It was the morning the day after our exams. Recovery Girl had healed my burn. It had left a scar but I wasn't all that bothered by it. It's just a mark. I'm sure I'll get more. Bakugo was briefly reprimanded by our classmates for the injury he'd caused leaving him fuming. But at this point in the school year no one was really surprised it had happened. Bakugo had a reputation of causing injury. This was just another one added to an already long list. Besides, I was fine and relatively unbothered by it.
Ultimately the event was overshadowed anyway when we learnt that not everyone had passed the exams. Currently I was in our classroom with my friends prior to the first bell ringing. We were trying to comfort Mina who along with Kaminari, Kirishima, Sero and Rikido had failed the exam. This meant they wouldn't be able to come to the training lodge.
"I-I really look forward to all your stories," Mina stuttered tearfully. Wiping her eyes. I feel an ache in my chest. I awkwardly pat her on the shoulder. What the hell do I say?!
Aizawa enters the classroom and requests we go to our seats. The morning class starts.
"Ah. So unfortunately not everyone passed the exams. But everyone will still be going to the lodge," Aizawa announced. The class cheered.
"This is intended to be a bootcamp of sorts. So those who failed need it most," he explained. Pamphlets on the lodge are handed out.
"Those who did fail will be doing remedial classes at the lodge. To put it bluntly it'll be harder than what they'd have done on campus," he said. I received the pamphlet and continued passing them back to Uraraka behind me.
I frown looking through the equipment list. There's a lot of stuff here I don't have. I'm not sure I can afford this. I mentally crossed off things I think I can get away with not having.
We chat after class excitedly. Now that everyone has permission to go no ones holding back their enthusiasm.
"Hey, why don't we all go shopping together tomorrow?" Toru suggests, clasping her hands together.
"Great idea! There's heaps of stuff I'm missing," Kaminari said, reading through the pamphlets. I keep my mouth shut.
"Yeah let's go together? You'll come too right, Bakugo-kun?" Kirishima asks the explosive teenager.
"Like hell I will," Bakugo growls. I smirk.
I read back over the list. Of all the things they've listed I really could use a new coat. The group arrange to meet at the mall. I feel a wave of jealousy rush over me.
"Haruki-chan, will you come?" Toru asks. I force a smile but shake my head.
"Like hell I will," I say putting on my best Bakugo impression, earning a laugh from my classmates. Bakugo scowls at me.
"For real though, I have other plans. Sorry," I lie. There's no way I can afford stuff from the mall.
I do need things but I have limited financing. Kenta's job doesn't pay that well so I'd rather not ask him for money. There are some recycle shops nearby where I could probably pick up stuff second hand. I've still got the $300 I got from that job a while back. I should have enough to pick up some things.
—
I head out by myself the next day. I go down to my local shopping district with my list in hand. I manage to pick up the essentials.
As I head back home I pass the train station. Above is a huge screen that's currently showing a breaking news story. I don't pay it much thought until I get a glimpse at just who is involved.
My eyes widen. Standing in the crowd are my classmates. Text runs across the bottom 'criminal group League of Villains approach UA students in shopping mall'.
"Fucking hell," I mutter. I move out of the way of other pedestrians. I pull out my phone and dial Midoriya's phone number. When he doesn't pick up I try Iida next. The line connects.
"Hello Nakashima-kun, I take it you've seen the news?" Iida says when he answers.
"Hi Iida-kun. Yes I have. Is everyone okay? What the fuck happened?" I ask. I pull on the end of one of my braids. Iida explains that Midoriya had been approached by Shigaraki, the leader of the villain group. His power was the ability to disintegrate things with his hands.
"Fucking hell. Keep me updated if anything changes, will you?" I ask.
"Of course," Iida replies. I disconnect the call.
This League of Villains group is getting pretty serious. This is now two targeted attacks on my class. What is it they're trying to do?
The next day at school Aizawa explains that due to having been targeted, we're changing the location of the trip. At least they haven't outright cancelled it.
"Deku... you should have killed that guy even if it meant breaking a bone or two," Bakugo says scornfully. I roll my eyes.
"Kacchan..." Midoriya tries to formulate a response.
"You pay no regards to peoples safety do you, Bakugo-kun?" I say, backing Midoriya up. Bakugo glares me.
"That's right! Didn't you hear that he was surrounded by civilians? Besides it's illegal for the public to use their quirks!" Toru reasons.
I hear Bakugo 'tch'. Geez this guys aggressive.
—
The day of the school trip came. I hauled my things in duffle bag to school. I met up with my classes 1A and 1B near the meeting points at the bus. I stand with Midoriya and Uraraka.
"Yo!" I say. The pair smile warmly at me.
"Good morning, Nakashima-chan!" Uraraka says.
Midoriya shows me which bus is ours, directing me to where Iida is standing. He's helping students load their luggage into the bus. I wave at the tall boy as I approach.
"Good morning, Nakashima-kun," he says. I slide my duffel bag off my shoulder.
"Yo, just gotta toss my bag in," I say. Iida looks at the bag I'm holding.
"Certainly, we have space on left." Iida helped me load my bag in. I smile at the way the other bags have been placed. He's so organised.
"I know I've said this before Prez but you're amazingly suited for this kind of work," I say. Iida gives me a robotic pat on the shoulder.
"I only succeed through the continual support of my classmates," he says smiling. In my periphery I see the spiky blonde hair of my favourite explosive classmate approach.
"Get out the way, Seaweed head," Bakugo demands. Iida looks unimpressed but I roll my eyes and step away from the bus. I leave him to argue with Iida over the placement of his bags.
Soon Iida is directing us onto the bus. I sit with Uraraka chatting excitedly about the boot camp. It was a fun ride. Everyone was really hyped.
After a while we stopped for a rest break. I followed Uraraka out. Once outside I stretched out my back and arms. I take in the scenery before me We're on side of a mountain looking out at a forest below. It's really kind of beautiful. I jog over to the fence, to take it all in. I'm reminded of how lucky I am to go to this school. I'd have never been able to come to these types of places otherwise.
"Nakashima-chan, get back over here," Aizawa calls out. I jog back to the group to stand next to Bakugo and Kaminari. I flash the boys a smile which Kaminari returns enthusiastically. Bakugo stares at me blankly. A car pulls up next to our bus.
"Ah. Now to say there's no ulterior motive for pulling up here would be a lie," Aizawa says. Out from the car exit two women clad in cat paraphernalia and hero costumes. A small boy follows them. They pose in front of us, arms outstretched. The boy stands off to the side.
"I'd like to introduce you to Mandalei and Pixie-bob..." Aizawa started but was interrupted by the duo.
"... the wild, wild Pussy Cats!" They shout. I notice Midoriya entering fan boy mode as he recites their qualifications and experience. I chuckle while Bakugo scowls disdainfully. Bakugo punches the top of my head, harder than necessary. I cry out clasping the top of my head.
"Don't fucking encourage that nerd," he growls. I frown. So damn aggressive.
"This entire area is pretty much our domain. The place you'll be staying is at the base of that mountain," Mandalei explains. The class starts to get nervous. The scenery that I'd assessed as looking beautiful just moments before was now becoming eerily intimidating.
"But why are we stopped here?" Uraraka asks. I watch carefully for what happens next. Don't tell me...
"If you work hard you might make it there by noon. Just know that any kittens that arrive after 12:30 won't get lunch..." she continues. I gulp. Fuck.
Suddenly Pixie-bob slams her hands into the ground. A huge landslide sweeps us up and off the cliff. I brace myself for a rough landing. We crash into the trees bellow.
I stand up, dusting myself off. I hear members of the class groan. The heroes call out to us.
"Feel free to use your quirks here. You'll need them to get through this magical forest of beasts," they say. I frown, looking down at my now grubby school uniform. This is gonna be a pain to clean. Wait... did they say Beasts?
Suddenly a huge monster spawns from the earth. Koda tries to reason with it but his animal communication quirk has no effect. This thing isn't alive. I look around for a weapon. I grab a nearby branch.
The monster begins to ascend on Koda who is frozen on the spot. I spring forward immediately, I angle the branch into the ground to launch my feet forward into the beast. Bakugo, Iida, Midoriya and Todoroki fight adjacently. I land a solid kick in the beasts shoulder. It crumbles upon impact.
I land in a crouched position. I pick up a clump that had broken off the monster. I crumble it in my hand.
"It's made of clay. That's why it didn't respond to Koda-kun's quirk. We should probably make sure those with strong combat quirks stay near the exterior of our group. Everyone else keep your eyes open for new spawns," I say, turning back to the group. I frown as I see Mina doubled over laughing. Uraraka and Kyoka have covered their faces with their hands. Several of the boys looked flushed except for Mineta who appeared to be on cloud 9.
"... why the fuck are you guys looking at me like that?" I ask. This sets Mina's laughter off more. I see Midoriya, Iida, Bakugo and Todoroki look as confused as I was.
"N-nakashima-chan... your skirt," Uraraka stutters. I look down. It's a little grubby but whatever.
"It's fine," I say flatly. Mina steps over to me wiping away her tears of laughter. She throws an arm around my shoulder, leaning in close.
"You can't just fly out like that in what you're wearing, Haruki-chan! Everyone will see y-your... your," she starts to say in my ear but erupts back into laughter. I feel my face flush. The boys look at me awkwardly. I fold my arms in front of myself.
"If you don't want to see then don't fucking look. For fucks sake you're like a bunch of kids," I shout. The last thing I was thinking about is modesty during an attack like this. Bakugo looks similarly annoyed.
"You're wasting time. Let's just fucking fight these monsters and get to the lodge," Bakugo growls. He stalks towards the lodge. I spin on my heels following him.
"You're just jealous because you missed out on the view," Mineta murmured. Sparks crackle at Bakugo's palms but before Mineta is subjected to Bakugo's wrath a new clay monster appears. I get into a defensive position but before I take off I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn to see Kirishima.
"Let us handle this one, Haruki-chan," He says. I frown, straightening up.
"Whatever," I mumble. I walk behind the group as they fight. What a fucking joke.
—-
Nearly 8 hours later we arrive at the lodge. We'd well and truly passed the lunch cut off by hours. Everyone was exhausted and hungry. It had taken so long that after a while everyone stopped caring about my skirt, or rather what was beneath it. My body ached.
I noticed Bakugo clutching is forearm. He'd definitely over done it after what was essentially 8 hours of consecutive explosions. Iida stumbles, his calf muscles where starting to fail him. Kaminari was fried. Ojiro's tail was covered in bruises.
I had bruises forming up and down my arms and legs. My knuckles were black, blue and bleeding from punching clay monsters the whole way back. My braids were getting loose from all the activity. At the end of it all, I could have great combat instincts and technique but in this world of heroes I'm still physically weak. My injuries are a product of not having a quirk that supports my body.
Pixie-bob and Mandalei smirked as we approached.
"Honestly I thought you'd take longer," Mandalei says chuckling behind her hand.
"To see you work out my earth beasts so quickly was impressive. You 5 in particular, your lack of hesitation must come from experience," Pixie-bob says gesturing at me, Midoriya, Todoroki, Iida and Bakugo. I shrug.
I notice a short distance away the small boy from earlier. It seems Midoriya does as well.
"I was meaning to ask... are one of you the mother of that boy?" Midoriya asks.
"Oh that's my nephew, Kota. Kota come say hi," Mandalei says, beckoning over the boy. Midoriya leans over with his hand outstretched to greet the small boy.
"My names Midoriya. It's nice to meet you!" He says. Kota responds with a swing of his fist into Midoriya's groin. Midoriya collapses.
"I'm not gonna fuck around with a bunch of losers who want to grow up to be some corny ass heroes," he says, storming off. I laugh loudly, earning a glare from him. This kids kind of funny. I wonder what his deal is though. That's a lot of rage.
"This kid thinks he's an adult," Bakugo says smirking.
"Reminds me of someone," Todoroki says flatly, setting Bakugo off on an explosive rant.
"Enough talking. Get your bags off the bus. Once you're settled in grab some dinner. After that bathe and kick back. The real session starts tomorrow," Aizawa instructs.
The food that night was delicious. After a long and exhausting day it really it the spot.
—
After dinner I head out to the baths with the girls. On our way I chat with Uraraka and Toru.
"You don't think the boys will peek right?" Toru asks nervously. I roll my eyes. For someone who is literally invisible Toru can be kind of bashful sometimes.
"No way. Iida-kun definitely wouldn't let them," I say. Although in the back of my mind I was very aware that Mineta could cause us some issues. As we near the hot spring we run into Kota down the corridor.
"It might not hurt to be careful though. Hey, Kota-kun?" I call out. Kora turns, glaring at me. I crouch down to his level.
"We've got some real perverted scum in our class. If you could watch the border for us between the baths I'll totally owe you a favour in return," I say. The boy eyes me carefully.
"What kind of offer is that? What could possibly you do for me?" He asks frowning. Uraraka and Toru peer over my shoulder at the boy.
"I dunno dude. Think of something and cash it in later," I say. He thinks for a few moments.
"Fine," he says. I grin and ruffle his hair.
"Thanks kid," I say. He pushes me off him and we continue towards the bath.
I chat with the girls as I take out my braids. I tie my hair into a messy bun on the top of my head. We take off our clothes and wash off before heading into the baths. I look at my legs and arms. They really are looking terrible. The scar on my side contrasts against my skin. It's still pretty fresh but it should fade over time. It looked mild now in comparison to all my bruises.
I settle into the water in the hot spring, sighing wistfully.
"This feels so good but I wish today hadn't been so hard. My body's ruined," I whine. I lean back, closing my eyes.
"I'd hardly say your body's ruined Haruki-chan. You know when taking a proper look at you now you're actually kind of ripped," Toru says. I open one eye.
"Damn straight. I work hard," I lift my arm out of the water, showing off my bicep. "I've been doing heaps of upper body workouts."
"Ooh baby!" Mina says. I laugh.
"For real though, you're an excellent fighter aren't you Haruki-chan? You come across as if you've got a lot of experience," Kyoka says fiddling with her ear jacks. I think for a few moments.
"Yeah I guess. I used to beat the shit out of people in middle school," I say grinning. Yaoyorozu looks at me horrified.
"Haruki-chan you didn't! You're not a bully are you?" She asks. I smirk.
"Nah I'm not a bully. I mean, they totally deserved it. Ah... like this one time a senpai of mine was trash talking my friend Hinata-kun and so I belted him in the face," I reminisce. I chuckle and slide deeper into the bath.
"Careful, you're sounding kind of like Bakugo-kun," Mina teases. I shrug. Above us I see Kota monitoring the barrier between us and the boys bath.
I let myself slip into a relaxed state as we chat. I feel my muscles relax.
I'm bought back to reality when I hear some commotion above. I roll my eyes, it sounds like Mineta. Typical.
"Learn to be a dignified human being first before trying to become a hero," I hear Kota say. I hear Mineta scream as he's pushed off the wall.
"Thanks Kota-kun," Mina calls out. Kota turns to look at us. However to my horror I see him slip backwards. I stood up out of the bath immediately. I hear a crash on the other side.
"Kota!" I cry out. Fuck. I move close to the wall.
"Yo, is Kota-kun okay?" I call out.
"Ah, I caught him but I think he's unconscious. I'm taking him inside," I hear Midoriya reply. Damn it. This is my fault. I shouldn't have asked for his help. I grab my towel and exit the bath with the girls calling out after me. I chuck on my shorts and T-shirt. I enter the lodge, running into Midoriya, still clad only in his towel, in the corridor with Kota in his arms.
We take him to the managers office where Mandalei and Pixie-bob are located. They look surprised to see us.
"Kota!" Mandalei exclaims, taking the boy from Midoriya's arms. She settles him on the couch, checking over him. Midoriya explains that he dropped from the barrier but that he'd caught him first.
"I'm so sorry. This is my fault. I asked if he could help watch the wall in between the girls and the boys baths," I say, bowing.
"Don't worry, he seems unharmed. Just unconscious. Luckily Midoriya-kun caught him," she said. We watch Kota sleep briefly. Midoriya rubs his chin thoughtfully.
"Umm. Mandalei I was wondering, Kota seems to really hate heroes. Why is that?" Midoriya asks. I frown. Mandalei had introduced him as her nephew. That combined with Kota's apparent distaste for heroes made be develop a suspicion that Kota had a rough time of late.
"Midoriya-kun I get the feeling it might be quite a personal reason," I say lowly.
"Ah you're not wrong, but it's okay. It's not a secret," Pixie-bob says. She wears a sad expression.
"Kota's parents, Mandalei's cousins, were heroes. They were killed by a villain when protecting civilians two years ago," she explains. I wrap my arms around myself. That's rough.
"They we're celebrated as heroes. But for Kota who was still so young it was like they were celebrating that they'd been taken away from him," Mandalei says sadly. I crouch down in front of the sleeping boy.
"Mm it's not unusual. My circumstances aren't exactly the same but I kind of get it. After I lost my Oka-san I met a lot of kids like him at the foster care and group homes I grew up in," I say softly. I reach out stroking his head.
"Your parents are gone and you're constantly reminded of that fact by the barrage of hero propaganda everywhere. No one was saved for you. Not your parents and certainly not you who was left behind," I say softly. Mandalei sits down by Kota's head, placing a cool cloth on his forehead. I look up at Midoriya whose eyes are shimmering. He looks between me and Kota sadly. I hate that expression. It's one of pity.
I stand up and stretch. I'll cut him some slack. His hearts in the right place. I see tears are ready to breach. My mouth forms a grin. His tear ducts are truly always on alert aren't they?
"Hopefully he's changed his mind after having a hero like yourself save him from that dangerous fall, right?" I say. Midoriya nods. Knowing that Kota will be fine we say goodbye to the two cat heroes and walk back into the corridors.
"I think I'm gonna go to bed. You look like you're ready to get back in the bath though," I say grinning. I look Midoriya up and down. He's got an amazing build. Midoriya flushes. It seems he'd forgotten he is essentially naked. I laugh. I pat him on the shoulder as I walk past.
"G'night, Midoriya-kun." I say.
"N-Night," he squeaks. I smirk as I walk away.
I get to the room where we'll be sleeping. The other girls aren't back yet. I roll out my futon and collapse into it. I'll try to stay awake until they return.
In the meantime I think about Kota. I have a feeling Midoriya is gonna try 'saving' him. It's the kind of intrusive thing he'd do. I just hope he doesn't push Kota further away. Otherwise he might be hanging onto that resentment for sometime. It's not healthy. I know from experience.
I know I joked in the baths with the girls about bashing kids in middle school but if I honestly reflect I can say that I wasn't in a good place mentally at that time. I was angry. Apart from a few select individuals I hated everyone and I was feared. Eventually it got to a point where I also hated myself. I hated the way I was being treated like a lost cause, like I would one day become a villain. I was gonna prove them wrong. After all, I'm a shitty uncontrollable child of the state and I won't let anyone pigeonhole me into anything.
I might not have qualities like Midoriya's innate valiance, Bakugo's ambition, Todoroki's strength or Iida's ethics. But I'm persistent and determined. I have pride but a history of shame. I won't let some bastards tell me what I can and can't do. Heroes are made, not born.