Sakura POV
I was gripping onto the railing in front of me nervously. It was finally time for Ochaco and Katsuki's match.
I took a deep breath. I was really nervous for Ochaco. She was the type of girl who wouldn't even hurt a fly. And she was going against the guy who yells "DIE!" at everything he does.
"Sakura!"
I turned around to see Izuku and Iida waving at me from above. I smiled and made my way up there.
"Hey guys," I smiled as I took a seat next to Izuku. "Did you guys manage to talk to Ochaco before her match?"
Izuku nodded. "Yeah, she wanted to thank you for the advice you gave her earlier and that she would keep it in mind." Then Izuku frowned. "She was really nervous, though."
"Well duh! She's going against Bakugo! And on the first round. Talk about bad luck!" Kaminari's head popped out from behind us.
I raised my eyebrows. "Glad to see that you have recovered, Kaminari," I mumbled still remembering that I had to drag his ass to Chiyo's offfice.
Kaminari let our a weak chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Y-yeah, sorry about you having to carry me. Really appreciate it though," he winks at me.
I heard a chuckle from the far left. "Why am I not surprised that Sakura had to carry a unconscious Kaminari after her match."
I leaned forward and saw it was Tokoyami. "Hey Tokoyami. You did great out there during your match," I smiled.
He bowed his head. "Thank you, Sakura. Same goes to you."
"The eighth and last match of the first round!" Present Mic's voice came on.
"He was kind of famous in middle school! From the hero course, it's Katsuki Bakugo!"
I looked at the screen and sweatdropped from Katsuki's expression. 'Ah jeez, why is he making a face like that.'
Izuku leaned in and whispered. "What did Todoroki want to say?"
I felt my cheeks blush as I slowly turn to face my freckled friend. "Uh just had a little heart to heart conversation about something," I frowned as I wondered if I had finally broke down his walls.
Izuku studied my face. He then looked at the field with a emotionless expression. "Todoroki is kind of scary. But, it's a different scary than Kacchan. He's always on the outside, but he's always carefully noticing things and points out things that are spot on," Izuku shuddered.
I leaned in closer to Izuku. "Oh, you mean like him asking you if you're All Might's love child?" I whispered in his ear.
Izuku then turned so red I thought he was going to pass out. "H-how d-do y-you k-know that?"
I shrugged. "I have my ways. Now shush. The match is about to start," I nodded towards the field.
I looked down and saw that both Ochaco and Katsuki were standing opposite sides of the field. They both looked determined. 'Come on, Ochaco. I believe in you.'
"Uraraka told us that you gave her a strategy, Sakura. What was it?" Iida spoke up.
I put my elbows on my knees and rested my chin on my hands. "It wasn't that much of a strategy. It was more pointing out the obvious. Katsuki is powerful and he barely has any holes in his defense during close combat. But, if Ochaco can dodge his attacks as much as possible and finds an opening to touch him, she can make him float out of the boundary."
'But it won't be easy. Katsuki has amazing speed. And dodging his attacks will require a lot of stamina and strength.'
"Let the match.... begin!"
From the start, Ochaco sprinted towards Katsuki.
"Look at her go! All she has to do is touch him, even if it's on accident!" Izuku exclaimed with excitement.
Katsuki lowered himself near the ground and opened his palms, readying to attack. Ochaco was still running at full speed. 'Hm seems like she has something in mind.'
"But Bakugo won't want Uraraka get close to him," Iida pointed out nervously.
I leaned against my chair. "He's going to counterattack instead of avoiding her," I mumbled. I know Katsuki would never try to run away from an attack. He would fight back head on.
Ochaco was only a couple feet away from Katsuki as I saw him swing his arm right at her, his hand sparking with fire. Then, he set a small explosion that sent her flying back a little. The field was then covered with smoke.
I closed my fist. 'He's tying to take her out from the very beginning.'
"Uraraka!" Iida and Izuku both yelled in unison. They both had worried expressions on their faces.
"Did he blast her?!" Mineta asked frantically behind us.
"He's not going to show any mercy even if he's fighting against a girl, huh?" Tsu questioned.
'No. Katsuki doesn't care. An opponent is just an opponent to him. No matter who they are.'
I tried to see through the smoke as best as possible. I saw a movement going towards Katsuki. 'Wait a minute..' I moved forward to get a better look.
Katsuki already had his palm ready. "Don't underestimate me!" He yelled as he sent a bigger explosion in Ochaco's direction. Or so he thought.
I smiled as Katsuki realized that he had his hand was wrapped around Ochaco's jacket. 'Atta girl.'
"Where is she?" Izuku looked around worriedly to find out friend.
"She's right there," I smirked as I saw Ochaco emerged from the smoke, right behind Katsuki's back.
"Oh, she made her jacket float as a distraction?! She did it in a instant!" Present Mic excitedly announced.
Ochaco reached out her hand to touch Katsuki and almost touched her until he turned around in a instant and sent a explosion right at her.
Ochaco was sent flying but she managed to get up on her feet fast. Then, the smoke engulfed her again.
'Dammit! She was so close. But it's not surprising that Katsuki was able to turn really quick to stop her.' I felt a smile crept up to my lips. Katsuki really was a good fighter.
The smoke cleared up and I saw Ochaco ran towards again, but Katsuki just sent another explosion at her.
Again and again she would try to get close to him, but she would keep getting sent flying back. Some parts of the cement field was now broken and flying in the air from Katsuki's explosions.
My eyes widened at the rubble of broken cement. 'Wait, she's planning this... She definitely has a plan.'
"Uraraka keeps attacking without rest... but... this is...."
"Hey! How can you say you want to be a hero like that?! If there's such a big difference in your abilities, then hurry up and finish her!"
I slowly turn my head in annoyance to see the idiot that was screaming. It was a guy with a hero costume on and was pointing at Katsuki.
"Stop bullying and playing with the poor girl!"
'Dude shut up.' I gritted my teeth in annoyance.
Suddenly, the crowd started to boo. I looked down and saw Katsuki breathing heavily, but he was surprisingly calm. 'I'm surprised he's not threatening to explode this whole stadium after hearing that.'
"But honestly, I also feel the sa-" Present Mic was talking until it sounded like he was hit.
Then I heard Aizawa's voice speak. "Was that a pro saying that he's playing around? If you're saying that with a serious face, just go home and change your career!"
I smiled as I saw the stadium turn dead silent. 'You tell them, Uncle Aizawa.'
"Bakugo is being careful because he's acknowledged the strength of his opponent who has made it this far. It's because he's doing everything he can to win that he can't let his guard down."
"What does he mean?" Izuku asked. But everyone shrugged in confusion.
I leaned back on my chair and put my feet up on the railing. "Open your eyes and take a closer look. Ochaco purposely let Katsuki sent out all those explosions for a reason," I smirked as I pointed up but kept my gaze on my genius brown-haired friend.
Then all my classmates gasped as they looked up. Hundreds of pieces of broken cement now floating in the air above the field.
"She kept low on the ground to let Katsuki tear apart the field which only let her have more weapons to use," I was still smiling as my friends were still in awe. Ochaco then put her fingers together and all the rocks began to fall. "And now, he will be distracted and she will find a chance to float him right out of the field," I snapped my fingers. I turned to my friends. "Come on guys. I thought you guys would have noticed," I smirked at my clueless friends.
"What?! So she had a plan all along!" Izuku was both in shock and amazed.
I scoffed. "Of course she did. She's a smart girl and a fighter after all" I smiled as I saw Ochaco run towards Katsuki.
She was getting closer with every step while Katsuki was watching for falling rocks. 'She has a much more bigger chance now to touch him, since he's distracted.'
Then, Katsuki raised his left palm towards the sky and my eyes widened. 'There's no way he's going to d-'
But my thought was interrupted from his huge explosion that destroyed all the falling cement and sent Ochaco flying back. The impact was so great that the wind hit my face and I felt my skin sting.
Once the wind and smoke died down, I saw Ochaco sitting on her knees and she was looking at Katsuki in fear.
I narrowed my eyes as I saw him grab his left wrist. 'So even Katsuki feels pain sometimes..'
I saw Ochaco slowly try to stand back on her feet. Her body was trembling. She was clearly in pain.
'Come on Ochaco! Fight!'
Ochaco started to run forward and so did Katsuki, his palms already ready to send out another explosion.
But I saw Ochaco's foot stumble and collapsed into the ground. Katsuki immediately halted at this sight.
I closed my fists as I saw Ochaco still trying to drag her body. Her whole body was clearly damaged and weakened. But, she was still trying to move. I turned my head to the side. I couldn't bear to see her suffering anymore.
I got up and made my way to the stairs and ignored my classmates's shouts. I didn't care. My friend needed help.
As I was running down the stairs, I heard Midnight's announcement that determined the match.
"Uraraka is unable to move. Bakugo moves onto the next round...."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was almost to the ground floor when I heard my name was being called.
"Sakura! Wait up!"
I stopped and jerked my head around and saw Iida and Izuku panting as they were trying to catch up to me.
"How... are.... you..... so..... fast?" Iida asked as he and Izuku both rested their hands on their knees.
I raised my eyebrows. 'Seriously? Iida literally has engines in his calves..'
I rolled my eyes. "Come on guys. Let's go see if she's okay."
Iida and Izuku both looked at each other and nodded. The three of us ran down the hallway to the nurse's office. I remembered the sight of all the scratches and burns on Ochaco's body and I winced. 'Katsuki really didn't hold back at all...'
We were almost to the nurse's office when we saw a certain ash blonde walking towards us.
"What?!" Katsuki glared at us with a more pissed off expression than usual.
"AH! KACCHAN?!" Izuku nervously gulped as he shuddered from the sight of his childhood friend.
"What the hell do you want! Die Scum!" He yelled.
I rolled my eyes at the angry hedgehog. "Save it, Katsuki. We are going to go see Ochaco," I snapped back.
"A-and w-well, I'm next, so..." Izuku nervously tried to explain. "I was going to wait at the waiting room... Also congrats on winning the first round..." Izuku was freaking out.
I sweatdropped at the sight of my freckled friend. 'Jeez man up Izuku!'
Izuku slowly started to walk away and Iida carefully followed him. I looked at Katsuki once more before I followed the boys.
"It was your idea wasn't it?"
I halted in my step and saw that Izuku and Iida did the same. Izuku suddenly stopped shaking.
"That damned desperate plan. You just have to be annoying don't you? What the hell-"
"It wasn't"
I turned to see that Katsuki had a slight surprised expression on his face from Izuku's response. I saw my green-haired friend then turn to face Katsuki with a straight face, showing no fear.
"Uraraka planned it all thinking about how she could beat you. If you thought that was annoying, that was because she was leading you around the nose!"
I stared at Izuku wide-eyed from his bold answer.
"What the hell did you say?! Damn Deku!" Katsuki stomped towards Izuku to do god-knows-what to him but I stepped in front of him to stop him.
"Katsuki, enough. You already proved that you're strong by literally beating up Ochaco. There's no point of acting like a hothead right now," I hissed.
Katsuki narrowed his eyes at me. "Tch, whatever," he stuffed his hands into his pockets and pushed his way through us to walk away.
But after taking a couple of steps he stopped. "I better see you in the finals, Sakura. So I can crush you" he said lowly before walking off.
'Great. Now Katsuki is starting to declare war.'
Izuku then started to shake again. "S-sakura-chan? Are you okay?"
I let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, Katsuki doesn't scare me," I waved my hand.
"You might be the only person that can control Bakugo's temper, Sakura," Iida stated.
I shrugged. "He's not so hard to handle." I started to walk. "Come on, we'll drop you off at the waiting room, Izuku."
The three of us walked again in silence to Waiting Room Two. When we reached the door, Izuku looked at us. "Tell Uraraka that she did great and that I'll see her after my match." Then he opened the door to reveal a familiar brown haired girl.
"Man, I lost! Too bad!" Ochaco was rubbing the back of her head as she gave us herfamous closed eye smile.
I stared at her in disbelief. How was she so happy after that match? She acted like she hadn't just come back from a gruesome match. I saw that she had a bandage on her left cheek and some nasty scars on her arms.
"Huh?" I saw Izuku staring at her with wide eyes.
"I got carried away at the end thinking I could do it, dang it," Ochaco giggled but she didn't meet our eyes.
I felt my eyes narrow. 'She seems fine, but.....'
Izuku then walked forward. "Uraraka, what about your injuries? Are you okay?" He asked worriedly.
Ochaco was still smiling as she pointed at the bandage on her cheek. "Yup! Recovery Girl took care of me! It was only moderate healing so it wouldn't drain my stamina, so I've still got scratches and stuff, though," she perkily replied.
I looked back at her scratches and bruises on her body. I felt my heart ache from the sight.
Ochaco then raised her fists in frustration. "But man! Bakugo was really strong! He totally got me! I have to work so much harder!"
I couldn't help but smile at her adorable behavior. It was amazing how strong she was being even after what she just went through.
"Ochaco, that was a great match. You were so impressive out there," I smiled as I sat down next to her. "But, you had me worried there for a second when you just collapsed like that."
Ochaco's cheeks turned pink as she rubbed the back of her neck again. "Yeah, sorry about that. I didn't mean to worry you guys like that haha.."
I took her hands in mine. "I'm just glad you're okay, Ochaco. Here, let me help you," I said as I put my hands above her arms.
I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing. I felt my hands start to warm up as I slowly started to heal her wounds. I slightly winced as I felt the pain of her injuries, but it quickly subsided. I let some of my own energy flow into her.
Then, I quickly used my chaos magic quirk to feel her true emotions without her knowing. I felt my heart ache as I felt how she was truly feeling. 'She's not fine at all. She's hurting so much inside right now, but she's putting a strong front because of us.'
I opened my eyes to see that most of Ochaco's injuries were gone. I looked up to see that she had more life in her face. Her cheeks were now rosy red and her eyes looked more lively.
"Sakura... you shouldn't have. You need that energy for yourself for your next match," She said lowly.
I smiled at my sweet friend. "Who cares about my match when I can take some of my friend's pain away. Besides, I'm full of energy," I winked at her.
She then tackled me with a hug and I gladly returned it to her. 'She's such a fighter for acting strong for us.'
"Sakura! You better be in great shape when I go against you! I plan to beat you at your best!" Iida made a chopping motion with his hand as his glasses were tinted with determination.
"Oh don't you worry about that, Iida. You just save those worries for yourself," I smirked at him as I saw him look a little scared from my words.
"Now we've got everyone who's advancing to the second round, let's get started for the next match!" Present Mic's voice all made us jump.
"Already?" Izuku asked nervously. Then he turned towards the door. "I should get going.."
Ochaco then jumped up. "I'm so sorry, Deku! You weren't able to prepare at all because of me.."
Izuku turned around and smiled reassuringly at her. "No, I'm fine. It's not a problem at all. I'm just glad you're okay, Uraraka."
Ochaco smiled at the precious green-haired boy. "I'll be watching, okay? Do your best!"
"Thanks!" He smiled gratefully at her.
"We will walk you to the entrance," Iida said as he looked at me. I nodded.
As we left the room, I couldn't help but worry about Ochaco. I glanced back at her smiling and waving goodbye.
Izuku, Iida, and I closed the door. We didn't say anything for a little while. We all knew she was just putting up a strong act for us.
I turned to the boys. "I think I'm going to stay behind to make sure she's okay. I'll go up to the stands to watch your match when it starts," I told my friend. I walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Good luck and remember, you're strong, Izuku," I smiled confidently.
He looked at me right in the eyes. I saw determination in his green eyes, but it wasn't to win. It was like he was determined to do something else.
"Thanks, Sakura. I will."
As they walked away down the hall, I leaned my back against the wall.
I closed my eyes as I heard Ochaco's sobs through the door. Slowly, I lowered my body to the ground and brought my knees to my chest and buried my head in my arms.
I wanted to stay because I knew she wasn't okay. That she was clearly upset about her match. Once again, I felt my heart ache and eyes sting as I heard her painful sobs.
'It's amazing how a small smile can mask the deepest scars.'
"Sakura?"
I slowly lifted my head to meet his heterochromatic eyes. He had a worried expression on his face.
"Hey Todoroki," my voice croaked as I brushed the loose hair away from my face. "What are you doing here? Your match is starting soon."
He tilted his head to look at me carefully. "I was just on my way to the entrance. What about you?"
I lifted myself from the ground. "I was just waiting for Ochaco. She seemed kinda down so I just wanted to make sure she was okay," I quietly said.
Todoroki just nodded at my answer. Then, he started to slowly walk away.
"Good luck, Todoroki. Don't forget what I told you," I called out.
He stopped in his tracks. "I won't," he softly said without turning around. Then he started to disappear down the hallway.
I felt a small smile crept up to my lips as I let his response process in my mind. 'You can do it, Todoroki. Don't be afraid of who you are.'
Then, the door to the waiting room slowly opened and a very red-eyed Ochaco stepped out.
"Sakura? What are you doing here?" she asked as I saw how surprised she was to see me.
I smiled at her. "I decided to wait for you so we can go watch Izuku's match together." I didn't want to ask her about what happened inside. It wasn't my business.
"Oh, I see. You didn't have to do that.." She looked down at the ground.
I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. "Of course I did! Come on, let's go get something sweet and tasty to eat before the match. My treat," I winked at her.
So the two of us headed down the hallway. I turned my head to see behind the opposite way that Todoroki has walked down.
'I believe in you, Todoroki.'
A/N: ughhh okie i'm just dying to get to the end of this sports festival because I have a ending in mind. Let's just say that all the emotions inside Sakura finally catches up to her.