Thank you all for your continued support! I am astounded by the reviews you are all leaving. I find the boot camp the hardest arch to write and your reviews have helped me push through.

Murder.

I laid awake amongst my sleeping classmates staring at the wooden roof. I kept replaying that moment over and over again in my memory. Katsuki standing between two tall trees, one with a large knot at his shoulder. His face was frozen with a stern, concentrating look as he watched me think. His lips moved, but did they match the first question he had asked? What would I even do if he kissed me? Probably get all flustered and embarrassed – then break my body down and disappear. Why did I even care what his words were?

I picked up my phone and opened Instagram. Gosh, it was two in the morning already. I pulled up Katsuki's account and began to surf through the pictures. He mainly posted photos of himself at the gym or while he was hanging out with Kirishima. He had pictures of his acceptance to UA and his graduation from middle school. His time in middle school was full of photos of his friends, more of the gym, and strange architectural buildings.

The door to our room clicked open. I fumbled to turn my phone off – a red heart appearing on my screen before it went dark. Oh no, I had liked a photo from a while ago. I quickly unlocked my phone, but I was back on the main page of the app. No. No. No! Which one had I liked?

"Hey, are you still awake Makoto?" Ashido whispered as she crawled into her bed beside me. I was not going to be able to find that photo now – and he had probably already been sent a notification. Great.

"Yeah," I answered and set my phone back down, rolling into my back and turning my head to face her. She looked exhausted.

"You didn't tell me your sister failed her exams too. Only Akari and Monoma failed from class B." She whispered, setting her chin on her palm.

"She did?" I turned to face her a little more. Akari never failed anything. Her grades in school were always at the top of the class. She could not have failed. That was not possible. Grandmother would have mentioned that over dinner for sure.

"Yeah! You didn't know? Apparently, she failed both her written and practical exams," Ashido rolled her eyes. "She won't stop running that mouth of hers either – makes me want to take some of Sero's tape and slap it over her mouth. I don't know how you two are even related. You're total polar opposites."

I could not help but to let out a small giggle at the image of Ashido taping my sister's mouth shut.

"Oh – why can't you sleep? Got something on your mind?"

"Yeah."

"What is it?"

"Have you ever been kissed?" Ashido's eyes practically bulged out of her head. I shook my head and moved to turn over. "Never mind."

"No, no," she whispered, grasping my shoulder to keep me from turning my back to her. "Yes, I have but more importantly - did someone here kiss you?"

I shook my head.

"Do you like someone?"

I went to shake my head again but stopped. Maybe? I had never gotten close enough to someone to develop a crush on anyone before. "I'm going to bed." I rolled over and covered my head with the blanket.

"Aw, come on Makoto – you can't leave me hanging like that." Ashido whispered, gently shaking me.

I remained on my side, my back to her. "Good night." She huffed and laid down in her own bed.

[B&M]

We were back at it the next day. But we all got to sleep in until eight in the morning, except for the group that failed the practical. We all made a simple breakfast of rice, eggs, and fish together over the outside grills while they finished their lessons. Thankfully, Katsuki had yet to speak with me today – maybe he had not received a notification from that accidental like.

I sat back down at my table and placed my hand over the pile of thirty components. I broke them down and reformed them as one. I was still good with that. I worked my way back up. I needed to find a way to deal with the draw back of my quirk. I could not stand the utter pain and helplessness I suffered each time I pushed my powers too far. I had taken a second pill this morning in hope that it would assist in supplying my cells with enough energy to function. I let my eyes wander to the others. Uraraka and Aoyama were still reeling from the nausea their quirks caused. Todoroki was dealing with intense burning heat and frostbite. I needed to do this.

By the end of the day, I had managed to form enough components for a small working pocket pet. Rag Doll thought it was the cutest thing while Aizawa was not that pleased with the little moving, smiling ball. We were dismissed for the day at four in the afternoon. I was tired, but I had no lung pain and had not passed out. I rose from the table and joined my class in walking back to the cabin. The girls split from the boys and returned to their rooms. We all painfully changed out of our gym uniforms for more relaxed clothing. I set the little pocket pet on my pillow and opened my duffle, pulling out a pair of light washed jean shorts and a dark grey tank top. It was super plain. I slipped out of my uniform and dressed, slipping my little creation back into the front pocket of my shorts.

"Are you excited for the test of courage tonight?" Ashido cocked her head at me as she slipped her shirt on.

Jiro groaned, "it's just more training, and in the dark no less."

"It'll be fine," Uraraka rubbed the back of her neck. "It can't be that bad."

I shrugged, pulling my long hair up into a ponytail, "I've never done anything like it before, so I don't really know what to expect. I don't really do… things."

Ashido squealed. "You'll have so much fun. Just make sure to hold their hand super tight so you don't get lost!" She gripped my hand in hers and pulled me out of our room, the other girls following. "Let's go make some dinner!" We all exited the cabin to the outdoor kitchen; the picnic tables had been laden with supplies for stew.

"Are you good with cooking," Yaoyorozu asked me as Mina lead me to the table.

I shook my head. "I only really make simple things. I've never made stew." I always stuck to simple, cheap ingredients when I made my lunches for school and often skipped breakfast. Though, lately I had been saving some rice from dinner with a portion of whatever fish or protein we had for dinner as my breakfast due to my quirks recent draw backs. But I could not do that every day.

"But your drinks are amazing," Kirishima shouted, running into my back, his arm around my shoulders.

Ashido lit up, pulling my hand into her chest, "we need to visit you at work and try your famous drinks!"

"How about we peel the veg together?" Kirishima smiled down at me.

"S-sure." I nodded. Kirishima dropped his arm from me and quickly gathered two peelers and a bowl of potatoes and carrots. He kept his smile, setting up at the closet picnic table. Hagakure moved past us and set up a chopping station with Bakugo at the table behind us.

"I'll go grab some firewood," Uraraka shouted, skipping off to the wood pile. The rest of our class and some of Akari's classmates joined us as well, starting on other tasks. I started peeling the potatoes, facing Kirishima. Bakugo stood at the table behind Kirishima, chopping the vegetables swiftly while glaring at us. Did I do something wrong again? I ducked my head down and kept peeling. He had some amazing knife skills – did he cook?

"Don't you get headaches from doing that so much?" Kirishima used the peeler to motion to my shoulders before continuing to peel his carrot.

"No, not really?" I answered. Why did that come out like a question?

He relaxed his own shoulders, "you need to learn to loosen up Makoto! No one here's going to bite your head off. Do I need to start calling you everyday to make sure you're relaxing? Come on, unclench that jaw, shoulders down, chin up. Now, doesn't that feel better?" I had not even noticed any of that in my body. "Hey – want to be partners for the test of courage?"

I looked down at my potato for a moment, taking off the last strip of peel, "sure." The clacking of Katsuki's knife became more apparent as his chopping speed increased. I took in a deep breath before reaching for another potato.

Katsuki took the carrots out of the bowl and began to furiously chop them. Uraraka walked by with her arms full of firewood. She stopped and gawked at Katsuki's quickly moving hands, "whoa, Bakugo, you're really good with that knife. It's weird."

"What do you mean it's weird?" Katsuki snapped back as he continued to chop. "How could you people be so damn bad at everything?"

Kirishima rolled his eyes before staring at me, utterly exhausted. "I'm too tired for this." He continued to peel the carrot. "Hey – Mina said that someone kissed you?"

My heart fell into my stomach. "No, no, no, it's not like that." I threw my hands up in front of me, potato and peeler still in hand.

Kirishima's face paled, "hey – you're bleeding." I blinked, turning my hands toward myself. He was right, when I turned my hands toward him, I had been mid peel. I had taken a small chunk off the pad of my ring finger. Blood seeped out of the cut and dribbled down my hand onto the potato. I dropped the peeler onto the table and quickly put the potato into the garbage can. I pressed my fingertip between my thumb and the first knuckle of my opposing pointer finger.

Katsuki groaned and left the knife on the cutting board with the half-chopped carrot. "I've got the idiot." He grabbed my upper arm and pulled me back inside the cabin. We kept walking until we hit the cafeteria turned game room. "Just stay there." Katsuki pointed to one of the tables before he stalked off to get the first aid kit from the wall. I hung my head, sitting at the table in defeat. He was right to call me an idiot. I had done something stupid without even realizing it.

Katsuki returned, placing the kit on the table. He straddled the bench, taking my hand in his. He irrigated the wound, sanitized it, and patched it up with some bandages. "Thanks, Katsuki," I said when he was done. He definitely knew what he was doing, the way he cleaned and dressed my cut was perfect. I tucked my chin into my chest and stared at the bench between us. He was so good at everything. He was smart, athletic, and could cook. Katsuki lifted his hand and flicked my forehead. I looked up at him out of reflex.

"Stop doing that," Katsuki frowned as his eyes explored my face. "I'm tired of looking at the top of your head every time we hang out."

"Sorry –" I started to apologize.

"I thought we talked about that last night," Katsuki snapped, slamming the first aid kit shut. He rose from the table and put the kit back onto the wall. "Let's go finish dinner. Find a less dangerous job for you." He held the door out of the cafeteria open and motioned for me to go through with his head.

I took in a breath forced my head up and nodded. I got to my feet and headed back outside with Katsuki. All of the peeling and chopping had been completed thankfully. Uraraka and Tsu stood with Todoroki and Midoriya at the fire pits, two large pots of stew boiled away while Ashido and Kirishima stood at the other end with the pot of rice. Kirishima saw Katsuki and I exit the building, excusing himself from Ashido. "Hey! How's the hand? Still attached?"

I gave him a small wave with my wrapped hand, "it's fine. Just a small cut."

"We're going to sit down if there's nothing to do," Katsuki interjected, grabbing my wrist and pulled me to the farthest picnic table.

"Okay! I'll bring some over when it's down for you two!" Kirishima waved before returning to his spot with Ashido.

We sat in silence for a few moments. "For a cut like that, there should've been more blood."

"Oh? I've always been told my blood's super good at clotting," I shrugged, watching him as he studied me for a moment. He frowned, staring at my hand. I moved my hands under the table and clasped them together. "How did your training go today?"

He expelled his breath quickly. "It's annoying. You didn't pass out today."

I shook my head. "I guess I got some more sleep, or all of this rich food is helping." The second pill did help exponentially. I still was not feeling those painful side effects yet.

Katsuki gave me a wide, lopsided smile as he smashed his fist on the table, "see what happens when you take care of yourself? We're going to be a force to beat."

"Here we go!" Kirishima shouted as he placed a bowl of stew in front of myself and Katsuki. "Hopefully, it's edible." He let out a laugh before returning to the line up our peers for his own bowl.

Katsuki picked up his spoon from inside the bowl, "what do you mean hopefully – it better fucking be." He popped the spoon into his mouth and frowned. "I can make better stew in my sleep."

I took a bite of my own bowl. It was rich and meaty, a little watery but overall good. "It's delicious." Katsuki glared at the bowl of stew in front of me.

"Hey – Mina said you made a cute pocket pet during training!" Kirishima slid into the seat beside Katsuki. "Can I see it?"

"Sure, it's very simple though." I reached into the front pocket of my shorts and pulled out the small, rounded cube. A little blob moved back and forth across the screen, smiling. Kirishima lit up, taking the pet from me. He began to tap on the buttons.

"Stop that button mashing – you'll kill it." Katsuki snatched the pet out of Kirishima's hands. "Didn't anyone teach you how to care for a pet?" He shoved it into his own pocket and continued on with the meal. Slowly, Ashido, Sero, Jiro, and Kaminari joined our table. They all spoke animatedly while I sat across from Katsuki, slowly eating my stew.

[B&M]

"It's time for the totally awesome test of courage!" Ashido, Sato, Sero, Kaminari, and Kirishima yelled in joy, throwing their hands up.

"Not so fast – it pains me to say it, but the remedial class will be having lessons with me tonight instead." Aizawa said from behind the group. Ashido looked mortified. "Your training during the day didn't impress me so I'll be using this time." He captured the students in his support weapon and hauled them off to the main cabin. Vlad left more discreetly with Monoma and Akari.

"Okay! So, class B will start out as our scarers – when they're in place class A will head off in pairs every three minutes. There are tags with your names on them at the far end of the route. Your goal is to collect those. Those that are scarers aren't allowed to make physical contact. Use your quirks to terrify the other class!" Pixie Bob shouted, waving her paws in the air. All of the Pussy Cats looked far to excited for this.

"The winners are the creative students to make the most piss their pants," Tiger smiled evilly as Mandalay began to hand out the lots. I drew an eight.

Katsuki immediately stalked to me, "what number are you?" I showed him my eight. "Which extra has the other two?"

"We're partners Bakugo," Todoroki approached us, holding up the slip of paper.

"Trade with me!" Katsuki tried to snatch Todoroki's slip.

Tiger coughed. "No trading!"

"Ah, Satoshi, do you have an eight?" Midoriya joined our group. I nodded, showing him the slip. "Awesome!"

"Time to line up with your partners," Tiger bellowed. Everyone instantly fell in line in front of him. Tokoyami and Shoji were the first to enter the forest. After a few minutes, Todoroki and Katsuki entered, followed by Hagakure and Jiro then Uraraka and Tsu. The fifth group was about to enter when loud, grotesque smack erupted from the clearing. A lizard like creature with a ragged blade on his back stood beside an individual with long red hair, sunglasses, and an orange button up. The later individual had Pixie Bob's head under a long rectangular shape wrapped in a blanket.

"Let's deal with these cats first," the red head said as they slammed their sheet covered weapon into Pixie Bob's head. The lizard stood behind her, snarling.

"Pixie Bob!" Midoriya tried to rush forward but was stopped by Mandalay and Tiger.

Mandalay sent out a message using her quirk, "the students are currently being attacked by two villains. Do not engage in combat. Please make your way back to the base camp."

"How are you, UA high school? We are part of the Vanguard Action Squad of the League of Villains," the lizard began to proclaim. The league? They were with Shigaraki – what grudge did he hold against UA?

"The League of Villains, what are they doing here," Ojiro asked from behind the heroes.

"I can crush this kitty's head so easily," the other villain purred as they eyed Pixie Bob's head.

"Get away from her," Tiger shouted, flashing their claws.

The Lizard put his arms up. "Now, now. When deciding when someone should live or die, we must be abiding by Stain's principles."

"So, you're the ones he ended up inspiring," Iida gritted his teeth. Who could be inspired by a man that killed heroes because they weren't his ideal of a hero? Why not just become the hero you want to see?

The Lizard pointed proudly to himself, "we're the ones! And you, four eyes, you're one of the self-righteous brats who attacked Stain in Hosu city. Let me introduce myself, I am Spinner. I am here to make Stain's dream a reality." He reached back and pulled out his multi-bladed sword. Rows upon rows of blades laid on top of another.

"I don't care who you are. You're all criminals." Tiger smiled evilly. "The woman lying there is Pixie Bob whose saved countless lives. She's given it her all to train these young heroes to reach their full potential. She's looking for a mate but otherwise, she's content. What makes you think you can cut such a happy life short?"

"Tiger and I will stay here. Class Rep, get everyone back to camp. Don't engage anyone." Mandalay spoke under her breath. Izuku craned his neck to hear her words. "Kota, where are you?"

He gasped. "I know where he is!" He took off running to the large mountain.

"Midoriya!" Mandalay called after him, "we don't know how many more villains there are out there." I frowned, digging the back of my heel into the dirt. If I used my nebula, I could get us the information she needed in an instant. But, if there were others and they did not know where we were yet, it would lead them straight to us.

"Mandalay – I can locate them," I spoke up.

My voice caught the attention of Spinner. He raised his sword and pointed it to me, "why if it isn't Sirius' kid. Running to get the authorities won't help now. We've got you surrounded."

Mandalay entered my mind. "Not yet, they enjoy talking so we'll draw out as much information as we can from their egos. Go with your classmates."

"Satoshi, you need to come with us," Iida placed his hand on my shoulder. I frowned but followed him with the remainder of the class. Were our classmates in the forest, okay? We all became silent, vigilant of our surroundings. We trudged our way down the path to the cabin. Most of the students were not accounted for. One of our pro-heroes were out – at minimum. We had no idea how many villains could be roaming this forest.

I stopped walking; the others kept venturing forward. "I can't do this." I turned on my heel and ran back towards the Pussy Cats.

"Satoshi!" Iida called out for me as I pumped my legs harder. Don't break down yet.

"Inform the teachers," I shouted, tossing my head back as I ran.