The weather can be fickle, Arashi Shirakumo knows that better than most.
When she joins Class 1-A, she expects life to be much of the same, everchanging bullshit. Simple in it's monotony.
Reality is anything but simple however, and she finds herself...
Arashi had to go get stitches in her arm that day...
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The Tanuki cut her a little deeper than she first thought, but honestly that didn't matter.
What matters is how when Arashi looks out onto the field where Aria and Bakugou were fighting, all she could see is the tanuki again, weaving in and out of bushes, teeth bared, unhinged .
Aria is akin to an animal writhing in its bonds, she realizes this is a lot like how she was back at USJ, that burning tenacity to fight, to win, to survive.
It's... animalistic, in nature, if Arashi is being honest with herself.
Arashi can't just seem to look away, even when memories of her past and the USJ flood her senses, even when Bakugou fires an explosion right in her face, point blank. Even when she cringes in pain seeing her friend combat such ferociousness, Arashi watches. Intent on seeing this through to the end in such a way she's almost equal in desire as Aria was.
She fights with everything she has, rolling with the punches, taking the beating like a badge of pride, and standing up twice as tall. It's something Arashi strives to achieve, strives to be with every fiber of her being.
Arashi can see the way her classmates tense when Bakugou rears his arm back to fling another explosion at her, she can hear the way the audience tries to stifle their concerns, watching with bated breath. She doesn't understand them, doesn't understand how they're not just enthralled with the fight happening before them. It's a dance, a dangerous gamble the two of them are playing, wonderful and terrifying all at once.
It's captivating, watching as Aria dashes around the arena, hugging the sides, then moving towards the middle when Bakugou tries another assault. There's times where Arashi fears she's been blown out of bounds, but every time Aria emerges from the dust, emerges stronger.
Bakugou seems to get stronger at the same time as well, surging with energy each time Aria stands back up, raises her fists to her face, fights back. It's a tug of war between the two, Arashi's honestly not sure who would end up on top.
She can see the way the two of them hold nothing back, she's seen it when they spar, at USJ, this is a battle to the proverbial death, till one can fight no longer. It's how everyone should be fighting, and yet she can hear nothing but protest from those around her.
They want Bakugou to stop toying with her, to have Aria just give up and accept defeat. Arashi just doesn't understand them. She can't, and in a way it's good, a way it's bad. She understands them, just like that day in the forest, she can look into their eyes and speak upon their souls, drown in the aura that is Bakugou and Aria.
They're two stars colliding to form a powerful supernova...
Arashi draws in a breath as Bakugou preps another large explosion, Aria's on her last legs, and even though she had fought tooth and nail, she wouldn't prevail through the end. She wasn't ready for their clash just yet, but Arashi knows that she did more than her best. Knew that making it this far is an amazing accomplishment. One that Arashi hopes she never forgets.
When the dust settles, Arashi finds that her friend lays motionless on the arena, the sparking blue light fizzling out with her form. She stands then, gathering her jacket and phone, leaving the stands without a word.
Arashi had her own fight to prepare for now, watching the way Aria and Bakugou fought only gave her more to strive for, to try and best. The very thought of the battle ahead of her fills Arashi with an indescribable dread, but still, Arashi forces it down within herself, as she always does.
