Secrets [Todoroki]

*Chapter Nine*

"Alright, class. Today will be a training exercise. Pair up with another student in the class and train using your quirks against each other. I'll be monitoring you to make sure you don't go too overboard with them." Aizawa curled up in his sleeping bag despite his words and fell asleep.

Miri looked around, considering who she should partner up with. Part of her said to partner up with someone she knew, but she knew she wouldn't grow if she relied on that method.

She was wearing their original training gear, her suit put back for repairs. They handed her an upgrade list and asked her to make fixes to her suit, as it wasn't capable of handling her quirk. Miri merely put it aside and forgot about it, the design of her suit not really mattering to her.

Bakugo stalked over to Miri, determination glinting in his eyes. "Gorilla Girl-"

"Gorilla Girl?" Miri choked out. She knew Bakugo had strange names for everyone, but this one started to verge on being just plain cruel.

Bakugo growled, not liking being interrupted.

"Your negative attitude sucks! You're...you're just stinky! You're the real gorilla." Miri, someone who was not used to verbal banter, struggled to think of things to say to Bakugo.

"Stinky!?" He demanded. His face sharpened, a fire being lit under him. Who knew stinky was such a blow to his ego? "Let's battle! You were obviously pulling punches during the test at the beginning of the year, so don't hold back now!" He got in a stance.

Miri breathed deeply through her nose. However tempting it was to beat this boy a new one, she knew in terms of endurance she wouldn't last long against him. She'd surely have an adrenaline rush before any headway would be made, and that would put her out for the rest of the day.

Her quirk, though as powerful as it may seem, had limitations that even she had to acknowledge.

"I don't want to." She crossed her arms and turned her head away from him.

The boy stared at her for a moment, taken aback. "Why not!?" He demanded, getting angry.

"Fighting you will not be beneficial for me and it'll only feed your overly inflated ego. This lesson is for TRAINING and not a petty sparing contest for who was stronger than the other." She turned to walk away from him.

"Bullshit! Fight me!" He then charged at her, sending a sparking right hook to her back.

Without hesitating, she quickly powered herself up. "Strength boost 30!" She whipped around quickly, grasping his forearm with one hand, and the other grabbing his shoulder. She slammed him down onto the ground below her.

She couldn't remove her hands fast enough as the boy slammed his fist into her shin, snapping the bone and causing her leg to buckle. She hit the ground hard and clutched her shin in agony. "Healing boost 50." She muttered through clenched teeth.

Bakugo sat up, shaking his fist. "What the hell was that? I didn't hit you THAT hard!" He looked down at his fist and tried to flex it. Pain radiates up his arm.

"It was my quirk, you bleached urchin!" Miri hissed. "If I touch you, you get whatever boosts I'm using. You slammed your fist into my shin at triple your regular strength. Of course it's going to freakin' hurt!" She released her leg and wiggled the limb around, content. "Why the hell are you attacking me without properly understanding my quirk? Is your pride that important?"

"Shut up, Gorilla!" He let his hand dangle, even though it hurt something fierce. "You did that exact thing when you fought Midnight. Your quirk is stupidly useless!"

Miri pressed her lips into a line. She was considering healing the boy, given that it was partially her fault he was injured in the first place, but his sour attitude ruined it all. "My quirk made you eat dust."