Joint Training: Sora

They followed after the robots as they moved their prison two blocks to the east. Sora didn't feel in her right mind yet, for she was still thinking of Yuu. What's happened to him? I've never seen him like that before. She felt worthless for not being able to lend a hand at all when he was in that state, and he wasn't keen to tell her what was wrong either.

" I wonder about that..."

His words made her chest clutch with sorrow. She too had secrets, ones she couldn't tell him. Did she have any right to be angry with him then? 

" Shirogane-kun, Todoroki-kun... Are you both all right?" Sora blinked as she looked back and forth from Iida to Todoroki.

"It's nothing. Thanks for asking," Todoroki answered, expression unfazed.

" What about you, Shirogane?" The girl shook her hands as she smiled at Ojiro.

" I'm fine too. You don't have to be concerned with me."

" Shirogane aside, but Todoroki's facial expressions don't change that much, so I couldn't tell," Ojiro muttered. " I can't believe you noticed, Iida."

" As class rep, I must watch all my classmates and offer a hand to those who are troubled!" 

And you're doing great. Sora cheered inwardly.

" You seem really cheerful. You always do, though." Shoji noted via an additional mouth.

" Recently, my brother's recovery has been going well." Iida glowed brightly as he said that.

" Oh, that's good to hear!"

" Thank God! Hope he will get better as soon as possible, Iida-kun!" Sora patted him.

As the other boys continued their talk with Iida, Todoroki and Sora lingered behind them. " How was it?" She gave Todoroki a soft nudge with her elbow and the boy nodded his head.

" Not bad."

" Not bad! Is that all you have to say?!"

" What else do you expect me to say? Yeah, I was worried about him, but that doesn't mean I can forget everything that I... We went through so easily. Not bad is the best it could ever be."

" Well, no one said anything about forgetting, I'm talking about now..." Their eyes locked for the first time during their conversation and Todoroki's softened a tad, almost unnoticeable.

" If anything, he's trying."

Sora gave him a small grin at that. " Trying is the key, and I can tell, that you are trying as well."

" Huh?" He stopped in his tracks, turning her words in his mind. 

" You'll understand it soon when you become a little more honest with your own feelings." With a wink, she ran for Iida who was urging them to keep pace.

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It wasn't long before the third match started. Their plan was to look for the other team with Sora and Shoji's help before paralyzing them with Todoroki's ice.

" Anything from your position, Shirogane?" Shoji asked and Sora shook her head.

They're keeping quiet. Why? Her eyes narrowed when she spotted something ahead. Did a pillar, just fall off? She heard metal clinking against each other and it became clear. Even Shoji could tell it. But is it a trap? Is their plan to draw us in?

She looked down at her team. " A head-to-head battle is it? But it may be a trap. Remember Honenuki's Quirk?" She lowered herself so she was floating a few inches above them.

"It's okay, I'll deal with it," Todoroki stated. " Even if he softens the ground it will be fine as long as I cover it with my ice."

Sora rubbed her chin, it was logical but still didn't like the idea of charging just like that. " All right, let's do this, class A, team 3!" Yet against the eager Iida there was little she could do to dither them. And so she joined them on their charging on the enemy camp.

As they neared their target, they split up. Rising skywards, Sora tried to keep hiding behind the tall buildings and chimneys. And then there was a shiver that ran down her spine as Todoroki unleashed his wave of ice, trapping all four of the opposite team. This... he is getting better at controlling it. Sora thought as she squatted down on a chimney.

Iida went in first with his Reciproburst. However, the ground beneath him shifted from solid to muddy and his feet sank in the melting ice. Sora stood up as she saw multiple other things sloping down like slush. It can't be! He softened a few things in advance?! Sora bit on her lip as Ojiro lost footing on a softened pipe and was found by the enemy. This is too bad I've got to get them out!

As she made to fly to them, she was met with a flying Kaibara who was hauled with Tsunotori's horns. " Shirogane is the most troublesome here since she can avoid getting stuck! I will take her!"

With a spiraling arm, he dealt a blow to her left wing and forced her down. Sora twisted and pushed him away just as they landed on the ground. " I'm not letting you go!"

The girl gritted her teeth at that. " Shirogane!" Sora snapped as Ojiro flung himself on the boy, swinging his tail at him, but Kiabara managed to block him. Sora could see Ojiro wince in pain and she recalled what she had felt when Kaibara first hit her wing. That's right! Ojiro-kun's tail is muscles too! If we consider my Quirk's abilities then...

Ojiro staggered, focusing on defending himself when Sora stepped in front of him, one wing held before her as a shield. " It's no use!" But Kiabara widened his eyes at the feeling beneath his hand. It wasn't the soft flesh and feathers, rather. " Hardening! When did she?"

" Ojiro-kun! Go help Todoroki and Shoji-kun!" She groaned. " Don't bother about me! I will deal with him!"

Seeing he couldn't do much against Kaibara's Quirk anyway, the boy backed. " Thanks, sorry for the trouble!" And with a flap of his tail, he bounced towards where Todoroki and the rest were fighting.

" How long do you think you can keep up?" Kaibara pressed harder on her.

" Long enough to get you thrown in the jail!" She said directing a rising punch but the boy stopped it. His eyes narrowed at the feathers on her knuckles and arms.

Sora flung her large wing separating them and they were forced to back down. Sora glanced down at the support items he was wearing on his fingers. Those ones are hard. Probably he didn't realize it but the moment he hit earlier, I'm sure a bone cracked in my wing. She glared at him, waiting for his next move. Fortunately, my wings heal in a matter of minutes, still, I've got to be careful.

Her eyes widened by a fraction as his aura thrusted towards her and she sidestepped him just in time. It's alright, as long as I can see what he is up to! She whirled to kick him but he managed to fend.

" The hardened feathers around your arms and legs are to defend and boost the attack, huh?" He smirked broadly.

" What would you do even if you knew that?" She flapped her wings and her unleashed sharp knife-like feathers pinned him to the nearest wall.

" Shirogane-kun!" Sora had to hide her face as a gale of wind swept past her. It was Iida. "I'm here to help!" He said taking a U-turn.

" No!" She pointed at the flames raging further in the distance. " Todoroki needs help! I will handle things here!"

As Iida ran past her and turned around again, she could discern his hesitant aura. " Iida-kun, Honenuki-kun is still out there! He is the most troublesome of them so take care of him! If it's you then you can do it!"

" But, Shirogane-kun..." 

" Rescue comes first, right?!" Sora shouted. " Now the ones needing help more than anyone else are Todoroki and Shoji-kun! So don't waste time!"

Iida finally nodded and rushed at full speed to the other side of the arena.

" If so, why don't you go to help too?" Kaibara asked and Sora narrowed her eyes at him.

" I'm fulfilling my part too. After I finish with you I'll go. But until then I'm supporting my team to the very end."

" You talk big." Sora looked at Kaibara as he laughed and glanced up at her. " But you can't keep me here!" His whole body spun around and the feathers holding him in place were jerked off. " Don't look down on us!"

Sora had to guard with both wings as he came at her with both arms this time. " Even the toughest shield ought to crack if you hit it hard enough!" Sora could feel him pushing her back. It was hard to stand still.

Class B, they managed to get so strong too. I knew we shouldn't have thought lightly of them. She stepped firmly on the ground and held her ground against him. " But we've grown as well!"

" Fighting against me won't help!" His whole arms up to his shoulders were spiraling by that time, trying to keep her at bay.

" When I use hardening on my two wings, I can't fly. It's either flying or shielding myself." Sora complained to her grandmother on the phone. " I don't get why we get extra wings just as we transform."

" Huh? It's not necessary." Her grandmother stated and Sora sprang up then, surprise palpable over her face. " Sora, who said you're only limited to one pair."

I should have realized it before... Sora smirked as she felt the lumps forming on her back already. Our wings grow! There is nothing that prevents me from growing an extra pair! Kaibara was taken aback when a second pair of wings flung open behind the girl. " They might be smaller and unable to lift me up, but they can give a boost!"

As she flapped them, Sora could feel the air pushing her forward, as though getting her back, as if it was a trusted friend. And the girl pressed on Kaibara. " This is..." With all her might, she knocked him back with her hardened wings and then grasped his throat. "... Our plus ultra!" Now all wings free, she charged ahead at a neck-breaking speed, clobbering him hard on the wall. It was a tough hit she was sure he had passed out. 

" Now I'm taking you to jail!" She said hauling him in her arms and flying towards their camp.

Suddenly her vision was impaired when Kaibara's jacket flew onto her face and with the little consciousness he had, he did something unexpected, he twisted, holding on to the girl tightly. " You can't ... predict my moves... unless you look at me right..." And he began spinning her along with him as though he was a small whirlwind.

" Let go of me!" She tried to free herself but he was clinging too hard it was but impossible to pry his grasp.

" I'm not...letting them lose because of me..." Kaibara groaned.

" What do you think you're doing!" But she soon could tell what his plan was as they dove right for what was left of the softened pool of ice. Sora struggled, the wings Kaibara was holding on began to tear by the force but she ignored the pain. If it meant getting away then she was fine with tearing them. She could grow them again anyway.

Yet, she wasn't quick enough, and before she knew it, they plunged into the pool of mud. Kaibara was already unconscious by then and Sora struggled to get away but with the boy's weight and her half-torn wings, it was all but impossible to fly out. And then the mud solidified, and they were trapped within. She bit on her lip as it pressed hard against her injury. From her spot, she could see Tsunotori flying overhead with the unconscious Todoroki, Honenuki, and Tetsutetsu.

The last seconds of the match went by filled with frustration and anger at herself for not keeping an eye on the prisoner. She could have been able to react to him faster. And finally, the alarm blared and the match ended with a draw, only because Tsunotori landed herself in their prison while trying to capture Ojiro.

Not before long, the robots came to dig her and Kaibara out of the mixture of ice and concrete...

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" How vexing, but Kaibara was smart and strong too." Whisper half remarked, half grunted for he was too irritated at the way things ended. " He used the air resulting from his drill arm to shove the hem of his jacket onto her face so she wouldn't be able to see his aura."

" Sora..." Yuu's look softened at the girl stuck in the ground, frowning deeply and a shadow of frustration cast upon her face...

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Sora had to be healed with Recovery Girl's kiss. The wounds from her torn wings were so deep her back was covered with blood when she was taken to the infirmary. And even after that, she couldn't help but wince in pain as she shrank her wings into her back again. " Thank you, recovery girl."

" The wounds were so deep." The old woman told her as she offered her a calorie bar. " It would be better if you don't use your wings for the rest of the day. And if possible the coming days too, since it's a weekend."

" Hai." She said half-heartedly as she lunched on her chocolate flavor bar. Did I even, manage to grow up at all during this year...

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After changing out of her bloody costume to the gym outfit, she returned to the ground and joined the rest of her class at the platform. " Sora-chan!" Uraraka and Ashido ran over to her the moment her eyes landed on her.

" Slow down guys!" She groaned as they hugged her and the wounds on her back disapproved. " I'm fine."

" We've watched it all! You did well!" Ashido shouted.

" And you never said you could bring forth extra wings! That was cool!" Uraraka added.

" It wasn't anything special. And I still need to work on them, they're really small." Sora retorted. And that was true, for the additional wings were hardly half the length of her main ones.

Sora whirled her head as she looked around the area, she couldn't see Yuu, neither Bakugo and his team. " Did they go on already?"

" Just a moment ago." Ashido pointed at the screen. " You're just in time, they will be starting soon."

I didn't even get to wish him good luck. She said looking at the screen displaying Bakugo's team. Do your best, Yuu...