"FIVE MINUTES TO PROCESS THE INFORMATION!" All Might raised one of his enormous hands. "USE THE TIME WISELY, YOUNG HEROES!"
The training field filled with animated conversations. The students grouped up according to their assigned teams, discussing strategies with expressions that ranged from excitement to obvious nervousness.
Izuku wasn't taking part in any of the conversations. His brain was running at full speed as he studied his classmates, cataloguing Quirks and evaluating potential threats. But there was a more immediate problem to solve.
The gloves, he thought with frustration. I don't know if they interfere with my Quirk.
He looked at his gloved hands and then at Ochako, who was beside him flipping through the building blueprints All Might had handed out. Her expression was one of total concentration, biting her lower lip as she tried to memorize the layout of the battlefield.
We can't take the risk, he decided. I need to confirm whether it works or not.
Without warning, he closed his left hand around Ochako's waist. The contact was soft, his fingers sinking lightly into the fabric of her suit.
Wow, he thought as he squeezed a little more. Her waist is way too soft.
Even so, the connection that normally surged through him as a torrent of data was completely absent.
"Ngh!"
Ochako's soft moan pulled him out of his concentration. She had dropped the blueprints and was now staring at him with wide eyes, her face flushing red instantly.
"I-Izuku-kun..." she stammered as she took a step back. Her hands flew to her waist, covering it as if she could erase the contact. "Why... why did you pinch me out of nowhere?"
Her voice shrank, almost a whisper that betrayed her insecurity.
"Do you... do you think I'm fat?"
Ochako's world stopped in that moment. The question slipped out before she could stop it, dragging along every insecurity she'd been bottling up. It was true that she'd been eating a little more lately. The nerves of passing the U.A. entrance exams and the stress of starting at the hero school had pushed her to seek comfort in extra portions of katsudon and mochi for dessert.
Is it that noticeable? Her thoughts spiraled into anxious chaos. Does Izuku-kun think I'm fat? Is that why he touched my waist? To confirm I've gained weight?
Mortification swallowed her whole. Izuku stared at her.
"Fat? Ochako, you're definitely sexy."
"Y-y-you're way too direct!" she squeaked as she covered her face with both hands. "You can't just say things like that out of nowhere!"
Ochako was mortified.
"Then..." she managed to get out through her hands, "why did you touch my waist?"
Izuku scratched the back of his neck.
"I don't know if the gloves interfere with my Quirk. I wanted to experiment a little to make sure."
Ochako let out a long, shaky sigh of relief. Her shoulders relaxed and her hands fell away from her face, though the blush stuck around.
He doesn't think I'm fat, the thought reassured her. He was just testing his Quirk.
Then, like a delayed echo, another thought crept back in: But he said I'm sexy. The blush flared up all over again. Izuku stepped closer, dropping his voice to a barely audible whisper.
"Ochako, we can't take any risks. I need to know if my Quirk works with these gloves or not... Don't draw attention."
She looked at him in confusion.
"What do you me—?"
SLAP.
The sound was soft but unmistakable. Izuku's hand had connected directly with her butt. Ochako's face immediately went a red so intense it rivaled Izuku's costume.
"I-Izuku-kun..."
Her eyes started to water as she turned to look at him over her shoulder. Izuku's hand hadn't moved away. It was right there, firm, gently kneading the curve of her butt with exploring fingers.
"Mghh..."
Ochako swallowed the moan threatening to escape her throat and leaned slightly against Izuku, using his body as a shield to hide what was happening. Her voice came out in a desperate whisper.
"W-what are you doing?"
Izuku squeezed a little harder, his fingers sinking into the fabric of her suit. The information finally flowed through the connection.
[ZERO GRAVITY - OCHAKO URARAKA]
[POWER-UP MODE ACTIVE]
A smile formed under his mask.
"I just confirmed that my Quirk does work through the gloves." He squeezed again, enjoying the soft, firm sensation under his fingers. "And I just made the discovery that it also works on your butt."
"Nghh..."
The moan slipped out unfiltered this time. Ochako squeezed her eyes shut, mortified, as she felt Izuku's fingers pressing more firmly. Luckily, no one was looking at them. Everyone was too busy with their own conversations, planning strategies or admiring All Might.
"H-how... how were you sure it would work?" she whispered with a shaky voice.
Izuku gave her another squeeze, this one softer.
"I had no idea if it would work. Lucky for me, it did."
"Can you let go of my butt now?" she asked in an urgent murmur as she looked nervously around. "Someone might catch us."
"Sorry, Ochako-chan." Izuku pulled his hand back with obvious reluctance. "I got a little carried away."
Ochako rubbed the area gently, trying to ignore the lingering warmth where Izuku's fingers had been. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer.
"I have a plan," he said in a low voice.
He leaned toward her ear and started whispering. With every word, Ochako's face turned a deeper shade of red. Her eyes went wide as dinner plates by the time he finished explaining the details.
"In front of everyone?" she asked, mortified.
Izuku nodded with total seriousness.
"What do you think?"
Ochako closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and clenched her fist with determination. When she opened them again, they were shining with a nervous excitement.
"Let's do it."
All Might walked toward the center of the training field carrying two vertical boxes. One was pristine white with the word "HEROES" painted in golden letters. The other was jet black with "VILLAINS" in silver letters.
"ALL RIGHT, YOUNG STUDENTS!" His voice boomed across the entire space. "IT'S TIME TO DETERMINE WHO WILL FACE WHO IN OUR FIRST MATCH!"
He set both boxes on the ground with a dramatic thud. He plunged a hand into each one at the same time, stirring them around with exaggerated movements. Finally, he pulled out two balls: a black one from the villains box and a white one from the heroes box. He held them up high for everyone to see.
"THE FIRST TEAM TO STEP UP WILL BE TEAM SEVEN AS THE HEROES!" He paused dramatically. "AGAINST TEAM THREE AS THE VILLAINS!"
The announcement landed like a bomb.
"Team seven..." Kaminari checked his number. "That's Midoriya and Uraraka, right?"
"And team three is Bakugo and Iida," Kirishima added with a grimace. "Yikes, tough luck."
Lucky us, Izuku thought as he felt his stomach sink. Not only did we get picked for the first match, but worse, against my number one enemy.
Bakugo was on the other side of the field, and when his eyes met Izuku's, he shot him a murderous glare. Ochako stiffened beside him and Izuku felt the tension in her body.
"Bakugo-kun is way too powerful," she murmured with obvious nervousness. "His explosion Quirk is..."
"Midoriya-kun, Uraraka-san."
Both of them turned. Momo had appeared at their side with a serious expression. She had her notebook open, full of diagrams and notes written in impeccable handwriting.
"Bakugo-kun is the worst opponent you could've drawn," she said without preamble. "You're up against both speed and explosive power on the other side."
Izuku opened his mouth to respond, but Momo continued.
"That said, I've been analyzing Bakugo and Iida-kun's capabilities during Aizawa-sensei's tests." She pointed to a section of her notebook where she'd sketched a diagram of Bakugo's body with detailed annotations. "They're powerful, but both of them have clear weak points in their fighting style. Bakugo-san is predictable because of his temper. When he gets angry, he attacks head-on without considering complex strategies. Iida-kun depends entirely on the engines in his legs, and without space to accelerate, his effectiveness drops drastically."
She flipped to another page.
"The key with Bakugo-san is not giving him space. He needs to move his arms freely to generate nitroglycerin and create explosions. If you confine him to a closed space or manage to wet his palms, his Quirk weakens significantly." She looked directly at Ochako. "Uraraka-san, use your Zero Gravity on debris or, if you can touch him, on him directly to neutralize his mobility. A Bakugo floating out of control is a harmless Bakugo."
She turned back to Izuku.
"If you provoke him into using really big explosions, he'll wear himself out or lose accuracy. Anger burns mental energy." She turned the page again, this time showing Iida's diagram. "As for Iida-kun..."
"Ahem."
The three of them froze. All Might had appeared behind them without any of them noticing. His smile was friendly, but his tone made it clear he was interrupting.
"Young Yaoyorozu, the match is about to begin. The other students need to head to the monitor room."
Momo blushed slightly, surprised at being caught.
"My apologies, All Might-sensei."
She closed her notebook and stepped back, but Izuku stopped her by grabbing her hand before she could fully pull away.
"Thank you, Yaoyorozu-san," he said sincerely. "I really appreciate that you cared enough to do this."
Momo answered with a small smile.
"It's the least I can do, Midoriya-kun."
She squeezed his hand once before letting go and heading toward the control building, where the rest of the students were already gathering.
Izuku looked over to where Bakugo was standing next to Iida. The explosive boy was watching him with a violent glare. His hands were already crackling with small explosions, and the anticipation of the fight had him vibrating with pent-up energy.
Time to put my perverted plan into action, Izuku thought with determination.
On the fifth floor of one of the buildings in Field Beta, the villain team was getting ready. The replica of the nuclear weapon rested in the center of the largest room, a cylindrical structure shaped like a missile and painted black.
Iida paced around the weapon with nervous steps, his hands moving in robotic gestures as he processed the situation.
"It bothers me a little to be cast in the role of a villain," he admitted out loud. His brows furrowed behind his helmet. "As a future professional hero, playing the part of a criminal goes against my established moral principles."
He paused mid-step and turned to look at Bakugo, who was on the other side of the room. The contrast couldn't have been more obvious. While Iida looked uncomfortable and stiff, Bakugo was practically vibrating with excitement. He stood in front of one of the windows, looking down with a sadistic grin.
I'm gonna finish off that damn Deku, Bakugo thought as his grin widened. I'll beat him so bad he'll quit this school. I'll make him beg. And everyone's gonna see he never should've been here in the first place.
The explosions in his palms grew in intensity.
That loser who had to cheat just to get in... I'm gonna wipe him off the map.
Iida watched his teammate with growing concern. The expression on Bakugo's face wasn't the look of someone thinking about winning a training exercise.
His grudge against Midoriya-kun could make him lose his temper, Iida analyzed. If he lets emotion take over instead of following a rational strategy, we'll end up losing this exercise.
He opened his mouth to suggest they discuss a defense plan, but the look on Bakugo's face made him reconsider.
Maybe it's better to let him blow off steam during the fight, he thought with resignation. Trying to reason with him in this state would only backfire.
Instead, he went back to walking around the nuclear weapon, memorizing the layout of the room and considering possible escape routes if the heroes managed to break through their defenses.
Outside the building, Izuku and Ochako were going over the blueprints All Might had given them. The paper was spread out across the metal railing that surrounded the entry area. Ochako was sitting on the railing itself, leaning forward to get a better look at the building's details. The position accentuated the curve of her butt in a way that Izuku definitely noticed and appreciated.
Focus, he ordered himself as he forced his gaze back to the blueprints. First you win the match. Then you can appreciate Ochako's butt all you want.
"You know," Ochako said suddenly with an upbeat tone, "I'm not as nervous this time." She glanced at Izuku. "All Might-sensei isn't as scary as Aizawa-sensei."
Izuku nodded in agreement.
"He seems a lot more approachable. Plus, he didn't make any expulsion threats." He felt the tension he'd been carrying in his shoulders ease up a bit. "Which is a huge relief in case we fail this exercise."
"Let's not be so pessimistic," Ochako answered with a confident smile. She hopped off the railing and gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder. "We're definitely gonna win."
Izuku clenched his fists until his knuckles went white under the gloves.
"I really want to win," he said in a low but intense voice. "I want to beat the hell out of Bakugo."
Ochako looked at him curiously.
"Did something happen between you guys? I mean, besides the obvious fact that he's an idiot."
Izuku let out a short, bitter laugh.
"He's a jerk with a superiority complex. He thinks he's the protagonist of an anime and treats everyone else like they're beneath him." He paused, his hands trembling slightly. "He used to bully me in school for having a Quirk that was too weak. That, and a lot more, is why I want to beat him into the ground."
Ochako took the information in for a moment. Then her face lit up with fierce determination.
"Don't worry, Izuku-kun! We'll beat him together!"
"We will?" Izuku repeated, looking at her with amusement.
Ochako threw her hand up in a victory pose, fist raised and a radiant smile on her face.
"YES! WE'RE GONNA BEAT HIM!" She paused dramatically before adding, "BECAUSE WE'RE A TEAM!"
The loudspeaker crackled to life with a burst of static.
"ALL RIGHT, YOUNG HEROES AND VILLAINS!" All Might's voice boomed across all of Field Beta. "THE VILLAIN TEAM IS IN POSITION! THE NUCLEAR WEAPON HAS BEEN PLACED!"
A dramatic pause.
"LET THE COMBAT TRAINING BEGIN!"
******
Author's Note: hitting that Power Stones button is the best way to let me know you want more.