Notes: Thank you to thesvenmachine on the Kacchako Discord for sending me this idea and coming up with a few pointers! I chose Mario Kart because I've been playing it with my little cousin almost every day and it's instilling Baku Rage in me. I'm so tired of getting beat by an eight year-old.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Game night started out simple enough.

It was Kaminari's fault, which was basically the default for every ridiculous thing that happened in the dorms. Bakugou was almost certain of it. Even if it seemed like someone else started something, it could always be traced back to Kaminari. The sparky, little shit had a way of integrating his dumb face into everything and he was better at starting things than most people realized.

This time, it was due to an argument between him and Jirou about who was better at a certain video game. No one knew what the game was until Kaminari dragged his entire gaming console out of his dorm and plugged it into the television in the common room area. It was so he and Jirou could play together and determine who the true champion was, seeing as how there had been a crack down on boys and girls going to each other's dorms.

(This was the one time Kaminari was not to blame, as Bakugou was positive that Kaminari was trying to use the game in order to win Jirou over. He had a sneaking suspicion that it was just due to Mineta being a stupid shit. The only other people he could think of was Deku and Uraraka since Deku was always mooning over her, but the idea of that happening made Bakugou want to blow something up. It was gross.)

What started out as Kaminari and Jirou playing what turned out to be some version of Mario Kart with a few people watching ended up turning into an all out tournament between the entire class, but it wasn't just some fun thing that everybody participated in every Thursday night. No, it was much more than that.

It was brutal. It was war .

Kirishima brought out his controllers so that more people could play at a time, transforming the two person game into a four person battle royale. People were knocked out of the running with blue and red shells left and right. Curses were thrown towards fellow classmates, their families, and future children. Food was thrown. People stopped speaking to each other for at least ten minutes sometimes. Iida had actually rage quit after Ashido had repeatedly wrecked him and caused him to get last place multiple times.

Though he didn't play nearly as often as some of the others, Bakugou always won every time he did. He'd snag a controller after someone was kicked out and demolish the competition. The first time he'd wiped everyone at the game, they'd all been shocked. Bakugou knew that he didn't look like the kind of kid that spent time locked in his room playing video games, but it really did help with his hand-eye coordination. Besides that, he liked the brief adrenaline boost that racing games gave him and he liked to win.

It took an almost embarrassing amount of time to notice that one person never participated in the games. Sitting on the sidelines like a cheerleader was Uraraka. She'd perch on the arm of the couch next to Asui or Deku or on the floor next to Kaminari or Ashido, but she never took the controllers. They were offered to her, of course, but she would always pass, claiming that she'd maybe join the next game or someone else really wanted to play. It was unusual for Uraraka, who he knew threw herself into everything.

She liked to win too. She might not have been as good as him at things, but she wasn't the type of person that passed up on things. It was suspicious behavior that only he seemed to mark or notice. Not that he cared about it, of course. It was just...curious.

After a particularly vicious Mario Kart tournament that ended with Kirishima as the winner and Sero throwing his controller at him (so close to first), everyone meandered off to bed so that they wouldn't completely regret school the next morning. Bakugou had been about to crash when he decided that he wanted a glass of water. On his way to the kitchen though, he heard the telltale noises of the video game that they'd been playing all night. At first, he'd thought it might be in his head since they'd been going at it hard for a few hours, but no, it was on.

Someone was still playing.

He had to pass the common room area in order to get to the kitchen, so curiosity got the better of him and he looked over in the direction of the television. There, sitting on the couch by herself, the bright glow of the tv causing her to look like nothing more than a dark shadow, was unmistakably Uraraka. He could pick her profile out a hundred meters away. Not that it meant anything. She just had a specific body frame.

Even though he'd come out here to get a glass of water, Bakugou stopped to watch her. So she wouldn't play with everyone else but she would play on her own? Did she think she was too good for everyone? Maybe she was really embarrassed by how bad she was. Gods knew Aoyama shouldn't play Mario Kart in public. He was fucking awful.

However, after watching her play a few rounds, Bakugou noticed something peculiar. She took breaks. Not odd in itself, but she took them often. After playing a whole round, she paused the game and then held her head. It was the universal sign of a headache or just not feeling well. Still, she took a deep breath and started again, this time lasting a little longer. It reminded him…

It reminded him of when she used her quirk on herself for too long. From what he remembered, if she used her quirk on herself or too much, it made her extremely nauseous. He'd learned that knowing his classmates' quirks, along with their strengths and weaknesses, came in handy during class lessons so that he could get a better grade. He could admit to having been curious about hers since they'd fought in their first sports festival. The girl had created a meteor shower over him and then passed the fuck out. It kind of left an impression.

Apparently one of her other weaknesses was Mario Kart.

"What the hell are you doing, Round Face?" Bakugou demanded.

Uraraka jumped so badly on the couch that she never went down, having activated her quirk on herself and floating to the ceiling. "Oh my god, Bakugou! You scared me half the death!" She still had a hold of the controller, which was plugged in to charge after a night of use, so she carefully pulled herself back down and deactivated her quirk to plop back down on the couch.

Bakugou made his way over there and jumped over the back of it to sit next to her, ignoring what she'd said since she had clearly ignored his question. "You'll play by yourself but not with everyone else?" He folded his arms and leaned back against the couch. "Even I play with the others. I thought you were Little Miss Team Player?"

"N-no!" Uraraka blushed, the pink of her cheeks standing out despite the glow of the television washing her out. "I mean, yes, I am!" She gripped the controller tightly and looked down at it. "I'm not… I'm not good at video games."

That made Bakugou snort. "Oh, so you just suck and you're embarrassed."

"It's not that!" Uraraka insisted angrily.

"Oh really?" Bakugou countered. "Then what is it, weak ass?"

Uraraka's face was screwed up in determination as she glared at him, inches away from his face, but then it faded into embarrassment and she looked away from him again. "I get...kind of sick when I play some video games." He didn't say anything in response to that, which prompted a girl like Uraraka into explaining herself further. She just had to get her point across so she didn't look too bad. She really did think about what others thought of her too much. "It's kind of like if I use my quirk too much! I start to feel dizzy or nauseous. Not all video games do it, but this one really gets the best of me. All those windy roads and the bright graphics and explosions…"

"So you just play it by yourself after everyone leaves as punishment?" Bakugou asked.

"As training!" Uraraka corrected, so sincerely that Bakugou couldn't even laugh at her outright. "The more I practice, the longer I can play without getting sick. Then I'll be able to play with everyone!"

She really was staying out here every Thursday after everyone went to bed playing this dumb game on her own so that she'd get better at handling her queasiness and be able to join the Mario Kart tournament. She was pushing herself to her limit over a video game. It was so like her that Bakugou didn't even know what to say. It was so absurd and stupid that she was getting this worked up over a game.

Then again, he remembered all the times he'd rage quit and throw the controllers when he was first learning how to play and the computer beat him. He could only imagine having to go through that while feeling like tossing his cookies. It did not make for a pleasant experience.

Despite the looming threat of being puked on, Bakugou picked up the second controller. "Well, you're not going to get better by competing only against a computer."

"Oh, you don't have to!" Uraraka exclaimed. "I don't mind. I'm not that good yet."

"I know I don't have to," Bakugou responded as he set up the next race. She raised her eyebrows. Before she could even say anything about that, he continued, "I've creamed everyone else in this game except for you, so I've gotta mark you off my list."

Uraraka's eyebrows dropped and she sighed as if she'd expected him to say something like that, but then she twisted her lips as a look of intense concentration came over her face and she nodded her head once. She was ready - or as ready as she could be. He could feel her taking deep breaths next to him, preparing herself for the race. He chose a long course, which would push her more. He could tell she was uneasy about it, but she said nothing as the game loaded.

"Scared?" he asked her, glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes.

Uraraka smirked at him. "You wish."

It should not have done anything for him, but it did and he turned his attention back to the screen. Nope, he was not going to get distracted. He was going to demolish her.

The first game went clearly in his favor. She came in fifth while he was in first by a longshot. However, she didn't stop to get sick or anything and she even looked like she was enjoying herself. The second game he could tell that she was starting to struggle. She'd bit her lip, squirm in her seat, and take deep breaths. But when he asked her if she was done, in a not-so-kind tone, she'd shoved him with her arm and told him to start the next race.

They were in the middle of the third game, on the second loop out of three, when Uraraka's character hit one of the clear mystery boxes. She had a bad habit of going for them and somehow either missing them or a computer taking it right in front of her. "Oh, a red shell! What if I just-?"

"I swear to god, Uraraka, if you hit me-"

Uraraka pressed the button anyways. Somehow, the red shell avoided two computer characters and hit his, sending Yoshi spiraling in the air and flopping down on the ground. It cost him first place and he swore. "Damnit, that cost me half my coins!" He pressed hard on the accelerator button, as if it would help him go faster. Next to him, all Uraraka did was giggle. Her character didn't catch up with his but still. It pissed him off. Why couldn't she have hit any of the other racers?

Through either sheer determination or dumb luck, Uraraka managed to work herself up to second place with Bakugou in her sight. They were on the third lap though and nearing the finish line. There was no way she could catch up with him now, even if she hit all the speed boosters. He snagged a mystery item box, getting a banana, which he threw back at her. She dodged it just barely and caught an item box by accident.

When it finally chose what it would give her, Bakugou shot her a glare. "Don't you fucking dare."

"What?" Uraraka asked innocently. "What does a blue shell do?"

"You better not-"

She most definitely did, pressing the button to release the blue shell. It hit his character, sending him flying, and he watched in horror as Uraraka's character sped past him right over the finish line. The shell had struck his character at just the right moment, keeping him from winning and forcing him into a measly place. As soon as her victory was announced, Uraraka dropped her controller and jumped up on the couch, cheering for herself obnoxiously.

"Get the fuck down, you idiot!" Bakugou growled, grabbing the bottom of her tank top and jerking down on her hard. She went tumbling on the couch on her back and her feet hit him in the legs. Before he could shove her away though, she took one look at the television screen and then bolted into the kitchen. He could hear her gagging over the sink, but she didn't puke. He heard the sink running and then she came back with a glass of water.

A little pale in the face, Uraraka sheepishly told him, "Sorry, I held off for as long as I could," before sitting back down on the couch.

"Fucking gross," Bakugou said.

"I think it's because I immerse myself too much in the game," Uraraka said as she sunk back into the couch. She watched the replay of their last game with heavy lids, clutching the glass of water against her chest. "But you were right. It was better playing against someone. I could distract myself."

"You knew what that blue shell did," Bakugou accused.

Uraraka smiled up at him, like some sort of angel. "Did I?" Maybe it was more like a devil.

Standing up, Bakugou pointed a finger at her. "You better be ready for next week. I'm going to kick your ass."

"I look forward to it," Uraraka replied and he knew that she meant it. The challenge was set and neither one of them would back down. The fact that it was implied that they wouldn't be playing with everyone else but only with each other after everyone left didn't need to be said. He rather liked this one-on-one thing. Not because it was with her or anything, but because no one was hovering around him being irritating. Well, as long as Uraraka didn't start floating at least. That was for another time if she really wanted to try something difficult.