I do not own My Hero Academia or any of its characters.
Departure
Lee sighed, sitting in one of the chairs and leaning back. He's been stuck in the school nurse's office for longer than expected due to complications. While sleeping, he'd rolled onto the hip and rebroken it, worse this time. Not a fun way to wake up. She'd had to perform corrective surgery, mixed with her own Quirk, and he'd ended up stuck in bed for almost a week. Technically, the school was closed, but he was allowed to stay to be treated. It had been decided that she would treat him personally to keep the accident under wraps, as well as in case the three villains that attacked him before came after him again, so he had remained. While he was in bed, the class had gone shopping together, only to get the mall shut down after Midoriya briefly got taken hostage by Tomura Shigaraki, the guy with hands all over his body from the U.S.J. and who had killed Lee and Amy's father in a random killing years ago. After asking Midoriya why he thought everyone, villains and civilians alike, were so obsessed with the Hero Killer, Stain since his capture, apparently to the point of selling Stain merchandise at the mall, Tomura had simply let Midoriya go and disappeared.
After that, Lee missed the final ceremony for the school year, and had missed out on the class using the school pool together, the girls to have fun and the guys for endurance training, though it was Mineta and the apparently also perverted Denki who had asked permission to use it, so the real reason was pretty obvious. Apparently, the girls had expected something like that when they decided to use the pool, so they all wore school swimsuits instead of bikinis. Now, finally, he was getting out of the nurse's office just in time to go on the camping trip.
"How's the pain?" Recovery Girl asked.
"Gone, finally," Lee said. "The surgery scar's all healed up and gone too."
Recovery Girl nodded. "Good. Sounds like you're ready to go camping. Oh, your sister dropped this off." She held out his boots, mask, and exoskeleton.
He thanked her, reaching back and attaching the exoskeleton with a practiced ease, the rib and shoulder clamps closing and securing themselves before he attached the arms and powered it up, testing its mobility. Then, he put on his boots and stood.
"Just a minute," Recovery Girl said. "There's one last thing."
"What's that?" Lee asked.
"Your sister asked me to have you call her before you leave the office," Recovery Girl said, standing and heading for the door. "Apparently she wanted you to be alone for the conversation."
Lee frowned, worry setting in instantly as he dialed her. "Amy? What's up? Recovery Girl said you needed to talk."
"Yeah," Amy said. "So...my blood tests finally came back. And...As I'm pretty sure we both already assumed, I'm pregnant."
"Yeah," Lee said. "I kinda figured you would be."
"Well...you remember how we were so poor growing up that we couldn't go to the hospital for anything?" Amy asked. "The pregnancy wasn't the only thing they found. I...I have a rare blood disease. It's not something you can get from sex, so those three didn't give me it. And I had Recovery Girl check you, and she sent me a message saying that you don't have it."
"Amy," Lee said. "What does the disease do?"
"Well...at a basic level, it makes it so that my blood won't carry nutrients," Amy said. "Kind of like how anemia won't carry oxygen. And then, the older I get, the less nutrients my blood will carry. My organs will start to shut down and eventually..."
"How long?" Lee asked.
"About another six months," Amy said. "Less, if I were to try to keep the baby. I'm not going to, of course. I've already got that scheduled. And before you ask, no, the disease isn't curable, and it was found too late to treat it."
"Is there anything I can do?" Lee asked, voice trembling.
"Become a hero," Amy said, Lee able to hear in her voice that she was crying. "Become the greatest hero you can. Marry one of those three girlfriends you keep claiming aren't your girlfriends. Hell, marry all three. Just be happy, and have tons of nieces and nephews to tell about me. I've begun making designs and instructions for everything you have, boots, spine, exoskeletons, exosuit. I'm including how to actually put them together this time, and making it so that people who aren't me can understand it and do it right. I'll leave them with Momo's family for her while I'm there working on your suit. They said they don't mind having me over while you're all at camp, so I'll have your suit done by the time you get back. And any other ideas for stuff I come up with, I'll make plans for to leave with Momo."
"Thank you," Lee said, tears dripping onto his legs. "I'm sorry I can't save you from this."
"It's alright," Amy smiled. "I don't mind. I had a happy life."
"I'm sorry I couldn't...help you become a hero," Lee said.
"Don't be," Amy smiled. "I would have chosen to be your sidekick instead anyway. I may be amazing but I'm not hero material."
Lee smiled. "I love you Amy."
"I love yuo too, little brother," Amy smiled. "Now stop sounding like I'll be dead when you get back. I'll still be around for a while. Go have fun at camp. I'll see you when you get home. This time, we can have that celebration we were supposed to have after the Sports Festival."
"Yeah," Lee smiled. "Absolutely."
"Alright," Amy smiled. "Have fun."
"I will," Lee said, wiping his eyes. "See you soon."
"See you," Amy said before hanging up.
Lee grit his teeth, remaining there for several long minutes before standing and walking out of the building. The rest of the class was assembled in front of the school, and when Lee joined them, they all cheered, welcoming him back, Momo, Mina, and Toru all hugging him, and all three, plus Midoriya and Uraraka, noticing that something was wrong, despite his smile.
Lee shook his head. "I'm fine. Just excited to go camping." He looked over at Class One B and smiled. "Oh yeah, they're coming too, huh?"
"Yeah," Momo nodded. "This will be interesting to say the least, with Monoma coming."
"Monoma?" Lee asked.
"Remember the blond who stuck his head over the wall at the Sports Festival?" Momo asked.
"Oh, him," Lee said. "I'm sure we'll manage."
The buses rolled to a stop and One B began to load theirs while Iida began to yell for them to get into seating order. Lee smiled. That was fine. In seating order he was with Mina and Toru was on the other side of the aisle from them. They got on the bus and Lee let Mina in first, then took the aisle seat. Once the bus was rolling, Aizawa warned them that they'd be on the bus for an hour before their first stop. Iida began to yell that no one should be standing, while standing, and everyone began to talk excitedly with the others.
"Are you excited for camp?" Mina asked.
"Hm?" Lee asked. "Oh, yeah, I guess. I expect it's going to be a week of brutal training, so I doubt everyone's going to enjoy it as much as they might think."
"Are you okay?" Mina asked.
"Yeah, you seem really upset," Toru added.
"I just...got some bad news," Lee said.
"What?" Mina asked.
"It's alright," Lee smiled. "Don't let me kill your excitement."
"Well, if you're right about the trip, it's better to kill it now," Mina said.
"Talk to us, Lee," Toru said, reaching across the aisle to take his hand, Mina taking the other. "We want to help."
"You can't," Lee said, eyes watering, though he held the tears back. "No one can. Amy's dying."
"What!?" both girls gasped. "Because of..."
"No," Lee said. "Apparently she has a blood condition that never got found when we were kids, since we didn't have a lot of money for shots and medical testing and stuff. It's too late to treat it, and it's incurable. She's only got about six months left."
Both gasped.
"Oh my God! I'm so sorry Lee!" Mina said, wrapping her arms around him.
"We're here for you," Momo said. "Anything you need."
"Thanks," Lee said, smiling slightly. "There's nothing that we can do about it, so...we should focus on camp."
Both girls nodded, or at least, Lee assumed Toru did, and Toru gave his hand another squeeze while Mina lay her head on his shoulder. For the next hour, they stayed like that until they reached their first stop. Lee sighed, looking around at the "rest stop." It was a scenic view of the forest where their camp was. It was also the point from which Lee suspected Aizawa would be telling them to go to the camp the hard way.
"Let me get through!" Mineta shouted. "I gotta pee!"
He began to dart around and Lee actually felt bad. He was about to be very disappointed.
"This isn't much of a rest area," Denki said.
"No," Kyoka agreed. "And where's Class B?"
"This isn't a rest area," Lee said. "It's our release point."
"Release point?" Denki asked. "Don't tell me..."
"Oh no," Mina groaned.
Mineta stopped just in front of Aizawa. "Please sir, the toilet?"
Just then, the doors of a car off to the side opened and a pair of girls wearing cat girl outfits stepped out.
"Heya Eraser," one of them said, Aizawa bowing in greeting.
"Long tie no see," Aizawa said.
"Your feline fantasies are here!" one of the two girls said. "Say meow."
"Purr-fectly cute and cat-like girls!" the other said.
"You can call us the...Wild, Wild Pussycats!" the two said, striking a pose together.
The first had short brown hair with bangs hanging between her eyes, a red skirt and belt with a silver cat-face buckle, red boots with pink faux fur around the top, a red and white shirt with the white up the middle and three red strips crossing it, some kind of pink metal headgear in place of cat ears, a red-furred tail, and a pair of cat-hand gloves, complete with claws. The other girl had long blonde hair with a lock of her bangs hanging on the right side, then had blue clothes anywhere the first girl had red, a blue and white striped tail, and a blue-tinted visor across in front of her eyes. The first girl was in a lunge to her left in front of the other with her arms together out in front of her. The second was standing with one knee raised in front of her, one hand held by her ribs, and the other raised and bent forward at the wrist. There was also a little boy with them who had a white shirt, black shorts, and a red hat with two gold spikes above the brim.
"These are the pro heroes you'll be working with at the summer training camp," Aizawa said.
"They're a four person hero team who specialize in mountain rescues!" Midoriya said, nerding out. "The Pussycats were founded when we were kids, like forever ago!"
The two women both shrieked in surprise and outrage.
"This marks their twelfth year working as a-" Midoriya was cut off by the blonde grabbing him by the face.
"I'm pretty sure your math must be off!" the blonde said. "I'm eighteen at heart."
Lee rolled his eyes.
"Understood," Midoriya said.
"Everyone, say hello," Aizawa said.
"Hello, nice to meet you," the class said together.
"We own this whole stretch of land our here," the brunette said. "The summer camp you're staying at is there, at the base of the mountain."
"That's far!" the class, minus Lee said.
"Meh," Lee shrugged. "I've gone further."
"No one asked you!" the class shouted.
"So, why did we stop all the way up here instead?" Uraraka asked.
"I'm afraid we both know the answer to that," Su said.
"That can't be right," Sato said.
"Yeah, Lee was just kidding...right?" Eijiro asked.
"Um...back on the bus," Sero said. "Quick. Let's go."
"Good idea," Denki said. "Load up."
Kado and Mina both nodded.
"The current time is nine thirty in the morning," the brunette said, tail flicking excitedly. "If you're fast about it, you might make it there by noon."
"No way!" Eijiro said. "Guys!"
"Holy crap!" Mina panicked.
"Save yourselves!" Eijiro shouted as everyone but Lee scrambled toward the bus.
"Kitties who don't make it there by twelve thirty won't get any lunch!" the brunette warned them.
"You should have guessed students," Aizawa said. "The training camp..." he paused as the blonde landed between the students and the bus "has already begun."
She set her hands on the ground and they shone blue for a moment before she tapped one, sending a massive flood of dirt and mud washing outward from her, washing everyone off the edge of the cliff.
"Good news!" the brunette called down after them. "Since this is private land, you can use your Quirks as much as you want to! You've got three full hours! You should be able to make it to the facility in that time! That is, if you can get through the beasts forest."
"That looked like a rough landing," Lee said from where he was standing off to the side.
"What the..." the blonde growled, preparing to use her Quirk again, only for Aizawa to set a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't waste the energy," Aizawa said. "This is Lee. He's faster than your Quirk. Lee, you're not to leave the class during this exercise. You finish with everyone else."
"Understood," Lee nodded. "See you about five thirty."
He walked to the edge and dropped, seeing everyone else running into the trees at the bottom. He set a foot against the face of the cliff and took off, exploding down the face of the cliff, then along the ground. As he ran, he shot past classmates in time to leap over Mina as a massive creature made of dirt and branches was about to collapse from her acid melting its leg. His right fist blurred and he smashed a punch into it, the force from the dozen instantaneous blows blasting most of the torso into a gaping hole, allowing him to pass through safely and land on the other side.
"Alright!" Mina grinned. "Nice one Lee!"
"Thanks," Lee smiled. "Let's see, which one's next?"
He took off, beginning to help the entire class destroy the creatures, obliterating a few before they could even reach the class. Out of the class, he noticed Todoroki, Bakugo, Midoriya, and Iida working mostly as a team to clear about a third of the creatures themselves. They weren't all the same, though, which made fighting them difficult. Some had wings, others were behemoths made of mostly stone which took more than one strike for Lee to beat, some were mostly sand, which he blasted apart easily. Some were fast, others slow. Some large, some smaller. It was kind of like a game. And after he had spent a couple of minutes fighting most of the creatures without the class needing to help, they began to spawn closer, and more quickly. He smirked, internally hoping he was making the pro work for it. Toru got one with tentacles chasing her and Mina melted its leg while Koda was having birds distract one beside it. Then, Momo formed a cannon and blasted both in the face.
"That was amazing Momo!" Mina cheered. "Behind you!"
Momo turned, looking up at the massive, creature behind her with spikes on its back and claws, only for Lee to pass over her from the side, aerial windmill kick obliterating the creature's head. The rest turned to sand and fell at her, only for Lee to land on the side of a tree and explode down it, scooping Momo up on the way by, then dropping her off with Kyoka.
"Awesome!" Eijiro said.
Lee swung around, grabbing Denki, who'd shorted his brain out, and dragged him out of the way of another creature's forefoot, speeding back to Kyoka and dropping him off in front of her. "Watch over your boyfriend for me!" He sped back to the creature and up it's leg before drilling a blurred upper cut into the underside of its head, blasting it into dust, then flipped backward. "Sero! Throw me!"
Sero did as instructed, and when Lee reached the next creature, he slammed a blurred right fist into it, blasting a tunnel through it, then running through it and out the other side before it collapsed. And then, they pressed on. Sweat poured down everyone's bodies, even Lee's. And the hours dragged by. More and more of the creatures attacked, and they obliterated anything that came after them together, switching up teams and combinations as they went. Finally, at four fifty in the afternoon, they all staggered out of the trees, Lee supported on Eijiro and Todoroki's shoulders as his feet dragged along, his legs and Quirk both thoroughly burned out.
"That took a lot longer than I thought," the brunette was saying, the blonde panting beside her, drenched in sweat.
Lee grinned. "Hah. Made her...work for it."
Behind him, Bakugo was holding his left wrist in pain from overusing his own Quirk, Iida was limping badly on his left foot, which was belching smoke, Denki's brain was still fried, Sero's right arm was locked bent and held in front of himself, Uraraka was barely containing her breakfast, as was Aoyama, who was clutching his abdomen in pain, Koda was massaging his throat, blood was running down Mineta's head, and Su's tongue was hanging out of her mouth. Once they arrived, several people collapsed, Lee among them.
"You said it would only be like three hours," Eijiro said.
"I guess we timed it based on how long it'd take us," the brunette said. "Sorry."
"Now you're bragging about how much better you are?" Sato asked. "That's so mean!"
"I'm starving!" Eijiro complained. "This is hell!"
The blonde began to laugh with a strong of "Mew"s. "I thought it would take you kids even longer! And also that it would be less exhausting. But you all did much better against my dirt monsters than I thought you would. You guys were seriously great. Especially the five of you!" She pointed at Lee, then over at Bakugo, Todoroki, and Midoriya, who were still grouped together. "It seems like you've had quite a bit of experience!" She licked her lips. "I call dibs on these kittens! I'll groom them myself!" She darted over to the other four and began to dart around and around them rapidly while they tried to stay away from her.
"I'm so tired," Lee groaned, falling onto his back, ending up with his head between Momo's feet. "Oh shit."
Momo groaned, stepping back, then dropping to her knees and tapping a fist on his forehead. "Idiot."
"My bad," Lee said.
"Alright, enough playing around," Aizawa said. "Get your stuff off the bus. Once your bags are in your rooms, we'll have dinner in the cafeteria. After that, you can bathe and sleep. Tomorrow your training starts in earnest. You'd better get a move on."
The class groaned and began to go to the bus, but when Lee tried to stand, his legs buckled. Momo managed to catch him, but only for his face to end up between her breasts. He groaned, forcing himself up as Kyoka walked over, slapping him, then helping Momo support his weight.
"I'll grab his bag," Eijiro said. "He travelled light, thank God."
"Thanks," Momo said. "He's actually surprisingly light too."
"Especially considering his boots and exoskeleton."
"The metal from them is basically weightless," Lee said. "It's just my body weight."
"You've lost weight," Momo said.
"Cost of overusing my Quirk, probably," Lee said. "Never burned it out before."
Momo nodded and they finally reached the male rooms, dropping him on his bed as Eijiro dropped the bag beside it.
"Thanks," Lee said. "I think I can make it to dinner on my own."
"Then we'll see you there," Momo said. "We still have to grab our bags."
"Actually, we grabbed them for you," Mina said as she and Toru stepped into view. "Wow, theirs is bigger."
"It is?" Momo asked.
"Typical," Kyoka said. "You getting up soon?"
Lee groaned, carefully forcing himself up, nearly falling but managing to stay on his feet. Then, he followed them out of the room to the cafeteria. The feast prepared for them was amazing, but Lee had to have Momo make him a fork to eat it, as his body was too weak for fine motor control. Then, after the feast, which they were warned would only happen one time, they were led to an open-air hot spring to clean up. Lee sighed as Denki and Eijiro lowered him into the water, setting his towel behind him. He glanced down at his body as he did. The others hadn't payed him much mind, even Eijiro and Denki, but he noticed. He was thinner than that morning. A lot thinner. He sighed. Hopefully it would grow back fast.
"The food was good and all, but I'm hungry for something else," Mineta said with his lisp from off to the side, standing in front of the wall separating the boys' side from the girls. "Just one little wall. A few pieces of wood, and heaven is waiting on the other side. A bath fool of boobs and babes waiting to be seen by yours truly.
"Are you over there talking to yourself again Mineta?" Midoriya asked.
"Don't even think about it you little pervert," Lee said.
"This feels amazing!" Mina's voice cried out suddenly.
"I'm so glad they've got a hot spring here," Kyoka said.
"Babes, my angels," Mineta said, embracing the wall. "How stupid of them not to stagger the times that we'd be naked next to each other." Mineta shivered excitedly. "I hope they never learn from their mistakes."
"It's too much for him," Denki smirked.
"You're to stop this at once, Mineta!" Iida ordered, marching toward him through the spring. "What you're doing is demeaning for both the girls and yourself! It's shameful behavior!"
Mineta, who was drooling against the wall with his eyes practically rolled back into his head, ignored him. Then, all of a sudden, he stood up straight. "Now I know why I have this Quirk."
"Mineta, I swear to Christ..." Lee moved to stand, only for his body to give out again, dropping him into the water.
Eijiro and Denki lifted him back out again as Mineta was scaling the wall with his hair balls. Then, he froze just before the top as the little kid the Pussycats had brought with them, Kota, appeared over the wall.
"Before you become a hero, you should learn how to be a good human," Kota said, smacking Mineta's hand and sending him plummeting back to the spring, Mineta's backside landing directly against Iida's face.
"Poor Iida," Lee sighed.
"Mineta really is the worst, isn't he?" Su's voice asked.
"Thanks so much Kota, babe!" Mina called out.
He glanced up at Kota just as he turned toward the girls' side and promptly fainted, falling off the wall. "You've got to be kidding."
Midoriya reacted first, catching Kota before he was halfway down, then quickly pulled on a towel and rushed the child inside.
"How can you guard a hot spring dividing wall, then faint at the sight of naked women?" Lee asked.
"Ah, he's a kid," Eijiro said. "I'd probably do the same thing."
"No, you'd blush bright red, turn away, and pretend you didn't see anything in hopes of the girls not kicking your ass," Lee corrected.
"That's true," Eijiro said.
Lee sighed, then slowly climbed out of the spring, wobbling, but managing to get his towel on and stand up straight. He headed inside, wiped the inside of his boots down with a disinfecting rag and waved them until they were dry, then put them on and got dressed in clean clothes before heading to bed. It was going to be a long week, and he needed to be rested for it.
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