Rule #19a: Choose your clothes just as you would choose your weapons
That following Monday after another DFD practice, it was agreed that the 'problem children' (see: those with obvious mutation Quirks) would be the ones to test out the costume prototypes to see what would work for them, and then in turn the others. These problem children included Toru with her invisibility Quirk, Lani with her canine Quirk, Hinata with his feline Quirk, Oishii with the multitude of mouths littering his skin, Ogawa Cho (first year management department) with her winged ankles, Gato Li (first year management department) with his holographic scales and Fujimoto Ena (third year management department) with his parasitical insect hive.
"…Say, Hagakure" Ogawa stood in the school shower next to Toru's, her long red hair running blood red as the water painted it a darker shade. The lights of the school's locker room flickered above them as the girls all around them filled the room with chatter after their latest dance practice.
"Hm?" Toru hummed as she let the warm water wash over her sudsy body and soak into her skin.
"I see Oishii was handling you pretty close there, today"
"So?"
"So" Ogawa leant on the tiled shower wall dividing the two stalls; the chubby girl having to stand on her tiptoes to do so. "Do you think he might be 'the one?"
"Eh…" Toru turned to face the shower wall as she closed her eyes in thought, although not about the third year Ogawa was referring to. Ogawa always acts so sassy & graceful on the dance floor. Toru mused, peeking out of the corner of her eye at the red head staring at the floating suds clinging to the invisible girl. But inside, her head's filled with nothing but rainbows and butterflies. Gossiper she may be, but Cupid she was not; although she often liked to think so. It was often best to give a vague answer least she manipulate it into something else as she was known to do.
"You're no fun!" Ogawa pouted when Toru didn't answer right away.
"Just leave her alone, Ogawa!" Lani called from across the room where she was towelling herself dry.
"Or what? You'll bite me?"
"You wanna find out?"
"Bitch!"
"Cunt!"
Toru smiled at the familiar ribbing shared between the gaggle of girls. Unlike what most would assume, they weren't opposed to cursing or fighting much like many thought they would be; in fact, most of them—at least the ones in DFD anyway—used swears like they were water, throwing them around without any general heat behind them. In an essence it helped to diffuse the power behind the words when other people used them—not that they should have to in the first place, but that's not the point—even if it was only just play-fighting.
Turning around to properly wash her hair (sometimes it paid to be invisible), Toru let her gaze wander over the other girls in the locker room. Besides herself and Ogawa, the only other first years were Matsui Hanako and Kojima Maki. The two were almost polar opposites; where Matsui had long blue hair dripping down her back and angular features that could slice you open, Kojima bore spiky pink hair and soft, rounded features. Based on their Quirks alone (Bubble Breath & Fire Breath respectively), you'd be able to figure out that the two didn't entirely get along.
Her eyes then turned to the only third year girl who still remained in the class (the DFD class mostly consisted of first and second years). Arai Natsume was a girl of soft proportions with a wicked tongue, likely leading to her rumoured multiple offences; with eyes painted so light, she looked to be blind, the girl was surprisingly fierce in battle (or so Toru had heard). Her Quirk in question, puppetry possession, essentially allowed her to turn someone to a living puppet that followed her every move. It was why her eyes were so light, when activated, her victim's eyes became her own in which she looked through; hence possession puppetry.
And finally there was the gaggle of second years scattered about the room in varying stages of disarray. Of course, there was Lani half-dressed in her UA tracksuit across from her, baring the curve of her back and the swish of her golden tail. But there was also Nashiro Sai, a paper white girl with ink black hair that currently fell about her face like a wet mop; if it weren't for the shortness of the haircut, she would surely look like something out of a horror film. Fitting into a pair of grey joggers sat Ito Azumi, the blonde-haired girl Midnight-Sensei had called out on their first day for some derisive snort or snide comment she had made, and finally there was Ando Den whose play-button pupils always seemed to captivate Toru, no matter how many times she stared at them.
"Hey!" Nakamora Bunko suddenly appeared in the doorway of the girls' locker room with both hands slapped over his face and a spare pair of Hinata's blackout goggles strapped over his eyes (it seemed even the boys didn't trust the second year not to peep—especially with his archivist Quirk). "How much longer are you guys going to take?"
"Wha—!"
"Nakamora!"
"Get out!" Chorused several of the girls as they scrambled to find something to cover up with. Some even hefting balled socks and half-empty shampoo bottles at the blonde.
"Ow!" Nakamora whined when one of the bottles connected, "Will you just—! Sensei wants to lock up! Stop hitting me! I'm not even looking!"
"Get out!"
Grinning at the assault on the poor boy, Toru turned to scrub out the last of the suds from her hair in the slowly cooling water and let her thoughts turn towards the other half of the DFD class. Aside from Nakamora, Hinata and Oishii, the male population of the class was made up of five other boys ranging from first to third year. The only other first year (besides the girls detailed above) in the class was a boy named Gato Li, whose holographic scales really talked for themselves. Although not particularly battle-worthy, his Quirk was rather pretty and complimented her own invisibility Quirk rather well (as pointed out on several occasions).
This left the remaining four boys, who were split evenly between the two year groups with Sano Shin & Takada Noya in second year and Fujimoto Ena and Hara Obi in third year. Sano was a tall boy—tall and reedy—with small beady eyes and springy footsteps which complimented his flora generation Quirk rather well. Takada on the other hand, was rather stocky with his black hair dip-dyed red and quaffed upwards into a floppy quiff.
Which left Fujimoto who wore blackout steampunk-styled goggles to protect his eyes (much the same as Hinata did, but for different reasons) and straggly mud brown hair that flopped about his face like a wet mop. Occasionally, you might spot one of his insects scuttling across his skin as they burrowed deeper into their hive that was his body. And then there was Hara; a broad-shouldered bloke who had a hard time fitting through slim doorways. It seemed in order to make up for his weaker Quirk (Voice Mimicry) the third year had bulked up to an insane level and was still going—Honestly, he could give most body builders a run for their money with those muscles.
As you might've guessed having an odd number of students in a dance class doing a partnered dance for the school festival, might lead to some problems. But as it was, whatever incident had landed Gato into the class had caused him to break his foot sometime before school had started. Recovery Girl had denied his continual pleas for instantaneous healing much to his dismay, citing consequential lessons and an unhealthy reliance on her Quirk for something so simple. Which meant that he had spent most of the dance lessons sitting off to the side—still learning the steps—but unable to participate until the cast and boot came off. In a sense, he was like their waterboy and understudy all rolled into one.
"C'me on girls! Hurry up! Before Nakamora comes back!"
Evening was winking at the horizon when they arrived back at the first year dorms, arms laden with several packages containing the costume prototypes that Hinata had designed and created. I feel like a pack mule! Toru whined as she ascended the steps of her dorm building.
"Ooh! Swanky!" Lani Cooed as she too, hopped up the stairs after admiring the exterior of the building.
"Swanky?" Ogawa knotted her brows in confusion, following after the two. "Who even says 'swanky' anymore?"
"Old fogies, that's who" Teased Toru, throwing an invisible grin over her shoulder at the affronted look Lani wore.
"I am not old!" Lani cried.
"Whatever you say, Grandma!" Ogawa laughed as the boys (Oishii, Hinata and Gato) followed after them.
"I'm not a grandma!"
"Uh…Hagakure?" Gato murmured, turning to the invisible girl with arms full.
"Hm?" Toru turned to face the holographic boy.
"Where can we change?" He hefted the bags as if in explanation.
"The bathroom's down the back" She nodded towards the hallway off-shooting from Aizawa's room. "Boys are on the left"
"Thanks" He shuffled off, awkwardly skirting her classmates who had turned, curious, at their entrance, with an excited Hinata and an amused Oishii hot on his heels.
"C'me on you two, we still have to try everything on" Toru ushered the two squabbling girls towards the bathroom after the boys, only to be stopped by a curious Kirishima peering over the back of the couch he lounged on alongside his friends.
"Hagakure!" He called, hanging over the back of the couch.
"Hm?" Toru paused, turning to the red head.
"What's going on? Why're they here?"
"Oh! We've got a whole lot of costumes to try on!" She hefted the dress bags in her arms as proof.
"Costumes?" Mina joined the conversation.
"Oh is this from your dance class?" Kirishima replied before Toru could.
"Yeah" Toru nodded, "We're just going through the first ones to see what fit and what works"
"F-first ones?!" Mina gasped, "But there's you've already got like twenty!"
"Yeah, Hinata went a little overboard"
"I did not!" Hinata's voice floated out from the boys' bathroom.
"Yes, you did!" Ogawa's reply floated out from the girls' bathroom as Toru awkwardly waved goodbye and disappeared down the hall to the bathroom, to change.
After slipping into the bathroom, Toru wasted no time in hanging the dress bag over the front of one of the toilet stall doors before she unzipped the bag and pulled out the first ensemble. Each of the girls' bags held about four each; each of them involving frills and tassels in some fashion. Across from her, Ogawa and Lani were already shoving themselves into their first ones. Ogawa's halter-neck dress fell to her mid-thighs in a teal green and was absolutely layered in tassels."I look like a bookmark!" Ogawa exclaimed, looking herself over.
"A pretty bookmark" Toru offered.
"But I'm still a bookmark!"
"Yeah…"
"Maybe it looks better when it's moving?" Lani suggested, one hand on her hip. In comparison, Lani's halter-neck dress fell to her knees in a combination of black and violet sequinned material. There were less frills on this one, only falling from the hem and bodice like a waterfall.
"We'll see, I guess" Ogawa sighed, turning to inspect the dress further.
"Well, he didn't go sparse on the sequins" Toru hummed as she pulled out her first dress, exchanging her exercise clothes for it. This one was another thigh-length dress that was patterned in black & gold sequins and the sweetheart neckline was formed by the forced slouchiness of the material.
Toru turned to inspect herself in the mirror, twisting this way and that to see every angle of the dress. It was pretty, she couldn't deny that, but that didn't help the feeling of nakedness she felt when wearing it. "I feel naked" She deadpanned, turning to the other girls to get their opinion.
"But it is a gorgeous dress!" Ogawa sang, picking up Toru's hands as she spun her around in a circle, letting the tasseled hemline fly.
"And yet…still naked"
"Well, c'me on, we should go test them out before Hinata has an aneurism" Lani interjected with a put-upon sigh.
"Yeah, where're we gonna do that by the way?" Ogawa asked.
"Toru?" Lani peered around the winged-girl.
"Uh, there's a courtyard out back we could use?" Toru offered. "I think it's got lights?"
"Well, if not, we just need to make you sneeze!" Ogawa skipped ahead of the boys coming out in their own (sparkling) tailored shirts (all of them black with either a high or plunging neckline, there was no in-between) and camera in hand.
"I'm not a torch!" Toru refused as she followed after the bubbly girl, leading them towards the courtyard outside. She ignored the piercing stare of her peers as best she could—especially the drooling boys who were not-so-discreetly dealt with. She sent a grateful smile Asui's way, even if the frog-girl couldn't see it.
"Well, I'm not a grandma!" Retorted Lani.
"Sure whatever you say, Grandma!" Ogawa laughed, ducking away from the swat aimed for her head.
"Grandma! Torch! Chatty! Let's go!" Oishii called through cupped hands as he and the boys set up the video camera to shoot them whilst they danced.
"HEY!"
"You're dead meat, dude" Fujimoto deadpanned as he finished setting up the tripod.
"Wha—I was just kidding!" Oishii protested, half-heartedly.
"May he rest in peace" Gato jokingly prayed.
"Oh shove off!" The pinkette gave the holographic teen a playful nudge.
"All right!" Lani clapped her hands, "Let's hurry up! We're losing light!"
"Yes ma'am!" Oishii jokingly saluted the canine-girl, before turning to the invisible girl at his right who had been jumping up and down in order to keep warm.
Slipping her hand into Oishii's, the pair waited for the go-ahead before they started going through the spin sequence they had been polishing during practise. Locking hands with Oishii, Toru leant back with one hand tucked behind her head as the music rattled out of Gato's phone. Now locked in a tight grip, the pair spun in a circle, falling back into their place amongst the other (imaginary) dancers in the formation. Cocking out one leg, Toru's spins were slowed slightly before she dropped to the ground for a quick readjustment that soon had her back on her feet and coming around the back of Oishii. This time when she remerged around the front, she gripped tight to both of his hands and leant forwards with one leg cocked and the other dragged along the ground as they spun. The boppy lyrics sang for a rotation or two before the cue came for Toru to hit the floor again; this time readjusting her position so she could return to her feet with ease.
"Alright…" Hinata called, checking the camera's viewfinder. "I think we got it. Lani, you're up next"
"Shall we dance?" Oishii offered his hand again.
"I think I'll take the cat" Lani refused, yanking HInata out from behind the camera, catching him by surprise.
"Wha—but Tsuragamae! I need to watch the footage!"
"The others can do it just fine, besides you need to practise too"
"Fi~ne! But just this once!"
"Uh huh, su~re" She nodded patronisingly, and then the music started up again & the dance was played through once more.
Darkness had fallen by the time all 12 dresses and dress shirts had been tested to Hinata's satisfaction. He had barely given the all clear before Gato had raced Ogawa back inside to change—one because they were shy & the other because they were cold—leaving Toru, Lani & Oishii to pack up. "So you & Gato…" Oishii perked an eyebrow at Toru as they returned to the dorm; his eyes slowly trailing up and down her black and gold tasseled dress, making her feel uncomfortable in a way she had never been before around him. Up ahead, Lani shivered in the silvery-gold off-the-shoulder tasseled nightmare she wore.
"Me & Gato?" Toru reiterated, confused as she walked side-by-side with the pink-haired boy.
"You seemed rather close tonight" He hoisted the tripod higher up his shoulder.
"Yeah…We were dancing…"
"So, it's nothing else?"
"Why would it—?" Toru's confusion didn't falter—Oishii sounded almost possessive. "What are you trying to say, Oishii?"
"Nothing—it's nothing" He shook his head, "Just watching out for a friend, is all"
"Okay…" She wanted to pry further but was drawn away from her confused musings by the scene in front of them. Both Kaminari and Mineta had seemingly plucked up the courage to assault Ogawa for a date or her number, whatever came first. Of course, neither boy was aware of her Quirk and that would be their downfall.
Ogawa's Quirk—while somewhat manifested in the wings sprouting from her ankles—was what had granted her the nickname 'Cupid'. To put it simply, her Quirk allowed her to manipulate the emotions of others via touch either personally or through the arrows that she generated (like feelings manifested). It could be pretty scary—it could also be quite hilarious as Toru was sure it was about to be.
"…I'd say 'God bless you' but it looks like he already did" Kaminari grinned.
"I'm sure you say that to all the girls" Ogawa smiled flirtatiously (clearly trying to hide a laugh) as a single finger ran up over Kaminari's jugular and up to his chin. "A cutie like you"
"Hehe" As predicted, the blonde turned to putty in her hands. He would've likely done so without the use of her Quirk, but it was still fun to watch. At her feet, Mineta stared wide-eyed up at her, dangerously close to looking up her skirt. With a single twitch of her fingers both boys began to twitch violently before their faces scrunched up and they turned to each other with crimson faces.
"You okay, Denki?" Sero glanced at his friend as he burnt crimson, likely watching the exchange to see them get shot down for the umpteenth time.
"Feeling kinda angry…" Kaminari replied before he suddenly turned on Mineta (who bore a similarly angry expression). "YOU ARE THE BEST FRIEND EVER!"
"NO!" Mineta roared in kind. "DON'T PUT THAT ON ME! YOU'RE THE BESTEST FRIEND EVER!"
"OH YEAH? WELL, YOU'RE THE BESTEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD! HOW ABOUT THAT?!"
"AH HA! I LOVE YOU!"
"I LOVE YOU MORE!"
Laughter ensued as the two bellowed at each other like elephants in heat before the pair started to grapple with each other, wrestling themselves to the floor. "Haha!" Oishii laughed, leaning heavily on her shoulder as he stared down at the squabbling pair. "Look at them go!"
"What's the big deal?" Mina scoffed from across the room, "I've seen them do that over the toy in the cereal box"
"Don't encourage them, Ogawa!" Toru whined (although she couldn't deny the grin pulling at her lips) as she hopped out from beneath Oishii's grip and ushered the laughing red head back towards the bathrooms to change; all the while, never noticing the possessive eyes glued to her retreating form.
