Chapter 93: Sports Festival (7)
—
"You actually won, wow."
Neji whistled seeing Momo walking over to the area where Class 1-A was sitting.
"What do you mean by wow?"
She suppressed a smile and kept a moody expression before taking a seat to Neji's right, who was sitting at the left-most row.
The moment she sat down, the other students turned their attention to her.
"That was awesome, Momo!" Kendo said, cheering for Momo.
She didn't look so sad anymore after Neji chatted with her in the time Momo was gone.
Momo smiled at her, "I just got lucky."
"Not at all! It was just your quick thinking, instead." Mina said, throwing her fist in the air.
Neji shrugged as the girls started to surround Momo. Kendo, Mina, Setsuna, Tsuyu all gave her compliments while the others also slipped in sometimes.
Even Ochako congratulated her, but the short-haired girl didn't look so good.
She looked worse than she did in canon, in fact.
She was against Bakugo, someone who could blast a hole through a building with his explosions, after all.
Uraraka didn't have any choice to surrender like Kendo, either. She must win. Her parents were watching this, she can't let them down!
So, with her fingers interlocked, Ochako's chin rested on her hand and she stared down on the empty arena, visualising her strategy with a big frown on her face.
From his seat, Neji stared at the side of her face worriedly before shaking his head.
Instead of consoling her now… he had a better idea.
—★—
["Now, ladies and gentlemen, it seems we got our winner!!"]
Present Mic shouted, narrating the match happening below.
It was the longest match until now, as it was the match between Tetsutetsu and Kirishima.
The winner, this time around, was Tetsutetsu.
They just exchanged punches, blows, and kicks for half an hour with no winner. So, in the end, Midnight just had them do an Arm Wrestling match. Maybe it was luck? Or maybe Tetsutetsu was just stronger because of the butterfly effect, but he was the winner this time.
Kirishima didn't seem offended at all. He was, instead, more than proud to lose to such a manly guy like Tetsutetsu.
Then after a little break, it was Uraraka's match.
—★—
Uraraka was waiting in the Waiting Room when the door opened and Neji walked in.
He gave her a small smile as he leaned his shoulder against the doorframe.
"You look nervous."
Uraraka did not want to talk to him, but words did leave her mouth.
"I am…" She sighed.
Her brows were furrowed as she stared at the table in front of her with cold sweat gathering in her head.
"I can see why." Neji nodded, "Bakugo is strong."
"..."
That didn't do Uraraka's self-esteem any better so she could only sigh.
"I have a plan, wanna hear? If you don't mind, of course."
Uraraka finally raised her head to meet Neji with a slight surprise painted on her face.
She was about to part her lips and say yes, but she shut her lips tight and shook her head.
"No need… It's okay, I will find a way."
At this, Neji stared into her brown eyes for a while before smiling again.
"I am sure you will."
Then the mic rang like a bell, and Uraraka's name was called by Present Mic.
—★—
"You are the floaty one, right, round-face?"
Uraraka clenched her jaws tight in front of the question. She just nodded as she met Bakugo's sharp gaze.
"If you are going to back down, do it now."
Uraraka didn't move and waited for Midnight to start the match instead.
"If not…"
Bakugo left the words hanging in the air as Midnight finally broke the silence.
"Alright, kids, the match begins now!"
As Midnight announced so, Uraraka dashed forward and reached out her palm for Bakugo.
But the blonde boy raised his right arm in the air and swung it down.
Uraraka had expected that much, as she was familiar with Bakugo's pattern from old fights.
'He uses his right hand to land the first blow.'
She just needed to dodge that blow and then-
Bakugo's hands exploded before she could step away, hitting directly onto her face as clouds of dust surrounded her.
Present Mic announced the brutal attack while the audience jeered on Bakugo for going all out on a girl.
But, as the dust cleared out, Bakugo frowned seeing Uraraka's charred uniform floating in front of him instead. It was clear that the shirt had taken the blow in Uraraka's stead.
He turned around, his hand going for another blow, just as a smokey-faced Uraraka moved from his left and her palm touched his chest.
In an instant, Bakugo felt his foothold slip and his body start to float. His attack slipped by Uraraka's face by an inch, as the girl's fist came crashing into Bakugo's midsection, sending him flying in the air, towards the end of the arena.
"Huff…"
Uraraka breathed heavily with a clenched smile on her face. Everything was going according to plan. She just had to make him float, which she did, and now he wouldn't be able to move properly.
All the students who had gone to Hero Middle schools got a bit of physical training, but Uraraka volunteered to train in martial arts too. So she was quite more agile with the use of her quirk this timeline around.
Immediately after, unlike how she hoped, Bakugo didn't land on the ground outside the arena. Instead, he came crashing from there with multiple blasts of his hands.
Moreover, he was faster than usual. With his weight barely there, his speed was blinding.
In an instant, Bakugo's right leg was in front of her face.
Bam!
Crunch!
Just like that, Bakugo's leg came crashing into her jaws and Uraraka was sent out of the arena.
She tried to make herself float, but she needed to hold her breath to do so, which she couldn't do in this situation.
So, her back hit the wall at the very end of the stadium and her head started to cool. The last thing she saw was Bakugo blasting in the air uncomfortably, unable to utilise his sudden change in weight, but still managing to land on the arena nonetheless.
Then she blacked out, the jeering of the crowd deafening her ears.
—★—
When Uraraka woke up in Recovery Girl's chamber again, she exchanged some words and left after Recovery Girl commended her devotion – though she still warned her to not take such risks against opponents like Bakugo.
All that only worked to make her feel bitter.
She was so close… But she lost since she had overlooked some major things.
Just sending Bakugo flying out of the Ring wouldn't have worked, she should have known. His feet needed to touch the ground outside, but it never did since he could by himself fly too.
She was this close to winning… so close to making her parents proud. So close to getting recognised by a famous Pro.
That's the reason she broke down when her father's voice flowed out from her phone.
"I-I was so close…" Her voice quivered as she sniffled into the phone. "If only I was able to dodge the last attack… if only I was able to step to the left at the right moment."
["Ochako, baby, it's fine."]
Her father's caring voice came from the other side of the phone.
"B-but dad, I failed you-"
["You did not."] His firm voice said. ["You have made me proud with your resolution. Don't focus only on the result Ochako, appreciate the process too. You have come a long way, but you have a long way to go, too. Don't rush anything. Moreover, nobody is born equal. Considering the boy's quirk, you did great. Don't let this hinder your growth."]
Uraraka went silent. It was soothing, his words. But her low self-esteem didn't help her at all. Instead, she feared something bigger.
'...What if I keep failing?'
Her father said she has a long way to go, but what if she keeps failing even after spending three years in UA?
'I don't know…'
Uraraka wanted to help her family. Her father's construction business went bankrupt when she was 3 years old. Back then, they were quite rich. But now, they can barely eat 3 times a day. Uraraka wanted to become a hero for money, to help her parents with that money.
This event was a big chance towards that. She could have attracted a famous hero's attention if she got a bit ahead in the tournament. But with this result?… There was no way she would catch the eye of someone big.
Seeing her silent, her father's sigh came flowing as he spoke.
["...Anyway, baby, don't worry too much. I think the next match is starting soon, you should watch that and try to calm your mind."]
With that, as Uraraka sat on the dusty floor, the call was cut. Her hand then hung limp holding the phone as she sighed deeply.
Then the door opened again and Neji walked in.
Uraraka frowned softly.
Was he eavesdropping?
...This wasn't time for her to handle someone else.
"Erm, I was just passing by." Neji scratched his chin with an uneasy smile.
She could tell he was lying but she didn't have the mental strength to protest.
Then Neji walked forward and gave her a hand. Reluctantly, she took it and stood up as he spoke.
"Really unfair." He said. "The matchup I mean. If you were against someone else, then you'd have been able to go far. Then again, you didn't do bad, not at all." He said as he dusted off her back. "Your strategy was solid, but your body is plenty weak. You saw his attacks coming, but couldn't dodge in time."
Each of his words started to sting her. She knew that. If she was a bit stronger, if she wasn't a frail girl, then she would have won.
He then placed a hand on her head and ruffled her hair softly, his eyes gazing into her own… before he slowly brought her to a hug.
Her immediate reaction would have been to push him away. Both being flustered, and also the fact that she knew Neji was just a playboy.
But she didn't move… letting him speak.
"Not to sound entitled but… if you want someone to talk to, I am here."
With her body slowly starting to tremble, Uraraka's eyes watered and her vision clouded as her arms wrapped around him gradually.
"I don't like losing… I want to grow stronger."
At her words, he didn't say anything. Instead, his hand slowly moved and patted the back of her head.
"I can relate to that."
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Author's Note: And so the bastardising continues 😔