Chapter Twenty Three

You took a long sip from your plastic cup as you followed Tokoyami to the arena.

"Huh?" You blinked looking over seeing the girls from your class dressed in orange themed cheerleading uniforms.

"Did I miss something?" You turned to Tokoyami who shrugged not understanding what was going on either.

"Looks like class 1-A is going full on fan service!" President Mic cracked up. You glanced over seeing Mineta and Kaminari snickering to each other.

"What!?" Momo yelled, "You tricked us!?"

"You're going to regret this!" Jiro screamed.

"What did you two do?" You asked sipping your cup.

"(y-y/n)-"

"We couldn't find you to trick you too-" Kaminari kicked Mineta shutting him up before he could finish his sentence.

"Finally get a chance to show what we are made of!" Kirishima's face was bright, "I watch these fights every year and now I'm finally in them!"

"So, is it always a tournament?" Mina wondered,

"The finals are always a one-on-one competition, but they do switch it up every now and then." Sero explained.

"Come over here and draw lots to see who you are up against." Midnight explained picking up a brightly colored box. "Then enjoy the pleasure of the recreational games before we start. The upcoming competitors can choose to sit out and get ready for their upcoming matches if they so wish."

"Um-" Ojiro rose his hand. "-excuse me, I'm sorry but I am dropping out."

"No way Ojiro!" Midoriya gasped.

"Are you insane!?" Kirishima added.

"This is a rare chance for you to be scouted!" Ida said.

"I don't feel it would be right, I barely remember anything from the cavalry battle." Ojiro explained, "I think it was that guy's quirk, but I wouldn't feel right about it, everyone gave their all-in round two, but I was just someone's puppet, I don't want to advance if I didn't earn it!"

You had respect for Ojiro. You knew the feeling of being someone's puppet all too well.

"Wow-!" Kirishima cried, "-you're so manly Ojiro!"

"This sort of talk is incredibly naïve my boys-!" Midnight called, "-that turns me on-!"

"How is she a teacher again?" You wondered.

"-Ojiro you're withdrawn! We will need to move up students from the fifth-place team from the cavalry battle."

"We barely did anything-" A redhead said, "-you should pick a team that fought the whole time, like Tetsutetsu's teams."

"Itsuka-" A boy with white lashes stepped forward, looking like he was about to burst into tears.

"I'm not doing you any favors, it's just fair." The red head Itsuka shrugged.

"Thank you!" Tetsutetsu's shouted.

"This is getting weird." You muttered.

"Look at the bracket my dears, these are your opponents!" Midnight called, turning everyone to the large screen.

You stared at the screen reading it until you found your name.

"(l/n)-" Ida called, you turned seeing him bow. "-it appears we are going to be sparing against each other."

"So, it seems." You nod.

"Please-" Ida says, "-forgive me."

"Huh?" You tilt your head.

"I am not going to go easy on you-"

"-the fuck-?" You mutter,

"-because you are a girl, or because you are injured or my peer. I have something to prove and would like to face off against Midoriya." Ida stood, "So forgive me." He said before walking away, probably to get ready for your match.

"Oh-" You scoff, "-I'm going to smoke his ass." You say to no one as you turn and go your own way to find food.

----

"(y/n)!" All Might finally found you. He searched all over the festival and you weren't participating in the side games like he thought you would. You turned your head as you bit into a large sub sandwich. "There you are!" Your free arm held onto a bunch of snacks.

"Yeah?" You muffled out; anger laced your heart upon seeing him. He didn't want you at the festival today, he didn't support you or say any encouraging words.

But he did for Midoriya.

Ida overlooked you to get to Midoriya.

Everyone wanted Midoriya.

You felt a fire ignite inside your chest filling it with rage, it was so suffocating you could hardly breathe!

"I just-"

"Go find your trophy boy." You said turning your back to All Might.

"Wha-?" All Might blinked, "- (y/n) -"

"I'm sure you have tons to say to him." Your words were licked with salt leaving an after taste in your mouth. You felt horrid for speaking to the man who took you in when you had no one and no place to go, but it felt so unfair for him not to support you the way he was treating Midoriya. You looked to the floor as you left All Might standing in the hallway alone.

Midoriya was All Might's successor, of course All Might cares more for Midoriya, you're just a street rat he picked up from the curb. You tightened your grip on your goodies, you felt the urge to kick it up a notch.

Your waiting room door opened, you turned expecting All Might but it wasn't the right blond who stood in the doorway.

"Hey-" Bakugo snuffed at you, tossing a bag of chips on the table you were kicked back at. "-dumbass, eat up."

"Hm?" You hummed in response.

"I want to fight you." Bakugo glared, "So don't be getting your ass kicked just because you're hungry!" You smiled at Bakugo, "Don't fucking smile at me-!" Bakugo pointed, "-just eat the damn food and don't die yet!" He said slamming your door closed.

You laughed, reaching over and picking up the bag slowly munching on the crispy potatoes.

"Welcome the next round of fighters-!" President Mic called, "-from the Hero Course, Class 1-A Tenya Ida! And also from the Hero Course, and from Class 1-A (y/n) (l/n)!"

A round of clapping and cheers greeted you as you walked through the opening onto the arena floor. You walked your way to the cement ring; Ida was also sternly making his way towards it.

"Rules here are simple-!" President Mic said, "-immobilize your opponent or force them out of the ring! You can also win by getting the other person to cry uncle!"

You and Ida stood together on the stone ring, locking eyes with him he looked so serious. Like he was so determined to make good on his promise to not go easy on you, to get past you and fight Midoriya.

"Bring on the injuries because we have our very own Recovery Girl waiting on standby!" President Mic's words caused you to smirk. "Put your morals aside and don't be afraid to play dirty! But no life threatening crap folks, ok? A real hero uses their powers to throw villains away in jail!"

Cementoss was on the sidelines to stop anyone from getting too rough.

"Ready? Begin!" President Mic called; your heart skipped as you locked eyes onto Ida.

"So, you want to go up against Midoriya?" You called,

"Yes." Ida nodded, "Forgive me but-"

"You think I am just an obstacle in your way?" You smirked.

"I hope after this we can be friends but for now, we are opponents." Ida said, getting down into a defensive position.

"I agree." You said, feeling your eyes light up as you activate your quirk. "So, forgive me-" You called taking control of the wind. "-for this!"

You slammed a forceful gush of wind upon Ida, knocking him off his feet onto his face. He gasped out, spit dripping from his mouth as he slowly struggled for air.

You felt you too had something to prove.

You weren't weak, you weren't something to simply be overlooked. You took another forceful wave of wind and slammed it into him again, pushing him back onto his stomach.

Ida gasped out in pain, you felt Cementoss turn in his chair.

You were pushing your luck.

With one swift move of your hand, you sent another gush of air picking Ida off the ground and flying towards the wall, slamming it into him.

He fell to the ground as pieces of wall crumbled onto him.

"Wha-" President Mic gasped out as silence filled the arena.

"T-Tenya Ida is out of bounds-" Midnight called, "- (y/n) (l/n) advances to the next round!"

The crowd cheered, you let out a steady breath, watching medics running to Ida who wasn't getting up.

"Oh yeah!" President Mic erupted over the screen, "That was unexpected turn of events, a little boring though! But let's show them some love anyway!"

Applause around you from the stands made you sigh, feeling tired you used your wind quirk too much and now you felt hungry again. After exiting the arena, you moved to the stands where your class was waiting.

"(y/n)!" Asui waved, gaining your attention. "Over here!"

"Hey." You breathed taking a seat beside Mina.

"That was insane!" Kirishima said from the row behind you, he sat beside Bakugo. "I had no idea your wind quirk could do something like that!"

"Yeah." You nod your head.

"Ida didn't even get a chance to raise his fist!" Kirishima went on laughing, "That was crazy!"

"Poor Ida though." Ochaco sadly expressed,

"Did he say something to piss you off?" Kaminari wondered, "You used some powerful attacks against him, it looked like he could barely breathe half the time you guys were down there."

"He was the one who said we were opponents." You defended yourself, craning your neck to look at the back row.

"But still-" Kaminari said, leaning against his seat. "-that was brutal."

"Don't fight me then." You shrugged, still feeling anger bubbling inside your chest.

"Ha!" Kirishima laughed, "I can't wait to get in the ring with you!"

"Yeah?" You smirked looking at the red head.

"Yeah!" He jumped,

"Then you better not get your ass kicked in your round." You smirked, glancing at Bakugo before turning back around to watch the next match between Sero and Shoto.

"Oh, I won't!" Kirishima promised.

"Hey Deku!" Ochaco stood, "We saved you a seat down here!"

"Oh, thanks guys!" Midoriya walked over, you two locked eyes. "(y/n) ...good match..."

"Thanks." You said, looking forward as your two classmates entered the ring.

You watched the three minuet fight, Shoto created a massive glacier that engulfed half the arena.

"Was that really necessary!?" Sero called frozen in the middle of the glacier.

"Tell the truth Sero-" Midnight called, you had to hold back your laugh seeing Midnight had also gotten frozen a bit. "-can you move at all?"

"Are you kidding!?" Sero called, "Obviously not!"

The death look painted on Shoto's face, you tilted your head. You had to admit it was hot as he broke through Sero's tape as frost escaped his mouth.

"Sero has been immobilized! Shoto Todoroki advances to the next round!"

The stands were stunned, but cheered Sero on making him feel better. Shoto walked over to Sero to melt the ice prison he created. You turn back to Kaminari,

"And I am the dramatic one?" You questioned,

"We-Well clearly that was a bit much!" Kaminari snapped at you, making you chuckle.

Kaminari was up next, he went up against the girl with vines for hair. The same one you froze with your ice. You watched as the girl with the vines talked with President Mic calling him out on something he said.

"What is with this girl?" Jiro asked.

"I got a better one for you-" You turned leaning on your arm, "-what's with Kaminari?" Everyone turned to him, who appeared to be floating on clouds.

"What is he doing!?" Kirishima jumped, "He looks like he likes that girl! He can't like the person he is about to go up against! That just isn't manly at all!"

Bakugo glanced over to you.

"He's gonna die." You muttered, placing a cracker into your mouth.

"What do you say we go out after this?" Kaminari had you coughing on the cracker in your throat.

"Did I just hear him right!?" Kirishima was spitting fire, "You can't ask the person you're about to fight out on a date!?"

"I correct myself-" You say, "-he is going to die quickly." Asui chuckled.

"He did not just call her honey." Momo sighed shaking her head, as Kaminari was instantly beaten, wrapped in vines in mere seconds.

"Man, she's good." Jiro muttered,

"Guess your friend was right after all-!" A voice taunted, you're face dropped seeing it was the blond boy from Class B, the one who kicked your lunch over. "-that match really was over in just two seconds! Hey wasn't class 1-A supposed to be so much better than us?"

The red head who didn't let herself get picked to be in the finals smacked the back of his head then apologized to your class. You glanced over seeing Midoriya doing his word vomit again. You watched as Midoriya and Ochaco spoke, it was clear she had a thing for him.

Mina won her match against Aoyama.

Momo lost against Todoroki; she didn't even realize she had been pushed out of bounds until it was too late.

You felt bad for her...

Kirishima went up against Tetsutetsu, the two had similar quirks so it was interesting to see who could win. Ochaco and Bakugo left to go prepare for their match. To your own surprise they both KO'd each other. Midnight said they would do a simpler test to decide the winner, should they come to in time.

Ochaco was defiantly terrified. She had reason to be, Bakugo was a force just by himself. He also had something to prove just like most of everyone here. That kind of determination makes a person deadly.

You watched with your legs kicked up on the railing as Bakugo and Ochaco fought each other. You scratched the back of your head knowing how the outcome would be. You slightly hoped Ochaco would surprise you though.

At some point Ida slipped in the row behind you, without saying a word. You glanced at him, looking at him up and down. He looked rough, more bandaged than you.

"Midoriya-" dba called, "-what advice did you give Ochaco that would give her the advantage against Bakugo."

"Well...not much." Midoriya sighed, "Kacchan is really strong, in close combat he nearly has no openings. Plus, the more he moves the more he sweats, which makes him more powerful. But if Ochaco could touch him, she could send him out of bounds."

"So, she would need to strike first." Jiro said.

"That won't be easy." Sero said.

"Ooo-" You sucked in a breath watching Ochaco get blasted, that looked like it hurt as she flew backwards.

Bakugo had an insane reaction time. You felt your face blush, recalling when he stopped you from falling to the ground when your leg gave out, his arms wrapped around your waist.

"I can't watch this!" Jiro covered her eyes.

Bakugo landed hit after hit on Ochaco.

"This is shameful!" People from the crowd mocked Bakugo, booing him. You pulled your brows together not agreeing as you looked to the sky.

"The crowd is now booing Bakugo! I kind of agree-" President Mic was cut off, grunting in pain. "-hey what the crap!?"

"Where is the man who started this uproar?" Aizawa's voice came on the speaker. "Are you a pro?"

"Huh?"

"Because if you're being serious, you can go home-" Aizawa's voice was stone cold. "-and hang up your cape. I suggest looking into another career."

"Damn." You muttered, crossing your arms over your chest. Aizawa didn't play around, you slightly wished you had someone like Aizawa standing on your stand like Bakugo had his teacher.

"You know what he is talking about?" Midoriya asked,

"Look up." Was all you said.

"Bakugo's fierceness is an acknowledgment of his opponent's strength. He knows she deserves to have made it this far, so he is making sure he does whatever it takes to keep her at boy and still come out on top." Aizawa finished.

"I think it's about time-" Ochaco said, letting the meteors she collected above her fall to the ground. She was smart, this was a good plan.

The force of Bakugo's blast from above could be felt from your seat. Your eyebrows rose, he took out the attack in just one shot. Your heart squished seeing Ochaco still stand. Bakugo halted seeing her fall. You sighed, your heart going out to the girl.

"She is way past her limit." Your classmates said.

Ochaco began to crawl towards Bakugo, trying to finish her fight. Bakugo took a defensive position seeing Ochaco move. You felt respect grow for the hot head in this moment, seeing he was waiting for Ochaco to get back up.

Midnight came onto the ring, kneeling beside your classmate. For a moment Midnight closed her eyes before saying: "Uraraka is KO'd. Bakugo advances to the next round!"

You took a deep breath, stretching your muscles and fighting back sleep but your eyelids had other plans in mind. Your head kept bopping as sleep took over.

"Welcome back Bakugo-" Sero said, "-playing the villain huh?"

"Even if it was just because who you were up against-" Ausi said, "-you did make a pretty conveying bad guy."

"Shut the hell up you idiots-!" Bakugo snapped, "-or else!" He plopped in the seat beside yours, he watched you from the corner of his eye, waiting for you to lean away from him like most of his classmates did. But when you weren't moved by his presence he turned forward, gazing out at the ongoing fight.

"For real though dude-" Kaminari butted in, "-I don't know how you were able to aim a powerful blast at a frail girl like that."

"Hmph-" Bakugo crossed his arms, "-I definitely wouldn't call that girl 'frail'."

In that moment Bakugo earned more respect from you as your eyes slammed shut on their own and your brain shut down.