Technical Support

Chapter 22

"The one who made it back to the stadium first is none other than Midoriya Izuku!!!"

Ayano released a breathy laugh, forgetting her previous sentiments and breaking out into a full-on sprint.

Reaching the finish line and returning back to the stadium, Ayano was out of breath. Her eyes shifted about, quickly counting the heads already there. She let out a heavy breath, noting her place in the mid-thirties.

After catching her breath, Ayano noticed a flurry of pink in her peripheral vision. She turned to a tuckered out and disappointed Mei. "Sasaki!!! Next time, I'll be sure to show you how amazing my babies are!"

The brown-haired girl gave her friend a small smile. "I look forward to it." Mei nodded decisively. "I'm going to ask Power Loader to let me into the Development Studio!!" Ayano blinked. "Right now? You do not intend to stay for or partake in the rest of the festival?"

Mei shook her head, pulling out some of her inventions. "Clearly, my babies need some more work!! Good luck, Sasaki!!" With that, she dashed off, Ayano's eyes following her with a smile.

Turning back around to see the rest of those advancing to the next event, she was met with the sight of Midoriya being congratulated by Uraraka and Iida. From afar, she saw Bakugou against the wall and another boy with dual-colored hair glaring at Midoriya.

She could vaguely hear Bakugou's mumbles of frustration, tinged with pain. She noticed him clutching at his left arm, the limb slightly twitching here and there. Walking up to him, Ayano pulled a hot/cold pack from her utility belt and slapped it onto his arm, the pack immediately taking effect.

Their eyes met but Ayano quickly turned hers away, unable to meet his gaze for some reason. Before she could walk away, Bakugou punched the wall with his right fist. His arm barred her from walking forward. The girl still didn't meet his eyes, just staring at his arm in front of her.

"...What the fuck was that?" Ayano didn't answer. She knew exactly what he was asking about.

At her continued silence, Bakugou asked – or rather, demanded again. "What the fuck was that shoddy performance?!" His volume increasing. Ayano bit her lip in frustration. She wasn't exactly happy about her decision either.

"I don't know what fucking game you were playing, but is that what you call 'aiming for the top'?!!? Getting in the thirties??!!" Extremely uncharacteristic of her, the girl kept silent and kept avoiding his gaze.

Bakugou growled, punching the wall again and making a deeper dent. "You could've easily taken the top five!!!" He almost added 'with me' but held his tongue. Ayano's eyes were covered by the shadow of her fringe, but even he could see the frustration on her face.

He grit his teeth and clutched at her gym uniform's collar with both hands. "What the hell are you doing?!?" "You think that decision was easy for me?!!" She spat back at him, finally looking at him.

He almost flinched when he saw the ferocity in her eyes, coupled with her powerful grip on his wrists. "You think I wanted to place so low?! If I want to reach the top later, then I have to do this now! Against all of you from the Hero Course, my support items can only take me so far! I do not have the luxury of going all out from the start like you!"

"I said it before! I will do whatever it takes to reach the top!!"

Bakugou's eyebrows furrowed even further. Deep down, he knew that she was right. He knew that everything she was saying was logical. He just didn't want to accept it.

He didn't want to accept that she couldn't be at the top with him.

Ayano is quirkless. She's part of the Support Course. She had been at a disadvantage from the very beginning, but that had never stopped her in the past. Bakugou had never witnessed her accept that fact so evidently before.

He didn't want to accept it either.

She was perfectly fine without a quirk. She didn't need cowardly tactics like this to be the best. She was above that! She said so herself that she wanted to achieve her goals with her own strength! Why couldn't she understand?!

Suddenly, the blond was pulled back, his grip on her collar loosening. "Bakugou! I don't know what happened, but calm down!!" Kirishima locked his arms underneath Bakugou's. He held slight fear in his eyes, hoping that this conflict wouldn't become like the one that occurred after their first hero training. Midoriya had also appeared behind Ayano, laying a hand on her shoulder to help calm her down.

Neither of the two stopped their glaring, sparks nearly visible between them. The two of them were slightly panting from their shouting. Realizing that Ayano would not relent, Bakugou pushed Kirishima away. "Piss off, weird-hair." The blond walked off, slouching and shoving his hands into his pockets.

Ayano stared at him for a few moments more before turning to walk in the other direction. "A-Aya-chan...?" Midoriya called out to her, but she didn't stop. He quickly followed after her.

Bakugou turned his head just enough to see her walking away in the side of his eye. He clicked his tongue, gripping his arm – the one with the hot/cold pack.