Rule #16: If someone thinks they have the upper hand, break it

"…Can't believe you convinced me to wear this thing…" Toru grumbled as she fruitlessly pulled on the hem of the too short skirt in an effort to have it rest lower than her crotch. It wasn't working. Despite wearing clothes that (only just) covered everything, Toru had never felt more naked or exposed.

"C'mon Toru! It'll be fun!" Mina cheered unenthusiastically, as she waved her golden pompoms about in the air and Class A's girls shuffled none-too-quickly down the hallway and back out into the arena where the rest of their class & the crowd awaited.

"Besides, you're not the only one itching to get outta this" Jiro replied, hugging her bare stomach and looking slightly pale at what they were about to do.

The orange monstrosity in question was a set of obnoxiously-painted cheerleading uniforms with the UA initials spread tautly across their chests and paired with a pair of golden pompoms that Momo had painstakingly created for the each of them within the hour lunch break, provided. The shirt—if you could call it that—clung to their bosom's, digging into supple flesh and offering up a peak at their under/sideboobs. The skirt was far too short, with a pleated hem that barely fell any lower than was deemed respectful. Honestly, it was a pervert's wet dream and it made Toru sick just wearing it.

"It's for the festival" Momo spoke with forced positivity, no happier about wearing the outfit than any of the others. "We just have to grin and bare it, at least until the event is over"

"Yeah, I s'pose you're right" Jiro nodded, clinging to the notion that she wouldn't have to wear it for too long.

"…Still doesn't mean I have to like it" Toru pouted as they crossed the threshold and stepped out onto false grass.

"GET THOSE FOAM FINGERS IN THE AIR, 'CAUSE IT'S ALMOST TIME FOR THE LAST ROUND!" Present Mic's voice bounced around the stadium as the first years regrouped in the center of the pitch. "BUT BEFORE THAT, GOOD NEWS FOR EVERYONE WHO DIDN'T MAKE THE FINALS! SINCE THIS IS A SPORTS FESTIVAL, WE'VE PREPARED SOME SUPER FUN GAMES THAT EVERYONE CAN PARTICIPATE IN! WE'VE EVEN BROUGHT IN CHEERLEADERS FROM AMERICA TO GET YOUR BLOOD PUMPING!"

"…What?" Toru's face dropped at that.

"Please tell me he didn't just say that…" Jiro whined pathetically as she shoved her face into her pompoms.

"He did, ribbit" Tsu replied, blatantly honest as always.

"Hold up…" Mic grew hushed for a moment as he spotted the orange group gathered down below. All eyes had turned to them by this point and it was fair to say that there was a fair amount of drooling going on in both the stands and on the pitch.

"What are they doing?" Aizawa sounded unimpressed.

"LOOKS LIKE CLASS 1-A ARE GOING FULL-ON FAN SERVICE!"

"Don't draw attention to it!" Jiro cried, legs buckling as Momo became enraged.

"WHAT?! YOU TRICKED US?! Momo exploded, furiously waving her pompoms in the air at the duo who had alerted her of the 'event'. Kaminari and Mineta simply shared a conspirative high-five before they found themselves falling prey to the Vice's wrath. "YOU'RE GONNA REGRET THIS!"

"Come 'ere you lil' shits!" Toru snarled, launching forward only to find herself entrapped in the embrace of a blushing Kirishima who seemed to have reacted on instinct and now found himself panicking about where to put his hands. "Lemme go! I'm gonna roast those bastards!"

"Ah! Quit squirming!" Kirishima squawked as he lifted the invisible girl clear off the ground in an attempt to keep her from killing their classmates. Off to the side, Bakugou appeared caught between wanting to join in and glaring at the girl who'd stolen his second place in the previous round.

"Ah! Why is it that I'm always falling for that little pervert's stupid schemes?" Momo wailed as she dropped to her knees in defeat. "I mean, I even used my quirk to make these stupid outfits!"

"Ugh! I hate those guys!" Jiro threw her pompoms down in a fit of rage, tears of frustration beading in the corners of her eyes.

"I''l say" Toru agreed, pausing in her struggle for only a moment "Who wants to help me roast a grape?" She was only half-kidding.

"I'm in!" Jiro replied immediately, completely serious.

"Oh, c'me on guys, it's not so bad!" Mina tried as she danced about, pompoms fluttering behind her, "We do have a little bit of time before the finals actually start…and I kinda like these uniforms, so how about we just roll with it?"

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!"

"…Or not"

"I feel naked…" Toru whined pitifully as she finally slumped down in Kirishima's hold. Around them, some of the braver (blushing) boys of their class attempted to keep the peace; some offering up their own shirts and flustered nice words to the girls. Across the way, she absently noted how Shinso seemed to draw himself up, eyes narrowed almost protectively at the invisible girl who was clearly uncomfortable. But the view was quickly blocked when her vision became tinged with blue and she was set back down on her feet. Pushing aside the long sleeve of the caramel-scented jacket covering her head, Toru peeked out to find Bakugou resolutely staring anywhere but her as Kirishima commended his manly gesture.

"Thanks" Toru murmured as she slid into the too-big jacket, thankful that the material fell down passed the edge of the skirt. Bakugou merely grunted in response, eyes barely flickering her way for a moment or two.

"…HAVE FUN COMPETING IN THE SIDE GAMES, EVERYONE!" Mic screeched, continuing to explain whilst the hero class appeared in their own little world.

I should probably be listening to this. Toru mused, pulling the zipper all the way up and relishing in the fact that the sleeves drooped over her hands.

"AFTER THEY'RE ALL DONE, THE TOP STUDENTS ARE GONNA DUKE IT OUT IN ONE-ON-ONE MATCHES IN A BID FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP! YOU'RE NOT GONNA WANNA MISS THIS!"

The scoreboard overhead flickered away to reveal the afternoon's round robin matches as listed in the elimination-style, as explained. All of them would fight another first year and if they won that match, they would then move onto the next round if they were able & so on, & so forth until a champion was revealed at the end.

"Aw yeah!" Kirishima pumped his fists in the air, "Finally getting a chance to show what where made of! I watch these finals every year, and now I'm actually in them!"

"But wait—is it always a tournament?" Mina puzzled.

"The finals are always a one-on-one competition" Sero helpfully explained, "But they switch it up every time. last year it was a foam sword-fighting match"

"Oh, that would've been fun" Toru hummed, tucking her chin into the neck of the jacket and breathed in the musky scent of her roguish classmate.

"…THEN ENJOY THE PLEASURE OF THESE RECREATIONAL GAMES BEFORE WE START!" Mic crowed from the commentator's box. Midnight looked rather miffed that the loud blonde had stolen some of her thunder. "THE FINALISTS CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE SIDE GAMES IF THEY WANT TO OR PREPARE FOR THEIR BATTLES! LET'S START WITH TEAM TODOROKI!"

Upon the stage, Midnight held a box of names aloft, presumably for them to withdraw their lots for the final round. But it was only after Ojiro and a few others opted out of the final round due to personal reasons (mostly pride—either too much or not enough) that they were instructed on what would happen next. Team Todoroki went first, drawing out the names of their opponents before retreating to the pitch where the others stood waiting as the names were inputed to the system. Next wen Team Hagakure, Team Shinso and so on until everyone had plucked a name from the box and found themselves an opponent for the first round.

Eventually the scoreboard above them flickered with their matches laid out cleanly for all to see. Those few empty spots, vacated by the dropouts were filled by a lucky few picked at random from the other students who were just short of the top five (or six, in this case). And so, when Toru looked up to find her name on the board, she it there in the third match of the first bracket across from Monoma Neito, the loudmouth copycat from Class B. Well, his personality leaves a lot to be desired, but it could be worse, I s'pose. Toru mused, chewing at her lower lip in thought. And if I advanced, I'd have to fight either Tokoyami or Momo. Plus, I'll get to add to that sunburn.

The screen soon flittered over to the next screen, introducing the first of the recreational games as both Midnight and Mic volleyed to announce what was going to happen to the audience. Mic, as per usual, was the loudest even without the microphone and easily drowned out Midnight's petty attempts for revenge. Her face soured into the ugliest expression Toru had ever seen on the R-rated hero, but no one was really paying her any attention as the first game stared up. "OKAY LET'S PRESS PAUSE FOR A MOMENTARY INTERLUDE!" Mic's voice tinged smugly as he called out, "IT'S TIME FOR SOME SIDE GAMES! FIRST! HOW ABOUT A SCAVENGER HUNT?"

At that, those finalist who'd chosen not to participate, scurried back to the waiting/changing rooms where they could prepare for their upcoming battles. For the girls of 1-A who'd been tricked into a cheerleader's outfit, they all but raced back towards the leering halls so that they could change back into their school tracksuits. Toru may have been shirtless for the Calvary battle and practically nude for a portion of the obstacle course, but that was on her terms, not those of her perverted classmates (who currently found themselves bound in tape, ashen faced). They didn't even bother to stay and watch the fireworks, they just left.

"What's wrong, Hagakure? Are you okay?" Midoriya asked as she rushed passed, "Aren't you going to stay for the side games?"

"I'm fine" Toru replied hurriedly, "I just want to get out of this orange thing, like yesterday! Can't believe I missed the school tracksuit, so much…"

"What's wrong with it?" Iida sounded genuine in his confusion as he readjusted his glasses, "It's just clothes, yes? A uniform to show encouragement to our classmates"

"…Are you kidding me?" She blinked dumbly, taken aback by the Class Rep's obliviousness. "I've worn bikinis longer than this!"

"Who cares?" Mineta sneered as he was dragged back, "It's not like anyone can see anything, anyway"

"You pervert!" Toru fumed, trying to stomp hard on the passing grape only to find herself hoisted off of her feet as Kirishima restrained her again. "Lemme go! I'm gonna kill him!"

"Wow, it's like looking in a mirror, eh Bakugou?" Sero snickered.

"WHAT'D YOU SAY, TAPE FACE?!"


Even though they were told to have fun, those in the tournament found that they couldn't relax. Some spent their time trying to come up with a strategy, whilst others opted to rest their bodies. There were those who prepped for the fight by power-loading on foods or tried to hype themselves up, whilst others still, who were trying to calm their sudden nerves. Back in the waiting room—and once more dressed in her school tracksuit—Toru lay back on one of the benches as she fiddled with her Anti-Sensei dagger, waiting for the side games to end. The way they had explained it, the first bracket of finals would be sandwiched between two bouts of side games, allowing the finalists to rest and recover between the brackets. And so on & so forth until they reached the third bracket or ran out of side games, whichever came first.

Toru absently chucked the green blade up into the air again, catching it by the hilt as her thought drifted, mindless of the strange looks she was receiving from those few still in the room with her. Ever since the incident at the USJ, Toru had taken to keeping the little green dagger on her person at all times. Sure, it wasn't exactly a sharp blade and it wouldn't damage much more than a Nomu, but in the immortal words of Koro-sensei: "Anything can be a weapon, if you polish it enough!"

The television in the corner of the room sat muted as it live-streamed the goings-on of the stadium, allowing them to see what was going on. With the end of the side games long passed, Midoriya v Shinso had been the first battle of the bracket and it had almost ended before it had begun. Shinso had moved first, entrapping the greenette in his brainwashing quirk and forced him to march back towards the boundary line without much hassle. At least until the greenette had somehow managed to break free and tossed the indigo-haired boy aside with enough force to break something.

Next up had been Sero v Todoroki, and that to had been a quick battle. Not that anyone had been totally surprised. Sero, well aware of their difference in skills, had moved first, hoping to toss the two-toned boy from the stage before he could stop him; he only got so far, however, before Todoroki put his foot down. Literally. Slamming his foot down, an entire glacier erupted from the ground and encompassed the stadium in ice.

Sero, alongside many others, found himself entrapped in the ice, unable to move. Recalling Todoroki's war declaration earlier in the day, this use of his quirk allowed Todoroki to showcased not only how powerful he was, but also had the added benefit of not hurting one of his classmates. The two-toned boy had been almost frightened of himself after the USJ incident, particularly when he'd viciously attacked without warning, thinking himself alone in that area. At least, he had the courtesy to free 'em, I guess… Toru hummed, watching the giant ice statue melt in a manner of minutes. Well, it's not long now!


"WELCOME BACK TO THE FINALS, EVERYONE!SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT! IT'S NOW TIME TO WELCOME OUR NEW COMPETITORS!" Mic crowed as Monoma sauntered out into the sun from the opposing tunnel, a smug smirk fixed firmly in place, "EVEN PRETTY BOYS HAVE CLAWS, IT'S THE COPYCAT HERO FROM 1-B: MONOMA NEITO!"

"Snnrk!" Toru snorted into her hand, "Pretty boy, copycat? Priceless!"

"…AND TAKING HIM ON, IT'S THE INVISIBLE GIRL WITH BLINDING RUTHLESSNESS! ANOTHER HERO-IN-THE-MAKING: HAGAKURE TORU!"

"Blinding? Really? Is that the best he could come up with?" She pulled a face as she clambered up onto the stage and took her spot across from the smug blonde, trying her best to ignore the roar of the crowds. A quick glance to the left showed the other classes shoved together in the nosebleed section and separated by a couple of divider screens. Off to the left, Cementoss sat in an umpire's chair to oversee the match whilst Midnight stood nearby, ready to intervene if needs be.

"…KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED! I WANNA SEE A SUPER FLASHY BATTLE THIS TIME! SO, LET'S GET STARTED!"

Flashy, wasn't exactly Toru's forte, which was ironic considering her quirk. This had been fine back in junior high, when their ultimate goal had entailed them to be unseen and unheard in order to achieve their goal. But this wasn't assassination, this was heroism and the whole deal was to be seen and heard—particularly in flashy movements. With that in mind, Toru moved. Surging forward on feather-light steps, the invisible girl aimed a punch, illuminated in light, at the blonde's head. Suddenly there, Toru could see the moment Monoma's eyes widen in surprise before he yanked up a hasty wall of cement to block the attack. Five minutes. Toru thought as her attack connected, bruising her knuckles and scorching the earth. He's only got five minutes of Cementoss' quirk, maybe less. I can work with that.

Shaking out her fist, the invisible girl hopped back a pace or two to give herself a running start and then she was hopping over the wall and baring down on the blonde once more. Limbs ignited in light, Toru chased after the blonde, dodging this way and that as he threw up wall after wall in an attempt to throw her off. It wasn't working as well as he'd hoped.

Monoma had had a taste of her quirk during the calvary battle, but you could see it in his eyes, he wasn't exactly itching for a redo. But he also knew that to even have a chance, he was going to have to copy it and fight fire with fire. The only needed the barest glimpse of fingers against flesh for this to work. So when the invisible girl leapt from her latest perch atop one of the walls and her ignited foot connected with his cheek, he took the chance offered to him.

Fuelled by the adrenaline pumping in her veins, the once controlled solar flares flickered about Toru's ankles molten fire and licked at her pant legs like an energetic puppy. It all happened so fast; one moment she was crouched upon one of Monoma's outreaching perches and the next she was shoving his calculating face down into the ground with molten feet. A twinge of pain in her chest had her biting her lip to hide the wince as she backpedalled from the downed blonde. Ever since she could remember, she'd only ever used her light manipulation in small burst to avoid what had happened when she was younger and her body was still adapting to her quirk.

"…Gotcha!" Monoma smirked as he stumbled to his feet, face bruised and sunburnt, but ready to fight back.

"Crap!" Toru quietly cursed, as she realised what had just happened. Especially as parts of the blonde started to flicker between visibility and invisibility. Just as the baby rattlesnake, unable to control its own venom, was far more dangerous than one who could, Toru knew that Monoma was going to be a tough one to beat. Not because he was stronger, but because the unwieldy nature of her quirk meant that if his body couldn't adapt in time, he was going to lose control very quickly. She could guarantee it, after all it was what happened to her when her quirk had first manifested.

"My turn!" He cried, shoving a light-laden punch straight at Toru's stomach (now that he had copied her quirk, he could see her clear as day) and sent her flying back across the field. Thankfully, she was able to get her feet back under her and skid to a stop before she crossed the boundary line, but it was a very close thing. But Monoma wasn't done, this time he chased after her, following up his initial attack with a series of lobs & punches which had Toru dancing out of the way only to trip over herself and land wheezing on her back.

Thinking fast, the albino rolled back onto her shoulders and up onto her hands so that flare-encrusted feet could swing about and push the advancing blonde away. Taking advantage of the small opening, the albino launched herself up towards his shoulders, knee outstretched so that when it connected with his already bruised & battered face, it hurt like hell. They grappled, rolling about the floor like a pair of wrestlers, each trying to burn the other as Toru's limbs locked around wayward limbs in a familiar snake-like grip.

"What's wrong, Copycat?" Toru taunted as she watched sweat drench his brow and the burns decorate his arms. "Too hot to handle? Maybe you should just yield and save that pretty little face of yours"

"You should…take your own…advice!" Monoma panted, unused to the heat of the quirk as he rolled them over and leered down at the girl beneath him. His fist, emboldened by the flickering lights, shook in Toru's grip as neither gave any ground mere centimetres from her wildly beating heart. From this angle she could feel the heat emanating off of the blonde, could see the sparks licking his burnt fist and the scent of burnt bacon flooded her nostrils. Below her, the ground creaked and groaned, giving way with the force of the attack, cracks forming in the ground as a small dip cradled the two.

"Oh yeah? Then how about this!" Toru retorted as she pulled her feet up between them and pushed the blonde away, back across the field.

Stumbling to her feet, Toru was greeted to the sight of Monoma doing the same not too far away. Alighting atop the nearest perch, she waited for what seemed like an eternity as the two assessed each other. Absently, she noted Present Mic's commentary in the background, but even then it was hard to hear over the roar of the crowd and blood rushing through her ears. A twitch of her fingers and cock of his brow and the two were off again, racing for each other like comets battling it out.

"I'M GONNA SHOW THE POWER OF CLASS B!" Monoma roared, eyes gleaming and mouth stretched impossibly wide in the familiar snooty expression. Power and heat rolled from him in waves, burning away the tracksuit he wore and leaving him in very little (let's just say it was a good thing he'd started to turn invisible).

"Shut up already, you hot-blooded SON OF A BITCH!" Toru snarled, eyes narrowed on the blonde as her quirk engulfed her. The light, normally coloured gold, flickered about her like it had a life of its own and casting her invisible figure into view for the whole world to see. If you looked closely, the edges of the aura had tinged a violent violet as the light turned ultraviolet. Adrenaline pumped in her system and a feeling of power flooded her veins, marring all senses except for the need to win.

My quirk's either just as strong as Monoma's or just a little bit weaker. He has no control and that makes him more dangerous than me. Toru thought, Though I have him beat in terms of mobility, and with all of these nicely placed surfaces to jump on, I might just have an upper hand after all.

"THEN COME 'ERE, SO I CAN BURN YOU TO THE GROUND!"

Here goes nothing.

At his command, Toru surged forward to greet him with a knee to his arm, trails of smoke and multicoloured light billowing behind her. The two barely grazed each other before Toru was shooting back up to hang from one of the taller walls, knee smoking and burnt from the attack. "Shit!" She hissed under her breath as more of her tracksuit fell away. "He's packing some real heat! I barely touched him and he burnt my knee! This is gonna hurt for sure…"

Pushing off from the wall, the invisible girl free fell towards the awaiting blonde, who smirked at her approach with one arm cocked back, ready and waiting to send her flying once more. "Too easy!" Monoma smirked, only to find himself throughly confused as Toru slipped through his defences and landed on the space just behind him.

"Oh yeah?" Toru taunted as her leg swung up through the dust cloud around her and kicked the blonde clear off of his feet. Immense heat waves were rolling off the pair by this point and Cementoss had thrown up an exterior wall or two to protect the audience, that it wasn't doing much. Especially as Toru rocketed after Monoma, her light almost all violet now as a series of spinning kicks pushed the two higher & higher into the air.

"Ugh!" Monoma grunted, crossing his arms in front of his face in an attempt to block the fiery attacks. Reaching their peak, the blonde took advantage of a small opening and blasted his opponent back to the ground. Or at least he tried to. Instead, Toru simply flew out of the way. She wasn't quite sure as to how she was semi-flying, but that thought was shoved aside in favour of dancing out of the way of more barrages.

"Missed me~!" Toru sang as she repositioned herself high above the blonde, "What's the matter, Pretty boy? Cat got your tongue?"

"GET DOWN HERE SO I CAN WIPE THAT SMIRK OFF OF YOUR FACE!"

"You only know how to fight at ground level, but I can come at you from anywhere!" At this, Toru sprung from the perch and rocketed down towards the blonde with violet feet propelling her forwards. Monoma's eyes blew wide when he saw this. Unable to move whilst airborne, it was all he could do to brace himself for the impending attack. Toru raised a foot above her head, ready to slam it down and Monoma threw his crossed arms over his head to block just in time.

There was so much heat radiating from the two you could almost choke on it, it was like these two teenagers had somehow harness the power of the sun, had embodied it, embraced it, even become the burning star itself! So when the attack connected and the resulting explosion filled the stadium with a combination of dust, rubble and sparks (one that felt reminiscent of one of Bakugou's attacks) as Monoma crash landed, it was fair to say that more than a few people were shocked at the display.

Wheezing gasps fell from Monoma's lips as he lay cradled in the crater he'd landed in. What breath he'd been trying to regain throughout the fight, had left him as soon as he'd hit the ground and all he could think was, Hagakure's a monster! In turn, now flare-free, Toru had stumbled to a stop not too far away where she bent over with her hands clasping her knees as she panted harshly. Black spots danced across her vision, the world around her swaying as a wave of dizziness signalled the beginnings of quirk exhaustion. She wasn't one to use her quirk in big flashy moves like this and doing so had clearly taken its toll.

Shit! Must've…overworked…my quirk…Gah! So…lightheaded…Oh, my head! Toru heavily panted, wary eyes still trained on the visage of the blonde as the clouds around them began to dissipate. In the background, she could hear Mic complain about the lack of visibility as the albino swayed slightly in place.

"…AND OH! WHAT A HIT! THESE TWO HEROES ARE BLOWING US AWAY WITH THEIR FIREY PASSION!" Mic crowed, "BUT—AH! NOW WE CAN'T SEE! WHOSE GONNA WIN? WHOSE GOING ONTO THE NEXT ROUND? MIDNIGHT! WHAT CAN YOU SEE? TELL US! THE LISTENERS WANT TO KNOW!"

"Hagakure" Midnight stepped through the dust clouds, easily locating the two competitors. "Can you move?"

"Yes" Toru rasped, because while technically true, didn't mean she particularly wanted to.

"Monoma" Their teacher turned next to the gasping blonde who had determinedly rolled himself up onto his hands and knees. "Can you still move?"

"I'm not…done…yet!" Monoma panted, hauling himself up onto his feet as he spat out a glob of blood onto the ground. "I can…still…move!"

"Who're you…kidding?" Toru replied, just as tired as she pushed herself upright and Midnight pulled back a little, "Your…finished…Monoma…Just give it…up"

"No" His tone had turned cold, his eyes uncharacteristically serious as violet light swallowed him whole, "I'm gonna be a HERO!"

"Stop that!" Toru panicked as she watched his sunburns creep along his skin like a rash. "YOU'LL BE CONSUMED BY THE LIGHT!"

"THAT'S TRUE, BUT I WON'T BURN ALONE!" Monoma crowed, enveloping himself in the light in a feat of stubbornness that put Bakugou's to shame.

"Shit! YOU IDIOT—!" Toru tackled the blonde to the ground, grappling with him in an effort to absorb the light he was emanating. Both had tired by this point, so the struggle was weak—no more than playful slaps, really—but it was enough for the invisible girl to suck up as much of the unwieldy power as she could.

Although it was too much, even for her. The light which had been stored up inside her body exploded outwards in a ring of multicoloured light with an almighty boom that rang throughout the stadium. It blasted through the remaining walls (both Monoma & Cementoss-made) and the resulting heatwave knocked the nearby teachers off of their feet as they rushed to intervene. The unlucky few medical bots which had been on standby, now found themselves slightly melted as the impromptu aurora borealis hung in the sky above them. When the dust finally settled, it revealed two unconscious teenagers collapsed upon the ground, both looking slightly worse for wear.