Rule #46: The accomplishment is its own reward
"…Chisaki Kai, the young head of a formerly prominent Yakuza group, was arrested for the abduction and confinement of a young girl…" The cafeteria television prattled on in the background as Toru busied herself with finishing off her supper later that day. "…As police transported him however, they were attacked by the League of Villains. During the incident, the sand hero: Snatch, who was serving as an escort, was killed. There were also members of law enforcement who were injured. This attack on a villain in custody is an unprecedented failure. Officials have also…"
Following the impromptu session with Fatgum earlier in the day and the sleepover proceeding it, Toru felt both drained and an exhausted kind of happy now that she had so much off of her chest. Midoriya had mentioned that Ochako and Tsu had visited Fatgum's room whilst they had been asleep, but both girls seemed okay and had expressed their well wishes for their peers & condolences for Sir Nighteye's death. That was another thing, Toru wasn't really sure how she was supposed to feel about the hero's death. In the short time that she known the man, he appeared high-strung, paranoid and a bit of a dick; basically just someone that rubbed her the wrong way. Not someone she'd wish death on, but not someone she'd really
For her it was kind of like when a goldfish died, you were sad for a bit, but you moved on easily enough. No, what consumed her mind most of all, was her confrontation and subsequent murder (by proxy) of Oishii and his little gang of thugs. It had been her that had let the Nomus run free, her who had locked Fleur inside a boiling vent to burn to death and her who had punctured Koga's jugular with some stationary. It may have been self-defence, but she knew it would be added to her ever-growing nightmare collection.
The good news at least, was that most everyone was headed back to class sans Mirio had to stay in the hospital a while longer while they ran tests regarding his now missing Quirk. Toru felt for the blonde, she really did, losing your Quirk was like losing an arm or a leg. But after growing up amongst so many badass Quirkless, she just couldn't see how much of a difference losing it would make. Sure, it would take some time to get used to, but that didn't mean he still couldn't be a hero, right? I mean, the most legendary hero of all time was Quirkless, wasn't he? Toru mused as she tidied up, thoughts turning to the American hero with a penchant for bats. And look how he turned out.
Speaking of. Toru wandered back towards her hospital room so that she could exchange her hospital-issued gown for her school uniform. I haven't heard from 'Toshi in a while. I know we've been busy these last couple of months, but it still feels weird not hearing from him in so long. Has it really been that long since the Sports Festival? I wonder what he's up to? I—oh.
The invisible girl came to a halt in the doorway of the physical therapy room, her violet gaze locked on one of the individuals in particular. It had been a while since Toru had laid eyes on Lee Tamaki and she felt an odd combination of proud, guilty and bitter when she watched the blonde slowly haul herself from the wheelchair and up onto the parallel bars. Proud, because she was happy to see the girl alive and well. There was guilt that plagued her whenever she remembered what had happened to the blonde (and her grandmother) following the Sports Festival and how she had been unable to do anything. But there was also a bitterness that settled in her gut because she wasn't even aware that the blonde had awoken from her coma. Sure, there was that whole thing about the restraining order, but they'd been friends before that, so surely she should've at least known about it? Was it her fault for not checking in sooner? Or did Tamaki no longer want to be friends? Was she scared of Toru now? Were they still friends? So many questions whirled around in Toru's mind and the seed of bitterness in her gut grew.
Swallowing thickly, Toru picked up her heavy feet and padded back down the hall as she tried not to look at the brunette who stood at the other end of the parallel bars, encouraging his friend to take those steps. Her friendship with Uraraka Shiro had disappeared just as easily that day, and that too pulled at her heart. Not so much at the betrayal, but the loss of a friend. Toru had never really been good at making friends, and so when they disappeared she tended to wallow in her sadness until she was forcefully dragged from the darkness. Of course, this time around there had been so much going on that she didn't even have time to wallow which appeared to have been a blessing in of itself. But she had time now and that was what worried her most. Regret was a familiar feeling for the invisible girl and she knew that she'd likely spend that night curled up in bed cursing her past actions. Really, all she wanted to do was curl up and go back to the blissfulness of sleep; but there were things to do.
Dressed and ready to go, Toru met up with Midoriya and Kirishima at the hospital entrance sometime later. There was a sense of moroseness in the air as they chatted amongst themselves, almost skirting around what had happened at the Hassaikai headquarters before their police escort rocked up. Toru was pleased to notice the familiar faces staring back at her; Kage, who was leaning out of the passenger's side door and gestured with one of her crutches whilst Detective Patel saluted the three and ushered them into the backseat so they could give their reports.
Ugh! Reports! The bane of my existence! Toru silently groaned as she squished herself in between the redhead and the greenette, feeling very much like sardines in a can with all of their costume cases balanced on their knees and backpacks stuffed into the boot. Sitting in the middle with her feet on the hump, she didn't bother to hide the scowl that she sent Kage's way when the elder woman laughed joyously at her predicament. Both Kirishima and Midoriya apologised profusely as they elbowed her in trying to clip themselves in and with that, their return to the dorms was delayed even further.
Thanks to the incessant police questions and paperwork that had to be done following the raid, the first year students didn't return to the dorms until it was dark. "Deku! Toru! Kirishima!" Ochako greeted as she Tsu exited from their own police escort.
"Uraraka! Tsu!" Kirishima smiled as the three turned to the two girls.
"Oh wow, are you two girls just getting back to the dorms now, too?" Midoriya wondered.
"Yep" Ochako smiled.
"There were a lot of last minute forms to fill out at the Ryukyu's office" Explained Tsu.
"Same here" Toru replied, scowling only slightly when she thought of the mountains of paperwork they had to fill out the ever-flowing needless questions they had to answer.
"Y'know what's weird?" The brunette mused aloud as they all turned to face the dormitory building but made no move to head inside. "It feels like we haven't been back here in a long time"
"Yeah, ribbit" Tsu croaked.
"…Well?" Kirishima nodded to the front door that stood illuminated by the porch light. "Let's go!"
Inside, the quintet were greeted with a sight that greatly juxtaposed most of the events of that day. It was warm inside, and glancing about Toru found all of her classmates—even Bakugou—sitting around the living room in varying stages of dress as they waited for them to return. "There you guys are! It's about time you showed up!" Mineta wailed as he ran to greet them, baring a look of worry and despair. The reaction made Toru blink dumbfoundedly at the boy; it was odd to see him not horny or scared. And soon enough a small crowd appeared, welcoming them home like mother hens.
"All of us were worried about you!"
"Yeah! We saw the news!"
"It looked terrifying!"
"Is anyone hurt?"
"What trouble makers!"
"Tell us everything!"
"I made this for you!" Sato presented the cake as a peace offering to the overwhelmed five. "It's a double chocolate cake!"
"First Kamino and now the Yakuza!" Kaminari butted in, "You guys are always getting into such crazy situations! Do you know how much that scares us?!"
"Yeah, we're so sorry!" Midoriya smiled sheepishly alongside Kirishima.
"Ochako! Tsu! Toru!" Mina cried, pulling three of the girls into a tight hug. "Thank goodness you're all okay!"
"Mina…need to…breathe!" Toru rasped as she was squished between the two Ryukyu girls.
"That's a little tight!" Ochako agreed, but enjoyed the hug all the same.
"Ribbit"
"ENOUGH OF THIS!" Iida interjected in his usual fashion, placing himself between the quintet & the rest of the class as Mina finally let go of the girls and they quit talking over each other. Toru was, for once, thankful of the class president's imprudent nature. "I KNOW EVERYONE WAS WORRIED, BUT CALM DOWN! We all saw the news coverage. Our classmates have been through an ordeal. If you want to help, you should console them quietly and let them rest their bodies & their minds. Because I'm sure today wasn't just taxing physically, but mentally as well"
"Hey, um…" Midoriya softly stammered as the rest of the class started to look a little down as a result of the scolding. "Iida?"
"Huh?"
"Thanks for that, but really…this is okay"
"…Then if I may" Iida strode up the greenette and took a hold of his shoulders which he then began to shake furiously. Mother hen indeed. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED I WAS FOR ALL OF YOU?! IT WAS AWFUL! WHAT IF YOU'D NEVER RETURNED?!"
"Take your own advice, man!" Sero worried. "Chill out!"
"I—I'll go make some lavender tea!" Momo hurried off. "Just a moment, it's sure to ease your minds!"
"At least have a little bit of the cake!" Sato shoved the whole thing into Midoriya's mouth, practically choking him. Nevertheless, the greenette's deadpan expression made Toru quietly giggle which in turn, made Mina beam like the sun.
"Ochako, are you alright?" Tsu spared a glance towards the normally bubbly girl. The brunette seemed lost in her own little world as she didn't reply for a moment and just stared down at her hands.
"…I want to save people"
"Hmm"
"Aw! Why the heck didn't you tell us what was going on, man?!" Sero complained as he slung an arm over Kirishima's shoulders, mindless of the hair that was poking into his eyes. "We were totally blindsided by this!"
"Sorry, we were sworn to secrecy" Kirishima apologised, although it didn't really seem to work.
"Hey, so, I'm glad you're okay" Mina, who had disappeared for a moment, returned with a little white bunny in her hands.
"Yeah, getting there anyway"
"Right, got it"
"Ooh! What a cutie!" Toru cooed, coming up to stroke the rabbit's soft ears.
"Oh! It's Koda's bunny" Mina perked up as the other girls crowded around, "Do you guys wanna hold it for a little while?"
"Ribbit!"
"Adorable!"
Across the way, Kaminari spun on his heel and bounded like a happy puppy over to the couch that Bakugou had claimed. It was the furtherest one from the door, but Toru was happy to note that he had at least cared enough to stay up and wait for them with the others. "Yo Kaachan! What are you doing over here sulking for?" Kaminari flopped onto the armrest of the couch that Bakugou had slumped onto with his feet resting on the coffee table in front of him. She had half a mind to tell him to take them off, but she knew she'd do(es) the same. "Admit, you're out here 'coz you were worried, am I right? Oh! Let those feelings out why don'tcha?"
"Time for bed!" Bakugou grumbled as he got up and pushed Kaminari off of him, letting the blonde completely fall onto the couch where he had been sitting.
"What? Seriously! But it's so early!"
"Unlike the rest of you nerds, I've got stuff to do"
"Hey you guys" Todoroki greeted as he came back inside, passing Bakugou on his way up to the bedrooms. "I'm glad you're all back and everyone's safe, but I gotta get to bed"
"Huh? Since when am I surrounded by old geezers?" Kaminari complained as he rolled from the couch and onto his feet.
"I understand Bakugou, but Todoroki wants to leave the party this early too?" Tsu replied as she handed the bunny back to Koda.
"They've got their Provisional Licensing training course tomorrow" Explained Jiro, "But still, it's pretty early"
At the urging of their class president and the others, everyone retreated to their rooms to try and get some rest. Laying in her bed, Toru stared up at the ceiling with an exhausted kind of accomplishment as she thought about what the day had held for them. She'd only heard the highlights about what had happened to the others after they had split from the main group, but she knew a lot had happened to everyone, almost feeling like too much. It certainly did for her. From the discovery of Eri, to the conference to all the fights in between. There was the destruction of the Yakuza, the rescue of Eri, Midoriya's ultimate smackdown of Chisaki and the resulting damages that followed.
Rolling over, Toru curled up closer around her 3-E yearbook and the Anti-Sensei dagger as if it was a teddy bear and quietly listened to the graduation song Kayano had written on that last day as they had waited for the bell to ring one last time.
The wind blows
And presses on my shoulder
Ah, the road I must follow
Now lays ahead of you
The wind blows
And leafs through my yearbook
Ah, it was all so glorious
And so kind
She made no effort to hide the tears trickling down her cheeks as she reflected on what had been. And though it all, Toru was reminded of her senseis' deaths with their anniversaries fast approaching.
You understood us better
Than anyone else
Surely what you taught us
Will keep guiding us on our way
Sakura, sakura, sakura
Flutter to the ground
She wished most fervently that she could go and visit their mountaintop classroom back in Okutama that they had purchased upon graduating. The intention was to turn the building into a memorial for the two teachers, giving them a place for their students to remember them. But Toru doubted she could get away now; not with everything going on.
Our time;
Ceaselessly brimming with emotion
We knew this and yet we remained
Looking at the sky, not moving
Parting time;
Thank you, we loved you
We feel your cheering at our backs
In this journeying song
Instead, she would have to make do with the memories in her yearbook and the sounds of Kayano's graduation song singing her off to sleep. The tears blurred her vision as she closed her eyes and focused on the lyrics that held so much emotion in them.
Our time;
Our school, growing distant now
Precious friends, teacher of life
It was all there
Parting time;
And so we graduate
To serve as our thanks, we give to you
This journeying song
