Soul Marked

Chapter Thirty

Summer Camp Shenanigans

Hi guys! I'm back once more with a new chapter! Here we are starting camp! I've actually been waiting to get to this arc since I first started writing! So many plans I'm getting excited.

With this chapter I have a few updates for you guys. Some changes that are going to be happening that I want you to be aware of. Last chapter I mentioned that this story is changing to rated M and I will be implementing that as soon as I push the update button. I will always put a warning at the beginning of the chapter, when needed, to let you all know what's to be expected. I realize some of it can be triggering to people.

Finally before I set you all free to read I would like to offer the chance for those who are interested to have an excerpt of a future chapter DM to them upon request. I've already written out their next kissing scene among a few others that refused to leave my head so if your interested in getting a future look let me know!

The day for summer training came faster than Izuka thought was possible. The morning of her departure her mother latched onto her tightly. She could feel the worry drifting off her in waves, even as she tried to keep on a brave face for Izuka. A small smile spread across her lips as she reached out to pull her mother into a hug.

"It's just training mom," she said softly as she hugged her tight. "I'll only be gone for a week. Aizawa-sensei will be there to watch over us. I bet the worst that happens is I come home with some new bruises from practice." She felt Inko's grip on her tighten as she squeezed the fabric of her shirt in her hands.

"Honestly, I would feel better if I had ever met this sensei of yours," she sniffed as she tried to pull herself together. "I know the school is trying to keep you all safe, but with everything going on I worry." Inko pulled herself back but her fingers still clung to her daughter's shirt. "I can't help but think about that man finding where you're going and following you there."

Izuka shook her head, her bangs falling slightly into her eyes. Absentmindedly, she realized she needed to get them cut soon. "I promise mom I'm going to be safe." She lifted her hands and placed them on her mother's shoulders. "Along with having adults there to make sure everything runs smoothly, Kacchan will be there as well." She said this last piece to try to calm her mother's nerves. She knew that her mom had a deeply rooted like for the boy, and always seemed to think he was Izuka's personal protection.

Peeling her hands from her daughter's shirt she began to wipe at her eyes. "I can't lose you Zuka," she whispered. "I don't know what I would do without you. Just promise me to stay safe."

"Of course, I promise!" Inko pulled her into a hug one last time as the doorbell went off. This she knew would be Toshi coming to give her a ride to school where the bus was waiting for everyone. The school and her mother had come to an agreement for her to be escorted just in case. Everyone was being cautious when it came to her safety. Secretly Izuka was happy that they had made it to where Toshi would be the one to take her to school as she hadn't spoken enough to him in recent days. It disappointed her to think that he wouldn't be joining them wherever they were going but she understood that it would only paint a bigger target on their backs, and having All Might anywhere would be hard to keep a secret.

To herself, Midoriya couldn't help but think it was also a safety precaution when it came to Toshi's secret as he couldn't keep up his All Might form for long anymore.

"I have to go, but I'll see you when I get back!" Izuka hollered as she pulled herself from her mother's embrace. Another sniffle crossed the room as her mother began to slowly wave.

"I love you," Inko said as she put on a brave face. Izuka paused at hearing the sadness in her mother's voice. It pulled at her heart. Spinning on her heel she turned around before shoving herself into her mother's arms for one last hug.

"I love you too." The doorbell sounded another time causing Izuka to make a move once more for the door. As her hand closed around the door handle, she waved before wrenching it open. On the other side, she came to the sight of Toshi who smiled kindly at her.

"Young Izu-chan," he greeted her, but she could tell something was wrong. His smile wasn't as big as it normally was when they met with each other. His eyes shifted nervously as he motioned for her to follow him. As she studied him, she wondered why he hadn't come looking like All Might as planned. The whole point of her having an escort was to make a show of a Hero being along with her in case Shigaraki got the bright idea of snatching her up. Personally, she didn't think he would do that if she were with someone, or he would have already, but she understands the school's logic.

So, she was surprised to see him as the man who had become her friend rather than the hero that was her idol.

"Toshi?" she asked as they made their way down the steps. The man hunched his shoulders as he sent her a sheepish glance, having already figured out what she was going to ask. His hand came up to rub at the back of his head as his eyes fell to the floor.

"I must apologize, young Midoriya," he said after a moment's hesitation. "I won't be the only one accompanying you to school this morning. Hero duty called to me earlier this morning, I was the only one with a quirk that matched the villains, and though it was over fast I seem to be dangerously close to my limit today."

Izuka frowned, not upset with him doing his job, but by what he said about already hitting his limit. She analyzed his words and she found it troubling that he was already feeling the effects after only one fight. It caused her to feel uneasy.

"I understand," she said, trying to portray to him that she wasn't upset. "Who will be joining us?" Making sure he understood that she wasn't upset she sent him a smile while she shifted her bag on her shoulders. Reaching out he ruffled the hair on the top of her head as they came to stand in front of her apartment building.

"You know him," he said simply as the car came into view. She easily recognized the man on the passenger side as Aizawa-sensei. It made perfect sense to her that he would be the one assigned to ride with them now that she thought about it. He was her sensei and a capable hero to keep anyone safe. Not only that but he was going to the same place as she was. The only reason Toshi had been assigned to her was that the school was informed that he had taken Izuka under his wing as her mentor. They didn't know the truth about his quirk but then again very few people did.

Toshi opened the back door for her. Taking the opportunity as she tossed her bag into the back before sliding into the seat herself, she greeted Aizawa, "Good morning, Sensei." Shifting ever so slightly in his seat she listened as he yawned. She could imagine that he was opening his eyes as he seemed to take any opportunity to sleep. This she was sure was because he did hero work at night.

"Good morning, Midoriya," he said in his normal even voice. "Let's hope this short trip will be a quiet one." Silently Izuka agreed with him, hoping that Shigaraki hadn't decided to become reckless and decided to try to grab her.

Izuka found herself falling into a comfortable silence as Toshi drove the car forward. It was easy for her to push the villains to the back of her mind. She found if she didn't then her mind never let her rest, scenario after scenario would flood her thoughts, and she couldn't have that.

"Are you looking forward to camping?" Toshi asked, breaking the silence after nearly ten minutes of quiet. She knew they would be coming up at the school soon. Without thinking she began to nod until she realized an audible response would be needed. She caught his gaze within the mirror before he shifted it back toward the road.

"Yes," she said confidently. "I'm hoping to use this to my advantage and come back stronger. Or at the very least with more knowledge than before." In front of her, she barely caught the barest of nods from Aizawa as he approved of her line of thinking.

"You should not take this trip lightly," he said, his voice hinting with the approval. "It is not meant to be a break, but an experience to give you all strength." A part of her felt grateful toward the acknowledgment but another part couldn't get over the thought of the next week being painful. She had never known her sensei to go easy, as he once said he only had three years to train them to become heroes and seemed to take as a reason to push them to their limits. She admired her teacher and knew he knew when to back down, but that didn't mean he would go easy on them.

"I hope you learn something during this," Toshi said. "Come back with some new knowledge and show me what you learned. We will pick up our training when you return." Having moved forward while she spoke Izuka settled back into the seat as she turned to stare out the window. Her mind drifted before a flash of light blue against a black hood hurdled them back to the present. Her heartbeat sped up as she twisted, trying to catch sight of the man she had just seen.

Her hands shook but her emerald eyes were not able to catch sight of the familiar figure. Blinking she tried to calm her racing thoughts while forcing herself to figure out whether she had seen him. Her mouth opened to report what she had just witnessed before it clamped back up.

Recently due to her nightmares, she had started to believe that even during her awake moments Shigaraki was around. The lazy lift of his hand in a greeting could have easily been another time with her drifting off to sleep and imagining seeing him. How many times had she been tired and suddenly saw him? How many times had Bakugo searched but always came up empty?

This could be another one of those times.

Instead of worrying the Heroes, she stayed quiet. Eventually, as they pulled up to the school, she firmly believed it had been another mishap.

Her mood brightens as she slid from the car, her backpack being thrown over her shoulder. Around her, she could see Class 1A and 1B interacting, as one side seemed to apologize over the blonde who always seemed to be trying to start something with them. Off leaning against one of the buses she found Bakugo glaring at the student from the other class. Knowing that Aizawa would be announcing their departure soon she quickly strode over to the boy. Coming to a stop next to him she dropped the heavy bag not keen on holding it on her shoulders until they were told to board the bus.

"I thought All Might was supposed to bring you today?" Bakugo asked as he eyed Toshi and Aizawa-sensei. Izuka without thinking inhaled sharply and barely kept her eyes from widening. Releasing her breath slowly she forced her body to calm to avoid letting Bakugo know that she was about to lie.

Shifting slightly to face him she saw he was watching her out of the corner of his eye. A frown already weighing his lips down.

"He was supposed to," she said softly as she bit her lip. "However, due to some Hero stuff that happened this morning Aizawa-sensei and Toshinori-san brought me."

Pushing himself away from the bus he came to stand in front of her. His arms crossed in front of his chest as he studied her. Under his crimson gaze, Izuka felt herself push up against the side of the bus. She could almost feel his gaze take in every inch of her face as he tried to find out if she was lying. Sucking at his teeth he lifted his head to the sky before a sigh escaped his lips.

"What's that guy escorting you to school for if you have Aizawa?" Izuka knew who he was talking about without him needing to clarify. For whatever reason Bakugo didn't seem to like Toshi much, and she couldn't figure out why.

"He's my mentor and works at the school," she said simply while moving to grab for her bag. She had caught Aizawa moving toward their bus and knew any moment now he would call for them.

"Doesn't mean he had to go out of his way to ask sensei to come with you guys," he said as his gaze dropped from the blue sky and fell on her. A flash of concern darkened his eyes before disappearing.

"He just wanted to see me off," she said defiantly. "He's my mentor." There was nothing that Bakugo needed to worry about when it came to Toshi, she only wished she could tell him why. To tell him everything.

"Yeah, I still think it's fucking weird how close you two are," he said gruffly. Izuka squawked as she began to wave her hands around while violently shaking her head.

"W-what?!" she almost yelled, barely able to contain her voice. "N-no Kacchan! He's my mentor, I respect him, and he's like a father figure to me."

"Whatever," he said as Aizawa finally called for them to board the bus. Izuka readjusting her grip on her bag went to throw it back over her shoulder when Bakugo's hand snatched out at it. She stopped mid tug as he pulled it from her grip before tossing it onto his shoulder. In his other hand was his duffle bag. Spinning on his heels he moved toward the bus door, only hesitating when Izuka didn't immediately follow.

"Let's go, Koneko." Finding a seat, Bakugo was quick to plop into it after taking care of their luggage. Izuka hesitated before sitting down when he had taken the aisle seat leaving only the one by the window.

Glancing up he straightened out his sprawling posture so that she could slide by and fall into her seat. His eyes followed her as she shuffled by him, only sprawling his legs back out in front of him when she had moved to sit. An annoyed feeling began to fill his chest as he watched the blonde boy who was normally attached to Izuka sit in front of them. No sooner was he in front of them did he turn in his seat and begin chattering to Koneko. His mood didn't improve as the icy-hot bastard took a seat across the aisle from them along with the rich girl.

His thoughts jumped to his bag where the thing Momo had given him laid.

An annoyed hiss escaped through his pursed lips as he let his head fall back. He wished they all had picked somewhere else to sit. Beside him, he listened as Izuka perked up as she pulled those three into a conversation. Burning jealousy rose from the pit of his stomach as he listened to her and Todoroki talk. He hadn't let go of his anger over the bastard being told about her nightmares before himself. His fingers twitched as he forced himself to keep his hands to himself.

In the next several moments he fought against grabbing her hand, doing anything to force her attention back on himself. Rolling his eyes toward where his anger was mostly being directed, he didn't miss the look that crossed over the rich girl's face. It seemed he wasn't the only one that felt bitter over the two talking. He had enough sense to know she wasn't angry, that she simply seemed disappointed and a little worried. However, he had no care for the girl and because of that felt no need to try to figure out why she cared at all.

His need for her earlier had disappeared and for all, he cared they could go back to being strangers.

Rolling his head back over to where Izuka was sitting forward in her seat he simply watched her animated movements as she spoke to Kaminari. The interactions between the two of them never caused him annoyance or jealousy, he assumed this had to do with the blatant disregard of anything romantic from the darker blonde. The boy had made it obvious he viewed Izuka as nothing more than a good friend, and he found the boy too dim to be any good at faking that.

Once more that irritating feeling overcame him causing him to dig his fingers into the arm console to keep them from intertwining with her own. Ever since he had dragged her away from the pool and never dropped her hand, he couldn't help but wish to do it again. They had felt soft against his skin, only with the occasional brush of his arm against her own that proved her skin held blemishes. Scars lightly littered her arms from before she had gained enough control to not harm herself, and the physical proof that Stain had harmed her.

He tuned back into the conversation as Izuka had slightly bumped into his arm as she spoke, "At least this trip we shouldn't have to worry about it going in a dangerous direction." Todoroki nodded towards her; his eyes serious.

"Yes, it wasn't exactly how I thought the summer would start either," he said.

"It was crazy!" Kami half shouted as he wiggled in his seat. Izuka opened her mouth to speak when Aizawa called out over his students asking them to depart the bus. Frowning, Midoriya stood to her feet lightly hanging onto the seat in front of her as her other classmates pushed into the aisle to exit the bus. Bakugo stood next to her, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans as he glared ahead. Finally, he stepped out into the aisle and she quickly followed him. She curiously gazed out the windows seeing the mountain and the trees that littered the area.

They had only been traveling for an hour, it was hard to believe that their sensei was going to stop for a break so soon. Regardless as soon as she was out of the bus she began to stretch, popping her back in the process. Not paying attention to her surroundings her arms almost smacked Todoroki and Bakugo. Sending them a sheepish smile she rubbed the back of her head.

"Ah, sorry guys!" Bakugo sent her a sideways glare as Todoroki nodded, brushing it off. Around her, she could hear her classmates asking about why they had stopped or where the other class was. Something nagged at her brain like the answer should be obvious, but she was distracted by the view, and off to her right the desperate mantra of Mineta saying he had to pee. Moments later she could hear Mineta began to panic at the realization that this wasn't a rest stop. Everyone had begun to question why they had stopped.

No good reasons popped up in Izuka's mind as she glanced curiously around finding that class B was not here. This could not be their final stop then.

The young girl turned her attention toward her teacher who was just calmly standing there. He watched over his students without showing the amusement he felt inside.

"To say there weren't any ulterior motives would be a lie," he said with a hidden smile. His hands were tucked away inside his pockets, as usual, a slouch to his frame, as he sighed.

"Heeey!" called out a female voice. "Eraserhead!" He was the only one not to flinch in surprise at the new voice. He merely turned his body just enough to view the newcomers. "It's been a while!"

Izuka's eyes widened in surprise and happiness. Excitement rushed through her veins as everyone else around her looked confused. She began to bounce up and down on the tip of her toes as her hands reached out to latch onto Bakugo absentmindedly, giving her something to ground herself too. As she bounced, she jarred him causing him to frown as he tried to pull his arm back. Her bouncing became harsher as the group of four introduced themselves. Izuka began to whisper their introduction alongside the hero group.

Bakugo rolled his eyes as he gave up trying to retract his arm, it was of no use.

"I'd like to introduce the professional heroes, The Pussycats," Aizawa said, watching his more excitable student with cautious eyes.

"They specialize in mountain rescue- "Izuka said as she began to ramble on the facts that she knew about the hero group. Aizawa with a sigh cleared the space between him and Izuka coming to a stop in front of her. Reaching out he placed his hand on top of her head before leaning slightly to be closer to her height.

"Alright, trouble child, calm down," he said in a bored tone. Reaching out he freed Bakugo's arm from her grasp as he patted her head. Izuka blushed but smiled up at her sensei as she sent him an embarrassed smile.

"Sorry, Aizawa-sensei." He nodded before walking back to his space while Mandalay continued to speak, telling the class where they were going to be lodging at. Izuka turned to stare off into the distance, her eyes widening at the fact that it was still a way away.

"So, what are we doing stopped here?" Ochaco asked as she frowned. Around her the other classmates were getting uncomfortable, all of them starting to pick up on what was not being said. Those around her began to shuffle their feet, a few going as far to turn around, their minds solely on getting back to the bus.

"It's now 9:30 a.m. I'm thinking around noon, at the earliest," Mandalay said with a smile. "Kitties who don't make it there by 12:30 won't get any lunch." One by one her classmates began to make a break for it. Earth rose underneath them, knocking their feet out from underneath them, sending them into the air.

"Sorry, kids," Aizawa said lazily as he watched. "The training's already begun."

Others got swept away in the mud and dirt over the edge of the cliff. Izuka frowned as her stomach rolled at the sudden feeling of being shot up into the air. Forcing her eyes open she concentrated on keeping up and down clear inside her head. Vaguely she could hear someone yell that they were allowed to use their quirks and had three hours to get to the camp. As her arc up came to a sudden halt, the ground rushing up to greet her, she activated One For All.

Landing with her knees bent she glanced around the forest. "The beast Forrest?" she said with her green eyes searching the trees. The name caused her skin to prickle with unease. Mineta, one of the firsts to regain his bearings began to speed off, yelling about needing the restroom.

A rumble broke through her rushed mind of trying to figure out what was going on. A roar had goosebumps breaking out all over her skin as her head slowly raised from the ground. The figure standing in front of their class was ginormous. It looked nothing like she had ever seen before. Fear began to prickle at the back of her mind.

Mineta stood frozen in front of it, his eyes wide in shock.

Kouda was the next, stepping forward and began to talk in a calm tone, "Calm yourself, creature, please back down." Another roar ripped through the air making Izuka get into a defensive stance. Her eyes bounced around trying to figure out what the best course of attack was. Kouda was able to control animals but this one didn't react to him at all.

Her body tensed as she stared at it, trying to find a weakness. Emerald green caught sight of small specs crumbling from the creature's arm. Narrowing she stared harder at it before realization dawned on her.

Dirt.

The creature was made from dirt, this had to be Pixie Bobs doing. Its arm began to raise another roar causing her stomach to drop, and her body to shoot forward, electric green lightning spreading throughout her body as she scooped Mineta up in her arms, landing a safe distance away from the monster that tried flattening him.

Lying the now drooling Mineta onto the ground she spun around to face the creature. Off to the side, she registered that Todoroki had shot ice forward, and behind him, Iida had darted toward the dirt creature. Iida's leg flashed out, Bakugo right behind him a flash of fire lightening the area, and her punch finishing it. The creature fell into dirt clumps, only what was encased in ice remained.

All around her she sensed as her classmates grew ready. Quirks powering up, and stances changing to easily strikeout. Around them, the forest seemed to shift the creatures within announcing their presence. Electricity hummed under her skin as a presence next to her grew closer until arms almost brushed against one another. Confidence eased its way into her mind at the presence, knowing that if he was by her side, she had nothing to worry about. It comforted her to know he would have her back because him standing next to her was his silent way of showing support. Katsuki had never been good with words, always coming off harsh and rough around the edges, but his actions spoke louder. They showed his true intentions.

A small smile made its way on her face as she shifted ever so slightly so their arms touched, the feeling of electricity amplifying. There was no way he could be mistaken for Kaminari and his quirk, the feeling entirely Bakugo, and a familiarity she could never have with the other blonde.

Seemingly like one she and Bakugo struck out as one dancing around the creature that appeared closer to them.

子猫

Exhaustion coursed through her muscles. She may have pushed it a little too close to her limit, but at least she was riddled with bruises. Izuka could still function and that was a plus in her mind. Not that her mind was working overly well at that moment. There were periods of blissful blankness as she walked with the rest of her class through the forest. The time they spent inside it had been hell. What was only supposed to last a few hours ended up taking the whole day. She internally flinched at the idea of what she must have looked like. Dirt she was sure was caked all over her body, clinging to her clothes, and hair. She had never felt so dirty before and barely contained the look of relief that flooded her system when they stumbled through the trees into the clearing that housed the cabin they would be staying at.

Around her, her classmates didn't look better off. A few feet away from her she could see Kacchan rubbing at his wrists and hands. He may have pushed his limits as well she realized with a wince.

Pixie bob was the first to greet them as she licked her lips at the sight of them. Her sunshiny voice penetrating the air and for a moment Izuka was unsure if she held the energy to be near someone in such good spirits.

"Fi~nally, you're here!" she sang in a light voice as the smirk grew on her face. "Looks like there wasn't much point in threatening to deprive you of lunch." Around her, she could hear the complaints of her classmates reach her ears, and Izuka couldn't find too much she didn't agree with. Her stomach grumbled softly causing a brief moment of nausea at the exercise they had gone through, and the missed meal because of it. In short, she was starving and wished for more than anything to have a bed nearby to land on when her shaking muscles finally decided to give out on her.

"My bad, I meant by our standards," Mandalay said in a not so forgiving tone as she tapped her chin in amusement at them. Another grown could be heard somewhere behind her and Izuka could feel her body dip closer to the ground. A tsk sound directly next to her could be heard and from the corner of her eye, she watched as Bakugo slumped forward a little in annoyance. Pixie Bob began to giggle into her hand.

"Honestly, I thought you'd take longer," she said as her hand dropped. A pleased look fell over her face, darkening her expression as she licked her bottom lip in giddiness. "To have figured out my awakened earth beasts so quickly and easily you guys are good…. Especially you four…" Her eyes zoned in on Todoroki, Bakugo, Iida, and herself. Midoriya found her back straightening slightly at the hero's words as she was barely able to twist her features into surprise. "Your lack of hesitation and indecisiveness… I take it that comes from the experience you have required?! I'm anxious to see what'll become of you guys three years from now! I call dibs right now!"

Midoriya grew nervous as the blonde cat hero began to flit around the small group. Her eyes taking them in excitedly as she cooed over them, bouncing back and forth, her words blurring into one long sentence. She was barely able to make out the words cute and adorable in a secretly aggressive way as Pixie Bob hovered over herself, causing Izuka to blush and begin to inch away. She wasn't sure where the blonde got the secretly aggressive part of her apparent personality from but was growing exceedingly worried when the older hero began to mutter about taking Izuka first. Midoriya took another step away as she smiled awkwardly when she bumped into Bakugo.

He growled under his breath but didn't bother to say anything else as the blue wearing tornado bustled about him next. He raised an arm to protect himself against her overly excited jabbering as he scowled.

"Was she always so… hyper?" Aizawa-sensei asked as he watched her torture his students.

"She's in a bit of a rush… being at the mating age and all," Mandalay said in exasperation. This caused Izuka to perk up as she shoved back the persistent exhaustion that clung to her body.

"Speaking of marrying age-," she began but was cut off by Pixie Bob placing her paw on her lips.

"I'd be very careful of the words that leave your mouth next," she said hissing with a smile on her face. "Your cuteness wouldn't be able to save you." It was clear the woman thought she was going to comment on her age, but even Izuka wasn't that dense.

"I wasn't going to ask anything like that!" she said stumbling over her words as Pixie Bob hesitated before lowering her hand, deciding to accept what she said was the truth. Sending nervous glances at the woman she spoke on. "I was curious, and was wondering if one of you was that boy's mother?"

Mandalay blinked in surprise before she turned to glance over at the boy. A soft expression crossed over her eyes, as a look of sadness deepened it. "Oh, no this is my nephew." Motioning over to her nephew she gestured from him to come closer. "Kouta! Come say hi, you're going to be living with them for the next week."

Izuka not being able to help herself, the boy was cute, even with the scowl on his face moved over to introduce herself. She held out her hand as she tilted her head to the side and smiled warmly at him. For half a second Kouta's frown slid from his face revealing a surprised blushing face, but quickly slid back into place as soon as she politely said, "Hi! My name is Midoriya Izuka, I'm studying to be a hero at UA!"

He had been entranced up until the word hero passed through her lips. Ignoring her still raised hand his own began to move forward before darting at high speeds to connect with her stomach. Eyes wide she let out a huff of air as it was forced from her lugs. Pain erupted as she doubled over, a look of shock and pain morphing her face, causing a brief flash of sorrow to fill Kouta before it was chased away by burning anger.

Behind the two Bakugo's face had turned furious, darkening rapidly, as he began to stalk forward. However, it was Iida who had reacted the fastest, his face reading outrage as he patted Izuka's back. He turned his full disapproval toward the kid causing the boy to grunt as his eyes narrowed further.

"You, young boy, you should never hit a female," he said outraged as he leaned over to be closer to his height. "Matter of fact you shouldn't make it a habit to hit anyone. You could have hurt her, no matter how rude that is-" Before Iida could continue his rant the boy struck out once more, hitting the older boy in his family jewels dropping him to the ground.

"I'm not going to fuck around with a bunch of losers who want to grow up to be corny ass heroes," Kouta said as he began to stalk off. A dark aura follows him as he shoved his hands into his pockets. Bakugo who had stopped short at the scene unfolding in front of him began to stride forward once more, the scowl still firmly on his face as he snarled toward the boy's retreating figure.

"The fuck," he said as he stood by a now recovering Izuka. She had straightened out from the hunched over form as she checked on a now curled up, laying down form of Iida. Her breathing had evened out. "That kid needs to learn some manners."

Todoroki who had moved closer to check in on his newly made friends smirked as he glanced over at Bakugo. "He's like a mini version of you," he said with humor tinting his voice. The two-toned haired boy had reached out to place a comforting hand on Midoriya's shoulder as he then turned to Iida to ask how he was doing. Izuka quickly told him she was fine but was worried about Iida as Bakugo glared at the hand on his mate.

Instead of blowing up at what he genuinely wanted to, something he didn't want to admit to himself, or out loud, he zeroed in on what Todoroki had said before.

"That kid is nothing like me!" he yelled out. "At least I don't keep my emotions pent up inside like a certain someone!" Stalking forward Katsuki reached out to swipe the hand away from Izuka. Todoroki blinked as he placed his hand into his pocket away from the girl and overly angry blonde.

"Relax," he said with a sigh. "It was just a joke." Izuka smiled widely but sent a nervous glance over at Bakugo.

"Are you sure you're okay Iida?" Izuka asked as she helped the boy to his feet.

"Yes, I'll be perfectly fine," Iida said, his face still red from the pain, and slight embarrassment. "I can't believe the boy did something like that. What is the matter with him?" Before anyone in their small group could speak back up Aizawa gathered their attention. He dismissed them to put their stuff up before dinner. Though Izuka was happy about finally eating she had secretly perked up at the mention of a bath. It would seem they had a private Sento here and she was excited to be able to soak in the hot water.

After having placed her things in the room she shared with the other girls she quickly followed after Momo to where they could eat. The taller girl moved fast, almost leaving Izuka behind in her attempt to get food. Midoriya vaguely wondered if she were hungrier than she was as her quirk would have taken a deeper toll on her than her own. Without even thinking about it Izuka took a seat next to Bakugo who was already eyeing the food being placed in front of them. On her other side was Kaminari who sent a concerned smile her way, having not been able to check up on her after being hit.

"You sure you're doing fine?" he asked as he finished swallowing a bite of food. Izuka nodded reassuringly as she smiled before turning to her bowl of food being placed in front of her.

"This food looks amazing," Izuka said, her mouth-watering as she picked up her pair of chopsticks, a happy moan escaping her lips. On her other side, she felt as Bakugo bumped against her arm a round of coughing signaling that he had choked on a bit of his rice. Pulling her attention away from her electric friend she turned to send Katsuki a worried glance. "Are you okay?" Reaching out she patted his back only gaining an answering glare in return. Blinking up at him she sent him a confused stare but after a moment of him continuing to glare at her as he coughed, she turned back to her food.

Just across from her sitting at another table she could hear Sero and Jiro talking about the girl and boys' rooms. An excited Mina spun around in her seat practically bouncing up and down.

"Really!?" she asked as her eyes widened, and the look of plotting covered her face. Midoriya felt like groaning as she realized that whatever came out of her mouth next would more than likely end up including the whole class somehow. Mina constantly tried to bring the class together in some way or form saying how everyone needed to get to know one another and hanging out and becoming friends was a great form of bonding in a hero class. "So, like can I come to check it out later?"

"Sure," Sero said with a shrug. "Whenever you want." As expected, Mina's eyes lit up in celebration toward her own personal form of winning as her grin grew wider.

"All the girls should go!" she exclaimed. Turning just the slightest bit more to face Jiro she sent the first girl in her line of sight an expectant look.

"Sounds fun," Jiro said with a nod. Spinning around in a flash Mina's eyes landed on Izuka causing the green-haired girl to pear at her over her bowl of rice.

"Doesn't it sound fun, Midoriya!?" she asked excitedly. Izuka was unsure why her opinion mattered but slowly lowered her bowl back down to the table. "We can all hang out, and play games, it can be like an actual camping experience!"

"It would be nice to throw in some fun before the training starts tomorrow," Momo said from her place right beside Mina. Izuka felt Kaminari nudge her, his excitement at the idea filling the air around them.

"It does sound like fun," she agreed after thinking about it. She did enjoy hanging out with her classmates, it just didn't always end very well for her, but this time she was sure nothing bad would happen. "We should all meet up after the bathhouse." Around her, the plans quickly spread out, the excitement of doing something camp like caused the air to spark up with their happiness. Beside her, Izuka felt crimson eyes staring at her but Mina and Kaminari kept her from turning and asking him what was wrong. Every time she moved a muscle to turn toward him, they would grab her attention back with questions of what all they should do that night. Her attention was only stolen away when Mandalay announced how they would be feeding themselves after today. Green eyes locked onto the woman's nephew as he grabbed the box of vegetables and began to walk away.

Internally Izuka wondered what had happened to him to act the way he was. Her instincts to help were kicking in but she was sure they would be received poorly. That, however, wasn't going to stop her, after all, heroes helped even when no one asked them too.

子猫

After filling up on food Izuka happily left with the other girls to grab their things before leaving for the baths, while the boys stayed behind to finish eating. As she made her way she made a happy face as her eyes closed at the mere thought of surrounding her sore muscles with warm water.

"I can't wait to soak and get cleaned," Izuka said, turning to Momo as the two girls walked beside one another. "My muscles could use a good soaking after today." Momo smiled as she nodded along.

"I have a feeling we will be thankful to have it in the coming days," she agreed.

"Yeah, Aizawa-sensei made it seem like we will be training hard this week."

"I guess anything to get stronger so we can be great heroes!" Mina said butting between the two girls. Cocking her head to the side Izuka couldn't help thoughts that began to swarm around inside her head.

"I feel like this is to try to advance us because of the villains," she whispered to the two girls, not wanting to bother the other one's who happily chatted in front of them.

"They have been getting bolder," Momo said with a nod. Her own eyes darted to her friend remembering the day at the mall. She sent Izuka a worried glance.

"We'll be able to take what's thrown at us!" Mina said, trying to boost morale. "We'll just have to work hard this week and keep it up afterward as well! We won't let that creep hurt Midoriya-chan!" Feeling her cheeks begin to heat up she uttered an embarrassed thanks as they entered the changing area.

The boys were finishing up gathering their plates to put it up when Kaminari began to glance around. "Hey!" he exclaimed as he realized they were missing a person. Normally this wouldn't have brought up warning bells, but it was Mineta and they had all agreed to meet up at the baths where he wouldn't be left alone with girls on the other side. "Where did Mineta go?"

"Ugh!" Kirishima said as his eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me he ran off to the baths already! I swear to god if he gets an eyeful of Mina-." His voice trailed off as he took off running toward the bathhouse. Everyone else was only a step behind him, after all a few of them also had soulmates that they didn't want him peaking on.

Annoyance and a hint of anger lit up inside of Bakugo as he stalked forward. Coming to a sliding halt after entering the bathhouse they could hear Mineta muttering to himself.

"What I seek is beyond this wall…." He mumbled to himself as his eyes dazed, and drool dripped down the corner of his mouth.

"Mineta!" yelled out Kirishima as he took a step forward. "That's so not manly dude!" On the other side of the wall, the voices of the girls drifted over to them.

"Hot springs sure are great!" Mina exclaimed her voice moving through the wall.

"That feels good," Izuka cooed as she dipped deeper into the water until it went up to her chin.

"Restrain yourself!" Iida yelled. Bakugo began to dart forward as Mineta mumbled something and quickly grabbed at the balls that made up his hair.

"Walls exist to be scaled!" Mineta yelled as he began to pull himself up the wall. "There are so many sights to see on the other side! Absolute heaven! Plus Ultra!" An explosion erupted behind the group as Bakugo shot through the air. He acted without thinking, all he knew was on the other side of that wall was Izuka, and this little shit was about to see her in a way that made his blood boil in anger. There was no way he would let that crap happen.

Mineta had reached the top, his hand raising to pull himself up onto the wall. Bakugo was a foot below him, his hand reaching up to grab at the boy. A snarl ripped between his lips twisting his features into something fierce. "You bastard! Get back here!"

Ahead of him and Mineta popped up a small head of the boy from earlier. A glare was on his face as he scowled hatefully down at the purple-haired creep. Mineta froze, his hand on the edge of the wall while the other one was frozen on one of his balls.

"Learn what it means to be a dignified human being before aiming to become a hero," he huffed out as his hand came up and smacked away Mineta's. "Don't be a loser!" Mineta began to fall his eyes wide in devastation as he realized he had been stopped. A sob escaped his lips as he stared helplessly up at the sky as the girl's laughs surrounded him in his misery.

Bakugo pulled back the explosions, keeping him in the air as he allowed himself to drop safely back to the ground. He completely ignored the falling Mineta, his eyes still glowering at the boy. He ended up landing on the unsuspecting Iida who was still yelling out how indecent his actions were.

From the other side, Izuka's eyes were wide as she heard the cursing and then a thud followed by several more. It sounded like the boys were fighting. Up above stood Kota with his back to them.

"Should have known Mineta would try something like that," Jiro said with a shake of her head.

"Thanks, Kota, babe!" Mina yelled out in thanks, her hand coming up to wave. As Kota spun on his heel in reflex at being thanked his eyes widened in surprise at the state the girls were in. Izuka frowned as she watched him blush a deep red and his body slumped forward as he tried to regain his balance. Izuka pushed herself further out of the water in worry as she watched him sway. Her muscles clenched in anticipation and when his hand slipped from the wall and he tumbled forward she was out of the water in a flash.

Ignoring the way, the cool air hit her wet skin. She plucked him from his descent and safely landed between the wall and the water. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as a trickle of blood flowed from his nose.

"Is he okay!?" Ochaco asked as she too pulled herself from the springs and stopped in front of Izuka to glance at the now unconscious boy. Midoriya slowly nodded as she shifted him in her arms.

"Yeah I think he just passed out between the fall and me catching him," she said with a blush as she was embarrassingly aware of the state of dress she was in. "Could you grab me my towel so I can take him to his aunt?"

"Yeah, sure!" Ochaco said as she took off toward where it had been laid neatly next to the water. Grabbing it she quickly walked over and helped wrap it securely around the girl as she kept her hold on the boy. Making sure it wouldn't fall as she walked Ochaco took a step back.

"Do you need any help?" Momo asked as she moved through the water coming to the edge of the springs. Izuka shook her head as she began to walk toward the exit knowing that since the boys just got to the hot springs they wouldn't be walking around. She would hate to run into any one of them walking around in only a towel.

Finding her way over to the Building Manager Office she briefly hesitated before walking in. This was the only place she could think of finding Mandalay.

Thankfully, it had been the right choice as she was the first person Izuka ran into. In moments, the small boy was taken from her arms and placed onto a couch that had been pushed up against the wall.

"Thank you," she said softly as she sat in a chair near his head. She had run off to get a wet rag to place across his forehead. "After Erasurehead told us about one of the boys being a little girl crazy, I sent Kota to look after you girls. I didn't think something like this would happen but thank you for catching him."

"Thank you for having him watch after us," Midoriya said with a bow of her head. "We would have figured something out to keep him from being creepy but it's still very much appreciated." It fell silent as she tended to Kota, only glancing up at her every so often.

"Kota," Izuka began only hesitating for a moment as she tried to figure out how to word her question. "He isn't exactly receptive to the concept of heroes is he." Mandalay turned her attention over to the still towel-clad girl. "I grew up alongside people who just wanted to be a hero, myself included, but it's strange that a child so young is jaded. It's just not something you see."

Picking up the rag she lightly dabbed at his cheeks and neck. Her eyes had grown sad as she stared down at her nephew, her eyes going hazy.

"Unsurprisingly there are many out there who aren't fans of us heroes," she began as she focused her attention down on the boy. "If he had a normal upbringing, he probably would have idolized heroes as well, but that wasn't the case."

"What do you mean?" Izuka asked, her eyes growing wide at what was being implied. Before Mandalay could speak again pixie-bob walked into the room eyeing the girl and teammate. Her eyes landed on the boy and grew softer.

"Mandalay's cousin, Kota's parents, they used to be heroes, but lost their lives on the job," Pixie-bob told Izuka. "Two years ago, they were protecting civilians from villains. As heroes, there is no more honorable death than to die protecting someone. It was truly a heroic death."

Leaning forward Mandalay replaced the rag on his head as she tilted her head to look down.

"That didn't matter to him," she said, her voice almost too soft for her to hear. "He was just learning his surroundings and his parents, people who were his whole world, his everything, was ripped away from him. When that happened, the world celebrated around him, his parents were praised and celebrated for their actions. I don't believe he's very fond of us either, but with no other family, he probably feels obligated to follow us and our orders. To Kota, heroes are something indistinguishable and disgusting."

Midoriya dropped her gaze down to the ground, her brows furring. She couldn't understand his way of thinking, but then again, she hadn't been forced into that situation, hadn't lived through what he did. It was impossible for her to think like that, and though she wanted to help the boy she didn't know-how. Coming from a stranger she felt it would only make the situation worse, but she also couldn't just ignore it.

"You should go get dressed now," she said focusing back on the girl. "And prepare yourself for tomorrow." Izuka nodded, sending Kota another worried look before bowing and leaving the heroes with the kid. Quickly she moved down the hall realizing that she had spent enough time with Mandalay and Kota that enough time had passed that most everyone should have been done at the hot springs.

Biting her lip, she wished now that she hadn't been so fast to leave without getting dressed first. It would be embarrassing if she ran into any of the boys like this. She didn't even want to think about running into Mineta. That would be an experience she could live without. Cautiously, but swiftly she made it down the hallway back toward the hot spring where she left her clothes, but luck wasn't on her side. It was possibly the best and worst person to have found her. Midoriya felt the embarrassment flood her cheeks staining them red with heat.

"Ah!" she exclaimed in a high voice. "Kacchan!" She could barely look him in the eyes but didn't fail to notice the darkening of his cheeks.

"What the hell, Koneko!?" he yelled out in shock. That shock quickly gave way to anger and fear. His eyes danced around the hallway making sure no one else was around. Striding forward he made to move her, or somehow hide her, but stopped short as he got close. His fingers brushed against the exposed skin of her shoulders making him freeze in his spot. The small blush darkened as he ripped his hand away like her flesh burned him.

"Kacchan?" she asked hesitantly as he continued to stare at her. She bit harder into her lip as she was highly aware of how little she was wearing.

"What the hell are you wearing!?" His voice hadn't raised as in getting louder, but she noticed the slight hitch in his voice. It had gained a slightly higher octave than usual. Izuka began to twitch at the question wishing they were moving rather than just standing here in the hallway.

"I caught Kota when he fell down and immediately brought him to his aunt," she said softly. "I didn't take the time to change." He refused to think of what she just told him as he shook his head and let out a growl as he pulled the jacket, he had thrown over his tank top off. A second later it came hurtling through the short distance between them nearly hitting her in the face if she hadn't grabbed it from the air.

"Put that over you before someone fucking see's you like this," he said, his voice cracking near the end. Izuka was smaller than him but as she shrugged the jacket on it still only went down just below her hips. Her shaking fingers zipped it up and even though the towel was longer she felt more covered up and less exposed.

"Uh, Kacchan, can we start making our way back so I can get changed?" He didn't respond instead spinning on his heel and walking away, only pausing long enough for her to start walking after him. He very carefully kept himself a few steps ahead of her, never letting Izuka catch up or pass him.

Izuka was so focused on getting to her destination she didn't notice the footsteps coming up behind them. It wasn't until Katsuki stopped walking allowing the girl to run into his back, his hand coming out to grab her shoulder, as he sidestepped around her, pulling her to now be standing behind him, as he faced the oncoming person.

"Hey, bakubro!" Kirishima yelled out, having not quite realized who he was with. "Everyone's in the boy's dorm already! Where have you been?" His voice slowly dropped the excited tone and quieted as he came face to face with Bakugo's glare. Leaning around the angry looking boy he caught sight of Izuka covered in a jacket too big for her, but he quickly realized her state and glanced away, but a huge grin was spreading across his face. "What are you two doing out here? All alone." His voice had changed to a teasing suggestive quality that only pissed Bakugo off more.

"Get the fuck out of here!" Katsuki yelled out as the hand still wrapped around her shoulder twitched. He had repositioned to better block Kirishima's sight of her.

"Hey, no need to yell. I didn't realize I was interrupting anything!" Kirishima's grin had only grown to full size. It could be considered a shit-eating grin, and Izuka was sure Bakugo was wishing he could wipe it off his face. "Should I leave you two alone then?" If his smile has the capabilities to grow bigger, she was sure it would have. His eyes shined as he carefully avoided looking at her but finding amusement in how angry Katsuki was getting. "Or should I go tell Kaminari to come to protect Midoriya's innocence?" His words were full of teasing, obviously not meaning his words and just looking to get a rise out of the blonde in front of her. That didn't matter to Izuka who was so red she was in danger of passing out in embarrassment.

"Kirishima!" she yelped out in surprise as her hands came up to slap over her mouth. She couldn't help the need to deny what he said. "Honestly, nothing is going on. I really should have just changed before helping Kota." This last part was said in one big breath as she hung her head. The situation was a little more than she could handle so she slipped from Bakugo's grip and began to back away. "I'm just going to go now." Before either one could say another word, she slipped around the corner and ran to where her clothes were.

"I'll fucking kill you if you say shit about this to anyone," Bakugo hissed as he forced his stare away from where Izuka just ran off too, and back to his supposed friend. Kirishima's gaze hadn't left Bakugo, a sign of respect toward the girl.

"What's there to say nothing was happening." Waving his hand as a sign that he would stop teasing his face fell into a more natural smile. "Seriously though what was she walking around here like that for?" Both boys began to walk toward their room where everyone else would already be.

"Getting caught up in her actions and not thinking like normal," Bakugo muttered as he continued to throw the other boy glares. Kirishima just hummed in reply sensing how annoyed Katsuki was. Deciding it was safer to switch topics the redhead immediately did so.

"Why'd you disappear anyway?" he asked as they neared the room.

"Tsk," the ash-blonde said in reply, not planning on answering that question. He was after all looking for the girl in question. Her normal habit of weird encounters had been a stitch in his plan, and he forgot what he had planned immediately upon setting his eyes on her. The situation was the more bizarre and uncomfortable encounters the two have had and his plans of asking her to speak to him before the get-together had been ruined. He hadn't wanted to pull her away in front of everyone, especially the nosy Ashido, but he knew they would be too busy to talk for the rest of the week.

It was unfortunate but it would seem he'd have to block the unwelcome questions that would arise at the disappearance of the two. After everything that just happened Kirishima wouldn't let him out of his sight quietly so he couldn't just sneak back away and catch her in the hallway.

With a sigh, he glowered at anyone who dared get too close as he waited for the source of his problems to join everyone.

I have the next chapter already done so look forward to it next Friday!

The ending of this chapter came at me unexpectedly, it was totally not planned, and I almost left it out but it was too funny for me not to keep it in. Izuka and Bakugo are always in some kind of weird situation that causes awkwardness for the two so I thought it was fitting.