Rule #54: Anticipation kills.
Day three was filled with much the same as the day before; they had been woken at the ass-crack of dawn when the sparrows were only just beginning to greet the morning's rays and tiredly pushed towards their individual exercises and training regimes. Aching and tired, Toru had reluctantly pulled the pink monstrosity back on and met Shoji outside the barracks for their stealth training. Why can't we do this in the woods?! She mentally whined as she crept close to the multi-armed hero.
Turning away from the remedial class, Aizawa's voice travelled out across the plains towards the rest of students. "Don't lose focus! Each of you can move faster and no matter what you're doing, just remember where you started from. Don't forget who you were before UA, always keep in mind why you're sweating and why you're limits keep getting tested: that's what it means to improve"
Where I started? Who I am? How I got here…Toru's thoughts drifted back to days of rubber-filled rifles and obnoxiously happy octopi.
"…THAT'S WHY YOU GET TO WORK OUT WITH US FOUR PUSSYCATS!" Ragdoll called out, breaking Toru from her thoughts as she dodged one of Shoji's arms and tried to reach for the flag hanging from his waist. A quick glance spared over her shoulder showed Midoriya talking to Aizawa, but her attention was soon brought back to the task at hand.
"Mew, mew, mew!" Pixie Bob called from her cardboard throne "More importantly: TONIGHT'S GONNA BE SO MUCH FUN! WE'RE PITTING CLASSES AGAINST EACH OTHER IN A TEST OF COURAGE—!"
"Looks like you'll get your test of courage after all, Toru" Asui croaked as she passed by with a bottle of water in her hand.
"Yeah, if we survive this first" Toru sassed as she jumped out of the way of Shoji's swats "Eek!"
"—I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN TRAINING HARD TODAY AND LATER YOU'LL TO PLAY HARD TOO! HOW'S THAT FOR A REWARD?!" Pixie Bob continued.
"It just sounds like more training!" Kendo complained.
"And training in the dark, no less!" Jiro added with a whine.
"Revelry in the dark!" Tokoyami murmured to himself before he returned to the dark caves.
"How much can we do in one day?!" Complained Rin.
"Ahaha! As long as we get to beat Class A, am I right?" Monoma replied dazed.
"DON'T SLACK OFF NOW!" Pixie Bob called out, "MAKE SURE YOU KEEP ON PUSHING YOURSELF AS YOU WORK!"
"Yes ma'am!" Chorused the students as they returned to their exercises. Oh boy!
Once again on vegetable duty, Toru sat across from Bakugou as the pair easily and skillfully made their way through the pile of uncut food next to them. "Whoa Bakugou!" Ochako gasped in awe as she passed with a bundle of kindling in her arms, "You're really good with that knife! It's weird"
"Whaddya mean 'it's weird' ?! How can you people be so damn bad at everything?!" He snarled as he continued to slice up the carrots.
"Hey, look at that!" Kaminari commented as he passed by, "He's not blowing stuff up!"
"Wow! Toru! How are you doing that?" Ochako crept round to the side so she watched over her friend's shoulder as she skinned and filleted the fish.
"I've done pigeons and toads before" Toru shrugged as she scraped off the scales, "It's not too dissimilar"
"You ate a toad?!"
"No" Toru puzzled with furrowed brows, "Did you never do a dissection in junior high?"
"Yeah kinda, our sensei did one for us all to watch—a cow's leg, I think" Ochako shrugged, "What about you?"
"Oh we did pretty much everything: a cow's eyeball, a pig heart, lungs and the like. Actually—" Toru smiled as the memory came to her, "—Sensei was trying to show us how the lungs worked, so she stuck a straw into one of the valves and went to blow into it; but she ended up sucking instead!"
"Ew!" The gravity girl gagged at the imagery, and across from them Bakugou scrunched his face up in disgust.
"It was hilarious!" Toru grinned before going back to the fish in her hands.
"I dunno if I can eat that now!" Ochako groaned, looking a little pale.
"Oh well, more for m~e!" Toru sang.
"YOU GUYS!" Iida suddenly erupted, "YOU'RE HANDS AREN'T MOVING! WE'LL NEVER MAKE THE BEST STEW IF YOU STOP NOW!"
"Heh! I'm too tired for this!" Kirishima groaned behind her. Toru stifled a giggle.
Dinner that night was spent around one of the few bonfires littering the campground. After some floundering with the barbecues and discovering new sides to her classmates in regards to their cooking skills, Toru found herself seated amongst her peers around one of the bonfires, as they just relaxed after their long day of training. The grills were long since cooled by this point and their empty bowls were piled high to one side with chopsticks bundled together in an empty cup. Crispy marshmallows dripped from their sticks as they sat over the firelight and chocolate was smeared across faces as the varying s'mores were devoured.
The thrumming of the acoustic guitar (produced by Yaoyorozu at Jiro's bequest) beneath worn fingers, the chatter and laughter of tired students and the sound of the roaring fires filled the clearing as they waited for night to fall for their dreaded 'test of courage'. Currently, Mina, Kendo and Toru were wildly dancing together like children in the firelight as they made up words that went along with Jiro's mindless strumming. The current song was upbeat and rockish, leading the trio to twist and spin around with swaying hips and bubbling laughter, completely carefree.
Soon enough, the bonfires were left to cool and the first years were rounded up and herded towards a nondescript clearing where the test of courage was to begin. Though the evening was much cooler than it had been during the day, it was still rather humid, so many of the students had opted for less layers than usual. Dressed her oversized pyjama shirt that hung off of one shoulder and was tucked into her worn jean shorts, Toru stood amongst her peers, waiting with excited anticipation for the test to begin.
"Perfect! We've filled out bellies and cleaned the dishes! IT'S TIME FOR—" Pixie Bob declared.
"—A totally awesome test of courage!" Mina happily exclaimed as she jumped up and down in her excitement.
"We're gonna win!" Chorused the rest of the remedial class.
"Not so fast" Aizawa cut in, "It pains me to say it, but the remedial class will be having lessons with me tonight instead"
"YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME?!" Mina cried.
"Sorry" Aizawa apologised, sounding not at all apologetic as he bound the required students in his scarf, "You're training during the day didn't impress me, so I'll be using this time too"
"Aw! Gimme a break! I just wanna prove my cou~rage!" Whined the boys of the remedial class.
"Okay! So!" Pixie Bob spun, happily ignoring Aizawa as he dragged his bounties off to who knows where. "Class B is going to start out as out scarers. When they're in place, Class A will leave in pairs every three minutes. There are tags with your names on them at the far end of the route, your goal is to collect those"
"Revelry in the dark!" Tokoyami murmured for the umpteenth time. Why does he keep saying that?
"Now, those who are scarers: you aren't allowed to make physical contact. Use your Quirks to terrify the others! Got it?" Ragdoll continued.
"THE WINNERS ARE THE CREATIVE STUDENTS WHO MAKE THE MOST PEOPLE PISS THEIR PANTS!" Tiger concluded.
"Did we need that visual?" Jiro wondered.
"I see!" Iida burst in with yet another random epiphany, "There encouraging us to stoke our imaginations as we compete with each other, all while showing creative uses of our Quirks in the process! AS EXPECTED OF UA!"
"ALRIGHT!" Pixie Bob shoved a fistful of numbered tickets into their faces "EVERYONE DRAW TO SEE WHO YOUR PARTNER WILL BE!"
After drawing the number three, Toru found herself paired with Jiro, who appeared to be less excited about the event than anyone else. In fact, her reaction was almost the exact opposite of Mina's had been. In the end, the fifteen remaining students (after the five remedial students had been carted off) where put into seven pairs, with one extra. Midoriya was unfortunate enough to be that one extra, much to his dismay. "We were randomly assigned, it's not that anybody didn't choose your or anything" Ojiro tried to placate him.
"Listen up Tail!" Bakugou growled, spinning the other blonde around to face him, "Trade with me!" He shot a thumb over to Todoroki whose bitch-face practically screamed, 'Yeah? Fuck you too!'
"Ao~yama!" Mineta moaned like a man possessed as he crept towards the terrified Frenchman who stood next to his partner, Yaoyorozu, "Please switch partners with me! I should be with her!"
"Revelry in the dark!" Tokoyami muttered again; this time it was Shoji who shot him a puzzled look.
Ten minutes later after the ground rules were laid down and the first pair of students were shoved into the dark woods, Jiro and Toru stood at the edge of the creeping trees as they waited for their turn. Frightfully high screams and hysterical laughter could be heard from the forest as the group before them (Bakugou & Todoroki) encountered some of Class B. "Alright! Next team!" Sang Pixie Bob, "That's you two kittens! DJ and Little Miss Disappear!"
"KYAAAAAA!" Came a scream from the dark forest, making the girls jump.
"AH! What was that?!" Jiro panicked as she stuck close to the invisible girl.
"That's Bakugou and Todoroki, I think? Or it could've been Shoji & Tokoyami" Toru mused, "Can you imagine Bakugou screaming like that?" She spun around so that she was walking backwards in front of the musical hero.
"H-he's certainly loud enough!" Jiro jumped at the rustle of some nearby bushes, but there was nothing there."Urgh! Why do we even have to this?! I hate stuff like this!" She grumbled.
"Really?" Toru tilted her head in question, "I love this kinda thing!"
"You're one those pricks who laugh during horror movies, aren't you?" Jiro deadpanned.
"Only the B-grade ones" Toru shrugged, "But I do love a good horror"
"Great"
"Well, as scary as some of the horror stuff can be, I don't think our classmates'll really go that far. I mean, can you imagine them hanging fake bodies from the trees? Or writing your name in blood?"
"Well, now I can!" Jiro wrapped her arms around herself as she shuffled after the invisible girl.
"Don't worry so much, Jiro! You'll be fine!" Toru laughed as she continued to walk backwards.
"It's not funny Toru!" Jiro snapped.
"Sorry, sorry"
There was a beat of silence as the two continued on down the darken and wooden path before Jiro spoke up again."…H-Hey, do you smell something burning?"
"Actually, now that you mention it…" Toru sniffed the ashen air, "Who wants to bet Bakugou blew something up again?"
"No, no, I don't think so…" Jiro muttered as she spun around, trying to find the source of the smell "His explosions smell different, and they kinda rip through the air"
"Yeah, you're right" Toru nodded, "If it was Bakugou, we'd probably have seen the after shock by now…I wonder what it was? D'ya think someone in Class B could've done it? Jiro?"
While Toru had continued to walk backwards along the path, Jiro had stopped short and was staring at something over her shoulder with eyes blown wide. She was practically shaking in fear as Toru bumped into whatever was behind her. Sparing a glance over her shoulder, she came face to face—well, face to brain—with a large teal Nomu. "Crap!" Jumping away from the hulking Nomu, Toru reappeared at Jiro's side as the beast fully emerged from the bushes. "What's a Nomu doing here?!"
"How the hell should I know?!" Jiro fired back hysterically as the two fell into their fighting stances.
Palming one of the Anti-Sensei knives that she refused to go anywhere without these days, Toru reeled her arm back and flung the green weapon towards the exposed brain, intent on at least downing the great hulking beast before them. However, fortune was not on their side as the Nomu released its Quirk. Two of its six sunken eyes began to glow an eery red and the knife was turnaround in midair and flung back at them at blinding speeds.
Both Jiro and Toru jumped to the sides with a squeak or a yelp respectively, leaving the rubbery weapon to bury itself hilt first into the tree behind them. "Any other brilliant ideas?" Jiro sassed as she rose from the ground. "Toru?" Turning to her partner, Jiro found Toru still on her knees and staring at the Nomu with slack limbs. "T-Toru? Are you alright? Toru?" Too far from her classmate, Jiro shot out an earjack and wrapped it around the girl's wrist, before pulling with all her might. Even with all of the training she had been doing, she was only able to pull the girl back a couple of paces.
At the same time, Toru found herself entrapped by the nightmarish illusion the Nomu had placed on her. Much like the nightmares she had first suffered after the death of Koro-Sensei, she found herself unable to look away from the scene before her, unable to discern what was reality and unable to awaken. She had told Jiro she liked horror movies, but the scene before her played out like something from the pages of a Stephen King novel.
Yellow and decaying, Koro-Sensei stood before her with a jovial smile that juxtaposition the green knife sticking out of his chest. She could see sections of his skeleton and the bug-infested pieces of flesh dripped from the bones like soggy paper. "Come now, Toru" Koro-Sensei chirped, his cheerful voice no different from when she had heard it last,"Is that really how you should greet your sensei?"
Her limbs felt heavy and she vaguely felt Jiro's attempts to move her, but her heart was wailing out to the vision in front of her. Sorrow gripped her chest in a deathly hold as great big tears welled up in her eyes and dripped down her cheeks. Heaving sobs wracked at her small frame and she paid no mine to the snot dribbling from her nose; just beyond Koro-Sensei, Toru could've sworn she had seen Yukimura-Senseis' burnt and broken form smiling at her as well.
"…'me on…m…ve…Toru!" Jiro's words floated through her dreams but were unable to penetrate them fully. Completely consumed by the grief brought on by the supposed return of her two let teachers, Toru was unaware of how her Quirk reacted to such images. Tears continued to run down her face and her skin began to flicker with the intensity of ultraviolet light. The heat from the fast-moving UV rays was enough for Jiro to jump back with gasp of pain as if she had been burned.
Clutching the aching and burnt limb to her chest, she wasn't able to see the swinging arm before it was too late. Backhanded through the trees by one of the multiple arms, Jiro sailed away as Toru's cries being the last thing she heard before she was enveloped by the foliage. In the meantime, Toru's wails had reached a crescendo, turning her usually quiet sobs into hysterical screams that were heard across the forest; they were so loud that a nearby flock of nesting birds took flight.
It was only once the Nomu had deemed her properly sedated, that it moved forth to envelope her. Multiple hands pulled her from the ground and up to the Nomu's chest where the leathery skin turned to quicksand and pulled her numb form in. It wrapped itself around her, pouring itself into her nose, mouth and ears until she had become fully embedded in its chest like a mole. A few test jumps revealed that her fetal position above its heart would not be changing any time soon. With sorrow in her heart, gloopy skin in her sinuses and black spots dotted throughout her vision, Toru was stolen away by the brainy beast with thundering footsteps.