Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia/Boku No Hero Academia, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.
Toshinori's Choice
Chapter twelve: The training camp part one- That boy! Kota!
Due to word from Toshinori who was still busy doing some investigation into certain matters (the Symbol of Peace didn't say they were related to his memories of the alternate timeline), things for the summer training camp were kept under wraps, and there were a few points that the students weren't even informed of until the day that they all left to go. Some of the students of Class 1-A and Class 1-B figured to call family and let them know they'll be at training camp and that they'll call when they get back, as they figured they wouldn't be allowed to bring their phones.
Within short order, the students all got on the busses for their respective classes before driving off. On the bus for Class 1-A was both Aizawa and Hizashi. "Under normal circumstances, it would have been just me taking you all to the training camp," Aizawa explained, "But Nezu, based on intel that was uncovered by some investigations that All Might is heading up, had one additional teacher go with me and one additional teacher go on the bus with Class 1-B and Sekijiro."
"Is that why I saw Inui-sensei follow Kan-sensei onto the Class 1-B bus?" Yaoyorozu asked.
"And it's why I'm here, little listeners," Hizashi said, "Now, who wants to sing a song to pass the time?"
"I have ten-thousand yen for the first one among you to successfully make Hizashi zip it," Aizawa said dryly to his students.
Chuckling a bit in amusement, Hizashi said, "Oh come on, Sho! What better place to sing than on a roadtrip?"
"How about in the shower?" Shinso asked.
"Oh, that's a good poi-" Hizashi began, but stopped short as he fell under the effects of Shinso's brainwashing.
"I'll pay you when we get to the training camp, Shinso," Aizawa said as the bus took off for the training camp. Shinso merely smirked in amusement.
...
After the bus had driven for about an hour, they took a break so students could relieve themselves. As Aizawa stood around, he was approached by Hizashi who came back being followed by two women and a small boy; the women wore costumes with cat ears. "Yeah Sho, I was bleeding the lizard and Mandalay here saw my wing-dang-doodle," Hizashi said, "I'm... really sorry about that."
"At least Kota didn't see it," the woman with the more reddish costume said.
"Ah, you ladies are here, perfect," Aizawa said. The underground hero turned around and called for all of his students to gather around. "Kids, these ladies here are Mandalay and Pixie-Bob of the Wild, Wild Pussycats," Aizawa explained, "They will be helping to run the training camp."
"Which starts as of right now," Pixie-Bob, the one in the bluish costume, said, "And see that area over there?" The students all turned to see that Pixie-Bob was pointing to the camp which was in the distance. "You have three hours, starting from now, to get from here to there, otherwise no lunch for you," Pixie-Bob said.
"So how will we get there?" Mina said, "I mean, we do have the bus here so-"
"Here's your first lesson that I have for you kids," Pixie-Bob interrupted, "The first thing a hero needs to know to take down a villain is the element of surprise." After a few seconds of silence passed, Pixie-Bob suddenly yelled out, "SURPRISE!" Then she knelt down quickly and used her quirk, which the students could tell was some manner of geomancy power, to fling them into the forest below via a landslide. "This entire area is Wild, Wild Pussycat domain!" Pixie-Bob called out, "Feel free to use your quirks as you see fit!"
After all of Class 1-A was flung into the forest below, Aizawa dryly said, "You... could have used a bit more tact."
Chuckling a bit, Hizashi snickered, "I think what Pixie-Bob did was kind of funny, Sho."
Looking up at Aizawa, the little boy asked, "Will they be fine?"
"They are tough, little one," Aizawa said, "I'm sure they'll be fine."
"Oh, that's my little cousin Kota," Mandalay said to Aizawa and Hizashi, "I... took him in a while ago."
Looking down into the area that the Class 1-A students were flung into, the now identified Kota said, "...That girl with the long dark hair and the wide eyes. She seems like a very nice girl."
"That would be Asui," Aizawa said, "And it doesn't exactly surprise me that you would comment on her being nice. She is an older sister with some younger siblings, one who judging from the photo I saw is about your age."
"Yeah, that explains why she looks like she'd be a good big sister," Kota said.
Mandalay chuckled in amusement. "Well aren't you sweet, Kota." The adults and Kota then got onto the bus and drove all the way to the training camp, where they would wait for Class 1-A to arrive.
Class 1-A wasn't able to get to the training camp until five-twenty that evening, having taken approximately eight hours to get through the forest. "What the heck was with those earthen beasts?!" Kaminari exclaimed, "My electricity had no effect on them!"
"That's what you get for trying to use an electric attack on a ground type wow I sound like my older brother," Tenya remarked as he and the others all walked into the clearing where the lodge was located.
As all of Class 1-A came into view, Pixie-Bob said, "Umm, yeah, sorry about throwing things like that onto you kids. Also, it's close to dinner time."
"Get your luggage off the bus, put them in your rooms in the lodge, and then head to the dining hall for dinner," Aizawa said to his students, "After that, head to the hot springs for a soak, then go to sleep. Training begins in the morning." The Class 1-A students, some more tired than others, went about gathering their things and taking them to the lodge.
While they were carrying their things, Kota came walking up to where the girls were all gathered and got to them just in time to catch a small bag that Tsuyu dropped on accident, catching it before it hit the ground. Holding the small bag up to Tsuyu, Kota said, "Here you go."
"Aww, well aren't you the sweetest little guy," Mina gushed.
"He reminds me of Samidare," Tsuyu said, "He always wants to help me kero."
After Class 1-A got their stuff put away, they went to the dining hall for dinner. There, they all ate their fill while grouped off in various groups; Bakugo and the guys he hangs with, Izuku and the guys he hangs with, all of the girls in one group, and the remaining guys in another. Izuku, as well as Tenya, Shinso, and Todoroki, took note of how Kota who had his own plate asked the girls if he could sit with them. The girls were all delighted that a sweet little kid like Kota was drawn to them, and after he took a seat between Tsuyu and Ochaco, he put his food down before turning to hug Tsuyu, clearly as a little sibling would hug their older sibling.
"That boy seems fond of the girls, but in a way little siblings are fond of their big siblings," Shinso said.
Todoroki nodded in agreement. "When I was little like that, I remember frequently hugging my older sister Fuyumi in such a manner." Scowling in bitterness, Todoroki added, "When my father didn't drag me away for training, that is."
"I myself care deeply for and respect my older brother Tensei," Teyna remarked, "Although I acted more properly and not as overtly affectionate. I'd say Tensei was more affectionate towards me than I was towards him when I was growing up."
Izuku nodded in understanding as he and the others looked on as Kota was fawned over by the girls, seeing Kota next hug Ochaco and sinking a bit into her plump form as a result. Izuku didn't exactly know why Kota seemed so fond of the girls, but it was clear he saw them only as potential big sister figures. Mina tried patting Kota on the head, but he flinched back while covering his hat with his hands; apparently he thought Mina was going to steal his hat, a red cap with two little yellow horns coming out of it. Mina reassured him she only wanted to pat his head and had no intention of stealing his hat.
Kota took pause a bit and then ultimately took his hat off and let Mina pat his head; the pink-skinned girl ruffled his hair a bit as well. Tsuyu chuckled a bit, remarking how her little brother Samidare similarly is protective of a favorite plushy of his. "You mean the plushy of Ryukyu in her dragon form?" Ochaco asked, "I remember that it was put on the bed in the room set aside for your little brother when he and your little sister are found."
Immediately, Kota turned to look at Tsuyu. "Your little siblings are missing?"
"Yes," Tsuyu said, her tone a bit sad, "They ran away from home after a traffic accident took the lives of our parents. I-" Tsuyu was cut off when Kota hugged her again, burying his face into her shoulder area. The young boy hung on like that for a long enough time for Mandalay to take note and walk over.
Mandalay smiled gently in understanding. "...I see that Kota has become fond of you girls. You especially, Tsuyu."
"He's so sweet it's gonna give me diabetes!" Mina declared.
Mandalay chuckled in amusement. "Yeah, he's... had a rough time as of late." Soon afterwards, everyone had finished eating, and proceeded to get ready to soak in the hot springs to relax and wash the weariness of the day away.
...
The hot springs were divided up into a male side and a female side. In the boys side, Izuku was sitting in one of the springs with Tenya, Shinso, and Todoroki. "So we'll begin our training first thing in the morning," Izuku said.
Tenya nodded in the affirmative. "Indeed. Us guys, as well as the girls, will be working our hardest to train and better ourselves here."
"Speaking of," Kaminari began as he, Bakugo, Kirishima, and Sero looked at Izuku's group from their hot spring, "You know how the hot spring here is divided up into male and female sides?"
"You aren't gonna suggest we try to peek on the girls in their side, are you?" Shinso asked dryly.
Gently shaking his head in the affirmative, Kaminari said, "Oh no, I ain't gonna go down the wrong path of getting with the ladies like that Mineta guy had tried. I won't deny how I want to get with a girl, but I'm gonna do it by the rules. The girls will be more receptive to us if we play fair and respect them."
Scoffing, Bakugo said, "You're just saying that because you want Earplugs to relax, Drooly."
"Anyway," Kaminari said, "If these springs were do-ed, then we'd all be in swimsuits, right? It would be like we're all at the pool. In that case, that little dude who's gotten attached to the girls would probably also join us, and he'd follow the girls around like a kid following a big sister or maybe even a mom. I was just thinking that such a scene would be pretty cute, a little guy wearing swimming trunks following the girls around like they were his big sisters at the pool."
"That does sound cute, Kaminari!" Mina's voice called out from the girls' side.
"Pinky, are you spying on us?!" Bakugo snapped.
"I thought I had to stop the boys from spying on the girls," Kota's voice called up, making the boys look up to see Kota at the top of the wall separating the boys side from the girls side. "But the strawberry taffy girl is looking at the boys' side," Kota said, "I have to- AHH!" Kota stopped short when he lost balance as he got up and fell down into the boys' side, only for Izuku to rush out and catch Kota. By the time he was caught by Izuku, Kota had passed out from the fear of falling.
...
Izuku brought Kota to the office in the cabin lodge, laying him on a cool, very plush black leather sofa. "Thanks for bringing in Kota," Mandalay said, "I got it he was patrolling the wall because he wanted to make sure none of you boys were peeping on the girls."
The green-haired boy nodded in the affirmative. "I think a boy who was in class with us on the first day only, Mineta, might have tried peeping on the girls, but Aizawa-sensei expelled him from UA after the first day for his rude and sexually indecent behavior towards the girls. I also had a strong desire to pop Mineta in the face for all of the mean comments he made about Ochaco's weight, but that's beside the point." Looking to where the passed out Kota laid on the sofa, Izuku asked, "It was said that Kota had a rough time. What happened?"
Mandalay took on a sympathetic look. "...Kota has a jaded view on heroes because two years ago, he lost his parents who were pro heroes. They sacrificed themselves to save civilians from a villain who killed Kota's parents, who were my cousins. Kota's parents were praised for the sacrifice they made, and Kota was told that he ought to be proud of his parents for what they did."
"Die and leave him alone?"
Mandalay looked surprised when she heard what Izuku said. "...Sorry," Izuku said, "But I... I get the distinct impression that Kota got the implication he ought to be happy his parents were killed. That may explain why he has a 'jaded view' on heroes. Was a distinction made to point out why his parents died, or was he just told that he ought to be proud that they sacrificed themselves as true heroes ought to?"
Looking like she was considering what Izuku said, Mandalay remarked, "I... I don't think it was ever stressed to Kota why his parents gave their lives, he was only ever told his parents gave their lives and he ought to be proud of them for it. Oh..." Shuddering a bit, Mandalay said, "...Oh my God... no wonder he's been a bit unamused for the past two years. He lost his parents when he was three, and whatever he heard about it basically told he he ought to be happy they gave their lives."
"We ought to tackle that issue as soon as we can," Izuku said, "Because if my parents died and all I was told on the matter was that I ought to be proud of them for it, without being given any other details, then I'd be upset too." Izuku could feel like he knew why Kota was upset, if Izuku lost Toshinori and Inko then he'd be upset too, especially if he was told nothing else other than he ought to be proud of them. Why would a kid be proud that their parents are dead? What kid would actually be happy to lose two of the most important people in the world to them?
That very idea was messing with Tsuyu's still missing little siblings, and Tsuyu herself to an extent. And now Izuku learned it was not only messing with Kota, but has been doing so for at least two years, and without ever having been properly addressed in all of that time. When that dawned on Mandalay, she was rightfully horrified, as well as a bit disgusted with herself. After Mandalay took a note to address this matter first thing in the morning, Izuku said, "Kota did seem fond of Tsuyu, Ochaco, and the other girls in my class, although only in a way that a little sibling would want to follow around a big sibling."
"My guess is that Kota feels the girls will be good big sister figures to him," Mandalay said, "And he basically just wants one to hold him and tell him he'll be alright. I got it from Sekijiro that Kota asked him if he could say hello to the girls in Class 1-B."
Izuku chuckled in amusement. "He wants a big sister. That's cute."
"Or just a stable family that will always be there for him," Mandalay remarked, "Family is vital to the proper growth and raising of a child. Who knows that it can do to a child if they grow up without a stable base to fall back on?"
"My thoughts exactly Mandalay, Midoriya."
Izuku and Mandalay both turned to see Aizawa walk into the office. "The staff at UA is still trying to figure out how to properly care for the Eri girl that had been dropped into our laps," the underground hero went on, "We're trying to give Eri the proper base she'll be needing if she's to grow up fine, but it's a bit touch and go for us. We may need someone with more experience in rising young kids. We're good with high school aged teens, but kids with an age below two digits? I'm enduring daddy jokes from Emi whenever she catches me getting books on parenting."
Looking to his homeroom teacher, Izuku said, "Aizawa-sensei, Kota needs to be told that-"
"-He has every right to be upset he lost his parents, rather than be told to only be proud they died even if it was in the line of duty," Aizawa said, "Yeah, I heard enough before I came in." Nodding to Izuku, Aizawa said, "You get on to bed now, Midoriya. You and your classmates got a lot of training to do tomorrow." Izuku nodded in understanding to his homeroom teacher before taking off from the office. But he stopped short and turned back to face Aizawa when the man said, "Midoriya." Looking to Aizawa, Izuku saw him say to him, "...You got a good heart. No wonder your step-dad's boss thinks you have heroic potential."
Izuku nodded in thanks before taking off, leaving the two adults be as Kota was still out of it. "...A young girl and a young boy, both of them having no family," Aizawa remarked, "It'll be a miracle if they don't snap from the tragedy they respectively have suffered and go villain."
"Oh there's no way young kids would ever go villain like that, Eraserhead," Mandalay lightly admonished the underground hero.
The following morning, when Sekijiro led Class 1-B to the training grounds, they saw that Class 1-A was already hard at work training to improve their quirks. Seeing the borderline hellish training some of the Class 1-A students were going through, Itsuka spoke up, "How can the combined forty of us all be supervised?"
"It originally would have been a bit tough if it was just myself, Aizawa, and the Pussycats," Sekijiro explained, "But due to suspicions that All Might had, Nezu sent Hizashi and Ryo along with us to help beef up security. The strain will be eased a bit, although Mandalay asked Ryo to speak with little Kota about some issues the little guy has concerning how he lost his parents."
"I heard Todoroki in Class 1-A say his classmate Asui lost her parents," Reiko spoke up, "Is that why Inui-sensei spoke with Asui a while ago, Kan-sensei?"
"We... can't give any details about another student's private life, Yanagi," Sekijiro spoke up, "Just know that the students in Class 1-A have the best of intentions for each other. I'm certain Todoroki is much the same." Sekijiro also knew that Todoroki was also suffering issues on the home front, but he couldn't give any details. But the Blood Hero was in full agreement with Aizawa, Ryo, and the other UA staff members that a certain highly ranked pro hero in Japan had absolutely no right at all to not only be a hero, but also no right to be a parent. But that's another tale for another time.
During the training, Mandalay got the attention of the Class 1-A and Class 1-B students; apparently, Kota wanted to do something to be nice to the girls at least, so he brought bottles of water out and handed them to each of the combined thirteen girls from Class 1-A and Class 1-B. He had a spare bottle of water, and looked around at the boys until he spotted Izuku and gave the extra bottle of water to him. Kota had no more after that, partly because the bag he was carrying the bottles of water in couldn't hold enough for forty students, and partly because he's a five-year-old kid so he couldn't carry a lot anyway.
The thirteen girls all fawned over how sweet and helpful the little Kota wanted to be, and more than a few guys admitted jealousy over Izuku being the one boy who Kota had decided to be nice to. The other boys also were provided bottles of water, but they came from coolers that other members of the Wild, Wild Pussycats, those being Tiger and Ragdoll, were looking over. After the forty first years were hydrated, they got back to training. Izuku couldn't help but wonder why Kota chose him as the one boy he showed respect to along with all thirteen of the girls.
...
"It's because you said that Kota had every right to be upset he lost his parents."
During the latter half of the afternoon, getting close to dinner time, the hero course students were provided with ingredients to make their own food, and they all settled on curry. This saw a number of students prepare food, and Kirishima, Kaminari, and Sero all expressed surprised amazement with how Bakugo was skilled with prepping ingredients for cooking. Over where some girls were working, Ochaco was showing a similar level of being able to handle food. It was while Ochaco was cooking with help from Tsuyu that Kota went up to them and asked if he could be of any help.
Ochaco and Tsuyu both were touched by how Kota was being so sweet, and Tsuyu remarked how Kota is being just like Samidare. It was the scene of Kota asking Tsuyu and Ochaco if he could help them that Izuku and Mandalay were watching as Mandalay answered Izuku's question on why Kota was showing a level of fondness for him. "He's always been told that he ought to be proud his parents gave their lives in the line of duty," Mandalay said, "Instead of being upset that they're gone. You, Izuku, are among the very select few who have ever told him he's in the right to be upset both of his parents died, and when he was so young at that."
"Telling a little kid that they essentially ought to be happy their parents are dead is kind of messed up," Izuku said, "Sure, they had to give their lives to stop a villain and save innocent civilians, and that's a brave and heroic thing to do. But they were still his parents, and they died when he still needed them, will be needing them for quite some time yet."
Mandalay smiled gently, appreciative of how much Izuku sympathized with Kota. Izuku explained that his biological dad was killed in an accident when he was very little, and sometime later his mom Inko married his step-dad Toshinori. Sure, Izuku still grew up with a mom and a dad, but he still knows what it's like to lose a parent, as kids especially when little need their parents. Inko has been nothing but kind and loving and supportive, and Toshinori was and still is an ultimate example of how a man can be the ultimate dad. Because of what all Inko and Toshinori had done, Izuku became the kind and steadfast hero in training he is today.
But it was an advantage that Kota didn't have, the advantage of growing up with a mom and a dad. The Eri girl that UA had taken in is a similar case, and there's no denying how the still missing Satsuki and Samidare are both in desperate need of being found and given a good home. Ochaco and her parents have already taken in Tsuyu, and they swore to also take in Satsuki and Samidare when they are found. From how Izuku saw Ochaco fawn over and work with Kota, he felt that the very well-fed girl will be an excellent big sister to the little Asuis.
In short order, the food was all made and everyone dug in. Izuku noted that Kota was missing, and Mandalay told Izuku that Kota must have gone to his 'secret base'. Giving Izuku instructions on how to get there, Mandalay asked Izuku to bring a plate of food to Kota. The green-haired boy nodded in agreement and, after prepping a plate of curry, went to go find Kota. Upon finding Kota, Izuku asked him if he was okay. "...I've been bad," Kota said as Izuku sat the plate down near Kota, "I thought that I was the only one suffering because I had lost my family, but others have lost family too, including other kids around my age."
"Kota, there's no shame in being upset that you lost your parents," Izuku said, "It's perfectly understandable that you'd be upset that you lost your parents, that you lost members of your family. And you're showing sympathy for others by relating to them on how they lost family too."
The young boy nodded once. "...The girl with long dark hair and the wide eyes, she lost her parents, and her little siblings are missing. But she still works on, still tries to be nice to me. It's... it's kind of nice that she's so caring towards me. I like her, but not how a dad likes a mom."
Izuku smiled gently. "...You see Asui as a big sister, and that's why you like her."
"I... I'm actually kind of jealous," Kota said, blushing a bit, "I wish that I had a big sister, or the version that's a boy instead of a girl. What do you call a sibling who's a boy again?"
"A brother," Izuku answered.
"Mmm," Kota said as he nodded, "I wish that I had a big sister or a big brother."
Meanwhile near the training camp, Dabi is looking down at it with Spinner on his left and Toga on his right. "So tomorrow night is when we strike," Spinner said.
"Indeed," Dabi replied, "We'll strike to collect what all we need to make a statement to the society that's over-saturated with heroes."
"So we're grabbing the rich girl and Endeavor's kid?" Toga asked.
Dabi held his right hand up at about shoulder level, with only the index finger extended. "The Yaoyorozu heiress only. We'll collect Endeavor's boy later, when the pig that is Endeavor's ego is fattened enough for slaughter." Lowering the hand he held up, Dabi went on, "Also, we need to collect two of the Wild, Wild Pussycats as the boss man has vested interest in them."
Spinner arched a wry eyebrow. "Which ones?"
"He's interested in Ragdoll for his own personal interests," Dabi said, "And he also wants Pixie-Bob, although I won't say why."
Clapping her hands together, Toga said, "I'm looking forward to seeing all of the cuties at the training camp! Ooh, I wanna try and get some blood from all of them, especially the one with the brunette bobcut!"
"We ought to focus on dealing with getting the job done and capturing all of the targets," Dabi said, "Now, according to the intel I got, the original info that the only pros at the camp would be the Pussycats, Eraserhead, and Vlad King is a bit outdated, as I was told that Present Mic and Hound Dog are also present. Apparently, All Might was being a worrywart and asked if more pros could go along."
Spinner arched a wry eyebrow. "You don't think the heroes may have some inkling of an idea what we're going to do, do you?"
"If they do," Dabi replied, "Then the boss man will personally make some displeasures known to a certain someone. But that's another tale to be spun at another time." Looking back down to where the training camp was located, Dabi said, "This time tomorrow, we strike to carry out part of the plan to send hero society the message that it has had coming for quite some time."
...
The following day, the hero course students went back to training. Sometime in the afternoon, they got ready for some game called the 'Test of Courage', but Aizawa dragged the 1-A girls minus Ochaco and Tsuyu off for remedial lessons; similarly, Sekijiro had Monoma, Shihai, Sen, and Kosei follow him to the classroom for the extra lessons they needed. This left the remaining thirty-two first years available to do the Test of Courage.
Before the pair of Izuku and Shinso could go in, Mandalay said that Kota is unaccounted for and asked Izuku to go find him, saying that he must be at his secret base. Izuku agreed and apologized to Shinso for having to tap out. Shinso understood, and stood back as Bakugo and Kirishima were the first pair from Class 1-A sent into the forest for the Test of Courage instead. Meanwhile, Izuku dashed off to go find Kota and collect him as Shinso took out and looked at ten-thousand yen in cash that he had on hand, smirking to himself as he muttered a silent and sarcastic thanks to Hizashi under his breath.
However, things began to take a turn for the scary and not in a way designed to work with the Test of Courage; a team of three Class 1-B students, Yosetsu, Nirengeki, and Juzo, all fell over and passed out due to a mysterious smoke. This smoke was a large enough cloud that it could be seen from the camp lodge. In addition to that, a large pillar of black smoke also rose up from the forest.
From somewhere within the forest, Dabi smirked in amusement. "Alright, team. Time to capture the designated targets."
Throughout the forest, Dabi and his crew were gearing up for action; Mustard stood over the knocked out boys from 1-B, Toga was sneaking up behind a group consisting of Tenya, Todoroki, and Ochaco, Spinner leading Magne, Nagant, and Gentle appeared in front of the Pussycats, and Mr. Compress met up with Dabi who was accompanied by Twice and Rappa. "You, my good man," Dabi said to Mr. Compress, "Are a vital part of the plan here, so you stick with me."
"Well what about that boorish oaf Muscular?" Mr. Compress asked, "He's got no supervision, and you did state you don't trust him alone."
"True, I don't trust Muscular alone," Dabi said, "He'll probably screw up and do something that'll put the heroes on our tail even more than they are going to be anyway. But don't you worry." With an amused smirk, Dabi said, "Usagi is keeping an eye on Muscular for me."
...
Meanwhile over at Kota's 'secret base', Kota was sitting alone when Izuku found him. Little did they know that a villain was watching them, and little did that villain know that someone else was watching him.
END, CHAPTER TWELVE
Author's notes;
This chapter sees the Class 1-A and Class 1-B students go off on their training camp with the Wild, Wild Pussycats. Kota appears and is slightly different in character, in how he sort of bonds quickly to the girls due to seeing them as big sister figures he can feel safe with. But he quickly warms up to Izuku, seeing him as a big brother who understands him. Kota's developing faith in Izuku and his peers will be put to the test in the next chapter, as Dabi and friends are taking action.