41

Chapter Text

Tiger had not been joking when he said their training would be hell. Class A and B were woken up at four in the morning and dragged to the dining hall, where Ragdoll laughed loudly. "Alright, you kittens, we spoiled you with dinner last night, but that was it. You have until six to eat and get ready for your training."

The classes groaned as their teachers walked off. The class reps for A and B were quick to step up and start delegating and organizing the forty students so they could all be ready on time. Class A got to work on making breakfast for everyone as Class B went and got ready.

Once they were done cooking, both classes ate together, and A went to get ready while B cleaned up. All forty students made it outside just before six and found their teachers waiting for them.

As they walked, Vlad huffed and said. "As I'm sure many of you have realized, we chose this place for the vast amount of area to work with and the seclusion. We also picked it because the Pussycats were here, and their quirks give us an advantage when it comes to giving forty students specialized training."

The classes balked at the clearing where Pixie-Bob was crouched, reshaping the earth on a massive scale. As the ground settled, Mandalay appeared and smiled. "Hello, everyone. We'll be calling one of our names then we'll list some students. Those students will follow the teacher, and they'll get you started on your quirk training. Good luck, and don't forget to give it a plus ultra kinda attitude."

The forty students gave a half-hearted cheer before getting divided up and sent to start their training. Izuku groaned as he stood alone and was told to produce gas at a slow but constant rate until he was out. His training was mainly focused on increasing how much gas he could make overall. Tiger told him that was only the first part. The second part was to keep as much of the gas as he could around him. Once he was out of gas, his training would switch to manipulating the gas he made to increase his control with it. Izuku sighed as he started making gas. "My skins gonna be so dry by the end of the day."

Flashes of light caught Izuku's attention, and he looked over to see Yuga firing his laser into the air before quickly running off to the toilet. Another flash made him look in a different direction, where he saw his girlfriend firing a laser into the ground. "Makes sense. Aoyama's lasers tend to dissipate after a bit, but I don't think I've seen Toru's do that. Do lasers usually dissipate, or is Aoyama's quirk, not a true laser? I don't know enough but lasers to say for sure maybe I should-"

A clump of dirt pelted Izuku in the back of the head, and he looked back to see Pixie-Bob frowning. "Focus. Don't think just because you're husband material, I'll let you slack off. Back to training."

Izuku blushed a bit and apologized before getting back to his training and trying not to think about how Toru and Aoyama's lasers acted differently or how much stronger Toru's lasers had gotten. Idly he wondered if it meant she was tapping into more of One for All.

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"Yeah, so you're making your own dinner. Have fun; we're gonna go eat our own dinner." Pixie-Bob said as she and the other pros walked off, leaving classes A and B with an outdoor kitchen and a bunch of ingredients.

Everyone turned to their class reps, who sighed and gathered together to figure out what to make. After a bit of debating, they decided on curry because it's simple, and everyone was too tired to get complicated with their food.

Toru looked over as she brought a pot of water to a boil. Her boyfriend was frowning as he watched Kota walk off with a slight scowl on his face. "You ok, Izu?"

Izuku walked over to her as he gave a small smile. "Yeah... Just curious about him, I guess. I've seen a few kids like him at the orphanage. Something happened to him, and he's still suffering. I just... I don't know what could have happened to make him so angry at hero students."

Toru hummed before grabbing his shoulder gently and kissing his cheek. "Don't get too wrapped up in it. I don't need Pixie-Bob having any more reasons to talk to you than she does already."

Izuku chuckled. "Are you jealous?"

"Yes, and so is Mina."

Toru grumbled as Izuku ruffled her hair. "Don't worry. She won't steal me away. You two are all I need. Now I better get over to Kaminari. It looks like he's about to do something stupid."

"He's always like that," Toru said as her boyfriend chuckled again and walked off.

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Kota glowered as he stared at the forest. He felt a little better now that he was at his secret base, but still, it was the first official day of the hero wannabe's training camp, and Kota was already feeling done with all of it. It didn't help that Mandalay asked him to keep an eye on the guys during bath time since apparently one of them couldn't be a decent person. Though the weird hobo guy seemed to think the chances were low that anything would happen.

Kota huffed but tensed when he heard footsteps. He looked over at the path to see the annoying green guy coming up with a plate of curry. He smiled at Kota before looking at the view. "Wow, nice view. This your secret base? Somewhere for you to get away from it all?"

Kota felt anger flare up as the guy took a few steps closer. "What are you doing here? How did you find it?"

"I followed your footsteps. I saw you leave without eating, so I figured I'd bring you some dinner." Izuku said before setting the plate of curry down and stepping back. "I'll get out of your hair now. I hope you enjoy the food. I think we did a half-decent job with it."

Kota was stunned. He just... left. He didn't bother him with questions or anything; he just dropped curry off and left. Kota looked at the curry, and his stomach grumbled. He blushed a bit and sat down before grabbing the plate. It was free food, and it meant he didn't have to go down and be around all those annoying people, so he guessed he would eat the stupid curry.

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Once dinner was done, Class A cleaned up while Class B bathed. Once they were done cleaning, Class A took to the baths. They were surprised and overjoyed to see it was an outdoor hot spring.

As the guys got in and started to soak, Minoru stared at the dividing wall and said. "Midoriya... knock me out."

"Ok," Izuku said as he started to raise his hand, only for Tenya to stop him.

"Midoriya! You cannot just use your quirk to knock out your fellow classmate! Mineta, why on earth are you asking him to do that anyway?!"

Minoru took a shuddering breath. "Because Iida... walls are meant to be climbed, and I am in my heart a climber. I cannot resist this temptation for long. Please, Midoriya, I've been doing so well. Just gas me with your quirk and let me keep the streak alive!"

Izuku looked at Tenya and shrugged. "He's literally asking me to keep him from doing something inappropriate, Iida. I gotta do it."

The other guys chuckled as they watched Tenya go through a mental battle of which option was more inappropriate for a hero student to do. Should he keep Izuku from using his quirk on someone outside of a training situation? Thus leaving the possibility that Minoru would try something inappropriate; or does he let Izuku use his quirk on Minoru who is willing to let it happen and guarantee that Minoru cannot do anything inappropriate?

Tenya felt everything click into place as inspiration struck him, and he looked up, ready to tell them the solution he had come to, only to see he was too late. Izuku was laying an unconscious Minoru on the ground by the changing room door.

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Toru let out a deep sigh and winced a bit as she settled into the bath. Her training had put a toll on her arms; she had a couple minor burns from overdoing the output. She couldn't help it, though. Pixie-Bob had been eyeing a couple guys since they got here but especially Izuku. The invisible girl's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, thinking about how Pixie-Bob had said he was husband material.

Toru felt her face flush a bit as she thought about the blonde pros' comments to Izuku. Pixie-Bob was right, of course, but still... to say it out loud put the thought into Toru's head, and now it was stuck.

The water shifted, and Toru looked over to see Mina sliding into the water, her face flushed lilac. "You ok, Mina?"

Mina fidgeted. "Sorry... it's just. Well, Pixie-Bobs comment to Izuku while we were training..."

"Ah," Toru said as she shifted a bit. "...yeah, that's been stuck in my head too."

Mina hummed and said. "I wanna take a bath, just the three of us at some point."

Toru felt like her face was gonna explode light as she looked at her girlfriend and then quickly looked away, remembering that they were in the baths. Sure they had taken group baths with the other girls back in the dorms, and this should be the same, but the atmosphere of an open-air bath was different from the dorm's baths, and they both had Pixie-Bob's comments about Izuku on their minds. "Y-yeah... that might be fun."

The two sat in silence for a moment before Kyoka groaned. "God, I can feel the diabetes coming on."

Pony giggled as she entered the water. "Sickly sweet."

As they giggled, Momo bopped their heads and said. "Please don't tease them. Let's all just relax and get some good sleep tonight."

The others all quickly agreed, and the girls settled into a comfortable silence that was disrupted by Iida yelling about how Izuku couldn't just gas a fellow classmate. The girls giggled as Izuku pleaded his case, and after a moment of silence, they heard Iida squawk again and attempt to chew out Izuku for using his quirk on Minoru before anything had been decided. The girls laughed some more and chatted idly until they had to get out of the baths.

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Izuku yawned and quietly exited the room where he and his fellow class A guys were staying and headed towards the dining hall for some water. As he walked, he looked over the text from Nemuri bragging about how much fun she and Hirooki were having while the hero students were away. He chuckled a bit but quieted as he saw a faint glow from one of the doors. Izuku peaked in seeing Kota sitting in front of a tv in what he guessed was Kota's room. The TV showed a pair of heroes who Izuku recognized. The Water Hose heroes a pair of mainly firefighting and rescue heroes who were a married couple and had died a few years back.

Izuku tensed as he remembered the face of the man who killed them, but he was pulled from his thoughts by Kota sniffling, and Izuku realized the young boy was crying softly and muttering to himself.

Izuku stepped away, giving the boy some privacy, and continued his walk to the dining hall. As he walked, he thought about the young boy. He looked somewhat similar to the Water Hose heroes, but Izuku couldn't tell for sure. He hadn't seen a picture of them in a long time, mainly because their deaths were what was usually brought up, and Izuku didn't want to see their murderer's face too much. It always churned his stomach, but he couldn't pinpoint why. Maybe it was because he looked kinda like Katsuki.

Izuku sat down and sipped on his glass of water. He looked over as Ragdoll entered and said. "Whatcha doing up late kitten? You should be sleeping with your class."

"Sorry ma'am, I needed some water... I'll be back in the room soon."

Ragdoll sat across from him and asked. "Something on your mind?"

Izuku explained what he saw on his way to the dining hall and his thoughts on it. Ragdoll sighed and said. "I see... Well, you are right, kitten. The Water Hose heroes are his parents. I'm sure I can trust you to not blab or anything."

Izuku nodded. "I understand, ma'am... Thank you for telling me."

"No problem. Now get to bed; you have a lot of harsh training tomorrow."

Izuku sighed and stood up. "Will do, ma'am. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Ragdoll said as Izuku left the dining hall.

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Kota sat on the ledge of his secret base and stared out at the forest. Izuku had made sure he ate breakfast and lunch but hadn't bothered him much since. Though Kota was pretty sure that he would be coming up now.

Right on time, Izuku came up with a plate of beef stew and rice. "Hey. I got some dinner for you if you're hungry."

As Izuku was about to leave, Kota said. "Why are you doing this? Why aren't you bothering me or trying to be friendly? Why are you just giving me food and leaving?"

"Huh? Oh, I just figured since you weren't very fond of us, you might miss meals trying to avoid everyone." Izuku smiled. "But a growing boy like yourself needs to eat regularly, so he grows up strong."

Kota stared on in confusion, and Izuku stood there like he was contemplating something before suddenly asking. "Do you mind if I sit for a moment?"

Kota grumbled but didn't stop Izuku from sitting. After a moment, Kota sat down and started eating while doing his best to ignore Izuku's presence.

Once Kota was done eating, Izuku said. "I uh... I know who your parents are, and I heard what happened to them."

Izuku held a hand up to stop Kota's outburst. "I just want to say... I kinda get what you're going through." Izuku sighed and rubbed his face. "I don't talk about it much because it was so long ago, and while my parents weren't heroes, they did die to a villain when I was around your age... so you know I kinda get how angry you feel."

Kota stared at him, stunned by the older guy's words. Anger bubbled up as Kota asked. "How can you be a hero after that? It's the heroes and the villain's faults they give each other these stupid names, and they show off their quirks, and they kill each other, and they hurt other people and- and if quirks didn't make people so stupid t-t-then my mom and dad-"

Izuku smiled softly as the boy's eyes teared up, and he tried not to cry. "Just let it out. Holding back won't help you any. Let all your tears and frustration out."

Kota felt himself start to break down and sob. As the young boy cried, Izuku kept a respectable distance and remained silent. Once the boy's tears had subsided, Izuku spoke. "You asked why I would be a hero despite it all. Well... I don't want anyone else to go through what we did. I don't want some random bad guy running down the street, hurting people, and leaving kids without parents. I bet your parents, The Water Hose heroes, thought the same thing. They fought and died to make sure other little kids didn't lose their parents."

"B-but they left me. T-they picked strangers over me." Kota said with a slight hiccup.

"It seems like that, but they were also doing it for you. They wanted to stop that bad guy so that you and everyone else would be safe. It didn't work out, but that's the risk they decided to take, and even if they didn't win, they did save a lot of people."

Izuku stood and smiled at the young boy. "We're about to head to the baths, so go ahead and bring your plate down. There shouldn't be anyone in the dining hall now."

Kota sniffled and watched as Izuku left him to think. He had suffered just like Kota, but he didn't hate quirks or heroes and villains. He wanted to help people and make sure they didn't suffer like him. Kota took a shaky breath and picked up his plate. "The curry was better than this crap."

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Izuku and the other guys were returning to their room as they were about to enter; Izuku saw Kota heading to his room. The young boy spotted him, and for the first time since arriving, Izuku didn't see any anger in his eyes when he looked at him and the other guys.

"Yo Midoriya, whatcha standing around for?" Denki asked from the room.

Izuku chuckled. "Nothing. Hey, aren't you supposed to go to your supplementary class? If you don't hurry, Aizawa-"

"Too late," Aizawa said as he stepped up behind Izuku as he entered the room. "Kaminari, Kirishima, Sero, Sato get a move on. We have a lot to cover."

The four boys groaned, knowing they were gonna be stuck in a room with their teachers and Monoma until early morning.

Izuku chuckled and sat down as he pulled his phone out. The guys chatted idly, and as Izuku was looking for a picture of something to show Shoto, he stopped as he came upon an old picture he hadn't seen in a bit. It was a photo Mina had taken of Himiko ambushing him at the beach.

A pang of guilt and hurt struck Izuku in the chest. He hadn't heard or seen any signs of the blonde girl for so long. He had no idea where she was or what had happened to her. Himiko had been there when they were accepted to UA, but after that, she disappeared, leaving only a text behind but no explanation. There was so much he and his girlfriends didn't know about their friend. They had hoped to learn more and try to help her if she needed it, but they never got the chance.

"Who is that?" Shoto asked, suddenly sitting next to Izuku.

Izuku jumped a bit and looked over. "Huh?"

Minoru popped up on his other side. "Wow, she looks kinda cute but not my type."

Izuku frowned at the shorter boy. "She would probably hurt you if you spoke to her."

Minoru shivered, and Shoto asked. "Is she a friend of yours? It looks like she's about to attack you in the photo."

Izuku grumbled a bit as a few of the other guys looked over his shoulder at the photo. "She's a friend of mine, Mina and Toru's. We used to hang out a lot before UA. There were some... things about her that we worried about, and we wanted to help her make sure she was safe, but one day she just vanished. We haven't heard from her or seen her ever since our acceptance letters came in."

"Hopefully, she is ok," Tenya said. "It is quite regrettable that you fell out of touch with each other."

The boys agreed, and the conversation carried on until Tenya informed them they should get some sleep. The main fighters of the curfew were currently in supplementary classes, so there was no resistance to the idea of getting sleep.

Notes:

you all know what's coming next chapter. I hope you can wait a bit because I gotta write some Watching Over You now.

I'm watching Yuru Camp and it's so wholesome and warm and fluffy. love it.

I don't have much else to say so have a wonderful day.