Hello again everyone. After the fun experiment of trying to adapt the events of the first MHA movie with the inclusion of Kolya and Tunguska, it's time to get back to the real meat and potatoes of the story, the manga. After returning to I-Island, at long last it's time for Kolya and his friends to embark on their long awaited Forest Training Camp trip. Unlike when covering 'Two Heroes', I have a good number of ideas for this particular arc that could potentially make some considerable waves, depending how things go.
As such, if you like what you read here today, would you all be so kind as to leave a review to let me know what you think, whether or not you think I'm either giving you some interesting new stuff to experience, or am providing a fresh and interesting new perspective on the canon events we all know and love as MHA fans. I ask this every week, and it pretty much never happens except for one person at most. Granted those are very much appreciated and thorough, but as an aspiring writer, I want to be able to see the feedback from many of my readers. It's the only way anyone in this field can hope to really grow and mature their skill set. I'm really not asking for much, and I don't like how I've pretty much been driven into having to lay this all out, but there's a fair amount of give-and-take involved here. Don't misunderstand me, I greatly appreciate every single days' worth of readers this story gets (believe me, I check just as often), but feedback is essential as well.
Anyway, enough of that. It's time to get back to what we all came here for today. I'd just like to give another thankful shout-out to my two beta readers, Mizu Hikikomori and Jonny Sjölund. The fact that they both continue to try and help me out whichever ways they can, even despite their own personal lives being plenty busy as they are, is something I cannot express my gratitude for enough.
My Hero Academia is the property of Kouhei Horikoshi and Shonen Jump. I only own my original characters, the original events surrounding them, and the alterations of established events that occur as a result of their existence in this universe.
A/N: [[]] indicates that characters are contextually speaking Russian.
Chapter 40
Hike
(Гулять)
Monday, July 8th
The relentless and demanding nature of life as a Yuuei Academy student was very quick to reel its head after the students of Class 1-A had finally returned to Japan from their experience at I-Island. This was because, while it had still been daylight when everyone had left and subsequently returned, exhaustion had left many of them with no energy for anything but to try and sleep and get back into the old mindset of simply waiting for the call that would announce the commencement of their forest lodge trip.
None of them had counted on that call coming early the very next Monday morning, however. This was especially true for Nikolay, who had pretty much been shaken awake from an already restless nights' sleep by a very frantic Oleg, who pretty much threw his son into the shower and forced a rushed breakfast in his face while making sure he had everything they had gathered for the trip itself. It was only through the miracle of how advanced I-Islands' medical technology had proven to be, that his arms were now well enough to actually be taken out of their casts and slings already.
[[Alright, so Aizawa-sans' message did in fact tell you which bus stop at school to meet up at?]] With a forced frigid shower and a speedy breakfast, Nikolay was now much more energized, as he tried to cram everything he could think of he knew he had needed before into the hefty backpack in the middle of their living room. [[Yes, he said the bus was leaving in just over a half hour!]]
[[Alright, a compass, water, sleeping bag, a few fresh changes of clothes, sunscreen and bug spray, sunglasses, is there absolutely anything else you aren't certain you didn't already pack, Kolya?]] Nikolay had to suppress an instinctive groan of anxiety as he had practically gutted his already lackluster wardrobe in order to make sure he had everything he needed for the duration of their week-long stay, wherever they were going.
Once he'd buckled and fastened his pack to his back, Nikolay was already halfway out the door while Oleg had to hurry after him. [[I already confirmed with Aizawa-san before that wherever you're all going has cell service so you can reach me just in case you need anything at all. Neither of us has shared that information with anyone outside of the school, just to make sure nothing else happens to you kids.]]
Nikolay couldn't even afford to look all the way back to address his father, practically jogging the whole way while his father kept following after him. [[Please try not to worry yourself too much, Dad. Even if something were to happen, this wouldn't be like I-Island, cause the whole class is gonna be there. Thanks to that final test you threw at us, I know everybody feels a lot more confident in being able to work together than before. Besides, we've also got Aizawa-sensei and whoever our supervisors are gonna be around to keep an eye out.]]
As Nikolay continued to jog and he kept pace, Oleg couldn't hide the smile on his bearded face. [[I must admit, Kolya, considering you've ultimately had so little time to recuperate before having to leave yet again, I would've sworn you'd be feeling much more tired, but to not only be so alert and at the ready, but to also sound so confident…it makes me really proud to hear every time, and I'm sure you know you have yourself to thank for that just as much as me and all your classmates.]]
Nikolay was about to answer in kind as he pulled out his cellphone, and nearly jumped when he saw what time it actually was. [[Oh, crap, I'm gonna have to sprint the rest of the way if I'm gonna make it in time with that uphill section ahead! I'm sorry, Dad, I have to run! I promise I'll text you every evening just to let you know how things are going!]]
With that, Nikolay sprung forward into a desperate sprint, going as fast as he could without the assistance of his kinetic blasts. Oleg finally came to a stop, watching the image of his driven son shrink more and more, before he finally rounded a corner and was out of sight. As much as it pained the father in him to have to say goodbye to his son for another entire week, his pride in the boys' growth easily dwarfed it. Hell, the pride he felt in all his students did, as he knew they all thrived off of working and learning and growing off of each other.
With a deeply satisfied smile and wistful sigh, Oleg finally turned to return to the house, silently hoping that, just this once, an event planned by the school would actually go off without a hitch, and those kids could be able to go about their Hero education without any Villain-spawned gears being thrown into the works. As demanding as the life of a Hero was, that didn't change the fact that those kids ultimately still deserved a time without fearing for their very lives.
Yuuei Academy, Bus Stop
It was honestly kind of unnatural feeling for Nikolay, to come to the Yuuei Academy grounds and find virtually nobody walking around. It of course made him realize they had no idea what the students from the Departments of Support, Management or General Education were potentially dealing with during their summer break. Of course, he couldn't afford to dwell on it, as the extensive grounds made him have to double check the directory to make sure he knew the right bus stop to go to. Nothing would be more humiliating than to have all that stress and preparation be for nothing simply because he got lost.
Fortunately, that didn't end up being the case, as when he rounded one last corner, he found the blessed sight of all his classmates already all gathered together at the bus stop, simply waiting for the vehicle to arrive. And of course, the scattered callings of Mina, Eijirou, Izuku and Ochako helped him relax to know they'd already seen him coming.
"Man, is it good to see you get here on time, Kolya-san. We were actually starting to consider calling to see if you were even awake yet." Eijirou admitted immediately with a chuckle once Nikolay had gotten into the class throng, heaving for breath after having run so far, which they all immediately noticed.
"Yeah, sorry about that, guys. As exhausted as I was getting back from the airport, I wasn't able to get to sleep as early as I would've hoped." Nikolay likewise confessed as they all noticed the considerable bloodshot look in his green eyes.
"Hmm, maybe it would've been better to just try to keep yourself awake for the night so you could've at least gotten here early like we did. I'm sure the trip's gonna be long enough you might be able to squeeze in some extra sleep." Ochako suggested, almost as though that was exactly what she had done, even though the fact she looked so well rested made it clear that wasn't the case.
"Aw, no way, Urara-chan; if he did that, he'd be slogging here with big old bags under his eyes. Kolya-kun shouldn't be putting that adorable face of his at risk like that." Mina immediately disagreed, albeit with that same joking grin on her face when she saw the Russian boy once again blushing on command at her most common compliment.
Thankfully, Izuku decided to interject before their pink classmate could start prodding any further, offering a swig of tea to Nikolay in order to help wake him up a bit more. "Well, let's just be glad you got here on time anyway, Kolya-san; literally in this case. Ashido-san was actually considering asking Aizawa-sensei to have the bus pull in front of your house to get you if we left before you got here."
Nikolay could only look between all his classmates listening in to ensure this was just another of Minas' jokes, but the knowing smirks on their faces, or even just the looks in their eyes, made it clear that Mina had been legitimately considering bringing that kind of eternal embarrassment on his head, just for the sake of making sure he was included. Looking through the crowd at their homeroom teachers' still grumpy tired face, Nikolay wouldn't have been surprised if Aizawa had seen fit to throw him and Mina both into the remedial course for the camp as punishment for diverging their plans even that much.
"Well, thank goodness that's not the case," he breathed a sigh of relief primarily to himself, before he suddenly felt a pronounced poking at the hefty backpack still slung over his shoulders, while Mina started giggling in amusement at the sight of it.
"Wow, Kolya-kun, were you thinking of scaling Mt. Fuji while we were at camp? How are you even still standing schlepping all this stuff with you?" It was hard for Nikolay to tell if she was still just teasing, or if she actually expected him to answer. Either way, he could only go for the most understandable answer, given their immediate future plans:
"Yeah, it seems excessive, but we still don't know where exactly this camp is, or even if the bus is gonna take us the whole way, or if we're gonna have to hike the rest of the way. Either way, that whole thing about 'better to have something and not need it, than to need it and not have it,' is a timeless saying for good reason." While Eijirou, Izuku and Ochako all enthusiastically nodded with agreement, it was actually Shoto who was the first one to speak up:
"He's right, Ashido-san. If you ever find yourself in a situation where help isn't readily available and you have to trek it, you can't afford to go sharing what resources you have freely with others. It's the perfect scenario where survival of the fittest comes into consideration. It's better to be over-prepared than under."
As if he were waiting for his cue, Tenya suddenly stepped forward with another authoritative chopping of his arms as he likewise spoke up: "It's not just worthwhile advice for survival situations as Heroes, but it's essential advice for living life as a responsible adult in general! When you're no longer a student being supported by the institutions and family around you, but an independent adult needing to provide for themselves, and even their own families when that time comes, you can't afford to be unprepared for any possibility, Ashido-san! You would do well to keep that in mind, no matter what direction your life takes you!"
Before Ochako could even start trying to tell their class president to tone down his natural intensity, the quickly approaching rumble of engines drew all the students' attention to see not one, but two buses pulling up to their stop. "What's going on? There's plenty of room in one bus for the entire class. Why are there two?" Kyouka asked confusedly, before Denki, Hanta, Rikido and Eijirou all started looking considerably nervous.
"Maybe one of them is meant for the remedial students like us! Aizawa-sensei did say we would be getting trained considerably harder than everyone else. Maybe he has an entirely different curriculum and camp set up just for us, his own personal hell for the students lagging behind!" Denki began to exclaim with immense worry.
"Well then, guess it's a good thing that's not the case, otherwise you'd be looking at a real miserable time, Kaminari-kun!" A very familiar female voice suddenly spoke up from further down the sidewalk, and as everyone turned in response, they were all hit with surprise, both pleasant and unpleasant between them, to see the students of Class 1-B approaching alongside their own imposing homeroom teacher; a giant of a man with short grey hair, a dark red Hero suit and fangs, whom Nikolay knew from his father to be called Vlad King.
Among the students of 1-A, Eijirou and Momo both visibly lit up at once more seeing the sight of Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu and Itsuka Kendo, respectively, who likewise looked quite pleased to see them again in kind, even from a distance. Of course, none were more so animated than Mina, Denki, Ochako and Nikolay to see the smirking face of Setsuna Tokage among their numbers, being the one who decided to call the whole classes' attention to her own. Of course, it was the fact that there still had to be some ill-feelings from some of her other classmates that kept them from simply rushing in to greet her with a group hug.
"How cool is this, you guys are actually going to the training camp, too?!" Eijirou exclaimed excitedly, just barely beating Mina to it; prompting Tetsutetsu to practically force his way to the forefront, matching the red-haired boys' sharp-toothed grin with one of his own.
"You're damn right, Kirishima! We're in the Hero Course, so we get to go through the same training as you 1-A lot! Hope you've been improving yourself since last time, cause you'd best believe I have!" Of course, the fact that his own explosive enthusiasm was quickly offset by the orange-haired ponytail-wearing girl, Itsuka Kendos' overall calm was a fairly humorous juxtaposition.
"He's technically right, but it sounds like you guys have been put through quite an extensive bit more preparation than us, Class A. We didn't think you guys were going to get your own personal third surprise test. We just got the standard two. Still, guess this camp will just have to be a chance for us to really catch up so we can actually start standing on equal ground with you, as well."
Of course, her very formal expression of her classes' intent was quickly offset when one student in particular came shoving his way through to the forefront; a young man with short blonde hair, blue eyes, and one of the most cocky grins plastered on his face that Nikolay had ever seen; only for the sight to immediately come back to him: that was the Neito Monoma kid from the Sports Festival who had sparked such an apocalyptic fury out of Bakugo before. The Russian boy instinctively found himself silently praying their hot-tempered classmate wasn't already on the verge of blasting his way straight through the crowd to go after him upon recognition.
"It isn't just the special treatment with the training that sets your class so far ahead of us, though! We all heard about all that bother at that I-Island expo thing last weekend, and how several of you were actually involved! The universe just seems to love heaping the experience on your spoiled little shoulders, doesn't it? And what was that I heard on our way here? Did some of your elite little ranks actually fail the final exams? Does the great and powerful 1-A actually require remedial classes after all? What happened? I thought you guys were supposed to be all so great and powerful and better than u-!"
THWACK!
Monoma had immediately been silenced and felled with a single judo chop to the back of the neck by the ever vigilant and apologetic (to 1-A) Itsuka, much to the silent gratitude of some of her own classmates, and the entirety of 1-A. Nikolay could already feel that kids' taunting and snark get under his skin after listening to him for barely more than half a minute. He could only imagine she had intervened just short of Bakugo finally blowing his fuse and coming to kill him.
Of course, no further chatter could go on before Aizawa and Vlad King alike were beckoning their respective classes onto the two buses, eliciting excited cheers from nearly all around as they began filing in, with several students on both sides promising to see each other again once they actually got to the camp.
There wasn't any assigned seating, so Nikolay couldn't be truly surprised when he chose to sit in the seat next to the one Mina picked, only to find that Tsuyu had actually beaten him to it, and Kyouka silently motioned for him to take the one next to hers, which just conveniently ended up being in the row right in front of theirs.
Soon, the buses were finally rolling, and the teachers had clearly already picked out the perfect routes to get where they needed to go as soon as possible, as it wasn't even ten minutes before they already found themselves rolling down the highways that wound through the deeply forested hills.
Once he was sure they were officially out of the Musutafu City limits, Aizawa suddenly turned to address his whole class: "Alright, listen close, everyone; the bus will be stopping at one hour intervals. After that…"
However, instead of the fully attentive class he had been expecting to be speaking to, he instead found himself gazing upon a picture of absolute adolescent chaos, as many of the students were already loudly proclaiming to either start playing some fitting summertime music, being yelled at not to stand on their seats by Tenya, being asked to share their pocky (or checking to see if he had any homemade shashlik, in Nikolays' case) among the entirety of the class, or even just start excitedly chit-chatting or playing games with each other. Had Aizawa not been so occupied on giving his students a serious explanation of what they were to expect from this trip, he perhaps would've considered such an image to be the very picture of youth.
In fact, that was exactly what he did, as with a tired sigh, he instead turned back and said nothing more to the kids filling the rows. 'Whatever. Those kids' days of just monkeying around are already numbered as it is. They should be allowed to enjoy them while they last.'
And enjoying the freedom of the moment was exactly what his students continued to do as the trip continued on, with Mina being especially energetic among her peers. "Oh, isn't this so exciting, you guys?! Just the thought of getting to hang out and play with everyone in class was awesome enough, but now even the Class B kids are gonna be there? God, I wish we were at the camp already! I can't wait to see what kinda dares Setsuna-chan and her friends can come up with!"
Her excitement had her talking at a mile a minute, while Tsuyu sat beside her and listened with that same unreadable expression. The frog-like girl had actually originally intended to sit next to Ochako further in the back, but had found herself beaten to it by Tooru. As much as she felt familiar with all her fellow girls in the class, she still wasn't quite used to being subject to Mina at her most excitable.
"I hope you don't mind me saying this, Mina, but you really seem to be putting a lot of stock in us getting to do something we still don't even know we'll get a chance to do the entire time we're there-kero. I mean, Aizawa-sensei did say it's going to be a training camp before anything else."
However, Mina simply threw her hands up, cracking her knuckles and leaning back with that same adorable sunny smile on her face. "Aw, c'mon, Tsu-chan; even if it's a training camp, I'm sure even Aizawa-sensei wouldn't be cruel enough to make us all just constantly train all night long without even giving us some playtime or a chance to sleep."
By this point, even the normally reserved Kyouka couldn't keep quiet, finding it especially hard to drown out Minas' voice when she was this energetic and eager. "Well, let's all just be grateful none of us here failed at any portion of the final exams to find out. It's too bad we can't say the same for Kirishima, Kaminari, Sato and Sero-san, though."
Mina and Tsuyu couldn't help but momentarily glance across the bus to the boys in question, where Rikido and Hanta were fighting over a box of pocky, and Eijirou and Denki were fussing over their respective phones, trying to settle on some kind of road trip music.
"Yeah, it really does suck; I was really hoping Kiri, Kaminari-kun and the others would get to play with the rest of us, too. But hey, it's not like this trip is gonna be the end of all our time together! We'll still have tons of chances for slumber parties and get to play all kinds of awesome games together! Hey, if anything, getting to play with all of you and the Class B kids will be a perfect chance to come up with some super smooth dares to try on them later."
Minas' unflappable optimism was of course somewhat admirable to her two fellow girls around her, and the thought of her long-awaited chance to play truth or dare with so many of her classmates had her excitement once again at a fever pitch as she suddenly leaned forward and put her hands firmly on Nikolays' shoulders, smiling wide as she started to lean in over his shoulder. "What about you, Kolya-kun; aren't you excited? I'll bet you've been racking that busy brain of yours for weeks trying to come up with some real clever dares, too! Surely nothing that can top what I've got in mind!"
However, Mina was instead answered with momentary silence, which spurred her to playfully pinch the Russian boys' ear, finally spurring him back to full present awareness. "Hey, you're not already falling asleep on us, are you? This is a chance to finally start planning the games we'll get to play while we're at camp!"
Nikolays' face lit up with realization, which quickly turned to embarrassment. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mina, I actually hadn't been thinking about that today. I was actually kind of busy trying to figure out a plan of my own."
Minas' curiosity was actually mirrored by Kyouka and (he could only assume) from Tsuyu as well, as their eyes suddenly realized he was holding onto a personal notebook he'd been busily writing in while trying to keep it out of view. Of course, now that they had noticed it, the three girls couldn't help but lean in to get a better look. "Whoa, what could have so much of your attention you wouldn't even be thinking about us all playing together, Kolya-kun?"
Instead of the typically flustered reaction she had already naturally been expecting from one of her best friends, Mina was surprised when Nikolay was actually quite willing to show what he'd been jotting down to his three female neighbors. "Well, of course this all depends on what kind of structure Aizawa-sensei has in mind for us once we actually get to the training camp, but I've been going over some potential training routines I was hoping to test out while we're there."
Mina and Kyouka were especially curious as the purple-haired girl took the notebook in hand, and she and her two classmates began curiously poring over it. There were all kinds of different training regimens Nikolay had listed and gone over in fine detail, describing different mechanics to his Quirk to sharpen his handling of.
"Why've you got 'hand-to-hand fighting' listed in here?" Kyouka suddenly asked as soon as she noticed one of the last categories listed, prompting Mina to lean in even more over the seat to see for herself.
"Whoa, yeah! I mean, I've seen you fight plenty of times now, I think you're already pretty damn good as it is, Kolya-kun!" However, the Russian boys' face, even through the slight smile on his face at Minas' confidence in his capabilities, clearly showed this was something considerable weighing on his mind.
"It's not about the actual fighting itself. I want to try and be able to figure out how to take a hefty hit and still stay in the fight afterwards, instead of letting it take me completely out of it, even for a few seconds. I mean, Midoriya-san, Kirishima-san and Todoroki-san have all shown they can take a good few punches and keep going. Me, all it takes is a hard enough hit in the right place, and for a short bit I'm out and completely exposed to whatever anyone has in mind to do to me. After what happened at I-Island, I don't want to be able to leave that kind of opening to someone looking to kill me or anyone else again."
While Kyouka and Mina both looked especially understanding, given his example from just two days ago, Nikolay proceeded to go fishing through his uniform pocket before pulling out a meticulously folded piece of notebook paper, opening it up for the girls to look over further. "When Midoriya-san gave me some notes he'd taken about my Quirk, he theorized about something other than that shockwave trick I used during the practical exam. He thought that, since my Quirk is all about absorbing and dispensing the energy from vibrations, if I were to focus enough, I could potentially be able to take the majority of that energy from a direct physical hit and immediately dispense it right back at whoever's attacking me. It wouldn't completely remove the damage done, but it'd at least be a good countering method, maybe even a deterrent to keep a Villain from trying to physically hit me. I'm not sure how I'd even be able to do something like that yet, so if circumstances allow it, I'm hoping we can all somehow find a way to help each other with our training over the next week."
Once Kyouka gave him back his notebook and he began putting it all back, she and Mina couldn't help but smile in mutual approval at how pro-active their Slavic classmate was already being. "I have to admit, I didn't think you'd be putting in this much planning before we've even gotten to the camp. That always seemed more like the kind of thing Midoriya, Iida-san or Yaomomo would do."
"Yeah, you're pretty much going for broke with all these theories and ideas Midori-kun gave you, Kolya-kun. Is there anything else you've been thinking of trying out while we're there?" Minas' off the wall excitement was, for once, replaced with a much softer air of admiration for seeing Nikolay approach this camp so eagerly.
"Well, I hadn't gotten around to writing it down by the time you all crowded around me, but depending what kind of setup the camp will have, I was also thinking of trying to test out that suspended running of mine; that's what I've taken to calling that mid-air running trick of mine, by the way; on water, see if I'm actually able to traverse the surface like I can on the air. I mean, I'm willing to try it on any terrain short of molten lava, but since I can obviously walk on dry land, and have more or less gotten the hang of the whole running on air thing, as long as intense winds or anything else don't happen along the way, water is pretty much the only major test for it I have left to try."
Mina and Kyouka both looked especially intrigued by this new idea of his, but out of all of his neighbors, it was actually Tsuyu who finally decided to chime in. "Well, if that ends up being the case, I wouldn't mind helping you out if you ended up needing it, Kolya-san. I mean, water is pretty much my natural habitat, more or less. I've already gotten as good as I can get on my own in terms of solo water traversal, but I know I need to work on being able to coordinate my Quirk with another person in a solely water environment. As long as you already know how to swim, I'd be okay helping you out whichever way I could if you want-kero."
Mina looked positively ecstatic that another of her friends was actually reaching out to help another friend so readily, while Nikolay looked particularly surprised that Tsuyu was reaching out to him likewise. Much to his regret, they had sadly never really talked to each other nearly as much as he had with the likes of Kyouka, Momo and Ochako, and especially not as much as he had with Mina. So for Tsuyu to actually be the one to offer her participation in a portion of his own training was pleasantly surprising. "Yeah, I'd like that, Tsuyu-san. Of course, we need to see what the training camp itself will look like first, but if it's possible, I think that would be really helpful. Spasibo."
Suddenly, Nikolay broke into an especially prolonged and exhausted-sounding yawn, turning away to spare the girls the sight. "Sorry. Excitement to finally be on the road can make me forget I didn't get nearly enough sleep last night for only so long."
"Well, Aizawa-sensei said the bus would be stopping every hour, which tells me this trip is gonna be going for a while, so maybe you can catch up in the meantime." Tsuyu suggested as straightforwardly as ever.
"Oh, I'd thought of doing so, Tsuyu-san, but with everybody else still so loud and excited, I don't know if I'd even be able to if I tried." The moment Nikolay said so, he didn't notice how Minas' black-gold eyes widened along with her smile of realization as she suddenly leaned right in Kyoukas' flustered-looking face.
"Hey, Kyouka-chan, you still have that double set of ear buds from when we all went shopping last week, don't you?" For very obvious reasons, Kyoukas' initial expression was all but asking out loud if this was another setup for another round of Mina-style teasing. After all, the fact she and Nikolay were sharing the same seat, and essentially giving their pink friend a front row center seat to the proceedings, was the perfect setup for her to do so.
However, it was almost as though Mina could already tell what her purple-haired classmate was thinking as she leaned in a tiny bit more so she could at least give her the courtesy of not announcing everything to the rest of the bus. "I mean, you've got tons of different music with you all the time, I'll bet. Do you think you might have something that would help Kolya-kun sleep? It wouldn't be right for him to barely be conscious once we get there, you know?"
This seemed to brush aside Kyoukas' initial suspicions, as the apprehensive look in her onyx eyes softened, and she proceeded to start ruffling through her own pack before pulling out that very same pair of two conjoined ear buds connected to another MP3 player. It didn't take long for Nikolay to notice this out his peripheral vision, just as soon as Kyouka stuck her own pair into her ears and offered the other to him. "I like to listen to really mellow music on long road trips; really helps me to sleep if I need it. Maybe it might do the trick for you, too, Kolya-san."
The grateful smile on his fair face forced Kyouka to avoid glancing in his direction lest he saw the nervous look in her eyes. "Thank you, Kyouka-san. That might actually work. The stuff you've given me to listen to so far hasn't disappointed yet, so I can't imagine this would be any different."
With that, once he had his own pair firmly set in, Kyouka hurriedly proceeded to go for the first thing she could find that fit the bill of 'mellow'.
[Johann Johannsson - Virðulegu Forsetar Part 1]
As the music began to fill both their heads, Nikolay soon found himself becoming completely entranced in it, to the point he was thankfully sleeping soundly within less than ten minutes. Just the sight of seeing him and Kyouka sharing a silent yet meaningful moment like this together had Mina smiling bright, looking downright giddy.
As for Kyouka, her embarrassment had thankfully subsided, and even with a slight tinge of pink adorning her cheeks, she found herself feeling much less on-the-spot and awkward. In fact, she actually felt rather content, reflected by a small warm smile on her face as she listened on in peace. It was an especially nice feeling, to know that the two of them were actually more or less having a moment, without Mina making it unbearable for her with the constant teasing and knowing looks.
All the while, even though she wasn't saying anything in order to avoid risking waking Nikolay up, Mina was still watching him and Kyouka attentively with that same cheerful smile on her face; a display that Tsuyu couldn't help but observe, and after a good few minutes, finally speak up on: "Why are you so insistent on pushing Kolya-san and Kyouka-chan closer together, Mina?"
Mina momentarily stiffened, worried that Kyouka had somehow overheard the frog-like girl, but when she didn't show any outward reaction, instead focusing on scribbling something down in a notebook of her own, Mina slowly sat back down so as not to risk drawing attention to herself. Turning to address Tsuyu, however, her momentary nervousness had gone right back to that sparkly-eyed sunny pink smile, answering in a hushed whisper only her seat partner could hear. "It's just so cute, Tsu-chan! It's so obvious she has a crush on Kolya-kun! They're both my friends, doesn't it just make sense I should help my friends come together inch by inch like that? I mean, there's nothing as precious as someones' first high school romance, you know? Just look at how Urara-chan and Midori-kun are when they're around each other and tell me you don't know what I mean."
However, even after she momentarily glanced to the back of the bus to observe the two classmates in question, Tsuyu still looked unconvinced when she turned back, Of course, it was hard to tell with her face being so naturally expressionless. "I don't know, Mina. From what I understand, it sounds like the only thing they really have in common is a strong appreciation for music, and Kolya-san isn't even nearly as well-versed with it as Kyouka-chan is-kero. So far, it looks like the only thing she's ever really done as far as a gesture, is making a few MP3 players with playlists to just help him broaden his musical knowledge."
Of course, where Tsuyu saw something straightforward and self-explanatory, the joyous glimmer in Minas' golden irises made it clear she saw so much more. "Exactly; going out of your way to give something to another, totally unprovoked, more than once? With notes and everything? That's, like, total textbook crush material right there."
To this, Tsuyu simply brought a finger to her lower lip, her telltale sign of clearly thinking hard. "Maybe…or maybe she just senses something like a kindred spirit in Kolya-san, as far as a love for music goes. It's possible that could be as far as it goes-kero."
Mina leaned back in her seat, a rather confident grin on her face as she kept locking eyes with Tsuyu. "Well, if Kyouka-chan doesn't have a crush on Kolya-kun, why would she always blush so much whenever he'd thank her, give her a compliment, or even just stand near her?"
The pink girl looked particularly proud of having found what she believed to be a foolproof argument, while Tsuyu was once again contemplating what her classmate was giving her. "Well, again, I'm not saying you're wrong, Mina. It could be a crush, but unless Kyouka-chan were to say so herself, then anything either of us could come up with is just a guess and nothing else-kero. I mean, don't you think it could be possible that maybe she's just never had that much of those kind of interactions with boys before?
"I mean, I was never really approached by boys back in my middle school, so if I were to ever find myself feeling that way for someone, I can't imagine I'd be much better at processing it than Kyouka-chan would be-kero. Figuring out the difference between a crush and a strong sense of friendship is probably really hard. On top of that, you constantly teasing and prodding her probably doesn't help clear the distinction any-kero. You could potentially be trying to force something between them that ultimately just isn't there."
This was the line to finally make Mina pause for a moment, as her smile began to withdraw from one of confidence, to a much more embarrassed sense of realization. "Okay…well, maybe I have been coming on a bit strong about it. I mean, yeah, the only person that can help Kyouka-chan figure out if she has a crush in the end, is Kyouka-chan. I don't know; I've just always had this kind of obsession with romance when it comes to other people, but especially if it involves my friends. I've always wanted to play something like a matchmaker and bring two people together in a love that's, like, totally unbreakable, you know? I love stuff like that in the movies, so how cool would it be to actually make it happen for someone you care about in real life?"
While Tsuyu couldn't admit to completely understanding where Mina was coming from, she could at least understand the appeal of wanting to help people find love. It was ultimately just another way of helping people, just like Heroes were, by definition, supposed to do. Just not in the traditional sense.
"Well, you just said that first high school romances are one of the most precious things, so how come you've never stopped to think about that in regards to yourself, Mina? Wouldn't that be a lot less stressful on you than trying to make it happen for other people, regardless whether they're your friends or not? I mean, Kirishima-san said you were one of the most popular students in your middle school; you must've had a fair number of boys try to approach and ask you to be their girlfriend, right? Figuring out that difference between feeling friendship and love for another person must be a lot easier for you-kero."
To Tsuyus' silent surprise, however, Minas' eyes slowly fell as the thought came to her, and her already embarrassed smile was now even smaller. "Well, I could totally see why you'd think so…but no, actually. I mean, yeah, Kiri and other boys always said how cool they thought I was, but it never went any farther than that. It's not like I was ever cold to anyone, or even opposed to the idea. I mean, who wouldn't want to be in a relationship with someone they love at some point, right? I just…I never stopped to consider it, because…well, I've just always wanted to be a Hero, Tsu-chan; the kind of Hero that's able to be not just everybody's protector, but also everybody's friend.
"For pretty much as long as I can remember, I've always wanted to try and go out of my way to make friends with as many people as I could wherever I went, because friendship is the most awesome thing there is, and being able to help somebody feel just a little less lonely not only makes their lives better, but it ends up making the world for a lot of people feel just a little bit better to be in with each new friend they make. That's what's driven me for so long, so I just never stopped to consider that kind of thing, of finding a person among all my friends who I could actually say I feel something stronger for."
The more she spoke, the more frankly embarrassed Mina looked to realize she'd deprived herself of something that still held such a big portion of her interest for her friends. At the same time, Tsuyu still kept that thoughtful finger to her lip before looking Mina in the eyes again. "Well, even if making that distinction between the two isn't as easy as I thought it would be for you, Mina, maybe you've already started making that decision without realizing it-kero. Tooru-chan and I have talked about it a couple times over the last few weeks since the internships, but it seems like the closeness you and Kolya-san have is considerably more…intimate-looking compared to your closeness with everyone else."
The intensity with which Mina flinched nearly made Tsuyu do the same, it came so suddenly. Her black-gold eyes were as wide as the frog-girl had ever seen them as she started unconsciously shaking where she sat ever so slightly as she still managed to speak clearly: "And you were just talking about me probably pushing something that isn't there, Tsu-chan. I already said before, I just wanna be Kolya-kuns' best friend, after everything he's been through. He deserves to have as many great friends in his life as possible, just like everyone else, and I wanna help him be able to open up as much as possible so that can happen for him, that's all."
It was actually quite a feat that Mina hadn't practically shouted that rebuttal, she had been so thoroughly caught off guard. However, this time Tsuyu didn't even afford her the courtesy of a momentary silence to convince herself she'd made her point. "Well, it looks to me like Kolya-san's gotten rather good at being able to open up to and talk to people, even if he hasn't talked to them that much compared to you and Kirishima-san. He didn't even flinch when I suggested working with him on any potential water-based training, and we haven't talked to each other nearly as much. So it sounds like you've pretty much helped him to open up quite a bit already-kero. So I don't think you really have as much reason to constantly be around him at this point, Mina-kero."
Mina was completely speechless, which left Tsuyu figuring she'd given her classmate enough to think about, and thus proceeded to take a drink from a juice box from her backpack in silence. Mina honestly couldn't believe just how right Tsuyu was, and how blind to it she'd let herself become. Nikolay was so much more comfortable talking to even the classmates he wasn't nearly as familiar with, it left him practically unrecognizable from the way he was at the start of the year. So if she'd already helped him crack through his socially awkward shell, then did she really need to be constantly at his side from here on, and not simply allow him to go about on his own and see how he did at making more friends? Was that really the sole reason she was always by his side to begin with like she'd just blindly said, upon further thought?
She couldn't even begin to come up with an answer to that, and that left her especially worried about what exactly it was that was really keeping her so thoroughly attached to her Russian classmate, if it wasn't in fact just that incredibly strong bond of friendship she'd convinced herself they had?
Nikolay had thankfully managed to fall fast asleep, as it took a rather firm poking against his cheek to finally stir him back to consciousness, to find Mina once again leaning in over the back of his and Kyoukas' seat, that same eager smile on her face. "Well, looks like Kyouka-chans' little music trick really helped you out, huh?"
Nikolay nearly felt one of his shoulders pop as he stretched. "How long was I out?"
That was when he realized there was a steady flow of their classmates slowly heading out the door to the bus. "Not too long, this is just the first stop in case anyone needs to take a bathroom break. You feeling okay?"
Nikolay quickly nodded as he began to get up right alongside Mina, Kyouka and Tsuyu. "That's the good thing about tea when it's made right, it doesn't just go right through you." This point came across as especially cosmic, as he could even hear Minoru from somewhere further up the line repeatedly muttering his need for a bathroom as though his life depended on it.
Kyouka and Tsuyu, being closer to the aisle, were the first of the four to step out, thus allowing Nikolay and Mina to follow after, near the end of the line of the rest of their class. She could already notice an improvement in his posture and movement speed. "Wow, even for less than an hour, that bit of shut-eye really seems to have helped you a ton."
Nikolay was likewise smiling with satisfaction, no longer having to struggle to keep his eyes open. "Yeah, I was out pretty much in an instant. Still, even if I slept, I was still able to think about a lot of things…one of which I actually wanted to bring up to you, Mina."
Nikolay didn't look back as he said this, so he didn't even notice the momentary flinch of nervousness on her pink face behind him, having been unable to stop thinking about the note her conversation with Tsuyu regarding the Russian boy had ended on.
"I've been thinking that, since you're the one person in class I'm easily the closest with…considering how you talk to the rest of the girls, and even Kirishima-san and Midoriya-san, I feel like maybe I should have some kind of a personal nickname for you." Mina momentarily froze in place to make sure she was actually hearing him right, before a momentary bump to her back from Mezo forced her to keep going.
"A nickname for me? Okay, one: that's just totally random, coming from you, Kolya-kun. Two: that really isn't necessary, you know? I've already said I want you to call me just by my name, no suffixes or anything. I've given that kind of permission to only a couple other people like Urara-chan and Kiri, but they both insist on either giving me a suffix anyway, or just calling me by my family name. You and Tsu-chan are the only ones who actually call me by the way I'd want you to, even though for Tsu-chan, she pretty much does that with everybody. So in our case, doesn't that make our connection super special in its own way, already?"
"Well, yes, it does; but I just feel like you deserve to have something distinctive for me to call you that only the two of us would know, especially since you're the first friend I've ever had." Nikolay explained earnestly as they finally disembarked from the bus into the light of the morning sun.
The sentiment behind his words had Mina feeling notably warm in the face in a matter of seconds, even though she didn't dare freeze in reaction, lest it grab Nikolays' attention and make him see the admittedly flustered look on her face she could only assume she was wearing right now.
"You're blushing pretty heavily right now, Mina. Are you sure you don't wanna just wait in the bus-kero?" Tsuyu pointed out bluntly, while thankfully having the wherewithal to say so in a whisper Nikolay wouldn't be at risk of overhearing.
Mina immediately shook her head to try and get her head out of where it was and make the blush on her cheeks go away. "Please don't just go pointing things out like that, Tsu-chan!"
Thankfully, Tsuyu could clearly hear the embarrassed desperation lining Minas' words, and thus decided to give the pink girl some space to get her emotions back in order. However, that momentary silence left Mina once again thinking back to their conversation, and now thinking even harder about Tsuyus' final point. 'Oh, man…why is Kolya-kun being so sweet suddenly making me feel like this? It didn't do that before! Aw, how right was Tsu-chan about all this? Oh, this can't be good!'
She fortunately was able to get her mind back in reality in time to catch back up with Nikolay, who'd still been simply following the rest of their classmates further outside, taking in the fresh air, seemingly none the wiser as Mina quickly returned to his side, wearing the same normal excitable smile she always had.
"Anyway, I'm sorry for rambling, Mina. I wanted to bring this up now because, not only do I have no idea if we'll even have a chance to talk about this once we get to the training camp, but also because I already had an idea in mind I wanted to run by you first. If it's gonna be my nickname for you, I think your opinion on it matters the most. And, just in case you're thinking this, this would only be for if it were just the two of us hanging out, or studying or anything like that…if that makes you feel any better, of course. I don't ever want to embarrass you."
The confidence he had once spoken with had quickly returned to that adorable awkwardness of his that seemed to just magically dispel any of Minas' own nervousness in seconds as she gave him a reassuring giggle and a playful smack to his back. "Aw, Kolya-kun, trust me: you couldn't ever embarrass me if you tried. It is really sweet that you want to do something like this for me, just like I've done for you; you know, adding a personal suffix from me to your own childhood nickname and all. So if you really want to do the same for me, then I say give me your best shot. I'll wear it like a bestie badge of honor!"
The smile of genuine relief on Nikolays' face to hear Mina say so, left her feeling another flash of heat in the face, but at the same time also melted her heart to see him looking so happy to be able to now have something like this between them. Quickly recomposing himself, Nikolay looked so confident as he spoke up: "Alright then. Well, Mina, the nickname I had in mind for you, if you like it of course, would be 'Ochi Chyornye.'"
Minas' eyebrows were raised with noticeable intrigue, complimented by an especially interested smile as she stepped in that much closer, never taking her eyes from his, now starting to leave him looking increasingly shy. "That's quite the mouthful…but definitely really exotic. That's obviously not Japanese or English, so…what exactly does it mean, Kolya-kun?"
Nikolay was thankfully looking ready to answer her with especial enthusiasm before—"Hey, this isn't a rest stop! Where's the bathroom?!" "Yeah, and where's Class B's bus?! Weren't they behind us this whole time?!"
Both their attention had immediately been snapped away by the confusion apparent in Eijirou and Ochakos' voices from further up ahead. Finally taking the moment to actually take in their surroundings, they found themselves standing in the middle of an empty overlook spot on the side of the road, looking out at a vast expanse of forested mountains. Of course, the scenic beauty did nothing to dispel the whole classes' confusion.
"To say there's no ulterior motive at play here would be a lie…"
Nikolay could just barely hear the voice of Aizawa muttering these words, and as he looked to their homeroom teacher, he could see several of his classmates had heard him as well. Before any of them could ask him to clarify what he meant, however…
"Heeey, Eraser! It's been quite a while, hasn't it?" The upbeat and resonating sound of an unfamiliar female voice suddenly broke the confused silence. Everyone quickly turned in the direction it came from like a flock of sheep, only to find posing before them:
"With sparkling eyes we rock on!"
"Cute, Cat, Stinger!"
"THE WILD, WILD PUSSYCATS!"
Standing triumphantly in cheerful and confident poses were two adult women; one with short brown hair and matching eyes and pink marks on her face that resembled two V's on each cheek; the other with long blonde hair and a visor over her light blue eyes; both of them wearing fur-fringed heeled boots and frilly dress-like outfits (red and light blue respectively) that looked like they belonged more on a duo of peppy J-Pop singers. Their hands were covered in large gloves that looked more like giant cat paws, and they both wore matching mechanical headdresses that resembled cat ears.
And standing contrastingly to the two womens' side was a little boy with black boots and shorts, a white short-sleeved dress shirt, black hair, especially piercing eyes, and a red baseball cap with little golden horns protruding from it.
Of course, the sudden appearance of this trio had Izuku nearly exploding with excitement, with everyone already seeing his transition into fan-boy mode yet again: "Oh my god, one of the four Hero teams that founded the Union Affairs Office! They specialize in mountain rescue operations, and are veterans in their field! They've got twelve whole years of experience on them…!"
With almost lightning-fast precision, the blonde woman specifically dashed forward and silenced Izuku by grasping his whole face in her cat paw glove; a particular intensity as she spoke: "I've got eighteen in my heart, for your information!"
While more and more of the class was likewise hit with recognition, Nikolay felt Mina nudging him in the arm with her elbow, a look of likewise recognition in her eyes. "Hey, Kolya-kun, I remember now! Weren't The Wild, Wild Pussycats one of the teams that actually nominated you alone for the first internships?"
All at once, Nikolay remembered that listing clear as day, muttering "Oh my God, you're right!"
As soon as Mina heard him say as such, and saw it reflected in his eyes, her smile only grew that much brighter. "Oh, wow, how lucky are we?! Not only are we gonna get trained by more Heroes that nominated you, but we get to do it with all our friends, too! Oh, this is gonna be so cool!"
Without wasting a beat, the brown-haired woman stepped forward to the edge of the overlook, extending her arm in a grand swing to gesture and emphasize the sheer size of the landscape below, before pointing directly at one of the most distant mountains ahead. "This entire area is more or less our domain. The place you'll be staying at is on the base of that mountain."
"Holy crap, that's so far away, though!" Denki bemoaned almost instantly, with Kyouka, Tooru and Minoru echoing likewise. However, it was when Ochako spoke up that the classes' entire mood took a vast turn:
"Huh? Then why did we stop if we're only halfway there?"
Nikolay could feel an immense cold start settling in the pit of his stomach, only made worse when he could practically hear the same dreadful realization start echoing from Rikido and Hanta: "No…don't tell me…" "Let's hurry back to the bus…please?"
Sensing the dread among the students, the brown-haired woman's once sunny smile took on a much more devious air. "It's 9:30 AM right now, so if you kids kick it into high gear right now, it should be about 12…"
Nikolay suddenly felt Mina clutching his sleeve and tugging at it with pronounced urgency, and when he looked back, they could both see the same horror reflected in each others' eyes. To their right, they could even hear the proverbial pin dropping for Eijirou as he could barely mutter a horrified "Oh…no…"
"Let's go back! Hurry!" Mina finally exclaimed, sending more than half the class sprinting for the bus, Nikolay included. If he could at the very least grab his supplies before whatever he feared was about to happen would happen, that would be close to enough.
All the while, the voice of their brown-haired now-supervisor kept mockingly calling back to them as they ran for their very lives: "The kittens among you that don't make it to the base by 12:30 PM won't be eating lunch!"
"EVERYONE TO THE BUS!" Eijirou proclaimed, nearly screaming with desperation as each step felt like it got them closer to salvation, and yet so far. Nikolay was about ready to practically launch himself through the window in order to get back in time and grab what he could.
"I'm sorry, everyone…" Aizawa barely muttered, and as if that were the long-awaited cue, the blonde member of the Pussycats suddenly planted her hands to the ground, and in a flash, the entirety of the ground beneath all the students' feet surged and swelled like a tumultuous ocean, tossing them all this way and that in their fear and confusion, before ultimately rolling and sending them all flying right over the edge of the overlook in a waterfall of dirt, punctuated by numerous cries of desperate fear and confusion, as among them, Nikolay couldn't even think of getting his bearings as he knew the sensation of freefall far too well. Everything had happened so fast, and his adrenaline had spiked so high so quickly, that he couldn't even register when his vision went dark and he lost all awareness of time and place, blacking out mid-plummet.
As he observed all his students fall over the overlooks' edge into the forest below, Aizawa finally finished speaking: "…but your school trip has already started."
Once the Quirk-created landslide had run its course, the brown-haired Pussycat called down from over the railing with that same contradictory cheeriness: "Feel free to use your 'personalities' in our domain however you see fit! You have three hours! Use your own feet to get to the facility! See how your instincts and skills will help you fare in your hike through this Beasts' Forest!"
When Nikolay had finally regained consciousness, only to find himself unable to see anything, and barely hear anything by comparison, on top of an inability to move or breathe, panic was very quick to start coming up on him. When he felt two pairs of hands grip onto his ankles and pull with exceptional strength, survival instinct was screaming for him to start kicking back in response.
However, once he started feeling whatever was binding him start to give from around his legs, with the rest of his body quick to follow, he soon found himself able to breathe and move and see again, no matter how blinding the onset of daylight was at first.
"Oh, what a relief, I was starting to worry we hadn't gotten you out in time, your legs weren't moving!" Minas' very worried voice was the first thing Nikolay could hear once his vision re-adjusted to the sunlight, only to now find her and Eijirou standing at his sides, both heaving for breath while trying to recover from the panic from the fall, and then trying to get him back out in the open.
"Yeah, but thank God for small miracles, right? You're lucky you didn't get brained by a rock on the way down, Kolya-san; otherwise we probably wouldn't even be having this conversation." Eijirou agreed, prompting Nikolay to look back to find a hole in a large pile of dirt and rocks, clearly the place he had just been buried during the recent landslide, and that could have very easily been his tomb.
Looking back to find the rest of his classmates either heaving for breath, or actually hacking up dirt from their mouths, Nikolay soon realized they were now staring into a deep, dense forest. When he looked straight up the face of the cliff to where the overlook they had just been thrown from was, Nikolays' first response…was to give a very dry chuckle as Mina and Eijirou helped him back to his feet. "How are you feeling, Kolya-kun? That was scary as hell, wasn't it?"
"It sure was…and yet, funny enough, I'm not even surprised anymore. Why did I ever think Aizawa-sensei wouldn't pull something like this on us, for what he said outright was a training camp?" Looking down, Nikolay realized that he was pretty much covered from head to toe in dirt, which his two friends noticed as well, as Mina was already busily ruffling his hair to try and get as much dust out as she could. "This really sucks; it wouldn't be so bad if they'd at least let us get our stuff out of the bus."
"Well, if we're just under that overlook from before, then we know we just need to go straight from here in order to get to the base, just like those Pussycat ladies said. I'll bet we can find a stream along the way to quench all our thirst easy." Eijirous' confidence was far from unappreciated, as Nikolay and Mina both felt their remaining senses of shock and fear from before finally fully fade away, now re-emboldened to meet the last minute challenge they'd been given. Thankfully, the rest of the students were looking to be getting to the same place mentally, as well, even if some like Denki were still voicing some considerable frustration at just what they were looking at ("Did they seriously call this place 'The Beasts' Forest'? The hell do they think this is, some kinda video game?").
"Well, we all knew Yuuei was notorious for pulling crap like this, so there's no point in fretting about it anymore. The sooner we get moving, the sooner we can get there and finally eat and wash up." Kyouka announced to as many of her classmates as would listen, while Minoru was once again rushing past everyone else, hands planted desperately over his groin, once again muttering for someplace, any place at all, to relieve himself...
...only to suddenly come to a grinding halt when he found himself facing a large quadripedal beast with massive tusks and no eyes, that was looking right in his direction. Even if Minoru couldn't even make the faintest squeak of absolute terror in response, the rest of his body instinctively released all that previous tension the only way it could, to his silent humiliation.
Denki and Hanta, however, were far more able to react, as their own terror came out in a pair of matching high-pitched shrieks: "HOLY SHIT, THERE ARE MAGIC BEASTS!"
"Oh my God, what the hell kind of animal is that?!" Eijirou likewise exclaimed, completely devoid of the usual masculine confidence he radiated, while Mina was likewise petrified, and Nikolay was mentally willing himself to get ready to fight, but his body simply wasn't listening.
The beast began to approach the shaken students even closer, before Kouji Kouda suddenly stepped into the forefront, his hands raised in a gesture of no ill-will while standing as the veritable last line of defense between the creature and his classmates. His body language showed no fear, even if his rock-esque face showed just as much nervousness as everyone else. "There, there, beast, just calm down and fall back, please."
However, for as calm as his way of speaking to the creature was, its responses were not in reciprocation. In fact, it was starting to get up on its hind legs in an aggressive manner akin to a bear. And it was that recognition that finally spurred Nikolay to speak in instinctive warning: "Kouda-san, that's not working! Get out of there!"
Kouji had come to the same realization at the same time, only whereas Nikolay was finally finding himself ready to fly in to intercept the creatures' attack, the rocky-headed boy couldn't bring himself to move.
However, Nikolay finally could, as without another word, he proceeded to launch himself forward over everyone elses' heads, already preparing a burst into his right foot for a precise kick to the head. Maybe if he could buy a few extra seconds, it would spur the rest of his classmates to start moving to get away from this thing.
BKOOOM!
A sudden deafening explosion erupted right behind Nikolay as he flew, right before he found himself getting blown right off his course as Bakugo came flying right past him, quickly followed by Tenya with a rev of his engines, Shoto with a mid-air trail of ice, and Izuku with the blinding sparks of his Full Cowl.
Despite getting thrown by the sudden rush of his classmates moving in for the fight, Nikolay was, this time, able to react in time to bounce himself off the ground by his hands, and quickly throwing himself into a forward roll before landing squarely on his knees. Looking up, he was just in time to see his four classmates practically blast the creature to bits in a full-blown bum rush.
His momentary amazement at their cleanly coordinated attack was quickly replaced with realization when he noticed the raining pieces of the creature that had once towered over them. 'Now it all makes sense why Kouda-sans' Quirk wasn't working. That wasn't an animal at all, it's made of damn dirt and roots!'
Now that the immediate threat had been taken care of, Izukus' glow was already dissipating, while Tenya turned back to address the class: "Alright, everyone, we can't afford to stay here a moment longer if we want to make it to base in time. If we're going to do that, we all must be on full alert and always at the ready to act. There's no way that was the only one of these creatures we're bound to run into on the way."
With the understanding of what they were now dealing with fully registered, everyones' nervousness and fear was now pure determination, as they all nodded in full acceptance to do whatever it took to succeed. Sensing this and nodding with gratitude and approval, Tenya continued on: "Now, given our positioning, and based on what our supervisors told us of our destination, we just need to proceed in this straight path behind me in order to reach base, but the potential for being sidetracked by obstacles and enemies is all too likely. So we'll need someone to serve as a constant navigator to make sure we stay on the right track. Unfortunately, Uraraka-sans' Zero Gravity gradually takes a physical toll, and we'll need her to be at the ready to assist in case we find ourselves in a fight that can't be handled straightforwardly. Bezpalov-san, are you okay to serve as our eye in the sky if need be?"
Nikolay could feel many of the classes' eyes on him now, and standing back up on his feet, clenching his fists in determination and taking a deep steadying breath to meet all their eyes and resultant trust in kind, he showed no hesitation: "Of course."
Back on the Overlook, Aizawa, the Pussycats and the little boy that had accompanied them, were already observing how the students down below had handled themselves against the first of their soon-to-be many opponents. To see them act so swiftly and efficiently, the brown-haired Pussycat couldn't hide the knowing smile on her face as she turned to address the 1-A homeroom teacher: "This is one seriously twisted itinerary you've got planned out, Eraser. It's not often Yuuei puts its first years through something like this."
Aizawa was already making his way back to the bus as he answered: "Well, the plan was always to put them on the accelerated learning course we usually reserve for the second year students. So for a fresh batch of first years, things are bound to get more than a little hectic from now on. Their personalities, which have so far have only been allowed during emergencies, have now been unleashed: a temporary license to cut loose and mimic a qualified, approved Hero. With the Villains increasing their volume of activity lately, the first years will now be looked upon to start fending for themselves. So with that all being said, I'll leave the rest of their hiking test in your hands, Pixie-Bob."
At his granting of permission, the blonde Pussycat was practically squirming with giddy delight, the biggest smile on her face. "Wooo! Leave it to me, Eraser! Ooh, I'm already getting goosebumps just thinking about it!"
At the same time as Aizawa returned to the bus, the brown-haired Pussycat was quick to head for the one nearby car sitting in the overlook spot, but not before turning to address the little boy that was still standing at the railing, looking down silently into the woods. "Kota-kun, we're going back now."
The boy showed no outward reaction to the woman's calling, but instead gave one last glance down to the woods where he knew those Yuuei students were now trekking, and let out the briefest, and most silent 'tsch' as a long withheld response to what he'd seen from them. "So stupid."
Right from the beginning after Nikolay had confirmed his willingness to be their scout in case they wound up getting turned around, Tenya took the lead, ordering the class to move in as close to a single file as the terrain could allow them. It was barely even five minutes afterward that they ended up having another encounter with another of the creatures brought to life from dirt and wood.
Only this time it was much bigger, and even when Bakugo was clearly gearing up to fly right in and blow it to smithereens like the last one, even Tenya and Izuku weren't sure if one coordinated attack would be as effective this time.
That was why it ultimately ended up being Eijirou who decided to step up, once again suggesting to Nikolay to propel him upwards with a shot to the back so he could try to at least knock the thing onto its back so they could buy enough time for everyone to run. His last-second little plan ended up working even better than he had expected, as once he had been shot like the human cannonball he'd pretty much relegated himself to, he ended up plowing his hardened body straight through the dirt creatures' head, toppling it over and earning the class yet another victory, albeit one that had to be put on the backburner when they had to pry Eijirous' body out from the perfect imprint he'd left of himself on the face of a tree.
Unfortunately, from there, everything snowballed increasingly out of control, because not even ten minutes after that, the class found themselves on the run, pursued by a multitude of much smaller, but no less fierce, dirt creatures that sprouted out from the ground around them, forcing them to flee.
Those with Quirks that covered wider areas that were better for crowd control, like Bakugo and Shoto, tried to thin out their pursuers' numbers along the way, but for every dozen or so that were destroyed, twice as many took their place, and once Shotos' frostbite was beginning to make itself known, and Bakugos' explosive sweat was starting to run dry, it was finally clear how outmatched they were. This wasn't a battle of attrition; it was a test to see how they handled an escape from an overwhelming threat.
Finally using his responsibility as scout, Nikolay was quick to launch himself up through the canopy to look for a way they could go, soon spotting what looked like a small rocky gorge a little ways ahead. Knowing that, Tenya was especially driven in the lead, sprinting at the word 'go' in order to deliver a kick powerful enough to knock a large nearby tree down, forming a makeshift bridge over the gorge for everyone to cross.
The moment more than half of them had crossed, however, Tooru had ended up tripping over a partially hidden tree root a ways back, quickly leaving her behind everyone else.
The mob of dirt creatures would have ultimately ended up swarming her within seconds; especially when, in the students' blind rush to put distance between themselves and their pursuers, Kyouka had jabbed one of her earphone jacks into the tree bridge, sending a pulse that nearly exploded it in half, only to then realize they'd left one of their own behind.
However, it was Fumikage and Tsuyu who were the ones to save their invisible classmate, as the crow-headed boys' Dark Shadow sprung across the gorge and expanded into a giant wall of itself, swiping its claws all across the expanse of the path they had just taken, sending dozens of the little creatures flying and exploding against the rocks and trees with every attack, all while Tsuyu shot out her tongue to wrap around Tooru and yank her right across to the other side safe and sound. Seeing this prompted Fumikage to finally withdraw Dark Shadow, and left Class 1-A to breathe easy once again, as they saw what was left of the little beasts on the other side simply retreat back into the woods on their side of the gorge.
Unfortunately, the rush to escape had inevitably led the class to realizing they had diverted from their original direction, and now needed to get themselves redirected. As such, Nikolay once again launched himself into the air to try and spot the mountain they were supposed to go to. He was only able to call down to them what direction to head in, before the Russian boy was swiftly swatted right out of the air by a massive tail of yet more dirt and roots.
Nikolays' instinctive firing through his hands and feet to try and slow his falling momentum was what kept him from becoming paralyzed, as he flew through the canopy of several trees before finally managing a soft landing on one of the branches. Looking through the path his crash-landing had made in the canopy, he was met with the sight of what looked like a large earth snake emerging from the trees ahead, all while he could barely hear the collective voices of his classmates a few dozen feet away, either calling his name, or urging each other to move in the direction he had told them to.
Descending from the tree and back to the ground, Nikolay ran in the direction his classmates' voices were coming from, all while also hearing the rumbling of the snake earth creature surely slithering across the forest after them, as evidenced by some of the panicked screams through the trees.
Soon enough, he was able to spot the blonde and pink heads of Yuga, Denki and Mina through the trees, and thus came rushing from out of the brush, too driven by adrenaline to even hear his classmates express relief that he, for all intents and purposes, seemed to be okay. He was right now too focused on the snake creature still chasing after them and slowly but surely gaining.
Switching his view between it and Yuga just a few steps ahead, an idea suddenly occurred to him; one that couldn't afford the time spent on thorough explanations. As such, he quickly sprinted to be able to close distance between himself and his twinkling classmate, and with frankly miraculous timing and precision, proceeded to grab onto his sides, turn them both around so they were facing the snake head-on, and immediately fired up from his feet, sending them both flying up to where they were now level with its head.
Miraculously, Yuga seemed to understand now just what Nikolay was hoping to happen, and thus proceeded to tuck his hands behind his head, focus, and fire the most powerful laser he could from his belt on such short notice, sending both himself and the Russian boy behind him flying over a dozen feet back, while his beam managed to burn straight through the dirt snakes' head, sending its body disintegrating back down to the ground, while they themselves had their uncontrollable landing cushioned by yet further canopy, before finally falling through the last of the branches and into the brush below.
The whole of the class needed to take a good couple of minutes after that close call to catch their breath after having to run for their lives for so long, but thankfully nobody seemed to be any worse for wear, other than Nikolay sporting some especially harsh aching in his ribs after getting swatted like a fly out of the air before, and Yuga who was now dealing with a particularly harsh stomachache after the sudden amount of focus and duration he had to put himself through in order to efficiently remove their most recent threat. He was in too rough a shape to even make any of his typical commentary about the grace with which he saved everyone.
Fortunately for him and everyone else, as soon as they were once again good to keep moving onward, they ended up going a good long while without running into any more dirt-constructed opponents or natural obstructions. Had they not instinctively known better, many of them would have even begun to think that perhaps the Pussycat that got them thrown down into this forest to begin with, had simply decided to cut them all some slack.
However, even if there were currently no more dirt creatures attacking them, that didn't change the fact they were still racing against the clock, so running in the same direction Nikolay went on to give them with another jump was their only remaining option. With how thick the forest was, it was next to impossible for them to tell just how far they were from the foot of the intended mountain any other way than to send their resident Slav up through the canopy to check. Numerous times they had ended up drifting off their course simply following the closest thing they could to a path, and had to each time redirect themselves, while weathering the brunt of Bakugos' dependable frustration at their incompetence at simply going in a straight line, never mind the fact he was going the same way as the rest of them each time. It was simply for the fact they didn't know what dangers were waiting in the forest ahead that he didn't ultimately decide to simply explode his way through the woods in a beeline for the mountain.
After the class had been at this same routine for what felt like hours did they finally start to feel the accumulated exhaustion start to catch up with them, with Nikolays' latest update that they had only managed to seemingly make it a third of the way to the mountain far from helping.
The constant running was starting to slow to a pitiful attempt at maintaining a jogging pace for many of them, before ultimately stumbling into an exhausted walk and a shuffle. By now, the fact they hadn't been able to recover their supplies for the very purpose of this kind of hike was starting to take its toll, as thirst was beginning to become quite apparent.
It ultimately came to a point where it was virtually unanimous they needed to stop and recuperate their energy whichever way they could without any water bottles or food on hand. Of course, being the ever vigilant and attentive type, Momo had been quick to suggest creating cups of water for everyone, but it was once more the need to be prepared for whatever obstacles were bound to be waiting for them on the final stretch, that ultimately kept her from doing so.
Before anyone else could complain about the thirst, the hunger or the summer heat, however, the distant sound of snapping twigs from all around them, snapped many of the students back to full alertness, especially when said noises only seemed to be growing more numerous and close, ultimately punctuated by Minoru shrieking when numerous shadows sprinted through the brush.
All of Class 1-A had been quick to once again break into a desperate sprint now that they knew the battle was once again on, this time in the form of a multitude of especially fast wolf-like creatures of dirt and root. Their speed and precise pack movements made it impossible for any of the students to stop even for a moment to try and fight back, and when Minoru ultimately tried to throw several of his hairballs back to try and ensnare at least one, the creatures instead simply leaped over them, or side-stepped them entirely, leaving the boy now crying and screaming all at once, as Mezo had to pluck him off the ground in order to keep him from falling behind.
However, Tenya pointing out a nearby clearing up ahead that led to a rising hill into yet more trees, diverted the entire class like a herd. With something resembling a plan now in front of her, Mina finally decided to take action to buy her classmates a little bit of time; building up two handfuls of acid and throwing them at the two nearest trees as she ran, melting right through their thick trunks and sending them toppling down behind the class, serving as even just momentary obstacles for the creatures to get around, and buying the kids a few precious extra seconds to get across the clearing, up the hill and back into the next set of trees.
The uphill trek was especially taxing on those students like Eijirou, Kyouka, Denki, Rikido and Kouji, who didn't have the capability to simply jump up high or fly through the air to clear the distance. So to buy them a bit more time to catch up, Mina and Ochako proceeded to silently yet perfectly work alongside each other, with Mina melting through the trunks of several more trees, which Ochako proceeded to subsequently remove the gravity from before lightly shoving them upward until they were pretty much all hovering over the center of the clearing.
The moment the dirt wolf creatures began dashing from the direction the students had just come from, and were now halfway across the clearing and gaining on Rikido, Ochako finally brought her hands together and sent all the collected trees up in the air plummeting down, just as Mezo extended one of his tentacles to ensnare Rikido and pull him the rest of the way up the hill. The falling trees hammered down on the dirt wolves en masse while Kyouka, Denki and Kouji cleared the rest of the distance and finally got back into the relative safety of the brush with the rest of the class.
As Ochako had to keel over in order to catch her breath from the strain she'd just put herself through, the rest of Class 1-A looked to the pile of shattered tree trunks. For once, there was nothing moving about in the mess. For all they knew, Mina and Ochako together had managed to deal with the threat, but since nobody wanted to test their luck after having gone so long without some actual peace and quiet, they immediately proceeded to keep moving.
After what had to be another good hour of nonstop running, the mountainous forest terrain began to open up to what looked to be a much larger grassy clearing, but this time with nearly a dozen larger golem-like creatures peppered throughout it, clearly a preemptive force for when and if the students eventually got here.
Given the state of the terrain and the summer heat, Denkis' Electricity and Bakugos' Explosion were out of the question, lest they risked setting fire to the entire forest, and Shoto was unable to use his ice due to the lack of moisture in the air for him to work with. In the end, it was decided that a massive all-in-one attack wasn't on the table, and the students' only chance was to charge in, and work off of each other to fight their way through.
Tenya and Izuku of course took the lead, kicking and punching their way through the first of the creatures in the forefront, and the rest of the class was hot on their heels, with Eijirou shoulder-tackling his way through one while Mina melted the legs out from underneath another. Nikolay launched himself up and forward with Kyouka clinging onto his back, blasting one creatures' head away with a point-blank blast from his open palm, before swiftly tossing Kyouka with a spin right for the next one in line, which she met with a charging pair of earphone jacks straight into its center mass, and ultimately sending two especially powerful pulses straight into it, blowing the creature apart from the inside out and landing with a perfect roll into a further run.
Tsuyu and Fumikage were able to help lift and swing Denki, Tooru, Kouji, Minoru and Rikido across, while Mezo held any creatures nearest them off, extending his tentacles as far as he could and nearly swinging them across the entire field, knocking several of the creatures down, and clearing a path for his crow and frog classmates to hurry the rest of the way across, with himself following close behind.
Ochako and Yuga managed to dash their way across, as they had linked their arms together while standing back-to-back, and she had taken their gravity, allowing Yuga to propel them both the entire way across with another blast from his belt, nailing one of the large creatures that had tried to go around the entirety of the battle to try and get them from behind.
Finally, the whole class had managed to fight their way across the entire field, with Bakugo begrudgingly having had to settle for running on foot and meeting any creature unlucky enough to get in his way with a point-blank explosion straight to their midsections.
However, even as they had managed to cross, they were all quick to realize that among them, Momo, Shoto and Mashirao were still just more than halfway across, due to the physical and environmental limitations imposed on Shoto for the moment, and the still remaining number of creatures slowly but surely converging on them, preventing Mashirao from simply springing himself across by his tail.
Izuku, Tenya and Nikolay alike were already visibly preparing themselves to rush back in side-by-side to save their three remaining classmates, especially when the three still out in the open came to a sudden stop. However, before they could move in, the glow of Momo using her Creation Quirk momentarily stopped them, and once the light had cleared, they were now seeing their classes' vice president armed with what looked like a water tank, a pump, and an attached hose.
With impressive precision and control, Momo proceeded to fire off every last drop of water she had against the creatures surrounding them, stopping them in their tracks as they slowly began to fall apart where they stood as mud. Nevertheless, they were still moving.
However, with the sudden addition of all the water she had just shot into the air, Shoto was no longer at his own disadvantage, as a swift swing of his right arm sent a cold front across nearly half the field, encasing the mud creatures in a field of ice. And following his initiative with what could only be described as a finishing blow, Mashirao proceeded to eliminate the last of the potential pursuers' threat by leaping in and expertly shattering the remaining frozen creatures to pieces with a furious spinning swing of his tail, destroying the last of his classes' opponents in a matter of seconds.
For once, the exhaustion they were all feeling meant nothing, as many of them couldn't help but cheer at their latest victory against their greatest threat so far today. With Momo, Shoto and Mashirao finally reunited with their classmates, they once more proceeded on their way with another scouting jump from Nikolay to confirm they were actually still heading in the right direction.
The sun was no longer hanging directly above their heads when another of Nikolays' scouting jumps brought him right back down with a look of genuine excitement on his face, although it wasn't for the reasons his classmates had all silently been hoping for. "From the looks of it, if we keep going this direction, we could reach the base of the mountain in the next hour and a half at most. But I also found a small stream just a couple minutes walk from here. If anyone thinks we should go for it, I think this is gonna be our last chance to do so."
Despite the obvious objections from Tenya and Shoto, and the colorful angry shouting from Bakugo, the rest of the class was downright unanimous in that they could afford a few minutes to at least quench their thirst for the rest of the hike.
Many were cheering and crying simultaneously when they finally came upon the aforementioned running stream of crystal clear water, with Nikolay, Denki, Minoru, Hanta and Rikido practically plunging their heads into it to drink their fill, while others were more than happy to drink and get the twigs and dirt off their faces and out of their hair after running, fighting and hiking nonstop for hours on end.
Once they had all finally gotten their fill, their exhaustion came in full force, as the idea of just getting right back to work had many groaning with aches and pains, only now realizing the multitude of scrapes and scratches they'd gotten during the extent of this journey of theirs.
Of course, Momo was immediately at attention at the mention of her classmates hurting. "I think we can likewise afford to take a minute to address some minor wounds. Just give me a minute and I can have enough band-aids, gauze and peroxide pads for everyone."
She was already beginning to focus to start creating a multitude of band-aids, before Shoto suddenly spoke up as bluntly as ever: "Save your energy, Yaoyorozu-san. It's impossible our teachers won't have an even greater threat waiting for us once we actually reach the foot of the mountain. We need you at your best for whatever it might be."
As much as she didn't want to accept it and therefore leave her classmates unattended, Momo ultimately knew that Shoto was right, as did everyone else. This whole journey had been one especially sadistic action on their homeroom teachers' part, so how could he possibly not have had the ultimate final obstacle just waiting for them at the finish line, courtesy of the Wild, Wild Pussycats?
However, that momentary dread was immediately broken when Mina sprang up to her feet with an even more eager glimmer in her eyes. "Hey, we won't even need Yaomomo to make that stuff for us! I've got just the thing!"
"Mina-chan, I really don't think the band-aids you keep in your pockets alone are gonna be enough this time." Kyouka muttered tiredly, while none of the other students noticed the looks of realization on Nikolay and Izukus' faces. "Ashido-san, are you actually referring to-?"
"That's right! Check this out, guys!" With her eager announcement, Mina proceeded to start forming a runny clear fluid from between her enclosed hands, unperturbed by the confused looks on her classmates' faces. "I found this out back at I-Island! That completely harmless fluid of mine I slide around on? Turns out that since it dries so quickly after I make it, it can pretty much work like a salve! Yeah, it might not do much for aches and bruises, but if you guys have anything that's bleeding, I can close it up real quick for you!"
Of course, the confidence with which she said this, accompanied by the looks of proven acknowledgment from Nikolay and Izuku, had many of the other students breathing a sigh of relief, as Mina quickly got to work applying just a fingertip of the stuff to a few open scrapes and scratches on Ochako, Kyouka, Mashirao, Mezo, Izuku and Nikolay.
Out of all those that even had so much as a scrape or a scratch on them, Bakugo was the only one to immediately turn the offer down: "Touch me with that slimy shit, and it's your ass, Raccoon Eyes! Go baby somebody else!"
Once the fluid applied to everyones' open scratches and scrapes had dried over, it was unanimously decided for the class to finally finish the last stretch of this torturous hike. As they proceeded on their way, Mina of course fell back to Nikolay and Eijirou, as they had fallen near to the back of their whole procession. Nikolay was stretching his arms in relief while looking over the still unbroken dried swap on his right elbow. "That new healing property of your Quirk is a miracle, Mina. You're definitely going to be saving Yaoyorozu-san a lot of effort if we ever get caught in a tough spot from now on."
His good-natured praise was perfectly complimented by a similar supportive grin from Eijirou: "That's for sure! Heck, if somehow you going for a Hero career doesn't pan out, you could probably land a fallback gig as the new Yuuei nurse. I can imagine Recovery Girl is looking for an assistant or a replacement as we speak!"
Of course, Mina laughed harder than she had all day as she gave the red-haired boy a playful nudge to the ribs. "Oh, as if! If they change the nurse uniform code to something more stylish than fetish-y; or old-fashioned like hers, then we'll talk."
It felt good for them to be able to laugh again after trekking and fighting through these woods for so long. Of course, it didn't last much longer as they looked upon all their classmates and the numerous little roughed up spots on their faces and uniforms. "Man, everybody's really been pulling their all today. That test Tunguska-sensei pulled on us has really been helping with that class-wide teamwork thing, hasn't it?"
Eijirous' admiring tone was reflected clearly on Nikolays' face as he nodded with a respectful smile. "Yeah, not to mention everybody's ability to plan alongside whatever student they partner up with on the fly. The way Yaoyorozu-san was able to find a way to get Todoroki-san his ice ability back, and how quickly Ojiro-san was able to capitalize on it; as tough as this whole hike has been, it's really been helping solidify what we've all learned."
"Yeah, and then there's you guys. You're really getting the hang of that whole Kiri Cannonball trick of yours, you know? You might just become a real one-two-punch power combo of a Hero team before too long. You look so cool working off each other like that." Mina admitted, leaving Nikolay and Eijirou both smiling brightly at each other with realization that, indeed, what had once been a last ditch act of desperation at first, was quickly turning into a go-to method of beating an imposing opponent for them.
Suddenly, Nikolay once again felt Mina playfully elbowing him in the arm, meeting him with an admiring smile of her own. "But let's not forget what you've been doing this whole trip, Kolya-kun. If it weren't for you and your eagle eye, we'd be so damn lost right now. The whole class really owes you one, even if Bakugo will never admit as much himself."
Before Nikolay could express his appreciation for her words of gratitude, the silence was swiftly broken by the pronounced grumbling of Eijirous' stomach, much to his embarrassment. This ended up setting off a chain reaction, as Nikolay and Minas' stomachs quickly echoed out in suit, leaving the whole trio blushing with embarrassment. "Damn. If I'd gotten enough sleep to wake up earlier, at least I could've had some kind of breakfast before all this." Nikolay lamented.
"Yeah, too bad Yaomomo needs to stay on alert for another fight; otherwise I'd be asking her to make some onigiri for everyone, or anything to eat at all. I mean, let's face it, there's no way we're making it in time for lunch, there's no way it isn't already way past noon." Minas' own similar air of defeat, however understandable, was not mirrored by Eijirou, as he was still trying to maintain the all-around confident and encouraging smile among his friends.
"Hey, don't forget what you said, Kolya-san; if we don't stop, we could make it there in less than two hours, maybe even less if we run! I mean, for as sadistic as putting us on this hike was, I'll bet that whole thing about not getting served food once we get there was just another of Aizawa-sensei's logical ruses to make us do our best! Come on, we don't have that much farther to go!"
Emboldened by his own words, Eijirou quickly turned on his heels and began to run ahead, actively encouraging everyone else lagging behind to start doing the same so they could put an end to the hike that much sooner. Thankfully, even despite their mutual exhaustion, Mina and Nikolay couldn't help but really appreciate their mutual friends' enthusiasm, which practically mirrored that of the pink girl herself, as they both regained the spark to start running as well, joining him in encouraging their classmates and friends to shake the lead out and race on the rest of the way to victory.
5:20 PM
Had Eijirou known just how much more of a slog that final uphill stretch through the woods was going to be when he said they didn't have much farther to go, he undoubtedly would've slapped himself. The energy the whole of Class 1-A had felt after replenishing their energy through the stream had all but vanished by the time the terrain was finally starting to level off and they were less climbing and more walking, or trudging along, so to speak again.
The skies had long since started to turn orange as afternoon gave way to early evening, but that didn't even register to the completely drained students as they mindlessly pressed onward past the trees, almost mistaking the initial sight of another clearing, and an actual building sitting inside of it, to just be another heat and dehydration-induced hallucination.
"Finally, you're all here!" The sudden sound of the voice of the blonde-haired Pussycat that had thrown them from the overlook that morning, came with equal parts indescribable relief, and gut-churning horror, as Denki, Hanta and Minoru had half a mind to turn back, lest she had something else heinous in store for them.
But the most important thing to all the kids as they began to emerge from the once endless sea of trees, was that the sight of an actual furnished building sitting in the middle of the clearing with multiple others scattered about, with the two Pussycats and Aizawa standing attentively at the entrance, wasn't a mirage. It was real. They'd finally, finally made it!
Nikolay finally let the last vestige of energy that had been keeping him on his feet give way, as he collapsed to his knees; his shoulders trembling as though he were trying to cry with relief, except he was so dehydrated, nothing was coming out. The normally fair-skinned Russian boy was literally as white as a sheet as he absentmindedly looked upon the similar looks of complete and total exhaustion on all his classmates' faces.
Mina looked like she was about ready to start breaking down into tears right alongside him. Ochako looked like she was desperately trying not to heave alongside Yuga, Kouji was clutching at his chest like he was about ready to keel over from a heart attack, and Eijirou and Kyouka both looked downright irked as well as tired.
Rikido looked like he was already experiencing traumatizing flashbacks, Hanta was desperately scratching at himself after having accidentally climbed through a patch of ivy, and Minorus' scalp was already bleeding after he'd tried using his hairballs to help in climbing up the last stretch, to no avail, and Denki even had the usual vacant dopey look on his face that came with short-circuiting his brain, except this time it was from overwhelming exhaustion instead. Even the normally stubborn and gung-ho Bakugo was visibly heaving for breath, no matter what the sneer on his face said.
With the way their faces and uniforms were all beyond filthy from slogging through the woods for what felt like days, the students looked like nothing short of marooned island dwellers by comparison to how downright pristine the Pussycats and Aizawa looked. Such a contrast felt downright cruel.
"Looks like there wasn't much point in threatening to deprive you kids of lunch." The moment the brown-haired Pussycat spoke up, the exhaustion began to fester into frustration in a matter of seconds, as many students began muttering under their breaths "Little over three hours, my ass!" "This is the end! I'm literally gonna starve to death!"
Of course, such mutterings from Hanta and Eijirou were only met with yet more condescending giggling from the Pussycat in question: "Yeah, my bad! When I said that, I really meant by our standards."
The way the two women started giggling at their own deception left the students utterly fuming at this point. "Are you kidding me right now? They put all that pressure on us just to boast?!" Mina muttered in disbelief, while Nikolay was now on his hands and knees, trembling from head to toe in exhaustion and horror, his dried out voice practically the definition of gravel: "Where…where does Aizawa-sensei…keep finding these demons?!"
Of course, the overall foul mood of the nearly broken students did nothing to dampen that of the Pussycats, as the blonde one eagerly stepped forward to address them personally: "Honestly, I thought you'd all take way longer. For you to have figured out my awakened Earth Beasts so quickly and easily, you kids are all really good. Especially…"
With a momentary pause, she began pointing a glove paw finger at Izuku, Shoto, Bakugo and Tenya, before just as quickly swerving over the majority of the other students, before pointing out Nikolay, Mina, Ochako, Kyouka and Momo. "…the nine of you. Between all of you, your lack of hesitation and indecisiveness once it became clear the kind of threats you were facing; I must assume that comes from the experience you've all acquired in your time as Hero students so far."
All of a sudden, her demeanor flipped on a dime, as she began aggressively approaching the boys in particular, who all immediately began to back away at such an indescribably intimidating aura that came out of nowhere. "I can only imagine what the boys among you are going to be like three years from now! Got some genuinely handsome and adorable choices already! I call dibs right now!"
While the boys were already trying to fight her off, and the girls were simply trying to get in between in order to help, Aizawa could only look on in silent disapproval before turning to the now embarrassed-looking brown-haired Pussycat beside him. "Mandalay…was Pixie-Bob always this…hyper?"
"Hehe, she's in a bit of a rush, being at the marrying age and all." Of course, such an embarrassed confession didn't even reach most of the students, as the girls had managed to drive Pixie-Bob away from most of the boys, but inadvertently leaving Izuku in the open, just as he finally spoke up: "Speaking of marrying age—!"
Instead of the dreaded display of over-the-top affection her demeanor had led all the boys to believe Izuku was opening himself up for, he was instead met, once again, with a harsh paw glove clasping onto his face as Pixie-Bob angrily shouted at the mention of 'age': DON'T SPEAK!"
Alas, even with his face all but muffled, Izuku wasn't even looking at Pixie-Bob, instead looking right past her as he still chose to speak up: "Actually, I've been wondering for a while…are one of you that childs' mother?"
With that sudden question now out in the open, the rest of the students perked up in confusion, following the green-haired boys' likewise confused gaze, to find that very same little boy in the red gold-horned baseball cap standing right alongside Mandalay and Aizawa, once again staring at all of them silently with an unreadable sharpness in his eyes.
Nikolay was silently grateful Izuku had decided to be the one to ask the question he hadn't even stopped to realize he'd been wondering himself, ever since seeing the kid back at the overlook. Mandalay immediately perked up at Izukus' question as she turned to address the small boy as well. "Oh, no, that kid is actually my nephew. Kota-kun, come say hi! You're going to be living with these kids for the next week!"
The boy, Kota, didn't even say a word as he slowly stepped forward like his aunt had asked. Izuku was the first one to officially break the ice, while the other students that had since decided it was safe to step forward once more, watched in silent anticipation. This kid was simply an example of the kind of future Heroes they themselves would one day be inspiring once they became Pros. This was a perfect chance to build the rapport they all knew they would need, and there was no doubt that Izuku knew it just as well, as he kindly extended a welcoming hand to the little boy.
"Uh, m-my name's Midoriya Izuku, I'm studying Hero Studies at Yuuei Academy. Nice to meet you…"
WHAAAM!
With insane speed, Kota wordlessly threw a tiny balled up fist straight in between Izukus' legs, killing every last sound in his throat as his already curly green hair shot up on its ends, and his wide eyes rolled to the back of his head, right before finally collapsing to the ground in the fetal position.
Nikolay didn't even hear the sound of Mina and Eijirou telling him not to go for it, as he was instinctively already on his feet and bolting for the prone Izuku and Kota, practically seeing fire as the kid lifted his gaze to meet his own. "KAKOGO CHERTA TY DELAESH', MALYSH?! (WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, KID?!)"
Even with his defensive reflexes on full alert, Nikolay didn't even manage to follow Kotas' movements, as the little boy just as swiftly spun around and threw the toe of his shoe straight into the Russian students' groin as well, sucking out every last bit of adrenaline and energy he had like the flipping of a switch. The most indescribable pain engulfed every square inch of his body, and he collapsed right next to Izuku like a tree, not even able to vomit from the excruciating agony flaring up between his legs. It was so immense that, even when Tenya, Eijirou and Mina came rushing to attend to their two fallen classmates, the sound registered about as clearly as though he were a thousand feet below water.
"Yaomomo, for gods' sake, make some ice packs, please!" Mina exclaimed desperately, while Tenya and Eijirou had by now turned their intense gazes to the quickly retreating little boy.
"You! The nephew! Going right for their family jewels is just plain foul!" "Yeah, what kind of man goes for a low blow like that?! That's just not right!"
However, even if Kota did come to a stop, he didn't even bother giving the students the decency of eye contact as he finally spoke up: "I'm not going to screw around with a bunch of dipshits who want to be corny-ass Heroes!"
"'Dipshits?!' How old are you, kid?!" Of course, Denkis' instinctive exclamation of disbelief fell on deaf ears, as Kota continued on his way, while Momo had tossed two ice packs to Tenya and Eijirou to apply to their wounded classmates. Of course, while many were visibly horrified at seeing two of their own get waylaid so mercilessly by such a small child, the sight of his two most detested peers in pain couldn't help but get a genuinely amused smirk out of Bakugo.
All the while, as Mandalay was busily chasing after Kota for his less-than pleasant introduction, Aizawa was as outwardly indifferent as ever to the ruckus. "Alright, enough chit-chat. Everyone go get your luggage from the bus. Once you've settled into your rooms, grab dinner in the dining hall. After that, take a bath, kick back and unwind. The real deal starts tomorrow. Get a move on it."
With that, he proceeded to follow Mandalay and Pixie-Bob into the building, while the rest of the students quickly hustled for the bus, with Tenya and Eijirou helping to drag Izuku and Nikolay along respectively, as the two boys still hung listlessly with ice packs tucked firmly between their legs like a pair of wet noodles.
By the virtue of whatever power ran the universe, the two boys were thankfully able to get through the residing pain within a good few minutes, just in time to finally be able to actually set themselves up in their dorm room in the building reserved for the boys, if the directory for the training camp as a whole was anything to go by.
The single expansive room for the boys was massive when empty, but perfect for all of them together from where Nikolay was standing. He was simply just glad to no longer be stuck out in those woods, and actually was given official permission from Aizawa to actually relax the rest of the evening. If the way his muscles and joints were still screaming after all the running, consistent use of his Quirk, and the low blow were anything to go by, he needed it more than anything else in the world.
Once he had all his gear set aside next to his personal futon, Nikolay was one growling stomach away from just sprinting the entire way to the dining hall, he was so starving. From the lack of chatter in the halls, it was clear that many of his male classmates were of the very same mind, and had the advantage of not being in a momentary coma to get a head start.
Regardless, he was on the verge of tears of joy by the time he was finally at the dormitory entrance, nearly throwing it open, only to nearly collide face first into Mina, who'd actually taken that chance to wait on his arrival, despite her own intense hunger. Had he not been so surprised to find her here, he would've been deeply touched by such a simple act of selflessness.
"Whoa, nice save, we almost had a rerun of our first meeting there." Mina immediately greeted him with a very amused giggle, before giving him a brief glance from head to toe. "How are you feeling, Kolya-kun? If you don't need Kiri to help you stand, I'm assuming it's all good again?"
"As long as that kid, Kota, isn't waiting around a corner for a sneak attack, I think I'll be okay. You didn't have to wait for me, though. I know you've gotta be just as starved as everyone else." Mina, of course, couldn't help but giggle again at his momentary paranoia as he instinctively looked left and right for any sign of the kid in question, before she rode out her amusement and smiled at him compassionately, already motioning her head for him to walk with her to the dining hall.
"Well, duh, but you and Midori-kun just got hit with a below-the-belt haymaker; I wasn't gonna just leave you to wander alone after that. For all I knew, you wouldn't be walking for the rest of the day. I had half a mind to just scrounge up a plate and bring it to you if need be…or at least get Kiri to do it, in case they're not allowing us to hang out in each others' dormitories. Speaking of which, your guys' building is massive! Way bigger than ours, at least. We should totally all hang out together and play before bed tonight!"
Minas' always running mind was once again going all over the place, with as quick as her excited talking was, which was frankly a breath of fresh air where Nikolay was concerned after everything leading up to this point. A hopefully hearty meal, a bath and potentially getting to just hang out and chill with everyone sounded like a slice of paradise right now.
"Kolya-kun?" The sound of her voice suddenly calling to him in a question quickly made Nikolay realize his mind had already been drifting from the exhaustion. "Oh, good, I was afraid you'd already zoned out on me. Can't say I'd blame you, though. I hope we don't have to do something like that hike for a while, at least. Anyway, what I was asking was: you never got the chance to tell me what that fancy nickname you came up with for me meant. What was it again?" Nikolays' memory of their last conversation before getting thrown into the green inferno came right back like a slap to the face, and when he saw the especially eager smile on her face, he felt his face flare up with heat all over again.
"Right, 'Ochi Chyornye'. I didn't think you'd still have remembered that after everything else; I didn't. Well, I can't imagine this will sound anything short of unbearably cheesy to you, especially, but 'Ochi Chyornye' is, essentially, the poetic version of the Russian words for 'Dark Eyes.'"
Nikolay was instinctively bracing himself for Mina to nearly bust a gut laughing at such an on-the-nose choice for a personal nickname between them. After all the time they'd gotten to know each other, any other reaction would've been downright unnatural by comparison.
And that was exactly what he got, as instead of a laugh, he instead received a flat "Oh" of realization. There was no trace of the once peppy cheer in Minas' voice. Instead, she sounded…disappointed, of all things. Looking to see her face, on the off chance she was trying to trick him, Nikolay found that Mina wasn't even looking at him anymore, but instead now had her golden irises focused on the ground ahead of them, as though she were suddenly thinking really deeply about something.
"Whoa, are you alright, Mina? I-I can change it to something else if you don't like that. Like I said, I'd only just—"No, nothing's wrong, Kolya-kun. It's okay, you wanted to pick something personal, and you did. Come on."
Minas' deflection of his attempt at an apology left Nikolay very perturbed, as she actually proceeded to pick up the pace instead of walking in tandem with him like she always did. If there were any more obvious a sign that his choice for a nickname did not sit well with her, he had no idea what it could've been. He could only stand still and watch her back shrink away, before another timely growling of his stomach made him accept that he had to keep going after her and deal with that issue first.
"THANK YOU FOR THE FOOD!"
The festive atmosphere in the dining hall nearly immediately did away with Nikolays' momentary nervousness of what had just transpired, as the sight of a veritable feast of numerous different types of rice, fish, meats, vegetables and breads had his stomach doing flips of excitement at the prospect of finally being fed.
The rice was so savory and fresh, the fish and meats were rich and succulent, and the vegetables were a plethora of different overwhelmingly wonderful flavors in their own rights. However, one special addendum to the variety of foods the Wild, Wild Pussycats were actively preparing for the students had Nikolay genuinely crying, not just with the joy of eating such incredible food, but with raw, unadulterated nostalgia.
"Oh my God…they actually made honest-to-god pirozhki! I haven't eaten these in so long, and not even this good! How? How did they know to do this? Did Aizawa-sensei tell them about me being in this class? Did Dad know we were coming here, and actually reach out to them somehow? Who cares? It's like I've died and gone to Heaven!"
Nikolay was, for once, actually talking to himself in a level of excitement and joy to nearly match Minas', as he was eagerly scarfing down several small boat-shaped buns filled with ground meat and mushrooms. He didn't even care if anyone else around him could see the childhood tears running down his face as he ate, this was just a moment of pure self-indulgent perfection.
Of course, many of the 1-A students watching their foreign classmate eat so joyously, couldn't help but find the sight both hilariously out-of-character for him, as well as just plain delightful. Even for as much of an improvement as Nikolays' attitude in general had taken, he still had that constant air of nervousness hanging about him. For once, that air was nowhere to be seen. He was completely enraptured in the moment, and it was wonderful for many of his friends to see.
Of course, for Ochako and Tooru specifically, they not only watched his enthusiastic display attentively, but even more so the distinctly otherworldly demeanor of Mina as she sat across from him at their table, even though there was a spot available right next to him. As if that weren't unusual enough, she didn't even look to be paying particular attention to him; instead having a distant look in her eyes as she ate, which the two girls could spot even from further down that same table. Even as her body squirmed with instinctive delight at how delicious the food was, her eyes still looked to be somewhere much farther away from the present.
"What's wrong with Mina-chan? The sight of Kolya-kun being so happy would have her practically glowing right now. You don't think the strain of the hike's made her sick, do you, Ochako-chan?" Tooru asked in a very worried whisper, mirrored by the concern in the rosy-cheeked girls' eyes.
"I don't know, Tooru-chan. She seemed okay when she said she was gonna meet up with him outside the boys' dorms. She looks so…deep in thought, though. Every time there's been an empty spot next to him, she's always been the one to call dibs on it. She isn't even trying to snatch those buns off his tray or anything. When was the last time you ever saw Mina-chan not try to sneak a bite of something Kolya-san thought was delicious?"
The invisible girl beside her couldn't honestly answer that, because it never happened. That realization, paired with the downright unnatural distance Mina was radiating from her Russian best friend, had both girls downright unsettled. This sight just wasn't right, and if need be, they needed to address it when the chance presented itself, hopefully sooner rather than later.
Dinner had lasted a good long while, as many of the students had been left hungry enough from before to go for seconds and even thirds. However, the real perfect note to end the night on was waiting outside, as the time to partake in the long-awaited and eluded-to hot springs had finally come. Everyones' bruises and aching joints were practically crying with relief at the mere sight of the steaming pools surrounded by lush trees, and lined by a large wall of wooden planks; something none of the boys needed to guess the purpose for.
Submerging themselves in the hot water, while momentarily painful, ultimately felt like the touch of heaven, as everyones' residing pain and soreness just melted away. Nikolay was still reeling from the euphoria of such delicious and nostalgic food, but the hot water completely engulfing him as he let all his tension fade and just let himself float listlessly against the edge of stone, was the kind of sensation he could only imagine poets dreamed and wrote of.
He simply let the residual chatter of his fellow classmates just go in one ear and out the other as he finally opened his eyes and looked up to the night sky through the warm lights and steam in the air. "Oh, to go through hell in order to reach such bliss…bliss and Heaven…I don't ever want to leave."
"Wow, listen to you, getting all poetic and stuff. That hike and blow to the jewels must've dislodged something addling your head, Kolya-san." Eijirou commented with a joking chuckle, to which Nikolay for once didn't even show a trace of embarrassment as he momentarily took in the looks of relaxation and delight on his fellow boys' faces as they either sat in contemplative silence, or were engaged in splashing fights like Denki and Mashirao were.
"I can't help it, Kirishima-san. I can't remember the last time I ever felt so…loosened up, if I ever did before to begin with. I'd wanted to try bathing in a genuine Japanese hot spring for the longest time, but even what studying I did for it beforehand over the years, couldn't prepare me for this. If only we had some birch branches to bundle up, and a frigid lake nearby, this would be absolutely perfect."
"Tree branches and cold water with a hot spring? What kind of ass-backwards logic is that?" he could hear Hanta immediately asking, albeit clearly with good humor behind it. As he looked, Nikolay could see that his wayward wishful thinking had spurred some clear curiosity from Eijirou, Denki, Izuku, Tenya and Shoto in particular.
"Well, just because I went nowhere else between my old schools and home back in Russia, that didn't mean I wasn't still learning the random bit of info that caught my interest here and there. I used to do a bit of studying on the culture of saunas in northern European countries like Finland and Estonia. Saunas are a huge part of their daily culture, just like how hot springs are here. Apparently, they have a habit of bundling the branches of birch trees while sitting in saunas to either lightly rub or very lightly hit their backs with. They say it was for the purpose of massage and skin stimulation. Then after a while, they would make a habit of jumping into the frigid cold lakes these saunas were often built next to, in order to be completely engulfed in the cold, just to then go right back into the sauna for a while, and repeat the process a few more times. I might be remembering it wrong, but supposedly, it was for the purpose of, again, skin stimulation, and in some cases even helping build up their immune systems to better withstand sudden changes in temperature."
Nikolay wasn't sure whether to feel embarrassed or somewhat proud by the time he'd finally reached his point, as he could see this bizarre information taking root in Eijirou, Tenya and Shotos' heads specifically. When nobody said anything at first to comment either how strangely brilliant, or utterly ridiculous, that was, the Russian boy figured it was okay to at least finish this impromptu cultural lesson up. "A-anyway, I found that whole scenario oddly appealing, and I kind of still do. If circumstances were to somehow ever allow me to end up back in Europe in some kind of capacity, that kind of sauna experience is one of the few things in that part of the world I still genuinely want to go through one day."
Nikolay was more than happy to just leave the topic at that and just keep enjoying the relaxation of hot water in silence, but Eijirou had other plans, as he quickly gave his Russian friend a hearty elbow to the arm, breaking him from out of his reverie yet again. "Hey, man, don't go thinking something's completely out of your reach already! You should be assuming the best right now! Once we're all out in the world as Pro Heroes, who's to say you won't somehow end up in Europe again, and be able to experience that very thing? Hell, who's to say we won't all be right there with you, and we won't get to do tons more awesome stuff together when we are?"
Nikolay was both embarrassed at his red-haired friends' over-the-top show of enthusiasm for something so grand born from his describing something ultimately so mundane, and at the same time very moved by the confidence he showed that they would all still be together that far into the future. Frankly, Nikolay found the idea of striking out on his own as a single Pro Hero once they'd graduate in three years, to be an especially lonely thought.
Completely unaware of this sudden turn in the Slavic boys' train of thought, Eijirou proceeded on with that same assuring smile as he laid back right next to him, likewise looking up at the sky. "Ah, well, that's still a long ways away, so there's plenty of time to plan something that big until then. At least when you get all wrapped up in your thoughts, you're actually thinking about the stuff going on immediately around you. Midoriya-sans' been practically stuck in that mumbling mode of his since we finished dinner, no doubt about the training we're gonna be looking at tomorrow. And Bakugo? Well, the day he ever stops silently fuming and actually engages in something with anyone in class that doesn't involve screaming, cursing them out or blowing them up, I'll be sure to let you and Ashido know."
Of course, the mentioning of their mutual best friend had Nikolays' sense of relaxation and peace go right out the window, as his look of contentment turned to that same confused worry on a dime. "H-hey, Kirishima-san…you noticed Mina acting…well, different at dinner, right?"
Just as quickly as he did, Eijirous' relaxed expression sank into contemplative worry as well. "Yeah, I did."
At least grateful he hadn't been seeing things, Nikolay decided to press further: "Okay. You've known her a lot longer than me, so maybe you can tell me: has she ever been like that before, like after exerting herself so much for so long, that she just, out of nowhere, withdraws herself from someone?"
Unfortunately, his red-headed friends' answer only left Nikolay with his heart sinking even further into his gut: "No, I've never seen Ashido act like that before. To see her doing that when you were looking so teary-eyed about the food makes it super weird, too. I mean, you looked like you were on Cloud Nine, man. That's the kind of mood she's been dying to see you in from the beginning, she's all but shouted it from the school rooftops for us at this point. So for it to finally happen, and for her to just look like she's a million miles away…man, confusing doesn't even begin to describe it."
However, while Eijirou was clearly confused by it, he quickly noticed Nikolay had a look of complete despair in his green eyes, as he'd taken to submerging himself until only the top half of his head was protruding through the surface. Soon, though, he realized Eijirou was catching on that he had some kind of an idea why, and he wanted to hear it, so he reluctantly rose back up. "Dammit…why did I let her even halfway convince me she was actually okay with it? I should've just insisted on a different nickname altogether! Bozhe, ya takaya glupaya (God, I'm so stupid)!"
While Nikolay was now currently stewing, Eijirou was dead silent for a beat, as though he had to do a double take to make sure he was actually understanding this situation from the outside right. "Wait…you're saying Ashido got all quiet like that…over a nickname you came up with for her? That…that makes no sense at all, dude. It's weird that anyone would get bothered by a nickname at all, but especially her. I mean, come on, she comes up with nicknames, simple and complex, for almost everybody. I would think you making a nickname for her would have her all ecstatic and stuff."
By this point, Nikolay was now floating listlessly on his back, almost drifting along with the ripples made by everyone elses' movement, like a human leaf. "I thought so, too. I went with something really poetic for my personal nickname for her, too: 'Ochi Chyornye;' it's the poetic version of our words for 'Dark Eyes.' God, what was I thinking, picking that?"
Alas, his regret was not helped by the still ongoing look of thoughtfulness and confusion in Eijirous' red eyes. "Yeah, I still don't see what the big deal is, man. I would've thought she'd find that kind of thing clever, if nothing else. I mean, Bakugo's called her Raccoon Eyes on several occasions at this point, and she didn't just cut herself off from him like that. Keep in mind; she's actually made it clear she doesn't like being called that. So I don't get why this Russian 'Dark Eyes' thing would get to her like that. I mean, it's not like you actually meant anything bad by it."
At this, Nikolay practically shot up from the water, he sat back up so fast with a look of total desperation in his eyes. "No, of course not! I would never mean something like that for anybody! I never even got the chance to explain to her the real meaning behind it, I only left it at the literal translation! I-I've gotta put this right, somehow! I can't stand the thought of her thinking I'm that insensitive or rude, or whatever you could call it! I need your help, Kirishima-san; how should I do this? I never thought I'd have friends in my life once before, let alone actually have to find a way to apologize for insulting them, accidentally or otherwise! When should I do it, where is it the most appropriate, and how?"
*ahem*
Before Eijirou could even try to come up with something resembling an answer for Nikolays' dilemma, both boys' attention was snapped away at the sound of Shoto deliberately clearing his throat for that very purpose. Looking Nikolay in the eye with intent, the red-white-haired boy finally spoke up: "I understand it's not necessarily my place to give my own opinion on this matter, but I feel perhaps I should point something out for your benefit, Bezpalov-san.
"While it is commendable, the strong sense of loyalty you have to be worrying so much about your friends even before yourself, I would be remiss in reminding you that an essential part of preparing to become a real Hero, is understanding you won't always have the allies you prefer at your side when things get tough. Don't forget, that's what the practical test was all about, but you simply got lucky in that regard.
"Don't misunderstand me; I strongly respect yours and Ashido-sans' mutual desires to solidify and protect the bonds you make with each other, and everyone else for that matter. However, at the same time, you also need to be willing to dedicate your focus towards being able to handle things on your own if you need to. If you have to continuously rely on others in order to handle a serious situation, then you're unfortunately not going to prove to be the kind of Hero you say you're aiming to be when you have to fight on your own. It's an unpleasant thing to consider, but it inevitably happens to every Hero at one point or another, and continues on that way from there."
Shoto sounded like the advice he was giving was as obvious as advice could get, and in its own way, it really was. Nikolay and Eijirou both understood this. A real Hero was capable of fighting just as well on their own as they did with a team, anyone could tell you that. In fact, for a good few moments, Shoto could see that Nikolay was actively thinking this over. In the end however, the Russian boy gave him an answer punctuated by a heavy sigh of resignation: "I understand what you're trying to say, Todoroki-san, I really do, and I thank you for it, too. But I-I need to try and fix this mess with Mina before anything else. There's no way I'm going to be able to focus on what you're telling me to focus on until I do. That's all there is to it."
Shoto could only give a sigh of his own in response. In his own way, Nikolay was clearly very smart and driven, just like Izuku. And yet, in other ways, he was still just as hopeless as ever. All he could think to himself from there was that at least he'd done his part and tried to make the young Russian see some kind of reason. He was simply too stubborn and involved in his emotions to actually follow through with it.
"Oh, for crying out loud, would you guys stop waxing idiotic and actually listen to what's going on? You're completely forgetting the real reason we all pushed so hard to get this far!" The especially harsh whispering reprimands of Minoru broke through, drawing the attention of many of the boys across the hot spring, turning to find their grape-haired peer standing attentively at the wooden wall, a nearly ravenous look on his face as he had his ear flushed right to it.
"What are you going on about, Mineta-san?" Izuku had finally been broken from his thoughtful mumbling enough to ask curiously. When Minoru looked back to address his fellow boys, the look in his eyes was like that of a starving animal presented with food for the first time in weeks.
"Don't you see, you guys? In the long run, the joys of today aren't just about food or hot baths. That's not what we need right now, nor what we want. No, what we all silently seek is just beyond this wall. You see, even nowadays it can happen, where the gods smile down on us mere mortals, and the boys' and girls' bathing time schedules can actually overlap. An accident, to be sure…but the best kind of accident there is. I can hear them now; they're just on the other side, just open for us to finally take a blessed peek."
The majority of the boys' side went deathly silent upon this realization, and as if the heavens had decided to actually aid their diminutive classmate in proving his point, they could actually just make out the sounds of all the girls' voices echoing from the other side of the wall. Nikolay could feel his whole face going red, right alongside Eijirou and Izuku, while Denki now had the biggest and most anticipating smile on his face. Behind just a single wall of wood, their fairer classmates were actually…
"Come on, you guys, this is what all our efforts in the final exams were for! This is the purest essence of high school youth captured in microcosm! If we don't take this chance to even sneak a single peek, then what was all that blood, sweat and tears even for? I at least know you wanna get in on this too, Kaminari, Sero, Bezpalov! C'mon, our long awaited chance is finally here!"
Minoru was trembling from head to toe with anticipation, while Nikolay at first was dumbfounded he was suddenly getting roped into this, before just as quickly looking to see if Denki and Hanta were actually giving in to their shorter classmates' attempt at peer pressure.
Miraculously, neither of them, despite the grins on their faces, looked like they were willing to go through with it, no doubt out of lingering exhaustion. If anything, to see them showing such restraint helped strengthen the Russian boys' resolve as well as he turned back. "That's not a good idea, Mineta-san. If you get caught, there's no telling what the Pussycats, Aizawa-sensei, or the girls themselves might do to you. I'm not getting dragged down with you for that. Show some respect."
Nikolay felt confident enough in his own sense of resistance to the pressure, only to be unnecessarily punctuated by Tenya swiftly stepping in with all his usual intensity and authoritative demeanor: "Even without the potential consequences, you need to restrain yourself, Mineta! This bridge you're about to cross is beneath everyone here, not to mention how much it'd be frowned upon by the girls! Will you really not be satisfied until you've completely dragged Yuuei's reputation through the mud?!"
For a moment, Minoru gave no answer, and many of the boys felt confident their class president had actually managed to get through to him. Nikolay was actually managing to find it in himself to relax again and get back to—
"IT'LL BE WORTH IT, NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS TO ME! WALLS EXIST TO BE SCALED! PLUS ULTRA!" Like a crack shot, Minoru had suddenly proceeded to start popping off his hairballs and using them to ascend the wall, much to all his peers total shock, complete with Tenya shouting up after him: "STOP DESECRATING OUR SCHOOL RULES, MINETA!"
It was unbelievable how fast the small boy was ascending that wall, and as Nikolay couldn't help but watch, it occurred to him just how little time there actually was for him to try and stop him. He was instinctively already standing up from the water and grabbing and re-applying his towel around himself as he began running after him through the nearly waist-high water as fast as he could manage. 'If he does this and gets caught, there's no way the rest of us won't get in trouble right alongside him! After this nickname incident, if that were to happen, who knows if Mina would ever forgive me, if any of the girls would ever forgive us? Dammit, Mineta, I'm not letting you destroy that just so you can get a peek!"
Unfortunately, however, just as Nikolay finally reached the edge of the spring, he looked to see that Minoru was already nearing the top of the wall, too high for him to reach up to with an unprepared launching jump…at least, he could only assume as much. Frankly, he was as desperate as could be to stop him now. Anything was worth a try.
With his eyes completely set on Minorus' small form, he quickly began focusing as much energy as he could only assume he needed to his feet, in order to get high enough to snatch the boy right off the wall, but not high enough that he would accidentally end up peeping on the girls, himself. 'Dammit, come on, JUMP!'
He could feel the energy dispersing through his feet in the water, and he could even feel his body rise…at least, as high as an arthritic old man with artificial knees could jump when poked simultaneously in the sides. The gut-twisting realization of just how useless an effort that was, hit Nikolay hard as he felt his heart start hammering at his ribs when Minoru was no more than three hairballs away from reaching the top.
"Damn you, Mineta, STOP!" He cried out with admittedly unnecessary intensity, as he frantically climbed out, sprinted right for the wall and, without a single thought given to what he was about to do, slammed a blindly charged up left palm straight against the wall. When he felt that build-up of his energy suddenly disperse from his hand and into the wall itself, he felt his blood turn to ice in his veins.
Had he seriously just made this situation even worse while trying to fix it, and was about to have either blown a hole through the barrier, or knock the whole damn thing down altogether? He could practically feel the forever judgmental and disgusted looks on all the girls' faces for the rest of his school life from this moment going forward.
However, instead of the deafening boom of exploding wood he'd been expecting and dreading…he was instead met with the sound of that very same vibration spanning across the entire length and height of the wall in a precise shockwave, ultimately knocking Minoru down from his spot, and straight back down to the water, proclaiming "YOU DAMN PRUUUUDE" the whole way down.
Frankly, Nikolay was overwhelmed with miraculous relief at what he had managed to do, grateful that he had just saved all the boys' hides, potentially. "Whoa! Okay, how did you do that?" Hanta asked in particular shock, causing Nikolay to remember that most of his classmates actually hadn't seen the recent shockwave ability of his Quirk yet. Just as he began to explain, though…
"AAAH!"
The sound of someone crying out for help snapped many of the boys' attention with resounding urgency as they all looked up to find, of all people, that little boy named Kota, hanging from the edge of the wall above for his very life; his feet kicking about desperately to try and find some kind of support to help himself back up. However, even from a distance, it was clear he wasn't in the right position to pull himself up. His grip was going to give before anything else.
Once more, instinct completely took over as this time, being on dry land, Nikolay once more fired himself up through his feet just enough to where he could now grab onto the edge of the wall right next to Kota, and reach out to grab and support him with his free hand. Whether Kota had given Nikolay a low blow or not, he wasn't about to let the kid get himself hurt.
"GAH! LET GO OF ME, YOU DUMBASS! LET GO! GODDAMMIT!" The instant the Russian boy was able to get a grip around Kotas' sides, the boys' demeanor completely switched from panic to rage, and before Nikolay even knew it, he was suddenly getting hammered in the face and chest by a multitude of desperate blind punches and slaps. This wasn't like trying to save a panicking drowning victim; this was just straight-up blind assault on Kotas' part.
"Dammit, kid, I'm trying to help you! Knock it off!" Nikolay tried to explain/shout between the numerous hits to his face, trying not to lose either one of his grips as he began getting ready to just toss Kota back over the railing of the wall onto the platform behind it. The sooner he got this little monster off his conscience, the better.
However, just as he turned his head to follow through with tossing Kota back onto the platform, he was met with the sudden sight of an unmistakable pair of wide, black-gold eyes staring right back at him from the other side.
Nikolays' whole body went rigid as a rock as he realized Mina had actually come climbing up the other side of the wall at the same time, doubtless to try and help pull Kota back to safety as well from the moment he cried out from nearly falling. Had she not heard the sound of Nikolay launching up to help the kid, or had she become so single-minded in her determination to save him, that she'd essentially blocked out the rest of the world?
That didn't matter. The only thing that did, was that they were both here, running into each other in the last way either one of them ever expected, and upon momentary instinctive glances down to each others' exposed shoulders and the beginnings of their chests, they both immediately came to the obvious realization that just behind those planks of wood, they were, in essence, completely nude, towels or not.
Minas' pink face turned the darkest shade of red he'd ever seen, while Nikolays' long-delayed panic finally kicked in, as he unintentionally lost his grip and kicked at the wall in an attempt to put some distance between them, unintentionally throwing himself and Kota through the air and freefalling.
In a flash, a sparking green blur shot through the air, snatching the surprisingly quiet Kota right out of the air, while Nikolay was barely even able to think to launch a desperate stabilizing burst from his feet, breaking his momentum, but still ultimately sending himself flipping uncontrollably back into the water before he could even cry out his initial surprise from atop the wall.
In the immediate aftermath of that out-of-nowhere confrontation, on the girls' side of the hot spring, Mina; who had previously been the only one to not immediately seek the natural security of the steaming water to protect herself from prying eyes; had now followed suit with the rest of her classmates, nearly submerging herself completely in it. The troubled look in her eyes as she sat exceptionally silent had the other girls looking on quite concernedly.
"I don't think you need to worry about fixing those grips you melted into the wall, Mina-san. I'm confident the Pussycats will be quite understanding once they know you only did it to try and save Kota-kun." Momo tried to reassure the brooding pink girl beside her, while Kyouka was the one among them to look particularly annoyed.
"For all we know, she could just be stewing over stupid Mineta trying to pull another of his damn perverted stunts. Maybe we should see about tying him up into his sleeping bag and hoisting him from a tree tonight. See if any bears mistake him for a midnight snack." While nobody for an instant mistook Kyouka for being genuinely serious, the aggravated look in her eyes, and the way her earphone jacks were coiling back, made it clear she wanted nothing more than to punish the little pervert somehow while they were here.
"No, no, no, it's not that. I mean, yeah, Minetas' little schemes are stupid and annoying, but that's not what's bothering me, really. It's…it's actually…it's Kolya-kun." Minas' muttered admittance as she lifted the rest of her head beneath her nose back out of the water, had all the other girls visibly flinch in surprise that their Slavic classmate was the one, in comparison to Mineta, that had their usually so peppy and cheerful classmate and friend looking this…forlorn.
"Really? That…that just doesn't seem possible, though. I mean, you went right after him even after he shouted all those hateful things at us at that house party months ago. After that, I didn't think Kolya san could ever say anything that would leave you feeling like this, Mina-chan." Ochako admitted wholeheartedly, more worried than curious now, with Tooru eagerly nodding in agreement.
"Yeah, how bad could it be that you wouldn't even throw yourself over that wall after he and Kota-kun fell? I mean, yeah, the rest of the boys being there aside, you two have been so close this whole school year, I'd almost imagine you wouldn't even care if it meant making sure he was okay."
Even though the rest of the girls were in silent yet full agreement that Toorus' statement was far too beyond bold, their attention was still solely on the remorseful-looking Mina as she pulled her knees to her chest from under the water, puffing her cheeks out in a frustrated pout. Seeing this drop in her friends' demeanor, Ochako couldn't help but speak up: "Mina-chan, are you…actually mad at Kolya-san right now? What happened? You two looked as happy together as always during the hike."
To the girls' surprise, however, Ochakos' question was answered by Mina shooting back up into an upright sitting position in the water, a look of desperation evident in her eyes as she answered emotionally: "No! Of course not! I mean…I don't know. We just…we talked about something after we'd finished getting our things in our dorms, and I…well, it's just been really bothering me since then. It's been making me feel stuff I haven't felt in a really long time."
While Momo, Kyouka, Ochako and Tooru couldn't hide their confusion as they exchanged silent glances, since that last statement from Mina could mean more than a few things, Tsuyu ended up answering exceptionally quick: "Does this possibly have something to do with that whole nickname conversation you and Kolya-san had this morning-kero?"
Mina once again dipped half her head back in the water, moaning sadly to herself in a tell-all response.
"Why does a conversation about nicknames make you just close yourself off from Kolya-san out of the blue, though?" Kyouka immediately followed up, her confusion about as blunt as could be.
"I agree. You're honestly one of the most open people any one of us has ever known, Mina-san. You've essentially made nicknames or casual means of referring to all of us at this point, as well as a good number of the boys. What could Bezpalov-san have possibly chosen for you that would make you react this way?" Momos' earnest expression of respect and appreciation for Mina, finally forced the pink girl to just voice what had been bothering her so thoroughly:
"It wasn't the nickname itself, but what he said it translated to. I can't pretend I know how to pronounce it, but he said it was a fancy way of saying 'Dark Eyes.'" Mina had to fight the urge to submerge herself right back in the water now that it was finally out in the open, and the persistent confusion on her female peers' faces did not help.
"But why would that bother you so much, Mina-chan? I mean, Bakugo's called you Raccoon Eyes a few times by now, and yeah you got all annoyed when he did, but that still didn't make you just give him the silent treatment like this. What are we missing here?" Toorus' innocent-sounding unknowing made it impossible for Mina to stay silent.
"Well, yeah it's rude and annoying when Bakugo would call me that, but he was also always being so mean to my friends at the same time, so that would, like, compound how annoying that all was. But being mean is just to be expected from a bully. But this…this is coming from Kolya-kun, of all people. I think of him as one of my most precious friends, just like I consider Kiri, Kaminari-kun, Midori-kun and all of you the same way. That just makes the fact he picked that kind of name for me that much worse."
"But do you actually think Kolya-san really intended to hurt your feelings when he picked that name for you?" Ochako actually spoke with surprising seriousness, which Mina answered with equally surprising sincerity, given everything she'd said before:
"Of course I don't! I mean, he even said to my face that he wanted to pick something that would only be known between the two of us, just to make our friendship that much stronger!" As soon as she had admitted it out loud, Mina looked like she'd just been stricken with a bolt of greater understanding, which Tsuyu and the other girls could easily see for themselves.
"Well, if Kolya-san was doing something he wasn't even aware of, it doesn't seem fair for you to just give him the silent treatment for it, Mina." Tsuyu had ultimately stated what Mina likewise just realized, as her once conflicted eyes now reflected pure regret.
"You're right, Tsu-chan. He was trying to do something nice he'd never done before, and I just shut down on him. Oh, he must be worried sick he did something he can't fix right now! We're supposed to be besties, and I had to go acting like a little kid and leaving him hurting! What kind of best friend am I?"
Mina immediately shot back up to her feet, looking halfway ready to just bolt out of the springs, find Nikolay and clear the air, only for Momo and Kyouka to quickly grab her arms to keep her from just running off so recklessly, among other things right now. "You have the right idea, Mina-san, but maybe you should take a moment, breathe and think about exactly what you want to tell him. If I know Kolya-san nearly as well as I think, chances are he might be doing the same thing right now."
Momo readily agreed with Kyoukas' suggestion with that same supportive, almost maternal smile of hers: "Jirou-san's right. You two really are a delightful pair together; it'd be a true shame for that connection to be broken by further miscommunication. It'd be best if you both clear this hurdle of yours with as much focus and understanding of exactly what you want to say as possible. There's still a good deal of time before our training will begin tomorrow, so just take the chance to think it through."
From the moment they had all touched back down after the recent debacle at the hot springs, Nikolay and Izuku were quick to rush a distressingly unconscious Kota to where they knew the main office for the training camp to be. Thankfully, Mandalay (without her cat ears headdress and paw gloves) had been dutifully sitting inside by the time the two boys arrived with her nephew in tow. Granted, they were both worried, at least for a moment, that she would go into a protective maternal mode and assume they had done something to the boy.
Instead, however, she was surprisingly understanding of what was going on, and instead had them give a full rundown of everything that had happened, from Minorus' attempt to scale the dividing wall, to Nikolay knocking him off only to accidentally send Kota over the edge, to his attempt to get the boy back to safety only to fall upon nearly running into Mina, and Izukus' subsequent intervention to save Kota, only to find he'd fallen unconscious. By the end, with Kota now resting on the single couch in the office, Mandalay gave the two teenage boys a smile of genuine gratitude.
"Well, thankfully he doesn't look to actually be hurt. The fear of falling must've really hit him hard. Even if Bezpalov-kuns' initial rescue attempt might have gone sideways, I'm grateful both you boys still did what you could to try and help him, even despite his...well, less than pleasant reaction to your doing so." Mandalay couldn't help but put her hands together in a playful gesture of apology when noting the couple of red marks on the right side of Nikolays' face, courtesy of the little boy on that couch right now.
Nevertheless, the gratitude of a genuine Pro Hero left Izuku and Nikolay feeling a touch proud, even if the Russian boy couldn't keep his lingering curiosity to himself: "I-I hope you don't mind me asking this, Mandalay-sensei, but why exactly was Kota-kun up there to begin with?"
The brown-haired Pussycat couldn't help but lightly chuckle at the young Slav's irrepressible curiosity. "Well, Eraser had mentioned something about a, and I quote, 'an incarnation of human lust' lurking among you Yuuei boys, so we decided to put Kota-kun on the wall as a lookout for the girls' sake. Girls are quite well-developed these days, after all. However, judging by you boys' story, it sounds like we were worried for nothing. Honestly can't say I was expecting one of you to be such the actively vigilant type for your fairer classmates. It's admirable, to say the least."
While Nikolay couldn't help but turn a bit pink in the cheek that wasn't bruised red at yet another compliment, Izuku was looking down upon Kota with a rather thoughtful look in his eyes, taking into consideration his hostile greeting, violent reaction to being saved, and his harsh way of speaking to them all. "Kota-kun doesn't seem too keen on the concept of Heroes, does he?"
This sudden change in the conversation spurred Mandalay and Nikolays' curiosity alike, but for once, Izuku didn't stumble, as he spoke his honest feelings: "With the exception of Kolya-san months before, and now Kota-kun, I grew up in an environment where I and everyone around me wanted to become Pro Heroes. For a child this small to already be so jaded…it's something I've honestly never seen before."
Nikolay could at least outwardly appreciate that Izuku had the good graces to remember where his Russian friend had been not so long ago, but at the same time he could likewise agree with the green haired boys' sentiments. Without the kind of all-encompassing loss that Nikolay himself had gone through to be the way he once was, it just felt unnatural for this boy to have such a sour attitude towards them.
However, Mandalays' expression slightly sank, as if she could actually understand Kotas' perspective better than that of the two students. "Yeah, well, it shouldn't come as a surprise, but with such a big world we live in, it's impossible for all the people out there to have a single unified opinion on anything, even something it would be so easy to think was universally loved, like Heroes. The number of people who aren't exactly fans of Heroes would be considerably higher than you'd think.
"If Kota-kun had a normal upbringing, he would have probably grown up to idolize Heroes, as well." This particular wording had Nikolay and Izuku equally curious and confused at once, and as if that upcoming question in their heads were telegraphed through the air, the office door suddenly opened from behind them, revealing Pixie-Bob in the doorway, causing Nikolay to instinctively start backing away lest she was about to try grabbing for the two of them like before.
"What Mandalay means is that her cousins, Kota-kuns' parents, they used to be a Hero duo, but they lost their lives on the job." This sudden revelation froze Nikolay in his tracks instantly, feeling his heart momentarily seize with an awful familiarity that left him in chills, trembling only for a moment. Izuku, all the while, was shocked speechless. How could the two boys have never once stopped to consider that possibility, especially Nikolay?
Judging by the two boys' reactions, Pixie-Bob continued on, watching as Mandalay silently tended to her sleeping nephew. "It happened two years ago, while they were protecting civilians from a Villain. As Pro Heroes, there couldn't have been a more sublime and glorious way for them to pass on. They died a truly Heroic death together. But for a child just beginning to understand his surroundings, that didn't mean jack squat. His parents were his world, his everything. Even though 'they had left him,' the world around him celebrated. His parents were praised and celebrated for their actions."
Nikolay could feel an insurmountable lump of raw emotion building in his throat more and more with every word Pixie-Bob shared, the memories and the contrast crystal clear, and all the more painful for it. What kind of a cruel twist of fate was this, for the universe to bring them all together in such a way?
"I'm pretty sure Kota-kun isn't very fond of us, either, being Heroes and all. But with no other relatives, he may feel obligated to follow us and our orders." By the saddened tone her voice had taken by the end, it was clear Pixie-Bob had said all she felt needed to be said in these circumstances.
Izukus' eyes fell upon the boy, a deeply troubled realization of the grander scheme of things surrounding them all, but especially from this small childs' perspective. "In Kota-kuns' eyes, Heroes are…an incomprehensible, disgusting sort of creature."
However, the heavy silence was soon broken by the unmistakable sound of sniffling. Mandalay and Pixie-Bob instinctively turned to attend to Kota, worried he had woken up and overheard them telling the two teens everything. However, he was still fast asleep upon looking. When they looked back, they were both surprised, with Izuku looking considerably less so, as Nikolay was visibly trying to fight back tears that were running down his face.
"W-whoa, take a moment to breathe, Bezpalov-kun. Yes, it's a sad story, but it's unfortunately pretty common in our line of work. The important thing to take away is that we're here for Kota-kun now, so no matter how it started, we're making sure his story is going to be happy from here on out." Pixie-Bob explained in a hushed whisper, trying to get the young man to try and dial back the emotional outpour, while also trying not to accidentally wake Kota up as well.
However, Nikolay stubbornly shook his head as he tried to clear his eyes. "I-it's not the story itself…it's something more." With that statement, Izukus' already knowing and worried expression, began to light up with a dreaded realization.
"Kolya-san, you know you don't have to say anything if you don't want to. You shouldn't bring yourself down like this so soon before we have to start training." As he tried to reach out to get through to his friend, Nikolay was once again shaking his head in refusal, taking a deep, shaky breath through his teeth.
"No, Midoriya-san. They wanted us to understand why that kid's the way he is…so it's only right they understand just as much in return. I understand Kota-kuns' feelings better than you both may think." Sensing the dead seriousness in Nikolays' words, Pixie-Bob silently motioned for the two boys to take a seat so they could get whatever baggage was on anyones' shoulders out in the open.
From there, Nikolay, with much tears and self-willing throughout, proceeded to fill Mandalay and Pixie-Bob on the entirety of his and Tunguskas' history, from the old days of his fathers' glory as the Number One Hero in the Soviet Union, his team and Nikolays' mother, to the Siberian Flash, the collapse of Russia's entire Hero infrastructure, and the subsequent culling of all remaining Quirk users in the former Soviet Bloc, leading to their years of desperate hiding to survive, and the poisonous sense of self-hatred and all-around Hero and Quirk-loathing he had been driven to in that time, and how it all ultimately came around when they had been quite literally saved by a miracle, and brought to Japan in order to try and somehow start over.
When it came to the devastating contrast between societies' reactions to the death of his mother and the supposed one of his father, to the deaths of Kotas' parents, the Russian boy nearly broke down completely.
All the while, while Izuku was visibly saddened to have to hear that awful story get revisited in such detail, Mandalay and Pixie-Bob looked especially stricken with surprise and similar sadness. Never had they thought that one of the students of the class they had volunteered to supervise, would have come from such a distinctly different, and yet all too similar, set of circumstances as their own young little ward.
If anything, it was especially heartbreaking to hear just how savagely the very society that Nikolays' admittedly impressive-sounding father risked life and limb to protect, had turned on him and all those like him for something that, after considering all the destruction and loss of life that had been inflicted, was still ultimately nothing more than an accident. It was still hard to imagine how any kind of Hero could ever truly recover from inadvertently causing such devastation, but that still didn't change the truth of the whole matter in the very end.
Having told the entirety of his story, Nikolays' still watery eyes drifted back to Kota sleeping on the couch. "Frankly, it's such a strange sensation to know just how similar Kota-kun and I are. Now, it's like I'm on the outside, looking in on the same frightened, sad and angry little kid I used to be until not even six months ago.
"The thing is, though, I have all of my friends and classmates to thank for helping me find the strength and will to finally put those memories in the past where they belong, and be able to finally move on, and keep making the effort to try and become the kind of Hero that both my parents could be proud of. I don't know how, but I just hope that, somehow, the same thing might be able to happen for Kota-kun. Surely his parents wouldn't have wanted him to be living his life with so much anger, and especially not directed towards people like them. I mean, deep down, he must know they didn't want to leave him behind at all when they chose to save people. And even if he doesn't, there's got to be a way to help him understand that."
Nikolay had ultimately exhausted any words he could've possibly said to further express his sympathy for the small boy he had once found himself so bitter towards. However, even if he was now at a loss for words, having once again devolved into stifled choking sobs, that did nothing to diminish the admiring smile on Izukus' face for how clearly strengthened his foreign friends' heart had become in all this time; nor the appreciative smiles Mandalay and Pixie-Bob were both forming upon knowing he had nothing left to say.
"Well, I know it may not seem like you've done much at all, but thank you for your empathy, Bezpalov-kun. Thank you both for that, really. The fact that you've both done what you've done already to help him, even when he admittedly gave you little reason to do so, speaks far more than any amount of words will, even if Bezpalov-kun expressing his understanding for Kota-kuns' circumstances is really appreciated."
As Mandalay expressed her gratitude for the two boys serving as an honorable example this night, Izuku found himself once again reflecting on what he now knew about Kota and Nikolay both, as well as those cryptic words spoken to them by that man, Tomura Shigaraki, just last week: "It's because of him, that they're always grinning, like there was never anybody he couldn't save."
Somehow, in its own strange way, these three examples of people who actually grew up detesting Heroes and what their societies stood for were all culminating into one truly heavy ball of overall understanding for the once bright-eyed freckled young man.
It really was just as Mandalay said: even if someone who once hated Heroes and Quirks like Nikolay could be helped back onto the path of wanting to help people not have to suffer as he did, the current states of mind of people like Shigaraki and Kota were solid proof that, no matter how much he wanted to think so before, there were simply people in this world that would not be able to change their stances on Heroes nearly as easily, comparatively speaking.
"Now then, it's starting to get late, and you kids have quite the first day of training waiting for you, so you'd both best start getting ready to turn in. Don't worry, we've got Kota-kun all taken care of from here." Mandalay finally announced once it was clear there was nothing more between them all that needed to be said. With one final 'thank you' for everything Nikolay and Izuku had done and shared with them, she and Pixie-Bob proceeded to take their leave with Kota in tow, of course not without the blonde Pussycat turning back with that devious smirk from before that left them both considerably red in the face with adolescent fluster: "And be sure to put some more clothes on from now on, especially you, Bezpalov-kun. How you can possibly still look so skinny after over three months in Yuuei is beyond me. Focus on putting on a bit more muscle like Midoriya-kun, though, and you'll have all the wanting ladies looking your way in three years time."
It wasn't too much later after their conversation with their two supervisors, that Nikolay and Izuku felt the entire days' efforts finally catching up, and the call for sleep becoming too great to ignore. In fact, the same could be said for the rest of their classmates, as once many had exited the hot springs, just as many were finally filing off to go to bed, even after all the talk in the dining hall of hanging out for all hours of the night.
Once Nikolay had bid good night to Izuku after getting back into a fresh pair of clothes, he had to actively remind himself to not simply drag his feet from the changing room all the way back to his dorm. He was just so damned tired, he was going to sleep the sleep of the dead and love every second of it.
"Kolya-kun?" The moment Nikolay had stepped out the main building entrance into the clearing; he was greeted by the sound of Minas' voice from just a short distance behind him, and approaching. However, what had once always lifted his spirits and rejuvenated him now left him breaking into a nervous frigid sweat in record time. It had been hard enough trying to think of what he could possibly say to make up for the whole nickname disaster, but after having gotten even so much as a fragmentary peek at her completely exposed in the hot springs, there was no way he could even look her in the eye without being overrun with shame.
As such, his immediate instinctive reaction was to start hurrying on his way to the dorm, silently hoping this would dissuade her from following after for tonight. He could only hope that a night of thinking it over would give him an idea, and the courage, to finally approach her tomorrow and try to set things as close to right as they could be.
Except all of those thoughts amounted to nothing, because the moment he tried to move, Nikolay instead felt Minas' hand firmly grab onto his sleeve and just tug at it enough to where he had no choice but to turn around and look at her. Instead of the humiliated and angry glare he'd been gearing himself up for; he was instead met with Mina looking increasingly contemplative, as though she were trying to think of what to say as much as he was. Of course, there was palpable embarrassment in her eyes as well, as she was struggling to maintain eye contact for more than a couple seconds at a time, her pink cheeks only slightly growing more red.
"I…I want to talk to you about something, and I don't think it can wait, Kolya-kun." The moment she said this, Nikolay was already starting to open his mouth. Whether to tell her not to worry about saying anything, or to start belting out his own deluge of apologies was anyones' guess. Either way, Mina still ended up swiftly holding an objecting pointing finger against his lips, finally managing to hold eye contact.
"Please…I-I just want you to hear what I have to say, okay? I want to start by letting you know, this isn't about me being mad or anything like that, okay? I promise you that. I just need to help clear up something about what we were talking about earlier, something I should've taken the time to explain earlier. I want us to be able to understand each other as best we can, and right now, this is the only way I can think of doing that."
Nikolay could hear just how sincere Mina was in the softness with which she spoke. Momentarily looking around to make sure none of their classmates or the Pussycats were anywhere listening in, he finally felt remotely calm enough to nod in understanding, driving Mina to sigh with relief before finally taking her finger off his lips.
"Okay…first off, I'm sorry for just…shutting you out like I did when you told me what that nickname you picked translated to. That wasn't even childish, that was just dumb on my part. I want you to know, I wasn't actually mad about it, really. It's just that…well…when you told me what it meant, it got me to start feeling something that I hadn't felt in a really long time, and the fact that it was coming from you, someone I hold dear as one of my best friends…that just made what I was feeling that much worse."
Mina could already see the desire to instinctively apologize begin to form in Nikolays' green eyes, hence the objecting finger was immediately right back in place. "Please, Kolya-kun, I asked you to just listen for now, okay? I just need to get this all out, and then…then you can say what you need to say, and I'll listen and nothing else if you want me to."
As soon as she was convinced the Russian boy understood her loud and clear, she retracted her hand yet again, and took another deep steadying breath, her shoulders momentarily trembling."For you to understand why I reacted like I did, I should probably take you back a while.
"Back when I was in kindergarten, and even into my first year of elementary school, before I developed my Quirk, and a little bit after, I got…made fun of a lot by the other kids. It was for all kinds of things: my skin being pink, the fact my hair being pink made it look like cotton candy; which, honestly, I don't know why that bothered me, since I like cotton candy; or even just making fun of my horns. But the one thing they made fun of me for more than anything…well, given why we're even talking about this, I'm sure you probably guessed by now.
"None of the other kids in my class at either school had eyes that looked anything like mine, and they made fun of me for them constantly. They would keep saying that I'd never have friends because of them, or that I'd scare away all the people around me when I grew up, especially other kids. By the time I started elementary school, I actually believed it, too.
"Near the end, it got so bad that I almost didn't even want to go to school without some kind of sunglasses on me, just so I could pretend my eyes were normal like everybody elses'. I mean, it's not like they even gave me some kind of way of seeing different from anybody else, they just looked different, but that was all they needed to keep calling me creepy and stuff like that.
"I mean, once I got my Quirk and got used to using it, and once I started watching all the Heroes on TV, I decided to just put all of that crap behind me and try to be confident and friendly to everyone, no matter what they'd said about me before…and it actually worked. Ever since then, I've pretty much been the same Ashido Mina you all know today."
Nikolay could feel his heart break to hear Mina sound so sad when thinking back on those earliest days, when it sounded like she had none of the confidence or spirit she had now. It sounded unbelievable to think she ever could've been different from how he knew her. However, by the end, her sadness had given way to that very same confidence, even if her eyes still reflected that same sense of hurt from earlier today.
"Like I said, I hadn't even thought about those old feelings for so long…but when you made it sound like the way my eyes look was the only thing you could think of when coming up with a nickname you said wanted to be super personal between us…it made me think back to that, and I honestly didn't know how to take it. That's why I started acting all distant and cold, and I-I don't wanna do that, Kolya-kun, with you or anyone else! I never wanted to do something like that; you mean so much to me as a friend, and I don't want to risk losing you all because of a dumb misunderstanding, or a miscommunication or anything like that! I just…*sniffle* I just wanted you to know all that before anything else."
By this point, Mina was actually on the verge of tears, with only a single one managing to run down her face as she hurriedly tried to wipe the rest away. Regardless, Nikolay could see how much this entire mess was hurting her, and no matter what she could say otherwise, he knew he had as much of a role in it as she said she did, herself. As such, he finally took the chance to get the weight off his own chest at last: "I understand, Mina. Of course I do. The past has some kind of pain for everybody, and unless we have to, of course we don't want to have to think back on it. I'm glad you decided to tell me all of this, I really am. But I still have my own share to apologize for, too.
"I should've just taken the time before to ask you what kind of nickname you would've preferred, and that could've saved us both so much unnecessary worry. I never wanted to hurt your feelings or anything of the sort, and I was so scared I'd screwed things up with us ever since before dinner. That's why I'm glad you wanted us to talk about this. Honestly, it looks like we both wanted to do the same thing, to try and put it all right again. So for opening up to me about why my choice for a name made you react the way you did…thank you."
As she wiped the last remnants of a tear from her eye, Minas' expression of a long-withheld sadness slowly broke into a deeply grateful smile. "You're welcome, Kolya-kun. And…I know you never meant to hurt me or anyone at all. I think we both know by now you couldn't intentionally hurt your friends even if you tried…and honestly, that's one of the things I respect the most about you, just like…well, almost the rest of our classmates. I know I've said this before, a while ago, but it doesn't matter, I'll say it however many times I have to: it's that really good-natured and well-meaning heart of yours that's just one of the many things that drew me to you from the start, and it's one of the biggest things that makes you as…well, as precious as you are."
With that, Mina suddenly closed the distance and pulled Nikolay into a tight, warm embrace, not saying another word as he instinctively returned the supportive gesture, the two friends simply basking in the pleasantness of the warmth their unbreakable bond of friendship always provided. Without nearly as much needing to be said as either of them had once dreaded, they had managed to ride through the first genuine rough patch their friendship had faced, and they both felt truly stronger for it deep down inside.
Once they had finally decided to step back, Nikolay looked and felt truly ready to finally get the last bit of baggage from this misunderstanding out in the open. "I'm sorry I didn't just explain everything to you from the start, Mina. When I first told you what the nickname I picked meant, I shouldn't have just left it at the literal translation, because the truth is: that wasn't the actual reason I picked it. The translation just happened to be one of those crazy kinds of happy accidents."
Nikolays' attempt to try and soften the lead-in did not go unappreciated, as Mina had that sweet amused smile on her face once more, emboldening the young Russian boy to keep going and get to his ultimate point:
"The truth is that 'Ochi Chyornye' isn't just the poetic version of 'Dark Eyes'. It's actually the name of an old Russian folk song, centuries old in fact. To be more specific, it's probably one of, if not the most beloved song in the entire Russian-speaking world. I'm not even exaggerating right now, you could ask Dad the next time you see him; it's the kind of song where you could literally walk into any random place in any random city, town or village within the former Bloc, start singing the very first line, and not only will everyone in the room know exactly what you're singing, but they'll all gladly join in as well. It's that popular, and has been for well over three centuries at this point.
"The reason that I picked 'Ochi Chyornye' as a personal nickname from me to you, Mina, is because that song has been one of my all-time favorites from back in the Motherland for as far back as I can remember, like so many fellow Russians over the generations, and I wanted that name to be able to apply to…*gulp* to someone that I hold just as dear to myself, as my own countrymen hold that very song to their hearts."
By the end of his lengthy explanation, Nikolay could see an emotional resonance within Minas' golden irises like he'd never seen before. It was as though knowing the full extent of why he had made his specific choice was hitting her deep inside harder than she had ever expected it to, as she was visibly struggling to find the words to say. He couldn't begin to imagine or ask just what she was thinking at this moment. For a moment, her whole body even trembled from head to toe, as though that were the sign that the full heartfelt intent and emotional weight behind it all had finally fully taken root in her head and heart.
"W…w-wow, Kolya-kun. T-talk about going way above and beyond for someone. I-I mean, seriously, that's totally over the top, even for someone as sweet as you." Minas' first words were a barely strung together attempt at trying to deflect just how deeply moved she was feeling, but that didn't stop Nikolay from still standing firm in his decision as he answered without hesitation:
"I know it is, but that doesn't mean I don't mean every word of it, Mina. The truth is that in the relatively short time we've really known each other, you've become one of the most irreplaceable people in my life, just like the rest of my friends in our class, if not even more so. After everything you've done for me at nobody's insistence and will but your own up to this point; honestly, how could you not be? You deserve to know just how much you really mean to me as my first and dearest friend, Mina."
Nikolay didn't want to risk overstepping by pulling Mina into a grateful hug she wasn't ready for. And for once, it was a good thing he made that choice, because it ultimately would have been enough to make Mina Ashidos' heart burst inside her chest with the way she was feeling right now, taking in his latest sentiments all at once.
Her eyes were glistening with deeply moved tears, and her whole chest felt like it was burning from the inside out as she found herself in complete conflict within herself, emotionally. Even for someone who wore her heart on her sleeve like Mina did; this was an overwhelming swelling of numerous feelings the likes of which she hadn't ever felt before.
'Oh…oh, wow, w-what is this? I…h-how do I even answer something like that? I can't even laugh it off, what the hell? Oh, man, what do I do? There's no way I can just be all casual about that, it's so obvious he meant all of that from the bottom of his heart. But if I reacted the way my chest is making me feel like I should…on the off-chance Kyouka-chan did have a crush on Kolya-kun, she'd never forgive me if I did. But how do I know this even really is the feeling I think it is? I've never felt something like…like that for someone before. But then again, nobody's said and done so many incredibly sweet things for me before, either. Oh, God, what the hell am I supposed to do or say to all that?'
"Mina? Are you alright?" Nikolays' voice finally managed to break through the conflicted cacophony of different emotions raging in Minas' head, thankfully returning her focus back to the two of them in this quiet little clearing in the middle of the night. Looking at his deeply emotional green eyes managed to ground the pink young girl enough to finally remember to breathe, and just focus on the discussion at hand, and put everything else aside, at least for now.
"Y-yeah, I'm okay, really. That…t-that's just a lot to really take in, you know? You…you've got a real talent for that, Kolya-kun, to take something silly like a nickname, and turn it into probably one of the sweetest things someone has ever, ever done for me before. I'm glad you told me all of that, for real. Thank you so much. I don't ever want to lose you, either, so I'm really happy we could just clear all this stuff up finally."
What neither of them had noticed until the final syllable had left Minas' lips, was that she had unknowingly reached out and taken Nikolays' hands into her own, holding them so softly and even gently rubbing her thumbs against the top of them. When they both looked down and realized this, and then lifted their gazes to meet each others' eyes again, they both felt that suffocating heat rise right back up out of their chests, with Nikolay swallowing a nervous lump in his throat.
'Oh, god…w-what should I do, or say? Should I even do anything? How do I know I wouldn't be completely destroying the mood if I did? And that look in Minas' eyes…what's she thinking right now? Is she as confused as I am right now? Is she…is she maybe thinking of…of…another kiss? Oh man, I-I don't even know if my heart would be able to take that on top of everything else right now. What do I do?'
At the same time, as Mina couldn't take her eyes from Nikolays' she found her own head falling right back into that same conflicted emotional maelstrom. 'Oh, man, is he expecting me to do something? Should I actually do something? I mean, that was seriously one of the sweetest things someone's ever said to me, I feel like maybe I should do something to show how much that means to me…but what? He's gotten so flustered both the times I kissed him before, I don't know if he could handle another right now of all times…wait, is that really the first option I'm thinking of? I mean, yeah, a big part of me really, really wants to, but would that just risk ruining things between us all over again if he thought I was sending him mixed signals? Would I be? Oh, man, what is happening to me?! What should I do?!'
"Hey, Bezpalov-san, Ashido-san, it's time for us to turn in for the night! You both need to be rested and at your best for training tomorrow! Let's move!" The sudden interruption of the echoing and serious voice of Tenya Iida suddenly broke through the fog surrounding the hearts and minds of Nikolay and Mina, nearly making them jump back to full attention to find him and Momo both standing a ways off at the split in the clearing leading to their respective dorms.
"I'm glad to see you're both talking to each other again, but Iida-san is right, we need to be at our best in preparation for tomorrow, so there's no more time for stalling. Say good night, and let's all turn in." Momos' much softer yet no-less serious order finally made the two teens realize they really had said all that actually needed to be said right now, and this was the worlds' way of keeping them from simply going on to embarrass themselves, or drive themselves any further up the wall over what they had just been feeling.
"G-good night, Mina." Nikolay barely managed to stutter out, with Mina looking no less flustered than he did as they both began to return to the heads of their respective sides of the class. "Good night, Kolya-kun."
Despite the immense sense of emotional confusion still dwelling in the backs of their minds, there was no denying that, at the end of the night, with all the conflict between them having managed to get miraculously cleared up, Nikolay Bezpalov and Mina Ashido were both feeling lighter than a feather, able to finally start looking to their immediate futures again with nary a worry about fraying the friendship between them. At least, that was all the two of them could really hope for, as those same confused feelings kept creeping back to the forefront for both of them for the rest of that first night.
5:30 AM, Tuesday, July 10th
The overall mood among the students of 1-A at having had to wake up at what felt like such an ungodly hour, especially after the entirety of yesterday, was that of a particular malaise. Granted, that exhaustion from before had made falling asleep like a rock no problem for nearly all of them, but that still didn't change the fact that many were still feeling the residual aches from before as they changed into their Yuuei P.E. uniforms and gathered in front of the training camps' main building. Aizawa was waiting alone for them, immediately getting into his rehearsed teachers' spiel the moment he saw how tired many of his students still looked.
"Good morning, everyone. Today we begin a rigorous round of reinforcement training. This trip's mission statement is to strengthen everyone's Quirks as a whole, thereby allowing everyone to achieve their temporary licenses. This is preparation to stand up to and against live-action hostility and aggression from your enemy. Prepare your hearts and minds."
Just like that, the tiredness among many of the students was gone, now replaced with a physical air of excitement. To think, depending how they would turn out by the end of this whole training camp, they could actually gain temporary licenses that would grant them the lawful permission to fight against Villains, this time without the constant threat of legal repercussions if they had to do so on their own, without a teacher or a Pro to supervise them.
For Nikolay, the thought was inherently intimidating, but he also couldn't deny it had a particularly strong power to excite as well. It would be the perfect opportunity to really put everything he felt he had learned thus far to the test, and see how well his abilities to handle himself in a situation had adjusted over these last three months.
"So, with that all being said, Bakugo, try throwing this." All of a sudden, Aizawa tossed an admittedly very familiar softball to the platinum-blonde boy at the forefront of the class, who effortlessly caught it and looked in realization of just what their teacher was doing, just as the man himself went on to explain: "That ball is from the physical strength exam. Your records indicate you recorded a toss of 705.2 meters at the time of your admittance. So, let's see how much you've improved since then."
As Bakugo stepped forward, reeling his right arm back in circles in preparation, Nikolay could hear some of the eager chatter from among his classmates, with Mina openly wondering if they would all have to pitch just like the last time, and Rikido and Hanta actually making bets on whether he'd be able to throw over an entire kilometer or not.
"DROP DEAD!" With a somewhat change-up from his usual battle cry, Bakugo pitched with another deafening explosion, sending the ball skyrocketing like an invisible blur into the blue of the sky, while the rest of the class could only watch on in instinctive amazement at another display of his overwhelming Quirk, many grateful it at least wasn't being aimed at them this time.
The inevitable electric ping of Aizawas' speed tracker finally broke the immediate silence following Bakugos' explosive pitch, and with nary a sign of reaction, he finally turned so the rest of the students could see the final recorded distance of… "709.6 meters."
"Huh? That's not even close to what we expected." Hanta muttered, voicing the disbelief of everybody else who had just seen Bakugo put his all into it. The silence was particularly heavy with this unexpected turnout, but Bakugo showed no outward sign of reaction, other than the continuous heaving of his shoulders as he breathed heavy, first from the pitch, and now from the reaction of knowing just how little he had actually improved.
"In three months, you all have gained a lot of experience, and of course, you have all certainly grown. However, that growth has been primarily emotional and technical. Now the time has come to concentrate on physical advancement as well."
Listening to Aizawa explain all of this, knowing everything he had gone through and learned he could do with his Quirk over the last three months, Nikolay couldn't help but bring his hand up to speak: "Sensei, I'm sorry for interrupting, but from my personal experience, as well as what I've observed, it feels like my handling and the overall expansion of my Quirk has actually been rather consistent so far this year. The same goes for Todoroki-san and Midoriya-san, I think a lot of us could agree."
Indeed, Tenya, Ochako, Mina and Momo all began mumbling to each other and the rest of their classmates, nodding in agreement with that assessment. Of course, Aizawa was as unmoved as ever as he kept shifting his gaze over all his students. "That is true, but it doesn't exactly mean what you may think it does, Bezpalov. Keep in mind that, unlike the rest of your peers, you've gone for the longest time through your life actively trying not to use your Quirk at all, while Todoroki was only trying to avoid using half his own. Over these past three months, that old mindset of yours has completely turned around, and you've been using it consistently, and in various different circumstances.
"The reason you've been discovering as many different applications and supposed expansions to your Quirk, is because that's its way of making up for all that lost time you should've spent mastering and honing its capabilities. Now, however, you might find that the advancement of your Quirk is going to become considerably slower from now on, as it seems you've pretty much hit the plateau with its strength and uses for now. Your Quirks' power is virtually at the same level as those of the rest of your classmates now."
Nikolay couldn't help but look to the holes dotting the palms of his hands and the joints and tips of his fingers, before then looking across all of his classmates. Their Quirks all seemed so much more incredibly powerful in comparison to his own, so to hear Aizawa actually put his own Quirk on the same level…it couldn't help but leave the young Russian torn between a feeling of genuine self-accomplishment, and feeling as though he were being placed on an undeserved pedestal, even if many of his classmates' expressions silently conveyed a strong feeling of support and encouragement towards their foreign classmate and friend.
As for Bakugo, however, even if he didn't say anything, the absolute rage in his red eyes said it all for any that would have been brave enough to actually make eye contact with him, had he not been staring the most hateful thousand-yard stare into the woods ahead, simply listening to what Aizawa had said: 'Are you f-ing' KIDDING ME?! Even Sensei is putting that goddamn weed on MY level now?! What the hell is this?! That shitty nerd Deku might be able to claw his way up, but I'll be damned before I let that pansy-ass milksop dirty my standing here! Same level, my ass!'
With his explanation of his foreign students' current circumstances and power seeming to have sunk in, Aizawa continued on to his ultimate point: "As you can all see, your Quirks themselves have only improved at best, by a marginal amount."
With this realization soon reflecting in all of their faces, Aizawas' normally tired eyes widened, and his mouth stretched into that same sadistic grin that made all the young future-Heroes' blood run cold at the sight of it. "So, starting today, we will focus on upgrading your Quirks. I will be pushing you all beyond your limits…so try not to kick the bucket on me."
To say that his words had sucked all the excitement out of the air and replaced it with unspoken horror would've been the mother of all understatements. Right now, it was clear to every last one of those students that today was going to be the beginning of a whole new kind of Shota Aizawa-provided Hell for all of them.
And there it is, everyone, the new chapter for the week, and the beginning of this stories' take on the Forest Training Camp Arc. I look forward to hopefully hearing your thoughts on the ideas I have for this one.
All of you please stay safe, have a nice rest of your week, and I will see you all with the next chapter on 09/18!