"HUH?!" Zoë screeched. "I...I have to fight Kirika and Uncle Kirishima?!"
Bakugo just grinned.
"Kid, in this world, you've gotta be prepared to fight who knows who. Recovery Girl is on deck- if you don't go at it with the intent to kill, you won't win. Got it? I'm here- I'll back you up!"
Zoë nodded, still scared.
"O-Okay!"
"ALLLLLLLLLRIGHT! Teams One and Two should step up the the arena! You can win by pushing both members of the rival team out of bounds, or by restraining them so they can't move! On your mark...get set...go!"
Kirishima came flying at Zoë.
"Let's see whatcha got!" He yelled, grinning like a maniac. Bakugo quickly stepped in front of her, blocking him with his gauntlet.
"Pretty low, goin' for my girl like that," he smirked. "You'll have to take me on first!"
"Yeah..." Kirishima drawled. "But what's the fun in that?"
Kirika literally came flying out of nowhere and tackled Bakugo to the floor.
"WHAT THE HELL?!"
Zoë barely managed to jump out of the way before Kirishima's hardened hand scraped her cheek.
"They've gotta get better, right? Cmon, I'll take Zoë, and you can keep Kirika busy!"
Bakugo growled, realizing he had no choice.
"Fine," he spat, furious that he couldn't protect his daughter.
"Bakubro, you can't be there all the time to protect her- she needs to get stronger on her own! You have to trust her!"
"LIKE HELL!" Bakugo yelled, firing and explosion at Kirika's face. Bakugo expected her to be out for good, but when the smoke cleared, half of his gauntlet was missing.
Kirika has literally took a bite out of it with her teeth, and smashed it over Bakugo's head. He started bleeding.
"Tch," he hissed. "Alright, kid- LET'S DO THIS!"
Zoë was trying her best to keep Kirishima at bay- his quirk really did cancel her explosions really well, but she knew she had to be able to do something with One For All.
The green lightning crackled around her, and she dodged agin, throwing her first punch. Kirishima dodged it easily, but Zoë smirked, quickly twisting her body and kicking him in in back of his legs, causing him to collapse to the ground.
Before he had time to recover, she fired an explosion onto his back. Kirishima got up quickly, but as he turned to punch Zoë, she jumped out of the way. His fists dig into the concrete, effectively trapping his hardened hands. He struggled and tried to move, but the concrete was so tight, he couldn't deactivate his quirk.
"RED RIOT IS RESTRAINED! KIRIKA IS THE LAST MEMBER OF TEAM TWO STANDING!"
Bakugo grinned.
"DAD, WHAT THE HELL?!" Kirika screamed.
"S-Sorry," Kirishima laughed. "She got me!"
"Well, then I guess I have no reason to hold back!" The redhead screamed. She ripped out a huge piece of concrete, and just as she was about to slam it over Bakugo's head, Zoë screamed and jumped in front of her dad. Kirika's eyes widened in horror as she saw Zoe's eyes go blank, and she collapsed to the floor. Bakugo roared.
"YOU FUCKIN' PERFECT KID!"
He literally picked up Kirika and threw her out of the ring.
"TEAM ONE WINS, AND ZOË BAKUGO ADVANCES TO THE NEXT ROUND!"
The crowed roared, and Bakugo and Kirika ran over to Zoë.
"Oh god, I didn't kill her, did I?!" She cried.
"No, she's alright," Bakugo sighed. "Just unconscious."
Kirishima finally managed to free himself, and ran over.
"We need to get her to Recovery Girl, now," he said. Bakugo nodded.
"Shitty Hair...Smaller Shitty Hair...you're really lucky that this is something you were authorized to do. Don't fuck up again."
Kirishima just laughed.
"You got it, bro!"
Zoë woke up in the infirmary.
"H-Huh?" She groaned. "What happened?" Bakugo was sitting next to her on the edge of her bed.
"You feelin' okay, champ?" Bakugo asked gently. Zoë nodded.
"Y-Yeah."
"You jumped in front of the huge piece of concrete Kirika picked up to try to throw at me. You won..." he smiled. His features instantly contorted.
"IF YOU EVER PULL ANOTHER STUNT LIKE THAT AGAIN I SWEAR TO GOD, ZOË!"
He started crying and pulled her in for a hug.
"You never, EVER, put yourself in danger to help me, or Papa- understand?"
Zoë nodded, scared. Bakugo relaxed.
"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to scare you. Just promise- I'll always be there to protect you, okay?"
Zoë smiled.
"How're the rest of the matches going?"
Bakugo grinned.
"Well, Melody and Jiro crushed another random kid, Ausi's kids both moved on, that Sana girl blew her competition out of the water, Monoma's brat pulled through, and so did Shinsou's. There are probably a few others, but that's all I know."
Zoë smiled.
"Good. I still feel really bad though...I ruined Kirika's chance at winning..."
Bakugo just smiled.
"Kid, ya did good, okay? Kirika would much rather have lost for real than have a fake win. Here."
He handed her a bowl of soup, and she ate quietly, Bakugo stroking her hair.
"How's your wrist?" Bakugo asked.
"Oh, it's still a little painful," Zoë admitted.
"I am going to kill that old man," Bakugo muttered. Zoë giggled.
"I really love you, Dad!" She beamed. Bakugo ruffled her hair.
"I love you too, kid."
AB: Hi guys! Miss me? Lol, I'm going on a road trip today which means I will have a TON of time on my hands, so I might update again today- not sure though. Road trips with my family can be...interesting. In other news, my Ray wig arrived, so I'm doing a shoot on Monday on my cosplay account: mandmcosplays, on TikTok and Instagram!! I'm really excited, so feel free to check it out!! After Ray, I'm doing Lolita Uraraka, so stay tuned! I love you guys!! I can't believe we've already passed twenty chapters!!! Xoxo