Rule #14b: Your limits are far beyond what you know
"So, Endeavor" Hawks hummed as he casually strolled down the sidewalk with feathers fluttering in the breeze behind him. "Do you have a favourite food? I'm a little peckish, how 'bout some lunch?"
"Nn?" Endeavor gave a small grunt in confusion as he blinked dumbly at the upbeat hero who didn't even bat an eye as his own feathers swerved off to capture a flasher in a trench coat in front of some nondescript office building.
"There's a great hotpot place not too far away from here; their soup is so good! It might be a little heavy though. How hungry are you?" This time it was a dog who had scampered out into the road that was scooped up by his wayward feathers and returned to his thankful (& weeping) owner. Hawks didn't even pause in his step as he continued to ramble. "What about you, Hagakure?"
"Uh, uh…whatever works, I guess…" She stammered, cowering slightly beneath the gaze of the top two heroes. She still wasn't quite sure how she had been invited to this lunch and she was absolutely sure that Aizawa was going to have her head when she got back (that is if Bakugou or Todoroki or Tokoyami didn't get there first).
"Ooh! I could really go for some yakitori too, though! Yoritomi's chicken liver is amazing!"
"Yo Hawks!" Someone called from the street as more and more people began to notice that the winged hero wasn't zooming overhead. "Pretty rare to see you walking' 'round these parts!" Hawks waved idly to the fan before turning to help an elderly woman with her shopping that she had been struggling to get up the small flight of stairs. Toru blinked dumbfoundedly as she stood in Endeavor's shadow, marvelling at how quickly he'd gone from lighthearted & chatty to sweet & helpful on a dime. More fans wandered over, drawn to him like a moth to a flame and before you could blink, he was surrounded with people begging for autographs, photos and the latest gossip.
"Why're you here?" Endeavor finally grumbled, staring down at the teenager hidden in his shadow.
"Oh uh" Toru blinked as she spared a glance up first at the number one and then over to the number two heroes. "I met up with an old teacher of mine and then he kinda just showed up & dragged me along, so…"
"Nn" The flame hero grunted as if to say 'of course he did', before he turned his gaze back towards the smiling avian who appeared to be having the time of his life. His eyes narrowed on the man with—Is that jealousy? Toru did a double check. Is Endeavor jealous of Hawks? But he's THE number one hero!
"Hey! That bag is really rocking! Can I really write on it?" Hawks nattered away aware of all the eyes on him as he signed the front of the bag anyway.
"Umpf!" Toru grunted as she stumbled forward a step or two when an excitable fan knocked into her in their attempt to wiggle closer to the avian hero.
"Oops! Sorry!" They called back over their shoulder, but it was more of a courtesy thing than anything else.
"Hey—!" Endeavor grunted, hand outstretched towards the individual who gave a screech and disappeared into the crowd.
"—It's fine" Toru grumbled under her breath as she got her feet back under her and straightened herself up under the watchful eye of Endeavor. It wasn't, but she was used to it. When you were invisible, there was not much you could do to not get stepped on.
"Mm?" The Todoroki patriarch appeared confused by the fan's reaction and slightly enraged that they'd feel scared enough to run.
"I'm invisible" Toru explained as if she were talking to a toddler. "This always happens. I mean, I s'pose I could ignite myself like you do but then everyone within close range would probably get a sunburn"
Again, Endeavor grunted in ascent as he turned at the mention of his own name which came up in a boys' conversation a few steps away. "…Man, he's scary! He's got this presence, like…like he always looks so fierce!"
"Go get his autograph, dude!"
"No way!"
"You said you liked him though!"
The flame hero made to step forward to engage the boys with a wobbly and predatory smile on his lips as Hawks had done with his own fans, but Toru interjected before he could get that far. If they were going to go to lunch, then she wanted to do so before Aizawa put her head on a platter. "Er…maybe don't… do that…" Toru interjected hesitantly with a hand raised a uselessly in his direction.
"Excuse me?" Endeavor perked a fiery brow in her direction as he spun on his heel. Beyond his elbow Toru could make out a variety of expressions upon the faces of the boys. A few shared expressions of relief and others wore looks of awe, but mostly they bore the look of shock & surprise at being called out by the hero; like children caught with their hands in the cookie jar. "Is there a problem?"
"Seriously?"
"What, brat?"
"Can't believe he can't see it" Toru muttered under her breath as she drew herself up to her full height. "Your a big guy…"
"Yes…?"
"You're on fire…"
"And?"
"And you're not exactly a smiler…"
"Is there a point to this?"
"You're scaring them"
"What? No, I'm—"
"—Yeah? Does that" She nodded to the gaggle of boys behind him that he had planned to approach. "Look like the face of hero worship, to you? Look, people know you as this big, tall, stoic kind of guy and when you try and act like All Might…well, it's a little off-putting"
"I'm not trying to act like All Might!" Endeavor replied petulantly, arms crossed childishly across his chest. Toru had to bit her lip to keep from laughing aloud at the image.
"Just be yourself" She huffed, needlessly straightening up the last of her uniform so she didn't have to stare into that intense gaze. "You've got fans because of that, 'cause you're standoffish and stuff. Hawks has fans 'cause he's outgoing and brash. If you try to hard, you look desperate and no one likes that"
Endeavor eyed the invisible teen for a moment, mulling over everything she had said to him. Although the pout lessened as he thought—shock & horror!—his arms did not uncross, but Toru took the win anyways; who'd have thought that Bitch-sensei's puberty talk would come in handy? She shuddered slightly at the memories of very graphic images and scenarios the blonde had painted for them before she spared a hesitant glance back up at the hero standing nearby.
"Why—why did you request me to intern with you?" It was an honest question, however hesitantly asked, because it was clear to anyone who saw or knew Endeavor that fire Quirks were his main interest—he literally built up an agency on solely focused on fire power! "I didn't really do much at the Sports Festival…"
"That's true" Endeavor nodded as his gaze turned to follow Hawks once more. This time he appeared to be sandwiched between two school girls for a selfie or two. "But there was potential. I'm not so stupid as to ignore that"
"Oh"
"And then you imploded"
"Yeah…" She deflated at that. It was still rather embarrassing to think back on. "Had to wear a heart monitor for a few days after that. Not fun"
"Heart monitor?!" Hawks squawked as he stepped up beside the invisible girl with eyes wide and hands fussing over her."What would you need a heart monitor for?!"
"My ass" Toru deadpanned around the fingers pushing at her mouth (because obviously that was where a heart monitor would go. Note the sarcasm), causing a few teens nearby to choke on their spit in an attempt to stifle their sudden belly laughter. Hawks appeared a little affronted at the reply as she slapped his persistent and wandering hands away. "I'm fine, it's just standard procedure. Look, are we having lunch or not? 'Cause I need to get back to school"
"Hot date?" Hawks teased as Toru sorted out herself out once more.
"Yeah, with my bed and no detention" Toru replied in much the same dry manner as before.
"Well, c'me on! It's just up here"
She sighed heavily as his wing stretched out to the side and ushered her along, after Endeavor who was more or less leading the way despite not knowing where the place in question was. It was a bit like the blind leading the blind. Soon enough, the trio found themselves seated in a traditional-styled restaurant up on the fifteenth floor. It was a little swankier than anything Toru was used to (including that club the 3-E girls had broken into back at camp), but no self-respecting teenager would turn down free food.
"She's right, y'know. That's your character after all—" Hawks rambled as they ate (him more so shovelling in anything he could get his hands on), having been caught up on the discussion between the hero and student whilst he had been occupied with his fans. "Aa—if you're not gonna eat that, can I have it?"
"You're a greedy one, aren't you?" Endeavor noted as Toru silently pinched a dumpling or two from Hawks' plate whilst he was busy with grabbing food from the number one. The man had three mochi sticks in his hands, he could afford to lose a dumpling or two. Despite this, Endeavor handed over the skewered meat without complaint and barely raised a brow at her own actions.
"Once I set my mind on something, I just can't hold myself back, it's just in my nature" Hawks shrugged, waving the sticks around with each wild hand gesture. "It happened after the Sports Festival too! I sent on offer to your son, y'know? I mean, who wouldn't want the status that'd come with having the number two hero's son under your wing? But well…I'm happy with Tokoyami, anyhow, after all, Shoto went & failed the Provisional Licensing Exam. He would've damaged my brand then!"
Toru protectively hunkered down over her own bowl, sparing a glare in his direction as Hawks retaliated after noticing that he was missing a dumpling or two. It would've been more impactful if she had not looked like a chipmunk with her cheeks stuffed, or if they could see her at all. Across the table, Endeavor rolled his eyes at their childish behaviour, but said nothing.
"You sure know a lot even though you're not a UA grad" He noted, eye narrowed at the jovial avian across from him.
He's…not? Toru blinked at that. But practically all the local and top heroes were UA alumni!
"I've always been a good observer, y'see?" Hawks replied nonchalantly as his chopsticks knocked away another attempt to steal food.
So…Toru mused, looking over the hero she would be 'interning' with over the next semester. This is him, huh? He's smart—clearly—but also inquisitive; a deadly combination. That little display at the HPSC probably didn't help my case. Was it him who volunteered me? Or was it Karasuma-sensei? I doubt it was the Commission themselves because they wanted nothing to do with us last year. How is this thing even s'posed to go? Is he just gonna drop me & go or do I have to play nice with villains? There's bound to be some kind of break-in element, but to what extent?
"—Get the cheque!" Endeavor jumped to his feet, enraged at whatever Hawks had said. "I'm going home!"
Um… Toru blinked up at the fiery man who had moved so fast that the table had jostled slightly with his movements. She had only been half-paying attention to the conversation around her as Hawks informed Endeavor of his proof about the latest rumours revolving around Nomus.
"Hold on a minute! Just listen to me, alright? The truth is, the Nomu sightings haven't just been here! I bet you didn't know that, right?" Hawks spat out before the flame hero could go too far. "Similar rumours have been popping up throughout the whole country! Although, not enough to garner anyone's attention or write articles about; it's mostly just wives' gossip and grade school chatter"
"What are you saying?" Endeavor turned fully back to the two still seated at the table with arms crossed.
"That's actually pretty smart" Toru mused as she fiddled with her chopsticks, brow furrowed in thought. "An attack here, a sighting there, just enough to keep the rumour mill running…"
"This is why I brought you, Hagakure!" His wings fluffed up a little as he proudly continued, answering his colleague's question. "I've heard so many interesting things about you too! How you got up close and personal with a couple of them, actually. Any tips?"
"Er…"
"C'me on! What happened at the USJ? How'd it fight? Etcetera"
"Uh, it was mostly just a lot of yelling, threatening, running and punching" Toru replied, stumbling over her blank mind for a moment. "Of course all the boys are idiot thrill-seekers, so they went straight for the big guy. What is it with boys and bloodlust?"
"And the defeat?"
"I wouldn't call it a defeat, in fact, I think I made the whole thing worse…"
"How?"
"When I cut it in half, it just regenerated the needed body parts. Kinda like a lizard, y'know? It all happened so fast…But I had to make a report afterwards, so why don't you just look at that?"
"Oh, I did" Hawks nodded, turning his attention back to the food on the table.
"What? Then why—?"
"—I also did my own investigations—flew everywhere"
"And?" Endeavor pursued, once more invested in the conversation as he returned to his seat with a quiet thump.
"Although they weren't exactly the same, similar rumours have been popping up in completely different regions. When alls said & done, they're all just baseless rumours; an abstract theory to say the least. But after the UA, USJ, Hosu & Kamino incidents? Everyone and their dog knows about these 'modified humans' and how they're creepy as hell. If some dumbass blowhard is going 'round trying to spread anxiety & panic through the public, then it's already propagating across the nation. You heard that flasher, right? He yelled about Meta Human Liberation, that ring a bell?"
Meta Human Liberation? Toru puzzled. Is that what we're s'posed to be investigating? And what does that have to do with the League of Villains?
"It's from that villain biography that was recently republished, see?" Hawks explained, his jovial tone gone as he brandished said book in the air before handing it over to Toru. "Here ya go, kid, it's pretty popular right now"
"Uh…thanks?" Toru accepted the little red book and flipped through a couple of pages with much trepidation.
"I wouldn't be surprised if that's what influenced him, actually" Hawks continued on as Endeavor eyed the book in her hands. "Those kind of books are always gonna sell better when society is ill at ease. Fear is good for business"
So is sex and anarchy. Toru silently added as she thumbed through the pages.
"Cut the crap, already!" Endeavor snapped, once more pulling himself up tall so as to appear as intimidating as possible. It was working. "What the hell are you trying to accomplish here? Why bring some brat into it—?"
"—Hey!" Toru whined indignantly at the name-calling.
"—Tell me your endgame!"
"I want you, the number one hero, to become the leader we can all rely on!" Hawks chirped, throwing up a pair of thumbs at the flaming hero. "You can verify these rumours that've been enveloping society and you can tell everyone to 'rest easy' I want you to puff out your chest and declare it to the world!"
"You want a figurehead" Toru summarised garnering the attention of both men. "So you can work without the same level of flak"
"In an ideal world" Hawks sighed dreamily, his gaze turning to the sun-kissed clouds out the window. "I would just leisurely patrol the streets, come home, sit back and crack open a cold one on another peaceful day before hitting the hay! Now, that would be the life. I want the world to be a place where heroes have more free time than they know what to do with"
Endeavor watched the avian hero for a moment or two with something indiscernible swimming in his eyes as Toru registered a black dot on the horizon that was steadily growing bigger as it rapidly grew closer. "Is that a bird?" Toru leant around Hawks to get a better view of the approaching black speck on the horizon.
"Endeavor" Hawks stated calmly, eyes locked on the mysterious speck just as the waitress returned with their tray of drinks. In turn, the number one stood to attention with arms by his sides and fire raging within him, trusting in his colleague's eyesight. Toru had barely even blinked before Hawks had wrapped up the startled waitress in his arms and the large Nomu burst through the glass.
Instinctive reflexes had Toru shoving her hands up in front of her face at the sudden impact, enshrouding her in a bubble of violet just in time as she was launched backwards with the shockwave of the attack. It didn't take long for her to get her feet back underneath her and roll the bubble back over to the carnage like a hamster in a ball, but when she did the sight of the nomu stopped her cold. Heart in her throat and mouth drier than sandpaper, she felt her stomach roil, threatening to dispel lunch when she laid eyes on the winged creature and was reminded of the last time she had encountered such a creature. It had not ended well for Oishii or anyone caught in the crossfires.
"Nice bubble" Hawks greeted Toru as she trotted over to the new exit that was now awash in Endeavor's fiery glow.
"Thanks" Toru replied as she watched the building's occupants fly towards the ground on red feathers, which were quickly depleting Hawks' wings. Up in the sky, Endeavor had already engaged the nomu head on with about the same level-headedness that Bakugou often sported. So not much.
"Can you make it bigger? Protect the people?"
"I—I can try"
"Do it"
"Aw…Sensei's gonna have my head!" Toru muttered worriedly under her breath as she hit the fire alarm on the wall beside her before she launched herself out of the window still encased in her little violet bubble in the hopes that it would circumvent any second guesses. Free fall was an odd thing inside such a small space, particularly as she trying her hardest not to pop the only thing keeping her from smashing into
"You can fly?" Hawks paused for a moment as the bubble hurtled passed at alarming speeds.
"Nope!" Toru called back, easily passing the alarmed look on the avian before skidding down the facade of the building where she then bounced and skidded through the debris like a pinball in an arcade game.
She lay there spread-eagled for a moment or two, blinking rapidly to regain her bearings before the bubble was popped and she was back on her feet and using her elbows as a means to push through the panicked crowd. Sounds of shock & awe rang through the crowd as Toru fought her way to the middle of the street where she then planted herself like a rock admist a rushing river. Feet apart, hands raised palms to the sky. "It's a good thing the sun's out" She muttered to herself as she went through Matchstick's teachings.
The first four chakra gates were the easiest to open—fear, guilt, shame and grief—and were more than enough to send up a strong pulse of ultraviolet light into the sky. People stopped to stare at the light that rained down, some panicking, whilst others stopped to snap a picture of this violet dome coming down around them. This had to have been the biggest force field that Toru had ever created—even the one in the Provisional Licensing Exam hadn't been as big as this, nor had it needed to be as strong. But as debris pelted against the thing layer of light, she knew that she would have to open all of the gates to strengthen it enough.
Toru closed her eyes and let a breath fall from her lips between gritted teeth. The gate of light was next, blocked by illusion. That one was easy enough to do, particularly when being pelted with stray attacks and debris. Funnily enough, the spirit chakra blocked by earthly attachments was easy enough to open in comparison to the last one. She could already feel the power of her Quirk surging through her like a raging river and knew that if she didn't open the last gate it could be dangerous for her, like a dam bursting open.
With eyes screwed shut and attention solely focused on keeping up the dome, Toru would never know what she looked like to those around her, igniting her previously invisible figure in violent violet like a goddamn lantern. Two beams of violet light shone from either upwards facing palm, feeding into the dome above their heads and protecting the people from the onslaught of attacks—intentional and otherwise. She wouldn't know about the increase in power with every chakra gate that was opened, nor the awed whispers that flowed through the crowd. And even if she was aware, she'd brush them off as praises directed at the two Pros fighting valiantly above their heads. A shame really, that she'd make such a stunning debut all trussed up in her school uniform.
Then again, she would miss the alarmed look on her peers' and teachers' faces when the news crew arrived to tape the scene from the air; she'd miss the muttered promises of punishment and rewards too as her violet light lit up screens across Japan for a brief moment or two between shaky shots of Endeavor's epic fight with the Nomu and shots of Hawk zooming across the screen, doing his best to save anyone and everyone around him and the kid that would decree Endeavor fighting for them like All Might. But Toru was far too focused on maintaining the force field to know any of that.
Toru wasn't sure how much time had passed when she felt gloved hand land on her shoulder, pulling her out of the trance she had fallen into when feeding energy into the force field. She sucked in large lungfuls of air, unsure as to when she had stopped breathing regularly and glanced up at the person behind her whom she had all but collapsed into upon releasing the dome. Red hair stood awash in a golden orange glow, making him look practically angelic thanks to the almighty explosion of fire that ripped across the skyline like something out of godly story.
"Ya did good, Spitfire" Matchstick grinned down at her as he more or less cradled her close whilst she panted for breath. At some point, other heroes had turned up to lend a helping hand, although one could argue that they were barely needed.
"I…did?" Toru panted like a dog in a sauna, tongue lolling from her mouth as her limbs felt like jello. The light around her flickered once, twice and thrice before disappearing from view completely as she closed up the gates with the flick of the metaphorical switch.
"You did. See?" Matchstick nodded over his shoulder to the crowd of people who had previously skirted around the girl when she had begun to give off immense heatwaves. Now they crowded a little closer offering congratulations and thanks. It was a little overwhelming, to be frank. "I reckon that had to be your biggest shield yet, am I right?"
"Yeah…"
"Helluva debut. Pity you were out of costume"
"Yeah…Sensei's…gonna…be…pissed"
"Haha! I'm sure he will! I'm sure he will"
Toru hadn't been wrong. The moment she had returned to the dormitories that evening, she had been met with her classmates demanding more detail as to what happened and why she was with even there with Endeavor & Hawks in the first place. But she was exhausted (the small nap in the car not helping much), particularly after having to deal with both the police chief and that didn't even taken into account the giant force field she had been maintaining for who knows how long. So she felt like she had a right to be a little snappish with her answers.
"I was with them because Hawks knew an old teacher of mine and invited me out for lunch"
"We met Endeavor on the way"
"No, we didn't expect the nomu"
"I was given permission to help as long as I stayed safe"
"My only injury were the cuts to my face that Recovery Girl healed the moment I set foot on campus"
"Aizawa-sensei and Principal Nezu have already debriefed me"
"I'll be under house arrest for at least a week"
Thankfully, aside from the exhaustion and small scratches from the window caving in, she was relatively unharmed. Although, said adults had been less than pleased about seeing her once more in the spotlight like that; particularly as she had been out of costume. Of course, as she'd predicted Aizawa had been less than pleased about the whole ordeal and she had been placed under house arrest for the time being; which was fine in her books because she planned to spend the first day or two just rolled up in her blankets and sleeping it off. When the other girls came to wish her goodnight that night, no one made mention of the new book nestled amongst her school textbooks.
