I stood with my duffel bag in front of me, watching as Akari mingled happily with her classmates. Honenuki had his arm over her shoulders. Her boyfriend was boring? I wonder what she meant by that. He didn't seem boring to me. Everyone was excitedly discussing the boot camp in their respective classes. Mineta stood facing class B with his mouth open and drooling.

"Yuck, why was the villain invited," the blonde copy quirk, Monoma, scoffed.

"Right," my sister let out a huff as she crossed her arms, "shouldn't she have flunked out by now?" I resigned myself to the back of my class, away from everyone. Katsuki was busy in conversation with Kirishima and Kaminari. He looked as if he was about to bite their heads off. Katsuki had visited me every day at the coffee shop. If I worked a closing shift, he would be at the exit and would walk me home. If I worked an opening shift, he would stop in for his iced americano and stay while it was quiet.

Why was I even here? I should be working at the café all summer. I dropped my duffel bag beside a plant stand and sat on top, hugging my knees tightly while I opened Sudoku on my phone. What had Akari been telling her class about us?

Aizawa had told Mrs Haruka that I would be going for my provisional license at the end of the boot camp. If I passed and obtained a work-study, then my time at the café would be coming to an end. I leaned my head back against the plant stand and lifted my phone into my new line of sight. Would I even be able to land a work-study though? Redemption said that he probably would not be allowed to take me on, and every other pro seemed to think of me as a villain to be. Well, all except for Hawks. Tokoyami had done his internship with Hawks, so it was suffice to assume that he would be taking a work-study with him as well. Maybe Hawks would be allowed to take on two?

"Attention Class A! Our bus is here. Please line up in seating order," Iida shouted as he waved his left arm in stiff movements. I waited for everyone to line up before I stood, putting my phone into my backpack. If Aizawa had not promised my attendance at the boot camp – I would have left. I put my duffle under the bus and stood at the end of the line. No one was lining up in seating order. Everyone chatted loudly as they filed onto the bus. I stood at the beginning of the bus once people were settling into their seats. The most talkative of the class had chosen the seats at the front, which included Ashido, Uraraka, Tsu, and Midoriya. The quieter of my classmates sat in the back half of the bus. Katsuki had grabbed the very back of the bus with Kirishima. Katsuki put his hand up while Kirishima shouted my name. I paused, scanning the bus for another free seat. All but two were taken, and the empty seats were beside Mineta and Tokoyami. I took in a breath and held it, heading to the back of the bus. I sat myself down beside Katsuki in the empty window seat the two had left. Iida was attempting to maintain order while everyone excitedly moved seats or stood up while the bus was moving.

"This is so exciting!" Kirishima leaned over Katsuki and smiled at me.

"Here's the deal, we'll be on the bus for about an hour before our first stop." Aizawa attempted to say over everyone's joyful chatters. He rolled his eyes and sat back down.

I nodded, hugging my backpack against me. "Exciting." Kirishima nodded before turning to shout to Midoriya at the front of the bus.

Katsuki watched me for a moment as I dropped my chin on the top of my backpack. "'Hey, what's wrong?"

I shook my head and remained in the same position.

"Is this your first time away from home?"

I shook my head.

"Are you homesick?"

I shook my head.

He leaned toward me, "Koto, tell me."

I turned my head slightly to look at him. His brows were furrowed, and his jaw was clenched. Did I want to tell him? This was not anything new after all. "It's Akari." Loud music began to play from the front of the bus. Kaminari stood on his seat, holding a speaker in his hands while the charging cable sat in his mouth. Iida chastised him for standing while others began to sing along.

Katsuki's eyes narrowed, "what did that psycho bitch do?"

I buried my face in my bag again. "I don't want to talk about it." I opened the front pocket of my bag, took out my phone and earbuds. I popped the cheap plastic buds into my ears, plugged the jack into my phone and selected my music folder. I turned into my seat, my back to Katsuki and focused as hard as I could on the music. But, Akari's sneering face and her malicious words still ran through my head. Would Katsuki date Akari if given a chance?

Why did I even care? Katsuki and I were just friends. There was no way he would be interested in someone as boring and quiet as me. He was better suited with Yaoyorozu's brains and beauty – or Uraraka's cuteness and toughness. My chest began to ache. I froze, staring out the window as we rolled through Musutafu to the highway. We were just friends, right?

[B&M]

"Hey, we're stopping," Katsuki gently shook my shoulder. I lifted my head up and gazed out the window at the crystal-clear azure sky. I rubbed the side of my face and yawned. I must have fallen asleep. The bus pulled off to the side of the road at an outcropping a moment later.

Aizawa stood, "alright. Everyone off." I sat my bag on my seat before following Katsuki and Kirishima off the bus. The outcropping overlooked a vast, lush forest. I walked over to the wooden railing, rested my palms on the rough edge and leaned over. "You really don't think we stopped here just so you could stretch your legs, do you?" I turned to see him glaring down at Mineta, who was holding his knees together as tightly as he could muster. A black vehicle rolled into the outcropping, stopping beside the class. The front doors popped open.

"Hey, Eraser," a voice cooed from inside.

"Long time no see." Aizawa replied lazily.

Two heroes jumped out of the vehicle. "Your feline fantasies are here. Say meow. Purrfectly cute and catlike girls. You can call us the Wild, Wild, Pussycats!" The first hero wore a pink skirt and top with a short brown bob. The other matched in blue with long blonde hair. A small boy with a red baseball cap stood off to the side with his hands shoved into his short's pockets. Midoriya's face flushed as he began to spit out facts on the hero group. Midoriya explained that the brunette was Mandalay, and the blonde was Pixie Bob.

The hero in pink, Mandalay, pointed out into the forest, "we own this whole stretch of land out here, everything that you can see. The summer camp you'll be staying at is over there by the base of those mountains." I let out a sigh as everyone slowly began to realize that the bus would not be taking us to the camp. I quickly ran beside Aizawa as Pixie Bob sank her paws into the ground. I broke my body down, my clothes crumpling beside my teacher. I watched from above as she caused the ground to soften and pushed the rest of my classmates over the edge of the outcropping into the forest below.

"Good news! Since this is private land, you can use your quirks as much as you want to. You've got three full hours. You should be able to make it there in that time, that is, if you can make it through the beast's forest." Mandalay shouted over the edge. I let my particles flow down the edge of the cliff to the forest floor.

Midoriya froze, "beast's forest?!" The trees were large and gnarly, barely letting any light through its leafy canopy.

Mineta ran into the forest, clutching his crotch, "bathroom!" Mineta ran right into the path of a large creature with gnashing teeth.

"We're all gonna die!" Kaminari and Sero screamed. The monster lifted a clawed paw upward. Koda ran forward, pleading with the monster to stop, but it did not work. Midoriya dashed in and grabbed Mineta out of harm's way while Todoroki hit it with his ice. Iida smashed his leg into the frozen creature while Katsuki and Midoriya landed their own attacks. The creature crumbled into the dirt.

"Way to show them guys," Kirishima congratulated the quartet as the rest of the class started to enter the forest.

"It's not over yet," Katsuki shot back as he stared into the forest. The ground shifted, and a ball of dirt shot into the sky.

Kaminari pouted, "Hey! Come on; this is so unfair." I shot my particles above the tree line and captured the flying dirt creature in my nebula, condensing it down into a sphere of dirt back on the ground.

"There's so many of them," Uraraka gawked as she poked the sphere, a clod of dirt breaking away.

"What now," Ashido stared out at the forest, "do we run?" Our classmates began to chatter about missing lunch or being stuck in the forest all night.

"We have no choice but to cut through the woods using the shortest possible route." Yaoyorozu shouted over everyone. "If we can handle the groundwork, Satoshi, are you able to keep us in the right direction?"

I reformed my head at the front of the group. "I can keep us on course." I let my hand form and pointed toward the camp.

"Excellent," Yaoyorozu beamed.

"Let's go class A!" Iida shouted. Everyone shouted back in agreement before advancing past my disembodied head. I broke down again and floated above the tree line. Dirt creatures were forming everywhere around us. Most attacked from the ground but a few dove down from the sky. Midoriya, Bakugo, Iida, and Todoroki ran through each of the creatures, easily destroying them in a few moves while the others worked in small teams to take them down. We were making a good time.

Katsuki exploded through a dirt creature and landed in a kneeling position ahead of everyone. He sneered, turning to face the rest of the class that was behind him. Kirishima and Ashido screamed for him to turn around. A large dirt creature tore up a tree and swung it at Katsuki, but he was not going to be able to avoid it in time. I rushed my atoms forward and broke down the tree and the creature. I reformed the tree at its roots before soaring into the sky and reforming the creature above the trees. The creature dropped into the forest, breaking into clods of dirt on impact.

"Everyone, take cover!" Yaoyorozu shouted. My classmates dove to the ground as a cannon erupted from her chest. She fired shots on the three incoming giants, smashing them into smithereens.

[B&M]

We arrived at the cabin just before five-thirty in the evening; Aizawa, Mandalay, and Pixie-Bob were waiting for us out front. Everyone in the class was a mess, covered in layers of dirt and sweat. I let my head reappear in the clearing as Kirishima and Ojiro collapsed on the ground. Todoroki's right half was covered in frostbite. Iida's engines had stalled. Aizawa held up a robe with one hand. I floated over to the black and gold patterned robe and slowly let my body reform, filling it. I reformed my arms and tied it shut, facing away from the class. I let my legs appear, walking over to my classmates. The dirt and loose stones ate at my bare feet.

"You said it was only supposed to take three hours," Kirishima whined as his hands splayed out behind him on the dirt. I crossed an arm over my chest while the other held the hem down.

Mandalay smiled, "I guess we timed it to see how long it would take us to get to base camp; sorry about that." My class groaned.

"Now you're bragging about how much better you are?" Sato groaned, "That's so mean."

Kirishima threw his head back, "I'm starving. This is hell!"

"I I thought it would've taken you, kids, even longer! But you faired much better against my dirt monsters than I thought you would. You guys were seriously great, especially the four of you," Pixie Bob cooed as she began to fawn over Katsuki, Todoroki, Iida, and Midoriya. "It seems like you've had quite a bit of experience. I call dibs on these kittens; I'll groom them myself!" Midoriya began to speak, but Pixie-Bob was quick to cover his mouth. Two pairs of fast running feet neared us. Vlad ran behind Akari, shouting at her.

"See, you're the only one that was selfish," Vlad roared at Akari, and he pointed to my class. "You abandoned your classmates to ensure your own selfish success, now a hundred more." Akari turned her head to glare at me before she returned to running with Vlad shouting at her.

Mandalay coughed into her paw, "This little guy? He's my cousin's son; he lives with us now. Don't be shy, Kota. Say hi to everyone – you're going to be around them for the next week." Midoriya walked to the small boy in the red cap and introduced himself. Kota took a step back and punched Midoriya right in the crotch before huffing and walking away.

Iida was instantly at his side, "what a low blow! A punch to the scrotum is unforgivable!" Midoriya fell forward into his arms as he writhed in pain. My mind wandered from the boys as I watched Akari for a moment before following my classmates inside. The thought to use my quirk to arrive ahead of my classmates had not even crossed my mind.

"Excuse me," I approached Mandalay and Pixie Bob, "where would I be able to change?"

Pixie Bob laughed, "change? After you eat some food and take a dip in the hot spring! Now hurry along, little kitten or your classmates will eat all the food!" She ducked behind me and pushed me into the large building.

"But-," I tried to quickly protest, but Pixie Bob had already left. I bit my lip and followed the others into a large cafeteria lined with two rows of benches. The tables were lined with dozens of plates full of all sorts of delectable dishes. I began to salivate.

"That seat's taken," Katsuki barked at Ashido as she put a leg over the seat of the bench.

Ashido put her hands up, "fine. I'll go sit with Tsu." She withdrew her leg and sat at the other end of the table. I looked across the two benches – everyone was packed together hip to hip.

Kirishima spotted me and began to wave his chopsticks wildly, a piece of beef sticking out of his mouth. He quickly finished it and shouted, "sit with us, Makoto!" I pulled on the sleeve of the robe and headed to their table, head down. This was embarrassing. I broke down my legs and reformed them on the other side of the bench, which was an easier option than lifting my legs and potentially flashing my classmates unexpectedly. Though, at this point, it was more than normal. I looked up and eyed the table – it was covered in dozens of heaping dishes. I quickly glanced around at everyone else. They were taking as much as they wanted, stuffing their faces, and going back in again and again. I looked across the table to Katsuki and Kirishima. They were both indulging.

"What? Just gonna sit there, or are you eating?" Katsuki stared at me for a moment before reaching across the table and shoving a few large pieces of barbeque onto my plate.

"Thanks," I mumbled, picking up my water glass. I was parched. I quickly emptied the glass. I refilled my glass from the jug.

Kirishima began to laugh, "hey now – you don't want to fill up on water! Try some of the tonkatsu; it's seriously delicious!" He began to inhale an entire bowl of rice in seconds. I hesitantly took a few dumplings, tonkatsu, tempura, cabbage, and a bowl of rice. I ate the barbeque first – it literally melted in your mouth. I devoured the food in front of me in mere moments.

"I've never seen you eat so much food, Satoshi," Iida said from my left, "but we are all in the same position of hunger, so it's understandable." I paused, putting my chopsticks down. I had always brought my own lunches to school, and they always consisted of leftovers from the café or cheaper items. With my grandmother taking most of my pay for rent and tuition – I hardly had enough left over for food, hence why all my portions were so small. I got used to it over time and learned to deal with the hunger pains.

"Hey Four Eyes," Katsuki glared across the table at Iida, "mind your own business."

"Satoshi," Uraraka leaned back and reached behind Iida to poke me in the arm with the clean end of her chopsticks. "You've got to try the takoyaki! It's like being at a festival."

I nodded, "t-thanks." She gave me a large toothy smile before returning to her upright position.

"Us, girls can eat anything we want," Uraraka chimed as she went about counting seven dumplings, five takoyaki balls, eight pieces of sashimi, and two pieces of prawn tempura. I picked my chopsticks back up, eating at a slower pace until all of the food had been consumed, and everyone groaned from satiation.

"Girls, please follow Mandalay to your quarters," Pixie Bob called out across the cafeteria, "boys can come with me." She winked and struck her signature poise.

Uraraka stood from the table, "let's put our beds beside each other!" I let my legs break down once again to get out of the bench without a compromising show.

"Sure?" Why did I make that sound like a question? We joined Mandalay and the other girls before walking deeper into the compound. My classmates were normally so chatty, but everyone must be so full they could not muster enough energy to speak. We stopped in front of a door with a large pink paw.

"Here's your room for the week. All your bags are already inside for you. I hope you enjoy our hot springs and rest up for training at six a.m. sharp!" She waved fair well to us as she retreated down the hall.

"Alright!" Ashido slammed open the door and rushed inside of the room. She was so energetic. We all entered and found our bags. The clothes I had been wearing this morning were folded on top of my bag. I unzipped my duffel and pulled out my pajamas; the others were also grabbing theirs as well as calling their beds. The beds had been prearranged into two perfectly spaced rows on the tatami.

"I have an idea!" Hagakure jumped up and down, "let's rearrange the beds so all of our heads are together, and that way, we can play games together." The others agreed with her plan but headed out of the room to the hot springs instead of acting on it. I lagged behind them. Maybe they'd forget. I stepped into the change room to the hot springs and stood in front of a cubby. Everyone chatted as they undressed and folded their clothes. I slipped off the robe and hung it on the hook, and removed the towel that sat inside. I entered the cleansing area first, gently rinsing my body and washed my wavy hair. Uraraka, Ashido, and Tsu entered first, taking their seats at the other taps.

Once I was clean; I stepped into the water, placing my towel neatly on a nearby rock. I swiftly gathered my long oil slick tendrils and brought them up into a bun on the top of my head before allowing myself to slip in up to my neck. Since I had done the least physical activity for the day; my body was not sore. But for everyone else, this would be pure bliss. If Aizawa's plan for the boot camp was anything even close to Redemption's training – I would need a nice soak every night. Yaoyorozu, Hagakure, and Jiro took their seats to rinse themselves. Tsu slunk into the spring while Ashido and Uraraka laughed as they finished their own rinse.

The water beside me splashed, a void opened, "man Satoshi – you're so lucky that you didn't get dirty like the rest of us. That dirt got all under my nails."

I scooted away from Hagakure. "Y-yeah."

"It's great that we can actually swim with you this time," she giggled, the water rippling around the void.

"Koro – now that we've got an entire week together, we can have fun together." Tsu tapped her chin. I began to fiddle with my hands under the water. Maybe I should have just worked this week.

Yaoyorozu gingerly entered the spring, "this is luxurious." Uraraka slipped into the deepest part of the bath.

"This feels amazing!" Ashido groaned as she slipped into the water, leaving her towel on the first rock.

"I'm so glad they've got a hot spring here," Jiro smiled, leaning back into the water.

"This week is going to be amazing!" Ashido lifted her arms above her head. Maybe I should head back to the room. But what if I picked someone else's bed by mistake? I sighed, accepting that I would have to stay.

"Come back here, Mineta," Iida shouted from the other side. Jiro and Tsu let out exasperated sighs. Mineta bathing at the same time as everyone else was a horrible idea. Repetitive popping and smacking of wood began to sound as he climbed the barrier. Kota popped up at the top of the wall that separated the two baths. "Before you become a hero, you should learn how to become a good human." He than slapped Mineta before he could finish scaling the wall.

"Mineta really is the worst, isn't he?" Tsu shrugged.

Ashido threw her arms up, "thanks so much, Kota, babe!" Kota turned his head to face our side of the springs. His face went white, and his nose began to bleed as he fell backward over the wall.

"Look out!" We heard Midoriya shout, but there was no impact.

"Nice catch Midoriya," Sero applauded. There was the sound of wet feet and then nothing but quiet chatter from the boy's side.

"Hey," Jiro turned her attention to me, "did you do that to your hair or were you just born with it?"

I tucked a loose strand behind my ear, "oh, it's natural."

"Isn't your Mom a blonde, though?" Ashido leaned forward on the rock.

"Y-yeah. My Dad has the same hair."

Jiro groaned, "dang. It's a cool vibe. I wonder if someone could recreate it, though." Did she like my hair? My unruly, curly, mop?

"Thanks." I stared down into the water in front of me. The conversation changed to plans for the rest of summer after the boot camp finished. I sat in the water and listened to Yaoyorozu's plans to travel within Japan since she could not do her usual European trek. Uraraka would visit her parents, who lived across Japan. Jiro's parents were involved in the music industry and often spent days creating new music. Tsu would spend it with her younger siblings while Hagakure and Ashido would spend time at the mall scooping cute boys.

"What about your summer plans?" Uraraka cocked her head as everyone turned their attention to me.

"I'll be working and training with Redemption." My foot tapped against the bottom of the bath.

"Satoshi, Iida mentioned you worked at a Parisian style café, which teas do you carry," Yaoyorozu inquired. I started to list off our imported French teas until one struck a chord for her. "Ah! That's amazing; I'll have to stop by for a cup of Mariage Frères." I froze; that was a five hundred thousand yen cup of tea!