Chapter 41: Out of the Frying Pan

"Ahhhh!!" Hitomi and Toru fall while clinging to each other and Hitomi makes sure to take the fall damage and cushion Toru's fall with her body...

They both groan after impact... And Toru sits up with a gasp! "Hitomi!?" A gasp she quickly regrets due to the smoke in the air... Sending her into a coughing fit

Hitomi groans and Toru quickly gets off of her and helps her sit up... "A-are you ok...?"

Hitomi's snakes all hiss and writhe in displeasure and her thermal senses are temporarily overwhelmed... Both due to all the fire surrounding them...

"Crap..." She coughs "I think... We're in the fire zone..."

"What gave it away? All the fire?" Toru grins and Hitomi facepalms

"Joking? Really?" She chuckles and coughs

"Well I'm still kinda hoping this is an elaborate prank show like I watch at home but... That seems less likely by the moment..." She breathes shakily and hugs herself "I-I'm kinda terrified..."

Hitomi pulls her into a hug... "We'll be alright... This is still a place made for training... We can get through it..." She sighs... "But..."

Toru looks up at her "But...?"

"That cloud man... He said "I'll scatter

you across this facility to meet my comrades, and your deaths" so..." She grips Toru tighter...

"S-so... We're not alone in here... Are we...?" She looks around, a look of fear crossing her face...

"No... I don't think so..." She focuses all around her 'My thermal senses are going screwy... I can't make out any details... I can only see Toru because she's right next to me and she's wearing her cloak...'

"W-what do we do now Hitomi...?" Due to holding Toru, Hitomi can feel her heart pounding with her tremor senses...

"Now..." she looks down at the scared girl "You take off your clothes"

Toru's face goes blank "Huh?"

"Y-your clothes... Take them off..." Hitomi blushes...

"I-Is now really the time to be making a move!? D-do you think we're gonna die!?" She gathers her cloak tighter around herself

"Toru!" She grips her shoulders and shakes her a little "You're invisible. Thermal sensors won't be able to pick you up in this environment. The ground seems to have some kinda cooling system so you won't burn your feet. You'll be safest if you're naked."

"B-but...!" Even in this heat... Hitomi's can still see Toru blushing

"I know it's not pleasant but please..." She grips her shoulders a bit tighter... "I want you to be safe... As safe as possible..."

Toru sighs... But then "Ok... You're right! Sorry for being dumb"

"Hey hey no, it wasn't-" she gasps and shoves Toru back as well as jumping back herself as she sees an attack coming from the side! A burning hot chain with a large metal ball on the end slams into the ground between them before being yanked back!

She draws her twin sai and quickly turns to face the attacker "Strip Toru!"

"Damn it I missed! Or did you dodge!? Either way you're both dead! Hehehe!" A scrawny shirtless man radiating intense heat and weilding a large knife in one hand and the chain in the other comes running towards them!

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Hitomi stands her ground and waits.

He spins the burning ball and chain at his side as he runs "Think you're special do ya!?" He then sends the metal ball flying towards her "Here catch this!"

Hitomi jumps to the side to once again avoid it 'He's crazy but strong if he can throw it like that' she tenses her legs and takes off sprinting to meet him

"Fooled youuuu! Hahaaaa!" He yanks the chain back causing the ball to fly towards Hitomi's back in it's return

Once it's almost hit her she twists to the side letting it sail past her instead and towards the man "You catch it!"

He yelps and dives to the side! "You bitch!" He scrambles to his feet just as Hitomi gets to him! "DIIIIE!!" he wildly swings his knife at her

She triggers her arm shield and swings it around in front of her 'Defelct don't block!' she deflects it to the side as best she can but she's startled by the strength the skinny man is putting out and as a result she's pushed to the side a few steps

"A shield!? That's no way to fight you coward! Fight properly damn it!" He wraps the chain around and around his arm making the ball and chain into a close range flail

'Damn it... My arm's gone numb from that hit' she keeps her shield raised and her sai ready "How are you so strong?"

"Ohhhhh? Well I suppose I can tell you... Seeing as you're going to die!" He grins!

'Ugh... Did you read a cliche villain one liner book when you got up this morning?' she rolls her covered eyes

"This!" He spreads his arms "Is my domain! The more heat I draw into myself the stronger I become! I am unstoppable!"

'That's... Actually terrible, if he draws in enough heat I won't be able to see... Let alone fight him...' she plants her feet "Easy mode it is."

"Huh!? You say fightin' me is gonna be easy!?" He smashes the ball into the ground in anger

She sheathes the sai she's holding in her free hand and raises it to her visor "I won't fight" she presses the button and the eye covers retract

"Wah? Ugh!" The stone starts quickly spreading over his form "You...!" Hitomi's heart sense flares as it looks like the surrounding heat is being forcefully sucked into the man

Hitomi grunts as a sudden pulsing headache assaults her 'Ahh! Ow! What's with this headache...!?' the stone covering the man slows down as he gets hotter and hotter

"You won't... Beat me...!!" His forearms and lower legs are stone... And the stone is spreading... But not very fast, he starts slowly clunking forwards on his stiff legs "I'll kill you...! And cut out... Those damn eyes!"

Hitomi grunts and forces her eyes to stay open! 'He's... Getting stronger...!' she can barely see him because her thermal is so bright

There's a sudden swish and clang!! The skinny man stiffens and his eyes roll up. The heat within him is released in a large wave of hot air! Momentarily blinding Hitomi's thermal vision

"Wha...?" Once things start coming back into focus she sees the skinny man turned to stone and Toru behind him with a metal pipe in her hands

"Hitomi!" Toru runs over holding the pipe "Are you ok!?"

Hitomi quickly closes her visor "Y-yeah I'm fiiiiiii..." 'Toru is naked!' Now she's registered this fact she can't help but stare... And all the snakes turn to face Toru too

"H-Hitomi!!" She covers herself

"What!? I'm not doing anything I just said you're fine- I-I'm fine! I mean I'm fine! I got the guy look!" She hurridly points at the statue!

Toru looks and goes over to it... "Is this what your Quirk can do? Why didn't you use it from the start? Is... He alive...?"

She sighs... "Yes he's alive... And I didn't use it because currently if a statue breaks they can't be fixed and then revived... A statue can't get out the way of danger... I don't wanna take that risk unless I have to..."

"I understand... That's really responsible now I think about it..." She stands there awkwardly while covering her more intimate areas with her arms "S-so... Um... Should we go...?"

"Yeah... And... Thanks for the help" She smiles "Let's find out way out of here... Partner" She starts to walk the way the crazy guy came from

"Hehe... You're welcome" Toru discards her pipe and follows "How do you think we'll find the way out...?"

"Hmm... We saw this place from the outside, it was a dome right? So..." She opens her visor and looks up "If we follow the curve of the dome we can get to the edge and then try and find the exit, let's also keep an eye out for any area maps of signs"

"Oooo signs would be really convenient..." She giggles "A map would be funny though, turn left at the fire, if you see the burning car you need to take a right"

Hitomi laughs "If you reach the burning building you've gone too far" they both laugh

The laughter quickly dies when Toru grips Hitomi's arm "I see something in the distance..."

Hitomi freezes in place and opens her visor "It looks like a person... Wearing white?"

Toru gasps! Aaaand then starts to cough "I-it's-" cough! "Ojiro!"

"Oh crap you're right! And he's fighting a group...!" She starts running towards her classmate "C'mon Toru!"

Toru runs after her "What's your plan of attack!?"

"Attack from behind, join him in the middle, turn the rest to stone!" She draws her sai 'Screw mystery headaches. My friends are more important.'

"What about the risks you were just talking about!?"

"None of us are powerhouses like Bakugo or Todoroki! We can't handle large groups as effectively!" She clenches her fists "When it comes to keeping the Villains safe or keeping my friends and classmates safe it'll always be you guys!"

"You're right... What about me? What do I do?" Toru pants slightly as she runs

"You stay behind them and take any opportunity you see to stealthily take some down if things go wrong, when I yell Eyes you close your eyes ok!?" She focuses on Toru's face

She grits her teeth in determination "Got it! I won't let you down"

They change course down a side street so they can loop around a building and come out on the street behind the villains surrounding Ojiro

Hitomi crouches at the corner and keeps her voice low "Ok... Ready Toru?"

She pumps her fists "Ready, I'm right behind you"

"Let's go" she breaks from the corner and runs down the sidewalk towards Ojiro, Toru following behind

Ojiro flips in the air and slams his tail into a villain's face! 'I should just keep running until the teachers show up... Trying to fight all of these villains is a bad ide- Sekizō!?'

Hitomi jumps and lands a two foot kick on the back of a cloaked Villain! Causing the villain to cry out and pain as Hitomi literally surfs him forward "Hey Ojiro!" She leans down and a snake sinks it's fangs into the villain

The Villains around them tense up "There's another one!!"

Hitomi jumps off the now paralysed villain and lands next to Ojiro "How are you? You're not hurt?"

Ojiro sighs... "I appreciate the concern but wasn't it stupid to come stand next to me? We're surrounded" The villains become more cautious now there's an unknown Quirk in the situation

"Yeah... Normally being surrounded would be bad..." She grins and raises a hand to her visor "But not this time" she turns to the villains "Eyes!!"