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〖Crystal Heroine to Explosive Hero 〗

〖 PRELUDE 〗

The Meddlesome Eyebrow Hag

I never thought that you could break me apart

I keep a sinister smile and a hole in my heart

You wanna get inside, then you can get in line

But not this time

(Hero/Heroine – Boys Like Girls)

He stares after her, his eyes unmoving from her figure as she walks away from him.

The arena roared when they announced his victory, but it sounded dead to him.

His throbbing heart – his rage – was the only thing he could hear in his ears as her words resounded in his mind.

"I surrender."

His fists shook as he recalled how those words flowed from her mouth without a second thought, at how perfectly content she looked while wearing that same damn smile.

'This bitch…'

She grates his nerves much like how Deku does.

Simply put, he hated her. Yet it was a different sensation entirely.

She was annoying, mind numbing, table-flippin' and teeth-gridingly so, with her forced perpetual little smile. And yet, everybody seemed to love her. Always fawning over at how polite she was, or at how nice, or pretty, or how damn fucking angelic she was. It was unbelievable how everyone was actually stupid enough to not suspect anything beyond than what she shows them.

But he knew better.

After all, what kind of person manages to smile easily even when facing an explosive, literal walking bomb like himself and still look like she's having a damn promenade? Forget about being a hero in the works, she didn't even flinch or get flustered, or look even a little intimidated by his power.

Such prenatural composure wasn't normal.

It was a façade. A front. And he could tell…

She's hiding something.

This girl whose expression never seemed to change, who never tires of displaying a soft smile…

This bitch was something else.

He recalls the day they first met. The first day of class, the budding of spring.

He remembers how much of a shitfest that day had been when he learned he was once again stuck in the same class as Deku for the umpteenth time in a decade. Even worst, the quirkless freckled-fuck was actually NOT quirkless, he got his own ass reprimanded by their homeroom teacher, and to top it all off, this girl who reeks of apples shows up, completely disregards the fact that the road to becoming a Top Hero was a competition and promptly butts her nose into his business!

Suffice to say, she was the cherry on top of a perfectly cluster fucked day.

And it was just the beginning.

He never really expected much from her, like how he never really expected much from all of them. But she stuck out like a sore thumb in his eyes, a meddlesome thick-browed bitch who seemed to have a thing for Deku, fucking Deku, of all people!

She was a plague he didn't want anywhere near. Yet at the same time, he was eager to put her in her place.

And now he finally had his chance.

She was no less than a threat as she was an annoyance. Her quirk with its versatility may be on par with his own, but he was confident he would never lose to her and her half-assed ambition.

But never had he thought he would see a whole different side of her. A side he was confident she's never shown to anyone before.

His right cheek tingles and stings, and he tries not to think about how pleasantly ethereal she looked when her crystallized shards fell all around her like sparkling rain.

And those eyes…

At that moment his blood felt like fire in his veins, his heart pumping with excitement as a feral grin split across his features. He felt it. He saw it.

Her eyes weren't that of a placid monotone anymore, her lips were no longer sporting that irritating little smile.

He had succeeded in provoking her, and now she was finally going to fight back with everything she had.

But it didn't matter. He was going to take them down, the best of the best, one by one and take the number one spot for himself.

Oh how he couldn't wait to break her then, to bruise her, to make her never forget how terrifyingly strong he really is when he conquers her at her full power.

She was just another stepping stone.

He went down on her with no holds barred, a beast unleashed.

And she responded in kind, a tigress unrestrained.

They clashed, exchanged blows, shared the same maniacal smile that would only ever show when feeling that distinct joy of a heated battle, the adrenaline making him laugh. They didn't even realize that they were barely using their quirks anymore. Just lashing and countering, giving and taking with everything they've got.

They fought and parried until they eventually ran out of stamina. It was a draw.

If he was going to be completely honest with himself, he felt amazed at that moment. To think that she actually exceeded his expectations, or lack thereof.

It was supposed to be settled with a simple good ole arm wrestle. Stupid, but it had to be done. Someone had to be the winner and he was going to show her no mercy when he breaks that slender arm of hers into submission.

He was still on high from their heated battle, the fierce grin never leaving his face even as he panted for breath. And he could tell, from the way her chest rose and fell for air, to her still gleaming eyes, that she felt the same.

But then she suddenly straightened herself and regained her composure. One blink was all it took for her to shatter their perfectly warped world of power.

And when she said those words that were still ringing in his head, he felt something shatter inside of him. Though that would probably be his expression as he gaped at her with disbelief, his heart still thrumming loudly as he watched her leave the stage they were in.

Unacceptable.

He wouldn't let it end just like that, with her pulling him into her pace much like how she did to everyone else.

"Stop…Stop right there! DON'T YOU FUCKING WALK AWAY!"

He watched with bated breath as she turned to him wearing a confused, expectant stare.

"Where…the hell do you think…you're going? It's not over yet!"

"But it already is. I've already surrendered, it's your win."

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT! What? So in the end you're just going to run away!?"

He saw her mouth twitch, but other than that, she showed no other signs of giving him what he wanted. Instead her eyes and lips softened, her body giving off the same placid aura he worked to break only for her to restore it in a blink of an eye.

"I told you right from the start, didn't I? I'm not really in it for the top spot, but I did manage to get this far. It's enough for me."

His eyes widened when she bowed, her frame bending gracefully for a good five seconds before she straightened back to look at him with a different kind of smile on her radiant, battle-ridden face. In just that moment, it wasn't the same one she always wore. He could see now that it was one of self-consciousness, of alarm, of wonder and of…tenderness?

He was paralyzed, and all of a sudden it felt like all of his rage was about to be overwhelmed by something else, a warm, disconcerting energy that emanated from her.

"Thank you, Bakugou-kun. It was fun, but I have to go now. I'll be rooting for you in your next battle!"

And she turned and left completely, leaving him stunned as she disappeared into the shadows.

In the end, she turned back into the ambitionless bitch who was contented to stay in the background, and he was absolutely pissed at how she caught him off guard twice in less than an hour despite being an unresolved eyebrow hag who was even worse than Deku. The nerd would've fought him with everything he had until the very end no matter how hopeless his shot at victory might be. Hell, even that small gravity bitch fought him 'til she dropped.

But her? She gave up like it was nothing. Like it didn't matter a damn thing to her.

Like it didn't matter a damn thing to him.

"What…the fuck…?"

His fist that already hardened from being restrained came down on the ground beneath him, creating a small smoking crater.

He bellowed viciously, "GET BACK HERE, YOU SHITTY EYEBROW HAAAAAG!"

She left, just like that.

Just when he thought she was worth his time.

Just when he felt her become so real…

But there was plenty of time. For now he'd let her have her way. For now he'd conquer the sports festival.

Her submission to defeat no doubt left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth, and he could only hope that his anticipation for the next fight would make him forget. Because for now, he walked away from the stage a victor, however untriumphant, and that's all that mattered.

Because she doesn't matter.

For now.

'Cause you caught me off guard

Now I'm running and screaming