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THE FIRST MATCH between Midoriya and Shinsou was an emotional battle for both participants. Both of them had something to prove, but Midoriya came out on top.
Each of the matches finished quickly, with the exception of Iida and Hatsume's, and before Ara knew it, she was next.
When she found out she was against Aoyama, she was pretty confident in herself. The talk she had with her friends boosted her confidence, but she was against Aoyama after all. She had recalled what his weakness was, which was pretty easy to figure out, seeing as he always had a stomach ache after using his powers for too long. If she wanted to win, Ara would need to tire him out and then knock him out.
As Ara stood up from her seat, Bakugo looked up at her as if he was going to say something, but he didn't. They hadn't talked since the cavalry battle.
"Good luck, Ara-chan!" her friends called out from the stands as she walked out onto the field. She looked behind her and gave them a thumbs up and a grin.
"Please welcome the Wizard, Ara Zaida!" Present Mic called out, cheering her on. She popped her knuckles and smirked at Aoyama.
"My first match is a piece of cake," he said. Mineta was shouting something from up on the stands, getting a glare from Ara in response.
"Now, why don't we get started? The fifth match, start!"
Aoyama started with a blast from his laser, which was quickly dodged by Ara as jumped up high. She pulled the water out of some of the grass nearby and put it around her feet as she did during the obstacle course. She quickly "skated" around Aoyama.
"Since we were put together for combat training, I know all of your tricks!" Ara said as she continued to dodge his attacks.
"I could say the same for you!" He shot at her again.
"One thing different is that I know your weakness!" She exclaimed, jumping and ducking. She did a flip as one of the lasers was directed right at her.
"You're persistent..." he said as she continued to dodge his lasers. "My... stomach..."
Ara grinned. Now was her chance. She moved fast and close to the ground. She got close to him and swung a roundhouse kick right at his face, knocking him off the ground. She then punched him, which knocked him out.
"Zaida advances to the next round!" Midnight announced, the crowd cheering her on. She smiled and waved at her friends that cheered her on.
Bakugo was smiling.
"That was intense!" Denki sighed, leaning back in his chair. Ara nodded, sighing.
Bakugo and Uraraka had just fought, resulting in Uraraka's loss. Ara felt bad.
"I'll be back. I'm going to go check on Ochako." Kaminari waved as the girl walked down the stairs to the waiting room.
Thoughts raced through her head. Ochako wasn't weak. She was so, so powerful. But so was Bakugo. Ara walked quickly, wanting to get to Ochako as soon as she could. The two girls hadn't been friends for too long, but Ochako was Ara's best friend, and Ara knew when Ochako was upset.
Ara turned the corner, bumping into a tall figure.
"Hey watch where you're-"
"I'm sorry!" She quickly apologized, looking up at the person. Bakugo.
"It's fine," Bakugo's gruff voice sent chills down her spine. "I didn't realize it was you."
Ara held her breath. They were close. Extremely close. Her head only reached up to his shoulder, so she had to tilt her head up to see him clearly. She tried to avoid making eye contact with the boy, but she couldn't help it. His flaming red eyes were too much to resist.
If Bakugo hadn't realized what color her eyes were, he definitely knew now. They were the color of the warm earth after it rained. A thin, blue ring the color of the dark ocean surrounded the earthy irises.
Ara blinked.
"I'm- I'm going to let you go now," Bakugo stepped away from the small girl, resting his shoulder against the wall.
"Y-yeah..." Ara breathed again. "Good job, by the way. You did well."
He nodded, thanking her. She walked away from him, slowly at first, but her pace quickened the closer she got to the waiting room doors. Bakugo watched her scamper to the waiting room, a small smile on his face. She was too cute.
"Ochako-chan!" Ara exclaimed as she opened the door, running into yet another person. It was Midoriya this time.
"Sorry!" Ara facepalmed. Twice in the course of one minute?!
"It's fine. I was just going," Midoriya laughed at the short girl.
"Oh- good luck Midoriya! You can do it!" She gave him a high-five as he walked off.
"Thanks," he smiled, waving and leaving for the fight.
Ochako sat at the table, her new P.E. shirt in front of her. Ara looked sadly at the girl. Ochako didn't even have to say anything for Ara to know she was upset.
"Ochako..." her voice was soft. She walked over to Ochako, who had stood up at the entrance of another person. Her face was dark, a fake smile plastered on it. Ara pulled the sad girl into a hug, squeezing her tightly.
"I know you really wanted to win-" she was cut off by a soft cry. She moved her head from Ochako's shoulder, looking at her.
"You did amazing," Ara whispered. "You were so good."
"Did- did you want him to win?" Ochako did her best to hold back her cries. Ara let go of Ochako, shock on her face.
"Do you really think that?" the crying girl nodded. "I didn't. I will always support my best friend over my other friends."
Ochako hugged Ara again.
"I'm gonna let you answer that," Ara said, pointing at the girl's phone that was ringing. Ochako laughed and nodded.
