Building Our Own World
Just a little something I collab-ed with an artist. She had two OCs for the BNHA world and we worked together for a server event so here’s they little story I wrote along with it. Click here for the link to AO3.
The warm sunny rays shine through the window and down on Rinne Furuya as her family makes their way across the prefecture and away from her childhood home in Nagoya. Aren’t you excited to be closer to the big city? And now you’ll be able to train under the top heroes of the country! Her mom excitedly tried convincing her. Doesn’t she know how hard it’s going to be on her? Moving to a new school after everyone has basically grown up together? U.A. wasn’t the only school she had applied to after all and got accepted into. The choice was ultimately up to her where she wanted to go, or so she thought. Once her parents caught wind of her acceptance into U.A., all other options went out the window. Her father requested an immediate transfer and her mom quickly got to working on packing up their home to move so their “little girl could attend the school of legends and make a name for herself.”
More like put our family’s name on display, Rinne thought solemnly to herself. Everyone wanted to be recognized nowadays, but she never cared for the spotlight. She was rather content being on her own, fading into the background, maybe become a sidekick for a hero if anything which she could achieve at any school. Her only true friends were her golems after all.
The small little rock figures stumble in her lap and open palms as the car drives down the bumpy road. A smile quirks at her lips watching them. They always seemed to do that. Her eyes gaze back out the window as more cities pass by wondering what her first day at U.A. will be like.
---
Rinne taps her foot nervously, sitting in the registrar’s office, getting all of her paperwork in order. The woman across from her hums cheerfully as she goes about her work and Rinne can just tell easily how much of a morning person she is.
“And there we are! You’re all set! You’ll be in Class 1A. Midnight will show you to your class,” she says in a bubbly voice just as the Pro Hero walks in. Rinne picks up her bag and quietly follows her down the long hallways, letting her drone on and on about the school and students here, how she hasn’t missed much and will do just fine. Midnight stops at the classroom door and slides it open with a grandeur flair as she enters to speak to the teacher. Rinne’s motioned into the class and Midnight passes by her with a wink as she takes her leave, although by the looks of some of her classmates faces, she wouldn’t be leaving their minds anytime soon. Perverts…
“Okay, class, listen up. We have a new student joining us. Please welcome Rinne Furuya.” The teacher turns his tired eyes towards her and nods to an empty seat towards the back half. “You’ll be sitting next to Ms. Morioko Gota. If you’ll take your seat, we’ll get started.”
Rinne looks up to see a cute, green-haired girl sitting next to what’s now to be her assigned seat for the class. She nods to her teacher and does as instructed trying to keep her eyes averted from the onlooking stares of her new classmates. The closer she got, she could see that the girl’s skin had a greenish hue to it as well. She sits in her seat and sets her bag down beside her then props up one of her textbooks on the desk.
---
Mori looks up from her desk the moment the doors slid open as Midnight strides in. Animatedly, she speaks with Aizawa-sensei until motioning towards the open classroom door. Just as Midnight turns and leaves, a girl walks in. Her dark skin peeks out from her uniform, making her pink hair stand out that much more. But, it wasn’t as bright or pale as Mina’s pink hair and skin. Hers had deeper tones to it that somehow just paired perfectly in contrast to her naturally darkened skin tone. Their teacher introduced the new girl to the class and pointed towards the empty seat next to Mori to be assigned at. Hmm...Rinne.. Mori thinks to herself as she watches the girl come closer to find her new seat. Little shivers run along her arms as if the vines and budding blossoms were twitching with life as Rinne closes the distance. She keeps her head down the whole way, her pink bangs covering her eyes from Mori’s view until she reaches her seat and props up her book on her desk to hide behind.
Mori turns her focus from the girl to pay more attention to the lesson and the small doodle she had absent-mindedly was working on before the announcement. A small scuffling sound to her side, Mori looks over to the new girl’s desk and at the edge of her opened book she could’ve sworn she saw a tiny rock creature peeking around it’s pages and look straight at her. She blinks her eyes a few times to make sure she wasn’t seeing things until the girl’s hand moves to the edge of the book covering the spot where the creature once was and her own hazel, almost golden eyes peered at her before disappearing back behind her textbook. Mori couldn’t help the small smile that twitches at her lips before returning to her own work.
Class droned on but Mori continues stealing glances over at her new neighbor, hoping for another peek at the cute little creature. Soon, class would be let out and Mori already plans to hang back to let most of her classmates filter out of the room so she could talk to this Rinne. When that time came, however, she wasn’t the only one with the same idea of wanting to talk to the new girl. Mineta, Mina, and Kaminari were the first over there while a few others seemed to hand back a little to watch from a safer distance. Mori rolls her eyes as she hears them immediately drown the poor girl in question after question.
“Wow! I love your hair! I wish my hair would lay down like yours with the layers but mine’s just kinda sticks out all over the place. Do you use anything for your hair?” Mina gushes trying to bond with her.
“Is that part of your quirk?! What else can you do?” Kaminari asks excitedly pointing around her textbook as Rinne tries pulling it closer.
“Another hot babe…” Mineta nearly drools. “Please… can I just-” CRACK!
A vine whips out hitting Mineta’s outstretched hand as he pulls it back quickly cradling it to his chest and all three heads snap around.
“Back off you twerp. Give her some room to breathe.” Mori steps in as her vine recedes and morphs back to her arm. Giving a slight push to the other two, she stands in front of Rinne’s desk, her back towards the girl as she stands between her and their classmates like a barrier. “She’s our classmate now and there will be plenty of time to get to know her, so give her time to at least adjust before you start crowding her.”
They stand there staring at Mori a bit shocked but still remaining still in their spot. Unsatisfied with their lack of movement, she crosses her arms over her chest and taps her foot, raising a brow at them. “Well, what are you waiting for? Get a move on!”
Finally, they scramble away while the rest of the class slowly goes about their own business. Mori stands there waiting for each student to leave before exhaling in relief.
“Whew… Sorry about that,” she says turning towards Rinne. “We have a lot of eccentric people in our class and a few of them with no sense of boundary control. They mean well and all… well, maybe not Mineta, I’d keep your distance as much as you can.”
The head of pink hair nods slowly, still keeping her gaze down for the most part until she finally meets Mori’s gaze after she stayed silent for a little while. “Thank you,” her soft voice finally says. Rinne sets down her textbook with a small smile showing the three little golems she had been hiding.
“Don’t mention it,” Mori smiles and takes a closer look at the small rock creations. “I thought I had seen one of you peeking at me during class.”
“They get a bit curious,” Rinne admits. Mori gives off a light giggle then straightens back up.
“They’re really cute. I’m Morioko by the way, but you can call me Mori! Everyone does.”
Rinne looks back up at the girl, taking in her green hair that seemed to be littered with flowers in a chaotic sort of way, yet somehow it makes her look really pretty that way and almost giving her green eyes a subtle glow. She was right when she thought her skin looked green when she had passed by walking towards her desk earlier, but it wasn’t the same kind of green as her hair and eyes. No, it was much paler, more subtle, but it worked for her look.
“Rinne. Nice to meet you,” she finally says with a smile. Mori smiles back at her and it only added to her radiance.
“Well, we should probably head out before we’re late to our next class.” Mori suggests then takes a few steps away. “Shall we?”
Rinne nods and gathers her stuff to follow.
---
Their next class finds the students outside on the playing fields in the school’s gym uniforms. Each of them casting glances at one another, wondering what is going to happen. Finally, their teacher shows up and explains that they are going to be exhibiting their own quirks to see how well they have a handle on using them in different scenarios. The first test was seeing how far they could throw a baseball using their quirk in whatever way benefits them best to acquire the best result. Aizawa demonstrates how he will be tracking the distance each ball is thrown and the students begin lining up excitedly for a shot.
“Katsuki Bakugou.” Aizawa calls. A disgruntled looking blonde steps up snatching the ball and gives a wicked grin before letting off an explosive fire power behind his throw. The spectacle only amped the other students for their turn as each one got a chance to show off a bit of their quirk.
“Morioko Gota.”
The green haired beauty walks up and takes the ball. With a deep breath, she closes her eyes as if concentrating to take her time unlike most of the students who seemed more in a rush to show off their own quirk. She lifts her face to the sun and suddenly a slight rumble of the ground could be felt through their feet as Mori’s legs begin to morph into large sturdy roots, attaching themselves to the ground. The rest of her seemed to give off a warm glow. Rearing her arm back, she transforms the end of her hand into a vine to wrap around the ball and then with a slingshot motion, Mori throws the ball as the vine shoots it out like a whip giving it an extra push of momentum. She made an incredible distance even if it wasn’t the furthest, but it still shocked her classmates. As she turns around to rejoin the others for the next contestant to step forward, she was met with dropped jaws, sparkling eyes in awe, and a few cheers.
“I didn’t realize you could do that!” Ochaco beams.
“Wow, that was awesome! Can you basically turn into a tree, too?!” Kaminari asks.
Even Koda seemed to give her an approving nod of respect and awe, which wasn’t really surprising to her knowing his affinity with animals. They both had a mutual respect for nature. However, it was Rinne’s look of admiration and her eyes shining with wonder that caught Mori’s attention the most. Mori walks over to the girl to stand next to her again. A faint blush dusts her cheeks as she looks down at her hands, her fingers intertwined and twisting nervously. Mori smiles then looks back out to the field to see who would be called next until a soft voice speaks up again.
“That was really amazing. Your quirk is really beautiful.” Rinne tells her.
“Thanks!” Mori grins. “It’s called ‘Synthesis’. I’m able to draw on energy straight from the sun to help give me a sort of boost. It’s kinda like photosynthesis with plants except that I’m not limited to just one kind.”
Rinne gives her a curious look with a slight tilt of her head, making Mori chuckle.
“Think of it this way. Each plant, flower, tree, whatever it may be has their own purpose. Well, I’m not just one of those. I can change my arms into vines or my legs into roots and even flowers like to bud off of me. The more I learn about different kinds of plants, the more I am able to work with my quirk and try to adapt with it.” Mori explains, seeing the light shine in Rinne’s eyes as she begins to understand.
“That’s.. That’s amazing!”
“Rinne Furuya.” Her name is called before they could say anymore. Rinne swallows dryly and takes a deep breath before taking her turn.
She stands up there and feels the stares of her classmates. All of them wondering what she’s going to do. Rolling the ball between her hands, she debates between how she wants to do this. Rinne crouches low to the ground and sets the ball down. Placing her hands down in front of her, flat on the ground. Similarly like before when Mori had taken her turn, the ground begins to shake, except instead of Rinne transforming like Mori had, a creature begins to take form before her. Dirt, rock, and even a small mix of grass from the surrounding area build upon each other as the golem forms. Larger and taller the creature grows before them, standing more than twice their height and built larger than All Might with all of his muscles. As soon as she’s done, she picks up the ball and hands it to the golem. Carefully, it takes the ball from her grasp and turns away from her to face the open field. Everyone watches in silent awe as the golem reaches its arm back and throws the ball with a loud boom shaking the ground once more as it’s launches into the air. Rinne looks up at her golem with a smile and places a hand on it as if silently thanking it for its help before returning back to the earth. Brushing her hands together to cast off the residual dirt on her palms, she turns around facing her classmates who have gone deathly quiet. She stops in her tracks as she stares back at them before they roar into cheers. This time it was Midoryia that is the first to meet her as she finally walks back towards Mori.
“Incredible! So you can create golems? Are they only rock based that you can make them out of? How many can you make at a time and what’s the toll it takes on you? What’s your limit currently?” He rattles off question after question like an excited puppy. Rinne grips onto her arms and rubs at them trying to decide what question to answer first.
“Deku, you’re doing it again,” Ochaco gently reminds him, pulling at his arm.
The green haired boy looks over at his friend then back to Rinne and rubs the back of his neck nervously. “Oh! I’m sorry. I guess I just got a bit carried away. I’ve just never seen anything quite like it. I mean Cementoss is able to manipulate any form of cement he touches but it’s limited to that material. Then there’s Ectoplasm who can create live clones of himself, so I got to thinking how similar your quirk was to either of theirs.” He gives a small smile but takes a step back to allow Rinne through. She returns the smile, grateful for the breather and not expected to really answer all of his questions right there.
Maybe later when everyone isn’t around just watching me… Rinne thinks to herself. She can tell the boy was simply curious and his friend seemed pleasantly nice, too.
Finally, she makes it back where Mori stands who looks at her with an equally amazed look on her face.
“That was really impressive! It’s nice to know there are more nature based quirks out there. It explains your little guys from early now, too,” Mori says with a wide grin.
Rinne could feel her face heat up a bit at the compliment. She didn’t know why impressing Mori meant so much to her, but hearing her compliment made all the stares from earlier feel worth it. She was quickly growing more fond of the flowery girl in such a short amount of time.
I guess Midnight wasn’t wrong after all. I think I will do just fine here.
---
Their next classes weren’t as exciting, but how could you follow up with an adrenaline rush of using your quirks to simply sitting in a quiet classroom learning on the history of quirks and heroes. However, they came and went rather smoothly before lunchtime rolled around. Rinne couldn’t decide if she wanted to eat her lunch in the classroom or join the others in the cafeteria. Looking over at Mori, she wondered what she normally does or if she even brought her own lunch.
“Did you bring your lunch?” Morioko asks, glancing over at Rinne’s bag as she fills it with her class materials.
“Um, yeah. My mom wanted to make sure I had something. You know, for my first day and all…” she admits rather nervously.
“Great! Then we can skip the cafeteria! Come on, there’s something I want to show you.” The girl beams grabbing Rinne’s wrist to drag her along. “I think you’ll like it.”
Rinne lets herself be partially dragged by the cheerful girl until she finds her footing to keep pace with her. Weaving through the crowd of students in the hallways, they make their way outside to a part Rinne had yet been to. She continues to follow Mori around a corner until they find themselves standing at a gate. Mori fishes the keys out of her bag and opens the lock, swinging the gate open, then turns to Rinne with an illuminated smile.
“After you!”
Rinne looks at her curiously but steps forward slowly and peers around the open gate. Rows and rows of various plants and flowers fill the space before her as vines hang from the surrounding fence creating a wall of lush greenery. Mori walks past her making Rinne step a bit further into the garden so the gate could be closed shut behind them. Standing just in front of her looking out among the garden, Mori’s proud smile and stance with her hands on her hips turn towards Rinne.
“Well? What do you think?” She asks.
Her golden eyes continue to stare at the beauty displayed before them, her mouth slightly ajar in awe, almost at a loss for words. “It’s… incredible…” she breathes then glances at her new friend. “You did all of this?”
Mori’s grin widens as she nods. “Yep! I got permission from the school after passing the entrance exams and started working on it over the summer. Kinda like my own personal training bit. I cultivate new plants I learn about and try to adapt my quirk to them as they grow. I spend a lot of time here since they require a lot of maintenance as is, but it’s also my safe haven. A place where I can just disappear to from time to time.”
Rinne was awestruck that she was invited to such a sacred place. Surely, she wasn’t the first one Mori has shown this place to...right? “It’s beautiful. And so peaceful. I can see why you’d want to escape to here. But… if it’s your personal space, why show me?” Her curiosity got the best of her and she couldn’t help but ask.
Mori’s smile never falters as she reaches out to grab Rinne’s hand and lead them to a spot to sit. “‘Cuz I knew you’d be able to properly appreciate it,” she says simply as she pulls out her lunch from her bag.
A small blush forms on her cheeks but decides to follow suit and take her own lunch from her bag. “Your secret is safe with me then. Thank you for sharing it with me.” Rinne says.
This time it was Mori’s turn to blush. Seeing the genuinity on Rinne’s face as she thanks her and then promises to keep the garden a secret from their classmates, it meant a lot to her. She focuses on her lunch and they fall into a peaceful silence as they begin eating. A few casual glances were casted at each other. Mori would watch as Rinne would interact with her tiny golems by her legs, dancing a finger around them as they reached out to grab hold. Likewise, Rinne would see Mori look over her garden or close her eyes lifting her face to the warm sun. She couldn’t help but notice how she seems how ethereal she looks when Mori begins to give off a warm glow simply by soaking up the warmth of the sun. It was like a golden halo surrounding her pale green skin making her hair appear brighter and the flowers blossom to its fullest. Rinne couldn’t help but be struck by the natural beauty sitting next to her as if the garden they sit beside became a person. That’s who Mori is. Her eyes suddenly snap open then look down at her legs to see one of Rinne’s golems trying to climb up onto her lap. She chuckles and holds out a finger for the golem to grab.
“They really are quite cute. Do you always have these three with you?” Mori turns her green eyes to Rinne to see her nodding. “And that doesn’t drain you?”
Rinne softly shrugs. “At first it did. They’re my first friends. I know it’s silly, but it’s never been easy for me to connect with others or open up. So, whenever I felt lonely, I would make them. I couldn’t keep them going longer than a few minutes with one at a time, but I would keep making them over and over again, tiring myself out just to make them last longer. Then, it just became more of a personal goal. Practicing on keeping them moving for longer periods of time, trying to have more than one made at a time. I kept at it for these little guys before I actually started training on the bigger stuff.” Rinne smiles at the one playing with Mori as she thinks back. “Then it just became second nature having them around all the time.”
“That’s really incredible, Rinne.” The way she says her name is like a sweet melody on a gentle breeze. She could tell she was falling for the nymph-like girl, but even to have just as a good friend would also be enough for her.
Rinne smiles at the compliment and they fall into an easy conversation for the rest of the lunch period. They talk back and forth discovering new things about each other. Mori was originally from Shikoku and once she was old enough for school, she was requested by U.A. to come attend to increase her variety in training. Hearing her describe the nature based island that she so loved drew Rinne in closer. Mori was able to use her quirk freely growing up and able to hone more of her abilities before moving to the city where nature wasn’t as prominent. But, that didn’t stop Mori. She adapted. Then, Rinne explained how she’s from Nagoya and her parents moved them here as soon as they heard she was accepted into U.A., wanting her to go to the best pro hero school there was in Japan. She knew it was more for the fact they hoped to make more of a name for themselves than it was for her to get the best education. If she could learn from the best, become the best, then that would mean more business for her parents, more income. Giving a shrug, she knew her parents meant well, but sometimes their passion for business annoyed her, especially when it directly affects her and what she wants to do for herself.
They learn a bit more about each other’s quirks. Mori expanding more on how her legs can turn into roots, digging deep into the ground and branching out at 25 feet. That’s the most she’s been able to reach so far anyways. Her arms, however, can turn into lengthy vines that can stretch out to 45 feet. The more interesting part of her quirk, Rinne found out, is her immunity to toxins and poisons. Many of her abilities directly tied and related to various plants and their uses. Rinne explains how the larger the golem she creates, the shorter the time she can control it as it’s more draining on her mind and body. She does have some basic earth manipulation without creating full golems but she finds it easier to control her rock monsters to do her bidding rather than throwing dirt and rocks around like projectiles. Lunch seemed to quickly come to an end the longer they talked. Brushing the dirt off their legs and skirts, they pack up and head back to class smiling the whole way.
As they take their seats, their teacher walks in with his usual wearied expression. He stands at the front of the room waiting for everyone to settle down before he starts his announcements.
“Alright, class is starting. Sit down and be quiet.” His gruff voice instructs. “There’s a few things I need to go over with you all before we get back into the lesson.”
Soft murmurs scatter across the room. All wondering what news he had for them.
“Here at U.A., we take our students to different training grounds to enhance on each of your quirks. In some cases, these locations may prove to be beneficial to your quirk while a detriment to others. It’s our job to prepare you to be able to activate your quirks in the most unlikely situations. You will work on getting a handle on your quirks, controlling them before they become unmanageable and run wild.” He explains, looking at each student carefully before continuing. “Our first location will be Shikoku while it’s still warm enough. After you’ve gone through training here for the next few weeks, you will be determined whether or not you’re ready for the next level of training to go on these trips. Let me remind you, this will not be a vacation. Shikoku is home to many mountain ranges. This will be our base camping area as we travel and train, far from the tourist spots and spas I’m sure many of you were hoping to experience during our time there. That will not be the case. Now that we’ve covered that, open up your textbooks.”
Very few of the students were able to pay much attention to class after that announcement and much to their pleasure, the rest of the day went by quickly. The students eagerly packed up their bags to return home. Rinne and Mori say their goodbyes and go their separate ways. The smile on Rinne’s face after a successful first day at a new school stayed on her face the entire way home.
---
“Looks like someone had a good first day?” Her mother asks her over dinner. Her parents casting pleased expressions.
Rinne nods as she pokes at the food on her plate with her chopsticks. “It really was.” She picks up her plate and stands to head into the kitchen. “I’m done. And I should go work on my homework.” After putting away her dishes, she passes by them and wraps her arms around them both. “Thank you.” She tells them with a smile and heads to her room, leaving her parents wondering after her.
---
The next few weeks go by filled with the same classes and training regiments. The students worked diligently to ensure their acceptance to go on the upcoming training trips. Their teacher would never outright let on that he was proud to see all of them manage to make it onto the trip, but he was, nonetheless. The trip to their first destination was long and tiring for him, though. Between flights and multiple transits, making sure each student was accounted for and enduring their endless supply of excitement and energy was wearing him down. Mori chuckles lightly to herself, but it doesn’t go undetected by Rinne who shares the bench seat with her.
“What’s so funny?”
Mori shakes her head to herself and leans back against the seat. “Oh, nothing. Aizawa-sensei should’ve expected this. They say it’s strictly training but that doesn’t stop this crazy class from getting excited about going on a trip. Training filled or not, it’s still a vacation from the classroom walls.” She explains and looks over at Rinne. Her three tiny golems were climbing on each other to take a peek out of the window. “We’re actually getting pretty close. We should be there soon. You’re going to love Shikoku, I just know it.”
Rinne looks up from watching her golems with a smile. “I can’t wait!”
The pair had grown rather close over the past few weeks. Working together to make sure they would be able to make it on the trip, they spent extra time meeting at Mori’s garden during breaks and sometimes early in the morning before school hours. Rinne’s golems even helped with maintenance by pulling out weeds or fighting off any unwanted bugs or critters that made their way in. They worked together to improve not only their quirks but also studying class materials together. It was becoming rare for the others to not see one without the other. They watch as the scenery outside the window becomes greener and more lush. Everyone begins buzzing with a new sense of excitement as their destination draws nearer.
As they finally arrive, everyone unloads and grabs their belongings to follow their teacher to where they’d be staying during their time here. With wandering eyes and a hop in their step, they make their way through the winding dirt road with trees and various plants on either side surrounding them. The trek was steep the closer they got to their campsite closer to the mountainside. Rinne could feel her connection with the ground beneath her feet grow stronger. Looking over at Mori to mention it, she sees her glowing again. Her radiance shining brighter than the streaks of sunlight filtering through the treetops overhead. They reach a small clearing with tents pitched up in two separate areas and a large fire pit placed between.
“Girls take the tents on the right, boys to the left. Get your things settled in. We won’t be staying long.” Aizawa informs them as he zips up his sleeping bag around him and lays on the ground as he waits.
Rinne and Mori picked out a tent to share next to Tsuyu and Ochaco. Momo and Kyoka chose the next closest one then Mina and Toru for the next. The girls gathered in the center after putting their things away in their chosen tents, chatting as they wait to leave. Some of the guys begin filtering into the group and once everyone seemed ready to go, Aizawa had them follow him once again further up the mountain to a designated training area.
“First, you will be sorted into pairs. This will be a bit different than you’ve experienced back at school. Here, your pairs will be assigned to different regions and it’s your job to do minimal damage while using your surroundings to your advantage the best way you can. Obviously, for some this will be a cake walk being in your element while for a select few, it’s going to require more control on your part to keep from destroying the area while finding a way to gain the upper hand against your opponent. Once you’re done, head back to camp. Now, here’s how you’ll be partnered up…” He goes through the premade list calling off names and their assigned areas. One by one, everyone was paired up. Rinne watches as Mori leaves with Mina into the thickest part of the forest.
Aizawa finally reaches the end of his list. “That just leaves you two on the cliffside.”
Rinne looks over at Todoroki, standing there quietly and reserved then turns towards her. He extends his hand in the direction of their assigned area allowing Rinne to lead the way. She takes a deep breath and starts walking with him following in step just behind her. They find the marked area and face off. Rinne isn’t sure what to expect at first. Do we just start or-- But Todoroki doesn’t waste any time. Raising his hands and widening his stance, he gives Rinne barely a minute to get ready before sliding his foot against the ground casting a wave of ice in her direction. She lifts her arms summoning one of her medium sized golems to block the ice from hitting her. The ice shatters as the golem strikes at it. Shards of ice splintering off and raining down around her. Rinne looks past her golem to see Todoroki begin to move to a new vantage spot for a direct hit towards her. Quickly, she summons a few more golems of equal size to the first one. The ground shakes as their bodies erupt from the ground. Rock and dirt piling on itself into her precious creations. They create a barrier around her to give a few short moments to think. Knowing he favors his ice, she’ll have to make sure to either keep creating enough of the golems she has now in case they get caught in his ice, or exert more energy into a single bigger one. She sends out three of them as a direct attack. Despite their make-up, because they aren’t much bigger than her, their speed isn’t hindered.
Todoroki looks surprised at the rate the rock creatures charge at him as he glides across the ground with his ice to maneuver around their attacks and avoid getting hit. One of them slams its fists against the ice causing a rippling crack to trip the boy. He manages to catch his footing just before he could fall to the ground, lifting himself up onto a new pillar of ice. Towering over Rinne and the golems, he has a better view of their surroundings. The edge of the trees opposing the edge of the cliff. Blocking access to the trees and forcing a smaller area to fight could be more to his benefit if he’s able to successfully immobilize the golems.
Rinne looks up to where Todoroki stands out of her golems reach and clicks her tongue disapprovingly. She directs her golems to start smashing against the thick ice, chipping away at it slowly. Unsatisfied with the lack of progress they were able to make, she finally opts for her larger golem. They begin to merge together, rocks rolling and crumbling to reform into one giant rock beast. Reaching his peak form, Todoroki nearly loses his balance as the golem shakes the ground with every movement it makes. It slowly raises its arms and swings them towards the icy pillar breaking it in half. Todoroki emits his ice against the golem to create a new path for him to use. The golem moving much slower than its previous smaller counterparts as it tries to grab Todoroki but misses. He continues his trek until safely reaching the ground with the golem encased in a thin layer of ice. The rock monster was unfazed by the ice as it breaks through with ease in its search for its intended target. The battle between ice and rock continue until Rinne begins to feel the effects of controlling the large beast for so long. Sweat beads at her brow as she struggles to keep her control over her element. Frost begins taking form over half of Todoroki’s body as he overuses his quirk without tapping into his flames he continues to swear against using to reject his father. It wasn’t until the golem begins to crumble in on itself that Todoroki realizes the toll it’s taking on Rinne. Firing one last icy blast to finish off the remains of the golem, Todoroki stands before Rinne, chest heaving as he tries to catch his breath. His chilled breath foggy with each exhale against the warm air surrounding them. Rinne looks just as spent as her legs threatened to give out and buckle. Todoroki reaches out to steady her to keep her from falling.
“Thanks,” she smiles weakly, internally chastising herself for reaching this point.
Todoroki offers a small smile and a short nod. “Your golems are really impressive. I didn’t think I was going to last much longer. Honestly, I thought you were going to win.”
Rinne shakes her head. “You only used your ice. Making larger golems like that is harder for me to control. I don’t know if I would be able to stand a chance if you were taking this seriously and using both of your quirks.”
Todoroki falls silent as they walk back to camp. “It wouldn’t have made a difference.”
“What do you mean?”
He looks down at his left hand, the side that houses his father’s quirk. “Aizawa-sensei said we had to control our quirks to not do damage to the land. Being surrounded by trees, the flames would’ve been too much. Besides, your golems can’t burn. If I was able to make a blast with enough force then maybe it would be able to push your golems around but ultimately, they wouldn’t be affected by the flames.” He clenches his hand into a fist then lowers it to his side before looking at her with a smile. “My quirk is mostly ineffective against yours. It ended up being a matter of who would tire out first from exhausting our powers.”
Rinne considers his words carefully before smiling back, grateful for his kind words. They make it back to camp to see most of the other students already returned. Mori’s eyes light up as she sees Rinne and Todoroki walk into camp then rushes over to meet them.
“Rinne! Are you alright?” She frets over the girl as Todoroki chuckles lightly and waves goodbye as he leaves her in Mori’s capable care. She chuckles as she leans a little on her for support, waving back at Shouto before hugging Mori back
“I’m fine, Mori. Just overworked myself.” Rinne replies with a smile. Mori’s eyes shining with concern as their gazes meet.
“You need to take it easy for the rest of the night, then.” Mori decides resolutely. Her tone dictating there wasn’t any room for arguments. She takes Rinne to sit by the fire pit where most of the other students have gathered.
“Rinne! You’re back!” Ochaco beams and waves both her and Mori over. “Sure looks like you gave Todoroki a hard time!”
They all look over to see him standing next to the fire. The ice on his right side starting to thaw out from the warmth of the flames. Rinne takes a seat and Mori makes up a couple of s’mores for them. The melted chocolate-marshmallow mix stuffed between two graham crackers in her hands, giving one to Rinne as she takes the seat next to her. She burns her finger on the hot, sticky treat and brings it to her mouth to cool it off. Mori snatches her hand and inspects the now reddened digit. Setting her own s’more to the side, she pulls out a homemade salve and medicates her finger. The cool of the ointment bringing immediate relief to Rinne’s sensitive finger tip. Her eyes watching carefully in awe as the redness fades away within minutes. Mori smiles as she puts it away, still holding Rinne’s hand.
“Just something I made after studying my plants. It helps with burns, dry skin, small cuts, just a simple first aid I carry around with me now. Just in case.” She gives her a wink. Rinne stares at her electric green eyes, pools of emeralds swirling in their depths the longer she gazed into them. Neither were aware how long they had been staring at each other for until the sound of someone’s throat clearing breaks their trance.
“So are you two...like a thing?” Kirishima asks leaning forward with his elbows propped on his knees.
Rinne could feel her face heat up in a furious blush as she looks away and is suddenly very interested in the s’more she had yet to take a bite of. Now cooled to a lesser warm temperature, she takes a bite trying to avoid the collective stares narrowing in on her. Mori smiles at the girl’s timid nature.
“That’s something I’d rather discuss with her first before telling the lot of you,” Mori answers taking a big bite of her s’more. Rinne’s head snaps up and twists towards her. “Besides, it’s not like the rest of you have been exactly forward with your personal interests either.” A few turn their heads avoiding the confrontation, a couple nearly choke on their s’mores or drink, while Kirishima just laughs and wraps an arm around Bakugo’s shoulders who sits next to him.
“Alright, alright, that’s fair!” He winks at Bakugou whose cheeks turn a rosy shade before mumbling something incoherent under his breath and turning away but keeping himself tucked under Kirishima’s arm. “Only you know when the time is right.”
Mori smiles then turns back to Rinne who continues to stare wide-eyed at her like a deer caught in headlights. Grabbing her hand, they drop their s’mores as Mori drags the stunned girl from the campsite. Just past the line of tents, the nymph-like girl leads them through the small forest until they emerge on the other side. They find themselves on the edge of a cliffside overlooking the ocean. Mori finally stops in her tracks but doesn’t let go of Rinne. The sun begins to set, its warm glow reflecting on the water’s surface as the sky is dyed in various colors of pinks and oranges. Slowly, Mori walks closer to the edge, encouraging Rinne to join her as she sits down on the soft grass. Hand in hand, they feel the cool breeze ruffle their hair and hear the light chirps of the birds fluttering in the trees behind them. It was quiet, peaceful. The sun slowly descending on the horizon, darkening the sky a little more as each minute passes by.
“Mori?” Rinne’s quiet voice breaks through the reverie.
“Hmm?” Her relaxed response came.
Rinne looks down at their joined hands then up at the girl’s face. She couldn’t quite find the words to her question. Mori glances over at her and smiles, raising their hands up together and pushing their palms against each other, Rinne feeling a warm buzzing where their hands connected
“I like you, Rinne. I was hoping I was being obvious about it, but I didn’t want to push you either just in case you didn’t feel the same. You are amazingly sweet and kind, and it feels like you often understand me better than myself.”
Rinne nervously tucks her hair behind her ear, Mori noticing small golems hiding behind Rinne, curious. “I-I really like you, too.” She says quietly as Mori gives a light squeeze to her hand.
“Good.” Is all she says before she places a soft kiss against Rinne’s forehead, smiling as she pulls away from the now red-faced girl. As Mori looks back at the setting sun, half of it disappeared behind the horizon, Mori’s flowers now sprouting moon flowers and blooming in the young moonlight.