I woke up with a long, satisfying yawn. Stretching my arms out, I rolled out of my sleeping bag… and crashed to the floor. Shooting up to my feet with wide eyes, quirk already activated and fists raised, I scanned the surrounding living room in a panic. Then my sleepy brain caught up with me, and I sighed in defeat, lowering my arms and deactivating my quirk.
"Geez Icchan," A tired voice cut in. I flinched, spinning around to see Ochako laying on an air mattress only a few inches away from my feet, eyes half-shut and sparkling with amusement. "That was a-" she paused to yawn, "- violent wake up call. Did you have a nightmare?" Ochako asked, pushing herself up into a sitting position.
I flushed in embarrassment, looking away from Ochako's rumpled pink pjs to stare at the Midoriya's kitchen. "N-no," I answered, before coughing uncomfortably. "I, ah… rolled off the couch and hit the ground…"
Ochako laughed, rubbing her eyes blearily. "That makes sense," she chuckled. "Remind me to never wake you up then."
"Oh, you can do that, just make sure you're several feet away," I told her helpfully. When I received an odd look, because Ochako hadn't been serious, I added, "I almost broke Izukun's arm when I was in the hospital and he was nearby when I woke up."
Ochako stared at me with wide eyes. "Definitely remind me of that then," she said, looking half-stunned and half-petrified. I giggled at her dumbfounded expression, padding over to the couch I'd been sleeping on to grab my backpack and pull out my uniform to change.
After Izuku's kidnapping, Ochako and I had been fairly reluctant to leave the Midoriya's alone. Miss Midoriya ended up offering to buy dinner, since Ochako and I had skipped lunch sitting with her outside the mall, and after the meal it was so late that Ochako and I crashed in the Midoriya's living room. Missus Yukihime had been kind enough to drop my backpack off at the Midoriya's home, apparently having been running errands in the area so I didn't have to feel guilty (I apologized profusely regardless).
"Ichigo? Ochako?" A new sleepy voice interjected. I turned to see Izuku in a pair of gym-shorts and a tank top shuffling his way down the hall, wiping his eyes. "Are you guys awake?" he asked, bearing the worst case of bedhead I'd ever seen. I snapped my hands over my mouth to smother my giggles, my entire body shaking from the struggle.
Ochako had no such restraint. "Oh my god - your hair!" she cackled, pointing a finger at Izuku's head and clutching her stomach. The brunette fell back onto her mattress, gasping for air.
Izuku opened his eyes, blinking in confusion. He reached up to feel his hair, and I saw the exact moment he realized what was happened, because his eyes widened and then his face turned as red as a fire-hydrant. "I'll b-b-be b-back in a s-second!" he shouted, darting back down the hall, presumably to brush his hair.
My hands fell away from my mouth, and I bursted in giggles as well.
"We're cancelling our stay at the lodge we've been using every year," Mister Aizawa announced to the class, ripping the original summer-camp plan in half. "Our new destination won't be revealed until we get there." I blinked in surprise at the sudden declaration.
The class was equally shocked. "NO WAY!" they shouted in unison, reflecting my shock at the unexpected change.
"But I already told my folks!" Sero protested, staring at Mister Aizawa pleadingly.
From behind me, Momo muttered, "I wonder if this is for security reasons, to protect us from another attack." I leaned back, subtly making eye-contact with her and nodding. Now that she had suggested it, that did seem like a plausible reason.
"Keeps the information from spreading," I whispered in agreement, before facing forward again when I heard Bakugo speak.
He was facing the front, shoulders hunched in and head held high. I assumed he was glaring at something. "Dumbshit, shoulda killed his ass, even if you broke a few bones," he growled, and I tensed immediately, knowing exactly who he was talking about.
"Bakago, don't talk about things you don't understand," I declared angrily, and clenched my fists when the blonde turned around to stare at me with baleful red eyes. I narrowed my own in response. "I don't remember you doing so well when you faced a villain alone," I jabbed. I heard Izuku gasp, and instantly felt guilty. That really wasn't something I should've brought up. I almost apologized, but Bakugo beat me to the bunch.
His lips curled back in an ugly snarl, eyes sparking. "Shut the fuck up, Ichimi," he snapped, spinning his head back towards the front.
Izuku glanced back at me, eyes wide, and I could see the reprimanding look reflected inside. My shoulders slumped, and I ducked my head to hide my face behind my bangs. My grudge match with Bakugo was going too far. I was digging up past incidents that should've been left buried. What was I doing? I thought I was going to be mature about this!
When class finally ended, I was quick to rush out the door, belongings already gathered in my arms. I raced into the hallway, and when I spotted a familiar head of purple hair, I darted forward, grateful for the distraction.
"Hey, Shinsou!" I called, waving my hand to catch his attention. Shinsou turned around, visibly scanning the area before looking down. My lips turned down immediately, recognizing the slight for what is was. I wasn't that short… oh, who was I kidding?
Shinsou met my eyes, and I noticed that his dark-circles had already begun to reduce. "Hey, Kurosaki," he greeted politely.
I smiled. "You've already started with the schedule, hm? Getting some more sleep?" I asked, despite already knowing the answer.
"Yeah," Shinsou confirmed, shrugging casually. "You said to start as soon as possible."
I nodded. "That's good, you'll need all the sleep you can get," I encouraged, smile widening. "That training regimen is going to drain your energy fast," as I spoke, I remembered something I had been wondering about. I frowned, hoping that I wouldn't seem impolite. "Uh, Shinsou? Why aren't you going to the training camp like the rest of Class B?" I asked curiously, and then bit my lip, not wanting to offend him. "I was just wondering, cause I know they're going and was wondering-"
Shinsou held his hand up to cut me off. "It's fine," he interrupted, shaking his head at my anxious behavior. "You didn't - It's because I joined in half-way through the year. Blood-King said I wasn't ready for the boot camp, he said I needed to catch-up first," Shinsou explained, face contorting in frustration at the obvious slight.
I winced, immediately picking up on how insulting that was. "I'm sorry for that, Shinsou," I said, despite not being responsible. I wasn't sure what else to say, so I pasted a bright smile on my face. "We'll get you caught up really fast!" I declared confidently, suddenly doubly determined to help Shinsou train over the summer.
Shinsou have me a small, tired small. "Let's hope," he agreed, and I grinned back at him. One of these days, I would get him to smile just as widely.
The bus ride over to the summer-training camp was slow going. I was quietly sitting next to Ochako, just in front of Izuku and Shouto, but behind Tenya and Momo. Ochako was sharing her earbuds with me, and I was covering my other ear to muffle the sound of Tenya loudly scolding Mineta from across the aisle. The small boy (hah, he was shorter than me) had done something perverse again, and personally I didn't want to know what it was this time. Ignorance is bliss and all.
Ochako had her eyes shut and was bobbing her head along to the music, humming in unison. She was on-key consistently, and I felt slightly jealous. Although I could play the piano very well, I had never been able to sing. My voice was just too high pitched, I sounded squeaky. My music teacher had said I was "a very high soprano", which was code for "please never sing again". Ochako's smooth alto made me envious, and I ended up listening more to her then the actual music.
Mister Aizawa stood up at the front of the bus, and my eyes flickered over to him automatically. I removed my earbud and lowered my hands, swatting Ochako on the shoulder so she'd open her eyes and notice. "Everyone, the bus will be stopping once in about an hour," Mister Aizawa declared, stubbornly refusing to raise his voice. I struggled to understand him, using the faint sound of his voice and the movement of his lips to decode his words. "After that-"
"LET'S PLAY SOME MUSIC!" Kaminari shouted excitedly, throwing his arms into the air. I saw Mister Aizawa's eye twitch as he realized that no one but Ochako or I was listening. The entire bus was chattering, Tenya was still shouting down Mineta and had entirely missed Mister Aizawa standing up, and in the back Aoyama was displaying his new, sparkly purple hat for Ashido and Hagakure.
I sighed along with Mister Aizawa, knowing that we would pay for this later. Mister Aizawa muttered something before sitting back down, and the bus continued forwards. I cringed, tucking the earbud back into my ear. Ochako shrugged and pressed play, clearly having missed every word.
We were going to regret this, experience told me. I crushed that little voice and tried to relax, telling myself that Mister Aizawa wasn't that vengeful.
It didn't work. Probably because I was lying.
The bus did, in fact, stop around an hour later. There was a large, flat rest-stop along the side of the road, overlooking the mountain we were driving up. As soon as the doors of the tin-can snapped open, the students came flooding out like rats off a sinking ship. I sat in my seat quietly, knowing that if I tried to join the mob, I'd get stampeded. Joys of being way too small.
As I climbed out of the bus, the last one to exit, I could hear Mineta shrieking about his need to use the bathroom. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, enjoying the cool mountain air and comparably quiet atmosphere to the crowded bus. Without realizing, I gravitated towards Mister Aizawa, standing several steps behind the taller, silent man and separating myself from the rest of the class, who were still talking loudly.
"We had a reason for stopping," Mister Aizawa advised darkly, and I froze instantly recognizing that tone. The little voice I'd suppressed an hour ago cackled evilly, knowing that payback for our earlier rambunctiousness had arrived.
Hearing footsteps, I spun around, and then my eyes widened in shock. "Yo, Eraserhead!" Two women in skimpy cat costumes shouted at my mentor's turned back. "You haven't contacted us in awhile!"
The entire class turned to stare, and seeing their new audience, the brunette catwoman took a tacky pose. "Lock on target with our sparkly eyes!" she shouted, like she was reciting from a script.
"Stingingly cute and catlike!" The long-haired blonde followed up, taking an equally horrific pose.
"Wild, Wild…!" the two women chanted together, raising their arms. "PUSSYCATS!" I stared at the sparkling duo in horror, before slowly backing up and shifting to place Mister Aizawa between them and I. The teacher laid his hand on my shoulder and dragged me out from behind him without looking, ignoring my look of terror. These women were immodest, loud, and against everything I stood for.
Mister Aizawa shot me a stern look, before explaining the situation to the class. "These are the pro-heroes who will be working with us during the camp. They are known as the Pussycats," he introduced. I took note of the cat ears, paws, and miniskirts, cheeks flushing red-hot. Why were they our teachers?! They were worse than Midnight! The rest of my classmates were also staring at the women with equally dead expressions.
"They're a four-person hero team who set up a joint agency!" Izuku enthused, interrupting the darkened silence. His eyes were alight with fanboy excitement. "They're a veteran team that specializes in mountain rescues! This year will be their twelfth anniversary-!" Izuku was cut off by a paw to the face, the blonde catwoman silencing him viciously. Ochako and I fumed silently in response, not approving of her violence at all.
The blonde catwoman had a dark expression as she batted Izuku away. "I'm 18 at heart!" she barked, claws poking out and digging into Izuku's fluffy green hair. "What am I at heart?" she demanded evilly.
"Y-you're 18!" Izuku answered nervously, voice muffled by the blonde's paws. The rest of the class deadpanned along with Ochako and I.
Mister Aizawa gave me another look of warning. "Greet them, everyone!" he ordered, clearly intending to maintain politeness.
"Nice to meet you!" I said with the rest of the class, despite not meaning it in the slightest. Who were these people and why were they bullying Izuku?! We'd only just gotten him back intact from the last villain!
The brunette catwoman strode over to the edge of the railing, ignoring her partner's antics. She held her arm out grandly. "We own all of the land you see here," she declared, and my jaw dropped. The catwoman pointed into the distance, smiling back at the class. "You all will be staying at the foot of that mountain," she continued.
"That's far!" I whispered in shock along with the rest of the class. They owned all of that land?
Ochako, ever astute, raised her hand. "Um, if the facility is over there, why did we stop here?" she asked, and the entire class broke into nervous mutters of denial.
Slowly, I turned to look up at Mister Aizawa, sensing my impending doom. My mentor was giving his signature Cheshire-cat smile, which meant nothing good for me or the class.
"It's 9:30 am right now," the brunette catwoman observed, grinning and holding up her paws. "If you're fast… maybe you'll get there by noon?" she chuckled at the end with schadenfreude amusement.
Kirishima spun around, red eyes wide in terror. "GET BACK TO THE BUS! HURRY!" he shouted, and all of the class turned to run.
I just tensed up from beside Mister Aizawa, knowing there was no escape. Mister Aizawa, for his part, was watching the class with grim excitement, which made me triply anxious for what was to come. If he looked that happy, there was no way we were just walking.
"Kitties who don't make it by 12:30 won't get any lunch!" the brunette catwoman announced, waving her paw at the fleeing students. The blonde catwoman dropped down in front of the class, smiling with excitement. Her paw glowed blue, the ground crumbling underneath, and in an instant, everyone was sent tumbling over the mountain in a landslide of rock and dirt.
From my place beside Mister Aizawa, I was safe. I sighed in relief, and then felt myself get lifted up from the ground by the collar. I managed to turn my head around to see Mister Aizawa hoisting me up by a single hand, still grinning sadistically. "Good luck, Ichigo," he said, and then he tossed me into the wave of earth.
I couldn't help but scream in betrayal. "MISTER AIZAWA Y-YOU BULLY!" I shrieked, swept away by the tide of dirt and my fellow students.
The only response I got as I was sent flying off the mountain was a muffled, "Plus twenty!"
Mailbox
GreenDrkness Thank you! Inko seems like the type of mom who would go out of her way to connect with her son's friends, so as the story moves forward she'll become more prominent. Plus she's a favorite of mine :)
xenocanaan Thanks! Here's your more, hope you continue to enjoy the story!
Prince Izuku really is a dork XD So's Ichigo, actually. And yeah, one of Ichigo's best features is her loyalty to her friends. Now if we can get her to actually trust them to be the same, that'd be great. I agree with you on the mailbox thing, I'm just going to edit it a little bit. I can still copy/paste all the responses and still type out my answers after all. Thanks for the feedback!
AllisBlanche I actually have been working on original content. Right now though, I'm using fanfictions like this to practice. I haven't really shared my writing with the general public before, so its great to get feedback and see what people like/dislike to read. For example, I had no idea how valued mentor-student bonds were until now. As for the romance, one of my favorite quotes ever by Friedrich Nietzsche is "Marriage as a long conversation. - When marrying you should ask yourself this question: do you believe you are going to enjoy talking with this woman into your old age? Everything else in a marriage is transitory, but most of the time that you're together will be devoted to conversation." In summary, you should marry someone you enjoy talking to, because everything else will change with age. And Ochako has already had an influence on Ichigo, but she'll gain more spotlight in the future. For example, Ichigo didn't like hugs at the start of the year, and now she will willingly hug people BY CHOICE :O But really, Ochako will continue to help Ichigo grow. It's just that her influence is more subtle, because Izuku and Shouto and Bakugo and Tenya are making these huge imprints on her life and future, while Ochako is slowly making Ichigo more social and open. Same for Momo, actually.
Pluto's Watcher Uh, thanks for the feedback?