Deku x OC My hero, My heroine

Chapter 4-Wild struggle

The evening exercise came too soon. Ayako stood in the floodlights facing Uraraka across a stretch of ground, made bare by years of training exercises. She tested the movements on her powered suit, nimbly flexing and contracting her shoulders, the smooth whirr of the engines and hydraulics drowning out the hushed whispers of the bystanders. Ayako adjusted her helmet on her head.

Just a few minutes before the suit was on display on a stand, its chromed surface surrounded by a group of admirers. Ayako was proudly explaining its features, from its ceramic plating and thrusters, to the micro gyroscopes and hydraulics that would make the wearer move and jump around at incredible speeds, while maintaining an unparalleled nimbleness thanks to the state-of-the-art CPU that balanced all of its components.

She expected to hate this joint exercise, but somehow, explaining her creation made her energetic, and each new spectator more confident in her abilities.

But most importantly, Midoriya was in front of the crowd listening to her words with vivid interest. He hung on her every word, nodding and frowning. Finally, he seemed to be unable to contain his thoughts.

"But what's stopping this from going into serial production, miss Haguruma?"

Ayako was surprised at the sharp question. Most focused more on the suit's technical capabilities, ignoring the surrounding logistics. No wonder Midoriya was in class 1-A.

"Well, it's mostly because of the high cost of production." She explained, "And of course it's limited durability. And I've yet to test in in combat, so a lot of fine tuning will be needed."

"So why not test it now?"

Ayako turned her head towards the unexpected question to see Uraraka making her way through the crowd and planting herself next to Midoriya. She smiled at Ayako, but her eyes remained completely still.

"I'll volunteer to be your opponent. Unless, of course, you think your suit can't handle it."

Ayako felt her cheeks flare. How dare she question the integrity of her creation? She wasn't about to stand there and let this little Osaka girl question her and her creation. Ayako knew that Uraraka was itching for a fight, and that she would play right into her hands, but she had faith in her own skill. Plus, she could show off her suit to everyone and especially, she though as her felt the familiar fluttery sensation in her stomach, she could show off to Midoriya.

"All right,"

And without another word, Ayako started to slip on the suit.

And now she was on the grounds. Uraraka's smile had long since disappeared as she prowled across the ground, her eyes focused squarely on Ayako, daring her to attack first. She tensed her muscles. The suit came to life with a whirr of electronics and hydraulics. If she was going to win, she needed to do it quickly and efficiently. There was no need to make the suit's limits apparent.

Still, she was up against a hero from class 1-A. She shouldn't take this lightly.

Ayako lunged forward and engaged her thrusters. In a heartbeat Ayako was in front of Uraraka, her fist raised and ready to crash down on the small girl's head. She saw Uraraka's eyes widen at her impressive speed as she attempted to dodge the punch.

Its already over.

But Uraraka managed to twist her head out of the way, and Ayako's punch sailed through her hair without hitting anything.

Since when was Uraraka so fast?

The suit's CPU accelerated her body in a rotational movement. Ayako spun around, her fist raised high and aimed once again at Uraraka's head.

But Uraraka had already shifted her position. Before Ayako could change course, or her suit decelerate, Uraraka had grabbed hold of her wrist, pivoted onto her back, and using the suit's forwards momentum against her, slammed her into the ground with a crunch.

Ayako's breath was punched out of her lungs as she reeled from the impact. But she didn't stay on the ground for long. The suit immediately used the energy from the impact to propel her into the air, and out of Uraraka's reach.

Ayako landed with a thud a few meters away. Her feet trembled from the exertion, and her breath was heavy and uneven. Her suit felt awkward, having been dented from the impact, its silvery surface now broken and smeared with dirt. Wisps of smoke were rising from a burn cable. It wouldn't last much longer.

Ayako stood up and looked at Uraraka's cold eyes as she advanced towards her, a familiar, uncomfortable sensation running through her legs. Fear.

Not fear, it's the suit's fault. I'm not afraid.

But the sweat on her back was cold, and she couldn't move with the same confidence as before. In one move Uraraka had crippled her suit and her spirit. She was completely different from the person that had faced Bakugou in the arena. Her movements were slicker, faster and crueler. Uraraka was putting all of her skill into beating Ayako and her machine into the ground. Ayako felt like giving up on the spot.

"Fight on!"

From the spectators, Midoriya's voice rang clear, as if it no one else were present.

She was not fighting only for herself.

With one desperate lunge, Ayako fired her engines and made straight for Uraraka's midriff. There was no way her opponent could completely avoid her attack, and even if she did, a grazing blow would be enough to even the odds.

But Uraraka was one step ahead of her. In one motion, she kicked her legs up, activated her levitation, and shot up out of the way and above Ayako's head, who once again sailed right past her harmlessly. In that moment, Ayako knew the fight was over.

With one last rotation, Uraraka brought her heel down hard on Ayako's head, cracking her helmet, and breaking open the main CPU compartment.

Ayako felt the shockwave run from her head to her feet, her eyes stinging with tears of pain.

Ayako took a few more staggering steps and, unable to balance herself without the CPU, she fell on her back, her ceramic armor shattered, and its components a smoking, disfigured mess.

The floodlights shone in her eyes, and her head was throbbing. She lay there for a few seconds in a stunned silence. Then, bitter tears ran down her face as she gulped and stopped herself from sobbing.

The fight was over.