"I am keeping the box and going to find that river myself. Keep your mouth shut. Got it?"

I just wanted some peace, but that fucking bird gave me a headache and Deku's endless chatter made it worse. The cool, soothing air helped as I reached the peak of my blastoff and started descending. After a few skips, I realized he wasn't following me. I sat beneath a nearby tree and reached for my canteen to drink some water. Just a few minutes rest and then I will continue searching, I thought.

I jerked awake by the rustling of leaves. I hadn't intended to doze off, but apparently I did. I got up slowly and scanned my surroundings. A deer was ambling to my right, but the rustling came from the opposite direction.

Suddenly, a wolf burst through the bushes and leaped upon the deer. I fired at a shrub exactly between the two animals. The deer sprinted to safety, while the wolf reared up, poised to attack. I fired explosions in quick succession as the wolf gained speed. "DIE, YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!" I roared. Dodging my explosions, it leaped over me to strike. I took aim directly at its face but lost my footing, stepping back onto a nearby shrub and falling face down. Sitting up quickly, I saw I had managed to knock it several feet away. Rather than attacking me a second time, it fled in the deer's direction.

Maintaining a defensive stance, I waited for its return. When it seemed the wolf would not come back, I took a deep breath and scratched my neck, the intense itch growing unbearable and leaving me eager to shoot something. With each passing second, the itch spread into hives across my hands and face, and I scratched violently. Within seconds, I had developed a headache and started swearing and blasting nearby flies in frustration.

My face and hands felt like they were on fire. Every inch, that came into contact with that shrub, was burning intensely. I desperately wanted the searing pain to stop. Where is that fucking nerd when I need him. What good is his huge bag if he can't help me with this? I growled in frustration as my eyes began to itch, knowing that scratching would only make it worse. I need to concentrate on something else so I shouted curses and focused on blasting explosion on flies.

As if on cue, Deku appeared out of nowhere. I relaxed a bit when I saw him but when he offered me allergy medicine, I realized from whom I am about to accept help. I will not stoop so low as to ask for his help. He is just an insignificant extra. No, scratch that. He is just a pebble on my path to success. I don't need his help. Still, the medicine was so tempting, and my pain so annoying, that I almost gave in. Why can't I keep my pride aside for a moment and just help myself? Because heroes aren't supposed to ACCEPT help - they GIVE it. I made up my mind and scoffed at his suggestion of trusting him.

Without any notice, he splashed water on my face. I was shocked. What just happened? Was it Deku? The same meek, weak, coward Deku, who stutters and mumbles all the time? Did he just thought of splashing water on my face? Or was it an accident? Does it matter? Does he even have guts to even think about that? Apparently he does. The fact that he actually did it spoke volumes. When did the little shitty pipsqueak become bold enough to do this?

Then my shock morphed into anger and disgust. He must have seen the fury on my face, because suddenly he was running away from me. Does he really think he can escape after humiliating me? I will ensure he gets the punishment he deserves.

Deku slowed to check my location, and I was about to grab him by his throat when he abruptly leapt upwards. Before I could react, he broke off another tree and hurled it, trapping me underneath.

I am going to kill him as soon as he comes within my reach. I tried in vain to free myself, but all the running and anger left my head throbbing in time with my racing heart. The more I struggled against the tree, the more intense the itch became. My throat felt constricted, making it harder to breathe. When Deku approached, I lost all my anger to pain and that annoying itch. I don't even know if I am angry or tired but I just want to rest for a while. My aching head begged for respite.

And then I heard Deku roar at me. I wanted to respond sharply, but my headache throbbed harder, hammering with his voice. I kept scratching my hands, reminding the burning sensation of skin, when he left. I clutched my head in a vice grip to help sooth the headache. It was getting worse by the second. I thought he will just leave me and continue the search for next clue without me. But he came back with medicine, which I accepted despite my muddled state of mind. I swallowed the pills and followed him.

By the time I reached our initial point, my headache was bearable and my throat no longer felt constricted. Feels like the medicine is working. I was so relieved by the wet towels that I nearly cried; they worked wonders on my hives-covered skin. I applied the cream on my hands with care, cautious about the bleeding part. I considered asking for his help to apply it on my neck and face but when he offered his help, I took it on my pride. I will not allow a weakling to touch me and blindly applied the cream but the annoying itch was not subsiding.

"Hey Kacchan! Can you please find me 4 big and heavy rocks?" he squeaked.

"What for?"

"I need them to secure the tent so we can eat our lunch in the shade. It will help with your allergies too." he replied

I groaned as even this simple conversation aggravated my headache. "Whatever. Just keep your volume down if you can't shut up." I muttered, wanting nothing more than to lie down and rest.

It felt like hours searching for rocks as my pounding headache intensified with each step. Checking my watch, I realized it had only been a couple minutes. In that short time, he had already set up the tent and gone inside. I simply left the rocks at the tent entrance before joining him. Inside, Deku was rummaging through his bag. He had laid out some rice balls and two cup noodles, apparently meant for us. Deku offered me a cold compress and two pills, saying "I only have one cold compress, but you can use wet towels on other areas". Without waiting for an answer, he went outside to tend to the rocks I brought.

After having my lunch, I took the pain medication Deku gave and set cold compress on my head. The tent's shade coupled with the cold compress worked wonders on my headache, and I drifted into a lazy slumber.

I awoke to the sound of crows cawing. Stretching lazily, I saw Deku on guard duty. As I sat up, the damp towels that had been placed on me for comfort fell into my lap. With a start, I realized Deku must have diligently switched out the towels to keep them cool while I slept. Glancing back, Deku asked kindly, "How are you feeling now?"

"Better," I replied sluggishly, my head still foggy from the medication. Though the pills were still affecting me, it felt nice to be relaxed and recuperated.

"Good. The sun is about to set. If you're up for it, we can continue our search for the second clue. If not, I can scout around for a bit and come back here. We can't travel in the dark since I need light to set up our tent. So, what do you think, Kacchan?"

I went out to check for myself. The sun is setting on the horizon, painting the clouds pink and purple as it descends. It looked wonderful just to watch the moving clouds, but we had a task to complete.

"What do you mean you're going alone? I'm coming with you," I replied firmly.

"Okay, so here is the plan. We're on the eastern side of the mountain and we are short on time. I'll search up the northern slope while you take the southern slope. No matter what we find, we both search for half an hour then return here. I'll build a fire to guide us back to this spot."

He laid out the plan and I helped him setup the camp fire before heading off in my assigned direction. I encountered many annoying animals - eagles, monkeys, elephants - but not the Serpent River. As the sun was almost set, I started back toward the tent. Though I hated to admit it, Deku was right - with the towering trees and growing darkness, the smoke was difficult to follow.

When I reached the tent, Deku had not yet returned. He was late. A feeling of unease began to creep over me as the minutes ticked by with no sign of him. What was taking him so long? Why wasn't he back yet? What if he had gotten lost in the woods and couldn't find his way back? These dense, winding woods were like a labyrinth - it would be so easy for someone to lose their sense of direction, even with the guiding smoke from our campfire. What if he was stuck somewhere, unable to free himself from the prickly brambles and vines that snaked across the forest floor? What if he was getting attacked by some animal? What if he got injured somehow and was screaming for help?

I started pacing back and forth anxiously. I am not worried for him, of course. I just don't want anything happening to him that could get me in trouble. Otherwise, Aizawa sensei will surely place all the blame squarely on my shoulders, without any second thought.

"Come on, Deku. Where are you?" I muttered into the silence.

Suddenly, I heard a bone-chilling howl echoing through the woods, sending a shiver down my spine.