Chapter One Hundred and One
Kirishima was having a pretty great time.
This Summer Camp had been wild, like, something out of a freakin' TV show, but then again, this was a trip arranged by U.A., and this entire year had been wild! Like, being attacked by villains had not been planned, but the Sports Festival after that was awesome, and his Hero internship had been something else, so of course the UA version of a summer camp would be off the hook!
Getting drugged was a bit much though.
But, well, after a few moments of un-manly panic, he'd been up, and been the first, making sure the girls and the, uh, speech-bubble dude were okay. It'd actually been Yaoyorozu that spotted their assignment, pinned to a tree, once she'd gotten up, and all of a sudden coming to in the forest made, like, a lot more sense.
Not the way he woulda done that to anyone else, but he didn't judge, and they were the Pros, so he'd follow their lead!
Thankfully, Yaoyorozu knew how to use a compass, because, like, of course she did, which was good, because he'd tried to pay attention to the lecture last night, but there'd been a lot. Honestly, he was just glad that he got to participate this time, as those 'supplementary lessons' had been the worst!' But, yeah, he now got that charging the guy whose power was battlefield control hadn't been the brightest move, and he and Sato should've broken off and run. Or, if they wanted to attack, sneak up high and come down on Cementoss, especially if they'd done something to distract him!
So, Momo had made them all flashlights, as they only got the one to start with, and then they were off, on a wilderness hike, which was actually pretty cool!
The forest was quiet though.
Like, really quiet.
Kirishima had gone camping with his dad, as braving the elements with nothing but yourself and a backpack of supplies was super manly, even if they did keep to trails and campsites, so they could plug in their cellphones to recharge each night, but even the walk last night had had more noise, of bugs and birds and stuff.
Now?
Nothing.
"It's quiet," he murmured.
"Too quiet!" Tokage whispered back, getting a laugh from him, and accepting his fist-bump.
"Yeah, but, like, it actually is," the redhead added. "Right?"
Momo frowned, looking around. "No, you are correct, Kirishima, it is," she agreed. "Perhaps the presence of Pixie-Bob's constructs has scared them off? It's what happened in the lake, with the fish, until Kaminari and Bakugo's detonation reached even them."
The hardener laughed, "Yeah, that thing was nuts. Glad they were okay, after a bit."
"So, he's weird, even for you guys?" the green-haired girl questioned.
"Yeah a bit,"/"Not particularly," he and Yaoyorozu replied, glancing at each other.
The black-haired girl spoke first, "Kaminari is an… acquired taste. While he does come across as very rude, he is not quite such as, say, Bakugo, and he rarely means offense. And when he does, he makes it very clear why he does, but even then there is no malevolence to his actions."
"Eh, Baku-Bro ain't that bad," Kirishima objected. "Dude just marches to the beat of a different drummer!"
"Who's playing what, Thrash Metal?" the pull-apart girl asked, then laughed as the hardening teen nodded emphatically. "Fair enou-"
There was only a moment of warning, something glinting in the darkness, highlighted by Tokage's flashlight as she turned around, but Kirishima was already moving, yelling, "Get down!" as he slammed his Quirk up to full, putting himself between them and his classmate, as blades tore through the forest, ripping apart his clothing, but bouncing off his hardened flesh.
Manga ducked, while Tokage turned, and was caught in the stomach by three foot-long jagged pieces of metal, the breath getting knocked from her as she went down.
"Only one? Futara, I thought you'd get at least two."
It was a man's voice, low and mocking, and carrying with it a threat that, if it wasn't already doing so, would've made Kirishima's hair stand on end.
More blades came at them, some trying to hit Yaoyorozu, who was a little taller than he was and was taking cover behind him while trying to see, which Kirishima deflected, while the others sent went for Manga, who, with a yelp, his head reading 'AAAAAAAHHHHH!', rolled off into the bushes and, mumbling something, then seemed to disappear, leaving just the three students.
"Oh, poor aim!" the same voice called.
"Shove it up your ass, Ushio," a rough woman's tone responded, and, lit by Manga's dropped flashlight, three people stepped out of the forest. One was a blonde woman, with blades sticking out of her arms, the same type of blades they'd been attacked with.
The second was a tan man in a flowered shirt, but his whole body seemed… off, his skin shifting and bulging in a way that, no offense against Heteromorphs like Mina, looked really gross.
And the third was a woman in athletic gear, with blue-black hair, and glowing blue-white eyes, who, as she looked at him, sent a chill down his spine. And his front. And… was it getting colder?
"W-Who are you?" Kirishma demanded, keeping his eyes on them, not looking back to where Tokage fell, though he could smell her blood now. "Are you Villains?"
"A-A-Are you Villains?" the fluid guy, Ushio, mocked. "Are you scared, kid? Cause you're gonna die."
Behind him, Yaoyorozu moved, only for the blade-woman to throw more attacks, tracking Factoria, making Kirishima move to block them too, his classmate taking cover once more, the grass crinkling under their feet, covered in frost.
What?
Looking around, the brawler realized that, in a cone in front of the woman with glowing eyes, everything had cooled, ice forming on trees, bushes, even him, though, hardened up like he was, it got harder for him to get cold as well, but his breath was misting, and he could feel Yaoyorozu shivering as she pressed up against him, his back still warm for some reason, and unhardened.
Risking a glance back, he was now standing between Tokage, who was still down, and that was a lot of blood, the flashlight next to her covered in it, casting red light over half the area, but if it worked on the chick's line of sight, that meant his schoolmate wasn't getting frozen anymore, so he could at least protect her from that.
"Hey, look at me when I'm talking," the guy snarled, Kirishima glancing back his way, as the man's skin shifted and bulged, even his skull wavering in a way that made the hero Student sick to his stomach. The Villain's head twisted unnaturally, like his neck had snapped, to look at glowy-eyes. "Riu, how long's this gonna take?"
"As long as it takes," the woman in athletic gear replied levelly.
Rolling his eyes, which squished, the male Villain turned back to the students. "You gonna do anything there, or you just gonna freeze to death? You might even get to me, 'fore Futara sticks it in your girlfriend."
Shit, the redhead thought, he's right. He could charge the blade-girl, but that'd leave the guy alone, and left the freeze-vision chick to focus on the other two, and Kirishima was scared, but that wasn't what was important now, and he needed to do something-
"flashbang."
Yaoyorozu whispered it in his ear, making him turn his head to look at her, only processing what she'd said after she'd shot two canisters flying over his shoulder, both with colored trials, like smoke grenades, when he realized what she said and closed his eyes, slamming his hands over his ears, right as the guy moved to kick one, pant leg moving like it was full of jelly.
He made it just in time, the flash turning his hardened eyelids red, the sound loud, a faint pressure on his skin from it even a dozen feet away, but as soon as it passed he was moving, charging the blade girl, who, yeah, sent them his way, but was missing, screaming in pain, blood coming from her ears.
Closing, she threw more blades at him, one striking deep enough to catch in his shoulder, but he ignored it, slamming a rock hard fist right into her face, dropping her, turning to the others, hearing Yaoyorozu yell, "Kirishima!" but he already saw what she was doing, covering Ice-Sight with the same blue foam she'd used on Ida during the Sports Festival, so he grabbed blade-arms by the leg, the Villain still slinging them out in every direction, and threw her into the other foam-covered woman, whose binding were connecting her to a nearby tree, then rushed the guy, body-checking him.
The other Villain responded, trying to grab onto one of Kirishima's arms with squishy fingers, starting to get a hold, but the redhead twisted, slamming a punch into the man's center-mass, letting the hardening the guy was holding onto snap back to normal, like Kaminari'd let his transformation snap back, getting rid of the gooey guy's handhold, and sending him into the others, all of them quickly covered.
"Jeez!" Kirishima sighed, turning back to Tokage, who had managed to detach her head, and was staring, in horror, at her own stomach. Damn! She needs help! he thought, starting to rush over to her, when, from the foam, came a crack, and, a tan fluid poured itself out, reforming into the same guy, now freed, and naked, as he lunged forward, slamming a fist into a surprised Yaoyrozu's stomach, sending her stumbling back.
"Get away from her!" Red Riot yelled, re-hardening and closing the distance, no longer having to worry about leaving someone vulnerable, and throwing a crystalline fist for the guy's head, only for it to come apart, the skull flowing around his arm, the guy shifting, lifting, and throwing the student to the side, sending him into a tree, as the naked man then raging towards Yaoyorozu like a flood of flesh jello, the girl throwing another grenade, this one batted aside before it exploded, showing it was not a flashbang this time.
Picking himself up, Kirshima charged again, as the Villain wrapped his body all around Yaoyorozu's, almost purring, "Oh, you'll be fun to p-AAAAAAH!"
The sudden scream almost made the redhead stumble, as the goo-guy sprang backward, smoking, tan skin raw and burned, the girl's shirt falling apart as she dripped something.
"You burned me!" the Villain screamed. "You Bitch!"
"With acid, while covering myself with the nullifying agent, yes," his classmate replied, sounding bored, almost like she was giving a lecture, forming a white ball in her hand and throwing it at the man.
Again, the naked dude tried to bat it away with a tendril of flesh, only for it to burst open, provoking another scream from him, as, even from a distance, Kirishima could feel the wave of cold it released, freezing the man's arms, legs, and half his torso solid.
"Kirishima!" Momo ordered, hesitated, then nodded. "Back with the others, then to me."
Not hesitating, understanding what she meant, Red Riot did so, grabbing the shapeshifting dude, who was screaming, "I'll Kill You! You Can't Stop Me! I'll Make You Scream For Mercy!" and throwing him into the foam, though, even as he did so, the blade woman was tearing her way free, her angle wrong to throw blades at them for now, but she'd be out in seconds, while more of the foam crumbled away, revealing Riu, the glowy-eyed Villainess glaring at them.
Ice instantly started forming on Kirishima, locking him in place, feeling freezing cold even through his Quirk, and he struggled to move, starting to panic, not expecting-
A pair of hands, attached to nothing, dropped over the Villain's eyes, even as, to the side, Tokage shouted in pain, and, with the pressure off of him, pushing himself, the hardener broke free, running back to Yaoyorozu, whose skin and shreds of clothing were now covered with a steaming paste, ice covering the ground and almost making him slip.
As he got close, the shivering dark-haired girl threw more balls, these ones breaking on contact and expanding into more foam, as he looked back, the hands covering the ice-girls eyes having turned black.
This time the foam was red, which seemed important, but he couldn't remember why.
It didn't even fully cover the gross Villain, who yelled at them, "You think this is gonna stop me? You think this is gonna stop any of us? We're gonna hunt you down, bitch, and we're-"
"K-Kirishima, stand here," Yaoyorozu indicated, ignoring the man. "Facing Tokage, dig your feet in like you'll be pushed forward, hands by your sides, and harden as much as you can, please. Also, leave your mouth open, Tokage, put your head behind us, looking away, and do the same."
"Uh, Um, sure," he replied, doing so, worried, especially when the green-haired girl didn't move, just lying there, her screams having petered off, "But, dude's right. They're breaking free already."
In Factoria's hand, a small metal cylinder was created, which sputtered to life, showing it was a flare. Shooting him a shaky smile, she replied, "It just needs to hold them for a moment," throwing it over his shoulder, then pulling herself down against him, back first, he, in that moment, remembered why that foam was red.
BOOOOOOM!
The force sent him flying, taking Yaoyoruzu with him, almost landing on the spikes sticking out of Tokage's bloody stomach, but Factoria shot out a pole, slamming it into the ground and vaulting them both over the unconscious girl, falling in a heap, letting him see the Villains.
Or what was left of them.
He could see bits of flesh, here and there, in the trees, the one tree they'd all been stuck to just gone, an arm stuck to the branch by the bits of metal that came out of it.
"You, you killed them," he said, staring, shocked.
Standing, Yaoyrozu nodded, stating, voice way too calm, "If they pose a lethal danger, Heroes are allowed to eliminate Villains in pursuant of their duties, as long as there was no reasonable chance that they could be taken in alive, as evidenced by a good-faith attempt."
Kirshima turned to look at her in disbelief, but she wasn't looking at him, just the remains of the Villains, standing straight and proud for a few moments.
Then she started shaking, dropped to her knees, and vomited, crying.
Oh, yeah, that feels like a good idea, he thought wanting to do the same, but, but they weren't done, so he got to his feet, rushing over to Tokage, who was out of it, all her body parts back in place, and her stomach was a mess, bones visible, and, and her guts were too, and, and now it was really hard not to hurl, but he pressed through, checking, and she was breathing, but, but he didn't know first aid!
Well, he did, a little, but only with a kit, but they didn't have one, and they were just in their uniforms, and-
Kirishima slammed a fist into his forehead. Yaoyorozu is right there!
He called to his classmate, but she wasn't responding, just crying, so he stumbled back over to her, yelling, "Factoria! Someone needs you!"
That snapped her out, of it, as she looked in his direction, then to Tokage, gasping as she tried to stand, stumbled, and he caught her, helping her over to the 1-B girl, grabbing the bloody flashlight, wiping it off on the remains of his shirt, and turning it on her wound, which looked even worse when well lit.
"Yaoyorozu, what do we do?" he demanded, because of course she'd know what to do. She was Yaoyorozu!
However, the girl just looked down, horrified, "I, I don't know! That's a ruptured intestine, and she'll go septic soon, and, we need to stabilize the impalements, and… I, I don't know what to do!"
Or not. "Goddammit," he swore, trying to figure out some solution. "If only she could do the same thing she did with her hands."
His classmate looked at him, confused. "What?"
He waved at the girls uninjured hands, "Well, they were super frostbitten before you blew them up. Now she's fine. I mean, her Quirk's 'Lizardtail', and they get rid of them and just grow 'em back. Too bad she can't do that for her stomach."
Yaoyorozu stared at him, then Tokage's hands, then back to him. "Kishima, you're a genius!"
"I am?" he replied confused, but his classmate was already leaning over the injured girl, making a bit of something on her fingers that woke the green-haired student up.
As she gasped, Yaoyorozu took hold of her shoulders telling their schoolmate, "Tokage, I need you to remove everything from here," she said, pressing on a spot just below the green-haired girl's breasts, "To here," pressing just above her hips. "Can you do that?"
Nodding, the girl did so, the injured section levitating out.
"Okay," Factoria continued, wiping a bit of sick from the side of her mouth, "Now, is there some way you can make it so you 'lose' that bit of yourself and need to regrow it?"
Kirishima could see the other girl realize what his classmate was suggesting, and the torso started to drop, but he caught it, and the missing section filled itself in, uniform and all, completely whole.
Not sure what else to do, he put the bloody bit of no-longer-quivering flesh to the side, and fell on his ass in relief. "Oh, okay."
In the distance, they could hear explosions, screams, and a bestial Howl that made him shiver, and Tokage frown.
However, closer by, "Uh, Yaoyorozu?" Kirishima questioned. "Your shirt."
The girl looked down at herself, and the expanse of bare skin on display, only the barest bit of fabric stuck to her, then shrugged. "It's fine."
"But, uh, what if there's more," he argued, waving towards the distant fighting they could all hear. "Shouldn't you have some protection?"
Tilting her head to the side, thinking about it, Factoria nodded, reaching into her pocket and, pulling out a food bar?
"When did you get that?" he asked, kind of hungry himself, having missed most of dinner.
Yaoyorozu blushed for some reason. "It's one of Denki's. I found it in my pocket when I awoke. He must have slipped it to me when I was knocked out, since he is immune to such things."
He is? Kirishima thought, as the girl wolfed it down, creating a bit of water directly to wash it down with, then nodded to herself, grabbed the remains of her shirt, and-
Ohthosewereboobs!
Looking away, he caught the glow of her power, and, only when it faded, trying not to blush himself, he saw she was now wearing a black, armored jacket with the UA symbol on it in white. "There, better. Tokage, is there anything that would assist you? I had not thought of it earlier, but, well, better late than never!"
Looking around as the other girl asked for some taser-gloves, Kirishima was glad they were all safe, and okay, the blade that'd gotten stuck in his shoulder having fallen out in the fighting, just leaving a thin cut, already clotted over. Yaoyorozu was shook, and so was he, but they were okay, Tokage wasn't injured, and Manga…
"Oh shit! Manga!" He yelled, surging to his feet, looking around. "Dude, where are you!?"
Rushing over to the bush he'd seen the guy scurry into, there was no sign of him, and flashing the light back and forth, he couldn't see any sign of their schoolmate. "Hey! Manga! They're, uh, gone! Come out, Buddy!"
But there was no one there.
Returning back to the clearing, the two girls were standing, Yaoyorozu shaky, while Tokage was tired, though they were both getting better even as he looked at them. "Guys, Manga's gone! Do you think someone got him?"
Kirishima's classmate looked concerned, while the missing boy's classmate just grimaced. "Damn. He's, how can I… we're not finding him."
"I, I'm sure we can!" the redhead disagreed, trying to keep positive, and not look at the pieces of dead people over there. "I, uh, we know which way he went, and maybe Factoria can make something that tracks heat or something, and-"
"No, sharky," the green-haired girl disagreed. "Manga's Quirk is… Weird. Kaminari was right about that. If he doesn't want to be found, you're not gonna find him."
The Hero student frowned. "So, what? We just leave him? That's not very heroic!"
"All we can do," the pull apart girl shrugged. "Yaoyo-"
"Please, call me Momo. Both of you," his classmate interrupted.
"Momo, the best hope of getting out of here alive is heading back to camp undetected. You got anything for that?"
Thinking on it, Factoria nodded, zipping open her jacket, as Kirishima looked away, only turning back when he heard the zipper again, and he was being offered night-vision goggles.
"These will help," Yaoy-Momo said. "And, and we no longer have the luxury of going for a capture. Tokage, can you-"
"Setsuna," the 1-B girl interrupted.
"Eijiro," Kirishima offered as well.
The dark-haired teen paused, then nodded. "Setsuna, can you walk carefully and scout ahead at the same time? I made the goggles to have the eyes be independent, so you can separate one without issue." The pull-apart shook her head no. "In that case, Kirishima, please carry her, and follow me, stepping where I step where you can. Setsuna, you scout ahead."
"And if we see more Villains?" he asked, hoping they wouldn't, but…
Momo winced, face looking pained, and she shook for a moment, but, after a shuddering breath, both of them looking at the girl in concern, her expression firmed, and a crystal knife emerged from her palm, which she gripped tightly.
"Then, Setsuna, Eijiro, I will deal with them."
Music
Only one? - "Mimicry" - My Hero Academia Season 4 OST
AN: The Next Four Chapters Can Be Found on and Subscribestar.