Hidden Strings

Chapter 13: Lecture Story

...

"You can take lead and help as a true hero"
Midoriya said, his voice taking that of a motivational speaker.

Everyone found themselves listening— absorbing his words. They couldn't zone out even if they wanted to, something about the way Midoriya had been speaking had drawn all of their attention.

Midoriya continued, "when everything around you is falling apart, when the situation seems hopeless— that's when taking control matters, because a true hero isn't fearless— no. It's someone who takes lead through their fear. "
He paused, allowing the words to simmer into their minds as he let his vocal cords momentarily rest for the story he was about to tell.

Midoriya took a deep breath in, his mind going back to his first year at UA. "Time for the main portion of the lecture. This'll keep them distracted"
He thought to himself, looking back at the students.
"I learned that through my very first heroic experience here at UA.
Some of you may have heard of the wild wild kitty cats camping incident which happened many years ago. But most of you have probably never heard of it from the perspective of someone who was there.
Let me tell you all the story of how I saved a little kid, Izumi Kota, from one of Japan's most heinous villains, Muscular. "

~~~~~~~~~

"You can now enter the forest in your pair ups! Remember, the objective is to capture the flags and make you're way out! But watch out for class 1-B! They're waiting to engage in battle!"
Mandalay shouted.

"Let's kill those bastards!"
Bakugo grinned, explosions popping off of his hand.

"Wouldn't it be more efficient to just get the flags and escape? That's the whole objective"
Midoriya said, deflating Bakugo's excitement.

"Tch, still gonna destroy them"
He remarked, entering the forest alongside Midoriya.

The forest was dimly lit, and the smell of earthy grass was pungent in the air.
An occasional breeze passed by, leaving the temperature a nice cold.

"Where are the flags..?"
Midoriya questioned, noticing that even having walked halfway through the forest trail there were still no flags in sight.

"Yeah and those class 1-B idiots.. it's like the trail is completely empty"
Bakugo commented, looking around with his hands in his pockets.

Singeing the air, a potent dry smell of smoke filled the area. Alongside it, an unidentifiable pink mist.

"Kacchan. Above"
Midoriya stated sharply, ducking to the ground and putting his arm to his nose.

Bakugo's eyes widened, "what the hell"
He ducked down as well, panic slightly striking his core.

"Listen..." 
Midoriya pointed out. In the distance, a crackling of fire could be heard alongside the muted screams of fellow classmates.
"We're under attack"

"Crap! We need to do something—!"
Bakugo was cut off when intercepted by a telepathic message.

"Everyone! The league of villains is attacking! Do not engage in battle unless you absolutely have to! Escape the forest and make your way to the student cabin!"
Mandalay shouted to everyone in the vicinity.

"We don't know what the path ahead is like— we should go back the way we started"
Midoriya suggested, standing back up and starting to run.

"No need to explain the obvious damn Deku!"
Bakugo screamed, running alongside him.

The air burned their lungs, a shirt filter wasn't all too efficient in stopping poison and smoke from entering the lungs.
But they prevailed without choice.