Rubber Soles and Red Scrunchies
I woke up like it was any normal day, except I had sore muscles and no cats to cuddle with, which immediately dampened my mood. Rolling over and groaning as my limbs shifted and protested my movements, I turned silenced my alarm before stretching. I heard grumbling in the back of my head, smiling as I walked towards my bathroom to get ready.
Morning Eloise, I greeted the sentient voice in my head, reaching for my hairbrush to start making myself look more presentable. More grumbling, followed by a yawn, proceeded the other female's response.
Mornin', She muttered, sleep still evident in her voice as she began to wake up (I still questioned the fact that she could sleep). Ready for today?
I guess? It's still a normal day, I just have hero training during school, I replied, braiding my hair down my back and shoving in my contacts before heading back out to throw on my uniform and grab my bag, pulling on my shoes before picking up my phone and heading downstairs to the common room. The area was mostly empty, save for Kaminari staring at a glass of milk like it held the secrets of the universe, Katsuki eating a banana while typing on his phone, whilst Iida, Tokoyami, and Minna had a conversation about coffee beans and their various uses (I conversation I was happy to not be a part of after Iida began to wave his arms around at something Tokoyami said). I walked over to the older blonde, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl in front of him whilst sitting on the barstool across the kitchen island.
"Have you looked at the group chat with the rest of the family yet?" He questioned, taking another bite of his banana before tossing the peel into the trashcan. I shook my head, pulling out my phone as I scarfed down another bite of fruit. Reading through the messages, I held back a chuckle as I read the interactions of the rest of my family.
Sleepy Man: Are you kids up yet?
Sleepy Man: Problem children?
Sleepy Man: Hairless furbabies that I am responsible for legally?
Sleepy Man: Hizashi help me out here
OG LOUD BLONDE: Know Toshi, he's still asleep
OG LOUD BLONDE: The other 2 I can't help with
Cat Whisperer: I've been up since 6
Cat Whisperer: You can thank insomnia for that
Blondie #1: I'm up
Sleepy Man: What about your sister?
Cat Whisperer: Hell if I know
Blondie #1: She just walked into the kitchen
Blondie #1: Currently eating an apple
Blondie #2: Morning fellow humans
OG LOUD BLONDE: Glad to know you aren't dead
Sleepy Man: Be ready for class, we're training hard today
Blondie #1: Yay
Blondie #2: The sarcasm is strong with this one
I giggled as Katsuki rolled his eyes, flicking me in the arm before standing up and heading towards the door. I got up, tossing my apple core in the trash as we passed by. The winter chill greeted us as we exited the building, beginning the walk to the school as small flakes cascaded down from the grey clouds above, painting everything white. Katsuki shoved his hands in his pockets, intent on keeping the cold from seeping into his bones. I reached my hand out forcing some of the snow we passed to come and float above my hand aimlessly, creating shapes and spinning the snowflakes around to see if they would catch the minute amount of light that filtered between the clouds.
"It's colder than I'd thought it be," The other blonde commented, tugging his coat tighter around him as we turned a corner.
"It's winter, what did you expect? Sun?" I asked, letting the snow float away from my hand and back onto the ground, my boots crunching over it as we walked.
"I just don't like the cold. Yeah, the snows great and all, but it's just fucking cold." Katsuki shot back as we got to the entrance of the school. Once we entered, anyone that was in the hallway turned to stare at us as we passed. At this point, it was common knowledge who had gotten into the hero course and who hadn't. Most people whispered amongst their friends, while others glared and pouted. I rolled my eyes, ignoring their looks as we made it to the classroom. Dad was at his desk, typing something on his phone as students filed in slowly but surely. The class didn't start for another few minutes, and many students wanted to be out of the cold as quickly as possible. Hitoshi was already sitting in his seat in the back of the room, talking with Midoriya and Todoroki while Katsuki went to sit down in his own seat. Dad looked up, waving me over towards his desk.
"I already talked to Hitoshi, but I want to let you know what we're doing today," He began, leaning forward slightly and lowering his voice to just above a whisper. "We'll be doing team training today, so you'll be paired with someone. The two of you will try to get inside of the enemy's area and get the envelope they'll be guarding. The others have already done this and know what they're doing." He explained. I nodded, heading towards my seat in the back of the class once he dismissed me.
"Morning boys!" II greeted the assembled group, flashing them a smile as I sat down. Todoroki waved, whilst Hitoshi and Midoriya greeted me verbally.
"I'm glad you're joining our class, Umi!" The green-haired male exclaimed, flashing me a smile.
"I'm glad to be here," I replied, glancing over at my brother, who was now staring intently at the front of the class. Looking upwards, I saw what (or who) he was staring at. The bell rang, signaling the start of class and forcing the other two males to head back to their seats. Dad stood up from his seat, moving to the front of the room. Once everyone was seated and quiet, he began to explain the plan for the day, informing everyone that he would be grading everyone passed on their performance in both offense and defense. He dismissed everyone to go change, reminding everyone to be quick and to get to the training area once we were done. I followed the other girls into the locker room, Uraraka striking up a conversation with me and Tsuyu about our breaks. We all changed quickly, not wanting to be late and get docked points. As we finished changing, Uraraka glanced over at me and gasped.
"Umiko, that costume is awesome!" She shouted, drawing the attention of everyone else in the room. I had spent a considerable amount of time trying to make my hero costume the best I could make it, and I was proud of the outcome. My top had no sleeves, allowing for a pair of bracer-like gauntlets to reach from my wrists to my elbows. They could both be filled with water, allowing me to have a supply even in drier areas. My pants and top were made from the same elastic material, and they were also waterproof. My normal boots were swapped out for a more rigid pair that would hold up better than my normal pair, laced to my knees. My entire outfit was black, including the gauntlets, except for the insulated jacket that would cover the rest of my arms, which was a deep navy blue.
"Thanks, Uraraka," I responded, flashing her a smile. "I'm glad it came out how I envisioned it." The other girls gave me compliments as well, and we made our way to the training area.
"So, Umi," Jirou asked. "Did you and Shinsou decide on hero names?"
"Yup," I replied, popping the 'P'. "I settled on Arashi with the help of my Dad, and Shinsou decided on Control Freak." Jirou nodded, falling quiet as we stepping into the training area. The boys were still filing in, and Dad was talking with Nezu, All Might, and Pops. Once everyone arrived, Dad turned and addressed us.
"We'll be pairing you up. Stick with your partner and work together to complete your objective. No funny business or you will be docked points or expelled depending on the severity." He stated plainly, before grabbing the list All Might was handing him. Reading out the names, people began to move to where their partner stood, coming up with plans and strategies to win. I watched as Katsuki and Midoriya were paired together, as well as Todo with Kiri, and Hitoshi with Mina. I had been paired with Kaminari but had lost him in the crowd of people as everyone moved and gathered around each other. Feeling a tap on my shoulder and turned to see the other blonde behind me.
"Looks like we're partners," He explained, flashing a small smile before dragging me to the corner so we could plan in peace without anyone overhearing us. "Any ideas?"
"How well can you control the voltage of your electricity?" I questioned, an Idea forming in my head.
"I'm not the best at it, but I'm not the worst either." The male responded, rubbing his chin in thought.
"If we can create a thin layer of water on the floor, we can shock anyone that comes near us as we make our way to the envelope. That should stun them enough so that we can get past them." I explained, watching as Kami's eyes lit up in excitement.
"Wait," He began. "Wouldn't the water shock you?"
"I have rubber soles on my boots," I explained. "And I can probably move the water out of the way if we needed to pass through it." Kami nodded slightly before agreeing to the plan, and we continued to create a defensive strategy. Pops began to call groups over, letting them know when they would go and what role they would be playing.
"Denki and Umiko?" He called out, we raised our hands, letting him know we were listening. "You two will be on offense. Mineta and Momo will be on defense. The four of you will be going first." We nodded, watching as an envelope was handed to the other pair and they were sent to go and hide. They would be given a 5-minute head start, leaving Kami and me to settle our nerves before being let out into the training building. The timer reached 0, and we were wished good luck before heading off into the building. We made our way to the stairs on the first floor, checking every room we passed before stopping to listen for sounds of movement from above. Kami and looked at each other, deciding that it was ok to continue before making our way up the stairs, clearing the second and third floors before making it up to the fourth. I took note of the cameras placed around the building, the flashing of the red lights telling us they were on and recording. There was a bang to our left, and we both stopped moving, keeping as still as possible. We waited a few seconds but heard nothing more.
"Where do you think it came from?" Kami asked, his eyebrows knitting together. I shrugged.
"I think the better question to ask is what made that sound," I commented, before slowly making my way over to the left. Kaminari followed close behind, his breathing picking up the pace as we got farther down the corridor. We came to an intersection, the corridor running perpendicular to ours stretching from one end of the building to the other, while the corridor we were standing in continued on its original path.
"Let's look around here," Kami suggested, looking around at our surroundings before returning his gaze to me.
"Splitting up or staying together?" I asked, not really wanting to leave the male's side in case something happened, but also wanting to cover as much ground as possible.
"Whichever you think will work best," Kami responded, turning to make his way down the left corridor. I glanced at the right corridor before sighing.
"Hollar if you find anything, and be careful," I stated, turning and heading down to the other side of the building. There were few rooms on this side of the building, so searching in them was easier than I anticipated. I had just gotten to the last room in my corridor when I heard Kaminari yell. I bolted, running across the building and towards the sound of the male's voice.
"What happened?!" I yelled as I reached where the male was standing. He was at the end of the hallway, facing an open doorway. The male pointed inside the room, where something lay on the ground near the far wall next to an open window. The bright red of the object contrasted with the grey of the walls and the white of the floor. We walked in slowly, wary of anything that could pop up and attack us while we had our backs turned. I reached the object first, gingerly picking it up with my thumb and forefinger. Kami walked over to the open window, shutting it and blocking out the frosty air.
"It's a scrunchie," I commented softly as Kami joined me, feeling the soft fabric bunch up between my fingers.
"A scrunchie can't make a loud bang," Kami shot back, holding his hand out for the object. I passed it to him, allowing him to hold it as I thought.
He has a point, Eloise piped up. The scrunchie can't make a banging sound, although it is weird that it's here.
Unless the person that was wearing it made the noise, I considered.
Who do we know that would even wear a scrunchie? Eloise questioned.
Who are the only other people in here with us? I shot back, linking the pieces together.
"It's Momo's." I determined, turning towards Kaminari.
"And how'd you figure that out?" He asked, handing me back the scrunchie. I put it in my pocket, hoping to give it back to Momo once we were done.
"The only other people in here are Momo and Mineta, and Mineta doesn't wear scrunchies," I explained, heading back out into the corridor. They probably wanted to hide in here but did something that made the loud bang that we heard. In their haste to leave-"
"Momo lost her scrunchie." Kaminari finished, falling in step beside me as we made our way back to the original corridor. I stared down the corridor I had been in a few moments prior, thinking about the room I hadn't entered yet.
"We have one last room to search before we can go," I commented, leading the male down to the last room. We got halfway down the corridor before Kaminari halted in his tracks, staring up at the wall.
"Umi?" He called out, not peeling his gaze from the wall.
"What's up?" I called back, heading back to where he was standing.
"I don't mean to alarm you, but I don't think the camera lights are on anymore." He murmured, his nerves starting to edge into his voice as he spoke. I quirked an eyebrow up, looking up at one of the cameras in the hall. Sure enough, the red light wasn't blinking anymore, meaning that the camera wasn't recording. Taking a quick look around, I noticed that the lights on all of the other visible cameras near us weren't blinking either.
"I don't think any of these cameras are recording," I muttered, moving back towards the main corridor.
"W-what should w-we do?" Kami asked, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "S-should we, I dunno, head back to the others? Continue?"
"I say we head upstairs and do a quick check around for Momo and Mineta, and to see if the cameras up there are working. If we can't find them, we head back to the others." I decided, wanting to leave no stone unturned in the search for Momo and Mineta. Kaminari seemed to like that plan and followed me down the hall and back to the stairs. We made it up the steps, keeping quiet as we rounded the first corner. We check the rooms we passed, staying on high alert for anything out of place or any strange noises. We got to the end of the hallway, where it branched out into two separate corridors. The camera that had been placed there was void of it's blinking light, and a glance back at the other cameras in the hallway showed the same results. Kaminari and I looked at each other, before deciding to head down the right corridor first. We had only reached the first room when voices from down the hall caught our attention. There were more than two, and my first thought was that it was some of our friends or teachers that had come to find us. We walked further along, coming to a dead stop when we heard an undeniably familiar voice.
"I want those heroes gone," A male voice rasped. "And if it means taking a few of their students then so be it."
"That sounds like Shigaraki," Kami whispered, looking at me with wide eyes.
Shigaraki? As in LOV Shigaraki? Eloise shouted, her voice reverberating through my skull from the volume of it.
Do you know anyone else with that name? I clapped back, nerves racing through my system.
"I should warn you about Umiko." A female voice responded that sounded exactly like Momo's. "Her quirk is useful to both sides, and she doesn't appear to take shit from anyone. She won't go willingly and will be harder to sedate than the Dunce, but if Toga and Twice can grab her and restrain her, we may have a chance."
I was about to turn, grab Denki, and run when the male choose that exact moment to sneeze. The voices went quiet, and the door next to us opened, revealing Momo, Mineta, and the League of Villains.