37

Chapter Text

"Young Todoroki is out of bounds, Young Midoriya advances to the grand finals!"

There was a beat of silence before the crowd erupted in cheers.

But 1-A remained silent, each of the students caught in various stages of shock and awe.

"He… he transformed again," Mina said slowly, the first to speak.

"The full one," Kaminari muttered. "Like at the USJ."

Pony stood up from her seat in worry. "But I thought said he couldn't!"

"Or he'd get put into a hospital again," Iida followed.

"Or worse ," Bakugou finished, with a bitter edge to his voice. "Fucking dumbass, I swear."

"Oh, Greenhorn…" Hadou sounded as worried as everyone else. "He's still standing, that's a good sign."

"He drew out the fight until Todoroki used his fire," Ochako observed with worry in her voice.

Kaminari scratched his head. "He told us that he never uses his fire. I wonder what Midoriya said to him. They looked like they were talking, yeah?"

"Yeah, they totally did," Satou agreed. "Jirou, did y-

Midori screamed so loud that they heard it up in their lofty seats.

A cacophony of gasps and worried shouts rang out from Mina and the other students. Down below, Midori was hunched over, gasping in pain as Todoroki held him up.

"Dammit!" Bakugou yelled, standing up in a flash.

Mina and Ochako were right behind him, hurrying to go down and check on the man.

"Now hold on," Iida began, causing the three of them to pause as he walked over. "While I understand your desire to check on Izuku, you two-" He pointed at Ochako and Bakugou- "are next up. You need to go to your waiting rooms or you'll be disqualified."

Ochako's shoulders slumped as Bakugou clicked his tongue.

"Hey, don't worry," Mina said, touching Ochako's arm. "I'll go check up on him. You go get ready to kick Bakugou's butt. I'll be watching!" She winked, causing Ochako to smile a bit.

"You're right," Ochako admitted before turning to Bakugou and shooting him a determined glare.

Bakugou shook his head and began walking away. "If you want to face Izuku next round then you're gonna have to work for it. You better not hold back."

Ochako nodded before beginning to walk off herself.

Mina smiled wide; both of her partners made her so proud. But speaking of partners, she had an incredibly reckless man to check up on.

Mina shot a glance at the tall, raven-haired woman in the front row who was looking back at her with a face full of worry. "Yaomomo, wanna come?"

Momo hesitated for only a second before nodding and standing up. "I would like to see that he is okay, yes."

Kiri hopped up too. "He was there for me when I was in the nurse's office, I'll be there for him."

"Me too!" Pony declared, standing up next to Momo.

Kyouka rose as well, fiddling with one of her jacks."Yeah, fine, I'll come."

Tsuyu followed silently as several others began to stand up as well.

"Hey, hey!" Hadou called over the group. "I'm sure he appreciates the support, but you're gonna crowd him! I'm cutting you off at three, so Iida, Ashido, Yaoyorozu. Sorry, but the rest of you can check on him later."

"What? Aw, come on!" Kiri groaned as she flopped back in her seat. "Mina, you better tell Aniki I wanted to come check on him!"

Mina smiled kindly. "I will, don't worry. I'll let him know all of you wanted to come."

"Let us not delay, Ashido," Iida remarked. "Who knows how long he will remain conscious. He looked... unwell."

Momo nodded. "Right. Let's go."

Ochako stared at her open hand as she walked to her waiting room. She ran her eyes over the pads on her fingertips, flexing her fingers one at a time as she slowly counted them.

'One, two, three, four…'

Five. Five pads on her fingers. If she could touch Bakugou with all five, she would win. If she couldn't, she would lose.

That was the bottom line.

She had known that for a while, of course; most of her fights would come down to that fact. She had managed to get clever with Mina, but her fight with Eiko was much more typical. Ochako wouldn't be able to get Bakugou to let her increase his mass, not after he watched her do it to Mina; he was much too clever for that.

She would have to find a way to get close to him.

Ochako furrowed her brow; she had a plan, but it was a bit of a long shot. Even with a plan, beating him would be difficult. He had been trained for most of his life by Stormclaw, while she hadn't had much formal training at all. It was clear she couldn't beat him in a stand-up fight.

Diversion would be key.

Ochako took a deep breath as she entered the waiting room. She had many reasons to want to win, not the least of which was to make Deku and Mina proud. Ochako wanted that, but it went far beyond that.

She promised Deku that she would stand between him and danger, so she had to face this challenge head-on. She had to come out on top.

Not just for him and Mina…

She had to prove to herself that she had what it takes to be a hero, to be the best. She couldn't stand up to Terrorflame when he nearly killed Deku, but she could stand up here.

Ochako remembered what she had felt back in that hospital.

How dare she stand next to Deku when he's giving his all, fighting against his very nature to become a hero, while she is just trying to make money?

That was less than two weeks ago- even though it felt so much longer- and she wasn't over that yet. Not by a long shot.

But this was the first step in proving to herself that she could begin to move beyond that.

After seeing Deku's sacrifice and how Mina relied on her in the Conflagration Zone, she knew, deep in her heart, that she wanted to be a hero for more than just money.

If she could stand tall and beat Bakugou, then that told her that maybe she could do that. Ochako didn't have anything against the man; he was gruff and a little mean, but he wasn't a villain by a long shot. But to her, he represented a challenge, and a nearly impossible one at that.

If she had the heart, the will, the drive to stand tall against the literal inferno that was his Explosion, then she would begin to believe that she could move past her selfishness.

If she failed… well, then she would pick herself back up. If there was one thing she learned from her parents, it was how to keep going when life knocked you down.

Ochako lowered her head. 'My parents…' she thought. That was the reason she wanted to be a hero in the first place; so that she could give them the comfortable life they deserved. Was it wrong of her to try and discard her desire for money?

She refocused herself. No, that was nonsense; she could do both. She wanted to save people, to protect them, to help them. Making money was a way for her to do that for her parents.

Right?

Ochako breathed deep as she stretched. She remembered what her dad told her time and time again, that they were happy if she was happy.

They had sacrificed so much for her over their lives and now she was here at UA, at the base of the mountain, preparing to climb.

So that was that. They wanted her to have this opportunity, they wanted her to succeed for herself.

But it wasn't just herself. She wanted to win for Mina and for Deku too. She wanted to win for her parents.

Because putting others first was the purpose of a hero.

To be a hero, to succeed for them, she had to succeed for herself, and to succeed for herself, she had to succeed for them.

She was thinking herself in circles; this wasn't fixing anything, but it was helping her to quiet her doubts a little, at least for the time being. Ochako laughed a little to herself as she pulled her foot up her back, stretching her quad. Maybe she should take some of her own advice; she had Deku and Mina now, she should talk to them about it.

But that was enough reflecting for now. She had a match to win.

The trio was halfway to the infirmary when Iida suddenly began to vibrate. Before Mina or Momo could ask, he whipped out his cell phone and looked at it intensely.

"I apologize, I must take this," he explained. "I will catch up with you after."

The two women nodded as he hurried off for some privacy, leaving them alone to walk down together.

There was a thick silence between them for a few minutes, the only sound in the hallway coming from their footsteps and the echoing noise from the crowd outside. Mina could feel the stiff tension coming from her classmate, the question of Momo's strange behavior looming over the both of them; Momo wondering if Mina would ask her about it, and Mina wondering if Momo wanted to talk about it.

Mina was friends with Momo, sure, but she didn't know if she was the best person to talk to her about what she was dealing with right now. Midori had a much deeper connection with her, not that Mina knew what that connection was beyond that they knew each other when they were younger.

She thought back to that first day in the dorms, when she was introducing Midori to everyone and he had actually bowed to Momo a bit with a 'Miss Yaoyorozu, it's a pleasure to see you again'. Momo had laughed a little, seemingly charmed by his odd bout of formality, but the way that those two had interacted over the past few weeks… Mina could tell there was something a little deeper.

So no, she wouldn't talk to Momo about what was bugging her, although it was painfully obvious to the shorter woman that Momo was dealing with regrets from her loss to Todoroki. Instead, Mina opted to try and help her… move on, to regain some sense of normalcy or stability.

Mina knew that Momo wanted to be a hero; there would be no reason for her to join the UA hero course otherwise. Which meant that she wanted to help people, right? Mina had a good idea what to ask for, too.

She had always been an average student. Her grades were never the best, but they were never terrible; she couldn't have gotten into UA if she wasn't competent enough to have passed the grueling written exam. However, her old 'average' scores were going to be severely subpar in a class filled with the best and brightest; she knew that.

Mina was naturally bright, but she wasn't anything special, not like Midori or Momo; she could tell their minds were almost bursting with intelligence. Her ability to sort of just… glide through her primary and secondary education with acceptable scores may have worked then… but Mina was smart enough to know that she had picked up some bad habits.

Or rather, a lack of habits.

Mina's studying discipline was barely there; she would rather do almost anything than sit down with a textbook or take notes in class. She couldn't afford to do that in college. Momo on the other hand…

Mina had seen her notes; they were immaculate and comprehensive. Hopefully, she would be willing to help Mina out.

And if that meant she would get to spend more time with Momo, all the better.

"Yaomomo?," Mina began softly.

Momo's eyes darted down to her face nervously. "Yes?"

"Can I ask a favor?"

Momo tilted her head slightly. "Of course, what can I do for you?"

"Well…" Mina muttered coyly.

"It's alright," Momo said in a motherly tone that warmed Mina's heart.

She smiled up at the raven-haired woman. "I've never been a very good student, you see. I was wondering if you could…"

"If I could help you study?" Momo finished. "I would love to!"

Mina was stunned by her enthusiasm. "R-really?" It wasn't often she got flustered, but she wasn't expecting a response like this.

"Of course!" Momo was sparkling . Perhaps she was just relieved that Mina wasn't talking about her loss. "I would be honored to assist you, we could meet regularly! It would be such a good opportunity to-" She clasped her hands in front of her. "Oh! I have some new teas you just have to try!"

Forget trying to make her feel better, Mina couldn't believe how well this was working out. In her excitement, she threw her arms around Momo's waist, pulling her into a hug, but keeping her head back from the woman's impressive chest. "Thank you!"

"It's r-really nothing," Momo stuttered, hesitating for a moment before she returned the hug, placing on hand on Mina's back and another on the back of her head.

Now Mina was no slouch in the chest department- she was pretty proud of her bust- but Momo was another story altogether and, because of her height, Momo's chest was at face level to Mina. Her eyes widened as she felt herself being pulled gently into the soft expanse. Mina could feel her face burning with her lilac blush; did Momo know what she was doing?!

After a few seconds, they broke apart and they quickly resumed their trek down to see Midori. Silence once again dominated the atmosphere, but it was a much different silence. This wasn't a tense feeling, but an embarrassed one.

Mina shot a glance up at Momo's face. Her cheeks were flush with blood, her blush unmistakable.

'She did know what she was doing!'

Momo was screaming inside her head as she and Mina finished their journey to the infirmary. Did Mina realize she was pressing her chest into her stomach? She had pulled Mina in a little closer, trying to move some of the incredibly distracting pressure away from her stomach by leaning forward, but it was no use. All that had done was accidentally shove Mina's face into her own chest.

Not that she didn't like the sensation of the woman trapped between her-

'No, Momo. Bad.' She straightened herself up slightly, trying to clear her mind. 'It is undignified to act so… so wanton .'

Momo's eyes glanced down as her willpower momentarily failed, spying the purple blush on Mina's cheeks. 'Oh no, that's so adorable.'

She sighed tersely, looking away as her own face heated up again. 'It's just hormones, Momo. Blame the hormones.' Whose bright idea was it to shove a bunch of 18-year-olds into a dorm together, anyway?

Her frustrations were quickly forgotten as she opened the door and stepped inside with Mina. Resting on the bed right inside was Zu.

He looked exhausted and beat to hell, but he was still awake, if just barely. He was struggling to breathe, like it took conscious, focused effort each time his chest rose and fell. His eyes were intense and his teeth were grit, his heavy breath filtering through his fanged mouth.

"Midori!" Mina cried, hurrying over to him. She looked like she wanted to throw her arms around him, but the slightly unhinged look on his face gave her pause. "Are you alright?"

"I'm… fine…" he hissed between his teeth.

"That's a lie," Momo muttered as she approached him on the other side of his bed. "You look exhausted."

He shook his head roughly, the motions far from smooth.

"Why aren't you resting, you should be sleeping." Momo looked over to Recovery Girl, who was watching with a look that was simultaneously sympathetic and disappointing, something only a world-wise woman such as herself could pull off. "Should he be resting?"

" Absolutely he should be," she agreed. "But he refuses."

"They… watched me," he managed so say between labored breaths. "I'm… watching… them."

Momo glanced over to where his vision was focused: the television on the far wall.

Her heart squeezed a little. It was endearing to see him struggling so hard to support his friends.

But wait, that reminded her.

"Zu…" she began, touching his arm gently. "Why did you push yourself so hard against Todoroki? You could have won so much easier." She looked away. "You don't have to answer now, but I want to know. What drives you?"

He breathed deep, his eyes closing for a moment before he wrenched them open again. "M-Mina," was all he said, asking her to speak for him.

Mina nodded, rubbing her fingers affectionately along Zu's face, causing him to lean into her hand a little. "Shh, I'll handle it," she cooed affectionately. The woman turned her head slightly so she was looking at Momo instead.

"First things first though…" Her eyebrow raised curiously. "Zu?"

Momo blushed slightly, averting her gaze. "Uh… it was an old nickname. He… he had an episode earlier. Before his match."

Mina's eyes widened. "An episode… is that why he was missing his shir-" She froze and her eyes went even wider. " Did you calm him down by calling him Zu? "

"Y-yes…" Momo admitted.

"Oh, Midori…" Mina's smile grew wide as she leaned down and whispered something into Zu's ear. Even in his exhausted state, she saw some green creep into his cheeks. That was apparently all the confirmation Mina needed, as she turned back to Momo shortly after.

"You know, the three of us agreed that more people could join us if we were all okay with it." She winked as Momo's face turned crimson. "Just saying."

Momo's brain was short circuiting. 'Join? Zu and Mina and Ochako?' She thought back to the envy she felt back in the hospital when she watched Mina and Ochako snuggle, imagining what it would feel like to be surrounded by both of them, their soft, yet firm bodies keeping her warm and safe. It was possible to have not only that, but to have Zu as well?

She looked down slowly, moving her vision over the man she had been… interested in for most of her life. The three of them had been incredibly friendly and supportive of her since they met, not to mention all the memories she shared with Zu. During Hell Week, she had spent a day with both Mina and Ochako, and she would be lying if she tried to say that they hadn't bonded during that time together then in addition to the hospital.

She hadn't had too many friends in high school due to her focus and how intimidating some found her, so she definitely considered the three of them some of her best friends, as pathetic as it sounded. It felt so foolish, but she felt a connection between them. They hadn't ever thought anything bad about her, not like she thought about herself. None of the girls had; they'd done nothing but support and encourage her. They relied on her, trusted her, saw her as this strong, confident woman even when she was the furthest from it.

God, it was so desperate and needy but… it sounded nice. Being able to hold them close, to tell them how much she appreciated them, to tell them how grateful she was for making UA feel like home already...

No, no, this was madness. It made no sense, it was far too good to be true. Her brain was firing a thousand times a second, alternating between hope, confusion, dismissal, lust and every thought in between at seemingly random.

Hormones really were the worst.

"Woah, Yaomomo," Mina said, interrupting her thoughts. "I can see the steam coming out of your ears. It's fine, don't worry about it. We can talk about it later, right now I should explain what exactly Midori was doing out there." She straightened herself up as Momo fanned herself, trying to calm down. When did it get so hot in this room?

"You see, Midori- or I guess his quirk? But he is his quirk, but he's not, but- not important. We- us- our class, we're-"

"We're ready to begin our penultimate match here for today!" Present Mic's voice echoed from the television.

"Good word," Midnight remarked.

"Oops," Mina muttered, laughing awkwardly. "I'll tell you after, okay?"

Momo nodded, looking at the struggling man in the bed between them and then to the television as Bakugou and Ochako made their way to the ring.

Ochako's heart was pounding in her ears as she stepped onto the concrete stage. Present Mic and Midnight were speaking, but just like most of the other fighters that day, she wasn't listening. Instead, her entire focus was on the blonde man in front of her. Her opponent. Her obstacle. Her test.

Her quirk had limitations; she could only use it on things she was touching. She knew that, understood it.

But she wasn't at UA to learn about her limitations. She was here to learn how to overcome them.

Plus Ultra style.

"Begin!"

Ochako kicked off, running towards Bakugou as fast as she could. While planning, she considered reducing her weight to give herself a mobility advantage, but the risks were too great. With less mass, one of his blasts could easily blow her out of the ring. The upside simply wasn't worth the downside, especially when you considered the nausea it would give her.

Bakugou narrowed his eyes and pulled his right arm back, ready to blow her away. He was no idiot, he knew the stakes when it came to her quirk. He just had to keep her away, which meant the burden of winning was on her. She had to make things happen, not him.

She lunged as he threw his hand forward, trying to dodge his blast, but to no avail. She was blasted as a massive smoke cloud billowed from his hands.

Just as she planned.

Right before he had let loose his explosion, she had dragged her hands along the ground, removing the mass from some of the concrete and holding it inside herself. Due to the increased mass, she wasn't blasted back very far at all… much less than he expected.

But damn did it hurt .

She touched her arm and shoved the excess mass back into the floor as she lunged out of the smoke. Bakugou's eyes went wide as she reappeared much sooner than he had anticipated.

Her open hand extended towards him, reaching to touch his shoulder.

In a flash, he reacted. His right hand shot up and grabbed her wrist as his left hand curled into a fist and slammed into her ribs, driving the wind out of her lungs.

While she gasped, he jumped back, distancing himself before she could swing at him with her left palm.

Both students took a moment to catch their breaths. Ochako wiped her mouth as she panted, glaring at her opponent, who looked a little unsettled that she had gotten so close to winning so quickly.

His reactions had been too quick, which shouldn't have surprised her. The amount of training he had received from a top hero put him in a different class than her when it came to close quarters combat. If they got involved in a straight brawl, he would wipe the floor with her. She did have the advantage of reach… but he had his quirk.

No, a straight up fight wasn't an option. She had to keep up with her diversion.

Ochako dashed forward again, keeping herself low to maximize the amount of damage he did to the ground. She drew the mass into herself again as she was met with another explosion. This time, Bakugou didn't let up. As soon as the smoke cleared itself enough for him to see her again, he was ready with another blast.

She cried out in pain as she was driven back, the explosions causing her whole body to burn and scream.

Bakugou's plan was just what she had expected. Keep his distance and wear her down. Unless she could get past his defenses, she had no shot. It was just a matter of time.

She winced slightly as she breathed. She didn't have too many chances left.

But Ochako wasn't done. Her plan was nearly ready to go.

Once more into the breach.

Again, Bakugou met her charge with a staggering explosion. She vaguely noted that Midnight was shouting at someone in the stands, but she didn't care enough to listen. Whatever they were saying wasn't relevant; all that mattered was her mission. Heroes stayed focused.

The smoke billowed around her, concealing her again. She heard Bakugou backing away to make sure she couldn't touch him, preparing himself to blow her back again.

An idea came to her as she released her additional mass again. She opened up her jacket and threw it in front of her, touching it and pulling enough of the mass out of it that it floated gently in the air. Quietly as she could, she shifted far to her left, to the edge of the smoke cloud.

An explosion went off. That was her signal.

Ochako burst out of the smoke, Bakugou's eyes widening as she appeared behind him.

Her hand reached out as she lunged toward the surprised man.

One of her fingers touched the man. Two fingers, three, f-

Ochako was flung backwards as Bakugou let loose a blast in her face.

She flew through the air, slamming into the ground and skidding several feet before she stopped. Ochako grit her teeth again and pulled herself up.

Damn she was hurting. If it wasn't for her training with Eiko during Hell Week, she might not have been able to pull herself up. 'Remember what Eiko taught you. Focus.'

Her quirk was flagging as well. The constant ebb and flow of mass throughout her body was taking its toll, not to mention the strain of holding the miniature asteroid belt above the arena aloft.

Ochako took solace that she only needed one more round of rubble for her trap to be ready. Just one mo-

"Woah! What's that floating above the battlefield?!"

" Dammit! " Ochako hissed, cursing Present Mic under her breath. Why did he need to give it away?"

Bakugou's vision snapped upward. He took a stunned step backward as he saw the mass of debris floating above, ready to strike.

Well, it was now or never. Ochako slammed her fingers together, finally releasing her quirk. Her plan was to release it while he was focused on her, preventing him from being able to react, but now he had plenty of time.

Ochako knew he had the firepower to blow that meteor storm out of the sky. She had to distract him or… or something. She had to think fast.

Her eyes widened. 'That's it! Thanks, Yanagi!'

Time seemed to slow down as Bakugou reached his right arm to the sky.

Ochako bent down and slipped off one of her shoes, touching it with all five fingers to remove some of its mass, but leaving just enough to keep it from flying off into the sky.

Bakugou's left arm reached up to brace his right.

She took aim and flung the near-massless shoe as hard as she could.

Small explosions popped off in his hands as he amassed power, preparing to unleash a monster blast.

She slammed her fingers together again. Tears began to stream down her face as she pushed with all her might, willing her exhausted quirk to keep the shoe at speed, even as she returned its mass to it.

Right before he could ignite his explosion, the shoe slammed into his gut.

Ochako began to run forward, every step causing her body to scream in protest. Bakugou coughed and sputtered, staggered by her attack, his counter fading in his fingertips as his body spasmed from the sudden interruption. He attempted to raise his hand to the sky again, but rubble began to slam down all around him, the massive chunks of falling concrete barely missing his body. One caught him in the shoulder and wrenched his arm away, causing him to grunt in pain and annoyance.

Left. Right. As fast as she could, she willed her legs forward. Already, her opponent was recovering, holding his left hand above him to protect his head as rubble continued to fall around and on him. She knew where the gaps in the meteor shower were, allowing her a clear path to her target.

Ochako planted her feet and jumped.

Bakugou brought his hand up to his waist, preparing to blow her away.

She stretched with all of her might.

Small firecrackers popped off in his hand

One finger made contact with his chest. A second. A third.

His eyes went wide as rocks continued to slam down around them.

Her pinky touched his chest. Four.

The explosion began. It was too late to stop it.

Five.

She pulled with all of her might. Her quirk shrieked.

Sir Isaac Newton did the rest.

Without his mass, Bakugou streaked backward with incredible speed, slamming into the wall of the stadium outside the ring. With her increased mass, she wasn't flung very far, but she still felt the brunt of the blast, which was strong enough to blow the rest of the falling debris to ineffectual bits.

She slammed into the ground hard. Her body screamed and ached. Tears dripped from her face as she choked back a sobbing wail. She wanted nothing more than to lie there forever.

But she couldn't do that.

Heroes didn't lie down when the going got tough. If she didn't stand up, the match would be a draw.

Ochako remembered what Eiko taught her about enduring pain. She tried to focus on something that didn't hurt, but everything hurt. She tried to isolate the sensations within her mind, but she was so exhausted she could barely keep here eyes open.

Then she remembered what- and who- she was fighting for. Image of her classmates flashed in her mind; those who supported her. Tsuyu, Kyouka, Eiko, Momo….

She dragged her hands together, releasing her quirk. She heard Bakugou grunt as he fell to the ground and felt his weight lifted from her body. Even without any additional mass, every inch she moved felt like dragging her arms through magma, fire shooting through her senses with even the most minute motion. Slowly, painfully, she slid her hands to her shoulders and pushed up.

Her mind was filled with pink hair and green horns as she pulled her knees underneath her.

Ochako pushed with all her might. She couldn't hold back her scream as her body cried out for mercy.

Flashing before her were memories of her mother and her father. How they encouraged her and smiled for her, even when she knew things weren't alright.

Ochako staggered to her feet. She took a steadying step as she thrust her right arm to the sky, holding her fist high in triumph.

"Young Bakugou is out of bounds! Young Uraraka… wiiiiiins!"

'Daddy…'

She began to pitch backwards.

'I did it.'

Her vision went black.

Notes:

Next time: Izuku vs. Ochako!