Pastimes of the Invisible Girl

Laugh, Cry, or Both

Author's Note: I don't usually use the f-word, so please excuse me. It was with the pure intention to stay true to Mr. ExplosionMurder. And I have the rest of the chapters, but I was holding off to wait for more people to get on the bandwagon.  Here we are now.

7

Holy crap, that boy was fast!

Toru missed his first assault by a hair, though the heat from the passing explosion seared across her back. She stayed on her stomach, toes and elbows curled beneath her, and used a special breathing technique she had picked up since coming to UA to keep herself calm, and most of all, quiet as the grave.

Bakugo didn't stop. He pivoted on his heel, blasting 360 degrees around him. It was only virtue of being pressed flat to the cement floor that she escaped at all.

Other students in surrounding arenas stopped in their mock battles to protest as excess explosion grazed them.

"Ain't my fault I wasn't given enough room!" Bakugo barked.

Toru took that chance to make her move, rising to her feet, though staying low in order to move quickly. Technically, her quirk wasn't just invisibility, but the ability to reflect light. She could flash him, blind him for a moment, though if she did that he could simply blow the entire arena again, this time with the floor included. She couldn't leave their square, though, as that would be instant elimination...at least, as long as she was honest. But the thought of being dishonest-

"Gonna hide?" cawed Bakugo. "Gonna ease out of the ring where I can't reach like some sneaky scum?"

Her ire prickled, but she stayed quiet. She knew what he was doing. Trying to rile her up to give herself away.

She moved like a ninja, carefully circling around to follow his shoulderblades. Under her opponent's nose was the best place to hide in close combat.

Bakugo let out another series of explosions, this time low to the ground. She timed it just right, then used legs powered through serious kick-boxing practice to leap as high as she could. He kept on exploding and therefore didn't hear the slap of her feet when she landed.

"What kind of hero work can a sneak even do?" sneered Bakugo. "What good are you in a real fight? How'd you even get in this class?"

Surprisingly, his words didn't faze her. They even made her smile. She listened to him far too much and knew his childishness for what it was. Kind of cute, actually, like an angry puppy trying to get her attention.

Then she was there, behind him, her eyes level to the square of his back. Right where she wanted him.

She focused her quirk, readying the flash.

"Oy, where did you-"

Her lightning flared. Bakugo cried out in pain. Several other students cursed. Toru, however, was immune to the light, saw through it, ducked round for the uppercut-

"FUCK YOU, GINGER TITS!"

Halfway to his chin something snapped. Instead of her fist, her whole body bounded up, clamping his belligerent head between her thighs and using her momentum and weight to bring his skull crashing down to the cement. Then she punched him in the face with all the strength she possessed.

Blood poured from his nose. His eyes didn't open.

A whistle blew and Toru scrambled off him, heart stuttering.

He didn't move.

What...what had she just done?

"Victory to Hagakure," said Aiyazawa, sounding awake for once. "In a surprising one minute and fifteen seconds. I don't think anyone has taken down Bakugo faster than that. I am impressed, especially since your quirk isn't combat-oriented."

"Th-thanks?" Her face and neck burned something awful. There was a reason she had never used that move before.

The last thing she had wanted was to clamp her bare thighs and crotch near or, heaven forbid, on a classmate's face.

And she had just done that to Bakugo, who was still out cold on the floor.

"Am...am I done for today?" she croaked. "For this class."

Aiyazawa scratched his stubble. "Are you hurt?" Though he leaned in to check over Bakugo.

"No..." then she turned and winced. "Wait, I think he burnt up my back a little." Like a bad sunburn. Thank god to adrenaline for covering up that mess in the heat of battle. "And my hands are a little scraped up..."

He nodded. "Help me get the brat and you to Recovery Girl and we'll call it good."

Toru's knees went weak. Oh gawl, what if he woke up on the way? Oh god...oh god, what if he had smelled her crotch? And she had been sweating all morning, oh crud, oh frick...

Feeling faint, she tottered her way back to her clothes. Then, once dressed, she did her best to shut down her brain while reaching down to haul up a very nice, muscled arm of the unconscious Bakugo.

No sooner had she wrapped her punching hand under his arm then a bolt of pain shot up her arm. She cried out, mostly in surprise. Aiyazawa dropped the arm he had been reaching for too.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I...I think I might have busted my hand in that last punch..."

Aiyazawa gave one of his trademark sighs. "Can't say I've never done that. Try not to move it."

Thus, thankfully, when Bakugo groaned back to consciousness down a hallway, halfway to the nurse's office, it was Sato his right side hung off, not hers.

"Wha...wha vhe hell..." his voice came out blubbery, his swollen nose impeding his speech.

"Be a good boy and try walking a bit yourself," said Aiyazawa.

"Get ov me," Bakugo shoved off from both of them, wavering. "I'm gonna 'ill her. Fuck that bitch..."

"Um, Bakugo," Sato said. "You know a teacher's right there, right?"

"Shu' up, Diabe'us!"

Toru stayed very, very quiet.

Despite his wounded pride, Bakugo allowed himself to be herded to the nurse's office. However, when he turned around to collapse on the bed indicated by Recovery Girl, his eyes fell on her, and hellfire lit them up. His snarl came at her sharp as knives.

"What ve hell you doi'n, stalker!"

Okay, that...that kind of hurt. Just a little.

"What do you think?" said Aiyazawa in a bored tone, shoving Bakugo's head down by his face, eliciting a yelp of pain as he pressed in on the boy's broken nose. "Chiyo, she hurt her hand while punching and got her back burnt."

Bakugo did many much growls, per the usual. So, since Toru was the one sitting sweet and quiet and not like a poorly trained dog, Recovery Girl saw to her hand and back first. Yes, she had snapped a few bones ("My goodness, girl! Hold back a little before punching walls, yes?"). But the point was she managed to get her scraped, broken hands and back healed and out before Bakugo was allowed to sit up and keep barking.

Alone in the locker room, she closed the pink curtains tight about her and huddled on the floor beneath the spray of hot water. She could feel her eyes burn and her nose begin to run, yet she couldn't stop smiling.