The idea of nudity never bothered Toru Hagakure because she possessed the Invisibility Quirk.
All her life, Toru had learned how to live with her nakedness through her parents, who were also invisible.
She couldn't see herself without special, costly instruments. She couldn't put on flashy Hero Costumes as they would defeat the purpose.
But Toru had learned to look past these difficulties, taking pride in what she could do instead of dwelling on what she couldn't.
To make the most of her Quirk, Toru had been learning martial arts ever since she was a little girl.
However, it was only after joining UA, under Dust Hero: Sand's tutelage, did she realize how much she could improve.
Now, as the Sports Festival approached, she found herself capable of joining the tournament without having doubts about her capabilities.
In her bedroom, with many cute plushies around her, Toru sat on her bed with a frown, though.
If her parents could see her face, they would have experienced a great shock because Toru was known to be a cheerful and active girl among the neighbors.
But, unknown to all, Toru carried a secret in her heart that kept weighing on her consciousness.
It had already been over a week since the USJ incident played out. Moreover, the Sports Festival was only days away. All the students were preparing for it diligently, she knew. Yet, here she was, staring in the mirror, seeing nothing but clothes.
Sometimes, Toru wished she wasn't invisible. Sometimes.
Like when she had seen a white coat-wearingLuke in the Landslide Zone during the USJ incident.
She would have believed that it was a Villain trying to impersonate a student if it wasn't for the white coat turning black as well.
No matter how she'd played out the sequence of events in her mind, it all screamed one thing — Luke was hiding something.
As if that wasn't enough, then later, when the detective had shown them an image, Toru's heart had given out.
The man in that image looked exactly like Luke, other than having a mask on his face.
When the students had asked who he was, the detective had only replied with three words — Someone very dangerous!
After coming home, Toru couldn't sit still and lost all her appetite.
By the time she went to sleep, she had already made up her mind to go to her homeroom teacher, Erasure Head, and let him know everything she saw.
However, after a good sleep overnight, Toru had realized something very crucial that she had ignored the last day because she had panicked.
It was a question.
A question that she had even dreamed about that night.
Why didn't the Detective just say that the man in the image was a Villain?
That was a very interesting question. Why hadn't she thought of this question before?
Toru hadn't interacted with Luke much, unlike Momo and Mina. Still, she knew he was a shy guy and was always nice to everyone.
She had even visited his home. She remembered his bedroom — probably the cleanest place on the planet…
Was she really just thinking too much about it?
Or was there something more in it that she was missing?
"Ahhhhhh!" Toru ruffled her hair, burying her face in a plushie. "I am going insane!"
One week. One entire week. She had done nothing but think about Luke. She had even begun observing him at School, knowing well neither he nor the bird could see her.
He sometimes smiled to himself…
Sometimes… he just stared at a corner… his eyes lost…
More often than not, it felt like he desperately needed a hug…
Toru suddenly sat up straight, blushing. What was she thinking?! She needed to investigate him, not…
With a thud, she again buried her face in another plushie.
If things went on like this, she would definitely end up losing all her focus for the upcoming Sports Festival.
No.
She must do something about this… sickness.
Toru Hagakure had decided — tomorrow, just three days before the Sports Festival, she would confront Luke.
Yes.
At school, she would be safe, no?
…
After lunch,
UA
The students were getting ready for their Hero classes in the afternoon.
Ever since the USJ incident, all the teachers had upped their teaching assignments in all the Hero Courses.
Today, All Might would be taking them for another Combat Training where they would be using their Quirks for Search Operations.
Suddenly, Nyx fluttered inside the classroom.
"Nyx!" Mina shouted, waving her hand at her. "Where were you all day?"
The bird landed on Mina's shoulder and rubbed herself on the girl's smooth skin.
"Nyx!" Luke frowned, approaching them. He didn't like the way Nyx kept acting weird around the girls for her amusement. "Get away from her."
Mina pouted. "Why? We are friends!"
"Oh, yes, we are!" Nyx cawed, smirking slyly at Luke.
After catching up for a while with Mina and Uraraka, Nyx hopped onto Luke's shoulder. "I think a few more weeks," she cawed, whispering in his ear. "If I keep doing divinations at this rate, then I will digest my potion in no time."
Luke nodded.
They had already acted on Nyx's plan of impersonating a divining bird after hypnotizing a man on a street. But that wasn't the only reason she had been out of the school the entire day till now.
"Did you find her?" Luke asked.
Nyx silently nodded at him. "She was…"
"Luke."
Luke turned around and found Toru in her PE uniform.
He didn't have much impression of the girl, as she wasn't a close friend of Momo's in his previous life.
"Yes?"
"Can I talk to you for a second… alone?"
That turned many heads toward them.
From one side, Denki gave Luke a thumbs up. Mina's mouth flattened into a thin line. Uraraka's eyes were shining as she was about to see the greatest romantic drama.
Luke's head just snapped to his left.
However, he couldn't find Momo anywhere.
Tch! Luke tsked inside. What I am worried about?
"Sure," Luke nodded, letting Nyx go to someone else for now. "I know you must be asking for pointers for the Sports Festival…"
His comment immediately made all excited expressions vanish. Yes. Toru was quite interested in Hand-to-Hand Combat, they knew. And she was good at it as well.
When they were out of the classroom, and far from the 1-A's door, Luke asked, "What is it? If you need some personal training from Sand, then I can arrange it."
Luke wouldn't let go of any reason to keep Sand away from him during the weekend.
"You… you can do that?" Toru asked, stuttering, twirling her hair.
"Sure." Luke nodded.
"Thank you…" Toru said. As she saw Luke turning around, she suddenly remembered why she had called him out, though. "Wait! That wasn't… I need to discuss something else."
"Yes?"
"Do you know in which Zone I was?"
Luke raised his brows. "Did Yuga influence you? He was also asking…"
"I was in the Landslide Zone."
A chill ran down Luke's spine.
Toru continued, not sensing any oddness. "I saw you. Your coat turned black from white. Then there was the image the Detective showed…"
If it wasn't for the Clown Potion, Luke's expression would have definitely scared her, he knew.
Calm down… Luke told himself. She wouldn't be telling you this if she had already come to a decision… "Did you tell someone about it?"
Toru was so shaken that she had finally said it out loud that she just shook her head, instead of saying it out loud.
Luke picked up her invisible reaction, though.
"If you don't mind doing me a favor," Luke said, his mind running through various scenarios, "then I would request you to keep it to yourself for now. I promise I will tell you everything. Can you do that for me?"
Toru hesitated, taking a step back. "Are you… a Villain?"
Luke controlled his facial muscles and smiled at her. "No."
Seeing that smile on his face, Toru relaxed. "Alright. I will wait."
But if you don't tell me before the Sports Festival, I will tell Aizawa Sensei everything — that she left unsaid.
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AN: Original Image of Toru is available
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