Chapter 17 - Into the Wilderness

It had been weeks since the attack on Stain, and Emiko hadn't spoken much with her classmates. Not that they stopped trying to reach out, of course. She'd received countless texts from Shinsou, messages that had started out friendly and morphed over time into questions laced with panic and confusion and anger.

He'd eventually stopped reaching out. Momo and Jirou both texted her at least once a day, and still spoke to her in class. She wasn't overly receptive to either of them, something she knew caused them great concern.

It's easier this way.

That was why now, sitting on a crowded bus filled with her classmates, Emiko had her headphones shoved deeply in her ears with music blaring. She'd been the first one on, and had promptly settled into her place at the front of the bus. Her knees were pulled up to her chest and her forehead was pressed against the glass window, eyes scanning the rapidly changing environment. She'd averted her gaze as each of her classmates filed on behind her, as their pitied gazes landed on her.

She wanted to move towards them, to pull the music out of her ears and take part in the joking. She wanted to laugh with them as Katsuki blew up about something they said. Even sitting here, the joy and excitement they all felt was exhilarating. It filled her with a sense of hope and longing she hadn't felt in a while, and her gaze twitched ever so slightly from the window.

Shoto was watching her carefully. Has been the entire bus ride. He'd settled in besides Izuku, who was talking excitedly with the rest of his classmates. Shoto, though, had really only looked at Emiko from his spot just behind her. If she turned her head just right, she could see that bright red hair. She could tell he wanted to talk to her, had seen it in the way he continually pressed his palms into his thighs as though he was going to stand.

He looked so sad and confused, and his emotions reflected that. He'd been tied up in knots for what felt like forever - something that made Emiko nauseous with guilt. She knew it was her fault he felt this way. That everyone felt how they did - if only she could bite her tongue and fake a smile and pretend they'd all stop worrying and she could quell some of their anxieties.

She couldn't, though.

She knew all too well the pain of losing someone, and she was damned if she was going to let anyone go through that because of her. And so she sat, eyes screwed tightly shut, music blaring in her ears for the rest of that bus ride.

— — — — —

She didn't know when she'd fallen asleep, but she woke up to an excited Kaminari shaking her shoulder.

"Wake up, sleepyhead!" He called excitedly, nearly bouncing out of his skin. "Everyone is waiting, and Mineta is gonna pee his pants if we don't get off this bus, like, now!"

Groggy from her unpleasant nap, it took her a few moments to get her bearings. Slowly, it all came back to her. She looked around, stretching the tight, aching feeling in her neck as she did.

"Hellooooooooo? Earth to Emiko! We have a dry pants emergency outside, and we need you to help!"

Emiko laughed slightly, tilting her face up. Kaminari was grinning down at her, eyes tightly pressed together as though he was a child.

"Okay, Kaminari. On my way." She smiled softly back, lost for a moment in his infectious happiness.

He reached down quickly, helping tug her to her feet. She quickly stuffed her phone into her jacket pocket, headphones haphazardly tossed in the pocket of her backpack. He tugged her along behind him, which left her a stumbling mess as the emerged into the blinding sunlight and heat. She shuffled beside him, not that she had much choice. He still hadn't let go of her arm - his fingers were clenched tightly against the soft gray fabric of her blazer - a sense of worry emanating from him, leaving her slightly on edge.

"So nice of you to join us, Komatsu." Aizawa droned from his position at the front of the group, arms folded over his chest. "Thank you for volunteering to wake her, Kaminari. Now, everyone. Listen up!"

Emiko felt a flush grace her cheeks as she ran a hand over her tousled hair.

"Ignore him, Emiko. That's what I do!" Denki grinned brightly, dropping Emiko's arm. He was fidgeting, tearing at the skin of his cuticles as he stood. She couldn't help but smile while standing near him.

He really is just like sunshine.

For the first time since stepping off the bus, Emiko noticed their surroundings. They stood on the side of the road, overlooking a hugely populated forest. Just behind Aizawa sat a long, black limo. The air was fresh and the sun was shining, and just over her teacher's voice she could hear birds chirping, the wind rustling through the trees just down below.

How nice it must be to be a bird.

Her eyes scanned the treeline, took in the way the sun seemed to glisten on the near endless sea of green, and she couldn't help the soft smile that danced on her face. It felt good, to be outside. Away from everything, away from all of her fears and her responsibilities. Here, where the wind was clean and she wasn't surrounded by apprehension, Emiko could breathe.

"Everyone - meet the Wild, Wild, Pussycats!" Aizawa called, earning a halfhearted cheer from some of the gathered students.

Almost immediately the uptick in curiosity left Emiko feeling a touch dizzy - since her fight in that alley, Sentiment had become a live wire that thrummed in her veins. Each changing emotion left her more vulnerable - more exposed and overwhelmed. Stain's anger and rage had left her broken in more ways than one.

She didn't have time to linger in her own brain as 4 figures stepped out of the limo. 3 women and a man, all fitted in similar outfits grinned brightly back at her. She couldn't quite hear what they were saying, through the emotional cacophony surrounding her.

In the blink of an eye, the group of students was tumbling down. The ground underneath them had liquefied, stone turning to dust. She was too surprised to scream, and even if she hadn't been she didn't know if screaming was even possible, with the amount of air rushing into her lungs.

She landed on the ground with a thud, sharp pain shooting into her hips and knees from the impact. She groaned, standing quickly and wiping the dust off of her skirt.

"Good news, everyone!" The blonde haired woman called, waving her gloved hand excitedly in the air. "This is private land, so you can use your quirks as much as you want! You've got 3 full hours to make your way to the training facility!"

She had disappeared over the ledge before Emiko heard her call out again. "That is, if you can make it through the beast forest!"

Panic draped itself over the 1-A students at the name, a thick, itchy, suffocating blanket that weighed down upon them. Her hands clenched tightly at her sides, her short fingernails leaving bright red crescent moon shapes in the palms of her hands.

Emiko pushed through the stifling sensation of their collective panic and heard some comments from the others, and tuned back in time to see Mineta darting towards the tree line frantically, hands clasped desperately between his tiny legs as he rushed for the relief he was desperately craving.

Dry pants emergency solved, hopefully.

As soon as he passed the first few trees, the ground shuddered and halted all conversation and the panic turned into full-blown fear, the blanket solidifying into mountain-sized cinder blocks that weighed down on them.

In front of Mineta was a massive creature with a maw filled with jagged teeth, each one easily larger than the resident creep of Class 1-A. It growled out a challenge to the miniscule boy. The sound erupted from it's great jaws and left chills running down her spine.

That's probably not great for us, She thought dryly, scratching the back of her neck ruefully.

"WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!" Kaminari and Sero screamed, sweat trickling freely down their faces as they stared wide-eyed at the lumbering horror in front of them.

Much as her disdain for the little perv knew no bounds, Emiko still panicked at the prospect of him being turned into grape jelly. She saw Koda frantically dash forward, still not used to hearing him speak as he called out to the beast, hoping to exert his influence on it with his Quirk to save his classmate.

In spite of Koda's attempts to dissuade the monstrosity from killing Mineta, it still swung its massive claw down, seemingly in slow motion. A blur swooped by them all and scooped the miniscule boy up in the nick of time. Izuku skidded to a halt only a few feet away from her, settling the trembling boy down before darting back towards the hulking beast.

Other members of the class all sprang into action against the beast. Emiko noticed a section of its jaw crumble off and fall to the ground. Her eyebrows furrowed as she reached out towards it to sense its emotions. She felt her mind pulling taut, picturing a rubber band as she forced her boundary farther and farther. She realized with a jolt that there was no emotional signature coming from it whatsoever.

It's like a black hole.

In her confusion, she turned her face towards the rest of her classmates. "Guys, they're not alive!" She shouted. A few of her classmates turned to look at her, surprise written on their faces. Maybe it was because she hadn't spoken to most of them in weeks, but she hoped not.

"It's gotta be Pixie Bob's quirk!" Midoriya shouted, flying back through the air. She watched in awe as he slammed a fist right into the creature's face, sending it flying backwards. Emiko assumed he meant the woman who'd used her quirk to send them all down here, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes and grit her teeth.

Bastard. Of course you figured it out before I did.

Clumps of dirt scattered around them as the impact reverberated through the air. Midoriya squared off with the beast as Mineta cowered, clutching the base of a tree for dear life. Todoroki stepped forward and stamped his foot into the ground, sending spines of ice up from the ground as it made a beeline for the creature, encasing its legs in ice as Iida surged forward.

So impressive.

Despite having trained beside him multiple times and facing off against him in the sports festival, Emiko never could quite get over just how impressive his quirk was.

"Reciproooo BURST!" the class rep shouted as the calves of his pants tore to expose his engines, which glowed as the exhausts jetted flames out propelled his muscular leg into the beast.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Bakugo bellowed, explosions blasting out from his hands as he too attacked the beast. Emiko couldn't help but laugh at the words, though she wasn't surprised. Bakugo was nothing if not angry and full of spite for things he deemed an inconvenience, a trait she quite envied - despite her anger at the blonde haired boy.

Midoriya followed his two classmates' efforts with a punch to the torso of the creature, causing it to crumble into bits of dirt. Emiko winced with the impact, expecting to see his fingers turn purple from a break.

The others crowded around and congratulated those who worked together to take down the beast. Emiko joined up with them, a smile plastered on her face. She may not have been an integral part of that battle, but it still felt nice to be a part of the action in some capacity.

"I'm relieved… and I relieved all over myself," Mineta groaned, which caused Emiko to snort.

"So much for a dry pants emergency being solved," she chuckled softly under her breath.

"You showed that thing who's boss!" Kirishima exclaimed, throwing a thumbs up in Bakugo's general direction.

"We're not done," Bakugo growled. He turned, darting away. His fists lit up in an instant, propelling him through the air. Emiko's eyes widened as a loud rumbling erupted in the forest, a strong breeze brushing through her hair.

"Heyyyy, c'mon... don't you think this is a little unfair?" Kaminari complained, the sight of a winged beast heading towards them causing the panic around her to re-intensify.

"What now, do we run?" Mina asked, slightly breathless with fear.

"Not good! If we don't make it to the camp fast enough, then we won't get anything to eat!" Sato exclaimed, despair evident in his voice.

"He's right, we have no choice but to cut through these woods using the shortest possible route!"

Iida moved his arms rapidly, directing students into groups and pairs, seemingly sorting out the safest and most effective strategy to take down the beasts.

"Komatsu, stick with Kyouka and Shoji. Use your quirk if necessary!" Iida called, arms still swinging his fists through the air. She nodded, stepping towards the pair.

The two called out creatures and their directions to their classmates, numbering 7 in total. Emiko watched as her classmates sprang into action. Sero leapt into the trees and launched himself at a winged beast, using his tape to bind its wings before yanking it to the ground. He cried out to Sato and Kirishima, handing the beast over to them. Sato tossed a mound of sugar cubes into his awaiting mouth, chomping down and letting the granules of sweetness flow through his system, fuelling his strength, letting out a cry as his expanding muscles ripped his uniform shirt. Kirishima activated his own Quirk, his arms becoming more pronounced and angular as they hardened. The two let out feral cries as they attacked in tandem.

Kirishima favored quick, jackhammering blows to the creature's midsection, while Sato landed a devastating jumping uppercut to the dirt monster's jaw. She looked over at an ogre-like apparition that also appeared. Tokoyami summoned Dark Shadow, who flew forward to attack it, with Ojiro close behind.

It was breathtaking and infuriating, watching them all fight. She wished she could do more than be literal emotional support for them, but she didn't have her batons and she knew her strength and martial arts weren't going to be enough to take down the lumbering beasts.

"DAMMIT!" Mineta screamed, which caused Emiko to look over at the boy, whose pants still seemed to be damp after his previous incident. He was desperately grabbing the balls from his head and throwing them frantically at the trees around, coating them in the purple sticky orbs.

The beast prowling towards the diminutive boy found its claws stuck to the trees either side of it.

"Mineta, get out of here!" Kaminari shouted before scampering up its tail and taking up a position on the creature's shoulders. "1.3 MILLION VOLTS!" His normal expression was replaced with one she didn't recognize as he surrounded the beast with electric energy. His face was almost alight with excitement at the prospect of getting to unleash his quirk and Emiko smiled for him.

The fight with the beasts drug on for what felt like hours, and by the end of it, Emiko had nearly worked herself to her limit. Calming down Katsuki was a full time job in and of itself, and she'd brought on a nosebleed alarmingly quick.

Sentiment is more volatile, now, and it takes more to control.

She made note of the changes in her quirk in the back of her mind, wishing she kept a notebook like Midoriya. She fell into step behind her classmates, smiling softly as Momo linked her arm with her own.

For the first time in weeks, Emiko felt like she could let loose. As though her fears and burdens were gone - nowhere to be found. Her trauma and the nightmares that had been plaguing her disappeared from her mind, and she smiled.

Inhaling the fresh forest air she thought to herself.

Why should I be stressed when in the wilderness? Nobody here is going to hurt me.