It’s the night before the sports festival and everyone was on edge. There had been villain attacks, and the class of 2-A had been their target. This was their second sports festival while they were at UA. Bakugo was restless. After his win last year, he was determined to blow all of the competition out of the water before they even had a chance. Rai Sokko was also restless. She was a transfer student, joining their class after the camp incident where Bakugo was taken. She had a powerful wind quirk that she knew how to use. All of the UA teachers were impressed with her ability to control the wind. She knew, knew how to use it. It was like she was a pro already.
Rai was just staring up at her ceiling, her arms folded on her stomach. She was prone to being nervous so she couldn’t fall asleep. She had watched the festival and saw how ruthless bakugo was. She also knew how powerful he had become since then, she had the advantage though. She watched his every move in training. She knew him like the back of her hand. She knew everyone like the back of her hand. She pretended to be training in class with the rest of her class but really she was watching how all of them used their quirks. She made sure that she was going to come out on top this year. Even if that meant crushing Bakugo under her like a villain.
In the morning she was more than ready to crush the competition. No one knew how offensive her quirk could be. They all had seen her be more defensive and protective. She really wasn't one for showing off her quirk. She would rather people believe that she was here to help them rather than to be the one who went straight for villains. She knew Bakugo was the opposite. She knew that he loved to show off and prove that he was the strongest person in their class.
Rai was absolutely crushing it. She had beaten 2 people by pushing them out of the ring, instantly with a gust of wind that no one could avoid. She was playing the part of the pacifist. Present Mic cheered her on for taking a hands off approach, leaving no room for injury or damage. She knew that she was leading them off and that was what she wanted. She knew that Bakugo paid attention to how people were fighting, and he was already scoping out who he was deeming a threat. Rai was his number one. He was brought back to the fight he had with Ochako. He hated pummeling girls but he knew that she wasn’t going to make it easy on him.
When it was their turn Bakugo was leaning against the wall outside of the arena. He waited for his name to be called, but they called her name first. He was pissed, but he knew it was because she was a pacifist. He was called after because he took the more violent approach. “I’m going to kill you.” He told her. She smiled. She knew that this was going to be fun.
“I don’t think you have what it takes to beat me.” She said, Ooer the year they had spent together in the same class, he wouldn’t consider her his friend, but they were definitely close competitors. He liked her slightly less than Kirishima. He was going to be her end.
“I don't think you get it brat.”
And then the battle was on. She started off with her wind gust, and it nearly pushed him out. He underestimated the power behind the blast. He just thought everyone else was weak. He saved it and launched himself forward at a lightning speed. She sidestepped and tried to blow him out of the side, but he countered it with a small AP shot. He thought that he nailed her, but it turned out she caught it. A blast in a ball that she shot back at him.
“What the hell?! Since when could you do that?” He yelled. Rai knew that he was starting to actually get angry. She knew that if she kept this up then she would have him perfectly where she wanted.
She smirked and kept countering his attacks. While they were fighting, she began to see that he really wanted this. He really wanted to prove that he was number one. As much as Rai wanted to win, wanted to prove that she could be as strong as anyone else, but she was more moved by how he was acting. He really wanted this. He needed to win. She wanted to win, but he needed it.
While she was distracted he fired off a wickedly harsh AP shot. She caught it in time, before it burnt her, but the power of the shot hit her hard. Hard enough, she couldn’t move. She was laying down on the edge of the line, on the inside, but she couldn’t move.
She wasn’t doing so hot. She knew he got her good that time. She was able to dull out the blow with a shield of air, but the force of the blast hit her harder as a result. She blew herself up in an upright position. He was seething. That was supposed to be the final shot, yet she was still standing. He came at her fast and hard, not wasting a single moment to strike her.
She dulled all of his hits, but they all landed. Some not as hard, others kept up in intensity, she was hurting at this point. She was hurting badly. There was no way she knew that she could keep this up. The only thing that she could do was to buy herself a little time. She hauled him backwards, nearly out of the ring, if not for a reasonably powerful blast that sent him careening back into her.
She could taste the blood in her mouth, feel it in her lungs, she wasn’t hurt on the outside. Every hit she took, she took internally. Bakugo couldn’t see the damage he was causing so he kept up with his onslaught.
Bakugo was getting tired. He was getting reckless. This is what she wanted but not like this. She wasn’t supposed to be this hurt. She was supposed to be fine. She knew that she couldn’t make it. He was getting more dangerous and she just couldn’t keep up. Maybe second place for her wouldn’t be that bad. I mean she just wanted the title. She didn’t need it like he did. She didn’t need to prove herself to anyone if she really thought about it. She knew that if she kept this up she wouldn’t live long enough to see herself become a hero.
Bakugo sent the most violent AP shot he could force, and then another particularly strong explosion right after that. In a cone of air, Rai avoided all of it. It kicked up enough dust to completely cover the arena and no one could see a thing. This is what Rai had wanted. A way out. She knew that she wasn’t strong enough to beat him, and there was no way that he was going to go easy on her. So during her window, she stepped right out of the ring. When the dust settled bakugo saw her wilted form.
He didn’t feel this way when Todoroki passed out last year. He felt..bad. He stormed over to her, furious that she was out of bounds but she was flat on her side. The thing that Bakugo didn’t understand was that she looked fine. She had no visible injuries, other than a little dirt on her face, she was fine. He had watched her in training and even now, he knew that she was so much better than this. “Why’d you stop? HUH?! Why did you give up?” He yelled, pulling her up by the collar of her uniform.
She fluttered her eyes open, and…..smiled at him. “Congratulations, you win.” She said weakly. He was going to yell at her more, demanding to know why she quit but he was cut off by a nasty cough. But not from himself, it was Rai. She turned her head in time to not spray him with the blood that shot out. She coughed more, more blood coming. “Hey, Hey! It’s ok. Just calm down, you're ok.” He gently picked her up, ran off the arena before he was even declared the winner. He didn’t care about it any more.
Bakugo thought she was always going to be with him. He was rude, mean to her. But she always stayed. Why was she trying to leave now? He was running as fast as his tired legs would go, right into the nurse’s office. He ran up the stairs with her, his classmates confused if they should congratulate him, or ask him why he was caring so much. He pushed past heroes, wanting to offer spots in their agencies, he pushed past his parents, who were there to congratulate their son on his second victory.
His second one. He didn’t deserve it. She did. She was laying down her life for this. All for him to think that he was good enough to take it. He didn’t deserve it. SHE didn’t deserve this.
“HAG! She needs help, she can’t breathe! She keeps coughing out blood, HELP HER!” He screamed, he was pleading for anyone to listen. To hear him. His shouting caught the attention of Recovery Girl and he gently set her on the table. His parents were in the doorway watching all of this happen. His mother, holding onto his father, because she had never seen her son..care..this much. Bakugo was crying… He had tears falling quickly down his face, leaving trailed from where it was washing the dirt away.
She saw how Rai’s fist was so clenched around Bakugo's bicep it would leave bruises. She also saw that he didn’t care. He wasn’t stopping her. He was holding onto hers, he was telling her it was going to be ok. That she was going to be ok. When her chest started to spas, he gently pulled her up, letting her cough the blood onto his uniform, so she wouldn’t choke. He was running his hands down the back of her hair, matted now and coated in blood.
Mitsuki watched as Recovery Girl tried to push him away, but they both held onto each other tighter. She watched as her son, the ruthless, heartless, egotistical, hot-headed son she raised, was gentle. Kind. Loving. He held onto her hand as Recovery Girl saved her, and then he didn’t let go. He stayed by her side, she was passed out, her body doing overtime to try and save itself. "What happened son?" His father asked softly.
“What happened?” Bakugo’s voice rang out. It was dull, had no fire like it normally did. He was scared. He was never scared but right now he was plain terrified. “What happened..?he took too many hits to her stomach, internal bleeding. She looked fine from the outside, but she was losing blood fast, choking on it. I'm what happened.” His face went pale. The shots he took did hurt her, this whole time he thought that they missed.
Bakugo gently brushed the hair out of her face, and he looked at her. Her face was pale, but slowly looking healthier as the recovery quirk worked. He cried more. “I’m so sorry Rai. I’m so…” he wept. His mother came and wrapped her arms around him and held tightly. She held onto Rai's other hand. “Did someone call her parents?” She asked the nurse. She shook her head. “She doesn’t have any.”
As a protective mamma bear, that tore at Mitsuki’s heart. “She doesn’t have parents? So she is just on her own?” She asked, a little upset. The nurse nodded sadly.
“She wanted to prove that she could do it.”
Bakugo’s voice rang out once more. They all turned to him again. “What do you mean son?” His father asked. “She wanted to prove that she could do it. That she could do whatever she wanted. That she didn’t need anyone. She gave up because she knew I wanted it more.” He cried. He was filled with guilt, he cared for her and now she might..she might…he didn’t want to think about it anymore.
“She will make it out of this.” His momma said. “I hope so.” He said softly, “I don’t know what I’ll do if she doesn’t” He admitted. “Let’s go get some rest, it’s been a long day.” His father tried to say. Bakugo just shook his head and held onto her hand tighter. “I’m not leaving her. I caused this, the least I owe her is to stay.”
“You have to do the awards ceremony. You placed first.” Rai’s voice, weakly called. Bakugo wiped his head to her so fast. “What? No. I won’t leave you. I don't want to leave you.” He pleaded. “I don’t deserve it. I-..You almost…” Bakugo stopped speaking. Rai squeezed the hand that he was holding. “But I still made it. You still won. Go get your medal, Kats.” She said looking at him fondly.
He shook his head. “Not unless you go with me and you are not supposed to move around at all. So no. Those damn extras can wait. They don’t matter to me.”
“But I do?”
“You matter to me more than anything. You matter to me more than being a hero.”