8

Ochako suspects she was right—today is another pissing contest yet again. They're supposed to beat each other up while play-acting as Heroes and Villains. On another note, they are also finally getting their Hero costumes in the purpose of being able to play-act Heroes-Villains more realistically. By beating each other up in costume. Basically Ochako is living the dream of every four year old on planet earth.

The girl's locker room is in a bit of chaos because fitting yourself into a skin-tight suit should be a five-hour ordeal and not a ten-minute thing. "This is hell," says Mina, sweating profusely after only managing to get in her costume. "Whoa. Tsuyu-chan, your goggles! So cute!"

"Thanks. I like the furs on yours. Do you need some help with that zipper?"

"For the love of god, yes."

Ochako hadn't specified much in her costume submission form. The suit is tighter than she thought it would be and emphasizes parts of her that, honestly, she really should've expected. She supposes every hero costume is always like this anyway. What did she expect?

She stares into the mirror for a little while. She doesn't look intimidating. The costume is all rounded edges, soft curves in light pink—it makes her look cute. Fun. Harmless. Like a mascot. A cartoon character. A doll.

She doesn't mind.

Something catches her eye in the mirror. Now that's your classic Heroine costume. "Are you okay, Yaoyorozu-san? Need help with anything?"

"No, I'm fine." Yaoyorozu looks uncomfortable, shifting in place and fiddling with her suit. "It's just—it's…"

Ochako can see her problem. She asks anyway. "It's?"

Yaoyorozu's face is red. "Is it—is it too revealing?"

Ochako has been alive for fifteen years on this planet. In those fifteen years, Ochako has come to understand that this is the kind of question that has no right answer. "Mm," Ochako says, giving her a thoughtful once-over. "You look like a proper Hero to me." It's not even a lie. Ochako has seen Heroes her whole life. This truly is, actually, your typical Heroine costume. Which doesn't help the matter, of course.

Ochako looks back up at her face. She smiles. "It's normal I think?" Ochako says.

"..Some Heroes wear less," Mina offers, in a tone that suggests she doesn't know whether she is being helpful or not but hopes that it is the former regardless. "You look great, though!"

"Oh, thank you…" Yaoyorozu does not look thankful.

"Well, I'm not wearing anything. How do I look?" says Hagakure to the laughter of everyone. "Just kidding. If you feel uncomfortable you can just wear the sports uniform?"

Yaoyorozu looks a little conflicted. "This … does … support my Quirk better."

"Doesn't mean the design can't be improved," Tsuyu says. "I wouldn't be comfortable if I was you."

A beat of silence after Tsuyu voices out loud what they're all thinking. Ochako claps her hands. "Yeah, this isn't the final costume design as well—you can ask for revision later on, I think?" She says. "Right, guys?"

There are murmurs of agreement. "Aizawa-sensei did mention that.."

"They'd definitely let you ask for an amendment, don't worry."

"You can borrow my jacket if you want," offers Jirou, whose costume looks the most casual and comfortable of them all.

"Thanks, everyone." Yaoyorozu relaxes a tiny bit. "It's okay, Jirou-san. I'll give it a try first."

"Okay, if you're sure. Offer still open," Jirou says. "Everyone ready to go?"

The boys have finished changing first, chattering among themselves on the training field. Most of their costumes look flashy and a little comical, like proper Hero costumes are. "Watch out for that short kid," Jirou tells Ochako. "That dude is weird as hell."

Ochako knows immediately which one she is referring to. "The one who sat next to Yaoyorozu-san in class?"

"Yeah. He came up to Mina and Yaoyorozu and said all this weird shit … see, he's doing it again!" Jirou clicks her tongue, glaring from afar as the short boy makes his way to bother Yaoyorozu who looks uncomfortable by the approach. "I'll go save her. Hey, Yaoyorozu!"

Jirou pulls an uncomfortable Yaoyorozu away from the boy, scolding him all the while. Ochako looks away, disinterested—and spots Midoriya.

He's wearing a mask but she recognizes him by his dejected mannerism alone. He's standing all by himself away from the rest of the class, looking down at the grass. His costume is moss green and looks different from the others—less furnished. He looks up in surprise when Ochako approaches him.

"Hey," Ochako says.

"Hey," he says shyly.

"Cute suit. Love the bunny look."

Ochako can see him blush even with the mask in the way. He brushes the bunny ear on top of his head, a shy, self-conscious movement. "Oh. Thanks."

"It looks handmade," she says in a way that makes it sound like a compliment. "Did you make it yourself?"

"My, um, my mom made it for me.." it's said softly but without embarrassment. Maybe even with a little pride, if Midoriya is capable of feeling anything of that sort. "She's—she's an engineer."

"Wow," Ochako says, sounding impressed. "That's amazing."

He seems to have now remembered that in a proper conversation you are supposed to compliment the person who compliments you as well. "I like—um. I like your suit too.." Now he sounds embarrassed. "It looks. Good."

Gee, and here she thought she looked absolutely hideous. "You think so?" Ochako smiles sheepishly. "I feel it's a bit too tight."

"Hero class is awesome," a new voice says.

Ochako stops. She turns to glance blankly.

It's the freak short purple boy that Jirou warned her about, whose existence is so insignificant in Ochako's mind that she's forgotten him completely. He seems to have been banished from the girls' circle and is now wandering around aimlessly before deciding that Ochako is a great new view for him to ogle. There is a familiar look on his face that she recognizes. It's a look that she sometimes sees on men sitting across from her when she takes public transport. It's a look that she sees on men looking at any girl at all.

Ochako crouches down so she can be at eye level with Mineta Minoru. Not that he is looking anywhere near her eyes. "Hi, Mineta-kun, right?" Ochako says sweetly. "I love your suit."

Now that's a boy who has never been approached by a girl before. He sputters some overly excited response that Ochako barely hears. She only smiles blandly at him and then walks away, disinterested once again.

When All Might shows up on the training field, Ochako's heart skips a beat. She thinks, faintly: This is it. This is what she came here for.

(Ten.)

He is out of costume and wearing some typical teacher get-up instead, but even like this, All Might is still larger than life. As shiny and golden as he is on TV. As grand and unshakeable.

But not untouchable. Not anymore, no.

(Nine.)

He is saying something about being their teacher of the day and explaining all these rules that they have to follow when they start beating each other up in their Heroes-Villains play-acting—Ochako isn't listening. This is her chance. She can reach out and touch him if she wants. She can kill him.

(Eight.)

And maybe—just maybe—he can kill her.

Her heart picks up in her chest. That sensation again—excitement.

(Seven.)

Ochako wonders how she should go about it. Maybe she should kill one or two of her classmates—surely that'll get him going. Maybe all the other Hero teachers will get on it too and try to kill her all together. And if they fail, she'll end the world. Doesn't that sound like a plan?

(Six.)

Yes, it does.

(Five.)

They are doing some lots and they'll be paired up to roleplay Heroes and Villains (four), or something along that line (three), Ochako is barely paying attention (two). Ochako reaches for the nearest kid next to her.

(On—)

"The next pairing," All Might announces, "is Uraraka-kun and Midoriya-kun."

—Oh?

"Ochako-chan? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Tsuyu-chan," Ochako says, brushing her classmate's shoulder, pinkie raised. "You just had a lint on your shoulder is all."

Midoriya doesn't look exactly excited to be paired up with her.

"Must be fate, Midoriya-kun," Ochako says, walking up to him. "It's going to be fun! We get to be Heroes."

"Yeah," he says. Always so quiet. Always looking like the world is going to come down all around him.

"Are you feeling nervous? It's normal to feel nervous," says Ochako who has never felt nervous her whole life.

"Sorry," he says. He looks embarrassed again. "It's just, we're up against Kacch—I mean, Bakugou, and he's … tough." He pauses. "Sorry, I don't mean to sound so—" he pauses again. Going redder and redder. "It's—sorry. Forget I said anything—"

Bakugou. The explosive blonde who told her to fuck off at the entrance exam. "Do you two know each other?"

Midoriya hesitates. "We were in the same school."

Ooh. Ochako recognizes drama when she hears one. "No waay," she says. "Really? You've got to know each other pretty well then."

Something flashes across his face—a fucked up, complicated expression that picks up Ochako's interst. He looks away, and for a moment Ochako thinks he isn't going to respond, but then he does. "Enough that … I have an idea of what we should do to beat him," Midoriya says quietly. "Uraraka-san … would you be okay with—with following my plan?"

Ochako blinks. Now that's a surprise. She hadn't pegged him as a leader. "Okay."

He tells her all about his plan. It sounds like a decent plan. The thorough explanation of how Bakugou Katsuki's Quirk works is certainly good intel if only Ochako is the type who gets excited over winning some stupid battle game, which she isn't. But okay. Sounds good. They should be ready to roll. Whatever. She is just along for the ride. She even wants to see how this thing is going to turn out.

The moment the battle begins, Midoriya and Bakugou start yelling at each other like a couple on the brink of divorce.

Well, Ochako's parents have an all right marriage, but she'd bet on anything that this is how an explosive divorce would look like. A divorce that's been a long time coming at that.

Ochako watches, both entertained and transfixed on the drama unfolding right in front of her. Midoriya's mask has been charred away from Bakugou's Quirk and from his expression it's clear that he's going to start crying anytime soon.

Ochako will give him some credit—fighting wise, he has been faring well against Bakugou, and he hasn't even been using that bone-breaking Quirk of his. Bakugou's Quirk isn't the only thing he knows inside out; he seems to be pretty much used to dealing with Bakugou's punches as well—so much that he could guess every single one of Bakugou's movements. While crying.

"I'm not going to be your punching bag forever. Not anymore," Midoriya tells Bakugou with a wet, shaky voice. His face is green, like it's taking all his might standing up to who obviously is his former bully and not throwing up doing it. "I'm—I'm going to be a Hero, Kacchan. Just you watch."

Wow. Getting real personal there. Ochako looks at Bakugou to see his response.

"You've been fucking with me. The whole time—you've been fucking faking it, haven't you, acting all Quirkless since … this entire fucking … you fuck…!" Bakugou is so angry that he can't speak. His entire body is shaking and his face is twisted into an ugly look of hatred. "Fine. Fine! Quirk or no Quirk, doesn't fucking matter, asshole—you'll always be a fucking loser! Useless fucking Deku, that's all you are, that's all you will ever be. Try all you want—that shit'll never. Fucking. Change."

Wow. Some interesting tidbits there. Ochako looks at Midoriya to see his response.

"You're wrong, Kacchan," Midoriya says. Quiet, shaky, tearful—but there is something else there, a bitterness more complicated than just hatred. "You're wrong. And I'm going to prove it to you."

Ochako looks back at Bakugou.

Bakugou barks a nasty laugh. "Oh, sure you will. Break a few bones and you think you've made a Hero out of yourself, huh? That kind of naive thinking is just like you, Deku! You're so beyond idiotic it pisses me the fuck off," he bares his teeth in a sneer, hands alight with his Quirk. "All right then. I'll show you your place, Deku. I'll beat you just like how I always have."

Ochako looks back at Midoriya.

He shakes his head. "No, Kacchan … you won't," Midoriya says, that fucked up look sweeping across his face again. Not quite hate. Something more complex. Something like determination, if it's ever so bloody—the kind of blood that comes from broken glass, jagged and branched. "Not today. Not ever again. Today.." he pauses, breath shaky. "Today. You lose."

Bakugou laughs again, a harsh noise. "Oh yeah? All right. Remember. You asked for it, Deku." His face is white with rage. If looks could kill. His Quirk sparks in the palms of his hands and Bakugou says, rough, "Fuck. You."

Midoriya's lips are split, Bakugou managed to get a hit in—he spits blood to the side. He is shaking his head again as he looks at Bakugou. "No, Kacchan," Midoriya says, soft. "Fuck you."

This is the kind of conversation they have as they continue beating each other up.

This back and forth between the both of them goes on for quite some time (while beating each other up). They're both so into it, Ochako is pretty sure neither of them remembers the nuclear plant situation, too immersed in their whole childhood (?) rivalry melodrama situation.

Midoriya's short summation of their history turns out to be a severe understatement—it's obvious that they've known each other for a long time, and totally for the worst. Anybody can see that these two have some unresolved stuff against each other. Ochako watches as the fight goes on and on and on.

Okay. Well. Hm.

This is all getting a bit boring actually.

While it was kind of interesting to watch for the first few minutes, this entire thing is going monotonous real quick. If Ochako wants to watch boys beat each other up she doesn't have to go to UA to do so, any school at all will do. Hell, give her five minutes and she can just make any two boys beat each other up at any moment. This isn't a UA special. This is just a typical chicken fight, only dressed-up in latex.

She ignores them and walks away.

She's walking aimlessly but finds the nuclear plant thing that she's supposed to secure eventually. As expected, Bakugou's other team member Iida Tenya is safeguarding it inside the room. He's talking to himself while he's at it, which is hilarious.

"..Bakugou's personality leans towards troublemaking, so this exercise is perfectly suited to him. I suppose I must also take the role of a Villain. Though it brings shame to the Iida family name, this training will help me become a better man! I must commit! I must cloak myself in the darkness." Iida pauses. And then, with a comically villainous voice, he says, "I … am the dark. I … am the ultimate Villain."

Holy shit. This school is full of cringe freaks and weirdos and people with some kind of mental problem.

Ochako can't help it, she laughs and laughs and continues to laugh even when Iida spots her. She continues to laugh when Iida continues his Villain roleplay and begins to attack her villainously.

Ochako could very well be wrong. Entering UA might not be a mistake at all—this entire thing is actually very very funny. This school year is looking up to be a bit of fun after all.

The battle is over when Ochako gets her hands on the nuclear weapon thingamajig right when Bakugou blows up the entire building in an attempt to kill Midoriya. Midoriya is sent over, once again, to the nurse's office.

Just another day at UA.

The entire class proceeds to roast their battle performance. Ochako was too "distracted", Bakugou was too "hot-headed", Midoriya was too "reckless", and Iida was "pretty good, actually, the only one who was in character". Ochako isn't really listening, instead just idly ping-ponging all the heartfelt insults and confessions she eavesdropped between the two boys in her brain.

She stays in class for a bit to watch her other classmates go at it. But other than Midoriya, no one seems to be in danger of getting blown up to bits, so it's a pretty tame watch. Bored again, politely she walks over to All Might and asks if she can be excused so she can visit Midoriya-kun in the nurse's office, please, because she's just so worried about him and she feels so guilty that he got hurt so bad and it's all her fault because she isn't a good enough teammate and oh my god what if he doesn't want to be her friend ever again—

"All right, all right," says All Might. It's mildly surprising to see that All Might is capable of looking guilty, as if he is an actual person and not a Hero. "You may go, Uraraka-kun."

"Thank you, All Might," she says. She'll just try to kill him after recess or something, or maybe tomorrow, or maybe in five minutes.

On her way out of class, she catches Bakugou brooding alone against a wall—standing apart from the rest of the class like a freak. He's been doing that for a while, just silently fuming while everyone critiqued his murder attempt towards Midoriya. Judging from the tense, nasty look on his face, he is either having some kind of mental clash in his head or experiencing the most lethal constipation of his life.

Because Ochako is such a nice girl, she approaches him genially with open arms and open heart and so on. "Hi, Bakugou-kun," Ochako says, sidling up to the wall next to him. "Nice to finally talk to you—great fight just now by the way, no notes! Anyway, I'm going to go visit Midoriya-kun at the nurse's office. Do you wanna tag along?"

If Deku looked surprised that she was talking to him, Bakugou looks downright insulted. "Shut your shit and get the fuck out of my face."

"Aw," Ochako says, a disappointed coo. "Well, okay, Kacchan."

The effect is immediate. That constipated look is now infused with an emotion that can only be described as homicidal. "What'd I just say, huh? Did you shit your brain out of your ass or were you just born without any? Get the fuck. Out of my face."

He is downright growling at her. Teeth bared in non-stop yapping, like a scared, angry, neurotic rabid dog.

Ochako knows his type—there is always a boy like him in every class too, one that always needs to prove something. "Oh, so only Deku can call you Kacchan," Ochako says. She tilts her head. "It's so cute that both of you have nicknames reserved just for each other. You guys must be so close."

For a second Ochako thinks he's going to punch her, or something like that. He doesn't though, which is too bad. Ochako has never been punched before. It'd be an interesting experience. "Mind your own fuckin' business or I'll make you. Fuck. Off."

What a nice, sweet guy. Bet he's popular with girls and punched-in drywalls. "Okay then. See ya," Ochako says and feels his glare on her back when she leaves.

She finds Midoriya-kun all sad and depressed in the nurse's office's bed. They've cleaned him up; his face has some scratches on it, but no more of the grime and dust from Bakugou's explosion. The entrance exam hasn't been that long ago, but it's almost nostalgic to see him looking all fucked up like this.

"Hey," Ochako says from the doorframe.

He looks up at her. He has this hunted, hollow look in his eyes like he's a second away from attempting suicide. "Hey," he says.

His voice sounds scratchy like he's been yelling and screaming and crying for an hour. Which, well.

She lifts a can of Milo and a packet of pocky she nicked from the cafeteria. "Got you a little something." She puts her loot on the small table next to him and drags a chair to sit by his side. "Hey," she says again, softening her voice. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," he says.

She smiles tamely. "Oh yeah? No broken bones whatsoever?"

He recognizes the joke for what it is and attempts for what is probably a smile. So he isn't completely hopeless at human communication after all—though he certainly needs to practice more on that smile. Ochako doubts his smile can even convince a blind person that he's felling okay. "Well," he says. "Maybe one."

Ochako hums. She glances at his slinged arm. "How's it doing?"

"It's okay … Recovery Girl said I just. I just need to rest up for a bit before she can fully heal it."

Ochako watches his face. What a pair he and Bakugou make. Bakugou looks like he's so angry he could kill, and Midoriya looks like he's so sad he could die.

Midoriya is funny. But Midoriya and Bakugou altogether at the same time is even funnier.

"Why so down?" Ochako says, gently bumping his good shoulder. "We won, hey? All thanks to you."

He looks at her blankly like he doesn't know what she's talking about. "No, I—I messed up?" he says, with a question mark at the end. "It was all you. We won thanks to you."

Ochako can see that Midoriya is exactly the kind of person that she thought he was. He will never accept any compliment from anybody, and will never give himself any merit whatsoever. This type of person perplexes her. If you trip people like Midoriya down the stairs they'd say sorry that they'd dirtied your shoes. If you give people like Midoriya a shovel, they'll go ahead and try to bury themself with it…

No, Kacchan. Fuck you.

..Huh.

Or maybe not?

She puts a patient smile on her face. "You analyzed his Quirk and devised a plan for our team," Ochako says matter-of-factly. "You distracted him long enough for me to get to the nuclear thingy. You did all of that. I was basically just moral support."

Well, Ochako doesn't understand morals if it's tied up on a railway track begging to be saved from an upcoming trolley—but hey. Nobody's perfect.

Midoriya still doesn't look convinced, but he does that thing again with his face, that poor impression of what a proper smile looks like. "You were more than just moral support," he says. For a moment Ochako thinks he's going to start on another tirade on how he's the most useless teammate in the world, but he seems to realize how annoying he would sound if he does just that. He settles for: "Thank you, Uraraka-san."

"No problem, Deku,"

The effect is immediate. His face has this shocked, fucked up hurt look as if Ochako just stabbed him in the guts and twisted the knife.

Ochako smiles. "It's a cute nickname," she says. "What does it mean?"

He blinks. He looks down at his hands. They're calloused, and the nails bitten. His voice is a little hollow when he answers. "It's. From the kanji of my name. It can be read as—"

"Good for nothing," Ochako says, and he flinches. Ochako watches him, fascinated, mapping every change that occurred on that freckled face. "So Bakugou-kun was bullying you."

That stricken face again, like Ochako just stabbed him the second time. It's an interesting look. More interestingly is Midoriya's response to her statement—it is one of immediate denial. "No," he says. "He's not … he wasn't…"

He stops. His throat bobs when he swallows. "It's a nickname," he finishes lamely. "It's just a nickname."

"But it's not a nice one."

She can see it in his face when he relents. Eyes downcast, lips shaking. So expressive, and so effortlessly. It's incredible. This kind of show of vulnerability is especially hard to imitate. "No," he says. "Not really.."

"He's not very nice to you, is he?" Ochako says. "Bakugou-kun."

Another denial. "No, he just—it's just. It's just that. He just doesn't like me so much," Midoriya says. And then, as if he needs to defend Bakugou and validate Bakugou's treatment of him for whatever crazy reason, "Kacchan's just—he's angry. That I'm here. That's why he … got rough."

Got rough? That's a hilarious way to describe blowing up a fucking building. "He could've killed you," Ochako says.

Midoriya isn't looking at her. He's fiddling with his blanket like they're the most interesting thing in the world. "He wouldn't," he says softly, as if Bakugou-kun didn't just basically put him in the hospital. "He's … rough … but. He's strong. He's really, really strong."

Ochako stares at him, saying nothing. But Midoriya doesn't need her encouragement to elaborate further on what an incredible person his bully is. "His goals, his—his confidence. Everything. He's better than me in every way, he … he makes me want to be better. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't—" he stops. Says nothing.

Ochako thinks back to when Midoriya shared his plan with her. He had explained to her, thoroughly, everything about Bakugou's Quirk. And Bakugou's fighting style. And he had handled those two things well enough that they'd won the battle. The details that Midoriya had on Bakugou—it was obsessive. Could it be—?

"You.." Ochako squints, watching his face intently. Maybe he likes him—? No, no. It's something similar, but fundamentally different—

—oh. She got it.

"You want to be him," Ochako says.

Midoriya stares at her. She stares back. Wonders what he's going to say—another denial, maybe. Or tell her to leave and mind her own fucking business, if he has the backbone for it. But there isn't any of that. He says eventually, with that quiet voice, "I thought I could never. Be like him. But now that I have a—but now. Now, I have a chance. So. I have to beat him." He pauses. His good fist clenches the fabric of the blanket. "I—I have to win."

"Even if it hurts?"

Midoriya blinks. "Huh?"

Ochako glances at his bandages. The entrance exam, the Quirk test, and now the battle practice. "Your body can't handle your Quirk, Midoriya-kun."

Midoriya tenses. So tense that he goes shock still. It's kinda funny to see. "The stronger the Quirk the bigger the burden," Ochako says, reciting Quirk 101 that they all learned in primary school. "And yours is pretty good."

Midoriya stays quiet, stiller than stone. That's fine. She stretches out her hand, as if to touch him, but stops just shy of. Her hand falls back to her side. She looks at him. "Doesn't it suck?"

"..What?"

"Your Quirk," Ochako says, curiously. "It breaks you every time you use it. Doesn't it suck?"

"No."

It's said without hesitation, without pause. It's the surest she has heard him. "Why?" she says.

He looks at her like he doesn't understand her question. "If … if it wasn't for this Quirk," he says, confused, "I wouldn't be here … that's why…"

Ochako looks at him. She finds that he completely means it.

The pause goes on for too long. Midoriya looks away, weakly flustered all of a sudden. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—talk so much, I don't know why I—"

"I don't get you, Deku-kun," Ochako says.

Deku looks at her, taken aback.

Ochako smiles. "But that's okay. That's not your fault. You can't help it," she says, tapping her lips thoughtfully. "Oh, right. I can call you Deku too, can't I? It just sounds so cute."

The surprised expression is gone, replaced by something more complicated, hurt and most of all confused. "I—um—"

"I thought it sounded just like dekiru—I can do it," Ochako says sweetly. "Deku-kun. Deku-kun. Deku-kun. I love saying it." She smiles at him brightly. "I'm sure you can beat Bakugou-kun. After all, you already did it once today. You can do it again. So. Can I call you Deku?"

Deku stares at her for a long time. And then, "I. Okay."

"Oh, yay," Ochako says at his consent. "Really?"

He blinks. He looks somewhat astonished, either at Ochako or at himself. She beams back at him, sunny. He says again, "Okay. No problem. I mean—I'm fine. I mean—thank you—"

"That's the spirit," Ochako kindly cuts off his stupid blubbering once again. "Plus ultra, right? Say it with me, Deku-kun."

He looks confused again, like he isn't sure what to do when people smile at him, or say nice things to him, or not call him useless to his face. "Um … plus ultra.."

Such a silly catchphrase. "So true," Ochako says.

He's blushing again. It's less interesting than that fucked up expression he had on his face, which is now entirely gone. Ochako appraises him once more. Deku-kun … is still funny overall, but not that funny. Mostly, now he's just weird.

Well. He can't help it. She doesn't judge.

She pops open the pocky box she stole, shoving it under his nose. "Eat up," she says. "You need the energy. So you can use your Quirk again."

And destroy his body in the process again.

That part is still sort of funny.

"Uraraka-san, you're.." his words are a bit muffled from the pocky in his mouth. He sounds so shy still, despite. "You're. Really—really nice. Thank you."

"Mhm," Ochako agrees, already over this entire experience. She glances at her watch—twenty minutes before the next class. What should she do now? Nick something else from the cafeteria? Explore the school grounds? Look for All Might and get herself killed? Look for All Might and get All Might killed?

So many possibilities.

"I'll see you later in class, okay?" she says. "You just rest up for now, Deku-kun.'

"Okay," he says, with that shy, soft demeanor. A drastic change from back when he looked like he wanted to bathe in Bakugou's blood and drink it too. "See you. Uraraka-san."

"See you, Deku-kun," she says. She walks out to find Bakugou-kun standing in the hallway.

She wants to laugh. Wow. Just wow.

These people are insanely funny.

"Hey, Kacchan," she says, just to watch him get angry again. "Were you eavesdropping on us?"

He's not even blushing—not a trace of shame from being caught red-handed. "Go fuck yourself."

How nice.

Bakugou Katsuki has clearly been terrorizing Deku for the longest time, but his records must be clean. UA wouldn't give him a chance otherwise.

Ochako understands. She can imagine all the circumstances—all the excuses that people give for him. Maybe his grades are just so good, or his Quirk is just so cool, or he's just so popular with everyone that his … personality … can be excused. After all, he's a boy. Boys like Bakugou, they can just say anything. They can just do anything. He can attempt to blow up someone and he would just be "hot-headed".

But when Ochako does it she would be "mentally disturbed", "exhibiting signs of sociopathic tendencies", and "in severe need of psychiatric help".

Don't you just hate double standards?

"He'd be so happy if you go and see him," Ochako says, pointing to the closed door of the nurse's office. "You two are such best friends after all."

"Kill yourself," Bakugou says, and her smile widens. This is kind of fun.

"If you're too shy to wish him a get well soon, I can do it for you," Ochako says, moving to open the nurse's office door. "Deku-kun, Bakugou-kun said—"

He's fast. His fingers are around her wrist, harsh, as he yanks her back before she could get to the door. "Fuck off!" he tells her, furious and low. "What the fuck is your problem, asshole? You—"

Ochako grips him back, pinky down.

It happens quickly. She only holds him for barely a second, but it's enough. Bakugou gasps as he stumbles back, eyes wide, holding the part of his wrist where she just touched him like it burned. There is a tense moment where they both look at each other. "It's not nice to touch a girl without permission, Bakugou-kun," Ochako says calmly.

His face is white, but this time it isn't just from anger. His voice shakes. "You—the fuck did you just—"

"What," Aizawa-sensei says flatly, "is going on here?"

They both turn in surprise—neither hears the teacher coming. Aizawa-sensei's presence is stark, a dark silhouette against the excessive cleanness of UA hallways. "Well?" he says. "Are you not supposed to be in class, or did the school end early without my knowledge?"

Ochako doesn't miss a beat. "Midoriya-kun is hurt from All Might-sensei's battle practice, so both Bakugou-kun and I are visiting him in the nurse's office," Ochako says. "Right, Bakugou-kun?"

When Bakugou-kun doesn't reply, Aizawa-sensei looks at him. "Is that true, Bakugou?"

"..Yes, sensei," Bakugou says. He looks angry again now, but his expression is a little flatter as he returns Aizawa-sensei's dark, burrowing stare. "It's true."

"I see. I'll confirm both your stories to All Might," Aizawa-sensei says. "Might I remind you—no running, no fighting, and least of all no Quirk use in the hallways. No Quirk use at all without permission on the school grounds." Is it her imagination, or does his gaze lingers a little too long on Ochako? "Or you'll be expelled. Understood?"

He leaves after they voice their assents. They watch him go. "Aw, Kacchan," she says, turning to look at Bakugou. "You didn't tell on me. I'm touched."

He glares at her. "That's nothing to do with you," he says.

His voice isn't shaking anymore but the hand where Ochako has touched him still is, curled into a fist by his side. He's still pale, and she can spot a bead of cold sweat running down his forehead. She must've hurt him quite badly, but there is no fear in his gaze. Just anger and something else—something cautious, but cold. Calculating. Like he's sizing her up.

Interesting. UA kids are built different, she guesses.

Bakugou walks up to her in a manner that he must think is intimidating. He doesn't yell for once; his voice is low and serious. "You want a fight, Uraraka? I'll fucking give you one."

Ochako smiles at him. "Mm, I dunno," she says. She's really feeling that juice, now. Should be plenty in the cafeteria since they haven't had their recess. "Maybe next time, Bakugou-kun. See ya next class."

She turns on her heels, but not before giving him a wink because she knows it'll get him angrier.

"Bitch," cusses Bakugou behind her.

Ochako smiles. He's so funny. Maybe even funnier than Deku, if he keeps this up.


"Field trip!" Mina exclaims. She shakes Ochako's shoulders. "Field trip! Field trip!"

"Yay," says Ochako, letting herself be shaken. "So exciting."

Ochako doesn't particularly feel excited about field trips. Not that she has had bad experiences with it (Ochako has never had a bad experience with anything). It's just that being stuck in a tin can on wheels with nineteen stupid teenagers is a good way to make her start hearing voices in her head.

But hey, this is UA! Who knows what they have in store for her? With any luck someone is going to die today. And after all, she is—

"So excited that All Might is gonna teach our class again! Fuck yeah baby!" Kaminari Denki says, shaking Kirishima Eijirou's shoulders, who is shaking him back in the brotherhood of excitement. "Fuck yeah baby!" Kirishima says. They both say it together for the third time just for emphasis because it truly is Fuck and Yeah and Baby: "Fuck yeah, baby!"

So, who knows? Someone might actually die by the end of the day. It could be All Might. It could be her. Whatever.

"Aw, Deku," Ochako says. "Why're you not wearing the suit your mom made you?"

Deku does that startled thing again, like he can't simply comprehend that people want to talk to him. He relaxes when he sees it's her. "Oh. Um, my suit got … torn from the battle trial, so. Aizawa-sensei said I can just wear gym clothes."

"That's too bad," Ochako says. "I hope they fix it for you soon.." she trails. At the back of the bus, she sees Bakugou looking their way—when Ochako notices him, he immediately looks away. His face is twisted in some kind of disgust as if Ochako is the ugliest person he has ever seen in his life and he wants her dead so bad, or something.

He's been doing this since the battle trial—watching from afar and glaring daggers. Though honestly, sometimes Ochako isn't sure if he's glaring at Deku or at her.

So cute. It's like he's got a crush, if crushers are homicidal in nature.

The USJ is huge and impressive, just like how everything is at UA. The vastness of the place reminds her of theme parks. Ochako likes going to theme parks—she does so in her spare time. Her favorite attraction is the Ferris wheel. It's nice being so high up, so cut off, knowing that gravity could kill her if only she'd allow it to.

This USJ place has "attractions" too, different arenas with different types of rescue simulations they can use to train themselves. There is a forestry area, a lake, even a mini volcano. Crazy. Ochako wonders how much power is used to run this place. They are essentially located in a glass dome, the sun shining down on them through the transparent windows, but the temperature is perfectly cool with the air cons running on high. The entire place must be using a shit ton of electricity and generating another shit ton of heat.

Oh well. Can't make an omelet if you don't break a few eggs. Can't practice Heroism if you aren't killing the earth on taxpayers' money.

"All right, some news," Aizawa-sensei says, after gathering all of them to the entrance podium. "All Might is held up on some Hero business, so he's not coming."

Huh?

Around Ochako the students express their disappointment. Ochako sighs to herself. What a letdown. Another day where nothing happens and nobody dies. Just great. This is going to be so boring.

"Settle down," Aizawa-sensei says flatly, ignoring the kids' disheartened faces. "Today, you will be taught by a Hero who has had decades of experience in rescue missions. Thirteen-sensei, go ahead."

She looks up.

Ochako feels it immediately, even before Thirteen-sensei steps into the podium: Thirteen's Quirk. Pulling at the edges of space—a stretch in the fabric. Their Quirk makes the marble of gravity grow heavy and heavier. It's a little annoying. Like having a hoard of ants nibbling at your skin.

But at least it's making her feel something.

"My Quirk is called Black Hole," Thirteen-sensei says. "The vortex of my Quirks attracts materials and turns them into dust."

The kids oooh. Deku makes a quiet, interested sound next to her. "I'm sure you can imagine how my Quirk would be useful in removing wreckage and saving people in disasters, just as I'm sure that you can imagine how it could easily hurt and kill people."

Thirteen's tone is calm and cheerful. Their expression is obscured by their Hero suit, specifically designed to encase their entire body so they don't accidentally suck everyone in the vicinity into the vortex of their Quirk. "In this case, my Quirk is no different than yours," Thirteen-sensei says. "At any point in time, any of you could do irreparable damage to others—and yourself—with your Quirk. Such is nature. Such is the world that we live in and the body that each of us inhabits. But that doesn't mean your Quirk exists to hurt people."

There is silence in the entrance podium. Ochako looks around. Deku looks transfixed, staring at Thirteen-sensei with heartfelt awe, or something else equally earnest and impossible for Ochako to feel. The same with all of her classmates—they all seem enraptured by the Hero's speech, even the pervert who sat next to Yaoyorozu-san in class. All of her classmates are listening intently except for—

Bakugou isn't looking at Thirteen-sensei. He is looking at his watch with a look of pinched impatience, one foot tapping rapidly on the ground. Once he notices Ochako staring at him, he glares at her.

Ochako winks. Bakugou glares harder.

Thirteen continues, "What I want to do In this lesson is to teach you how your Quirk can help people. I hope you will leave this exercise having understood that. That is all."

Her classmates cheer and clap. "That was so good," says Mina next to Ochako, grinning from ear to ear. "Oh my god. I actually feel kinda touched by that, no lie."

"I know, right," says Ochako. "So inspiring."

"All right," Aizawa-sensei. "Pipe down. We'll start the lesson soon, but first thing fir—Thirteen, protect the students! Everybody huddle together and don't move, those are Villains!"

This is how Ochako reiterates it to the police later: Oh, Detective. It all happened so fast.

It didn't, really. Just like how she could taste Thirteen's Quirk, she could taste this one, too; another ant nibbling at her skin. A rip in the fabric of space as a portal appears in the USJ to spill Villains out of it.

"What the hell," one of the Villains says, the one with white hair and dismembered hands attached all over him like a freak. "After all that fucking trouble, All Might isn't even here yet? What a fucking letdown.."

Red, sallow eyes traverse the room. He smiles when he sees the 1-A kids huddled together just for him. "Maybe we should kill one or two of his students first, huh?" Shigaraki Tomura grins, manic and wide. "That'll surely get him going."

Chaos erupts. Her classmates scream and run. Aizawa-sensei and Thirteen-sensei activates their Quirks. This and that. And Ochako thinks, huh. She was right after all. Someone is going to die today.

UA truly does not disappoint.