Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia
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Miserable, truly the only adequate word to describe what it felt like to penetrate through the primeval and uncharted territory the students of class 1-A were currently attempting to navigate. Thick roots jutted out of the ground and were made slick by the fuzzy moss coating their rough surfaces. The monster sized trees were crowded close together, as if imposing there will upon our heroes and only leaving small openings to pass through which were made jagged by the tree's abrasive bark. Uneven rocks and broken foliage littered the ground, threatening to roll unsuspecting ankles from the slightest misstep. Even the air itself was against them, made heavy from collected moisture and dampening clothes within an hour of exposure. Each and every inhale felt heavy in the lungs making the simple act of breathing challenging in all new ways. To make matters worse, the humidity brought forth small insects who made themselves known as they hovered soundlessly around the students' faces and necks, occasionally seeking a bite upon exposed flesh.
Their only reprieve was the overall lack of rays burning against their skin due to the leafy canopy hovering well above their heads.It was a small reprieve because that same leafy cover acted as a layer of insulation, effectively raising the overall temperature and humidity of the area just below the tree line. Over time this blessing became a curse as they slowly began to realize they missed the feeling of sun on their skin and the strangling nature of the forest began to ware on their nerves. Yes, they were truly in hell, trudging through the fiery, inescapable labyrinth until the end of time.
Several hours have passed since they first set out to find Shogi's device. During that time, they continued to push through the treacherous terrain of the jungle relentlessly, without so much as a moment of rest and few words exchanged between them. As they continued, Tsu couldn't help but notice the ragged breathing, the slow and clumsy footfalls, and the utterly exhausted expressions plastered all over her classmates' faces. She herself felt taken over by these same ailments and quickly realized no one was going to admit to their shared moment of weakness. They had to continue despite their struggles, despite their hardships. They were heroes after all.
Making up her mind, she picked up her pace from the middle of their group to make her way to Iida and Shogi who were leading the way. "Um, Iida? I think we need to take a break." He stopped midstride to lower his gaze on his shorter classmate, adjusting his glasses slightly so he could see past the fog enveloping his lenses. "Everyone is exhausted and if we don't take care of ourselves, we aren't going to last much longer. Ribbit." She pointed behind her to the group of sluggish students attempting to keep up their pace.
Iida studied his fellow classmates, noticing the exhaustion that seemed to have crept in amongst them all. He himself felt it too, he just assumed he was the only one and was determined to push through despite his growing need for respite. "I see." He said thoughtfully while trying to suppress the relief in his voice. He cleared his throat and turned swiftly to address his classmates. "Okay everyone, listen up!" He looked through the group, his eyes landing on Izuku and Katsuki toward the end of the line. "I believe we would all benefit from a short break. We should all rest so we can replenish our strength. Don't get too comfortable, we'll be moving again in fifteen minutes so we can all stay in top condition."
"Oh, thank God! I can barely feel my legs." After allowing her bag to slip off her shoulders, Ochaco took a seat on one of the exposed roots. As she dug for her water bottle from the mesh outer pocket of her bag, she quickly smacked her hand against her neck to kill a bothersome mosquito. She lifted her gaze, searching for her green-eyed friend. "Hey Deku! Come sit with me, okay?"
"Sure thing!" Though he was panting heavily, Izuku still smiled brightly as he made his way over to Ochaco.
A certain blond-haired hothead was not impressed with this new development and made his displeasure known to the group as the rest of the students sat along various roots and rocks. He smacked his sweat soaked hand against his arm and then again just below his jaw as he glared at everyone. "You extras can rest if you want to…" He stopped midsentence so he could smack another bug. "But I'm going to keep going. I'm not going to be slowed down by any of you." He frowned as he smacked at yet another bug. "These fucking pests need to die!" He screamed as he popped off a few blasts to try to ward the ever-growing swarm away.
"Kacchan, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you sweat nitroglycerin, and given how much extra you've been sweating out here in addition to the sweet smell of your sweat it makes sense that the bugs are drawn to you specifically."
Katsuki glared at Deku, quickly reaching the point of no return. He growled as he let off another round of small blasts. "They can't fucking swarm to me if their dead! I'll murder every single one of the little assholes!"
"Really Bakugou? You're going to kill every flying insect in the forest?" Momo's sarcastic tone didn't seem to cross over to the angry teen who was currently still blasting the air around him with unbridled fury.
"Hell yeah, I will!"
"Bakugou! I must insist that you cease with the explosions. We don't know what kind of creatures live in this forest and we don't want to draw out unwanted attention." Iida swung his arms in the air as he spoke, trying to get Bakugou to stop.
"I have a suggestion for you" Tsu began, not quite loud enough to gain any attention though. "Uh, Bakugou? Hey… I said I have an idea!"
Suddenly all eyes were on her while Bakugou continued to blast the pests. "There is a stream nearby, I can smell it. If we head over there you can try to wash the sweat off. It won't last very long, but it might help a little. Ribbit"
"Uh, Tsu? How… how far are we talking?" The idea of washing the sticky layer of sweat off her skin was appealing but didn't necessarily outweigh Mina's desire to not move from her comfortable spot next to Shogi. She scooted a little closer to the scientist, humming quietly in contentment.
"Its not far. I think maybe just a few minutes away."
Everyone groaned as they forced themselves back up to their feet so they could follow Tsu to the river. It didn't take long before the soft sound of rushing water could be heard, and as they approached the flowing water the ground subtly transitioned from the forest floor to a mud and rock covered riverbank. The river itself was fairly wide, perhaps stretching twelve to thirteen feet across. The bank opposite of them was elevated several feet and lined by huge, vine covered trees. A few of the vines snaked around outstretched branches and dangled precariously above the water. In the students' hazy state, the vines almost looked like they were moving but perhaps it was only an illusion.
Sero beamed excitedly at the trees as he dropped his backpack and shot tape from his arms so he could swing above the water while he yelled like Tarzan before dropping in with a loud splash. He popped out of the waist deep water a moment later, whooping and hollering with glee. "Dudes! This is like bath water you guys. It feels so good!"
"We don't know what's in the water. That might not be the best idea." Shogi stuttered nervously as he watched the teen swim in the river.
"That looks like fun! I'm coming in!" Mina discarded her own bag before running toward the murky, teal hued river. She turned just before entering and yelled out "Hey Shogi! Why don't you come and swim with me?" She winked at him before turning and running the rest of the way into the water.
"D-does she treat everybody like that?" Shogi asked the redhead standing next to him.
Kirishima chuckled and patted him on the back. "Nope, just you bro." He laughed some more as he ran into the water to join his friends with Momo, Ochaco and Iida following closely behind.
Not really wanting to soak his already damp clothes, Shoto opted to rest on one of the larger rocks lining their side of the river with his feet dipping into the warm embrace of the water instead. He watched as Tsu leapt in and swam and splashed around with their friends.
After noticing Bakugou still hadn't joined them, Kirishima searched for his friend before spotting him standing on the riverbank, arms crossed over his chest save for the occasional smacking of the obnoxious insects. "Bakubro! Why aren't you getting in?"
"I'm getting there, shitty hair. Hold your damn pants on!" He yelled back with an angry scowl. He looked over his shoulder to see Deku squatting by a rock where a strange snake like creature with legs seemed to be resting. It was as long as his arm and was covered in yellow and green scales. The six legs jutting out of its sides were short and likely left its underside to brush against the ground as it walked. Deku was scribbling furiously in his bestiary, likely documenting every minute detail.
"Hey Shogi? Come look at this! Have you seen anything like this before?" Izuku turned briefly to call the scientist over before returning to the animal.
Shogi walked over to the rock to get a closer look. He knelt next to Izuku and eyed the animal carefully, recognizing the scaly appearance and the frilly little green feelers poking from its head. "Yes, actually I have seen those before." He pulled his notebook from his pocket, quickly leafing through it until he found the correct page containing a rough drawing of the animal as well as the name he gave it. He offered it to Izuku who compared their notes before writing in anything he had been missing.
"Tch, damn nerd" Katsuki grumbled under his breath, still not taking his eyes off that curly mop of green hair. He could tell Deku was totally engrossed in learning everything he could about wherever they were. It was almost cute. Almost.
"Hey Kacchan? Come look at this little guy." Izuku's excitement carried over in his voice and was infectious to those around him.
Despite himself, Katsuki found himself stalking over to the rock as if he were being drawn in by Deku's excitement alone. He looked over the nerd's shoulder to see the snake lizard thing sleeping on the rock, unbothered by the three pairs of prying eyes.
Choosing to take advantage of a rare moment of solitude, Jiro sat alone a few feet from the bank. She was close enough, so she didn't feel like an outcast but not so close that she'd be drawn into other people's conversations. She was thoroughly enjoying the tranquility of the moment when she caught a whiff of something that hadn't been there before. She tried to ignore it, whatever it was, but abruptly a second, stronger whiff came to her nose, the scent immediately capturing her attention. It was putrid and smelled like death. She wrinkled her nose in response and tried looking around to find the source. It was coming in stronger and stronger, to the point she had to hold back a reflexive gag from the stench alone.
"Hey, guys? Guys!" She had to cover her mouth and nose at this point in a vain attempt to block out the increasingly awful scent.
"What's up?" Shoto asked as he listlessly swirled his feet in the water. Izuku and Shogi were looking her way as well, curious to know what she wanted.
"Do you guys not smell that?" She gasped, the impending feeling of nausea threatening to consume her.
Suddenly, Shogi was on high alert. His eyes were darting all over the area as if he were looking for something. "What do you smell?" He asked as he continued his search.
"I dunno. It smells like something died and is rotting literally right under my nose." She coughed as she spoke before getting up to stand. If no one else smelled it then she must just be sitting in the wrong place. As she went to stand, she noticed the way Shogi's eyes widened in alarm, his face contorting into pure panic.
"Oh god no. No, this is very bad." The scientist's voice was rising with his panic, bringing in the attention of the other students playing in the river. "W-we need, uh we need to get out of here. Get to higher ground or something." He looked around, noticing everyone staring back at him, questioning his outburst. He glanced over to Jiro, his voice abruptly dropping to a whisper. "They must be close. You need to move from where you are quickly and-"
Unfortunately, his warning came too late. The space directly behind Jiro that was once a jungle began to shimmer as a huge reptile took shape there instead. The monstrous creature was easily fifteen feet long from the tip of its brown, scaly snout to the point of its thick, heavy tail. Brown and green scales covered its crocodilelike body, but what really stood out were the patches of decayed flesh. The patches along its snout ran so deep you could see its aggressively serrated teeth and jaw structure peeking out from under the broken-down flesh. Another large patch was located along its ribs, and similar to its snout, you could see some of the rounded, white bones of its ribcage.
It appeared so quickly, Jiro could only gasp in shock before its massive jaws snapped closed tightly around her leg with a deafening crack. The beasts long yellowed teeth sank deep into Jiro's leg, penetrating muscle and tearing cartilage. A sickening crunch was heard when the bite had reached deep enough to crack and permeate bone followed by Jiro's agonized scream. As the animal began to back away into the jungle, she screamed for help. "Help me! Please… don't let it take me!" Her screams seemed to aggravate the monster and it thrashed its head back and forth in response, tossing Jiro around like a ragdoll and causing audible popping noises as her joints dislocated from the force. The other heroes froze where they stood, unable to comprehend what foul fate had just befallen their close friend.
After recovering from the initial shock, Izuku, Bakugou, and Shoto rushed in to save her. Izuku ran forward as fast as he could before sliding on his knees across the ground to reach Jiro's hand. Shoto created a wall of ice behind the reptile while Bakugou aimed his blasts at the decay along its ribs. The animal released Jiro immediately and snarled painfully before whipping its tail at Bakugou. Seeing Jiro had been released and pulled up and away by Deku, Shoto froze it in a thick block of ice just before its tail reached Bakugou's face.
He smirked at Katsuki. "You're welcome" he offered as the blond scowled back at him.
"I didn't need your help, you Icyhot bastard!" He snapped his gaze away from Shoto in search for Shogi, feeling absolutely livid. As soon as he found him, he let his frustrations be heard in an angry tirade of profanities.
"Hey, you fucking Q-tip! Did you fucking know about those damn crocodiles?"
"I tried to warn-"
"That's not fucking good enough! Not when you knew there were huge crocodiles who could turn fucking invisible lurking around here."
Casting his head down in shame, Shogi muttered a quick apology. The hotheaded blond was absolutely correct. He should have warned them about the various, stealthy predators he had encountered.
"Is there anything else you think maybe you should share with us, you waste of space?"
"Kacchan, you aren't helping the situation right now. We can talk about this later. Jiro needs us!" Izuku was on the ground still holding Jiro. Rivulets of blood poured freely from her mangled and disfigured appendage. She appeared to have passed out from the shock, or was it the pain? It didn't matter in the end. The priority now was to stem the bleeding and keep her body out of shock.
"Tch." The blond hero turned on his heal to scout out the surrounding area while his classmates tended to the injured girl. They were clearly not safe so long as they were outside of the dorms . Moving forward, someone would need to stand guard any time they stopped to rest or take a break of any kind.
The rest of the students rushed out of the water and over to Jiro's side. Her head was positioned in Izuku's lap while Momo and Iida studied her leg. Her face was deathly white, and her ashen cheeks were soaked in her tears. She had little cuts and bruises all over her body from when the monster thrashed her around, but the worst wound came from her leg. Deep puncture wounds lined the skin, made to look almost black by the filling pools of blood. Purpling bruises were already taking shape around her calf which was beginning to swell from the trauma.
"She needs to go to the hospital." Momo mumbled as she pulled a large roll of gauze, a splint, a strip of white cloth and sticks of silver nitrate out of her chest. She immediate applied the cloth to Jiro's thigh, tying it tightly to act as a tourniquet.
"That's not exactly an option. We won't have the help of Recovery Girl either." Concern washed over Iida as he watched Momo carefully moisten the tips of the silver nitrate before gently applying it to cauterize Jiro's wounds. "She can't travel in this condition. We need to get her back to the dormitory." Momo hummed her agreement as she splinted and wrapped Jiro's leg.
While worried for their friend, Mina and Ochaco joined Izuku by Jiro's head while Momo worked. Mina swept her pink fingers through Jiro's sweat soaked hair while Ochaco squeezed her hand tightly, trying to suppress her own distressed tears.
"I'll take her" Shoto offered as he walked over to the group, standing next to Iida. "She'll need protection as we make our way back to the dorms and while she recuperates, so it makes sense for someone with a strong offense and defense to take her."
"You won't be able to fight off other beasts too well while carrying her. I'll come with you to help. Ribbit." Tsu knew this wasn't her fault, but she couldn't help but feel bad since she had suggested they rest at the river. This never would have happened if they would have stayed where they were initially.
"It's settled then. Shoto and Tsu will take Jiro back to the dorms while the rest of us continue onward." Iida picked Jiro up bridal style, careful not to move her leg more than necessary before placing her in Shoto's capable hands. As he stepped back, he couldn't help but grimace when he saw the red splotches that were already seeping through the gauze wrapped around Jiro's calf.
Before Shoto and Tsu could leave, Izuku ran up to the trio and took Jiro's pale, clammy hand within his own. "I'm sorry, Jiro. If I only would have acted sooner, if I was just faster, I could have saved you." Izuku blamed himself for not being strong enough to save her in time.
"Don't beat yourself up about this, nerd. We all got there just a little too late." Kacchan had left his post to see the three off and overheard Izuku's self-deprecating statement.
Everyone watched as Shoto and Tsu turned to head back to the dorms with Jiro securely held in Shoto's arms. Worry spread throughout the group as they noticed her gauze was quickly being saturated with blood. Momo shot a glance toward Iida, looking at him meaningfully before running to catch up with Shoto and Tsu. "They're going to need someone who can keep her medically stable. I don't have a lot of experience with this, but I think I have more than everyone else. I'm going with them."
The rest of the class nodded in agreement with her quick thinking, hoping the four could make it back in one piece. They continued watching them until their retreating forms were completely obscured by the jungle surrounding them.
Kirishima broke the silence, alarm sounding in his voice. "Hey guys… I just realized something."
"What's that" Ochaco asked curiously as she wiped the tears from her cheeks and grabbed her bag from the ground.
"We forgot Kaminari and Mineta at the dorms…"