AN: My story has now officially reached 100 pages! Yay! *toots horn*
"The Wild Wild Pussycats," Izuku smiled. They had just stepped off the bus to where U.A's first year hero classes would participate in a several day long training regimen which, according to Aizawa, would push their quirks and physical abilities to the limit. Despite the underlying threat in his teacher's voice as he vaguely explained what they would be doing, Izuku was excited.
It wasn't as obvious now as it used to be but at heart, the freckled teen was still a hero-loving fanboy. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to be learning directly under such a well respected hero team. Mandalay, Pixie-Bob, Ragdoll and Tiger; Izuku owned at least one figurine of each member at home, along with his much priced poster of the quartet striking a dynamic pose whilst smiling together and pointing dramatically at the camera. Recalling it now, the memory caused a light blush to creep up his cheeks. Maybe his hero obsession was a bit over the top after all.
"You'll be staying at the foot of that mountain over there, where you'll find lodging and all necessary accommodations," Mandalay announced, pointing a thick-gloved finger for further emphasis down at the massive forest situated just below the hill-cliff they currently stood on. It was enough to bring Izuku out of his reverie and he blinked to attention. As he zoned back to awareness he noticed for the first time the young, much too young to be a U.A. student, boy shuffling awkwardly at a distance away from everyone else. By the look on his face, he'd rather be anywhere than here. Uraraka leaned in by his side.
"Hey, did you see Tiger or Ragdoll when you stepped off the bus?"
Izuku shook his head. He'd been searching for them ever since they first arrived, but the only heroes of the four-man team greeting them was Mandalay and Pixie-Bob. "No. They're probably meeting up class 1-B somewhere else."
"I guess you're right," Uraraka nodded her assent. Her eyes then landed on the mystery child, now busy kicking pebbles off of the cliff's edge. "Who's that?" she wondered aloud, gesticulating her head in the general direction. Izuku shrugged noncommittally. He opened his mouth to expand the answer, but was immediately and mercilessly cut off as dirt funneled down his throat, sending him into a violent coughing fit. Before he could even process what had just happened, his body was carried high into the air while a voice loudly declared:
"Sorry kids, but the training's already begun! I want to see you by the camping grounds in three hours or you won't make it in time for lunch!" Mandalay grinned, waving at them much too cheerfully as a massive wave of dirt pushed under the feet of every single 1-A student and carried them to the cliff's edge, throwing them off with hardly any warning. The heroine ran up to the wooden fence that looked unbothered by the display of power, shouting after them. "You're free to use your quirks as you see fit, so long you don't hurt each other that is! Now, have fun kitties! Let's see if you've got what it takes to become real heroes and survive the Beast's Forest."
Beast's Forest, Izuku contemplated. A smirk tugged at the edge of his face. He twisted his body in the air, curling it into a ball and doing a few flips before landing with a roll, coming up into a crouch and easily mitigating any damage. Bring it on.
Uraraka floated down beside him, looking slightly sick but over all unharmed.
"R-release…" she grunted out between clenched teeth, before falling to her knees with a relieved sigh. Iida touched down not far behind, though he wasn't quite as graceful about it and struggled to keep his balance. He ultimately failed, planting face first into the (thankfully) soft ground with a soft "oof".
Izuku stifled a chuckle and came out of his hunched position, wandering up to his friend and offered a scarred hand.
"You alright?" he questioned. Iida let out a groan as he pushed up on shaky arms, rubbing his face free of dirt and grimacing in distaste.
"Yes, I'm quite fine… thank you," the stocky boy returned, accepting the offered hand and allowed Izuku to help him onto his feet. "Unfortunately, my reaction was not quick enough to allow myself a more… dignified descent."
"Don't beat yourself up over it, you weren't the only one," Uraraka chirped, skipping up beside them and nodding subtly towards a very dazed looking Kaminari, who had yet to come up from his supine position. Jirou poked him with a foot curiously.
Iida frowned slightly at the display, but declined to comment. He just shook his head reticently. "Well, in either case," he spoke up, blue-gray eyes narrowing in suspicion as they trained on the darkness of the forest ahead. "We have no time to waste. Let's go."
"Wait—" Izuku called sharply before the engine-quirk user could speed away. The bespectacled boy paused, glancing back at his friend with befuddlement. Uraraka quirked a brow, wearing a similar expression.
Izuku eyed the both of them. "Mandalay didn't say anything about not being allowed to work together, right?"
Immediately, his friend's eyes lit up with realization.
"That's right," Iida confirmed, ever the stickler for rules. "She only warned us against fighting each other. Which means—"
Before he could finish his sentence, an inhuman screech pierced through the air, causing all three heroes-in-training to leap in surprise. Izuku whipped around, heart slamming against his rib-cage, lungs seizing, eyes blown wide—
Don't tell me…!
The air around them shifted, turning frigid as a grand sheet of ice sprung from nothing, blanketing a massive and grotesque looking creature in a protective film of frost. For one moment, Izuku felt a twist of terror as he took in the daunting form of what could only be a noumo. And if a noumu was here then that meant that Shigaraki—
Shigaraki—
Wait.
He squinted. In his panic he almost missed it, but now that the beast was frozen in place it gave him a moment to observe it closer. And he could see now, what he previously thought was a noumo, lacked the Frankenstein creations' distinct leathery hide and exposed brain. Instead, this thing's skin—if you could even call it that—consisted of dirt and rock, framed by thick brown roots slithering over the length of its body and giving it more of a… fantastical look, rather than something out of a Mary Shelley novel.
Earth manipulation, his instinctive built-in database of quirk knowledge kicked in. This is Pixie-Bob's creation.
He relaxed instantly at the realization.
"Sorry... was that too much?"
Todoroki stepped out from behind the petrified creature, right arm raised. He looked awkward, like he was waiting for them to admonish him for using too much force and chastise him for showing off.
"Awesome," Uraraka beamed instead, flashing a thumbs up of appreciation. "Hey, this is perfect! You should join our team too. Right, Deku? Iida?" She looked at her teammates inquisitively, but it was more a formality than anything. She already knew there was no way they could turn down help from the fire-ice user. The biggest question was Todoroki himself.
"Team?" the quiet boy raised one multi-colored brow. He glanced between the three friends, considering. He took a step closer.
"Yes, team! We were just about to think of a plan so we could get through the forest together as fast as possible. Judging by the thing you froze over there, I doubt it will be the last opponent we'll have to face on our way. A flashy, strong quirk like your's would be really handy!" Uraraka explained eagerly, like a very dedicated car salesman. Todoroki hummed along to her words, his usual poker-face betraying nothing.
"...I suppose," he allowed eventually, giving a staccato nod. There was a cracking noise and the half ice, half fire teen glanced to the side. "Hm… we ought to hurry then. It would seem this thing is more durable than I originally thought. How troublesome."
"That's alright," Izuku walked forward. He reeled his fist back. A quick jab forward, and the quirk-created creature exploded in a glittering mist of dust and sand. He brought a palm up to shield his eyes, turning away and blinking a few times to clear his vision. "Okay. Let's plan."
It took about an hour and a half before they reached their destination. The plan had been simple enough. In fact, Izuku was sure it could've been completed even without all four of them. That being said, it was more fun to work together, wasn't it? They didn't bother with unnecessary flashiness; more often than not, the simplest solution was the most effective. Occam's razor.
To start with, they all gathered around Iida, grabbing a hold of him as securely as possible. Uraraka then proceeded to cancel all of their gravity, excluding Izuku and the quirk user herself. He needed his weight for a little while longer. Without it, his quirk's power would be severely limited as he used it to kick off the ground, launching them up and forward at dangerous speed.
He used as much power he could possibly muster whilst still leaving all bones intact in his stomp, and as soon as his feet left the ground Uraraka slapped her open hand on his back, turning him weightless. The heroine-in-training was the only one still affected by the attractional pull of earth's mass, partly so she wouldn't throw up during their transformation to human jet planes and partly so that she could act as a stabilizing weight for when Iida turned his engines on, giving them an extra boost. They'd learned since the incident in the cafeteria from their first days at U.A..
Uraraka clung to Iida's legs with a steel grip, looked slightly nauseous. Izuku couldn't blame her. Her position was probably the most precarious one after all.
It was mostly smooth sailing after that. When they neared the ground, Todoroki used his ice to create a ramp so their momentum could send them back flying into the sky, high enough that they breached the tree tops. It wouldn't do to smack into any stray trunks. There was the occasional break, either to give themselves a break from using their quirks or to blast away the increasingly rare mud monster that wandered onto their path. Izuku was pretty sure they were far ahead of everyone else, which would explain why the concentration of earth creatures were so sparse. He wasn't sure what Pixie-Bob's exact limitations were, but it should be a safe guess to say she left most of her creations to deal with the larger groups.
He did feel a little bad for leaving the rest of his class to fend for themselves. But, he reasoned, they were all capable heroes in their own right, and it's not like they were in any real danger. Not to mention, too many people could be more of a hindrance than help.
Mandalay smiled when she observed their slightly scuffed forms approach.
"Congrats! Looks like you're the first ones here," she cocked her head to the side, bringing a stuffed paw-covered hand to her chin. "By this rate, I think you'll be the only ones getting any lunch today kitties."
Uraraka looked concerned. "The others… you're not really gonna starve them are you?"
The pro-heroine breezed out a laugh. "Oh, don't worry your little heads. I'm sure they'll be here in time for dinner! Speaking of…" there was a cat-like glint in her eye. "Pixie-Bob is still out there keeping your classmates busy. To be honest… we never actually expected anyone to get here this early. This isn't your first time doing something like this, is it?"
"We've had our fair share of… close calls," Todoroki nodded solemnly, though his expression remained as stoic as ever.
Yeah… close calls.
Izuku made a face.
"It was all because we worked together. A good strategy is stronger than any quirk," Iida spoke, chopping his arm through the air fast enough to give Izuku whiplash.
"That's right!" Uraraka jumped in, pumping her fist, expression bright and with her all teeth on display. "We could have never made it this far on our own. This must be the power of teamwork!"
"Sure is kitty!" Mandalay laughed, enjoying the enthusiasm. "Of course, teamwork isn't for everyone… That being said, I had hoped more of your classmates would have considered that option. Oh well… they'll get there someday."
She shrugged. She didn't seem too bothered by the notion. They were here to learn after all.
Before any more words could be exchanged, a small presence demanded attention as he stalked up to Izuku with determined steps. It was the same young boy from before. Izuku had to wonder how he got here as fast as the pro-heroine. Did she carry him?
Izuku painted the mental image in his mind. Mandalay with the somewhat grumpy looking child on her back, getting a piggyback ride as she jumped from tree to tree like one of those action animes Izuku used to watch on TV as a child. Or perhaps they would ride on the back of one of Pixie-Bob's creations, the creature swimming through the ground like a fish swam through water. It was kind of cute, though he did not dare speak it out loud. The kid did look exceedingly grouchy.
The boy stood there for a moment. He was mute as he considered Izuku with a strange look, eerily observant for someone so young. His large eyes turned into thin strips as he narrowed them in deep concentration, light frustration tinting the edges. Small beads of sweat broke out across Izuku's neck as the boy studied him, looking like he was trying to solve a particularly difficult math problem.
"Hm," he settled on, seemingly content at whatever he found. He took a step closer to the nonplussed teen and with an authoritative tone announced, "I'm Kota. Who're you?"
"Midoriya," Izuku angled his head at an incline, raising both eyebrows. "You can call me Deku… I guess?"
The child gave an affirmative nod, leaving Izuku even more confused as he tried to figure out what just happened.
"Um," a nervous voice piped in. "I'm Uraraka. You can call me Ochako!"
She went for a reassuring smile, bending her knees slightly and reaching a hand forward for a shake. Kota gave the offered palm a searing look as if it had personally offended him and blatantly ignored it in favor of crossing his arms and turning on his heels with a petulant pout.
Uraraka gaped, aghast at the rude dismissal. Iida looked like he was going to faint. Todoroki was as blank as ever and Mandalay just sighed, but did not look surprised.
"Sorry, that's my nephew. He's not a big fan of heroes," she informed, attempting to lighten the mood with a laugh, but it came out hollow. A curious look was briefly aimed at Izuku, but whatever the pro was thinking, she did not voice it. "Please don't be too hard on him."
Not a fan of heroes? That was odd, Izuku thought. He couldn't remember ever meeting a child that wasn't completely enamored by society's champions of justice. If the child was older and had learned the world is a more nuanced place than originally depicted, it would make more sense. But Kota couldn't be any older than seven. What had happened to make someone so young so disillusioned with the ideas of heroes?
Well… I guess there's a type for everything?
He dismissed the thought. This could very well be Kota's way to rebel against the authority figures in his life, which in this case would be his pro-hero aunt. Putting it like that, it made sense.
"Well, in any case," Mandalay broke the slightly tense atmosphere that formed in Kota's wake. Sharp eyes studied the forest's thick flora behind them in thought. "Pixie-Bob should be getting here soon. You hungry?"
AN: Izuku may have died countless of times but at least the family jewels were spared this time. See, it's not all bad.
Not the most exciting chapter but I need to build up for what's to come. I could have written in more detail of how Izuku and Team got through the woods but I didn't think it'd be that interesting. I just wanted them to work together. And then I threw Todoroki in there because I've really been neglecting him and that makes me sad.
Fyi, while I keep up with the manga I haven't caught up with the latest anime seasons. I don't know if they expand on everyone's trip through the Beast's Forest in the anime since the manga pretty much skips over it. The point I wanna get across is that I base my fanfic off of the manga so if the anime does something different I wouldn't know about it.
Speaking of, I did sorta ignore canon a bit while writing this chapter. When reading through the manga again to remind me of how exactly this whole arc goes down Mandalay said that the 3 hours was for them to get to the lodge, but uh... just ignore that and pretend it didn't happen. I had already written out part of the chapter when I brushed up on my manga knowledge and was too lazy to re-write. My excuse is that it's no fun to just reiterate what happened in canon word by word so I will be taking some liberties.
