And we're back with another update of "Through the Rough"! We're now eight chapters into Season 3, and it's already looking to be quite a ride as the Forest Training Camp Arc is in full swing! The villains are making their move, along with the undercover students taking care of Class B students throughout the forest.
Now do note, since we're adapting this arc, not everything is going to be shown for the events that take place. At least, there'll be a surmised version of them, along with events that will set the stakes for how things will go for the rest of the arc. A lot's about to go down in this chapter alone, so I hope you're ready.
Welcome back to "Through the Rough"!
THROUGH THE ROUGH
Looking up at the starry night sky, Homura was left to wonder if her old master was watching over her. It felt strange to train amongst others after so long. But it was ultimately a good feeling.
"You know, I was a big fan of Valkyrie," Pixie-Bob chimed in, getting her attention as she glanced over to the blonde-haired Pussycat in surprise, "I mean, she's what every woman hero aspired to be like!" she pointed out with a big smile.
"I agree," the Soul Blade Quirk user replied, smiling a little, "And I aspire to be just as great, if not greater than she was," she mentioned. Listening on to them from nearby, Izuku grinned. He was glad that Homura was determined to follow in the footsteps of her fallen mentor. Ochaco and Tsuyu had just entered the forest path, leaving just the three Class A groups.
"Sheesh… does it have to be such a long wait?" Weisz complained, folding his arms behind his head.
"Patience is a virtue, Steiner," Tenya pointed out, adjusting his glasses.
"Hey, you'd be jittery about all this too, ya know!" the Machina Maker Quirk user argued out of annoyance.
"Okay, time for you two to get after it!" Pixie-Bob declared, getting the pair's attention, "Mister Engines and Machine Boy, it's your turn to—!" Before she could finish her remarks, she suddenly found herself floated off of the ground and flown into the shrubbery nearby.
"Ryuko!" Mandalay cried out as everyone else widened their eyes. They heard a thud.
"What was that…?!" Mashirao questioned aloud as his eyes shook. Just then, a pair of figures emerged from the bushes, carrying the now-bloodied Pixie-Bob out and dropping her onto the ground as she bled from her wounded head. One of them was a woman with quite a wide, muscular build, her hair smooth, shoulder-length, and reddish magenta color, and her rather square jaw covered thinly with facial hair. Her lips were notably big, appearing to be similar to Rikido', just slightly more pink-tinted in color, and she wore triangular, white-framed sunglasses, obscuring her eyes. Along with these, she also wore a dark orange shirt, left unbuttoned to reveal with white v-neck she had on underneath, and blue jeans secured with a belt, plain dark brown espadrilles on her feet.
Next to her was a young man with a reptile-like appearance, with bright green scales for skin and a face shaped like that of a lizard. His hair was relatively long and swept backward. It was also a desaturated pink-purple, standing out from the rest of his colors. He wore clothes similar to Stain, a sleeveless shirt and dark, baggy pants, along with black shoes and pale, metallic knee guards. He wore a mask made of a long, tattered strip of cloth, the same as the one worn by hero killer, a red scarf, bandages wrapped around both his arms, partially covered by black wristbands, and plain black boots. He wore goggles on his forehead, and also carried an enormous sword on his back that was made out of many smaller blades bound together.
"Oh, you've gotta be shitting me…!" Weisz cursed aloud. At that moment, Tenya took notice of something else.
"The forest!" he exclaimed, pointing towards the woods. Everyone looked to see smoke billowing in various places around the forest, though far from where they were.
"I assume you two are behind this?" Mandalay guessed, taking on a ready stance.
"Not just us, cat…" the lizard-like man retorted in response. At that moment, Izuku came to a horrifying realization.
"Kota…!" he gasped out.
"Release Pixie-Bob, you fiends!" Homura shouted, brandishing her energy swords in her hands as her markings glowed a bright red.
"Stand down, Kogetsu…" Tiger insisted.
"No, let the girl have her fun…" the lizard-like villain insisted to their surprise, "If I recall, she and a couple of kids in your little troupe were part of the group that took down Stain, right?" he guessed, pulling off his massive sword from his back as the bandages around it came undone, "You can call me Spinner…" he introduced, "I'm here to make Stain's dreams a reality!" he declared, readying his blades.
"You fiend…!" Homura snarled.
"So you're the ones he inspired!" Tenya realized with a fierce glare. Meanwhile, the other villain known as Magne was ready to crush Pixie-Bob's head with the wrapped giant magnet she had. Seeing that, Weisz quickly made yellow markings appear along his arms.
"I can crush this kitten's head easily—" The villain halted her remarks as she suddenly saw the Machina Maker Quirk user speed over in his Arsenal armor, grabbing the Pussycat and getting her away in an instant. He zipped back over to his colleagues.
"Better to be efficient over powerful," he remarked with a smirk as his armor retracted back to the wristwatch-like device he had.
"Thanks, Steiner!" Mandalay said with gratitude, "We'll take care of things from here!" she vowed.
"The rest of you need to hurry back to the building!" Tiger insisted firmly, drawing his claws from his gloves.
"Right!" Tenya responded, "Let's hurry, everyone!" he insisted, running off with the rest of the group to follow… except for Izuku, "Midoriya?!" he exclaimed in surprise.
"Mandalay!" the freckled teen called out, getting the Telepath Quirk user's attention, "I know where Kota is!" he informed her.
"You do?!" she inquired before having to evade a sword swipe from Spinner, "Listen, can you get to him first?!" she requested, trying to kick the lizard-like villain back, only for him to hop away, "Tiger and I are gonna be busy, and I'm not sure I can get Ragdoll here in time!" she told him.
"On it!" he replied, activating his Full Cowling as he hurried off in the opposite direction, heading toward the mountainside.
"Midoriya!" Tenya cried out.
"It's fine, he got the go-ahead," Weisz noted, getting his attention, "Let's hurry back to the camp!" he insisted of his classmates, running off with them while still carrying Pixie-Bob in his arms. The Engine Quirk user obviously wasn't keen on seeing Izuku go off on his own, especially with what he remembered him getting himself into during prior instances. All he could hope for was that he and his classmates would be safe.
OPENING
Insert "ODD FUTURE" by UVERworld
Opens with Izuku and Rebecca getting into lunging stances before taking off into the distance as a bright blue sky looms overhead. We see a scene of Nana Shimura holding out her gloved hand to a skinny All Might, who accepts it as a light shines between their palms. A bright light flashes across the screen.
We cut to the rest of Class 1-A running together at the campground in their P.E. clothes, with Shiki leading the way as he leaps ahead. Ochaco and Momo are staring at him from behind somewhat longingly. But once they notice each other staring at him, they blush and look away.
Elsewhere around the camp, we see Homura using her energy blades to slash down mounds of earth formed by Pixie Bob, Shoto practicing with shooting his flames from his left arm, followed by unleashing a wave of ice from his right foot, Weisz remodeling multiple machines to practice more with his Quirk, and Katsuki unleashing large explosions up into the sky. As Izuku takes a moment to catch his breath, he looks over to see Rebecca running alongside Tenya. She spots her boyfriend and shoots him a warm smile, which he returns as he blushes.
However, that happiness is shattered as the forest is engulfed in blue flames that evening, courtesy of Dabi. He's joined by Himiko, Twice, Compress, Mustard, Muscular, Moonfish, Laguna, Fie, Daichi, Maria, and Shura. The latter of the group floats up and has Ether Gear markings expand along his right arm as he aims it down at the ground, which suddenly caves in. He grins wickedly as he dives toward Shiki, who retaliates with a Gravity Fist.
We see Laguna turning to face off with Weisz, who equips into his Arsenal armor before dashing out at him. Meanwhile, Daichi emerges from the ground, joining Maria in confronting Rebecca and Kyoka, who stand back-to-back and grimace. Izuku is in battle against Muscular, lunging forward and rearing his right fist back for a full-powered punch.
The scene changes to Drakken Joe atop a roof as the wind rushes around him. He's approached by Jaguar, who stares at him indignantly. A leaf blows by, revealing a flashback of the two confronting on the same rooftop. Drakken doesn't look like he's aged a day since then.
We cut to Tomura being approached by All For One, who rests his hand onto his head gently. Several Nomu emerge behind him, ready to act on command. We get a shot of Poseidon Nero, who opens his eyes as his dice rattle in his hands. We also see Noah Glenfield, who closes a book as he approaches the desk of Nezu at U.A.
All Might arrives, landing down mightily to confront All For One, roaring as his eyes glare onto his foe. There are several shots of Mirko, Endeavor, Justice, Holy, Eraser, Feather, Cure, Jaguar, Edgeshot, Kamui Woods, Gang Orca, and Eraser Head, with all of them battling against enemy forces.
We end on Izuku and Rebecca standing up alongside All Might, staring out determinedly towards the horizon, ready to go and save the world.
END OPENING
"What the heck's up with this weird gas?" Toru asked, being carried bridal style over the forest by Shiki, who was flying through the air with her.
"No idea," he responded, "You think it's someone from Class B?" he asked.
"Doubt it…" the invisible girl replied, "Even if one of them has a gas Quirk, they definitely wouldn't use it like this…" she pointed out seriously.
"Shiki! Hagakure!" a familiar voice called out from below, getting their attentions as they looked down to see Momo and Koji waving to them, wearing gas masks over their faces.
"Hold your breath!" the Satan Gravity Quirk user advised, doing so himself as he floated down. Moments later, both he and Toru were wearing gas masks as well.
"So this gas started spreading just a few minutes ago?" the latter of the two asked.
"Yes…" the Creation Quirk user replied, "Along with that, any Class B students around the woods are completely gone…" she mentioned.
"The animals are all gone, too," Koji chimed in, "They probably got scared from the forest fire and now this gas…" he pointed out.
"Do you guys think… it could be villains?" Toru inquired worriedly.
"No way!" Shiki yelped out, "How'd they know we're here?!" he wondered on.
"Whatever the case may be, our priority should first and foremost be to evacuate back to the camp," Momo advised of her classmates, "Shiki, please take Koda and Hagakure there with you," she insisted to his surprise.
"Wait, what about you?" he asked.
"I'm going to search for anyone in Class B I can find to give masks and lead them out," the Creation Quirk user replied, manifesting a few more objects from her arms, "I'll be fine, I promise," she vowed. Shiki seemed hesitant to leave her on her own. But he trusted her.
"Okay, let's go!" he called out, activating his Quirk as his markings appeared along his arms. He grabbed hold of Koji and Toru, flying off with them. Watching them leave, Momo gave off a solemn expression. She was worried about going off on her own herself. But she knew that she needed to do something with the power she had. She hurried into the forest without any hesitation.
"I guess you really took my threat seriously, kitten…" Maria noted to Rebecca further in the woods, "No one knows a damn thing about our little chat at that mall…" she mentioned, dropping her lollipop.
"The mall?" Kyoka repeated in surprise, "Wait a sec, she threatened you?!" she inquired of her classmate, getting her attention.
"She—! Watch out!" she yelped, interjecting herself as they both had to lunge off to opposite sides in order to avoid the extending right fist of the Slime Quirk user.
"Still quick as ever…" she remarked, "No wonder you're such a pain in the ass," she grumbled out with narrowed eyes. The wing-like markings along Rebecca's ankles appeared as she hurried forward, ready to strike.
"And I know all your tricks!" she proclaimed, thrusting her left leg out to slam into Maria's stomach. For a moment, she thought she had landed a strong blow to her foe. However, she was shocked to see the blue slime building up from where her foot was planted. The Slime Quirk user chuckled.
"Oh really?" she uttered. Blue tendrils of slime suddenly shot out from her back. They veered around and wrapped around the Leaper Quirk user, followed by pinning her up against a tree.
"Bluegarden!" Kyoka cried out. Rebecca grimaced as she struggled to try and free herself, but to no avail. Maria chuckled as she approached her.
"Surprised, kitten?" she guessed of her foe.
"You… could always do this?" she questioned, gritting her teeth.
"Eh, pretty much," the Slime Quirk user replied with a shrug, "But I figured it's best that I don't go playing all my cards right from the start…" she said, "Wouldn't you agree?" she inquired.
"Kyoka… run…!" Rebecca cried out to the Earphone Jack Quirk user, who blinked in surprise. She could see the fear on her classmate's face. Remembering how she was unfazed by the scares that Class B was throwing their way, Kyoka knew that the Leaper Quirk user was actually afraid.
"It honestly doesn't matter what you end up doing," Maria chimed in, causing her to perk up, "'Cause this kitten here is coming with me…" she declared as a slime tendril of hers came over her captive's mouth before she could let out a scream. In that instant, the Earphone Jack Quirk user moved. And she wasn't even thinking of anything. She brandished the jacks of her cable-like earlobes, shooting them out to pierce into the Slime Quirk user's body. "Huh?" she uttered, seemingly unaffected, "The hell are you trying to—?" She stopped herself after feeling a sudden bombardment of vibrations around her. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed in agony.
The slimy tendrils around Rebecca dissolved, allowing her to fall onto the ground to catch her breath. She watched as Maria's body went through a spasm, unable to maintain herself as she dissolved into a puddle of blue slime. Retracting her cable-like earlobes, Kyoka breathed heavily. She and the Leaper Quirk user looked to each other for a few moments, not sure of what to say.
"We need to run," the latter finally decided.
"R-Right!" the former stammered. Scampering to her feet, Rebecca ran off with Kyoka beside her. As they left, the puddle of blue slime started to shape back into a small figure with big eyes and a little blob on the top of her head.
"Damn it…" she cursed out.
"Now that was just pathetic, Maria…" another voice chimed in, getting her attention as she saw a figure emerge from the tree she had pinned Rebecca to, "Though I guess you weren't expecting the other girl to put up much of a fight…" he mentioned, being none other than Daichi.
"Tch…" the Slime Quirk user scoffed, reforming back into her womanly shape, though with a slimy blue sheen, "I'll get her for sure this time…" she vowed.
"You mean we'll get her for sure…" the blue-skinned man beside her corrected, giggling a little with excitement.
X
Izuku was glad he found Kota. He just didn't expect him to be with a villain. He managed to grab the boy and get him out of the way in time from taking a powerful punch from the cloaked assailant, who shattered the One For All inheritor's phone in the process.
"Oh, I know you…" he said, revealing himself to be a large, bulky, and extremely muscular man set wide with short, spiky, and sandy blond hair with small black eyes. He had a large scar going across the left side of his face, his left eye replaced with a prosthetic one, and he had another, smaller scar on the right side of his forehead. He wore red tank top, a dark jacket that hung around his waist, dark green pants, and black knee-high boots. "You were on the list…" he recalled.
Izuku grimaced. Something about this encounter told him it wasn't just by chance. Neither was the villains' sudden attack. The logical thing to do in this situation would be to run… but that would end up putting likely more people in harm's way. He had to make a stand here.
"It's… going to be okay, Kota…" he assured to the little boy, who perked up in surprise, seeing the One For All inheritor activate his Full Cowling as he stood off against the villain, who smirked. Back in the woods, Tenya, Mashirao, Weisz and Homura were still running back to the campsite. The Soul Blade Quirk user was glancing back every few seconds worriedly for her classmates that were still lost in the woods.
"Do you think villains might already be at the building?" the Tail Quirk user inquired.
"If that's the case, then we'll have to hope Mister Aizawa is able to handle himself," the class representative replied, "Remember, under no circumstances are we allowed to fight in this battle," he pointed out seriously, "Unless we're told otherwise, we should focus on keeping ourselves safe," he advised on.
"It'd be a lot safer if she were still up…" Weisz noted, looking down at Pixie-Bob in his arms, "Without her, we're in a lot more trouble than we'd be otherwise…" he pointed out.
"We're just gonna have to make do and—" Mashirao stopped himself as he noticed something. "Wait, where'd Homura go?!" he inquired, seeing that the Soul Blade Quirk user wasn't amongst them anymore.
"She ditched us?!" Weisz exclaimed in shock.
"Don't tell me…!" Tenya gasped out, looking towards the woods.
"Ah, dammit…" the Machina Maker Quirk user muttered out, "Here," he said, handing the unconscious Pixie-Bob off to Mashirao, "I'm gonna go get her," he decided, hurrying into the forest.
"Steiner, wait!" the class representative called out, but to no avail as his classmate had left, "Agh…" he growled in frustration.
"Let's just get to the camp and tell Mister Aizawa what's happening," the Tail Quirk user advised.
"…Right," Tenya replied, going after him. Several conflicts were already starting in the woods. Shoto and Katsuki came across a fairly tall man in a black straitjacket that only left his mouth exposed. The suit was held together by black restraints decorated with red spikes. These same restraints connected to metal clamps that covered his head and kept his lips open. Other straps went across his torso, waist, and the top of his boots.
"So beautiful…" he uttered, lying on his knees as he was looking over a disembodied, bloodied hand.
"Hey… who was in front of us?" Katsuki asked, somewhat horrified by the sight as his eyes shook.
"Tokoyami, I think…" Shoto responded, "and Shoji…!" he added, realizing that the skin tone of the hand matched that he remembered of the Dupli-Arms Quirk user.
"Flesh…" the villain known as Moonfish growled as he turned to the pair of Class A students. Katsuki gave off a nervous grin.
"No fighting… was that the rule?" he inquired. Elsewhere in the woods, Ochaco and Tsuyu had come across Himiko, while Rebecca and Kyoka were still running away as fast as they could. Their turmoil was nothing compared to what Izuku was going through. One punch from the augmented, muscular arm of Muscular was enough to break his left arm.
It didn't help that not even 12% of One For All was enough to really damage his foe. All he could do was hold out. But even that wasn't lasting very long.
"Don't make promises you can't keep!" Muscular shouted as he loomed over the downed form of Izuku, whose head bled onto the ground, "Live up to your words, or they don't mean anything!" he bellowed on, "You're no hero, you're just a fraud!" he proclaimed, "And you'll die that way!" he declared, raising his left arm as he was about to bring it down onto his foe. But then, a rock hit him upside the head. He looked back to see a teary-eyed Kota there.
"Remember Water Hose…?" he inquired, "My mom… and my dad…" he continued, "Did you torture the two of them, too?! Before you killed them?!" he questioned on through his tears. Izuku widened his eyes at the realization that the villain was the very one who changed the capped boy's life forever. Muscular was surprised by the revelation, but laughed it off.
He noted that even though the parents of Kota were the reason he had an artificial eye in his left socket, it wasn't the reason he killed them. He just did it because he wanted to. And it didn't matter to him whether he was looked at as someone crazy or not.
"The real tragedy is promising to do something you aren't able to do…" he proclaimed, "THAT'S WHY YOUR DEAR OLD MOMMY AND DADDY DIED!" he bellowed, ready to attack the frightened boy. And that's when Izuku leapt out. "Nice try with the sneak attack!" his foe yelled, whipping around to see him coming, "But I'm ready!" he proclaimed.
"You ruined his life…" Izuku growled, "and you won't take the blame?!" he yelled in question, sticking his broken left arm between the muscle fibers of his opponent, "Got you now! It doesn't matter how quick you are!" he pointed out.
"But what are you gonna do, huh?!" Muscular inquired, rearing his own arm back, "You gonna punch me with that puny Quirk of yours?!" he guessed.
"It's not a matter of whether or not I can do it!" Izuku yelled back in response, much to Kota's shock, "A hero's job… is to risk their life…" he continued, rearing his right fist back as it reverberated with energy, "to turn their promises into reality!" he declared. There was no holding back. With 100% of his power, the One For All inheritor landed a fearsome Smash onto his foe. Though he broke his right arm in the process, he had seemingly dealt with the villain and saved Kota.
"Wh-Why…?" the little boy stuttered out. Izuku insisted that they hurry back to the camp quickly. But before he could let Kota hop onto his back, there was a rumble. He looked back in disbelief to see Muscular emerge, now shirtless and without his artificial eye.
"A bit too obvious…" he noted, "But hey, not bad, Midoriya!" he complimented. The One For All inheritor was stunned. He used his full power, but it wasn't enough. Against the villain now, he was just a liability. He and Kota were quick to avoid his attacks once he started to come at them more seriously, showing just how much he had been holding back until now.
Things were bad. Izuku knew that if he didn't stop this villain here, he would cause all kinds of trouble for everyone else in the forest. And worse, he would likely kill all of them for sport. He thought back to when Muscular had mentioned the goal of the villains: to retrieve both Katsuki and Rebecca. The fact that they were targeting those two in particular made his blood boil a little. In all honesty, he wanted to fight.
"Stay back, Kota," he advised of the capped boy behind him, getting his attention as the villain was trying to pull his arm out from the wall he accidentally got stuck in, "And then, when it's time," he continued, "run fast as you can back to camp," he insisted firmly.
"You're attacking him again…?" Kota inquired out of shock, "Wait, don't!" he pleaded, "Let's just get outta here!" he yelled, "Both your arms are messed up and—!"
"It's going to be fine," Izuku interjected as sparks of green bio-electricity crackled around him. He channeled his available power into his broken right arm as Muscular lunged at him, meeting him with his fist as a fierce shockwave erupted. Despite being completely overpowered, Izuku held his ground. Kota was stunned.
"Why…?!" he screamed out, seeing blood fly out from the One For All inheritor's arm as he struggled to push his foe back. He thought of All Might, who would say that a real hero would always fight for justice to be served. And he thought of Rebecca, who would support him through anything, including this.
'I'm sorry…!' he apologized inwardly.
"I'M GONNA CRUSH YOU!" Muscular bellowed, slamming him down against the earth fiercely and rendering him unconscious for a moment. He was seemingly going to die. But then, he felt a sudden splash of water. He could barely hear or see anything, but the light returned to his eyes as he could tell that Kota was facing down the villain. "Hold on there, 'kay?" he said, "I'll kill you after—" All of a sudden, he felt himself get pushed back as he blinked in surprise. Izuku was bringing himself back up.
"I won't… let you lay a finger… on him!" he declared as green bio-electricity crackled around his body.
"Dammit!" Muscular cursed, "How the hell are you getting stronger?!" he questioned, evidently shocked. Tapping into his power at its maximum, Izuku flicked his right arm free of the muscle fibers entrapping him, followed by slamming his broken and bloodied fist into the villain's face. He sent him crashing into the rock wall, causing the new artificial eye in his socket to pop out as he lost consciousness.
Kota fell onto the ground in shock. He had no idea why Izuku would do so much just to save his life. He teared up at the thought of him being the person to risk his own life for his. He was someone… that became his hero.
ENDING
Insert "Update" by miwa
Opens with all of Class 1-A standing in front of U.A. together. Izuku and Rebecca stand at the front, with the former balling his left hand into a fist as he looks to the sky. His girlfriend glances over and smiles, happy to see him determined.
We go through a few scenes of Homura shaking as she struggles to withstand the heat of the hot spring, while her fellow female classmates are just fine. Weisz and Minoru attempt to peep on them, only to get struck by wash tops flung at them by Rebecca. They crash down on the other side of the while, with the rest of the boys there shaking their heads.
We see Izuku and Rebecca sleeping against each other on the subway ride back home. Ochaco smiles at them from nearby, but then notices Shiki sleeping on her shoulder and drooling. She screams in surprise, waking him up while also startling everyone in the train car. She blushes in embarrassment, burying her reddening face into her hands.
The scene changes to Homura joining Shoto on an excursion along the beach, where they're joined by their friends. Shoto finds a seashell and offers it to Homura, who accepts with a smile. Mina looks at them excitedly, while Kyoka rolls her eyes and sighs behind her.
We then shift to the class training, with Katsuki racing against Tenya and Weisz with his explosions. Shiki passes them all by to their shock, making him the winner. In the meantime, Rebecca practices kicking with Tsuyu, sharing a smile with her as they work together.
Everyone is doing their best around school, whether in the classroom or in the field. Izuku shares a moment with All Might on the beach before they shake hands firmly. We close out on a scene of some of the class standing on a tower together. Izuku smiles brightly, and Rebecca plants a kiss onto his left cheek under his freckles. She giggles as he blushes, happy to be with him and their friends.
END ENDING
Woof. This is one of those chapters that can really take a lot out of you, even with so few words. I think Season 3 definitely had a lot in terms of big emotional moments. And Izuku against Muscular was one of those big ones for me.
But there's definitely a lot more to come with the next few chapters, which'll feature original conflicts and some interesting commentary! Do expect some fun stuff to come with all of this! I'll see you all later!