|Chapter 16: Trials In The Forest
Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall, Second Week of Break
"See, Izuku, shopping malls are a lot better than your local store strips." Mina said as she presented the mall to Izuku and the rest of the class that came with them. "You've got clothing stores for every kind of body type, custom clothing, supplies for just about anything you'd need, and a restaurant from every famous fast-food chain across the Asian and American continents!"
Hagakure snorted. "Alright, didn't know that we needed a tour guide but go ahead." She turned invisible when her pink friend turned to her with a huffed expression.
"Kero, sorry for intruding on your date as well." Tsu said with a small chuckle, turning around as now both Mina and Izuku turned to her with embarrassed faces. 'Haha!' They still hadn't forgiven her for the group chat incident at I-Island.
Right now, almost the entire class was taking a trip to the mall since they all decided it would be easier to pack for their training camp together to cover all their bases. Shoto and Bakugou were at first opposed, but eventually both came around.
For Shoto, it was his parents trying to take him out for lunch for a 'talk.'
For Bakugou, it was Kirishima saying 'please.'
"Alright then, everyone!" Speaking of Kirishima. "We're splitting up into groups based on what we all need, right?" The class nodded at him and he smiled. "And where are we meeting up after we're done?"
The class pointed downwards. "Right here!"
"Great!" The redhead's smile widened before he grabbed Bakugou and Kaminari. "Let's go!" Neither blonde complained nor tried to fight it as he ran with them over his shoulders.
An action that Izuku chuckled at, especially when Bakugou saw him and flipped him off. "Alright, Tokoyami, do you know where the store is?" He asked after turning to his bird friend.
"Of course, it is just around the corner that way." Pointing in the direction of wherever they were going, Fumikage began to walk off. "… I think."
Shrugging, Izuku went off to follow him. "Uh, dude?" Only to be stopped by Akira. "Where are you going? I thought we were getting our jackets with Shoji?" Behind the black-haired teen, the six-armed boy nodded.
"Oh, right, forgot to tell you." Izuku rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly at that and pointed towards Fumikage. "Tokoyami and I ordered swords a while ago and – luckily for us – the blacksmith that we were assigned has a shop here and the blades are ready."
A majority of the class paused their leave and raised their eyebrows at that. "What do you need swords for?"
However, they did not get an answer to their queries as the other two teens simply walked off. And, seeing as the day wasn't getting any younger, everyone else shrugged and went off to buy their own stuff.
Except Akira. 'Wait, what?' He had, somehow, gotten left by himself as the class split up into groups. 'How?' Because you needed to be alone for what happens next. 'Wait, whose voice is-'
"I recognise you; a student from the infamous Class 1A." Saving the author, a hoarse voice sounded off behind Akira before a hand wrapped itself around his throat. "I'm such a big fan; could I get an autograph?"
"… Shit."
Senpou Forge
Izuku and Fumikage were able to spot the store they were visiting pretty quickly – it stuck out like a sore thumb – and briskly made their way inside. However, upon arriving in the store, they could feel the atmosphere change in a way they couldn't explain.
Whereas the mall outside the store was abuzz with noise and felt fast paced, the store itself had no other noise other than their own footsteps and felt serene.
"Ah, I see I have customers." However, before either boy could comment on the strangeness of the store, an old voice called out to them. "How can I help two young men such as yourselves today?" He was an old man – easily older than All Might by decades – yet only had slightly wrinkled light skin and long, luscious white hair tied into a high ponytail.
His most interesting feature though, were the flame-like scars on his cheeks, and the fact he was missing his left arm.
"Good evening, sir." Though, neither boy decided to comment on it and simply bowed before the blacksmith. "We both ordered swords at the main company building and we got a message saying they were ready."
The old man's eyes widened slightly at the two and he stood up. "Ah, I see, they are your swords then." Bringing up a clipboard with his right arm – cause what else could he do? – he nodded and walked to the back. "You must forgive me for how long they took!" He called out from the back before walking back in with two, long, wooden boxes. "When I saw the specifications on your katana, I decided to travel back home to get a special steel from my village's swordsmiths."
"It is no trouble at all, sir." Fumikage reassured the man, bowing his head. "To know you are dedicated to these blades' creation warms our souls; we are honoured." Next to him, Izuku also bowed his head.
An action that had the old man smiling. "It warms my soul to know that these blades I forged are to be wielded by such respectable young men." He said with his own head bow. "And it warms even further to see that the youth of our country can hone the original weapons of our ancestors; blades hold stories that can be passed down, after all."
Izuku raised an eyebrow at that. "You're not too weary about selling katana to two teenagers?" Not that he was complaining, just a bit surprised was all.
"Well, I have made blades for younger and even taught a handful of them." And the old man seemed fine with it. "Some of them went on to become world-class duellists, others became heroes…" His smile faded suddenly and the atmosphere around the shop became cold. "And one… One I unknowingly turned into a weapon."
Fumikage's feathers ruffled – which was actually a foreign feeling to him – and he looked at the man in sympathy. "I take it one fell to the path of villainy?"
However, the man shook his head. "A hero agent." His statement shocked the boys in front of him and he nodded grimly. "It was… Yes, just over a decade ago now; the hero commission had been training the boy already for years, but they called me in just as I retired to train him in swordsmanship."
Izuku tilted his head at the implication. "Hold on, the commission personally asked you to train someone?" The gears in his head clicked into place. "And you retired… You were a pro hero." A statement, not a question.
One that got the old man his smile back. "Indeed I was; my name is Michikatsu Kyoku." He stood a bit taller and the atmosphere around him shifted. "I… Was The Nighttime Hero: Kokoshibo."
The Nighttime Hero: Kokoshibo! 巧皇之望 (Literal Meaning: Skilled Emperor of the Full Moon)
Real Name: Michikatsu Kyoku! 巌勝 旭 (Literal Meaning: Stern Victor of the Rising Sun)
A strange, retired old pro hero who now works as a blacksmith and a part-time sword instructor! He has wisdom equal and beyond his years and scars he will never be able to forget; physical and emotional! Apparently, the man taught Hawks all he knows about the art of the blade…
· Quirk: Unknown – No idea what this old guy's quirk was, but he either had to be good with it or extremely skilled in a form of fighting or strategy to keep up the hero gig until his late sixties!
Upon hearing the man's hero name, Izuku's eyes widened. "You're…. You were apart of the Slayer Corps!"
Fumikage took a step back from the greenette's volume and also raised an eyebrow. "The what?"
"The Slayer Corps; they were an old hero agency that worked before All Might was even born!" Izuku excitedly explained. "Each member was a master with a katana or a bladed weapon of some type and were a part of a division of heroes solely dedicated to fighting off the Yakuza!"
The boy's knowledge of his past obviously shocked the old man but he still smiled. "Indeed, we were, young man." Memories seemed to flood back into his head and he got lost in them. "I was invited to join the corps with my twin brother not even a year after we debuted, I even trained an entire generation of the corps." However, his smile quickly faded and his sad demeanour once more shifted the atmosphere. "Then I trained him… And while he is a successful pro hero now, I wish I had fought with every breath left in my lungs to give him the childhood he had been robbed of."
With his interest and curiosity now peaked, Fumikage raised his head. "Sir, if you would not mind departing such information with us… Who was that hero?"
Michikatsu simply brought out a framed picture and placed it in front of him. "This was the boy… An angel dragged down to hell rather than falling into it by his own sin."
As soon as their eyes landed on the picture, the two teens froze. He was younger in the picture, but they could recognise him all the same.
Feathery, ash blonde hair.
Golden, bird-like eyes.
And large, red, feathered wings.
"Hawks."
Michikatsu nodded and put the photo away, breaking the two out of their stupor. "Yes, that's what his codename was, quite a fitting one at that."
Izuku's eyes met Fumikage's and they both silently agreed that they would speak about it later. "Thank you for the story, sir." So, the greenette decided to pull the attention back to the original reason they were there. "And, about our swords?"
"Ah, yes!" The retired pro placed the two boxes in front of the teens and opened them, showing off two, sheathed katana. "The steel I used to make these were a product of a quirk from a family of swordsmiths back from in my home village; it's difficult to explain how it does it, but the steel connects to and works in tandem with emitter quirks based around an energy or element of some type."
Fumikage accepted his katana with a bow and weighed it in his hands. "It is lighter than I expected." Its handle was black with a feather-like tsuba and it was sheathed inside an equally dark scabbard with obsidian lightning etched into it.
"Yes, the man I received the metal from can change its carbon content; that one has a high amount." Michikatsu explained. "It is light, easily moveable, and its edge will not dull easily as long as it is wielded correctly."
Izuku accepted his blade and tilted his head. "Mine feels a bit heavier than I thought it'd be." It had a spruce brown handle with a leaf-like tsuba and was sheathed inside a forest green scabbard with branch designs etched into it.
The old man nodded. "This one has less carbon than your friend's; it is an extremely tough blade with minor shock absorption." He smiled as he took away the boxes. "There is only one thing left to do now." At the children's confused looks, he gestured to their swords. "Unsheathe your blades."
With a shrug, the two brought their blades out from their scabbards. "Woah…" And were immediately entranced by the blades; they were forged out of a dark-coloured steel that somehow seemed to glow. "What's happening?"
However, the most interesting part was the colour that seemed to be spreading on their blades. "That is your blades connecting with you." Michikatsu explained.
With Izuku's blade, the edge suddenly became a dark, forest green in colour. "Cool…"
With Fumikage, his became a cracked obsidian colour that glowed lightly. "Incredible…"
"Your quirks will slowly bond with the swords the longer you possess them and the more you wield them." The old man said as the two sheathed their swords. "I pray you wield them with skill, discipline, and grace." Before bowing to them. "Thank you for your patronage."
The two teens bowed back. "Thank you for your service." Before leaving the shop with content smiles on their face.
As soon as they stepped outside, the calm, quiet atmosphere of the shop disappeared and the teens' senses were attacked by a wall of noise. "Hawks." However, it didn't affect the two and Fumikage let his head drop as his thoughts became louder. "A weapon."
"I always knew that there was corruption in the hero business…" Izuku started, sitting down. "But at an executive level? And targeting kids before they even get to high school?"
Fumikage sighed. "What should we do with this information, bring it up with-"
"I don't think we should." Izuku said quickly, shaking his head as he tried to fight off a ping in his head. "The old man definitely wasn't supposed to tell us what he did." Another ping. "We'll just-" He paused, 'Wait, pinging…'
A pause that Fumikage did not miss. "What is it?" The bird boy raised his head and his eyes began to scan their surroundings. "Is it a villain? How close is it?" Even before their internship, he knew that his friend had a strange sixth sense linked to danger, and he listened to it.
And Izuku was grateful that he didn't question it. "It's close." Putting his hand on his new sword, he took off. "Let's go." With Fumikage close behind.
Entrance
'Good Lord, this guy is an actual man-child.' Akira thought to himself as he listened to Shigaraki ramble on about how he hated Stain and All Might. 'Seriously, this guy broke into our school and attacked us; I'm embarrassed.'
"-though, honestly, while I really want to kill that green-haired brat, I've been ordered to try and focus on you instead."
That got the black-haired teen to tune back in. "Excuse me?"
"You've got a file on you; did you know that?" Ignoring him, Shigaraki continued his monologue. "The Hero Public Safety Commission – damn all those bastards – were so interested in your quirk once it manifested since it bears an uncanny level of resemblance to that of China's retired number one hero." He laughed at his own words and shook his head. "Who needs some basic quirk that's been stocking power for just under a century; yours is much more interesting."
'He knows…' Akira kept his breathing controlled and looked around himself for an exit. 'Yes!' And locked eyes with Izuku and Fumikage standing across from him with… Katana. 'Oh my Lord, they were serious.' Quickly looking back to his captor, he thanked his luck that the man-child hadn't noticed the two yet before turning to them to blink out a message.
'Morse code.' An action that Izuku would've laughed at had the situation been less serious. "Tokoyami." After decoding the message, he turned to his friend. "Walk along the left, I'll take the right, and we'll draw our swords on him while he's distracted."
Fumikage nodded at the order and put a hand on his new sword. "Very well, friend; no sudden movements."
With that, they began their walk.
All the while, Shigaraki was none the wiser. "So, what do you think we should do now?" Turning to Akira, the man smiled madly. "Do I slowly take you away with you not resisting, or do you try and fight back, letting me kill a couple dozen in the process?"
"… You asked me before; what do I think is the difference between you and Stain?" Instead of answering his question, Akira decided to speak his mind. "Stain, even though he differs in ideology and morals, is like All Might." Though, it was clear it pissed the man off. "Both of them work hard towards their goals and are willing to put their life on the line for it." His heart glowed as his quirk activated and his eyes shone a bright gold. "Their own deaths don't scare them and neither does mine." Before he aimed them at his captor. "So tell me, Tomura Shigaraki, are you ready to die for your goals?"
"Because if not." Izuku's voice cut in and the sound of metal rung through the air.
"Then we would suggest…" Fumikage's cut in next and he pierced the man with his gaze. "You release your hold… Now."
Both teens now had the tips of their blades aimed at Shigaraki; Izuku's on the back of his neck, and Fumikage's at his wrist.
'What in the actual fuck?' And it terrified Shigaraki. 'Swords; Stain! Why do they have swords?!' His breathing became ragged and his hands twitched.
Wrong fucking move.
Izuku and Fumikage's quirks activated, causing their swords to respond in turn. Black and green sparks began to dance along the edge of Izuku's blade, pricking the back of Shigaraki's neck, and a dark claw covered Fumikage's hand as his obsidian blade glowed.
"While you still have hands, Shigaraki." Fumikage demanded, his eyes staring right through the villain's. "Release him."
Amazingly, despite the fact that they had swords placed against the man, everyone else seemed lost enough in their own world that they didn't notice.
"…Fine." Which Shigaraki disliked as he hoped to use some sort of panic to escape with Akira. 'Stupid civilians.' Instead, he quickly put his hands up before slowly walking away from the three teens. "I guess that I'll be seeing you around." He kept his eyes on them as he walked backwards, slowly but surely gaining distance. "And thanks for the talk, Hikaru, I know what I want now." Before he fully disappeared into the crowds of civilians.
"What?" Even Danger Sense had lost the man. "Damnit." Sheathing his sword and floating upwards, Izuku searched to no avail for the villain, causing him to scowl. "Call the police."
Kiyashi Police Station
"Alright…" Tsukauchi started as he laid down his clipboard on the table. "And that was everything, right?"
Izuku, Akira, and Fumikage all nodded. "Yes, sir."
After they had called the police in and reported the incident, every officer they could spare closed down and swept the mall while all the heroes in a five kilometre radius began to sweep the city for Shigaraki. Unfortunately, after an hour of searching, the hunt was called off as there wasn't a trace of the man left.
From there, the three students directly involved in the matter – namely, Izuku, Akira, and Fumikage – were all taken into the closest station to rendezvous with Tsukauchi, who was the lead detective on the League of Villains case.
"Hey, don't look so down, kids." The detective in question could tell that the teens in front of him seemed peeved at not catching Shigaraki and tried to sooth their worries. "Everything you've given me – even if it doesn't seem like a lot – is very helpful to the case I'm building on the league."
"It would've been better if we actually caught him." Akira mumbled; he was definitely the most pissed, having been rendered useless by a single finger hanging off his neck.
Tsukauchi still heard his mumbles. "You all still did great." He reassured them. "The situation was dealt with quickly and in a mostly calm matter and no fights started." The man stressed that last part. "No one was hurt, no property was damaged, and that's because of you three." Looking over his notes, he nodded before standing up. "Anyway, since that's everything, I'll lead you three out; one of your parents are already here."
Izuku sighed. 'Damnit.' He already knew who was there.
Outside
"Ah! Izuku, my baby boy!" Inko's quirk activated around Izuku and the boy was covered in a green glow before he was pulled right into his Mother's arms. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?! Why are you always getting into run-ins with villains?!"
Trying to find his breath, Izuku pet his Mother's back reassuringly. "Mama. Fine. Breathe. Please!"
"Sorry, sweetie." Seeing that she was killing her child, the lean woman toned down her strength. "All of this trouble, Izuku, I don't know if I can take scares like this for much longer."
Placing a hand on her shoulder, Izuku wiped away the woman's tears. "Mama, I swear, I'm not hurt; if anything, Akira is the one you should be worrying about."
The black-haired teen instantly shook his head. "Wait, no-"
"Oh, Akira, sweetie!" Akira was quickly wrapped in a green glow before getting pulled right into Inko's embrace. "I'm so sorry for not checking on you; are you okay? Nasty villains picking on children!"
Akira pet the woman on the back multiple times, trying to surrender. "Auntie, please, I'm fine; let me breathe!"
Laughing sheepishly, the green-haired woman turned off her quirk and let go of the teen. "Sorry, sweetie, this mother really doesn't know her strength." Before tilting her head at the boy and Fumikage. "Do you two have rides home?"
Both boys nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
"Oh, good!" With that sorted, Inko turned to her child. "Shall we go home then, Izuku? I have katsudon cooking."
Izuku's eyes widened and he shot off. "Whoo! Katsudon!"
Causing his Mother to shake her head. "That boy, no semblance of manners once food is involved." She turned around to the two boys and bowed to them both. "Have a good night, boys." Before a green glow overtook her and she began to fly off, fast – she caught up with her Son in seconds. "Izuku Midoriya! How rude could you be; you didn't even say goodbye to you-"
As the woman berated her Son, Fumikage raised an eyebrow. "She can fly too?"
"Yeah, really damn fast as well." Akira just nodded. "Sometime after Izuku didn't get his quirk, she decided to get a flying license and pick him up that way so that he could at least feel like a hero." Before sighing as he saw his own parents pull up. "Oh, and they also don't have a car, so that helps."
U.A High School
"Congratulations, my dear students, for finishing your first of nine semesters here at Yuuei." Aizawa praised his students; though, his monotone deliverance really didn't convey how impressed he actually was. "Around Japan, kids your age will be enjoying the Summer by going to the beach or working part-time jobs; this is not you." Despite what he said, there was a buzz of excitement in his students. "You are hero students; you will train and further your strength; villains don't rest, and neither shall you."
The class stood straight and nodded. "Yes, sir!"
"Good; am I correct in assuming you all packed the proper provisions for this camp?" At the nods he received, Aizawa directed his gaze to a specific few. "And those of you on remedial lessons are aware that you're on thin ice."
The response this time was less enthusiastic. "Yes, sir…"
With that done, their teacher said nothing more and let his students be.
"Doth mine ears deceive me?" Leaving all their ears open for an annoying voice to flow into them. "1A students taking remedial classes? That implies that there were students that… Failed?"
Collectively, 1A all turned their gaze to a one Neito Monoma, standing in front of the entirety of 1B.
"What of it?" Momo stood in front of Mina as the pink girl grumbled, her hand holding the handle of a katana coming out of her shoulder.
"Yeah, got something to say, copycat?" Bakugou stood in front of Kirishima and let sparks dance around his hands as he crossed his arms.
Both teens had manic grins on their faces as they stared down both Monoma and every 1B student that went to stand by his side. That and their aura created a small but noticeable pressure around them that fired off right at the students across from them.
"Knock it off!" Luckily, before anything could start, a large hand snatched up Monoma before unceremoniously throwing him in a bus. "Any one of you cause problems I swear you'll get the same treatment I give Monoma." Kendo looked at her fellow students with a stern face and they all quickly backed down. "Good, now get your asses on the bus before I beat them like a drum!"
After the embarrassment at the cafeteria, the orange-haired girl had begun to keep a tight leash on all of her fellow 1B classmates.
'Nice.' And Akira was both thankful and impressed. "We should probably be doing that as well." Turning to the bus, he walked on. "Sensei's already on, so let's go!"
1A followed behind quickly. "Whoo!"
U.A Bus, An Hour Later
"So… You actually got swords?" Kaminari asked as he leaned over his seat, looking at Izuku and Fumikage with a calm, calculating – debatable – look. "And you used them to threaten that hand-guy from the USJ?"
At the question, the two teens just shrugged and nodded. "Yes."
Skipping to the important questions, Kaminari pointed at the two. "Did you bring them with you, and can I hold them?"
They both shook their heads immediately. "Yes and no."
"Aw, come on!" The electric blonde plopped back down in his seat with fake tears building in his eyes. "Why not?"
"Swords aren't something to play with, Kaminari." Izuku started. "We have licenses to hold and use them and had to register them with both the school and our support companies to get them into our arsenal. Even with our two years' worth of training, they only barely let us bring them."
Fumikage nodded. "Not to mention that our katana are directly linked to our quirks." He turned around in his seat to Kaminari and levelled him with a knowing look. "We know how you think, and you trying to pass your quirk through either of our blades would not work well for you."
The blonde teen looked both affronted and perplexed at the same time. "Okay, now I've got two more questions." At their groans, Kaminari waved his hands in front of him wildly. "No, no, no! These are valid questions! How do you two have two year's training already, and what the hell do you mean your quirks are linked to your swords?"
"You have to give him those ones, Midori-bro, Yami-bro." Kirishima said, joining in on the conversation as he leaned over from across them. "They're pretty valid questions; I mean, swords that link to your quirks?"
Alright, so it sounded far-fetched. "The blacksmith who forged our blades had them made with a metal created by a quirk; it somehow connects the blade with our quirk factors." Izuku explained as best he could. "We were sceptical at first, obviously, but the swords' edge changed colours to match our own once we held them, so..."
"Okay, I'll believe that." Kaminari shrugged before leaning his head in between the two. "But what about having two years' worth of training? We haven't been at school that long and you two have known each other even less."
"We had lives before our time at school here, Kaminari." Fumikage answered with a chuckle. "I took up Kenjutsu back at the start of middle school."
Izuku nodded. "I learned Iaiiutsu and took up Iaido around the same time; I hadn't gotten my quirk yet and I thought I'd need something to even out the playing field."
"Alright, alright." Putting his hands up in mock surrender, Kaminari backed away. "Those are my questions answered, but I still wish I'd get to see the swords."
Next to him, Sero popped his head up. "Yeah, I hear that; swords are cool and all but special swords like yours sound like they'd be a sight to see."
"Look, if we get the time, you'll get to see them while we unpack and maybe if we train." Izuku reassured with an excited smile. "And I can't wait to use them."
At the front of the bus, Aizawa watched them – and the rest of their classmates – converse without noticing he had called on them.
Twice.
'You know what?' Leaving the teacher's group chat, the man decided that Kan's suggestion wasn't needed; the students would probably end up fighting each other. 'We'll just stop randomly, see how prepared they are.' Before messaging a certain red-haired telepathic. 'Change of plans.'
?, One Hour Later
"Uh… Sensei?" Looking around at their 'rest stop', Akira turned to his teacher with a confused look. "What are we doing here? This isn't really a rest stop…" His eyes roamed to the edge of the stop and scanned the other car there with them. "And who's… That?"
"We've stopped here for a reason, Hikaru." Aizawa answered before turning a hard gaze on the car. "Out here now! Stop making them wait!"
The car wavered in spot as someone inside it began to move. "Well sorry, Eraser!" A voice shouted before a car door opened, revealing a short woman with short, red hair. "We were trying to make an entrance."
"Yeah!" Another door shot open and this time a short woman with long, blonde hair came out. "We thought the sentiment would be appreciated; apparently, we were wrong."
One last person walked out of the car, but it was a small boy with a horned hat. "…" And he seemed to be a bit more on the quieter side.
Ignoring all of them though, Aizawa addressed his students. "Alright, these will be two of the four pro heroes that Yuuei has asked to oversee your training." Gesturing to the red-haired woman, the man let her step up. "This is Mandalay." Before doing the same with the other. "And Pixie Bob."
"And we are one half of the rescue group, the Wild, Wild Pussycats!" Pixie Bob exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air as she bounced up and down.
Mandalay put a hand in front of her friend before she jumped on one of the students – specifically one of the boys – before waving. "It's nice to meet you all; as Eraser said, I'm Mandalay, and this is our land!" She pointed very far out past the vast forest ahead of them to a small, barely visible building. "The foot of that mountain over there has a break in the trees and is where the lodgings are; it's just under an hour from here… In a car."
Her last statement got the class to pause. 'Wait a second…'
"Kero, what are we doing here then?" As usual, Tsu was the first to ask what the class was thinking.
"Yeah." Followed by Shoji. "We didn't really need a rest stop… Did we?"
The class unanimously came to the conclusion that they most certainly did not and made a collective step backwards.
That was a mistake.
"What's the time now, half past nine-ish?" Mandalay turned to Pixie Bob as she asked and the blonde woman put her hands to the ground. "So, accounting for your average running speed, then the monsters; they could probably make it by noon."
Aizawa activated his quirk as his students tried to run away, making them all collectively freeze on reflex; that was another mistake. "Sorry, students." A rumble vibrated through their feet and they all sighed. "But your training camp just started."
"Haha! Yeah it did!" Hands glowing blue, Pixie Bob manipulated the ground beneath the students' feet to shoot upwards before throwing them over the hill. "Landslide!"
"Damnit!"
"Why?!"
"Already?!"
1A all managed to get their quirks back just in time to ease their landing as best they could; it still hurt for some of them though.
'Hahaha!' And Mandalay found the position they were in just a tiny bit hilarious. "Alright, kids, you all have permission to use your quirks however you want to!" She called out to them from the roadside. "And don't worry about property damage; this is our land, go wild!" The red-haired woman almost walked away before forgetting the important part, motivation. "Oh, and by the way, if you don't manage to get through The Beast's Forest in four hours, you don't get lunch!"
1A collectively tilted their heads at that. "The what?"
Well, almost all of 1A. "Uh…" Turning back around, Mandalay was confused to see that Izuku was still on the roadside with them with Mina on his back. "How did you-"
"It was a reflex, I swear." Izuku quickly responded; he wasn't wrong, Float activated instinctively as soon as he lost his balance.
Mina nodded. "Ditto." Now, again, not wrong, but not entirely right either.
"Right…" Not wanting to cause a fuss, the red-haired pro just pointed behind her. "So, can you two just head on down there by yourselves then?"
Looking at each other, the two shrugged and nodded. "Yeah, sure." Before the greenette flew them both down.
A mistake; at least, that's what Aizawa thought. "You really shouldn't have asked him to join." And he was vocal about it. "The kids just got a significantly higher chance of getting through the forest in the time frame you gave them now that he's down there."
Mandalay raised an eyebrow at that. "I never took you as one to overestimate or overrate your own students."
The tired man just walked back onto his bus. "Good luck, Pixie Bob; I'd suggest going all out." And with that, the doors to the bus closed and it drove off.
The Beast's Forest
Back with the students, Izuku had just landed down on the ground. "Thanks, Izuku!" Letting Mina jump down from his back and onto the dirt floor. "So, how's our situation looking?"
"Well, we're in 'The Beast's Forest.'" Kaminari answered, sighing. "So we're definitely dealing with an entrance exam situation; it's gonna be like a video game where we just move forward while fighting waves of monsters."
'Wow.' That got the class to raise their eyebrows; they were really surprised whenever Kaminari made a sound suggestion or conclusion.
"Hey! You all said that out loud!"
'Even a broken clock's right twice a day I guess.' Jirou thought with a shrug – she said it out loud – before her ears suddenly picked up a foreign sound. "Ah, shit; we got our first bogey!"
No one turned around faster than Bakugou and Momo and none had even processed the situation before they both shot off, explosions setting off along Bakugou's palms and a very large warhammer in Momo's grip.
"Hrr?" Even the strange, earthen beast that made itself known didn't have time to react to the two teens as it was suddenly pounced upon. "Ragh!"
Momo, warhammer tight in her hands, got their first and slid underneath the beast, spinning as she did so to smash all four of the creature's legs to nothing. With it now down and open for attack, Bakugou launched himself above the beast before dropping on it with a double-palm explosion, causing it to crumble completely.
"Hn." Bakugou landed next to Momo and watched the creature crumble. "Seriously, princess, you've gotta stop tempting me; I'm starting to feel like I'm bi."
Smirking, Momo just slung her warhammer over her shoulders and struck a pose that left his imagination to fill in what it wanted to. "Get used to the feeling, for I have no intention of being less of a woman than I am right now."
And the explosive blonde just smirked right back, loving it. "Ha! Alright then." He wasn't the only one; Shoto, Kirishima, Jirou, and Kaminari all had to hide bleeding noses at the two's interaction; even the rest of the class could feel the pure power wisping off them.
"Well, let us not stand idle to long." However, before they could get lost staring at the two, Momo dropped her warhammer on the ground before taking off her blazer and rolling up her sleeves.
An action that Bakugou copied. "Yeah, we ain't done yet."
With their blazers off and tied around their waist, the rest of the class decided to do the same. "Alright, everyone!" And picking her warhammer back up, Momo faced the forest with a grin. "Let's do this!"
All at once, the class shot forward. "Yes, ma'am!" Quirks activated and grins on their face.
Wild, Wild Pussycats' Car
As the students of 1A collectively began to engage Pixie Bob's quirk constructs, the woman in question jerked in the passenger seat of her car. "Jesus, Ryuko!" Causing Mandalay to almost swerve into the mountain side. "What's wrong?"
"At least eight of these stupid kids have protagonist power! I can't fight against that!"
The Beast's Forest
"There we go!" Wrapping up a dragon-looking beast, Sero pulled tightly on his tape, snapping the creature's wings together and bringing it back down to Earth. "Guys, you're up!"
Leaving Kirishima and Sato to finish it off. "No problem!" Grabbing his red-haired friend by the legs, Sato began to swing Kirishima around before sending him off like he was doing a hammer throw.
"Woohoo!" And, now in the air, Kirishima tucked himself into a ball before hardening himself and crashing into the beast like a human cannonball. "Hahaha! That hurt!"
On another side of the forest, Ojiro's interest was piqued. "Hey, that's not a bad idea!" Growing out a monkey tail, he jumped in front of Fumikage. "Tokoyami, think you can swing me into that cyclops?"
"Hm?" Right after Dark Shadow assisted him in finishing off a gorilla beast, the bird boy turned to his tailed-friend. "Ah, of course." Before letting his brother cloak him and take over.
"Haha! Hang on, monkey boy!" A fact that Dark Shadow was ecstatic with as he heaved Ojiro and swung him like a meteor hammer. "Here we go!" Before releasing him at high speeds right into the cyclops' eye.
Ojiro himself flipped in the air before extending his leg straight and surging right through the beast's head like a bullet. "Ah!" Compleltely demolishing it and causing it to crumble completely. "Why did I think that wouldn't hurt; ow!"
"Perhaps attack with a crocodile tail next time, friend." Aoyama suggested as he sauntered forward calmly, rubbing his palms together. "If I remember correctly, they are incredibly tough and quite strong." Before aiming and shooting downwards, sending him skywards as an earthen, scorpion tail lashed out at him. "You must widen your style of battle; you have the flexibility for it, yet you stick to a... Humble tail." Now upside down while mid-air, the french blonde once more aimed downards and let loose his quirk on the scorpion beast that attacked him, destroying it completely, before landing perfeclty in a bow.
All the while, Ojiro just watched with a flat look. 'Did he just say I was being normal without actually saying it?' Though, while looking at his monkey tail, he had to agree with the thought. 'Damn.'
"Alright, Kaminari!" As he weaved out of the way of an armoured beast's strike, Akira shouted towards his electric blonde friend. "Remember what Izuku and I talked to you about!" He spun around another strike before axe kicking the beast's legs, crumbling them. "Inside-"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Kaminari strafed around the armoured beast and ran up its tail while making sure to control his breathing. "Inside, not out!" Reeling back his fist, his quirk suddenly activated and yellow lightning began to coat it and the air around it buzzed. "Here we go!" Before he struck down, causing a small but powerful wave of force and electricity to pass through the beast's skull, charring it and completely taking it down.
Wild, Wild Pussycats' Car
"Alright, this is just plain disrespectful." Pixie Bob complained, crossing her arms with a huff.
"Why, what's wrong?" Causing Mandalay to turn to her with a raised eyebrow. "Are they doing anything inappropriate?"
Reluctantly, the blonde cat hero huffed. "No, but this is just so rude!" Punching downwards, she caused all of her quirk constructs to do the same, making the forest shake. "They're practising new ways to use their quirks on me!" Taking a breath, she calmed herself down. "The last class Yuuei gave us was scrambling to even control their quirks enough to weave it into a fighting style; these guys are just using me as training!"
'That's… Kinda what they're here for?' Mandalay thought about saying this, but ultimately decided against it.
"King Kongo?!"
That almost made the red-haired woman swerve off the road.
The Beast's Forest
"Hoo! Ha!" In the form of a large gorilla – which could be confused for King Kongo – Koda swung along the trees before sending himself right at a minotaur beast. "RWAGH!" And crashing through it with a powerful dropkick to its chest.
"Nice one, Koda!" Sliding between another minotaur beast's legs, Mina let out her quirk and dissolved them. "Keep it up!" Before continuing to skate across the ground – having taken her shoes off – and dissolve another three pairs of legs to freeze the monsters in place.
Next to the pink girl, Hagakure suddenly appeared before jumping up and concentrating fiery beams of lights through each of her fingers and right through one of the beast's heads. "Oh, damn, way more powerful than I thought that would be." And then disappearing once more as she turned invisible and ran away.
"Hahaha!" Just in time as well, as Momo had summoned a gigantic machine gun – looked like one at least – while devouring a snack bar. "Take cover, everyone!" Before aiming them at the three beasts Mina and Hagakure didn't finish. "WHOOOO!" And going trigger happy.
An action that caused Ochako and Tsu to laugh. "Hey, leave some for us, Yaomomo!" The former of the two weaved around a large beast with a shell before taking away its gravity and jumping away.
"Kero, agreed!" Meanwhile, Tsu swung in on a vine before wrapping her tongue around the tortoise beast and heaving it up into the air. "Hippity hoppity, let's destroy some property! Kero!"
"Let's!" Smiling sweetly – but also very aggressively – Ochako put her finger pads together. "Release!" Before releasing her quirk's hold, causing the turtle beast to crash on the ground and crumble into nothing but dirt.
Wild, Wild Pussycats' Car
Holding her hands in front of her face, Pixie Bob slowly contemplated what she just witnessed. "Ryuko, seriously, these kids can't be causing you this much trouble; you've taken on an entire group of B-Class villains led by an A-Class villain by yourself." And it had Mandalay worried. "And you won."
"So… I haven't even seen what the green kid Eraser talked about is capable of." Pixie Bob ignored her red-haired friend and tried to get control back on her beasts. "But so far the class's resident princess is at the top of my danger list next to blonde bomb boy; I also think they're either super into each other or just really enjoy causing destruction together."
Yeah, that definitely had Mandalay worried. "Wait, so you've got a power couple?"
Pixie Bob just half-heartedly shrugged. "Couple? No idea; power? Undeniable."
The Beast's Forest
"Jirou, I've got it!" Shoji shouted as his summoned army of hands restricted a very large eagle beast. "But this one is pushing a lot more than the others! Please hurry!"
"Don't worry, I've got it!" Using a concentrated soundwave blast to propel herself forward, Jirou soared through the air before landing right on the beast's back. "Here we go!" Then placing her palms on it and letting her heartbeat resonate throughout its entire body, causing it to crumble and fall to the ground. "Ha, boom, sucker!" As she landed though, she sighed as her ears picked up an argument.
And she wasn't the only one. "Bakugou, now is not the time to be fighting with Todoroki!" Shoji shouted, having retracted all of his duplicated limbs. "Focus on the trial!"
That definitely got a reaction out of Bakugou. "Excuse me?!" Placing his hand out to his side, an explosion so loud it echoed throughout the entire forest was let out of his palm, decimating a snake beast and several others behind it to nothing. "I'm not doing shit! Hot and cold over here is just skating in front of me for no reason!"
"I haven't a clue what you're referring to." Smirking, Shoto slid past Bakugou and let loose a tsunami wave of fire, reducing the beasts and forest in front of him to ash. "But if you find yourself behind me, take a different path."
If Bakugou wanted to say something – shout something – he didn't get to let it out as Iida sped past both of them, engines roaring. "Both of you, stop it and focus on the new army of beasts upon us." Before jumping up and spin kicking through four at the same time. "Squabble afterwards! They're much more vicious now!"
Wild, Wild Pussycats' Car
Smirking to herself, Pixie Bob calmly began to control the brand new army of Earth Sentinels with much more concentration. "Haha! How's this for easy!"
Okay, maybe not so calm.
"Ryuko, what are you doing?" Looking at her blonde friend's expression, Mandalay suddenly became more concerned for Aizawa's students. "What did you send out?"
Laughing, Pixie Bob swung downwards like she was swinging a sword. "Just the Earth Sentinels is all."
Mandalay's eyes widened. "Ryuko Tatsuma! They! Are! Kids!"
"Wait, shush." Losing her ecstatic expression, Pixie Bob suddenly became serious. "It's the green-haired kid, he's walking up real slow like and- AAAH!"
"AAAH!" Swerving the car slightly, Mandalay just barely caught them from driving off the road. "Why? Why?!"
Pixie Bob just started punching in front of her as fast as he could. "Eraser was right! We should've thrown him back on the bus!"
The Beasts' Forest
With One For All running through him, Izuku ripped a tree from the ground and swung right in front of him, sending a squad of sentinels flying backwards and crashing into the ground. "Right." Before chasing after them and throwing the tree on them as they were down, causing them all to crumble. "Everyone doing okay?" His right arm shot out as Danger Sense did its job and the following wind flash shot right through a sentinel's entire middle.
"Damn straight we are!" Next to him, Bakugou and Momo both danced around each other and a large group of sentinels, letting off explosions and crushing earthen skulls in tandem before the group attacking them was nothing but rubble. "This is great!"
"Haha!" The action had Izuku laughing and curious. 'Maybe I should let out some power, the last time I let out a lot of One For All was against Stain.' And, after making a decision, the greenette let out the full 45% of his quirk that he could out of the flood gates and right into his arms, causing the air around them to buzz as a powerful pressure washed off of him. "Let me try then."
Hearing – and more importantly, feeling – Izuku's layered voice, the rest of the class backed off and retreated behind the greenette as he ran forwards and jumped. "Ah, crap." Before taking cover behind whatever they could, feeling the power shooting off him grow.
However, their cover was in vain as they all felt the force from Izuku slamming his fists into the ground. "Fall." Earth shook and trees fell like wheat in a field as the shockwave from the hit resonated throughout the entire area. "Hm." All sentinels in front of the greenette – and the trees – had been blown back and turned into nothing but dust while the forest now had a grand clearing. "Hahaha… Whoops."
And after the ground stopped shaking, 1A only had one collective reaction. "Damn."
Wild, Wild Pussycats' Car
After the display of power from the greenette, Pixie Bob more or less gave up. "Every. Single. One." Her voice didn't go above a whisper and she just lied back in her seat. "It's only been half an hour."
Had Mandalay not felt the mini earthquake just before, she would've been calling bullshit. 'Did they all do a combined attack?' Now, however, she was deciding if she should call a landscaper, because she doubted that their forest would survive if the students dealt with the rest of the traps they set up there like they just did. 'Flying logs, false ground traps, dynamite, an-wait! What the hell were we thinking?!'
"They've passed my trial; the forest can have them now."
Mountain Facility, 1:42pm
Tiredly, 1A walked out of the forest, rubbing their new wounds and some carrying fellow classmates on their shoulders. Bakugou had slumped a tapped out Momo and a more or less unconscious Kirishima over his shoulders while Ochako held a floating, sleeping Akira by his foot. Koda also had taken the form of a large brown bear to carry most of his classmates on top of him.
The only one who didn't – evidently – seem as tired as the others, was Izuku. "That went well." He happily floated just off the ground with Mina lazily clutching onto him like a koala. "Though, I think that part of your forest is kind of…" A large dust cloud behind him wisped into the sky from the many explosions that were let off. "Gone."
"…" Meanwhile, Mandalay just tried her best not to look at Aizawa, who she just knew was giving her an 'I told you so' look. "Well, it's a good thing that we have quirks and it'll all be back by tomorrow then." She forced a smile, knowing that this was going to run her and her team a lot of money. "And good job! You all did much better than we anticipated."
Pixie Bob just pouted. "I thought my quirk would've been able to hold you all off for at least two hours." She turned to Aizawa with a raised eyebrow and her hands on her hips. "The hell have you been feeding them?"
"A good education." The man in question just shrugged before turning to his class. "As they have said, you did well, but I expected you all here an hour ago." All he heard in response were groans but he let them slide. "We'll beat you into better shape soon enough; for now, however, this will suffice."
"This will suffice?!" Pixie Bob looked at Aizawa like he was deranged – not entirely wrong. "Two of them are absolute, unhinged Warrior Gods!" She pointed to Bakugou and Momo; they smirked. "Three of them were trying out new techniques despite fighting!" This time she pointed to Akira, Kaminari, and Hagakure, the latter of the three going invisible. "And he took down a hundred of my sentinels with a single hit!"
Izuku rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly at that. "Yeah… I may have went a bit overboard there; haven't gotten to stretch my quirk out like that in a while."
'Wait, that was him?!' Meanwhile, Mandalay looked at the green-haired teen with shock. 'I thought they all combined their attacks; he did all that damage with one hit!?'
Her shock couldn't last long though as Pixie Bob strut up to the greenette. "It was pretty hot though, so I'll give you that." The blonde had a predatory look in her eyes as she walked around him and sized him up before nodding. "Yeah; I'll call dibs on that."
That phrase had both Aizawa and Mandalay's eyes widening. "Tatsuma!/Ryuko!"
However, they didn't need to say anything, as Mina's eyes locked onto the blonde pro as she raised her head from where it rested on Izuku's shoulders. 'Don't even dare…' She also clutched onto the teen just a bit tighter.
"Woah, taken territory." The pink girl's look obviously worked as Pixie Bob quickly backed off, laughing awkwardly with her hands raised in mock surrender. "I'll settle with-"
"You are not settling with any of them, Tatsuma; they're kids." Aizawa's eyes glowed with a powerful red as he activated his quirk and levelled the blonde pro with a glare. "Get a grip."
He, unfortunately, didn't have the effect he attended as the blonde woman just huffed. "It's been so long, Eraser! You'd get how I felt if you just manned up and asked Em-"
"Alright! Let's get everyone unpacked, yeah?" Popping in between the two, Mandalay clapped her hands together and pointed towards the bus. "Your luggage is in the bus, so grab that and unpack into your rooms, then we'll have dinner at around seven."
At this, Aizawa turned off his quirk and walked inside. "That works; no one talk to me until Class B gets here."
The students, however, weren't on board with it at all. "Hold on! We have to wait six hours for dinner?!"
"Sorry, everyone." Mandalay just gave them an apologetic look as she dragged both Pixie Bob and a small child with her into the complex. "But you were late by just over ten minutes; don't worry though." 1A looked at the woman with hope. "It won't be six hours; closer to five, really."
They collectively groaned.
Five Hours Later
Akira, Kaminari, and Sero all rushed to the buffet as soon as the clock hit seven. "Finally!" Before filling up their plates with a hefty serving of whatever they saw and sitting down quickly. "Itadakimasu!" Then finally bowing and stuffing their faces.
"That hits the spot." Akira sighed as he finished his first bowl of chicken and rice. "I forgot to have breakfast this morning, and I ate all of my snacks on the way here; I really needed this!"
"You're telling me!" Sero laughed. "Good God, this stuff tastes just like Lunch Rush's food!"
On another table, Tetsutetsu slammed his bowl of food down with his own laugh. "You're kidding! You got here how fast?"
"Under-" Kirishima closed his mouth and chewed fast before swallowing all of his food. "Just over four hours."
The steel teen raised an eyebrow and had a perplexed expression. "How?"
Jirou nudged Izuku with her elbow as she walked by with three bowls of food. "Green bean here decided to flex his quirk muscles and ended the first trial with a single hit."
"Yeah, I definitely went overboard now that I'm looking back on it." Izuku awkwardly admitted with flushed cheeks. "Oh stars, I hope there wasn't any wildlife in that part of the forest."
Kendo looked at him with wide eyes. "Wait, was that massive crater in the forest you?" At the greenette's nod, she stood up and went face-to-face with him. "How?! Give me your secrets!"
Izuku just slowly put down his rice and backed up a bit. "I just punched the ground really hard."
A teen with shaggy hair deadpanned at him. "Dude, that's broken."
"Hold on! Hold on!" Back over at Akira's table, Sero stood up. "Don't water down the story like that; you've got to tell it properly!" Before walking over to the table and slamming his hands down. "It all started with Bakugou and Yaomomo…"
Mountain Facility, Hot Springs
"And then Midoriya put his hands together and slammed the ground so hard that the forest area we were in got blown to dust and splinters!" Sero exclaimed before repeating Izuku's earlier action while jumping into the water.
With their dinner finished and their stomachs filled, the young men of 1A and 1B had gathered together around the hot springs to tell their tales of battle in the forest.
"Hey, looks like great minds think alike!" Tetsutetsu exclaimed as he put an arm around Kirishima's shoulders. "Shishida over there…" He pointed to a teen with glasses covered in fur. "Threw me around like a cannonball same as you."
Said hairy teen laughed. "My personal favourite had to be when Honenuki…" He pointed to a teen without lips. "Sunk a whole squad of the earth beasts into the ground before letting us all slam down on their heads; it was like whack-a-mole!"
"What about the second trial in the forest?" Shoji asked. "Hikaru, Kirishima, and Yaomomo all went rushing through there without knowing what was happening and got hit with several explosions."
"Indeed I did!" On the other side of the hot springs, Momo laughed crazily. "It was incredible!"
Next to her, Kendo just laughed heartily before turning to Mina. "So, Mina; can I call you Mina?" At the pink girl's nod, she got close. "What's the situation with you and Midoriya?"
Mina tried to feign ignorance. "What do you mean?" Though, her now purple face wasn't helping.
"Oh, come on, there's no point in hiding it; we all can tell." 1B's class president gestured to the rest of the gathered girls and they all nodded. "Ten minutes of you two talking to each other was really all we needed to see; so, are you dating?"
Mina, now crossing her arms in front of her chest, lowered herself further into the springs as she backed off. "I mean, we're super close with each other and we hang out a lot, and study together, and go out after school sometimes." That was evidently news to the 1A girls as they all turned to her with raised eyebrows. "But we haven't really… Talked about what we are."
Hagakure laid back and put her hands behind her head. "They just need to make out or bone, but they get interrupted before either can happen."
"Toru Hagakure!" That definitely had Mina rising out of the water. "I'm not some harlot; I have class!"
The chartreuse-haired girl just raised an eyebrow. "Girl, I never said you were, I'm just saying you two have really bad luck whenever you get close to getting it on." She brought her hand up and started listing. "The janitor's closet before our final exams." Mina slowly lowered herself. "Your fun little spot in the school's backyard after our final exams." Submerged. "Me and Tsu jumping in at our apartment on I-Island." The pink-girl's face was purple again. "And just when you got yourselves alone on a bed, villains invade the island and all of the security bots start attacking the civilians."
With all of that being laid out right in front of them, the girls only had one reaction. "Damn." And collectively shared it. "That sucks."
"Girls!" An action that Ibara scolded them for. "That's not helping at all."
Mina just brought her head out of the water with a sigh, her blush now cooled down considerably. "I want to tell him but it's either never the right time, not the right mood, or I just freeze up." She had a downcast look and floated on her back. "And I thought I was open with my feelings and a love expert; I suck at this."
"Hey, don't worry, Mina." Ochako walked over to the girl and pet her on the head. "I'm sure you two will work it out eventually; it'll all happen with time."
"Easy for you to say, Ochi." Mina crossed her arms and huffed. "You and Hikaru have been sucking faces for months now."
This time, it was Ochako's turn to blush.
9,832 Words! Whoop, whoop! Another chapter out, I'd like to think this one was a good mix of exposition and action!
Anyway, so this chapter introduced some pretty interesting things; Izuku and Fumikage now have swords, the person that gave them swords was a part of a hero division that may or may not be based on a certain anime, and Hawks… Yeah.
The swords were originally going to just be a joke when I first wrote the fic, but eventually I came up with a few special moves, learned how to write swords into the story, and then just decided to roll with it since they were cool. It fits with Hawks as their teacher as well since he uses blades on the regular.
Now, the training camp; this camp is so that the students can upgrade their quirks and develop a defined fighting style that they can work to perfection. As such, only a few students have special moves, and even they only have the one; the rest of their special moves – some tailor made by moi – will be in around Chapter 21 if all goes according to plan – there is no plan.
And, last but not least, power scaling; while I am aware of Izuku technically being overpowered, the status of 'overpowered' is relative to both the average villain and the tougher villains. He is somewhat overpowered for now, but that is most certainly subject to change.
Anyway, that's all, y'all enjoy the next couple of chapters!
