Short chapter this time, but the next one will more than make up for it.
"E-everyone, I'm looking forward to hearing all your stories of how fun camp was." Mina said between sniffles and hiccups. A cloud of gloom hanging over her, Kaminari, Kirishima, and Sato.
"Maybe they'll end up letting you go!" Midoriya tried reassuring. "There might be a last-minute twist or something!"
"Stop, Midoriya." Sero put a hand on his shoulder. "By saying that out loud, you're just jinxing them."
"They said whoever failed the exams would have to skip training camp and live in summer school hell. We didn't pass the practicals, so we're doomed. Don't you get it, Midoriya?!" Kaminari jabbed his fingers in Midoriya's eyes. "Or did All Might knock all the brains outta you?!"
"Ease up, Kaminari." Sero urged. "I'm not sure I'll get to go either. Our team only passed thanks to Mineta. I got knocked out, and since we don't know how they're scoring stuff, I might have flunked."
That didn't sit right with Hitomi. "Well, actually—"
"At least bring us back lots of camp souvenirs, please?" Kaminari begged tearily.
The door slammed open, revealing Mr. Aizawa standing there with a scowl.
"Once the bell rings you should be in your seats."
Everyone was obediently at their desks, fallen silent.
"Morning." Once behind his podium, Mr. Aizawa greeted them, much calmer. "Unfortunately, there are a few of you who did not pass your final exams. So when it comes to the training camp in the woods…" a grin split across his face. "Everyone is going."
"It's a last minute twist!"
"We really get to go to camp?"
"Seriously?!"
"Yeah." The grin dropped, replaced by his usual expression. "The good news is that no one bombed the written exam. Five failed the practical badly. Two teams, of course, and then Sero failed as well."
"Ah crap, I knew it." Sero covered his face. "Mineta made it to the gate, but I didn't do near enough to pass."
No, this didn't sit right at all.
"Um, sir?" Hitomi risked raising her hand to interrupt. "Mineta wouldn't have won if it weren't for Sero."
"Excuse me!?" Mineta shrieked in offense.
Mr. Aizawa narrowed his eyes, and Hitomi rushed to explain her view.
"Well, I mean, Mineta just stood there when Aunt— uh, Midnight showed up. If Sero hadn't acted fast he would've been knocked out too. Instead of saving himself he held his teammate's safety above his own, allowing himself to be caught so that Mineta could get away, which in the end turned out to be the right call, as he did end up getting them both out. Not to mention Mineta was aided heavily by the tape Sero left behind."
The classroom was silent for a beat, making her fidget nervously in anticipation for his response.
Mr. Aizawa sighed through his nose. "While you make a good point, the faculty and I have already decided that he wasn't able to do enough in the exercise to prove that he deserved a pass. Though his actions during the test have been acknowledged by us personally."
Hitomi frowned faintly, turning her head and mouthing an apology to Sero.
He smiled back, waving her off with a thumbs-up. Even if it didn't work, he dearly appreciated the advocacy for him all the same.
"Allow me to explain. For the practical battles the teachers made sure to leave a way for the students to win. Otherwise, you never would have stood a chance. We were interested in observing how you each worked together and approached the task at hand."
"But didn't you promise that the teachers wouldn't be holding back?" Ojirou asked.
"That was just to get you on edge. Besides, the training camp will focus on building your strength. Those who failed need those lessons the most. We were never going to separate you."
Hitomi smiled, peering back at Sero, who gave her a wink.
The grin was back. "That was just a logical deception we used."
"A logical deception?!"
While those who failed were celebrating, Iida shot to his feet.
"Mr. Aizawa, this is the second time you've lied to us! Aren't you afraid we'll lose faith in you?"
"Uh, a little blunt there, Tenya." Ochako chimed in.
"That's a good point. I'll consider it. But I wasn't lying to you about everything. Failure is failure."
Mina, Kaminari, Kirishima, Sero, and Sato all froze.
"We've prepared extra lessons for the five of you. Frankly, they'll be far tougher than anything you'd face at summer school."
Hitomi had never been more glad about a passing grade.
…
"This is gonna be great!" Ojirou gushed as they all packed up for the day. "I'm so glad we're all going together."
Iida leafed through his pamphlet— one of the only ones who bothered to. "Looks like we'll be at the training camp a full week."
"I've gotta find a bigger suitcase." Midoriya mumbled, reading it at Iida's side.
"Yeah, I don't even have a bathing suit. Guess I need to buy some stuff." Kaminari said.
"Like night-vision goggles!" Mineta added.
Mina gasped, looking at everyone with delight. "Oh my gosh, shopping trip! Let's all go tomorrow, now that the exams are out of the way!"
Hitomi perked up, recalling that she still needed a few things, along with a new dress for the I-Expo.
Now that she thought about it, she also needed to choose the two guests she was going to invite…
"Hey, yeah! We've never hung out as a class before." Kaminari agreed.
"Bakugou, see you there, right?" Kirishima turned to the blonde, who was already headed for the door.
"I can't think of anything more annoying."
"Don't underestimate yourself!" Hitomi chirped, unfazed when he responded with a certain finger raised.
"You know, I never realized how smart you were, Hitomi." Tsuyu put a finger to her mouth.
"Eh?"
"The way you analyzed Sero's fight. It was a lot like Midoriya."
Hitomi blinked, then giggled sheepishly. "Nah, no way! Midoriya's way sharper than me! If I came off as smart then it was just a fluke. There's no way I could do it on purpose."
Tsuyu stared wordlessly with her wide eyes, and hummed faintly.
…
The Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall was a massive district, full to the brim with anything you could ever need. Hitomi often shopped there for specialized clothing that would accommodate her tail and ears, and it was always high quality.
Because of its size, however, it was ridiculously easy to wind up lost, even for someone who went there regularly. Which was exactly the predicament that Hitomi was in after the class decided to split up and meet again after an hour.
She absently toyed with the drawstrings of her father's old hoodie, subtly breathing through her mouth to block out the overwhelming cacophony of smells.
Her plan was to head to a dress shop for formal wear, then maybe some more charms for her phone…
As she passed by a smaller store, light reflected off of a piece of metal, catching her eye.
Safety Gear for Everyday Civilians. The storefront read.
She paused.
With how normalized Villain attacks grew over the years, it became common for civilians to fear something as laidback as a grocery run. Soon after the rise of Pro Heroes, there were shops set up that specialized in small weapons people could carry with them. Similarly to gun laws, if the weapon could cause lethal damage then you first had to have a license to own and carry it, but then there were simpler things, like bats or brass knuckles that anyone could pop in and purchase.
It was after some deliberation that Hitomi entered the store, peering around for a very specific type of weapon. She'd had the idea for a while now, ever since the USJ incident, and hoped to pursue it once she put in a new costume design, but nothing was stopping her from getting a head start.
She left the shop with a small paper bag in hand, and her wallet twenty-thousand yen lighter. (Figuratively, of course, she used her card)
After that she made a stop at her favorite formal-wear store, and picked up a nice watercolor floral patterned cocktail dress, and a pair of pearly white heels to go with it. There went another forty-thousand yen.
Nori was going to have a cow.
Hitomi was idly browsing, waiting for the hour to pass by, when she stumbled upon Koda, who was looking consideringly at a short-sleeved hoodie. She bounded over, smiling at the small logo stitched into the fabric on the left of the chest.
"Oh, hey! This is that brand that donates all the proceeds to animal shelters, right?"
Koda, after jumping at her sudden arrival, nodded eagerly.
"Y-yeah. They've done a lot of great work."
Transferring all of her bags to one hand, Hitomi looked through the rack, searching for one in her size.
"How about we both get one! So we can match."
Koda turned red, mouth opening and closing with nervous stutters.
"Oh hey, here we go!" She lifted up two in bright yellow. One in her size, and the other looking to be Koda's.
He timidly took the offered hoodie, checking the tag, then gave a meek nod.
"Is the color okay?"
Koda nodded again, this time with a small smile. "Yeah, yellow's my f-favorite, actually."
Hitomi beamed, filing that information away. "Great! Come on, let's ring 'em up!"
As they were leaving the store, a text came through on her phone, and she juggled her purchases to fish it from her pocket, finding it to be a mass-text from Kirishima.
(Red Riot!)
(RR) me & Kaminari are starving, do you guys wanna meet up at the food court?
—
Everyone but Midoriya quickly responded with approval, leaving the green haired boy's silence noticeable.
"Hm. Koda, I'm gonna go find Midoriya." Hitomi tucked her phone away, experimentally sniffing the air. "Save a seat for me, would you?"
Koda gave her a thumbs-up, and she didn't waste anymore time, heading out into the thick of the crowd.
So many people, so many scents. Locating Midoriya's in the sea of conflicting smells was not going to be a simple task, but not necessarily an impossible one either.
Riding an escalator down to the ground floor, Hitomi kept her head high and nose tilted upward, breathing deeply. She fought down the growing nausea, toughing it out long enough for her to catch a sharp tang in the air.
Fear. So powerful and potent that she almost fell in shock. And laced with it, was lavender and healing cream.
Midoriya.
Rushing down the last stretch of the escalator, Hitomi frantically looked around, running toward where the smell seemed to originate from. If only her hands weren't so full, she could easily reach down and grab the first thing she bought. She didn't know why Midoriya was so scared, but the cause had to be something, or someone dangerous.
Dodging random bystanders, and weaving through the masses, Hitomi almost missed him.
"Mido—" She grunted, stumbling back from the chest she bumped into. "Oh, I'm so… rry…"
"Hitomi!"
"Saito!"
Hitomi stared, unable to move, think, or breathe. Because glaring down at her with such disdain, was—
"T-Tomura Shigaraki." She croaked.
His face was bare, lacking the severed hand that masked it the last time she saw him. His dry and cracking skin was pale, making his ruby red eyes stand out starkly.
A different pair of red eyes flashed through her mind, and Hitomi felt her bottom lip tremble. She hated that Shigaraki shared anything in common with Bakugou.
She had never thought someone could be undeserving of a color, until now.
Then, his hand was reaching up, and she couldn't move.
"No!"
"Get away from her—"
It stopped at his hood, thumb and index finger pinching the fabric, and pulling it further down over his face.
As he passed her, shoulder clipping hers, he rasped something that made her blood run cold.
"You're lucky I'm not supposed to touch you."
Her knees shook, and buckled. Ochako was there, holding her up and rubbing her back, whispering shaky words of comfort even as her own hands quaked. Midoriya stood over them, frantically speaking to someone on his phone, probably informing the police or Mr. Aizawa about what just happened.
And all Hitomi could do was sit there, stomach turned to lead. Because…
Who had the authority to keep Shigaraki from hurting her. And why would they care?