Rule #16b: The only difference between try & triumph, is the umph

Following their battle, most of the combatants had made it out alright, only coming away with minor injuries and quirk exhaustion. The same could not be said for the others. In Momo's case, she was bound to a bed until she refilled her energy reserves, which essentially meant devouring several platters of Lunch Rush's finest. Kuroiro, who had been on the other end of Toru's attacks, had to stay behind to be treated for second-degree sunburns, and Kendo, who had been attached to Momo, had to have her arm relocated after she'd pulled it dragging the other girl (plus her canon) around. But Recovery Girl was, if nothing else, a professional and handled each of their injuries with ease.

Still tired from the use of that concentrated Shooting Star in conjunction with Aoyama's power boost earlier in the bout, Toru trudged after her peers as they made their way back to the spectators. Yawning around the power bar that Recovery Girl had given her after her check-up, the invisible girl quietly followed after them as they chattered about their battle. Next to her, Dark Shadow & Fukidashi were excitedly pestering her about her new moves, each one using stranger and stranger terminology than just confused the poor girl.

Dodging out of the way of wayward limbs, Toru nodded politely as the manga-headed boy went on and on about the Michael Bay-style explosives she had used (silently, she was sure that Takebayashi Kōtarō—3-E's demolition expert—would've been proud of). He appeared particularly interested in the Shooting Star, using words like 'KABOOM!' and 'POW!' and 'TISS!' Whereas on the other hand, Dark Shadow (and occasionally Tokoyami) spoke in riddles and poetry lines as they remarked on her ferocity saying. "…though she but small, she carries a blazing star inside"

In turn, the invisible girl had remarked on Fukidashi's ability to make his word constructs so big. He'd animatedly replied that despite the scratchy throat he got when he used his quirk like that, he was still trying to push through and get better. Tokoyami had suggested a variety of herbal teas that might help with that, whilst Toru had suggested asking Present Mic for assistance, considering the similar fundamentals between the two quirks and then before they knew it, they were back amongst their classmates.


Back at the spectator stands where they were swarmed by the rest of their classmates who declared their praises on their new moves and condolences on the draw, Monoma, predictably just could not let it go. "…AHAHA! THAT MATCH WAS AN OVERWHELMING VICTORY FOR THE SUPERIOR CLASS! JUST LIKE AT THE SCHOOL FESTIVAL, CLASS B IS CERTAIN COME OUT ON TOP! IT COULDN'T BE MORE OBVIOUS! Oh! You poor losers! No need to look so frustrated! It's not your fault! We're just better! ACCEPT YOUR INFERIORITY—!"

"—Apologies" Kendo murmured as she easily knocked out the blonde with a one-handed chop to the back of the neck and dragged him off to the side.

"…Did he forget the bit where it was a draw?" Toru wondered aloud, not quite expecting an answer.

"Don't mind him, he's just a bit…overenthusiastic!" Fukidashi waved away.

"He's a broken record that needs to be set on fire!" Mineta amended with a grumble.

"Amen, sister!" Mina sassed, "I don't know why he talks like that when he knows she's just gonna smack him"

"Maybe…he likes it?" Ochako suggested with an awkward giggle, something that increased when Mina's face ran through so many different expressions before landing on one that was slightly disgusted.

"Dang! Your class has some heavy hitters!" Kaminari commented off to the side (though Toru was unsure if he was referring to what just happened or the battle itself). "You're blowing my mind here!"

"I could say the same thing goes for you guys" Tsuburaba replied in kind.

Sifting through the throng of teens, the battle-hardened teams who'd just fought were lined up along the wall and given their analysis by the teachers. Neither Aizawa-Sensei nor Vlad King held back, making it feel more like a dressing down than a proper critique. Though that had been nothing in comparison to Bakugou's barely-contained argument which he snarled at them through gritted teeth as they were redirected back to the stands to watch the next battle. Apparently, the invisible girl had gained the older-brother-she-never-wanted when she wasn't looking because the explosive blonde would not let up; though he did end up praising the explosive use of Shooting Star at the end there. Something which seemed to confound Midoriya as indicated by the gaping mouth. Not just anyone could draw a not-quite-smirk from Bakugou.

Settling in amongst her teammates, Toru let her legs loop through the fence that lined the area and allowed her chin to rest listlessly against the horizontal bar that intersected the others, as she watched the next few battles play out. Those next few battles seemed to fly right on by with only a few notable moments that really stuck out in the end. Like in the third match where Tetsutetsu was able to withstand the intensity of Todoroki's flames or how Pony kept switching between English and Japanese in her frustration (something which apparently was quite common with the transfer student). There was Todoroki's classic glacier, Juzo's softening quirk that glued their class in place like flies in a trap, Iida's determination and Pony's surprise flying horns. That battle ended in a tie, led by Pony's wit.

The fourth match held stand out snippets like Sero's spider web that backfired on them when Kojiro slathered the tape in glue and Tokage sliced through the pipes that held the web up. There was Bakugou flying in to save the day instead of running off to fight the villains alone and Awase, who leapt silently from the shadows to pin Bakugou in place. Sato, not to be outdone, easily punched through the plinths and grenades, setting the blonde free. Toru took particular pleasure in watching Jiro blast Awase away with the sound of her Heartbeat Surround and back into Sero's tape. Not to mention the multitude of Kamakiri's body pieces that were entrapped by his tape, allowing Bakugou to follow after the last wayward pieces, right back to the source from whence they came. So it was unsurprising when this battle ended in Class A's favour.

The fifth and final match was arguably the most intense; mostly because Midoriya was the token 'problem child' and this was Shinso's last chance at proving himself worthy enough to be in the Hero course. There was no contest, these two were the stars of the final battle. Midoriya, ever the 'problem child' seemed to develop a new power on the fly, a black/green whip that seemed to frighten both the user and All Might. It moved about the arena like erratic tentacles, smashing up everything around him. He eventually got in under control, but only with the help of Ochako's reckless quick thinking and Shinso's brainwashing. Though the speed at which the teachers left to intervene was rather frightening.

As for Shinso, the use of his quirk to control Midoriya's out of control quirk was impressive but it was his use of the capture tape to bring down several pipes that caught most people's attention. Toru knew that the boy was stubborn—almost to a fault—and he though he never said it outright, she knew that he'd been aching for a rematch with the greenette since the Sports Festival.

Of course, Monoma's bragging was still a pain in the ass and everyone could've probably done without Mineta's needless pervertedness. All in all, Class B's teamwork was scary good, which was seen through their precise attacks of divide & conquer, though it was not enough for them in the end to pull out a win. Class A ended up with the victory this time, much to Vlad King's chagrin. Toru was sure that he was sulking over by the water station as Midnight took up his job as commentator.

"Things looked awfully dangerous for a second there" Midnight hummed, her lips twitching upwards at the sight of Jiro & Aoyama's 'Fair Commentary: Replace Vlad King!' sign."But the fifth match has now concluded. This marks the end of today's training! You've learned about your enemies and yourselves. You've fought bravely and showed your true potential, now without further ado…the results!"

The large screen hung before them suddenly blipped over to the scoring board where the new scores were added. Toru titled her head back to stare up at the large screen as she crumpled up the granola bar wrapper and made a mental note to chuck it in the bin on her way out.

"Match one: class A" Midnight dramatically read out the scores, taking the whole thing way to seriously, In fact, the invisible girl was reminded of her stint as host at the Sports Festival all those months ago. "Match two: draw, match three: draw, match four: class A and match five: class A! The winners of the Hero course battle…are class 1-A!"

"Woohoo~!" Chorused the majority of 1-A (the others were either half-asleep or headed that way).

"I wasn't feeling super competitive before" Kaibara sulked, "But this loss definitely stings"

"I know…" Komori whined, so downtrodden that Toru almost felt bad for her. But then she remembered the mushrooms and easily shoved that feeling aside. "Talk about a frustrating end!"

"I've witnessed such sinful deceptions!" Shiozaki wept, face towards the heavens and hands clasped in prayer.

Eh… Toru blinked at her dramatic reaction. Huh?


Evening had fallen by the time all of the analytics of the fight had finished and everyone had packed up there things (collecting those who were freed from Recovery Girl's clutches in the process). Now, the entire first year of hero students were huddled together in an attempt to fight off the coming cold as Aizawa-Sensei finished reading out his notes."…Everyone here has been training for months to become heroes who can save the people of this world. No one can master being a hero right away…except maybe All Might, but he doesn't count. Before becoming a Pro hero, you have to make sure you can take care of yourself otherwise you'll fail. If you don't the power to stand your ground on your own, then you can't protect anyone else"

The erasure hero turned to face the rest of the students, clearly meaning for his words to reach them as well as the indigo-haired boy still lined up alongside the others. Toru certainly felt like she was listening to one of his numerous lectures that he'd been trying to drill into their heads since day one. Tired eyes roved over each of the students as he spoke, taking in their tired but happy figures before he turned back to the boy before him. "With that in mind, what you showed us was enough to earn you a passing grade. Congratulations"


Back at the dorms, once everyone had cleaned up and changed into comfier clothes, they all convened in 1-A's living room for dinner. Bakugou—reluctant chef that he was—commandeered the kitchen, mostly so that he didn't have to bear witness to the horrid state of affairs that was the rich kids' attempts at cooking. Other than the basics or their chosen favourites (soba for Todoroki, tea for Momo and beef stew for Iida), they didn't really know how to prepare a meal. In the end, they ended up having a simple meal of curry & rice, a good hearty meal for a winter's night that warmed them inside out. It also helped that it was one of those dishes that you could make in bulk.

Sock-clad feet slung over Shinso's lap as Toru sipped at Tea of the Day, a bourgeois brand by the name of Harley & Sons. The rose-coloured tea tinged the cups pink, but Momo insisted the drink was good for healing and fighting off infection. Her teeth clinked around the edges of her cup as she watched the brainwasher next to her, who marvelled at the drastically different atmosphere around them. He'd changed into a cat-themed hoodie and pyjama pants, his hair still slightly damp around the fringes, but you'd only be able to tell if you looked close because his hood kept most of it swept away.

It must seem strange. She mused quietly, looking at her peers through the eyes of another. The sights she'd long grown used to must've seemed odd and downright absurd to the indigo-haired boy. She could almost hear him thinking if this was normal for hero course students (it was), if they were a different breed of people altogether. Sometimes she wondered the same.

"…YOU'RE A MORON!" Tetsutetsu cried as he shoved Kirishima to the ground. From various points around the room, the unofficially patented 'Bakusquad' seemed to perk up as one as the redhead was shoved about, on alert for any indication that they might have to intervene. Bakugou seemed the most tense out of all of them as he watched the metal user like a hawk.

"Ugh!" Kirishima groaned, less hurt and more caught off guard. When it seemed that he wasn't in any real danger, his friends turned back to their conversations, but the action hadn't been missed.

"Baby! Stop whining like you're a weakling!"

"I can't!" Kirishima whined as he cradled the cheek where Tetsutetsu had slugged him. "You completely showed me up with your manliness in that match!"

"Since I'm made of metal, I can withstand intense heat! But on the other hand, there's a limit to how durable I can be; you think I'm not aware of how dented up I'll get if I take a beating?! But you're the opposite! The more you're hit, the stronger you get!"

"Huh…you're right!" Kirishima cried as he jumped to his feet, "We're both manly, Tetsutetsu!"

"Is this…normal for you guys?" Shinso murmured as he watched the scene play out with wide eyes.

"Actually, this is a quiet night" Toru sighed, "Usually there's a bit more shouting between those two"

She pointed over where Midoriya and Bakugou appeared almost amicable for once as they stood together in the kitchen, systematically washing & drying the dishes alongside Awase and Kaibara.

Komori was pestering Tokoyami for pictures of Hawk, Momo was excitedly talking to Kendo, Jiro and Kamikiri over tea and Sato had set out colourful plates of macarons for everyone to try. Even Monoma had calmed some. Though Mineta had to be strapped to a chair and forced to watch a consent and respecting women education video, courtesy of Mina. She had not taken his surprise groping well during their battle and had deemed it her duty to educate the pervert on what would happen if he ever decided to do that again. Toru applauded her for her efforts, but she doubted anything could break the grape-haired monster.