29

Chapter 29: As If You Could Kill Time Without Injuring EternityNotes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Once the timer starts and All Might announces that the hero team can enter the building, Uraraka and him step in. She seems nervous, but determined, wearing his utility belt around her waist to hold the rocks she picked up from outside. The red clashes with her costume, but he doesn't think she minds. He'll help her put in a request for her own when they're done with this. Maybe the Uraraka in his own world should have one too? Hmmmmm.

They stay quiet, setting up parts of their plan in a few places, before moving on. When it comes time for them to split up, Uraraka still looks anxious.

"Hey," Izuku says to get her attention. "It'll be fine. Just relax."

Uraraka takes a few deep breaths and Izuku smiles.

"We'll win." He tells her, something he believes 100%. "After all, we're partners."

She looks at him, wide-eyed yet pleased, and Izuku knows that did the trick.

"Thanks." She responds. Her eyes narrow with determination. "Let's do this."

They split, each going to their designated areas. If Izuku predicted things correctly, he should run into Kacchan first. If not, he'll just seek out the blonde.

He moves through the empty hallways of the training building. Every once in a while him or Uraraka will send their location and status, but otherwise, it's unnaturally quiet. Izuku already knows where the bomb is, although Uraraka doesn't, but they can't look for it until a certain obstacle has been removed.

Kacchan, however, is being extremely silent for someone so loud, and hasn't reached them yet. Izuku is starting to get worried. Last time, it was almost immediate, if he remembers correctly-

He rounds the next corner and immediately dodges backwards behind the wall. An explosion scorches the place he was just standing. Izuku grins, his expression hidden by a cloud of dust.

Found you.

"Uraraka," He radios to his teammate as he runs away from the blonde. "I found him."

"Deku!" Kacchan rages after him, pops and booms accompanying his voice. "You little fucker! Get the hell back here so I can destroy you!"

Uraraka sends back her acknowledgement as Izuku dodges an explosion to his left and keeps on running. Kacchan remains hot on his heels (no pun intended), cursing all the way.

"You little shit! Since when did you have a quirk?!" Kacchan yells. "Were you just faking it this whole time?! Laughing at me?! Huh?!"

While Izuku knows he doesn't need to waste his breath for this, he is a little indignant. Because honestly , is that really how Kacchan sees him? Or saw him?

"Do you really think that's true?!" Izuku shouts back, leaping off a wall and ducking under another blast. Kacchan growls. "I could never laugh at your effort!"

"Shut UP!" Kacchan screeches. "Stay still so I can kick your fucking ass!"

Izuku chuckles, wondering who would ever agree to that. "No thanks!"

Kacchan almost takes his head off after that one, not that he wasn't trying before. Izuku spares a thought to what all of this looks like on camera.

His com crackles in his ear. "I'm in position." Uraraka cheerily reports. Izuku smiles as he dodges a punch aimed at his side. It's time for their plan to be put into action.

He takes the next corner, Kacchan close behind him screaming obscenities. When he arrives at the "dead end" in front of him, he finally turns around to face the fuming blonde.

Izuku raises his hands in a placating gesture, wondering if the steam rising from Kacchan's skin is real or just his imagination. He takes a half step back, sweat running down his back from leading Kacchan on his little chase.

"Nowhere left for you to run." Kacchan sneers, holding up a gauntlet, his other hand falling to rest on its pin.

Izuku widens his eyes.

"That's my line."

Uraraka swings down from the ceiling, clapping her hands together to negate the effects of zero gravity. Both of her heeled boots drive into Kacchan's chest, forcing him backwards and to the floor, knocking the wind out of him.

She lands in a graceful crouch in front of Izuku, right between him and a recovering Kacchan.

"Hiding behind others now Deku? Too scared to face me by yourself, you fucking coward ?!"

Izuku walks up besides Uraraka and can therefore see her frown through her helmet. Her eyes don't stray from Kacchan however, who is now standing and eyeing both of them with a nasty glare.

"I don't need to do things alone." Izuku responds simply. Uraraka looks at him in surprise and he smiles at her.

That's when Kacchan chooses to attack.

"I always knew you were useless! Can't do anything by yourself, huh?!" He blasts Uraraka to the side and she cries out.

"Uraraka!" Izuku yells, but he shouldn't have looked away.

Kacchan grabs him and slams him against the wall, knocking his head against the concrete. " Don't. " He warns. "Underestimate me."

Izuku smiles wirily. "Wouldn't dream of it."

Uraraka jumps on Kacchan's back and pulls him backwards, like a bull rider on a very angry bull. He makes a swipe at her, but she activates her quirk on him, causing him to miss and float towards the ceiling.

Izuku grabs her hand and they start running, this time together, as she releases her quirk. They hear a thud behind them and more explosive swears.

"Remember. We can't use your quirk on him too many times or else he'll get used to it and it'll backfire on us. He's already an aerial fighter, we don't want to give him another advantage." Izuku reminds her quietly. Uraraka nods beside him.

"So what now?"

Izuku grins again. "Next phase. You remember that trap we set up?"

He sees the moment she does when her eyes widen and she looks at him. "You mean-?"

"Yep."

"Deku you fuck! Stop running!" Kacchan spits. "Fight me with your quirk!"

Izuku ignores him. "Ready?" He asks his partner.

"Ready." Uraraka agrees, matching his smile with one of her own.

They both turn in tandem, running through a doorway with Kacchan charging in after them.

But, where Uraraka had immediately activated her quirk on herself and Izuku, floating them to the safety of the ceiling, Kacchan runs headlong into a tangle of capture tape. He releases an animalistic roar of frustration.

"Bakugou has been captured by the hero team!" All Might announces through their headsets. Izuku and Uraraka share a victorious grin and fist bump on the ceiling. Kacchan thrashes in his confines, exploding through the tape bit by bit.

"Let's go look for the bomb." Izuku whispers. "And hurry because that's not going to hold him for long." He can hear All Might telling Kacchan to withdraw and check in with Recovery Girl before returning to the surveillance room with the rest of the class. Too bad Izuku knows Kacchan won't listen to that.

Uraraka releases her quirk, doing a good job at ignoring the insults Kacchan hurls at them. "What do you mean? We captured him. He's out of the exercise."

"WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE DEKU, YOU ARE SO DEAD!"

Izuku chuckles nervously. "Yeah, tell that to Kacchan." And then he grabs her hand and pulls her towards the staircase for the next floor.

They make quick work of searching the remaining floors. On each one, they split up and meet back at the next staircase before progressing. It isn't long before they reach the floor Izuku knows Iida and the bomb are on. But, like before, he splits up with Uraraka and "searches" the rooms.

Almost immediately, her voice comes over their coms. "I found it."

Izuku changes direction, not needing to be told where. "I'm on my way."

But he doesn't get far before a body tackles him to the ground.

"Dekuuuu." Kacchan growls, low and guttural.

Izuku pushes him off- or tries to. "Kacchan stop. You lost."

He knows it won't work, but he needs to try anyway. An explosion flashes before his eyes, heat searing his face and stealing his vision.

"Lost?! Yeah right! In a real fight you think something like capture tape is gonna matter?! This isn't over till I say it's over!" Kacchan protests, landing a punch to Izuku's face, whipping it to the side, and causing him to bite his lip.

Izuku licks the blood from his mouth and spits it to the side. "Fine."

He gets his feet between them and kicks Kacchan squarely in the chest, forcing their bodies apart.

Kacchan skids back, keeping his feet under him, and snarls, blasting back towards Izuku in the time it takes him to stand. He holds his ground, bringing his arms up to block the first blow.

"Uraraka, uh," Izuku says over his earpiece, ducking another swing, grabbing Kacchan's arm and flipping him, "We have a problem."

Uraraka responds a second later, sounding out of breath. "Here too. Iida's quick. What's holding you up?"

Izuku engages Kacchan a few more times as he tries to run closer to the bomb room. Part of his suit gets singed in the process. Kacchan tackles him again to keep him from leaving.

"Guess." Izuku grits back, holding the blonde's hands away from his face.

"Fight me Deku! Use your fucking quirk!"

An explosion goes off, missing his face by millimeters, but causing his right ear to ring.

"Bakugou?" Uraraka confirms, sounding worried. "Should I go to you?"

Izuku manages to swing Kacchan off of him again. "No. I'm bringing him to you. Be ready."

Then, before Kacchan can recover, he activates One For All and sprints away, faster than he knows his childhood friend can follow. He hears his hero name echoing off the shaking walls of the building in a roar.

He heads to Uraraka. They're running out of time.

When Ochako and Deku separate, it isn't long before she finds the bomb. She radios it to Deku while in hiding and tries to assess the situation. Just like her partner would.

She isn't too familiar with coming up with strategies. Fighting always seemed uncomplicated to her; just hitting things and trying not to get hit. But she's beginning to see it's not like that. Ochako wants to learn. She wants to know how to plan things, to be strong, to win.

Iida is in front of the bomb. He is trying to communicate with Bakugou, but can't seem to talk with him. Whether he's being ignored or if it's because capturing Bakugou made him unable to communicate with him, she can't tell. He's distracted though, and that's good for her and Deku.

If she can just be silent enough, and creep up on the bomb, she won't need Deku's presence to finish the exercise. He said he's on his way- but they don't have a lot of time. Who knows when Bakugou will show back up?- although Ochako is still skeptical that he'd so blatantly disregard the rules like Deku claimed.

Either way, the exercise won't last too much longer and Deku and her will lose if they don't capture the bomb. She should act now, when she knows Iida is distracted, instead of waiting and possibly losing her chance.

She activates her quirk on herself, feeling a twist in her stomach after using her quirk so much since the start of the battle. It doesn't take much to hold her down, just a loose grip on the doorframe that she peeks out from behind. Slowly, feeling sweat drip down her face, and her heart beating loud in her ears, Ochako releases her grip and allows her quirk to take her to the ceiling.

"No one is used to looking up for a threat," Deku had said.

When she makes contact with the ceiling, she releases a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Iida is still unaware, stealing glances at the entrance and speaking to himself. He sounds like he's... imitating a villain? Ochako kinda wants to laugh.

But she needs to be serious! She's close to the bomb too, just a little further and then she can release her quirk and win!

"Mwahahahaha! Hmm, not quite, maybe more like MWAHAHAHAHA! Yes, that sounds better…"

Ochako can't help it, she laughs. She quickly clamps a hand over her mouth, but the damage has been done. It was just so funny though! Iida acted so serious while doing it and she just couldn't imagine his normally stoic self being an actual villain.

"Who's there?!" Iida shouts, looking up. "Uraraka?!"

Ochako leaps off the ceiling, pushing off it and towards the bomb. It doesn't matter if Iida saw her, this is the hero team's win! She can still seize the objective!

But when she's about to grab the bomb, it's suddenly across the room in the hands of Iida.

She falls through where it just was and lands on the tile with an 'oof', canceling her quirk.

"Uraraka, uh," Deku's voice crackles in her ear, along with a wave of static. "We have a problem."

Ochako takes a breath, a little disappointed in her naivete. "Here too. Iida's quick. What's holding you up?" She thinks she might know the answer to that question, but she hopes she's wrong. If Iida continues to play keep-away with her, she doesn't think she can stop him, much less catch up to him. She could really use her partner.

Sure enough, Deku's voice comes again. "Guess," He says and then she can hear Bakugou's voice and feedback so intense, she winces. She wants to help him, but they're running out of time. Even still, what can she do against Iida by herself?

"Bakugou?" Uraraka confirms, more in disbelief than anything. "Should I go to you?"

Iida shifts at that, as if he means to make a move, and Ochako tenses. Deku responds to her. "No. I'm bringing him to you. Be ready."

She doesn't know how he plans to do that, or how they will win fighting two on two, but she trusts Deku. Ochako just needs to stay put and wait. They can win this.

"Foolish hero! You dare approach me by yourself?!" Iida announces in his false-villain voice. It's actually pretty good, if not a little cheesy. "You couldn't wish to defeat me! I have removed everything in this room!"

Surprised, Ochako looks around. Sure enough, there are no objects in the room other than the bomb, the pillars holding up the ceiling, and themselves. She didn't notice it when she first came in, but now it's obvious. It seems Iida was prepared to face her. Perhaps he knew from the beginning that Bakugou wanted to fight Deku and leave Iida to face her. She clenches her fists.

Where Iida can't see, she slips a few rocks between her fingers and activates her quirk. She's immensely glad she took Deku's advice and picked up some ammo. If she isn't fast enough for short range, then she'll just fight from afar!

Ochako stands, and throws the rocks at Iida as hard as possible. They zip through the air and ping against his armor, causing him to startle.

"Wha-?!" Iida steps back, shielding his face with his hands. "Rocks?!"

But, when he removes his hands, Ochako is no longer in his line of sight. She floats above him, hoping she's quick enough. She pushes off the ceiling, if she can just get to the bomb!-

Iida once again whisks it out from underneath her and she plummets to the tile. This is frustrating! But! Ochako grins. She was close. She can do this.

"Uraraka," Deku pants, "I'm close. I'll be coming through the back. What's the situation?"

Ochako smiles and fakes a cough, hiding her return transmission from Iida behind her hand. She speaks quietly.

"Iida's at the back of the room with the bomb. My left, your right. He keeps carrying the bomb away every time I get close."

Deku replies not a moment later. "Got it. I've got a bomb for him too, distract him for me."

Ochako sends back a quick acquiescence while her chest inflates with pride. They're doing this together! They're going to win!

"Hey Iida!" She shouts, throwing another rock and quickly thinking of something to make him mad. "I thought you were all about following the rules?!"

Iida knocks the rock away, having seen it before. "I am a villain! I care not for rules or laws!"

"Really~?!" Ochako teases with a grin. "I guess that's why you let Bakugou participate even though he's out?! "

She can tell she struck a nerve when Iida tenses. Even though it's an exercise, she feels a bit bad for him. It must be rough, having to deal with a partner like Bakugou. Especially for a rule stickler like Iida.

"I didn't let him do anything!" Iida rants, finally dropping the villain act. "Bakugou refuses to listen to me! He-"

The wall cracks from behind him. Ochako watches as Deku bursts through, releasing some sort of black(?) substance(?) that latches onto a pillar and pulls him up. Bakugou follows a second later, and like before, doesn't look where he's going before he barrels into Iida and knocks them to the ground.

Ochako rushes forward, taking the opportunity for what it is.

"Bakugou?!" She hears Iida exclaim. "You are not supposed to be-!"

"Fuck off four eyes!" Bakugou retaliates, setting off an explosion to his partner's face. "Get off me!"

Iida coughs. "You are the one on me! Here, just let me-!"

"The Hero Team wins!" All Might booms over each of their earpieces. Ochako watches with satisfaction as Iida and Bakugou both look up at the bomb that Deku and her are touching. Her smug smile is reflected on the face of her partner.

"We did it!" Ochako shrieks, closing her arms around Deku for a hug. She pulls away with a blush once she realizes and then offers a fist bump to an oblivious Deku. Iida angrily reprimands a shell-shocked Bakugou for "breaking the rules". Ochako ignores it. There's something even more interesting right now.

"What was that thing you did Deku? Right after you came through the wall?" It looked like a rope or a grappling hook, but Ochako has never seen Deku's quirk do something like that before. His quirk was just a general strength enhancement, wasn't it?

Deku gives her an embarrassed smile, running a hand through the hair on the back of his head. The action is a little endearing.

"Oh, it's a part of my quirk." He tells her.

"Wow." Ochako says, surprised by how strong Deku is. He can do so much! "You're quirk is really cool!"

Deku smiles, pleased. "I guess it-"

Suddenly, Bakugou stomps forward and punches Deku in the face. He grabs Deku's collar as Iida and her cry out in shock.

"Bakugou, what are y-"

"Who the FUCK are you?!" Bakugou screams, halting Ochako and Iida from interfering. "What the fuck did you do to Deku?!"

Deku in Bakugou's arms also looks surprised, his face having gone pale. Ochako admits she doesn't know what's going on. What's wrong with Bakugou? Why would he say that?

"Kacchan? I-"

Bakugou punches Deku again, spurring Ochako to intervene, although Iida beats her to it. He grabs Bakugou and pulls the raging blonde away. Deku cradles his cheek, his eyes never leaving Bakugou's.

"Don't call me that you fake!" What did you do?! Who are you, huh?! Tell me!"

"Bakugou, call down." Iida commands, arms wrapped tightly around his teammate.

Ochako, however, watches Deku. He's gone awfully silent. She wants to say something to help, but she doesn't know what. She barely understands the situation, much less whatever history Bakugou and Deku seem to share.

"Put me down!" Bakugou growls. "I ain't gonna do anything!"

Iida reluctantly releases Bakugou and the blonde huffs, turning a blazing-red glare to Deku. His hands pop with explosions.

"Explain yourself before I expose you."

Ochako watches with baited breath. She can tell Iida is just as invested. After all, this seems like a moment for them to finally understand a fraction of the puzzle that is Deku.

Deku meets those rage-filled eyes. "After the exercises."

The two hold their gazes, words and feelings passing between them that her or Iida couldn't hope to understand. Then, Bakugou huffs and turns away, walking back to the viewing area.

Iida removes his helmet and wipes the sweat from his forehead. Ochako observes Deku worriedly.

"What was that about?" She asks tentatively.

Her partner sighs and then sends her a smile she is too inexperienced to see through. "Nothing. It'll be fine once Kacchan and I can talk. Anyways, you guys did good in the exercise. Especially you Uraraka! Good job!"

Ochako exchanges an uneasy glance with Iida, unsure if they should accept such a blatant subject change.

"Thanks."

Deku continues to smile, even though he also seems incredibly tired. Ochako bites her lip.

"Um, Deku, are you o-?"

"Let's get back to All Might." Deku interrupts, dusting himself off and walking in the same direction they'd seen Bakugou go. He doesn't wait for a reply.

Ochako stares after him, rooted to the spot. Iida nudges her.

"C'mon Uraraka. Let's go."

She nods mutely and walks with Iida, several paces behind Deku. Her eyes are on his back the whole way there.

Even though they'd worked together in the exercise, it seems she has to try a lot harder to become someone Deku can trust.

She clenches her fist. She can do it.

They're partners after all.