"The eighth and last match of the first round!" Present Mic bellowed. "This isn't the face of a regular person! Odd considering he was kind of famous in his middle school days. From the hero course, Bakugou Katsuki!"

The blond bared his teeth as the crowds behind him went wild. Uraraka stared back at him, her usual kind eyes hardened into a glower.

"Versus!" The teacher's voice dropped into a whisper as he delivered his next sentence. "She's the one I'm rooting for— Uraraka, Ochaco! Also from the hero course!"

If Bakugou had any niceties, they were long gone. "Hey, mochi face," he remarked causing the girl to whirl to attention. "You know I'm not going easy on you, right?"

Uraraka's brow creased. "Yes...I know."

A smirk spread across his lips. "Good, 'cause you would've been wasting my time during practice if you planned on running away."

"Alright, aaaaand START!"

Before he knew it, the brunette had taken off straight for him. "I would be wasting my own time if I did!" She readied her fingers, aiming to dodge his usual right hook and close in.

However, her calculations were off.

Uraraka was blasted away by Bakugou's undersided explosion causing the audience to gasp in alarm. The dirt arose from the ground masking the area while the brunette quickly regained her bearings. She'd expected to be hit by his quirk, but not this soon. She had no idea how to confront it even if she could react in time.

"Come out here, Round Face," Bakugou hissed, his eyes trailing the veil of dust. He didn't have to wait long when the familiar tint of blue fabric came rushing from his left.

"It won't be that eas—" The blond was mid yell when he realized the thing he had shot down was the girl's UA jacket. It was a split second, but he was in a state of impressed shock by Uraraka's quick tactical thinking. This was something he hadn't taught her.

But he didn't have time to dwell as it dawned on him that she had managed to sneak behind him.

The girl was armed, but it was no match for Bakugou's impeccable instinct. He again unleashed an earsplitting blast on her, sending her flying across the field. Rock and rubble broke off the ground from the attack as she skidded to a stop.

No smokescreen would work on him. She had held hope, though unfortunately it didn't pay off.

Oddly enough, none other than Bakugou's own words came to mind.

"If your attacks are weak then you're gonna need to be faster than your opponent and be able to land as many as possible."

"As many as possible..." Her thoughts rang just as her opponent cut through the curtain of unsettled dust out from his view. He grit his teeth, seemingly ready to strike.

Before Bakugou did, Uraraka charged at him once more. It was her only play at the moment despite its very devastating results.

"Too slow!" He growled in a shout and set off another bomb at her.

An uncharacteristic sliver of sympathy flickered within the blond as he witnessed the fear in her eyes. The explosion detonated right in front of her, tearing apart the ground into debris as she was cast aside.

To Bakugou's surprise, she got back up.

Uraraka let out a war cry and stretched out her open palm in hopes of making contact, but was met yet again with another face-full of abrasion.

"I'm not done!" The brunette screamed, more determined. She didn't even get a few feet closer before Bakugou blasted off his quirk to keep her at bay.

The discomfort and horror from the crowds began growing more and more imminent.

He was relentless. She knew that, she expected that, and yet even though she was being kicked into the dirt she couldn't be happier that someone was taking her seriously. Where no one else had faith in her, not even Deku and Iida, Bakugou was the one who could truly see her.

"Not yet!" Uraraka's throat rasped as she came in again. She could be flung on her back or be pummeled by Bakugou's onslaught, but she refused to give up. Her opponent had taught her as much.

"Uraraka keeps attacking without rest, but...uh...this is..." Present Mic narrated nervously.

Her echoes of pain rang throughout the stadium as another explosion ripped her down. It seemed the audience members had had enough of the slaughter that many started to boo Bakugou.

One went as far as to start shouting at him for carrying out the fight as long as he did. "I can't watch this...Oi! How can you say you want to be a hero when you act like that!? If you're so much stronger than her, just throw her out of the ring and finish it!"

The others in the crowd, incited by the Pro, also joined in with frustration. "Yeah! Stop toying with her and get it over with!"

"There's booing from some of our audience members," Present Mic said with a shrug. "But, to be honest, I agree—ack! An elbow! What was that for!?"

"Is the one saying he's toying with her a Pro? How many years of active duty?" Aizawa questioned vehemently. "If that's what you're taking away from this then there's no point in you watching anymore. You can go home. Go home and look into changing careers."

"Bakugou is exercising caution because he acknowledges the strength of his opponent who has made it thus far. It's because he wants to win so badly that there's no room for carelessness or holding back."

Uraraka heaved deeply, limbs trembling as she repeated her stance from before. Bakugou's fingers curled, watching her closely.

The girl coughed and wiped the sweat rolling down her cheek. The aggression in her eyes was new to the blond. It almost caught him off guard. However, that distinction would be awarded to her next words.

"Thank you, Bakugou," Uraraka huffed weakly. She straightened her back and held her hands parallel to one another. "Thank you for not dropping your guard."

The disbelief on Bakugou's face was uncanny as the brunette united her fingertips. "This is my win!" The girl shouted through grit teeth.

Just as Uraraka had planned, she managed to keep her opponent's attention low to the ground with no time to glance around as she assembled an arsenal of rubble and rock to float above the stadium. A thrill of exhilaration raced through her when Bakugou finally set his eyes on the meteor shower raining down from the sky.

Wasting no time, she darted towards him in a final effort to truly incapacitate her opponent. She gathered her hands once more, activating her quirk. While the concrete debris kept him busy, she could surely find an opening...!

Her stomach as well as heart dropped. The sound and the sight of the destruction resonated throughout the arena in a thunderous boom. Her breath was ripped away from her as she was flung off her feet like a rag doll from the sheer strength of the explosion. Her vision was flooded in colors of fiery, golden reds which engulfed the incoming rocks, incinerating them upon contact.

The bombastic display seemed to last longer than minutes as it enveloped the surrounding area with dirt and smoke. Uraraka found herself tossed mere inches from the white lined boundary while she watched the fog of black dissipate.

"I thought you might be up to something, what with your buddy being Deku..." Bakugou drawled, lowering his palm from the sky.

The girl couldn't hide the horror from her expression as she stared at this prodigy of a person. In one fell swoop, Bakugou had torn down her masterfully crafted attack with no slight hesitance.

And yet... there was something about the trembling of his wrist that gave her the smallest ounce of hope.

The brunette's heart pounded in her ears as she collected her remaining ambition and used it to stand her up. It swayed with her tired body but she was determined to give it her all.

This brought a grin to Bakugou's face. "Right then, time to get serious, Uraraka!" He lunged forward, hand at the ready.

The last of her energy soared as she ran at him as well.

But as high as it had flew, it came crashing down just as hard. All of her strength was placed into a single step before her exhaustion collapsed onto her.

Mid-fall, Bakugou's excitement faltered as he watched the girl's expression wane and flicker between conscious and unconscious. He surprised himself as a wave of concern washed over him. He stopped in his tracks before he realized he did.

Uraraka hit the ground.

The crowds were speechless seconds after. The arena as well as Bakugou were in a state of shock as the girl's small form rustled ever so slightly. She clawed at the ground, agonizingly crawling towards the center of the grounds. Her brow was slick with sweat and pain as she murmured under soft whispers. "I...can still...."

Tears formed in her eyes. She could barely feel anything and yet she continued to reach out for the tall figure before her. "I'm not...giving..."

Midnight quietly walked over to her, raising a hand for Bakugou to remain at ease. Not that the blond was on that attack. His surprise was still ringing in him.

The teacher looked pensive as she made her decision. "Uraraka is out of commission," she declared. "Bakugou will advance to the next round."

Despite the roaring applause, Bakugou's disposition was tumultuous. The audience's cheers were drowned out by the glance he cast at the charred up jacket tossed aside in the dirt.

Midnight called out for some UA bots to come take the now fully unconscious Uraraka to Recovery Girl as the stage was once again being prepared for the next battle.

Bakugou watched as the girl was placed on the stretcher and carted away. Over the intercom, Present Mic could be heard lamenting over Uraraka's tragic loss.

"The last match of the round..." He sighed with pity. "Oh, Uraraka... So, uh, it looks like Bakugou moves on."

"If you're going to announce, do it right," Aizawa muttered. "You're taking this way too personally."

"Yeah, yeah...Ahh, well, let's pull ourselves together, everyone! The first round is done and over with! The competition only gets tougher and tougher as we head into round 2! After this quick break!"

The blond was still ruminating over his thoughts when someone snapped him out of it. It was Cementoss coming to clear him out of the field. "You may head back now. Congratulations," the teacher spoke, directing him back towards the tunnels.

He said nothing as he turned on his heel and walked away. But not before stopping by the abandoned clothing and swiping it off the ground.

His eerie silence continued on as he made his way through the tunnels until he reached the steps that lead into the school. His hands were deep in his pockets, mulling over the events that had just past when he caught sight of a familiar, irritating head of green curls.

His expression of concentration morphed into deadly glower when Midoriya met his gaze. "H-hey, Kacchan..."

"The hell you doing here, runt?" Bakugou barked. "Get the fuck out of here."

The boy looked visibly nervous and like he really didn't wanna die. "Uh, well, I'm up next so I was heading over to the prep room...um, congrats on your win by the way!" The air was getting thicker and thicker between the two so Midoriya swiftly nudged himself forward to get away before it got worse. "Uh, later!"

Bakugou wasn't in the mood to deal with the eye sore until his glanced flickered over the burnt fabric in his hand. In a flash, it seemed like the pieces had just clicked. Before he realized, he was back on the little nerd with more anger than before.

"It was your fuckin' idea, wasn't it? That self-sacrificing bullshit," The tempermental blond accused, his voice seething slightly. "It's just fucking like you to go and have her do the same stupid--"

"I didn't."

Bakugou bore into Midoriya, this time with a hint of perplexity in his malice. "What Uraraka did out there, all of that, is something she came up with to beat you," the freckled male responded with not so much as a stutter while he defended his friend. "So if you it was really a lot of trouble for you...that was Uraraka toying with you."

Bakugou bit his tongue. The annoyed scowl was hard on his lips as he huffed out a breath. He said nothing as he turned in the opposite direction.

His clutch on the crispy garment tightening as he mentally routed himself on where to go.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You were pacing the hallways, or at least the part of the hallways you knew. You had abandoned Katsuki and Uraraka's fight after a bit when your mind was struggling to be in two places at once. Restless with thoughts of your best friend's match and fretful over the impending fight between Izuku and Shoto. The only thing you could think of to ease these anxieties was to walk it off and clear your head.

Would Izuku be able to get through to Todoroki? You who were closer to him had tried and failed. Was there anything your green-haired friend could do?

Despite the doubt clouding you, you felt you owed it to Shoto to try. His father might have thought he'd gotten the upper hand on him with you, but you were determined to best him. Shoto needed a chance to stand up for himself. And with someone as kind and selfless as Izuku perhaps he'd listen.

Your worries only seemed to escalate when an unmistakable voice shattered your focus.

"(y/n)?"

You looked up and saw the distant gaze of the very one whom was invading your thoughts. "Shoto," You addressed, careful not to let your surprise slip. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same." He neared you and nodded towards where the action was going on. "Shouldn't you be out there watching the events?"

"I may or may not be hiding," You shrugged with fake ditzy-ness.

The male raised a brow. "Something went wrong?"

"Uh, you could say that," You chuckled nervously. "I'm just doin' my best. Rolling with the punches."

"I saw," He nodded. "That brawl with Kaminari was rough. I wondered why you didn't try to use your other quirk."

"Well, you know, that one's still a work in progress. I was asked to make an effort to be cautious with it so I'm attempting to honor that."

You bit your lip. Maybe it wasn't the best time to be bringing it up since you ran the risk of sounding hypocritical, but you kept in mind that both your circumstances were vastly different.

"Speaking of which, I saw you use your fire quirk earlier in the cavalry battle." You witnessed the change in his demeanor as soon as the words left your mouth. "Do you...do you want to talk about it?"

Shoto's expression furrowed into a frown. The confliction in his eyes was easy to read. "I...I don't even understand how it happened." His glance fell to his left hand. His fingers curled, almost as if remembering the sensation of the flames. "I shouldn't have let it happen."

"Why not?" You countered, taking him aback. His features were unsettled but they made no move to respond. "I think you did what you needed to do. Izuku would have overwhelmed you completely if it wasn't for your quirk."

Shoto shook his head, though he didn't seem know where his morals lied. "I...this isn't..." He let out a deep sigh and retracted his arm to his side. "My left side is..."

You gently grazed the arm in question with your fingertips and trailed down to his hand, giving it a curt squeeze. "You're amazing, Shoto, more than I ever could have predicted. Fire, ice, and all. You're gonna do great in your next match."

Your heart begged that your words reached him as you pulled away, turning to walk the corner. But before you disappeared, Todoroki called out to you.

"(y/n)." You stopped and watched as he fought to find the words he needed. And even when he did speak, his expression seemed to want to say more. "I....thank you."

A small beam blossomed from you. "Sure thing, Sho." You waved goodbye and steadily made your way through the halls. You were to leave the rest in Izuku's hands.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bakugou knew where she was even before he had asked. Through the thin curtains, he recognized the girl's small silhouette. Recovery Girl gave him a curious eye as the blond lightly pushed through the veil.

There she was, bandaged and scuffed up, almost exactly as he had left her. However, to his amazement she was awake.

Uraraka's lips parted with a slight gasp. Her eyes were tired, but alert. "Bakugou..." She whispered softly. "You're here."

"Yeah, and you're here," He nodded, taking a seat in an empty chair next to the bed. He hunched over, elbows on his knees. His eyes seemed distant as he gazed at the ground.

"Congratulations on the match," the brunette smiled weakly. "Guess I ended up wasting my own time with those days of training."

She turned to him, but he remained silent. With a disillusioned heart, she slumped further into the bed and rested her cheek on the pillow. "But you were amazing," Uraraka chuckled to herself. "It'd be more shocking if you weren't. I'm glad Aizawa stood up for you when he did. You didn't do anything wrong."

Her calm façade broke down as she tried to compensate for the silence. Tears made her eyes well and glassy. "I'm sorry I—I didn't really stand a chance. I don't know why I tried—"

"Shut up."

Uraraka went wide eyed. She glanced over at the blond who was still unwavering in his position. Only this time his rugged anger was clearly defined in his features.

"Wha—"

"No, shut up." Bakugou finally looked up at her. A chill of worry trailed down her spine as she wondered what she had done wrong.

His furious tone was still present as he continued. "You don't get to sit there, telling me about how you wasted my time. You don't get to lecture me about that."

Bakugou shook his head with a sarcastic laugh. "And if you're saying you wasted your own, you're telling me I had nothing to teach you."

"Oh no, that's not what I meant—"

"I know what you meant," He cut her short, "But that kind of attitude is what you're conveying. You did what you could and now you're sitting here moping? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"And that sacrificial bullshit? Are you a fucking idiot?" The blond seethed. "That was the stupidest, ballsiest risk....so fucking dumb, and yet you still pulled it off. You almost got away with it."

Bakugou cracked his knuckles, recalling the trembling of his hand during the battle. "I went out there to fight an opponent, and that's what I did. I knew fully well what you were capable of and I brought my all because of it."

The brunette looked away dejectedly. "I'm sorry, Bakugou."

He shook his head and revealed the charred garment he had picked up. He placed it in the girl's hands and stood up. "Don't apologize to me. If you want to believe what that crowd thinks you are then fine, but I know better. You take this L and learn from it."

He was a few feet away from the curtains when he glanced over at her. A few stray tears rolled down her cheeks but her eyes were round with disbelief.

Bakugou's tone evened as he spoke next. "Despite that infuriating self-sacrifice move...you were a good opponent to fight against."

The girl was at a loss for words. She watched as he disappeared through the curtains, following his silhouette out of the room.

When he got back to his seat with the rest of his class, he was met with the whoops and hollers of his friends.

"Yo, Bakugou! Have fun playing the villain this match?" Sero grinned once he sat down. Even though the mood was light, he noted the way some of the other students regarded him.

"Awkward match ups aside, you do play a great bad guy, Bakugou," Tsuyu croaked.

"Who the fuck is talking to you guys? Shut the hell up!" He barked back.

"No, really, nice job blowing up that frail little girl," Kaminari remarked with honesty. "I at least had a reason to go all out. (y/n) would have flicked me aside."

"And she did," Mina commented much to the dismay of Kaminari.

Bakugou scoffed, leaning his back against the seat. His mind drifted off to the fierce expression on Uraraka's face as she darted towards in one of her last efforts.

"What part of her was frail?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You were running down the halls of the stadium in a frenzy. You had to find him before—

"Izuku!" Your shout of jubilation echoed off the walls. He turned to see what had called him and found you jogging up to him. "(y/n), what's up?" He questioned as you recovered your breath.

"I...I wanted to see you off before you go into your next battle," You explained. "I saw Shoto on my way here and he seems nervous."

"Really? He didn't seem nervous to me earlier," Izuku replied, recalling Todoroki's cornering of him after the break was announced earlier.

You shrugged. "I tried my best to encourage him but he still seems adamant." You then perked up at him curiously. "What about you? Are you okay with doing this? I know it's a lot to ask..."

Izuku nodded with reassurance. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Like you said, he's not really fighting at his full potential if he's holding back his powers. It's not good for him or any of his competition." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I just feel sorry for him. Endeavor seems—"

The male's expression went rigid as a sinister heat suddenly hit your back. You didn't waste a second turning to the new figure. You had hoped it wasn't who you thought it was, but luck was not in your favor.

"Endeavor," You acknowledged just barely above a whisper. The pro towered over the two of you. His flames swayed dangerously around him as he watched you both.

"Curious seeing you two at the same time," The hero clicked his tongue. "However, I only have business with one of you right now."

His words worried you. "What do you want?"

"With you? Nothing currently. This one on the other hand," Endeavor's shot over to Izuku, "is another matter."

Your classmate looked up at the pro with alarm. "M-me? What do you mean...?"

"I saw your fight. That's quite the quirk you have there. Creating such a force with just the flick of your finger..." The flame hero watched his nervous expression. "In terms of power, I'd say it's on par with All Might's quirk."

Despite your growing hatred for this man, you had to admit your own burning interest. Too many times as of recently had it struck you how similar Izuku's and All Might's quirks were. Before you would brush it off as a mere coincidence, however, if someone this vile could piece together your same suspicions than maybe the idea wasn't too crazy after all.

And by the way Izuku anxiously tore his gaze away, it didn't help in convincing you otherwise.

"W-what are you getting at?" The freckled male stammered. "Anyway, I have to go..."

He began to leave with you when Endeavor spoke once again, stopping him in his tracks.

"It is Shoto's duty to surpass All Might. His match against you will prove a valuable test." This revelation came as no surprise to you, however, knowing it still wounded your lament for Shoto. The heat within the confines of the hall rose several degrees, making you and Izuku break out into a cold, uneasy sweat. Endeavor knew very well what he was doing. "So give it your all," the hero asserted. "Put up a good fight against him."

After that display, the temperature of the room regulated and Endeavor cleared his throat. "That's all I had to say. I apologize for disturbing you before the match."

This man didn't sound like he had an ounce of apology in him, but rather than poke the bear you remained silent.

To your astonishment, however, Izuku didn't.

"I'm not All Might," Your normally mild-tempered friend uttered.

The Pro scoffed. "That's obvious—"

"That's obvious, right?" Izuku parroted him with an even tone. You stared as the green haired male gathered his courage. "So Todoroki isn't you, either."

And there was that sporadic bravery you witnessed blossoming inside of Izuku. You had seen hints of it before, but this confirmed the growing spark that would rise to the surface every now and then. You saw it in the obstacle race and in the cavalry battle, and here it was again. There was something about it that filled you with courage.

Your lips curved into a proud smile as Endeavor's eyes bore into your friend's.

He said nothing yet the bolstering anger emanating from him did not escape you two. He continued his silence as Izuku glanced at you.

"(y/n), will you come with me please?"

You nodded and hurriedly walked over to his side as he made his way further down into the arena tunnels.

Once you were a good distance away, you vocally applauded him. "Wow, I've never seen you go off like that!" However, the pensive look on his face made you pull back. "Are you alright?"

"I...I don't know," Izuku admitted. "I can't believe I just said that to the number 2."

"I think you did great," You encouraged with a laugh. "Besides, you were right. It shouldn't matter who he is, you called someone out on their well-deserved bullshit."

The male cracked a small smile and nodded. "Thanks. Although, I don't know if what I said will do Todoroki any good."

"He needs to stand up for himself. That's something only he can do." You arrived at the entrance to the stadium quicker than you had hoped. You could hear the jostling crowds roaring to life for the next big scene. "Do your best out there, Izu. I'm sorry for asking this of you when it doesn't benefit you at all," You said timidly.

Izuku shook his head. "It does. If I want to be a hero I need to learn from everyone doing their best. I'm just sorry I can't promise you success."

"Success would be nice, but I know it's not something we can control," You thanked. "You have a good heart. I really appreciate that I can trust you with this."

Your friend blushed, scratching the back of his neck. "I-it's nothing. It's for Todoroki, for everyone."

Present Mic suddenly revved up and began spouting off about the next upcoming battle, signaling your exit. You nodded to Izuku and gave him a quick hug. "Good luck out there. I'll be cheering for you both," You beamed brightly. "I have a feeling you're gonna be incredible."

Your classmate's pink cheeks returned as you waved goodbye. He started down into the sunlit path and the noise of the crowd rose exponentially. You inched closer to the walls, watching the opponents as your anticipation heightened along with the audience.

You really couldn't have foreseen the events that were about to unfold.

"The first match of the second round is about to commence! Both of these competitors have won top marks throughout the festival, but there's only room for one these greats in this ring! This! Is!..."

"Todoroki, Shoto vs. Midoriya, Izuku!!!"