rubatosis | s. todoroki

22 | usj • part one

▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮

Saito Emi

▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮

She is standing in front of the bus and next to Kyoka. Like everyone, she barely pays any heed to Iida's detailed and meticulous instructions on the bus seat arrangements. She tries, really but at some point, Iida's steady unwavering voice makes her space out and have small pieces of her brain dip themselves in the world of fantasies.

They eventually get on the bus and witness Iida's disappointed reaction as the bus isn't exactly how he has imagined it to be. He concedes to spontaneity and sits anywhere with his other classmates. Soon there are only two seats available, one next to Bakugo and the other next to Shoto. Emi doesn't rush anywhere and waits for Kyoka to choose.

The shorter girl smirks at her and pulls her by her hand, muttering lowly, "Go to your man."

Emi doesn't blush until she sits down next to her 'man'. Her neck and ears feel hot and she no longer has the long hair that can cover up her embarrassment.

She doesn't look at him, only feels him shift away and closer to the window to give her more space.

"I'm sorry if you wanted to sit alone," she whispers even though no one will be able to hear her over Bakugo's yelling. She tilts her head a little and looks at him from underneath her lashes, partially scared to find him annoyed only to see his high cheekbones coated with a pretty blush rising to just beneath his scar.

"It's fine," he mutters. "At least, it's you."

Her blush now mirrors his own and they both look away from each other with small grins.

"If we're going to talk about flashy quirks then we have to bring up Bakugo and Todoroki! They're so strong!" Kirishima says at one point of the bus ride.

Emi snaps out of her daze and peeks at Shoto to see his reaction. He has his head tilted upwards, eyes closed and lips parted. Peace rests on his features, his even breaths and his smoothly closed eyelids. She itches to trace all his face with her finger but she figures he won't appreciate that. A movement from his left knee catches her eyes and it swings to rest against her own knee.

She hums contently.

◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►◄►

When they step foot into USJ, they're immediately greeted by Thirteen, a hero a few people fangirl about for a few seconds. Whispers and admiring words swim between them and Emi frowns.

I doubt Saito was a hero anyone went crazy over

This bitter thought disappears as Thirteen gives a long but heartfelt speech that has all of their eyes burning with determination. Their stances and postures are straight and unyielding. They all look ready to take on the next challenge.

She steals a look at Shoto and smiles slightly as his firm look his countenance has taken. He stands tall with his jaw tensed and defined.

"Stand back!" Aizawa suddenly yells, making her heart jump violently. The class instantly takes a defensive position and huddles close. "Villains!"

Purple mist appears within distance from the stairs and pale grey hands slither out and malicious faces swim amongst the dark purple hues. They step out, disgusting grins unfurling and their hands clutching their weapons lightly as though coming to play a game. Emi's surprised by how much details she can see from her position; she's always thought her vision is weak.

Thirteen ushers them back as Aizawa slides down, closing the distance between him and the villains within seconds. Bakugo and Kirishima, however, have other plans the moment the purple mist guy appears in front of them. After retaliating many times, they get warped away with only Iida missing.

It's a strange feeling, being warped that is. It feels disembodying and just strange. It's like falling in your dream and waking up in surprise. She can't see her other classmates but when she feels something brush by her hand, she finds Shoto beside her also looking at her like she's grown horns.

They fall into a heap on a rough ground, Emi scraping her knees as a result. She chose to wear the school's gym's uniform so the fabric tears up easily and excessively too. She almost scoffs, one would think a school prestigious like that will have their gym uniforms more durable than this. She sits back and rips off the useless fabric that is just brushing her calves. She keeps doing this until she reaches her mid-thighs. Having it to her knees is plain annoying and too restricting.

Meanwhile, the dual-haired boy stands up and examines their surroundings, weighing their options. When he looks back and finds her on the ground like this, a light blush springs up on his cheeks but concern is still etched on his face.

"Are you okay?" he asks, stretching his hand towards her for her to take. She does, dusting herself off when she gets up.

"Yeah, just a scratch."

They both glance down to her slightly bloodied knees. "Right." He turns away when he hears heavy footsteps coming from somewhere. "Stay here, I'll take care of this and we'll move on from there."

"Aye aye captain."