Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia

XXX

It had been a long day for Mineta and Kaminari. As soon as they left the security of their dorms the humidity clung to their clothes and skin, causing the damp cloth of Mineta's shorts to ride up his slick skin and bunch together between his butt cheeks. It didn't matter how many times he tried to tug it back out, it just rode its way right back up there. Kaminari noticed his smaller friend constantly pulling at his shorts but wisely chose not to mention it.

A few minutes into their journey they stopped for a short rest, both needing a moment to catch their breaths. Trudging through an uncharted jungle was exhausting and Kaminari felt parched, as if his mouth was full of sand. That was when he realized their first mistake.

"Uh Mineta…"

"What is it?" He snapped at the blonde. Between his constant wedgie and the gross nature that was just everywhere, well he had enough already. He was all for finding the rest of their group despite all of this though. Afterall, if their clothes were clinging and riding up, he could only imagine what the hot babes of his class must look like right about now.

"It's just that we didn't pack any kind of survival gear. We don't have water or food. We should head back to stock up."

"Are you serious?" Mineta just stared at Kaminari in disbelief. "I'm blaming you for this. You were the one that was all gung-ho about going out on an adventure, which by the way, has sucked so far. I'm tired and sweaty and these stupid bugs keeping biting me. Maybe we should just stay at the dorms until they come back."

"No way. We should catch up with the rest of them." Kaminari turned back toward the dorms, tugging on Mineta to follow him who begrudgingly obliged.

It took them twice as long to make it back to the dorms because Mineta refused to move faster than a snail's pace, blaming his short legs for the inconvenience. After they grabbed supplies Kaminari threatened to carry the smaller teen if he didn't walk at a quicker rate. That seemed to do the trick and soon enough they were struggling through the maze of the jungle once more.

They trekked on for several hours before needing to take another break. They found the trunk of a fallen tree and sat side by side in silence, just staring out into the sea of dimly lit green. Mineta started to hum quietly while whimsically swinging his feet, meanwhile Kaminari's attention was drawn to the forest floor. It almost looked like it was shifting beneath them. The soil itself wasn't packed like everywhere else and appeared to be aerated. He continued to watch, as the soil seemed to move like it was being displaced from below. Slowly, the soil rose into a small mound, the dirt pushing up like something was trying to dig its way out of the earth.

Everything seemed to still around him. Kaminari held his breath and watched as two, inch long mandibles popped out of the ground followed by the rust colored body of a sizable insect resembling an ant. As quickly as it unearthed itself, the ground shifted again, but this time more noticeably. Dozens of tiny mounds were forming throughout the soil causing panic to swiftly sweep through Kaminari. He clutched at Mineta's tiny shoulder and pointed to the ground with a shaky finger.

"D-dude…. Don't freak out but-"

It was too late. Mineta was freaking the hell out. "Oh my god! Are those ants? Why are they so big? They're going to eat us alive!" He clambered back up to his feet and took off in the other direction, sprinting as fast as his stubby legs could carry him with Kaminari striding next to him. "What the hell is wrong with this place!?" he screamed as he threw his sticky purple balls behind him to slow the colony of ants that were now giving chase like an unstoppable sea of lava.

They sped through the forest as quickly as they could, vaulting over fallen logs, dodging trees and shrubbery, and trying their best not to trip over the protruding rocks strewn all over the ground. Despite their best efforts, the colony was quickly gaining on them. They both had thought about their deaths before as is only natural for those in their desired line of work. Kaminari assumed it would happen when he was vulnerable after he short circuited his brain. Mineta hoped it would be by a mob of feisty and beautiful women looking to teach him a lesson, hopefully after he had gotten away with something truly divine. Neither had ever thought it would be like this, eaten alive by a horde of insects.

"You're my bro, you know that man?" Kaminari screamed at his friend, anticipating their impending fate to befall them shortly.

"D-don't talk like that- Wait, what's that up ahead?" Mineta strained his eyes at the area they were approaching. There seemed to be a split in the tree line and as they neared, he could hear what sounded like rushing water!

"It's a river!" Hopeful triumph laced Kaminari's voice as they approached the riverfront. Both sides of the river were lined by mossy, wet rocks, making for a treacherous surface to run across but that wasn't going to stop either of them.

As they neared their side of the riverbank, Mineta began to slow his pace slightly. He eyed the rapid water with concern. "We don't know what's in there. No way am I- Ah!"

Before he could finish his thought, Kaminari rolled his eyes, picked him up by his collar and punted him into the river. "Yes you are!" He said as he made a desperate dive himself, just before the mass of predatory insects could take him.

Sputtering loudly, Mineta's head popped out of the water and he struggled against the current as he tried to clear his lungs. He swam quickly to the other side and drug himself up onto the rocky ground of the other side. He glared at Kaminari mumbling "I hate you" under his breath.

It was tense as they watched the swarm of ants approach the river. They both knew if the ants wanted to, they could plow through the water, sacrificing the front line as a bridge through the water for the rest of them. Luck seemed to have smiled upon them though, because the ants abruptly stopped in their tracks and retreated back into the forest.

"That was close" Kaminari commented as he shook the water out of his hair.

"Denki, why didn't you use your quirk on them?" Mineta sounded suspicious as he questioned his friend. He could have deescalated that situation quickly if he would have just electrocuted them.

"Huh, guess I was so freaked out I forgot I could do that for a minute." Kaminari chuckled at his own stupidity while Mineta's mouth dropped open.

"You're a terrible hero" he pointed out.

"Hey now, I'm doing my best." Kaminari lounged back to catch his breath, paying no mind to the jagged rocks poking into his back. "So, which way now?"

"Which way? What do…. I thought I was following you!" Suddenly, Mineta's mouth felt dry as the implications of his words dawned on him. "We're lost!" he wailed as he brought his knees to his chest and whimpered into his lap.

The few remaining hours of daylight were filled with bickering between the two as they argued over which way felt the most right. They didn't know how to get back to the dorms and they didn't know which way was forward, the scenery all looked the same to their untrained eyes. Eventually, nighttime descended upon them, bringing with it a whole new set of problems.

It was growing too dark to navigate properly, so Kaminari grabbed his phone to use the light as a flashlight. Frowning, he eyed the flashing battery warning with irritation before deciding to give it a little charge. Bakugou wasn't wrong after all. He did make a good charger.

Much to his dismay, what actually came from his finger was a little zap that held as much punch as the static shock you'd get after shuffling across the carpet in wool socks and tapping someone else's skin. He tried again and produced the same, sad results. "What the crap?" he said, scratching his head in confusion.

"Huh" Mineta began while grabbing at one of the purple balls on his head. When he tugged at it to pull it off, he noticed he wasn't able to remove it as easily but what really surprised him was when another didn't instantly form in its place. "What the…" He tried again, grabbing at each one, just to have his misfortune repeat itself. Sure enough, for the first time in a long time, Mineta's head was balless. He wept dramatically as he frantically brushed his hand all over the top of his head. "I'm bald!" he cried while eyeing his friend with watery eyes. "Does it look bad? Am I ugly?"

Unable to hide his concern for being stuck, mostly powerless, in the jungle, Kaminari simply shook his head and patted the smaller boy on the back reassuringly. "I, uh.. I think we should probably stay here for now. Maybe we can continue in the morning."

Mineta nodded his head in agreement. He plopped down and crossed his legs while leaning back against the trunk of a tree. Kaminari joined him and closed his eyes, trying to calm his increasing unease and get some rest.

Loud thunder boomed all around them, scaring the crap out of both the boys and waking them instantly. The thunder was followed by warm rain, cascading down the leaves and limbs of the trees. The duo was soaked to the bone within minutes.

"That's just great" Mineta grumbled. He smoothed his hand over his head to check on his balls and was pleased to feel small bumps were beginning to form. That was something at least.

"Look, there's a hollowed-out space in the trunk of that tree over there." Kaminari pointed to a large tree, the bottom portion of its trunk forming a small cavern just big enough for the two of them. Mineta scrambled over to it immediately, followed by the blond. It was a tight fit; both the boys were pressed together which was made more uncomfortable by their soaked clothes. They stared out into the surrounding forest, watching the droplets of rain pelt against the ground. Neither expected to get much sleep after that.

XXX

Soft snores and the occasional slap of skin filled the night air as the ongoing battle against the pestering bugs of the forest waged on perpetually. The students slept somewhat fitfully in their makeshift hammocks, tossing and turning, trying to ignore the everlasting noises of the jungle. The air was as still as ever, and so heavy in moisture that the students glistened with a dewy hue under the dusty glow of the red moon, filtering through the leaves above them.

The hurried rustle of leaves being disturbed directly below them was just enough to startle Izuku awake. His eyelids snapped open by the unexpected sound, his chest rising and falling with exaggerated breaths and his heart beat rapidly as a needed spike of adrenaline surged through his veins. Taking care to control his breathing,he turned his head to investigate the source of the noise. Images of the elite predator shimmering in and out of its camouflaged state, its yellowing, jagged teeth clamped around Jiro's unnaturally contorted leg and its rotting patches of flesh pulling away from its bones flashed before his eyes. He shook his head, trying to quickly dispel the unwanted image and swallow his fear of the unknown beneath them.

Sweat dripped into his eyes from his forehead, the salty substance making his eyes burn like crazy. He rubbed at them gently with the damp cotton of his tee shirt which clung uncomfortably against the damp skin of his bicep. He blinked several times and tried once again to peer toward the forest floor. His breath hitched and his eyes widened as he swung his gaze up to the less frightening canopy of darkened green above him.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

He hesitantly looked back down to the leaf and moss-covered floor, wearily eyeing the unnaturally large black mob scuttling across the ground. The first thing he noticed about it was that the bulk of its size came from its horrendously long, stick thin legs. He compared the leg to body ratio to be similar to that of a spider except unlike spiders whose legs stretched out along either side of its cephalothorax, the legs of these creatures extended out entirely in front of it while its body hung slightly lower than the apex of its legs and appeared to be just along for the ride like some kind of obovoid shaped back pack.

While both alarmed and transfixed by the jet black, oversized thing expertly navigating its way through the forest floor, Izuku just couldn't take his eyes off of it. Maybe it was from fear, maybe it was curiosity he wasn't certain. Either way, he watched curiously as it poked around the surrounding flora as if it were searching for something. Izuku guessed it was looking for food but had no way of knowing for sure. He just hoped it wasn't another carnivore. It looked like it could be anywhere from ten to even eleven feet tall and with his classmates at such a disadvantage with their quirks, it could pose a real threat to them.

A nearly imperceptible movement off to the side temporarily captured his attention. When he looked over in that direction his eyes locked with red irises which were looking intently back at him. He watched as Kacchan slowly brought one finger up to his lips, motioning for Izuku to remain quiet before he returned his gaze back to the animal lingering below them. He shifted his gaze to the other beds and noticed everyone had been woken by that thing and were carefully watching it. Most of the students appeared wary, apart from Ochaco who looked like she was having a silent freak out moment. Then there was Shogi who was continuously pointing to his pocket until it dawned on the green haired teen that he was telling Izuku to look at the journal.

Izuku pulled the journal from his own pocket and leafed through the worn pages until he found an image that resembled the creature. Next to the drawn picture were the neatly printed words, Yoru no kyōfu along with a short description directly beneath it. "The Yoru no kyōfu, or kyōfu for short. This strange insect like species appears to be predatory and feasts primarily on small prey. The kyōfu only come out at night while its daytime nesting places are currently unknown. From a personal account, it has been verified that these animals will give chase to larger prey and they move very fast. Best to rest above ground when possible as they seem to pay no mind to anything above them."

Izuku's eyebrows raised a little as he contemplated those last two sentences. He couldn't help but wonder how Shogi managed to stay alive before their paths crossed. Was it his quirk? He still hadn't offered much in the way of information about his quirk so up until this point Izuku assumed it wasn't useful, but now he wasn't so sure. How could this man survive in a place like this without the help of a quirk? Were there originally others who came here with him and who he chose not to mention? If so, where are they now?

As Izuku watched the kyōfu gracefully amble off deeper into the jungle, he pocketed the journal and closed his eyes, determining that he would need to ask Shogi about his quirk in the morning.

XXXX

Katsuki woke in a cold sweat several hours later. He held his pounding head between his palms, his nails digging into his scalp as he tried to distract himself from the internal throbbing. He felt on edge, panicked even but he had no idea why. His eyes darted all around him, searching through the eerie darkness for something, anything that may have been out of place. Just as his eyes landed on the luminescent mushrooms sprouting from the branch above him, he heard something completely unexpected.

"Katsuki."

His name brushed over his ears in a whisper, the voice sounding almost ethereal as it called to him. He must be hearing things. Fuck, he was exhausted. There was no other explanation.

"Katsuki!" It came in a little louder this time and his eyes widened when he realized he definitely wasn't hearing things. "Escape. You must escape!" The voice in his head was piercing through his skull now, commanding him to do something he didn't understand. "Danger. Danger. Danger. Escape!" The urgency of its tone compelled him to listen. Something wasn't right. He was in trouble.

"Imposters! Imposters, your classmates are imposters! Run Katsuki!"

"No one tells me what to fucking do!" He spat out while harshly gripping at his head as if the action would force the head splitting pain to subside. Despite himself, he nervously studied the sleeping forms hovering around him. He could have sworn Kirishima's hair was a darker shade of red, and since when did Sero snore like that? And Mina, he could have sworn Deku brought Mina to a different bed when they first settled in for the night. His suspicion mounted at an accelerated rate as he continued to pick apart things that he didn't think were quite right.

"Run away!" The voice was back now, egging him on and making him feel like he really should do just that. "Escape the imposters! They imprisoned your friends in a cavern nearby. Save them, Katsuki! Save your friends!"

He was hyperventilating now, his inhales were deep, and each exhale felt stuttered as his lungs shakily forced the cumbersome air out again. There was no doubt about it. These people were not his classmates. Somehow, they had been switched. The voice in his head continued on, shouting "save them" over and over again. Each time it came in louder than the last. He was beginning to feel sick, his senses overloaded. He couldn't take it anymore. He had to save them, and he had to get away from there if for no other reason then to get the damn voice to shut the fuck up.

With shaking legs Bakugou raised himself up to a crouched position, the force of his movements causing his hammock to become unsteady and sway back and forth. For the briefest of moments, he thought better of his plan, the impending danger of falling 20 feet forcing reason back into his struggling brain. That reason was quickly swept away by the unyielding voice still shrieking at him, reminding him he was in danger and must escape immediately. It was so loud and commanding that he no longer felt like he could think. Its demands forcing his limbs to move as though they had a will of their own. As soon as the rocking hammock stilled, he slowly reached his hands up to grasp at the branch above him, pulling himself up and away from the safety of his bed. He stood along the rough, uneven surface of the knotted wood while holding onto the branch above him for support.

"Move Katsuki!" The voice bellowed in his head and once again he found himself obeying its command instantly. He shifted his feet quickly along the bark until he made it to the massive trunk of the tree. He wrapped his arms and legs around the jagged trunk and began shimmying his way down, ignoring the stinging pain resulting from his sensitive skin brushing against the abrasive bark as he descended.

Unbeknownst to Katsuki, his hurried movements jolted Izuku awake who, after a moment of disoriented confusion, was surprised to find Kacchan not only missing from his bed but hurrying down the trunk of the tree like the plant was about to burst into flames at any second. "K-Kacchan? Kacchan! What are you doing?"

His shouting startled Katsuki, causing him to shift in the wrong way, at the wrong time, and promptly fall the rest of the way to the ground. The fall was only a few feet, but it was still enough to knock the wind out of his lungs. He grasped at his chest as he rolled over and scrambled onto his feet to look up at Izuku, and now the rest of their friends who had all been woken by the kerfuffle. His eyes were wide, expression manic. Izuku instantly realized something wasn't right.

"Kacchan! Oh my god, are you okay?" He watched as Katsuki began taking retreating steps back, mumbling something quietly under his breath that Izuku wasn't able to catch.

"Bakubro, what are you doing? You're going to get yourself seriously hurt, man!" The concern Kirishima had for his friend seemed to only irritate the blond who glared up at him.

"Shut the fuck up fake shitty hair! I know you aren't really him!"

"Fake…" Mina looked to Izuku as if he'd have all the answers to this out of character episode Bakugou seemed to be having. "What's he talking about? What's going on?"

"How did he even get down there?" Sero questioned with a scowl, realizing his precious tape was still coming out of him all wrong.

"Bakugou, I don't believe separating yourself from the group is a wise decision on your part. Please come back immediately!" Iida took his glasses from his pants pocket and slid them on only to huff in frustration when he realized the lenses were filthy and he couldn't see a thing through them.

Izuku became more and more concerned by the minute. Kacchan wasn't acting right and if he ran off into the jungle without full use of his quirk, he'd end up dead. "Guys, I don't know what's going on" he said, alarm present in his voice as he watched the blond suddenly turn and run. "Kacchan! Its not safe. Come back!"

A distant echo made its way through the thick brush as their friend distanced himself from them. "I'm not fucking stupid! I know what's going on here!" he shouted back to them.

"He's completely lost his mind" Ochaco whispered as she considered trying to go after him.

Disbelief clouded Izuku's judgment for just a second before he activated his quirk and leaped toward the ground in the direction Kacchan had run off to. His landing wasn't exactly graceful but thankfully he managed to remain upright despite his stumble. He peered over his should to his friends still hanging in the trees. "Don't try to follow me guys. Your quirks haven't been restored yet. I'll bring Kacchan back as soon as I can! If we aren't back by morning you should continue on. We'll catch up." With that, he sped off in the direction of the blond, hoping he'd catch up to him before something else did.