Chapter 10

The four of them took a seat under a large tree several feet away from the other classmates and proceeded to take out their notebooks and evaluation folders. From this point on, she needed to prove to herself and everyone around her that she earned the right to remain in the Hero Course. She needed to do this.

Shishida and Sato exchanged a few glances at each other, wondering who should start first.

"Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself, Hattori?" Shishida suggested.

When all eyes fell onto her, the nervousness sprang up again, almost suffocating her to keep from trying to speak. She clenched down on her pen hard to try and pass over some of the tension, but it didn't work out very well. It was always a challenge for her to meet new people, especially when it came to communicating.

"Hey, idiot!" They all turned to the arrogant blonde boy. "We can't start this shit if you don't speak up."

"Take it easy, Bakugo. It's the first day." Added Sato, but Bakugo didn't care.

With a click of his tongue he slammed the evaluation book shut and tossed it on the ground. It's not like he wanted to be there in the first place.

"And so far all we've done is sit here and waste our time."

This guy… They literally just started and he was already starting this shit? Akane could feel the plastic around her pen start to crack from crushing it even harder. With her eyes slightly narrowed, she took in a breath through her nose and sat up straight. As much as she hated to admit it, he was sort of right. Now the frustration started to overpower the anxiety.

"Fine… My name's Akane Hattori. My quirk is called – Red Strength. At my will, I can vastly increase my muscle density and strength beyond human capabilities. My mother's quirk was camouflage, and those traits are also passed down to me, which is why my skin turns the same shade of red as my hair, and my hair then turns to black whenever I use it… At first, I could only activate my quirk through my whole body to be able to lift a maximum weight of two hundred pounds, but now I've mastered lifting that same amount with only a partial amount of my quirk to just my arms and legs."

The two of them took notes while she spoke, but not Bakugo. Oddly, he sat still. At least it looked like he was somewhat listening.

"And how much weight can you lift using all of your quirk now?" Asked Sato.

She thought for a moment.

"To lift above my head, I'd say… maybe five hundred and twenty pounds."

"That's impressive."

"Thank you."

"Then why not lift that amount at the gym?" Bakugo asked, which was weird that he was taking an interest in it, for once.

"That time, I was just doing light workouts… I don't normally train in the dorm gym."

"Why's that? So people can't sneak up on ya?"

"You were there, so you should know…" Or should she just remind him how quickly she made him fall on his ass?

The look in his eyes immediately darkened with the drop of his brow.

"Maybe we should see how tough you really are with that quirk!" He immediately stood from his spot and held out his arms. Oh crap, here we go…

"Bakugo, the teacher's said we're not supposed to fight them today." Said Sato.

"You saw her back in the evaluations. There's not a scratch on her! They said not to fight the losers who got fucked up, but they didn't say anything about taking on the rest of them!"

The sparks started to crackle from the tips of his fingers, but Akane didn't flinch.

"Are you always so quick to anger?" she asked him.

"You don't know the half of it…" Sato muttered under his breath.

"Enough questions! Let's go! I want us to fight for real, and this time, I'm not gonna give you the chance to get to me, like you did last time!"

"Shouldn't we be concentrating on how we should train her together?" asked Shishida.

"Going at it one on one is part of training, Dumbass!"

"Look, I'm not-" she started, but he cut her off.

"Don't give me that crap! I want to see you fight me!"

"I can't fight you today!" she yelled.

The short pause right after immediately made her feel self-conscious for raising her voice. She honestly didn't think he could bring her to this level and on the first day no less.

"The fuck not?!" he yelled back.

"Because I'll ruin my clothes!" He blinked trying to register what she said and willingly stopped his quirk.

"Are you fucking serious? That's your reason?"

She sighed. "If I wear any other clothes besides my costume or my own personal workout clothes, my quirk will rip them apart. The school doesn't exactly make their uniforms the same way the Support Department does, and they won't allow me to wear anything else during class…" she explained, feeling a bit flustered that she practically said if she fights, they'll see her naked.

Sato and Shishida exchanged surprised glances before turning back to Bakugo for an answer.

"You said you could use a partial amount of your quirk, right? Use it!"

Geeze, he's still not letting up about this. He really wants to do this. And here Sato thought that he wouldn't be like this to a girl, but he was dead wrong. Either way, this was getting out of hand.

"Look, Bakugo, I don't see how any of this has anything to do with training. You're just trying to get back at her 'cuz of that dumb fight you had." Said Sato, which only made him growl in response.

Shishida leaned into his ear and whispered "They fought before?"

"I wouldn't call it a fair one." Added Bakugo.

Unfair?! Seriously?! He's the one who made the first move by attacking her from behind, and she still took him out. And because of that, he thinks he has the right to call it unfair? Akane huffed an annoyed breath out her nose. Looks like there was no use trying to talk him out of it, but then again, it was probably bound to happen sooner or later. There was no doubt in her mind that he was making up any excuse he could to get his hands on her and call it "training". On the bright side, this gave her an idea on how it could be useful to their group assignment. Putting aside her books, she stood up from the ground and walked over to him.

"Hattori, what're you-"

"It's fine… He wants to fight me so badly, I'll do it…" She turned back to them with a slight smile to reassure them that it was alright. "Take notes on this. It'll help me later."

Unsure of what to say, the two of them only watched as she walked into Bakugo's battle zone. After seeing him fight Uraraka at the tournament last year, they were skeptical about getting between him and a woman opponent. I mean, the guy never held back his quirk for anyone, and Uraraka was no different, which meant that neither would Hattori.

Before, Aizawa said that Bakugo chose to go all out on Uraraka because he was acknowledging her strength as an equal opponent, and that anyone who saw it differently shouldn't even be attending U.A. High. Then again, that was a completely different setting, one with thousands of people watching them, including the teachers. Today, it was just Professor Kan supervising all three classes. What would happen if Bakugo decided to go too far, like he always did? Who would be able to step in and stop them? Sato hoped that he and Shishida together had enough strength to do so should the time come, but there was no guarantee that Bakugo would listen to them. Maybe… they could just see how this plays out, at least for now.

Akane stood a fair distance directly across from him. A sinister smirk curled his lips as he widened his stance and spread out his arms. This is it. There was a long pause between them, waiting for the other to make the first move until…

Boom! The massive explosion lunged his body radically towards her, so fast that there was just a split second for her to react. On instinct, her quirk took over the muscle fibers in her legs and she jumped back a good amount away. Unfortunately, that was a useless attempt, for he kept on coming. With a loud growl, he flung his right arm over his shoulder to hit her full force with a powerful blast.

She quickly motioned her quirk to take over her arms and covered her face to withstand the impact. Akane could feel it rapidly searing into her skin as if she had been hit with several red hot ball bearers, and her clothes weren't able to suppress it at all.

"Now take this!"

The concussion of the blast left a slight ringing in her ears, but she heard him loud and clear. In another explosion, his body was high above her, too far for her to reach even with the extra three feet of her quirk. Bakugo couldn't help but want to go all the way with this girl. He wanted to see how much she could take of him before deciding to give up. She should have done that in the first place, but she'll learn soon enough how bad of a mistake it was that they were paired together.

He curled the fingers of his left hand in the shape of an O and placed it in the center of his right palm to concentrate all his nitroglycerin sweat into one fatal attack. The moment he saw her pull her arms away from her face, he knew he had his target sited. The excitement could not be contained with him any longer. With all his might, he fired straight to her torso.

"AP SHOT!"

A sharp pain jutted right through her left shoulder, forcing her to close her eyes and let out a small scream. Blood started seeping throughout the fabric of her uniform as the pain became excruciating. She immediately pressed her red hand over the wound, but it only made it more painful to bear. It was still tender from the burn.

"Hattori!" Shishida yelled, immediately getting up to go to her, but Sato held out his arm to hold him back. "What're you doing? We need to stop this! It's insane!"

"Watch." He said.

Angrily, he turned back to face them. Bakugo landed back on the ground and was merely a few feet away from her. At that range, he could easily wipe her out should he decide to use that same move on her again. What the hell was he thinking, letting them do this?

With her uniform now already ruined, there was no other alternative. She would have to buy a new one. The blast was so intense, but she was able to withstand it thanks to the extra weight she placed in her legs. The same couldn't be said to the other parts of her body.

Boom! Boom!

He blew himself from the ground once again, jutting himself into the air, but this time, he was heading in her direction. She did her best to try to ignore the pain and focus on his trajectory. Judging from his movements, he was going to land right on top of her. Then again, his movements weren't as predictable as the other opponents she faced before. With his quirk, he could easily explode from one hand to another to dodge her if she decided to grab him. Choosing to come closer in a more direct range would guarantee a more successful hit. He missed her last time, but only slightly. He wasn't going to do that again.

Her body wouldn't be able to take it again. If she used her full power, she might be able to keep it from penetrating her skin, but she would have to wait until he made his move. Surprisingly, he didn't cup his hand in front of the other. It was unusual, since it was such a powerful move. It just made him more unpredictable.

Through her green eyes, she could see his body coming closer and closer towards her, more likely to intensify the impact he was about to make. He raised his right hand above his head ready to fire down at her. Akane then allowed her body to be fully consumed by her quirk, and right when his sparky hand was just inches from her face, she yanked it down using her free left hand. With her right arm still adding pressure to the wound, she took advantage of using her elbow and planted it hard across his face. The force of her hit sent him falling flat on his back to the ground. Shishida and Sato were both awestruck.

"She's got this." Said Sato, sitting right back down in his spot to whip out his evaluation book to jot down notes, like she said to. Now convinced, Shishida joined him and proceeded to do the same.

Akane took advantage of her temporary moment of freedom to assess her clothing situation. Her damn jacket was trashed, but surprisingly her pants held up pretty well so far, although they were practically capris by now. Thank God that she was smart enough to put on a super stretchy undershirt before she came.

Clenching down on the jacket, she tore it completely off. On second glance, the undershirt shrunk to a crop-top. She looked over to her wound that was still streaming with blood. It wasn't gushing as bad since she grew her muscles around it, but it still hurt and would need to be patched up later. That shot he did, it was pretty damn close to hitting a vital point. Was he actually aiming for her heart? Was he seriously trying to kill her? What was really weird was that he didn't do it again. Maybe he could only use it once in a while.

Bakugo scrambled to get himself back up and rubbed his cheek with the back of his hand. Damn, he didn't really expect her to land such a forceful punch like that. He could already feel it starting to swell up. On the other hand, he's never been more motivated to destroy her. Judging from her last fight, straight jabs aren't going to be enough to get through all that dense muscle and she's got to be pretty strong if she's able to lift five hundred and twenty pounds. This is going to take a little more finesse.

He glanced at her shoulder and noticed the small hole from where he attacked. There was a faint glimmer in the blood running down her red skin. So it seemed that she wasn't so indestructible after all. Then again, the only reason his AP shot landed there and not where he intended was because she moved. She must've figured him out somehow. He should've just kept his mouth shut and got her when she was looking around. Now, he needed to get close enough to land another compelling shot, but it needed to be in a way that would catch her off guard. It was unlucky of her that he knew where her biggest weak spot was.

Bakugo instantly broke out in a sprint, causing her to return her focus and stand at the ready. Once again, he jumped and raised his right arm to her face. A few sparks flew from his fingertips, signaling that he was about to burst. With no time to think, she lifted her arms to her front. Every time he attacked, he needed to spread out his arms in order for him to withstand the concussion of his own explosions, and that left a wide opening for her to stop him. For someone from Class A, it was pretty dumb for him to use the same trick more than once. She wasn't about to be fooled again.

Right when she was about to land another punch to his face, the sparks receded from his open palm. What the hell? There was another detonation from down below, so big that it shook the very ground they were standing on. His face then disappeared under a cloud of smoke and dust. Her fist only touched the air.

Unable to see where he was, she relied on her other senses to read her surroundings. There was a sudden pressure on her shoulders and then it released. When she heard his footsteps land, she understood that he was now right behind her. He shouldn't have gone to her blind spot. The moment his hand touched the center of her back, she waved her massive arm back. Sadly again, there was only air. He ducked down in the niche of time and slid between her legs to the other side.

Now he had her! The smoke cleared away, giving him a complete visual of her bulky core, the perfect target. He wasn't going to miss this one. Time to go full blast with both hands!

BOOM!

Akane was shoved hard backwards until she hit the bark of one of the trees. The force knocked the air out of her lungs, making her slump down to the ground. The pain started to emerge from the cracked discs in her spine to all across her back as she tried to catch her breath. Sadly, trying to breathe only made the pain worse and left her really shaky. For a moment, she temporarily lost control of her quirk and transformed back to her tattered human self.

Pleased with himself, Bakugo smirked. That's it? That was the best she could do? How pathetic! Now that she was down, it was time for him to use his finishing move. That'll show her for making him look like an idiot!

"Now we get serious." He said as he took a few steps forward.

He didn't even make it halfway before Sato's giant body came between them.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"I think you've done enough, Bakugo."

"What did you say?..." he muttered through gritted teeth.

"You had your fight. You won. There's no reason to keep going at it."

Annoyed, Katsuki clicked his tongue and tried to move around him, but he wouldn't let him. "Just shut up and get outa my way!"

"Ummm… guys?" said Shishida.

"What?!" They both said in unison.

Shishida pointed over to the tree and when they turned, they were completely taken aback at what they saw. Hattori was struggling to get herself up by using her quirk to claw into the bark of the tree. Shakily, she stood back on her feet and courageously decided to limp back over to him. That blow really did a number on her body, but it was a good sign if she was still able to use her quirk. That meant that she still had a chance, she could keep going. She needed to keep going. No way was she going to let one guy stand in the way of her staying in the Hero Course. Not now, not ever! Sato immediately bolted to her.

"Hattori, you okay?"

It was still painful to breathe, so she merely nodded her head in reply and continued to walk past him. What the hell was she doing? He jumped back in front of her.

"You don't have to keep going. If you do, it'll only get worse for you. It's almost impossible trying to convince Bakugo, but please listen to me as your friend and trainer. You've done enough for today."

It was sweet that he cared about her wellness, but she wasn't here to just give up so easily. With a shake of her head, she patted his shoulder and moved around him. Sato was at a loss for words. Nothing was getting through to her. Bakugo's smile melted into a mix of bewilderment and concern. Normally, opponents would've given up after enduring a blast like that. Not only that, but she was able to withstand his AP shot too. Very few people would've lasted this long in a battle against him. Just seeing her now, all bruised and bloody, it was insane to see that she wanted to keep going. This chick was tougher than he thought.

"So you want some more, huh?" His smirk returned.

She may be tough, but right now she looks incredibly weak. Because of that, he allowed her to come forth this time to let her make the next move. After enduring all that, he was curious to see what she would do next. Maybe she had a secret hidden move to share and wasn't given the opportunity to do it before. Or maybe she was going to try and go back to hand to hand combat. Regardless of what she had in store for him, he knew he would be the one to take her down. In the end, he always wins. That's the way of the hero.

The adrenaline pumped through his veins at the excitement of this fight. Ever since campus had been quarantined, all his bottled up frustrations had been eating him alive for days. It's never felt so good to finally let them all out with his own quirk. Working out in the dorm gym wasn't cutting it anymore. Maybe he should thank her for this, but that thought seemed stupid. When she finally stood in front of him, he waited.

"?!"

What he saw next wasn't a fist, but her hand, her open palmed hand gently extended out in front of him. What the fuck? Bakugo averted his gaze to her face and saw that same dumb, annoying smile. Where's the intense anger? Why wasn't she punching him right now? And what the hell was she smiling for?

"Are we even now?..." she asked.

He took a moment trying to figure out what she meant.

"Wait! Are you saying you let me beat you?!"

"I felt bad ever since that fight we had in the gym… I didn't know any other way to make up for what I did to you. You didn't want me near you… So I thought this would be best…"

Bakugo just couldn't wrap his head around it. He was the one who wanted to fight her, he was the one who put her in this situation, so why the hell was she the one feeling sorry for him? What was most infuriating was the fact that he didn't actually win anything. It wasn't a fair fight if she let him win. She's just like that half and half bastard! This wasn't a real victory for him! Bakugo's heart started thumping aggressively inside his chest, heating up the sweat in his palms to the point where he couldn't take it anymore. He just wanted to explode.

Angrily, he snatched her by the collar of her shirt.

"What the hell are you trying to do?! Do you think I'm not strong enough for you?! Is that what you think?!"

He violently shook her back and forth, but she still said nothing.

"Answer me dammit!"

"Bakugo don't-!" Sato started, but immediately stopped when Hattori suddenly grabbed onto his shoulders with her red hands and pulled. With one swift motion, she head-butted him. There was immediate silence as a trickle of blood poured from both their heads. Katsuki's body went limp as he started to droop backwards. Akane tried to hold him from falling, but she overused her quirk and was too muscle fatigued to keep them both standing. Together they collapsed on the ground.

At the corner of her eye, he laid right beside her. If it wasn't for all the blood and bruises, you would think he was sleeping. He definitely wasn't going to be happy about this when he woke up, that's for sure. Either way, she felt content. He may have won the battle, but she won the war.

"We should've stopped them when we had the chance. That was gruesome." Shishida commented as he and Sato approached their side.

"When it comes to Bakugo, it can't be helped. I'm surprised she made it through at all. Go get Professor Kan. We need him here in case Bakugo wakes up." Said Sato.

As instructed, Shishida left.