We're continuing this story strong as we start to head into the tougher sections of Season 3! Last chapter was pretty good, especially with Izuku beating Muscular to save Kota. Now, we're gonna focus on getting through everything else in the rest of the forest.

So let's get back into it!

THROUGH THE ROUGH

"Son of a bitch…!" Weisz cursed as he brushed aside branches of trees in search of Homura.

'I don't know what that girl's thinking, even though she's always the one to spill out her thoughts!' he noted to himself out of frustration. He came to a stop as he heard rustling nearby, quickly ducking behind a tree. Peeking out, he gasped in surprise to find Nirengeki seemingly backing away from something in fright.

"Please… why are you doing this…?!" he questioned as his shaking eyes were welling up with tears.

"It's nothing personal, if that's what you're thinking," Laguna said as he approached him. Hearing that, Weisz widened his eyes. Just what was the Tears Lover Quirk user doing? "I'm just making sure that you all won't get in our way," he stated, holding up his right hand. Nirengeki fell to his bottom, closing his teary eyes as he turned his head away. Laguna snapped his fingers, making him burst into water in an instant, forming a small puddle on the ground. He stared at it solemnly for a moment.

"Dammit, Laguna!" a voice yelled through the communicator in his ear, "I was gonna give him somethin' else to cry about!" he pointed out. That voice belonged to Fie, who was perched on the cliffside while looking through the scope of his sniper rifle. "Don't tell me you're feelin' all bad about havin' to betray 'em or whatever…" he grumbled out.

"Of course not," the Tears Lover Quirk user responded. He manipulated the puddle of water that was once Nirengeki, moving the liquid into a bottle strapped to others that were at his belt. "I'd just prefer to not make things any bloodier," he grumbled out, "Besides, Mustard's gas probably knocked out over half the class already," he mentioned on.

"Tch…" Fie scoffed, "You're no fun…" he grumbled out through their communication line. His colleague ignored him, looking down at the six filled bottles around his waist.

'Shishida, Rin, Honenuki, Yanagi, Kodai, and now Shoda…' he listed off inwardly, 'I think that's enough for the time being,' he decided through his thoughts, about to turn and walk away. But the moment he did, he was met with a powerful right hook to his face from the metal-covered arm of Weisz, making him crash back against a tree in a grunt. He looked out and widened his eyes to see him there.

"What the hell do you think you're doing with your classmates, huh?!" he yelled in question. Fie could see the Machina Maker Quirk user through his rifle's scope. But instead of firing, he let off a smirk.

"Let's see how's you handle this, Laguna…" he said.

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

Despite how battered he was from battling Muscular, Izuku was still able to move. He managed to get Kota to Shota, inform Mandalay of a message from his teacher that all students were given permission to use their Quirks, and hurry off into the forest in search of both his rival and his girlfriend. He was having a sinking feeling about why the villains were targeting those two in particular, but he pushed it aside, hurrying deeper into the woods.

"Dammit…!" Katsuki cursed, having to fall back from the blade-like teeth that extended out from Moonfish's mouth. He was lucky that Shoto was there to help with walls of ice he formed to block off the blades.

"Be careful!" he called out, "This clearly isn't his first battle!" he noted, seeing the villain use his extendable teeth to maneuver himself around.

"Don't tell me what to do, dammit!" the Explosion Quirk user roared back, ready to unleash an explosion onto their foe.

"Wait, stop!" Shoto yelled.

"MEEEAAAATTTTTTTTTTTT!" Moonfish bellowed, extending his bladed teeth down at Katsuki again. The Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user grimaced, seeing that he wouldn't be able to stop the attack in time. But all of a sudden, the teeth were deflected away from the explosive teen thanks to the red energy swords in Homura's hands.

"Homura!" Shoto exclaimed out of shock, while Katsuki widened his eyes. The villain ceased his attack, landing on the ground as he drooled. The Soul Blade Quirk user blinked in surprise.

"I recognize you…" she said, "You were a former adversary of my master's…" she recalled, "And a cannibalistic monster at that," she added with a glare.

"Valkyrie…" Moonfish growled out, making his teeth start to extend again.

"In her name, I'll defeat you as well," Homura declared, tightening the grip on her blades. Elsewhere in the forest, Rebecca and Kyoka were still running. They just heard their teacher's message relayed through Mandalay.

"So the bad guys are after you and Bakugo?!" the Earphone Jack Quirk user inquired out of shock, "Seriously, this is insane!" she yelled.

"You're telling me…" the Leaper Quirk user concurred.

'Why are they after us though?' she wondered inwardly, 'Is it because of our Quirks? Or is it something else?' she asked herself. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice the ground start to move at her feet as she took another step. Kyoka noticed.

"Bluegarden, watch out!" she cried out, causing her to look down and see Daichi's face at her feet. He sneered.

"AAH!" she shrieked, managing to activate her Quirk and speed away just as the villain tried to come up from the ground and snatch her.

"Ooh, quick on your feet, hm?" he assumed with a chuckle, "No wonder you slipped away from Maria so easily…" he noted.

"Ergh…" Rebecca growled out. She didn't know how close she and Kyoka were to the campsite. It would probably be only a little further. And once they got there, they would likely be completely safe and guarded.

She was ready to speed over, grab her classmate, and hurry off without even looking back. But as she turned, she saw that Maria was there, having caught the Earphone Jack Quirk user, with her slimy blue body wrapped around her while also holding onto her cable-like earlobes. She chuckled.

"Look how the tables turn," she remarked, "Now you can be dumb and try to be a hero…" she noted, "or you can be smart and run…" she inferred. Hearing that, Rebecca clenched her teeth together and trembled. She knew that she needed to get away. But seeing the fright in Kyoka's eyes as tears were starting to well up in them, her heart told her to do something different. She ran… and grabbed her classmate, prying her free of the Slime Quirk user's grasp. She growled angrily.

"Bad move…" Daichi said, pressing his hands against the ground. Glowing brown lines of energy formed along his arms and face as he grinned wickedly. All of a sudden, Rebecca found herself tripped by a branch that suddenly popped out from the ground, falling onto her face while dropping her classmate.

"What the?!" she yelped, looking back to see the tree branch start to wrap around her. In fact, roots started to seep into her leg, looking like blood vessels as they trailed up her body. "Erk…!" she winced out, clenching her teeth together, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed with agony.

"Bluegarden!" Kyoka cried out as she sat up.

"Painful, isn't it?" Daichi assumed while continuing to grin like a sadist.

Villain Name: Daichi! Quirk: Pain's Tree!

He can merge his body into soil like a tree and form roots that can travel through a person's body. Those roots cause extensive pain, eroding targets from within while also being used to bind them! An effective arbor, especially for a villain!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Rebecca shrieked in agony again.

"Stop it!" Kyoka yelled as she got to her feet, "Let her go!" she shouted, ready to brandish her jacks. However, she was met with an extending foot to her face from Maria, knocking her back onto the ground.

"Sorry, kid," the Slime Quirk user apologized, "but she's not going anywhere…" she declared with a smirk. Rebecca tried to endure the pain, but found that the wing-like markings at her legs were losing their glow.

'I can't… Reverse…' she realized, slowly starting to lose consciousness from the pain she was enduring. Eventually, her head drooped as her eyes shut.

"Oh dear…" Daichi uttered, having the roots coursing through her body retract, "Maybe that was a little much…" he assumed as he went over and picked the Leaper Quirk user up from the ground.

"Whatever," Maria said with a shrug, "At least this way, she won't be a problem," she noted as she turned around and started to walk away.

"What about that girl?" the Pain's Tree Quirk user inquired, looking over to the downed Kyoka. Maria glanced back and chuckled.

"She's nothing compared to us," she affirmed, "Let's just go," she insisted, heading off as the blue-skinned man followed after her. Still lying on the ground, the Earphone Jack Quirk user slowly closed her hand into a fist. Even though Rebecca could've run away, she stayed to save her. And now, she was the one in the villains' clutches.

Growling, Kyoka shot to her feet and ran. No matter how scared she was, she couldn't abandon the Leaper Quirk user. Not when she knew that she could do something about it.

X

Shota had gotten ambushed by Dabi, or at least who he thought was the villain until he suddenly dissolved into a brown muck. It was at that moment he saw Tenya and Mashirao arrive, with Pixie-Bob writhing in the latter's arms. Their teacher knew that the situation was growing very dire.

"Get inside with Vlad and the others!" he advised, hurrying off. As he left, Shiki arrived with both Toru and Koji. He let them down onto the ground gently.

"Where's Mister Aizawa?" he asked.

"He ran off to find the others," Mashirao replied.

"You should come inside with us, Granbell," Tenya insisted. At that moment, he and the others heard a rumble in the earth. Shiki grimaced.

"Sorry, but I gotta help our friends!" he proclaimed, flying off.

"Wha—?! Granbell?!" the class representative exclaimed.

"A lot of our classmates are still out there…" Toru noted, "Knowing Shiki, he can help get them out," she mentioned reassuringly.

"Yes… but…" Tenya uttered, balling his fists tightly. Why was everyone else disregarding instructions? Why were they trying to fight back?

As Shiki hurried over the trees, he failed to take notice of a certain figure watching from afar. It was Shura, whose leather jacket waved with the wind. At the sight of his fellow Satan Gravity Quirk user, he grinned.

"So what's the deal with trapping your pals in water bottles?" Weisz asked, standing off with Laguna in the forest, "Don't tell me you're with the bad guys too, huh?" he guessed on.

"Gee, you're so smart…" the Tears Lover Quirk user retorted, rolling his eyes before his shining blue markings appeared again, "Do me a favor and cry, okay?" he remarked, unleashing a wave of water from the surrounding foliage. His foe gasped, but quickly sped away from the water as he formed boosters at his feet. He weaved around several trees, closing in on his target.

"Let's see how you like this, pretty boy!" he yelled, clenching his right fist as he reared it back.

"Tch," Laguna scoffed, swinging his right arm. A wave of water burst out from a nearby tree, crashing into the Machina Maker Quirk user and sending him tumbling back before crashing against the bark in a grunt. He looked out and saw that the tree was completely dead thanks to its water being taken away. His foe stepped in front of him. "You remember how things went in the Sports Festival, right?" he inquired, causing Weisz to blink in surprise, "Then you know how this ends," he affirmed before planting his right hand against the ground. Shots of water burst out, making the Machina Maker Quirk user gasp before he put his armored arms up to defend himself from the sudden barrage, becoming veiled in steam.

His opponent stood up, huffing as he turned around. That proved to be a mistake as Weisz shot out from the steam cloud, clad entirely in his Arsenal armor. He slammed his right fist into the Tears Lover Quirk user's back, causing him to gasp as blood left his mouth.

"Never turn your back on a hero, villain!" the armored teen yelled, sending him flying before he managed to bring himself to a stop thanks to a wave of water that he formed from nearby bushes he would've crashed into, making them wilt completely.

"That stupid armor again?" he muttered in question, standing up as he had more water emerge from nearby trees, swirling around him, "In case you forgot, you lost even with that!" he bellowed, firing off the water in rapid-fire shots yet again. Forming boosters at his feet, the Machina Maker Quirk user sped out of the way. He formed a wing-like blade at his right arm.

"Grandee Wing!" he exclaimed, slashing several of the trees around the immediate area, "Timber," he remarked, causing his opponent to blink in surprise before seeing the trees topple over towards him. Fortunately, he quickly made water gush out from them, making them dry up and fall around him harmlessly.

"Hmph," he huffed, "You're just giving me more ammo with all this…" he pointed out, turning to face the armored teen, "Face it, you're in my element…" he proclaimed as he glared at his foe.

"Eh, I dunno about that…" he retorted, "Far as I can tell, you're in my element," he affirmed as he formed the armoring around his right arm into a flamethrower, "I mean, you did just give me all this great firewood," he remarked.

"What?!" Laguna yelped.

"Atlas Flame!" his opponent roared, unleashing a stream of fire onto the dried-up trees, engulfing them in flames that surrounded the Tears Lover Quirk user. He grimaced from the heat of the flames, coughing from the smoke.

"You're crazy…!" he yelled, coughing again.

"Gonna have to put that fire out to have a chance against me, right?" Weisz assumed, folding his arms over his chest.

"Don't patronize me…" Laguna retorted. He had the water around him spread and put out the surrounding area, engulfing it in steam that hissed loudly. Another cough left his lips as he looked around in search of his foe. Then, he heard a tree branch snap. "Got you!" he yelled, whipping around to unleash a powerful beam of water as he clapped his hands together. It tore through several trees in the vicinity. The Tears Lover Quirk user breathed heavily before cracking a wicked grin, thinking that he had bested his foe finally.

"Don't underestimate the power of water, right?" the Machina Maker Quirk user said, making him gasp in shock as he turned too late to see his opponent zooming toward him with the right forearm of his armor enlarged, "Well, don't underestimate the power of Arsenal!" he roared out, slamming his enlarged armored fist against Laguna, "METALLICA… EXPLOSION!" he bellowed, engulfing him in a powerful blast that sent him flying back. The bottles around his waist all fell off of him before he hit the ground hard, losing consciousness as his eyes were pale white. The armor around Weisz peeled away, reverting back into his watch as he breathed heavily.

'Damn… I overdid it…' he realized, 'I was gonna ask how many other bad guys there are in the class…' he noted to himself, 'I doubt he was pulling this off alone…' he mentioned through his thoughts. All of a sudden, he heard glass shatter nearby. He looked back to see that each of the Class B students that had been captured had re-emerged from the bottles they had been trapped in, now reverted back to their human forms.

"Ugh…" Hiryu groaned out, "What happened…?" he asked.

"If I remember right, it was Husert…" Reiko recalled as she stood back up.

"Yeah, you'd be right," Weisz said, approaching the group of Class B students, "Bastard had you all turned to water and was gonna get outta here with you," he explained.

"But… why would he do it…?" Nirengeki asked, quite stunned still.

"We can worry about it after we drag his ass back to—" All of a sudden, the Machina Maker Quirk user felt a singing pain go through his abdomen. He looked down to see the blood spreading along his hoodie. "Huh?" he uttered, feeling faint before falling to fall over.

"Steiner!" Juzo exclaimed. Luckily, Reiko was quick to telekinetically grab the Class A student before he could hit the ground, levitating him over behind some of the still-standing trees.

"What the hell was that?!" Hiryu asked frantically.

"Seems like a gunshot wound…" the Poltergeist Quirk user commented as she and Jurota inspected Weisz's injury.

"We need to get back to camp!" Nirengeki insisted, "Let's hurry!" he yelled, running off with everyone else to follow. Jurota wound up being the one to carry their injured colleague as they hurried away from the scene, leaving Laguna behind. Looking through the scope of his rifle at the Tears Lover Quirk user, Fie chuckled.

"Man, that was pathetic…" he muttered out, "Still, better to take that guy outta the picture than leave 'im alive…" he concluded as he snickered.

X

Izuku thought he heard a gunshot as he hurried through the forest, ignoring the pain in his broken arms. As it turned out, the gas that had been spreading throughout the forest was caused by another villain, Mustard. Tetsutetsu and Itsuka were going after him, wearing masks provided to them from Momo.

However, the former was caught off guard by the villain's use of a barreled handgun, breaking his mask, though he was able to harden his body with steel to defend himself. It seemed futile for the pair to stop him, as he could read their movements in the gas. But as he got distracted from shooting the Steel Quirk user multiple times, it allowed for Itsuka to enlarge her hands and use them to blow away the gas long enough for their foe not to tell where her classmate was coming from. He landed a powerfully strong punch to Mustard, shattering his mask and rendering him unconscious.

With the gas finally cleared, it seemed as if things were calming down for everyone in the forest. Momo removed her own mask as she looked around. She had found a few of the Class B students within the smog, though most of them were unconscious. The one that wasn't who ended up being alongside her was Yosetsu.

"Guess someone must've taken out whatever or whoever was making the gas…" he noted as he removed his mask. The Creation Quirk user beside him did the same. "Think we should head back now?" he inquired of her.

"Yes, definitely," she responded with a nod, "Although, I can't help but be worried about what the other Class B students are likely going through…" she mentioned, remembering having helped Setsuna, Kinoko, and Ibara earlier. They seemed very frightened and… distraught from what she remembered when she and Yosetsu had found them. Something told her that there was more to this sudden attack. "Alright, let's—!" A tree suddenly toppled over behind her, causing her to yelp in surprise.

She turned around and widened her eyes. Stomping towards her and the Weld Quirk user was a Nomu with a muscular build, having mint green skin. He wore black trousers ripped just above his kneecaps, and a brown belt. Like the previous Nomu, his brain was exposed, but most of it was protected by a shiny, purple helmet with two red visors and a metal gag. The most defining feature about him was the six retractable arms that protruded from his back, each having a construction tool coming out of it. Most of them were chainsaws, which buzzed ominously.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Momo screamed. Watching the scene from above, Shura smirked.

"Come and save your friends, Shiki Granbell…" he challenged, chuckling a little. The challenges occurring throughout the forest were only just beginning…

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

Well, that brings an end to the July chapters of "Through the Rough"! Honestly, I'm really happy with the current position we're in. The Forest Training Camp Arc should be done in likely two more chapters, leading into the Hideout Raid Arc. And I'm really stoked as to where this story will really take off around then.

Thanks for your continued support and for reading these chapters! I'll see you all later!