—Hey, hey, calm down!
Sato didn't even notice.
—Were you saying something?
Jiro was already about to be thrown back.
—You're dragging me with you, gorilla!
Sato stopped dead in his tracks, before continuing with the same intensity.
Jiro gasped, exhausted.
—God, give me strength... so I don't kill him...
Kirishima kept a steady pace, smiling confidently.
Ochako looked at him in disbelief.
—How do you keep smiling?
—Because I'm strong, you know?
Ochako crossed her arms.
—I don't mean to be rude, but... you don't seem that strong right now.
Kirishima slowly stopped smiling.
—That... was unnecessary.
On the next sit-up, he collapsed.
Ochako nodded with satisfaction.
—I knew that would work.
Todoroki moved without saying a word, maintaining a neutral expression.
Momo held her feet with a slight trembling in her hands.
After a minute of silence, Momo spoke:
—Don't you get tired?
-Yeah.
—...So why are you still so calm?
—I don't have the energy to complain.
Momo blinked.
—That's... depressing.
Todoroki shrugged and continued until he simply collapsed to the ground.
-Yeah.
Iida kept a perfect rhythm, breathing precisely.
Tokoyami watched him silently.
—Resistance is a reflection of the spirit.
Iida gasped.
—Don't talk to me about philosophy...
—But in suffering, the soul shines more brightly.
—Where do you get these phrases from?
Tokoyami crossed his arms.
—From the shadows.
Iida collapsed from pure anger.
Tokoyami nodded with satisfaction.
—Your body may be weak, but your spirit remains strong.
Iida gasped, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his arm.
On the other hand...
From the first second, the tension between Bakugo and Akemi was palpable.
They both positioned themselves on either side of each other, without breaking eye contact, as if doing sit-ups were a battle to the death.
Kaminari held Bakugo's feet with a mixture of fear and resignation.
Tsuyu did the same with Akemi, blinking slowly.
"I don't know why, but this feels personal," Tsuyu murmured.
"They must have a backstory," Kaminari replied.
The competition began, and from the first move, both were challenging each other with their eyes.
"You look like you're going to give up at any moment, Kacchan!" Akemi said with a mocking smile.
Bakugo grunted as he climbed back up.
—Shut up, Deku, I'll do twice as much as you!
Akemi picked up her pace with ease.
—More than me? Kacchan, don't overestimate yourself. Your stamina is pathetic.
Bakugo gritted his teeth.
—Tsk! I'm going to make you eat dust, Deku!
Kaminari looked from one to the other, completely amazed.
—How can they have so much energy to yell at each other while exercising?
Tsuyu blinked slowly.
—Stupid competition.
Minute after minute, the competition continued.
The air around him grew more intense.
Bakugo and Akemi's muscles burned, but neither of them stopped.
Their abs were synchronized, as if they were trying to crush each other with sheer will.
"You're going down first, Explosive Chihuahua!" Akemi said with a confident smile.
"In your dreams, you crazy tomboy!" Bakugo barked.
They both grunted between sit-ups, pushing each other to the limit, sweat running down their foreheads.
Finally, after an absurd amount of time, Aizawa grew tired of watching them compete and sighed.
-...Draw.
Bakugo froze in his tracks.
Akemi too.
They both turned to look at each other with the same expression of absolute disgust.
—...I don't accept this —Bakugo growled.
"Me neither," Akemi added.
Kaminari bumped his forehead against his palms.
—Jesus, shut up, both of you! You look like an old couple.
Tsuyu nodded.
—Yes. Ribbit.
Akemi smiled, a slight blush on her face, while Bakugo turned around, the same blush appearing on his face.
Aizawa ignored the strange scene as he checked his list one last time.
And nodding, he spoke.
—Okay, that's it for today.
The class spilled onto the floor like a pile of corpses, relieved by those simple words.