The brown haired reporter clutched the microphone with both hands, and for the first time all morning she was struggling to find her words. Behind her, the whole stadium was still on its feet, applauding the two warriors who'd just left everything out on the arena floor.
"I-I can't believe what we just witnessed, Japan!" she shouted over the roar of the crowd, her face flushed with excitement. "I'm shaking, I'm honestly shaking! Just a few minutes ago we saw something most pro heroes never get to witness even once in their entire careers!"
Her cameraman signaled for her to lean in closer to the lens, and she bent toward the camera with shining eyes.
"A Quirk Awakening! An awakening of someone's Quirk in the middle of combat, live and direct in front of hundreds of thousands of people and broadcast across the whole nation! That pink glow that wrapped around Ochako Uraraka in her final moments of the fight... the analysts are still arguing about what it was exactly, but they all agree on one thing!" She took a breath, and her voice cracked a little. "That girl didn't give up, not even when her body was begging her to stop!"
The crowd answered with a fresh wave of applause, and the reporter had to wait a moment before she could go on.
"A battle where both competitors didn't just leave their power in the ring. They left their whole hearts out there. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what it means to be a hero." She brought a hand to her chest. "Forgive me, I'm getting sentimental, but it's just... it's impossible not to get emotional over something like this!"
She pulled herself together, spun on her heels, and scanned the crowd for someone to interview. Her eyes landed on a blonde woman with messy hair who stood out among the people, leaning against the railing of the stands with her arms crossed and a sly grin on her face.
"There's a spectator!" the reporter announced, pushing her way toward her. "Excuse me, miss, would you mind sharing a few words with our audience? Did you come to cheer on one of the students competing today?"
Mitsuki tilted her head and let out a loud laugh.
"Did I come to cheer somebody on?" she repeated, uncrossing her arms. "I came for two specific brats, honey. One's that bald kid with the melon head who keeps sticking his nose into everything, and the other's my own son, the explosive idiot who thinks he's the king of the world."
The cameraman snorted under his breath, and the reporter had to bite her lip to keep from laughing on camera.
"Your son, you say? Are you by any chance referring to Katsuki Bakugo, the student who opened the festival with that... ahem, peculiar speech?"
"The very one. Though I swear I don't know where he got that big mouth, because at home he can barely string two words together without grunting." Mitsuki waved a hand in the air, brushing it off. "But anyway, setting that ungrateful brat aside, the thing that really gave me goosebumps was the gravity girl's fight."
"You mean Ochako Uraraka?"
"That's the one." Mitsuki's teasing tone softened, and for a second her eyes turned warmer. "That kid poured her soul out down there. She didn't have the other one's power, she knew it perfectly well, and she still didn't take a single step back. I don't know her at all, but I'll tell you one thing, her parents have got to be bursting with pride right now, wherever they're watching this from."
The reporter nodded eagerly, and Mitsuki kept going before she could squeeze in another question.
"If that little girl were my daughter, I'd hug her so hard I'd squeeze the air right out of her." She gave a small smile. "And then I'd tell her she'd better not ever scare me like that again, obviously, because that's what moms are for. But on the inside I'd be so proud I'd end up bawling like an idiot the second nobody was looking."
"What beautiful words!" the reporter exclaimed, moved. "Thank you so much for sharing this with us, miss...?"
"Mitsuki. And now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go find my son and remind him he's still a brat while I'm at it." She winked at the camera before turning around. "Hi to everybody back home!"
The reporter turned back to the lens, practically vibrating with excitement.
"There you have it, Japan! Even the family members up in the stands are as moved as we are! This festival is turning out to be one for the history books!"
In the competitors' waiting room, Ren was living through a very different moment.
"REN-KUN! REN-KUN! Did you see it?! DID YOU SEE SEE SEEEEE?! DID YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENED?!" Toru grabbed him by the shoulders and started shaking him with a strength that didn't seem to match her size, back and forth without an ounce of mercy. "It was incredible! Uraraka-chan was amazing! I can't believe she held out that long against Midoriya-san!"
Ren's world turned into a spinning blur, and he felt his stomach climb up into his throat while Toru's hands rattled him over and over.
Perverted invisible girl, can't you read the room?! he thought, dizzy, while the room whirled around him. I was having my big emotional moment, my tears of a sensitive man, my touching protagonist scene, and you go and ruin it like it's nothing! Give me back my emotional moment, dammit!
"T-Toru..." he managed to get out between shakes. "You're gonna... you're gonna make me throw up..."
"Oh, sorry!" Toru let go of him all at once, and Ren staggered to one side before catching his balance. "It's just that I'm super excited, the battle was awesome! One of the best I've seen in the whole festival!"
"I have to admit you're right," Momo cut in, coming over with her hands folded in front of her and an expression that was still touched by emotion. "Uraraka-san's tactical adaptation was brilliant. She figured out she couldn't win by force and built her whole strategy starting from that. What kept her standing at the end was her willpower."
"Yeah," Ren murmured, still a little green from the dizziness. "Ochako's a brave girl."
On the other side of the room, Bakugo sat alone with his arms crossed and his brow furrowed, staring at the wall. He'd been like that for a good while now, not talking to anyone, clearly wrestling with some thought in his head.
...Tsk, not bad for a nobody, he admitted grudgingly to himself. Guess you weren't as useless as you looked... Round face.
His eyes drifted without meaning to toward the big screen hanging in the corner of the room, where they were replaying clips from the crowd interviews. And then, in high definition and for the whole nation to see, his mother's grinning face popped up.
"...my own son, the explosive idiot who thinks he's the king of the world..."
"WHAT THE HELL DID THAT OLD HAG JUST SAY?!" Bakugo roared, shooting to his feet and jabbing a trembling finger at the screen. "EXPLOSIVE IDIOT?! SHE SAID IT ON NATIONAL TV?! I'M GONNA WRECK THAT DAMN SCREEN AND THEN GO UP TO THE STANDS AND WRECK HER TOO!"
He raised his palm toward the television, little sparks crackling between his fingers, and Kirishima jumped in right away to grab his arm.
"Easy, man, easy!" Kirishima told him, laughing while he held him back. "The TV didn't do anything wrong! If you bust it you're gonna end up paying for it, and you know how expensive those things are."
"Let go of me, you crap haired bastard, I'm gonna smash it to pieces anyway!"
"Hey, hey, seriously, calm down." Kirishima looked at the screen frozen on the image of Mitsuki and let out a low, admiring whistle. "Although... now that I get a good look at her, your mom's pretty hot, huh? Kinda makes sense now where you got all that energy from."
The sparks in Bakugo's hand snuffed out all at once, replaced by a look of pure horror.
"Why the hell are you checking out my old lady like that, you idiot?!"
Kirishima threw his hands up and started backing away from Bakugo little by little.
"I-I didn't mean it like that! I was just saying she looks a lot like you!"
"HAH?! That doesn't help either, you damn extra!" Bakugo clicked his tongue and turned slowly toward him. "I'm gonna kill you, I'm gonna hide the body, and nobody's ever gonna find the pieces. How dare you say that about my hag of a mother, you sick freak?"
"It was a compliment, dude! A compliment!" Kirishima was already retreating with his hands up high. "Don't look at me like that, it's scary!"
Toru leaned in toward Ren, holding back a laugh.
"Those two never change, do they?"
"I hope not," Ren answered with a smile. "The room would get crazy boring without them."
"Okay, enough standing around here!" Toru grabbed Ren by the arm again and started dragging him toward the exit. "Let's go to the infirmary and see how Uraraka-chan's doing! I wanna be there when she wakes up!"
"Wait, why am I the one getting dragged?" Ren protested, letting himself be pulled along anyway. "I can walk on my own, you know."
"But this way's faster! Come on, come on!"
Momo followed them at a quick pace, smoothing out her gym uniform.
"I'll come too. I'd feel more at ease if I confirm for myself that Uraraka-san is all right. After all the effort she put in, the least we can do is be there for her."
The three of them made their way down the hall that led to the medical area, and the second they crossed the doorway, a sharp, stern voice greeted them before they could even say hello.
"You three had better not be as empty headed as this little girl!" Recovery Girl shouted from the side of a cot, without even fully turning to look at them. "Kids these days don't know when to stop! They break their whole bodies over a competition and then it's up to me to patch them back together! All they do is cause trouble, that's the only thing they're good for!"
Ren blinked, completely baffled, pointing at himself with one finger.
But what did I do now? he thought, glancing around in case there was somebody else she might be scolding. I just walked in... Does my reputation really get everywhere before I do?
"Uh... um, good afternoon?" he offered cautiously. "Did we do something?"
"Not you, not yet!" Recovery Girl finally turned, leaning on her cane. "But knowing kids your age, it's only a matter of time. Anyway, if you came for Uraraka, I'll save you the question, she's gonna take a good while to wake up. She burned through every last drop of energy she had, and that sudden awakening took its toll on her."
"But is she going to be okay?" Momo asked, a note of worry in her voice.
"She'll be perfectly fine, don't go getting alarmed on me." The old woman softened her tone a little. "All she needs now is rest, and plenty of it. The best thing you can do for her is let her sleep in peace and focus on your own matches, which is what you came here for, isn't it? Standing around watching her breathe isn't gonna wake her up any faster."
Ren walked up to the cot in silence and looked down at Ochako.
Her cheeks were still flushed from the exertion, her hair stuck to her forehead with sweat, and a small bandage covered the cut on her nose. She breathed slowly, fast asleep, with a peaceful look on her face that didn't match the warrior who'd fought to her very last breath minutes earlier.
You gave it everything, Ochako, he thought. And that's what gets to me the most. You didn't even have to push yourself that hard. Momo already promised her family would hire your parents' company, so the money problem, the main reason you wanted to win, was already solved. You could've relaxed, taken it easy, lost without anybody blaming you for it. But you didn't... You decided to pour your soul out anyway, just because you wanted to prove who you really are.
His eyes drifted toward the cot next to her, where Mina lay on her side, still recovering from her own fight. She felt the look and turned, and the moment her yellow eyes met Ren's, her cheeks went bright pink.
"Pervert!" Mina whispered, immediately bringing her arms up to her chest to cover herself. "I already know what you're thinking with that face, don't go thinking I forgot what you did to me out there."
Damn, she looks sexy even like this, Ren thought, before shaking his head hard to scare the idea away. No, no, focus. This is not the time for that.
He looked back at Ochako, and for the first time in a long while he let a serious thought settle into his head without trying to chase it off with a joke.
I've spent this whole festival using my powers to do dumb stuff. A guilty grimace crossed his face. And meanwhile, this girl right in front of me, who wasn't asking for anything special, went out there and showed what it really means to be a hero. How important it is to her to help other people, even just a little.
He clenched his fists at his sides.
I couldn't care less about being a hero. All I want is to live in peace and do perverted stuff, that's the sad truth. But... His eyes softened as he looked at Ochako's sleeping face. At the very least, out of respect for you, I'm gonna finish this event taking it seriously.
"Ren-kun." Momo's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. She was standing at his side, watching him with curiosity. "You've got a really serious expression. That's not something I see in you very often."
"Huh?" Ren composed himself quickly. "Nothing, nothing. I was just thinking."
"By the way..." Momo dropped her gaze to her own hands, and a light blush colored her cheeks while she spoke carefully, choosing each word. "About our bet... it seems my strategy worked, so I suppose you'll have to take me to that special place after the festival. Though I have to confess I'm a little nervous about... well, about going somewhere like that with you."
Dammit, Ren wailed on the inside, keeping his face completely neutral. She's so cute!
"Sure, a bet's a bet," he said out loud with a smile. "I'll take you to a local fair when all this is over. You're gonna love it, you'll see."
"I'm really looking forward to it," Momo answered.
Ren stepped back up to Ochako's cot. After looking at her a moment longer, he leaned down slowly and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead.
"Rest up, Ochako," he murmured. "You earned it."
It was a quiet, sincere moment, the first stirring of heroic resolve Ren had ever let himself feel in his whole life.
"PERVEEERT!" Mina shrieked from the cot next door, pointing at him with an accusing finger. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO OCHAKO WHILE SHE'S ASLEEP?! YOU CREEP! RECOVERY GIRL, DO SOMETHING, THIS GUY'S GOING AROUND KISSING UNCONSCIOUS GIRLS!"
"WHAT?! IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!" A vein popped on Ren's forehead as he whirled toward her, soul shattered. "IT WAS A KISS ON THE FOREHEAD! A SWEET AND RESPECTFUL GESTURE! I WAS HAVING AN EMOTIONAL SHONEN MOMENT OF RESOLVE, DAMMIT! CAN NOBODY IN THIS ENTIRE STADIUM RESPECT A SINGLE EMOTIONAL MOMENT OF MINE WITHOUT RUINING IT?!"
"That's exactly what every pervert says!" Mina shot back, hugging a pillow against her chest.
"Momo, say something, you saw me, it was completely innocent!"
"Well..." Momo brought a finger to her chin, clearly enjoying herself. "It was sweet, I'll admit that. Although, coming from you, Ren-kun, I completely understand why Ashido-san wanted to double check."
"YOU TOO, MOMO?!"
Toru doubled over laughing, her empty sleeves flapping in the air.
"This is better than any match in the festival!"
Recovery Girl banged her cane against the floor, throwing them a look that made all of them straighten up at once.
"EVERY ONE OF YOU GET OUT OF MY INFIRMARY RIGHT NOW!" the old woman roared. "This is a rest area, not a circus! You've got matches to fight, so go warm up and let the poor girl sleep in peace, before I heal you by force with my cane!"
"Yes, ma'am!" the three of them answered in unison, and bolted out into the hallway.
As the door shut behind them, Ren cast one last glance back toward the cot where Ochako was still sleeping peacefully, completely unaware of the chaos she'd caused.
It's fine, he thought, and a determined smile spread across his face as he walked toward the arena tunnels. No more fooling around. From now on, I'm serious. My next match is against Jiro, and for the first time in my life, I'm gonna fight like a real hero.
He took three more steps down the hallway before a treacherous thought crossed his mind.
Well... although if a chance to do something perverted comes up along the way, I'm obviously not gonna waste it either. A man's got his priorities.
Some things, after all, would never change.
*******
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