Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia/Boku No Hero Academia, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.
Vlad King's Green Bean
Chapter thirteen: The summer training camp, part one
"Congratulations, kids," Sekijiro said to the entirety of the students in the Class 1-B homeroom, "You all passed both the written and practical portions of the finals." Everyone in Class 1-B cheered upon being told the good news, and Sekijiro himself, even before he told his students the news, couldn't help it but smirk, and that smirk led him to actually cheer a bit alongside his students as well. This was their moment; the Blood Hero felt that he owed it to them to make sure they knew that all of them had done well.
After the students settled down, Sekijiro went on, "Now, since the summer training camp is coming up, you'll be given lists of what all you ought to go out and get." Sekijiro then handed out lists of what all the 1-B students ought to bring with them to the training camp.
Upon seeing the lists, which were all just copies of the exact same list of items, Izuku and his classmates saw that they lacked many of the items on the list. As such, they all resolved to do a bit of shopping later. As he and his classmates put away their copies of the list, Izuku wondered how well the students over in Class 1-A had done in the practical portion of their finals.
Later that afternoon, after classes were done for the day and the students went out to get what all they'd be needing for the summer training camp, a number of UA staff members, among which were Nezu, All Might, Aizawa, Sekijiro, Hizashi, Nemuri, and Ryo, were visiting Ectoplasm in the hospital, where he was out of his hero costume and wearing only a hospital gown as he laid in the hospital bed that he was in.
He looked straight up at the ceiling with a contemplative look on his face that, oddly enough, lacked ill will towards anyone. "...Yeah, with all due respect," Ectoplasm said, "I had brought all of this upon myself."
Aizawa looked rather surprised by Ectoplasm taking the blame for how he had wound up in such a poor state. "Seriously, Ectoplasm?" Aizawa asked, "I mean with how far Toko-"
"I, having gotten into the role of the 'villain' that Tokoyami and Kurata had to face to pass the practical portion of theirs finals a little too much," Ectoplasm began, "Said some... less than excusable things... in an attempt to rile Tokoyami and Kurata up. Things up to and including how I would desecrate the bodies of their classmates who had died. I think what prompted Tokoyami in particular to try to destroy me was when I had said that I'd sexually desecrate Asui's remains."
Sekijiro looked stunned, unable to believe what Ectoplasm had said. "Seriously?!"
Shrugging, Ectoplasm replied, "I wanted to give a believable villain act to really sell to the kids that I faced that I was the 'villain' that they had to overcome if they wanted to pass." The wounded teacher gave an ironic chuckle. "...Guess that I was a little too successful, huh?"
"That's selling it short, you idiot," Recovery Girl called out as she made her way over with a clipboard. Reaching the end of Ectoplasm's hospital bed, Recovery Girl held up the clipboard that she was carrying. "Half a dozen broken ribs including one that pierced your left lung," Recovery Girl listed off, "Your left arm broken worse than what the Midoriya boy did to himself during the UA entrance exams, a mild concussion, a dozen lacerations all over the front of your body ranging from minor to 'go to the hospital NOW' severe, your stomach had VERY NEARLY ruptured..."
The UA staff members listened on in shock and mildly growing horror at the list of injuries that their co-worker got due to pushing one of Aizawa's students way too far, all for the sake of 'putting on a believable villain act for the finals practical'. Recovery Girl eventually stopped listing injuries, although some of the UA staff members felt that Recovery Girl easily could have gone on. "...You're damn lucky that you were gotten to the hospital when you were, Ectoplasm," Recovery Girl said, "Given that you very easily could have died."
Nezu let out a troubled sigh. "...Normally Ectoplasm, I would be reprimanding you right now for saying you'd desecrate the remains of Aizawa's dead students, even though you didn't mean any of it for real and only said all of it as part of your 'villain' act when you were testing two of Aizawa's students. But given how you're acknowledging what you had done was wrong, not to mention the fact that your act had led to costing you both your UA teacher career and pro hero career due to your injuries, me busting your chops in this case would only be rubbing salt in the wound."
After the wounded teacher nodded in agreement and understanding, Nezu turned to look at both Aizawa and Sekijiro. "Gentlemen, you both ought to focus on getting ready to take your respective students to the training camp run by the Wild, Wild Pussycats. They need that training now more than ever, given the level of danger that we're now facing."
"Sho here ought to get the remedial classroom at the training camp lodge up and ready for his class more or less," Hizashi said, "Given that all but four of his kids failed the practical."
Aizawa growled in annoyance. "There is no need to remind me of that, Hizashi."
A few of the others in the room, mainly All Might and Nezu, looked surprised by that revelation from Present Mic. "...Really, Aizawa?" All Might asked, "Only four of your students passed the practical?"
"I'll drill my students harder than ever when we get to the training camp," the underground hero assured the Symbol of Peace, "I'll have them more than make up for their mass failure."
Nezu looked a bit more curious still. "...I get the feeling that something is up explaining why so many of your students failed, Shouta," Nezu said, "But I'll leave things to you to figure out. You know your students best, after all." The animal principal of UA then turned to look up at Sekijiro. "Just like how you know your students best, Sekijiro."
The Blood Hero nodded in acknowledgement. "Thank you, sir. I think the results I got out of my students will speak for themselves."
The day before the first year hero course students were set to go to the training camp, they decided to go shopping for what all they would be needing at the training camp. This saw both 1-A and 1-B go to the same shopping center, but they didn't know they would both be there until they ran into each other. The two classes mingled, with some in 1-A joining groups of 1-B students. As an example of this, Uraraka joined Izuku, Juzo, Yosetsu, and Nirengeki. As the five of them looked at items in a store, they eventually got to talking about how they did in the finals.
"You actually failed, Uraraka?" Nirengeki said, he and the other boys looking surprised.
Uraraka, an upset look on her face, nodded bitterly in the affirmative. "...Only four of my classmates passed. Bakugo, Shinso, Mahou, and Shizuo. My other fifteen classmates and I all failed the practical."
Yosetsu sucked in a cringing breath. "Yeesh. That's gotta be painful."
Izuku wasn't sure what to say; he was still rather surprised to hear from Uraraka that she and so many of her classmates had failed the practical portion of their finals. What's more was that 1-A was all under the impression that if they failed, then they wouldn't get to go to the summer training camp. That, according to Uraraka, was a quote unquote 'rational deception' that their homeroom teacher Aizawa pulled in an attempt to make them work as hard as possible.
Uraraka also noted how Aizawa had pulled the 'rational deception' bit during the quirk apprehension test at the beginning of the current school year, saying he'd straight up expel the student out of twenty who came in last place. Said student ended up being the late Minoru Mineta, but Aizawa revealed his 'rational deception', and that no student was going to be removed from class 1-A. ...At least for that time being, as multiple 1-A students ended up being removed in a certain... permanent... way.
The girl of Class 1-A gave a defeated sigh. "Things have gotten into one hell of a mess for my classmates and I, ever since we lost five of our original members during the attack on the USJ." Shrugging, Uraraka went on, "Then five new classmates were dropped on our laps before the rest of us had time to process the aforementioned five deaths, then Tenya dies during the internships, then a new classmate is put into 1-A to make up for it, AGAIN before the rest of us have had time to process having lost a classmate, and THEN we're forced into finals with a whole mess of unresolved trauma, resulting in all but four of us failing the practical portion. Not to mention how a lot of us are near at wit's end due to Aizawa-sensei's 'rational deceptions'."
"Shouldn't..." Izuku began, "...Shouldn't your homeroom teacher have done something to help you guys deal with how all of this makes you all feel?"
"If he should have, then he either forgot or doesn't care enough to do it anyway," Uraraka replied. Shrugging again, Uraraka said, "Personally, at this point I can't really imagine how things can get any worse."
Meanwhile, at the bar where the League of Villains meet up at, Dabi sat at the bar counter, Spinner on his left, as Kurogiri stood behind the bar polishing a glass. Dabi and Spinner each had a mug of beer, and they sat and talked with Kurogiri. "So we know where UA High is sending their fledgling heroes off to next," Kurogiri said in a casual tone as he polished that glass.
Dabi nodded in the affirmative after taking a swig from his beer mug. "Yeah. It'll be a training camp in the woods, run by that Wild, Wild Pussycats hero team who has some sort of specialty when it comes to rescue slash relief in forest settings." The new heir to lead the LoV shrugged. "I guess that explains why the training camp that they have set up is in the woods. Gives them a home field advantage."
"Didn't you say that there's a student in UA's first year hero course this year that you're interested in kidnapping?" Spinner asked Dabi.
"Oh yeah," Dabi replied, "And we'll grab the brat when we head on over for our siege on the place."
"While you're doing that siege on the training camp run by the Wild, Wild Pussycats," the master's voice spoke up from the laptop behind the bar, "I need you to grab two specific persons, my dear Dabi."
Dabi arched a wry eyebrow. "Oh? And who are you inviting over?"
"Two members of the Wild, Wild Pussycats themselves," the master's voice replied, "Ragdoll and Pixie-Bob. Ragdoll is of personal interest to me, mostly because I find her quirk to be rather fascinating. As for Pixie-Bob, however..." The master's voice chuckled in dark amusement. "...I believe that she'll help to provide the twelfth and final piece to the puzzle that I'm putting together for you, my dear Dabi."
Dabi smirked a bit, hearing that the 'puzzle' that the big boss man is putting together for him is near completion. "Sounds interesting, sir. Alright, grab Ragdoll and Pixie-Bob in addition to the brat I got my eyes on. Fair enough." Dabi then proceeded to smile in dark self-amusement, looking forward to finally getting to go out into the field and do some damage.
Within due time, the day of leaving for the summer training camp had finally arrived. The students of the 1-A and 1-B homerooms of UA got onto the busses, with each class getting their own bus. Izuku, as he boarded the bus for Class 1-B alongside his friends Juzo, Yosetsu, and nirengeki, turned his head and saw where Class 1-A was standing next to their bus. None of them had boarded their bus yet, and from the looks of things it seemed due to how Aizawa had all of his students standing outside of the bus before letting them all board.
He didn't see Aizawa's face, given that he was seeing the underground hero from behind, but Izuku could tell from how most of the 1-A students were cowering out of either fright, shame, or a mix of both of those emotions that Aizawa was VERY disappointed in most of his students. The green haired boy had no doubt that it was due to how most of them had failed their practicals, if what Uraraka had said to him when everyone was out shopping for supplies for the camping trip was true. One could only hope that things will start turning around for the better for Class 1-A.
Izuku looked on just long enough to prompt Yosetsu to nudge his right shoulder with his right hand from behind. "Yo man, you're holding up the line," Yosetsu said as he got Izuku's attention.
"Oh, sorry," Izuku replied, hurrying up and getting on the bus. Izuku ended up grouping together with Juzo, Yosetsu, and Nirengeki in the back of the bus, and was more or less zoned out as Sekijiro at the front of the bus explained a few things about how they were getting to the training camp. Izuku couldn't help but think about how he saw Aizawa more or less giving most of Class 1-A the riot act before he got onto the bus. Izuku knows that the teachers of UA have to be firm with their students, even more so with those in the hero course.
...But maybe Aizawa could stand to turn it down at least a little bit?
...
After about an hour of driving, the Class 1-B bus stopped for a restroom break. The bus pulled up near to where the Class 1-A bus was parked so that those students could also relieve themselves. As Sekijiro was seen going over something with Aizawa, Izuku couldn't help but look their way a few times, unable to help but be wary of Aizawa. Gran Torino, during Izuku's training with him, did tell the green haired boy to be wary of the Underground hero. Although it wasn't the reason that the older pro hero had indicated, Izuku was seeing at least one reason to be cautious around Aizawa.
As the 1-A and 1-B students were relaxing, two persons came out to greet them as well as Aizawa and Sekijiro; both were women, with the brunette in a mostly red cat themed costume, and the blonde in a mostly blue cat themed costume. "Hey-ho, kids!" the blonde woman greeted, getting the attention of everyone, "Glad to see that you all have finally arrived!"
Pointing at the two women, Togaru said, "I'm sorry, but who the hell are you two la-"
"You're Mandalay and Pixie-Bob of the Wild, Wild Pussycats!" Izuku exclaimed as he pointed at the now identified Mandalay and Pixie-Bob, unknowingly cutting Togaru off, "You're a pro hero team specializing in forest rescue!"
Sekijiro smirked in amusement as he stepped forward. "Midoriya's right, kids," said the Blood Hero, "The brunette lady is Mandalay, and the blonde lady is Pixie-Bob. They as well as the rest of the Wild, Wild Pussycats will be helping with your training during the summer training camp."
Aizawa was a bit surprised by Izuku apparently knowing about the Wild, Wild Pussycats, at least enough to identify Mandalay and Pixie-Bob on sight. As a pro hero team speced in forest rescue, the Wild, Wild Pussycats don't get the most attention in Japanese Pro Hero Society. The underground hero decided to keep his suspicions to himself, however, as he still lacked sufficient proof that Midoriya wasn't to be trusted. For the time being, Aizawa stood back, given that he knew full well why Mandalay and Pixie-Bob had shown up here to greet his and Sekijiro's students.
Over where Mandalay and Pixie-Bob were looking around at the students, Pixie-Bob took note of Sakaki. "Hey hey hey!" Pixie-Bob said in a tone of amused, piqued interest as she looked around at the cat girl of Class 1-A, "This one here's got the right idea!"
"We got our work cut out for us, Pixie-Bob," Mandalay said, "You, me, Ragdoll, and Tiger. There's a combined forty students here, and they all look like first years." Turning her attention to Aizawa and Sekijiro, Mandalay went on, "Are we dealing with two classes full of prodigies here, boys?"
"The kids are impressive, yes," Sekijiro began, "But we're also trying to accelerate things here."
Aizawa nodded in agreement. "With what all has happened between the beginning of the current school year and now, we need to speed things up for the students to get them ready to deal with the dangers constantly getting up in their faces. Hence why they're doing an accelerated course that normally wouldn't be available to them until they get into their second year at UA." Aizawa cast a stern, piercing gaze to his own students for a second before returning to Mandalay and Pixie-Bob with a more relaxed and neutral expression. "...I hope that you and the other Pussycats are ready to work the students hard."
"Oh, I can see Ragdoll and Tiger wanting to help Pixie-Bob and I in supervising the training of the kids here," Mandalay said.
"Indeed," Pixie-Bob added, before she turned to face the 1-A and 1-B students. She got their attention by pointing out something in the distance; it was Izuku who first spotted a lodge in the woods. "That over there kids," Pixie-Bob said, "Is the lodge you all will be staying at during the summer training camp. You have between now and twelve-thirty in the afternoon to get from here to there, otherwise no lunch for you."
"I think that's approximately three hours," Itsuka began, "It's weird that you'd tell us that, but we should be able to get there with the busses."
Holding up her right index finger, Pixie-Bob said, "A valid point, but allow me to raise one of my own. You see kids, the key to defeating the villains you'll be fighting as Pro Heroes in the future is the element of surprise." Everyone was silent for a few moments before Pixie-Bob yelled, "SURPRISE!" as she dropped quickly to a crouching position on the ground, slamming her hands onto the earth. As she did this, Pixie-Bob made the ground under the feet of the 1-A and 1-B students flow and surge, as if they were all inside of a bounce castle.
Soon, the ground beneath the forty hero course students exploded, sending all of them flying off the overlook they were all on and into the forest below. "Have fun getting through The Beast's Forest, kids!" Pixie-Bob called out in a clear tone of amusement as the 1-A and 1-B students were flung down into the forest below in an avalanche of dirt and other earthen material.
As the hero course students all fell, Izuku felt someone grab him by the back of his shirt; looking up Izuku saw Juzo had been the one to grab him, while using his quirk to soften the area of the dirt avalanche he was in to more or less surf the avalanche safely down into the forest below. Izuku also felt someone grab a hold of his right ankle, and saw that it was Yosetsu who grabbed him by the ankle, with Nirengeki grabbing Yosetsu by his right ankle. The four friends ended up riding the avalanche of dirt down into the forest below together.
Back up on the overlook, as Aizawa, Sekijiro, Mandalay, and Pixie-Bob watched the students fall into The Beast's Forest, Sekijiro said, "You know, a little more tact would have been nice, Pixie-Bob."
"I think that she has the right idea," Aizawa remarked, "Villains will try to get the drop on them, so the students ought to learn to use the same tactic against the villains themselves. We can't afford to-"
"Are they gone?"
Aizawa stopped short upon hearing a young male voice call out. Turning around, he and the other adults spotted a young boy hiding behind the bus that the 1-B students were on. Fair skinned, with brown hair worn under a red cap with two horns on it, the kid also wore a white buttoned shirt, a pair of shorts, and shoes with socks. The boy was looking like he was wondering if it was safe for him to come out of hiding.
Mandalay gave a calming, relaxed expression. "There's no need to worry, Kota. It's just me, Pixie-Bob, Eraserhead, and Vlad King here."
As the now identified Kota came out from hiding, Sekijiro asked, "Who's the kid?"
"Kota, my little cousin," Mandalay explained, "I've been watching him for a while now ever since his parents, who made up the Hero team Water Hose, were killed in the line of duty."
Sekijiro sucking in a cringing breath. "Yeouch. I... I have no idea what to say to that, little man."
Aizawa similarly didn't know what to say. After all, he's seen six students of his die this year so far, and all before the finals took place. That was far too early for them to die; ideally they all should have lived to ripe old ages before dying. And as for Kota, a young child who was orphaned because his parents were killed in the line of duty, the underground hero knew that anything he'd say would probably be a repeat of at least someone saying the exact same thing. The only reason that Aizawa had even barely any experience at all when it came to working with kids under fifteen years of age was mainly due to how Nezu had assigned Aizawa as the primary guardian for little Eri; Hizashi was watching the little horned girl while Aizawa was away here.
Aizawa didn't feel confident enough to try to be a shoulder for little Kota to lean on, so he merely nodded his head to the boy before saying, "Sorry about what happened to your parents, young man."
Kota looked up at Aizawa, unsure of what to say. The young boy kept a neutral look, but eventually he just shyly turned to Mandalay, went up to her, and wrapped his arms around her while burying his face in her stomach. "He's just being shy is all," Mandalay assured the UA teachers.
"That's not something that we can hold against him," Sekijiro replied, understanding that young children can sometimes just be shy. Aizawa understood it as well, especially since he's learned at least a little bit on how young kids work thanks to his working with Eri. Given that the students were all already sent off into The Beast's Forest down below, Mandalay and Pixie-Bob, with Kota following along behind Mandalay, went with Aizawa and Sekijiro to take the busses to the lodge, knowing full well they'll get there before any of the students.
Much later in the evening outside of the lodge, Aizawa and Sekijiro stood with Mandalay, Kota, and Pixie-Bob, as well as the rest of the Wild, Wild Pussycats, Ragdoll and Tiger, saw it as the last of the forty first year hero course students made it through the forest and to the lodge. Aizawa was not amused that said last students to arrive were three of the girls from his homeroom, Hagakure, Uraraka, and Ashido. The underground hero was already planning to work those three girls extra hard for their collective tardiness.
Clapping her hands together, Mandalay said, "Well alright! Now that everyone's here, we can get started on dinner! You all did arrive too late for lunch, I'm afraid, but there's still time for dinner!" Luckily for the students, dinner was made ahead of time for them, and the Wild, Wild Pussycats encouraged the students to eat their fill. As the students ate, Izuku from where he sat saw Kota lurking near Mandalay in a clear bid to hide, but had no idea who he was.
Yosetsu, who was sitting with Izuku along with Juzo and Nirengeki, saw that Izuku was looking at the kid. "...His hat is cool," Yosetsu said, getting Izuku's attention, "I will admit."
"I'm just curious about who he is," Izuku said, "I didn't see him-"
"That's because Kota's shy," a voice spoke up, making Izuku and his friends turn to see Ragdoll standing next to where they sat. She gestured to where Kota was lurking, hiding near Mandalay. "His parents, the Hero team Water Hose," Ragdoll went on, "Were killed in the line of duty a while ago. To lose one's parents at such a young age is nothing one can get over easy, I have no doubt about that."
Izuku had no idea what to say either. He wanted to help, but felt that he'd be overstepping a line. He could only hope that things will begin to look up for Kota, as well as for UA as well given how much the top hero academy in Japan as a whole had gone through ever since the current school year had started. Izuku turned away, still giving thought as to how he could try to reach a hand out to Kota, as he finished up his dinner with his classmates and friends. After dinner, the 1-A and 1-B students got their luggage from the busses to their rooms in the lodge, then took baths in the hot springs, then they all turned in for the night.
Before the students all went to bed, they were told by the senseis that the training started first thing early in the morning.
END, CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Author's notes;
Woo! This chapter had been in an unfinished state since before my prior device decided to conk out (the other chapters had been in backlog for that long), but I finally put the finishing touches on it. Anyway, the training camp training shenanigans will begin in the next chapter, which will also see Dabi and his brood swing on by for a bit of a visit in order to collect a few people. Things will be getting intense in the next chapter, or at least start to.