Here it is, the forty-fourth full chapter of Miraculous Quirks released early due to good progress I've made and a little early Christmas present though who knows, I may get one out tomorrow as well depending on how things go. This is the last of the chapter before what you all know is coming so there really isn't much to say on it.There is one thing to clear up from a recent review, yes the Guardians are true OCs and part of my own personal OC list that I've brought in for this story though Mage is actually the canon name for the creator of the Miraculouses however it is a pure coincidence that my Guardian of Magic uses the same name as I created him back in 2013 when I first codified my Guardians and have been working on them ever since. Also, I know that there is a bit more swearing with Marinette and Adrien than in canon, this is more due to realism rather than then the target audience (what 15-year-old doesn't swear occasionally) and the fact that this is in the MHA universe where there is a bit of swearing so I've adjusted accordingly. Also sorry for any spelling and grammar mistakes, some do slip through as I am not perfect. That is all for this pre chapter note so I will leave it off here but do keep those reviews coming as I enjoy hearing from y'all. That means that it is time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the 44th full chapter of Miraculous Quirks.
Disclaimer: I do not own either of these great works of fiction.
Chapter 44: Training Camp Day 2
A scream cut through the air as the sun continue to rise on the second full day of training at the summer training camp for U.A.'s first year Hero Course students. The scream was Koji Koda yelling from the top of a rocky cliff as he continued to train his vocal cords to increase the range and effectiveness of his Anivoice Quirk. He was just one of the many students that had been training hard for a few hours already, ever since the crack of dawn in fact.
Down in the large clearing where most of the students were training to increase their Quirks, Mr. Aizawa, Class A's homeroom teacher, snapped his binding cloth on the head of Eijiro Kirishima as he slacked off for a second due to his tiredness. With Kirishima was Mina Ashido, Hanta Sero, Rikido Sato, and Denki Kaminari, the other members of Class A in remedial classes for failing the practical part of their finals.
Aizawa hadn't been impressed with their progress the day before and had gone hard on them in their extra lessons that went to 2 a.m. and then resumed them at 7 before they came here for training. As Kirishima struggled, and Ashido complained about needing more beauty rest, Aizawa reminded them of his displeasure with their progress and how they had to do better to correct the many mistakes he'd seen in their finals that led to them failing.
As he was saying this, Ochaco Uraraka was levitating a small rock behind him and trying to avoid throwing up bile as her stomach was empty at the moment while Yuga Aoyama exited the porta potty set up for the pair holding his own stomach having just made it time to deal with the side effects of his own Quirk that came out of the other end. Their location was perfect and Aizawa decided to let the pair in on something that he hadn't yet, their final results from their practical against Thirteen.
Aizawa casually, as he continued to pull Kirishima back but looking at the pair as he spoke, noted that the pair had barely passed themselves, basically by the skin of their teeth and had almost as many faults as the extra lesson lot so they too had a lot to prove. This was news to the pair, and both looked shocked though Ochaco realized that she shouldn't be as they'd almost failed and been defeated had it not been for what Aoyama had said to her causing her to let go of the railing.
Had they been against a real villain they'd likely have been killed but Thirteen was a hero, so she'd turned off her Quirk to avoid serious injury or worse. That had allowed Ochaco to use the hand-to-hand skills she'd picked up in her internship to get in close and take Thirteen down to the ground. Then, with a little help from Aoyama at last, she'd cuffed her teacher to pass the final. It made sense that they'd barely passed, and it helped her push herself harder to avoid making such a mistake again, the reason why she had let go of that railing not on her mind for once.
"Don't lose focus, all of you can move faster." Aizawa said as he finally finished lecturing the remedial lot, let Kirishima go, and turned to face all his students, and Vlad's for that matter. "Just remember where you started from. Don't forget who you were before U.A. Always keep in mind why you are sweating and why your limits keep getting tested. That's what it means to improve."
Those words hit a cord with several of the students as they looked to the pro hero. Bakugo glared, his hands in the boiling water he was using to increase his Quirk's power and effectiveness as he thought of where he'd started. Todoroki was contemplative from his own barrel of water on who he was and Midoriya looked up to think about how he'd gotten to U.A. That last bit got to Midoriya, and he knew he had to talk to Mr. Aizawa about something that he'd noticed since getting here. He was so focused that he didn't notice two of his classmates with even more intense looks on their faces at Aizawa's words.
Who they were before U.A.? Adrien looked over from where he was currently trying to hold Cataclysm in both hands longer than 5 minutes, food in his mouth to help when he needed it, and at Marinette who was currently trying something with a Lucky Charm item that she thought she could do with it and their eyes met. They both knew exactly what the other was thinking.
Their homeroom teacher couldn't know that what he'd said had had a significant effect of the pair, but it had. They weren't from this time period, they were from a bygone age before the Advent of Quirks, a society were super powers weren't the norm but the exception and required special magical items to use as far as they knew. They were from a time that was now all but lost to history with so little culture surviving from the pre-Quirk days thanks to the Quirk Wars that had raged in the wake of the Advent and set humanity back at least a century.
That was where they were from and as for who they were before U.A., well they were heroes back then too. Sure, their powers were given to them by magical items made by an immortal being and infused by another one to power them up, but they'd used them to become heroes, symbols, and to fight a great evil. It had been that evil that had sent them here with no way back, only forward. Had it not been for the actions of the Guardian of Magic, the very being who'd made their Miraculouses, they'd still be doing the same thing only illegally and probably wouldn't have ended well for them.
However, the Guardian they'd met had helped them, explained the new world and given them a gift they felt like they didn't deserve. Mage had recoded their DNA, using the magic that had bled into their bodies from years of Miraculous use to give them their Miraculous powers and abilities without them, to some extent at least, and thus making the power they could call upon. Now, be it Lucky Charm or Cataclysm, they were their Quirk and thus part of them. As such they were now part of the new society and could continue to do what they love.
They were at U.A. because they were heroes and thanks to Mage and Nezu they'd been given this chance to regain that status. That was where they'd started from in this new life, that was who they were before U.A. and that was why they were pushing their limits to get better, to forge that new life for themselves in this new society. All they had done to this point, all they had experienced since coming to the future played a role in this be it the USJ, the Sports Festival, Stain, the internships, this camp and beyond they would use to keep growing, keep moving forward and return to what they were before.
With new found determination, both French transfer students got back to work even more motivated than before to get stronger, as did the rest of the class, to show their teacher that they meant business. Well, most did, Midoriya did briefly talk to Aizawa about All Might and why he wasn't there and got the answer that he should have expected. The training camp was secret, and All Might brought attention, so he was in the dark to protect it, a price he was paying for standing out, and they were with the Pussycats instead as Ragdoll noted from the clifftop.
Of course, the distraction wasn't unnoticed by Tiger who was in charge of the physical training regime for simple power Quirks and Midoriya was quickly brought back to it where he was working out with Shishida and Kaibara of Class B to. Through all this Pixie-Bob happily explained that the training would continue that night with a test of courage between classes when they were done with dinner. This didn't really motivate anyone other than Mina for some reason as Jiro doubted that it would be straightforward, and all Monoma could mumble about was beating Class A once and for all.
Yup, their training was being kicked into high gear as promised and everyone was doing their part to get better. In that vein, there was some changes to the training, mainly with Adrien and Marinette's. They'd done some good stuff already, but Aizawa had theorized that stamina and physical endurance likely play a role in increasing their time limits, so the pair were sent to Tiger's boot camp in the afternoon to join the other 3 in an intense workout.
Even with their enhancements it was brutal as Adrien and Marinette were put through their paces in ways that not even their internships had managed and given how enthusiastic Mirko had been with Marinette's workouts during it that was saying something. However, it was all for the best as their enhancements had to be some sort of baseline for them, almost the bare minimum to use their Quirks if they had to guess so this would help and they relished it, giving it their all and stunning Shishida and Kaibara in the process.
The Class B boys knew that at least Agreste had skills and strength thanks to the night before and they knew that Dupain-Cheng was good, she was a semifinalist in the Sports Festival after all and had more than earned her medal in it, but this was something else. They could keep up with the small enhancement of power Midoriya was using and Shishida in beast mode which really showed how strong they were and that was thanks to the history of Quirk Marriages the pair had. Of course, none of them could keep up with Tiger and he ran all 5 of them into the ground by the end of the day's training.
With how the evening was going to go, the teachers allowed for the bathing right away with the shifts set and the boys restraining Mineta when he was done so that he didn't try to peep again. The girls went second, and this was good as it allowed the homeroom teachers to let the guys know their decision on the meat front.
As the girls bathed, and Mineta was kept front and center and under Adrien's guard the entire time, the teachers announced that Class A had managed to out perform Class B even with the 5 failures being more tired than normal and removing the best and worst performers from the class to make it fair. A lot of this had been thanks to what Mr. Aizawa had said in the morning that motivated them to do better and they'd shown up Class B.
As a result, Class A got the pork for the nikujaga stew while Class B got the beef because that had been what they'd been fighting for so they kinda had to take it. This was officially announced when the girls returned and they all looked confused at the whole thing, so the guys had to explain the situation to them before they got the stuff and began to make the stew, splitting up into different groups to do so based on what they were best at.
"Seriously, you guys went that hard for the meat choice?" Marinette asked Adrien as they helped prepare the stoves, Marinette's Quirk being one of the 3 most useful ones for starting a fire without an explosion, that person was behind them showing off some extremely good knife skills and yelling at Ochaco for noticing but at least Bakugo wasn't blowing anything up this time. "And almost had to go vegetarian? Could you lot get more stereotypical?"
"Well think about it for a moment." Adrien said as he put the logs on the stove while Ida tried to motivate others to do more cutting of vegitables. "Monoma wanted a contest to decide it because of the rivalry he's trying to create between the classes and the best way to do so was to goad Bakugo into it. Once that happened nothing was going to stop it. Ida and Kendo can't contain those two when they're like this. Not even you could."
"True, Bakugo can be a lot like Chloe when he gets set on destroying something or someone and his stubbornness is beyond anything I've ever seen." Marinette said realizing that there was no way to avoid the contest the moment Monoma incited Bakugo and the rest of the guys were just along for the ride at that point. "And Monoma made it worse with his actions."
"Pretty much." Adrien said as he moved onto the next stove while Marinette created a fire starter to light the wood once Todoroki put the pot he was carrying down on it and Midoriya helped Adrien with the wood. "It was underhanded, but we should have seen it coming and stopped him so that's our fault. After that we needed a new way but, well, that too devolved. Had I not noticed the teachers coming only the girls would be feasting on meat tonight."
"You did well kitty." Marinette said with a smile and reaching over to rub under his chin affectionately, it was the most she could really do given the public area they were in. "No one else could have done that to save them. You showed them that you aren't someone to be underestimated."
"Yup and they got to learn of mom's Quirk." Adrien said casually knowing that they were in earshot, and speaking Japanese because they were with their friends, so he had to give Marinette some clue as to what he had had to explain after saving the meat. "After the fact that is."
"Well, it is why you have better senses than me as that was never factored into the Quirk Marriages of the past." Marinette said casually going with their well-rehearsed history just in case someone was listening. "My mom isn't French or from a Quirk Marriage linage, so I didn't get that additional boost but she does have a Quirk that allows her to plot a path to a certain goal in mind. It goes well with dad's creation-based Quirk. That is how Lucky Charm came to be the great Quirk that I love."
They had full backstories for their parents and past generations and their Quirks so that they could explain their abilities, Quirks, and what not. They had rehearsed over those 6 months between arriving and attending U.A. to prepare and know how to explain them away and it seemed that Adrien had had to do that. His mention of his mother's made-up cat Quirk was a way to let Marinette know that another part of their past had been dropped and to keep that in mind if it came up with the others.
However, before the pair could continue with anything the conversation between Midoriya and Todoroki peaked Marinette's interest and she turned to it as Adrien went to help out with the last of wood and then do some vegetable cutting. She'd been partially listening to them and Midoriya's questions about how to get through to Kota and the need for All Might's help or advice mainly because she was still waiting for Todoroki to come and put the damned pot down so that she could light the fire but now she had to get involved. She understood kids pretty well so she might be able to help a little.
"Todoroki's right, actions always speak louder than words." Marinette said turning to the pair but not getting up to show that she was still waiting for Todoroki to put the pot down while also butting into their conversation. "They always do because they back up words. Words alone, no matter how powerful, will never be better than the actions that back them up."
"Yeah what you say doesn't matter as much as what you do." Todoroki said, he had been confused as to why his friend wanted All Might's advice and found this whole thing annoying but it was classic Midoriya so he was going to help and maybe Dupain-Cheng might understand more than him, she was better with people after all. "I mean, look at both of you."
"Huh?" Izuku asked confused.
"The Sports Festival." Marinette said understanding what Todoroki was going on about as it was the only thing the three of them exclusively shared, well her and Midoriya as they had both lost to Todoroki. "And your own, er, personality improvements Todoroki."
"Correct, both of you were possibly the worst matches I could have had back-to-back." Todoroki said his expression it's usual stoic nature. "Both of you, you have a habit of cutting right to the heart of things with words and actions, it's rather annoying."
"Sorry." Izuku said embarrassed by his habit of barging in when not really needed.
"I also cut you physically." Marinette said with a smile. "And hit you pretty hard a few times so don't forget that."
"I can't forget anything from that match." Todoroki said looking at her seriously and seeing the image of Dupain-Cheng before him in just her bra and pants with burns on her left arm and side and her blood flowing freely to stain both his ice and the concrete. "What I did to you both during and in the aftermath is seared into my mind."
"Yeah that fire was pretty hot, but I got you to use it and all your power in a sensible way." Marinette said. "Even if I ended up looking rather crazy with all those injuries. You weren't beating me without it though and I wanted to face all of your power to make that match worth it which it was in the end."
"You both opened my eyes when we fought and showed me I could be more than I thought, that I am not a prisoner of my linage but the architect of my own future." Todoroki said to them. "And I know that you are a lot like that Midoriya but be careful, this situation with Kota sounds delicate and he is a kid not a teen which is different, so I'd advise you not to stick your nose into it."
"Right sorry." Izuku said as Todoroki moved on, put the pot down, and went to go help start some fires where they were needed.
"Kota, that's the boy here." Marinette said as she started the fire where it was needed while Midoriya kept working on the wood as he thought on Todoroki's words. "Right?"
"Yeah I just want to help him." Izuku said with a nod. "He's clearly in pain from past trauma and wants nothing to do with heroes or Quirks or anything but, well, he's in the world and that is how this world works so it's unavoidable."
"This life we've chosen, it's not for everyone." Marinette said. "And you can't force it on someone. Most want to be a hero for their own reason and not all are here for selfless ones like you Midoriya. Remember, for some it is legacy, for others it's money to help those that they love, some it will be to get stronger and overcome past weaknesses, and for Mineta it's to get women."
"Is that a good enough reason?" Izuku asked a little confused.
"You're still a little naïve to understand Mineta but for him it works." Marinette said bluntly. "To be a hero one has to have a reason to want it, a driving force that allows us to get through training and not all have that driving force. There will always be those who don't like us for what we do and not all will be villains. Kota is a kid; he's still developing so I am sure that in time things will show him that heroes are important. Actions, remember that."
"I know, I get that now." Izuku said recalling his own past actions and what he'd done to get the gift All Might gave him and how it had been his fight with Todoroki that had helped break through his friend's walls around his fire. "But with Kota, his past trauma is deep, and I don't know how to help him there. I'll try though because that's what a hero would do. Getting involved when not needed is the essence of being one."
"True that is what makes a hero a hero even if it's not appreciated by everyone." Marinette said patting Midoriya on the shoulder before she got up. "Just hang in there, you're still new to this and in time you will know what to do. I mean short of actually addressing the root of Kota's problems and showing him how much of a hero you are right in front of him you won't get through to him this week as there isn't enough time and it's not like that will ever happen."
"Yeah that is unlikely." Izuku said with a nod as it was highly unlikely that he'd face and defeat the very villain that killed Kota's parents while also saving Kota from that same villain. "But I have to try."
"You wouldn't be you if you didn't try." Marinette said turning to go and help Adrien with whatever he was doing, and to stop him from trying to juggle onions for some reason, but as she was leaving something hit Midoriya.
"Wait, Dupain-Cheng." Izuku said as a question he'd always wanted to ask her came to his mind and given all he'd seen of the surprisingly strong and experienced French girl it was one he should have asked a long time ago. "Why do you want to be a hero?"
"Isn't it obvious." Marinette said turning and smiling at him. "I want to help people, to make them feel safe from the evils that lurk in this world and do what is right and ensure that justice is served. I've always wanted that and this way I can do it properly. I'm like you Midoriya, I'm motivated by the larger things, the selfless side of being a hero rather than any notions of fame, fortune, or glory. I want to be a symbol one day like the heroes of old in Paris, the ones I look up too and someday I will be that kind of hero as well. Someday the world will know of the hero Ladybug and know that when she's there they can rest easy."
With that Marinette turned and walked away to help leaving Izuku blinking in surprise. She was right, she was just like him in what motivated her to be a hero but there was something different that Izuku noticed from the girl. It was in the way Dupain-Cheng spoke, the way she held herself and the conviction she had. It was just like All Might though not as bright, more so than Izuku could muster right now. It was almost as if she already knew what it was like to be a symbol of peace for a city the way she spoke about it.
That was of course ridiculous and Izuku shook his head at that. Dupain-Cheng was just a strong hero student in his class, one with experience and skill thanks to the European system that he knew he wasn't at yet, same with Agreste after what he saw in Hosu, but he would reach that point and surpass it, he knew it. First though he had to prepare dinner as Ida had noticed that he was slacking and started yelling at him while chopping the air and not working himself because he was scolding Izuku.
The rest of dinner was uneventful for the students as they made nikujaga stew that was still below restaurant quality but better than the curry that they'd made the night before and they ate every last bite because of how hungry they were. Afterwards, the guys washed up as it was their turn before the Pussycats led to a clearing to explain the test of courage. Night had fallen and it was time for some more training, special style this time.
"We've filled our bellies and cleaned the dishes." Pixie-Bob declared as almost all the students gathered in the clearing. "Which means that it's time for…"
"A totally awesome test of courage!" Mina shouted excited for it.
"We're going to win!" Sato added as the other remedial lot cheered with him.
"Not so fast." Mr. Aizawa said walking over to them and as he did Marinette noticed that Monoma and Vlad King weren't present with them which could only mean one thing that Mr. Aizawa was about to confirm. "It pains me to say it, but the remedial class will be having lessons with me tonight instead."
"You're kidding me!" Mina almost yelled as her eyes bugged out at the news.
"Sorry." Mr. Aizawa said clearly not sorry at all as he used his binding cloth to capture all 5 of his remedial students and pull them over though Sato managed to remain standing. "You're training during the day didn't impress me, so I'll be using this time too."
"Aww give me a break." Kirishima complained. "We've done enough for the day."
"I just want to prove my courage." Sato added as they were dragged off by their homeroom teacher still in his bindings while the others just looked on.
"Ok so Class B are going to start as our scarers." Pixie-Bob explained as she pointed to a path into the woods that would make a loop that Class A would be on while Class B tried to scare them. "When they're in place Class A will leave in pairs every three minutes. There are tags with your names on it at the far end of the route. Your goal is to collect those and bring them back here."
"Revelry in the dark." Tokoyami said, something he'd said earlier when the test of courage had been first announced that worried a few people but was fitting with his archaic personality.
"Now those who are scarers aren't allowed to make physical contact." Pixie-Bob continued. "Use your Quirks to terrify the others. Got it?"
"The winners are the creative students who make the most people piss their pants." Tiger said to various degrees of reactions from his teammates at his rather graphic imagery.
"Did we need that visual?" Jiro asked.
"I get it." Ida said once again drawing a lesson from it that may or may not have been what the Pussycats intended but they rolled with because it would at least help the students. "They're encouraging us to stoke our imaginations while we compete with each other all while showing more uses for our Quirks in the process. I would expect no less from U.A."
"All right." Pixie-Bob said holding out a paw covered hand with slips of paper in it. "Everyone draw to see who your partner would be. The numbers correspond to your partner and the number in the order you are to go."
Class A gathered around to draw the numbers while Class B went off to position themselves along the route and scare Class A and Ragdoll left to set up at the midway point leaving the other 3 Pussycats present to coordinate the members of Class A. In quick order Class A drew the numbers and in some senses fate was on at least one pairing's side.
"Even random we're together m'lady." Adrien said with a grin as he held up his slip with a 3 on it, the same number that Marinette had drawn. "Nothing can keep us apart."
"Agreed." Marinette said with a smile. "We're unbreakable kitty, Class B won't scare us at all."
The other pairs were interesting to say the least. First up was Tokoyami and Shoji. Then it was Bakugo and Todoroki with the former not happy at all with his partner. Then it was Marinette and Adrien third followed by Jiro and Hagakure. Fifth was Momo and Aoyama so at least the former could practice her French to strategize. 6th was another good pairing in Ochaco and Tsu which would do well especially with Tsu's level headedness. 7th was Mineta and Ojiro with the former crying blood and not being paired with a girl. 8th was the sensible pair of Ida and Koda and to cap it all off was Midoriya at 9 all on his own.
It took Midoriya a few moments to fully process it, but he was stuck on his own due to the numbers as 5 were in extra lessons so they had an odd number. It would at least be the same for Class B when it was their turn as they had one in extra lessons, but it was still a little jarring for him.
As Midoriya was dealing with this, there was some attempts to change things mainly Bakugo and Mineta. Bakugo did not want to be with Todoroki and without Kirishima here, and knowing he'd not get Agreste and Dupain-Cheng to break up their pairing so that he could be paired with either as both were better than being with the Icy-Hot bastard, he went with the least annoying choice left and tried to get Tail to swap with Todoroki as his partner. Meanwhile Mineta was begging Aoyama to switch so that he could be with Momo, but he was ignoring it while Momo shook her head no at the idea.
"Revelry in the dark." Tokoyami said as the pairing were finalized and he and Shoji stepped forward to start the exercise.
"Alright kittens." Pixie-Bob said. "First group of Mr. Tentacles and the dark bird boy, go."
Ignoring the nicknames, Tokoyami and Shoji set off into the forest as the test of courage began. Little did the Hero Course students know that this test of courage would be all too real for many of them as the dangers in the dark waited for the right moment to spring their trap. The attack from the Vanguard Action Squad of the League of Villains was now upon them.
I think that's a good little cliffhanger to end this chapter on for y'all to enjoy. Next up is the first of two chapters that deal with the attack as I broke it up to highlight two different moments and to avoid it getting too long. There really isn't much more to say for this chapter as it's mainly a filler one with training and a bit of advice from Marinette for Deku regarding Kota (and some foreshadowing of course) as well. As such that is all I have for y'all so I will leave it here. If you like it or have any questions please let me know in reviews or PMs, I will try to answer them as best I could and post any questions asked between uploads at the start of the next chapter and do follow and favorite this, so you are alerted to future uploads. Do keep the reviews coming as I like hearing from y'all as you enjoy my work, it motivates me to keep producing the best work I can for y'all to enjoy. Until next time.
Stringdog
