just a scratch."

"Better to have recovery girl have a look at it." Iida said.

"It's fine you guys." She said waving them off but didn't miss the worried look on Bakugos face as she made her way towards a quiet Tokoyami.

"You alright?"

"I'm sorry if I hurt you guys…"

"It's thanks to you we made it in the first place." Uraraka grinned. "So, let's pick ourselves up and get ready for the next round."

"We're fine!" Hagakure skipped over, giving him a playful hug and laughing. "We definitely pissed off some fellow competitors back there."

"Was all that really necessary?!" Monoma walked past them fuming in anger.

"See I told you!" Hagakure laughed. "So pissed!"

"Thanks Tokoyami." Uraraka laughed covering her mouth and seeing him shaking his head with a small smile of his own.

"I have no idea what you're implying..."

X

Once the event was over everyone had a few minutes to prepare for the final one on one matches. Bakugo was lost deep in thought debating with himself about whether to talk to her or not since there were still so many unanswered questions he wanted answers to. Every time he saw her and even made an attempt to talk to her, she was always surrounded by her usual squad of friends which didn't allow for an opening. After a while he just relented to the fact that it was better for everyone to focus on their matches like she said and then they could talk afterwards.

Once everyone got a glimpse of who their first matches would be most of the students went to take their seats. Bakugo saw an empty seat next to Uraraka and it only took him one step forward to see someone take it. 'Dammit!'

Glaring daggers at the back of an oblivious Iida, Bakugo felt someone playfully nudge him.

"Hey bakubro why the long face?" Kirishima grinned knowingly before patting the seat next to him. "Come now, have a seat."

Regretfully plopping himself down Bakugo crossed his arms over his chest with a small pout. "Your ass is enjoying this way too much."

Chuckling Kirishima took a sip of his drink. "You know I am."

"Hey man, why so broody?" Kaminari asked sitting himself down on the other side of him.

"I'm not." Bakugo grit between his teeth. 'What the hell is wrong with everyone?! I swear if one more person asks me what is wrong-'

"Hey dude the fights haven't started yet, and you already look riled up. Is everything-"

"DO YOU FUCKERS WANT TO DIE BEFORE YOUR OWN DAMN MATCHES?! I'M FUCKIN FINE!"

Flinching Sero accidentally dropped his shake watching as it splattered on the ground. "Oh man my shake…"

Feeling all eyes on them, Kirishima and Kaminari sheepishly waved and smiled while Sero got up to clean the mess. "Don't mind us…apparently everything's fine." Kirishima said watching Bakugo sit back down scowling.

"This is a very hostile section we're in." Kaminari whispered.

"Isn't it always." Sero said removing his sad eyes from where his milk shake had spilled.

"Oh, for the love of-here!" Shoving a few bills at Seros chest Bakugo turned his attention back to the front. "Get another and stop fuckin moping about your damn shake already!"

Returning his big smile Sero jumped from his seat before anymore was said.

"Moping huh?" Kirishima snickered quietly with Kaminari chuckling next to him.

"ALRIGHT THAT'S IT!"

"You guys need to behave yourselves!" Iida scolded franticly raising his arms.

"YOU WANT SOME OF THIS TOO GLASSES!"

Turning her head halfway Uraraka could see both Kirishima and Kaminari clutching their stomachs laughing while Bakugo continued yelling at them. She was hoping to get a chance to talk to him earlier, but it seemed like she never got the chance and before she knew it the first match was about to start between Tsu and Tokoyami.

Briefly meeting his crimson eyes, she saw him immediately snap his mouth shut slumping down in his seat mumbling something to the guys that made them laugh even louder.

Once it was Kaminari and Minas turn against each other Uraraka was already feeling the pressure of the fights. Tsu's and Tokoyamis fight was rather interesting since they usually were always partnered up. Minas and Kaminari fight was more amusing then intense to see since they actually looked like they were having fun instead.

After another short break Uraraka sat back down worried about this next fight since it was going to be Iida vs Deku. 'I hope they'll be alright.'

"HA!"

Curiously turning her head, she saw a panting Bakugo who was leaning against the seat next to her while she raised her eyebrows. "Bakugo are you alright?"

Nodding his head, he righted himself and sat down next to her hoping she wouldn't notice how as soon as he saw the empty seat after his trip to get something to eat, he didn't waste time instead opting to push everyone out of his way.

"Couldn't wait to see the next match huh?" she smiled, turning her attention to see both Deku and Iida walking up to the arena.

"Why you say that?"

"Well, you looked like you ran here. So, I just figured…"

Deciding to stay quiet he watched her for a few minutes and saw how she nervously chewed on her lower lip as she watched her friends.

"They'll be fine. This will make them stronger."

Turning her head in surprise at the fact that he noticed, mixed with the calm tone of his voice as he also continued to watch the fight.

It doesn't matter that at this point she should already be used to how observant Bakugo was, but after everything he still always manages to surprise her. "Aren't you supposed to get ready? Since you're next."

"Yeah." Squinting his eyes in annoyance at what she said to be true. "Here."

Looking down she saw him handing her his shake as he got ready to leave. "What's this? But I thought you didn't like sweets."

"I don't." He grumbled looking off to the side as the tips of his ears turned red. And with that she saw him leave, most likely heading to one of the waiting rooms. Feeling her cheeks warm she turned her attention back to the fight just as Iida ran past a startled Deku aiming his knee towards his face, but Deku managed to dodge just in time.

Once their fight was over, she was happy to see both Iida and Deku exiting the arena in one piece. Already having finished her shake she quickly tossed it before watching the next fight with Bakugo from the waiting room since her fight with Ibara would be next.

Somewhat scuffed up Uraraka managed to make it to the next round and proudly smiled when her friends came and cheered her on, but that smile slowly faded once present mic announced the next round of matches on the big screen.

'What?" Widening her eyes in shock, she felt eyes on her as she turned to see and equally excited Bakugo smirking back at her.

"Ready for that rematch Uraraka?"