Chapter 324 - 63

Chapter 63: Kitty Got Claws and Ochako Don't Care

Aizawa glanced back over his shoulder at the rambunctious students and sighed before turning back around, not even bothering to chide the group. "Oh well. This is the only time they'll be able to play around."

Looking to his side, he saw Midnight facing ahead with a frown. Sighing again, Aizawa decided to just address the tension before it could become a thing that might pop up during the training camp. "You know, given how against the term finals you were, I'm surprised you didn't push back more on the plan for the kids."

"I've had issues with the execution of the ideas. Not the ideas themselves. Only a blind idiot just ignores what's going on in the world right now. Villain activity is on the uptick. We need to help these kids get ready."

Aizawa was glad to hear that, but he could tell she was still on edge. "Just so you don't feel like you have to say it, I'm also not looking forward to dropping our surprise only a day after the recent attack."

Midnight grunted. "We could still contact them."

"…" Aizawa crossed his arms. "I've almost done that a number of times today."

Midnight didn't bother hiding her surprise at that, if she even could. "Really?"

Aizawa grunted. "Don't sound so shocked."

"It's just… you're you."

Aizawa grunted again. "Would you like to know why I haven't made that call?" Midnight nodded. "A very select few of my class have gone through multiple surprise attacks. The mall, I-Island, Hosu City and the USJ. Most in the class have just dealt with the first one. 1-B hasn't had to deal with anything like this. It's dirty, but they all need this experience."

Midnight sighed as she leaned back in her seat. "You're an ass when you're right about something, you know that, Shouta?"

"Hizashi tells me that all the time."

"Hmph."

There was a brief silence. "Well?"

Midnight frowned. "Well what?"

"Are you going to ever tell me what Midoriya said that made you so shell-shocked?"

"…" Midnight wasn't surprised that Aizawa had noticed that whole interaction. He might not have heard anything, but she had been so flabbergasted at the snide comment that she guessed her body language was loud enough to catch the other teacher's attention. "You know how we discussed your bad habit of outright lying to your students? We might need to discuss how you have a bad habit of treating Midoriya like the nail that needs to get hammered down. These constant callouts to address issues, which each and every time he's risen to the occasion, could be potentially leading to some issues."

"I'm not the only one that uses that tactic."

Midnight winced, recalling her own tactics during the sports festival. "Yeah, and I got my head bit off in front of the whole world. And he wasn't a day removed from finding his mother after she got attacked."

"..."

"Some mutual respect, some mutual trust or, fuck, just some acknowledgment that for every extra task you given him, he's risen to the occasion, might do you a lot of good." Midnight waited for some snide reply. Like maybe if Izuku wanted a teacher to play favorites then he can just go talk to All Might. But nothing like that came. Which she took as a positive sign that at least her words were getting some consideration inside that dreary head of Aizawa's.

"Anything else?"

Midnight grunted. "Yeah. I get it with the dating policy," Aizawa's brow creased, "but for god's sake, leave the kids alone over it. Going down that route will only cause more distraction from their hero training. Not less." Midnight reached over and laid a hand on Aizawa's shoulder. "I get it, I really do, but don't put that responsibility on their shoulders."

No reply, but Midnight wasn't expecting anything. Not on this topic. This one hit close to home, and she knew better than to push too hard. But given everything, she at least hoped that it would mean that on this issue, Aizawa would pull back. Because neither Izuku or, god forbid, Himiko, needed to worry about mean old Aizawa keeping an eye on them.

"We'll be pulling over momentarily. Use the opportunity to stretch your legs," Aizawa announced to the class.

Minoru whimpered as he was busy contorting his legs into a pretzel. "Please, need a bathroom."

"I swear to god, if you spring a leak sitting next to me, I'm stabbing you," Himiko warned as she wearily scooted over in her seat to be away from Minoru.

Denki leaned over the back of her seat. "You know, you keep saying that, but you never actually do anything."

Hitoshi looked at his seatmate. "Can you please keep your stupid comments to yourself while I'm sitting in the splash zone?"

Himiko looked over her shoulder at Denki. "For legal reasons, I'm obligated to let you know that since I don't actually have a knife on me, I can't use it to pop one of your eyes out of your skull like an over ripened grape, leave all the little stringy bits attached, turn it around and hold it facing you while I cut your stomach open and make you watch yourself try to keep all your guts from spilling out."

…

…

…

"Asui! Make your girlfriend stop being mean to me!"

Tsuyu didn't even bother to look at him while Tooru waved him off. "Relax, she said she doesn't have a knife, so you're safe."

Hanta scoffed. "Right, everyone that actually believes Toga isn't armed right now raise your hand." Denki whimpered when no one raised their hand.

Fortunately the bus came to a stop before anyone got to see if Himiko actually was armed by watching her tear Denki apart. He was the second off the bus, with Minoru leaving first to find a restroom at the stop. Ochako smirked as she hooked Izuku's arm with hers, and pulled him aside. "Come on, it looks like there's some great views."

Izuku was more than happy to get pulled away from the rest of the class. The bus had stopped at a corner in the road, with a sharp cliff guarded by a railing. The large patch of ground was a great spot for drivers to pull off the road and take in the view. Ochako took Izuku to the railing so the pair could look out over the large forest below. She smiled happily when, after a second or two of admiring the view, he wrapped an arm around her, so that the two were pressed gently together.

"Look who's being all smooth, hmm?" she teased softly. Izuku smiled bashfully when she leaned her head on his shoulder.

It was a simple quiet moment that Ochako was happy to share with Izuku. She knew though that they probably wouldn't be able to stay like this for too long. Not like they needed to give Mina or anyone else more ammo for the questioning she knew was coming.

Sure enough, the private moment between the pair was interrupted as a third person came to look out over the railing. "Wow, it really is a nice view. Don't see anything like this in the city. Even our campus can't match this."

Ochako, her head still leaning on Izuku's, nodded. "Yeah. Though you stay in your workshop so much Hatsume, I can't believe you know the difference between country and… city…" Ochako trailed off as her eyes snapped open.

Izuku matched her as they both turned to see Mei hovering beside them on a robo-cycle that looked like it was made with spare parts from all the battle robots they had on campus. Strapped to her back, she was wearing an overly large camping backpack, looking like she packed everything and the kitchen sink.

"Hatsume?"

Mei waved happily. "Yo, Midoriya. Hey, Uraraka."

Ochako just waved back, not really sure if opening her mouth was the best idea. She had a pretty good idea what would slip out, and she was not about to ruin her girl next door vibe with Izuku.

Izuku pointed. "You're here?"

"Yup."

"…Yeah, okay."

That got Ochako to stop leaning on him and look at him instead. "Wait… that's all you have to say?!"

"Ochako, darling," Ochako was fifty-fifty if that darling was Izuku being a sarcastic numbskull with her, "are you honestly surprised she's here?"

"…" Ochako poked a finger into Izuku's cheek. "Don't get smart with me, buster."

"I—"

"Make one comment about how you're smart or some other comeback and I'm throwing you off this cliff."

"Ahem… wanna watch the teachers have to deal with this?" Izuku grinned like a gremlin.

And Ochako matched it. "Honestly… yeah, I do."

It became apparent pretty quickly to the class that their group now had one extra member. Not helped that Mei was still hovering around on her robo-cycle. Aizawa looked veryannoyed, and even Midnight didn't seem to find the whole thing that amusing.

"Wait, so let me get this straight," Himiko pointed up at Mei. "You rode on the top of the bus… in a mech?"

Mei putted around on her robo-cycle. "Yup."

"Aizawa-sensei, didn't you say that this was supposed to be a secure place for us to train?" The whole class looked at Izuku who seemed just as shocked he had said anything, then towards Aizawa, who just looked like he wanted to go back into his sleeping bag.

"Hatsume, I made my decision and yet you chose to completely disregard that. A clear violation of all safety measures taken for this trip. I've expelled students for less."

Mei didn't flinch and seemed to take some pride in her actions. "Don't be ridiculous. I didn't follow you. You said I couldn't come because there were no open seats. So I landed my bike on top of the bus and sat there instead." Mei grinned proudly. "Wasn't the thing back at school just your normal deceptive ways of trying to make a point? It's what all my friends say about you when we hang out."

Aizawa glared at Mei, then his eyes drifted to the Dekusquad, who all started to sweat.

"I swear to god, if she gets us in trouble…" Hitoshi grumbled.

Midnight sighed. "See, I told you your whole lying to teach shtick was going to come back to bite you. And to be fair, that's completely how you'd word something to try and be clever."

Aizawa didn't reply, instead turning his attention back to Mei. "Very well. Seeing as taking you back is out of the question, you're now part of the class trip. Congratulations."

The class didn't like how Aizawa made it seem like being part of the class trip with them was some kind of punishment.

Denki slapped his fist into his palm having an 'ah ha' moment. "Ohh, was that why all those cars were honking at us? I thought it was because we were still famous from the sports festival."

Himiko rubbed her brow. "No one tell Mrs. Midoriya this happened. Don't think she would like to hear that this secure trip got compromised from the start."

"Hey, where's class B?"

"Oh yeah, now that you mention it, shouldn't they be with us?"

"Oh no, whatever will we do without those douchebags around?"

"Himi-chan, kero."

"Oi! You know I'm right."

"Yes, but you're not supposed to say it out loud."

"I mean, if she's not gonna say it, I will."

"Ochako!"

"Why isn't there a bathroom?!"

"Dude, just go find a bush or something."

"All that's at the bottom of the cliff!"

"I'm sure someone would be happy to throw you off it."

"Dark Shadow!"

The class was just standing around for a few minutes, so caught up in their chatter that they didn't immediately notice a car pull into the rest area alongside their bus. They did notice when a new voice called out to Aizawa.

"Hey, Eraser! Long time no see."

Quick as a flash, two figures leapt from the car, sliding to a stop in front of the class. A blonde dressed in blue and a brunette in red, their hands covered in cat like paws, around their waists were tails and on their heads, kitty ears. "Lock on with these sparkling gazes! Stingingly cute and catlike! Wild, Wild Pussycats!"

Aizawa motioned to the pair. "Everyone, these are pro heroes who will be working with us during the camp, the Pussycats."

Pixie-Bob and Mandalay posed dramatically for the class, each pose they struck meant to invoke cuteness and bring cheer and joy to everyone that saw—

Ochako just stared. It was like the world around her had collapsed into a moment of abject horror. She would be screaming if Himiko hadn't rushed to her side and latched her hand over her mouth.

"Breathe, girl. Breathe." Himiko was trying to coach Ochako through the sudden horrifying turn of events, while she fell back into some old habits to keep herself calm. Her face was a mask of a killer, silently stalking her next victim. Can't kill someone silently if they see you coming, after all.

"Hmph!"

"I know, it's the bitch from the magazine."

"Hmph!"

"Yup, fuck blondes."

"Hmph!"

"Yep, that skirt is at least an inch or two shorter than the other one."

"Hmph!"

While the two girls simmered in barely hidden contempt, Tsuyu walked behind them and put comforting hands on their shoulders. "You two need to be very brave." Both Ochako and Himiko looked at her. "He's about to start."

Dread—immediate, unmistakable dread—filled both girls' eyes while Tsuyu nodded sadly.

"It's the Wild, Wild Pussycats!" Izuku squealed with delight. His classmates around were glad to see Izuku was as predictable as ever, since it saved them from having to ask who these two were. Actually, three, as some noticed a small boy standing off to the side behind the pair of women. "They're a four-person hero team who set up a joint agency! They boast the highest rank on the billboard while still being ranked as a team at thirty second! Something no other hero team has ever accomplished!"

Both cats perked up at the praise. Then Izuku kept going. "They're a veteran team that specializes in mountain rescues!" Their perked looks turned sour and alarmed. "This year will be their twelfth anniversary workin—"

Pixie-Bob sprinted towards Izuku, and used one of her paw mittens to latch onto his face, revealing that those beans had claws.

Izuku went stiff, his time around Himiko helping him in two ways. He knew that struggling when something sharp was near your skin was extremely dumb, and also, he knew when a woman had a certain look, you don't do a fucking thing.

Pixie-Bob glared at Izuku. "I'm eighteen at heart!"

"Y-You're eighteen!" Izuku agreed immediately, while also trying not to think about the fact that the heroine he may or may not have seen in a very adult magazine, who may or may not have been wearing clothes, in a magazine that definitely had some very interesting articles, was so very close and threatening him.

And he was definitely not thinking about how that made him feel really really weird.

Himiko deadpanned at the scene. "She sounds desperate."

Ochako nodded, her mouth now free. "No kidding."

"Fuck, have some dignity with age. Midnight's a pain in the ass, but at least she doesn't go around pretending she's not old."

Midnight damn near walked over and kicked Himiko off the side of the cliff for that remark.

Tsuyu tilted her head. "Is Midoriya blushing?"

"Eh?!" Came twin cries of alarm.

"Everyone, properly greet our hosts," Aizawa told his class. A side glance at Mandalay let her know, it was time. Midnight scratched behind her ear as she took a few steps away from the bus.

Himiko squinted.

"It's nice to meet you!" The class said in unison.

Mandalay smiled and motioned out to the large expanse of mountains and forest. "Welcome to our little neck of the woods. We own this whole stretch of land here."

Ochako's eyes bulged. They're only ranked thirty second and they can afford this?!

"Now, if you all look all the way down there at the base of the mountain, you'll see a little clearing." Mandalay pointed, and sure enough, the class could see a very small break in the trees. "That's where you all will be staying for your trip."

Izuku blinked, swearing he could hear someone laughing. Actually, it was multiple someone's.

Oh, so that's the game. That's hilarious.

Ha ha ha ha ha! And I was afraid U.A. had gone soft.

…The voices in my head are laughing… Ohhhh fudge I don't think that bodes well. 

…Please for my sanity just say one curse word.

"Man, that's so far away."

"Hey, um… why did we even stop here?"

Tsuyu gave an alarmed ribbit when Himiko grabbed her wrist.

"You don't think?"

"Oh, this isn't good."

"Why don't we get back to the bus, huh?"

Students started taking steps back. Ochako followed, until she felt herself get yanked back with a hard tug at her uniform collar.

"It's half past nine right now. If you're fast… Maybe around noon?" Mandalay's smiling face hadn't changed while she laid out the classes doom. "The other first years are on the other side of the property, meeting Tiger and Ragdoll, I wonder which class will make it first?"

The class was now in a full blown panic as they rushed to reach the bus, screaming to hurry and to get back into it. While the class stampeded, Himiko's snarl that she was going to stab was cut off as she reached her destination, happy to see that he had been pushing against the flow of bodies to reach them.

Pixie-Bob landed in front of the class, blocking off their retreat to safety, wearing a much more sadistic grin as she crouched down and pressed her paw mitts into the ground. "Kitties who don't make it by 12:30 won't get any lunch!"

Bean tipped fingers swung out in a flurry of panicked taps.

"Sorry, ladies and gentlemen," if Aizawa was actually being apologetic was debatable, "training camp has already begun."

The ground writhed and suddenly exploded out like a giant wave, swallowing up everyone and driving them up and over the cliff."Why's the ground rising up?!"

"Ahhh!"

"This isn't fair!"

The screams of 1-A echoed upwards as they were thrown down. Mandalay, once the wave of dirt and rock had subsided, walked over to the railing and looked down at the perturbed but recovering class. "Hey! Since this is private land, you can use your Quirks as you wish! You have three hours to get to the campsite. All you have to do is get through The Beast's Forest!"

"'The Beast's Forest?' Who the fuck names something that?!"

"It sounds like something from my little brother's Chrono Trigger game, kero."

Mandalay blinked at the surprisingly close voices. Looking up, she blinked a few times at the sight. "Huh, looks like you missed a few, Pixie-Bob."

Pixie-Bob turned away from the students that got carried away in the rockslide she'd just made and turned her head up to where Mandalay, and now Midnight and Aizawa, were looking. "Oh, would you look at that. Some kittens didn't get swept away."

"Fuck you, you old c—"

"Ah! Toga don't swing around!"

After Himiko's early warning, and Izuku rushing for the trio, Ochako had been able to float Izuku, just in time for him to propel himself up with Ochako, Himiko and Tsuyu hanging off his arms and legs. Thanks to Ochako he was weightless and could now fly himself around. But with three people hanging off him, he looked like a glorified parade balloon.

Mei, who had rocketed up to a safe height on her robo-cycle, clapped. "Wow, I guess you got better at lifting people, huh?"

Izuku grunted.

Ochako frowned, looking down at herself and the others, noting that only Izuku was glowing. "Oh… um… you okay, Deku?"

Izuku had several choice words for his current predicament. But instead of inciting some potential issues, he chose to deal with the more pressing potential catastrophe; that being that he wasn't sure if his teacher was going to be impressed or pissed with this little stunt.

It was fifty-fifty, really.

Down below, while Pixie-Bob was debating how she was gonna get at Himiko for the old comment, Mandalay noted that Izuku seemed to be concentrating very hard to keep Mei between himself and them.

"Hmph." There was a noise that almost sounded like pride from Aizawa. "He's trying to make sure I don't have line of sight."

Mandalay frowned. "Why?"

"Because he's the kind of teacher that would turn off Midoriya's Quirk and let the four plummet down," Midnight answered.

"…"

Himiko, keeping one hand on Izuku's ankle, pointed towards the camp site. "Let's go, Izuku!"

"Yup, I'll set us down with the class." The strain in his voice was concerning.

"Eh?! No, to the campsite!" Himiko ignored the looks Ochako and Tsuyu gave her.

"Come on, we can't leave our friends," Ochako countered. "Plus, I think this is cheating."

"Fuck'em!"

"Take us down, Deku."

"Nooooo!"

Tsuyu tapped her chin. "Doesn't Midoriya's Quirk not work well when a force is applied by a person?"

The three girls looked at each other, then up at Izuku, noting they were pulling on him. They were also pretty high.

"Land! Land right now!" Himiko ordered.

As the four slowly lowered down to the ground to join the rest of the class, Himiko made sure to flip Pixie-Bob the most aggressive middle finger she could. Pixie-Bob ground her teeth. "So… that's Toga Himiko, huh?"

"Yup," Midnight confirmed with a smile she wasn't even trying to hide.

"Oh," Pixie-Bob cracked her fingers, "I'm going to enjoy this."

While she began to get to work, Aizawa glanced back up at Mei. "Off the bike. Gear off."

Mei looked down at the teacher, but landed after shrugging and slipping out of her oversized and suspiciously high tech looking backpack. "Okay. Do you wanna borrow my bike so you can watch whatever you ha— URK!" Mei suddenly found herself wrapped up in Aizawa's capture cloth, with the teacher looking down at her with a terrifying smile.

"I said, you were part of this trip. So," Aizawa swung Mei around, "That means you get to take part in all parts of it!" And threw her over the edge of the cliff, and as the cloth unwound around her, sent her plummeting down.

Midnight and Mandalay gave Aizawa a side eye. "You liked doing that way too much." Aizawa neither confirmed or denied it.

"You know, this is a really crazy schedule, Eraser Head," Mandalay pointed out with some concern. "I think even second years would struggle with it."

Aizawa agreed, though he wasn't exactly sympathetic. "Well, we're planning to have them acquire early what they normally would get at the beginning of their second year, so it's going to be crazy no matter what."

Mandalay raised an eyebrow. "You make it sound like you're trying to get them ready for the provisional license exam."

"We are," Midnight said. "We need them to be able to use their Quirks at a level where they can get their licenses and start working as heroes."

"You want them to take that exam. It's only a few weeks away, you know."

"We know." She paused and added, "But with villains being so active right now, they also need to learn how to defend themselves. And be able to defend themselves without having to worry about the law."

What had happened in Hosu City had been an eye opener for U.A. in several ways. The biggest being that the students were getting put into situations where they could get into huge legal trouble if they fought back against villains. And with the rising villain activity and the interest the League of Villains had in the students—well, it was more like one but that interest was going to affect them all—it was clear the teachers needed to make sure their students had every tool at their disposal to fight back. One of those tools was making sure the law was off their backs.

"Catch me! Catch me! Catch me!"

Ochako's head snapped up in alarm, just in time to see Mei plummeting down towards them. Several students prepared to catch her, but Ochako quickly floated herself, leapt up and got her arms under Mei, floating her and carrying her softly to the ground in a princess carry.

"Hatsume, are you alright?"

Mei took a moment and took stock of herself. "Yup, all here."

"What happened?" Izuku asked as he rushed over to the pair, along with his classmates.

"Your grouchy teacher threw me off the cliff."

The class around them nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense."

"U.A. does this kind of stuff all the time."

"We're pretty used to it at this point."

Mei nodded. "Grouchy Gus."

Ochako, her arms still cradling Mei, tapped her fingers together and returned both herself and Mei to normal.

"Oop," Mei gave off a chirp at the effect. "Wow, that's a weird feeling."

Ochako smiled. "You get used to it."

Mei nodded, then paused as she took a chance to look down, seeing Ochako hadn't really shown any external indications she had felt a difference when Mei got her weight back. Blinking, Mei poked Ochako's shoulders and chest. "Huh."

"What's up?"

Mei was openly squeezing Ochako's arms at this point. "Oh, so this is why you're Muscle Mommy. No wonder Midoriya likes it when you carry him."

Ochako went red, panicked and horrified that that nickname had just slipped from Mei's lips. Also that she had just used it in front of her whole fucking class! It was bad enough the girls knew, but now it was everyone.

Oh god no.

Izuku nodded. "Yup, you got it Hatsume." No denial. No embarrassment. Izuku stood by Ochako and looked proud as he owned it. He even flashed a thumbs up.

Inside, Ochako was screeching.

"Yeah, I can definitely see what all the fuss is about." Mei snuggled up while Ochako's whole world imploded because she could see all the looks her classmates were giving her and Izuku. "I kinda just want her to carry me everywhere."

"I know, right?" Either Izuku couldn't read the room, or he did not care. Judging by the smile on his face, it could be either.

Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!

Off to the side, Himiko was fuming. "The fuck?! What is with tech chicks cutting in line?!"

Tsuyu tapped her chin, silently noting the plural there. "You know that means you're next in line for Midoriya's nicknames if things go your way."

"…"

"I'm going to be fucking sick," Katsuki dry heaved.

Kyouka actually looked sympathetic. "This is our lives now."

Tenya cleared his throat, deciding that allowing this to go on wouldn't do anyone any good, "Everyone! We have been given the task to cross this Beast's Forest and report to our campsite in three hours. I suggest we get moving."

Ejirou sighed. "Yeah, at this point we just gotta man up and go."

Minoru screeched as he sprinted into the wood. "Inheld it after all that, I'm not waiting anymore! You all wait!"

Denki whistled. "He held it in after getting thrown off a cliff? That's impressive."

Izuku peered into the woods. "I wonder why they call it's the Beast's Fore—"

"AIIIEEEEEEEE!"

Izuku ignored the glares certain classmates were giving him, while at the same time, Minoru came running back, followed by a giant four legged monster. The class openly gaped at the thing as it towered over the lot of them.

"It's a beast!"

"We're gonna be eaten!"

Kouji rushed forward, startling a few of his classmates as he waved his arms around, and called out to the thing. "Calm down, kind beast! Please stay back!"

Mina had a hand over her heart. "Oh thank god we have someone that can talk to animals."

"Um… what's it doing?" Kyouka asked with rising alarm.

Whatever effect Kouji was expecting, clearly didn't happen. The beast raised a giant claw up, and everyone realized that Kouji was about to get hit hard.

The claw came down, and slammed into a wall of green light as Izuku quickly put a barrier between his classmate and the monster. When the claw bounced off, it confirmed his suspicions. "It's not real! It's made of dirt and rock!"

That was the only thing Katsuki needed to hear as he launched himself at the towering beast and blasted it into oblivion. "Die!"

Izuku made sure to keep the barrier up so Kouji didn't get smacked with any of the rubble. The class all looked at the remains. It was just like Izuku had said, rock and dirt.

"A golem?" Momo asked as she peered at it.

With Kouji safe, and getting some encouragement from Kyouka and Denki over how cool he was rushing out, Izuku nodded. "It makes sense. Pixie-Bob's Quirk is Earth Flow. It lets her manipulate earth."

"You mean she can do more than what she did to throw us all down here?" Hitoshi didn't like that.

Excitedly, Izuku explained. "Yeah. The article I read," Ochako narrowed her eyes as Izuku's voice carried on and up, "said she can manipulate it any way she wants. And…" There was a low rumble from deep within the woods, "she's bragged about how her Quirk let her control things accurately and at an extremely long range."

The ground shook as something, many something's, started making their way towards the class.

"So we climb back up and stab her?" Himiko asked. It was obviously the best idea. Take her out, problem solved.

The crashing was getting louder. A stampede of monstrous golems were rushing through the trees. The class winced when something huge and dragon shaped flew over their heads.

"So we climb back up and stab her, right?!" Himiko asked again, before swearing up a storm as her classmates and friends got ready for a fight. "Fuck, my poor knives are gonna be ruined after this." She grumbled as she pulled out two daggers from her waistband.

Denki looked back. "Oh my god, she actually had knives?"

While Denki questioned his life choices, Izuku was trying to put a plan together. While on the surface this seemed like it was just going to be a bull rush through the oncoming storm, he knew there was now a caveat. Mei. It wasn't like she was just going to expose herself and start firing her Quirk off. And without that arm rifle of hers, there wasn't much she was going to be able to do. So Izuku was going to need to keep an eye on her and make sure none of these golems got to her.

So this is the second time I'm in charge of protecting an inventor from a horde of enemies who's going out of their way to hide their Quirk from everyone else. Which isn't a lot but it's weird it's happened twice now.

"Hatsume, I want you to stay behind… Um…" Izuku trailed off when Mei wasn't even paying attention to the threat, but was looking up the cliff, and playing with her phone. "Ummm…"

"Wanna bet she's about to do a thing?" Ochako asked while she rolled up her sleeves.

Boom fwoosh!

Up on the cliff, there was a high pitched shriek as something launched off the cliff. The class watched as the backpack Mei had been wearing arched in the air, before coming down towards the ground. It crashed through the winged dirt dragon and after that, when it looked like it wasn't going to slow down, several of the class dove for cover. Fortunately, the backpack didn't make that big of a shock when it landed right in front of Mei.

"Ha ha! The homing system worked!"

While some of the class watched the dirt dragon slam into the ground in pieces, others looked at the thing that had caused it. Katsuki pointed at it. "The fuck is that?"

Mei smiled proudly. "A portable workshop I invented. Like the American motorhome, it's all the conveniences of home out in the great outdoors." Mei started pressing buttons on the backpack before a section opened up and expanded out. Like an American motorhome, this thing apparently could get bigger. Mei pulled bits and pieces out from the section, clicking them together until she had something that looked a lot like a shoulder mounted cannon, connected to the backpack by a swivel arm, which she aimed and then fired with a boom! Exploding the head of another dirt monster.

"WHY DOES IT HAVE THAT?!"

"Isn't that heavy?"

"Support department people are scary."

"She has two kills now."

"We're keeping score?"

"I AIN'T LOSING TO NO TECH CHICK!" Katsuki screamed.

"The cannon is to test Midoriya's barrier progression. Yes, it is heavy if I didn't have the little grav lifts on while I wore it," Mei answered with a proud smile while she went to work getting more tech ready to use. "I came fully prepared to be in the thick of things so I could get good data on Midoriya's Quirk growth. So I got all sorts of awesome babies to keep me safe and to test on him. Since things seem to either explode, or catch fire around him. Or to him. All my babies I brought cover all your teachers' grumpy reasons for kicking me out!"

Izuku blinked as he realized that Mei might be the most dangerous person he knew. And he knew Himiko.

And Ochako.

…

"Wait, you were going to shoot me with that?!"

Mashirao pointed as more beasts broke through the trees, heading right for them. "Guys! We got company!"

Tenya's pant legs tore as he revved his engines. "Everyone! If we don't make it to the campsite by noon, then we don't get lunch!"

"Then let's punch through these walking dirt clods!" Katsuki sneered, his hands popping and crackling.

"Let's go!" The class cheered as they got ready to fight through the forest and its beasts.

Many, many, many hours later and the sun was starting to set. At the campsite Aizawa, Midnight, Mandalay and Pixie-Bob now stood waiting at the edge of the clearing, keeping a close eye on the tree line. Pixie-Bob perked up and smiled. "Oh, you're finally here, meow! That took quite some time."

Slowly but surely, shadows began to emerge from the shaded forest. With the groans and moans, you'd almost expect everyone was once again under the effect of the Zombie Virus Quirk. But as they came out of the woods and into the clearing, it was much simpler; everyone was damned exhausted.

Multiple students were wincing gingerly with each step, or were leaning against someone for support to just keep going. More than a few even showed obvious signs they were hurting from Quirk overuse.

Tenya was taking careful steps while his engines made choking noises. Minoru's scalp was bleeding. Ochako looked very queasy while she piggybacked Tsuyu on her back. Izuku nursed his scuffed up hands, coughed out several clouds of smoke and was missing his shirt. Himiko, dripping gray sludge and wearing mismatched uniform parts from a few classmates, looked pitiful while carrying what remained of her knives. Rounded off and dulled, they couldn't even puncture skin now. A point she proved when she tried to jab one into Denki's shoulder before tossing them away. Denki, who was full stupid, reacted with a tired cry about five seconds later. Even Mei looked worse for wear, her mobile tech workshop she wore on her back had several large dents and some of her babies she carried in her arms were scrap.

Everyone looked like hell.

When the class saw the heroes waiting for them, they made their displeasure known.

"What do you mean, three hours?!"

Mandalay looked slightly apologetic. "Sorry. That's the time it would've taken us."

"Oh good, a bunch of adults that felt like boasting about how much better they are," Himiko grumbled, wishing she had another set of knives to stab these bitches.

"That's so mean."

Aizawa sighed. "Everyone, go grab your things from the bus. Once you have your things put away, you can have dinner."

"Better hurry kittens, or else your food will be cold," Pixie-Bob teased, earning many loud grumbles from the class as they shuffled off.

Ochako glowered at the hero. "I hate her."

Himiko gently pushed her on. "Come on. I wanna eat."

"I bet I could still float something and throw it at her before I threw up."

Tsuyu gave a warning ribbit. "Can you not be holding me when you say that?"

"No throwing my girlfriend."

Ochako grumbled some more but kept walking. "Maybe we are making things into a bigger deal than they really are."

Himiko nodded. "Sure. Let's go with that." Tsuyu looked at her. "What? I can be responsible." More looking. "I'm too hungry and tired to care right now." Tsuyu accepted that.

"See, you were both worked up over nothing." Tsuyu was happy that there wasn't going to be some constant issue between themselves and the hero. This phantom rivalry the pair felt they had with the woman was just that, a phantom. There wasn't anything they needed to be worried—

Pixie-Bob smirked. "You know, I honestly thought it would take you all even longer to reach our campsite." Her eyes moved over the students, hungry and predatory. "But you guys didn't have as hard a time busting up my earth beasts as I thought you would. You all got me so," she licked her lips, "excited. Especially you four!" Pixie-Bob started to shimmy, like a cat about to pounce.

Izuku, Tenya, Shouto and Katsuki froze when it became obvious they were the prey she was looking so hungerly at.

Those that knew Pixie-Bob groaned at the antics about to happen. Those that didn't were about to have their world rocked.

Ochako looked at Izuku, then at the alarmingly excited woman. "Wha? What's happening right now?"

Pixie-Bob pounced. Excitement and want almost made her look cartoonish, just like it was one of those cartoons you keep in a mislabeled folder on your PC. "Were you able to act without hesitation because of your experience? All those life and death situations, you're eager and have the endurance to last!" The four got the sudden feeling they knew what the food under the glass of an all-you-can-eat buffet in America felt like. It was getting really hard to tell if she was even talking about heroics anymore. "I'm looking forward to where you'll be in three years!"

Aizawa pointed towards the headache. "Mandalay… what's up with her?"

Mandalay laughed nervously. "Well… she's a little desperate, since… she's at that age, after all."

"'At that age?'"

"You know… to take a mate and have some kittens."

Midnight was covering her face in complete and utter embarrassment. "Good god, woman. There's cradle robbing, and then there's this."

"KITTENS?!" was screeched, but it didn't sound like it came from anyone human.

…Oh fuck. 

At least Midnight hoped that since Pixie-Bob was fawning over a group of boys—that Izuku just happened to be in—things wouldn't get FUBAR'd.

Pixie-Bob smiled wantonly and licked her lips as her fascination with the four, then focused on one.

…Oh fuck.

Katsuki quickly made his escape to get away from the obvious desperation while Shouto grabbed his seat chart buddy and helped him hobble away. Leaving Izuku all by his lonesome.

And shirtless.

"You." Pixie-Bob pointed a clawed bean at Izuku.

"Me?" Which Izuku meant to say but it came out more like, "Meep?!"

"Hmmm, yes you." Izuku was getting strong Himiko vibes, and getting those kinds of vibes from anyone not Himiko was very confusing. "You were talking a lot about my Quirk weren't you? I could hear you all the way down below before you all ran off into the woods."

"I-I just happened to read about it i-is all," Izuku stuttered out. Why did that feel like the most right wrong thing I could have said?

"Oh?" Major, major Himiko vibes. "And where did you read that? Cause I can think of only one place I," she leaned forward so she was at eye level, "revealed so much about… myself."

Everyone in the whole fucking mountains heard Izuku gulp. And thanks to being shirtless, they saw that blush spread from his face, down his neck and just keep going.

Pixie-Bob squealed, and clapped her paws together. "I call dibs on this kitten! I have so many things I can show him in a couple of years! I'll groom him myself!"

I… need an adult?

She is an adult.

SOMEONE GET THIS COUGAR AWAY FROM THIS SWEET CHILD!

…

Ummm anyone else feel that?

KID INCOMING!

Ochako had felt her patience fraying at the ends when Pixie-Bob started fawning over her classmates. Izuku being a part of the group the woman had gushing over was annoying, but it wasn't like she was doing anything really bad. Right? Ochako's own mind didn't really have an answer.

Then she overheard Aizawa and Mandalay and something wretched itself out from between her lips when she heard the word 'kittens.'

Ochako might, might, have had some sympathy for the woman, there was something tragic about wanting so desperately to have a family after all, if not for the fact that the woman was casting a man-catching net that didn't seem to discriminate against anychoices.

Then, this thirty something year old blonde stopped looking at the group, and zeroed in on Izuku, and her fraying patience started sounding like rolls of high tension steel coils snapping.

Twang!

"Oh?" The sultry way Pixie-Bob spoke would have made anyone weak at the knees.

Ping!

"And where did you read that? Cause I can think of only one place I revealed so much about… myself." Pixie-Bob knew. She had used that interview and photoshoot like a fishing lure, desperate for a bite. She knew Izuku had seen it.

And Ochako knew it too.

Snap!

Twing!

He'd taken the bait and now Pixie-Bob was reeling in her catch with obvious glee. Because Izuku was quite the catch.

Sceeeeeech!

But there was one huge fucking problem with this. Izuku was her fucking catch!

Tsuyu, still on her back, gave an alarmed kero as Ochako stormed forward. Her classmates gave some startled shouts as she went on the warpath. Each step, a march towards fire, blood and mutilation. She was going to—

"B-but I-I have g-girlfriend and she m-might not like it if I'm spending my free time here getting p-private l-lessons after graduation," Izuku stuttered out. "S-she means a lot to me."

Ochako almost missed a step. Private lessons. She wasn't sure she had the words to describe the idea that Izuku might possibly be taking everything at face value. Or, maybe he was trying to slip away without causing a scene. But in any case, in the face of a charm offensive onslaught, Izuku had thought of her.

It was sweet.

Didn't really do anything to put out the fire burning in Ochako, but it shifted her priorities. Still steaming mad, Ochako didn't send Pixie-Bob into orbit. Instead she latched onto Izuku's hand and pulled him away.

"Cah' on Deku. We gotta' go git our stuff," Ochako tried to speak sweetly as she pulled him away. The look of terror in his eyes as he looked at her made it clear she wasn't doing the best job in the world. There was no hiding the rage.

Pixie-Bob pouted. "Damn it. All the cute ones keep getting stolen away."

…

Okay, Ochako wanted this bitch dead. "TOGAH! RIP 'ER APART!"

Himiko Toga, given the go ahead by one of the two people she would ever actually listen to, proceeded to unleash a four letter serenade with numerous examples of just how fucking old and decrepit Pixie-Bob was.

She kept going even as she was gagged and bound by Aizawa, and Mandalay worked desperately to restrain Pixie-Bob from unleashing a rock tsunami on the unhinged teen.

Midnight ushered the class on, trying not to make it obvious she was cheering on her charge.

No one seemed to notice the young boy watching the scene. Looking at the class with a frown, but at the pair of Izuku and Ochako, with great distaste.

Ochako was still holding on to Izuku's hand as they, along with the rest of the class, arrived at their bus to unload their stuff. They were shocked to find however that it wasn't just their bus parked. 1-B's bus was now parked next to theirs, with the class shuffling off, carrying their luggage.

"What happened to you guys?" And similar questions were immediately asked as both classes got good looks at each other. And while 1-A was definitely roughed up and exhausted, it was pretty clear that 1-B hadn't had a walk in the park either.

"We couldn't get away. Running, hiding, trying to fight. Nothing worked."

"They knew, they always knew where we were."

"We're gonna die up here."

Itsuka helped lead some of the traumatized students on. "We were told we had to make it through the forest. We thought if we split up, it'd be harder for them to find us, but," Itsuka winced, "that didn't work. Even when Tokage split herself up, they found her right away."

1-A all shared looks. "Who?"

"Tiger and Ragdoll. They hounded us for hours. They said as long as one person made it, then it would count for the whole class, but… they kept us herded together no matter what." Itsuka sighed. "And if we tried to fight, well," she motioned to a few of her classmates with some shiners, "he just straight up kicked our asses."

"Tiger and Ragdoll are the other two members of the team. Their…" Izuku paused to make sure he could keep going. Ochako seemed fine, but after seeing her so scarily pissed off a few minutes ago, he wasn't about to take any unnecessary risks. Fortunately, it seemed like he was in the clear, as she was looking at him to continue like the rest of the class. "Quirks are Pliabody and Search."

"'Search?'" 1-B groaned.

Izuku went on ahead, "Tiger can bend and flatten his body and Ragdoll can, um… find and monitor up to a hundred people for miles."

There was a brief pause as 1-B digested this, then they let out a collective groan.

"We never stood a chance!"

Itsuka grumbled, "That explains why that big guy moved like that."

"Ha ha ha ha!" The laugh got everyone to groan. "Look, those 1-A losers are only just getting here!" Neito laughed and pointed while 1-A decided to just ignore him and get their stuff off the bus.

"Oh good. He's got enough energy to still be a douche," Mina grumbled.

"Okay, can I stab him?" Himiko asked hopefully.

"Aren't you stabbed out?" Ochako asked.

"There's a big difference between stabbing rocks and stabbing people."

"Also, didn't you ruin your knives?"

Himiko pouted. "My poor babies."

Izuku slunk behind Ochako as they passed the loud boy. "Come on. Let's not get in trouble on our first day here."

Himiko glowered while Ochako gave Neito a hard look. Tsuyu was also keeping an eye on him.

Izuku laughed nervously. "Let's not, alright? It's fine. We're all tired and just want to eat." He made a point not to look at the other student as he pulled Ochako along.

Neito crossed his arms and huffed, but at the very least, it seemed like the warning to not take any direct shots at Izuku had stuck.

"THANKS FOR THE FOOD!"

The classes cried out in joy as they scarfed down the meal the Wild Wild Pussycats had prepared for them. The horrors of the forest now buried under layers of rice, meat and whatever wonderful was cooking in the cafe's clay pots.

Pixie-Bob laughed nervously as she carried out more trays of food that was almost instantly scarfed down as students from both classes dug in. "Man, it looks like you guys were so hungry that you're acting weird." She went ahead and picked up some cleaned off plates to take back to the kitchen. "Anyway, today's the only day we'll be doing stuff for you, so eat as much as you can."

Her warning though was drowned out by the ravenous chow down in the room.

Himiko, plate held up to her lips, wolfed down the last of the food with the grace and class one would expect from her.

"Don't eat the plate, kero."

Himiko just rolled her good eye.

"Man Tsuyu, you let that mouth near you, huh?" Ochako teased while she also, in a less than ladylike fashion, scarfed down her bowl of rice. "Dangerous."

…

Ochako glanced over the rim of her bowl to see three sets of eyes on her. "Um…" Oh right, they know where Toga's mouth has been with me… "Okay, my joke's a flop, let's change the subject."

"Can we talk about how you let your Kansai slip out today?" Himiko teased while Ochako promptly wished she could fall into her bowl of rice and disappear.

"Nooooo."

"I always wondered why your parents have an accent but you don't," Izuku observed.

"I grew up in Kansai, but we moved when I was in late elementary. Grew out of it mostly. This is actually the first time I've let it slip out… I was a little…really stressed out."

Izuku tilted his head. "Let it? Why hide it?"

"Stereotype stuff mostly." Ochako sighed and kept going but let her natural twang out that she only really used when she was talking to her parents. "If people know I'ma from the country, tey might think I'm just some hick 'rom the sticks."

"…Holy chocolate milk Ochako, your accent is adorable."

Ochako flushed while Himiko and Tsuyu agreed to never bring up that milk line. Ever.

One table over, Hitoshi pointed at Ochako, and suddenly ordered. "Say sugar."

Caught off guard, and still in full country mode, Ochako did it. "Sugah?"

Izuku, Himiko and Tsuyu visibly vibrated.

"You're welcome," was all he said before going back to his meal.

"Oh wow," Mei gave a whistle while she pulled her goggles over her eyes. "Look at these readings. Heart rates elevated. Theta waves going wild. Temperature in the chest is rising and blood flow—"

"DO YOU HAVE ME BUGGED?!" Izuku began to frantically look himself over, trying to see what and where Mei had put her babies on him.

Mei smirked as she pulled her goggles back up. "Oh, I always got my eye on you."

"Here, I'll take those and get everyone some refills," Izuku offered while picking up his plate. Ochako picked up hers and while Izuku had Tsuyu's, she grabbed Himiko's.

"I'll give you a hand, Deku."

"I mean, you don't have to. I can carry everything." Which was true, Psychokinesis was extremely useful that way.

Ochako just waved him off then smiled up at him. "Yeah sure, but this way I can walk with you."

"O-oh. Okay." Izuku was not about to turn down a chance to walk with his girlfriend anywhere. Even if it was just over to refill some plates with food.

Himiko leaned back and rubbed her tummy. "Hmm, yeah, some thirds sounds great. I just hope I have room for dessert later."

"I'll feed you later tonight." Came the unplanned triple reply from Izuku, Ochako and Tsuyu. All three blinked and looked at each other before snickering. Himiko was left with a huge blush and giddy nervous shimmy of her shoulders.

"…Oh dear god, we have to deal with all four of them." Kyouka let her head hit the table. "Nooooo."

"You have no idea how good you have it," Hitoshi said between mouthfuls. "I have to hang out with them since we're such good friends. You should see how they flirt when they don't have to worry about school rules."

Kyouka paled while Katsuki looked like he wanted to swallow his chopsticks. "You poor bastard."

Plates in hand, Izuku and Ochako made their way up to the buffet table to get their refills. Mandalay smiled at the pair, noting how Ochako intentionally kept her shoulder up against Izuku. Small, delicate, intimate touches between the two. It was sweet. "Ready for thirds?"

"Yes, please," both answered with huge smiles. As their plates were filled, Izuku noticed that Mandalay wasn't working the table alone. Behind it, mostly hidden behind the mountain of food, was a little boy, wearing a red hat with two gold horns.

"Oh, well hello there," Izuku leaned over to get on the boy's eye level, giving him a big smile. "I think I saw you when our bus stopped earlier today."

Ochako leaned over Izuku's shoulder, showing off more casual intimacy. "Oh yeah. Hi there."

The boy's eye twitched.

"Oh, this is Kouta," Mandalay began, though she had a slightly reserved note to her voice that neither Izuku or Ochako caught onto. "He's… my sister's son who's living with us."

Izuku reached out his hand towards the boy. "It's nice to meet you. My name's Midoriya Izuku, from 1-A."

"And I'm Uraraka Ochako," Ochako continued. "I guess we'll be getting to know each other this wee—"

SPLASH!

Kouta raised his hands, and sprayed jets of water into both their faces, drenching them until they were soaked to the bone. Both Izuku and Ochako were too stunned to say or do anything but stare dumbly as they tried to process what had happened. The room had a few different reactions. Some were also stunned into silence, while a few others burst into full on laughing fits. The teachers were startled while the various members of the Wild, Wild Pussycats were shocked, but also noticeably sad.

"K-Kouta!" Mandalay gasped out. She seemed to be extremely careful with how she reacted.

Kouta didn't seem to care, as he looked at Izuku and Ochako with an alarming amount of open anger and disgust. "You all, you're the worst. It's bad enough you all want to be stupid show-offs, calling yourselves heroes when all you're doing is bragging about how good your Quirks are to make yourselves seem important. But you two," Kouta eyed the pair, "you're disgusting. Selfish and stupid. Pretending you can be happy together when all you're doing is just making it so people will be left behind while you're off killing and getting killed."

Kouta stormed off after that, leaving a heavily shocked Izuku and Ochako, not sure what to say or do.

After the unplanned shower, Mandalay quickly pulled Izuku and Ochako aside so she could get them some towels to dry themselves off, and to apologize profusely for Kouta's actions. Ochako, still patting herself down with the towels brought in by Pixie-Bob, let her know it was alright. "It's just water. He saved us a little time not having to wash off before we got to soak in those hot springs we heard about."

Mandalay bowed deeply. "Thank you for being so understanding."

Giving his hair a tussle, Izuku let the towel hang around his neck. "Did we… do something to upset him?" Izuku frowned, recalling the interaction. "It seemed like he really didn't like us."

Ochako agreed. "He didn't seem to have a high opinion on heroes, but…I get the feeling Deku and I must have done something to really get under his skin."

"It's… kinda weird for a kid his age to talk about things like that. Killing and being killed. When I was his age I was idolizing heroes."

"When you were his age?" Ochako said with a small amount of levity to try and get Izuku to smile. They were both a little shaken by the vitriol, but she liked it more when he was smiling.

Mandalay and Pixie-Bob shared a brief look before the leader of the group sighed sadly. "It's true. Kouta doesn't view being a hero in a positive light. He's not alone in that of course. There are a lot of people in the world that have less than admiring views on people like us… but… maybe if he had been raised normally, had a normal life… maybe he would've admired heroes, too."

"A normal life?" Izuku questioned.

Pixie-Bob nodded sadly. "You see, Mandalay's sister— Kouta's mother, was a hero. His father was one too. They were Water Hose, a husband and wife team…" Mandalay picked up a picture frame from her desk to show the pair. In the picture were two heroes, in bright red vests and visored masks, with a younger Kouta riding on his father's shoulders. "But two years ago, while defending a village from a vicious villain… they were killed."

Izuku and Ochako froze, eyes wide. Izuku reached out to take Ochako's hand, giving her support while they continued to listen. Ochako squeezed it, sharing that support with him.

Mandalay put the frame back on her desk, her eyes lingering on the smiling face of her sister for a few moments longer. "The way the news covered it, how everyone that knew them talked about it…they all said the same thing, one way or another. That they were heroic until the end. That their bravery saved lives and their sacrifice was… honorable and to be respected." Some bitterness slipped into her words. "They weren't wrong, but… those kinds of words don't bring a shred of comfort to a child who was only just learning about the world around him. All the praise given to a fallen hero didn't matter. All he knew was that his parents were gone."

"A world all around him, saying what they did was wonderful, but Kouta was left feeling like he was left behind." Pixie-Bob put a hand on Mandalay's shoulder. "That'd turn anyone bitter."

"B-but you're his family too." Izuku would hope that that would matter.

Mandalay looked down. "I'm his aunt, and I'm also a hero. I'm… the thing he hates. He doesn't… like any of us. We try to reach out to him, but… even after taking him in, he doesn't treat us like family. For a while, I was terrified he would run away. I had Ragdoll keeping tabs on him all the time, but he never did. Though I think… that was because he didn't feel like he had anywhere else to go. I don't think he thinks there's a place out there for him. Too many heroes. Too many people he can't understand. Too many people he can't stand."

Mandalay took a moment and looked at the pair. "Even still, he's never acted out like this. This was… different."

Pixie-Bob looked over at Izuku and Ochako for a few seconds. "Maybe it's because the two are dating."

Both looked startled by that while Mandalay thought it over. She nodded a little after that, seeming to see Pixie-Bob's logic.

"Because we're a couple?" Izuku asked, not sure how that could factor into anything.

"You're working to be heroes, and you're together. For Kouta… that could be the ultimate sign of selfishness. You've got each other now, but if something happens to you… then…"

Ochako winced hard and Izuku suddenly felt dizzy. They were a team, in more ways than one now. They had plans. They wanted to do great things together. But what would they leave behind if they died together?

Who would they leave behind?

Izuku and Ochako exited the office, both with forlorn and thoughtful expressions. Mandalay followed after them. "Wait. before you go. I appreciate that you're both concerned for Kouta and for the whole situation. It really shows the kind of people you both are. But," she offered both a comforting smile, "don't let this bother you too much. And don't let hearing about my sister and her husband make you question the choices you're both making now. You're young and have your whole future ahead of you. There's no need to get caught up in what-ifs." Her smile then turned just a tad scary. "Plus, with everything Eraser Head has planned for you all, if you're caught up in this, you're not going to survive."

With that warning of their impending doom, the pair went on their way. Though, the story they had learned still weighed heavily on them. Both of them, hands gripped tightly, slowly walked down the hall. They were only vaguely aware that the noises from the cafe were no longer present, so it would seem that dinner was over. Just as well, neither had much of an appetite now. So instead of having anywhere to go, they just drifted.

Izuku muttered to himself, his thoughts slipping out of his head and out into the real world. "Nana and now Kouta, huh…" Ochako jerked after hearing that. It didn't take much to guess what was going through his head, since she was having similar thoughts in herself. Izuku, feeling her stop and seeing her face, winced and looked away. "Sorry, I–"

"Ah, Midoriya, Uraraka. I see you've both been able to dry off." Tenya gave the pair a stiff wave as he hurried up to them. "Your timing is impeccable. We are to move to the site's hot springs to clean ourselves off and unwind before turning… in…" He slowed as he got a good look at them. "Has something happened?"

"Oh, um, no it's… nothing to worry about." Izuku stumbled through a lame deflect while Ochako did her best to not look directly at Tenya.

The taller boy glanced between the two before crossing his arms. "Ah. I'm assuming that whatever kept you two after the incident with Kouta was not a pleasant conversation, then. Perhaps you both heard something that hits close to home?" That got startled looks from the pair while Tenya adjusted his glasses. "I am the class representative for a reason. And in the top of our class. I'm quite smart." He gave them both a reassuring smile. "Just ask Toga. It was why she was so upset with me." Despite the mood, that last bit brought some soft chuckles. "Plus, I'm your friend."

Izuku scratched at his neck. "Sorry, we don't mean to worry you. We'll be fine before we're at the baths. Don't want to distract anyone. And yeah… we learned why Kouta doesn't seem to like us very much. He… has his reasons." Ochako nodded.

"Reasons that clearly affected you both." Tenya eyed the pair, noting how tightly they were holding each other's hands, like they were holding onto each other because they were afraid something was going to push them apart. "I won't pry into the Wild Wild Pussycats' and Kouta's personal business but, was whatever you found out something that might be making you question your desire to form a team post graduation?" Tenya didn't need to hear them say anything to confirm his suspicions. "I see. So you both had some cold water thrown on you in more ways than one. Was it your plans for your agency, or just you two being together while training to be heroes and beyond?"

"Both," Ochao answered. "We… sorta just got a look at what a worst case scenario for us could end up being."

Tenya frowned deeply, looked down the hall where they had come from, then back at them. "Oh… I see. I'm… ah." Tenya didn't have the story, but given what he knew about the couple in front of him, he could fill in the blanks for the important parts.

Izuku gave Ochako's hand a little squeeze. "Come on Ochako. I think a dip in a hot spring will help make us feel better. And remember what Mandalay said, we have more pressing issues coming our way tomorrow."

Ochako hissed. "Yeaaah… I get the feeling tomorrow is not going to be fun."

"Plus… it's not like this changes anything we want to do, right?" Izuku asked. His big green eyes searching Ochako's.

Ochako smiled back. "No. It doesn't."

Tenya had to admit, Izuku and Ochako's commitment to their dream was admirable and a little inspiring. But even as they reaffirmed their stance with each other, he could see their mood was still heavy. There was no denying that whatever they had learned had shaken them. It was, as Ochako had put it, a glimpse at a worst possible scenario for them. "…Would you two like to speak with my parents?"

When Izuku and Ochako both had to do a double take, it made it pretty clear that that question was not something they expected to hear. "Your… parents?"

Tenya nodded. "Yes. You just had a talk that presented you with a worst case scenario. Well… I can offer you a chance to have one with a best case scenario."

Both Izuku and Ochako blinked before it started to hit them exactly what Tenya could mean, making them both smile excitedly at the prospect.

"My parents became heroes, married, had my brother, who they raised while they ran their hero agency, up until they retired and he took over. Then after everything, they had me as well. I'm sure they would be more than happy to give the two of you advice on how to form an agency, run it as heroes while also balancing your work and personal lives. They'd also be able to help you avoid the pitfalls of working together as husband and wife and would have endless pointers on how you would want to make sure your children are raised, and how to be responsible parents and responsible heroes."

And just like that, those excited faces were now glowing red and both teens were left as stuttering messes. "Ch-ch-ch-children?!"

"Hu-hu-hu-sband and wife?!"

Tenya looked between the two. "Oh? I assumed that was part of your plan. Given you both have been involved in open discussions of your sexual relationship, it made sense that you both planned on starting a family as soon as—"

"No one's having sex!" Ochako shrieked in complete and utter horror.

"Oh? Given your current situation with Toga and Tsu—"

Izuku made a big T with his hands. "That is… those are two very completely different conversations. We," Izuku motioned to himself and Ochako, "are not at that stage of our relationship yet. Marriage and… and having kids… that is… so, so far away from anything we've even thought about."

Tenya adjusted his glasses. "I see. I apologize then. Given some of our recent conversations, I had assumed that such topics had already been broached." Izuku really wished he couldn't see how Tenya could come up with such an idea, but given they were part of something with Himiko, who was going to make things physical, and after the whole thing with Mei, it made sense that Tenya might think things had already happened. "But hearing that you two don't want to engage in such activities makes my job as your class representative much easier, so thank you."

Izuku coughed. "Um… just to be clear… Agreeing to be responsible and, um… not wanting something are… two separate things." Ochako chirped.

"Setting aside the, um… misunderstanding, once our training camp has come to an end I would be happy to invite you both over."

All in all, Izuku and Ochako were happy to accept the opportunity.

The girls' changing room used to be a safe place. Now though, that wasn't the case anymore. Not after it became public that 1-A had two new couples. And since this was the first time they were all alone together, now she, Himiko and Tsuyu had to deal with a barrage of questions from Mina and Tooru. At least Momo and Kyouka were kind enough not to give them the business as they got ready for their hot spring soak.

Though neither were coming to their defense either. They seemed content to let Mina and Tooru do all the heavy lifting, get the repercussions, and make off with all the juicy gossip.

Ochako decided that there was going to have to be a price paid for that.

Mei, who was changing with them, didn't seem to care at all about what was going on.

"Come on, I wanna hear how things are going. I would have expected you to be a little different after getting together," Mina pestered, eyes dazzling as she pressed into Ochako's personal space, "but you're both acting all normal. You make doe eyes, yeah, but where are the huge displays of love and affection?"

"Deku expresses his love a lot, thank you very much," Ochako defended, but before Mina could latch onto that she kept on, "But we're trying to become heroes. We respect that and make sure we're not doing anything to get in the way of that."

"…Boring." Mina said, sounding strangely upset. "I wanna see some romance and more of that flirting you were doing back on the island."

Ochako pointed at Himiko. "Hello, do you not see Toga?"

"Yeah, but she doesn't count. She was already a horny succubus since day one. Flirting for her is like breathing."

A few heads turned to see if Himiko would dispute this, but the class's vampire just shrugged. "I is what I is."

"That's 'I am what I am', Toga," Momo interjected.

"Why are you on my case?" Ochako objected. "Why not pester Tsu and Toga? They're a couple too."

"Kero!" Came Tsuyu's warning ribbit, letting Ochako know she better not be giving Mina any ideas.

"Oh, don't worry, Hagakure's all over those two."

"Yup! Soon I'll know all their juicy secrets." Tooru gave a peace sign, though without her gloves, no one could tell.

Tsuyu's head hit the wall while Himiko just ignored the gossiping pair as she casually wrapped herself up in her towel, casually waiting for Tsuyu and Ochako to finish, which wasn't taking very long as both girls were eager to escape and find some safety in the hotspring.

Once they were ready, Himiko strolled over to them and decided that she was going to ensure she and her girlfriends had a relaxing soak. "You all wanna dive into our personal business but no one wants to point out that Kyouka over there is trying her hardest to make sure no one sees those new metal studs before she wraps herself up in her towel," Himiko causally pointed out while she pushed Tsuyu and Ochako toward the changing room exit. Though now they weren't suddenly in any hurry to leave.

Kyouka yanked her towel around her body and closed it tight. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, but not a sound came out. Most of the girls were looking at her with various scandalized, shocked expressions as it hit them all exactly what Himiko had pointed out, except for Momo, who was apparently the only one that didn't realize what Himiko had meant even after Kyouka's failed attempt to cover herself to hide the evidence.

"Oh, did you get new earrings?" Momo leaned around Kyouka, looking at her ear's upper ridge, but frowned when she didn't notice anything. She knew she couldn't get anything in her lobes because of her Quirk, so it was the only spot she could think to look… Unless… She gasped. "You didn't get the tongue stud you talked about that one time, did you?! Oh my, that's so naughty and ruffian."

Himiko cackled while Kyouka shot her a look. "Why?!"

"Because now, everyone is gonna wanna talk to you, and not us." Himiko motioned to the trio. Ochako and Tsuyu would be grateful if they weren't very distracted.

Momo turned to look at her friends and saw she was clearly missing something. Himiko pointed down. "Look lower."

Momo tilted her head. "Lower? But that would put the piercing under… her… towel." Momo gulped loudly and shakily asked, "B-belly button?"

Kyouka shook her head, and moved her arm so that it was going across her chest. Momo's eyes bulged and she put the back of her hand against her forehead, looking like she was about to faint like the ladies in those old, old, old timey black and white films.

While the girls helped make sure she didn't land on her head, Mina gave a whistle and smirked at Kyouka. "So when did this happen?"

Kyouka, face flushed, was tapping her jacks together. "My… mom said that since I passed my term final, I could get some new piercings."

Mina pointed. "And you went with those?"

"…They're rock 'n' roll…"

"But, why get those if you're then going to go through the whole act of trying to hide them? We all use the same locker room," Ochako asked.

Kyouka looked away, looking completely embarrassed. "I… forgot."

"You forgot what?"

"…That I share a locker room with you guys." Kyouka looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

Mina and Tooru just started cackling while Tsuyu wondered to herself if all those loud noises Kyouka made from her ear jacks, might mean their class had three brain damaged members. Ochako was trying really hard not to laugh, and was failing miserably while Himiko had a huge grin on her face like she just figured something out.

Like Lucifer slithering down to whisper things to Eve, Himiko leaned down next to Momo. "Oh wow. She got those because she passed her exam. Momo, that means you helped her get them."

There was teasing, and then there was that. Ochako and Tsuyu pulled Himiko out of the room, only pausing as Momo proceeded to make a noise no woman from high society should ever be heard making, followed by Kyouka's embarrassed wail as Himiko's words hit her in the face.

At the very least, while unspoken, the girls all agreed that this new bit of info was never to reach a single boy in their class.

After soaking in the hot springs, which Izuku felt had been a balm for every sore muscle and weary soul in the class, everyone soon found their beds. Some of the last conversations before Izuku fell asleep was hearing his classmates wondering what tomorrow was going to be like.

"What do you all think Aizawa-sensei has planned for us?" Mashirao asked, his tail lazily thumping on the floor as he slipped into the covers.

"l'enfer," Yuuga answered with a shiver. No one really had an argument against that, once someone translated it.

But neither Izuku or any of his classmates were asleep for very long.

Izuku only became aware that something was up, when he felt a hand gently shake him awake. Groggy and blurry eyed, Izuku chose to ignore the annoying touch that was trying to rouse him.

"Deku," came a hushed call. "Wake up."

Izuku swatted at the person. "Go away."

"…Did you just swat me?"

Suddenly feeling like he was in danger, Izuku sat up and worked to figure out what was going on. It took some blinking and some eye rubbing, before the blur kneeling next to him came into focus. "Ochako?"

Ochako put a finger to her lips. "Shhh."

Ochako's waking me up and telling me to be quiet… The hamster was struggling to get the wheel running as Izuku repeated that a couple times before it really set in. Ochako is… Wait, wait is this… is she sneaking us out so we can have a romantic rendezvous?! Does she want to make out?! Oh but I don't have any gum, what if my breath—

"Wow, Midoriya looks as red as your hair," Minoru pointed out in a hushed whisper. Though the rest of the room heard him, and chuckled softly.

"Eh?" Izuku suddenly realized he wasn't the only one awake. In fact, it looked like the girls were waking everyone up.

Ochako gave Izuku a pat on the head. "Another time, Deku." She smiled, that knowing smile, letting him know she knew exactly where his mind had gone.

"What's going on?"

"We," Ochako motioned to the girls, which Izuku was now realizing was missing one Himiko Toga, "have been sent to fetch all of you. For some 'classic summer camp fun.'"

Tenya looked at his watch. "It is very late. What possible fun could we have?" He also noticed Himiko was missing now too. "…Let me rephrase, what possible fun could Toga think we could have?"

Mina shrugged. "No idea. But she told us where to meet and to make sure we didn't wake any teachers."

Tenya looked at Momo, who shrugged. "While this is obviously breaking some rules, Toga seems to want to have a class oriented bonding session. Weighing the pros and cons, I think taking part would be in our best interest."

"Yeah, Toga wanting to do anything involving school is kinda rare. So if she wants to fully embrace the summer camp thing with some fun, I say we take her up on the offer," Kyouka added.

"Plus, if we refused, I think someone would get stabbed, kero."

Denki yawned. "And you're sure she wants the whole class, not just Midoriya?"

"She made it clear this was a class event."

Tenya nodded. "Very well, I suppose there isn't any harm in seeing what she wants."

Following Himiko's directions led the class into the woods. Not far enough that they would get lost, but deep enough that the campfire that was lit couldn't be seen. Mei smiled at them as they all arrived. The class looked at her, and the strange cylinder she was holding, then the fire.

"Please don't burn down the forest."

Mei huffed in offense.

There were several logs around the fire, so plenty of spots for the class to sit and wait for whatever it was Himiko had planned.

"And she didn't give you guys a hint?" Izuku asked Ochako and Tsuyu. Both just shook their heads. While they were a hundred percent sure this was part of her plan to help keep Izuku's mind off the events at the mall, they had no idea what Himiko actually had up her sleeve.

At least they didn't have to wait long. A short while after everyone was sitting around the fire, from out of the darkness, Himiko sauntered into the light, holding something behind her back and wearing a huge smile. Everyone looked at the smile, and began to seriously consider getting up and going back to bed.

"Welp, whatever you got planned, means we're gonna get in trouble," Hitoshi said with certainty.

"Oh come on, would I bring you all out here—"

"Yes," came the universal reply before she even finished.

"You all know me so well," Himiko said, her smile never wavering. "So. I figure since this might be the last night where any of us have the energy to do anything fun, since Aizawa and those cat bit— heroes clearly have some shit planned for us… I thought we'd use our last free night to have some classic summer camp fun."

Izuku wasn't sure he liked the glint in Himiko's good eye. "And what's classic summer camp fun?"

From behind her back, Himiko pulled out a convenience store plastic bag that was stretched from whatever she had inside. With a smirk that only meant trouble, she reached in and pulled out a small glass bottle filled with a clear amber liquid and tossed it to a startled Izuku. "The best kind of fun."

"Rye-loth brand… Toga, this is whiskey?!"

Tenya was up in a flash, arms a blur as he chopped in Himiko's direction. "Absolutely not. We will not be getting drunk the night before our training."

Mina picked up the bottle from Izuku's hands. "With twenty three of us, yeah, no one's getting drunk on this."

"Look, we're building bonds and growing close. Only together will we survive whatever Aizawa has planned for us," Himiko started her stirring speech, "and what builds friendships and bonds more than being naughty?"

That got a few chuckles.

"How'd you even come up with this idea?" Ochako asked while she eyed the bottle.

"From the old American horror movies I watch."

Tsuyu tapped her chin. "The ones where the serial killer kills all the kids at summer camp?"

"Yup."

"So, Aizawa-sensei then."

…

Kyouka snorted while Denki made a grab for the bottle, but Momo ended up grabbing it. "A small sip around a campfire isn't going to hurt us. I've been to tastings with my mother and father before, and the amount of alcohol I consumed was less than this. While it's unorthodox, I think we should encourage Toga's attempts at team building and forming bonds."

Tenya could tell he wasn't going to win this one. "We will require cups and ice."

Himiko pointed to Momo and Shouto. Soon everyone had small red plastic cups filled with ice and their pour of the bottle. Raising her cup, Himiko cheered, "Kanpai!"

The rest of the class answered back, some clicking their cups together before drinking. One might find it very interesting to see all the different reactions by the class as they tasted the whiskey. Some clearly had no experience and coughed at their now on fire throats and tongues. Some took their first sip in stride, their eyes only watering a little. It was obvious though, who in the class hadexperience with adult spirits.

"Okay, Toga makes sense, I bet she stole hootch on those lonely cold nights to keep warm. Yaoyorozu too, since she's rich so she's probably sipped on wine. Midoriya, Uraraka, we know they went to that fancy dinner. But really? You two?!" Tooru pointed accusingly at the two other people that didn't seem to have any issue drinking the whiskey.

Minoru and Mei.

Minoru smirked behind his cup. "The benefits of having a really tall friend."

"Eh?"

"While pretty much everyone at my old school sucked, I was friends with someone. She had a Quirk that made her crazy tall. So, every once in a while, she'd go into convenience stores and could walk out with something and not have to show an ID."

Hanta shook his head in disbelief. "Wait, hold on. You were friends with a girl?!"

"I don't believe you," Mina said while she sipped and winced at her drink.

"Wait, how tall do you have to be to not get carded?"

"Really tall," Minoru answered Izuku, then turned to Hanta. "And for your information, we still are friends. We don't hang out like we used to, but only because she moved to be closer to Shiketsu High School. We still talk though, and we're competing to see who makes it big first." He paused and pulled a sticky ball off his head and aimed it at Denki. "Make a short joke, I dare you."

"Okay, Mineta's imaginary tall girl best friend aside," Minoru gave an offended cry but Mina ignored him, "I wanna hear how someone from the support classes apparently can handle her hooch like a pro."

"Oh, that's simple." For several reasons, Izuku winced, because he knew whatever the answer was, was not going to be simple. "I'm helping with U.A.'s still."

I hate being right.

"U.A.'s… what?" asked some dumbfounded classmates.

"Third years take part in a secret competition with the other schools across the country to see who can make the best still produced moonshine. Thanks to me already working on third year projects," Mei motioned to Izuku, "I was asked to help build this year's baby. And since I'm helping build it, I get to taste the product."

Kyouka glanced down at her cup, seeing if she hadn't somehow drunk way more than she thought. "Wait… You're serious."

"Yup. It's a tradition that dates back decades. Apparently some support students from Ketsubutsu Academy and Seiai Academy got into an argument and it spiraled from there. Soon all the hero schools that have support departments got involved and now it's a yearly competition."

Tenya had his glasses off as he cleaned them to calm down. "The schools can't be part of something like this, right?"

"Oh no, they aren't a part at all. And if they catch you, you're in soooo much trouble. But that's part of the challenge. Since out in the real world, inventors have to get around silly health and safety laws, this helps us train for that."

…

…

…

"I'm sorry, silly what and what laws?" Izuku asked while noticeably pale.

"Oh, don't worry, there's a saying in the support world. It's not a nation's laws that keep heroes safe, it's their mechanic's pride."

"Back to the important shit," Katsuki cut in, ignoring Izuku complaining that his health and safety was important. And the resounding way Ochako, Himiko and Tsuyu all got on his case. "U.A. wins this shit, right?"

Mei made a face. "Seiai Academy won last year."

Katsuki snarled. "How the fuck do a bunch of rich girls beat you?" Momo scoffed in offense.

Shouto frowned. "Why are you suddenly upset by this?"

"Because U.A. shouldn't be losing at anything!"

"We lost because they had Jesus," Mei said without really thinking she needed to explain.

…

"I'm sorry, what?"

"So they had a student that had a Quirk that let them turn water into wine. So they made her part of the still and everyone got super wine drunk and they won."

Katsuki exploded. "That's fucking cheating!"

"Oh my god, you're actually invested in this."

"Yeah, everyone was waaaay too drunk to care at the time. Fortunately, everyone kinda agreed that going forward, while Quirks can be used to make parts of the still, Quirks can't be used to make the actual alcohol," Mei explained.

Izuku sighed. "Drat, then I guess the support class can't have Yaoyorozu help them this year."

Heads turned, but none as fast as Momo herself. "Me? Midoriya, I can't make moonshine."

"But you make chemicals with your Quirk, right? Moonshine is just unaged whiskey, that's just ethanol and water. So, shouldn't your Quirk be able to make that?"

Suddenly, everyone was very interested in this conversation. Momo sat for a few moments, looking like she was running some numbers, or molecular formulas, in her head. There was a lot of humming and deep creases in her brow before she made a cup, held it in one hand, and from her fingertips, there was some sparkling, then a clear liquid dripped from the tips.

"No freaking way."

Mei took the cup and gave it a once over before giving it a sip. "Well… it's one step up from being jet fuel," she said after a cough, "but work on your ratios and you just might get it. You might try artificial flavors, those are just enzymes, but your best bet would be fruit juice to cut it with."

Kyouka put her cup down and moved up to the pair. "Can I try it?"

Mei moved the cup towards Kyouka. Momo lifted up her hand towards her and Kyouka went, nom! Wrapping her lips around Momo's two fingers on instinct. It took both girls a second to realize that maybe the whiskey had dulled their senses a bit before Kyouka shrieked, flailed and fell over.

Ochako snorted. "Papa says when you get a chance at the tap, jump at it." The class erupted into laughs.

While 1-A didn't stay long at the fire, the sky was clear, the stars were out and the drinks were cool. So for the moment, they all enjoyed their little slice of peace, before the dawn of a new stressful day.