The golden light of the sunset washed over the forest as the sun began to disappear over the horizon. Class 1A dragged themselves out of the forests, one after another. The first one out was Midoriya, followed by Todoroki and Iida, dragging his leg as it exhausted fumes. And behind them was Bulla and Bakugo, dragging her sword behind them. "Why's this sword of yours so damn heavy?" He asked.
"It's complicated." She simply told him as her class followed behind. They had been fought until 4:30 PM, and there wasn't a single person who didn't ache to collapse, and most of the class stood battered, but stood nonetheless. Meanwhile had Sato fallen backwards, allowing himself to remain seated.
"I thought you said it'd only be three hours!" Sero complained.
"I guess we timed it based on how long it'd take us. Sorry!" The brunette hero apologized as Kirishima joined his friend on the ground.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Bulla followed, dropping her sword and rest her hands on her knees. It had been seven hours, more than double the time they had recommended. Are these cat-ladies really all that? She thought to herself, taking deep breaths.
"Now you're bragging about how much better you are?" Sato continued. "That's so mean!"
"I'm starving... This is hell!" Kirishima cried out from the ground.
"Meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow!" The blond hero laughed. "I thought it would take you kids even longer! But, you did much better against my dirt monsters than I thought you would! You guys were seriously great, especially..." With a claw extended outward, she had pointed to Iida, Midoriya, and Todoroki. "The three of you! And in fact, there's one of you missing..." Scanning the class, she had finally found her prey next to Bulla. "And you!" Dragging him to her group prizes she explained gleefully. "The four of you seem to have quite a bit of experience! So I'll claim you kittens, and groom you myself!"
"Hey! Get the hell off me!" Bakugo yelled weakly, unable to fight back.
"Mandalay. Has she always been like this?" Aizawa asked his friend.
"It's gotten worse lately." She explained. "She's at the age to take a mate."
"Wonderful..." Bulla said to herself. "My hard work and leadership go unnoticed because of a grown woman's libido... Glad to know it's nothing personal..." What a hussy! Bulla thought to herself, glaring towards the hero as she continued to bother the boys.
"Uh, speaking of ages-" Before Midoriya could continue his sentence, the blond hero grasped his face in her paw.
"Choose your words carefully, boy." The hero told him, her words as cold as ice.
Through her paw, Midoriya nervously asked his question. "I've just been wondering since we got here earlier. Who is that kid? What's he doing here?" Pointing to the young boy next to Mandalay, Bulla had remembered that the boy was with the heroes earlier.
"Oh, this little guy? He's my cousin's son. He lives with us now." She explained. "Don't be shy, Kota, say hi to everyone! You're gonna be around them for the next week."
The boy simply continued to glare at everyone while Midoriya approached first. "Hey there, my name's Izuku Midoriya. I'm from the UA High School hero course." Midoriya introduced, leaning over and extending a hand. "It's nice to meet you."
With no words exchanged, Kota took a step back, and slammed his fist into Midoriya's groin, causing him to bellow in pain. "What a low blow! You fiend of a child!" Iida cursed, rushing to Midoriya's aid. "A punch to the scrotum is unforgiveable!"
Kota glared at Iida over his shoulder. "The last thing I want is to hang with some wannabe heroes."
"'Wannabe'?! How old are you, kid?"
"Yeesh, I'm glad I'm not a boy..." Bulla told Jiro and Uraraka beside her. The girls nodded in agreement, now able to stand straight after their brief rest.
"That brat's got spunk." Bakugo said with a smile, putting his hands on his hips.
"He's like a mini version of you." Todoroki told him.
"What are you talking about?"
"He's right, you know!" Bulla called out to him, having heard their brief exchange.
"OH SHUT IT, WILL YA!"
"Glad to see you've got the energy to yell." Bulla told him with a smile.
"You both need to shut it before I blast you to hell!" He warned them, clenching his fists.
"Go right ahead. I like my odds in this situation." With Bulla's tease, she left the center of her group and emerged at the edge, where Todoroki and Bakugo stood.
"Why you-!"
"Enough playing around." Aizawa told them, cutting their conflict short. "Get your stuff off the bus. Once you put your bags in your rooms, we'll have dinner in the cafeteria. After that you can bathe and sleep. Tomorrow your training starts in earnest, so you'd better get a move on."
As directed, everyone retrieved their items from the bus and made their way to their designated rooms. "I'm starving!" Ashido complained as she dropped her bags.
"Yeah, I could eat a horse right about now." Bulla agreed, opening one of the closet doors and revealing a stack of futon mattresses. "Hey, could I get a hand setting these up?"
"Of course!" Yaoyorozu told her, rushing over to take a couple of mattresses off her hands. Before long, the girls had set up a human chain.
Once the mattresses were set up, Bulla made it a priority to survey the guest home that they'd be staying in. "Tsu, would you like to come with me?" She asked with a smile.
"Ribbit. That sounds nice." She told her as the girls left, hand in hand. Leaving their room together, Bulla could sense a pair of indecent eyes watching them from afar. Whipping around, she fired a precision beam, taking a chip off the corner behind them. "Is everything okay, Bulla?"
"Yeah, just had to make sure that if anyone was watching us, it'd be best for them to stop." As the two girls walked away, a cowering Mineta made the smart decision to return to the boy's room, remaining out of sight.
After passing by the baths, the girls had soon found the dining hall and the kitchen, before getting kicked out by the Pussycats. The girls continued to wander, until they had found Aizawa laying about lazily in the lounging area. "Mr. Aizawa! I'm glad I found you!"
"Oh, Brief, and Asui, too. What do you want?" He asked, raising his head to face them.
"Well, I noticed that the baths are just beside each other, and we're all supposed to be bathing at the same time." She began.
"And you're worried about Mineta, I'm sure?" He had guessed. "Don't worry, Mandalay said she's going to have Kota stationed on top of the wall between the baths, so there shouldn't be anything to worry about."
"Right, but I feel like if he's left on top of a wall that high for too long, he'd be at risk of falling. I was actually hoping we'd be able to bathe first, and then the boys could go in once we're done." With her request, she had gestured to Asui, who nodded and ribbited along.
After several seconds of silence, Aizawa dragged his hand across his face and answered grumpily. "Fine. Let the boys know that they're going to keep Mineta under watch, then they can get in once you're all finished."
"Right! Yes, Sir!" Bulla said with excitement.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Aizawa! Ribbit." Asui followed as Mandalay came out of the kitchen.
"Oh, hey! You're the Class Representative, aren't you?" She asked, approached the two girls.
"Yeah, Mandalay. This is the Class Rep, Bulla Brief. Honestly, she really stays on top of things that would otherwise be a pain. But don't think I'll forget about your friend coming to bother the staff after finals. Next time, double check with one of us to see if your classmates have their costumes before it gets too late."
"R-Right! Sorry about that, again, Sir..." Bulla apologized with a bow as Mandalay pet her head.
"I noticed you did a great job out there! You're a real Arthur-type, you know that?" She praised, walking around the couch to sit on the recliner nearby.
"Oh, thank you, Ma'am. Honestly, I thought your friend had completely ignored me because of the boys."
"Don't mind Pixie-Bob. Her focus is just...elsewhere these days." Mandalay assured her.
"I understand the 'great job' part, Ma'am, but what's an 'Arthur-type'?" Bulla had asked, causing the three to look at her.
"Ribbit. You've never heard the story of the sword in the stone, Bulla?" Asui asked her, putting a finger to her chin.
"I'm kind of surprised honestly. It's such a popular legend. In the old days of Britain, it was said that there was a sword, lodged deep in a massive stone. The strongest of men across the kingdom made every attempt to pull it. But it was to no avail. However, here comes Arthur, a young man standing on the scrawny side, and in one yank, the sword comes loose! In every version of the legend, it was said he who draws the sword from the stone would rule the kingdom of Britain!" Mandalay explained.
"It's legend has different elements depending on what version you hear, and who you hear it from. But it essentially boils down to Arthur drawing the blade and leading Britannia as a whole, and not just Britain." Aizawa revised, laying his head back.
"Right. Anyway, I came to let you know that the food's ready! So go ahead and get your class." She informed her, getting back to her feet and returning to the kitchen to assist Pixie-Bob.
In the dead of the night, Bulla found it extremely difficult to sleep. Looking over, she saw Hagakure's imprint across from Uraraka, who had to deal with Ashido practically sleeping on top of her. She had decided to button up her sky-blue, cloud printed pajama top and leave the room. In the dead calm of the night, even a step seemed to sound like a weight dropping. With no means of illumination, she had formed a small ball of Ki in her hand and navigated her way out of the house. Once she had finally made it out, she stepped out onto the porch and felt the cool night breeze against her skin. To her surprise, just ahead was Aoyama, who just sat and gazed at the sky.
Taking the opportunity to approach him, she reached out and placed a hand softly on his shoulder, somehow startling him. "B-B-Brief!?" He said nervously. "H-How long have you been standing there?"
"Huh? I just got out here, dummy!" Bulla told him with a smile, pressing her fist against his chest. "I noticed you were lost in the stars, so I didn't want to call out."
"Ou-Oui..." He said, leaving the silence heavy as the two turned to the sky.
"Isn't it just gorgeous?" She asked him. "Gazing up into the sky like this, with no outside lights to ruin the image, it's just breathtaking. It's like taking a journey across the sky, and yet remaining so grounded at the same time."
"Oui. It's quite belle up there." He told her, wiping the sweat from his temple. It wasn't long before the two were joined by Midoriya.
"Hey, Aoyama. Bulla." Midoriya greeted as a stepped outside.
"Oh, Izuku. You can't sleep either?" She asked.
"Not quite. I originally couldn't stop thinking about Kota. He seemed to have such a distain for heroes, so I found Mandalay just now, and she explained everything." Midoriya told them.
"And what did you get out of that little convo of yours?"
"I had only ever thought of heroes as just that, heroes. I honestly never stopped to think about the people beyond that. The families that they not only fight to protect, but that they leave behind when they meet a villain that's just too much for them." His words were somber, and Bulla could tell that this was weighing on his mind.
"Well, Kota is still a child. And so are we. We're all learning new experiences and perspectives, that'll shape us into the people we want to be. I promise you when I was his age, I definitely wasn't thinking about becoming a hero like All Might, or my Uncle Gohan." Bulla said to him, making her best attempts to alleviate his thoughts.
"Bulla, your uncle was a hero?"
Oh, crap! Bulla thought to herself. As Midoriya began to investigate further.
"What kind of hero was he? What was his hero name? Maybe I've heard of him!"
This is what I get for bringing that up in front of a hero nut. "His name was Saiyaman. He was super low-profile, so you wouldn't have heard of him."
"Is that so...?" Midoriya asked, disappointed he hadn't heard of him.
"Yeah, he was a lot like All Might, actually. Unparalleled strength, speed that couldn't be topped." She mentioned.
Midoriya suddenly began to think deeply about the possible connection between them, trying to press further. "If he was a lot like All Might, he must have come up somewhere! What did he look like?"
"Izuku, I guarantee that you haven't heard of him. He was about as tall as Iida, with spiked-up black hair with a cowlick that sat out in front of his forehead. His face was always plain and gentle, yet sometimes so serious it was scary." She explained. "I'm positive that nobody you could possible know in your lifetime matches that description."
"Right... I'm sorry for pressing the subject so much." He told her, dropping his curiosity for her sake. "In that case, I'm going to head back to bed. Are you coming, Aoyama?"
"Oui, I got a chance to clear my head, so I should sleep well now." Aoyama told him, his voice seeming small and worried as they began to walk off together.
"Hey, wait a minute, Aoyama!" Bulla called out as she grabbed his shoulder, turning him around. His eyes widened, almost like he was scared. To comfort him, Bulla smiled and pat him on the shoulder. "Sleep well, okay? You seem really pale. You'll need your strength for tomorrow."
"Right, I'm sorry. Just something on my mind." He told her, twiddling his fingers.
"Well, whatever it is, we're here for you. If you need to talk, don't be afraid to call for me." She reassured him, turning him to his classmate and patting him on the back.
"Merci. I really appreciate it..." Together, he and Midoriya returned to their room, leaving Bulla all alone outside, illuminated by nothing more than the stars and the moon above. Looking up, she couldn't help but be reminded of the times she was told stories about Super Grandpa Goku. Her mother would always read those stories to her for bed instead of regular bedtime stories. Sometimes she wished she could return to those days, and although a tear streamed down her cheek, she smiled onward.
Before the sun even had a chance to climb into the sky, Class 1A reported before Aizawa, ready in their gym uniform. Once everyone had gotten to sleep, it was practically impossible to get anyone up after the day they had prior, but somehow they managed. "Today, we begin a training camp that will increase your strength. Our goal is to increase your skills exponentially, so that each of you earns a provisional license. This will allow you to face the dangers that continue to fester in the darkness. Proceed carefully. Look alive, Brief." Aizawa called out, tossing Bulla a softball. "Try throwing that for me."
"Oh, just like the Quirk Assessment." Bulla told him, catching the ball.
"That's right. When you first started here, your record was 1,250 meters, give or take. Try giving it another shot for me."
As Bulla stepped off to the side, grabbing a decent amount of space, she could hear everyone talking in the background. "Oh, I get it! You're checking our progress!" Ashido claimed.
"A lot's happened to us the last three months." Sero followed. "I wouldn't be surprised if she hits a mile!"
As Aizawa readied his tracker, Bulla wound up her arm, warming up her shoulder before slamming her foot down. With a glimmering light forming around the ball, she swung, chucking it as hard as she could with as much energy as she could put into it without destroying the ball. Turning over to her teacher with a smile, he raised the tracker for the class to see. "1,274.3 meters." He revealed, causing Bulla's eyes to widen.
"Well that's not much of a change..." Kirishima said, scratching the back of his head.
"You've had a single semester at UA, and due to your various experiences, all of you have definitely improved. But those improvements have mostly been limited to mental prowess and technical skill. With a slight increase to stamina thrown in along the way." He explained as Bulla looked down at her hands. "Your Quirks really haven't grown that much stronger. Not on a fundamental level. That's why we're now going to focus on improving your powers." With a devilish smile, Aizawa raised a finger. "This'll be so hard, you'll feel like you're dying. Let's hope you all survive."
I can't believe it... After all this time, I really haven't improved my abilities! Have I gone and gotten complacent?! No, it stops here! Looking up towards her teacher, her brows furrowed, her eyes narrowed, and her fangs were bared. "I will get stronger! Mark my words!" And with their Class Representative's declaration, Class 1A began their living hell.