This is likely going to be a less meaty chapter than the last few, just a heads up.
Izuku and Mina approached the grounds of U.A., hands full with bags. It was the day their class left for the training camp, and they were meeting up with the rest of the students outside the school. As the two walked, they spotted their classmates up ahead. It seemed they were going to be the last ones to arrive.
"Damn, we are running kinda late, huh?" Mina said as she took notice of her peers. "My bad."
The couple had agreed to meet up after getting off their respective trains and walk to school together. Unfortunately for Izuku, Mina ended up running a little late due to her usual morning habits. He had waited about 20 minutes for her.
"You could've gone on ahead, you know," Mina continued. "I wouldn't have minded… Much." She winked.
"Oh no, it's fine. We're not that late, really. Besides…" Izuku sighed. "It, uh, gave me some time to prepare myself." The girl at his side gave him a look of concern.
"You sure you wanna do this, dude?" Her boyfriend nodded.
"Yeah. I'd rather tell everyone sooner rather than later."
The two of them had decided to "announce" their relationship to the rest of their class as soon as possible.
"Well alright. How did you want to do it then? You want us to just stand in front of everyone and be like 'hey guys, we're dating!' or something?"
"Uh… No, that's a little much," Izuku said, shaking his head.
"Yeah, seems a little over the top," Mina agreed. "Well, we don't have to actually say anything. We could just act like, well, us." She moved a bit closer to him. "If you're okay with that, I mean." Her hands too preoccupied to grab his, but the freckled boy understood the intent.
"Uh…" His cheeks turned a light red, but quickly went back to normal. "M-Maybe that's the best way." He wasn't totally comfortable with the idea, but he preferred it to the first option.
As they continued to discuss how to address the issue, a somewhat frazzled looking Kaminari ran up to them.
"Oh man, there you are! Listen, before anything happens, I just want to say-
"MIDORIYA!" A voice cried out before something small and purple slammed into Izuku, shoving him back several feet. Nearly losing his balance, he felt something clutching at his shirt. Looking down, he saw Minoru Mineta grasping his clothing as he stared up at the boy, eyes full of some mixture of envy and admiration. "How they heck did you do it, man!? You gotta tell me!"
"Wha…?" Izuku was completely lost. "Wh-What are you-
"Ashido! How'd you score a babe like her!?" Mineta started shaking the green-haired boy. "What's the secret? Flowers? Chocolate? Telling her she's got nice boobs? What is it!?" It took a second for Izuku to process everything, but the second he did his face turned bright red. He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't form words. Meanwhile, Mina looked like she was ready to sock Mineta in the face. However, before she could, someone else grabbed her.
"Ohmygosh! I'm soooo happy for you two!" Tooru Hagakure's cheery voice rang out as she hugged her pink friend.
"Wha…" Blushing slightly, Mina turned her head to Kaminari, who was prying Mineta off of Izuku. "Kaminari, what did you do?"
"Opened his big mouth, what else?" Jirou answered, approaching the group.
"Hey, I didn't… I only told Mineta!" The punk girl looked at her brunette friend, rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, because he's so good at keeping things quiet." She returned her attention to Mina. "So yeah, he told Mineta and Mineta basically told everyone." Mina was only half-paying attention to Jirou as Hagakure rattled off questions in her ear. Kaminari was now dragging Mineta away from the still-stunned Izuku, the perverted student now yelling something about bras.
The rest of their classmates were fortunately a little more civil. They all wanted to know a little more, as the relationship was a surprise to all of them, but they made sure not to pester the two very much. Of course, Izuku and Mina were both still quite embarrassed about the whole situation.
The commotion only lasted a few minutes before Mr. Aizawa walked out from the school. As soon as he was present, the entire class immediately quieted down.
"Alright, looks like everyone' here," the teacher said. "We still have a little while before the bus gets here, so I want to go over a few things before we go."
The bus was full of chatter as it began its departure from the school grounds. It was almost completely packed with the students of class 1-A, who were all discussing a multitude of topics with whoever was nearby. Izuku sat near the back, still recovering from the shock he had experienced several minutes ago.
"…Look, I'm really sorry, man. I don't know what I was thinking." Kaminari peered over the seat in front of Izuku as he apologized.
"That's because you weren't thinking, dumbass," Kirshima, who was sitting next to Izuku, said. "Seriously, why tell Mineta of all people?" The blonde smiled sheepishly.
"I, uh… I guess I wanted to see how he'd react. I knew he'd be completely floored."
"And start screaming about it so everyone could hear," Kirishima added. He turned to the boy sitting next to him. "Seriously, though, you good man?"
"Huh?" Izuku looked at the redhead. "Oh, um, yeah." He looked back up at Kaminari. "And it's… It's fine, Kaminari. We were probably going to say something anyway." He gave a shy smile, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just, uh, we kind of got caught off guard."
"Still can't believe he asked you what Mina's bra size is. Like, what the hell?" Kaminari laughed before suddenly giving Izuku a strange look. "You, uh, you don't actually know that… Do you?" There was an almost… Hopeful look in his eyes.
"WHAT!?" Izuku yelped, his face turning beet-red. "Wh-Wh-Why would I-I know th-that?" He didn't like what that seemed to imply.
"Dude, knock it off!" Kirishima reached up and shoved his friend a bit.
"Alright, alright, sorry!" Kaminari apologized, sighing. "I'll just… Go now." He turned around, sitting back in his seat.
"Sorry about him. He's not much better than Mineta some days," Kirishima said to Izuku, grinning. Still flustered from the rather personal question, the red-faced boy simply nodded. The spiky-haired boy leaned back in his seat. "Though you know, I almost admire that little guy. Like, there's something about how upfront he is about it all." He laughed a bit. "Know what I mean?"
"It's… It's something, yes," Izuku responded. He couldn't even begin to fathom being that… Bold when it came to girls. Up until he met Uraraka, he could barely hold a conversation with one. Realizing his friend was a little uncomfortable, Kirishima decided to change the subject.
"Anyway… How excited are you for this trip, man?" The redhead made a fist, grinning. "A week of non-stop training in the mountains? Can't think of anything manlier!"
"I'm definitely looking forward to it." While he didn't share Kirishima's enthusiasm, Izuku was certainly excited. More training meant he would be that much closer to becoming a real hero. "The location change was a surprise, though."
"Yeah, but at least they're still doing it. With how crazy things have been I was half-expecting them to cancel." Mr. Aizawa had informed the class of a last-minute change to the camp's location, a safety measure due to the increased villain activity. "Glad they didn't though." Pausing, Kirishima's face fell a bit. "Though I bet I'll be saying otherwise in a few days… I'm sure our teacher's got tons of fun planned for me and the other flunkies."
"I-I'm sure it won't be that bad!" Izuku forced a smile as he assured his friend.
"Come on dude, you realize who we're talking about here, right?" The sharp-toothed boy sighed. "Honestly, I'm more worried about Mina. Aizawa's really got it out for her." Izuku dropped his smile at the mention of this.
Kirishima wasn't wrong, of course; Mina was not exactly a model student. While she by no means was the only one in the class that could draw their homeroom teacher's ire, she was certainly the most frequent offender. Izuku had seen her be called to his office or asked to stay after class more times than he cared to remember, and he assumed she held the class record for detention.
"Yeah…" He agreed. "But I think…" A more genuine smile appeared on his face. "I think she'll surprise him."
Mina had acknowledged her behavior needed to change. She and Izuku had sort of been addressing it all week with their study sessions, and as far as he could tell she was still serious about the whole thing.
That said, her newfound resolve hadn't been tested yet. That was about to change, and like Kirishima said, Aizawa was probably going to put her through the wringer.
"Right, you've been studying and stuff." Kirishima tilted his head. "Has that actually been working out?" Izuku nodded.
"It was a little rough at first, but it's been going well overall." Izuku was rather proud of Mina's progress; they had actually managed to cover everything she had really struggled with, which was no small feat. It was clear she still needed to polish some areas up, but she had a much better understanding of the material overall. Plus, as the week had gone on, Izuku had to spend less and less time on each topic.
"No kidding? Well, glad to hear it!" Kirishima clapped Izuku on the back, grinning. "You must be really rubbing off on her." He laughed as Izuku blushed, looking away.
"Well, I-I don't know a-about that…"
"Nah, really dude! Ever since you two started talking the girl's been acting different. Heck, even before you started going out she was going on about studying. She even told me she was sorta looking forward to doing extra work at camp, can you believe that?" Kirishima shook his head, still smiling. Suddenly, the smile vanished as his face took on a more serious look. "But seriously, dude… Thanks." Izuku turned back to his friend, looking slightly confused.
"Huh? For what?"
"For whatever it was you said to Mina after the exam," the redhead clarified. Izuku's eyes widened for a second, then relaxed as he recalled that Mina said she had told Kirishima about that. "I don't know exactly what you guys talked about, and I won't ask, but… Whatever it was, it was clearly something she needed to hear." The hardening Quirk user recalled seeing Mina sulking after her exam, but he was too frustrated by his own failure at the time to try to console her.
Izuku was silent for a moment, thinking back once again to that day. He had just happened to pass by the classroom, just happened to notice Mina in there. He remembered how eager he had been to get home; he could have very easily just ignored her and moved on. He could have not decided to go into that room and comfort some girl he barely knew.
But he did, of course. How could he not after seeing how she looked?
"I just… I couldn't stand to see her looking so… Broken," he said quietly. "She's always so happy, so when I saw how upset she was I just… I had to do something."
"Meanwhile I was too busy feelin' sorry for myself to do anything," Kirishima commented. "Some friend I am, huh?" He sighed, shaking his head. "Seriously, I've known her since middle school and yet I didn't do crap." Izuku looked at his red-haired friend with concern as his voice grew angrier
"Kirishima, you-
"Meanwhile you, a guy who barely speaks to her, managed to step up." Despite his tone, Kirishima smiled at the freckled boy. "You're way more of a man than me, Midoriya," he said, resting a hand on the shorter boy's shoulder. "…She really deserves you."
It was the reason that Kirishima, no matter what his feelings for Mina may have been, couldn't bring himself to resent Izuku: He admired the guy far too much. He may have been awkward, but he was someone Kirishima could trust to provide the best for Mina. And as far as the redhead was concerned, that was good enough.
Izuku was clearly taken aback by this comment. Blushing slightly, he stared at Kirishima for a moment in surprise.
"I… Y-You really think that?"
"I know it." Flashing another pointy grin, Kirishima tussled his friend's hair. "Just make sure you treat her right, yeah?" He laughed as Izuku's blush deepened.
Izuku was quite surprised that Kirishima had this much respect for him. Much like Mina, the two of them hadn't spoken that much before now. In fact, the Crimson Riot fan had spent much more time talking with…
The One for All inheritor turned his head to look down the bus aisle. Towards the middle of the bus sat Bakugou, who was facing forward, keeping to himself. Tokoyami, seated next to him, didn't seem to be attempting to converse with the explosive student. Following his gaze, Kirishima realized who he was looking at, and frowned.
Out of everyone in class 1-A, he was probably the only one who could consider Bakugou a friend. The blonde seemed to have gained some amount of respect for Kirishima after the USJ incident, who had already admired the other despite his attitude. This was because, in addition to his skill, Kirishima knew that deep down, Bakugou had a heart; he wouldn't admit it, but he didn't think as poorly of his classmates as he let on. This was evident during the USJ attack, where he implied they would be able to handle the villains just fine, and during the Sports Festival after his fight with Uraraka.
His relationship with Izuku, however, was another matter.
Kirishima didn't know why Bakugou had it out for the guy so much. The two of them obviously knew each other before U.A., and from the sounds of it they didn't get along in the slightest. The spiky-haired boy hadn't really given it much thought before, but now that he was better friends with Izuku he couldn't help but wonder just what the story between them was.
"He looks happy as ever, eh?" Kirishima asked. Izuku looked back at him, slightly confused. "Bakugou I mean."
"Oh." The shy boy looked away, not saying anything else.
"…What's up with you and him, anyway?" Kirishima couldn't resist asking. He considered both of them his friends, and he didn't want to see them fighting. Izuku didn't answer, turning his attention to the window.
His history with Bakugou? That was a long story. One that, frankly, he didn't feel comfortable talking about Kirishima with. The taller boy thankfully seemed to realize this.
"Alright, sensitive topic, I get it. But hey, you ever want to talk about it let me know, alright?"
"…Ok." He appreciated the offer, but Izuku didn't think he'd ever take it. His relationship with Bakugou was a rather personal matter, one he didn't like talking to anyone about. Thinking about it, he realized he hadn't even told Mina.
Another thing he'd kept from her…
Kirishima looked back at Bakugou, surprised to see that he was looking back at them. More specifically, he seemed to be glaring intently at Izuku. His attention turned to Kirishima, who simply raised an eyebrow. Scowling at his "friend", Bakugou turned back around.
"The hell is up with him…?" Kirishima muttered to himself. The explosion Quirk user had been in a worse mood than usual this morning; he seemed extra pissed after Mineta started shouting about Izuku and Mina, screaming something along the lines of "who gives a fuck" at him. The redhead also noticed him about to go off again while everyone was pestering the couple right before Mr. Aizawa arrived.
He decided not to think about it too much. Any number of things could set Bakugou off, after all. Looking back at Izuku, he decided to talk about something else.
"Hey, so I've been wanting to ask a couple things about your Quirk…"
"…And then we just kinda sat in the tree and watched the sunset for a while," Mina said, finishing her story.
"Oh my goooosh!" A floating set of clothes next to her wriggled as Hagakure squealed in delight. "That sounds so romantic!" Her pink friend let out a happy sigh.
"It sure was…" She had a dreamy look in her eyes as she spoke, fondly remembering the day she and Izuku officially became a couple. It hadn't even been a week since then, but it felt so much longer.
The two girls had spent most of the bus ride so far talking about Izuku. Hagakure wanted to know all the details about her friend's relationship, and now that she wasn't getting swarmed Mina was happy to fill her in.
"So… You kiss yet?" Hagakure asked in a low voice. Blushing slightly, Mina nodded. "Like, mouth to mouth?" The pink girl fidgeted, unable to hide the smile appearing on her face.
"…Twice," She loudly whispered, flashing two fingers for emphasis.
"Ooooooo!" The invisible girl put her hands on her cheeks as Mina's blush intensified.
The horned girl like being able to talk about her boyfriend like this. It was silly and a little immature, yes, but then again so was she. "Girl talk" was just something she enjoyed, and Hagakure was really the only one in the class she could do it with.
"I'm gonna need a picture of you two, ASAP. You guys sound sooo cute together!" The transparent girl folded her arms, possibly pouting. "Stupid seating assignments putting him in the back." Mina giggled, amused by how much her friend was fawning over her relationship.
"I'll make sure to take one for you," she said, winking.
"You better." Hagakure also laughed. "…Seriously though, it sounds like you found a total sweetheart. I'm kinda jealous, to be honest."
Jealous
At the mention of that word, Mina suddenly found herself looking toward the back of the bus. Her eyes rested on Uraraka, who was sitting a few rows behind her and Hagakure. The brunette was currently talking with Tsuyu, and seemed to be enjoying herself.
She hadn't approached Mina earlier. Or Izuku, for that matter. When the two of them were busy talking to everyone about well, them, Mina noticed Uraraka had hung back, talking with Todoroki of all people.
She had never gotten back to Mina yesterday, and Izuku hadn't mentioned her contacting him either. The longer this went on, the more Mina suspected her theory was true.
Uraraka did in fact like Izuku, and seeing him with someone else had upset her.
Mina didn't think she was jealous, per say. At least not in the normal spiteful, vindictive way; Uraraka just wasn't that kind of person. In fact, she may not have even been aware of the fact she liked Izuku. After all, she had fervently denied having feelings for him every time Mina had asked.
And if that was the case, it made addressing the problem a lot more difficult.
Uraraka suddenly turned her head, noticing Mina was looking at her. They stared at each other for a moment.
"Uh, Mina?" The pink-haired girl felt a fist knocking against her head. "Hello?" Realizing how weird she must have looked, Mina turned back to face Hagakure.
"Oh, sorry about that. What were you saying?"
"I was just asking if-
"Alright everyone, listen up!" Their conversation was cut off by Mr. Aizawa's voice. Instantly, the bus quieted down. "We're going to be making a quick stop in a minute to let everyone stretch their legs, got it?"
Mina perked up at this. She was feeling a little cramped sitting for so long. Plus, she'd get talk to Izuku.
"Nice of them to actually think of us for once," she muttered.
Sometimes, Mina hated U.A.
Taking a minute to make sure she wasn't injured, the pink girl stood to her feet as she tried to process what just happened. One minute, she was standing on a cliff overlooking a vast mountain forest, the lodge they were staying at in the distance. The next, some cat-themed heroes appeared out of nowhere, the apparent owners of this land.
The next, Mina and the rest of the class felt the ground collapse under their feet as they plummeted into the woods below, hearing something about having two hours to get to the lodge and a "forest of devil beasts".
Yes, sometimes Mina really hated U.A.
"Mina!" She heard a panicked voice call her name as Izuku ran over to her. "A-Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Pissed off, but fine," she replied, dusting herself off. All around her, the rest of the class were trying to get their bearings as well. "I mean… Seriously? We're walking the rest of the way? And we have two hours or we miss lunch? Could this get any worse?"
She immediately regretted her words as a horrific roar echoed through the forest.
"…Why did I even say that?"
An enormous, four-legged creature came crashing through the trees, looking like a monster out of some horror movie. It had no eyes, massive, sharp teeth, and a rock-like exterior.
Was that a "devil beast"?
Before Mina could finish processing what she was even looking at, she saw Koji Koda actually approach the monstrosity, attempting to communicate. His request for it to calm down seemed to fall on deaf ears as the thing roared again.
As the normally silent boy panicked, Mina noticed something odd about the beast before them.
It was made of… Dirt?
She suddenly felt a rush of air beside her. A second late, the earthen creature was in pieces as Izuku, alongside Todoroki, Iida, and Bakugou, blasted through its body. In another second, the four of them were charging ahead.
Leading the pack, like always.
Mina clenched a fist.
She had barely finished recovering from the sight of the monster, and they had already sprung into action.
Not again.
Crouching down into a sprinter's position, she readied herself.
She wouldn't let herself fall behind anymore.
She exploded off her feet, charging after the four students. After picking up enough speed, she generated some weak acid in her feet as she began to slide. Behind her, she heard several voices as the rest of the class started moving as well. Ahead of her, more roaring could be heard. There was a flash of light as either Bakugou or Todoroki engaged another beast.
Mina continued to "skate" through the forest, weaving through trees as she went. As she rounded a particularly large tree, her eyes suddenly widened.
There was a dirt-beast standing directly in her path. And she didn't have time to swerve out of the way.
"Shit!" She cursed. "What do I do, what do I…"
No. She couldn't afford to panic right now.
Time seemed to slow as she focused. The creature in front of her was made of dirt and rock, which meant…
Mina quickly generated the strongest acid she could muster in her hands before hurling two globs at the beast. They hit their marks, melting clean through its front legs in seconds. Just before colliding with the beast, which had now fallen forward onto its face, the acid-flinging girl leapt into the air, landing on its head. She rode along its back, her hands releasing more acid down its body as she went. Leaping off its other end, she landed on the ground with a roll, turning to face her opponent.
Or at least, what remained of it.
The earthen beast collapsed in on itself as acid ate away at its body. In seconds, it was nothing more than a pile of inanimate dirt and rock.
Taking a few seconds to catch her breath, Mina reflected on what just happened.
In those precious few seconds, she had managed to think clearly enough to devise a makeshift plan. It had admittedly mainly been her reflexes at work, but the fact that she thought to attack its legs like that was… Surprising. Normally, she would have been too panicked to think straight, and her body would have just locked up.
What had changed? Why had she felt so much more level-headed? Why…
"Oh my god."
Her mind drifted back to her first study session with Izuku, and the conversation they had about "brain workouts". Staring at the smoking pile of dirt in front of her, she started laughing.
"Well, one math problem down," she said to herself as she turned, hearing more roars in the distance. "Way more to go."
She charged ahead, a cocky smile now on her face.
Short and fairly uneventful chapter, I know. This was mostly just to transition to the camp; next chapter should be a little more substantial.
And I'm aware I messed with the bus seating. Figured it wasn't a big deal, and I wanted Izuku and Kirishima to talk a bit.
