Sorry for the delay guys! I've been sitting on this chapter for almost a week now... Managed to finish the next 2 chapter as well, seems I like writing more than editing lol

Anyways, next chapters will be out over the course of this week. Things are gonna start picking up, before we build into the finale of this season which is gonna be longer than expected it seems...

Side note! I have linked a private google doc in my account profile, it has reference images for OC characters. I've updated it to have both Suru and Adachi's reference images if you'd like a better idea at what they look like, even some brief explainations to how... "Animated" Suru is lol

Season Two, Episode XV

First Contact

. . .

Kaiji Adachi

. . .

My head was throbbing, I think I banged it pretty hard when we hit the ground. Sitting up slowly, I winced in pain, there was glass all over the floor from shattered windows. The framework of the bus was totally busted, but the trees must have cushioned our fall quite a bit. I was okay, I had my tough hide to thank for that, but what about the others?

"Sen? Suru?" I called out, forcing myself to stand, "You guys okay?"

I had only taken two steps, before a familiar figured poofed into existence right in front of me. "ADACHI!"

"AAAGH!" I screamed out of reaction, before shaking my head and realizing it was Suru. "Don't do that! I'm rattled enough as it is..."

"Right, sorry," She chuckled lightly, before grabbing my hand. "Come on."

And in the blink of an eye, we were standing outside the bus just below the shade of a tree. "Adachi, good you're okay." Aizawa greeted me, Sen was standing nearby as well. Both were a little scraped up, but we seemed to be okay. "I tried to call the Agency for back up, but I'm having trouble getting signal in this valley."

Oh, great, "So what's our next move?" I asked, "Any sign of that lady that attacked us?"

"None yet," Sen replied, "Who was she? Mr. Aizawa did you recognize that villain?"

Eraser shook his head, "No, not one I've ever seen before, but my Erasure didn't work on her for some reason." He looked towards the damaged bus, "Stay here, I'm going to grab some of our supplies, then we'll hike to the next rest area and hopefully get a distress call out, shouldn't be more than a few miles."

He made his way back over to the bus, climbing inside while we waited around. "Some camping trip this turned out to be." Suru noted, stuffing her hands into her pockets.

"Not like we could have seen this coming," Sen sighed, rubbing her arm and wincing slightly. "Hopefully we can just get to the camp and be back on schedule..."

"Right..." I nodded slowly, looking her over briefly. Her injuries weren't too bad, just surface level, but probably still hurt. It was hard to tell if Suru was injured at all given her appearance but she seemed fine.

Aizawa was on his way back just moments later, carrying a backpack for each of us. "I packed these emergency bags just in case," He explained, handing one to each of us. "They've each got a map, some food and water, bandages, and some other basic survival gear." Slinging one of them over his own shoulder as well, "Now lets get moving."

But before we had the chance to reply, the sound of flapping filled the air above us. It started small, enough to make us question if it was really just a bird, before getting heavier and heavier. Looking up, my eyes widened as I spotted her, that woman from before, descending on the crash site. She hadn't seemed to notice us, and Aizawa started shoving us along into cover.

We were forced down behind some bushes and beneath tree cover. While he knelt down, whispering. "Stay quiet and don't move."

Yeah because I was planning on screaming and running away, give me some credit...

She landed on the overturned bus, digging into it with sharp avian talons on the bottom of her feet. She tore apart the metal, before kneeling down to look inside. There was no doubt about it now, she was searching for us. Aizawa held up a hand, waving it slowly, I think he was giving the order for us to start moving away from here. But either way, I never had the chance to react, before a flash of movement bolted by.

Curved horns, a thick mane of black wool, along with another black and white mask. Those were the only details I picked up as she attacked. Hitting from behind, she slammed into Aizawa headfirst, sending him flying through the brush and into the open. Both he and the new arrival now ten feet in front of us. She looked just like the woman on the bus, wearing the exact same outfit mask and all.

The attack took us all off guard, and I before we knew it Aizawa was on the defensive. Springing to his feet, lashing at the new attacker with his scarf. But she nimbly dodged, flipping through the air. The moment her feet touched down, she charged, woolly hair and horns disappearing before she lashed out both her arms. They stretched, turning green and scaly while her hands turned into Cobra heads! She used Aizawa's own attack style, wrapping around him quickly and lifting the man off his feet.

I shook off my fears as the other figure at the bus started moving towards them as well. "We have to do something, Mr. Aizawa!" I shouted, taking one step forward through the brush. But both of the masked figures turned their eyes onto me, making me freeze in place under a cold analytical gaze.

"G-Get out of here!" He shouted, even as the vipers constricted around his restrained body. "Run for the camp! I-I'll be fine!"

I wanted to argue, to do... Anything, really. But my legs wouldn't move, "Ngh!" I flinched as Sen grabbed my arm.

"Come on!" She urged, trying to tug me away. "We don't have hero authority, it would be illegal for us to take action anyways..." I could tell she didn't want to leave, but she was scared too.

"But I-" My words catching as I caught movement from the corner of my eyes. Spotting the first villain, the one that had attacked the bus, walking past Aizawa and towards us. "Oh crap."

"Come on!" Suru grabbed both Sen and I, before I even had a chance to blink we'd disappeared and reappeared some distance away. Surrounded by more trees and brush. "Lets go, I couldn't move you both very far at the same time..." She explained, "We gotta get to that camp, then we can get help right?"

"But... What about Mr. Aizawa?" I questioned, looking between them. "Are we really just... Going to leave him there? To fight both of those two?"

"Adachi we can't-" Sen's words cut off as rustling sounded in the bushes nearby. Out of them, stepped that girl with the mask again, which one it was we couldn't tell. But her ears were pointed and fluffy, twitching like a dogs.

"Found you." She said with a twisted, amused voice slightly muffled by the mask. "Shouldn't you be running~?" She asked, crouching slowly. Her ears disappearing, as those big bovine horns grew once more, along with her arms swelling with muscle. "Kids like you should be avoiding big scary villains like me!"

"MOVE!" Suru shouted, vanishing as the villain charged, Sen and I scattered, breaking away in different directions. Our attacker crashed into the tree, smashing through through the trunk with her incredible power, toppling the entire thing.

Seeing that kind of power, it only made me more afraid of what we were facing. I'd lost sight of the others, and got back to my feet quickly. Stepping back from the criminal as she slowly turned on me. "St-Stay back!" I ordered, swallowing dryly.

"Now why would I do that?" She asked, her horns and muscles disappearing. Before those wings began to grow out of her back again, legs turning to sharp avian talons. "When you're such an easy target!"

I felt a hand slap down onto my back, "Don't just stand there dumbass!" Suru's voice echoing behind me before we vanished.

Suddenly I was in another clearing, the villain nowhere in sight. I looked around to my savior, seeing Suru standing there panting heavily. Sen was nearby as well, watching our surroundings. "You teleported us away again," I pointed out, noting her exhaustion. "How far did you send us?"

"As far as... I normally can by myself." So, more than she should have tried with two others, dammit. "You guys okay?"

Sen was already kneeling down, going through her backpack and digging out a map. "We're fine, but we need to keep moving, that woman can clearly track us somehow."

"So how do we keep her off us?" Suru asked curiously, making her way over along with me.

I needed to calm my nerves, get my head on straight, this situation was life and death. I couldn't keep freaking out, or freezing up, somebody could get hurt. "Where is the camp?"

"Here," Sen pointed it out quickly, I noticed her hand was shaking. "It's gonna take us hours to get there on foot..." She was scared, Suru was exhausted, this stupid camping trip had totally fallen apart.

I looked around the clearing, noting that we hadn't been found out yet. "We should..." I trailed off, unable to really think of anything.

"We should..." Suru repeated, waiting for me to add on... Something.

"I-I don't know," I nervously stepped away from them. The way they stared back, so expectantly. "Why are you both looking at me?" Like I was supposed to know how to get us out of this mess?

"You are usually the quick thinker," Sen noted, looking at the compass inside the bag as well. "You and Suru..."

"Hey I'm good at messing with and outsmarting idiots," She scoffed, "Not some psycho animal lady!"

"Don't start yelling," Sen warned, looking back at her. "You'll just draw her to us."

The tension growing between us was getting thick. We were all scared, starting to lash out. But that wasn't going to help anyone, "Just... Give me a second to think." I said, walking away from them both, towards the center of the clearing. I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down even as a knot of fear rested in my stomach.

"Why were they looking to me?" I couldn't help but wonder, "Why was I the one they wanted to give them an answer?" I needed to stop thinking about it, my anxiety was only getting worse. "Because I saved the day with the sports festival idea? No, that couldn't be it, that was a disaster..." Great, now my thoughts were going back to Her.

What was I even doing here? Chasing a bad dream that was going to get worse before it got better. This whole mess of a camping trip, this was just the tip of the iceberg for hero work wasn't it? I was terrified of two villains, not very heroic at all. Abandoning my teacher, making my friends have to save me. Sure, I was a better fighter, but I hadn't made any progress at all!

Just as I started slipping further and further into my own self pity, a cool breeze came through the clearing. Washing over me, I released a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. I breathed in the fresh air, something about it was so... Freeing. My reptilian tongue tasting the wind, I caught faint hints of other scents in the forest around us, there was even a stream flowing nearby. It all seemed so... Peaceful.

Before the realization hit me, as if my mind cleared in an instant.

As I picked up another scent.

"We can't keep standing here!" Suru argued.

"Running off into the forest and wasting our energy isn't any better!" Sen fired back, both now in heated debate. They'd clearly forgotten the danger of the situation, and neither saw the figure looming in the branches above.

But I could see her, that woman, preparing to strike. The moment she made her move, so did I. "HRAAAAGH!" Sen and Suru looked to me in shock as I suddenly sprinted at them, leaping off the ground, I slammed into that villain, knocking her from the air with all my body weight, before planting my tail on her and springing off. I'd taken her off guard, and the attack made her crash back into the tree, while I landed awkwardly, stumbling a bit before regaining my footing. "Sen! What direction is the camp?" I demanded, "NOW!"

"Uh..." She blinked, looking to the compass and the map, "East! The camp is due east of here!"

"Faster than I expected." The woman sneered, regaining her composure. "But you won't-"

"And where did the bus crash?" I added quickly.

"To our west."

"A-Are you ignoring me!?" The villainess demanded. "You can't ignore me! I'M ME!"

I knew it! "Suru," My eyes darted to her, "You need to teleport us east, as far as you can, even if it takes up every bit of stamina you have left!" The wheels were turning rapidly in my brain.

She didn't argue, grabbing both our hands, "Hang on!"

The last thing I saw before we disappeared, was that masked woman lunging at us. Her body warping with orange fur and stripes, claws at her hands. But she never made contact before we appeared in the underbrush some distance away. Almost immediately, Suru dropped to her knees gasping for breath. Sen was by her side in an instant, "Adachi, what's going on? What does the direction we're going have to do with this?" The Martial arts hero asked.

I looked back at the two of them, "Everything, I know how she's tracking us, and how we can turn the tables on these villains." My confidence flaring, as I reached up and ripped away my black shirt.

As my muscles were exposed, Sen looked away, while Suru managed to release an exhausted laugh. "Neat... Idea... But I don't think... Seduction is going to work."

"And what do you mean turn the tables?" Sen questioned, "We can't fight them, it's illegal for us to engage."

"Maybe it is," I replied sharply, eyes scanning our surroundings. "But even if we get in trouble... I won't stand by while Mr. Aizawa gets hurt or worse, and I won't run away from a villain." Looking back at the both of them, "We all saw the Sports Festival, we saw the gap between us and Class 1-A, students who faced a real villain attack... Well come on, this is our chance!" I exclaimed, tail slamming the ground behind me. "We came to UA with one goal in mind right?"

I took a deep breath, steeling my resolve as I looked between them. I could see the hope flickering in their eyes... Well, I could see it in Sen's, it was hard to tell with Suru. I did this, they trusted me, for one reason or another, they were putting their faith in my words.

"So DAMMIT! Let's be heroes!"