Publishing this in law class I guess?

𓆱❀𓆱

So deep underground, I shouldn't have been able to breathe. That was my first concern. The earth swathed me like a blanket, cozy and warm, and I realized I wasn't breathing at all. For some reason, I just wasn't suffocating.

I'd been underground many times these past few weeks, but never had it felt like this. Never had it felt so... present.

เ'שє Շคкєภ ๒คςк ץ๏ยг ﻮเŦՇ. The voice was unspoken, no words attributed to the intent. Still, I understood its meaning through the vibrations of the soil, through its damp, earthy scent: I've taken back your gift.

๔๏ ภ๏Շ ŦгєՇ. เ ค๓ คฬคкєภเภﻮ. ץ๏ย ภ๏ ɭ๏ภﻮєг ภєє๔ เՇ.

Do not fret; I am awakening. You no longer need it. The "I" blended with "you" in my mind; a feeling that it was inseparable.

Who are you? A question I never asked aloud, yet the earth trembled to let me know that it heard. Its voice felt kind, gentle, nurturing – unlike anything I'd felt before.

All life originated from me, just as all life eventually returns to me, she whispered. I am the All-Mother.

I'd seen all kinds of weird shit on the way too and from school, and had all kinds of horrifying day-mares. Never had I felt anything quite like this. My brain short-circuited as I tried to wrangle a few stray brain cells to put a single coherent thought together.

What the in the ever-loving shit does that mean?  Was the first thing out of my mind. Where the fuck is this? Better yet, What The Fuck, period?

All in time, child.

I prided myself in being a pretty smart person, but no matter how my mind raced for a conclusion or theory, I was left disgruntled and confused. THAT ANSWERED NOTHING?

Now, you must wake. You may not be so far removed from my other children, but you are not designed for this dwelling.

𓆱❀𓆱

My eyes snapped open as I heaved, choking for breath. I was drenched in sweat, lying still on the forest floor. The pounding and the humming had subsided into a nearly imperceptible whisper, but it was still present. There was no dirt on my uniform – In fact, I was pretty much spotless. Had I actually gone underground?

"What the shit...? " I sat up, wiping my hands down my face. "What the shit! I must be going out of my damn mind!"

My knuckles throbbed. They were bruised red and dotted with blood, and my hands still shook with adrenaline. I really just left him there, didn't I... Wow, I'm an asshole.

What time was it, anyway? What had happened to the match with Bakugo?

"This is the moment you've been waiting for!" Present Mic's voice carried all the way to me from the first-year dome. "It's finally the last battle of the U.A. High School Sports Festival!"

Well, shit. I ran back through the woods, stumbling over the knotty roots and around the winding trunks.

"The top of the first years will be decided with this one match! It's the final, so to speak. From the hero course, it's Katsuki Bakugo! Versus, also from the hero course, Akiharu!

"Who... seems to be missing? Uh... Does anyone... Akiharu? Hello...?"

I took a breath, concentrating. After that fever dream, or whatever, I felt oddly at peace. My energy was still gone – no, it wasn't gone, so much as different. In its place, I could feel something else. Running through the earth at my feet was another energy – Another life force.

Let's try this out.

I reached out to the earth, and the sensation felt nostalgic. It felt tethered to me and my will completely.

I slipped underground like I was a ghost. I was a fish in water — there was no resistance as I pushed through the dirt. It was almost easier than moving above ground.

I could sense where the earth ended and the arena began through a shift in the "energy." Where the earth was dense and full of life, the concrete was muffled and weak – that explained why I found it harder to manipulate. With a final push, I shoved myself out of the ground and into the stadium ring.

"Akiharu appeared!" Present Mic exclaimed. "What kind of an entrance is that? You're late!"

Across the stage stood Bakugo, spots of blood still clinging to his face here and there. He glared daggers at me. "Turns out you wanna fight after all, huh?"

I took in a shaky breath. My Quirk was different, but not gone. It was uncharted territory, but an odd sense of familiarity helped me feel at ease. I would fight with it for now, but the second it felt dangerous, I was withdrawing. I glanced to the stands, and caught the Chairwoman's gaze. My eyes thinned.

"Now... Start!"

The earth shot up in a massive attack, encasing Bakugo and half of the arena in rock. My eyes widened in surprise. Not even Bakugo had time to react. Woah... The response time is different...

My feet slid into a steady stance. Bakugo was caught in there somewhere, but I doubted it would hold him for long.

"Akiharu gets a blow in right away! Trying to avoid close combat with Bakugo?"

A rumble shook the dome, followed by another, and another. The earth mound burst open as Bakugo tunnelled himself out with explosions like a mole. "The stronger the Quirk..." he flung himself my way with a blast, "The more imprecise the attacks!"

At the last second, I pulled up a wall from the ground. Bakugo exploded clean through it with a rage-filled yell. He evaded my strike with an explosion, twisting above my head with his catlike reflexes. He grasped onto my shoulder and planted a foot to the ground, exploding me toward the boundary.

The concrete of the stage caught my feet, swinging me back toward the centre of the arena. I raised the scattered earth into a stream, aiming it at Bakugo. He put both hands together and his palms erupted, rock and dirt tangled with thick dark vapour flung in all directions.

Burning orange blazes out behind Bakugo as he shot toward me. He reared back a hand and it sparkled and flashed. A stream of rock shot up from the ground, hitting him like a truck. I twisted it, sending it surging toward the boundary. With a yell of defiance, Bakugo exploded himself along with the stream instead of against it, until there was just enough room for him to shoot himself into the air.

I wiped sweat from my brow with my sleeve. My mind was swathed with exhaustion; mental and physical fatigue. I wasn't used to this approach to my Quirk yet. I was constantly on edge for a terrible mistake, and it was making it difficult to focus. The last time I had my supplements... Before Todoroki's match?

Dirt flew in all directions as Bakugo placed an explosion between his legs, propelling himself through the air. He crossed his arms over his chest, detonating blast after blast. He spun faster and faster, shooting toward me like a human projectile. I yanked a massive earth wall into the air between us, towering out over the stadium. "Howitzer... Impact!"

There was a flash of blinding yellow and a deafening boom as dirt and rock were flung through the arena. My legs sunk into the stage floor to avoid being flung out of bounds. The heat of the explosion licked at my arms crossed over my face. Tiny bits of concrete shrapnel tore at my uniform and scratched my skin.

My arms lowered as I squinted through thick black smoke blanketing the dome. "I... I can't see anything through the smog!" Present Mic's voice echoed.

I saw Bakugo approaching through the orange haze, his spasming palms glowing. My fists raised to my chin, and the ground trembled as if it felt my anticipation.

Crouching, Bakugo charged, his hands sparking and cracking as he released a vengeful scream. "Die!" I slid out of the way of his hand, pushing his arm just enough to send the blast off its mark. His other hand snapped my way, hot orange erupting in my face. I ducked, flames singing my hair, and swung my legs at his feet. Bakugo fired into the air, pivoting and angling both hands toward me. I threw up a wall moments before the explosion crashed and rumbled, barely holding the earth together against the force.

I crouched and pushed a column to the sky, shooting up through the haze of smoke and dust that had settled in the arena. "A-Akiharu's back in sight!"

I fervently scanned the wafting grey for Bakugo down below. A trail of smoke followed him as he blasted into the air above me. "Don't run from me!" Swinging his arm back, his palms ignited. The muscles in his arm twitched.

"Whatcha gonna do about it?" I kicked off the column and plummeted back down through the smoke. The ground buckled under my feet, slowing my fall until I was fully submerged. A massive explosion shook the ground above.

I felt the trembles – amplified through the ground – as feet hit the stage above; a sensation like an ant crawling across my skin. I could feel Bakugo yell more than I could hear it. "Where are you!"

"Th– the smoke's finally cleared, and Akiharu's nowhere to be seen!"

With the earth so cool and soft to the touch, for a moment, all I wanted to do was sleep. I shook my head and broke out of the haze.

I collected the earth to me and surged out of the ground. Dirt twisted around the stadium, gaining speed, pulling more and more earth into the cyclone. Bakugo raised his arms against the whirlwind, and whipping his palms outward, exploded toward me.

I inhaled sharply and launched the earth, pelting Bakugo in the chest and slamming debris into the arena walls. Once the dirt touched his uniform it clung to him like glue, slowly spreading out across the surface. Placing an explosion at his back, Bakugo launched away from the boundary. He blasted overhead, spinning like a torpedo, and raised his hand. His muscled twitched and his face contorted with pain.

He's experiencing Quirk fatigue. The thought flashed through my mind in an instant. Knowing Bakugo, he'd make this next blast the biggest one yet – It'd probably be his last.

Bakugo's palm ignited. Warm blood poured from my nose, but I didn't notice. The earth snapped back toward me and compressed into a dome just as the explosion detonated.

The top of my dome crumbled and then blew away – Bakugo had found a way to focus the force of the blast into one spot. His hand shot through the air and grasped onto my collar. Rearing his hand back, his fingers curled into a fist.

The dirt scattered across his uniform locked into place, barring further movement.

It didn't last long.

More than the dirt, I felt something else respond to my will. The oxygen in Bakugo's blood and muscles, the calcium and magnesium in his bones – they sparked to life. For a moment, my eyes flickered black as coals.

An alarm blared through my subconscious. I relinquished my hold instantly, and took the punch across the jaw.

𓆱❀𓆱

Huhhhhh...

~1900 words
According to my phone?
My laptop says 1700 so idk where those extra 200 words are coming from