au yeah autumn challenge

[sunrises]

Soulmates - Riku / Namine (Kingdom Hearts)
College - Lloyd Irving / Colette Brunel
Single parent - Tyler Lockwood / Caroline Forbes
Enemy - Ochaco Uraraka / Izuku Midoriya
Laundromat - Peyton Leverett / Maxine Hunkel
Hogwarts - Stefan Salvatore / Misty Day
Famous - Tom Bronson / Sharpay Evans
Kwami swap (Power Swap) - Yato / Hiyori Iki
Summer Camp - Evan Tildrum / Tani (Ni No Kuni II)
Secret agent - Izuku Midoriya + Bakugou Katsuki
Mermaid - Senel Coolidge / Shirley Fennes
Royalty - Stefan Salvatore / Jesse Wells
Fake dating - Stefan Salvatore / Freya Mikaelson
Reincarnation - Jason Grace / Piper McLean
Life Swap - Stefan Salvatore + Eugene Woods
Neighbors - Roxas / Olette (Kingdom Hearts)
Sidekick - Iris West + Ashley Williams
Circus - Shizuku Mizutani / Haru Yoshida
Reverse Crush - Katsuki Bakugou (MHA) / Leila (Riordan-verse)
Coffee shop - Ryuji Sakamato / Makoto Niijima
Childhood Friends - Stefan Salvatore / Elena Gilbert
Crime - Tenko Midoriya + Hana Midoriya + Izuku Midoriya
Historical - Barry Allen / Iris West
Office / workplace - Sebastian Debeste / Kay Faraday
Friends with Benefits - Goro Akechi / Haru Okumura
bff swap - Sean Diaz / Ally Parker
Internet - Masayuki Hori / Yuu Kashima
Gym - Eijiro Kirishima / Katsuki Bakugou
Time travel - Max Carson / Lester Papadopoulos
Roommates - Jeremy Gilbert / Kol Mikaelson
"Dealer's Choice" - Roland Crane + Evan Tildrum

PROGRESS: 31/31

Comments

enemy - Ochaco Uraraka / Izuku Midoriya | wordcount: 832

[sunrises]

Ochaco should've known her work wouldn't have been that easy. Then again, when she had been staring at literal wads of cash with that sweet scent of new ink and paper under her nose, she wouldn't have questioned anything.

"All you have to do is attend UA High and find All-Might's weaknesses," Sensei had told her in an almost affectionate tone, patting her head. "In exchange, your family will never suffer again."

Ochaco had exhaled, and in that moment, invisible weight had floated off her shoulders like one of her releases. Fulfill Sensei's goal, and she would have enough cash to pay her parents' mortgages, her education, and even their retirement funds. Their homegrown business would never flounder again. All she had to do was pass the entrance exam and survive three years as a wannabe hero. At the end, when All-Might and Sensei had their final pissing contest, she would receive her final payout and buy out her parents' business.

Easy-peasy. She wanted the comforts - and the financial stability, honestly - just as much as her peers wanted the fleeting fame and glory of heroism. Who cared about topping the charts when they could leverage that prestige to feed their family?

(God, she could dream about real ramen! Sushi! The fancy kind of sushi, the ones at fancy hotel bars! Oh, and even the prestigious Hilton buffet! Cakes and cookies as far as the eye could see! All of that was hers now.)

Passing the entrance exam came first, though. As Ochaco passed through the golden gates of UA High, reminding her to go plus ultra, she couldn't help inhaling the scent of cherry blossoms - of promise, of a better, new life that awaited Mom and Dad. No longer would she be their burden.

Some kid in front of her, with giant red sneakers and a giant mess of green hair that could hide a few birds, had an uneven, unsteady walk. He was jumpier than she was - which was accomplishment, all things considered, stepping with one foot before the other and tripping over his own untied shoelace.

Ochaco drew in a deep breath before closing the distance and holding onto his backpack, floating him just above the concrete.

Seeing the beads of sweat fall off his face, she had to ask, "Are you okay?"

The kid screeched (at the top of his lungs, no less!). So Ochako reached for his backpack and steadied him on the ground.

"I stopped you with my quirk," she had to admit with a laugh as she clasps her hands together, releasing him from her anti-gravitational pull. "Sorry I didn't ask first. But I figured, you wouldn't mind me catching you."

No one ever did, when it was a choice between floating in mid-air or falling face-first onto concrete.

As they parted ways into the giant auditorium that would explain the physical portion of their exam, Ochaco figured it would be the last time she would see that spiky, thick mess of green hair. UA High may be a small school, but their two hero classes rarely intersected, and this kid was jumpier than a jackrabbit. Those types landed feet-first in General Ed, or worse, Management. Best for him, she figured.






The exam had been going so well. She had floated broken pieces right and left, setting them into other parts with wild abandon in an effort to obtain as many points as possible. The more points, the more likely she could fulfill her part of the bargain.

Then one of those giant pieces had crushed her, and she struggled to hold her weight against the cool metal. She couldn't leave it like this. Not here. Not when she still had three years to shed the burden she had left on her parents! Not now!

Not - not when that thick mess of green hair took one look at her and barreled back towards the giant robot, forcing his arm to grow far beyond normal means. As both he and robot were hurling back towards the ground, Ochaco scrambled to her feet, pushing herself on top of a robot's head (arm?). She could do it! She could extend her arm towards him and keep him afloat and -

Her fingers brushed against his blue shirt and they levitated, mere inches above the ground. Ochaco pressed her fingertips together, murmuring, "Release."

For a jumpy jackrabbit, he sure was brave. He took a chance on her for no good reason. He could've saved himself like everyone else, and yet - he went back for her.

Ochaco, then and there, decided to give him as many of her points as she could. Forget the sushi, the fancy cake buffet, the expensive-as-hell ramen. Forget the burden that she had left on her parents. Sensei (and that shady group that worked for him) would yell at her later, for endangering their whole plan, but she didn't care. This dumb, jumpy jackrabbit of a kid was more of a hero than she would ever be.